Greg Locke, Pastor of 'Global Vision Bible Church,' Explores the Extraordinary Rewards Gained When You Live a Life of Generosity in God Charisma House Aug. 23, 2024 LAKE MARY, Fla., Aug. 23, 2024 / In The Generosity Journey, Pastor Greg Locke delves into the eternal heaven-or-hell impact of obedience to the Word as well as the overwhelming supernatural blessings of God that overflow from such obedience (ISBN-13: 978-1-63641-404-1). "When God can trust you to walk in biblical generosity, He will bless you beyond your generosity," Locke said. The Generosity Journey is not only about Pastor Greg Locke's personal peaks and valleys but also about the Christian church's historical highs and lows. From a pulpit full of "influential pastors who couldn't cast a demon out of a poodle" to a "church back in balance," this book will guide readers to enacting selfless generosity and growing closer with God. Additionally, Pastor Greg Locke shares his personal experience with Baptist Christianity and Charismatic Christianity. While Baptist Christianity served as his foundation of Biblical knowledge, Charismatic Christianity ignited his soul with the Holy Spirit. More than simply recounting his past, Pastor Greg Locke seeks to gap what both are missing. "He [God] took me out of a movement that was all truth and no Spirit and thrust me into a movement that was all Spirit and very little truth." Greg Locke is the founding and lead pastor of Global Vision Bible Church in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, just outside Nashville. The social media firebrand is the producer of the film, Come Out in Jesus' Name and host of the toprated podcast, On Point With Pastor Greg Locke. He has a bachelor's degree in biblical studies and a master's degree in revival history, and is a revivalist and popular speaker in churches and political circles alike. He has achieved one of the largest social media platforms in the nation, and Global Vision has one of the broadest reaching live stream ministries in the world. Locke and his wife, Taisha, share six children and work hand in hand in the ministry, seeking to reach those who are broken and have been forgotten by the church. Connect with Locke X: @pastorlocke Facebook: @PastorGregLocke YouTube: Pastorlocke.com Instagram: @pastorlocke Title: The Generosity Journey: When God Can Trust You He Will Bless You | Release Date: September 3, 2024 | Retail: $21.99 | ISBN-13: 9781636414041 | E-Book ISBN: 9781636414058 | Binding: Trade Paper | Size: 6" x 9" | Page Count: 224 | Hometown: Mount Juliet, TN | BISAC Category: RELIGION / Christian Living / Stewardship & Giving, RELIGION / Christianity / Pentecostal & Charismatic, RELIGION / Christian Living / Spiritual Growth To interview Locke or for a review copy, please contact SOURCE Charisma House Share Tweet NEWS PROVIDED BYCharisma HouseAug. 23, 2024LAKE MARY, Fla., Aug. 23, 2024 / Christian Newswire / -- Pastor Greg Locke urges the Body of Christ to stop playing games and start obeying God. Where generosity is concerned, God wants people who lay down their selfish, lukewarm, casual approach to the Bible and simply obey in spirit and in truth.In The Generosity Journey, Pastor Greg Locke delves into the eternal heaven-or-hell impact of obedience to the Word as well as the overwhelming supernatural blessings of God that overflow from such obedience (ISBN-13: 978-1-63641-404-1)."When God can trust you to walk in biblical generosity, He will bless you beyond your generosity," Locke said.The Generosity Journey is not only about Pastor Greg Locke's personal peaks and valleys but also about the Christian church's historical highs and lows. From a pulpit full of "influential pastors who couldn't cast a demon out of a poodle" to a "church back in balance," this book will guide readers to enacting selfless generosity and growing closer with God.Additionally, Pastor Greg Locke shares his personal experience with Baptist Christianity and Charismatic Christianity. While Baptist Christianity served as his foundation of Biblical knowledge, Charismatic Christianity ignited his soul with the Holy Spirit. More than simply recounting his past, Pastor Greg Locke seeks to gap what both are missing."He [God] took me out of a movement that was all truth and no Spirit and thrust me into a movement that was all Spirit and very little truth."is the founding and lead pastor of Global Vision Bible Church in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, just outside Nashville. The social media firebrand is the producer of the film, Come Out in Jesus' Name and host of the toprated podcast, On Point With Pastor Greg Locke. He has a bachelor's degree in biblical studies and a master's degree in revival history, and is a revivalist and popular speaker in churches and political circles alike. He has achieved one of the largest social media platforms in the nation, and Global Vision has one of the broadest reaching live stream ministries in the world. Locke and his wife, Taisha, share six children and work hand in hand in the ministry, seeking to reach those who are broken and have been forgotten by the church.X: @pastorlockeFacebook: @PastorGregLockeYouTube: Pastorlocke.comInstagram: @pastorlockeTitle: The Generosity Journey: When God Can Trust You He Will Bless You | Release Date: September 3, 2024 | Retail: $21.99 | ISBN-13: 9781636414041 | E-Book ISBN: 9781636414058 | Binding: Trade Paper | Size: 6" x 9" | Page Count: 224 | Hometown: Mount Juliet, TN | BISAC Category: RELIGION / Christian Living / Stewardship & Giving, RELIGION / Christianity / Pentecostal & Charismatic, RELIGION / Christian Living / Spiritual GrowthTo interview Locke or for a review copy, please contact media@charismamedia.com SOURCE Charisma House China to enhance economic, trade cooperation with Vietnam: commerce ministry Xinhua) 10:12, August 23, 2024 BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- China will work to promote economic and trade cooperation with Vietnam, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on Thursday. China will use the celebration of the 75th anniversary of China-Vietnam diplomatic ties next year as an opportunity, and support enterprises on both sides in expanding trade in agricultural products and manufactured goods by fully leveraging platforms such as the China International Import Expo and the Canton Fair, MOC spokesperson He Yadong told a press conference. China will also foster new investment cooperation drivers in sectors such as the digital economy and green development, and deepen supply chain cooperation to ensure smooth trade flows between the two countries, according to the spokesperson. He also stressed the importance of facilitating regional economic integration, saying that China will accelerate negotiations for Version 3.0 of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, and make greater contributions to regional development and prosperity. Trade between China and Vietnam has seen rapid expansion in recent years. The annual trade volume between the two sides has exceeded 200 billion U.S. dollars for three consecutive years. In the first seven months of 2024, China-Vietnam trade surged by 20.9 percent year on year to about 145.07 billion dollars, MOC data showed. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Jacob Beltran covers crime, breaking news and general assignments for the Express-News. He can be reached at jbeltran@express-news.net. A San Antonio native, Jacob began his journalism career in 2010. He's worked for the student-run newspaper for San Antonio College, The Ranger, and for Texas A&M University-San Antonio, The Mesquite. He enjoys video games, photography and exploring during his free time. A 26-year-old man survived a jump from the Interstate 74 bridge into the Mississippi River and was rescued with the help of MetroLINKs Channel Cat. A press release from the city said that at 10:13 a.m. Friday police received a report of a man who jumped off the I-74 Bridge into the river. Three people walking along the pedestrian path witnessed the man standing on the other side of the railing just north of the Oculus viewing area located at the center of the bridge, the release said. The man then jumped into the river. Police officers from Bettendorf and Moline along with Bettendorf firefighters responded to the scene. Bettendorf firefighters also deployed a rescue boat with a Bettendorf police officer aboard. Additionally, Bettendorf police immediately deployed a drone from the police department to locate and keep the man in sight. A MetroLINK Channel Cat Water Taxi was seen nearby, and the Scott County Emergency Communications Center was able to contact the water taxi and ask for assistance, the release said. The officer operating the drone was able keep the man in sight and give updates to responding officers and firefighters. A life preserver was thrown to the man from the Channel Cat and he was pulled aboard the water taxi at about the same time Bettendorfs rescue boat arrived. A Bettendorf police officer and two Bettendorf firefighters went aboard the water taxi to assist as the Channel Cat sailed to shore with Bettendorfs rescue boat following. The man was turned over to Medic EMS and transported to Genesis Medical Center-East Campus for medical and mental health treatment. Photos: Moline pier that once held I-74 bridge goes boom Sunday Feb. 18 021824-qc-nws-bridge009.JPG 021824-qc-nws-bridge001.JPG 021824-qc-nws-bridge002.JPG 021824-qc-nws-bridge003.JPG 021824-qc-nws-bridge004.JPG 021824-qc-nws-bridge005.JPG 021824-qc-nws-bridge006.JPG 021824-qc-nws-bridge007.JPG 021824-qc-nws-bridge008.JPG 021824-qc-nws-bridge.JPG Davenport West High School students went overseas last week to help bring clean water to central Kenya. Three students and engineering teacher Greg Smith made the trip to add a water filtration system to a well in Kora, Kenya. The project is part of a nearly seven year partnership between students in West's engineering, design and development capstone class and Fishers of Men Ministries, Inc., an international nonprofit headquartered in Davenport that works to provide water wells, churches, schools and homes across Kenya. West students first visited Kenya in January 2023, implementing a student-designed water filtration system for the eastern village of Muamba impacting roughly 22,000 people. "It has cut down almost 25% of water-related diseases (in Muamba) since we did that first one," said Fishers of Men founder Joshua Ngao. "So our partnership with the school, and also the community and all the people (involved), it's really changing a lot of lives." A company contracted by Fishers of Men drilled a 405-foot-deep well in Kora last August, located about five kilometers away from the well in Muamba. "We added to the capacity of the overall (water) system in the area," he said. "So it brings two wells, with filters, online." Smith said that before, Kora residents often had to spend a hefty portion of their days traveling for clean water. "They were coming for maybe a one-way trip, upwards of 40 miles," he said. "By putting (a filtration system) in the village, it's going to shorten that commute to get water, and that'll give them more time in the day. It'll allow the kids to go to school and get an education, rather than spend all day going to get water. "If that water can be closer to them, it's going to open up more opportunities," Smith added. "But it's also going to reduce some of those health risks they currently face." West senior Aiden Kroeger attended last week's trip to Kenya, his first time travelling internationally. "Everything was really different," he said. "It was overwhelming, almost, just to see how big that gap really is between what we're used to and what people over there are used to." Kroeger said witnessing this "gap" in real-time was his biggest takeaway from the trip, adding it inspired him and the other West students to "keep working." Most of their time in Kora was spent washing sand for the filtration system but the students weren't alone. "There was more sand than we alone could wash, so one of the main things we tried to do was train the (local) community and get them involved," in the implementation process, Kroeger said. "They were really eager to help out as well. It was good to build those real connections." Aiming to equip Kora locals with the knowledge to maintain their new filtration system moving forward, they trained community members, including students, on its setup and upkeep. "The clearer we get the sand (will) prolong the life of that filter rather than be constant maintenance," Smith said. Ngao, who also attended last week's trip, said he appreciated students' willingness to work with, not for, the community. "They were not dominating everything, and people (from Kora) felt part of it," he said. "There was a little bit, I think, that was left unfinished, and the (locals) are finishing it now because they were able to understand what is being done." Smith's dad, wife and two daughters Vera, 13, and Nadia, 11 also attended last week's trip. They, too, helped out with sand-washing but also arts education. West Music, an instrument store in Davenport, donated 16 violins for Fishers of Men to take to Kenya last December. "(Nadia) was teaching art she taught 130 kids at once," Smith said. "My wife assisted my oldest daughter with (teaching) violin Everybody helped out wherever they could." Another senior on the trip, Mary Anna Lye, said she enjoyed working with the Kora community, citing a cross-cultural exchange. "We tried to teach them some things about the U.S., and they tried to teach us more about the Kenyan culture," she said. "They were really happy to have us here as guests." To date, Fishers of Men has installed 20 water wells in Kenya. The Davenport Rotary Club recently pledged $20,000 to fund another well and Ngao and Smith plan to keep exploring funding opportunities to continue expanding their clean water efforts. They'll have help from students, too. "We're going to try to do as much as we can with our (Kenya water) project with the time we have left, but also find ways to get future students involved," Lye said. "It's empowering for us to know that we can help out, especially as young people." Photos: Davenport West High School Commencement 2024 A motorcyclist authorities say was evading police when he collided with a vehicle in Schertz died from his injuries. The man was evading police following an accident when he crashed with a vehicle at the intersection of Schertz Parkway and Elbel Road on Wednesday, police said. mbbirdy/Getty Images A motorcyclist who was evading Converse police when he collided with a vehicle in Schertz has died from his injuries, authorities say. The man was traveling northbound on Schertz Parkway at a high rate of speed around 12:35 p.m. Wednesday when he collided with a vehicle at the intersection with Elbel Road, Schertz police said in a news release. READ MORE: Seven Guatemalans charged in deaths of 53 migrants in San Antonio Advertisement Article continues below this ad The motorcyclist was taken to Brooke Army Medical Center, where he died from his injuries, police said. Authorities have not released his identity because of pending next of kin notification. The ACLU of Iowa has joined the national American Civil Liberties Union, other ACLU affiliates and PEN America in filing a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in a First Amendment challenge to Arkansass ban on prohibited indoctrination in K-12 public schools. A group of teachers and students in Arkansas is suing the state for using the law to remove an advanced placement African American Studies course from its AP offerings. The law prohibits teaching that would indoctrinate students with ideologies, such as critical race theory. Students are allowed to learn about ideas, history and matters of the day, but no teacher shall promote that systemic racism is part of American society. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders called it antithetical to the traditional American values of neutrality, equality, and fairness. She said critical race theory emphasizes skin color as a persons primary characteristic, thereby resurrecting segregationist values, which America has fought so hard to reject. The ACLU say the Arkansas law chills frank classroom discussion about race. Its amicus brief argues students have a First Amendment right to receive information, including in public school curricula, and that the courts must safeguard classroom discussions against political censorship. The brief argues for preserving Pratt v. Independent School District No. 831, Forest Lake, Minnesota, a 1982 decision from the Eight Circuit that recognizes students rights to receive information in classroom curricula. Abandoning the landmark decision, the ACLU argues, would potentially allow schools to become forums for government propaganda and indoctrination. A preliminary injunction by a U.S. District Court Judge temporarily halted Arkansas from implementing or enforcing a section of the challenged state law. The judge wrote the law cannot be enforced "in a manner that disciplines" teachers for teaching critical race theory, or for using it to teach other topics or referencing parts of the theory. The judge, however, ruled plaintiffs can be disciplined if they compel a student to adopt, affirm, or profess a belief in a theory, ideology or idea (including Critical Race Theory) that conflicts with the principle of equal protection under the law and holds that people of a specific group or characteristic protected by law are inherently superior or inferior to another or that they should be discriminated against. The outcome of this case is important to Iowans who are facing our own challenges when it comes to censorship in public schools with the passage of Iowas truly awful law banning books, forcibly outing kids, and telling teachers and students dont say LGBTQ, ACLU of Iowa legal director Rita Bettis Austen said in a statement. We should all agree that our public school students have a First Amendment right to receive information." The Eight Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month overturned a lower court injunction that had paused a 2023 Iowa law that bans books with certain sexual content from Iowas K-12 public schools. The Iowa law signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds and passed by statehouse Republicansbans books with depictions of sex acts from K-12 schools and prohibits the teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through sixth grade. The law exempts religious texts. A group of authors, publishers, education groups and LGBTQ+ advocates filed a lawsuit in federal court arguing the law violated their First Amendment rights to free speech. Iowa announces first 2024 West Nile virus case The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday the first case this year of an Iowan infected by the West Nile virus. The department said an older Iowan from Harrison County between 61 and 80 years old was infected. The case was confirmed through a test at the State Hygienic Lab. Warm summer weather means Iowans are spending more time outside, which increases the risk of mosquito bites, according to a department news release. Bites from infected mosquitoes are the primary method in which humans are infected. For the best protection against the virus, Health and Human Services says Iowans should use an insect repellent with DEET, Picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus, Para-menthane-diol, 2-undecanone or IR3535 to lower the risk of mosquito bites. Additionally, Iowans can protect themselves by wearing long-sleeved shirts, pants, shoes and socks outdoors when possible and clear standing water around their homes. Iowans infected with West Nile virus may not experience any signs or symptoms of the virus. Some may experience minor symptoms like fever and mild headache. Others, however, can develop serious symptoms such as a high fever, headache, disorientation, and muscle weakness requiring immediate medical attention. In 2023, 17 Iowans were diagnosed with West Nile virus, with one death. For more information on West Nile virus, go to hhs.iowa.gov/center-acute-disease-epidemiology/epi-manual/reportable-diseases/west-nile-virus. Treasurer: Iowans reunite with over $500K in unclaimed property Iowa State Treasurer Roby Smith says Iowans filed more than 2,400 claims at the Iowa State Fair this month to be reunited with unclaimed property totaling roughly $573,000. The largest single claim field was for $50,717. Claims were filed as part of the Great Iowa Treasure Hunt, where Iowans can search unclaimed property turned over to the State Treasurers Office for safekeeping by a business or financial institution that loses contact with the owner of the asset. The treasure hunt works to reunite assets with the owners or heirs. Common examples include forgotten checking and savings accounts, stocks, uncashed checks, life insurance policies, utility refunds and safe deposit box contents. Smith said his office is safekeeping more than $521 million to be claimed. Even if you have claimed in the past, search again. New properties are continually being added, he said. To search for unclaimed property and for more information, go to GreatIowaTreasureHunt.gov. Schools were just supposed to block porn. Instead they sabotaged homework and censored suicide prevention sites Schools were just supposed to block porn. Instead they sabotaged homework and censored suicide prevention sites Only a Few of These Districts Allow Censorship Appeals Schools were just supposed to block porn. Instead they sabotaged homework and censored suicide prevention sites The U.S. Air Force is set to temporarily relocate 17 B-1B Lancers from Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota to Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota for 10 months beginning in early 2025. Ellsworth Air Force Base has long been home to the B-1B Lancer, a supersonic heavy bomber that has served as a cornerstone of U.S. airpower since its introduction in the 1980s. The move is part of the preparations to welcome the new B-21 Raider stealth bombers at Ellsworth. According to a statement from Air Force Global Strike Command Public Affairs, the relocation, scheduled from February to November 2025, will involve not only the aircraft but also approximately 800 personnel from Ellsworth. During the temporary stay, the individuals will be tasked with maintaining and supporting B-1B operations at Grand Forks. "The B-1Bs will continue to fulfill their operational requirements to the President and the Secretary of Defense while stationed at Grand Forks," the statement reads. The temporary relocation results from the significant infrastructure upgrades at Ellsworth as it prepares to become the primary base for the B-21 Raider, a move expected to benefit the base and the surrounding community long term. The relocation is necessary to accommodate runway repairs at Ellsworth AFB, which are essential to prepare for the arrival of the B-21 Raider, the Air Forces next-generation long-range strike bomber. The B-21 is expected to play a critical role in the nation's defense strategy, with Ellsworth being one of the fundamental bases to host this advanced aircraft. However, the proposed move is still contingent upon the results of an ongoing environmental review. The review examines the potential impacts of relocating the bombers and personnel to Grand Forks, including any environmental concerns that may arise. Further details regarding the relocation process and the results of the environmental review are expected to be released in the coming months. An exhibit inviting visitors to step into the universe of artistic genius Vincent van Gogh has arrived in Richmond. "Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience" is a 360-degree digital art exhibition that explores Van Goghs life and artwork like never before. Visitors can learn about the artist's background, see replicas of his most iconic artworks like "The Starry Night" and "Cafe Terrace at Night" and even see a replica of his bedroom in Arles, France, from his painting "The Bedroom." Visitors step into a 20,000-square-foot uniquely curated light and sound show that the exhibit's executive producer John Zaller says brings Van Gogh's art to life. I think what you're going to experience as a guest is a seamless integration between the technology and storytelling, where the technology supports the story all the way through, Zaller said. The way we create experiences is that it's great to have technology, but there's got to be meaningful content driving that technology. "Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience" has been touring since 2017 and has drawn over 5 million visitors. It was ranked among the 12 best immersive experiences in the world by CNN. The exhibit has landed in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Seattle and Miami and most recently Washington, D.C. The Richmond exhibit is being held at a former Lidl grocery store at 12151 W. Broad St. in Short Pump. It opened to the public on Thursday. Richmond is a vibrant market that supports art and culture, loves history (and) was a natural fit for us because of all those reasons. And I think Richmond is also a place where people are trying new things," Zaller said. "They want to experience new things, and this is obviously a cutting-edge experience." "Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience" observes the 136th anniversary of Van Gogh's "Sunflower" series that was painted on Aug. 21-22 in 1888. This series of paintings was groundbreaking for Van Gogh's vivid use of the color yellow and the depiction of sunflowers in all stages of life, from bloom to decay. This innovative approach pushed the boundaries of color and symbolism in art and solidified the sunflower as Van Goghs unique emblem. Van Gogh wanted to pick a flower that was his own representation of himself. Every artist had a little motif that they painted regularly, and he wanted to make the sunflower his. Part of that is because sunflowers represent joy and turning to the sun," Zaller said. "He struggled so much in his life, finding that joy, finding that moment in the sun. And that's part of the reason why the sunflower was so important to him." This immersive experience surrounds visitors in the spirit of Van Gogh's art, story and natural surroundings that is meant to transport visitors into the mind of the artist. Van Gogh's documented mental health issues, including what we now understand as bipolar/mood disorder, borderline personality disorder and depressive episodes, provide insight into his artwork. These struggles were a driving force behind the emotional depth and intensity found in many of his masterpieces. One of the world's most known artists, Van Gogh did not begin painting until he was 27. In just over a decade, he created over 2,000 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings. Most of them were created in the last two years of his life. The Dutch painter took his own life at age 37. "Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience" utilizes state-of-the-art technology, combining projectors and animation to transform timeless masterpieces into a larger-than-life canvas that surrounds its audience. From beginning to end, the exhibit features components that allow visitors to experience Van Gogh's masterful artwork in new ways beyond looking at a museum wall. There are digital displays, sound effects, projection mapping and a one-of-a-kind VR experience called "A Day in the Life of the Artist in Arles France," which allow audiences to travel through eight paintings and their source of inspiration found on the streets of France. The VR experience is an additional $5. At the end of the exhibit, next to the gift shop that carries an array of souvenirs embellished with iconic Van Gogh paintings, visitors can color or freehand artwork inspired by their experience. The artwork can then be scanned and projected on the wall as a part of the exhibit. Zaller, who says this experience allows audiences to meet Van Gogh in a different way, hopes visitors walk away with a better appreciation of the 19th-century artist as well as inspiration for their own life. For me, I would love it if visitors came out with a sense of inspiration to listen to their own creative voices, and whatever it is that they do in there to express their creativity, that they listen to some of that. They do that because it definitely helps you find your own truth. It helps you to find your own true voice and live a more authentic life. If you go WHAT: "Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience" WHEN: through Oct. 31 WHERE: 12151 W. Broad St., Short Pump TICKETS: Start at $29.90 for adults and $17.90 for children. VR experience is additional $5. MORE INFO: vangoghexpo.com/richmond Top 5 weekend events: Chesterfield County Fair, Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience Joe Seipel exhibition Avatar: The Last Airbender Travis Tritt Chesterfield County Fair Jeffrey Smith is editor of the GoTeam. He can be reached at jeffrey.smith@express-news.net Before joining the Express-News in 2021, he worked in newsrooms in McAllen, and Boulder, Colo. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Ohio University. AMLO says Riviera Maya land used by mining company to soon be natural protected area Riviera Maya, Q.R. In September, the 2,400 hectares outside Playa del Carmen used by Vulcan Materials will be declared a protected natural area. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says he will not finish his presidential term without protecting that area. During his Wednesday morning press conference, Lopez Obrador explained that the legal process has already begun so that before the government concludes (this area) will be declared a protected natural area. Consultations were carried out, everything that the law says. I hope by the beginning of September, he said providing a timeline for the project. In July of 2023, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he intended to declare Sac-Tun, the mining land used by U.S. company Vulcan Materials, a natural protected jungle area. In May of 2022, the area, which lies just south of Playa del Carmen, was shut down by the Government of Mexico for what AMLO called ecocide. Open-pit mines, dynamite explosions, underground water contamination and over extraction of limestone and other materials were underlying reasons for the closure. Both sides have been in litigation since. After the federal government ordered the closure of the mine, they offered to buy the land based on an appraisal. The company rejected the purchase-sale proposal and filed an international lawsuit demanding compensation. Clarification Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, 10:25 a.m.: Ted Lewis is president of Bluefield State University-Beckley. An earlier version of this story was unclear on that reference. The story has been updated. The State Board for Community Colleges has certified five finalists for New River Community College president. The finalists came from a national search that attracted over 70 candidates, according to an NRCC news release. The five finalists are: Peter Anderson of Blacksburg, Virginia, Robert Brandon of Abingdon, John Davis of Spotsylvania; Melissa Frank-Alston of Evans, Georgia, Ted Lewis of Bluefield, West Virginia. We were incredibly fortunate to have such an impressive group of finalists participate in the process, said state Community College Chancellor David Dore. Ive no doubt the colleges next president will possess all of the attributes and abilities necessary for success at New River now and well into the future. The NRCC release included background on the finalists: Anderson is vice president for instruction and student services at NRCC. Before serving in that role, Anderson worked as dean of business and technologies at NRCC, and prior to that, he worked as a grant administrator for the college. Anderson earned an associate degree from NRCC; a bachelors degree from Virginia Tech, a masters degree in educational leadership from Radford University and a doctorate from Old Dominion University. Brandon currently serves as vice president of academic and student services at Southwest Virginia Community College in Richlands. Prior to that, he served as dean of humanities, social sciences, and education at Cleveland State Community College. Brandon earned a bachelors degree from Virginia Intermont College, a masters degree from East Tennessee State University, and a doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Davis is vice president of administrative services at Germanna Community College in Locus Grove, Virginia, a position he has held since 2017. Prior to that, he worked as the colleges executive director of organizational planning and assessment. Davis earned an associate degree from Gulf Coast Community College, a bachelors and masters degree from Florida State University, and a doctorate from College of William and Mary. Frank-Alston currently serves as provost, executive vice president for Academic Affairs at Augusta Technical College where she has worked for the last 19 years. Prior to that, she served as assistant dean for academic programs & student affairs at the Medical College of Georgia. Frank-Alston earned a bachelors degree from Northwestern State University, a masters degree from Western Illinois University, and a doctorate from Pennsylvania State University. Lewis currently serves as the founding president of Bluefield State University-Beckley, a position he has held since 2023. His previous experience includes working as provost and vice president of academic and student affairs for the university. Lewis earned a bachelors degree from Texas Wesleyan University, a masters degree from the University of North Texas, and a doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin. The five finalists seek to become NRCCs seventh president, succeeding Pat Huber, who has served as the schools president since 2017. The presidential finalists will soon visit the college to meet with faculty, staff, students, and community members, according to the NRCC release. NRCC is a two-year institution of higher education under the statewide Virginia Community College System. NRCCs service area includes the City of Radford as well as the counties of Montgomery, Floyd, Giles, and Pulaski. BLACKSBURG The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors will consider making changes to the universitys student code of conduct during its upcoming meeting, making violations of law official violations. The university also quietly made changes to its policy on facilities use, prohibiting camping on all university real property. The university has not responded to numerous attempts for comment on whether the changes are in response to pro-Palestinian protests that took place last semester, culminating in a student encampment that was cleared by police in April with dozens arrested. The language in the schools facility use policy has also been changed to prohibit students using university property overnight, except in areas designated for sleeping, such as residence halls. Canopy tents are also prohibited for events that do not have prior university approval. During its first meeting of the new semester, scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, the board of visitors will consider a change of wording, extending its jurisdiction regarding violations of laws and local ordinances. Virginia Tech reserves the right to address any behavior or act that potentially violates local, state, or federal law, the new language reads. Additional new language outlines what is prohibited under the student code of conduct, and subject to possible disciplinary action, which includes Violations of federal, state, or local laws, regulations, orders, or ordinances. Virginia Commonwealth University recently banned encampments on campus without prior approval. VCU has also tightened restrictions on masking in public places and similarly to the proposed new wording at Virginia Tech made violations of the law violations of the student code of conduct. Most of the new rules observed at VCU were suggested by Attorney General Jason Miyares, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Miyares publicly released memo to college presidents from November advised University leaders to make several of the changes now implemented at VCU, including the prohibition of masking without a bona fide medical purpose. At Virginia Tech, the 82 people arrested and charged with trespassing at last springs pro-Palestinian protest encampment at Virginia Tech have the option not to go to trial, in exchange for 25 hours of community service. Montgomery County Commonwealths Attorney Mary Pettitt said several weeks after the arrests that a notice has been mailed to those who were charged offering a chance to enter a pre-trial diversion program. The programs requirements are that, ahead of the persons assigned court date, they must go in person to the county General District Court with a copy of the diversion letter, pay $99 for court fees, and complete their community service hours within six months. While no official numbers have been released regarding how many protesters had opted into the program, Jack Leff, one of the students arrested in April, said he believed The vast majority, if not all of the people arrested, have chosen to take the offer. I dont know of a single person who hasnt taken the deal, Leff said. The Virginia Tech Graduate Labor Union has not yet made any official statements on the proposed policy changes but is considering a response. Ranald Adams, the parliamentarian for the union, said that several members have voiced concerns about the change, and that other student organizations were discussing the possibility of protesting during the board of visitors meeting. 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. The biggest surprise on the last night of the Democratic convention wasnt that Beyonce or Taylor Swift didnt show up (contrary to widespread rumor). It was that so much time was devoted to touting the partys credentials as the champion of a principled foreign policy and a strong national defense. Generally this topic hasnt been the Democrats rhetorical high point, either at previous assemblies or for the short duration of Kamala Harris campaign up to this point. Its emergence Thursday night was so striking that Wall Street Journal columnist (and former GOP speechwriter) Peggy Noonan complained that the Dems stole traditional Republican themes (faith, patriotism) and claimed them as their own. Noonan misstates whats been happening in the era of Donald Trump. The fact is, the Republicans have abandoned those themes, and the Democratswho never rejected themare picking them up, with intensity, as part of a broad rescue mission. Democracy, freedom, equality, and communityconcepts so deeply embedded in American politics that their validity has long gone unquestionedare on the ballot in this election. The same is true of national security, and so the DNCs strategists elevated it too from a common cliche to a cherished value and vital interest under threat from the cult of personality surrounding Trump. But national security falls in a special category. The world is dangerous in particularly complicated ways, teeming with threats and opportunities. Harris faces a big question: Is she up to the task? She faces the question more than many previous Democratic candidates for two reasons. First, despite her three-and-a-half years as vice president and her previous four years as U.S. senator, her record is not well known. Second (and theres no getting around this), shes a woman, and there is still a contentious stereotypewhich Trump frequently gins upthat women are too weak to stand up to strong dangerous men. Advertisement And so, on the conventions last nightHarris nightthe schedule was packed with speakers to sweep away that stereotype: to affirm that this Democratic woman grasps the worlds dangers and has the knowhow and nerve to deal with them. Leon Panetta (former secretary of defense and CIA director), Sen. Mark Kelly (former Navy combat pilot), Rep. Adam Kinzinger (who, like several Republicans who appeared to endorse Harris, derided his own party because it was no longer conservative), and a stageful of veterans for Harrisall forcefully made the case, on national security grounds, against Trump and for Harris. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then came the nominee. Most of her speech dealt with traditional domestic themes, but the passages on defense and foreign policy formed in many ways the most impassioned part of her speechand certainly rank among the most muscular delivered by any candidate at a Democratic convention in living memory. Some of these passages are worth noting and analyzing in detail: Advertisement As commander in chief, I will ensure America has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world. And I will fulfill our sacred obligation to care for our troops and their families, and I will always honor and never disparage their service and their sacrifice. Promising to build and maintain the worlds most lethal fighting force isnt a phrase commonly heard coming from a Democratic presidential candidate. The standout wordlethalsuggests she understands that the militarys weapons are designed to kill enemy soldiers, that she might have to order U.S. troops into battle with these weapons, and that, if so, the troops will need enough firepower to win their battles. The next sentenceciting the sacred obligation to veteransis meant not only as a contrast to Trumps demeaning comments about Americas warriors but also a hard-headed acknowledgment that, in their service, some of the troops will make the ultimate sacrifice. She went on: Advertisement Advertisement And know this: I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists. I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong-un, who are rooting for Trumpwho are rooting for Trump. Because you know, they knowthey know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. They know Trump wont hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself. Advertisement This is a remarkable passage, not only for its pledge to take whatever action is necessary against threats but also for its shrewd understanding of Trump. Shes got his number, and hes got to be a bit nervous about it. He cuddles up to autocratsKim (we fell in love), Vladimir Putin (we get along very well), the leader of the Taliban (he called me Your Excellency, Trump boasted, adding, I wonder if he calls that to Biden, I doubt it)because he envies them, wants to be them. Advertisement The implicationsboth for how he rolls over in world politics and for what he aspires to do in domestic politicsare alarming. Back in 2018, when Chinas Xi Jinping declared himself president for life, Trump was bowled over. President for life, Trump mused. No, hes great. And look, he was able to do that. I think its great. Maybe well have to give that a shot someday. Consider that remark a mere joke at your risk. Advertisement Advertisement In her acceptance speech Harris also said, I will make sure that we lead the world into the future on space and artificial intelligence; that America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century; and that we strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership. She added, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies. All of this amounts to continuity with the strong points of President Joe Bidens foreign policyand a contrast to Trump, who has no vision for global leadership, who has threatened to abandon NATO, and whose plan to end Russias war on Ukraine is to cut off all aid to Kyiv. Advertisement Finally, there was the war in Gaza. This is a delicate matter, one of the very few fissures within the Democratic Party, a fissure that the conventions planners strenuously evaded. They denied a speakers slot to a Palestinian American delegate and relegated a panel on Palestinian rights to a little-watched afternoon slot. A few speakers, including the parents of a Jewish American hostage held by Hamas, called for an immediate cease-fire and a return of all hostagesbut it was as if the words Israel and Palestinians had been banned. Here is what Harris said on the matter: Advertisement Advertisement And let me be clear. Let me be clear. I will always stand up for Israels right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on Oct. 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival. At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are working to end this war, such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination. Advertisement This is as full and forthright a statement as any politician from any party, in or out of the Biden administration, has made on the war. Some, including Biden, have noted Americas ironclad commitment to Israels defense while also calling for greater care in minimizing the deaths and suffering of Palestinian civilians. But no one else has described the causes, concerns, and horrors on both sides of the conflict in such dramatic, fleshed-out terms, encompassing the human and the geopolitical dimensions. And its worth noting, the crowd of delegates met both sets of her remarksher commitment to Israels defense and her support of Palestinian dignitywith roaring applause. Advertisement Advertisement Related From Slate Kamala Harris Has Been Much More Involved in Foreign Policy Than We Realize Read More Its not clear how a Harris administrationor, for that matter, whether anyonecan meet all these commitments or accomplish all these goals. (The main problems are two: First, everyone wants a cease-fire and a hostage deal, except for the two combatants, Israel and Hamas. Second, it seems the outside powers trying to negotiate a dealthe U.S., Qatar, and Egyptdont have as much leverage over the combatants as theyd initially thought they did.) Still, its encouraging that she grasps the conflicts depths and difficulties. Advertisement Advertisement This may be the nights biggest reveal: that Harris understands the complexities of the worldthe most challenging task for a presidenta lot more than many have assumed. Until very recently, for reasons not entirely clear, this has been one of the tightest-held secrets of the Biden White House. Ive been following U.S. foreign policy pretty closely, but not until a few weeks ago, when I researched a column about the subject, did I know how deeply involved Harris has been in these matters. She mentioned one example in her speech: Five days before Russia attacked Ukraine, I met with President Zelensky to warn him about Russias plan to invade. I helped mobilize a global responseover 50 countriesto defend against Putins aggression. Advertisement Advertisement She could have mentioned that she has since met with the Ukrainian president, one on one, a half-dozen times. She could have also mentioned her crucial meetings with Philippines President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr., around the time that he was moving back into Americas orbit and away from Chinasand her leading role in coordinating renewed diplomacy between the Philippines and Japan. She could have mentioned that, when U.S.-French relations were on the verge of rupturing after Biden sold Australia a nuclear-powered submarine, preempting a sub deal that Australia had signed with Paris, Harris proposed a face-to-face meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, made the trip, and smoothed over the tensions. (The press coverage of her trip focused more on her spending $500 on cookware at E. Dehillerin, a leading kitchen-supply store.) Advertisement More important than her 17 foreign trips to 21 countries or her meetings with more than 150 leaders (many of which were pro forma), she could also have mentioned that, as vice president, she has attended almost every National Security Council meeting and almost all of the presidents intelligence briefings (Biden typically received at least five a week)not just listening in, but often, according to several officials I interviewed, taking part, asking crucial questions and suggesting policy plans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement None of this should be overstated. Biden has been the leading figure in Bidens foreign policy. His special advisersNational Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and CIA Director William Burnshave been the main executors. But Kamala Harris has been in the room where its happened; shes observed all of it and engaged in much of it. That alone makes her more prepared to step up to the job of commander in chief than any incoming president, except for Biden himself, in more than 50 years. That is what the last night of the Democratic convention put on display: an underrated veep suddenly thrust to the top bill and appearing, surprisingly, already presidential. When Carli removed her own intrauterine device while sitting in a warm bath, she was elated. IUD in hand, I threw on a towel and ran to my partner, she told me. I was just like, Holy crap, I did it. I did it by myself! When Madeline removed her IUD, in a deep-squat position she replicated from a home-birth video someone had sent her on Reddit, she found it to be remarkably easy, even compared to having the device removed by a doctor, as she had done previously. I think the predictability of knowing exact timing and having it all in my own handsliterallywas a lot better, she told me. When Alex removed hers, after giving the strings a firm tug with a gloved hand, she was glad it was out, but resentful that she had to turn to self-removal in the first place. Many doctors insist that using an intrauterine device requires at least two visits to their office: One to get it in, and eventually, one to get it out. But while insertion requires specialized tools and medical expertise to safely measure the uterus, stabilize the cervix, position and deploy the device, and trim the strings, removing the long-acting birth control is not nearly as technically complicated: In most cases, it simply involves grabbing the strings and giving them a pull. Advertisement Carli, Madeline, and Alex are part of an increasingly visible cohort of IUD users who have decided to take out their own IUDs. The practice has an extensive history. Women compelled to use IUDs as part of coercive government or social aid programsfor example, in China and Indiahave long gone around doctors to remove their devices. Getting an IUD removed even today in the U.S. can sometimes be a hurdle; for example, if a woman doesnt have insurance, or her doctor believes she needs to be on long-acting birth control and is hesitant to take it out. IUD users have been sharing tips online to remove IUDs at home for more than a decade. $231 to pull a string!!! notes the title of a 2020 paper on why some women self-remove (the quote comes from an internet forum). Not being able to access IUD removal has major implications for reproductive autonomy, said Jennifer Amico, the lead author on that paper and many other studies on the barriers to removal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Not everyone who wants to will be able to remove their own IUD. While more than half of a sample of IUD users were willing to try self-removal, only about 1 in 5 was successful, according to a 2014 study led by Diana Greene Foster, a demographer at the University of California, San Francisco. The most important determinant of success seemed to be whether they could reach their strings, which has led some to suggest that providers ask IUD users about their preferences for string length at insertion. (Longer strings make self-removal easier but could also lead to accidental removal; shorter strings are more discreet.) A more recent clinical trial found that 30 percent of users were able to successfully self-remove. Advertisement Ideally, everyone who wanted to remove their IUD would have immediate access to a supportive, affordable health care provider. Since people are clearly removing their own IUDs, its important for them to have information on how to do so in a way that minimizes risk. A straightforward strategy to increase reproductive autonomy is to have doctors ask patients, upon insertion, if theyre interested in learning about the possibility of taking out their IUD themselves. If the patient answers yes, the doctor could walk them through the process and potential complications. The Reproductive Health Access Project has a fact sheet helpful for anyone who has not received this information from a clinician, including an important caveat: If the IUD does not come out with gentle pulling, stop and schedule an office visit. Advertisement Advertisement There are rare but real risks involved in any IUD removal, whether at the doctors office or at home. If the device has embedded in the uterus, it wont come out easily. Embedded or not, the IUD could break upon removal, and a piece could be left behind. People can also feel lightheaded or faint during removal. In any of those scenarios, it is best to already be under supervision of a medical provider. The biggest unique risk of self-removal, the doctors I spoke to told me, is that the remover could fail to take out the IUD, and then leave it stuck in the cervix or otherwise out of place. Resources on self-removal are unanimous: If something does go wrong, you need to see a medical provider, quickly. Advertisement Advertisement The three IUD users I spoke to who removed their own devices all told me that DIY-ing it wasnt their first choice. Carli, who was 25 and living in Colorado when she self-removed, was about two years into using a copper IUD. She had extremely heavy periods, she told me, and crazy low energy. I was just so miserable, she said. I was so exhausted of being exhausted. (Heavy bleeding, which can lead to fatigue, is a known side effect of copper IUDs.) Advertisement Advertisement When Carli decided she couldnt take it anymore, it was around the holidays, and she was away from home, staying with her partners family. She looked into scheduling a Planned Parenthood appointment for removal, but she was uninsured. She wasnt sure she could afford the couple hundred dollars she was quoted when she tried to schedule the appointment online. Advertisement Carli started researching self-removal on Reddit and Google. For a few days, she rolled the possibility around in her mind: Can I do this? Should I do this? Is this smart of me to do? Eventually, she decided she would try it: If it was too painful or difficult, she would make the appointment. If something went wrong, her partner could drive her to a doctor. She drew a fizzy bath, did some deep breathing, and upon exhaling, pulled. I didnt feel anything, really. It popped out, she said. I was actually really proud of myself. Alex, who was 36, was also uninsured, needed to remove her IUD for medical reasons, and was living in a part of south Texas without access to a clinic that would remove the device for free or on a sliding scale. It was literally a 7 month wait to see a doctor that I could afford in my area, drive 3.5 hours to Houston or go to Mexico, she told me in a direct message on Reddit. I felt like doing it myself was the only option. Alex removed her IUD after some online research and watching a scene on Bravo in which the Real Housewives of Atlantas Kim Zolciak turns to IUD self-removal. Id say it was about as difficult to remove as a tampon, but overall Id rather a doctor or nurse have done it, she wrote. But necessity is the mother of all inventions and I needed it out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Madeline, who was in her early 20s and lived on the West Coast, turned to self-removal while experiencing chest pains and anxiety after getting a new hormonal IUD inserted. She couldnt get ahold of the primary care doctor who had inserted the device, and when she called around to other doctors, she didnt have much luck eitherappointments werent available, or doctors tried to encourage her to wait it out, to let her body adjust. When it came to the question of Can you remove my IUD? there was this complete level of shame, Madeline told me. Like, Oh, youre 22 years old, you should be on birth control. She decided to try to take her own IUD out in her bathroom at home after a roommate found her crying on the ground while missing class because she was so uncomfortable. Though she felt better after removal, Madeline says shes still unsure if the symptoms she experienced were directly linked to her IUD (a common problem). Im pretty prepared to admit that it may have been, at least in some part, psychological, she told me. But it doesnt necessarily mean its not real. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While a slice of providers offer guidance to patients on how remove an IUD yourself, and more still believe it to be at least somewhat safe, some physicians worry about their patients removing IUDs at home, and even advise strongly against it. When DIY removal videos get attention on social media, they are quickly met with stern warnings from clinicians. You dont take out your own appendix, the director of a family planning organization told the Guardian after a TikTok on DIY removal generated a flurry of attention. (If appendix removal could be done by pulling a string, perhaps we would.) Advertisement This resistance, said La Toya Luces-Sampson, an OB-GYN and who creates reproductive health videos on YouTube, often comes from a place of genuine concern. Most OB-GYNs are not taught in medical school about their patients taking out the devices themselves. Planned Parenthood recommends against self-removal, and neither the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists nor the Society of Family Planning has issued formal recommendations on the practice. (The latter organization did recommend doctors counsel patients about the option for self-removal in its clinical guidelines for care during the pandemic.) Advertisement Many doctors have personal experience with self-removal. In interviews with providers about their perspectives on the practice, Amico found that 11 of 38 mentioned they had taken out their own IUDs. And as I spoke to doctors and researchers for this piece, more than one of them told me they had removed their own IUDs, too. Luces-Sampson said she self-removed her IUD because her insurance was through her work, and she didnt want her colleagues to know she was trying to get pregnant. She did it in her home bathroom with her husband, and remembers it as a special moment. It was about control and privacy, she told me. And everyone should be afforded that opportunity. Advertisement Related From Slate This Is the Fertility Election. And Both Sides Are Getting It Wrong. Read More Foster, the researcher behind the 2014 study on self-removal, also decided to remove her own IUDthe day before she had an appointment to have a new one insertedjust to see if she could. If Id had a stopwatch, she said, I wouldnt even have finished pushing down the stopwatch button before the thing was out. It was so easy and fast. Perhaps most strikingly, 54 percent of participants in Fosters 2014 study reported that just knowing self-removal might be possible made them more likely to recommend an IUD to a friend, and this was especially true for Black women (who are more likely to be pressured toward long-acting reversible contraceptives and more likely to experience provider resistance when they request removal). Somewhat counterintuitively, this finding even held true among participants who had tried and failed to remove their own IUDs. Advertisement Advertisement As I interviewed people who had self-removed, I often imagined myself trying to do the same and winced. Its not something I would ever personally wish to try. But I also found comfort in the idea that it was a possibilityand a twinge of anger toward the many gynecologists I had seen who had never mentioned it as one. Ive spent a lot of time thinking and writing about how such a reliable form of birth control can be so distrusted by many who use it. Part of the answer is that we need more research into side effects and better access to pain management for IUD insertion. And part of it is that doctors should just trust patients with nuanced truths about birth control, and allow them to weigh risks and benefits themselves. Truths like: For some people, taking out an IUD at home is not that hard. This article was produced in collaboration with ASU Media Enterprise. This article was republished from Sequencer and has been lightly edited for Slate. A new public health rumor is making the rounds on TikTok. People are apparently worried that a second lockdown is imminent, this time caused by mpox (formerly known as monkeypox)a virus in the pox family that causes fluid-filled blisters and can spread from person to person via close contact or sex. I cannot stress enough how unfounded this fear is. The videos Ive seen spreading this conspiracy theory seem to come from high schoolers in the U.S. who are confused about a recent headline. The World Health Organization declared last week that the ongoing mpox outbreak in central Africa is now a public health emergency of international concern. The global health emergency line clearly struck a chord with some people, who have tried to connect the red string to the WHOs January 2020 declaration of a public health emergency of international concern for COVID-19. But these misguided sleuths are trying to decrypt coded messages from a bowl of alphabet soup. Theres no conspiracy to force a second lockdown, and the WHO doesnt have the authority to cancel your homecoming dance, much less impose global stay-at-home orders. What this trend can do, however, is funnel oxygen from a very real, ongoing public health crisis and weaken faith in some of the only organizations doing anything about it. Heres the obligatory debunking section of this story, starting with the fact that this is not even the first time that the WHO has declared mpox a global public health emergency. In July 2022, the declaration came after 75 countries and territories reported tens of thousands of cases of sexually transmitted mpox. That outbreak never really ended so much as it slowed down: Taking a look at the number of cases globally reported to the WHO, theres a precipitous rise in the summer of 2022 with a long tail of hundreds of monthly reported cases stretching well into 2024. These recent numbers might be an undercount due to countries slow and incomplete reporting, but the data were persuasive enough for the WHO to make a determination of the viruss ongoing risk to the public. This July, the global public health agency determined that mpoxs risk to the general population in places like North America was low. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fighting mpox with extreme forms of social distancing would be like bringing a knife to a pillow fight. The current mpox public health emergency stems from a different clade (a fancy biology word for related group) of the virus that has primarily affected the Democratic Republic of Congo. Children have borne the brunt of the outbreak in the DRC. Their immune systems are generally weaker, especially if undernutrition is in the mix. The virus is also spreading at high rates in the country among sex workers and men who have sex with men. Most concerningly from the international standpoint of public health emergency of international concern, four nearby countries reported their first mpox cases this past month, and last week Sweden identified the first case of mpox from this clade outside of Africa. It remains to be seen whether this current mpox outbreak will make it to the U.S. like the 2022 outbreak did. To be sure, theres great reason to be concerned about all deadly infectious disease outbreaks, not just the ones that fall within our borders. That said, its actively unproductive to fret about a lockdown in a country that has thus far not reported any cases from this clade of mpox. Advertisement Moreover, Im not aware of any health agencies that have proposed lockdowns to control cases of mpox, even in the regions at the heart of this outbreak. It just wouldnt make sense, given what we know about how this disease spreads. It takes between 3 and 17 days for an infected person to develop symptoms, and the virus is spread through close contact (touching the rash or scabs of an infected person; coming into contact with saliva, mucus, and other bodily fluids; or sharing objects that were used by someone with mpox). Prior to the first symptomswhich could be fever and swollen lymph nodes followed by the characteristic rash, or straight to the rasha person isnt contagious. Advertisement Advertisement Related From Slate It Was the Procedure Men Feared More Than Any Other. Why Has It All but Disappeared? Read More Contrast that to COVID, which spreads asymptomatically and can lead to a contagious case in several days, and its clear why a more aggressive public health response worked there to reduce case numbers and deaths. Fighting mpox with extreme forms of social distancing would be like bringing a knife to a pillow fight: The response is ill-suited to the problem, and it makes a mess in the process. The virus belongs to the same genus as the smallpox virus, which is as similar as SARS, SARS-CoV-2, and MERS viruses are to each other. In broad terms, viruses belonging to the same genus can cause disease in the same ways and present with similar symptoms: Both coronavirus and SARS bind to the ACE2 receptor to infect cells, while smallpox and mpox both cause raised bumps. But unlike COVID, mpox has been spreading to humans since at least 1972. And its relation to other scary diseases actually helps our fight against it immensely, since scientists realized during the last outbreak that vaccines designed for smallpox actually do a pretty great job at preventing mpox disease, too. (Vaccines are a whole other can of worms, though, since their efficacy against this mpox clade isnt clear, and procuring and delivering doses to under-resourced countries are sadly not top priorities for richer countries.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im struck by the demographic sharing this viral scientific misinformation. As a connoisseur of wacky internet conspiracy theories and pseudoscience, I dont typically see high schoolers spreading fearmongering copypasta (thats usually Facebook grandmothers and the like). This trend makes me think theres some collective trauma shared among Americas youth thats worthy of analysis. Todays teens came of age during COVID-19, experiencing lockdown at the age typically meant for gaining autonomy and developing social identities. Both teen girls and boys spent more time on social media during the pandemic, and its not a stretch to say their relationships to these platforms changed because of it. Its understandable why many young people now associate public health emergencies with one big, formative public health emergencyand now falsely think that all the public health measures from that crisis must accompany others. But Im concerned that anxiety seems to be prompting knee-jerk reactions that teens are taking a step further when they post misinformation online. If promulgating conspiracy theories about a second lockdown is the newest trend, I dont want to be a part of it. Transport minister says move will prevent Slovakia from becoming a transit country. Hauliers will pay signifcantly higher highway toll rates in Slovakia under plans approived by the cabinet this week. (Source: Sme) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Share By increasing freight transport toll rates for trucks using its highways by 40 percent, Slovakia will avoid becoming a transit country for the rest of the European Union, Transport Minister Jozef Raz (Smer nominee) said after the cabinet voted to hike the rates at its session on Wednesday, August 21. Parliament must still pass a bill to transpose the European directive on Eurovignettes and change its toll collection system. The junior party in the ruling coalition, the far-right Slovak National Party (SNS), is opposed to the move. The increase by this amount, 40 percent of the toll, makes sense and has the consequence that Slovakia will not become a so-called transit country, said Raz. The cabinet chose to offset the increase for Slovak hauliers by reducing the tax on other motor vehicles to the minimum level allowed by the European directive. Proposed tax relief for Slovak truckers will cost the state budget approximately 32 million, but increased revenues from tolls, which apply to all carriers using the Slovak highway network, should bring almost 100 million extra to the budget of the National Highway Company (NDS), the government estimates. Raz noted that an agreement was reached with the hauliers trade unions before the cabinet approved the increased toll rates. Within the framework of the inter-ministerial comment procedure and within the framework of the creation of these values, there was a discussion with the trade unions and we reached an agreement, said Raz. I do not expect any disagreements. Related article Related article New one-day highway stickers now available for drivers Read more CO2 as well as air pollution addressed Under the new toll rates, hauliers will pay charges not only for the use of road infrastructure, but also for their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and external costs associated with air pollution. The proposal also includes a reduction in vehicle tax for trucks over 12 tons. The main reason for adjusting the annual rates of motor vehicle tax is to support road hauliers in replacing tachographs. Tax rates for vehicles over 3.5 tons should also be reduced accordingly. The law is proposed to take effect from January 1, 2025, except for provisions on the changes in toll collection, which should only apply from 1 July 2025. SNS is against Representatives of the SNS party said they would not support the bill in parliament. SNS repeatedly declares that despite the fact that the government has approved a 40 percent increase in highway toll rates, it will not support this bill in parliament, party leader Andrej Danko said in a statement posted on social networks. The party has informed Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer) of its position, adding that it was unchangeable. It says it does not agree with a 40-percent increase in toll rates without the completion of Slovakia's road infrastructure. A selection of short feel-good stories from Slovakia. Queen Letizia of Spain attending a match of the Spanish women's basketball team during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. (Source: AP/TASR) Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Share Every week The Slovak Spectator brings you a selection of three short stories from across Slovakia from which pessimism and negativity are absent. Slovak shoes for a Spanish queen Earlier this year, Queen Letizia of Spain broke her big toe. Among the advice she received from doctors was to start wearing comfortable shoes. During official events, she started wearing so-called barefoot shoes and some were ordered from a Zilina-based company. When they received the order, they thought it was a joke, the Dobrenoviny.sk website reported. We all thought they were joking, but they werent, Juraj Fehervari, CEO and owner of the Be Lenka company, told the Lets Talk Business podcast. Representatives of the shoemaking firm consider the fact that they have the Queen of Spain among their customers to be a success, the website added. The company sells its barefoot shoes in more than 60 countries around the world, and is among the leaders on the market. As Fehervari admitted in the past for the economic magazine Index, they produce their shoes mostly in Portugal and Italy, because local plants are not technologically adjusted to their needs. However, development activities are concentrated in Slovakia. Young Slovak scientist succeeds in international competition Aneta Stefancikova won with her project focused on using halophiles. (Source: Gymnazium Jana Adama Raymana) Aneta Stefancikova, a student of the Grammar School of Jan Adam Rayman in Presov, eastern Slovakia, has achieved a great success. Aneta Stefancikova at the Genius Olympiad. (Source: Gymnaziou Jana Adama Reymana) She won a silver medal in the Science category of the Genius Olympiad, an international secondary school project competition about environmental issues, founded and organised by Terra Science and Education, a non-governmental organisation based in Syracuse, USA. It is hosted by the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), one of the top universities in the USA working at the intersection of technology, the arts and design. At the same time, she received a scholarship at RIT worth $20,000, the school reported in a press release. Stefancikova attracted attention with her project, titled the Biodegradation of Dyes by Halophiles. In it, she stressed that the textile, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries use toxic dyes that can contaminate water. She focused on the determination of the bioremediation potential of halophiles, microscopic organsims that can survive in extreme conditions in this case, high concentrations of salt, as are found in the Presov borough of Solivar, which is famous for its salt mine. Stefancikova presented her own model of a halophile reactor that can be used in practice. Kosice Zoo welcomes precious newborns Several young animals have recently been born in the zoo in Kosice, eastern Slovakia. Their arrivals are important because, in many cases, their species are endangered. Back in mid-June, two small blue-headed macaws were born. This bird species can be found in just 14 zoos in Europe, which take care of fewer than 50 individuals. Thus, it is considered a success that two small birds were born in Kosice, the Plus Jeden Den daily reported. The zoo announced in late July that the chicks are growing fast and even underwent the regular weighing that helps their carers better determine their condition. Thanks to the humane collection of material for gender determination by DNA analysis in the diagnostic laboratory, we already know that it is a couple, i.e. a male and a female, the zoo wrote on Facebook. Just days later, the zoo informed about two healthy Chapmans zebras being born to two mares. It has a similar ambition with the maneless zebra, a species that is threatened with extinction, as the TVnoviny.sk website reported. A baby water buffalo calf born in Kosice. (Source: Facebook/ZOO Kosice) The latest addition is a female water buffalo calf, born in mid-August as a fourth offspring to the couple Adam and Eva. The calf is healthy, and the mother is exceptionally attentive, the zoo said. Five feel-good stories published by The Slovak Spectator to read: Political meme of the week (Source: Zomri.online) Caption: Indiana Jones after a week in Slovakia. This meme, published by the satirical site Zomri.online, alludes to a recent incident involving far-right nationalist Stefan Kuffa, a state secretary (i.e. deputy minister) at the Environment Ministry. On August 18, he disrupted an outdoor performance in the village of Mala Frankova, in the Kezmarok district of eastern Slovakia. He attempted to halt the performance, declaring it inappropriate for the audience, which included children. Just days later, media outlets reported that the Slovak Museum of Nature Protection and Speleology, situated in Liptovsky Mikulas in northern Slovakia, had modified an exhibition following a visit by Kuffa. A tableau depicting a pre-modern man kneeling in preparation for human sacrifice was altered to replace the man with a bowl of rice. You can send me your tips on good news stories about Slovakia or funny memes at: radka.minarechova@spectator.sk. Thank you! Fico sacks his adviser, Rainbow Kosice, and what to do in Bratislava. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Share Hello. Here is the Thursday, August 22 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes. Fico calls for dialogue, foreign policy tops agenda Smer leader and PM Robert Fico (r) and Smer member and Government Commissioner for Social Dialogue Vladimir Faic (l) sign the Declaration on the Development of Social Dialogue in the Slovak Republic at the Government Office in Bratislava on August 22, 2024. (Source: TASR - Martin Baumann) Prime Minister Robert Fico, leader of Slovakias dominant ruling party Smer, declared on Thursday that the country is grappling with an exceptionally tense situation that complicates reaching consensus on fundamental state and societal issues. Even on matters that once enjoyed absolute consensus, such as Slovakias foreign policy orientation, we are now witnessing divisions, Fico said, highlighting how this fragmentation hampers the governments ability to make long-term decisions. Fico underscored the necessity for dialogue with key stakeholders across various sectors, given the seriousness of the current political and international landscape. On Thursday, he and these stakeholders signed a declaration aimed at promoting social dialogue. Fico also proposed regular informal meetings with diverse groups, including universities, churches, and employers, potentially starting in late September. The first meeting should focus on Slovakias foreign policy. Are you in favour of a new Iron Curtain between the West and the East? Fico asked on Thursday. The prime minister, whose sovereign foreign policy has strained Slovakias relations with its allies while keeping the country anchored in the EU and NATO, used the anniversary of the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia on August 21 to draw a parallel between the anti-Putin stance of the West and the invasion of Czechoslovakia. He suggested that the Wests criticism of his pro-Russia stance mirrors the Soviet efforts to suppress democratic reforms in Czechoslovakia 56 years ago. Fico remarked, The anniversary of the August 1968 events should serve as a reminder today, as the policy of enforcing a single correct political opinion is once again taking hold, and those who assert sovereignty and courage in their views on crucial foreign policy issues face relentless pressure from advanced democracies and the threat of isolation. The initiative Fico announced on Thursday is not entirely new. He launched a similar project, a council of solidarity and development, in 2012. Political analysts at the time described it as a PR activity of Ficos party, noting that decisions would be made by Fico and his government, and suggesting that it would be aimed against the parliament. Related: Prime Minister Robert Fico will embark on trips in the coming months with the goal of strengthening or establishing economic cooperation. On September 29, he is set to travel to South Korea to discuss a potential supply of a nuclear unit for the Jaslovske Bohunice power plant. In October, the governments of Ukraine and Slovakia are scheduled to meet in Mukachevo, western Ukraine. Fico will also visit Serbia and is set to travel to China on November 1. In December, his agenda includes Brazil and Chile, with Vietnam scheduled for February 2025. MORE STORIES FROM THE SLOVAK SPECTATOR WEBSITE If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription with no ads and a print copy of The Slovak Spectator sent to your home in Slovakia. Thank you. SLOVAK MATTERS Brzda, spojka, plyn a ides! The first Trabant car rolled off the production line on November 7, 1957. (Source: TASR - Frantisek Ivan) Theres no equivalent for the North American boat, the 1971 Lincoln that you could pitch a tent in. In other driving matters, however, Slovak is every bit as rich as English, writes Tom Nicholson. EVENT Pride Kosice is around the corner Pride Kosice event. (Source: PRIDE Kosice) This Saturday, August 24, Kosice will host Pride Kosice, the second-largest LGBT+ rights festival in Slovakia. The main event at Kasarne Kulturpark will open to the public at 10:30, with festivities starting at 11:00 and the rainbow parade kicking off at 13:30. IN OTHER NEWS The trade union organisation Technologies Unions Slovakia announced that they have signed their first collective agreement at Dell. After nearly three years of challenging negotiations, mediated in recent months, the agreement brings key benefits to Dell employees, including severance pay of up to seven months salary. (SITA) After nearly three years of challenging negotiations, mediated in recent months, the agreement brings key benefits to Dell employees, including severance pay of up to seven months salary. (SITA) The risk of contracting mpox is currently very low in Slovakia. However, people directly present in affected areas of Central Africa should be cautious, said Boris Klempa from the Virology Institute at the Biomedical Centre of the Slovak Academy of Sciences. Last week, the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern due to the spread of two strains of mpox in African countries. (TASR) Last week, the World Health Organization declared a public health emergency of international concern due to the spread of two strains of mpox in African countries. (TASR) The far-right Slovak National Party, led by Andrej Danko, has announced plans for the Lex Simecka bill, which would ban politicians and their family members from owning media outlets. The proposal targets Michal Simecka, leader of Progressive Slovakia, whose father, Martin M. Simecka, holds a minority stake in the publisher of the daily Dennik N. (Sme) The proposal targets Michal Simecka, leader of Progressive Slovakia, whose father, Martin M. Simecka, holds a minority stake in the publisher of the daily Dennik N. (Sme) The Education Ministry has published a guide for morning circles intended for primary schools. It contains 101 proven activities that help build better relationships in the classroom, improve respect, and create a positive atmosphere. The guide is available on the ministrys website and is planned to be released in Hungarian and Ukrainian this September. It contains 101 proven activities that help build better relationships in the classroom, improve respect, and create a positive atmosphere. The guide is available on the ministrys website and is planned to be released in Hungarian and Ukrainian this September. Slovakia and Hungary will continue receiving Russian oil from Lukoil despite Ukrainian sanctions, but at a higher cost, Trinity Banks chief economist Lukas Kovanda said . He added that the contract between Hungarys MOL and Russias Lukoil is expected to take effect this autumn. (TASR) . He added that the contract between Hungarys MOL and Russias Lukoil is expected to take effect this autumn. (TASR) Former Sykorovci mafia boss Robert Lalis is back in court for murders committed 25 years ago, for which he was originally sentenced to life imprisonment. In March, the Supreme Court overturned the verdict following Laliss appeal. The trial is set to continue until November. (Sme) Harvesting medicinal herbs at the Botka organic farm in the Kravany nad Dunajom area, southern Slovakia, on August 22, 2024. (Source: TASR - Milan Drozd) WEATHER FOR FRIDAY: Clear to partly cloudy skies are expected throughout the region. Daytime temperatures will range from 28 to 33C, with cooler conditions around 26C in the northern areas. The meteorological institute has issued heat warnings for Saturday and Sunday for districts in western and southern Slovakia. (SHMU) AUGUST 23 NAME DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Filip. Thank you for subscribing and reading. It means a lot to us. P.S. If you have suggestions on how our news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk. Follow The Slovak Spectator on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram (@slovakspectator). EAGLE PASS, TEXAS - DECEMBER 18: In this aerial view, A group of more than 1,000 immigrants walks towards a U.S. Border Patrol field processing center after they crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico on December 18, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas. A surge as many as 12,000 immigrants per day crossing the U.S. southern border has overwhelmed U.S. immigration authorities in recent weeks. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) *** BESTPIX *** John Moore/Getty Images Department of Public Safety troopers stand guard over migrants in a detention area Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, in Eagle Pass as a surge of migrants push across the border. William Luther The Rio Grande river runs alongside Shelby Park on June 04, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images EAGLE PASS, TEXAS - JANUARY 12: National Guard soldiers stand guard on the banks of the Rio Grande river at Shelby Park on January 12, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. The Texas National Guard continues its blockade and surveillance of Shelby Park in an effort to deter illegal immigration. The Department of Justice has accused the Texas National Guard of blocking Border Patrol agents from carrying out their duties along the river. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) *** BESTPIX *** Brandon Bell/Getty Images Gov. Greg Abbott regularly credits his $11 billion border security crackdown with driving down border crossings in Texas. But a new analysis of federal data shows that three of the four Southwestern border states have seen crossings decline significantly this year, and Texas had the most crossings of any state in July. "Illegal crossings into Texas are DOWN 85% thanks to Operation Lone Star," Abbott wrote on the social media site X this month. In another post last week, the Republican governor wrote that hundreds of miles of razor wire the Texas National Guard has strung along the border has "helped to decrease illegal immigration by about 85%." Advertisement Article continues below this ad Crossings have dropped 86% in Texas since December, when the Border Patrol logged record apprehensions. But they have also fallen 84% in Arizona and 55% in California, two states with Democratic governors and no comparable border initiatives, according to an analysis of federal data by Adam Isacson, a researcher at the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights advocacy group. "Texas's big border crackdown hasn't deterred migration any more than other border states," Isacson wrote on X on Tuesday. Abbott's office said the governor launched Operation Lone Star to "fill in the dangerous gaps" left by the Biden administration and that since its launch in 2021, crossings have similarly declined 85%. "Until President Biden and Border Czar Harris step up and do their jobs to secure the border, Texas will continue utilizing every tool and strategy to respond to the Biden-Harris border crisis," Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said in a statement. The state-level analysis is the latest evidence that a major slowdown at the border this year has little to do with the state's ongoing crackdown. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The biggest declines came in January, after Mexico stepped up enforcement under pressure from the Biden administration, and in June, after President Joe Biden issued an executive order that shut off asylum processing when more than 2,500 migrants illegally cross into the United States in a single day. OPERATION LONE STAR: How Greg Abbott made the Texas border America's problem Borderwide crossings fell from 249,740 in December to 124,216 in January, according to the analysis. In May, the Border Patrol logged 117,905 apprehensions in the four border states. By July, they tallied just 56,408. Texas had the largest share of those, with 16,991, just ahead of California's 16,471. But there are signs that Operation Lone Star has had more localized effects, Isacson said in an interview. The Del Rio sector, which includes Eagle Pass, a tiny border town where Abbott has focused much of the state's crackdown, saw the greatest decline of any sector along the border. Crossings in the sector fell from 71,050 in December to just 7,237 in July. New Mexico was the only state to log an increase in crossings from December to July. The state saw an 8% bump in crossings, which started to climb from 8,298 in January and hit a peak of 13,396 in April. Migrants who had been able to walk across the border in El Paso before Texas started putting up fencing and other barriers may have had an easier time crossing just over state lines, Isacson said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "The buildup has probably pushed people out of some of the more easy-to-access points," Isacson said of the state's border security efforts. Still, he said, "youre playing whack-a-mole, youre just going to push it to other areas." Experts agree that the biggest factor in the decline appears to be Mexico's decision to step up enforcement efforts after a meeting with Biden administration officials in December. Mexico started prohibiting migrants from freight trains many were riding to the U.S., busing them instead to the southern part of the country and flying some home to Venezuela. "I attribute far more of the slowdown to this Mexico deal than to the Texas fortifications, even though the Texas fortifications work OK for managing very slow and sporadic traffic," said Todd Bensman, a fellow at the conservative Center for Immigration Studies. Bensman noted that even as Texas had strung razor wire, stacked cargo boxes and erected fences along the border for months before this year's declines, crossings were still setting records until January. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "The objective videoed truth is that those fortifications had been completely overrun for months, right up until that Mexico deal was cut," Bensman said. The nationalities of migrants arriving at the border also plays a significant role in where they try to enter the U.S., said Ariel Ruiz Soto, a senior policy analyst at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. Most Venezuelans coming to the U.S. were crossing the border in Texas, but there has been a dramatic decrease in the number of Venezuelans seeking to enter the country between ports of entry, with just 1,000 apprehended in July. That has corresponded with the decline in crossings reported in Texas, he said. Slovakia waits for ancient knights to come to the rescue, the Spanish Queen wears Slovak shoes, and a minimum wage rise sounds good in theory - but some people may be worse off. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled Share Good evening. Here is the Friday, August 23 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes. Pellegrini expresses 'concern' about the political situation in Slovakia Peter Pellegrini (Source: Sme - Marko Erd) President Peter Pellegrini is set to meet with Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer), Deputy Speaker of Parliament Peter Ziga (Hlas), and other political leaders in the coming days to discuss reconciliation within Slovak society. He announced this intention in a video posted on social media, marking his first public statement in nearly a month. Pellegrini expressed concern over the rising atmosphere of hostility. The opposition has been urging him to address the situation. video //www.youtube.com/embed/Zb7I_uGE23o Pellegrini also addressed criticism directed at Culture Minister Martina Simkovicova (SNS) over personnel changes in cultural institutions. "I agree that the methods and arguments for dismissals should reflect the standards of the 21st century, but I also point out that such changes have occurred not only in this sector but across all areas in Slovak history," he noted, but did not explain further. Additionally, he commented on the recent decision by Justice Minister Boris Susko (Smer) to release from custody convicted criminal and former special prosecutor Dusan Kovacik, who had been only one-quarter of the way through an eight-year prison sentence for corruption in public office. "I consider it crucial to emphasise, as I have already done, that in a democratic and legal state, only courts can decide on guilt and punishment, not politicians or people in the streets. Therefore, I believe that the Supreme Court will decide on this matter as soon as possible," he said, without explaining how Susko's decision conformed to this principle. Pellegrini urged politicians to focus on serving the people rather than engaging in personal or divisive disputes, warning that such behaviour would only prolong Slovakias quest for peace. He reaffirmed his commitment to protect the rule of law, constitutional order and human rights. "However, I want to make it clear and emphatic that I will never be drawn into internal political conflicts, even if any party on our political scene desires it," he concluded. MORE STORIES FROM THE SLOVAK SPECTATOR WEBSITE Travel: Slovakia's Horna Nitra Open-Air Mining Museum, which gave visitors a unique glimpse into the life of miners, has been force to close permanently due to unsafe underground conditions, marking the end of a 21-year chapter for local mining heritage. Slovakia's Horna Nitra Open-Air Mining Museum, which gave visitors a unique glimpse into the life of miners, has been force to close permanently due to unsafe underground conditions, marking the end of a 21-year chapter for local mining heritage. Highways: The cabinet approves a 40-percent increase in highway tolls for hauliers. The cabinet approves a 40-percent increase in highway tolls for hauliers. Good news: Feel better with our selection of feel-good news! The Queen of Spain ordered shoes from Slovakia, a young Slovak won silver in a Genius Olympiad, and Kosice Zoo is celebrating some new arrivals. If you like what we are doing and want to support good journalism, buy our online subscription with no ads and a print copy of The Slovak Spectator sent to your home in Slovakia. Thank you. FEATURE STORY No knights yet to help Slovakia The viewing tower on Sitno Hill. (Source: Jana Liptakova) Sitno Hill, the remnant of a super-volcano, is famous for the legend of the Sitno knights warriors said to emerge from the hill to save Slovakia in times of need. While no knights have been spotted lately, we live in hope. EVENT FOR THE WEEKEND Ka-Choow! Find your Lightning McQueen at the Slovakia Grand Prix A racing car at the Slovakia Ring circuit. (Source: TASR) If you're feeling a bit low over the weekend, give yourself an adrenaline boost by visiting the ultimate motorsport showdown at the the Slovakia Ring: the 15th OMV MaxxMotion Grand Prix of Slovakia. IN OTHER NEWS The Education Ministry is launching its National Central Node project to enhance the sustainability, security, connectivity and operational efficiency of school networks. The initiative aims to modernise and protect digital infrastructure in schools with advanced configuration, monitoring and cybersecurity tools. Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Hlas) stated that the project will significantly advance Slovak education by creating a modern, secure digital environment and preparing students and teachers for digital transformation challenges. (TASR) The initiative aims to modernise and protect digital infrastructure in schools with advanced configuration, monitoring and cybersecurity tools. Education Minister Tomas Drucker (Hlas) stated that the project will significantly advance Slovak education by creating a modern, secure digital environment and preparing students and teachers for digital transformation challenges. (TASR) The Slovak National Party (SNS), which is part of the current ruling coalition, has called on Michal Simecka, who leads the opposition party Progressive Slovakia (PS) and is currently a deputy speaker of parliament, to resign immediately. The SNS claims he faces a conflict of interest because PS opposes a bill related to the Arts Support Fund, which has in the past provided funding to an NGO that bears the name of Simecka's grandfather, Milan. The PS leader says he has no personal connection to the NGO, and has dismissed the calls as a smokescreen. Nonetheless, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer) plans to formally propose Simeckas removal next week. (TASR) The SNS claims he faces a conflict of interest because PS opposes a bill related to the Arts Support Fund, which has in the past provided funding to an NGO that bears the name of Simecka's grandfather, Milan. The PS leader says he has no personal connection to the NGO, and has dismissed the calls as a smokescreen. Nonetheless, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer) plans to formally propose Simeckas removal next week. (TASR) The minimum wage in Slovakia will rise from 750 to 816 per month starting in January 2024, with a further increase planned for 2026. Despite this, tax and benefits for low-income families, particularly those with children aged 15 to 18, may actually decrease due to changes in tax allowances and benefits. Tax expert Jozef Mihal has criticised the government for what he sees as a hidden tax increase and is suggesting that Slovakia might benefit from a regional minimum wage to address local variations in the cost of living. VOP Novaky has launched a new ammunition loading line, the only one of its kind in Slovakia. The image shows the production of training ammunition at the Military Repair Plant (VOP) in Novaky on Friday, August 23, 2024. (Source: TASR) WEATHER FOR THE WEEKEND After a brief cooler spell, the hot weather is returning. Over the weekend, the weather will be clear to partly cloudy, with some morning fog possible. The daily highs will range from 31C to 36C, prompting the Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMU) to issue a Level 1 heat warning for the western parts of Slovakia and Level 2 heat warning for northern and eastern regions. On Sunday, a light breeze is expected. No precipitation is expected this weekend. (SHMU) NAME DAYS IN SLOVAKIA: Saturday, August 24 - Bartolomej; Sunday, August 25 - Ludovit; Monday, August 26 - Samuel. Thank you for subscribing and reading. It means a lot to us. P.S. If you have suggestions on how our news overview can be improved, you can reach us at editorial@spectator.sk. Follow The Slovak Spectator on Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram (@slovakspectator). https://sputnikglobe.com/20240822/act-of-madness-us-soft-launches-new-nuclear-plans-refocusing-on-russia-and-china---report-1119877155.html Act of Madness: US Soft Launches New Nuclear Plans Refocusing on Russia and China - Report Act of Madness: US Soft Launches New Nuclear Plans Refocusing on Russia and China - Report Sputnik International In March, US President Joe Biden approved a highly classified nuclear strategic plan for the US that will refocus its deterrent strategy to focus on China, a report from a US-based newspaper claimed. 2024-08-22T23:04+0000 2024-08-22T23:04+0000 2024-08-22T23:04+0000 analysis us joe biden donald trump china russia north korea republicans pentagon white house https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/08/16/1119877616_0:124:2000:1249_1920x0_80_0_0_7f3e013c0266fa061f482948a3fd47c7.jpg In March, US President Joe Biden approved a highly classified nuclear strategic plan for the US that will refocus its deterrent strategy to focus on China, a report from a US-based newspaper claimed. The US believes China is expanding its nuclear arsenal rapidly, and that their stockpiles will rival the size and diversity of the US and China over the next decade.The White House did not announce that Biden had revised the Nuclear Employment Guidance, which will prepare the US for possible nuclear warfare with China, Russia and North Korea. On Wednesday, KJ Noh, a journalist, political analyst and educator, sat down with Sputniks The Backstory and addressed the US governments recent signal of global provocation. And I think it's just to kind of normalize the idea that we are moving towards nuclear war, he continued. And this comes out of several different pieces. The US went from the doctrine of mad neutral assured destruction to what is called NUTS. It's nuclear utilization, target selection.Vipin Narang, an MIT nuclear strategist who served in the Pentagon reportedly said earlier this month that Biden has recently issued updated nuclear-weapons employment guidance to account for multiple nuclear-armed adversaries. A separate insider told the news outlet that the US is prepared to respond to nuclear crises that break out simultaneously or sequentially with a combination of nuclear and nonnuclear weapons.But, of course, we can look at the Chinese response, the analyst explained. The Chinese say - this is from their foreign ministry - they say that the US is hyping the China threat and this is a pretext for the US to shirk its obligations of nuclear disarmament, and to expand its own nuclear arsenal and to seek absolute strategic dominance.The recent report explained that the US has changed its thoughts regarding nuclear weapons because of the partnerships made between Russia, China, North Korea and Iran....Thousands and thousands of suppliers supply components for US military weapons that they could very easily use against China. So this is the interconnected nature of the modern supply chain. And, at the same time, I think there is an ideological core, he added. These are the neocon crazies who think that they can have their cake and eat it, too. That they can destroy China and somehow still come out the other end and have a functioning society.Sputniks Rachel Blevins asked the shows guest if there is a possible US presidential candidate who may be able to de-escalate tensions with China. US Republicans have criticized Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for having connections to China because he has gone to China and taught in China.And they're talking about going after [US general election VP candidate] Tim Walz for not being anti-China enough, as if he didn't pass significant legislation attacking and trying to undermine China. So, I think it is a complete and total groupthink, it's a deadly groupthink.This month, Nagasaki marked the 79th anniversary of the devastating atomic bomb attack in World War II by the US on its city. Hiroshima marked the anniversary as well, with Mayor Kazumi Matsui encouraging the world to not be resigned to pessimism as continued global conflicts have given rise to fears of nuclear war.Within the first four days of the blast, roughly 120,000 people died as a result of American bombing. While some were vaporized in an instant, others suffered from their wounds or radiation. Just three days later, a second atomic bomb was used to devastate the city of Nagasaki where an estimated 73,000 people were killed by an American bomb. https://sputnikglobe.com/20231105/north-korea-us-japan-south-korea-military-alliance-could-trigger-world-war-iii-1114742729.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240529/how-us-is-flirting-with-idea-of-limited-nuclear-conflict-with-russia-and-china-1118682784.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240807/whats-kamala-harris-running-mate-tim-walz-infamous-for-1119671310.html china russia north korea iran Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Mary Manley https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/01/0b/1092187887_0:0:2048:2049_100x100_80_0_0_0c2cc4c84f89aff034cc55bb01fb6697.jpg Mary Manley https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/01/0b/1092187887_0:0:2048:2049_100x100_80_0_0_0c2cc4c84f89aff034cc55bb01fb6697.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Mary Manley https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/01/0b/1092187887_0:0:2048:2049_100x100_80_0_0_0c2cc4c84f89aff034cc55bb01fb6697.jpg china-us relations, china-us talks, china-us negotiations, us-china war, us-china trade war, us-china competition, russia-china alliance, russia-iran alliance, russia-china alliance, russia-china cooperation , nuclear weapons, american nukes, total war, war on china, war on russia, war on north korea https://sputnikglobe.com/20240823/beyond-mccarthyism-fbi-promises-continued-crackdown-on-us-journalists-dissidents-1119879025.html Beyond McCarthyism: FBI Promises Continued Crackdown on US Journalists, Dissidents Beyond McCarthyism: FBI Promises Continued Crackdown on US Journalists, Dissidents Sputnik International Attorney John Jackman joined Sputniks The Final Countdown program Thursday to discuss the FBIs apparent attempts to intimidate American dissidents after recent raids on the homes of analyst Scott Ritter and former political advisor Dimitri Simes. 2024-08-23T02:42+0000 2024-08-23T02:42+0000 2024-08-23T02:42+0000 analysis us scott ritter dimitri simes russia fbi cia the new york times foreign agents registration act (fara) persecution https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/04/0e/1109497541_0:160:3072:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_355033120c4d60a3feaf4f2e7bf1f47a.jpg The US Federal Bureau of Investigation reportedly plans to continue its crackdown on journalists and other dissidents connected to foreign news organizations, with criminal charges under consideration.The agencys plans were revealed by anonymous officials cited Wednesday in The New York Times.This month, F.B.I. agents searched the homes of two prominent figures with connections to Russian state media: Scott Ritter, a former United Nations weapons inspector and critic of American foreign policy, and Dimitri K. Simes, an adviser to former President Donald J. Trumps first presidential campaign in 2016, the controversial newspaper reported.Electronic equipment was reportedly seized from Ritter, while Simes claimed agents removed artwork from his home in Virginia and froze multiple bank accounts. Both men are American citizens.Attorney and independent journalist John Jackman joined Sputniks The Final Countdown program Thursday to discuss the development.And they're using all of these different legal justifications FARA, the Foreign Agents Registration Act to justify coming after a dissident, he claimed. That's really what it is.Originally passed in 1938, the Foreign Agents Registration Act was initially conceived as a response to Nazi propaganda during the runup to World War II. The law was revised during the Cold War era to target people engaging in alleged political lobbying, but a handful of prosecutions under the act before 2015 resulted in no criminal convictions.FARA has been enforced more frequently in recent years, however, chiefly against figures associated with Trump.The First Amendment should be being screamed from the rafters by the ACLU, said host Steve Gill in response to the apparent acts of political intimidation. Why arent they defending Scott Ritter? You know, when you've got the Democrats having their convention, why aren't they screaming, in addition to democracy, First Amendment?These are politically motivated at the end of the day, agreed Jackman. It's just really what they are. And, they can give all of these different excuses for why they're targeting certain individuals, but it's facially obvious.What you're seeing is not people who are actually, in most cases, even in direct coordination with any legitimate institutions that are based in Russia, he added. But it's people who, on their own accord, are speaking what they feel is the truth, right? It's because they're looking at the world, they're determining that our media is lying to us at every turn. Our government, especially on issues of foreign policy, has lied to us repeatedly, the Ukraine war [and] the conflicts between Israel and Palestine being some of the latest examples.Ritter has been paid small amounts of money for contributing articles to the website for the Russian television network RT, according to the former US Marine Corps intelligence officer, with Ritter retaining ultimate control over the content of his writing.The former UN weapons inspectors career suffered after he prominently rejected US officials claims of alleged Iraqi weapons of mass destruction during the runup to the United States catastrophic war on the Middle Eastern country in the early 2000s. Ritter has offered his analysis to Russian radio and television programs along with other prominent dissidents such as John Kiriakou, a former CIA intelligence officer who was sentenced to prison after revealing the agencys secret torture program.We're in an environment, in a geopolitical environment that we haven't been in in a long time, Jackman observed. This really does remind me quite a bit of McCarthyism, but I think that this might even be a level beyond that. Because today we're in a situation where the fundamental dynamics of the elites, the ruling class in this country, are shifting in such a way that their reality is kind of being pulled out from underneath them. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240812/scott-ritter-fbi-raids-part--parcel-of-us-govt-intimidation-1119734622.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20231210/cost-of-empire-study-says-us-military-intervention-making-americans-less-safe-1115514762.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240310/with-us-backing-israel-is-starving-22-million-palestinians-in-gaza-1117237324.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240817/us-lashes-out-abroad-represses-dissent-at-home-as-global-hegemony-slips-away-1119801122.html russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 John Miles https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/19/1116388787_0:0:1316:1316_100x100_80_0_0_77e70d36afd983012b1c5d38ddb84156.jpg John Miles https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/19/1116388787_0:0:1316:1316_100x100_80_0_0_77e70d36afd983012b1c5d38ddb84156.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 John Miles https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/19/1116388787_0:0:1316:1316_100x100_80_0_0_77e70d36afd983012b1c5d38ddb84156.jpg us political persecution, us persecution of dissidents, western political persecution, un no free speech, the us is not free, the us is not democratic, us raid scott ritter, us raid dimitri simes, political persecution https://sputnikglobe.com/20240823/family-of-colombian-mercenary-killed-in-ukraine-receives-no-compensation-from-kiev---widow-1119880679.html Family of Colombian Mercenary Killed in Ukraine Receives no Compensation From Kiev - Widow Family of Colombian Mercenary Killed in Ukraine Receives no Compensation From Kiev - Widow Sputnik International The family of mercenary William Gamboa from Colombia, who died in Ukraine in February, has still not received compensation from Kiev, his widow Olga Tovar told Sputnik. 2024-08-23T05:45+0000 2024-08-23T05:45+0000 2024-08-23T05:45+0000 world ukraine kiev defense ministry donetsk mercenaries ukraine crisis ukrainian conflict https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/08/15/1119851906_0:0:1212:682_1920x0_80_0_0_94baef1a46b5e53daa9833a9de999beb.png Gamboa left for Ukraine on July 12, 2023, where he fought as a mercenary in the Donetsk direction as part of the armed forces of Ukraine. His wife learned about her husband's death from his colleagues on the morning of February 19. The widow noted that since her husband left, she has not received any money. In addition, she does not know whether Ukraine will fulfill its obligations to pay compensation for her husband's death. Ukraine is an ungrateful country, it does not provide any support to the families of mercenaries who died for it, Tovar said.She claimed her husband had gone to Ukraine because of a lack of money: he had recently left the army, his pension as a serviceman was not large, and he also had a loan.Gamboa left for Ukraine on July 12, 2023, where he fought as a mercenary in the Donetsk direction as part of the armed forces of Ukraine. His wife learned about her husband's death from his colleagues on the morning of February 19.Tovar said she had not received any information from the Ukrainian authorities about her husband's death or how she could get his body."We did not receive any support, no information to know what we should do. Ukraine, I think, is a very ungrateful country, because they do not have the slightest sympathy for the families who have lost their loved ones there," Tovar said.The families of Colombian mercenaries killed in Ukraine may file a lawsuit against Kiev over the disappearance of their relatives' bodies, Tovar said.According to Tovar, she does not know where her husband's body is. His fellow soldiers took him from the battlefield and took him to a hospital, and the unit commanders she contacted in Ukraine said that the bodies had already been transported from there. Funeral companies and authorized organizations in Kiev also have no information.Three more families are in the same situation; their relatives died along with Gamboa. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240822/us-mercenary-commander-points-to-lack-of-discipline-among-ukrainian-army-1119869564.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20231118/new-report-offers-revelations-about-foreign-mercenaries-in-ukraine-1115042955.html ukraine kiev donetsk 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 mercenaries, us mercenary in ukraine, ukrainian army performance, fights terrorism, anti-terrorism, counterterrorism operation, counter terrorism, counter terrorism strategy, zelensky terrorist https://sputnikglobe.com/20240823/germany-building-1st-military-base-abroad-since-wwii-1119881509.html Germany Building 1st Military Base Abroad Since WWII Germany Building 1st Military Base Abroad Since WWII Sputnik International Germany has started building military barracks in Lithuania, near the Belarusian border, which will become its first permanent military base overseas since World War II, the Financial Times reported on Friday. 2024-08-23T08:57+0000 2024-08-23T08:57+0000 2024-08-23T08:57+0000 military olaf scholz europe sergey lavrov germany ukraine lithuania nato https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e7/02/03/1106949028_0:30:3119:1784_1920x0_80_0_0_5301c05555e8e33daad621e14b210da6.jpg The project reportedly aimed to highlight Berlin's leadership in European security but was overshadowed by controversy over its declining military support for Ukraine. Media reported last week that Germany had to reduce its military assistance for Ukraine over lack of funding. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a decree that no new requests for aid would be approved beyond the already endorsed supplies. Despite this, Scholz promised that Germany would remain Ukraine's largest European donor. Russia said that arms supplies for Ukraine hindered the peace process and made NATO countries a party to the conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the United States and NATO were directly involved in the conflict not only by providing weapons, but also by training Ukrainian military personnel. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240820/ex-afd-mep-germany-would-rather-upend-its-economy-than-slash-military-aid-to-ukraine-1119847573.html germany ukraine lithuania 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 germany has started building military barracks in lithuania, near the belarusian border, which will become its first permanent military base overseas since world war ii, the financial times reported on friday. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240823/israels-intentions-are-not-for-peace-dnc-snubs-pro-palestinian-protesters--1119879263.html 'Israel's Intentions Are Not for Peace': DNC Snubs Pro-Palestinian Protesters 'Israel's Intentions Are Not for Peace': DNC Snubs Pro-Palestinian Protesters Sputnik International Democratic National Convention (DNC) organizers have decided to shut out pro-Palestinian speakers who would talk about Israels military operation in Gaza, a Washington, DC news outlet said. 2024-08-23T05:21+0000 2024-08-23T05:21+0000 2024-08-23T05:21+0000 analysis palestinians benjamin netanyahu middle east washington aipac dnc israel palestine hamas https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/08/09/1119688850_0:0:1721:968_1920x0_80_0_0_071520afa52cd4d3f237039fe1d4295c.jpg Democratic National Convention (DNC) organizers have decided to shut out pro-Palestinian speakers who would talk about Israels military operation in Gaza, a Washington, DC news outlet said.Voters who are withholding their support from US Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running for presidency, were hoping that just one of several speakers would be allowed to make a statement regarding the Biden administrations support of Israel. Those who requested to speak were not given a reason as to why they were denied that opportunity.Robert Fantina, an author and Palestine activist, spoke to The Critical Hour on Thursday, and accused the DNC decision as appalling but not surprising.According to a recent report from a Turkish newspaper, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) presents itself as having the aim of strengthening goodwill between the US and Israel, but with over 3 million members it is the largest lobbying group in terms of human resources, the report explains. Security assistance for Israel and combatting terrorism is one of the key fields that AIPAC pursues.Republican Representative Thomas Massie said that accepting funding from AIPAC means having to obey their orders, and if a political candidate or even an elected Senator tries to ignore AIPAC, the punishment is immediate. Their funds are redirected to a different politician and then their reputation is smeared by gossip columns and leaked documents. AIPAC offers funding to both Democratic and Republican candidates and politicians.Netanyahu, for whom International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan issued an arrest warrant, was welcomed in Congress, and his arrival was applauded 72 times during his address, the report details. Despite a massive protest outside Congress, the representatives and senators chose to turn their backs on their constituencies, aware that their political reputations could be compromised unless they demonstrated obedience to their benefactor, namely AIPAC.They never talk about that because those candidates, those elected officials benefit from those, from that interference. So, this is why the DNC is ignoring the pro-Palestinian delegates and not allowing them to have any voice. Because AIPAC will issue consequences if they do, the activist explained. [The Gaza conflict] could end today if the US would stop the flow of money and weapons to Israel.Hostage deal negotiations between Israel and Hamas have come to a standstill after the new US proposal that was submitted last week showed too much favorability towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus demands, a US-based, anti-war outlet reported. However US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Netanyahu had accepted the US proposal and the ball was now in Hamas court to agree to.Two Arab officials from a mediating country and another official involved in the talks said that the talks have reached a standstill, and that negotiators likely wont convene in another meeting unless the US puts pressure on Israel to fall back on some of their demands. Israeli negotiators believe Netanyahu is trying to sabotage the ceasefire deal by refusing to back down from his demands, Israeli media reported.The demands that Israel is making now are such that no country would agree to under any circumstances. It's close to total surrender. And yet, [US Secretary of State Antony Blinken], will say, well, were waiting for Hamas to agree to this. We've got a deal in place. We just need Hamas to agree to this. Well, Hamas is never going to agree to this, as any reasonable country wouldn't agree to it, he added.Khalil Maqdah, a senior official in the Palestinian Fatah Movement, was killed by an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanon city of Sidon on Wednesday in the first direct attack on a Fatah member since the Gaza conflict first broke out in October. The attack will undoubtedly worsen the tension between Hezbollah and Israel.Israel made a claim that Maqdah had been working with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards in helping to transfer weapons and funds to militants in the West Bank. But senior Fatah member Tawfiq Tirawy criticized the attack as further proof that Israel wants to ignite a full scale war in the region, a US-based, anti-war outlet reported.They continue with everything that is going to violate a ceasefire. Hezbollah is supportive of the Palestinian people and the reason its acting aggressively toward Israel now is in response to the slaughter in Gaza, Fantina explained.But this continued killing of senior officials of other governments, along with the unprecedented slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza just shows that Israel's intentions are not for peace, he added. They're not toward justice. They're not interested in international law. They're not interested in human rights. And yet, the US is complicit in all of it. How can anyone negotiate a ceasefire with such entities as the United States and Israel? washington israel palestine gaza strip Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Mary Manley https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/01/0b/1092187887_0:0:2048:2049_100x100_80_0_0_0c2cc4c84f89aff034cc55bb01fb6697.jpg Mary Manley https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/01/0b/1092187887_0:0:2048:2049_100x100_80_0_0_0c2cc4c84f89aff034cc55bb01fb6697.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Mary Manley https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/01/0b/1092187887_0:0:2048:2049_100x100_80_0_0_0c2cc4c84f89aff034cc55bb01fb6697.jpg peace talks, peace negotiations, ceasefire talks, genocide, ethnic cleansing, humanitarian disaster, humanitarian catastrophe, humanitarian ceasefire, israel-hamas conflict, gaza strip crisis, shelling of gaza, gaza devastation, israel-palestine conflict, palestine-israel conflict, israeli-palestinian conflict, palestinian-israeli, zionist regime, zionists, hamas attack, israeli strikes, israeli forces, hostages, israeli military, hamas fighters, hamas soldiers, hamas military, killings of civilians, civilian infrastructure, civilians dead, civilians die, israel kills civilians, civilian casualties, civilian deaths, indiscriminate shelling, indiscriminate killing, war crimes https://sputnikglobe.com/20240823/nord-stream-ecocide--fall-of-germany-engineered-by-western-powers--analyst-1119880037.html Nord Stream Ecocide & Fall of Germany Engineered by Western Powers Analyst Nord Stream Ecocide & Fall of Germany Engineered by Western Powers Analyst Sputnik International The United States must answer some day for the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline and the resultant collapse of its German allys economy, says analyst George Szamuely. 2024-08-23T04:38+0000 2024-08-23T04:38+0000 2024-08-23T04:38+0000 analysis donald trump george szamuely united kingdom (uk) germany ukraine global policy institute (gpi) european commission nord stream kursk https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/07/08/1097116390_0:130:2501:1536_1920x0_80_0_0_ebd8c7b47b157e7bff7f2d0ee239f4e2.jpg The United States must answer some day for the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline and the resultant collapse of its German allys economy, says analyst George Szamuely.The senior research fellow at Londons Global Policy Institute joined Sputniks The Critical Hour program this week to discuss the controversial incident, which some experts claim represented the largest single methane gas release ever recorded.It's always remarkable that the most belligerent actors in any drama are the ones who are the furthest away from the action, said Szamuely, responding to reports that the UK has taken a leading role in providing drones and other equipment for Ukraines proxy war against Russia. The British have been consistently the most belligerent on Ukraine.There is no way in the world it can be done, an invasion, without very accurate satellite intelligence. You can't do it. You can't just simply launch an invasion without knowing the terrain, the exact disposal of Russian forces. So clearly this was engineered by the Western powers, the British obviously the British are now boasting about it but above all, the Americans.German authorities claimed they had wound a new lead in the case of 2022s Nord Stream pipeline explosion last week, pinning the blame on a small group led by a Ukrainian diving instructor. The whereabouts of the new suspect are conveniently unknown, the officials claimed.Germanys economic growth has cratered in the wake of the countrys loss of cheap Russian natural gas, with the European Commission estimating the countrys GDP will only expand by .1% this year. Polling has shown most Germans remain concerned over the lack of clarity over the pipelines explosion, which has widely been alleged by journalist Seymour Hersh and others to have been engineered by the United States.The more serious issue is that Germany is really losing its position as an economic giant, as an economic superpower, said Szamuely. It's now steadily going from one quarter after another into recession. But even more seriously, the German industries are being sidelined. They're moving out of Europe and they're being priced out of markets because there's just simply the energy costs. They're now really going through the roof.Host Garland Nixon agreed that the situation is very dangerous, speculating that the US and its allies are likely escalating their involvement in the Ukraine proxy war to attempt to negate the threat of a newly-reelected President Donald Trump seeking to end the conflict. Szamuely suggested that Republican allies such as notorious neoconservative Lindsay Graham would likely move to impeach Trump in such an event.Szamuely also claimed Germanys right-wing Alternative for Deutschland party could stand to gain from the declining popularity of the NATO-backed war, with the German establishment seeking to crackdown on the controversial party.At some point Germans will seek to regain their sovereignty and oppose Washingtons influence over the country, Szamuely speculated.No one in Germany is buying it, Szamuely said of German officials latest explanation for the Nord Stream pipeline explosion. It's a violation of common sense Even if the German government is committed to this and saying, oh, well Ukraine is behind this, which of course undercuts its position as to why you are assisting Ukraine since Ukraine is destroying your own infrastructure, Ukraine is creating ecocide.They humiliate you, they destroy your infrastructure, they destroy your industry. This is what we're supposed to sacrifice ourselves for? So it's a huge problem. And the Germans are going to try and kick the can down the road, try not to address it. But at some point they're going to have to really seriously look at this. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240229/explosive-truth-of-us-nord-stream-sabotage-could-destroy-nato-1117047722.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240816/western-governments-sell-farfetched-nord-stream-tale-to-wary-public-1119787937.html https://sputnikglobe.com/20240823/beyond-mccarthyism-fbi-promises-continued-crackdown-on-us-journalists-dissidents-1119879025.html united kingdom (uk) germany ukraine Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 John Miles https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/19/1116388787_0:0:1316:1316_100x100_80_0_0_77e70d36afd983012b1c5d38ddb84156.jpg John Miles https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/19/1116388787_0:0:1316:1316_100x100_80_0_0_77e70d36afd983012b1c5d38ddb84156.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 John Miles https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/01/19/1116388787_0:0:1316:1316_100x100_80_0_0_77e70d36afd983012b1c5d38ddb84156.jpg nord stream ecocide, nord stream methane release, us destroyed germany's economy, germany economic sacrifice for us, nord stream explosion german economy, nord stream sabotage, terrorist attack on nord stream, nord stream pipelines, nord stream explosion, culprits of nord stream sabotage, us behind nord stream sabotage, uk behind nord stream sabotage https://sputnikglobe.com/20240823/railways-come-to-a-halt-in-canada-due-to-union-negotiations-threatening-n-americas-economy-1119879857.html Railways Come to a Halt in Canada Due to Union Negotiations, Threatening N. Americas Economy Railways Come to a Halt in Canada Due to Union Negotiations, Threatening N. Americas Economy Sputnik International Significant economic harm to North American businesses and consumers may be under way after both of Canadas major freight railroads came to a grinding halt. 2024-08-23T05:27+0000 2024-08-23T05:27+0000 2024-08-23T05:27+0000 americas canada us department of transportation us railway union labor strike https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/08/17/1119880469_0:160:3072:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_b84c33ed989927ec3deafb04e6b28074.jpg On Thursday, the Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) locked out nearly 9,300 workers after failing to mint a deal with the Teamster Canada Rail Conference which represents about 10,000 engineers, conductors and dispatchers. Teamsters and CN had been negotiating for nine months while CPKC had been trying to negotiate for a year, the unions said.Significant economic harm to North American businesses and consumers may be under way after both of Canadas major freight railroads came to a grinding halt.Rail traffic in Canada and all shipments moving across the US border have stopped, but CPKC and CNs trains will reportedly continue to operate in the US and Mexico. However, according to the US Department of Transportation, billions of dollars of goods each month move between Canada and the US via railway. Canada also sends about 75% of all the goods it exports to the US and usually does so by railway, a British-based broadcaster explained.Finished products wont be the only goods unable to cross the US-Canadian border. Manufacturing companies will not be able to get their raw materials without their regular rail deliveries, which could cause them to scale back production or even close shop altogether. A US news source also warned that ports and grain elevators may become clogged with shipments waiting to move. Water treatment plants across Canada may also experience difficulty in operating without new shipments of chlorine.According to the report, the railroads said their contract offers have included raises, and that their engineers make about $150,000 a year at CN while conductors make about $120,000 with CPKC claiming its wages are similar.Later on Thursday it was reported that Labor Minister Steve McKinnon reportedly sent both sides to final binding arbitration and said railways should resume operating within days.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged the railway and the Teamsters to reach a deal on Wednesday out of fear of an economic downturn. However, he was reportedly hesitant to call for an arbitration because he does not want to come down against a labor union. Business groups have urged the prime minister to take action. americas canada Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2024 Mary Manley https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/01/0b/1092187887_0:0:2048:2049_100x100_80_0_0_0c2cc4c84f89aff034cc55bb01fb6697.jpg Mary Manley https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/01/0b/1092187887_0:0:2048:2049_100x100_80_0_0_0c2cc4c84f89aff034cc55bb01fb6697.jpg News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Mary Manley https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e6/01/0b/1092187887_0:0:2048:2049_100x100_80_0_0_0c2cc4c84f89aff034cc55bb01fb6697.jpg workers union, railways, canada, us, trade, economy, transportation, canadian national railway, cn, canadian pacific kansas city, cpkc, teamster canada rail conference https://sputnikglobe.com/20240823/teamsters-canada-serves-cn-with-3-day-strike-notice-hours-after-taking-down-picket-lines-1119889375.html Teamsters Canada Serves CN With 3-Day Strike Notice Hours After Taking Down Picket Lines Teamsters Canada Serves CN With 3-Day Strike Notice Hours After Taking Down Picket Lines Sputnik International Teamsters Canada issued on Friday a three-day strike notice to the Canadian National Railway Company (CN) that will come into effect starting August 26 at 10:00 a.m. ET if no agreement is found, the union said in a letter. 2024-08-23T18:06+0000 2024-08-23T18:06+0000 2024-08-23T18:06+0000 americas canada railway union strike labor strike https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/09/1e/1089553859_0:231:1920:1311_1920x0_80_0_0_a6eab9ae72c2188021f7a536ee513343.jpg On Thursday, Canadian Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to assist the rail companies and Teamsters Canada in settling their dispute after the union began a strike earlier in the day. Please find this letter as official notice to the Company of our intention [CN] of our intention to withdraw the services of our combined membership of approximately 6500 members effective 1000 EST Monday, 26 August 2024, the letter said, despite the union announcing hours earlier that it was taking down its picket lines at the CN and that rail workers would be returning to work on Friday The union continues to believe that all matters at stake are negotiable and remains available for discussions in order to find a negotiated solution and avoid a further work stoppage, the letter added. Teamsters Canada is the countrys largest transportation and supply chain union. It is involved in a longstanding dispute with the CN and the Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) over a new collective agreement. Both companies move around C$1 billion ($736 million) worth of goods on a daily basis, according to the Railway Association of Canada. The union says the main obstacle to a negotiated agreement remains the companies demands rather than union proposals. Companies continue to seek a weakening of protections around rest periods and scheduling, increasing the risk of fatigue-related safety issues. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240823/railways-come-to-a-halt-in-canada-due-to-union-negotiations-threatening-n-americas-economy-1119879857.html americas canada 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 teamsters canada, strikes in canada, canadian railways strikes, canadian national railway company strikes https://sputnikglobe.com/20240823/ukraine-loses-5137-troops-during-operation-in-kursk-area---mod-1119883866.html Ukraine Loses 5,137 Troops During Operation in Kursk Area - MoD Ukraine Loses 5,137 Troops During Operation in Kursk Area - MoD Sputnik International The Ukrainian armed forces have lost a total of 5,137 servicemen and 69 tanks since the beginning of the operation in the Kursk area, the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) said on Friday. 2024-08-23T12:07+0000 2024-08-23T12:07+0000 2024-08-23T12:07+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine kursk ukraine kiev kursk region russian troops russian armed forces russian army https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/08/17/1119883950_0:161:3071:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_16856087e23947544cc00270c583c752.jpg "In total, during the military operations in the Kursk direction, the enemy lost 5,137 servicemen, 69 tanks, 27 infantry fighting vehicles, 55 armored personnel carriers and 350 armored combat vehicles," the MoD said in a statement. Over the past day, Ukraine lost up to 400 servicemen and 17 units of armored vehicles, including one tank, in the region, according to the statement. Additionally, the Russian armed forces repelled and thwarted attacks by Ukrainian troops near six settlements in the Kursk Region, the ministry said, noting that Kiev lost up to 70 soldiers. Russian forces also destroyed a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group in the Kamyshevka area of the Kursk border region over the past day, with Ukraine losing five fighters, the statement said. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240821/nato-states-dragging-feet-over-ukraine-weapons-deliveries--report-1119856434.html kursk ukraine kiev kursk region 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 ukraine attacks russia, ukraine attacks russian region, kursk incursion, kursk under attack, ukraine breaks into russia, whats happening in kursk, russian regions attacked by ukraine, ukrainian aggression in russia DPS Director Steve McCraw during a press conference held outside of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Friday morning, May 27, 2022. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News Steve McCraw, who has led the Department of Public Safety for 15 years, said Friday he plans to retire at the end of the year. A close ally of Gov. Greg Abbott, McCraw has directed the agencys border security crackdown and oversaw its flawed response to the Uvalde school shooting, which spurred lawsuits and a federal investigation. *** BESTPIX *** UVALDE, TEXAS - MAY 27: Steven C. McCraw, Director and Colonel of the Texas Department of Public Safety, speaks during a press conference about the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on May 27, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. McCraw held a press conference to give an update on the investigation into Tuesday's mass shooting where 19 children and two adults were killed at Robb Elementary School, and admitted that it was the wrong decision to wait and not breach the classroom door as soon as police officers were inside the elementary school. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Texas Department of Public Safety director Steve McCraw testifies Tuesday, June 21, 2022 in Austin during a meeting of the Senate Special Committee to Protect All Texans on the Senate floor while standing in front of an image of the doors in Robb Elementary School. The committee was convened in the wake of Uvaldes Robb Elementary School shooting in which 19 children and two adults were killed by a teenager with an AR 15-style assault rifle. William Luther/Staff photographer Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw speaks during a press conference held outside Robb Elementary School on Friday, May 27, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. Nearly 20 officers stood in a hallway outside of the classrooms during this week's attack on a Texas elementary school for more than 45 minutes before agents used a master key to open a door and confront a gunman, authorities said Friday. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) Wong Maye-E/Associated Press Advertisement Article continues below this ad He made the announcement during a graduation ceremony for a new class of state troopers, noting he was once in their place as a 1977 graduate and calling it the greatest honor of my life to have led the agency decades later. Its rather an easy thing to do because I know Gov. Greg Abbott will ensure that my replacement is as good, and likely better, than I am at this particular job, McCraw said. Were going to be in great hands. Abbott said in an address at the graduation ceremony that McCraw truly revolutionized the agency. He is a leader, a visionary, and a quintessential lawman that Texas is so famous for big white cowboy hat and all, Abbott said, touting McCraws encyclopedic knowledge of transnational gangs and his commitment to law and order. DPS Director Steve McCraw, left, listens to a question from a national broadcast reporter during a press conference held outside of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Friday morning, May 27, 2022. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News The announcement comes a day after McCraw told the Public Safety Commission that Victor Escalon, the South Texas regional director who oversaw both the Uvalde shooting and much of the border crackdown, was retiring this month. Advertisement Article continues below this ad McCraw started his career as a DPS highway patrol trooper and worked as a narcotics agent before moving in 1983 to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where he spent two decades working on cartel and terrorism cases. In 2004, then-Gov. Rick Perry tapped McCraw to lead the Texas Homeland Security director in the governors office, where he served until his appointment as DPS director in 2009. Abbott said he and McCraw worked together basically 24/7 and that McCraw would frequently and swiftly send troopers to danger zones. Abbott said that included dispatching troopers to Austin after the city cut police funding and to break up student-led pro-Palestinian demonstrations on university campuses earlier this year. But Abbott said that maybe the biggest undertaking of McCraws was Operation Lone Star, the $11 billion border security initiative that state troopers have helped carry out. Officers have arrested hundreds of thousands of migrants on trespassing and other state charges as Texas sought to deter record crossings over the last three years. Never has director McCraws job, or your job, been more demanding or more essential, Abbott told the recruits. But McCraws tenure was also marked by controversies, especially in recent years. Advertisement Article continues below this ad He oversaw the botched response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School, in which 19 students and two teachers were killed in May 2022. DPS troopers waited outside a classroom where the gunman was holed up with an AR-15 rifle for more than an hour before a federal Border Patrol team killed the shooter. DPS Director Steve McCraw addresses the news media during a press conference outside of Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Friday morning, May 27, 2022. Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News After the shooting, McCraw resisted calls to step down from some Uvalde families and lawmakers. I can tell you this, if DPS as an institution failed the families, failed the school or failed the community of Uvalde, then absolutely, I need to go, McCraw said during a heated Public Safety Commission meeting in 2022. I can tell you this right now: DPS as an institution, right now, did not fail the community, plain and simple. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat whose district includes Uvalde, said Friday that Abbott should have asked for McCraws resignation after the shooting. Advertisement Article continues below this ad McCraws legacy will always be the failure in Uvalde and one day he will be brought to justice for his inaction, Gutierrez said in a statement. DPS also faced intense scrutiny last year after an agency medic detailed in an email to a superior inhumane treatment of migrants he witnessed while deployed in Eagle Pass, where the state has strung miles of razor wire and deployed a wall of buoys in the Rio Grande. The medic, whose email was first reported by Hearst Newspapers, was one of six troopers working border security shifts who alleged mistreatment of migrants. The agencys inspector general found no wrongdoing by troopers, even as he determined that most of the incidents raised in the complaints did happen. McCraws tenure is the second longest in the agencys history, behind Homer Garrison Jr., who led DPS from 1938 to 1968, said Mitchel Roth, a professor at Sam Houston State University who has studied the history of DPS. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Roth said most of the agencys directors have been relatively colorless bureaucrats who are quickly forgotten. McCraw, he said, led some significant reforms, including mandating troopers wear body cameras, and notably helped bring the agency into the digital age. Roth said McCraw came into the directors role with more experience than most and oversaw an agency that grew increasingly complicated, especially as it took on a bigger border security role in recent years. Still, Roth said McCraws legacy will likely be most closely tied to Uvalde. Its the type of position where you dont really get a lot of credit when you do something well, and when something of this magnitude takes place, theres no covering it up, Roth said. https://sputnikglobe.com/20240823/volgograd-region-colony-prisoners-take-hostages-injured-reported---penitentiary-service-1119882689.html Volgograd Region Colony Prisoners Take Hostages, Injured Reported - Penitentiary Service Volgograd Region Colony Prisoners Take Hostages, Injured Reported - Penitentiary Service Sputnik International Several prisoners of a penal colony in Russia's Volgograd Region took hostages at a meeting of the disciplinary commission, some people were injured, Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service told Sputnik on Friday. 2024-08-23T11:11+0000 2024-08-23T11:11+0000 2024-08-23T17:49+0000 russia russia volgograd federal penitentiary service (fps) prison investigative committee russian investigative committee andrei bocharov https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/08/17/1119882752_0:151:3103:1896_1920x0_80_0_0_91b0221f87a2bfdaab90b4378f25d396.jpg The hostage-taking in the colony in the Volgograd region occurred during a meeting of the disciplinary commission."During a meeting of the disciplinary commission in the penal colony 19 in the Volgograd Region, several prisoners took hostages. There are injured," the authority said.At the moment, measures are being taken to free the hostages, the Federal Penitentiary Service informed.A criminal case has been opened in the Volgograd region over the hostage-taking situation, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation told Sputnik.Today, several prisoners in the correctional colony 19 of the Volgograd region in the city of Surovikino, took hostage the staff of the mentioned institution. This fact initiated a criminal case under part 4 of article 206 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, part 3 of article 321 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation," the committee said.Right now, authorities are carrying out an investigation to establish all the circumstances of the incident.About 1,000 prisoners are currently in the penal colony 19, where the hostage-taking took place, Vadim Cherednik, chairman of the regional public monitoring commission, told Sputnik.The colony contains about 1,000 prisoners. The colony is designed for more places, he said.He added that he does not see the correlation between the hostage-taking situation and the conditions in the colony as a whole.Four injured employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service after the hostage-taking in a Volgograd colony have been hospitalized, Volgograd Region Governor Andrei Bocharov reported.According to the governor, air ambulances and supporting hospitals in Volgograd have been put on standby, medical specialists have been sent to Surovikino Central Regional Hospital.Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with permanent members of the Russian Security Council that Director of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service Arkady Gostev had reported to him on the situation in the Volgograd Region.Russian National Guard in Volgograd Region Neutralizes 4 Prisoners Who Took Colony HostageSnipers of the Russian National Guard in the Volgograd Region neutralized four prisoners who took colony employees hostage, the hostages were released, the security forces told Sputnik on Friday."Snipers of the special forces of the Russian National Guard in the Volgograd Region neutralized four prisoners who took the colony employees hostage with four accurate shots, the hostages have been released," the National Guard said. russia volgograd 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 volgograd prison hostage, volgograd prison riot, hostage taking in russian prison Sea Can turned an advantageous trip into his second feature win at Plainridge Park after taking the $34,247 Open Handicap Trot on Thursday, Aug. 22. Sea Can (Nick Graffam) tucked in second behind Sidd Finch (Drew Campbell) who set soft fractions of :28 and :57 to the half. That prompted Delayed Hanover (Mark Whitcroft) to pull from third and advance towards the leader at three-quarters. Delayed Hanover and Sidd Finch matched strides around the last turn until Graffam shook loose with Sea Can, who made his way to the middle of the stretch and then blew right by both to clear by a half length and win in 1:55. It was the second win in the last three starts for Sea Can ($3.80) who is owned by Burke Racing and Weaver Bruscemi. Joe Nelson trains the winner. In the $27,397 upper-level conditioned trot, Cruising Tom (Matty Athearn) also took a stalking position from fourth as Raybarnz (Ivan Davies) snapped off fractions of :28, :57.3 and 1:26. By that third station, Bill Bauer (Drew Campbell) was challenging on the outside and Cruising Tom was right behind him as they made their way through the final bend. When they spun into the stretch, Athearn had Cruising Tom three-deep and rolling and took the lead as they straightened for home. Once on top, Cruising Tom was a clear winner by a length in 1:55.3. It was the fourth win of the year for Cruising Tom ($6.40) who is owned by Rick Cortese and Marc Reynolds. Jimmy Nickerson trains the winner. Athearn, Nickerson and Reynolds also won with Mr. Experience (1:56.3, $12.20) to get that connection a double and Athearn added another win withTwoscoopsforjack (1:54.3, $39.00) to get the hat trick for himself. Another connection that was red hot on Thursday was driver Bruce Ranger, trainer Domenico Cecere and owner Lindy Farms of Connecticut, who teamed up for a hat trick. They won with Treatyofversaille (1:59.3, $2.40), International Aid (1:57.2, $3.80) and Dejerate Hanover (1:53.3, $2.80). A very rare occurrence happened at Plainridge Park on Thursday when five offspring from the same broodmare competed on the same program that day at The Ridge. Plus one grandson, a son of one of her mares, is also scheduled to compete. The mare responsible for all this racing success is Tori Hall, a now 19-year-old daughter of Conway Hall-Trapeze Artist who was originally purchased to race, but became a broodmare by accident. Kathy Beaman and her husband Earl own Tori Hall. The Beamans first got involved in harness racing in the 1960s when Earl trained horses at Hinsdale Raceway. But for most of their time in the sport, they have been primarily owners. Over the years theyve had 37 horses, the bulk of which they bred. Kathy Beaman looked back at how they came to own Tori Hall. Ivan Davies trained Tori Hall for Mike Andrews in Maine and raced her through her two-year-old season when Mike decided to sell her. Ivan called us and said he had a real nice filly and that he thought we should buy her. My husband and I talked it over and decided to move forward with it and paid $35,000 for her, explained Beaman. The Beamans bought her as a race horse with the long term goal of breeding her, but the breeding happened sooner than they had hoped. We raced her three times as a three-year-old and she had two wins and a third from those starts. But then she got her leg caught up in a jog cart and got injured. So we did a lot of work with her to get her sound and tried to bring her back two years in a row, but it didnt work out so we went ahead and bred her, said Beaman. That unfortunate situation turned into a blessing in disguise as they soon found out their mare was a natural at turning out race horses. To date, Tori Hall has been bred eight times, has produced eight foals that all raced as two-year-olds, and all have taken marks and competed in the Massachusetts Sire Stakes. The horses in order of foaling are EB Stoli (Cash Hall - 1:59, $20,214), Catalina Cash (Cash Hall - 1:56.4, $76,626), Pirate (RC Royalty - 1:55.1, $116,727), Tobasco (Deweycheatumnhowe - 1:55.1, $293,652), Raybarnz (Crazed - 1:53.3, $227,975), Poppy Wow (Crazy Wow - 1:55, $151,198). Pepper Wow (Crazy Wow - 1:55.4, $65,033) and Halifax (Royalty For Life) who just qualified and made his first lifetime start on Thursday. Her first three foals no longer race. EB Stoli was retired. Catalina Cash went to the sale at the end of her three-year-old year and became the dam of Six Pack Mack, who is also racing on Thursday. Pirate, who ended up getting a very bad ankle infection, had to be retired as well. The remaining five, Tobasco (Race 10), Raybarnz (Race 7), Poppy Wow (Race 4), Pepper Wow (Race 3) and Halifax (Race 2), all raced on Thursday. Currently the Beamans own Pepper Wow (in partnership with Shirley Michaud) who is trained and driven by Ivan Davies along with Poppy Wow and Halifax who are trained by Jolene Andrews and driven by Jimmy Hardy. Beaman speaks glowingly about all the success Tori Hall has had in the breeding shed and rightfully so. She is a 100% producer and very close to being a 100% producer on her first try each time. Dave Hanson has bred her almost every single time and they are just like a magic combination. We send her over there and he gets her in foal, usually on the first try. And we have a cross that we really like to use, said Beaman. We like to breed to New York sires, but whats driven all her later breedings was our connection to JL Cruze. Toris full sister is Topcat Hall, who is the dam of JL Cruze. So we have tried to stay within that Credit Winner family. We used Crazed for Raybarnz, but then he got exported and we were not able to make a connection with his new farm. So we have been using the offspring of Crazed as much as we can since. The Beamans are looking to go back to Crazy Wow next year since hes back in New York. Beaman said they have been very happy with Poppy Wow and Pepper Wow and that seems like a good combination to go back to. Tori Hall is currently on a farm in Winchester, New Hampshire and has a Six Pack on the ground with her now. Considering her very impressive record of producing, the question is how many more years will she be bred? Beaman said whatever is best for the mare. I really dont know the answer to that because she is getting older. But in all of her pregnancies, shes never had any problems so shes easy like that. But I think its getting harder for her to crank out these babies year after year. So as long as shes healthy, well let her tell us when shes had enough. And then well just retire her and let her live her life out on the farm. We have been in this for a long time and we have given it our all. We really care about these horses and its a bonus when we get positive results. Over the years we couldnt be happier with the hard work Ivan (Davies), Jim (Hardy) and Jolene (Andrews) have put in and the results they have gotten. I think the fact that five offspring are all racing on one day gives testament to the excellent care they have all received from all their handlers over the years. Its a labor of love and it really does take a village, concluded Beaman. Live harness racing will resume at Plainridge Park on Monday, Aug. 26 with post time at 4 p.m. and the card will feature a $1,465 carryover in the Wicked Hi-5 in race six. (Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts) 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: Shares in Alibaba have plunged since China began a crackdown on the tech sector four years ago. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba said Friday it would upgrade its Hong Kong-listed shares to primary status, opening it up to China's huge army of investors that could potentially rake in billions of dollars for the firm. The decision by shareholders during its annual general meeting Thursday will provide a much-needed boost to the firm, which has underperformed the market in recent years owing to weak consumption and after a painful crackdown by Beijing on the tech industry. "We are pleased to announce that the voluntary conversion of our secondary listing to primary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will become effective on August 28, 2024," the company announced on Friday. The firm, which is also listed in New York, had flagged the idea two years ago amid worries about a regulatory drive by US authorities as tensions simmered between the superpowers, though that was later put off. Alibaba has been primarily traded in New York since 2014 and remained dual-listed after its notable return to Hong Kong through a second listing in 2019. However, the firm's shares in Hong Kong have plunged since the crackdown began and are down about 75 percent from their peak in 2020. A conversion to primary status in Hong Kong could pave the way for Alibaba to enter a cross-border scheme that allows investors in Shenzhen and Shanghai to trade Hong Kong-listed shares. That would open it up to China's more than 200 million investors and could see capital inflows of up to US$19.5 billion in the first six months of inclusion, according to Bloomberg News. Co-founder and chairman Joe Tsai told Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper in May that "the main reason for us to proceed with the dual primary listing is because we want to tap into the southbound capital flows through the Stock Connect programme". Kenny Ng, a strategist at Everbright Securities International, told AFP that the move could boost Alibaba's stock price after its shares were formally admitted to the cross-border trading scheme beginning September at the earliest. "Southbound capital has always been interested in stocks of tech giants like Tencent and Meituan, and Alibaba is rather well known in mainland China so we expect a remarkable inflow of investment," Ng said. Alibaba reported this month a 29 percent fall in quarterly profit as it battles sluggish activity among China's consumers as leaders struggle to kickstart the stuttering economy. Uncertainty about Alibaba's future development has persisted since Beijing scuttled a planned initial public offering of the company's financial services arm, Ant Group, in late 2020. The cancelled listingwhich would likely have been the biggest in historywas followed a month later by an announcement that Alibaba was under formal investigation in China for alleged monopolistic practices. Shares in the firm rose 1.2 percent throughout Friday, while the broader Hang Seng Index was down. 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: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Disney has U-turned on a bid to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit in the US by relying on the terms of service for a simple streaming trial. The suit was filed by a man whose wife allegedly died after experiencing an allergic reaction at Disney World in Florida. In the case, Disney lawyers had planned to invoke the terms of service that the man agreed to when signing up for a Disney+ free trial, which mentioned that users agree to settle any disputes with the company out of court via arbitration. It appears the U-turn came after a public backlash, rather than a flaw in the legal case. So could a similar thing ever happen in future, where a term in a sign-up contract extends to the use of other services by the same company? At face value, this is quite an old problem, as contract lawyers have been debating exclusion of liability for centuries. However, there is something new in this classic "old" contract law problem, as this case highlights a growing phenomenon: the increasing embeddedness of certain companies, particularly tech giants, across multiple sectors of the economy. As consumers, we often click "I agree" to online contracts and user agreements without a second thought, but these seemingly innocuous actions may have far-reaching consequences beyond the service we're signing up for. Are we inadvertently signing away our legal protections in exchange for digital conveniences? And if so, how can we protect ourselves in this new landscape? Public policy studies have warned that the ownership of digital infrastructure and platforms has made big tech companies capable of reshaping the policy landscape and establishing themselves as key actors in the policy process. This cross-sector influence raises critical questions about consumer rights and corporate responsibility. The Disney case is not an isolated incident. As tech companies have grown exponentially, we're seeing more instances where agreements in one sphere affect rights in another. Consider the recent integration of OpenAI's ChatGPT into Apple products. A user experimenting on their iPhone with ChatGPT for fun might unknowingly waive their right to sue OpenAI for data breaches caused by this integration. Generative AI models have often faced attacks resulting in the leaking of private information, with ChatGPT more specifically having apparently been the target of attackers. At the time of the integration, OpenAI said that "privacy protections are built in when accessing ChatGPT within Siri and Writing Toolsrequests are not stored by OpenAI, and users' IP addresses are obscured. Users can also choose to connect their ChatGPT account, which means their data preferences will apply under ChatGPT's policies." But even when considering this privacy-by-design approach, data breaches are always possible and redacted or obscured information may be reverse-engineered to reveal personal information. Microsoft is another prime example of a company with influence over a massive number of economy sectors, acting as a major cloud provider, AI developer, office software creator and video gaming powerhouse. Do the terms we agree on one service define all the other service contracts? If the answer is yes, is this fair? What about the law? Legislators, on both sides of the Atlantic, cannot be blamed for inertia. With such initiatives as the European Union Digital Services package, they have sought to address power asymmetries and protect consumers for the digital age. Courts and regulators have also recently started showing their teeth against big tech companies. A federal judge in the US ruled that Google has built an illegal monopoly by breaking anti-trust law. In Europe, the Dutch Data Protection Authority found that scraping the internet for training generative AI models such as GPT-4 will almost always be illegal. And the European Data Protection Board delivered a quite demanding opinion on the use of "consent or pay" models implemented by large online platforms such as Meta. Yet, at its heart, the legal framework is still underpinned by a prevalent myth: the presumption that parties are fully aware of and understand the terms they're agreeing to, making unrealistic assumptions for the bargaining power of individual consumers. The Court of Justice of the European Union recently held that even companies with a dominant position, like Meta in the social network market, can, in principle, receive freely informed consent from their consumers. However, a significant amount of research shows that consumers systematically ignore terms of service, as the complexity and length of most terms of service agreements make it virtually impossible for the average consumer to fully comprehend their implications. Especially in the case of dominant companies like Meta, the "take it or leave it" nature of these agreements leaves consumers with little choice but to accept if they wish to use the service, which is often the only way of socialization, human connection or even gaining employment for many people. So what can consumers do? While the situation may seem daunting, consumers are not entirely powerless. Here are specific actions you can take to protect your rights in the digital landscape: 1. Read before you click Most users are unlikely to experience anything as extreme as the Disney case. Nonetheless, it is still a good idea to be on top of what we are agreeing to when we tick the box. Although time-consuming, understanding key points in terms of service can prevent surprises later. Focus on sections related to data usage, dispute resolution, and cross-platform implications. Use tools like ToS;DR (Terms of Service; Didn't Read) to get summaries of complex agreements. 2. Learn from and engage with consumer advocacy groups Organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Consumer Reports, and Which? are fighting for digital rights. Consider donating, volunteering, or amplifying their messages on social media. 3. Be selective and educate yourself Carefully consider which services are truly necessary and limit your digital footprint. Before signing up for a new service, ask yourself if the benefits outweigh the potential risks to your privacy and legal rights. Lastly, stay informed about digital rights issues through reputable tech news sources and educational resources provided by digital rights organizations. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. After record heat over the last couple of days, high pressure will move away today and into the weekend, resulting in cooler temps. Billy Calzada/San Antonio Express-News Its been a brutal last few days here in South Texas. High pressure has been parked over South Texas, leading to at least 105-degree high temps for three consecutive days, from Tuesday through Thursday. Thankfully, that high pressure system will shift northward Friday and into the weekend, leading to the end of the record heat. Lets not get ahead of ourselves, though. Upcoming high temps are still going to be plenty hot, likely a few degrees above average for late August. But we should be able to stay away from any excessive heat warnings in the near future. Heres a look at what you can expect Friday and as we push into the weekend. Friday's forecast The early morning will begin very similarly to how weve started over the last few days with abnormally warm low temps in the low 80s. Bright sunshine will promote another quick rise in temps through the morning, likely reaching 90 degrees just before 11 a.m. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Thankfully, afternoon temperatures will not rise as quickly as they have earlier this week. San Antonio likely will reach 96 degrees by 1 p.m., on our way to about 100 degrees by 3 or 4 in the afternoon. While obviously still hot, itll be about 5 degrees cooler than we were on Thursday. Even though temperatures are on track to decrease, humidity levels are expected to increase slightly. Thatll cause maximum heat index values to reach between 106 and 108 degrees. Even though temps technically will be lower, this level of heat is still dangerous, so be sure to stay hydrated and take frequent breaks away from the heat. Shown are the maximum heat index values expected Friday afternoon. Pivotal Weather During the afternoon and evening, a few isolated showers and storms will be possible, but the highest chances will stay east of San Antonio. Chances in the Alamo City will be only about 10%-20%, meaning the vast majority of areas will stay completely dry. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Weekend forecast Saturday: As high pressure continues to move farther away from San Antonio, temperatures are expected to fall by another degree or two. Morning lows are expected to make it back into the upper 70s, and afternoon highs likely will top out at 98 to 99 degrees under mostly sunny skies. Sunday: Weather models continue to show a very weak low pressure system moving in from the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday. This system is expected to be starved for moisture, so rain chances are going to stay quite low in San Antonio, rising to only around 10%. Slightly higher rain chances are expected toward the Gulf coast. The system may provide a bit of additional cloud cover and slightly cooler temps. Highs on Sunday likely will be close to average for late August, topping out at 97 degrees. Advertisement Article continues below this ad High pressure will move north over the next few days, resulting in lower temperatures in South Texas. The H depicts where the center of high pressure is expected to be by Saturday evening. Pivotal Weather Next week The weak low pressure system is expected to meander across South Texas through the first half of next week. This is good news as it will keep temperatures in check, likely topping out in the mid-90s each day, rather than the triple digits. The system will bring slightly better rain chances, too. Widespread, heavy rainfall is not expected, but daily chances of 20% to 30% are possible Monday through Wednesday. So far this August, San Antonio has only recorded 0.03 inch of rain, so well take whatever we can get next week, no matter how little. 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: Chinese financial engagement in Asia's coal expansion (Data: American Enterprise Institute, Green Finance & Development Center, Griffith Asia Institute). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.). Credit: Energy Policy (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2024.114291 New research from Griffith University provides crucial evidence that the early retirement of coal-fired power plants can be financially advantageous for investors, which is contrary to mainstream belief. In collaboration with Climate Smart Ventures and Fudan University, the paper offers innovative insights into the financial viability of accelerating the transition from coal to renewable energy in developing Asian economies to address climate change. Griffith Asia Institute Director Professor Christoph Nedopil said the findings were relevant for countries grappling with energy security concerns and the need to meet climate commitments. "Our research offers a roadmap for implementing financially viable strategies to phase out coal power while expanding renewable energy capacity," Professor Nedopil said. "Options such as blended finance, green bonds, and debt-for-climate swaps could play a pivotal role in facilitating the early retirement of coal plants. "With the right financial mechanisms, we can accelerate the retirement of coal plants in Asia without compromising investor returns. This opens new avenues for addressing climate change while ensuring economic stability." Key findings include: Younger coal plants, particularly those with high financing costs, can potentially be retired earlier than older plants while maintaining or increasing enterprise value. Refinancing strategies, combined with renewable energy investments, can significantly enhance enterprise values for coal plant owners. The study demonstrates that coal plants in Vietnam and Pakistan could be retired 313 years earlier than scheduled while preserving or increasing financial returns. The research paper, "Can investors benefit from the early retirement of coal plants: A plant-level analysis of Chinese-sponsored coal stations in Vietnam and Pakistan," was published in the journal Energy Policy. More information: Christoph Nedopil et al, Can investors benefit from the early retirement of coal plants: A plant-level analysis of Chinese-sponsored coal stations in Vietnam and Pakistan, Energy Policy (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2024.114291 Journal information: Energy Policy 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 California legislator at the center of a first-in-the-nation deal between Google and the state to help fund local news organizations and an artificial intelligence accelerator project defended the agreement from critics who said it didn't go far enough. The $242.5 million deal has led to the demise of Assembly Bill 886, authored by Democratic Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, which would have made Big Tech pay for news that appears on its platforms in perpetuity. Wicks, in an interview with The Sacramento Bee, said the public-private deal represented the best of what was actually achievable, and called it a win for California journalism. "This is, from my perspective, the beginning, not the end of this," she said from Chicago, where she is attending the Democratic National Convention. The deal calls for $242.5 million to be distributed to California media over a five-year period, Wicks said. Of that money, $180 million will go to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, under the auspices of the University of California Berkeley School of Journalism, with oversight provided by a board made up of members of the California News Publishers Association, or CNPA, Ethnic Media Services, Local Independent Online News, Latino Media Collaborative, California Black Media and the Media Guild of the West. Of the $180 million, $110 million will come from Google and its tech partners, and $70 million will come from the state, Wicks said. The final framework agreement, shared by Wicks' office, calls for Google to pay $15 million for the journalism fund in 2025 and a minimum of $10 million a year through 2029, for a minimum total of $55 million. The state would pay $30 million in 2025 and then $10 million a year through 2029, for a total of $70 million. Additional funding will go toward "existing journalism programs" for a total of $180 million, according to the agreement. Those funds would be distributed to qualifying California news organizations, using a framework cribbed from AB 886 to ensure that money goes toward journalism jobs and not corporate profits, she said. Twelve percent of that funding would be reserved for locally focused publications and outlets serving under-represented groups and news deserts. Then, $62.5 million, which is exclusively tech money and includes no state funds, will go toward creating a nonprofit to administer an AI accelerator project, for a grand total of $242.5 million. Wicks envisioned AI being used to make school boards and city and county governments more accessible to journalists and the public, much as CalMatters' AI-infused Digital Democracy project has done for the Legislature. She acknowledged the concern shared by many journalists that AI could be used to replace them in their work. While she didn't list any specific safeguards that this nonprofit would employ, she did say, "The goal of this is to provide technology that will provide solutions to challenges instead of creating more challenges." The $70 million coming from the state has yet to be appropriated. Wicks said that it will be subject to next year's budget negotiations, but that she has received assurances from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who crafts the state budget, that the money will be included in it. And as chair of the powerful Assembly Appropriations Committee, Wicks will have her own tools at her disposal to make sure the money is there, she said. Asked about the possibility of future deficits, or even a recession, Wicks said she was confident that "the amount of money per year is doable from a budgetary point of view, even in a deficit year." While Wednesday's announcement was greeted with enthusiasm from Wicks, the governor and both journalism and Big Tech executives, it was met with strong pushback from organized labor in California. Speaking from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Lorena Gonzalez, California Labor Federation boss and Wicks' predecessor as Assembly Appropriations chair, told The Bee: "You cannot save an industry with a policy proposal that the workers in that industry are adamantly opposed to." She added, "And when you lead with AI, and we're not even sure what it means, are you kidding me?" Gonzalez criticized Newsom for being too "enamored" with the tech industry. "Unfortunately ... we have a governor who wants to speed up, who wants to accelerate AI. He believes somehow that this is the future," she said. Gonzalez called AI an "existential crisis" for many working journalists. "I think that the governor has always loved technology and innovation and Silicon Valley, and I think that, yes, I do think he's siding with all of those factors over rank-and-file workers," she said. Matt Pearce, president of the Media Guild of the Westwhich would be part of the board that administers the moneysaid his organization, which was a champion of AB 886, was frozen out of the talks that produced the deal. "Not a single organization representing journalists and news workers agreed to this undemocratic and secretive deal with one of the businesses destroying our industry," Pearce wrote in a memo to union members, calling the arrangement a "backroom deal." Pearce has said the agreed-upon figure is much lower than what would have been provided under AB 886. Wicks defended her decision not to include Pearce, who had been critical of the deal-making process, in the talks. "Ultimately, the decision was: Do we want nothing, or something?" she said. "From my perspective, a nearly quarter-billion-dollar framework was better than zero." Pearce blasted Google in a text message to The Bee: "This whole settlement is a massive get out of jail free card for a monopoly with an illegal business model." "But if it's going to happen anyway over the protests of journalists, and if taxpayer dollars are now going to go to large employers like Alden Global Capital, Los Angeles Times, McClatchy and CalMatters, then those employers need to have collective bargaining agreements in place with those journalists. The public shouldn't support private companies that don't support their own journalists," Pearce wrote. The CNPA, of which McClatchy and its California-based newspapersThe Sacramento Bee, The Fresno Bee, The Modesto Bee, Merced Sun-Star and San Luis Obispo Tribuneare members, released a statement of qualified support for the deal. "We appreciate the effort to bring together resources from both the public and private sectors to support local journalism," CEO Charles Champion said. "However, we believe that the financial commitments from Google and other tech companies should have been more robust, given the substantial revenues they generate from the distribution of journalistic content." Julie Makinen, who chairs the CNPA board, added, "There were ambitious legislative efforts over the past two years to put local news in California on a stronger financial footing. We always knew that getting legislation passed, signed, and implemented would be an uphill battle. "This is not what we had hoped for when we set out, but it is a start, and it will begin to provide some help to newsrooms across the state. More must be done, and we are committed to working on that." Wicks said her bill and one pending by Democratic Sen. Steve GlazerSenate Bill 1327, which would create a tax credit to pay for journalistshad uncertain futures in the Legislature. "Both represented some serious challenges," she said. Glazer declined to comment. While both bills passed out of their respective houses with strong support, Wicks said she didn't think SB 1327 could even make it out of the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee (where it currently sits), much less pass off the Assembly floor and be signed by Newsom. Newsom's office declined to comment when asked whether the governor would have vetoed either bill, assuming they made it to his desk. As for AB 886, Wicks said that even if Newsom signed it into law, it would face "endless years of litigation" from the tech industry. She said that's exactly what has happened with other bills she's authored to take on Big Tech. "Policy is about the art of the possible, and so I think this is what it represented," she said. 2024 The Sacramento Bee. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A 33-year-old Latvian national living in Moscow, Russia, has been charged in the U.S. for allegedly stealing data, extorting victims, and laundering ransom payments since August 2021. Deniss Zolotarjovs (aka Sforza_cesarini) has been charged with conspiring to commit money laundering, wire fraud and Hobbs Act extortion. He was arrested in Georgia in December 2023 and has since been extradited to the U.S. as of this month. "Zolotarjovs is a member of a known cybercriminal organization that attacks computer systems of victims around the world," the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) said in a press release this week. "Among other things, the Russian cybercrime group steals victim data and threatens to release it unless the victim pays ransom in cryptocurrency. The group maintains a leaks and auction website that lists victim companies and offers stolen data for download." Zolotarjovs is believed to have been an active member of the e-crime group, engaging with other members of the gang and laundering the ransom payments received from victims. While the name of the cybercrime syndicate was not mentioned by the DoJ, a November 28, 2023, complaint filed in the U.S. District Court links the defendant to a data extortion crew tracked as Karakurt, which emerged as a splinter group in the wake of the crackdown on Conti in 2022. "Further analysis of Sforza's communications [on Rocket.Chat] indicated Sforza appeared to be responsible for conducting negotiations on Karakurt victim cold case extortions, as well as open-source research to identify phone numbers, emails, or other accounts at which victims could be contacted and pressured to either pay a ransom or re-enter a chat with the ransomware group," the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said. "Sforza also discussed efforts to recruit paid journalists to publish news articles about victims in order to convince the victims to take Karakurt's extortion demands seriously." The FBI noted in its complaint that it was able to link the online alias "Sforza_cesarini" to Deniss Zolotarjovs by tracing Bitcoin transfers made in September 2021 from a cryptocurrency wallet that was registered to an Apple iCloud account. The law enforcement agency further said some of the illicit proceeds were laundered through several addresses before arriving at a deposit address associated with Garantex, specifically a Bitcoin24.pro account bearing the same email address, prompting it to issue a search warrant to Apple in September 2023 for obtaining the records associated with the email address. From the information shared by the tech giant, the FBI said the Rocket.Chat instant messaging account ID "Sforza_cesarini" was "accessed by the same IP addresses at or about the same times, on multiple occasions, as those used to access dennis.zolotarjov@icloud[.]com." Zolotarjovs is the first alleged group member of Karakurt to be arrested and extradited to the U.S., a feat that could pave the way for the identification and prosecution of additional members in the future. "Karakurt actors have contacted victims' employees, business partners, and clients with harassing emails and phone calls to pressure the victims to cooperate," the U.S. government said in a bulletin last year. "The emails have contained examples of stolen data, such as social security numbers, payment accounts, private company emails, and sensitive business data belonging to employees or clients." A Wisconsin resident was arrested on eluding and drug charges after a vehicle pursuit near Grand Island. Deante House, 38, of La Crosse, Wisconsin, will be arrested after hes released from a local hospital, according to the Nebraska State Patrol. After a pursuit on Interstate 80, troopers found more than 15 pounds of suspected methamphetamine and cocaine that allegedly belonged to House. At approximately 7:20 p.m. Thursday, a trooper observed an eastbound Cadillac Escalade speeding on I-80 near Grand Island. The trooper attempted a traffic stop as the vehicle exited I-80 at mile marker 312, but the vehicle then accelerated, drove through the grass and fled back onto I-80 eastbound, the state patrol said. The trooper initiated a pursuit. The Escalade reached speeds above 120 miles per hour and passed other vehicles on the shoulder at times, the patrol said. At mile marker 330, the vehicle rear-ended an eastbound semi. The semi and Escalade then came to a stop on the shoulder. The driver of the semi was not injured. House was transported by the Aurora Fire Department to CHI St. Francis Hospital in Grand Island with non-life-threatening injuries. After the crash, troopers and deputies located several bags of controlled substances on the ground outside the vehicle. An additional bag was located inside the front fender of the Escalade, which had been damaged during the crash. The bags contained approximately 15 pounds of suspected methamphetamine, over 2 pounds of cocaine and a small amount of marijuana. A New Jersey man accused of hacking his girlfriend to death with a machete while her child watched has been charged in her grisly slaying. Alex J. Williams, 25, has been charged with first-degree murder, second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose (machete) and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, in connection with the death of Briana Greenwood, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office announced Tuesday. Greenwood a mom of two was allegedly slaughtered in an apartment complex parking lot in Wall Township, New Jersey, in May. Williams called 911 after he allegedly attacked his girlfriend with a machete in front of her 3-year-old daughter, who was sitting in her car. "... just come get me," Williams allegedly told dispatch, the Daily Voice reported, citing the criminal complaint. A witness told police she overheard Williams screaming, "You cheated on me. You cheated on me, you b. You cheated on me," and saw Greenwood slumped against a car. Responding officers found Greenwood between two vehicles suffering from serious injuries to her face and arm, and Williams was arrested nearby. Despite undergoing an 18-hour surgery, the victim died at the hospital a week later, loved ones said, according to a GoFundMe. "Brianna's untimely departure serves as a stark reminder of the gravity of domestic violence," the fundraiser description read. She, her children, and her family did not deserve to suffer at the hands of such cruelty." Greenwood also leaves behind an 8-year-old child. The president of Denmark Technical College says the school is emphasizing student success, continued growth and innovation. Denmark Technical College's mission is to engage, educate and empower students to impact industry by identifying what we say are transformative solutions to complex issues in South Carolina, the nation and the world, DTC President Dr. Willie L. Todd Jr. said. Our goal is to be an exemplary historically Black college, providing premier technical education that exceeds industry standards. This is the fifth and final year of our current strategic plan. This year we're going to be working really hard to make sure that we close the gaps with our strategic plan, Todd said. Todd spoke about the college during Bamberg County Councils August meeting. This year our motto is A Strategy to Win: Imagining the Possibilities, he said. Todd said he has a mission to put the tech back in Denmark Tech through, for example, the creation of workforce programs. The college is now a part of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Through our advocacy, they did start allowing two-year colleges to join. ... Thats really a big deal when it comes to fundraising, when it comes to additional support, when it comes to scholarship opportunities for our students and also professional development for our faculty and staff, Todd said. The college is still seeking funding for a new academic building. As you're speaking with your legislators, or legislators that you have relationships with, please press that issue because this is for our citizens. This is for our county. We're right here in the heart of Bamberg. So, to me, it's not just a slight to Denmark Tech, it's a slight to the citizens of Bamberg County, and even more so rural communities, Todd said. He said the college is improving its enrollment numbers, noting that the college saw an enrollment decline last year largely because of a lack of money from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, as well as the Governors Emergency Education Relief Fund. We had some students that we just simply could not serve last fall, he said. But the college believes that enrollment will continue to grow this year. Todd noted the decline in the regions population, saying were really trying to expand in the online market. The growth seen with the college's cybersecurity program has been exciting, he said. Also, we started a program with a nonprofit in D.C. called D.C. Lead. They have early childhood educators who are enrolling in our early care and education program to get certification. So this, again, is a way for us to continue to grow," Todd said. He also touted the college's dual enrollment program. High school students can take college courses tuition-free while getting up to a two-year degree worth of college credits. Five students from Denmark-Olar High School, for example, obtained an associate's degree last year. The college recently signed up its first dual enrollment student from Andrew Jackson Academy. Were here for everybody, Todd said. Todd said the college has also worked hard to create apprenticeships for students, including through its nuclear fundamentals apprentice program and the opening of a security operations center through its partnership with Fusion Center. We also have a new apprenticeship that's coming with the HBCU Community Development Action Coalition. We're going to be focusing on electrical, solar, wind, battery storage and hydrogen, he said. We also have an e-mobility fellowship program that's coming that we're really excited about, he said. The college has also hosted several academic camps on campus. We also had our first graduating cohort from the Allendale Correctional Facility, Todd said. He thanked Bamberg County Council for the appropriation it made to the school last year because it enabled the college to make electrical upgrades to the building housing the college's cafeteria and culinary arts program. There's been great things happening at Denmark Tech. ... When I see the diversity that is on our campus, it makes me so excited because what that says is that the students in this community are understanding that this is their technical college, Todd said. Bamberg County Magistrate Donald Price has been serving as a part-time judge for more than a year now. At 59, he was sworn into office on June 8, 2023. Price said the past year has been challenging and fun. Price, who grew up in Barnwell, said hed thought about serving as a magistrate for the past four or five years. He rode with a magistrate once to see how the job worked. Price, now 60, works full-time at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, where hes been employed for nearly 39 years. Over the past year as a magistrate, Price said, Ive gotten to see a lot of things youve been taught and lots of things you havent been taught. For instance, TV isnt reality. Law & Order and all of that looks real good, but when the rubber hits the road, thats not it, Price said. During the past year, hes had a few defendants before him who were slick in the mouth, he said. On one occasion, a defendant provided instruction to him about how to perform his judicial duties. Price said the defendant told him, I know a lot about these things because Ive done this a time or two. Traffic cases account for most of his duties. Hes also handled many civil cases, such as landlord/tenant disagreements and questions about whether a contract is binding, he said. An attempted murder suspect came before him several months ago. Being a magistrate has been a little challenging socially. One time while he was in a parking lot, a man approached him and asked if Price recognized him. Price told the man he looked familiar. The man told Price that he knew him because the man was a party in a civil case Price handled. Price said there wasnt anything more to that conversation. Every now and then, hell encounter a defendant and the defendant initiates a conversation. I dont have conversations with the defendants, Price said. Were not allowed to discuss specific cases. Sometimes its startling when Price is approached by defendants or parties in civil cases and he doesnt immediately recognize how he knows them. As for the magistrates job overall, I enjoy it and giving my time back to the community, he said. Price said a former neighbor read a story about him in a Barnwell newspaper and called him. The neighbor said to Price, Are you a judge? Like a live, live judge? Price replied with a chuckle and confirmed the neighbors claim. Price, a 1981 graduate of Barnwell High School, said some of his classmates told him, Were the only class with a judge. The classmates told Price that theyd researched it and couldnt find where any other Barnwell High School graduates became judges, he said. Price, a 2008 graduate of Claflin University with a degree in organizational management, told the Times and Democrat that hes most proud of his family. Price and wife Nancy are proud parents to a daughter and a son: Meagan Price McDonald and Donovan Price. Both of the Prices children graduated at the top of their classes from Bamberg-Ehrhardt High School. Donovan Price was valedictorian of his 2019 class. The Price children both earned undergraduate degrees in computer engineering. McDonald and her husband, whos a 1st lieutenant in the U.S. Army, are stationed in Hawaii. Donovan Price recently graduated from the University of South Carolina, with honors, on a full-ride ROTC scholarship. Hes serving in the Army. He and his father are both members of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. Mosquitoes are breeding in abundance in floodwaters left behind by Tropical Storm Debby, prompting officials throughout the state to step up pesticide treatments to control them. Experts with the Clemson University Extension Service and Regulatory Services units are advising beekeepers to be aware of increased sprayings and prepare to cover their hives if necessary while sprayings are in progress. Additionally, officials with Clemson Livestock Poultry Health home to the Office of the State Veterinarian are urging horse owners to make sure their animals are up to date with vaccinations after multiple cases of the mosquito-borne disease Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) were reported. Mosquito spraying According to reports, multiple South Carolina counties will increase mosquito abatement efforts, including aerial spraying. Mosquitoes Standing water left behind by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Debby has created a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Horry County will begin aerial spraying Monday, Aug. 26, 2024, after West Nile Virus (WNV) was confirmed by County Mosquito Control and the S.C. Department of Environmental Services. The action comes after the county was placed under a local State of Emergency due to the flooding. The spraying will be done during evening hours, weather permitting. Horry County beekeepers are advised to contact Horry County Mosquito Control to check the spray schedule and request exclusion. The spraying is an essential step in protecting people from mosquito-borne diseases, including Zika virus, WNV, Chikungunya virus, dengue and malaria. According to State Pesticide Law, 24-hour prenotification is required prior to spray applications. We are cognizant of the impacts aerial spraying for mosquitoes can have on hive health, which is why we are doing our best to warn beekeepers in advance and urging them to watch local media outlets, government agency websites and social media for announcements about aerial applications and fogging operations, said Stephen Cole, executive director of PSA Regulatory Services, a Clemson division that carries out state regulatory functions Beekeepers and certified organic farms are encouraged to report the location of their operation directly to their local mosquito control program. Beekeepers can report the location of their hives and receive email notifications of sprayings by registering their hives with Clemsons Voluntary Beehive Mapping Program. The system is password protected for confidentiality and privacy; beekeepers can log into the system to load geographic data on their hives and see planned pesticide applications nearby without anyone other than pesticide applicators accessing their information or hive locations. Cropdusting Experts with the Clemson University Extension Service and Regulatory Services units are advising beekeepers to be aware of increased sprayings The reporting tool is just one way we are trying to protect the honeybee, said Brad Cavin, who leads apiary inspections for the Department of Plant Industry. The goal of the tool is to connect location information provided by the beekeepers with the aerial applicators. EEE on the rise Animal health officials are urging horse owners to have their animals vaccinated for Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) after horses in Dorchester and Charleston counties contracted the mosquito-borne disease. One horse was unvaccinated and the other was reported as vaccination status unknown. Both horses were euthanized. While horse owners can take measures such as turning them in at dawn and dusk and using spray repellents, vaccination is the only surefire way to protect their horses from EEE, WNV and rabies. 2024 Peanut, Cotton, Vegetable and Fruit Field Day is Sept. 5 The annual Clemson Extension Peanut, Cotton, Vegetable and Fruit Field Day on Sept. 5, 2024, offers educational tours, trade show, and expert insights on crop cultivation. There has been an explosion of mosquitoes in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Debby, and that results in an increase in the diseases they spread. Vaccinations are imperative in the current environment, said Sean Eastman, director of Equine Health Programs, Clemson Livestock-Poultry Health. Borne by mosquitoes, these diseases have a very high mortality rate in infected, unvaccinated horses between 30 and 40% for WNV and 90% for EEE. Likewise, mosquito control is an important precaution. Both EEE and WNV are maintained in nature through a cycle involving the freshwater swamp mosquito, Culiseta melanura, commonly known as the black-tailed mosquito. The EEE and WNV viruses are fast-acting. Symptoms of both diseases usually develop from two to five days after exposure and include neurologic difficulties such as stumbling, circling, head pressing, depression or apprehension, weakness of legs, partial paralysis, the inability to stand, muscle twitching or death. In addition to EEE and WNV, other neurologic diseases, including rabies and EHV-1, can infect horses. Any livestock that display neurologic symptoms stumbling, circling, head pressing, depression or apprehension must be reported to the state veterinarian at 803-788-2260 within 48 hours, according to state law. A list of reportable diseases, along with other resources, is published on the LPH website at www.clemson.edu/public/lph/ahp/reportable-diseases. Aid from Chile will go towards rebuilding the loss pictured here. The Government of Chile has promptly donated US$60,000 to three Caribbean countries that were severely impacted by Hurricane Beryl in July. The countries set to receive this aid are Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. The donation, provided by the Chile Fund Against Hunger and Poverty, will be channeled through the Red Cross in these countries. The Chile Fund, an initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs managed through the Chilean Agency for Cooperation and Development (AGCID), in conjunction with United Nations Development Program/Chile, has provided humanitarian assistance to countries affected by various disasters since 2011. The Governments of Chile and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines established diplomatic ties on August 16th, 1990, and have enjoyed a cordial relationship over the years. (Source: Embassy of Chile Trinidad and Tobago) Not for the first time, the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) is reporting cases of "misconduct, i.e. cheating, in their examinations. What is worrying though, to CXC and to all Ministries of Education across the jurisdiction, is a surge in the number of incidents of cheating during the 2024 examinations. According to a LOOP news report which is gleamed from information disclosed by CXC officials, the irregularities include candidates bringing unauthorized cell phones and smart watches into the testing centres, engaging in outright cheating, and even impersonating other students. "Its a very serious matter, said Dr. Nicole Manning, CXCs Director of Operations, while speaking at the official release ceremony for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) results in Roseau, Dominica, earlier this week. She did not hide the fact that examiners had encountered a disturbing spike in cheating incidents. Manning recounted one particularly egregious case where a candidate was caught trying to pass themselves off as someone else. "So of course, the situation was identified, and the candidate is not only disqualified, but debarred for two years, she emphasized. There was also, she added, a worrying incident involving a candidate who admitted to doing an online search during the exam. This year saw 54 incidents of "misconduct, a marked increase from the 36 cases documented in 2023. (See accompanying table). As far as a breakdown of cheating across the CXC examinations is concerned, the figures released showed that the increase was mainly in the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exams, where there was a striking increase from 19 in 2023 to 49 in 2024. The Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) accounted for 6 incidents in 2024, a decrease from 17 in 2023. There was also a reference to 50 instances of candidates caught using cell phones during the 2024 exams. Manning stressed that these are not allegations. "Candidates have to sign to agree, yes, this is what happened. So, were not just making it up. The supervisors and invigilators are not making it up. They are telling you; I did this, she asserted. One brazen candidate, Manning revealed, was even caught "literally on their phone and admitted to googling exam questions during the assessment. CXC has vowed to "crack down hard on any future attempts to undermine the integrity of its assessments. There was no reference to how the cheating incidents were spread across the examinations centres (territories). On the issue of absenteeism, Dr. Manning disclosed that the figures show an increase of 5% for CAPE exams and 7% in the CSEC. Reasons cited for being absent included personal emergency, inadequate preparation, illness, death in the family and simply preferring not to attend. (Source: Loop News, Barbados Today) 14-term Democratic New Jersey Rep., Bill Pascrell, whose political career spanned four decades, dies at 87, according to a statement on his official X account. According to NBC News, Pascrell was hospitalized for nearly a month this summer after experiencing a fever related to a respiratory illness. He was discharged to a rehabilitation center on Aug. 7 but was readmitted to Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, N.J., just four days later. Pascrell had been running for re-election to his 9th District seat in November, seeking to serve a 15th term and was the favorite against Republican Billy Prempeh, his opponent during his previous two elections. It is with deep sadness that we announce that Bill Pascrell Jr., our beloved husband, father, and grandfather, passed away this morning. As our United States Representative, Bill fought to his last breath to return to the job he cherished and to the people he loved. Bill lived Bill Pascrell, Jr. (@BillPascrell) August 21, 2024 Not only was Pascrell a staunch critic of Donald Trump, but he was also an ally for Taylor Swift fans across the country when they took Ticketmaster to court over the Eras Tour ticketing chaos. In January, Pascrell's Instagram account showed a picture of the Congressman meeting with Swifties saying "It was my pleasure to meet with Taylor Swift fans demanding reform of the broken live events ticket market. I've been going after Ticketmaster for a long time and now is the moment to pass my bill and regulate the broken market for the fans." Fellow congressmen and politicians in D.C. expressed their condolences over his passing via X. Bill Pascrell was an unrelenting fighter for New Jerseyans and middle-class families across the nation. I'm heartbroken over his passing and praying for his family during this difficult time. May his memory be an everlasting blessing. https://t.co/VzMbU3HM2H Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (@repcleaver) August 21, 2024 Very saddened to hear about the passing of my friend and colleague Bill Pascrell. He was a public servant with unwavering dedication for his constituents in New Jersey. My heartfelt condolences to his family, staff, and all who loved him. https://t.co/KxgfYAsSyA Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) August 21, 2024 Deeply saddened by the loss of @BillPascrell. We worked together on many policies on the Ways & Means Committee. Bill never stopped fighting for what he believed would help New Jersey & American families. I will miss my friend dearly. Rep. Suzan DelBene (@RepDelBene) August 21, 2024 Heartbroken by the loss of my dear friend, fellow baseball coach & a quintessentual New Jersery congressman, Bill Pascrell. His passion for public service, including our work together on the Ways & Means Committee, touched many lives. My thoughts are with his loved ones & family. https://t.co/v53smYatWP Rep. Linda Sanchez (@RepLindaSanchez) August 21, 2024 Bill was a gentleman, a coach, a poet, a friend and a fighter working men and women from across the country. An old school bare knuckle political street fighter that always had the backs of his constituents and friends. We lost a good one. Rest in power. https://t.co/zKqi5jtV3q Rep. Jimmy Gomez (@RepJimmyGomez) August 21, 2024 Bill Pascrell loved and enjoyed standing up for working people, always with a twinkle in his eye and a smile. I'm sending love to his family and friends from Tampa Bay U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (@USRepKCastor) August 21, 2024 Heartsick over the passing of Billy Pascrell, senior Democrat of the House, pride of New Jersey and feisty fighter for the middle class. I visited him in Passaic a few months ago and the love for him in Jersey is something to behold. We'll miss him sharply. Rep. Jamie Raskin (@RepRaskin) August 21, 2024 Congressman @BillPascrell was a fierce and outspoken advocate for the people of New Jersey. The energy he brought to the Ways and Means Committee was unparalleled, and he will be dearly missed. My prayers are with his family, loved ones, and constituents. RIP. https://t.co/oRfuJMP37K Rep. Terri A. Sewell (@RepTerriSewell) August 21, 2024 I am deeply heartbroken to hear of Congressman Pascrell's passing. We've lost a treasured colleague and friend. May his memory be a blessing. https://t.co/Tt0JxBjzlB Congresswoman Hillary Scholten (@RepScholten) August 21, 2024 Today, my heart is heavy with the loss of my dear friend, colleague, and mentor, Bill Pascrell. pic.twitter.com/DEPZQnVXOk Rep. Mikie Sherrill (@RepSherrill) August 21, 2024 Joyce and I are devastated to learn of the passing of our dear friend, Congressman Bill Pascrell. Bill was a progressive champion who never stopped fighting for his constituents and the country. May his memory be a blessing. Rep. Nadler (@RepJerryNadler) August 21, 2024 Very saddened to learn about the passing of my friend and colleague, Bill Pascrell. He was a tireless advocate for his constituents and a true public servant. May God comfort his family in this difficult hour. Rep. Vern Buchanan (@VernBuchanan) August 21, 2024 I am deeply saddened to learn of the passing of my colleague Congressman Bill Pascrell. His over two decades of public service undoubtedly made our U.S. Congress and his home state of New Jersey stronger. My thoughts are with his loved ones during this difficult time. https://t.co/ByTx8SVoXv Congressman Bill Foster (@RepBillFoster) August 21, 2024 Bill brought wisdom from decades of service and amazing joy. I will miss dancing and serving with a great man. May he rest in peace. https://t.co/xFGthtUaqg Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (@RepTeresaLF) August 21, 2024 Bill Pascrell was an incredible colleague and above all, a fighter for New Jersey's 9th district and our democracy. I am so sad to hear of his passing and am sending my deepest sympathies to his family and his constituents. https://t.co/FkBcgYuHaE Mike Quigley (@RepMikeQuigley) August 21, 2024 I'm devastated by the passing of my dear colleague, @BillPascrell. Bill was a formidable force and a remarkably kind presence on the @WaysMeansCmte. He consistently supported me, and I greatly valued his insight and admired his dedication to his beloved New Jersey. Judy Chu (@RepJudyChu) August 21, 2024 There will never be another like @BillPascrell. Heartbroken doesn't begin to cover it, but his fire and ferocious advocacy lives on in the work that's still to come. Ranking Member @RepRichardNeal's full statement: https://t.co/jXIt6y5U5o https://t.co/4HZdfkphUq Ways and Means Democrats (@WaysMeansCmte) August 21, 2024 We are devastated by Congressman Bill Pascrell's passing. Our office sends our love and thoughts to his loved ones, the Paterson community he adored, and people across all of New Jersey who will miss his dedicated leadership and service to our state. Rep. Andy Kim's Office (@RepAndyKimNJ) August 21, 2024 My heart is breaking over the loss of my dear friend Bill Pascrell. A legend, fighter, public servant, and gentleman. He will be so missed. Sending prayers to his family and the good people of New Jersey. Our thoughts are with you. https://t.co/FxAceopJ8r Rep. Melanie Stansbury (@Rep_Stansbury) August 21, 2024 I'm devastated to learn of the passing of my dear friend, Representative Bill Pascrell. Bill is the definition of a Jersey guy, he was smart, passionate, and a true champion for his district and the state of New Jersey. Read my full statement here: https://t.co/vv9PtWbuno Congressman Donald Norcross (@DonaldNorcross) August 21, 2024 Very saddened to hear of the passing of my friend and colleague, Bill Pascrell. Bill and I came to Congress in 1997. He always had a fierce spirit in fighting for working people and progressive causes, and I will miss him a lot. Our thoughts are with his family and New Jersey. Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) August 21, 2024 Saddened by the loss of my colleague Congressman Bill Pascrell. Congressman Pascrell was a veteran, a former mayor, and a longtime champion for New Jersey. My prayers are with his family and loved ones. Rep. Shontel Brown (@RepShontelBrown) August 21, 2024 Douglas Baptiste, being a murder accused, was not eligible for bail. Less than one week after the shooting death of 27-year-old labourer Rakim Matthews of Greiggs, police have charged his fellow villager Douglas Baptiste in connection with the crime. Baptiste, a 24-year-old unemployed man, was taken before the Serious Offenses Court yesterday (Thursday) after being charged with Matthewss murder. Baptiste is also charged with possession of a 9 mm Taurus pistol, and four rounds of 9 mm ammunition, without licenses. He was without legal representation. Matthews was reportedly shot at Greiggs around 9:30 p.m. on Monday following an argument with another man. Matthews reportedly ran after being shot but collapsed shortly after at the back of his house. A police release dated August 20, stated that Matthews was discovered by his brother, at the back of his (Matthews) home with what appeared to be gunshot wounds, and was pronounced dead at the scene by the District Medical Officer (DMO). Baptiste was reportedly found in possession of the firearm and ammunition at Georgie Gutter Belair on August 24. Police had issued a wanted bulletin for Baptiste, following the shooting. The accused was not required to plea to charges when he stood before Senior Magistrate Colin John at the Serious Offenses Court yesterday. Sergeant 191 Glendon David, attached to the Calliaqua Police Station, is leading the investigations into the murder while Inspector Nolan Grandpa Dallaway of the Rapid Response Unit (RRU) is in charge of the firearm and ammunition investigations. All three matters have been adjourned to October 15 for the commencement of a Preliminary Inquiry (P.I.) Meanwhile, Baptiste will remain in custody, as persons are not usually granted bail on charges of murder. Matthews death is counted as the 30th homicide for the year, so far. A record number of 55 homicides was recorded in 2023. Julian Moore (left) and his lawyer Grant Connell at the precincts of the Serious Offences Court, last Monday. Julian Moore, a 46-year-old auto mechanic of Park Hill, will return to the Serious Offenses Court on October 8, on charges reportedly stemming from a major cocaine haul in Kingstown, Saturday, August 17. Moore, who currently resides in Edinboro, has been charged with possession of 11 kilos (11,054 grams) of cocaine for the purpose of drug trafficking, and possession of the drug with intent to supply. He is also charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm on Police Corporal Cornel Williams of Redemption Sharpes. Moore, who was represented by attorney Grant Connell, pleaded not guilty to all three charges when he appeared before Senior Magistrate Colin John at the Serious Offenses Court on Monday. Prosecutor Renrick Cato did not object to bail but requested suitable surety and conditions. As a result, Moore was granted $60,000 bail with one surety on the condition that he surrender his travel documents, and report to the Central Police Station every Friday between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Stop notices will be placed at all ports of entry and exit, and the matter was adjourned to October 8. The drug, with an estimated street value of $330,000, was reportedly seized during a police action in Kingstown around 5:30 p.m. on August 17. It is alleged that during the operation, Moore struck Corporal Williams with the vehicle he (Moore) was driving when the officer tried to stop him. The Rose Bank Anglican Church is celebrating one hundred years of existence this year. Undoubtedly, that organization has over the years played a positive role in the maintenance of peace and harmony, not only in the village of Rose Bank, but indeed its influence to a fair degree was discernible in the village of Troumaca where I lived. Understandingly so, since a number of the families with strong profiles in Troumaca were members of the Rose Bank Anglican Church. Until I had read the Centenary booklet circulated recently, I had not realized that my Troumaca people had played such central roles in the Rose Bank Church. It was heartwarming to know that Lou Mulraine, our own Cousin Lou, and Rosa Layne our neighbor who was always singing, and our Willie Anthony the patriarch of the precious Anthony family of Madame OGet, had all served as organists of the Church. It is evident that the Vincentian society today has suffered a serious decline, to the degree that the standards of societal interaction which reflected a strong regard for law, order, and respect are no longer prominent posts. We are a nation that according to our constitution, has been founded on the belief in the supremacy of our God Jehovah, and the freedom and dignity of man. Jehovah the creator, on whose authority the sun is sure to rise every morning, has given us guidelines. The Church organization is generally regarded as His representatives here on earthcommitted to the guidance of humanity towards the honouring of the Almighty. It is my hope that the energy which had driven the members of the Rose Bank Anglican Church, to endeavour to overcome obstacles in the past, could be rekindled to the degree, that it impacts positively the well-being of the people of Rose Bank and the nearby villages, so that in 2025 we can all celebrate a bountiful harvest. I am not even of the least of our apostles, but I am impelled to urge the Rose Bank Anglican Community in harmony with Psalms 118:8-9. It is better to take refuge in Jehovah than to trust in humans. It is better to take refuge in Jehovah than to trust in princes. We can look forward with hope to the bountiful Harvest. LeRoy Providence Story and photos by Nelson A. King US CORRESPONDENT naking@verizon.net Rarely one would see a consul general headlining a major cultural event. But that was the case last Saturday, as St. Vincent and the Grenadines Consul General to the United States Rondy "Luta McIntosh, a renowned soca artiste, clearly, outperformed other artistes, as he brought the house down, stage-side, at the massive annual Vincy Day USA Picnic at the picturesque Heckscher State Park in East Islip, Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. McIntosh took over the show. He put party lovers in a "Tight Spot and followed up with his signature hit, "We Out Here, as well as "Throw Bad Mind, "Lehgo Thing and "Charlie Charlie. McIntosh told THE VINCENTIAN immediately afterwards that it was "a Vincy festival filled with love and togetherness. "Its, indeed, a much larger crowd than last year very responsive, filled with energy and vibe, he said. "Vincy Day is one day we should never let die. Among other artiste to please the party-loving crowd were: Marvo OBrien, Jose Juan, Persona, Denis Bowman, Man Kemmy, Hypa 4000 and Hailes Castello, who served as Master of Ceremonies, along with Atiba Williams and Kamla Millwood. The Brooklyn, New York-based Mas Productions Unlimited offered a preview of its production for the West Indian American Day Carnival Parade; and poet and playwright Francesca Sam presented a skit, dubbed "A Conversation with Beryl, referring to the recent destruction caused by Hurricane Beryl in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique, as well as the southern part of Jamaica. Attributes of Christ Ministries, an evangelical church in Brooklyn, which was founded and pastored by the late Brother William Muckett, opened the event with prayers. In picture-perfect weather, with a high of 79 degrees, thousands of Vincentians across the United States converged on the Camp Grounds for the day-long spectacle. Other Caribbean nationals and others also joined the festivities, trekking from as far as Canada, among other places, to participate in the celebration, and to meet and greet relatives and friends at the 1,657-acre (6.71 km2) state park on the shore of the Great South Bay in Suffolk County, and to savour a potpourri of Vincy dishes. Evesham native Monica Laborde brought along Caribbean and American nationals on the four-hour drive by bus from Boston. "Every year, we come to Vincy Day, she told THE VINCENTIAN, as a Barbadian friend dished out stewed turkey wings and pig feet souse to passersby. "We only stopped for Vincy Day. A few yards away, McDowald-Thompson, the former president, now vice president, of the Brooklyn-based Council of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Organizations, USA, Inc. (COSAGO), gathered under a tent with some COSAGO members, including new president Crispin Friday and his wife, Ancilla, and their children and grandchild. Further along, Charles Thompson, a Brooklyn resident and Chateaubelair native, accompanied by three Senegalese "brothers, took "refuge from the heat under a tent. Thompson said he was up early Saturday preparing, with the help of a relative, ground provisions, plantain, bananas, coconut dumplings, and stewed pork and saltfish, and barbecue chicken. "Its great, he said about the extravaganza. "Its always extra energy. Its nice seeing Vincies coming together and celebrating "I look forward to it, Allison Straker, a native of the Central Leeward town of Barrouallie, told THE VINCENTIAN. "With Vincentians being around, you feel at home away from home. Raymond Otis Lewis, chair of Vincy Day USA, Inc., told THE VINCENTIAN that the 12th Annual Vincy Day, which is usually held on the third Saturday in August, is "a beautiful celebration of our culture and community. We had a good turn-out. Our numbers are coming back up after COVID. The Vincy Day Organizing Committee described Vincy Day as a much-anticipated annual gathering which "...is more than just an event; its a heartfelt gathering where Vincentians from all walks of life unite to honour their heritage, share experiences and embrace the spirit of community. Ambassador Fiona Huei-Chun Fan and Agriculture Minister Saboto Caesar at the Campden Park Port where the handing over was done. Responding to the impact of Hurricane Beryl to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Taiwan has promptly raised resources and donated 100 metric tonnes of rice to assist SVG out of humanitarian concern. On behalf of the Republic of China (Taiwan), Ambassador Fiona Huei-Chun Fan handed over 5 containers of rice to Hon. Saboto Caesar, Minister of Agriculture, at Campden Park Container Port on the 19th of August 2024, as a sign of support and togetherness. At the handover ceremony, Ambassador Fan expressed that a strong relationship between Taiwan and SVG has been built on mutual respect, shared values, and a commitment to support each other in times of need; adding that the contribution is part of our ongoing effort for Hurricane Beryl relief. She hopes that the rice will not only help meet immediate needs but also reinforce the resilience of local communities during this difficult time. Hon. Minister Caesar thanked Taiwan for its generous humanitarian assistance, saying that the rice will be distributed jointly through the Ministry of National Mobilisation and the Ministry of Agriculture to the people in need. Taiwan will steadfastly fulfill its responsibility as a force for good in the international community, to continuously deliver staunch support to SVG, and safeguard the value of human rights. (Submitted by the Embassy of Taiwan) Gifton Myle, 11 years old, may have died by hanging, given what appears from cursory observation. Gifton Myle of Francois, Vermont, was expected to begin his secondary education in September, having written the primary school exit examination in May. That is not now going to happen since the 11-year-old was found dead, hanging by the neck. A source told THE VINCENTIAN, Giftons was found hanging by his neck in the incomplete ground floor of a house, whose upper story was occupied by his great aunt, Nicolelyn Myle, and her son, Kleran Myle. a 9-year-old Grade 4 student. The great aunts house is situated a little distance away form Gifton home. Giftons body was discovered, the source said, by his Kleran who, according to the source, told his mother that he had seen Gifton earlier "with a piece of rope under the house, and it looked like "he was trying to tie it on to something. Kleran said that he left Gifton and went upstairs to watch TV and when he returned downstairs, he found Gifton dead with the rope tied around his neck. Police have mounted an investigation even as speculation is rife as it relates to Giftons death. Some residents of the community cite suicide but wonder what could drive an 11-year-old to commit such an act, and especially that he considered a "bright and promising young boy who could not stop saying to his friends and family how much he was looking forward to starting secondary school. Another view expressed to THE VINCENTIAN is that he might have been playing a game that went wrong. Community members have also expressed concern about Kleran who made the discovery, with many worried about how the ordeal would affect him. Meanwhile, the police confirmed that they have mounted an investigation into the cause of death of Gifton Myle. Up to press time on Thursday, they (the police) had not issue any statement on the incident or their investigation. (TBTCO) - Ket thuc quy III/2024, toan he thong Kho bac Nha nuoc a ieu hanh ngan quy ap ung ay u, kip thoi cac nhu cau chi cua ngan sach nha nuoc va cac on vi co giao dich voi Kho bac Nha nuoc. ac biet, cac nguon chi a kip thoi en cac oi tuong thu huong an toan, chinh xac. Trong quy cuoi cung cua nam, Kho bac Nha nuoc se tiep tuc tap trung vao nhung nhiem vu trong tam, trong o co cong tac quan ly ngan quy, kiem soat chi e tiep tuc ua nguon von ngan sach phat trien kinh te - xa hoi. A volcanic eruption belched a plume of ash that grounded flights in New Zealand on Thursday, with government scientists warning it could continue venting for "weeks to months" to come. It is the same White Island volcano that erupted in 2019, killing 22 people. The island, once popular with tourists, lies about 50 kilometres (31 miles) off New Zealand's North Island, and 200 kilometres from Auckland, the country's largest city. National carrier Air New Zealand said 10 flights had been cancelled early Thursday as volcanic ash drifted across flight paths. An airline spokesperson told AFP that flights had resumed after the ash in the surrounding air space dissipated. Satellite images showed "minor eruptive activity" started earlier this month, research institute GNS Science said in a monitoring bulletin. They believed it was part of the "typical eruptive cycles" documented on White Island, also known as Whakaari to the country's Indigenous Maori language. "This activity could continue for some time, weeks to months," they warned. Scientists said residents on New Zealand's main islands might smell volcanic gas or suffer mild irritation to their eyes or throats, although impacts would be minor. New Zealand raised its volcanic alert level earlier this month to three, out of a maximum of five levels. Tours have been banned on White Island since the 2019 eruption. The island's closure has also had an impact on scientists' work. "The biggest issue with Whakaari at the moment is the number of unknowns with the lack of monitoring on the island due to the 2019 eruption and restricted access preventing the repair of seismic and geodetic networks," said volcanologist Simon Barker from Wellington's Victoria University. "This makes it difficult to place the ongoing activity within the context of past eruptive episodes and to assess how the system is changing. "Gas flights, drone footage and ash emissions all suggest that magma is very close to the surface and, therefore, this activity could continue for some time." Volcanic ash wreaks havoc with plane engines, an earth sciences expert has said. "Ash in volcanic plumes is considered a hazard to aeroplanes because it is sucked into their engines, potentially clogging fuel lines, sticking onto engine surfaces and eroding parts," said volcanologist Adrian Pittari from the University of Waikato. "It can also interfere with electrical and computer systems, infiltrate cabin space and reduce visibility. "The level of ash concentration in the atmosphere and the flight time in affected airspace are important considerations." The academic cited cases from the 1980s when Boeing 747 jet planes temporarily lost all engine power after flying through concentrated ash plumes in Alaska and Indonesia. A global network of Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres monitors ash plumes and weather patterns, informing the aviation industry about airborne ash hazards. "This helps airlines to plan flight paths and cancellations in areas of volcanic eruptions," Pittari added. You have reached a premium content area of Transitions. To read this entire article please login if you are already a Transitions subscriber. Not a subscriber? Subscribe today for access to: Full access to the website, including premium articles videos, country reports and searchable archives (containing over 25,000 articles). The Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC), a Public Investment Fund (PIF) Company, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in New York City on August 23, with King Street Capital Management, to foster cooperation and strategic partnership between the two parties in the real estate finance sector. The MoU signed by Majeed Fahd Al-Abdul Jabbar, CEO of the SRC, and Brian J Higgins, Managing Partner of King Street, was part of a visit of the Minister of Municipalities and Housing, and Chairman of SRC, Majed bin Abdullah Al-Hogail, to the United States. The visit hopes to explore ways to enhance partnership and cooperation between the two countries in the sectors of urban development, construction, building, finance, and real estate development. The memorandum aims to diversify liquidity sources to support the secondary real estate finance market's stability, foster economic growth, and attract more foreign investments to the Saudi market, which in turn contributes to achieving the housing programme targets outlined in the Kingdoms Vision 2030. The memorandum also lays emphasis on the development of innovative financial instruments, such as the securitisation of Sharia-compliant residential real estate finance portfolios. Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company said it is working to adapt these instruments to meet the standards of specialised global investors. The CEO of the Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company, Majeed Al-Abdul Jabbar, confirmed that the signing of the MoU with King Street is part of our efforts to play a key supporting role in the housing system and the Financial Sector Development Programme by providing the necessary liquidity in the real estate finance market, diversifying financing options for the private sector, and creating a new asset class for investors. These efforts contribute to achieving the housing programmes goal of increasing the homeownership rate among Saudi citizens to 70% by 2030. Additionally, the agreement supports the growth and stability of the Saudi market while attracting both local and international investors. Higgins said that this initiative will contribute to developing local capital markets and creating a suitable structure to attract international investors who seek to enhance their portfolios with high-quality Saudi securities. He also highlighted that the programme will benefit homeowners and the banking system, aligning with the goals of the Kingdoms Vision 2030. TradeArabia News Service Aramex, a leading global provider of comprehensive logistics and transportation solutions, has appointed Manosij Ganguli as Group Chief Sustainability Officer. This move highlights Aramexs commitment to not only maintaining but also elevating its position as a regional leader in sustainability. Ganguli joins Aramex with a distinguished background in global decarbonisation efforts, having previously served at the Energy Transitions Commission and Mission Possible Partnership (MPP) in London and as the Global Programme Director at BP. Transformative programmes Both at MPP and at BP, Ganguli spearheaded transformative programmes across continents. His extensive experience and track record of translating ambitious sustainability goals into actionable strategies make him a valuable addition to our team. In his new role, Ganguli will spearhead Aramexs sustainability agenda, ensuring that the logistics provider continues to innovate and implement best practices in environmental stewardship. The new appointment aligns with Aramexs well-established history of integrating sustainability into its operations. From reducing carbon emissions through innovative last-mile delivery solutions to implementing energy-efficient technologies across its global network, the company has consistently prioritised the environment alongside its growth. The companys comprehensive approach to sustainability is underpinned by evidence-based strategies that address the needs of all consumers, businesses and stakeholders. Aramex has consistently demonstrated its commitment through proactive measures, including investments in renewable energy, carbon footprint reduction programmes, sustainable packaging solutions, implementation of zero and low emissions delivery vehicles and the development of eco-friendly logistics hubs. Solar energy systems cover the majority of energy needs for Aramex warehouses in Dubai, UAE and in Amman, Jordan. The carbon footprint reduction efforts included fleet optimisation in 2023 which substantially reduced emissions and driving distances by streamlining routes and upgrading Aramex trucks to the Euro V emission standard. In the UAE, it has also boosted its sustainability efforts by integrating electric motorcycles (e-bikes) into the last-mile delivery market. The aim is to convert 98% of the fleet to electric by the 2030. Carbon neutrality The company is advancing towards reaching its Carbon Neutrality goal by 2030 and Net Zero by 2050. This year, Aramex will submit its targets to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), aiming for a 1.5C trajectory for Scope 1 and 2 emissions and a 2C trajectory for Scope 3 emissions. Demonstrating its progress, the company achieved a 12% reduction in carbon emissions per shipment in 2023. Ganguli said: I am honoured to join Aramex at such a transformative time in its sustainability journey. Aramex has already set a remarkable precedent in environmental stewardship, and I am eager to build on this solid foundation. My vision is to advance our sustainability agenda by integrating innovative, evidence-based strategies that not only reduce our carbon footprint but also enhance our operational efficiency and stakeholder value. Together, we will explore new avenues for sustainable development, bolstering the existing logistics network that is as resilient as it is environmentally responsible. Gangulis expertise will be instrumental in building on these successful initiatives and exploring new avenues for sustainable development. The company aims to make greater strides in driving positive environmental impact while continuing to deliver on its promise of exceptional service.--TradeArabia News Service Saudi Arabia's non-oil exports increased by 10.5% during the second quarter of 2024, compared to the second quarter of 2023, the General Authority for Statistics (GAS) has announced. The International Trade Bulletin for the second quarter of 2024, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), showed that national non-oil exports increased 1.4%, excluding re-exports, and the value of re-exported goods increased by 39.1% during the same period, a WAM report said. Non-petroleum exports The results of the bulletin showed that the value of non-petroleum exports including re-exports increased by 4.3%, while commodity exports in the second quarter of 2024 decreased by 0.2% compared to the second quarter of 2023, and the value of imports decreased by 5.6%, due to a decrease in petroleum exports by 3.3%. The proportion of petroleum exports in total exports in the second quarter of 2024 decreased to 75% compared to 77.4% in the same quarter of last year.--TradeArabia News Service A many as 184 foreign companies moved their regional headquarters to Saudi Arabia after obtaining an investment licence during the first half of 2024, a report said, citing the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA), which attributed the development to the kingdoms relentless efforts to boost the investment environment and improve the investor experience. A total of 57 companies secured investment licences to move their regional headquarters to the Kingdom during the second quarter of this year, and this records a growth rate of 84% compared to the same period in 2023, Saudi Gazette said. This is in addition to 127 licences issued in the first quarter of 2024 and thus bringing the total number of licences issued in the first half of the year to about 184 licences, according to the Saudi Economy and Investment Monitor report for the second quarter of 2024, released by MISA. The ministry also dealt with 4,709 applications for an Investor Visit visa, which is granted to investors from outside the kingdom to enable them to visit and explore available opportunities, in addition to addressing 38 challenges facing investors, including legislative and procedural issues. The ministry report showed that the investment licenses issued during this period increased by 49.6%, reaching 2,728 licences, compared to about 1,824 during the same period of the previous year, and this is after excluding licenses issued under the campaign to correct the status of violators of the Anti-Commercial Cover-Up Law, Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper reported. Most of the issued investment licenses were concentrated in the sectors of construction, manufacturing, professional, educational and technical activities, information and communications, accommodation and food services and wholesale and retail trade activities. Mining and quarrying activity is the fastest growing sector in terms of the issuance of investment licenses during the second quarter, compared to the same period last year, with a growth rate of 209.1%, followed by other services and activities, wholesale and retail trade with an increase rate of 110.5% and 96.3% respectively. The report revealed the kingdoms most prominent initiatives to support investment during the second quarter of 2024, most notably the launch of the Ministry of Economy and Plannings Sustainability Pioneers programme initiative in Riyadh, which highlights the sustainability landscape across the country by enhancing cooperation between leading companies in vital sectors. The Fashion Commission launched the The Lab initiative in cooperation with the Mohammed bin Salman Non-Profit City (Misk City) in the capital, Riyadh. It is the first studio of its kind in the kingdom that aimed to advance the industry by providing designers with the appropriate training and resources necessary to simplify the manufacturing process. The report also touched on the initiatives of the Saudi-British Strategic Partnership Council, which was recently established to enhance the development of mutual economic partnership in 13 vital and promising sectors. It is a forum for exchanging qualitative expertise and reviewing the latest practices in priority activities. The Saudi Investment Marketing Authority signed an agreement with the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies to host the 28th World Investment Conference in November 2024 in Riyadh, as part of the countrys keenness to lead digital transformation, sustainability and global cooperation in this system. The report high;ighted at the education sector, which represents one of the main axes for the country to achieve sustainable and comprehensive development, by seeking to enhance this system by improving the quality of education and providing an innovative and attractive environment for investment in it. The report revealed qualitative achievements made in education under the umbrella of Vision 2030, the most important of which is attracting qualitative foreign investments in about 13 companies in private-public education, as well as providing the opportunity for distinguished international universities to establish branches in the kingdom, and encouraging investment and expansion in university education. The report disclosed the opening of international universities soon. Among the achievements, four Saudi universities were among the best universities in registering patents out of 100 universities worldwide, as well as strengthening the Kingdoms position in global competitiveness by achieving advanced ranks for Saudi universities in international classifications, as a result of the countrys support and interest in the higher education sector and enabling research and innovation. According to the report, eight international schools were established in Riyadh. They are Beach Hall, Kings College, One World International, Downe House, Aldenham, SEK, Packwood, and RGS international schools. Hanwha Aerospace has completed the construction of the Hanwha Armoured Vehicle Centre of Excellence (H-ACE) in Geelong, Australia. This marks the first overseas production base established by a Korean defence company. This facility represents Hanwha's commitment to Geelong, Victoria, and Australia, demonstrating that the company is focused on the future of programmes in this region, including howitzers, vehicles and other technological advancements beyond our current initiatives, said Jae-il Son, CEO and President of Hanwha Aerospace. H-ACE is a significant part of our global defence supply chain, further strengthening the relationship between Australia and Korea. We will continue to collaborate with Australian companies and work towards integrating more of them into our global supply networks. High-technology vehicle manufacturing The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles MP, South Koreas DAPA Minister Jong-gun Seok, Chief of Army Lieutenant General Simon Stuart, and Head of Land Capability Major General Richard Vagg participated in the formal opening ceremony of H-ACE, along with other dignitaries from around the world. This facility is expected to strengthen the relationship between Australia and South Korea, bringing high-technology vehicle manufacturing back to the Geelong region. H-ACE is set to initiate the production of the AS9 Self-Propelled Howitzer and the AS10 Armoured Ammunition Resupply Vehicle. The goal is to supply 30 and 15 units of each, respectively, to the Australian Army. Moreover, the Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicle, which has secured a supply contract for 129 units, will be manufactured at H-ACE, following the successful delivery of prototype products after 2026. Hanwha Aerospace is accelerating its entry into the AUKUS markets through the completion of the Australian factory. As demand for defence products increases in the Indo-Pacific region due to geopolitical crises, efforts are being made to utilise H-ACE as a production base not only for Australia but also for major allied countries. 11 facilities The H-ACE facility, built on a site of approximately 150,000 sq m, includes a total of 11 facilities including the main building, production building, assembly plant, driving test site, and shooting range. Located an hour's drive from Melbourne and 10 minutes from Avalon Airport, the area's accessibility provides logistical and hiring advantages.--TradeArabia News Service Saudi-based Red Sea Global (RSG), the developer behind regenerative tourism destinations, The Red Sea and Amaala, has announced the release of its fourth Annual Sustainability Report, revealing RSGs and its subsidiaries key commitments and progress toward ESG goals. The report demonstrates that RSG is firmly on track to meet its principal objective of delivering a net conservation benefit of 30% by 2040. RSGs 2023 Annual Sustainability Report, which discloses the organizations sustainability performance from January 1-December 31, 2023, reflects the firms commitment to accountability and transparency, as it aims to establish new standards in global responsible development. The report details how the group is monitoring and reporting against targets across environmental sustainability, social empowerment and governance, revealing strong progress across all categories. Our latest Annual Sustainability Report demonstrates that when we say we are committed to setting new standards in responsible development, we truly mean it. We are well on track to deliver a net conservation benefit of 30% by 2040 to the areas surrounding our destinations, said John Pagano, Group CEO of Red Sea Global. The work of our team across renewable energy, land and marine conservation and regeneration, social development and clean mobility is proof tourism development can be done another way. My hope is that the rest of the industry draws inspiration from our achievements and embeds regenerative principles into their own work. Some achievements highlighted within the report are: Installing a total of 760,000 photovoltaic solar panels to power the first phase of the groups flagship destination, The Red Sea, which opened in 2023 Becoming the largest off-grid charging infrastructure operator in Saudi Arabia, with 150 electric vehicle charging stations and 82 electric vehicles Intervening to protect and enhance environments and species, such as nurturing more than five million plants at the Red Sea Landscape Nursery since it was established Preventing 46,350 tonnes of CO2 emissions through carbon reduction initiatives Pledging a Coral Commitment, to protect and regenerate corals in the Red Sea and beyond, and pioneering work in coral cultivation led by marine life scientists Transplanting 600,000 mangrove seedlings to four different sites in a dedicated Mangrove Nursery Launching the Jewar app, a two-way communication channel for RSG to share news and opportunities with the local community, and for them to participate and share their views Rolling out a volunteering program to encourage mangrove planting and beach clean-ups, with more than 200 participants More than 3300 new employees, 50+ Elite Graduates and nearly 74,000 training hours delivered Setting a new environmental benchmark with the highest-ever score for Platinum LEED for Cities and Communities certification for The Red Sea Master Plan Phase 1 Last year, The Red Sea welcomed its first guests, with three of its hotels now open. Red Sea International Airport has been receiving a regular schedule of domestic flights since September 2023 and international flights began in April 2024, with a twice-weekly route between The Red Sea and Dubai International. A second destination, Thuwal Private Retreat, located further south will open in the coming weeks. AMAALA remains on track to welcome first guests in 2025, when the first eight resorts complete as part of Triple Bay phase one, along with Corallium and the iconic Yacht Club. RSGs Annual Sustainability Report 2023 has been developed in accordance with GRI Standards. It is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabias Vision 2030, which aims to increase tourisms share of GDP to 10% and create 1.6 million jobs. The full report can be read in full at this link. Homicide detectives are at the scene of a double murder in Barrackpore where a woman and her Delegation from Taiwan's Kinmen calls for enhanced cross-Strait exchanges Xinhua) 10:18, August 23, 2024 BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- A delegation from Taiwan's Kinmen County is visiting Beijing and has called for enhanced cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation, especially between the county and the mainland. Song Tao, head of both the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, met with the delegation on Thursday. During the meeting, Song said the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee has made overall arrangements for further comprehensively deepening reform, which will also provide better conditions and broader space for Taiwan compatriots and enterprises to develop on the mainland. "We will fully implement the guiding principles from the plenum, promote economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation between the two sides of the Strait, deepen the integrated development in various fields, and enable Taiwan compatriots to share the mainland's development achievements," Song said. Song also vowed resolute actions against "Taiwan independence" separatism and stressed the mainland's commitment to promoting normal personnel exchanges and regular communication and cooperation between the two sides. "We strongly support the integrated development of Xiamen and Kinmen," Song added, while calling on representatives from Kinmen to speak up for cross-Strait ties, adhere to the 1992 Consensus, and oppose "Taiwan independence." Hung Yun-tien, a leader of the delegation and local chief lawmaker in Kinmen, called on compatriots on both sides to jointly plan and construct a twin city life circle between Kinmen and Xiamen, so as to improve the well-being of the people on both sides. Another delegation member voiced opposition against "Taiwan independence," expressing the hope that visits by the mainland's Fujian Province residents to Kinmen would resume soon. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) U.S. Rep Colin Allred, D-Dallas, visits with oil workers and METRO union members on his stance on energy and workforce issues at IBEW Union Hall, Aug. 13 in Houston. Allred is challenging incumbent Senator Ted Cruz for his position in the U.S. Senate. Jason Fochtman/Staff photographer Senator Ted Cruz speaks to supporters as he hosted a law enforcement and public safety rally with law enforcement leaders at King's Bierhaus on Aug. 6, in Houston. Karen Warren/Staff photographer Kim Ogg greets Sen. Ted Cruz as he took the stage during a law enforcement and public safety rally with law enforcement leaders at King's Bierhaus on Aug. 6 in Houston. Karen Warren/Staff photographer Former President Donald Trump talks to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott during the Republican National Convention, July 17 in Milwaukee. Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press Members of the Texas delegation hold signs that read "Make America Strong Again" on the third day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 17, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Leon Neal/Getty Images Donald Trump could make history in November by helping elect not only the first female president but also the first African American U.S. senator from Texas. Texas is far from becoming a blue state, but its more pink than red, a new University of Houston and Texas Southern University poll suggests. Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has cut Trumps lead in half since June, and Republican Ted Cruz is only 2.1 percentage points ahead of Democrat Colin Allred in the U.S. Senate race. If this poll is correct, and the election was held from Aug. 5-16 when the survey was conducted, this would be the closest presidential election in Texas since Bush-Clinton in 1992. Allred is closer to defeating Cruz than Beto ORourke was in 2018. Advertisement Article continues below this ad If Trump bombs and Harris soars, Allred could win. An earlier UH/TSU poll showed the Republican nominees trouncing Allred and President Joe Biden. The survey, with a 2.65% margin of error, was conducted after the assassination attempt on Trump and before the Democratic convention. The polls timing is critical because Trump was riding high following a successful Republican National Convention. Democrats had not yet staged their convention that launched Harris build-it-as-we-go campaign. Historically, fewer than half of eligible Texas voters turn out for general elections and fewer than a quarter for party primaries. The 2020 presidential election was an exception, with 52% of the voting-age population casting a ballot and 67% of registered voters turning out. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Trump won the Texas vote with 52% to Bidens 46%. A 6-point victory is why Trump and Harris have fundraised here but not really campaigned. The new poll showed 49.5% of likely voters supported Trump, while 44.6% said theyd vote for Harris. Other candidates polled at less than 1%, with 2.7% undecided. Voter enthusiasm could close that gap in Texas, with significant consequences for the Cruz-Allred race, where an amazingly high 6.4% of likely voters were undecided. National polling shows Harris has momentum and is gaining support across the country. She leads or competes in every swing state that could decide the election. Undecided voters often vote for the perceived race leader, so Harris and running mate Tim Walz need to maintain the perception they are marching to victory. Trump has struggled to find his footing since Biden abdicated the nomination. His most loyal supporters are as committed as ever, but they are not enough for him to win. Rather than soften his rhetoric to win over independents, hes become meaner, walking the fine line between delightfully shocking and disturbingly reprehensible. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The 2024 election has already produced unprecedented surprises; I dont think weve seen the last of them. Heres how Harris could close the gap in Texas and help Allred pull out a victory. If Trump doesnt find his mojo, or worse, becomes even more of a grumpy old man screaming, Im the greatest; shes the worst, moderate Republicans and independent voters could tire of his antics. Surprisingly, the UH/TSU poll showed 47% of Latino Texans intend to vote for Trump compared to 46% for Harris. This is an extraordinary finding, considering Democrats historic strength among Hispanics and Trumps promise to deport undocumented immigrants. If Trump alienates Latinos, they could return to the Democratic party. Bored and disappointed voters stay home, opening a path for Allred. Cruz is not known for his charm, and while he wins elections, hes not well-loved. His campaign fundraising emails recognize this weakness, essentially saying, Im a Republican in a tight race. Give me money if you want a GOP majority in the Senate. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Allred is well-liked but struggles to convince voters and donors he can beat an incumbent Texas Republican. Every two years, Democrats say this will be the election where Texas turns purple, and every two years, party donors wonder why they dared to dream. The truth is Texas elections are for Republicans to lose, not for Democrats to win. If Trump puts off right-leaning independent voters and Hispanics, leading them to stay home, and Harris turns out Democrats and undecideds, she probably wont close a 5-point gap in Texas. But Allred could make up 2.1 points and squeak out a victory. Im not saying this will happen. In fact, Id call it a long shot. But when people ask me if Allred has a chance, this is the only scenario I can imagine. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Hyatt farse and outta place. The audacity of them. Saying that in this country they are not A lineman tends to fallen power lines in the East End neighborhood of Houston, days after Hurricane Beryl made landfall, on Thursday, July 11, 2024. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer CenterPoint Energy on Friday appealed an administrative law judge's decision requiring the Houston-area electric utility to continue with an ongoing regulatory review of its rates. CenterPoint sought to withdraw its pending request to increase rates this month after finding itself in the hot seat for its response to Hurricane Beryl, which left a record number of customers without power. Company executives said the withdrawal would allow CenterPoint to focus instead on immediately strengthening its infrastructure and improving emergency preparedness. Consumer advocates, the city of Houston and other municipalities swiftly protested. They said CenterPoint is already overcharging customers and argued that a withdrawal would deny them the opportunity to force the company to take a rate decrease through settlement negotiations. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The appeal will be considered by the Public Utility Commission of Texas, composed of five commissioners appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott, which has the final say on whether the rate case can be withdrawn. It is unclear when the appeal will be heard; the commissions next regularly scheduled meeting is Thursday. CenterPoint filed an application in March seeking approval to increase its portion of the monthly electricity bill by $1.25 for the average residential customer. Electric delivery utilities such as CenterPoint are required to file a rate application within 48 months of their previous approval so the PUC can comprehensively review its spending. Under pressure from Abbott, CenterPoint since Beryl has embarked on a campaign dubbed the Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative to be better prepared for extreme weather. It includes ongoing work to replace approximately 1,000 wooden poles with poles made of stronger materials and trim trees along 2,000 miles of power lines by the end of the month. In a letter to Abbott on Friday, CenterPoint executive Darin Carroll said the company has installed 1,115 stronger poles, trimmed vegetation along 1,729 miles of power lines and worked to improve its communications and community partnerships. Carroll said the company remained confident it would achieve its August targets by the end of the week. Abbott did not immediately respond to a request for comment on CenterPoints work thus far. In his denial of CenterPoints request to withdraw its rate case, Administrative Law Judge Christiaan Siano said the company has given no explanation for why it cant pursue the Greater Houston Resiliency Initiative and its rate case at the same time. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In its appeal of Sianos decision, CenterPoints lawyers wrote that many executives involved in the rate case are currently focused exclusively on making CenterPoint Houstons transmission and distribution system more resilient. The initiative is important, all-encompassing and the Companys efforts should remain on prioritizing ongoing resiliency efforts over the prosecution of a base rate case at a minimum for the next six to nine months in preparation for the 2025 hurricane season, CenterPoints lawyers wrote. The company said it would file another rate case next year, using 2024 instead of 2023 as the model year to calculate its rates, if it were allowed to withdraw the pending application. Texas Consumer Association President Sandra Haverlah said using 2024 as a test year could result in an even higher rate increase, given CenterPoints infrastructure spending post-Beryl. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Bunkhouse Hotels, an Austin-based hospitality company, will enter Houston with the opening of Hotel Saint Augustine next to the Menil Collection. Courtesy of Lake Flato Architects and Ten Eyck Landscape Architects Austin-based Bunkhouse Hotels plans to open Hotel Daphne, on West 20th Street in the Heights. Courtesy of Bunkhouse Hotels Bunkhouse Hotels plans to open Hotel Daphne in the Heights. Courtesy of Bunkhouse Hotels A rendering shows a guest room in Hotel Daphne in the Heights. Courtesy of Bunkhouse Hotels Two Bunkhouse brand hotels being developed in Houston could become part of Hyatt as the hospitality company aims to expand its lineup of boutique properties. Hyatt Hotels Corp. has announced plans to acquire the brands of New York-based Standard International, including the Standard and Bunkhouse. Bunkhouse Hotels, an Austin-based chain of small, unique hotels, is expected to open Hotel Saint Augustine in Montrose in late fall this year, followed by Hotel Daphne in the Heights in late summer 2025. Bunkhouse operates 10 hotels in Texas, California, Kentucky and Mexico, including the Hotel Saint Cecilia in Austin. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Hotel Saint Augustine, at 4110 Loretto next to the Menil Collection, will have 71 rooms on two floors, an event space, a restaurant, a lobby bar and courtyard pool. The five-story Hotel Daphne, at 347 W. 20th, will comprise 47 rooms and suites around a central courtyard with pool. The acquisition plan includes management, franchise and license contracts for 21 existing hotels with a total of about 2,000 rooms, and more than 30 projects in the works, such as the Houston hotels. Following the acquisition, several properties will continue to be owned by Sansiri PLC, which has held a majority stake in Standard International since 2017. Chicago-based Hyatt is expected to pay $150 million and up to an additional $185 million over time as more properties enter the portfolio, according to the deal, which is expected to close this year. The acquisition would also include Standards affiliate restaurants and nightlife venues. Hyatts portfolio includes more than 1,350 hotels in 78 countries. CITY PLACE: Houston developer gains majority stake in all three Marriott hotels in City Place Advertisement Article continues below this ad Hyatt says it plans to create a New York-based lifestyle group led by Amar Lalvani, the executive chairman of Standard International who helped build a global brand with Standard hotels in London and New York City and the StandardX in Melbourne, Australia. Lalvani said teaming with Hyatt taps into a global network with a loyal guest base, and Hyatt CEO Mark Hoplamazian credited Standard with creating destinations unto themselves. The success of Chinese imports into the Vietnamese market is not only thanks to diversified and low-cost products but also systematic technology and logistics systems controlled by artificial intelligence (AI). The application of AI helps Chinese companies track market changes and ensure they maintain a competitive advantage over Vietnams other source markets, thus paving the way for an influx of Chinese goods into Vietnam. A leader of Best Inc., a Chinese logistics giant, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters that the groups 200 technological engineers focus primarily on digitalization in order to serve 100 million customers across eight countries, with Vietnam being one of its key markets. The firm uses AI in order to predict consumption trends in Vietnam and create detailed sales plans meant primarily for e-commerce platforms. The Best Inc. leader informed that the number of orders placed by Vietnamese customers on e-commerce platforms during sales events triples that on normal days. Its main customers are traders on Shopee, TikTok, Lazada, and Facebook, traders owning warehouses, and logistics units of enterprises. In addition to using AI to manage transport activities, Chinese transport enterprises can calculate the volume of goods in warehouses, the Best Inc. leader noted. In order to improve sales, we have built a force responsible for surveying Vietnamese consumers habits, director of a logistics company in Pingxiang, China said, adding that the company has solutions to connect with over 40 cross-border e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Ebay, Ali Express, Shopify, Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop. Chinese enterprises have also adopted technologies to conduct large-scale live-streamed sessions to secure orders from Vietnam. Logistics giants in China have invested in technologies to support Chinese sellers in creating orders through such live-streamed sessions. Technologies have been also utilized to manage warehouses, load cargo onto vehicles, and choose optimal transport routes and vehicles. Chinese firms have used robots to speed up the order handling process. Chinese enterprises use AI to forecast consumption trends of Vietnamese consumers to prepare goods. Photo: Bong Mai / Tuoi Tre Closed ecosystems In Chinas Hekou County, which borders the northern Vietnamese province of Lao Cai, hundreds of stores with both Chinese and Vietnamese information on their signboards offer customers every commodity under the sun, including footwear, clothing, confectionery, suitcases, handbags, kitchenware, fans, and hair dryers. The owners and managers of these stores tend to speak fluent Vietnamese. H., the manager of a jewelry and hair accessory store, said her outlet tends to attract Vietnamese customers thanks to its diversified product range. On the low end, some of these products cost just three renminbi (US$0.4) each. Those who buy wholesale can get them as low as VND3,000-4,000 ($0.1-0.2) apiece. According to an employee at a similar store, these products have a margin of approximately 30 percent. Once purchased, they are transported to border gates in Lang Son Province or Quang Ninh Province in northern Vietnam and can make it all the way to Ho Chi Minh City just four to seven days later, the man affirmed. Chinese enterprises have developed complete ecosystems to secure orders, collect goods, transport them across the border, and deliver them to customers in Vietnam. Retailers in Southeast Asia only need to place orders and negotiate prices with producers, as the director of cross-border transport at a Dongguan warehouse in China explained. Chinese firms handle the transport and export processes, often completing shipments within just 24 hours. Major clients in Vietnam, including Shopee, Lazada, Miniso, and Mixue, rely on these services, according to industry insiders. Chinese enterprises offer many products at low costs to Vietnamese wholesalers. Photo: Bong Mai / Tuoi Tre High trade deficit with China Vietnam exported $27.7 billion worth of products to its northern neighbor in the first half of this year, inching up over six percent over the year-ago period, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs. The country spent $66.7 billion on imports from China during the six-month period, soaring 34 percent against the same period last year and accounting for 37 percent of its total imports. China was Vietnams largest supplier of computers, electronic products and accessories, and materials for the apparel and footwear sectors. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A car assembly factory in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City operated by Mercedes-Benz Vietnam Co. Ltd., a joint venture between Germanys Mercedes-Benz Group AG and Vietnams Saigon Transportation Mechanical Corporation (SAMCO), will have to shut down permanently if land lease extension procedures are not finalized by August 31. Mercedes-Benz Group AG expressed concern about the impending deadline for its plant in a letter to the prime minister in July. The company is seeking a five-year extension on the land lease for the 10.5-hectare site at 693 Quang Trung Street in Go Vap District, pushing the contract's expiration to 2030. In mid-July, Mercedes-Benz Group AG sent a letter to the prime minister, asking for emergency intervention so that the land lease extension could go smoothly in order to avoid the closure of the factory. The letter was also sent to relevant ministries and authorities in Ho Chi Minh City, as well as municipal departments. If the land lease contract is not extended prior to August 31, the company will have to complete all unfinished assembling works and prepare for the stoppage of the plant from January to March in 2025, according to the firm. The enterprise also presented the negative impacts of the shutdown on its workers, partners, distributors, and suppliers. Mercedes-Benz said in the letter that it pledges to continue doing business in Vietnam, but it will only import autos from ASEAN nations, Europe, and the United States rather than trade locally-assembled cars. The company mentioned that it had previously sent another letter to relevant units emphasizing a deadline of March 31 when it had to stop supplying car parts and lay off workers. The world-renowned carmaker hoped that the prime minister would support it and direct relevant ministries and agencies to prioritize the completion of the plants land lease extension prior to August 31. According to a report submitted by SAMCO to the Ho Chi Minh City administration, though the Mercedes-Benz Vietnam project expires in April next year, the firm could not carry out any investment and production plan at the factory due to dubious success in land lease extension. After March 31 this year, the production of some auto parts in Germany that were set for the Vietnamese market was halted. If the land lease contract is not extended before August 31, Mercedes-Benz Vietnam will not be able to place orders on the parts from Germany. The factory is still operating at a low capacity because of the uncertainty of the extension. The number of workers at the plant has been constantly reduced. Only 500 employees currently remain at work, said SAMCO. The company once employed 800 workers. In September 2021, Mercedes-Benz Vietnam proposed extending the land use by five years until 2030. However, the proposal has yet to be passed on account of some legal hindrances over investment, land use, and public asset management aspects. At a meeting with the Ho Chi Minh City administration on August 17, Party General Secretary and State President To Lam deemed the stagnant extension process as unreasonable. Mercedes-Benz AG Group holds a 70-percent stake at Mercedes-Benz Vietnam Co. Ltd., while SAMCO owns the remaining 30 percent. The car assembly plant was licensed in 1995 and Mercedes-Benz Vietnam was allowed to use the land lot at 693 Quang Trung Street for 30 years from April 1995. Mercedes-Benz Vietnam submitted VND5.5 trillion (US$220 million) a year to the citys budget from 2017 to 2021, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Investment. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnam regrets that a Paris appeal court has rejected Vietnamese French Tran To Ngas appeal against American firms that supplied Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin for use by U.S. troops during the war in Vietnam, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced. At a regular press conference in Hanoi on Thursday, ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang made the statement regarding the appeal by Nga, an 82-year-old Vietnamese-French citizen who has been accusing 14 agrochemical firms of causing serious harm to her and others by selling AO/dioxin to the American military, which used the toxic herbicide during wartime in Vietnam. In dismissing Nga's appeal, the Paris Court of Appeal argued that it lacks jurisdiction over the case because the companies being sued are legally immune from prosecution, having acted under orders from the U.S. government. This reasoning mirrors that of the Evry Crown Court, which also rejected Nga's lawsuit in a first-instance hearing in 2021, seven years after she filed her petition. At the press meeting, Hang reiterated Vietnam's stance on the lawsuit, emphasizing that while the war has ended, its devastating consequences, particularly the long-term effects of Agent Orange/dioxin, continue to deeply impact the country and its people. The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs' spokesperson Pham Thu Hang is seen at a press meeting in Hanoi, August 22, 2024. Photo: Duy Linh / Tuoi Tre We strongly support the AO/dioxin victims and demand that chemical companies that produced and provided AO/dioxin for the U.S. military during the war in Vietnam, which has caused millions of Vietnamese people to suffer, take responsibility for the damage, Hang underscored. Shortly after the Paris Court of Appeal's ruling, Nga, who has spent over a decade seeking justice for the victims, announced her intention to take the case to Frances highest appeal court for a final ruling. William Bourdon, Ngas lead attorney, expressed deep disappointment with the decision by the Paris Court of Appeal. However, the appeal courts ruling does not diminish our determination to continue pursuing the lawsuit, Bourdon asserted. Nga, born in 1942 in the southern province of Soc Trang, suffered from five among the 17 diseases, disorders, deformities, and malformations associated with AO/dioxin exposure recognized by the U.S, according to the Vietnam News Agency. AO/dioxin is an extremely toxic defoliant that has caused terrible consequences for millions of Vietnamese people, including Nga. Over the 1961-71 period, U.S. troops conducted 19,905 missions spraying a total of more than 80 million liters of toxic chemicals, 61 percent of which was AO containing 366kg of dioxin, on nearly 26,000 hamlets and villages that covered 3.06 million hectares, or nearly one-fourth of the area of southern Vietnam. Between 2.1 and 4.8 million Vietnamese people have died or suffered serious illnesses after being exposed to such AO/dioxin, according to an estimate. Every year, Vietnam earmarks a budget of more than VND10 trillion (US$440 million) to cover expenses on monthly allowances, healthcare, and functional rehabilitation for AO/dioxin victims, as well as on support for areas severely affected by the toxic herbicide. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Kon Plong District in Kon Tum Province was struck by nine earthquakes between 00:00 am and 3:10 pm on Thursday, with the strongest one measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale, according to the Institute of Geophysics. The magnitude-4.4 quake hit the district at 1:30 pm before a magnitude-4 tremor struck at 2:59 pm. The remaining tremors reached magnitudes ranging between 2.5 and 3.4. The Institute of Geophysics added that these quakes, whose depths varied from 8km to 8.3km, posed no disaster risk. The Vietnam Earthquake Information and Tsunami Warning Center under this institute is keeping a close watch on the quakes. Earlier this week, Kon Plong was jolted by four earthquakes on Wednesday and 10 others on Tuesday, with a magnitude of 2.8 to 4.2. Nguyen Xuan Anh, head of the Institute of Geophysics, elaborated that the consecutive tremors in Kon Plong are considered induced earthquakes resulting from human activities, such as the construction of reservoirs and hydropower dams, mining activities, or nuclear explosions. He forecast that Kon Tum will continue to experience earthquakes in the near future, but their magnitudes are unlikely to exceed 5.5. In Vietnam, tremors with magnitudes ranging from five to 5.9 are assessed as moderate and capable of causing minor to moderate damage. Meanwhile, quakes with a magnitude of 4 to 4.9 are deemed small tremors. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A Paris court Thursday rejected an appeal by a French-Vietnamese woman who has been trying to sue Monsanto and other makers of Agent Orange for the chemical's use in the war in Vietnam. Tran To Nga, who was born in what was then French Indochina, accused 14 agrochemicals firms of causing grievous harm to her and others by selling Agent Orange to the American military, which used the herbicide to devastating effect in Vietnam. She lost her initial case in 2021, when a French court ruled that the companies enjoyed legal immunity from prosecution because they worked for a sovereign government. The Paris Court of Appeal used the same argument in rejecting Nga's claim. Her demands "come up against the companies' immunity status," the court said in its written ruling, seen by AFP. Nga will now take her case to France's highest appeals court for a final ruling, her lawyers said. The 82-year-old, who covered the 1955-1975 war as a reporter and has lived in France for the past three decades, also accused the companies of environmental damage. Campaign groups estimate that four million people in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were exposed to the 76 million litres (20 million gallons) of Agent Orange sprayed by US forces to destroy ground cover and food sources in its battle with North Vietnamese troops between 1962 and 1971. 'Long and difficult' Vietnam blames the chemical for severe birth defects in 150,000 children. But so far, only military veterans -- from the United States, Australia and Korea -- have won compensation for the after-effects of the highly toxic chemical. Nga's French lawyers told AFP that she was "disappointed" by Thursday's verdict. "But she is somebody full of wisdom, she knows that this battle is long and difficult." Vietnam's government called the French court ruling "very regretful". Foreign ministry spokeswoman Pham Thu Hang told reporters that "although the war is over, its effects on the country and the people of Vietnam are still felt". Companies that made Agent Orange or supplied it to the US army should be made to "take responsibility and address relevant consequences", she said. Vietnam Dioxine, a French NGO, accused the court of "denying justice to the victims of Agent Orange". Nga suffers from Type 2 diabetes and an extremely rare insulin allergy, which she linked to exposure to Agent Orange. She said she also contracted tuberculosis twice and developed cancer, and one of her daughters died of a heart malformation. Monsanto, which was taken over by German chemicals giant Bayer in 2018, argued the French courts did not have jurisdiction in the case due to the issue of sovereign immunity. The Houston Chronicle, one of the largest newspapers in the United States, was founded in 1901 and was acquired by Hearst in 1987. In addition to delivering in-depth coverage of local issues, the Chronicle is committed to covering state, national and international news. The newspaper operates a news bureau in Washington, D.C., that provides coverage of issues of special interest to residents of Houston and Texas. The transport authority of Ho Chi Minh City has banned all vehicles from entering Nguyen Hue Pedestrian Street in District 1 on Friday for the 'Hanoi Days in Ho Chi Minh City' event, commemorating the 70th anniversary of Hanoi's liberation on October 10, 1954. The municipal Department of Transport elaborated that the ban is aimed at ensuring traffic safety during the event. The following alternative routes were recommended: Route 1: Le Thanh Ton Street Dong Khoi Street Ton Duc Thang Street Route 2: Ton Duc Thang Street Ham Nghi Street Pasteur Street Le Thanh Ton Street The transport department also asked units in charge of implementing road and sidewalk renovation projects citywide to temporarily suspend work on September 1 and 2. Road project developers have also been tasked with expediting and completing work on their projects prior to September 1. For projects with construction barricades allowed to occupy the roadway, project developers are asked to keep construction sites clean and tidy. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Police in Da Lat City, in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, met on Thursday with the owner of an Alaskan Malamute dog that had been used as a prop for paid photos with tourists at Lam Vien Square and was reportedly brutally beaten. Earlier, videos showing the dog being brutally hit went viral on social media. The owner, L.D.L., a 28-year-old resident of Lam Dong Province, said he spent VND300 million (US$12,000) buying five Alaskan Malamute dogs in May so that he could use them for paid photography services at Lam Vien Square, a practice now under scrutiny. L. has been keeping the dogs on a local pig farm. He bought a fourth Alaskan Malamute for VND25 million ($1,000) in July and named the dog Bon. P.T.T.T., a 39-year-old resident in Da Lat, contributed VND10 million ($400) to use the dog for photography services with L.. T. later asked his 13-year-old son, T.T.Q., to care for the dog during his summer vacation. The area where L.D.L. kept the dogs for paid photography services in Da Lat City, located in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong. Photo: M.V. / Tuoi Tre On July 20, while letting tourists take photos with the dog, the boy was bitten by the canine. He got angry and repeatedly kicked the dog and took it to the pig farm where he continued to use a plastic pipe to strike its mouth and face. L. returned the VND10 million to T. on August 1 and resumed caring for the dog himself. L. claimed that the dog was vicious, so it needed further training." He added that he did not know the boy had beaten the dog until videos of his acts surfaced on social media. One of the videos showed the boy repeatedly striking the dog's mouth and face with a stick before slapping its head while the animal was chained to an iron column. The dog could be heard groaning in pain. Another video showed two young men kicking the dog at Lam Vien Square, causing it to collapse. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The Mobile Police Command under the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security has launched a training course on handling detection dogs for 32 police officers from the Cambodian Ministry of Home Affairs. The opening ceremony for the six-month training course was held at a training center for detection dogs in Hanois Soc Son District on Wednesday. Speaking at the event, Major General Nguyen Thanh Banh, deputy commander of the Mobile Police Command, said that the course was designed to meet specific requests from Cambodian law enforcement officials. Thirty-two Cambodian police officers are participating in the training course to gain basic knowledge in managing, raising, and training detection dogs to assist in identifying drugs and explosives. At the ceremony, Banh emphasized that the trainees would be able to apply their new skills to enhance their effectiveness in combating crime. Since 1999, the ministry has conducted eight detection dog training courses, training a total of 84 Cambodian law enforcement officers, with the latest course held in 2023. The current trainees, who have no prior experience working with police canines, are expected to significantly improve their crime-fighting capabilities in Cambodia. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Images of Vietnamese flags made out of blood donation certificates have flooded social networks in Vietnam over the past few days. The trend was initiated by Tran Van Phu, an official from the Department of Public Security in Hau Giang Province, southern Vietnam. Phu, who first donated blood in 2008 at the age of 18, has donated 83 times to date. He conceived the idea of arranging his blood donation certificates into the shape of the Vietnamese flag while organizing his papers. Tran Van Phu is still afraid of needles despite having donated blood over 80 times. Photo: Supplied Though the flag he created was not perfect, he decided to snap a photo and share it with a friend who later uploaded the photo to social media. From there, it was not long until the picture went viral. Phus Vietnamese flag is made up of 75 blood donation certificates, and Phu is thankful those certificates are now being used to inspire thousands of blood donors across the country. Images of Vietnamese flags made out of blood donation certificates are shared on social media. I am proud to see thousands of Vietnamese flags made carefully, beautifully, and creatively [from blood donation certificates]," Phu said. "They are an expression of kindness and patriotism." The trend has since caught on with thousands of blood donors in Vietnam, with netizens sharing that Phu has inspired them to donate blood. Chinoros Benjachavakul, a Thai man who is working in Vietnam, and his blood donation certificates arranged into a Vietnamese flag. Photo: Supplied Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Vietnamese fans of Alan Walker have been going wild after seeing the Norwegian DJ go to Vietnam this month to give a bike to a man whose vehicle was stolen by a person donning what seemed to be Walker's signature hoodie in Hanoi. Videos of the artists secret trip to Hanoi have become viral on social media. In a video posted on Walker's verified TikTok account on Thursday, the DJ declared, Mission successful!, without saying when he had touched down in Hanoi and how long he had stayed there. A screenshot of Alan Walker posing after his mission was completed He went on to explain that he gave the owner of the stolen bike a brand new one and even provided a bike lock to help him keep the vehicle safe. Remember to lock the bike, the DJ told the bike owner in the video. It was a quick trip to Hanoi, Vietnam, he said. Hopefully this bike stays locked and secure for the rest of its life. I'm excited to announce my new business Walker Industries - We Protect Bikes." The video, which was posted on Thursday, was one of an eight-clip series titled 'Alan Biker' which the DJ uploaded on his TikTok account, with the first airing on July 3 and hitting 13.6 million views. In the video, Walker displayed a photo capturing a man stealing a bike while wearing a hoodie with an Alan Walker logo on his back. The DJ described the photo as the WRONG way to use his merch. Alan Walker posted these photos on his TikTok channel, describing the right and wrong ways to use his merch. I was so sad when I saw what this ROGUE WALKER did with my merch on, Walker exclaimed in his second video about the theft, calling on his fans to help me find the owner so I can compensate [for] their loss. The theft was initially shown on TikTok on July 2 by a neighbor of the bike owner, before it reached Walker. The neighbor then commented on one of the clips that Walker handed the bike on August 20, while the bike owner has been silent on the date. We got a ton of messages about a Rogue Walker and a bike, Walker explained in one of his videos. The reason why I feel partly responsible is because of the Rogue Walker wearing my merch." In the subsequent videos of the series, Walker's story unfolded as he flew to Hanoi, purchased a bike similar to the stolen one, visited the owner's house, and gifted him the new bike along with a lock. I heard what happened, so I got you a new bike, Walker told the bike owner. A video shows Alan Walker giving a brand new bike to the man whose bike was stolen in Hanoi. It's unbelievable! I can't believe one day I will meet you. It's amazing! Thank you so much! the man told Walker. The Norwegian DJ also gifted hoodies to the bike owner and the neighbor who posted about the theft, and took photos with them. Alan Walker, a Norwegian DJ and producer, first rose to fame after the release of his 2015 single 'Faded,' which received multi-platinum certifications in many countries. In 2018, Walker released his debut studio album entitled 'Different World.' Other top Alan Walker hits include 'On My Way,' 'The Spectre,' 'Sing Me To Sleep,' 'Darkside,' and 'All Falls Down.' In 2019, Walker visited Vietnam to film his music video 'Alone Pt. II,' which has attracted more than 391 million views on YouTube. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Information and Communications has announced that it is working with relevant authorities to invite a beauty queen for a working session due to her overly-lighthearted rendition of Vietnam's national anthem. On Thursday, Vo Thi Thu Suong, chief inspector of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Information and Communications, stated that the department had become aware of a controversy involving Le Thi Hau Phuong, Mrs. Grand World 2017, who sang the Vietnamese national anthem in a joking manner, sparking debate on social media. We will take legal action regarding the incident involving Mrs. Phuong if necessary, Suong said. Phuong, a 45-year-old from the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh, won Miss World Business Vietnam 2016 and was crowned Mrs. Grand World in 2017. Outside of her pageant career, she is a culinary vlogger with her own YouTube channel. In mid-August, during a live-streamed chat with her audience, Phuong altered the first line of the national anthem and sang it in a joking manner, causing a considerable backlash from viewers. On August 16, Phuong issued an apology, stating that she did not intend to alter the lyrics or insult the national anthem. First of all, I want to apologize to everyone if my words have caused any misunderstanding, upset, or discomfort, she wrote in a social media post. I did not change the lyrics or insult the national anthem. Like every Vietnamese person, I am proud and moved when singing our sacred national anthem and understand that altering its lyrics is unacceptable. Phuong also expressed her willingness to cooperate with authorities to resolve the issue. Despite her apology, many netizens remained dissatisfied. Le Thi Hau Phuong, Mrs. Grand World 2017. Photo: Facebook The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism issued guidelines for the use of the national anthem, regulating it to be used during flag-raising ceremonies at state offices, schools, political events, national festivals, and state and international sporting events, among others. Misuse of the national anthem contrary to these guidelines may lead to criminal prosecution under Article 351 of the 2015 Penal Code. Individuals who intentionally insult the national anthem could face a warning, non-custodial reform for up to three years, or imprisonment for six months to three years. Recently, authorities have reported that many celebrities are deliberately creating scandals and accepting fines to draw attention to their live streams and product sales. Nguyen Thanh Hoa, head of electronic information at the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Information and Communications, told VnExpress that this behavior is part of a business model centered on generating public attention by staging shocking events to provoke arguments between fan and anti-fan groups. They then accept administrative fines and continue live-streaming to promote their products. Authorities have plans to investigate and address each case individually in order to deter such practices, according to Hoa. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Three years ago, Hoang Anh Tu decided to quit his office job at an interior design company to pursue a career in crafting ceramic art after visiting a pottery workshop. I chose to leave my office job and have now been painting ceramics for three years, said Tu , a 24-year-old from the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong. The office job was stressful, with long hours spent in front of a computer screen and occasionally all-nighters to meet deadlines. And since I have always enjoyed handcrafting, I decided to work as a painter in a pottery workshop." Tu is currently a painter at the over-40-year-old Vuong Xuan pottery workshop in Thuan An City, Binh Duong Province, just outside Ho Chi Minh City. He visited it once and fell in love with the craft there immediately. Recently, he has gained popularity among young customers for his self-produced ceramic items inspired by stray cats. Hoang Anh Tu poses with a cat and a cat figurine. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre News His current product line includes cat figurines, cat-shaped mugs, and pins. Animal-themed pins. Photo: Supplied Cat-themed mugs. Photo: Supplied Tu said that his love for cats began in childhood, and he has a particularly big soft spot for stray cats. In fact, it is the stray cats in his neighborhood that inspire him to earn money so he can afford to feed them. I love cats because they are adorable and exude a relaxed demeanor. In a world where everyone is constantly busy with work, watching stray cats gives me a sense of peace and inspiration, helping me create better art, Tu said. Hoang Anh Tu plays with cats. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre News When painting cat-themed products, Tu often pays special attention to their eyes, believing that their expressions bring his creations to life. Hoang Anh Tu paints on a ceramic cat-themed mug. Photo: Ngoc Phuong / Tuoi Tre News I first started making these products because I wanted to earn enough to buy cat food, but they became more popular than I expected, Tu said. I try to infuse youthful energy into my work so that it resonates more with young people." Tu's products can be found at 453/15 Nguyen Dinh Chieu Street, Ward 5, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, or on his Facebook and Instagram page 'Tiem Cai Cuc.' Tus products are also sought after by shops on Nguyen Van Binh Book Street in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, where they are sold to both local and international customers. On average, Tu sells about 10-20 items daily, with prices ranging from VND70,000 (US$3) to VND500,000 ($20). Cute cat figurines. Photo: Supplied He also accepts custom orders. Tu earns around VND20 million ($802) per month from his work at the pottery workshop and the sales from his cat-themed products. Looking ahead, he plans to pursue advanced studies in ceramics so that he can create a more diverse range of products and tell stories, not just of cats, but also other animals like fish and dogs. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! From next Thursday the 9Network will screen the Paralympics Live from Paris across curated channels, Nine and 9GGEM, and feature more than 20 dedicated high-definition live streams on 9Now. Across the network, there will be over 300 hours of the Paralympics, with more main-channel coverage than ever within 14 hours of live coverage a day on Nine and 9GEM, from the Opening Ceremony on August 28 to the Closing Ceremony on September 8. With 20 streams in full high definition, 9Now will screen every event plus replays and highlights, as well as going behind the scenes. Stan Sport will also screen the Paralympics. Viewers will be guided through the competition by some of Australias most celebrated Paralympians and Olympians and Nines accomplished television hosting team. Beyond the Dream: Curtis McGrath Monday, August 26, at 8.45pm AEST Australian Paralympian and three-time gold medallist Curtis McGrath opens his door to Nine to share his personal story, his family and friends for the first time, as well as his preparations in the lead-up to the Paris 2024 Paralympics. Thursday August 29. Daily competition is on Nine and 9GEM check local guides. Paralympics Paris 2024: Pre Show Live at 3:30am AEST Thursday August 29 on Nine. Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Elysees will be the stage for this groundbreaking celebration in the heart of Paris. Featuring spectacle that will showcase the Paralympic athletes and the values that they embody, uniting spectators and television audiences worldwide around the unique spirit of the Paralympic Games. Paralympics Paris 2024: Opening Ceremony 4am AEST and screens Live until 7:15am AEST. Commentating: Sylvia Jeffries, Dylan Alcott and Annabelle Williams. Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Elysees will be the stage for this groundbreaking celebration in the heart of Paris. Featuring spectacle that will showcase the Paralympic athletes and the values that they embody, uniting spectators and television audiences worldwide around the unique spirit of the Paralympic Games. It will be replayed 12pm in each market. 5.00pm 10.30pm AEST Ellie Cole, James Bracey, Kurt Fearnley & Todd Woodbridge As Paris wakes up and competition begins, prime-time coverage will be helmed by Australias most decorated female Paralympian, Ellie Cole, alongside James Bracey, Todd Woodbridge and one of the worlds greatest Para-Athletes, Kurt Fearnley. 10.30pm 2.30am AEST Dylan Alcott & Sylvia Jeffreys They will then pass the baton to Paralympic gold medallist and former Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott and Nines Sylvia Jeffreys, live at the Mob Hotel in Paris which will be the home away from home for the Australian Paralympic Team. 2.30am 6.00am AEST Blake Cochrane & Roz Kelly The days action will be rounded out with Paralympic gold medal swimmer Blake Cochrane alongside Nines Roz Kelly. Commentators Our superstar lineup of commentators and experts will reveal what it takes to excel on the worlds biggest sporting stage. The lineup includes Paralympian gold medallists Annabelle Williams, Ryan Scott, Troy Sachs, Kelly Cartwright, Katrina Webb and Tim Matthews; silver medallist John Maclean, Christie Dawes and Para-triathlete Kate Naess. Alongside them will be Olympian Sam Willoughby, who acquired tetraplegia after suffering a career-ending injury in 2016; Cate Campbell, commentating on the swimming; and Jess Fox, who will commentate during Para-Canoe events. Plus: David Culbert, Brenton Speed, Shane McInnes, Sean Maloney, Troy Sachs, Mitch Tomilnson, Sam Willoughby, Felicity Johnson, Scott McGrory, Kate Naess, Peter Psaltis. Brent Williams, Nines Director of Sport, Olympics & Paralympics: There are moments in sport that transcend the field of play or even the athletes themselves. An unquantifiable spirit derived from sportsmanship, courage and inspiration. Nowhere are these moments more evident than the Paralympic Games. Each of these elite athletes are living their sporting dream and every single one of them has a story to tell. With over 300 hours of Paralympics coverage set to screen across the 9Network and 9Now, we look forward to broadcasting this historic global event and sharing these incredible stories with all of Australia. The evolution of the Paralympic movement has been meteoric from its inception as the Stoke Mandeville Games to the first official Paralympic Games in 1960 with over 400 athletes competing. Fast forward 64 years and over 4,000 athletes will live out their Paralympic dream in Paris with grandstands full of spectators and a global TV audience running into the billions. We hope this continued growth in prominence will inspire a sports-loving nation to get behind our athletes as they plan not just to compete but to conquer the worlds best in their chosen discipline, and encourage the 20 per cent of Australians living with a disability to get involved in sport. Wide World of Sports commitment to the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games starts well before the cauldron is lit on August 28, with regular appearances and content pieces being created by Paralympic legends and emerging superstars across all of our platforms. The buildup will culminate with our Beyond The Dream documentary series highlighting two incredible stories, that of Australian Paralympic Captain and three-time gold medallist Curtis McGrath, and a behind-the-scenes look at The Steelers, the Aussie wheelchair rugby team, as they embark on their mission to win gold. The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games promises to deliver unmissable moments and unforgettable memories and we look forward to sharing it all with the whole of Australia. Gold Logie winner Larry Emdur sure has done a lot of TV flying hours hosting shows such as The Main Event, Cash Bonanza, Celebrity Dog School and Celebrity Splash. But he will always be synonymous with The Price is Right which gave away huge prizes on TV. In 2005 one Mega Showcase even offered a Queensland apartment, Alfa Romeo, Speedboat, Holiday to Canada and more! The total prize worth over $641,000 would be worth $1.04m total in todays currency (but I doubt it would stretch as far!). Assisted here by Getaways Ben Dark, Joanna had already won a $20,000 motorbike. See what happened when she was offered thousands in cold hard cash Blackmagic Design heeft versie 19.0 van DaVinci Resolve uitgebracht. DaVinci Resolve is een videobewerkingsprogramma voor Windows, macOS en Linux. Het is beschikbaar in de gratis DaVinci Resolve-uitvoering en het betaalde DaVinci Resolve Studio, dat over extra functionaliteit beschikt, zoals de mogelijkheid om in hogere resoluties en frames per seconde te werken en de mogelijkheid om van extra grafische processors en OpenFX-plug-ins gebruik te maken. In deze uitgave zijn de volgende veranderingen en verbeteringen aangebracht: Cut New multi source option to view time-synced footage. Support for displaying clip markers and keyframes. Support for a large enhanced viewer in the cut page. Live overwrite now starts with a single frame duration by default. Interactive Resolve FX and Fusion effect overlays in the viewer. Improved grouping of Fusion effects. Decompose nested clips from clip context menu. Ability to find timeline clip in multi source. Apply transitions to all edits and set default from context menu. Cut page timelines now show render cache activity. Option to select checkerboard and grey alpha viewer backgrounds. Improved media pool and timeline sizing to maximize viewer size. Replay Workflows Support for the cut page as a media player and playout system. Support for the DaVinci Resolve Replay Editor. View ATEM multiview feeds live in DaVinci Resolve. Live sync camera clips in DaVinci Resolve via Blackmagic Cloud. Add points of interest and create replays from multiview and timeline. Cue and run replays with live slow motion. Pick from slow motion, ramp down and other retime presets. Apply auto stingers to start and end of playback. Automatically add replays to build highlights timelines. DaVinci Neural Engine IntelliTrack AI point tracker for tracking and stabilization. AI powered UltraNR noise reduction for spatial denoising. New voice isolation mode with faster response and buffering. IntelliTrack powered audio panning to video in Fairlight. New 2x and 4x SuperScale options using Nvidia RTX on Windows. Up to 3.5x faster SuperScale on supported AMD systems. Up to 3x faster AI features on supported Intel Windows systems. New faster option for Speed Warp. Music Remixer FX to remix voice, drums, bass, guitar and other sources. Dialogue Separator FX to separate dialogue, background or ambience. Option to detect speakers for text based editing workflows. Edit Ability to edit timeline content based on source clip transcription. Option to display timecode column in the transcription window. Option to search and replace partial words in the transcription window. Select a sentence using mark clip in the transcription window. Place on top button in the transcription window. Support for transcribing timeline as a nested clip. Ability to import and export transcriptions as SRT and SRTX files. Ability to detect speakers during transcription. Preview, skim and scrub source audio channels in the inspector file tab. Set common source audio configurations in the inspector. Preview up to 36 audio channels in source viewer and inspector. Support for the precision trim editor in the timeline viewer. Support for safe area overlay options in the timeline viewer. Ability to select audio channels when aligning clips using waveform. Support for fixed playhead mode in the timeline. Support for retaining transitions when ripple deleting a clip. Support for bezier controls for Open FX keyframes. Missing Text+ fonts are indicated as a viewer overlay. Ability to edit Text+ titles in the viewer. Ability to use the keyboard numeric keypad for direct timecode entry. Effect library favorites are now categorized. Option to search across all effect library folders. Collapse effect library categories with alt or option double click. Improved snapping and cursor sensitivity on the timeline. Up to 50% faster iris, shape, wipe and simple dissolves on Apple Silicon. Option to select checkerboard and grey alpha viewer backgrounds. Media Support for updating clip usage for all timelines. Ability to select channels when syncing audio using waveform. Ability to reveal media pool bin from multi bin or search displays. Action to resync a bin to include new clips in the original folder. Smart bin filter for media pool clips proxy status. Option to retain video metadata when syncing audio and video files. Ability to resize 2-up and 4-up views in the media pool. Media management now retains alpha for supported formats. Marker clips are now editable in the media pool list view. Generated proxies now retain reel number metadata. Color New ColorSlice six vector grading palette. Node Stack allows management of complex grading workflows. Support for ACES AMF 2.0. Option to normalize channels in the RGB mixer. SDI output now shows advanced 3D keyer strokes and marker annotations. Support for double clicking to open a compound node. Preview matte node layers by alt or option hovering over layer entry. Node context menu actions can now be assigned shortcut keys. Support for cleaning up node graph for multiple selected clips. Support for creating smart filters for HDR graded clips. Improved stereoscopic 3D control layouts on advanced and mini panels. Support for current group filter on advanced panels. Improved viewer zoom increments when using shortcut keys. Support for Dolby Vision HDMI tunneling on DeckLink 8K Pro G2. Dolby Vision tone mapped viewer previews and scopes in dual SDI mode. Option to link Dolby Vision target display selection for trims and preview. Improved HDR Vivid support. Support for FujiFilm Log and Log2 for color managed workflows. Fusion Fusion viewers are now color managed. Multi Poly tool for easier rotoscoping of complex objects. Support for Open Color IO 2.3. Support for referenced Fusion compositions in the media pool. USD enhancements for Material X and advanced volumetric shading. Stereoscopic 3D clip support in Fusion compositions. Multiple shape toolset enhancements. Improved Text+ inspector and on-screen controls. Show user defined guides in the viewer. Support for deleting and resetting layers in MultiMerge. Option for sBooleans to retain the upstream style. Option to specify duplication path in duplicate tools. Set control to default now clears animations, modifiers and expressions. New occlusion mask input for Surface Tracker. Track forward and reverse controls for multiple tracker tools. Ability to match planar tracker sizes to dissimilar logo and image overlays. Deselecting trackers now hides tracking paths in viewer. Improved performance for some large Fusion compositions. Faster rendering of streaming 3D textures in compositions. Up to 3x faster Magic Mask performance in Fusion. New left flow and mid flow UI presets with vertical viewer layouts. Resolve FX New Film Look Creator. New auto SDR to HDR tone mapping using Nvidia RTX Video on Windows. Better Face Refinement box and profile handling and smooth skin options. New Defocus Background isolates foreground with blur. Improved blur quality for Radial Blur and Zoom blur. Smoother sub pixel animation and finer control for Box and Directional blur. Up to 3x faster Beauty, Edge Detect and Watercolor on Mac. Up to 2x faster Beauty, Edge Detect and Watercolor on Nvidia systems. Fairlight Fully integrated native Ambisonics workflow. IntelliTrack powered audio panning to video. Ability to sidechain VST3 and AU audio effects. Music Remixer FX to remix voice, drums, bass, guitar and other sources. Dialogue Separator FX to separate dialogue, background and ambience. Ducker track FX for auto level management of beds against dialogue. Voice Isolation supports true stereo and improved buffering. Dialogue Leveler has improved with faster cue up time. Improved frequency analyzer displays for spectrum and waterfall options. Improved real time control response to clip equalizer changes. Multiple improvements for native FX processing. Multiple automation improvements. Support for panning in groups. Support for clip head and tail snapping in focus mode. Support for zoom to fit for timeline view. Support for timecode and midi timecode chase. Support for an exclusive solo mode. Support for fades with Dolby Atmos compositions. Ability to loop playback over range from Fairlight panels. Preferences option to auto-patch armed tracks to default audio input. Support for dynamic delay compensation with AU plugins. Support for Sony 360RA Walkmix audio formats and plugin. Improved ADM and Vivid audio with MPEG-H SDK 2.75. Support for third party auto conform workflows. Codecs Up to 3x faster H.264 and H.265 decodes on non Studio in Windows. Up to 2x faster H.264 and H.265 native encodes in Windows. Support for Blackmagic RAW SDK 4.2. New IMF iQIYI Deliver page preset. Custom deliver presets are sorted alphabetically. Support for encoding IMF packages with JPEG HT content. Support for exporting AMF with image sequences. Up to 2x faster decodes for ZIP1 compressed OpenEXR sequences. Support for alpha-based HEIC formats. Support for encoding FLAC audio. Support for encoding QuickTime JPEG YUV 422 and 444 formats. Support for 44.1 KHz and other audio sample rates in Linux. Render support for odd numbered resolutions in mov and avi formats. Initial support for iPhone Cinematic video on Mac OS Sonoma. DaVinci IO Encode Plugin SDK support for audio only formats. Support for Sony XAVC H raw controls. Support for embedded LUTs in Sony MXF and MP4 clips. Support for H.264 and H.265 bitrate settings in Quick Export. GPU accelerated decodes for ARRI Codex HDE on CUDA. Rendered DNxHR 444 clips now default to using full data range. Scripting API Support for managing clip color groups. Ability to query timeline, clip and group node graphs. Support for enumerating tools used in a given node. Support to enable or disable color nodes in a node graph. Support for setting and getting color keyframe mode. Ability to export clip LUTs. Ability to export timeline ALE and CDL. Support to invoke Dolby Vision analysis on a timeline. Ability to import OpenTimelineIO timelines with custom import options. Support for querying media audio track mapping. Support to query and set speaker detection from project settings. Support to add a timeline track at a given index. Support to query for a timeline items linked clips. Support to query for a timeline items track type and index. Support to get and set cloud project media location from project settings. Improved support for querying media pool stereoscopic 3D clips. General Organization profile support for Blackmagic Cloud. Support for Blackmagic Cloud monthly Studio licenses. Improved Blackmagic Cloud media sync dialog. Support for ARM64 based Windows systems. Open FX Resolve Renderer plugin for external VFX applications. Support for German and Italian user interface localizations. Support for duplicating local project libraries. Support for restoring timeline backups from deleted timelines. Loading large timelines now shows a progress bar. Support for disabling specific video tracks for a render job. Option to optimize audio loudness and peaks in render settings. Support for HDR viewers on Windows. Support for HDR scans using the new Cintel scanner 8mm gate. Support for black and white scans from the Cintel scanner. Media management can trim mp3 and flac audio in mp4 and mov clips. Clip flags and colors support in data burn-ins. Ability to assign keyboard shortcuts for up to 5 UI layout presets. New workflow integration example for common MAM APIs. Improved battery life for the Speed Editor and Micro Color Panel. DaVinci Remote Monitoring using IP address connections. Option to specify a custom TURN server for remote monitoring. General performance and stability improvements. Owner Christopher Huang opens what he's calling the worlds smallest bar located just behind Ninja Ramen in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Country music. Shots. And only 42 square feet. Welcome to Toy Gun Pew Pew Saloon, which its owner claims is now the smallest bar in the world. Ninja Ramens Christopher Huang recently opened the shot bar on the former back patio of his ramen bar on Washington Avenue. Its the latest addition from the wacky restaurant world of Huang, who is also part owner of nearby Narwhal Jousting Club. BEST BARS: The top 23 bars in Houston right now Advertisement Article continues below this ad He said the bar has been a long time coming with ideas swirling in his head since 2015. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he solidified the shot bar concept, toggling between the name Toy Gun and Pew Pew. He combined them when he got 50-50 responses to which name was better. The tool-shed-size bar was custom built, starting this past spring. Huang decided to make it just 1 square foot smaller than Backdoor 43 in Milan, Italy, which he said previously had the unofficial title of Smallest Bar in the World. Ninja Ramen owner Christopher Huang opens what he is calling the "world's smallest bar." Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Owner Christopher Huang opens what he's calling the worlds smallest bar located just behind Ninja Ramen in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Owner Christopher Huang pours a shot at Toy Gun Pew Pew Saloon, located just behind Ninja Ramen Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Toy Gun Pew Pew Saloon, the world's smallest bar," according to the owner of Ninja Ramen, also has small menus. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Owner Christopher Huang pours a shot at Toy Gun Pew Pew Saloon, located just behind Ninja Ramen Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Ninja Ramen Owner Christopher Huang works on a newly-built tool shed at the restaurant in April. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer Toy Gun Pew Pew Saloon can fit three people inside any more than that and its a tight squeeze. The bar is 6 feet wide. It could also be the worlds smallest honky-tonk if two people are able to dance side by side, Huang added. The bar leans into a theme with western-inspired decor and country music playing. It still smells a little like Home Depot from the new wood walls. One customer has already promised to bring in an elk head for Huang to hang up. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Customers can order just about any shot, including college favorites such as a green tea shot or Vegas bomb. The house specialty, called the Pew Pew, is a mezcal shot followed by ramen broth. Its so good, Huang said. Everyone thats had it so far is like, this is awesome. Ramen broth and Pedialyte can be purchased with any shot. Huang plans on adding cocktails in a shot form, such as a mini Manhattan. Other future plans include pop-ups where chefs can serve tiny versions of foods like mini tacos. Owner Christopher Huang serves a shot at Toy Gun Pew Pew Saloon, located just behind Ninja Ramen in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Huang is a fount of inventive ideas. At the start of the year, Huang let the public know the ramen business was struggling. In his light-hearted quirky way, the news came with a kicker that the business would start an OnlyFans account where customers could share photos of themselves slurping their noodles. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Ninja Ramen, which opened 10 years ago, was hit with more financial woes after Hurricane Beryl wiped its power out for nine days, resulting in a loss of more than $25,000. Huang is hoping the bar will direct people to Ninja Ramen. This month he has a sale on whiskey; he has quite a few unique bottles. Any whiskey thats normally priced under $25 is $10; less than $100 is $25; equal or greater than $100 is $50 a pour. Hopefully with the tiny bar maybe drawing a different crowd, or drawing new people towards us, that will help in the big picture, Huang said. Toy Gun Pew Pew Saloon is open 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. Thursday through Sunday at 4219 Washington Ave. Yusha Rahman, TwoCircles.net An image of a screenshot from a video showing a woman being raped went viral on social media. The image was accompanied by a description, suggesting that Islamist forces were celebrating the rape of Hindu women in Bangladesh and encouraging other Muslims to seize Hindu properties there. Support TwoCircles This image gained widespread popularity in India with claims that the video depicted atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh. https://x.com/NETWORK20NEWS/status/1820710874337702148 https://x.com/ebovea/status/1821627120545571228/phot/1 However, many fact-checkers debunked these claims and clarified that the viral video is from 2021. Although the victim was indeed a Bangladeshi citizen, the incident occurred in Bangalore. Similarly, another video showed a man being brutally beaten to death by the public. It was shared on social media with the claim that Hindus are being attacked by Muslims in Bangladesh. https://x.com/diliprane1663/status/1820799937141186612 Later, fact-checking revealed that the video depicted an Awami League leader named Shahidul Islam Hiron. Not only trolls but also some Indian media organizations reported that Muslims were killing Hindus in Bangladesh. For instance, a prominent media organization took a video from social media and published it as a report claiming that a Hindu girl was supposedly assaulted by a Muslim mob in Bangladesh. The report was provocative and included a quote from a BJP leader suggesting that India should prepare to resettle Hindus from Bangladesh while sending Rohingyas and Bangladeshi Muslims back to their nations. After being called out as fake news, the report was taken down, but the archive can be seen here . These are just some of the many posts that went viral in India to show atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh following Sheikh Hasinas ouster from Bangladesh, amidst nationwide student and public protests against the government. Intent to Create Communal Unrest? These communal rhetorics are not new. Posts on social media often depict the plight of Hindus in neighboring nations where Muslims are in the majority. However, this time, even national media reported irresponsibly. Major news outlets, alongside Hindu extremists, used Bangladeshs political unrest as a scapegoat to polarise Indian Hindus and scare them about their next-door Muslim neighbors. Some posts and media outlets also suggested that secularism is a flawed concept if Muslims are in your country, as they allegedly will not show any mercy while killing Hindus. The result of these posts was seen on the ground when Hindu Raksha Dal, a Hindu right-wing outfit, destroyed the shanties of Muslims living near the railway station in Ghaziabad. The right-wing extremists also assaulted a group of people, calling them Bangladeshi infiltrators. It was later discovered that these individuals were not Bangladeshis but Muslims from Shahjanpur, Uttar Pradesh. The Condition of Bangladeshi Hindus Reports of vandalism, looting and assaults in various places in Bangladesh have emerged. There have been reports of communal attacks as well. However, in many cases, these attacks were politically motivated against those aligned with the Awami League, the party led by Hasina. Tanvir Mahatab Abir, senior fact checker at Rumor Scanner Bangladesh, noted that political attacks are often given a communal dimension, which is concerning. Such rumors impact people and threaten security. Talking to TwoCircles.net, he said, Undoubtedly, such attacks at a time of unrest have affected communities. However, the people of the Muslim community are spreading messages of awareness and promoting communal harmony. They are also guarding numerous Hindu establishments at night against any plunder. This bond of harmony shows the real image of Bangladesh. Another report by the Times of India suggested that minorities were being forced to resign from jobs. Rashad Ahamad, a staff correspondent at New Age, a Dhaka-based English language newspaper, clarified that those forced to resign were supporters of the Awami League. At least 5,000 people who were appointed by the ousted dictator Hasina were forced to resign. The number is unaccounted for because after the fall of the government, this is happening everywhere. It is based on loyalty to Hasina, not anything else. Only 12 were Hindus, the rest are Muslims, he claimed. Jamaat-e-Islami and Politics in Bangladesh Three days after Hasinas resignation, an interim government in the country was formed with Mohammed Yunus as the chief. As soon as Yunus assumed command, he condemned acts of violence against minorities and assured the safety of Hindus and other minorities in the nation. However, many people fear that the Jamaat-e-Islami, a Muslim extremist group in Bangladesh, might rise to prominence in countrys politics, disrupting the countrys secular fabric. Many media reports ( here and here ) suggested that the Jamaat-e-Islami is supported by Pakistan and was a significant force behind the student protests in Bangladesh, leading to civil unrest and Hasinas ousting. Some predicted that Jamaats active involvement in Bangladeshs politics would further increase violence against minorities. This prediction is based on the organisations ideology, which aims to bring the world under Sharia law. A report also suggested that the Jamaat-e-Islami opposes the secular constitution of Bangladesh. Many media reports also mentioned that the Jamaat-e-Islami had a strong alliance with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and was banned by the Awami League for terror activities. However, such news reports failed to mention that the Jamaat had enjoyed alliances with both the Awami League and the BNP at different times. In the 1990s, the Jamaat shared an amicable bond with the Awami League as both parties opposed the BNP government led by Khaleda Zia. They were both critical of the BNPs governance and electoral practices. In 1996, the Awami League allied with the Jamaat to form the government, but the alliance was short-lived. In 2009, the Awami League declared the Jamaat and its student wing, Chhatra Shibir, as terrorist organisations. The interim government of Bangladesh includes people from the secular front. It comprises a mix of civil society members and retired bureaucrats. Ahmad said, If Jamaat had too much influence on Bangladeshs politics, women would not be part of the Cabinet as they oppose women leadership. The interim government has 4 out of 17 women members. This, in itself, is evidence that the Jamaat does not have too much influence. TwoCircles.net also spoke to Deep Halder, a journalist and author of the book titled Being Hindu in Bangladesh: An Untold Story. He said that there are reports of violence against Hindus in Bangladesh, but these are independent of Sheikh Hasinas resignation. He further stated, The current constitution of Bangladesh is secular, and Yunus statement to stop any atrocities against Hindus is a much-appreciated move. Halder also mentioned that the Jamaat has long been willing to establish Sharia law in Bangladesh, irrespective of the current political scenarios, which might be a cause of concern for minorities and their culture. There are cases of Hindus being attacked in Bangladesh since the liberation, but they must come together and raise their voices against it. Promulgating fake news will only dilute their cause, he added. Impact of Fake News in Sowing the Seeds of Polarisation According to a recent World Economic Forum report, misinformation and disinformation are linked with the polarisation of society, meaning they can exacerbate each other. If a society is divided, more people will believe information that supports their existing views, even if it is false, deepening polarisation among the masses. Psychotherapist Hena Faqurudheen said, It should also be noted that those favoring extremist beliefs will attempt to create scenarios for conflict (real or otherwise, as seen by the proliferation of fake news in the last decade) to convince group members that they are under threat. Thus, group members need to reflect on why extremist thoughts are being favored. Many fact-checking organizations across India and abroad are trying to curb the menace of fake news in this scenario or otherwise. However, major media organisations have also reported on the incident in ways that confirm existing biases. Thus, all the efforts of fact-checking seem to be a drop in the ocean. Utsa Sarmin, TwoCircles.net Kolkata: The brutal rape and murder of a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor at Kolkatas state-run R.G. Kar Hospital has sparked widespread outrage and protests in the city. However, the case has also been marred by a wave of misinformation, particularly surrounding the post-mortem report. Support TwoCircles Initial reports and social media speculation claimed that a substantial amount of semen, ranging from 150 grams to 150 milligrams, was found on the victims body. There were also claims that, considering the amount of semen found, two or three people were involved in the crime. However, a detailed post-mortem report accessed by News18 has clarified these claims. The report explains that the 150-gram figure, which fueled much of the initial public outcry, actually refers to the weight of the victims uterus a standard measurement in such examinations. Additionally, the forensic team, which reached the crime scene almost five hours after the incident, noted the absence of any significant fluid quantity due to its congealed state, complicating the forensic analysis. Furthermore, a forensic report accessed by the local Bengali newspaper Anandabazar Patrika contradicts earlier social media speculations claiming that the body had multiple bone fractures. While the report does not mention any broken bones, it details injuries to the head, cheeks, lips, nose, right jaw, chin, neck, left hand, left shoulder, left knee, ankle and genitals. The report also states that the doctor had a blood clot (hemorrhage) in their lungs. A postgraduate trainee doctor who participated in the protests expressed concern about the spread of misinformation. Not wishing to be names, she stated, It is regrettable that the police did not take steps to curb speculation about the forensic report. Everyone is drawing their own conclusions. She also mentioned, I dont even understand how the forensic report was shared with the media. Forensic reports are confidential; it is evidence, part of the investigation. Ideally, no one except the victims family and the investigative authorities should have access to the reports. Her sentiments were echoed by a senior police official at Lalbazar, who confirmed that the medias understanding of the case is limited. He said, The media is surely reporting about the findings. But I can say that even journalists do not know what had actually transpired. Only the CBI knows, and they will present the report in court. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is currently leading the investigation. Being part of a team that accessed the crime scene, the official mentioned that one cannot ascertain that the crime occurred where the victims body was found. The original scene of the crime could well be the bathroom or any other room in the hospital. On August 9, the body of the young doctor was found in the hospitals seminar hall. Rajdeep Shaw, a second-year postgraduate trainee doctor at the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health with previous experience as house staff at R.G. Kar Medical College, revealed that the bathroom, a sleeping room used by patients during the day and interns at night, and the seminar hall were in close proximity. Any of these spaces could be the original crime scene. Shaw further criticised the hospitals response, stating that no measures were taken to secure the crime scene after the body was discovered. People were freely entering and exiting, compromising the evidence, he said. A forensic investigation was not initiated until seven hours later, during which time unrestricted access to the scene continued. Shaw emphasised that these lapses severely compromised the post-mortem examination. For the police official, the sensationalisation of the forensic report could have acted as a potential hindrance to the investigation if the case had not been taken up by the CBI. After all, such social media speculations and emotions could result in undue political pressures on the police. The post-mortem was conducted by a panel of three doctors, including two female forensic science experts. The report accessed by News18 mentions that to accurately determine the number of perpetrators involved in the crime, investigators are now relying heavily on DNA profiling. Samples collected from the crime scene have been sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) for analysis. The results of this DNA testing are crucial and will be shared with the CBI. According to local media reports, over the weekend, the investigative agency started conducting psychological tests on Sanjay Roy, the main suspect in the rape and murder case. A team of psychology experts from the Central CFSL is handling the questioning of Roy. The CBI also interrogated Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, from August 16 to August 18. We sat down with celebrated photographer, Marc Hom to discuss his exhibition Re-Framed (which includes portraits of Angelina Jolie, Samuel L. Jackson, and many others shot for Esquire), now showing at the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, NY. This conversation has been edited for clarity and length. Esquire: I had the pleasure of being at the opening of your exhibition Re-Framed and I was, to put it mildly, completely blown away. I, like most people, are accustomed to images placed at eye-level, typically just one after the other inside a gallery or museum. It was refreshing, on a beautiful day to be outside by the water, amongst these beautiful gigantic revolving frames. Marc Hom: When I got invited in 2020 by Chris Rossi, the head of exhibitions up there, I went to see the room that I was going to exhibit in. It was a beautiful roomtypical, very beautiful gallery space, beautiful light, everything was great in there, but I walked out of there thinking, OK this is my first museum show, is this really what I want to do? One day, I was driving up to Cooperstown and stopped at Storm King sculpture park, and said, We really need to get nature into this. The field behind the Feinmore faces a big lake and they had never used it for anythingwhich is really mind blowingso this was a whole new thing for them, also. I was very fortunate to work with a lot of amazing people and some really great craftsmen. We ended up making a dummy exactly the way I wanted at 9x12 feet, going through several printing processes to really reach that quality I wanted to achieve. Then of course, I came up with the idea that I wanted the pictures to turn in the wind because I thought the juxtaposition between the static feeling of the inside exhibition worked well with the outdoor one. At the same time, I called my publisher who is in Germany and asked, Hey Im doing this project, would you be interested in doing a book about it? Marc Hom Esquire: When did you know that photography was the medium for you? MH: My father was a photographer and a filmmaker. He opened the first art cinema in Copenhagen in 1982 so I was always exposed to a lot. I decided early onwhen I was 17that I was going to photography school in Denmark and then came to New York when I was 22. I was very lucky to meet people early on like Elena Tschernischova, who took me to Vienna to do a book about ballet therethat really was the start of everything for me. It was a bit different than model tests and trying to approach fashion magazinespeople have always been my interest you know? So then, in New York I was very lucky to run into Fabien Barron and Liz Tilberis when she took over Harpers Bazaar in 1992, and we were just this young group of people like meMario Sorrenti, David Simsworking with her for four-to-five years. So yeah, after I started, I just kept going and going and that's how all of this happened. I still dont think Ive done my best photograph yet so I'm excited about taking more. Marc Hom Esquire: Ive always thought of you as a portrait photographer, regardless of the type of assignment. You have the instinct for when that person is truly showing their best. Are there best circumstances that render the best results for you? MH: Ive never really been a photographer that has interest in adding a shock-value or trick in my photos. I can create an image within my frame and lighting and make my angles sharp. Of course, I need to be 120% happy with my photograph, but also my subject needs to be happy as well. Were both investing time into creating this thing, so its super important that its worth our time at the end of the day. Esquire: Its like a symbiotic kind of relationship between you and your subject. MH: Yeah, I mean it really is trust more than anything. You cant get these photos of someone who really doesnt want to be photographed. It's a barrier that you must break down early. You must deal with different thingssometimes from people youve never met, you know? The subject isnt in a good mood, or are they? The first ten-to-fifteen minutes of the shoot you must think, I am here to take your picture, you are here to be in front of the camera, let's try to make something magical. It doesn't always work out, as we both know, but most of the time it does. When I was younger, I used to draw every picture before going to the studio and get mad when the result doesnt look exactly the same. But when you go through the motions for a while and have more knowledge and experience, you understand that the pre-thought may not always result in the best picture. Marc Hom Esquire: Tell me about choosing which photographs were featured in the show. MH: You know, when I was editing for the show I was thinking, these are all iconic people but when do you become an icon? Is there anybody thats younger than me, in their 20s or 30s that I think will become iconic that I really admire? So, we reached out to Miley Cyrus, which was an amazing thing and she totally loved it. She jumped on a plane the next week and came to New York, and we shot for a couple hours in the studio. Esquire: You photographed Miley Cyrus specifically for this exhibition? MH: Yeah! We invited ten people and they all said yes. There was Coco Gauff, Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga, amongst others. I wanted to do new photographs for this show. Esquire: Weve made a bunch of pictures for Esquire over the years, some of them I was so happy and proud to see exhibited in this show. Who were some of your favorite subjects shot for Esquire over the years? MH: Obviously there've been a lot of men, right. Marc Hom Esquire: A couple of women, too! MH: Yeah, like Angeline Jolie, I love that picture. Willem Dafoe is one of my favorite subjects. He is a man that shows up and delivers 150% right? I mean he wanted to be there. I think we did eight pictures in 2 1/2 hours or something?! Esquire: And Willem came by himself I remember. There was no PR, not anybody, he just showed up by himself and said, What are we doing?, and got to work! Wasnt there a moment where we gave him a concept and I don't remember if it was you that suggested he take on a villain character? MH: Yeah! And then we were like, Okay! Let's forget about that, let's just do you. Also, remember when we did that picture of Sam Jackson? That's still one of my favorite pictures. It's so funny because I had a dream that night, waking up in L.A. and I don't know if you remember, but I was like, I want to take a picture of him shaving his head! We talked about it. Marc Hom Esquire: Yeah, first thing in the morning. MH: And hes intense right? Let's be honest, hes intense. He walks in with about 20 people. You feel like you're an ant next to him. And he starts looking through the pictures and he says, Okay, I like it, I like it, what are we doing? I was trying to get this image out of my head. Thinking, is that a picture you do first? Is that something you do in the middle? Is that something you do in the end when the energy is gone? But, as you know, we went for it right away. We just took him and put him up in this small bathroom; it's really kind of this claustrophobic little, little room. I remember my assistant, Christian, was there and we just had one light and closed the door. I dont even think you were in there. Esquire: No! I was outside, listening. MH: Im sure you were shaking in your pants downstairs. And, of course, two minutes after you hear knocking and the publicist is screaming and going, This is not what we were going to do. Then I saw Sam, he just winked at me, and I was like, Okay, we're good for a little bit. You always end up asking, why does the picture look like that? And it's because of the story before and after. Marc Hom Esquire: Are there any dream subjects that youve never photographed? MH: So, so many. Id like to photograph some more athletes. I think the determination of what they do, and how they get there and their focus, concentration, devotionI think that could be really interesting. And, politics, right? I mean we're in a place right now where everything is so crazy. So, itd be interesting to kind of get a little closer to that. Not necessarily Republicans, but you know Ive also just started taking pictures with my Leica again, my film camera. Which is fun. Just walking around taking pictures Esquire: From the hip? MH: Yeah, from the hip [laughs]. You Might Also Like Intent of BJP in Har Ghar Tiranga Campaign The deeper intent of BJP in Har Ghar Tiranga is merely for optics, bereft of the deeper commitment to the message inherent in this flag - sacrifice, peace and unity in diversity. Saturday August 24, 2024 0:54 AM , Ram Puniyani On the occasion of this Independence Day (2024) NDA Government gave a call for the 3rd Edition of Har Ghar Tiranga (Tricolor in every home). This event first began in 2022 by the BJP government. It was a great surprise as the BJPs ideological parent RSS has been opposed to the Tricolor as the National Flag all through, till 26th January 2001, when According to the case, three activists Baba Mendhe, Ramesh Kalambe and Dilip Chatwani along with others allegedly entered the RSS premises in Reshimbagh on 26 January in 2001 and hoisted the National Flag there amid patriotic slogans. A police case was registered against them and they were jailed (Case no 176), Nagpur 2001. They were acquitted and the 51 years of RSS not hoisting Tricolor came to an end. Tricolor (that time with Charkha in the middle) had emerged as an inspiring flag during the freedom movement. When Jawaharlal Nehru became President of the Indian National Congress 1929 Lahore Session, he called upon the nation to celebrate 26th January as Independence Day by hoisting the Tricolor. In contrast, K. B. Hedgewar issued a circular on 21 January 1930 to hoist Bhagva Jhenda (Saffron Flag). A circular was issued instructing the members of RSS to assemble at 6 PM at the places where shakhas met for salutation to the National Flag, i.e., the Bhagwa Dhawaj. Their argument was that the saffron flag represents the Hindu nation from times past so no need for a new flag. Anyway, all those participating in the freedom movement adopted the Tricolor as the National Flag except those who kept aloof from anti colonial freedom struggle, Muslim League (green flag) and RSS (saffron flag). Savarkar of Hindu Mahasabha also stood for the saffron flag. M.S Golwalkar, the second RSS Chief put forward the ideology of RSS vis a vis flag. He stated: It was the saffron flag which in totality represented Bhartiya [Indian] culture. It was the embodiment of God. We firmly believe that in the end the whole nation will bow before this saffron flag. At every stage, the RSSs unofficial mouthpiece used to come out with editorials opposing Tricolor and upholding the saffron flag. Later, a flag committee chaired by Dr. Rajendra Prasad, and having C. Rajagopalachari, Maulana Azad, K. M. Munshi and Dr. Ambedkar as its members considered all the other proposals finalized Congresss flag, the Tricolor with the difference that the Charkha in the flag was replaced by Ashok Chakra with 24 spokes in the flag. While moving the resolution for the flag in the Constituent Assembly, Nehru with full appreciation of Indias history and culture saw the flag as a continuation of the glorious tradition of the past and hope for the future. His remarkably touching speech referred to the great sacrifices of Indian people to throw away the shackles of slavery. He also related it to Asoka and his international fame and message of peace and saw in it a bridge to the global community. As per Nehru: We thought of a flag which in its combination and in its separate parts would somehow represent the spirit of the nation, the tradition of the nation, that mixed spirit and tradition which has grown up through thousands of years in India We have associated with this flag of ours not only this emblem but in a sense the name of Asoka, one of the most magnificent names not only in India's history but in world history." Despite this the RSS, Sangh Parivar, continued with glorifying of Hindu nationalist ideology. Even after Independence, it was the RSS which refused to accept the Tricolor as the National Flag. Golwalkar, while denouncing the choice of the Tricolor as the National Flag, in an essay entitled Drifting and Drifting in the book, Bunch of Thoughts (collection of writings/speeches of Golwalkar), wrote: Our leaders have set up a new flag for our country. Why did they do so? It is just a case of drifting and imitating. Ours is an ancient and great nation with a glorious past. Then, had we no flag of our own? Had we no national emblem in all these thousands of years? Undoubtedly we had. Then why this utter void, this utter vacuum in our minds? Savarkar too refused to accept the Tricolor as the national flag. Demanding its boycott, he declared in a statement on September 22, 1941: So far as the flag question is concerned, the Hindus know no flag representing Hindudom as a whole than the Kundalini Kripanankit Mahasabha flag with the Om and the Swastik the most ancient symbols of the Hindu race and policy coming down from age to age and honored throughout Hindusthan Therefore, any place or function where this Pan-Hindu flag is not honored should be boycotted by the Hindu Sanghatanists [members of the Hindu Mahasabha]... In a way this Har Ghar tirnaga is a clever move by the BJP Government. As per the changing times, it keeps its core agenda of Hindu nationalism unchanged and is adept to symbolic changes. It has a twin policy about symbols. On one hand to adopt some symbols which are very deeply rooted in the peoples psyche. On the other, it has also tried to introduce celebrations of some days to promote divisive agenda. It has also floated the celebration of days (14th August) as Partition Horrors Remembrance Day with the aim to propagate that partition led to the tragedy for Hindus, while keeping mum on the loss of Muslim community. The 25th December has been declared as Good Governance Day and has been promoted to mark Atal Bihari Vajpayees birthday. It is a deliberate attempt to undermine the celebration of Christmas. The same Tiranga has also been used as an instrument of intimidation, when hoards of youth on the pretext of religious celebrations take out their rallies waving the Tricolor through the Muslim majority areas or climb up mosques to hoist it, particularly on Ram Navami days! The deeper intent of BJP in Har Ghar Tiranga is merely for optics, bereft of the deeper commitment to the message inherent in this flag - sacrifice, peace and unity in diversity. (The featured image used here for representation is generated by DALL-E3 AI.) Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates. Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. Kim Nguyen, pharmacist, prepares a Moderna Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine at CVS, 12550 Louetta Rd., Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, in Cypress. Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer Federal health officials on Thursday approved updated COVID-19 vaccines that target one of the FLiRT variants that have driven a spike in infections this summer in Houston and nationwide. The new shots from manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna should be available in the coming days, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. An updated version of a third vaccine from Novavax has not yet been approved. The updated vaccines arrive as COVID-19 continues to circulate at very high levels in Texas and 17 other states, according to the latest U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Houston is also experiencing a summer surge for the fifth year in a row, and the amount of virus detected at the citys wastewater treatment plants is much higher than levels seen in the spring. Advertisement Article continues below this ad HOTEZ ON COVID: Dr. Peter Hotez discusses mpox global health emergency and risk of COVID, West Nile in Houston Houston experts said the new shots provide important protection against COVID-19, particularly for those who are at higher risk of severe illness. Data shows that hospitalizations and deaths have increased this summer, though theyre still much lower than at the height of the pandemic. Its not something that we should dismiss, despite the fact that many of us have been infected several times and have been vaccinated several times, said Dr. Cesar Arias, the co-director for the Center for Infectious Diseases Research at Houston Methodist. Heres what you need to know about the updated shots. A Moderna Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine is shown at CVS, 12550 Louetta Rd., Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, in Cypress. Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer Whats new about these vaccines? The updated shots target KP.2, one of the FLiRT variants that was widespread earlier this year. Last years vaccines targeted the Omicron variant XBB.1.5 that is no longer circulating, according to CDC surveillance data. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Like the flu vaccine, health officials determine which variant the updated COVID-19 shots should target. The decision is made months in advance to allow manufacturers time to produce the shots, so there is some level of risk that variant will no longer be prevalent, experts said. The KP.2 variant is no longer dominant in the U.S., accounting for just 3.2% of cases over a two-week period ending Aug. 17. But experts are optimistic the updated vaccines will still be effective because the variants that are prevalent right now are also FLiRT variants. SUMMER SURGE: COVID-19 is on the rise again in Houston with FLiRT variants driving the latest summer surge These are all the same lineage, said Dr. Luis Ostrosky, the chief of infectious diseases and epidemiology with UTHealth Houston and Memorial Hermann. It is believed that the vaccines will provide protection. When will they be available? The vaccines are being shipped nationwide and should be available in the coming days, health officials said. They will be available at pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens as well as through local health departments. The CDC said it plans to re-launch its online tool for finding vaccines once the new shots are available. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Rochelle Guyse, a CVS Pharmacy manager in Austin, said CVS expects to receive shipments of the new shots by next week. She recommended calling a pharmacy to check if it's available before scheduling an appointment or coming in for a walk-in appointment. "I would expect them any day now," she said. Kim Nguyen, pharmacist, prepares a Moderna Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine at CVS, 12550 Louetta Rd., Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023, in Cypress. Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer What are the FLiRT variants? The FLiRT variants, named for the technical names of their mutations, are all descendants of the JN.1 variant of Omicron. The dominant FLiRT variant nationwide is KP.3.1.1, which accounted for 36.8% of cases over the two-week period ending Aug. 17, according to CDC data. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Experts have said the FLiRT variants appear to be more adept at evading immunity from a vaccine or prior infection, but medications like Paxlovid remain effective treatments. How prevalent is COVID-19 in Houston right now? Infections have spiked this summer in the Bayou City, though there are some early indications the surge may have peaked. On Aug. 12, the amount of virus detected in the citys wastewater treatment plants was 332% of the baseline set in the summer of 2020. Thats more than eight times higher than it was three months ago. But its remained at a similar level over the past two months, suggesting that the surge has plateaued, Ostrosky said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad After a steady increase over the summer, were starting to level off now, with perhaps early signs of having already peaked, he said. Houston Methodists online tracker shows the hospital is still reporting a high number of COVID-19 infections but has seen a decrease over the past month. The hospital reported 465 positive tests on Aug. 15, down from a peak of 737 on July 18. Can you still get the COVID-19 vaccine for free? Many private insurance companies, as well as Medicare and Medicaid, will continue to cover the cost of the vaccines. Children 18 years old and under can also get the shots for free through the federal Vaccines for Children program. Who should get the new COVID-19 vaccine? The CDC recommends the updated vaccines for everyone 6 months and older. READ MORE: University of Houston researchers make nasal vaccine that prevents COVID from spreading The shots are particularly beneficial for anyone at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, such as individuals who are older or have a weakened immune system from a disease like cancer or an organ transplant, Arias said. Those are the people who need to be more careful, he said. When should you get the new COVID-19 vaccine? Last year, experts recommended getting the COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as the flu shot for convenience. But there are other factors to consider this year. Doctors often recommend getting a flu shot later typically in October or early November so its protection is strong through the winter. But waiting until then to get a COVID-19 vaccine may not be a good idea for anyone at higher risk of severe illness, Ostrosky said. COVID rates are pretty high right now, and the vast majority of the population is currently unprotected, he said. I would err on the side of getting it now. For younger individuals who are not at high risk, the question of when to get the updated vaccine is an individual decision, Arias said. But he noted that even someone who is young and healthy can develop complications such as long COVID, where the effects of an infection can linger for months. Guyse said she recommends that people get the latest shots sooner than later, and noted that CVS already has the flu shot available for anyone who wants to get both at the same time. HA NOI The General Department of Customs has reported a significant increase in the number of imported cars into Viet Nam. In July alone, Viet Nam imported a total of 17,233 wholly built cars, with an import value nearing US$344 million. This marks an 8.5 per cent increase in the number of imported cars and a 10.6 per cent rise in import value compared to the previous month. This is the highest number of imported vehicles recorded so far this year. Thailand remains the largest exporter of cars to Viet Nam, delivering 8,981 vehicles, which represents 52 per cent of the total imports for July. Indonesia follows with 5,243 vehicles, while China contributed 2,524 cars. Since the beginning of 2024, Viet Nam has imported 91,637 completely built-up (CBU) cars, with a total import value of nearly $1.9 billion. Over the first seven months of the year, Indonesia has led the export market, supplying 38,040 cars to Viet Nam, valued at over $557 million. Thailand follows with 32,717 cars worth more than $628 million, while China ranks third with 17,235 cars, valued at over $521 million. Historically, domestically assembled cars (CKD) had significantly higher sales compared to imported cars. However, the trend has shifted in the first half of 2024, with the ratio of CKD to CBU cars now approaching 50-50. According to the Vietnam Automobile Manufacturers Association (VAMA), in the first half of 2024, sales of domestically assembled (CKD) cars totalled 67,849 units, while imported (CBU) cars reached 67,035 units. When VinFast and Hyundai are included in the data, the number of CKD vehicles rises to approximately 110,000 units. This adjustment changes the ratio of assembled to imported vehicles to 60:40. Despite this shift, the gap between CKD and CBU vehicles is narrowing compared to previous years. For context, during the same period in 2023, the CKD to CBU ratio was 65-35; in the first half of 2022, it was 66-34. VNS HA NOI Major real estate developers are looking at investing in the retirement housing market to capitalise on Viet Nams ageing population with increasing demands in both quality and quantity of healthcare services for the elderly. According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Viet Nam is one of ten countries with the fastest population ageing rate in the world. People aged 60 and over are predicted to account for 25 per cent of the countrys population by 2050, up from 11.9 per cent in 2021. By 2036, Viet Nam will be an aged society. This demographic change is due not only to reduced mortality and increased life expectancy but also largely to the sharp decline in the birth rate. Data from the General Statistics Office (GSO) showed that the birth rate dropped by half in the past 30 years, from 3.8 children in 1989 to fewer than two children in 2023. During the 2009-19 period, while the total population increased by 1.14 per cent, the elderly population increased by 4.35 per cent per year. The ageing population poses significant challenges across all socio-economic aspects, including a shortage of young workers, declining productivity, and the need to develop nursing homes to meet demand. Statistics showed that the proportion of elderly people living on their own is also growing, increasing from 9.68 per cent in 2009 to 13.74 per cent in 2019. A survey by the UNFPA and the GSO showed that about 36 per cent of elderly people said that they and their families are willing to pay for elder-care services. Despite high demand, the number of retirement homes remains modest. Findings of Bao Viet Insurance Company showed that only 32 out of 63 provinces and cities in Viet Nam have nursing homes. According to the Viet Nam Association of Real Estate Brokers (VARS), there are around 400 nursing homes in the country, about 50 per cent being charity or State-invested. Private capital steps in Pham Thi Mien from VARS said that there are significant opportunities to develop retirement real estate in Viet Nam to meet the demand for nursing care and health care to improve the quality of life of the elderly. This becomes pressing, especially when the family structure in Viet Nam is changing so dramatically, with the proportion of elderly people living with their children decreasing in both urban and rural areas. Major property developers are stepping into the retirement housing market to capitalise on the opportunities. In March 2024, Vingroup signed a cooperation agreement with Japans Well Group to develop a worldclass health care centre for the elderly in Ha Noi. In early August, Sun Group also started the construction of the Sun Urban City project in Ha Nam, which also aims to develop products for the elderly where they can enjoy comprehensive healthcare services with a nursing home area and a specialised hospital. Mien said that these models can meet only a modest part of the demand of the elderly living in urban areas. In addition, the nursing care costs at these models might be higher than the average income in Viet Nam. Thus, the Government needs to raise policies to encourage investments in the development of nursing homes in Viet Nam, she said. VARS proposed that tax incentives should be given to developers of retirement homes, especially in terms of exemptions and corporate income tax reductions for the first years of operation, to reduce investors' costs and financial risks. In addition, retirement homes should be considered special housing types like social housing, which should be given preferential loans for development and operation. Policies should also encourage foreign investments in the retirement housing market. Incentives for land use, especially in areas with high demand, and reductions in fees for converting land use to develop retirement homes should also be considered. Nguyen Van inh, VARSs Deputy President, said that it is necessary to build a clear and transparent legal framework about standards and operation criteria for nursing homes. Public-private partnerships (PPP) should be encouraged in developing retirement homes, inh said, adding that private enterprises should be allowed to operate existing State-owned nursing homes. According to Troy Griffiths from Savills Viet Nam, there are many levers to support the development of retirement real estate. He said the traditional family model is gradually evolving, providing great opportunities for the development of the retirement housing segment. Tran Thi Thuy Nga, deputy director of Dien Hong Nursing Home Centre, said that the Governments support is important to promote the development of retirement homes in Viet Nam and make the elder care services affordable to a majority. In addition, policies should be raised to develop human resources for the nursing services, she said, adding that there is a severe shortage because the job is hard, but the salary is low. VNS HA NOI The State Bank of Viet Nam and the Bank of Laos are looking to explore a joint cross-border retail payment system. The two recently organised a conference to share experience in promoting the use of respective domestic currencies in bilateral trade and investment cooperation activities to prevent external risks. Viet Nam is currently the third largest trade partner of Laos, with a long-standing trade and investment partnership. This is an important basis for the two sides to promote the use of their domestic currencies. The control of the common payment system of the two countries will be managed by the Viet Nam National Payment Corporation and the Lao National Payment Network Co. Ltd. At the conference, the two sides introduced the Viet Nam-Laos cross-border retail payment connection project which will use QR codes, saying the system is currently in the preparation stage, with its first phase expected to be launched in September. There are nine Vietnamese banks engaging in the project and 13 Lao banks. Countries in the ASEAN region, including Laos, have switched to using domestic currencies in trade and investment to prevent risks from political, geopolitical, economic and financial changes. VNS HCM CITY More than 600 products and services are on show at the Mega Us Expo that opened in HCM City on Thursday. The annual event has brought together more than 200 companies from Viet Nam and the Republic of Korea. The products on display include consumer and household goods, furniture, home appliances, cosmetics, nail, hair and scalp products, fintech, medical devices, high-tech agriculture, processed foods, sauces, health and baby foods, and software. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Tran Thi Dieu Thuy, deputy chairwoman of the city Peoples Committee, said HCM City has the most dynamic startup ecosystem in Viet Nam, accounting for 50 per cent of the total startups and 40 per cent of innovation incubators supporting start-ups in the country. Sixty per cent of the countrys venture capital funds are based in the city, which accounts for 44 per cent of venture capital investment, she said. International cooperation is a key factor in developing an innovative startup ecosystem, and would helps Vietnamese startups increase their competitiveness and reach out to international markets by connecting with global and partners, she said. Mega Us Expo 2024 is aimed at connecting the citys innovation startup ecosystem with innovative products, technologies and services from Korean startups and small and medium-sized enterprises. The three-day event at the White Palace Convention Centre is organised by the city Department of Science and Technology, Saigon Innovation Hub, Koretoviet Trade Promotion Centre, Jeonbuk Centre for Creative Economy & Innovation, and JYGLOBAL. VNS HA NOI Over a thousand Vietnamese business leaders and experts have been discussing what new drivers can be for sustainable national growth. They offered up strategies to promote business development following the rapid acceleration of the economic growth rate on the back of cheap labour and resources. The forum, the twelfth of its kind held on August 22, was organised by the HCM City Young Business Association (YBA) with the theme 'Renovation or Innovation: What truly drives sustainable growth'. CEOs, experts and policymakers discussed ways to promote business development in the new era. Le Tri Thong, chairman of YBA and CEO of Phu Nhuan Jewelry JSC (PNJ), said that after a period of rapid development driven by the advantages of cheap labour, resources and investment attraction policies, developing countries are facing a "middle-income trap." Faced with this challenge, Vietnamese businesses must seek out new, sustainable growth models that create added value based on innovation. Following the old tracks, renovation will only help businesses extend the tracks and increase speed to a limited extent. With the development of technology and AI, Le Tri Thong believes it will enable businesses to achieve greater breakthroughs. He said many CEOs perceived that the emergence of multiple promising growth models has marked the economic "turning point" this year. The development of technology and AI is also significantly changing how businesses operate, leading to changes in cost structures and competitiveness among businesses. Another turning point is the generational shift in business management. At PNJ, for example he said, there are young managers born in the 2000s, which are bringing about changes in their mindset, with new perspectives on life and the way they engage with and commit to the company. Moreover, the customers of businesses today are much more sophisticated compared to the past, receiving updates and information every day, even every hour. These challenges require businesses to renovate or innovate. He emphasised that businesses need to take action in this new era of constant change. At this point, businesses must weigh the decision between renovation and innovation to plan for breakthrough growth. Sharing his experience, Vinamilk's Marketing Executive Director Nguyen Quang Tri said that for Vinamilk, changing the brand identity and packaging in 2023 was a big innovation that set the stage for future growth. Meanwhile, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngoc, deputy director of the HCM City Department of Industry and Trade, said that the city expects business leaders, through their practical management experiences, to come up with effective and breakthrough solutions and initiatives. It will contribute to building and promoting the development of the business community and the city's economy. "After the Viet Nam CEO Forum, we request the organising unit to summarise the feedback and proposals of the business leaders fully. This will help the department advise the city on mechanisms and policies for developing the innovation startup ecosystem, promoting smart urban development and the city's socio-economic development," she said. Viet Nam CEO Forum 2024 continues to work with InnoEx an annual international event promoting innovation and growth for the Vietnamese business community and the ASEAN region. VNS HCM CITY Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company (HOSE: VJC) has been honoured as one of the 50 best-listed companies in Viet Nam in 2024 by Forbes Vietnam magazine. Based on the audited financial report 2023, representing the aviation industry, Vietjet has ranked 5th in terms of revenue with VN58.3 trillion, marking a 45 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2022. It defined the company's strong recovery and sustainable growth strategy. The top 50 best-listed Vietnamese companies by Forbes were selected through a rigorous evaluation process, beginning with a preliminary screening based on fundamental financial criteria, followed by scoring on factors such as revenue growth, profitability, return on equity (ROE), return on capital (ROC) and earnings per share (EPS) growth from 2019 to 2023. Additionally, Forbes has also considered each company's industry position, governance quality and growth prospects. While the global economy faced many challenges, in the first half of 2024, Vietjet continued to record outstanding business results with total revenue surpassing VN34 trillion, up 15 per cent year-on-year. Its pre-tax profit reached over VN1.31 trillion in H1, up 433 per cent over the same period, exceeding the profit plan for the whole year 2024 by 21 per cent. Vietjet has also maintained a long-term credit rating of VnBBB-, the highest among Vietnamese enterprises. Other businesses who got awards on the night and who have also been on the stock market for many years, were Vinamilk and Petrolimex. Vietjet has expanded continuously its fleet and flight network, planning on receiving an additional ten new aircraft in 2024. The airline is committed to sustainable growth, expanding its routes across Viet Nam and international destinations in Australia, Japan, South Korea, mainland China, India, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia and Taiwan, to meet the needs of both residents and tourists. Since its initial public offering, Vietjet's VJC stock has consistently been highly valued by both domestic and international investors for its strong profitability. In addition to frequently being featured in the Top 50 best-listed companies by Forbes, Vietjet has been honoured by the leading financial publication International Finance with 'The Best Finance Management-Aviation' award. It has also been recognised by Airfinance Journal as one of the top 50 airlines for healthy financing. AirlineRatings also named Vietjet as the best ultra-low-cost airline. VNS HA NOI The stock market closed on Friday with a modest increase, capping off a week where the VN-Index posted gains in four out of five sessions, while foreign investors scaled back their net selling. The VN-Index on HoSE rose by 2.54 points, or 0.2 per cent, closing the session at 1,285.32 points. The market's breadth was negative, as the number of decliners outnumbered gainers by 175 to 135. Liquidity on the southern bourse saw a slight increase of 7.9 per cent, reaching VN16.8 trillion (US$671.8 million), corresponding to a trading volume of 724.8 million shares. The VN30-Index, which tracks the 30 largest stocks by market capitalisation on HoSE, gained 2.58 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 1,321.15 points. Thirteen stocks in the VN30 basket advanced, seven declined, and ten remained flat. Leading the market's uptrend were key stocks in the manufacturing sector. According to data from the financial website vietstock.vn, the Vietnam Rubber Group - Joint Stock Company (GVR) was the biggest gainer, leading the market in capitalisation. Shares of the rubber manufacturer rose by 1.87 per cent, contributing nearly 0.65 points to the VN-Index. Hoa Phat Group JSC (HPG) followed with its shares rising by 1.17 per cent, while Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (CTG) increased by 1.01 per cent. Viet Nam Dairy Products Joint Stock Company (VNM) gained 0.94 per cent, and Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) climbed by 3.35 per cent. Meanwhile, some large-cap stocks faced slight selling pressure, limiting the market's gains. FPT Corporation (FPT) saw a decline of 0.52 per cent, Fortune Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank (LPB) dropped by 0.63 per cent, and Vincom Retail Joint Stock Company (VRE) fell by 1.02 per cent. According to stock analysts from Viet Dragon Securities, liquidity remained low, indicating that supply pressure has not significantly affected the market. Currently, there is no sign of a distribution day, so the market's slight pullback appears to be a cooling-off phase after surpassing the resistance level of 1,275 points. It is expected that the 1,275-point level will provide support for the market in the next trading session. If cash flow continues to provide support, the market still has the potential to reach the 1,305-point peak in the near future. On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index also finished higher on Friday, rising by 0.67 per cent to 240.07 points. During the session, more than VN1.3 trillion worth of shares, equivalent to a trading volume of over 68.4 million shares, were transacted on the northern market. Conversely, foreign investors extended their net selling spree, selling over VN77 billion on HoSE. VNS Conroe ISD Board of Trustees approved the districts $711.97 million budget that doesnt include any additional state funding, no employee raises and an $11.9 million shortfall. Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer The Conroe ISD board of trustees approved the districts new $711.97 million budget, which doesnt include any additional state funding or employee raises and has a $11.9 million shortfall. Before approving the 2025 budget Tuesday, board members urged staff to hang with us. We see you, we hear you and we havent forgotten about you, Trustee Stacey Chase said. It is really unfortunate we are in this situation. We are glad you are here, we are happy you are here and we are lucky you are here. Please know we will take care of you when we can. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The 2025 budget of $711.97 million is an increase over the current budget of $672 million. Revenue for 2025 is expected to total $700.07 million. PUSHING LIMITS: Shenandoah councilman wants to use public money for Beryl cleanup on private property Chief Financial Officer Karen Garza said the deficit is partly due to the boards allocation of $15 million in November to give employees a 2.5% raise in the current budget, gambling that the state Legislature would provide additional funding and avoid a future deficit for the district. However, the Legislature failed to provide that funding. The budget doesnt include raises for 2025 but does include the addition of 147 full-time equivalent employees and a payroll increase of $10.8 million. Garza said half of that will support special education. The districts special education student population has grown from 9,680 to 11,180 for the upcoming year. Payroll is our (top expenditure) at almost 89%, representing $633.33 million, Garza said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad While the budget is in deficit for 2025, that number dropped from $23 million in initial predictions in Feburary. The budget includes a drop in the districts maintenance and operations tax rate from 70.21 cents per $100 in property value to 66.96 cents due to House Bill 3, which requires districts to lower rates. The district will also see an increase in its debt service rate from 26 cents to 28 cents, as voters approved the $1.9 billion bond in November. The total tax rate for 2025 will be 94.94 cents per $100 valuation. The current rate is 96.21 cents per $100. Advertisement Article continues below this ad We are happy to offer a tax rate decrease while still allowing us to continue with the very much-needed projects in the 2023 bond, Garza said. HA NOI Viet Nam will host the 8th International Conference of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network for the Asia-Pacific Region from September 5-17 in the northern mountainous province of Cao Bang, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on August 22. Themed "Local Communities and Sustainable Development in Geopark Region", the event is expected to attract 800 - 1,000 domestic and international delegates. The biennial conference, held on a rotary basis, aims to share experiences, effective models, and useful solutions in the development and management of geoparks according to UNESCO's standard among the members of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network in the Asia-Pacific region. It also seeks to raise awareness and responsibility among authorities, sectors, and the public in preserving and promoting various types of heritage to foster sustainable tourism development. According to Hoang Xuan Anh, chairman of the Cao Bang People's Committee, the event presents a valuable opportunity for the province to learn from and share experiences with other countries in building and promoting the value of geopark models. It will serve as a platform to promote Cao Bangs tourism potential, showcasing the province's rich cultural and natural heritage to both national and international delegates. This also aligns with Cao Bang's goal of positioning tourism as a key economic driver. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc affirmed that the conference is not just a significant event for Cao Bang but also a celebration for all localities in Viet Nam that hold UNESCO titles. He noted that the event will play a crucial role in putting Cao Bang and other Vietnamese localities on the global heritage map. Ngoc said the event will also provide a unique opportunity to enhance international cooperation, bringing Viet Nam closer to the world while simultaneously introducing the world to Viet Nam. It reflects the commitment and efforts of Cao Bang's leadership and people in preserving and promoting the Non Nuoc Cao Bang Global Geopark title. Moreover, it is expected to inspire other Vietnamese localities and countries to join the network, contributing to both global environmental protection and the creation of sustainable livelihoods for local communities. Sessions of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Council, the 20th anniversary celebration of the Global Geoparks Network, and the signing of cooperation agreements among geoparks in the global UNESCO network of the Asia-Pacific region are to take place. VNA/VNS HA NOI Chilean Minister of Foregin Affairs Alberto Van Klaveren will visit Viet Nam on August 25-27 at the invitation of Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son, according to the announcement from the foreign mnistry. Viet Nam and Chile officially established diplomatic relations on March 25, 1971, marking a new chapter in their bilateral relationship. Despite the geographical distance, Viet Nam and Chile have always remained close and connected. Viet Nam deeply values and remembers the support and solidarity extended by the Chilean people during Viet Nam's war as well as in national defence and national building efforts. The strong traditional friendship has been a solid foundation for the robust development of the relationship characterised by solidarity, friendship, and reliable cooperation between Viet Nam and Chile for over half a century, especially since the two countries established a comprehensive partnership in 2007. Currently, trade exchanges between the two countries continue to grow positively. Chile is one of Viet Nam's four largest trade partners in the Latin American region (following Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina). Agreements and cooperation in various fields are being effectively implemented, deepening and diversifying the bilateral relationship. The two sides continue to closely coordinate and support each other in international organisations and multilateral forums, reflecting the solidarity and close friendship between the people of both countries. VNS HCM CITY Phan Van Mai, Vice Secretary of the Party Committee of HCM City and Chairman of the municipal Peoples Committee, received Manuel Domingos Augusto, Politburo member and Secretary of the Central Committee of the ruling People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), on August 22. The host affirmed that HCM City treasures the Viet Nam - Angola friendship and wishes to become an important contributor to the two countries sound relations. Informing his guest about the local socio-economic development, Mai remarked that the trade and investment ties between HCM City and Angola remain modest, and they need to take measures to boost these partnerships. HCM City is ready to carry out a twinning and cooperation agreement with an Angolan locality and, as a major centre of Viet Nam, it is willing to work with sectors and localities of the African nation in the fields matching their common interest and potential so as to further intensify their countries relations, he added. Augusto voiced his hope that via the visit to HCM City, the Angolan delegation can learn development experience of the city, an economic locomotive and a large centre of external relations of Viet Nam. Applauding his hosts cooperation proposals, he said there remains substantial potential for Angola and Viet Nam, including HCM City, to collaborate in economic development. The MPLA official also affirmed the readiness to encourage agencies, organisations, enterprises, and people of Angola to enhance investment and trade links with Vietnam to bring economic connections on part with the countries diplomatic and political ties. Angola is willing to select a locality to twin and carry out cooperation with HCM City, he added. VNS VIENTIANE Deputy Foreign Minister o Hung Viet, who is also head of the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) delegation of Viet Nam, attended a series of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)'s meetings in Luang Prabang city, Laos on August 21-22. The events, consisting of the ASEAN SOM, the ASEAN Plus Three Senior Officials Meeting (SOM ASEAN+3), and the East Asia Summit Preparatory Senior Officials' Meeting (EAS Prep-SOM), focused discussion on preparations for the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits and related summits, which will take place from October 8-11 in Vientiane, Laos. In his speeches at the meetings, Deputy FM Viet affirmed Viet Nam's support for Laos in successfully chairing the important events, contributing to the overall success of the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2024. He joined other delegates in debating and contributing opinions on the ASEAN Community-building process and the bloc's relations with its partners, particularly focusing on measures and initiatives to realise the theme of promoting connectivity and resilience in the region. The Vietnamese official affirmed that Viet Nam supports Timor-Leste in becoming a full member of ASEAN and is ready to share Vietnam's experiences during its preparation to join ASEAN in the early 1990s. He stressed that ASEAN should support, facilitate, and further simplify procedures for Timor-Lestes accession to ASEAN. Applauding efforts to deepen ASEAN+3 and EAS cooperation mechanisms, Deputy FM Viet urged partners to continue supporting ASEAN in building the Community, fostering substantive cooperation to promote regional connectivity and resilience, and effectively leveraging emerging trends in innovation, digital economy, digital transformation, and green transition. Regarding global and regional situations, Viet called on partners to support ASEAN's common principled stance, including those related to the East Sea (known internationally as the South China Sea) issue. He emphasised the importance of international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in peacefully resolving disputes, affirming Viet Nam's desire to work with other countries to maintain and promote peace, security, stability, cooperation, and development in the region. On this occasion, Viet met with ASEANs partners, including Japan, Australia, and the US to discuss issues related to bilateral cooperation, and coordination at multilateral forums. At the SOM meetings, partners affirmed their support for ASEAN's central role, and commitment to working with ASEAN to build an open, transparent, inclusive, rules-based regional structure, and supporting the implementation of cooperation areas within the framework of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. They expressed concern about complex developments in the region and globally, such as the East Sea, Myanmar, the Korean Peninsula, the Middle East, and the conflict in Ukraine, highlighting the necessity to adhere to international law, the UN Charter, and peacefully resolve disputes in accordance with international law and the UNCLOS 1982. As scheduled, the series of summits will include around 20 events held at the National Convention Centre of Laos, with the participation of leaders from ASEAN member nations and their partners, along with representatives from international and regional organisations. These summits offer an opportunity for representatives of ASEAN and its partners to discuss and make strategic decisions to accelerate the Community-building process, boost the blocs relations with its partners, and discuss regional and global issues. About 80 documents are expected to be adopted or noted at the events. Countries highly valued Laos' preparations and coordination, affirming their commitment to closely collaborate with Laos the ASEAN Chair in 2024, in organising the events. VNS HA NOI Party General Secretary and State President To Lam chaired a meeting of the Politburo held in Ha Noi on August 23 to discuss the master plan for Ho Chi Minh City in the 2021 - 2024 period, with a vision to 2050. The Politburo scrutinised and basically agreed on the major and important guidelines and viewpoints orienting planning work for HCM City. In his closing remarks, General Secretary and President Lam said the scheme must adhere to the guidelines of the Party as well as the resolutions of the Party Central Committee, Politburo, and Secretariat, particularly the Politburos Resolution No. 31 on orientations and tasks for developing HCM City by 2030, with a vision to 2045. It must also comply with legal regulations, especially the Law on Planning, while being consistent with the master plans of the country, the southeastern region, and sectors. The plan also needs to clearly demonstrate the particularly important role and position of HCM City as an economic, cultural, educational - training, and scientific - technological centre of Vietnam which is working to establish itself as a centre of economy, finance, services, culture, education - training, science - technology, and innovation of Southeast Asia and Asia at large, and to become a globally competitive city, he demanded. He stressed that it is necessary to optimise land, water surface, underground, and air spaces; rationally arrange urban, service, industrial, and rural spaces; and develop modern means of transport that match the status of a global city in the future. The top leader also underlined the importance of balancing economic and cultural development and putting people at the centre of development. At the meeting, the Politburo requested the HCM City Party Committee intensify direction to quickly complete the plan. After the master plan is approved, the city needs to issue mechanisms and policies for facilitating and unlocking every resource to fruitfully carry out the scheme, thereby helping HCM City meet the aspirations of the Party Central Committee, Politburo, and people nationwide. VNS HA NOI Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has said that Viet Nam has met over half the national gender equality goals for 2023. The PM was speaking in a virtual address at the third ASEAN Women's Leaders Summit on Friday morning, highlighting the commitment of Viet Nam in promoting gender equality. His attendance at the summit was made at the invitation of the Prime Minister of Laos, Sonexay Siphandone. Themed 'Promoting the Care Economy and Resilience towards the ASEAN Community Post-2025,' participants included high-level leaders, ministers in charge of women's development and gender equality and prominent female entrepreneurs from ASEAN, Timor-Leste, partner countries and representatives from the United Nations. Following Viet Nam's initiative during its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2020, the third ASEAN Women's Leaders' Summit clearly demonstrated ASEAN's commitment and efforts to promote gender equality and enhance the significant roles and contributions of women and girls to families and society. The focus of this summit was to discuss the challenges and burdens faced by women who undertake unpaid caregiving roles, along with the multifaceted consequences, such as gender inequality, limited access to education and employment and gender-based violence. The summit provided practical guidelines to raise awareness about the crucial role of women in the care economy, promote gender equality and make specific proposals to increase investment in the care economy, address complex and multidimensional issues and better protect the rights of workers, particularly women. In his address, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highlighted the immense contributions of women, who not only provide a strong support system for improving family life but also serve as pioneers in promoting sustainable societal development. The Prime Minister shared the progress made in achieving Viet Nam's national gender equality goals for 2023, noting that 11 out of 20 targets were met or exceeded the objectives of the National Strategy on Gender Equality 2025. Additionally, three out of 20 targets were partially achieved compared to the goals set for 2030, with twelve targets showing better results than in 2022. In 2023, the average number of unpaid caregiving and household work hours for women was 1.78 times that of men, with the goal set to reduce this to 1.7 times by 2025. Viet Nam's Gender Equality Index for 2023 ranked 72nd out of 146 countries, an improvement of eleven places compared to 2022. Recalling the words of the beloved President Ho Chi Minh: "If women are not liberated, then society is not liberated," the Prime Minister stressed the need to promote cooperation to harness women's potential and labour. The country needed to strengthen the care economy and build resilience towards the ASEAN Community post-2025 with an all-people, comprehensive and global approach, involving the effective participation of society, government, communities and the entire region. PM Chinh proposed that ASEAN countries focus on implementing solutions through three reinforcements. These include enhancing awareness and understanding of the role of women, promoting stronger policies to encourage equal participation of women in all fields. Innovating and improving infrastructure, develop quality, accessible and affordable public healthcare and caregiving services, especially in impoverished, remote and rural areas. And continuing to innovate, improve institutions and policies, integrating relevant aspects of caregiving work into regional programmes and socio-economic development plans at the local and national levels, with a gender equality-promoting approach. Additionally, strengthening cooperation to protect the legitimate rights and interests of workers, preventing abuse, exploitation, discrimination and illegal activities, including transnational crimes such as human trafficking, was emphasised. Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha, who attended the summit in person in Vientiane, shared insights on the importance of unpaid caregiving work and the barriers and challenges in recognising the significant contributions of caregiving to human development and economic growth. She also discussed the current state of the care economy in Viet Nam, the social prejudices against women's roles, the limitations in caregiving service provision, particularly in rural, remote areas and the inadequacies in social security coverage for caregiving workers, leading to gender inequality and income disparities. She proposed recommendations to promote the care economy's development and enhance women's roles. Prime Minister of Laos Sonexay Siphandone appreciated Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's participation, speech and contributions, along with the Vietnamese female leaders at the summit and extended a warm invitation to PM Chinh to visit Laos and attend the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits and related meetings in October 2024 in Vientiane. VNS HA NOI Party General Secretary and President To Lam has commended outgoing Sri Lankan Ambassador to Viet Nam Sajeewa Umanga Mendis for his pivotal role in developing the bilateral ties during his tenure of office. At a reception in Ha Noi on Friday for the diplomat, the top leader said Viet Nam always values its traditional friendship with Sri Lanka that spans nearly 55 years of diplomatic relations. Affirming that mutual trust forms a solid foundation to further improve the effectiveness of the bilateral ties, he expressed his desire to advance the relationship to better meet the interests and aspirations of the two countries people. While acknowledging that trade ties have yet to reach their full potential, Party General Secretary and President To Lam called for concerted efforts to boost economic cooperation, particularly in agriculture which plays a crucial role in improving local livelihoods. He suggested increasing people-to-people exchanges, as well as collaboration in culture, education, and Buddhism, areas rich with shared cultural and historical significance. Highlighting the importance of Southeast Asia and South Asia, he said the two nations should continue sharing strategic development issues and mutual support at global and regional forums. The leader hoped that, regardless of his future roles, the ambassador would cherish his memories of Viet Nam and continue to work toward strengthening the bilateral relations. Umanga Mendis, for his part, said the people of Sri Lanka always respect and admire President Ho Chi Minh who led the Vietnamese nation through the most challenging times. He thanked the Vietnamese Government for its continuous support in helping Sri Lanka overcome economic difficulties and backing its stance at global and regional forums. The Ambassador affirmed that, regardless of his future roles, he will further contribute to the lasting friendship and cooperation between the two nations. VNS HA NOI Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan hosted a reception in Ha Noi on Friday for Elchin Amirbayov, Special Envoy of the President of Azerbaijan, reaffirming Viet Nam's commitment to bolstering its friendship and cooperation with traditional friends, including Azerbaijan. Xuan expressed her delight at the positive trajectory of bilateral ties, noting the frequent exchange of delegations at various levels, the effective functioning of bilateral mechanisms, mutual support at multilateral forums, and robust strides in economic-trade collaboration. One of the standout areas of cooperation is education, with Azerbaijan playing a pivotal role in training Vietnamese personnel in oil and gas, communications and the navy, she said. Xuan underscored the importance of continuing collaboration in various areas, particularly cultural and people-to-people exchanges and mutual support at regional and United Nations multilateral forums. Viet Nam is ready to support Azerbaijan's run for membership in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), she said, adding that the Viet Nam-Azerbaijan Inter-Governmental Committee for Economic-Commercial and Scientific-Technical Cooperation should soon review existing mechanisms and consider establishing new ones to further enhance bilateral cooperation. On global and regional issues, she reaffirmed Viet Nam's consistent foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, multilateralisation and diversification of external relations, as well as supporting an environment of peace, national sovereignty, and the right of self-determination for all nations. Amirbayov, for his part, expressed a desire to foster traditional friendship between the two countries, especially in economy, trade, investment and culture where there remain potential for growth. He underlined the significant role of education, with thousands of Vietnamese students having studied in Azerbaijan, becoming key members of friendship associations and vital bridges between the two nations. The guest also suggested facilitating all-level visits and cooperation in oil and gas sector. Describing Asia as a top priority in Azerbaijan's foreign policy, he said Azerbaijan attaches importance to its relations with ASEAN countries, including Viet Nam. He expressed hope that Vietnam would support Azerbaijans bid to become a TAC member. Both sides also agreed on orientations to further developing bilateral ties across politics-diplomacy, economy, trade, education, and the exchange of experience and methods for clearing bombs, mines and unexploded ordnance. VNS HCM CITY Late Professor Vo Tong Xuan made an outsized contribution to Viet Nams agriculture and food security with his research and creation of many new rice varieties to improve yields in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta. The feted scientist, who was born in 1940 into a poor family with six siblings in the delta province of An Giang as the eldest child, passed away on Monday (August 19). To start at the beginning, he received a scholarship to study at the Philippine Agricultural University in Los Banos in 1961 and graduated in 1966 with a bachelors degree in agricultural chemistry. He was then accepted as a PhD student at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippine capital, Manila. In 1971 he returned to Viet Nam and worked at Can Tho University. Then he defended his doctoral thesis on rice farming techniques in tropical regions in Japan in 1975. In 1976, the delta faced an outbreak of a new variety of brown planthoppers, and farmers suffered severe losses because existing varieties could not resist the pest. He asked the IRRI to send him some rice varieties that could resist the pest, and received IR36 rice seeds. He researched methods to produce a lot of the IR36 seeds quickly, and persuaded the Can Tho University management to get all 2,000 students to temporarily stop studying and participate in helping farmers produce the seed. In three months they produced two tonnes of the seeds from the five grammes he had received, and expanded farming of the variety to the entire delta. This helped farmers cope with the brown planthopper and get high yields of eight to nine tonnes per hectare. His seminal work also helped ensure food security in Viet Nam and the world. IR36 is now one of the most popular rice varieties grown in Asia. He also researched expanding the cultivation of high-yield rice varieties from IRRI, such as Than Nong, IR33, and IR64, in the delta. Culturing these rice varieties ultimately helped Viet Nam from being a rice importer to one of the worlds three top exporters and secure food. He once said his idea of finding high-quality rice varieties began when he was in high school with the hope of improving the lives of Vietnamese farmers. Every time a rice crop was growing, I would see my aunt and her husband work very hard; the life of Vietnamese farmers, in general, was very miserable. From then on, I wanted to study well and help improve the lives of farmers. He made significant contributions to establishing and developing the Mekong Delta Rice Research Institute, a renowned gene bank for high-quality rice. Tran inh Long, chairman of the Viet Nam Seed Association, said when he was the director of the Viet Nam - Russia Seed Centre in 1985-87, Xuan approved his imports of seeds from other countries. Thanks to the combination of genetic resources and application of modern technology, Viet Nam has become self-sufficient in 95 per cent of its crops, especially pure rice varieties, he added. International co-operation Xuan participated in many international cooperation programmes and regularly assisted developing countries with developing their agriculture. He and his team took the deltas rice varieties to many African countries, including Nigeria, Sudan, Mozambique, Rwanda, Burundi, and Liberia. They designed irrigation systems to help local farmers grow them. With this help, they managed to increase the rice crop from one per year to two, and yields from two to three tonnes per hectare per crop to 4.7 tonnes. Nguyen Thi Lang, head of the Mekong Delta High Agricultural Technology Research Institute, said that once Xuan phoned her from West Africa and instructed her to create some new rice varieties and send them to help farmers there. She sent 10 varieties, and they all grow well now, she said. As a testament to his international reputation and respect, she said, When I go to international conferences, many foreign scientists would ask me if I knew Professor Xuan. He was, in fact, dubbed Dr Rice by foreign colleagues. As a member of the International Fertiliser Development Centre, IRRI and International Potato Centre, he helped foster cooperation between educational organisations, enterprises, government offices and international agencies to develop Viet Nams agriculture. Nguyen Tien Dung, chairman of the Council of Nam Can Tho University, said: Teacher Vo Tong Xuan made important contributions to the cause of education and training in the south. During more than 50 years of teaching, he was rector of An Giang University, Tan Tao University, and Nam Can Tho University at various times and trained generations of agricultural scientists. Ho Quang Cua, one of his students and a former deputy director of the Soc Trang Province Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, created many outstanding rice varieties, including ST24 and ST25, that won awards for the world's best rice. Xuan was renowned as an agricultural extension scientist for his simple approach to explaining farming techniques to farmers. Not surprisingly, he is revered by millions of farmers in the South. He wrote several much-referenced books and textbooks on agriculture. In addition to creating new crop strains, he also found ways to treat alum-affected soil in the delta to improve productivity. In Long An Provinces northern region and ong Thap Provinces Hong Ngu District, where soil is severely contaminated with alum, he recommended building irrigation works to wash it away from fields and using lime powder to neutralise acidity to improve conditions for crops. He was elected to the National Assembly for three tenures and was important in developing national agricultural policies. He won numerous titles and wards, including Professor of Agronomy in 1980, Labour Hero in 1985, People's Teacher in 1999 and Labour Order, First Class, in 1986. Internationally, he won the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, from Japan in 2022. In 2023, he became the first Vietnamese scientist to win the Vinfuture Prize for his work on Invention and Dissemination of Disease-Resistant Rice Varieties. VNS HCM CITY The 28th edition of HCM Citys technical innovation competition has opened and will accept entries until the end of the year. The HCM City Union of Science and Technology Associations, the city Department of Science and Technology and the city unit of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union run the competition. Le Thanh Minh, deputy director of the department, said the annual competition seeks innovative solutions in the fields of science, technology and engineering that would contribute to the citys socio-economic development. It aims to promote the creative spirit of researchers, experts, officials, civil servants, and workers. The competition has six categories: healthcare; education and career guidance; information technology, electronics and telecommunications; mechanical engineering and automation, and transportation; biotechnology, agriculture and food technology; and materials technology, environmental technology, chemicals, and energy. Innovations that benefit production, daily life, the economy, society, security, and defence can participate in the competition. Vietnamese individuals and organisations at home and abroad and expats in Viet Nam can send in entries. But inventions and solutions that have won prizes in the National Technical Innovation Awards, Viet Nam Science and Technology Innovation Awards and the City Creative Awards are not allowed to participate. Contestants can send in their entries to the Youth Scientific and Technological Promotion Centre at 1 Pham Ngoc Thach Street, District 1 or the Department of Science and Technology at 244 on ien Bien Phu Street, District 3. Last year, the competition received 145 entries and awarded 33 outstanding solutions and topics that can be applied in practice. VNS Conroe ISD is revisiting its policy on removing books from classrooms and libraries after several trustees agreed the boards action has limited students' access to books needed for advanced placement and college-level courses. Mark Mulligan/Staff photographer Conroe ISD leaders may change the district's policy on removing books from classrooms and libraries after several trustees agreed it has limited students' access to books needed for advanced placement and college-level courses. The board on Tuesday agreed to allow Trustee Stacey Chase to work with the districts legal staff to make policy changes that she says have had unintended consequences. Chase said Thursday that one change she would like to see in the board's policy is to include an appeal process for books that have been removed. The current policy does not have a reconsideration process after removal. Advertisement Article continues below this ad She said the policy needs to be clearer regarding the objective of the entire book removal process, to prevent interpretations that are too broad. In November, the board updated its book removal policy to include the definition of sexually explicit material to comply with House Bill 900. HB 900 requires school library booksellers to identify books, including those written for teens, that are sexually explicit or sexually relevant, and those books rated sexually explicit would be banned from schools. Since January 2023, Conroe ISD officials have removed 120 titles from school libraries based on the district's previous and current policy regarding library materials. Of those 120 titles, 24 were due to low circulation. Stacey Chase, newly elected position six member filling the seat formerly held by John Husbands, holds her hand up for an oath during a CISD board meeting held in the Deane L. Sadler Administration Building, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020, in Conroe. Gustavo Huerta/Staff photographer In June, the board removed 19 books from classroom collections including Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut, The Color Purple by Alice Walker and I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez. Advertisement Article continues below this ad According to information from the district, many advanced placement teachers provide extra reading lists for students because the concepts addressed in those books are found on advanced placement and college-level exams. Chase said Wednesday that while some of the books removed from classroom collections are still on library shelves, having access to a book to read on their own and being instructed on the book are not the same thing. Why are we making it so difficult for our students and our families to have access to the materials they need to be prepared for the test they want to do, she said. Trustee Theresa Wagaman called the issue a snag in the boards policy. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Because of the books we have removed (by board policy) we are limiting our students' access to some of those books, Wagaman said. Conroe ISD Superintendent Curtis Null visits with a student on the first day of school at Annete Gordon Reed Elementary, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022, in Montgomery. Members of Restoration Church, along with other local congregations, gathered in support of students, parents and staff. Jason Fochtman/Staff photographer Superintendent Curtis Null said he was unaware of instances where a student needed a book but could not access it. But if that did happen, he said the district would help the student get that specific book. I feel very confident telling you that within the current policy, we can make sure if a parent is telling us they dont have the means to get a piece of literature for their child they want them to have to be prepared, we can make that happen, Null said. Trustee Datren Williams, a school board member for the last 12 years, said the district has removed more books in the previous 2 years than during his entire tenure. Advertisement Article continues below this ad We cant keep using the state law as the scapegoat for our actions, Williams said. The books have never been the issue; thats a red herring. Its been folks who want to force their agenda on our school district at the expense of our kids and their education. Board President Skeeter Hubert said age-appropriate books had been removed because the board's policy over-interpreted the law. He said librarians have removed books that were not challenged because they didnt want to take a chance on violating the boards policy. Hubert said while the law protects students from inappropriate sexual material, not all books with sexual content are pornographic. Advertisement Article continues below this ad I believe there is a difference in porn, which is arousal and titillating, and discussing sensitive issues like in The Color Purple where you are talking about rape and incest, Hubert said. That is not pornography. No one here is trying to put pornography in the hands of children or students. HA NAM The Peoples Court of the northern province of Ha Nam on Thursday sentenced three men, including a Laotian national, to death for illegally trafficking 23.5 kg of drugs from Laos to Viet Nam. Four others, including two Laotian nationals, were sentenced to life imprisonment for the same crime. According to the indictment, at 5.30pm on December 16, 2022, a task force led by the Ministry of Public Securitys Department of Drug Crime Investigation, in coordination with other units and the Ha Nam Provincial Police, caught several individuals red-handed using illegal drugs in Chau Son Ward, Phu Ly City, Ha Nam Province. The individuals involved were identified as Nguyen Van Sang, residing in Thanh Chau Ward, Phu Ly, Xia Xiong, Toua Xiong and Chua Xong, all Laotian nationals. The police seized numerous pieces of evidence, including six nylon bags containing various types of drugs and related items. Further investigation led to the arrest of Nguyen Tuan Anh, residing in Phuong Canh Ward, Nam Tu Liem District, Ha Noi and Hoang Phuong Thao, residing in Nguyen Du Ward, Hai Ba Trung District also in Ha Noi, on December 18, 2022, for drug trafficking. The police also searched Tuan Anhs residence at Hoang Van Thu Ward, Hoang Mai District, Ha Noi, where they found and seized three packages of various drugs. Tuan Anh confessed to buying the drugs from Sang and Hoang Thi Khanh Ly, both residing in Thanh Tuyen Ward, Phu Ly, Ha Nam Province. Sang, Xia Xiong and Tuan Anh were identified as the masterminds, while Thao, Ly, Toua Xiong and Chua Xong were accomplices. Xia Xiong purchased the drugs in Laos and assigned Toua Xiong to transport them to Viet Nam, where they were delivered to Sang. Xia Xiong also tasked Chua Xong with travelling to Viet Nam to receive the drugs and stay at Sangs house to ensure the payment was made. After receiving the drugs from Xia Xiong, Sang sold them to Tuan Anh and Thao in Ha Noi. Between September 2022 and December 16, 2022, the group trafficked a total of 23.56 kg of various drugs. Sang, Tuan Anh, and Xia Xiong were given death sentences for illegal drug trafficking under Clause 4, Article 251 of the Penal Code. Additionally, Sang received a two-year prison sentence for illegal possession of military weapons, with the final punishment being the death penalty. Toua Xiong, Chua Xong, Thao and Ly were sentenced to life imprisonment for illegal drug trafficking. VNS HA NOI Viet Nam is currently hosting nearly 22,000 international students, the highest number in the past nine years. The number of foreign students studying in Viet Nam has been steadily increasing. According to statistics from the Ministry of Education and Training, Viet Nam welcomed 18,500 international students in the 2020-21 academic year. This number slightly decreased to 16,000 in 2021-22 but rose again to 20,000 in the 2022-23 academic year. International students often choose institutions that specialise in language, culture, and theory, such as Ha Noi University, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities under the Viet Nam National University, Ha Noi, and the Academy of Journalism and Communication. Recently, some technical and economic universities, including Ha Noi University of Science and Technology, the Foreign Trade University and the University of Science and Technology of Ha Noi (Viet Nam - France University), have also begun accepting international students. However, the ministry also added that most international students in Viet Nam were enrolled in undergraduate and short-term courses, with relatively few pursuing master's or doctoral degrees. The majority of the students are from Laos, Cambodia, with some from China, South Korea and Japan, focusing on Vietnamese studies. That field, along with Vietnamese language and literature and studies on ethnic minorities in Viet Nam, were favoured as subjects by the international students. The ministry pointed out that some mechanisms and policies had yet to fully facilitate the attraction of international students to Viet Nam, such as issues related to health insurance and visas. Additionally, there is currently no mechanism to facilitate the recruitment of highly qualified professionals for teaching and research roles at Vietnamese higher education institutions, according to the ministry. Student exchanges with foreign countries have complied with current regulations. These exchanges have fostered cultural interactions, facilitated academic collaborations, and strengthened international solidarity and integration. However, educational institutions are still required to adhere to the same procedures and processes applicable to all foreign workers. For the 2023-24 academic year, nearly 3,000 foreign experts and Vietnamese professionals from abroad have been involved in teaching, scientific research and academic exchanges in Viet Nam. The foreign experts mainly work in foreign language teaching, programme development support, international project implementation and collaborative training programmes between domestic and international universities. The ministry said one of the key tasks for the education sector in the upcoming 2024-25 academic year would be to further enhance international integration in education. The tasks include attracting and using foreign resources for education and training, developing policies to attract foreign experts and scientists for collaboration in research and training and promoting the recruitment of more international students to study in Viet Nam. VNS HCM CITY Health experts have shared the latest knowledge on the impact of pneumococcal diseases in adults and the effectiveness of conjugate pneumococcal vaccines. At a series of scientific symposia, they warned that in Viet Nam and globally, population ageing and the rise in chronic diseases would lead to higher rates of pneumococcal infection and increased treatment costs. The event, on August 21 and 22, heard reports on the burden of pneumococcal disease in adults and the epidemiology of pneumococcal strains and highlighted the dangers of pneumococcal diseases, particularly for the elderly and those with chronic conditions. Additionally, the reports discussed the challenges in treating pneumococcal diseases due to rising antibiotic resistance, which leads to increased treatment costs and duration. Consequently, the importance of vaccination and the role of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine for both patients and the broader community were emphasised. Participants heard that across Viet Nam and globally, actively preventing pneumococcal infection with vaccines can be considered an effective strategy to reduce the burden of disease, combat antibiotic resistance and lower medical expenses on a macro level. Streptococcus pneumoniae is a prevalent cause of community-acquired pneumonia, meningitis, sepsis, osteomyelitis, septic arthritis and bacteremia worldwide. Older adults, children and immunocompromised individuals are particularly susceptible to pneumococcal disease. Furthermore, older adults with chronic conditions such as diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic heart disease face an increased risk of pneumococcal disease. Not only does pneumococcus cause high infection rates, but it also leads to fatalities from related diseases, particularly in children and older adults. Dr. Eva Polverino, Head of the Research Unit in Respiratory Infections at the Department of Respiratory Diseases, Hospital Vall dHebron in Barcelona, Spain, said: Although significant progress has been made in reducing mortality from lower respiratory tract infections and pneumococcal infections, the burden remains high. The risk of invasive pneumococcal disease in adults increases with age and the presence of comorbidities. Multiple chronic diseases may further elevate this risk. According to statistics, in Viet Nam, the average cost of treatment for each patient with community-acquired pneumonia ranges from VN15-23 million (equivalent to US$ 600-1,000), with an average hospital stay of between six and thirteen days. Therefore, timely prevention is crucial in minimising the risk of disease and the harmful effects of pneumococcal disease. Associate Professor o Van Dung from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in HCM City said: Risk factors that increase the likelihood of pneumococcal disease in adults include age, particularly for those over 65 years old and weakened immune conditions such as HIV, haematological cancers, chronic kidney failure, or the use of immunosuppressive drugs. "Chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease, diabetes, and chronic liver disease also elevate the risk. Lifestyle behaviours such as smoking and alcoholism further increase the risk, as smoking weakens the immune system and heightens the risk of respiratory infections, while alcoholism can impair liver function and the immune system. In addition to non-specific preventive measures such as wearing masks, avoiding crowded places, and limiting transmission routes, active prevention with vaccines is one of the most important solutions, added Dung. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 1.6 million people die each year from pneumococcal disease, including 600,000 to 800,000 adults, primarily due to pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis. Over 90 per cent of these deaths occur in developing countries. Even in developed countries, however, invasive pneumococcal disease has a high mortality rate, averaging 10-20 per cent in adults with pneumococcal pneumonia and this rate is significantly higher in individuals with risk factors for the disease. In Viet Nam alone, the mortality rate of pneumonia in 2021 was 18.2 per 100,000 people. VNS HA NOI The Viet Nam Artificial Intelligence Day 2024 (AI4VN) opened in Ha Noi on Friday with a plenary session highlighting the remarkable strides made by Viet Nam in artificial intelligence (AI). UNESCO Representative Jonathan Wallace Baker commended Viet Nam's commitment to realising its national strategy for AI research, development and application, noting the Ministry of Science and Technology's issuance of guidelines for responsible AI research and development. He expressed optimism about the positive impact of AI in Viet Nam, given the established framework for responsible use. UK Ambassador to Viet Nam Iain Frew said the events theme Unlocking the Power of Generative AI underscores the AIs potential to address global challenges through innovative methods. The UK is committed to advancing AI responsibly and unlocking new possibilities for this transformative technology. He also highlighted significant collaboration between the UK and Viet Nam in AI across health care, software development, and cybersecurity, with 15 UK tech companies visiting Viet Nam earlier this year to explore cooperation opportunities. Meanwhile, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea (RoK) to Viet Nam Choi Youngsam expressed the RoKs readiness to assist Viet Nam through ODA projects, global multilateral cooperation, the establishment of new AI standards and sharing of both the AIs potential and challenges. Renee Deschamps, Charge d'Affaires at the Australian Embassy in Viet Nam, also expressed Australias commitment to partnering with Viet Nam in developing responsible AI, ensuring that AI technologies are used ethically to benefit the society. In collaboration with Vietnamese universities, the Australian experts have developed a framework for responsible AI use, aligning it with both global and Vietnamese standards to promote more responsible AI practices, she said. VNS The decision by shareholders during its annual general meeting Thursday will provide a much-needed boost to the firm, which has underperformed the market in recent years owing to weak consumption and after a painful crackdown by Beijing on the tech industry. A woman walks past an Alibaba sign outside the company's office in Beijing on April 13, 2021. Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba reported a 29 percent fall in quarterly profit on August 15, 2024, as it battles sluggish consumption during an economic slowdown. GREG BAKER / AFP "We are pleased to announce that the voluntary conversion of our secondary listing to primary listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will become effective on August 28, 2024," the company announced on Friday. The firm, which is also listed in New York, had flagged the idea two years ago amid worries about a regulatory drive by US authorities as tensions simmered between the superpowers, though that was later put off. Alibaba has been primarily traded in New York since 2014 and remained dual-listed after its notable return to Hong Kong through a second listing in 2019. However, the firm's shares in Hong Kong have plunged since the crackdown began and are down about 75 percent from their peak in 2020. A conversion to primary status in Hong Kong could pave way for Alibaba to enter a cross-border scheme that allows investors in Shenzhen and Shanghai to trade Hong Kong-listed shares. That would open it up to China's more than 200 million investors and could see capital inflows of up to US$19.5 billion in the first six months of inclusion, according to Bloomberg News. Co-founder and chairman Joe Tsai told Hong Kong's South China Morning Post newspaper in May that "the main reason for us to proceed with the dual primary listing is because we want to tap into the southbound capital flows through the Stock Connect programme". Alibaba this month reported a 29 percent fall in quarterly profit as it battles sluggish activity among China's consumers as leaders struggle to kickstart the stuttering economy. Uncertainty about Alibaba's future development has persisted since Beijing scuttled a planned initial public offering of the company's financial services arm, Ant Group, in late 2020. The cancelled listing -- which would likely have been the biggest in history -- was followed a month later by an announcement that Alibaba was under formal investigation in China for alleged monopolistic practices. Shares in the firm rose 0.5 percent in the morning session, while the broader Hang Seng Index was down. Alibaba strengthens presence in Vietnam with stake in beauty chain Hasaki Alibaba has acquired a minority stake in Vietnam's beauty and cosmetics retailer Hasaki, underscoring its expansion and investment in the burgeoning Vietnamese market. Alibaba helps Vietnamese SMEs to participate in the global market 100 businesses will be selected to participate in the Vietnam National Pavilion on the Alibaba.com platform under a cooperation programme with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and Vietrade. According to figures by the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) Vietnam welcomed 2.1 million Chinese visitors in the first seven months of 2024, showing a 200 per cent jump on-year. Chinese visitors to Vietnam spiked in the first seven months of this year Ha Van Sieu, deputy director of the VNAT, revealed that visitor exchanges between Vietnam and China have yielded positive outcomes post-pandemic, with the current conducive bilateral relations contributing to propelling travel between the two countries. "Tourism between Vietnam and China is being heavily promoted, with Vietnam in particular expediting a wide range of promotion activities in China. VNAT will soon lead two Vietnamese delegations to promote tourism in Sichuan-Chongqing and Beijing-Shanghai, and attend the China International Travel Mart- CITM and China-ASEAN Travel Mart." said Sieu. For its part, China has enacted policies on immigration aimed at improving tourism services and diversifying payment methods, while promoting the uniqueness of Chinese destinations in Vietnam. For instance, two Chinese cities, Zhangjiajie and Nanning, held tourism promotions in Hanoi in August. Speaking at the Zhangjiajie tourism promotion event on August 16, Trinh Dai Vi, counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in Vietnam, said, "Zhangjiajie has become an attractive destination for Vietnamese tourists recently as the city welcomed 42,200 visitors from Vietnam in the first half of this year alone." Meanwhile, with the advantage of being adjacent to different Vietnamese localities such as Ha Giang, Cao Bang, Lang Son and Quang Ninh, Nanning has become the top option by many Vietnamese travellers via road tours such as Hanoi-Mong Cai-Chongzuo Taiping Ancient City-Nanning, Hanoi-Huu Nghi-Nanning-Guilin-Yangshuo, or Mong Cai-Dongxing-Beihai, to name but a few. For many years, China has consistently been the favoured market for Vietnamese tourism, accounting for about 30 per cent of the total number of international visitors coming to Vietnam. Since the start of this year, tourism routes between Vietnam and China have become increasingly vibrant, as post-pandemic Chinese tourists are prioritising safe and close international destinations to save on costs. A charter flight from Haiphong to Lijiang in China was launched in June, followed by the opening of a flight route from Hanoi to Haikou in Hainan, and most recently, West Air airlines opened a new flight route from Hanoi to Chongqing, with a frequency of three flights per week. Pham Tien Dung, vice chairman of the UNESCO Hanoi Travel Club, believes that the rebound in the number of Chinese visitors could create an opportunity for Vietnams tourism to take off this year. "However, local destinations looking to entice Chinese visitors need to target a better, more sustainable market with higher spending thresholds," said Dung. Advocating this mindset, the CEO of Hanoi-based AZA Travel Nguyen Tien Dat said, "Tourism firms should focus on tapping the market of wealthy Chinese visitors who come from big cities like Beijing or Shanghai and spend several thousand yuan or more on a trip." Exporters bullish amid robust figures Exporters of most major industrial products are posting upbeat results, with the electronics, footwear, wooden furniture, and garment and textile industries all witnessing a rebound. Robust growth registered in foreign trade The total import-export turnover reached $439.88 billion in the first seven months, an increase of 17.1 per cent compared to the same period last year, with exports and imports rising by 15.7 per cent and 18.5 per cent respectively. Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha chairing meeting on seeking ideas towards completing a draft plan on carbon market development in Vietnam (Photo: VNA) Hanoi - With its tremendous potential in renewable energy and the carbon market, Vietnam will be highly attractive to investors, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha stressed, while addressing a meeting in Hanoi on August 22 on seeking ideas towards completing a draft plan on carbon market development in Vietnam. Ha highlighted the need for flexible, innovative, and breakthrough solutions in implementing the plan, and quickly adapting to and keeping up with global trends. This is a game where the swift win, and the smart seize opportunities, he noted, emphasing the importance of bringing into play these opportunities to move from being behind and less developed to going "side by side" and eventually leading. The official requested the Ministry of Finance to thoroughly consider and acquire all feedback, and quickly finalise the draft plan for not only the carbon market but also the organisational apparatus and infrastructure. Besides, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and other relevant ministries and agencies are tasked to join hands in defining the supply and demand of the domestic and international carbon markets; and developing a legal framework for the calculation, measurement, and identification of trading products in the carbon market, such as greenhouse gas emission quotas and types of carbon credits. This framework will serve as a basis for designing a comprehensive operational plan for the domestic trading platform, as well as a condition for connecting with the international market to ensure transparency and openness. In the latest draft, the carbon market will create a new financial stream for greenhouse gas emission reduction activities, promote green transition, develop low-emission technologies, foster a low-carbon economy, and proactively respond to climate change, aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050. In the 2025-2028 period, the carbon market will be piloted nationwide, carbon credits will not be sold abroad, and there will be no regulations for connecting or exchanging carbon credits domestically with regional and global carbon markets. From 2029 onwards, the market will be officially operational nationwide. During this period, efforts will continue to build and better the legal framework and infrastructure necessary for connecting the domestic with regional and global carbon markets. 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. Large emitters still to get to grips with carbon market Only a few developers of emission-heavy installations have a deep understanding of the emission trading system and carbon market, a wide-ranging survey has found. Investment in Vietnams carbon market: the opportunities and the challenges The growing demand for carbon credits ranks high in Vietnam. As global awareness and regulatory pressures on climate change increase, the demand for carbon credits is expected to rise. Consul General of Italy in HCM City Enrico Padula (centre) speaks at the meeting with Tay Ninh officials on August 22. (Photo: VNA) Tay Ninh The southern province of Tay Ninh introduced its tourism potential and investment opportunities to diplomats and businesses of 15 countries at a meeting in Tay Ninh city on August 22. As part of the southern key economic region, Tay Ninh shares nearly 240km of borderline with Cambodia and is home to three international border gates, three main border gates, 10 auxiliary ones, along with many border crossings. It bridges HCM City, an economic hub of Vietnam, with Phnom Penh capital of Cambodia through the Moc Bai International Border Gate. Five industrial parks are operating in the province at present. As of August 15, local industrial parks and economic zones had attracted 337 investment projects, including 273 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects worth over 8.7 billion USD and 64 domestically invested ones with registered capital topping 12.26 trillion VND (490.9 million USD). Twenty-one countries and territories have invested in Tay Ninh so far, data show. Consul General of Italy in HCM City Enrico Padula, head of the Delegation of Foreign Consulates and Business Associations in HCM City, said despite numerous difficulties and challenges facing the global economy, in 2024, Tay Ninh has managed to attract 2.5 trillion VND of investment in high-tech agriculture, a potential sector grabbing much interest from international investors. Besides, he noted, industry and tourism are also promising fields for the province to make development breakthroughs in the coming time. The diplomat said the province still holds many advantages to be tapped into, including an abundant workforce, rich cultural heritage, and historical traditions, the proximity to Binh Duong province and HCM City two important economic hubs in the southeastern region, and a long borderline with Cambodia, which are critical factors for its economic, trade, and service growth. The consulates and business associations of 15 countries in HCM City will help provide enterprises with all necessary information about investment and tourism opportunities in Tay Ninh, thereby helping boost investment partnerships as well as balanced and sustainable relations with Vietnam, Padula added. Vice Chairman of the Provincial Peoples Committee Nguyen Hong Thanh affirmed that Tay Ninh will continue working closely with foreign consular agencies and investors in terms of trade, investment, culture, health care, and education to create close-knit ties for common development. He expressed his hope that his province will receive more assistance from international diplomatic bodies and businesses to further popularise its image and investment environment. Thanh also pledged the best possible conditions for businesses to operate and develop sustainably. Tay Ninh to lease 1,544ha of forest environment for eco-tourism The Peoples Committee of Tay Ninh Province has agreed to lease a special-purpose forest environment in sub-zone 66 in Thanh Tan Communes Nui Ba Historical-Cultural Park (Ba Den Mountain) to develop eco-tourism. Largest solar power plant in VN, Asia to be built in Tay Ninh The groundbreaking ceremony of Dau Tieng 1 and Dau Tieng 2 solar power plants, worth VND9,100 billion will be held on June 23 in the southern province of Tay Ninh. Bel Ga holds grand opening for Tay Ninh high-tech hatchery Bel Ga JSC (Belgium), De Heus Group (the Netherlands), and Hung Nhon Group (Vietnam) held the opening ceremony of Bel Ga Tay Ninh High-Tech Poultry Hatchery on April 17 at Thanh Thanh Cong Industrial Park in Tay Ninh province, as part of their supply chain of clean, sustainable, and export-oriented agricultural products. Tay Ninh sets up investment ties with six foreign localities Authorities of the southern province of Tay Ninh granted investment certificates and gave in-principle approval to 12 foreign-invested projects with a total registered capital of 91 million USD in the first ten months of 2021. Tay Ninh seeks investors in 54 key projects Tay Ninh Peoples Committee has issued a list of projects calling for investments across various sectors in the southern province in 2024. Vietnamese, Lao central banks discuss cooperation in using local currencies in bilateral trade, Photo:thuvienphapluat.vn Vientiane The State Bank of Vietnam and the Bank of Laos have jointly organised a conference to share experience in promoting the use of respective domestic currencies in bilateral trade and investment cooperation activities to prevent external risks. Vietnam is currently the third largest trade partner of Laos with a long-standing trade and investment partnership. This is an important basis for the two sides to promote the use of their domestic currencies in the coming time. The control of the common payment system of the two countries will be managed by the Vietnam National Payment Corporation and the Lao National Payment Network Co. Ltd. At the conference, the two sides introduced the Vietnam-Laos cross-border retail payment connection project using QR codes, saying the system is currently in the preparation stage with its first phase expected to be launched in September. Vietnamese banks engaging in the project include nine Vietnamese and 13 Lao banks. Countries in the ASEAN region, including Laos, have switched to using domestic currencies in trade and investment to prevent risks from political, geopolitical, economic, and financial changes. Banks remain wary of low credit growth Overall weak credit demand in the market, with consumption growth still sluggish, is causing banks that do not meet their credit growth targets to have quotas proactively transferred by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to banks with better capabilities. Sugar Land City Hall. City of Sugar Land Sugar Land's city manager will soon have unilateral authority to approve contracts of up to $100,000 without city council oversight, if the council agrees to raise the limit from $50,000. The change would give City Manager Mike Goodrum more control in day-to-day expenditures, and he would need to present around 75 fewer contracts to the city council for approval, said Purchasing Manager Jason Poscovsky. "The new limit is intended to enhance organizational efficiency and limit delays in providing the services identified as important by our residents," Poscovsky said in a phone interview. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Poscovsky did not provide examples of contracts over $50,000 that have been delayed to the point it was detrimental to city operations. Councilman William Ferguson cast the lone dissenting vote Tuesday when the council approved the change on first reading. Ferguson said Wednesday his decision to vote against the motion was based on the need to retain the public's voice and oversight in awarding contracts. My no vote was not based on distrust of the executive team, Ferguson said. Its just, I represent the voice of the people and I dont want to give that away. And Mike (Goodrum) is responsible, and we want him to have that freedom. We want him to have that authority. But when there are checks in place, I like to retain those. I don't like to give those away. The city is taking a step forward by recognizing that savings can be achieved, whether in time or staff resources, while still adhering to all the same processes and procurement requirements, Poscovsky said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "The time savings come from having to go to the city council for approval," city spokesperson Doug Adolph said Friday. "The process to get on an agenda can take anywhere from two weeks to a month or more." Purchases up to $100,000 could range from IT equipment to public works and parks department supplies, Poscovsky said. He said the city manager typically presents about 134 items for council approval every year, but this number would drop to around 58 if the ordinance is approved. The Sugar Land City Council's Aug. 20 agenda included expenditures requiring the councils authorization such as $51,300 for a brine sprayer, $55,800 for a rock spreader and $79,800 for furniture for the Public Works Department. If the ordinance is approved, such purchases will bypass council approval and be authorized directly by the city manager, Poscovsky said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Poscovsky said the $100,000 purchasing limit was in line with other Texas cities like Denton, Frisco, Garland, Plano and Allen. The comparison cities he listed are in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and have larger populations than Sugar Land, and Frisco, Plano and Garland have around twice the population of Sugar Land. When ranking one city against another, variables beyond population such as budgets, growth rates and size are considered, Ferguson said Wednesday. Competitive procurement requirements remain unchanged, including competitive bids, sealed proposals, requests for qualifications, and cooperative contracts, Poscovsky said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad All procurements over $50,000 must still go through a competitive procurement requirement, said Poscovsky at Tuesdays city council meeting. Change orders in excess of $50,000 will still require city council approval, he said. FORT BEND INSIDER: Never miss a story with our bi-weekly newsletter Seventeen years ago, the council entrusted the city manager with $50,000, said Councilman Stewart Jacobson. If you think about the cost of living and such over the last 17 years and trusting the city manager with $100,000, is probably not as much leeway as we gave him 17 years ago. The ordinance will have a second read at the Sept. 3 meeting before being implemented. Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz waits to pin badges on new police officers during the graduation ceremony for Houston Police Academy Cadet Class 264 on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024 in Houston. HPD welcomed 53 new officers to the force during the graduation. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Newly appointed Houston Police chief, Noe Diaz, during a press conference at Houston City Hall on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024 in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz embraces officer Carmen Correa Ocasio after pinning her badge to her uniform during the graduation ceremony for Houston Police Academy Cadet Class 264 on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024 in Houston. HPD welcomed 53 new officers to the force during the graduation. Brett Coomer/Staff photographer Houston Police Chief Noe Diazs first days on the job have been filled with council meetings, community meetings and a cadet class graduation, but the new leader still has to pick his team. As the dust begins to settle and the direction of Diazs administration takes shape, one of the biggest decisions facing his first months in charge will be whom to put in decision-making positions on his executive team. MORE FROM HOUSTON CHRONICLE: HPD must improve efficiencies, examine operations, scandal report says Advertisement Article continues below this ad Unlike many private businesses and even other city jobs, Diaz must tap those already within the department as his top lieutenants, charged with carrying out his vision for the agency. Officials with the Houston Police Department and several city leaders, including Mayor John Whitmire, didnt immediately respond to a request for comment about how long it might be before Diaz has his leadership team in place. A department spokesman, on behalf of Diaz, said he hadnt yet decided on an executive team as of Thursday. But heres everything to know about how the process might unfold: Picking from within the departments rank-and-file Decisions within the HPD are carried out by the executive team, which comprises all assistant chiefs and executive assistant chiefs, of which there were 13 allocated before Diazs arrival. It also consists of the command staff, which includes the executive team in addition to the departments 45 commanders. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Police officers who are commanders and all lower ranks are covered under the current collective bargaining agreement and cant be terminated from their positions at will, according to Gregory Fremin, a professor at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville and a retired Houston police officer. But all assistant and executive assistant chiefs serve as at-will employees. Because those are at-will employees, you go into them knowing you could be entering the last days of your career, Fremin said. A new chief, a new election, and you could be asked to step down or retire. Because of local and state rules around law enforcement agencies, Diaz must promote from within the department to replace any vacant assistant or executive assistant chief positions, Fremin explained. Historically, those next in line would be the departments commanders. But there are a few times where new chiefs have opted to promote a lieutenant straight to assistant chief, skipping the commander rank, Fremin said. Former Chief Troy Finner is an example of someone who went straight from lieutenant to assistant chief. Doug Griffith, president of the Houston Police Officers Union, said he expected Diaz to take his time hiring a new executive team. Contract requirements are that he select someone with a minimum of 10 years of service in the department and a masters degree. Advertisement Article continues below this ad These are important decisions that will have an impact on his administration, Griffith said. Considerations behind decisions When former Chief Art Acevedo arrived in Houston in 2016, he faced a depleted executive team because of pension reform that affected the prior groups retirement benefits. In 2017, he promoted eight captains and seven assistant chiefs to his command staff in a move veterans called one of the biggest leadership turnovers in the departments history. The department saw a complete turnover at the executive staff level with the exception of one holdover from Acevedos recent predecessors. Its not yet clear who from the existing executive team Diaz might retain and who will be asked to leave. But Fremin said that, as always, politics and relationships will weigh heavily on decisions. Advertisement Article continues below this ad There are political considerations, Fremin said. Who does he want? The union will likely weigh in, too. Diaz will likely conduct a formal interview process for the positions to better familiarize himself with the skillsets of those already on the team and those he might be interested in bringing aboard, Fremin said. Hell probably unveil a list to the mayor at some point, Fremin said. If someone already on the team isnt selected, theyll have the option to be demoted or retire from the department, Fremin said. Decisions come amid year of staff turnover The potential for a significant staff reshuffling comes amid a turbulent year for the department. In February, it was rocked by revelations that more than 264,000 cases had been suspended using an internal code citing a lack of personnel. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The news immediately led to the demotion of two assistant chiefs, Ernest Garcia and Kevin Deese, and the resignation of a third, James Jones. In the months since, several other high-ranking department leaders have been reassigned or removed from the executive team, including Executive Assistant Chief Chandra Hatcher, who then-acting Chief Larry Satterwhite said would be removed. The US, UK, and NATO dare not confront Russia head-on. So they are practically pleading with Russia to launch an attack. Because the nations that make up NATO think thats the best way to implement forced conscription Thus, Russia bides its time. Fools will be fools and find this to be weak. But hey, the Kremlin doesnt give a damn, so whatever, keep calling them weak? You are fools It will not force the Kremlin to alter its course of action. The Kremlin is aware of the growing desperation and its impending manic phase is starting. Kursk was as clear a sign of this as it gets; so far, we havent seen anything, but NATO is about to make some potentially game-changing mistakes *** and now those MoD Reports Russian Defence Ministry report on repelling an invasion attempt of the AFU on the territory of the Russian Federation (22 August 2024) The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to repel the AFU attempt to invade the territory of the Russian Federation. Units of the Sever Group of Forces supported by Army Aviation and artillery fire repelled attacks launched by assault detachments towards Komarovka and Malaya Loknya, as well as thwarted the enemys attacks in the direction of Korenevo, Martynovka, Olgovka, and Russkoye Porechnoye. The AFU losses have amounted to more than 45 Ukrainian troops killed and wounded, one tank and four armoured fighting vehicles have been destroyed. The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue reconnaissance and search operations to locate and eliminate the enemy small sabotage and reconnaissance groups attempting to get to the depth of the Russian territory. In a forest belt 1 kilometre south-west of Skrylevka, one sabotage and reconnaissance group of the AFU 82nd Air Assault Brigade was located and eliminated. Two armoured fighting vehicles and seven Ukrainian troops were eliminated, one Ukrainian serviceman was taken prisoner. Aviation and artillery strikes and actions of troops inflicted losses on manpower and hardware clusters of the AFU 22nd, 115th mechanised, and 82nd Air Assault Brigade near Apanasovka, Borki, Vishnyovka, Gordeyevka, Mikhailovka, Plekhovo, Snagost, and Loknya. Operational-Tactical Aviation delivered strikes at the enemys reserves in concentration areas of manpower and hardware of the AFU 22nd, 41st, 61st mechanised brigades, 80th, 82nd air assault brigades, 1st National Guard Brigade, 103rd, 106th, 107th, and 119th territorial defence brigades as well as 69th Rifle Battalion in Sumy region near Basovka, Boyaro-Lezhachi, Vorozhba, Druzhba, Zhuravka, Krasnopolye, Katerinovka, Miropolskoye, Loknya, Obody, Pervomayskoye, Sumy, Starikovo, and Chernevoye. Over the past 24 hours, the AFU losses have amounted to more than 300 Ukrainian troops and 23 units of hardware, including three tanks, 20 armoured fighting vehicles, one artillery gun, and 15 motor vehicles. Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk region, the AFU losses amounted to up to 4,700 Ukrainian troops, 68 tanks, 27 infantry fighting vehicles, 53 armoured personnel carriers, 336 armoured fighting vehicles, 148 motor vehicles, 32 artillery guns, five SAM launchers, ten MLRS launchers, including three of HIMARS system and one of MLRS system, six electronic warfare stations, as well as four units of engineering vehicles, including two counterobstacle vehicles and one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle. The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress. Tags: *** Russian Defence Ministry report on the progress of the special military operation (22 August 2024) The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation. In Liptsy and Volchansk directions, units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted losses on units of the AFU 57th Motorised Infantry Brigade, 92nd Assault Brigade, and 36th Marine Brigade near Glubokoye, Lipsy, and Volchansk (Kharkov region). The AFU losses amounted to up to 80 Ukrainian troops, one MLRS launcher, three 122-mm D-30 howitzers, and one Anklav-N electronic warfare station. Units of the Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation and inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the AFU 44th, 67th, 115th mechanised brigades, 3rd Assault Brigade, 103rd, 110th territorial defence brigades, and 1st National Guard Brigade near Tabayevka (Kharkov region), Stelmakhovka, Rozovka, Nadiya, Nevskoye (Lugansk Peoples Republic), Torskoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic), and Serebryansky forestry. Four counter-attacks launched by assault detachments of the AFU 12th Azon Special Operations Brigade and 23rd Separate Rifle Battalion were repelled. The AFU losses amounted to up to 440 Ukrainian troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, 11 motor vehicles, two Grad MLRS launchers, one U.S.-made 155-mm M198 howitzer, two UK-made 155-mm FH-70 howitzers, one 122-mm Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, and one 122-mm D-30 howitzer. Units of the Yug Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions as well as inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the AFU 24th, 28th, 54th, and 69th mechanised brigades, 56th, 59th motorised infantry brigades, 143rd, 144th infantry brigades, 10th Mountain Assault Brigade, 116th, and 117th territorial defence brigades near Verkhnekamenskoye, Pereyezdnoye, Grigorovka, Chasov Yar, Krasnogorovka, Maksimilyanovka, and Konstantinovka (Donetsk Peoples Republic). The AFU losses amounted to up to 765 Ukrainian troops, four pickup trucks, one Grad MLRS launcher, U.S.-made 155-mm M198 and M777 howitzers, one UK-made 155-mm FH-70 howitzer, one 152-mm Msta-B howitzer, one 122-mm Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, two 122-mm D-30 howitzer, and three U.S.-made 105-mm M119 guns. Seven AFU field ammunition depots were destroyed. As a result of active actions, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces liberated Mezhevoye (Donetsk Peoples Republic). Losses were inflicted on formations of the AFU 32nd, 47th, 100th mechanised brigades, 65th Infantry Brigade, 25th Airborne Brigade, 95th Air Assault Brigade, and 109th Territorial Defence Brigade near Dzerzhinsk, Panteleymonovka, Rozovka, Grodovka, Sergeyevka, and Vozdvizhenka (Donetsk Peoples Republic). Five counter-attacks launched by units of the AFU 53rd, 151st mechanised brigades, 15th National Guard Brigade, and Lyut Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian National Police were repelled. The AFU losses amounted to up to 640 Ukrainian troops, two Kozak armoured fighting vehicles, nine motor vehicles, one U.S-made 155-mm M777 howitzer, two 152-mm Msta-B howitzers, two 152-mm D-20 howitzers, four 122-mm D-30 howitzers, and one U.S.-made 105-mm M119 gun. Units of the Vostok Group of Forces inflicted losses on manpower and hardware cluster of the AFU 72nd Mechanised Brigade, 58th Motorised Infantry Brigade, 105th, and 127th territorial defence brigades near Vodyanoye, Razdolnoye, Makarovka, and Rovnopol (Donetsk Peoples Republic). The AFU losses amounted to up to 130 Ukrainian troops, eight motor vehicles, and one 152-mm D-20 howitzer. Units of the Dnepr Group of Forces inflicted losses on formations of the AFU 141st Infantry Brigade, 128th Mountain Assault Brigade, and 35th Marine Brigade near Stepnoye, Kamenskoye (Zaporozhye region), Tokaryovka, and Kamishany (Kherson region). The AFU losses amounted to up to 70 Ukrainian troops, five motor vehicles, one 152-mm D-20 howitzer, and one 122-mm D-30 howitzer. One Anklav-N electronic warfare station and one field ammunition depot were destroyed. Operational-Tactical Aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have engaged AFU manpower and hardware in 138 areas during the day. Air defence units shot down one MiG-29 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force, three French-made Hammer guided aerial bombs, 11 U.S.-made HIMARS MLRS projectiles, 91 unmanned aerial vehicles, 53 of them outside the special military operation zone. In total, 640 airplanes and 282 helicopters, 30,346 unmanned aerial vehicles, 575 air defence missile systems, 17,352 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,420 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 13,530 field artillery guns and mortars, as well as 25,014 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation. Tags: Special Military Operation WtR China, Belarus pledge to boost agriculture, freight trains cooperation Xinhua) 10:23, August 23, 2024 MINSK, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- China and Belarus pledged here on Thursday to promote their cooperation in agriculture and the China-Europe Railway Express service. In a joint communique issued following a meeting between Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko, the two sides are ready to give full play to the huge potential of cooperation in agriculture and strengthen investment cooperation in this sector. The two sides are willing to expand access to the Chinese market for agricultural and food products, said the document, adding that they welcome the entry of high-quality agricultural products into each other's markets and encourage their enterprises to participate in exhibitions and events held by the two countries. Also in the communique, the two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in the China-Europe Railway Express, set up an inter-governmental cooperation mechanism on the service, promote infrastructure connectivity, and jointly ensure the safety of the China-Europe freight train transport corridor. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) A growing memorial for Cindy Reyes, a manager at the nightclub Barbarella on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Houston. Reyes was killed Sunday when a man struck her with a vehicle while trying to hit his wife during a domestic dispute. Karen Warren/Staff photographer Sanden George, shackled and in an orange jumpsuit, turned around in a Harris County courtroom and recognized no one. In the gallery, a loved one of the woman hes accused of killing knew who he was and flipped him off as his first appearance in the 208th District Court came to an end Friday. The 35-year-old drywall worker from Travis County was ordered held on a combined $600,000 bail in the death of Cindy Reyes, a manager at the popular Midtown nightclub Barbarella. Police accused George of striking his wife and then running down Reyes around 3 a.m. Sunday as she and her colleagues came to the wifes aid. Advertisement Article continues below this ad He is charged with murder and assault of a family member. A photo of Cindy Reyes is featured in a growing memorial for Reyes, a manager at the nightclub Barbarella, on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Houston. Reyes was killed Sunday when a man struck her with a vehicle while trying to hit his wife during a domestic dispute. Karen Warren/Staff photographer Reyes family, who declined to comment, spoke with Rodrigo Escobar, a Harris County prosecutor, at length after court. They're very distraught, Escobar said. They're going to have to bury a friend, a daughter, a loved one, so they're going through a lot right now. Advertisement Article continues below this ad He described the police account of what happened to Judge Beverly Armstrong. He said George and his wife had returned to their car after leaving the nearby Playground club when several Barbarella employees heard her screams and saw him striking the woman and pulling her hair. A guard punched George, prompting him to retreat to his vehicle and drive into several parked cars. He continued driving when, Escobar said, a bystander shot at Georges vehicle an act that first alerted police to the unfolding chaos. He jumped the sidewalk and barreled toward his wife. Card in a bouquet of flowers in a growing memorial for Cindy Reyes, a manager at the nightclub Barbarella on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Houston. Karen Warren/Staff photographer Georges wife moved out of the way, but Reyes was caught in the vehicles path and was hit. The impact sent her 30 to 40 feet away, Escobar said. George fled the crash site on foot but was captured soon after. He smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech and was stumbling when police found him. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Court records show that George drank a bottle of Hennessy at home and continued to drink at Playground. His blood alcohol content registered at 0.18, the prosecutor continued. The legal limit is .08. A defense attorney for George described another version of events after speaking with his clients wife, who he said recanted the assault. He accused the nightclub workers of jumping George, which prompted his client to run away. He heard gunshots and struck Reyes while trying to evade the shooter. A growing memorial for Cindy Reyes, a manager at the nightclub Barbarella on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Houston. Reyes was killed Sunday when a man struck her with a vehicle while trying to hit his wife during a domestic dispute. Karen Warren/Staff photographer He doesnt remember striking a person he was trying to avoid being shot, lawyer Norwood Richardson said in court. Escobar told the judge that surveillance footage showed the entire incident despite the wife walking back what happened. Advertisement Article continues below this ad I know the defense has their own version of events, Escobar said. That doesnt change whats on video: You can see him assaulting his wife. He does a U-turn and comes back around and hits an innocent bystander. Richardson said he had not seen the footage as of Friday. In a friendly competition to help maintain an adequate blood supply to support patients in times of need, the Sparks Police and Fire Departments will battle for the most amount of blood donations made on their behalf. Which agency will you represent and give blood for, Police or Fire? The City of Sparks partnered with Vitalant to host the Battle of the Badges, in their Ninth Annual Blood Drive on Thursday, August 22. The drive will take place at Sparks City Hall located at 431 Prater Way from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the downstairs training room and the bloodmobile outside. In last year's competition between the two agencies, Sparks Fire Department won by just a few donations. The City of Sparks is asking for its employees and community members to donate and vote for their favorite agency. The City says that Vitalant needs blood donations and every donation helps to ensure that adequate blood supplies are available when patients need them. They ask that the community consider donating life-saving blood during this combined and spirited competition, each donation can save up to three people's lives. Walk-ins are welcome, but to schedule an appointment to donate blood click here. West University man Brett Detamore was found early Tuesday after a nearly week-long disappearance. Texas EquuSearch A Houston developer who was once at the center of a bizarre weeklong manhunt pleaded guilty Friday to federal fraud charges amid accusations he bilked a customer out of more than $1.5 million Brett Detamore's guilty plea came just weeks after he was indicted on the fraud charges. The Department of Justice accused Detamore of using fraudulent invoices to collect money for work that hadn't been done on a single-family home project. Detamore pleaded guilty and agreed to forfeit $1.5 million, according to the FBI. Advertisement Article continues below this ad MORE ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: Masked gunmen shoot and wound four children in Gulfgate-area home One of the fraudulent invoices was dated May 2023 about a month before Detamore became the subject of a missing person investigation. In June 2023, the burned remains of Detamore's car were found in Bear Creek Park in West Harris County. Days later, Detamore was found "fazed and a bit disheveled" at a bus stop in San Antonio. Police later suggested that Detamore might have staged his own disappearance. After he was found, Detamore was sued by customers claiming he defrauded them and used their money to by luxury gifts for himself. The lawsuits, which are still pending, accused Detamore taking more than $1 million to buy a home in Galveston, a truck, Super Bowl and World Series tickets and meet-and-greets with athletes. Detamore and his company were named defendants in six different Harris County lawsuits as of Friday, according to court records. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The federal indictment, which was filed on Aug. 2, doesn't mention the disappearance or the big-ticket items. Detamore was specifically accused of submitting a false invoice into an online portal and was charged with wire fraud. Detamore appeared in a Houston federal court on Friday morning and pleaded guilty, according to court records. He was ordered released until his sentencing. Detamore faces a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, and could be ordered to pay up to $250,000 in fines. Houston police investigated a shooting in the 2200 block of Collier on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Four children were wounded in the shooting, police said. Courtesy/OnScene.tv Four children between the ages of 10 and 16 were wounded Thursday night when a trio of masked gunmen opened fire into their Gulfgate area home, Houston police said. None of the children were killed, but one suffered a serious wound to his abdomen, police said in a news briefing. The other three were wounded in their extremities. The shooting happened just after 9 p.m. in the 2200 block of Collier, a residential street in the Gulfgate area. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Police Department Assistant Chief Megan Howard said the shooters might have been teenagers, but didn't elaborate on a potential motive. MORE ON HOUSTONCHRONICLE.COM: How high-profile abandoned baby cases in Houston led lawmakers to take action The wounded children were ages 10, 14, 15 and 16, she said. Family members saw the three shooting suspects approaching the house with guns, and ran inside, Howard said. The gunman demanded someone come outside, and then began firing once a door opened. The gunmen ran away after the shooting. No arrests have been made. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Family members told ABC13 that the shooting might have been connected to an "an ongoing social media beef" between one of the victims and another person in the neighborhood. Janette Garza Lindner, board member with the Houston ISD Board of Manager, listens during a Houston ISD Board of Managers meeting at the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center, Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Houston. Jason Fochtman/Staff photographer Houston ISDs audit committee a group of appointed board members who say they are committed to transparency and oversight of the district will no longer be meeting publicly after more than 17 years of open meetings. The three-member committee plays a vital role in overseeing the districts governance, risks and internal control practices through monitoring internal and external audits, financial statements and the districts progress in implementing action plans, according to its new charter. It consists of board members Ric Campo, Adam Rivon and chair Janette Garza Lindner. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Garza Lindner said the committee will no longer work as an independent body, and it will instead bring its recommendations to the full Board of Managers to consider. She said more people will now be able to give input on the audits and recommendations because they will be included on the regular board meeting agendas for all nine board members and community members to review. I'm excited about the level of awareness and transparency it is going to provide for our community because it's going to come out in the regular board meetings, Garza Lindner said in an interview with the Chronicle. I think that's going to be a lot more available and accessible to more people. The committee drafted a shorter charter earlier this year, which the full school board voted to approve in June. The document includes language stating the committee is committed to promoting transparency, accountability, and integrity in its oversight role and strives to enhance organizational effectiveness and trust. The committee met July 30 without posting an official public notice for the first time since at least November 2006, according to meeting records. During the July meeting, committee members discussed the audits for the 2024 and 2025 fiscal year, along with draft audits of bus driver pay, employee terminations and the districts On-Time Grad Academy, per the meeting agenda. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In July, the districts website was updated to say the committee was no longer subject to Texas Open Meetings Act requirements since its scope had been limited to a strictly advisory role under the new charter. The new charter does not reference the Open Meetings Act or note that the committee would not provide public notice of its next meeting. The committee publicly posted its July meeting agenda after the meeting ended. Garza Lindner said future meeting agendas will be posted on the day of the audit committee meetings. "Instead of attending audit committee meetings, interested parties may now attend or review the regular board meetings and related documents," Garza Lindner said. "In line with the practice for other board committees that are not subject to (the Open Meetings Act), the public is not currently allowed to attend the audit committee meeting." Advertisement Article continues below this ad Unlike regular monthly HISD board meetings, where dozens of people regularly sign up for public comment, audit committee meetings have effectively never had members of the public register to speak. Meeting minutes for the audit committee meetings, which have been held at 2 or 3 p.m. on weekdays, do not list any registered speakers during the 2023-24 school year. For the sake of transparency, right, we want to make sure that people are getting the information they need, Garza Lindner said. Bringing those audit findings to a broader audience at the board meetings, I think that really improves what we want to see as far as transparency ... and then also we are able to get more input from the broader board by working in this way. Since the Texas Education Agency replaced the districts nine elected board members with appointees in June 2023 following the state takeover of the district, the new board members on the audit committee have also not publicly published a video recording of any of their five meetings, unlike the previous audit committees with elected board members. Garza Lindner said the audit committees past meeting recordings were no longer posted publicly, but they were still public and would be available through an open records request. She said after the charter change, meetings will not be recorded. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Dont meet in secret The Open Meetings Act requires school board trustees and other governmental agencies to hold open meetings and notify the public if a quorum of members plan to deliberate or take action on public business, but it does not apply to an advisory committee without control or supervision over public business or policy, according to the Texas Attorney Generals website. Bill Aleshire, an Austin-based lawyer focused on government accountability, said the committee is likely not legally required to follow the act, since it doesnt include a quorum of board members and its authority over public business is unclear. However, he said given the importance of the committee and the public's potential interest in discussion of the district's finances, the committee is not setting a good example of their stated devotion to transparency by not holding public meetings. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The audit committee (says it) is committed to promoting transparency, accountability and integrity in its oversight role, Aleshire said. Well, then don't meet in secret. ACCOUNTABILITY RATINGS: Nearly 150 HISD schools improve letter grades in unofficial 2024 TEA scores The committees website previously included a section listing official agenda/meeting notices, which outlined when each meeting would be held and how the public could access the meeting. However, the language listing official agenda/meeting notices, was removed in July and replaced with just meeting agendas, although former meeting notices remain on the website. Aleshire said while the committee may not be subject to the requirements of the Texas Open Meetings Act, theres nothing stopping members from continuing to comply by posting future meeting notices in advance and holding meetings in public. In its new charter, the committee removed much of the language from its old charter, which outlined more than 50 of its responsibilities, its purpose and its authority, including the authority to recommend audits or investigations into any matters within its scope of responsibility. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharamans Union Budget 2024-25 marks a significant stride towards a more inclusive and equitable labour market. With the governments renewed focus on skill upgradation, the potential impact on the job sector in the coming years is immense. But how will this transformative initiative unfold? As industries embrace the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), this technological revolution is being hailed as a double-edged sword. What opportunities and challenges will AI present to the job market, and are we truly prepared to face them? Moreover, with new budget provisions in place, how is the HR sector gearing up to address these sweeping changes? Adgully delves deep into these pressing questions, exploring the far-reaching implications for the future of work. The future of the job sector Saurabh Deep Singla, CHRO, upGrad, asserted that Indias economic trajectory will greatly benefit from the focus on skilling, education, and jobs. Incentivizing EPFO contributions will encourage formal employment and boost savings, driving investment and growth. By bridging the industry-curriculum gap and allocating resources to 4.1 crore youth, women, and providing skilling and education loans, the budget aims to prepare a future-ready workforce. Organizations are expected to prioritize skills over traditional qualifications through assessments and competency-based evaluations, he added. Singla also highlighted that new internship programs will offer first-time job seekers valuable hands-on experience, mentorship, and networking opportunities. These initiatives will enhance hiring, create a dynamic workforce, and advance India's economic and innovative potential. This budget is a blueprint for a brighter future, ensuring that Indias youth are well-prepared for global job markets. Binu Philip, CHRO, Greater India, Schneider Electric, considered the FY25 Budgets support for job creation in manufacturing and targeted skilling programs to be a significant milestone. He added, Upgrading 1,000 ITIs and introducing industry-specific courses will create a future-ready workforce. The commitment to skill one crore youth through the Prime Ministers Internships, with a focus on women, aligns with our diversity goals. These initiatives bridge the skills gap and create employment pathways, driving innovation and growth. Additionally, employment-linked incentives, including wage support for new workforce entrants and job creation incentives in manufacturing, underscore the budgets comprehensive approach to fostering employment. Ruhie Pande, Group-CHRO and Head Marketing and Communications, Sterlite Power, noted, The Union Budget 2024s focus on skill upgradation is set to significantly impact the job sector by creating a capable workforce and fostering transformative changes. The budget supports these initiatives through internship schemes and dedicated skilling programs, aiming for a Viksit Bharat by 2047. Enhancing womens participation in the workforce is a crucial aspect of this vision, contributing to a more diverse and balanced labour market. This focus on skills is expected to drive economic stability, growth, innovation, and inclusivity. The potential of AI Mili Dutta, Head HR, EverEnviro Resource Management, observed, The governments focus on skill upgradation and employment incentives, along with the rapid integration of AI in industries, is reshaping the job landscape with both opportunities and challenges. The emergence of AI is taking center stage across industries due to its potential to provide algorithm-based solutions. Given its rapid adoption, it is imperative to train talent to harness the potential of this new-age boom. Moreover, the announcement on the internship scheme to equip youth with future-proof skills will allow for private entities to align their business goals with economic growth, and we welcome the opportunity to develop a workforce for the future. Vinod Chaturvedi, CHRO, Shree Cement, mentioned, While some jobs may be automated, AI also creates significant opportunities for new ones in terms of bringing innovation and creativity into daily work. We view AI as a tool to enhance human capabilities and improve efficiency. By embracing AI with a strategic and human-centric approach, we can harness its potential to create a more dynamic, inclusive, and resilient workforce. The challenge lies in preparing our workforce to adapt and work alongside AI. Continuous learning and skill development will be crucial to navigating this change. The evolving job market and budget provisions for employment incentives necessitate a proactive approach from the HR sector. Saurabh Deep Singla further elaborated, Generative AI is transforming business operations, especially in HR, by revolutionizing recruitment, onboarding, and engagement with data-driven approaches. AI minimizes biases, enhances employee experiences, identifies skills gaps, and suggests personalized learning paths. While AI enhances efficiency and productivity, it also risks making routine jobs obsolete. To address this, robust reskilling and upskilling initiatives are critical. Investing in training programs for AI-driven roles such as development, data analysis, and cybersecurity is essential to ensure a dynamic and adaptable workforce. Ruhie Pande added here, AIs rapid adoption brings both opportunities and challenges. A recent survey indicates that around 55% of employees use generative AI at least once a week. While AI can transform work, concerns about job automation and integration risks such as cyberattacks remain. A balanced approach that combines human and machine intelligence, supported by constant reskilling and comprehensive AI education, is crucial for future readiness. HR strategy in a evolving jobs landscape Speaking about upGrads strategies, Saurabh Deep Singla said, The introduction of skilling and education loans up to Rs 10 lakh is transformative, providing access to quality education and advanced training. We are expanding our courses in high-demand fields like AI, data science, and ML/AI, ensuring that our learners acquire the latest skills. He added, AI and automation are central to our HR strategy. We are investing in AI-driven tools for recruitment, onboarding, and employee engagement to identify skills gaps, provide real-time performance evaluations, and create personalized learning paths. By focusing on upskilling our workforce, we aim to mitigate job displacement and leverage government initiatives to prepare a future-ready workforce. Shree Cements Vinod Chaturvedi noted, The evolving job market and budget provisions for employment incentives necessitate a proactive approach from the HR sector. We focus on identifying future-proof skills by analyzing industry trends and prioritizing upskilling through training programs. By fostering a culture of continuous learning, we ensure our employees are agile and adaptable to changing job requirements, driving organizational success and satisfaction. According to Ruhie Pande, To address the evolving landscape, the HR sector must align recruitment, training, and development strategies with the needs of a diverse workforce. With Rs 1.48 lakh crore allocated towards human capital enhancement and schemes like wage subsidies for first-time hires, significant positive changes are anticipated in the employment sector. Collaboration between government, academia, and industry is crucial to foster innovation and build a robust talent pipeline. Also Read: Manish Bhatt on building a lasting brand world for Gopal Snacks brand Cristos Coca-Cola India Southwest Asia (INSWA) Operating Unit (OU) today announced Greishma Singh as Vice President of Marketing effective Sept 1, 2024. She was most recently Vice President of Customer and Commercial Leadership (C&CL) for the INSWA OU. Greishma will succeed Arnab Roy, who was recently named Global Category President, Coca-Cola Trademark. Across her roles Greishma has been a high impact leader with a reputation for collaboration and inspirational people leadership, stated Sanket Ray, President, Coca-Cola India Southwest Asia. She has had significant wins most recently as the leader of C&CL driving key commercial initiatives and partnerships with customers and we are excited to see her move in to lead marketing. Greishma has been with The Coca-Cola Company for a little over 15 years. During this time, she has held roles of increasing responsibility across Marketing, Strategy and C&CL in Australia and India. In her most recent role in India, she enabled Coca-Cola India to deliver revenue leverage while holding affordable price points, ramping up distribution to an all-time high and shaping the business to build a competitive advantage in critical emerging channels offline and online. Prior to rejoining INSWA, as part of the South Pacific Business Unit, Greishma held a variety of roles in marketing delivering strong outcomes across various brands like Glaceau, Vitaminwater, and Powerade. She then moved into the strategy function, holding roles across business intelligence and planning. She completed her tenure in South Pacific heading the Strategy & Insights team for the Business Unit and leading the definition and implementation of the long-term growth strategy for the system in Australia. Greishma joined the company in 2008. Over the years she has displayed a strong grounding in entrepreneurial accountability and has fostered a sense of passion for high performing teams. Greishma received her MBA from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad and has a bachelors degree from Colorado College. In her new role, she will continue to be based in India along with her family. Also Read: Coca-Cola Partners with Olympian Manu Bhaker in New Endorsement Deal Houston ISD state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles talks to the media after he shared the HISD's results on the unofficial Texas Education Agency 2024 accountability ratings at Hilliard Elementary School on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024 in Houston. Elizabeth Conley/Staff Photographer State-appointed Houston Independent School District Superintendent Mike Miles responded to recent criticism from several Democratic state lawmakers by sending a letter telling them to "lead, follow, or get out of the way. The letter calls for lawmakers to put aside the politics of grievance and divisiveness and join him in celebrating the districts miraculous results on the Texas Education Agencys unofficial 2024 accountability results, where 55 schools jumped from a D or F rating in unofficial 2023 ratings to an A or B this year. Lets end the distracting public fighting and work together, Miles wrote in the letter published by the Quorum Report. HISD will not stop fighting for our students. We will not stop working to change the parts of a broken system that hold too many students back. We will not stop putting our students first. Advertisement Article continues below this ad HISD did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the undated letter. The letter was addressed to the same nine legislators who publicly shared a letter Monday asking Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to investigate Third Future Schools, the Colorado-based charter school network Miles founded. Spectrum News reported in May that the network moved money from Texas public schools to Colorado campuses while Miles led the organization as CEO. Lawmakers wrote that they had deep concern regarding the financial mismanagement and lack of transparency associated with Miles. Their letter called for an audit of Third Future Schools Texas, an investigation into potential conflicts of interest and a closer monitoring of the organizations governance practices to ensure the highest standards of accountability and transparency. They also asked for scrutiny of HISDs $4.4 billion school bond proposal, a detailed explanation of the districts $528 million budget gap and the public disclosure of the results of any investigations and audits to rebuild trust among parents, teachers and taxpayers. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Miles, who left the network in June 2023 to become HISDs superintendent, has vehemently denied reports of allegations of illegal financial practices at his former charter network and previously called Spectrums story irresponsibly inaccurate. His letter to seven state representatives and two state senators did not mention or refer to Third Future Schools. HISD Superintendent Mike Miles chats before presenting the HISD's results on the unofficial Texas Education Agency 2024 accountability ratings at Hilliard Elementary School on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024 in Houston. Elizabeth Conley/Staff Photographer Instead, Miles told lawmakers he hoped they could work together to give HISD students an example of what real leadership looks like. He said that while they may have disagreements about some of the changes he has made in HISD, the district was changing students lives and futures and bringing hope back. I am not a politician, and I am not running for election, but I know about leadership, Miles said. I suspect we all strive to be leaders who bring people to their best hopes rather than play on their worst fears. We want to be leaders that get things done. I know as leaders we must fight the fights that need fighting, not just those we know we can win. Advertisement Article continues below this ad He said students at Wainwright Elementary in Oak Forest one of three schools that raised their rating from an F to an A did not deserve to hear their elected leaders call their school an emblem of everything wrong with HISD. Its unclear what incident he is referencing, as the nine lawmakers who received his letter did not mention Wainwright or any HISD campuses in their recent letter. However, state Rep. Christina Morales wrote an article in the Houston Chronicle in June stating that her visit to Wainwright confirmed her nightmares about what was to come in HISD. She said aspects of Miles reform mode prompted serious concerns about students civil rights and that the visit left her feeling discouraged, frustrated and broken-hearted. The Wainwright community deserves an apology and more importantly public recognition for a job very well done, Miles wrote. It may be politically useful to disparage the district, but that kind of politics doesnt help a single student learn to read, do math or compete for the jobs of the future. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In his letter, Miles invited lawmakers to visit campuses to see the real story of remarkable transformation, meet with the districts teacher and principal advisory committees and fight for increased education funding in the states budget during the upcoming legislative session that begins in January. The Board of Directors of Nestle has appointed Laurent Freixe, currently the Executive Vice President and CEO of Zone Latin America (LATAM), as the new Chief Executive Officer of Nestle S.A., effective September 1. Additionally, the Board has nominated Freixe as a candidate for the Board of Directors at the 2025 Annual General Meeting. Mark Schneider, the current Chief Executive Officer, has decided to step down from his roles as CEO and as a member of the Board of Directors. Over his 8-year tenure with Nestle, Schneider has significantly influenced the company's portfolio, aligning it with Nestles strategy and focusing on high-growth categories such as coffee, pet care, and nutritional health products. Laurent Freixe began his career at Nestle in France in 1986 and has since advanced through various positions of increasing responsibility across different businesses, markets, and Zones. He successfully led Zone Europe during the financial and economic crisis from 2008 to 2014, and later accelerated growth as CEO of Zone Americas. Following the restructuring of Nestles Zones in 2022, Freixe was appointed CEO of Zone Latin America, where he has effectively navigated challenging conditions. Freixe has been a member of the Executive Board for 16 years, playing a crucial role in shaping the company's strategic direction and portfolio. With a deep understanding of Nestles culture and values, he has spearheaded global corporate initiatives to enhance productivity, operational efficiency, process simplification, and innovation. Freixe is also dedicated to developing future leaders, evidenced by his involvement in Nestles Leadership and Training Programs and the Nestle Needs YOUth initiative, which supports youth employment. Paul Bulcke, Chairman of the Board of Directors, expressed his satisfaction with Freixe's appointment, saying: "The Board of Directors is delighted to announce the appointment of Laurent as the new CEO. I have known Laurent for a long time and highly regard him as a talented leader with strategic acumen, extensive in-market experience and expertise as well as a deep understanding of markets and consumers. He has demonstrated his ability to deliver results in challenging market conditions. Laurent's curiosity fuels his passion for innovation and positive change. Laurent is the perfect fit for Nestle at this time. Under his leadership, Nestle will further strengthen its position as a dependable, reliable company through consistent and sustainable value creation." Bulcke also extended his gratitude to Schneider, stating: "I would also like to express our gratitude to Mark for his significant contributions to Nestle and for his outstanding, steady leadership in turbulent times. Mark has been instrumental in the great progress we have made on our sustainability agenda. We extend our best wishes to him in all his professional and personal endeavors." Laurent Freixe expressed his enthusiasm for the new role, saying: "I am privileged to have been given the opportunity to continue building and strengthening Nestle, and I am excited to take on this responsibility. There will always be challenges, but we have unparalleled strengths, such as iconic brands and products, an unmatched global presence, leading innovation and execution capabilities, and above all, exceptional people and teams. We can strategically position Nestle to lead and win everywhere we operate." Mark Schneider reflected on his tenure, saying: "Leading Nestle for the past 8 years has been an honor for me. I am grateful for what we have achieved, having transformed Nestle into a future-proofed, innovative and sustainable business. I would like to thank the entire Nestle community for what we have accomplished together and wish Laurent all the best in his new role." Also Read: Cathay unveils new Sonic Identity, 'Song of Cathay' Mamaearth, Indias leading purpose-driven personal care brand, proudly announces the launch of its latest innovation the Kerala Thaali Hair Care Range. This one-of-a-kind regional range is a tribute to the rich cultural heritage and natural bounty of Kerala, bringing together the best of natures goodness in a holistic hair care experience. The newly launched Hair Care Range is inspired by the traditional Kerala Thaali, a harmonious blend of diverse and nourishing ingredients that are emblematic of the regions ethos. The range is crafted with a thoughtful selection of natural ingredients native to Kerala, such as hibiscus, shikakai, and amla, known for their time-tested benefits in hair care. This innovation stems from deep consumer insights and crowdsourcing ideas, reflecting our understanding of consumer needs and our commitment to fulfilling them. This collection is crafted to enhance hair with exceptional strength and shine, while also honoring the rich cultural traditions of Kerala. Driving a Regional Narrative With this launch, Mamaearth is setting a new benchmark in the personal care industry by introducing a regional approach to product innovation. In a market where multinational companies often tailor their products to different countries, Mamaearth is taking a pioneering step by focusing on the unique cultural and natural wealth of Indian states. This regional focus is the beginning of a deeper innovation funnel for Mamaearth, as the brand seeks to create products that resonate with the diverse cultural fabric of India. Talking about the launch, Ghazal Alagh, Co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer, Honasa Consumer Limited comments, "We are thrilled to introduce the Kerala Thali Hair Care Range, a product that is close to our hearts and deeply rooted in the cultural heritage of Kerala. In India, each state has its own unique traditions and natural resources, much like the countries across the world. We felt it was essential to approach our states with the same respect and understanding. This launch is not just about a product; its about celebrating the diversity of our country and the richness it brings to our lives. We are committed to continuing this journey of regional innovation and bringing the best of nature and culture to our consumers," The range will be launched nationwide across all online platforms, and Mamaearth has partnered exclusively with Reliance Retail for the Mini Five Star project to introduce the range in Kerala. This collaboration ensures the range will be available in all Hyper stores of Reliance Retail across the state, as well as in other nearby southern cities where consumer demand is strong. A series of offline activations are planned in Reliance Retail stores, including in-store demonstrations, exclusive promotions, and engaging consumer experiences. These activities are designed to highlight the unique benefits of the Kerala Thali Hair Care Range, encouraging direct interaction with the product and enhancing brand awareness among local consumers. Tinder, in partnership with Viacom18, is back with the fourth season of Tinders Swipe Ride. Its a show that celebrates uninhibited and meaningful conversations about what Indian women want from their dating lives. The rst episode this year features bollywood actress Vaani Kapoor and will premiere on Wednesday, August 14, 2024 on Tinders Youtube channel and stream exclusively on Viacom18s OTT platform JioCinema. Popular content creator and actor, Kusha Kapila, takes the drivers seat once again with a celebrity guest in the back. This time it is Vaani Kapoor who steps into the spotlight, bringing her vibrant energy and honest perspectives on love and relationships. Together they pick up a Tinder user, Panthi Shah, a 23-year-old marketing manager and aspiring model, who is on a quest to nd romance. With a Tinder bio that reads Pasta, puppies, and looking for a potential partner in crime, Panthi is all set for a pottery date planned by her Tinder match, Yash, a graphic designer who shares her love for adventure. Notably, Tinders Year in Swipe report talks about how people are increasingly opting for more experiential dates. While coee date remains the top activity in India, it is closely followed by concerts and festivals, stand-up, movie night, and arcade. On this Swipe Ride drive, the girl trio spills the tea on the magic of spontaneous rst dates, setting healthy boundaries, self-expression, and how Shahrukh Khan remains the ultimate dream boy who bridges the gap between Gen Z, millennials and boomers. Vaani Kapoor shares, "As someone in the spotlight, dating can be challenging. People often approach me because of my fame, which can make it dicult to discern genuine intentions. I'm an idealist in love but a realist in life. Finding true chemistry is rare, and when you do, it's important to seize it with both hands! Tinder user Panthi shared her own dating adventures, revealing how going on 50 rst dates this year has been a journey of self-discovery. Interestingly, Tinders Year in Swipe report on dating, reveals that singles are less concerned with where their relationship was heading, and more concerned with creating memorable experiences and opportunities - also known as N.A.T.O Dating (a.k.a. Not Attached To Outcomes). It is simply a way for daters to break free from societal pressures and timelines and enjoy 'the plot' of making connections and getting to know people. This season of Swipe Ride is all about celebrating the empowered and authentic voices of todays young women. From spontaneous adventures to unique date ideas, these young women are breaking the mold and embracing what they truly want in their dating journey. Its been amazing to witness how theyre normalizing open, honest conversations about their desires and expectations. This season, were driving into the heart of what makes modern dating so exciting and real, and its been incredible to share these moments with them, added Kusha Kapila. Vivek Mohan Sharma, Head - Branded Content & MTV Properties Revenue, Viacom18, comments on the collaboration - At Viacom18, we are dedicated to pioneering storytelling and forging powerful brand partnerships that create meaningful content. Our collaboration with Tinder exemplifies this commitment. The fourth season of Tinder's Swipe Ride offers a vibrant exploration of the diverse dating journeys of young Indian women, highlighting their self-assurance and clarity in navigating their relationships. This partnership also underscores how we as Viacom18 add value by effectively engaging with the intended set of audiences. Swipe Ride entering its 4th fourth season is a signicant milestone and a testimony of how this show resonates with our audience. It captures the diverse perspectives of young, GenZ Indian women and their dating journeys in a way that's both relatable and empowering. Whether it's owning their relationship goals or condently putting themselves out there, young women daters are being transparent and open to new experiences, connections and possibilities. This show is a reection of that IRL, said Anukool Kumar, Marketing Director, Tinder India Co-created with lm director Debbie Rao along with popular writer Supriya Joshi, Swipe Ride series is a product of the coming together of these women who like to call their own shots whether it's in their personal life, careers, or their dating lives. Also Read: Divine Solitaires partners with Vaani Kapoor for the 3rd Edition of TSFI A plane crash in south-central Thailand has left two pilots and up to seven tourists missing. The Cessna 208B crashed into a mangrove forest in Chachoengsao province, sparking a major search and rescue operation. Authorities have found wreckage but no survivors. #Thailand pic.twitter.com/nBz8kDzYw4 Pakistani Index (@PakistaniIndex) August 22, 2024 Cessna 208B Caravan in Thailand abgesturzt, XSL aero.de | 23.08.2024 11:32 BANGKOK - Sudostlich von Bangkok ist eine Cessna 208B Caravan abgesturzt. Ermittler gehen nicht von Uberlebenden aus.Ein Absturz einer Cessna 208B Caravan rund 100 Kilometer sudostlich von Bangkok hat am Donnerstag die Leben aller Insassen gefordert.Ermittler haben das Wrack in einem schwer zuganglichen Mangrovenwald in Bang Pakong entdeckt und gehen von neun Todesopfern aus - neben den beiden Piloten sollen sich sieben Passagiere an Bord befunden haben.Die HS-SKR der Charterairline SGA war am Donnerstag in Bangkok gestartet, Ziel war der Flughafen der Insel Ko Mai Si in der bei Thailandtouristen beliebten Region Trat. Dr. Tawde, Bhave, and Punalekar Acquitted; Vartak Questions Anti-Superstition Committee's Accountability 2 In a significant development on May 10, 2024, a court acquitted three individuals, including Dr. Virendra Singh Tawde, Vikram Bhave of Sanatan Sanstha, and Advocate Sanjeev Punalekar, of all charges related to the murders of Dr. Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare. The trio, who had been imprisoned for years under allegations of involvement in the high-profile cases, were found innocent by the judiciary. The acquittal has sparked fresh demands for accountability from Sanatan Sanstha, a Hindu organization that has consistently denied any involvement in the murders. Speaking after the verdict, Sanatan Sanstha spokesperson Abhay Vartak questioned whether those who accused the organization would now issue an apology. Vartak criticized what he described as a deliberate attempt by certain groups to malign Sanatan Sanstha and Hinduism at large, calling for action against the responsible authorities. At a press conference, Advocate Sanjeev Punalekar and Dr. Amit Thadani also addressed the broader implications of the case. They highlighted the role of misinformation in targeting Hindutva organizations and emphasized the need for Hindu unity in the face of what they termed as false narratives. Vartak accused the Anti-Superstition Committee and so-called Urban Naxalites of conspiring to falsely accuse Sanatan Sanstha. He noted that despite the violent attacks during the August 11, 2012, riots at Mumbais Azad Maidan, no strict action has been taken against the perpetrators, while the same groups are active in filing hate speech cases against Hindutva leaders. Advocate Punalekar, representing the Mumbai High Court, criticized communists for allegedly portraying themselves as intellectuals and misleading the public. He accused them of glorifying fake heroes and discrediting true national icons, citing examples like Nikhil Wagle and Asim Sarode. Punalekar further claimed that certain NGOs, along with elements from the film industry, journalists, and police, are part of a larger agenda to undermine Hindu organizations. Dr. Amit Thadani, a noted surgeon and author, condemned the mishandling of the Dabholkar murder investigation, which he believes focused unjustly on implicating Hindutva groups. Dr. Thadani, who has penned a book titled Dabholkar-Pansare Murder: Mysteries of the Investigation?, argued that the inquiry ignored other potential motives, such as financial disputes, in favor of targeting Hindu organizations. In a Relief for Patients, Three Major Medical Associations Called Off Strike Following SC Directives 2 The Federation of All India Medical Associations (FAIMA) called off the strike protesting the Kolkata rape and murder of a trainee doctor following the Supreme Court directive on Thursday. In a self-made video message, FAIMA Chairman Dr Rohan Krishnan said that the protests will continue but in a different form. He said that a pan-India meeting was held earlier and requested all resident doctors to return to work. The CJI requested us to call off the strike for the greater interest and public welfare. We had a pan-India meeting, and we have decided to resume the OPD, emergency, and elective services. The protest will continue but in a different form. I request all resident doctors to return and work for the patients welfare. Our legal battle will continue, Dr Krishnan said. Earlier, the Resident Doctors Association (RDA) of Indira Gandhi Hospital officially called off its 11-day strike after the Supreme Court appealed the medical fraternity to return to work. The United Doctors Front Association (UDFA) also suspended the nationwide strike, protesting the Kolkata rape-murder of a trainee doctor, following the SC directive. The UDFA expressed gratitude to the top court for recognising the gravity of our concerns and taking swift action. The UDFA also emphasised the urgent need for the establishment of a Central Protection Act (CPA) to provide comprehensive legal safeguards for healthcare professionals. On August 22, the Supreme Court directed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to engage with the Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police across all states and Union Territories. The directive includes an unequivocal mandate for state governments and Union Territories to establish and enforce minimum safety standards in all medical institutions. The apex court has assured that no adverse action will be taken against doctors who have participated in protests prior to this ruling. It has also instructed the installation of CCTV cameras and call distress systems in medical establishments. The court also affirmed UDFAs role as a key stakeholder in the ongoing National Task Force discussions. The apex court has imposed stringent timelines for action. The Union Health Ministry, along with state authorities, is required to complete consultations within one week, followed by prompt implementation within the subsequent two weeks. A bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra passed these directions while hearing the suo motu petition that it initiated in the wake of the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal, on August 9. Let Me Remind Eknath Shinde, Once He Was True Shiv Sainik 2 I was born and raised in Mumbai, and we never heard of incidents like rape or violence against women in this city because Shiv Senas presence acted as a strong deterrent. Women could safely travel alone, even at midnight, making Mumbai one of the safest cities for them. However, since Balasahebs demise and Eknath Shindes political maneuvers, the unity of the Shiv Sena has crumbled. The division of Shiv Sainiks and Shindes focus on the CM chair has led to a rise in crime. Women in Maharashtra long for the days when Mumbai was truly safe for them. When Balasaheb Thackeray was alive, Shiv Sena was credited with making Mumbai a safer place for women. Leaders like Anand Dighe were known for personally helping women facing domestic abuse and harassment, with Shiv Sena cadres actively working to maintain safety. Unfortunately, present CM Eknath Shinde claimed to follow in the footsteps of Dighe and Balasaheb but lost his narrative to vivacious political ambitions. Why is there a rise in crimes against women, and why isnt the same level of protection being provided? If Anand Dighe or Balasaheb Thackeray were alive today, they would have taken severe action against Eknath Shinde for failing to deliver justice to the minor victim, who was not only molested but also repeatedly threatened by the accused. Unfortunately, under the leadership of Shinde, crimes against women have increased, and he lacks the courage to address this critical issue, even though he once boldly took action against dance bars to protect families. The question of what has changed under current leadership is a poignant one, especially when compared to the legacy of past leaders who prioritized womens safety. During Balasaheb Thackerays leadership, Shiv Sena was known for creating a strong deterrent against crimes like rape and violence, with the city being one of the safest for women, even at night. The political divisions and changes in leadership, especially under Eknath Shinde, have led to a perceived weakening of this protective framework. Many feel that the current leadership is not upholding the legacy of prioritizing womens safety as effectively as before, leading to an increase in such crimes. The Badlapur rape case has deeply shocked the nation, yet the governments response appears focused on arresting those who protest for justice rather than addressing the root issue. This has led to widespread frustration, as many believe the government is more concerned with preserving its image and making false claims rather than taking meaningful action to ensure justice for the victim. The publics demand for accountability and safety remains unmet, further fueling the outrage. On August 13, as a routing grandfather, he dropped his 3-year-old granddaughter off at school. He might have never thought that his granddaughter would fall victim to a beast. When grandfather went to the school to pick up his granddaughter, her classmates father informed him that his daughter told him about a Dada (elder brother in Marathi) touching her private parts. She also revealed that Dada also used to remove her clothes and did not return. The classmates father had met the school teacher regarding the same and had decided on a medical checkup. This detail reveals that the classmate was a victim of sexual abuse too. The grandfather got suspicious and took the girl to a hospital. The medical report revealed Hymen Open 1 cm CMC ERYTHEMA. Shocked and pained, the grandfather telephoned the girls parents and called them to Badlapur. After the mother confirmed that her 3-year-old 10-month-old daughter was a victim of sexual abuse, she rushed to the police station to register a case. The police refused to register a case, and then Badlapur people took to the street to get the case registered. The Badlapur citizens called for a citywide strike after the police delayed registering the FIR. The victims parents had to wait 12 hours to file the case. The country was yet to come to terms with the horrific Kolkata medico rape and murder, Badlapur sexual assault case of two minor girls by a school sweeper has again sent another shockwave all across India. As per the FIR, the young parents stay in Kalyan and the victims permanent address is also her parents residential address in Kalyan. However, the young parents in June 2023 decided to keep their daughter with her grandparents. The victim, who is 3 years and 10-months old as per the FIR, was admitted to a Badlapur schools kindergarten in June 2024. From the last week of June, the girl was regularly attending her school. But the school never bothered to keep an eye on their staff; the sweeper took advantage of the schools ill management and continued to sexually abuse kids. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance called for a Maharashtra Bandh (strike). As per reports, Advocate Gunaratna Sadavarte, who once created unrest in Maharashtra to destabilize the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, is now representing the state government, calling the bandh illegal and the government has asked the court to take strict action against the people participating in the strike. MVA leaders Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar have appealed to the citizens of Maharashtra to participate in the strike overwhelmingly demanding justice for women. The MVA leaders also said that the bandh is demanding the protection of women amid the rising cases of sexual assault and that there is no political agenda. The bandh will continue till 2 pm. Massive protests against the sexual assault of two minor girls in Badlapur. MVA took an aggressive stand and called for a Maharashtra Bandh on Saturday, August 24. Lets see how Maharashtra reacts to this whole episode. It would also be interesting to watch if Eknath Shinde realized that he is still more of a Shiv Sainik than the dummy of the BJP. Nepal Bus Tragedy: 14 Dead, 16 Injured in Devastating Accident 2 In a tragic incident on Friday, at least 14 people lost their lives when an Indian-registered passenger bus plunged into the Marsyangdi River in central Nepal. The bus, which was traveling from Gorakhpur to Kathmandu, veered off the highway near Aaina Pahara in the Tanahun district. The bus, bearing the registration number UP 53 FT 7623, was en route from the resort town of Pokhara to Nepals capital. Rescue teams have managed to save 29 passengers from the wreckage. The District Police Office in Tanahu has confirmed the deaths of 14 individuals so far. A 45-member rescue team from the Armed Police Force, led by SSP Madhav Paudel, is actively conducting operations at the site of the accident, which occurred around 11:30 am on Friday. The challenging rescue efforts are exacerbated by the murky waters of the river, a result of heavy monsoon rains. This tragic event comes just weeks after two buses were swept into the Trishuli River due to a landslide, underscoring the persistent dangers of travel in Nepal during the monsoon season. The ongoing severe weather has made Nepals roads and waterways particularly hazardous, complicating rescue missions and increasing the risk of accidents. Authorities have released the name of a man who died one week ago today in a fire at a Center Point apartment complex. The Jefferson County Coroners Office identified the victim as TaCiaven Malique Craig. He was 21. Center Point Fire and Rescue and Trussville Fire and Rescue responded at 12:09 a.m. Friday, Aug. 16, to reports of an apartment building fire with possible entrapment. The location of the building was in the 1900 block of East Bend Circle in Center Point. Once the blaze was extinguished, firefighters found Craig unresponsive inside his unit. He was pronounced dead at 1:33 a.m. Authorities said the fire is believed to have begun in the victims apartment. The investigation is ongoing by the Alabama State Fire Marshals Office. A second person has died following a Wednesday-night shooting at a southwest Birmingham home. NaBryan Adams, 20, died Thursday at UAB Hospital, Birmingham police said. The Jefferson County Coroners Office said Adams was pronounced dead at 1:53 p.m. Multiple shots rang out just after 8 p.m. at a house in the 700 block of 30th Street S.W. When West Precinct officers arrived at the home, they found 28-year-old rapper Kayla Alexandria Warren, who goes by the professional name 205KayWay, shot on the front porch of a friends home. Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service rushed her to UAB Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 10:54 p.m. Police learned Adams had been driven by private vehicle to Princeton Baptist Medical Center. He was then transferred to UAB because of the severity of injuries. A group of people were gathered at the home when the suspect or suspects opened fire. The gunfire also damaged the house next year where a 66-year-old narrowly escaped being shot. Adams death marks the citys 106th homicide this year. Of those, eight have been ruled justifiable and therefore arent deemed criminal. Two of the homicides happened in previous years, but the victims died in 2024. In all of Jefferson County, there have been 133 homicides including the 106 in Birmingham. No arrests have been made. Anyone with information is asked to call Birmingham homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777. Oscar Martinez crosses back into Piedras Negras after attempting to enter the United States through Eagle Pass, saying he returned because a US National Guardsmen in Eagle Pass told him he would be immediately deported because of Texas law SB4 on Thursday, March 21, 2024, in Piedras Negras , Mexico . Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer 1. Border crossings down in multiple states, not just Texas Gov. Greg Abbott credits his $11 billion border security crackdown, Operation Lone Star, with reducing border crossings in Texas by 85%. However, a new analysis shows that crossings have also dropped significantly in Arizona and California, which don't have similar initiatives. Adam Isacson, a researcher at the Washington Office on Latin America, noted, "Texas' big border crackdown hasn't deterred migration any more than other border states." The biggest declines came after Mexico increased enforcement and President Joe Biden issued an executive order limiting asylum processing. Texas still had the most crossings in July, with 16,991. 2. Colin Allred reaffirms support for Kamala Harris at DNC U.S. Rep. Colin Allred has largely steered clear of getting too involved in talking about the presidential election, though on Thursday he did reiterate his endorsement of Harris. Allred also promised to protect reproductive freedom, secure the border and defend Medicare and Social Security. A recent poll shows Cruz leading Allred 47% to 45%, with a margin of error of 2.65%. Advertisement Article continues below this ad 3. Rights group says online age verification law violates First Amendment The SCOPE Act, set to take effect on Sept. 1, faces a legal challenge from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. The nonprofit argues the law, aimed at protecting minors from harmful online content, infringes on First Amendment rights. Texas has jumped on a misguided bandwagon ... by passing the Securing Children Online Through Parental Empowerment Act, the lawsuit states. The Act requires age verification for digital services, which the nonprofit claims burdens adults' access to legal content. Courts have already blocked similar laws in other states, and the lawsuit seeks to do the same in Texas. Advertisement Article continues below this ad 4. Triple-digit temps to cool slightly Ed Newby, owner of All Star A/C and Heating, fields calls during a heat wave on Monday, June 26, 2023 in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Staff photographer Houston has been sizzling this week with temperatures reaching an average high of 101.7 degrees. The heat will ease slightly on Friday, with highs dropping to the upper 90s. Scattered downpours might offer some relief, especially by early next week as tropical moisture moves in. A tropical wave in the Gulf of Mexico could bring more rain to the Texas Coast and Houston, with 30-50% rain chances through midweek. While tropical development isn't expected, it's wise to keep an eye on the forecast. 5. Safe Havens got their start in Houston but awareness still a problem Fire Station 35, 5535 Van Fleet, is shown Monday, April 7, 2014, in Houston. A baby girl was surrendered to Houston firefighters on Monday afternoon. If the child is indeed 5 months old, leaving the baby with firefighters may not qualify as a "Baby Moses" surrender because the child is too old. The state's "Baby Moses" law allows parents to avoid prosecution if they hand over unharmed infants up to 60 days old to personnel at hospitals, fire stations, EMS locations or other designated Safe Havens where immediate medical attention is available. Texas first enacted the law in 1999. Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle Law enforcement officials in Houston are raising awareness about Texas Safe Haven law after several infants were found abandoned. The Baby Moses law allows mothers to relinquish custody of infants under 60 days old at fire stations, EMS locations or hospitals. Since fiscal year 2020, 17 children have been found abandoned in Houston, while an equal number were surrendered through the law. Texas Rep. Geanie Morrison, who authored the law, emphasized it as a last resort for desperate mothers. For more information, residents can contact Texas Baby Moses Hotline at 1-877-904-SAVE. Alabama lawmakers told the State Board of Pharmacy on Thursday to move quickly to fix problems cited in a report by the Examiners of Public Accounts. The Legislatures Sunset Committee, which reviews the finances and activities of public boards, held a public hearing on the report, which was released Wednesday and covered the Board of Pharmacys operations from October 2019 through September 2023. Examiners listed 14 significant issues with the board, including the collection of fines and penalties in ways not allowed by the law, the inaccurate reporting of fines collected, and failure to follow the states open meetings law and document the disposition of cases when it approved fines and penalties. Honestly, with this report, we could be here all day, said Sen. Keith Kelley, R-Anniston. Extremely, extremely, extremely troubling. Sen. Sam Givhan, R-Huntsville, said, I havent been on this committee very long, but this is one of the worst reports if not the worst Ive seen. I would recommend that the board start working post-haste to remedy these issues. Donna Yeatman, a pharmacist who is executive secretary of the board, spoke on behalf of the board and said changes were already underway in response to the Public Examiners report. Read the report. Five people, including two attorneys who have represented pharmacists before the board and one pharmacist, spoke critically of the board during the hearing. Several people, including two pharmacists, spoke favorably about the board. The State Board of Pharmacy has five members, all pharmacists. Three are appointed by the governor and two are elected by pharmacists. The board and its staff, which has 24 employees, licenses and regulates pharmacists and the pharmacy industry. It issues permits to pharmacies, manufacturers, packagers, and wholesalers. It investigates complaints and violations. The issues that raised the most alarm during Thursdays hearing were the fines and penalties collected by the board - how it levies those fines and how it reports the revenue. That included the boards practice of entering deferral agreements with licensees accused of violations. Under those deferral agreements, the Board of Pharmacy collects administrative costs from the entities that are in some cases double the normal amount of fines, the Public Examiners report said. The violations are categorized as pending for a deferral period. If the agreed administrative costs and fines are paid without additional violations coming up, the charges are dismissed and are not reported on the licensees record. Rep. Matt Simpson, R-Daphne, who is a prosecutor, said the deferral agreements give the impression that wrongdoing by licensees can be covered up. There is a lack of sunlight in your program, in your department, in your board, Simpson said. With the deferred prosecutions, Im not saying youre sweeping things under the rug. There is an appearance of, if you were sweeping things under the rug, there is nothing that we would be able to see these things. The Public Examiners report said its review of some of the deferral agreements appeared to show the board collecting fines and penalties in excess of what the law allows. For example, one company that was late to report to the board a change of ownership for two permits was offered two options: Sign a consent agreement, which is a reportable offense, and pay a fine of $2,000 per permit, a total of $4,000. Or sign a deferral agreement, a non-reportable offense, and pay an administrative cost of $5,000 per permit for a total of $10,000. The administrative cost of the deferral agreement appeared to exceed the allowable limits of fines and penalties allowed under the law, the Public Examiners report said. The Public Examiners report said Board of Pharmacy did not accurately report the amount it collected in fines, penalties, and administrative costs. During fiscal years 2020 through 2022, the board reported fine and penalty revenues of $575,000, $618,000, and $681,000. That number dropped sharply in fiscal year 2023, to $195,000, a 71% decrease. There was a corresponding increase in miscellaneous income in 2023. It rose from $86,000 to $598,000, a 594% increase. This shift in the classification and recording of administrative costs/fines in the Boards financial records creates an inaccurate depiction of how much the Board is collecting in administrative costs/fines from licensees and applicants of the Board, the Public Examiners report says. Joseph Kreps, a lawyer from Birmingham who has represented pharmacists before the board, said the board deliberately tried to hide how much it was collecting in fees. In 2023, they attempted to make it seem like the fines had dropped to $198,000 while nearly $600,000 mysteriously appears as miscellaneous income, Kreps said. Kreps said he had filed public records requests to see the deferral agreements but the board would not provide the information. Yeatman said the change in how the revenue was reported happened because the board changed attorneys and the new attorney categorized the money as administrative costs, not fines and penalties. So when it was submitted to the accountant, the accountant didnt put it in fines and fees because it was written as administrative costs, Yeatman said. So it was put into miscellaneous income. All that being said, I can now only tell you that, now knowing what we know, should have termed it differently, should have had an individual line item. There was no intention. I look at the bottom line, not necessarily every category. So to me, every dollar was accounted for. And what bucket it was put in, didnt seem to be an issue, because all of the money was being reported on the financial statement. Another issue raised by the Public Examiners report involved financial penalties collected by the board by entities not yet licensed by the board. The report said the board issued statements of charges to entities disciplined for violations committed other states. Those entities paid the board administrative costs or fines in addition to the normal initial licensure fees. Those cases were handled without a consent order or deferral agreement spelling out those terms, the report said. The amount of those payments ranged from $50 to $18,000. The report noted that the state law authorizes the Board of Pharmacy to issue charges only to active licensees. Rep. Kerry Underwood, R-Tuscumbia, who is a CPA, questioned Yeatman about that practice of issuing charges to entities not yet licensed by the board. From my perspective, the optics are whats bad, Underwood said. The optics are a pay-to-play kind of thing. Yeatman said the non-licensed entities were charged and fined in the interest of protecting the public. I know its just my words, Yeatman said. But I can assure you that every time we are looking at these it is absolutely from the standpoint of if it were my child or my grandmother that was going to receive this, are they acceptable to do that. Do they have the qualifications and the processes in place to take care of patients. The Public Examiners examined the minutes of 60 Board of Pharmacy meetings and said 53 did not reflect official actions of the board. There was no mention of the boards decisions to dispose of cases through deferral agreements in 47 meetings, the report said. The board went into executive session, or closed meetings, 52 times, but did not record the purpose for the closed section, as required by the open meetings law, 43 times. Several people told the Sunset Committee the Board of Pharmacy was performing its duties well. They praised the board for being proactive, including its work to make special accommodations to provide patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic. This board is very proactive in our profession, said James Jones of Prattville, a pharmacist since 1985. The staff, investigators, all the board members, they provide us with continuing education. Theyre constantly involved in our professional daily lives. They keep us informed on the laws that change and even inform us when theres been medical hearings and doctors have had discipline on their licenses and we dont need to fill their prescriptions but have no other way to find this out. Jones said he had confidence in the integrity of the board and its staff. Our involvement with this board is they are driven by moral compass to always do whats right, Jones said. My experience with this board is the ultimate integrity, he said. Everyone involved, from Donna, to her staff, to investigators to all the board members. They have hard decisions to make. But I believe this board and their staff do everything they can, even when its not easy, to make sure the citizens of Alabama are protected. Simpson, the representative and prosecutor from Daphne, told Yeatman that the Board of Pharmacy needs to operate in a more transparent way because of its important role for the public, including in helping to confront major health care problems such as mental illness and the opioid epidemic. We need to see some changes and we need some changes significantly faster with your involvement with the Department of Public Examiners, with your involvement with this committee, Simpson said. Id like to make sure the public has the protection to trust in your agency. Because if they cant trust you, were in for a world of hurt. Yeatman said she agreed and said the board would make changes and follow up with the Public Examiners. The Alabama Supreme Court on Friday denied a request for a re-hearing of its ruling against United Methodist churches that sued trying to leave the United Methodist Church and take their property. The state Supreme Court, in a ruling released May 31, said the churches must pursue the matter through the denominations own judicial system. Plaintiffs requested a re-hearing, which was denied. The United Methodist Judicial Court is in the process of hearing points of church law raised by churches that have so far been denied disaffiliation, which would allow them to negotiate to leave the denomination and take their property with them. The judicial court of the United Methodist Church will take up the issue of clarifying how Alabama churches that want to leave may still be allowed to depart the denomination. More than 40 churches have been involved in lawsuits against the Alabama-West Florida Conference as they were denied in their attempts to leave the denomination and take their property with them. The Alabama Supreme Court ruled that those churches would have to take their case to the churchs court, not state courts. One of those 40-plus churches in the group lawsuit filed its own individual lawsuit on Aug. 16 in Marengo County Circuit Court: The First Methodist Church of Demopolis, founded in 1847, sued the Alabama-West Florida Conference, arguing it has owned its own property throughout its history and has never signed a trust clause giving ownership to the denomination. Guys Chapel, a 114-year-old church in Bay Minette, last month sued the Alabama-West Florida Conference in an effort to leave. United Methodists had been in a decades-long decline losing several million members from the 1968 through the 2020 pandemic before debates over whether to embrace LGBTQ rights finally split the church in 2022-23. The United Methodist General Conference earlier this year voted to lift prohibitions on same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBTQ clergy, reversing longstanding policy. A breakaway group, the Global Methodist Church, will maintain those prohibitions. Statewide in Alabama, more than half of United Methodist congregations disaffiliated about 555 churches. Most of those departures have taken place since 2022. Nationwide, 7,600 churches, about a quarter of the denomination, left. An amended federal civil lawsuit provides the names of the two Mobile police officers whose encounter with a 36-year-old Black man more than 13 months ago resulted in his untimely death and contributed to an intense fallout within the leadership of the Mobile Police Department. The filing comes in the wrongful death lawsuit seeking $36 million in damages for the family of 36-year-old Jawan Dallas. Its a change from the original December 2023, lawsuit in that it now names Police Officers Jarred Hutto and Christian Davilla as defendants along with the City of Mobile. Hutto and Davilla were the two officers who encountered Dallas on July 2, 2023, in Theodore, according to the filing. The Dallas family, represented by a host of civil rights attorneys, released a statement Thursday saying that the amended complaint was in response to media inquiries to include the names of the police officers. Mobile city officials, and the Mobile County District Attorneys Office, have refused to release the names in the past. This amendment was made in keeping with our commitment to transparency and we firmly believe the lawsuit speaks for itself as we continue the fight for justice on behalf of Jawan Dallas family and his memory, the statement reads. Mobile city officials and the Mobile Police Department declined to comment. A police spokesperson confirmed that Hutto and Davilla remain employed within the department and are on-duty officers. Republican Mobile County District Attorney Keith Blackwood, who announced last November that a grand jury concluded in its investigation that nothing was done illegally during the encounter with Dallas, also declined comment. A spokesperson for the district attorneys office said the suit falls outside the agencys prosecutorial function. Blackwood, last November, said an autopsy report showed that Dallas died from underlying medical conditions and not through any actions -- including Tasing -- that occurred by police while they attempted to detain Dallas on July 2, 2023. The amended case, like the original case filed in December, is in the Southern District of Alabama in Mobile and it alleges Mobile police oversaw an unconstitutional policy allowing police to demand identification cards/drivers licenses from people who are not suspected of a crime. The lawsuit, much like the original one, blames the police that was overseen by former Police Chief Paul Prine as the driving force and catalyst that led to Dallas unlawful detention and ultimately which led to his death. Prine, who was fired as police chief on April 30, declined to comment. The case also alleges like the one last December that police violated Dallas constitutional rights that protect people from illegal searches and seizures, and claims police used unlawful force against him. The biggest difference in the amended case and the one filed last December is that it names the names of the officers involved. The two officers were referred to as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2 in the original December filing. The amended version also accuses Hutto and Davilla of using excessive force against Dallas because of their lack of skills or carelessness and that their actions fell below that response which a skilled or proficient officer would exercise in similar circumstances. Those same concerns were raised in a report released in May by former federal prosecutor Kenyen Brown. The Brown report, which Prine has since denounced, listed the Dallas case as among those that he felt illustrated problems within the agency over use of force by police officers. Related: Jawan Dallas might be alive today: Attorneys respond to Mobile chief-mayor dispute Dallas died during his encounter with Hutto and Davilla, who arrived at the scene after receiving a 911 call about a trespassing. The fatal encounter began after Dallas attempted to flee the duo after he was reportedly asked to provide a photo ID. According to the lawsuit, there was no reasonable suspicion that Dallas was responsible for the incident in which police arrived to investigate. Dallas was tackled to the ground by Davilla, the court record shows. He was then struck by a Taser, handcuffed, and treated in an unacceptable way, by police, according to Brown. Dallas, according to Brown and the federal lawsuit, was in distress while he was being arrested, and stated he could not breathe due to having asthma. The lawsuit claims Dallas was not given appropriate medical care. He died while he was being transported by EMTs who, according to the lawsuit, did not take Dallas pleas for assistance seriously. The attorneys representing the Dallas family, after getting to review the police-worn body camera footage of the altercation last year, compared the Dallas death to that of George Floyd, the Black man whose killing in 2020 while in police custody on a Minneapolis street ignited protests across the country over police brutality and racial injustice. The body camera footage into Dallas death has not been released publicly, and the media has been denied requests to view it. An ex-Alabama prosecutor has been convicted of using his position to solicit and receive sexual favors for himself from defendants in criminal cases. Former Houston County Assistant District Attorney Mark Johnson, 55, was convicted Thursday on six ethics charges, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Friday. Johnson was initially arrested in 2022. Marshall said throughout the four-day trial, evidence showed that Johnson used his position as a county prosecutor to solicit and receive sexual favors for himself from three defendants. In one situation, Johnson solicited an escort from a defendant facing life in prison for a drug trafficking charge. Johnson later solicited that same defendant for another girl who had just been released from prison. In addition, Marshall said, Johnson solicited and received a sexual photo, and in exchange, helped a female defendant stay out of court-ordered drug rehabilitation so that he could continue to communicate with her in Houston County. In another instance, Johnson solicited sexual photos and sexual contact, then helped a female defendant avoid active warrants and fine deadlines that resulted from convictions over which he was the prosecutor. He was taken into custody following his conviction. This is a clear case of someone habitually using their position to exploit vulnerable women for his own gratification, Marshall said. Mr. Johnson violated the public trust by taking advantage of the community he swore to serve and protect, and he now must be held accountable for his crimes. Johnson faces possible sentences of two to 20 years for each conviction. A sentencing date has not yet been announced. Friday morning, my breakfast was ruined when I became aware of numerous adults who mocked Tim Walzs son, Gus, for his very emotional tribute to his Dad at the DNC. Anne Coulter was one; other very public remarks came from Mike Crispi and Alec Lace (podcasters who promote manhood), Jay Weber, an I-Heart Milwaukee radio host, other prominent Republican figures and just regular folks on the right whose comments I read from tweets and social media posts. Anne called Gus weird, Crispi called him stupid crying son and puffy beta male. Lace said get that kid a tampon already. Weber said hes a blubbering b**** boy. What did Gus do to warrant such contempt? He cried in public, proclaimed thats my Dad and was obviously full of love and pride for his Dad, Tim. Parents have been doing the same since parenthood became a thing and their child achieved a moment of their own. Maybe a home run, maybe a musical or dance recital or simply giving a small speech before a group of people. Regardless, showing pride isnt something thats unmanly or unwomanly. Pride from parents towards their children is something we honor. Why wouldnt the same be said of a 17 year old boy directing that same type of pride and love toward his father? What if that same boy is special needs? Does that make the mockery okay? It does, at least among some people on the right side of the aisle. But then again, their leader did the same, very public thing a few years ago when he mocked a reporter with cerebral palsy. Our daughter was born with special needs, but you wouldnt know it to see her. Like Tim Walzs son, our daughter looked like any other kid. Her disabilities werent obvious. Thats probably why two adult women and a pre-teen boy made fun of her at a Kansas public pool one day when she was about 8 years old. I sat and watched them laugh and point at her for the way she swam and came out of the water with her hair over her face. Apparently, these women thought my daughter was just hilarious. Before leaving the pool that day, I confronted them to say they had taught their young friend a lesson that it was okay to publicly make fun of others. I didnt know those women and they didnt know me. But had they known me and my family, they most likely wouldnt have behaved the way they did. The media figures who made fun of Gus Walz dont know him and probably wouldnt have mocked him if they did. But does that matter? Do we need to actually know a person to love them or feel empathy for them, their hardships, their lives. Does it matter if the person is a different color, different gender, different socioeconomic group, different religion, different nationality, disabled? Didnt Jesus tell us to love God and love our neighbor as ourself. He didnt say love those like you. His command is a blanket command. Love! Period! And when asked Whos my neighbor?, Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan, which is basically a parable about two strangers who, technically, were enemies. But one (the Samaritan) took pity on the other when he was left for dead on the side of the road and took him to be cared for. All who knew my daughter loved her, but what if they had never met her? Like the women at the pool, would they be willing to mock my daughter publicly if I or her dad were running for public office? I have many questions about peoples hearts these days, and thats what saddens me most. Nothing seems to matter as long as my candidate wins. Anything goes, except it shouldnt. Weve become beat down and numb to the hate and disrespect that comes pouring out of keyboards all across the country. But I sincerely believe we will not only give an account for our actions, we will give an account for our inactions. And thats why I couldnt sit back and say nothing after the mocking of Gus Walz. Because like Gus, my daughter deserved as much respect as anyone else, whether you knew her or not. Heidi Stanley is a mother of three who lives in Gulf Shores. Former President Donald Trump is maintaining his lead over Vice President Kamala Harris in a key and traditionally Republican state, according to a recent poll. The poll, published yesterday by the University of Houston and Texas Southern University, showed likely voters in Texas backed Trump 49.5% compared to 44.6% for Harris. Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy came in a distant third with 2% of likely voters and about 2.7% remain undecided. No other candidate scored about 1%. The poll was first reported by The Hill. The latest numbers showed a slight increase for Trump of 0.6 percentage points since the poll was last conducted in June. Its the first time Harris has been included in the poll and her numbers reflect a 4.3 percentage point increase from that of President Joe Biden, who exited the race in July. Harris has made considerable headway among voters both in Texas and nationally in the short time since she entered the race last month, Renee Cross, researcher and senior executive director at the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston, told The Hill. Demographic breakdowns for the two candidates mirrored recent national polling. Trump holds an 18 percentage point lead over Harris among men in Texas 56% to 38% - while more women in the state favor Harris 50% to 44%. In June, Trump held a 4 percent point lead over Biden among Texas women, pollsters said. Fifty-seven percent of white Texans intend to vote for Trump compared to 38% for Harris compared to 77% of Black people in the state who said they supported the Democratic nominee to 17% for the Republican. The two candidates were essentially tied among Latino Texans 47% for Trump and 46% for Harris. Trump polled highest among older voters while Generation Z - voters born in the late 1990s backed Harris 55% to 38%. Those figures mark a big change from earlier polling when 39% of Gen Z voters said they were backing Biden compared to 42% for Trump. The poll was conducted Aug. 5-16 in English and Spanish It has a margin of error of plus/minus 2.65 percentage points. A Hueytown man has been convicted in the 2023 shooting death of a 45-year-old man who was killed trying to break up an argument at a wake in Montevallo. A Shelby County jury on Thursday convicted 34-year-old Corey Antwon Broadnax of murder in the slaying of Shante Hudson. The shooting happened shortly before 10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, at the gathering on Melton Street. Police arrived on the scene to find Hudson, of Bessemer, had been shot multiple times. He was taken to Shelby Baptist Medical Center where he was pronounced dead a short time later. Authorities said Hudson was a family of Broadnaxs estranged wife. Hudson attempted to intervene to stop an altercation between Broadnax and his wife when Broadnax shot Hudson eight times. Mr. Broadnaxs senseless shooting of Mr. Hudson was despicable, and tragic for the Hudson family, said Shelby County District Attorney Matt Casey. We hope this conviction will bring closure to the family, as well as stand as a reminder to any that would commit acts of violence in our community that we will vigorously pursue your prosecution. Corey Antwon Broadnax (Montevallo Police Department) The case against Broadnax was investigated by the Montevallo Police Department. Chief Deputy District Attorney Ben Fuller and Assistant District Attorney Sara Beth Eldridge prosecuted the case at trial. A sentencing date has not yet been set for Broadnax. Because of two prior felony convictions, Broadnax will face a range of punishment between 99 years or life imprisonment under Alabamas Habitual Felony Offender Act. Hudson was a graduate Montevallo High School and attended Jefferson State Community College. He served in the U.S. Army until his retirement, according to his obituary. He worked at U.S. Steel in Fairfield for 13 years as a crane operator, and later joined the U.S. Postal Service where he worked as a driver until death. Tae demonstrated a work ethic of dedication and resilience throughout his career, his obituary read. Tae valued his family and friends. He went above and beyond to provide a quality of life for his wife and children. He was well-known for his stylish swag and his multiple vehicle collection, according to the obituary. He adored his mother and their quality time together. George Hill took the last of the more than 7,000 photos he shot of Elvis Presley inside the Mobile Civic Center during The Kings final performance in Alabama on June 2, 1977. Hills return to the Civic Center last December was perfect timing. He joined the father-son documentary filmmaker duo of Michael and Jay Corwin on Dec. 18, to reflect on the last Presley concert he attended while discussing his time shooting pictures of the rock icon throughout the 1970s. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his independent campaign for president Friday and endorsed Donald Trump, a late-stage shakeup of the presidential race that could give the former president a modest boost from Kennedys supporters. Kennedy said his internal polls had shown that his presence in the race would hurt Trump and help Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, though recent public polls dont provide a clear indication that he is having an outsize impact on support for either major-party candidate. Kennedy cited free speech, the war in Ukraine and a war on our children as among the reasons he would try to remove his name from the ballot in battleground states. These are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent, and now to throw my support to President Trump, Kennedy said. However, he made clear that he wasnt formally ending his bid and said his supporters could continue to back him in the majority of states where they are unlikely to sway the outcome. Kennedy took steps to withdraw his candidacy in at least two states late this week, Arizona and Pennsylvania, but in the battlegrounds of Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin, election officials said its too late for him to take his name off the ballot even if he wants to do so. Kennedy said his actions followed conversations with Trump over the past few weeks. He cast their alliance as a unity party, an arrangement that would allow us to disagree publicly and privately and seriously. Hours after Kennedy made his announcement in Phoenix, Trump was to hold a rally in neighboring Glendale. Trumps campaign teased that he would be joined by a special guest, though neither campaign responded to messages about whether Kennedy would be that guest. A year ago, some would have thought it inconceivable that a member of arguably the most storied family in Democratic politics would work with Trump to keep a Democrat out of the White House. Even in recent months, Kennedy has accused Trump of betraying his followers, while Trump has criticized Kennedy as the most radical left candidate in the race. Five of Kennedys family members issued a statement on Friday calling his support for Trump a sad ending to a sad story. We want an America filled with hope and bound together by a shared vision of a brighter future, a future defined by individual freedom, economic promise and national pride, read the statement, which his sister Kerry Kennedy posted on X. We believe in Harris and Walz. Our brother Bobbys decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. Kennedy Jr., the son of the late Attorney General and Sen. Robert Kennedy and the nephew of President John F. Kennedy, acknowledged his decision had caused tension with his immediate family. He is married to actress Cheryl Hines. This decision is agonizing for me because of the difficulties it causes my wife and my children and my friends, Kennedy said. But I have the certainty that this is what Im meant to do. And that certainty gives me internal peace, even in storms. The Kennedy and Trump campaigns have ramped up their compliments of each other and engaged in behind-the-scenes discussions in recent weeks, according to those familiar with the efforts. Both campaigns have spent months accusing Democrats of weaponizing the legal system for their own benefit. And both have hinted publicly that they could be open to joining forces, with the shared goal of limiting Harris chances. Last month, during the Republican National Convention, Kennedys son posted and then quickly deleted a video showing a phone call between Kennedy and Trump, in which the former president appeared to try to talk Kennedy into siding with him. Talks between the two camps continued, with close Trump allies quietly lobbying Kennedy to drop out of the race and support the Republican nominee, according to a person familiar with the efforts who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Trump told CNN on Tuesday that he would love an endorsement from Kennedy, whom he called a brilliant guy. He also said he would certainly be open to Kennedy playing a role in his administration if Kennedy dropped out and endorsed him. Kennedys running mate, Nicole Shanahan, also suggested on a podcast this week that his campaign might walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump. While she clarified that she is not personally in talks with Trump, she entertained the idea that Kennedy could join Trumps administration as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. I think that Bobby in a role like that would be excellent, Shanahan said. I fully support it. I have high hopes. Earlier Friday, Shanahan posted on X that she isnt a Kamala Democrat or a Trump Republican. Im an INDEPENDENT American who is endorsing ideas, not a person or a party, she wrote. I will continue working to give a voice to the voiceless and bring power back to the people. At Kennedys Phoenix event, 38-year-old Casey Westerman, a Chandler, Arizona, resident who works in software sales, said she trusted Kennedys judgment and had planned to vote for him, but would support Trump if Kennedy said that was who he was endorsing. My decision would really be based on who he thinks is best suited to run this country, said Westerman, who wore a Kennedy 2024 trucker hat and voted for Trump in the last two presidential elections. Kennedy first entered the 2024 presidential race as a Democrat but left the party last fall to run as an independent. He built an unusually strong base for a third-party bid, fueled in part by anti-establishment voters and vaccine skeptics who have followed his anti-vaccine work since the COVID-19 pandemic. But he has since faced strained campaign finances and mounting legal challenges. Recent polls put his support in the mid-single digits. And its unclear if hed get even that in a general election, since third-party candidates frequently dont live up to their early poll numbers when voters actually cast their ballots. Theres some evidence that Kennedys staying in the race would hurt Trump more than Harris. According to a July AP-NORC poll, Republicans were significantly more likely than Democrats to have a favorable view of Kennedy. And those with a positive impression of Kennedy were significantly more likely to also have a favorable view of Trump (52%) than Harris (37%). This is another installment in The Birmingham Times/AL.com/CBS42 joint series Beyond the Violence: what can be done to address Birminghams rising homicide rate. Sign up for the newsletter here. Every time David Almon has a young person sitting in his barber chair, he has a goal: Build up the youth and help set them on a good path forward. Almon, owner of D and R Barber Shop in Anniston, has been cutting hair since he was in the eighth grade. And for more than 20 years, he has been a role model to the young people in his community. Some of them look at us as a father figureYoure failing these young people if youre just giving them a haircut and youre not teaching them something while theyre in your chair. Almon said. I do it because I care and I want to give back. Ive been one of those kids that needed that guidance. The Agency for Substance Abuse Prevention started the Barbers Against Bullets initiative in 2023 after a community survey found that Anniston and Talladega area youth, ages 16-23, were the primary victims of gun violence. Shootings also are the leading cause of death among Alabama youth. Advocates say that getting community members, like barbers, to talk to youth about goal setting and plans for the future could help set them on the right path. Seyram Selase, executive director of the agency, said he hopes the staples of the community, barbers, will build trust with the children and young men that sit in their chairs to turn every haircut into a step toward peace. Almon said he knows multiple people who have been incarcerated, including his two brothers, and many others who have been shot and killed. Some of his clients, both old and young, also have been affected by gun violence. Because of this, Almon works with his young clients by hosting community service events and taking the kids out for fun activities. When Almon is not giving haircuts, he is providing children with transportation, food and conversations about the importance of staying in school and being a leader. The Agency for Substance Abuse Prevention started the Barbers Against Bullets initiative to set youth on the right paths. David Almon, a barber, said that when a young person comes into his shop, he always encourages them to always do the right thing.David Almon He said parents have called him because they know their child will listen to him. On one occasion, a mother called, concerned after she found out that her son was doing drugs. Almon called his client and talked to him about options for his future. The client has since been enrolled in the military for 10 years. I want them to know that they have people out here, their parents, people in the community, that care about them. I try to tell them that its cool to be different and that they can be a leader, Almon said. They have a huge influence DaMarco Curry, prevention specialist with the Agency for Substance Abuse Prevention, said he works with the Barbers Against Bullets initiative because he never wants a child to experience gun violence like he did.DaMarco Curry DaMarco Curry, prevention specialist with the Agency for Substance Abuse Prevention, said he works with the Barbers Against Bullets initiative because he never wants a child to experience what he went through as a young adult. In 2018, at age 20, Curry was caught in the crossfire during an altercation between his friends who ran off and left him lying on the ground and bleeding out. Two strangers took Curry to the hospital. Doctors told him he could have died. And while checking social media he found that the friends who left Curry bleeding on the ground had already made posts about his death. I saw my life literally flash before my eyes. My life just changed at that moment, seeing my mom and my younger brother cry, Curry said. Now, Curry is participating in monthly community meetings with barbers to discuss what problems their clients are facing. The stylists also share new methods to connect with their clients and plan community events. Theyre cutting these young peoples hair anywhere from the age of six months old all the way to even, unfortunately, if a young person passes. These barbers even go to the funeral homes and give them that last haircut. Our barbers are very critical in this conversation to try to reduce substance misuse and gun violence, Selase said. Were informing the barbers that they have a huge influence over these young peoples lives. They just have to be willing to be that change agent. In 2023, Barbers Against Bullets hosted an event where local barbers and Young Joc, a rapper, talked to young people about the consequences of gun violence. At the event, the children were asked to write down how gun violence has affected their lives on a card then place their cards into a casket to symbolically bury gun violence in their community. In June, the Agency for Substance Abuse Prevention hosted a Ballers Against Bullets symposium where gun violence prevention advocates, including actor and former athlete Omari Hardwick, talked to over 100 youth about the consequences of gun violence. The agency also started a Barbers Against Bullets podcast. We had barbers on the podcast and it was powerful because they talked about their testimonies, their storiesThey play the podcasts at their barber shop just to start meaningful conversations and build that trust, Curry said. In the podcasts first episode, Thomas Zimmerman, owner of Poohs Barber Shop, shared how he grew up without his father and often saw gang violence in his neighborhood. Zimmerman said that when he started cutting hair at his local barber shop at age 15, he finally found male role models that he could look up to. Those guys taught me how to be a man. They taught me how to live. They told me what to do and what not to do. How to make money honestly. And how to stay away from the gun violence and the gang violence, Zimmerman said in the podcast. Today, Zimmerman does the same for the youth that come into his barber shop. Organization members said that they need more barbers to get on board and join the movement to curb violence. When more barbers get involved, the more kids get involved. And when you do the right thing, you have more people willing to change, Almon said. Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinctionRonald Reagan When I grew up, Great Britain was exotic. There were the red telephone booths, Buckingham Palace, black cabs, and, of course, the Bobbies (police) and the Beefeaters. England was the land of Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth I, and Henry IV. For me, Britain was history incarnate. Obviously, part of that comes from the fact that, as Americans, we share a great deal of history with the British. Not only did we split from Britain in 1776, but our history continued to stay close until modern timesfrom the US joining Britain in the fight to end slavery to fighting two world wars together to the British Invasion in the 1960s that brought us the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and the Kinks. Image by Vince Coyner Modern England largely dates back to 1066, when William the Conqueror crossed the English Channel and put the finishing touches on a unification that had been evolving since the Romans abandoned the island in 410 AD. (For clarity, as the terms are often used interchangeably, the United Kingdom (UK) is a sovereign nation comprising England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Great Britain is the largest island in the British Isles, containing England, Scotland, and Wales, but not Northern Ireland.) The 1,000-year span since has seen Britain, like the rest of the world, evolvealways, however haltingly, in the direction of freedom. This journey began with the Magna Carta , agreed to by King John in 1215. A watershed event in Western culture, it limited the Kings powers and declared he was subject to the law, guaranteed church rights, access to an impartial system of justice, and limited taxes. Although the Magna Carta would have a rough beginning, it was an enormous step in the drive towards liberty. The document would set the stage for Parliament to evolve from councils that advised the King into a representative body that began taking a more active and powerful role in governing. It was just the first in a line of steps that would make Britain the freest nation on the planet for centuries. The Habeas Corpus Act of 1679 would guarantee the right to trial and demand the state show cause for holding someone. A decade later, the English Bill of Rights would set out Parliamentary rights, the right to petition the king, and the freedom from cruel and unusual punishment. Over subsequent centuries, the British commitment to freedom would expand, eventually including all her citizens, not just the barons who first held King Johns feet to the fire. Over that march to freedom, England would produce an extraordinary array of freedom advocates, some of whom inspired our Founding Fathers. Men such as John Locke, Edmund Burke and, later, William Wilberforce, the man who led the fight against the slave trade. It is this incessant march towards freedom that has always given England an aura of consequence that few other nations share. And thats what makes todays Britain so sad. The genesis of todays dystopia began almost three decades ago when immigration took off in the late 1990s and early 2000s . The number of non-EU immigrants averaged over 200,000 per year for a decade and then skyrocketed after 2020 . A nation of 55 million in 2000 is today over 65 million, with almost all of that growth coming from immigration, a majority from non-EU nations, particularly from the Middle East and Africa, countries that dont share British culture or, importantly, religion. (Its also likely that many of the ostensibly EU immigrants originated in non-EU countries.) As a consequence, London, home to 20% of Englands population, has gone from approximately 80% native white British in 1991 to approximately 36% in 2021 . The native population has surely shrunk more since then. The result of this transformation of Britain from a largely British nation to something else has been monstrous. Possibly the single most despicable example is the 20-plus-year Rotherham child rape scandal that saw hundreds of Pakistani Muslims rape over a thousand British girls right under the noses of police who did nothing for fear of being called racists . As if that wasnt bad enough, those who dared report on the various trialssee, e.g., here and here found themselves jailed for doing so . At the same time, London has become a killing ground for knife attacks , the overwhelming number being committed by minorities . Indeed, the country has become beset with machete attacks , a crime that was historically unheard of in Britain but which is common in the third world . In July, the 17-year-old son of Rwandan immigrants knifed ten little girls, killing three of them. With the government withholding information on the killer, online posts asserted he was an immigrant. Tensions rose, and, across the UK, Brits protested the unfettered invasion of immigrants, the violence being perpetrated by immigrants and Muslims, and the systems seeming duplicitous , two-tiered approach to justice when it came to immigrants and Muslims vs. white Brits , all of whom the government and the state-run media invariably characterize as far right. These protests drew the new Labour governments ire, and it launched a wave of arrests and a propaganda campaign against the far right anti-immigration racists. People were sentenced to prison for chanting who the f*** is Allah (although they were neither violent nor making threats), shouting Youre not English anymore at the police, or selling stickers that say Its OK to be white . Seeking to curtail what it claims is misinformation and incitement, the government warned the British citizenry, You may be committing a crime if you repost, repeat or amplify a message which is false, threatening, or stirs up racial / religious hatred. They also warned potential anti-immigration protesters, Were watching you . So basically, the government decides whats false, threatening, or hate speech, and if you post anything about it online, you could end up in jail. And if threatening Brits freedom of speech wasnt enough, the government threatened online platforms ( and Musk ) if they allowed prohibited speech. Nor did the government stop there. It promised to extradite citizens of other countries if they engage in such prohibited online speech, even if not in Britain at the time. And because theres not enough room in British jails to hold all of these anti-immigration racists, the government plans to release 5,000 criminals from jail to make room for those guilty of wrongthink. While the Tories are responsible for the unfettered immigration over the last one-and-a-half decades, Julys election, which put Labour in power, represented a leap in transforming Britain into a tyranny. A free Britain, which took over 1,000 years to evolve, essentially became a Stalinist police state in less than two months. While Britain is not the United States, our shared history, language, and similar cultural and political trajectory over the last 20 years suggests that what is happening there could easily happen here. Contrast the kid glove treatment given the 2020 BLM / Antifa rioters with the draconian treatment J6ers received, recall Democrats ill-fated Disinformation Governance Board , and look at whats been done to Donald Trump and you see the writing on the wall as we head down that dark authoritarian path. Like Turkey and Venezuela before it, Britain demonstrates that a single election can make the difference between freedom and tyranny. As we approach November 5th, we just might want to take note Mattieu Mabin, France 24s Washington correspondent, reported on Barack Obamas DNC 2024 speech Tuesday, noting: It is remarkable to see how little Barack Obama has changed. Whats even more surprising is that, after leaving the White House nearly eight years ago, he can pick up his presidential rhetoric exactly where he left off, adding some required updates, and most notably, as if he were himself a candidate in 2024. Oui, Monsieur Mabin, youre right! Barack Obama is, in effect, seeking his fourth term. Obama served two terms as president from 2009 until 2017. Following Donald Trumps four years in the White House, Joe Biden was elected. The Trump-Biden debate and Joes ouster as the 2024 candidate made it clear that Biden was not capable of being in charge for much of the past three and half years. So who was? There are several candidates among the Democrat elite, among them the power pair, Bill and Hillary Clinton; Nancy Pelosi; Chuck Schumer; and Barack Obama. There are certain indications that it was mostly the last. Approximately three quarters of Bidens key aides served under Obama. Bidens key foreign policy posts (Antony Blinken, Jake Sullivan, Wendy Sherman as deputy secretary of state, Victoria Nuland as undersecretary of state for political affairs, and Jon Finer as deputy national security adviser) were primarily promotions from the Obama administration. Even the leftist Washington Post reported on January 5, 2021 that the concern around Washington is that the same people who crafted and defended President Barack Obamas foreign policy wont be willing or able to recognize, much less rectify, its shortcomings. Those concerns have turned out to be well founded. The Biden administration replicated Obamas policy of appeasement of the Iranian terrorist regime, which consistently violates the rights of its own people. Iran is now clearly implementing its stated plan to destroy Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East. Bidens foreign policy team released billions of dollars and frozen Iranian assets $6 billion alone for the release of American hostages. As a result, kidnapped Americans are among those being held in the tunnels of Gaza by the mullahs proxy, Hamas. Iran is providing drone technology that Russia and Hezballah use to pummel American allies in Ukraine and northern Israel. The disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan set off a chain reaction that has united Iran, North Korea, Russia, and China, bringing the planet to the brink of a third World War. Four more years? Thats what Barack Obama wants. Although the Constitution protects individuals from self-incrimination, the former president described his ideal third term to Stephen Colbert in 2020: People would ask me, Knowing what you know now, do you wish you could have had a third term? And I used to say, you know what? If I could make an arrangement where I had a stand-in, a front man or woman with an earpiece in, and I was just in my basement in sweats, looking through the information and delivering the lines while someone else did all the talking and ceremonial stuff, Id be fine with that. There may be no definitive proof, but it seems safe to say that the front man was Joe Biden, and the front woman, should she win in November, will be Kamala Harris. Mabin, the France 24 correspondent, reported that Obamas mastery of the crowd and the public makes him one of the candidates main assets. Oratory and charisma, the former presidents strong points, are not talents that can be passed on to a proxy, as we have learned from Joe Biden. In fact, they are among Kamala Harriss most glaring inadequacies. Victor David Hanson of the Hudson Institute says that the Dems have swapped a cognitively challenged candidate for a linguistically challenged one. One only need hear Kamalas famous ruminations on conceptualizing time and unburdening, her false claim that she had been to the Mexican border, to understand that we are dealing with putty a moldable candidate who can successfully serve as the next proxy. No world leader, friend or foe, will take her seriously. Whats more, she is being nominated literally by proxy. No primaries, no challengers, and no debates. There is something very undemocratic about the Democrat party! Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the only president to serve four terms. Faced with the Great Depression and the ensuing World War, Americans felt a compelling need for his leadership. Following FDRs death, Congress passed the 22nd Amendment, limiting presidents to two terms. The treacherous world situation, Kamala Harriss lack of credibility as leader of the free world, and the Dems big-deficit economic plan could be the inverse of FDRs 12 years of service. A fourth Obama proxy presidency could very well generate economic depression and World War Three. On November 5, Americans who care about democracy should go to the polls and send a resounding message to Barack Obama: no, you cant! The writer is a multicultural conservative. Image: Ari Levinson via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped). Some of the most convincing arguments to vote Republican for president, and most House and Senate seats, are coming straight from the Democratic National Convention. Here is Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) following some infamous advice to accuse the other side of that which you are guilty: As the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in American history, I want my grandkids and all grandkids to never, never face discrimination because of who they are. But Donald Trump this is a guy who peddled antisemitic stereotypes. He even invited a white supremacist to Mar-a-Lago. It is true that Trump met with Nick Fuentes, but Trump distanced himself from Fuentes when he learned of the young mans background: Kanye West very much wanted to visit Mar-a-Lago. Our dinner meeting was intended to be Kanye and me only, but he arrived with a guest whom I had never met and knew nothing about. Now lets take a look at the company Schumer keeps himself. Here, from the prominent race hustler Al Sharptons own Facebook page, is a picture of him with Senator Schumer. And Schumer isnt just shaking hands with him to be polite. Here is what Schumer says on his own Facebook page. Fellow Brooklynite Rev. Al Sharpton is a civil rights leader, minister, activist, and radio talk show host. Rev. Sharpton is the founder of the National Action Network, which fights for one standard of justice, decency, and equal opportunities for all people. Sharpton the Civil Rights Leader Many people, and especially those who lived in Wappingers Falls, New York in 1988, have very different recollections of Sharpton. Sharpton played a central role in the Tawana Brawley hoax, and he was found guilty of defaming an attorney with a false accusation of rapemuch like the Ku Klux Klan once accused black men of raping white women, and often lynched them on that basis. Sharpton's associate Alton Maddox was suspended from the practice of law for his role in the hoax. Next came the Crown Heights riots in 1991, in which a Jew named Yankel Rosenbaum was murdered: A rumor began to spread that the Hasidic ambulance crew had ignored the dying black child in favor of treating the Jewish men. This falsehood was later used by Al Sharpton to incite the crowd. Sharpton then gave an anti-Semitic eulogy for the young black man whose death in an auto accident precipitated the riots: The world will tell us he was killed by accident. Yes, it was a social accident. ... Its an accident to allow an apartheid ambulance service in the middle of Crown Heights. ... Talk about how Oppenheimer in South Africa sends diamonds straight to Tel Aviv and deals with the diamond merchants right here in Crown Heights. The issue is not anti-Semitism; the issue is apartheid. The Happy Merchant, a caricature of a Jew with an exaggerated nose and an appetite for money, is popular among white supremacists, but Sharptons remark about Oppenheimer sending diamonds to Tel Aviv, and diamond merchants in Crown Heights, is simply a written version of the same stereotype. Sharpton later equated Israel to Hell. Freddys Fashion Mart Next we come to Sharptons National Action Network, which Schumer says fights for one standard of justice, decency, and equal opportunities for all people. That's an interesting description of an organization that marched around Freddys Fashion Mart in 1995 while yelling racist and anti-Semitic epithets, much as the Ku Klux Klan once marched around black homes and businesses. A deranged individual later acted on threats to set the store on fire by doing exactly that and killing seven employees, including a black security guard whom Sharptons people had called a cracker lover. Its to be remembered that the KKK once called Caucasians who associated with black people negro lovers and negro wasnt exactly the word they used. While Sharpton and the NAN did not set the fire themselves, they spewed plenty of hate speech that might well have encouraged the perpetrator. Fred Harari is called a cracker by Mr. Powell and a white interloper by Rev. Sharpton. It's to be remembered that the Ku Klux Klan once referred to black people in white neighborhoods as interlopers as well. It contains threats: Mr. Powell says of Fred Harari, We gonna see that this cracker suffer. Harari had previously complained, Recently, the protesters have made motions of striking a match and throwing it on outside clothing displays or in the doorway of the store. In addition, An affidavit by Kareem Brunner, a black security guard killed in the blaze, said that he had been called a cracker lover and would get mine as a traitor [to the black race]. The epithet race traitor is used by white supremacists all the time, and it is no better when it comes from black racists. Freddys was burned to the ground the same way black-owned businesses were once torched by white supremacists. Black success was punished by violence from whites in the form of murder, arson, and other destructive acts targeting African Americans. Also typical of this period of racial violence was that a false allegation of a Black man sexually assaulting a white woman was used as a pretext for white-on-black racial terrorism, with that last part relating back to the false rape accusations in the Tawana Brawley scandal. Jeff Dunetz meanwhile characterized what happened to Freddys as a pogrom, and not the first in which Sharpton was involved: It was his second anti-Semitic pogrom in four years. Sharpton didnt toss the firebomb, but the blood was on his hands. The anti-Semitic and racial bias spewed from his mouth and out of the mouths of others while in his presence produced the massacre as assuredly as if the fire was set with his hands. Sharpton associate Morris Powell added, We are not gonna stand idly by and let a Jewish person come in Black Harlem and methodically drive black people out of business up and down 125th Street. If we stand for that, well stand for anything. This, American voters, is what Senator Charles Schumer calls an organization which fights for one standard of justice, decency, and equal opportunities for all people. Sharpton also has some interesting words for Asians (Chinamen), gay people (Greek homos and punk faggots), and even black people he dislikes (the n-word). To this he added, White folks was in the cave when we were building empires. We learned to admire them, but they knew to admire us. We built pyramids before Donald Trump ever knew what architecture was. We taught philosophy and astrology and mathematics before Socrates and them Greek homos ever got around to it. Tell you what, Senator Schumer. When I hear Donald Trump call David Duke a civil rights leader, and depict the Ku Klux Klan as an organization which fights for one standard of justice, decency, and equal opportunities for all people, I may take you seriously. Until then, you, Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, and many other prominent Democrats are the ones who posed with a race hustler and/or appeared at the National Action Network. Civis Americanus is the pen name of an American Thinker contributor who remembers the lessons of history, and wants to ensure that our country never needs to learn those lessons again the hard way. Image: Public domain. Seattle used to be a nice place. Now, not so much. The city itself is still a lovely collection of buildings located on the beautiful Pacific, but the denizens are so leftist that theyve abandoned human decency. Certainly, thats the case for the employees at the Wing Luke Museum, which forced a Jewish group to withdraw an exhibit on antisemitism that the museum had allowed it to mount there. The problem, of course, was that the exhibit dared to paint Jews, not so-called Palestinians, as victims. The Wing Luke Museum is dedicated to the history of Americans with roots in the Asian Pacific. However, as is true for all museums, it will host special exhibits that tie, even tangentially, into the museums core mission. According to the JTA, in the case of the Wing Luke Museum, The Jewish Historical Society had spent 18 months crafting the exhibit alongside the Black Heritage Society and Seattles Wing Luke Museum. Modeled after a World War II-era American Jewish Committee anti-hate campaign, the exhibit first opened at the Wing Luke in late May and included descriptions of how all three ethnic communities have experienced hate over the years. The Jewsmost or all of whom I assume are Democrats given the Seattle locale (see below)naively believed that they had a bond with other groups that have been victimized over the years. They were probably even gracious enough not to point out that, unlike anti-black and anti-Asian victimization in the West, or anywhere for that matter, Jewish persecution spans millennia, empires, and continents. Image: Appropriately edited online flyer. What leftist Jews cannot seem to wrap their head around is that their persecution over the last century comes from the left. Marx built antisemitism into his theories. In every country that embraced socialism, the governments grafted Marxs antisemitism onto whatever antisemitism already existed, leading to pogroms, the Holocaust, and the USSRs relentless Jewish persecution and support for Israels enemies. Nor can leftist Jews grasp that, just as Hitler loved Islam, so do leftistsand for the same reason. They like its muscularity, and they love its hatred for Christians and Jews. Marxists hate the Biblical faiths because they speak of a Supreme Being and a morality more powerful than either the government or each individuals self-actualization. Muslims, meanwhile, Muslims hate the Biblical faiths because they know that Allah and Islam are poor photocopies. The differing roots of their hatred dont matter. What matters is that the enemy of my enemy is my friend and all that. Lacking these insights, leftist Jews are perpetually shocked when their fellow leftists turn on themand thats exactly what happened at the Wing Luke Museum when museum staffers, inflamed by Hamass suffering after it raped, tortured, and slaughtered over 1,200 Israeli civilians (including children and babies), demanded in May, complete with the slightly edited image, above, that the exhibition on antisemitism be removed: A collective of Wing Luke Museum workers participated in a walkout on Wednesday, May 22, and have been withholding labor in protest of Zionist language in the new exhibit Confronting Hate Together. We love the Wing Luke Museum and are consistently honored to steward the stories of our community members, many of whom have experienced the destructive harm of white supremacy, genocide, and violence that parallels the experience of Palestinians today. Our solidarity with Palestine should be reflected in our AA/NHPI institutions. It sets a dangerous precedent of platforming colonial, white supremacist perspectives and goes against the Museums mission as a community-based museum advancing racial and social equity. We invite you to send an email to the Wing Luke Museums Executive Leadership to show your support for our cause, to emphasize the significant negative impact that platforming Zionist ideology has on our communities, and the Wing Luke Museums credibility as a museum representing marginalized communities. What ties that Marxist gibberish together is deep and abiding antisemitism. For these feral people, (1) Jews are colonizers, even though they are Israels indigenous people going back almost four thousand years, while Muslim ties to the land are barely out of diapers; (2) Jews are white supremacists, even though they are the ultimate other whos been hated and persecuted by the whites whom leftists hate so much; and (3) Jews shamefully dare to point out that they are the victims of the biggest single genocide in world history, a moral high ground leftists claim theyve lost because Israel is fighting a careful defensive war against an enemy that is open about its genocidal desires. The Jewish groups behind the boycott tried to work with these truly worthless, vicious, genocidal, antisemitic, amoral, Marxist losers, which was a mistake. They should have gone on the attack, but leftist Jews react as all Stockholm Syndrome victims do by embracing their persecutors alleged victimhood. Now, having failed to placate those who wish them dead, the Jews are retreating (or the museum is forcing them to retreat). Again, from the JTA report: Months later, the Jewish groups are still planning to mount a version of the exhibit, called Confronting Hate Together. But they will do so without their original partners, the Black Heritage Society of Washington State and a museum dedicated to Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander heritage. Instead, the Jewish groups say the exhibit will be housed in a Jewish space. The groups cited circumstances out of our control and said that the experience had left local Jews feeling isolated at a time of great need. Immense harm has been caused to the Jewish community by not being able to show the exhibit, the Washington State Jewish Historical Society and the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Seattle said in a joint statement. Antisemitism today is at its highest levels in over 40 years, and more allyship is needed to help meet the moment. (That word allyship in the last sentence tells you why I say these Seattle Jews are leftists. Only leftists use that word.) My friend Robin M. Itzler repeatedly says that Democrat Jews are building the cattle cars that will take them to the gas chambers. Shes right. Whether its Chuck Schumer embracing the Squad while crying crocodile tears about antisemitism, Doug Emhoff pretending to know a damn thing about his Jewish religion and culture, or the various Jewish groups that seek Israels destruction, no one hates Jews with the passion of a Jew who hates the Torah (the first five books of the Bible, including the Ten Commandments, that serve as the moral basis of Western culture and values). With Democrat nominee Kamala Harris poised to continue the policies of her own administration, it is imperative to reflect on the contrasting vision offered by former president, Donald Trump. Trumps presidency was marked by significant achievements in environmental protection and economic growth, underpinned by a commitment to safeguarding Americas natural resources, standing in stark contrast to the four years of Bidens policies that Harris aims to extend. Trumps environmental and economic policies warrant support from both the working class and business community, and why they are crucial for Americas future. One of the most notable accomplishments of the Trump administration was the enactment of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which included the strongest environmental protections of any trade agreement in history. This agreement set a new standard for environmental stewardship by mandating strict regulations to curb pollution and safeguard natural habitats. Unlike NAFTA, USMCAs environmental provisions ensured that economic progress would not come at the expense of the environment, demonstrating a balanced approach to both economic and ecological concerns. Trump also demonstrated a proactive stance on marine conservation. Under his leadership, the Save Our Seas Act was signed into law, a landmark piece of legislation designed to tackle marine litter and pollution caused by foreign nations. This act addressed a growing global crisis by establishing the first-ever federal strategic plan to combat marine debris. The environmental impact of this legislation was substantial, as it aimed to protect marine ecosystems while simultaneously fostering a more responsible approach to waste management. Furthermore, Trumps administration was instrumental in advancing the Great American Outdoors Act. This historic legislation secured the largest investment in Americas National Parks and public lands in history. By allocating significant funding for the maintenance and restoration of these natural treasures, Trumps policies ensured that future generations would continue to enjoy the splendor of Americas natural landscapes. This act was not only a boon for environmental conservation but also a testament to the administrations commitment to preserving the nation's heritage. The Trump administration also made significant strides in land conservation. The signing of the largest public lands legislation in a decade added 1.3 million new acres of wilderness. This initiative was a clear demonstration of Trumps dedication to environmental preservation and reflected a broader vision for managing and protecting Americas vast natural resources. The Trump administrations environmental policies were not isolated from economic considerations. In fact, they were intrinsically linked to economic growth and stability. For instance, the Great American Outdoors Act and the designation of new wilderness areas were not only about preserving natural beauty but also about creating jobs and boosting local economies. Investments in national parks and public lands translated into increased tourism, which in turn supported local businesses and communities. Additionally, Trumps approach to forest management, epitomized by his historic executive order promoting active forest management, was crucial in preventing catastrophic wildfires. By prioritizing forest health, the administration mitigated the economic damages associated with wildfire destruction. The proactive management of forests helped protect valuable resources, infrastructure, and communities from the economic impact of devastating fires. The expansion of access to public lands for recreational activities such as hunting and fishing also had positive economic implications. By opening and expanding over four million acres of public lands, Trumps policies supported outdoor recreation industries that contribute significantly to the economy. These activities generate revenue and support jobs, showcasing how environmental stewardship and economic interests can go hand in hand. In stark contrast, the Biden-Harris administrations environmental policies have been defined by regulatory overreach and economic disruption; their approach to climate change and environmental protection has often been characterized by stringent regulations and ambitious goals that have led to increased energy costs and economic uncertainty. These policies have placed undue burdens on businesses and working-class Americans, who have borne the brunt of higher energy prices and reduced economic opportunities. Kamala Harris, as the Democrat nominee, will continue these policies, exacerbating the economic challenges faced by many Americans. The expansion of regulatory frameworks and the push for aggressive climate agendas threaten to stifle economic growth and job creation, undermining the progress made during Trumps presidency. Trumps environmental policies were designed with economic benefits in mind. By focusing on pragmatic solutions that balanced environmental concerns with economic growth, Trump demonstrated a vision for sustainable prosperity. The infrastructure upgrades and investments during his tenure, such as the $500 million allocated to fix the Herbert Hoover Dike and the 55% increase in funding for Everglades restoration, were critical in addressing both environmental and economic needs. These projects not only improved environmental conditions but also created jobs and supported local economies. Joining the One Trillion Trees Initiative, Trumps administration committed to planting, conserving, and restoring trees in America and around the world. This initiative had far-reaching benefits, including natural carbon sequestration, improved air quality, and enhanced biodiversity; economically, it supported industries related to forestry and conservation. Returning to Trumps proven approach means a return to policies that not only protected Americas natural heritage but also fostered economic prosperity by creating jobs, supporting local businesses, and ensuring sustainable development. The contrast with the Biden administrations record is clear. While the Biden administrations policies have led to economic hardships and regulatory challenges, Trumps achievements in environmental protection and economic growth offer a compelling argument for his return to office. For the working man and the businessman alike, Trumps presidency represents a commitment to both safeguarding the environment and ensuring economic stability. As such, Trump stands out as the candidate best suited to lead America towards a future that respects both its natural resources and its economic potential. Joseph Ford Cotto, 1st Baron Cotto, GCCCR (DBA) is the author of What Happened to America?: Howand Whythe American Dream Became a Nightmare. He holds a doctorate in business administration and hosts News Sight, an online program with a sharp focus on the current events that impact your life. During 2014, HLM King Kigeli V of Rwanda bestowed a hereditary knighthood upon him. It was followed by a barony the next year. Image: Public domain. How does fake news get out there? Well, based on this latest event, it comes not from Russian bots and fringe websites that the censorship lobby keeps howling about, but from the mainstream media itself, allowing its political biases to run wild at the expense of the facts. According to the New York Post: A PBS senior correspondent apologized Wednesday after falsely telling her audience that former President Donald Trump tried to talk Israel out of a cease-fire amid its ongoing war in Gaza. Judy Woodruff passed off blame for the blunder by clarifying that she based the flimsy scoop on outside reporting she had read before broadcasting from the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago on Monday. The reporting is that former President Trump is on the phone with the prime minister of Israel, urging him not to cut a deal right now, because its believed that would help the Harris campaign, Woodruff told a PBS roundtable. Her apology is here: NEWS PBS Judy Woodruff has issued a clarification and an apology for her remarks in this clip which went viral. I want to clarify my remarks on the PBS News special on Monday night about the ongoing cease fire talks in the Middle East. As I said, this was not based on my pic.twitter.com/4nIhczmpj5 Yashar Ali (@yashar) August 21, 2024 Which is pretty wretched as apologies go. By the sound of it, she made a little boo-boo, reporting an errant story someone else from another news agency wrote that was later corrected and didn't catch the correction in time for her report. Which isn't exactly what went down. First, some of the basic problems with that. She's a big-name newscaster and commentator, so when she reports the news and does commentary for PBS, she's actually cribbing from other reporters? What does that say about her own reporting, and do we now assume she's cribbing from other reporters with every report? So much for adding value, this sounds like telephone tag instead. In her original errant report, she did say that "reports say," so credit for that, but why she didn't name the news agencies she cited? When I cite someone else's reporting, I always give the credit by the name. That she didn't is not good, either; it suggests she doesn't want viewers to look too closely. She only named them out loud when she wanted to blame them for her error, which is pretty crummy, too. But these are relatively small starter issues compared to the big ones in this 'apology' for fake news. I checked the original stories she cited, from Axios, and Reuters, which was a properly cited pickup story, and they made their corrections pretty early in the histories of their pieces, both on August 15. The Post said that both stories ran on August 14, so it would have been just hours after their originals went out that by the wildest of coincidences, Woodruff read both stories in that tiny time window and then made her report apparently days later. Seems a pretty narrow window for her to read both errant stories and not go back to them as she prepared her report. But it gets bad when one checks these original stories and finds that neither news outlet reported what she says they reported, not even in the original before corrections. Here's Axios, which came out with the original story: Driving the news: One source said Trump's call was intended to encourage Netanyahu to take the deal, but stressed he didn't know if this is indeed what the former president told Netanyahu. The source didn't even know? While that is the sort of thing that shouldn't make the news at all -- the source admitted he had no idea what he was talking about -- Axios did have that in the original, which Woodruff reported as a certainty. And the way that point was supported wasn't good, either: Flashback: Last month, Trump said in an interview with Fox News that Israel needs to end the war in Gaza as soon as possible and bring back the hostages. In his meeting with Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago a day after the Fox News interview, Trump said the situation with the hostages is very tough and that they have to be returned immediately. That's not the same as Trump saying he wanted Bibi to accept or reject the ceasefire at the July meeting. It's just a generic statement of hopes for peace. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were saying largely the same thing in their statements about ending the war quickly, but they were clearly advocating for a ceasefire. It's also nothing to do with the supposed phone call Trump made to Bibi, horning in on peace talks to help Kamala Harris, which never happened. The only information any of them were going on was the late July Bibi-Trump gettogether. So even Axios had a few things they could have done better, but they didn't make the kind of outright wrong and biased statement that Woodruff made. The Reuters story was actually pretty balanced and careful, but leans towards Hamas hyperbole about the misery in Gaza. I can't tell if any passages were changed or deleted as Bibi made his denial about there being any phone call from Trump, it's possible they weren't. The report claims that Trump denied any such phone call, which may have happened, but they didn't cite a source other than Axios. The Axios report says that Team Trump didn't reply to them, so it's possible there was another source. But it's got that telephone-tag feeling again going. They could have done better. The most damning element of Woodruff's statement, that Trump urged Netanyahu to reject the ceasefire because it would help Harris in the 2024 presidential campaign -- never happened at all in either report, not even by wink, hint, or suggestion, not in the corrected or uncorrected versions. Nothing. Zilch. Zero. Nada. Trump never did that. And they never reported that. Trump wouldn't even need to do that, as Bibi already knows which presidential candidate would be better for Israel. I knew that claim was fake the minute I read it and put on my skepticism goggles. It was completely made up by Woodruff. Yet here Woodruff is, blaming other news agencies for her own error, focusing on some mild to moderately fuzzy elements of the stories open to interpretation, and making a blanket claim that Trump is busy interfering with the peace process in Gaza by phone, and for only the most venal and selfish reasons, to advance his presidential campaign, when nothing of the kind happened nor was ever reported to have happened. The claim about Trump being venal, and horning in on other presidents is nothing but pure Democrat campaign propaganda, and Woodruff was in on it. Her correction and apology was a way of saying 'look, squirrel!' at other news agencies instead of admit she made up the worst of her claims based on a bias for Democrat talking points about Trump being "out for himself." That's a media bigshot who's in the tank, someone who at best allowed her own biases to corrupt her perception of facts, and at worst, was just spewing Democrat talking points to elect Kamala Harris. Fake news? You bet it's fake news -- as fake as the Democrats' Russia collusion hoax which the media reported as news. It's a disgrace to news, and a good reason why the public doesn't trust the media at all. The apology was bad, the finger-pointing at others was bad, the effort to distract was bad, and the bias under the color of news was the worst. Her credibility is shot with this one. She ought to go the way of Dan Rather, back when he got caught making up the news to advance his favored presidential candidate. It's the same thing. Image: Twitter screen shot To hear Kamala Harris tell it, she grew up in Smalltown, U.S.A., where neighbor looked out for neighbor, and mom put her apple pie in the window to cool. They waved the flag. They cheered the U.S. They changed each others' tires. They were working class. She didn't mention anything about anyone going to church, but maybe that's because that was a bridge too far to claim about Berkeley, California, or else she thought it would be a bridge too far for her far-left voter base to stomach. Policywise, she was tough on crime, tough on the border, all in for backing the blue, all for law and order, and all about putting veterans first. And patriotism-wise, America was the land of opportunity and the greatest country on Earth. Funny we haven't heard that from her say that before, and she's been in politics for a while. All of these things went into her flag-waving speech to accept the Democrat nomination for president at the Democrat National Convention in Chicago last night, and while it might be fine and dandy to embrace such values, it sure doesn't sound like anything that can be found in her actual biography, or even Wikipedia page about her soft on crime stances, her abuse of her prosecutorial office, her role in turning San Francisco (another place that was never mentioned in her speech) into the lawless dump it is today. But it was quite a change from previous Democrat behavior at such conventions, such as when Democrats booed God in 2012, and in later years, blue-city wokester Democrats called the sight of the American flag "triggering." Let's not even get into hippies spitting on returning Vietnam War veterans in American airports. It was as if all these years she was a ... Republican. Which is pretty ridiculous considering her Marxist economics professor dad, her associations with far-left activists during her childhood, and the incredibly anti-American college towns she grew up in. It makes one want to ask that if she really believed all that stuff over the years, why she wasn't a Republican? That was the only party where all those values were accepted and promoted. Democrats have hated those things with a passion, as they embraced Sandalista revolutionaries, Cuban sugar-cane collectives, Manuel Noriega, the Soviets, and even Saddam Hussein (I remember that during the first Gulf War, and yes, the epicenter of this activism was in Berkeley, California). On the left, embracing the American flag and calling America a land of opportunity was anathema, not to mention, gauche. Fact is, Democrats have been burning American flags and cursing AmeriKKKa for the last 40 years, particularly in academia and college towns, which is the scope of her entire lifetime. That's her intellectual milieu. When she wasn't in these America-hating college towns, or whooping it up in San Francisco as Willie Brown's mistress, she was living in the richest suburb of Canada. It just goes to show how fake and phony she was, a problem she's always had. That she went so overboard with the mom-and-apple-pie act sounded like the lady that doth protest too much. What's worse, once's she's elected to the presidency, if God forbid that happens, she's revert to her customary form and values. A leopard doesn't change its spots overnight. But she'd like you to think that she can -- long enough to win over low-information undecided voters who balk at the rabid image of San Francisco Democrats and their acts. Sorry, a leopard can't change its spots. Kamala Harris's acceptance speech was as fake and insincere as they come. Image: Screen shot from Associated Press video, via YouTube The DNC convention (to which I didnt tune in but saw enough of anyway, mostly to gag) was the most accurate indicator yet of a future Americain nearly three very dark decades, the trend has been once-broken, by the shining reprieve of Trumps grand, but very embattled, first presidency. With progressive Democrats, a more horrible, negative, and essential reversal of all of Americas eminent history of liberty and justice, for all looms. This is our clear choice. The now hugely rich Barack and Michelle, making their also predictable complaints at the convention, take a lot of credit for bringing their hideous, spoiled rotten, lying, and greedy claims of racism to bear on the American people. Raking up pretty much describes the monetized trajectory of most modern, top politicians; Trump, by contrast, makes his own money. Hence, a good deal of the envy and spite. (Among others, Romney can take a lot of credit, with John McCain, for effectively standing down as Barack grabbed two terms. The Democrat establishment and its RINO collaboratorswe suspect that most of them have been personally, secretly rewardedhave close to ruined us all, and impoverished the majority of us already.) Kamala Harris closed this tasteless, incompetently scripted display, with her eyes clearly and personally on globalist handouts to come. Americas moral rot, celebrated by the MSM and the Dems this week, is close to completeif they have their way. As predicted last week, the Democrat establishment, looking ghoulish, all checked-in to bloody Chicago to speaklied through their teeth. They are old, do not one of them worry about meeting their Maker? Is one of them remotely loyal to the Christianity they mock in their timely church appearances? They love Biden, they chant it out, an old, self-destructed man they have just railroaded, and in a gutless way. They love America, a country they have consistently wrecked, its people scorned and brutalized, and plan to continue to wreckon behalf of criminals and terrorists. If any one of us Americans is naive enough to think, seeing what we now see, that all this isnt about the destruction of the Republic, each needs to think again. If any of the sanctimonious RINOs, and the Republican Congress at largewhich should justly impeach Joe Biden before January, to save whatever honor they can still claimthink that they are left off the hook for what they have allowed the Democrats to bully them into over Obamas three administrations, and indeed (from the bureaucracy) during the administration of Trump, their own elected leader, they need think again. Our real intellectual and moral leaders, many among the common man, have been warning us about this moment for a very long time. And here we are. One of the two major political parties, the Democrats, handed out tickets for abortion and vasectomies at the site of a national presidential nominating convention, doling out the deaths of future generations, our children and grandchildren, like candy; it is a picture no one in the far-more-civilized, at present, third world, can even contemplate as reality. Progressivism. Democrats dont care about America. All that save democracy twaddle is, in truth, the tip of a fascist iceberg. This is what the globalists wantfewer people to get in their way and take their riches. We have a short time to come back from here. We need to make the best use of it as possible. GET OUT THE VOTE. Image: Public domain. Ive been following politics since the era of JFK, LBJ, and Dick Nixon. It was an era of social unrest and political turmoil that fractured our country with antiVietnam War protests, civil rights demonstrations, and violent attacks on police officers from Black Panthers and Black Liberation Army militants. Riots broke out every time a police incident involved the death of a black person, and cops were being shot in the back while walking their assigned posts. The three major news networks, CBS, NBC, and ABC, were doing their usual job of reporting the news, albeit with a liberal bias. Cable networks were in the embryonic stages, hence werent part of the national reportage. It was a time before 24/7 news coverage permeated our thoughts, projecting every dreadful incident onto our TV screens at all hours of the day and night. Back then, conscientious people were well informed about issues that concerned them, without having a ringside seat to all the carnage committed by the dregs of society. News anchors like Walter Cronkite, Howard K. Smith, Chet Huntley, and David Brinkley were held in high esteem, basically because they were recognized faces who brought about 30 minutes of interesting subjects into our otherwise drab routines. We didnt think much about agendas and slanted opinions, pretty much because we felt that news is not something that can be distorted. After all, if storekeeper A shot armed-robber B during a holdup at As place of business, how can that be twisted into something racial or political? Decent, law-abiding people couldnt care less about the amount of melanin in the skin of the guy whos threatening their lives or forcefully stealing their property. All the aforementioned changed when the liberals of the 60s and 70s became progressives in subsequent decades. Now, if a person is killed, a woman is raped, or a store is robbed, we the people must be informed of the disparate pigmentation in the skin of all parties involved. However, when both victim and victimizer have the same epidermal hue, it might only make it to the back page of those divisive rags. When did journalism become a platform bent on creating racial conflict and hatred throughout the country? Moreover, why isnt there more news coverage of the thousands of inner-city inhabitants, mostly innocent blacks, who get slaughtered on the streets each year by black gangsters dealing drugs and terrorizing residents? I suppose, if its only blacks killing blacks, the media wont be able to dramatize the incidents and use the race card to boost their ratings. The black-on-black crime, albeit much more prevalent than other racial admixtures, becomes mere statistics to editorial writers whod rather stir the pot than show concern for the plight of urban dwellers with no one in their corner. If 33 people are shot in Chicago during a weekend of violence, its mentioned once or twice before the news turns to global warming, or recent victories by the LGBT community. During a saner time in our history, 33 shootings in one city would send shivers of fear and expressions of outrage throughout the nation. The old journalism maxim that says, If it bleeds, it leads, doesnt stand a chance if the bleeding comes from blacks attacked by other blacks. The press, AKA the media, is protected under the First Amendment to the Constitution. The reason for said protection is that the Founders, in their infinite wisdom, wanted a powerful entity that would be a bulwark between the government and the people it serves. It was never intended that the voice of the people would be subverted by a cadre of ruthless oligarchs with the power to suppress the truth and force the most egregious lies into the minds of their readers and viewers. Im continually amazed at the colossal mendacity displayed by those who think lies will work if they state them often enough. A recent example is an interview between Fox News anchor Bret Baier and Democrat Congressman Dan Goldman, a spokesman for the Kamala Harris campaign. Goldman accused Trump of refusing to debate Harris, claiming that the former president is afraid. Baier interjected that Trump already accepted three debates, September 4, 10, and 17. To this, the obviously flustered prevaricator responded with no, no, no, he had agreed to September 10. Baier: With Biden, who got pushed out! Baier went on to state that it was Harris who had been ducking debates. The look on Goldmans face was that of a sneaky little weasel who got caught trying to push a deceptive narrative. Baier, on the other hand, evinced a slight grin of confidence, like that of a courageous journalist who had stood up for the truth. Pixnio. " captext=" Pixnio " src="https://images.americanthinker.com/d0/d0yan5zvrkpqalzolxfj_640.jpg" /> Image via Pixnio. Google finally introduced the much-awaited Pixel 9 series phones at its Made by Google event last week. To accompany the new phones, the search titan also released a handful of cases for the new Pixels. Apart from Google, several accessory brands like UAG, Bellroy, CASETiFY, OtterBox, and more also introduced their own best Pixel 9 series cases. Now, Carved has also launched its unique wood cases for the Pixel 9 smartphones. Carved is offering wood cases for the Pixel 9, 9 Pro, and 9 Pro XL models starting from $49 Carved has started selling real wood cases for the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro XL smartphones. The brand is yet to launch similar cases for the foldable Pixel 9 Pro Fold. You can now visit Carveds website to dress up your Pixel 9 in the companys Live Edge or Traveler cases. For the Pixel 9 series, you can purchase a Carved case starting at just $50. However, these are the affordable Traveler cases, which arent entirely made from wood. Instead, these have a rugged plastic bumper in between the phone and a wood finish on the outer layer. The Traveler cases for the Pixel 9 should offer better drop protection than the Live Edge Carved cases. Carved offers tons of designs for the Traveler cases for the Pixel 9 series. All of them boast a completely different and unique design. The company claims that once a design is sold, it wont be available in any other case again. Carveds more premium Pixel 9 Live Edge wood case costs $189 Carved is also offering its more premium Live Edge cases for the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro XL. These cases are quite pricey at $189. However, they are worth every dollar. Each Carved Live Edge case is a hand-crafted piece of art made from real wood burl and epoxy resin to create a one-of-a-kind design. Considering how each case is made, each flaunts a unique design. The company claims youll never see two identical Pixel 9 cases. Its worth mentioning that Carved has embedded ring magnets into the Pixel 9 cases. Thus, these cases are compatible with Qi2 wireless charging standard and MagSafe. The traditional journalism model is among the hardest hit by the massive migration to the internet. Much of the advertising revenue vanished, and newsrooms significantly reduced their workforce in the face of the now dominant digital model. In an attempt to compensate for the battered traditional journalism, California representatives negotiated a news funding deal with Google. The deal, which will extend for the next five years, involves total funding of up to $180 million for local journalism initiatives. Google will contribute $110 million, while the state will take care of the other $70 million. Oakland Democrat Buffy Wicks is the main driving force behind the deal. Most of the funds would go to local newsrooms in California. The news funding deal between Google and California includes AI tool development However, there is one controversial point in the agreement. As reported by POLITICO and The Information, $70 million would be allocated to the development of AI-powered tools. The development would be handled by a nonprofit organization for greater transparency. Wicks calls this part of the deal the National AI Accelerator, and its goal would be to work on tools that do not undermine the work of journalists. The report gives as an example the CalMatters Digital Democracy program used to track state legislation. Its no secret that journalism is not the segment most enthusiastic about artificial intelligence. Many feel that these tools directly attack their work, and could even replace them. However, it seems that the news funding deal between Google and the state of California regarding AI is going in a different direction. The deal does not require a change in legislation, which will speed up its implementation. Wicks says that trying to force such changes through new legislation could lead to lengthy processes that would not benefit either party. Some California Democrats consider the figures insufficient The funding for AI development was not the only thing that generated controversy. Other Democratic legislators feel that the big winner of the deal was Google. Some even question whether the agreed-upon figures are insufficient. We have concerns that this proposal lacks sufficient funding for newspapers and local media and doesnt fully address the inequities facing the industry, said Mike McGuire, California Senate President Pro Tem. On the other hand, Democratic Senator Steve Glazer sought to push through a parallel bill based on taxing digital ad revenue. The deal generated reactions from more parties related to the sector. The California News Publishers Association defined it as a first step towards a sustainable and fair model. Meanwhile, the Media Guild of the West union called it a total rout. Matt Pearce, president of the union, said that Google used its monopoly power to get its way. The deal is the best-case scenario In response to the allegations, Wicks claims that the deal reached is the most realistic for the current situation. She said it is the best case scenario considering all factors. Its notable that Google and other big tech companies were against Wicks initiative. The Mountain View giant spent $1.1 million on an advertising campaign that called it a link tax. The company even temporarily blocked Google News in California for some users. Plus, Google had said that the initiative would encourage clickbait and low-value content on the Internet. In its long-term bet on the AI segment, Google bought DeepMind in 2014. Today, the latter is deeply integrated into the companys organizational chart, losing autonomy. However, there is some internal dissent regarding the handling of some issues. Mainly, a section of Google employees at DeepMind are against military contracts. The concern stems from Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract where Google would provide AI-powered services and tools derived from DeepMinds work to the Israeli military. Google is not alone in this, as Amazon is also involved. In mid-May, 200 DeepMind employees signed a letter saying they are concerned by recent reports of Googles contracts with military organizations. 200 Google DeepMind employees signed a letter against military contracts While Project Nimbus was first heard of in 2023, employee protests against it rose this year. Reports from April claimed that Google fired 28 employees who participated in the protests. Tensions seem to have been escalating since then, although there were developments that were kept secret. For example, a recent TIME report revealed the existence of the letter mentioned above. Although 3 months have passed, people involved with the matter say that they have received no meaningful response from leadership. The main concern of DeepMind employees is that their technology would be used for military purposes. Any involvement with military and weapon manufacturing impacts our position as leaders in ethical and responsible AI, and goes against our mission statement and stated AI Principles, reads the letter. Employees feel that Google is unspecific or vague when referring to Nimbus. They even feel that there are clauses that would allow the company to supply its technology for military purposes. DeepMind lost a lot of independence Currently, DeepMind and Google Brain are one AI-focused team. The merger occurred in 2023 after a DeepMind attempt to seek more independent management, something they had at the beginning. However, DeepMind now follows a general Google ethics policy. Part of that policy says the company can develop technologies to cause harm if the benefits substantially outweigh the risks. But it is not clear who or how Google determines whether or not to cross the line. Meanwhile, a Google spokesperson said Nimbus is not what people think. An official statement said the project is not directed at highly sensitive, classified, or military workloads relevant to weapons or intelligence services. Meanwhile, DeepMind employees feel they cant do much about it. While DeepMind may have been unhappy to work on military AI or defense contracts in the past, I do think this isnt really our decision any more, one of them told TIME. Staff doubtful about how DeepMind technology is actually being used Currently, it is only certain that Israel and its Ministry of Defense have access to Googles Cloud software. The Mountain View giant has integrated AI-powered technologies into the latter, as in many of its services. The United States would also be forcing Israel to buy artificial intelligence technology from Google and Amazon. However, Googles position is that the software is not being used for military purposes or weapons manufacturing. Sadly, there is no way for company employees to corroborate if it is true. The Google Keep AI list-building feature is now available to all Pixel owners. Smartphones from other manufacturers too can get all the benefits of the new feature with a subscription. Google Keep AI-driven Help Me Create a list feature heading to all Pixel smartphones The Google Pixel 9 series smartphones are a part of the bigger Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) revolution for the Android OS ecosystem. In addition to launching the flagship Android smartphones, Google also announced several Gen AI features. One of the latest AI features discovered on the Pixel 9 is an AI-powered list-building tool in the Google Keep app. Unlike several other exclusive features, the Google Keep AI listing-building feature will be available to all Pixel smartphone owners. Google Keep's AI list-building feature now available on all Pixel phones and Google One AI Premium subscribers.#Google #Pixel9ProXL #Pixel9Pro pic.twitter.com/Kj6PPATz62 choqao (@choqao) August 22, 2024 As the name implies, the Help me create a list feature in Google Keep helps create myriad lists. Needless to say, Google Gemini is the main AI engine driving this feature. Spotted earlier this year, the Google Keep AI listing-building feature helps create to-do lists, grocery lists, and much more. With RAM reserved for on-device AI, Pixel 9 users can quickly create a lot of lists with AI collating and processing data from multiple sources. However, the feature is reportedly available to smartphones from other manufacturers as well. How other smartphones can get the new Google Keep Help Me Create a list feature? Back when Help me create a list feature in Google Keep surfaced on the internet, it was assumed Google would restrict the feature to the Pixel series. However, folks at Android Authority managed to get the AI list-building feature running on a stock Xiaomi device. Interestingly, smartphone users who rely on Gen AI can also use the new AI list-building feature. Moreover, users need not get a subscription to Google One AI Premium. Google has added AI to its most popular note-taking app, Keep You can now quickly generate lists for any task or project. I'll show you how it works and how to access it: pic.twitter.com/orBdNVksPq Paul Couvert (@itsPaulAi) April 4, 2024 Google Keep on other smartphones has the feature. However, without the aforementioned subscription, the number of requests users can make is limited. If users are not interested in using the AI listing-building feature in Google Keep, the latest version of the app allows switching the feature off. Google would also allow disabling Gemini AI in Google Messages and Gmail. Google Store Ordering Issues and Customer Support Challenges: A Comprehensive Summary Introduction AndroidHeadlines.com, a well-established tech news site with over 15 years of experience covering Android and Google products, has encountered significant challenges while attempting to purchase and review the newly launched Google Pixel 9. This article provides a detailed account of the ongoing issues, communications with Google Support, and the broader implications for consumers. Timeline of Events August 13, 2024: The Ordeal Begins Initial attempt to order Google Pixel 9 First order (GS.3132-9997-8854) canceled within 24 hours Multiple subsequent orders also canceled, citing Terms of Service violations August 13-22, 2024: Repeated Attempts and Support Interactions 8 total orders placed and canceled Multiple interactions with Google Store support Various troubleshooting attempts, including: Verifying payment information Ordering from different devices Using incognito mode Trying multiple email addresses Updating address information August 23, 2024: Initial Response from Google Article published detailing the issues Prompt response from Google representative Matt Informed that purchases were flagged for fraud Support team investigating, promised follow-up August 23, 2024 (4:23 PM): New Communication from Google Support Request to place new orders Three new orders placed: GS.3132-2430-5478 GS.3132-7067-7697 GS.3132-2656-2672 August 25, 2024: Update on Order Status and Personal Experiences One phone ready for shipping Other ordered phones not yet shipped Pixel Fold potentially delayed until late September Detailed account of previous issues with Google products and support August 26, 2024: Latest Developments Partial response from Google Support Follow-up email sent to Google representative Matt Request for escalation and concrete action plan Key Issues Identified Recurring order cancellations and fraud flags Lack of timely communication from Google Support Inconsistent information and resolution times Potential systemic issues affecting multiple customers Delays in order processing and shipping Difficulties with returns and warranty claims September 1, 2024: Response from Google Communications PR On Friday, September 1, at 11:10 AM Pacific Standard Time, we finally received a response from Matthew Flegal of Google Communications PR. The email stated: Hey Chris Thank you for the feedback, which has been shared with all the appropriate teams. I understand that you should have received some of your orders now, correct? And obviously the Pixel 9 Pro Fold ships in September, so that will be on the way. Thank you for being a Pixel user and I hope you enjoy the new devices. Thanks, Matt While we appreciate Mr. Flegals follow-up regarding our orders, its evident that our broader concerns were not directly addressed. Instead, they were reportedly forwarded to appropriate teams within Google, which were not specified and have not contacted us. Broader Implications and Ongoing Concerns This experience has highlighted several significant issues that extend beyond our individual case: 1.Impact on Tech Journalism: As tech journalists and product reviewers, our ability to provide timely and accurate coverage is severely hampered by poor communication with the company whose products were reviewing. This not only affects our work but also the information available to consumers. 2. Average Consumer Concerns: Our experience raises serious questions about how average consumers, who dont have the benefit of industry connections, might fare when facing similar issues. The lack of clear, responsive customer support could significantly impact user satisfaction and trust in Googles products. 3. Customer Support Infrastructure: There appears to be a significant disconnect in Googles customer support infrastructure. The inability or unwillingness to address systemic issues, even when brought to their attention by long-standing partners, is concerning. 4. Missed Opportunity for Improvement: By not engaging in a meaningful dialogue about the problems we encountered, Google has missed an opportunity to gain valuable insights that could lead to improvements in their ordering and support systems. 5. Communication Breakdown: The lack of comprehensive communication from Google, particularly regarding how they plan to address and prevent similar issues in the future, is disappointing. This breakdown in communication does little to instill confidence in their commitment to customer satisfaction. Reflections and Path Forward As partners of Google and Android for over 15 years, we find the poor communication and lack of support for store orders deeply troubling. The extensive effort required to resolve our issue, as documented in this article, is far beyond what should be expected of any customer, let alone a long-standing media partner. While were pleased to have finally received our devices, we believe the true resolution should have included: 1. A thorough discussion of the issues encountered 2. Clear plans for improving customer support processes 3. Strategies for addressing systemic problems 4. Commitment to enhancing overall user experiences Unfortunately, Googles response fell short of these expectations. Their unwillingness to openly discuss the issues or involve us in finding solutions is disappointing. It suggests that similar problems may continue to affect customers in the future. The Conclusion This experience has been eye-opening, revealing significant gaps in Googles customer support and communication processes. While we never intended to create conflict, our attempts to collaborate for the benefit of all consumers have been met with limited engagement from Google. We can only hope that the feedback weve provided has indeed been forwarded to the appropriate teams and will be used to improve the Google experience for customers moving forward. However, without confirmation or further communication, we have no way of knowing if or how our input will be utilized. AndroidHeadlines.com remains committed to transparency and advocating for improved customer experiences. While this particular story may not have the satisfactory resolution we hoped for, we will continue to monitor the situation and report on any future developments. We encourage readers who have experienced similar issues to share their stories. Your experiences and feedback are crucial in pushing for systemic improvements in customer support across the tech industry. As we conclude this chapter of our investigation, we remain open to further communication from Google and hopeful for positive changes in their customer support processes. Our goal, as always, is to ensure the best possible experience for all users of Google products. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ support pages are live. Theyve popped up in the UK for both WI-Fi and cellular connectivity variants of Samsungs upcoming Plus tablet. Support pages for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ are live The two devices have model numbers SM-X820 and SM-X826B, based on these support pages. Considering these support pages are already online, chances are that the launch of the Galaxy Tab S10 series is not far off. Many people expected the Galaxy Tab S10 series to arrive in January, alongside the Galaxy S25 series. Based on this, however, those tablets will launch a lot sooner than that. You can check out the two support page listings in the screenshots below. They do not reveal any additional information, unfortunately, only the model numbers of the two devices are listed. The Galaxy Tab S10+ did surface on Geekbench already, and it was certified by the 3C certification too. We do know that the device will support 45W wired charging. MediaTeks powerful SoC will fuel this tablet We also know that the MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ SoC is expected to fuel the device. That is the processor that was spotted on Geekbench. Galaxy AI will likely be on board as well. Thats basically everything we know thus far, spec-wise. We did recently exclusively share the design of the Galaxy Tab S10+, though, alongside the Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra. Its bezels will be relatively thin, while two cameras will be located on the back, as expected. The third Galaxy Tab S10 model will be the vanilla one, and it will be called the Galaxy Tab S10. Samsung is once again pushing three tablets on the market at the same time. There are some rumors that the Galaxy Tab S10 series could arrive in October. That basically means it could arrive at the same time as the Galaxy S24 FE, whose design weve also exclusively shared. Nothing has been confirmed just yet, though. Smart TV users dont typically enjoy software update policies as extensive as modern premium phones. However, it seems thats slowly changing, starting with some big names. A recent report claims that Samsung will start offering 7 years of updates to its TVs. In the smartphone segment, Samsung is the brand that offers the longest update period alongside Google. The company guarantees up to 7 years of updates for its latest flagship models. On the other hand, its Tizen-powered smart TVs receive a maximum of 2 or 3 years of support. Fortunately, Samsung will bring the support period software from its high-end phones to its latest and new smart TVs. Samsung extends updates to its smart TVs up to 7 years Apparently, Samsung has been a bit worried about the rise of other TV brands, like Hisense and TCL, that could threaten its dominant position in the market. So, to maintain or widen the gap, the company will use long-term update support as a key selling point. We will widen the gap in market share with Chinese companies with the seven-year free upgrade of Tizen applied to AI TVs, said Yong Seok-woo, president and head of Samsungs TV division, in a recent business briefing. Samsungs new seven-year upgrade policy for TVs will cover 2024 models. However, there will also be some 2023 models eligible for such treatment. LG, one of Samsungs rivals in the segment, also expanded its upgrade policy for TVs. The company said that some 2022 models will receive upgrades for the next five years. Anyway, the Smart TV segment is a bit particular when it comes to software. Many users simply prefer to buy a dongle or TV box, such as the latest Google TV Streamer. After all, having access to many of the key Android features on your TV is pretty tempting. Plus, proprietary smart TV systems dont typically offer the most stable experience. Still, Samsungs long-term update commitment to its TVs seems like a move in the right direction. Looking for fall's biggest trends? May we suggest... heading over to the San Diego Zoo? We know, we know, that doesn't sound like the most fashionable trip. But a video of one of their baby elephants trying on "hats" might just change your mind. Someone call Vogue because this baby elephant is the next big thing to hit fashion if you're into sticks, dirt, and debris that is. Just like any good fashion designer, the baby elephant also models their own wares. The footage the zoo shared shows the elephant munching on a quick snack before showing off their latest creations. Related: Baby Elephant Getting Pampered at the Toledo Zoo Is Beyond Precious If sticks are your thing, then you'll love the "giant stick" hat the elephant made. Maybe you're more into grass, in which case you'll love the grass hat the elephant created. Be careful though! That one will cover your eyes. Honestly, who knew that elephants were this creative? Every "hat" the animal showed was a serious look. Some people may not get the elephant's genius, but we totally see the vision. "It's called fashion," the zoo joked in the caption. People in the comments section were loving the new line. "Im glad I wasnt in public watching this, because I straight up cackled," wrote one person. "Very demure, very modest, very cutesy," another commenter praised. "Baby elephants are definitely right up there with the silliest and funniest babies," one person chimed in. "So what youre saying is elephants are cats but nicer," someone else teased. The San Diego Zoo Unlike Paris or New York Fashion Week, anyone can get up close and personal with these latest fashion finds. Just head over to the San Diego Zoo in California to take all the goodness in. You can see this baby and many more elephants at the zoo's Elephant Odyssey experience. "Elephants spend up to 16 hours per day eating and can eat as much as 330 pounds of food in one dayso youre likely to see them munching on something," the zoo explained on their website. "African elephants are grazer-browsers and eat a variety of vegetation, including grasses, leaves, shrubs, bark, and trees." You can even see workers with the Elephant Care Center scrubbing an elephant's foot or taking care of one of their charges. There's a lot to see! Elephants are the most interesting creatures. Even if you aren't local to the area; find a zoo near you so you can see them in real life. They're magical! And as this video proves, elephants can be sort of hilarious. Even when they're pint-sized. 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. 08/18/1981 - Houston Police Department Chicano Squad (l-r): Jose Selvera Jr., Raymond Gonzales, Jim Montero, Cecil Mosqueda, Robert Gatewood, and U. P. Hernandez. Jerry Click, HP staff / Houston Chronicle In 1979, the Houston Police Department plucked a handful of rookie Mexican-American officers from their patrol cars and gave them an impossible job: solve 52 murder cases experienced Anglo officers hadnt been able to solve. And do it in 90 days. The odds were stacked against them. Houston was known as the murder capital of the nation. In one weekend there were more than a dozen killings in predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods. Tensions between a mostly white HPD and the citys Black and brown communities had reached a fever pitch after decades of police brutality and impunity. Just a few years earlier, several officers took turns beating 23-year-old Vietnam War vet Jose Campos Torres after arresting him for drunk and disorderly conduct at an East End cantina. When they dumped Torres mangled body into Buffalo Bayou, one officer reportedly remarked: Lets see if this wetback can swim. That was a word all-too-familiar to the six newly minted homicide detectives the media christened the Chicano Squad. Like the victims in the majority of the open murder cases, they had grown up in Houstons Spanish-speaking barrios. And that turned out to be their superpower: They spoke the language. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The story of the Chicano Squad how they knocked door to door, slowly earning the trust of Houstons Latinos, eventually allowing them to clear an astonishing 40 cases in three months is an inspiring one. Its also an incredibly critical one at a time when faith in our police forces seems shakier than ever as new videos like one showing police in Denison siccing their dog on an unarmed Black man during a routine traffic stop ricochet across the internet. For Sergio Selvera, one of the executive producers of The Chicano Squad, the story is personal. Hes the son of Jose Selvera Jr., one of the original squad members. His two-part docuseries premieres on Sept. 2 and 3 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on A&E. In a first, it features interviews with the original squad, which I was heartened to learn still hangs out together regularly, catching up over huevos rancheros at Dona Maria in the East End. This week, I spoke with Selvera about the project and whether weve come all that far since the fraught days of 1970s Houston. Our conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity. A new docuseries, "The Chicano Squad," on a little known piece of Houston history premieres on Sept. 2 and 3 at 9/8c on A&E. A&E Television Networks, LLC Q: What inspired you to tell this little known piece of Houstons history now? Advertisement Article continues below this ad A: In 2014, the Chicano Squad was celebrating the 35th anniversary of the formation of the squad. The celebration was in an ice house with buckets of beer. Im not above that, but it just seemed to me that this should have been something that was a little bit more celebrated by the city of Houston. I remember leaving there and asking my father, is this it? Ive known all these guys my whole life, and growing up, I had heard their stories and knew the big impact they had. So I was like, how did we end up in an ice house? The 25th anniversary had been at a hotel on the University of Houston campus. The mayor was there. There were all these accolades and awards. And then, 10 years later, it was kind of like, well, we forgot about these guys. A lot of Latino stories just never get told. Theyre not the executives making the decision. Theyre not the directors, theyre not the writers, theyre not the producers. Theyre sometimes not even actors. Were not often in the room, but in this particular case we were. And let me tell you, spending hours pulling a heartfelt story out of 70-year-old hardened police officers whose every instinct tells them not to talk to you was not easy. But I knew that this was a unique story that had to be told, and I wanted the squad to be able to tell it in their own words. The original Chicano Squad members filming in Houston, Texas, on July 24, 2023. Danielle Villasana Q: Do you think the Chicano Squad fully understands the barriers they broke? Advertisement Article continues below this ad A: Their impact is all around us. Last Friday, I took my daughter, my wife and my mother-in-law to our favorite place, Spankys Pizza in Southeast Houston. Were in there eating, and suddenly I feel like somebodys looking at me from the side. I turn, and its Liliana Reyes. Shes the baby who was kidnapped in the late '80s that my father rescued from Mexico. But I dont know that the squad fully appreciates what they did. On Tuesday we were at City Hall celebrating them and there was applause all around. Every elected official there was telling them, you guys really are important. I had 25 or 30 police officers come up to me and say how much this story meant to them, and that in some way, shape or form one of the members of the Chicano Squad was the reason they were doing what they were doing. As a son, that makes me very proud. Its been most rewarding to see my dad finally start to process that. The squad still will say, we were just doing our job. It was just another day at the office. I get that. But I think now, in 2024, its OK for them to take a little bit of a victory lap and appreciate all the praise that theyre getting because they earned it. Q: It was recently revealed that since 2016, HPD suspended more than 200,000 cases 10% of the total number of criminal cases filed to Houston police in that time frame using the filing code that meant due to lack of personnel. What do you think we can learn from the experience of the Chicano Squad, who were tasked with tackling dozens of cases that had gone unsolved and even earned national recognition for their 91% clearance rate? Advertisement Article continues below this ad A: Theres a line in the docuseries where my dad says, in homicide, nobody wins, even if we get a conviction. Even if we figured out who killed this person, theyre never gonna get their loved one back. Its a thankless job. But what they did is bring closure and dignity to these families. If its 1979, and my brother or sister or mother or father was a victim of a homicide, and theyre just sitting in a file cabinet just stacking, stacking, stacking, Id be pretty upset. It would send a message to me that nobody cares about me or my family. The squad was created with the intention to solve Hispanic murders. If youre intentional about solving a certain type of crime, youre going to put the effort there and give it the attention it deserves. Now, was HPD understaffed and underresourced? Absolutely. But at least it was a step towards solving the problem. As my dad always says, where the attention goes is where youre gonna get results. Q: The Chicano Squad was disbanded in 2010 because HPDs increasingly diverse workforce included a higher number of Spanish-speaking officers. Now, HPD is majority-minority. But it seems earning Hispanic Houstonians trust is still a work in progress. Why do you think that issue persists? A: I think the lack of trust comes when people dont feel that the police are there to help them. Dont get me wrong, Im not here to bash HPD. I know that theyre dealing with one of the most diverse cities in the country with a huge population. And there are so many people who need help. Advertisement Article continues below this ad But that was one of the keys of the Chicano Squad. The whole reason it worked was because they built a dialogue with the community and came in with the right attitude. Today it seems that youre either pro-police or pro-community. The Chicano Squad is a great example of being both. Two brothers who were at the front of a mob attacking police officers guarding a hotel housing more than 200 asylum seekers have each been jailed for three years. Luke and Paul Sissons were involved a range of violent incidents outside the Holiday Inn Express, in Manvers, Rotherham, on August 4, including an attack on a police dog van and violent confrontations with riot officers, Sheffield Crown Court heard on Friday. Paul Sissons who is a tunnelling team leader on the HS2 project was filmed over a period of nearly four hours, first in a mob shouting at police and chanting Tommy Robinson, a judge was told. Luke Sissons was jailed for three years at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday (South Yorkshire Police/PA) Sissons, 37, of Two Gates Way, Barnsley, was then captured as part of a group that violently rocked a police van with officers and a dog inside, and was later seen throwing missiles at a group of cornered officers. Body-worn camera footage from an officer holding a riot shield was also shown to the court of Sissons angrily kicking and pushing at the police line as they tried to push the crowd back. His brother Luke Sissons, 34, of The Green View, Shafton, Barnsley, was also part of the mob rocking the van, and footage was shown of him at the front of group goading officers with riot shields who were pinned against the hotel wall. Video was also shown to the court of Luke Sissons talking to a police officer before the main violence began. He tells the officer he is a wanker and then asks him: Why do you run away from immigrants, but when we do anything you f****** cosh us? Sissons also tells the officer: I f****** hate police officers. Youre grasses, and: I f****** hate immigrants. Dermot Hughes, defending both brothers, pointed out that they were both hanging their heads in shame on the videolink as the footage was shown to the judge. He said they are both thoroughly ashamed of their parts in this. Mr Hughes said Paul Sissons, who shouted that he was not a racist on the prison videolink during the hearing, had had a well-paid job which was now in jeopardy, stressing that he was very well thought-of by his employers. The Sissons brothers are the latest of more than 20 men who have now been jailed at Sheffield Crown Court by Judge Jeremy Richardson KC following the Manvers disorder, which saw 58 police officers, three police dogs and a police horse injured, and involved rioters breaking into the hotel and trying to set the building alight. Judge Richardson said to the brothers: You were right at the front of the mob attacking those police officers. Referring to the footage of the small group of officers coming under attack against the wall of the hotel, he said: It never ceases to frighten me, and I have the advantage of watching it days after the event in the security of this court room. It was a frightening incident and the young officers who were on that cordon must have been terrified by that mob. Both men pleaded guilty to violent disorder at a previous hearing. Prominent Northern Ireland loyalist David Dee Stitt has been refused bail after appearing in court charged with publishing material with the intent of stirring up hatred. Stitt, 53, from Bangor, was arrested at Belfast City Airport after arriving on a flight on Thursday evening. Appearing in the dock of Belfast Magistrates Court on Friday dressed in a grey sweater, Stitt, from Lord Wardens Court, said not guilty after he confirmed that he understood the charge. PSNI detective constable told district judge Steven Keown that he could connect the accused to the single charge of publishing written material which was threatening, abusive or insulting with the intent of stirring up hatred or arousing fear. The charge relates to a single post on Facebook on July 31 where Stitt shared a copy-and-pasted call for protests across Northern Ireland in response to the murder of three young girls in Southport. The court heard that the post urged people to bring the country to a standstill and listed several protest times and venues in Northern Ireland and advised demonstrators to ensure women and children were at the front of the events. It also referred to the Christian west being under siege and claimed that people had one chance to stop the spread of evil Islam. Refusing Stitts bail application, Judge Keown said we have seen over the last number of weeks the consequences of words such as this. The judge said there was no hierarchy of individuals within the community and said there was a fundamental problem with regard to people who viewed some religions as evil. People who hold that view are the ones who are a threat to our society, not the hard-working people from whatever community who increasingly contribute to our society, he added. Dee Stitt was arrested at Belfast City airport (PA) He refused Stitt bail on the grounds of the risk of reoffending and a risk to the public. Earlier in the hearing, Stitts solicitor Gavin Booth from Phoenix Law unsuccessfully challenged the basis upon which police connected his client to the charge. He said Stitt accepted making the post on Facebook but characterised it as a cut-and-paste job with a few words of introduction by his client in which he stated he did not usually post political messages on his account. In relation to the main body of text, the lawyer added: This is a cut-and-paste job, those are not his original words. Mr Booth said his client had no intention of inciting violence and he was only exerting his right to freedom of expression and right to peaceful protest. However, the detective constable said police viewed the contents of the post as a call to arms that encouraged people to take the law into their own hands. Applying for bail, Mr Booth said Stitt had a track record of working positively over the last 25 years with the PSNI, Stormonts Department of Justice and other agencies on conflict resolution work within his community. Defence solicitor Gavin Booth insisted his client was perfect candidate for bail (PA). The solicitor described him as a positive voice who was involved in work bringing together divided communities, including by participating in educational trips to Auschwitz in Poland. He said that in July, Stitt had worked with police and the St Johns Ambulance at bonfire sites in North Down and had ensured that Irish tricolour flags were removed from loyalist bonfires in the area. Mr Booth added that the immigration protest that took place in Bangor following Stitts post had been entirely peaceful and highlighted that there had been no disorder in the North Down area similar to that witnessed in other parts of Northern Ireland. The solicitor said his clients case was entirely different to those people who had appeared before court accused of rioting and other violent behaviour linked to the recent bouts of disorder. He characterised him as a perfect candidate for bail and insisted any risk police had about him using social media could be managed with a temporary prohibition on him using such platforms. Mr Booth further noted that Stitt had a granddaughter who was due to be born within the next 24 hours and he wished to be with his family for that event. Bail was refused and Stitt was remanded in custody to appear again before a judge on September 20. Police in Northern Ireland have arrested 43 people in connection with the recent disorder, with 34 having been charged to date. George Russell put Mercedes on top of the pile in practice for the Dutch Grand Prix. Russell, stripped of his victory at the last round in Belgium after his Mercedes was 1.5 kilograms underweight, finished 0.061 seconds clear of McLarens Oscar Piastri. Lewis Hamilton was third, a tenth slower than his Mercedes team-mate with Lando Norris, fastest in Fridays first running, fourth one place clear of home favourite Max Verstappen. FP2 CLASSIFICATION That's a wrap for Friday Bring on quali day!! #F1 #DutchGP pic.twitter.com/eEfwQytQf9 Formula 1 (@F1) August 23, 2024 Mercedes have won three of the past four races and Russells pace indicates they are set to be contenders again. The opening running on Formula Ones return to action after its traditional summer slumber was disrupted by rain and 50mph winds. However, the second session took place under clear skies with Russell underlining Mercedes speed. Verstappen will be cheered on by 105,000 fans as he bids for his fourth consecutive victory on home soil having dominated in Zandvoort since the sport returned to the coastal town in 2021. Weve bolted on the soft tyre and were back out in FP2. George goes P1 and Lewis goes P3 pic.twitter.com/WM2ikfJQj9 Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) August 23, 2024 But the Dutch driver did not trouble the top of the timecharts on Friday after he finished 0.284 sec behind Russell. Sergio Perez was 12th in the other Red Bull, nearly nine tenths back. The running was red-flagged early on when Nico Hulkenberg crashed out at the opening corner, while a number of drivers face investigations by the stewards. Aston Martins Lance Stroll had to slam on the brakes after Williams Alex Albon was released into his path in the pit lane with RBs Daniel Ricciardo also having to take evasive action following a near-miss with Saubers Zhou Guanyu. Ferraris Carlos Sainz was able to complete just seven laps after a gearbox failure ruled him out of the majority of the one-hour session. Households in Britain are set to face higher energy bills this winter with the regulator expected to increase the price cap after lowering it twice this year. Experts predict Ofgem will announce on Friday that the average household energy bill will rise by about 9% in October when the latest change takes effect. Energy consultants Cornwall Insight said it expects the typical households energy bill to rise to 1,714 a year, up from 1,568 currently, on October 1. The regulator sets the price limit based on several factors including wholesale energy prices the amount energy firms pay for gas and electricity before supplying it to households. It is updated every three months. It means households could be going into the colder months facing higher bills than they have had from April this year, when the price cap was lowered. Nevertheless, average bills remain considerably lower than during the peak of the energy crisis, which was fuelled by Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, driving up costs in an already-turbulent energy market. The expected 1,714 a year would be 120 less than the price cap in October last year, when it was 1,834. Cornwall Insight also said there is likely to be a further modest increase in January 2025, with more rises possible early in the new year due to escalating tensions in the Russia-Ukraine war. The price cap sets a maximum price that energy suppliers can charge consumers in England, Scotland and Wales for each kilowatt hour (kWh) of energy they use. It means it does not limit a households total bills, because people still pay for the total amount of energy that they use. The figures provided by Ofgem indicate what a household using gas and electricity, and paying by direct debit, can expect to pay if their energy use is typical. Earlier this week, Craig Lowrey, principal consultant at Cornwall Insight, said the announcement will not be the news households want to hear when moving into the colder months. (PA Graphics) Following two consecutive falls in the cap, Im sure many hoped we were on a steady path back to pre-crisis prices, he said. However, the lingering impact of the energy crisis has left us with a market thats still highly volatile and quick to react to any bad news on the supply front. Jess Ralston, head of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said bills in winter will be about 50% higher than they were pre-crisis on average. A lack of progress on energy efficiency and heat pumps means that our reliance on gas hasnt fallen much in recent years, despite the volatility in the international markets forcing bills to skyrocket, she said. With the removal of the winter fuel payment for some pensioners at the same time as bills going up, its likely that some will struggle and it remains to be seen if the Government will bring in measures to support those worst hit by the removal of winter fuel payment. The new Government decided to stop winter fuel payments for those who are not in receipt of pension credits or other means tested benefits. Previously, the payments of up to 300 had been available to everyone above state pension age. The Treasury said the changes would see the number of pensioners receiving the payments fall from 11.4 million to 1.5 million so just under 10 million would miss out. Jude Bellingham faces a spell on the sidelines through injury and could miss the start of Englands Nations League campaign. The Real Madrid midfielder has suffered a leg injury and reports in Spain suggest the 21-year-old will not be available until after the international break. A statement from the Spanish club on Friday read: Following tests carried out today on Jude Bellingham by Real Madrids medical team, the player has been diagnosed with an injury to the plantaris muscle in his right leg. His progress will be monitored. Nothing I hate more than missing games but trying to see the positive side and maybe my body is telling me it needs a bit more rest after a busy year. Im very frustrated but Ill be supporting the lads like a fan until I can rejoin them again in my best and strongest form. pic.twitter.com/HOdv3FCiUh Jude Bellingham (@BellinghamJude) August 23, 2024 Later on Friday, Bellingham posted on X: Nothing I hate more than missing games but trying to see the positive side and maybe my body is telling me it needs a bit more rest after a busy year. Im very frustrated but Ill be supporting the lads like a fan until I can rejoin them again in my best and strongest form. Thanks for your messages of concern and support. Lots of love and Hala Madrid! Real host Real Valladolid on Sunday and also have LaLiga games against Las Palmas and Real Betis ahead of the international break. England start their Nations League campaign under interim boss Lee Carsley away to the Republic of Ireland on September 7 before hosting Finland at Wembley three days later. The jury has retired to begin its deliberations in the trial of a group of Animal Rebellion protesters accused of causing thousands of pounds of damage to a Buckingham Palace fountain by releasing red dye into it. Louis McKechnie, 23, Christopher Bennett, 27, Riley Ings, 27, Claire Smith, 26, and Rachel Steele, 48, are on trial at Southwark Crown Court accused of causing 7,080 of criminal damage to the Queen Victoria Memorial water feature on August 26 2021. The prosecution say the dye not only turned the water red, but also stained the stonework of the fountain, and that CCTV footage shows a number of the protesters dyeing their hands red and then leaving hand prints on the stonework of the fountain. There is no dispute that red dye was in fact added to the water on that day and all of them have accepted that they intended for that water to be turned red to create the impression of a bloodbath, prosecutor Ailsa McKeon said in a closing speech on Friday. What they each deny is that they intended or were reckless as to causing any damage and in fact that damage was caused at all. The court heard previously that the fountain, which is cleaned once a month, received an emergency clean at an extra cost after the protest. Michael Robert Turner an assistant manager for Royal Parks at the time of the incident told the jury earlier in the week that the marble is porous and that there was a risk the dye would seep in and stain the stone if it was not immediately cleaned. Laura Stockdale, defending Steele and Bennett, argued that the dye was designed to be added to bodies of water, including fountains, and Royal Parks could have just left the red dye in the water to weaken as time passed. She said turning the water red did not interfere with the structure of the monument nor affect its value. The most that the Crown can sensibly say is that it affected the aesthetics, Ms Stockdale said. But members of the jury isnt that just subjective? Is that really damage? Shina Animashaun, defending Ings, McKechnie and Smith, made the same point that the dye was fit for purpose. Of his clients, he said: They came there to say just because you are a royal member of the family does not mean that you should have different responsibilities to us (in relation to the climate). Both defence barristers said their clients neither intended to cause damage nor were they reckless as to whether the Grade I-listed fountain would be damaged. The jury was sent out just after 1pm on Friday and will return to court on Tuesday at 10am to continue deliberations. Bennett, of Fish Ponds Road, Bristol, Ings, of no fixed address, McKechnie, of Claremont Road, Dorset, Steele, of Capworth Street, east London, and Smith, of Chadwick Street, Leeds, each deny one count of criminal damage. A man accused of plotting to kill a prosecutor by paying 5,000 to have him shot using a dark web site named Online Killers Market knew his alleged target from a local pub, a court has heard. Martin Ready, 41, denies charges of attempting to conspire to murder Darren Harty, 37, between May 29, 2021 and September 15, 2022 by setting up cryptocurrency accounts, using a dark web site, paying 5,071.24 in Bitcoin, and instructing for Mr Harty to be shot and where he could be found. Ready has lodged a special defence of lacking criminal responsibility. A joint minute of agreed evidence read to the jury at the High Court in Glasgow states Ready set up an account on the Online Killers Market website under the name HarryBrown, and that he set up accounts with two London-based cryptocurrency firms, and later transferred payment to the admin of Online Killers Market. On September 4, 2022 he downloaded an image of Mr Harty on to his mobile phone, which was shown to the court. Giving evidence on Friday, Mr Harty who works as a procurator fiscal depute, said he became aware of the police investigation during a work night out in September 2022, and said he was bewildered to hear of the alleged conspiracy. Mr Harty said he worked in his familys pub in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, until 2014 when he went to university, and that Ready would come in and order coffee. He was shown a photograph which was found on Readys phone, and told the court it had been his Instagram profile picture. Prosecutor Erin Campbell asked if he knew the accused. Mr Harty said: Yes I do. He used to come into the pub that I worked in many years ago in Coatbridge. Im also a friend of his cousin. Its my familys pub. He told the court he was stunned and shocked when police told him of their investigation into the alleged conspiracy. Ms Campbell said: Do you have any indication as to why Martin Ready would take steps to have you assassinated? Mr Harty said: Absolutely none whatsoever. Defending, Brian McConnachie KC asked Mr Harty if he could recall Ready drinking in the pub, during cross-examination. Mr Harty said: To my recollection he wouldnt ever drink alcohol. He would drink coffee. It was a busy bar and it was kind of irritating having to make the coffee. Mr McConnachie asked him if he knew two named families from Coatbridge, and Mr Harty said he was aware of them. He was asked if he had any involvement in money laundering for either family, and Mr Harty said: Absolutely not. The court heard the alleged plot was snared by an investigative journalist who was producing a documentary on the dark web, and who alerted the Met Police, who informed Police Scotland. Detective Sergeant Karen Murray, who led the investigation at Coatbridge CID, said Readys house was raided and his mobile phone was seized after the tip-off with the phone showing searches for a website, hire-a-hitman.pw with a webpage shown to the jury portraying a masked sniper. It offered a list of the most trusted killers at the top of the webpage, with Online Killers in the number one position, and advertised: Killing an important person with bodyguards, starting at 60,000 US dollars (46,000). A message sent by user HarryBrown in February 2022 titled Order: Simple shoot and run, described Mr Harty as an extremely soft target, adding: It should be a nice easy job. An exchange about Bitcoin transactions was shown to the jury, along with a conversation about social media sites belonging to Mr Harty showing his image. A report from September 5, 2022 showed 5,071.24 was paid into a Bitcoin account. Messages from a forum from the same month showed an exchange between users expressing interest in the commission, titled: UK job soft target $6k. Targets daily routine is known. Excellent strike point available. Target unaware of threat. Target is extremely soft. On September 15 a user, MrMortis, replied: The strike point is never decided by a customer, we always plan everything ourselves but lets discuss if still pending. On September 21, another user, Antibiotic, replied: Let me know details. We can do it. Police investigations suggested the website was fraudulent after a probe by experts based in Hertfordshire, the court heard. Mr McConnachie said: Do you know if it was a genuine website? Ms Murray replied: As far as Im led to believe it wasnt a genuine website. The court also heard of a letter sent from HMP Barlinnie in October 2022 in which Ready referred to spending time in a psychiatric ward, claimed he had been abducted in 2020, and that he would be making a special defence of being a f****** crackpot who thinks he was Jesus. It said: I was abducted off the street. I had lots of knowledge about my abductors because I had worked for them. The story I told was so wild that I was diagnosed with a delusional disorder. The trial continues before Lady Hood. The energy regulator has confirmed the average household energy bill will rise from October this year, which could mean homes across Britain are facing higher bills this winter. Ofgems price cap will rise by 149 from the current 1,568 a year for a typical household in England, Scotland and Wales to 1,717. Here, the PA news agency looks at why the price cap is going up and what people can do to mitigate the cost of their energy bills. (PA Graphics) What is Ofgems price cap? The energy price cap sets a maximum price that energy suppliers can charge consumers in England, Scotland and Wales for each kilowatt hour (kWh) of energy they use. The figures provided by Ofgem indicate what a household using gas and electricity, and paying by direct debit, can expect to pay if their energy consumption is typical. It is important to note that it does not limit a homes total bills because people still pay for the amount of energy they use so if it is above the average they will more, and if it below they will pay less. Energy is regulated separately in Northern Ireland. Why is the price cap rising? Ofgem said the main reason why it has decided to increase the cap is because of rising wholesale prices in the international energy market, which has been caused by heightened geopolitical tensions and extreme weather events. Jonathan Brearley, Ofgems chief executive, said international gas prices the gas that we buy to heat our homes and to make sure we have the electricity we need has gone up, and thats feeding through to our bills. Ultimately, while we are dependent on gas, we will be in this situation where prices go up and down, he told Sky News. What can I do to lower my bills? Mr Brearley said he was encouraging people to shop around to see if they can get a better deal on their energy tariff. For the first time in a long time, we are seeing some good value deals emerge, he said. Id encourage people to shop around and consider fixing if there is a tariff thats right for you there are options available that could save you money, while also offering the security of a rate that wont change for a fixed period. Martin Lewis, the founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, said people can and should save by switching their energy supplier, and consider a fixed-price energy tariff. The cheapest year-long fixes on the market right now are about 7% less than the new October price cap, but they might not be around long, he cautioned. Mr Lewis suggested that people look for the cheapest option for their use and location, and can use comparison sites to find and compare deals. Emily Seymour, the energy editor or Which?, said: Unfortunately, theres no one size fits all approach when it comes to fixing an energy deal as it will all depend on your individual circumstances. You should compare what your monthly payments would be on a fixed deal with what youd expect them to be if you remain with the price-capped variable tariff to see what the best option is for you. As a rule of thumb, wed recommend looking for deals around the price of the current price cap, not longer than 12 months and without significant exit fees. What support is available for me? Ofgem urged people to make the most of any state benefits they are entitled to, which could help with paying energy bills as well as the wider cost of living. Around 1.4 million pensioners are already receiving pension credit, but the Government estimates up to 880,000 further households are eligible for the support for those with a low income. People receiving pension credit qualifies them for the winter fuel payment worth up to 300, to help with bills. Previously, anyone over state pension age could receive the payment, but this was changed by the new Government, meaning about 10 million pensioners will miss out this year. Households should contact their energy supplier if they are worried about paying their bills (Andrew Matthews/PA) I think Im going to struggle to pay my bills, what can I do? People are encouraged to contact their energy supplier if they are worried about paying their bills. Energy companies are required to work with customers to agree on a payment plan they can afford, which could mean more flexibility over how and at what time people pay. They should take into account peoples income and outgoings, debts and personal circumstances, and an estimate of how much energy will be used in future, for which regular meter readings can help build a more accurate picture. Richard Lane, of debt charity StepChange, said it was a worry that a rise in the price cap may tip struggling households into deeper debt. He urged the Government to introduce targeted support for those who are struggling the most. Magistrates have been ordered to delay jailing criminals in a bid to ease prison overcrowding as the number of people behind bars hit a new weekly high. Court of Appeal judge Lord Justice Green, who is the deputy senior presiding judge for England and Wales, issued what is known as a listing direction to magistrates courts managers in the two countries, saying offenders likely to be jailed should have their sentencing hearings postponed until the Governments plans to free thousands of offenders early from prison come into force next month. The direction comes just days after emergency measures were re-activated in the north of England allowing defendants to be held in police cells and not summoned to magistrates court until a space in prison is available. The body representing magistrates described the move as another sticking plaster to hold our crumbling justice system together, while solicitors repeated calls for an urgent injection of funding to get a grip on the crisis. But the prison officers union said it could see no reason why justice should be delayed. As of Friday, the prison population in England and Wales stood at 88,234. This is the highest end-of-week number since weekly data was first published in 2011, according to analysis of Ministry of Justice (MoJ) figures by the PA news agency. (PA Graphics) The previous weekly high, reached on October 13 2023, was 88,225. The latest figure is higher than the peak reached in the aftermath of the 2011 summer riots, 88,179 recorded on December 2 that year. It is also more than 9,000 higher than three years ago, when it stood at 78,832 on August 20 2021. The highest number of prisoners in England and Wales ever recorded is 88,336, reached at the end of February 2024, separate figures for the monthly population size show. There is considerable concern among justice figures about what could happen over the coming weeks prior to prisoners being freed early, PA understands. Last month, Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced plans to cut the proportion of the sentence inmates must serve behind bars from 50% to 40%, as the MoJ said violence and self-harm in prisons had risen to unacceptable levels as overcrowding pushed jails to the point of collapse. The temporary move which does not apply to those convicted of sex offences, terrorism, domestic abuse or some violent offences is expected to result in 5,500 offenders being released in September and October. Issued on Wednesday with immediate effect, the judge said: The following direction is made in the context of the current challenges in our prisons, and order to assist the magistrates courts in the management of lists over the next few weeks pending the coming into force of the new early release arrangements which will begin to come into effect on September 10. Courts are responsible for the proper administration of justice. It is therefore appropriate that the judiciary have regard to the wider functioning of the criminal justice system. Secretary of State for Justice Shabana Mahmood (Lucy North/PA) Telling court managers to review all cases listed for sentence up to and including September 6 where the defendant is currently on bail, he added: Where it is assessed that a custodial sentence is a possible outcome, consideration should be given to rescheduling the hearing for the shortest possible period of time, but not earlier than September 10. Every case must be considered on an individual basis and decisions must be made on the basis of the interests of justice. It follows that this needs to be a careful process. Magistrates cannot ignore the listing direction or refuse to adopt it and court managers, government staff who are tasked with deciding when cases are brought before the courts, are bound by the orders from senior judiciary. The rules do not apply to crown courts, which deal with more serious criminal cases. The MoJ said the guidelines would not apply to high-risk offenders who were already on remand. Magistrates courts heard at least 1.26 million cases last year, up 8% on 2022, according to government data. Tom Franklin, chief executive of the Magistrates Association, said: Another day, another sticking plaster to hold our crumbling justice system together. While this measure may be necessary in the short term, things cant keep going on like this and we need a long-term plan and an injection of more resources at every stage of the justice process for recovery. Law Society of England and Wales president Nick Emmerson said: This is another clear indicator of the scale of the crisis in our justice system and there are no easy solutions after decades of neglect. The Government and judiciary are having to make difficult choices to try to mitigate the emergency in the short term. An urgent injection of funding is needed across our justice system. Otherwise, justice will continue to be delayed for victims and defendants. Mark Fairhurst, national chairman of the Prison Officers Association (POA), said: POA members do not arrest, investigate, charge, convict or sentence. We will, however, stand ready to accept those who are sent to us by the courts. We can accommodate anyone who is convicted, so we see no reason why justice should be delayed. Meanwhile Kingston-Upon-Hull Crown Court heard a grandfather bitten by a police dog during a riot had not had his bandages changed for 17 days due to prison overcrowding issues. Michael Campbell was worried it was becoming infected, and has been using a wheelchair and crutches to get around the prison, his lawyer told the court. The 56-year-old was jailed for 20 months after he used a bicycle to try and fend off the police dog during the August 3 disorder. The MoJ said: The new Government inherited a prisons crisis, and this is yet another sign of the pressures our justice system is facing. The changes coming into force in September will bring it under control. Independent judges decide when to schedule court hearings and do so in the interests of justice, including to ensure the effective operation of the criminal justice system. A 53-year-old man is due to appear in court charged with distributing written material to incite hatred. The man was detained at Belfast City Airport on Thursday by officers investigating recent public disorder in the city. He is to appear before a district judge at Belfast Magistrates Court later on Friday. Police have arrested 43 people in connection with the disorder, with 34 having been charged to date. David Barnes, right, has been imprisoned in Russia for more than two years based on a one-sided account of a joint custody battle that began in Montgomery County, Texas. Carol Barnes/Photo Courtesy David Barnes, right, has been imprisoned in Russia for more than two years based on a one-sided account of a joint custody battle that began in Montgomery County, Texas. Carol Barnes/Photo Courtesy David Barnes sisters Carol Barnes left, and Margaret Aaron, photographed Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022 in Huntsville, AL. Barnes, a Huntsville native who has lived in the Houston area in recent years, was taken into custody by law enforcement in Moscow in January and has been incarcerated in Russia ever since. Dennis Keim/Contributor For more than 940 days, my brother, David Barnes, an American citizen, has been imprisoned in Russia. He is an innocent man serving a 21-year sentence in a high-security penal colony a sentence based on a one-sided account of a joint custody battle that began right here in Texas. Davids ex-wife, Svetlana Koptyaeva, fled the U.S. in March 2019 with his two beautiful sons after a Montgomery County judge ruled that she would have to share custody in their divorce. She got the boys Russian passports and brought them to her native Moscow, even though Interpol had issued yellow notices for the two children a global alert for a missing person. Montgomery County prosecutors issued a warrant for Svetlana, accusing her of felony interference with child custody. For the sake of the children, David fought through COVID restrictions to fly to Russia, hoping to work out a visitation arrangement with Svetlana. On the advice of his lawyer, he even rented an apartment in the building where they were staying to make it easy on the kids. Advertisement Article continues below this ad But Svetlana would not have it. Using her connections in Russia, she had David arrested, tried and convicted of allegations of child abuse without any evidence. This wasnt the first time shed tried such allegations. During divorce proceedings, Svetlana accused David of sexually abusing their sons. But he fully cooperated with the investigation, and the Montgomery County District Attorneys Office, Sheriffs Office and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services each independently found no evidence to support the abuse claims. The Russian court system, however, disregarded those investigations. All of Davids court appearances were closed to the press and U.S. embassy officials. And Russian officials made no effort to contact Montgomery County officials to probe his ex-wifes unfounded claims. This has been hell for David and our family. His boys have not seen him in years. I know the families of the recently released detainees in Russia were in this same hell, and I am grateful that their families are now reunited and free from this horrible situation. No one should have to suffer from unjust detention. But what about David? He is crushed. He was left behind. Advertisement Article continues below this ad We keep asking our government what they are doing to help him. Previously, the State Department had told us that no prisoner trades would happen before the elections because the Russians would wait to see which presidential candidate wins. But after the news of the prisoner trade broke on Aug. 1, the State Department told us that the office we are working with was not even aware of the trade until after it happened. This does not give us confidence. More importantly, it does not look as though the U.S. will designate David a wrongful detainee, despite all the evidence that he is. We need that designation. It makes it clear that what is happening to my brother is unjust, and it brings additional support and attention to his case. All three of the American citizens who were released in the most recent exchange were designated as wrongful detainees. If David had that designation, would he have been included in the swap? It begs the question: Why isnt our government helping David? Isnt it here to protect and serve its citizens? Advertisement Article continues below this ad Around 7,000 police officers will be on duty at the Notting Hill Carnival this weekend, the Metropolitan Police have said, after eight people were stabbed at last years event. Around a million people are expected to take part in the annual west London celebration. Police officers were assaulted and 275 arrests made during the event in 2023, prompting politicians to call for changes. Workmen attach boards to windows of a shop (Aaron Chown/PA) Then-prime minister Rishi Sunak said violence during the event showed the need for police and the courts to be given tougher powers to tackle so-called zombie knives and machetes, and the Conservative Partys London mayoral candidate, Susan Hall, suggested the carnival be held in a park rather than along streets. Protective boards have been attached to some buildings in the area in anticipation. Commander Charmain Brenyah, the Mets spokesperson for the carnival, said the force had spent months planning with organisers. Having grown up not far from where carnival takes place, I have many happy memories, Ms Brenyah said. Sadly, however, we know that for a minority of people, carnival is an opportunity to commit crime or to seek out violent confrontation. As a police officer on duty in previous years, Ive seen both the carnival I experienced in my youth, but also the other side of the same event when, later in the day, the atmosphere changes in some parts, with floats and costumes giving way to serious violence. In the past two years there have been more than 500 arrests, 15 stabbings including one death, and more than 125 police officers assaulted. It is for that reason that anyone going to carnival will see a very significant policing presence, Ms Brenyah said. Met officers, who will be drawn from local policing teams as well as specialist units, will be supported by colleagues from the City of London Police and the British Transport Police, she said. Officers will be maintaining a vigilant presence in and around carnival in an effort to identify and intervene against anyone intent on committing violence. They will use their search powers where there are grounds to do so in order to take weapons off the streets. Performers taking part in the 2023 Notting Hill Carnival (Lucy North/PA) The events busy streets and dense crowds give sexual offenders more opportunities to target women and girls, Ms Brenyah said. We would urge anyone who is the victim of such an offence, or who witnesses it, to tell an officer as soon as possible so we can offer support and gather the best evidence. Once again this year, the charity Safer Spaces will be setting up zones across the event to provide a place of rest or refuge for women and girls. Anyone who, for whatever reason, does not feel comfortable approaching an officer can seek support from the Safer Spaces team. Organisers said previously they deplore all acts of violence and will continue to work hard with our partners to protect Notting Hill Carnival and the people who make it so special. The event is one of the longest-running street parties in the UK and celebrates Caribbean culture with vividly costumed performers taking part in a parade through the streets with dancing and music. Mikel Arteta has revealed talks over a new contract at Arsenal will take place after the transfer window shuts. Artetas current deal at the Emirates expires next summer, but the 42-year-old promised back in July there would be no issues over him signing fresh terms. No announcement has followed but the Spanish coach allayed any fears amongst supporters ahead of the trip to Aston Villa on Saturday. The focus has been on the transfer window. We had quite a lot of things to do and discuss. We are on it and we will take care of that in the right moment, Arteta said. When asked if talks would occur after the transfer window shuts, Arteta replied: Yeah. I am very grateful first of all for where Im sitting and the people I work with every single day because its really difficult to find that harmony, trust, belief and alignment in the vision. Its something I always mention because I believe we still have an unbelievable time ahead of us. Its very exciting and I am very excited about it. However, Arteta refused to be drawn on Arsenals pursuit of Real Sociedad midfielder Mikel Merino despite reports overnight that an agreement had been reached to secure his services. He said: No, I cannot talk about any player thats not with us. Theres still time in the market. Both ways. For all the managers, for all the teams here. You can see its getting very busy. I dont know (if) soon. The full focus is on the players that we have at the moment, the big match we have at Aston Villa and thats all. Arsenal have been linked with a move for Spain international Mikel Merino (Bradley Collyer/PA) Arteta is braced for surprises to happen during the final week of the transfer window, but claimed Eddie Nketiah would be involved at Aston Villa despite Nottingham Forest being eager to sign the forward. I expect Eddie to train with us today. To be prepared for tomorrow. Thats it. Whatever happens will happen if its good for everybody, Arteta added. You have to be ready and especially in the last week. You have to be alert and prepared because a lot of surprises can come, for many different reasons and we are prepared. One unexpected transfer could be Raheem Sterling after he was made surplus to requirements by Chelsea after two years at Stamford Bridge. Sterling worked with Arteta at Manchester City but the current Arsenal boss made clear he has not spoken with the England international. Raheem Sterling has also been linked with the Gunners (Adam Davy/PA) Asked if he had been tempted to call Raheem, Arteta pointed out: No, but I can talk about my time with Raheem. It was exceptional. We built a really strong relationship together. He was unbelievable at the time we were together and he taught me a lot as well. About individuals, how they play and how we give them support and help them. Hes someone I have a really strong feeling about. Takehiro Tomiyaso (knee) and Kieran Tierney (hamstring) remain sidelined for the clash at Aston Villa. Voters cast their ballots in the 2024 Maryland primary election in Chester, Maryland, on 14 May. Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images A coalition of anti-immigrant and election-denying activists called Only Citizens Vote Coalition has joined forces with the powerful rightwing American Legislative Exchange Council (Alec) to draft a model bill requiring citizenship for voting in all public elections. Non-US citizens are already forbidden from voting in federal elections, and could face felony charges and even deportation if they attempt to do so. All evidence suggests non-citizens rarely attempt to cast a ballot illegally. But as the 2024 general presidential election approaches, a group of Donald Trump allies among them, Only Citizens Vote Coalition have joined together to elevate fears of non-citizens voting. The claim, peddled by figures on the right from the Republican US House speaker, Mike Johnson, to the tech billionaire Elon Musk, stokes doubts about the US electoral process that Trump raised after losing the 2020 election. Related: Trump allies push bill to bar non-citizen voting, even though its already illegal It also provides a justification for draft legislation such as Alec has recently put forward, which voting rights advocates warn could make it harder to cast a ballot and result in large-scale purges that could remove eligible voters. [Theyre] just creating extra barriers with the real game of doing two things, in my opinion: one, creating doubt in the system as a whole, and; second, disenfranchising people, said TR Edwards, a staff attorney with the elections-focused Wisconsin group, Law Forward. Its not clear how certain aspects of the policy would affect voters. For example, the text of the model bill says that the state head of elections is required to confirm the citizenship status of voters by comparing voter rolls with the citizenship data available from the states department of motor vehicles and the Help America Vote Verification (Havv) information system maintained by the Social Security Administration. Anyone registering to vote through the DMV must already attest to being a US citizen, under penalty of perjury. But Jon Greenbaum, a voting rights attorney who has argued against proof-of-citizenship requirements for voting in Georgia, said the policy if adopted would probably require a higher standard of proof. Related: Millions of US voters lack access to documents to prove citizenship I dont think Alec is proposing that the attestation that people make on their application is going to be sufficient they want a document, said Greenbaum, noting that many eligible voters simply dont have documentary proof of citizenship, like a passport or birth certificate, on hand. It would end up disenfranchizing people, he added. The push to bring Alecs model bill to the states appears to have originated with Only Citizens Vote Coalition, a group that Cleta Mitchell, who assisted Trump in his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, helped found. Members of Only Citizens Vote Coalition presented at Alecs annual meeting at the end of July. According to an Only Citizens Vote Coalition newsletter, Mitchell; Chris Chmielenski, the head of the anti-immigration group Immigration Accountability Project; and Ken Cuccinelli, whose Election Transparency Initiative has advanced restrictive voting laws in the states, were among the coalitions key voices at Alec. Chairing the taskforce that adopted the model policy, Rolling Stone has reported, was a powerful pharmaceutical industry lobbyist illustrating the growing alliance between election deniers and corporate interests. Wisconsin state representative Scott Krug who has often pushed back against election denial in the state legislature also spoke there on behalf of Only Citizens Vote Coalition. Our speakers, the newsletter reads, were a BIG attraction at ALEC as they packed the room with over 150 legislators and other interested citizens teaching the OCVC mission and the details on how to get the mission done! Related: Arizona can demand some voters prove citizenship, US supreme court rules During Only Citizens Vote Coalitions weekly calls with local activists around the country, the groups leaders have claimed that US elections are vulnerable to mass fraud an idea that has long fueled the passage of restrictive voting measures. According to the groups official notes from a 15 August meeting, which the Guardian reviewed, Kerri Toloczko, a leader in Cleta Mitchells Election Integrity Network, told the group that she had evidence to suggest that 6% of non-US citizens cast ballots in the 2016 election. The idea that non-US citizens participated en masse in the 2016 election echoes Trumps long-debunked claims that millions of undocumented immigrants voted for Hillary Clinton, costing him the popular vote. Toloczko did not respond to a request for comment. Only Citizens Vote Coalition has introduced similar legislation at the federal level in the form of a bill called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (Save) Act, which would require people to provide proof of citizenship before casting a ballot a high bar to clear and one that many US citizens would probably struggle to meet, according to a 2024 analysis by the Brennan Center. My grandparents, for instance, might be a great example, said Edwards, of Law Forward. Both of them were born in the Jim Crow south. My grandmother did not have a birth certificate until she was like 30. Related: US House approves bill to ban non-citizens from voting in federal elections The Save Act cleared the House but will almost certainly not be approved in the Senate, which is controlled by a slim Democratic majority. Joe Biden has indicated that he would veto the legislation if it made it to his desk, writing in a statement that the bill would do nothing to safeguard our elections, but it would make it much harder for all eligible Americans to register to vote and increase the risk that eligible voters are purged from voter rolls. The Only Citizens Vote policy goes further than the Save Act, specifying that it would ban non-US citizens from voting in any and all public elections on any and all matters. The bill would prevent local governments from adopting rules that certain cities including Oakland; Takoma Park, Maryland; and Burlington, Vermont have passed allowing residents without full citizenship to participate in local elections. Joy Bramley at the church of St John the Baptist in Tideswell, Derbyshire. She said last winter was 'bitterly cold' One of Britains oldest churches has been left in the cold for nearly a year because the Church of England wants to install a green heating system. The church of St John the Baptist in Tideswell, Derbyshire has been without heating since October 2023 when three gas boilers broke during a flood caused by Storm Babet. Wardens at the Grade I-listed church known as the Cathedral of the Peak owing to its size and splendour said that their applications for new boilers had been rejected and deferred, despite no environmentally friendly alternative being available. They claim the diocese refused to replace the gas boilers, citing the CofEs goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2030, which requires all applications for new boilers to be submitted to the local diocese for approval. Parishioners told The Telegraph that the Anglican churchs unwillingness to err from the doctrine posed a grave threat to the historic church building as well as the spiritual and physical health of its elderly congregation. The months without heating have allowed damp to penetrate the church walls damaging carvings and books. The church of St John the Baptist has been without heating since October 2023 - Wellsie82/Moment Visitor numbers are down after previously hitting a high of 33,000 a year, and elderly congregants who have braved services wearing two coats and mufflers now face another winter sitting in the cold in the church. Churchwarden Peter Robinson, 79, told The Telegraph he made an emergency application to the Derby diocese, but a week or two before Christmas 2023 it was refused. Assistant churchwarden Mike Burrell, 75, said they had been instructed by diocese officials that the only way we could have gas boilers was if we made a case that explained there were no alternatives. Mr Robinson said they had looked into every aspect of heating, from biomass to solar to electric to air source. And of course, with the church being situated in the middle of a churchyard, ground source is really out of the question. Combined heat and power, you name it, weve looked into it. The wardens said they were told by National Grid that there was not enough power in the electricity cables which supply the village to install an electric heating system in the church. Despite this, Mr Burrell said their second application for new boilers was refused, with diocese officials insisting that if they speak to the Grid themselves they might get a different answer. The only comment that we got back was that they could identify somebody who could speak to the National Grid to get us more electricity, which was something we had to do before we submitted the faculty [application], he said. We are in a stalemate Joy Bramley, 92, from Buxton, Derbys, told The Telegraph: We are still in an absolute stalemate. Of course, what is concerning us all is the duty of care towards the parishioners. Quite a lot of them are over 80. I am 92. But we are more than concerned about the fabric of the church because it stood there for all these hundreds of years. Its now getting to look quite damp and its affecting some of the beautiful carvings. Mrs Bramley described last winter as bitterly cold. You should have seen us all: mufflers, two layers of coats, boots, socks. We did try to put little heaters into one or two pews but all they did was warm our toes slightly because the building is so vast, she said. People come to weddings and to funerals, and theyre all cold. Imagine going to a funeral, being frightfully sad and having to sit in a cold, cold church. Rebuilt between 1340 and 1400 in the late Gothic style, St John the Baptist dominates the skyline in Tideswell and is one of the most famous churches in Derbyshire. Mr Robinson said that, when the heating failed, the congregation decided that they wanted to stay in the church throughout the winter, even though it was cold. The impact was that the place was terribly damp and the organs failed at times, it was just difficult. His assistant added: We get visitors whove come from North America and Australia who, because its on the tourist map, want to come and look at it. However, with no heating the tourists have come in and gone out. Theyve not stayed, Mr Robinson said. Theyve obviously not enjoyed their visit. And, of course, we have reduced income over the winter period. The CofE has earmarked around 190 million to help all parts of the church reduce their carbon emissions. Some 30 million is being invested between 2023 and 2025 to develop the programme, including specialist advice within dioceses and packages of funding support. A spokesman for the Church of England said: The aim of the Church of Englands net zero programme is to be there to support and advise all. We would encourage any congregations who need advice to contact their diocesan net zero lead for help and support. The Diocese of Derby has been approached for comment. Telegraph writer Guy Kelly samples the traditional British grub on offer at Jeremy Clarkson's Oxfordshire pub - Heathcliff O'Malley Its said that a church can only be considered a megachurch when it easily and regularly commands a congregation of more than 2,000 worshippers. Turning to cast an eye over the seemingly never-ending queue of devotees that snaked from the front door of the Cotswolds newest pub or filling station, as its landlord is calling it on Friday morning, it was clear that for The Cult of Clarkson, that designation doesnt go nearly far enough. Their idol was opening a new temple; and boy were the masses thirsty to try it. Weve come from Langport, in Somerset. We got up at 6am to be here. We were never going to miss it, we just love Jeremy, says Chelsea Wills-Lock, 32, a finance manager. The first punters had arrived at The Farmers Dog from well before 8am on Friday morning. By 9am, there were hundreds. By 11am, an hour before the doors were unlocked, the queue seemed to stretch back halfway to Swindon. Team Clarkson were hardly unprepared: high-visd security teemed around to help with parking. An Amazon Prime filming crew were in place. And to entertain the acolytes, a new farm shop, an off-shoot of the main Diddly Squat emporium at Clarksons farm, some 10 miles away in Chadlington, was up and running from the crack of dawn, serving pints, fresh produce and merch in the marquee normally seen in The Grand Tour, Clarksons other show on Prime. Wills-Lock had come with her husband, Ollie, plus her uncle, Andy Card, and his wife Louise. I was always a fan of Clarksons, but I think hes helped the farming industry so much, to show the struggles they go through and how councils dont help. He should be so proud of that, Ive learned loads from it. Hopefully hell do the same for the pub industry now. They visited the farm shop last year, queueing for 3.5 hours to buy a few bits. The first punters had started queuing outside Clarkson's pub well before 8am - Heathcliff O'Malley A stroll past the queue illustrated the staggering breadth of Clarksons flock. One middle-aged woman had come from Boston, Massachusetts; her husband from Dubai. A Japanese tourist couple diverted their journey from London to Bath take in this new site. School support worker Bethan Ailing, as intense and devoted a follower as any, explained that shed recently had a Clarkson-themed birthday party in Peterborough. She is 28. The conceit of the pub, Clarkson has said, is that absolutely everything served is produced in Britain, from a co-operative of farmers and producers including his own Diddly Squat hes corralled over the last year. That strict no-import rule meant some sacrifices: theres no ketchup, no Coca-Cola, no coffee. The only exception is tonic water. Quinine isnt produced in this country, and he couldnt open a pub without gin and tonic. The menu, then, is traditional British fare. The snacks include sausage rolls and pickled eggs; the starters feature chicken liver pate, pressed ham and piccalilli; for mains theres sausage and mash, steak pie and gammon steak; for pudding its apple crumble and cheesecake. The wines are English, the ales on tap are from Hawkstone, Clarksons own range with Cotswold Brew Co. Going British meant spending more, he made a point of saying, but if he had a pound for every time a fan had suggested he call his ale Top Beer, hed have been able to offer it all for free. Throughout the morning, a trickle of Clarksons Farm arrivals, who came alone and wandered up to the pub sheepishly, titillated the crowd. Charlie! Oh my god, Charlie! GERRRRRRRALDD! Its. Oh damn whats her name again? Helps Lisa in the shop Guy Kelly joined the queue along with hundreds of Clarkson fans, some of whom had been up since the early hours to get there on time At some time after 10am, a papal-white Jaguar F-Type rolled into the carpark. Here he was. Its Jeremy! A thicket of camera phones raised in salute. Ailing moved up to the front, made a guttural sound, and demanded to know where he was going. When the time came, the fanfare was minimal. At midday, on the dot, Clarkson appeared and reiterated his central message: (almost) everything in the pub is British, but otherwise, its a nice day, grab yourselves a pint, grab yourselves some food And theres no traffic chaos All were welcome, aside from Sir Keir Starmer. The Prime Minister is barred until his government does better for farmers, Clarksons announced. Everybody else streamed in, under a vintage Massey Ferguson tractor suspended from the ceiling. That aside, the renovation of this gargantuan pub is relatively restrained. A darts board, billiards and hops hanging from the bar are nods to traditional country inns, but with this being on a roundabout, and with such fine produce coming through the kitchen, most will visit for a meal. And theyll get one. The sausage roll is outstanding, a lunch in itself. The pies pastry is thick enough to insulate a house, and contains a hearty, heady mix that scrimps on nothing least of all steak (dont ask for mustard, though, as that couldnt be sourced in Britain either, so its off, Or maybe Jeremy just didnt want it? Not sure a waitress advised). The carrots and beans paddle in butter, and remind you how delightful simple British veg can be. The crumble is as good as any. As you can perhaps deduce, a summer menu this is not. When the initial chaos had been brought to a simmer, with the terrace full of diners and the bar heaving with drinkers, Clarkson and his partner, Lisa Hogan, stepped outside, hand-in-hand, for a walk around and some light benedictions. Everything good? the new most famous landlord in the country asked the nearest table. Everything was fantastic, they replied, beaming. Click here to view this content. It marks quite the achievement. I decided last year that Id like to buy a pub, Jeremy Clarkson declared earlier this summer. So I called everyone I know who has one and they all said the same thing: the pub business is dying. Theyre closing at the rate of more than a thousand a year. You would have to be mad to buy one. Insane. The old scamps made a career from carefully-chosen hare-brained schemes, but here came the punchline anyway. So Ive bought a pub. The premises in question was The Windmill, a converted 15th century barn restaurant and event venue off a roundabout on the A40 near Burford. Clarkson purchased it last year for less than 1 million. From its vast terrace, which gazes across northern Oxfordshire, you could probably make out Diddly Squat. Clarkson bought 1,000 acres there in 2008, but started personally farming it more than a decade later, with Amazon Prime there to film every mishap, learning and local acquaintance. It won Clarkson a legion of new fans, saw him lauded by the agricultural community for drawing attention to the often grim and absurd realities of farming in Britain, and became Primes most-watched series ever. A farm shop followed, drawing thousands of tourists a week from all over the world to buy milk, meat, tea towels, and 22.50 scented candles called THIS SMELLS LIKE JEREMYS BOLLOCKS. Its turnover is around the same as the GDP of Belgium; its car park, to the chagrin of Oxfordshire County Council, is busier than the Trafford Centres. Well, those things are almost true. Of all people, Clarkson can surely forgive a little hyperbole. New landlord Jeremy Clarkson and his partner, Lisa Hogan, greeted visitors - Heathcliff O'Malley All of which is to say that while he is absolutely right to point out that opening a pub is freighted with uncertainty in a country where 29 boozers close every week, Clarksons recent success surely left him safe in the knowledge that if he built it or at least bought it, expanded the cellar, got rid of the dead rats in the roof, installed some state-of-the-art kit, made sure there was a 2,000-capacity overflow parking field, and finally renamed it The Farmers Dog then they would come. This is an area that bristles with outstanding food pubs, but Clarkson hasnt attempted to take them on not really. Its all very good, rather than brilliant. But this is day one, with nine trillion meals to serve and a film crew in the way. It hardly seems fair to judge. No, what Clarksons really done is open a new area in Clarksonland, a new megachurch for his disciples, and a way to make a very good point about the way we eat. Like everything else he touches, the people will flock to it. Maitlis interviews Prince Andrew on Newsnight about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein - Mark Harrington/BBC Emily Maitlis has claimed that no one will ever know whether the Duke of York is guilty of sex offences. The former BBC journalist said the question of whether she personally thought Prince Andrew had slept with his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, was one she had not articulated since she interviewed him on Newsnight in 2019. But as Ruth Wilson, the actress, prepared to play Maitlis in a new three-part drama depicting the circumstances surrounding the interview, she asked her directly what she thought. I have had plenty of occasions and more opportunity than most to consider Andrews guilt, but the question has always struck me as imprecise, Maitlis wrote in The Times. So I throw it back at Wilson. Guilty of what? She said the pair debated the issue, adding: I tell her there is no way I or anyone else will ever know the full truth of what happened with or to Virginia Giuffre, the trafficked Jeffrey Epstein victim who claims she was also abused by the royal. But he was clearly guilty of other things his continued friendship with Epstein after his arrest, his flat-footed response to the victims of sex trafficking. Maitlis said that the Dukes failure to express any regret over his friendship or empathy for his victims was not proof of Andrews own criminal behaviour. Instead, she said it told a story of power and unchecked privilege and perhaps it tells a story of what happens when our royals have no right of reply. Explore the essence of Andrew A Very Royal Scandal, released on Amazon Prime Video in September, tells the story of the Dukes disastrous Newsnight interview over three episodes. Maitlis said it would explore the essence of Andrew, the things he had taken for granted his whole life and how they had shaped him and maybe, ultimately, destroyed him. It will also take a broader look at the decisions made by the Newsnight team ahead of the interview and focus heavily on Maitliss role. The broadcaster revealed that Wilson wanted to know everything from what was in her handbag to whether she wore a dressing gown for breakfast. The writers also asked Maitlis how her children got to school and what she listens to when she is running. The fallout from the interview brought an abrupt end to the Dukes royal career. He has continued to insist that he has no recollection of meeting Ms Giuffre. Maitlis admitted that despite it all, he had impressed her with his willingness to tell his story. In an age of populism and duplicity, he had maintained a kind of old-fashioned valour that brought him to the wicket, as he might have said, she wrote. No pads. Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah. Both were confirmed dead following the sinking of the Bayesian superyacht Friends and family of Mike Lynchs 18-year-old daughter Hannah have said that for her to be taken on the precipice of her life is cruel beyond belief after her body was recovered from the Bayesian superyacht. A talented student, Ms Lynch scored 100 per cent in her English Literature GCSE and was a scholar at Latymer Upper School, in west London, where she was a regular prize-winner. She had won a place at the University of Oxford to read English and joined friends and family on the Bayesian to celebrate after receiving her A-level results last week. Colleagues, friends and business leaders all paid tribute to the teenager, describing her as charming and ferociously intelligent. Hannahs sister, Esme Lynch, described her as my little angel, my star and said: Hannah often burst into my bedroom and lay down with me. Sometimes beaming with a smile, sometimes cheeky, sometimes for advice. No matter what, she brought boundless love to me. She was endlessly caring, passionately mad, unintentionally hilarious and the most amazing, supportive and joyful sister and best friend to me. And on top of all this, she had even more love to give endlessly to all her friends and passion to give to her incredible studies and goals. She is my little angel, my star. Hannah Lynch 'combined sky-high intellectual ability with warmth and enthusiasm' Jon Mitropoulos-Monk, the head of English at Latymer Upper School, said: Ive never taught someone who combined sky-high intellectual ability with warmth and enthusiasm in the way Hannah did. She lit up the classroom with her energy, passion for learning and sheer intelligence, though never with a hint of arrogance. One of the best English students in the country, she scored 100 per cent in her English literature GCSE. By age 16, shed read Joyce, Faulkner and Nabokov. Beyond that, she devoured the writings of Angela Carter, Joseph Conrad and John Donne. She loved literature, learning and life. She was so excited to start studying English at Oxford, a goal she had worked so hard towards. When she got her place, she sought out every single member of the Latymer Upper English department to thank them individually and give them a hug. She achieved everything she did with extraordinary levels of grace and fortitude that few others can say they possess. I taught Hannah for four years. I will remember her for what she taught me kindness, compassion and commitment. Su Wijeratna, the headmistress of Latymer Upper School, said: Hannah was a remarkable young woman and a gifted student who was deeply loved by all of us here at Latymer Upper School. She had the brightest of futures ahead of her, and was so excited to be starting Oxford this year to study her beloved English. She was driven by a profound love of words that connected her to the world and her loved ones. As a community we are shocked and heartbroken over Hannahs death, and we send our thoughts and prayers to her family and all who knew her. Hannah Lynch was described as ' a remarkable young woman and a gifted student' Ms Lynch was one of three pupils in her year group of more than 150 to be awarded a prize for outstanding academic achievement last year. She also won Latymer Upper Schools public speaking and debating prize last year, and has previously won awards for poetry, English, religion and philosophy, and for short documentaries she produced. Her parents were frequent donors to the school, contributing to Latymers bursary fund in 2023, 2022 and 2021. Angelica Read, Ms Lynchs best friend, said: Hannah lived, loved, cared, thought and felt more deeply than anyone I have ever known. Growing up with her and being best friends has been the greatest privilege of my life. She had so much love for poetry and for the natural world, and I really believe she will live on in these things and in our hearts forever. Gracie Lea, a classmate, added: When I think of Hannah, I think of poetry, sunshine, and her beautiful eyes. She was easy to love sincere, dedicated, fiercely intelligent and genuinely kind. Ill always remember her smiling. Katya Lewis, a friend, said: The love Hannah had for everything she held dear was passionate and pure. She had a warm and beautiful soul. Being with Hannah made me feel whole and happy. She is the most special friend anyone could ask for, and I will always love Hannah. Patrick Jacob, a family friend added: Hannah was charming and ferociously intelligent with an insatiable thirst for life and knowledge. She was also warm, loving and deeply considerate; remarkably for her age. I am 50 years older than her, and in my life I have never met anybody like Hannah. We have lost one of our brightest stars whose future held so much promise. Her loss is unbearable. Click here to view this content. Specialist cave divers recovered Ms Lynchs body from the sunken 30 million superyacht on the fifth day of searching. She had joined her father, a UK tech tycoon, along with other guests to celebrate his court victory after he was acquitted of fraud in San Francisco. Jonathan Bloomer, the chairman of Morgan Stanley International and the insurance company Hiscox, and his wife Judy, a psychotherapist, died when Mr Lynchs superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily on Monday. Their deaths were confirmed on Thursday, along with those of Mr Lynch, Chris Morvillo, 59, a Clifford Chance lawyer, and his wife, Neda. Andrew Kanter, a close friend and colleague of Mr Lynch, said: Mike was the most brilliant mind and caring person I have ever known. Over nearly a quarter century, I had the privilege of working beside someone unrivalled in their understanding of technology and business. There is simply no other UK technology entrepreneur of our generation who has had such an impact on so many people. His passion for life, knowledge and all those around him was instantly inspiring to everyone he met, and he will be sorely missed. Sushovan Hussain, also a close friend and colleague, said: My wife and I are utterly devastated by the deaths of so many of our dear friends. No words can express our sorrow. I have known Mike for over 40 years, since our schooldays, and for most of that time our lives have been inextricably linked. I was thrilled when he was acquitted, and now his departure leaves an unfillable hole in my life. We have known Hannah since her birth, and for her to be taken on the precipice of her life is cruel beyond belief. Our hearts bleed for Angela and her remaining daughter. Steve was by my side for many years, and I had the honour of calling him, Jonathan, Judy and Chris my good friends. It is truly impossible to fathom how they can all be gone over such a short period. It is tragic beyond words. Fifteen of the 22 passengers and crew on board, including Mr Lynchs wife, Angela Bacares, were rescued by emergency crews after the yacht suffered catastrophic damage following a waterspout. A spokesman for the Lynch family said they were devastated, in shock and being comforted and supported by family and friends. Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy. The spokesman added: They would like to sincerely thank the Italian coastguard, emergency services and all those who helped in the rescue. Their one request now is that their privacy be respected at this time of unspeakable grief. Money Germany is planning to pay Afghan criminals to return to their home country as it takes a tougher stance on migration. Berlin said it intends to give convicted criminals from the South Asian country travel money in an effort to clear the legal hurdles preventing deportations. Since a police officer was killed by an Afghan migrant in June, Germany has been pursuing a more hard-line policy on deportations. The government said it would consider deporting Afghan migrants who pose a security threat. However, the move has been controversial because Germany does not repatriate people to countries where they are threatened with death, and stopped deportations to Afghanistan after the Taliban took power in 2021. One legal hurdle is the argument that asylum seekers would suffer extreme poverty in their home country. Financial travel assistance Germanys interior ministry said that it was examining how to create the operational and legal conditions for deportations to Afghanistan, adding that the payment of financial travel assistance can serve to create such legal conditions. How much cash will be offered will be determined by state authorities, under whose jurisdiction deportations usually fall. Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, announced that he wanted to restart deportations of hardcore criminals after a 25-year-old originally from Afghanistan severely injured six people at an anti-Islam event in Mannheim. A policeman died from his injuries. Unease about high levels of criminality among asylum seekers has seen the popularity of the anti-migrant AfD party soar over the past year, despite Mr Scholz repeatedly assuring voters that he will make deportations a priority. Several hundred Afghans are reported to be serving sentences in German jails. Berlin has said it would only deport criminals convicted of violence or those considered a terror threat. The move has been criticised by rights groups, which say that deportees would face the threat of torture and abuse upon their return home. But a report that Afghan refugees have been secretly going home for holidays has further inflamed the debate in Germany. RTL, a broadcaster, reported in July that tourism companies were offering Afghans the opportunity to go back home via Iran. Their entry visa to Afghanistan can be stamped on a loose piece of paper that can be discarded before they return to Germany, RTL claimed. Joachim Stamp, Berlins migration commissioner, said that he was furious about the news. US Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris Those in President Bidens entourage who persuaded him to hold that TV election debate with Donald Trump in June, months before such a thing was required, are unsung geniuses. By revealing to the world that their principal was not up to another four years in the Oval Office, they fooled Trump into thinking that he had won already. His triumphant party convention in July proceeded on the false premise that Biden, no matter how enfeebled, would be the Democratic nominee. Days after it, the Democrats had Biden out. Trumps selling point had been that he could stop Biden. Now the Democrats had done the job for him, making him seem semi-redundant (and suddenly old). I admit that I may be wrong about the cunning of Bidens advisers. It is possible they had fooled themselves that the president would be all right on the night and did not plot against him. If so, they fell far below the normally high standards of American political guile. But, in terms of the consequences, it matters not, as lawyers like to say. The wind has suddenly dropped from Trumps sails. What now confronts the greatest negative campaigner in American political history? Kamala Harris. She is a problem for him. On the basis of her acceptance speech in Chicago on Thursday night, I would say she is placing herself well, and I write that as someone who had never before noticed anything much to be said in her favour. First of all, the speech was quite accomplished. She managed the crowd well, with the right pauses, gestures, facial expressions and changes of volume, and without that famously inane laugh. She knows how to make her voice husky with emotion. She was confident, but not arrogant. She looked elegant, but not showy or too rich. Her words were carefully chosen. Take, for example, her praise for Joe Biden. His presidency had been inspiring, she said, as history will show. Clever to get in the point that the poor man is now history. Take also her avoidance of the Hillary Clinton message eight years ago that it was Americas duty to elect a woman (her) as its president. Ms Harris seems to prefer the Margaret Thatcher tactic of rejoicing in her sex but not claiming political power as a female right. Such a claim still puts off many male electors and some traditionally minded women ones too. In a similar spirit, Ms Harris praised Americas armed forces as being the most lethal fighting force in the world. That choice of the word lethal surely contained the subliminal message that she, a woman, can be the tough guy. She was strong against Vladimir Putin and for Ukraine. On Gaza, she described Hamas as a terrorist organisation which may be why the BBC, which cannot bring itself to use the T word, seems rather underwhelmed by her speech. American politics is obsessed with the idea of having a story and a journey. Kamala Harris related hers in an interesting way. She played the ethnicity card, but with restraint. Trump has said, nastily but accurately, that she is not black. She did not say she was, only that her mother was brown (her word) and her father Jamaican. Her mother had refused an arranged marriage in her native India and come to California with the dream of improving womens health. On immigration, for which Ms Harris has been so much criticised, her rhetoric was conservative, promising a Border Security Bill and praising the earned pathway to citizenship, rather than any automatic right. Her mothers was the journey and Kamalas story, one might say, is the proof of arrival as an American. Ms Harriss thirst for justice, she explained, took the very American form of becoming a lawyer. She played with the fact that all her prosecuting cases were expressed as Kamala Harris, for the People (the equivalent of the British legal formulation of Rex or The King): I only had one client the People. Adapting the old phrase from log cabin to White House, Kamala the prosecutor said she was moving from the courthouse to the White House. It was a bold attempt especially as she has not yet reached the White House to romanticise her own little-loved profession. It is also, of course, her way of attacking Trump. In the great American republic of laws, she was implying that he is the outlaw. She is Kamala Harris, for the People: he is Donald Trump, for just Donald Trump (and his billionaire friends). She believes in the peaceful transfer of power: he, when he lost last time, sent an armed mob. She advances the legal rights of women, veterans, home-owners etc against banks, cartels and other villains: he has been found guilty of fraud and liable for sexual abuse. She, using a phrase very like that often used by Sir Keir Starmer during our general election, puts country above party and self: Trump is the favoured candidate of the worlds dictators because, she says, he wants to be an autocrat himself. Trumps supporters are out there every day denigrating America, said Ms Harris. And she? I love our country with all my heart. She is the future, he the past. She invited her audience to write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told. I am not saying that everything in her speech or even most of it was true. It involved a very artfully worked out avoidance of her more Leftist and sectarian positions on many social issues and her extreme vagueness on taxing and spending. It was a shameless pitch for respectability even praising working-class people who tend their lawns silently departing from the woke preoccupations of her failed candidacy in 2020. Kamala may well be Shamala. But I am saying that her arrival and her speech make life harder for the Republicans. Until last month, Trumps party thought that they would be fighting an election against the tired, old candidate rather gloomy, borderline sleazy of a tired, old Democratic establishment. Now they have to explain why America needs a 78-year-old president with what the Old Bill used to call a record as long as your arm, when they could have a much younger, more optimistic woman with a social conscience. Trumps slogan is Make America Great Again, but his attitude to the state of his country is better expressed in the phrase he repeated in his 2017 inauguration address, American carnage. It is notable, in both the United States and Britain, that the current leaders of the Left are former prosecutors. Both see their legal work as the model for what they want to do in politics. All my instincts tell me that is a bad model because it implies the false possibility of a perfect society in which rightly-guided politicians hunt down their opponents as malefactors. It is essentially intolerant. In love with the purity of law, it wrongly assumes the purity of lawyers. But when Kamala Harris takes her stand on the almost uniquely central position of the law in the life and spirit of America, conservatives need to find a way of answering her. It is extremely hard to see how Donald Trump can be that answer. Even in Britain, where the law has traditionally been at a greater remove from political contestation, the same trend is observable. Whoever is to lead a conservative, or Conservative, revival needs intellectual depth and political subtlety to escape this trap which the Left is trying to set. Junior doctors take part in a rally outside Downing Street as members of the British Medical Association You can hardly blame the trade unions. Its their job to fight for better wages and conditions for their members. Criticising a union for demanding pay rises is like criticising traffic wardens for issuing parking tickets: its what they do, its what theyre there for. We can all accept that. Where it becomes more complicated is in the response to such pay demands by the government of the day. It hardly needs stating that even at the best of times, no government can afford to slide a blank cheque across the desk to union leaders negotiating on behalf of public sector workers. And these are not the best of times. Looming over every spending decision the chancellor has to make is the shadow of the Covid lockdowns, an unprecedented (and, let us hope, one never to be repeated) economic disaster where workers in both public and private sector were paid for weeks on end to stay at home doing nothing. Even at the time it was clear that Britain might never fully recover from this largesse, that our children and grandchildren would have to endure unthinkable levels of austerity as a consequence of decisions taken without sufficient forethought in the midst of a pandemic. And, let us remember, if the government of the day came in for criticism at the time, it was because the lockdowns werent long enough, that schools were allowed to return too soon, that not enough money was being made available to keep the economy in aspic for longer. Yet we had hardly emerged from that desperate period when the same people who had demanded longer, more expensive lockdowns were demanding vast increases in compensation for public sector workers. At some point those two conflicting worldviews were going to collide. And now they have. The trade unions have their tails up. Barely two months into this new Labour government (as opposed to the New Labour government of blessed memory), they have every reason for optimism that the days of austerity the label given by the Left to any economic regime that doesnt give everyone exactly what they want, when they want it are finally over. Train drivers and junior doctors have had their mouths stuffed with gold in exchange for halting their industrial action; in the case of the train drivers, the extra cash was not enough to prevent further strikes on LNER, which serves the east coast main line. In advance of its biennial seaside gathering, the Trades Union Congress is gearing up to launch its latest bid to restore public sector pay to 2011 levels, a demand that would cost more than 50 billion to meet. Assuming that even this government will be reluctant to open the purse strings that far, shattering any aspiration to follow a responsible fiscal programme and re-enacting the grim drama of the late 1970s, we can expect even more disruption to our local services. And where would that leave Keir Starmers government? Its honeymoon period, such as it was, has already faded in a frenzied whirlpool of anger over pensioners losing their winter heating allowances and allegations of cronyism and two-tier policing. The last thing ministers want is a fresh confrontation with the Brothers (and Sisters) over the pay of local government and health service workers. On top of unrealistic pay demands, we are about to see the reappearance of an old, once-familiar sacred cow of the trade union movement: a demand for the repeal of all of Margaret Thatchers anti-trade union legislation. Matt Wrack, general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, which is no longer affiliated to Labour, will use his turn as president of the TUC this year to demand a return to the good old days when a bunch of blokes in donkey jackets standing around in car parks could take a factory out on immediate strike with a mere show of hands. This absurd practice was binned in the 1980s and no sensible government of either stripe has countenanced reversing that ban. But then along came Keir Starmers government and repealed the Conservatives latest Trade Union Act, which had imposed a requirement that at least half of all union members must support strike action before it could go ahead. You can see why Wrack is suddenly optimistic that other hated bits of legislation could go the same way. Oddly, the one thing missing from this latest round of muscle flexing by the unions is any reference to the plight of private sector workers. One might conclude that the public sector, which depends on the efforts of private sector workers (or on borrowing) for its running costs, is union leaders only priority. Yet private sector workers jobs are less secure, their wages are often significantly less than in the public sector, and their pension plans, where they exist, are far less generous than public sector provision. Ministers will be relieved that they dont need to fight on both fronts; militancy in the public sector is enough for one day. But that day is going to be a difficult one indeed. It was the unions who funded a large part of Labours election campaign, who still fund large numbers of Labour MPs local campaigns. Its only fair that they should expect some payback. That the country is a million miles from being able to afford their demands is a problem for ministers and for tax-payers, not the trade unions. Millennium-old porcelain capital in China embraces new vitality People's Daily Online) 10:38, August 23, 2024 Known as the millennium-old "porcelain capital" of China, Jingdezhen city in east China's Jiangxi Province has transformed from a ceramic manufacturing powerhouse into a "cultural and creative capital" in recent years, exuding new vitality. With more than 2,000 years of ceramic-making history, over 1,000 years of official kiln history and over 600 years of imperial kiln history, Jingdezhen has a complete porcelain industrial chain and a rich cultural heritage. Ceramic "gene bank" Two years ago, the world's first "gene bank" of ancient ceramics was inaugurated in Jingdezhen. The "gene bank" mainly collects ceramic specimens in fragment, section, slice and powder forms, and traces information of these ceramic specimens. Photo shows typical specimens in the "gene bank" of ancient ceramics in Jingdezhen city, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Kong Wenjin) Thanks to the application of modern sophisticated equipment, at least 100 pieces of information can be extracted from just a piece of ancient ceramic fragment, Tong Yuting, a researcher told People's Daily Online. Nearly 20 million pieces of ceramic shards have been processed into specimens and incorporated into the "gene bank." Weng Yanjun, head of the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum, said the "gene bank" has collected data on over 2,000 pieces of physical specimens. It has also developed and used robots to accelerate the processing of ceramic specimens. Studying the data collected by the "gene bank" helps restore the firing process and raw material formula of ancient ceramic specimens, Weng noted. The information can be used to build elaborate models for exhibitions, cultural relic protection and 3D printing. The information can also offer science-based support for the development of ceramic cultural products, Weng added. Welcoming entrepreneurs and artists Jingdezhen has become a magnet for young entrepreneurs. At present, more than 60,000 people from other places, including foreigners, have settled in the city. Jiang Huanxi came to Jingdezhen and started his business after he graduated from college in 2019. "The cost of starting a business here is low, while new graduates from universities and colleges who start businesses here are offered one-off grants, interest-free loans, and other favorable policies," Jiang said. Today, Jiang owns his own studio in the city. People visit the Taoxichuan Ceramic Culture Creative Park in Jingdezhen city, east China's Jiangxi Province. (Photo courtesy of the publicity department of the Communist Party of China Jingdezhen municipal committee) "Young entrepreneurs require relatively low startup costs and a friendly environment. It's crucial to provide them with relevant industry policies and supportive policies, as well as affordable housing and living costs," said He Ding, an associate professor at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture. He added that Jingdezhen's fascinating historical culture and open and inclusive cultural foundation are fundamental to attracting and retaining young entrepreneurs. Together these entrepreneurs and the cultural foundation continuously spur the city's development. Jingdezhen has also drawn artists from around the world, with the Taoxichuan International Art Center in Taoxichuan, a cultural and creative block, receiving over 3,000 domestic and international artists. The influx of artists and young people has not only injected vitality into the city, but also changed the city's rhythm and optimized its entrepreneurial environment, accelerating the modern transformation of the millennium-old porcelain capital, said Zhang Jingjing, dean of the International School of Jingdezhen Ceramic University. Tourism boom Additionally, Jingdezhen has attracted both domestic and foreign tourists. The creative market in Taoxichuan, with over 500 stalls selling a variety of ceramic handicrafts, has become a cultural and tourism landmark in the city. As the night descends every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the creative market buzzes with a constant flow of visitors. Tourists select products at the creative market in Taoxichuan, a cultural and creative block in Jingdezhen city, east China's Jiangxi Province. (People's Daily Online/Shi Yu) Jingdezhen's ability to attract throngs of tourists and enjoy brisk sales of ceramic products is inseparable from its millennium-old ceramic cultural heritage and innovation, said Sheng Jingjing, head of the culture, radio, television and tourism bureau of Jingdezhen. During this summer holiday, Jingdezhen has once again seen a peak in visitor numbers, with the Jingdezhen China Ceramics Museum alone receiving over 60,000 tourist visits in the first week of the holiday. Jingdezhen will further integrate culture and tourism, promote industrial upgrading, and establish itself as a world-renowned destination for ceramic culture and tourism, thus breathing new life into the development of the millennium-old porcelain capital, Sheng added. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) The Texas Department of Public Safety says it will no longer allow transgender Texans to change the sex on their drivers license even if they have a state court order. Yi-Chin Lee/Staff photographer The Texas Department of Public Safety recently announced that it will no longer allow transgender Texans to change the sex on their drivers license even if they have a state court order. This decision to ignore court orders is a disgusting affront to the separation of powers that has kept our democracy strong for hundreds of years. Our state and federal republics operate on the foundational principle that the judicial branch, not the executive branch, has exclusive authority to say what the law means. Snubbing that principle, Sheri Gipson, chief of DPSs Driver License Division, emailed her division last week to advise that, effective immediately, DPS will not accept court orders that would result in changing a sex marker on a Texas drivers license or other government identification stating this as if she or anyone else in Texass executive branch has the authority to decide which judicial interpretations of Texas law they will and will not accept. This brazen rebuke of the rule of law hearkens back to one of the worst constitutional crises in our nations history. In 1832, the Supreme Court held that Georgia had violated the U.S. Constitution by convicting several Christian missionaries, including Samuel Worcester and Elizur Butler, of the crime of living on Cherokee Nation land without the state of Georgias approval. (The missionaries supported Cherokee sovereignty, which Georgia was fighting.) Advertisement Article continues below this ad Unfortunately, President Andrew Jackson described the courts holding as still born because the Supreme Court lacked the muscle to coerce Georgia to yield to its mandate. Worse still, Jackson felt no compulsion to take care that the federal laws be faithfully executed, as the Constitution requires, so he stood back and did nothing as Georgia Gov. George Gilmer kept Worcester and Butler imprisoned long after the Supreme Court had vacated their conviction. (Supreme Court Chief Justice) John Marshall has made his decision, Jackson scoffed (perhaps apocryphally). Now let him enforce it! Thankfully, in similar circumstances, President Dwight D. Eisenhower was more level-headed. In 1957, when Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus refused to integrate Little Rock Central High School in response to the Supreme Courts ruling in Brown v. Board of Education that state segregation of schools was unconstitutional, Eisenhower federalized the Arkansas National Guard and sent them to take care that the laws be faithfully executed. At his command, troops descended on the school and ushered the Little Rock Nine into desegregated classrooms. Eisenhower recognized that, in the immortal words of Chief Justice Marshall in Marbury v. Madison, it is emphatically the province and duty of the judicial department to say what the law is. This week, DPS rejected Eisenhowers sensibility and respect for the rule of law in favor of Jacksons reckless disregard for the separation of powers. When a state court judge orders that a Texans sex be corrected, that order is not optional. An agency like DPS cannot ignore a state court judges interpretation of Texas law just because that agency does not like it. Neither Gipson, DPS Director Steven McCraw, Attorney General Ken Paxton nor Gov. Greg Abbott all members of our states executive branch get to decide what Texas law means. Texas judges do. If Paxton, as attorney general, actually cares about upholding the rule of law, he should stop suing the federal government for a moment and force DPS to follow the law in his own backyard. DPS counters that it need not follow state court orders to which it was not a party. Thats wrong. In Cooper v. Aaron, the Supreme Court confirmed that Arkansas must desegregate its schools even though it was not party to Brown, which only concerned school districts in Kansas, South Carolina, Delaware and Virginia. The separation-of-powers principle underlying Cooper is even more explicit in the Texas Constitution than it is in the federal Constitution. Moreover, DPSs action is a cut-and-dried violation of Texas Administrative Procedure Act. That act requires that state agencies like DPS follow rule-making procedures such as notifying the public of proposed rules and providing an opportunity for public comment on proposals. DPS followed no such process here, instead adopting a new procedure carrying the force of law as if DPS were the legislative branch under cover of darkness. Last March, a Texas appeals court in Austin thwarted a similar attempted power grab by the Department of Family and Protective Services. With this drivers license policy, not only is DPS flouting Texas law and bedrock democratic principles, but it is doing so at the expense of our neighbors. Trans women are women, and trans men are men. When our states executive branch officials refuse to allow transgender Texans to accurately identify their sex, it can hurt them. Transgender Texans risk their gender dysphoria rearing its head every time they pull out their drivers license, leading to anxiety, depression or worse. Letting our neighbors change a single letter on a small piece of plastic would mitigate these harms without affecting anyone or anything outside of their wallets and purses. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Labour won a landslide 167-seat majority at the general election - Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images Labour voters would rather back Reform UK than the Conservatives, a survey has found. A poll of more than 1,000 Labour voters revealed that many would have picked Nigel Farages party ahead of the Tories at the general election. The Liberal Democrats were the most popular second-choice party, with 36 per cent selecting them. They were followed by the Greens, on 22 per cent, and Reform, on 14 per cent. Just 6 per cent of respondents said they would have voted for the Conservatives as their second choice in July. Labour won a landslide 167-seat majority and the Lib Dems also made big gains, winning 61 seats, while Reform picked up five. The survey, carried out in August by Arden Strategies, quizzed a nationally representative sample of 1,004 Labour voters. Its findings would appear to support claims by Mr Farage that Reform is a more credible party of opposition than the Tories, who lost 244 MPs. The Conservatives also had lower net favorability than Reform, scoring -70 among Labour voters compared to -50 for Mr Farages party. After Labour, Plaid Cymru was the most popular UK party, followed by the Lib Dems and the Greens. However, the surveys findings will also serve as a warning for Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, ahead of an autumn Budget in which she is widely expected to raise taxes to pay for a surge in government borrowing. Of those quizzed, 49 per cent said the Government should be cautious about raising taxes, while 58 per cent saying it should be cautious about borrowing to invest. Richard Tice, Reform UKs deputy leader, said: Its no surprise that Labour voters would consider voting for Reform. Traditional, socially conservative Labour voters are very anxious about large-scale immigration and stopping the boats. The situation is unfair on hard-working, tax paying ordinary folk, and Reform is the only opposition party that will hold the Government to account. The survey also showed a broad consensus of support among Labour voters for the Governments plan to fix the NHS. Eighty-six per cent agreed it should invest more money in the health service, while 49 per cent said it was the most important of the Governments five missions. However, respondents were divided on how this should be achieved, with votes split evenly on plans by Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, for the private sector to play a greater role in patient care. The survey showed that Ms Reeves decision to cut the winter fuel allowance for an estimated 10 million pensioners was the policy respondents had noticed the most since Labour came to power. Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary, announced the early release plans for next month - Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Magistrates have been told to stop jailing convicted criminals until next month to help tackle the prison overcrowding crisis. Lord Justice Green, one of the countrys most senior judges, has advised magistrates courts to delay sentencing offenders on bail and likely to be jailed until at least Sept 10. The pressure on jails is expected to ease from that date when some 2,000 prisoners will be released early, under plans announced last month by Shabana Mahmood, the Justice Secretary. It will be followed by the release of up to 1,700 more prisoners on Oct 22 under the scheme where offenders are freed 40 per cent of the way through their sentences rather than half way. The moves are expected to free up some 5,500 prison spaces. Spare places in mens closed prisons dropped to just 300 earlier this week, sparking the introduction of emergency measures, known as Operation Early Dawn, where police had to hold suspects in their cells and could only send them to court once a prison space became available. Pressure is expected to ease over the weekend because of scheduled releases this week but the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is on alert for any surge in arrests due to violence over the August bank holiday weekend. It has been the date when MoJ planners have warned the jails are most likely to run out of spaces. Spare places in men's 'closed' prisons dropped to just 300 earlier this week - Andrew Aitchison/Getty Images In his listing direction to magistrates, Lord Justice Green, an appeal court judge who is also the deputy senior presiding judge, said the courts were responsible for the proper administration of justice [it] is therefore appropriate that the judiciary have regard to the wider functioning of the criminal justice system. As a result, he said that where it is assessed that a custodial sentence is a possible outcome, consideration should be given to rescheduling the hearing for the shortest possible period of time, but not earlier than Sept 10. Lord Justice Green emphasised that every case must be considered individually, and decisions must be made upon the basis of the interests of justice and that the process needs to be a carefully conducted exercise. MoJ sources said defendants deemed to pose the most significant risk to the public would already be on remand in custody and the guidance did not apply to them. Courts could also impose stringent conditions for offenders released on bail while they awaited sentencing. An MoJ spokesman said: The new Government inherited a prison crisis, and this is yet another sign of the pressures our justice system is facing. The changes coming into force in September will bring it under control. Independent judges decide when to schedule court hearings and do so in the interests of justice, including to ensure the effective operation of the criminal justice system. However, Tom Franklin, the chief executive of the Magistrates Association, told The Times: Every delay in magistrates work adversely affects the timely delivery of justice and impacts victims, witnesses and defendants. He said the move seemed to be the latest sticking plaster to try to get through until the big release of prisoners on Sept 10 but just highlights the crisis that the justice system is in. A fire service diving team heads to the rescue site on the fifth day of the Bayesian search and recovery operation - Jonathan Brady/PA A manslaughter investigation into the sinking of the Bayesian superyacht is being considered by Italian authorities, according to reports. The prosecutors office of Termini Imerese is making inquiries into why the luxury yacht capsized off the coast of Porticello at about 5am on Monday, a source close to the prosecution team said. The team, led by Ambrogio Cartosio, is looking into offences of shipwreck and multiple counts of culpable homicide against an unknown person, similar to manslaughter charges in the UK, according to Palermo Today. The prosecutors office has announced a press conference for Saturday morning, with more details expected to be released then. It would not confirm the investigation to The Telegraph. The body of Mike Lynch, the UK tech entrepreneur, was believed to be among five bodies initially recovered from the wreckage. A sixth body was discovered on Friday morning and is believed to be that of Hannah Lynch, Mr Lynchs teenage daughter. Fifteen of the 22 passengers and crew on board, including Angela Bacares, Mr Lynchs wife, were rescued by emergency crews after the yacht suffered catastrophic damage during a storm. The group had been invited on board to celebrate Mr Lynchs court victory after he was acquitted of fraud in San Francisco earlier this summer. Prosecutors are expected to investigate whether the yachts keel played a role in the sinking after divers found it partially deployed, prompting questions about the stability of the vessel at the time of the sinking. They will also examine whether the crew failed to close access hatches. Previous reports suggested that the sinking occurred in 60 seconds, giving the crew little time to respond. Giovanni Costantino, the founder and chief executive of the Italian Sea Group, which owns the Perini Navi shipyard where the Bayesian was built, has defended the yachts construction and blamed human error for the disaster. He claimed the crew of the doomed vessel had up to 16 minutes to avert disaster. Mr Costantino told The Financial Times: The torture lasted 16 minutes. It went down, not in one minute as some scientists have said. It went down in 16 minutes. You can see it from the charts, from the AIS [Automatic Identification System] tracking chart. The captain should have prepared the boat and put it in a state of alert and of safety, just like the boat [the Sir Robert Baden Powell] anchored 350 metres away, which was built in 1957 and handled the [weather] event brilliantly. Giovanni Costantino described the superyacht as virtually "unsinkable" Mr Costantino claimed the Bayesian was one of the safest boats in the world and was virtually unsinkable. He told the Corriere della Sera newspaper: The passengers reported something absurd, that the storm came unexpectedly, suddenly. That is not true. Everything was predictable. Ask yourself why were none of the Porticello fishermen out that night? A fisherman checks the conditions and a ship doesnt? The disturbance was completely readable on all the weather maps. It was impossible not to know. A Perini vessel survived Hurricane Katrina. You dont think it could survive a tornado like this? Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary - Future Publishing Students and university staff will continue to be hounded, censured and silenced after ministers abandoned plans to protect free speech on campuses, academics have warned. The Government has been accused of giving into cancel culture after Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, last month suspended legislation that would have enshrined free speech on campuses in law. She was concerned that the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act, which was introduced by the Conservatives, would have left students vulnerable to harm and appalling hate speech while completing their studies. More than 500 academics have called on her to rethink the decision in a letter, The Times reported. They warned that a failure to act could lead to more staff and students being hounded, censured and silenced for holding legitimate, legal views some may deem offensive. Kathleen Stock, a feminist academic whose views on transgender rights have sparked protests on campuses, Richard Dawkins, a prominent atheist, and historian Niall Ferguson are among those who have signed the letter. More than 50 academics at the University of Oxford and 30 at Cambridge are also among the signatories. They include historians David Abulafia, who criticised Britains membership of the European Union, and Robert Tombs, who has campaigned against the censorship of historical texts in universities. The letter stated: The decision to halt (the act) appears to reflect the view, widespread among opponents, that there is no free speech problem in UK universities. Nothing could be more false. Hundreds of academics and students have been hounded, censured, silenced or even sacked over the last 20 years for the expression of legal opinions. This state of affairs has serious consequences for all of us. The suppression of university research into the effects of puberty blockers facilitated one of the great medical scandals of our age, as the Cass Review makes clear. Government claims law risked intimidation of Jewish students The academics cited a report published earlier this year by the Academic Freedom Index, which ranked the UK 66th in the global league table of academic freedom below Peru, Burkina Faso and Georgia. They dispute claims that the law would have led to the intimidation of minorities such as Jewish students going unpunished and say their right to be free from harassment and hatred is already enshrined in law. Edward Skidelsky, the director of the Committee for Academic Freedom and a lecturer in philosophy at Exeter University, said many academics were very disappointed by the decision to suspend the act. The act had broad support and now the kinds of cancel culture that weve seen in recent years will be allowed to carry on and academic and students will have no recourse to prevent it, he said. Mr Ferguson added: There is no good reason for the new Government to revoke this important piece of legislation. Free speech at universities should not be a partisan issue. I find it disturbing that a Labour Government should be against it. A government source told The Times: We make no apology for pausing the Tories hate speech charter, which would have allowed anti-Semites and holocaust deniers free rein on campuses. Universities already have obligations under the law to protect freedom of speech and we will hold institutions to them. Students should be challenged and face new ideas. Under this Government, thats what universities will be about. Tourists in North Korea. The country is set to allow the resumption of travel. Photograph: Courtesy of Scott MacPherson North Korea is to welcome back international tourists at the end of the year, according to travel agencies, but experts have warned that the long-awaited opening up could fall victim to political tensions and the countrys brutal winters. The North sealed its borders and banned international visitors soon after the Covid-19 pandemic took hold in early 2020, fearing the virus could cripple its already fragile health services. The closure hit trade with China and denied the regime tourist dollars, while its leader, Kim Jong-un, reportedly sheltered at his coastal holiday home. Although international flights in and out of North Korea resumed last year, and about 100 Russian tourists took part in a private tour in February, the country essentially remains closed to outsiders. Related: How North Koreas lucrative trade in human hair is helping it skirt the impact of sanctions The apparent decision to lower the drawbridge has been welcomed by tour companies, but some North Korea watchers say plans to resume tourism after almost five years of pandemic-enforced isolation are fraught with problems. North Korean state media have yet to comment on the reported opening up, although Kim has taken a personal interest in developing the tourism infrastructure and spoken of his desire to welcome visitors from friendly nations, China and Russia. The official motivation has changed little since the North banned foreign tourists in 2020 namely, to showcase a modern, content country centred on unwavering public devotion to three generations of the Kim dynasty. The first visitors are expected to be confined to Samjiyon, a city near the Chinese border, described by North Korea as a socialist utopia and a model of highly civilised mountain city. The destination, which reportedly boasts new apartments, hotels and a ski resort, is a gateway to Mount Paektu, the highest peak on the peninsula and considered the mythical birthplace of a united Korean people a place of pilgrimage that supports the cult of personality surrounding the family that has ruled with an iron fist since the countrys foundation in 1948. Koryo Tours, which was forced to put visits on hold at the start of the pandemic, welcomed the reported resumption of tourism, adding that the move would probably extend to the rest of the country. Having waited for over four years to make this announcement, Koryo Tours is very excited for the opening of North Korean tourism once again, the Beijing-based firm said on its website, adding that its local partner would confirm itineraries and dates in coming weeks. A second travel agency, Shenyang-based KTG Tours, also announced that tourists would be able to visit Samjiyon from this winter. But some experts said the plans could fall foul of the harsh weather that grips the remote Samjiyon area in winter, along with poor local infrastructure and, for Westerners, a reluctance to travel to a country that has become more aggressive in recent years. I cant see how Samjiyon, being one of the more isolated tourist destinations within the DPRK, would be the first for the Koreans to try and open for the broader tourism market, Rowan Beard, the manager of Young Pioneer Tours, told the NK News website, using the countrys official name the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. Travel industry officials said they expected the first wave of tourism to be dominated by Chinese nationals and, in light of Kims recent meetings with Vladimir Putin, people from Russia. I suspect that the powers that be in Pyongyang believe its time to open the borders like all other normal nations have since the pandemic ended, said Prof Dean J Ouellette, an expert in North Korean tourism at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University. That means opening up to international tourists, whether or not many decide to go, or are allowed by their governments to visit, or are even allowed entry by North Korean authorities because of their nationality. China is by far the most important market, with Chinese nationals making up about 90% of tourists to North Korea before Covid-19. Experts say a record 300,000 foreign tourists visited North Korea in 2019, earning the country between $90m and $150m, experts say. While the North is far from dependent on tourism for foreign currency, the injection of cash could boost its coffers. If there is a return to the heyday of Chinese tourist arrivals North Korea could possibly earn an $100m to $175m, Ouellette said. For a heavily sanctioned and self-isolating economy like North Korea, that is not an insignificant amount. But Chinese leaders have voiced reservations about North Koreas supply of weapons to Russian forces in Ukraine and are cautiously following Kims closer relationship with Putin. I dont think we will see a return to those high tourist numbers until Pyongyang repairs relations with Beijing, Ouellette said. Tourism to the North was strictly limited before the pandemic, with tour companies saying about 5,000 western tourists visited each year. Americans made up about 20% percent of the market before the US banned its citizens from going there as tourists after the 2017 death of the university student Otto Warmbier. Cockerell said much had yet to be decided about itineraries, but that tourists would continue to be closely watched. The main system remains unchanged, with guided tours only and no free movement without guides, he said. So when the main part of the country opens up, it may well be the same kind of experience as before. I would caution against over-interpreting this opening. Its not necessarily a message to the world or anything like that just a slow and small initial opening to restabilise an industry that had already existed for decades. The Coalitions James Paterson (left) and Labors Tony Burke. Paterson claims allies such as the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand have accepted only a fraction of Australias intake of people fleeing Gaza. Composite: AAP The opposition has ratcheted up its criticism of the governments approach to Palestinians seeking to come to Australia from the Gaza war zone. On Tuesday, the oppositions home affairs spokesperson accused the government of being far more generous than other similar countries in the number of Palestinians from Gaza it was letting in. Speaking to The Australian, Senator James Paterson said the Albanese government had to urgently explain its position. He claimed allies including Five Eyes members the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand had taken a much more cautious approach, accepting only a fraction of Australias intake. The opposition has called on the government to refuse entry to all Palestinians fleeing Gaza, and criticised the level of security checks it says have been applied. So, what are the facts behind the noise? How many Palestinians have been allowed into Australia since 7 October? From 7 October 2023 to 12 August 2024, Australia has granted 2,922 visas to people from the occupied Palestinian territories. These people are almost all family members of Australians, says Rasha Abbas, director of Palestine Australia Relief and Action (Para), which assists Palestinians resettling in Australia. Only an estimated 1,300 Palestinians who had been granted these visas had so far been able to make it to Australia. In recent fact sheet released by Palestines de facto embassy in Australia based on 230 recent adult arrivals from Gaza, 73% held a bachelor degree or higher. More than half worked in skilled professions, including as doctors, engineers, lawyers and accounting managers. What sort of visas are being offered? Almost all of those who were allowed to come to Australia were granted visitor visas of three, six or 12 months, under which visa holders are not allowed to work, undertake study, access Medicare or other social support. The rate at which Palestinians applying for visas to Australia were rejected was very high with 7,111 visa applications rejected during this time. Abul Rizvi, a former deputy secretary at the department of immigration, says this high refusal rate is likely because a condition of a visitor visa is that the trip is temporary, and that the government can be confident the person will leave Australia when the visa expires. In light of the current situation in Palestine, Rizvi says, that is a difficult test to meet. How does the number of Palestinians coming to Australia compare with other countries? The opposition and The Australian newspaper have alleged that Australia is one of the most generous nations in the developed world in accepting Palestinians from Gaza, comparing Australias 2,922 visitor visa grants with 168 protection visas to Palestinians in the UK, or 17 Palestinian refugees accepted by the US in the same period. Youre not really comparing apples and apples, Rizvi says, pointing out the other countries figures largely refer to people who had applied for and been granted asylum, as opposed to Australias temporary visitor visa. Abbas suggests other countries are in fact far more generous with their intake Canada, for example, extended its cap for family visas for people from Palestine fivefold, to 5,000; countries such as Lebanon and Egypt are now home to tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees. How does the situation compare with people arriving from other war zones? Probably the best comparison is what happened out of Ukraine, Rizvi says. At the start of that conflict the Coalition used visitor visas to get people out quickly. Once they were here, the government opened up other humanitarian visa pathways to allow Ukrainians to apply to stay, and to access study, work and social supports. Abbas says it is not unusual for either Labor or Coalition governments to use tourist visas during a crisis such as war.This is not something this government dreamed up, she says. This is something that [Australian governments] have done many times before. What about the security checks? The Coalition has repeatedly labelled the governmentssecurity checks on Palestinians fleeing the country as insufficient, saying the speed at which Australian visas were issued meant checks could not be adequately completed. It also criticised the process for not including face-to-face interviews or biometric screening before visas were issued. Related: Peter Dutton tells Coalition party room he only wants temporary pause on Gaza visas as part of principled stance Mike Burgess, the director general of the security agency Asio, disputed this earlier in August, telling the ABCs Insiders: The critical point is: there are security checks. There are criteria by which people are referred to my service for review and when they are, we deal with that effectively. Abbas says the whole narrative of people being allowed into Australia unchecked was false. Everyone who exits Gaza is checked by Israel, your name has to appear on an approved list by Israel for you to exit Then they have to be approved by Egypt, and Egypt is known to have high security, and then they have to go through the checks in Australia. They actually have been checked by three countries. This whole concept of them being unchecked is so false. Israel would not let anyone who is remotely connected with Hamas exit Gaza. The home affairs minister, Tony Burke, told parliament on Monday that checks did not cease when a visa was issued. The government continues to collect information, he said. We never stop collecting information on this caseload or anyone who has visas. If at any point in time were presented with information that [gave] grounds for visa cancellation, we would cancel the visa. How does what the Coalition says now stack up with what it did in office? The prime minister noted in parliament on Monday thatthe Coalitions recent outrage over Palestinian visas stood at odds with its behaviour while in office. Anthony Albanese said the Coalition government during a time when Hamas controlled the Gaza Strip issued more than 1,000 visitor visas to Palestinians from the occupied Palestinian territories. He also noted that in the financial year during which the Ukraine conflict began, the previous government issued 10,000 visitor visas to Ukrainians. A Palestinian girl is examined by a doctor amid fears over the spread of polio in Gaza - Ramadan Abed/Reuters The Middle East could suffer a major polio outbreak unless a breakthrough in stalled truce talks creates an opening for a vaccination campaign in Gaza, the World Health Organisation has warned. Gaza reported its first case of polio in 25 years last week, prompting health officials to draw up plans for a mass vaccination drive that was meant to start last weekend before it was scuppered by continued fighting in the coastal territory. A deal for a ceasefire and the release of more hostages has stalled amid disagreements over the future presence of Israels military in two corridors that cut through Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners. There are fears that a knock-on delay to the vaccination drive may prove costly. The risk of this virus spreading into Israel, into the West Bank and into surrounding countries like Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Jordan is high. So we need to act fast, said Dr Hamid Jafari, the director of the WHOs polio eradication programme in the eastern Mediterranean. Polio is highly contagious and transmits mainly through contact with contaminated faeces or droplets from an infected persons cough or sneeze. It can cause breathing difficulties and paralysis, usually in the legs. Young children are particularly vulnerable and it can be fatal. I am gravely concerned that a 10-month-old unvaccinated child from Deir al-Balah, Gaza, has been confirmed to have polio the first case in Gaza in 25 years, WHO Chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday, adding that the child had developed paralysis in the lower left leg. Given the high risk of poliovirus spread in Gaza and the region, the Palestinian Ministry of Health, WHO and Unicef are working to implement two rounds of polio vaccination in the coming weeks to halt transmission, Dr Tedros added. Dr Jafari warned on Friday that more cases could follow unless urgent action was taken. We are already late on this, so we need to start vaccinating as soon as possible, because more children will get paralysed in Gaza, he said. He added that there was a risk of the disease spreading into Israel and across the region, noting that there are communities that do not vaccinate for religious reasons. But the WHOs vaccination plan is fraught with difficulties, and carries risks of its own. A medical team from the Palestinian Red Crescent administer polio vaccine to children at Al-Amal Hospital in southern Gaza's Khan Younis city - Hani Alshaer/Anadolu via Getty Images While wild poliovirus is now only found in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the strain that has been detected in Gaza is vaccine-derived a variant that can emerge in areas where vaccination rates are low. Unlike the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV), the novel oral polio vaccine, or nOPV2 which is given by mouth and is generally more effective in stopping transmission contains a weakened form of the virus that does not cause paralysis but multiplies in the gut, prompting the body to build up immunity. But that weakened virus can pick up mutations as it replicates and can lead to infections among unvaccinated individuals, and this has caused outbreaks of vaccine-derived polio in countries like Yemen, Sudan and South Sudan, that have alarmed those working to eradicate the disease. The Gaza campaign will use a new and improved version of the OPV vaccine, known as nOPV2, which uses a more genetically stable strain of weakened virus to reduce the risk of vaccine-derived infections. But for OPV to be effective, the vaccination campaign needs to achieve very high levels of coverage the WHO is aiming for at least 95 per cent. The WHO and Unicef want to vaccinate more than 600,000 children in two rounds, the first at the end of August and then again in September. The WHO has already released 1.6 million doses of the vaccine to be rolled out in Gaza. But Dr Jafari said this will be very, very difficult without a ceasefire, estimating that, at a minimum, a seven-day pause is needed for the plan. Even if a ceasefire is reached, doctors will have their work cut out trying to reach the people they need to vaccinate. The aid group Mercy Corps estimates some 50,000 babies born across Gaza since the war began have not been immunised against polio. On top of that, the destruction of Gazas healthcare system less than half of the territorys 107 health facilities are currently functional poses a serious problem. It forces us to find other locations to establish vaccination sites, like schools, like shelters, community centres, said Dr Jafari. Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security The Bayesian sank in an intense storm off Sicily on Monday - Perini Navi Press Office/Shutterstock Raising the Bayesian superyacht from the seabed off Sicily would cost around 15 million and take six to eight weeks, one of the worlds leading maritime salvage experts has said. Nick Sloane, the South African salvage engineer who led the operation to recover the Costa Concordia cruise ship after it capsized off Tuscany in 2012 with the loss of 32 lives, said around 40 highly-trained divers would be required. Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Jonathan Bloomer, the Morgan Stanley International bank chairman, and his wife Judy, Chris Morvillo, the Clifford Chance lawyer and his wife Neda and Recaldo Thomas, the yachts chef, died when the yacht sank at around 5am on Monday. A large platform would have to be constructed and towed half a mile out to sea, above the spot where the vessel sank in an intense storm. The luxury yachts aluminium mast the tallest of its kind in the world when the boat was constructed would need to be cut off and removed prior to the Bayesian being lifted to the surface. The floating platform would support giant cranes, which would be able to raise the vessel from a depth of 165ft but very slowly. If the boat is pulled up too quickly, it could break up under the huge pressure of water inside it, Mr Sloane told La Repubblica newspaper. This is the most delicate part of the operation and needs to be done very, very slowly, because the Bayesian is full of water, he said. The important thing is that when the yacht reaches the surface the sea must be calm. So theyll have to carefully check the weather forecasts. The yacht should be recovered exactly as it is, in one piece, with the aim of maintaining it as intact as possible. I would say it would cost up to 15 million but possibly you could do it for a bit less. The recovery operation would take six to eight weeks. It could be completed before the second half of October. Recovering the wreck could help investigators find evidence that could shed light on how it sank in a matter of minutes after being hit by a waterspout or tornado. Although he was feted in Italy for his successful refloating of the Costa Concordia, the South African stressed that he has not been approached in an official capacity about raising the Bayesian. Italy has more than enough expertise and technical capacity to carry out the operation, he said. But he has been discussing how the operation might unfold with Italian divers who were involved in the Costa Concordia recovery. There are parallels between the two wrecks. Italian coast guard and fire service divers exploring the cramped confines of the Bayesian this week as they searched for bodies encountered a miniature Concordia, said Luca Cari, spokesman for the Italian fire service. They could only stay under water for 12 minutes and had to negotiate a pitch-black world of tilted surfaces, floating debris and dislodged furniture, he said. Italian authorities have so far said nothing officially about when, or even if, the Bayesian will be recovered from the seabed and brought to shore. The Concordia operation took months of careful planning and dangerous underwater work, whereas bringing up the much smaller yacht would be a quicker operation, albeit still fraught with technical challenges. The 114,500-tonne Concordia, about twice the size of the Titanic, was eventually towed to Genoa to be broken up for scrap two and a half years after it capsized. The effort to raise and salvage it was the largest operation of its kind ever attempted, and cost around 1.5 billion. Click here to view this content. Robert F Kennedy Jr has suspended his long-shot presidential campaign and endorsed Donald Trump, handing a boost to the Republican candidates election prospects. Mr Kennedy ended his 16-month White House run in a speech in Arizona on Friday, where he praised Trumps stance on the Ukraine war while claiming that Kamala Harris recent surge in popularity was simply smoke and mirrors. He said his uncle, former president John F. Kennedy, and father, former attorney general Bobby Kennedy, would have been astonished at how the vice president had avoided interviews and debates. This is profoundly undemocratic, he said. How are people to choose when they dont know who theyre choosing? The former environmental lawyer lashed out at the Democrats as the party of war, censorship, big pharma, big tech, big ag and big money a stunning attack from a member of one of Americas storied Democratic dynasties. Hours later, Mr Kennedy joined Mr Trump onstage at a rally, in Glendale, Arizona, where the crowd burst into Bobby! cheers. Click here to view this content. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump shakes hands with Robert F. Kennedy at a campaign rally in Glendale, Arizona, on Friday - Evan Vucci/AP In a statement on Friday, the Kennedy family hit back at our brother Bobby, saying his decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story, they added. Mr Kennedy said he would remove his name from the ballot in 10 battleground states because it would have allowed Ms Harris to beat Trump. He will remain on the ballot elsewhere. Our polling consistently showed that by staying on the ballot in the battleground states I would likely hand over the election to the Democrats, with whom I disagree on the most existential issues, he said. Click here to view this content. The 70-year-old repeatedly attacked the vice president, in an intervention that threatens to blunt her momentum after she addressed the Democratic national convention on Thursday. [The Democrats] engineered a surge of popularity for vice president Harris based upon nothing - no policies, no interviews, no debates, only smoke and mirrors he said. Referring to her short-lived run in the primaries four years ago, he said she was a candidate who was so unpopular with voters that she dropped out in 2020, without winning a single delegate. Kennedy could be rewarded with Trump deal Mr Kennedy had reportedly been seeking a deal with Trump in which he endorses the former president in exchange for a senior job in a future Republican administration. He said on Friday that he had had a series of meetings with Trump after the Republican candidate approached him. Mr Kennedy was surprised to discover that they were aligned on many key issues such as ending the war in Ukraine by negotiating with Vladimir Putin, securing the US-Mexican border and protecting freedom of speech. The independent candidate said he had tried to open similar discussions with Ms Harris but she declined to meet him. Mr Trump has previously made a number of overtures, both publicly and privately, to Mr Kennedy for his endorsement. Donald Trump watches as Robert Kennedy speaks at the Arizona rally - Allison Dinner/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock The former president, who had previously dismissed Mr Kennedy as radical Left, has praised him in recent days as very smart and very good. Responding to Fridays announcement he said: We just had a very nice endorsement from RFK Junior. I just want to thank Bobby. That was really nice. Hes a great guy, respected by everybody. In a leaked phone call in June, the former president suggested it would be very good for Mr Kennedy if he won the election and echoed his well-known vaccine scepticism. It is unclear what impact Mr Kennedys exit from the race will have, because the question of who the independent candidate draws support from has long puzzled pollsters. A recent poll by The Wall Street Journal found that about half of Mr Kennedys voters would be likely to swing towards Trump, while about a quarter would go to Ms Harris. However, a Washington Post poll this weekend suggested Ms Harris would see a one per cent boost against Trump if Mr Kennedy left the race. Although the 70-year-old polls in the low-single digits, his voters could make a significant difference in a presidential race which is likely to come down to a small number of fiercely contested swing states. Mr Kennedys move makes him the second candidate to leave the contest after Joe Biden dropped out in favour of Ms Harris last month something he labelled a palace coup by Democrats. Nicole Shanahan, Mr Kennedys running mate, said on Thursday that the pair were hesitant about joining forces with Trump because he oversaw Operation Warp Speed the programme to roll out vaccines during the Covid pandemic. The vaccinations, the lockdowns There was a lot that happened under Donald Trumps watch that should not have happened and cannot happen again, she said. And if we are going to put our bet with him and we havent, we have not confirmed anything - but we need absolute assurance. Click here to view this content. Pro-Palestinan protesters defy an 8pm curfew on demonstrations in downtown Chicago during the Democratic National Convention. Photograph: Dave Decker/Zuma Press Wire/Rex/Shutterstock It was late in the evening when Ruby Chen, whose son Itay was kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October and later killed, approached and kneeled down next to Abbas Alawieh, a delegate from the Uncommitted pro-Palestinian movement who was planning to bed down for the night on the cement outside the venue where Kamala Harris this week formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination. For the four days of the Democratic National Convention, while many visiting delegates were popping bottles of champagne at parties across Chicago, the two men were busy working the rooms at delegate breakfasts, juggling media interviews and courting high-profile Democrats to try to influence the administrations policies in Gaza. Chen, along with other families of the hostages, has been urging the administration to increase pressure on Hamas and Israel to reach a ceasefire deal that would return the more than 100 hostages remaining in Gaza, including the remains of his son. Abbas, other delegates and activists from the Uncommitted movement, had come to demand an arms embargo to Israel and a permanent ceasefire to end the war in Gaza. Abbas, a delegate from Dearborn, Michigan, the first majority Arab-American city in the US, had also announced a sit-in as a last-ditch effort to get a Palestinian-American to speak from the stage of the convention one that was ultimately refused. Were not going anywhere before November, Abbas said outside the arena on Wednesday evening. Youre not going to get rid of us. Were going to engage the system. Abbas and Chen share a common cause in their calls for a ceasefire and they exchanged numbers during their brief introduction. But the inclusion by the Democratic National Committee of a hostage family but not a representative of the Palestinian community provoked exasperation over the inequities surrounding the programme at the Democratic partys biggest show. Rachel and Jon deserved every second on that stage, wrote Alana Zeitchik, who had six family members taken hostage by Hamas during the 7 October raid, referring to the parents of hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin. I also believe a Palestinian-American voice deserves to be heard on that stage. I think its a shame that theres a coupling between the hostage topic and the Palestinian issue, Chen told the Guardian. I think that they are not mutually exclusive, but you can be pro-hostages and also feel and have empathy for the killing of innocent people. Chen said he had spoken to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a darling of the Democratic party with a strong following on the left, at a New York reception on Tuesday. The congresswoman, you know, she looked at me in the eye and I showed her a picture of my kid and the eight US citizens. And I honestly believe, you know, she felt new thoughts on the topic, and hopefully we could have a nice conversation. On Wednesday evening, Alawieh had Ocasio-Cortez on a video call as he urgently held the sit-in designed to secure a speaking slot for a Palestinian-American at the convention. I want to send a very strong message that we are mobilising on the outside, but thats coupled with a very strong inside push, she said over speakerphone. During the final days of the backroom negotiations, Uncommitted leaders said they had been offered private meetings with members of Congress and high-level aides to Harris, but no speaking slot. They were told that tonight is going to be vice-president Harriss biggest speech of her life, and it needs to be about her, said Layla Elabed, a co-chair of the Uncommitted movement. We got all sorts of people telling us that they support us, that they want to hear this, said Asma Mohammed, an Uncommitted delegate from Minnesota who also slept outside the United Center. A majority of our party wants to hear this, but the party leadership has not heard this request I want to win in November, and that means we build a bigger tent. When Kamala Harris took the stage on Thursday evening, some of the loudest applause came when she addressed the war in Gaza. But despite speaking forcefully on the issue, it was difficult to say that she had done much more than boldly defend the status quo. I will always stand up for Israels right to defend itself, she said, in remarks that indicated she would resist calls for an arms embargo. I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself. At the same time what has happened in Gaza in the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. She said she would fight so that Palestinian people can realise their right to dignity, security, freedom and self determination. As pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in Chicagos Union Park on Monday calling for a ceasefire, US secretary of state Antony Blinken in Israel claimed that Benjamin Netanyahu had agreed to support a US-proposed ceasefire with Hamas that would also free the hostages. A day later, though, Netanyahu reportedly said he would keep troops in the Philadelphi Corridor, a red line for Hamas and Egypt that would probably scuttle any potential ceasefire deal. The feeling is that each time we have this buildup, its like a rollercoaster, like, you know, you build your hope, your hopes up, and then suddenly you have that, you know, fall, that you go down, you know, and then you need to try to collect yourself and start this process all over again, Chen said. He called the actions of Hamas psychological terror by not providing any indication on the fate of the hostages, of our loved ones. At the same time, he accused top Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, of public posturing about making a deal without being willing to move forward. You know, dont pull our leg, not after almost 320 days, he said. I think theres also some dignity to the families that they are entitled to. In the US, too, there remains an intentional vagueness in what Harriss plans for the future are and how she may secure a ceasefire that has eluded the Biden administration. At a Michigan delegation breakfast at the Chicago Hilton on Thursday, Alawieh was working a room that included some of the Democratic partys top figures intent on holding the battleground state in the November elections. We need vice-president Harris to tell us what her updated approach would be and how she would ensure that US weapons arent used to kill civilians, as has been the case so far, he said. She hasnt said that so far. Asked if Harris was intentionally avoiding the topic, he stopped for a moment, then said: I think we have to keep engaging. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was seen giving remarks to republican delegates from Texas on the first day of the Texas GOP Convention on May 23, 2024, in San Antonio, Texas. Christopher Lee The League of United Latin American Citizens is requesting a federal investigation after it said Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton conducted raids of its volunteers homes this week, looking for evidence of possible vote harvesting. Paxton on Wednesday announced that his office executed multiple search warrants in Frio, Atascosa and Bexar Counties as part of an ongoing election integrity investigation into allegations of election fraud and vote harvesting that occurred during the 2022 elections. He said a two-year investigation provided sufficient evidence to obtain the search warrants. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Gabriel Rosales, Texas LULAC state director, said he received alarming reports from terrified elderly citizens in the South Texas town of Dilley whose homes were raided. Rosales said in one instance, the front door of a home was forcibly broken into by agents. Some of them had their computers and cellphones confiscated, he said. What little that theyre saying is that we, apparently, any one of our operatives that are out there in the community registering voters, that we have voter information that we shouldnt, Rosales said in an interview. Our response is the only voter data that we have, you can purchase at the county courthouse. So I dont know what theyre doing. Its just pure voter intimidation. Paxtons office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Rosales said he was aware of at least two people in Bexar County and three in Frio County who underwent searches. All are Latinos and at last three are current members of LULAC one of the nations oldest Latino civil rights organizations and at least some were separately working for the campaign of Democratic state House District 80 candidate Cecilia Castellano. Castellano was also one of the people targeted in the raid. In a statement, Rosales called the searches disgraceful and added that the group would not allow our communities to be silenced or our voting power diluted through such oppressive tactics. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Castellano, who is running against Republican and former Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin, said agents came to her home on Tuesday at 6 a.m. with a search warrant and confiscated her cellphone. She said they did not tell her the subject of the investigation but she believes the raid was politically motivated. I believe that Im being targeted because two of the three counties fall in my House district, Castellano said, referring to the counties Paxton had identified earlier in the week. Paxton endorsed McLaughlin in the March primary. Hearst Newspapers requested copies of signed search warrants from Frio County for Aug. 20, the day that Paxton said they were executed, and the county said it had no responsive records. A similar information request to Bexar County is pending. The attorney generals office was asked to investigate the allegations by 81st Judicial District Attorney Audrey Louis, whose district includes Atascosa and Frio counties. Louis is a Republican. Ever since a 2021 ruling by the states highest criminal court that Paxton has vocally opposed, the office can only prosecute election fraud if invited by a local DA. mike lynch The scenario is so terrible, tragic and unlikely that nobody would dare dream it up. In the early hours of Monday, the tech tycoon Mike Lynch and the guests on his yacht, the Bayesian, would have been reeling from an awful shock. Lynch, 59, was on a lavish Mediterranean holiday with his family and defence team to celebrate his remarkable acquittal on fraud charges in the US after an over decade-long battle. But on Saturday, Lynchs co-defendant in the case, Stephen Chamberlain, was killed after being hit by a car while out jogging near his home in Cambridgeshire. The mood onboard must have been sombre on Monday morning when a tornado over water, known as a waterspout, struck the vessel as it was moored off the coast of Sicily. Two days before Lynch died aboard his superyacht, his co-defendant, Stephen Chamberlain, was killed in a car accident - Steven Chamberlain/X (Twitter) At the time of writing, 15 of the guests and crew have been rescued. But six bodies including that of Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter have been recovered. The dead are believed to include: chef Recaldo Thomas, Lynchs lawyer Christopher Morvillo, and Jonathan Bloomer, the chair of Morgan Stanley International and Hiscox insurance, who had been a key defence witness in Lynchs case. According to experts, the chances of a yacht like the 184-foot Bayesian sinking while at anchor are minimal. Ive been speaking to a lot of [people in] the industry today and they are as shocked as me and just in utter disbelief that this could happen, Stewart Campbell, editor-in-chief of Boat International, told the BBC. Given the improbability of these two fatal accidents happening barely two days apart, it is perhaps no surprise that conspiracy theories began to swirl almost immediately afterwards. Superyachts and billionaires are always fertile ground for speculation, even before an accident like the one that befell Lynch and his guests. The facts in this case make for a truly extraordinary set of coincidences, with added large corporate interests, a defeated US Justice Department and connections to intelligence agencies. Experts believe the chances of the 184-foot Bayesian sinking while at anchor were minimal, further sparking conspiracies - Perini Navi Press Office, EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Fed such potent fuel, internet forums in particular Reddit and X (formerly known as Twitter) have exploded with conspiracy theories. Have the victims been bumped off by disgruntled US Justice officials? Shadowy corporate actors? Spooks? The Italian authorities have reportedly launched an investigation into whether portholes being left open might have contributed to the rapid sinking. As one Reddit user asserted, its the kind of case that makes you question reality. Lynch, a British-born Irish entrepreneur with an academic background in probability theorems, was best known as a co-founder of Autonomy, a software company Chamberlain was vice president of finance. In 2011, the firm was sold to the American computer giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) for $11 billion, netting Lynch hundreds of millions of pounds in the process. Forbes has put his personal wealth at over $1 billion. But the deal was dogged from the start by accusations of foul play HP accused Autonomy of artificially inflating its profits ahead of the sale. A year later, the firm wrote off billions of pounds worth of value from the deal. HP brought civil charges before the US Justice Department got involved. The odds were stacked against Lynch and Chamberlain. Fewer than one in 200 of such cases end in acquittal. Speaking just before the trip about the moment of acquittal, Mr Morvillo, a partner at the law firm Clifford Chance, said, Our side of the courtroom erupted, it was this electric moment. Ive never seen anything like it in a courtroom before. Lynch, who faced 25 years in prison, defied the odds to secure a not guilty verdict which he said was like being given a 'second life' - Simon Dawson/Bloomberg For Lynch, who had been extradited to the US for trial and faced up to 25 years in prison, the verdict was akin to a rebirth. In an interview, he told The Times, Id had to say goodbye to everything and everyone, because I didnt know if Id be coming back. Its bizarre, but now you have a second life, he added. The question is, what do you want to do with it? Elsewhere, he criticised the US system, saying that the only reason he was free was because he was able to spend more than $30 million fighting his case. The reason Im sitting here, lets be honest, is not only because I was innocent, he said. But because I had enough money not to be swept away by a process thats set up to sweep you away. After the Autonomy sale, in 2013, Lynch cofounded Darktrace, a cybersecurity firm which hired former high-ranking MI5 agents for senior positions. He made Chamberlain his chief financial officer in 2016. Given the series of unlikely events that has since befallen the pair, it is ironic that Lynchs specialism was probability. His yacht, the Bayesian, was named after Thomas Bayes, the 18th-century mathematician and Presbyterian minister whose work revolutionised our understanding of predictions. Bayes was famed for his mathematical formula, known as Bayes theorem, which calculates Conditional Probability determining how likely something is to happen given a particular scenario. It is used in medical testing to calculate your chance of dying from cancer at a given age, and in finance, to weigh the risk of lending money to potential borrowers. Footage showed the Bayesian being battered by storms before it sank off the coast of Sicily Social media was awash with comments picking out the link between the principle and the seeming improbability that Lynch and his co-defendant could be struck by disaster two days and some 1,800 miles apart. Sander van der Linden, a professor of social psychology at the University of Cambridge who studies conspiracy theories, says the case is a classic example of how conspiratorial thinking can arise. The brains always trying to connect the dots, he says. Its hard for people to deal with random coincidences, however unlikely they are. Van der Linden adds that the internet and social media have led to an explosion of conspiracy theories, giving rise to legions of amateur sleuths who question the official version of events. In some cases they even start trying to investigate the case themselves. Internet sleuths were quick to try to connect the dots between the deaths of Lynch and Chamberlain - Yui Mok & Cambridgeshire Police/PA Wire Social media allows for this kind of online sleuthing where people are finding their own stories and sharing with other people, which creates this vortex of unverified rumours, he says. That aspect is new. Ideally there should be no information void, because thats where people start concocting their own explanations. In the instant-reaction online cauldron, any gap in the official version of events is likely to be seized on and subjected to wild interpretations. Missing people inspire particular speculation. When Nicola Bulley, a mother of two, went missing on a walk in Lancashire in January 2023, the online theorising became so frenzied that amateurs turned up to do their own investigations. The recent riots across the country began in part because conspiracy theorists speculated about the identity of the Southport killer. The deaths of two Boeing whistleblowers, just months apart, has also prompted wild speculation. The Lynch case has clearly inspired similar conjecture and added to a canon of conspiracies linked to other incidents at sea, in particular. The mysterious death of the wealthy and powerful in such circumstances is a type of information void going back hundreds of years. Think of Robert Maxwell, the father of the disgraced Ghislaine Maxwell who fell to his death on his 15m yacht, or Alfred Loewenstein, who vanished from his plane over the English Channel in 1928. The bodies of Lynch and six others were recovered by rescue crews - Vigili del Fuoco/AFP via Getty Sure, you could say theres a 0.001% chance that both of them [Lynch and Chamberlain] were assassinated by some secret organisation, but thats not the most likely explanation, van der Linden says. People should be paying attention to evidence-based explanations, which take time to develop. Taken out of their remarkable coincidences, the facts of each accident are notably non-conspiratorial. Tornadic storms, of the sort that hit the Bayesian, are more common in hot or humid environments. The Mediterranean reached its highest recorded surface temperature last week, of 32 degrees. Chamberlain was hit on Newmarket Road in the village of Stretham. Police said that the driver, a 49-year-old woman from Haddenham, remained at the scene and is helping with inquiries. People dont like the idea that life isnt certain, that we dont have all the answers, that you could die at any minute, that bad accidents could happen to you, says van der Linden. Its easier to believe it was all intentional and planned [rather] than somebody disappearing because a storm sank his boat. None of this will be much comfort to the family and friends grieving their dead, being forced to endure some of the worst days of their lives amid fevered public speculation. A fanciful theory for the internet is an all too real loss for the people involved. The countries also voiced profound concern over human rights violations committed during Nicolas Maduros post-election crackdown. Photograph: Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images Ten Latin American governments and the US have said they categorically reject the Venezuelan supreme courts decision to confirm Nicolas Maduros widely contested claim to have won re-election, with Chiles president declaring: I have no doubt this election has been stolen. Thursdays verdict from Venezuelas top court, which is stacked with Maduro loyalists, has been widely questioned internationally from across the political spectrum. In a joint statement published on Friday, the governments of Argentina, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay and the US called for an impartial and independent audit of the vote. They also voiced profound concern over human rights violations committed during Maduros post-election crackdown, which activists say has resulted in more than 1,600 people being detained and at least 24 others killed. Strikingly, the communique was endorsed not just by conservative governments that have long been hostile to Maduros purportedly socialist movement, but also by the administration of Chiles progressive president, Gabriel Boric now one of the Venezuelans most outspoken leftwing critics and that of Guatemalas centre-left leader, Bernardo Arevalo. We are dealing with a dictatorship that falsifies elections, Boric said after the supreme court ruling, rejecting the idea that Maduros regime was leftwing. The Maduro regime is not democratic and we do not recognise its fraud, tweeted Arevalo. The US added its voice to the condemnation on Friday claiming the ruling lacked all credibility, given the overwhelming evidence that [Maduros rival Edmundo] Gonzalez received the most votes in the 28 July election. Continued attempts to fraudulently claim victory for Maduro will only exacerbate the ongoing crisis, Vedant Patel, a state department spokesperson, told reporters. The EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, told reporters its 27 member states would not recognise Maduros re-election without seeing a verifiable result. Brazil and Colombia whose leftwing leaders both have warm, historical ties to the political movement Maduro inherited from Hugo Chavez have also refused to recognise his re-election without seeing detailed voting tallies. Brazils Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Colombias Gustavo Petro, whose diplomats have been exploring possible ways of defusing the growing crisis, are expected to issue a joint statement later on Friday. Earlier in the day another leading Latin American leftist, Mexicos president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, told reporters he also wanted to see detailed voting tallies before recognising the official result. Maduro and his allies have rejected international criticism, with Venezuelas foreign minister, Yvan Gil, calling Boric the laughingstock of Latin America and a submissive pawn of North American imperialism. As things stand, Maduro, who retains the support of Venezuelas military as well as the governments of Russia and China, will be sworn in for his third six-year term as president on 10 January. Transgender woman Roxanne Tickle has won a discrimination case against the Giggle for Girls app and CEO Sall Grover. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP A transgender woman who sued a women-only social media app for alleged gender discrimination has been awarded $10,000 plus costs after a judge found she had been indirectly discriminated against in a landmark decision that tested the meaning and scope of the Sex Discrimination Act. Roxanne Tickle, a transgender woman from regional New South Wales, sued the social media platform Giggle for Girls and its CEO, Sall Grover, claiming she was unlawfully barred from using the app in 2021 after the firm and Grover said she was a man. On Friday morning, the federal court justice Robert Bromwich said the respondents had considered sex to mean an unchangeable sex of a person at birth. These arguments failed because the view propounded by the respondents conflicted with a long history of cases decided by courts going back over 30 years. Those cases established that on its ordinary meaning sex is changeable, he said. Related: Tickle v Giggle: transgender woman sues female-only online refuge for alleged discrimination in landmark case Onboarding to the app required the user to upload a selfie verified as female by KairosAI gender detection software and then by Grover. Tickle was barred after initially being allowed to join the platform which was shut down in August 2022. The judge said the evidence did not establish Tickle was excluded from Giggle directly by reason of her gender identity although it remains possible that this was the real but unproven reason. Rather, the indirect discrimination case succeeded because Tickle was excluded from the use of the social media app because she did not look sufficiently female. Bromwich disagreed with Grover and Giggles arguments about the constitutionality of the protections for gender identity in the act in line with the position of the sex discrimination commissioner. Tickle had sought damages and aggravated damages amounting to $200,000, claiming that persistent misgendering by Grover resulted in constant anxiety and occasional suicidal thoughts. In his written decision, Bromwich drew attention to the behaviour of Grover, including laughing at a caricature of Tickle during the trial. [Grovers] explanation, that it was funny in the context of the courtroom, was obviously disingenuous. It was offensive and belittling and had no legitimate place in the respondents prosecuting their case. Tickle said Fridays decision showed transgender people could stand up for themselves. Im pleased by the outcome of my case and I hope it is healing for trans and gender diverse people. The ruling shows that all women are protected from discrimination, she said outside court. I brought my case to show trans people that you can be brave and you can stand up for yourself. I can now get on with the rest of my life and have a coffee down the road with my friends, play hockey with my team and put this horribleness behind me. Changes to the Sex Discrimination Act in 2013 made it unlawful under federal law to discriminate against a person on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status. It is the first time that alleged gender identity discrimination has been heard by Australias federal court and goes to the heart of how gender identity and being a woman is interpreted. The outcome is likely to have wide-reaching implications for male and female spaces and activities and is being watched around the world. Over the course of a three-day hearing in April, the court heard that Tickle had lived as a woman since 2017, had a female birth certificate and gender affirmation surgery and feels in her mind that psychologically she is a woman. Tickles barrister Georgina Costello KC said that Ms Tickle is a woman but that the respondents flatly deny that fact. Giggle and Grovers team asserted that the case must focus on biological sex. Sex is discriminatory, it always has been and always will be biological sex must prevail, barrister Bridie Nolan said. Grover told the court that she would not address Tickle as Ms and that, even if a transgender woman presented as female, had gender affirmation surgery, lived as a female and held female identity documents, Grover would still see her as a biological male. The court heard that Grover started the app, intended as an online refuge, after receiving trauma therapy for social media abuse while living in the US. The Australian Human Rights Commission acted as a friend of the court. Barrister Zelie Heger told the court that sex was no longer defined in the Sex Discrimination Act but that importantly the act recognises that a persons sex is not limited to [being a man or a woman]. The case has been closely followed by both womens and trans rights supporters, with Bromwich admitting this was never going to be an easy case for anybody. Tickle received support from the Grata Fund, while a crowdfunding campaign set up to cover Giggle for Girls legal costs raised more than $520,000. Ukrainian soldiers take part in a training exercise operated in the UK - JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images Ukraines forces have made advances in the Kharkiv area after launching a large-scale counter-attack, according to a senior official. The 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said its forces had retaken two kilometres square of territory and seized control of a battalion defence position held by Russian troops. The brigade added that Russia lost around 300 soldiers in four days, and a significant amount of equipment and weapons were broken or damaged. Several other Russian strongholds in the northeast of Kharkiv were also captured. The main aim of the operation was to bring down the offensive potential of the 20th Army of the Russian Federation. At the moment, this task has been accomplished, Brigade Commander Andrii Biletskyi said. The assault operations prevented the enemys attack from the direction of Makiivka and relieved tension from other critical front-line areas in the neighbouring brigades zones, he added. 03:00 PM BST Todays live coverage has ended Thank you for following the days main events. 02:59 PM BST Putin will respond with severe punishments for Kursk incursion Vladimir Putin will issue severe punishments for Ukraines invasion of Kursk, Russian officials have claimed. A plan to respond to the incursion, the biggest by a foreign power into Russia since World War Two, was also decided in a meeting between the Russian president and senior officials. I tell you sincerely that the president has made a decision, Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the US, said. I am firmly convinced that everyone will be severely punished for what has happened in Kursk region. Antonov also warned that the US would at some point remove all restrictions on the use of weapons supplied to Ukraine and cannot be trusted. The current administration behaves like a person who extends one hand and holds a dagger behind their back with another one, he said. 02:56 PM BST High-voltage line at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant back in operation Ukraine has resumed electricity supply to the Europe biggest Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant via a high-voltage line, Ukrainian nuclear power form Energoatom said on Friday. Russias Rosatom nuclear company said earlier on Friday that automatic systems of the station in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine, switched off one of the lines. 02:21 PM BST British soldier died while defending iconic Snake Island A former British soldier who volunteered to fight in Ukraine was killed while helping Kyiv defend the iconic Black Sea outpost of Snake Island, an inquest was told. Christopher Pez Perryman, 38, from County Durham, suffered fatal chest injuries from shrapnel during combat around the island on Oct 24 last year, Oxfordshire Coroners Court heard. The Iraq war veteran was serving with Ukraines International Legion, the volunteer fighting force created by President Volodymyr Zelensky in the opening days of the Russian invasion. The inquest was told that no precise details of the military operation that Mr Perryman was on had been made available by Ukraines military authorities, but that he had died almost instantly as a result of shelling during combat. Snake Island, a rocky outcrop close to the Black Sea port of Odesa, became a famous symbol of Kyivs fighting spirit when a Ukrainian soldier there told a Russian warship commander to go f--- yourself rather than surrender. 02:01 PM BST Pictured: Russian soldiers on the front line In these photos taken from a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry, a Russian soldier fires from D-30 howitzer towards Ukrainian positions in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. A Russian soldier fires from D-30 howitzer - Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP A Russian soldier fires from D-30 howitzer - Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP 01:45 PM BST Modi urges Zelensky to sit down with Russia Indias Narendra Modi urged President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday to sit down for talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine and offered to act as a friend to help bring peace as the two leaders met in wartime Kyiv. Modi, whose visit to Moscow last month was criticised by Kyiv, said he had come to Ukraine with a message of peace and called for dialogue between Russia and Ukraine at the earliest opportunity. The road to resolution can only be found through dialogue and diplomacy. And we should move in that direction without wasting any time. Both sides should sit together to find a way out of this crisis, Modi said. I want to assure you that India is ready to play an active role in any efforts towards peace. If I can play any role in this personally, I will do that I want to assure you as a friend, he said. 01:16 PM BST India ready to make proactive contributions to help end Ukraine conflict Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday that New Delhi had not been neutral or an indifferent bystander during the Russia-Ukraine conflict and was always on the side of peace. Mr Modi, who is visiting Kyiv, reiterated Indias position that the conflict can be resolved only through dialogue and diplomacy and that New Delhi is ready to make proactive contributions towards efforts for peace. 12:58 PM BST Two killed in Kharkiv region At least two civilians have been killed and two others injured in a Russian attack on Ukraines northeastern Kharkiv region, according to the local governor. The strike targeted the village of Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, located about 10 miles from the frontline. 12:39 PM BST Pictured: Zelensky meets Modi Indias Narendra Modi met President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday, weeks after the Ukrainian leader blasted the Indian prime minister over his trip to Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi - ROMAN PILIPEY/AFP via Getty Images Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi - REUTERS/Gleb Garanich 12:20 PM BST EUs Borrell says reduced German aid to Ukraine worrisome The EUs top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Friday that Germanys plans to reduce its military aid to Ukraine to help it fight against Russias invasion was worrisome and bad news. Something that is very much worrisome is the announcement that Germany will decrease its military support in the next years. Thats bad news, he said at a conference in Santander in northern Spain. 12:04 PM BST Penal colony prisoners take hostages in Russia A group of prisoners has taken hostages at a prison in Russias Volgograd region, state media has reported. At least three prisoners are involved in the incident, according to TASS news agency. At least one prison staff member has been killed, and the hostages are all prison employees. Casualties have been reported. The prison, located in the town of Surovikino, is a harsh regime penal colony with a capacity for up to 1,241 male inmates. 11:44 AM BST Satellite photos show port destruction Satellite imagery has revealed the extent of the damage from a reported Ukrainian missile strike on a ferry in the Russian port of Kavkaz, which was used to transport fuel and weapons to occupied Crimea. Satellite imagery of a destroyed Russian train ferry "Conro Trader". Which was targeted yesterday by supposedly Ukrainian Neptune anti ship missile in port Kavkaz, Kerch strait. https://t.co/OGh9AIgpwI https://t.co/syLt4NaQmP pic.twitter.com/rjE98RZ1q6 Special Kherson Cat (@bayraktar_1love) August 23, 2024 11:31 AM BST Crimea ferry services halted following Ukrainian attack Ferry services between southern Russia and Crimea have been halted following a Ukrainian attack, according to the Russian Transport Ministry. On Friday, Ukraines Navy reported that it had destroyed a ferry at Port Kavkaz in Russias Krasnodar region. Ukraine claimed the vessel was used to transport fuel and weapons to Crimea. The suspension of services will allow for a cleanup mission, according to the Russian Transport Ministry, as cited by local authorities. 11:16 AM BST Kyiv advances almost 35 kilometres into Russia Kyiv has advanced 28-35 kilometres (18-21 miles) into Russias Kursk Oblast as the incursion enters its third week, according to Ukraines Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi. 10:54 AM BST Zelensky meets with Modi in Kyiv Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, in the Indian leaders first visit to the war-torn country. Mr Zelensky shook hands and greeted Modi at the entrance of the Mariinsky presidential palace in Kyiv, before a planned meeting where Mr Modi is expected to push for dialogue and diplomacy between Ukraine and Russia. 10:53 AM BST Ukraine hits Russian ferry in Kavkaz Click here to view this content. 10:21 AM BST Kursk city builds bomb shelters Concrete shelters are being constructed in Kursk as Ukraine advances towards the city. Acting governor Alexei Smirnov said that ten locations in crowded places would get shelters and that there are plans to install 60 in total. On my instructions, the Kursk city administration identified key points for placing concrete modular shelters in crowded places, he said. Also, the operational headquarters is currently considering installing reinforced concrete structures in other settlements in our region. 10:02 AM BST Ukraine denies attacking Kursk nuclear power plant Ukraine has denied accusations by Russian President Vladimir Putin that it launched an attack on the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. Russias desired scenario of Ukraines Defense Forces attacking the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant to accuse them of nuclear terrorism fell apart, so Putin joined the propaganda, said Andrii Kovalenko, the head of the counter-disinformation department at Ukraines National Security and Defense Council. Everything points to the fact that Russia itself can carry out this provocation and will try to bring it to the international level. Putin earlier claimed that Ukraine tried to strike the nuclear power plant overnight, but provided no evidence to back up his claim. 09:46 AM BST Two killed in Summy attack Two people were killed and one injured in a Russian attack in Summy Oblast on Thursday, as Russian forces targeted civilian infrastructure in the village of Esman. Russia dropped a KAB-guided aerial bomb on the area, killing two men, aged 67 and 74, and injuring the wife of one of the victims. Two additional people were wounded in similar attacks on communities near the Russia-Ukraine border. 09:31 AM BST Footage shows attack on Russian ship Footage has emerged of the aftermath of the Ukrainian attack on a Russian ship. There were 30 fuel tanks on the ferry in Kavkaz port, local authorities report. A fire train is involved into putting out the fire. Careful, the second video is loud. https://t.co/AnKGneCKSD pic.twitter.com/OTda5GZ4sa Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 22, 2024 09:15 AM BST No movement of Belarusian troops near border No signs of the movement of Belarusian troops have been spotted near the Ukrainian border despite Minsks announcement that it would send additional forces to the area. We do not see any movement directly near our border - neither equipment nor personnel, Andriy Demchenko, Ukraines border guard service spokesman, told national television. He added that the situation in the area generally has not changed. On Sunday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed that his country had deployed nearly a third of its armed forces along the border. He said that Kyiv had moved 120,000 troops there. 09:00 AM BST Ukraine advances two kilometres in Kharkiv Ukraine has advanced almost two square kilometres deep into the front line area after launching a counterattack in Kharkiv Oblast. Ukraines 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said its forces also seized control of a battalion defence position held by Russian troops, along with several Russian strongholds. The brigade added that Russia lost around 300 soldiers in four days, and a significant amount of equipment and weapons were broken or damaged. The main aim of the operation was to bring down the offensive potential of the 20th Army of the Russian Federation. At the moment, this task has been accomplished, Brigade Commander Andrii Biletskyi said. The assault operations prevented the enemys attack from the direction of Makiivka and relieved tension from other critical front-line areas in the neighbouring brigades zones, the brigade added. 08:52 AM BST Watch: Modi arrives in Ukraine Footage has emerged of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arriving in Ukraine. For the first time in history, the Prime Minister of India visited Ukraine personally. Before arriving to Kyiv by our train, @narendramodi called India a "friend&partner" of Ukraine, hoping for a "restoration of peace" and "strengthening of IND-UA friendship."#IronDiplomacy pic.twitter.com/EFBzoFeCH9 Ukrainian railways || (@Ukrzaliznytsia) August 23, 2024 08:29 AM BST Ukraine confirms attack on Russian ship Ukraine has confirmed that it destroyed a ferry in the Russian port of Kavkaz that was used to deliver fuel and weapons to occupied Crimea. Another undoubtedly military objective has been destroyed. Its purpose was to provide fuel for the invaders. The ferry sank and this port (Kavkaz) is not usable until the ferry is removed, Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk told Ukrainian television. It was the ferries that accounted for three quarters of all logistics and were the main channel (of supply), he added. 08:15 AM BST Harris says she will stand with Ukraine US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said in her Democratic National Convention speech on Thursday that she will stand with Nato allies and with Ukraine if she became president. It comes as the Biden administration pledged it will send about $125 million in new military aid to Ukraine, according to reports. US officials said the latest package of aid includes air defence missiles, munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Javelins and an array of other anti-armour missiles, counter-drone and counter-electronic warfare systems and equipment, 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition, vehicles and other equipment. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the aid has not been publicly announced. The formal announcement could come as soon as Friday, which is the eve of Ukraines Independence Day. 07:58 AM BST Ukrainian soldiers train in UK Ukrainian soldiers have been photographed undergoing military training at an undisclosed location in the UK. Operation Interflex is a UK-led infantry training program given to Ukrainian citizens with little or no previous military experience. The five-week course covers first aid, battlefield tactics, and firearms training. Over 45,000 members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been trained by Operation Interflex since 2022. Ukrainian soldiers take part in a training exercise - NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock 07:43 AM BST Ukrainian drone attempted to attack Kursk nuclear plant A Ukrainian drone attempted to attack Russias Kursk nuclear power station overnight, the state-run news agency TASS said on Friday, citing an unnamed source. The drone was shot down near a spent nuclear fuel storage, the agency said. The Kursk plant is one of Russias top nuclear power stations. 07:43 AM BST Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Kyiv Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The visit, which follows a trip by Modi to Moscow in July, is important for Western-backed Kyiv, which has been trying to nurture diplomatic relations in the Global South in its efforts to secure a fair settlement to end the war. I look forward to the opportunity to ... share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict, Modi said before the trip. As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region. Ukraines navy has sunk a ferry used to transport fuel and weapons to Russian forces in Crimea. The boat, named Conro Trader, was downed at the Kavkaz port, one of Russias largest passenger ports, in the Kerch Strait on Thursday. Local Russian authorities reported 30 fuel tankers being aboard at the time of the attack. While Ukraines military has long had its sights on the Kerch Bridge, which connects Russia to Crimea, the structure accounts for less than a quarter of transit cargo with the rest crossing by ferry, according to local media. The attack has been confirmed by both sides, with the Krasnodar regions governor saying 17 crew members were rescued, with two still missing. This ferry is one of the most important chains of Russian military logistics for supplying the occupation forces, primarily with fuel and lubricants, but it also transported weapons. Therefore, this is a legitimate target, Dmytro Pletenchu, a spokesperson for Ukraines navy, told Radio Svaboda. The attack was confirmed by both sides, with the Krasnodar region's governor saying 17 crew members were rescued and two still missing - Reuters The attack comes more than two weeks into Ukraines surprise offensive in western Russias Kursk region, and amid a wave of missile and drone attacks on strategic targets. On Wednesday, Ukraine launched one of its largest attacks yet on Moscow as Russia said 11 drones were shot down over the region, and 45 across the country. In a separate incident on the same day, a drone was also downed in Murmansk, over 1,000 miles from Ukraine. On Aug 6, Ukraine launched a surprise offensive into Russias southern Kursk region, seizing control of 93 settlements and over 400 square miles of territory. The advance has since slowed, with only marginal gains around territory Ukraine already controls, yet the operation has been seen as a huge morale boost to its tired and overstretched forces. Russia, meanwhile, is advancing on Pokrovsk, a logistical stronghold in the eastern Donetsk region, and has seized at least three settlements in recent days. Over a third of the clashes between the two warring nations are currently taking place on the Pokrovsk front. Ukraine is working to boost its forces in the east with more men and weapons, Volodymyr Zelensky, the countrys president, said this week. Click here to view this content. United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres is expected to address the impacts of climate change and sea level rise on the Pacific region at the Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga. Photograph: Mario Tama/Getty Images The UN secretary general, Antonio Guterres, will attend a Pacific leaders summit this week in Tonga with a focus on climate change in the region, one of the worlds most vulnerable to rising sea levels and temperature changes. The annual meeting of leaders is the top political decision-making body of the region. The week-long summit culminates in the leaders retreat, where key decisions are made, which may include an endorsement of a regional policing initiative promoted by Australia. The future for New Caledonia is among other big issues to be addressed at the Pacific Islands Forum (Pif) which began in Tonga on Monday. We gather at a pivotal time in our regions history, said forum secretary Baron Waqa, a former president of Nauru. We are at the centre of global geopolitical interest. We are at the forefront of a battle against climate change. Australias prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and New Zealands prime minister, Christopher Luxon leaders of the forums two largest economies will attend along with most heads of government of the 18-member regional bloc. Related: We will fight until Kanaky is free: how New Caledonia caught fire As geopolitical tensions rise and competition for influence in the Pacific increases, more outside attention has been focused on some of the smallest countries in the world. The threats posed by climate change and sea level rise will be a central part of the summit, which Guterres will address. Pacific leadership will be looking for more financial support for its climate and disaster initiatives. The fate of the Pacific depends on limiting the rise in global temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the UN secretary general said at a press conference in Samoa on Friday, ahead of the meeting in Tonga. This region, the Pacific, contributes 0.02% of global emissions. Yet you are on the frontlines of the climate crisis, dealing with extreme weather events from raging tropical cyclones to record ocean heatwaves. The situation in New Caledonia is also likely to be a focus of the meeting, after the French territory was rattled by deadly violence this year over plans from Paris to expand voting rights. This week, a much anticipated high-level visit to New Caledonia by Pacific leaders was postponed, at the request of Louis Mapou, president of the New Caledonia government. We must reach consensus on our vision for a region of peace and security, Tongan prime minister Siaosi Sovaleni said on Monday. We must honour the vision of our forefathers regarding self determination, including in New Caledonia. The Cook Islands prime minister, Mark Brown, who is the outgoing Pif chair, said at a recent press conference it is challenging for Pif to navigate the impacts of New Caledonias dual status as both a full member of the forum and a territory of France. The unrest has seen the territory added as a standing item to the leaders agenda which reflects its importance to regional leaders. In recent years the meeting has drawn increasing interest amid a geopolitical battle for influence in the region between the US and China. As Beijing has expanded its influence in the Pacific and increased its economic and security relationships, the US has boosted its engagement on numerous fronts. Washington has promised more aid, struck security partnerships and opened new embassies. Pacific countries have seen a series of ministerial visits from the US and China, as well as new initiatives across different sectors, and a rise in defence diplomacy. Related: Mapped: the vast network of security deals spanning the Pacific, and what it means Fijis prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, will travel to the Pif on the heels of a visit to Beijing, where he discussed economic development and other ways to deepen ties. The leaders of Vanuatu and Solomon Islands visited China in July. While Pif members agree on many key priorities, maintaining regional solidarity can be challenging. Last year in Cook Islands, the political divide on deep-sea mining became clear. Since then, Vanuatu has led a charge at the most recent meeting of the International Seabed Authority to prevent licences for exploitation of seabed resources being issued before environmental regulations are in place. Last year, Pacific leaders asked the forum secretariat to convening a regional talanoa (discussion) on this issue. It has yet to take place. Agence-France Presse contributed to this report Pro-Palestinian uncommitted delegates speak to the press during a demonstration in Chicago, Illinois, on 22 August 2024. Photograph: Vincent Alban/Reuters After a daylong sit-in, uncommitted delegates entered the United Center to take their seats among their state delegations on the Democratic national convention floor. The Democratic convention failed to make a 6pm CT deadline that the ceasefire delegates had set for a final decision on allowing a Palestinian American to speak from the main stage. At a press conference outside the convention, movement leaders said they do not plan to disrupt the events inside the convention Thursday. They did say they are calling for Kamala Harris or senior members of her team to meet with the uncommitted movement in Michigan to talk about a ceasefire and arms embargo. They set a 15 September deadline for a meeting. Abbas Alawieh, a leader of the uncommitted movement and an uncommitted delegate from Michigan, denounced the conventions failure to listen to their demands. The scandal is that there are forces within Democratic party leadership who do not want us to talk about Palestinian human rights, he said. Theyre out of step with the majority of the Democratic base, the majority of Democratic voters who believe that Palestinian human rights are a priority. Ruwa Romman, a Georgia state representative who wrote a speech for the convention to consider, read her speech to the crowd gathered outside. Earlier on Thursday, Mother Jones published the text, which began: Im honored to be the first Palestinian elected to public office in the great state of Georgia and the first Palestinian to ever speak at the Democratic national convention. Lets commit to each other, to electing Vice-President Harris and defeating Donald Trump who uses my identity as a Palestinian as a slur, she said in her speech. Lets fight for the policies long overdue from restoring access to abortions to ensuring a living wage, to demanding an end to reckless war and a ceasefire in Gaza. The group held an impromptu sit-in on Wednesday and Thursday after weeks of attempts to get a speaker on the main stage at the convention. The movement had first requested that Dr Tanya Haj-Hassan, a doctor who worked in Gaza, and a Palestinian American leader take the stage, and then streamlined the request to a Palestinian American leader. About a dozen of those in the movement stayed overnight on the pavement outside the United Center, catching whatever sleep they could. The police did not attempt to get them to leave. A group of delegates have fought using the Democratic party process to demand change internally, while protesters have also demonstrated across Chicago this week in separate actions. Related: We cant just vote: protesters gather in Chicago for Gaza and abortion rights before Democratic convention Outside the convention perimeter, anti-war protesters gathered for the second March on the Democratic convention after a week of demonstrations around the city that at times ended in arrests. Thousands of pro-Palestinian activists left Union Park in Chicago to march past the convention center, where Harris is expected to accept the Democratic nomination Thursday. Protesters holding flags and signs calling Harris Killer Kamala demanded an end to US military aid to Israel. Michael, who said his family was Palestinian and Irish, said that he was marching to demand that the US stop funding genocide and said that Harris needs to listen to us and empathize with ordinary Palestinians. Right now, weve been locked out and exiled, he said. The protesters chanted: Antifada! Revolution! End the occupation! It is right to rebel! Democrats go to hell! Just like 1968! Nothing here to celebrate! Hundreds of police officers, some in riot helmets, lined the protest route near the United Center. Protest organizers estimated Thursdays March on the DNC drew about 11,000 demonstrators and that Mondays march saw 20,000. The final impression of this week is that a combined 30,000+ people from communities the Democrats claim to represent marched on the DNC to demand a stop to the genocide and an end to all US aid to Israel, said Nadiah Alyafai, member of the US Palestinian Community Network. The Uncommitted National Movement launched in Michigan in the Democratic primaries as a way for voters who disapprove of the US policies on the Gaza war to register their discontent with the Biden administration. From Michigan, it spread across the states, with more than 700,000 people casting some version of an uncommitted vote. These voters won 30 uncommitted delegates to the convention. Those delegates have worked to build their power by convincing Harris delegates to sign on as ceasefire delegates who agree with demands of a ceasefire and arms embargo. Supporters, including members of Congress, union leaders and Democratic organizers, underscored the speaker request, saying the convention needed to change course. James Zogby, the founder and president of the Arab American Institute, was the last Arab American to speak from the main stage of the Democratic convention, in 1988. He told the Guardian the conventions decision to deny a Palestinian American speaker an an unforced error, a kind of a bonehead move that is going to cost them votes and didnt need to. This is whats called a real stupid, boneheaded mistake, to end up literally dumping on your own story that ought to be about the convention and Kamala Harris and hope and joy and all that. And instead, were talking about a dumb mistake made by consultants to exclude Palestinian voices, Zogby said. According to Waleed Shahid, a progressive strategist and member of the uncommitted movement, the Harris campaign senior staff made a lot of different offers to get this to end, none of which had to do with getting a Palestinian American on stage. They gave us mid-level staff, they gave us senior staff. They gave us random senators, random members of the House. They were like, this member of the House is inside. Theyll meet with you, Shahid said. Democratic party officials said tonight is going to be vice-president Harriss biggest speech of her life, and it needs to be about her. But we have given them two months, and we had Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. So we did not put them in this position, Layla Elabed, a leader of the uncommitted movement, said. Kamala Harris's speech to the DNC was the biggest of her life - but she played it safe - ANADOLU Click here to view this content. This weeks Democratic National Convention in Chicago was Kamala Harriss chance to introduce herself to a party that did not choose her. After the chaos of Joe Bidens exit from the race, the vice-presidents allies presented her as a unifying force who had the ideas and gumption to take on Donald Trump. Her speech on Thursday night was the biggest of her life, and it did everything a convention address is supposed to do. It ran through her policy priorities and offered up punchy phrases to the crowds. It attacked her rival. But for a candidate who entered the race a month ago, with just 11 weeks until polling day, Ms Harris played it very safe. Promising to unify the country, she told delegates: Our nation with this election has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past. This was the chance for Ms Harris to emerge from Mr Biden's shadow - ANADOLU Ms Harris said she would offer a new way forward, so the country would never go back. Her ideas, however, felt like a reworked version of the Biden campaign that came to a shuddering halt last month. Her praise of Americas middle class, which she said had always been critical to Americas success, was straight out of Mr Bidens campaign playbook, while her plan to build an opportunity economy was a pastiche of the message to blue-collar voters that he delivered in 2020. The punchiest section of the speech, on foreign policy, offered a spirited defence of Ukraine and a careful balancing of the rights of Israel and Palestine. In place of a grand plan to improve the lives of Americans, Ms Harris gave platitudes to rile up the partys delegates. The future is always worth fighting for, ran one line, which drew applause in the room. In the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand, she said later. Pledging to resurrect Mr Bidens border plans, she then declared: I refuse to play politics with our security. After the barnstorming speeches by Barack and Michelle Obama earlier this week, Ms Harriss address felt somewhat flat. Barack Obama watches his wife Michelle Obama on screen at the DNC The Obamas gave speeches that charted a course of change for the country, setting up Ms Harris to unveil her strategy for Novembers election. When it came to it, she did not quite live up to expectations. Convention speeches, of course, are not actually about the delegates in the hall all of whom will vote for the nominee on stage. The prize of Thursday night was to win over swing voters sitting at home watching cable news. Many of them will have known little about Ms Harris, who has received less media attention than Mr Biden since they were both elected in 2020. After the convention, voters will know more about Ms Harriss backstory, that she rejects Trump and that she will continue Mr Bidens work. Beyond that, they will not have learnt much at all. It is difficult, even after a week of speeches about her, to define exactly what Ms Harris stands for in this election. Of course, she supports more economic redistribution, more gun control and protections for access to abortion, but that could be said about any Democratic nominee. The convention gave the impression she is a continuity candidate, pushing the narrative of change without a clear idea of what she would do differently to her predecessor. At the conclusion of her speech, Ms Harris recounted a piece of wisdom from her mother. Never let anyone tell you who you are; show them who you are, she said. As delegates filed out of the convention hall on Thursday night, it did not feel that she had followed that advice. Click here to view this content. Lifeguard with dog Click here to view this content. Dog lifeguards are being deployed on a popular beach in Spain to help rescue stranded swimmers and missing bathers, years after a human lifeguard began taking his pet on patrols. The job of saving the lives of beachgoers out of their depth has long been the preserve of the young and the fit, but even the best would struggle to rival the supreme abilities of their new canine colleagues. The mainly Labrador and Newfoundland breeds undergoing training at the Malaga-Velez area of southern Spain have such enormous strength that they can drag up to two tonnes of floating weight. The dogs, dressed in yellow vests, have accompanied their handlers on patrols around bathing spots including Malagas Levante beach. The plan is for them to dive into action upon the orders of a human lifeguard, either from the shore or a kayak during rescues out at sea. The training process, which begins when they are three or four months old, lasts around a year. In just one year, the dogs are perfectly trained, said Manuel Duran, the manager of the MresQ canine rescue and emergency unit contracted by Velez-Malaga this summer in a first for the Andalusia region. Training videos show the dogs leaping into the water and dragging people to safety by using their teeth to pull a cord attached to a harness. According to Mr Duran, the Newfoundland breed has a stamina that far exceeds that of most humans, able to swim up to three nautical miles while pulling heavy weights. Their superior sense of smell can also aid in search and rescue missions, where humans are almost solely guided by sight. But protecting these super lifeguards is paramount, which is why they are kept to a strict daily routine of patrols between 2pm and 5pm to avoid the worst of the afternoon heat. Buddy, a one-year-old Labrador, undergoes training at Torre del Mar - Jon Nazca/Reuters The training process, which begins when dogs are three or four months old, lasts around a year - Jon Nazca/Reuters The dogs live with their handlers and are provided with shade, air conditioning, fans and everything else necessary to keep them hydrated and comfortable, Mr Duran told the Malaga Hoy newspaper. Each dog has a special bond with its handler, which ensures that they are always well cared for and protected. The idea of using dogs as marine rescue animals stems from an experiment conducted by a human lifeguard a decade ago. David Alvarez, a lifeguard in San Pedro del Pinatar, Murcia, had the idea of training his Newfoundland, called Bruno, to rescue objects, then real people, noting how the breeds webbed paws made for a strong swimming dog. I just wanted a dog as a pet and had not really thought about working with him in my job as a lifeguard, but after I had him two weeks I took him with me to the sea and realised what a fantastic swimmer he was, said Mr Alvarez. Paddy McGuinness found a surprising connection in Who Do You Think You Are? (BBC) ((BBC/Wall to Wall /Stephen Perry)) What did you miss? Paddy McGuinness has uncovered a surprising connection to US President Joe Biden in his episode of Who Do You Think You Are?. The comedian and TV presenter admitted he knew very little about his family - even his own parents - and felt "ignorant" each time he was asked where in Ireland his roots lay as he didn't know. So the Bolton star was excited to find out the detailed history of his family, including his connection to Ireland and Biden. What, how, and why? "I don't know if you've had anyone on the show who knows as little about their family as me," admitted Paddy McGuinness at the start of Who Do You Think You Are?. "I don't even know that much about my mum and dad...Anything is a treat for me, anything." So it turned out that a huge surprise was in store for the Bolton comedian as he was told of an unexpected connection to US President Joe Biden while finally discovering his Irish roots. Paddy McGuinness said he knew next to nothing about his family. (BBC) ((BBC/Wall to Wall /Stephen Perry)) Before travelling to Ballina in County Mayo, McGuinness said: "The number of times over the years I've been asked where in Ireland my family are from, and I've felt so ignorant not knowing." He went in search of more information about his great-grandmother Bridget McGuinness after discovering her boarder was the father of her child, the comedian's grandfather. He commented: "So the boarder is my grandad's dad? This is all getting a bit Jeremy Kyle for me now." But further surprises were to come in Ballina as a local historian told him that the Irish ancestors Biden often proudly speaks of lived next to McGuinness' own relatives. Joe Biden also visited Ballina on the trail of his ancestors. (AFP via Getty Images) (JIM WATSON via Getty Images) The TV star said: "There's been so many lovely little surprises...my ancestors over here in Ballina lived on the same street as Joe Biden's ancestors." Incredibly, McGuinness found out his paternal grandparents' names for the first time during the show, as well as hearing that his grandfather had fought in the Boer War at the same time as Winston Churchill and where Mahatma Gandhi was a stretcher bearer. McGuinness seemed thrilled to have found out so much family detail and while walking along a beach in County Mayo as the episode wrapped up, he said: "I do feel a real spiritual connection. They could have been playing on here as kids, walking up and down." What else has been happening on Who Do You Think You Are? Last week, Line of Duty star Vicky McClure was keen to find out more about her great grandfather Harry Millership, who was taken to Taiwan during World War Two as a Japanese prisoner of war and forced to work in a copper mine under terrible conditions. His story left McClure heartbroken and in tears as she visited the mine and was shown his death certificate, hearing how he had been the first to die there after a fall when he was 35 years old. Vicky McClure paid an emotional visit to Taiwan in last week's episode. (BBC) ((BBC/Wall to Wall/Stephen Perry)) She admitted: "The whole thing has been the most incredible, disturbing and life-changing experience. There's been a lot of it I've not found easy." McClure identified with her great grandfather as she spoke about how difficult she found the trip to Taiwan, saying: "I'm not the greatest at travelling too far from home, especially alone... It's really overwhelming." "There's a reason I'm an actor and it's because I've got a very vivid imagination," she added after hearing the details of his imprisonment. "Sometimes I battle with that. I think I'm battling with it here. My head's all over the shop and I'm learning information that is just horrific. It's my great grandad, it's my mum's grandad, it's just too close. "I feel like I want to go home, or I want my family here with me. I feel really on my own in this because it's so much to take in and take on. And yet I feel terrible for feeling like that because he was alone, he didn't have his family and he didn't make it home. I just weirdly feel connected which is bonkers because I never even met him." Who Do You Think You Are? airs on BBC One at 9pm on Thursday. Read more: Paddy McGuinness This article originally appeared on Yahoo TV UK at https://uk.news.yahoo.com/paddy-mcguinness-joe-biden-ancestors-215925115.html EAGLE PASS, TEXAS - DECEMBER 18: In this aerial view, A group of more than 1,000 immigrants walks towards a U.S. Border Patrol field processing center after they crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico on December 18, 2023 in Eagle Pass, Texas. A surge as many as 12,000 immigrants per day crossing the U.S. southern border has overwhelmed U.S. immigration authorities in recent weeks. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images) *** BESTPIX *** John Moore/Getty Images Department of Public Safety troopers stand guard over migrants in a detention area Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, in Eagle Pass as a surge of migrants push across the border. William Luther The Rio Grande river runs alongside Shelby Park on June 04, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images EAGLE PASS, TEXAS - JANUARY 12: National Guard soldiers stand guard on the banks of the Rio Grande river at Shelby Park on January 12, 2024 in Eagle Pass, Texas. The Texas National Guard continues its blockade and surveillance of Shelby Park in an effort to deter illegal immigration. The Department of Justice has accused the Texas National Guard of blocking Border Patrol agents from carrying out their duties along the river. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) *** BESTPIX *** Brandon Bell/Getty Images Gov. Greg Abbott regularly credits his $11 billion border security crackdown with driving down border crossings in Texas. But a new analysis of federal data shows that three of the four Southwestern border states have seen crossings decline significantly this year, and Texas had the most crossings of any state in July. "Illegal crossings into Texas are DOWN 85% thanks to Operation Lone Star," Abbott wrote on the social media site X this month. In another post last week, the Republican governor wrote that hundreds of miles of razor wire the Texas National Guard has strung along the border has "helped to decrease illegal immigration by about 85%." Advertisement Article continues below this ad Crossings have dropped 86% in Texas since December, when the Border Patrol logged record apprehensions. But they have also fallen 84% in Arizona and 55% in California, two states with Democratic governors and no comparable border initiatives, according to an analysis of federal data by Adam Isacson, a researcher at the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights advocacy group. "Texas's big border crackdown hasn't deterred migration any more than other border states," Isacson wrote on X on Tuesday. Abbott's office said the governor launched Operation Lone Star to "fill in the dangerous gaps" left by the Biden administration and that since its launch in 2021, crossings have similarly declined 85%. "Until President Biden and Border Czar Harris step up and do their jobs to secure the border, Texas will continue utilizing every tool and strategy to respond to the Biden-Harris border crisis," Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said in a statement. The state-level analysis is the latest evidence that a major slowdown at the border this year has little to do with the state's ongoing crackdown. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The biggest declines came in January, after Mexico stepped up enforcement under pressure from the Biden administration, and in June, after President Joe Biden issued an executive order that shut off asylum processing when more than 2,500 migrants illegally cross into the United States in a single day. OPERATION LONE STAR: How Greg Abbott made the Texas border America's problem Borderwide crossings fell from 249,740 in December to 124,216 in January, according to the analysis. In May, the Border Patrol logged 117,905 apprehensions in the four border states. By July, they tallied just 56,408. Texas had the largest share of those, with 16,991, just ahead of California's 16,471. But there are signs that Operation Lone Star has had more localized effects, Isacson said in an interview. The Del Rio sector, which includes Eagle Pass, a tiny border town where Abbott has focused much of the state's crackdown, saw the greatest decline of any sector along the border. Crossings in the sector fell from 71,050 in December to just 7,237 in July. New Mexico was the only state to log an increase in crossings from December to July. The state saw an 8% bump in crossings, which started to climb from 8,298 in January and hit a peak of 13,396 in April. Migrants who had been able to walk across the border in El Paso before Texas started putting up fencing and other barriers may have had an easier time crossing just over state lines, Isacson said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "The buildup has probably pushed people out of some of the more easy-to-access points," Isacson said of the state's border security efforts. Still, he said, "youre playing whack-a-mole, youre just going to push it to other areas." Experts agree that the biggest factor in the decline appears to be Mexico's decision to step up enforcement efforts after a meeting with Biden administration officials in December. Mexico started prohibiting migrants from freight trains many were riding to the U.S., busing them instead to the southern part of the country and flying some home to Venezuela. "I attribute far more of the slowdown to this Mexico deal than to the Texas fortifications, even though the Texas fortifications work OK for managing very slow and sporadic traffic," said Todd Bensman, a fellow at the conservative Center for Immigration Studies. Bensman noted that even as Texas had strung razor wire, stacked cargo boxes and erected fences along the border for months before this year's declines, crossings were still setting records until January. Advertisement Article continues below this ad "The objective videoed truth is that those fortifications had been completely overrun for months, right up until that Mexico deal was cut," Bensman said. The nationalities of migrants arriving at the border also plays a significant role in where they try to enter the U.S., said Ariel Ruiz Soto, a senior policy analyst at the nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute. Most Venezuelans coming to the U.S. were crossing the border in Texas, but there has been a dramatic decrease in the number of Venezuelans seeking to enter the country between ports of entry, with just 1,000 apprehended in July. That has corresponded with the decline in crossings reported in Texas, he said. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Ukraines offensive in Kursk has exposed Putins Kremlin cabal to the consequences of their aggression, the Defence Secretary has said. John Healey branded the Russian president a playground bully after Vladimir Putin described Ukraines campaign as large-scale provocation. Ukraine celebrated its National Flag Day on Friday and will mark 33 years of independence on Saturday, the anniversary of the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine, when Kyiv resolved to leave the Moscow-based Soviet Union. Defence Secretary John Healey (James Manning/PA) Mr Healeys Whitehall department has launched a social media campaign to mark the occasion, and urged social media users to share videos of them clapping, cheering, playing music, singing or ringing bells with the hashtag #MakeNoiseForUkraine. Writing in Saturdays Telegraph, the Cabinet minister claimed the defence of the UK and Europe starts on the front lines that run through Ukraine because if Putin succeeds in his aims there, he will not stop. He added: Ukraines defensive operation in Kursk is a reminder to all Ukraines supporters that wars can shift at short notice, and continued military support for Ukraine remains as crucial as ever. It has sown doubt inside Russia, exposing Putins Kremlin cabal to the consequences of their aggression. And it has boosted morale among the Ukrainian people, whose extraordinary resilience over the past two and a half years has earned the admiration of the world. Putins complaints that Ukraines offensive is a provocation are akin to a playground bully protesting because his smaller victim has had the temerity to fight back. Ukrainian forces launched a cross-border raid in Russias Kursk region recently, the largest since Russian forces began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine two-and-a-half years ago. Mr Putin has described the incursion as a large-scale provocation that involved indiscriminate shelling of civilian buildings, residential houses and ambulances. Tomorrow, we want our support for Ukraine to be heard around the world. On Ukrainian Independence Day, join us in a moment to make noise for the bravery and resilience of Ukraine. See how to get involved here https://t.co/hxo6misZdM #MakeNoiseForUkraine pic.twitter.com/3FypF0UWFj Ministry of Defence (@DefenceHQ) August 23, 2024 Mr Healey wrote: Ukraine has the right to defend itself against Russias illegal attacks, including the option to carry out incursions within Russia, as long as they are compliant with international law. In a nod to his departments social media campaign, the Defence Secretary added: Until Russian guns are silent, we will make noise for Ukraine. We will stand by Ukraine. For as long as it takes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky challenged the Labour Government on its commitment to Ukraines defence last week, when he said on X, formerly Twitter: Throughout this war, weve seen the UK demonstrate true leadership in arms, politics, and support for Ukrainian society. This has saved thousands of lives, reflecting the strength of the UK. Unfortunately, the situation has slowed down recently. A Number 10 spokeswoman said this week: The Prime Minister remains absolutely resolute in his support for Ukraine and in fact, on the latest situation, including in Kursk, the Prime Minister wants to set out his full admiration for the bravery shown by Ukrainian soldiers who have once again proved their spirit and determination in the face of continued Russian aggression, and shown that they will do whatever it takes to defend their country. Chiefs at social media site Bluesky have suggested they are eyeing politicians for their platform after X owner Elon Musks commentary on UK current affairs. A spokesperson for the fledgling company said they had seen quite the influx of UK accounts over the last two weeks, including many members of parliament. Safeguarding minister Jess Phillips, Liberal Democrat technology spokeswoman Layla Moran and Mother of the House Diane Abbott are among its users. In an exchange with Labour backbencher Antonia Bance (Tipton and Wednesbury) about verification, Blueskys head of trust and safety Aaron Rodericks wrote on the website: We are checking through higher profile MPs and journalists to ensure that there arent any impersonators due to the influx of UK accounts. He suggested website developers could reserve a phrase, such as parliament.uk, which only MPs could use in their usernames or handles. Will try to engage with the parliamentary team to support, Mr Rodericks wrote. Bluesky spun out of Twitter, now known as X, after its chief executive Jack Dorsey announced in 2019 the giant would fund developers to create an open and decentralised standard for social media. Tesla chief Mr Musk bought Twitter in 2022 and got rid of the blue check verification mark, replacing it with paid-for blue and gold tick icons for individuals and businesses, and grey tick icons for government-linked accounts. Sir Keir Starmer has refused to be drawn into a spat with the worlds richest man, who used the hashtag #TwoTierKeir, a reference to allegations the authorities have treated some protesters in the UK more harshly than others, promoted false claims that the Prime Minister had considered setting up detainment camps in the Falkland Islands to imprison rioters, and suggested civil war is inevitable. A Number 10 spokeswoman said last week: Im not proposing to get into back-and-forth on individual comments. Mr Musk also described Scotlands former first minister Humza Yousaf as super, super racist on X, after Mr Yousaf, speaking on CNN, branded him one of the most dangerous men. X owner Elon Musk (Toby Melville/PA) Mr Yousafs lawyer Aamer Anwar told the Sunday Mail at the time that Mr Musk had effectively painted a target on Humza Yousafs back with his completely unacceptable, untrue and inflammatory comments. Asked about verification on the platform, a Bluesky spokesperson told the PA news agency: Verification is two-fold currently. The way for organisations and individuals to self-verify is by setting their username to their website. For example, The New York Times uses @nytimes.com on Bluesky, and US Senator Ron Wyden uses @wyden.senate.gov. The senate.gov domain in his username indicates that his account is legitimate. Additionally, for accounts that havent set their website as their username, Blueskys trust and safety team reviews those accounts for legitimacy. The spokesperson said 37,000 UK users had signed up to the platform in the fortnight to Wednesday August 21. They added that UK users had made 766 posts, 2.97 million likes and 1.8 million follows. So many people use social media to keep up with the news, so we definitely want to encourage politicians, journalists, and more to join Bluesky, they added. Ms Phillips first post to the platform last Sunday read: Lets try not to mess this up. The Labour minister said she would choose (her) words more carefully after she was accused of defending hooded and masked men who were filmed approaching reporters in her Birmingham Yardley constituency. These people came to this location because it has been spread that racists were coming to attack them, she wrote on X. Conservative shadow security minister Tom Tugendhat responded: When Jess Phillips sought to justify the militia, vigilantism and violence, to excuse a militia on our streets, Keir Starmer should have sacked her, because ministers must always defend the principle of equality before the law. In her second Bluesky post, Ms Phillips wrote: So far my feed feels like early Twitter. Hooray. My mentions feel like Twitter 2016/17. Ms Moran has written only hello world followed by a smiley, while Cameron Thomas, the Liberal Democrat MP for Tewkesbury, posted his own name on October 20 last year, before he was elected. Labour MP for Buckingham and Bletchley Callum Anderson wrote on Thursday: Hello Bluesky. Looking forward to exploring (yet) another social media community. South Belfast and Mid Down MP Claire Hanna, of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, made her second post to the website on Wednesday, more than 10 months after her first post which read: Youre probably wondering why Ive gathered you all here this afternoon. Sir Keir Starmer told Xi Jinping he hoped they could have open, frank and honest talks about areas of disagreement in his first official phone call with the Chinese president. In the Friday morning call, the two leaders discussed potential areas of co-operation, including on trade, the economy and education, a Downing Street spokeswoman said. As Permanent Members of the UN Security Council, the leaders agreed on the importance of close working in areas, such as climate change and global security. The Prime Minister added that he hoped the leaders would be able to have open, frank and honest discussions to address and understand areas of disagreement when necessary, such as Hong Kong, Russias war in Ukraine and human rights. Sir Keir told Chinese President Xi Jinping, left, that he hopes they can have open, frank and honest discussions on issues such as Hong Kong and Russias war in Ukraine (Matt Cardy/PA) The leaders also agreed on the need for a stable and consistent UK-China relationship, including dialogue between their respective foreign and domestic ministers. Beijings embassy in the UK said that President Xi congratulated Sir Keir on assuming office and noted that the two countries need to view their relations from a long-term and strategic perspective. The embassy said in its statement: China is committed to building a great country and achieving national rejuvenation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernisation, and follows a path of peaceful development. It is hoped that the UK will view China in an objective and rational manner. Foreign Secretary David Lammy met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of an ASEAN gathering in Laos last month. He urged China to prevent its companies from supporting Russias war effort and stressed the UKs ironclad commitment to backing Ukraine. A protest has been held outside Irelands houses of parliament to call for an immediate end to the killing of people in Gaza. The demonstration was organised in response to a US delegation visiting the Irish parliamentary building, Leinster House, on Friday. Protesters criticised the US for continuing to arm Israel and called for the killing of civilians in Gaza to stop. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the 11 months since the October attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. Protesters wearing a Joe Biden mask and Benjamin Netanyahu mask take part in a pro-Palestine protest outside the Merrion Square entrance to Leinster House, Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA) Much of Gaza has been devastated by Israels subsequent military operation, which has destroyed water and sanitation services and limited food supplies to the Palestinian enclave. UNRWA, the UN relief agency for Palestinians, said this week there was now a risk of a polio outbreak due to the collapse of the regions health services and a confirmed case in a 10-month-old child. At the protest outside the gates to Leinster House on Dublins Merrion Street, people held signs with the slogans Stop the genocide and Genocide Joe, referring to US President Joe Biden and the US continuing to support Israel. People carried signs reading Im a mother, not a target and Im a child, not a target and two protesters wore masks featuring the faces of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr Biden. At the Kildare Street end, a larger demonstration was held to the beat of drums, with people chanting Free, free Palestine and Occupation no more while waving Palestinian flags. Protesters take part in a pro Palestine protest outside the Merrion Square entrance to Leinster House, Dublin (Grainne Ni Aodha/PA) People Before Profit TD Brid Smith said she was informed in July that a US delegation would visit the Dail chamber, to which she responded to say that her party did not approve in the context of US support for Israel. Were in the middle of the worst genocide that the world has seen in many decades and if the US werent funding Israel it would come to an end, she said of the destruction in Gaza. She said when she heard nothing back, she told the Irish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign and Mothers Against Genocide who organised the protest on Friday. She said she understands that the protest will continue until the delegation leaves Leinster House. Its not a mass protest like Ive seen in Ireland on the question of Palestine, its not of that size, but it is a very young and very loud and very vibrant protest, she said. People are disgusted and raging that the Dail chamber was used in this way, she said, adding that although it has happened before, it was now in the context of Israel depending on the US. She added: On the boycott (of Israeli goods), I was involved in the anti-apartheid movement in the 80s, and it didnt happen overnight that the apartheid state was brought down in South Africa. It took many years of the South African people fighting back but also global solidarity. I think people feel very dispirited and hopeless about whats going on in Gaza but actually the boycott movement is very, very important. Hector Vivas // Getty Images A gruff middle-aged detective (Nick Nolte) springs a young street-smart bank robber (Eddie Murphy) from prison to help him catch his late partner's killers. Hijinks ensue and an unlikely partnership is forged. With that setup, seamlessly blending humor with action, the 1982 film "48 Hrs." established the buddy cop formula: Two opposites come together to fight crime and, often, each otherand provide the actors playing them plenty of room to demonstrate chemistry and comedic timing. Backstage reveals what you need to know about the genre, along with a lineup of the best buddy cop movies. What makes a buddy cop movie great? An odd couple: The success of a buddy cop movie depends upon the chemistry of the two leads, who should feed off of and push each other. One obvious way to ensure this tension is to give each lead character conflicting personality traits. The Japanese noir film "Stray Dog," which came out in 1949, is considered a precursor to the genre due to its exploration of the relationship between two vastly different police officers forced to work together. Similarly, the 1974 trailblazer "Freebie and the Bean" features a hilarious, oft-volatile partnership between odd couple Freebie (James Caan) and Bean (Alan Arkin). Their witty repertoire and begrudging camaraderie would help define the odd couple trope for future filmslike in "The Heat," where an FBI special agent's fastidious personality conflicts with that of her free-spirited detective partner. An impactful case: If you can make the audience care about the case, you're on the right path. Disney's "Zootopia" might not be the first movie that comes to mind when thinking about buddy cop films, but it does a stellar job at making viewers care. The rabbit Judy Hopps and the fox Nick Wilde must set aside their differences to figure out why all predator animals have suddenly reverted to base hunting instincts. If they're not successful, the world as they know it will be in jeopardytalk about driving up stakes! A solid relationship arc: It might seem like solving the case or catching the criminal is the most important element, but to win over viewers, you need more than that. What really sets a movie apart is its ability to show the progression of the characters' relationship as it evolves over time. In "21 Jump Street," for instance, Jenko (Channing Tatum) and Schmidt (Jonah Hill) build a solid relationship arc as they navigate a disastrous return to high school and slowly learn the importance of relying on one another. Lots of laughs: The buddy cop movie has to make viewers laugh using multiple types of humor. If it fails to be funny, then it's just another action movieand that's not nearly as fun. Physical comedy, well-written jokes, and the humor inherent in clashing personalities help make films like "The Other Guys" paragons of the genre. Over-the-top action sequences: While comedy is important, these films aren't complete without at least one over-the-top action sequenceexplosions, car chases, fight scenes, shootouts, etc. "Starsky & Hutch" includes a hilariously excessive sequence: The villain attempts to escape by boat, causing the titular duo to give chase, slam on their brakes, and fly through the air only to miraculously land on the attempted getaway vehicle. 8 great buddy cop films "48 Hrs." (1982) Often credited as the first buddy cop movie, "48 Hrs." laid the groundwork with comedic moments, high stakes, action sequences, and the protagonists' phenomenal chemistry. In his big-screen debut, Eddie Murphy is spectacular as convicted bank robber Reggie Hammond, whom detective Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) pulls out of prison for the titular 48 hours to help track down his old partners in crime. No-nonsense Jack and glib Reggie are polar opposites, as evidenced in the jailbreak scene. In response to Reggie's flippant attitude, Jack asserts that they aren't partners, brothers, or friendsa claim that ends up delightfully disproven by the end of the film. "Lethal Weapon" (1987) Odd couple Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh, portrayed by Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, have palpable chemistry in this witty, action-packed picture that gave the world the infinitely quotable "I'm too old for this shit!" The older and wiser Murtaugh and erratic Riggs immediately clash, but their bond develops as they get sucked into a dangerous drug-trafficking ring case. This scene is one of the better cinematic examples of showing versus telling. Riggs's impulsiveness and lack of care for his life is evident in how he handles the situation at the tree farm. "Turner & Hooch" (1989) When it comes to classic buddy cop movies, most people aren't thinking of "Turner & Hooch," but actors and directors can both learn a thing or two by watching this movie. Tom Hanks plays Scott Turner, a detective who inherits a mysteriously deceased man's dog. Reluctant at first, Scott ultimately bonds with Hooch as he begins to suspect the dog can help him figure out who killed his friend. There's little greater challenge for an actor or director than working with a canine, but Hanks and director Roger Spottiswoode managed to make the unlikely partnership work. We dare you to watch this scene without letting a chuckle loose. "Last Action Hero" (1993) If you're looking to subvert the buddy cop genre and its tropes while still telling a great story, this is the movie to see. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a fictional L.A. cop in a popular movie franchise who ends up bonding with Danny Madigan (Austin O'Brien). Mourning youngster Madigan finds himself thrust into the movies he's so fond of, thanks to a magical movie ticket. "Last Action Hero" shows that a buddy cop movie doesn't have to be grounded in reality to work. After all, Jack Slater isn't even a real cop, and the events unfolding are taking place inside a movie. "Bad Boys" (1995) Will Smith and Martin Lawrence star opposite each other in this film that redefined the genre. When $100 million worth of heroin is stolen from their station's headquarters, the two detectives are tasked with figuring out the person behind the inside jobbefore the narcotics division gets shut down. Actors can learn a thing or two watching Smith and Lawrence nail everything from action sequences to comedic moments. Just take this clip, which has the two so busy arguing over spilled fries in the car that they wind up staring down the barrel of a gun. "The Other Guys" (2010) Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg star as NYPD detectives Gamble and Hoitz in this hysterical, genre-blurring production. The pair are perpetually stuck on desk duty, pushing paper instead of solving cases. But when a seemingly minor case turns out to be a major one, they head to the streets to finally prove to everyone that they have what it takes to do good detective work. Beyond the innate chemistry between Ferrell and Wahlberg, "The Other Guys" is a master class in comedy due to its absurdist take on buddy cop tropes. In this scene, the detectives' distraught reaction to an explosion is the opposite of the genre's normative cool-as-a-cucumber response. "God how do they walk away in movies without flinching when it explodes behind them?" Gamble cries out, metatextually subverting the trope. "There's no way! I call bullshit on that!" "21 Jump Street" (2012) Adapted from a TV series of the same name, "21 Jump Street" follows two police officers forced to go undercover as high school students to investigate a new synthetic drug. They discover that high school hierarchies are much different than they remember. As this film demonstrates, secondary plots are crucial to the success of a buddy cop movie. Audiences don't just want to watch characters solve cases and catch criminals; they want to watch the characters grow as people, too. Here, the B plot involves the protagonists discovering that the rules governing popularity have changed since their initial high school runs. "The Heat" (2013) Don't let the history of buddy cop movies fool youwomen also have a place in the genre. At least that's what director Paul Feig and actresses Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock set out to prove in "The Heat," which centers on an unlikely pair as they're forced to work together to finally capture a drug lord. One of the biggest takeaways is that buddy cop films can be not only genre-crossing but also gender-crossing. As seen here, the women cops are just as foulmouthed as their male counterparts. "The Nice Guys" (2016) Set in 1977 Los Angeles, "The Nice Guys" features Ryan Gosling as struggling private eye Holland March and Russell Crowe as enforcer Jackson Healy. The pair must team up to investigate the disappearance of teenage girl Amelia (Margaret Qualley). As the unlikely pair gets deeper into the investigation, they discover a twisted conspiracy. "The Nice Guys" truly shines due to its blend of violent action and comedy, like in this messenger service scene that ramps up both; Gosling's scream alone is a deft bit of comedic timing. "Zootopia" (2016) The plot of this film goes from bunny cop to buddy cop when rabbit police officer Judy teams up with wily fox Nick to solve the mystery of why predators are suddenly wreaking havoc on a once peaceful mammal metropolis. "Zootopia" is a reminder that buddy cop movies canand often shouldcross genres. Sure, the majority of them tend to be live-action and filled with raunchy humor, but that doesn't always have to be the case. Just watch this scene to see how Judy and Nick play off each other (and a very slow-moving sloth) to great hilaritywithout vulgarity. This story was produced by Backstage and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media. Beyonce is set to perform at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago tonight in support of Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, TMZ reported. The artist is reportedly present in the Windy City getting ready to step on stage as the surprise mystery guest as Harris formally accepts the nomination. The Chicago Police Department is reported to be on high alert as they provide security at the United Center, the home of the Chicago Bulls. The Hill also reported that Beyonce would take the stage on Thursday. The reports come after rampant social media speculation that Beyonce would take the DNC stage. Contrary to fake news posts, I am not the surprise guest at the DNC tonight. My guess is that it will be Beyonce or Taylor Swift. So disappointing, I know! Utah Senator Mitt Romney wrote on X on Thursday night. Beyonces Freedom has been used as the theme song of the Harris campaign, with the Vice President walking out on stage at the DNC on Monday to the song. Beyonce accepts the Innovator Award onstage during the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre on April 1 in California. Shes set to perform at the DNC on Thursday night (Getty Images) Speculation about the superstars possible appearance also reached to floor of the convention hall, according to The Hill. Stephanie Newton-Azorr, a delegate from Oregon, told the outlet that she had heard the rumors swirling around an appearance from Beyonce, predicting that she would probably perform Freedom. I know she can also mobilize her fan base and help turn out the vote, she told The Hill. People listen to Beyonce. They listen when she speaks. Former Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger also said he was aware of the rumors. Asked if he was excited about a performance from Beyonce, he told the outlet: I dont know Yeah, sure. White House Political Director Emmy Ruiz posted a bee emoji on X, which many social media users took as a reference to the Beyhive and an indication that Beyonce is set to perform. Sorry guys my 6-year-old took my phone, Ruiz added, which didnt stem the flow of hopeful posts that the artist would appear. The White House director of political strategy and outreach has tweeted a emoji. The Beyonce DNC buzz is really buzzing now, Joey Garrison of USA Today wrote on X. Taking this as Beyonce at the DNC confirmation, former Obama staffer and podcaster Tommy Vietor added. The DNC is being broadcast across about a dozen TV networks, including CNN and MSNBC. Its also being streamed on YouTube by outlets such as The Independent, the Associated Press, and The Washington Post. By Allison Lampert, David Ljunggren MONTREAL/OTTAWA (Reuters) -The union representing workers at Canadian National Railway said on Friday they would strike next week, in a fresh threat to the economy after vowing to challenge a government decision to end an unprecedented rail stoppage. The Teamsters union filed notice that conductors, locomotive engineers and other workers at Montreal-based CN would strike on Monday, just days after returning to work on Friday. A Canadian government official had no immediate comment. A CN spokesperson said trains were starting to run and the company's plan to resume operations was under way. "We are focused on getting back to work," said Jonathan Abecassis, CN's spokesperson. "The Teamsters are focused on getting back to the picket line." The looming strike is the latest twist in a labor dispute at Canada's top two railroads, which locked out more than 9,000 unionized workers on Thursday, triggering a simultaneous rail stoppage that business groups said could inflict hundreds of millions of dollars in economic damage. A lockout at rival Canadian Pacific Kansas City has yet to be officially lifted after the Canadian government moved on Thursday to end the rail stoppage, which for the first time involved both railways simultaneously. The dispute led Canada's Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to ask the Canada Industrial Relations Board to issue a back-to-work order. Union and railroad officials met with the CIRB, an independent body, on Friday morning, the Teamsters said on social media site X. Teamsters spokesperson Chris Monette said by phone earlier in the day that the union would challenge the constitutionality of the minister's referral, without giving details. Monette said CN workers would return to work on Friday, although the union had not received any back-to-work protocol from the railway. "The return to work will be chaotic this morning," he said. Monette said members from CPKC would not be back at work as the railway had not yet ended its lockout. CPKC said late on Thursday that it was preparing to restart operations in Canada and that further details on timing would be provided once it received the CIRB's order. (Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editing by Ismail Shakil and Jonathan Oatis) CHICAGO After four days of official and unofficial protests, a large group of protesters still remained on the streets Thursday night during the final hours of the Democratic National Convention, as Kamala Harris prepared to formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination. Despite concerns that Gaza war protests could shut down the city and tank the convention, Chicago had seen four days of modest demonstrations and marches, with only one a confrontational Tuesday gathering outside the Israeli consulate with a notable number of arrests. "Why aren't more people speaking up for us?" asked Belal Assaf, 60, as he and his 19-year-old son Mohammed, marched for an end to the devastating war. The Chicago Palestinian-American called for more humanitarian aid to Gaza. "It's bad when you don't have any hope because there's a lack of resources." After leaving Chicago's Union Park the crowd of more than 1,000 marched in a slow procession Thursday night under the elevated train tracks towards the United Center, where tens of thousands of Democrats gathered to see the vice president's elevation as the party's standard bearer against Donald Trump. More: Fact-checking the Democratic convention: What Kamala Harris, others get right (and wrong) Chicago Ppolice Superintendent Larry Snelling and other brass police brass escorted Gaza war marchers on the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention, on Aug. 22, 2024 More: Denied a speaker, pro-Palestinian Democratic delegates make new demand on Kamala Harris Gaza war protesters demonstrate near the United Center where the Democratic National Convention is taking place on August 22, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. The convention runs through August 22. The crowd of protesters, calling for an end to the war in Gaza and U.S. military support for Israel, filled the street under the "L," with nonstop chanting, blowing whistles, beating drums, chalking the street with messages as police grew visibly concerned over the march exceeding its allotted time. Were young, were strong, well rally all night long, some chanted, even as many demonstrators could be seen leaving march. There were no reports of arrests. The march began with a rally at Union Park, where police had to temporarily close at least one entrance as the site filled to capacity. Hatem Bazian, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, encouraged the crowd to turn their chants into reality: Dont let anyone silence you. Speak, Speak, he said. Free Palestine is a state of mind. Go out and actualize it! More: Pro-Palestinian protesters take the spotlight during DNC. What impact will they make? By 9:20, the march had returned to the street outside the park, to chants "Long live Palestine." Marcher Maureen Sweeney, 69, said she was pleased with Thursdays protest, and stopped Police Superintendent Larry Snelling to tell him so. Snelling walked with the crowd most of the evening. At my age, I feel like I can sort of be the mom and ask people to tamp things down, Sweeney said. I absolutely believe that the size of the rally absolutely impacts public perception and policy. The more people who show up, the more they will be heard. Sweeney, of San Diego, grew up in Chicago and remembers the riots of the 1968 Democratic National Convention. I saw them clubbing the heads of protesters in Grant Park, she said of the decades-old disaster. Tonight was great. Protest is the voice of the oppressed. As, a mile away, Harris accepted the Democratic nomination before a rapturous crowd at the United Arena, the peaceful protest broke up, with a small group of protesters still yelling at police near the train station This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Protesters try to stay on the streets for Kamala Harris speech By Kenrick Cai SAN FRANCISCO - Google has appointed Noam Shazeer, the former head of startup Character.AI and before that a long-time Google researcher, to co-lead its main AI project. Shazeer will serve as a technical lead on Gemini, joining the other co-leaders Jeff Dean and Oriol Vinyals, the company said in a memo to staff. Gemini is the line of AI models being developed by DeepMind, Google's AI division, and which are being integrated into products such as Search and Pixel smartphones. Shazeer recently rejoined Google from the chatbot maker he founded in 2021 with the U.S. tech giant paying billions to bring him and a handful of other employees into DeepMind and to strike a licensing agreement with Character.AI. "We are thrilled to join the best team on earth building the most valuable technology on earth," Shazeer wrote in an email reply to the memo which was seen by Reuters. The memo was first reported by The Information. Shazeer first joined Google in 2000, two years after its inception, and was a co-author of a seminal 2017 research paper which catalyzed the current AI boom. Character.AI utilizes the technical advancements pioneered in the paper. It has raised $193 million and was valued at $1 billion last year by venture capitalists. Google was in talks to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Character.AI, Reuters reported in November, but instead decided to bring Shazeer back in. The deal, which resembles similar moves by Amazon and Microsoft to nab top talent from AI startups, comes at a time when the Big Tech companies are facing regulatory scrutiny. Though they are not acquisitions, the other two deals are nevertheless being examined by the Federal Trade Commission. This month, a U.S. judge ruled that Googles search engine violated antitrust law, spending billions of dollars to create an illegal monopoly. (Reporting by Kenrick Cai in San Francisco; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) Vice President Harris sought to give voice to the suffering in Gaza during her presidential nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, but many pro-Palestinian activists were still left fuming after the Chicago event. Israel-Hamas war protesters wanted a more direct condemnation of the conflict from Harris and a more nuanced perspective than President Biden has offered, even if they assumed they wouldnt get a call for an unconditional end to the fighting or an arms embargo on Israel. Theres no shift from Biden. The messenger has changed, but the message hasnt changed, Daniel Engelhart, an uncommitted delegate from Minnesota, told The Hill. Clearly, theres no policy shift or change of direction. The uncommitted delegates and their pro-Palestinian allies were deeply angered by the denial of a Palestinian American speaker at the convention, a controversy that likely ensures Democrats will continue to navigate a rocky path on the Israel-Hamas war through Election Day. Some pro-Palestinians were especially upset by the rejection of a speaker because the parents of an American hostage held by Hamas were given time for a speech at the DNC. The Uncommitted National Movement had 30 elected uncommitted delegates at the convention after some 700,000 Americans voted against Biden in the primaries, before he dropped out and endorsed his vice president. During her speech, Harris vowed to always defend Israel against terrorist attacks, calling out Hamas for the deadly Oct. 7 attacks that killed some 1,200 people and took roughly 250 hostages in southern Israel, while also expressing her concern about the toll in Gaza, where more than 40,000 people have died. What has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating, she said to a round of applause. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security and freedom to self-determination. Engelhart hit back at Harriss suggestion that the administration was working toward self-determination in Gaza, given its ongoing support for Israels military. For people to have rights and any sort of self-determination, they have got to stop sending the fire, he said. Cease-fire has to have meaning. It has become a meaningless word. Layla Elabed, the co-leader of the Uncommitted National Movement, told The Hill that Harriss speech did not reflect the majority of her core base and would hurt her during the election. She will have to reason with the fact that the majority of the core base that she needs to mobilize to vote for her in November, her current policy doesnt align with them, Elabed said. This was one of the reasons why President Biden had to exit from the presidential race, was because of his unpopular and immoral policy, and right now, were not seeing anything different. Still, many Democrats supported how she addressed the war. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) said Harris struck just the right balance on Gaza in the speech. She made a very important statement about support for Israel and the right of Israel to defend itself, about the terrorism from Hamas and the horrible events of Oct. 7, she told CNN on Friday. But then she pivoted, and she talked about the need for a cease-fire, and the need to ensure that the Palestinian people get the support they need and have the right to self-determination ultimately. Leaders of the movement were negotiating with Harris and the Democratic convention to allow a Palestinian American to speak during the event. Harris refused, and uncommitted organizers began a sit-in. Even more than her speech, pro-Palestinian activists said the refusal to get a Palestinian American on the stage signaled a political resistance to openly standing up for Palestine. Khaled Elgindy, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute who leads the think tanks research on Palestinian issues, said it was jarring that there are Democratic people in leadership who believe that expression of humanity is a political liability. That is what really hit people hard, he said, adding those who were cautiously optimistic about Kamala Harris now feel deflated and erased. Jim Zogby, director of the Arab American Institute, who hosted the first-ever Democratic convention panel on Palestinian human rights during the Chicago convention, called the decision a boneheaded move and an unforced error. I think they made a mistake by not having a Palestinian speaker, he said. They may end up making it difficult for some people to vote because they didnt have a Palestinian speaker. Gaza remains the most divisive issue in the Democratic Party, and the conflict stood in stark contrast to the wave of enthusiasm for Harris throughout the convention. Thousands of protesters gathered in Chicago to protest Democratic support for Israels war in Gaza. Harriss speech was closely watched, especially among those who were hoping she would continue to lay down a harder line than Biden following her vow to not be silent after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last month. Hudhayfah Ahmad, spokesperson and head of media for the Abandon Biden movement, a pro-Palestinian organization that had called for voters to not support Biden unless he ended support for Israel, said his group would now switch to Abandon Harris. She ended up proving Abandon Biden correct and now there is no doubt that she will not be different than Joe Biden, he said. The time has come for us to be committed towards holding the Democrats accountable for the genocide. The carrot has not worked. Now its time for the stick. Harris on Thursday did push for a cease-fire and hostage release deal, which the Biden administration has been working on for months. That deal, however, appears to have fallen through as Israel and Hamas remain at odds on how to establish a cease-fire and exchange hostages and prisoners. Biden has been accused by pro-Palestinian supporters of not using his leverage, including by withholding weapons, over Israel to secure a deal. Council on American-Islamic Relations board member Edward Mitchell Abraham said he saw a distinction between the current president and his potential successor. He said Harris did an admirable job of speaking about Palestinian suffering in a far more human way than other Biden administration officials. But he said Harris must do more, and he slammed the convention for not allowing a Palestinian to speak. The DNCs refusal to let a single Palestinian-American to speak at the convention has caused significant concern and outrage among voters who want to support her candidacy, Abraham told The Hill. So has her campaigns failure to indicate that she would enforce U.S. laws forbidding arms transfers to the Israeli government and other human rights violators. Concerned voters need new policies and concrete action, not just improved rhetoric. Zogby, who helped found the Palestine Human Rights Campaign in the 1970s, said the Israel language was over the top in the speech. Given the circumstances of whats unfolding on the ground, I thought, God, I wish she hadnt said that, he said, but the Gaza language was something no one has ever said in that way and with that much passion, and so I was moved. Zogby added that the real fight is getting Harris to agree to policy changes, and that will only come if she wins and becomes president and can change 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 The Hill. Judge Greg Mathis and his wife Linda Mathis are headed for divorce court. According to court documents obtained by E! News and Today, the wife to the reality TV judge filed for divorce Thursday. The pair, who live in Los Angeles and have been married 39 years, also starred with their family on the 2022 E! reality show "Mathis Family Matters" which brought fans behind-the-scenes of Judge Mathis life beyond the bench. The two married in 1985 and have four adult children: Jade, 39, and Camara, 36, Greg Jr., 35, and Amir, 34. In 2022, Judge Mathis' long-running show "Judge Mathis" was cancelled alongside other TV court show "The Peoples Court, hosted by Marilyn Milian. Judge Greg Mathis, pictured here, is headed to divorce court with his wife, Linda Mathis. Judge Greg Mathis to start 'next great chapter' with new courtroom series 'Mathis Court' The pair of then-syndicated Warner Bros. TV programs feature Mathis and Milian, respectively, as they preside over disagreeing parties with situations to be settled by binding arbitration in a courtroom set. Then, court was back in session for the popular TV personality last year. Mathis, best known for his hosting gig on the long-running reality courtroom drama Judge Mathis, has been tapped to host the upcoming series Mathis Court with Judge Mathis, according to a press release from Allen Media Group. Judge Greg Mathis is an outstanding, charismatic and iconic television host, and we are extremely confident that our eighth and newest court series with Judge Mathis will be very successful for years to come as he joins our outstanding roster of talent, Byron Allen, CEO of Allen Media Group, said in a statement. Mathis, a former District Court judge in Michigan, first appeared in the pilot episode in 1998, according to IMDb. Twenty years later in 2018, the show earned a Daytime Emmy for outstanding court program. Their E! reality show followed the highs and lows of marriage and family as Judge Mathis and Linda Mathis navigated their big family with kids and grandkids. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Judge Mathis wife' Linda files for divorce from TV judge Canva As a new school year begins, students are still struggling to achieve grade-level proficiency in reading and math, compounding the learning loss during school closures at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. HeyTutor analyzed news reports and academic research to see how learning loss during the coronavirus pandemic might impact students during the 2024-2025 school year. A 2024 Annie E. Casey Foundation report revealed that many students in the United States are still performing far below their grade level. Only 1 in 4 eighth graders were proficient in math in 2021, down from about 1 in 3 students in 2019. The report also revealed that fewer than 1 in 3 fourth graders were proficient in reading, 32% down from 34% in 2019. The achievement gap before and after the pandemic widened during the 2023-2024 school year in nearly all grades, increasing by 36% in reading and 18% in math, according to a 2024 NWEA report. Absenteeism has also had a profound effect on student learning. Despite recent improvements, the rates of absent students remain high compared to prepandemic levels. Chronic absenteeism nearly doubled prepandemic rates, showing that as many as 14.7 million (or a third of the student population) missed 15 days of school or more during the 2021-2022 academic year. This also meant that 2 out of 3 students attended schools with high chronic absence rates. Research shows that middle and high school students impacted by the coronavirus lockdowns still struggle. The extent of their learning loss is reflected in standardized test scores. The Program for International Student Assessment, an international test for 15-year-olds, found that between 2018 and 2022, students' scores worldwide dropped significantly, with math scores decreasing by a record 15 points and reading scores sliding by 10 points, twice the previous record. In the United States, where ACT scores have declined since 2017, the "COVID cohort" class of 2023 had the lowest average score of 19.5 out of a maximum score of 36, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics. When disaggregated by race, American Indian and Alaskan Native and Black students scored 16, Pacific Islanders scored 16.3, and Hispanic students scored 17.4. Canva Amid COVID-19 pandemic-related learning loss, a widening achievement gap The far-reaching impact of COVID-era learning loss was particularly pronounced among low-income and Black, Hispanic, and Native students, exacerbating existing disparities. Barriers to learning, a growing digital divide, and a lack of mental health support in schools all contributed to a widening achievement gap between students who have access to resources and those who do not. Because of COVID-19's disproportionate impact on Black, Hispanic, and Native adults, the effects on children were amplified. Adults experienced higher death rates, increased unemployment, and elevated levels of depression and anxiety compared to their white counterparts. Students attempting to learn remotely faced additional setbacks in families burdened by the added stress of a parent losing a job or the trauma of a sick loved one. Moreover, as many as 4 in 10 students experienced at least one adverse childhood experience during the pandemic, such as economic hardship or broken families due to separation, divorce, or incarceration. "The message that the pandemic sent was that you're not going to be successful teaching math and reading and science and social studies if kids haven't eaten, they haven't slept, they're worried about their dad's job or their grandmother's recent death," Thomas Toch, director of the independent think tank FutureEd told ABC News earlier this year. Existing disparities also fall along geographic lines. Students in rural communities are more likely to lack access to the standard technology that has become crucial for academic success. At least 13 out of every 100 rural households lack the minimum broadband connection needed to access virtual classrooms or stream educational videos. One in 6 rural households across six states Arkansas, New Mexico, Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, and Louisianalack basic broadband access. In Tribal communities, as many as 1 in 3 households lack high-speed internet. Poor rural school children tested lower in 2022-2023 but not as low as students in general. For instance, students from families with incomes below the federal poverty threshold score 27 points lower on the eighth-grade National Assessment of Educational Progress math assessment, but rural kids score 22 points lower. Disparities also exist in nonacademic aspects of education. In nonrural districts, 1 in nearly 300 students have access to a psychologist or school counselor, compared to 1 in 400 rural students, according to the 2023 Why Rural Matters report. As Dr. Karyn Lewis and Dr. Megan Kuhfel concluded in the NWEA report: "Our most pressing concerns should lie with students who were already teetering on the edge within our education system when COVID-19 hitthose grappling with systemic racism, poverty, and restricted access to opportunity and resources. We already owe these students a great educational debt, and it is a debt we carry with compounding interest." Canva As coronavirus relief funds end, educators look for ways to boost student learning As of the last academic year, the average student will need nearly five additional months of schooling to catch up in reading and about four additional months to catch up in math. What's more, federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds that served as a crucial stopgap measure for school recovery expire in September. As ESSER funds dry up, schools nationwide will be at greater risk of teacher layoffs, the loss of important programming and after-school programs, and even school closures. In low-income districts, these risks are amplified. Concerned that the pandemic recovery interventions are considered "temporary crisis-mitigation tactics" rather than essential educational help, NWEA analysts recommend that high-dosage tutoring and summer programming become permanent areas of the educational agenda. A new school year, complete with fresh school supplies and the buzz of new friendships, is often a hopeful timebut some students will continue to face an uphill academic battle. Fighting absenteeism, targeted tutoring, mental health support, extracurricular activities, and summer programs can all improve outcomes, but they require ongoing funding. To bridge persistent gaps stemming from systemic racism and poverty, access to school breakfasts and lunches and a reliable internet connection are also essential basics that facilitate learning, according to the Casey Foundation. Since the worst of COVID-19-related educational disparities have not been mitigated, experts at the University of Southern California believe schools and policymakers should see the pandemic as an opportunity to reimagine and restructure the learning experience. Although the pandemic is still affecting our children, sustainable solutions could help bridge the achievement gap. Story editing by Alizah Salario. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Sofia Jarrin. Photo selection by Ania Antecka. This story originally appeared on HeyTutor and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. A Texas man kidnapped a ride-share driver at gunpoint and forced the motorist to travel more than 1,000 miles to South Florida, federal authorities said. The harrowing ordeal occurred Friday night when Miguel Alejandro Pastran Hernandez, 23, requested that a ride-share service pick him up at a closed gas station near Arlington, Texas, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Florida said in a statement Thursday. At the pick-up site, "Pastran Hernandez pulled out a gun and the victim heard a round being chambered in the firearm," federal prosecutors said. "Pastran Hernandez threatened to tie up and put the driver in the back of the vehicle," the statement said. "Pastran Hernandez then ordered the victim to drive to Florida, through multiple states." The victim drove until Saturday morning, when, as they passed through Louisiana, Pastran Hernandez made the driver call their children to say they were on a long work trip, according to an affidavit in support of a criminal complaint. Around that time, Pastran Hernandez also noticed the driver had a 9 mm gun in the vehicle, which Pastran Hernandez took, the complaint said. Pastran Hernandez and the driver arrived in Florida on Saturday night, and on Sunday, they drove to Miami Beach where, Pastran Hernandez saw a potential second victim, the complaint said. Pastran Hernandez ordered the driver to go to a store in Hialeah on Monday to buy supplies for a second kidnapping for ransom, prosecutors said. While at the store, the driver escaped from Pastran Hernandez, who was later arrested and found with a bag with a loaded gun in it, prosecutors said. Pastran Hernandez intended to kidnap a second person and hold that person for $3 million ransom, the complaint said. Pastran Hernandez appeared in federal court Tuesday on charges of kidnapping, carjacking and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime. He was ordered detained, prosecutors said. Pastran Hernandezs public defender did not respond to a request for comment Thursday night. His pretrial detention hearing is scheduled for Monday. An arraignment hearing is set for Sept. 3, prosecutors said. A drive from Arlington to Hialeah is more than 1,300 miles. "Head lice is not considered a communicable disease, because lice do not carry disease," said the Director of Community Wellness, in Kent County, Mich. Getty Stock photo of a child scratching their head. The discovery of head lice on a child's body no longer means they are guaranteed a day off from school, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The health agency recently updated guidelines on when to treat the affliction once the insects are discovered on a child's head. For many years, it was recommended that kids with lice be sent home from school and receive treatment immediately. Additionally, parents were advised not to send their child back to school until the insect eggs (called nits) were no longer detectable in the child's scalp. According to the updated guidelines, while it's necessary that kids who have lice are treated, the need for immediate treatment is not quite as urgent as it was once thought to be. "You do not need to send students with head lice infestation home early from school," according to information on the CDC website. "Students with lice can go home at the end of the day, be treated, and return to class after beginning appropriate treatment." 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. The guidelines also say: "Nits may stay in hair after treatment, but successful treatment will kill crawling lice." In addition, the CDC suggested that schools discontinue "no-nit" policies that require a child be free of insect eggs before they return to school, citing the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Association of School Nurses (NASN). According to the CDC, many nits are more than 1/4 of an inch from the scalp, meaning they are either very unlikely to hatch live, crawling lice, or wind up being an egg casing with no insect inside. Additionally, per the CDC, "nits bond to hair shafts and are very unlikely to transfer to other people." Regarding the decision to change school policies, the CDC said, "Unnecessary days off cause a burden to the students, families, and communities, and far outweighs the risks associated with head lice." Plus, misdiagnosis of nits is common during nit checks done by non-medical professionals per the CDC. A local Fox affiliate in Michigan, Fox 17, spoke to Joann Hoganson, Director of Community Wellness, Kent County Health Department, who emphasized why the guidelines are safe. "Head lice is not considered a communicable disease, because lice do not carry disease, Hoganson said. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault, contact RAINN's National Sexual Assault Hotline for free, confidential, 24/7 support in English and en Espanol at 800.656.HOPE (4673) and online.RAINN.org y RAINN.org/es. Social media personality Andrew Tate was put on house arrest in Romania after he and five others, including his brother, were brought into custody amid a human trafficking and sexual exploitation investigation. Tate, a former professional kickboxer with nearly 10 million X followers, and his brother, Tristan Tate, were detained on Wednesday for 24 hours after Romania's anti-organized crime prosecuting unit DIICOT searched four homes in Ilfov County and the Bucharest municipality. The DIICOT asked the Bucharest court to arrest the brothers for 30 days, instead, a judge placed Andrew Tate under house arrest and Tristan Tate under judiciary control for the same period, their rep Mateea Petrescu wrote in a statement, per Reuters. "The Tates salute the decision and firmly deny all allegations leveled against them, emphasizing that the accusations are baseless and unsupported by substantial evidence," the statement continued. Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan are escorted outside the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), in Bucharest, Romania, August 21, 2024. Tate brothers indicted in 2023 for human trafficking The Tate brothers were indicted in 2023 along with two Romanian women for human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women. The brothers have denied these allegations. Due to the 2023 charges, the brothers were given a travel ban prohibiting them from leaving Romania. On March 11, the U.K. issued an arrest warrant for Tate and his brother concerning incidents dating back to 2012. A Romanian appeals court ruled they could not be extradited until the legal proceedings for rape, trafficking and gang activity charges were resolved. 'There are no new charges' The Tate brothers hosted a livestream titled "Emergency Meeting - Slanderous Lies" Thursday on the platform Rumble. During the 32-minute livestream, Andrew Tate said the DIICOT took their studio equipment and "stole as much wealth as possible." He continued to say that "the matrix is broken" and that "they" are trying to put him in jail for something he did not do. "Luckily today we had a very honest, fair and good judge today who saw through the garbage that we're accused of and allowed us to come home," Tate said during the livestream. "But this battle is not over, we're in the middle of it." Tristan Tate said during the livestream that no "new charges" were brought against the brothers. "There are no new charges, just an investigation," Tristan Tate said. "They're investigating us for new things." Romanian Gendarmes from the Special Intervention Brigade escort Andrew Tate outside the Tate brothers residence in Pipera, Ilfov, near Bucharest, Romania, August 21, 2024. Tate brothers' accusers harassed online As the Tate brothers continue to deny the allegations against them, they are also in the midst of a $5 million civil lawsuit they filed in July 2023 against two women involved in the Romanian case, along with some of their outcry witnesses. The brothers are accusing the women of conspiracy, defamation and false imprisonment. The influencers and many of their supporters have claimed the women are liars and that the Tate brothers' charges will be dropped. "Around the time of the filing of the lawsuitthere's just this deluge of tweets," said Dani Pinter, legal counsel for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation who represents one of the women. "It's the biggest example of targeted harassment I've ever seen. Like it's her name and her face just over and over and over and over and over again. Contributing: Reuters and Kinsey Crowley/ USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Andrew Tate put on house arrest following detainment in Romania At least five U.S. Secret Service officials involved in the planning of Donald Trump's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, where a gunman attempted to kill the former president, have been placed on administrative duty, according to two sources familiar with the situation. The officials are still working but not allowed to be involved in anything operational including the security planning, the sources told ABC News. The Secret Service's Office of Professional Responsibility investigation has been intensifying, and while the investigation has focused on the failures, miscues and planning up to Butler, the probe is now focusing on a number of issues, including the number of classified threats against former President Trump by Iran and what the agency did in response security-wise regarding the new intelligence. MORE: FBI, in private meeting with Trump, revealed new details about his would-be assassin: Sources An official tells ABC News this means even more senior officials might be caught up in the review. PHOTO: Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally, July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pa. (Evan Vucci/AP, FILE) "The U.S. Secret Service is committed to investigating the decisions and actions of personnel related to the event in Butler, Pennsylvania and the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump," the agency said. "The U.S. Secret Service's mission assurance review is progressing, and we are examining the processes, procedures and factors that led to this operational failure." The agency said it holds its personnel to the "highest professional standards" and would not comment further. Trump was struck in his ear by a bullet during the assassination attempt at his campaign rally on July 13, which also killed one spectator and injured two others, according to officials. The gunman, identified by the FBI as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, was killed by Secret Service agents. The U.S. Secret Service recently made arrangements for Trump to resume outdoor campaign rallies by surrounding his podium with bulletproof glass, multiple sources told ABC News. Editor's note: This story has been corrected to note that the Secret Service officials were put on administrative duty, not leave. At least 5 Secret Service officials involved in planning Trump's Butler rally put on administrative duty originally appeared on abcnews.go.com WASHINGTON (AP) Electric. Joyful. The kinetic energy powering Kamala Harris whirlwind presidential campaign carries the hopeful aspirations of history and the almost quaint idea of electing the first woman to the White House. But inside it, too, is the urgent and determined refusal of many Democratic female voters to accept the alternative again. Serious. Unapologetic. Listen to the women cheering Were not going back! at the Harris campaign rallies. See them singing along during the dance party roll call at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Understand the mothers and daughters and sorority sisters and, yes, the men, brothers and boys who have watched and waited and winced as the country tried eight years ago to break the glass ceiling and failed. Overdue. This time, this year, facing Donald Trump again, a certain and influential swath of the electorate is not messing around. Its our time, said Denise Delegol, 60, a retired postal worker from West Bloomfield Township, Michigan. Harris campaign reignites Democratic partys enthusiasm The promise of a Harris presidency is shaking a sizable segment of the nation out of a political funk, reviving the idea of a milestone election and an alternative to repeating the Trump era. It's putting the country on the cusp of what Michelle Obama, in her convention speech to Democrats, called a brighter day. Once President Joe Biden bowed out of the race and embraced his vice president at the top of the ticket, some found hope where before they had felt mostly dread. Overnight it went from doom-scrolling to hope-scrolling, said Lisa Hansen of Wisconsin, who led an early Trump resistance group in 2017 as her first foray into political activism. Lori Goldman of Michigan, who founded Fems for Dems to elect Hillary Clinton two presidents ago, said, Im too old to not ever have seen a president thats female in the United States. She's 65. And Shannon Nash, a California attorney, co-founder of the Tech4Kamala group and, like Harris, a fellow member of the historic Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., said from the convention hall Thursday night, The joy is coming back to politics. Women have been here before, in 2016, when they donned matching pantsuits, poured champagne and settled in on election night, some with friends and daughters by their side, expecting Clinton to win the White House only to be shaken by Trumps victory. As one woman said at the time, she threw up the next morning. Republican women eye history, too To be sure, some voters had a different first female president in mind. Nikki Haley lifted Republican hopes during the GOP primary, but her moment faded after rival Trump branded his former ambassador to the United Nations birdbrain. Lisa Watts, a retired business owner from Hickory, North Carolina, who was attending her fifth Trump rally this week, had little interest in Harris. I dont think that her record proves that she is ready to run this country, Watts said. The thousands of women who pack Trump rallies, and tens of millions more who are expected to cast ballots for him in November, are participating on the other side of the potential history-making. The former president, convicted in a hush-money case and still facing a pending federal indictment for conspiring to overturn the 2020 election ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, would become the first felon to win the White House. Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump rejected as insulting the idea that Americans should vote for a woman for president because it would make history. If you ever give me a job because ... of the fact that Im a woman and not based on any merit or qualification, guess what? Im turning that job down all day long," the former president's daughter-in-law said on her podcast in July. Abortion, immigration and the war in Gaza For those voting for Harris, this election feels more joyful, but also more necessary and urgent. We need to do this, be serious about it this time, said Monique LaFonta, a mother of two twin girls, after attending a Harris rally in Milwaukee. Trumps creation of a conservative Supreme Court majority that overturned a womans right to abortion access produced outrage among many women who powered that year's midterm election and are a potentially influential force in this one. We are living in just such a wildly different situation, said Jessica Mackler, the president of Emilys List, which works to elect pro-choice women. She said Harris is unapologetic when it comes to reproductive rights. Harris herself carries this potentially history-making moment not as a campaign feature but a matter-of-fact representation of who she is and has always been, much the way Barack Obama often left his race merely implied to voters. Rather than reminding voters that the nation's 47th president could become the first in its more than two-century history to not be a man, Harris is running instead on what she would do in the job and how she would do it. In her speech Thursday night accepting the nomination at the Democratic National Convention, Harris acknowledged that she's "no stranger to unlikely journeys, but she did not specifically mention the historic nature of her candidacy. Many receive her style as a brand of American optimism rooted in the generations who came before her, a Black and South Asian woman, the daughter of immigrants a Jamaican father and Indian mother who dared to dream in this country. She is blaring Beyonces Freedom as her campaign theme song along the way. And yet among demonstrators calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war outside the Democrats' convention in Chicago, pharmacist Fedaa Ballouta said that while having the first female president would mean a lot, she expects more. I wish that that woman was pro-life when it matters regarding Palestinians. Clintons defeat paved the way for this moment So much has changed in the American political landscape since Trump entered that scene almost a decade ago with his braggadocio and electoral momentum. Such a nasty woman, he called his 2016 Democratic rival Clinton, a former U.S. senator and secretary of state. Horseface, he labeled a Republican primary rival, a woman. Fat pig, he bullied a famous female comedian. He once bragged that as a celebrity he could grab women by their private parts and get away with it. More than 1 million people in the United States and around the world filled city streets in protest the day after Trumps 2017 inauguration. Many wore pink pussy hats. The Resistance, they called it. Trump himself has stayed the course, deriding Harris as Laffin Kamala, mocking her laugh or mispronouncing her name, which means lotus flower in Sanskrit. In many ways, Clintons defeat eight years ago set the stage for this moment. It was a crushing setback that dashed womens hopes for bringing the U.S. into alignment with leading democracies around the world that have had a female in charge. Angie Gialloreto of Pittsburgh was disappointed then. But the 95-year-old, attending her 13th presidential convention, is still at it, ready and waiting for the country to try again. It's time, she said. ___ Many of the women interviewed by The Associated Press this week are eager for what's next. Listen to what they have to say. MONIQUE LAFONTA, 41, Milwaukee, health care consultant and mother of twin daughters: Why cant a woman be president? Why has it taken us so long to get to this point? LaFonta wondered the day after a Harris rally in Milwaukee. Are we going to make the same mistake again? LaFonta remembers celebrating election night 2016 at a birthday party with friends when Clinton lost to Trump. It was unintentionally the worst birthday party I ever went to everyone was crying at the end of the night, she said. As a mother now, she said whats happened with the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the threats posed by the Project 2025 agenda are scary. I have two 6-year-old daughters who have less rights than I did, she said. Originally from Louisiana, she recalls her parents living through the Jim Crow era in the South. I never even thought we would see a Black president in my lifetime, she said. To have another glass ceiling like that in my lifetime, its really so special. At the Harris rally in Milwaukee this week, it was so electric, so contagious, she said. Just joy. ASHBEY BEASLEY, 48, Highland Park, Illinois, stay-home mother Were overdue, Beasley said. She remembers watching one state after another fall to Trump on election night eight years ago. I just started crying, she said. We turned the TV off. The difference between then and now? Weve had a Trump presidency. Weve seen the kind of chaos." The Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol was a turning point she said. The MAGA culture came out of the closet, and a lot of people were like, Im not OK with this. Having survived a 2022 mass shooting in her city with her son, she has become a gun safety advocate and worries Trump is too close to gun rights groups. What I want people to know whatever you see out in the world whatever horrific terrible tragedy that can be you, she said from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Just because you dont need an abortion right now, doesnt mean you wont. LORI GOLDMAN, Michigan, founded Fems for Dems in 2016 to elect Hillary Clinton At 65, she said, Im too old to not ever have seen a president thats female in the United States. On Election Day 2016, Goldman had about 30 people to her house and they canvassed until the afternoon, all the while thinking it unnecessary. She said shes less naive now. For Goldman and chair of Fems for Dems Marcie Paul, the difference between organizing in 2016 and now is knowing the impacts of a Trump administration. Both are mothers, and they cited their daughters futures as a reason to vote Harris, both for her policy on reproductive rights and for her potential to be the first female president. Paul said its the most important election of a lifetime. But really this time it is. ANNE HATHAWAY, Indiana, the state's Republican National Committeewoman She dismissed the potential history-making milestone as been there, done that. We had Hillary Clinton as a candidate in 2016 so this is not a new phenomenon, said Hathaway, who was in charge of the arrangements committee at the Republican convention. She said she is focused on the candidates visions, not their genders. This is a race between two presidential candidates who have very different opinions and views and where they think this country should go. HOLLY SARGENT, York, Maine She had spent the months leading up to the 2016 presidential election campaigning for Hillary Clinton in her quiet Maine beach town, watching the rise of Trump with horror. But she said the despair she felt at that years election defeat was healed with Clintons speech to the Democratic convention this week. Sargent teared up as she sat with Maine delegates thinking of all that has transpired, and could yet. Were going to do it this time. And when we do it, we do it for Hillary and for Shirley Chisholm and for Geraldine Ferraro and for all of the extraordinary women who have gone before. JENNIFER RICHARDSON, 44, Albany, New York, attorney She said as a Black woman, and an attorney, having Harris atop the partys ticket resonates so much. I see myself in her, she said from the Democratic convention. I see all my friends in her. Added Richardson, For her to win, its like we all won. DENISE DELEGOL, 60, West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, retired postal worker Delegol was decked out in pearls, a purple Harris When We Fight We Win T-shirt and purple high-tops decorated with the word WIN on the toes, and curious to check out the protests at a park near the convention hall. Its a beautiful thing that she can lead a country that was predominantly led by old white men who think they know whats best for all, all people, including women and our bodies, she said. Harris, she said, is going to change all that. She wants her fellow Americans to understand how important the election is, and that this is just a time for all Americans to come together because we have more in common than not in common. Her conversations with family and friends are all about whats happening. Now its our time, she said. And I dont think nothing can stop us now, as far as women breaking the glass ceiling. FEDAA BALLOUTA, Chicago pharmacist, attending a demonstration against the Israel-Hamas war outside the Democratic convention She said it means a lot to have a female nominee for president, and as a pharmacist who finds it heartbreaking to see people struggle to afford medication she is eager for what Harris could do to help lower the costs of prescription drugs. I really want to support our candidate of the same gender category, she said. But what she really wants to see from Harris is a cease-fire in the war. Pro-Life doesnt just refer to abortion and pregnancy, she said. What about the killing of innocent civilians? Thats also pro-life. She believes this election will be meaningful for the country. I was just in New York City, and Im looking at the Statue of Liberty, and Im thinking, Are we a nation that provides liberty or takes it away from others? LIZ SHULER, president, AFL-CIO union Schuler recalls breaking out the champagne and popcorn with friends on election night 2016, before people left, of course, heartbroken. This time around, she said, we are protecting our hearts. I think every woman you talked to probably feels the same way. But I think we, as union women, pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and just keep up the fight. ANGIE GIALLORETO, 95, Pittsburgh, attending her 13th presidential nominating convention Gialloreto said she was disappointed by Clintons loss eight years ago, but shes excited with Harris in place to try again. Its time, she said from the convention hall. Gialloreto has attended every Democratic convention since Jimmy Carter was nominated for president in 1976. She said its an exciting time, not for me, Ive lived my life for the short time I have, Im going to celebrate but its the young ones. Reality is here. ___ Associated Press writers Isabella Volmert in Michigan, Mike Householder and Farnoush Amiri in Chicago, Michelle Price in North Carolina, Ali Swenson and Aaron Morrison in New York, video journalists Martha Irvine, Serkan Gurbuz and Teresa Crawford in Chicago and photojournalist Jacquelyn Martin in Milwaukee and Chicago contributed to this report. The parents of a sleeping 3-year-old baby mauled to death in upstate New York by at least one dog earlier this month have been charged with manslaughter in connection to the infant's death. The fatal attack took place earlier this month during the early afternoon hours as the baby boy slept at a Rochester home. Sulamain Hawkins Jr. was fatally mauled on Aug. 3 while sleeping in the attic of a residence on Bidwell Terrace, Rochester Police Department Capt. Greg Bello said. The home is in the city's Maplewood Historic District, about three miles northwest of downtown. Here's what to know about his parents, their child, and what police say took place: Ohio child dog mauling: 6-year-old hospitalized after being restrained, attacked by pit bull, police say Who are baby Sulamain Hawkins Jr.'s parents? According to police, the boys 19-year-old mother and father, Anastasia Weaver and Sulamain Hawkins Sr., spent the night in the unfinished attic of the multi-family residence. The family did not live in the home but were known to the occupants and occasionally stayed there, Bello said. About 1 p.m. on the day of the attack, the baby's parents allegedly left the infant sleeping on the floor in the attic while they went downstairs to smoke marijuana, leaving the two "pit bull type" dogs in the attic with the child, Bello said. When the parents returned, police said, they found the child unresponsive from the dog mauling. 'We brought closure': Boy, 8, found dead in pond near his family's North Carolina home What happened to the baby mauled to death in Rochester? The baby suffered "severe trauma" to his body and was taken to a hospital, where he died several hours later, police said. After the child's death, Rochester Animal Services euthanized the dogs involved. What are Sulamain Hawkins Jr's parents charged with Both Weaver and Sulamain Hawkins Sr. were taken into custody on Wednesday and later charged with second-degree manslaughter, police said. Both parents were booked into jail, Monroe County Jail records show, where they were being held on $15,000 bond. The couple was arraigned Thursday in Rochester City Court and pleaded not guilty to the charges, WHAM-TV reported. "This is not a case where a mom puts down a baby on a bed to go to the bathroom or to quickly tend to another child that was in crisis," the outlet reported Assistant District Attorney Sara VanStrydonck said during the hearing. "The allegations here are we feel support the recklessness that a reasonable person in these defendants situations would have no acted the way they did." Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Baby killed in fatal dog mauling; parents charged with manslaughter Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Friday he is suspending his presidential campaign but not dropping out of the race completely. Kennedy said he won't appear on ballots in states where his candidacy would benefit the Democratic ticket. "In about 10 battleground states, I'm going to remove my name, and I've already started that process," Kennedy said. While he endorsed former President Donald Trump, he encouraged his supporters to still vote for him in states where his name is still on the ballot. The move was slightly telegraphed. Scripps News confirmed on Thursday night that Kennedy filed paperwork with the Arizona Secretary of State's Office to have his name withdrawn from the ballot. Also, a court filing in Pennsylvania on Friday said Kennedy would endorse Trump. Both are battleground states. RELATED STORY | RFK Jr. files paperwork to withdraw name from the Arizona ballot Kennedy placed much of the blame on the Democratic National Party for his decision to leave the race. He essentially accused the party of corruption for how they ran the primary process, and the fallout after President Joe Biden decided to remove himself from the race. In response to Kennedy's decision to remove himself from ballots in battleground states, the campaign for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris said it welcomed Kennedy's supporters to join their movement. Even if we do not agree on every issue, Kamala Harris knows there is more that unites us than divides us: respect for our rights, public safety, protecting our freedoms, and opportunity for all," said Campaign Chair Jen OMalley Dillon. The Kennedy campaign started in 2023 as an alternative to the Biden-Harris campaign. Having one of the most recognizable last names in politics, the son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy launched his bid for president as a Democrat. However, he announced in October that he would run as an independent. At the time, he said the decision was meant as a declaration of his independence from all political parties while declaring America's independence from "the tyranny of corruption which robs us of affordable lives, our belief in the future, and our respect for each other." As a vaccine skeptic and environmental lawyer, Kennedy initially appeared to have a strong following with those who didn't want Trump or President Biden back in the White House. However, Kennedy has struggled to get his name on ballots and has seen his poll numbers drop since Harris replaced President Biden at the top of the Democratic presidential ticket. RELATED STORY | Watch Kamala Harris historic DNC speech; here were the highlights According to an average of polls from the website 538, Kennedy is averaging 4.7% in national polls, behind Harris who is at 47.2% and Trump who is at 43.5%. Kennedy's family, who previously endorsed President Biden, released a statement after RFK Jr. made his announcement. Our brother Bobbys decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story," the statement signed by Kathleen, Courtney, Kerry, Chris and Rory Kennedy said. For his part, Trump welcomed Kennedy's endorsement. "I want to thank Bobby. That was very nice," he said on Friday. "That was really very nice. That's big." Donald Trumps campaign is expecting that Vice President Kamala Harris will get a bump coming out of the Democratic National Convention but generally does not see the weeklong event changing the overall trajectory of the race. Democrats gathered in Chicago over the past four days for a star-studded convention that saw huge crowds, TV ratings and national celebrities at a level not seen at the Republican National Convention last month. But Trump advisers continue to believe the moment will be a sugar high for Harris, who is now officially the Democratic nominee, as the race enters its final two months. They didnt hit it out of the park. It was fine, a Trump adviser said. We had a good week. Pleased with where things are and are headed. Still expecting a bump for Democrats, the person continued. Another source close to the Trump campaign described Wednesday speeches by former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as impressive, but said they did not believe its something that voters would remember. The bigger takeaway from Trumps team, the person said, was how reliant the program was on celebrities like Oprah Winfrey and Mindy Kaling and how poorly managed the speaking schedule was. They specifically pointed to Harris running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, taking the stage late on the third night of the convention. I could not believe Walz went on at 11:15 East Coast time, the person said. Trumps speech last month at the Republican National Convention lasted a record-setting 93 minutes. It sent the last night of that convention into the wee hours of the morning. Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, spent the week holding events across the country to try and counterprogram the Democrats media coverage, including an event at the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona designed to highlight illegal immigration, an issue that is a top focus of the Trump campaign. When President Joe Biden first took office, Harris was charged with looking into the root cause of illegal immigration. The role got her dubbed the border czar, an unofficial moniker that has repeatedly been used by Republicans. Kamala Harris during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 19. Trump, however, watched much of the Democratic convention, according to the adviser, often taking to social media to regularly comment on convention events. After Harris Thursday-night speech, he posted several, often false, claims. Everybody, Democrats, Republicans, Liberals, and Conservative, wanted Roe v. Wade TERMINATED, and brought back to the states, Trump said. He later posted that if he returns to the White House it will be great for women and their reproductive rights, a message seemingly at odds with his earlier post and the position of many anti-abortion Republicans. He did not elaborate on why it would be great. Trump also again took issue with Harris tying him to Project 2025, an expansive conservative plan supported by more than 100 conservative groups. The former president has tried to distance himself from the right-wing governance blueprint as Democrats continue to point out that it was cobbled together by several of Trumps key allies. LYING AGAIN ABOUT PROJECT 2025, WHICH SHE KNOWS, AND SO DO ALL DEMOCRATS, THAT I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH, Trump posted after Harris Thursday-night speech. After Biden decided in late July not to seek re-election a move that came after a tough debate performance and questions about his mental acuity Harris has performed better in most public polling, including those taken in key swing states. In several of those places, including Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Nevada, Harris either has slight leads or is tied with Trump, according to a recent New York Times/Siena College poll, a shift in the dynamic of the race from when Biden was the presumptive Democratic nominee. Harris late entrance as the Democratic candidate flipped the script for Trump and presented a much shorter timeline than is normal for a campaign. It meant any polling boost she would get from entering the race, picking a running mate and then hosting a convention would be tougher for the Trump campaign to combat because of the more limited time frame. The convention was good for them, and to some degree we expected that, said a Trump supporter familiar with the campaigns thinking. But things will settle down. It was not a game changer. In today's digital age, cybersecurity has become a major concern for businesses of all sizes. WeDoIT GmbH, founded in October 2022 by Benedikt Leisten, has established itself as a leading force in this critical field. Headquartered in Munich, WeDoIT differentiates itself by being a service provider and a strategic partner, guiding enterprises through the ever-changing cybersecurity threats. The man behind WeDoIT is Benedikt Leisten, whose extensive background in Europe's telecom and security technology sectors has been the backbone of the company's direction. Leisten's career highlights include launching the SAS-UP-accredited production site for the Elatec Group and leading Elatec GmbH as CEO and co-owner until its acquisition in 2016. His in-depth understanding of PKI technology and digital security solutions has enabled WeDoIT to offer state-of-the-art cybersecurity services. WeDoIT's comprehensive product and service portfolio addresses various aspects of cybersecurity to ensure complete client protection. The Cynet 360 XDR Solution stands out as an all-encompassing security platform. It integrates antivirus protection, Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), and Network Detection and Response (NDR) capabilities. This integration, combined with 24/7 Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and Security Operations Center (SOC) services, ensures that threats are detected and neutralized promptly, providing a robust shield against cyber-attacks. WeDoIT offers real-time dark web scanning and monitoring services. By surveilling the dark web, the company identifies potential threats before they can impact an organization. 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By understanding each client's requirements and business goals, WeDoIT delivers personalized solutions that enhance security and operational efficiency. One of the pillars of WeDoIT's approach is its emphasis on education and awareness. The Cybersecurity Academy plays a vital role in this regard, offering training programs that empower employees to become the first line of defense against cyber threats. By promoting a culture of security awareness, organizations can mitigate risks and enhance their overall security posture. Looking ahead, WeDoIT is committed to continuous innovation in cybersecurity. The company is focused on emerging trends and technologies, ensuring its solutions remain at the forefront of the industry. WeDoIT's plans include expanding its market presence and further enhancing its product offerings to address the evolving needs of modern enterprises. President Joe Bidens national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, will visit China next week, sources say, to meet with the countrys foreign minister, Wang Yi, as the United States works to keep the competition between the two countries from spilling into conflict. Sullivan is expected to depart early in the week for a multi-day visit in which hes expected to meet with several top Chinese officials. A senior administration official said the trip will take place from August 27 to August 29. In recent years, Sullivan and Wang have structured meetings to take place regularly every six months to keep the lines of communication between the global superpowers open. The two officials, who have met five times, last met in Zurich in January. Since then, the Biden administration announced it would maintain a set of sweeping import tariffs in place on Chinese goods with significant increases on categories like semiconductors and electrical vehicles expected to be implemented soon. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during a press conference for domestic and foreign journalists as part of the National People's Congress and Two Sessions on March 7, 2024 in Beijing. - Kevin Frayer/Getty Images/FILE Axios first reported on Sullivans planned visit. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping last met in person when San Francisco hosted the APEC Summit in November 2023. At that meeting, CNN previously reported, Xi promised Biden that Beijing would not interfere in the 2024 US election. Biden and Xi also spoke in April in what the White House described as a one-hour-45-minute candid and constructive conversation on a range of issues on which the leaders agreed and disagreed. In that April call, Biden stressed the need to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and he also raised his concerns over Chinas support for Russias defense industry, the White House said. Biden will attend a series of high-profile multilateral summits in the coming months at which he will be face-to-face with Xi, whom Biden has known for decades. Discussions for the two leaders to meet again are in their early stages, a US official tells CNN, and there is no certainty that an expanded bilateral meeting will take place in the twilight of Bidens presidency. Leaders of countries participating in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, a bloc known as APEC, will gather in Peru in mid-November. Leaders from the Group of 20 nations will gather in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the days after that. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Texas' state police chief who came under scrutiny over the hesitant response to the Robb Elementary school shooting in 2022 and has overseen Republican Gov. Greg Abbott's aggressive efforts to stop migrant crossings on the U.S.-Mexico border said Friday he will retire at the end of the year. Col. Steve McCraw has been the director of the Texas Department of Public Safety since 2009. He announced his retirement while addressing a new class of state troopers at a graduation ceremony in Austin. McCraw did not elaborate during his remarks on the decision to step down. In a letter to agency employees, he praised their courage but did not mention Uvalde or any other specific police action during his tenure. Your bravery and willingness to face danger head-on have garnered the admiration and support of our leadership, Legislature and the people of Texas, McCraw wrote. McCraw was not on the scene during the May 24, 2022, school attack in Uvalde that killed 19 fourth-graders and two teachers in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. He called the police response an "abject failure but resisted calls from victims' families and some Texas lawmakers to step down after the shooting. About 90 state troopers in McCraw's ranks were among the nearly 400 local, state and federal officers who arrived on scene but waited more than 70 minutes before confronting and killing the gunman inside a classroom. Scathing state and federal investigative reports catalogued cascading failures in training, communication, leadership and technology problems. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a Democrat who represents Uvalde, said McCraw should have been forced out soon after the massacre. McCraws troopers were armed to the teeth but stood around and failed to confront the shooter, said Gutierrez, who blamed him for the delay. McCraws legacy will always be the failure in Uvalde, and one day, he will be brought to justice for his inaction, Gutierrez said. At a news conference a few days after the shooting, McCraw choked back tears in describing emergency calls and texts from students inside the classroom. He blamed the police delay on the local schools police chief, who McCraw said was the on-scene incident commander in charge of the response. Former Uvalde schools police chief Pete Arredondo and former school police officer Adrian Gonzales have been indicted on multiple counts of child abandonment and endangerment, but they remain the only two officers to face charges. They both have pleaded not guilty. Arredondo has said he has been scapegoated for the police response, and that he never should have been considered the officer in charge that day. Last month, McCraw reinstated one of the few DPS troopers disciplined over the Uvalde shooting response. A group of families of Uvalde victims has filed a $500 million lawsuit over the police response. The DPS also has been at the center of Abbott's multi-billion border Operation Lone Star security mission that has sent state troopers to the region, given the National Guard arrest powers, bused migrants to Washington, D.C., and put buoys in the Rio Grande to try to prevent migrant crossings. The agency also led a police crackdown earlier this year on campus protests at the University of Texas over the Israel-Hamas war. Abbott called McCraw one of the most highly regarded law enforcement officers," in the country and called him the quintessential lawman that Texas is so famous for. "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Life has a funny way of giving you a kick in the pants when things are going great. Summer has been cruising along and there are still a few weeks left to soak it all up. Unfortunately, thats also coinciding with a summer COVID-19 surge. Right now, pretty much all of the metrics the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses to keep tabs on COVID-19 are through the roofhospitalizations, emergency room visits, percentage of positive tests, and, unfortunately, deaths due to the virus. Fueling all of this are the FLiRT variants, including KP.3.1.1, KP.3, and LB.1. People across the country are getting sick, raising a lot of questions about whats happening now and, of course, what you can do to stay safe. Heres what experts are saying. Meet the expert: Thomas Russo, MD, is a professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York. What is the most common COVID variant right now? The most common COVID variant right now is KP.3.1.1, according to data from the CDC. It makes up nearly 28 percent of COVID-19 cases in the country. Thats followed by KP.3 and LB.1. What is the most common COVID symptom right now? Given that COVID-19 impacts everyone a little differently, its tough to narrow things down to just one symptom, says Thomas Russo, MD, professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York. However, for most people that are younger and not in the high risk category, it's really been respiratory tract symptoms, he says. What are the symptoms for the newer COVID variants? COVID-19 symptoms have become pretty consistent. According to the CDC, those usually include: Fever or chills Cough Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing Sore throat Congestion or runny nose New loss of taste or smell Fatigue Muscle or body aches Headache Nausea or vomiting Most people will have a sore throat, runny nose, a sense of fatigue, and not feeling like your usual self, Russo says. Its not uncommon for people to have a day or two of fever and a flu-like syndrome. If youve never been vaccinated or managed to dodge COVID-19 so far, Russo says that you may have a rockier course and feel miserable for a few days. If youre in a high-risk category, though, you may develop more severe symptoms. Is there a summer COVID surge? Yep, were in it. Theres been a surge thats been going on for a while, Russo says. Almost everyone you talk to has had COVID at this point. Shop Now COVID-19 Antigen Self Test amazon.com $31.76 This isnt just a U.S. thing: COVID-19 has been surging around the world, Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead for COVID the World Health Organization, said in a briefing last week. While over 20 percent of European COVID-19 tests come back positive, Van Kerhove pointed out that wastewater testingwhich is even more reliableshows that there may actually be two to 20 times more cases than that. Is there a new vaccine? There is a new COVID-19 vaccine, although its not here just yet. The updated COVID-19 vaccine was approved on August 22 and should be hitting pharmacies soon. What does that mean for you? This is the million-dollar question Ive been asked for the last month, Russo says. If youre in the low-risk category or have recently been infected, you should wait to get vaccinated [until the new one comes out]. But if youre in a high-risk category, havent had the previous vaccine, and know you have some activities coming up that will put you at risk of getting infected (like going to an indoor family gathering or traveling for a work trip), Russo recommends getting the current vaccine. If youre not sure, of course, its not a bad idea to check in with your doctor to see where you land. Stay safe out there! You Might Also Like In the 18 months after Francine Milano was diagnosed with a recurrence of the ovarian cancer she thought shed beaten 20 years ago, she traveled twice from her home in Pennsylvania to Vermont. She went not to ski, hike, or leaf-peep, but to arrange to die. I really wanted to take control over how I left this world, said the 61-year-old who lives in Lancaster. I decided that this was an option for me. Dying with medical assistance wasnt an option when Milano learned in early 2023 that her disease was incurable. At that point, she would have had to travel to Switzerland or live in the District of Columbia or one of the 10 states where medical aid in dying was legal. But Vermont lifted its residency requirement in May 2023, followed by Oregon two months later. (Montana effectively allows aid in dying through a 2009 court decision, but that ruling doesnt spell out rules around residency. And though New York and California recently considered legislation that would allow out-of-staters to secure aid in dying, neither provision passed.) Despite the limited options and the challenges such as finding doctors in a new state, figuring out where to die, and traveling when too sick to walk to the next room, let alone climb into a car dozens have made the trek to the two states that have opened their doors to terminally ill nonresidents seeking aid in dying. At least 26 people have traveled to Vermont to die, representing nearly 25% of the reported assisted deaths in the state from May 2023 through this June, according to the Vermont Department of Health. In Oregon, 23 out-of-state residents died using medical assistance in 2023, just over 6% of the state total, according to the Oregon Health Authority. Oncologist Charles Blanke, whose clinic in Portland is devoted to end-of-life care, said he thinks that Oregons total is likely an undercount and he expects the numbers to grow. Over the past year, he said, hes seen two to four out-of-state patients a week about one-quarter of his practice and fielded calls from across the U.S., including New York, the Carolinas, Florida, and tons from Texas. But just because patients are willing to travel doesnt mean its easy or that they get their desired outcome. The law is pretty strict about what has to be done, Blanke said. As in other states that allow what some call physician-assisted death or assisted suicide, Oregon and Vermont require patients to be assessed by two doctors. Patients must have less than six months to live, be mentally and cognitively sound, and be physically able to ingest the drugs to end their lives. Charts and records must be reviewed in the state; neglecting to do so constitutes practicing medicine out of state, which violates medical licensing requirements. For the same reason, the patients must be in the state for the initial exam, when they request the drugs, and when they ingest them. State legislatures impose those restrictions as safeguards to balance the rights of patients seeking aid in dying with a legislative imperative not to pass laws that are harmful to anyone, said Peg Sandeen, CEO of the group Death With Dignity. Like many aid-in-dying advocates, however, she said such rules create undue burdens for people who are already suffering. Francine Milano with her husband, Kris Brackin. She wouldve preferred to travel from her home in Pennsylvania to neighboring New Jersey for medical aid in dying, but it is allowed there only for state residents. Instead she has arranged to die in Vermont, one of two states that explicitly allow medical aid in dying for nonresidents. - Eric Harkleroad/KFF Health News Diana Barnard, a Vermont palliative care physician, said some patients cannot even come for their appointments. They end up being sick or not feeling like traveling, so theres rescheduling involved, she said. Its asking people to use a significant part of their energy to come here when they really deserve to have the option closer to home. Those opposed to aid in dying include religious groups that say taking a life is immoral, and medical practitioners who argue their job is to make people more comfortable at the end of life, not to end the life itself. Anthropologist Anita Hannig, who interviewed dozens of terminally ill patients while researching her 2022 book, The Day I Die: The Untold Story of Assisted Dying in America, said she doesnt expect federal legislation to settle the issue anytime soon. As the Supreme Court did with abortion in 2022, it ruled assisted dying to be a states rights issue in 1997. During the 2023-24 legislative sessions, 19 states (including Milanos home state of Pennsylvania) considered aid-in-dying legislation, according to the advocacy group Compassion & Choices. Delaware was the sole state to pass it, but the governor has yet to act on it. Sandeen said that many states initially pass restrictive laws requiring 21-day wait times and psychiatric evaluations, for instance only to eventually repeal provisions that prove unduly onerous. That makes her optimistic that more states will eventually follow Vermont and Oregon, she said. Milano would have preferred to travel to neighboring New Jersey, where aid in dying has been legal since 2019, but its residency requirement made that a nonstarter. And though Oregon has more providers than the largely rural state of Vermont, Milano opted for the nine-hour car ride to Burlington because it was less physically and financially draining than a cross-country trip. The logistics were key because Milano knew shed have to return. When she traveled to Vermont in May 2023 with her husband and her brother, she wasnt near death. She figured that the next time she was in Vermont, it would be to request the medication. Then shed have to wait 15 days to receive it. The waiting period is standard to ensure that a person has what Barnard calls thoughtful time to contemplate the decision, although she said most have done that long before. Some states have shortened the period or, like Oregon, have a waiver option. That waiting period can be hard on patients, on top of being away from their health care team, home, and family. Blanke said he has seen as many as 25 relatives attend the death of an Oregon resident, but out-of-staters usually bring only one person. And while finding a place to die can be a problem for Oregonians who are in care homes or hospitals that prohibit aid in dying, its especially challenging for nonresidents. When Oregon lifted its residency requirement, Blanke advertised on Craigslist and used the results to compile a list of short-term accommodations, including Airbnbs, willing to allow patients to die there. Nonprofits in states with aid-in-dying laws also maintain such lists, Sandeen said. Milano hasnt gotten to the point where she needs to find a place to take the meds and end her life. In fact, because she had a relatively healthy year after her first trip to Vermont, she let her six-month approval period lapse. In June, though, she headed back to open another six-month window. This time, she went with a girlfriend who has a camper van. They drove six hours to cross the state border, stopping at a playground and gift shop before sitting in a parking lot where Milano had a Zoom appointment with her doctors rather than driving three more hours to Burlington to meet in person. I dont know if they do GPS tracking or IP address kind of stuff, but I would have been afraid not to be honest, she said. Thats not all that scares her. She worries shell be too sick to return to Vermont when she is ready to die. And, even if she can get there, she wonders whether shell have the courage to take the medication. About one-third of people approved for assisted death dont follow through, Blanke said. For them, its often enough to know they have the meds the control to end their lives when they want. Milano said she is grateful she has that power now while shes still healthy enough to travel and enjoy life. I just wish more people had the option, she said. 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 an independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Parents are hiding their children from local authorities to avoid mandatory evacuation in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a strategically important location, amid warnings that Russian forces are advancing rapidly. Communities in and around Pokrovsk are being urged to flee within the next two weeks as Russian forces push forward which comes despite Ukraines own incursion into Russian territory that has taken Moscow by surprise. On Thursday, Russia insisted it had thwarted another Ukrainian attempt to push into the border region of Bryansk, as Ukraine continues to make advances into the Kursk region. Roughly 600 to 700 people have been evacuating daily, the administration said. On Thursday, the national rail network said at least 371 people evacuated from Prokrovsk by train, with the network having to add nine carriages to accommodate the large crowds. Evheniya, a 65-year-old resident in Pokrovsk who worked as a chef at a local restaurant, told CNN how she hears the sounds of blasts at night, but has no plans to leave the city. At night [I hear] blasts and I sit up [in my bed]. [Its] so scary when you are alone. I wait till it calms down, and just as I lay down again, Evheniya said. Meanwhile Natalya, a 69-year-old Pokrovsk resident, plans to flee soon with her son telling CNN that her nerves are on the edge. When they declared evacuation the previous time, I didnt leave, she said. It was more quiet, now situation is very different, much more tense. In Ukraines Donetsk region, children with their parents or other legal guardians will be forcibly evacuated from certain districts, including Pokrovsk, according to the ministry responsible for the reintegration of regions that previously fell under Russian control. Pokrovsk is not a large city about 60,000 people lived there before the war, and many have left since the start of the full-scale invasion. But it serves as a key hub for the Ukrainian military thanks to its easy access to Kostiantynivka, another military center. The Ukrainian military said Wednesday that Pokrovsk is now the hottest front of the war. Troops are repelling Russian attacks and fighting in multiple locations. The entire community encompasses Pokrovsk city, the nearby town of Myrnohrad and 39 surrounding villages. Dont wait. It will not get better, it will only get worse. Leave, was the stark warning from local official Yurii Tretiak, head of the military administration in Myrnohrad, which is now less than 3 miles from the frontline. But Tretiak said many people are still reluctant to leave even going so far as to hide their children from local authorities, promoting the military administration to make house visits. We have cases when parents hide their children. Today (August 20) we will have a meeting with the police to discuss how we will work with such people, how we will search for such parents who hide children and give false information that the children have long since left, he said, noting that dangers are increasing with some areas of town facing daily attacks. Those who hesitated a week ago have mostly decided and are leaving en masse, he said, noting that for residents who have yet to evacuate, the most common argument is that I have nowhere to go or no one needs me. The enemy is advancing faster than expected, Tretiak said in a radio interview on Tuesday. So we are trying to do as much as possible to evacuate people by the end of the week. Ukrainian troops use the road connecting the two to resupply the front lines and evacuate casualties toward Dnipro. The remains of a residential building destroyed by Russian shelling on August 11 in Myrnohrad, Ukraine. - Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images Many of those evacuating Pokrovsk include children. One evacuee, Kateryna, is set to leave the city with her teenage son and toddler daughter, according to a statement by Ukraines rail operator. I have lived here for 30 years, since I was born. Can you imagine what its like to live here all your life and suddenly give up everything? she said in the statement. While the communities in and around Pokrovsk remain under fire, the Russian Ministry of Defense on Thursday said Russian troops have occupied the eastern Ukrainian village of Mezhove as part of their ongoing offensive in the area. The ministry claimed that units from the Center group of Russian armed forces seized control of Mezhove, in the Donetsk region that was illegally annexed by Russia. The Ukrainian military has not commented on the situation in the village. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Ukrainian forces are being reinforced in the eastern region to repel a potential Russian advance. In his nightly address, Zelensky said: The frontline is our position, first of all Pokrovsk direction, our Donetsk region. We understand the moves of the enemy and are strengthening ourselves. Ukrainian army medics treat wounded soldiers at a stabilization point in the Pokrovsk direction. - Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu/Getty Images Russia claims attempted incursion Meanwhile, Russian forces repelled a Ukrainian incursion attempt into the border region of Bryansk on Wednesday, according to the local governor. On August 21, an attempt to infiltrate the Ukrainian DRG into the territory of the Russian Federation was stopped in the Klimovsky district of the Bryansk region, regional governor Alexander Bogomaz said on his official Telegram channel Thursday. Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) forces and military units responded to the Ukrainian attempt to break through, Bogomaz said, adding the area where the clashes took place is now stable and under Russian control. Last Sunday, Zelensky said Ukraines military incursion into Kursk aims to create a buffer zone to prevent cross-border attacks by Moscows forces. Ukraine has previously targeted the Bryansk region in operations launched since its incursion into Russia more than two weeks ago. Ukraines bold cross-border advance in Russias Kursk region has seen Kyivs troops claim over 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) of Russian territory and take out key bridges in the western part of the country. The assault which poses a major embarrassment for the Kremlin represents a notable change in tactics for Kyiv, marking the first time foreign troops have entered Russian territory since World War II. This story has been updated. CNNs Kostyantyn Hak reported from Pokrovsk. CNNs Anna Chernova and Amy Cassidy reported from London. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com By Nate Raymond (Reuters) - A federal judge has dismissed charges against a Kansas man for possessing a machine gun, saying prosecutors failed to establish that a federal ban on owning such weapons is constitutional. The decision by U.S. District Judge John Broomes in Wichita on Wednesday appeared to mark the first time a court has held that banning machine guns is unconstitutional after the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 issued a landmark ruling that expanded gun rights. In that ruling, New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the Supreme Court established a new test for assessing firearms laws, saying restrictions must be "consistent with this nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation." The Supreme Court clarified that standard in June as it upheld a ban on people subject to domestic violence restraining orders having guns, saying a modern firearms restriction needs only a "historical analogue," not a "historical twin," to be valid. Broomes, an appointee of Republican then-President Donald Trump, said prosecutors in Tamori Morgan's case failed to identify such a historical analogue to support charging him with violating the machine gun ban. The U.S. Department of Justice can appeal the decision, which the gun safety group Everytown Law in a statement called "extreme and reckless." Prosecutors did not respond to a request for comment. Morgan's lawyer declined to comment. Morgan was indicted last year on charges that he illegally possessed a machine gun and a machine gun conversion device known as a "Glock switch." Congress first moved to limit machine guns through the National Firearms Act in 1934, which was enacted after the weapons became commonly used by criminals during the Prohibition Era. It later outright barred possessing them in 1986. Prosecutors said the weapons at issue in Morgan's case did not fall within the protections of the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to keep and bear arms for self-defense. But Broomes disagreed, saying the "the machinegun and Glock switch are bearable arms within the plain text of the Second Amendment." While prosecutors pointed to laws from the 1700s and 1800s barring the use of "dangerous or unusual weapons," Broomes said those historical examples focused on their use to terrorize the public, not simply possessing them in the first place. A polling location in Arlington, Va. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said earlier this month he had issued an executive order removing 6,303 noncitizens who had accidentally or maliciously attempted to register to vote. He said in an interview that he was not suggesting there is widespread voter fraud, but had said in an earlier interview, Call me crazy, but I think American elections should be decided by American citizens. The news quickly spread. Former President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson and others praised Youngkins order, in tweets and retweets, saying he was keeping illegals, illegal aliens or noncitizens from voting. Yet the governors Aug. 7 order didnt state whether any of the 6,303 people removed from the voter rolls over the past 18 months were noncitizens who actually voted or if there was an error and they later turned out to be citizens. His office didnt provide that information when asked by NBC News. But months before Election Day, the Republican rhetoric around noncitizen voting is propagating the falsehood that masses of undocumented immigrants are voting in U.S. elections, according to voting, civil and immigrant rights groups. Such rhetoric contributes to the erosion of confidence in the electoral process, the groups say. Local Virginia officials who spoke to NBC News attributed much of the presence of possible noncitizens on the voter rolls to errors made when people fill out paper or online forms or when they respond to a question about citizenship on a touchpad device at the department of motor vehicles. The same day Youngkin announced the order, Trump praised him in a Truth Social post, saying Virginia and its governor were taking a strong lead in "securing" November's election, protecting every "legal vote and keeping illegal aliens that had been let into our country for voting." Massive voting by people illegally in the country is a conspiracy theory long ago debunked, but one that Trump has repeated throughout his campaigns, along with other Republicans. What we are seeing is a concerted effort at the state, federal level to stoke fears about noncitizen voting, and obviously thats tied to xenophobic rhetoric about immigration generally, said Alice Clapman, senior counsel for voting rights at the progressive Brennan Center for Justice. In an Aug. 9 retweet of a post by a conservative magazine writer about Virginias executive order, Johnson stated that Democrats are perfectly fine with noncitizens voting in our elections. To back that up, the Louisiana Republican pointed to how Democrats had voted against the SAVE Act bill that would require all Americans to prove citizenship when registering to vote. Griffin Neal, a spokesman for Johnson, said the House speaker was making a point about the 198 House Democrats who voted against this bill, which only ensures American citizens can decide American elections, not alleging any of the 6,303 had voted illegally. Voter purges, DMV forms and possible errors Youngkins press secretary Christian Martinez referred NBC News to the governors previous statements saying that the process is very transparent and that they give everyone who was removed from the voter roll 14 days to come back and demonstrate that they are a citizen. Nearly two dozen voting, civil and immigrant rights groups have called on Youngkin to release more information about the people removed from Virginias voter lists, to ensure that Virginias voters are not wrongfully purged from the voter rolls ahead of Novembers elections. Youngkins order also calls on local registrars to warn people about election offenses and their penalties, leading the groups to question how this will be done without intimidating voters. I would be curious to know why they are choosing to do this now, before the November election. It sounds like they are pushing this fraud message, said Jossie Flor Sapunar, spokesperson for CASA, a national advocacy group for immigrants. On Virginias DMV forms, people are asked whether they want to register to vote. Virginia requires people to provide their full Social Security numbers, a DMV credential or proof of identity and legal presence when registering, Youngkins order states. Spokesperson Jillian Cowherd said the voter registration process is started at the DMV, but completed at the Virginia Elections Department. When Virginia residents who arent U.S. citizens go to the DMV to apply for a license, they have to provide identifying documents including proof of residence. Youngkins order requires lists of people who have said theyre not citizens to be turned over daily to the Elections Department. Virginias DMV checks proof of identity and legal presence with the Social Security Administration, Youngkins order states. It also uses the Department of Homeland Security system, SAVE, which is designed for checking agency records on immigrants when theyre applying for certain benefits. Its also used to verify voter rolls. But user and data errors in the DHS system such as confusing people who share the same name have led to people being inaccurately flagged on voter rolls, Clapman said. The use of immigrant records under the SAVE system to verify voter rolls has been criticized by voting rights and immigration advocates because its not foolproof. If a voter renews their drivers license or completes another DMV form but neglects to check yes to the citizenship question, checks no or checks neither box, then this voter is flagged as a possible noncitizen and included in the list, Tony Castrilli, a spokesman for Fairfax County in northern Virginia, told NBC News in an email. Fairfax County canceled 985 voters in the county over the last two years, but Castrilli didnt know how many subsequently confirmed they were citizens and re-registered. Gretchen Reinemeyer, Arlington County registrar, said the wrong answers sometimes can be a result of frustration with the series of questions people have to answer when they dont opt out of voter registration. What happens is you get pop-ups asking, Are you sure? A lot of times people start hitting no, no, no, wondering what do I have to do to stop this? she said. Local officials said they send letters notifying people who have been flagged that theyve been removed from voter rolls, and give them 14 days to correct errors if they were wrongly removed. Reese Brogdon, Manassas Park deputy director of elections, said most letters his department sends dont get a response. But Reinemeyer said shes experienced citizens being flagged erroneously. None of the local officials had data on how many people return to fix the errors. In my experience in working with voters, they know whether or not they are citizens and they know whether or not they should be voting, Reinemeyer said. Virginia has same-day registration, so people mistakenly removed from voter rolls who are citizens can show up, affirm they are a citizens and vote, she said. It is rare for noncitizens to vote because doing so risks prison, fines and even expulsion from the country, the Brennan Centers Clapman said. Its been shown over and over, she said, that noncitizen voting is not a problem. She said Youngkins announcement of noncitizen voters stokes election denial generally, undermining faith in election results. It creates momentum for legislation that would make it harder to vote, Clapman said. A history of mistakes Virginia has a history of mistakes in its voter removals. Last October, election officials under Youngkin removed nearly 3,400 legal Virginia voters from the rolls, after misclassifying probation violators as felons. Felons automatically lose their right to vote in Virginia. The League of United Latin American Citizens of Richmond settled a 2018 defamation lawsuit it filed against a group run by Trumps former vote fraud commissioner, J.Christian Adams, for publishing identifying information of people who were identified as noncitizens and removed from the states voter rolls. The group had to apologize and publicly state the people they targeted are U.S. citizens. In their recent letter to Youngkin, voter, civil and immigrant rights groups said,the integrity of our electoral system depends on the protection of every eligible Virginians right and freedom to vote. The groups said its critical that any election security measures dont prevent eligible voters from having their voices heard or intimidate or dissuade voters from participating or otherwise sow distrust in our democratic processes. Samsung is rumored to make another big release this year, and it is being claimed that this will involve a "Slim" version of the the Galaxy Z Fold 6. Should this be true, this "Slim" version will be the latest addition to the company's foldable smartphone lineup. According to rumors, this new version of the Galaxy Z Fold 6 will bring in new upgrades to the smartphone's camera system. It is also being speculated that it will have a new titanium body. The rumors come just more than a month since Samsung debuted the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 in the company's Galaxy Unpacked event. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 'Slim' is Rumored for September A new report by The Chosun Daily claimed that Samsung is now planning to release a new model of its foldable device, which will allegedly be called the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim. According to the report, the foldable smartphone will arrive this September 25 in South Korea. It has also been revealed that the device is expected to be released in China. However, no information was shared as of press time regarding any releases for other countries and regions. It has been claimed that the smartphone will include various upgrades and changes from the original release that was made public last July 10. According to the report, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim offers bigger screens with 6.5-inch and 8-inch on its outer and inner (unfolded) displays, respectively. According to 9to5Mac , speculations about the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim include updates to its camera system and a rumored titanium body. Specifically, rumors say that Samsung will be changing the under-display camera and replace the 4MP sensor with its new 5MP camera. Samsung and its Foldable Plans There has been rumors during the early months of the year that a new foldable model will be added to Samsung's lineup to expand its Galaxy Z Fold and Flip devices. Earlier reports claimed that Samsung was doing this because of the growing foldable device market that is seeing more Chinese-made smartphones. Various reports and rumors have popped up online, including the likes of a Galaxy Z Fold 6 FE version that will allegedly introduce the first "Fan Edition" version of the foldable. There have also been reports about an entry-level version of the Z Fold lineup that will introduce a budget-friendly version to better compete with its rivals. Samsung is speculated to put more focus on the foldable smartphone market, but its earlier Unpacked event only introduced its two regular releases, with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6. However, this may be because the company is planning other future foldable releases for the year. If the rumors are true, the Galaxy Z Fold 6 Slim is coming soon and may even be introduced to the world as easly as next month. Leonard Bernsteins musical odyssey in some ways, not unlike the marital odyssey dramatized in the film Maestro was ignited by ecstatic expectations that proved unsustainable. He eagerly anticipated a Great American Symphony, a new American species of musical theater, and a New World version of the New York Philharmonic. An iconic American journey, it yielded bitterness and disappointment, relieved by an unanticipated second musical home abroad: in Vienna. Bernsteins alienation proved prophetic: he all too well perceived the unravelling of the America in which he had once placed enthralled hopes. I dont think anyone should doubt for a second the weight on Lennies soul, comments Thomas Hampson in my latest More than Music installment on NPR: The Bernstein Odyssey. Having sung with Bernstein more than any other baritone, Hampson bears witness that when Lennie was in Vienna, the city stopped. And he minces no words about what Bernstein increasingly encountered at home: I think we are in dangerous times for people seeking enrichment to live. That may sound glorious and grand but Im a student of Leonard Bernstein. . . . And I think to understand Lennies reaction in the sixties . . . would be terribly illuminating for people today. Bernsteins elder daughter Jamie remembers her fathers response to the assassination of John F. Kennedy, whose White House he visited, then to the deaths of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. My parents started to feel really pessimistic about the United States. And then we were in the Nixon Administration, and we had the Vietnam War. . . . My father got very discouraged about the state of the union and that sense of despair did not leave him for the rest of his life. A singular chapter in Bernsteins American odyssey was a once very famous article by Tom Wolfe in New York Magazine. Coining the withering term radical chic, it savagely ridiculed the Bernsteins for hosting a fundraiser for the Black Panthers. Charlotte Curtis, the society editor of the New York Times, chimed in with a caustic piece of her own. Jamie Bernstein remembers: And then, after that, there was an editorial! In the New York Times! An editorial, lambasting Leonard Bernstein and his wife for hosting that event. And the subtext was that the Black Panthers were considered by Jewish people to be anti-Zionist.. . . Friends of my parents and relations of my family were furious at my mother . . . The blowback went on and on. The hate mail started to arrive. The Jewish Defense League was picketing outside our building. . . . And it was only decades later, in the 1980s, that through the Freedom of Information Act my father was able to view his own FBI file, which turned out to be 800 pages long. . . . It was in those pages that we discovered that all that hate mail had been generated by the FBI, and all those JDL protests outside our building were bristling with FBI plants. And this all came sstraight out of J. Edgar Hoovers playbook it was his dream come true to pit Jews against Blacks. . . . My mother and father were just sitting ducks. Another facet of Bernsteins despair which I dont explore on the NPR show was the fate of music, both popular and serious. He felt it had lost its way. This was the topic of his 1973 Norton Lectures, The Unanswered Question, the question being: Whither music in our time? When I first encountered these six talks I was impatient with Bernsteins discomfort with non-tonal music; having been well indoctrinated in 12-tone compositional practice, my reaction was: Get over it. No longer. Bernstein was, again, prescient. His essential premise, I now realize, was that musical creativity that any creativity must not cancel the past, that to start wholly anew is a fools errand. He was equally skeptical of Stravinskys denial that music can express something other than itself. It took some nerve, in 1973, to confront Schoenberg and Stravinsky as Bernstein did. He also, in 1966, celebrated the birthday of Dmitri Shostakovich on a nationally televised Young Peoples Concert, fearlessly commenting: In these days of musical experimentation, with new fads chasing each other in and out of the concert halls, a composer like Shostakovich can be easily put down. After all hes basically a traditional Russian composer, a true son of Tchaikovskyand no matter how modern he ever gets, he never loses that tradition. So the music is always in some way old-fashionedor at least what critics and musical intellectuals like to call old-fashioned. But theyre forgetting the most important thinghes a genius: a real authentic genius, and there arent too many of those around any more. Bernstein concluded his Norton lectures with an obligatory blast of optimism not least because he believed his own compositional magnum opus lay ahead. There is a general bubbling and rejoicing and brotherliness among composers that would have been unthinkable ten years go. Its like the beginning of a new period of fresh air and fun. It never happened. And Bernsteins own 1983 opera A Quiet Place proved a dark place. The dialectical tension between present and past, long the mainspring for musical creativity, had gone slack. In Stravinsky and Schoenberg, this conundrum, differently manifest, ran its fatal course. Todays makeshift music I am thinking of a variety of temporarily popular operas and concert works is a further consequence. To close my NPR program, I asked Thomas Hampson and Jamie Bernstein, and also the conductor JoAnn Falletta: What is the significance, today, of the Bernstein odyssey? I feel for people of my time, he will always be a hero, theres no one who will ever replace him, said Falletta. For younger people Im less sure and I feel badly about that. I mention Leonard Bernstein and I see a kind of blank look from teenagers. And that is such a pain to me, a pain in my heart. Jamie Bernstein has created a dog and pony show an hour-long presentation, which she hosts, titled Leonard Bernstein: Citizen Artist: And in this presentation I explain to young musicians why Leonard Bernstein still matters. And that it was because he used his musicmaking in every way he could think of to try to make the world a better place. For Hampson, forgetting who Leonard Bernstein was symptomizes a calamitous failure of American cultural memory. I can only agree. Sampling Bernsteins 1959 televised concert from Moscow, I observe referencing a story explored in my book The Propaganda of Freedom that Bernsteins New York Philharmonic tour to Soviet Russia became a turning point in American foreign policy. Some at the State Department were anxious about this initiative. And in fact, Bernstein proved wholly irrepressible, completely unpredictable. He also proved an exemplary cultural ambassador, extolling American and Russian music both. He shook the hand of Dmitri Shostakovich, the leading Soviet composer, who was at the time a target of CIA-sponsored defamation. He befriended invited Boris Pasternack, the eminent Soviet novelist, who was a target of Russian defamation. And, in an inimitable televised Moscow concert, he insisted that, through music, Russians and Americans could discover a common bond. In a matter of days, Bernstein superseded a decade of American cultural propaganda, funded by the CIA, demonizing the Soviet Union as a cultural backwater. Beginning with Bernstein, a new policy of cultural exchange with Soviet Russia, applying the arts as an instrument of mutual understanding, became an indispensable diplomatic tool. If you think back to what Bernstein achieved in the Soviet Union in 1959, and ask yourself who could do something like that today really no one comes to mind. We lack national spokespersons in the arts. We lack citizen artists. We increasingly live in an arts vacuum. Challenged to end the show on a positive note, I add: All his life, Leonard Bernstein would ricochet between elation and distress. Its in his music, its in his conducting. Its in his letters, which document ecstasies of fulfillment in alternation with big, soggy depressions. Its a Mahlerian duality. And heres a Mahlerian remedy: Bernsteins signature moment from his signature performance of his signature Mahler symphony the symphony he led as a 29-year-old Wunderkind with the Boston Symphony, that he led on national television in response to President Kennedys assassination, that I heard him lead in April 1987 at Lincoln Center with the New York Philharmonic a legendary performance of the Resurrection Symphony. The moment in question is an apocalyptic fanfare, heralding a pageant of redemption. At Lincoln Center, in 1987, it was unforgettable. And unforgettably slow. So slow as to demand maximum emotional investment from Bernstein, from the orchestra, from the audience. You really had to be there. That 1987 Mahler/Bernstein fanfare ensues. It still sounds apocalyptic. To read follow-up blogs, click here and here. LISTENING GUIDE: To hear The Bernstein Odyssey, click here. 00:00 JH shamelessly imitates Leonard Bernstein 3:50 Thomas Hampson sings a Mahler song and recalls learning it with LB 8:30 JoAnn Falletta remembers LB teaching at Juilliard 14:20 Hampson sings Lonely Town and explains why its very Lenny 17::00 Bernstein in Moscow 21:00 Bernstein attempts to Americanize the New York Philharmonic 23:45 Hampson on Bernstein in Vienna: The city stopped. 27:00 Hampson sings and discusses Bernsteins Yiddish wedding song 29:55 Bernstein and Mahlers Ninth 36:00 Jamie Bernstein on her fathers estrangement from the US 38:30 JoAnn Falletta, Jamie Bernstein, and Thomas Hampson on the significance of Bernstein today 42::00 To end on a high note: the signature moment from Bernsteins signature performance of Mahler 2 For more on the Bernstein odyssey, click here. For a More than Music broadcast remembering Bernstein the cultural diplomat, click here. For an archive of More than Music programs, click here. Today's news: Modi in Kiev to revive peaceful solution to conflict with Moscow. Indonesian court orders pharmaceutical companies to compensate families for victims of bad cough syrup. Oil revenues at lows in Saudi Arabia despite production cut to support price. In Moscow increasingly difficult for Central Asian migrants to enroll their children in school. CHINA Chinese clothing giant Shein has admitted to finding two cases of child labor in its supply chain last year, and pledged to step up checks on companies that make the clothes it sells. The revelation-contained in the 2023 Sustainability Report-comes as Shein is believed to be planning to place shares on the stock exchange. The company has been repeatedly criticized for conditions faced by workers in factories in its supply chain. INDIA Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected in Kiev today where he will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in the first visit by an Indian premier to Ukraine. At the center of the trip is the search for a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, which has raged since the Russian invasion began more than two and a half years ago. In a statement before his visit, Modi said that No problem can be solved on a battlefield and expressed India's support for dialogue and diplomacy for the restoration of peace and stability as soon as possible. THAILAND A plane carrying five Chinese and four Thai tourists, including the two pilots, crashed 100 km southeast of Bangkok, 11 minutes after losing contact with ground control after takeoff. All the people aboard the Cessna are presumed dead, said Chonlatee Yongtrong, governor of Chachoengsao province, the crash site, as rescue teams are reassembling the remains and authorities investigate the cause of the crash. INDONESIA An Indonesian court has ordered two local companies to pay up to 60 million rupiah (,850) to each family whose children died from acute kidney injury or were seriously injured after consuming cough syrup. More than 200 children in Indonesia have died from these ailments and another 120 have been disabled. The judges cited poor oversight by pharmaceutical companies, but cleared of any charges the country's Ministry of Health and Food and Drug Agency (BPOM), which had been sued by the families. SAUDI ARABIA Saudi Arabia's revenues from oil exports plummeted to their lowest in three years, testing the kingdom's ability to sustain prices by cutting supply. Saudi Arabia earned only .7 billion from oil sales abroad in June, or 9 percent less than in the same period last year and 12 percent less than in May, according to government data. In the same month, according to Bloomberg, it exported only 5.6 million barrels of oil per day, just 250,000 barrels more than it was exporting at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, when demand plummeted. The International Monetary Fund estimates that Saudi Arabia needs an oil price of .20 to make ends meet, up from now. RUSSIAN-ORTHODOX Russian Orthodox Archbishop Kallistrat (Romanenko) circulated a confidential letter from Moscow Patriarch Kirill (Gundjaev) in his Novorossiysk eparchy , made public by the Christians Against War Telegram site, asking priests to make themselves available as military chaplains at the front, where at least 250 more are needed for two-month shifts. CENTRAL ASIA -RUSSIA Central Asian migrants working in Moscow are finding it increasingly difficult to enroll their children in school, as applications are turned down on a wide variety of grounds, due to incomplete documents or lack of vacancies, or even for no reason at all, and they unsuccessfully try to turn to their countries' consulates for support. Ruling on the case of an exasperated family who demanded a stop for a 30-year-old man who had been artificially fed for 11 years as he could no longer afford the costs. Judges: 'It would be death by starvation, not passive euthanasia. But the government should work to provide some form of support for the family." Dr. Carvalho, Indian Catholic bioethics expert: A compassionate ruling. Delhi (AsiaNews) - India's Supreme Court on Aug. 20 rejected the request of two parents seeking passive euthanasia for their 30-year-old son who has been in a vegetative state for 11 years. However, it simultaneously asked India's federal government to take action to find an institution that can support this family that can no longer meet the cost of treatment. Ashok Rana, 62, and Nirmala Devi, 55, struggled to save their son, who had suffered severe head trauma and quadriplegia (100 percent disability) after falling from the fourth floor of a fee-paying guesthouse in Mohali, Punjab, while attending a civil engineering degree program. Their lawyer told the judges that the father's meager pension was now insufficient to support the family and that they had been forced to sell their house in 2021 to meet their son's rising medical expenses. That is why they petitioned the Supreme Court to set up a medical commission to examine the removal of Ryles' tube, the instrument through which the young man has so far been fed, appealing the 2018 ruling through which India allowed passive euthanasia. The court objected, however, explaining that this would not be a case of passive euthanasia. If Ryles' tube is removed, the patient will die of starvation, explained Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. Passive euthanasia is a very different thing. The Ryles tube is not a life support system. A similar judgment had already been made on the case by the Delhi High Court. At the same time, however, the judgments were not insensitive to this heartbreaking case of two parents who have struggled for more than a decade, spent their life savings and yet see no light at the end of a long and arduous journey. The court has therefore asked Attorney General Aishwarya Bhati to consult with the Union government to determine whether a permanent solution can be found, namely taking care of the 30-year-old man in a vegetative state and releasing the parents from their financial constraints. Commenting on this case to AsiaNews, Dr. Pascoal Carvalho, a physician who served at the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV) in the Vatican, said, We welcome this ruling, which, while upholding the culture of life, is also compassionate toward the caregivers and seeks palliative care at home for the patient. Dr. Carvalho also referred to the Pontifical Academy for Life's new text Small Lexicon on the End of Life published earlier this month, which, while reiterating the absolute no to euthanasia and assisted suicide, contains a new openness on the part of the Vatican with respect to so-called aggressive treatment, specifically the obligation to provide food and hydration to patients in a vegetative state. In section 13 of the volume, which addresses the issue of food and hydration, reference is made to the declaration Dignias infinita recently published by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, which reiterates the need to avoid 'any aggressive therapy or disproportionate intervention' in the treatment of patients with serious illness." "The Pontifical Academy for Life, Carvalho continued, has insisted, however, that this position does not conflict with the position previously taken by the dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on the issue of food and hydration, contained in a 2007 response to bishops in the United States on the moral obligation to provide food and water to patients in a vegetative state, including through artificial means." INDIAN MANDALA IS THE ASIANEWS NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO INDIA. WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECEIVE IT EVERY FRIDAY? TO SUBSCRIBE, CLICK HERE. Champion local news. Join our community of readers who value daily beat reporting and in-depth stories alike. Your membership allows us to continue the legacy of local, independent journalism in the Roaring Fork Valley. With your support, we can remain a free and accessible source of news for everyone, always without paywalls or corporate influence. Together, we can ensure that vital local stories are told. Putin offered to help broker such an accord during a state visit to Baku on Monday. Meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, he said he will talk to Pashinian about the results of our negotiations. In its readout of Putins call with Pashinian, the Kremlin said the two men discussed the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations in the context of the Russian leaders talks with Aliyev. It said Putin reaffirmed the readiness of the Russian side to continue to assist Armenia and Azerbaijan in negotiating a peace treaty, advancing the process of border delimitation and demarcation as well as in unblocking transport and logistics links. In a short statement, the Armenian governments press office said Pashinian thanked Putin for sharing the impressions of his visit to Azerbaijan. It did not give further details of that discussion. The statement also said the two leaders agreed to meet soon to discuss issues of the Armenia-Russia bilateral agenda. Russia has repeatedly offered to resume its mediation of Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks over the past year, including in the aftermath of last months meeting of the foreign ministers of the two South Caucasus states hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Unlike Azerbaijan, Armenia has essentially rejected these initiatives amid rising tensions in Russian-Armenian relations and its ongoing drift to the West. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov sparked a fresh war of words between Moscow and Yerevan during Putins trip to Azerbaijan. Speaking to Russian state television, he accused Pashinians government of torpedoing a Russian-brokered agreement to give Azerbaijan a transport corridor to its Nakhichevan exclave. The Armenian Foreign Ministry rejected the accusation and said Lavrov is calling into question Russias constructive involvement in Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks. The Russian Foreign Ministry hit back at Yerevan on Wednesday. 23 August 2024 11:44 (UTC+04:00) Nazrin Abdul Read more The Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan Investment Company has inaugurated its new office in Tashkent, marking a significant step in enhancing bilateral economic cooperation, Azernews reports citing Ministry of Economy. The opening ceremony was attended by Mikayil Jabbarov, Azerbaijans Minister of Economy, and Laziz Kudratov, Uzbekistans Minister of Investment, Industry, and Trade, along with key representatives from both nations. The newly established office, located in the "Trilliant Tower 1" Business Center, is poised to play a crucial role in bolstering mutual investments between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. The company, officially registered as "Azerbaijan Uzbek Investment" LLC Joint Venture (AUIC) in December 2023, is dedicated to financing business growth and development, holding up to 49% of the capital in companies across various economic sectors. With an authorized capital of 500 million USD, the investment company aims to drive import-substituting and high-tech production, enhance trade turnover, advance processing sectors and innovation, and attract foreign investments. This strategic initiative underscores the commitment of both countries to deepen their economic ties and foster sustainable growth. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 August 2024 15:56 (UTC+04:00) Nazrin Abdul Read more On August 23, a conference titled "Women's Education in the Green World: From Yesterday to Today" took place in the Western Azerbaijan Community, Azernews reports. The event marked the 140th anniversary of the Yerevan Girls Gymnasium. Among the highlights was the historical overview of the St. Ripsim Girls' School in Yerevan. Founded on January 2, 1850, through the efforts of Yelizaveta Vorontsova, the wife of Mikhail Vorontsov, the Viceroy of the Caucasus, and the decision of the Saint Nina Charitable Society's board, this school initially began as a womens educational institution. By July 9, 1884, it had evolved into a three-class female progymnasium and, on May 30, 1898, became an eight-class women's gymnasium with the addition of a preparatory class. This school, which also catered to the daughters of affluent Azerbaijanis, saw 36 Azerbaijani girls graduate between 1916 and 1918. The "Memory Book" of the Yerevan Governorate for 1914 notes that Hashim Bey Narimanbeyov taught Sharia lessons and the Azerbaijani language at this gymnasium. Bahar Muradova, Chairman of the State Committee on Family, Women, and Children's Problems, emphasized the critical importance of women's and children's education in society. She highlighted that education is a cornerstone of our nation, and the role of education in fostering a greener world is of unparalleled significance. Prof. Mahira Huseynova, Vice-Rector of Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University, addressed the topic "The Role of Azerbaijani Intellectual Women in Shaping the National Educational Environment in Western Azerbaijan." She noted that the establishment of the Yerevan Girls' Gymnasium 140 years ago was not just a historical milestone but also a significant moment in the Azerbaijani women's movement. Huseynova also pointed out that despite the four deportations endured by Western Azerbaijanis over the past century, the educational pursuits of our compatriots remained undeterred. The conference featured several other notable presentations - Farrukh Rustamov, professor at Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University and Deputy Chairman of the Council of Intellectuals of KAI, spoke on "The Role of the Yerevan Teachers' Seminary in Our Pedagogical History," Professor Hasan Bayramov, a member of the Council of Elders of KAI, discussed "The Legacy of the Yerevan Pedagogical School: Khanlar Pedagogical School," Konul Hasanova, Dean of Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University and Associate Professor at KAI, presented on "Female Graduates of the Yerevan Azerbaijani Pedagogical School," Jalal Allahverdiyev, a teacher at Azerbaijan State University of Economics and a member of the Supervisory-Inspection Commission of the National Academy of Sciences, explored "The Contributions of Western Azerbaijani Enlightened Women to the Development of the Literary and Cultural Environment of the South Caucasus." The event also featured discussions on "Education as a National Issue in Independent Azerbaijan," "Green world: The role of women in environmental protection," and "An educated woman is an educated future," fostering a robust exchange of views. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz A projec "Read for Victory!" has been presented at Nizami Cinema Center with the financial support of the Agency for State Support to NGOs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijan Volunteers Public Union, Azernews reports. The National Anthem of Azerbaijan was played at the event, and the memory of the Azerbaijani martyrs was commemorated with a minute of silence. Speaking at the event, Chairman of the Azerbaijan Volunteers Public Union, Ph.D. in Art Studies, Ulviyya Babirli, stressed that the video clip was shot in the territories liberated from occupation. "The main goal of the project is to convey the love of the country, the joy of victory to the listeners, to further increase the spirit of patriotism among young people, and to bring together the brave men who fought for Garabagh. Within the framework of the project, the newly written song "Azerbaijan", written by the Honored Artist Baba Vaziroglu and composed by Babir Babirli, was performed by the veterans of the Second Garabagh War, Mabud Ahmadov, Jahangir Aliyev and Murad Bayramli. During the filming of the clip, the performers' clothes were presented by the head of the Azerbaijan National Clothing Center, Doctor of Philosophy in Art Studies, and fashion designer Gulnara Khalilova. The director of the clip is Elnur Jabrayilov, the cameraman is Orkhan Gurbanov. We felt joy and pride when we saw the improvements in our native land during the filming," said Ulviyya Babirli. According to Aygun Aliyeva, Executive Director of the Agency for State Support to NGOs of the Republic of Azerbaijan, patriotic ideas have come together in the project. She pointed out that after the Glorious Victory, radical changes are taking place in all areas of social life. Mabud Ahmadov, a third-group disabled veteran from Garabagh, was awarded the medals "For the liberation of Fuzuli", "For the liberation of Jabrayil", "For the liberation of Khojavend", as well as "Participant of the Patriotic War", shared his impressions. The event was attended by the sector head of the NGO Relations and Communications Department at Azerbaijan's Presidential Administration Tural Aliyev, Deputy Culture Ministers Saadat Yusifova, Farid Jafarov, representatives of culture, heads of non-governmental organizations, military personnel and veterans. ---- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @lmntypewriterrr Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 August 2024 13:58 (UTC+04:00) Laman Ismayilova Read more Yasamal District Centralized Library System has conducted an information hour "What is COP29?", Azernews reports. During this session, library staff engaged with readers by posing the question, "What is COP29?" to spark their curiosity and interest in the topic. The staff provided informative handouts that offered more detailed insights. As part of the initiative, it was noted that Azerbaijan is set to host the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) this November. This event is significant as it brings together representatives from various countries to address critical issues related to climate change. It was noted that more detailed information about the COP is reflected in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. The ultimate goal of the Convention is to prevent all human-made interventions in the climate system that could be considered dangerous. Azerbaijan's hosting of this session highlights its commitment to international discussions on environmental matters. Azerbaijan has a strong track record of hosting international events and has chosen Baku Stadium as the venue for COP29. --- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @lmntypewriterrr Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz In our profession, alongside talent, qualities like kindness, integrity, education, culture, and empathy are equally important. Shahmar Alakbarov Azerbaijan commemorates the 81st anniversary of People's Artist Shahmar Alakbarov, Azernews reports. The prominent film director and actor etched his name into the history of Azerbaijan. Shahmar studied acting at the Azerbaijan Art Institute, under the guidance of Rza Tahmasib. Even while still a student in his third year, he joined the Azerbaijan State Academic National Drama Theatre. His breakthrough performance in the play "Masters" gained him widespread audience acclaim. Moreover, renowned artist Adil Iskandarov invited him to the film acting studio he established at the film studio. At AzerbaijanFilm Studio, Shahmar Alakbarov worked as an actor and director. His most popular roles in the films were Gazanfar ("My Seven Sons"), Iman ("The Last Pass"), Arif ("Life Tests Us"), Azad ("Winds Blow in Baku"), Gatyr Mammad ("Avenger from Ganjabasar"), Javidan ("Babek"), Ibrahim ("Time to Saddle Horses") and others. In one of his interviews, Shahmar Alakbarov was asked about the types of films he was eager to act in. He replied, "I have a strong interest in history, and after my roles in films like 'Babak,' 'The Avenger from Ganjabasar,' 'Time to Saddle the Horses,' 'The Last Pass,' 'My Seven Sons,' and others, my passion for this subject has only deepened." After finishing his education, he continued at the institute as a teaching assistant. He was also active in television and radio, making his debut as the host of the "Ulduz" program. He created unforgettable characters in numerous television shows, hosted the "Molla Nasreddin" radio program, and lent his voice to various films. Shahmar Alakbarov also ventured into directing, marking his directorial debut with the film "Examination," which he co-directed with Gulbeniz Azimzadeh. Alakbarov's relentless dedication to advancing Azerbaijani cinema was highly recognised. The prominent actor and director got the names both People's Artist and Honoured Artist. He also received the Laureate of State Price of Azerbaijan, USSR. Shahmar Alakbarov, passed away on August 12, 1992. His contributions to the local film industry continue to inspire future generations in the film industry. ---- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @lmntypewriterrr Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 August 2024 17:03 (UTC+04:00) Laman Ismayilova Read more The Azerbaijan Culture Ministry has discussed the creation of a broadcasting platform connecting Turkic-speaking regions and states, Azernews reports, citing the ministry. It was stated that within the framework of the promotion of Azerbaijani culture, it is necessary to implement appropriate measures in the direction of supporting the development of creative fields, including the promotion of the film potential of the country, and the involvement of foreign specialists in the development of the local film industry. The development of the local film industry involves the support of the dubbing infrastructure, the opening of new jobs and the stimulation of business in this segment, which is the main priority for the support of the Azerbaijani language in the modern digital space. For these purposes, it is planned to implement special measures within the framework of the "Creative Azerbaijan" program. This need is also stated in the "Regulation on the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan" approved by Decree No. 119 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated June 6, 2018, and in the relevant paragraph of the Action Plan of the "Socio-Economic Development Strategy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2022-2026". Supporting the activity of market participants in the field of cultural and creative industries, as well as improving the production base and promoting sectoral clustering, is a priority for the implementation of that clause. It was brought to the attention that, in the direction of this activity, research is being conducted on the establishment of a broadcasting platform connecting Turkic-speaking regions and states, and a corresponding work plan is being prepared. In order to improve the platform and speed up the creation process, the strategic and Business Advisor of the "BBC-Maestro" project, Nina Laricheva and the Chairman of the ATA-Association of Turkic Animation organization, Oktay Yusibov, were involved in the project as specialists. It was emphasised that the platform, based on a monthly or annual subscription model, is planned to include local and international content (dubbing). Moreover, it is also planned to present high-quality, culturally resonant programs to the audience on the platform. ---- Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @lmntypewriterrr Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 August 2024 10:00 (UTC+04:00) Nazrin Abdul Read more On August 23, the First Deputy Minister of Defense and Chief of the General Staff of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, Colonel General Karim Valiyev, began his visit to Kazakhstan, Azernews reports. According to reports from the Ministry of Defense, during the visit, a tactical episode of the joint tactical-special exercise "Altn Kran 2024" ("Golden Eagle 2024"), in which Azerbaijani military personnel are participating, will be observed. Additionally, the prospects for the development of cooperation between the two countries in the areas of military, military-technical, and military education will be discussed. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 August 2024 10:19 (UTC+04:00) Nazrin Abdul Read more The amphibious aircraft continues its efforts to combat forest fires in Turkiye, Azernews reports citing the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Following the instructions of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, the "BE-200CS" amphibious aircraft of the Ministry's Aviation Unit, sent to assist in the fight against severe forest fires in Turkiye, is continuing its firefighting operations. Yesterday, the aircraft was involved in firefighting efforts in the Bolu-Gerede area. The firefighting operation is currently ongoing. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 August 2024 12:33 (UTC+04:00) Fatima Latifova Read more On August 23, the visit of Colonel General Karim Valiyev, the First Deputy Minister of Defense Chief of the General Staff of the Azerbaijan Army, to Kazakhstan began, Azernews reports. During the visit, a tactical episode of the Altyn Kyran - 2024 (Golden Eagle - 2024) joint tactical-special exercise, in which Azerbaijani servicemen are participating, will be observed. The visit will also include discussions on enhancing military, military-technical, and military-educational cooperation between the two countries. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 August 2024 14:04 (UTC+04:00) Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, in a press statement following talks with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, praised the rapid development of the brotherly nation, Azernews reports. "I have visited Uzbekistan multiple times at different periods, particularly frequently in recent years, and I can clearly see and take pleasure in the remarkable transformations that the people of Uzbekistan are achieving under the leadership of Shavkat Miromonovich. Cities are flourishing, and industry is developing rapidly. During my last trip to Tashkent, we visited a large industrial complex together, and all of this is the result of wise policies. Attracting foreign investments, creating a favourable business environment, daily work on socio-economic development, and a vast number of social projectsthis is the Uzbekistan of today," the Azerbaijani President said. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 August 2024 11:02 (UTC+04:00) Ulviyya Shahin Read more The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) will participate in the international conference and exhibition "Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan - 2024" (OGT-2024), which will be held in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, on October 23, Azernews reports, citing Turkmen press. SOCAR President Rovshan Najaf will represent the company at this conference and exhibition. Najaf's speech is scheduled to be delivered during the forum. It has been reported that more than 100 delegations from 20 countries have confirmed their participation in "Oil and Gas of Turkmenistan - 2024." Officials and representatives from prominent energy companies will attend the international conference and exhibition. Additionally, representatives from the UN, OSCE, Asian Development Bank, and other international organizations have announced their participation. The conference aims to strengthen international cooperation in the energy sector and enhance Turkmenistan's investment potential. The OGT-2024 international forum will continue until October 25. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 August 2024 16:47 (UTC+04:00) If the mandates of the deputies from the "United National Movement" opposition party are cancelled, the parliament may become a one-party system after the elections on October 26. Azernews reports, citing TASS, that Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze made this statement to journalists. "Today, the Moldovan parliament is effectively a one-party system, but no one discusses it. However, it is welcomed. The same will happen in Georgia," he said. Based on the results of the parliamentary elections, the Prime Minister predicts that only two parties will enter the country's legislative body: the ruling "Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia" and the "United National Movement." --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 August 2024 20:19 (UTC+04:00) By Alimat Aliyeva Taiwan will increase defense spending to a record amount of 647 billion Taiwanese dollars (20.2 billion U.S. dollars) next year due to the growing military threat from China, Azernews reports. It is clarified that military spending next year will be 7.7 percent more than in the previous year, and will amount to 2.45 percent of Taiwan's estimated GDP. The amount allocated for defense spending also includes a special budget of 247.2 billion Taiwanese dollars, allocated for seven years until 2026 for the purchase of new fighter jets, most of which will be supplied by the United States. As the newspaper notes, there is uncertainty about whether Taiwan's military spending will be sustainable. According to Chie Chung, associate professor at the Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies at Tamkan University in Taiwan, the growth of defense spending over the past few years has been boosted by a special budget funded by public debt, but it is unclear whether this mechanism will operate after 2026. "It may be difficult to maintain current military spending in the future," Chie said. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 August 2024 21:27 (UTC+04:00) By Alimat Aliyeva This year, Chinese applicants who entered the Beijing University of Chemical Technology received not just a letter of admission, but a real work of engineering art. Their letters were printed on an ultra-thin carbon fiber material, only 0.2 millimeters thick, Azernews reports. The unusual situation lies in the fact that first-year students, instead of carefully storing letters as souvenirs, use them as experimental material. Students use them to cut fruits, chop meat, and even expose it to open fire to test the strength and heat resistance of the material. Representatives of the university explained that in such an unusual way they wanted to show how durable and reliable the materials that are being developed in their laboratories are. At the same time, the university urged freshmen to stop experimenting with letters and preserve them as a unique artifact reflecting modern achievements of science and technology. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz 23 August 2024 23:30 (UTC+04:00) Nazrin Abdul Read more Turkish security forces have "neutralized" 16 PKK terrorists in northern Iraq, close to the Turkish border, Azernews reports citing Anadolu Agency. The operation targeted the terrorists in the Hakurk, Asos, Gara, and Metina regions, the ministry reported on X. "We will continue our unpredictable, unconventional, rapid, and sustained operations to eliminate terrorism at its source!" the ministry declared. The PKK, a terrorist organization that uses northern Iraq as a base for planning and executing attacks against Turkey and northern Syria, has been a persistent threat. The term neutralize used by Turkish authorities signifies that the terrorists were either killed, captured, or surrendered. Over its nearly 40-year campaign of terror, the PKK designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU has caused the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has withdrawn as an independent candidate for president and endorsed Donald Trump. "In the name of saving democracy, the Democratic Party has set itself to destroying it," Kennedy declared. He compared Democrat collusion with big media and the weaponization of government agencies to Putin's control of the media and misuse of govenrment powers. Kennedy said he is suspending, not ending his campaign, and is withdrawing his name from the ballot in ten battleground states and urging his supporters there to vote for President Trump. Kennedy cited three reasons to vote for President Trump: "the war on free speech, the war in Ukraine, and the war on our children". Kennedy is currently suing the Biden regime in court over their efforts to censor him on social media. https://redstate.com/wardclark/2024/08/23/robert-f-kennedy-speaks-in-arizona-what-happens-now-n2178464 https://www.zerohedge.com/political/watch-live-rfk-jr-addresses-nation https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13773619/robert-f-kennedy-trump-endorsement-drop-presidential-race.html https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/campaigns/presidential/3133358/rogan-democrats-how-rfk-jr-could-still-swing-presidential-election/ https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2024/08/it-is-huge-it-is-everything-cnns-erin/ original post: _________________________________________________________________________________ Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has scheduled a press conference for a major announcement this Friday in Arizona. President Trump will also be in Arizona that day. There is increasingly speculation that Kennedy will drop out of the race and endorse President Trump. Kennedy's running mate, Nicole Shanihan, has said the Kennedy campaign is considering two courses of action, staying in the race or dropping out and endorsing Trump, the most important factor being to defeat Kamala Harris. Trump and Kennedy have had discussions about Kennedy serving in a Trump administration, and both have indicated they would be supportive of that. The MSM has claimed that Kennedy also had similar discussions with Kamala Harris, but Shanihan vehemently denied that. Shanihan also shared her disgust at the wide range of dirty tricks pulled by the Democrats against the Kennedy campaign, ranging from trying to keep him off the ballot to actually sending infiltrators into the campaign. https://redstate.com/smoosieq/2024/08/21/nasty-nicole-shanahan-lays-out-how-far-the-dnc-has-gone-to-sabotage-the-kennedy-campaign-n2178380 https://x.com/NicoleShanahan/status/1826311397904617942 Meanwhile, Green Party nominee Jill Stein has also denounced the dirty tricks played by what she called "the Anti-Democratic Party" trying to shut down her campaign. https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/08/21/exclusive-jill-stein-anti-democratic-party-trying-shut-down-my-campaign/ https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/08/22/jill-stein-democrats-absolutely-cheat-and-change-the-rules-to-maintain-their-grip-on-power/ Now that Kamala Harris has been coronated the Democratic Socialist designee for nomination as their candidate for President of these United States, after that political party's contrived primary process "democratically" elected Joseph R. Biden: What are your feelings about this party's progressive posture within their self-styled exercise of "Saving Democracy for America," and how truly critical the outcome of this presidential election will be? 8.7% I am ecstatic that this "Democracy's" First partially Black, First partially Indian, First female Co-Parent, and this nation's primary necessity is to her elect our First woman president.26.09% I really do not care about all these "Firsts." I will continue to pray, and work for this Representative Republic to elect someone competent, and brilliantly patriotic to be our next president.65.22% I will never vote for any politician that "first" does not have the core values to understand how dire this Constitutional Republic's situation has become. Former X-ray technician Moira McDonald has filed a complaint against the Springfield, Mass.-based Surgery Center of New England claiming that the centers human resources department failed to step in when inappropriate photos of her were circulating in the workplace, according to an Aug. 21 report from MassLive. Ms. McDonald claims that two of her male coworkers, including a supervisor, took inappropriate photos of her and shared them with all the ASC's staffers. Though she made several complaints to the human resources department, she alleges that the ASC took no action. When McDonald learned about the photos two months after they were allegedly taken, it caused her "severe emotional distress, lack of sleep, depression, anxiety and humiliation," according to the complaint. The Surgical Center of New England declined MassLive's request for comment. The complaint alleges that the photos were taken in January 2023 and had been circulating before Ms. McDonald found out about them in March 2023. In May 2023, Ms. McDonald resigned from her position at the center, stating the defendants inaction as the reason, according to the report. She is accusing her former employer of sexual harassment, sex and gender harassment, sex and gender discrimination and retaliation, and is demanding a jury trial. She also filed a charge with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination regarding this incident, according to the complaint. The projected shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036 is being driven by a number of factors, including residency programs that have not expanded at the same rate as the demand for healthcare services in the U.S. or the enrollment in medical school. Here are how some institutions are taking the residency shortage into their own hands: 1. The Medical Association of the State of Alabama and the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners are accepting applications for a new physician training program. The Bridge Year Graduate Physician Program is designed to increase the number of physicians in the state by allowing medical school graduates who did not match into residency programs to train under licensed physicians. Alabama is one of 10 states with similar initiatives. 2. The University of Texas' Tyler School of Medicine and the University of Nevada's Reno School of Medicine received 900,000 and 500,000 gifts, respectively, and are both investing their philanthropy dollars into expanding their existing residency slots. The University of Nevada projects that its new pediatrics residency program, funded by the gift, will increase the number of pediatricians in the surrounding area by 17%. 3. At least 18 other universities launched new residency programs in 2024, funded by grants, partnerships with other healthcare organizations and public funds. A program offering free eye care services in areas with healthcare disparities could improve the detection of eye disease detection and treatment, according to a study published Aug. 22 in JAMA Ophthalmology. The 1,151 participants had not had an eye exam in two or more years. Of those participants, 21% screened positive for glaucoma, 20% for cataracts, 6% for diabetic retinopathy and 1% for age-related macular degeneration. Risk factors were also present in participants in the screening program who had not had an eye exam in two or more years. Twenty-three percent were 65 and older, 33% self-reported diabetes, 25% reported a family history of glaucoma, 3% self-reported glaucoma and 33% were Black and older than 50. Researcher Paula Anne Newman-Casey, MD, of the W.K Kellogg Eye Center at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, told MedPage Today the program helps patients whose low income status may make it more difficult to access regular eye care. "Medical insurance does not always pay for glasses, making them often unaffordable for people with low incomes," she said. "This is likely why uncorrected refractive error remains the leading cause of visual impairment in the United States." A federal grand jury has indicted an alleged member of a hacking group that tried to extort hospitals. Deniss Zolotarjovs, 33, of Moscow, was charged in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati with conspiracy to commit money laundering, wire fraud and Hobbs Act extortion, the Justice Department said Aug. 20. He is alleged to have been a ransom negotiator with the Karakurt cybercriminal gang. In 2023, the group claimed to have stolen patients' DNA records from McAlester (Okla.) Regional Health Center and threatened to auction them off. In 2022, Karakurt reportedly hacked Methodist McKinney (Texas) Hospital and two affiliated surgery centers and said it would post patients' information on the dark web. Mr. Zolotarjovs was arrested in the country of Georgia in December and extradited to the U.S. in August. He is the first alleged member of Karakurt to be taken into U.S. custody. Two weeks after Kettering Health shared plans to replace Greene Memorial Hospital in Xenia, Ohio, with a $44 million medical facility, city officials have implemented a 60-day moratorium on standalone emergency room facilities. According to notes from an Aug. 22 city council meeting, the city needs time to update its zoning regulations to account for freestanding emergency room facilities, as current land development code only regulates hospitals and outpatient facilities. The moratorium is set to lift Oct. 22. "Such emergency room facilities are unique due to their 24/7 operation, noise from sirens and possibly helicopters, and their mandate to quickly provide unscheduled medical care," the meeting notes said. "In the midst of a rapidly changing environment, the City needs time to update its regulations before permit applications are submitted for specific facilities." Earlier this month, Kettering shared plans for the $44 million replacement facility Kettering Health Xenia that would comprise a full-service emergency room, breast evaluation center, imaging services and other emergency care support programs. It's expected to take 24 months to complete, with the existing Greene Memorial Hospital, which is on a separate campus, to remain in operation until the new facility opens. Xenia city officials are pushing to keep the hospital open, saying Kettering's plans for an alternative medical facility would limit access to care and place more pressure on local fire and EMS services to transport patients who need a higher level of care. "This will add costs to taxpayers, and increased delays in getting appropriate care can have irreparable, negative impacts on patient outcomes," Brent Merriman, city manager, wrote in an Aug. 21 letter to the community. In June, the city sent a letter to Kettering Health CEO Mike Gentry, outlining an "exit ramp" in which Kettering would relay ownership of the hospital to Xenia and work with a third-party to maintain the 44-bed facility as a full-service hospital. Kettering Health has indicated it intends to move forward with plans for the new facility, and that it will offer hospital staff employment at the new medical facility. "We share the passion of local leaders to provide these communities with access to high quality healthcare services that prioritize patients receiving care as close to home as possible," health system said in a statement to Becker's. "As we work toward this end, we do so in a rapidly changing environment, where more people are seeking care in outpatient settings compared to hospitals, creating an urgency to invest in facilities that meet these needs." "Our plans for future services in Xenia will ensure high-quality healthcare remains accessible and abides by any ordinances passed by local officials. We remain committed to collaboration and seeking input from members of the community throughout this process." Kettering Health has not released plans surrounding the future of the hospital campus. Sheila Bollier has been named CEO of Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Houston at The Medical Center, which is expected to open in November. Ms. Bollier has more than 30 years of leadership experience, according to an Aug. 23 news release shared with Becker's. She joined Birmingham, Ala.-based Encompass Health in 2010, previously serving as CEO of Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Sugar Land (Texas), the release said. The planned Houston facility is a 61-bed rehabilitation hospital. Encompass Health is a 164-hospital system, the release said. Jefferson Community Health & Life in Fairbury, Neb., appointed former CEO of two decades, Bill Welch, as its interim CEO, effective Sept. 3. Mr. Welch served as CEO from 1993 to 2013, according to an Aug. 22 news release from the hospital. Burke Kline resigned from his role as CEO Aug. 19. At that time, Lana Likens was named interim CEO. Mr. Welch led the hospital through the creation of a community fitness center, assisted living facility, surgical area and expanded outpatient area, the release said. Jefferson Community Health & Life comprises an acute care hospital, family medicine clinic, long-term care and home health services, according to its website. Frank Sacco, former president and CEO of Hollywood, Fla.-based Memorial Healthcare System, died at age 77. Mr. Sacco died at home with family in Ormond Beach, Fla. after battling cancer, according to an Aug. 23 news release from Memorial Healthcare. He led the health system for 29 years. He was at the organization for 41 years, becoming CEO in 1987, and retired in 2016. During Mr. Sacco's tenure, Memorial Healthcare added five hospitals as well as primary and urgent care centers and a nursing home. He also grew its annual net revenue to nearly $2 billion from $115 million, the release said. I leave with the joy of knowing that I have used every fiber in my DNA to make Memorial Healthcare System successful now and well into the future, Mr. Sacco said in 2016, according to the release. The Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital campus in Hollywood was named after him in 2011 to honor his leadership and vision, the release said. As Bellaire, Texas-based Harris Health System's first dual physician, president and CEO in the organization's more than 60 years, Esmaeil Porsa, MD, has made it his mission over the last four years in his role to instill something that he says is the largest challenge currently facing the healthcare industry: trust. "There is so much misinformation about what is real, about science, about the role of health care in our society and the role that the government should play in this dynamic," Dr. Porsa told Becker's. "The politicization of healthcare and science as a whole is a terrible thing to witness." To combat this challenge, Dr. Porsa began holding quarterly town hall sessions in the county that Harris Health serves around a year and a half ago, in an effort to provide the community with healthcare updates and to listen to any concerns they might have. "I conduct the town halls myself; I attend every one of the town halls," Dr. Porsa said. "We hear from [the community] about their hopes, their expectations, what matters to them, and how we can better serve in our community." Dr. Porsa also started an initiative he calls "leading with love" a few years ago to improve trust with employees. The initiative began with Dr. Porsa's direct reports and system leaders, but has since expanded to quarterly meetings wherein Dr. Porsa leads sessions for the health system's leaders to gather and talk about implementing love into the workplace. "I'm talking about love in terms of vulnerability, empowerment, inclusion, things of that nature," he said. "Through that, I'm hoping that we can expand the psychological safety and trust within the organization." Apart from the initiatives, Dr. Porsa's innate and dual understanding of what it means to be both an organizational leader and a practicing provider since 1993 has helped him connect with employees on a more personal level. It's also been useful when connecting with leaders at the two medical schools that Harris Health partners with, Houston-based Baylor College of Medicine and McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston. "The conversations are just so much easier because they know that I understand what they are telling me, not just at the level of a hospital operator, but at the level of a physician," he said. When asked what three qualities a health system CEO should possess to be a strong leader, Dr. Porsa said humility, commitment to excellence and celebrating failures, and loving what you do and why you do it. "Empowering others to do what they have been entrusted to doing is of the utmost importance," he said. "Without this quality, a system may succeed for a time, but systems that are led by less than humble leaders will inevitably stumble when warnings are not articulated and ideas remain dormant when a leader sucks the air out of the room." OSF OnCall, Peoria, Ill.-based OSF HealthCare's digital arm, has launched at-home monitoring for pediatric respiratory viruses. The OSF OnCall respiratory illness remote patient monitoring program will offer at-home support for pediatric respiratory virus patients and their caregivers. Through the program, families gain 24/7 access to OSF OnCall care teams and monitoring tools designed to help manage symptoms and prevent the need for hospitalization, according to an Aug. 23 news release. The program is available to anyone in Illinois or Michigan. To qualify, patients must have a confirmed respiratory infection diagnosis or a positive test result. MetroHealth has increased patients' refill retention rate from 35% to 80% thanks to a few shifts in its operating model. Ryan Mezinger, RPh, MetroHealth System's senior vice president and chief pharmacy officer, joined the Cleveland-based company in 2015 and focused his work on patient prescriptions and refills. At that time, 30% to 35% of patients never filled their prescriptions nationwide. "If they don't fill a prescription, they're not going to achieve the outcome they want; they end up coming back for readmission or to the ED," Mr. Mezinger told Becker's. Mr. Mezinger started by extending the pharmacy hours and pharmacy availability. "We're focusing on locations with very few pharmacies in the area and clinics with patients who truly need prescriptions in hand, such as urgent care centers, family practices, and internal medicine facilities," he said. The team has opened 11 patient-facing pharmacies, with three more expected to open in the next 18 months. Those two changes made a big difference in prescription numbers. When Mr. Mezinger began, the system had a 6% capture rate for prescriptions written. Now it's around 58%. As the data came in, Mr. Mezinger identified the next major issue: refills. "We saw that we were only capturing around 30% of refills with most being transferred to external pharmacies or simply not filled by patients," he said. To improve refills, the team implemented a few strategies, including rolling out an app with patient alerts, phone calls 8 to 10 days before the patient's refill is due, and offering home delivery. The early reminders helped patients get refills in a timely manner, but also allowed pharmacists to connect with patients about why they might not want a refill. If the team learned of affordability or side effect issues, they were able to directly address the issue with the patients' physician to ensure the best patient experience, he said. "Many pharmacies are purely transactional, but we wanted to disrupt that model and bring back a truly patient-centric approach," he said. "We've established a call center and a prior authorization team to handle behind-the-scenes work, allowing pharmacists at the counter to focus solely on patient care. That personal touch has been a significant factor in our success." Patient-centered work also found its way into the home delivery system. About half of daily prescriptions are delivered directly to patients' homes and the pharmacies offer same-day delivery for medications. Now, refill retention is over 80% and the pharmacy has a five-star adherence rating. The system is on pace to fill over 2 million prescriptions this year, "largely due to our ability to keep patients on track with their refills," Mr. Mezinger said. "Ultimately, pharmacy is financially viable for healthcare systems and is critical for patient outcomes," Mr. Mezinger said. "Hospitals have a responsibility to ensure patients receive the treatment they deserve, regardless of their social or economic status. Medication access and affordability are key factors, and investing in pharmacy services benefits the organization and the patients. I'm proud of what we've accomplished for our Northeast Ohio patients and hope to see more hospital systems recognize the value pharmacists bring to the table." A woman who suffered complications after having spine surgery won a $3 million settlement, the New Jersey Law Journal reported Aug. 23. The woman had a same-day microdiscectomy in February 2018 at JFK University Medical Center in Edison, N.J., the report said. After surgery, she reported severe pain and numbness, and nurses noticed she had urinary incontinence. A nurse told the patient's surgeon, Gregory Przybylski, MD, but he did not remember this information being shared with him, the report said. The patient was discharged, and her records did not indicate incontinence. Six days after surgery, the patient was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, N.J., after increased back and leg pain and bladder and bowel incontinence. A resident found signs of cauda equina syndrome and had a revision laminectomy. The patient sued JFK Medical Center, Dr. Przybylski and several nurses. The defendants said the patient did not suffer from cauda equina syndrome during and immediately after her hospital stay and that urinary incontinence predated her surgery. The $3 million settlement was reached July 3 after mediation. Dairy imports from EU face probe 10:41, August 23, 2024 By Zhong Nan ( China Daily China's decision to launch an anti-subsidy probe into certain dairy products imported from the European Union fully aligns with domestic laws and World Trade Organization rules, said a commerce official on Thursday. The government will review the applicants' qualifications, details regarding the products under investigation, the impact of these products on the domestic industry, and pertinent information about the involved countries or regions, said the Ministry of Commerce in an online notice on Wednesday. Addressing a weekly news conference in Beijing, He Yadong, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, said this case is unrelated to the EU's latest move to impose definitive countervailing duties on imports of electric vehicles. He made the remarks after the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, announced on Tuesday its plans to impose import tariffs of up to 36.3 percent on EVs produced in China. Any potential measures would be in effect for five years, with a final decision still pending. The dairy case was initiated in response to a request from enterprises in China. It fundamentally differs from the EC's abrupt decision to launch an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese EVs without any request from member states or industry groups, the spokesman added. "We will conduct the investigation openly and transparently, in accordance with Chinese laws and regulations, and in compliance with WTO rules, ensuring that the rights of all stakeholders are fully protected," said He. In a statement released by the Brussels-based China Chamber of Commerce to the EU (CCCEU) earlier this week, the chamber said that the development of the European EV industry, along with the EC's own report, shows that there is no sufficient evidence to demonstrate that China's EVs cause substantial material injury to the EU market. The EC's unfair use of trade tools to hinder free trade in EVs, along with a protectionist approach, will ultimately weaken the resilience of the European EV industry, disrupt the level playing field, and undermine the EU's own green transition, said the statement. Moreover, the CCCEU said it will exacerbate trade tensions between China and the EU, sending a profoundly negative signal to global cooperation and green development. The EU's decision to impose high tariffs on Chinese EVs is motivated by a desire to protect its domestic auto sector and by concerns over the rise of Chinese automakers, said Chen Bin, deputy director of the expert committee at the Beijing-based China Machinery Industry Federation. However, Chen noted that the EU's tariff policy comes with significant drawbacks. To meet its ambitious emission reduction targets, including the phase-out of gasoline-powered auto sales by 2035, the EU requires affordable EVs. The high tariffs are likely to increase EV prices, potentially slowing their widespread adoption. China saw its first half auto exports soar 30.5 percent year-on-year to 2.79 million units, said the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Due to the impact of the anti-subsidy investigation, the EU was the only major automotive export market of China to experience a decline in Chinese auto imports in the first half. Although establishing production bases in non-EU countries like Thailand and Turkiye may help bypass high tariffs and reduce dependence on the EU market, Bai Ming, a member of the Academic Degree Committee at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, warned that Chinese auto manufacturers should not rush into localizing production solely in response to tariff increases. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) What are the latest penalties for water firms, and will they reduce bills? Mickey Bradley, Sean Coyle and Gerry Anderson taken in Hollywood, Los Angeles in 1991. Gerry Andersons long-time radio side-kick has revealed how he still misses the laughs they shared in a special series marking the 10th anniversary of his death. One of Northern Ireland's best-loved presenters, Anderson passed away aged 69 following a long illness in August 2014. In a career spanning 30 years, he hosted a range of popular TV and radio programmes. Now, a decade after his passing, his on-air companion Sean Coyle and producer Mickey Bradley have come together to share stories about the man they knew and worked with. Gerry Anderson at BBC Belfast. Pic: Getty Images Gerry Anderson Radio Rogue is a two-part series beginning on BBC Sounds and BBC Radio Ulster on Saturday at 1.05pm. In episode one, Spinster of this Parish, the pair remember what it was like to work with Anderson. We walked into the studio and he would have been sitting in the chair with his feet up on the desk and he would have said to us both I enjoyed that and that would have been the end of the discussion, Coyle recalled. Anderson turned to broadcasting as a radio presenter in 1984 after an early career as a teacher and showband guitarist. He fell in love with the industry and continued to work as a presenter for three decades. Many praised his gift of putting guests on his show at ease, a skill that helped earn him several awards as a broadcaster of the year. Anderson was also the first presenter from Northern Ireland voted into the UK Radio Hall of Fame. The thing that he had going for him was that he loved people, he was brilliant with people absolutely brilliant with people, Coyle said. Mickey Bradley, Sean Coyle and Gerry Anderson taken in Hollywood, Los Angeles in 1991. In the programme, the pair share why Coyle and Anderson's constant on-air arguing made for great radio. Some of the arguments we had on air, they were genuine, Coyle said. You could try and recreate it, you could try and make stuff up but it wouldnt be very good and you would see through it, Bradley added. They also share some stories behind the programme's best-loved regular callers. It was call after call after call if he got the right people, Coyle said. There is a dive deep into what it was like working behind the scenes on such a popular radio show. There were times I started the show, there were times he was still in the middle of the stairs, reading and I put on the signature tune and there were times I introduced the first piece of music," Coyle added. It was so much fun to work on it. That sounds cliche, I know, but you never thought you were going to work. He hated me saying that too. Its not work he would have said." In 2012, following a cancer diagnosis, Anderson left Coyle to present their show alone before passing away in August 2014, aged 69. Hundreds of fans attended his funeral in his hometown of Derry, which was memorably coined 'Stroke City'. In episode two of Gerry Anderson Radio Rogue; The Bard of Sackville Street, Coyle and Bradley start on Sackville Street in Derry, where Anderson grew up among sailors, musicians and cursing parrots. They ponder the broadcaster's unique and usually hilarious take on the world around him. Gery Anderson with clay model of himself Coyle is excited for fans to listen to the show. Its hard to believe its 10 years I still miss Gerry but it was great to sit with Mickey The Undertone and share a few stories about the great times we had together on the show," he said. "It never felt like work and we laughed every day. I think thats what I miss most Gerrys laugh and I loved making him laugh." Fans also have another chance to view On The Air, an animation show made for BBC Northern Ireland by Flickerpix. The TV series brought some of the real phone-ins from Gerrys radio show to life by animating real life with colourful characters and re-interpreting settings. It is available now on BBC iPlayer. Viral British team to count penguins in Antarctica in one of worlds most remote jobs History was to prove Stormont minister wrong over guilt of insane murderer Politician said airman should have hanged for 1953 killing of judges daughter in Belfast... but he was cleared 47 years later Patricia Curran was stabbed to death Stephen Gordon Fri 23 Aug 2024 at 07:47 A Stormont minister dismissed claims a man had been wrongly convicted of murdering a judges daughter, believing he was lucky to have been found insane. General view of the Sandy Row and Donegall Road where police came under attack during disorder in south Belfast. Photo by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. A 53 year old man has been charged with distributing written material to incite hatred after being arrested at Belfast City Airport on Thursday. He is expected to appear at Belfast Magistrates Court today, Friday August 23. As is normal procedure, all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service. Police at the scene of an attempted murder in the Ballynure Street area of North Belfast on August 23rd 2024 (Photo by Kevin Scott) Police at the scene of the stabbing in north Belfast Credit: Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph Police at the scene of an attempted murder in the Ballynure Street area of North Belfast on August 23rd 2024 (Photo by Kevin Scott) A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a woman was stabbed at a house in north Belfast on Friday morning. Police said the woman in her 20s was stabbed at a property in the Ballynure Street area of the city at around 10.40am in what is understood to have been a domestic related incident. Police said the man in his 20s forced entry into the house before assaulting the woman. They confirmed she has been taken to hospital for treatment for stab wounds. There was a large police presence in the area with forensic teams and officers around the property close to the Old Park Road area of the city. A number of windows in the property were also smashed, with glass at a separate scene just yards away. Police at the scene of incident in north Belfast A PSNI spokesperson said: It was reported that a man forced entry to a house in the Ballynure Street area at around 10.40am and assaulted a woman aged in her 20s. Colleagues from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service also attended the scene, and the woman has been taken to hospital for treatment for stab wounds. A man aged in his 20s was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, criminal damage, possession of an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence, and possession of a Class C controlled drug. He remains in police custody at this time, assisting with enquiries. Our investigation is underway, and we are appealing to anyone who witnessed the incident, or who has any information which might assist, to get in touch. The number to call is 101, quoting reference number 359 23/08/24. Minister for Education Norma Foley has congratulated the class of 2024 (Brian Lawless/PA) More than 60,000 students have received their Leaving Certificate results, in what will be the last year of grade inflation linked to the pandemic disruption to education. The State Examinations Commission (SEC) made Leaving Cert results available from 10am to students. This years Leaving Cert students will benefit from the adjusted examinations and a post-marking adjustment (PMA), which keeps average results in line with the last several years. A State Examinations Commission sign on a door (PA) With the application of the PMA this year, 68% of all grades increased following the marking process compared with just over 71% in 2023 and 50% in 2022. The range of adjustment was from 12.1% added to those at the bottom of the scale to 4.8% added at the top. However, the results next year will be lower on aggregate as part of the Department of Educations plan to make a gradual return to normal results. The current results are around seven percentage points higher than those at pre-Covid-19 levels. A total of 60,839 candidates will receive Leaving Certificate results this year, some 56,791 candidates followed the Leaving Certificate (established) programme and 4,048 (6.6%) candidates followed the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme. Data released by the SEC shows that the numbers sitting the two newest Leaving Certificate subjects continue to rise. The cohort sitting physical education is up by approximately 12% and computer science up by approximately 28%. Interim chairperson of the SEC Martin Sisk offered his congratulations to the Leaving Certificate class of 2024. I, and my fellow commissioners, would like to offer you our sincere congratulations as you receive your Leaving Certificate results today, he said. Results day is an important point in your lives and you should be proud of your efforts and all that you have achieved. I would also like to acknowledge your families for the support they have provided you with on your educational journey so far. He added: In all of our work on the 2024 Leaving Certificate, we have endeavoured to ensure that candidates are treated fairly and equitably, that results are of the highest standards of quality, and that there is full transparency for candidates. I would urge all candidates to ensure they are fully informed about their results and to avail of the opportunity to access the Candidate Portal next Tuesday when they can see more information such as their component marks and the impact of the post-marking adjustment. Minister for Education Norma Foley congratulated the class of 2024. Its a fantastic achievement for them. I dont underestimate that the last few years have been challenging and difficult for them but as a collective they have really withstood all those challenges, the Fianna Fail minister said. They have worked hard, they have come out the other side and today is a great celebration and a great credit due to them. Of course, I dont forget all the staff in school, their teachers, SNAs, everybody within the school who supported them and walked the journey with them. Equally so, I always make the point of including the parents and guardians, because the whole family is invested in the student who is doing the Leaving Certificate. Many hands and hearts support Leaving Certificate students, and I want to thank each and every one of them. But most especially, I want to thank the class of 2024. We are enormously proud of all they have achieved. Today is a milestone for them and we begin the next exciting chapter in life. I wish them well in that. The journey can manyfold, and if you dont get the points you had wanted, theres many other avenues open from now. Congratulations on what you have achieved. You have been a terrific class and I wish you well into the future. Taoiseach Simon Harris said Leaving Cert results day is a milestone in a young persons life. I hope our students across Ireland enjoy the final chapter in their school lives, he said in a statement. The range of emotions students will experience today will go from delight to disappointment but its so important to keep everything in perspective. Receiving the Leaving Cert results is not only about points on a page but the beginning of the next stage of your life. That might be college, work, an apprenticeship, a PLC or a path that you havent yet decided on. Donal Cremin, the president of the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI), congratulated the tens of thousands of students who received their results. Mr Cremin, who is also a teacher of engineering and technical graphics, said: This chapter in your life is now complete, but the story is not over. You, as young adults, have crossed the threshold of secondary education, this has been achieved with the help of your parents, grandparents, families, friends and teachers who have cared for you over the past five years. Know your teachers are extremely proud of you today, to say that you have achieved your full potential, regardless of your grades. Remember you are more than your grades. Embrace the future. Go confidently into the direction of your dreams. I encourage all young adults to follow your dreams, to reach your potential in whatever walk of life you decide to travel. Today is a day for staying calm, and I am urging you to stay safe in your celebrations. To those who feel disappointed today, there are many options and pathways to what you want to achieve for yourself. Some may decide to defer college, others may decide to take off an apprenticeship. So whatever you decide, stay safe and look after yourself and friends during your celebrations. The National Parents and Students Leaving Cert Helpline on 1800 265 165 will operate from Friday until Saturday August 31, from 10am to 5pm each day, except for Sunday August 25 when it will be closed and Saturday August 31 when it will be open from 10am to 2pm. Mourners have gathered to remember journalist Nell McCafferty, who was described as a unique and bold activist who railed against oppression. People held LGBT+ rainbow flags as they attended her funeral mass at St Columbas Church Long Tower in her home city of Derry. Those gathered erupted in applause after one of her articles about Bloody Sunday was read out before the mass began. Eamonn McCann being aided after giving a eulogy to Nell McCafferty at St Columbas Church (Liam McBurney/PA) The writer, 80, died on Wednesday at a nursing home in Fahan, Co Donegal, following a long illness. Tributes have poured in from activists, politicians and artists about her journalism and her advocacy for womens rights issues across the island of Ireland. President of Ireland Michael D Higgins led the tributes, describing McCafferty as a writer who had a fierce drive to tackle repression, poverty and authoritarianism, while Irish premier Simon Harris said she suffered no fools and was impossible to ignore. Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle ONeill and representatives of Mr Higgins and Mr Harris were among those in attendance on Friday. Considered a journalistic trailblazer and fearless social commentator, McCafferty, who was raised in Derrys Bogside area, authored several books and also wrote for publications including the Sunday Tribune and Hot Press. Nell McCafferty at the funeral of Brendan Duddy (Niall Carson/PA) Campaigning for the legalisation of contraceptives in Ireland in the 1970s, she famously took part in an event known as the Contraceptive Train in 1971 when activists travelled across the border to Belfast, bought a range of contraceptive products and took them to Dublin, where they staged a protest at the citys Connolly station. McCafferty had previously been in a long term relationship with fellow author Nuala OFaolain, who died in 2008. McCaffertys sister Carmel, who is a playwright, was embraced by people outside the church on Friday. Also in attendance were the Mayor of Derry and Strabane Lilian Seenoi-Barr, SDLP MLA for Foyle Sinead McLaughlin, and former vice-chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board Denis Bradley, as well as Liam Wray, the brother of Jim Wray who was killed on Bloody Sunday. Addressing the congregation, former journalist Eamonn McCann read out extracts from an article McCafferty wrote for local paper The Starry Plough about Bloody Sunday, which bore the headline Therell be another day. The coffin carrying Nell McCafferty is carried into St Columbas Church (Liam McBurney/PA) The article gave a powerful immediate reaction to the news that 13 people had been shot dead after soldiers opened fire on a civil rights march on January 30 1972. Mr McCann said: Bloody Sunday is very important to Derry of course, its defined us all. Whatever you thought of your politics and so on, its defined everybody from Derry. He said that hours after the chaos unfolded, no-one knew exactly how many people had been killed or wounded. The then-MP for Mid-Ulster Bernadette McAliskey, who was in attendance at the funeral, was given the names of the 13 men who were killed after phoning the hospital. I remember Nell holding Bernadettes elbow as she was taking the names of the Bloody Sunday dead, and she just kept on writing, Mr McCann said. That was a terrible omen, and I remember the shiver which went through the hallway and through the McCafferty house and eventually through the whole of Derry and large parts of the world. He said Bloody Sunday had an effect on McCafferty, on how she viewed politics, on how she thought of her citys people and its marches. Eamonn McCann giving a eulogy to Nell McCafferty at St Columbas Church (Liam McBurney/PA) In the article that she wrote for the paper, she called the infamous event both a fine day and a foul day, he said. She described the thousands of people singing and marching through the streets as part of the fine day it had been, but that death is no stranger to us now. Let it not be said of us that they died in vain. Stay free brothers and sisters, there will be another day, she wrote. And so there will be another day, but there will never be another Nell McCafferty, Mr McCann said, which was met with a lengthy applause from mourners. After the funeral mass ended, mourners applauded her once more as her coffin was carried out of the church. McCaffreys body was taken for a private cremation in Co Cavan following the mass. A book of condolence has been opened by Ms Seenoi-Barr in The Guildhall for those who wish to pay tribute to McCafferty. An Italian fire service dive team return to port on the fifth day of the search (Jonathan Brady/PA) By Ted Hennessey in Sicily and Josh Payne and Elena Giuliano, PA By Ted Hennessey in Sicily and Josh Payne and Elena Giuliano, PA A body believed to be that of Mike Lynchs 18-year-old daughter has been located in the wreckage of a luxury yacht off the coast of Sicily, meaning all missing passengers have now been found. The Italian Coastguard said the sixth and final missing person had been located on the sunken Bayesian on Friday. Vincenzo Zagarola, of the Italian Coastguard, said the search for Hannah has not been easy or quick, comparing the sunken yacht to an 18-storey building full of water. Mike Lynchs body was previously recovered from the wreckage (Yui Mok/PA) Mr Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo were lost when the yacht sank at around 5am local time on Monday. Mr Zagarola said: From the first moment, it has not been easy or quick to inspect the boat. Think of an 18-storey building full of water. Five bodies have already been brought to shore in the small fishing village of Porticello, around 11 miles from the Sicilian capital of Palermo. Of the 22 passengers and crew on board, 15 including Mr Lynchs wife, Angela Bacares were rescued after escaping on to a lifeboat. The body of Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the superyacht, was recovered at the scene of the sinking on Monday. The boat trip was a celebration of Mr Lynchs acquittal in a fraud case in the US. The businessman, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was cleared in June of carrying out a massive fraud relating to its 11 billion dollar (8.64 billion) sale to US company Hewlett Packard. Mr Zagarola previously said a decision on whether to raise the sunken yacht from the seabed is not on the agenda, but will be in the future. The luxury yachts captain, James Cutfield, has reportedly been questioned by authorities in connection with the sunken yacht. Giovanni Costantino, chief executive of the firm that built the yacht, told The Times it was absurd that passengers on the yacht were in their cabins. He told the newspaper: Why were (they) in their cabins? Local fishermen saw the storm was coming, why did no-one on board the Bayesian realise? From 3.50am, the captain had four minutes to get the passengers out of their cabins. He continued: They should have jettisoned the anchor, started the engine, pointed the bows to the wind and put the keel down. If they had done that, no-one on board would have been afraid, they would have been back to bed in an hour and ready to push on with their voyage. The final body has been located in the wreckage, the Italian Coastguard has said (Jonathan Brady/PA) Tributes have been paid to those who died in the disaster, with some describing Mr Lynch as a visionary unlike any other. Eleanor Lightbody, the chief executive of the legal AI company he founded called Luminance, said: He had a unique ability to spot the next technological revolution and solve tomorrows challenges before others even knew they were coming. Above all, Mike was a kind man who had an impact on many and will be sorely missed. I feel honoured to have known him, worked with him and learnt from him over the years. In a statement confirming their parents deaths, the Bloomer family described the couple as incredible people and an inspiration to many. They said: Our parents were incredible people and an inspiration to many, but first and foremost they were focused on and loved their family and spending time with their new grandchildren. Together for five decades, our only comfort is that they are still together now. A helicopter, remotely controlled underwater vehicles, naval units and cave divers have been used in the search. Bayesian was moored around half a mile off the coast of Porticello when it sank as the area was hit by a storm. The wreckage of the Bayesian is resting on the seabed off the coast at a depth of 50 metres (164ft). Prosecutors in the nearby town Termini Imerese are scheduled to hold a press conference on Saturday morning. Italian emergency services headed out to sea towards the area off the Sicilian coast, where the search continues for British technology tycoon Mike Lynchs daughter Hannah (Jonathan Brady/PA) The search continues for the final person missing from the wreck of a yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily. The body of technology tycoon Mike Lynch was recovered from the luxury yacht Bayesian on Thursday, but his 18-year-old daughter reportedly remains missing. The Italian Coastguard confirmed to the PA news agency that the sixth and final person yet to be found is a woman. Mr Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, and his wife Neda Morvillo were lost when the Bayesian sank at around 5am on Monday. The search was called off at around 8pm in Sicily on Thursday with divers expected to begin again at 6.30am on Friday. Five bodies have now been brought to shore in the small fishing village of Porticello, around 11 miles from the Sicilian capital of Palermo. In a statement confirming their parents deaths, the Bloomer family described the couple as incredible people and an inspiration to many. They said: We are grieving for our loved ones and all of those affected by the tragedy. Our parents were incredible people and an inspiration to many, but first and foremost they were focused on and loved their family and spending time with their new grandchildren. Together for five decades, our only comfort is that they are still together now. This is an unimaginable grief to shoulder. Italian emergency services heading out to sea (Jonathan Brady/PA) The chief executive of legal AI company Luminance, which was founded by Mr Lynch, paid tribute to the technology tycoon, saying he was a visionary unlike any other. Eleanor Lightbody said in a statement: I am devastated to hear the news about our founding investor, Mike Lynch, and all of those involved in this tragic accident. Mike was a visionary unlike any other. He had a unique ability to spot the next technological revolution and solve tomorrows challenges before others even knew they were coming. Above all, Mike was a kind man who had an impact on many and will be sorely missed. I feel honoured to have known him, worked with him and learnt from him over the years. The UK has lost someone with the means, authority, knowledge and drive to propel the UK into technological leadership, but his legacy will live on in all of the extraordinary businesses he built and mentored, as well as his family who are in my thoughts. The body of the fifth person recovered from the yachts wreckage was returned in a blue body bag to the port of Porticello on Thursday morning. Of the 22 passengers and crew on board, 15 including Mr Lynchs wife, Angela Bacares were rescued after escaping on to a lifeboat. The body of Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the superyacht Bayesian, was recovered at the scene of the sinking on Monday. The boat trip was a celebration of Mr Lynchs acquittal in a fraud case in the US. The businessman, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was cleared in June of carrying out a massive fraud relating to its 11 billion US dollar (8.64 billion) sale to US company Hewlett Packard. A decision on whether to raise the sunken yacht from the seabed is not on the agenda, but will be in the future, a spokesman from the Italian Coastguard has said. Vincenzo Zagarola told PA: This is not a topic on the agenda. It will be, but not now. He also said that the Italian Coastguards working theory is still that the missing woman is inside the boat. The luxury yachts captain, James Cutfield, was reportedly questioned by authorities for two hours as they began speaking to all crew members. Giovanni Costantino, chief executive of the firm that built the yacht, told The Sun the ship was virtually unsinkable. He instead wondered if doors and hatches had remained open. The disturbance was completely readable on all the weather maps, he said. Fishermen did not go out precisely because of the adverse weather conditions. It was therefore expected that the ship would take precautions. A helicopter was previously drafted in to help the search effort, and divers from the local fire service have been seen entering the water with torches attached to their headgear. Fire crews from the Vigili del Fuoco said they had been accessing the vessel through natural entrances, without making openings. Remotely controlled underwater vehicles have been used, with naval units and cave divers also taking part in the search, the Italian Coastguard has said. Bayesian was moored around half a mile off the coast of Porticello when it sank at about 5am local time on Monday as the area was hit by a storm. The wreckage of the Bayesian is resting on the seabed off the coast at a depth of 50 metres (164ft). Berlin Zoo has announced that long-time resident giant panda Meng Meng has given birth to twins for a second time. The cubs were born on Thursday and are doing well, the zoo said in a statement. They were born only 11 days after ultrasound scans showed that Meng Meng, 11, was pregnant. Meng Meng eats bamboo in her enclosure (Michael Sohn/AP) Their sex has not yet been determined with certainty. Now its time to keep your fingers crossed for the critical first few days, the zoo said. The cubs weigh just 6oz and 4.8oz and are about 5.5in long. As with other large bears, giant pandas are born deaf, blind and pink. Their black-and-white panda markings only develop later. I am relieved that the two were born healthy, zoo director Andreas Knieriem said. The little ones make a lively impression and mum Meng Meng takes great care of her offspring. An embryo inside Meng Meng, seen on an ultrasound scan (Sebastian Gollnow/dpa/AP) The zoo said giant pandas usually only raise one cub when they give birth to twins, so it will actively support Meng Meng in co-operation with two experts from Chinas Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding who are in the German capital. With around 20 births a year, they have much more experience and are better able to assess development, panda curator Florian Sicks said. The cubs will alternate being with their mother every two to three hours to drink milk and are otherwise being cared for in an incubator donated by a Berlin hospital. Meng Meng and male panda Jiao Qing arrived in Berlin in 2017, and in August 2019, Meng Meng gave birth to Pit and Paule, also known by the Chinese names Meng Xiang and Meng Yuan, the first giant pandas born in Germany. Meng Mengs previous twins Meng Yuan and Meng Xiang (Michael Sohn/AP) The twins were a star attraction in Berlin, but they were flown to China in December a trip that was contractually agreed from the start but delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic. China gave friendly nations its unofficial mascot for decades as part of a panda diplomacy policy. The country now loans pandas to zoos on commercial terms. Giant pandas have difficulty breeding and births are particularly welcomed. The zoo noted that female pandas are only fertile for about 72 hours per year. There are about 1,800 pandas living in the wild in China and a few hundred in captivity worldwide. Meng Meng was artificially inseminated in March. The new arrivals and their mother will not be on show to the public for the time being, but visitors can still see Jiao Qing, 14, as male pandas do not get involved in rearing cubs. Joe Kennedy III shares family statement which condemns move as betrayal ST CLOUD, MINNESOTA - JULY 27: U.S. Republican Presidential nominee former President Donald Trump arrives to speak during a rally at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on July 27, 2024 in St Cloud, Minnesota. Trump hopes to flip the state of Minnesota this November, which hasn't been carried by a Republican in a presidential election since 1972. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) Independent Presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr speaks to reporters at the Nassau County Supreme Court in Mineola, New York (Stefan Jeremiah, AP) Americas top diplomat in Northern Ireland has joined the criticism of his uncles decision to back Donald Trump in the US presidential race. Robert F Kennedy Jr the uncle of US Special Envoy Joe Kennedy III announced that he was dropping out of the contest and endorsing the former president. Mr Kennedy (70), a Democrat for most of his life and a member of Americas most famous political dynasty, had been standing for the presidency as an independent candidate. But he said he would seek to remove his name from the ballot in 10 battleground states, later joining Mr Trump on stage at a rally in Arizona after dropping out of the race. It could give the former president a modest boost from Mr Kennedy's supporters in the race against the Democrat ticket of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. But members of the Kennedy family called the move a "betrayal". "We want an America filled with hope and bound together by a shared vision of a brighter future, a future defined by individual freedom, economic promise and national pride," a statement signed by five of the former independent presidential candidate's siblings said. "We believe in Harris and Walz," the statement continued. "Our brother Bobby's decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story." The statement includes signatures from Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Courtney Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Chris Kennedy and Rory Kennedy. Joe Kennedy III, a grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, reacted to the statement, sharing it on X and writing that it was "well said. Mr Kennedy was appointed US Special Envoy to NI in 2022. The US State Department said he would concentrate on "advancing economic development and investment opportunities in Northern Ireland". US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland Joe Kennedy. Pic: Niall Carson/PA Wire In April 2023 Mr Kennedy made clear he would not be supporting his uncles White House bid, and would be backing Joe Biden, at the time the presumptive Democrat nominee. He told the Belfast Telegraph at the time: I love my uncle, and nothings ever going to come between that. I am honoured that the president selected me for this position. I support the president and look forward to supporting him in the next few years. Yesterday, Robert Kennedy Jr said his internal polls had shown that his presence in the race would hurt Mr Trump and help Ms Harris, though recent public polls do not provide a clear indication that he is having a key impact on support for either major-party candidate. Mr Kennedy cited free speech, the war in Ukraine and a "war on our children" as among the reasons he would try to remove his name from the ballot in battleground US states. "These are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent, and now to throw my support to President Trump," Mr Kennedy said. However, he made clear that he was not formally ending his bid and said his supporters could continue to back him in the majority of states where they are unlikely to sway the outcome. Donald Trump Mr Kennedy said his actions followed conversations with Mr Trump over the past few weeks. He cast their alliance as "a unity party" - an arrangement that would "allow us to disagree publicly and privately and seriously". Hours after Mr Kennedy made his announcement in Phoenix, Mr Trump held a rally in neighbouring Glendale. Mr Trump praised Mr Kennedy as "phenomenal" and "brilliant" as he welcomed him on stage at the rally Even in recent months, Mr Kennedy has accused Mr Trump of betraying his followers, while Trump has criticised Mr Kennedy as "the most radical left candidate in the race". Mr Kennedy, the son of murdered senator Robert Kennedy and the nephew of president John F Kennedy, acknowledged his decision had caused tension with his immediate family. He is married to actress Cheryl Hines. "This decision is agonising for me because of the difficulties it causes my wife and my children and my friends," Mr Kennedy said. "But I have the certainty that this is what I'm meant to do. And that certainty gives me internal peace, even in storms." The Kennedy and Trump campaigns have ramped up their compliments of each other and engaged in behind-the-scenes discussions in recent weeks, according to those familiar with the efforts. Both campaigns have spent months accusing Democrats of weaponising the legal system for their own benefit. And both have hinted publicly that they could be open to joining forces, with the shared goal of limiting Ms Harris' chances. Mr Trump told CNN on Tuesday that he would "love" an endorsement from Mr Kennedy, whom he called a "brilliant guy". He also said he would "certainly" be open to Mr Kennedy playing a role in his administration if he dropped out and endorsed him. Recent polls put his support in the mid-single digits. And it is unclear if he would get even that in a general election, since third-party candidates frequently do not live up to their early poll numbers when voters actually cast their ballots. Gunmen fire their weapons during the funeral of three Palestinians killed by an Israeli airstrike in the occupied West Bank refugee camp of Tulkarem (Majdi Mohammed/AP) The White House said that ceasefire talks in Cairo have been constructive and will continue over the weekend as the US and Mideast allies continue to press Israel and Hamas to forge an agreement. CIA director William Burns and Brett McGurk, a senior adviser on the Middle East to President Joe Biden, are leading the US side of negotiations that began on Thursday amid major differences between Israel and Hamas over Israels insistence that it maintain forces in two strategic corridors in Gaza. There has been progress made, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said, We need now for both sides to come together and work towards implementation. US President Joe Biden last week said he was optimistic that an agreement could be reached (Stephanie Scarbrough/AP) Mr Kirby did not detail where progress had been made, but he did insist that theres been momentum in the conversations among the mediators from the US, Israel and Hamas interlocutors Egypt and Qatar. Mr Biden took a break from his family holiday in Santa Ynez Valley, California, on Friday to call Qatars emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to discuss the negotiations. Diplomatic efforts have redoubled as fears grow of a wider regional war after the recent targeted killings of leaders of the militant Hamas and Hezbollah groups, both blamed on Israel, and threats of retaliation. Israel and Hamas have been at loggerheads over the Philadelphi corridor alongside Gazas border with Egypt and the Netzarim east-west corridor across the territory.Hamas is demanding a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Mr Netanyahu insists on the principle that Israel will control the Philadelphi corridor, with the aim of preventing the rearming of Hamas and a repeat of the atrocities of the October 7 attack on Israel. He also denied reports that Israel would be willing to accept an international force in the corridor. Hamas on Friday pushed back that Mr Netanyahu was blocking any chance to reach a ceasefire deal. CIA director William Burns speaks during a hearing in Washington (Mark Schiefelbein/AP) Asked whether Mr Netanyahu was negotiating in good faith, Mr Kirby noted that Mr Biden had a constructive conversation on Wednesday with Mr Netanyahu. Were in Cairo. Theyre in Cairo, Mr Kirby said. We need Hamas to participate. We need to get down to the brass tacks of locking in these details. And thats what were focused on here. Mr Biden last week said he was optimistic that an agreement could be reached after he spoke by phone with the Egyptian president and Qatars emir. That conversation came after a round of negotiations in Doha that White House officials said showed promise that a deal was close. But by Tuesday, Mr Biden was notably more muted about the prospects of the two sides coming to an agreement soon. He told reporters after delivering an address at the Democratic convention that Hamas was now backing off, but that the US is going to keep pushing to land a ceasefire deal. Mr Biden in a Wednesday call with Mr Netanyahu stressed the urgency of bringing the ceasefire and hostage release deal to closure, according to the White House. Tami Metzger mourns during the funeral of her husband Yoram Metzger at a cemetery of the kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel (Tsafrir Abayov/AP) Mr Biden also made clear to Mr Netanyahu that both Hamas and Israel will need to compromise, according to a person familiar with the leaders call who spoke on the condition of anonymity about the private conversation. Meanwhile, the families of the Israeli hostages said they met with Mr Netanyahu on Friday to understand what could still be more important than freeing their loved ones, venting their anger at his failure to seal a cease-fire deal that would lead to their loved ones release from Hamas captivity. Representatives from the Hostages Family Forum, a group representing relatives of hostages, said Mr Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to do everything in his power to bring their family members back alive. More than 100 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, including dozens who are presumed dead. The word alive limits this to a certain time frame, said Yizhar Lifshitz, son of hostage Oded Lifshitz, whose mother was kidnapped and freed by Hamas last October. Palestinians mourn relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, at a hospital in Deir al-Balah (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) The revelation on Thursday that the autopsies of six captives which Israeli troops recovered from an underground tunnel in southern Gaza were riddled with bullet wounds has escalated domestic pressure on Netanyahu to agree to a cease-fire that might save captives lives. Ella Ben Ami, daughter of hostage Israeli Ohad Ben Ami, said she left her meeting with Mr Netanyahu with a heavy and difficult feeling that this isnt going to happen soon, and I fear for my fathers life, for the girls who are there, and for everyone. Secret papers found by Belfast Telegraph show behind the scenes cover-upMinister remarked that Gordon was lucky to get off with insaneCivil service felt justice would harm Northern Irelands cause Murder detectives at the Glen in Whiteabbey where Patricia Curran's body was found In November 1952 Patricia Curran was found dead in the grounds of her family home after being stabbed 37 times. Iain Hay Gordon was found guilty but insane of the murder of Patrica Curran, the daughter of leading judge Sir Lancelot Curran. The Scottish RAF Serviceman was blackmailed into signing a confession and sent to a psychiatric hospital only to be quietly released and sent home to Glasgow some years later. Secret papers, found by the Belfast Telegraph, suggest that the civil service and legal authorities knew Gordon was innocent but continued to cover up the truth. These papers also reveal how a civil servant questioned if re-opening the case would do the cause of NI any good. Officials feared that intervening over alleged miscarriages of justice could undermine confidence in the judiciary, just months after the UK government deployed troops to deal with the start of the Troubles. In a bid to clear his name, Gordon wrote to then Prime Minister Harold Wilson to get the case overturned, to no avail. Other officials quashed the idea of re-opening the case. Ian Hay Gordon wasnt acquitted of Patricia Currans murder until 2000. He died aged 68 in 2012. In part 3 of The BelTels series on the murder of Patricia Curran, Ciaran Dunbar is joined by Stephen Gordon to reveal some of the declassified information on this case. Bennington, VT (05201) Today Rain showers this evening with mostly cloudy conditions overnight. Low around 40F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Rain showers this evening with mostly cloudy conditions overnight. Low around 40F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%. ADAMS Winifred, a young girl working on her family farm in 1860, dreams of one day becoming a doctor, when shes not seated in the familys Shaker ladderback chair sewing her sampler. If You Go What: Seated By Susan When: Through Feb. 15 Where: Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum, 67 East Road, Adams Hours: 10 a.m to 4 p.m. Thursday through Monday Admission: Free Saturday through Monday; $10, adults; $8, seniors; $6, 6 to 17; free 5 and younger. Exhibit launch event: 4 p.m. Aug. 23 Information: 413-743-7121, susanbanthonybirthplace.com Winifreds story is just one glimpse into what working childrens lives were like in the 19th and early 20th centuries part of a new exhibit, Seated by Susan, aimed at young children visiting the Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum. Sign up for the In The Berkshires This Week newsletter Sign up The exhibit, which features seven childrens chairs in a variety of styles from the 1800s through the early 1900s and matching childrens vignettes, opens with a special launch event, 4 p.m. Friday, Aug. 23, with light refreshments and childrens activities. The museum will offer free admission through Monday in honor of Womens Equality Day, which commemorates the certification of the 19th Amendment on Aug. 26, 1920, giving women the right to vote. This exhibit began about two year sago, Executive Director James Capuzzi said during a recent interview at the museum said. We had a number of vintage childrens chairs or replica chairs donated by board members. We spoke with an appraiser, Edward Kitson, who helped us identify the chairs and determine which ones were actual childrens chairs [as opposed to miniature sales models] We pared it down to ones we were more confident were actually childrens chairs. Placed throughout the museum, the chairs are paired with stories of young children from different eras. An accompanying scavenger hunt aims to engage children in finding related items in each of the museums four rooms. Theres also paper dolls that children can color at the museum or at home. Its more targeted towards children so that it could run kind of concurrently or in collaboration with our main tour, Capuzzi said. When families come, we've noticed that the parents and maybe the middle school students, maybe sixth grade and up, are are pretty engaged. But the younger children, they just want to get moving along to the next thing. We wanted to be more welcoming towards those younger folks, children that would have been around Susan's age, when she left [Adams]. We're kind of aiming for that 6 to 10 year old range, even as young as 4 or 5, depending on how engaged they are. The museums interns, Mia Campbell, Hannah Hoggatt, Delaney Thurston and Christina Lothrop compiled information on the chair (in addition to what was provided by Kitson), as well as researched and wrote the vignettes. Included with the childrens vignettes are key vocabulary words and definitions. Not sure what a sampler is? Theres a card that explains exactly what young Winifred is sewing. And you can find authentic samplers displayed nearby. Samplers were a way for girls to show their education theyd have the alphabet, numbers one through 10 on it and a design or Bible verse but also served a more practical purpose. It proved that you could sew, Capuzzi said. It was helpful for getting jobs or getting married. Near a school desk set up in the general store display room, the highlighted word in the story about twins Michael and Jack is arithmetic. Theyre doing their reading, writing and arithmetic. The kids will probably want to know what arithmetic is, as the word hasnt been used for a minute, Capuzzi said. That also links to a story about Susan, that we tell here, from this book about Susan [displayed on the wall] and the other girls in her school not being taught long division at her school. She complained to her dad. He pulled her out of that school and put her in one where she could learn long division. The exhibit, he said, just isnt designed for young children. For those who are interested in the chairs which include an American Empire Klismos chair, a vintage 20th-century Shaker rocking chair, a Victorian-style caned rocking chair and a Shaker-style slat-back chair theres more in depth information available. We wanted the exhibit to work on multiple levels, Capuzzi said. IF YOU GO What: Seated By Susan When: Aug. 23 through Feb. 15 Where: Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum, 67 East Road, Adams Hours: 10 a.m to 4 p.m. Thursday through Monday Admission: Free Aug. 24-26; $10, adults; $8, seniors; $6, 6 to 17; free 5 and under. Exhibit launch event: 4 p.m. Aug. 23 Information: 413-743-7121, susanbanthonybirthplace.com Joe Durwin is a local historian specializing in research on residential and commercial properties for owners in Berkshire County. He can be reached at info@berkshirehomehistory.com You are the owner of this article. 3rd Berkshire state representative candidates talked about housing, broadband, EMS problems and how to bring people and jobs to the Berkshires. But can they make it happen? PITTSFIELD Andrew Morehouse can flood the zone with stats. Yet behind the numbers lies a stark reality: The cost of living crisis is causing more and more people to go hungry. "Prices went up for everything: food, housing those are the key ones and child care," said Morehouse, the executive director of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. "Folks can't make ends meet, and so they oftentimes will scrimp on buying food to be able to pay those fixed costs." He spoke at an event that brought together more than 50 people who work in the realm of food security. Titled "Voices in Food Equity: Nourishing Tomorrows Leaders," the evening featured a panel discussion at Berkshire Community College. It came at a time of "tremendous" and growing need for food assistance, Morehouse told the audience. The amount of food his organization distributed to partner organizations in Berkshire County from October to May was up 33 percent compared to the same period one year prior. "We have more work to do to get more food out to people who need it," he said. With the high levels of need, it's incumbent upon those who work in the food assistance space to make getting help as accessible as possible, the panelists said. One piece of that puzzle is working to reduce the stigma associated with visiting one of the county's food pantries or community meals. To address this, many county organizations choose not to ask invasive questions of the people who come in, such as their income or where they live, said Mary Feuer, the director of WIC and Family Services at Community Health Programs. "That really helps, because it's hard enough as it is to go to a food pantry or to ask for help," she said. Without income-based cutoffs for accessing some of the food at local pantries, those whose income exceeds government guidelines for benefits can often still receive food, Morehouse said. The panelists discussed a range of other topics, like how to engage children and young people in food systems while developing their connection with nutrition through cooking and farming, pull more restaurant owners into the fight against hunger and provide culturally appropriate food for immigrants in the community. As attendees wrapped up their discussion, one encouraged her peers to think about how they can bring those they serve into the equation as partners. Karen Pelto, a project specialist at the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, told the story of how her father worked at a Massachusetts paper mill growing up. The workers went on strike one day, so money was tight. Their neighbors stepped in and offered food and vegetables, in exchange for haying her family's land. It amounted to something that felt like an exchange, a "win-win" for both sides; it was "neighbors helping neighbors." She asked the group to think about what they can learn from those they serve, be it a recipe or another lesson they've learned along the way. "There's experts on all sides of this conversation," she said. Stay up to date on Berkshires news with Berkshires in Brief, our free daily newsletter WINDSOR In a field surrounded by boreal forest, a woman dressed in orange, black and white Ghanaian clothing danced to the rhythm of two drummers on Wednesday. This was one of several ceremonial moments at Tamarack Hollow Nature and Cultural Centers groundbreaking for a building that will house a classroom, basement storage and a composting toilet. Rose petals, rosewater and a stick of mugwort figured in the ceremony, as well. Excavation will begin next week on the 900-square-foot building to be constructed in 2025 with an anticipated opening in 2026. Dignitaries posed for a photo with shovels, pitchfork and chainsaw in hand, all tools that have been used to clear the more than 2 miles of trails and build bridges at Tamarack Hollows 88 acres. Aimee Gelinas, executive director, with her husband, Dan Cohen, will use the building to anchor their teaching as part of the 11-year-old nonprofits mission to inspire environmental and cultural awareness, appreciation, and stewardship. That mission also includes an emphasis on folkloric traditions from world cultures that intrinsically connect music with the rhythms of the natural world. When they started, Gelinas and Cohen offered outdoor programming only, which was subject to cancellation by rain or snow. Well be able to have indoor programming up here, like drumming and teacher trainings for a full day, Gelinas said of the new building. Gelinas first applied for a grant to build a center shortly after receiving nonprofit status in 2013. It was denied. In 2020, she applied for and won a $50,000 matching grant from Massachusetts Cultural Council. The building's total cost is estimated at $200,000 and Tamarack Hollow is embarking on a capital campaign to raise the balance. Gelinas delayed building, as Tamarack Hollow added land in a $79,900 purchase of 30 acres in 2022 and a $95,000 purchase of 26 acres in 2023, bringing its total holdings to 88 acres. Gelinas, with her parents, Michael and Mary Georgene Gelinas, deeded Tamarack Hollows first 5.7 acres in 2014. That parcel previously held a snowmobile lodge called Tamarack, where the new building will stand. Aimee Gelinas dedicated the evening to her parents for their unwavering support and belief in this project from the beginning. Both were teachers in Springfield and Longmeadow, and Aimee Gelinas has named features at Tamarack Hollow for them, specifically a trail called Michaels Way leading to Georgies Falls, a waterfall. In addition, Scotts Stoop, a contemplation area near a stream originating from the Drowned Lands wetlands, will be named for Cohens late brother. Among the guests were representatives of environmental and arts organizations in the Berkshires, including Bettina Montano, founder and artistic director of Berkshire Pulse. Montano said she knew Aimee Gelinas was my people when she witnessed Gelinas directing children to put their hands on their hearts and to listen to their own rhythm and then said, That is the rhythm of the world. Patti Steinman, senior naturalist at Mass Audubon, spoke of Gelinas longstanding commitment to building a nonprofit and likened Gelinas to the medicinal plant yarrow, known as the plant that can do anything. Julie Richburg, lead ecologist for inland natural resources at Trustees of Reservations, thanked Gelinas for preserving the land and the wildlife. Tamarack Hollow protects the northern border of Notchview Reservation, a 3,108-acre preserve open to cross-country skiers, hikers and birders. Now we have this amazing neighbor, Richburg said. This land is really going to be impacted by climate change. It already is. Gelinas also acknowledged Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, which has funded programs at Tamarack Hollow. State Rep. John Barrett III, D-North Adams, praised the Legislature for doing the right thing and then told Gelinas, You done good. Noel Staples-Freeman of Pittsfield, the dancer, met Gelinas through drumming. She said it was her first time at Tamarack Hollow. As she packed up in light rain, she said, This was such a beautiful event. GREAT BARRINGTON On Thursday, cannabis growers from across the state trekked to the Mason Library in Great Barrington to meet with the state's regulatory body for legal pot to discuss the challenges they face and request possible solutions. Top of mind was how difficult it is to grow much of anything in the outdoor climate of Massachusetts, never mind growing a crop that is legal here but still entirely prohibited at the federal level, while acknowledging the success of the young industry in the state. "There's 24 outdoor cultivators in Massachusetts for cannabis, and you guys have about 1.5 million square feet of canopy, of outdoor canopy. That's an average of 62,500 per cultivator," Commissioner Kimberly Roy said, though she later said the most up-to-date number of outdoor cultivators is 25. She added, "Today, we want to really have a constructive dialogue and feedback. But what you yield, literally yield, for the state of Massachusetts you are the top crop, right, you outpace cranberries now as the most lucrative crop in Massachusetts." Indoor cannabis cultivation gives growers a more predictable (and potentially more profitable) environment but is an energy-intensive operation powerful lights help the plants grow and HVAC systems work to maintain temperature and humidity settings around the clock. By 2021, indoor cannabis cultivation was responsible for about 10 percent of all industrial electricity consumption in Massachusetts, the Northeast Sustainable Cannabis Project estimated. Outdoor grows, while not as prolific in terms of total harvest yield, allow farmers to deploy organic farming techniques and generally produce cannabis flower that is more rich in terpenes and favored by some consumers. Growers brought a variety of concerns and ideas to the CCC on Thursday, touching upon things like product and soil testing, site inspections, registration requirements for harvest-time workers, and the tags required to be placed on each plant to get them into the state's seed-to-sale tracking system. Roy said after the listening session that the CCC's goal is not necessarily to promote or expand outdoor cultivation, but "to not see folks go out of business because of overly burdensome regulations." "We want to make sure that the regulations we have don't put our farmers, our outdoor cultivators, out of business. And we want to make sure that, at the same time, we don't sacrifice public health, safety or welfare as we do it. So we're [at] an inflection point where we heard some really good suggestions today, recommendations, and we want to consult with our staff and our experts to make sure that if we move forward with any of those proposal[s] ... we want to make sure we don't jeopardize those three pillars," she said. A group of growers who together make up the Sun Grown Cannabis Alliance presented a number of asks to the commission, including requesting that the CCC increase its "unnecessarily stringent" allowable microbial levels and eliminate two other tests for cannabis grown outside and eliminate soil and water testing requirements. They also requested that the CCC provide greater guidance on the ways outdoor growers can provide quality control samples to staff members and retailers, eliminate the need to have tracking tags on certain small plants, and tailor the size of regulatory fines in accordance with the scale of the operator being fined since a large, multi-state operator could likely absorb a fine that would be a death knell for an independent local business. David DeWitt, who runs the organic vegetable farm Daves Greens in Truro and is also a founding member of the High Dune Craft Cooperative cannabis operation, explained the kinds of biological farming practices he uses on his vegetables and how they can be employed by outdoor cannabis cultivators. "We try to work in concert with the environment, trying to foster microbial activity not just in the soil, which is kind what you would think would be the normal thing ... It also includes the microbes on the leaf of the plant, and that's really where you guys get involved here," DeWitt told the CCC. He added, "We are using a lot of indigenous microorganisms to produce our crops, our lettuces, our cauliflower everything, everything we grow we're actually encouraging and spraying microbes onto our plants to have ... biological warfare, basically, on the leaves of our plant and flowers." He said having the CCC restructure the microbial testing requirements is a key "first step in allowing us opportunity to compete in the industry and grow truly regenerative plant and products" since many outdoor growers currently cannot sell to retailers without the flower first going through some kind of remediation. The tracking tags that are required as part of METRC, the seed-to-sale marijuana tracking system the CCC uses, were another popular topic of comments Thursday. Matt Allen, CEO of MA Craft Cultivation and its outdoor marijuana farm in Colrain, asked the commission to no longer require the METRC tracking tags be placed on autoflowers, cannabis plants that flower early and therefore remain fairly small. He said the tags weigh the small plants down, blow around in the wind and can damage the crops. Nick Rosati, co-founder and COO of High Plains Farm in Plainfield, said his company grows outdoors and tries to run "a real sustainable practice." But the METRC tags, he said, are "one of the least sustainable things we deal with." "So if I grow 5,000 plants throughout the course of a year, that's 5,000 METRC tags at 45 cents a piece, or about $2,500 after the cost of tax and shipping associated with them," he said. "Every one of them is RFID. None of them are recyclable. So multiply me times every other indoor grower and outdoor grower in Massachusetts, that's a lot of RFID pieces of plastic ending up in a landfill every single year." Roy said that she had heard from METRC that the company "was doing a pilot with hemp-derived tags," but she did not know the status or outcome of that trial. It was the best of opinions; it was the worst of opinions. Such could be said about Charles Dickens view of America. When Dickens arrived on US soil in 1842, he was filled with joy. Some have likened his arrival to the giddiness of Ebenezer Scrooge on that Christmas morning when his eyes are opened. But by the end of his journey Dickens had soured. Samantha Silva, a Dickens historian, explains it this way: He was repulsed by Americans table manners and the tobacco spit everywhere he looked on even the sidewalks of the nations capital, where he found party politics contaminating everything, its leaders the lice of Gods creation, and despicable trickery at elections; under-handed tamperings with public officers; and cowardly attacks upon opponents, with scurrilous newspapers for shields, and hired pens for daggers. Even worse, everyone wanted a piece of the action, from Tiffanys selling unauthorized copies of his bust, to a barber selling locks of his hair. He found Americans vulgar and insensitive, braggarts, hypocrites, and acquisitive beyond all imagining. I never knew what it was to feel disgust and contempt, Dickens said, till I travelled in America. When he departed in June, he left behind all notions of an Arcadian realm he now regarded as a vast countinghouse full of nothing but humbugs and bores. How do you think the Americans responded to Dickens criticism? They certainly cleaned their streets of tobacco juices, took another assessment of their economic policies, and changed the way they chose leaders, right? No. Of course not. The American press responded to Dickens about as youd expect. They turned to insults of his character and Dickens sales plummeted. Nobody likes to be critiqued by another person. We especially do not like being critiqued by an outsider. The book of Amos is precisely this. Amos is from the Southern Kingdom, and he gives a message of judgment to the Northern Kingdom. It is a harsh message. But can we find the gospel in these words from an outsider? How Do You Find the Gospel in the Old Testament? I suppose before understanding how to find the gospel in the OT, itd be helpful for us to define the gospel. The simplest definition is one given by JI Packer: God saves sinners. If youd like to put a bit more meat on your gospel presentation, I use two different frameworks with four points each. The first is GodManChristResponse. The second is more of a story: CreationFallRedemptionGlory. The first presentation centers upon Gods character and how humanity fails to meet Gods holy standard, as such the judgment of God is upon us. But the good news is that Jesus Christ fixes this by fulfilling what is required through his life, death and resurrection. Our only fitting response, then, is to respond to Him in repentance and faith. When this happens, we are united to Christ and his record becomes our record. The second presentation centers upon the overarching story of the Bible. God lovingly created us to love Him and enjoy Him forever. We were made for rest, rule, and relationship. But we made shipwreck of this, and so rather than having the blessings of obedience we are under the curse of disobedience. Rather than having peace (rest), purpose (ruling), and healthy relationship we often experience the opposite. Ultimately, we are alienated from God. But thankfully God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to bear our curse and to fulfill what God intended for humanity. As such we now experience the blessings of Jesus obedience in our place. He restores the rest, rule, and relationship we were created to enjoy. Someday everything will be ultimately restored and we will live in a new heaven and a new earth. We could write entire books focusing on these various themes of the gospel. But every gospel story follows this basic skeleton. No matter where you find yourself in the Old Testament (or the New Testament) you can find one of these various threads. Every place in Scripture is either telling you something about God, something about our rebellion, something about His rescue, or something about our future restoration. If you can spot this, then you can fill out the rest of the story. How Do You Find the Gospel in Amos? Amos is brilliant in his message. If he comes into the Northern Kingdom guns blazing, hed have never gotten an audience. Instead, Amos came in with good news. The good news he brought was that God was set to judge all of Israels enemies. God was not going to overlook their wickedness anymore. One could almost imagine the cheers as the prophet said, For three sins of Damascus The cheers would raise to a crescendo as each new neighboring nations was given a scathing indictment. Yet, we also must wonder if they began to see what Amos was doing. If you map each of these nations, youll find that Amos is drawing a target, with Israel in the center. By the time the prophet says, Three sins of Judah one has to wonder whether or not they knew what was coming next. Once Amos leveled the charge he doesnt stop. The biggest beef he or rather God has with the people is their oppression of the poor. The leaders of Israel are not living in justice and righteousness. They are instead trampling the poor and vulnerable under foot. They are not establishing the kingdom as God would have them. They are an expression of the twisted rule of wicked humanity rather than the gracious rule which God set as a task upon the first couple. For nine chapters Amos speaks of the coming judgment upon the wickedness of the Israelites. Yes, the God of justice will not overlook the sin of the nations. But he also will not overlook the sin of His people. In fact, they will be judged more strictly. The interaction between Amos and Amaziah (a prophet of Jeroboam) is telling. Jeroboam was like a guy whod throw duct tape on something and say, there, I fixed it. He had several political problems in his day but was a shrewd leader. One of his big problems was the temple in the Southern Kingdom. That meant, in order to worship, his people would need to go into the rival kingdom and marvel at the glorious temple of Solomon. That doesnt bode well for his rule. He came up with a great plan. Hed make two golden calves (because that always works out well) and place one in Bethel and one in Dan. He made religion a matter of convenience. He set things up according to his own wisdom and knowledge and it seems like it was working. What this means is that Jeroboam made himself the standard of justice and righteousness. He was the plumb line. Enter Amos. Amos comes with a plumb line of Gods justice and tells the Northern Kingdom they arent squared up. But Amaziah tells Amos to go back home. He restored to blame-shifting and attempted to silence Gods Word. And thats what we even do today, we silence what we fear. And we blame-shift when we know we dont have a foundation to stand upon. This is lot of humanity. When the plumb line of Gods holiness is laid down next to us, we always fail to measure up. We are not holy. We do things according to our own wicked heart and our own whims. What do we do when we find that we dont measure up? For the Israelites in Amos day, they ignored the prophet and kept going. Which is why Amos ends, or almost ends, with a vision of judgment: scorching fires, locust swarms, overripe fruit. This is what happens when we forget the God of justice. There is one little glimmer of hope in Amos 9:11-15. In the midst of the rubble, a new and better kingdom will emerge. One that rules in righteousness. It will be a kingdom where justice and righteousness will roll down like a river. This is the Messianic Kingdom. This new story will include bringing Gentiles into the kingdom all those neighbors who were judged in the beginning (and even more). In fact, Amos 9:11-12 is quoted by the Jerusalem Council to argue for the gospel going to Gentiles. The message of Amos is that God is always just. He will not forget to execute His justice. But God is also a God of grace. When we believe that God is just and respond accordingly in repentance we are met with grace. Jesus is ultimately that plumb line which Amos used. He is the fulfillment of Gods justice and righteousness. Related articles Can We Find the Gospel in Esther, a Book That Doesn't Mention God? Seeking the Gospel in Malachi, the Last Book of the Old Testament How Do We Find the Gospel in the Short Book of Obadiah? Photo credit: Getty Images/aradaphotography BillOReilly.com is not available in this country. We apologize for any inconvenience. 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. Almost one third of businesses in Ireland reserve a budget for paying ransoms, while 53 per cent of businesses have fallen victim to social engineering cyberattacks in the last year. Of those who fell victim to social engineering cyberattacks, 89 per cent reported that the attacks resulted in a security breach. Advertisement In the next year, 29 per cent of businesses anticipate there will be a successful cyberattack against their organisation, according to research by Expleo. However, in the last 12 months, 33 per cent of businesses in Ireland have paid a ransom to cybercriminals. Global engineering, technology and consulting service provider, Expleo, surveyed medium-to large-sized businesses across the island of Ireland, uncovering the impact and prevalence of cybersecurity threats. The research also found that one third of businesses have been severely impacted by an incident within their organisation in the last 12 months, while 31 per cent have been severely impacted by a cybersecurity incident in their supply chain. Advertisement The average enterprise in Ireland will spend 1.18 million on cybersecurity in the next 12 months, with one in seven spending more. A quarter of businesses admitted that they do not invest enough in cybersecurity, while 27 per cent reported that their security technologies and processes are outdated. Half of all businesses admitted that their defences were breached by a ransomware attack in the last 12 months. Most businesses have also been targets of voice-cloning, phishing, whaling (phishing attacks on senior figures in the organisation), malware and AI-powered attacks in the past year, with success rates of between 40 and 50 per cent across all cyberattacks. Advertisement Rob McConnell, global solutions director at Expleo Group said the research shows that if businesses have avoided falling victim to one type of attack, they have probably not been so fortunate with another. We have reached the point where it is not if you will be targeted, but when and how often. Every single business should expect to be targeted by sophisticated attacks on an ongoing basis. It is only with this level of pragmatism that they will be able to deploy the defences needed to combat or detect these advances, he said. Enterprises must be confident that they are investing enough in cybersecurity and that their systems and processes are constantly being updated and reinforced. There are a myriad of things to keep you occupied this weekend around the country. Keep reading to find out what you should do if you are wondering what to do this weekend. Advertisement Gauche Market, run by Rotten Rouge, is back in Wigwam on Middle Abbey St this weekend, going from brat summer to brat autumn, from 12-5pm on Sunday. The Autumn Days edition brings their usual decorated venue, book swap, bring a book, take a book a vast lineup of vendors selling a range of handmade products including crafts, jewellery, candles, alongside a tarot reader, and more. The Big Grill Festival, Europes largest barbecue and food festival, is in Dublin until Sunday in Herbert Park. Tickets cost 29.50 per day, and feasting, eating challenges, games for children and live music are just some of the things that will be on offer. View this post on Instagram Advertisement A post shared by Eatyard (@eatyard) For those of you who rather crisps to barbecue, the Eatyard Crisp Festival 2024 is also on in Dublin this weekend, taking place in The Bernard Shaw until Sunday. The four-day crisp homage promises to bring together all old favourites with a bodytonic buzz, and the most extensive crisp menu you have probably ever seen. There will be a crispy quiz, bottomless crunch, DJs, bands, entertainers, a crisp sandwich making competition, blind crisp tasting contests and more. In Sligo, Strandhill peoples market takes place from 11am to 4pm on Sunday, while the annual Warriors Run takes place in Strandhill on Saturday. While registration is closed for the run, the town is certain to be abuzz, and you can register for the Warriors Walk and Young Warriors Run on race weekend. Advertisement In celebration of National Heritage Week Craggaunowen Castle and Crannog in Co Clare, you can discover the magic of Irish storytelling, where ancient legends and modern tales intertwine on Saturday, August 24th, while a number of other events will also be taking place. Elsewhere in the county, in Ennistymon, the Pot of Films Festival, a festival about celebrating the world of Irish filmmaking and exploring all the different facets and roles of the film industry. There will be a variety of workshops, talks and screenings. A family fun day takes place at Riverview Shopping Centre in Bandon, Co Cork, from 1-5pm on Sunday. Organised by the Bandon Walled Town Festival, there will be battle reenactments, woodcarving, coin minting, face painting, balloon modelling, a puppet show, fun and games, and craft and food stalls, to name a few. Also as part of the festival, there will be music, history talks and guided walks on Saturday and Sunday. Advertisement View this post on Instagram A post shared by Bandon Walled Town (@bandonhistory) Pitchd Circus and Street Art Festival takes to Cork city this weekend, kicking off on Friday, August 23rd until September 1st. It promises an array of captivating circus performances that should be a fantastic experience for all members of the community. Nearly seventy railway safety concerns have been investigated by a commission responsible for ensuring train and tram services are up to standard. The Commission for Railway Regulation (CRR) said it had received 67 reports since the beginning of 2022 about brake failures, noise pollution, bridge safety, and overcrowded services. Advertisement There were eleven confidential concerns raised this year, including one relating to what was described as a serious rail safety incident on an Irish Rail service in June. Queries were also raised over the licences held by drivers on rail and Luas services, while one person asked for an investigation into overcrowding on a train travelling between Limerick and Cork. Other safety concerns highlighted this year were the safety of infrastructure at the Beechwood tram stop in Dublin and a door that partially opened on an Enterprise train to Belfast. Thirty-four separate confidential concerns were investigated by the CRR in 2023, including a wheel defect on a Luas tram that led to dragging near the Red Cow station. Advertisement The commission was also asked to look into structural concerns about a platform at a train station in Tipperary and an accident in Limerick where somebody fell in a station. There were concerns logged as well over an illegal encampment at a railway car park in Co Clare and a defective elevator on one of the Luas lines in Dublin. Other issues investigated by the CRR included a complaint from the OPW about air pollution in Connolly Station in Dublin and the failure of a tram wheel on a light rail vehicle. A sinkhole adjoining an Irish Rail line was flagged to the commission, but an investigation found it posed no risk to the safety of train services. Advertisement Twenty-two concerns were raised in 2022 with four relating to the breakdown of a train on the day of the Bray Air Show in July that year. During that incident, passengers ended up forcing open the doors of carriages on the DART and walking along the tracks. The CRR was asked to investigate separate safety concerns about older DART carriages that remained in use, including the levels of rust on them and whether they should continue in service. Also flagged in 2022 were noise pollution and vibration along a train line, a concern over the safety of brakes on a Luas tram, and the structural integrity of a railway viaduct. Asked about the records, which were released under the Freedom of Information Act, the Commission for Railway Regulation said they had nothing further to add. An information note on their website said that all concerns were treated seriously and that each one was closely examined. It said: Our response will vary and may include inspection, written or verbal intervention, or noting the details which may direct some future activity. Gardai were called to an average of 130 incidents of domestic violence each day during the first quarter of 2024, according to figures published by the Department of Justice. New crime figures reveal that gardai responded to calls to attend the scene of a domestic violence incident on 11,675 occasions during the first three months of this year. Advertisement They indicate that 2024 is set to be a record year for the reporting of domestic violence if the same level of incidents continues for the rest of the year. They also show that almost 5,100 breaches of orders made under the Domestic Violence Act were reported to gardai last year, which resulted in 4,765 sets of charges or summons being issued. In the first half of 2024, another 2,543 various breaches, including barring orders, protection orders and safety orders were recorded. Official crime data based on the Garda PULSE system highlights the number of reports of domestic violence has more than trebled since 2014, when 14,264 incidents were logged. Advertisement The annual total has grown continuously each year over the past decade to reach a record of 46,539 incidents in 2023 representing an average of 127.5 incidents per day. Approximately a third of all incidents of domestic violence are recorded in Dublin. Dublin West had the highest level of reported incidents last year across all 22 Garda divisions with 4,582 and also the highest in the first quarter of 2024 with 1,140 cases. Dublin North has the second highest number of cases of reported domestic violence in 2023 with 4,104. Advertisement Outside the capital, the highest number of incidents of domestic abuse was in the Garda division of Louth/Cavan/Monaghan, where 3,077 cases were recorded. The lowest number of incidents was 611 cases in the Garda division of Cork West, which also has the smallest population. The figures indicate Limerick had the highest rate of reported incidents last year with 123.3 cases of domestic violence reported per 10,000 population, followed by Louth/Cavan/Monaghan (107.3) and Dublin (106.8), which covers six Garda divisions in the capital. The lowest rate was recorded in the Sligo/Leitrim division with 68.2 incidents of domestic violence per 10,000 population, just ahead of Galway (69.0) and the three Garda divisions in Cork at 69.4. Advertisement Commenting on the latest figures, the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee, welcomed that they indicated that more people who have been impacted by domestic violence have been coming forward. Ms McEntee said combatting all forms of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV) remained a priority for herself, the Government and the Garda Commissioner. The minister said the third national strategy on DSGBV, called Zero Tolerance, sets out an ambitious whole of government five-year programme of reform to achieve a society which does not accept such violence or the attitudes which underpin such crimes. She said the strategy also has a significant focus on improving the system for victims of terrible crimes and ensuring there was a full range of supports and services available nationwide to empower victims and survivors. Advertisement In response to parliamentary questions from Aontu leader, Peadar Toibin and Labour leader, Ivana Bacik, the minister claimed a significant objective has been to encourage victims of domestic violence to come forward and to report that crimes are being committed against them. This is an important step because, historically, there has been an underreporting of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, said Ms McEntee. The minister said in excess of 7.9 million has been allocated in funding to combating DSGBV in Budget 2024, while the new agency established to oversee the issue, Cuan, has an annual budget of 59 million this year. She pointed out that there is also now a Protective Services Unit in each Garda division with specialist teams to engage with vulnerable victims. Ms McEntee said she had also recently strengthened the law to combat all forms of DSGBV by introducing new standalone offences of stalking and non-fatal strangulation and by doubling the maximum sentence for assault causing harm the most common offence in domestic violence cases to 10 years. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can contact Womens Aid (24-hour freephone helpline at 1800-341 900, email helpline@womensaid.ie) or Mens Aid Ireland (confidential helpline at 01-554 3811, email hello@mensaid.ie) for support and information. Safe Ireland also offers a number of local services and helplines at safeireland.ie/get-help/where-to-find-help/. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112. Parents of children with additional needs have spoken about how they are at their wits end on how to secure school places for this academic year. SNAs (special needs assistants), activists, parents and their children marched from Clearys Clock on OConnell Street to the Department of Education in Dublin to demand action so that vital school places are available for children with special needs. Advertisement Nicola ODea, from Finglas, said her 13-year-old son Sean who has been diagnosed with autism is due to start first year of secondary school this autumn. She said they had applied to 15 different schools inside and outside of their catchment area, and still have no place. She said their story has been raised before and they had meetings in the Department of Education three months ago where they were told they would not be in the situation that they are in. I work as an SNA myself, and Im not going back to work now, Im staying at home. Because my husband works, I work, somebody needs to be home with Sean, she said. Advertisement The sleepless nights, the constant worry, ever since Sean was diagnosed its battle after battle. You battle for assessments of need, you battle for school places, you battle for domiciliary, everything is a fight and it shouldnt be. They deserve to go to school. Hes come on amazing from primary school and I just want him to continue that. I shouldnt have to come here today to fight for a place for him, thats his constitutional right, he deserves to go to school. Asked was she confident he would get a place in school next year, she said: If Sean is at home for a whole year, hell be a completely different child next year. Advertisement As much as I can do with him, Im not a teacher. Sean needs the routine, the structure, he sleeps better when hes in school, hes calmer when hes in school. If hes at home for a year, he will regress. Addressing the Minister for Education Norma Foley, she said: Get your act together. Enough is enough. Come live in my house, come feel our pain, our stress, our worry. Karen Fowler, from Raheny, said her daughter Amber does not have a place in secondary school which means she may need to quit her job to look after her. She said she had applied to 19 different schools and was either refused because they are not in the catchment area or because they are giving priorities to siblings. Advertisement She said Amber thrives when she is in a routine and comes on in leaps and bounds, but said she regresses without it. I just dont know where to turn anymore, she said. The last thing I want to do is lose my job. I find myself in this situation where she has no place. She has regressed significantly over the summer time. She has challenging behaviours, she has a diagnosis of autism, non-verbal, an intellectual disability. I have been fighting for six months, alongside her dad and my family, to secure a place for Amber to no avail. Advertisement I get the same replies, robot replies, same tick-box exercises, and Im just very worried. She added: I cant even tell you the immense stress we are under, the pressure, the worry, the strain, its never-ending. Its constantly fighting for the basics, its just unacceptable. Protesters chanted calls for school places to be provided immediately and criticised Ms Foley and Taoiseach Simon Harris. A letter was handed in to the Department of Education with the names of children who had not yet secured a place. The demonstration was told that if the Department does not get back with an update for each child by August 30, another protest will be held on September 2 in the city centre. Bernard Mulvany, from Marino whose 14-year-old daughter Sophia has a school place, said it was exhausting for parents to have to keep advocating to secure an education for their children. Mr Mulvany, who is from Access for All Ireland and is involved in People Before Profit, said we have to fight tooth and nail every single year, year-on-year, for the basics in Irish society. Sinn Fein TD Dessie Ellis was praised by parents for being the only TD from the Finglas area to attend the protest. He told the crowd it was no longer acceptable in this day and age that we should have to go out and literally beg for places, its not good enough. A spokesperson for the Department of Education said that special education and provision of an appropriate school place is a priority for the Government. She added: This is underpinned by investment of more than 2.7 billion in 2024, more than a quarter of the entire education budget. This will allow for, amongst other things, the opening of up to 400 new special classes in mainstream schools and 300 additional special school places. That level of provision is being delivered and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) have advised the Department of Education that 408 new special classes have been sanctioned for the coming school year 2024/2025. This includes 290 new special classes at primary level and 118 at post-primary. This is on top of almost 1,300 new special classes sanctioned over the last four years. For the coming school year, there will be over 3,300 special classes operating in primary and post-primary schools across the country. She continued: The NCSE is confident that there will be sufficient number of special classes to meet the needs of children known to them seeking a special class place for the coming school year. Where it is not possible to secure the small number of additional special classes required, the NCSE and Department will consider the use of the available legislative provisions if necessary. This includes Section 67 of the Admission to Schools Act 2018 which provides for the NCSE to direct schools to admit a student with special educational needs. Ukraines military says it used high-precision US glide bombs to strike Russias Kursk region, and that it has recaptured some territory in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv that has been under a Russian offensive since spring. Ukraines Air Force Commander Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk issued a video on Thursday night purporting to show a Russian platoon base being hit in Kursk, where Ukrainian forces launched a surprise cross-border incursion on August 6. Advertisement He said the attack with GBU-39 bombs, which were supplied by the US, resulted in Russian casualties and the destruction of equipment. A girl calms her sister on an evacuation train in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, Ukraine. Photo: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP. The video showed multiple explosions and plumes of smoke rising at the site. Advertisement Many of Ukraines backers oppose the country using donated weapons for anything but defensive purposes. However, Ukraine has argued that its Kursk incursion is essentially defensive and aimed at minimising attacks on Ukrainian soil from that Russian region. US officials have said that Washington supports Ukraines use of shorter-range weapons such as glide bombs in its attacks across the border. The US so far has only put a limit on the use of longer-range ATACMS missiles for strikes deep into Russia. Advertisement White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Friday that US officials have been in near-daily contact with Ukrainian counterparts and have made no recent changes to guidance on how US weapons can be used in the Kursk offensive. They are allowed to use US provided material to defend themselves against Russian aggression. And, as you know, the president allowed them to use US munitions across that border to deal with imminent threats, Mr Kirby told reporters in Washington. Mr Kirby added that it is unclear how successful Ukraines operation in Kursk will be over the long term. Russian officials reported some success in turning back Ukrainian forces in some areas of the Kursk region on Friday. Advertisement A Russian soldier fires from D-30 howitzer towards Ukrainian positions in an undisclosed location in Ukraine Photo: Russian Defence Ministry/AP. Ukraines gains have reshaped the battlefield and buoyed the morale of Ukrainians 10 years after Russia first invaded their country, and two and a half years after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion that has led to mass death and destruction and created Europes largest refugee crisis since the Second World War. Ukraine and its Western allies hope that the regained momentum could strengthen Kyivs hand on the diplomatic front. A visit to Kyiv by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who met on Friday with President Volodymyr Zelensky, was being closely watched. Advertisement There are Ukrainian hopes that Mr Modi, who has maintained cordial ties and economic relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, could play a role in forging a mediated peace. The incursion into Russia has highlighted Russian vulnerabilities but also further stretched Ukrainian forces, who already were fighting on a frontline running hundreds of miles. It has possibly compromised Ukraines ability to hold back Russian forces who have slowly but steadily gained ground in the Donetsk region, diverting Ukrainian forces who otherwise could bolster defence there. It is not clear how long Ukraine will be able to hold the land it has seized in Russia. The Russian Defence Ministry on Friday said that its troops turned back Ukrainian attempts to advance on the Kursk regions villages of Borki and Malaya Loknya. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, greeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Office/AP. The ministry also reported taking out a reconnaissance and sabotage group near Kamyshevka, 12 miles north of Sudzha, which the Ukrainians took. Ukraines 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said in a statement published late on Thursday that Ukrainian soldiers took control of an area that was held by a Russian battalion, and some strongholds. Brigade Commander Andrii Biletskyi said that they attacked Russian troops that had superiority and won, adding that the ratio of forces on the battlefield was 2.5:1 in Moscows favour. The Associated Press was unable to independently verify the claims, and there was no immediate comment from Russia. Russia launched an offensive in the Kharkiv region in May that led to some gains but soon stalled. Fighting in that area has diminished as the Russian army has concentrated its efforts in Donetsk, part of the industrial Donbas region that Moscow formally annexed but does not fully control. Russias springtime advance on Kharkiv was seen as a sign that Ukraines position was weakening amid delays of Western military aid. Ahead of a planned speech, Robert F Kennedy Jrs campaign team said in court documents that he is endorsing Donald Trump for president. Mr Kennedys independent campaign also requested that he be removed from the Pennsylvania ballot, though it was not immediately clear that he was officially dropping out of the race. Advertisement He was about to speak in Arizona about the present historical moment and his path forward, according to his campaign. Robert F Kennedy Jr waves to the media outside the Nassau County Supreme Court in Mineola, New York (Stefan Jeremiah/AP) Hours later, Mr Trump will hold a rally in neighbouring Glendale. Advertisement Mr Trumps campaign has teased that he will be joined by a special guest, though neither campaign responded to messages about whether Mr Kennedy would be that guest. Mr Kennedy withdrew from the ballot in Arizona on Thursday, less than a week after he submitted well more than the required number of signatures to appear on the ballot. But his critics raised questions about the validity of some of the signatures, and the involvement of a pro-Kennedy super PAC to collect them risked potentially running afoul of rules against coordination between candidates and independent political groups. A year ago, some would have thought it inconceivable that Mr Kennedy a member of the most storied family in Democratic politics would work with Mr Trump to keep a Democrat out of the White House. Advertisement Even in recent months, Mr Kennedy has accused Mr Trump of betraying his followers, while Mr Trump has criticised Mr Kennedy as the most radical left candidate in the race. But the two campaigns have ramped up their compliments to each other and engaged in behind-the-scenes discussions in recent weeks, according to those familiar with the efforts. Both campaigns have spent months accusing Democrats of weaponising the legal system for their own benefit. Advertisement Republican presidential nominee former president Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at North Carolina Aviation Museum (Julia Nikhinson/AP) And both have hinted publicly that they could be open to joining forces, with the shared goal of limiting the election chances of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Mr Trump told CNN on Tuesday that he would love an endorsement from Mr Kennedy, whom he called a brilliant guy. He also said he would certainly be open to Mr Kennedy playing a role in his administration if he drops out and endorses him. Advertisement Mr Kennedys running mate, Nicole Shanahan, also openly suggested on a podcast this week that his campaign might walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump. While she clarified that she is not personally in talks with Mr Trump, she entertained the idea that Mr Kennedy could join Mr Trumps administration as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. I think that Bobby in a role like that would be excellent, Ms Shanahan said. I fully support it. I have high hopes. The scheduled remarks by Mr Kennedy, a son of former Attorney General Robert F Kennedy and a nephew of former President John F Kennedy, come as his campaigns momentum has slipped. He first entered the 2024 presidential race as a Democrat but left the party last fall to run as an independent. Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago (Brynn Anderson/AP) He built an unusually strong base for a third-party bid, fuelled in part by anti-establishment voters and vaccine sceptics who have followed his anti-vaccine work since the pandemic. But he has since faced strained campaign finances and mounting legal challenges, including a recent ruling from a New York judge that he should not appear on the ballot in the state because he listed a sham address on nominating petitions. Recent polls put his support in the mid-single digits. And it is unclear if he would get even that in a general election, since third-party candidates frequently do not live up to their early poll numbers when voters actually cast their ballots. For Mr Trump, Friday will mark the end of a weeks worth of battleground state visits in which he has sought to draw attention away from Democrats celebration of Ms Harris presidential nomination in Chicago. He travelled to Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina and Arizonas US-Mexico border for events focused on his policy proposals on the economy, crime and safety, national security and the border. He will close out the week Friday with stops in Las Vegas and Glendale. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has offered to act as a friend to bring peace to Ukraine during a brief visit that many in the country hope will pave the way for an Indian role in peace mediation. Mr Modi and President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed at length Ukraines peace formula, which prioritises territorial integrity and the withdrawal of Russian troops, according to the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Advertisement We say it very loudly and clearly that we support the respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, Mr Modi said through a translator during his meeting with Mr Zelensky. Its our highest priority. Sharing my remarks during meeting with President @ZelenskyyUa. https://t.co/uqnbBsHfmf Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2024 Advertisement A video clip of the meeting was published on the Ukrainian presidents Telegram account. Mr Modi added that during his visit to Russia last month, he told President Vladimir Putin that problems cannot be resolved on the battlefield. Advertisement The only way of resolving problems is through dialogue and diplomacy, he said, adding that it must be done without losing any time. Mr Zelensky called the visit friendly and symbolic because Mr Modi came the day before Ukraines Independence Day. Officials in India and Ukraine say the visits focus was on boosting economic ties and co-operation in defence, science and technology, but analysts say it could also be an attempt by Mr Modi to strike a more neutral stance after what has been seen as a lean towards Russia. The meeting started with both leaders visiting a memorial commemorating hundreds of Ukrainian children who have been killed over more than two years of war. Mr Zelensky published a video showing the two hugging each other after shaking hands. Advertisement Narendra Modi and Volodymyr Zelensky at the memorial (Indian Prime Ministers office/AP) Conflict is particularly devastating for young children, Mr Modi wrote on X. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief. They laid teddy bears at the memorial at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War before observing a moment of silence. Advertisement Ukrainian media reported that Mr Modi met representatives of the Indian diaspora after arriving. The crowd gathered around the Indian prime minister cheering Modi, Modi, Modi. He also paid tribute at the Mahatma Gandhi Monument in Kyiv. The chief of Ukraines Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, called the visit historic and emphasised Ukraines expectation that India could play a role in ending the war between Russia and Ukraine with a just peace. We respect India as a very big democracy in the world and a powerful country, Mr Yermak said in an interview with India Today. But now its necessary to say who is the aggressor, who is the victim. Paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Kyiv. The ideals of Bapu are universal and give hope to millions. May we all follow the path he showed to humanity. pic.twitter.com/vdqiUQcjJV Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2024 Before arriving in Ukraine, Mr Modi called for diplomatic efforts to end the war during a visit to Poland on Thursday, pledging Indias support and saying that no conflict can be solved on a battlefield. His arrival came a month and a half after Mr Zelensky criticised his visit to Moscow in July, when he met Mr Putin on the day Russian missiles struck across Ukraine, killing scores of people. Mr Zelensky described that meeting as a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts, and criticised Mr Modi for hugging Mr Putin during their meeting. India has avoided condemning Russias invasion and has instead urged Moscow and Kyiv to resolve the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. It is the first visit by an Indian premier to Ukraine since the two countries established diplomatic relations more than 30 years ago. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived on Friday in Kyiv where he will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Officials in India and Ukraine say the visit will focus on boosting economic ties and co-operation in defence, science and technology, although analysts believe it could also be an attempt to have India strike a more neutral stance after what has been seen as a lean towards Russia. Advertisement Ukrainian media reported that Mr Modi met representatives of the Indian diaspora after arriving. The crowd gathered around the Indian prime minister cheering Modi, Modi, Modi. Reached Kyiv earlier this morning. The Indian community accorded a very warm welcome. pic.twitter.com/oYEV71BTlv Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2024 Advertisement The Indian community accorded a very warm welcome, he said on the social media platform X. The chief of Ukraines Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, called the visit historic and emphasised Kyivs expectation that India could play a role in ending the war between Russia and Ukraine with a just peace. Advertisement We respect India as a very big democracy in the world and a powerful country, Mr Yermak said in an interview with India Today. But now its necessary to say who is the aggressor, who is the victim. Before arriving in Ukraine, Mr Modi called for diplomatic efforts to end the war during a visit to Poland on Thursday, pledging Indias support and saying no conflict can be solved on a battlefield. Narendra Modi met Vladimir Putin last month (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP) Advertisement His arrival came a month and a half after Mr Zelenskyy criticised his visit to Moscow in July, when he met President Vladimir Putin on the day Russian missiles struck across Ukraine, killing scores of people. Mr Zelensky described that meeting as a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts. He also criticised Mr Modi for hugging Mr Putin during their meeting. India has avoided condemning Russias invasion and instead has urged Moscow and Kyiv to resolve the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. Mr Modis visit is the first by an Indian premier to Ukraine since the two countries established diplomatic relations more than 30 years ago. Vice President Kamala Harris told Americans they have a chance to chart a new way forward in November as she accepted her partys nomination for president at the Democratic National Convention. Her address in Chicago capped a whirlwind few weeks in American politics and manifests the stunning reversal of Democratic fortunes just 75 days until Election Day. Advertisement With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past, she said in a 40-minute speech. A chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans. Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, left, and Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris wave at the conclusion of her speech (J Scott Applewhite/AP) She closed the convention by summoning Americans to reject political divisions and warning of consequences posed by a Donald Trump win. Advertisement I know there are people of various political views watching tonight and I want you to know I promise to be a president for all Americans, she said. I promise to be a president for all Americans to hold sacred Americas constitutional principles, fundamental principles, from the rule of law and fair elections to the peaceful transfer of power. Ms Harris is the first black woman and first person of South Asian descent to accept a major partys presidential nomination. If elected, she would be the first female US president. On stage, she looked out across a sea of female delegates and Democratic supporters wearing white the colour of womens suffrage the movement that culminated with American women securing the right to vote in 1920. Advertisement America, the path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected. But Im no stranger to unlikely journeys, she said, recounting how she was raised primarily by her mother after her parents divorced in a small apartment in San Franciscos East Bay and being raised as well by friends and caregivers who were a family by love. Advertisement Outlining her career as a prosecutor, state attorney general, senator and now vice president, she said: My entire career Ive only had one client: the people. She attacked Mr Trump, calling him an unserious man. The consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious. This election is not only the most important of our lives. It is one of the most important in the life of our nation. Advertisement Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails. And how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States, not to improve your life, not to strengthen our national security, but to serve the only client he has ever had himself. Attacking laws against reproductive freedom passed by the Supreme Court after appointments by Mr Trump, she said the former president plans to create a national anti-abortion co-ordinator. Vice President Kamala Harris during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago (Matt Rourke/AP) Why, exactly, is it that they dont trust women? she said. Well, we trust women. When Congress passes a Bill to restore reproductive freedom, as President of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law. She also vowed to bring back the bipartisan border security Bill killed by Mr Trump and create an earned pathway to citizenship and secure our border, as well as saying she would stand strong with Ukraine and Nato allies. Ms Harris said history would show President Joe Bidens record was extraordinary and they were working around the clock to solve the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. Now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realise their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination, she said She said she would not cosy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong Un who she said were rooting for Mr Trump. Balloons are released after Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris spoke on the final day of the Democratic National Convention (Mike Segar/Pool/AP) Describing America as the greatest democracy in the history of the world, Vice President Harris rounded off her speech by calling on voters to fight for the ideals we cherish. It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done, she said. Guided by optimism and faith, to fight for this country we love. Lets get out there, lets fight for it, lets get out there, lets vote for it, and together let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told. Among those speaking on the final night of the convention were the vice presidents sister Maya Harris, Senator Elizabeth Warren, former Representatives Gabrielle Giffords and Adam Kinzinger plus civil rights leader Reverend Al Sharpton. Mr Kinzinger, a Republican who called Mr Trump too weak to accept defeat, said he was speaking at the Democratic convention because we must put country first and called on other Republicans to vote for Ms Harris. Harris shares my allegiance to the rule of law, the Constitution, and democracy, he said. Whatever policies we disagree on pale in comparison with those fundamental matters of principle. Of decency. Of fidelity to this nation. To my fellow Republicans: If you still pledge allegiance to those principles, I suspect you belong here, too. Speculation about an appearance by Beyonce or Taylor Swift proved unfounded, but celebrity performances came from Pink with a version of the US national anthem by The Chicks while actress Eva Longoria kicked off the final part of the evening. The Metropolitan Police has dropped its probe into betting on the date of the UK general election, saying the bar for misconduct in public office had not been met. Allegations about gambling on the election engulfed the Conservative campaign in June after it emerged senior Tory officials and one of Rishi Sunaks aides had placed bets shortly before the date was announced. Advertisement The Gambling Commission launched an investigation into whether this broke laws on cheating while the Met opened a separate inquiry into whether other offences had been committed. One officer, believed to be part of Mr Sunaks close protection team, was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office as part of the investigation while a total of seven officers were alleged to have placed bets. On Friday, the force announced its criminal investigation had concluded with no action being taken, including against the officer who had been arrested. Advertisement The Gambling Commission investigation remains ongoing and could still result in criminal charges while the Mets Directorate of Professional Standards is continuing to investigate the seven officers alleged to have placed bets on the election date. In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said the high bar for proving misconduct in public office had not been met, following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service. Advertisement Detective Superintendent Katherine Goodwin said: These allegations caused a significant dent in public confidence during the election campaign and it was right that they were investigated to explore all possible offences. While our involvement in the criminal investigation now ceases, its important that is not misinterpreted as an all-clear for those whose cases were looked at. There are still Gambling Act offences to consider and it is appropriate that they are taken forward by investigators from the Gambling Commission who have particular expertise in this field. Advertisement Rishi Sunaks former parliamentary aide Craig Williams admitted having a flutter on the date of the general election, sparking further allegations against senior Tory officials. Photo: UK Parliament/PA. Gambling Commission chief executive Andrew Rhodes said his organisation had already interviewed several suspects under caution and continued to speak to witnesses and gather documentary and electronic evidence. He said: We clearly appreciate the level of public interest there is in this investigation but in order to protect the integrity of the investigation and to ensure a fair and just outcome, we are unable to comment further at this time, including the name of any person who may be under suspicion, or the total number of suspects. The gambling scandal was triggered by revelations Mr Sunaks former parliamentary private secretary Craig Williams admitted having a flutter on the election date shortly before it was announced. Advertisement The Conservatives eventually withdrew support for Mr Williams as their candidate for Montgomeryshire and Glyndwr, along with Bristol North West candidate Laura Saunders, who was also alleged to have placed a bet. Ms Saunders husband, Tony Lee, the Conservative Partys director of campaigning, and Tory chief data officer Nick Mason took leaves of absence during the campaign after being implicated in the scandal, while Senedd member Russell George stepped back from the shadow cabinet in the Welsh Parliament after being placed under investigation. A spokesperson for the Conservative Party declined to comment while the Gambling Commission investigation was still ongoing. Palestinians are planning to introduce a UN General Assembly resolution in September enshrining the recent sweeping ruling by the UNs top court that declared Israels presence in the occupied territories unlawful and setting a time frame for it to end. Palestinian UN ambassador Riyad Mansour told the UN Security Council on Thursday the resolution, which would not be legally binding, is essential to spur the end of Israels occupation. Advertisement We are sick and tired of waiting, he said. The time for waiting is over. On July 19, the International Court of Justice issued an unprecedented, sweeping condemnation of Israels rule over the lands it captured 57 years ago. It called for the occupation to end and for settlement construction to stop immediately. Palestinians evacuate Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, as part of a mass evacuation ordered by the Israeli military ahead of an operation (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) Advertisement Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek all three areas for an independent state. Israeli ambassador Danny Danon, who spoke to the council after Mr Mansour, made no mention of the Palestinians plan or the court ruling. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the non-binding opinion by the courts 15 judges, saying the territories are part of the Jewish peoples historic homeland. Mr Netanyahu stressed in a statement that the Jewish people are not conquerors in their own land not in their capital Jerusalem or West Bank lands. Advertisement No false decision in The Hague will distort this historical truth, and likewise the legality of Israeli settlement in all the territories of our homeland cannot be contested, he said. The court said the General Assembly and Security Council in which staunch Israeli ally the United States holds a veto should consider precise modalities to end Israels presence in the territories. Mr Mansour did not disclose the time frame the Palestinians are planning to include in the General Assembly resolution. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (AP) Advertisement He said the resolution will be a significant step towards a two-state solution in which independent states of Israel and Palestine live side-by-side in peace. Mr Netanyahu, who leads a far-right government opposed to Palestinian statehood, has repeatedly stated his long-standing opposition to a two-state solution, which the United States supports. He has said a Palestinian state would become a launching pad for attacks on Israel. Mr Mansour also told the council that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has declared his intention to visit Gaza and has called for world leaders, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and leaders of the 15 Security Council nations to join him. Advertisement He wants them to see first-hand the horrors our people are enduring and to demand a halt to the nearly 11-month war between Israel and Hamas, Mr Mansour said. The war was sparked by the October 7 invasion of southern Israel by Hamas and other militants that killed about 1,200 people and saw about 250 people taken hostage. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel controls access to the Gaza Strip and Mr Mansour called on the council and UN chief to push to secure Mr Abbas ability to reach Gaza. Mr Danon said that Gaza stands at a crossroads and unless Hamas is ousted the territory has no future. The defeat of Hamas will enable Gaza civilians to chart their own destiny in partnership with the most successful countries in the region, he said. The security level at a Nato air base in western Germany was raised temporarily because of intelligence information pointing to a potential threat, but was reduced again on Friday, the alliance said. An announcement late Thursday night of the increase in the security level at the Geilenkirchen base did not elaborate on the nature of the potential threat, but said that all staff not essential to missions had been sent home as a precaution. Advertisement It said operations continued as planned. Soldiers check the entrance to the Nato air base in Geilenkirchen (Christoph Reichwein/AP) The Geilenkirchen air base, near the border with the Netherlands, is where the alliances Airborne Warning and Control System, or Awacs, surveillance aircraft are stationed. Advertisement On Friday afternoon, a post on the Nato Awacs fleets X, formerly Twitter, account said that the security level had returned to its previous level. It said the temporary rise was a precautionary measure. All scheduled operations are proceeding as planned, it added. German news agency dpa said that a reporter saw police cars on and around the grounds of the air base. Advertisement Police confirmed a deployment Thursday night, but gave no details. Last week, a major German air force base near Cologne was locked down for several hours amid fears that its water supply might have been tampered with. An investigation found no evidence of such sabotage. There were also reports of suspicious observations at Geilenkirchen, and a person was briefly detained for questioning near the base, dpa reported at the time, but there turned out to be nothing untoward. Advertisement The incidents come at a time of jitters about the possible vulnerability of infrastructure to attempted Russian sabotage. On Thursday, prosecutors in Flensburg, in Germanys far north, said they were investigating suspected espionage for the purpose of sabotage, without elaborating on who might be behind it. German media reported that drones had been spotted over a chemical park in Brunsbuettel, on the North Sea coast. Ukrainian forces say they have recaptured territory in the eastern region of Kharkiv, where Russia launched a large offensive in the spring that brought initial gains before stalling. Ukraines 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said in a statement late on Thursday that its forces had advanced nearly two square kilometres (about three-quarters of a square mile) in the area. Advertisement It is unclear when the attack was launched, its scale and the area of the offensive, and it is hard to predict if it will have further impact on the battlefield. A destroyed Russian tank on a roadside near the town of Sudzha in the Kursk region (AP) The reported counter-offensive comes as Kyivs forces have gained new momentum and altered the battlefield this month. Advertisement Ukraine launched a shock offensive in Russias western Kursk region on August 6, while simultaneously intensifying a drone war against military and fuel targets that sparked blazes deep in Russia this week. On Friday some new details emerged about damage and injuries caused by some of those attacks. A Ukrainian drone attack targeting a distant Russian air base in the Volgograd region caused significant damage to an airfield that reportedly housed glide bombs used by Moscow in the war, satellite photos analysed by the Associated Press showed. An attack on a cargo ferry at the port of Kavkaz in Russias Krasnodar region on Thursday injured 13 people, Russias state news agency Tass reported on Friday. Advertisement Citing health officials, Tass said four of the injured have been admitted to hospital and one other person remains unaccounted for. The aftermath of a Ukrainian drone attack on Marinovka air base in Russia (Planet Labs PB/AP) Ukraines gains have buoyed the morale of Ukrainians 10 years after Russia first invaded their country, and two and a half years after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion which has led to mass death and destruction and created Europes largest refugee crisis since the Second World War. Advertisement Ukraine and its western allies hope the regained momentum could strengthen Kyivs hand on the diplomatic front, but the incursion into Russia itself is risky. It has highlighted Russian vulnerabilities but also further stretched Ukrainian forces, who were already fighting on a front line running for hundreds of miles. It has also possibly compromised Ukraines ability to hold back Russian forces who have slowly but steadily gained ground in the Donetsk region, diverting Ukrainian forces who otherwise could bolster defences there. Ukraines 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said in a statement published late on Thursday that its soldiers also took control of an area held by a Russian battalion, and some strongholds. Brigade Commander Andrii Biletskyi said they attacked Russian troops that had superiority and won, adding that the ratio of forces on the battlefield had been two and half to one in Moscows favour. The White House said that ceasefire talks in Cairo have been constructive and will continue over the weekend as the US and Mideast allies continue to press Israel and Hamas to forge an agreement. CIA director William Burns and Brett McGurk, a senior adviser on the Middle East to President Joe Biden, are leading the US side of negotiations that began on Thursday amid major differences between Israel and Hamas over Israels insistence that it maintain forces in two strategic corridors in Gaza. Advertisement There has been progress made, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said, We need now for both sides to come together and work towards implementation. US President Joe Biden last week said he was optimistic that an agreement could be reached (Stephanie Scarbrough/AP) Mr Kirby did not detail where progress had been made, but he did insist that theres been momentum in the conversations among the mediators from the US, Israel and Hamas interlocutors Egypt and Qatar. Advertisement Mr Biden took a break from his family holiday in Santa Ynez Valley, California, on Friday to call Qatars emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to discuss the negotiations. Diplomatic efforts have redoubled as fears grow of a wider regional war after the recent targeted killings of leaders of the militant Hamas and Hezbollah groups, both blamed on Israel, and threats of retaliation. Israel and Hamas have been at loggerheads over the Philadelphi corridor alongside Gazas border with Egypt and the Netzarim east-west corridor across the territory. Hamas is demanding a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Mr Netanyahu insists on the principle that Israel will control the Philadelphi corridor, with the aim of preventing the rearming of Hamas and a repeat of the atrocities of the October 7 attack on Israel. He also denied reports that Israel would be willing to accept an international force in the corridor. Advertisement Hamas on Friday pushed back that Mr Netanyahu was blocking any chance to reach a ceasefire deal. CIA director William Burns speaks during a hearing in Washington (Mark Schiefelbein/AP) Asked whether Mr Netanyahu was negotiating in good faith, Mr Kirby noted that Mr Biden had a constructive conversation on Wednesday with Mr Netanyahu. Advertisement Were in Cairo. Theyre in Cairo, Mr Kirby said. We need Hamas to participate. We need to get down to the brass tacks of locking in these details. And thats what were focused on here. Mr Biden last week said he was optimistic that an agreement could be reached after he spoke by phone with the Egyptian president and Qatars emir. That conversation came after a round of negotiations in Doha that White House officials said showed promise that a deal was close. But by Tuesday, Mr Biden was notably more muted about the prospects of the two sides coming to an agreement soon. He told reporters after delivering an address at the Democratic convention that Hamas was now backing off, but that the US is going to keep pushing to land a ceasefire deal. Advertisement Mr Biden in a Wednesday call with Mr Netanyahu stressed the urgency of bringing the ceasefire and hostage release deal to closure, according to the White House. Tami Metzger mourns during the funeral of her husband Yoram Metzger at a cemetery of the kibbutz Nir Oz, southern Israel (Tsafrir Abayov/AP) Mr Biden also made clear to Mr Netanyahu that both Hamas and Israel will need to compromise, according to a person familiar with the leaders call who spoke on the condition of anonymity about the private conversation. Meanwhile, the families of the Israeli hostages said they met with Mr Netanyahu on Friday to understand what could still be more important than freeing their loved ones, venting their anger at his failure to seal a cease-fire deal that would lead to their loved ones release from Hamas captivity. Representatives from the Hostages Family Forum, a group representing relatives of hostages, said Mr Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to do everything in his power to bring their family members back alive. More than 100 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, including dozens who are presumed dead. The word alive limits this to a certain time frame, said Yizhar Lifshitz, son of hostage Oded Lifshitz, whose mother was kidnapped and freed by Hamas last October. Palestinians mourn relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, at a hospital in Deir al-Balah (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) The revelation on Thursday that the autopsies of six captives which Israeli troops recovered from an underground tunnel in southern Gaza were riddled with bullet wounds has escalated domestic pressure on Netanyahu to agree to a cease-fire that might save captives lives. Ella Ben Ami, daughter of hostage Israeli Ohad Ben Ami, said she left her meeting with Mr Netanyahu with a heavy and difficult feeling that this isnt going to happen soon, and I fear for my fathers life, for the girls who are there, and for everyone. Venezuelas government has said it will order former opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez to provide sworn testimony in an ongoing investigation into what it considers attempts to spread panic in the South American country by contesting the results of last months presidential election. The attempt on Friday is the latest by Nicolas Maduros government to crack down on opponents who claim they handily defeated the self-declared socialist leader. Advertisement Mr Maduro has refused to recognise defeat and claims he won the July 28 election by more than one million votes, even though tally sheets by Mr Gonzalezs campaign and published online show the president lost by a more than 2-to-1 margin. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro flashes victory hand signs at supporters during a pro-government rally in Caracas, Venezuela (Cristian Hernandez/AP) The US, United Nations and others said the vote lacked credibility and even some of Mr Maduros leftist allies in Latin America have called on him to publish the voting records. Advertisement Venezuelas Attorney General Tarek William Saab at a press conference on Friday accused the former candidate of trying to illegally usurp responsibilities that belong exclusively to the National Electoral Council. Mr Gonzalez went into hiding after the July 28 vote as security forces have rounded up more than 2,000 demonstrators and political activists for challenging the official results. He has been joined underground by opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who picked Mr Gonzalez as a last minute stand-in after her own candidacy was disqualified. Ruling party stalwarts have called for their arrest but so far authorities have held off. Advertisement The Biden administration in the US condemned a ruling by Venezuelas Supreme Court certifying Mr Maduros win on Friday. The high court on Thursday said it had performed an audit of the results and found they matched the results announced by electoral authorities, adding that the tally sheets published online by the opposition were forged. This ruling lacks all credibility, given the overwhelming evidence that Gonzalez received the most votes on July 28, US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said. Continued attempts to fraudulently claim victory for Maduro will only exacerbate the ongoing crisis. Advertisement Thanks to a superb ground game on election day, opposition volunteers managed to collect copies of voting tallies from 80% of the 30,000 polling booths nationwide. The tally sheets printed by each voting machine carry a QR code that makes it easy for anyone to verify the results and are almost impossible to replicate. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on Venezuela to act in a transparent manner and expressed concern about human rights violations on Friday. Meanwhile, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, whose government is leading an attempt with Brazil and Colombia to resolve the dispute, said that he will withhold recognising Mr Maduro as the winner until a breakdown of results are published. And all it really took was for Larvotto to reveal on Wednesday that it had secured the final drilling permits needed for its second exploration program at Hillgrove and that the rig would mobilise to the site next Monday to start plunging in some 5250m of reverse circulation (RC) at its Clarks Gully target. The backstory to Hillgrove and its an interesting one is that Larvotto, like most mining juniors, was on the lookout for a project to increase its critical metals inventory and came across the on-sale project after administrators were appointed to wind up the affairs of Red River Resources, which was placed in liquidation in August last year. In October, Larvotto reached agreement to virtually steal the project for about $8 million (consisting of a $3 million purchase and about $5 million to replace the environmental bonds required by the NSW Government). In one stunning negotiation, the company increased the level of its resources by 1.4 million ounces of gold equivalent at about $6 per ounce. Management says the resource, in fact, comprises 1.036 million ounces of gold and 90,000 tonnes of antimony. But what really hits you between the eyes like a Mike Tyson straight right is that the credits from the antimony using todays price of about US$23,000 (AU$34,300), results in a negative cost (-$82) to produce an ounce of gold, paving the way for a potentially lucrative project. Still, it was not all antimony mania on the ASX, with Dundas Minerals shares surging after it revealed that re-assaying of the final 6m of a recently-drilled RC hole returned a solid 9.5 grams per tonne gold from a depth of 146m at its Windanya project that sits some 60km north of the famous gold-mining town of Kalgoorlie and adjacent to the well-travelled Goldfields Highway. The company had previously provided composite samples to the lab, comprising 4m and 2m samples. But an error in numbering the composite samples caused confusion, with the results reported for the wrong composites. Dundas decided to have the assays re-sampled on a 1m basis, with the 146m-to-147m interval returning the high-grade 9.5g/t slice. The preceding 1m interval from 145m to 146m also produced 0.725g/t. MTM Critical Metals has developed an innovative technology that may transform the lithium refining industry. But there was no confusion among market punters, who loved the news and sent the at-times thinly-traded shares along the highway to the sky to touch 7.2c for a tasty gain of 188 per cent. Volumes that had averaged less than 20,000 units daily for the preceding 10 trading days including just 199 shares traded last Friday absolutely soared, with 32.8 million shares changing hands on Wednesday, the day of the re-assay results being released. Management, sensing a great opportunity to strike while the golden iron was hot called a trading halt Thursday morning, to reveal later that it had raised $870,000 before costs with the issue of 21.15 million new shares at 4.1c each. It will now be interesting to see what comes from the companys hole extension to a depth of 300m. MTM Critical Metals also caught the attention of the market and lithium production and downstream conversion companies with news of a significant breakthrough in the development of the companys Flash Joule Heating (FJH) technology. It has enabled the successful conversion of spodumene grading 6 per cent to be converted directly to lithium-chloride (LiCl) in a single, acid-free unit operation. MTM says the innovative process has the potential to transform lithium refining with how spodumene, the worlds leading source of lithium for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, is processed. The company believes the innovation can eliminate several stages of conventional processing methods and provide substantial savings in capital and operating expenditure and reductions in emissions. The market agreed with the potential game-changing nature of the high-tech process and piled into the company shares, with 20.5 million units traded on Wednesday and then a healthy 8.8 million on Thursday to drive the price as high as 6.5c. The 80.56 per cent gain provided a much-needed boost to the share price, which recently hovered near multi-year lows. First Lithium was another big gainer after a phase-two drill campaign at its Blakala project in Mali successfully intersected many thick intersections of lithium, including several high-grade intervals recording more than 2 per cent lithium oxide hits of the once red-hot mineral. Bringing back memories of the good ol days of lithium fever, the companys shares were driven to reach a peak of 17c on Thursday for a weekly gain of 78.95 per cent, having closed last week at 9.5c. The shares recorded a lovely one-day gain of 80.85 per cent after closing at 9.4c on Wednesday a nice little earn if you can get it. Volumes headed north with shares changing hands at greater than four-times First Lithiums past 20-day average daily volume. A series of impressive intersections consisting of 41m running 1.91 per cent lithium oxide from 81m, 20m at 2.03 per cent from 69m and 32.6m going 1.7 per cent from 99m also included 14m at 2.02 per cent. An additional slice of 6.6m going 2.79 per cent within a 29.7m hit of 1.66 per cent of the critical battery mineral certainly turned a few heads. The West African country of Mali has been in the news recently, revealing the implementation of a new mining code. Several junior miners have said that the adoption of the 2023 Mali Mining code reaffirms the Republics commitment to mining and its desire to once again become one of West Africas top gold and mineral producers. Now, we have told you before that here at Bulls N Bears, we love a late Friday runner to send us off to the weekend on a happy note and this one is a doozy. After making this columns prestigious list back in February with a 90 per cent jump, life sciences and consumer health products company Bioxyne is back with a bang, ramping up 240 per cent on the back of no, you didnt guess it the first commercial run of edible cannabis Gummies produced by its subsidiary, Breathe Life Sciences. The companys share price wafted up from a close last week of just 0.5c to hit an intraday trading high today of 1.7c on the back of the announcement. Just last month, Breathe Life Sciences confirmed it had received deposits on purchase orders for $2 million worth of its of THC Gummies, which it described as a milestone marking the first commercial purchase of Australian-made edible cannabis products manufactured under the companys TGA GMP licence. And it is scaling up its gummy manufacturing capabilities from 2 million single doses per month up to 6 million to meet anticipated market demand. But no matter how yummy these gummies may be, Bulls N Bears suggests anyone using them stick to the medically-prescribed dose. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au City retailers are popping the champagne corks as workers return to the office, international tourists and students fly in and shoppers come back for weekend visits. Vacancy rates have fallen to near pre-pandemic levels, and Melbourne is leading that charge with the lowest level in the country of 6.9 per cent, down from 7.4 per cent in the December 2023 half. Sydneys level is about 7.4 per cent, compared with 8.1 per cent over that same period. Scentre and Cbus Property are transforming David Jones old menswear store into luxe retail and apartments. The two largest landlords in the country, Scentre and Vicinity, confirmed demand for retail was rising, saying their CBD tenants were riding higher than any time in the past four years. There has been a plethora of leases signed across all capital cities, from the traditional sectors of footwear and apparel to food, pubs and luxury brands. The Lego store in Sydneys Pitt Street Mall and Fortress in the Melbourne Emporium have also been drawcards for city shoppers. Entanglements with marine debris are the risk to whales, besides the overarching risk of climate change. The International Whaling Commission estimates that globally, 300,000 whales die of entanglements every year. The next biggest direct risk is ship strikes, at 20,000 deaths a year. Whale numbers have increased since whaling was banned in international waters, but their food source is under threat from climate change and unsustainable fishing practices. Commercial fishing trawlers suck up vast quantities of Antarctic krill to turn into pet food, health supplements and farmed salmon feed. The debris includes fishing lines, nets and traps, and also equipment for swimming including shark nets, which have come under fire for the number of entanglements with non-target animals including the critically endangered grey nurse sharks, turtles and marine mammals. However, Luke McSweeney, team leader of the disentanglement team, said whales did not often become entangled in shark nets, and his team was trained to deal with it. Authorities dont yet know for sure whether the marine debris wrapped around this whales tail was from fishing. It was described by Chris Borrow-Jones from the disentanglement team, as nylon stranded rope. ORRCA second vice president Jessica Fox said ship strikes occurred less often in Australian waters, but entanglements were a big problem. Loading Earlier we reported there were at least three other whale entanglements on the NSW coast. Fox said that calmer weather meant more people out on the water and better able to see whales, increasing the frequency of sightings and reports of entanglements. She also said some equipment could have been dislodged in the recent winter swell. This same weather event, which happens most winters, caused coastal erosion to NSW beaches and uncovered a rocky cove at North Maroubra. Many opponents to offshore wind farms cite their concerns for whales, but the idea that wind farms kill whales is part of an organised disinformation effort. In the end, the final moments of the long chase around Sydney Harbour were oddly abrupt. Chris Borrow-Jones, a national parks officer who can more often be found fighting fires than freeing whales, leant forward over the bow of an inflatable outboard dwarfed by the humpback that was about 13 metres long. The rescue workers cut the whale free of nylon cord just after 11am. Credit: Janie Barrett While bobbing off Washaway Beach, across the water from Balmoral, Borrow-Jones made a few deft cuts with a knife attached to a long pole, and suddenly the nylon fishing cord that had been tangled around the whales tail fluke for at least 22 hours was gone. The animal made a beeline out of the Sydney Heads and started swimming south, breaching once or twice more before it disappeared. Humpbacks migrate to Antarctica in spring to feed on krill. Advertisement FoodWine Australian fine wines are world-class. So why dont they dominate our drinks lists? Our wines win trophies all over the world, but are underappreciated at home, with many restaurant lists still drawing heavily on imports. Change is coming. Katie Spain August 23, 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 Australia is the most exciting wine-producing country in the world, according to US-based wine importer and sommelier Jane Lopes. But it could sometimes do a better job of self-promotion, she says. Lopes and sommelier husband Jonathan Ross wrote the award-winning book How to Drink Australian after falling for our wine while living and working here. American sommeliers Jane Lopes and Jonathan Ross fell in love with Australian wines while working in Melbourne. Every time we are back in Australia and immersed in this countrys wines, we are reminded of how world-class they are, says the former wine director at Melbourne fine-diner Attica. Advertisement Australia is at a perfect nexus right now of tradition and innovation, and the wines are just on fire. Its exciting. The problem is, many Australians are simply unaware of how good they have it. Nashville-based Lopes and Ross are amazed by how few Australian wine lists feature domestic wines in meaningful ways. Australia is at a perfect nexus right now of tradition and innovation, and the wines are just on fire. Its exciting. Sommelier Jane Lopes According to alcohol industry analysts IWSR, domestic wine accounts for 80 per cent of the volume of wine consumed within Australia, considering both retail and hospitality industry sales. Advertisement Yet, only 11.2 per cent of the wines on Sydney lists are from NSW, while 46 per cent of the listings are imported from overseas, according to a report by Wine Business Solutions, a business management consultancy. In Melbourne, 30 per cent of restaurant wine listings are sourced from Victoria, the report found. Lisa Guenther-Strauss at The Art Syndicate, whose wine list is devoted to wines from NSW. Rhett Wyman German-born sommelier Lisa Guenther-Strauss believes Australians take local wines for granted. In France, Italy, and even Germany, they serve their own wine, she says. There is no way you would ask for an international wine in France. Theyre proud of their own produce. I dont know why we dont do that more here. Advertisement But Guenther-Strauss and husband Saxon are doing their bit for the cause. At their recently opened wine bar and art space, The Art Syndicate in Sydneys Surry Hills, the list is entirely devoted to NSW, making theirs one of the few Sydney venues to do so. Sydney restaurants fail to pour NSW wine as Australia drowns in oversupply Doubling as an art space, the 25-seat wine bar offers 21 wines by the glass. When I moved here in 2016, I immediately started doing road trips to beautiful wine regions like Orange and Mudgee, says Guenther-Strauss, who has worked for Merivales Mimis in Coogee, Etymon Projects Charles Grand Brasserie & Bar, and Rockpool Dining Group. Hunter Valley is beautiful and is the oldest wine region in Australia, but there are 15 more to explore. It bothered me that we live in NSW, but at most restaurants there were maybe four or five local bottles on the list and nothing by the glass. So, I decided to do our own thing, go small but personal. Advertisement Loic Avril, the head sommelier at Society restaurant in Melbourne. Kristoffer Paulsen Loic Avril, the head sommelier at Society restaurant in Melbournes Collins Street, oversees a 10,000-bottle cellar. The Frenchman is head of wine at Lucas Restaurants, which last year won four titles at the World of Fine Wine Awards, an international wine list competition. Across the board, I think Australia is producing more world stage wines now, from west to east, Avril says. In particular, Australia is producing some of the best chardonnays in the world. Societys star-studded list showcases Australian wines alongside benchmark international examples. We want to showcase a range of very small growers to top star producers and try to provide a vertical of vintages to help diners understand how those wines are positioned on the world stage, Avril says. Advertisement Wine consultant Marcell Kustos says Australian chardonnays are some of the worlds best. Hungarian-born, Adelaide-based fine wine and hospitality consultant Marcell Kustos says Australians dont realise how special some of our wines are. The winemaker and sommelier is a huge fan of Australian chardonnay. They represent exceptional quality and value, especially considering the prices of Burgundy or California, Kustos says. The reality is, in the $30 to $50 price range, one of the best wines you will find is chardonnay, especially in terms of consistent quality and a consistent drinking experience. And Id go as far as [saying] our ultra-premium examples are some of the most exciting wines in the world of fine wine right now. Advertisement Facebook owner Meta lost a court battle against WA billionaire Andrew Forrest in the US early this morning. It means he can proceed with discovery to determine whether the social media group played an active role in developing scam ads and, therefore, should not receive immunity from the loss of victims. Billionaire businessman Andrew Forrest used his deep pockets to take on Facebook parent Meta over scam ads using his likeness. Credit: Bloomberg/Getty Judge Casey Pitts, in the California District Court denied Metas appeal to take its defence to a higher court. Forrests recent court wins in the US promise to finally pierce the US laws that have cloaked Facebooks trillion-dollar business from the harm caused by fraud on its platform. The Meta-owned social media group will now be forced to reveal sensitive information on the workings of the ad platform which provides all of its revenue. This is an important case, and it has the potential to make clear that Meta cannot continue to co-create and otherwise involve itself in the development of scam ads, Joshua Matz, the lawyer representing Forrest, said. We are therefore pleased that Judge Pitts gave the issues careful consideration and reached the correct result. According to Forrest the increased use of AI has made the scam ads which use the images of Australian personalities, including him more realistic and believable. Forrest said more than 1000 of the ads using his image appeared on Facebook in Australia between April and November last year. Meta claims third-party players are creating the content and they are not responsible under current laws which gives web publishers immunity from harm caused by what is published on their platforms. Both sides will appear before Judge Pitts again on October 31 to resolve any disputes they have regarding the scope of Facebooks discovery and other case management issues. A transgender woman was awarded $10,000 after a judge found she had been indirectly discriminated against when she was barred from a female-only social media app in a case billed as a landmark test of trans rights law in Australia. The Federal Court found that Roxanne Tickle had not been directly discriminated against but had been the victim of indirect discrimination and ordered the app Giggle for Girls to pay her $10,000 plus legal costs. Roxanne Tickle outside court. Credit: Peter Rae Justice Robert Bromwich noted that Giggles founder, Sall Grover, removed Tickle when she saw her photo and considered her to be male. Giggle had argued that the discrimination was permitted because, in its view, Tickle was of the male sex, and that was unchangeable. Iron Bastion founder and cybersecurity expert Gabor Szathmari says the ruthless professionalisation of financial crime means different crime gangs specialise in different areas of scamming. One group might focus on breaking into emails to get information about large transactions while another might steal driver licences, passports and other identification to open new bank accounts. Unfortunately, crime pays, and technology allows criminals to carry out scams on a large scale over the internet. For instance, phishing emails can be sent in bulk, and robocalls can be made without human interaction, he said. In Australia, there is no legal requirement for banks to name-check or confirm the payee for bank transfers despite the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recommending banks put these checks in place back in 2022 and consumer groups demanding it in 2019. Szathmaris colleague, solicitor Nick Kavadias, says its easier for scammers to target businesses such as real estate agents and conveyancers who may not store personal information securely than to rob a bank. Loading Ive seen [scammers] break into email, and then they suck all the emails out, and they look for keywords, you know contract or sale or whatever and then they continue to sit and wait until the right time to send [the victim] an email pretending to be the solicitor, going, Hey, these are the payment instructions and theyve copied and pasted previous emails and footers that theyve received, so it looks legitimate, he says. Cybertrace chief executive officer Dan Halpin formerly with ASIO and NSW Police says international scamming rings target trusting Australians because we have access to large sums of money and its basically shooting fish in a barrel. Home buyers are at risk of scams. Credit: Steven Siewert I am aware of some situations where victims are suffering massive depression, and Ive even heard of cases where victims have [died by] suicide because they firstly have lost their money, but also because they get limited assistance and police dont take them seriously, he said. PEXA Group chief information technology security officer David Willett says bank transfer scams increased during COVID-19, dropped last year but are on the rise again. With the world grappling with the cost of living, geopolitical disputes and major elections, we are starting to see an uptick, he says. When Levin and Tina lost money to scammers, it took a toll. Credit: Edwina Pickles Levin Salaberry and his partner Tina Damcesvka lost $91,650 in a home-buying scam in October 2023, when a CommBank branch teller transferred money to another mule CommBank account that NSW Police have said was set up with a stolen identity. Salaberrys bank recovered $44,971.22 between October 18, 2023 and June 12 this year, leaving him with a devastating $46,678.78 loss. CommBank has offered to pay him another $4582.50 to resolve the matter on a without admissions basis, which he has not accepted. Salaberry, 42, has been traumatised by the scam his heart races every time he hears his mobile phone ping with a notification. He went into himself, into a shell, says Damcesvka, 50, an office worker. Salaberry initially couldnt bring himself to complain to AFCA, because he had to log in to an online portal to make the complaint, which he didnt want to do after being the victim of cybercrime. He is now pursuing the matter. I dont own a computer. I dont sit in an office and do emails. I dont answer phone calls from people I dont know, the construction worker, says, explaining he copies and pastes every number that calls him into WhatsApp so he can see if the person has a legitimate profile and photo. Technology developed by fraud prevention firm BioCatch helped banks detect more than 150,000 mule accounts last year, though its not clear whether banks closed these accounts. Not just fraud and scams, but money laundering and all types of financial crime are more complex, more sophisticated, faster and of a higher volume than ever before, says BioCatch executive Richard Booth. The companys fraud detection and anti-money laundering technology is used by nine out of 10 major banks. Most people hold bank accounts that comply with 100 points of identity. Scammers use illegitimate mule accounts to move stolen money overseas or into cryptocurrency, seemingly in violation of the spirit of Australias anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws, which require banks to report suspicious transactions over $10,000. Banks have announced scam-safe accords to ensure names match account numbers in online transfers, investing $100 million in the project. Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones has unveiled new legislation forcing banks to identify dodgy accounts, but none of this has been implemented yet. In response to questions from this masthead, Jones said the laws will require banks and the likes of social media companies to meet strict obligations designed to prevent scammers preying on victims. It is government policy that all bank accounts unlawfully established or maintained should be closed, he said. If theyre not doing celebrity scam ads, theyre not doing any of the other more important stuff. And every celebrity scam of a pensioner meaningfully changes the course of their life. The fact that its happening and not getting fixed is outrageous. This masthead reported in April that Facebook Australia made $1.34 billion from advertisers during the 2023 calendar year, though more than a billion dollars of that local revenue was funnelled to an international subsidiary. In the United States we dont have a problem with celebrity scam ads the way you do I was shocked when I came here and saw the extent of it. Frances Haugen Haugen said that while she was at Facebook, the companys safety teams were primarily focused on American English or British English, and Australian English was an afterthought for its moderation efforts, allowing scams to thrive. You guys have such colourful phrases, like the one I learned last time was open slather, Haugen said. I think people really dont understand how brittle Facebooks systems are. And I think Australia is probably paying the highest cost for that. Because you are the most different from British English or American English, you are a high per-capita income country, youre a great target. Facebook denies whistleblower Frances Haugens claims. Credit: Tony Avelar A spokesman for Facebooks parent company, Meta, denied Haugens claims in a statement to this masthead. These are baseless and completely inaccurate claims. Meta doesnt want scams on our platforms, and we are continuing to invest in tools and technology to prevent them, the spokesman said. The safety of our users is of utmost importance, and we continue to work with industry, the government and law enforcement to protect Australians from scams. Whether the company likes it or not, Australia is highly relevant for Facebook, given its high-stakes legal stoush with Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest, the founder of mining giant Fortescue, who has spent years battling the company for allowing scam ads on its platform featuring his likeness. Loading Forrest is alleging that Metas automated technology plays an active role in creating and displaying scam ads through its platform and that its software uses sophisticated technology, including generative AI, to determine what completed ads look like and who sees them. Forrest alleges that between April and December last year, there were 1700 new fraudulent ads posted featuring his image, aided and abetted by 10 to 15 fake Andrew Forrest Facebook profiles popping up each week supporting them. The billionaire failed in his bid to bring criminal charges against Facebook in Australia in April this year when the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions decided not to pursue them. Forrests ongoing civil action in the US which he commenced in 2021 challenges Facebook owner Meta on its use of legal immunity for online publishers to shield its entire business from any liability. Meta lost a court battle against Forrest in the US on Friday morning, meaning he can proceed with discovery. Judge Casey Pitts, in the California District Court, denied Metas appeal to take its defence to a higher court. Both sides will appear before Judge Pitts again in October. Its a matter that Haugen is watching closely and said would likely have global implications. Fortescue founder Andrew Forrest. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Im very excited about it, its going to be super interesting if Forrest is allowed to pursue his lawsuit, she said. It might be the first chance for us to actually force data out of the company, to see what theyre doing about it. If a celebrity writes in and says, There are scam ads about me, Facebook could put their name on a list and just double check all the ads that have their name, or use facial recognition. And the fact that they are not doing that in Australia means you guys are not being allocated even basic resources. An example of a scam ad showing Andrew Forrests likeness. While Australia is often perceived as a relative minnow economically, Haugens opinion is that it should team up with similarly sized, like-minded markets such as Canada to push for stronger social media regulation. She praised Australias early leadership on online safety laws including the establishment of the Office of the eSafety Commissioner, a world first at the time but said the country now had an opportunity to develop more ambitious and holistic reforms. More specifically, Haugen is calling for the creation of an independent, comprehensive ads database, not controlled by Facebook, that would allow independent researchers and start-ups to analyse platform advertising practices. This, she said, could help counter issues such as celebrity scams. With bipartisan support emerging for measures including banning under-16s from social media, Haugen also urged Australian policymakers to think beyond bumper sticker solutions. Berlin: The Islamic State group claimed responsibility on Saturday for a knife attack in the western German city of Solingen that killed three people. The militant group said in a statement on its Telegram account that the attack was carried out by one of its members in revenge for Muslims in Palestine and everywhere. Mourners at a memorial near the festival site in Solingen, Germany. Credit: Getty Images It did not immediately provide any evidence for its assertion and it was not clear how close any relationship between the attacker and Islamic State was. It came as the hunt for an unknown man who cut the throats of revellers at a crowded festival in the western German city of Solingen, killing three people and wounding at least eight others, four of them seriously. The 59-year-old presidential candidate and her running mate, Tim Walz, now face a 75-day sprint to election day, marking the final stretch of an extraordinary campaign that polls suggest is still anyones to lose. Sure, she has raised a record-breaking $US500 million ($743 million) in a month and leads Trump 46.6 per cent to 43.8 per cent at a national level, according to a compilation of polls by FiveThirtyEight. Kamala Harris and husband Douglas Emhoff with Tim Walz and wife Gwen Walz. Credit: AP But the often-scripted Harris has not yet done a press conference or a one-on-one interview since taking over from incumbent Joe Biden as presidential hopeful, and her first debate against Trump is still to come. It is scheduled for September 10 after early voting begins in crucial battlegrounds such as North Carolina. As Michelle Obama warned in her blistering speech on day two of the convention, in some states, a handful of votes in every precinct could decide the winner. While hope is making a comeback, it doesnt guarantee the Oval Office. Nonetheless, Harris acceptance speech hit most of the right notes. She told the American people about her middle-class upbringing as the daughter of a Jamaican father who would often tell her, Run Kamala, run dont let anything stop you, and an Indian mother who taught her not to complain about injustice but rather do something about it. My mother had another lesson she used to teach: never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are, she said. She eviscerated her Republican rival, branding him as someone who would pardon violent extremists, abandon global allies, and jail journalists and anyone he sees as the enemy. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States not to improve your life, not to strengthen national security, but to serve the only client he has ever had: himself. And she framed the contest as a study in contrasts. Shes a prosecutor, hes a convicted felon. She wants to unite, he wants to divide. She fights for the vulnerable, he fights for himself. She wants freedom, he wants control. But Harris most powerful moment arguably came when she addressed what had become the most challenging issue the Biden-Harris administration faced: Israels war in Gaza. Pink and her daughter Willow (left), perform on the last day of a star-studded Democratic National Convention. Credit: AP As protesters marched in the streets outside the convention centre, she sought a middle ground. She reiterated that Israel had the right to defend itself, and vowed that she would ensure the state never again had to face the horror that a terrorist organisation called Hamas caused on October 7. But she also said that what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. She wanted to see their suffering end so that the Palestinian people can realise their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination. Loading It was easily the most forceful Harris has been on the issue, and as her speech went on, the joyful warrior became increasingly sombre and serious, asserting the very characteristic that Trump values most: strength. As commander-in-chief, I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world, she said as the crowd erupted into cheers and chants of USA! USA! But while Harris has pitched herself as an agent of change and someone who could give voters a new way forward, it remains to be seen how much change there will actually be. After all, the vice president is still part of the current administration. She has so far surrounded herself with many former aides to Biden, and most of her plans seem to simply build on the agenda she has spent the past four years advocating with the president. In terms of economic policy, building up the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency, she said, just as it was Bidens. Harris arrives to speak on the final day of the Democratic National Convention. Credit: AP On immigration, she wants to reinstate the border bill that Republicans torpedoed at Trumps behest, just as Biden vowed to do. And on abortion, she wants to codify Roe v Wade into federal law, which was a central plank of Bidens second-term agenda. Whatever the case, the four-day Democratic National Convention marked a shift for Harris after years of poor approval ratings, relentless Republican attacks over her policy performance and scepticism within her own party about whether the second in line to the presidency had what it takes. Indeed, even a few weeks ago, when it was clear that Bidens days were numbered, Democrats such as former House speaker Nancy Pelosi initially suggested there should be an open process to find a replacement for the president; others argued, albeit privately, for a mini-primary so as not to risk Harris getting the nomination by default. Loading Now, they have rallied behind her, convinced that she is the best person to take on Trump. China's White Horse Temple donates Buddha statue to Sri Lanka Xinhua) 10:45, August 23, 2024 COLOMBO, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- China's White Horse Temple donated a Buddha statue to Sri Lanka on Thursday's handover ceremony at Dharmayathanaya Temple in Colombo. The chief incumbent of Dharmayathanaya Temple Ven. Elle Gunawansha Thero, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, the head of White Horse Temple Ven. Yinle, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong and his wife, Counselor Jin Qian, and the delegation from the Luoyang Municipal Committee attended the ceremony. At the ceremony, Gunawansha Thero stated that the Buddhist exchanges between Sri Lanka and China have a long history. The donation of the Buddha statue by the White Horse Temple to Sri Lanka marks a significant event in the history of Buddhist exchanges between the two countries. "We will place the statue at Dharmayathanaya Temple, hoping it will showcase Buddhist culture and the friendship between Sri Lanka and China to more visitors and devotees," said Gunawansha Thero. Qi said that China-Sri Lankan Buddhist exchanges have a long history and have built enduring friendships that are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people of the two countries. Since establishing diplomatic ties, interactions between China and Sri Lanka's Buddhist communities have grown closer, further reinforcing our bilateral relationship. "I am confident that Buddhist exchanges between our two countries will further strengthen the traditional friendship between our nations in supporting each other at all times and promote cultural and emotional bonds among our people. I look forward to seeing continued Buddhist cooperation between China and Sri Lanka, promoting mutual learning and prosperity, and fostering friendship and respect between our peoples," he said. During the ceremony, monks from both China and Sri Lanka held a chanting and consecration ceremony for the Buddha statue. The statue has been placed opposite the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, symbolizing the friendship between China and Sri Lanka. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Bisbee, Arizona: A southern Arizona man was arrested for allegedly making death threats against Donald Trump on social media, authorities said on Friday (AEST), the same day the Republican former president and 2024 candidate was in the area to visit the US-Mexico border. The Cochise County Sheriffs Office identified the suspect as Ronald Lee Syrvud, 66, from the city of Benson. Trumps running mate, Senator J.D. Vance, also recently visited the area. Ronald Lee Syrvud was arrested over an alleged online threat made to Donald Trump. Credit: Cochise County SO/Facebook The sheriffs office said Syrvud arrested about 2.30pm. It did not describe the alleged threats or provide other details on the arrest. An online search failed to turn up any social media accounts in Syrvuds name or any contact information for him. "The standout trait of Australia's Best 100 Workplaces is the deep-seated trust that permeates through each level of the organisations. Such organisations are not only successful in retaining top talent but also in creating resilient, dynamic cultures that drive business growth and positively impact the broader Australian business landscape, said Rebecca Moulynox, General Manager of Great Place to Work Australia. She also emphasized that the ruling serves as a reminder to the crypto sector about the necessity of adhering to design and distribution obligations: Consumers should receive the full protection of the law when dealing in crypto-asset products, and we will continue to take action to ensure this happens. WA has seen solid growth in investor lending in the last five years, but property prices in the state are now higher than investors may be willing to pay for. Its an inflated market, and the bubble will eventually burst," Soltani said. Ukraine's Largest Drone Strike Shakes Russia as Kyiv Seizes Territory (Photo: Saeima/Wikimedia Commons/CC-BY-SA 2.0 ) Ukraine has launched a series of drone attacks on critical Russian air bases, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict between the two nations. Over the past two days, Ukrainian forces have targeted key military installations, including the Marinovka air base in the Volgograd region, as part of a broader strategy to weaken Russia's air capabilities. On Wednesday night, multiple explosions rocked the Marinovka military airfield, located in the southwestern Volgograd region. The attack, confirmed by regional governor Andrei Bocharov, resulted in a fire at a Russian defense ministry facility. While Bocharov reported that "most of the drones were destroyed" and there were "no casualties," videos circulating on social media depicted a massive fireball and plumes of smoke rising from the site. This assault on Marinovka followed closely on the heels of a separate Ukrainian drone strike targeting the Olenya air base in Russia's Murmansk region, some 2,000 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The Olenya base is known to host strategic bombers, including the Tu-95MS and Tu-22M3, which have been used to carry out long-range strikes on Ukrainian targets. The coordinated attacks underscore Ukraine's increasing reliance on drone warfare to penetrate deep into Russian territory. These strikes, while not always publicly claimed by Ukrainian authorities, are believed to be the work of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) and Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR), both of which have previously acknowledged responsibility for similar operations. "Things aren't getting any better for the rapidly vanishing Russian air force as hungry Ukrainian drones claim another victim," tweeted the account "Jay in Kyiv," associated with the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation, which supports the Ukrainian military. The tweet, which included footage of the Marinovka attack, further fueled speculation about the effectiveness of Ukraine's drone strategy. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, 13 Ukrainian drones were intercepted over the Volgograd region during the Marinovka attack. Despite these defenses, reports from local sources indicated that up to 12 explosions were heard around the airfield, suggesting that some drones may have penetrated Russian airspace successfully. The recent strikes are part of a broader Ukrainian campaign targeting Russian military airfields, ammunition depots, and other strategic assets. Kyiv has made it clear that such sites are considered legitimate targets in its effort to push back against Russia's invasion, which began in February 2022. Ukraine's focus on drone warfare reflects its need to counterbalance Russia's superior air power. While Ukraine has received some advanced U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, its air force remains outgunned by Russia's larger and more technologically advanced fleet. The use of drones, therefore, has become a critical component of Ukraine's military strategy, allowing it to strike deep behind enemy lines without risking its limited number of aircraft. The attack on the Marinovka base is particularly significant because the facility is believed to house Su-34 fighter-bombers and Su-24 tactical bombers-aircraft that have been used in numerous assaults on Ukrainian positions. By targeting such assets, Ukraine aims to disrupt Russia's ability to conduct air operations, potentially shifting the balance of power in certain contested regions. In addition to the military implications, these drone strikes also carry symbolic weight. They demonstrate Ukraine's capability to reach deep into Russian territory, challenging Moscow's narrative of invulnerability. This could have a psychological impact on both Russian forces and the civilian population, further complicating the Kremlin's efforts to maintain support for the ongoing conflict. Looking ahead, it is likely that Ukraine will continue to leverage its growing drone capabilities to target critical Russian infrastructure. As the conflict drags on, these strikes may become more frequent and more sophisticated, increasing the pressure on Russian defense systems and potentially leading to a recalibration of Russia's military strategy. Beverages major Coca-Cola on Friday said Greishma Singh has been appointed as the new market head for India Southwest Asia (INSWA) Operating Unit. Singh will succeed Arnab Roy, who was recently named the Global Category President, Coca-Cola Trademark. Her appointment will be effective September 1, 2024, according to a company statement. Before this, Singh was Vice-President of Customer and Commercial Leadership (C&CL) for the INSWA Operating Unit. She has been with The Coca-Cola Company for over 15 years and held roles of across marketing, strategy and C&CL in Australia and India markets, it added. The Shipping Ministry set up a Bipartite Wage Negations Committee comprising representatives of port management and federations in March 2021. Major ports operators have invited representatives of the ports and dock workers' unions for a discussion in New Delhi on Tuesday next week to avert an indefinite nationwide strike call given by employee federations from August 28, a source said on Friday. The worker unions at a national coordination committee meeting in Tuticorn (Tamil Nadu) on August 8 decided to strike work indefinitely from August 28 to press for immediate settlement of wage revision and benefits, pending for more than two years. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp Subsequently, strike notices were served to the administrators of the respective ports on August 12. Meanwhile, Mumbai Port Authority Chairman, Rajeev Jalota, told PTI that a meeting of the Bipartite Wage Negotiations Committee has been called in the national capital on August 28 to consider the workers' joint charter of demands. Jalota is also the chairman of the Bipartite Wage Negotiations Committee. "We have already started deliberations with the workers' representatives. We have invited them on August 27 in New Delhi for discussions on their demands. We are hopeful of an (amicable) solution," the source said. The workers unions are affiliated to five federations All India Port and Dock Workers' Federation, All India Port and Dock Workers Federation (workers), Water Transport Workers Federation of India, Indian National Port and Dock Workers Federation and Port, Dock and Waterfront Workers Federation of India. According to sources at the India Port and Dock Workers Federation (workers), the major port operators and the federations were to sign a five-year wage revision agreement prior to the expiry of the earlier wage pact on December 31, 2021. There are 12 major ports in the country, which employ around 20,000 permanent workers, as per the sources. The Shipping Ministry set up a Bipartite Wage Negations Committee comprising representatives of port management and federations in March 2021. The five federations in September 2021 submitted their joint charter of demands for the revision of wages, retirement benefits and other conditions of service of Group C&D of the port and dock workers from January 1, 2022, he said. Later, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS also submitted separately its charter of demand for the wage revision to the Committee, he said. The Bipartite Wage Negotiations Committee, unfortunately, has met only seven times in more than two years, he said. The Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government has issued a final ultimatum to its employees: Declare your assets by August 31 or face serious consequences. Over 1.3 million state government employees are yet to submit their property details via the Manav Sampada portal. A notice issued by the UP government, reviewed by Business Standard, states: 'All officers and employees are informed that it is mandatory to register the details of immovable and movable assets for the financial year 2023-2024 on the departmental evaluation portal (Manav Sampada) by August 31, 2024. Failure to do so will result in being marked as absent, and they will not receive their monthly salary. This will take effect from the salary for August 2024 onwards until the registration process is completed.' Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp The notice further stated: 'Employees who have not registered on the portal for the financial year 2023 by August 31, 2024, despite repeated instructions, will be considered absent from duty, and necessary action will be taken in accordance with departmental guidelines.' According to a report by NDTV, despite multiple extensions, only about 26% of the 1.78 million government employees in Uttar Pradesh have completed the necessary submissions. The government had initially set the deadline for December 31, 2023. What is Manav Sampada? Manav Sampada is an integrated Human Resource Management System (HRMS) designed for government departments. Its primary function is to streamline and digitise human resource processes such as recruitments, postings, promotions, and transfers. "The system helps maintain and protect employee data in electronic form, making it easier for departments to manage their workforce effectively," according to the official portal. Originally implemented in Himachal Pradesh, the Manav Sampada portal has now been adopted by several states and departments, including Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar (Forest), Maharashtra (Jal Pradhikaran), Chandigarh, Punjab, and others. Steps to register on Manav Sampada If youre a government employee looking to register on the Manav Sampada portal, heres a step-by-step guide: 1. Visit the official website: Go to http://ehrms.upsdc.gov.in 2. Log in: Click on "eHRMS Log in" at the top right corner of the homepage. 3. Enter details: A login popup will appear. Fill in the required details such as the department name, user ID, password, and captcha code. 4. Create a new user: Once logged in, click on "Create New User" to register a new employee. 5. Provide employee details: Enter the employee's details, including name, date of birth, gender, joining date, department, and other relevant information. 6. Submit and generate credentials: After rechecking the details, click "Submit". The system will automatically generate an Employee User ID and password. How to file property returns on Manav Sampada Filing your property return is mandatory. Here are the steps: 1. Log in: Access the portal and locate the section related to property listing. 2. Select a reporting officer: Choose the appropriate reporting officer for your submission. 3. Fill out the details: Enter the Annual Property Return (APR) details for the current and previous years. 4. Categorise your assets: Immovable assets: Land, houses, shops, and other buildings. Liquid assets: Stocks, money market instruments, and government bonds. Movable assets: Furniture, gold, and other personal property. Provident fund: Amounts deducted by the employee. Life insurance: Policies taken by the employee. Debts and liabilities: Any debts or other financial obligations. 5. Save and submit: Once all details are entered, save the form and submit it to the reporting officer. The protests by resident doctors at government hospitals in several states across the country ended. (Photo: PTI) The protests by resident doctors at government hospitals in several states across the country ended on Thursday as major doctors' associations called off their 11-day strike over the rape-murder of a trainee medic in Kolkata after the Supreme Court made an appeal to them to resume work. However, in West Bengal, the epicentre of the protests, healthcare services remained affected at state-run hospitals as agitating junior doctors said they would continue their ceasework. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp "We have decided to continue our ceasework because justice is yet to be delivered. The Supreme Court has avoided the justice part. We must not forget that getting justice for our sister is our prime goal," one of the protesting doctors told PTI. In the national capital, doctors at major hospitals, including AIIMS, RML, LNJP and Maulana Azad Medical College, ended their strike that commenced on August 12. Following the apex court's appeal and directions about safety of doctors, the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), a major body of RDAs across the country, announced its decision to call off the strike, asking the resident doctors to resume their duty. "We are thankful to all RDAs, media personnel, various medical and non-medical associations and above all, our patients, for their support and understanding," it said in a post on X. The Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), an umbrella body of doctors, also announced their decision to call off the protest. "#FAIMA has decided to call off the strike following positive directions from the #Chief Justice of India. We welcome the acceptance of our prayers for interim protections and the necessary steps to enhance security in hospitals. United, we will continue to fight legally," FAIMA said in a post on X. The decision to call off the strike comes as a major relief to patients who were struggling to get regular medical care due to the closure of outpatient department (OPD) in government hospitals even as emergency services were functioning as usual. In Uttar Pradesh, junior doctors ended their stir. "Resident doctors of Uttar Pradesh are resuming work due to assurances given by Honorable Supreme Court of India," the UP RDA said in a post on X. However, the state doctors' body said their commitment to advocate for justice for the victim and safety of healthcare workers remains steadfast throughout symbolic protest. In Chandigarh too, doctors at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) ended their protest over the Kolkata incident. Following the ending of strike by the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), the PGIMER authorities said it will resume all the elective services with immediate effect. In Rajasthan, Jaipur resident doctors have decided to call off the ongoing strike. Dr Manohar Siyol, president of Jaipur Association of Resident Doctors (JARD), said a meeting held on Thursday evening decided to call off the strike following the Supreme Court's appeal during the hearing in the case. Earlier in the day, a tough-talking apex court termed "extremely disturbing" the Kolkata Police's delay in registering the unnatural death of the woman doctor raped and killed at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. However, the apex court appealed to the doctors protesting over the incident to resume work and directed no coercive action against them. The court said judges and doctors cannot go on a strike since they deal with matters involving life and liberty. "Justice and medicine cannot afford to be stopped. Can we (judges) go and sit outside the Supreme Court now?" the bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud asked. The apex court, while directing the Central and state governments to take immediate measures to ensure the safety of healthcare professionals nationwide, questioned the 14-hour delay in filing the FIR, as well as the reasons behind it, and scrutinised the sequence of events and timing of procedural formalities. While hearing a suo motu case regarding the doctor's unnatural death, the bench, also comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, issued several directives concerning the safety of doctors, the rights of protesters, and the responsibilities of the West Bengal government. Meanwhile, the CBI, tasked by the Calcutta High Court to investigate the case, sought a polygraph test on former RG Kar Medical College principal Sandip Ghosh and four other doctors in connection with the case. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote to PM Narendra Modi demanding stringent central legislation with exemplary punishment for perpetrators of rape. On August 9, the body of the postgraduate trainee doctor was found in the seminar hall of state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. A civic volunteer was arrested in connection with the crime the next day. Later, the Calcutta High Court handed over the case to the CBI. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to join the Global Fintech Fest (GFF) on August 30. The Prime Minister will attend the conference in person, according to three people close to the development. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp The event will also have representation from the countrys top regulators, including Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das and Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chief Madhabi Puri Buch. The GFF is an annual fintech conference, and this year it is scheduled between August 28 and 30. It will host over 800 speakers across more than 350 sessions, expecting a footfall of over 80,000 participants. The three-day event comes at a time when the fintech sector, spanning areas such as digital payments, lending, insurance, and wealth management, continues to expand in the country. RBI Governor Das will address the event on August 28, with Sebi chief Buch joining the event the following day. The event will host fintech startups, banking executives, regulators, and global financial services participants. The conference comes on the back of growth in the number of fintech companies in the country. India has around 10,244 fintech entities, making it the third largest in the world, according to data from the Ministry of Finance. Indias flagship real-time payments system, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), has reached a milestone this year. The payments system, run on the National Payments Corporation of Indias (NPCI) rails, has clocked 55.66 billion transactions worth Rs 80.79 trillion in the current financial year (FY25). In FY24, UPI surpassed 100 billion transactions for the first time, ending the year at 131 billion, compared to 84 billion in FY23. In the first half of 2024, funding to fintech firms was pegged at $795 million, compared to $1.93 billion during the same period last year, according to data from market intelligence platform Tracxn. The allocation of the highly coveted 6 GHz spectrum band in India has hit a roadblock. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has postponed its decision on it amid a growing dispute between telecom operators and technology firms. Until a resolution is reached, the entire 6 GHz band will continue to be used by the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) for satellite purposes, according to a report by the Financial Express. 6 GHz spectrum ideal for 5G and WiFi services The 6 GHz spectrum, which spans frequencies from 5925-7125 MHz, is considered ideal for both 5G and WiFi services due to its capability of providing faster speeds. Telecom operators have been advocating for the spectrum to be allocated to them for the expansion of 5G services. In contrast, technology companies such as Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are pushing for the spectrum to be designated exclusively for WiFi services. The telcos fear that allowing tech companies to utilise this band for WiFi could cannibalise the services they offer. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp DoT holds discussions with govt, telcos, and tech firms To address this growing conflict, the DoT has initiated informal discussions among stakeholders, including government representatives, telecom operators, and tech firms. Reliance Jio has reportedly proposed continuing these discussions to find a middle ground, the report added. Additionally, the DoT has formed three working groups to develop a revised frequency allocation plan, which is expected within the next six months. The outcome will be included in the report prepared by the National Frequency Allocation Plan (NFAP) committee, led by the governments wireless advisor. 6 GHz band could interfere with Isro satellite ops The allocation of the 6 GHz band is particularly contentious due to concerns about potential interference with Isros satellite operations. Experts suggest that while mobile services might interfere with satellites, WiFi, due to its lower power, is unlikely to cause such issues. Isro has also expressed opposition to the allocation of the spectrum for telecom services. Tech vs telcos on 6 GHz band allocation Tech firms argue that if the entire 6 GHz band is not delicensed, India could become isolated in global policy, hinder domestic manufacturing, and slow digital economic growth. Moreover, if the band is allocated to telecom services, it could lead to increased imports from non-trusted sources, posing a national security risk. Meanwhile, telcos claim that allocating the 6 GHz spectrum for WiFi without auction could result in a significant financial loss for the national exchequer. This 6 GHz band is critical for the telecom sector as it is the only mid-band spectrum range where a contiguous bandwidth of 300-400 MHz per telecom service provider is possible, which is vital for meeting the rapidly evolving demands towards 2030. The DoT final decision will likely depend on the outcome of co-existence studies between International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) and satellite services. India has until 2027 to make a final decision on the allocation of the 6 GHz spectrum. Union telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in second advisory committee meeting with telecom operators on Friday asked them to take lead in the development of 6G technology. According to sources, who were present in the meeting, telecom operators reiterated their old demand of easing right of way permits, rationalisation of power tariffs and lowering of levies in the meeting. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp "Had a productive meeting with the Advisory Group of Telecom Service providers. Discussed issues pertaining to quality of services, India's 6G vision and promoting research and development to take our sector to new heights of development," Scindia said on social media platform X. Minister of State for Communications, Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, Telecom Secretary Neeraj Mittal, Digital Communications Commission member (Finance) Manish Sinha and other senior officials from the Department of Telecom were present at the meeting. Reliance Jio Managing Director Pankaj Pawar, Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra, BSNL Chairman and Managing Director Robert J Ravi, Tejas Networks' Chairman of the Board of Directors, N G Subramaniam and industry body COAI Director General S P Kochhar also attended the meeting. Industry sources said issues related to over-the-top players like bringing them under licence regime, levying fair usage charges on big mobile applications was not raised in the meeting. New IPO! Blackstone-owned International Gemological Institute (India) has filed Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) papers with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for an initial public offering (IPO). The company provides certification and accreditation services for natural diamonds, laboratory-grown diamonds, studded jewellery, and coloured stones, as well as educational programs. The promoter of the company is BCP Asia II TopCo, an affiliate of funds managed and/or advised by Blackstone affiliates. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp Axis Capital, Kotak Mahindra Capital, Morgan Stanley India, and SBI Capital Markets are the book-running lead managers for the IGI IPO. With this initial public offering, the company is offering a fresh issue of shares worth up to Rs 1,250 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of Rs 2,750 crore of equity shares with a face value of Rs 2 each. The OFS comprises equity shares sold by the promoter, BCP Asia II TopCo, for up to Rs 2,750 crore. International Gemological Institute proposes to utilise the net proceeds for payment of the purchase consideration for the acquisition of IGI Belgium Group and IGI Netherlands Group from the promoter, and for the general corporate purposes. IGI is one of the worlds largest independent certification and accreditation service providers based on revenue for CY2023, among global peers in diamond, studded jewellery, and coloured stone certifications, with a global market share of approximately 33 per cent based on the number of certifications performed in CY2023, according to the Redseer Report. According to the Redseer Report, India is the worlds largest centre for cutting and polishing diamonds, accounting for approximately 95 per cent of the worlds total polished diamonds by volume in CY2023. IGI is the largest independent certification and accreditation service provider in India, holding approximately a 50 per cent market share in terms of the number of certifications of diamonds, studded jewellery, and coloured stones for CY2023, IGI India said in a release. Ranchi: Jharkhand Congress MLA and cabinet minister Banna Gupta arrives for an INDIA Alliance meeting, at the residence of former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren in Ranchi, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (Photo: PTI) Amid junior doctors' stir demanding security at workplaces, Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta said the state government will soon bring a medical protection bill to the assembly. The Jharkhand government is concerned and sensible about the safety of doctors and healthcare workers, he said. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp Doctors across the country, including those in Jharkhand, have also been protesting against the alleged rape and murder of a woman medic in Kolkata. After the Supreme Court's appeal, junior doctors at the state-run Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi resumed work on Friday as they withdrew their 'pen down' agitation over the killing of the postgraduate trainee doctor. "A medical protection bill will be brought soon in the state to ensure that a stringent law is enacted for the protection of medical professionals," Gupta said. "I have come to know that the agitating doctors have called off their strike and decided to resume work. I, on behalf of the Jharkhand government, assure you that the government will initiate all possible steps for the safety and respect of medical professionals," he said. No amount of condemnation for the incident is enough, the minister said in a tweet on Thursday night without naming R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, where the 31-year-old postgraduate trainee was allegedly raped and murdered. Gupta said he was in contact with the representatives of the Indian Medical Association and other medico organisations and had a meeting with them. Jenny Leonard US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will travel to China next week for meetings aimed at keeping up a dialogue with a key adversary even as tensions remain high over trade and Chinese support for Russian forces fighting in Ukraine. Click here to connect with us on WhatsApp The trip will be Sullivans first to China as President Joe Bidens top national security aide, and will feature meetings with Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The two officials have met face-to-face every few months as part of Bidens push to keep up communication despite the friction between the two sides. A senior US official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, said Sullivan will raise US concerns over Chinas continued backing of Russian President Vladimir Putins forces. The US has not yet accused China of providing direct lethal support to Russia but has instead said Beijing is enabling the war by supporting the Russian defense-industrial base. The official described the trip as part of a regular series of meetings in the time since Biden and President Xi Jinping met last November. At the same time, the relationship is coming even more sharply into focus as the November presidential election approaches, with Kamala Harris and Donald Trump both saying theyll get tougher on China. I will make sure that we lead the world into the future on space and artificial intelligence, Harris told the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night. That America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century and that we strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership. For his part, Trump has threatened across-the-board tariffs against all countries and a 60% duty on imports from China. Sullivans meetings, which are scheduled to run Aug. 27-29, may be the last time he and Wang see each other before the election. It will also be the first time theyve met since Biden announced his exit from the presidential race. Beijing has also long complained about US measures to cut off China from high tech, including semiconductors, and the White Houses efforts to work with allies on security and economic issues. Wang is expected to once again raise those issues. The US official played down the prospect of significant outcomes from the trip, while adding that the US still hopes to work with China in some areas including efforts to stop the flow of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids into the US. 2024 Bloomberg L.P. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital received the bodies, including the remains of a woman and three children, after strikes overnight and into Thursday. An Associated Press reporter at the hospital counted the bodies. A man held the body of a child wrapped in a white shroud as a woman next to him wept, saying: My love, my soul. The Israeli offensive launched in response to Hamas' October 7 attack has killed over 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the local Health Ministry, which does not say how many were militants or civilians. Hamas and other militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7 attack and abducted around 250. Around 110 hostages are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead. Leading chargeback technology platform Chargebacks911 announced today the appointment of payments industry entrepreneur Oliver Rajic to the Board of Directors. In his new role, Rajic will serve as a key advisor to Chargebacks911 and its CEO, Monica Eaton, assisting the company with its aggressive expansion initiatives across APAC, where there is a real need for dispute management and the business is a real force. APAC accounts for 64% of global E-commerce spending, three times greater than North America and five times greater than Europe, but around 5% of revenue is lost each year to payment fraud. Losses from online payment fraud are expected to exceed 200 billion this year in the region. Chargebacks911 has been operating in APAC since 2017 and has a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities in market. Oliver will channel his local knowledge into optimizing the Go-To-Market strategy, diversification, and growing a high-performing team on the ground. This move follows other strategic appointments in the past twelve months, with Guy Harris as Chair and Roger Alexander as Advisor and Board Member. Chargebacks911 has a powerful team of advisors, globally positioned with diverse expertise to support the growing demands from both merchants and Financial Institutions for best-in-class solutions that manage and mitigate the surging landscape of chargebacks and disputes. Monica Eaton will be making further exciting leadership announcements to complete the local-but-global team of advisors who will support Chargebacks911s continued market expansion. The Chargebacks911 platform supports more than 2.5 million merchants and over 3800 connections worldwide, including many of the worlds largest financial institutions. Oliver Rajic, Board Member at Chargebacks911: Chargebacks911 is the undisputed leader in the North American and European markets, and we are on a mission to replicate this success and eliminate disputes across APAC. Merchants, Marketplaces, Payfacs, PSPs and Banks will tremendously benefit from this not only financially, but with increased customer satisfaction. Monica Eaton, Founder and CEO, Chargebacks911: The payments landscape continues to evolve, with e-Commerce and cross-border innovation from the APAC region specifically. As seen in more developed markets, the task of managing post-transaction fraud is too often an afterthought APACs merchants and FIs suffer some of the highest dispute rates globally. Oliver instantly understood the value CB911 brings and is the right leader to help us on our mission to lead in APAC. His track record speaks volumes and we are delighted to have him as part of our winning team. For more information on Chargebacks911 and their Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions, visit www.chargebacks911.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240822730192/en/ SOCIAL News Summary SOCIAL, Indias favourite neighborhood cafe, marks its 10th anniversary, celebrating a decade of communities and connections. For ten years, SOCIAL has been the go-to spot to hangout, beloved by the nations youth for its vibrant atmosphere and unique experiences. Interview: China's strengthened cooperation, exchanges make IPU more relevant, says official Xinhua) 11:21, August 23, 2024 BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- China has intensified its efforts to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and help make the union more relevant, said IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong on Wednesday. Chungong made the remarks during an interview with Xinhua on the sidelines of the 2024 interregional seminar on the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals for parliaments of developing countries in Beijing. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the National People's Congress's affiliation to the IPU. Within the IPU framework, China has contributed greatly to promoting sustainable development goals, countering the scourge of terrorism and violent extremism, and addressing climate change, Chungong said. "China is helping the IPU to be more relevant, which means that the IPU is better able to assist other parliaments in becoming more relevant," he said. In his view, one "exciting" feature of the Chinese model is that it always looks at the system of governance "through the lens of the people." "When we talk about relevance, we are talking about the ability and capacity to deliver on expectations of the people," said Chungong. People in other countries would resonate with the Chinese approach as it aligns with the people's aspirations, said Chungong. Speaking of the ongoing interregional seminar, Chungong said parliamentary leaders and representatives from 32 developing countries "will have the opportunity to witness firsthand how sustainable development is carried out" in China, and explore how China has successfully eradicated poverty in communities across the country. "The National People's Congress is an inclusive legislative body. People from all walks of life and ethnic groups are all represented there. We see this trickling down to the local level," said Chungong. Looking forward, Chungong anticipates that stronger cooperation among legislative bodies worldwide will enhance the ability of countries to address common challenges and allow parliamentary diplomacy to complement traditional forms of diplomacy. Established in 1889, the IPU is one of the oldest and most influential international parliamentary organizations headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. 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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 HARD work and commitment have successfully righted a wrong that had placed Co Carlow among only nine counties in the country without a womens refuge. Last week, that anomaly was corrected with the decision to identify the former Monastery Hostel, Dublin Road, Carlow as the site for a ten-unit womens refuge to be run by Amber Womens Refuge CLG. The Carlow Domestic Abuse Action Network (CDAAN) is an interagency group which works to raise awareness and advocates for services for children and families impacted by domestic violence and abuse in Co Carlow. The network set up a task group facilitated by Tusla in 2023, which worked together to identify and recommend an agency to establish and develop a womens domestic violence refuge for the county. The network is delighted with the announcement that Amber Womens Refuge and the Monastery Hostel site for the refuge has now been agreed. We also wish to thank everyone for their hard work to get to this exciting stage, especially those who sat on the task group, said Mairead Maddock and Esther Pugh of CDAAN. The network now looks forward to the timely development of this much-needed refuge in the county and will eagerly support Amber to ensure that the women and children experiencing violence and abuse in their homes will have the best possible supports and services, they added. Task force The task force included deputy Jennifer Murnane OConnor, Esther Pugh (chair) representing Barnardos, Molly Kirwan from Forward Steps FRC, Lynda Stacey, Bagenalstown FRC, Lisa Morris, Amber Womens Refuge, Mary Ronayne, consultant family therapist, Honoria Gilchrist and Anton Scheele from Carlow Womens Aid, Kathleen Chada from Safe Ireland, Dylan Thomas, Carlow County Development Partnership, Michael Brennan and Brian ODonovan from Carlow County Council, Darina Cross and Anita Clancy from Tusla and Ann Kirwan Finn from Carlow & South Leinster Rape Crisis Centre. CDAAN membership also includes representatives from Children and Young Peoples Services Committee, An Garda Siochana, Focus Ireland Tenancy Support, St Catherine's Traveller Womens Support, Carlow Regional Youth Services and St Catherines Centre. By David Young, PA Prominent Northern Ireland loyalist David Dee Stitt has been refused bail after appearing in court charged with publishing material with the intent of stirring up hatred. Stitt, 53, from Bangor, was arrested at Belfast City Airport after arriving on a flight on Thursday evening. Appearing in the dock of Belfast Magistrates Court on Friday dressed in a grey sweater, Stitt, from Lord Wardens Court, said not guilty after he confirmed that he understood the charge. PSNI detective constable told district judge Steven Keown that he could connect the accused to the single charge of publishing written material which was threatening, abusive or insulting with the intent of stirring up hatred or arousing fear. The charge relates to a single post on Facebook on July 31st where Stitt shared a copy-and-pasted call for protests across Northern Ireland in response to the murder of three young girls in Southport. The court heard that the post urged people to bring the country to a standstill and listed several protest times and venues in Northern Ireland and advised demonstrators to ensure women and children were at the front of the events. It also referred to the Christian west being under siege and claimed that people had one chance to stop the spread of evil Islam. Refusing Stitts bail application, Judge Keown said we have seen over the last number of weeks the consequences of words such as this. The judge said there was no hierarchy of individuals within the community and said there was a fundamental problem with regard to people who viewed some religions as evil. People who hold that view are the ones who are a threat to our society, not the hard-working people from whatever community who increasingly contribute to our society, he added. Dee Stitt was arrested at Belfast City airport (PA) He refused Stitt bail on the grounds of the risk of reoffending and a risk to the public. Earlier in the hearing, Stitts solicitor Gavin Booth from Phoenix Law unsuccessfully challenged the basis upon which police connected his client to the charge. He said Stitt accepted making the post on Facebook but characterised it as a cut-and-paste job with a few words of introduction by his client in which he stated he did not usually post political messages on his account. In relation to the main body of text, the lawyer added: This is a cut-and-paste job, those are not his original words. Mr Booth said his client had no intention of inciting violence and he was only exerting his right to freedom of expression and right to peaceful protest. However, the detective constable said police viewed the contents of the post as a call to arms that encouraged people to take the law into their own hands. Applying for bail, Mr Booth said Stitt had a track record of working positively over the last 25 years with the PSNI, Stormonts Department of Justice and other agencies on conflict resolution work within his community. Defence solicitor Gavin Booth insisted his client was perfect candidate for bail. Photo: PA. The solicitor described him as a positive voice who was involved in work bringing together divided communities, including by participating in educational trips to Auschwitz in Poland. He said that in July, Stitt had worked with police and the St Johns Ambulance at bonfire sites in North Down and had ensured that Irish tricolour flags were removed from loyalist bonfires in the area. Mr Booth added that the immigration protest that took place in Bangor following Stitts post had been entirely peaceful and highlighted that there had been no disorder in the North Down area similar to that witnessed in other parts of Northern Ireland. The solicitor said his clients case was entirely different to those people who had appeared before court accused of rioting and other violent behaviour linked to the recent bouts of disorder. He characterised him as a perfect candidate for bail and insisted any risk police had about him using social media could be managed with a temporary prohibition on him using such platforms. Mr Booth further noted that Stitt had a granddaughter who was due to be born within the next 24 hours and he wished to be with his family for that event. Bail was refused and Stitt was remanded in custody to appear again before a judge on September 20. Police in Northern Ireland have arrested 43 people in connection with the recent disorder, with 34 having been charged to date. Supramax freight rates held at high levels, as demand/supply ratio balanced itself ICR Newsroom By 23 August 2024 By Brannvoll ApS, Denmark The USG Supramax spot freight market remained firm as demand stayed healthy, especially for transatlantic trips. Closer to the end of the month, rates stabilised as the region appeared quite balanced. Despite the demand/supply equilibrium, the sentiment turned somehow uncertain, but rates maintained the achieved levels. Freight rates for transportation of a Supramax-lot of petcoke from Houston to ARA ports with spot laycans are at US$25/t on average. Deals for delivery of 50,000t of petcoke from Houston to Iskenderun with spot laycans are discussed at around US$30/t on average. Shipping costs for delivery of a Supramax-lot of petcoke from USG to EC India are at US$52/t on average. The freight rate decline looks quite probable in the North Atlantic. Gradual increase in a tonnage list in the region may put pressure on freight rates, while positive developments require a more significant upturn in offer of petcoke and grains on all routes. Published under A construction worker was killed Thursday afternoon in a trench collapse in Cleveland. First responders with the Cleveland Police Department and Cleveland Fire Department responded to the intersection of Corporate Drive SW and Industrial Drive SW at 1:15 p.m. on Thursday, in Cleveland on reports of a construction worker buried in a trench. Emergency services with the Cleveland Police and Cleveland Fire, along with Bradley County Fire Department and Bradley County EMS, immediately began rescue efforts on the person trapped. At some point during the rescue attempt, it was determined that the male victim was deceased and the rescue efforts turned into a recovery effort. Cleveland City, Bradley County and Chattanooga City Fire departments were working to recover the body of the individual that is trapped. Erlanger Baroness Hospital and Erlanger East Hospital have received the American Heart Associations Get With The Guidelines - Stroke Gold Plus quality achievement award for their commitment to ensuring stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines. This ultimately leads to more lives saved and reduced disability.Officials said, "Stroke is the No. 5 cause of death and a leading cause of disability in the U.S.A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot or bursts. When that happens, part of the brain cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs, so brain cells die. Early stroke detection and treatment are key to improving survival, minimizing disability and accelerating recovery times."Get With The Guidelines puts the expertise of the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association to work for hospitals nationwide, helping ensure patient care is aligned with the latest research- and evidence-based guidelines. Get With The Guidelines - Stroke is an in-hospital program for improving stroke care by promoting consistent adherence to these guidelines, which can minimize the long-term effects of a stroke and even prevent death."Erlanger is committed to improving patient care by adhering to the latest treatment guidelines, said Justin Gomes, senior director of Neurosciences. Get With The Guidelines makes it easier for our teams to put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis, which studies show can help patients recover better. The end goal is to ensure more people in Chattanooga can experience longer, healthier lives.Each year, program participants qualify for the award by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, Get With The Guidelines participants also educate patients to help them manage their health and recovery at home.We are incredibly pleased to recognize Erlanger Baroness Hospital and Erlanger East Hospital for their commitment to caring for patients with stroke, said Steven Messe, M.D., volunteer chairperson of the American Heart Association Stroke System of Care Advisory Group and professor of neurology and director of fellowships of neurology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Participation in Get With The Guidelines is associated with improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates a win for health care systems, families and communities.Erlanger Baroness Hospital also received the American Heart Associations Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Elite Plus award and Erlanger East Hospital received the American Heart Associations Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll award. To qualify for this recognition, hospitals must meet specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patients arrival at the hospital and treatment with thrombolytic therapy.In addition, Erlanger Baroness Hospital received the American Heart Associations Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll Advanced Therapy award by meeting specific criteria that reduce the time between an eligible patients arrival at the hospital and treatment to remove the clot causing the stroke.Erlanger Baroness Hospital and Erlanger East Hospital also received the American Heart Associations Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award. Target: Type 2 Diabetes aims to ensure patients with Type 2 diabetes, who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to stroke. Alone, so deep in the woods that no one could hear his cries for help, young Michael Bardas, a self-proclaimed adrenaline-junky edged to the cliff face.His pulse raced, and his breathing quickened. He sprang forward and sped toward the murky, churning water below. Luckily for Bardas, he survived to tell the tale and grew up to be a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army.These days, 1st Lt. Michael Bardas, the safety officer in charge of the 16th Special Troops Battalion has safety in the front of his mind all day every day.Recently, his dedication to the 16th STB safety program resulted in his being awarded the U.S. Army Europe and Africa Commands Individual Award of Excellence in Safety for junior officers.When I was younger, I was a foolish live-free, die-hard teenager and just didnt think about the safety aspect of some of the things I did, said 1st Lt. Bardas. I did all sorts of stupid things that could have gotten me hurt from cliff jumping to off-roading full speed in the National Forest. To make things worse, I was known for disappearing into the wilderness alone and not letting anyone know where I was going. As I got more experience in life, I learned the importance of safety and how having a safe workplace can make a huge difference in soldier and employee morale and mission readiness.In May 2023, 1st Lt. Bardas was given the reigns for the battalions safety program. His battalion commander, Lt. Col. Hardy Johnson, sat him down and explained that safety was a primary battalion goal. Soon after 1st Lt. Bardas assumed the position, Lt. Col. Johnson empowered him with a message to the battalion staff. He told everyone that safety was a priority and that when I have safety input, I am speaking on his behalf. Because the commander had my back, it made a huge difference in my ability to keep soldiers safe, said 1st Lt. Bardas. My commander now, Lt. Col. Glosson, continues to support my efforts.1st Lt. Bardas credits his passion for safety to multiple factors. I look back at my childhood and I am grateful nothing unfortunate happened. I also thank and love my wife for coming to me one day when I was shooting on our property in Colorado, and I hadnt fully cleared an area for target practice. She reminded me and continues to remind me, I am a husband and a father, and my family needs me to stay safe. That day stands out as pivotal in the way I think about safety. So, she is the original source of my passion, 1st Lt. Bardas said.1st Lt. Bardas began his career as an enlisted soldier, having held multiple separate military occupation specialties in the engineer corps before leaving the Army to earn his degree and change his stripes for a gold lieutenant bar. During his time as a combat engineer and a horizontal construction engineer, 1st Lt. Bardas witnessed incidents that likely could have been avoided. I draw from the knowledge of my past enlisted days where I saw soldiers get hurt. Now I am in a position to create and run a program that avoids the mistakes I have seen in the past. I want all of my soldiers to make it home to their families at the end of the day, he said.Since his role began as the battalion safety officer, 1st Lt. Bardas has implemented several new programs for the battalion, like an inspection calendar and the hearing conservation program. When 1st Lt. Bardas took on his current role, the battalion did not have any certified fire safety personnel in the work and living spaces.I built our fire safety and prevention program. We have a partnership with the Baumholder Fire Department. They support us with training spaces throughout the year to give our personnel training. All of our barracks managers are trained personnel who know how to prevent fires and what to do in case of a fire, said 1st Lt. Bardas.In many Army units, tragedy strikes without warning due to the untimely deaths of servicemembers who crash their motorcycles.According to an Army safety report (curbing motorcycle fatalities in 2024) on safety.army.mil, FY23 was the worst year in a decade for fatal PMV-2 (motorcycle) mishaps. The Army saw 38 soldiers die in motorcycle mishaps in FY23, which is well above the five-year average from FY18-22 of 24 fatalities a year.Motorcycle safety is a hot topic. I was talking to some of our riders in the battalion and they were explained that they had the advanced rider certifications. From there, we created a motorcycle mentorship program, which resulted in a local community partnership with the local Baumholder Motorcycle Club, said 1st Lt. Bardas. We formed the partnership and ended up doing a familiarization ride between our battalion servicemembers and locals from the motorcycle club.Future plans for the motorcycle mentorship program are to merge with other battalions within the 21st Theater Sustainment Command and grow the program, according to 1st Lt. Bardas.My goal is to continue to build on the successes and best practices we have implemented as a battalion. Honestly, I just legitimately care about people getting home safely. I wouldnt want to have someone tell my family that dads not coming home, 1st Lt. Bardas said.The 21st TSC places heavy emphasis on empowering leaders to make safety corrections and run thorough safety programs.We are all proud of the work that people like Lieutenant Bardas is doing. We have a strong cadre of professionals throughout the 21st TSC who care about unit and individual safety. This USAREUR-AF safety award is just one indicator of his passion and motivation, said John Rice, the 21st TSC safety director. Few things trigger louder or more distressing alarm bells among freshwater biologists than watching a waterway dry up during a severe, prolonged drought. Thats especially true when the disappearing stream is home to one of Americas most-imperiled fish. In late July, reports of dramatically withered streams atop Walden Ridge north of Chattanooga spurred an emergency rescue operation to prevent the extinction of the federally endangered Laurel Dace, which scientists consider to be among the 10 most-at-risk fish in North America. This effort was carried out by representatives from the Tennessee Aquarium, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the University of Georgias River Basin Center in coordination with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. In all, 105 adult Laurel Dace were removed from dangerously dry streams and successfully relocated to the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute (TNACI) near downtown Chattanooga. All but one of the collected fish survived the relocation and are now thriving in temporary human care, where they will remain until conditions in their few native streams are sufficiently improved for them to be returned safely. The Laurel Dace are doing great, said Abbey Holsopple, the Aquariums recovery biologist. They almost seem relieved to have fresh, clean water and plentiful food sources, which they weren't getting in the wild during the drought. Even if its in the species best interest, any decision by wildlife managers and biologists to remove an animal especially one as endangered as the Laurel Dace from its home is not entered into lightly. Relocation carries inherent dangers, from injuries and stress during transport to adverse reactions to different foods, temperature, or water chemistry while in human care. On the other hand, drought conditions can lead to higher water temperatures, lower oxygen levels, reduced access to food and crowded living conditions, all of which are daunting challenges for fish to overcome. The fish in the stream can get trapped into these pools with nowhere to go, Ms. Holsopple said. Imagine if you were at a concert and you're surrounded by people on every side of you. You're rubbing up against each other. It's hot; it's uncomfortable. Spending every single day of your life with that many people around you just increases the stress and can lead to issues like disease. Weighing the risks of removing Laurel Dace against the danger of letting them ride out the drought, the Aquarium and its partners decided the species needed their help more than it needed to be left alone. When you're a conservation biologist, you're working with these critically endangered species, which is kind of like having a patient who's in the ICU, said Dr. Anna George, the Aquariums vice president of conservation science and education. What really weighed heavily on us was knowing that, given how critically endangered the Laurel Dace is, inaction could have led to the permanent extinction of this species. With its golden-striped flanks, red belly, highlighter yellow fins, and crimson lips, the Laurel Dace is like a living statement piece for the under-celebrated beauty of freshwater fish. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service first identified the Laurel Dace as a species potentially in need of protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in the early 2000s. It posted notice that it was elevating the Laurel Dace to candidate status for listing in 2007. In 2011, the Laurel Daces endangered listing was finalized, and the Service has been monitoring the remaining populations along with the Aquarium and other partners ever since. As recently as 2012, Laurel Dace were still found in five streams flowing along Walden Ridge, but 12 years of rampant habitat degradation have reduced the species range to two of these waterways. The rescue took place in one of these last refuges, but the drought had reduced it from a normally idyllic mountain stream to a desiccated ghost of itself. The few remaining pools were little more than glorified puddles, the little water that remained rarely deep enough even to moisten the rescuers socks. What fish they held, more often than not the similar-looking Western Black-nose Dace, swam bunched together, drought-stranded in conditions that were dismally shallow and often sediment-choked. The Endangered Species Act normally prohibits the removal of federally endangered animals from the wild, but the Aquarium is permitted to do so as part of its participation in Laurel Daces recovery efforts. This latest rescue called for the relocation of more individuals than allowed under that permit, but U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists are empowered to make exemptions in dire cases to prevent damage to a species. That these fish were safely collected within a couple of hours and overwhelmingly survived relocation to TNACI speaks to the abundance of preparation made on the front end and the expertise of those involved, says U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Conservation Delivery Coordinator Geoff Call. The collections were done in the safest way possible for the fish, which gave me confidence that we would get the best outcome that could be hoped for, he said. The fact that we ended up losing only one out of 105 fish is a testament to the capabilities of the staff from the Aquarium who came and worked with the Service to do the rescue. Ultimately, the goal of the rescue is not to house the Laurel Dace permanently in human care but to offer temporary sanctuary to ensure their survival during the drought. How long this foster care arrangement lasts is largely dependent on the weather. Despite scattered precipitation events throughout Southeast Tennessee in the last few weeks, substantial rain hasnt fallen on Walden Ridge since early June. With no rain in the long-range forecast, drought conditions may worsen in weeks to come and could linger until the return of wetter weather in the late fall or early winter. Scientists and representatives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are conducting regular site visits to the streams on Walden Ridge to keep an eye on conditions in case waterways improve faster than anticipated. Whatever the timeline for the Laurel Daces return to the wild, their homecoming will be a high-water mark for the biologists who are so invested in the species survival, Ms. Holsopple says. Days like the day when we get to bring the Laurel Dace back to the stream are the ones that keep us going, she says. We get to feel the success of actually protecting this fish from something that could have caused its extinction and feel the joy that that comes from saving them for the future. Previous Next The U.S. Department of the Interior-National Park Service (NPS) has awarded a Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) grant to Walker County to support the third phase of Walker Rocks Park. Georgias Department of Natural Resources (DNR) recommended Walker Countys project for approval citing its lasting impact on the community and Walker Countys commitment to expand recreational opportunities. Im grateful Georgia DNR and NPS want to partner with us to enhance outdoor recreational experiences in our community, said Shannon Whitfield, Chair, Walker County Board of Commissioners. Expanding the footprint of Walker Rocks Park will advance our vision of transforming the Civic Center campus into a vibrant center of activity for residents and visitors. The next phase of Walker Rocks Park will include an expansion of the new inclusive playground that opened this summer, as well as two pickleball courts. When we designed the first two phases of the playground, we knew some major components were missing, said Joe Legge, public relations director, Walker County. This next phase will include a zip track, swings with adaptive seating, and additional inclusive play features. We have a conceptual design, but will be asking the community for input on some of the opportunities available to enhance our National Demonstration Site for inclusive play. LWCF grants are issued on a biannual basis and require a 50% local match. 72 proposals from cities and counties across the state of Georgia were submitted last year. Walker County was one of just 27 projects in Georgia that advanced to the National Park Service for funding consideration. The estimated cost of the project is $566,000. Walker County hopes to begin construction on the playground expansion in early 2025, with the pickleball courts to follow soon after. The August meeting of the board of directors of the Tennessee Federation of Republican Women convened on Aug. 10 at Hillwood Country Club to conduct the final business meeting of the year.Officials said, "Reports from the executive committee as well as the standing chairs were heard. Much information was given through all that was shared. The meeting was adjourned and turned over for the Iris Fund Silent Auction."In November 1997, the TNFRW board of directors established a Political Action Committee (PAC) known as the Barbara McAndrew Iris Fund to provide assistance to Republican candidates who are seeking election to the Tennessee General Assembly.The guest speaker for the Iris Fund event was Beth Halteman Harwell who is a member of the board of directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority, the former speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives and former chair of the Tennessee Republican Party."Beth spoke to us about the rich heritage we have because of strong Tennessee women, ranging from Sarah Polk to Pat Summitt," officials said. "We were reminded that 'leadership is about action not position.'" The Lee University School of Music will present Dr. Muen Vanessa Wei, piano, in a faculty recital on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Squires Recital Hall. The recital, titled Hammerklavier, is the fourth concert in Dr. Weis Complete Beethovens Piano Sonata Concert Series, which showcases all 32 of Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonatas over six semesters. The performance will feature Sonatas Op. 106 Hammerklavier; Op. 49, No. 1 and 2; and Op. 90. The Hammerklavier Sonata was considered the Mount Everest of piano repertoire, said Dr. Wei. It includes the longest yet the most beautiful slow movement and a titanic fugue in the last movement. Dr. Wei joined Lees School of Music in 2021 as an assistant professor of piano and teaches courses such as applied piano, collaborative piano, and chamber music. Prior to Lee, she served as a guest professor at China West Normal University and piano faculty at New Tampa Piano and Pedagogy Academy. She has collaborated with many great musicians including Lynn Harrell, Ian Hobson, Peter Lloyd, and Joel Smirnoff. Dr. Wei also has a debut album titled Im 3/4 Takt that was considered one of Centaurs finest releases to date by Fanfare. Dr. Wei earned a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a Master of Music from the Cleveland Institute of Music, and a Bachelor of Music from the China Conservatory of Music. The recital is free, non-ticketed, and open to the public. Livestream viewing will be available at leeu.live. Squires Recital Hall is located in Lees Humanities Building on Paul Conn Parkway. For more information about the concert, contact the Lee University School of Music at music@leeuniversity.edu or call 614-8240. Researchers from Empa, the University of Bristol and the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) have investigated the emissions of the potent greenhouse gas HFC-23 from the production of Teflon and coolants. Their study shows: Abatement measures work but are not being implemented everywhere. The measurements were carried out on the 213-meter-high mast of the Dutch Cabauw measuring station, operated by the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI). ICOS RI / Tom Oudijk, Sander Karsen, Dennis Manda. Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are potent greenhouse gases (GHGs). The most potent of these compounds is trifluoromethane, also known as HFC-23. One kilogram of HFC-23 in the atmosphere contributes as much to the greenhouse effect as 12,000 kilograms of CO. It takes around 200 years for the gas to break down in the atmosphere. For this reason, more than 150 countries have committed to significantly reducing their emissions of HFC-23 as part of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol. The main source of HFC-23 is the industrial production of certain coolants and of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), better known as Teflon. HFC-23 is a by-product of the synthesis of a precursor to Teflon. Since 2020, all Teflon manufacturers are obligated to destroy the climate-damaging gas. According to the reports of the individual countries, this is happening: On paper, global emissions of HFC-23 for the year 2020 were only 2,000 tons. The actual global emissions, which have been determined in numerous studies, show a different picture: In 2020 alone, around 16,000 tons of the GHG were released into the atmosphere. Accurate measurements thanks to tracer gas Why this discrepancy? To answer this question, researchers from Empa, the University of Bristol and the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) took a close look at HFC-23 emissions from a Teflon factory in the Netherlands. They have just published their latest findings in the journal Nature. In order to record the factory's emissions as comprehensively and accurately as possible, the researchers used a novel method. They released a tracer gas right next to the factory: a non-toxic gas that does not occur in the atmosphere and decomposes within just a few weeks. At a distance of around 25 kilometers, they measured the concentrations of HFC-23 and other by-products of Teflon manufacture and also the concentration of the tracer. "Since we knew exactly how much tracer we had released and how much of it arrived at the measuring point, we were able to calculate the emissions of HFC-23 and other gases," says first author Dominique Rust, who worked on the project as part of her doctorate at Empa. The factory utilizes abatement measures to curb its HFC-23 emissions; the gas is burned off before it can escape. But the new study shows: "The emissions we measured were higher than the ones the factory reported", explains Empa researcher Martin Vollmer. "However, the amount emitted is still low, showing that the abatement measures work well." Co-author Kieran Stanley from the University of Bristol agrees: "These results are really encouraging. They show that abatement measures for plants producing fluoropolymers like Teflon can significantly reduce emissions of this highly potent GHG." And Empa researcher Stefan Reimann adds: "If all factories had emissions similar to the one we measured, we could prevent global HFC-23 emissions corresponding to almost 20% of CO emissions from global air traffic." Verification and compliance So if the abatement measures are effective, how can the high readings in the atmosphere be explained? "We must assume that the measures reported by the countries do not correspond to reality everywhere," says Martin Vollmer. The authors of the study call on countries to have their Teflon factories independently audited. "Such independent verification of GHG emissions from the production of fluoropolymers and coolants are needed to help close the gaps in our understanding of emission sources and check that countries are fully compliant under different international climate and environment agreements," adds Stanley. "The collaboration with the Teflon manufacturer and the Dutch authorities was key to the success of our study," says Rust, who is now a research associate at the University of Bristol. Illustration by Mallory Rentsch Tlapek / Source Images: Getty A few years ago, a widow approached a church in Uganda to ask for help. After discussing her situation, the church council recommended they give her food. The pastor, however, encouraged the leaders to first find out about her family situation. After speaking with her relatives, the council discovered that her children were well off, but refused to take care of the widow because of a family argument. So the pastor organized a reconciliation meeting. The children forgave their mother and decided to take care of her again. If the church had rushed in to help without considering her familys responsibility, the widow may have kept coming back to the church for ongoing support, and the family may never have been at peace. Sign up for CT Pastors Each weekly CT Pastors issue equips you with the best wisdom and practical tools for church ministry. 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. As a missionary in Uganda, stories like this have deeply influenced my approach to helping those in need around me. I often struggle with these questions: With requests for money coming every day, who should I give money to? When is it okay to say no? One obvious guiding priority is to give financially where there is the most need. To this, we all agree. But our world is increasingly interconnected. I can simply click a button to give financially to help people almost anywhere. If the only guiding principle is the need, I would get stuck in the paralysis of indecision. But Scripture takes me beyond simply looking at the greatest needs to also seeing that God has given me greater responsibilities to help certain people. I propose looking at financial giving through a concept I call circles of priority. That is, when it comes to financial generosity, I should prioritize the people and communities closest to me. I believe the New Testament reveals that my first concern should be to take care of my family or those I am relationally close to. As Paul writes in 1 Timothy 5:8, Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. Graph by Christianity Today Circles of Priority Next, in Galatians 6:10, I learn that I am also to prioritize those who I am spiritually close to. Here, Paul writes, Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers, affirming that, while I need to love all people, I have a special responsibility to help my brothers and sisters in Christ. Finally, consider the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:2537. In this passage, three individuals see a man beaten up on the side of the road. The surprise is that the priest and the Levite do not stop to help, but the Samaritan does. Loving my neighbor does not mean loving only those people who are like me. The Samaritan is doing exactly what all people should do, helping the person he sees physically suffering right in front of him. Thus, there is also a priority of caring for people I am geographically proximate to, people I meet in my day-to-day life. All Christians around the world should prioritize helping those relationally, spiritually, or geographically close to them, in addition to the clear priority of helping those with the greatest needs. We have less responsibility the farther out the circles go. But as we have time and resources, we can, and indeed must, try to help people on the outer circles as well. For example, in the New Testament, Paul urges the churches to voluntarily raise money for the needy Christians far away in Jerusalem (1 Cor. 16:1-4). The circles of priority have guided me to prioritize helping our friends, neighbors, and our local church while still occasionally helping people with dire needs far away from Uganda through giving to international organizations. This strategy has relieved me of a great burden. I am not tormented by guilt over the other 47 million Ugandans I am not helping. I am not God. I do not have unlimited resources or time. Rather, I can help with joy and generosity, knowing that God uses each one of us in small ways to together make a big impact. For instance, when a person I have never met calls and says, Pastor, please, I need you to pay for my childrens school fees, I usually say no, because of my limitations. Per the circles of priority principles, I want to prioritize giving in the context of close relationship, which allows me to understand the persons real needs and so I can walk with them over a long period of time, giving periodically and encouraging them as they make changes. This doesnt stop me from giving money to organizations working with the poor, because many organizations also prioritize long-term relationships. The circles also guide church ministry. Take the example of Covenant Reformed Church in Soroti, Uganda. This church receives about $3 a week in offerings and about $1 a week for their charity basket, which they use to help materially poor people in their church or people with disabilities. This church shouldnt feel guilty that they are not helping orphans in other countries. God is using them to care for the people close to them. A wealthy American church can probably help people in their own church while also financially supporting organizations who help the poor overseas. At the same time, this principle can also correct a church that has become focused only on giving to people in other countries while largely ignoring materially poor people who live in the same city or people struggling in their own congregation. Following the circles does not take away all hard decision-making. Sometimes I will need to refrain from addressing lesser needs in my own family or community in order to help people far away in life-and-death situations. It takes wisdom to discern when a great need trumps relational, spiritual, or geographical proximity. In following the circles of priority, care should be taken not to abuse them. It is easy for affluent Christians to justify to ourselves that we are doing enough because we are focusing on caring for the needs of our inner circlesour families, our local church, and our community. But remember, Jesus said in Luke 12:48, From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. For those of us from exorbitantly rich nations, we are more than able to give generously to help those in extreme poverty around the world while also taking care of people in our inner circles. Its also possible for affluent Christians to abuse the circles by controlling who is allowed to be in our inner circles. For instance, we can move to upscale neighborhoods where we wont end up bumping into materially poor neighbors or take driving routes to work that will bypass where people are begging. We can choose to attend a local church that is full of materially rich Christians who make us feel comfortable in our wealth. Many of us wealthier Christians should consider how we can bring materially poor people into our closer circles, or how we can more intentionally choose which community we will live in and which church we will belong to. The circles of priority not only guide us in discerning who to help but how. I should offer assistance in a way that will not destroy the responsibility, stewardship, or generosity of others. I should step in and offer help when the person in need is not able to be helped adequately by his or her closest circles. This is what the Ugandan pastor did in finding out first if the widows family was willing to care for her. In a similar way, this principle also applies to the ministries of churches and organizations as they strive to alleviate poverty. They must consider the circles of the individual or community they want to help. In Eastern Uganda, people from the Karamoja region used to violently raid and steal cattle from the Iteso tribe. Thankfully, peace was finally achieved after many years of government and church initiatives. Soon after, there was a famine in Karamoja. Some of the Iteso churches worked together to bring a truckload of food to Karamoja to show their forgiveness and love. However, when they arrived, they were shocked to discover that the United States had already sent many tons of relief food. The local Ugandan churchs efforts became redundant and unnecessary, leaving these Christians incredibly disheartened. While the Americans may have genuinely intended to help, they did not consider what the people closest to the area might have been able to do first. They unintentionally stole the blessing of giving from the Ugandan church and undermined this opportunity for furthering reconciliation between the two tribes. Organizations should be careful to allow the circles that are closest to the individual or community that needs help to be the first ones to help. Most of the time, the people closest to the situation are the ones who know the most about which interventions will be appropriate. But an additional benefit of promoting the responsibility of a persons closer circles is the improved capacity and stewardship of institutions in these circlesfamilies, churches, schools, local organizations, and government structures. This will produce long-lasting impact in a community. In my observation as a missionary working in Africa, ignoring this principle is one of the most common mistakes that churches and international organizations make. The result is dependency. For example, consider how some organizations may rush to create an orphanage in a community without first considering whether or not the orphans relatives may be able to adopt the children and care for them with additional financial support. Or consider child sponsorship programs in which children have their school fees completely covered, in addition to receiving gifts like clothing or toothpaste. The result is that it is not uncommon in Uganda to hear parents come to an organization sponsoring their child and say, Your child is sick, you need to treat your child. Instead, help should be given in a way that will enrich the parents responsibility of sending their own children to school. It would be better to help the parents improve their jobs and income earnings so that they can pay the fees themselvesor to first find out what little the parents are able to pay, in what way their local churches are also willing to help, and then to supplement their efforts. If this process results in the organization giving less money to each family, then they can use the extra funds to support an even greater number of families in even more communities. Its not about giving or helping less. Its about practicing wisdom in our generosity. Before helping an individual or community, always begin by listening. What is the local government doing to respond to the need? Are other churches looking to offer help to the same people? Build upon the efforts of local institutions by partnering with them, rather than replacing them in their God-given roles. There is joy and blessing in giving; we should not keep all the blessing to ourselves! To close, reflect on this story out of Niger. In 2010, nearly half of the population of the West African country struggled with food insecurity. An international Christian organization donated grain and worked with a local Christian group to sell that grain to people in need in several communities at a discounted price. In the past, the international organization had provided grain to individuals with disabilities or chronic illnesses. But this time, the international staff challenged the local group to consider raising funds locally from their own churches to purchase the grain that would then be distributed freely. At first, the group members were skeptical, not imagining that there was anything the poor churches could do on their own to help others. But the churches gave generously and were able to purchase grain for 98 people who had the most need in those communities. In the end, the local group thanked the organization for encouraging their churches to participate in the giving. It was such a privilege to help, to know that we werent just distributing somebody elses gift but it was from our own pockets and from our own hearts, said one community member. Everyone in the village knew that it came from us. Anthony Sytsma works for Resonate Global Mission in Uganda, where he mentors and teaches pastors and facilitates Helping Without Hurting in Africa. Russell, Mike, and Clarissa are joined by David Zahl (Mockingbird Ministries) to talk about the Democratic National Conventionwhat happened and what opponents and those on the outside are saying about the Harris-Walz ticket, and what Christians who feel homeless can do about political involvement. Then Katelyn Beaty joins us to explore the trad-wife social media movement and why both men and women deserve something better. GO DEEPER WITH THE BULLETIN: Follow the show in your podcast app of choice. Find us on Youtube. Rate and review the show in your podcast app of choice. Leave a comment in Spotify with your feedback on the discussionwe may even respond! TODAYS GUESTS: Sign up for CT Pastors Each weekly CT Pastors issue equips you with the best wisdom and practical tools for church ministry. 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. David Zahl is the director of Mockingbird Ministries and editor in chief of the Mockingbird website. Born in New York City and brought up elsewhere, David graduated from Georgetown University in 2001 and then worked for several years as a youth minister in New England. In 2007, he founded Mockingbird in NYC. Today, David and his wife, Cate, reside in Charlottesville, Virginia, with their three boys, where David also serves on the staff of Christ Episcopal Church. He is the author of A Mess of Help: From the Crucified Soul of Rock N Roll and coauthor of Law and Gospel: A Theology for Sinners (and Saints). His most recent book, Seculosity: How Career, Parenting, Technology, Food, Politics, and Romance Became Our New Religion and What To Do About It, appeared in 2019 from Fortress Press. Katelyn Beaty is a writer, journalist, editor, and keen observer of trends in the American church. She has written for The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Religion News Service, Religion & Politics, and The Atlantic and has commented on faith and culture for CNN, ABC, NPR, the Associated Press, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. She also cohosts the Saved by the City podcast (Religion News Service). Beaty previously served as print managing editor at Christianity Today and is the author of A Womans Place: A Christian Vision for Your Calling in the Office, the Home, and the World. ABOUT THE BULLETIN: The Bulletin is a weekly (and sometimes more!) current events show from Christianity Today hosted and moderated by Clarissa Moll, with senior commentary from Russell Moore (Christianity Todays editor in chief) and Mike Cosper (director, CT Media). Each week, the show explores current events and breaking news and shares a Christian perspective on issues that are shaping our world. We also offer special one-on-one conversations with writers, artists, and thought leaders whose impact on the world brings important significance to a Christian worldview, like Bono, Harrison Scott Key, Frank Bruni, and more. The Bulletin is a production of Christianity Today Producer: Clarissa Moll Associate Producer: Leslie Thompson Editing and Mix: TJ Hester Music: Dan Phelps Executive Producers: Erik Petrik and Mike Cosper Senior Producer: Matt Stevens Home News Arkansas Supreme Court rejects ballot initiative to enshrine abortion as constitutional right The Arkansas Supreme Court has narrowly rejected a pro-choice ballot initiative to enshrine abortion under certain circumstances as a state constitutional right. In a decision released Thursday, the court ruled 4-3 against a petition by Arkansans for Limited Government for a referendum on the November ballot. The issue is whether the organization has collected enough signatures from certified canvassers. Justice Rhonda Wood authored the majority opinion, concluding that "the petitioners failed to comply with the statutory filing requirements for paid canvassers." 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 "That statute was inapplicable to volunteer canvassers. As such, we ordered [Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston] to count the signatures from volunteer canvassers, but we do not order him to count the signatures from paid canvassers," Wood wrote. "Because the number of the initial count of signatures fails to meet the facial validity threshold required by law, we deny further relief." The justice wrote that Thurston "correctly refused" to count the signatures from paid canvassers because the sponsor "failed to file the paid canvasser training certification" as required by law. Justice Karen Baker wrote one of the dissenting opinions, believing that "the majority has reconfigured the relevant statute in order to cater the initiative process to the preference of the respondent while this process is the first power reserved for the people." "The majority deliberately bypassed the issue concerning who has the authority to sign the certification even in light of the allegations of disparate treatment that have been made regarding the respondent's treatment of three initiative petitions the current petition and two others in circulation during this election cycle," Baker continued. "Even a cursory review of how the present ballot initiative has progressed since its inception demonstrates that both the respondent and the majority have treated it differently for the sole purpose of preventing the people from voting on this issue." ALG released a statement arguing that the ruling silences "more than 102,000 voters who exercised their right to direct democracy." "Despite this setback, our fight is not over. We remain committed to ensuring that Arkansas women have access to safe healthcare and the autonomy to make decisions about their bodies without government interference," the group stated. "This fight has ignited a movement among Arkansas women. We are outraged, we will not back down, and we will remember this in November." Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, a Republican, called the decision a "win for the rule of law in Arkansas and for those who have followed the rules for years to participate in the state's ballot initiative process." "Changing the Arkansas Constitution involves a rigorous process requiring strict adherence to the law," Griffin said in a statement. "The Arkansas Supreme Court confirmed today that the abortion advocates failed to follow the law that other ballot committees had successfully followed for over a decade since Governor Mike Beebe signed the law governing paid canvassers in 2013." ALG campaigned to include the proposed state constitutional amendment to the November ballot that would, among other things, prevent the state from restricting abortions up to 18 weeks into a pregnancy. After the amendment language was rejected twice in January, ALG got the proposal certified, provided that the group could get enough signatures from Arkansans. As part of these efforts, the organization received over 100,000 signatures, well above the minimum 90,704 needed. However, Thurston rejected ALG's proposed amendment in July, arguing that the group didn't submit a statement identifying all of their paid canvassers by name and a signed statement indicating the sponsor explained to paid canvassers the state law requirements for obtaining signatures. Home News Brian, Bobbie Houston say new ministry Jesus Followers in desperate need of production studio Hillsong Church founders Brian and Bobbie Houston made good on an earlier announcement that they would make a comeback in 2024, unveiling their new Jesus Followers online ministry, which they say is now in "desperate" need of a television production studio. "This is going to be a faith ministry, and I'm really believing God will give us a big powerful group of partners who will stand with us in the building of Jesus Followers," Brian Houston said in a recent broadcast from Motor City Church in Detroit, Michigan. "Because, like anything, we're building a new ministry, we're building a new church, and frankly we're starting with nothing, and we've got desperate needs." 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 "Right now we're on the other side of the country from where Bobbie and I are based at the moment, but we can't do that every single time," he continued. "We're believing God for a studio, and that comes with the need for not only television cameras but production crew, people to operate those cameras and people to work with us in production. It's a faith venture, and I believe as people partner and give, that you can help us make a difference." The 70-year-old Houston founded the Hillsong Evangelical megachurch network in 1983 and formally resigned as Hillsong's global senior pastor in March 2022 after revelations that two women made serious complaints of misconduct against him in the last 10 years. Houston told his viewers that he and his wife are "pioneers" who are more than able to start something new again, and they know what it takes to build something new. "We genuinely are Jesus followers, and well, we've pioneered before. Before I was 30 years of age, Bobbie and I had already pioneered six churches, and at least five of them are still thriving all these years now," Houston said. "We might not start with millions of people. I'd be praising God if we did, or hundreds of thousands of people, but if there's 10 of you, if there's 20 of you, that's called pioneering, and you build a church one person, one family at a time." Houston cast a vision of building "connect groups" of people online worldwide for his ministry through Zoom. He also plans to eventually have in-person meetings with the various groups from time to time. He urged people to sign up as volunteers for his ministry. "We already have had a zoom with volunteers and just really creating and building a volunteer basin you could easily become a part of that. We would love that," Houston said. Houston said he is contemplating online leadership training as well. "For 40 years, we had a staff meeting or leadership meeting every single week. So I can see us doing that through Zoom, and we really want to be building connect groups, where different communities and groups will meet in various places whether it's geographical or otherwise and we can do all of that on Zoom meetings," he noted. The Houstons first announced their plans to return to ministry with an online operation last November. That announcement came about two months after Houston's daughter Laura Toganivalu and her husband, Peter, who resigned earlier in 2023 as global pastors of Hillsong's youth ministry, Hillsong Young & Free, also announced the launch of a new church. Brian Houston initially stepped down from the Hillsong's boards in September 2021 as he faced criminal charges related to allegations he concealed sex abuse committed by his father decades earlier after he heard about it in 1999. Hillsong Church announced in January 2022 that Houston was stepping down from his role at the church's helm for all of 2022. Houston denied any wrongdoing, and last August, an Australian court found him not guilty of the charges. Four months before the acquittal, Houston pled guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood alcohol content of .08% or more. He was also sentenced to three years on probation, a $140 fine and other penalties. In his message at Motor City Church, Houston described the case that was mounted against him in Australia as a political attack on his character that failed. "I had politicians who were on a mission and painting a false narrative. The media, of course, documentaries, all sorts of people, but the actual evidence pointed to something entirely different than the narrative that was out there," he said. "Ultimately, the magistrate, he said I find this the exact opposite of a cover-up and he called me not guilty. It was a day of victory. It was a day of relief. We conquered the lies and the opposition that had come against us." Home News Tim Allen surprised after deep read of the Bible: 'Not at all what I was expecting' Famed actor Tim Allen, who many will recognize today as the star of the sitcom "Last Man Standing," said he is taking the time to thoroughly read the Bible from the Old Testament to the New Testament for the first time, saying the journey is not what he expected. The 71-year-old comedian and voice of Buzz Lightyear in "Toy Story" has been outspoken about his Christian faith throughout most of his career. But in a Tuesday X post, the television star shared that he has almost finished reading the Old Testament in the Jerusalem Bible, a Roman Catholic translation. "Never took the time in all my years to ever read and really read the Bible," Allen wrote. "Currently almost through the Jerusalem Bible Old Testament and almost done with the Prophets. Next up to New Testament. So far, amazing and not at all what I was expecting." 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 Despite his career in comedy and starring in lighthearted sitcoms like "Home Improvement," the actor has been transparent about some of his life struggles. When Allen was 11, his father was killed by a drunk driver. In a 2011 interview with Elizabeth Vargas of ABC's "20/20," Allen said that in his time of grief, he asked himself whether he could have prevented his father's death. The actor confessed there was a period in his life when he attended church, but he "didn't like the idea of God" and was "constantly a cynic." Allen's life took a dark turn in 1978 when he was arrested at the Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport with over a pound of cocaine in his luggage. After he pleaded guilty to the charges, the actor spent two years in a federal prison during his mid-20s. Gradually, Allen surrendered himself to Jesus, telling Vargas that he began referring to God as "The Builder." "I always do ask The Builder, what did you want me to do?" Allen said. "And I do ask it. But you got to be prepared for the answer. Whoever built me, this is too much, too weird that it happened by accident. It didn't happen by accident." Throughout his career, Allen has not been shy about expressing his belief in God. In 2022, the Christian actor said he insisted the new Disney+ series "The Santa Clauses," based on "The Santa Clause" movie franchise Allen starred in, feature faith-based elements. "It originally had a lot of otherworldly characters, and ghosts, and goblins. I said no, this is Christ-mas. Its Christ-mas. It literally is a religious holiday," Allen told The Wrap at the time. "We don't have to blow trumpets, but I do want you to acknowledge it. That's what this is about. If you want to get into Santa Claus, you're going to have to go back to history, and it's all about religion," said Allen. According to the actor, the fifth and sixth episodes of the series included religious elements. Allen stated it was "really wonderful" that the show implemented religious themes into the two episodes, saying that the show "took a chance, and we did it very well." During an interview on "The Kelly Clarkson Show," Allen said the series planned to explore the true story of St. Nicholas. The actor promised that the show would go deep into St. Nicholas and "the Turkish priest that started this." He added that the show also has a message about the power of giving to others. "The heart of Christmas is about giving. Getting is what we've gotten used to. But the whole thing is about what it's like to give," he said. "Give as a father to his children. It is so [magical]." Home News Tucker Carlson says FBI has become 'anti-Christian secret police force,' blasts Speaker Mike Johnson Political commentator Tucker Carlson recently claimed the FBI has apparently degenerated into an "anti-Christian secret police force," and excoriated House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for not doing more about it despite claiming to be a Christian. Happy DNC week. Vince Coglianese previews the grotesqueries. Includes paid partnerships. pic.twitter.com/uGsLwzAv48 Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) August 19, 2024 Speaking during an interview this week on the Tucker Carlson Network with Daily Caller editorial director and Washington, D.C.-area radio host Vince Coglianese, Carlson claimed that federal law enforcement seems to have become politicized, which they both agreed is a dangerous development. 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 Carlson said that while federal law enforcement appear motivated to track down "the roots of Christian nationalism and scary middle-class grandmothers [who] are still in jail from January 6," they are seemingly uninterested in getting to the bottom of Antifa's destructive attacks in various cities across the country, including the one against his wife at their Washington, D.C., home in 2018. On Nov. 7, 2018, the Antifa-affiliated group "Smash Racism D.C." carried out an attack against Carlson's home while his wife was alone at their house and he was taping his show at the Fox News studio across town. "It wasnt a protest. It was a threat," Carlson told The Washington Post at the time, adding that "they were threatening me and my family and telling me to leave my own neighborhood in the city that I grew up in." Speaking with Coglianese, Carlson claimed "nobody cared" after the incident that ultimately pushed him to move from his longtime home in Washington though he acknowledged that some police officers showed up "months later" and encouraged him to carry a firearm. "They really are criminals, the people who run the FBI," Carlson said. "If I can just say, [FBI Director] Chris Wray [is] a freaking criminal, trying to not use the F word. But they didn't get to the bottom of it." Coglianese went on to note how the FBI has also not solved the multiple attacks against crisis pregnancy centers in the wake of the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court Dobbs decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and punted abortion back to the states. He also remembered how Attorney General Merrick Garland testified before Congress that the U.S. Department of Justice doesn't prosecute many attacks against such centers because they are perpetrated at night by people in masks. Carlson also tore into Johnson for continuing to fund the FBI despite their alleged shortcomings. "So Speaker Mike Johnson, who's constantly telling you what a great Christian he is, sort of led the effort to refund the FBI and build them a new headquarters and has done nothing," he said. "I mean, the FBI is now a kind of anti-Christian, secret police force, and the purportedly Christian speaker of the House sort of rubber stamps their funding every year. And nobody does anything about this." The two also spoke about how the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump "evaporated" from the news cycle within weeks, despite the cataclysmic political consequences that could have taken place if Trump had not turned his head at the right moment. Both Carlson and Coglianese suggested that the U.S. Secret Service under Biden allowed the assassination attempt to happen, either deliberately or by negligent incompetence. "Here's the thing that still amazes me," Coglianese said. "July 13th, Trump was shot in the head. This year, in case you were forgetting. The news cycle lasted maybe a week maybe two on that subject, and it's evaporated. It's gone. I know how quickly news cycles move, [but] I felt the desire not to talk about that I could smell it coming a thousand miles away. I knew that they would move on." "Biden's Secret Service allowed Trump to get shot in the face," Carlson said, noting how even the Trump team seems reluctant to talk about the assassination attempt. "They allowed it. Whether intentionally or not. So why is that not the biggest story in the world?" Coglianese laid out how multiple events that day apparently conspired to prevent Trump's death, which he attributed to God. He noted how the fact that Trump supporters alerted local law enforcement to Thomas Matthew Crooks' presence on the roof led an officer to startle him while he was taking aim, which then led Crooks to quickly take his frenzied and unsuccessful shots at Trump. Coglianese also said that Trump's unusual use of a large chart about illegal immigration drew him to narrowly avoid Crooks' bullet by turning his head to the right, which he believes was also evidence of divine intervention. "All of those things, they conspired in a way that can only be divine that can only be the product of divine intervention. And I saw that and it's one. So I had similar views about Trump after that. And I had more grateful views about God after that." "I agree with both those things," Carlson replied. Carlson further noted the troubling implications of an apparently politicized Secret Service and warned that politics have seemingly seeped into other institutions that necessarily must remain apolitical. "It's so overwhelming, because if you live in a country where the Secret Service is corrupted and we clearly do live in that country then it's like, at that point, that's a life-or-death thing. That's not the Education Department. That's a core function." Coglianese noted how the Secret Service destroyed the cocaine that had been found at the White House last year, and added that the Left also appears to be attempting to politicize the U.S. Supreme Court "because it's not serving their power interests, at least not to the extent that they want it to." Home Opinion Being pro-Life: The long road ahead I have been pro-life since my first encounter with a preborn baby as a high school sophomore in a biology class in 1963. From that moment onward, I have not been able to comprehend how any rational person could credibly deny that we are looking at a fellow human being. Consequently, I was profoundly shocked as several liberal states began increasing legal access to abortion in the late '60s and early '70s. I was, along with tens of millions of my fellow Americans, dismayed when the U.S. Supreme Court tried to take the abortion issue out of the hands of the American people in the infamous Roe v. Wade (1973) decision legalizing abortion in the first two trimesters of pregnancy. Like tens of millions of my fellow countrymen, my heart was further anguished when the number of abortions nationally skyrocketed to approximately 1.5 million annually by 1975. I was an early volunteer in the pro-life army which sought to defend our unborn fellow citizens who were under such sustained lethal assault. 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 All along pro-lifers understood that the judicial overturning of Roe would not roll back the bloody tidal wave of abortion that has subsequently swept across our nation. I myself have said many times that overturning Roe, which was done by Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization (2022), would restore the status quo ante, the situation as it was before the Roe decision on January 22, 1973. And of course, that was legally true. The overturning of Roe did not outlaw abortion. It just returned the decisions about abortion to the people in the various states. However, the assumption that we were returning to the America of 1973 on societal attitude toward abortion could not have been more wrong. The strong push for state and national laws legalizing abortion on demand for all three trimesters in the wake of the overturning of Roe underscores the extent to which a half-century of legalized abortion (and approximately 65 million abortions) has undermined the moral compass of the nation. While approximately 65% of Americans oppose abortion on demand for all three trimesters, America now tolerates scenes and activities that they would have rejected as horrific in 1973. This new reality is brought home to pro-life Americans on an almost daily basis. Just a few days ago I read of the rising phenomenon of pill-packing parties where groups of women gather to prepare kits to be mailed to women requesting pills to end their pregnancies. One such group celebrated preparing 350 such kits in one evening (potentially 350 dead babies). Between July 2023 and March 2024, such groups provided more than 68,000 abortion kits by mail to residents in states with tight limits on abortion. In the wake of the overturning of Roe, we have seen many states rush to liberalize abortion laws, and violence against pro-life pregnancy centers has soared. Now, the Democrat party has nominated a national ticket that is demonstrably more radically pro-abortion than any in American history. Vice President Harris is for full three-trimester abortion and her vice-presidential running mate, Tim Walz, as Governor of Minnesota signed legislation allowing abortion up to birth and rescinded a law that required a doctor to try to save a baby that survived its abortion. We in the pro-life movement have a substantial task ahead of us. We must speak for our fellow unborn citizens who cannot speak for themselves. In doing so we must be prepared to face many obstacles. A classic example of this is the recent Arizona Supreme Court decision that narrowly permitted the state-published informational pamphlet concerning the referendum on abortion in Arizona to call a fetus an unborn human being. In the continuing culture wars, the battle over language will continue to be intense. If the cultural left has its way, it will censor our right to tell such essential truths as an unborn baby is a human being. That unfortunate truth is part of the new reality we face as we seek to defend truth in the public square. May God give us the wisdom and perseverance to keep our nation from continuing the practice of child sacrifice which they euphemistically call abortion. Home Opinion Public school crisis: Why parents and teachers must seek alternatives Its that time of year again when you hear about back-to-school drives and stores replete with school supplies for the millions of American children returning to school. We also hear about teachers and students fleeing government schools in record numbers saving themselves by abandoning a sinking ship. USA Today reported there are 55,000 vacant teaching positions in America and fewer than one in five people would recommend a young person enter the teaching profession. What should school districts do to cope? United States Parents Involved in Education (USPIE) recommends they manage the decline gracefully. They could attempt to remove woke ideology, but passionately woke teachers will not give up easily, already demonstrating a willingness to break laws. They could attempt to return to tried-and-true teaching methods like explicit phonics and traditional mathematics, but this would require significant investment in professional development. They could reduce spending and return unused funds to the taxpayers, trimming expenses as enrollment declines, but this would require an admission of failure. 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 Shamefully, as government school enrollment decreases spending continues to increase. There are one million fewer students enrolled in government schools, but where is the reduction in spending? Increasing spending for a failed system hurts all taxpayers but is especially a slap in the face to parents who choose to fund their own childrens education via independent and home schools. Legislators must strictly align funding on a per-pupil basis in line with some benchmarks like average tuition rates for local private pay schools, reducing spending commensurate with enrollment and lowering taxes as a result. States should require a funding mechanism that funds students not systems. Lower enrollment should mean lower school district budgets. Taxpayers should demand it. Moreover, students are not learning to read, write, do math or even think. Teachers are not prepared well to teach and are suffering from fatigue, frustration and a staffing structure that advantages administrators over the classroom. Both students and teachers are falling into a depression caused by woke ideology. Non-woke teachers should seek out new opportunities in non-woke private and home schools. Due to the high demand for government school alternatives, teachers can choose to be employed by many emerging education systems like micro-schools, one-room school houses, virtual schools, enrichment programs, studio teachers and the list goes on. These alternative education systems can thrive and grow to the benefit of children, teachers and our country. Because government schools have become toxic, USPIE continues to advise parents to pull their kids out. In a recent conversation with a parent of a new five-year-old student, a dad was explaining how he plans to have conversations with his son every day to make sure hes learning the right stuff. The conundrum is, what do you do when your son tells you the teacher said he could be a girl if he wants? If you answer truthfully and tell your son that is a lie, well, now your son thinks the teacher is a liar. What else might the teacher lie about? If you suggest the teacher has a different opinion than you do, you are reinforcing the idea that a childs sex is an opinion! If you say nothing, the next event may be when your son comes home and says he wants to become a girl and tells you, The teacher said you have to let me, or they will let me go live with someone else. Or worse yet, the teacher tells your son to keep it a secret from the family and describes how to transition at school. Parents first, and most important responsibility, is to protect their children. Government schools have become dangerous places. Obviously, loving parents should not send their children to a dangerous place. Our countrys freedom also hangs in the balance as children in government schools are taught Cultural Marxism, anti-American propaganda and to hate themselves, one another and their country. America is likely the only country in the world that doesnt teach their children to love their country. On the contrary, they are taught that America is systemically racist, and people groups are pitted against one another blaming White, heterosexual, Christian males for the oppression of people who are Black and Brown, LGBT and of minority religions. If we dont stop the indoctrination of children in government schools, we could lose what is left of our countrys freedoms. USPIE celebrates the decline in students and teachers participating in a failing system. Until government schools improve dramatically, it is our mission to open more eyes and help parents and teachers see they have choices. Home Opinion The Song of Songs as tonic for religious abuse : A review of Aimee Byrds The Hope In Our Scars In the fall of 2019, The Christian Post published an in-depth article series called Leaving Christianity and it was, in my view, some of the most illuminating and sobering reporting weve ever done. As a lowercase-o orthodox Evangelical Christian news publication, we had a journalistic obligation to examine an emerging societal trend, irrespective of how we personally felt about it. The series was in part inspired by the documented demographic rise of religious nones those who no longer identify with any religious tradition. And its fair to say that a sizable number of these nones are disaffected former Christians, known as exvangelicals, who now say they have abandoned their faith. Not long after I started researching for this series, I began to see with greater clarity that behind all the religious identification survey data were real people, and many of them were deeply wounded. Some of them, while not nones, were still doing their best to cling to Christ amid what some call church hurt a woefully inadequate phrase, in my opinion, for the injuries and bruises to the soul caused by people who purport to represent Christ. 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 Those 2019 memories resurfaced while reading Aimee Byrds latest work, The Hope in Our Scars: Finding The Bride of Christ in the Underground of Disillusionment, which is perhaps best described as one part poignant memoir navigating the cruelty of spiritual abuse within a church, another part finding refuge in the Song of Songs while examining its treasures. Its also an honest glimpse into Byrds diary as she details how she discovered the wonder of what she calls the underground of the church-wounded. Written with good-humored frankness, she realized how she and other Christians never thought they would face spiritual disillusionment until after one is put through the proverbial wringer in a church or ministry setting. But the author, though still on a journey of recovery, is neither bitter nor cynical. When she encountered a pervasive, foul chauvinism (I will not dignify the ugliness by repeating it in this column, see screenshots for evidence) from church officers in her former denomination and then an ineffective ecclesiastical system of church governance to address it, the only place she could go was the holy of holies of Scripture, the Song of Songs. Often waxing poetic and marked with her characteristic knack for delving deep into the intricacies of Scripture one might miss with only a cursory reading of the text, Byrd unpacks for readers how the Song is a balm for those whove been scarred. Theres a real, living hope to be found in it. One can rise from disillusionment; the wounded neednt stay jaded and jilted. Jesus himself is beckoning them to emerge from the shadows. Throughout the book she emphasizes, lest any of us forget, how the Son of God is more committed to his Bride than any of us could ever be and when He comes back for her, she will be, as the Apostle Paul notes in Ephesians 5:27, without blemish or wrinkle. In the interest of deepening my understanding, I read the entire Song of Songs several times concurrently alongside Byrd's book. Its sensuous language right from the start made me realize afresh how uncomfortable it is for me, a man, to think of myself as the Beloved. Men, too, are part of the Bride of Christ. Women dont have these particular mental hurdles and its why I believe we need to value their insights. Erudite theologians have debated for centuries how the Song should be interpreted. Some say it should be read symbolically, with the Song as an allegory for Christs immeasurable love for his Bride, the Church. Others maintain it simply extols and celebrates eros, human love, and sexuality as the wondrous things they are. Yet others assert this layered and mysterious Hebrew poetry is something of both. But its good to take a step back to pause and consider the weighty wonder of a book of the Bible that begins with a woman saying: Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. As Byrd and others can attest, those opening words hit differently for those whove been wounded in a church. Near the end of The Hope In Our Scars, the author references Saint Theresa of Avila, a 16th-century Carmelite nun who was the first woman to ever be named Doctor of the Church and was known for her meditations on the Song. Those who prefer to avoid its unmistakably intimate opening language and reimagine it to be said in a different style reveal a certain human dullness, St. Theresa wrote, and it indicates a tendency "to create fears and give opinions that manifest the small degree of love of God we have." For those whove been through any kind of abuse in a religious setting, an intense cognitive dissonance ensues when the church or ministry appears to be, at least on paper, doctrinally solid. How is it that a church that is in many ways good, biblically rooted, and where the Holy Spirit is clearly at work simultaneously a source of anguish? Where is this elusive love of God in the place that is supposed to be his holy habitation? And since the abuse they have endured co-opts Him into the violation, it is that much harder, spiritually speaking, to make sense of it. When asked what she would say to Church leaders who want to understand the phenomenon of the walking wounded, who they are, and how to address it with the wisdom the moment requires, I wasnt surprised to hear her say that the first thing that came to her mind was the line in the Song where the man, the Christ-like figure, is calling the woman, who is scared, out from the cleft of the rock. He says: Let me see your face, for your face is beautiful, and let me hear your voice, for your voice is lovely(Song of Songs 2:14b). Imagine Jesus saying that to the wounded who arent safe but are behind the cleft of the rock, whom Hes wooing, and calling the woman, and shes scared. Its evangelical, he wants her to share the news about who He is, Byrd stressed. So maybe its the wounded people whom we can also learn from, whom we need to learn from. Home News 2 ancient churches lost to the Black Death reopen after 650 years Two ancient churches in Kent, closed for over 650 years after the outbreak of the Black Death plague decimated their congregations, have finally reopened to the public in a celebratory event. The sister churches, Dode and St. Benedict's at Paddlesworth, located just 1.5 miles apart, welcomed visitors on Sunday in a historic event marking their simultaneous reopening. Both churches, which date back to the early 1100s, were once thriving Christian community centers until the Black Death struck in 1349. The plague wiped out the population of Dode entirely, leaving only the church standing. The parish priest was subsequently moved to Paddlesworth, and Dode remained unused for centuries. 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 Douglas Chapman, the current keeper of Dode church, purchased the site around 35 years ago and has since spent decades restoring it. The Norman stonework, foundations, and roof design are of particular interest to those studying sites of Christian worship in the United Kingdom. Chapman described the restoration as a "labor of love" and recounted the extensive work required to bring the church back to its original condition. "It had been locked up for 600-odd years," he told the Metro newspaper, adding that, although the roof had been replaced in the early 1900s, the building had fallen into severe disrepair. When Chapman first acquired the church, it was in a dire state, having been partly desecrated and sometimes used as a rural "drugs den." Over the following decade, he painstakingly cleared out the site, restored its original features, and installed basic utilities like electricity and water. "The place essentially hadn't been touched, or at least hadn't been used, since 1367, when the priest was sent to Paddlesworth because everybody in Dode was either dead or had left," he said, reflecting on the long journey of restoration that finally culminated in the church's reopening. Visitors were invited to walk the scenic trail between the two churches, offering a glimpse into the rich history of the North Downs. Chapman noted, "The churches were both always full but not overcrowded, and people walked between the two in the North Downs. It's the first time the two churches have ever done anything like that." He also added, "The churches are very similar. They are very near and were built in an almost identical way around 1100, at the end of William the Conqueror's reign." Though there is supposedly a mass grave underneath or near Dode church, Chapman has refused to let archaeologists excavate. Visitors can expect to see a photo exhibition, old maps and historic documents including one dating back to 1367, when the parishes of Dode and Paddlesworth were combined. Chapman also shared the intriguing local belief that Gundulf also known as Gundulph a Christian bishop serving in Rochester who built Dode church inspired the character of Gandalf in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He remarked, "Tolkien was a professor of Medieval history and would have known all about Gundulf. The theory is that Gundulf became Gandalf. ... It's a shame Tolkien isn't around to confirm it." Dode Church will be available for wedding services and naming ceremonies and will continue to open to the public once every six weeks. Visitors can also request a visit to St. Benedict's Anglican Church at any time. With justifiable pride in the restoration, Chapman said, "People will get to visit two ancient churches, and hopefully, they will appreciate the history and the work that has gone into them." This article was originally published by Christian Today. Home News Arizona man captured in manhunt after alleged 'threats to kill' Trump An Arizona man connected to an alleged social media threat to kill former President and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has been taken into custody. Ronald Lee Syvrud, a 66-year-old resident of Benson, was arrested by authorities on Thursday, according to a press release posted to the Cochise County Sheriff's Offices Facebook page. This subject has been taken into custody without incident in Cochise County. We appreciate all of the information received and the incredible collaborative efforts with all of our public safety partners, stated Cochise County law enforcement. 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 sheriffs office, Syvrud was being sought as an investigative lead for threats to kill a presidential candidate and was sought over failing to register as a sex offender. Syvrud had outstanding warrants from Wisconsin for driving under the influence and Failure to Appear for DUI, along with warrants from Graham County, Arizona, for hit and run and Felony Failure to Register as a Sex Offender. Authorities were in the process of apprehending Syvrud when Trump was in Cochise County on Thursday to deliver remarks, as the locality lies on the U.S. border with Mexico. Secret Service spokesperson Alexandria Worley told CNN the agency is investigating the man but added that since this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment further at this time. Trump told the press that while he was unaware that the Secret Service was investigating Syvrud, he was also not that surprised. Ive heard its dangerous, but I also have a job to do. I havent heard about that. They probably want to keep it from me, Trump said Thursday. I have heard it was very unsafe to make this trip, there were some people that really didnt want me to make it. Last month, at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, an individual named Thomas Matthew Crooks attempted to assassinate Trump, shooting at the Republican presidential hopeful and piercing his right ear before being taken out by law enforcement. The shooter killed rally attendee Corey Comperatore, who was hailed a "hero" by Democrat Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro because he used his body to shield his family from harm. Individuals across the political spectrum, including Trumps then opponent, President Joe Biden, denounced the assassination attempt, declaring that violence should have no place in politics. Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers yesterday, as it was God alone who prevented the unthinkable from happening. We will FEAR NOT, but instead remain resilient in our Faith and Defiant in the face of Wickedness. Our love goes out to the other victims and their families, Trump said in a post to Truth Social. We pray for the recovery of those who were wounded, and hold in our hearts the memory of the citizen who was so horribly killed. In this moment, it is more important than ever that we stand United, and show our True Character as Americans, remaining Strong and Determined, and not allowing Evil to Win. Home News Hamas Rafah brigade defeated; Israel destroyed over 150 tunnels in area, Gallant says The Hamas terror group's Rafah brigade has been defeated, and over 150 tunnels have been destroyed in the region, stated Israels Defense Minister Yoav Gallant during a visit to Israeli troops operating on the Philadelphi Corridor along the Egypt-Gaza border on Wednesday. Gallant met with soldiers of the IDFs 162nd Division and was briefed on the operations. He instructed the troops to focus on completing the destruction of the remaining tunnels. Out of the 150 tunnels that were destroyed, around 100 tunnels are in fact trenches dug using engineering tools above ground, and then covered with a meter or two of dirt, Gallant said. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe It is critical to remember the goals of the war and to achieve them regarding Hamas, regarding the hostages [held by Hamas], and we also understand why we are looking toward the north, he added. Clearing the Rafah area and choking off what has been described as Hamas lifeline namely, the tunnels running under the Philadelphi Corridor to Egypt is currently one of the main Israeli goals during the fighting in Gaza. The IDF's presence at the corridor is also among the main sticking points in the current hostage deal negotiations, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists on an Israeli presence to rule out the return of Hamas smugglers to the area. The role of the IDF is to produce security alternatives for the political echelon, to be creative and determined in this matter, IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Daniel Hagari said when asked about the IDFs opinion on the matter. We also need to allow the government the scope for a decision. We will know how to implement any decision that the political echelon makes, he said during the press briefing. According to recent IDF updates, the 162nd Division troops eliminated about 100 terrorists in Rafah over the last several days, 50 of them in the past 24 hours alone. The IDF also destroyed Hamas infrastructure in the Tel al-Sultan area and found explosives, grenades, Kalashnikov-type rifles and other weapons. Around Khan Younis, just north of Rafah, Israels 98th Division is currently involved in heavy fighting against Hamas terrorists. During the past day, the troops deepened their activities, in the Khan Yunis region and the outskirts of Deir al-Balah following accurate intelligence on the presence of terrorist infrastructures and Hamas terrorists in the region, the IDF stated. The northern outskirts of Khan Younis border in the area of Gazas central camps, which includes several towns the IDF hasnt entered yet during the past 10 months of fighting. The IDF further stated that around 30 airstrikes were carried out by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) during the past day. According to Palestinian sources, a strike on a house in the town of Deir al-Balah reportedly killed nearly 30 people. The reports of Israeli operations in this area, together with Palestinian reports of Israeli tanks in the coastal town of Al-Karara, northwest of Khan Younis, have led some commentators to speculate the IDF might be preparing to create another corridor that would cut across the Gaza Strip, similar to the Netzarim Corridor in northern Gaza. In Gaza City, IAF jets struck Hamas terrorists who were conducting operations in a command and control complex located in a former school, in a targeted manner and under intelligence guidance, the IDF said. From this compound, Hamas terrorists planned and carried out terrorist acts. Many measures were taken to reduce the chance of harming civilians, including the use of precision weaponry, and aerial intelligence. The IDF added: The terrorist organization Hamas systematically violates international law, brutally exploiting civilian institutions and the population as human shields for terrorist acts. This article was originally published by All Israel News. Home News Investigation launched into over $100K stolen from Indiana church An investigation has been launched into a reported theft of at least $100,000 siphoned from an Indiana congregation since 2021. Heartland Community Church of Lafayette filed a police report Tuesday, alleging that an unknown party has been embezzling funds since December 2021, taking an undisclosed six-figure sum in the process. Authorities with the Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Office said Heartland Community's bank first alerted the congregation to a few discrepancies in the church's accounts, The Lafayette Journal & Courier reports. 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 Authorities did not give an exact amount missing; they just said that it was in the six-digit range. Investigators believe that a former employee of the church might be responsible. Heartland Community traces its origins to Dutch Reformed immigrants coming to the area in the 19th century. The congregation was originally known as First Reformed Church. The current name and campus were adopted in 2008. "Those with deep roots in the Dutch Reformed tradition have been made one in Christ Jesus with those from all different backgrounds. We don't all agree on everything (imagine that!), but we do believe that God has moved into the neighborhood in the person of Jesus Christ," stated the church's website. "So we make it our aim to follow Jesus together. And we love each other. And we trust in God, who has been faithful to this congregation since its start in 1888. This is a river always eager to welcome in new streams. Because in the heart of Heartland is a passion to see Jesus' mission of love spread throughout Greater Lafayette." A 2017 study by Lifeway Research reported that almost one out of 10 Protestant pastors had said their church witnessed someone embezzle funds. Churches that have 250 or more members were slightly more likely than smaller churches to respond in the affirmative. "Churches run on trust but they also know people are imperfect and can be tempted," said Lifeway Executive Director Scott McConnell, as quoted in the 2017 report. "That's why safeguarding a church's finances is an important part of ministry." Home News 'Most endangered Christians on the planet': Pastor, NGOs deliver $400K in medical supplies to Nigeria Seeing a quadriplegic woman crying while being carried out of a hospital and placed on an electric scooter donated among thousands of other medical items by a collective of nonprofits to medical facilities in the Plateau state of Nigeria brought tears to the eyes of longtime civil rights lawyer Emmanuel Ogebe. "It felt like that moment when those guys cut through the roof and lowered their friend down to Jesus to be healed," Ogebe told The Christian Post about the fulfillment of the massive medical donation that was months in the making and had several obstacles to overcome. "It brought tears to our eyes, and the lady herself was crying. You could see she was just so overwhelmed." 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 Ogebe has worked for decades to provide humanitarian relief to Nigeria but has faced difficulties in the last decade amid escalating violence that advocates say has led to more Christians being killed in Nigeria each year than in all other countries combined. But earlier this month, he and his colleague helped deliver over $400,000 worth of medical supplies to be distributed to several hospitals. During an Aug. 8 press conference, Gov. Caleb Mutfwang credited contributions from Widows and Orphans, headed by New York City Pastor Bill Devlin, the US-Nigeria Law group headed by Ogebe, and the Solomon and Mary Lar Foundation. The donations finally arrived after months of various transportation delays. "I sincerely thank you for this noble initiative," Mutfwang said. "Your efforts in mobilizing these essential health assets and delivering them to us here in Nigeria are deeply appreciated. Our role was merely to facilitate logistics from the airport to the Plateau Specialist Hospital." Although Ogebe has worked to provide humanitarian relief to Nigeria for three decades, the increasing violence impacting many states made delivering aid difficult starting around 2016. The government would try to steal containers, Ogebe said, forcing him to suspend humanitarian relief to the country. Ogebe visited Nigeria a few months ago alongside Devlin, a mission pastor at Infinity Bible Church in the Bronx, to attend the wedding of the daughter of Rev. Lawan Andimi, a Nigerian priest beheaded by the terror group Boko Haram in 2020. Devlin, who was recognized by the White House for traveling the globe to help persecuted Christians, operates the ministries REDEEM! and Widows and Orphans. He agreed with Ogebe that they should provide medical aid to the country after the murder of hundreds of Christians during the pair's visit. "Nigeria is the deadliest place in the world to be a Christian," Ogebe said. "For 12 out of the last 13 years, more Christians have been killed in Nigeria than the rest of the world combined." Christians in Nigeria face the threat of slaughter and destruction of their churches and homes from radicalized Fulani herdsmen in the Middle Belt states and Islamic extremist groups like Boko Haram and Islamic State in the northeast. During the Christmas season last year, extremist herdsmen are suspected to have led a massacre in predominantly Christian farming communities in the Plateau state, an attack that resulted in just under 200 deaths. "This is why it was very important to us to make sure we were able to get the medical aid in," Ogebe said. "So it was shocking to us that few organizations are providing support to the most endangered Christians on the planet." Devlin's group REDEEM! received a donation totaling over 20,000 pounds in supplies from the Christian ministry CRU, which consisted of personal protective equipment, syringes, operating tables, linens and hospital beds. However, the pastor and human rights lawyer faced an uphill battle when it came to delivering the aid. While they contacted various nonprofits and even the United Nations to help airlift the supplies to Nigeria, this attempt proved unsuccessful. Devlin and Ogebe decided to ship the supplies. However, the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, collapsed in May 2024, causing the shipment to be rerouted to New York. The shipment also had to go through the southern Nigerian city of Lagos and north before reaching Plateau state. "It felt like spiritual warfare," Ogebe said. "It was quite a production, but we're thankful that it finally got there." After delivering the aid, Ogebe and Devlin attended the ceremony on Aug. 8 at the Plateau State Hospital, one of the dozens of hospitals to receive the medical resources. Ogebe urged American churches and religious aid groups to do more than send translated Bibles to persecuted Christians in Nigeria their "persecuted brethren." He highlighted the practical support he believes is the most helpful to Nigerian Christians, such as medical supplies and supplies to help them rebuild their churches. Ogebe contrasted these types of efforts with the work of certain aid groups that raised millions of dollars to send Bibles to persecuted Christians. "When you see a brother in need, you don't say to them, 'Go forth and be well,'" the humanitarian explained. "You address the need. When the American Church comes and says we're spending $11 million on Bibles for people who need surgery, education, housing and shelter because they've lost everything for Christ, it's the same thing as saying, 'Oh, you just be well. Read the Bible.'" "It doesn't work that way," Ogebe added. "We need to be the hands and feet of Christ to these people." Home News Presidential candidate RFK Jr. says I was never an atheist but pretended to believe in God NEW YORK Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shot down a suggestion that he was ever an atheist at one point in his life but seemingly admitted he pretended to believe in God until he got to a place where he now considers himself a true believer. Even at the end of a 90-minute interview with conservative commentator Eric Metaxas on his Manhattan-based conversation series "Socrates in the City" on Tuesday, the specifics of Kennedy's unorthodox conversion experience remain quite vague. "I was never an atheist ever. I was raised in a deeply religious family, and I integrated that," he told Metaxas after the host suggested he was an atheist at one point. 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 Kennedy, 70, is an accomplished attorney and environmentalist whose father is former U.S. Attorney General and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and uncles are former President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Ted Kennedy. John F. Kennedy is known as the first U.S. president to adhere to the Roman Catholic faith. Kennedy said that growing up as a Catholic, he went to church twice a day with his family, prayed the rosary at least once daily, prayed before and after meals, and read the lives of the saints and the Bible every night. After his father was assassinated during his presidential campaign in 1968, Kennedy said he became a heroin addict the following year when he was just 15 years old. "I was doing that for a lot of years. And when you're doing that, when you're living against conscience, which is what happens when you're an addict, you tend to push any kind of notion of God over the periphery of your horizons," he said. He described having an "iron willpower" as a teenager who gave up candy for Lent and never touched it again until college but said his special willpower was no match for his addiction. "To me, most of the demoralizing feature of addiction was my incapacity to keep contracts with myself. I would tell myself at 9 o'clock in the morning, I'm never going to do that again, and at 4 o'clock, I'd be doing it," he said. He said he got sober in September of 1983 and came across research by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung in his book Synchronicity, in which he highlights that religious people beat their addictions faster and their recovery was "more durable." Determined to do everything in his power to stay sober, Kennedy said he decided to start believing in God. "I made a decision, an intellectual decision [that] I'm going to start believing in God," he said. "Then I was presented with the dilemma that anybody who's in that position would say, which is 'how do you start believing in something that you can't see or smell or touch or taste or hear or acquire through senses?" he asked. Jung, he said, "also solves that problem." "He said, you fake it till you make it. And that was it. And he says the obedience will precede the evidence. In other words, if you start doing what you're supposed to do, then you will then see an evidence, a tangible, undeniable evidence of God's presence in life," Kennedy argued. "And so I started doing that. I just said, 'Oh, that's what I'm going to do.' And I started pretending that, you know, ... that God was there watching the whole time, everything I did in life was a test." When Metaxas asked if he was still pretending God exists, Kennedy said he wasn't. It appears he was convinced of God's existence by taking Jung's word for it. "I don't pretend anymore because I," he said without completing the personal reference. "Jung never had any doubt," he replied. "Jung saw God everywhere." Home News Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspends campaign, endorses Trump Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. suspended his independent presidential campaign and endorsed former President Donald Trump but remains on the ballot of states that aren't considered tossups as he doesn't want to help Democrats. At an announcement made Friday afternoon, the son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy said that he was suspending his campaign but was not officially dropping out. He praised the efforts of his campaign volunteers, saying that they "pulled off a miracle" by getting so many signatures to advance his campaign on state ballots. 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 Kennedy accused the Democratic Party of "dismantling" democracy, citing as examples Vice President Kamala Harris getting the nomination without getting any primary votes and "lawfare" efforts against himself and Republican presidential hopeful Trump. RFK Jr. called the Democratic National Convention "a highly produced Chicago circus" more about hating Trump than laying out a candidate with a clear agenda. "Are we really still a role model for democracy in this country?" Kennedy asked, saying he did not want to be a "spoiler" who would help Democrats win states in November. Kennedy said that he did support Trump's campaign, having met with the Republican nominee in Florida and engaged in extensive conversations about policies. Kennedy said he is "aligned on many key issues" like protecting free speech, securing the border, fighting chronic disease among children, and antiwar efforts. Kennedy said he attempted to reach out to Harris to find similar common ground efforts. However, the Democrat's campaign refused to meet with him. Shortly before he made his speech, The Associated Press reported that Kennedy stated in a court filing in Pennsylvania that he was endorsing Trump and was asking to be removed from the state ballot. Before running for president, the nephew of President John F. Kennedy was well-known for his environmental activism and advocating for transparency regarding the long-term safety of vaccines. Kennedy originally planned to run as a primary challenger to incumbent Democrat President Joe Biden. Last October, he decided to run as an independent candidate instead. In March, Kennedy announced that Nicole Shanahan, a 38-year-old California-based technology entrepreneur and patent attorney, would be his vice presidential running mate. During his campaign, Kennedy expressed pro-choice views on abortion, although the extent to which he wanted abortion to be legal has changed in recent times. In May, for example, Kennedy had initially stated support for abortions throughout the term of a pregnancy, only to later walk back such a stance to include more limits on the procedure. "I support the emerging consensus that abortion should be unrestricted up until a certain point. I believe that point should be when the baby is viable outside the womb," he tweeted at the time. "We can reduce abortion across the board by supporting motherhood, supporting parents, and supporting families. Soon, we'll unveil our plan for universally affordable child care, which will cap child care expenses at 10% for most families." Earlier this week, reports surfaced that Kennedy was planning to drop out and that he would endorse Trump, possibly in return for receiving a position in his administration should he win. In a story published Wednesday, for example, ABC News cited "sources familiar with the decision," which indicated that he was "planning to drop out of the presidential race by the end of this week" and "plans to endorse Donald Trump." On Friday morning, The Associated Press reported that Kennedy withdrew from the Arizona ballot, with the possibility that he would join Trump at a campaign event. According to a report by NBC News released in advance of the announcement, RFK Jr. leaving the race would benefit Trump more than Harris, as polling indicated that Republican voters viewed him more positively than Democrats or independents. Home News Robert F. Kennedy Jr. walks back support for 'full-term' abortion Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is seeking to clarify his position on abortion after he appeared to express support for allowing abortion at full-term. Kennedy made the remarks about abortion during an appearance on The Sage Steele Show published last week. When asked by host Sage Steele if he supported abortions at full term, Kennedy responded that women should have the right to terminate their pregnancy even if its full term. In a post on X Friday night, Kennedy suggested that he had changed his position on abortion because he was willing to listen to his family, supporters, and others who shared their perspectives. He noted that he saw an emerging consensus that abortion should be legal up until a certain number of weeks, and restricted thereafter, later illustrating his support for keeping abortion legal up until the point when the baby is viable outside the womb. 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 Even in the reddest of red states, voters reject total abortion bans, he added. And on the other end, almost no one supports gruesome third-trimester abortions except to save the life of the mother. Kennedy described himself as a medical freedom advocate who has fought for bodily autonomy and trusts womens instincts, identifying situations where the baby has some fatal condition that ensures it will survive just hours or days after birth in intense suffering as the reason why he was leery of inserting the government into abortion. Insisting that I had been assuming that virtually all late-term abortions were such cases, he acknowledged that my assumption was wrong. Sometimes, women abort healthy, viable late-term fetuses, he explained. These cases of purely elective late-term abortion are very upsetting. Once the baby is viable outside the womb, it should have rights and it deserves societys protection. Kennedy vowed to allow appropriate restrictions on abortion in the final months of pregnancy, just as Roe v. Wade did. The candidates remarks reflect the fact that the U.S. Supreme Courts Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide permitted states to restrict abortions in the latter part of a pregnancy. The U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe in 2022 by issuing the Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization decision, which determined that the U.S. Constitution does not contain a right to abortion. Since the Dobbs decision, several states have taken action to restrict or prohibit abortion. One state has a 15-week abortion ban in effect, while two states prohibit abortion after 12 weeks gestation, three states have heartbeat bans prohibiting abortion after six weeks gestation, and 14 states have near-total abortion bans in effect. Pro-life protections in three additional states are tied up in litigation. Meanwhile, voters in California, Michigan and Vermont approved ballot measures establishing constitutional rights to abortion in 2022, while Ohio voters supported an equivalent constitutional amendment in 2023. Kennedys X post concluded by pitching his policy called More Choices, More Life, which he predicts will reduce abortion across the board by supporting motherhood, supporting parents, and supporting families. He signaled his intention to unveil our plan for universally affordable child care, which will cap child care expenses at 10% for most families. Kennedy maintained that his presidency would seek to support women in need so that abortion isnt their only choice, noting that almost three-quarters of women cite economic reasons to explain why they chose to abort a pregnancy. Kennedys Friday night X post is not the first time the candidate or his campaign has sought to clarify his position on abortion. Last summer, he told a reporter that he thought the decision to abort a child should be up to the woman during the first three months of pregnancy. He shared his belief that once a child is viable outside the womb, I think that a state has an interest in protecting that child. The campaign later published a statement declaring that Kennedys position on abortion is that it is always the womans right to choose, adding, He does not support legislation banning abortion. The RealClearPolitics average of polls measuring voter intentions in a five-way race between former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden, Kennedy, progressive independent candidate Cornel West and likely Green Party nominee Jill Stein shows Kennedy capturing 10.8% of the vote. The polls are based on surveys taken between April 12 and May 7. While Kennedy finds himself significantly behind Trumps 41.5% and Bidens 38.8%, he finishes ahead of West (2.0%) and Stein (1.5%). According to the candidates website, Kennedy has secured ballot access in 14 states that boast a combined 187 electoral votes: California, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah. While the number of electoral votes in the states where Kennedy has ballot access remains short of the 270 required to win the presidency, he hopes to secure ballot access in all 50 states by Election Day. Home News Supreme Court of Pakistan bows to Islamist threats in religious freedom case Islamist death threats compelled the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday to remove part of a ruling recognizing an Ahmadis religious freedom, a move that will lead to more persecution of religious minorities, sources said. The courts surrender to Islamist demands came in an appeal by Mubarak Sani, a member of the Ahmadi Muslim group that Islamists consider heretical in the Muslim-majority country. Sani had been convicted under the Punjab Holy Quran (Printing and Recording) (Amendment) Act enforced in 2021, though hed claimed the accusation related to an incident in 2019 before the law came into effect. In its verdict, the court noted that Article 20 of Pakistans Constitution guaranteed citizens the right to profess, practice and propagate their religion, and that Sani had not committed a crime by publishing religious literature. The Supreme Court then ordered Sanis release on bail. 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 verdict led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa infuriated Islamist groups, particularly the extremist Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), which started a campaign against Isa. Some TLP leaders announced bounties of up to 10 million rupees ($35,790 USD) for any Muslim who killed the chief justice. Fearing unrest, the Punjab provincial government filed a review petition under Article 188 of the constitution, but on July 24 the Supreme Court declared it had not deviated in any way from the decisions of Federal Shariat Court and Supreme Court in approving the bail. The verdict favoring Sani led to outrage in Islamist circles and a debate in the National Assemblys Standing Committee on Law and Justice, where both the treasury and opposition benches agreed that the federal government should file a petition in the Supreme Court. Besides the Punjab governments plea seeking omissions of certain portions from the courts July 24 revised verdict, the federal government also filed a miscellaneous plea on Aug. 17 under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharifs directives. In the Punjab governments petition, it maintained that some leading Islamic clerics and members of parliament requested the federal government to approach the top court and highlight some portions of the verdict that they said merited correction. It further maintained that certain conclusions and observations made in other parts of the judgment seemed to be a mistake and were inconsistent with previous rulings of the highest court. Under immense pressure and threats, the Supreme Court announced that it was ready to review its verdict for a second time, a first in the countrys judicial history. On Tuesday, hundreds of activists belonging to Islamic extremist parties, including the TLP and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), breached security and reached the Supreme Court building, where speakers openly threatened judges to withdraw the verdict. They said the judgment had hurt the sentiments of the entire nation and pledged that they were ready to render any sacrifice for the protection and sanctity of Islam and the finality of the prophethood of Muhammad. Surrendering to the Islamists demand, the three-member bench headed by Isa and including Justice Irfan Saadat Khan and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan on Wednesday ordered the exclusion of the paragraphs from the verdict, including the one related to freedom of religion, asserting that the deleted portions cannot be cited as precedent in any judgment. I dont want to say [it] but am helpless; I pray in every prayer that may God prevent me from making any wrong decisions, Isa said during the hearing in Islamabad, according to media reports. Some veteran reporters who attended the hearing said that all three judges were visibly fearful and under immense pressure. Many people in Pakistan, including a former governor and a high court judge, have been murdered for speaking in favor of those falsely charged with blasphemy, they said. No hope left The Supreme Courts second review of its verdict shocked rights activists and church leaders, who said the surrender to Islamist pressure does not bode well for Christians and other minorities. We were not expecting the Supreme Court to capitulate to extremist forces in this manner, said Church of Pakistan President Bishop Azad Marshall. When the highest court of the country fails to protect the guarantees given by the constitution regarding religious freedom for all citizens irrespective of their faith affiliations, there is no hope left for any improvement in our situation. The church leader expressed fears of an increase in blasphemy cases and violence against Christians. Religious forces have instilled more fear in the judiciary, he said. In such circumstances, I doubt we can expect any justice for those falsely accused of blasphemy. Marshall said that by deleting its observations regarding the freedom to profess any religion, the Supreme Court has shown its helplessness in safeguarding the constitution. Minorities Alliance Pakistan Chairman Akmal Bhatti termed the courts decision a big blow to freedom of religion in Pakistan. It's very sad, he said. The extremist forces first successfully harassed trial courts, then high courts, and now the Supreme Court. Who would take the bails of Christians and others charged with blasphemy now? Attorney Yasser Latif Hamdani, a progressive Muslim rights activist and author, said he had lost faith in Pakistan. Jinnah [the countrys founder] certainly didnt imagine that one day the same people who called him Kafir-e-Azam [infidel] would be forcing the Supreme Court to change its decision a simple decision that says that a citizen of Pakistan can pray how he or she likes within the confines of his/her home or place of worship, Hamdani wrote on his Facebook page. If Qazi Faez Isa can be forced to change his decision, this country will never go forward. It seems that Jinnah made a terrible mistake giving these idiots a country. Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, as it was the previous year. This article was originally published by Christian Daily InternationalMorning Star News. Home News 13-year-old boy dies in crash on drive home from Dollywood church trip A teenager who lost his life in a car accident on the way back from a trip to an amusement park with his church group is being remembered as a vibrant soul who left a lasting impact on all who knew him. Aidan Linville, 13, died Sunday from injuries in a car crash on the way back from a visit to the Dollywood Amusement Park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. According to a GoFundMe fundraiser set up to support his grieving family, Linville spent an epic day at Dollywood on Saturday where he lived life to the fullest and earned some blisters on his feet. Describing the accident as serious, the fundraiser noted that first responders initially viewed his condition as stable, only to discover that his injuries were far more serious. He was transported to the University of Tennessee Medical Center where he succumbed to his injuries. 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 Aidan was a vibrant soul who cherished his family, his church family, his Boy Scout friends and his school friends. He touched so many lives with his kindness, laughter, and adventurous spirit. His sudden passing has left his family heartbroken and facing many unexpected and difficult decisions, the fundraiser explained. The fundraiser seeks to help cover the costs of medical expenses, funeral arrangements, and other unforeseen expenses for Linvilles family. As of Thursday afternoon, the fundraiser has raised more than $11,500 out of a $20,000 goal. In addition to GoFundMe, those hoping to support Linvilles family can donate to the Aidan Linville Memorial Fund at Tennessee First National Bank in Sparta. According to local news station WVLT-TV, Linville traveled to Dollywood from Sparta with a group from his church, the Doyle Church of the Nazarene, WKRN-TV reported. He just had a blast, a lot of fun, and just enjoyed the rides and being with his friends, Tyler Brandes, a family friend, told WVLT-TV. His dad is a single father; his dad is an amputee who lost his arm in an industrial accident, actually, so he was always helping his dad with things, he added. In a statement issued to WVLT-TV, Linvilles family described the boy as a bright light in our lives full of unending energy, kindness, and a spirit that touched everyone he met. He loved his family deeply, cherished his church community, and formed lasting friendships through his involvement in Boy Scouts and school. According to WKRN-TV, the accident occurred in Crossville after the driver of another car ran a red light and crashed into the van carrying Linville and his friends. Other passengers suffered minor injuries while the driver of the car was not hurt. Family friend Ken Hatfield told WKRN-TV that Linville was a very loving child and a very innocent child who would just brighten up the room by walking in. Hatfield stressed that he had a big, big heart for all of his friends, he was always looking out for them as well. The accident occurred just before Linville was slated to begin eighth grade at White County Middle School, where grief counselors were on hand to help students deal with the unexpected and tragic loss. Details about a memorial service are forthcoming. Home News Trump says he will not enforce law banning abortion pills by mail, angering pro-life groups Former President Donald Trump again drew outrage from pro-life organizations this week after he said he wouldn't ban the distribution of abortion pills by mail if elected. In an interview with CBS News on Monday, Trump answered whether he would enforce the Comstock Act if he won the 2024 presidential election. As explained by reporter Caitlin Huey-Burns, the 1873 law could "prohibit the distribution of medication abortion by mail." "No," Trump responded. "We will be discussing specifics of it but generally speaking, no." 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 When asked again if he would enforce the Comstock Act, Trump reiterated he would not. The text of the Comstock Act states that "every article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion, or for any indecent or immoral use" is "declared to be nonmailable matter and shall not be conveyed in the mails or delivered from any post office or by any letter carrier." It subjects violators to fines and/or imprisonment. When asked if chemical abortion pills should be "widely available," Trump replied, "It's going to be available," adding, "It is now." Trump suggested that the U.S. Supreme Court has adopted the view of "keep it the way it is" regarding the availability of the abortion pill, referring to a decision earlier this year dismissing a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's approval of medication abortion pill mifepristone. The justices concluded that the plaintiffs who brought the case lacked standing to do so. They did not rule on the merits of the case. The former president and Republican nominee's response to the questions did not sit well with pro-life advocacy groups. "We can't ignore the rule of law and pick and choose the laws that we want to enforce," Kristi Hamrick of Students for Life of America told Politico. "Isn't everybody's criticism of the Department of Justice their selective enforcement? So this would be the selective un-enforcement of a law that says these are dangerous drugs and should not be mailed. It's very problematic for a party that respects the law," she said, referring to the Republican Party. Lila Rose, founder and president of the pro-life group Live Action, told the outlet Trump's comments are a cause for concern. "It seems like Trump doesn't care about the pro-life base anymore," she stressed. "When Trump is compromising, it's deeply discouraging to pro-life and pro-family voters, and I think he's putting his own election in jeopardy," she warned. "Quite frankly, this is a losing strategy." Trump's comments about the Comstock Act were not the only part of the interview that drew the ire of pro-life advocates. He also declared that "the federal government should have nothing to do with this issue," referring to the legality of abortion. The comment comes as some Republicans and pro-life activists want to push for federal abortion restrictions. Trump has been clear throughout 2024 that he opposes efforts to enact a federal abortion ban and believes the issue should be left to the states. Tony Perkins, the president of the Christian conservative activist organization Family Research Council, condemned Trump's view. "It is not a pro-life position, it's not an acceptable position, and it does not provide the contrast on this issue to the degree that we have had in the past between him and Kamala Harris," Perkins told Politico. "What President Trump is doing is suppressing his own support," Perkins added. Trump faces Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. The Democratic Party Platform fully embraces "reproductive rights," signaling an intention to codify the Supreme Court's now-overturned 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide into federal law. Hamrick suggested that if Trump really "wants to be out of the federal business of abortion," he should "No. 1, stop funding it and, two, end the federal prejudice in favor of this distribution." Pro-life groups have been warning about the risks of medication abortion for several years. A 2020 investigative report compiled by Live Action noted that women who take the abortion pill can experience "severe cramping, contractions, and heavy bleeding." The report detailed how FDA data shows "women can expect the bleeding to last 9 to 16 days on average, while 8% experience bleeding for more than 30 days." The report cited statistics suggesting that the abortion pill caused 24 maternal deaths between 2000 when the FDA first approved it and 2018 and caused more than 1,000 hospitalizations and over 4,000 "total adverse events." Christian parents regain custody of three girls in Pakistan Three girls illegally detained by their employers were forced to testify that they had converted to Islam and wished to return to their captors, but a judge in Pakistan returned them to their Christian parents, sources said. Justice Shakil Ahmed of the Lahore High Court on Thursday (Aug. 15), allowed the sisters, ages 9, 13 and 16, to retract their forced claims and gave custody of them back to their parents, Naveed Masih and wife Mina Naveed, brick kiln workers in Kasur District, Punjab Province, said Katherine Sapna, executive director of legal advocacy group Christians True Spirit. The couple had sent their daughters to a Muslim woman, Haleema Bibi, in September 2023 for placement as domestic workers, but soon Bibi told them that employers were demanding 300,000 rupees (1,077 USD) as a "security deposit" to return their oldest daughter, Sapna said. Sapna and the parents were allowed to speak with their daughters after they testified that they wished to return to their Muslim captors. "When the girls felt a bit relaxed, they told us that Haleema and their employers had forced them to tell the court that they had converted willfully and wanted to return to their newfound Muslim families," Sapna told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. Sapna said that the girls told them that all three employers had used the same strategy to thwart the parents' efforts to recover them. "It's quite possible that Haleema gave this idea to the employers," Sapna said. "This trend of using religious conversion as a tool for bonded labor is increasing, particularly in the brick kiln industry in Punjab." Poverty had forced the parents to send their daughters, 16-year-old Hina Naveed, 13-year-old Neha Naveed and 9-year-old Mehru Naveed, to Bibi, said their mother, Mina Naveed. She said Bibi had found employment for several Christian children of New Abadi, Chak No. 68 village in Pattok Tehsil. Bibi works on commission and acts as a contact between the families and the employers. "Haleema assured us that they would be placed in good homes, and we believed her," Mina Naveed said. "Most of the kiln workers send their children to work in homes to supplement their income. Only then can one manage to feed the family, especially if it's a big one." Her youngest daughter, 5, fell ill in July, so she called Bibi to return their oldest daughter to care for her as it was very difficult for them to obtain days off from the kiln, she said. Mina Naveed asked Bibi to request Hina's employers to give her a 10-day leave so that she could take care of her ill sister. "After a couple of days, Haleema told us that Hina's employers were demanding 300,000 rupees as a 'security deposit' to return the girl," she said. "We were shocked to hear this absurd demand and refused to accept it. When we insisted on Hina's unconditional return, Haleema started threatening us with legal consequences." Mina Naveed said that after seeing Bibi's attitude, she demanded that all three of her daughters be returned to her immediately. "But she bluntly refused to do so, saying that all three girls had converted to Islam and could not be given to their Christian parents," she said. With help from CTS, the couple filed a petition in the Lahore High Court for the recovery of their daughters from illegal detention. "The entire courtroom was shocked when the girls said that they were Muslims and didn't want to go with their parents," Sapna said. "It was a sensitive case, and we laud Justice Ahmed for making the right decision. He gave the parents sufficient time to talk to the children, and they [the parents] succeeded in convincing them [to retract their statements]." The oldest daughter, Hina, said that her Muslim employer, Madiha Sameer, had told her that converting to Islam was the only way to save herself from her family. "She brain-washed me into believing that my father would do horrible things to me if I went back," Hina told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. "She said he would send me to Dubai as a sex worker or could even sell my body organs for money." Hina said that Sameer mistreated her during her employment at her home. "Baji [Madiha Sameer] used to beat me also, and the entire time I was there she made me sit on the floor to have my meals," she said. Her younger sisters had similar experiences. "My employer, Uzma Faisal, pressured me to tell the court that I had accepted Islam and wanted to live with her," Neha told Christian Daily International-Morning Star News. "She too portrayed a very negative image of my parents." Mehru, the youngest daughter, said she was very happy to be back with her family. Sapna said CTS is helping the girls to rebuild their lives. The court refrained from ordering legal action against Bibi and the three Muslim families for attempting to forcibly convert the girls to Islam. According to the court order, the judge disposed of the petition after the girls "expressed their desire to join their father/petitioner." Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors' 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, as it was the previous year. 2024 Christian Daily International-Morning Star News Egyptian man allowed to list Christian faith on ID card a decade after clerical error (CP) After over a decade of persistent denial of his religious identity, an Egyptian Christian man has successfully corrected the religious affiliation on his identification documents, marking a significant victory for religious freedom in Egypt. Referred to only as Elias for security reasons, the resident of Cairo faced a clerical error by the Egyptian authorities that incorrectly listed him as Muslim on all official identification. This error significantly affected his and his family's daily life, restricting their participation in Christian activities and barring his children from attending Christian schools, according to the legal advocacy group ADF International, which supported Elias. Despite repeated attempts to rectify this on his ID card, Elias's requests were continuously ignored, leaving him to face widespread discrimination and curtailing his family's religious education and practices. ADF International says a resolution was reached through its network of allied attorneys, leading to a government directive to amend Elias's documents to reflect his Christian faith accurately. Elias' case is just one of numerous cases where religious minorities are harassed or discriminated against when they request to change their religion on their identification documents, according to ADF International Director of Global Religious Freedom Kelsey Zorzi. "Despite years of legal challenges and attempts to change the law to reflect religious freedom standards, the situation has remained largely unchanged," she added. "We are delighted that Elias' request was finally allowed, and we will continue to support other individuals who face issues with their identity cards." Egypt's Ministry of Interior mandates all citizens' ID cards state their religious affiliation. Errors or misstatements on such documents can lead to severe violations of religious freedom and discrimination. Incidents of Christian persecution in Egypt vary from women being harassed while walking in the street to Christian communities being driven out of their homes by extremist mobs. Christians are typically treated as second-class citizens. Egypt's government speaks positively about the Egyptian Christian community. Still, the lack of serious law enforcement and the unwillingness of local authorities to protect Christians leave them vulnerable to all kinds of attacks. Churches and Christian nongovernmental organizations face restrictions on building new churches or running social services. In Egypt, ADF International is also involved in legal battles for Nour Girgis and Abdulbaqi Saeed Abdo, two Christian men held in pre-trial detention since 2021. Their arrest stemmed from their association with a Facebook page supporting those who have converted from Islam to Christianity, a charge Egyptian authorities have controversially linked with terrorism. The advocacy group has called for their urgent release and is pursuing international legal avenues to secure it. In a recent development, Abdo announced he would commence a hunger strike to protest the injustice he has endured. The Christian Post Legalising assisted suicide in Scotland would 'undermine' value of human life Scottish politicians have been warned against legalising assisted suicide as Holyrood prepares to scrutinise a Bill brought forward by Lib Dem MSP Liam McArthur. The Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill would make it legal for terminally ill people aged 16 and above in Scotland to be prescribed lethal drugs from doctors to end their lives. In a submission to Holyrood's Health Committee, Christian charity CARE for Scotland said that the law was morally impermissable. The submission argues that the proposals would put vulnerable people at profound risk and be "detrimental" to the relationship between doctors and patients. Authored by CARE for Scotland policy officer Michael Veitch, it says that medical professionals should not be involved in assisting someone to end their life, and that assisted suicide should not be regarded as 'treatment'. It says that there is no safeguard that can prevent undue pressure being put on someone to end their lives by assisted suicide and warns that not only terminally ill people but also those with disabilities and older people "may feel subtly pressured to end their lives prematurely due to attitudinal barriers as well as the lack of appropriate services and support". "Our guiding principle is that we affirm the inherent value of every human life regardless of age; physical, mental, or emotional health; or disability," the submission reads. "A principle recognised during the pandemic when the elderly and infirm were prioritised for vaccination and protection. "This principle is undermined by legislation that permits the terminally ill to end their lives. Physician assisted suicide and euthanasia are not private acts. "They involve a person bringing about the death of another. The societal implications of such a law change have serious implications." Mr Veitch went on to warn that in areas where assisted suicide has already been introduced, original safeguards have later been rebranded 'barriers' and removed. He also questioned the suggestion that assisted suicide is a painless and "easy alternative" to living with a terminal illness. "Evidence suggests that this is not the case with some individuals experiencing long deaths and awakening from the cocktail of drugs, which places patients, families and their doctors in extremely difficult situations," he said. He stated, "Endorsing a medical route to ending a person's life undermines fundamental ethics; endorses the belief that certain lives are no longer worth living; and radically alters the nature of the doctor-patient relationship by undermining the Hippocratic Oath to first 'do no harm'." INE Security, a global cybersecurity training and certification provider, recently launched initiatives with several higher education institutions in an ongoing campaign to invest in the education of aspiring cybersecurity professionals. There is a critical skills gap in the industry, which has enormous implications for businesses and individuals alike, said Dara Warn, INE Securitys CEO. We are working to partner with higher education institutions to close that gap, rewrite the book on how to prepare cybersecurity students, and ultimately reinforce the entire industrys strength and security. According to the team, in a world where digital threats transcend borders, the need for robust cybersecurity education has never been more critical. Universities around the globe are stepping up, recognizing that their role in preparing the next generation of cybersecurity experts is crucial not only for national security but also for maintaining global competitiveness. As cyber threats become more sophisticated, educational institutions are compelled to provide their students with the skills necessary to navigate and mitigate these risks effectively. One of the most pressing reasons for advanced cybersecurity training is the sheer scale and global nature of cyber threats. According to the 2020 Cost of a Data Breach Report by IBM, the average total cost of a data breach globally reached $3.86 million, highlighting the severe economic impact of these incidents. This global threat landscape requires a workforce that is not only technically proficient but also equipped with a comprehensive understanding of international cybersecurity challenges. INE Security + Columbus State University Columbus State University (CSU) is a public university located in the southeastern United States, serving approximately 7,000 students annually. To address the growing demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals in Georgia, CSU launched the NEXUS program in 2017, driven by the states identified shortage of 15,000-30,000 IT and cybersecurity professionals. The challenge was that CSUs cybersecurity education lacked hands-on labs and certification opportunities, making it difficult for students to gain practical skills and accredited certifications essential for the cybersecurity workforce. In 2019, CSU partnered with INE Security to integrate the Junior Penetration Tester (eJPT) certification into its curriculum. The eJPT learning paths hands-on nature, robust application, and immediate feedback were key in addressing the practical training gap. Cybersecurity lecturers at CSU led the integration of the eJPT certification. Since then, 122 students have registered and completed the certification, following a progressive training model starting with IT Fundamentals and CompTIA certifications, followed by eJPT, and culminating in the SEC+ certification. The eJPT certification ensures foundational skills for advanced roles, with a 90% first-attempt pass rate and immediate feedback for those retaking the exam. INE Security + FOUR18 Intelligence FOUR18 Intelligence works with students to deliver live-fire training, and partnered with INE Security to enhance hands-on, real-world cyber defense education. The collaboration aims to make high-quality cybersecurity training accessible and impactful for learners at every stage of their career, anywhere in the world. Part of the strategy centers around FOUR18s DEF3NSE system, which is the first of its kind to offer live-fire cyber threat learning and micro-internships at scale. The partnership is designed to provide students a truly immersive learning experience that prepares them for real-world security risks through practical hands-on engagement, a goal achieved through the joining of INE Security and FOUR18 Intelligence. INE Security + Virtually Testing Foundation Virtually Testing Foundation (VTF) is a California-based 501(c)3 e-learning non-profit organization that started with a mission to educate and help people transition into the field of cybersecurity. INE Security partnered with VTF as a technical training resource, giving the organizations interns access to premium training, hands-on labs, on-demand videos, immersive learning tactics, and discounted access to highly sought-after industry certifications. The partnership opportunity enables VTF interns to access top-tier training materials at no cost, representing a crucial stride in equipping individuals with cybersecurity skills to close critical skills gaps. Career Prospects The career prospects in the cybersecurity field are highly promising. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 31% growth in employment for information security analysts from 2019 to 2029, significantly faster than the average for all occupations. This demand reflects the critical need for cybersecurity professionals who are well-versed in handling both national and international challenges. Furthermore, the integration of advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning in combating cybercrime highlights the evolving nature of the field and the continuous learning opportunities it presents. Universities that collaborate with cybersecurity firms to incorporate these technologies into their training programs not only enhance the learning experience but also ensure that their students are prepared for the future demands of the cybersecurity landscape. Higher education Impact on The Future Higher education institutions and organizations that invest in comprehensive cybersecurity training, especially through partnerships with experienced cybersecurity training partners, are making a significant contribution to the global economy. By equipping students with the necessary skills to face and address international cyber challenges effectively, these institutions are ensuring that their graduates are not only competitive but also ready to lead in the global arena. These efforts not only protect the institutions data and reputations but also prepare their students for a world where cybersecurity expertise is revered and essential. About INE Security: INE Security is the premier provider of online networking and cybersecurity training and certification. Harnessing a powerful hands-on lab platform, cutting-edge technology, a global video distribution network, and world-class instructors, INE Security is the top training choice for Fortune 500 companies worldwide for cybersecurity training in business and for IT professionals looking to advance their careers. INE Securitys suite of learning paths offers an incomparable depth of expertise across cybersecurity and is committed to delivering advanced technical training while also lowering the barriers worldwide for those looking to enter and excel in an IT career. Aboneaza-te la rubricile dorite si primeste zilnic notificari pe email cu link-uri la articolele care au fost adaugate in ultimele 24 de ore. Notificarile vor fi expediate la adresa indicata mai jos. Daca doresti sa schimbi adresa - o poti modifica editand informatia de profil aici. Credit: Over The Wall Camp UK A childrens charity founded by Hollywood actor and philanthropist Paul Newman has changed its branding as it celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. Over The Wall Camp, which supports children with long-term health conditions by providing residential camps for them and their families, unveiled a new logo and website last week. It first rebrand in 15 years, the charity said it aims to refresh its identity to connect with new generations of campers, supporter and volunteers. Founded in 1999, Over The Wall Camp had previously held up to 10 camps a year in different locations around the UK. The rebranding comes at a pivotal moment for the charity, it said, after purchasing a site formerly home to Ockbrook School in Derby in May. Over The Wall Camp will be hosting its camps from this new, permanent home from 2026. Last year, the charity recorded its highest ever income of over 2.03m, according to its latest accounts filed with the Charity Commission. Collaborative rebranding process The charity said the rebrand was done collaboratively, with insights from its staff and volunteers being crucial to ensuring that the new branding would be truly representative of the charitys core values and the impact of its camps. Additionally, the charity will be maintaining this inclusive, collaborative approach by launching a Camp Mascot design competition. Children who benefit from the charitys camps will be invited to contribute to the ongoing rebranding by submitting a mascot that they have drawn to the competition. The winning mascot design will be chosen by the team of volunteers and will become a logo for the residential camps. Civil Society has reached out to Over The Wall Camp for further comment. 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, Pia Sinhas entry into the charity sector is fairly recent, having worked in the prison service for 24 years before becoming Prison Reform Trust (PRT) chief executive in April last year. On joining the prison service as a psychologist in 1999, Sinha says she did not quite know what she was getting herself in for, but was immediately really drawn to the fulfilling, very complex work. Sinha went on to work in several prisons, governed three, and in her last role was the director of women, where she was responsible for all the womens prisons in the country. Then this opportunity came up to be the CEO of Prison Reform Trust, she says. Its probably a job that I coveted for quite a while. She says it felt a natural step to take on the role after feeling that I might need to be outside of that system to carry on with my ambition around prison reform. I think its really important when you are heading up a reform charity, that you understand the operational functioning and operational reality of what your being critical of. In order to enact your reform agenda, to understand the levers that you need to push and pull, you need to have a relationship with the system as well, because were not just critical, were also there to be supportive and helpful and provide solutions and fresh ideas. And if you are someone who has been part of that system, your credibility then enhances as a result of your experience. Moving to the charity sector The charity campaigns for a fair, just and humane prison system. It looks not only at who goes to prison and for how long, but also the conditions that people in prison face. Sinha has found the transition into the charity sector really hard as it is a very different way of working. I think I may have underestimated the challenge, because you think that when you work in a highly complex environment like a prison, then anything else will be a bit of a breeze, but being a chief executive of a charity is very different. She says that in the prison service you have layers and layers of bureaucracy but as a charity CEO the buck really stops at you. I think thats thing that you need to be prepared for, because the level of responsibility that you have is quite intense. Its a very public role, it has a very high profile, and its challenging to have been inside a system for as long as I was, to then be outside of that system, requiring to be critical of it. And I think I found some of that quite challenging. Sinha says you have to navigate the change by relying on your colleagues. Fundraising and public perception Fundraising was new to Sinha as a charity CEO, with around 80% of PRTs 2m annual income coming from trusts and foundations. There are not many funders that are involved in criminal justice and giving to criminal justice charities is quite a niche and specialist area. A lot of charities who operate in that space are competing with the same trusts and foundations, so its quite a competitive field. Encouraging donors to support a charity thats a research and advocacy charity is quite challenging as well, she says, because a lot of donors want to give to organisations which are delivering a service. Sinha says that PRT does not accept any funding from the government as a matter of principle. We feel that we have to speak our truth to power, and in order to do that, we have to be independent of the system. And it allows us the freedom to speak our truth. And so, its very important. Its a key aim. People have quite different views on what we should be doing as a charity, and were very mindful of the fact that a lot of the quality of the intelligence that we get is based on the relationships that we have with people. And in order to do that, you need to be safe and you need to be trustworthy. Nonetheless, Sinha says her charity cannot be activist to the point that people will then shut the doors on you so a lot of how you manage that requires a lot of diplomacy, a lot of pragmatism, and you need to pick the causes that you get behind. Evidence-based campaigning Sinha says PRT is evidence-led, forthright and politically astute in its campaigning approach, which includes providing valued research and briefing reports. PRT are very, very careful in making sure that whatever we get behind, whatever we say, needs to be absolutely thoroughly researched. She says the charity has strong relationships across the charity sector, with ministers and parliamentarians, with officials within the prison system and with people who are in prison, recently out of prison, and their families. One of our key aims as a charity, is to look at why it is that Britain has the highest rate of imprisonment in western Europe, and what we need to do to address that, and right now, you have a prison crisis in terms of an overcrowding in capacity crisis. So, we support the government in their measures to alleviate this crisis, because that is after all, all they can do; you have to reduce the population in order to deliver decent regimes to the people who are in prison. But ultimately, there needs to be a serious conversation about who goes to prison and why. Concerning the recent rioting and resulting anti-racist protesting, Sinha says: Even though you can never, ever condone whats going on, theres a part of you that needs to try and understand why it is that its got to this point. Misinformation and populism and polarisation, all of those play a part, but a lot of those individuals are somehow feeling apart from society. We need to do is to have these debates about why it is that people are behaving the way that they are whether its rioting, whether its about drug use, whether its about alcoholism, whether its about violence. Sinha says part of being a psychologist means she has spent much of her career trying to understand the reasons individuals come into prison. They are people who have been blighted by poverty. Theyre people who have been blighted by poor mental health, theres people who because of their life experiences, have drifted into drug use and alcoholism, and prison becomes their sort of last chance saloon. Were very quick to punish because it means it takes those individuals away from society puts them in prison. If you want as individuals to become good citizens, which is what we should be aiming for, we need to be investing upstream in the kinds of things that help them through those issues and those problems in the first place. Sinha says it is hard to get people to feel empathic for people who are in prison currently because there is such a strong narrative around being tough on crime. If you talk about poor conditions in prisons, not many people feel that its something that we should address as a priority, because their standard line is well youve committed crime, so you shouldnt be expecting to have good conditions in prison. But the compelling argument, I think, for now, which I think people will pay attention to, is that its actually a really cost-ineffective strategy. It costs 50,000 per year to put a person through prison, and if they come out of that other end, unrehabilitated, and commit more crime and part of a revolving door, then thats a waste, and what we need to be doing is looking at what are the underlying issues behind why someone commits crime. Former chair becomes minister PRTs former chair and retail boss James Timpson recently stepped down from the charity to take up a ministerial role in Keir Starmers government, as prisons minister. Sinha says the whole prisons sector feels very optimistic about the appointment as sometimes people take on the portfolio with very little knowledge of the sector. But with James, you have someone who knows the system, who cares about prison and prisoners and their families. I think that can only be a good thing. She adds: Its probably a good thing that he isnt a voted politician it might give him greater freedom, but its to be seen. James is someone whos really oriented by action, so lets hope that he is given the access to do that. 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, By Chalabala, Adobe It was a Monday like every other. Standing in the queue at my local coffee shop, I scrolled through the news on my phone. There, I encountered the horrific story of three young girls being stabbed in Southport. My thoughts immediately turned to the families affected and the precious lives so cruelly taken. I wondered how anyone could be capable of such an atrocity. But, as a Muslim, a familiar thought crossed my mind: God, I hope the perpetrator isnt Muslim. It is a distressing thought to have, but in a world where some sections of the media relentlessly demonise and sometimes dehumanise Muslims, and where politicians scapegoat us, its a burden we often carry. Individual Muslims walk the streets, seemingly shouldering the blame for the wrongdoing of others. The typical questions were already forming in my mind: Do you condemn the stabbings? As if Muslims are inherently to blame, as if we lack the humanity to feel grief or horror. This is the sort of Islamophobia that has been allowed to permeate our society, largely ignored by our previous government. The unchecked spread of Islamophobic conspiracies, fuelled by far-right rhetoric, is no longer surprising. When the false news spread that the alleged killer was a Muslim asylum seeker, many took to the streets, calling for an end to Muslims, refugees, and migrants in the UK. Despite the unprecedented decision to reveal the name of the minor who was reportedly a Welsh teenager of Christian background Islamophobic slurs quickly escalated into violence. Southport Mosque was targeted, police officers were attacked, charity shops and refugee support centres were vandalised, and shops were looted. The terror soon spread across the country, from Hartlepool to Bristol. Many Muslims, especially women, feared for their safety. Many felt distressed, and opted to stay at home working remotely, while mosques scrambled to find additional security measures. Once again, the British Muslim community was left reeling, wondering how we have regressed to the 1970s. Underlying issues Despite the strongest condemnations from the prime minister and senior opposition politicians of such vile acts of terror, the current approach of swift justice merely papers over the cracks. Facing the full force of the law might only deepen the resentment the perpetrators harbour towards a system that has failed them and us. Rather, a robust approach is needed to tackle the systemic far-right hate and structural inequality. Keir Starmer and his government, in partnership with our sector, have an opportunity to reunite the country and address the underlying issues that fuelled these riots. Years of divisive, hate-fuelled politics and the neglect of addressing Islamophobia have fractured our society, allowing extremism to become as pervasive as it is today. The Islamophobic chants in these riots are only possible when senior politicians enable them by echoing the very same rhetoric. Referring to Muslim women as letterboxes, claiming that Islamists control London, or suggesting that Muslims should be arrested for proclaiming their faith in public legitimises Islamophobia in public and civic spaces. The recent joint submission from Amnesty International UK and the Runnymede Trust to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination highlighted the failure to tackle deep-rooted Islamophobia in our institutions, which ultimately led to these Islamophobic and racist riots. Scapegoating Within the charity sector, we have witnessed the harassment and targeting of Muslim humanitarian workers through draconian Schedule 7 powers, which can often feel invasive. Alongside historic legislation, recent laws such as the Illegal Migration Act, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act, the Nationality and Borders Act, and the Elections Act all disproportionately impact Muslims and other minorities. Though the Labour government has dropped the Rwanda policy, the rhetoric around migrants persists, and the scapegoating continues. Another underlying issue is that, for over a decade, the UK has been subjected to a relentless programme of austerity. Public services have been slashed, welfare support has nearly eroded, leaving many in despair, disenfranchised, and disillusioned with the state that is supposed to provide for them. The far-right has capitalised on this discontent, channelling legitimate grievances into a dangerous and divisive narrative that blames Muslims and other minorities for the financial woes of the rest of the British population. This narrative, while repugnant, is seductive because it offers an easy target for the anger born of economic hardship. Exacerbated by a political establishment that has weaponised cultural issues to distract from its own shortcomings, politicians have increasingly turned to culture wars as a means of garnering support, rather than addressing the root causes of social and economic inequality. Picking up the pieces Yet, I know that in such times, it will be up to the voluntary and community sector to pick up the pieces and invest more resources and efforts to rebuild societies. Muslim charities, among other organisations, have long played a role in strengthening communities and building social cohesion in our diverse country. Though they are stretched, our communities will do what they do best, repel such bigotry through unity. The heartwarming scenes across Southport and other towns and cities of communities coming together to support one another in the wake of the hate riots truly demonstrate the best of Britain. My appeal to the new government is straightforward: recognise that the far-right riots were not isolated incidents, but a clear warning of the dangers we face if we continue to ignore the underlying causes. The future of our country and the growing threat of polarisation demand that we confront these issues head-on. We need a government that is resolute in tackling Islamophobia and racism, beginning with the formal recognition and legal definition of Islamophobia. This would send a powerful message that our society values inclusivity and equality. Furthermore, the government must address the deep-seated economic inequalities that have contributed to the sense of disenfranchisement felt by many. Policies like the abolition of the two-child cap are essential steps towards supporting those who feel abandoned by the state. Those hate riots terrorising our streets are a clear reminder that unity must be a priority. However, unity is not simply a loaded term to be used in time of crisis to bring about peace. It requires effort from all participants, including charities, to work towards a more just and equitable society. The future of our country depends on this. Only together will we be able to tackle these systemic issues and protect the best of our country. Civil Society Voices is the place for informed opinion, and debate about the big issues affecting charities today. Were always keen to hear from anyone, working or volunteering at a charity, who has something to say. Find out more about contributing and how to get in touch. is the place for informed opinion, and debate about the big issues affecting charities today. Were always keen to hear from anyone, working or volunteering at a charity, who has something to say. Sign up for The Media Today, CJRs daily newsletter. It was the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and social media was abuzz with rumors of a surprise guest. Would it be Beyonce or Taylor Swift? What about Mitt Romney or George W. Bush? Or the drug baron El Chapo, or the viral Olympic breakdancer Raygun? Okay, so the last two suggestions were jokes (served up by a HuffPost reporter and Sen. Ted Cruz, talking on Fox), but the others were serious, and serious reporters were soon dissecting them. Maggie Haberman, of the New York Times, ruled out Bush (after Romney ruled himself out). For the most part, the speculation homed in on Beyonce, who had, after all, already given Kamala Harris permission to use her song Freedom. On CNN, Jamie Gangel quoted a source very familiar with the schedule: Shes coming. Shes not coming. Shes coming. I dont think shes coming. Waitit may happen. It may not happen. The Hill reported, citing sources of its own, that it would happen. So did TMZ. At one point, a White House staffer tweeted a bee emoji. Journalists circulated this, too, even as the staffer followed up that her six-year-old had been using her phone. In the end, it did not happen; indeed, there was no surprise guest at all, as conventiongoers and the viewing public were forced to make do with Leon Panetta, Adam Kinzinger, and, of course, Harris, who rather selfishly headlined her own nominating party. (Though, given her rapid ascent to the top of the ticket, some journalists quipped that Harris was herself the surprise guest.) The Hill, citing two sources, incorrectly reported that the music superstar would perform, The Hill tweeted. To quote the great Beyonce: We gotta lay our cards down, down, down, TMZ tweeted, adding, we got this one wrong. The fact-checking website PolitiFact crowned the Beyonce rumors the DNC lie of the night, adding, You cant bey-lieve everything you read onlineespecially if it doesnt have named sources. This was an appropriate, if silly, end to a week in which facts and the checking of them played an outsize role in the discourse, at least among Very Online media criticsas speakers processed across the DNC stage, journalists at various outlets rated the veracity of what they said, and, often, critics charged that they were the ones who had gotten it wrong. It all started on Monday, when President Biden accused Donald Trump of having pledged not to accept the result if he loses in the fall and a reporter at the Washington Post described this as untrue, explaining that Trump just hasnt said that he would accept and previously said the only way he loses is if the Democrats cheat. The Post would find itself in the barrel again before the convention was over, as would PolitiFact, which was taken to task for, among other things, asserting that while Trump repeatedly tried to cut Medicare when he was president, he has said that he wont next time (honest). The Times was criticized as well, including for earnestly fact-checking a claim by J.B. Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, that was self-evidently a joke. If the critics may have seen such Timesian behavior as beyond parody, the paper at least proved that parody is not beyond a fact-check. In addition to ample litigation of the specific claims at issue, all this set in motion a debate as to whether fact-checking is fit for the purpose at all. In response to some of the criticism, Michael Scherer, a journalist at the Post, insisted that details matter, even if the popping of ideological info bubbles stings. But others disagreed. Chris Lehmann, the DC bureau chief at The Nation, wrote a piece describing real-time fact-checking as the lowest form of journalism; reporters seeing themselves as above-the-fray priests of a higher empirical truth, Lehmann argued, could not be more ill suited to the Trumpified political age, in which fact-checking can feel akin to pointing out that your muggers shoe is untied while youre pinned against the wall with a knife at your throat. In a blog post titled Fact-checking does a (hopefully fatal) face plant, the media critic Dan Froomkin argued that the concept of fact-checking is a noble one, but the way it is actually practiced does more harm than good. Fact-checkers, Froomkin added, are so devoted to not taking sides that instead of exposing the vast gulf in truth-telling between the two parties, they effectively hide it. To fact-check myself, I should say that the debate over fact-checking was less set in motion this week than revived; indeed, it has been going on for a while. During Trumps presidency, fact-checking was often seen as a high journalistic calling, though even back then, not everyone was convinced; in 2019, Ana Marie Cox argued in CJR that the exercise was overly bogged down in petty minutiae, and thus often missed the bigger picture. Earlier this year, I quoted from Coxs column as I made the case that fact-checking had declined in centrality since she wrote, and suggested (with some nuance) that this might be a bad thing. (I was writing in the context of the Republican senator Katie Britts rebuttal to Bidens State of the Union speech, coverage of which was dominated by the weird vibes of Britts delivery until a dogged independent journalist pointed out that one of her core claims about immigration was laughably untrue.) In general, I stand by this assessment. And yet, this week, fact-checking felt centrally relevant again. As far as the fresh contributions to the debate over fact-checking are concerned, I find things to like, and to like less, in all of them. (We might say that each is partially true.) As I suggested in the wake of Britts speech, checking facts is still a vital part of what all journalists should do, if not in the live-blog, claim-by-claim format lambasted by Lehmann and others. (Indeed, Lehmann wrote in his Nation piece that actual fact-checking, as undertaken at this magazine and others, is a vocation I revere.) Details clearly do matter, andwhile I for one could do without the sanctimonious talk of popping ideological info bubblesthis is as true, in the abstract, for claims made by Democrats as it is for those made by Republicans; the latter may lie an awful lot more these days, but thats no reason not to call out the formers misstatements when they occur. It could reasonably be argued that blowing individual fact-checks out of proportion is the problem here, but to the extent that this happened this week, the critics of the fact-checks played a big role in highlighting them. If you werent online this week (lucky you!), you may not be aware of the controversy around them at all. Sign up for CJRs daily email This being said, the critics of these individual fact-checks were often right to light into them for missing the mark. The one that chided Biden for his remarks on Trump and the election, in particular, was a mess; semantics about what Trump has said aside, we all saw what Trump did on and in the run-up to January 6, and suggesting that he is primed to do the same thing again this year isat the very, very leastlegitimate speech in the context of a political convention. (Indeed, an irony of this and other checks about Trump this week is that they relied on taking him at his word when fact-checkersperhaps more than anyone elsehave shown the extent to which he is a serial liar.) Nor do journalists need to police every joke. (Im not planning to drag the HuffPost reporter for falsely stating that Raygun was the DNC surprise guest, nor Cruz for bringing up El Chapoeven if the latter joke was at least hiding a political message.) Its true that the format of live checking can encourage the treatment of claims in isolation, and that (whatever role the critics played in elevating its prominence this week) many outlets continue to devote significant reportorial resources to the format; its also true, as I wrote in the aftermath of Britts speech, that journalists shouldnt solely evaluate claims based on some imagined, precise degree of truth. But as I see it, this weeks failures dont reflect a fundamental flaw in live fact-checking per sethey were bad because they were wrong, regardless of the formatso much as the flaws in political journalism as a wider discipline. There is no reason that a given fact-check has to be credulous of Trump or ignore the crucial context of his past behavior. (Indeed, even critics of the live format acknowledge that it can be done welland has been at times this week.) Similar can be said of really any given piece of political journalism. Some are sharp. Others miss the mark. If the debate over fact-checking is much broader than Trumpespecially in the week of the DNChe is the main character in it because he is the candidate who is habitually, massively dishonest about everything from minutiae to the rules of the electoral game. If individual fact-checks can sometimes miss this reality, so can the piecemeal way in which political journalism is often organized more broadly. Overall, Id say that major outlets have gotten better over time at using blunt language to describe Trumps anti-democracy projectbut as Ive often written in this newsletter, such coverage has too often been siloed from other coverage that, at least implicitly, treats Trump as a normal candidate in a normal race. This is still true. Recently, a certain strain of punditry has suggested that Harris has moved away from highlighting threats to democracy toward highlighting freedom (see again: Beyonce) and that this has been strategically smart. But keeping Trumps threats to democracy front and center, or at least establishing them as crucial context, is important to the extent that they are true, not the extent that Democrats emphasize them. Yesterdays special-guest speculation was, by itself, relatively harmless. To the extent that it reflected a media pathology, it wasnt complicity in the lie of the night, but a wider tendency to chase shiny objects and the unknownand its this tendency, not any specific format, that can make coverage feel, to quote an infamous Harrisism, unburdened by what has been. If its true that Harris has pivoted in tone from Bidens warnings about threats to democracy, she is still echoing them in substance; she did so in her speech last night, while the prior nights programming majored on what Trump did on January 6 and might do again this year. Often, what matters most isnt the surprise but the stuff that isnt surprising at all. Other notable stories: Also for The New Yorker, Charles Bethea dug into the phenomenon of the low-information voter, a term for people who pay little attention to political news, among whom support for Trump is relatively high. The concept, one expert said, sounds very condescending but has been extensively studied for decades: people vary in terms of the enjoyment they get out of searching for new information. The term, Bethea adds, is not a measure of intelligence, and, though it correlates with education level, its not the same thing: some low-information voters have college degrees. Whatever their education, low-need-for-cognition voters are less likely to seek out alternative views, and more likely to trust people they respect. The Intercepts Akela Lacy reports on a class action lawsuit alleging that police officers in New York City have illegally accessed juvenile records that should have remained sealedand sometimes disseminated them, including to the press. The suit, which was unsealed Thursday, alleges that officials routinely share those sealed records with prosecutors and the mediaspecifically with pro-cop tabloids that regularly publish juvenile arrest information sourced from police, Lacy writes. Legal advocates working on the suit said the practice of leaking sealed juvenile records was indicative of the NYPDs broader disregard for civil liberties. This week, the satirical publication The Onion returned to print for the first time in more than a decade, debuting a print issue in Chicago, its home city, to coincide with the DNC. The return to print has gone unbelievably, shockingly well, Ben Collins, the CEO, told the Post (though he didnt disclose figures). Were saying, this is something that youre going to really like, and, it can give us five bucks to make it every month, Collins said, of the publications new offer. Well put that into your house. And I think thats a very back-to-basics thing that people want. And FX set a November 14 release date for Say Nothing, a limited series based on a book of the same name by Patrick Radden Keefe, a staff writer at The New Yorker, about the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Deadline notes that the series will tell the story of various members of the IRA, and explore themes including the extremes some people will go to in the name of their beliefs. (I spoke with Keefe back in 2019, after his book came out; you can read our conversation here.) ICYMI: On the DNC and the Gaza story Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic, among other outlets. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop. The parents of a former student accused of killing 10 people at a high school near Houston in 2018 do not bear financial responsibility for the shooting, a jury decided Monday. A lawsuit brought by victims and their families sought to hold Dimitrios Pagourtzis and his parents, Antonios Pagourtzis and Rose Marie Kosmetatos, accountable for the shooting at Santa Fe High School in 2018. During a three-week trial, attorneys for the families argued the parents failed to provide necessary support for their sons mental health and didnt do enough to prevent him from accessing their guns. Jurors instead put the responsibility with Dimitrios Pagourtzis and a firearms ammunition retailer in a verdict that awarded families more than $300 million total in damages, including for pain and mental anguish. Attorneys for the families said they were disappointed in the outcome. Weve wouldve liked to have the parents share in their responsibility for this, said Clint McGuire, who represented several of the families. Authorities say Pagourtzis fatally shot eight students and two teachers. Pagourtzis, now 23, has been charged with capital murder, but the criminal case has been on hold since November 2019, when he was declared incompetent to stand trial. He is being held at a state mental health facility. In April, Jennifer and James Crumbley were sentenced to at least 10 years in prison by a Michigan judge after becoming the first parents convicted in a U.S. mass school shooting. Pagourtzis parents are not accused of any crime. The lawsuit was filed by relatives of seven of the people killed and four of the 13 who were wounded in the Santa Fe attack. The jury also assigned some responsibility to Lucky Gunner, a Tennessee-based online retailer that sold Dimitrios Pagourtzis more than 100 rounds of ammunition without verifying his age and reached a settlement with the families last year. The company had previously been a defendant in the lawsuit. Jake Felde, CEO of Lucky Gunner, said in a statement that the company isnt responsible for any of the damages awarded by the jury because it was dismissed from the lawsuit. Lucky Gunner wasnt a party to the trial, so it was easy for the jury to place some of the blame on us because we werent there to defend ourselves, Felde said. The attorney representing Pagourtzis told jurors that while his client did plan the shooting, he was never in control of his actions because of his severe mental illness. McGuire said the parents knew their son was depressed, receiving bad grades, isolating himself, and had taken weapons from their gun cabinet and safe. McGuire said Pagourtzis also wrote disturbing Facebook posts and ordered ammunition and other items online, such as a knife with a Nazi symbol and a T-shirt that said, Born To Kill. But Lori Laird, an attorney for Pagourtzis parents, told jurors that the couple hadnt seen any red flags, knew nothing of his online purchases and didnt know any of their weapons were missing. We need to protect our children. They need to feel safe when they go to school, Galveston County Court at Law Judge Jack Ewing said after the verdict was delivered. They need to feel safe at home. And that message will carry even outside of the walls and the doors of this courtroom. And hopefully it will follow into the ears of our legislators. Both parents testified during the trial. Antonios Pagourtzis is retired but worked for years in ship maintenance and repair. Kosmetatos works as an executive assistant at an academic health science center in Galveston. Kosmetatos told jurors that while her son became more introverted as he grew older, he was a bright and normal child with no significant issues. She acknowledged that he wasnt himself in the months leading up to the shooting but she had hoped it would pass. Antonios Pagourtzis testified that he wasnt aware that his son was feeling rejected and ostracized at school, or that he might have been depressed. The family stored firearms in a gun safe in the garage and a display cabinet in the living room. Dimitrios Pagourtzis used his mothers .38 caliber handgun and one of his fathers shotguns during the shooting. Whether he got the weapons from the safe or cabinet, and where he found the keys, were among points debated during the trial. You cant secure anything 100%, Antonios Pagourtzis said. Similar lawsuits have been filed following other mass shootings. In 2022, a jury awarded over $200 million to the mother of one of four people killed in a shooting at a Waffle House in Nashville, Tennessee. The lawsuit was filed against the shooter and his father, who was accused of returning a rifle to his son before the shooting despite the sons mental health issues. Top Photo: Rose Marie Kosmetatos, left, and her husband, Antonios Pagourtzis, parents of accused Santa Fe High School shooter Dimitrios Pagourtzis, talk before the start of the civil trial against them Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Galveston County Court No. 3 Judge Jack Ewings courtroom at the Galveston County Courthouse in Galveston, Texas. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP, Pool) Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. CHICAGO (AP) Kamala Harris summoned Americans on Thursday to reject political division and instead chart what she called a new way forward, as she accepted her partys nomination while blending biography with warnings about electing Donald Trump again to the White House. Taking the stage to a thunderous standing ovation as she closed out the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the vice president argued that her personal story and background as a prosecutor made her uniquely qualified to protect Americans interests against a former president she cast as only having his own interests in mind. Our nation with this election has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past, Harris said. A chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans. The daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, Harris became the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to accept a major partys presidential nomination and she would become the first female president if elected. Harris did not explicitly reference the historic firsts she would set in her 40-minute speech, and she only mentioned the words Democrat or Republican in the context of discussing a bipartisan border bill that Trump helped scuttle earlier this year, which she promised to sign into law if elected. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) APAP Her address and the Democratic convention at large was intended to appeal to a broad swath of Americans, not just partisans already energized by Harris ascension after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid. She made several implicit appeals to the large swath of voters who just weeks ago were disaffected with both of their options for the White House, particularly those disaffected with Trump, underscored by the appearances of several people who have broken with the 45th president, while embracing the policies and approach of Biden, the 46th. She was joined for the traditional balloon drop by a large blended and mixed-race family. Earlier, two of her grandnieces had led the packed United Center in teaching people how to pronounce her name, which means lotus in Sanskrit. America, the path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected, Harris said. But Im no stranger to unlikely journeys. Pennsylvania delegate Dawn Chavous drops a tear as she listens to the members of The Exonerated Five, during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) APAP Harris reintroduces herself Raised primarily by her mother in a small apartment in San Franciscos East Bay after her parents divorce, Harris described being reared as well by friends and caregivers who were family by love. She also detailed a key part of her political origin story, when Wanda, her best friend from high school, confided in her that she was being abused by her stepfather and came to live with Harris family. That is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor. To protect people like Wanda, Harris said. Outlining her work as a prosecutor, state attorney general, senator and now vice president, Harris declared, My entire career Ive only had one client: the people. Meanwhile, she said Trump has only ever acted in the interests of the only client he has ever had: himself. As she took the stage, she saw a sea of female delegates and Democratic supporters wearing white the color of womens suffrage, the movement that culminated with American women securing the right to vote in 1920. Harris address came on her 10th wedding anniversary to her husband, Doug Emhoff, whom she called Dougie on stage and who blew her a kiss from the stands at the start of her remarks. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)AP She and other speakers directly appealed to Republicans Harris made a direct call to Republicans who dont support Trump to put aside party labels and to support her over Trump, who denied his loss to Biden in the 2020 election, which inspired the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. I know there are people of various political views watching tonight, and I want you to know I promise to be a president for all Americans, Harris said. I promise to be a president for all Americans to hold sacred Americas constitutional principles, fundamental principles, from the rule of law and fair elections to the peaceful transfer of power. The convention granted a prime speaking slot to former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, a Republican critic of Trumps who said: Whatever policies we disagree on pale in comparison with those fundamental matters of principle. Of decency. Of fidelity to this nation. To my fellow Republicans: If you still pledge allegiance to those principles, I suspect you belong here, too. Harris invoked her prosecutors background when she referred several times to Trumps explicit intent to free those who assaulted law enforcement officers at the Capitol, jail political opponents and use the military against American citizens. Consider what he intends to do if we give him power again, she added. Trump, calling into Fox News after Harris speech, responded to the speech by asking, Why didnt she do the things that shes complaining about? It was a lot of complaining. She didnt talk about China. She didnt talk about fracking. She didnt talk about crime, Trump went on, adding, Other than that it was a nice-looking room. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., speaks during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) APAP Harris promises to defend alliances, abortion access Delivering her most in-depth remarks on national security since becoming a presidential candidate, Harris promised to strengthen U.S. relationships with NATO allies and said the country must continue to support Ukraine in its war with Russia. Trump and running mate JD Vance have repeatedly questioned U.S. backing for Ukraine. I will never waver in defense of Americas security and ideals, because in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs, she said. The vice president also vowed to work toward an end to Israels war against Hamas that can stabilize the rest of the region, while not hesitating to protect U.S. forces from aggression by Iran and other adversaries. While she pledged to always stand up for Israels right to defend itself after Hamas Oct. 7 attack and pushed for the release of the hostages and the implementation of a cease-fire deal, she highlighted the plight of Palestinian civilians as well. Pro-Palestinian protesters and members of the uncommitted movement in the arena sharply criticized convention organizers for not inviting a Palestinian American onstage. What has happened in Gaza in the last 10 months is devastating, so many innocent lives lost, Harris said. Desperate, hungry people fleeing to safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. Pledging to restore nationwide access to abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Harris lambasted Trump and Republicans who have enabled abortion bans across two dozen states and have sought to move further. They are out of their minds, Harris proclaimed. Harris has faced scrutiny in the month since she replaced Biden atop the Democratic ticket for avoiding policy specifics. She offered broad promises in a string of key policy areas, from expanding voting rights to lowering housing costs, passing middle-class tax cuts and bolstering border security. Harris also emphasized her law enforcement background, including her time as San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general. She was later elected to the U.S. Senate and sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. Her campaign imploded that year before a single primary vote was cast, but Biden chose her as his running mate, catapulting her to the national stage. Although Harris initially struggled to find her footing as vice president, her reputation grew when she became the administrations leading advocate for abortion rights after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Democrats harnessed anger over the decision to stem their losses in the last midterm elections. When Biden stumbled in his debate with Trump in June, Harris defended him until he decided to drop out of the race. With the help of his endorsement, she swiftly unified the Democratic Party behind her candidacy, resetting a presidential race that Trump had appeared on track to win. Speaking to supporters after her remarks, Harris struck a confident note, but encouraged them to keep campaigning like they were behind. Tonight get your party on, for the next 75 days we have a lot of work to do, she said. Were going to win this. --Zeke Miller, Will Weissert and Darlene Superville/AP CLEVELAND, Ohio Jerry Darkes is a noted local fly fishing master, an expert fly tier and author, and travels the Great Lakes for trout, resulting in his recent book, the colorful Essential Flies for the Great Lakes Region, published by Stackpole Books and sold at local fly shops The veteran fly guy has not had to travel far to connect with his latest quarry, the often denigrated sheepshead, or fresh water drum. Lake Erie walleye, yellow perch, steelhead trout and smallmouth bass anglers generally curse, rather than keep, the sheepshead they inadvertently catch. Sheepshead are a challenge to catch using a fly rod, and theyre big and slab-sided, making them a tough adversary when hooked. Despite what most fishermen think, they also have a relatively delicate white flesh and are good to eat, said Darkes. He recently took Jessica Suvak, of Berea, fishing for drum. A founding member of the Ohio Women on the Fly group based in Columbus, Suvak and Darkes didnt go far, targeting the waters just outside the Cleveland Harbor break wall. Casting a slow-sinking fly line and a long leader tipped with a streamer fly of Darkes creation, it didnt take long to hook up with a trophy sheepshead. You simply hop the weighted fly, which is more or less a streamer fly and much like a hair-skirted jig, and hang on. Near-shore Lake Erie has a wonderful population of freshwater drum, and in the Cleveland and Lorain areas the best average depth is usually about 30 to 40 feet. To sweeten the pot, Darkes says that rig has also produced a few walleye, as well. Southerly winds to give fishing a boost Anglers know that its been a bit windy on the wide open waters that last few weeks, with more than bumpy waters slowing down the fishing. Small boat fishermen have been at a major disadvantage, and charter skippers have had to struggle with long distance runs for big walleye and steelhead trout. Mother Nature has finally flipped the fishing switch again, with southerly winds in the weekly forecast and very moderate waves. While near shore waters will be range from muddy to dingy for a little while, the offshore waters are clearing quickly and good catches are expected throughout the weekend. Expect that off Cleveland and Lorain the walleye fishing should be good inside of 28-foot depths, and outside of 48 feet deep. Diving planers and spoons have been catching walleye, as well as spinner rigs and nightcrawlers and diving plugs, or crankbaits. Off Fairport Harbor and Conneaut the walleye fishing has been best in waters from 70 to 75 feet, although it is expected that the big schools of walleye will soon be heading for the 50-foot depths. A few steelhead are already being caught by anglers casting diving plugs from shoreline piers and breakwalls, and that fishing should improve. Yellow perch bite a surprise The Western Lake Erie yellow perch fishing has been fair to good, despite the weather, around D Can on the Lake Erie Firing Zone off Camp Perry, and along Catawba Island and Green Island. The Kelleys Island and Marblehead Lighthouse areas are still slow for yellow perch , but that might be caused by the proliferation of commercial trap nets in those areas. The walleye fishing east of Kelleys Island and off of Huron and Vermilion has been steady. Around the area Smallmouth bass and rock bass are biting in the Rocky River in the Cleveland area and the upper Vermilion River, and small tube jigs and jigs with twister tails are scoring ... The channel catfish fishing around Sandusky Bay has been slow, and only a few catfish are being caught from the Grand River. Wetlands, waterways restored in Port Clinton An H2Ohio initiative around the Buckeye State that is helping to restore wetlands and waterways will benefit the Little Portage Wildlife Area in Ottawa County. The Little Portage River, which flows into the Portage River and subsequently Lake Erie, will improve water quality in the rivers and Lake Erie. It will also permanently shut down the boat ramp at the Little Portage River, which is primarily used during the waterfowl hunting season, and will improve habitat for waterfowl and wading birds, reptiles and amphibians. Kayak and canoe paddlers will eventually be be allowed to launch at the wildlife area. The Little Portage River is primarily a river marsh about six miles west of Port Clinton. There are about 80 H2Ohio projects still underway, with more than 100 completed. China extradites suspect of 100-billion-yuan financial crime from Thailand Xinhua) 14:12, August 23, 2024 BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese law enforcement agencies extradited a suspect from Thailand on Tuesday in connection with a major financial criminal case involving more than 100 billion yuan (14 billion U.S. dollars), China's Ministry of Public Security announced Friday. The man surnamed Zhang is the first financial criminal suspect extradited to China from Thailand since the two countries' extradition treaty took effect in 1999, according to the ministry. Zhang was discovered to have led a pyramid scam operation under the guise of issuing virtual currency since 2012. The public security organ of Chongqing Municipality launched an investigation into Zhang in 2020, and an Interpol Red Notice was issued in March 2021. Zhang was captured by Thai police in 2022, and was ordered to be extradited to China following a sentence made by Thailand's Appeals Court in May of this year, a decision later supported by the Thai government. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger in his Democratic National Convention speech that "Donald Trump has suffocated the soul of the Republican Party," endorsing Democrat Kamala Harris for president. "His fundamental weakness has coursed through my party like an illness, sapping our strength, softening our spine, whipping us into a fever that has untethered us from our values," he said. Kinzinger, who represented Illinois in Congress from 2011 to 2023, directed his speech not to the Democrats in Chicago's United Center Thursday night, but to members of his own party. "I've learned something about the Democratic Party, and I want to let my fellow Republicans in on the secret," he said. "The Democrats are as patriotic as us. They love this country just as much as we do. And they are as eager to defend American values at home and abroad as we conservatives have ever been." "I've learned something about my party, too. Something I couldn't ignore," he continued. "The Republican Party is no longer conservative. It has switched its allegiance. From the principles that gave it purpose, to a man whose only purpose is himself." Kinzinger, who in his speech said he "still hold[s] onto the label" of Republican, was a Trump critic before the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. In the wake of the violent insurrection, Kinzinger was one of only ten Republicans to vote to impeach Trump in the former president's second impeachment trial. Kinzinger also voted to create, and then sat on, the select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 riot. He and former Rep. Liz Cheney were the only Republicans on the committee. Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday officially accepted the Democratic presidential nomination, vowing to unite the country and bring a practical perspective to the presidency if she is elected in November. "I know there are people of various political views watching tonight," Harris said in her keynote address on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. "And I want you to know: I promise to be a president for all Americans," she said. "I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations," Harris said. "A president who leads and listens. Who is realistic. Practical. And has common sense. And always fights for the American people." Harris also promised that building the middle class "will be a defining goal of my presidency." "This is personal for me. The middle class is where I come from," she said. That line channeled the rhetoric of President Joe Biden, who made history in late July when he withdrew his reelection bid and endorsed Harris as his replacement. But Harris' speech also gave her an opportunity to uncouple herself from the 81-year-old incumbent who has been dogged by low approval ratings and pitch a "new way forward." "With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past," she said. "Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans." The speech capped the DNC's four-day parade of politicians, celebrities, activists, entertainers and everyday Americans, ranging from Oprah Winfrey and Bill Clinton to the wrongfully imprisoned members of the Central Park 5. It also mirrored the patriotic overtures and positive vibes that defined much of the convention a clear effort to appeal to more moderate voters, and defang Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's attempts to label Harris a far-left "Marxist." That tone serves another purpose: Underscoring Democrats' recent refrain that both the former president Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, are "weird" and don't represent most of the country. "In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man," Harris said Thursday night. "But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious." She warned that Trump would be empowered if rewarded with a second term, referencing a recent Supreme Court ruling that granted former presidents "presumptive immunity" from criminal prosecution for their official acts. Chinese tech company Baidu announced Monday it can sell some robotaxi rides without any human staff in the vehicles. BEIJING Chinese tech company Baidu is reporting slower growth in its Apollo Go robotaxi rides than in prior quarters. Figures Baidu reported Thursday showed the number of robotaxi rides operated publicly grew by 26% year-on-year in the first half of the year to a monthly average of 287,500 rides, according to CNBC calculations. That's down sharply from year-on-year growth of 184% in the first half of 2023, for a monthly average of 229,000 rides. Some of the cars still require a safety driver and are not fully autonomous. Baidu is one of the major operators of public-facing robotaxis in China, where regulators in parts of Beijing and cities such as Wuhan Apollo Go's largest operating region have allowed the companies to collect fares. A striking Teamsters union worker pickets outside Canadian National Railway's (CN) headquarters after being locked out by the company in Montreal, Quebec, Canada August 22, 2024. REUTERS/Evan Buhler The union representing workers at Canadian National Railway said on Friday they would strike next week, in a fresh threat to the economy after vowing to challenge a government decision to end an unprecedented rail stoppage. The Teamsters union filed notice that conductors, locomotive engineers and other workers at Montreal-based CN would strike on Monday, just days after returning to work on Friday. A Canadian government official had no immediate comment. A CN spokesperson said trains were starting to run and the company's plan to resume operations was under way. "We are focused on getting back to work," said Jonathan Abecassis, CN's spokesperson. "The Teamsters are focused on getting back to the picket line." The looming strike is the latest twist in a labor dispute at Canada's top two railroads, which locked out more than 9,000 unionized workers on Thursday, triggering a simultaneous rail stoppage that business groups said could inflict hundreds of millions of dollars in economic damage. A lockout at rival Canadian Pacific Kansas City has yet to be officially lifted after the Canadian government moved on Thursday to end the rail stoppage, which for the first time involved both railways simultaneously. The dispute led Canada's Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to ask the Canada Industrial Relations Board to issue a back-to-work order. Union and railroad officials met with the CIRB, an independent body, on Friday morning, the Teamsters said on social media site X. Teamsters spokesperson Chris Monette said by phone earlier in the day that the union would challenge the constitutionality of the minister's referral, without giving details. Monette said CN workers would return to work on Friday, although the union had not received any back-to-work protocol from the railway. "The return to work will be chaotic this morning," he said. Monette said members from CPKC would not be back at work as the railway had not yet ended its lockout. CPKC said late on Thursday that it was preparing to restart operations in Canada and that further details on timing would be provided once it received the CIRB's order. Blocked from the U.S. by tariffs, Chinese electric vehicle makers have looked elsewhere to sell their high-tech cars. But as Mexico has emerged as a hot spot for Chinese EVs, Washington officials worry the country may be used as a "backdoor" to the U.S. market. Last year, China was the leading car supplier to Mexico, exporting $4.6 billion worth of vehicles to the country, according to the Mexican Ministry of Economy. Even customers wary of EVs have been won over by affordable price tags. Tesla rival BYD sells its Dolphin Mini in Mexico for around 398,800 pesos, or about $21,300, a little over half the price of the cheapest Tesla. "The Chinese automakers came to the country very aggressively," said Juan Carlos Baker, former Mexican deputy minister for international trade. "They have very good promotions. It's a good product that sells at a very reasonable price." Some Chinese EV makers, including BYD, have been looking for a further foothold in North America by exploring factory sites in the Mexican states of Durango, Jalisco and Nuevo Leon. The foreign investment would be an economic boost for Mexico. BYD has claimed that a plant there would create around 10,000 jobs. But U.S. officials worry this could be a part of a larger strategy by Chinese automakers to skirt trade restrictions and enter the American market. "Mexico is an attractive production platform, not only for Chinese companies, but for other companies as well, in part because of that free trade access that it has to the American market," said Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing. "And it can do something that in trade terms is called circumvention." That free trade access is part of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), a revised iteration of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) that removed tariffs on many goods traded between the North American countries starting in 2018. Under the agreement, if a foreign auto company manufactures in either Canada or Mexico and can prove that the building materials are sourced locally, the goods can be exported to the U.S. virtually duty-free. "We've seen China do this in other types of manufacturing as well, from appliances to auto parts to steel," said Paul. "For more than a decade now, China, the United States have been playing a high-stakes game of whack-a-mole when it comes to trade policy tariffs." While meeting the USMCA requirements is difficult, the potential scenario terrifies U.S. lawmakers and auto companies. "If [Chinese EV makers] are able to set up in Mexico, they would definitely pose an imminent threat to American automakers, if for no other reason, because their costs would be lower," said Michael Dunne, CEO of Dunne Insights. In May, President Joe Biden announced a 100% tariff on Chinese EVs. "We [the U.S.] are just starting to scale up our EV industry, so it's what I call an 'infant industry,'" said Paul. "And like any infant, it's at a very delicate time in terms of development and has to be massively protected." Experts say pressure from the U.S. leaves Mexico in a difficult position of maintaining its crucial relationship with America without being overly friendly to Chinese investment. CNBC reached out to the Mexican government, as well as Chinese automakers BYD, SAIC and Chery. None responded to our request for comment. Watch the video to learn more about how Mexico has become a hot spot for Chinese auto companies and how the next administration may impact EV trade policies. Demonstrators burn objects amid clashes outside the Parliament building in Jakarta on August 22, 2024 during a protest against a move to reverse the Constitutional Court's decision altering eligibility rules for candidates in a key election later this year. The ratification of changes to Indonesia's election laws was halted Thursday as thousands of protesters occupied roads in front of parliament and some tried to storm the building. The changes, if implemented, would deepen the political influence of outgoing President Joko Widodo and have been criticized as potentially weakening Indonesia's young democracy. Parliament met in an emergency session Thursday to overturn one decision made by Indonesia's Constitutional Court on election procedures, while amending another. But the legislature canceled the ratification after failing to achieve a quorum amid the protests outside. "It was stated that the revision of the regional election law cannot be implemented. This means that today the revision of the regional election law will not be implemented," Deputy Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad told reporters in Jakarta. Indonesian police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse thousands of protesters who attempted to storm the parliament building after they tore down a section of fence and threw rocks at police. Protesters occupied roads in front of the building. Some held banners and signs, while others started a fire and burned tires. The Constitutional Court on Tuesday dismissed a challenge to an age limit that prevents people under 30 from running for regional governorships, which would prevent Widodo's youngest son, Kaesang Pangarep, 29, from running in a regional contest in Central Java. Meta said Friday that it blocked a "small cluster" of WhatsApp accounts linked to an Iranian hacking group that was targeting officials associated with President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. The company said in a blog post that the bogus WhatsApp accounts appeared to originate from the Iranian threat actor dubbed APT42, which other tech companies like Google previously described as an "Iranian state-sponsored cyber espionage actor." The group has targeted various activists, non-government organizations, media outlets and others. Meta said the scheme was intended to exploit "political and diplomatic officials, and other public figures, including some associated with administrations of President Biden and former President Trump." The campaign also targeted people in Israel, Palestine, Iran and the U.K. With less than 75 days until the November election, Meta is attracting increased public attention due to ways that Facebook has been exploited and manipulated in the two prior presidential campaigns. The company said it hasn't seen any evidence that the accounts of any WhatsApp users were compromised, and it's sharing more information with "law enforcement and our industry peers." Meta said its security team was able to spot APT42's involvement after analyzing suspicious messages that an unspecified number of users reported receiving from the fraudulent WhatsApp accounts. "These accounts posed as technical support for AOL, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft," Meta said in the blog post. "Some of the people targeted by APT42 reported these suspicious messages to WhatsApp using our in-app reporting tools." The Trump campaign said earlier this month that a foreign actor had compromised its network and illegally obtained internal communications. Microsoft also said at the time that it identified several Iranian hacking groups that were attempting to influence the U.S. presidential election, and that a group affiliated with APT42 "sent a spear phishing email in June to a high-ranking official on a presidential campaign from the compromised email account of a former senior advisor." In 2019, Microsoft said it had identified several hackers linked to the Iranian government who were believed to have targeted an unspecified U.S. presidential campaign in addition to other government officials and media. WATCH: Big Tech: too big to split A Delta technician works on a set of screens displaying a blue page and reading "Recovery" in Terminal 2, Delta Airlines, at Los Angeles airport, on July 19, 2024. Airlines, banks, TV channels and other businesses were disrupted worldwide on Friday following a major computer systems outage linked to an update on an antivirus program. Microsoft said Friday it will hold a conference in September for cybersecurity firms to discuss ways the industry can evolve following a faulty CrowdStrike software update that caused millions of Windows computers to crash in July. The incident sent internet-connected systems into disarray. Airlines canceled thousands of flights, logistics companies reported package delivery delays and hospitals delayed medical appointments. Delta Air Lines , which said fallout from the outage cost the company $550 million, is seeking damages from CrowdStrike and Microsoft. Microsoft will meet with CrowdStrike and other security companies at its campus in Redmond, Washington, on Sept. 10 to discuss how to prevent similar issues in the future, a Microsoft executive told CNBC in an interview. The person requested anonymity because they didn't have approval to discuss internal matters publicly. The executive said participants at the Windows Endpoint Security Ecosystem Summit will explore the possibility of having applications rely more on a part of Windows called user mode instead of the more privileged kernel mode. Software from CrowdStrike Check Point , SentinelOne and others in the endpoint-protection market currently depend on kernel mode. Such access helps SentinelOne "monitor and stop bad behavior and prevent malware from turning off security software," a spokesperson said. Applications in user mode are isolated, meaning that if one crashes, it won't bring down others. But an application in kernel mode that fails can cause all of Windows to crash. On July 19, CrowdStrike released a buggy content configuration update for its Falcon sensor for Windows computers, with the intent to gather data on new attacks, prompting crashes at the operating system level. IT administrators rebooted PCs that received the update displaying a "blue screen of death" screen, one by one. The Microsoft executive said removing kernel access in Windows would only solve a small percentage of potential problems. Apple in recent years has limited kernel access in macOS and the company discourages developers from using kernel extensions. Attendees at Microsoft's Sept. 10 event will also discuss the adoption of eBPF technology, which checks if programs will run without triggering system crashes, and memory-safe programming languages such as Rust, the executive said. Last year Microsoft donated $1 million to the nonprofit Rust Foundation, which pays stipends to people working on the language. Microsoft competes with CrowdStrike with its Defender for Endpoint product. That team will attend like any other cybersecurity company and won't receive preferential treatment, the executive said. "We will share further updates on these conversations following the event," Microsoft Corporate Vice President Aidan Marcuss wrote in a blog post. With the peak summer travel season winding down, it's time for National Cheap Flight Day. But don't let the misleading name fool you into rushing to book your next trip. "There's no specific day where flights are going to be at their cheapest," Katy Nastro, a travel expert at Going, tells CNBC Make. "That's just not the case." Instead, Nastro says that the best time to book air travel will always be in relation to when you're planning on flying. This period when the best rates tend to be found is called the Goldilocks window. It gets its name because it's not too far away from your travel date, but it's also not too close. For domestic travel the Goldilocks window is between one and three months before your flight, while for international flights it is between two and eight months ahead of your trip. However, there's more to finding affordable airfare than just getting the timing right. Here are three travel expert-approved tips for National Cheap Flights Day. 1. Practice, practice, practice If you know there's a trip that you want to take this year but you're not ready to buy your tickets yet, that shouldn't stop you from perusing flights. Doing this periodically in the weeks or months before you book can be help you get your bearings and set your expectations for how much you'll want to pay. Nastro recommends using search sites like Google Flights, Skyscanner and Momondo to compare prices. "It doesn't matter where you're searching as long as you get a good sampling of those flights from multiple different areas," she says. "That will give you a better understanding each week and each month of what those flight prices look like." Gemma Jamieson, Skyscanner's senior global PR manager, says putting in the time while doing your research may help save you money in the long run. "Airlines are being really clever about pricing and competing with each other. They're watching data, they're watching traveler behavior and they're mapping out these pockets where they can be super competitive," she says. "Doing a little bit of extra comparison, going a little bit further and shopping around for just a little bit longer than you might normally could save you lots and lots of money." 2. Don't drag your feet The biggest mistake you can make when it comes to searching for cheap flights is waiting until the last second in hopes that the flight you want will drop in price. This is especially true if you're starting to look at holiday travel. "Airfare tends to go in the upward direction, especially when we're getting into peak season," Nastro says. "The holidays are when you really want to avoid booking at the last minute." She wants to dispel the common misconception that airlines will add at the last minute just because an existing one sold out. "That's not really how it works," Nastro says. "There's not an endless supply of backup flights that they can just throw on the schedule." 3. Flexibility will save you money PHOENIX Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsed former President Donald Trump Friday afternoon during a lengthy speech putting to rest his tumultuous independent presidential campaign. Kennedy's campaign first confirmed the endorsement in a court filing in Pennsylvania before he took the stage for the speech in battleground Arizona. Trump has his own event in nearby Glendale later Friday, where Kennedy will speak, according to three sources familiar with the planning the culmination of weeks of talks. Kennedy, who gained prominence as an environmental lawyer and then as a leading anti-vaccine advocate, opened his remarks Friday blasting the Democratic Party for "abandon[ing] democracy," lambasting his "naysayers" for not believing his campaign could be successful, and accusing both the media and Democrats of a conspiracy that kept him from being competitive. Then, Kennedy made it official. "Many months ago I promised the American people I would withdraw from the race if I became a spoiler. ... In my heart, I no longer believe I have a realistic path to electoral victory," he said. Framing both Trump and himself as victims of the "continual legal warfare" by Democrats, Kennedy criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for not having won "a single delegate" during her 2020 race and accused her of ignoring the press and scuttling a policy platform for what he called a campaign focused exclusively on opposing Trump. And he compared Biden's, and then Harris', grip on the Democratic Party to the autocracy of Russia under President Vladimir Putin. By contrast, Kennedy made clear that in Trump, he sees a partner and a fellow victim. "These are the principled causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent, and now to throw my support to President Trump. The causes were: Free speech, the war in Ukraine, and the war on our children," he said. "One of the two candidates has adopted these issues as his own to the point where he has asked to enlist me in his administration. I'm speaking, of course, of Donald Trump." In a statement, Democratic National Committee senior adviser Mary Beth Cahill said, "Donald Trump isn't earning an endorsement that's going to help build support, he's inheriting the baggage of a failed fringe candidate. Good riddance." Inside the negotiations Kennedy's decision to back Trump comes after weeks of back-channel courtship. One person familiar with the discussions said that Donald Trump Jr. had been looking to engineer a Kennedy endorsement of his father for six months, with another source noting that Trump Jr. had long felt that Kennedy's presence in the race was hurt the GOP campaign. For a time, polling was unclear about that question. But it changed dramatically after Harris took over as the Democratic presidential candidate and the polling landscape shifted. It's a reality the Trump campaign acknowledged in a memo from pollster Tony Fabrizo sent to reporters after Kennedy's announcement, which argues its polling shows that Kennedy's vote "breaks for President Trump" in every key state. Still, the initial conservations started earlier, about a week before the Republican convention, with right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson connecting Trump Jr. with Kennedy. From there, Trump Jr. and donor Omeed Malik served as go-betweens to help close the deal. The two sources familiar with the talks said that Kennedy is expected to play a role on the campaign trail going forward. In an interview, Malik said Kennedy has not been promised a Cabinet position in exchange for his endorsement, though that's something Kennedy running mate Nicole Shanahan suggested when speaking on a podcast earlier this week. (Shanahan did not appear at Friday's event.) But, Malik said, "I think both President Trump and JD Vance have said as much in the last 24 hours, that should they be successful, there are plenty of roles, and I think the area of health is one," where Kennedy could serve. "I don't see any downside whatsoever" to Kennedy supporting Trump, Malik said, adding, "These types of events have the potential to really change everything." At his speech on Friday, Kennedy went onto detail about speaking to and meeting with Trump and his advisers, when he said he discovered "we are aligned on many key issues." And he implied he's been offered a say in a potential future Trump administration. "If President Trump is elected and honors his word, the vast burden of chronic disease that now demoralizes and bankrupts the country will disappear," Kennedy said. "President Trump has told he wants this to be his legacy," Kennedy continued. "I'm choosing to believe that this time he will follow through. His son, his biggest donors and his closest friends all support this objective." And he admitted that aligning with Trump will "a difficult sacrifice for my wife and children but worthwhile if there's even a small chance of saving these kids." But he stressed that this alliance with Trump "will allow us to disagree publicly and privately," while still working together on their shared goals. Criticizing agencies like the FDA, Kennedy added that with "Trump's backing," they are going to "staff these agencies with honest scientists and doctors." As to his electoral future, Kennedy said he would only work to remove his name from ballots in swing states because he wanted to give his to give his supporters in "red states" and "blue states" a chance to vote for him without "harming or helping." And he said that by remaining on the ballot, he could technically be eligible to assume the presidency in 2025 if no candidate wins a majority of the Electoral College, a virtual impossibility because it would require him to win Electoral College votes. A long and difficult campaign Kennedy's bid for the presidency stumbled amid intense opposition from Democrats, controversies stoked by the candidate himself, and difficulties overcoming the significant hurdles facing independents trying to get on ballots across the country. The decision to end his campaign had been expected, after Kennedy's running mate began openly musing this week about whether he would drop out to endorse former President Donald Trump. Even before then, his campaign had stopped putting on its own events and started engaging in unusual public diplomacy with Trump, an opponent Kennedy had harshly criticized earlier in the campaign. Kennedy's impending drop-out marks the end of one of the more quixotic presidential campaigns in modern history, one that initially gained enough traction to send Democrats into a panic about whether his bid could jeopardize their path to victory in 2024. Initially, Kennedy sought the Democratic presidential nomination, but he decided in October 2023 to run as an independent bid instead. His support waned, as it typically does for candidates charting a collision course with the country's two-party system though this time, it came amid a summer packed with campaign-shaking events. The Democratic Party's decision to switch up its presidential ticket has prompted a decline in the share of voters saying they'd back third-party candidates, leaving Kennedy largely pulling from Trump. Even before that, Kennedy and his campaign struggled through a months-long, difficult stretch that raised questions about his viability. Kennedy's public poll numbers have been dropping, and neither the candidate nor his running mate have spent much time on the trail in recent weeks. Instead, the candidate was accumulating negative headlines an allegation that he groped a former famliy babysitter (to which he responded to by declaring, "I am not a church boy"); a revelation that he used a dead bear he found on a roadside to stage a fake bicycle accident in New York's Central Park; and a claim by Kennedy that doctors found a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, among other things. Vice President Kamala Harris said Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump "wants to be an autocrat," as she accepted the Democratic presidential nomination in Chicago on Thursday night. "I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong-Un, who are rooting for Trump," said Harris. "Because they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors," the vice president said. "They know Trump won't hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat," Harris said of her Republican opponent. "As President, I will never waver in defense of America's security and ideals." Shortly after Harris delivered these lines, Trump replied to her critique in a social media post. "The Tyrants are laughing at her, she's weak and ineffective, and for three and a half years she has done nothing except enabled them to get STRONG, RICH, and POWERFUL!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. Harris' sharp criticism of Trump's well documented admiration for dictators and autocrats hostile to U.S. interests built on a theme established earlier in the night. The convention's speaker list on Thursday included a half-dozen veterans of the American military and intelligence community. One by one, they portrayed Trump as a threat to national security, and Harris as a staunch defender of America's ideals. "I want to talk tonight about national security," said Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, the Democratic nominee for a Senate seat from that state this fall. "Because the choice in November is stark: America retreating from the world, or leading the world. Trump wants to take us backwards," said Slotkin, a former Central Intelligence Agency analyst who worked alongside the military during three tours in Iraq. This year's wine harvest is in full swing on the perennially popular Greek island of Santorini, but for local winemaker Yiannis Paraskevopoulos, the prospects do not look good. Extreme temperatures are threatening production of the indigenous Assyrtiko grape, critical to the island's internationally recognized fine white wines. Last year's output at Paraskevopoulos's Gaia Wines was around one-third of 2022 production. This year's harvest is estimated to fall to one-sixth of 2022 levels. "We thought we had seen the worst. But no, we hadn't: 2024 has gone beyond all expectations," Paraskevopoulos told CNBC over the phone. According to Gaia Wine's 2023 estimates, Assyrtiko could face extinction by 2040. Now, that timeline looks optimistic. "It brings the trend line even closer to the present," Paraskevopoulos said. Falling wine production The Assyrtiko grape is not alone. Global wine production fell 10% in 2023 to 237.3 million hectolitres, the lowest level in over 60 years, as "extreme climactic conditions" weighed on harvests, according to the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV). The issues facing wineries prompted the European Union to last month launch a high level group on wine policy to discuss the "challenges and opportunities for the sector." Production in Greece plunged more than one-third in 2023, while output from Italy and Spain dropped by more than one-fifth, according to OIV, as wineries in southern Europe increasingly experienced adverse weather effects including heavy rainfall, drought and early frost. Such weather events can impact not only a given year's harvest but also production in following years. "We are absolutely affected by climate change," a guide at Castello di Volpaia told CNBC during a recent tour of the 12th century winery in Tuscany, Italy. Large barrels store Chianti Classico wine at Castello di Volpaia in Tuscany, Italy. CNBC "Climate change is significantly influencing wine production and its quality," Marco Fizialetti, commercial director at nearby Castello di Querceto, said via email. "This situation has created difficulties for all producers who already had to manage high temperatures in the past." Weaker output and more challenging production conditions are pushing up costs in an already largely price sensitive consumer market. Wine consumption was down 2.6% annually in 2023, hitting its lowest level since 1996, due to higher production and distribution costs which led to higher prices for consumers, OIV estimates showed. That's champagne prices. When a bottle is more expensive than a Burgundy, what will a buyer do? Yiannis Paraskevopoulos co-founder of Gaia Wines As of August 2024, one kilogram of Assyrtiko grapes cost eight ($8.9) to 10 euros, around double 2022 prices. "That's champagne prices," Paraskevopoulos said, noting that Gaia Wines has not yet reflected the heightened costs in its final bottle price. However, he said it will have to do so eventually, and that will hurt business. "When a bottle is more expensive than a Burgundy, what will a buyer do? We will lose market that we have struggled to be in," he said. Changing production methods Some winemakers are now altering their production methods to adapt to the shifting environmental landscape. At Antinori nel Chianti Classico, the newest in a collection of estates belonging to Marchesi Antinori, one of Italy's oldest and largest winemakers, vines are now being planted in new directions to take advantage of the increased sun exposure. "Until a few years ago, you would plant the vineyards southwest facing. Now you can plant them northeast facing because of the extreme heat you get exposure" from both directions, President Albiera Antinori told CNBC over the phone. Close up of kouloura style vines in Santorini, Greece. Erica Ruth Neubauer | Istock | Getty Images Other techniques the estate is employing include raising trellises to increase air circulation and planting grass in between vines. Antinori said that has helped the estate improve production quality over recent years even as quantity has fallen. However, she described the boost as "la vittoria di pirro," or Pyrrhic victory, a feat which incurs such a cost it is barely worth winning. Sergio Fuster, CEO of Spanish wine group Raventos Codorniu, noted that many of the regions in which it owns vineyards are in a state of emergency and, as such, they have needed to become "increasingly efficient" with water usage, for instance by using buried irrigation systems. Other winemakers are working the fields in the height of summer to respond to earlier harvests. At Domaine Skouras in Greece's Nemea, this year's harvest started a record 20 days early. Winemaker Dimitris Skouras said a reduction in fungal disease had improved grape quality, however he still expects lower yields overall. We cannot predict the changes to come or the extreme weather we might face. Dimitris Skouras winemaker at Domaine Skouras "This year has been exceptionally hot. The winter was unusually short, and temperatures rose rapidly afterward, with July being the hottest on record. In our vineyards, we're seeing lower production levels than last year, which was already quite low, especially for Agiorgitiko," he told CNBC via email, referring to the grape variety used in the region's red wines. Skouras is now planting vineyards at higher altitudes, where temperatures are generally lower, and he is identifying areas with better water supply to help the vines withstand the heat. "There are no definitive solutions yet, as we cannot predict the changes to come or the extreme weather we might face. Our strategy is to adapt to this new reality in viticulture as best we can," Skouras said, referring to the study of cultivating grapes. Elsewhere, however, the hopes of adaptation are less clear. On Santorini, where grapes are grown in traditional "koulouras," or baskets, to protect them from the island's strong winds and intense sunlight, the vines risk becoming even more exposed to harsh weather conditions. "These vines have root systems that go back three, four, five centuries, and they're dying," Gaia Wine's Paraskevopoulos said. Tourism to blame? Extreme weather is not the only issue afflicting Europe's vineyards. Increased tourism has also seen investment and manpower shift traditional agricultural work to the hospitality sector. For so-called agritourism destinations, such as Tuscany's Castello di Volpaia, which houses a small accommodation complex on the estate, guest stays can offset the costs associated with weaker production output. At Marchesi Antinori, cellar tours and cookery classes are all part of the offering. "We are fortunate to be in a region and a country where we don't see a reduction in tourism quite the opposite," Antinori said. A winery in Tuscany, Italy. CNBC The Pikes Peak Highlanders, a traditional Highland Regiment competition and performance band, will travel to Scotland next month to compete for the first time at the annual World Pipe Band Championships. While there they'll also compete at the Abernathy Highland Games and Perth Highland Games and the European Pipe Band Championships. The nonprofit accepts new and experienced musicians throughout the year and performs over St. Patrick's Day weekend, at the Colorado Renaissance Festival, military funerals and other events. Google has reportedly put Character.ai founder Noam Shazeer in charge of its Gemini AI. Shazeer worked in software engineering roles at Google for almost 18 years before leaving to found his own company. Now hes returning to co-lead Googles Gemini AI efforts alongside Jeff Dean and Orial Vinyals, The Information reported, quoting an internal memo. The move follows the signing of a deal between Google and Character.ai earlier this month. Most people caught up in the criminal justice system spend most of their time trying to convince people they didnt do crime, but false confessions are still a huge problem. Mostly, its when police manipulate confessions out of suspects, but surprisingly frequently, people march in off the street, confess of their own accord and get laughed out of the station. 5 The Black Dahlia An upsetting number of people want to take credit for slicing up a young womans face and cutting her in half. Specifically, more than 500, one of whom couldnt identify Elizabeth Short in a photograph. Another man showed up to confess on four separate occasions, earning him the nickname Confessin Tom, and one woman claimed, Short stole my man so I killed her and cut her up. The claims continued to flow in for decades, to the point that some purported killers hadnt even been born before Shorts 1947 death. 4 The Yogurt Shop Murders In a bizarre twist, the four men convicted of the murders of four teenage girls in an Austin yogurt shop in 1991 were initially ruled out as suspects because police didnt believe one of their confessions. Sure enough, they were later exonerated by DNA evidence. Two inmates in a Mexican prison later confessed to the crime, though they immediately recanted and claimed it was beaten out of them, and serial killer Kenneth McDuff confessed just before his 1998 execution. He had actually been in the area at the time of the murders, but the details he provided the police were wrong. Exactly how many serial killers were in Austin in 1991? 3 D.B. Cooper Advertisement At least four men and, fascinatingly, one woman have taken responsibility for the plane hijacking and ransom committed by a figure identifying himself as D.B. Cooper in 1971. One was ruled out when his story didnt match up, another wasnt even in the area at the time, and one was, you know, a woman. (She also later recanted, but seriously, she didnt match the description at all.) Two deathbed confessions were disregarded on the basis of faulty details or DNA mismatch. That last guy confessed to his wife, who he must have just really wanted to impress. 2 JonBenet Ramsey Advertisement Advertisement In 2006, a former teacher hiding out in Thailand from child pornography charges apparently decided he was tired of doing that and confessed to the 1996 murder of JonBenet Ramsey. It turned out, though, that he didnt match any physical evidence, he got details of the crime wrong and he was across the country at the time. For decades, another man with charges of child pornography has been claiming he killed Ramsey in calls and letters to a childhood friend, but he didnt match DNA evidence. Again, it seems like a case of wanting to oddly impress someone. As you may have heard by now, Lionsgate just yanked the trailer for Francis Ford Coppolas divisive epic Megalopolis after it was discovered that the trailer fabricated quotes from film critics. Weirdly, the quotes were all negative, and concerned Coppolas past masterpieces, a sly way of undercutting any current bad reviews for the new $120 million flick. But catty criticisms from well-known critics, about classics like The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, turned out to be totally bogus, seemingly thanks to A.I., which stupidly left every legitimately scathing review of Coppolas Jack lying on the table. Don't Miss While faking bad reviews for a trailer might be wholly unprecedented, this isnt the first time that a studio has faced scrutiny over false pull quotes. Back in 2000, a critic named Dave Manning, of The Ridgefield Press, was quoted in ads for several new films, all released by Columbia Pictures. These movies included the Rob Schneider vehicle The Animal, the comedy in which Schneider plays a man who is turned into a feral creature by a mad scientist. Shockingly, many critics werent quick to praise Scheniders work, which found him both seducing a goat and humping a mailbox. But Manning called The Animal another winner! Really? Manning also heaped praise on Kevin Bacons unnecessarily pervy Hollow Man and the Chris ODonnell thriller Vertical Limit. Advertisement Advertisement Well, it turned out that the critic, who baffling adored the movie starring the Makin' Copies guy and a former Survivor castaway, didnt actually exist. While the outlet was real, the small town Connecticut weekly paper had never even heard of Dave Manning when questioned by suspicious reporters from Newsweek in 2001. This was around the same time that Manning praised The Patriot, the gore-soaked story of the founding of America starring a terrible Australian, naturally. It turned out that Manning was the invention of a Sony employee, who concocted the fake reviewer in an effort to bolster some of the studios more turd-like releases, naming his fictional creation after a real-life friend. It was an incredibly foolish decision, and were horrified, Sony spokesperson Susan Tick stated at the time. Although, come to think of it, we have no way of knowing for sure if Susan Tick was real, either! Sounds made up! Advertisement Advertisement Some movie-goers werent happy with the news, and filed a class-action lawsuit against Sony, alleging that they paid good money to see a bunch of crappy movies purely because this Dave Manning guy vouched for them. Sony eventually settled the case for $1.25 million, which sounds like a lot, but it only enabled people to claim as much as $5 for each ticket purchased. Sony also announced that any unclaimed portions of the settlement would go to charity. They didnt say which charity, but were guessing the Human Fund. You (yes, you) should follow JM on Twitter (if it still exists by the time youre reading this). Blog Archive: Oct 2024 (40) 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) Nearly two decades later, Dennis is still mad that he couldnt stop Frank from blasting holes in his own ceiling sounds like a liberal yahoo tried to take away Franks guns. Thanks to the sadly concluded The Always Sunny Podcast, superfans of the longest running live-action sitcom in American TV history learned that the stars and writers of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia bicker almost as often but not nearly as bitterly as their characters do on the show itself. Unsurprisingly, the last two decades of collaboration between comedy powerhouses Rob McElhenney, Charlie Day and Glenn Howerton have created countless opportunities for disagreement as the partners respective approaches to humor and storytelling brush up against each other. The differences in the gangs artistic sensibilities was a constant topic of discussion on the gone-too-soon podcast, and one instance of creative disagreement nearly caused the Golden God to bring down the hammer of Thor on Mac and Charlie. Don't Miss When The Always Sunny Podcast reached the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season Two finale Dennis and Dee Get a New Dad during their rewatch of the early seasons, it re-sparked a heated debate over the appropriate sound effects to use in a scene where a revolver-toting Frank gets almost as angry in his apartment as Howerton was in the editing room: Frankly, despite the majority decision made by the pro-bullet block of McElhenney and Day, Howerton was absolutely in the right on this one Frank firing five live rounds into his own ceiling while Charlie and Mac barely react is absolutely stupid. In the universe of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a great many jarring and criminal events are commonplace and unremarkable, but gunshots especially in their own homes are always a cause for concern. Advertisement Beyond that, wouldnt Charlie have some objections to Frank putting holes in his own ceiling? The apartment they share may be a biohazard, but Charlie is notoriously particular about exactly what kind of dump in which he wishes to live. I mean, this is a man who has an entire other room permanently locked away because he doesnt want any disruptions to his space. Why would Charlie ever be this nonchalant about a newly aerated ceiling? Ultimately, however, the editing decision went through the usual arbitration process and Charlies choice came out on top. The gunshots seem like an insane addition to an otherwise tame scene and I still dont understand his logic for adding them so late in the production process, but I guess its harder for fans to read Charlies mind than it is for Charlie to read. Norm Macdonald and David Spade had overlapping tenures on Saturday Night Live, with Macdonald starting in 1993 and Spade heading for other pastures in 1996. But the two remained connected over the years, performing together on Adam Sandlers Here Comes the Funny tour and somehow ending up on the same talk show panels several times before Macdonalds untimely death in 2021. Whether they were talking to Larry King, Dennis Miller or Conan OBrien, the two comics loved to rip one another to pieces, as seen in a new YouTube compilation uploaded to the Im Not Norm channel. Here are some of the funniest burns from the two comicss talk show appearances over the years. Talking to Dennis Miller MACDONALD: This Viagra, it's insane I read the pill can make your cock hard for four hours. So now who has the four-hour hard cock? The impotent guys! The rest of us are fucked. Me and (Dennis) got our regular cocks. Meanwhile, fuckin Spade is (long applause break) Don't Miss MILLER: I didn't see it coming! He brought it all around and then a vicious rip-kick into his best friend's cock! SPADE: Once there's too much cock talk, I try to just zone out for a minute till it goes back the other way. MACDONALD: If there's too much cock talk, this guy has sweaty fever dreams. From all the cock talk. SPADE: Why bury me twice? This guy is killing me. Talking to Conan OBrien MACDONALD: Here's a story Dave bought me a beautiful leather jacket that's well out of my price range. Now I'm not one to take charity OBRIEN: You're doing a Mark Twain one-man show. Im not one to take charity. MACDONALD: Im saying I sucked him off. Advertisement Talking to Larry King MACDONALD: David and I apparently are having some kind of feud. SPADE: I didnt pay $300 to have my hair blown dry to be treated like this. I dont think Larry knows that Norm is a little kooky. Advertisement (After King suggests Norm rebound from SNL with a gig on Meet the Press) MACDONALD: Meet the Press would be great. Tim Russert, right? SPADE: You guys lost me. MACDONALD: He doesn't know about Tim Russert. He only knows supermodels. Talking to Howard Stern SPADE: (Norm) is crazy! I think you need to be kind of crazy to be really funny. Girls like him. They know when something's wrong. They pick up on it and like it. Hes a fixer-upper. Photo: Getty When major construction on the $16 billion Gateway Tunnel gets underway this year, it will eventually double the number of tracks running under the Hudson River between Manhattan and New Jersey. That would, in turn, double the number of trains coming through except Amtrak says Penn Station cant fit any more trains. This means when the project is finished in 2038, the new tracks will be little more than a multibillion-dollar redundancy unless something is done. The railroad tried to dodge this question for years, but now that the tunnel is finally funded as of this summer, Amtrak has a plan it wants to sell us. Its a doozy: demolish part or all of three blocks in midtown to build a giant expansion of Penn Station immediately to the south of the current complex, at a potential cost of $16.7 billion. This proposal is perhaps the most expensive evidence of the cold war among the three transit entities at Penn, which, instead of cooperating to make the most out of the current station, are pushing for an outcome that would effectively give each one their own. Amtrak would stay in Moynihan Train Hall, NJ Transit would take the expansion, while the MTA would be largely left to itself in the old Penn Station. There is no other plan that Amtrak is taking seriously, and its one the railroad has been dreaming of since 2011. This is not how planning is supposed to work. Federal rules require that Amtrak consider a whole host of options and seek feedback from the community. On August 5, it dispatched Petra Messick, a top planning executive, and consultant Foster Nichols to assure the civically minded folks gathered by the Regional Plan Association and the Municipal Arts Society that this was the case. Messick and Nichols, who works for design and construction giant WSP, didnt detail the expansion plan. They didnt disclose it has ballooned in size and price tag, according to Amtraks own unreleased 200-plus-page feasibility report. That document shows the station could have as many as 12 tracks and cost $16.7 billion (nearly the equivalent of the Gateway Tunnel). Thats double the size of the six-track station that New Jersey proposed building beneath the Herald Square Macys in the 2000s (the Access to the Regions Core project) before then-governor Chris Christie killed it, citing budget overruns. When I broke the news of the report in the New York Post last year, it fueled a new wave of community opposition to the expansion proposal, which led to renewed interest in the possible alternatives. And that, indirectly, led to the Regional Plan/MAS coffee klatch. What Messick and Nichols did do is put on a performance of evaluating two of the most prominent counterproposals to the expansion plan. Both are variations on the same idea: running more trains through Penn Station instead of treating it as a terminal stop through-running in engineering parlance. For example, a NJ Transit train running up the Northeast Corridor would continue past Penn Station, instead of stopping there, and turn around at, perhaps, Hempstead, in Long Island, where the MTAs Long Island Rail Road already has a terminal. And it wouldnt just make things more convenient for train operators; riders could streamline their travel. New Yorkers would be able to take the MTA to Newark Airport without making a transfer to NJ Transit, and ditto for New Jerseyans heading to JFK, who could take NJ Transit all the way to Jamaica for an easy transfer to the AirTrain. The task I was given was not to kill them, Nichols told the audience about the through-running alternatives. My mission was to make it work. He then proceeded to kill both. To understand his arguments against through-running, its important to clarify how Penn Station works. On the northern end, there are tracks dedicated to the Long Island Rail Road that feed the West Side Rail Yards over which Hudson Yards was built. On the southern end, there are dead-end tracks for New Jersey Transit. In the middle are the tracks that exhibit the Pennsylvania Railroads engineering genius, where a century ago planners linked together the Hudson River and East River tunnels so passenger trains of all types could easily run through Manhattan to their next destination through-running. These tracks are shared by the three railroads. However, instead of using them as designed, NJ Transit, the LIRR, and Amtrak often reverse trains in and out in this section, gumming up the works. Penn Station, as it is organized now, would still need some work to accommodate more trains via through-running, and there are two proposals for how this could look that Messick and Nichols discussed. One, from ReThink Studio, a nonprofit group of activists and planners, is absolutist and calls for reworking the entire station so every track can connect to both tunnels, which it claims would cost approximately $10 billion (though thats pretty optimistic). That Amtrak dismissed it as unworkable was unsurprising. What was surprising was that Nichols spent much more time focused on it than on the more practical proposal from the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, another nonprofit advocacy and policy group. Sources say that it basically staples together different proposals developed internally at the MTA and NJ Transit to improve the existing Penn Station. The part of the Tri-State plan that comes from the MTA focuses on widening the platforms in the middle core of the station already designed for through-running this would allow passengers to board and disembark more quickly. The plan would also construct a new platform and two new tracks for NJ Transit to Penn Stations immediate south. The NJ Transitsourced part of the plan shows the new tracks would require some demolition on the street above (like the expansion), but the project is designed to preserve as much of the block as possible. The estimated Tri-State price tag, based on the MTA and NJ Transit documents, would be less than $7 billion. Thats $10 billion less than the expansion plan, money that could go to the laundry list of other Amtrak needs , like upgrading its overhead power wires so commuting on a hot day isnt a spin of the roulette wheel. Nichols is more than familiar with the Tri-State numbers. He was the lead author of the shelved MTA report on reworking Penn Stations middle. But in his presentation, he altered the proposal: removing a track while sending all of the trains the new tunnels could carry to just the southern end station instead of spreading them around. These changes reduced the plans effectiveness but were slipped into the presentation instead of clearly disclosed to the audience. The result, Nichols said, was that the Tri-State plan fell 13 trains short of the required 48 per hour. (In response to questions, Nichols and Amtrak argued the changes were made to improve the viability of the Tri-State plan.) In making their case, Messick and Nichols also argued that both through-running plans would require NJ Transit to raise the platforms of its older stations to allow for riders to easily walk on and off trains, an investment the MTA made in its commuter railroads decades ago. They also pointed out there are different power systems used on the east and west sides of the Hudson (but didnt mention this issue has been solved elsewhere or that one reason those different systems exist is Amtraks failure to upgrade its power grid). Those may be good ideas, Nichols said. But, to essentially hold completion of the Gateway program hostage? That decision-making is really risky. What youre risking is not being able to run the trains once Gateway is up and running. As one railroad source familiar with the presentation said, They have pointed a gun at everyones head and said you wont be able to run one more train unless you give us another $16 billion to build this thing. Theyre the hostage takers. Through-running works. Amtrak does it through Penn Station dozens of times a day as trains pass through it running between Washington, D.C., and Boston. What makes Penn Station unique is that it was designed for it. European railroads have often had to spend billions constructing new tunnels, like the Elizabeth line in London, to link together their operations. Another line in London, the Thameslink, connected two rail networks together in the 1980s on a shoestring budget of just 4 million by putting an unused tunnel back to work. Here, in New York, were lucky. The really hard work is already done. We just opt to not use it. Its clear that Amtrak is not even remotely interested in making the most out of the giant train station it already has. This lunacy persists because the people with the power to tell everyone to knock it off and figure out how to share namely U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, New York governor Kathy Hochul, and New Jersey governor Phil Murphy have shown little interest in intervening. They should. The three should find someone with a track record of independence and success at a major transit agency to lead a six-month review and get to the bottom of whether the Penn expansion is actually necessary and just how big it needs to be. They should mandate that the findings be released to the public. And they should commit to adopting its recommendations. We cant let the new Gateway tunnels go to waste, but neither can we spend billions more simply to satisfy the territorial urges of the railroad companies while major transit needs go unaddressed. This traffic-choked region needs all the service it can get. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. In the election campaign, Sir Keir Starmer and his Labour front bench repeatedly stressed that in government they would not seek to reverse Brexit, hike the three major taxes (income tax, National Insurance or VAT) or re-introduce free movement from the EU. Its now clear that these were not so much weasel words as pure sophistry, designed to hoodwink floating voters into believing that the party understood their concerns. We now have reason to fear Labour plans to do many things it said it would not. At the start of the election campaign, the then-Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves could not have been more explicit: there would, she said, be no additional tax rises above the partys decision to put VAT on private school fees and to close loopholes on non-doms. Labours manifesto then pledged not to increase taxes on working people which apparently didnt include anyone with a modest savings pot. Ms Reeves has spent her time in office claiming with all the faux outrage of Captain Renault discovering illegal gambling in Ricks Cafe in Casablanca that she has been shocked by the state of the public finances. Keir Starmer and his Labour frontbench repeatedly stressed that in government they would not seek to reverse Brexit, hike the three major taxes or re-introduce free movement from the EU Swingeing It is obvious what she is doing: attempting to soften us up for swingeing tax rises in her first Budget on October 30. But it has, until now, been widely assumed she would at least honour Labours pledge not to increase income tax, National Insurance or VAT. On Wednesday, however, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones (in effect Reevess deputy) reacted to figures showing that the Government had borrowed more than forecast in the first four months of the financial year a figure that is going to be even worse when the full consequences of the new Governments 14billion capitulation to public sector strikers are felt. We will have to consider some tax measures at the Budget while honouring that promise to the public not to increase income tax, employee National Insurance or VAT, Mr Jones said. The emphasis on the word employee is mine, for perhaps Mr Jones had hoped that no-one would notice his serpentine phrasing. Betrayal As he well knows, NI comprises both a tax on employers and another on employees. In March, the last Conservative government raised the threshold at which workers begin to pay NI to 12,570. Employers, however, pay 14 per cent of a workers earnings above 9,100 a year to the Treasury. This has long been criticised as a tax on jobs, because it makes hiring people more expensive. To hit employers with higher rates in the October Budget, as now seems likely, is to indulge in an act of economic madness just when Reeves and Starmer claim that growing the economy is their priority. Worse still, it would be a blatant betrayal of their election pledge. Does Labour take us all for idiots? I have changed the Labour Party. Now I want to restore trust in politics and change Britain, Starmer declared during the election campaign. In his introduction to last months Kings Speech, he intoned: The fight for trust is the battle that defines our political era. Is now clear that Labour is considering free movement between the UK and EU for young people, writes Stephen Pollard Well, if trust is the battle, he has already lost it. Look at Labours other key election pledge: not to reintroduce the free movement of people between the UK and the EU. On July 3 hours before polling day the Labour leader was asked if there were any circumstances in which the UK might rejoin the single market or customs union. His reply was emphatic: No Ive been really clear about not rejoining the EU, the single market or the customs union or a return to freedom of movement. It didnt take long for that pledge to unravel, too. At the end of July the Prime Minister met the Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez, who reportedly proposed a scheme to Sir Keir to reintroduce free movement, which he said he would consider. In April, Rishi Sunak had rejected a proposal from the European Commission to give people aged 18 to 30 free movement for up to four years. Labour said at the time it had no plans for such a scheme, while its manifesto was unambiguous that there would be no return to freedom of movement. But it is now clear that Labour is considering just that very idea for young people. A Government spokesman said yesterday there were no plans to do so the usual mealy-mouthed non-denial. But according to one report, Government sources said that ministers now claim they will have to give ground on free movement to allow the reset in relations with the EU that Labour unfathomably craves. No one will say it publicly at this stage, but there is an acknowledgement that this is an area where we will need to move... if we are serious about resetting relations with the EU then we need to be prepared to give them some of the things that they want, The Times was told. As we have seen with Labours way of dealing with public-sector strikes, it approaches any negotiation in the spirit of capitulation. Let me predict how this will play out. It will start with the announcement that there will be some small change to visa rules allowing free movement for under-30s for a few years. No doubt, such an influx would plug certain gaps of the UK workforce. But then there will be calls to let those who have come here stay longer after all, Europhiles will cry, these people have jobs and lives here. Then their families will be allowed to join them and before long, a path to residency and even citizenship will be set. Crisis Back when Tony Blair was Prime Minister, we were told that opening our borders would lead to around 13,000 immigrants a year from EU member states. The true figure turned out to be more than three million and thus began the crisis in mass immigration, which has become the number one concern of voters. Temporary free movement for the under-30s will be the first step on a slippery slope to full freedom of movement and then ever-closer union with the EU. Sir Keirs manifesto pledge not to return to free movement was always going to be one of the first to be ditched, given his long-standing and passionate belief in open borders. It was one of the main themes of his 2020 Labour leadership campaign: I want people in Europe to be able to come and continue to work here... We have to make the case for freedom of movement. And we have to make it strongly. Sir Keir says that restoring trust is the priority of his government. It is difficult to think of anything more calculated to destroy trust than betraying unambiguous pledges to voters within weeks of taking office. Flying constantly between Washington and the Middle East, endeavouring to agree a solution to the bloody Gaza crisis, the rarely smiling, all-business US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, 62, seems an adult compared with his masters, the capering clowns onstage at the Democratic National Convention. He was taken to live in Paris when his Jewish mother's first marriage ended and she married Samuel Pisar, the late businessman, who escaped from a Nazi death march in the forests of Bavaria. He once recalled: 'Antony inevitably thinks about how my entire family was eliminated.' Blinken does have a lighter side. In May, on a visit to Ukraine, he played rhythm guitar in a Kyiv bar, belting out a rousing version of Neil Young's Rockin' in the Free World with local Ukrainian band 19.99. The ungrateful wretches were peeved to discover he wasn't Neil Young. The rarely smiling, all-business US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (pictured in Ukraine) seems an adult compared with his masters, the capering clowns onstage at the Democratic National Convention Antony Blinken plays rhythm guitar in a Kyiv bar, belting out a rousing version of Neil Young's Rockin' in the Free World with local Ukrainian band 19.99 Pattie Boyd is 'free' Famously the wife and muse of both George Harrison and Eric Clapton, Pattie Boyd, now 80, pictured in her prime, declares: 'In a way it's been holding me back...I'm now free. Because I'm not Mrs Famous Eric or Mrs Famous George, that's all over. Now I can be me.' Indeed so, but her treasure trove of letters and photographs (including Eric's love letters) sold at auction for almost 3 million. Which is bound to help. Olivier jealous of Marilyn Monroe The late Laurence Olivier felt 'jealous' that he was 'outshone' in his scenes with Marilyn Monroe in the movie The Prince And The Showgirl. In tonight's Channel 5 documentary, Marilyn Monroe: The Movie Star Who Changed the World, movie historian Neil Norman says: 'Olivier was guilty of absolutely blatant sexism. I think he was jealous of her fame. He seems almost to disappear when he is on screen with her.' Marilyn Monroe in The Prince And The Showgirl Monroe biographer Sarah Churchwell adds: 'She asked him how they were going to play a scene and he said: 'Don't bother acting Marilyn, just be sexy!' The cad! The Duke of Gloucester's 80th Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester celebrates his 80th birthday on Monday. The King has given him a present he will treasure the patronage of the Royal Institute of British Architects. The King spent a lifetime lecturing architects on good taste, even founding his own Institute of Architecture in 1986 (now part of the King's Foundation) but expert Richard has often been provoked into challenging the King's grand architectural opinions, resulting in often heated debates. Those hosting his visits are advised to ensure they can answer all his potential questions about rivets, damp courses and breeze blocks. Sopel raves about Michelle at the DNC Raving about Michelle Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, ex BBC man Jon Sopel enthuses: 'She's always said she doesn't want to go anywhere near politics. Michelle Obama delivers a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago 'It's like being Leonardo da Vinci and having the ability to paint the Sistine Chapel but saying '" just hate painting" and every now and then she gets the paintbrush out and creates a little masterpiece.' Why swap her great fame, wealth and popularity for the scary character assassinations of presidential politics? For the first time ever I am becoming seriously worried about free speech in this country. I dont just mean the crucial freedom for people to say things that they honestly believe to be true. I mean the freedom to say things that are in fact true, but which the Labour government has decided are no longer acceptable. Let me give an example. We have a problem with criminal gangs who have, for years, been bringing migrants across the English Channel in small boats. This practice is dangerous, and several hundred people including children have drowned. The sight of these boats has enraged the British public. They cannot understand why it isnt possible to end this trade in human life. They cannot understand why the UK Border Force seems to have abandoned any attempt to protect UK borders, and instead spends its time actively ushering these dinghies and coracles to our shores. A French warship escorts one of the small boats carrying illegal immigrants across the Channel. The British public cannot understand why the UK Border Force seems to have abandoned any attempt to protect UK borders, and instead spends its time actively ushering these dinghies and coracles to our shores No one knows who these passengers are, or where they have come from, or what their intentions may be once they arrive in the UK, and yet they are coming in the tens of thousands. The whole farce seems to make a mockery of the UK state, and our ability to control our borders. People overwhelmingly want to see the people-smuggling gangs smashed, and they want some practical way of deterring the young men - it is mainly young men from making the voyage. That is why it was so important that we finally had a plan the Rwanda Economic and Migration Partnership, which, with more time, would unquestionably have worked. As I said at Dover in April 2022, it was always going to be difficult to implement. I predicted that it would be fiercely opposed by the kind of Left-wing lawyers Keir Starmer being a prime example who are so prominent in the world of immigration law. The opposition was, indeed, concerted, but we would eventually have overcome it (just as we got Brexit done, against very similar opposition). Even before the Rwanda Plan had a chance to come into force, the mere prospect was having a deterrent effect on the gangs, with potential migrants choosing Ireland, for instance, rather than the UK. Plenty of other countries started to follow the UK model opting to frustrate the people-smugglers by sending their victims for processing in third countries. It was the right plan, and today it remains the right plan. Look at the Channel in the last few weeks almost 6,000 arrivals since the election, and some days with near record numbers. But Starmer has scrapped Rwanda, and put nothing in its place. Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper are coming to resemble the two gay Dutch policemen in the Harry and Paul sketch, who congratulate themselves on cutting crime in Amsterdam by legalising burglary Far from deterring the gangs, Labour have announced an amnesty for 100,000 who were going to be deported so that they will now be claiming asylum in the UK, and, inevitably, living here. Instead of tackling the problem, they appear to be changing the language we use to discuss it so that we should no longer refer to the cross-Channel traffic as illegal migration, but only as irregular migration. Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper are coming to resemble the two gay Dutch policemen in the Harry and Paul sketch, who congratulate themselves on cutting crime in Amsterdam by legalising burglary. In fact, it would be comical if it were not so serious. These gangs are cruel. They dont give a fig for human life. They need to be told the truth that what they are doing is against the law, and the same goes for the people who make use of their services. We must not mince our words. It is illegal to come to this country without authorisation, just as it is illegal to overstay your visa or to engage in a fictitious marriage. It is illegal for these people to get on boats in France, and try to flout the UK immigration procedures. To say otherwise is an insult to those many people who do the right thing, who fill out forms, who queue at British embassies around the world, and who make use of this countrys abundant safe and legal routes for getting here. No one could possibly say that this country was not generous, under the Tory government, to those who were fleeing persecution around the world. Look at the scale of the welcome the British people provided in the last few years to those fleeing Hong Kong, Afghanistan, and Ukraine. It is grotesque now to tell those legal immigrants who did the right thing that they are being lumped together with the law-breakers. It is a moral and political disaster, because of course it will only encourage indiscriminate prejudice against all immigrants, legal or otherwise. It is also an abuse of the language. You might as well say that shoplifters are no longer guilty of theft but irregular shopping and that those drunk at the wheel are guilty of irregular driving. The Labour government is deliberately obscuring the difference between right and wrong, for political ends because they have abandoned the attempt to control illegal immigration. It has been quite amazing, in the last few days, to see the speed with which the main broadcasters and many papers have adopted this bizarre Labspeak diktat. It is as though this country were turning into North Korea. The BBC, Sky, Channel 4, they all now refer to the cross-Channel trade as irregular rather than illegal even though the law remains the same. Where will all this end? Once a word becomes disapproved of, especially in a sensitive context such as immigration, it gets harder and harder to use. One can imagine there will come a point, very soon, when it will be actively frowned upon to call any such activities illegal, even though they patently are. The very phrase illegal immigration seems poised to enter the lexicon of inflammatory language of the kind that can now get you locked up. Of course it was right to punish the rioters, following the appalling stabbings in Southport. Anybody who rioted, anyone who engaged in violence, anybody who damaged property they have all deserved the full force of the law. Some people, on the other hand, have received custodial sentences for posting comments on social media that they believed at the time to be true. Some of these seem to have been people with no previous criminal history whatever. Is this really sensible? We in this country pride ourselves on our free speech. We wag our fingers rightly at regimes where they suppress that freedom. We believe that we are among the great global champions of the right to speak your mind, the right that is the foundation of creativity and progress. Well, we are now losing that reputation, under Starmer, around the world. Rival governments are seeing that ordinary British people are being jailed for a mistaken tweet, while serious and violent criminals are being let out early. The irony is not lost, believe me, in places like Putins Russia. We seem to be entering a new and topsy-turvy world, where people can be jailed for blurting something on X formerly Twitter that they actually believe to be true, while the Labour government wants us to collectively start saying things about illegal immigration that we all know are false. Welcome to Starmers Britain, twinned with Orwells 1984. Roland Li covers commercial real estate for the business desk, focusing on the Bay Area office and retail sectors. He was previously a reporter at San Francisco Business Times, where he won one award from the California News Publishers Association and three from the National Association of Real Estate Editors. He is the author of Good Luck Have Fun: The Rise of eSports," a 2016 book on the history of the competitive video game industry. Before moving to the Bay Area in 2015, he studied and worked in New York. He freelanced for the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times and other local publications. His hobbies include swimming and urban photography. For women of all ages, hair isn't just about how we look - it's part of who we are. This means issues like hair thinning can have a significant emotional impact, dealing a blow to our confidence and mood. There are a huge number of reasons why this could happen, from taking certain types of medication to stress, or simply getting older. But if you want to keep your hair looking it's best, ensuring it's getting the nutrients it needs is a good place to start. Hair. Skin. Nails. - a delicious, vegan-friendly gummy from wildly popular supplement brand Starpowa - is packed full of goodies specifically intended to look after your locks. These include biotin and zinc, which support normal hair, and copper - which contributes to normal hair pigmentation. More than 20million gummies have been chewed so far, with plenty of customers women over 40. Below, MailOnline talks to three ladies who tried Hair. Skin. Nails. after becoming worried about their hair - and are urging everyone else to try it too! 'The compliments feel great!' Marketing executive Punam, 53, says that her hair 'looks silky and shiny' since taking Hair. Skin. Nails. gummies by Starpowa - as well as her skin appearing 'plumped up and hydrated' Punam, a 53-year-old marketing executive from Hertfordshire, noticed her hair becoming finer over the years, and once she reached her fifties decided it was time to get some extra support. 'I'm also a pescatarian, so that made me think it was important to ensure I was getting the right nutrients to keep my hair and skin healthy,' she says. 'I've been using Starpowa products for about three years and trust the brand, so thought I'd give Hair. Skin. Nails. a go.' Packed full of goodies, Hair. Skin. Nails. is intended to look after your locks The product contains a range of expertly chosen ingredients intended to keep you looking your best, including aloe vera, niacin and MSM. And to target hair specifically, each delicious chewy gummy delivers 50g of biotin, 5mg of zinc and 150g of copper. Describing the changes she's seen since taking Starpowa, Punam says: 'My hair now looks silky and shiny, and my skin appears plumped up and hydrated. I keep getting compliments, not only from friends and family but also people I see at events. When you're in your fifties, that feels great!' The marketing guru also appreciates how easy the supplements are to take. 'Sometimes with certain products, you have to take them throughout the day and can fall out of the routine, but these are so easy,' she says. 'I prefer gummies over tablets because they don't have a strange taste or require a glass of water. 'I'm happy with how things have gone - it's really helped me! I'd just recommend people give it time and ensure they are taking the gummies consistently.' 'My hair is the best it's been in a long time!' Despite being 'sceptical', Lucy from Loughton says her hair 'looks thick and healthy, with less frizz' after taking Hair. Skin. Nails. for over a year Lucy, a 44-year-old from Loughton in Essex, combines her job as an operations director with her responsibilities as a mother to two kids, eight and 12 - so safe to say she has a busy schedule! She'd always been fairly happy with her hair but began to notice some changes since having her little ones. 'I experienced some postpartum hair loss and thinning,' she says. 'I started to see a natural aging of my skin around this time as well, with more lines and less glow. 'I think this was a natural combination of the stresses of being a mum and not being in my 20s any more! 'I had deep conditioning treatments at the hairdressers, but colouring and curling my hair adds to the dryness. That means the treatments dont really last, and they cost a lot to have every few months.' Lucy has been taking Starpowa for over a year and describes her hair and skin as looking 'the best they've been in a long time'. 'My hair looks thick and healthy, with less frizz,' she says. 'Friends have been commenting on how it looks. I've recommended the gummies to my friends and I think many of them now take them.' The mum-of-two urges any doubters to give Hair. Skin. Nails. a try, saying: 'You won't regret it'. She adds: 'I was a little sceptical myself and after one bottle I nearly gave up, but the benefits do come through if you stick with it. I would say give it two to three months and you won't regret it. Starpowa is my go-to brand for vitamins now.' Ensure your hair is getting the support it needs... two tasty gummies at a time! Hair. Skin. Nails. from Starpowa come in a range of delicious natural flavours and are completely hassle-free: simply take two as part of your normal daily routine. The delicious, low-sugar gummies contain a special formula of vitamins, minerals, organic compounds and amino acids which - when combined with a healthy diet - are designed to give your barnet a boost. Suitable for women over 13, the gummies are vegan, gluten free and contain less than 0.1g of sugar per gummy! Along with biotin and zinc to look after your hair, they also contain Vitamin A and iodine. But what about the other amazing natural ingredients that give Starpowa its power? Click HERE to find out the formula that thousands swear by. 'My locks looks thick and glossy' 36-year-old personal trainer Jo likes that her hair now looks 'thick and glossy' after introducing the daily gummies into her routine, taking Hair. Skin. Nails. after her morning class Being a personal trainer may mean Jo, 36, is super fit - but she found it wasn't always so good for her hair. 'Working and teaching a lot of classes at the gym means my hair is always tied up, which led to some damage and a lot of breakage,' she says. 'I'd tried tablets and powder supplements, but I've always found tablets hard to swallow and powders are tricky and cumbersome when you're always on the go.' Jo, from Witham in Essex, has been especially focused on her look prior to her wedding in November, so popped a tub of Hair. Skin. Nails. in her gym bag to try. Now she can't stop raving about them! 'I just have the bottle in my gym bag so I take them in the morning after my first class. They're a really nice berry flavour, a bit like having sweets,' she says. 'My hair looks thick and glossy. I've had lots of comments from people saying I look refreshed and asking what I'm using. 'Starpowa has helped to support my already healthy lifestyle and they are super easy to take every day.' While Jo is clearly delighted, she has one small regret. 'I'm really happy I came across this UK based brand. I'd have liked to keep this one to myself, but most of the gym crew know about it now!' Discover more fantastic health inspiration at Starpowa.com Biotin contributes to the maintenance of normal hair. Biotin contributes to the maintenance of normal skin. Zinc contributes to the maintenance of normal hair. Zinc contributes to the maintenance of normal skin. Copper contributes to normal hair pigmentation. Vitamin A contributes to the maintenance of normal skin. Iodine contributes to the maintenance of normal skin. A hiker has told of the moment she noticed a 'weird splinter' on her tummy - only to discover it was actually a blood-sucking tick. The 40-year-old was away at a remote beach on the South Coast of NSW with a group of friends and family when she felt something strange in her stomach. As she lifted up the layers of clothing, she saw a tiny red bump between her belly button waistline - but assumed it was a splinter. 'I noticed when it started hurting,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'It was a throbbing pain at the spot. It was very red around the location.' Upon a closer look, she realised the 'splinter' was actually 'moving and wiggling'. 'I saw the tick's legs - thats how I knew. It was fat and full,' she said. Fortunately, her quick-thinking friend Justine, a CPR Kids educator, knew what to do to safely remove the potentially life-threatening tick, which can cause severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, and in rare cases, fatality. A hiker has told of the moment she noticed a 'weird splinter' on her tummy - only to discover it was actually a blood-sucking tick Justine used an ether-containing spray on her friend's tummy to freeze off the tick - and after about 20 minutes, it fell off itself. Wearing layers of clothes is a 'fantastic tick prevention' - but in the hiker's unfortunate case, she wore a singlet, T-shirt, jumper, fleece and a puffer jacket. 'Layers are not always a guarantee of being tick-free,' Justine said. If you are bitten by a tick, it's best to freeze them with an ether-containing spray, which is available at pharmacies. 'Always freeze. Don't tweeze or squeeze the tick,' Australian nurse and founder of CPR Kids Sarah Hunstead said. 'Why? There is a big rise in the incidence of tick anaphylaxis and mammalian meat allergy, we need to remove ticks without squeezing or irritating them. 'If you are using tick forceps, metho, tea tree oil, or other tick removers that might get the tick out, they can inject allergen-containing saliva when removed that way - this is what we want to avoid. 'If the tick does not drop off after freezing or if you are unable to freeze it, leave it in place without disturbing it and seek urgent medical assistance to remove it safely.' Upon a closer look, she realised the 'splinter' was actually a tick For adult ticks, hold the spray just 1cm from the tick and spray the area five times. 'If the tick is still alive (moving) after a few minutes, you can try spraying it again five times. The dead tick should drop off. If not, seek medical attention,' she said. If you are unable to remove the tick using an ether-containing spray, seek medical attention so that they can safely remove it. For small ticks use permethrin cream. If a tick has bitten you, there's usually a redness and swelling around the bite. 'This will disappear once the tick falls off,' she said. After freezing the tick with ether-containing spray, it died and fell off her stomach According to Health Direct, symptoms of tick paralysis include lethargy, loss of appetite, dilated pupils, weakness, poor balance, and slurred speech. Symptoms of a severe allergic reaction to tick bites include a swollen throat, difficulty breathing and collapse. Anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction, is caused by proteins in the ticks saliva and is only triggered by adult ticks. Tick anaphylaxis is more common in tick-prevalent areas of Australia and importantly, occurs only when the tick is disturbed. According to the Australian Government Department of Health, ticks are parasites that feed off human blood and they can significantly affect human health. In Australia, most tick bites pose no medical problems if the tick is safely removed. Tick bites can lead to a variety of illnesses in patients, with the most common being allergic reactions. In some cases, people can experience severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) or mammalian meat allergy/anaphylaxis. In regions where tick bites are common, life-threatening allergic reactions to ticks are much more common than similarly severe reactions to bees or wasps. Emily Poulos will never forget the day her twin sister died. Just three months after celebrating their final birthday together, Christina lost her fight to stage four bowel cancer at age 30. 'The night prior to her passing, she woke up and was feeling so scared, saying she didnt want to die. It absolutely shattered me that there was nothing we could do to save her,' Emily, from NSW, told Daily Mail Australia. The next day, Emily held her dying sister's hand as she 'took her last breath'. 'It was ultimately the worst day of my life,' she recalled. Christina was a 29-year-old 'healthy' hairdresser when she started complaining about 'bad' stomach pains, bloating, cramps and nausea. But when she met with GPs, Emily noticed her sister's symptoms were 'always dismissed' - and put down as 'girly issues'. Things took a devastating turn when Christina was given less than three months to live - after she was diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer. Emily Poulos (right) with her sister Christina on their final birthday together at their 30th party Christina was diagnosed with terminal bowel cancer - after complaining about stomach pains Before the family's world was turned upside down, Christina was leading a seemingly normal life as a hairdresser who was 'loved by all'. However, she knew something wasn't right when she noticed the excruciating stomach pains and cramps she endured wouldn't go away in 2018. 'Being the protective twin, I said, "let's go to the hospital as it could be your appendix, it's safer to get it checked out",' Emily said. After getting a routine test, doctors couldn't work out what was wrong with Christina as they checked for Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome. 'At no stage did they think it would be cancer due to her age,' Emily explained. Christina was advised to return to the hospital if her condition got worse. As the pain lingered, it took her several visits before her doctor finally referred her to a colonoscopy where she was put on a waiting list. 'Christina fell ill and couldnt stop vomiting, she ended up in hospital before she was booked in for a colonoscopy,' Emily said. 'When they finally got her in for her scopes, they rung our mum to come in because the news was not so good.' The twin sisters were inseparable so the loss of Christina took a huge toll on Emily Signs and symptoms of bowel cancer Blood in your poo or rectal bleeding A recent, persistent change in bowel habit (e.g. diarrhoea, constipation or the feeling or incomplete emptying) A change in the shape or appearance of your poo (e.g. narrower poos or mucus in poo) Abdominal pain or swelling Pain or a lump in the anus or rectum Unexplained anaemia causing tiredness, weakness or weight loss Source: Bowel Cancer Australia Advertisement She was told she needed to undergo an emergency surgery to remove a tumour they found in her bowel. Before the procedure, Christina was told there was a chance she would end up with a colostomy bag around the stoma to collect waste in place of the colon. 'She expressed her concern and before going under, she said, "Please dont make me have a bag",' Emily recalled. 'Unfortunately, the colostomy bag wasnt the only bad news. Not only did she end up with the bag, the doctors told her they believed the tumour was cancerous.' Tests later confirmed the family's worst nightmare: Christina had stage four bowel cancer. 'I still remember the feeling when she was in surgery, I just 'knew' it wasn't going to be good news. I call it a twin vibe,' Emily explained. 'I couldnt sleep, and when I got the phone call from mum I just knew. I felt numb and you instantly just go into combat mode. "Ok what's next, what treatment, let's fight". And thats what we did, together.' Christina had a major HIPEC surgery, where doctors cut her open to surgically remove the affected organs before applying chemotherapy directly inside the abdomen to eliminate the remaining cancerous cells. 'The surgery was a success and they "got it all",' Emily said. 'Christina felt better after numerous weeks of recovery from the surgery and we begun to plan our 30th Birthday.' When Christina was given three months to live, Emily moved into the hospital to be by her side Christina was admitted to hospital shortly after her 30th birthday. She was told the cancer had spread to her lungs and liver But in the week leading up to their birthday, she fell ill again, as she experienced pain and shortness of breath. After celebrating their 30th in February 2019, Christina was admitted to hospital a month later where she discovered she had a collapsed lung. 'Further testing showed the cancer was back and had spread to her lungs - back to more chemo, and the next battle,' Emily said. 'She ended up back in hospital on Anzac Day where we got the news that the cancer has spread to her liver.' Emily, who works in real estate management, was able to take time off work to be by her sister's side. 'I basically moved into the hospital so I could be there throughout her journey. I would sleep in the chair, or the bed supplied and wouldnt leave her side,' she said. 'We continued to fight over the next several weeks, but unfortunately she ran out of time and never got to leave the hospital.' Emily said she has been struggling to cope with her twin sister's sudden death as they were inseparable. The family was left reeling when they were given the news it was likely Christina would not survive beyond three months. 'My heart broke,' Emily said. 'Still thinking about that conversation and the final week with her gets me very upset, I still to this day cant verbally really talk about it without crying. 'When Christina worsened and got the "death rattle" as they call it, we had our family, close friends and her amazing bosses come up to the hospital to see her.' Christina died in May 2019 - just a year after her symptoms first appeared. Emily said she believed her sister's death could have been prevented if the hospital had recognised and detected the symptoms early. 'There's a lot I wish the doctors did differently if Im being honest,' Emily said. 'I feel like she was very dismissed at the hospital. If they looked into it more then would it of been different? 'I'm now very big on seeking second opinions, if your doctor isn't listening to you or dismissive, get another one. A simple blood test can tell you so much.' Christina during one of her chemotherapy treatments after being diagnosed at 29 Christina had a major HIPEC surgery, where doctors cut her open to surgically remove the affected organs before applying chemotherapy directly inside the abdomen to eliminate the remaining cancerous cells Emily said she has been struggling to cope with her twin sister's sudden death as they were inseparable. 'It was honestly a struggle every day,' she said. 'Christina and I were best friends - she was such a light. So it changed my everyday life, not having her here to talk to or do things with. All the future event that shell miss.' It has been five years since her death - and there's not a day that goes by that Emily doesn't think about her late sister. 'Losing a sibling or a friend is hard, but a twin is just incomparable,' she explained. 'I really struggle with the loss. Ive even been suicidal due to it... But I just try and live my life the way she would want it, and keep her alive in everything we do. 'We still celebrate our love for Christmas by hosting "carols for Christina" every year, at the cemetery. But I dont think I'll ever be 'OK' and thats ok. 'If I can help others through my grief, and my experiences then it's worth it.' The now-35-year-old said she's required to get regular check ups to ensure she has 'no cancerous growths occurring'. The twin sisters holding hand just moments before Christina 'took her final breath' 'Losing a sibling or a friend is hard, but a twin is just incomparable,' Emily explained 'Im very mindful of any pains or potential symptoms,' she said. 'Due to my previous check up results I actually have had to re-book an annual test, which is frightening, but I would rather get a colonoscopy done every year if it avoids me getting cancer. 'A lot of people think of a colonoscopy as a taboo topic but it's honestly not that bad and its a necessity to rule out bowel cancer or catch it early.' Over the years, she has been campaigning to raise awareness around bowel cancer - and even launched her own project called F Cancer Australia. 'I run a cancer awareness company where we try and ignite cancer awareness conversations for all cancers - not just the 'pink' one,' Emily said. 'In my regular work hours, I work in real estate, managing the office - but, cancer awareness is my passion.' According to Bowel Cancer Australia, bowel cancer is Australia's second deadliest cancer. The family visiting Christina's grave in May - five years after her sudden death It was estimated that more than 15,300 Australians were diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2023 - with the average age being 69. If detected early, the chance of successful treatment and long-term survival improves significantly. Not all bowel cancers show symptoms. But common signs include abdominal pain or bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, unexplained weight loss, tiredness, weakness or breathlessness. 'Bowel cancer is such a treatable disease, if caught early. I think it needs to be highlighted more often to help gain momentum to make much needed changes to the stigma that bowel cancer is an old man's disease,' Emily said. 'Please dont be afraid to seek medical support, be it for potential symptoms big or small, hard to talk about or uncomfortable. 'A simple test could save your life. If I can stop someone else experiencing my loss and Christina's pain, I will keep telling her story.' For confidential support, call Lifeline Australia on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue at 1300 22 46 36 The Irish actor has won millions of fans around the world for his kind nature Fans around the world rarely stop swooning over Pierce Brosnan - but Halle Berry's admission this week that he restored her faith in men has left them weak at the knees once again for Hollywood's most revered gentleman. Oscar-winning actress Berry, 58, who starred as Jinx opposite Brosnan's 007 in his final Bond film, Die Another Day in 2002, revealed the Irish actor, 71, 'restored her faith in men' after she had gone through a bitter divorce and was cheated on in a subsequent relationship. 'I'm a Pierce Brosnan fan. He restored my faith in men on that movie. There couldn't be a human who is more of a gentleman than Pierce Brosnan,' she told Wired. And it seems Berry's not alone, as her comments led X (Twitter) to erupt in praise for the Bond actor as people shared their own stories of meeting him and declared that, at 71, his natural charisma is still as enchanting as ever. Among the reasons people still adore Brosnan after all these years were tales of his chivalrous nature and his enduring love and adoration for his wife of 20 years, Keely Shaye Smith, in a world where clashing schedules and the pressure of the spotlight can bring down even the strongest of relationships. Pierce Brosnan, 71, is being hailed one of the world's most earnest gentlemen as people gush over his devotion to his wife Keely Shaye Smith, whom he married in 2001 Speaking to Wired, Berry said playing a Bond girl had never been on her career bucket list, but she now felt she was a part of 'cinematic history' after playing Jinx. She said: 'Those movies are iconic. They will forever be a part of our history, and I'm really honored to have been a part of one, especially with Pierce,' and added the Irish actor will 'always be my Bond'. Her admiration for the actor and father-of-five is shared by millions of fans around the world who just can't seem to get over his good looks, well-known kind nature and acting talent. For Millennials, Brosnan remains 'their Bond', having grown up watching his blockbuster films including Tomorrow Never Dies and Goldeneye. Halle Berry revealed to Wired that, after several difficult relationships and a divorce, working with Brosnan 'restored her faith in men' Pierce and Keely met in 1994 and married in 2001. Keely has worked as a journalist and a documentary maker and dedicates much of her work to ocean conservation One person wrote on X in response to Berry's comments: 'It's always nice things you hear about Pierce Brosnan and never anything bad. Dude is an absolute gentleman, I love this man. 'Also I agree with Halle Berry I'm a Pierce Bond fan always have and always will be!!' Another woman told a story of how a friend of hers had bumped into him while working as a concierge in a hotel and apologised in a panic. In response, like a perfect gentleman, he put his hand her wrist and replied: 'Entirely my fault.' The alleged encounter had fans swooning once again, as others took to the social media site to share their own stories of Brosnan's gentlemanly behaviour. It only takes a new sighting of the Hollywood heartthrob to prompt an outpouring of admiration on social media. Last month as he made an appearance at Wimbledon with his son, fans were quick to gush over his sharp tailored navy suit, perfectly styled silver hair and all-round charm. Posting on X, one fan said: 'Pierce Brosnan is eating so bad, I'm sorry to these men out there but you got nothing on him my god.' Pierce Brosnan and his wife Keely shared a sweet family snap from Hawaii on Instagram as they celebrated the Easter holiday in 2020 Brosnan's first wife, Cassandra Harris, died from ovarian cancer in 1991. The couple shared three children, Sean (pictured), Charlotte and Christopher Keely and Brosnan met in Mexico in 1994. Brosnan has often credited his second wife with helping him through the grief over his first wife But aside from wowing fans at the age of 71 with his silver fox status and irresistible charm, Brosnan's personal tragedies have also tugged on people's heartstrings around the world. The actor's first wife, Cassandra Harris, whom he wed in 1980, tragically died in 1991, a day after their 11th wedding anniversary, from ovarian cancer at the age of 39. The Australian-born actress, known as Cassie to friends and family, already had a daughter named Charlotte and a son called Christopher when she met Brosnan. After their biological father Dermot Harris died in 1986, Brosnan officially adopted the children. In 1983, the couple also welcomed their son, Sean William Brosnan. After Cassandra's tragic death when Charlotte was 20, Christopher was 19 and Sean was just eight years old, Brosnan spoke of how her memory lived on. Speaking to People in 1992 he said: 'She has made me the man I am, the actor I am, the father I am. She's forever embedded in every fibre of my being. She's there with me every day. I was so blessed to have met someone like that.' Family: Avery Wheless, son Dylan, Keely, Pierce , son Paris and Alex Lee (L-R) pictured in January at the Golden Globes Snaps of Brosnan at Wimbledon this year in a sharply tailored suit and tie while sporting perfectly styled silver hair and a well-groomed beard set social media alight once again He also spoke of the 'incredible cruelty' of losing someone so close to him and with whom he shared so much. 'This is the first time in my life I've ever experienced bereavement, and it's overwhelming,' he said. As he spoke about Cassandra's 18 month-long battle with the aggressive cancer in raw detail, he revealed how their youngest son Sean would 'play doctor' and would nurse his mother after chemotherapy sessions when she was feeling nauseous and fatigued. He also recalled the heartbreaking moment his wife of 14 years died in his arms while Charlotte, who was studying at RADA in London at the time, was on the phone and Christopher joined him in the room. 'We were all together. And that's how she went to God,' he said. After suffering unimaginable grief and heartache as a single father-of-three, Brosnan managed to find love again with American journalist, author, actress and model, Keely Shaye Smith. After starring in a few small roles in TV and film throughout the 1980s, Keely transitioned to journalism and documentary filmmaking as she joined the crusade for protecting marine wildlife and saving the oceans. The journalist, now 60, grew up in Oahu, Hawaii, and has dedicated much of her work to protecting the oceans surrounding the pacific island as well as in Mexico. Brosnan and Keely, who are now based between Malibu in California and Hawaii, where Keely grew up, leave fans in awe over their enduring love Keely and Pierce met in 1994 and married in 2001, Pictured together in 1997 at the premiere of Tomorrow Never Dies Brosnan's most famous role is womanising lothario James Bond, who loves and leaves his mistresses all in the space of a night - but in real life, the actor is a devoted husband Upon meeting Pierce in Mexico in 1994, Keely told People that she immediately found the Bond actor 'captivating' and that he had a 'mischievous sparkle in his eyes'. In the same interview, the actor said of his wife: 'I found a great woman in Keely Shaye. Not if I searched a million times over would I find one as good.' As fans became captivated by the couple's love story, they have been particularly touched by how Keely, who shares sons Paris and Dylan with the actor, has supported her husband as he continued to grieve over his first wife. Speaking to the Irish Times in 2013, Pierce said: 'Keely has always been kind and compassionate and encouraged me to mourn Cassie. I suppose Keely is my North Star, always looking out for me.' And she also supported her husband through more immeasurable grief, when his eldest daughter Charlotte died in 2013 from ovarian cancer, the same disease which claimed her mother's life 21 years earlier. She was just 42 years old. The actor pictured in 2006 alongside children Christopher (far left), Charlotte (centre left), and Sean (far right) as well as his mother Mary May (centre right) Charlotte passed away at the age of just 42 on June 28, 2013 after a battle with ovarian cancer (Pierce and Charlotte pictured together in 2006) Announcing her death in a statement, Brosnan said: 'On June 28 my darling daughter Charlotte Emily passed on to eternal life, having succumbed to ovarian cancer. 'She was surrounded by her husband Alex, children Isabella and Lucas and brothers Christopher and Sean. 'Charlotte fought her cancer with grace and humanity, courage and dignity. Our hearts are heavy with the loss of our beautiful dear girl. 'We pray for her and that the cure for this wretched disease will be close at hand soon. We thank everyone for their heartfelt condolences.' The Irish actor reportedly flew back from Eastern Europe, where he had been filming spy thriller November Man, to the UK to be at his daughter's bedside. Pierce Brosnan marked the seventh anniversary of his daughter Charlotte's death with a touching post on Instagram in 2020 Later that year, he told the Irish Mirror how his wife had helped him through yet more grief for Charlotte. 'Love is just the most beautiful, joyous feeling. It can come from many places. Hopefully the one who is beside you, the one who is there on the pillow beside you in the morning my wife,' he said. He added: 'We seem to do well at being together and being in love and, more importantly, liking each other. The like factor is a great thing. Love cannot burn constantly. 'It's very hard for it to be so intense. But it's wonderful. I tell her I love her everyday. It's important to say that.' Brosnan and Keely's love has endured despite his star continuing to rise, while she has taken a quieter path in her career in more recent years. And while, at every corner of the internet (and no doubt, the real world), Brosnan has admirers aplenty, his head has never turned. He often shares his love for and devotion to Keely on Instagram where the couple celebrate milestones including anniversaries and birthdays. Keely and Pierce share two sons, Dylan and Paris (pictured at his graduation) Although he has admitted that long term relationships will always have ups and downs, Brosnan and his wife Keely are more in love than ever 30 years after they first met The couple, who split their time between Malibu in California and Hawaii, often post tributes to each other on social media In September 2023, as Keely turned 60, Brosnan posted a sweet snap of himself and his wife in front of a huge bouquet of flowers. Brosnan wrote: 'Sixty roses for my brown eyed girl on her 60th birthday. Forever happy and blessed was I to be sitting there when you walked around the corner early one morning in Cabo San Lucas.' Last year, as he celebrated his 22nd wedding anniversary with his wife, he reflected on two decades of marriage in an interview with Fox News. He said: 'We've been down the road, and we've seen many, many hardships as families do, as we all do. But watching someone grow up with you and grow old with you is a very spiritual journey. 'To watch each other change whatever it may be, the hair, the waist. But it's the love in the heart.' As he reflected on Keely's less star-studded career in comparison to Hollywood's bright lights, Brosnan said: 'Keeley is a journalist, a reporter. She's an artist in her own right. And as a woman, she has made a family for our sons. 'She allows me to go out into the wild blue yonder and do what I do as a man, as an actor, [she] always has.' A bricklayer has shocked and appalled TikTokers after he posted a video that would have most Irish folk weak at the knees after consuming a 'pot goodle' containing instant noodles and Guinness. Mitchell Sercombe, from the UK, has gone viral after he make a cocktail of instant noodles and stout, with many disgusted viewers insisting in the comments that the youngster had 'lost the plot'. Mitchell, who's bio on the app reads: 'Prestige 100 bricklayer + boozer' alongside 'Pronouns: brick/layer', has received more than 1.2 million views and 70,000 likes on the viral clip. In the clip, he said chirpily: 'Today I'm doing a pot goodle, that's Guinness and Pot Noodle.' First, he goes to make the instant noodles by pouring boiling water over them before he pours the hot mixture into a pint glass. Mitchell Sercombe (pictured) from the UK has gone viral on the social media app after he make a cocktail of instant noodles and stout, with many disgusted viewers insisting in the comments that the youngster had 'lost the plot' However, it seems as though Mitchell is partial to unusual Guinness combinations as the Gen Zer also has recipes on his page for an assault course of gag-worthy stout fusions. Mitchell pictured downing Guinness mixed with rice pudding He finishes off the savoury cocktail by pouring the Irish stout into the steaming noodle mix over a spoon. He then add jerk seasoning. 'I'm not really sure how this is going to go down because all the noodles are at the bottom,' he noticed before shrugging, cheering the camera before taking a swig of the lumpy beverage. After wincing through the contents of the glass, Mitchell then proceeded to half pour, half chew his way through the remainder of the thick noodles. Viewers went to the commenters to remark on their disgust at having seen the unconventional products combined. However, it seems as though Mitchell is partial to unusual Guinness combinations as the Gen Zer also has recipes on his page for an assault course of gag-worthy stout fusions. In one clip, he created a 'iron rice gudding', which blends Irn Bru, rice pudding and Guinness. As he merrily poured an entire tin of rice pudding into the pint glass, he remarked 'this looks like scrambled egg,' though his initial disgust didn't hold him back from downing the unusual beverage. One commenter wrote 'it has to stop' on one of the videos in the series, concerned the increasingly bizarre takes on a Guinness pint. Viewers of the viral Pot Noodle concoction took to the comments to express their understandable horror and concern for the strange drinks. One jokingly commented, 'plot has never been more lost' while another humorous viewer said 'just seen the plot in Spoons toilets'. A third joked; 'Is everything okay at home?' One woman was disgusted enough that the drink included Guinness. She wrote: 'Braver than me, I won't even drink Guinness'. Viewers of the viral Pot Noodle concoction took to the comments to express their combined horror and concern for the strange drinks The Gen Zer horrified viewers when he gulped down a pint of Guinness and mushy peas One clip revealed Mitchell making a stout drink with Guinness, Redbull and Nando's lemon and herb seasoning sauce Another video sees the Gen Zer blending Guinness with tomato soup and a pink can of Monster energy drink. In the same video, he referred to himself as a 'seasoned pro' at the nauseating beverages Mitchell, who's bio on the app reads: 'Prestige 100 bricklayer + boozer' alongside 'Pronouns: brick/layer', has received more than 1.2 million views and 70k likes on the his viral 'pot goodle' clip In other videos, Mitchell combined Guinness with an array of savoury and sweet foods including tomato soup, spaghetti hoops, rice pudding, custard, and one which contains Irn Bru, Guinness and strawberry milk 'The scary part is no one has asked him to do this,' another remarked. In other videos, Mitchell combined Guinness with an array of savoury and sweet foods including tomato soup, spaghetti hoops, rice pudding, custard, and one which contains Irn Bru, Guinness and strawberry milk. Another video sees the Gen Zer blending Guinness with tomato soup and a pink can of Monster energy drink. In the same video, he referred to himself as a 'seasoned pro' at the nauseating beverages. It comes after reports the the popular pub classic has become a favourite of Gen Z after JD Wetherspoon revealed the black stuff was behind a huge increase in sales. The practice has become akin to an extreme sport for many youngsters, as they seek out the best pint of plain from the many boozers across Britain and Ireland. It has seen a rise of dedicated accounts across different social media platforms putting collages and videos together of the most photogenic pints of Guinness across the land. JD Wetherspoon has said soaring demand for Guinness from younger punters and recovering demand for ale helped the UK pub chain to higher sales over past three months. As a result, the company's founder and chairman Tim Martin said the firm expects annual profits to be 'towards the top of market expectations'. Wetherspoon, which runs 809 pubs across the UK, said like-for-like sales increased by 5.2 per cent over the 13 weeks to April 28 compared with a year earlier, with total sales up 3.3 per cent. Guinness is distinctive as an alcoholic beverage for the manner in which many people allow it to 'settle' following a two-part pour Tim Martin's comments come as there is something of a Gen-Z craze over finding the perfect pint of Guinness The practice has become akin to an extreme sport for many youngsters, as they seek out the best pint of plain from the many boozers across Britain and Ireland Mr Martin said the group has benefited from the rocketing popularity of Guinness and a revival for some traditional ale. 'Sales in the period continued the steady recovery from the pandemic,' he said. 'Traditional ales, which were very slow in the aftermath of the lockdowns, are increasing momentum, with Abbot Ale, Ruddles Bitter and Doom Bar showing good growth, as indeed are ales from the many small and micro brewers with which we trade. 'The gods of fashion have smiled upon Guinness, previously consumed by blokes my age, but now widely adopted by younger generations.' One such way that many people judge a good Guinness is by what has become known colloquially as the 'tilt test' - whereby drinkers tilt their pint at a 45-degree angle to see how creamy the Guinness is. They claim that if it is up to standard, the contents of the drink will not spill out from the top of the glass despite being at an angle. The day my only daughter, Juliet, got married was always going to be emotional. As a proud mother I'd imagined the months of excited preparations, the elation of seeing my little girl as a radiant bride, the happy tears I'd shed. And yes, I did weep, but they were not tears of joy but of horror and sadness. It was February 2021 and I only discovered Juliet was getting married the morning of the ceremony. I didn't find out from her or any member of my family. Instead, it was a friend who broke the news by phone. By this point I'd been estranged from Juliet, 21, and my five sons for five years. However, my despair went beyond the inevitable sorrow that I was no longer in contact with my beautiful children. What I feared was that Juliet's marriage would see her further tied to a strict and secretive religious community the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church that had all but destroyed me. For some women, marriage in this church could be like a living death. In my case, it meant 26 years of marital rape and coercive control, before I finally left, in my mid-40s, in 2013. For those who have never heard of it, the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC) is a Christian sect established in England in the early 19th century. Sometimes known as the Exclusive Brethren, believers emphasise the importance of living according to the doctrines of the bible. There are more than 50,000 members worldwide, with around 18,000 living in the UK. The PBCC doesn't recruit followers, rather families are encouraged to have large numbers of children to carry it on. I was a fourth-generation member. It's not a closed-off community, in the sense that followers live in a compound. PBCC live in cities and villages, they may have jobs, run businesses and their children may attend mainstream schools. In practice, however, there is little freedom. I grew up in the north of England being told I must accept God's will as communicated by the Brethren rulers, respected male elders. I only discovered my daughter Juliet was getting married the morning of the ceremony (Picture posed by a model) I feared that Juliet's marriage would see her further tied to a strict and secretive religious community the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church that had all but destroyed me God's will included no trousers for women, and that it was sinful to cut off your hair. Contraception was only allowed in special circumstances. We were not allowed to own pets, read novels, go to the cinema, watch television or listen to the radio. These were banned for being tools of the devil, although more likely because they'd have perhaps opened our eyes to the normal world. Similarly, we were not allowed to mix with those outside the Church known as 'worldlies' who we were brought up to believe were ruled by Satan. A key PBCC tenet is to be ready at all times for the Rapture the moment when Jesus comes to collect the Brethren and take them up to heaven. The worldlies, meanwhile, would be left behind to drown, burn or suffocate. It wasn't all gloom. I look back at my childhood and remember happy times: family picnics, days on the beach in our pretty seaside town, playing with other Brethren children. My parents loved us and each other. But there was a great deal of confusion. At school, to avoid the worldlies we had to sit separately at snack time. We had to go home for our lunch. We didn't attend assembly. We stood out for our old-fashioned clothes. But worst of all, we were not allowed to mix with those who had been expelled from the church. When I was growing up, the Brethren practised an extreme kind of separation. That meant anyone who didn't comply with the rules had to be cut off in order to maintain the purity of the fellowship. People you loved could disappear at any moment, never to be seen again. When my aunt and her family were cast out after they went against Brethren rules by buying a camper van I found my grandmother had cut her own daughter out of every family photo. To leave was to lose everyone you loved and to break the hearts of those you left behind. While as a teenager, I might sometimes daydream about a different future, I felt there was no option but to embrace the life that had been mapped out for me as an obedient wife and mother. I met my husband at a three-day Brethren gathering in the south of England. I was 17 and working in my dad's photocopying business. Kevin was a year older than me. Over the weekend we kept on making eye contact. Daringly, he even winked at me. Just before I left, we managed to get a few minutes alone. We vowed to write to each other and he gave me a 10 note on which he wrote: 'Love You, Always and Forever! Kevin xx.' I thought this was love. The following year, we married in a simple ceremony at the Brethren meeting room. Because of strict rules around relationships, we had only met in person six times. While I was impatient to kiss my husband for the first time, I hoped we would take sex slowly. Instead, when we went to my childhood bedroom to change into our going away clothes, he tore at my wedding gown, groping my breast so hard it hurt. I was shocked and frightened but it was also my duty to obey my husband. Then he picked me up and almost threw me on to my single bed. I pleaded with him to stop. But in that almost animal-like state, he seemed to see and feel nothing but his own pent-up desires. I was pregnant often during my marriage, the first time within weeks of the wedding, becoming a mother when I was just 19 (Picture posed by a model) To leave the Brethren was to lose everyone you loved and to break the hearts of those you left behind (Picture posed by a model) He only stopped when my mother knocked on the door, wondering why we were taking so long. I was left wondering: who was this man? Who have I married? It quickly became clear his obsession with sex went beyond the libido of a normal young man. He could never seem to get enough; first thing in the morning, at lunchtime, as soon as he came home from work and then last thing at night. Nothing seemed to satisfy him. Soon, I no longer felt like a person. I felt like an object to be used for my husband's pleasure. I was sore and bruised. I was also utterly miserable. Even when I was pregnant, he wanted sex until the day I gave birth. And I was pregnant often, the first time within weeks of getting married, becoming a mother when I was just 19. My children first Oliver, then Bradley and Kyle within the space of four years brought much-needed joy into my life. But even family days out could be marred by Kevin's obsession with sex. One Saturday afternoon, he drove us to a deserted playground. As the boys played on the swings, Kevin ordered me to bend over a picnic table. When I refused he snarled, calling me a bitch. To punish me, he drove us home dangerously fast, knowing the fact the children were in the car would add to my terror. He liked scaring me; showing me who was in control. I learned not to deny him. People often ask me why I didn't confide in anyone about the abuse I suffered. But there was no one I could tell. The Brethren discouraged close friendships, perhaps because they were afraid it would undermine their power. Parents were also discouraged from interfering in their children's marriages and girls were brought up not to question their husbands. I learnt to smile and nod and be compliant, to keep my tears private. Now I wonder how many Brethren wives had to tolerate husbands like Kevin. The constant pregnancies are difficult enough the isolation, the subjugation but now I can see how cruel the whole system was: the lack of sex education, a ban on masturbation that made boys feel guilty about normal urges, the apparently Biblically-sanctioned control husbands had over their wives, and the culture of silence over what happened in the marital bedroom. All these things were cruel and mentally destructive for both men and women, and disastrous for the health of many marriages, but divorce was not permitted in the Brethren at that time. My family grew. Lincoln was followed by Juliet two years later. But soon after her birth, I began to break. I struggled to get out of bed, to look after the children and spent hours crying. When I went to the doctor I had to be careful not to mention my unhappy marriage or Brethren life, as it would be considered a betrayal. Diagnosed with depression, I was prescribed antidepressants, but just as I was beginning to feel I could cope, I became pregnant again. The medication had to stop. Nine months later my sixth child, Aaron, was born. There were brief periods of calm between Kevin and me, but his sexual demands never stopped. One night in 2006, I woke to find him holding one hand tightly over my nose and mouth, while he tried to have sex with me. I was terrified; was he trying to kill me? I tried to push him off but it was impossible. Kevin didn't even seem to see me. Eventually he let me breathe. Closing my eyes tight I just waited for it all to stop. The next morning he apologised as if it had been nothing: 'I didn't mean to hurt you.' But he had. After dropping the children at school I went to my parents' house. In their kitchen, I could hear someone screaming it was only as my dad pleaded with me to stop that I realised it was me. When I told them what Kevin had done, Mum held me as I wept and promised my father would use his authority to make things right. Dad summoned Kevin and a 'priestly meeting' was set up with two Brethren elders. For the next six weeks, Kevin met with them twice a week while I stayed with my parents. I wasn't party to the meetings, but from my knowledge of how these things worked they would have interrogated him about his sexual habits. And when they were satisfied Kevin was sorry and full of shame, they would have told him he had received the Lord's forgiveness. The priests did not speak to me. It wouldn't have occurred to anyone to involve the police. I returned home and Kevin returned to the marital bed. Unsurprisingly, things didn't get better. Kevin seemed constantly angry and would even lash out at the children with his fists. In 2012, I broke down again. I couldn't move or speak and was rushed to hospital with a suspected stroke. It turned out to be psychological and I was referred to a psychiatrist who, as part of my treatment, sent me to self-esteem classes. Learning how to have the strength to walk away from unhealthy situations, I came to see it was not only my marriage that was crushing me, but also the Brethren way of life. By the following year, suicide felt like the only way out. Standing on the pier one morning, I stared into the water below and wondered how long it would take me to drown. But then, a voice inside my head told me I could choose a different life. I realised I had to leave even if it meant never seeing my family again. When I told Kevin, my parents and my children what I had decided they all begged me not to go. The Brethren elders ordered Kevin to leave the house, to give me space until I came to my senses. I didn't want to come to my senses, however. I was ready to take my first steps into the outside world. I stayed at home with the children, but swapped my long, dowdy skirts for trendy jeans and pretty tops. I bought make-up, jewellery, an iPhone and a television. Yet it was an untenable situation. First Kyle, then aged 21, moved out. 'I can't live here any more,' he told me when I found him packing his belongings, his face red. 'I can't bear to watch my mum give herself to the world and the Devil. It just hurts too much.' I hadn't expected my three eldest sons to accept my decision, but for those first days and weeks I had held on to a hope a naive hope that all my children would somehow stay with me. I pleaded with him not to go, but I knew then there was nothing I could do. Bradley left three weeks later, followed by Oliver. As part of divorce proceedings I was granted full custody of Lincoln, 15, Juliet, 13, and Aaron, 11, until they reached 16. But I had to let them remain in the Brethren and the following year I was formally cast out. While the children would continue living with me, they would have to live as separately as possible. As part of divorce proceedings I was granted full custody of Lincoln, 15, Juliet, 13, and Aaron, 11, until they reached 16. But I had to let them remain in the Brethren (Picture posed by a model) They weren't even allowed to eat with me. The first time it happened, I refused to leave the kitchen table; they picked up their plates and went to sit in the living room, leaving me alone with hot tears rolling down my cheeks. Soon after Juliet turned 16, she and Lincoln went to live with my parents. When she came to get her things, I begged her to stay. She said she was sorry but it was too hard trying to live two lives. For weeks afterwards I slept in her bedroom every night, hugging her pillow and drinking in the fading scent of her. It was like she had died. The only time I've seen her since was in a chemist's six years ago. I went to hug her, but she recoiled and ran out of the shop. By then I'd heard three of my sons were married and I had grandchildren that I would never meet. My parents don't speak to me either not even my mum, who I know loves and misses me but dares not go against her beliefs. When Aaron said, aged 15, he wanted to go and live with relatives too, knowing how hard it must be for him to live with an outcast, I let him go. Yet I was filled with grief; I'd finally lost the battle to save any of my children from the Brethren. Since 2017, none of them have answered my emails, calls or letters. It's been a hard journey since then, but I chose this life knowing what the cost would be and the price has been too high to give up now. Today, I'm having therapy, I'm in a relationship with a man who treats me with respect, I work as a housekeeper for a lovely family and I enjoy the freedom I imagined for myself as a teenager. I continue to send my children birthday cards every year; I will never give up hope that at least one of them will come back to me my door will always be open. For now, I can only hope that my sons will be good to their wives, and that the man Juliet married is a far better husband to her than her father ever was to me. Maria Compton is a pseudonym. All names have been changed. Adapted from Out of Faith: A Mother, A Sect, And a Journey to Freedom by Maria Compton (20, Blink Publishing) Maria Compton 2024. To order a copy for 18 (Offer valid to 28/08/24; UK P&P free on orders over 25) go to www.mailshop.co.uk/books or call 020 3176 2937. The cover of Out of Faith: A Mother, A Sect, And a Journey to Freedom by Maria Compton The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church says that its members work and live with people from all walks of life, that it does not limit communication between families and ex-members, and that husbands do not have control over their wives. A PBCC spokesperson said: 'Our Church is driven by care and compassion. The upsetting experiences described do not reflect the beliefs or practices of our Church, nor the experiences of our 18,000 independent members across the UK. 'We treat the safety and wellbeing of our members with the utmost importance and have robust safeguarding policies and practices in place to protect our community. We see any form of abuse as utterly abhorrent and strongly encourage anyone to report any allegations to the police. 'In line with our Christian beliefs, we are also committed to playing an active role in the communities where our members live and work. Indicative of this commitment, many members actively support a wealth of charitable activities to help those in need. 'As a Church guided by Christian faith, we extend an enduring offer of care and support.' 90's 'it' spot Hugo's Lounge in Sydney is set to become a new restaurant and club After years of restaurant closures across the city and an ailing club scene, Sydney's nightlife is about to get a major boost. Fans of 90's 'it' spot Hugo's Lounge will remember the heady Kings Cross days of lining up to get a drink and dancing until the early hours at the Bayswater Road club. And restaurateur Andrew Becher, behind Potts Point's Parla and Amorica in Surry Hills, is breathing new life back into the old venue with plans to open Pelicano. The Pelicano brand is a revival by Mr Becher of the old Double Bay restaurant of the same name which was popular with celebrities such as Mel Gibson. It will feature a bar and restaurant in the expansive Hugo's space and is being seen as a sign by some that the good old days of the city's vibrant nightlife are set to return. This comes as fellow Melbourne restaurateur Maurice Terzini, of Sydney's Otto, has also announced a new cabaret bar set to open on the same road as Pelicano. The Hook, a piano bar serving oysters and Piccolo Bar, for late night aperitivo and cheese toasties with chips, are already livening up the dull Kings Cross strip. And it's welcome news for locals and travellers - with many people accusing Sydney of being a 'boring' place to live due to the fact that businesses close too early. Hugo's Lounge was an ultra cool Sydney club famed for its relaxed and sophisticated vibes and pizza on the terrace overlooking Bayswater Road, and it's set to be reborn as Pelicano, a new restaurant and bar by Andrew Becher The ailing Kings Cross nightclub scene was hit hard by the lockdown laws introduced in 2014, but new NSW legislation is aiming to ease the restrictions on drinking in a bid to liven up businesses trading at night The Old Hugo's Lounge on Bayswater Road is being transformed by Andrew Becher into an upscale restaurant and bar called Pelicano Ultra cool club Hugo's was the most high-profile victim of Sydney's draconian lockout laws which were introduced to beat alcohol related crime. They were instead blamed for killing off the once thriving club scene and leading many to dub NSW a 'nanny state'. Current NSW laws which prohibit people from standing while they drink on streets are also set to be scrapped after the state's Premier Chris Minns said that the 'useless' bans on booze were 'destroying' Sydney venues. 'For too long Sydney's nightlife has been strangled by red tape,' the Premier said. 'Having an economy that fires up at 5pm during the week is critical for global cities like Sydney.' A simple approval pathway under the Liquor Act will no longer stipulate that patrons must be sitting down to consume alcohol in outdoor areas. New licensing laws will also mean that venues with live music are now allowed to trade for an extra two hours. A young mum left thousands of people in shock after revealing a little known washing machine part that needs regular cleaning. Alana, behind Instagram account alanathesahm, showed a heavy build up of dirt inside of her appliance that left home makers feeling disgusted. 'You need to clean front part of the washer, gasket and filter. But did you know you had to clean these things?' she asked in a video. Pointing to the flow directing panel used to make the water spin, she quizzed everyone on whether they knew it was called a 'baffle'. And while 18 per cent of her followers did know what a baffle was, 99 per cent of them never knew they needed to be cleaned. Alana removed one baffle to reveal a 'gross' build up of caked brown dirt. She then scrubbed her baffles with an old toothbrush and soaked them in a sink with warm water and soap to remove the dirt, running the machine for a cycle afterwards. 'I ran it on a tub clean cycle with one of my active washer cleaning tablets, then I found all these stickers and things that were stuck inside there, so gross.' Alana, of Instagram account alanathesahm, left viewers 'disgusted' by exposing a filthy baffle in her washing machine that needed cleaning - and many didn't know it was detachable Alana ran the machine on another cycle and then attached the baffle top back on, revealing a sparkling clean washing machine. While the mum of twins said it was 'stupid' to have to clean another part of the machine, she said it was well worth it to banish any smells from the appliance. Nearly everyone was stunned to discover that baffles needed to be cleaned. 'Wait, those things inside the washer come off?' one said. 'Not only did I not not know this, but I actually still don't,' another quipped. People suggested that using natural products such as vinegar over commercial fabric softeners would result in less product build-up and a cleaner machine People said that if you simply used natural cleaning products like vinegar for the laundry then this would result in less build up in the baffle and reduce the need to clean the machine's parts so frequently. 'I use vinegar as a fabric softener and this helps reduce the need to clean, I also do a tub clean cycle every 10 loads,' one said. 'Using natural products instead of store bought detergents and fabric softeners prevents this type of build up and is healthier for the skin,' another agreed. One 'horrified' Aussie watching the American mum's video said that she was just going to pretend that this was an 'American washing machine thing' and didn't apply to her Australian appliance. Others were also in denial about the necessity of performing the 'disgusting' and time consuming task. 'I'll just pretend that I didn't watch this,' one woman said. 'I don't need this kind of negativity in my life,' another agreed. A mum who had checked her washing machine drum discovered that her baffles were part of the stainless steel and couldn't be detached for cleaning: 'I don't think I've ever been so relieved.' Some people said that they would rather buy a new appliance than have to confront the dirt inside of their baffles. One woman complained that 'cleantok' was always giving her more work to do. And another wondered if her baffle was hiding more than just dirt: 'If I open it I'm going to find 100 missing white socks.' Whirlpool laundry expert Vivien Fodor previously told FEMAIL the washing machine seal isn't the only nook or cranny people should be cleaning regularly. Vivien said many people don't wash their machines as a result of not knowing how. 'Whilst it may seem counterintuitive, cleaning your washing machine is key to avoiding bacteria build up and growth.' Most washing machines have three departments that require maintenance: the filter, the rubber seal and the detergent drawer. 'They are specifically designed to be accessible by the user so yes, they should be cleaned,' Vivian said. Celebrity chef Paul Hollywood has sent left Bake Off fans reeling after claiming one of the most iconic British cakes 'doesn't exist'. The 58-year-old, best known for being a judge on the programme as well as authoring numerous baking books, has come under fire after his statement sent shockwaves through our dessert-loving nation. Paul controversially said that the iconic Victoria Sponge cake is actually not a cake at all - but a sandwich. The classic strawberry jam-filled treat is a staple when it comes to celebratory food and is loved by royals, including the Princess of Wales. However, the nation is divided on what its actual name is, with some Brits referring to it as a Victoria Sponge and others as a Victoria Sandwich. Paul Hollywood has ignited the Victoria Sponge debate, claiming it should be referred to as a 'sandwich' rather than a 'sponge' The Victoria Sponge divide has come back into the limelight after baking legend Paul nailed his flag to the sandwich post. The chef, originally from Wallasey, propped up his argument by saying that Mary Berry also referred to it as a sandwich. He said in the video, 'Victoria Sponge doesn't exist. I've got no idea [why it's been called that]. 'I worked with Mary Berry for years, I heard her say Victoria Sandwich a lot. Prue [Leith] says Victoria Sandwich. 'That's the name because it's a sandwich. Victoria Sponge doesn't exist, that's a fact.' Great British Bake Off fans have been left shocked by the chef's recent comments, taking to TikTok to voice their disagreement in the comments section of the video. GBB fan Gregory said of Paul's comments on the social media platform: 'It exists because that's what people call it.' While Phoebe stated: 'My whole childhood has been a lie.' Another shocked viewer, Jake, added on TikTok: 'It's a Victoria Sponge.' The Great British Bake Off judge - pictured - has divided fans with his rigid approach to the debate Bake Off fans took to TikTok to express their disapproval of Paul's comments Another fan, Sereya, commented: 'I've been calling it Victoria Sponge my whole life.' And Taryn added: 'My great grandma always called it a Victoria Sponge cake and she was born in 1914 and her mum baked for her family's bakery. So I'll keep calling it a Victoria Sponge cake.' The origins of the cake can be traced back to Queen Victoria's reign, with Food historian Alysa Levene claiming in her 2016 book 'Cake: A Slice of History' that the Queen was particularily fond of this simple cake and enjoyed a slice with her afternoon cup of tea. The version Queen Victoria ate is thought to have just been filled with jam, but modern versions usually include a layer of cream or buttercream. It comes following another shocking blow for Victoria Sponge fans this month, after Cheesecake was voted the top teatime treat of all time - beating the classic British delicacy. A poll of 2,000 adults revealed chocolate cake and carrot cake in second and third place, followed by lemon drizzle. Despite the Victoria sponge being one of the most iconic British bakes, a quarter (25 per cent) of Brits voted the American cheesecake's creamy texture and versatile flavours as number one to satisfy their tastebuds. Other non-traditional bakes that made the top 30 list include doughnuts, banoffee pie and cinnamon buns as adults move away from classic cakes to sweet treats more commonly found across the pond. And while 60 per cent say they prefer traditional cakes, modern-day bakes such as pistachio croissants and chocolate Oreo cake also made the list. The study was commissioned by community retailer SPAR to celebrate the Blooming Great Tea Party with end-of-life charity Marie Curie, which is encouraging people to bake their favourite cakes and hold a tea party to raise money. A resurfaced clip of Taylor Swift appearing as an opening guest on the Paul O'Grady show has left people in shock - as the megastar was billed before EastEnders actress Rita Simons. In a now-viral TikTok the late English comedian and broadcaster introduces Rita, who played Roxy Mitchell on the soap from 2007 to 2017, as the crowd cheers in excitement. As the camera pans to Paul and Rita sharing a hug, Taylor Swift is spotted standing and clapping to welcome the TV star. Taylor then embraced Rita and said 'nice to meet you', but social media users joked that she would've had 'absolutely has no idea' who she was. The clip, which was filmed in 2009, was reshared on X, formerly known as Twitter, racked up over 600,00 views and 6,000 likes. People are in hysterics over unearthed clip of Taylor Swift on the Paul O'Grady show, where EastEnders Rita Simons was the headline guest Paul O'Grady looked delighted to welcome the then -country star on theshow The caption read: 'Obsessed with this old clip from Paul OGrady Ive just seen on TikTok when Rita Simons off EastEnders was his headline guest and Taylor Swift is just there.' Taylor was just 19 at the time and promoting her second album, Fearless, which she won an Album of the Year Grammy for. Between her wildly popular Eras Tour, mastery of the Billboard charts, billion-dollar fortune, twelve Grammy Awards, and domination of the pop culture headlines many pointed out just how bizarre it looks nowadays to not have Taylor as the main guest. One person wrote: 'The way Taylor Swift just absolutely has no idea Who Rita Simons is.' Another said: 'Damn I remember watching this at the time and being so excited because I am a Swiftie and I loved Airhead by Girls@Play and they showed it to Taylor and Rita just about died.' Girls@Play were a British five-piece girl group band from London formed in 2000, consisting of Vicky Dowdall, Lisa-Jay White, Rita Simons, Lynsey Shaw and Shelley Nash. Someone else wrote: 'I feel the same way about an 80s episode of the Kenny Everett show where the band break inexplicably turned out to be U2, like it was most normal thing in the world for them to be a B-list TV comic's support act. Why? How?' Swifts 131-date Eras world tour, is currently packing stadiums across the world and has become the highest-grossing concert tour of all time. Taylor then embraced Rita and said 'nice to meet you', but social media users joked that she would of had 'absolutely has no idea' who she was Between her wildly popular Eras Tour, mastery of the Billboard charts, billion-dollar fortune, twelve Grammy Awards, and domination of the pop culture headlines many pointed out just how bizarre it looks nowadays to not have Taylor as the main guest In a now-viral TikTok the English comedian and broadcaster introduces Rita, who played Roxy Mitchell on the soap from 2007 to 2017, as the crowd cheers in excitement As the camera pans to Paul and Rita sharing a hug, Taylor Swift is spotted standing and clapping to welcome the TV star on the show in 2009 The hitmaker brought the curtain down on a stellar run of shows on the other side of the Atlantic with a record eighth concert at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday, where she once again sent 92,000 fans into a frenzy with her medley of hits. Having already been such a success its coined the term Swiftonomics, Taylor's tour has introduced a jaw-dropping 1 billion to the UK economy. It's thought that over one million giddy Swifites - and their bank balances - descended on big cities to see the Love Story hitmaker's show. Overall the European leg of Taylor's tour was booked to span over 50 dates in countries including France, Sweden, Ireland, Germany, Poland, Austria, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland, before wrapping up in London on 20 August. As soon as the dates were announced, many European cities saw a sharp rise in demand for hotels and short-term accommodation over the summer. BBC Scotland also stated that that the accommodation shortage was so severe, that several homeless people had been sent via taxi to Aberdeen and Glasgow. One person wrote: 'The way Taylor Swift just absolutely has no idea Who Rita Simons is' 1.2million fans were estimated to be spending an average of 848 on tickets, travel, accommodation, outfits and other costs to see the star at one of her 15 UK tour dates - more than 12 times the average cost of a night out. It was recently revealed how Taylor Swift had joined the ranks of the world's billionaires, with her music, live performances and real estate portfolio estimated by Forbes to be worth $1.1 bn (874m). On average those lucky enough to attend Taylor's shows are thought to have spent 206 on a ticket and for the fans (14% of the total) who dug deeper to buy VIP or premium seats that figure exceeded 400. The report estimated fans spend an average of 121 on accommodation and 111 on travel to go to the night out. As 18% will buy a new outfit the average clothing bill for a Swiftie concert is put at 56. Dr Peter Brooks, Chief Behavioural Scientist at Barclays, said: 'Whoever came up with the phrase 'money can't buy happiness' clearly wasn't a Swiftie. 'There's growing evidence that spending on experiences boosts happiness and well-being more so than purchasing physical items, especially if that experience is shared with friends and loved ones. Taylor was just 19 at the time and promoting her album Fearless Swifts 131-date Eras world tour, is currently packing stadiums across the world and has become the highest-grossing concert tour of all time 'When it comes to cultural icons like Taylor Swift like we saw with Elvis and Beatlemania in the 50s and 60s supporters have such a strong connection to the artist and to the rest of the fandom that the desire to spend becomes even more powerful. 'For non-fans, 848 may seem like an enormous amount to splash out on a concert but for Eras Tour ticketholders, every pound they spend is an investment in the memories they'll create.' While of course many hotel and restaurant owners have lined their pockets with the profits of Taylor's concerts, the star has also shown her generous side during her time in the UK. The Edinburgh Food Project, said it was informed before her first concert on Friday that she would be 'making a donation to support foodbanks across the city'. The charity told MailOnline it had agreed not to reveal the exact amount of money donated by Swift, but said it will 'make a big difference to the people we support.' One food bank in Liverpool even reported that they only found out she planned to donate when they missed a call from an American number. The St Andrew's Community Network, which provides for 11 food banks and eight community food pantries in the north of the city, returned the call on June 20 and discovered Swift's team wanted to give money. A Cardiff Food bank also confirmed on Instagram and Facebook that the artist had donated, adding that the development was 'beyond their wildest dreams'. Elias Elhania pictured with his parents, Abdallah and Zahra, and his two sisters. Elhania was shot and killed at an Airbnb property in Sunnyvale on Aug. 7, 2021. Courtesy of Teresa Li A San Francisco Superior Court judge on Thursday allowed a lawsuit by the parents of an 18-year-old man killed at an Airbnb rental to move forward, dismissing the rental giants argument that it should not be held liable for the homicide. A 17-year-old fatally shot Elias Elhania during a party at the Airbnb rental property on the 1400 block of Navarro Drive in Sunnyvale on Aug. 7, 2021, police previously said. The victims parents, Abdallah Elhania and Zahra Elmenjaou, argued that Airbnb is liable because it allowed the rental to be listed even though the listing violated a local ordinance that required the property owner to stay on-site during a guests stay and because the home was never registered with the city. Teresa Li, an attorney for the parents, said that the decision by Judge Charles F. Haines means Airbnb could be held liable for Elias Elhanias death. Airbnb, Li said, argued that because it conducts business in many cities, counties, and countries, all of which have different laws, it would be impossible to determine which law to comply with. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Airbnb also argued that local laws regulating short-term rentals apply only to property owners, not rental companies, according to Li. No one is above the law, especially a global company like Airbnb, Li said in a statement. The Court, in its wisdom, saw to it that this is the case. I hope this ruling will change the way Airbnb conducts its business and short-term rentals will be safer for everyone, so that Elias did not die in vain. Airbnb did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the lawsuit filed in March 2023, the parents alleged that both Airbnb and the property owner should be held responsible for the death of Elias Elhania. The family is seeking compensation for damages and wants a judge to declare the property a public nuisance so that it cant be used for future Airbnb rentals. Ke Zhou, the propertys owner, lived out of state and never applied for approval from the city of Sunnyvale to rent out the property short-term, the lawsuit said. Short-term rental hosts must reside on-site during their guests stay, overnight guests are limited to four people, and the property owner must register the home with the city, according to a Sunnyvale city ordinance. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Dutch Royal Household has apologised following the incorrect arrest of a radio DJ after he unknowingly drove the same route as Crown Princess Amalia-Cathrina. NPO Blend radio host Serginio Pique was driving in a rented car with friends in the centre of Antwerp on August 2 when he was unexpectedly arrested by 'men in balaclavas' with guns drawn, leading Serginio to question whether racial profiling was at play. The group of friends had unknowingly taken the same route as Princess Amalia from Amsterdam to Antwerp, who was previously a target of a 'Dutch mafia kidnap plot', triggering suspicion among the Dutch security service, who then informed the Belgian authorities. Police escorted the group out of their vehicle at gunpoint and they were made to kneel down on the street with their feet crossed and their hands on their heads, before being handcuffed and taken to a police van where they were questioned for approximately and hour, according to NL Times. Talking to FEMAIL, Serginio's lawyer, Vito Shukrula, revealed that the group received a 'personal' apology from a spokesperson of the Royal House, and shared exclusive details of King Willem-Alexander's response to the 'deeply frightening' experience. NPO Blend radio host Serginio Pique (pictured) was arrested by 'men in balaclavas' with guns in Antwerp on 2 August The radio DJ was driving with friends from Amsterdam to Antwerp in a rented car when the incident occurred. Unbeknownst to the group at the time, they had taken the same route as Princess Amalia, which led to their armed arrest in the centre of Antwerp. Authorities in the Netherlands have ramped up security measures to protect the nation's 20-year-old Crown Princess in recent times, after she was ordered to return to her parents' home from the University of Amsterdam in 2022 amid abduction fears. Talking to Dutch outlet NOS, Serginio revealed that he questioned whether his arrest was due to the colour of his skin. The radio DJ said: 'So much goes through your mind. You start to wonder if there was perhaps racial profiling involved. That is a feeling that every person of colour experiences when they are wrongly stopped.' He added: 'We could have just gotten a stop sign. Then they could have searched our car, and we would have been done in two minutes.' MailOnline has contacted the Dutch Palace for comment. Serginio remained in the dark about the purpose of his arrest until he arrived at the police station. There, it was revealed that the Dutch security services had asked the Belgian police to arrest the group. Crown Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands (pictured in 2023) was forced to leave university accommodation over a gangster plot to kidnap her in 2022 The Dutch radio DJ host (pictured left) questioned whether the arrest was a result of racial profiling Serginio and his friends unknowingly drove from Amsterdam to Antwerp on the same route as Amalia After Serginio was declared innocent, he claimed the police said: 'Go and enjoy Antwerp, you have a good story to tell at Christmas.' Talking to FEMAIL, Serginio's lawyer, Vito Shukrula, revealed that the Dutch Royal Household said the incident was an 'unfortunate consequence of the need to protect the royal house'. He said: 'Yesterday we have been called by the personal spokesperson of the Royal House. She told us that the King - King Willem Alexander - wants us to know that the Dutch Royal house understands how deeply frightening this experience must have been for my client and his friends. 'Furthermore, the King wanted to let us know that he gives his sympathy on behalf of the Royal house, that the royal house acknowledges that he and his friends have become victims. 'The royal family calls it an unfortunate consequence of the need to protect the royal house. 'Princess Amalia has unfortunately been targeted by the so-called mafia and therefore she was forced to go into hiding for more than a year. The Spanish royal house was so gracious to help her take shelter in Madrid, and they took care of her protection during that awful time. 'For me and my client this case was all about recognition from the Royal house because of the wrongdoing that happened to them. 'The Dutch Royal secret service made a miscalculation and saw my client and his friends as a treat to the princess. Everything was very unfortunate. 'My client has accepted the personal apologies from the Royal house, and we will not take further legal steps since we have achieved what we wanted, which is recognition for the terrible and unjust arrest of my client and his friends. Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands at the University of Amsterdam. She was forced to return to her home in The Hague over fears that criminal groups were planning to kidnap her King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands, Queen Maxima of The Netherlands and Princess Amalia of The Netherlands pose at the Sorobon beach at the Dutch Royal Family Tour Of The Dutch Caribbean Islands : Day One on January 28, 2023 in Kralendijk, Bonaire It was revealed in April that Amalia fled to Spain to escape threats to her safety by organised crime groups in the Netherlands and spent more than a year living there. Amalia, 20, was forced to abandon plans to live in student digs over security fears, just weeks after she started at Amsterdam University to study politics, psychology, law and economics in October 2022. The heir to the Dutch throne was captured beaming by photographers when she started her studies, with much made of the fact that she planned to live in student accommodation. But the royal couple later said their daughter had been forced to return to the heavily guarded palace in The Hague following kidnapping threats. A report by Dutch public broadcaster NOS in April revealed the 'Princess of Orange' did ultimately escape the confines of The Hague and has studied in Madrid for more than a year, citing royal sources. Amalia, the eldest of three sisters and first in line to the throne, is said to speak fluent Spanish thanks to her mother, who is Argentine by birth. Officials would not confirm details of Amalia's initial departure from her studies in Amsterdam, but the move came weeks after reports that Amalia and Prime Minister Mark Rutte were mentioned in communications by organised crime groups - leading to fears of kidnappings. Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at the time: 'I'm very sorry for her and I'm obviously very concerned about it.' He added that Dutch authorities were doing everything to ensure that the princess is safe. 'She can't live in Amsterdam and she can't really go outside (the palace) It has enormous consequences on her life. There is no student life for her like others have,' said an emotional Queen Maxima at the time. Amalia herself told reporters during a royal family tour of the Caribbean early last year that she missed 'the normal life of a student', having hoped she would be able to enjoy the student experience like her peers. 'Sadly the reality was different,' she said. Her father, King Willem-Alexander, said in the podcast Through the Eyes of the King that the situation had 'had a very hard impact' on his daughter and his family. 'The uncertainty, the lack of freedom, that is not how you want to raise your children and what you want to pass on to your children,' he said. The Minister for Justice and Security, Dilan Yesilgoz, told reporters in the weeks following Amalia's withdrawal from studies in Amsterdam: 'I guarantee that our security services work hard day and night to guarantee her safety. 'It is terrible that this is necessary, in the first place for the Crown Princess herself.' NOS said the threat to Amalia had not completely disappeared, but she was able to return from Madrid to live and study in the Netherlands again due to unspecified 'measures'. It was not clear what circumstances had changed that allowed for her safe return. She is said to have been living in Amsterdam once again since February, and is continuing her studies. Posting on the Dutch Royal Family's official social media accounts in December, Amalia thanked her followers and fans for 20th birthday wishes - but made no mention of her living arrangements. The words were accompanied by a black-and-white photo of her smiling on a boat. In the message of thanks, the future Dutch queen said: 'Many thanks for all the congratulations I received on the occasion of my 20th birthday. All the heartwarming messages made my day even more special.' Well-intentioned parents may encourage their children to become friends with the 'weird kid' in class, but what happens when those social outcasts turn out to be malicious rather than just misunderstood? One mom has taken to TikTok to issue a stark warning to parents, based on her own experiences. The Canadian content creator, who has not revealed her name and goes by her username 'skookiedoes,' has shared a disturbing story about her former friend from the sixth grade. The concerned mother of two boys explained in her four-part TikTok series that she was considered the 'weird kid,' growing up, therefore, she was drawn to a classmate who she called 'shy and quiet like [herself, and] a little bit weird.' She expressed to her mother that students were always 'ignoring' the girl, and that 'she wasn't in any friend groups,' and her mother innocently suggested that she 'become friends with her.' A mom has issued a stark warning to parents who encourage their children to befriend the 'weird kid' in class The two became 'such good friends,' and were 'inseparable,' until one day their friendship took a life-threatening turn for the content creator. The content creator, whose video series got more than 354,819 views in total, explained that the duo would 'literally do everything together.' One day the little girl went up to use a big pencil sharpener on the wall in class, and while doing so, she gave her a 'blank expression in her eyes.' Next the girl smiled at her and the influencer did the same, recalling that she was 'clueless' about what was going to happen next. She added that 'she didn't think anything crazy would happen obviously.' The content creator explained: 'She came walking down the aisle and punched the pencil into my chest as hard as she could and I ended up not breathing. 'So luckily, she hit my sternum, but they definitely thought that she was trying to kill me. 'I had literally no time to react. I didn't even know this was gonna happen. 'She missed hitting my midsection which would have been really bad, I'm sure. 'It went through my shirt. It went into my chest, so it was just a bit of blood. 'She hit me so hard. She was a lot bigger too. I was very, very small - like 90 pounds. 'So when she hit me, I got sent flying back. Like my chair flipped over and that's all I really remember. 'I don't know if it was like a trauma thing or what, but I basically just blacked out, woke up in the principal's office - the paramedics, my parents, everyone was kind of there like, "oh my god." 'They were all staring at me like wide-eyed - just freaked out.' She continued: 'She ended up leaving the school and I never saw her at that school again, but I did see her in the future at a different school, and she used to come into my work when she found out where I worked. 'Like years later, she would come into my work and watch me. Honestly it was very scary as well.' In one of the videos she clarified that her definition of 'weird' is 'off-putting.' She added: 'I was a little bit weird. I was probably off-putting to people, because I just really wanted to make friends, so I'm sure there are situations like that, where that is the case, but it wasn't the case with her. 'I'm just using "weird" because I don't want to diagnose her. There is certainly nothing wrong with being quirky - not all social outcasts harbor violent tendencies, and indeed sometimes popular kids can be even more dangerous. 'But I just felt really bad for her because she had no one to play with, so I was like, "why don't I go play with her?" A Canadian content creator, who has not revealed her name and goes by her username 'skookiedoes,' has shared a disturbing story about her former friend from the sixth grade The content creator explained what occurred post-injury and said: 'No we didn't take any legal action. We didn't take any action to be honest. We didn't press charges because we felt really bad for her. 'She had a horrible home-life situation and after this she actually ended up getting sent to a group home, allegedly because her parents just thought that she was out of control or whatever they thought. 'I just felt really bad for her and I really did not want her to get into any trouble. I'm pretty sure I begged my parents to not get mad at her or not get mad at her parents. 'To this day, I still feel really bad for her and I don't know if I should or not.' The content creator revealed that the girl left the school and added: 'She did end up stabbing another person the year later. 'She ended up stabbing a girl in the arm with a mechanical pencil this time. She was allowed to come back to that school.' The influencer was left with a scar that was 'always itchy,' and when she was 24, she went to aggressively scratch it in the shower and a 'chunk of graphite came out,' which doctors confirmed wasn't harmful. What once was a 'larger gray scar,' became barely visible over time. The influencer added that the girl appeared on her 'TikTok For You' page years later. She shared that the girl was making 'anime thirst traps for a while,' and that she blocked her, however, the girl no longer has any social media. She expressed to her mother that students were always 'ignoring' the girl, and that 'she wasn't in any friend groups,' and her mother innocently suggested that she 'become friends with her' The content creator explained that years later at her job at David's Tea, she was using a ladder to put something up on the shelf and she suddenly felt 'the most uncomfortable feeling [she'll] ever felt in [her] entire life.' She added: 'I don't know what came over me, but I just had the sudden urge to turn around.' Turns out the girl was standing right behind her on the other side of the divider, and the influencer impersonated her staring at her with an open-wide jaw. She explained that she immediately 'recognized her because she didn't look any different.' The influencer added that 'after that day, she would come in all the time,' and she 'pretended like she didn't know her,' out of fear of her 'retaliating.' The girl had another friend that the influencer called 'crazy,' who was over six-feet tall and was 'built like a 's*** brick house.' The content creator said the girl's friend 'body checked [her] into the wall,' in a hallway by her job while no one was around. She thought she 'would die,' however security saved her. The young girl however ended up constantly coming into the store while it was crowded and would just 'stand in the corner [and] watch [her].' The content creator said it made her 'so incredibly uncomfortable.' The influencer concluded that its been years since that incident and she moved to another country and doesn't know what happened to the girl. The much loved Bristol Arms Hotel in Sydney has been transformed into an upscale rooftop bar that will dish up some of the city's best Greek food. The old pub on Sussex Street was home to a neon-splashed 90's mecca for Sydneysiders who partied to Wham!, Madonna and Prince like the 80's had never really ended at the iconic Retro club. But now chef Peter Conistis, of Alpha and Ammos fame, considered by many to be the father on modern Greek cuisine in Sydney, has set his sights on a luxe revamp of what will now be called The Bristol. Rooftop Kouzina opened on Wednesday with its no-expense-spared, plush new interiors that make it hard to believe it was ever a 'dingy' pub. The expansive rooftop space has a modern Mediterranean vibe of pale peach and coral colours, 60's inspired furniture and striking terrazzo-style tables. Chef Conistis has recreated the famous Athenian souvlaki bar in Australia and plans to serve lamb kokoretsi sizzling straight off the spit as well as lamb souvlaki. The bar will be pouring an extensive selection of fine wine by the glass and a fun mix of premium classic and exotic cocktails. The rooftop venue will be followed in a few weeks by another Greek restaurant, Ela Ela, with another four venues to come, making The Bristol a 'multi-level experience'. The much loved Bristol Arms Hotel in Sydney has been transformed into an upscale rooftop bar that will dish up some of the city's best Greek food Peter Conistis, of Alpha and Ammos fame, is behind a new multi-venue Greek-inspired glow up of the old Bristol Arms hotel in Sydney's Sussex Street - home of the old 90's Retro club Rooftop Kouzina in Sydney is a new venue by Peter Conistis that is inspired by the famous souvlaki bars of Athens With the city's hospitality scene plagued by the closure of many institutions such as Tetsuya's and The Unicorn Hotel - the new opening is welcome news for Sydneysiders looking for some fun. Locals and travellers were excited to hear about the The Bristol's rebirth and its vibe of 'dance floors, new doors', with many keen to visit. 'Can't wait to check it out when I'm back in Sydney!' one said 'Now we're talking,' another said. 'A legend, reborn,' a third chimed in. One middle aged clubber said that if the new venue could guarantee the same fun-loving atmosphere as Retro, then she might consider coming. But despite Rooftop Kouzina having a DJ spinning tracks every Thursday to Saturday - one fan of the 90's club was struggling to get excited about The Bristol's new glow up. 'Bring back the old Retro,' he said. Another said he was sick of Sydney transforming into a 'bland, samey strip' that looked 'far from lived in'. 'Give us a break and keep your mitts off our favourite watering holes,' he wrote. Retro was famed for it's neon disco balled vibes and speakers that spewed every 80's classic The rooftop bar is a new destination with a fine dining restaurant and other venues set to follow - and is an exciting addition to a hospitality scene that has recently seen many closures Royal watchers have gushed over Queen Mary and King Frederik of Denmark's choice to 'dress to match' during their visit to the Baltic Sea island of r. Many experts have claimed the royal couple's matching brown pants, beige blazers and collared shirts represent their unity and closeness after a year plagued by rumours of marriage woes. But others claim it's nothing but a 'clever trick' - a staged performance to look closer than ever while things a still tense behind closed doors. Historian and royal house expert Sebastian Olden-Jrgensen said when it comes to the current King and Queen 'nothing is accidental'. Especially when it comes to their wardrobe choices. 'It shows that they act as a couple and are a couple,' he told Danish news B.T, adding that it's an act of 'togetherness'. Historian and royal house expert Lars Hovbakke Srensen agreed. 'There is no doubt that it fits very well with their brand, which is very much about appearing as a couple - as a royal couple and not that it is only the King who is highlighted all the time,' he said. Aussie body language expert Dr Louise Mahler described the couple as 'magnificent' for their ability to 'show up' time and time again. Royal watchers have gushed over Queen Mary and King Frederik of Denmark 's choice to 'dress to match' during their visit to the Baltic Sea island of r The couple spoke to locals during the trip 'How they turn up again and again meeting and greeting the public and portraying an everlasting love story is a miracle,' she said. She also commended them on their 'costume' changes. 'Their matching clothes are an art work created by their entourage and they in turn provide the paint to complete a captivating tale,' Dr Louise said. 'Sometimes, as in these photos there is not a vibration between them, but at the same time there is no disconnection. Eyes may not meet eyes, but then eyes do not always meet eyes. 'They are facing the challenge together with professionalism and joy. For the moment at least it seems it is business as usual for the Danish royal couple.' The couple changed their wardrobe a few times during their visit to the island. They had photos taken for their Instagram in one of the outfits which featured the Queen in the same white collard shirt, but with a long light brown skirt and matching hat. They appeared relaxed and coordinated - though some people believed it to be 'for show The couple have had a hard year in the press The King wore a dark suit and tie. In one of the photos the couple appeared to be gazing into each other's eyes - but on closer inspection the King is looking right over his wife's head. The pictures had their fans torn. 'They are completely comfortable together,' one said. 'The first pictures look completely like something from the Romance in the 18s,' said another. But not everyone agreed. 'Would be cuter if he was even looking at her,' one woman said. If you'd like to donate to Matt's GoFundMe page, click here One month ago Matt Rose was living the dream. He was in his mid-30s, had three gorgeous children and was married to the love of his life. But at the end of July, he was told he had two to five years left to live after doctors found an aggressive tumour in his bowel that had spread to his liver and peritoneal cavity - the area between organs. The strong and otherwise healthy Aussie dad was lost for words to received the earth-shattering stage four colorectal cancer diagnosis, as he'd always done everything right. The news came 'out of the blue' for the 36-year-old, whose only hint that something was awry came in the form of experienced unexpected stomach cramps in July followed by blood in his stools. 'One Friday morning I noticed a little bit of blood but I didn't tell my wife Elle because I didn't want to worry her,' Matt, from Wollongong, NSW, told FEMAIL and didn't think it was anything serious at first. 'By 3pm my stomach felt worse and saw a lot more blood so I went to the ER.' Doctors conducted tests, a CT scan and inspected his abdomen but Matt still wasn't worried and planned to pick up McDonald's on the way home. Instead, nurses provided a bed for him overnight. Matt Rose (pictured, right, with his wife Elle and their three kids) was diagnosed with colorectal cancer at the end of July. The news came 'out of the blue' as he experienced few symptoms 'One Friday morning I noticed a little bit of blood but I didn't tell my wife Elle because I didn't want to worry her,' Matt told FEMAIL and didn't think it was anything serious at first The strong, healthy and fit Aussie father-of-three from New South Wales received the earth-shattering stage four colorectal cancer diagnosis that turned his life upside down 'You don't know how much can change in a Friday afternoon,' he said. The diagnosis came as a complete shock because Matt doesn't have any family history of the disease besides his grandfather who had prostate cancer. In hospital Matt underwent a colonoscopy and endoscopy which detected a 12mm by 31mm tumour blocking his bowel. A biopsy confirmed it was cancerous and scans detected secondary tumours in the liver. Doctors revealed the devastating news no one wants to hear. 'In my mind I can't believe it because I feel too well. It's so strange to have that conversation with someone when I don't feel sick at all,' he said. 'I feel too far away from that point at the moment. I can't even picture it.' In hospital Matt underwent a colonoscopy and endoscopy which detected a 12mm by 30mm tumour blocking his bowel. A biopsy confirmed it was cancerous and scans detected secondary tumours in the liver 'In my mind I can't believe it because I feel too well. It's so strange to have that conversation with someone when I don't feel sick at all,' he said (pictured on their wedding day) Matt said friends and family rushed to the hospital in support and he had a 'Taylor Swift concert-worth of people' around him. On August 8 he experienced another cruel blow when doctors found potentially more cancerous cells in other areas of the bowel - but this is being investigated by doctors for confirmation. Now it's a race against time to treat the cancer and save his life. Matt welled up with emotion thinking about the possibility of leaving his loved ones behind, especially wife Elle, 33, and three children, Pippa, five, Archie, three, and Sadie, one. 'I want my kids to have the best future they can and it's hard to think I might not be there to help them. That in itself it pretty overwhelming,' Matt said holding back tears. While some choose to write letters or journals ahead of time for their children to read when they're older, Matt hasn't had the emotional strength to do so yet. 'I want my kids to have the best future they can and it's hard to think I might not be there to help them. That in itself it pretty overwhelming,' Matt said holding back tears 'I think I will record wedding messages and 21st birthday messages for them in future. It'll be nice for them to still have a message from dad at those times in the life,' he said through tears. Matt is still shell-shocked by the tragic news but still feels well and is maintaining a positive attitude as much as possible. Wasting no time, he began chemotherapy within a week and will continue the fortnightly treatment for three to four months. Doctors will track the progression with scans. He's quietly hopeful, but is trying to come to terms with the grim fight for life he has ahead. While the Australian Government lowered eligible age for bowel screening from 55 to 45 as of July 1, 2024, Matt believes it should be changed to 35. Matt is still shell-shocked by the tragic news but still feels well and is maintaining a positive attitude as much as possible 'If testing was done earlier, maybe things might've been different for me - maybe it would've been caught sooner,' Matt said. 'My perspective on life has changed so much - it's made me realise you need to take time to enjoy the little moments. 'It's definitely brought my focus back on what's important. You'll never know when you'll get those precious moments back.' Matt hopes his story will prompt young Aussies to get checked and get a second opinion if needed. While some may feel 'awkward' talking about bowel movements, Matt emphasised how it could save your life. 'I think a lot of people are hesitant to talk about it because they're embarrassed, but it's so important,' he said. For now he's cherishing the small moments with family and friends to help him get through the difficult time. According to the Cancer Council, common symptoms for bowel cancer include a change in bowel habits, a change in the appearance or consistency of stools, blood in stools, anal or rectal pain, weight loss, unexplained fatigue, tiredness or anaemia, and blood in urine. Australians can order a bowel screening test via the Bowel Cancer Australia website or visiting a local chemist. You can find a link to Matt's GoFundMe campaign above, in the bullet points A mother-of-three has been left blind in one eye after a $13,000 partial facelift. Dian Keller, 70, and from Florida, had surgery in February after being inspired by friends who looked 'excellent' after their own procedures. But when she woke up from the three-hour op, the marketing expert was plunged into a world of pain that felt like 'someone had poured kerosene into my eye and set fire to it'. Once a regular gym-goer and pillar of her Florida community, Ms Keller has now transformed into a hermit spending almost all her time indoors. 'My quality of life is destroyed,' she told DailyMail.com. 'I can't really go out, I can't see, I'm still walking around in constant pain and now I have all these other medical bills. Dian Keller, 70, and from Florida, paid $13,000 for a partial facelift - but said as soon as she woke up she was 'screaming' in pain. Doctors say her surgeon had pulled her skin too tight, leaving her eyelids unable to close She is now blind in her right eye, through which she can only make out fuzzy shapes, but has luckily managed to restore vision in her left 'I love to dance, I used to entertain a lot and see friends, but now I can't and that is really upsetting me.' Pictured is Dr Carlos Spera. He has not seen Ms Keller since the surgery, she says In the days after the surgery, she could see nothing except occasional bright lights out of both eyes. The vision in her left eye has now been mostly restored, but in the right she can still only make out vague shapes and has to wear a bandage to cover its appearance. It is not clear whether she will ever fully regain her sight. Ms Keller whose case was first revealed by WSVN-TV said that since the surgery she has also lost all feeling in her forehead and the top of her scalp and that an incision has reopened, but that these problems pale in comparison to those with her eyes. Doctors say that her vision problems were caused by her skin being pulled 'too tight' during her procedure, leaving her eyelids unable to close. This caused the cornea, the outer layer of the eye, to dry out and develop ulcers, distorting her vision. Some doctors also suggested that a chemical may have been spilled into her right eye during surgery, causing problems with its vision. Ms Keller is set to have another surgery in September to help her eyelids close again. She estimates she may rack up up to $60,000 in medical bills because she has had to go out-of-network to get care. The mother-of-three also shared these images with DailyMail.com from the days after her surgery. She has repeatedly reached out to her surgeon Dr Carlos Spera, who has three clinics in Florida, she says he he has not offered any follow-up aide Ms Keller is planning to sue her surgeon, but is so far yet to find a lawyer to pick up the case. Her surgeon was Dr Carlos Spera, who has three clinics in Broward and Miami-Dade Counties. Online, he describes himself as a 'beacon of aesthetic excellence' and 'top plastic surgeon' who provides 'outstanding outcomes' for patients. His website adds: 'As a seasoned professional and a licensed physician in Florida, Dr. Spera brings his comprehensive expertise to Miami's plastic surgery scene.' DailyMail.com has reached out for comment, but staff at the surgery put the phone down on the reporter twice. Plastic surgeries have surged in popularity in the US in recent years for their promise to make people look younger naturally. A record 26million cosmetic tweaks were carried out in 2022, the latest year available, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), up 19 percent from 2019 amid the surge in Ozempic use and social media. Ms Keller says she booked with him to have a temporal brow lift, a common op popular with 40 to 60-year-olds used for minimizing loose skin by making an incision on each side of the hairline and lifting the outermost third of the brow and forehead. She specifically chose this procedure because it was less invasive than the full brow lift, which involves lifting all the skin in this area. It also differs from the partial or mini facelift, used to address early signs of aging by slightly lifting the skin in the lower face. It is commonly done on patients aged 30 to 40 years old. Before the surgery, Ms Keller said she would party three nights a week with her neighbors and would also attend the gym and go on hikes regularly Shje is pictured below with two friends on a night out before her surgery debacle But when she woke up, Ms Keller said: 'I was in constant agony, I was completely blind and I freaked out. 'I was screaming and reaching into the air, and I was feeling my face. I couldn't close either of my eyes. 'And I felt my eyebrows, they were almost all the way up to where your hairline is. And I was in a lot of pain.' Ms Keller says she believes her surgeon performed a full browlift on her rather than the temporal surgery or mini browlift that she asked for. She was picked up by a friend, and immediately rushed to nearby doctors who she credits with 'saving' the sight in her left eye. Since then, she has also reached out to several doctors for advise including Ivy League professionals who all said her initial surgeon had been 'overzealous' with the skin tightening. Describing the impact on her life, Ms Keller added: 'I now have a lot of difficulty with small things. 'I can't cook the fumes trigger this whole cascade of events with my eyes. I can't use fragrance, I can't use fans. Too much air-conditioning is no good, too much heat is no good. Ms Keller is pictured in this image before her surgery with her two sons 'My eye just starts to tear uncontrollably. Honestly, I feel like I could have done a load of laundry with the amount of tears coming out of my eye.' She has also been diagnosed with corneal dysesthesia, pain triggered by nerves in the cornea which can trigger feelings of burning, aching, boring, or hot poker-like fire in the eye. It is caused by dryness in the eye, often linked to direct injury to the eye from a foreign object or chemical exposure or an infection. All hopes are pinned on her surgery next month, which will hopefully allow her eyelids to close again. Ms Keller says she has repeatedly reached out to Dr Spera since the surgery, but that he either has not replied or has refused to offer her help. In one case, she was driven to his surgery and sat in the waiting room for three hours waiting to see him before having to leave. She could hear him in the surgery at the time. But he previously told WSVN that he 'did not operate on her eyelids' and that he 'asked her to come back for follow-ups' and offered her another follow up last week for post op evaluation. Ms Keller opted for her surgeon because she had had an upper bletharoplasty with his colleague before and was pleased with the results. The first drug proven to slow down Alzheimers disease is being denied to dementia patients unless they pay to go private. Regulators yesterday made two landmark decisions granting a licence for lecanemab in the UK but then refusing to give it to NHS patients on cost grounds. It means those eligible in England can only access the drug, found to slow cognitive decline by up to six months, if they can afford tens of thousands of pounds a year for private treatment. Last night, charities warned that the conflicting rulings will cause uncertainty and confusion for up to a million dementia patients and their families, desperate to access treatments. David Thomas, of Alzheimers Research UK, said the decisions meant the game-changing drug would probably be out of reach for all but the very most wealthy of individuals. Lecanemab (pictured) has been proven to slow the progress of the memory-robbing illness in its early stages. It was today approved by medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia. The disease can cause anxiety, confusion and short-term memory loss He said: There are people who could benefit from this drug on the NHS right now. Its allowed me to live a full life Larry Woelk, 77, with his wife Rita Larry Woelk, 77, has been on a trial of lecanemab since 2020 after being diag - nosed with mild cognitive impairment, a condition that can increase the risk of developing dementia. He has been having an IV infusion of the drug every two weeks at the Memory Assessment and Research Centre in Southampton. When I first went on the trial my memory was getting worse, he said. Not quickly, but I could tell. But the progression of my symptoms has pla - teaued. 'My memory assessments have been unchanged since I started on it. An MRI scan in 2018 confirmed the retired business executive had MCI. His wife, Rita, said: There has been some decline, but it has been gradual. He is still able to live a full life. He is able to drive, go out on bike rides and socialise. Advertisement If theres a licensed drug that is safe and effective, judged by the regulator, then that needs to be available to NHS patients, and not just those with the ability to pay. He added: This drug isnt a silver bullet but we should be thinking how the UK builds on this rather than not providing any access and letting other countries do the legwork it doesnt feel right. We have the ability to provide drugs by infusion on the NHS thats done in cancer and other disease areas and we do have the right diagnostics available now. The annual cost of dementia to the economy is estimated at 42billion with lost earnings and unpaid carer costs eclipsing treatment costs. Earlier this year, the Alzheimers Society predicted these costs are set to reach 90billion in the next 15 years, with families bearing the brunt by providing unpaid care. But these external costs are not factored in by regulators, whose role is to assess the value for money against other NHS treatments. Trials found lecanemab slowed cognitive decline by about a quarter in patients with early Alzheimers, leading many to hail it a turning point in fighting the disease. It was given the green light by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the body which decides whether a medicine works and is safe. But the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) simultaneously announced the benefits of lecanemab were too small to justify the significant cost to the NHS. About 70,000 NHS patients in England would have been eligible for it, at an estimated cost of around 30,000 a year per patient to buy and administer. But Nice said the cost of fortnightly infusions in hospital, intensive monitoring for rare but serious side-effects and the relatively small benefits it provides to patients does not offer good value to the taxpayer. Vanessa Raymont, honorary consultant psychiatrist at the University of Oxford, said the MHRA approval of lecanemab was groundbreaking. She said it was the first drug approved in the UK with the potential to have real impact on the progression of memory impairment. It is being used in the US and Japan but has been rejected by the EU regulator over the risk of serious side-effects. In their submission to the regulator, the manufacturers set out estimates for the non-medical costs of care. Around 900,000 Brits are currently thought to have the memory-robbing disorder. But University College London scientists estimate this will rise to 1.7million within two decades as people live longer. It marks a 40 per cent uptick on the previous forecast in 2017 Your browser does not support iframes. No price for the drug has been publicly announced in the UK. In the US the treatment costs 20,000 a year. But it was rejected by EU medicines regulator the European Medicines Authority last month, due to concerns over side effects such as 'swelling' and 'potential bleedings in the brain' But Nices committee, according to the Telegraph, reportedly excluded the evidence on the grounds that most of the care was either paid for by families or provided by them unpaid. Mr Thomas at Alzheimers Research, said: The failure to include the cost of caring in the model is fundamentally unjust. The way these assessments are being carried out is just not fit for purpose. Nearly one million people are living with dementia in the UK. Experts said that despite yesterdays setback, it is a matter of when, not if, new treatments become available with more than 160 global trials under way. A health department spokesman said: It is right that these decisions are taken independently. The Government is committed to expanding research and innovation in this area. Help is available: Call the Samaritans on 116 123 for 24-hour support Help is available: Call the Samaritans on 116 123 for 24-hour support UK regulators have attempted to shut down a website that allows people to advertise themselves as 'suicide partners', and is thought to be involved in 130 British deaths. The website hosts a 'member's only' forums where users can search for someone to join them in the devastating act with some travelling abroad to do so. There are also forums on the site where commentors offer instructions on how to die by suicide and encourage others to do the same. One 28 year-old man from the Midlands took his own life alongside a woman he'd met on the website who lived in Scotland. Another woman who killed herself after using the forum was found dead 'lying next to a total stranger'. A BBC investigation has discovered more than 700 Brits have posted on the webpage, and more than 500 comments have been published by users across the world. According to the Online Safety Act, all online content relating to promotion of suicide and self harm is illegal - and watchdog Ofcom must take steps to shut it down. Melanie Dawes, chief executive of online regulator Ofcom said the site had been contacted and informed that the content was 'illegal'. 'Initially they stopped it being available for UK users, but they've gone back on that now,' she said, adding that it is 'pretty hard' to take firm action as the website is based in the US. The BBC spoke with several bereaved Brits whose loved ones had visited the website prior to their suicide. One is Angela Stevens, whose 28 year-old son Brett took his own life in December 2019 alongside a woman he had met on the website. He'd travelled from his home in the Midlands to Scotland to meet her, and the pair rented an Airbnb, where they eventually died. Ms Stevens has spent the years since her son's horrific death researching the pro-suicide webpage and likens it to a dark dating app. 'It's a very dangerous place,' she told the BBC. 'Where else would you go to find a partner to take your own life with? Its just absolutely vile.' Another woman affected is Helen Kite, whose sister Linda posted on the site in 2023 looking for a partner. Linda met a man she connected with via her post at a hotel in Romford, East London. Angela Stevens's son Brett used the website to find a 'suicide partner' in 2019, and eventually took his own life. They consumed a toxic chemical and died together in July 2023. Her body was said to be found 'lying next to the body of a total stranger'. Devastatingly, Ms Kite's other sister Sarah was so traumatised by Linda's death that she visited the same website, ingested the same toxic substance as her sister, and died in September 2023. The investigation also discovered that vulnerable people who visit the website are being targetted by predators who encourage suicidal behaviours. One 31 year-old man Craig McInally was found to have given 'advice and assistance' to suicidal young women, including offering one 25 year-old woman suicide 'practise'. The mother of one woman targetted by McInally said: 'Its like something from a horror movie, from another world. 'I couldnt believe that a website like this would even exist. Theyre sick minds.' The investigation discovered two cases where men from the US had met a suicidal British woman on the website and travelled to meet them in the UK. In one case, a man from Minnesota claimed he was 'asleep' when the 21-year-old woman he'd flown to meet ingested a toxic chemical and died on the 11th day of staying in a hotel with him. The BBC found two cases in which men from the US had met a British woman on the forum and flown to meet them to participate in their suicide. The man called the emergency services when he realised what she had done. He was arrested and questioned by police but was released without charge and allowed to fly home. In a second case, a man from Florida is believed to have arranged to meet four people, including one Brit, and is reported to have given one a gun. This man has also admitted to flying to London to meet a young British woman at a hotel. According to the new Online Safety Act, which comes into full force at the end of this year, websites that encourage self harm and suicide are illegal. Under the new legislation, Ofcom will be responsible for policing such harmful content online. However, how exactly the organisation will do this remains unclear. In a statement given to the BBC, a Government spokesperson said it is committed to the new law and 'determined to take action to stop this harm online.' 'We want to get these new protections in place as soon as possible.' A virus found in sloths and spread by mosquitos in South America has now been found in the US. The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a warning about the Oropouche virus after 11 Floridians returned from summer travel with the disease. The condition is spread by mosquitos in tropical parts of the Caribbean and South America, and causes fever, rash, joint aches. In rare cases, it can cause brain swelling and death, and claimed the life of two healthy Brazilian women earlier this year. In 2024, there have been more than 8,000 cases reported in Central and South America - causing two deaths, one miscarriage and four newborns to be born with birth defects. Nineteen cases were reported in Europe earlier this month, leading to a warning from the European Center for Disease Control. The Oropouche virus is nicknamed sloth fever not because it's transmitted by sloths, but because the animals can be carriers for the disease The Oropouche virus is spread primarily by bites from a bug called a midge. Sometimes, mosquitos also carry it The US CDC's warning was specifically addressed to doctors and public health authorities, asking them to test people who've returned from a Latin American vacation this summer for the virus. The Oropouche virus is spread by mosquitos and a bug called a midge - which is a small, blood sucking winged insect. Despite it's nickname, sloth fever is not caused by coming into contact with sloths. Instead, it got the nickname because scientists believe sloths can carry and be infected by the disease. Experts suspect other animals, like birds, can also carry the virus. If you get bit by a bug carrying Oropouche, there are no medicines to treat it and no vaccines to prevent it. The only defense against the disease is to avoid being bit all together when travelling to these regions. The CDC recommends wearing long sleeves and pants, wearing insect repellant and staying in places that use window and door screens. Common symptoms include fever, severe headache, chills, muscle ache and joint pain, according to the CDC. Less than one in 20 people who get the disease will go on to develop more serious, life threatening symptoms. These include severe bleeding, meningitis, a swelling of the membranes that protect the brain, and encephalitis, a swelling of the brain itself. It can also cause birth defects and miscarriage. The four babies reported in the CDC's letter were born with microcephaly - a condition where the brain and skull of a newborn is much smaller than it should be. As such, the CDC letter urged pregnant women to reconsider potential travel plans to the area. Aside from transmission during pregnancy, the virus cannot spread between humans. Cases have been reported in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Cuba. All cases reported in Europe and North America have been in people who have recently travelled to one of those countries. Medical entomologists Cameron Webb, from the University of Sydney and Andrew van den Hurk Medical from The University of Queensland, said this has been a local concern for years, but it's the first time it's drawing international attention. 'The situation is reminiscent of the Zika outbreak in 201516,' Professor Webb and Professor van den Hurk said. Dr Danny Altmann, a professor of Immunology at Imperial College London, told The Telegraph: 'we should all be worried'. He added: 'Oropouche is certainly a worry for its uncertainty and, for all those worried about global health, it just feels like climate change is adding to the healthcare burden in a very palpable way, season by season'. A father-of-three and Holocaust survivor has died from listeria after eating a deli sausage that has caused a nationwide outbreak. Gunter 'Garshon' Morgenstein, 88, hid under floorboards to escape the Nazis during the Second World War before fleeing to America with his brother. He settled in a small town in Virginia, where he was a regular shopper for Boar's Head liverwurst because it reminded him of food in his native Germany. But in July this year, and days after eating one of their sausages, he became fatigued and started to have trouble breathing and was rushed to the hospital. Doctors said he was infected with listeria, and had developed meningitis as a result, causing deadly brain inflammation. Gunter 'Garshon' Morgenstein, a father-of-three from Newport, Virginia, is pictured above with his wife Peggy. He died after suffering from a listeria infection after eating Boar's Head deli meats Mr Morgenstein pictured in a family photo. He survived the Holocaust, but later died from an infection caused by deli meats He died on July 18 this year, just ten days after he was admitted. Revealing his father's story, his son Garshon told DailyMail.com: 'I think that is one of the biggest things, you know, that my mom and me are in most shock over that he survived the Holocaust only to die from deli meats years later. 'It is kind of ridiculous when you think about it. That's part of the irony of the whole thing.' Boar's Head has now recalled about 7.2million pounds of deli meats, after the CDC linked cases of listeria to its liverwurst products. A total of 43 people have been hospitalized since the outbreak began across 13 states, while three have died. It's not clear how the meat sold by the grocery mainstay became contaminated, but listeria bacteria can persist on surfaces and get into slicing tools and countertops that are not deep-cleaned regularly raising the risk of contamination and an outbreak. Boar's Head said in a statement responding to Mr Morgenstein's case: 'We deeply regret the impact this recall has had on affected families. 'No words can fully express our sympathies and the sincere and deep hurt we feel for those who have suffered losses or endured illness.' Friends and family described Mr Morgenstein as a friendly and outgoing individual, and a pillar of his community. He worked as a hair stylist rising through the ranks to join exclusive salon service Paul Mitchell, where he styled the hair of stars including Engelbert Humperdinck, Tom Jones and Muhammad Ali. He kept at the job for more than 50 years, and was still a hairdresser when the sickness struck saying he loved the artistry of the job and his customers. His son added to USA TODAY: 'My dad was a completely extroverted person. He loved to go to, like, 7-Eleven and we would be sitting in the car and I would say, "See that guy standing outside, I bet you $5 you won't talk to that guy up there", and he was like, "Of course I will". Mr Morgenstein fled to the US via East Germany and Canada after the Second World War He had eaten a Boar's Head liverwurst in the day's before falling ill. This meat is now included in the multi-state recall for listeria contaminated products 'So he would go out there and talk to the guy for a couple of minutes. That was just a silly thing that was so mind-blowing for me because he could talk to anybody.' Boar's Head is now being sued by the family led by attorney Anthony Coveny of Ron Simon and Associates who are seeking damages for the loss of their father. It is just one of several legal actions facing the company, which also include the case of Missouri woman Sue Fleming, also 88, who fell 'deathly ill' after consuming their liverwurst. She is now recovering from her infection, but said it left her too frail to walk for weeks and suffering from neurological issues. It has also put a strain on her marriage. She is seeking more than $25,000 in damages. Others have also filed lawsuits against Boar's Head including Sue Fleming, 88, from Missouri, who fell 'deathly ill' after eating the products In another case, pregnant woman Ashley Solberg from Minnesota is seeking damages after saying the illness the meats caused led her to nearly lose her child. She was 36 weeks pregnant when she fell ill with listeria, and is after a payment well in excess of $75,000. About 1,600 people are infected with listeria every year normally from foods and 260 die from the infections, according to the CDC. For most people, food poisoning by listeria is an inconvenience that resolves after a few days of nausea and diarrhea. But for older adults, pregnant women, and those with underlying conditions who have weaker immune systems they are more likely to suffer a severe illness. Doctors say in serious cases the bacteria can leave the gut and enter the blood-stream, potentially causing meningitis or sepsis which can be life-threatening. Boar's Head has urged customers to throw away the recalled products or return them to the store for a full refund. Mr Morgenstein is pictured above in a family photo. Doctors said that he suffered severe and permanent brain damage during his illness He was also a famous hair stylist, cutting the hair of clients including Engelbert Humperdinck Doctors initially tried to discharge Mr Morgenstein after two days in hospital, but his 80-year-old wife Peggy refused the request saying something still seemed 'off'. He then gradually went downhill and was transferred to the ICU, where he became so weak he could only communicate via shakes and nods of the head. Doctors gave him antibiotics, but when he didn't improve after a few days they warned he was unlikely to get better. Even if he did, they said he would likely struggle with disability and not be the same man that his family remembered. 'We didn't want to see him suffer anymore,' said his son. 'Doctors said that even if he did survive there was a more than 90 percent chance that he would have some type of brain damage.' Mr Morgenstein was born in Cottbus, Germany about 100km south of Berlin in 1936 to a Jewish family. He escaped the Nazis by hiding, and then fled to America in 1954 via East Berlin traveling to meet his brother in Canada, who had left a few years earlier. He had been working in hair salons in Germany since age 13 years, which employed him after he lied about his age, and then moved to Newport, Virginia, where he built a career in hair styling or cosmetology. In the hospital, he was quickly transferred to the ICU where doctors attempted unsuccessfully to treat his illness with antibiotics. After his death, the family linked his illness to the liverwurst by matching the product on his store receipt to that which was included in the recall. His son is not sure how much the family is seeking in damages from Boar's Head, saying that is not the purpose behind the case. 'This is for making other people aware of this, that's really one of my goals it is to just bring awareness to the whole situation,' he said. 'I know it is something my dad would want, to get the message out there and to make everyone aware of listeria.' Mr Morgenstein leaves behind his wife Peggy, three children and his grandchildren. Modern moves redefine NE China's industrial strength Xinhua) 15:02, August 23, 2024 CHANGCHUN, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- In Jilin City, northeast China's Jilin Province, a quiet revolution is taking place within a factory that challenges the conventional image of a bustling, noisy manufacturing plant. Here, workshops are sparsely populated, yet they are alive with intelligent production lines and autonomous forklifts at work. What sets this facility apart is the fine white threads rolling off the machines: carbon fiber precursors manufactured by Jilin Chemical Fiber Group. Known as the "king of new materials," carbon fiber is celebrated for its remarkable strength, lightweight properties, and resistance to heat and corrosion. It plays a crucial role in industries such as aerospace and renewable energy. These delicate fibers, thinner than human hair, symbolize a significant shift towards new quality productive forces in the development of Jilin Chemical Fiber Group, according to Zhuang Xiaodong, the company's deputy general manager. Originally a modest rayon fiber factory established in 1960 with the goal of meeting the clothing needs of the Chinese population, Jilin Chemical Fiber Group has evolved into a global leader in carbon fiber production and is now China's largest producer in this field. The company was among the key state-owned enterprises deployed in the Northeast -- a region comprising Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, and eastern Inner Mongolia -- shortly after the founding of New China in 1949. However, as China's economic reforms began in the late 1970s, the Northeast gradually saw its advantages in traditional manufacturing diminish, despite initially benefiting from economic growth. It was burdened by long-standing issues such as outdated economic structures and a lack of technological innovation. Like many others, Jilin Chemical Fiber Group faced immense pressure to modernize. "We had two choices: innovate or decline," Zhuang recalled. In addition to diversifying its offerings of conventional synthetic fiber products, the company set its sights on carbon fiber precursor production, a sector then dominated by the United States and Japan. In 2008, after years of relentless research and production trials, Jilin Chemical Fiber Group successfully developed the core technology for producing carbon fiber precursors. By 2012, it had scaled up production of T300 polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fiber precursor, achieving a significant milestone as the first company to do so domestically. Since that breakthrough, the company has continuously fostered innovation. Overcoming initial challenges in carbon fiber precursor production, Jilin Chemical Fiber Group has remained dedicated to refining its processes and products. Today, T700 carbon fiber stands as the company's flagship product, while the recent launch of T800 carbon fiber marks another significant achievement. Looking ahead, the company aims to produce T1000, T1100, and M40 high-modulus series carbon fibers, targeting further expansion into high-end application markets. "Reform and innovation have broadened the path for our company's development," Zhuang noted. Currently, Jilin Chemical Fiber Group's carbon fiber products are utilized in 90 percent of domestically produced large wind turbine blades, and local production of carbon fiber precursors has driven down international prices by 40 percent. The journey of Jilin Chemical Fiber Group reflects the broader revitalization of the Northeast, contributing to the nation's transition towards high-quality economic development. In 2023, two decades after revitalizing old industrial bases in the Northeast became a national strategy, the concept of "new quality productive forces" emerged, spreading across China and driving development in various regions, sectors, and industries. Innovation remains a core element of new quality productive forces, fueling the full revitalization of the Northeast. With nine company-based research institutes and a commitment to enhancing collaboration between industries and universities, Jilin Chemical Fiber Group is gearing up for its next innovation challenge: developing carbon fiber composite materials for the aerospace, automotive, and rail transit industries. The industrial landscape in Jilin's old industrial base is evolving. In July, during a key Party leadership plenum in Beijing that discussed transforming traditional industries through digital technologies, Chinese automaker FAW Group celebrated two milestones at its smart factory in Changchun, Jilin: the production of its 60 millionth vehicle and the 9 millionth Jiefang truck. Over the past three years, FAW Group has achieved 870 key technological breakthroughs and filed 14,086 patent applications. Strategic emerging industries, such as optoelectronic communication, are flourishing in Jilin, reshaping the outdated perceptions of the old industrial base. Chang Guang Satellite Technology Co., Ltd., based in Changchun, has developed a constellation of 108 "Jilin-1" satellites, creating the world's largest sub-meter commercial remote sensing satellite constellation. Additionally, Gpixel, another Changchun-based company, produces CMOS image sensors that are essential for industrial inspection, life sciences, and advanced astronomical instrument manufacturing. The revitalization of Jilin's old industrial base is also reflected in its talent pool. In 2023, after 13 years of population decline, Jilin Province experienced a net inflow of 43,400 people. The province has implemented policies including housing subsidies, child education arrangements, and employment assistance for spouses to attract talent. Last year, a record 133,000 college graduates chose to stay and work in Jilin. Attracting and retaining high-quality talent is crucial for enterprise development, Zhuang emphasized. Mao Bingqi, who joined Jilin Chemical Fiber Group as a postgraduate student seven years ago, quickly advanced to a senior management role, leading a team addressing technical challenges in daily carbon fiber precursor production. In 2023 alone, Mao participated in over ten key projects. "Contributing to the development of new quality productive forces in the traditional manufacturing sector is my responsibility and obligation," Mao said. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Maria Branyas Morera blows out candles to mark her 117th birthday in March. The San Francisco native, the worlds oldest living person, died in her sleep Monday in Olot, Spain. Xavier Dengra/Wikimedia Commons Maria Branyas Morera, a San Francisco native recognized as the worlds oldest living person, died in her sleep Monday in Olot, Spain. She was 117. The announcement of her death was made by her family on the Super Catalan Grandma account on X. A few days ago she told us: One day I will leave here. I will not try coffee again, nor eat yogurt, nor pet my dog, they wrote in Catalan. I will also leave my memories, my reflections, and I will cease to exist in this body. One day I dont know, but its very close, this long journey will be over. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Gerontology Research Group, which validates the details of the worlds supercentenarians, listed Branyas Morera as the oldest known person in the world after the death of 118-year-old French nun Lucile Randon, known as Sister Andre, in January 2023. Born on March 4, 1907, in San Francisco, Branyas Morera was the daughter of Spanish immigrants, Joseph Branyas Julia and Teresa Morera Laque. After the 1906 earthquake, the Branyas family moved to New Orleans, where her father started a Spanish-language publication that eventually went bankrupt. In 1915, they returned to Olot, Catalonia. During the voyage, Maria suffered a fall, permanently damaging an eardrum. Her father died of tuberculosis at 37. Marias mother raised five children alone through Spains Civil War, Francos dictatorship, and World War II. In 1931, Branyas Morera married Dr. Joan Moret, with whom she had three children and dozens of grandchildren. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Despite her status as a supercentenarian, Branyas Morera maintained that she had no secret to her longevity. "I haven't done anything special to get to this age," she told Spanish newspaper El Pais earlier this year. Born around the time the first power lines were being installed across the U.S., Branyas Morera became an online sensation after she was designated the worlds oldest person, sharing her wisdom and humor with thousands of followers on social media. Her bio read: "I'm old, very old, but not an idiot." She tested positive for the coronavirus at age 113 but did not develop severe symptoms of COVID-19. At the time of her death, she resided in a nursing home in Olot. We lost an endearing woman, who has taught us the value of life and the wisdom of the years, Salvador Illa, president of the Catalan regional government, said in a tribute on X. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Unlucky holidaymakers have seen their plans thrown into chaos this summer after they fell victim to a scam operating on Booking.com. Unlucky holidaymakers have seen their plans thrown into chaos this summer after they fell victim to a scam operating on Booking.com. The Booking.com scam has been going on for more than a year, but the number of customers reporting it to This is Money has spiked during the peak holiday season. It involves customers being tricked into making payments to scammers, supposedly to 'confirm' legitimate hotel reservations they have made via the app or website. In some cases we have uncovered, people have been tricked into handing over thousands of pounds. Holidaymakers beware: Mick Thomas, pictured left with his wife and friends on a previous trip, lost 1,697.90 to the Booking.com scam after acting on a message from a fraudster Mick Thomas, 77, from Evesham in Worcestershire was one of these victims. Mick, his wife and some friends regularly go on road trips around Europe with recent destinations including Krakow, Berlin, Brussels and Normandy. For their next adventure, Mick had booked a hotel in Amsterdam where they were set to travel in early September. He had agreed to pay shortly before arrival. But in July, he received a message in the Booking.com platform to say he needed to follow a link and pay 1,001 to confirm his booking (at the time that was 848.95). 'I received a message supposedly from the hotel, via Booking.com, asking for my card details, it said failure to do so meant that my booking may be annulled,' he says. When he clicked the button to pay, it didn't work - so he clicked again. It still didn't work, so he checked his account and saw that the money had gone through and he had paid 1,697.90 in total. Trick: The message Mick received which led him to pay the scammers This is when he suspected it was a scam, and immediately contacted Booking.com and his bank, Monzo. It froze his card and began an investigation into the fraud. 'At the point that I let Monzo know about the issue and I froze my card, the payments were still pending,' he says. 'I thought by freezing the card it would stop them leaving my account, but the following morning on Sunday they were no longer pending.' Monzo began an investigation which it said could take up to six weeks. After This is Money got in touch to enquire about progress, it refunded the entire 1,697.90. A Monzo spokesman said: 'Falling victim to fraud is distressing and we're sorry it happened to our customer. This was a sophisticated scam where the communication through a booking platform was compromised by fraudsters. 'Though this happened outside Monzo, we've reimbursed our customer so they aren't left out of pocket.' What is the Booking.com scam? Customers who have booked legitimate accommodation on the website are being targeted via scam messages that appear within its internal messaging system. In June, Booking.com's chief information security officer, Marnie Wilking, said there had been an increase of between 500 and 900 per cent in scams carried out on the platform in the past 18 months. Most commonly, the messages say that an extra fee must be paid to secure their reservation or 'confirm' their booking, asking them to click a link to a third-party website to make the payment. Not wanting to see their holiday plans ruined, some customers will hand over the money, which is then funneled directly to the fraudsters. Some might have communicated with real hotel staff on the platform previously, making them more likely to believe the request is legitimate. As well as those who have sadly fallen for the scam, This is Money has received many more emails from people who have received the messages, but not acted on them. Warning: Customers of Booking.com are advised never to follow a link that takes them out of the secure messaging platform - as this is how scammers get them to part with their money 'I'll never use Booking.com again' Bridget (name changed), 54, from West Yorkshire fell victim to the Booking.com scam when arranging a weekend away for her and her husband, who has terminal cancer. She received a message asking her click a link to 'verify' her reservation at a bed and breakfast in the Lake District. When she did, 262.50 was taken from her credit card. I was upset as this trip away is for me and my husband who has terminal cancer, and my initial thought was, 'Oh no, they have taken my money, I now can't go!' 'The message came through my Booking.com message app, so I had no reason to believe it was not genuine,' she told This is Money. 'I will never use Booking.com again. In fact, I feel exposed and wish life was back to cash and cheques. That is how strongly I feel about this. 'I was upset as this trip away is for me and my husband who has terminal cancer, and my initial thought was, "Oh no, they have taken my money, I now can't go!" These scammers are vile people.' Bridget ended up getting refunded by her credit card provider, meaning she has now been on the trip which she described as 'lovely'. Why isn't Booking.com stopping the scam? As the messages are appearing within Booking.com's messaging platform, it has faced calls to increase its security. But fraud experts say that the company's website has not been compromised. Instead, criminals appear to be getting into accounts owned by hotels. While major hotel chains advertise their rooms on Booking.com, there are also countless bed and breakfasts, Airbnb-style rentals and smaller, family-owned hotels. Without the security infrastructure of big companies, these operators have unfortunately become a target. Fake: Another one of the convincing messages This is Money has seen used in the Booking.com scam This is Money spoke to scam expert Jake Moore of cybersecurity firm Eset, who says he believes these hotels are being tricked into installing malware, or malicious software, which allows the criminals access to their computers or other devices. In their approach to the hotels, the criminals might pose as members of the public with a question about their booking, as a way to trick the staff into opening an attachment or clicking a link. This is how the malware is installed on their device. In one example, Moore says a hotel received an email from someone saying they had stayed in the hotel and left their medication behind. They attached a document to the email which they said contained details of the medicines, but instead it installed malware. 'They are targeting small hotels and B&Bs that don't have security in place, and they are managing to remotely access their computers,' Moore explains. While Booking.com does have security measures such as two-factor authentication - where a code is sent in a text message or email - hotel staff who use Booking.com regularly can stay logged in on their device and don't need to go through that every single time. 'If they are able to get in to the account of an authorised account holder they don't need to log in every time, which allows them to bypass that layer of security,' says Moore. Your browser does not support iframes. His advice to customers is simple: if you are asked to leave the Booking.com messaging portal, don't do it. 'Don't be pressured into leaving the platform and paying money - that is where these problems occur'. 'Remind yourself of when you should be paying for this hotel, whether you have already paid upfront or you will need to pay on arrival.' Booking.com now has a message within its portal which advises customers to 'Avoid suspicious activity - do not click on or respond to unusual links or messages'. This is Money secures thousands in refunds This is Money has investigated several more cases where holidaymakers have lost money to the Booking.com scam. As well as Mick's 1,697.90 refund from Monzo (above) we have helped in the following cases. In June 2024, Kelly (name changed) was browsing the Booking.com app to find a villa in Mallorca for a holiday with her extended family. Dream holiday: Kelly* was planning a trip to Majorca, but a fraudster threw a spanner in the works after persuading her to leave Booking.com and book a fake apartment She requested booking dates within the app, then received an email shortly after, not through the Booking.com portal but directly to her email address. It said that villa wasn't available, but there was an alternative, and to book via a link they provided. She clicked this link and was taken to what she now realises was a fake Booking.com website, paying 3,138 via bank transfer. A day later she realised that on her Booking.com app there was no bookings. She emailed the host to ask why, but the email was undeliverable. Kelly tried to speak to Booking.com several times over an eight week period, but says she could not get anywhere without a booking reference. This is Money contacted Booking.com on her behalf, and she has now been reimbursed the full 3,138. She was also offered a 100 goodwill gesture. Rachel Bolton, 79, who lives in Spain, is planning to go on a Greek Islands cruise with her husband and friends this September. The scam really upset me - I was afraid to visit some websites The voyage starts in Civitavecchia, Italy, where Rachel booked a hotel through Booking.com to stay in the night before the cruise. Soon after, she had a message from the hotel asking for her to update her credit card details in the portal. She had recently received a new credit card, so assumed the request was legitimate. After she did, though, 336 (about 285) was taken from her card, despite having already paid for the reservation. She then got a message from the hotel to say that some of their customers' credit card details were stolen and hers was one of them. A few days later, the scammers attempted to take another 336 but she had blocked her card so it didn't go through. After This is Money contacted Booking.com about Rachel's case, she was reimbursed the 366. 'I always book hotels through Booking.com and the scam really upset me - I was afraid to visit some websites,' Rachel said. 'They must acknowledge that their records are not safe.' Sorry: Booking.com has apologised for the experiences of This is Money's readers Booking.com's response A spokesnab for Booking.com said: 'Phishing attacks by professional criminals pose a significant challenge for travel and many other industries. While not unique to Booking.com, we continue to invest significantly to limit the impact of scams, using the latest technology and innovations. 'We are also committed to proactively helping our accommodation partners and customers to stay protected. 'A lot of this is via education, informing our partners of the types of scams we are seeing - through regular and as-needed communications, face-to-face workshops, and a dedicated cyber-security advice hub - while arming our customers with practical advice that they can apply as they search for their holiday. 'We are sorry to hear about the experiences of the customers you have brought to our attention and we are reaching out to each to ensure they are not left out of pocket.' Thames Water must prepare to go cap in hand to investors for a cash fundraise as part of an agreement with the regulator designed to stabilise the embattled utility firm. Britain's biggest waster supplier, which is buried under a 15billion debt pile, breached the terms of its operating licence when S&P followed Moody's with a rerating of Thames' highest-ranked bonds to junk. Industry watchdog Ofwat said today that Thames Water has agreed to remedying the breach, with a series of commitments it must stick to until it regains two investment grade credit ratings. Thames Water earlier this year warned it only had enough liquidity to survive another 11 months Ofwat said Thames Water must 'take the steps required to deliver an equity raise'. This may prove a difficult task for the group after investors publicly refused to inject more cash into Thames earlier this year. Thames and other water firm's have been allowed to hike customer bills for next year, amid concerns some firms are at risk of going bust. Ofwat said Thames must now appoint new non-executive directors to its board, and develop a 'suitable' operational business plan to achieve turnaround. The group has also agreed to be subject to an independent monitor, who will report back to Ofwat 'frequently' and will be entitled to access company information. 'These commitments will remain in place until the company regains two investment grade credit ratings,' Ofwat said. Vice President Kamala Harris made history Thursday night when she accepted the Democratic presidential nomination. She is the first woman of color to become the presidential nominee for a major party ticket. 'On behalf of Americans like the people I grew up with, people who work hard, chase their dreams, and look out for one another, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination for President of the United States of America,' Harris said. If she wins in November, the vice president would be the first woman elected Commander-in-Chief as well as the first black and south Asian woman of color to hold the presidency. She is already the first Democratic nominee from a western state in U.S. history. But Harris has long been breaking barriers as she closes in on the most powerful office in the country and leader of the free world. The 59-year-old was the first woman elected Vice President of the United States; first woman, African American and Asian American to be elected Attorney General of California and the first person of color to be elected District Attorney of San Francisco. Vice President Kamala Harris accepting the Democratic nomination for president Thursday night in Chicago. She makes history as the first woman of color to top the ticket for a major political party Kamala Devi Harris was born on October 20, 1964 in Oakland, California to Shyamala Gopalan and Donald Harris. Her mother was a biologist who worked in cancer research who moved to the U.S as a graduate student from India. Her father was a Stanford professor who came from the U.S. from Jamaica. 'My early memories of my parents together are joyful ones. A home filled with laughter and music. Aretha. Coltrane. And Miles,' Harris said in her speech. 'At the park, my mother would tell us to stay close, but my father would just smile, and say, Run, Kamala. Run. Dont be afraid. Dont let anything stop you.' She said 'from my earliest years, he taught me to be fearless.' Kamala Harris looking out on the United Center as she accepts the nomination for President of the United States. During her acceptance speech, Harris talked about her upbringing in California and her family The family moved to Illinois in 1966 where her sister Maya was born the following year. But soon her parents split, Harris' mother moved her two daughters back to California in 1970 while her father remained in the midwest. 'The harmony between my parents did not last,' Harris said in her speech. Harris attended school in Berkeley before moving to Quebec, Canada where she finished high school. After graduating, Harris started at Vanier College before attending Howard, a historically black university in Washington, DC, where she studied political science and economics. She was also a member of the sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha. A photo of Kamala Harris as a young child A photo of Kamala Harris in January 1970 with her mother Shyamala and little sister Maya outside their apartment in Berkeley, CA after her parents separated A photo of Kamala Harris while she was a student at Howard University. She studied political science and economics and was a member of the sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha Harris returned to California for law school. She attended University of California, Hastings College of the Law and graduated in 1989. She was admitted to the California bar in 1990. From there, Harris started her law career in the Alameda County district attorney's office where she served for roughly eight years and specialized in prosecuting child sexual assault cases. She was later recruited to work in the San Francisco District Attorneys Office. In 1998, she was named managing attorney of the office's Career Criminal Unit. During her time there, she also ran the Family and Children's Services Division. 'Every day in the courtroom, I stood proudly before a judge and said five words: Kamala Harris, for the People,"' Harris said Thursday in her speech. 'And to be clear: My entire career, I have only had one client: the People.' Harris as a deputy district attorney at the Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland, A on March 28, 2997 Harris posing for a portrait while she was san Francisco District Attorney on June 18, 2004 In 2002, Harris decided to take on the incumbent District Attorney in a three way race. She was the least known candidate but was able to make it to the runoff. She was elected District Attorney of San Fransisco with the backing of former mayor Willie Brown, whom she had previously dated in the 1990s, and Senator Dianne Feinstein. While District Attorney, Harris launched a Back on Track initiative aimed at reducing recidivism among low-level drug-trafficking defendants. In 2010, Harris ran for California Attorney General and won. When she was sworn in she became the first woman, African American and Asian American to hold the office in the state's history. As Attorney General, Harris took on the now defunct for-profit Corinthian Corinthian Colleges for predatory practices. She also signed a $26 billion settlement with five major banks over their foreclosure practices aimed at helping homeowners struggling to pay mortgages or who had their homes foreclosed on. Under her leadership, the California Justice Department became the first state agency to adopt a body camera program. She also launched training on implicit bias in law enforcement. Then-California Attorney General Harris with then-Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom greet President Obama as he arrives in San Francisco on Air Force One on February 17, 2011 Harris joined other Attorneys General investigating whether fossil fuel companies misled the public on the impact of climate change. She also refused to defend Proposition 8. It was a ballot initiative that banned same-sex marriage which passed in California in 2008 and immediately faced lawsuits. Harris said the state constitutional amendment violated the U.S. Constitution. When the Ninth Circuit allowed same-sex marriages to resume in June 2013, Harris officiated the first same-sex marriage at San Francisco City Hall. In January 2015, Harris announced she would make a bid for the Senate to fill the seat of retiring U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, a fellow Democrat who represented the state in the Senate for more than 20 years. She ran on her record as a prosecutor and fighting for the middle class. She ended up winning the race with more than 61 percent of the vote against a fellow Democrat in the California system that sent the top two vote-getters to the general election. She was sworn into office on Capitol Hill on January 3, 2017 by then-outgoing Vice President Joe Biden. Kamala Harris being sworn in as the next senator of California on January 3, 2017 Then-Senator Kamala Harris grilling Attorney General Bill Barr during a hearing about the Justice Department's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election on Capitol Hill on May 1, 2019 In Congress, Harris quickly made a name for herself as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee for her questioning of Trump nominees. A video of her grilling then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh over Roe v Wade during his Senate confirmation hearing for the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018 went viral. 'Can you think of any laws that give government the power to make decisions about the male body?' Harris asked. 'I'm not thinking of any right now,' he responded. She also pressed him over any conversations he had about the Special Counsel Mueller investigation. Separately, Harris took on then Attorney General Bill Barr during a hearing over the Mueller report where she asked him whether then-President Trump had ever asked him to open any investigations into anyone. Separately, Harris also focused on tele-health even before the pandemic in the Senate and addressing the the maternal mortality crisis in the U.S. Govtrack.us rated her one of the most left leaning Senators as of 2020. Harris speaking at her rally in Oakland, California on January 27, 2019 after announcing she was running for president in the 2020 election On January 21, 2019, then-Senator Harris announced that she was running for president in the 2020 election. The senator launched her campaign with a rally in Oakland, California on January 27, 2019. Her slogan was 'Kamala Harris for the People' and the color scheme of her campaign paid homage to Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress and the first black person and woman to seek a major party presidential nomination. 20,000 people attended her kick off rally in what would soon be a crowded primary field. 20,000 people showed up for Harris' kick off rally in Oakland, CA. Her campaign slogan was 'For the People' and the color scheme paid tribute to Shirley Chisholm Harris had several months of strong fundraising and was praised for her performance during the first primary debate in Miami. During that debate, Harris went after then-former Vice President Joe Biden for his opposition to busing to integrate public schools. 'That little girl was me!' was one of the most memorable lines of the debate. Harris released her own version of 'Medicare for All' during the campaign and continued to gain endorsements, but as the campaign season went on, she dropped in the polls from a top tier candidate candidate to single digits in early voting states. There were reports of rifts within the campaign, and by the fall, the campaign was re-strategizing and laying off staff. On December 3, 2019 Harris officially ended her campaign with an email to supporters and a video posted on social media. In it, she said her campaign did 'not have the financial resources to continue.' In March 2008, Harris officially endorsed her one time opponent Biden for president. Then-Former Vice President Joe Biden appearing with then-Senator Harris on August 2020 in Wilmington, DE at the end of the Democratic National Convention after announcing her as his running mate earlier that month Harris campaigning as the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee in Detroit, MI on October 25, 2020 On August 11, 2020, Biden announced Harris as his running mate in the 2020 election, making her the first woman of color, first black person, first Indian American and third woman ever selected as a majority party vice presidential nominee. The day he named her to the ticket was the campaign's biggest fundraising day of the entire campaign. Another memorable moment from the campaign is when Harris went up against then-Vice President Mike Pence during the debate on October 7, 2020 in Salt Lake City, Utah. When he tried to interrupt her, Harris responded 'Mr. Vice President, I'm speaking. I'm speaking.' Biden and Harris would go on to win the presidential election against Trump and Pence that November. A video of Harris shows her speaking on the phone to then- President-Elect Biden. 'We did it! We did it, Joe!' Harris said as she laughed in exercise gear. Harris being sworn-in as vice president as her husband Doug Emhoff holds the bible during the inauguration of President Biden on January 20, 2021 Harris was sworn-in as the 48th Vice President of the United States on January 20, 2021, making her the first woman, first black woman and first Indian American to serve as vice president. Her husband Doug Emhoff held the bible as she was sworn-in by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Earlier in the term, Harris helped with the entire administration on components of the pandemic relief passed under the Biden administration. She has also been on the forefront in the administration's efforts to protect abortion rights after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in June 2022. Harris with then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi standing behind President Biden as he delivered his first State of the Union Address on March 1, 2022 Harris speaking at an abortion clinic in Minneapolis, MN on March 14, 2024. She is the first president or vide president to visit an abortion clinic while in office Harris with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, one of the many world leaders she has met with while serving as vice president on June 23, 2023 Harris earlier this year became the first vice president to visit an abortion clinic when she stopped by a Planned Parenthood clinic in Minnesota. She has also continued her work to provide maternal and infant health care, carried over from when she worked on legislation to address the maternal mortality crisis while in the Senate. She has also played a role in the Biden administration's effort to expand broadband. As vice president, she has also been a leading advocate for voting rights and pushed for the passage of the John R Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, but the bill did not receive the necessary 60 votes in the Senate. The vice president has met with more than 150 world leaders since taking office, traveled to Europe, Asia, Africa, Central America and South America. She has also attended three Munich Security Conferences. Vice President Harris with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Senator Dick Durbin and Congresswoman Veronica Escobar upon arriving in El Paso on June 25, 2021 Harris was also tapped by Biden to help address the root causes of migration at the southern border in 2021. It as been a line of attack from Republicans ever since. The vice president traveled to Mexico and Guatemala in June 2021 and made another trip to Honduras in January 2022, but has not returned to the border or southern countries since. Harris campaigning with President Biden in Raleigh, North Carolina on March 26, 2024 Vice President Kamala Harris with President Joe Biden on the first night of the Democratic National Convention after he delivered his address Harris was actively campaigning as Biden's running mate and a fierce defender of the president's fitness and his record throughout the campaign season. When Biden announced he was exiting the race, she immediately said she would seek the nomination and earn the support. Harris is married to Doug Emhoff, a lawyer from California, who became the first Second Gentleman when she was sworn in as vice president. They first met after being set up on a blind date in 2013 by a mutual friend. In a 2021 interview, Harris revealed that before their first date, she did in fact Google him. The wedding portrait of Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff. The couple married in 2014 Harris with husband Doug and stepkids Cole and Ella Emhoff Harris with Emhoff Thursday night after her acceptance speech in Chicago Harris surrounded by people holding signs that read 'Kamala' at the DNC on August 22, 2024 The couple married in 2014 in a small ceremony officiated by Harris' younger sister, Maya. Harris is the stepmother of his two adult children, Ella, 25, and Cole, 30. Rather than call her 'stepmom' the two refer to Harris as 'Momala.' 'To my husband, Doug, thank you for being an incredible partner to me and father to Cole and Ella, and happy anniversary,' Harris said Thursday night. 'I love you so very much.' The day she accepted the nomination for President of the United States also happened to be their anniversary. Self-checkouts in supermarkets and retail stores are the hot topic once again this week after it was revealed that six million Brits are using them to steal. Using a loophole, commonly known as the 'banana trick', one in eight shoppers put the more expensive item they want through the scanner manually as a fruit or vegetable to get a cheaper price, a poll of 1,099 people by Ipsos discovered. Eight per cent confessed they have stolen something which cost up to 10 without paying, and thirteen per cent of people admitted to taking something worth 1 or under. It comes as shoplifting reaches a record high of 443,995 offences recorded in the past year with retailers estimating that 1.8 billion worth of goods are stolen annually. As a result, shops have to shell out an extra 700 million on security measures. The blame has been pointed at the rise of self-checkout tills, which have increased by 50 per cent from 53,000 to 80,000 in the UK. Are YOU a secret shoplifter? Tell your story anonymously: freya.barnes@mailonline.co.uk Reporter Freya Barnes has returned to Britain's high streets to test self-checkouts inside clothing stores and a few supermarkets Asda finally admitted that customers are fed up with scanning their own shopping and announced they are hiring more checkout staff The supermarkets MailOnline readers think have the best self-scanners in the United Kingdom Now, some big British chains have decided to dial back on self-checkouts to combat theft and to please other customers who are sick of them and would prefer to be served by a human. Morrisons became the latest retailer to make a U-turn on its self-checkout policy with its boss admitting it 'went a bit too far' with the number of unmanned tills. Rami Baitieh, the chief executive of the company, said that it is 'reviewing the balance between self-checkouts and manned tills' as the company reveals plans to cut down on the numbers after installing too many. It comes amid a mounting backlash against the technology, with northern retailer Booths announcing in November it was scrapping them and Asda last week promising to invest in staff instead. Self-checkout tills have become common place in supermarkets but their introduction in clothing stores is more recent, with the likes of Primark, Zara and Uniqlo installing them in 2022. Primark originally soft-launched them in a handful of its stores in Sheffield, Northampton, West Bromwich and Kingston, but this year expanded to include them in a further 20 branches. The fast-fashion giant has installed security gates at the self-checkouts which only let the customer out once they have scanned their receipt. Your browser does not support iframes. Pay&Go self checkout service at a Zara store, where the self-checkout has been praised as high tech Self-service checkout terminals at a Uniqlo store, but the complaints have been that they ask too many questions Zara and Uniqlo have adopted a different approach to prevent stealing with their automatic scanning technology which allows customers to dump their shopping in a box that scans it all at once using tiny chips inside the tags or fabric. In March, MailOnline put supermarket self-checkouts to the test to find out which are the fastest and most user friendly, with Tesco coming out on top at just 43 seconds and Aldi crashing into last place at nearly two minutes. Reporter Freya Barnes has returned to Britain's high streets to test self-checkouts inside clothing stores and a few supermarkets at Westfield Stratford in east London to compare the experiences and test their efficiency again. Freya headed to Westfield Stratford in east London to put some more retailers to the test Zara. The love of my life and keeper of my soul. Seldom do I walk past one without being drawn in like a moth to a flame. The self-checkouts here are very high tech, using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, which allow the scanning machine to identify each item and calculate the total amount. You dump the clothes in a box which scans them all at once and thats it - dink your card on the reader, grab a free bag and leave. Sometimes you have to remove a security tag or two but its not time consuming. I loved the ease of it and how it gave me no time to stand in a queue and talk myself out of buying more clothes. I had scanned, paid and bagged up the vest top I bought in a speedy 38 seconds. Zara, you are my girl. Or so I thought. Less than 24-hours later, I was back in Zara with my father, Sherman, on my day off. We have a great deal which means he pays for the things I want as long as I pick out some clothes for him from the men's section. Weighed down with shirts, skirts and hangers, we headed to the self-checkouts where I explained to him how easy and clever they are. As an East End business man who values his time, he was impressed. That was until we were humiliated, not once but twice, on our way out. MailOnline visited to the Zara store in Westfield Stratford to test the self-checkouts The self-checkouts here are very high tech, using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, which allow the scanning machine to identify each item and calculate the total amount. Reporter Freya Barnes and her father Sherman inside Zara in Westfield Stratford where they had an 'embarrassing' experience The security alarms mercilessly blared out a siren noise as we left the shop, sending my cheeks bright red at the thought of fellow shoppers thinking I had stolen something. My bewildered father looked at the security guard who turned his phone around to show us that one of the shirts had not been paid for. We explained that it was a mistake and hurried back to the scanners to pay for it. We thought the embarrassment was over as we scurried out again, only to be met with the dreaded alarm once more. The security guard showed us his phone which flagged a Cherry Bomb perfume as unpaid for. Why their system did not flag the shirt and the perfume on our first attempt at leaving is beyond me. My father began tutting out of frustration, having just spent well over 100 in Zara. He dug the perfume out of the bag and gave it back, telling the security guard to 'just forget it'. We ended up ordering the perfume online but left ranting about how humiliating the whole ordeal was, with my dad huffing and puffing about how they 'made us look like a pair of tea leaves' (Cockney rhyming slang for thieves). After my original and misleading Zara experience the day before, I headed into Primark to test out their self-checkouts which I had been side-eyeing since they were installed a few months back. Freya headed into Primark to test out their self-checkouts which she had been side-eyeing since they were installed a few months back The self-checkouts in Primark have a security gate which only lets customers out once they have scanned their receipt The actual process is easy and familiar but upon trying to leave you find yourself caged in like a farm animal by their security gates that only open if you scan your receipt, assumedly to prevent theft. But the system made me - an innocent shopaholic - feel uncomfortable, only intensifying the untrusting relationship Ive had with Primark since I found out their leggings are see-through after wearing them in public for years. However, I have to give it to them, they were the fastest out of the three clothing stores we tried at a lightning fast 30 seconds. The receipt scanned and opened the gates seamlessly for a tech savvy Gen Z like myself but I have seen older people struggle with it. Next up was Japanese clothing store Uniqlo which also has the magic scanning boxes. Their ones ask too many questions for my liking. Do I want a bag? Yes, obviously. Can they have my email? No. Would I like to donate money to a charity they provided very little information on? Also no. And how would I be paying? With my card of course, it's 2024. It was like pop-up city on that checkout screen, which meant it took me 15 seconds longer than it did in Zara to buy a vest top. Japanese clothing store Uniqlo has the same automatic scanning boxes as Zara Self-checkout tills at Uniqlo inside Battersea Power Station in south London After putting the clothing stores through their paces, I headed to Waitrose, Marks & Spencer and Asda to give their self-checkouts another try. Waitrose seem to have improved their self-checkouts since my scathing review in which I reprimanded them for having no shopping bags and suggesting I pay and commit to a bag for life. All of which meant it took me an unacceptable one minute and 49 seconds to check out. But today it only took me 34 seconds. We love a supermarket that can take feedback and learn from it. Kudos Waitrose. Marks & Spencer where this whole conversation began. People bemoaned their self-checkouts which were such a faff they made some of their middle-class customers result to shoplifting. However, it took me just 28 seconds to buy a jar of coffee this time and the staff members were very attentive. Waitrose's self-scanning equipment is higher up than some others and looks quite different Freya said that Waitrose seem to have improved their self-checkouts since her last visit Marks & Spencer had been criticised over its self-checkout tills but was not the slowest one Holding supermarkets to account and getting results isn't much but its honest work. Keep it up Marks and Spencer. Last but not least, I took a jaunt to my local Asda in Leyton Midlands in east London. Their self-checkouts are always extremely busy which is why I usually and opt for big Tesco instead. But I had high hopes since they announced that they are dialling back on self-checkouts and hiring more staff to serve customers instead. It was choc-a-block in there but there were plenty of workers serving at the regular checkouts as promised. It took me 40 seconds to buy some tea which isn't bad, but also not the best. This should improve drastically as they continue to hire more staff, hopefully. The last stop was Freya's local Asda in Leyton Midlands in east London It took her 40 seconds to buy some tea which isn't bad, but also not the best The supermarket has reported a 2.1 per cent dip in like-for-like sales in the first half of 2024 - and is spending 30million on extra staffing hours to keep shelves fully stocked around the clock and to increase the number of workers on checkouts. It is not the only one to admit that the tech is failing, Booths supermarket - which has 27 stores in the North across Lancashire, Cumbria, Yorkshire and Cheshire - has been finding the machines to be 'slow, unreliable and impersonal'. Earlier this year, Booths axed all of its self-service tills and returned to fully-staffed checkouts, adding 'rather than artificial intelligence, we're going for actual intelligence'. All but two Booths stores will put staff back on the tills following the decision (file image) The move by Booths has provoked much debate on the benefits of self-checkouts (file image) I spoke to a range of shoppers to find out if shops like Booths, Asda and Morrisons had hit the nail on the head by acknowledging that shoppers prefer to be served by a human. Faye Hewitt, 45, pointed out that the lack of face-to-face service not only impacts the customer but also the workers. She said: 'You're putting a lot of people out of their jobs. When I go into a supermarket I prefer actually talking to somebody and getting the benefit of that because the self-service isn't really that quick. 'I just like socialising and seeing someone. It's nice to go in the supermarket and say "Hi, how are you? How's your day going?". It's really lovely.' 87-year-old Bob, who has lived in the area for many years and watched Asda change over that time, prefers to be served by a person instead of a machine, like the good old days. He said: 'A machine is going to break, whereas I could speak to you and get a response.' Saarah Rahman, 21, acknowledged the impact of self-checkouts on elderly shoppers as well as those who can only pay in cash. She said: 'I feel like, coming from a different perspective, for those who are perhaps elderly and they don't know how to use the self check outs or for those who are having financial difficulties or homeless, they may not have a debit card at all, and they can only pay by cash. It's definitely a massive disadvantage.' Faye Hewitt, 45, pointed out that the lack of face-to-face service not only impacts the customer but also the workers 87-year-old Bob, who has lived in the area for many years and watched Asda change over that time, prefers to be served by a person instead of a machine, like the good old days Saarah Rahman, 21, acknowledged the impact of self-checkouts on elderly shoppers as well as those who can only pay in cash Uber driver Syed Ahmed proposed a clever idea for supermarkets to give shoppers who use the self-service checkouts a discount as a token of gratitude for doing the work themselves. The 55-year-old said: 'Self-checkout is actuall difficult for everyone. Every time you get stopped and they are saving money reducing staff and we are getting nothing. 'If they give us a discount on sales check, like a 10 per cent discount, then it's worth it for us because at the same time we are doing work for them. So they are saving money and we are getting nothing. 'So my suggestion is either they give us a discount on the self-checkout or remove them.' Witnesses to an infamous 2004 UFO incident reveal 'Tic-Tacs' spotted flying at incredible speeds by top Navy pilots off the California coast were also picked up on sonar speeding underwater. Two Navy officers told DailyMail.com that masses of high-quality radar, sonar and other data of the strange craft were sent to a Naval base on shore as they accuse the government of a cover up after the Pentagon claimed the data is nowhere to be found. A source who investigated the incident for the Department of Defense told DailyMail.com that they were briefed about sonar data from a nearby submarine that tracked the UFOs moving at more than 460 mph underwater during the shocking November 2004 encounter. Ahead of the 20th anniversary of the storied 'Nimitz Incident', their revelations add a new, intriguing dimension to the most prominent UFO case in recent history. On November 14 2004, Top Gun fighter pilot David Fravor was flying a training exercise off the coast of San Diego when he was re-routed to investigate a strange object spotted on radar by warships protecting his aircraft carrier the USS Nimitz. Witnesses to an infamous 2004 Tic-Tac UFO incident have given shocking new information about the infamous incident to DailyMail.com. They include Kevin Day who was Senior Chief Operations Specialist aboard the USS Princeton at the time Sean Cahill was a Chief Master-At-Arms on the Princeton, and from its deck he says he saw lights in the sky matching the movements of the objects Day saw on his radar What he found was a roughly 40ft white object with no windows or wings, shaped like a Tic-Tac, flitting about above the sea that was roiling below it, disturbed by something large submerged beneath the surface. Commander Fravor told Congress last year that as he circled the object, it turned to mirror his movements, then shot off past him at thousands of miles per hour, somehow stopping a second later at a secret pre-designated rendezvous point 60 miles away, that only he and a handful of Navy staff on his ship were given ahead of their training exercise. Fellow F-18 pilot Lieutenant Chad Underwood then flew out and caught the object on video footage that was published by the New York Times in 2017, igniting a firestorm of intrigue about the government's knowledge of UFOs. Kevin Day was Senior Chief Operations Specialist aboard the USS Princeton at the time, in charge of monitoring the skies with radar to protect the Nimitz. He told DailyMail.com that in the 10 days prior to the incident, he saw similar objects on his radar, behaving inexplicably. F-18 pilot Lieutenant Chad Underwood Day said groups of about 10 objects were repeatedly detected 80,000ft above them, where the Earth's atmosphere becomes space, dropping down to 20,000ft in less than a second, then following the ships by flying through the air at a relatively leisurely 115mph, before zooming off towards Guadalupe Island off the coast of Mexico where they seemed to disappear under the sea. 'They originated from sub-earth orbit. They came in groups of five to 10 at a time. If you added up all the groups, it was about 100 contacts,' Day said. 'The very first group had 10 objects. They sat right around 80,000ft or so, off the east coast of Catalina Island. They just sat there for a time. 'Then they would drop down as a group, instantly, down to between 20,000 and 28,000ft off the coast of Catalina Island, about 10 miles east of it. 'The really weird thing was, a single object would leave that group and travel very slowly right over the top of us, at between 20-28,000ft at about 100 knots, which was really slow. 'It would just track above us, and then the next one would depart, and the next one,' he added. 'All the groups did that. 'All 100 of them, to the best of my knowledge, disappeared in the same spot in the sky. And that spot was about 60 miles north of an island off the coast of Mexico called Guadalupe Island. 'Everyone was looking at me like, what is this? And I didn't have good answers. 'We agreed just to track and report. Of course we made our intentions known to the admiral on the Nimitz.' The 'Tic-Tac' UFOs disappeared from sight about 60 miles north of Guadalupe Island off the coast of Mexico, according to witnesses who spoke with DailyMail.com A screenshot from the video of a Navy pilot tracking the space craft over the Pacific. US military personnel in California believe they saw UFOs off the coast on November 14, 2004 The story has become one of the strongest examples of other-worldly craft routinely encountered by the military in US airspace. But the story gets stranger from there. DailyMail.com can reveal that unknown objects were also allegedly recorded zooming around underwater during the incident. A senior sonar officer on board the USS Princeton at the time told comrades that while Day was seeing objects dropping from space and Fravor was dogfighting with the 'Tic-Tac', his team were picking up sonar returns for objects in the water. This shocking revelation marks a new element to the infamous story, 20 years after it occurred. Sean Cahill was a Chief Master-At-Arms on the Princeton at the time of the sighting Sean Cahill was a Chief Master-At-Arms on the Princeton, and from its deck he says he saw lights in the sky matching the movements of the objects Day saw on his radar. He says a senior sonar officer on the Princeton later told him about the underwater data. 'I was shopping at the local Navy commissary about a mile from my house. I bumped into a former shipmate who worked in the sonar department and was active during the exercise. 'He said that they were practically all around us. He goes, 'Man, we were tracking things underwater, just as much as they were tracking them in the air during that exercise.' The top sonar tech, who asked not to be named, did not dispute the story when contacted by DailyMail.com, but declined to elaborate. A source who worked as a senior official in defense intelligence told DailyMail.com that they investigated the incident several years later, and were briefed on sonar data recorded by a US submarine in the area of the Nimitz carrier strike group. The source said that the sub's sonar caught the UFOs traveling at more than 400 knots, or 460 mph, through the water in the vicinity of the ships. Day said that the ships in the group built a three-dimensional picture from combining their sophisticated radar and sonar, and that all the data was combined and sent to a Naval base in San Diego. 'We shared all the combat information, put it on a data link and sent it back to the beach. So anybody who was interested in these things, they could see our data,' he said. 'There's underwater stations called SOSUS. And we also have towed array. So we have those three sonar devices going off for each ship. All the ships are feeding the composite picture. So we have a really good three-dimensional picture underneath the water.' Sean Cahill was a Chief Master-At-Arms on the Princeton at the time of the TIc-Tac UFO sighting, and from its deck he says he saw lights in the sky matching the movements of the objects Day saw on his radar Warships guarding the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz as well as a submarine in the area spotted a sttrange object on radar in the Pacific in November 2004 Cahill has spoken openly about the 2004 UFO sighting before including during a 2001 appearance on Fox News He said these records would routinely be kept for decades. But the Pentagon official charged with investigating UFO incidents claimed that he couldn't find any data on the Nimitz incident. 'My opinion is that one is going to remain unresolved because there is no data. There is no radar data,' Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick, the recently-retired head of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), said in a March 2024 interview. 'I think the Tic-Tac is so far back in time, there's no data. We went and looked for all of it. I asked around for it.' The seminal case was also glossed over in a historical report released by AARO, the Pentagon's UFO investigation office, on March 6 2024. Cahill and Day say Kirkpatrick is wrong, and could even be deliberately trying to hide the truth. 'Those things are available for decades of the most mundane events that happened and everyday operations, they should be there for all these all the vessels that were there. But they're all missing,' said Cahill. 'It seems like purposeful obfuscation to me. It seems like a dereliction of duty for them not to investigate what is the most famous, well-documented case of UAP activity that we have, with the most amount of witnesses, the most amount of assets placed on it. And it's public now. 'They completely ignored it.' 'I think he should give all his money back that he took in salary,' Day said. They said Kirkpatrick should have also had access to high fidelity radar and satellite data from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) that could have picked up the Tic-Tac and other UFOs tracked by the warships in November 2004. Others on the ship at the time say that tapes with data of the incident were erased and taken by mysterious visitors in flight suits. Petty Officer Gary Voorhis told engineering news site Popular Mechanics in 2019: 'These two guys show up on a helicopter, which wasn't uncommon, but shortly after they arrived, maybe 20 minutes, I was told by my chain of command to turn over all the data recordings for the AEGIS [radar] system. 'They even told me to erase everything that's in the shopeven the blank tapes.' The men were spotted returning with 'a bunch of bags', another witness on the ship, Leading Petty Officer Ryan Weigelt, told Popular Mechanics. Reports of objects moving rapidly and in inexplicable ways underwater as they allegedly were around the Nimitz in 2004 are less well-known frontier in the UFO topic. But they are increasingly coming under scrutiny, and now even have their own name: Unidentified Submerged Objects, or USOs. Retired Navy Commander David Fravor testifies before a House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing about UFOs in the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC in 2023 UFO expert and author Richard Dolan is set to release a book on the topic this year called The History of USOs: The True Story of Anomalous Craft in Earth's Bodies of Water. It documents more than 600 cases, including extraordinary incidents of objects picked up by submarine radar moving faster than torpedoes and executing impossible right-angle turns, hundreds of feet below the surface of the ocean. 'For every one of these USO stories, there's probably close to 100 you don't know. It's often sheer luck that they come out,' Dolan told DailyMail.com. 'One of the shocking things that I've seen in my last two years of USO research, is the number of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers encountering objects that were actually able to disable them for certain periods of time. I have at least 10. 'If you're the US Navy, I can't think of anything more important to you than your fleet of aircraft carriers,' he added. 'Anything that's going to shut down those aircraft carriers is going to be of supreme importance. 'Ronald Moultrie [former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security] spoke to the Senate a couple of years ago, saying we're confident that if we encounter these UAP we can identify and, if necessary, mitigate them. 'That's such a joke on every level. We know full well that this is a major problem, and they're not mitigating anything.' Since retiring from government, former Rear Admiral and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration administrator Tim Gallaudet has revealed that he was briefed on similar incidents of submarines picking up UFOs on sonar moving at rapid speeds underwater. In a statement to DailyMail.com, Gallaudet cautioned that he has not spoken with any of the sonar operators involved in the 2004 tic tac incident, but added that in general: We have to investigate undersea and transmedium UAP in the same way we do other UAP to get a more complete understanding of the phenomenon. Crown prosecutors have called for a life sentence for Justin Stein for the murder of schoolgirl Charlise Mutten, which the judge has described as 'akin to an execution'. Stein is being sentenced for the deadly 2022 shooting of nine-year-old Charlise in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, and dumping her body in a barrel. Justice Helen Wilson told a sentencing hearing on Friday that after first being shot in the back by Stein, Charlise must have fallen to the ground. Stein then approached the child and 30cm from her face, fired again at point blank range - which was 'almost akin to an execution', said Justice Wilson. Charlise's mother Kallista Mutten broke down in tears during the hearing and told her former fiance: 'I hate myself for trusting you'. Ms Mutten read a victim's impact statement via audio video link to NSW Supreme Court in Sydney where a thin and dishevelled-looking Stein appeared in person. Her voice shaking, Ms Mutten told Stein: '[Charlise] just longed for you to be her dad. I just hate myself for being so wrong about you. 'I am forced to live with fact I trusted someone and because of my trust I put my daughter in harms way.' Justin Stein is being sentenced for doer murdering nine-year-old Charlise Mutten (above in December 2021, at her last Christmas) and then dumping her body in a barrel Justin Stein will likely get a very long sentence for murdering 9-year-old Charlise who he shot in the face after drugging her and then dumped her body in a barrel in the bush Justin Stein tried to blame Kallista Mutten (above with Charlise, at Christmas 2021) for murdering her own daughter while in a drug-induced state Only the dead girl's grandfather Clinton Mutten, who along with his wife Deborah was Charlise's legal guardian, turned up for the sentencing in person. Stein was brought into the court on Friday looking dazed, with his hair and beard bushy and uncombed, and wearing the same suit he wore at his trial in June which is now hanging off him. He listened in silence as prosecutors demanded a mandatory life sentence for the murder. Stein will be told his sentence on Monday, Justice Wilson ruled on Friday. Stein blinked rapidly and then closed his eyes for several seconds, his leg shaking restlessly as he listened to statements by Ms Mutten and her father. 'I won't get to see her grow up, have her first boyfriend and get married,' Charlie's mother said. 'More than anything I miss being Charlise's mum and having her say I love you. 'Charlise was my biggest fan and would always say I was the best mummy in the world.' Ms Mutten said that since Charlise's murder, she had been harassed in public, abused by people on public transport and followed by media to the extent she couldn't go outdoors. Only Charlise's grandfather Clinton Mutten (above), who along with his wife Deborah was the nine-year-old's legal guardian, turned up for Justin Stein's sentencing She said the last time she saw her, she had told Charlise she was pregnant and the girl was looking forward 'to being an older sister.' Ms Mutten added: 'My life is never going to be the same.' She said Charlise, a Tweed Heads Primary schoolgirl, 'loved being a nerd and reading books'. The youngster was shot twice while holidaying with her mother and Stein at Stein's lavish family home in Mount Wilson in January 2022. But between January 11 and 12, 2022, she was drugged with Stein's schizophrenia medication, then shot at point blank range through her right cheek. Justin Stein shopping for sand at Bunnings to weigh down the barrel he has put Charlise's body in Detectives found Charlie's body in this barrel (above, in situ, with the little girl's remains inside), dumped by Stein on the banks of the Colo River Stein has been behind bars since the day, a week after the shooting, detectives found Charlise's 33.5kg body wrapped in a tarpaulin, bound with tape and head first inside a industrial barrel on the banks of the Colo River. During a five-week trial in May-June, he tried to blame Charlise's mother, then a severe intravenous methamphetamine addict, for murdering her own daughter. The court heard that Kallista was injecting a massive '17 points a day' of ice, and had undergone psychotic episodes when she lay on the ground, babbling and incoherent. But in traumatic testimony at the trial, she said she had not been with Stein or Charlise on the night when the murder took place and believed his story that her daughter was being minded by another woman. On June 19, after deliberating for for 35 hours over eight days, a jury found Justin Stein guilty of Charlise's murder. Stein had already admitted to disposing of the corpse, after police produced CCTV of him driving the tarp-draped barrel around Sydney, collecting sand from Bunnings to weigh it down, and then off to the river bank 100km north-west of Sydney. Stein had claimed that after Ms Mutten shot her daughter, she secretly placed Charlise's body in the barrel and secured it on the back of his ute without his knowledge. But the jury didn't believe him. Ms Mutten denied having any involvement in her daughter's death and broke down in tears when she faced the accusation in court. Stein appeared as the defence's only witness in the trial, spending two days going over his version of events. Stein driving oyut of the Lane Cove tunnel with the barrel in the back covered by a blue tarp Charlise Mutten at school in 2021, the last year of her short life, and the barrel she was placed in when Stein disposed of her body in January 2022 A post mortem found Charlise had traces of the anti-psychotic prescription drug Quetiapine - aka Seroquel - in her system, which Stein was prescribed. The jury heard an adult dose of the drug would have a profound sedative effect on a child, but that it was difficult to tell how much Charlise had been given. Mr McKay said a possible motive was that Stein killed Charlise when she became sick after he gave her the drug. Stein denied giving Charlise the medication, and said he had gone along with a plan to cover up the murder, including lying to police about leaving the girl in the care of an imaginary woman who was valuing items at the Mount Wilson estate. Stein testified that when he became aware Charlise's body was in a barrel on the back of his ute, he panicked and ultimately disposed of it. The botched withdrawal of U.S. troops is the keystone around which Donald Trump is building his foreign policy plans. In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, the former president set out his thinking and explained why the episode, in which 13 American personnel were killed and the world watched in horror as thousands of terrified Afghans raced after departing planes, marked a turning point in U.S. standing in the world. He outlined his thoughts after putting the issue at the center of a national security speech in Asheboro, North Carolina, where he promised tough action on anyone involved in the withdrawal. 'I will ask for the resignations of every single senior military official who touched the Afghanistan disaster,' he announced on stage. 'I want their resignations immediately.' Donald Trump is promising tough action on officials involved in the Afghanistan withdrawal Trump has been on a policy tour of battleground states while Democrats hold their convention in Chicago. On Monday it was the economy in Pennsylvania; Tuesday was law and order in Michigan; and Wednesday saw him join forces with his running mate J.D. Vance to set out their national security aims. Trump got into the nitty gritty of the issue with DailyMail.om after the speech, saying it was unforgiveable that officials and officers had escaped accountability. He reserved particular frustration with Gen. Mark Milley, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Frank McKenzie, who as commander of U.S. Central Command had overall responsibility for the region. Both have since retired. And he identified the August 2021 withdrawal and Taliban takeover as a moment of U.S. humiliation and the beginning of a new era of global instability. 'We were respected,' he said in a hangar at the North Carolina Aviation Museum. 'We were going to get out with dignity and pride. 'And these people took the soldiers out first, so everybody's left back there. 'It was total bedlam. It was a terrible thing. 'When Putin saw that, he said: 'This is a good time to go into Ukraine. That would have never happened with me.' The Taliban overran the capital Kabul in August 2021, triggering chaotic scenes as Afghans pleaded for help to escape. In this iconic image, a man hands an infant to a US Marine Taliban fighters, some wearing face masks, are seen celebrating and raising their guns in the air at the airport after taking control The XVIII Airborne Corps released an image Monday of the last U.S. soldier to leave Afghanistan Major General Chris Donahue, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division Trump answered questions about everything from his relationship with Queen Elizabeth II, the Democratic National Convention to what it was like to appear behind bulletproof glass on Wednesday. But it was Afghanistan and American standing in the world that saw him become most animated. It was his administration that laid the groundwork for the decision made by President Joe Biden to pull out. Trump and his officials made a deal with the Taliban in February 2020 to end the 20-year war. The U.S. agreed to rapidly close air bases and reduce the number of troops before a final withdrawal in May 2021 of all NATO forces. In return the Taliban agreed to halt attacks on U.S. forces and ensure that terrorist groups could not use Afghan soil. Then, once in power, Biden promised to withdraw the last 2,500 U.S. forces by the symbolically potent date of Sept. 11. Trump said the episode was instrumental in convincing Russian President Vladimir Putin that the U.S. would not get in the way of his invasion of Ukraine Tragedy struck when a suicide bomber detonated his deadly payload at the airport on August 26. The worst of the casualties were packed into this area beneath the breeze-block sniper tower at the top of this picture, released on by the Pentagon The Americans killed in the blast were: (left to right, starting with top row) Cpl. Daegan W. Page - Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo - Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover - Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza - Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum - Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui - Cpl. Hunter Lopez - Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz - Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss - Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez - Navy Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak - Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola - Sgt. Nicole L. Gee The result was the helter-skelter advance of Taliban fighters. They upped their attacks on the Afghan government, which could no longer rely on omnipotent American airpower or special forces for help. Taliban troops took over the capital Kabul on August 14, 2021, before American troops had left. Foreign civilians, who believed the Kabul government would survive on its own, suddenly needed rescuing. Trump said he blamed the generals in charge for what came next: A chaotic scramble and a suicide attack on Kabul's international airport that killed 13 Americans and dozens of Afghans. 'They did a terrible job. They were lousy generals,' he said. He described Milley, who was the top military adviser to both Trump and Biden, as a 'television general.' 'Milley was pretty incompetent. He was a very radical left liberal guy,' he said, adding that he would have been better suited to advising a fellow leftist like Kamala Harris. He said they made a crucial strategic decision in abandoning Bagram air base, the main hub for American forces, early in the withdrawal. That meant relying on Hamid Karzai International Airport, close to the center of Kabul. The issue is complicated. Some military experts say using Bagram for the withdrawal would have meant sending in thousands of extra troops to secure it and its access route. President Joe Biden cast the withdrawal as a success. But he is seen here at Dover Air Force Base as the 13 bodies were flown home Trump reserved particular anger for the generals in charge: Gen. Mark Milley (left), who was chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, and Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of CentCom 'I would have never given up Bagram, because Bagram is one hour away from where, as you know, China makes its nuclear weapons,' said Trump. 'We should have had a massive air base. We spent billions of dollars many years ago building it among the most powerful runways, biggest runways in the world in terms of weight two, in terms of holding massive cargo, and all built, all done one hour from China.' Today it is under Taliban control. However, China is one of the few countries to recognize the Taliban regime, triggering frequent fears that it is seeking access to Bagram or could already be using it. The worst moment in the withdrawal came on August 26, when an ISIS-K suicide bomber blew himself up at the airport. Hundreds were killed, including 13 Americans, or wounded as shrapnel tore through crowds of desperate people. 'We lost 13 great soldiers, and 45 were absolutely obliterated with the legs and the arms and the face,' said Trump of the attack on the airport. 'They have to live that way. Now, 45 soldiers, and this should have never happened.' Trump spoke to DailyMail.com after a rally at the North Carolina Aviation Museum And he used the occasion to remind voters that Harris was part of the fateful withdrawal decision. 'She was the last person in the room with Biden when the two of them decided to pull out of Afghanistan,' he told a crowd of thousands But he said the biggest mistake was failing to prepare properly for the consequences of the withdrawal. 'It's so incompetent,' he said. 'But most importantly, they took the military out first. A child would know you don't take the military out.' His words illustrate the foreign policy strands that run through his thinking and his support base. There is the America First tendency, which wants to pull back U.S. commitments around the world to focus on domestic priorities, but it is complicated by Trump's 'peace through strength' echo of a Reaganite idea of Washington leadership around the globe. For the moment, as Trump's speech made clear, it is a key campaign issue. The withdrawal cast a long shadow over Biden's presidency. Pollsters identify it as the moment his ratings started their turn downwards. And for Trump it is another policy decision that can hurt Kamala Harris. 'This calamity is on comrade Kamala Harris' shoulders,' he told the excitable rally crowd. 'She was the last person in the room with Biden when the two of them decided to pull out of Afghanistan.' Vice President Kamala Harris concluded her final political reboot Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention, channelling a sense of freedom and joy to power her campaign, while shedding her more radical policy proposals. With the enthusiastic endorsement of all the living Democratic presidents and celebrities like Oprah, Democrats cheered wildly as she unleashed her new campaign. We are charting a new way forward,' she said to cheering crowds. 'Forward to a future with a strong and growing middle class.' The substance-free campaign is far different than the one Harris ran for president in 2020 as she embraced a far-left political agenda in an effort to attract the most radical voters of the party. Already a Senator for California, Harris shifted further to the left on issues she used to oppose. Harris supported the use of marijuana and co-sponsoring a bill that would make it federally legal, even though she spent her life prosecuting marijuana users. She supported bills that would offer Americans free college, free health care, cancel student debt, and offer monthly payments to couples making less than $100,000 a year. Harris also sponsored a bill to eliminate cash bail, and vocalized her support for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs $93 trillion Green New Deal. Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) joins fellow Democrats from the House and Senate to introduce new legislation to end excessive use of force by police California State Attorney General Kamala Harris speaks to California Democrats in 2015 As her presidential campaign continued, Harris went even further to the left, endorsing the idea of banning fracking to extract oil out of the ground and the idea of reducing the consumption of red meat to reduce methane gas from cow farts. Harris also supported the idea of banning plastic straws and decriminalizing prostitution. She floated the idea of expanding executive power to allow the Justice Department to block state abortion laws and using executive action to require a mandatory buyback program for some semiautomatic rifles and restrict gun sales. Harris also supported the idea of defunding police departments, eliminating private prisons and mandatory minimum sentences and cash bail, as well as the death penalty. She even supported the idea of restoring the right to vote for felons. On immigration, Harris supported the idea of decriminalizing illegal border crossings and taxpayer funded healthcare for illegal immigrants. On the subject of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, Harris said she was ready to start from scratch to reimagine the agency. While the Trump campaign is trying to bury Harris with her far-left record, the Vice President has pivoted away from policy toward the idea of serving as a joyful warrior. Harris put forth the concept of herself as a joyful warrior in early 2018, as she tried to move away from her persona as an angry anti-Trump prosecutor she had developed. San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris poses for a portrait in San Francisco in 2004 Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks during the National Urban League Conference in Indianapolis, July 26, 2019. During her first year in the Senate, Harris had energized Democrats by challenging President Trumps administration officials and trying to block his Supreme Court nominees. But in a story in Vogue, Harris made it clear she was moving on. At the end of the year, I thought back to 2017, and I was like, Bye, Felisha, Harris laughed. This year, Im just gonna be a joyful warrior. Speaking to talkshow host Ellen DeGeneres, Harris detailed in April why she decided to change her political persona. We have to be joyful warriors, Harris said. I decided at the end of last year, there was so much that was creating depression, anger, anxiety, I said Im done with that. I dont like that feeling, I dont think any of us do. So lets just go into 2018 and be joyful warriors. Harris also spoke about being a joyful warrior in January 2019 during an event with Jonathan Capehart, just before her run for president. We gotta find time to sing and dance and laugh and have a little fun, she said. Harris policies and her campaign as a joyful warrior never satisfied Democratic primary voters who fell in love with her opponents: Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg, Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders, and ultimately Vice President Joe Biden, who won the nomination in 2020. U.S. President Joe Biden hands Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris the microphone at a rally in Maryland Vice President Kamala Harris speaks onstage during a Pride Celebration hosted by the Vice President Of The United States Harris ended her presidential campaign in December 2019, before the primary caucuses and primaries even began. Vice President Joe Biden selected Harris as his running mate in August of 2020, allowing Harris to rebrand herself as having the same more moderate agenda. Harris launched into a three month campaign sprint that resulted in the pair winning the presidential election. As Vice President, Harris struggled in the role, as she found it difficult to effectively communicate the administrations agenda and defend President Joe Biden. Efforts to portray her 'joy' and enthusiasm, frequently ran flat. Now that she has seized the leadership mantle from Biden, Harris has moved back to her familiar 'joyful warrior' campaign but this time without the more radical public policies. The campaign has refused to do any interviews about her ideas for the country as she works quietly behind the scenes to calibrate the tone and tenor of her new brand. The campaign is running on vibes, as she shifts away from traditional media and toward stadium filling celebrity power events and viral social media content. A holidaymaker drowned in a freak accident when he slipped while climbing onto a rented boat and fell into the water before being carried away by a strong current. Callum Bell, 58, was enjoying a break on the tranquil Norfolk Broads with his partner Diane Simmonds and other family members as part of his recovery from a stroke he suffered earlier this year when he tried to board the moored 44ft vessel. He was not wearing a life jacket when he lost his footing at the stern and plunged into the River Bure in Great Yarmouth. His death was the four water-related tragedy in four days in the holiday hotspot county, prompting a safety charity to warn people to take more care. Grieving Ms Simmonds, who was with her sister and her partner, criticised the lack of railings to grab hold of. She told the Mail: 'There are no safety rails at the back of the boat, which is the only entrance and exit. Callum tripped on the step with nothing to hold onto then rolled into the river. Callum Bell, 58, (pictured) died after slipping from a boat without safety railings 'If safety barrier was there, it would have stopped him rolling in. We wore safety jackets when travelling on the boat but not to go out in the town so on entering the boat there is no safety. They also allow young children on these boats. 'When we booked it, we thought the entrance would have been safe. I am saying this to hopefully get the boatyards to put more safety in place. They are certainly making enough money from people hiring them.' A woman who answered the phone at Barnes Brinkcraft, who own the boat, said: 'They meet the [legal] requirements.' Company director Daniel Thwaites added: 'As you can imagine, all our thoughts are with the family and friends of Mr Bell. 'We have no more information about what happened to Mr Bell, so we cannot comment further at this stage.' Mr Bell, of Nottingham, died just after 9pm on Tuesday while pottering about the Broads on the 185-a-night Brinks Lullaby, which sleeps up to eight in four double cabins. The others on board for the week-long break heard the sound of the fall but by the time they got outside he had been swept away. A Norfolk Police spokesman said: 'He was recovered from the water but, despite best efforts by emergency services, was pronounced dead a short time later.' Life jackets are provided as standard on the dual steering vessel, which has a comfortable saloon and an outside seating area. The first of the first confirmed death was on Saturday, when a man in his 70s died at Brancaster beach after he was seen getting into difficulty in the sea. The following day, a body was recovered from Wroxham Broad. A man in his 20s had gone missing after getting into the water at about 11.30pm on Friday. The third tragedy was also reported on Tuesday when a body was found in the River Wensum in Costessey, on the outskirts of Norwich. Police had been alerted in the early hours following reports of a man who had gone for a swim but not resurfaced. Norfolk Police said they were not releasing the other victims' details at the request of their families. The county is one of the most popular UK destinations for holidaymakers, with miles of beautiful coastline, the idyllic broads, beautiful countryside, and the historic city of Norwich on offer. There were 151 accidental drownings in 2022, according to a report last year from the Royal Life Saving Society UK. More than four in five involved men. The reports recommended changes including targeted messages about water safety in areas notorious for drownings and how to 'better deliver school swimming'. Brendon Prince, founder of charity Above Water, said: 'There seems to be more drownings this summer holiday than last. 'We've got to do something about it before the Covid generation, who missed out on swimming lessons at school, reach adulthood.' Other deaths this summer include Dishone Lloyd, 16, who got into trouble on August 12 the hottest day of the year - while swimming with friends at Burnside Lakes in the Cherry Hinton area of Cambridge. The teenager had recently completed his GCSEs at a school in Harlow, Essex. Mark Hall Academy headteacher Matt Carter said: 'The suddenness of this tragic loss is a stark reminder of just how precious and fragile life can be.' With Kamala Harris set to accept the Democrat nomination for president Thursday night, many wonder what happened to the other California liberal many thought may take Joe Biden's place. Gavin Newsom, the two-term governor of the Golden State, spent over a year positioning himself as a potential successor to Biden, even posturing enough to go through with a debate against Ron DeSantis on Fox News. Instead, this week, Newsom has been relegated to doing interviews as a surrogate and announcing the nomination of Harris on behalf of his state's delegates. Newsom has not even had a devoted speaking slot at a convention that's included everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Ana Navarro. However, those close to him suggest that there's still a bright future ahead for the governor, despite being term-limited out and two younger Democrats holding the state's US Senate seats. With Kamala Harris set to accept the Democrat nomination for president Thursday night, many wonder what happened to Gavin Newsom (pictured left), the other California liberal many thought may take Joe Biden's place Newsom has been relegated to doing interviews as a surrogate and announcing the nomination of Harris on behalf of his state's delegates 'Ridiculous,' Newsom spokesman Nathan Click told the Sacramento Bee if his boss' star had dimmed. 'He's excited about the ticket and he's gonna be hitting the road just like he's been doing before. He's focused on defeating Donald Trump in 2024.' Newsom and Vice President Kamala Harris both rose to political power coming through the San Francisco Bay Area. His public turn began in 2022, when he started to slam the Democrats for being soft on their own agenda. 'Where is the Democratic Party? Why aren't we standing up more firmly? More resolutely? Why aren't we calling this out?' He seemed to set himself up to be the Democrat Party's spokesperson, launching a super PAC called Campaign For Democracy and touring deep red states. The run culminated in the December 2023 debate with his Floridian counterpart DeSantis, who pointed to his hypocrisy during COVID-19 by going out to fine-dining restaurant The French Laundry and sending his children to in-person private schools while his residents were still under lockdown. He said California ran out of UHauls because so many people were moving out to head to red states including Florida. He said among the new residents in Florida is Newsom's wife's father. Biden made one of his last public speeches Monday night. After dropping out, many suggested Newsom wanted the job Newsom and Vice President Kamala Harris both rose to political power coming through the San Francisco Bay Area Newsom didn't back down in the one-on-one debate in Alpharetta, Georgia, taking a dig at DeSantis by saying they both won't be presidential nominees in 2024. 'You almost have to try to mess California up,' DeSantis said during feisty opening remarks explaining why his state is superior. 'That is what Gavin Newsom has done since he has been governor.' Newsom initially challenged DeSantis to a debate in September 2022. At the time, DeSantis was not yet running in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. The governor's profile made him the center of headlines after Joe Biden's debate disaster, with many suggesting he might win an open primary against Harris. But Newsom immediately headed to New Hampshire to canvas for Joe Biden, which won't stop those speculating he'd replace the president on the ticket. Newsom, despite speculation, adamantly said that he 'will never turn my back on President Biden' and promised he was not running a secret campaign. 'I don't know a Democrat in my party that would do so. And especially after tonight, we have his back,' he said. He did his best to instead reassure Americans that the president is still capable. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (left) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (right) met for a one-on-one debate hosted by Fox News and moderated by Sean Hannity (center) in December in Alpharetta, Georgia 'I spent a lot of time with him. I know Joe Biden. I know what he's accomplished in the last three and a half years. I know what he's capable of. And I have no trepidations.' Newsom, 56, told DailyMail.com that claims that he could replace Biden, 81, in November were 'farcical.' He apparently proved his own claim correct, when he almost immediately endorsed Harris upon her declaring her intention to run. 'Tough. Fearless. Tenacious. With our democracy at stake and our future on the line, no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump's dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction than Americas Vice President,' Newsom posted on X hours after Biden dropped out. Newsom's endorsement of Harris furthers the two's long interwoven political careers and shows a solidarity between the two. He also confirmed earlier this month that he would not challenge Harris for the presidency in 2024 - a commitment he made long ago - saying 'of course' he would not run against her. On Thursday night, Newsom's seeming only major appearance again came on Fox News, with his fellow Californian set to have the biggest night of her political life. Former San Francisco Unified School District Board President Lainie Motamedi speaks during an oath of office ceremony Friday for incoming board member Phil Kim. Motamedi abruptly resigned Friday morning, with her departure from public office effective as of noon. Stephen Lam/The Chronicle The president of the San Francisco school board abruptly resigned Friday, citing health and personal reasons, a decision that adds another element of drama to a district facing one of the most difficult years in recent memory. Lainie Motamedi submitted her resignation Friday morning, with her departure from public office effective as of noon. Mayor London Breed will immediately appoint Phil Kim, a former teacher and public education administrator, to fill the position and serve until the next citywide election after this November. That could be a special election if one is called, or in June 2026. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Breed appointed Motamedi to the position in the wake of a divisive school board recall before she won election to the seat in 2022. The resignation comes as the district faces the likely closure of schools across the city and painful budget cuts needed to stave off insolvency and a state takeover. San Francisco Mayor London Breed administers the oath of office Friday to Phil Kim, a former teacher and public education administrator who serve the remainder of Motamedis term until the next citywide election after November. Stephen Lam/The Chronicle The selection of Kim, a district employee, gives the board expertise and stability without a long selection process, Breed said. Kim is currently the districts executive director of school strategy and coherence, focusing on the school closure process. The District has numerous challenges ahead of it and we need a strong, experienced voice who understands the issues the District is facing and is ready to go on Day one, Breed said in a statement. Phil Kim has extensive experience in education, and importantly he has been working in the District on the very issues that we know are most challenging. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Breed swore in Kim during a City Hall ceremony Friday afternoon. District employees cannot serve on the board, and Kim said he would resign from his job as of Friday. Kims appointment comes just over two months before the November election when four seats on the board are up for grabs, and only one incumbent, Matt Alexander, is running. That means, with Motamedis departure, the board will have a majority of new members in January and possibly a supermajority of five, with little to no experience in public office. What that will mean in terms of public trust and the boards ability to put the district on sound fiscal footing is unknown. Thats the right question, said Phil Halperin, co-chair of the districts bond campaign and a longtime public education advocate. If this had happened 18 months ago or two years ago, it would have been a challenge. Advertisement Article continues below this ad But Halperin added that the board has created a foundation of how to effectively govern to get things done in a transparent way and that process has been institutionalized for any incoming school board members. Its no longer a free-for-all or a food fight, he said, adding he believes the candidates running for the four open positions understand that. The playbook has been done and is executed, and this is what people are signing up to govern along the lines of this playbook. That said, he acknowledged there will be a learning curve for anyone new to public office. Motamedi said the decision to resign was something she realized was a necessity in recent days, to do whats right for kids and the district. With a heavy heart Im stepping down due to health and personal circumstances, she told the Chronicle after making the decision to resign. Giving less than my full self is just not an option. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Motamedi joined the board at a time of significant divisiveness and conflict over school renaming, the admission policy at Lowell High School and whether to offer Algebra I in middle schools, among other issues. Board meetings often lasted several hours and would at times include name-calling and yelling. My greatest immediate intention was ensuring that the distractions of behaving badly would be diminished and eliminated and its been quite a journey, but while were having tough conversations now, theyre the right conversations to have to ensure our students' success, Motamedi said. Breed praised Motamedi for her service. I am grateful for Lainie Motamedis service to the City of San Francisco and our families, Breed said in the statement. She stepped into office with a clear vision about what needed to be done to improve our schools, support our educators, and make sure our kids came first in all of our decision-making. I wish her the best and thank her for all of her hard work. Advertisement Article continues below this ad As the news was disseminated to top officials, they praised Motamedi for her leadership and service. I will miss her collaborative leadership and steadfast commitment to student outcomes, said board Vice President Matt Alexander. Im committed to building on the foundation shes laid as we work to create the schools our students deserve. Phil Kim, left, was appointed by San Francisco Mayor London Breed to fill out the remainder of Lainie Motamedis term on the school board until the next citywide election after November. Stephen Lam/The Chronicle Superintendent Matt Wayne called her an incredible advocate for the students of San Francisco and said he is grateful for her leadership. Motamedi said she is proud to leave office with Algebra I back in middle schools, teachers getting higher pay and the board with minimized adult egos and politics. Theres a lot of work left to do, she said, adding that she believes her replacement is up to the task. His commitment to kids and public education is enabling me to step down with a clear mind and lighter heart. Kim, 34, has long wanted to be on the school board, running unsuccessfully in 2016 and 2018, before building a career in public education. He spent most of that time as a teacher, administrator and national director of science, technology, engineering and math for the Kipp school system, a network of public charter schools. He described himself as a gay man from the Midwest, a child of immigrant small business owners. He said he ran for the board because he felt deeply that the board should reflect all of the community it serves. It mattered to me who was on the board making decisions for our schools, he said. After he lost twice he decided public office wasnt in the cards and directed his efforts to improve public education to working in the public education sector, he said. When the mayor asked if he wanted the appointment, he was shocked. And then he said yes. Wayne said he believes Kim will be ready for the job given his familiarity with the challenges and priorities for the district. Kim said he knows the upcoming year on the board wont be easy. He was behind the scenes getting ready for it and now he will be sitting in front of the emotional parents and students urging him to keep their schools open. Traumatised Jetstar passengers have revealed their 'terror' after a man yanked open an emergency exit door, 'ran' out onto the wing and then dangled from the engine before being tackled by ground crew. The JQ507 flight from Sydney had just touched down in Melbourne at around 10am on Thursday when a man in his 30s pulled open the emergency exit door and 'jumped out'. The passenger then 'ran' onto the right wing of the A320-200 aircraft and dangled himself from the turbine engine before he was restrained by ground handling staff. New details have emerged about the 'flight from hell', with one passenger claiming the man had been vaping during the journey and demanding to be served alcohol by flight attendants. Kyle Kenneth, who was sat in the emergency exit row, revealed that the man 'wasn't being aggressive, he was just looking right at the exit'. 'When everyone realised what he was trying to do they were like, "stop, what are you doing? We are about to leave",' he said in a video posted to social media. 'It's hard to describe, but he wasn't taking anyone else in. He just had this singular focus, like this look in his eye, and he just kept trying to reach for the emergency exit row to pull down the lever.' Mr Kenneth said the experience was 'surreal'. A Jetstar passenger pulled open the emergency exit door just minutes after landing at Melbourne Airport The man was seen on the wing of the aircraft, before jumping down the slide The flight attendants, god bless him, were pulling him back with all their might,' he added. He was just strong but he wasnt being aggressive, he just kept going and kept trying to hit (the panel on the emergency exit door) and with one of the hits he managed to knock off the panel.' Mr Kenneth said the man then managed to pull open the 45kg door with just one hand and just ran out into the wing. He doesnt take the emergency slide, he jumps on the engine and was like hanging off the engine,' he added. Despite the havoc the man caused, Mr Kenneth said he thought the man was having mental health issues and meant no harm. He wasnt being aggressive, he looked almost scared like he needed to get off the plane in that moment, he added. Kyle Kenneth, who was sat in the emergency exit row, revealed in a TikTok video that the man 'wasnt being aggressive, he was just looking right at the exit' Mr Kenneth said the man then managed to pull open the 45kg door with just one hand and just ran out into the wing (pictured: the emergency exit door) Mr Kenneth said other passengers told him the man went to the bathroom five or six times during the flight wand was side-eyeing the exits. Im just really thankful it didnt happen while we were in the air, he said. I dont even know if you can do it in the air. To be honest, it was way too easy for him. He did it with one hand which is absolutely terrifying. Another passenger, 2GB producer Audrey Varghese, told 7News that the man had been behaving in a 'really anti-social' way. 'Its assumed common knowledge that you stay in your seats until the seatbelt sign is turned off,' she said. 'But he got up as the plane was still moving. 'The cabin crew were sort of shocked at the fact that he would even do that.' Ms Varghese said the man walked over to the emergency row where he caused a 'commotion' by 'shoving' passengers out of the way before he made his bid for freedom. 'It was hectic, everyone was screaming,' Ms Varghese added. 'It was just pure terror. People were so terrified of what could possibly have gone wrong.' Adam, a passenger on the flight, told Sky News that upon landing, the man 'was looking a little bit disturbed'. 'I guessed he was having some sort of psychotic episode,' he said. 'When we actually pulled up to the gate he reached over to the emergency exit, pulled it. Everyone at that point was screaming at him telling him to stop and trying to physically restrain him.' The slide was immediately deployed when the man opened the emergency exit but the man dangled from the engine instead Several passengers tried to restrain the man, but he was able to 'jump right on through' the exit door. 'When it was going on, everyone was screaming and not many people knew what was happening,' Adam continued. 'It was quite a tense atmosphere, the lady in the emergency exit row was pretty traumatised.' The man was arrested, and all passengers on board were allowed to disembark. A Jetstar spokesperson confirmed a passenger 'opened the emergency exit door after arrival into Melbourne, which automatically deployed the slide'. 'The plane was parked at the gate at time. The passenger has been arrested by the AFP,' the airline said. The AFP said officers arrested a man for 'alleged aggressive behaviour and breaching aircraft safety protocols' and charges were likely to be laid. Freed Israeli hostage Noa Argamani has revealed how every night in Hamas captivity she went to sleep thinking it was 'going to be my last night alive'. For the first time since being rescued, Noa has spoken about her experience in captivity, as she met with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa on Thursday. The 26-year-old made global headlines when she was filmed on the back of a motorcycle being dragged into Gaza during Hamas' incursion into Israel last October. She spent 245 days in captivity before being rescued in a dramatic sweep through a building ostensibly in the Nuseirat, Gaza Strip, on June 8. Speaking yesterday she said: 'It's a miracle that I'm here. Every night I was falling asleep and thinking this might be my last night alive. 'My head was cut and I was being hit all over my body. Nobody came to visit me. Nobody came to see me. Nobody came to give me medicine. Nobody, until I got rescued. It's a warzone.' She stepped up calls for the release of her boyfriend Avinatan Or and the remaining 115 hostages, saying 'we need to bring them back before it's too late'. Noa Argamani speaking about her experience today as she met with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa Noa speaks during a visit to Tokyo on August 21 Noa listens as Israel's ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen (R) speaks during a meeting with G7 embassy representatives during a visit to Tokyo on August 21 Noa Argamani stepped up calls for the return of her boyfriend Avinatan Or (pictured) and the remaining 115 hostages Earlier this month she revealed how she 'fought until the last moment' to remain 'side by side' with the love of her life that day. 'I still can't grasp the fact that now I'm here and you, my beloved, are still there, living every day in endless fear,' she said. Noa became the face of the attack on October 7 after a powerful Mail on Sunday front page captured those final seconds as she reached out to Avinatan while screaming at her captors: 'Don't kill me!' Her mother, who had stage four cancer, feared she would not live long enough to see her daughter again, and pleaded with Hamas to free her and the Israeli and US governments to bring her home. After at last being reunited with her in June, Liora 'spent her final days alongside her daughter Noa, who returned from captivity, and her close family,' the hospital where she was being treated said in a statement as it announced her death. Israeli troops rescued Noa and three other hostages after 245 days in the Gaza Strip in the largest and most successful rescue operation of the war on June 8. Noa Argamani was taken into Gaza from the Nova Music Festival on October 7 Noa was seen being directed by her rescuers to a car before being pulled out of Gaza in a military helicopter and returned safely to a hospital in Ramat Gan Noa was seen being directed by her rescuers to a car before being pulled out of Gaza in a military helicopter and returned safely to a hospital in Ramat Gan, Israel. Three commandos from Yamam, Israel's national counter-terrorism unit, involved in the rescue revealed that the first thing Noa did upon being rescued was ask about her mother. In an interview with Israeli magazine Walla, one of the commandos said: 'Her first question was whether her mother was still alive. I told her yes. 'She looked right and left at us and asked again if we were sure. We told her yes, 'that's why we came, to bring you back to your mother.'' Despite the unfathomable trauma of having spent 245 days in captivity before losing her mother to brain cancer last month, Noa is using all her strength to fight for the release of Avinatan and the other hostages. She recently travelled to Washington DC with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to put pressure on politicians to work on reaching a deal. An influencer who loves to tout all the designer items she gets for free on social media has learned a very harsh lesson while vacationing in Paris. Victoria Paris, 25 - whose real name is Victoria Paris Finkel - was posting photos to Instagram and videos to TikTok about her trip to the European city on May 5, when her home was targeted for a robbery. An unidentified person was caught on security footage breaking into her Los Angeles home in Silver Lake before making off with designer purses and jewelry, the LA Times reports. They reportedly stole a Louis Vuitton duffel bag, two Paco Rabanne bags, a Miu Miu purse, a laptop and all of Finkel's jewelry. Just one day later, the same person was seen on her surveillance cameras lurking around and canvasing her property once again. Victoria Paris, 25 - whose real name is Victoria Paris Finkel - was posting about her trip to Paris on May 5 when an unidentified burglar decided to take advantage of her absence It is unclear exactly how her house was tracked down - but Finkel regularly posts photos and videos in her backyard with a clear view of her neighborhood, and would show her car in the driveway while bragging about her designers goods from her bedroom. She once even sparked outrage for purposefully destroying a $5,000 Gucci bag by slamming it against some steps outside to make it look worn-in. Since the break-in, Finkel seems to now question her life choices. 'The whole reason I am good at this job, and why I loved doing what I do is because I actually really enjoy sharing with you,' she told her nearly two million TikTok followers on June 7. 'I don't know, it makes me feel less alone. And I feel alone a lot,' she admitted in the emotional video. 'But it's just stuff like this that makes me want to stop sharing.' Finkel ultimately decided she had to move out of the Silver Lake home, and would keep her whereabouts more private. The alleged burglar remains on the loose. But her TikTok shows she is continuing to flaunt her luxury items. Finkel would regularly post photos and videos in her backyard with a clear view of her neighborhood, would show her car in the driveway and showed off purchases from upscale designers She was able to recover one of the bags that had been stolen earlier this month because the alleged robber apparently resold it to a store, she said in an August 10 TikTok. And in a video posted just two days after she opened up about the robbery, Finkel appeared to be in better spirits as she showed off the massive haul of Paco Rabanne bags she was gifted. 'Rabanne really said, "Checkmate b****," because they sent me everything that was stolen and then some,' she said, as she tried on dresses and showed off her new shoes. 'Um, I don't know if I should say it, but I'm going to say it: Being robbed might have been the best thing that ever happened to me,' she said. She also admitted to the LA Times that influencers are 'not the biggest victims, but we put everything in our lives on the Internet, which makes us the easiest target.' Finkel's TikTok shows she is continuing to flaunt her luxury items Just one month before Finkel was targeted, a group of would-be robbers also broke into the home of Joey Zauzig - an influencer and reality television personality who starred in MTV's Real Friends of WeHo. He said he decided to return to his LA home early from a trip to Cabo San Lucas, despite publicly announcing on social media he would return one day later. Zauzig even shared a video that made it appear he was still in Mexico on April 8. In reality, though, he was sleeping at home when he heard the robbers break in. 'I decided to check the cameras,' he recounted to the LA Times. 'I saw there were three guys with what looked like guns in their hands, and I think my first reaction was to go to the top of the stairs. 'I yelled, "Get the f*** out!"' before calling 911 and waking his fiancee. The two then snuck out a sliding door onto a balcony of their home in Hollywood Hills until the would-be robbers left without taking anything. Influencers Emily Oberg (left) and Joey Zauzig (right) have also seen their homes burglarized Zauzig said the experience left him terrified. 'My content is very positive and uplifting,' he said. 'You don't think there are people trying to take you down, but I guess when thousands of people watch your lives and content, there are also people trying to target you. They clearly targeted me.' No arrests have been made in Zauzig's case either. But in a TikTok video on June 13, Finkel seemed to suggest the man who burglarized her home had previously burglarized the home of another influencer, Emily Oberg. 'Everybody he's robbed has come together and now has to put all our stories together to get the LAPD to nail this f***er,' she said. She went on to claim he has robbed three other houses over the course of two weeks, and wears the same outfit each time. The man who burglarized Finkel's home was seen canvassing it again the next day Oberg, an influencer who runs the clothing and beauty brand Sporty & Rich, was out of town on June 3, 2023 when a burglar broke into her Beverly Hills guesthouse and made off with designer jackets and shoes, Chanel and Hermes bags, jewelry, furniture and more. She claimed the value of the stolen goods was more than $140,000, and said she was just grateful that she was not home at the time. 'I wouldn't feel bad for the influencers, because we are posting these things and documenting our every move,' Oberg admitted. 'It's just the world we live in.' Fortunately, a suspect in that case was arrested and spent seven month in jail after reaching a plea agreement. Oberg has claimed she now knows who the burglar is, and said he hit three other houses over a two week span Burglaries are now up 3.3 percent across the city of Los Angeles, with 305 more cases than during the same time period last year, according to LAPD statistics. Kent Moyer, the CEO of World Protection Group - which provides security for celebrities and wealthy people - also said hi firm has noticed an uptick in burglaries, robberies and home invasions, particularly of influencers. 'They're easy marks,' he explained, noting that influencers are some of his most difficult clients because of their desire to constantly post information about themselves. 'Whether true of perceived, these people appear to the criminals as having something worth stealing,' said Paul Vernon, a retired LAPD captain who once ran the statistics division. 'People unknowingly put way too much info about themselves publicly that makes it very easy for perfect strangers to find them.' But now the influencers say they will be more careful. 'Be safe,' Zauzig said of the rules he now follows. 'Don't be flaunting what you have. Don't show certain parts of your house. Be smart about what you're posting. 'I would never do a home tour,' he added. 'Now I think I'm a little more mindful about posting. I post later and I don't post when I'm away.' An Australian sushi restaurant chain that collapsed last year and was found to be underpaying staff has now racked up a debt worth $21million. Sushi Bay and companies owned by the business went into liquidation over a few months early last year, with all but one of its 13 stores across NSW, the Northern Territory and Canberra closing up shop. Operators of the Japanese restaurants were fined $15.3million by the Fair Work Ombudsman earlier this month for 'deliberately exploiting vulnerable migrant workers', including underpaying staff more than $650,000. Sushi Bay's debts have grown even higher, as seen in reports by liquidator Christopher Palmer of insolvency firm O'Brien Palmer, news.com.au reported. On top of the penalty enforced by the FWO, Sushi Bay Pty Ltd owes $3.7million to creditors, while the chain's store at Miranda in Sydney's south owes $751,000. Auskoja Pty Ltd, which is part of the chain and ran sushi restaurants around NSW, including at Forster on the mid-north coast, owes $758,000 to creditors. The two stores in the Northern Territory and Canberra owe $347,000 and $208,000 respectively. All of these debts along with the FWO's penalty, takes the total amount owed by Sushi Bay to over $21million. Sushi Bay and companies owned by the business fell into liquidation over a few months early last year, with all but one of its stores across NSW, the Northern Territory and Canberra closing up shop The only store still standing is one at Campbelltown in Sydney south-west. In March 2022, the FWO commenced legal action against the operators of Sushi Bay outlets and its owner and sole director Yi Jeong 'Rebecca' Shin, for underpaying workers more than $650,000 during a four-year period between 2016 and 2020. When the penalty was handed down this month, it included a $1.6million fine to Ms Shin, along with other penalties to the businesses she owned. Sushi Bay Pty Ltd was penalised $3.2million by the FWO, Sushi Bay ACT Pty Ltd received a $5.8million penalty, Auskobay Pty Ltd was fined $2.4million and Auskoja Pty Ltd copped a $2.3million penalty. The Ombudsman found the companies had underpaid 163 workers, mostly Korean nationals on student visas aged 25 or younger, and then falsified records to try and cover it up. Workers were underpaid anywhere between $48 to $83,968, which mostly comprised the companies failing to pay overtime. The penalty handed down by the FWO was the highest ever secured. 'The record penalties imposed in this matter drive home the fact that deliberately and repeatedly exploiting workers, including vulnerable migrant workers, is reprehensible conduct that will not be tolerated in Australia,' Fair Work Ombudsman Anna Booth said. 'If you deliberately underpay migrant workers and try to cover it up with false or misleading records you will be found out and will pay a heavy price.' Sushi Bay was a popular restaurant chain before the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation began winding up proceedings early last year. The company now owes $21million The business had also been found to have been underpaying staff at its store in Canberra in 2019, and was fined $124,416. Fair Work Inspectors investigated after receiving underpayment allegations from two former workers. The staff underpaid mostly worked as cooks and kitchen and beverage attendants. Federal Court Justice Anna Katzmann also ordered the companies to back-pay all workers in full. She also ordered Ms Shin be referred to the Australian Taxation Office, the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The chain's Miranda, Wollongong and Merrylands stores registered under Auskobay Pty Ltd, first went into liquidation in February 2023. Its main branch in Campbelltown followed suit in March last year, along with restaurants in Carlingford, Shellharbour, Castle Hill and Canberra. More stores closed in April, which left Darwin the last one remaining open until May last year. The Campbelltown store is under control of the liquidator. Sushi Bay's website still operates and even has a message saying the company is hiring. MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell was caught on camera being torn apart by a 12-year-old during a tense debate at the Democratic National Convention. Lindell, 63, appeared at the event seemingly in disguise as he continued to insist that voter fraud had swung the 2020 election in favor of President Joe Biden. In a face-to-face encounter with a young Harris-Walz campaigner named Knowa, Lindell can be heard saying: 'They just found 257,000 votes that are missing from the 2020 election.' Knowa can be heard responding: 'You haven't provided any source', to which Lindell says: 'The source is in your papers in Georgia.' The young boy then hilariously responds to him: 'So your source is 'trust me bro?', as the two part ways. Lindell, 63, appeared at the event seemingly in disguise and continued to insist that voter fraud had swung the 2020 election in favor of President Joe Biden Lol wow Mike Lindell debates Knowa pic.twitter.com/K5KSCstgYG Acyn (@Acyn) August 21, 2024 It remains unclear as to what article Lindell had been referring to, with the only headline regarding missing votes in Georgia coming from a fact check by the Associated Press last year. Their story debunked claims that over 20,000 that were tallied in the state 'do not exist'. In response for comment to the Daily Beast, Lindell provided them with a link to a Wordpress page from an election integrity group showing alleged findings. The outlet reported that the findings were unaccompanied by any links or sources like reputable news sites. Lindell's constant conspiracy theory pushing on the 2020 election came back to haunt him earlier this year. A judge in Minnesota ruled that the pillow manufacturer had to pay a man $5 million after he completed his 'Prove Mike Wrong Challenge'. Lindell offered a $5 million reward to anyone who could prove that 'packet captures' and other data he released were not valid data from the 2020 election. Knowa has been sharing images from the convention alongside prominent Democrats, Lindell is seen here MyPillow chief executive Mike Lindell speaks to reporters outside federal court in Washington, June 24, 2021 Robert Zeidman, a software developer, took Lindell up on the challenge and submitted a 15-page report ultimately proving Lindell wrong. Lindell is currently involved in a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voter Systems, while his company has been struggling financially. Last July, Lindell told DailyMail.com that his company has lost a staggering $100 million since Walmart and Bed Bath & Beyond pulled his products over his false claims of election fraud. The polarizing MAGA supporter said in a phone interview that MyPillow made $110 million a year in gross sales prior to to the election controversy, but now makes only about $5 million - a whopping 95 percent drop. He's also the target of a separate defamation lawsuit in Minnesota by a different voting machine company, Smartmatic. Knowa has been sharing images from the convention alongside prominent Democrats. He was also interviewed after his interaction with Lindell, saying that 'it felt great.' Donald Trump announced new death penalty policies he would implement against illegal migrants during a campaign event along the U.S.-Mexico border Thursday. The former president traveled to Cochise County, Arizona, to highlight the stark differences between his and Vice President Kamala Harriss immigration agenda. During the 70-minute address, Trump and the media stood cooking in the scorching southwest sun as the ex-president spoke and brought victims of migrant-related crimes to the podium to share their agonizing personal stories. After families from Texas and Maryland revealed the heart-wrenching details of their loved ones brutal deaths at the hands of illegal migrants, Trump announced policy priorities to prevent future tragedies. We will seal the border, stop the invasion, and launch the largest deportation effort in American history, the former president said before adding he will also impose tough new sentences on illegal alien criminals. Former president and Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump speaks during his visit to the U.S. southern border in Cochise County, Arizona, USA, 22 August 2024. His remarks included new policies that would implement the death penalty for illegal migrant criminals These include a 10-year mandatory minimum sentence for anyone guilty of human smuggling, a guaranteed life sentence for anyone guilty of child trafficking and the death penalty for anyone guilty of child or woman sex trafficking. The new death penalty proposals are a noticeable escalation in his tough-on-immigration agenda. But those were not the only new capital offenses he wants to see. Well also impose the death penalty on major drug dealers and traffickers in other countries, he told the crowd. He also mentioned how other countries specific ones he did not name have bold warnings on their immigration applications. On their immigration papers, there is a statement that says death for drug traffickers, Trump said. He continued on about the warning, recalling how it was written in big letters, big bold letters, 10 times the size of everything else on the page, so that traffickers know the consequences of their crimes. And those are the countries where they have no problem with drugs, he added. Victims of migrant-related crime, local law enforcement and former border patrol agents also spoke at the border address The ex-president said he would like to see the death penalty for illegal migrants that commit sex trafficking crimes related to women and children The new death penalty policies were particularly poignant when taking into consideration the victims that flanked the former president during his border address. Rachel Morin, the Maryland mother of five who was raped and killed before being stuffed in a drain by an illegal migrant, was celebrated by her mom Patty Morin at the event. During her remarks commemorating her daughters life and horrific death Patty bust into tears, wracked with grief. Seeing the shaken woman, Trump gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek to comfort the distraught mother. Patty noted how her daughters rape and murder by an illegal migrant did not happen close to the border, but 1,800 miles away in Maryland, where Rachel lived with her family. We're here because we're losing our moms, our daughters, our children, to criminals, and that shouldn't happen, she said. Patty Moring, the mother of Rachel Morin, described the immense pain she endures in the wake of her daughter's murder Recounting the story, Patty was at times uneasy and her voice wavered. As her tears began to flow Trump attempted to comfort the grieving woman After she concluded her remarks and voiced her support for the ex-president, Trump leaned in for a hug and kissed her on the cheek before thanking her for sharing her story We should be taking care of our country, our people, and the only way I think that's going to happen and close up this border. Put policies back into place that were there before. Moments later another speaker from Houston, Texas, came to the microphone. And the tears continued to flow. The mother of a 12-year-old rape and murder victim Jocelyn Nungaray, Alexis Nungaray, opened up about the stomach-turning loss of her daughter to the hands of illegal immigrants in June. They had no reason to do anything that they did to Jocelyn, the mother said, visibly upset by the matter. One had an ankle monitor. Didn't stop anything. So now I have to go through the rest of my life with my son always asking for his sister. Former President Donald Trump comforts Alexis Nungaray and James Guevara, mother and uncle of Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old who was murdered by illegal immigrants in June, during an event along the southern border with Mexico I just really, really want everybody to please take into consideration how important border control is, because we're losing very innocent people to hang his cries that shouldn't be happening in the first place. I really hope everybody can hear my pain, Nungaray said fighting back tears. When the Texas mother seemed unsteady rehashing the grisly details of her childs death Trump sought to comfort her while solemnly taking in the horrible story. Nungaray gifted former president Trump a pin to put on his suit with Jocelyn's image He immediately put the commemorative pin on his lapel before addressing the media The former president quickly retook the podium to further offer his condolences. Jocelyn is in heaven now, looking down on us right now, and in her name and her memory we will be fighting to protect every American daughter. 'Kamala says she wants to talk about the future now, [but] these people want to go back to the safe past.' 'We don't have a future with open borders and all of the other problems.' A Church of England primary school teacher was sacked over allegations of racism after she called pupils in her class 'chattering monkeys', a tribunal has heard. Complaints were made about Charlotte Moore, a Year 6 teacher at Trinity St Mary's school in Chelmsford, Essex, after she used the remark to try and quieten down her 'diverse' class, with angry parents claiming it was a 'very racist comment'. However, within days the police closed their investigation as 'they were satisfied she used the phrase "chattering monkeys" to the entire class and that this had been taken out of context and would not be considered a racial slur or hate crime'. There were further allegations that the 'very strict' teacher grabbed one pupil by the back of the neck and shook another, while she was also accused of 'jokingly' threatening to shoot one of them if they continued to be disruptive. Pupils were quizzed and said Mrs Moore 'called us a bunch of monkeys' and made them 'scared and anxious'. Complaints were made against Charlotte Moore, a Year 6 teacher at Trinity St Mary's (pictured) school in Chelmsford, Essex Fourteen of the 30 children in her class were interviewed and the concerns were repeated by a number of them, the tribunal heard. In an interview, Mrs Moore denied all allegations and accepted using the words 'you are like a bunch of chattering monkeys, quieten down and get on with your work'. She denied physical assaults and making threats, saying she often makes 'overly dramatic statements' to children in a 'joking way'. She was fired for gross misconduct. The school found using the word 'monkey' was inappropriate as it can be a slur. Employment Judge Suzanne Palmer dismissed Mrs Moore's unfair dismissal complaint. '[Interviews] raised concerns about children feeling scared of Mrs Moore and scared by the way she expressed herself in the staffroom', Judge Palmer said. 'Those were concerns which the [school] felt duty-bound to investigate because of its welfare responsibilities towards the children in its care. 'I consider that the school was reasonably entitled to take that view.' On the monkeys comment, the judge said: 'The [school's] conclusion on this issue.. was effectively that the matter was serious because of the racial diversity in the class and 'the pupil and parent perception was that the statement was racist'. 'However I do not consider that a reasonable employer could have reached a conclusion on the severity of this incident without asking itself the question of motivation, in other words whether it was simply a clumsy and ill-chosen means of expression with a potential to cause offence. 'If it was, then in isolation it is difficult to see how a reasonable employer could conclude that this incident taken on its own was sufficient to amount to gross misconduct warranting summary dismissal, which according to [the school] is how it was viewed. '[School governor Maureen] Ponton appeared to concede this in cross-examination, saying that she accepted that taken alone this incident might not be sufficiently serious to warrant dismissal for gross misconduct. 'However, as Mrs Ponton went on to point out, this incident was not the sole incident, and to some degree this may be an academic point.' The number of foreign criminals released from jail to walk Britain's streets has reached a record high of more than 17,000. Official figures show that at the end of June there were 17,428 foreign national offenders who had been released from prison but not deported. It was the first time the Home Office had updated the figure since 2022, when it stood at just under 12,000. It means that seven foreign criminals a day, on average, were freed to live in the community over the last two years. Official figures show that at the end of June there were 17,428 foreign national offenders who had been released from prison but not deported (stock image) Seven foreign criminals a day, on average, were freed to live in the community over the last two years (stock image) Many foreign criminals bring appeals against the Home Office's attempts to deport them, often slowing down or defeating the process. Some use human rights laws - such as Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which protects the right to private and family life - to dodge deportation. The ECHR was enshrined in Britain's domestic law by Labour's Human Rights Act two decades ago. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer last month vowed that his party will 'never' take Britain out of the Convention. Conservative MP Neil O'Brien said of the surge in foreign criminals on our streets: 'Most normal people will rightly think this is absurd. 'This unbelievable increase shows why we have to leave the ECHR. 'We are unable to deport clearly dangerous foreign criminals from this country. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer last month vowed that his party will 'never' take Britain out of the Convention Ernesto Elliott (pictured) was due to be aboard a Home Office charter flight in December 2020, but dodged efforts to remove him thanks to last-minute human rights appeals 'It is the inevitable consequence of a regime which puts the human rights of foreign criminals ahead of the right of people in this country to stay safe.' Mr O'Brien added: 'Nothing that Labour have planned at the moment is going to make this any better.' Last year the Mail revealed how a Jamaican criminal who avoided deportation following legal challenges backed by Labour MPs and a host of celebrities went on to commit murder. Ernesto Elliott was due to be aboard a Home Office charter flight in December 2020, but dodged efforts to remove him thanks to last-minute human rights appeals. But in June 2021 - six months after he was supposed to have been removed from Britain - Elliott murdered a 35-year-old man in a horrific knife fight in Greenwich, south-east London. Elliott was later jailed for at least 26 years for the crime - which would never have taken place if he had been sent back to his birth country earlier. The stance on Britain's membership of the ECHR is likely to be a central debate in the Conservative party leadership race later this year. MPs and party members may face a choice between a candidate who wants to take the party further to the right, including leaving the Convention, or one who believes in taking moving more to the political centre ground. Former Conservative justice secretary Dominic Raab attempted to introduce a new Bill of Rights to replace the Human Rights Act in 2022. It contained measures to limit use of the 'right to private and family life' by foreign criminals seeking to avoid deportation. But the legislation was shelved by Liz Truss when she became PM. A Home Office spokesman said: We are committed to deporting foreign national offenders and aim to remove them from the UK at the earliest opportunity. Rigorous measures are in place to manage FNOs in the community, including electronic monitoring, and we remain focused on managing cases through the legal process so we can remove any barriers to their deportation. Under this government we have already redeployed 300 additional staff to work on removing people with no right to be here and are committed to delivering a significant increase in returns over the next six months.' Senator Linda Reynolds has launched another lawsuit against Brittany Higgins and the company overseeing the trust fund protecting the former political staffer's multimillion-dollar payout. Ms Higgins received a $2.4 million commonwealth compensation payment in December 2021 for hurt and distress, lost earnings, medical expenses and legal fees following her alleged rape in Parliament House. According to a writ lodged in the West Australian Supreme Court by Senator Reynolds' legal team, Power Blazers Pty Ltd acts as trustee for the Brittany Higgins Protective Trust. The company was appointed to the role after Ms Higgins retired as trustee in February 2022 and her father and a friend are understood to be directors. Senator Reynolds claims the trust was created 'with the intention of defeating or delaying' Ms Higgins' creditors, of which she is one. The senator wants the court to void the trust and for the money, which is believed to be a significant portion of the $2.4 million payout, to be transferred back into Ms Higgins' control ahead of a judgement in her ongoing defamation battle against her former employee. '(We) seek to have what remains of the $2.4 million returned into the estate of Ms Higgins in the event Senator Reynolds was successful in this action it would be available under the Civil Judgement Enforcements Act to recover against,' the senator's lawyer, Martin Bennett, told reporters outside the court in reference to her claim for aggravated damages. The fresh lawsuit comes as the defamation trial over a series of social media posts, that Senator Reynolds believes damaged her reputation, edges closer to a conclusion. Brittany Higgins (pictured) received a $2.4 million payout following her alleged rape Martin Bennett (centre) claims Higgins defamed Linda Reynolds (left) in social media posts Mr Bennett was denied a late bid in court on Thursday to call the psychiatrist who authored a report used to help determine Ms Higgins' $2.4 million federal government payout to give evidence. Mr Bennett told the court a document subpoena had revealed doctor Julio Clavijo wrote two reports in early 2022 about Ms Higgins on the same day that were significantly different. The Perth court heard the doctor's evidence and details about his communication with Ms Higgins' lawyers at the time were relevant to one of the former staffer's Instagram posts. The senator believes a post on July 4, 2023 carries imputations she engaged in a campaign of harassment towards Ms Higgins. Ms Higgins' defence to the defamation claim for that post is truth, pointing to the senator's public statements questioning her compensation settlement with the Commonwealth. The suit aims to access the commonwealth payout if Senator Reynolds (pictured) wins the trial This includes Senator Reynolds' remarks that the payment and the circumstances leading to the settlement should be referred to the National Anti-Corruption Commission. The senator has said her concerns are serious and reasonable, including that she was not shown Ms Higgins' allegations against her before the settlement and she had a right to question it. But Justice Paul Tottle said any evidence the doctor could provide would be too remote from the harassment issue to help him make his judgement. 'Whether (Senator Reynolds) engaged in a campaign of harassment towards (Ms Higgins) will be resolved by reference to what the (senator) did,' he said. Mr Bennett asked for leave to refer the reports to the National Anti-Corruption Commission. That matter will be determined in the coming weeks. The agonising search for Mike Lynchs daughter continued last night as rescuers feared the missing teenager could still be trapped within the sunken Bayesian superyacht. Divers are scouring the wreck of the 184ft vessel for any sign of 18-year-old Hannah Lynch, who is the last of six passengers still missing from the sinking off the coast of Sicily on Monday. The search for Hannah, a bright student who recently secured a place to read English at Oxford, is said to have been hindered by debris blocking accessibility to all areas of the yacht. Luca Cari, a spokesman for the fire rescue service, told Sky News: Its very difficult to move inside the wreckage. Moving just one metre can take up to 24 hours. The national head of the fire brigade Carlo DallOppio told the Mail operations are proceeding slowly because they must protect the safety of the divers. Fire service dive team returns to port on the fourth day of the search and recovery operation after the luxury yacht Bayesian sank in a storm on Monday whilst moored around half a mile off the coast of Porticello, Sicily Pictured: Bayesian yacht that sank on Monday. The bodies of five of those missing were found on Wednesday, with four recovered, but the whereabouts of the missing sixth person remains unknown The body of a fifth missing person has been recovered this morning, following the recovery of four others on Wednesday We have not yet inspected the entire boat, so we think it is possible that the body is still inside. These operations are proceeding slowly, because we must first preserve the health of our operators. It is a difficult job there are about 40 divers. It comes as Italian media reported that the victims were found on the opposite side of the yacht from their cabins, suggesting they may have been trying to escape the incoming water. We found them all on that side . . . we had maps with the layout of the cabins and the positions of the guests, and thats not where we recovered them, a source said. A decision on whether to raise the sunken yacht from the seabed is not on the agenda, but will be in the future, Vincenzo Zagarola from the Italian Coastguard has said. Dr Lynchs was the fifth body to be found in the lower deck of the ill-fated yacht, which lies on the seabed at a depth of 164ft, half a mile from the port in Porticello. Tributes have been pouring in for the man once dubbed the British Bill Gates, and for the other victims of the tragedy. David Tabizel, Dr Lynchs co-founder at Autonomy, said: The world has lost a genius. His family have lost a giant of a man. He was exhausting, exhilarating and incisive... the father of modern AI. Industry group TechUK called him a hugely significant and pioneering figure in the UK technology sector. British technology tycoon Mike Lynch who died after the luxury yacht, Bayesian sank in bad weather off the coast of Sicily Morgan Stanley chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judith, also died in the superyacht disaster Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo were also aboard the ship The body of chef Recaldo Thomas (pictured) was discovered on the day of the sinking The children of Jonathan and Judy Bloomer said the loss of their parents was an unimaginable grief to shoulder. And the chairman of childrens charity the NSPCC paid tribute to Mr Bloomer, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman and the former honorary treasurer of the charity. Neil Berkett said: We remember Jonathan as a very kind individual with a great sense of humour. The family of Chris and Neda Morvillo, who had two daughters, released a statement speaking of the complete devastation felt by their tremendous loss. In a separate incident, Dr Lynchs co-defendant in his fraud trial, Stephen Chamberlain, died after being hit by a car while running in Cambridgeshire on Saturday. In some counties, less than half of students have taken the necessary classes to attend UC Berkeley when they graduate high school. Kate Munsch/Special to The Chronicle Bay Area counties fare better than most of the state when it comes to completion of high school courses required for admission to a four-year public university, a Chronicle analysis found a factor that has a strong impact on whether students apply to the University of California. Of all California counties, San Francisco had the highest A-G completion rate for high school students who graduated last spring, according to a Chronicle analysis of state education data. Six of the nine Bay Area counties had higher A-G course completion rates than the statewide average of 52%. The data only includes students who graduated from public high schools. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A-G courses are the set of 15 courses high school students must take and pass with a C or better in order to be considered for admission to any four-year California public university. Each letter represents a different subject, like history, math or science. For each subject, a certain number of years are required: two for history, three for math, etc. A-G courses at high schools are approved by UC and CSU systems. After San Francisco county, which had a completion rate of almost 70%, Alameda and Santa Clara counties had the next highest completion rates, at about 65%. Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties were below the state average, though each was still above 42%. At the county level, A-G completion rates did not have any correlation with UC admissions rates, but they did have a strong correlation with UC application rates, the Chronicle found. Sherrie Reed and Michal Kurlaender, both faculty at the UC Davis California Education Lab and researchers with Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), who have researched A-G completion rates, explained that the requirement exists to make sure high school students are prepared to enter a four-year college. But its also a minimum threshold for students hoping to attend a public four-year university in California. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A-G completion is just really a gatekeeper: if you don't have it, you can't be admitted to a CSU or a UC, Reed said. So if you're denying students the opportunity to complete (the courses), then you're denying them the opportunity to even apply. The relatively low number of students completing A-G courses has been a problem in the state for years, and racial disparities at a statewide level and within schools have been a persistent challenge. Even within schools and school districts, researchers have found that Latino, Black, Pacific Islander and Native American students are less likely to complete the requirements than White or Asian students. In 2021, the state created a grant to help schools increase the number of students who complete the A-G courses. Reed and Kurlaender explained most schools do offer a complete set of A-G courses. There are a myriad of reasons why students still might not complete them. Advertisement Article continues below this ad It could simply be awareness, not only that the A-G courses are required to even apply to a UC or CSU, but also that you need at least a C in the class for it to count. Another issue could be that the schools master schedule is not set up to help maximize students opportunities to take the classes they need. In some cases, counselors might tell a freshman who says they dont want to go to college that they dont need to take A-G courses even though that freshman might change their mind about college later on. On top of that, they noted, California is struggling with having an adequate number of teachers and counselors to offer students the guidance they might need. In a roundtable discussion on the issue hosted by education publication EdSource, Delilah Brumer, who attended a public high school in Los Angeles, explained that making her schedule work with the A-G requirements as well as her Career Technical Education classes an option for students who want to prepare for a certain career pathway was very difficult. It was a lot of stressful planning, and since my school only had one counselor for the whole school, it was really hard for me and for other students to know what to do, she said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Many students who do not complete the requirements are just missing a course or two, Reed and Kurlaender said. Their research indicates that for students who dont pass a course with a C or higher, its often difficult for students to find a way to make up that credit while completing the rest of the requirements. Once you get behind, its hard to catch up, Reed said. But there are several, simple changes schools and policymakers can make to improve the outcomes, the researchers said. At the district level, administrators can support getting most or all of their courses approved as A-G courses. Offering dual enrollment an increasingly popular program that allows students to enroll in community college courses and get both college and high school credit for it is another opportunity to help more students complete the required courses. Patrick Lee, a research consultant working with PACE, wrote a resource guide on A-G completion strategies, featuring exemplar school districts, including San Francisco Unified School District. Advertisement Article continues below this ad SFUSDs strategies include making sure its graduation requirements encompass A-G requirements, aligning career technical education courses with A-G courses by getting courses approved under both pathways, creating a college prep curriculum that explained the A-G requirements and tracking student progress data so counselors can intervene early if necessary. For Reed and Kurlaender, the bottom line is making sure that students are encouraged to complete the courses and supported through the process even if those students dont think a four-year college is for them. A certain bar of reading, writing and mathematical ability is good no matter what career field you go into, Kurlaender said. David Lammy was mocked last night for urging people to stomp their feet in a show of support for Ukraine. His 'Make Noise for Ukraine' campaign has been launched by the MOD despite Kyiv remaining desperately short of military equipment in its war with Russia. So while Ukrainian commanders are forced to ration artillery shells, Foreign Secretary Mr Lammy's focus appeared to be on hashtags and social media posts. The promotion, operated by the MOD, also calls on UK military personnel to beep car horns and bang pots together, supposedly to send a morale-boosting message to Ukraine. But senior British defence figures said clips uploaded on to X and Facebook were no substitute for weapons, including the UK's deadly Storm Shadow missiles. David Lammy's 'Make Noise for Ukraine' campaign has been launched by the MOD despite Kyiv remaining desperately short of military equipment in its war with Russia Kyiv remains unable to use the long-range weapons after a dispute between the UK and US over whether their involvement would be an escalation of the conflict Senior British defence figures said clips uploaded on to X and Facebook were no substitute for weapons, including the UK's deadly Storm Shadow missiles (pictured: A fuel tank explodes in depot inferno in Russia) Kyiv remains unable to use the long-range weapons after a dispute between the UK and US over whether their involvement would be an escalation of the conflict. In a letter to government colleagues, Mr Lammy urged troops and members of the emergency services to record themselves showing support for Ukraine. Soldiers were told to 'make some noise like playing an instrument, singing, chanting, clapping, stomping your feet or honking your car horn'. In an official Ministry of Defence promotional video, shared on X, catering staff were seen banging cooking pots with stainless steel spoons. Health workers have been told to 'show ambulance sirens blaring' while Home Office officials are expected to post videos of 'police dogs barking'. Former British Army commander Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon said: 'I'm sure Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky would appreciate more weapons much more than more videos. 'I trust the Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary are putting as much effort into these endeavours as they are uploading footage onto social media. Clips on TikTok aren't going to do anything for the Ukrainians... fighting on the front line.' The superficial nature of the '#MakeNoiseForUkraine' campaign was also highlighted online. Mr Zelensky (pictured) claimed this week the UK's leadership internationally on Ukraine had 'slowed down' Former British Army commander Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon said: 'I'm sure Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky would appreciate more weapons much more than more videos (pictured: Ukrainian soldiers take part in a casualty simulation training exercise operated by Britain's armed forces, as part of the Interflex programme) One poster on X said it 'smacks of clapping for the NHS when what they really needed was more protective equipment'. Another said Britain risked becoming a 'laughing stock' with Russians if it persists with such 'weak platitudes'. Mr Zelensky claimed this week the UK's leadership internationally on Ukraine had 'slowed down'. But ex-defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace told Times Radio: 'I don't recognise that characterisation.' A Minnesota council seat election has been rocked after a furry announced that he would be standing as a candidate. Clarke Macbeth, 31, is running to be a member of the Maple Grove City Council in the upcoming election, with eight candidates currently in the race. Macbeth, who identifies as a furry named Metro Mutt, is running his campaign through an account on the left wing social media site BlueSky. In one post to BlueSky, Macbeth has labelled himself as the 'most qualified candidate for Maple Grove City Council'. His post continues: 'The Minneapolis suburb that is Maple Grove could have a furry on its city council because our local politics have done too little for too long, just like Maple Grove Transit.' Clarke Macbeth, 31, is running to be a member of the Maple Grove City Council in the upcoming election, with candidates currently in the race Macbeth, who identifies as a furry named Metro Mutt, is running his campaign through an account on the left wing social media site BlueSky In a separate post earlier this year he also commented on the Furry subculture, saying; 'The great thing about furry porn is that it is both furry and porn.' A furry is anyone who is interested in anthropomorphic animal characters. Some furries wear elaborate costumes, named fursuits, or animal ears or tails. Macbeth wants to protect abortion rights and has seemingly thrown his weight behind Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in their run for the White House. According to his WikiFur page, he 'wholeheartedly backs' Walz and 'celebrates Minnesota's advancements in LGBTQ+ rights, cultural diversity and spiritual freedom.' After Walz was selected as Harris's Vice President pick, he posted: 'Congratulations Governor Walz! You earned it! Proud of you "daddy!"' In another recent post, he said: 'Everyone who is not a Republican deserves to be very happy for the rest of their lives.' According to Macbeth he will be participating in a debate on October 8 hosted by local news agency CCX Media. His wikifur page says that Macbeth 'formally declared allegiance to the furry community' at the age of 16 after discovering the subculture online. Macbeth wants to protect abortion rights and has seemingly thrown his weight behind Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in their run for the White House He has since become a 'regular presence at regional gatherings', according to his page. The Furry fandom, which comprises of people who express an interest in animals with human qualities, began in the 1980s. According to the International Anthropomorphic Research Project, Furries tend to be relatively young, with the majority of adult furries (over the age of 18) being in their early-to-mid-twenties, and nearly 75 percent of furries being under the age of 25. Across samples, the majority of furries have been been found to self-identify as White, with approximately 15-20 percent of furries identifying as a member of an ethnic minority. Furries represent fans of media featuring anthropomorphic animals, and may include artists, writers, gamers, and role players The Furry fandom began in the 1980s and has since exploded in popularity The majority of furries - 72 percent - identify as male, although one-quarter of furries identify as female. Transgender, genderfluid, and non-binary furries are also present at rates considerably higher than observed in the general population. Furries represent fans of media featuring anthropomorphic animals, and may include artists, writers, gamers, and role players. They may have a 'fursona,' defined as 'anthropomorphic animal representations of the self.' The most popular species was found to be a hybrid of two types of animals, followed closely by wolves. A man who was allegedly fleeing the scene of a robbery was struck down by a train in Adelaide on Thursday. The 53-year-old was hit at the level crossing at Draper St Railway Station on Strathfield Tce just before 3pm. He was rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries, but died shortly after. According to 7News, the man had stolen a pack of sugar before being hit by the train. When the shopkeeper confronted him, the man allegedly punched him. He then ran from the store and onto the tracks, directly in front of an oncoming train. Despite bystanders' screams urging him to move, he was unable to get out of the way in time and was struck by the train. Police will prepare a report for the coroner. A Michelin starred restaurant in London has decided to lower its prices down to 1994 levels to celebrate 30 years of business. St John Smithfield, in Barbican, was opened by chef Fergus Henderson, restauranteur Trevor Gulliver, and the maitre d'Jon Spiteri three decades ago. In 1994, a plate of apricots on toast was just 3.70 (today it is 10.20) while devilled kidneys on toast was 8.80 (today it is 27). Mr Gulliver told The Times: 'We are going to enjoy this little moment with those close by that really matter and those that we need to say a big thank you to. 'They are the same, our St John folk and our customers across the years. I hope that we've found a good solution [...].' St John Smithfield, in Barbican, is celebrating its 30-year anniversary Today the restaurant features on the world's 50 best restaurants list chosen by the 50 Best Discovery database The anniversary menu will include crispy fried pig tail, bacon and mash and Welsh rarebit. The restaurant will also offer commemorative merchandise to celebrate the 30-year anniversary. The menu will be available on weekdays between September 9 and 27. Today the restaurant features on the world's 50 best restaurants list chosen by the 50 Best Discovery database. An Australian schoolgirl who was stabbed on her first trip to London has bravely told how she has refused to let the attack ruin her holiday as she was seeing Taylor Swift at Wembley. The 11-year-old girl, who is from the small town of Candelo in New South Wales, was exploring Leicester Square last week with her mother when a man stabbed her in the face and neck. The victim, who will require plastic surgery, was allegedly put in a headlock by Ioan Pintaru, 32, who is accused of attacking her before being restrained by members of the public and arrested by police. Pintaru, of no fixed abode, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court last week charged with attempted murder and possession of a bladed article. The girl told Sydney's Daily Telegraph that she was determined not to allow the attack, which left her needing stitches, ruin her first trip to London. Ioan Pintaru (pictured), of no fixed abode, appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court last week charged with attempted murder and possession of a bladed article Police at the scene following a horror stabbing attack in Leicester Square, central London, on August 12 The day after the attack, the girl was allowed to leave hospital to see pop icon Swift perform at Wembley and sang and danced in spite of her injuries The day after the attack, she was allowed to leave hospital to see pop icon Swift perform at Wembley and sang and danced in spite of her injuries. The two Metropolitan Police officers who had rescued her from the horror attack helped escort her to the concert. 'It was amazing. Some people organised for us to go into a VIP box and there was food being served and a private toilet, which was very exciting,' she said. Her mother said the stabbing was 'scary' but that she was proud of her daughter's bravery. 'Nothing will stop her. I was expecting her to crumble when she got home, but that didn't happen,' she said. The mother and daughter had travelled to Europe for the Paris Olympics before heading to London. The mother, 34, said that she was still texting the security guard, Abdullah, 29, who helped members of the public wrestle the suspect to the ground. Abdullah - who was guarding the nearby TWG tea shop - managed to disarm the 32-year-old suspect. He revealed earlier this week that he originally came to the UK to study for a master's degree in project management after growing up in Abbottabad, northern Pakistan. A court artist's sketch of Ioan Pintaru appearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court Police officers stand in front of the cordoned-off area in London's Leicester Square Police were seen detaining a man in Leicester Square after an 11-year-old girl was stabbed An aerial view of the police cordon at the scene in London's Leicester Square Speaking out about the attack - which came amid widespread rioting by far-right thugs - proud migrant Abdullah said: 'This is our country, we came here as a choice so we are protectors, not attackers.' Abdullah, who is the youngest of seven, said he started working in security after failing to find a job as a project manager. Speaking to the Guardian, he added he 'really enjoyed' his work as a guard, proudly telling the paper: 'Im protecting people Abdullah has since been praised for his heroism, with his bravery being recognised last week at the Pakistani high commission. And he said his courage was even being celebrated back in his home country. 'They're saying: "Well done Abdullah, hero of Leicester Square",' he told the Guardian. 'All of my relatives, friends are going to my home [in Pakistan] and meeting my parents, my siblings. It's just like Eid, people are coming there and celebrating like: "Your son has made our whole country proud".' Pintaru has been remanded in custody and is due to appear at the Old Bailey on September 10. He has a four-year-old child who lives in Manchester, but he is currently homeless. Since becoming Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer has ditched so many supposedly cast-iron pledges it's positively dizzying. So given his track record, is Brexit safe in the Prime Minister's hands? He says it is, but can he be trusted? In opposition, Sir Keir was adamant he would not seek to restore freedom of movement with the European Union. That, he said, was a 'red line'. Now he's safely in No 10, things appear to have changed. With Labour sources floating the idea of bringing it back for EU nationals aged under 30, the suspicion grows that his pre-election promise was nothing more than a canard to dupe Leave supporters. This apparent concession is part of Sir Keir's plan to 'reset' relations with Brussels after Brexit. Young Europeans would have a right to live and work here for a set number of years, with the UK granted reciprocity. Since becoming Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer (pictured outside 10 Downing Street) has ditched so many supposedly cast-iron pledges it's positively dizzying Keir Starmer, then shadow Brexit Secretary, follows Jeremy Corbyn in Brussels ahead of the European Leaders' summit in 2019. Starmer is a staunch remainer But how many would come here? Potentially huge numbers especially as chronic youth unemployment blights the Continent. Yes, this country desperately needs nurses, carers and rural workers. But why not get the millions who are sick or on the dole back into work, while incentivising automation to remove the need for labour? And is there really a case for ever looser immigration rules? In the past two years, net migration was a barely believable 1.4million. Voters know from bitter experience that mass migration has resulted in downward pressure on wages, housing shortages, intolerable strain on public services and the breakdown of social cohesion. Foreign criminals could also stroll in unhindered. Of course, soon enough the cry would go up that since under-30s have free movement, we should extend it to all EU citizens. This would be a slippery slope to rejoining the single market and customs union. Who would bet against Sir Keir, a staunch Remainer, agreeing to this? Restoring any free movement would betray the majority who voted for Brexit, partly to regain control of our borders. People are already angry over politicians' repeated failure to reduce immigration. To propose this now suggests Labour's political antennae is badly awry. Head of Camden Council Georgia Gould and Keir Starmer pose with an EU flag at a rally against Brexit in 2019 Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets French President Emmanuel Macron at the Meeting of the European Political Community at Blenheim Palace in July 2024 Keir's union blues Speaking of political tin ears, did Sir Keir seriously believe he would win plaudits from voters for handing the train drivers a bumper pay rise? If so, our poll today shows how spectacularly wrong he was. A majority of the public say the PM was wrong to capitulate to the Aslef union's 14 per cent wage claim. And nearly half think he should have faced down the militants even if it meant strikes went on for longer. By effectively rewarding Labour's union donors for paralysing the rail network, the Government has incentivised the public sector unions to threaten more industrial action if their demands aren't met. The public knows, even if Sir Keir doesn't, that paying ransom money never works. The blackmailer always returns for more. Sir Keir and Rachel Reeves take a train to Hampshire during the general election campaign in June 2024 A fresh injustice Securing compensation for the postmasters whose lives were ruined when the Post Office wrongly prosecuted them has been like drawing blood from a stone. So how appalling that lawyers representing the disgraced firm at the inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal have trousered almost as much in fees a staggering 257million. Yes, legal practices have every right to make a living. But the sums they're pocketing while innocent postmasters fight for every penny piles injustice upon injustice. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren cracked a lewd joke in a dig at J.D. Vance and received a rockstar welcome on Day Four of the Democratic National Convention. The progressive darling of the Democratic party entered the United Arena Thursday evening to thunderous applause. The 75-year-old dressed in blue attempted to hold back tears as she looked out over the audience roaring its approval. She put her hand over her mouth visibly shaken and mouthed thank you. The cheering stretched on for several moments before she was able to begin. 'You know what I love best about Kamala Harris? Kamala Harris cant be boughtand she cant be bossed around,' Warren began. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren attempts to hold back tears looking out over the audience at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday She spoke of first meeting the vice president during the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and praised her work as California's Attorney General and as a senator before turning her wrath on her GOP political opponent Donald Trump and his running mate. 'Trust Donald Trump and JD Vance to look out for your family? Shoot, I wouldnt let those guys, I wouldn't trust them to move my couch,' Warren said leaning toward the mic as the crowd went wild. It was one of multiple couch references made during the conventions as Democrats made lewd jokes in a dig at Vance. The couch jokes started after a crude social media post was made about the Ohio senator citing his book 'Hillbilly Elegy.' The post was completely false, but the jokes have stuck. Warren was not the only one to bring up couches as the crowd laughed at the convention Thursday night. Just moments later, another speaker also dropped a couch joke. Harris' running mate Tim Walz joked about the couch in his debut on the campaign trail in Philadelphia just over two weeks ago. Senator Warren speaking at the DNC Thursday night. The Massachusetts progressive cracked a lewd joke about a couch in a dig at Trump running mate J.D. Vance Trump's running mate has been the brunt of couch jokes since a crude social media post went viral. The claim in the post was false but the joke has stuck The audience when Warren walked out on the convention stage went wild leaving the senator visibly emotional Warren has become a fierce advocate for the vice president, who was her former colleague in the Senate and her onetime political opponent as both women ran for president in 2020 before President Biden locked in the nomination. 'You know what else I love about Kamala? She gets it. We need to make life more affordable for working people,' the progressive senator said. 'Donald Trump, the felon, has no plan to lower costs for families. He doesnt know howand frankly, he doesnt really care,' she slammed the GOP presidential nominee. Senator Warren served with Harris in the Senate. She praised her work as Attorney General of California and as they worked together in Washington to address the coronavirus pandemic Warren will hit the campaign trail on Monday and Tuesday next week for Harris in Wisconsin The Massachusetts senator is set to hit the campaign trail for Harris early next week with a series of stops across the battleground state of Wisconsin on Monday and Tuesday. In her address Thursday night, Warren said 'we need Kamala Harris' and called her 'someone we can trust.' She was one of several Democratic senators to speak on Thursday night at the DNC. The single air traffic controller on duty at Cairns airport when a stolen helicopter smashed into a luxury hotel was reportedly reclining on a chair and missed the entire incident. Last week, Daily Mail Australia revealed that New Zealander Blake Wilson, 23, was piloting a Robinson 44 helicopter when it crashed into the roof of the DoubleTree by Hilton in Cairns, Far North Queensland, at 1.50am on Monday. The 'unauthorised', four-minute journey took off from the Nautilus Aviation hangar at Cairns Airport shortly after 1.45am and completed several erratic circuits across the mudflats and over the city's Esplanade, which is a no-fly zone. Witnesses reported seeing the aircraft flying dangerously low before it smashed into the hotel roof and burst into flames. Miraculously, only Mr Wilson was killed. Two elderly guests were treated at hospital for smoke inhalation, while almost 400 people had to be evacuated in the middle of the night. Now an investigation by 7News has uncovered that the single traffic controller on duty that night was taking a break on a recliner during Mr WIlson's fatal flight. An internal Airservices Australia document, obtained by the network, revealed that the Cairns Tower only discovered the incident when contacted by police afterwards. But it insisted that the controller 'did not sleep during this short break period' and attended to audio clues heard over the radio between 1.42am and 1.51am. Last week, Daily Mail Australia revealed that New Zealander Blake Wilson (pictured), 23, was piloting a Robinson 44 helicopter when it crashed into the roof of the DoubleTree by Hilton in Cairns, Far North Queensland, at 1.50am on Monday Witnesses reported seeing the aircraft flying dangerously low before it smashed into the hotel roof and burst into flames (pictured: investigators inspect the damage) The last scheduled flight had landed at Cairns Airport at 12.38am, around one hour before Mr Wilson took off. The next planned flight was not for another five hours. 'The controller reported using a recliner chair to self-break, which limited view of the airfield,' the document states. At 1.42am, the 'controller heard a click on the radio' and got up but 'saw nothing then sat back down'. Five minutes later, the rogue helicopter displayed on the towers Integrated Tower Automation Suite (INTAS) screen but this was not seen by the controller. The 'unauthorised', four-minute journey took off from the Nautilus Aviation hangar at Cairns Airport shortly after 1.45am and completed several erratic circuits across the mudflats and over the city's Esplanade, which is a no-fly zone (pictured) At 1.51am, the controller heard a longer click but 'did not observe anything on INTAS display'. A minute later, at 1.52am, the helicopter vanished from the screen, the report states. Police called the Cairns Tower with information about the crash between 1.53am and 2.06am. The Brisbane supervisor was not notified of the accident until 2.36am. 'The controller did not observe the radar ident of ERH (the stolen helicopter) when airborne and was likely due to taking a break in between scheduled aircraft movements, which is acceptable practice,' the report stated. A spokesperson for Airservices Australia said it was 'conducting preliminary inquiries into the events in Cairns of 12 August, in addition to supporting investigations by relevant state and federal government agencies'. 'Out of respect to those ongoing processes, and to members of our team, it is not appropriate for Airservices to engage in speculation or make further statements at this time,' the spokesperson added. Civil Air, the union for air traffic controllers, told 7NEWS it believed two or more controllers should have been on shift. 'This will ensure the use of rest breaks to alleviate fatigue and address (occupational health and safety) concerns associated with the night shift,' executive secretary Peter McGuane said. 'Civil Air pursues this minimum staffing level as an operational requirement.' Queensland Police and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau are still investigating the crash. Mr Wilson gained his private pilot's licence with Christchurch Helicopters in April 2022, but never worked for Nautilus Aviation as a pilot Emergency services were called to the Double Tree Hotel by Hilton in Cairns after a helicopter crashed into the roof of the building, sparking a massive blaze This publication revealed that Mr Wilson had landed a ground crew role with Nautilus Aviation in April this year and had just been promoted to a position as a refueller on Horn Island above Far North Queensland, which he was due to start the Monday after the fatal accident. Colleagues at Nautilus held a farewell dinner for Mr Wilson on the Sunday evening, just hours before he embarked on his fatal flight. Nautilus Aviation said in a statement released on Tuesday afternoon that the dinner was 'not a work event and was coordinated by friends'. 'We can confirm this event did occur and was a privately organised send-off for the individual involved in Monday morning's incident, who was recently promoted to a ground crew position at another one of our bases,' the statement added. Aaron Finn, CEO of Nautilus, described the crash as 'very unfortunate' and suggested it was not being treated as deliberate by investigators. Aaron Finn (pictured), CEO of Nautilus, described the crash as 'very unfortunate' and suggested it was not being treated as deliberate by investigators 'He was a great employee, we had no concerns about his wellbeing or his mental state,' Mr Finn said. Nautilus Aviation confirmed that the pilot was 'a current employee in a ground crew position, joining approximately four months ago'. 'Although the employee held a New Zealand CPL(H) pilot's licence, they have never flown in Australia or for Nautilus Aviation and were not authorised to fly Nautilus Aviation helicopters,' the statement added. The company said it had completed interviews with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and Queensland Police and had 'cooperated with full transparency and disclosure of all events leading up to and following the incident on Monday morning'. It added: 'We offer our heartfelt condolences to the individual's family and all who have been affected by this tragedy and continue to offer our support to our employees during this very challenging period.' The helicopter slammed into the roof of the luxury Cairns hotel - with two of its propellers falling off on impact Nautilus Aviation said it had completed interviews with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and Queensland Police and had 'cooperated with full transparency and disclosure of all events leading up to and following the incident ' (the company's headquarters are pictured) The young pilot is originally from Palmerston North on New Zealand's North Island. Mr Wilson gained his private pilot's licence with Christchurch Helicopters in April 2022. The Robinson 44 was only in the air for four minutes before it crashed, with witnesses claiming the chopper was flying at a high speed and low to the ground. The crash caused a massive fire on the roof of the hotel and a mass evacuation of up to 400 guests and staff during the early hours. An 83-year-old man and a 76-year-old woman were taken to Cairns Hospital in a stable condition after they were assessed by paramedics. Debris from the helicopter was found up to 80metres from where it crashed, with two of its rotor blades dislodging. One of the blades was found in the hotel pool, located on the bottom floor, while the second landed on the Cairns Esplanade opposite the hotel. Police have confirmed the pilot was the sole occupant of the helicopter and was declared dead at the scene. Kamala Harris stepdaughter Ella Emhoff took the stage Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention ahead of her stepmom or Momala for a touching tribute and to rally support. The 25-year-old artist and model was all smiles as she was joined on stage by the vice presidents niece Meena Harris as well as her goddaughter Helena Hudlin. Their appearance comes on the fourth night of the convention as the Democratic party introduces Harris to the American people as their presidential nominee before she formally accepts the presidential nomination. They called the 59-year-old vice president who they know on a personal level an extraordinary woman. Ella Emhoff (right) along with Meena Harris (center) and Helena Hudlin (left) speaking at the Democratic National Convention Thursday Kamala came into my life when I was fourteen, famously a very easy time for a teenager, Emhoff said. Like a lot of young people, I didnt always understand what I was feeling, but no matter what, Kamala was there. She was patient, caring and always took me seriously, Emhoff said. She never stopped listening to me, and shes not going to stop listening to all of us.' The tattooed Emhoff with slicked back hair and attired in a white and ice blue off-the-shoulder dress designed especially for the occasion by Joe Ando ignited the internet with her appearance on the convention stage. Emhoff, who is known for her knitting, crocheted the flower on her dress' sleeve herself, Ando revealed. 25-year-old Ella Emhoff ignited the internet as she made an appearance at the DNC to share her experience with her stepmom Vice President Kamala Harris Ella Emhoff shared how she met her stepmom, who she refers to as 'Momala' at the DNC and said the VP will never stop listening to 'all of us' Ella Emhoff's dress just won the #DNCConvention2024, wrote one user on X. 'Ella Emhoff is going to be a fashion icon,' wrote another. They forced Ella Emhoff into a dress for this, joked an X user of the artist who often opts for more hipster looks. My goodness Kamala Harris wants power. Emhoff is no stranger to the attention. Shes joined her stepmom and father, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, at a number of political events over the years including the inauguration in 2021. As a model and artist based in Brooklyn, she has appeared in multiple major fashion campaigns and on the red carpet for the Met Gala. At the convention, Emhoff spoke of what she believes her stepmom will fight for as president. Shes fighting for social justice, health justice, environmental justice and she isnt alone, were all in this fight together, Emhoff said. Ella Emhoff with Meena Harris and Helena Hudlin Helena Hudlin, Meena Harris, and Ella Emhoff praised VP Harris as an 'extraordinary woman' The convention has been a family affair for the Harris-Emhoff family. The second gentleman gave a speech on Night Two of the convention Tuesday. Before he spoke, Harris 30-year-old stepson and Ellas brother Cole narrated a video about his dad. The video was produced by Emhoffs ex-wife and Ella and Coles mom Kerstin Emhoff who has also been in attendance in Chicago this week. Throughout the week, Ella Emhoff has been in attendance to cheer her family on in a series of trendy outfits that have been the talk of the internet. Ella Emhoff wearing a Harris-Walz hat during the first day of the Democratic National Convention Ella Emhoff holding a sign 'Doug' as she cheered for her dad Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff who spoke on Night Two of the DNC Ella Emhoff in the United Center on Tuesday with her mom Kerstin Emhoff In her own remarks on Thursday, Meena Harris, who is the daughter of the vice presidents sister Maya, said the vice president guided me, now shes guiding my own children, and I know shell guide our country forward. Hudlin spoke of how Harris talking about making a difference and giving your whole heart. A former ABC radio presenter has pleaded guilty to a string of serious drug offences - including dealing meth and coke - as he told the court he had brought 'shame' on the national broadcaster. Ashley Norman Hall, former executive producer of the national broadcaster's flagship radio program AM, faced Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Friday with the prospect of being jailed. Hall was arrested in December 2022 as part of a NSW Police strike force aimed at dismantling drug supply rings operating across Sydney. The court was previously told that he was arrested after he attempted to sell drugs to an undercover officer. Police seized Hall and later raided two hotel rooms on Wentworth St and Bond St in the heart of the city. Police said that during the raids they uncovered a stockpile of drugs, including gamma-Butyrolactone, MDMA and cocaine. Ashley Hall pleaded guilty to a string of serious drug offences, telling the court he had brought 'shame' on the national broadcaster The 54-year-old pleaded guilty to five counts of supplying a prohibited drug and one count of knowingly dealing with $87,820 in the proceeds of crime. His charges relate to the supply of 8kg of Butanediol, 816g of methamphetamine, 85.3g of GHB, 662g of ecstasy and 78.5g of cocaine, according to a statement of agreed facts tendered to the court. It's the second time Hall has come before the court for drug offending after he was arrested in similar circumstances in 2019. He previously narrowly avoided being sent to jail after police found a cache of ice, MDMA, cocaine, cannabis, LSD and the party drug gamma-Butyrolactone when they searched his 24th floor room at the Meriton Suites on Pitt St. On that occasion he pleaded guilty to two counts of supplying a prohibited drug and four counts of drug possession. He was handed a 12-month community corrections order on that occasion. Ashley Hall faced Sydney 's Downing Centre District Court with the prospect of being jailed Judge Penelope Hock, who is due to sentence Hall early next month, said it was a 'tragedy' he had not learnt from that experience. Before he left the public broadcaster, Hall was the executive producer for AM, as well as working as a reporter and presenter for ABC Local Radio, the PM and The World Today programs. He has been in custody bail refused since his arrest. He told the court on Friday that upon his release from jail he intended to write a book and make a podcast to 'give a voice to people who otherwise don't have one'. 'The last 21 months in custody have been torture, very difficult for me, but I have tried my hardest to use that period to rehabilitate myself. I've engaged with whatever has been offered to help with that,' Hall told the court on Friday. Hall was arrested over the alleged supply of illicit drugs after police seized drugs worth $600,000 from two hotel rooms in Sydney's CBD He described drugs as a 'scourge' on the community. Hall also said he had brought 'shame and humiliation' on friends, family and the ABC, which he said he had 'worked proudly for nearly 20 years'. He also claims that before his arrest he was threatened at gunpoint by a drug dealer demanding $120,000. Hall took the stand to give evidence at a sentencing hearing before Judge Hock on Friday, denying concocting the story about the drug dealer. He also said he was the victim of a home invasion in 2021, but he refused to make a statement because he didn't trust police. Hall will be sentenced next Friday. Officials at a Lassen County prison are investigating an inmates death as a homicide, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Mark Wineman/Getty Images Officials at a Lassen County prison are investigating an inmates death as a homicide, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Two inmates, Luis Alvarez, 30, and Vincent G. Martinez, 41, are suspects after staff saw them attacking the victim. At approximately 5:45 p.m. Wednesday, officers at High Desert State Prison in Susanville responded to Martinez and Alvarez attacking another inmate, Anthony R. Alvarez Jr., 29, in a dayroom, officials said. Staff began lifesaving measures on Alvarez and transported him to the prisons triage area, but he was pronounced deceased at 6:23 p.m. Anthony Alvarez was received from Fresno County in 2021 and was serving a 10-year sentence for attempted second-degree murder. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Luis Alvarez, of San Jose, was received from Santa Clara County in 2019 and is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder with the possibility of parole. Luis Alvarez was found guilty in 2018 of killing an Oakland man near Plaza de Cesar Chavez park. Martinez was received from Kings County in 2014 and is serving a 22-year sentence for attempted second-degree murder and other felonies. Officers recovered two inmate-manufactured weapons at the scene, officials said. Luis Alvarez and Martinez have been placed in restricted housing until the investigation concludes. A horrific tragedy ensued after a wealthy couple allegedly let their 15-year-old son take his friend out on a speedboat with no adults on board. Anjan and Katherine Tharakan were hosting a party on March 3, when their teenage son, Christian, invited Collin Moorefield to go out on the Tampa Bay waters on their 18-foot boat, the Key West, without any adults, according to a lawsuit filed by Collin's mother, Breck. Christian then allegedly drove the boat at a top speed of 43.5mph - and crashed into a dock as he looked down at his phone to change the music, the suit says, per the Sun Herald. The impact sent both boys flying, and Collin remained underwater until a good Samaritan and a St. Petersburg police officer found him. He was then rushed to a hospital, where he died of blunt force trauma and drowning. Breck now claims that the Tharakans should have known Christian, now 16, was 'ill-equipped, inexperienced, or both' to operate the speedboat by himself without supervision or a lookout. Collin Moorefield, 15, was killed in a boat crash in St. Petersburg, Florida on March 3 The wrongful death suit also suggests Christian was under the influence while operating the speedboat - and faults the teen's parents for failing to ensure he was sober and that there was no alcohol on the boat before they set off. It claims Christian was skirting closely past dozens of docks before he finally crashed. 'Distracted and inhibited by alcohol, [Christian] drove the Key West south, narrowly missing a dock before forcefully and violently striking the next dock,' the lawsuit argues, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Video surveillance from the crash showed the boat struck the support posts for the dock and ricocheted off another boat that was hoisted on a lift, police said at the time. The speedboat finally came to a stop about four houses down, and a bystander turned off the motor and tied it up. Moorefield's parents have now filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Anjan and Katherine Tharakan, and their now 16-year-old son, Christian But police never found alcohol on board the boat and Christian did not show any signs of impairment, according to a report from the St. Petersburg Police Department. The court also issued a subpoena for Christian's medical records in the aftermath of the crash, but his family objected at the time, Pinellas County court records show. Christian, who had a boater safety identification card, later admitted he was 'speeding a little' at the time of the crash, and said his phone got disconnected from the speaker, so he looked down to reconnect it. He told officers he thought he may have knocked against the wheel of the boat, and said that after the crash he began diving into the water trying to find his friend before other bystanders joined in. Collin was finally located at the bottom of the water near the end of the dock by a neighbor who put on a pair of goggles and jumped in the water, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Christian crashed a speedboat into a dock at a high rate of speed, sending both him and Moorefield flying The Moorefields are now suing Christian on one count of negligence, and are suing his parents on one count of negligent entrustment each. In response, the Tharakans filed their own lawsuit in federal court on Monday trying to limit the amount of damages they may be required to pay to just the value of the boat - about $50,000. That means the Moorefields will need to prove the parents were directly negligent if they would like to receive more money. Meanwhile, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's investigation into the deadly crash is ongoing, and neither Christian nor his parents have been charged yet with any wrongdoing. The State Attorneys Office told Fox 13 it is in communication with the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and 'there is some additional evidence that needs to be gathered, which is common in a case such as this. 'Once that additional evidence is gathered, the prosecutors then review all compiled evidence to make a filing decision.' Donald Trump took to social media to suggest he has the support of running foe Georgia GOP Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday evening. Kemp had just gone on Fox News to reaffirm his support for Trump, despite their years-long feuding. 'Thank you to [Kemp] for all of your help and support in Georgia, where a win is so important to the success of our Party and, most importantly, our Country,' said Trump on Truth Social and X. 'I look forward to working with you, your team, and all of my friends in Georgia to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!' he posted. Earlier Thursday, Trump's running mate J.D. Vance revealed he spoke to Kemp 'very briefly' to try to patch up the lingering feud that could hurt the GOP's changes in the critical swing state. Trump went after Kemp's wife and Georgia First Lady Marty Kemp 'I read the headlines. 'Brian Kemp and Donald Trump have had some disagreements,' Vance told reporters. 'I can 100% guarantee you that Brian Kemp is behind this ticket. He wants us to win.' 'Atlanta is like a killing field and your governor ought to get off his ass and do something about it,' Trump said at a rally just two weeks ago. He was reigniting feud with the leader of a crucial 2024 swing state that did not end well for Republicans last time. Ahead of an Atlanta rally, Trump reopened old wounds by calling the crime rate in Georgia 'terrible' and the economy 'average,' and saying he doesn't want Gov. Brian Kemp or his wife's endorsement. In a bitter retort Kemp shot back saying 'leave my family out of it.' Trump has long held resentment toward Kemp, the leading Republican in the state, for not more aggressively pursuing unfounded claims of rampant voter fraud in the 2020 election. Ahead of an Atlanta rally, Trump reopened old wounds by calling the crime rate in Georgia 'terrible' and the economy 'average,' and saying he doesn't want Gov. Brian Kemp or his wife's endorsement. In a bitter retort Kemp shot back 'leave my family out of it' 'Brian Kemp should focus his efforts on fighting Crime, not fighting Unity and the Republican Party! His Crime Rate in Georgia is terrible, his Crime Rate in Atlanta is the worst, and his Economy is average,' Trump wrote ahead of thousands gathering for his speech earlier this month. Trump then went after Kemp's wife and Georgia First Lady Marty Kemp. 'He and his wife didn't think he could win. I said, 'I'm telling you you're going to win.' Then he won, he was happy, and his wife said, 'Thank you Sir, we'll never be able to make it up to you!' Now she says she won't Endorse me, and is going to 'write in Brian Kemp's name.' Well, I don't want her Endorsement, and I don't want his,' Trump wrote. 'My focus is on winning this November and saving our country from Kamala Harris and the Democrats - not engaging in petty personal insults, attacking fellow Republicans, or dwelling on the past,' Kemp shot back on X. 'You should do the same, Mr. President, and leave my family out of it,' he continued. Kelly Loeffler, Georgia's former senator who lost a reelection race in 2021 in what some onlookers blamed on Trump's attacks on the elections in the state, downplayed the dispute between the two men. Kelly Loeffler, Georgia's former senator who lost a reelection race in 2021 in what some onlookers blamed on Trump's attacks on the elections in the state, downplayed the dispute between the two men Over the weekend Donald Trump reignited a feud that did not end well for Republicans last time 'Republicans have always embraced a wide range of views - it's why we had a competitive presidential primary, while Democrats invalidated 14 million votes and anointed Kamala Harris,' she told DailyMail.com in a statement. 'The bottom line is that President Trump and Governor Kemp are working tirelessly to restore America and stop Kamala's broken agenda from causing even more pain. That is my focus, it's their focus, and it's shared by everyone who has been crushed by high prices, crime, the open border, and the many other radical policies of the Biden-Harris Administration.' Loeffler lost her runoff race in 2021, at the height of Trump's attacks on Georgia's election systems that some strategists believe dampened Republican voter turnout. Georgia Republican Rep. Mike Collins likened the feud to ' Thanksgiving dinner or a family reunion' - but expressed a hope that the two men would 'reconcile' Others were more outspoken in their criticism of reigniting old tensions. 'The Trump rally in Atlanta makes it more likely Kamala Harris wins. He's his own worst enemy,' said Georgia-based conservative radio host Erick Erickson. Trump and Kemp have had a sticky relationship for years, but Trump's hostility toward the GOP governor escalated after Trump lost Georgia in 2020. The ex-president reportedly pressured the GOP governor to step in and find the votes to overturn the election results after President Biden won Georgia less than 12,000 votes. He has also expressed anger that Kemp has not helped him when it comes to the Fulton County case against him over election interference in Georgia. Trump wrote on Saturday that Kemp is a 'bad guy' as he faces another tight race in Georgia in November with Vice President Kamala Harris now at the top of the Democratic ticket. Kemp enjoys widespread support in the Georgia GOP. He fended off a Trump-backed effort to oust him from the governor's mansion in 2022 and outperformed Trump's hand-picked Senate candidate, Herschel Walker. Trump again went after Kemp at his rally on Saturday. 'Your Governor, Kemp, and [Secretary of State Brad] Raffensperger, they're doing everything possible to make 2024 difficult for Republicans to win,' he said. 'What are they doing? I don't know. They've got something in mind, you know, they've got a little something in mind. Kemp is very bad for the Republican Party.' Trump again went after Kemp at his rally on Saturday 'Georgia's elections are secure,' Raffensperger wrote in a post Saturday. 'The winner here in November will reflect the will of the people. History has taught us this type of message doesn't sell well here in Georgia, sir.' Kemp encouraged Trump to focus on the future instead of the past. 'My focus is on winning this November and saving our country from Kamala Harris and the Democrats not engaging in petty personal insults, attacking fellow Republicans, or dwelling on the past,' Kemp said. 'You should do the same, Mr. President, and leave my family out of it.' Country legends The Chicks were heavily panned for an awkwardly off-key performance of the National Anthem at the Democrat National Convention. The Nashville natives, who created a firestorm of controversy 20 years ago over criticism of George W. Bush and the Iraq War, were a highly-anticipated get for the DNC on its final night. However, their performance of the Star-Spangled Banner was almost universally slammed, even by fans of the band formerly known as 'The Dixie Chicks' before dropping the d-word in 2020. David Knowles wrote: 'Still marveling at how off-key the Chicks' rendition of the national anthem was.' 'That was terrible and I like their music,' added one social media user on X. Country legends The Chicks drew a heavily negative reaction for an off-key performance of the National Anthem at the Democrat National Convention Others were a little more agitated: 'wow. Maybe your monitors werent working. Idk. But that was horrible. At least you had the dignity to finish then smile. I almost feel sorry for you. Almost..' Another put it more bluntly: 'Incredibly off-key. Great job, you has beens.' 'They sounded like they had sound-hearing issues. The Chicks are iconic for their harmonies... something must have gone wrong,' wrote a more sympathetic listener. The band - Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer - made no reference to the audio quality, simply retweeting a video from a pro-Kamala Harris account. The outspoken country group sparked outrage back in 2003 after Maines spoke out against President George W. Bush and the invasion of Iraq during a show in the UK. Her comments enraged their largely conservative fanbase, leading to a boycott of their music which devastated album sales and tanked their position on the charts. Maines' comments even resulted in death threats towards the band, prompting them to beef up security presence during their 2003 Top Of The World Tour. Feeling rejected by the country community, Maguire told the German publication Der Spiegel: 'We don't feel a part of the country scene any longer, it can't be our home anymore... We now consider ourselves part of the big rock 'n' roll family.' Rename: The Dixie Chicks quietly changed their name, dropping the word Dixie, and have rebranded as The Chicks on Thursday and released a music video for their anthem March March Following years of backlash over the comments, the group released the album Taking The Long Way in 2006. Despite worries the controversy would still plague the stars, the album was both a critical and commercial success. Taking The Long Way debuted at number one on both the US pop album and country album charts. At the 2007 Grammy Awards, the band won five trophies, including Song Of The Year and Record Of The Year. While the group has performed on and off in the years since, they've largely been out of the spotlight since Taking The Long Way - save for a few high-profile awards and festival appearances. Gaslighter, The Chicks' first album in 14-years, was released in 2020. The group quietly changed their name, dropping the word Dixie, and rebranded as The Chicks on June 25. Natalie Maines, Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Strayer changed their band's social media handles to The Chicks but released no statement about the new moniker. While the trio didn't give a reason for the name change, the band has faced growing pressure recently to re-name due to the link between the word Dixie and the racial history of the South. Speaking out: The outspoken country group sparked outrage back in 2003 after Maines spoke out against President George W. Bush and the invasion of Iraq during a show in the UK. Above in 2003 Riled up: Her comments enraged their largely conservative fanbase, leading to a boycott of their music which devastated album sales and tanked their position on the charts. Above protesters from a May 2003 concert in Knoxville, Tennessee are seen Dixie is a term used for parts of the Southern United States, particularly the states the made up the Confederacy. The Confederacy was an area of slave-holding states below the Mason-Dixon line that seceded from the union over the issue of wanting to keep slavery in place, leading to the U.S. Civil War. People have taken to social media recently to put pressure on the Dixie Chicks to change their name due to the implications of the word Dixie, particularly considering the fact that the trio has established themselves as liberal country stars. A recent opinion column in Variety also asked whether now was the finally the time for the Dixie Chicks to change their name and suggested that the answer was an obvious 'yes'. The author, Jeremy Helligar, called the term Dixie the 'epitome of white America' and called out the Dixie Chicks for being silent regarding the Black Lives Matter movement. 'Their silence has been deafening,' he penned. The group also declared their support for the Black Lives Matter movement by debuting a brand new music video for their anthem, March March, which features scenes of protests throughout history. Michelle Obama has offered a heartwarming defense of Tim Walz's son Gus after he was mocked for his outburst of emotion during his father's speech. 'I was touched to see Gus Walzs joy when his dad @Tim_Walz took the stage last night. Thankful for you showing us all what real love looks like, Gus,' the former first lady posted on X. 'Lets be a nation that embraces this kind of warmth and vulnerability, instead of making fun or mocking it. We could all use some.' Obama, who appeared earlier this week at the Democratic National Convention, offered the the 17-year-old her support after trolls derided him for crying during his dad's remarks. Michelle Obama has offered a heartwarming defense of Tim Walz's son Gus after he was mocked for his outburst of emotion during his father's speech. Ann Coulter shared an image of Gus overcome with emotion as his VP candidate father took to the stage in Chicago Wednesday and captioned it 'Talk about weird.' But Coulter was quickly informed that Gus has a non-verbal learning disorder, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and an anxiety disorder. She has since deleted the post. 'Im sure someone having human emotions would be weird for you,' read one online critique. 'If youre attacking or making fun of Tim Walz neurodivergent son for his reaction and love for his father, you are a terrible human being,' stated another. Obama, who appeared earlier this week at the Democratic National Convention earlier this week, offered the the 17-year-old her support after trolls derided him for crying during his dad's remarks. 'Being moved to tears by pride in someone you love is the coolest and most normal thing there is. Also, he's 17 years old, you irredeemable monster. I'd tell you to go to hell, but you're already there,' someone wrote. The Walzes shared that Gus has a non-verbal learning disorder with People magazine earlier this month. 'When our youngest Gus was growing up, it became increasingly clear that he was different from his classmates,' the couple told People. 'Gus preferred video games and spending more time by himself.' 'When he was becoming a teenager, we learned that Gus has a non-verbal learning disorder in addition to an anxiety disorder and ADHD, conditions that millions of Americans also have.' Ann Coulter's now deleted X post about Tim Walz' son Gus Tim Walz hugs his son, Gus Walz, during the third night of the Democratic National Convention The internet drags Ann Coulter after she posted about Tim Walz' son calling him weird for his tearful reaction to his dad's acceptance speech 'I am neurodivergent. When I was 14, I was diagnosed with ADHD, OCD, and several learning disorders, including dyscalculia. Were not weird, were wonderful. And were your family, friends and fellow Americans, ' wrote activists and Moms Demand founder Shannon Watts on X. 'Of course MAGA is making fun of a special needs child showing love for his father. Theres no bottom,' wrote the X account 'Republicans against Trump' in response to Coulter and others mocking Gus on the internet. 'Who thinks Ann Coulter owes Gus Walz an apology?' another X user posted with the raised hand emoji. Others called her post 'vile' and 'soulless.' It was eventually deleted. Hope, Gus, Tim and Gwen Walz at the end of Night Three at the DNC While the governor was giving his acceptance speech, video cut away to the Walz family sitting in the first row on the floor of the convention including Gus next to his mom Gwen and 23-year-old sister Hope. During his speech when the Democratic vice presidential nominee spoke about his family, Hope made the heart symbol and mouthed 'love you.' 'That's my dad,' Gus, 17, shouted as he stood up and proudly pointed at his dad on the convention stage while the crowd cheered. The emotional family moment went viral across social media. After Walz wrapped his remarks, his family joined him on stage to celebrate. Gus could be seen giving his dad a bearhug while the crowd went wild in the arena. Tim Walz and his son Gus share an embrace after his acceptance speech Tim Walz hugging his daughter Hope on stage Tim Walz and wife Gwen leave the stage together after his primetime address Tim Walz and his wife Gwen share a hug on stage at the Democratic National Convention Tim, 60, and Gwen Walz, 58, have been public about their struggle with fertility and how they used fertility treatments to conceive their two children. Walz referenced that time in his remarks. 'This is personal for Gwen and I. If you have never experienced the hell that is infertility, I guarantee you you know somebody who has,'' he said. 'I remember praying each night for a phone call and the in your stomach when the phone would ring and the absolute agony when we heard treatments didn't work. It took us years but we had access to fertility treatments. When our daughter was born, we named her Hope.' He added: 'Hope, Gus, and Gwen, you are my entire world, and I love you.' A wealthy Texas lawyer's wife killed her husband then herself at their stunning mansion, police say. Jerry Hernandez, 61, and his wife Sonia, 52, were both found dead at the $1.6 million property in the Shavano Park on Wednesday morning. Police say they had been called to the address just before 8am after receiving reports of gunshots at the four bed, five bath home which has beautifully-manicured grounds. The Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office ruled Jerry's death as a homicide and his wife's a suicide. It remains unclear what triggered the horrific bloodbath, or how the killings were carried out. Police say they had been called to the address just before 8am to reports of gunshots at their $1.6 million home The couple were found dead inside the home, with the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office ruling Jerry's death as a homicide and his wife's a suicide. Jerry is pictured here Pictured: The house Hernandez had bene living in at the time of his murder Shavano Park is a leafy suburb in the northern section of San Antonio. No further details surrounding their deaths have yet been released by authorities. According to an online profile for Hernandez, he has worked as a lawyer for over thirty years having worked in personal injury. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1985 from the University of Texas in Austin, and then earned his law degree from California Western School of Law in 1988. In 2017 he was named a top personal injury lawyer by S.A. Scene Magazine, and is often asked to speak to lawyer groups about trial tactics. Online records show that Sonia owned a beauty boutique. The couple are parents to one daughter, 25 year-old Bianca Rose. Doug Emhoff became visibly emotional when Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage during the final night of the Democratic Convention. The second gentleman wiped away a tear as he was comforted by daughter Ella in the audience of the United Center in Chicago, Illinois on Thursday night. As his wife accepted the Democratic Party's nomination for president, Emhoff blew kisses toward the stage. Emhoff had his speaking slot on night two of the Convention on Tuesday. He graced the stage while Harris was holding a rally in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and before the audience heard from main event speakers Michelle and Barack Obama. Harris closed the 2024 DNC with her speech on Thursday following a whirlwind month where President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid and the VP took over his campaign. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff is comforted by daughter Ella as he gets emotional when wife Kamala Harris comes on stage on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois on Thursday Emhoff wipes away a tear while wife Kamala Harris begins her speech as his children and the VP's step children Cole and Ella Emhoff look towards the stage Multiple other members of Harris' family graced the DNC stage on Thursday, including step daughter Ella, niece Meena Harris and goddaughter Helena Hudlin. And the vice president's little sister Maya Harris introduced her. The Chicks performed the National Anthem and P!nk sang during a segment of the night focused on Democrats' proposal to address gun violence. Actress Kerry Washington helped MC the final night and comedian and actor Ben Stiller was spotted in the audience. Emhoff, who is Jewish, will become the first-ever first gentleman of the United States if his wife wins the presidency in November after he already became the first U.S. second gentleman in 2021. Emhoff blows a kiss to Harris as she formally accepts the Democratic presidential nomination at the DNC in Chicago on Thursday, August 22 Emhoff and Harris embrace on stage at the DNC Thursday Ella and Cole, Emhoff's two children, lovingly call Harris 'momala.' Both sat next to their father during the Convention. Emhoff met Harris in 2013 when one of the lawyer's clients set them up on a blind date. The pair was married less than a year later in a ceremony that included aspects from both Emhoff's Jewish faith and Harris' Indian heritage. The vice president has been heard affectionately calling her husband 'Dougie,' or 'My Dougie.' The pop culture-filled Democratic National Convention ended in disappointment when a rumor that Beyonce would appear ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris never materialized. For days, the chatter of the DNC was whether the Queen Bey would crown Harris, after allowing the Democratic nominee to use her son Freedom in campaign spots and at rallies on the trail. Hours before Harris' nomination speech, TMZ reported that Beyonce was indeed the guest star, only for rival outlet Hollywood Reporter to say that a cameo was never in the works, quoting a spokesperson.' Then Beyonce's longtime publicist, Yvette Noel-Schure, re-posted The Hollywood Reporter's account - after ignoring multiple inquiries from news outlets, including DailyMail.com. It's unclear exactly how the rumor started - and why cold water was never thrown on it. The pop culture-filled Democratic National Convention ended in disappointment when a rumor that Beyonce would appear ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris never materialized A Republican spokesperson for the House Ways & Means Committee J.P. Freire suggested the Democrats 'tricked' people into watching the DNC with the Beyonce rumor to whoever started the Beyonce as dnc special guest rumour pic.twitter.com/y59dLZziZZ T (@teewatterss) August 23, 2024 Online, some people joked - while some more seriously charged - that the Democrats used Beyonce as bait to get Americans to tune into their convention. 'Notice how they tricked you into thinking there was a special guest so you'd stick around?' asked J.P. Freire, a Republican spokesperson for the House Ways & Means Committee. 'What do you think their approach to policy will be?' One user posted a video clip of President Joe Biden - who attended the first night of the convention and then went on vacation to California - and commented: 'to whoever started the Beyonce as dnc special guest rumour.' 'Who in the hell does he think he is? Who does he think he is?' Biden roars. Another X user posted a video of actor Kieran Culkin watching his computer go nuts. 'The guy manning the DNC's social media accounts, watching the TayTay/Beyonce surprise appearance speculation posts pour in while George W Bush is backstage painting a watercolour of Kamala,' the post said. Journalists joked that there was a special guest - the audience just missed it. 'I can't believe the special guest was Leon Panetta,' posted Puck News' Peter Hamby. 'I'll always remember where I was.' The Cook Political Report's Amy Walter joked: 'The special guest was the friends we made along the way ...' Ahead of Beyonce being a no-show, Republican Sen. Mitt Romney joked that the Democrats' special guest was not him. 'Contrary to fake news posts, I am not the surprise guest at the DNC tonight,' Romney posted to X. 'My guess is that it will be Beyonce or Taylor Swift. So disappointing, I know!' A Washington DC court heard horrific details about how five children allegedly beat a disabled man to death - prompting the 13-year-old girl blamed for landing the killing blow to sob. Police Detective Harry Singleton described at a pre-trial hearing on Thursday what he witnessed the night of Reggie Brown's death in October as well as an interview he conducted with the 13 year old, whom he said fatally kicked Brown in the head. He described the unidentified 13 year old's role as 'the most brutal part of the murder,' as she and four of her friends beat the 64-year-old until he stopped breathing, WUSA 9 reports. As Singleton spoke, the teenager became emotional and started to cry. She and three of her friends, all between the ages of 12 to 15, are now set to face trial on second-degree murder and assault with dangerous weapon charges. The fifth girl, 15, has pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of assault with a dangerous weapon - which prosecutors say was her foot, according to the Washington Post. Reggie Brown, 64, was allegedly beaten to death by five girls one night in October At previous hearings, prosecutors have aired cellphone footage captured by at least one of the teenagers - showing the girls kicking Brown, stomping his head into the pavement, pulling his pants down around his ankles, removing his belt and beating him with it. It also reportedly showed them celebrating afterward. Then, at a separate hearing on Tuesday, prosecutors also aired video from the DC police homicide headquarters, in which Singleton could be seen driving one of the teengers and her mother to his office. In the video, the teen claimed she and four other girls were walking down Georgia Avenue when they saw an unidentified man beating up Brown and dragging him by the collar, the Post reports. She said she and her friends heard the adult male yelling at Brown, saying, 'I gave you an hour and you didn't give me my money.' The teen said that one of her friends asked, 'Do you need help? Can we fight him?' at which point the unidentified man ordered the girls to continue fighting Brown and allegedly threatened to kill them if they didn't. That unidentified man was captured on video in a blue coat, but was never arrested. The girls allegedly kicked Brown, stomped his head into the pavement, pulled his pants down around his ankles, removed his belt and beat him with it They said they were walking down Georgia Avenue that night when they saw an unidentified man beating up Brown and dragging him by the collar - and joined in The teenager also said that she 'froze' after she saw Brown started bleeding and stopped kicking him. She claimed she 'soft kicked' Brown in his leg, and told Singleton: 'I saw him take his last breath.' But Singleton has since testified that - despite the girl claiming the unidentified man threatened her and her friends with a gun if they did not fight Brown - there was no evidence that the man had a weapon in the video. The five teens were finally charged with Brown's murder in March, and have been in custody with DC's Department of Youth Rehabilitation as they await trial next month. If convicted, four of the teens could face a maximum penalty of confinement to a Department of Youth Rehabilitation facility until they turn 21 - after which they would have to be released by law. It is unclear what sentence the 15-year-old may get after pleading guilty to the lesser charge. Brown was battling lupus - a disease of the immune system, which affected his hands and feet - as well as cancer Her attorney, Philip Skillman, told Judge Kendra D Briggs on Monday that prosecutors allowed the teen to admit to the lesser charge because she 'immediately' took responsibility and 'did not play as significant of a role' as the other four. Prosecutor Gabrielle LoGaglio accepted the deal - and noted that at the time of the attack, the 15 year old was also wanted in Maryland in connection with two robberies. Skillman asked that his client be released and returned to live with her mother until her sentencing on September 13, but Briggs denied the request. In the meantime, Brown's family says they want justice for his death. 'These aren't girls. These are animals and they should be locked up for the maximum amount of time,' Brown's sister Nasia Israel told the Post. 'He was on his way home and they just took his life for nothing,' her brother, Samuel Brown, added. 'He didn't deserve this - no one deserved this.' The family has previously said he was the youngest of seven children and was battling lupus - a disease of the immune system, which affected his hands and feet - as well as cancer. He had also lost six fingers. They say they are now trying to make sure no other family has to experience such a horrific crime. 'Everybody is just heartbroken, we are just trying to get through this,' one of Brown's sisters told WUSA 9. 'We just don't want this to happen to another family. We are not just taking a stand for Reginald Brown, but for the whole entire American families,' she added. CNN's Kaitlan Collins received harsh words from conservatives for not challenging Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's disputed claims about Donald Trump. Collins, one of CNN's emerging stars, interviewed Shapiro on the floor Tuesday night and asked him about Trump's claims that antisemitism led him to be passed over for Harris' running mate. 'Donald Trump has absolutely no credibility to speak on that issue,' Shapiro said. 'He is a person who has acted bigoted, he is a person who spreads hate.' He then spoke about Trump's reaction to the Charlottesville riot in 2017, saying that Trump's reaction to the neo-Nazis chanting 'Jews will not replace us' was to say 'there are good people on both sides. There were not good people on both sides!' This claim has been disputed by multiple fact checkers, including Snopes and PolitiFact, who note that Trump was referring to neo-Nazis and white nationalists, but to protesters and counter-protesters addressing the initial reason for the gathering: the removal of a Confederate statue. CNN 's Kaitlan Collins received harsh words from conservatives for backing down from Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro's disputed claims about Donald Trump Heres Gov. Josh Shapiro knowingly and intentionally repeating the Charlottesville lie to paint Donald Trump as a bigot.@kaitlancollins - who is quick to push back on Republicans - does nothing to correct him. This is not journalism. pic.twitter.com/CMrOAgiepN John LeFevre (@JohnLeFevre) August 20, 2024 The former president's full comments suggest he could have been referring to those who had been protesting peacefully on either side of a debate to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. He said, in the same press conference days after the riot, that neo-Nazis and white nationalists should be 'condemned totally'. This led many to slam Collins - a veteran of the conservative leaning Daily Caller - for not pushing back on Shapiro's already disputed claims. John LeFevre wrote: 'Here's Gov. Josh Shapiro knowingly and intentionally repeating the Charlottesville lie to paint Donald Trump as a 'bigot.' @kaitlancollins - who is quick to push back on Republicans - does nothing to correct him. This is not journalism.' Another social media referenced Collins' appearance on liberal comedian Stephen Colbert's show earlier this week. 'This is why the entire Colbert audience laughed when he said that CNN is 'objective.' Phillip Terzian added: 'Our journalistic expectations for @kaitlancollins and her employer are inevitably low: It's cable TV. But for how long will this absolute falsehood be tolerated by people pretending to be journalists?' The story has long dominated politics since that day in 2017, even lending itself to being the origin story for Joe Biden's 2020 presidential run. This claim has been disputed by multiple fact checkers, including Snopes and PolitiFact, who note that Trump was referring to neo-Nazis and white nationalists, but to protesters and counter-protesters addressing the initial reason for the gathering: the removal of a confederate statue Trump said, in the same press conference days after the riot, that neo-Nazis and white nationalists should be 'condemned totally' A reporter had been grilling Trump on whether he would condemn the neo-Nazis who marched with tiki torches and shouting what sounded like 'Jews will not replace us.' 'I think there's blame on both sides. If you look at both sides -- I think there's blame on both sides. And I have no doubt about it, and you don't have any doubt about it either. And if you reported it accurately, you would say,' Trump said. The journalist said: 'The neo-Nazis started this. They showed up in Charlottesville to protest.' Then came Trump's infamous reply, 'Excuse me, excuse me. They didn't put themselves -- and you had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides.' He's since been misquoted on numerous occasions as having directly praised neo-Nazis as 'good' or 'fine' people. Biden has continued to hammer away at this even after dropping out of the race for president, with the quote becoming Gospel among liberals. In 2019, Trump praised Lee as 'one of the great generals' on Friday when a reporter asked him to revisit his 2017 views as he left the White House for a speech to the National Rifle Association in Indianapolis. 'People were there protesting the taking down of the monument of Robert E. Lee. Everybody knows that,' he said. He mentioned the Lee statue in his remarks two years ago, but said there was 'blame on both sides' of the larger clash. Biden has continued to hammer away at this even after dropping out of the race for president, with the quote becoming Gospel among liberals 'If you reported it accurately, you would say that the neo-Nazis started this thing,' he told reporters at the time in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York City, but also said the racists 'didn't put themselves down as neo-Nazis.' 'You had some very bad people in that group. You also had some very fine people on both sides. ... I saw the same pictures as you did. You had people in that group that were there to protest the taking down of to them a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name.' The White House claimed then that Trump's praise was limited to people who showed up in Charlottesville to argue for preserving the Lee statue. Trump had said: 'I'm not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists. They should be condemned totally. You had many people in that group other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists. The press has treated them absolutely unfairly.' 'You had a lot of people in that group that were there to innocently protest and very legally protest. Not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me.' The resulting clashes between white supremacists who organized a rally and counter-protesters ended with a woman's death. Neo-Nazi James Fields was sentenced to life in prison for running over Heather Heyer with his car. A young couple rushed back to Australia from an overseas holiday when their beloved westie terrier was bitten by potential killer ticks which were allegedly missed by their vet. Lauren and Josh Stevens were visiting family in New Zealand with their 16-month-old son Felix when they were told their dog, Oscar, required urgent medical care in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs 'Oscar was being minded by a sitter who rushed him to their local vet as soon as they noticed he was acting out of sorts and wobbly on his legs,' friend Amy Fowler explained. 'The vet said he was physically fine and they had checked him for ticks but suggested they run neurological tests. 'But by end of the appointment, he couldnt walk and was struggling to breathe.' Oscar, 11, was quickly rushed to SASH (Small Animal Specialist Hospital) where another vet immediately located two ticks; one on his eyelid and one on his neck. 'They removed the ticks and gave him anti-venom but he had rapidly deteriorated,' she said. 'After being in the ICU he developed aspiration pneumonia and has since been put on a ventilator and been heavily sedated.' Josh and Lauren Stevens were visiting family in New Zealand with their son Felix when their 11-year-old dog Oscar was bitten by a tick The eastern suburbs vet allegedly missed the potentially lethal ticks on Oscar Now Ms Fowler has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help cover the huge vet bills the young Sydney-based couple now face, currently at $25,000-plus and rising. 'The ventilation that he needs to breathe whilst recovering is $2,200 for every 12 hours which hes been on since Monday to give him the best chance of recovery.' she said. Ms Fowler explained theres nothing more the couple can do due to the mounting financial toll while also supporting their own son. 'They're selfless, kind people who don't deserve to be going through this kind of heartache and stress,' Ms Fowler explained. 'They're not the kind of people to ask for help but the generosity the public have shown to help has been overwhelming to say the least. 'If Oscar can find the strength in his lungs to breathe on his own over the next 48 hours, he will have a good chance of pulling through but will need some additional hospital care before he can fully recover and return home.' The couple hope Oscar will pull through and is able to breathe on his own in the coming days. 'If he doesn't pull through, Lauren will donate the [excess] funds to an animal charity or to SASH for research,' Ms Fowler said. Ticks are small insect parasites that vary from reddish to black in colour and feed on the blood of the host human or animal they latch onto. Amy Fowler (pictured left) launched a GoFundMe on behalf of her friend Lauren's dog Oscar The couple's son Felix with his dog-brother Oscar The couple hope Oscar will pull through and is able to breathe on his own in the coming days There are over 70 different types of ticks in Australia and are most common on the country's east coast - with some as small as a poppy seed or as large as a baked bean. While there is no evidence that Lyme disease is caused by Australian ticks, there are similar illnesses people can contract. According to NSW Health, early symptoms of tick paralysis can include rashes, headache, fever, flu-like symptoms, tender lymph nodes, unsteady gait, intolerance to bright light, increased weakness of the limbs and partial facial paralysis. Experts say he best way to remove a tick is to freeze the area with an ether-containing spray which can be bought at a pharmacy. Removing the tick without freezing the area risks people developing a condition called mammalian meat allergy, whereby people bitten by ticks develop serious allergies to certain types of meat like lamb. Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is entitled to have a vehicle for official business and chose a Ford Explorer SUV. But costs spiraled when the city had to lease a pricier alternative before buying it outright. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao has come under scrutiny for having the city buy a high-end Ford Expedition SUV for her official use until the end of her tenure, at a cost of nearly $75,000. The mayor also receives a $650 monthly allowance for a personal car. The Oaklandside reported on the cost of the Expedition this past week in a story highlighting how Oakland has failed to pay a local dealership for the large sport utility vehicle even though Thao has been using it for more than a year. The cost escalated twice, first when the city leased the Expedition after a less expensive Ford Explorer was not available, and again when Thao decided she wanted to keep the pricier Expedition. The focus on the mayors vehicle raises questions about how the city handles transportation for its top official, and whether spending this much is appropriate amid Oaklands budget troubles. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The mayors office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An Oakland spokesperson said it is a common option for the city to buy a new vehicle for an incoming mayor to use for official business. But an official in former Mayor Libby Schaafs administration criticized Thao for ultimately spending $75,000 on a car rather than going with a more economical option. While Schaaf did not have a city vehicle for official use, her former spokesperson Justin Berton said she received a monthly personal car allowance. Berton said that either Schaafs staff would drive her or she would drive herself on city business. In San Francisco, Mayor London Breed does not have an official car and is instead driven around by police officers in city-owned SUVs. City of Oakland spokesperson Sean Maher said Thao requested a 2022 Ford Explorer when she first took office in January 2023, which would have cost $56,000 including taxes and licensing, according to a representative from local dealership Uptown Ford. But due to a nationwide Explorer recall, the dealer instead leased her a new 2022 Ford Expedition whose sticker price was about $20,000 more. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The cost of the nearly 16-month rental came to about $18,500, Maher said. Thaos office then directed the city to purchase the vehicle, which at that point was considered used. The purchase price was $56,000, including taxes and licensing, according to a representative from the dealership. The Kelley Blue Book value of a used 2022 Ford Explorer starts at $33,245. Maher said Oakland mayors by policy receive a monthly personal car allowance of $650. Thao uses the Expedition for business purposes only, according to the city. The Oaklandside said in its report that the city had not yet paid the cost of the rental or vehicle purchase due to bureaucratic mishaps. The dealerships representative told the Chronicle that the companys former general manager was supposed to be collecting the payment, but it slipped through the cracks. According to the Oaklandside story, the city took more than six months to begin paying for the SUV after the dealership asked for payment in February. The dealership representative said the city has said it will deliver a check within the next week or so. The city waived the competitive bid process for the purchase of the vehicle because Uptown Ford was the only dealership in the city that sold the car. While Uptown Ford does not have any city contracts, it does provide the cities of Piedmont and Alameda with maintenance and service to their car fleets. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Shocking photos have captured the moment a massive python devoured an unfortunate wallaby in Brisbane. The python first suffocated the animal before swallowing it whole in a drain behind a business in the Brisbane suburb of Wynnum on Friday. 'It took an hour to swallow it. It's cool to watch how they do it,' explained Nigel Anthony, who posted the photos of the snake's lunchtime snack on Facebook. Brendan Dyer, a leading snake catcher in Brisbane, explained that a carpet python first strikes its prey using its sharp teeth, before swallowing it whole from the head. Once the python has captured its prey, it wraps its body around it in several loops. It then squeezes the animal until it either suffocates or becomes immobilized. Carpet pythons have extremely flexible jaws that allow them to swallow prey much larger than their head. This includes animals such as wallabies, possums, dogs, and even cats. After swallowing, the python will find a safe place to digest its meal. Digestion can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on the size of the animal. Mr Dyer warned that Queenslanders are more likely to encounter snakes as breeding season kicks off. Shocking photos capture the moment a massive python devoured an unfortunate wallaby in Brisbane After swallowing, the python will find a safe place to digest its meal, which can take several days to weeks, depending on the size of the prey 'After three months of relative quiet, the snake breeding season is picking up again things are getting back into full swing, and people are more likely to run into snakes,' he explained. 'With the end of winter, the breeding season typically runs from late July through September.' He added that while carpet pythons are relatively harmless to humans and non-venomous, it's best to leave them alone. 'If you spot a carpet python in the bush, just leave it alone, they're very harmless. I've caught three today, and none have tried to bite me. But if you find one on your property, it's best to call a snake catcher.' He also warned the hotter weather would cause the deadly Eastern Brown snakes to come out of hiding, which are responsible for most snake bite fatalities around the country. About 140 different species of snakes call Australia home, but 100 of them are venomous, and only 12 species are likely to kill you if bitten. Snakes are not naturally aggressive and prefer to retreat. The only time they attack people is if they are attacked themselves, provoked, or captured. Traffic was at a standstill along Florida's interstates this morning after officials in the Tampa Bay area warned residents to 'flee or die' as Hurricane Milton closes in. However, some residents have claimed they cannot follow evacuation orders because it could be 'more dangerous' to hit the roads, alleging traffic is too congested and gas stations in their communities are 'out of fuel'. Other concerned locals have said they are unable to afford the cost of either driving or flying their way out of the state ahead of the storm, which is expected to be massive and bring devastation to Florida's Gulf Coast. Milton's centre could come ashore Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area, which has not endured a direct hit by a major hurricane in more than a century. Mayor Jane Castor issued a stark warning to residents that if they don't evacuate, 'you are going to die'. Energy bills are set to rise by 10 per cent after regulator Ofgem announced it was increasing the price cap for gas and electricity bills. The regulator announced it is hiking its price cap from the current 1,568 for a typical household in England, Scotland and Wales to 1,717, adding around 12 a month to an average bill. However, it is around 117 cheaper than the cap in October last year, which was set at 1,834. The price cap sets a maximum price that energy suppliers can charge consumers in England, Scotland and Wales for each kilowatt hour (kWh) of energy they use. While the cap does not limit a household's total bills, increasing it could see people going into the colder months facing higher bills than they have had since earlier in the year. Ofgem has increased its price cap rise to 1717, up 149 from the current level of 1,568 Energy bills are set to rise by 10 per cent after regulator Ofgem announced a new price cap for gas and electricity bills. What is Ofgem's price cap? The price cap sets a maximum price that energy suppliers can charge consumers in England, Scotland and Wales for each kilowatt hour (kWh) of energy they use. It means it does not limit a household's total bills, because people still pay for the total amount of energy that they use. The figures provided by Ofgem indicate what a household using gas and electricity, and paying by direct debit, can expect to pay if their energy use is typical. Advertisement Ofgem said rising prices in the international energy market, due to heightened political tensions and extreme weather events, was the main driver behind the decision. 'Ultimately the price rise we are announcing today is driven by our reliance on a volatile global gas market that is too easily influenced by unforeseen international events and the actions of aggressive states,' said Ofgem's CEO Jonathan Brearley. 'We know that this rise in the price cap is going to be extremely difficult for many households. 'Anyone who is struggling to pay their bill should make sure they have access to all the benefits they are entitled to, particularly pension credit, and contact their energy company for further help and support.' He also urged consumers to 'shop around' and consider opting for a fixed-rate tariff that could save people money. Appearing on BBC Breakfast earlier today, Mr Brearley continued: 'I can't predict that future gas price, so I can't say what the price will be in January, but what I do know, the best judgment we have, is that this situation of being subject to the volatile gas markets is something that may last a long time, and that's why we need to work with the Government, with the sector, to protect vulnerable customers this winter. 'But we need something more sustained and more strategic.' He said Ofgem as a regulator does 'everything we can to bear down on these costs', including 'continually challenging companies' to do things more cheaply, but that when the gas price goes up internationally it gets fed through to customers. Ofgem's CEO Jonathan Brearley admitted the price cap rise will rise is likely to be 'extremely difficult' for many households He added: 'We are going to be in this world until we build out of it. 'Until we build different infrastructure that gets us a different energy system, what we all need to do is to make the best of the circumstances we're in and look after the most vulnerable customers.' Despite the price cap increase, average bills remain considerably lower than during the peak of the energy crisis, which was fuelled by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, driving up costs in an already-turbulent energy market. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the rise was a direct result of what he described as a 'failed energy policy' the Labour government had inherited from the Conservative Party. He said the policy left the country 'at the mercy of international gas markets controlled by dictators'. However, Shadow Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Claire Coutinho said Miliband himself was to blame for soaring costs. The Tory MP said: 'Instead of prioritising cheap energy, the new Labour Government are pursuing Ed Miliband's reckless net zero targets with no thoughts to the costs. 'And far from their promise of saving families 300 off their energy bills, one of their first acts in office is to remove the Winter Fuel Payment from 10 million pensioners this winter. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said the rise was a direct result of what he described as a 'failed energy policy' from the previous Conservative government However, Shadow Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Claire Coutinho said Miliband himself was to blame for soaring costs 'Because they weren't honest about their plans that means millions of pensioners will have made no plans to deal with higher energy bills this winter.' Friday's rise of 10 per cent for a typical dual-fuel household was slightly above analysts' forecasts. Energy consultancy Cornwall Insight said on Monday the cap was expected to rise 9 per cent due to gas and electricity wholesale market prices, which have rebounded over the past few months. 'While prices have stabilised somewhat compared to the previous two years, the market has not fully recovered from the energy crisis and the impact of Russia's invasion of Ukraine,' the consultancy said. Cornwall Insight also predicted there is likely to be a further 'modest' increase to the price cap in January 2025, with more rises possible early in the new year due to escalating tensions in the Russia-Ukraine war. Earlier this week, Craig Lowrey, principal consultant at Cornwall Insight, said the announcement will not be the 'news households want to hear when moving into the colder months'. 'Following two consecutive falls in the cap, I'm sure many hoped we were on a steady path back to pre-crisis prices,' he said. 'However, the lingering impact of the energy crisis has left us with a market that's still highly volatile and quick to react to any bad news on the supply front.' Jess Ralston, head of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said bills in winter will be about 50% higher than they were before the Ukraine war on average. The Labour Government recently decided to stop winter fuel payments for those who are not in receipt of pension credits or other means tested benefits. Pictured: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer 'A lack of progress on energy efficiency and heat pumps means that our reliance on gas hasn't fallen much in recent years, despite the volatility in the international markets forcing bills to skyrocket,' she said. 'With the removal of the winter fuel payment for some pensioners at the same time as bills going up, it's likely that some will struggle and it remains to be seen if the Government will bring in measures to support those worst hit by the removal of winter fuel payment.' The new Government decided to stop winter fuel payments for those who are not in receipt of pension credits or other means tested benefits. Previously, the payments of up to 300 had been available to everyone above state pension age. The Treasury said the changes would see the number of pensioners receiving the payments fall from 11.4 million to 1.5 million so just under 10 million would miss out. Two of the country's most dangerous jailed terrorists could soon be back on the streets. Rangzieb Ahmed, Osama Bin Laden's former right-hand man, and Mohammed Zahir Khan, an Islamic State fanatic who has called for the death of Shia Muslims will both bid for their freedom next month. The pair will appear in two separate parole boarding hearings held within the space of 24 hours. Ahmed's case will be heard on September 25 while Khan's will take place the next following day. Last night a leading terrorism expert urged officials not to free either of them. Chris Phillips, the former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office said: 'It's madness to be considering this. Public safety will be at risk if either of these men are released. You have to question whether it will ever be safe for either of them to walk the streets again.' Rangzieb Ahmed, 47, was once said to be the UK's top al-Qaeda commander and Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe. Pictured: Rangzieb Ahmed arriving at Heathrow Airport from Islamabad Mohammed Zahir Khan, 45, (pictured) was managing a shop in Sunderland when he was arrested after posting his support for the terror group Islamic State on social media The news comes as the Government prepares to release many criminals early in a bid to ease prison overcrowding. The plans have sparked growing concerns for public safety. And the fact that two of the country's most dangerous terrorists could soon be back on the street will only further heighten fears. Ahmed, 47, was once said to be the UK's top al-Qaeda commander and Osama bin Laden's right-hand man in Europe. He was the first ever person to be charged with directing terrorism in the UK. The Rochdale-born terrorist was responsible for setting up a terrorist cell in Manchester and was in contact with one of the failed London Underground suicide bombers of 21 July 2005. He moved to the Kashmir area of Pakistan as a young child and was arrested by the Indian authorities at the age of 18 for allegedly fighting as a member of the Islamist terror group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen. Ahmed received money from British-Pakistani terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh while he was in jail. He was put under surveillance when he moved back to the UK in 2005 and officials discovered a diary containing al-Qaeda contacts written in invisible ink. Rochdale-born terrorist Ahmed was responsible for setting up a terrorist cell in Manchester and was in contact with one of the failed London Underground suicide bombers of 21 July 2005 Traces of explosives were also found on a rucksack in his possession and, in 2008, he was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of ten years. Ahmed, 47, who has received some 1m in legal aid, was rejected for parole in September 2022 after officials judged that he was too dangerous to be let out of prison. He has a hearing listed for the 25 September at which he is expected to argue that he is a reformed character. Mohammed Zahir Khan, 45, was managing a shop in Sunderland when he was arrested after posting his support for the terror group Islamic State on social media. He also called for the death of Shia Muslims and was convicted in Newcastle Crown Court in May 2018 of stirring racial hatred and encouraging terrorism. Khan, originally from Birmingham, claimed Shia Muslims should be burnt alive and posted about an ISIS call for attacks on US bases in Bahrain. Police found ISIS videos on his computer and he was jailed for four-and-a-half years after admitting the charges. In 2020, he won the first round of a legal challenge to emergency legislation that prevented the automatic early release of terrorism offenders. Osama bin-Laden addresses a news conference in Afghanistan in this May 26, 1998 His attempt to overturn the ban was eventually thrown out by the High Court in July 2020. The legislation had been introduced following two terror attacks by released terrorism offenders. In 2019, Usman Khan, who had been released halfway through his 16-year sentence, killed Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt before being shot dead on London Bridge. In February 2020, Suddesh Amman attacked and stabbed people in south London just a few days after being released from prison. The High Court judges, however, said that the changes had been a logical and rational response to prevent further attacks. The ruling meant that some 50 prisoners were kept in jail for longer. His hearing will be held a day later, on 26 September. A Parole Board spokesperson said: 'An oral hearing has been listed for the parole review of Mohammed Zahir Khan and is scheduled to take place in September 2024. 'Parole Board decisions are solely focused on what risk a prisoner could represent to the public if released and whether that risk is manageable in the community. 'A panel will carefully examine a huge range of evidence, including details of the original crime, and any evidence of behaviour change, as well as explore the harm done and impact the crime has had on the victims. 'Members read and digest hundreds of pages of evidence and reports in the lead up to an oral hearing. 'Evidence from witnesses including probation officers, psychiatrists and psychologists, officials supervising the offender in prison as well as victim personal statements are then given at the hearing. 'The prisoner and witnesses are then questioned at length during the hearing which often lasts a full day or more. 'Parole reviews are undertaken thoroughly and with extreme care. Protecting the public is our number one priority.' An Irish woman says moving to Australia is the 'best thing she has ever done' but has warned those thinking of following in her footsteps that the idealised dream of Down Under as a 'Peter Pan land' does not always match the reality. Shannon Sulliman, 27, quit a marketing job in Limerick to move to Perth with her partner in June last year after previously 'falling in love' with the city. She has landed a full-time marketing job and is being sponsored for a longer residency than her current two-year visa but said it hadn't come easy. 'In Ireland, we're sold this dream that we're going to make so much money over here and that life is so easy,' Ms Sulliman said. 'I don't know what land we were living in but we literally thought that we'd come out here and we'd be able to socialise as much as we want and still have savings and still travel. But you have to make more of a sacrifice to move over here. 'People think it's very easy when you move over here, everything will work out but it's a lot harder than people think.' Ms Sullivan told Yahoo News that Irish people have such a rose-coloured view of Australia they call it 'Peter Pan' land' and expect to get a 'magical wage doing an ordinary job'. However, she found what she has been paid in Perth was only 'a bit more' than her wages in Ireland and what extra she was making was being easily wiped out by the higher prices in Australia. Irish woman Shannon Sulliman, 27, says she had unrealistic expectations of what life would be like after moving to Australia (she is pictured enjoying an Acai bowl on the beach) Before moving to Perth, Ms Sullivan said she expected to be using the city as a base to travel every two weeks. However, she has found that unrealistic, especially as flights from the remote capital can cost up to $800 to go somewhere for the weekend. Fortunately, she and her partner have still been able to enjoy camping trips and even travelled to Bali and the Maldives. Ms Sullivan said she has had to make sacrifices to go on those trips and strict saving is one of them. She said while eating out in Australia was comparable to Ireland, a night on the drink was more expensive than back home. Last financial year 21,000 Irish citizens were granted two-year working holiday visas in Australia Despite the reality not quite matching the idealised version of life in Australia, Ms Sullivan said she would tell people looking to move Down Under to 'just do it'. 'If you are moving out, just be open-minded. When you come out first, it's the most stressful that it will be but after that everything falls into place,' she said. It seems the lure of Australia is still bright for many Irish travellers seeking to live abroad for substantial periods. Last financial year, 21,000 Irish citizens were granted two-year working holiday visas in Australia, which was a 16-year high. Kazakhstan has announced the mass chemical castration of 11 paedophiles amid a campaign for the worst offenders to have their genitals surgically removed. All the men reportedly 'committed crimes against the sexual inviolability of minors' in the Kostanay region in the north of the country. Details were not given of the cases, but the child sex offenders are this year starting to forcibly receive libido-sapping injections. Approval was given for the paedophiles to be jabbed 24 times a year at an annual cost of 278 each. The new sentences come amid a campaign in Kazakhstan for a toughening in the current laws to permit surgical castration for the most serious child sex offenders. All the men reportedly 'committed crimes against the sexual inviolability of minors' in the Kostanay region in the north of the country Details were not given of the cases, but the child sex offenders are this year starting to forcibly receive libido-sapping injections (pictured: a nurse conducting the chemical castration of a paedophile convict) The new sentences come amid a campaign in Kazakhstan for a toughening in the current laws to permit surgical castration for the most serious child sex offenders And they coincide with the detention of regional ruling party MP Sekikhan Zhakupov accused of sexually attacking a seven-year-old boy. If convicted under current laws, he can face chemical castration and a long jail term. Kazakhstan has some of the toughest laws in the world on paedophiles. Official information is published on their addresses after release from prison so parents can understand where potential danger is lurking. Yet there are claims that the laws are not sufficiently tough. Until now, around 30 men a year across the country have faced chemical castration but this figure is now believed to be rising with a one out of 17 regions reporting 11 new cases. Elnur Beisenbaev, an MP and executive secretary of the ruling Amanat Party, said the government was 'spineless' and pandering to paedophiles for failing to insist on 'surgical castration'. 'Unfortunately, [sex crimes against children] are happening more and more often,' he said, suggesting chemical castration - which lowers the male libido through injected anti-androgen drugs - was not effective. And they coincide with the detention of regional ruling party MP Sekikhan Zhakupov (pictured) accused of sexually attacking a seven-year-old boy. If convicted under current laws, he can face chemical castration and a long jail term Until now, around 30 men a year across the country have faced chemical castration but this figure is now believed to be rising with a one out of 17 regions reporting 11 new cases 'By letting a rapist go free, we allow them to reoffend,' he said. Beisenbaev has vowed to keep pressing for a new law despite government concern that his proposal violates human rights. 'We don't suggest applying it to all paedophiles, but we'd like to give courts an option of having surgical castration. 'If a paedophile attack is especially cruel, I believe surgical castration must be applied' Almost 450 such crimes had been committed against children, he said, adding: 'Our government demonstrates its lack of backbone by not approving surgical castration, as if we violate the rights of paedophiles, because paedophiles are human beings. I believe they are not human beings.' Possible trigger for the quake is revealed The biggest earthquake to hit parts of the NSW Hunter region in 50 years could have been triggered by coal mining in the region, a geophysicist says. The 5.0-magnitude quake shook the town of Denman at 12.02pm on Friday, sparking thousands of reports of tremors in the following hour, including from people in Sydney, about 171km south. It was the biggest earthquake in the area for 50 years, but smaller than the 5.4 magnitude earthquake that devastated Newcastle, 117 km east, in 1989, killing 13 people and flattening hundreds of buildings. Friday's quake caused no major damage to infrastructure or buildings, and there were no reports of injuries, police said. The NSW State Emergency Service said it had received 11 calls related to minor residential damage and reports of minor infrastructure damage in nearby towns of Maitland and Muswellbrook. The SES said dams in the area were unaffected. Unverified social media posts showed stock knocked on the floor of a Muswellbrook hardware store and cracks in the wall of a house in the town, said to be caused by the quake. UNSW geophysicist Stuart Clark said the quake was the biggest of six to hit the local area, a coal mining hub, in the past 50 years. A magnitude 5.0 earthquake has been reported near Denman, NSW - with Australians living hours away in Sydney feeling tremors UNSW geophysicist Stuart Clark said the cause of the earthquake is compressional forces but the trigger is potentially coal mining (pictured, a coal truck in Muswellbrook, NSW) 'It's a little smaller than the Newcastle earthquake, and there was another one 5.3 (magnitude) in 1994,' associate professor Clark said. 'The cause is compressional forces across the continent but the trigger is potentially coal mining.' He warned of aftershocks in the next two days, saying 'there might be a cluster of aftershocks typically a little bit smaller than this one'. 'They don't have to follow major earthquakes but they can.' One resident of Muswellbrook, about 22km south of Denman, described the quake as much bigger than 'just a tremor'. 'The whole house rattled, and then about half a minute later, it rattled again,' the woman said. Muswellbrook Shire Council mayor Steven Reynolds said he was lying in bed when the house shook hard. 'I tell you what, I thought the roof was coming down on me,' Mayor Reynolds said. You couldn't miss it, it was big. We have the blasts here from the mines and I immediately knew it was nothing like that. 'I thought for sure it was an earthquake and there could have been some severe damage.' Mayor Reynolds said the area experienced three aftershocks. Lavis Mitre 10 in Muswellbrook posted a photo of items strewn through its aisles after the quake hit the town of Denman just after 12pm on Friday The earthquake was reported to have occurred at a depth of 10km and 14km to the east of Denman, according to the Geoscience Australia website A power outage hit an area in South Musswellbrook as a result of the earthquake, which was expected to be restored by 2.30pm. Lavis Mitre 10 in Muswellbrook posted a photo of items strewn through its aisles after the quake. 'Well that was epic wasnt it?!' it captioned the photo. Sydney residents also reported feeling shakes. 'My apartment just moved.. who else felt it (earthquake) in Sydney?!' posted one. 'Was there just an earthquake in Sydney, or did my building just shake for fun?!' A third said: 'Just felt an actual earthquake in Sydney. Wall mounted TV was shaking as was the bed I was sitting on. Wild!' Regional NSW residents closer to the epicentre, in Mudgee and Gulgong - two hours drives west of Denman - reported walls and floors shaking. 'Dogs were barking... scared the crap out of them,' one person posted. The remnants of a chimney that collapsed in the quake Others further west at Dunedoo and someone at Anna Bay, north of Newcastle on the coast also reported feeling tremors. Residents in Newcastle suburbs also felt the quake. 'Rattled the things on my table at Swansea Heads,' commented one person. 'Didn't even occur to me that it was an earthquake.' Muswellbrook South Public School posted a message to parents on Facebook about 12.19pm, saying: 'Staff and students have safely evacuated to our top oval awaiting further instruction.' Another school St James Primary posted 'we are all OK' but asked parents to come and collect their children. 'We have no power so if you can please come and get your kids,' the post read. War with Russia is inevitable unless the UK replenishes stockpiles of lethal weapons and rapidly improves its defences, the former head of the British Army has warned. General Sir Patrick Sanders, who stood down from his role in June, said that if the Britain fails to build up supplies after gifting weapons to Ukraine, it could be at war within five years. Voicing his concerns just weeks after he stepped down from the top role, Sir Patrick said: 'If we don't regrow what are very, very, empty stockpiles at the moment and recapitalise then we risk making conflict an inevitability.' It comes after his successor, Gen Sir Roland Walker, warned that the UK needed to be able to fight a major war within as little as three years, anticipating that Moscow may seek revenge on the West for supporting Ukraine. Sir Patrick has also cautioned that Britain must restock its missile supplies, describing the country's ability to defend itself in the 'unlikely' event of an aerial attack as 'weak'. Britain's ability to defend itself in the 'unlikely' event of an aerial attack is 'weak', Sir Patrick warned. Pictured: A Russian Yars missile pictured being launched in October 2022 General Sir Patrick Sanders, who stood down from his role as the Army's Chief of General Staff in June Sir Patrick warned last year that Britain's donation of 14 Challenger 2 tanks (pictured) to Kyiv had left 'a gap in our armoury' Sir Patrick, who was openly critical about cuts to troop numbers during his tenure as army chief, said that more troops were needed as well as weapons. Speaking on the Money Maze podcast this week, he said: 'We need to ensure we can operate at scale. 'That means regrowing our stockpiles, but it also means that the army, which is historically very small at the moment in an era where we are returning to great power conflict is capable of being grown rapidly. He warned that to do so sufficiently would 'take us between five and ten years.' As well as needing to deter Russia, Sir Patrick warned that Britain will need to contend with emerging threats elsewhere within the next ten years. 'There is a risk of an alignment, that ending the war in Ukraine, Russian recapitalisation and China saying the PLA (People's Liberation Army) needs to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027 creates a point of acute danger in around 2028 or so,' he said. 'The best way to avoid that is by ensuring we are ready to fight, able to deter and prevent these conflicts from happening in this decade.' Since Vladimir Putin's forces launched their invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the UK has pledged 7.6billion in military assistance. Ukrainian soldiers take part in a casualty simulation training excercise operated by Britain's armed forces, as part of the Interflex programme, in southern England, on August 22, 2024 The UK government is expected to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of national income by 2030, which would mean tens of billions of pounds in extra funding, in an effort to strengthen the military at a time of rising threats globally. Sir Patrick warned last year that Britain's donation of 14 Challenger 2 tanks to Kyiv had left 'a gap in our armoury', making the armed forces 'temporarily weaker'. But he has been steadfast in his support of Kyiv, saying this week that the current focus should be 'making sure Ukraine can win'. 'That is not simply about surviving on the battlefield which is arguably all we have been doing at the moment,' the 58-year-old said. 'It is about posing unacceptable threats to Russia which causes Russia and Putin to reconsider.' Ukraine's President Zelensky this week accused Britain of 'slowing down' support for Ukraine as he demanded the removal of 'barriers' in his country's fight against Russia. Britain has provided long-range Storm Shadow missiles (pictured) Zelensky has overseen a Ukrainian incursion into Russia's Kursk region in recent weeks, which he said is aimed at creating a buffer zone to prevent further cross-border attacks by Moscow. Britain has given the green light for UK-donated weapons to be used on Russian soil as part of Ukraine's self-defence. The only exception is Storm Shadow missiles, which remain off limits beyond Ukraine's borders, but Mr Zelensky said 'long-range capabilities' were 'vital'. His team has claimed Britain loosening restrictions on the use of the weapons could 'turn the tide of the war'. Magistrates have been told to stop jailing convicted criminals for several weeks to help ease pressure on overcrowded prisons. Justices in the lower court have been told to temporarily avoid handing out short sentences behind bars by postponing hearings until more places are free. Lord Justice Green, the senior presiding judge in England and Wales, has told them to make the change until the Government's early release scheme comes into effect in early September. Prisons in England and Wales were already full before the recent race riots across the UK saw hundreds of people convicted of public order and violent crimes, taking the population to record levels. Last week the Government activated 'Operation Early Dawn' as they triggered emergency measures to avoid overcrowding. Lord Justice Green, the senior presiding judge in England and Wales, has told them to make the change until the Government's early release scheme comes into effect, freeing up places. Prisons in England and Wales were already full before the recent race riots across the UK saw hundreds of people convicted of public order and violent crimes, taking the population to record levels. Your browser does not support iframes. The long-standing plan, described as a 'one in, one out' policy, has been implemented in the North of England in the wake of the recent widespread disorder across towns and cities. It allows defendants to be held in police cells and not summoned to magistrates' court until a space in prison is available. Since the outbreak of riots after the Southport stabbing attack on 29 July, more than 450 people have appeared in magistrates' courts in relation to the chaos. There has been a total of 677 charges meaning it is likely that many more people could be sentenced in the coming weeks. The Prisons Officers' Association warned Operation Early Dawn would lead to 'justice delayed' for some offenders. It revealed there were only 340 spaces left in adult male prisons at the end of last week, following an influx of 397 new inmates. Labour blamed having to take the action on inheriting a prisons system 'in crisis' from the previous Tory government. The Times reported Lord Justice Green issued a 'listing direction' to the managers of magistrates' courts across the two countries, advising offenders likely to be jailed should have sentencing postponed until the Government's early release scheme comes into effect on September 10. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said the guidelines did not apply to high-risk offenders who were already on remand. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. They said in a statement: 'The new Government inherited a prisons crisis, and this is yet another sign of the pressures our justice system is facing. The changes coming into force in September will bring it under control. 'Independent judges decide when to schedule court hearings and do so in the interests of justice, including to ensure the effective operation of the criminal justice system.' The advice did not apply to higher courts dealing with more serious criminal cases. About 2,000 prison places will be freed up under Labour's early release scheme. According to the Government, the initiative will free up to 5,500 prison places in the longer term by moving the standard release date. Prisoners who were previously eligible for release after serving 50% of their sentence could now go free after serving just 40% of time behind bars. The new programme will not apply to violent offenders serving sentences of four years or more, or those convicted of domestic violence or sexual offences. Magistrates handled more than 1.3 million cases last year, official figures showed. Tom Franklin, chief executive of the Magistrates Association, told The Times: 'Every delay in magistrates' work adversely affects the timely delivery of justice and impacts victims, witnesses and defendants.' He said Mr Green's direction was 'the latest sticking plaster to try to get through until the big release of prisoners on 10 September but just highlights the crisis that the justice system is in'. It comes days after emergency plans were greenlit in the North of England. Operation Early Dawn, a long-standing plan that allows defendants to be held in police cells and not summoned to magistrates' court until a space in prison is available, was activated on Monday morning. Measures were announced in the North East and Yorkshire; Cumbria and Lancashire; and Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire regions. A tourist has been knifed to death on the paradise island of Mauritius after allegedly meeting her killer on Tinder for a holiday romance. Zaliya Shamigulova had been missing since leaving her rental flat near the picturesque Flic-en-Flac beach on August 17. The university teacher from Russia was seen wearing a white and blue dress on video getting into a blue Toyota car of a 'local man' who was 'giving her a lift'. It was the last time Zaliya was seen alive, and she was reported missing by a female travelling companion. Her relatives in Russia received messages purportedly from her saying she had decided to disappear and not to contact her. Zaliya Shamigulova (pictured) had been missing since leaving her rental flat near the picturesque Flic-en-Flac beach on August 17 The university teacher from Russia was seen wearing a white and blue dress on video getting into a blue Toyota car of a 'local man' who was 'giving her a lift' Now it has emerged that the detained suspect Puryavirsingh Sundur (pictured), 29, an IT engineer, met Zaliya via dating app Tinder, according Russian media outlet SHOT, which spoke to her distraught family CCTV footage shows Zaliya meeting her alleged killer shortly before her disappearance Her naked body was found in a makeshift grave on Thursday with multiple stab wounds in woodland in La Marie, a residential area, said reports. Now it has emerged that the detained suspect Puryavirsingh Sundur, 29, met Zaliya via dating app Tinder, according Russian media outlet SHOT, which spoke to her distraught family. Sundur, an IT engineer, confessed to the killing, say local police, who are now determining if there were accomplices. 'He said he was deeply in love with 29-year-old Zaliya Shamigulova and [claimed he] was planning to marry her,' said the report. During interrogation, he said that he had 'allegedly learned about his new girlfriend's infidelity'. Zaliya's naked body was found in a makeshift grave on Thursday with multiple stab wounds in woodland in La Marie, a residential area, said reports Suspected killer Pooryavirsingh Soondur, 29, the alleged Tinder lover of Mauritius murder victim Zaliya Shamigulova, 29 Sundur, an IT engineer, confessed to killing Zaliya, say local police, who are now determining if there were accomplices Zaliya had been a torch bearer ahead of the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014 'On Saturday, the IT man went to take the Russian woman sightseeing on the island, but in a fit of jealous rage, he pulled out a knife and brutally killed his lover before stripping her and burying her body.' Zaliya had recently posted that on her Mauritius holiday she was 'catching happiness every day.' She had been a torch bearer ahead of the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014. Zaliya was a university teacher from Chelyabinsk in the Urals who had been due to travel to Madagascar on 1 September. Renderings of the California College of the Arts campus expansion by San Francisco architectural firm Studio Gang. Studio Gang and Kilograph California College of the Arts is facing a $20 million deficit due to a dramatic drop in student enrollment, even as it prepares to open a $123 million expansion to finalize a consolidation of its Oakland and San Francisco campuses. The shortfall was revealed by CCA President David Howse in a meeting with 300 staff and faculty earlier this month. In a follow-up five-page memo sent on Friday, Howse mentioned potential layoffs as the art school plans to adjust course offerings in the hopes of attracting more students, the number of which has declined by a third since 2019. He also said the schools financial peril may be solved by a merger with another academic institution, pointing to the 2022 merger of Mills College in Oakland and Northeastern University in Boston, and the affiliation announced last spring between California Institute of the Arts in Southern California and the Vermont College of Fine Arts in Montpelier as models. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The most immediate cost-saving measures will be scaling back a planned two-day festival to celebrate the addition of 90,000 square feet of studio and classroom space in the new construction. California College of the Arts President David C. Howse Nicole Loeb Our financial challenges are not insignificant, which means that we are being called to right-size the organization and address what has become a sizable to a major deficit, Howse, who became president last year after serving as vice president of Emerson College in Boston, said in the memo. This is a movement that is beyond CCA, to think about efficiencies, alignment and streamlining to create organizational efficiency. The perilous situation at CCA comes after the collapse of the San Francisco Art Institute, which had tried to solve its own financial problems by expanding from its Russian Hill campus to a graduate campus in Fort Mason. SFAI, which was the oldest art college in the west, ultimately closed that campus en route to closing the main campus in 2022 before declaring bankruptcy and being liquidated altogether. This left CCA as the only accredited nonprofit art college in Northern California, prompting many SFAI students to transfer to CCA. Still, it has suffered a steep decline in enrollment since the fall semester of 2023, when 1,400 students registered for classes. Projections for the fall semester are for between 1,250 and 1,290 full-time students. This is down from a peak of 1,800 students in 2019. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Howse said he would not have a final class count until mid-September, which will give him an idea of staffing needs going forward. Renderings of the California College of the Arts campus expansion by San Francisco architectural firm Studio Gang. Studio Gang and Kilograph The CCA endowment stands at $40 million, which pays out about $2 million in operating expenses a year. But tuition, fees and housing make up 85% of the schools operating budget of $75 million. CCA offers two housing options for students in both the undergraduate and graduate divisions. The student body is primarily in the undergraduate school, which has about 1,000 students and charges $57,096 for tuition. Graduate tuition is $60,180. Financial aid or scholarships are offered to nearly 90% of undergraduates. No rise in tuition is proposed to help meet the shortfall. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Part of the decline in students is due to a demographic cliff, which Howse said CCA has been planning for. To reverse or equalize it, an academic portfolio review is being launched to come up with new offerings that might attract students and identify other courses that should be dropped due to lack of interest. Construction workers erect scaffolding surrounding the future extension structure of the California College of the Arts in San Francisco on March 6. Douglas Zimmerman/SFGATE With construction now paid for and nearly completed, Howse wants to turn his attention to finding significant donors to help fund operating expenses on a continuing basis, which would include increasing scholarship options. He also wouldnt mind a naming rights partner to come forward for the new building. In 2022, the historic CCA campus in the Rockridge area of Oakland was closed. Now that property is in the entitlement process in advance of a deal for CCA to sell it to a private developer, which would help the bottom line but is still years away. Meanwhile, programs divided between Oakland and a campus near San Franciscos Potrero Hill neighborhood have been consolidated. A vacant lot next to the San Francisco campus was bought and developed into the new complex, which includes the Wattis Institute of Contemporary Art. That project was fully funded by donations and is set to open Oct. 19. That building is a physical and symbolic gesture of our intention to thrive. Thats the pragmatic optimism that I am balancing here, Howse told the Chronicle. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A rendering of the California College of the Arts campus expansion by Studio Gang showing the Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts on the second story. Studio Gang Unlike its rival SFAI, which prided itself on offering no commercial programs, CCA has always offered a practical arts education. It was founded in 1907 as California College of Arts and Crafts and has evolved into a multifaceted institution with degrees in architecture and design, animation, critical and ethnic studies, and general humanities among its 22 undergraduate and 10 graduate departments. Class starts Wednesday, followed by an all-school assembly on Thursday. Howse, who has been in office for just eight months, will address the students and take questions. Two things can be true at the same time. One is that we are facing financial challenges. The other is that this is an amazing place, he said of the message he plans to deliver. I am working with the team to do everything that we can to ensure a long future for California College of the Arts. This is the shocking moment a cold-blooded assassin executes his victim with gunshots to the head in front of horrified passengers at a packed German train station. CCTV footage shows the suspect, 54, approaching the 27-year-old man from behind at the busy Frankfurt Central Station, in the German state of Hesse, around 9pm on August 20. Behind the horror shooting is a bloody family feud, according to newspapers in Turkey, where both men are from. The victim had allegedly killed the nephew of the gunmen, who took revenge by shooting him several times. The suspect, 54, can be seen drawing his gun in the video footage before shooting the victim in the head, causing him to collapse to the ground while dozens of shocked witnesses ran for their lives. As his victim was already lying on the ground, his callous killer moved in closer and fired several additional shots before attempting to flee the site and casting the weapon aside. CCTV footage shows the suspect, 54, approaching the 27-year-old man from behind at the busy Frankfurt Central Station, in the German state of Hesse, around 9pm on August 20 The suspect drew his gun and shot the victim in the head, causing him to collapse to the ground while dozens of horrified passengers who witnessed the brutal attack run for their lives As his victim was already lying motionless on the ground, his killer still moved in closer and fired several additional shots before attempting to flee the site and casting the weapon aside Turkish media report that a bloody family feud between the Kurdish families of the 54-year-old suspect, who operated a kebab shop in Germany, and the 27-year-old victim was the cause of the attack. The victim had reportedly killed a businessman, who he blamed for the murder of his brother in 2016, in Antalya, Turkey, in May this year before fleeing to Germany. The businessman's uncle tracked the 27-year-old down and allegedly killed him in the train station in an act of revenge, according to Turkish media. Police caught the gunman a few metres away from the crime scene on a nearby platform, and arrested him without resistance. The murder weapon, a pistol, was discovered during a later search of the station. The station was closed to all train traffic for about 25 minutes until the police operation was completed. The station was closed to all train traffic for about 25 minutes until the police operation was completed The crime scene was cordoned off around platform 9 in Frankfurt am Main, in the German state of Hesse Frankfurt police said in a statement: 'Help came too late for the 27-year-old, who died at the scene. Both men are Turkish citizens.' Police are now investigating whether the two men knew each other and are working to determine a possible motive for the shooting. Frankfurt Public Prosecutor's Office spokesperson Dominik Mies said: 'The investigation is still in its early stages, so I ask for your understanding that we cannot yet say anything about the motive or the relationship between the suspect and the victim.' Police added: 'The 54-year-old suspect will be brought before the investigating judge of the Frankfurt am Main District Court today by the public prosecutor's office, who will have to decide whether to order him in custody.' A British family contracted parasitic worms during a 3,700 five-star holiday to the Caribbean and say their trip was ruined by bugs on the food and deafening drum and bass music. Sarah Sigston, 57, her husband Jeremy, 53, and their daughter Isabelle, 25, jetted off to the Dominican Republic on May 4 for a two-week stay at an all-inclusive resort. But the luxurious holiday at the Viva Dominicus Palace by Wyndham soon turned into a nightmare. On arrival, the family from Rayleigh, Essex, said they found the hotel 'looked nothing like the pictures online' and they soon found issues with 'undercooked meat', 'insects in the salads' and 'birds on the buffet trays'. The family said they were also subjected to 'deafening' drum and bass music which played around the swimming pool constantly and contained 'awful' swear words. Sarah Sigston, 57, her husband Jeremy, 53, and their daughter Isabelle, 25, jetted off to the Dominican Republic on May 4 for a two-week stay at an all-inclusive resort The family claimed the meat served at the hotel's restaurants was often undercooked Isabelle ate her own Itsu gluten-free rice pots as she felt there was nothing she could 'safely eat' They say they selected the resort as it claimed online that it catered for people with coeliac disease, which Isabelle has. However she then became unwell after being served a burger which they say contained, gluten despite being assured by three different staff members it did not. By the eighth day on their trip, the family started to notice 'worms' in their stools which later required a three-day course of medication once they returned home to the UK. The family are currently trying to seek compensation through Tui, who they booked the holiday with. However the Sigstons said their claim has been refused by the travel company due to a lack of evidence linking their illnesses to the hotel . 'My wife and I have travelled around south-east Asia, Malaysia, Indonesia, and we've never had any issues, come back with anything, or even been ill,' Jeremy said. 'We've eaten some pretty questionable food but never have we come back with any lodgers inside us. 'We were totally underwhelmed with the holiday, disappointed and wholly mis-sold, especially with it being marketed as a 'coeliac friendly hotel' it was misleading.' Sarah, an artist, told how the family have visited the Dominican Republic three times and had 'amazing' trips, but said their latest holiday 'wasn't worth' the 3,783.16 they paid. 'On the first night, we all went 'oh my god' because it wasn't anything like we were expecting,' she said. 'The first day we got there, the food was cold, there were very limited food options, when you went round the buffet there were loads of empty trays. 'There was undercooked meat all the time, there were insects in the salads, flies all over the salads, birds sitting on the buffet trays. Isabelle (left) has coeliac disease and became unwell after eating a burger which contained gluten Sarah said food which was naturally gluten-free was labelled saying it contained gluten The family said the lock on their hotel room door was 'wholly inadequate The family said they were also subjected to 'deafening' drum and bass music which played around the swimming pool constantly and contained 'awful' swear words 'The hotel was very, very tired, it wasn't worth the money we paid, it looked nothing like the pictures online.' Sarah continued: 'There was loud music around the swimming pool, which might sound like a silly thing to complain about, but the type of music, it was really loud rapping, like drum and bass with the F-word and the C-word. 'It was constant and the swearing in it was unreal, it was awful. 'If I had a young child there, I would be absolutely appalled, it was literally deafening.' Jeremy added: 'The door lock to our room looked like someone had broken into it and smashed the Chubb lock and it had been replaced, but it was really badly done. 'It was wholly inadequate, you could have lent on it and opened the door.' Sarah said around the third day of their trip, she and her family started to feel unwell with diarrhea, nausea and stomach cramps. 'I think it was (Jeremy) who had the first worm and I remembered saying, 'there's a long white thing, you've got a parasitic worm',' Sarah said. 'We were sort of joking at first but then we all started getting them. 'For a couple of days, I had to stay in the room for the day because I couldn't go out as I kept having to go to the toilet.' The family returned home to the UK on May 19 and went to a doctor the following day, where they showed images of their stool, with Sarah saying the doctor immediately told them they were worms. They were all prescribed a three-day course of Mebendazole, a medication which is used to treat a number of parasitic worm infestations. Sarah also told of how her daughter's coeliac disease also became a cause for concern at the hotel. Picture taken from inside the hotel which two yellow precaution signs The family said the food was cold and there were 'very limited' food options Pictured: Food served at hotel in the Dominican Republic where the family stayed She said many of the food items available at the hotel's restaurants which are naturally gluten-free, such as potatoes, white rice and vegetables, were accompanied with labels saying they contained gluten. 'No-one seemed to know what coeliac disease was but apparently, the hotel catered for it,' she added. 'We asked (about the burger) and they said 'yes, they're gluten-free', we double-checked again and we were told 'yes' Isabelle was still a bit hesitant but she started eating it,' Sarah said. 'In the end, the head chef came down and he was really, really apologetic and said they weren't gluten-free but (Isabelle) had already eaten half of it and then obviously, you've got no choice.' A few hours after eating the burger, Isabelle became ill with diarrhea, sickness and 'crippling pain', saying she was 'wiped out' for the remainder of the holiday. To try to remedy the situation, Sarah said the chefs at the hotel asked the family to go to one of the 10 restaurants on site each night and find one of the chefs, where they would be able to cook something specially for her, such as gluten-free pasta. 'It was very nice but they weren't always there,' Sarah said. TUI declined to comment and the Viva Dominicus Palace by Wyndham hotel has been contacted for comment but has not responded at the time of publication. Two families are suing a Scottish theme park after their children suffered physical injuries and psychological trauma in a rollercoaster accident. The accident took place on August 12, 2021, at Landmark Forest Adventure Park in Carrbridge, near Aviemore. The families' solicitor, Digby Brown, confirmed that the girls sustained serious whiplash injuries and psychological trauma due to the accident. Although they have physically recovered, both girls continue to struggle with anxiety and flashbacks. It is believed that the families are seeking a five-figure sum in damages. The families' solicitor, Digby Brown, confirmed that the girls sustained serious whiplash injuries and psychological trauma due to the accident Two families are suing a Scottish theme park after their children suffered physical injuries and psychological trauma in a rollercoaster accident. The accident took place on August 12, 2021, at Landmark Forest Adventure Park in Carrbridge, near Aviemore At the time of the accident, police reported that a 'mechanical failure' had caused a carriage on the rollercoaster to malfunction. According to Digby Brown, the families remain frustrated by the lack of detailed information regarding the cause of the accident. The father of one of the injured girls described the horrifying moment when the rollercoaster was at its highest point, and he heard a 'bang' followed by smoke. He recalled how the carriage then 'plummeted to the bottom' of the ride, leaving the children trapped and in visible distress. The father, speaking to The Daily Record, said: 'After about 30 seconds it all stopped with the carriage sort of hanging off the side. 'We could see our daughters were terrified and in pain but there was nothing we could do while they were trapped there. 'I genuinely thought my girl was going to die.' The mother of the second injured girl added: 'It was terrifying to feel so helpless when you know your child is in distress I still feel that pain and anxiety today. 'Our sincere thanks go to the emergency workers and medical staff who cared for our children that day. 'The theme park told us nothing afterwards and neither has the HSE. Here we are, three years later, and we are still being ignored it's all ludicrous and, frankly, does little to inspire trust or confidence.' A spokesperson for Landmark Park said: 'We very much regret this incident occurred. 'Landmark Forest Adventure Park fully cooperated with HSE's investigation which resulted in no enforcement action of any kind being taken against us by HSE. We also carried out our own investigation into the incident' The legal case has been brought against Visitor Centres Ltd, the company that operates the theme park. A spokesperson for Landmark Park said: 'We very much regret this incident occurred. 'Landmark Forest Adventure Park fully cooperated with HSE's investigation which resulted in no enforcement action of any kind being taken against us by HSE. We also carried out our own investigation into the incident.' Their investigation revealed that a defect contributing to the accident should have been identified during the required annual non-destructive testing (NDT) inspection by a specialist contractor. The HSE's investigation reportedly reached a similar conclusion. The spokesperson added that Landmark Park provided an independent expert report to Digby Brown in December 2022, outlining the findings of their investigation. Despite this, the park was surprised to be included in the court action and intends to defend itself strongly. Following the accident, Landmark Park chose to stop operating the rollercoaster, which has since been removed from the premises. The ride had been under scrutiny after a safety alert was issued in 2014 by the rollercoaster's manufacturer, warning of a potential crack in the main support shaft. The park claimed it had addressed this alert by consulting with a specialist contractor, who confirmed that no further action was needed beyond the annual testing. Mairi Day, a partner at Digby Brown Solicitors in Edinburgh, said: 'People expect to be thrilled at theme parks but they should never expect to actually be harmed. 'Parks and attractions are legally required to risk assess and maintain attractions and while safety regulations are strict, they are also very simple, so if all work is done as it should be then there's no reason for these kinds of incidents to take place. 'But with Runaway Timber Train the available evidence shows there were gaps in the safety process which resulted in the injury of these two young girls and it is only right that those responsible are held to account.' A British pensioner who tried to sneak two Afghan migrants into the UK in the boot of his car has been jailed for four years. UK Border Force caught Rashida Ayub, 69, and his two hidden passengers as they tried to get through border control in Coquelles, near Calais. When the Afghan nationals were found crammed into the back of Ayub's Kia Sportage, the pensioner was arrested on-site. An investigation into his finances and his mobile phone's data unveiled two more members of his people smuggling gang - Jumagaul Mohamadi, 57, and Wshiar Sarteep, 31. As well as Ayub's four-year sentence, Mohamadi and Sarteep were jailed for 32 months each after a trial at Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester. British pensioner Rashida Ayub, 69, has been jailed for four years after he was caught trying to sneak two Afghan migrants into the UK in the boot of his Kia Sportage (seen on bodycam footage) An investigation into his finances and his mobile phone's data unveiled two more members of his people smuggling gang - Jumagaul Mohamadi (left), 57, and Wshiar Sarteep (right), 31 The trio's trial at Minshull Street Crown Court (seen), Manchester, was delayed twice due to Covid-19, with over seven years having now passed since Ayub was caught The court heard how on January 29, 2017, UK Border Force officers found the migrants during a search of Ayub's car, which was bound for the UK. His trial, alongside his associates, was twice delayed due to Covid-19. Their sentencing is the latest development in an extensive investigation launched by Home Office Criminal and Financial investigators into people smuggling routes into the UK. Home Office Criminal Investigation Supervisor, Paul Moran said: 'Thousands of pounds were exchanged to smuggle these people into the country, with total disregard for their safety and welfare. They were crammed inside the boot to allow it to close. 'As with many smuggling operations we encounter, the sole priority of these criminals is financial gain, at the expense of those they exploit under false promises. I am delighted our teams have stopped them from succeeding. 'We will continue to work tirelessly to secure our borders and clamp down on the gangs who heartlessly endanger vulnerable people to make money.' A manslaughter investigation was launched today over the Bayesian superyacht disaster after at least six people died when it sank off the coast of Sicily. British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, who owned the 30million vessel, was among those killed in the tragedy on Monday during a 'victory trip' to celebrate his acquittal on fraud charges in the US, while his 18-year-old daughter Hannah remains missing. Italian authorities are now 'investigating shipwreck and multiple counts of culpable homicide' - similar to the charge of manslaughter in the UK - according to Italian media. The investigation is being led by Ambrogio Cartosio, head of the prosecutor's office in the nearby town of Termini Imerese, with more details expected to be revealed at a press conference tomorrow morning. Causing a shipwreck is a separate offence under the Italian penal code and those found guilty of provoking or causing a shipwreck could face up to 12 years in prison. Search teams at the site of the Bayesian sinking this morning as they prepare to continue looking for the final missing person, Hannah Lynch The Bayesian yacht sank on August 19 off the coast of Sicily amid severe stormy weather Banking boss Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy died in the disaster (left). Tech boss Mike Lynch (right), who had just been cleared of fraud charges in the US, also died Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo were also aboard the ship The body of chef Recaldo Thomas (pictured) was discovered on the day of the sinking The body of the boat's chef was found shortly after it sank - five other bodies have since been discovered (pictured: rescue workers stage a dry run of equipment) Investigators have been examining videos and photographs taken on the night of the storm showing the last minutes of the ship, as well as CCTV footage of the port. Italian news website Palermo Today said coastguard officials have visited all of the homes and public places with surveillance cameras pointed out to sea in the area. The Prosecutor's Office are also reviewing the actions and decisions made by the Bayesian's Captain James Cutfield, 51, and Matthew Griffith, 22, who is understood to be the first officer, according to Palermo Today. It has been reported that Mr Cutfield was quizzed 'at length' for at least two hours by the prosecution team. The agonising search Dr Lynch's daughter Hannah is continuing today amid fears the missing teenager is still trapped within the sunken superyacht. Tributes have been pouring in for the victims of the tragedy, including her father Dr Lynch, once dubbed the British Bill Gates, after his body was recovered from one of the vessel's cabins early yesterday. Dr Lynch's was the fifth body to be found in the lower deck of the ill-fated yacht which lies on the seabed at a depth of 164ft half a mile from the port in Porticello. The tragic discovery came after Italian authorities indicated they believed they had found the father and daughter when the first of four bodies were pulled from the wreck. But yesterday morning, they said Hannah was, in fact, still missing and the first bodies brought ashore were those of British businessman Jonathan Bloomer, 70, his wife Judy, 71, and Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, 59, and his wife Neda, 57. Dr Lynch's wife Angela Bacares, who was among 15 people rescued in 'apocalyptic' scenes from the sinking, had been anxiously waiting for news of her husband and daughter. The search for Hannah, a bright student who recently secured a place to read English at Oxford, is said to have been hindered by debris blocking access to all areas of the yacht. The national head of the fire brigade Carlo Dall'Oppio told the Mail that operations are proceeding slowly because they must protect the safety of the divers because of the depth of the wreck. 'The sixth body has not yet been located, we have not yet inspected the entire boat, so we think it is possible that the body is still inside. 'These operations are proceeding slowly, because we must first preserve the health of our operators. It is a difficult job - there are about 40 divers.' It comes as Italian media reported that the victims were found on the opposite side of the yacht to their cabins which suggested they may have been trying to escape the incoming water by reaching the higher ground. The Bayesian's captain, James Cutfield (pictured) has been questioned by officials carrying out an investigation into the tragedy A coastguard boat sits on the water close to the sinking site off the coast of Sicily this morning Italian fire service divers speak on a rescue boat this morning as they prepare to resume searches for Hannah Lynch The superyacht was said to have gone down by the bow and settled on its starboard on a tilt. 'We found them all on that side...we had maps with the layout of the cabins and the positions of the guests, and that's not where we recovered them,' a source said. Emergency workers said they would need a 'crystal ball' to be able to predict when the sixth body would be recovered. Luca Cari, a spokesman for the fire rescue service, told Sky News: 'It's very difficult to move inside the wreckage. Moving just one metre can take up to 24 hours.' A decision on whether to raise the sunken yacht from the seabed is 'not on the agenda', but will be in the future, Vincenzo Zagarola from the Italian Coastguard has said. He also said that the missing woman is believed to be still inside the boat. As the search continued last night tributes continued to be paid to for those who have been confirmed dead. The Bloomer's now orphaned children released a heartbreaking statement in which they said the loss of their parents was an 'an unimaginable grief to shoulder'. 'Our parents were incredible people and an inspiration to many, but first and foremost they were focused on and loved their family and spending time with their new grandchildren. 'Together for five decades, our only comfort is that they are still together now,' they said. The chairman of children's charity the NSPCC described Mr Bloomer, the former honorary treasurer of the organisation, as 'a very kind individual', Speaking about the Morgan Stanley International bank chairman and his wife, Neil Berkett said: 'We remember Jonathan from his time with us as a very kind individual with a great sense of humour and Judy as formidable and passionate.' Tributes to Dr Lynch were also paid by senior industry figures who applauded his contribution to the world of tech. David Tabizel, Dr Lynch's co-founder at Autonomy, said: 'The world has lost a genius. His family have lost a giant of a man.' 'He was exhausting, exhilarating & incisive... Britain's Bill Gates? Not really. Britain's Steve Jobs. The father of modern AI.' Industry group TechUK also paid tribute calling him 'a hugely significant and pioneering figure' in the UK technology sector. Lord Browne of Madingley described him as 'the person who catalysed a breed of deep tech entrepreneurs in the UK'. The chairman of BeyondNetZero said: 'His ideas and his personal vision were a powerful contribution to science and technology in both Britain and globally.' Dr Lynch's close friend Brent Hoberman, the former chief executive of lastminute.com, described the disaster as a 'Shakespearean sort of tragedy'. He said: 'We were all hoping for a miracle, we knew it was unlikely but you still hold out hope.' 'It's just so unbelievably tragic for him to go through what he went through over the last 12 years, defending his name and not really living a full life, to now for his death to be confirmed is obviously incredibly sad.' The family of the Morvillos, who have two daughters now orphaned, released a statement speaking of the 'complete devastation' felt by the their 'tremendous loss'. The bodies were informally identified when they were brought to shore and are expected to be formally identified, as under Italian law, by relatives after post-mortem examinations next week. Their deaths bring the death toll to six after yacht's Canadian chef Recaldo Thomas was found shortly after the ship went down in a storm at 5am. In a separate incident, Dr Lynch's co-defendant in his fraud trial, Stephen Chamberlain, died after being hit by a car while running in Cambridgeshire on Saturday. Dr Lynch, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was cleared in June of carrying out a massive fraud relating to its 11 billion dollar (8.64 billion) sale to US company Hewlett Packard. Mr Zagarola previously said a decision on whether to raise the sunken yacht from the seabed is 'not on the agenda', but will be in the future. Giovanni Costantino, chief executive of the firm that built the yacht, said it was 'absurd' that passengers on the yacht were in their cabins. He told the Times: 'Why were (they) in their cabins? 'Local fishermen saw the storm was coming, why did no-one on board the Bayesian realise? 'From 3.50am, the captain had four minutes to get the passengers out of their cabins.' He continued: 'They should have jettisoned the anchor, started the engine, pointed the bows to the wind and put the keel down. 'If they had done that, no-one on board would have been afraid, they would have been back to bed in an hour and ready to push on with their voyage.' A helicopter, remotely controlled underwater vehicles, naval units and cave divers have been used in the search. The Bayesian was moored around half a mile off the coast of Porticello when it sank as the area was hit by a storm. Its wreckage is resting on the seabed off the coast at a depth of 50 metres (164ft). A beloved journalist whose sudden death has sent shockwaves through her tight-knit community is being remembered as a kind and talented reporter. Senior Cairns Post reporter Bronwyn Farr, 59, died on Sunday, August 11. The smart-witted and passionate writer had worked at the News Corp-owned Cairns Post for four years after first entering the industry in 1987. She started as a reporter in northwest Queensland before moving to Sydney in 1992 to work for the Australian Associated Press in a variety of roles. Ms Farr was a dedicated advocate for rural and regional communities and covered some of the biggest court cases in Far North Queensland. She was a big supporter of improved mental health services in rural communities and openly spoke about her own mental health battles. Cairns Post editor Tyla Harrington said Ms Farr was known for being efficient and accurately when reporting complicated stories. 'In her almost four years with our masthead, Bronwyn developed a network of contacts and trust within the city,' she told the masthead. Senior Cairns Post reporter Bronwyn Farr, 59, died on Sunday, August 11. She is survived by her daughter Victoria and her 15-month-old grand-daughter Eloise (pictured) 'Bronwyn was a much-loved member of our team, and her loss is profoundly felt in our newsroom and across Far North Queensland.' Ms Farr is survived by her daughter Victoria and 15-month-old granddaughter Eloise. 'Mum was a storm in a teacup, a brilliant mastermind journalist, and definitely where I get my determination from,' Victoria told the Cairns Post. 'I grew up as an only child with Mum as a single mum. She was my world for so long. 'Mum was many things, one of which was an incredible cook... often hosting feasts and cooking for others.' Victoria said her mother had beaten stage-four breast cancer twice. 'I know first-hand that mental illness is messy but to so many it is invisible,' she said. 'Mum survived stage 4 breast cancer, not once but twice... she fought so hard every single day to survive and also to thrive (and) she gave joy to many people. Ms Farr was a dedicated advocate for rural and regional communities and covered some of the biggest court cases in Far North Queensland (she is pictured with her dog Henry) 'Mental illness is something I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy and I urge anyone struggling to reach out to their loved ones.' Ms Farr is seen riding horses and posing with her dog Henry in photos online. 'Journalist, publicity supremo, love writing and editing compelling stories and love creating sharp marketing moves,' her Instagram bio reads. A service for Ms Farr was held on Friday in Smithfield, Cairns. If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For further information about depression contact beyondblue on 1300224636 or talk to your GP, local health professional or someone you trust. An Israeli teenager has described her kidnap horror in the tunnels of Gaza where the terrorists who killed her father and sister vowed to find her husband in Gaza and keep her as a 'chained slave-wife'. Agam Goldstein-Almog was kidnapped alongside her mother Chen and her brothers Gal, 11, and Tal, 9, on October 7, while her father Nadav and older sister Yam, 20, were killed when the terrorists stormed their home in the Kibbutz Kfar Aza. The 17-year-old was dragged out of her house and taken to Gaza, where she was forced to wear a hijab and recite Islamic prayers. At one point during her 51-day-long ordeal before she was freed in a prisoner swap in late November, one of the guards vowed that he would find her a husband in Gaza, where she would spend the rest of her life as a 'chained slave-wife'. 'When one of my guards told me that he would find me a "husband" in Gaza, and that I would live the rest of my life as a chained slave-wife, my mother interrupted, deflecting his advances,' Agam wrote in a haunting report about her experience in the Washington Post. Agam Goldstein-Almog (pictured) was kidnapped alongside her mother Chen and her brothers Gal, 11, and Tal, 9, on October 7, while her father Nadav and older sister Yam, 20, were killed when the terrorists stormed their home in the Kibbutz Kfar Aza Agam is now urging to free the six hostages she encountered in the tunnels, who are still being held in Gaza, saying they 'should have come home a long time ago' Agam Goldstein-Almog, 17, who was released from the Gaza Strip on November 26, 2023, after being taken hostage by Hamas during the October 7 attack on Israel, cries as she is embraced by a loved one shortly after being reunited with her family Released hostage, Agam Goldstein- Almog (left) and her mother Chen, right, hug a community member during a Kfar Aza community event on the fourth night of Hanukkah on December 10, 2023 in Shefayim, Israel Inbar Goldstein reacts as she visits her parents' house for the first time in November 2023 after it was burnt in the October 7 attack on Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Inbar lost her brother Nadav, her niece, Yam, while her sister-in-law Chen, her niece Agam and her nephews Gal and Talher were taken to Gaza for 51 days The Israeli teenager said she met six other female hostages in the tunnels underneath Gaza. '[They] told me about men with guns who came into their shower rooms and touched their bodies. Hearing about these young women's fear of sexual abuse was agonizing.' Agam said that during her captivity in Gaza, Hamas moved her to a school hall filled with Gazan women and children to 'serve as human shields' as the terrorists launched rockets just a few feet away from her. She said she was often told to look down on the ground and was 'forbidden from mourning' her dead father and sister, as the scenes of their death still haunt her 'I see my father's fading eyes when I close mine at night,' Agam wrote in the Washington Post. When Agam and her family were finally released as part of a hostage swap last year, a Hamas guard told them that in the 'next war', there would be no hostages and the terror group would instead 'return to kill [them]'. She said that when she arrived in Gaza, young civilians surrounded the car she was transported in and smiled and laughed at her. But when a Red Cross vehicle took her family out of Gaza, yet another mob formed around the car - but this time, instead of laughing, the Gazans 'banged on the windows and screamed at us: Die, die, die'. Agam is now urging to free the six hostages she encountered in the tunnels, who are still being held in Gaza, saying they 'should have come home a long time ago'. Her mother Chen also spoke about their horrifying experiences in Gaza back in December, detailing what happened to them on October 7 and during their time in captivity. Chen Goldstein-Almog also spoke about their horrifying experiences in Gaza back in December, detailing what happened to them on October 7 and during their time in captivity Agam Goldstein-Almog was kidnapped alongside her mother Chen and her brothers Gal, 11, and Tal, 9, on October 7, while her father Nadav and older sister Yam, 20, were killed when the terrorists stormed their home in the Kibbutz Kfar Aza (pictured above in January) Mourners gather around the graves of Sgt. Yam Goldstein and her father, Nadav, during their funeral in Kibbutz Shefayim, Israel, Monday, October 23, 2023. Agam, her mother Chen and her brothers could not be at the funeral as they were held hostage in Gaza at the time Gal, 11, and Tal, 9, were kidnapped by Hamas and taken to Gaza on October 7 alongside their mother and sister Varda Goldstein and her daughter Inbar dig through the rubble as they visit the Kibbutz Kfar Aza for the first time after they lost Nadav and Yam, on November 10, 2023 'Within seven minutes we were in Gaza,' said Chen. 'I remember the looks on my children's faces. There was shock and a great sadness that I couldn't express because I was now in survival mode.' Chen, 49, a social worker, had to restrain her grieving for husband Nadav, shot point-blank in the chest by the gunmen when they broke into the family safe room, and their eldest daughter Yam, 20, killed minutes later. 'Everything would remind us of them,' she said. 'I cried sometimes, the children saw that too, but straight away I had to wipe away the tears and snap out of it. They (the militants) didn't like it when we cried.' She said the family spent their first and last nights in an underground tunnel before they were released in a late November prisoner swap, seven weeks into the Israel-Hamas war. In between, they were moved several times from house to house. Food and water were sometimes restricted, she said, while sanitary conditions were tough with no running water in the toilets and just one change of clothes. The windows were always heavily draped, said Chen. When darkness fell, houses where they were held were either lit with candles or kept pitch black. 'The nights were very long, never-ending nights, and so were the days.' 'Control of your life is taken in one moment and is in someone else's hands. We had no influence over our lives except for trying to survive and keep ourselves sane and balanced and functioning,' she said. Agam Goldstein-Almog, flanked by her mother Chen, both hostages released as part of a temporary ceasefire, speaks as displaced community members from Kibbutz Kfar Aza, on December 10, 2023 Mourners gather around the graves of Sgt. Yam Goldstein and her father, Nadav, during their funeral in Kibbutz Shefayim, Israel, Monday, October 23, 2023 A view shows a destroyed home riddled with bullets, following the deadly October 7 attack by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in Kibbutz Kfar Aza, southern Israel November 2, 2023 Recently released hostage Agam Goldstein Almog speaks at a rally outside The Museum of Art known as the 'The Hostages and Missing Square' on December 16, 2023 in Tel Aviv, Israel Every move to a new hideout meant a new team guarding the family, and new worries, she said. The fear was constant even though the militants said she and her three children would not be harmed. Other hostages were less fortunate, she said. In one of the hideouts the family was placed with a group of female captives. 'Some were beaten, handcuffed for some hours. Not just men, women were beaten too and we heard of sexual abuse, some first hand and some were girls we met who had witnessed it or had heard about it, harm inflicted at gunpoint.' Hamas has denied accusations of sexual abuse. Chen said she is worried about the female hostages left behind, some of whom she said were seriously injured. 'They said they could deal with the physical injuries but they didn't know how they could deal with the way they were hurt sexually.' Since Hamas killed 1,200 people -mostly civilians - and took about 250 hostages on October 7 in the deadliest day in Israel's 75-year history, Israel's armed forces have responded with an offensive that has laid much of Hamas-ruled Gaza to waste. The Israeli offensive launched in response has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, which doesn't say how many were militants or civilians. Successive Israeli evacuation orders in Gaza, including 12 just in August, have displaced 90 per cent of its 2.1 million residents since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, the top UN humanitarian official for the Palestinian territory says. 'It is hell there,' said Almog-Goldstein. 'They (the remaining hostages) are trying to keep their morale up but when we were let out, they were already on the edge.' Jeremy Clarkson today opened his new pub to acclaim from fans who queued for hours to be among the first to sink a pint at his latest venture. More than four hours before the doors of 'The Farmer's Dog' opened for business at noon, dozens of people had taken their place outside in blustery conditions. Many had travelled long distances to the picturesque spot outside of the Cotswold village of Burford where Clarkson bought a pub known as The Windmill for just under 1million two months ago. TV crews from the popular TV series 'Clarkson's Farm' were on hand to film the grand opening. The popularity of the new pub meant that the car park was full within an hour of opening. Jeremy Clarkson today opened his new pub to acclaim from fans who queued for hours to be among the first to sink a pint at his latest venture. TV crews followed the star through the day during the grand opening More than 400 people waited hours to be the first to enter Clarkson's new pub Gerald Cooper arrives for the the opening of Clarkson's new pub Clarkson's Farm co- star Caleb Cooper was also an early arrival at the pub A board placed outside The Farmer's Dog stating the everything inside Clarkson's new pub is grown and raised in Great Britain Clarkson was given a rousing cheer when he arrived in a white Jaguar convertible. His Clarkson Farm co- star Caleb Cooper was also an early arrival. On the stroke of noon Clarkson emerged through the front doors of the pub and shouted: We are open! He then held up his mobile phone to prove that he was on time for the noon opening. As dozens of people surged forward with mobile phones, Clarkson apologised and said he would not be able to do any selfies. Several people in the crowd shouted out good on you Jeremy and good luck. Clarkson said he had chosen the pub for his latest venture as it was least likely to p*** off local residents. Pubgoers waited in a long row, often for hours, for a chance to have a pint in Clarkson's new pub Clarkson was given a rousing cheer when he arrived.Clarkson said he had chosen the pub for his latest venture as it was least likely to p*** off local residents On the stroke of noon Clarkson emerged through the front doors of the pub and shouted: We are open Clarkson and his partner Lisa Hogan. He delighted fans by going on an impromptu walkabout in the expansive field where dozens of people sat at wooden picnic tables More than four hours before the doors of The Farmer's Dog opened for business at noon, dozens of people had taken their place outside in blustery conditions An adjoining field that could cater for up to 2,000 cars had been rented for the day to cope with expected influx of customers. An hour before the pub opened more than 400 people had joined the queue which snaked through the car park He said: 'We looked at about 40 and we needed a very special set of things, like a big car park, a big car park and lots of parking. And no little roads to get to it and no villagers to p*** off here. There is no one to annoy so its a good spot. Clarkson said becoming a publican was a step into the unknown and joked that his next venture might be to open a cinema. After farming and pubs they are the ones in trouble. The TV star said he hoped to make a success of The Farmers Dog but added using only British produce meant that profit margins would be much lower. He said using pork from his Diddly Squat farm would cost 0.74p to turn into sausage to be sold at the pub. But if he used imported pig meat it would be 0.18p. It costs us 0.74p to get a sausage into here, but if I buy imported pig meat it is 0.18. There is something wrong with the food system in this country,. The TV star said he hoped to make a success of The Farmers Dog but added using only British produce meant that profit margins would be much lower. He said using pork from his Diddly Squat farm would cost 0.74p to turn into sausage to be sold at the pub One of the most popular items was a candle in a tin with the less than flattering name of This smells like B******ks. Each candle The TV star said he hoped to make a success of The Farmers Dog but added using only British produce meant that profit margins would be much lower As dozens of people surged forward with mobile phones, Clarkson apologised and said he would not be able to do any selfies Clarkson delighted fans by going on an impromptu walkabout in the expansive field where dozens of people sat at wooden picnic tables. Accompanied by his partner Lisa Hogan, he shook hands and walked to a pop up kitchen called The Farmers puppy. He again refused requests to pose for selfies but acknowledged the large crowds who followed in his wake. Many shouted out their best wishes to the TV star and wished his pub every success. An adjoining field that could cater for up to 2,000 cars had been rented for the day to cope with expected influx of customers. An hour before the pub opened more than 400 people had joined the queue which snaked through the car park and past a green marquee selling produce from Clarksons Diddly Squat farm. Event staff in high viz jackets were on duty to keep order. Lauren Hanly and her friend Blake Jones were the first in the queue waiting for the green doors of the recently renovated pub to open to the paying public for the first time. The 34-year-old former pub manager said she was hoping Clarkson would pull the first pint to be sold at the pub. 'We are big fans of his and just wanted to be here to support the opening and see what it is like. 'I'm pretty certain that it is going to be a big success. As a pub manager I think it is great that he has chosen to go into the pub trade.' Students Molly Dunn and her friend Max Morris drove from Bath to be among to enjoy lunch at the venue. Molly said:' It took us about an hour and half to get here. We like watching Clarkson's Farm so thought why not.' Clarkson has insisted only British produce will be served at his pub. That meant people who wanted to a cup of Cornish tea at 3 were told there was no sugar available to sweeten the drink Before the pub opened visitors were able to get an early morning pint from a marquee set up in the grounds. As well as selling beer from a brewery part owned by Clarkson it was also doing a roaring trade in selling produce from the TV star's Diddly Squat Farm Molly's dad Hugh also said he was a huge fan of Clarkson although he joked it wasn't everyday that he was drinking a pint at 9am in the morning. Despite queuing for two hours in the sunshine fans of Clarkson were still enthusiastic about paying their first visit to the pub. Its worth the wait as its a one off, said Alan Adams. It was great to see Jeremy in person and I hope he does really well. Those visitors unable to get a table inside or on the terrace of the pub settled for a 14 lamb kebab or 16 burger being sold from the pop-up kitchen. Beers on offer at Clarksons pub include five varieties and a cider from his co-owned Hawkstone brewery. The IPA is the most expensive at 6 a pint while Hawkstone Session lager is 5.50 a pint, alongside the Hawkstone Pils, Hawkstone Breeze, and cask ale. Pints of Hawkstone Hedgerow cider sell for 6. Half a pint costs 3.10 A wide variety of Diddly Squat Farm products were on sale at a pop-up shop in the grounds of The Farmers Dog. From dairy products to soap and bottles of rum visitors were happy to part with cash for a memento of coming close to brushing shoulders with their hero Jeremy Clarkson. Products on offer included mechanics hand soap at 6.80, Jeremys Hot Seed Beer mustard at 6.80 a jar, Habanero Chilli Chutney also at 6.80. A black and white tin mug bearing the name of Diddly Squat cost 14 while a jar of honey or Bee juice as Clarkson calls it was on sale for 12. Loaves of sour dough bread retailed at 5.95 with a small loaf costing 3.95. There were even day-old loaves on sale at half the usual price. One of the most popular items was a candle in a tin with the less than flattering name of This smells like B******ks. A long queue stretched from the green marguee that has often been seen in The Grand Tour series. James Hixon said he wanted to be among the first to experience the Clarkson hospitality. 'I think it is very brave that he has opened a pub, and I'm sure it will be a big success. You only have to look at the people who are here hours before it opens to know that it will do well. Good luck to him.' Diners at The Farmer's Dog gave the thumbs up to the all British produce being served. Pollyanna De Saulles tucked into a burger with her three year old daughter Bluebell on an outside table. The mum of two said: The food is delicious and a very good price as well. We are pleased to be here as its a nice day out Everything on The Farmer's Dog menu is sourced within the UK which means products such as ketchup, Coca-Cola and sugar are not available in the pub A long queue stretched from the green marguee that has often been seen in The Grand Tour series As well as selling beer from a brewery part owned by Clarkson, it was also doing a roaring trade in selling produce from the TV star's Diddly Squat Farm The huge number of car parking spaces laid on by Clarkson for his opening day meant there was no traffic chaos. The ease with which visitors could come and go from an overflow car park was in marked contrast to the picture postcard village of Burford where the approach road was jammed with cars from visiting tourists. The village is about two miles from Clarksons pub. Before the pub opened visitors were able to get an early morning pint from a marquee set up in the grounds. As well as selling beer from a brewery part owned by Clarkson it was also doing a roaring trade in selling produce from the TV star's Diddly Squat Farm. Various chutneys, oils and souvenirs such as tea towels and soap were on offer. A mobile kitchen called 'The Farmer's puppy' served burgers and other food had been set up alongside the green marquee. Clarkson has insisted only British produce will be served at his pub. That meant people who wanted to a cup of Cornish tea at 3 were told there was no sugar available to sweeten the drink. 'I'm sorry but we have no sugar as its not produced in this country so we can't serve any,' said a member of staff. Lauren Hanly and her friend Blake Jones (pictured) were the first in the queue waiting for the green doors of the recently renovated pub to open to the paying public for the first time A wide variety of Diddly Squat Farm products were on sale at a pop up shop in the grounds of The Farmers Dog pub A self service milk dispenser outside Jeremy Clarkson's new pub, The Farmer's Dog, in Asthall, near Burford in Oxfordshire Soap on sale in The Farmer's Dog Many had travelled long distances to the picturesque spot outside of the Cotswold village of Burford where Clarkson bought a pub known as The Windmill for just under 1million two months ago Clarkson,64, has clashed with the local council over planning issues for his Diddly Squat farm. But he was full of praise for West Oxfordshire Council saying: 'Credit where credit is due. 'Our new pub opens tomorrow and this might sound odd but I'd like to thank Oxfordshire County Council for all their help. 'We couldn't have done it so fast without you. They've been fantastic.' A stony-faced Volodymyr Zelensky has shared an awkward embrace with Putin pal Narendra Modi as the Indian Prime Minister visited Kyiv. Modi hugged Zelensky - who appeared cold as he barely broke into a smile and was frowning - outside the Mariinsky Palace, in the first ever visit by an Indian leader to Ukraine. The Indian leader is casting himself as a possible peacemaker between Moscow and Kyiv and is using his visit in Ukraine to push for a solution to end more than two years of war with Russia. The encounter comes just weeks after the Ukrainian leader slammed Modi for hugging the 'world's most bloody criminal', Vladimir Putin, who called the Indian PM his 'dear friend' during his visit in Russia. Modi was hosted in Moscow in July, with him and Putin greeting each other with bright smiles and a warm hug - a stark contrast to the awkward embrace Modi shared with Zelensky. A stony-faced Volodymyr Zelensky has shared an awkward embrace with Putin pal Narendra Modi as the Indian Prime Minister visited Kyiv The encounter comes just weeks after the Ukrainian leader slammed Modi for hugging the 'world's most bloody criminal', Vladimir Putin, who called the Indian PM his 'dear friend' during his visit in Russia Modi hugged Zelensky - who appeared cold as he barely broke into a smile - outside the Mariinsky Palace, in the first ever visit by an Indian leader to Ukraine The pair stood side by side for a photo opportunity at the entrance of the Mariinskyi Palace Modi arrived in Moscow on the day Putin's forces had blasted a children's hospital in Kyiv as part of a series of attacks on Ukraine which killed 38 - including four children - and wounded over 170. When Modi shared footage of his visit on social media, he captioned the post: 'A memorable welcome in Moscow'. Modi and Putin hugged and smiled as they stood for pictures, which caused a furious reaction by Zelensky, who wrote: 'It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world's largest democracy hug the world's most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day.' Modi's visit comes at a dramatic moment in the two-and-a-half year war, with a diplomatic settlement appearing more elusive than ever. Kyiv's forces are mounting a major incursion into Russia's Kursk region while Moscow's army is advancing in eastern Ukraine, claiming to have seized a swathe of towns and villages in recent weeks. 'No problem can be resolved on a battlefield,' Modi said in Poland on Wednesday before heading to Ukraine. India, he said, supports 'dialogue and diplomacy for restoration of peace and stability as soon as possible.' But it is unclear if Modi could be an effective dealmaker. The 73-year-old has good relations with Russia, and met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in July. Pictures of their meeting show Zelensky squinting against the sun as he hugs Modi Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine August 23 Modi and Zelensky walk past Ukrainian officials gathered outside the Palace to greet the Indian PM Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands prior to their talks Indian Prime Minister Modi signs a guestbook at the Mariinskyi Palace as Zelensky watches on Modi's visit comes at a dramatic moment in the two-and-a-half year war, with a diplomatic settlement appearing more elusive than ever Zelensky said today that he and Modi had together 'honoured the memory of children whose lives were taken by Russian aggression.' 'Children of every country deserve to be safe. We must make it possible,' Zelensky said in a post on Telegram. Modi today issued renewed condolences over the strike on X in a post written in Ukrainian. 'Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief,' the post said. During his visit to Moscow last month, Modi had told Putin that 'war cannot solve problems' and that seeing 'innocent children murdered... is pain that is unbearable.' Ahead of his arrival in Kyiv, Modi said he planned to 'share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict' with Zelensky. Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi take a walk during their meeting in July Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin embraced during an informal meeting in July While India has historically warm ties with Russia, it also courts closer security partnerships with Western nations as a bulwark against its regional rival China. New Delhi has avoided explicit condemnation of Russia's 2022 invasion and has abstained on UN resolutions that criticise the Kremlin, instead urging both sides to resolve their differences through direct dialogue. Moscow also remains a key supplier of oil and weapons to India. But Russia's Ukraine invasion has also had a human cost for India, with several reports of Indian citizens being killed fighting for Russia. In February, New Delhi said it was pushing the Kremlin to send back some of its citizens. In the first year of the invasion in 2022, Putin publicly acknowledged that Modi had 'concerns' over Moscow's actions in Ukraine. Western powers have in recent years pressured New Delhi to distance itself from Russia. Ukraine has said that one of its aims of launching the surprise Kursk incursion on August 6 was to force Moscow into 'fair' negotiations. While there was no sign of any serious talks to end the war before then, Russia has said the counter-offensive now makes them impossible. In this photo taken from a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, a Russian soldier fires from D-30 howitzer towards Ukrainian positions in an undisclosed location in Ukraine Ukrainian rescuers work to extinguish a fire in a forest after shelling in the city of Bogodukhiv, Kharkiv region, northeastern Ukraine, August 22, 2024 Smoke rises from explosions during a Ukrainian strike on a Russian platoon command post in Muzhitsa, Glushkovsky District, Kursk region, Russia, in this still image obtained from video released August 22, 2024 Putin earlier this year said Kyiv would have to abandon territory in four of its regions which Moscow claims to have annexed as a precondition to opening talks - a hardline demand that drew scorn in Kyiv and the West. Zelensky has also ruled out direct negotiations with Putin. Even as Moscow scrambles to fight off the Ukrainian attack into its Western Kursk region, its forces are still advancing in the eastern Donetsk region, capturing several towns and villages in recent days. Kyiv has ordered some evacuations from Pokrovsk - a key strategic and logistics hub in the region - amid fears it could fall to Russia. As Modi arrived in Kyiv, Ukraine said a Russian strike killed two people in the north-eastern Sumy region and that two other people were pulled out of rubble caused by another strike on the Kharkiv region, further south, a day earlier. The United Nations has verified more than 10,000 civilian deaths in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February 2022, but says the true figure is likely much higher. Clarkson's Farm fans were thrilled after seeing star of the show Gerald Cooper at the opening of Jeremy Clarkson's new pub. Cooper, 74, attended the unveiling of The Farmer's Dog, which is located in the Cotswold village of Burford, just two months after declaring that he was cancer-free. It is located on the same site where Clarkson, 64, bought a pub known as The Windmill for just under 1million two months ago. Amid the fanfare of the pub's opening, fans were also ecstatic to see Gerald, who has become a cult figure throughout the series thanks to his thick West Country accent and on-screen charisma. Sporting a red jumper underneath a black gilet, Gerald was seen to be in good spirits at the pub's opening, as he gave a thumbs-up while smiling to photographers. Clarkson's Farm fans were thrilled after seeing star of the show Gerald Cooper at the opening of Jeremy Clarkson 's new pub Sporting a red jumper underneath a black gilet, Gerald was seen to be in good spirits at the pub's opening, as he gave a thumbs-up while smiling to photographers It marks a timely return to health for the man who has proved to be so popular on the show since he first appeared on viewers' screens in 2021. He was treated for prostate cancer and underwent surgery in 2023, which he successfully recovered from in June. Releasing a social media post at the time to mark the good news, the Clarkson's Farm account said on X, formerly Twitter: 'A healthy and happy Gerald!', in a post accompanied by him smiling in a woolen jumper. In the final episode of the most recent series, Cooper thanked those who on the show for their ongoing support amid his diagnosis. He said at the time: 'I would like to thank everybody, all the film crew, and all my friends here. 'All of you have been so kind to me and my family and thank you very much.' As well as selling beer from a brewery part owned by Clarkson, the new pub also had produce from Diddly Squat Farm on sale on its opening day. Various chutneys, oils and souvenirs such as tea towels and soap were on offer. A mobile kitchen called 'The Farmer's puppy' served burgers and other food had been set up alongside the green marquee. Clarkson has insisted only British produce will be served at his pub. Gerald has become a cult figure throughout the series thanks to his thick West Country accent and on-screen charisma The former Top Gear presenter previously clashed with the local council over planning issues for his Diddly Squat farm. But he was full of praise for West Oxfordshire Council saying: 'Credit where credit is due. 'Our new pub opens tomorrow and this might sound odd but. I'd like to thank Oxfordshire County Council for all their help. 'We couldn't have done it so fast without you. They've been fantastic.' Customers at the Magnolia brew pub on Haight Street in 2008. Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle Magnolia Brewing sold to New Belgium Brewing in 2017, but has since changed ownership. Gabrielle Lurie/Special to The Chronicle One of San Franciscos most revered brew pubs has new owners. Magnolia Brewing, a Haight Street staple for small-batch beers and bites, will temporarily close while it formally changes hands. Kevin Kynoch owner of neighborhood bars Fly Bar, Fishbowl and Polo Grounds is taking over the long-standing brew pub from Little Lion Beverages. Joining him is business partner Brandon Phillips of 21st Amendment Brewing and Brian Reccow, who managed Magnolia Brewing through a previous bankruptcy period with his consulting company. Kynoch confirmed the sale to the Chronicle, saying the new team will officially have the keys to the bar on Sept. 1. When the opportunity to get involved with Magnolia emerged, we were very excited, he said. Its one of San Franciscos great legacy breweries. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Magnolia was founded by Dave McLean in 1997 and became a leader of the craft beer boom that took off in the following years, eventually expanding to a second brew pub in Dogpatch. In 2015, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy; two years later, a group led by Colorados New Belgium, best known for its Fat Tire Ale and Voodoo Ranger IPA, bought it for $2.7 million. Little Lion Beverages, a subsidiary of Japans Kirin, acquired New Belgium in 2019, and Magnolia came along with it. Magnolias Dogpatch location later shut down, though the original Haight Street pub continued to operate. In February, New Belgium announced that its own taproom in Mission Bay would close. McLean told the Chronicle that he had tried to buy Magnolia back himself, but was unsuccessful. Former owner Dave McLean, in 2016. Gabrielle Lurie/Special to The Chronicle The new ownerships plan is to reopen after the new beer manufacturing and liquor licenses go into effect. During this time, Kynochs team will perform some small repairs and cosmetic work inside the building. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Kynoch said the business will mostly operate as it always has, with a focus on classic house beers, like Magnolias popular California Kolsch. There are plans to introduce a few new beers into the lineup. Kynoch is in talks with Magnolias brewing staff to see if he can retain the current crew making beers. Weve had some great conversations with them, and its really a matter of what current staff want and what they feel is best for their career and their future opportunities, Kynoch said. We are open to working with them. The food menu will keep the focus on bar staples, like sandwiches and burgers, but will now include smaller items in an effort to create more affordable options, Kynoch said. A house-brewed Prescription Pale Ale at Magnolia Pub & Brewery in San Francisco, on the corner of Haight and Masonic streets. Michael Macor/The Chronicle Kynoch, who has operated his neighborhood bars for over 15 years, says that operating in the Haight is a great opportunity, as the neighborhood has a strong base of residents and tourists. Business fluctuations in the craft beer world, which is seeing a local taproom boom as beers overall market share declines, did not deter his decision to involve himself with Magnolia. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Doctors remain unsure why a nine-year-old girl went into fatal cardiac arrest but a coroner believes it could be a 'silent disease' that is difficult to diagnose. New Zealand schoolgirl Taya Awhina Kauri's death in February 2019 has been reviewed by Coroner Amelia Steel who released her findings on Friday. The nine-year-old 'princess' woke up on the morning of her death complaining of chest pains, a racing heart and burning in her chest. Her mother Monique Kauri later told New Zealand news outlet Stuff that she had initially thought her daughter was simply anxious about going to school. Taya was rushed to Papakura's Accident and Emergency clinic in south Auckland where her heart beat was measured at more than double a normal resting rate. The nine-year-old was then taken by ambulance to Middlemore Hospital where she went into cardiac arrest and tragically died in the ICU. Coroner Steel found Taya had been a healthy child up until 2018 when she began suffering bad migraines, shortness of breath and tiredness. She ruled Taya's cause of death was 'sudden cardiac death and hypertrophy and dilation of the right ventricle (a fluid filled cavity) of the heart', the New Zealand Herald reported. New Zealand schoolgirl Taya Awhina Kauri died at age nine of cardiac arrest in February 2019 Normally right heart enlargement is caused by lung disease obstructing the flow of blood into the lungs. However, the forensic pathologist who conducted Taya's postmortem wasn't able to determine the cause of the right ventricular dilation and hypertrophy. However, he did find Taya's heart weighed twice that of a girl her age. Coroner Steel suggested Taya may have suffered from primary pulmonary hypertension a type of high blood pressure that affects the arteries in the lungs and the right side of the heart. She said the 'surprisingly silent disease' that is often difficult to diagnose because the symptoms including decreased exercise tolerance, shortness of breath, chest pain and fainting, or near fainting, are not specific to a particular condition. Paediatrician Dr Nicholas Baker said the diagnosis of the rare and incurable disease wasn't considered by Taya's doctors at the time. A review of Tara's 2018 electrocardiogram (ECG) showed signs of right ventricular overload, which could have led to the diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension. Taya's family have set up a trust in her memory to provide holiday hampers for families in hardship and to support fathers grieving the loss of a child In her findings, Coroner Steel also noted, 'Dr Baker agrees with the other reports that sadly an earlier diagnosis would most likely not have opened options for treatment that would have significantly prolonged Taya's life'. The coroner decided against an inquiry into Taya's death as all the medical evidence had been considered and there were no suspicious circumstances. Taya's family have set up charity The Awhina Trust in her memory. 'Taya was a generous, caring and thoughtful nine-year-old whose presence made the world a better place,' the Trust's page on fundraising website Givealittle reads. 'To honour her life and legacy The Awhina Trust has been set up with two main focus points - to provide support to those in hardship through a holiday hamper program and to create a caring and supportive community for fathers processing the grief of losing a child.' ISIS fanatic inmates who took took control of a Russian penal colony, slashing a guard's throat and forcing maimed hostages to beg Putin for help, have now been 'liquidated' by snipers, according to security forces. Video emerged of knife-wielding prisoners at the 'harsh regime' IK-19 penal colony in Volgograd saying they were 'mujahideen' of Islamic State seeking revenge for their 'brothers' who carried out the Crocus City Hall massacre. One of the hostage-takers, identified as Rustamchon Navruzi, 23, a native of Tajikistan, is said to have strapped himself with explosives the prisoners made in the jail workshop using petrol and industrial liquids. The four attackers posted gruesome videos showing them holding a knife to the neck of a terrified guard while other uniformed officials were seen lying on the floor bleeding. A wounded prison officer - his face covered in blood - was seen in another video being forced to beg Vladimir Putin to intervene inside the Surovikino prison compound. The hostage-takers reportedly demanded a helicopter, 1.5 million in cash and an air corridor to the southeast in order to leave the country, and threatened to kill the hostages if their demands weren't met. But the siege came to a dramatic end as Russia's feared special forces moved in with Navruzi trying and failing to detonate his suicide vest - before being 'liquidated' along with his three fellow attackers. Video emerged of a prisoner holding a knife to the neck of one of the guards, whose blood appeared to be all over his uniform At least five uniformed prison officials were seen lying in pools of blood with a knife-wielding hostage-taker nearby One prison guard was seen lying on the floor, with blood all over his face and clothes One of the hostage-takers, who appeared to be holding flag affiliated with ISIS, is said to have strapped himself with explosives. Footage shows the hostage-takers brandishing knives in videos shared on social media Russian special services troops were reported to be at the scene (unconfirmed footage on social media appears to be showing the troops) Vladimir Putin, pictured today, demanded an update on the hostage situation in his penal colony In the Kremlin, a pale-looking Putin was seen discussing the crisis with officials. In their bloodthirsty videos, the perpetrators described themselves as 'Mujahideen of the Islamic State', and at least one spoke Arabic, as they said they had seized control of the penal colony they were held at. Mash news outlet said it is believed the four hostage takers had become radicalised inside the jail. Russia state media said at least one member of the prison staff is believed to have been killed. Footage shows at least four uniformed prison officials lying or sitting in pools of blood. Three guards of the guards were lying motionless and one appeared to have had his throat cut. Another was sitting upright in a doorway, where a knifeman was yanking him around by his neck. The prisoner who was heard begging for Putin to intervene appeared to have been forced to do so by the hostage-takers. A knifeman could be heard dictating to the officer what to say to Putin. 'Appeal to Putin, appeal to the president,' he says to the prisoner. 'I appeal to the President of the Russian Federation.' The voice of the captor says: 'Louder', as the prisoner replies: 'I appeal to the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, to fulfill the demand. I need a doctor.' The ISIS hostage-taker says: 'You see, your own people have left you, they're not helping you. We've been demanding for half an hour that they call a doctor. They ran away and left you behind. Here are your friends, here are your colleagues.' A separate video shows a rattled Putin, 71, start a security council meeting by seeking to show he is in charge of the latest crisis to hit him amid the war with Ukraine. 'The Head of the Federal Penitentiary Service has reported to me on the situation in one of the prisons in the Volgograd region,' he said. 'I want to hear from the Minister of the Interior and the Director of the Federal Security Service [FSB].' Two of the hostage-takers, who were holding a knife, can be seen talking to the prison guard who begged for Putin to intervene Disturbing footage shared by the hostage-takers shows guards lying motionless on the floor One ISIS hostage-taker can be seen holding a knife to the neck of a guard, who has blood all over his face and body This prisoner-turned-hostage-taker is said to be wearing a vest with explosives One of the ISIS terrorists can be seen in what appears to be a courtyard inside the IK-19 penal colony The hostage-takers later said in footage shared on social media: 'We are doing all this for the sake of Allah, for the sake of establishing Sharia, for the sake of the Muslim brothers who are sitting in Syria. 'We are for those brothers to whom they did this when all this happened in Crocus. This is revenge for all the Muslim brothers.' Crocus referred to a bloody siege at Crocus City Hall music venue in Krasnogorsk, Moscow region in March. A total of 145 people died in a shootout. The prison service said in a statement: 'During a session of a disciplinary commission, convicts took staff of the penal institution as hostages. Measures are currently being taken to free the hostages. There are casualties.' Four prison staff were hospitalised due to the attack, Volgograd governor Andrey Bocharov said. 'An operational headquarters has been set up to coordinate the work on releasing the hostages. Law enforcement and security agencies are carrying out operational activities. There is no threat to the civilian population,' he added. The prison is designated as a 'harsh regime' penal colony with capacity to hold up to 1,241 male prisoners. The head of the IK-19 penal colony, Interior Ministry Colonel Andrei Devyatov, was being held hostage but reports said he was later freed or escaped. He was reportedly beaten with a hammer and a bottle over his head. One of the victims had his stomach opened with a knife, it was reported. The attackers tried to cut off the ear of another hostage, named Yuri Mavrin, who was later hospitalised. Russian sources say that at least one person is believed to have been killed and several more injured and feared dead after the inmates, who describe themselves as members of ISIS, launched their attack at a Russian prison - named IK-19 - in the Volgograd region The head of the IK-19 penal colony, Interior Ministry Colonel Andrei Devyatov (pictured), was being held hostage but reports said he was later freed or escaped. He was reportedly beaten with a hammer and a bottle over his head Pictures of the suspected attackers were released by Russian media, naming them as Ramzidin Toshev, top left, Rustamchon Navruzi, top right, Nazirchon Toshov, bottom left, Temur Khusinov, bottom right Reports said the attackers had bought knives inside the penal colony in exchange for bribes. Three employees of the jail were left in intensive care after fleeing the horror and prison officer Roman Ponomarev was in an 'extremely serious condition'. Devyatov was also wounded and is in intensive care. Another officer, Alexey Lygin, suffered stab wounds to the face, and had a skull fracture. He was in a critical condition. A convict named Alexander Boyko suffered a stab wound to the abdomen. The names of the suspected terrorists holding hostages were given as Ramzidin Toshev, Rustamchon Navruzi, Nazirchon Toshov, and Temur Khusinov. Unconfirmed reports said two were reported to be natives of Uzbekistan, and two from Tajikistan. The Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under articles on hostage-taking and prison disruption. Russia, whose defence and security agencies are heavily focused on its war in Ukraine, has seen a recent upsurge in Islamist militant attacks. In June, a bloody Islamic State-linked prison uprising took place in the southern region of Rostov, where special forces shot dead six inmates who had taken hostages. Later that month, at least 20 people were killed in shooting attacks in two cities in Dagestan, a mainly Muslim region of southern Russia. In March, Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack in which gunmen raided the Crocus City concert hall near Moscow, sprayed the audience with automatic weapons fire and set fire to the building, killing 145 people. Hannah Lynch's family have said they are are 'devastated and in shock' and suffering 'unspeakable grief' after she and her tech tycoon father both died in the Bayesian yacht tragedy. The 18-year-old student, who had won a place to study English Literature at Oxford, was the sixth and final missing person after the 30million vessel sank on Monday during a vicious storm off the coast off Sicily. Seven people are now confirmed dead and officials have begun a manslaughter investigation. The family released heartbreaking new photos of Hannah and Mike Lynch together as they thanked the local emergency services. A spokesperson said: 'The Lynch family is devastated, in shock and is being comforted and supported by family and friends. Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy. 'They would like to sincerely thank the Italian coastguard, emergency services and all those who helped in the rescue. Hannah with her father Mike Lynch. Both tragically died in the sinking of his superyacht Hannah was a pupil at Latymer Upper school in West London and had won a place at Oxford to study English Literature Dr Lynch with his wife Angela, who managed to escape from Monday's disaster Photograph of Hannah Lynch and the family's dog 'Faucet, which has been issued by her loved ones Search teams leave for the wreck site of the Bayesian this morning People have been anxiously waiting for news at the harbour in Porticello The Bayesian sank on August 19 off the coast of Sicily amid severe stormy weather 'Their one request now is that their privacy be respected at this time of unspeakable grief.' Tributes paid to Hannah and Mike Lynch Katya Lewis, Hannah's friend: 'The love Hannah had for everything she held dear was passionate and pure. She had a warm and beautiful soul. Being with Hannah made me feel whole and happy. She is the most special friend anyone could ask for and I will always love Hannah.' Jon Mitropoulos-Monk, Head of English, Latymer Upper School: 'I've never taught someone who combined sky-high intellectual ability with warmth and enthusiasm in the way Hannah did. She lit up the classroom with her energy, passion for learning and sheer intelligence (though never with a hint of arrogance). One of the best English students in the country, she scored 100% in her English Literature GCSE. By age 16, she'd read Joyce, Faulkner and Nabokov. Beyond that, she devoured the writings of Angela Carter, Joseph Conrad and John Donne. She loved literature, learning and life. 'She was so excited to start studying English at Oxford, a goal she had worked so hard towards. When she got her place, she sought out every single member of the Latymer Upper English Department to thank them individually and give them a hug! She achieved everything she did with extraordinary levels of grace and fortitude that few others can say they possess. I taught Hannah for four years. I will remember her for what she taught me: kindness, compassion and commitment.' Gracie Lea, Latymer classmate: 'When I think of Hannah, I think of poetry, sunshine, and her beautiful eyes. She was easy to love: sincere, dedicated, fiercely intelligent and genuinely kind. I'll always remember her smiling.' Patrick Jacob, family friend: 'Hannah was charming and ferociously intelligent with an insatiable thirst for life and knowledge. She was also warm, loving and deeply considerate; remarkably for her age. I am 50 years older than her and in my life I have never met anybody like Hannah. We have lost one of our brightest stars whose future held so much promise. Her loss is unbearable.' Andrew Kanter, close friend and colleague: 'Mike was the most brilliant mind and caring person I have ever known. Over nearly a quarter century I had the privilege of working beside someone unrivalled in their understanding of technology and business. There is simply no other UK technology entrepreneur of our generation who has had such an impact on so many people. His passion for life, knowledge and all those around him was instantly inspiring to everyone he met, and he will be sorely missed.' Sushovan Hussain, close friend and colleague: 'My wife and I are utterly devastated by the deaths of so many of our dear friends. No words can express our sorrow. I have known Mike for over 40 years, since our school days, and for most of that time our lives have been inextricably linked. I was thrilled when he was acquitted and now his departure leaves an unfillable hole in my life. We have known Hannah since her birth, and for her to be taken on the precipice of her life is cruel beyond belief. Our hearts bleed for Angela & her remaining daughter. Steve was by my side for many years, and I had the honour of calling him, Jonathan, Judy and Chris my good friends. It is truly impossible to fathom how they can all be gone over such a short period. It is tragic beyond words.' Advertisement Meanwhile, the teenager was hailed by a family friend as 'one of our brightest stars whose future held so much promise'. And classmates at Latymer Upper School in West London described the teenager as 'the most special friend anyone could ever ask for' who possessed a 'ferocious intelligence'. More tributes have also been paid to Dr Lynch, with one close friend and former colleague describing him as 'the most brilliant mind and caring person I have ever known'. Just as happened with the discovery of the other bodies, the bells of the local church in Porticello, Santa Maria del Lume, rang out over the tiny harbour in a mark of respect as a fire brigade launch set out to the dive site with its lights flashing. Just after midday local time, a body bag could just be seen being loaded onto the dive platform at the back of a fire brigade launch above the site where the yacht sank. The launch then began its slow, sombre journey back to shore. The Bayesian capsized during a 'victory trip' to celebrate Dr Lynch's acquittal on fraud charges in the US, and the tragedy also claimed the lives of his business partner Jonathan Bloomer, 70, his wife Judy, 71, and Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, 59, and his wife Neda, 57. Italian authorities are now 'investigating shipwreck and multiple counts of culpable homicide', similar to the charge of manslaughter in the UK. Among those paying tribute to Hannah today was her friend Katya Lewis, who said: 'The love Hannah had for everything she held dear was passionate and pure. She had a warm and beautiful soul. Being with Hannah made me feel whole and happy. She is the most special friend anyone could ask for and I will always love Hannah.' Gracie Lea, a Latymer classmate, said: 'When I think of Hannah, I think of poetry, sunshine, and her beautiful eyes. She was easy to love: sincere, dedicated, fiercely intelligent and genuinely kind. I'll always remember her smiling.' Also joining the tributes was Jon Mitropoulos-Monk, Latymer's Head of English, who described her as 'one of the best English students in the country' who 'lit up the classroom with her energy, passion for learning and sheer intelligence'. A reverential silence descended among locals and journalists as the launch carrying Hannah's body came slowly into the harbour this morning. A local couple, who asked not to be named, said they had come to 'pay their respects' in the wake of the tragedy. 'Nothing like this has ever happened here before,' said the local woman in her 30s with tears in her eyes. There have been fishing boats lost before of course, but none that I can remember in my lifetime. 'What happened here is incredible and we will remember this week for many many years'. Following the recovery of Hannah's body, the work of the emergency services is over for now and the focus will shift to salvaging the boat itself, but that process is expected to take weeks, rather than days. The manslaughter investigation is being led by Ambrogio Cartosio, head of the prosecutor's office in the nearby town of Termini Imerese, with more details expected to be revealed at a press conference tomorrow morning. Causing a shipwreck is a separate offence under the Italian penal code and those found guilty of provoking or causing a shipwreck could face up to 12 years in prison. Investigators have been examining videos and photographs taken on the night of the storm showing the last minutes of the ship, as well as CCTV footage of the port. Italian news website Palermo Today said coastguard officials have visited all of the homes and public places with surveillance cameras pointed out to sea in the area. The Prosecutor's Office are also reviewing the actions and decisions made by the Bayesian's Captain James Cutfield, 51, and Matthew Griffith, 22, who is understood to be the first officer, according to Palermo Today. It has been reported that Mr Cutfield was quizzed 'at length' for at least two hours by the prosecution team. Tributes have been pouring in for the victims of the tragedy, including her father Dr Lynch, once dubbed the British Bill Gates, after his body was recovered from one of the vessel's cabins early yesterday. Banking boss Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy died in the disaster Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo are also among the dead The body of chef Recaldo Thomas (pictured) was discovered on the day of the sinking Your browser does not support iframes. Dr Lynch's was the fifth body to be found in the lower deck of the ill-fated yacht which lies on the seabed at a depth of 164ft half a mile from the port in Porticello. But Hannah's body was not discovered until today, with a spokesman for the Italian Coastguard saying the search for her body had not been 'easy or quick'. Vincenzo Zagarola said: 'From the first moment it has not been easy or quick to inspect the boat. 'Think of an 18-storey building full of water.' Dr Lynch's wife Angela Bacares, who was among 15 people rescued in 'apocalyptic' scenes from the sinking, had been anxiously waiting for news of her husband and daughter. Italian media has reported that the victims were found on the opposite side of the yacht to their cabins which suggested they may have been trying to escape the incoming water by reaching the higher ground. The superyacht was said to have gone down by the bow and settled on its starboard on a tilt. 'We found them all on that side...we had maps with the layout of the cabins and the positions of the guests, and that's not where we recovered them,' a source said. As the search continued last night tributes continued to be paid to for those who have been confirmed dead. The Bloomers' now orphaned children released a heartbreaking statement in which they said the loss of their parents was an 'an unimaginable grief to shoulder'. 'Our parents were incredible people and an inspiration to many, but first and foremost they were focused on and loved their family and spending time with their new grandchildren. 'Together for five decades, our only comfort is that they are still together now,' they said. The chairman of children's charity the NSPCC described Mr Bloomer, the former honorary treasurer of the organisation, as 'a very kind individual', Speaking about the Morgan Stanley International bank chairman and his wife, Neil Berkett said: 'We remember Jonathan from his time with us as a very kind individual with a great sense of humour and Judy as formidable and passionate.' Tributes to Dr Lynch were also paid by senior industry figures who applauded his contribution to the world of tech. David Tabizel, Dr Lynch's co-founder at Autonomy, said: 'The world has lost a genius. His family have lost a giant of a man.' 'He was exhausting, exhilarating & incisive... Britain's Bill Gates? Not really. Britain's Steve Jobs. The father of modern AI.' The Bayesian's captain, James Cutfield (pictured) has been questioned by officials carrying out an investigation into the tragedy Mike Lynch with his wife, Angela, who was the yacht's registered owner Dr Lynch at Autonomy's headquarters at Cambridge Business Park in 2000 Industry group TechUK also paid tribute calling him 'a hugely significant and pioneering figure' in the UK technology sector. Lord Browne of Madingley described him as 'the person who catalysed a breed of deep tech entrepreneurs in the UK'. The chairman of BeyondNetZero said: 'His ideas and his personal vision were a powerful contribution to science and technology in both Britain and globally.' Dr Lynch's close friend Brent Hoberman, the former chief executive of lastminute.com, described the disaster as a 'Shakespearean sort of tragedy'. He said: 'We were all hoping for a miracle, we knew it was unlikely but you still hold out hope.' 'It's just so unbelievably tragic for him to go through what he went through over the last 12 years, defending his name and not really living a full life, to now for his death to be confirmed is obviously incredibly sad.' The family of the Morvillos, who have two daughters now orphaned, released a statement speaking of the 'complete devastation' felt by the their 'tremendous loss'. The bodies were informally identified when they were brought to shore and are expected to be formally identified, as under Italian law, by relatives after post-mortem examinations next week. Their deaths bring the death toll to six after yacht's Canadian chef Recaldo Thomas was found shortly after the ship went down in a storm at 5am. In a separate incident, Dr Lynch's co-defendant in his fraud trial, Stephen Chamberlain, died after being hit by a car while running in Cambridgeshire on Saturday. Dr Lynch, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was cleared in June of carrying out a massive fraud relating to its 11 billion dollar (8.64 billion) sale to US company Hewlett Packard. Mr Zagarola previously said a decision on whether to raise the sunken yacht from the seabed is 'not on the agenda', but will be in the future. Giovanni Costantino, chief executive of the firm that built the yacht, said it was 'absurd' that passengers on the yacht were in their cabins. He told the Times: 'Why were (they) in their cabins? 'Local fishermen saw the storm was coming, why did no-one on board the Bayesian realise? 'From 3.50am, the captain had four minutes to get the passengers out of their cabins.' He continued: 'They should have jettisoned the anchor, started the engine, pointed the bows to the wind and put the keel down. 'If they had done that, no-one on board would have been afraid, they would have been back to bed in an hour and ready to push on with their voyage.' A coastguard boat sits on the water close to the sinking site off the coast of Sicily this morning Italian fire service divers speak on a rescue boat this morning A helicopter, remotely controlled underwater vehicles, naval units and cave divers have been used in the search. The Bayesian was moored around half a mile off the coast of Porticello when it sank as the area was hit by a storm. Its wreckage is resting on the seabed off the coast at a depth of 50 metres (164ft). The Alaska Airlines pilot who nearly killed 83 people when he tried to crash a passenger plane to 'escape a bad dream' while tripping on magic mushrooms has given a shockingly brazen interview where he says the incident enhanced his life. Joseph Emerson admits he had a loose grip on reality when he flew the plane in October. He'd been on a drug-fueled trip with friends when he took to the skies despite being still high and sleep deprived with 83 people onboard. During the flight, Emerson, convinced he was dreaming, put his hand on the red lever that - if pulled - would have killed the plane's engines and, likely, everyone on the flight. He was stopped by co-pilots and was cuffed for the remainder of the flight. Now, he is awaiting sentencing on 80 counts of reckless endangerment. On Friday, he and his wife appeared on Good Morning America to describe how the near disaster has made their lives better. He also revealed that he was an alcoholic at the time of the flight. 'I'm better for it which is kind of a weird thing to say but I am really better for all of us,' he said, saying he's had more time with his kids, and that the event saved his marriage. Joseph Emerson, 44, attempted to shut down the engines of Alaska Airlines flight last October while high on magic mushrooms FIRST ON @GMA: Former Alaska Airlines pilot who tried to shut down engines in-flight shares his story. It's 30 seconds of my life that I wish I could change, and I cant.@GioBenitezhttps://t.co/TThz75SE5q pic.twitter.com/mlGSYe6RpI Good Morning America (@GMA) August 23, 2024 Emerson spent 45 days in jail. He still faces over 80 state and federal charges including reckless endangerment. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges. 'At the end of the day, I accept responsibility for the choices that I made,' he said. 'What I hope is that the entirety of not just 30 seconds of the event, but the entirety of my experience is accounted for as society judges me. The father-of-two had taken psychedelic mushrooms days earlier while on a trip with friends to remember his best friend Scott, a pilot who died six years ago. Despite not feeling himself, he accepted Flight 2059 from Everett, Washington, to San Francisco. During the flight, Emerson believed he was having a bad dream that he needed to wake up from. 'That's kind of where I flung off my headset, and I was fully convinced this isn't real and I'm not going home,' Emerson recounted. 'And then, as the pilots didn't react to my completely abnormal behavior in a way that I thought would be consistent with reality, that is when I was like, this isn't real. I need to wake up.' He claimed he was still experiencing the drug's effects when he boarded the flight as an off-duty pilot and became convinced his surroundings weren't real. 'There was a feeling of being trapped, like, "Am I trapped in this airplane and now I'll never go home?"' he recalled. In an interview with Good Morning America , he calls it the 'biggest mistake' and 'worst 30 seconds' of his life Emerson described the moment he reached for the engine shut-off controls, believing it would 'wake him up' from what he thought was a hallucination. 'There are two red handles in front of my face,' Emerson continued. 'And thinking that I was going to wake up, thinking this is my way to get out of this non-real reality, I reached up and I grabbed them, and I pulled the levers.' 'What I thought is, "This is going to wake me up,"' Emerson said. 'I know what those levers do in a real airplane and I need to wake up from this. You know, it's 30 seconds of my life that I wish I could change, and I can't.' He said he was brought back to reality when the crew stopped him. 'It was really the pilot's physical touch on my hand,' he said. 'Both pilots grabbed my hands where I kind of stopped and I had that moment, which I'll just say I view this moment as a gift.' Emerson described the moment he reached for the engine shut-off controls, believing it would 'wake him up' from what he thought was a hallucination The pilot's wife Sarah (right) described her horror at learning her husband faced 83 attempted murder charges - one for each person on board 'I observe the pilots react to the difficult situation that I just handed them and watch them react in a very professional manner,' Emerson said of the pilots. 'I heard them converse about me and I said, 'You guys want me out of the flight deck?'' But Emerson's odd behavior continued after he was brought back to the cabin. Emerson said he then grabbed a lever operating the cabin door. 'At some point I thought maybe this isn't real, and maybe I can wake myself up by just jumping out, like that freefall feeling that you have,' he said. 'I put my hand on the lever, I didn't operate the lever.' A flight attendant then intervened and stopped him. 'She put her hand on mine again and with that human touch, I released. I think around that period is when I said, 'I don't understand what's real, I don't I don't understand what's real.'' Emerson, who spent 45 days in jail, still faces over 80 state and federal charges including reckless endangerment While his flying future remains uncertain, Emerson says he's grateful to the crew and passengers for their calm response to his actions Emerson then requested to be restrained and handcuffed for the remainder of the flight. 'I essentially asked to be restrained myself because I knew if this is real, I've already done enough damage,' he said. 'I thought, 'Let's restrain me till I can get the help I need.' That's really kind of what I was hoping coming off this airplane that I would get, get the help I needed.' The pilot's wife Sarah described her horror at learning her husband faced 83 attempted murder charges - one for each person on board. Those charges have now been downgraded. 'I walk up to the window and say I'm looking for my husband and he kind of just looked on the computer and typed some things in and then nonchalantly tells me the charges, and I lost it,' Sarah told the outlet. 'I screamed and I keeled over, and I almost fell,' she added. 'They grabbed me and pulled me over because I know what that means. I was in a complete shock.' But ten months on, the couple claim the incident has actually strengthened their relationship and given Emerson a new lease on life He said he would love to fly again but 'at the end of the day, if I'm not meant to fly again, I'm not going to fly again' 'What I did was, something we don't train for, and they handled it fantastic. It's really a result of their professionalism and the way they handled that situation that I'm alive today,' he said. 'Of course I want to fly again. I'd be totally disingenuous if I said no,' he said. 'I don't know in what capacity I'm going to fly again and I don't know if that's an opportunity that's going to be afforded to me.' 'But at the end of the day, if I'm not meant to fly again, I'm not going to fly again.' Passengers who were on the plane are yet to react to his comments. Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic presidential nomination after a wave of speeches at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, one being from her sister - Maya Harris. Maya, 57, is Kamala's younger sister who has stood throughout the presidential nominee's political career. During her speech on Thursday night, Maya praised her sister for 'beating the odds' and creating optimism and 'joy throughout the nation.' She is not only a loving sister but also mom to her 39-year-old daughter, Meena. Maya Harris, 57, gave a powerful speech in support of her older sister Kamala Harris, and praised her for 'beating the odds' and creating 'joy throughout the nation' Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic nomination during the final night of the DNC on Thursday Kamala and Maya have been close since childhood, and both children have praised their mother Shyamala Gopalan Harris. Shyamala passed away of colon cancer in 2009 Who is Maya Harris? Maya is Kamala's only sibling. Their parents divorced when both were young. Maya would visit her father during the weekends and summers following the divorce, according to Kamala's 2019 memoir. She used her speech on Thursday night to praise their mother. 'She raised us to believe that we could be and do anything, and we believed her,' Maya said during her DNC speech. 'You see, Mommy understood the power and the possibility that come with knowing and showing who you truly are.' Maya graduated from Westmount High School and gave birth to her daughter, Meena, when she was 17. She later graduated from her mother and father's alma mater, University of California, Berkeley, and earned her law degree with honors from Stanford Law School. What does Maya Harris do for work? Maya earned her law degree from Stanford Law School, and became a civil litigator shortly after graduation Maya has been a successful lawyer, policy advocate, speaker, and writer for nearly two decades since earning her college degrees. She became a civil litigator and an adjunct professor at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and Lincoln Law School of San Jose. Lincoln requested Maya serve as its Dean and Chief Executive Officer when she was 29, making her one of youngest law school deans in the US, according to her website. In her later years, she worked as an on-air political and legal analyst for MSNBC and has had work published by The Atlantic, Women's Health Magazine, and CNN. Maya's political career skyrocketed after she became a senior advisor for Hillary Clinton during her 2016 presidential campaign and represented her for the Democratic Party platform. Following this role, she served as Kamala's presidential primary campaign chairman in 2020 and was a 'national surrogate for the Biden-Harris ticket' during the general election. Other job titles Maya held over the years include vice president of democracy, rights and justice of the Ford Foundation, Executive Director of the ACLU of Northern California, and licensed officiant. Is Maya Harris married? Maya met her husband Tony West at Stanford Law School after her daughter instigated a game of hide and seek. They have been married for 26 years Maya has been married to her law school sweetheart, Tony West, 59, for 26 years. The pair met on campus after Maya's then-four-year-old daughter from a previous relationship insisted Tony play a game of hide and seek, according to Stanford Lawyer in 2010. However, the couple did not start dating until a few years after Meena introduced them. 'We waited for the most inconvenient time to actually get together - he was in DC, and I was in the Bay Area,' Maya told Stanford Lawyer. 'It's a family joke that Meena knew we should be together long before we did.' Tony has advised Kamala on her political campaigns since 2003. He was also the general counsel of PepsiCo before going to Uber in 2017. He also served under former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama in the Justice Department. Who is Maya Harris' daughter? Maya gave birth to her daughter Meena when she was 17. Meena has credited her mom, aunt, and grandmother for her hardworking success Maya Harris sat with her husband Tony, Maya's daughter Meena and Meena's family at the DNC Meena (center) with Ella Emhoff (right) and Helena Hudlin (left), Kamala's goddaughter, at the DNC Like her mother, Meena Harris is a family-oriented woman who credits her mother, aunt, and grandmother for her success. 'Everything I do is because of my family, three awesome and strong women who dedicated themselves to making positive changes in the world,' Meena said in an interview with Marie Claire in 2020. 'I have the examples of my mom and aunt, who were public interest lawyers. I was taught the value of everyday activism and showing up by my grandma, who wasn't a public official but was a breast cancer researcher and would mentor students of color in her lab at UC Berkley,' she explained. Meena eventually graduated from Stanford University in 2006 and received her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 2012. She became an attorney at Covington & Burling LLP in DC and was a Senior Policy Manager at Slack before working as the Head of Strategy and Leadership at Uber from 2017 to 2020. Meena is now a married mother of two who founded Phenomenal Media and a National Women's Law Center board member. Park rangers and more than 100 volunteers worked together to find a missing eight-year-old Maryland boy who got separated from his family while visiting a cave in Arizona. Tzion Maron, of Baltimore, went missing near the opening of the Lava River Caves near Flagstaff on Wednesday after his family was unable to locate him in the immediate area, prompting search and rescue crews to be called around 6:15pm. Hundreds of volunteers - including 14 members of the Chaverim of Rockland County, New York, who flew in to help - searched for the Jewish boy, who was found on Thursday. Search teams looked for Maron throughout Wednesday night, despite the rainy weather, and they worried the boy would get hypothermia due to the weather. The Rockland group found Maron 'sleeping next to a tree,' Chaverim of Rockland volunteer Isaac Kliknick told ABC 15. Dramatic photos show the group wrapping the boy in a silver blanket as they gathered around him after a long night of searching. Tzion Maron, of Baltimore, went missing near the opening of the Lava River Caves near Flagstaff on Wednesday after his family was unable to locate him in the immediate area, prompting search and rescue crews to be called around 6:15pm Search teams looked for Maron throughout Wednesday night, despite the rainy weather, and they worried the boy would get hypothermia due to the weather The Rockland group found Maron 'sleeping next to a tree.' Dramatic photos show the group wrapping the boy in a silver blanket as they gathered around him after a long night of searching He was taken to the hospital for a check-up. 'We showed up, we came. Everyone stopped, dropped, whatever it was to make sure we brought the child home safely,' Kliknick told ABC 15. The Rockland group flew out after some of Maron's extended family, who live in the area, contacted the organization, according to WMAR 2. Dozens of groups volunteered to help find Maron, including Baltimore Shomrim, Chaverim of Baltimore, and Hatzalah of Baltimore, and more. Chabad of Flagstaff Rabbi Dovie Shapiro was proud to see how the Jewish community showed up for little Maron, telling ABC 15: 'When someone is in need, you feel like its your own child, your own family and you want to do something to be a part of it.' Hundreds of volunteers - including 14 members of the Chaverim of Rockland County, New York, who flew in to help - searched for the Jewish boy, who was found on Thursday Chabad of Flagstaff Rabbi Dovie Shapiro was proud to see how the Jewish community Shapiro said the family is 'beyond themselves' and very 'grateful' the young boy was found safe. 'We're all so thankful to God to be able to celebrate with them,' the rabbi said. Another eight-year-old boy, Canyon Hartley, also went missing Thursday morning near a campsite in Grand Canyon, according to ABC 15. He was found hours later safe. Colorado Republican Rep. Brandi Bradley is shaming her fifteen-year-old son's school for teaching kids that the Mona Lisa was a 'self portrait' by 'gender fluid' Leonardo Da Vinci. Bradley took to X to share an audio recording of a conversation she had with her son's art teacher in which the school defended the position. She fumed that she didn't want her son being taught about gender fluidity, and asked why such an issue was injected into the curriculum. 'My [15 year old's] HISTORY teacher told her students that Leonardo DaVinci was gender fluid and that the Mona Lisa was a depiction of his feminine side. WTAH????? 'And tonight is back to school night and she has no idea what kind of mama bear is coming for her,' the post read. Bradley took to X to share an audio recording of a conversation she had with her son's art teacher in which the school defended the position The mother of four is a vocal critic of teaching kids about gender confusion and sexuality in the classroom. In the voice memo, the teacher explained that the class had watched a movie on Friday in which the featured scholar's discussed Da Vinci's sexual orientation and speculated that he was gay - a long-held belief among art historians. Nowhere in the history books does it suggest that Da Vinci identified as a woman or was gender 'fluid'. 'The main purpose of [this lesson] was to [show] the difference between the Middle Ages and into the Renaissance,' the teacher said. 'The Renaissance was self-expression of these artists. 'They weren't limited or restricted by the church and what the church was dictating they do. They had the opportunity to create however they wanted and express themselves fully.' The teacher added that the topic of gender fluidity came up in class after a student inquired about the term's meaning. She also said the content was approved by Douglas County and was intended to illustrate the self-expression and freedom of artists during the Renaissance. While, the androgynous nature of Leonardo's figures has long been noted, scholars have only speculated and not confirmed the theory that the Mona Lisa was a self portrait Pictured: Bradley's tweet that has since garnered 6.6 million views The teacher explained that historians originally believed the Mona Lisa was commissioned by the family of Lisa Giocondo, the painting's subject, but 'recent scholars are saying it was most likely a self portrait.' Bradley responded: 'I don't know that I want my 15 year old knowing what gender fluidity is. We have a very biblical worldview, and I see a lot of LGBTQ flags [in the classroom], and I wonder how inclusive my Christian conservative child feels in this room.' The teacher assured Bradley them that the classroom is meant to be a safe and welcoming space for all students, regardless of their personal beliefs. In a follow up X post, Bradley stood by her convictions, calling out users who disagreed with her viewpoints. 'I will not tolerate people in authority, who are supposed to be trusted adults LYING TO CHILDREN,' her post read. 'Gender fluid does not exist, boys cannot be girls, girls cannot be boys and if you say they can, you are solely responsible for sending CHILDREN down a road of false narratives, fake science, and lies.' The mother of four has been outspoken about how children should not learn about gender identity and sexual orientation as its forcing a liberal agenda on impressionable youth 'A line in the sand has been drawn. If YOU want to choose that path for your children, go right ahead, but what YOU will not do is choose that path for MY children or other peoples children.' Art historians have long speculated about Da Vinci's sexuality as the Renaissance artist was never married and was accused of engaging in sodomy with his 17-year-old apprentice. While the androgynous nature of Leonardo's figures has long been noted, scholars have only speculated and not confirmed the theory that the Mona Lisa was a self portrait. In an interview with DailyMail.com, Bradley emphasized that not all teachers are straying from curriculum,' and that she is only frustrated with teachers 'that push their personal beliefs on to students rather than teaching the facts.' She did not name the teacher or reveal where her son goes to school. He had been charged with child sex offences An accused child sex offender and former teacher at a prestigious private school has died three months before he was due to stand trial. Matthew Corey Schulz, 45, was accused of one count of sexually abusing a child and two counts of engaging in sexual intercourse with a person without consent. Schulz is understood to have passed away on Thursday, The Advertiser reports. The former teacher had been working at Trinity College at Gawler, 42km north of Adelaide's CBD, when he was arrested. The allegations are unrelated to his time as a teacher at the school and do not involve any Trinity College students. Court documents allege the offences occurred between 2011 and 2012 at a location in Adelaide's northern suburbs. Schulz, from Cockatoo Valley in Adelaide's northeast, had been due to appear in court in November. The offence of sexually abusing a child carries a maximum sentence of life behind bars under South Australian law. Matthew Corey Schulz, 45, was accused of one count of sexually abusing a child and two counts of engaging in sexual intercourse with a person without consent The former teacher had been working at Trinity College at Gawler, 42km north of Adelaide's CBD, when he was arrested (the K-12 private school is pictured) Daily Mail Australia has contacted SA Police for comment. Crisis Supporter on 13 11 14 (24 hours/7 days) Text Lifeline on 0477 13 11 14 (6pm midnight, 7 nights) Robert F. Kennedy's Jr.'s voters could help Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris in November's presidential election, according to an exclusive poll for DailyMail.com. It shows that his supporters lean towards Trump over Harris by a margin of two to one. Although the nephew of JFK is only polling in single digits, that sort of boost could be enough to tip the balance towards Trump in a tight race that will be decided by just tens of thousands of voters in a handful of swing states. The issue could take on fresh urgency on Friday, amid speculation that RFK Jr. is preparing to drop out. He is scheduled to speak in Phoenix, Arizona, 'about the present historical moment and his path forward,' at 2pm Eastern time, and has already withdrawn his name from the state's ballot. J.L. Partners conducted two surveys of more than 1000 likely voters on voting intention and political attitudes. By combining the data, it is possible to see which way RFK Jr voters lean when the choice becomes Trump or Harris, and more than half lean towards the former president. The polls were conducted from August 7 to 11 Our latest poll with J.L. Partners, conducted from August 7 to 11, found that of 1,001 likely voters only five percent would vote for Kennedy if the election were tomorrow. He was far behind Trump on 43 percent and Harris on 41 percent. But when that poll was combined with a second survey to ask whether they lean more to Trump or to Harris the results appear to be decisive: More than half (51 percent) said they leaned towards the former president. About a quarter (26 percent) said they leaned more to Harris. That could swell Trump's voter base by a point or two if Kennedy is no longer running. 'Don't buy the line that RFK Jr. only makes a small difference to the election,' said J.L. Partners cofounder James Johnson. 'This is a major third party candidate dropping out. 'And our data show that even before that, RFK Jr.'s voters were going to go to Trump by a large margin if their man wasn't in the race.' Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has officially filed paperwork withdrawing his name from the presidential race in Arizona amid rumors he will drop out of the election on Friday Our poll shows Donald Trump will pick up more of RFK Jr's voters than Harris The data can also be used to see what happens to people who voted Biden in 2020 but said they backed RFK Jr. now. More than a quarter say they lean towards Trump RFK Jr., 70, an environmental lawyer with a nose for conspiracy theories and anti-vax arguments, entered the race as a Democrat. But he switched to independent after failing to find purchase against Biden in the primary contest. Previous J.L. Partners polls had shown he had picked up more support from the left than the right. 'The data also show there is a small but significant group of voters who opted for Biden in 2020, moved to RFK Jr, and are now leaning Trump,' said Johnson. 'These voterswho used RFK Jr as a sort of gateway drug to backing Trumpcould make all the difference in states on a knife-edge, and RFK Jr's dropping out will give Trump a boost in these states. 'It is a more significant development than anything out of the DNC this week.' Trump is on a tour of battleground states and is due to hold a rally near Phoenix soon after RFK Jr's announcement. His campaign has teased a special guest, heightening speculation that Kennedy will endorse the former president. During a trip to the southern border on Thursday, Trump said he was open to the possibility, calling it a 'great honor.' He also said there might be room in his administration for RFK Jr, the son of Robert Kennedy, JFK's attorney general. But he will face a battle to win over RFK Jr's supporters. Harris communications director Michael Tyler told MSNBC that her campaign would welcome his voters. 'I think that him dropping out fully cements that this election is going to be a choice between Vice President Harris, who is fighting for the American people, [and] Donald Trump, who ... is simply fighting for himself,' he said at the Democratic convention in Chicago. Kennedy has endured a turbulent campaign. He recently admitted he dumped a dead bear cub in Manhattan's Central Park in 2014. And he struggled with strained campaign finances and legal challenges, including a ruling in New York that he should not appear on the ballot in the state because he listed a 'sham' address on nominating petitions. Loved ones are rallying around a young dad after his 32-year-old wife tragically died only a month after giving birth to their newborn daughter. Aileen Wilkinson, who worked as a nurse at Melbourne's Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, passed away after suffered a fatal 'medical episode' on Wednesday. As of Friday evening, a GoFundMe had raised over $75,000 for the Irish-born nurse's family. 'As you may know we have suddenly lost the beautiful Aileen following an unexpected tragic event,' fundraiser organiser Kieran Joyce wrote. 'Aileen leaves behind her wonderful partner Marco and beautiful baby girl Rosa who she gave birth to on the 23rd July 2024. 'During this difficult time we are setting up this GoFundMe for any associated costs in the immediate to get Aileen back to Ireland and as well as setting up things for Rosa's future.' In a separate fundraiser, the family of the dedicated nurse and new mum described her sudden death as an 'unimaginable loss'. 'She was not only a dear friend to many but also Marco's beloved partner and the loving mother of Rosa, their beautiful one-month-old baby,' they said. Melbourne nurse Aileen Wilkinson, 32, died suddenly just one month after becoming a mother Aileen's shattered partner Marco now faces raising their daughter without her mum 'This tragic event has left us and their families in deep sorrow.' Some chose to share memories of Ms Wilkinson on the GoFundMe campaign. 'Aileen was a true light in the world,' friend Michael Browne wrote. 'Every room she walked into she instantly made better. 'She was a big goofball sometimes, and that made her more endearing. I'm glad I got to call her friend, and thankful she once dressed me up in drag. 'I hope Rosa inherits everything that made Aileen so great! RIP' Former nursing colleague Regina Crudge wrote that she was 'so very sad to hear of Aileen's sad passing'. 'I always think of her as lovely Aileen because she was, in every way. My deepest condolences to her partner, her family, and her friends on their terrible loss,' she wrote. Local news website sassproject wrote that 'the community of North Melbourne is in mourning following the sudden and tragic death of Aileen Wilkinson, who passed away unexpectedly on August 21, 2024'. 'Aileen, 32 years old, leaves behind her partner, Marco Lecci, and their one-month-old daughter, Rosa, who now faces a future without her mother,' the site said. A friend of Ms Wilkinson said that 'every room she walked into she instantly made better' Ms Wilkinson had been completing her masters in advanced nursing at the University of Melbourne and won the university's Catherine Wotton Ovarian Cancer Scholarship last year, which supports the work of gynaecological nurses. 'The Catherine Wotton Scholarship has given me the opportunity to improve patient care, and I am truly grateful for this scholarship and the chance to make a difference in the field of nursing,' she said at the time. 'I am extremely grateful to the family and friends of Catherine Wotton for their contributions to help fund nurses seeking further education and feel extremely lucky to be the tenth recipient of this scholarship.' Efforts to restrict solitary confinement are once again hitting a wall in the California Capitol. Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press 2016 Regarding California prison officials are winning the war over whether to limit solitary confinement (Politics, SFChronicle.com, Aug. 20): Gov. Gavin Newsoms threat to veto AB280, which passed the Legislature by comfortable majorities, is a terrible setback in efforts to make prisons humane. Solitary confinement is torture. Research shows it causes psychological harm, including panic attacks, paranoia, problems concentrating, impaired memory, despair and a high prevalence of suicide. The damage can last a lifetime and make success at going straight after release problematic. Meanwhile, studies show solitary confinement does not reduce violence or influence gang participation. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Newsom brings shame to California while other states have banned or limited solitary confinement. Terry Kupers, Berkeley Voodoo economics flawed Regarding Harris plan flawed (Letters to the Editor, Aug. 22): In his criticism of Kamala Harris economic proposals, letter writer Peter Behr rolls out his degree in economics from Yale to bolster his credibility. Behr utilizes the age-old conservative myth that economic and tax policies that benefit the rich and corporations bring about innovation, production and manufacturing (opportunities for everyone). Advertisement Article continues below this ad His Yale education taught him the trickle-down benefits of supply-side economics and the free market, the same economic policies that George H.W. Bush labeled voodoo economics. Since Behr is utilizing his educational bona fides to bolster his argument, I will see his Yale degree, and raise him my social work degree from the University of Chicago. In the course of my graduate education, I learned a different reality about this countrys failed history of relying on the rich getting richer as a way to help everyone. While a rising tide does indeed raise all boats, it drowns those without a boat. The boatless in this country include the poor, the working poor and the struggling middle class. Barry Goldman-Hall, San Jose Advertisement Article continues below this ad Court rolls back rights Regarding Did the Supreme Court just walk back its position on trans protections? (Politics, SFChronicle.com, Aug. 19): I am an old man who does not pretend to understand trans rights or why one would choose such a tough road. But I do not need to do so. I do not recall deciding I was heterosexual. I doubt LGBT people make a decision, either. One, I suspect, just realizes their sexual orientation. What I do know is that trans people do not need my approval, nor should they need anyone else to tell them what they are. All people of the United States should have equal rights. But the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice John Roberts decided, in the Citizens United case, that corporations have the rights of humans. Now, the court is deciding humans should not have the rights of other humans. Advertisement Article continues below this ad It is an interesting legacy for Roberts and his fellow justices, and a continued sad day for this country. Michael J. Martin, South San Francisco Reform immigration laws Regarding Trump or Harris? Whoever wins in November, immigrants will lose (Open Forum, SFChronicle.com, Aug. 20): Our country has been built on an orderly influx of immigrants, not an uncontrolled open border with no requirements for entry. Both major political parties acknowledge this and for good reason. Lets start by changing archaic laws and making legal immigration a path forward for worthy applicants. But having no restrictions on our borders is patently absurd. Advertisement Article continues below this ad William Sauro, San Francisco Renewed hope At the Democratic National Convention, Michelle Obama said, Hope is making a comeback. As a grandparent of six, Ive questioned what will be my legacy. I now have hope that the person we elect president will champion clean air and water, and someone who will promote doctors and patients deciding together about medical decisions. 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 These are things that I want for my legacy. Hope is a wonderful transformational thing that we can now embrace. The price list for Jeremy Clarkson's new pub has been revealed, with main courses such as Lancashire hotpot and pie and mash costing a pricy 19. Clarkson, 64, opened The Farmer's Dog in Asthall, near Burford in Oxfordshire, to the public at midday on Friday. The price of a pint of beer has also been revealed, although the respectable cost might come as a shock to fans of Clarkson's Farm due to the comparably high fee for a main course. Hawkstone IPA, Hawkstone Premium, Hawkstone Hedgerow Cider, and Hawkstone Cider all come in at 6 a pint, a half-pint will set punters back 3.10. Hawkstone Session Lager comes in at the fractionally cheaper cost of 5.50 per pint, which is the same price for a Hawkstone Pils, Hawkstone Breeze, and cask ale - halves of which are 2.90. The price list for Jeremy Clarkson's new pub has been revealed, with main courses such as Lancashire hotpot and pie and mash costing a pricy 19 Clarkson, 64, opened The Farmer's Dog in Asthall, near Burford in Oxfordshire, to the public at midday on Friday The pub also sells cans of alcohol-free Hawkstone Spa lager for 3.10. Along with pie and mash and hotpot, other main courses include gammon steak, sausages and mash, as well as a vegetable and cheddar crumble. Smaller plates include chicken liver pate, ham with piccalilli and a poached egg with garlic mushrooms. Bar snacks - consisting of a soup of the day, sausage rolls or pickled eggs - might take your fancy if you are looking for a lighter bite to eat. The dessert menu is comprised of apple crumble, a cheesecake of the day, and strawberry meringue. Customers can also tuck into a carvery on weekends - which is open between 12pm and 9pm on Saturdays and Sundays. The lunch menu is served on weekdays from midday until 2:30pm, while dinner service runs between 5:30pm and 9:30pm. Other produce from Diddly Squat Farm is also available to purchase, with Clarkson's Hot Seed Beer Mustard priced at 6. Meanwhile, his interestingly-titled 'B*****s candle' is priced at 22 for one or you can buy two for 39. Along with pie and mash and hotpot, other main courses include gammon steak, sausages and mash, as well as a vegetable and cheddar crumble More products include a bar of specially-crafted mechanics hand soap, which is set at 6.80, along with a Habanero Chilli Chutney for the same price. A black and white tin mug bearing the name of Diddly Squat cost 14 while a jar of honey or Bee juice as Clarkson calls it was on sale for 12. Loaves on sourdough bread retailed at 5.95 with a small loaf costing 3.95. There were even day old loafs of bread on sale at half the usual price. Baseball caps bearing the name of the farm featured in the popular Amazon TV series sold for 22. Bars of bees wax soap cost 7.80 each while postcards featuring Clarkson and his side kick Caleb Cooper were 3.50 each. A bottle of Bee Juice Rum cost 19.50. Other items included a wooden spoon at 9.50 and a Diddly Squat wooden chopping board at 24. A packet of Diddly fudge was 5.40 while a carton of strawberry milkshake was 3.50. Other produce from Diddly Squat Farm is also available to purchase, with Clarkson's Hot Seed Beer Mustard priced at 6 Meanwhile, his interestingly-titled 'B*****s candle' is priced at 22 for one or you can buy two for 39 Clarkson has insisted only British produce will be served at his pub, but 'doubted' that his new British-only venture would be profitable. 'I'm not very good at business plans and I haven't done one,' he said. 'I do know this. If I take one of our pigs and we slaughter it and butcher it and we turn it into sausages and we sell it here, it costs us 74p. 'If I buy imported pig meat it is 18p. So, something is wrong with the food system in this country.' A brothel madam who trafficked women to Scotland to clear her debts has been warned she could face life behind bars. Mananchaya Wanitthanawet forced two Thai women to the United Kingdom and made them to work as prostitutes to pay off the 90,000 she owed. The sex worker was in cahoots with her own former client, Cameron Wilson, who became her partner and helped launder nearly 150,000 of earnings from the trade. Brothel madam Mananchaya Wanitthanawet trafficked women to the UK and forced them to work seven days a week as prostitutes to pay-off debts The High Court in Dundee was told that the various AirBnB properties in the city and across Scotland were used for the women to meet clients. The court heard from one of the victims had been exploited violently before she was rescued by a client who took pity on her. Wanitthanawet, 40, and Wilson, 30, denied involvement but were found guilty of a number of charges by the jury after a four-day trial. Lord Scott remanded her in custody for reports and told her: You have no previous convictions. You have been convicted of very serious charges. They carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Wanitthanawet was found guilty of recruiting, transporting and harbouring the women, featuring them in adverts for sexual services and forcing them into prostitution across the country between 1 July 2019 and 4 July 2022 at addresses in Dundee, Aberdeen, Inverness, Edinburgh, Newcastle and elsewhere. She was convicted of exercising control over the women as well as aiding and abetting their prostitution, and acquiring 3,815 of illegal money. Wilson was found guilty of living on the earnings of the crime at his former home in Dundee, on 2 December 2020 as well as transferring, concealing and converting more than 136,000 of criminal cash into various bank accounts. Now working as an analyst, he had the human trafficking charged dropped by the Crown, and both accused, from Yeovil, Somerset, were cleared of further prostitution-related charges. Cameron Wilson was found guilty of living on the earnings of prostitution, as well as transferring, concealing and converting more than 136,000 of criminal cash He was bailed ahead of their sentencing in Edinburgh next month. The jury heard how Wanitthanawet - known as Nuht - trafficked women to the UK and forced them to work seven days a week as prostitutes to pay-off debts. The women were lured over on the promise of lucrative massage work, but instead they were forced to sleep with up to 15 often sadistic and violent men every day. Wanitthanawet denied the charges and said she came to the UK illegally during 2019 and immediately began performing happy ending massage work. She said she would be intimate with clients, including Wilson, to pay off her debts accrued in Thailand. She then moved in with him and used his bank accounts. Both victims also arrived in 2019 and insisted Wanitthanawet had been the schemes mastermind, arranging visas and flights through a team of people she controlled. Almost immediately after arriving in the UK, they were told their debts had increased and they would be working as prostitutes to pay it back. They were swiftly put into properties and provided with costumes, underwear and contraception by Nuht. She took photographs of them and advertised them on adult websites. The women would rake in hundreds of pounds per day with one of the victims saying for every 1,000 she earned, 500 would go to Wanitthanawet with the other half paying for her debt. Jurors heard how days off were rare and they were only given 30 to spend on food per week. The victims said they were intimidated by Wanitthanawet, and one of them described how she managed to escape during the first covid lockdown in April 2020 after establishing trust with a client. She fled to Aberdeen with 300 given to her by the other victim. Police raided Wanitthanawet and Wilsons Dundee home in December 2020 and found numerous mobile phones and notebooks featuring the victims details and messages relating to the sordid trade. The first womans passport details and suitcase were also found in the property. The court was shown Wilsons bank records with hefty sums transferred into his account after November 2019, when he lost his job as a delivery driver. He was claiming Universal Credit benefits while large sums of cash were being deposited into his accounts. Spanish cleaners have filmed themselves working through piles of rubbish after a group of tourists trashed their Ibiza hotel room. Discarded vapes, tampons and takeaway boxes are among the litter strewn across the floor of the White Isle suite, video shows. The carnage was filmed by a disgusted member of staff, named as Sandra Carmona, who blasted the 'foreigners' she said were responsible. The 47-year-old can be heard in total disbelief at the state of the room, saying: 'How can people come here, from lots of different countries and do this? It's not normal to mess up a room like this when you party.' 'They even leave their thongs, their tampons what were these foreigners thinking?Poor cleaners,' she said, adding that they deserved a bonus. Hairbands, underwear and discarded vapes can be seen among the trash as a cleaner works Black bin bags, packets of sweets and tampon wrappers are also seen in the shocking footage While it's not clear who was responsible for the tip, viewers of the viral clip in Spain and the UK were quick to blame Brits, for whom the Balearic island is a popular destination. One social media user commented on the state of the room: 'Completely normal British tourist behaviour.' Whoever occupied the room clearly had a wild holiday, with an almost empty bottle of booze on a side table and fast food across the floor. Black bin bags, packets of sweets and tampon wrappers are also seen, with shocked viewers comparing the scenes to a 'pigsty'. One person suggested a solution might be to 'force [guests] to pay a deposit and if they leave it like that, that money will go to the cleaning staff.' But the TikTok video, which racked up thousands of views on the social media platform, divided opinion among travellers. Pictures show a half-empty bottle of booze in the filthy room Loo roll and empty plastic bottles are seen scattered around the suite as a housekeeper cleans One person remarked: 'It's your job to clean what you moaning about that's what hotel is for chilling not cleaning before check out.' 'I don't clean anything when I go to hotels, I pay a fortune for that and it's getting more and more expensive. I'm not going to do anyone's job for that, I pay for it,' said another unsympathetic person. Meanwhile another bemused commenter said: ''And I left the beds with the clothes removed and the towels all together in one corner and worried about not leaving any mess.' Several Chicago natives have publicly revealed they will be voting for Donald Trump, despite the city hosting the Democratic National Convention since Monday. DailyMail.com spoke to over a dozen people on the streets of Chicago to understand how the Windy City felt about the upcoming election. One man, a Chicago native, told DailyMail.com that he was going to vote for Trump because 'I feel like his policies are better.' 'I want the border to shut down. Democrats aren't really offering anything.' Closing off the Southern border with Mexico is one of Trump's flagship policies, having touted it since his first presidential campaign in 2015. When asked about how he felt about the DNC being in his home city, the Chicago native calmly said that everything was 'well under control', adding that the security situation was 'better than I expected.' One man said that while Donald Trump 'may be racist... he did things for the country that a lot of presidents didn't do' One man, who got into a heated argument with a passerby, told DailyMail.com: 'Everything is more expensive now. When Trump was in office, we had stimulus checks' One man, a Chicago native, told DailyMail.com that he was going to vote for Trump because 'I feel like his policies are better' One man, who got into a heated argument with a passerby, told DailyMail.com: 'Everything is more expensive now. When Trump was in office, we had stimulus checks.' A fellow protester said: 'People need to know the facts.' Trump signed major bills into force in the early months of the pandemic, which included stimulus checks. One man said that while Donald Trump 'may be racist... he did things for the country that a lot of presidents didn't do.' When asked whether he could forgive the racism in exchange for Trump helping America, he said: 'A little bit.' While the vast majority of Chicagoans said they would be voting for Kamala Harris, several said they were on Team Trump. Chicago has historically been a historically Democrat city, having had a Democrat mayor every since year since 1927. Former president Barack Obama (pictured, right) lived in the city for years with his wife, Michelle (pictured, left), having worked there as a community organiser and a civil rights lawyer Supporters attend the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, United States on August 22, 2024 Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris' stepdaughter Ella Emhoff and Harris' great-niece Leela, play with balloons on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention US Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris waves as she arrives onstage to speak on the fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention Former president Barack Obama lived in the city for years with his wife, Michelle, having worked there as a community organiser and a civil rights lawyer. The pair are planning on building Barack Obama Presidential Centre on the city's South Side. Construction began in 2021, and it is expected to be completed by 2026. Vice President Kamala Harris accepted her party's nomination and offered her policy agenda on the fourth and final night of the Democratic National Convention on Thursday. Now, a stark reality exists as activists, operatives and party leaders begin leaving Chicago: The real test for Harris has only just begun. Meanwhile, on a dirt road below the shrub-dotted hills of Arizona, Donald Trump used a stretch of wall and a pile of steel beams to draw a visual contrast between his approach to securing the border and that of his opponent. Today, the Republican presidential nominee is set to appear just miles away from independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the Phoenix area as speculation grows that Kennedy could drop his bid and give Trump his endorsement. A man who allegedly faked his own death and fled the United States to avoid facing court over rape charges will stand trial. Nicholas Rossi, 37, was extradited to the US in January after two years of fighting the orders in Scotland, where he was arrested in 2021. Prosecutors allege Rossi raped a former girlfriend, 26, in Salt Lake County back in 2008. He's accused of raping another woman, 21, that same year in Ohio. Court documents from Utah County reveal he is accused of sexual assault, harassment and possible kidnapping, NBC News reported. He appeared in court on Thursday, where he was told by District Judge Barry Lawrence that prosecutors had presented enough evidence to proceed to a jury trial. Nicholas Rossi, 37, was extradited to the US in January after two years of fighting the orders in Scotland, where he was arrested in 2021 Prosecutors allege Rossi raped a former girlfriend, 26, in Salt Lake County back in 2008. He's accused of raping another woman, 21, that same year in Ohio At the time of his arrest in Glasgow in 2021 - at a hospital where he was receiving treatment for Covid - Rossi claimed it was a case of mistaken identity. He said his name was Arthur Knight, born in Ireland and orphaned. He insisted he'd never stepped foot on US soil. Scottish judges rejected those assertions. In reality, prosecutors allege Rossi grew up in foster homes in Rhode Island and returned there before faking his death via an obituary published online. That obituary stated Rossi died in February 2020 of late-stage non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In July 2020, DNA allegedly linked him to a 2008 rape in Utah which is ultimately what led to his discovery in Scotland. Under the guise of Arthur Brown, Rossi is believed to have met his wife, Miranda Knight, in Bristol in 2019 and married her in early 2020, assuming the name Arthur Knight. They moved to Glasgow shortly afterwards but in 2021, Rossi became so ill with Covid that he had to be hospitalized at the city's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. Mr. Rossi also goes by the aliases Nick Alahverdian, Nick Alan, Nicholas Brown and Arthur Brown. Mr. Rossi also goes by the aliases Nick Alahverdian, Nick Alan, Nicholas Brown and Arthur Brown. He was pictured in 2011 introducing a bill to perform the child welfare system in Rhode Island He stirred up confusion during his first court appearance in the US in January as he continued to speak in a British accent throughout the hearing and sported an oxygen mask that made it difficult to understand what he was saying. He is awaiting trial in Utah. He will reappear in court on October 17 for a bail hearing. Final preparations are underway for the Notting Hill Carnival as hundreds of buildings have been boarded up ahead of the march this weekend. Shops, businesses and homes were seen being barricaded along the Carnival route as large crowds are set to fill the west London neighbourhood from tomorrow. The festival has attracted some criticism over crime levels, with over 500 arrests having been made in the last two years alone. Security barriers were seen being erected around pubs and terrace homes, with two million revellers and performers expected to descend on the parade route on Saturday. This year's Carnival will see a significant police presence, with 7,000 officers deployed on streets to tackle violence and confiscate any weapons. Homes are boarded up ahead of the Notting Hill Carnival this weekend Men install boardings around shops, as up to two million people are expected to descend on the neighbourhood Security barriers are erected around a shop in Notting Hill ahead of the Carnival A whole corner of shops boarded up ahead of the festival which starts tomorrow The festival, which is held annually over the August Bank Holiday weekend, first took place in 1966. But violence in recent years has led to discussions between councils and the Met Police as to whether to relocate the Carnival, with some suggestions the event could be moved to Hyde Park. Revellers at last year's festival were arrested for offences including possession of offensive weapons including guns, assaults, possession of drugs and sexual offences. Since 2018, the Carnival has been the scene of 54 stabbings, including one fatal incident in 2022. Rapper Takayo Nembhard, 21, was killed as the festivities were winding down on August 29, 2022. Met Police Commander Charmain Brenyah said recent editions of the Carnival had been a 'challenging environment to work in'. She said: 'Having grown up not far from where Carnival takes place I have many happy memories of the music, costumes, floats and fantastic atmosphere. 'That is the experience I want everyone coming to Carnival this year to have and we will work closely with the organisers and partners to make that a reality. 'Sadly, however, we know that for a minority of people, Carnival is an opportunity to commit crime or to seek out violent confrontation. 'As a police officer on duty in previous years I've seen both the Carnival I experienced in my youth, but also the other side of the same event when, later in the day, the atmosphere changes in some parts, with floats and costumes giving way to serious violence. Graffit-covered boards cover up The Elgin pub in Notting Hill Security barriers protect properties from the huge crowds expected to descend on streets in West London this weekend Terraced house in the affluent neighbourhood are covered up with wooden boards ahead of the festival Dancers parade through the streets of West London on the final day of the parade in August 28, 2023 Performers at the Notting Hill Carnival make their way through the streets on August 28, 2023 'It was a challenging environment to work in and one which over the past two years has seen more than 500 arrests, 15 stabbings including one that was fatal, and more than 125 police officers assaulted. These incidents can't be downplayed or dismissed.' Questions have also been raised over the costs of managing the large un-ticketed event, while proponents have pointed to its large economic contribution to the area each year. Last year's event was estimated to have cost the taxpayer over 11million in policing, including 5million in officers' overtime, over 500,000 in catering, 200,000 in hotels and over 1.1million for other infrastructure including safer spaces and digital policing. In the last two years, more than 125 officers have been assaulted over the festival weekend, the Met Police revealed. The Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents officers, condemned the level of violence as 'unsustainable'. A building covered up ahead of the festival in west London Its chairman, Rick Prior, said: 'It is just awful and this sort of violence against officers at this event has become normalised. 'The officers have a right to come to work and expect not to be attacked, injured, sexually assaulted or bitten. Those bitten will have had to be given anti-viral drugs if the skin was broken, and will now need all sorts of tests it is horrendous. 'It has almost become a certainty we will have this violence and terrible treatment of police officers every year and it is just not acceptable. ''It is a very difficult event to police and of course we recognise the need for this event but it should perhaps be moved to somewhere like Hyde Park where it would be less problematic to police.' Workers cover the Walmer Castle pub with wooden boards amid preparations for the August Bank Holiday carnival Police arrest a reveller at the 2023 Carnival A young man waves around a machete at Notting Hill Carnival in West London last year Officers will use a Crowd Management Cell, first introduced in last year's Carnival, to monitor and control crowd flow across the weekend. A spokesperson for Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London said: 'The Notting Hill Carnival is one of the world's biggest street festivals and is part of the very fabric of our city. 'The celebration was born out of the Caribbean community in north Kensington and Notting Hill, and the mayor believes that it's only right that this remains its home. 'Like with other major events in London the mayor will continue to work with local partners to ensure the event remains safe and enjoyable for all.' Bridget Phillipson has been accused of 'caving in to cancel culture' after ditching plans for a new law designed to uphold free speech at universities. Almost 600 academics have signed a letter to the new Education Secretary criticising the decision to pause implementation of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act. They include Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, and Kathleen Stock, the gender-critical feminist forced out of the University of Sussex by pro-trans activists. Labour has claimed the legislation was 'not fit for purpose' and argued Jewish students would potentially be left at risk. But critics have been left outraged by the move, arguing academics and guest speakers who were due to be protected by the legislation have been hung out to dry in the face of increased hostility on campus. Almost 600 academics have signed a letter to the new Education Secretary criticising the decision to pause implementation of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act. They include Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion, and Kathleen Stock, the gender-critical feminist forced out of the University of Sussex by pro-trans activists. Edward Skidelsky, the committee director and a philosophy lecturer at the University of Exeter, told the Times: 'The act had broad support and now the kinds of cancel culture that we've seen in recent years will be allowed to carry on and academic and students will have no recourse to prevent it.' In the letter, organised by the Committee for Academic Freedom, academics argued the decision 'appears to reflect the view, widespread among opponents of the Act, that there is no ''free speech problem'' in UK universities, that the very idea of such a problem is a fiction put about to divert attention from bigger issues'. 'Nothing could be more false. Hundreds of academics and students have been hounded, censured, silenced or even sacked over the last 20 years for the expression of legal opinions', they argue. 'And these documented cases are only the tip of the iceberg; the widespread silencing of viewpoints is incalculable. A study published earlier this year by the Academic Freedom Index placed the UK sixty-sixth in the global league table of academic freedom, lower than Peru, Burkina Faso and Georgia. 'This state of affairs has serious consequences for all of us. The suppression of university research into the effects of puberty blockers facilitated one of the great medical scandals of our age, as the Cass Review makes clear.' Edward Skidelsky, the committee director and a philosophy lecturer at the University of Exeter, told the Times: 'The act had broad support and now the kinds of cancel culture that we've seen in recent years will be allowed to carry on and academic and students will have no recourse to prevent it.' Ms Phillipson announced in July that she would halt the implementation of the act while the Government considered its future. A government source said: 'We make no apology for pausing the Tories' hate speech charter, which would have allowed anti-Semites and Holocaust deniers free rein on campuses. 'Universities already have obligations under the law to protect freedom of speech and we will hold institutions to them. Students should be challenged and face new ideas. Under this government that's what universities will be about.' Keep up to date with the developments in politics in our LIVE BLOG Multiple Secret Service agents have been put on leave during the investigation into the Donald Trump assassination attempt, reports suggest. The head of the Pittsburgh field office is one of at least five agents who have been impacted after 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire on the former president on July 13, MSNBC said on Friday morning. The massive security failure that led to the horrific has sparked probes from a wide range of government agencies that are ongoing. According to NBC News, four Pittsburgh field agents, including the head of the division, and one Trump agent have been put on leave. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told DailyMail.com in a statement Friday that 'there must be accountability' for the Secret Service's 'historic failures.' 'Holding negligent employees accountable is the first step. I look forward to the Task Force's findings of its investigation. We must ensure the Secret Service does not fail again.' Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi did not comment on the reports that the agents have been put on leave because due to it being a 'personnel matter.' But he told DailyMail.com that they are still 'examining the processes, procedures and factors that led to this operational failure.' Multiple Secret Service agents have been put on leave during the investigation into the Donald Trump assassination attempt, reports suggest 'The U.S. Secret Service holds our personnel to the highest professional standards, and any identified and substantiated violations of policy will be investigated by the Office of Professional Responsibility for potential disciplinary action.' The suspended agents are expected to still be working for the Secret Service and getting paid. They were most likely moved to an administrative role while the investigation continues. Crooks' plot sparked the resignation of the agency's director Kimberly Cheatle and led to a slew of questions, including how he was able to get on a roof in clear sight of where Trump was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania. The would-be assassin was spotted by witnesses before the shooting and Secret Service and law enforcement were warned of his presence. Yet he was still able to open fire at least eight times with the AR-style rifle he got from his father. Republican Rep. Mike Waltz told DailyMail.com earlier this week that he wasn't convinced Crooks acted alone. He said the gunman's motivation is still unknown and he is worried a foreign entity or other third-party could have been involved in the attack. Waltz queried how federal law enforcement can confidently say Crooks was a lone wolf if they can't answer other questions like why he had multiple foreign encrypted messaging accounts. His comments came after it was revealed that Iran was also plotting an attempt on the former president's life around the same time that Crooks carried out his plan. 'The more we get into it, the more questions I have,' Waltz said. 'It's really what's coming out around it that is so disturbing. 'And for me, the thing that's most disturbing is that we have ongoing plots from Iran to take out a former president, leading candidate, and that a Pakistani national was just arrested after making a down payment for hitmen, and it's barely even being covered in the news.' Crooks, 20, was able to create multiple explosives with remote detonators, another thing that raised Waltz's eyebrows and makes him wonder whether he had help. Thomas Matthew Crooks pictured at the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13 before he opened fire on the crowd and former president Crooks, 20, was shot dead on site by U.S. Secret Service after he killed a rally goer, critical injured two other supporters and was able to barely graze the side of Trump's ear at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13 As the FBI, U.S. Secret Service (USSS) and Department of Homeland Security conduct their investigations into the massive security failure, Waltz and 12 other lawmakers on a House task force are also looking into the attempted assassination. 'I don't understand, and I don't have any answers yet to help me understand how the [Secret] Service and DHS came out so quickly and said and I think the FBI as well, but I'll have to check that and said, he operated alone,' Waltz said when speaking with DailyMail.com at Trump Tower in Chicago on Wednesday. 'How do you know that mere days into your investigation?' The Florida congressman added: 'You can't tell us his motive, but you could tell us he operated alone? You can't get into these encrypted overseas accounts, but you can tell us he acted alone? So, I don't buy that yet.' A bullet fired from his AR-style weapon, bought legally by Crooks' father, grazed the former president's right ear. Crooks killed one rally-goer and critically injured two others before he was taken out. The FBI also found explosives in Crooks' car, which was parked near the rally site. And upon raiding his parents' house, where he lived, they found more bombs. 'I don't know of many 19-year-old kids who could make multiple IEDs with a remote detonator on their own,' Waltz told DailyMail.com. 'Why didn't that get picked up if he's searching that online or buying literature on how to do that?' Oversight chairman James Comer is forging ahead with his probe of Tim Walz's affinity for China. The Kentucky Republican admitted on Fox Business that he's not quite sure why the Minnesota governor and Harris running mate is so fond of the Asian superpower - he doest not appear to have reaped any financial benefits from it. Walz, 60, taught school in China and says he's been there around 30 times. 'We're trying to find out exactly what the FBI has on Tim Walz with respect to China,' he said. 'No, it doesn't appear that he's accepted money from China if he's being honest about his financial disclosure form. He really doesn't have a whole lot of money to his name other than, government pension.' Top Oversight Republican James Comer is forging ahead with his probe of Tim Walz's affinity for China Tim Walz in an undated photo from the Mankato West High School Alumni for Walz Facebook Group. Walz is seen here on a class trip But, 'we know that Tim Walz, has made several trips during his life to China. We know he spent a year there. We know he went on his honeymoon there,' Comer went on. 'We fear..that it's an infatuation that Tim Walz has with China, with their with their communist system, with the way they've, operated over the past 30 years.' Republicans have sought to highlight Walz's progressive values ever since he was hoisted onto the national stage by the Harris campaign. In a letter sent to FBI Director Christopher Wray Friday, Comer expressed his concern over Walz being 'susceptible' to the Chinese Communist Party's influence to the 'detriment' of Americans. He describes a cozy relationship between the Minnesota governor and the hostile nation, highlighting that the former school teacher has taken an estimated 30 trips to the country - including many field trips he and his wife organized. Now Comer is demanding the FBI turn over documents it may have on Walz's communications with Chinese entities and officials to investigate how deeply the ties between the potential vice president and the communist-run country are. Star-Herald newspaper clipping dating January 9, 1994 highlights a story about Walz's trip to China for his honeymoon with his wife Gwen 'Americans should be deeply concerned that Governor Walz, Kamala Harriss vice-presidential running mate, has a longstanding and cozy relationship with China,' Comer wrote in a statement. 'The American people deserve to fully understand how deep Governor Walzs relationship with China goes.' Comer isn't the only one seizing on Walz's China ties. 'The House is going to investigate it now its very strange. He got married on the anniversary of Tiananmen Square. Hes gone to China. Hes taught in China. Hes got deep connections to China,' Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson recently said on Fx. While Walz's wedding anniversary does fall on the anniversary of the day Chinese troops opened fire and killed hundreds, maybe thousands, that's a day the CCP tries to crack down on anyone mentioning. It doesn't even appear on internet searches within the country. Writing to Wray, Comer said: 'It has come to the Committees attention that Governor Walz has longstanding connections to CCP-connected entities and officials that make him susceptible to the Partys strategy of elite capture, which seeks to co-opt influential figures in elite political, cultural, and academic circles to influence the United States to the benefit of the communist regime and the detriment of Americans.' 'Reporting about Governor Walzs extensive engagement with CCP officials and entities while serving in public office raises questions about possible CCP influence in his decision-making as governorand, should he be elected, as vice president.' Tim Walz's first trip to China reported in his local newspaper In the letter, the Kentucky Republican notes how when the governor was a school teacher he founded a company called 'Educational Travel Adventures, Inc.,' to bring students to China. The group was run by Walz and his wife Gwen and facilitated trips from 1994 until it was dissolved in 2007, Comer notes. In addition to the field trips, the Walzs even had their honeymoon in China, just five years after the Tiananmen Square Massacre. The Democrat has called his experiences visiting the country dozens of times 'amazing.' And his admiration for the country opens the door for him to be attacked by Donald Trump and Republicans as the U.S, and China enter a period of increasing economic and military rivalry. Walz has described his myriad trips to China as 'amazing' and has said he does not believe the country to be an 'adversary' of the U.S. Walz, who speaks some Mandarin, said recently he did not accept that China had to be an 'adversary.' He said: 'I've lived in China and, as I've said, I've been there about 30 times. If anyone tells you they're an expert on China they're probably not telling you the truth because it's a complex country.' 'But it's critically important for us. I don't fall into the category that China necessarily needs to be an adversarial relationship, I totally disagree.' Responding to Walz's selection Donald Trump's running mate Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, speaking in Philadelphia earlier this month, accused him of planning to send jobs to China. Vance said: 'Tim Walz is a guy who wants to shift more and more American manufacturing jobs to China.' Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, Donald Trump's vice presidential pick slammed Walz for sending jobs to China 'He said it on camera in the name of the green energy scam. If you care about the environment, and I certainly do, why are you going to ship American manufacturing jobs to the dirtiest economy in the world? Why wouldn't you keep them right here, in Pennsylvania, the places that really need it?' 'To have a guy who wants to ship manufacturing jobs to China? There is no way the American people are going to buy it. It just doesn't make sense.' Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Friday that he was suspending his campaign - with a twist. Kennedy pushed supporters who live in 10 swing states to back Republican nominee Donald Trump, but said his name would remain on the ballots in traditional red or blue states. 'I would like everyone to know that I am not terminating my campaign, I am simply suspending it and not ending it,' Kennedy said in Arizona on Friday. 'My name will remain on the ballot in most states.' In long-winded remarks, the nephew of Democratic President John F. Kennedy said he was withdrawing from the race in swing states because, 'I would likely hand the election over to the Democrats, with whom I disagree on the most existential issues.' The confusing announcement was the latest chapter in a 16-month saga that brought brain worms, dog-eating and dead bear cubs into the political vernacular. Kennedy went scorched earth on his former party, the Democrats, during his Phoenix remarks - but didn't immediately reveal his plans. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Friday that he was suspending his campaign - with a twist. He encouraged backers in swing states to select former President Donald Trump. He made the announcement in Phoenix, Arizona Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (left) and his wife Cheryl Hines (right) during the launch of his independent presidential bid in October in Philadelphia A young Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (right) with his uncle, President John F. Kennedy (left) in 1961. RFK Jr. left the Democratic Party in October and on Friday endorsed the Republican nominee, former President Donald Trump 'I began this journey as a Democrat, the party of my father, my uncle, the party I pledged my allegiance to long before I was old enough to vote,' he reminded the crowd. Kennedy then blasted the Democratic Party for 'canceling the primary to conceal the cognitive decline of the sitting president.' He later added that the Democrats 'ran a sham primary that was rigged to prevent any serious challenge to President Biden.' Once Biden, he said, 'predictably bungled' the debate against Trump, a 'palace coup' took place. 'The same shadowy DNC operatives appointed his successor, also without an election,' Kennedy charged. 'They installed a candidate who was so unpopular with voters that she dropped out in 2020 without winning a single delegate,' Kennedy said. Kennedy also slammed Democratic nominee Kamala Harris for not engaging in a sit-down interview yet. 'My uncle and father both relished debate. They prided themselves on their capacity to go toe-to-toe with any opponent in the battle over ideas,' Kennedy said. 'They would be astonished to learn of the Democratic Party presidential nominee who, like Vice President Harris, has not appeared in a single interview or an unscripted encounter with votesr for 35 days.' 'This is profoundly undemocratic,' Kennedy said. 'How are people to choose when they don't know whom they are choosing?' He blasted the Democrats for being extra critical of Trump, noting that the GOP nominee was mentioned 147 times during the first day of the just-wrapped Chicago convention. 'Who needs a policy when you have Trump to hate?' he asked. During his remarks, Kennedy pushed that he had been cheated out of a victory by the system. 'In an honest system, I believe I will have won the election,' he claimed. Supporters of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. watch as he suspends his presidential campaign Friday from Phoenix, Arizona - nearby where former President Donald Trump is set to appear Supporters and reporters watch as independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sort of pulled the plug on his campaign. He said he would remove his name from 10 swing state ballots and encouraged supporters there to vote for former President Donald Trump He also told supporters that there was still a chance he could win - as the election could be tossed to Congress if Harris and Trump tie in the Electoral College count. But Kennedy explained that he started to consider partnering with Trump when the Republican nominee asked to speak to him about his No. 1 issue - solving chronic disease. The two met the next day, and then later Kennedy met with Trump and his family members while in Florida. 'I was surprised to discover that we are aligned on many key issues,' Kennedy said. 'In those meetings he suggested we join forces as a unity party,' the independent continued. 'We talked about Abraham Lincoln's Team of Rivals.' 'That arrangement would allow us to disagree publicly and privately and fiercely if need be on issues over which we differ, while working together on the existential issues upon which we are in concordance.' Trump is speaking in nearby Glendale later Friday and his campaign teased a 'special guest' would join him onstage. A video of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was leaked that showcases his telephone conversation last month with former President Donald Trump One of the weirder moments during RFK Jr.'s campaign was his admission earlier this month that he left the corpse of a dead bear cub in New York's Central Park in 2014 That guest was largely believed to be Kennedy. Earlier while in Las Vegas, the GOP nominee reacted to the Kennedy news. 'We just had a very nice endorsement from RFK junior, Bobby.. And I will be talking about that. We are heading out right after this. We will be going to Arizona. We will be talking about that and lot of other things too,' Trump said. 'But I just want to thank everybody and I want to thank Bobby.' 'That was very nice, that was really very nice,' the GOP nominee said. 'That's big. He's a great guy, respected by everybody.' DailyMail.com polling suggests that RFK Jr.'s exit could give the Republican a boost. Kennedy's siblings - who support Harris - released a joint statement slamming their brother's decision. 'Our brother Bobby's decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear,' said Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Courtney Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Chris Kennedy and Rory Kennedy. A number of other Kennedy family members work in the current Biden administration. RFK Jr.'s father - Sen. Robert F. Kennedy - was campaigning for the Democratic nomination and had just won California's primary when he was assassinated in 1968. Kennedy's siblings put out a joint statement condemning his endorsement of former President Donald Trump calling it a 'betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear' Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of President John F. Kennedy, posted to X Friday: 'Never been less surprised in my life' Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of President John F. Kennedy, posted to X Friday: 'Never been less surprised in my life.' 'Been saying it for over a year - RFKjr is for sale, works for Trump. Bedfellows and loving it,' Schlossberg said. 'Kamala Harris is for the people - the easiest decision of all time just go easier.' Schlossberg spoke this week at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. In the lead-up to the convention, The Washington Post reported that Kennedy had reached out to those in Harris' orbit to see if he could be appointed to a job within her administration, perhaps a Cabinet position, in exchange for dropping out. The Democrats called the effort laughable. On Friday, the Democratic National Committee continued to trash Kennedy. 'The more voters learned about RFK Jr., the less they liked him,' Senior Advisor Mary Beth Cahill said. 'Donald Trump isn't earning an endorsement that's going to help build support, he's inheriting the baggage of a failed fringe candidate. Good riddance.' The Harris-Walz campaign chose a slightly different tact, welcoming Kennedy's supporters into the fold. 'For any American out there who is tired of Donald Trump and looking for a new way forward, ours is a campaign for you,' Harris-Walz 2024 Campaign Chair Jen O'Malley Dillon said. 'In order to deliver for working people and those who feel left behind, we need a leader who will fight for you, not just for themselves, and bring us together, not tear us apart. Vice President Harris wants to earn your support.' 'Even if we do not agree on every issue, Kamala Harris knows there is more that unites us than divides us: respect for our rights, public safety, protecting our freedoms, and opportunity for all,' O'Malley Dillon added. Libertarian presidential candidate Chase Oliver also made a play for Kennedy votes. 'By leaving the ballot in some states and staying on in others, RFK Jr. is showing he lacks the seriousness to be president: You are either running or you aren't,' Oliver said in a statement. 'By removing himself from the most competitive state ballots, RFK Jr. is effectively saying he doesn't want the job he's running for. I do want the job.' At one point, RFK Jr. had flirted with trying to earn the Libertarian Party's nomination - which would ensure him a spot on ballots across the country - but convention goers chose Oliver as their candidate. Kennedy's own wife, Cheryl Hines, posted excitedly in 2020 when Biden picked Harris to be VP. 'One small step for woman, one giant leap for womankind,' the Curb Your Enthusiasm actress posted on Instagram, tagging it #inspired. In a statement Friday, she said, 'I deeply respect the decision Bobby made to run on the principle of unity.' 'Over the last year and a half, I have met some extraordinary people from all parties Democrats, Republicans, and Independents,' Hines said. 'It's been my experience that the vast majority of all parties are truly good people who want the best for our country and for each other.' Kennedy's wife Cheryl Hines (right), who formerly supported Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement Friday after her husband backed Trump: ''I deeply respect the decision Bobby made to run on the principle of unity' 'It has been an eye-opening, transformative, and endearing journey,' the actress added. Her husband conceded in a follow-up post that his wife wasn't fully on board with this decision. 'I am so grateful to my amazing wife Cheryl for her unconditional love, as I made a political decision with which she is very uncomfortable,' he admitted. Ahead of Friday's big announcement, a court filing beat Kennedy to the punch. In Pennsylvania, Kennedy put in writing that he planned to endorse Trump, according to the Associated Press. He also requested to be removed from Pennsylvania's ballot. The news broke as journalists waited for the candidate to speak, after he had similary withdrawn from Arizona's ballot. Earlier Friday, Kennedy's running mate, Nicole Shanahan, cast some doubt that a Trump endorsement would happen, telling podcast host Adam Carolla that Trump needed to apologize for his COVID-19 response. 'The hesitation we have right now in joining forces with Trump is that he has not apologized or publicly come out and said Operation Warp Speed was my fault, was a failure and I let it happen,' Shanahan said. Operation Warp Speed was Trump's public-private partnership for the swift development of COVID-19 vaccines. Trump, rightly, took credit for Operation Warp Speed and he and his allies expressed dismay when the fruits of that labor - Pfizer's announcement that the vaccine prevented more than 90 percent of infections - didn't come out until after Election Day 2020. Since then, with vaccine skepticism on the rise on the political right, Trump has distanced himself from the COVID vaccine. Shanahan said Trump needed to apologize for the COVID lockdowns and for keeping Dr. Anthony Fauci as a top adviser too. 'There was a lot that happened under Donald Trump's watch that should not have happened and cannot happen again,' she told Carolla. 'And if we are going to put our bet with him - and we haven't, we have not confirmed anything - we need absolute assurance.' Shanahan wasn't onstage during the Friday announcement. Google is pledging $55 million over five years to a fund in support of California journalism. Getty Images 2023 Over the past month, unbeknownst to California taxpayers, tech giant Google has been in negotiations with the office of Assembly Member Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, and the governors office, with heavy input from an opaque subset of leadership from the California News Publishers Association. This week, the public finally found out why. On Wednesday, Wicks announced the results of those closed-door negotiations a deal that effectively killed her AB886 and SB1327 from state Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, bills arising from yearslong deliberations that sought to hold Big Tech accountable for its impact on the local news ecosystem. Those bills had bipartisan, supermajority support in both houses of the Legislature and incorporated the input of journalists unions and independent publishers like me voices and interests that were conspicuously left out of the handshake agreement that has preempted our public efforts in the 11th hour. Advertisement Article continues below this ad According to the piecemeal drafts of the framework so far available, the state is slated to provide $70 million of taxpayer money over five years for a new journalism fund that would ostensibly seek to support this vital democratic infrastructure. Google, for its part, would guarantee $55 million for the fund over the same period. That may seem like a boon for the news industry but its couch-cushion money for Google, an infinitesimal fraction of the profits it has diverted from local news to itself. And its a far cry from the structural remedies the Wicks and Glazer bills offered. Its not nothing, but its close. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the deal would reinforce the vital role of journalism in our democracy. What is truly being reinforced is the power of a greedy monopolist to circumvent the democratic process and avoid accountability to the working people and communities most harmed by its practices. Its precisely the kind of abuse of power that makes a robust press so necessary in the first place. Those in favor of the deal tout that Googles investment would actually be much higher than $55 million over five years. But, as we have come to learn, much of that funding will be earmarked for a national AI Innovation Accelerator run by a nonprofit organization under the control of the funds contributors all tech companies. That an artificial intelligence accelerator has been shoehorned into an effort initially meant to protect journalism jobs is an insult added to the lost opportunity to truly hold Google accountable for its impact on the local news ecosystem. Wicks release says that this accelerator will empower organizations with the new technology, and complement the work of the Journalism Fund by creating new tools to help journalists access and analyze public information but the details of how it will do so are as unclear as the idea is improbable. The promises of artificial intelligence may be enticing to the hedge funds and private equity groups that have gobbled up local news operations in recent decades. But to independent outlets like mine, the technology represents an existential threat. Advertisement Article continues below this ad I started the Riverside Record to address one of the many news deserts that have emerged in our state during Googles surge to prominence, because transparency and accountability in local government matter. Google cant hold our local elected officials accountable. Its AI wont, either. Journalists, however, will continue to do the crucial work of holding power to account and ensuring Californians have the information they need to make the best decisions for themselves and their communities. Today, that means shining a bright light into the back room where this deal was concocted and demanding answers. 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 And while there are pieces of this deal that could conceivably increase the number of journalists working in the state a net good the lack of transparency, stakeholder input and overall favorable terms for Big Tech make this a bad deal for California and a bad deal for local news. It is, in brief, a deal with the devil. And a bad one at that. A few months back, when he was chasing your vote, Sir Keir Starmer stood at a lectern, rolled up his sleeves and promised that Labour would clean up politics and restore standards in public life with a total crackdown on cronyism. It was a time when his power-hungry party was investing significant political capital in the war on what he invariably dubbed Tory sleaze. Prime Ministers Questions might see Sir Keir jab a finger across the Despatch Box to accuse the Conservative government of giving kickbacks to donors, or enriching political supporters by signing off what he once called dodgy contracts, jobs for their mates and cash for access. The calculated line of attack, endlessly amplified by Starmers front-bench allies and their stenographers in the Left-wing media, was designed to convince voters that the nasty party had snouts in the trough. We will stamp out Tory sleaze that has polluted our politics and corrupted our democracy, Angela Rayner would bellow, complaining about what she called cronyism in Parliament. In one memorable broadside, she accused the Government of handing out jobs for the boys after discovering that a journalist named Harry Mount, whod once written a book on the wit and wisdom of Boris Johnson, was up for a role on the House of Lords Appointments Commission. This is a display of pure arrogance, she declared. Putting a leading crony in charge of rooting out cronyism in Parliament! Sleaze and self-interest have defined their government for years. During his election campaign, Sir Keir Starmer, here pictured with Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner (left) and Chancellor Rachel Reeves, promised to 'clean up politics' Rayners comrade Rachel Reeves, then Shadow Chancellor, was similarly anxious to clean up cronyism in British politics firing off angry public letters to, as she put it, demand transparency from this Government on how its appointing senior figures. When, a couple of years back, a Tory peer, Lord Wharton, was hired to run the Office for Students, Reeves reached for the smelling salts. This governments philosophy is so often not appointing the best person for the job but the best friend for the job, she complained. That, ladies and gentlemen, was then. Today, Starmer, Rayner and Reeves find themselves atop the wobbly ladder of Westminster. And suddenly, all those wide-eyed pledges to end cronyism look very hollow indeed. How so? Well, in a shameless display of hypocrisy, Labour has spent its first weeks in office quietly parachuting a motley selection of donors, activists, aides and former party employees into publicly-funded jobs within the supposedly neutral civil service. The hiring spree is already unprecedented. But fresh details are still coming to light, with more questionable appointments emerging daily. And while it remains to be seen whether rules designed to protect Whitehall neutrality have been broken or merely bent, little about this murky affair passes the smell test. What I can tell you, for sure, is that after years of bleating about the evils of cronyism Starmer, Reeves and Rayner are already up to their necks in the scandal. As so often, in this new Governments short history, the PMs chief-of-staff Sue Gray has an intriguing, walk-on role. The controversy began on August 7, when the Westminster news website Politico discovered that Chancellor Reeves had just welcomed a banker named Ian Corfield as a Director of Investment at the Treasury. This appointment, which commands a salary of up to 162,500, had been made in July but not publicly announced. And there was a further highly irregular detail: this supposed public servant just happened to be a longstanding Labour Party donor whod handed over 20,000 in recent years, including a handy 5,000 to Reeves herself. The revelation raised a number of questions. For recruitment to the civil service, especially to its most senior roles, is governed by strict protocols designed to prevent corruption and safeguard Whitehalls cherished political independence. Sue Gray might be part of the reason for Labour donors landing plum roles, which started on August 7 when Chancellor Reeves welcomed a banker named Ian Corfield as a Director of Investment at the Treasury They stipulate that departments should hold an open and fair recruitment process, allowing candidates to be considered entirely on their merits, rather than party-political affiliation. No such process took place when Corfield was parachuted into his lucrative role. He was instead employed under exceptions allowed only in limited circumstances, such as when hiring someone is considered urgent or to appoint distinguished outsiders to senior roles. Irregular hires, of this nature must be approved by a quango called the Civil Service Commission. It did indeed sign off Corfields appointment. But the protocols governing that process mean it wasnt told he was a Labour donor. All very whiffy. And questions for Reeves over her generous donors new plum role are further complicated by the Ministerial Code, which stipulates that ministers must uphold the political impartiality of the Civil Service and ensure that no conflict arises, or could reasonably be perceived to arise, between their public duties and their private interests. Quite how the Chancellor of the Exchequer saw no conflict in someone who had given her 5,000 being ushered into a well-paid job in her own department is unclear. While she has yet to comment, some two weeks into the scandal, colleagues have claimed that no rules were broken in the whole thing. That, of course, doesnt make it right. And Corfield isnt the only controversial new recruit to the civil service. Indeed, he isnt even the only one at the Treasury. For it recently emerged that one Oliver Newton has joined the Department as Head of Business Engagement. Before the election, he worked as a Business Relations Adviser for the Labour party, in the office of that relentless opponent of cronyism, Rachel Reeves. Ian Corfield, Director of Investment at the Treasury, and Oliver Newton, Head of Business Engagement Over at Angela Rayers Ministry of Housing, meanwhile, similar jobs have been doled out to Labour stooges. For example, a young man named Haydon Etherington was recently hired as a Senior Policy Adviser there. His last job, prior to the election, was working for Labour as a policy adviser to none other than Angela Rayner. Elsewhere in the same building, you may find another new recruit called Ben Wood. He turns out to have spent the past six years working for the Labour Party. Indeed, he was its candidate in the 2021 North Shropshire by-election, when Rayner actually appeared on the stump for him. After that notably unsuccessful campaign (he came second with 22 per cent of the vote) Wood came to Westminster, where he was hired as Ms Rayners political adviser. Now Labour are in government, hes moved seamlessly into her department. As a supposedly neutral civil servant. Completing a hat-trick of cronyism for the Deputy Prime Minister who was so critical of Tory cronyism it yesterday emerged that Rose Grayston has been hired to work in Rayners department as an expert adviser on housing. Grayston was previously employed at Labour Together, a think tank that has made donations to a host of Labour MPs, including one Angela Rayner. In a move some might find suspicious, that old role was deleted from her page on the social network LinkedIn a couple of days back. Haydon Etherington, Senior Policy Adviser in the Housing Department, and Rose Grayston, an expert adviser on housing Henry Newman, a former Tory aide and author of The Whitehall Project blog, who uncovered the appointments of Wood and Grayston this week, accused Labour of endangering the impartiality of Whitehall through a string of civil service jobs awarded to political figures. Whether Deputy Prime Minister Rayner disagrees is unclear. She too has yet to comment on the escalating scandal, or to explain how hiring three Labour loyalists to supposedly neutral civil service roles dovetails with her long-claimed opposition to cronyism in Parliament and jobs for the boys. The stench of hypocrisy runs all the way to Downing Street, too. For in recent days it emerged that Sir Keir himself, who once promised a total crackdown on cronyism has replaced the civil servant who was his diary manager with one Annie-Rose Peterman. She was previously a Labour employee, working for both Starmer and Emily Thornberry. Starmers shadowy Chief of Staff, Sue Gray, has meanwhile parachuted one Mitchell Burns-Jackson into No 10 as her new executive assistant. Its a highly irregular move, since such hires are usually made from within Whitehall. Immediately before the election, he was her personal diary secretary, directly employed by the Labour Party. Ms Gray is up to her neck in the mounting controversy, if senior Conservatives are to be believed. She features heavily in a formal complaint that Shadow Paymaster General John Glen filed with the Civil Service Commission last week. This document offers an intriguing explanation for some of the egregious cronyism. It argues that Labour ministers who chose to hire the likes of Ian Corfield would in normal circumstances have given them jobs as Special Advisers, a term describing overtly political staff hired on fixed-term contracts who, unlike civil servants, are not bound by rules governing neutrality. Mr Glen claims, however, that there has been a problem: namely that Gray, who is famed for her backstage control-freakery (and has been accused of seeking to block intelligence officers from briefing Sir Keir) is refusing to sign off the appointments of these Spads. That in turn has prompted the likes of Rayner and Reeves to hire donors and party employees via another means: shoehorning them into civil service roles I understand that the Prime Ministers Chief of Staff has personally blocked a number of special adviser appointments, reads Glens complaint. I am concerned that this may have led to ministers trying to circumvent the rules by appointing such political advisers as normal civil servants, which do not require 10 Downing Streets approval. Emily Middleton, Director General at the Department for Science and Technology, and Jess Sargeant, deputy director of the Propriety and Constitution Group Newly hired mandarins at the centre of Glens complaint reportedly include Corfield, Newton and Etherington, along with a woman called Emily Middleton, who is a brand new Director General at the Department for Science and Technology. She previously worked at Labour Together, the same Left-wing think-tank as Rayners chum Grayston, and was between January and July this year seconded to work for the Labour Party in the office of frontbencher Peter Kyle. Mr Kyle, who valued her work as a donation in kind of some 66,500, is by amazing coincidence now the Secretary of State for Science and Technology. To put things another way, that means Labour Minister Kyle is now in charge of the very department that has hired Ms Middleton to work in a highly paid role as one of its supposedly neutral political servants. Things are similarly cosy at the Department for Education. Here, the committed meritocrat Bridget Phillipson, who appears to be devoting her reign to dismantling private schools, has just welcomed a new Senior Adviser by the name of Tom Crick. He too was hired in July, having previously spent three years working for Labour, in Mrs Phillipsons own office. Ben Wood has been hired as Angela Rayner's political adviser It is, as they say, a rum old do. And the raft of appointments is causing serious consternation inside Whitehall. Among critics to have spoken publicly is Paul Lever, a retired British Ambassador to Germany and former head of the Joint Intelligence Committee. There have over the years been quite a few outside appointments to the Civil Service, almost all distinguished and experienced people selected to do senior jobs, he says. But the current Labour appointees have a mostly political background and are performing middle-management roles. The Institute for Government, a respected think-tank, meanwhile said this week that Labour bringing politically aligned people into Government outside of the usual routes poses risks to the impartiality of the civil service. And Lord Moylan, a Tory Peer, accused Labour of riding roughshod over civil service impartiality [by appointing] stooges who are completely enmeshed financially in party funding. One of the most contentious appointments, on this front, is surely that of Jess Sargeant, a former staffer at Labour Together. It emerged this week that shed been parachuted into a job as deputy director in the Governments Propriety and Constitution Group (PCG) which, ironically, is charged with upholding ethical standards across Whitehall. The recruitment process was highly unusual, sources in the department have claimed. She just turned up one morning, two weeks ago, having been given the job without it being externally advertised, one said. Sargeant will reportedly now work in the Constitutional Guardianship team at the Cabinet Office, dealing with House of Lords Reform. Its a hugely sensitive topic that will affect the balance of power in Parliament. But she doesnt seem to be particularly neutral on the subject. Indeed, shes previously written essays advocating a Starmer-friendly approach to the Upper House, arguing that hereditary peers ought to be abolished and that the presence of . . . religious representatives in the legislature is not befitting of modern democracy. This does not, to put things mildly, suggest Sargeant is ideally equipped to maintain civil service neutrality in her new job. Neither does the fact that, shortly after her contentious appointment, she deleted her online CV from networking website LinkedIn, in what may have been a bid to keep her employment history secret. We are, all told, in the realm of genuine political scandal. Which makes it all the more surprising that until very recently, Left-leaning media outlets were almost entirely uninterested in the whole thing. Take the BBC. Although news of Corfields appointment was first reported on August 7, generating follow-up articles in the Mail, Times, Telegraph, Financial Times and extensive coverage on LBC radio and across social media, it neglected to touch the story for no fewer than eight days. Since then, its coverage has been extremely limited, argues a senior Tory source. If a scandal like this had come along when we were in power, it would have been leading the bulletins and all over Twitter by lunchtime and wed have push notifications popping up on our phones about Tory sleaze. The double standards are quite remarkable. Equally shameless has been the silence of Left-leaning lobby groups who have spent recent years bleating about sleaze in public office. Take, for example, the Good Law Project, which runs crowdfunded legal campaigns and when the Conservatives were in power campaigned relentlessly against the government handing out jobs for mates on the grounds that the practice was supposedly unethical. At the height of the Covid pandemic, it went so far as to seek a judicial review of the decision by Boris Johnson to appoint Dame Kate Bingham to an unpaid role running the Governments Vaccine Taskforce. Although she was one of the UKs foremost experts on biotechnology, she also happened to be married to a Tory MP, which apparently made her a crony. Closed recruitment particularly discriminates against Black, Asian and minority ethnic people and disabled people, read the Good Law Projects complaint, prepared in conjunction with a race-relations charity called The Runnymede Trust. The Governments practice of offering these roles unpaid rules out those without family wealth. This disgraceful legal action was quietly dropped after Dame Kates pro bono work helped Britain lead the world in vaccine development, saving millions of lives. Fast forward four years, and with a string of more egregious jobs for mates being doled out (none of them to candidates from an ethnic minority) the Good Law Project and Runnymede Trust have chosen to say absolutely nothing. Different standards apply, it seems, when cronyism is orchestrated by Sir Keir Starmers merry band of hypocrites. The White House said Friday it was still prepared for Iran to strike back against Israel, even as the Middle East held its breath for a resolution to the conflict in Gaza. John Kirby, national security spokesman, described ceasefire talks in Cairo as 'constructive' even though the Palestinian terror group Hamas had not sent representatives. At the same time, Iran's promised attack on Israel, in retaliation for the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh on Iranian soil, has yet to materialize. But Kirby told reporters on a briefing call: 'It's still a very perilous situation. I can't predict what Iran's going to do or not going to do. 'We believe they're still prepared to do something if, in fact, they choose to do something, and that's about as far as I'll go.' Hezbollah fighters gather prior to the funeral procession for late senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, killed in an Israeli strike, in Beirut, Lebanon, earlier this month A day earlier, Iran signaled that strikes were not imminent. Kirby said officials were 'taking nothing for granted' and were also watching the activity of Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces on the border with Israel. 'I won't get into a specific intelligence assessment, but we certainly have to take seriously the rhetoric coming out of Hezbollah. 'We know that there's an exchange of fire almost every single day up there that you just can't blow off.' The region was plunged into turmoil on Oct. 7 last year when Hamas gunmen killed more than 1200 people in Israel. The government of Benjamin Netanyahu promised to destroy the group and launched strikes on Gaza, which have killed more than 40,000 people. Negotiations to end the conflict and free Israeli hostages still held by Hamas have proceeded in fits and starts. And the region was put on a knife edge when the Hamas leader was killed at his guesthouse in Tehran, a day after a top Hezbollah commander, Fuad Shukr, was killed in Lebanon by an Israeli strike. National security communications adviser John Kirby held a briefing call with reporters Friday Rockets fired from Lebanon are intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome air defense system A destroyed car and apartment building are seen after an Israeli airstrike on August 20, that killed one and injured fifteen others on August 21, 2024 in Nabi Chit, Lebanon The Pentagon has moved an extra aircraft carrier strike group into the region to make Iran think twice about launching a response. Kirby called on Hamas to join the ceasefire talks. On Thursday they included negotiators from Israel, the United States, Egypt and Qatar but not Hamas. 'We're in Cairo. They're in Cairo. We need Hamas to participate, and we need to get down to the brass tacks of locking in these details. And that's what we're focused on here in the next, coming days here over the course of the weekend,' Kirby said. He said early signs were that the discussions 'have been constructive,' and denied that the talks had collapsed. 'Things are moving forward,' he said. Things looked bleak earlier this week when U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken left the region without securing a deal. Two teenagers riding a motorcycle were nearly killed after another abandoned motorcycle exploded in front of a hotel in the southern Colombian city of Samaniego. A surveillance camera shows residents walking past the motorcycle unaware that it was laced with explosives while a National Police pickup truck reversed into the nearby precinct. Civilians on two bikes and a pickup truck can also be seen passing by the explosives-laden vehicle in the seconds leading up to the explosion on Thursday afternoon. The two teens, whose names were not released, were heading to a Provincial Band Meeting and made at left at the corner of the hotel where they were staying when the motorcycle bomb was detonated. The impact of the blast knocked them to the ground as flames engulfed the bombed motorcycle. Two teens aboard a motorcycle approach the bomb-laden motorcycle (circled in red) that was abandoned in front of a hotel and exploded in Samaniego, Colombia on Thursday A motorcycle laced with explosives exploded near a hotel and National Police station in Samaniego, Colombia, on Thursday. Authorities are looking into whether the suspects were targeting the hotel or the police The teen riding the motorcycle quickly stood up and walked to the opposite sidewalk and then returned to help his friend, who slowly got on his feet. They were rushed to Lorencita Villegas de Santos Hospital, the National Police said in a statement to DailyMail.com. Noticias Caracol reported that a third person, who was inside the hotel, was also injured. One of the victims who was traveling on the motorcycle was later transferred to a medical facility in the municipality of Pasto and is in stable condition. The National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia identified double bass player, Jorge Prada, as one of the victims. The bombing didn't deter residents and bands members from attending Provincial Band Meeting, where the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia performed. Two teenagers stand near their wrecked motorcycle that was knocked to the ground following a motorcycle bombing (pictured in flames to the left). The teens were taken to a local medical facility, where they were treated. The extent of their injuries in unknown The National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia performed at the Provincial Band Meeting on Thursday after a motorcycle bomb attack injured three people, including double bass player Jorge Prada 'Our mission as a Symphonic Band and Association is to bring sounds of peace and reconciliation to all corners of Colombia,' the National Symphony Orchestra of Colombia said in a statement. 'We firmly believe that music is a universal language capable of healing, uniting and transforming. If the sound of bombs reaches our territories, our sounds of peace and hope, through music, will resonate even louder.' Investigators are looking into whether the suspects behind the attack targeted the hotel or the National Police station, Noticias Caracol reported. Area residents told authorities that concerns have been elevated in the city due to the presence of the National Liberation Army, the Marxist-Leninist guerrilla group, according to El Colombiano. Residents walk by the abandoned motorcycle laced with explosives moments before it was detonated and injured three people in Samaniego, Colombia, on Thursday Pictured: The aftermath of the bombing at Samaniego The government for the province of Narino has used the city of Samaniego to host rounds of peace talks with leaders of the guerrilla group, which is recognized as a terror organization by Canada, Colombia, the European Union, New Zealand and the United States. Narino Congressman Erick Velasco, without mentioning the terror group by name, called on it to lay down their arms and agree to a peace treaty. 'I reject the cowardly motorcycle bomb attack perpetrated against the population of Samaniego and I ask the Minister of Defense to take measures to guarantee the well-being and protection of the community,' Velasco wrote on X (formerly Twitter). 'I demand that the violent ones cease the violence and have the courage to commit to the peace that Narino demands and needs.' Oregonians have reacted angrily to a taxpayer-funded scheme that doles out $30,000 for non-legal migrants to buy homes, but excludes US citizens. Hacienda Community Development Corporation, a Latino-led group in Portland, says in a promotion that it will give first-time home buyers up to $30,000 to get on the property ladder. But there's a catch, the advert adds. The scheme is 'only for people who are not American citizens.' It is instead open to refugees, asylum seekers, Green Card holders, and those who arrived in the US illegally as children, the post says. Hacienda CDC helps migrant families get on Oregon's property ladder, but US citizens are excluded Hacienda's promotional material says the $30,000 grants are 'only for people who are not American citizens.' The revelation comes as unchecked migration and border security emerge as top issues in the 2024 presidential election. Americans are worried about the record-breaking surge of migrants under the Biden administration, and services getting strained by newcomers seeking handouts. Oregon state representative Ed Diehl is among those to say he's 'appalled' at the scheme, which he said was funded through the state's tax-funded Economic Equity Investment Program (EEIP). 'American citizens in Oregon are struggling to find and buy a home,' posted the Republican. 'We have a severe housing shortage in this state. I am appalled that the hard-earned, limited tax dollars of Oregonians are being used to prioritize homeownership for certain non-US citizens.' Hacienda and its CEO Ernesto Fonseca, who hails from an impoverished part of Mexico, did not answer The Mail's requests for comment. The post was unearthed and shared on X earlier this month by a community information group called Oregon Citizen. The group says it was being shared quietly through schools so that the immigrant parents of students could find out about it. Like across much of the US, buying a home has become a stretch for many residents of Oregon. The typical home price jumped more than 1 percent to $502,500 this year, but they easily exceed $1 million in Lake Oswego and other fancy zip-codes. Zillow ranks Portland, the state's largest city, as among the worst 10 metropolitan areas for housing. Oregon state representative Ed Diehl, a Republican, says he's 'appalled' that US citizens don't qualify The average Oregon home price jumped more than 1 percent to $502,500 this year Of course, homes are just as expensive for US citizens as they are for foreigners living in Oregon. But using taxpayers' money to help migrants while excluding citizens was too much for some X users, who responded to the revelations with disbelief. 'This isn't real is it?' posted one user. 'How is this even remotely possible?' asked another. Hacienda is in-part funded through the EEIP, which was created through Oregon's Economic Equity Investment Act of 2022. It receives millions of dollars from Oregon state taxes and also from federal taxes through the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. The EEIP received $15 million at launch and was allocated another $8 million this year. That money is distributed through Hacienda and other groups that deliver 'culturally responsive services,' according to Oregon Senate Bill 1579. The funds are aimed at supporting 'economic stability, self-sufficiency, wealth building, and economic equity among disadvantaged individuals, families, businesses, and communities.' Hacienda was funded through Business Oregon and EEIP to the tune of $692,775 this year, Oregon Citizen says. The group did not reply to our questions about excluding US citizens from its home loan schemes. It was founded in 1992 and aims to get poor 'immigrants and communities of color' into homes, says its website. Immigration has become a key issue in Oregon, with state Republicans moving to repeal some of the state's sanctuary laws, which protect some migrants from deportation. Still, voters in the Beaver State have nuanced views about migrants. Polling by Portland firm DHM Research in April 2023 showed that about half of voters say illegal immigration is a serious problem. Hacienda's CEO Ernesto Fonseca hails from an impoverished part of Mexico and says he wants to get more migrants onto the property ladder In some of Oregon's fancier zip codes, the typical property value is already above $1 million. But a majority of voters said at the time they supported Oregon maintaining its sanctuary status, and nearly 60 percent said immigration was positive for the country. Studies have shown that legal migrants pay taxes and help to grow America's economy. Still, other research has shown that non-legal migrants can place a burden on social services. The Biden Administration released the latest border crossing numbers last week, showing a 32 percent drop in migrants caught in July what the feds call the 'lowest number since September 2020.' The staggering decrease in migrant crossings comes four years into the worst border crisis the US has ever seen with historic numbers of migrants arriving at the nation's border's seeking entry including a huge number of asylum seekers. Since October 2021, over 10 million migrants have crossed into the US, according to federal statistics straining the federal agencies that handle migrants and bringing border communities, like El Paso, Texas, to its knees. Since January, the Mexican government has stepped up efforts to stop mostly South and Central American migrants traveling through its country on their way to the US. Pressured by the Biden Administration, Mexican officials have set up checkpoints to find migrants on northbound buses and trains and return them to the Mexico-Guatemala international boundary. In June, the White House announced changes how migrants could seek asylum at the border. Any migrant who did not legally enter the US would be removed and not allowed to seek asylum. A man plotted to murder a prosecutor who he knew from the local pub years ago after paying 5,000 on the dark web to have him shot, a court heard. Martin Ready, 41, is accused of attempting to conspire to murder Darren Harty, 37, between May 29, 2021 and September 15, 2022. He is accused of buying 5,071.24 in Bitcoin and using a dark web page called Online Killers Marketplace where he instructed that Mr Harty should be shot and where he could be found. Mr Harty, who works as a procurator fiscal depute, said he became aware of the police investigation during a work night out in September 2022, and said he was 'bewildered' to hear of the alleged conspiracy. A joint minute of agreed evidence read to the jury at the High Court in Glasgow states Ready set up an account on the website under the name 'HarryBrown' (stock photo) Ready allegedly bought 5,071.24 in Bitcoin with the intention of paying a hitman to carry out the murder plot (stock photo) Mr Harty said he worked in his family's pub in Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, until 2014 when he went to university, and that Ready would come in and order coffee. Ready denies all charges and has lodged a special defence of lacking criminal responsibility. A joint minute of agreed evidence read to the jury at the High Court in Glasgow states Ready set up an account on the website under the name 'HarryBrown'. The jury also heard that he set up accounts with two London-based cryptocurrency firms and later transferred payment to the admin of Online Killers Marketplace. On September 4, 2022, he downloaded an image of Mr Harty onto his mobile phone, which was shown to the court. Giving evidence on Friday, Mr Harty was shown a photograph found on Ready's phone and told the court it had been his Instagram profile picture. Prosecutor Erin Campbell asked if he knew the accused. Mr Harty said: 'Yes I do. He used to come into the pub that I worked in many years ago in Coatbridge. I'm also a friend of his cousin. It's my family's pub.' He told the court he was 'stunned and shocked' when police told him of their investigation into the alleged conspiracy. Ms Campbell said: 'Do you have any indication as to why Martin Ready would take steps to have you assassinated?' Mr Harty said: 'Absolutely none whatsoever.' Defending, Brian McConnachie KC asked Mr Harty if he could recall Ready drinking in the pub, during cross-examination. Mr Harty said: 'To my recollection, he wouldn't ever drink alcohol. He would drink coffee. It was a busy bar and it was kind of irritating having to make the coffee.' Mr McConnachie asked him if he knew two named families from Coatbridge, and Mr Harty said he was aware of them. He was asked if he had any involvement in money laundering for either family, and Mr Harty said: 'Absolutely not.' The court heard the alleged plot was snared by an investigative journalist who was producing a documentary on the dark web, and who alerted the Met Police, who informed Police Scotland. Detective Sergeant Karen Murray, who led the investigation at Coatbridge CID, said Ready's house was raided and his mobile phone was seized after the tip-off. The phone showed searches for a website, hire-a-hitman.pw and were shown to the jury. A webpage showed a masked sniper. It offered a list of 'the most trusted killers' at the top of the webpage, with Online Killers in the number one position, and advertised: 'Killing an important person with bodyguards,' starting at 60,000 US dollars (46,000). Ready is accused of using a dark web page called Online Killers Marketplace where he instructed that Mr Harty should be shot and where he could be found (stock photo) A message sent by user HarryBrown in February 2022 titled Order: 'Simple shoot and run', described Mr Harty as an 'extremely soft target', adding: 'It should be a nice easy job.' An exchange about Bitcoin transactions was shown to the jury, along with a conversation about social media sites belonging to Mr Harty. A report from September 5, 2022 showed 5,071.24 was paid into a Bitcoin account. Messages from a forum from the same month showed an exchange between users expressing interest in the commission, titled: 'UK job soft target 6k. Target's daily routine is known. Excellent strike point available. Target unaware of threat. Target is extremely soft.' On September 15 a user, MrMortis, replied: 'The strike point is never decided by a customer, we always plan everything ourselves but let's discuss if still pending.' On September 21, another user, Antibiotic, replied: 'Let me know details. We can do it.' The trial, which is expected to last five days, continues before Lady Hood. A convicted murderer who permanently disfigured a prison guard and injured another while trying to escape custody during a hospital visit has been jailed for more than three years, just months before he was meant to meet with a parole board. James Demarco, 34, had been taken to Perth Royal Infirmary in Tayside, Scotland, for an X-ray appointment on September 25, 2023 when he attacked a female GEOAmey guard. Prosecutors said he was handcuffed to the woman when he caused her to fall halfway down a flight of stairs. He then put his knee on her chest and pinned her to the ground, which caused her head to strike the floor, and he then demanded the handcuffs be removed and shouted that he would slit the woman's throat. The second GEOAmey officer immediately uncuffed him, tackled him, and placed him in a headlock. James Demarco in 2007 when he was convicted of murdering teenager Jamie Ewart Perth Royal Infirmary, where De,arco attacked a female GEOAmey guard Demarco then bit the officer, a man, on his right forearm, elbowing the back of his head and punching him multiple times on the head and face. The prisoner escaped through a door leading to the ground floor and left the building in the direction of the hospital car park. Demarco then approached a woman with her four-year-old daughter, demanding her car keys. He said: 'Where is your car? Give me your car keys.' The woman shouted for help as Demarco grabbed at the pocket of her cardigan, causing it to rip. After leaving the car park, Demarco ran in the direction of Wellshill Cemetery to the north of the hospital. Meanwhile, police received a 999 call after a witness saw the attempted robbery in the car park. Demarco was found hiding in the cemetery and was taken to Perth police station where he was charged. In response to a charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice, he replied at the time: 'Like that will make a difference to my life sentence, ha ha ha ha.' Both prison custody officers were taken to accident and emergency at Perth Royal Infirmary. The woman was left permanently disfigured after suffering a 6cm laceration to her scalp alongside contusions and soft tissue damage. Her male colleague suffered bruising to his face and eyes, a minor cut on his right eye socket, soft tissue damage and a superficial bite mark on his arm. Demarco appeared at the High Court in Edinburgh on August 5 where he pleaded guilty to four charges - attempting to defeat the ends of justice, assault to severe injury or permanent disfigurement, assault to injury, and attempted robbery. At the High Court in Stirling on Friday, he was sentenced to 40 months in prison, the Crown Office said. His defence agent said he was due to go before the parole bard next year. Demarco was jailed for life in 2007 after being convicted of murdering 18-year-old Jamie Ewart. He was ordered to serve a minimum of 15 years before applying for parole. The following year he was jailed for a further 45 months after he ordered a 'hit' from prison and listened in on the attack by phone. Moira Orr, who leads on homicide and major crime for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: 'James Demarco is a dangerous individual whose dangerous actions could have had catastrophic consequences. 'It is only by good fortune that neither of the two custody officers were more severely injured. 'He then tried to rob an innocent member of the public as she carried her young child, which must have been incredibly traumatic experience for them both. 'I hope this conviction serves as a warning to others that we take crimes of this nature extremely seriously and will use all the tools available to us to seek justice. A heroic man drowned in a Missouri lake after saving his girlfriend's 5-year-old son in a tragic final act of bravery. David Moore, 66, died after jumping into Smithville Lake, Missouri, without a life jacket on Saturday afternoon after he noticed the young boy and another person floating away from their pontoon boat. Despite successfully rescuing both people, including the five-year-old boy, Moore was tragically swept away by strong currents and disappeared under the water. Moore's friends saw his head bob up twice before he disappeared beneath the surface of the water - never to be seen again. 'He was able to get the boy back ... but it took Dave farther away and pushed him under. He couldn't stay up. There was an undercurrent,' family friend Hank Penland told KCTV. David Moore, 66, died after jumping into Smithville Lake, Missouri, without a life jacket on Saturday afternoon Despite successfully rescuing both people, including the five-year-old boy, Moore was tragically swept away by strong currents and disappeared under the water Moore's body was later recovered by the Missouri State Highway Patrol. The tragedy has left Moore's family in shock. His sister, Teresa Petty, said she 'just lost it and started crying right away'. 'It's terrible. It's like a nightmare. I just wish he'd have put his life jacket on,' she added. Family and friends remember Moore as a selfless individual who always put others first. 'He would be the first one to help anybody,' said childhood friend William 'Bill' Penland. Moore, a contractor who owned his own business for 30 years, was planning to retire next July. He had recently enjoyed a 'bucket list' cruise to Alaska with friends. 'When he retired, he said he's going to do more fishing, more hunting, more boating,' Bill Penland recalled. Moore, a contractor who owned his own business for 30 years, was planning to retire next July. 'He would be the first one to help anybody,' said childhood friend William 'Bill' Penland Moore's body was later recovered by the Missouri State Highway Patrol Moore's death marks the first drowning at Smithville Lake this year and the 28th in Missouri, according to state authorities An avid Kansas City Chiefs fan, Moore introduced many to the team. The last gift he gave his sister was a Chiefs shirt and necklace. 'He took me to my first Chiefs game a few years ago. It was freezing cold, but we stayed out there and watched the Chiefs,' Petty recalled. Moore's death marks the first drowning at Smithville Lake this year and the 28th in Missouri, according to state authorities. Officials are urging people to wear life jackets when on the water. A nine-month-old baby died inside a hot car after being left in there by their grandmother for eight hours. The unidentified baby was found by their grandmother, who was seen by police clutching the unresponsive child in her arms just after 4pm on Wednesday. The baby had been left in the car outside of the East Flournoy home since 8:30am. 'The parents were at work. The grandmother had custody of the child at that time,' Beeville Assistant Police Chief Richard Cantu Jr. told Kris 6 News. The child is believed to have died before the grandmother found them in the car, according to KHOU 11. No charges have been filed against the grandmother, who reported entered the hospital on Thursday with a severe medical condition, the outlet said. 'There's no charges being filed at this time. We make sure we have enough information that will fit the element of a crime for an offense before any charges are filed,' Cantu said. A preliminary investigation determined that the 'child's grandmother had left the child in the rear seat of her car in the child safety seat,' a statement said. The unidentified baby was found by their grandmother, who was seen by police clutching the unresponsive child in her arms just after 4pm on Wednesday The baby had been left in the car outside of the East Flournoy home since 8:30am The child's death is being investigated by Beeville Police, as well as the Department of Public Safety Texas Rangers. Cantu warns residents to 'be more aware of who we have in the vehicle' as the temperatures continue to rise. 'Due to the triple-digit heat, the humidity, we need to be more cautious of who we leave in the vehicle, even pets,' he told KHOU 11. This is the second hot car death in a week and nearly 30 have died in the US this year, according to Kids and Cars. Beeville Assistant Police Chief Richard Cantu warns residents to 'be more aware of who we have in the vehicle' as the temperatures continue to rise More than 1,000 kids have died in these incidents over the last three decades. The child's death comes a day after a 1-year-old child died after their mother forgot to drop the kid off at daycare in Corpus Christi. A Florida mother, Martine Louis-Jacques, 62, was accused of child neglect without great bodily harm after leaving her five-year-old son in a hot car while she shopped at Walmart. No charges have been filed against the grandmother, who reported entered the hospital on Thursday with a severe medical condition Police said the boy, who was not identified, was 'scared and distraught' after being left in the vehicle for around 20 minutes while his mother shopped. 'The Walmart employees observed the child [redacted] unsupervised inside of the vehicle, which was completely shut off with all the windows up,' it read. The mother and son duo left the store after being reunited and she was later arrested for the incident. This is not the Disney-like ending an American professional bull rider was looking forward to during an event in Brazil. Elijah Monnett was attacked by a bull known as 'Mickey Mouse' at the 31st Barretos International Rodeo in Barretos, Sao Paulo, on Thursday. The 25-year-old Utah native was on the beast for barely four seconds as the crowd at Rodeo Stadium Arena cheered him on before he was thrown off. Monnett subsequently stood up as a cowboy lifesaver walked over to check on his well-being and had his back turned to 'Mickey Mouse,' who nearly gored him and lifted him off the ground, pinning both men against the fence. Elijah Monnett, of Utah, is attacked by a bull known as 'Mickey Mouse' at the 31st Barretos International Rodeo in Barretos, Sao Paulo on Thursday Jaxton Mortensen, one of three Americans competing at a bull riding event in Brazil, was almost crushed after the bull slipped and crashed to the ground Later in the event, Arizona native Jaxton Mortensen was nearly crushed by a bull nicknamed 'Metamorphosis' when the large animal slipped and fell just seconds after it came out of the chute. The 20-year-old landed on his right side and started to crawl when a barrelman rushed to his side and dragged him to the gate, where he attempted to help him stand. Mortensen was taken to an on-site emergency center for a medical evaluation, Brazilian news outlet G1 reported. Monnett and Mortensen didn't respond to a DailyMail.com request for comment. Jaxton Mortensen was seen by doctors moments after he was nearly crushed by a bull at the 31st Barretos International Rodeo in Barretos, Sao Paulo on Thursday Elijah Monnett fell off a bull known as 'Mickey Mouse' and was almost gored at the 31st Barretos International Rodeo on Thursday night in Brazil 31st Barretos International Rodeo started Thursday and runs through Sunday. The event features 35 bull riders, including three from the United States. Alvaro Aguilar, of Jalisco, Mexico, scored 90 points in the first round while riding Gatilho. The winner of the four-day event takes home 200,000 reals, about $36,500, and advances to The American Rodeo in Arlington, Texas in April 2025. In play for the event, billed as the 'Crown Jewel of Rodeo,' is a $1 million prize. A man planned to kill a Scots prosecutor by paying 5,000 to hire a hit man on the dark web, a court heard yesterday. Martin Ready, 41, set up an account on the Online Killers Market website in a bid to allegedly have procurator fiscal depute Darren Harty shot dead. Using the pseudonym Harry Brown he also set up accounts with two London-based cryptocurrency firms and paid the website administrators for the hired gunman. The court heard the alleged plot was snared by an investigative journalist who was producing a documentary on the dark web, and who alerted the Met Police, who informed Police Scotland. Mr Harty, 37, said he was left bewildered when he was confronted with claims about an the extravagant plot to kill him. Martin Ready signed up to the 'Online Killers Market' site on the dark web court heard Ready denies attempting to conspire to murder Mr Harty by paying 5,071.24 in Bitcoin and issuing instructions for Mr Harty to be shot, and information on where he could be found. Ready has lodged a special defence of lacking criminal responsibility. A joint minute of agreed evidence read to the jury at the High Court in Glasgow states Ready set up an account on the Online Killers Market website under the name HarryBrown, and that he set up accounts with two London-based cryptocurrency firms, and later transferred payment to the admin of Online Killers Market. On September 4, 2022 he downloaded an image of Mr Harty on to his mobile phone, which was shown to the court. Giving evidence on Friday, Mr Harty who works as a procurator fiscal depute, said he became aware of the police investigation during a work night out in September 2022, and said he was bewildered to hear of the alleged conspiracy. Mr Harty said he worked in his familys pub in Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, until 2014 when he went to university, and that Ready would come in and order coffee. He was shown a photograph which was found on Readys phone, and told the court it had been his Instagram profile picture. Prosecutor Erin Campbell asked if he knew the accused. Mr Harty said: Yes I do. He used to come into the pub that I worked in many years ago in Coatbridge. Im also a friend of his cousin. Its my familys pub. He told the court he was stunned and shocked when police told him of their investigation into the alleged conspiracy. Ms Campbell said: Do you have any indication as to why Martin Ready would take steps to have you assassinated? Mr Harty said: Absolutely none whatsoever. Defending, Brian McConnachie KC asked Mr Harty if he could recall Ready drinking in the pub, during cross-examination. Mr Harty said: To my recollection he wouldnt ever drink alcohol. He would drink coffee. It was a busy bar and it was kind of irritating having to make the coffee. Mr McConnachie asked him if he knew two named families from Coatbridge, and Mr Harty said he was aware of them. He was asked if he had any involvement in money laundering for either family, and Mr Harty said: Absolutely not. Detective Sergeant Karen Murray, who led the investigation at Coatbridge CID, said Readys house was raided and his mobile phone was seized after the tip-off - with the phone showing searches for a website, hire-a-hitman.pw - with a webpage shown to the jury portraying a masked sniper. It offered a list of the most trusted killers at the top of the webpage, with Online Killers in the number one position, and advertised: Killing an important person with bodyguards, starting at 60,000 US dollars (46,000). A message sent by user HarryBrown in February 2022 titled Order: Simple shoot and run, described Mr Harty as an extremely soft target, adding: It should be a nice easy job. An exchange about Bitcoin transactions was shown to the jury, along with a conversation about social media sites belonging to Mr Harty showing his image. A report from September 5, 2022 showed 5,071.24 was paid into a Bitcoin account. Messages from a forum from the same month showed an exchange between users expressing interest in the commission, titled: UK job soft target 6k. Targets daily routine is known. Excellent strike point available. Target unaware of threat. Target is extremely soft. On September 15 a user, MrMortis, replied: The strike point is never decided by a customer, we always plan everything ourselves but lets discuss if still pending. On September 21, another user, Antibiotic, replied: Let me know details. We can do it. The trial, which is expected to last five days, continues before Lady Hood. A California appellate ruling, in a case from Berkeley, has implications that go far beyond upholding one state gun law. Steve Prezant/Getty Images Finding evidence from colonial history that the Supreme Court has required to justify restrictions on firearms, a state appeals court has upheld Californias laws banning convicted felons from possessing guns or ammunition. Thursdays ruling, in a case from Berkeley, has implications that go far beyond upholding one state gun law. It contrasts with decisions striking down gun laws since the nations high court ruled in 2022 that any government restriction on firearms must be consistent with this nations historical tradition of firearms regulation, dating back to the nations founding. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Those decisions suggested the new standard created a bar too high for many gun restrictions to clear. But the appellate courts reasoning indicates states can demonstrate that their laws are rooted in historical tradition, and could provide a blueprint for other courts in California. The 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco said the state law satisfied the Supreme Court standard by citing laws from the 17th and 18th centuries that disarmed people who were thought to present a danger to the public. The case involved Jucari Scott Anderson, who was convicted of assault and illegal possession of the semiautomatic weapon and ammunition he used in a 2019 shooting that wounded a man outside a bar on Durant Avenue. Anderson, who had previous felony convictions, was sentenced to 19 years in prison. In his appeal, Andersons lawyer argued that California could not meet the Supreme Courts test of showing a historical tradition of denying weapons to convicted felons. Courts have cited that standard to overturn laws in a number of states, and it has been invoked in ongoing challenges to Californias bans on semiautomatic rifles and age limits on gun possession. But the appeals court said Thursday that the felon-in-possession laws were based on centuries of history. Although Californias ban on guns for convicted felons dates back only to 1923, laws from 17th century England and the American colonies addressed the same principle by disarming individuals who were considered threats to society, Presiding Justice Alison Tucher said in the 3-0 ruling. Advertisement Article continues below this ad She cited a 1662 English law allowing the government to seize arms from anyone judged dangerous to the peace of the kingdom. Similar laws existed in the American colonies, Tucher said, and in Massachusetts, those convicted of participating in Shays Rebellion against the state in 1786 were eligible for pardons only if they turned in their weapons and remained disarmed for three years. There was an understanding amongst the founding generation that legislatures could disarm persons unwilling or unable to follow the law, Tucher wrote. She noted that disarmament laws were also applied to racial and religious minorities groups who were not yet protected by civil rights statutes but said there was an overall policy of denying firearms to those considered to be potentially dangerous to society. She also cited the Supreme Courts recent ruling in Rahimi v. U.S., which upheld a ban on gun ownership by domestic abusers who have attacked or threatened someone in their household. The high court appeared to take a step back from strict interpretations of its 2022 decision that have been used to strike down laws that lacked a colonial precedent. Tucher quoted Chief Justice John Roberts statement, for an 8-1 majority in Rahimi, that the Second Amendment permits more than just those regulations identical to ones that could be found in 1791. That ruling did not address bans on firearm possession by convicted felons. But Tucher noted that Roberts ruling quoted a passage from an earlier Supreme Court firearms decision that said nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Tory leadership hopeful Meghan Gallacher has insisted she will not back Murdo Frasers doomed coronation bid. The former deputy leader rejected the idea that she could join the so-called Gang of Four in trying to stitch-up the leadership contest. She said the battle to become the new Tory leader was now definitely going to be between the three remaining candidates, which include frontrunner Russell Findlay. And Ms Gallacher pledged to strengthen bonds with the UK party rather than follow Mr Frasers plan to review its structure and constitution in Scotland. On Thursday, Mr Fraser was accused of a stitch-up after three fellow candidates dropped out to join his campaign, and he called for it to be a coronation. Meghan Gallacher said she will not drop out of the Scottish Conservative leadership race Murdo Fraser suggested the other candidates step down to allow him to be coronated as Scottish Conservative leader It is understood members of his camp and that of his main rival Russell Findlay are keen to woo Ms Gallacher to back them. However, in an interview with the Ponsonby and Massie podcast, she said: Theres definitely going to be three (candidates). No withdrawing. Asked if nobody had suggested she should withdrawn, she laughed and said: If they did, I wouldnt listen. She later clarified that nobody from Mr Frasers team had contacted her yet to ask her to step aside. Ms Gallacher said she would love both Mr Findlay and Mr Fraser to be in her shadow cabinet, but she also admitted she could serve under either candidate if they won because she has so much time and respect for both of them. She also hit out at Douglas Rosss style of leadership, saying she was not even in the room for many key decisions despite being deputy leader. Ms Gallacher said there must be an inquiry into private discussions outgoing leader Douglas Ross had with Westminster candidate Kathleen Robertson about replacing her in the Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey constituency. She was heavily critical of the way the party has been led while she was deputy leader and said: I wasnt always in the room when decisions were taken, and thats certainly a reflection Ive got in terms of my time of being deputy leader. That doesnt mean to say I dont have good relationships with Douglas and the rest of the team. I wouldnt say frozen out, I just wasnt in the room. For that, it was obviously at times difficult for me in that role. But, looking at the wider leadership campaign, whats happened has happened. There has been a lot of different accusations and thoughts put into the public domain. I dont think it shows us in a good light whatsoever and for me Ive deliberately stayed out of it all. Asked if the culture at the top of the party needs to change, she said: Yes. Pressed on whether this needs to be a root and branch change, she said: There needs to be a complete rebuild of the party and we need to stop operating with a small tent. We need to open that out, we need to let more people in in terms of decision-making... I want to have more people in the room. In a wide-ranging podcast interview, she also set out plans to deliver a 1p cut to income tax - but also proposed council tax reform and a revaluation which would put many families at risk of big increases. Ms Gallacher also proposed a review of free university tuition and access to universal services like the SNPs baby box. She said she would pledge a 1p income tax cut for Scots workers to bring rates closer to the UK. But she also set out plans for reforms of council tax, including a revaluation of rates which could force up tax for families who live in homes which have been improved since the last revaluation in 1991. Ms Gallacher said that we need to look at council tax reform. Asked if it was time again to look at a revaluation, she said: Yes. And I know this myself because my husband and I had this crazy idea that we would rebuild our house essentially got revalued as a result of that. It was way back in the 1990s since it had been last valued. So I understand that and I think that we do need to look at that again because of the amount of new build housing weve seen it just change property values within certain areas. A previous analysis estimated that 57 per cent of all properties in Scotland would have changed band if a revaluation had taken place in 2014. Half of them were thought to be in too low a band with the change meaning bills would have gone up for thousands of households with the rest benefiting from cuts. Earlier this month, fellow leadership candidate Mr Findlay said every hard-working Scot should be given the opportunity to own their own home, and pledged to turn Generation Rent into Generation Own. His plans include no longer charging land and buildings transaction tax for purchases under 250,000, compared to 145,000 at present. Keep up to date with the developments in politics in our LIVE BLOG Pennsylvania Secret Service chief Timothy Burke is among five agents put on administrative duties as part of a probe into failures that allowed 20-year-old Thomas Crooks to shoot Donald Trump last month. Burke is the Special Agent in Charge (SAIC) of the Secret Service Pittsburgh field office, and has been in the role since at least 2016. When reached by phone, Burke, 48, told DailyMail.com said he could not comment on the case. MSNBC reported Friday morning that the SAIC and four others had been placed on leave, but did not name Burke. According to NBC News, four Pittsburgh field agents, including the head of the division, and one Trump agent have been put on leave. The massive security failure that led to the horrific shooting has sparked probes from a wide range of government agencies that are ongoing. A source briefed on the events of the July 13 shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania, told DailyMail.com that Burke was not on the ground that day, but that his role included approving the advance security plan for Trumps campaign rally. Timothy Burke, head of the Pittsburgh Field Office of the Secret Service Multiple Secret Service agents have been put on leave during the investigation into the Donald Trump assassination attempt, reports suggest Burke was named with his SAIC title in a Secret Service press release from April this year about a cybercrime crackdown, and in a 2016 release by the US Attorneys office for the Western District of Pennsylvania about the extradition of a Cuban hacker. The Pittsburgh Secret Service chief also took part in a cyber security video conference in 2021. Burke knew the Secret Service had limited resources ahead of the campaign event, according to a letter House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan wrote to FBI director Christopher Wray on July 18. Jordan said whistleblowers had told him that on a Secret Service-led briefing on July 8, five days before the Trump rally, the USSS Special Agent in Charge Tim Burke reportedly told law enforcement partners that the USSS had limited resources that week because the agency was covering the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Washington, D.C. Federal law enforcement agents have been coming forward to Congress to blow the whistle on the alleged ongoing debacle inside the Secret Service which led to Julys stunning security failure, as well as other problems. Tristan Leavitt, president of watchdog Empower Oversight which represents some of those whistleblowers, railed against the Secret Services lackluster response to the shooting in a public statement, saying that Burke and the four other USSS officials should have been placed on leave immediately rather than just being assigned desk duties while they are investigated. Thomas Matthew Crooks pictured at the Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13 before he opened fire on the crowd and former president Admin leave is a paid status where you are not permitted to come into work days "on the bricks" or "on the beach," as federal agents often call it, Leavitt wrote on Twitter. That's not what's happening here. Here, all the USSS has done is place these employees on administrative duties, which it should at the very least have done on July 13. They should be taken out of the office and placed on investigative leave. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi did not comment on the reports that the agents have been put on leave because due to it being a 'personnel matter.' But he told DailyMail.com that they are still 'examining the processes, procedures and factors that led to this operational failure.' 'The U.S. Secret Service holds our personnel to the highest professional standards, and any identified and substantiated violations of policy will be investigated by the Office of Professional Responsibility for potential disciplinary action.' The suspended agents are expected to still be working for the Secret Service and getting paid. They were most likely moved to an administrative role while the investigation continues. Crooks's plot sparked the resignation of the agency's director Kimberly Cheatle and led to a slew of questions, including how he was able to get on a roof in clear sight of where Trump was speaking in Butler, Pennsylvania. The would-be assassin was spotted by witnesses before the shooting and Secret Service and law enforcement were warned of his presence. Yet he was still able to open fire at least eight times with the AR-style rifle he got from his father. Republican Rep. Mike Waltz told DailyMail.com earlier this week that he wasn't convinced Crooks acted alone. He said the gunman's motivation is still unknown and he is worried a foreign entity or other third-party could have been involved in the attack. Waltz queried how federal law enforcement can confidently say Crooks was a lone wolf if they can't answer other questions like why he had multiple foreign encrypted messaging accounts. His comments came after it was revealed that Iran was also plotting an attempt on the former president's life around the same time that Crooks carried out his plan. 'The more we get into it, the more questions I have,' Waltz said. 'It's really what's coming out around it that is so disturbing. 'And for me, the thing that's most disturbing is that we have ongoing plots from Iran to take out a former president, leading candidate, and that a Pakistani national was just arrested after making a down payment for hitmen, and it's barely even being covered in the news.' Crooks, 20, was able to create multiple explosives with remote detonators, another thing that raised Waltz's eyebrows and makes him wonder whether he had help. As the FBI, Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security conduct their investigations into the massive security failure, Waltz and 12 other lawmakers on a House task force are also looking into the attempted assassination. 'I don't understand, and I don't have any answers yet to help me understand how the [Secret] Service and DHS came out so quickly and said and I think the FBI as well, but I'll have to check that and said, he operated alone,' Waltz said when speaking with DailyMail.com at Trump Tower in Chicago on Wednesday. 'How do you know that mere days into your investigation?' The Florida congressman added: 'You can't tell us his motive, but you could tell us he operated alone? You can't get into these encrypted overseas accounts, but you can tell us he acted alone? So, I don't buy that yet.' A man was arrested in Arizona after threatening to kill Trump at a rally in Cochise County near the southern border with Mexico. Ronald Syvrud, 66, was apprehended shortly before Trump was due to speak. In the Jly 13 shooting a bullet fired from Crooks's AR-style weapon, bought legally by his father, grazed the former president's right ear. Crooks killed one rally-goer and critically injured two others before he was taken out. The FBI also found explosives in Crooks' car, which was parked near the rally site. And upon raiding his parents' house, where he lived, they found more bombs. 'I don't know of many 19-year-old kids who could make multiple IEDs with a remote detonator on their own,' Waltz told DailyMail.com. 'Why didn't that get picked up if he's searching that online or buying literature on how to do that?' Foreign Office officials have fired a warning shot across the bows of SNP ministers after they blundered into a diplomatic shambles. First Minister John Swinney was cautioned that the UK must speak with one voice after he froze relations with Israel while continuing to meet Palestinian organisations. The Scottish Government has been accused of ignoring one side in the Israel-Palestine conflict despite advocating a two-state solution. The UK Labour Government continues to talk to both parties. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said it wanted a more collaborative relationship with SNP ministers, but also fired a shot across their bows. John Swinney has been warned that the UK must 'speak with a single voice' after he froze relations between the Scottish Government and Israel A spokesperson added: However, it is important that the UK speaks with a single voice to international partners. A resolution to this conflict has been a priority since day one for this government. We continue to push for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages still cruelly detained by Hamas terrorists, and much more aid entering Gaza. The row erupted last week after it emerged SNP external affairs secretary Angus Robertson met Israeli deputy ambassador Daniela Grudsky in Edinburgh on August 8. It infuriated many SNP MPs, MSPs and members given the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza triggered by the October 7 attacks. Facing calls from colleagues to resign, Mr Robertson apologised on Monday for discussing collaboration between Scotland and Israel on cultural links and renewable energy. He said he should have limited himself to demanding a ceasefire in Gaza, and did not mean to give the impression of normalising relations with Israel. He also suspended all meetings with the Jewish state. The Scottish Council of Jewish Communities warned SNP ministers not to shut out Israel, saying supporting a two-state solution meant engaging with both parties. But on Wednesday Mr Swinney held a virtual meeting with Dr Husam Zomlot, the head of the Palestinian Mission to the UK, and discussed the situation in Gaza. Scot Colin Cowan, whose brother was killed by Hamas gunmen in his home on a kibbutz in Southern Israel on October 7, accused the SNP of double standards. Angus Robertson's meeting with Israeli deputy ambassador Daniela Grudsky triggered an angry response from pro-Palestine figures within the SNP He told BBC Radio Scotland: Israel is the only Jewish state in the world. The definition of antisemitism is prejudice against Jewish people. So if the Scottish government arent willing to talk to Israel, is that not being prejudiced against Jewish people? Why is it that Israel is being targeted when every other Western country is quite happy to talk to Israel? If you want a balanced, impartial view, you should meet with both sides. The SNP said it was entirely against anti-Semitism. A spokesperson said: Following last years horrific attacks by Hamas, SNP policy has been consistent and clear that hostages must be released, an immediate ceasefire must be put in place and that a viable Palestine state must be recognised within a two-state solution where Israelis and Palestinians can live alongside each other in peace. A British businessman who took four people hostage at a synagogue in Texas forced them to their knees and threatened to shoot them unless the FBI released an al-Qaeda prisoner, an inquest heard. Malik Faisal Akram, 44, who was born in Blackburn, Lancashire, fired a warning shot and screamed he would 'put a bullet' in the heads of the 'Israeli mother******s' in a final phone call. The extremist, who had previously been investigated by MI5, was shot dead after agents stormed the synagogue minutes later. The inquest heard Akram, who ran a chain of pharmacies, wanted a female Pakistani scientist called Aafia Siddiqui, who was linked to al-Qaeda, freed from jail. She was being held at Forth Worth around 20 miles away. Akram, a father-of-six, had travelled to New York, where he purchased a handgun on the black market, in December 2021 before flying onto Texas. At around 10am, on January 15, 2022, he talked his way into the Congregation Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville, 30 miles from Dallas, where a service was underway, by claiming he was homeless and held a rabbi and three Jewish worshippers hostage. Malik Faisal Akram (pictured) ran a chain of pharmacies and was originally from Blackburn, Lancashire Akram was arrested in Blackburn in 2018 (pictured) after refusing to pay his landlord any rent. Police vans are pictured at the scene SWAT team members deploy near the Congregation Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville, Texas Other members of the congregation, who were watching via a live-stream because of the Covid-19 epidemic, alerted police. The hearing, at Preston Coroner's Court, was played a recording of Akram's demands during the 11-hour siege. At 2.42pm, four and a half hours into the stand-off, Akram was on the phone to his sons when he fired the handgun in the air, telling FBI negotiators: 'It was just, you know, my kids I was just saying my last goodbyes to them. I said, shall I fire one? and I just fired one.' By around 8pm, Akram had become more volatile and aggressive. He shouted at negotiators: 'You f*****g scumbag bastards, you can't f***ing release one person, one woman, cause your f*****g ego is bigger than a big girl's f*****g bra.' Akram could also be heard telling the hostages: 'OK, get on your f*****g knees you motherf******s,' adding: 'F*** it, I'm going to take everyone now...I mean f*****g business now.' On January 15, 2022, Akram talked his way into the Congregation Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville Police at the scene following the incident at Congregation Beth Israel Synagogue in Colleyville He called the captives 'Israeli motherf*****s,' adding: 'I'm going to f*****g cause bloodshed.' After demanding the FBI bring his 'sister' Siddiqui, who is serving an 86-year prison sentence for trying to kill US soldiers in Afghanistan, to the synagogue, Akram said: 'Are you fucking listening now I've got a f*****g trigger on all f*****g three of their heads right? And I'll f*****g pull it too.' At 9.10pm, the rabbi decided to throw a chair to distract Akram and he and two hostages were able to escape. CCTV footage showed Akram go to the door and point his gun at the last hostage, who had fallen into bushes a few feet from the back door of the synagogue, but he did not fire and instead went back inside, closing the door behind him. One minute later specialist law enforcement officers entered and shot Akram dead. A general view of Blackburn in northern England where Texas synagogue hostage-taker Malik Faisal Akram was born Richard Fries, the deputy medical examiner in Texas, gave Akram's cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds. He was hit by five bullets, one of which struck him in the chest, the court heard. Coroner James Adeley recorded that Akram had 'detained hostages and died after being shot by federal agents.' The court heard married Akram ran a string of pharmacies in the North West of England but his business failed around the same time as his marriage. At the time of his death he had been estranged from his wife for three years. Associates in Blackburn said Akram had become increasingly religious and had quarrelled with his wider family in the months before his death. He had spent much of the year before the attack in Pakistan. It was revealed at the time of the attack that Akram had previously been the subject of a low-level investigation by MI5 in 2020 but the case was closed after a month. Dr. Jim Gelsleichter and members of the University of North Florida's Shark Biology Program were amazed after they caught and released a sawfish, a critically endangered species. He and four UNF students were exploring St Marys River when they found the 10-foot rare shark relative this summer. One of its students discovered the sawfish, a species that evolved from primitive sharks now extinct, after they felt a tug on the line while out in the water. Gelsleichter, the UNF Shark Biology Program director, jumped into the water to grab the line they used to capture large species. 'It was the heaviest thing Id pulled on a drum line. When I pulled it, I was thinking: "Wouldnt it be funny if it was a sawfish,"' Gelsleichter told USA Today. Dr. Jim Gelsleichter and members of the University of North Florida 's Shark Biology Program caught and released a sawfish on July 16 Jim Gelsleichter, the UNF Shark Biology Program director, jumped into the water to grab the line they used to capture large species, and save the sawfish Gelsleichter and the students on the 21-foot boat immediately began to study the fish after they got it out of the water on July 16. The shark enthusiasts identified the sawfish as a male due to it having claspers, and paired extensions of pelvic fins that male sharks use for reproduction, according to the UNF news release. They also determined the sawfish was sub-adult, meaning it was young and not fully matured. After seeing highly calcified and soft claspers, the UNF professor and students concluded the sawfish's age. Multiple scientists, including UNF biologists who've studied sawfish reproduction, confirmed that male sawfish usually aren't fully matured until they are at least 11 feet long. Gelsleichter and the students concluded the sawfish was a male and sub-adult, meaning it wasn't fully matured Gelsleichter was partly excited about this find because of the sawfish's massive population decline since the 20th century. Some of the primary reasons behind the sawfish population decrease are their frequently being caught in fishing gear and habitat decline. They were also the first marine fish to be listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act in 2003. 'Sawfish were known to live in Northeast Florida before the population decline led to the species being listed as endangered,' he said. 'The reoccurrence of sawfish in our area is a positive sign of population recovery.' Although the smalltooth sawfish population has increased since experts labeled the species endangered, it's at risk of going back down again due to reports of sawfish deaths in Florida, according to the UNF news release. Hundreds of fish, including more than 50 sawfish, died in the Florida Keys from a kind of whirling disease, which can cause fish to spin and act abnormally. According to Gelsleichter, the sawfish they found during their trip did not experience any signs of whirling disease. The sawfish find came less than six months after over 50 of them died in Florida due to a spinning and whirling disease Sawfish are known for their elongated, saw-like snouts, which they slash laterally through the water when preying on species. There are five different sawfish species: Smalltooth, Largetooth, Dwarf, Green, and Narrow. Each of these five species are different based on size, geographic range, and physical features like dorsal fin locations and tail fin shapes. Smalltooth sawfishes generally live in tropical seas and estuaries in the Atlantic Ocean. That sawfish species primarily eats fish, but it could eat various invertebrates like shrimp and crabs. Their snouts also have an electro-sensory system, which can identify prey, and sense the weak amount of electricity produced by other animals. Floridians who are hoping to spot a smalltooth sawfish will have a good chance to do so if they are around the southwest coast near the Everglades and Florida Keys region. Anyone who is not in the US can find smalltooth sawfishes off the coasts of Honduras, Belize, Cuba, Guinea Bissau, and Sierra Leone. Smalltooth sawfishes usually live anywhere between 25 and 30 years old, but those in the largetooth species can live anywhere from 30 to 80 years old. Kamala Harris's rise in the polls have seen her eat into Donald Trump's big lead in Texas, a reliably Republican state. The Democratic candidate trails the former president by just five points, according to a new poll conducted by the University of Houston's Hobby School of Public Affairs. In June, the gap between Trump and President Joe Biden was nine points, according to the same pollster. It comes as Harris has taken a lead over Trump in many national and state polls since Biden ended his reelection campaign last month. But the numbers in Texas will give Democrats a huge boost as the state has not given its Electoral College votes their candidates since Jimmy Carter in 1976. A new poll shows that Kamala Harris has eaten into Donald Trump's lead in Texas. In June he was beating Joe Biden by nine points. Now his advantage is less than five points The poll found that 49.5 percent of likely voters intend to vote for Trump, compared with 44.6% Harris. Yet the Harris campaign has already signaled that it will focus resources elsewhere, in part because of the high cost of advertising in the state. 'At the end of the day, our responsibility as a presidential campaign is to ensure we get to 270 [electoral votes],' campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon said at an event at the Democratic National Convention. 'I would love to get to a bigger number than that, but that is all we care about.' Harris has wiped out Trump's six-point lead with women during the past two months. However, he still holds an 18-point lead among men. In the state's U.S. Senate race, 46.6 percent of Texas likely voters intend to vote for Republican Ted Cruz, while 44.5 percent say they are supporting Democrat Colin Allred. These proportions are essentially unchanged from those in the June survey. Harris has just enjoyed a week in the limelight. She was crowned by her party at its Chicago convention. Kamala Harris may have eaten into Donald Trump's poll lead in Texas but her campaign says it will focus elsewhere, in part because it is so expensive to buy advertising in the state Her campaign will hope that translates into a further poll boost. Trump spent the week traveling across battleground states for a series of policy speeches. On Monday he was in Pennsylvania to talk about the economy. On Tuesday it was Michigan and law and order. On Wednesday, it was national security in North Carolina, and a day later he was at the Arizona border. A DailyMail.com poll shows that he should benefit from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to suspend his campaign on Friday. Members of Vice President Kamala Harris' family did not applaud a line about her promise to make sure the American military was the 'most lethal' force on the planet. Harris' stepdaughter Ella Emhoff and her sister Maya did not applaud the line was cameras cut over to her family. Other members of her family politly applauded while her husband Doug Emhoff applauded heartily, nodding his head. 'As Commander-in-Chief, I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world,' she said. 'I will fulfill our sacred obligation to care for our troops and their families.' Ella's response drew positive reactions from some of the audience on social media. Ella Emhoff not clapping for the pro-military line. Respect,' wrote writer and comedian Rosita Kadambi on X. It wasn't all smiles for the Emhoff family during Kamala Harris' speech Kamala Harris' sister Maya Harris and her husband Tony West sit with members of the Emhoff family 'LOL ELLA STRAIGHT UP NOT CLAPPING FOR KAMALAS BIT ABOUT BEING THE STRONGEST MOST LETHAL MILITARY IN THE WORLD,' wrote writer Ashley Reese in an all-caps X post that went viral. Ella Emhoff, 25, has publicly signaled her support for Palestinians in the Middle East, posting an Instagram link calling for donations to the The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which has ties to terrorists. She has also reportedly been 'an active presence in pro-Palestinian circles.' Harris carefully threaded her rhetoric on the conflict in the Middle East. She spoke about Israel's right to defend itself even though the government has been criticized for the death of civilians in Gaza. 'I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on October 7,' she said. News cameras did not cut to Ella Emhoff or her other family members to get their reaction to her comments about Israel or Palestine. Harris also defended the Palestinian people suffering in Gaza and said she would work to ensure 'they can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination.' Ella Emhoff, stepdaughter of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, celebrates during the final day of the Democratic National Convention Ella and Cole Emhoff with their father Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff who wipes away tears Other lines of Harris' speech were very popular with her family members especially after she accepted the nomination for the Democratic nomination as president of the United States. Ella Emhoff took the stage prior to Kamala Harris' speech, praising her stepmother for caring for her when she married her dad when she was a teenager. 'No matter what, Kamala was there for me. She was patient, caring, and always took me seriously,' she said. Emhoff also praised Harris for listening to activists. 'She's fighting for social justice, health justice, and environmental justice, and she isn't alone, we're all in this fight together,' she said. Circumstances have obliged them to contend with challenges which would have seemed inconceivable only a year ago. But, as the Princess of Wales continues her treatment for cancer, she and Prince William can take heart that, when she's well enough to resume public duties, she will find their charitable endeavours in better shape than ever. The Royal Foundation founded jointly by William and Prince Harry back in 2009 but headed by William and Catherine alone since 2019 saw its income hit 8million, according to accounts published this week by the Charity Commission. It's the second such fillip for William and Catherine, the first being the 22.5million raised in 2023 by The Earthshot Prize, as I disclosed six months ago. It's also the foundation's first annual report since it ceased to administer The Earthshot Prize, which became a separate charity in 2022. The Royal Foundation, headed by William and Catherine, saw its income hit 8million, according to accounts published this week by the Charity Commission The Royal Foundation was founded jointly by William and Prince Harry back in 2009 but has been headed by William and Catherine alone since 2019 No less than 6.5million of the foundation's income came from donations, including 1.7million from American supporters. That eclipses the donations to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Archewell Foundation, even though they live in California. Donations to Harry and Meghan's foundation plunged from 10.3million to less than 1.6million, according to its most recently published accounts. Donations to Harry and Meghan's foundation plunged from 10.3million to less than 1.6million, according to its most recently published accounts No less than 6.5million of The Royal Foundation's income came from donations, including 1.7million from American supporters But there's a consolation for King Charles's younger son. Though he and, indeed, Meghan left the Royal Foundation in 2019, he still benefits from it, thanks to his half share in the income the foundation receives from the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. That share amounted to 7,073 last year and was sent by the Foundation to Sentebale, Harry's charity for African orphans. Five siblings of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. issued a withering statement following his endorsement of Donald Trump, calling it a 'betrayal' of their father RFK's values. They issued the statement minutes after RFK, Jr.'s announcement that he would break with the party's long history as a bulwark of the Democratic Party and throw his support to Trump the day after Harris accepted the party nomination that RFK had sought in 1968 as an icon of the progressive movement. 'We want an America filled with hope and bound together by a shared vision of a brighter future, a future defined by individual freedom, economic promise and national pride,' the siblings wrote. 'We believe in Harris and Walz. Our brother Bobbys decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story,' they concluded. The letter was signed by former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Courtney Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Chris Kennedy, and Rory Kennedy. Five siblings of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. blasted his 'sad' decision to endorse Donald Trump Kerry Kennedy released a blistering statement on X after the endorsement Kerry Kennedy, a human rights activist for a nonprofit named after her father, blasted out the statement on X, as politicos were sussing out whether the move might swing critical support to Trump. RFK, Jr. had already formally removed his name from the ballot in Arizona, a critical battleground state where Trump has been holding a narrow lead in the polls. The Harris campaign released its own statement after the news, notably not taking any shots, even after RFK, Jr.'s camp complained it couldn't get a meeting to try to negotiate with her. Trump and his camp had openly floated the possibility that RFK, Jr. could land a job, despite his repeated attacks on Trump's handling of vaccines during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. 'For any American out there who is tired of Donald Trump and looking for a new way forward, ours is a campaign for you. In order to deliver for working people and those who feel left behind, we need a leader who will fight for you, not just for themselves, and bring us together, not tear us apart. Vice President Harris wants to earn your support,' it said. 'Even if we do not agree on every issue, Kamala Harris knows there is more that unites us than divides us: respect for our rights, public safety, protecting our freedoms, and opportunity for all,' said the Harris campaign. Harris, who delivered one of the biggest speeches of her life Thursday night, did not have scheduled public events following the convention, which according to the party helped raise millions and reintroduced the candidate to millions of Americans. Also weighing in was Jack Schlossberg, the only surviving grandson of John F. Kennedy, and the son of Caroline Kennedy. He spoke at the convention this week and called for passing the torch to Harris. His statement, posted on X, made plane just how personal and heated the divisions have grown within the famous family. Never been less surprised in my life. Been saying it for over a year RFKjr is for sale, works for Trump. Bedfellows and loving it. Then he added, Kamala Harris is for the people the easiest decision of all time just got easier. There are indications the debates are just as fiery within RFK Jr.s household. In his own statement posted on X, he wrote that he was grateful for his amazing wife Cheryl Hines for her unconditional love, as I made a political decision with which she is very uncomfortable. He sought to turn it into an example for the country, love and unitey even in the face of disagreement. RFK Jrs siblings had also denounced his run during his campaign early on when it appeared he could draw a substantial vote share from President Joe Biden, and when he was polling as high as 20 percent. The image picked up by the infra-red was unmistakable two little balls of fluff rooting about in the undergrowth beside their mothers was evidence of the first wild-born beavers in the Cairngorms for more than 400 years. Conservationists were ecstatic at the sight: their co-ordinated effort to re-establish the species across large parts of Scotland after such a long absence has taken another decisive step towards fruition with the arrival this month of the two kits born to the six-family group recently translocated to the area. Just wait, they urged, these environmental warriors will pit their unrivalled skills as ecosystem engineers to change and re-naturalise the landscape of the upper Spey valley. Given the time and space, their mastery of dam-building, tree removal and river re-routing will not only create new wetlands but reduce flood risks. A controversial beaver release is planned for next spring in Glen Affric Their cartoonishly toothy appearance belies their status as serious players in the world of biodiversity, hailed as minor miracle workers who seem to hold a near-mystical power to ward off droughts, purify water and give life to other species. It is quite the CV and, as a result, one would imagine other landowners would be queuing up to benefit from their healing properties. And yet, the nocturnal footage of months-old kits finding their webbed feet is viewed with a sceptical eye in some quarters. Many who currently work the productive farmland bordering the Spey remind themselves that these animals were relocated to the Cairngorms from Tayside not simply because of their magical powers of environmental restitution but because of the trail of destruction they left in their wake. Farmers and crofters point to reports of hundreds of trees felled or gnawed beyond use on farms bordering the River Tay and its tributaries, acres of ruined crops and flooded fields from collapsed riverbanks and a succession of dams blocking waterways and filling them with debris. They look at the damage sometimes costing six figures to repair caused by a rapidly expanding beaver population and fear that their land will be next. Such anxiety is shared by the people of Strathglass, whose farms border the wildernesses of Glen Affric in the northwest Highlands, which is next in the rewilders sights. There, officials at the Scottish Governments tree-planting agency have decided to press ahead with plans for a beaver release in a community bitterly divided by the proposal. Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) intends to apply this autumn for a licence to introduce beavers on its Glen Affric estate. If the application is allowed by the governments wildlife agency NatureScot, it could see yet more beavers translocated from troublesome Tayside, this time to FLS land at the Loch Beinn a Mheadhoin reservoir. As such, it would mark another step-change in the animals spread as only the second release in the Highlands outside their existing ranges around Tayside and in Argyll, the first north of the Great Glen, and the first by FLS, which will be working in partnership with conservation charity Trees for Life (TfL). Although a majority of people in the local community, centred on the village of Cannich, five miles downstream from the proposed release site, have said they are happy about the reintroduction, feelings have been running high among local farmers dozens of whom remain opposed. Some fear the decision to approve the release is likely to be rubber-stamped given NatureScots role in spearheading the governments new national beaver strategy. Glen Affric in the northwest Highlands The beaver kits born in Cairngorm National Park were the first in 400 years It reflects a change in policy under the Bute House Agreement aimed at supporting expansion of the population by trapping and translocating the rodents rather than control by lethal means. When the Scottish Greens were jettisoned from office, the beaver policy remained intact. However, with Scotlands beaver population continuing to grow to an estimated 424 beaver territories currently, or 1,500 individual animals, and a report by NatureScot showing trappings and translocations were up 28 per cent in 2022 compared to the previous year, the only remaining question is where to put them all? Sheena Thomson, who farms 500 acres in Strathglass, intends to object to the application. She fears the beaver population will grow and expand beyond the reservoirs own man-made dam and damage the banks of the River Glass that protect her fields from flooding, meaning the loss of hay, silage and grazing. Since day one, they just havent listened, she said. The majority of local farmers are against this. We are the people who will have to bear the cost of flooding, in lost productivity, and we feel our views should have more weight than people who dont have a stake. The introduction of beavers should not be to the detriment of existing businesses. Karl Falconer, who farms 60 acres near Cannich where he runs an alpaca trekking company, said erosion on the River Glass was already a problem because of rapid fluctuations in water levels, caused by the dam on Loch Beinn a Mheadhoin and the hydro-electricity power station it serves at nearby Fasnakyle. He said: If the beavers come down to Strathglass, which they will, and if they burrow into the river bank as is their nature, and all of a sudden the river comes up because they start generating power, the holes theyve just dug get flooded and will cause massive erosion over time. Beavers are beautiful wee beasties, and Im all for reintroduction in the right places, but we feel Strathglass is the wrong place and were getting ignored, yet were the ones who are going to financially suffer. We feel the consultation process has been abysmal and the only people being listened to are those who want the beavers here. FLS stressed the first releases, which could start as early as next spring, would only go ahead once we have mitigated the concerns that have been raised through our consultation process. Mitigation is intended to lessen any negative impacts of beavers and can include providing support to farmers facing beaver-dam floods, and monitoring where the animals go. What mitigation does not offer, however, is any financial recompense for anyone affected a bone of contention for landowners. Their case has been taken up by Inverness and Nairn MSP Fergus Ewing who said that public bodies were keen on putting beavers into Scotland but none seem prepared to put their hands in their pockets to pay up for the cost of the damage. Farmer Karl Falconer has concerns He added: It beggars belief that at a time when Finance Secretary Shona Robison says were all in a financial emergency, she seems to allow public bodies to splash the cash on these wacky schemes. The Glen Affric proposal has had a difficult birth. Originally planned for a wider area, this larger scheme was scaled back drastically when four private landowners involved, including the Glen Affric Estate, pulled out leaving FLS on its own. But this slimmed down plan still faces opposition from NFU Scotland, which remains staunchly opposed to beaver translocations while accepting natural expansion into areas away from productive agricultural land. Its president Martin Kennedy has experience of the damage caused by beavers at his Lurgan Farm, near Aberfeldy, Perthshire, and told of one farmer who lost 25,000 of crops due to flooding caused by beaver dams. He pointed out there was no compensation for those bearing the brunt of the negative impact of these translocations. He added: We are now at the point where we simply cannot afford to have any of these rodents present in productive farmland. 'As such, translocations should stop until effective mitigation is available to those likely to be impacted. That seems unlikely. Scottish Rewilding Alliance (SRA), a powerful lobby group of green charities which includes TfL, is pushing hard for a faster programme of reintroductions and has accused Scotlands public bodies of a go-slow on translocations. Kevin Cumming, SRA deputy convenor, said the scaled back proposal meant the lochs dam would act as a barrier to beavers reaching Strathglass. However, he added: Beavers from unauthorised releases have been in Strathglass for at least 16 years. In all that time, no damage has ever been caused. 'In the extremely unlikely event that this happens, TfL has employed a beaver management officer who will help ensure mitigation can be put in place in line with the Scottish beaver strategy. But damage must occur first before it can be mitigated. At the height of problems in Tayside two years ago, Adrian Ivory, who farms at Strathisla, complained: They probably cost me three or four grand a year. Im spending money on something that I have had nothing to do with and have no control over. Hunted to extinction for their pelts in the 16th and early 17th centuries, beavers are now a talismanic species for the re-wilding movement which aims to reintroduce historically native animals. The Scottish Government is firmly in their corner beavers became a protected species in 2019 and, two years ago, a 23-year plan to actively expand the population to new catchments was unveiled by NatureScot. Numbers have boomed since 2009 when 17 Norwegian beavers were released into the wild in Knapdale, Argyll, to monitor their viability and the impact on the environment. Yet, Taysides population explosion has little to do with authorised beavers but were likely the descendants of escapees from one or more private collections. Fingers are regularly pointed at Paul and Louise Ramsay who, from 2002, set about turning their 1,300-acre Bamff Estate near Alyth into a haven for beavers. The couple did not deliberately free any but concede some may have found their way out. It became difficult to keep them enclosed because their numbers were going up, said Mr Ramsay in 2017. We had three wet winters, so there will have been escapees. With no natural predators and lethal control today used only as a last resort, beaver numbers are likely to similarly increase in translocation areas. And some farmers are happy to welcome beavers onto their land. One such is Tom Bowser, who reintroduced several to his family farm at Argaty, near Doune, in Perthshire, under licence, saving them from culling. He said: The beavers have only brought us benefits. Their dams in what was once a flood-prone part of our farm have saved us real money in annual track repairs, because we just dont see floods there anymore. Mr Bower suggested that most disputes over rewilding could be resolved with money. Rather than endlessly fighting over every translocation, we must work towards a system that helps those working the land to accommodate beavers, he said, adding that cursory discussions at Holyrood on wildlife co-existence payments were very welcome. If we can restore our waterways and find ways to pull farming back from the waters edge we will solve 99 per cent of Scotlands beaver issues, he added. That just leaves the farmers of Strathglass, then, gnawing away at that tricky 1 per cent. Chinese envoy urges Israel to immediately cease military operations in Gaza Xinhua) 15:43, August 23, 2024 UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Thursday urged Israel to immediately cease all military operations in the Gaza Strip, as more than 10 months of blockade, siege, bombing, and attacks in Gaza have killed more than 40,000 people and displaced 1.9 million. Some 80 percent of homes in Gaza have been destroyed, and 85 percent of the area is under emergency evacuation orders imposed by the Israeli military, said Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), in remarks at the UN Security Council briefing on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. "Such a tragedy cannot go on any longer," he stressed. While the international community has repeatedly sent clear calls for a ceasefire and an end to the fighting, "Israel has turned a deaf ear to them and has not shown any sign of a ceasefire," the ambassador said. He noted that more than two months after the adoption of Security Council Resolution 2735, the Israeli military operations in Gaza continue causing new casualties every day. He warned that repeated provocative and adventurous actions by the Israeli side have intensified the risk of conflict spillovers, and "the Middle East is hanging by a thread." Fu cautioned that "blind faith in achieving a total victory in Gaza" will only result in more innocent civilian casualties and will not create the conditions for the release of hostages, nor will it bring peace or tranquility to Israel and the region. "Ceasefire negotiations and a political solution are the fundamental way out," he said. The ambassador urged Israel to fulfill its obligations under international humanitarian law by opening all border crossings, guaranteeing rapid and safe access to humanitarian supplies at scale, ceasing restrictions and attacks on the UN and humanitarian agencies, and providing support and cooperation for the polio vaccination program in Gaza. Underscoring that sustainable security can only be achieved by upholding the concept of common security, he said regional peace must be built with the responsible participation of all parties. "Achieving an independent Palestinian state and implementation of the two-state solution is the only viable way forward for the political settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli question," he said. While urging Israel to immediately cease all military operations in Gaza, to immediately stop its actions that stoke escalation of the situation in the region, and to immediately end placing obstacles to a ceasefire in Gaza, the ambassador also urged "countries with significant influence" to demonstrate a sincere, impartial, and responsible attitude in pushing Israel to cease its military operations in Gaza as soon as possible and to stop the killing of civilians. He stated that China supports the Security Council in taking further necessary actions to promote the implementation of the relevant resolutions and achieve a ceasefire in Gaza, and stands ready to work with the international community to make unremitting efforts to end the war in Gaza at an early date, alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe, implement the two-state solution, and achieve lasting peace and security in the Middle East. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks Thursday during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where she embraced family, patriotism, and the rule of law. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle CHICAGO In a sweeping speech in which she sought to introduce herself to voters and prosecute the case against Donald Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris drew on three pillars historically associated with the Republican Party and tried to reclaim them: patriotism, family values and law and order. Those three themes were on display throughout the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week leading up to Harris speech. By embracing and emphasizing values typically touted by the Republican Party, Democrats hoped to recast caricatures of their party and to win over swing voters by persuading them that they share their values. With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past a chance to chart a new way forward, not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans, Harris said Thursday. Advertisement Article continues below this ad My entire career, Ive only had one client: the people, Vice President Kamala Harris said as she accepted the Democratic presidential nomination at the DNC. San Francisco Chronicle The floor of the convention was packed hours before Harris filled the stage, with media, delegates and guests alike jockeying for spots in the aisles. Starting around 7:30 p.m., delegates were told that if they left their seats, they probably wouldnt get back in. Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who had just spoken at the convention, was initially turned away before being allowed to return after a few minutes. Delegates wore hard hats and lime green shirts, light-up glasses and hats and enormous amounts of white a color used to honor the womens suffrage movement. Harris, however, wore all black, which made her stand out against the colorful stage. And excitement about being an American was on full display. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Republican former Rep. Adam Kinzinger told the convention, Ive learned something about the Democratic Party, and I want to let my fellow Republicans in on the secret: The Democrats are just as patriotic as us. They love this country just as much as we do, and they are as eager to defend American values at home and abroad as we conservatives have ever been. USA signs filled the United Center throughout the week, a striking contrast to the Mass Deportation Now signs that filled the Republican National Convention weeks earlier. I am here as a mother, as a daughter, as a proud union member. I am here as the granddaughter of immigrants, as a Black woman descended from enslaved people. I am here tonight because I am an American, actress Kerry Washington said. Even the Chicks, whose 2003 comments about being ashamed of then-President George W. Bush triggered boycotts when they were known as the Dixie Chicks, had a moment of redemption singing the national anthem. Rep. Nanette Barragan of Carson (Los Angeles County) said the convention wasnt about reclaiming patriotism, but about helping Americans see that Democrats also have it. Advertisement Article continues below this ad To be a patriot is an American value. And I think Democrats have always been patriots, its just Republicans have tried to steal that platform, Barragan told the Chronicle. Republicans took ownership of words that belong to all Americans. And it applied to a smaller and smaller group of people in their view, Aimee Allison, founder of She the People, which advocates for Black women in politics, told the Chronicle. The true meaning of patriotism (is) love of country. Democrats are emphasizing the love. When former Georgia Lt. Gov. Jeff Duncan, a Republican, spoke Wednesday night, he framed a vote for Harris not as a vote for Democrats, but for patriotism. You dont have to agree with every policy position of Kamala Harris. I dont. But you do have to recognize her prosecutor mindset that understands right from wrong, good from evil, Duncan said. Let me be clear to my Republican friends at home watching: If you vote for Kamala Harris in 2024, youre not a Democrat. Youre a patriot. Delegates cheer Wednesday during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle Long Beach Rep. Robert Garcia said his mom taught him that real American patriotism is not about screaming and yelling America first. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Real American patriotism is loving your country so much that you want to help the people in your country. That is American patriotism. And we all know that Kamala Harris understands and knows this, Garcia told the convention Monday. Harris ended her speech Thursday by trying to unite voters and appeal to a collective love of country. It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done, Harris said. Guided by optimism and faith, to fight for this country we love, to fight for the ideals we cherish and to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth the privilege and pride of being an American. Democrats have also spent recent weeks framing choices in how people have and care for their families as family values a term often used by conservatives to refer to their opposition to abortion, comprehensive sex education, homosexuality and atheism. In casting New Mexicos votes for Harris and Walz during the ceremonial roll call, Democratic Party Chair Jessica Velasquez highlighted the state as where we live our family values, respect women, love our land, our water, our blue skies, our green chili and our sunsets. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Kate Cox, a Texas woman who was denied an abortion after her fetus was diagnosed with a life-shortening condition, told the convention Tuesday, Theres nothing pro-family about abortion bans. Theres nothing pro-life about letting women suffer, and even die. Throughout the convention, Harris history as a prosecutor and her role in keeping law and order was center stage. Together with law enforcement, she prioritized holding criminals accountable and protecting public safety, Sen. Laphonza Butler told the convention Monday. Donald Trump rants about law and order as if he wasnt a convicted criminal running against a prosecutor, as if we were going to forget that crime was higher on his watch, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Wednesday. The convention even had a sheriff in uniform speaking Thursday night. It all teed up the opportunity for Harris to deliver her closing argument. As a prosecutor, when I had a case, I charged it not in the name of the victim, but in the name of the people, for a simple reason, Harris said. In our system of justice, a harm against any one of us is a harm against all of us. While the energy in the arena was muted compared with the 15,000-person rallies Harris has recently held, one of the biggest applause lines of the night addressed an issue on many voters minds: Gaza. Wednesday and Thursday, the Democratic National Committee had gotten flak from pro-Palestinian advocates because they hoped a Palestinian American would be allowed to speak to the convention, a wish that wasnt fulfilled. The convention, however, erupted when Harris spoke about the pain being caused by the Israel-Hamas war. What has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, over and over again, Harris said. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination. Chanting USA and pledging allegiance to the flag have new meaning under this campaign, Allison said. Students have been rushed out of a school after several workers were hospitalized with a mysterious illness following a carbon monoxide leak in the cafeteria. Cypress Bay High School in Weston, Florida, was evacuated after four workers and a firefighter started inexplicably experiencing headaches and nausea. According to a post on the City of Weston's X.com page, three people experienced 'lightheadedness in the cafeteria.' The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that the most frequent symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are dizziness, headaches, weakness, upset stomach, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Students were rushed out of a high school in Weston, Florida , after several employees were hospitalized with a mysterious illness following a carbon monoxide leak in the cafeteria On Friday morning, Cypress Bay High School was evacuated after four workers and a firefighter started inexplicably experiencing headaches and nausea Carbon monoxide is an invisible, odorless, and tasteless gas that is highly fatal. The five individuals were subsequently taken to the Cleveland Clinic, where they are reported to be in stable condition, according to Fire Rescue spokesman Battalion Chief Michael Kane, who spoke with the Miami Herald. Around 10:30am, firefighters arrived at the school, which is on 18600 Vista Park Blvd, and they quickly detected elevated Carbon Monoxide levels. At the time, the City of Weston wrote on X.com: 'Crews monitored high Carbon Monoxide levels and all the gas to the building has been shut off. The cafeteria building is being evacuated.' Afterwards, the BSO and Fire Rescue hazardous materials teams were dispatched to the site, where they secured a propane tank that supplies the school. Although the propane tank seems like a plausible culprit, Chief Kane said the source of the leak is still under investigation Once they completed this, carbon monoxide levels subsided to their normal amount. Although the propane tank seems like a plausible culprit, Chief Kane said the source of the leak is still under investigation. In an update to the situation, WestonFL Alert wrote on X.com: 'Two HazMat teams have begun ventilation of the building and the Carbon Monoxide levels are now low.' They added: 'Additional adult patients are being evaluated and additional EMS units have been called in.' The school initially decided to remain open and urged parents not to 'come to the school' However, at this point, the school remained open, and the city urged parents not to 'come to the school to pick up your child at this time to allow units ease of access into and out of the school.' About an hour later, though, the school ordered an evacuation of the premises. At noon, the students were dismissed and the entire campus was evacuated 'out of an abundance of caution,' Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Howard Hepburn said. Dr. Hepburn further stated: 'Our teams are assessing that leak so we can find it and rectify it so we can be back to normal operations on Monday.' According to officials at the Broward County Public School, a total of eight people were affected by the leak According to officials at the Broward County Public School, a total of eight people were affected by the leak. After the incident, students' parents expressed their anxieties, as well as their frustration with the school. 'We got a recorded message from the principal saying there was a gas leak in the cafeteria,' Danica Velickovich told CBS. 'Then they told us to pick up our kids at 12. I was surprised because two of the recordings said they were safe.' 'I heard there was a gas leak and people were taken to the hospital,' Kristin Smith said. 'I was worried about my children about the dangers and their exposure to it.' At noon, students were dismissed from the school Students voiced their fear following the harrowing incident. 'I was scared. This is a really serious thing,' Isabel Santa Cruz, told CBS. 'When I heard people were being sent to the hospital, this stressed me out,' she continued. Another student put it bluntly: 'There was a gas leak and they told us we could not leave our class.' Natwest shut down the accounts of one of Britain's biggest Holocaust memorial charities with no explanation. Yad Vashem UK an education charity based in London was told last month that 'following a recent review', the bank had decided 'to cease' all relations with the organisation. The group was told it had less than four months to find a new bank before the account was closed. It comes little more than a year after NatWest's then-chief executive, Dame Alison Rose, was forced to resign after private bank Coutts closed Nigel Farage's account in a 'debanking' scandal. NatWest told Yad Vashem UK: 'We are not able to discuss this decision with you or provide you with any further information in relation to our decision-making.' It has prompted a volley of backlash from a coalition of Jewish groups demanding an explanation and an apology from NatWest. And following an intervention by the Daily Mail this week, NatWest blamed an 'administrative error', and agreed to reverse its decision and apologise to the charity. Natwest shut down the accounts of one of Britain's biggest Holocaust memorial charities with no explanation A group of Israeli soldiers look at pictures of Jewish people killed during the Holocaust in the Hall of Names of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem A NatWest spokesman said: 'We have apologised to the customer as this was an administrative error and we will be continuing to bank Yad Vashem UK. We are working to ensure something similar does not happen again and are sorry for the upset caused.' Yad Vashem UK is the British arm of world Holocaust remembrance centre Yad Vashem, which is based in Jerusalem. It promotes Holocaust education and runs a variety of projects in conjunction with its partners around the world, including Israel, to educate people about the Holocaust and fight anti-Semitism. UK chairman Simon Bentley accused NatWest of almost 'jeopardising Holocaust education'. He said: 'It is shocking that NatWest did this. Yad Vashem is an apolitical registered charity focused on Holocaust education, handling unprecedented levels of anti-Semitism here in the UK and worldwide. We have, I'm sure, only proven to be a model customer with NatWest for many years, consistently maintaining our current account in credit, with large levels of funding on deposit with them. It comes little more than a year after NatWest's then-chief executive, Dame Alison Rose, was forced to resign after private bank Coutts closed Nigel Farage 's account in a 'debanking' scandal Yad Vashem the World Holocaust Remembrance Center in Jerusalem An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man looks at photographs of Jewish victims of the Nazis in the Hall of Names exhibit in the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum Israeli soldiers visit exhibitions commemorating the genocide of six million Jews by the Nazi regime during World War II in Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center 'I can't understand why NatWest almost jeopardised Holocaust education in this way.' Last year NatWest was embroiled in a scandal after Mr Farage's account with Coutts was abruptly closed. A month later the BBC reported that the bank did not want his custom because he did not have enough money in his accounts, claiming the decision had nothing to do with the now-Reform leader's politics. But after Mr Farage submitted a subject access request, it was revealed that staff at the bank had spent months compiling evidence on the 'significant reputational risks of being associated with him'. A 40-page document revealed the account was closed because his views were 'at odds' with those held by the company. The BBC apologised for its inaccurate story and Dame Alison resigned after she was revealed as the source of the false leak. The chairman of Yad Vashem UK has submitted a subject access request to NatWest. A spokesman for the Board of Deputies of British Jews said: 'We urge NatWest to disclose their reasoning behind abruptly shutting down the bank account of Yad Vashem UK. For the bank to act in such a fashion and refuse to explain why will be viewed with significant concern within the Jewish community.' A spokesman for Campaign Against Antisemitism added: 'At a time of surging anti-Semitism and pressure on financial institutions to sever ties with Jewish groups and the Jewish state, the bank owes Yad Vashem and the Jewish community an explanation.' A Texas black man accused of raping his white neighbor filed a lawsuit claiming his home security cameras prove his innocence - but police refused to look at it. John Marks, 40, was arrested on December 7, 2023 after his neighbor, Amanda Zawieruszynski, alleged she was held hostage and raped at his home. Marks and his long-time friend Freddie Douglas were accused of assaulting Zawieruszynski in the pool at a house warming party in his home near Houston on November 9, 2023. A new lawsuit filed by Marks said they both had their civil rights violated and the Manvel Police Department deliberately omitted evidence that showed the interaction was consensual. 'This case is not an isolated incident but reflects a time-worn pattern, reminiscent of the injustices depicted in To Kill a Mockingbird, where black men are falsely accused of sexual crimes by white women, and the machinery of law enforcement is all too willing to proceed without question,' the lawsuit said. John Marks (pictured), 40, was accused of raping his white neighbor and filed a lawsuit claiming his home security cameras prove his innocence Amanda Zawieruszynski (pictured) alleged she was held hostage and raped at his home Marks moved to the tiny Texas town in April 2023 and said he quickly developed an intimate relationship with his new neighbor Zawieruszynski. On November 9, 2023, he hosted a gathering at his home and claimed Zawieruszynski was caught on surveillance footage eagerly arriving to the party with cupcakes. 'The surveillance footage from [Marks] home captures [Zawieruszynski] arriving voluntarily, entering the home with no signs of distress or hesitation,' the lawsuit said. As the evening progressed, Marks said video shows the woman consensually got in the pool and engaged in sexual activities. 'The surveillance footage shows [Zawieruszynski] willingly joining the group in the pool, undressing and entering the water of her own accord. At no point does the footage suggest that AZ was coerced or pressured into participating in these activities,' the lawsuit said. Marks said police refused to look at his home security footage that show the woman entered his house freely and engaged in consensual activity A grand jury found there was no basis for the charges against Marks and his long-time friend Freddie Douglas (pictured) The lawsuit also said footage captured her roaming freely around the house and calmly leaving at the end of the night. A month later, Zawieruszynski filed a police report alleging the two men sexually assaulted and kidnapped her the night of the party. Marks lawsuit claims officers omitted the surveillance footage evidence from their arrest warrant application and failed to even review the footage. In March, a Brazoria County Grand Jury found that there was no basis for the charges and issued a no-bill. Now Marks is suing the City of Manvel, three Manvel police officers and Zawieruszynski for civil rights violations, defamation and malicious prosecution. He is seeking all available damages, including compensatory, punitive, and exemplary damages, as well as attorneys fees and any other relief the court deems just and proper. The Manvel Police Department declined DailyMail.com's request for comment. Three people have died and four have been left seriously injured after a knife attack at a festival in Germany. Armed police swarmed the streets of Solingen as they launched a desperate manhunt for the killer who struck at 9.45pm before fleeing. The usually quiet Fronhof central square was packed for the Festival of Diversity in the city which lies just a few miles from Dusseldorf. But those gathered close to the stage were left horrified as a man randomly began stabbing passers-by with a knife in the neck, local media reported. No arrests have been made as of yet, with the suspect said to be on the run and a situation centre set up in Cafe Kersting following the horrific rampage. Eerie photos from the scene show officers and emergency services standing solemnly in the darkness, surrounded by blue flashing lights with a helicopter circling above. During a lively performance by the Solingen world star DJ Topic, one of the organisers came on stage to call off the event and told the crowd to vacate the area. Local media spoke to one eyewitness, who said it was during singer Suzan Kocher's set when he saw a person 'fall over just a meter away'. Police and ambulances near the scene where people were killed and injured in an attack on Friday at a festival in Solingen, western Germany, the German dpa news agency reported Cordons have cropped up all over the city, with officers on patrol It was not immediately clear how many casualties there were Special forces units from all over North Rhine-Westphalia are on their way to Solingen Eerie photos from the scene show officers and emergency services standing solemnly in the darkness, surrounded by blue flashing lights Emergency services near the scene where people were killed and injured in an attack Around 40 emergency service vehicles flooded to the scene of the horrific attack The dark scenes in the city late at night following the tragic attack Lars Breitzke thought they were just drunk but - noting the expression of shock on the singer's face - he turned and saw several others on the floor amid 'pools of blood'. Police are said to be classifying it as a terrorist attack, according to Bild. The local Solinger Tagblatt newspaper reported that authorities told people to leave central Solingen and nine people are fighting for their lives. Around 40 emergency service vehicles flooded to the scene of the horrific attack. Special forces units from all over North Rhine-Westphalia are rushing to Solingen to help. It is understood that road crossings have been closed and residents are being asked to stay in their homes. Photos from the scene show police officers with guns are patrolling the streets. Philipp Muller, a festival organiser, reportedly said: 'People left the square in shock, but peacefully.' Emergency vehicles near the scene where people were killed and injured in the attack Police officers secured the area of an incident, after several individuals were killed Police and ambulances stand near the scene where a several people died in an attack Police officers work after a man randomly stabbed people at a festival Mayor Tim Kurzbach said on social media: 'This evening we are all in shock, horror and great sadness in Solingen. 'We all wanted to celebrate our city's anniversary together and now we have dead and injured people to mourn. 'It breaks my heart that there was an attack on our city. I have tears in my eyes when I think of those we have lost. I pray for all those who are still fighting for their lives.' The 'Festival of Diversity,' marking the city's 650th anniversary, began on Friday and was supposed to run through Sunday, with 80,000 people expected. The festival was officially openedat around 7pm by Solingen's mayor Tim Kurzbach. Presenter Panagiota Petridou, a native of Solingen, was supposed to lead the evening, and her management confirmed she is safe. Several stages were erected in central streets offering attractions such as live music, cabaret and acrobatics. Solingen has around 160,000 inhabitants and is located near the bigger cities of Cologne and Duesseldorf. Germany's top security official, interior minister Nancy Faeser, recently proposed toughening weapons laws to allow only knives with a blade measuring up to 6cm (nearly 2.4in) to be carried in public, rather than the length of 12cm (4.7in), which is allowed now. Police officers stand guard on Friday night after a knife attack in Solingen The dark scenes in Solingen on Friday after a festival was cancelled following an attack According to German media, as the city was celebrating its 650th anniversary Australia's consumer safety watchdog has issued an urgent recall for a popular bike, warning a manufacture flaw creates a serious safety risk to riders. The steerer clamp for certain Brompton T Line bikes can become loose, the regulator warned, causing the handlebar support and fork to become misaligned, leading to a loss of steering control. 'There is a risk of accident and serious injury if the rider loses steering control while the bike is in use,' the ACCC said on Friday. 'Consumers should stop using the bikes immediately.' Affected consumers can have the repair carried out free of charge at a Brompton dealer, the watchdog added. 'Consumers who have a bicycle torque wrench and are comfortable completing the repair themselves should follow the instructions on the recall website to tighten their steerer clamp hinge bolts. 'Consumers who are not comfortable completing the repair themselves or who may not be able to visit a Brompton dealer can contact Brompton for assistance in arranging a repair.' The affected bikes were manufactured before June 21, 2024 and have a serial number ranging from 2104190001 to 2406070001. The bikes were sold nationally and internationally between February 1, 2022 and July 24, 2024. Labour is set to be left red-faced by a union yet again as junior doctors plot more strikes next year if they 'bank' their huge pay deal, the Mail can reveal. Despite being offered a rise of 22 per cent on average over two years, the British Medical Association is demanding junior doctors' pay be restored to 2008 levels. In what it dubs a 'bank and build' strategy, the union is recommending its members accept the deal on offer. But if they do, the BMA will then immediately begin preparations for a new round of strikes in a campaign for full pay restoration by 2027/28 which would represent a further 26.26 per cent pay offer. If there is insufficient progress, a new dispute will be triggered as soon as April next year. The union is recommending its members accept the deal on offer. (Junior doctors take part in a rally outside Downing Street on June 27, 2024) The British Medical Association is demanding junior doctors' pay be restored to 2008 levels (stock photo) It is the latest embarrassment for the Government, after fresh rail strikes were announced on the East Coast line just two days after train drivers were offered a bumper 14.25 per cent pay rise. The proposals are detailed in a BMA document quietly published this week. It suggests a 'bank and build' strategy is used to 'lock in progress while pursuing an ambitious industrial objective or defending a previously obtained win that employers may seek to reverse'. It adds: 'Learning from the best practice of similarly strong unions, the second phase of our campaign will require an even stronger workplace organising capacity, and for doctors to engage actively... to maximise our leverage. 'We will need to... develop strategies to identify those facing financial difficulties, and defend those under pressure from employers, managers and trainers, to ensure maximal strike participation is maintained.' Chancellor Rachel Reeves said there are 'no blank cheques' for public sector pay rises It is the latest embarrassment for the Government, after fresh rail strikes were announced on the East Coast line just two days after train drivers were offered a bumper 14.25 per cent pay rise Last night Tory health spokesman Victoria Atkins said 'having friends in high places in this Labour Government clearly pays for trade unions'. She added: 'Labour has prioritised pay hikes for the unions over affordability for taxpayers.' It comes after the Fire Brigades Union put forward a motion to repeal all of Margaret Thatcher's anti-strike laws at next month's Trades Union Congress. It demands the 'repeal of all anti-union laws and for positive legal rights for trade unions' including the 1980s laws that banned flying pickets. Chancellor Rachel Reeves said there are 'no blank cheques' for public sector pay rises, and insisted she had not 'caved in' to any demands but wanted to 'draw a line' under strikes. She told the Guardian: 'Keir Starmer and I decide our policy, not trade unions. There are no blank cheques.' Meeting the 2024-25 pay proposals will cost 9.4billion more than the previous Conservative administration had budgeted for. Ms Reeves last month said she would ask government departments to find savings of 3 billion to help fund them, including stopping non-essential spending on consultancy and communications. A man given 15 months in jail for assaulting his partner has avoided prison by changing sex so he cannot be punished for gender-based violence. Antonio Luis B.R. walked free when the Court of Violence against Women in Seville, Spain, withdrew from the case after he legally became a woman. According to the victim's lawyer, Jose Antonio Sires, his client broke off her relationship with Luis five years ago following a decade of psychological and physical abuse. Although she took out a restraining order, he simply ignored it and continued harassing her. In 2019, the case was brought before the court and Luis was sentenced to 15 months in prison for violating the restraining order and making threats against his ex. Antonio Luis B.R. walked free when the Court of Violence against Women in Seville, Spain, withdrew from the case after he legally became a woman The case dragged on for years while his defence repeatedly made appeals against the sentence. These failed and eventually the court ordered his imprisonment on September 11 last year. But having become a woman the month before, Luis escaped justice. He used a new law allowing those over 16 to change their registered gender without needing medical or psychological reports. His lawyers appealed again, saying he could not be tried for gender-based crimes because he was a 'new person'. They claimed the court could no longer try him as a man because that would violate LGBT law, requested a pardon and demanded that the case be dropped and the Court of Violence against Women has now withdrawn from it. During a hearing on August 13, the court heard that 'now that the accused is a woman' there is 'a lack of objective jurisdiction'. Mr Sires called Luis's actions 'an undoubted fraud', and said he changed sex with the sole purpose of avoiding 'specific penalties for men who commit violence against their wife or ex-wife'. He added: 'The perpetrator... seeks to exploit the law in a deceitful way.' Mr Sires has now called for Luis to be tried by a criminal court instead of a specific one for gender violence. He said the victim was still suffering from 'a continuous ordeal', adding: 'The attacks and threats, far from ceasing, have continued, raising fears for the victim's physical integrity.' Last July, Luis allegedly attacked his ex again and threatened her, reportedly saying: 'You only have days left to live.' When police arrived, he told them: 'I am a woman.' Mr Sires insisted 'men cannot evade convictions for gender-based violence', and even if they register as women, 'the legal responsibilities they had before remain'. More than 500 academics have condemned Labour for scrapping a law aimed at protecting freedom of speech on campuses. The experts - including evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins and historian Niall Ferguson - say the act brought in by the Conservatives was 'vitally important' after university staff and students were 'hounded, censured, silenced or even sacked' for expressing their opinions. And they dismiss concerns raised by the Government that the legislation could put minority groups including Jewish students at risk by protecting 'hate speech', pointing out that harassment laws already trump free speech. In an open letter to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, they urge her to implement the outstanding provisions of the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act (HEFOSA). They were due to come into force at the start of August until the minister announced in July that she was halting the introduction of the power for the Office for Students watchdog to fine institutions or student unions if they failed to uphold freedom of speech. In an open letter to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson (left), the experts including evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins (right) urge her to implement the outstanding provisions of the Higher Education Freedom of Speech Act (HEFOSA) The letter, also signed by director of the Committee for Academic Freedom Edward Skidelsky, states: 'The decision to halt HEFOSA appears to reflect the view, widespread among opponents of the Act, that there is no 'free speech problem' in UK universities, that the very idea of such a problem is a fiction put about to divert attention from bigger issues. 'Nothing could be more false. Hundreds of academics and students have been hounded, censured, silenced or even sacked over the last 20 years for the expression of legal opinions.' It says that documented cases are 'only the tip of the iceberg' and the 'widespread silencing of viewpoints is incalculable'. The professors say the dire state of affairs, with the UK a lowly 66th in the global league of academic freedom, has 'serious consequences for us all'. They point out that the 'suppression of university research into the effects of puberty blockers facilitated one of the great medical scandals of our age', which was exposed by the landmark Cass report into gender medicine for young people. 'Academics and students of all persuasions need the protection afforded by the Freedom of Speech Act. We are happy to meet with you to discuss our concerns,' the letter concludes. However their warnings have been dismissed out of hand by the Government. A source told The Times, which first reported the letter: 'We make no apology for pausing the Tories' hate speech charter, which would have allowed antisemites and Holocaust deniers free rein on campuses. Universities already have obligations under the law to protect freedom of speech and we will hold institutions to them.' Helen Joyce, director of advocacy at human-rights charity Sex Matters, hopes the Education Secretary listens to the calls for a rethink But Helen Joyce, director of advocacy at human-rights charity Sex Matters, last night told the Mail: 'It is astonishing to see a government source characterise protections for free speech on campus as a 'Tory hate speech law'. 'Free speech is a fundamental human right that should be above party politics. 'The planned law would have protected staff and students with a wide range of lawful beliefs, and it's simply false to say that it would have given shelter to hate speech such as Holocaust denial. 'Without free speech on campus, sound research and open inquiry will wither.. Academics, students and University guest speakers all need protection from the excesses of cancel culture. I hope the Education Secretary listens to those from across the political spectrum who are calling for a rethink.' The man with a thick black beard and his hair tied into a bun is curious. 'Are you celebrities?' he asks. His English is flawless but the accent is unmistakably Iranian. His clothes are dark, but he's wearing rolled-up tracksuit bottoms with trendy trainers. The look is Tehran theocrat meets London hipster. He has seen Kasra Aarabi, director of the campaign group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), and me posing for photographs outside the gates of the Islamic Centre of England. It's a registered charity that describes itself as a 'religious and cultural centre' with a mission 'to provide services to members of the Muslim community, in particular, and the wider community at large'. But, in reality, the large white building set behind railings and trees is the de facto British headquarters of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei and it's clear that the people here are keen to safeguard their privacy. As we finished our shoot, the bearded man takes pictures of us on his phone and then follows as we walk a few hundred yards up the street and round a corner. He is what Iranians call a 'nocheh', a man (and it is always a man) paid to keep watch outside regime buildings. 'So, why were you taking photos?' he asks. We fob him off and carry on walking. This bearded man is what Iranians call a 'nocheh', a man paid to keep watch outside regime buildings, in this case the Islamic Centre of England in Maida Vale, north-west London Later we see him standing on the opposite side of the road jabbing at his phone. 'Sending our details straight to Tehran,' Kasra and I joke. Eventually we move off. The centre, situated on a quiet street in Maida Vale, in north-west London, is the second stop on my tour of what I have nicknamed 'Little Tehran', an area of the capital in which the Islamic Republic maintains several institutions that it uses to spread its malign and subversive influence across Britain. And Iran has rarely been on more bellicose form. Ever since the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran at the end of last month, the world has been waiting to see how the Middle East's most sadistic theocracy will react. Our first stop, just minutes earlier, had been the School of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a few streets away. A low, beige brick building with white sloping roofs, it used to have a sign with the institution's name on it, but that has been taken down. Ofsted has deemed the school 'inadequate' four times since 2016. That doesn't surprise me. In July 2022, video footage emerged of rows of its pupils, aged from eight to 15, singing what Kasra described to me as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' affiliated propaganda anthem. In the film, the children pledge allegiance to Khamenei. 'We wait for you under the flag of our leader,' they trill. Then, chillingly, they plead: 'Do not see me as too young, from the 313 I will answer the call.' This refers to the 313 mythical 'special commanders' of Shia theology, who will rise from the dead to wage an apocalyptic war against those seen as infidels. 'It's an anthem designed to radicalise kids,' Kasra says, and he should know he is an expert on the IRGC. Included in this divine force from beyond the grave is Qasem Soleimani, who was assassinated by the Americans in January 2020. He was the leader of the feared Quds Force branch of the IRGC, notorious for its foreign operations and designated a terrorist organisation by the US. After Soleimani's death, the Islamic Centre for England held a candlelit vigil in his honour, in which he was described as a 'great martyr'. It was rebuked by the Charity Commission for putting its reputation at risk by staging the event. In 2022, when protests erupted in Iran after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in police custody after being arrested for not covering her head with a hijab, the centre's director, Seyed Hashem Mousavi, described the demonstrators as 'soldiers of Satan' and women who took off their hijabs as 'poison'. Mousavi is Khamenei's personal representative in the UK. Indeed, the centre's 'constitution' requires that its director always holds this role. It is important to understand just what this means. The traditional route of Iranian-UK relations runs diplomatically in a clear chain of command: from the Supreme Leader to the Iranian President to the Foreign Minister and then to the ambassador to London. But Mousavi, as director of the Islamic Centre of England, does not have to bother with any of that: he reports directly to the Supreme Leader. A powerful man indeed. The final stop on our tour of Little Tehran is the Islamic College of London, two and a half miles north of the Centre. Behind the red-brick facade, the college teaches 'Islamic studies' and until 2023 its degree programmes were validated by Middlesex University. Kasra tells me that it is affiliated to the Iran-based Al-Mustafa International University a claim echoed by pro-regime Farsi news websites and is affiliated to the IRGC. In the words of Al Mustafa's 'Vice President of International Communications', a cleric called Mohsen Ghanbari, 'our graduates are known as soldiers and children of Imam Khomeini in many countries of the world'. In December 2020, the US government described Al-Mustafa as 'a recruiting platform for the IRGC Quds Force' and sanctioned it under anti-terror legislation. Kasra tells me that it 'radicalises and recruits for IRGC militias in the Middle East and cells elsewhere'. 'I can't believe this place is still open,' he adds. Many would surely echo that sentiment. Writer David Patrikarakos at the Islamic College of London in Willesden, which teaches 'Islamic studies'. Until 2023 its degree programmes were validated by Middlesex University And what makes the situation even more absurd is that the Centre is a charity and the College is run by a charitable trust, receiving hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money. During Covid the College received 205,000 in furlough payments and the Islamic Centre just under 250,000. And this after Khamenei banned UK vaccines and claimed the pandemic was a 'Zionist bioweapon' and a product of the Jews' 'alliance with demons'. The Charity Commission is in the midst of an ongoing investigation into the Islamic Centre for England, but given that the probe was first opened in November 2022, the Policy Exchange think tank, among others, has criticised its 'snail's pace'. In response, the Commission explained that it has appointed an interim manager to the Centre and blames a legal challenge to that appointment for the investigation's length of time. Kasra, though, tells me that when he spoke to a source inside the Commission, they were plain. 'No one wants to touch this for fear of being labelled Islamophobic,' he was told. 'If that happens, your career is over.' But while the authorities prevaricate, the malign influence of the Iranian regime continues to ripple out of Little Tehran across our country. Outrageously, IRGC commanders have given openly anti-Semitic speeches to British students and reportedly tried to co-opt them into becoming 'agents of influence'. Two of these took place online but one was an in-person event at the Kanoon Towhid Islamic Centre in west London held to commemorate, yet again, the death of Soleimani, at which the crowd screamed: 'Death to Israel'. At another event arranged by the Islamic Students Association of Britain, an IRGC commander told students that the Holocaust was 'fake', and urged the audience to join 'the beautiful list of soldiers'. He also enjoined them to enlist in their apocalyptic army to 'bring an end to the life of the oppressors and occupiers, Zionists and Jews across the world'. Another IRGC commander, Hossein Yekta, encouraged the students to 'raise the flag of the Islamic revolution, Islam and martyrdom', and to become 'soft-war officers' for Iran. What is frighteningly clear is that the IRGC has now developed a broad structure in the UK. This is primarily led by Iranian operatives but it also consists of British Islamists, who pledge allegiances to Ayatollah Khamenei and Iran's proxies abroad such as Hezbollah and Hamas. They subscribe to an expansionist Islamist ideology with the goal of establishing Sharia law across the world, in clear opposition to British values. And that's not all. As well as doubling down on its efforts to nurture homegrown UK radicalisation and extremism, the Islamic Republic regime is now bringing violence directly to our streets. In 2022, the UK government identified at least 10 credible threats from Iran to kill or kidnap Britons or British residents. A year later, counter-terrorism police said this had risen to 15. And only last January, Britain imposed new sanctions on members of an IRGC unit that had tried to assassinate two presenters of Iran International, a UK-based TV channel that is critical of the Tehran regime. Supporters of the Iranian opposition rally against the then president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, near Downing Street in 2021 The regime then tried again when a reporter for the TV channel Pouria Zeraati was stabbed four times in Wimbledon, south-west London, in April. Eastern European mercenaries flew into London, attacked the journalist and then flew out just hours later. And still the British Government refuses to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation. After the attempted killing, then Foreign Secretary David Cameron declared that it was not in the UK's interests to proscribe the group. The (presumably unintended) message appears to be: 'the IRGC can operate on British soil with impunity'. Tehran's assassins will return, which is why proscription matters. It would give the Government and Charity Commission clear guidelines on how to deal with the threat. It would equip local communities, the police force, teachers and councils with the necessary tools to identify and prevent further radicalisation. That the authorities still refuse to take the threat seriously is an outrage. Why are these institutions allowed to continue radicalising children? Why is Britain allowing IRGC proxies to bring violence to our streets, its commanders to come here and proselytise students? Germany recently took its own stand against regime networks. The Islamic Centre in Hamburg was put under investigation by the authorities for suspected links to Tehran's mullahs and the terrorists of Hezbollah. Found to be unconstitutional, the centre was shut down last month. Kasra Aarabi worked with the German authorities on the investigation, and he is keen to see the same thing happen here. 'The Germans acted quickly and decisively,' he says. 'Why can't we do the same thing here? There is momentum for this now and it's so important that we act.' He's right, the Islamic Republic of Iran has Britain in its sights. After some vague hopes in recent years that reformers inside Tehran might prevail, that dream is dead. Fanatics now dominate there. Attempts to placate or appease them will fail. We must understand that the regime is both a clear and immediate danger not just abroad, but at home. It's time to shut down these institutions, sanction the IRGC and kick Iranian agents out of Britain. The cost of inaction has already been severe and will only become worse as time passes. It's time to end the subversion and violence on our streets, once and for all, for Brits and Iranians alike. I've lived in my three-bed semi-detached house for over 15 years. Heathrow and Gatwick airports are both fairly nearby. I knew I was buying a home affected by nearby airports, but this was never a big issue. I expected and didn't mind some noise. However, in the last couple of years, and particularly this summer, the noise from aircrafts above has intensified dramatically, especially at night. The planes seem to get lower and lower. It sounds like they are right over the house. How can I complain about the noise from the planes above? Is this even possible? And would buyers need to be warned about this if I decided to sell? Now Angela Rayner has given the green light to more flights from London City Airport, I fear further expansions - and more noise - could be on the horizon. Too much: A This is Money reader is finding noise from aircraft above his house unbearable Send us your property question We'd love to hear from you if you have a property question and want to find out what the experts have to say on the matter. Whether you have neighbour woes, are looking to update or move home, or perhaps you can't decide how to sort out an extension or make a room look bigger, we want to hear from you. If you are a prospective first-time buyer or already on the housing ladder and have a property quandary, get in touch. Email editor@thisismoney.co.uk Please put PROPERTY in the subject line. Advertisement Jane Denton of This is Money replies: Noise from aircrafts is largely unavoidable, particularly if you live near Heathrow and Gatwick. The Government's decision to approve a London City airport expansion is a 'sign of things to come,' certain climate campaigners have warned - suggesting that more airports could be super-sized in future. Turning to your issue, the Government says on its website that 'noise is regulated to some extent at all UK airports.' It adds: 'Aircraft paths are generally designed to fly over the least populated areas. 'Some airports operate grant schemes to install sound insulation in affected homes. Contact the airport that affects you to find out if they run one.' Regarding your noise complaint, the Government suggests your best bet is to contact the relevant airports. The airports have a duty to investigate your complaint and respond to you, according to the Civil Aviation Authority. Decisions around when an airport is allowed to be open for flights, if its aircraft can operate at night, and how many planes are allowed to fly on any given day are often set out as part of the planning process approving the airport's construction or expansion, the CAA adds. For Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, decisions such as these are overseen by the Department for Transport. Other airports typically have these processes and decisions run by the local authority where the airport is located. I asked two experts for their opinion on what, if anything, you can do. Knows the law: Richard Buxton Richard Buxton, a partner at Richard Buxton Solicitors in Cambridge, said: Since the earliest days of flying, civilian aircraft been exempt from claims in noise nuisance. There are some exceptions, but they do not apply to normal flights into and out of the big airports. There are strong economic and political pressures to keep the rules that way. Numbers of flights and flight paths are controlled by a combination of airport capacity and planning constraints. There are special rules designed to reduce disturbance from night flights at Heathrow Gatwick and Stansted. In recent times, navigation systems have improved with GPS so that aircraft follow a very accurate path on the broad corridor allowed, meaning flights tend to get concentrated over some people and leave others better off. Navigation beacons also tend to concentrate aircraft on noisy turns. These issues can potentially be controlled by the Government and CAA. The European Court of Human Rights has found there is wide discretion on what controls are appropriate, but the sanction of the Human Rights Act is there to stop a complete free-for-all, and to put pressure on for better regulation if that can be justified. There are groups concerned about noise around most of the airports which may be the best first point of call for finding out more about what can be done. Lisa Hayes, property industry expert and owner of Ready Steady Sell, says: When it comes to selling a property affected by external factors like aircraft noise, transparency is key, not only for ethical reasons but also to comply with legal requirements. In the know: Property expert Lisa Hughes Disclosing such factors is crucial as it can significantly influence a buyer's decision-making process and the overall value of the property. Sellers are required to fill out the TA6 form, part of the property information questionnaire, which asks for details about disputes and complaints related to the property, including those pertaining to noise. This form includes a specific section where sellers should disclose issues such as noise from aircraft. Failure to disclose such information can lead to the buyer seeking compensation or even rescinding the sale after completion if they can prove that the seller withheld information that could affect the property's enjoyment. Regarding how aircraft noise can impact property value, this can be significant. Properties under flight paths or near airports are often valued lower than those in quieter areas. The degree of noise pollution can vary, but its presence generally leads to a market adjustment. Potential buyers might be deterred by the noise, leading to a smaller pool of interested parties and necessitating a price reduction to attract offers. Studies and market analyses often show that homes exposed to significant noise pollution sell for anywhere between 5 per cent to 20 per cent less than comparable properties in quieter settings. Do note that improved sound insulation and noise-reduction technologies are becoming more sophisticated and accessible. Sellers can invest in such improvements to make their properties more appealing and potentially offset some of the devaluation caused by aircraft noise. Peter Barclay is chairman of the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign Peter Barclay, chairman of the Gatwick Area Conservation Campaign, says: Aircraft noise is one of those irritants you can do virtually nothing about but it seems to be getting worse everywhere. Whilst moving house may alleviate the problem if you move far enough but in the UK, particularly in the south-east its not possible to escape from it completely. Unfortunately aviation is exempt from noise nuisance claims, thus there is little legal protection for people affected. Flights from the UK, mainly to holiday destinations, have been increasing immensely since the recession in the early 2000s. For example Gatwick in 2006 handled around 30million passenger and in 2019 that number was up to 46.5million - well over a 50 per cent increase. Very few flight paths have changed over the years, but they have of course got much busier with the increase in flights. What can be done about it ? Each airport has a complaint system. Both airports also have a tracking system where its possible to see the height of the aircraft, which airline , where its going to or from and thus be able to report specific disturbances. Airport expansion is on the rise! As your reader comments London City has now been approved but one important fact is that the total number of flights that can be operated from there has not been increased. The expansion will be managed using larger aircraft and at London City the nature and location of the airport means they will be newer and quieter. Regrettably that wont apply if Heathrow or Gatwicks planned expansions go ahead - huge increases in flights are planned without any real consideration of the noise, or air pollution, impact on communities. SB1446, the latest measure pitting new technology against workers to stir up controversy in the California Capitol, would limit self-checkout lanes. Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle For more than a year, California businesses concerns about retail theft have taken top billing in the Capitol, spurring more than a dozen new laws. But the grocery and drug store workers who deal with thefts and other crimes every day have their own ideas about how to address those threats. Some of those ideas make up a controversial bill that would limit self-checkout lanes, the latest measure pitting new technology against workers to stir up controversy in the California Capitol. The legislation, SB1446, would require stores to have each worker manage no more than two self-checkout kiosks at once and be relieved of other responsibilities. Businesses must also issue a notice of new technologies that could impact workers at least 60 days before implementation under the bill. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A store in violation of the bill would be fined $100 per day, with a maximum of $10,000 in aggregate. Its author, state Sen. Lola Smallwood-Cuevas, D-Los Angeles, said the bill is meant to address the collision of three issues: retail theft, automation and labor concerns. But the businesses and groups most vocal about combating retail theft oppose the measure. We want to make sure we have enough workers at these self-checkout kiosks so that they are safe, and consumers are safe and have the support they need, Smallwood-Cuevas said. The legislation also requires that products with extra protection like those in locked cases or with surveillance tags cannot be purchased through self-checkout lanes. Smallwood-Cuevas claims that 16 times more retail theft happens at self-checkouts than manned registers, which she believes can be tamped down by having more workers nearby, watching the kiosks. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The impacted businesses have said the bill is really about staffing, not safety. This bill has been problematic from the beginning on multiple fronts, said Daniel Conway, a spokesperson for the California Grocers Association. Its looking to codify the way stores are run and in a clumsy, one-size-fits-all manner in terms of how stores are staffed and things like that. The legislation comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of bills into law last week addressing retail theft. The package includes legislation to crack down on the sale of stolen goods and make it easier to prosecute burglaries. They also include a measure, written by state Sen. Scott Wiener, that would eliminate the requirement that victims prove their vehicle was locked to press car burglary charges. The package was celebrated by the California Retailers Association and the California Grocers Association, though Conway said that his organization is pushing for a more hard-line measure going before voters in November that would allow people caught stealing three times to be charged with felonies, regardless of what they stole and how much it cost. It would do the same for felony drug possession charges and would increase jail time for repeat and organized retail theft. The measure also contains provisions to compel people with multiple drug convictions into treatment. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Smallwood-Cuevas, along with many other prominent Democrats, including Newsom, opposes Prop. 36 but was also one of the critics of the bipartisan package of retail theft bills. During debate on one of the bills to make it easier to prosecute theft, Smallwood-Cuevas said such measures would make communities less safe by saddling low-level offenders with criminal records that prevent them from getting jobs to support themselves. This measure and others like it are making our communities unsafe because these measures deepen mass incarceration, she said. For Smallwood-Cuevas, the self-checkout bill addresses retail theft by deterring shoplifting, rather than reliance on prosecution after the fact. If we are passing and have signed now a package of bills that essentially gives felony and real penalties for shoplifting and retail theft, we think it is important for the industry to do their fair share and be accountable, too, Smallwood-Cuevas said. Communities are now going to have to be accountable for these low-level crimes with big penalties. We think the retailers should have some accountability and responsibility to fix the problem where its happening upstream, which is at the self checkouts. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The idea that the bill could help prevent crime has some support from law enforcement. Smallwood-Cuevas bill is also supported by the Prosecutors Alliance of California. Many of you might wonder, Why is there a prosecutors group working on a bill around workplace staffing? said Christine Soto DeBerry, executive director of the group. Were here because, as law enforcement officials, we understand that preventing crime is more valuable than prosecuting crime. For Conway, the idea that stores need to support the bill to do their part in addressing retail theft is absurd. Theyve spent over the last few years all kinds of money, resources, people power to figure out how to fortify their stores, Conway said. Its like me coming to your house and telling you your grandmas cooking is bad. Its pretty much never gonna go over well. The future of work should be shaped by workers and community, not left to corporations that profit from automating jobs, Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO, said in a statement. The Labor Federation is a co-sponsor of the bill, along with the UFCW-Western States Council, which represents grocery store cashiers. No one wants to shop in stores staffed by machines instead of workers. Replacing grocery workers with automated self-checkout machines has made stores less safe for everyone. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Smallwood-Cuevas has reported tens of thousands of dollars in contributions over the last year from labor unions and their affiliates, including some of the groups that support the bill. She received $5,500 from the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union on June 4 and $8,500 from their Western States Council Candidates PAC on Sept. 5, 2023, according to financial disclosures. Union leaders held a news conference last week pushing for the bills passage. The legislation made it through the Assembly Appropriations Committee but is awaiting action in the chambers Rules Committee. Amendments to the bill, in which negotiations are ongoing, would have to be introduced by Friday, the final day to amend bills on the floor. Aurora Hernandez, a cashier at a Los Angeles Food 4 Less, spoke at the news conference in support of the bill. I really love my job helping families put food on their tables, Hernandez said. However, my co-workers and I face many challenges to reduce theft, which got worse after the COVID pandemic and the introducing of six self-checkouts to the store about a year ago. Hernandez said that typically between 4 p.m. and midnight, the store has only one worker managing all six self-checkout kiosks and one cashier running a register lane. Hernandez said that the reduction in employees in the store has been too much. If you're feeling smug about your perfectly curated Instagram profile, it's time to get humbled. The latest social media trend sees Instagram users asking ChatGPT to 'roast' their profiles. The AI chatbot doesn't hold back with its critiques, with one user claiming they 'just got dragged to hell'. So, are you brave enough to have your Instagram profile picked apart by a robot? Here's how you can try the hilarious new trend. If you're feeling smug about your perfectly curated Instagram profile, it's time to get humbled. The latest social media trend sees Instagram users asking the AI chatbot, ChatGPT , to 'roast' their profiles (stock image) ChatGPT doesn't hold back with its critiques, with one user claiming they 'just got dragged to hell' How to try the 'roast my Instagram feed' trend Create an account with ChatGPT. Take a screenshot of your Instagram feed Attach it in a message to ChatGPT, alongside the caption 'roast my instagram feed in one paragraph' The AI bot will assess your feed and give you its feedback Advertisement To take part in the trend, you'll first need to create an account with ChatGPT. Once you're all set up, simply take a screenshot of your Instagram feed and attach it in a message to ChatGPT, alongside the caption 'roast my instagram feed in one paragraph.' Within seconds, the AI bot will assess your feed and give you its feedback. I innocently asked ChatGPT what it thought about my Instagram profile, but quickly regretted that decision. Having recently got married, my feed is full of wedding photos, with the odd holiday snaps, selfies, and posts about my work littered in between. 'Your Instagram feed feels like it's having a bit of an identity crisis, torn between being an aesthetic wedding album and a chaotic personal scrapbook,' ChatGPT told me. 'One moment you're living the dream as the picture-perfect wedding guest, and the next, you're chilling with a cocktail like you've just escaped a 9-to-5 prison. I innocently asked ChatGPT what it thought about my Instagram profile, but quickly regretted that decision 'The travel shots are trying to give off "wanderlust vibes," but then there's that random selfie where you look like you've just survived a work meeting that should've been an email. 'The whole vibe is like, "I'm living my best life...but also just trying to get through the week."' Ouch. Next, we tested it with the profile of one of the most popular people on Instagram - Kim Kardashian. 'Your Instagram feed is the ultimate shrine to self-obsession, where every post is either a calculated flex or a not-so-subtle reminder that you're living on a different planet of fame and wealth,' ChatGPT said of the billionaire's profile. 'It's a dizzying carousel of fashion, luxury, and perfectly curated family moments that scream, "Look at me, but pretend I'm just like you." 'Your Instagram feed is the ultimate shrine to self-obsession, where every post is either a calculated flex or a not-so-subtle reminder that you're living on a different planet of fame and wealth,' ChatGPT said of Kim Kardashian's profile However, the AI bot was unable to say anything mean about NASA's Instagram profile. 'Ah, the NASA Instagram feedwhere the universe comes to flex its aesthetic,' it said 'Between the strategic SKIMS plugs and the constant stream of photoshoots, it's like you're perpetually auditioning for a role you already landed years ago. 'If there were a gold medal for making everything about you, this feed would be the undisputed champion.' However, the AI bot was unable to say anything mean about NASA's Instagram profile. 'Ah, the NASA Instagram feedwhere the universe comes to flex its aesthetic,' it said. 'Your feed is like the ultimate space nerd's dream, where every swipe is another reminder that your vacation photos will never look this cool. 'It's a cosmic explosion of galaxies, nebulae, and planets that makes our everyday Earthly existence feel like a grain of sand in the vastness of space. Thankfully, by the looks of things on X (formerly Twitter), I'm not the only person who has been left burned by the AI bot One user joked: 'Have y'all seen that IG trend of asking ChatGPT to roast your feed? Well, RIP me bc this is the most savage takedown I've ever been the victim of' 'Still haven't recovered from asking ChatGPT to roast my instagram feed,' one user wrote, alongside a GIF of Regina George in Mean Girls 'And just when you thought it couldn't get more science-y, they throw in a token human to remind you that, yes, people still exist... barely. 'Honestly, it's like the cosmos is having a vanity parade and you're just here for the stellar light show.' Thankfully, by the looks of things on X (formerly Twitter), I'm not the only person who has been left burned by the AI bot. 'I asked chatgpt to roast my instagram feed and i just got dragged to hell,' one user wrote. Another added: 'Still haven't recovered from asking ChatGPT to roast my instagram feed.' And one joked: 'Have y'all seen that IG trend of asking ChatGPT to roast your feed? Well, RIP me bc this is the most savage takedown I've ever been the victim of.' So, are you brave enough to try it? Debris from an asteroid deflected by NASA could reach our planet within the next decade, a study says. The research team ran simulations that tracked 3 million debris particles from the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission, which collided a spacecraft with the asteroid Dimorphos in 2022. NASA launched the mission as a test for deflecting an Earth-destroying asteroid in the future. The DART mission was a success, but simulations showed that resulting debris could one day reach Mars and the Earth-moon system as meteors. The asteroid Dimorphos as seen by the DART spacecraft 11 seconds before impact. Scientists are now simulating what could become of the debris produced by the collision. If these meteors reach Earth, they will not pose any threat to our planet. Their small size and high speed will cause them to burn up in the atmosphere, creating 'a beautiful luminous streak in the sky,' according to Eloy Pena-Asensio, a research fellow at the Polytechnic Institute of Milan and the study's lead author. The study appeared online as a pre-print, meaning it hasn't been reviewed by other scientists, but has been accepted for publication by The Planetary Science Journal. DART was launched from California in November 2021 and finally completed its 10-month journey when it hit the asteroid Dimorphos in September 2022. Dimorphos, around 560 feet in diameter, orbits a larger asteroid called Didymos, both of which are around 6.8 million miles away from our planet. DART hit the space rock at more than 14,000 miles per hour and was destroyed upon impact, while Dimorphos received a 'small nudge' intended to alter its trajectory by a fraction. The mission demonstrated that the kinetic impactor technique - which involves deliberately ramming a spacecraft into an asteroid - is an effective way to alter an asteroid's trajectory. In the event that a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid (PHA) were headed towards Earth, NASA could one day use this technique to save our planet. But scientists are still studying DART's aftermath to ensure that NASA could do this safely. That's why an international team of researchers wanted to find out where the ejecta - the debris that was produced when DART collided with Dimorphos - could end up. The team relied on data collected by the Light Italian CubeSat for Imaging of Asteroids (LICIACube), a spacecraft equipped with cameras that accompanied and documented the kinetic impact test. The last complete image that DART took of the asteroid Dimorphos before crashing into it. Scientists say that debris from the impact could reach Earth in as little as seven years. Drawing on LICIACube's observations, the researchers used supercomputers at NASA's Navigation and Ancillary Information Facility (NAIF) to simulate what could become of the ejecta. The debris fragments that the team analyzed are small, ranging in size from 30 micrometers to 10 centimeters. The results showed that some of the debris could reach Earth within a decade, depending on how fast they were moving after impact. For example, debris traveling faster than 3,355 mph could reach Earth within roughly seven years. But it will likely be up to 30 years before any of this debris is observed on Earth, the simulations indicated. 'These faster particles are expected to be too small to produce visible meteors, based on early observations,' Pena-Asensio, told Universe Today. 'Nevertheless, ongoing meteor observation campaigns will be critical in determining whether DART has created a new (and human-created) meteor shower: the Dimorphids.' Scientists are calling for a new analysis of the Shroud of Turin amid a seemingly growing body of evidence that challenges the idea it's a fake. There are also claims that bad data was used in a landmark 1988 UK study which found the shroud was a Medieval forgery and not the cloth Jesus was buried in. A new review by researchers from France and Italy has revisited those 30-year-old findings and claims to have discovered discrepancies in the data which were not made public and raise doubts about the definitiveness of the results. Tristan Casabianca, a French independent researcher, who made the find, told DailyMail.com that his findings do not confirm the shroud is older or the burial cloth used to lay Jesus to rest. But Casabianca - who was an atheist until he began investigating the shroud 20 years ago - said those factors could not be ruled out 'without a re-analysis.' The research in question is a 1988 study that conducted radiocarbon dating on a piece of the shroud. Pictured are the sample containers that held strips of the cloth Graphic designer Otangelo Grasso created a progression of what Jesus may have looked like based on the shroud image The 1988 study used a technique known as carbon dating to determine the age of the controversial Shroud of Turin. The team determined with '95 percent confidence' the relic was manufactured sometime between 1260 and 1390 AD, long after the time of Christ's resurrection. The conclusion was reached after analyses performed on a corner of the ancient fabric by three different labs - at the universities of Arizona, Zurich and Oxford. But after obtaining the raw data, Casabianca found the results varied by decades. One of Zurich's estimates in the Nature study said the cloth was up to 733 years old, but 595 years in the raw data. Oxford's shroud sample was between 730 and 795 years old, but the raw data featured estimates that were off by up to 55 years. Arizona's linen was between 591 and 701 years old, with the raw data showing a difference of up to 59 years. Even though that would still places the cloth in the Middle Ages, hundreds of years after Jesus, Casabianca said it raises doubts. He continued to explained that 'the lack of precision seriously affects the reliability of the 95 percent,' suggesting it was no more than 41 percent. Anything lower than 60 percent suggests that there is a lot of disagreement or inconsistency among the results, according to the 2019 study published in Archaeometry. 'We can say with confidence that the 1988 radiocarbon dating process led to a failure,' said Casabianca, who is an independent researcher in France. 'It was supposed to close a book, and it has only opened a new chapter. This failure could have been avoided with a better protocol.' The raw data obtained by Casabianca showed it varied by decades than what was published in the Nature study. The red are changes made by the laboratories between their raw radiocarbon dates and the radiocarbon dates mentioned in the Nature article The Shroud of Turin is a 14-foot-long piece of linen featuring a faint image of the front and back of a man who Christians believe to be Jesus The 1988 research was conducted in three laboratories: The University of Arizona, Zurich in Switzerland and Oxford University in the UK. Each lab received a strip from the original piece cut, which were then reduced to smaller sizes for the research But Dr AJ Timothy Jull, who worked on the 1988 analysis, told DailyMail.com that even if the teams did re-run the analysis, 'The results would be the same, but the data would be less scattered.' Dr Jull was part of the team at the University of Arizona. 'Zurich was close to ours, but Oxford was a bit different,' Dr Jull said. 'But that does not change the results. Others use this argument to say there is something wrong with the measurements, Casabianca tries to do this.' The Shroud of Turin is a 14-foot-long piece of linen featuring a faint image of the front and back of a man who Christians believe to be Jesus. The cloth was first presented to the public in the 1350s when it was exhibited in the small collegiate church in Lirey, a village in northern France. Christians believe those wounds were miraculously imprinted on the burial shroud after Jesus was resurrected from the dead, scorched into the fibers by a burst of energy when he came back to life. Some believe it to be a Medieval fake, which Dr Jull and his team determined in the 1980s. The piece was cut from the bottom corner on the back of the shroud, which experts said was not mended in the Middle Ages However, a research involved with the 1988 study said that the radiocarbon dating of the shroud was done correctly The cloth was first presented to the public in the 1350s when it was exhibited in the small collegiate church in Lirey, a village in northern France The 1988 study saw scientists take a 10 mm by 70 mm piece of the shroud from the corner, which was cut into smaller pieces and distributed to the different labs. Co-author Emanuela Marinelli, an independent researcher in Italy, told DailyMail.com: 'The sample was not representative of the full cloth because it is different [from one corner from another]. 'The [1988] study found dating was more or less 150 years, so it is impossible to say the age of the entire 14-foot cloth. 'But for us, it was the statistical analysis that is the reason to reject to carbon dating.' This technique estimates the age of organic materials based on the amount of radioactive isotope of carbon in them. The results were collected and collated by London's British Museum, which held on to the raw data until Casabianca and his team issued a legal request under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain the raw information for the first time. 'I received a reply from the British Museum with more than 200 pages of documents,' Casabianca said. 'Our access to the documentation kept in the archives of the British Museum showed that the statistical analysis is supported by the documentation. 'In it, we find that the samples were contaminated (including cotton and rogue fibers). This suggests that the sampling was suboptimal, to say the least.' Dr Jull told DailyMail.com that he conducted another in 2010 to characterize the shroud samples, finding 'odd bits of cotton.' Contains affiliated content. Products featured in this article are selected by our writers. If you make a purchase using links on this page, Daily Mail Australia will earn an affiliate commission. Click here for more information. It's only been a few weeks since cult beauty brand Naked Sundays launched its newest product offering, but shoppers and celebrity makeup artists alike have wasted no time in offering up rave reviews for the innovative beauty buy. The Australian brand, which boasts Khloe Kardashian and Suki Waterhouse among its celebrity fans, recently launched the new BeautyScreen SPF50 Peptide Foundation Tint ($54.95) with one popular shade selling out in mere minutes. Celebrity makeup artist Max Made - who was tasked with glamming up Drew Barrymore during her recent tour Down Under - has given the new beauty buy his seal of approval. 'I'm calling it... foundation/tint of the year!' the celebrity makeup artist declared on Naked Sunday founder Samantha Brett's Instagram feed. Beauty fans also agree with early rave reviews with happy customers branding the product 'a masterpiece' and 'incredible'. Channel Seven news-reporter-turned-entrepreneur Brett recently dropped the range of tinted foundation, which the brand claims attracted a waitlist of more than 180,000 shoppers, and one of its popular shades sold out in just minutes of launching. The lightweight formula contains peptides, an anti-ageing ingredient that aims to stimulate collagen, boosts moisture and hydration, as well as niacinamide which helps even out skin tone and brightens the complexion. Fans are raving about Naked Sundays' new BeautyScreen SPF50 Peptide Foundation Tint The mineral SPF50 tinted foundation claims to provide broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection, that the Naked Sunday brand is most known for. The Aussie beauty brand has received a near-perfect average rating of 4.8 out of 5 for its latest product, which is designed for everyday wear. Fans of the tinted foundation say the formula 'blends so seamlessly' and 'melts' into their skin - leaving a 'flawless, radiant finish'. 'The BeautyScreen is a game-changer! I've been using this for a couple weeks now and it gives you that perfect, lightweight coverage. It blurs imperfections and leaves your skin hydrated and glowy... My new go-to for an everyday glow!' one wrote. 'I am obsessed with how my makeup looks when I use this! It's been the perfect base to start with, and it doesn't even feel like I'm wearing a foundation. This has been my new go-to for work and the beach when I'm looking for coverage but I still want a natural look. I'll for sure be restocking this in my makeup bag,' another said. 'I have been searching for this for so long! It's so easy apply as it is a silky consistency. The shade match is perfect too. It's the perfect everyday foundation,' one wrote. 'AMAZING. This product is now my absolute favourite foundation. It blends so well, super hydrating, evens out skin tone and gives your face a beautiful "I've just gotten eight hours of sleep glow",' another added. The tinted foundation has been so popular since its release in early August The formula comes in 13 shades and provides buildable coverage that evens out skin tone The tinted foundation has been so popular since its release in early August, the brand struggled to keep up with the overwhelming demand after one of its shades sold out in the first few minutes of the launch. The formula comes in 13 shades, giving beauty fans a light to medium coverage. Naked Sundays has been taking the beauty world by storm with its best-selling products - including its SPF50+ Hydrating Glow Mist ($38), SPF50+ Collagen Glow Mineral Sunscreen ($39.95) and SPF BFF Trio ($94.95). To shop the Naked Sundays BeautyScreen Foundation Tint, click here. Fans of Challengers director Luca Guadagnino are going wild over his latest project: a luxury hotel in Rome. The Italian movie mastermind - who is behind a number of top films including the Zendaya-led film, Call My By Your Name and I Am Love - spent two years working on the renovation of a 16th century college, which had fallen into a state of decay. Through his eponymous design studio, Luca helped transform various parts of Palazzo Talia, giving the spaces somewhat of a filmic quality with period features complimented by modern, elegant touches. Touching on his thinking behind the hotel's aesthetic, he told FT.com: 'If you come to Rome, a hotel like this, you want to diffuse yourself in beauty, comfort and softness. So, for me, everything [color, light, texture] needed to exude that pleasure. 'The aesthetic is maximalist but with the rigor, let's say, of minimalism. Because if you apply minimalism per se, you lose the thread of the pleasure.' Fans of Challengers director Luca Guadagnino are going wild over his latest project: a luxury hotel in Rome The Italian movie mastermind - who is behind a number of films including Challengers - spent two years working on a project to renovate a former college which fell into a state of decay Rates at the boutique hotel start from more than $670 a night for a superior room, while the top tier two-bedroom Talia Suite starts from more than $18,000. There are just 26 rooms at the property set over two floors, and Luca said he wanted the place to exude an 'intimate' and welcoming feel rather than to make it 'exclusive.' His design studio was behind all of the hotel's common areas, which include the grand lobby area and the sumptuous Il Bar della Musa, which features frescoed ceilings and glimmering metallic wall tiles. Since opening, fans of Luca and his films have given Palazzo Talia thumbs up and applauded his foray into the hospitality sector. One X user wrote: 'If I die, I'll be buried in the Italian palace hotel in Rome that Luca Guadagnino built.' Another mused: 'I want to go and see each of the rooms, they all look so pretty.' On TikTok, travel experts have also deemed the palatial property 'literally magic' and 'perfect.' Travel writer Marissa Klurstein got to stay at the spot during its soft launch and she deemed it the 'best hotel in Rome,' and the first 10 out 10 hotel she has ever stayed in. Since opening, fans of Luca and his films have given Palazzo Talia thumbs up and applauded his foray into the hospitality sector Travel writer Marissa Klurstein got to stay at the spot during its soft launch and she deemed it the 'best hotel in Rome' In a TikTok detailing her stay, she said: 'I can't even describe the feeling of turning the corner and seeing this. 'The interiors really feel like you're living on a Luca Guadagnino movie set, so many hotels in Rome are luxury hotels but they lack a sense of personality and soul. 'Not here, personality is welcome, you feel very at home at the bar. 'I think its the most epic hotel bars I've ever been to. It is a masterpiece. 'Also, fantastic cocktails, great soundtrack... it really feels like you're in a jewel box, suspended somewhere between the 1600s and today.' Continuing her review, which she highlights she wasn't paid to do, Marissa says: 'The craftsmanship is impeccable, the mixture of textures and colors.' During her stay, the content creator also checked out the hotel's Tramae Restaurant, where she said she had the best spaghetti carbonara she had tried in Rome. When it came to the hotel's bedrooms, the interiors were overseen by Mia Home Design Gallery and Laura Feroldi Studio Like Luca's design firm, the designers responsible for the rooms went for a stylish blend of old and new The hotel - which stopped operating as a college in 1999 - is now owned by the Federici family The breakfast also got a top rating, with Marissa commending the 'soft scrambled egg with chives' and 'perfectly crispy bacon.' Hotel aside, Marissa went on to commend the staff, which she said have been hired 'for personality [and] they're encouraged to be themselves.' Because of this, she says 'the service is fantastic, truly the best that I think really could ever exist, so intuitive, so human and with personality.' When it came to the hotel's bedrooms, the interiors were overseen by Mia Home Design Gallery and Laura Feroldi Studio. Like Luca's design firm, the duo went for a stylish blend of old and new. Marissa says the rooms deliver in every way, from 'two sizes of very plush slippers,' to two types of pillow to choose from; down and a down alternative. Along with a bar and restaurant, there is a subterranean spa and leafy courtyard on the premises. The hotel - which stopped operating as a college in 1999 - is now owned by the Federici family, and Elia Federici told FT.com that he was introduced to Luca Guadagnino by a mutual friend. 'I thought he could give an unconventional design to a place full of history and art,' he said of his decision to pick the filmmaker as a designer. Luca set up his design studio in 2017, and it has since been responsible for three of his own properties, as well as several private and high end commercial commissions. Advertisement When dining on pizza in New York City you should never use a knife and fork, while in Italy milky coffees like lattes and cappuccinos are only acceptable in the morning - and in Spain, don't drink water with soup. These are some of the drinking and dining do's and don'ts revealed in a fascinating new map. The insights were collected through Google search data of etiquette rules from over 180 countries around the world, as well as research on hundreds of cultural guides and local tips. In Europe, it's not just coffee etiquette travellers need to drink in. In France, it's a misstep to cut up salad with a knife, while in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, it's illegal to be drunk in a pub, according to section 12 of the Licensing Act 1872. Though Remitly, which commissioned the study, points out that 'this law is so outdated that it is rarely enforced'. Drinking and dining do's and don'ts have been revealed in a fascinating new map The insights were collected through Google search data of etiquette rules from over 180 countries around the world, as well as research on hundreds of cultural guides and local tips In Italy, milky coffees like lattes and cappuccinos are only acceptable in the morning and in Spain, don't drink water with soup In Scotland, you can be fined two beers if you wear underwear beneath your kilt and in Germany, one should wait for the host to say 'guten appetit' before tucking in, according to the research. Across the pond, meanwhile, visitors will also need to brush up on toasting etiquette - in Canada you should hold your glass at arm's length when toasting, the map shows. It also points out that Mexicans frown upon eating watermelon at night and in South America, Venezuelans will expect you to eat fruit with a knife and fork. In Colombia, it's a faux pas to eat with your hands, while in Bolivia married women should only ever have one glass of wine at a bar. Moving back across the Atlantic, the map reveals several intriguing etiquette rules in Africa. When dining on pizza in New York City you should never use a knife and fork The map reveals several intriguing etiquette rules in Africa. In Angola, for instance, you must dress for dinner in office attire In Malawi, it's socially unacceptable for women to drink alcohol and in South Africa one should avoid pointing one's feet towards food or fellow diners. In Angola, it's expected that you dress up for dinner in office attire, while in Kenya, visitors should expect to drink warm beer. Journey south-west to Namibia and travellers can dine on cow stomach it's a delicacy there. In the DRC, it's snake that's considered a mealtime treat. Middle Eastern etiquette rules unveiled by the study include liquor licences being needed in the UAE to consume alcohol at home and, in Saudi Arabia, diners not being able to start a meal until the oldest male has been served. The study also reveals a variety of etiquette rules to observe in Asia. In Uzbekistan, the dessert is served before the meal, it's considered perfectly polite to burp at the table in China and in Singapore, chewing gum is banned unless one has a doctor's note. In Fiji, you should ask for your drink to be made 'low tide' if you don't want it full to the brim, says the map It's considered perfectly polite to burp at the table in China and in Japan, never mix wasabi with soy sauce Down in Australia, you can 'eat the coat of arms' at certain pubs - the Aussie Commonwealth sigil shows both an emu and a kangaroo and some restaurants serve them on the same plate in a quirky nod to the country's emblem. Over in Fiji, you should ask for your drink to be made 'low tide' if you don't want it full to the brim while New Zealanders consider it perfectly acceptable to throw a barbecue without providing all the food and drinks. Remitly, a financial services provider for immigrants, said it conducted the global study to help those moving or travelling to an unfamiliar country embrace new cultures and traditions. Ryan Riley, VP of Marketing of EMEA APAC at Remitly, commented: 'Visiting or moving to a new country means embracing new cultures and traditions, and it's been great to dive deep into the research to find some of the world's quirkier food and drink etiquette rules. 'While some of these rules may not be strictly enforced, it's still good to be mindful of the different expectations you may encounter on your travels.' Shifters (Duke of York's Theatre, London) Verdict: Love's labour won Rating: There's a joke at the end of Woody Allen's film Annie Hall about a guy telling his psychiatrist he's worried about his brother, who thinks he's a chicken. The psychiatrist urges his patient to bring the brother in. But the patient isn't sure 'I would, but I need the eggs.' The point is that no matter how crazy or frustrating our romantic attachments seem, we go back to them because we need the eggs. That same compulsion underpins Shifters, the bittersweet romcom by female playwright Benedict Lombe first seen at the powerhouse Bush Theatre in West London, which has now transferred to the West End. It's the story of Dre and Des, a pair of thirtysomething on-off lovers who first met at school 'two little black kids, destined to oppose each other'. The show's best feature is the two heartfelt performances from Tosin Cole and Heather Agyepong as Dre and Des He's cheeky and playful but guarded. She's smart and direct, yet oddly elusive Their paths cross again after the funeral of Dre's grandmother, eight years on from their split. She is now a successful artist in New York. He has a restaurant in London. An elegy for a relationship that never was, Shifters feels real, complicated and soulful. The show's best feature is the two heartfelt performances from Tosin Cole and Heather Agyepong as Dre and Des. He's cheeky and playful but guarded. She's smart and direct, yet oddly elusive. Both turn out to be secretive, reluctant to reveal childhood scars. And yet their fizzy chemistry is to die for. My only real complaint here is that Lombe's play doesn't demand that they risk more for each other. There's lots of clever, charming banter which wins gales of laughter. But the play can also feel like a loved-up Waiting For Godot, as the couple make excuses, reminisce and beat about the bush. Even so, Lynette Linton's simple and warm-hearted production, under a neon shower of shooting stars, casts a lovely, dreamy 100-minute spell. Go to the Charing Cross Theatre site HERE and the Duke of York Theatre HERE. The Fabulist (Charing Cross Theatre, London) Verdict: Love's labour sings Rating: The Fabulist is a Gilbert and Sullivan-ish comedy caper, based on Giovanni Paisiello's 18th-century opera The Imaginary Astrologer, by U.S. cyber war expert James P. Farwell. Re-cast on a film set in Tuscany in 1929, it concerns a female film director, her sister, and their astronomer-scientist dad, who's trying to hide a magician (the Fabulist of the title) with designs on his younger daughter from a witch-hunting Cardinal. The Gordian knot of a plot is not worth trying to unpick. And while Farwell has supplied amusing lyrics for Paisiello's wonderful score, he has also linked them with painful set pieces including one where the fugitive fabulist speaks proverbs in bird squawks. For these moments, life is too short. James Paterson (Count Petronius) and Stuart Pendred (Cardinal Bandini) in The Fabulist The Fabulist is a Gilbert and Sullivan-ish comedy caper, based on Giovanni Paisiello's 18th-century opera The Imaginary Astrologer Paisiello's music is another matter. A five-piece chamber orchestra performs with spirit. The soprano sisters (Lily De La Haye and Reka Jonas) are a joy. Stuart Pendred is a hoot as Cardinal Bandini, who has launched a one-man inquisition against sorcery. John Walton's production is pleasingly creaky, with mini columns, cut-out trees and cotton wool clouds. And there are top-of-the-range magic tricks, too. Shifters runs until October 12. Antony & Cleopatra (Shakespeare's Globe, London) Verdict: Love's labour dims Rating: We can all salute the noble decision by Shakespeare's Globe to integrate British Sign Language (BSL) into their new production of Antony & Cleopatra. But that doesn't mean we'll also enjoy this new version of a play that was very much written to be heard. The language is horny, lubricious and hot. Here, though, with Nadia Nadarajah's part of Cleopatra rendered as BSL, some of the Bard's finest poetry is translated into mime. And although screens supply the text, unless you're fluent in signing, it means you'll see only 50 per cent of Nadarajah's performance because you're busy reading her lines. Lamentable slapstick when Nadeem Islam bears bad news from Rome might not even have made the cut for Carry On Cleo Alongside her, John Hollingworth's Mark Antony Roman legend of the bed and battlefield is a solid, middle ranking officer. But I got little sense of the headlong, death-bound passion that can drive this great erotic drama, in Blanche McIntyre's listless production draped in denim-coloured fabrics. Lamentable slapstick when Nadeem Islam bears bad news from Rome might not even have made the cut for Carry On Cleo. But thankfully Daniel Millar, as Antony's friend Enobarbus, allows some of the play's verse to sparkle. My hunch is that this would work much better in a smaller venue. Tender yet powerful portrayal of life as a British Muslim Peanut Butter & Blueberries (Kiln Theatre, London) Verdict: Love at first bite Rating: Bilal clocked her kingfisher-blue hijab and vintage Raleigh bike; Hafsah was put off by him being 'one of those Bilals that lets white people call him Billy', yet was still (despite herself) impressed by his presentation based on a year spent in Kashmir. Both working-class students at SOAS him from Birmingham, her from Bradford they are the only two who need subtitles to understand an old Bollywood movie. Bookish Hafsah isn't looking for romance. Nor is Bilal, who is more concerned about his mum, who can't pay her mortgage. There is a real sweetness and lightness as well as a keen intelligence at play in Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan's funny, touching debut drama about the Muslim experience of living in Britain today Director Sameena Hussain draws winning performances from the pair, who have a lovely chemistry But knowing where the other is coming from a shared Muslim faith, a shared sense of humour and a shared peanut butter and blueberry sandwich creates a powerful connection between them. Unspoken religious boundaries mean that there is always daylight between them as they walk side by side, or sit on a bench. But when Bilal takes Haf's specs and tenderly dries the raindrops on his shirt, the charge is electric. They never, ever touch. There is a real sweetness and lightness as well as a keen intelligence at play in Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan's funny, touching debut drama about the Muslim experience of living in Britain today. Humera Syed gives Hafsah a calm assurance, which seems to stem from her faith and feminism as well as her sharp intellect. By sharp contrast, Usaamah Ibraheem Hussain's quick-tempered, explosive Bilal is always on the defensive. When a white guy tells him to shut up in the library, he cries Islamophobia. On the train, he leaves his stuff unattended and finds himself at the centre of a 'See it, say it, sorted' drama. Director Sameena Hussain draws winning performances from the pair, who have a lovely chemistry. But for some crude movement sequences when the couple swerve towards one another only to shy away, the tension vibrates until the final moment. Show until August 31. Go to the Kiln Theatre site HERE. What is on at Edinburgh Fringe? Tommy Cooper, Bob Monkhouse and Eric Morecambe walk into a dressing room No, it's not the set-up to a joke, but the premise of Paul Hendy's warm play The Last Laugh (Assembly, George Square, ), which imagines an encounter between three great names of 20th-century comedy. The funnymen reminisce about other greats, and a comic's worst nightmare: dying on stage when a gag fails. But we know Cooper (Damian Williams) actually died on stage, while Morecambe (Bob Golding) collapsed backstage and later expired. The banter is affectionate but the comics, being comics, are constantly trying to outdo each other. Though the reflective Monkhouse (Simon Cartwright) is keen to credit the writers behind the jokes. An affectionate study of the nature of comedy and the perils of fame. You may know Ivo Graham from his stand-up comedy, but Carousel (Assembly, George Square, ) is in the theatre section of the Fringe brochure. Maybe he thought reflections on death, regret and bad choices might be light on laughs, but this a beautifully crafted hour in which he describes growing into his own skin. Former Taskmaster contestant Graham presents items he holds precious a tiger-print onesie, a drawing by his young daughter as he ruminates on the people in his life. He's hard on himself ('the most highly evolved narcissist in the whole of the Edinburgh Fringe' a very competitive category) as he talks about becoming a father, the messy break-up with his partner, the deaths of his grandmother and a friend. Carousel is sad and moving; and yet still produces some big laughs. It deserves a life beyond the Fringe. VERONICA LEE Sidi is whip smart with audience banter and surreal Looking and sounding absolutely nothing like Gray, Sidi turns the political advisor into a gloriously thick Essex girl. (Emma Sidi is Sue Gray) Emma Sidi Is Sue Gray (Pleasance Courtyard, ) is a brilliantly gratuitous send-up of Keir Starmer's Chief of Staff and author of the Partygate report. Looking and sounding absolutely nothing like Gray, Sidi turns the political advisor into a gloriously thick Essex girl. Cabinet Secretary Simon Case is an 'absolute legend', Philip Hammond is 'gorgeous' and Starmer is 'dripping in rizz'. Sidi is whip smart with audience banter and surreal, too. PATRICK MARMION All three shows end on Sunday. Wheel of Fortune accidentally leaked their new puzzle board while unveiling a first look of Ryan Seacrest as host following Pat Sajak's retirement. In a first glimpse of the media mogul, 49, alongside Vanna White, ahead of season 42, which airs next month, eagle-eyed social media users noticed the set got a bit of a makeover. The puzzle board, which displays the answers to contestants during the CBS game show, looked bigger and had a new, gold tiled border. Previously, the board had a teal blue screen. At this time, it is unknown if the changes are just aesthetic or if they serve any additional purposes. Viewers were torn over the new puzzle board, with one X user calling the adjustments 'interesting to say the least.' Wheel of Fortune accidentally leaked their new new puzzle board while unveiling a first look of Ryan Seacrest as host following Pat Sajak's retirement 'I miss the old one with Pat nothing to me will replace the original host,' another declared. A third wrote: 'I love it!' Others said the new board looked like 'a mashup between the 70s and 80s ones' and 'so retro!!!' The latest change comes amid reports that Sajak, who retired from hosting Wheel of Fortune after four decades last month, is allegedly giving his replacement 'the cold shoulder.' Although it initially seemed he was happy to hand over the reins to Seacrest, sources have claimed that the Chicago native, 77, was actually pushed out by the network. Following his 'forced' departure, the television personality is said to be 'resentful of the way he was treated and then kicked off the show' and has no interest in giving Seacrest, 49, any advice or guidance. 'Ryan can reach out to Pat if he wants but asking isn't getting. Pat's always going to be busy, or he'll brush Ryan off with a neutral, "You got this." When Ryan takes over, Pat's going to be watching and enjoying seeing how he fares in the hot seat which is full of challenges and not nearly as easy as he might think,' an insider recently told The Mirror. Seacrest, whose first episode of Wheel of Fortune will air in September 2024, reportedly 'knows he's got huge shoes to fill being a worthy replacement for Pat.' In the first look of the media mogul, 49, alongside Vanna White, ahead of season 42, which airs next month, eagle-eyed social media users noticed the set got a drastic makeover The puzzle board, which displays the answers to contestants during the CBS game show, looked bigger and had a new, gold tiled border To smoothen the transition, the source said Seacrest has been in 'full Mr. Nice Guy mode, putting on the charm, lavishing Vanna [White] and everyone else on the show with his homemade cooking, bringing treats.' The publication also claimed that the media mogul has been 'making a huge effort with Vanna and trying to win favor by taking her out to dinner and trying to get through any lingering tensions they've got.' Despite his efforts, he has reportedly been struggling to 'build a connection' with White, who worked with Sajak on Wheel of Fortune for more than 40 years. The longtime television presenter first began hosting the the iconic game show in 1981, taking over from outgoing compere Chuck Woolery. The latest change comes amid reports that Sajak, who retired from hosting Wheel of Fortune after four decades last month, is allegedly giving his replacement 'the cold shoulder' Between 1981 to 2024, Sajak hosted more than 8000 episodes over 41 seasons. Last month, White broke her silence over the rumors that she 'doesn't jibe' with Seacrest as she posted a photo of them dining together. 'Friends on and off camera. Enjoying one of our favorites, Chicken and Dumplings!' she captioned the snap. Her post came weeks after a source told DailyMail.com that Vanna was mulling the prospect of leaving the show before her two-year contract expires. 'Vanna is retiring from the show when her contract ends, but there is a part of her that wants to walk away sooner,' a show insider said. 'It is just so difficult to do this without Pat. She just doesn't jibe with Ryan like she did with Pat, and no one really ever expected her to. There is just no way that she possibly could,' the source explained. Although it initially seemed he was happy to hand over the reins to Ryan Seacrest, sources are now claiming that the Chicago native, 77, was actually pushed out by the network (seen in 2020) 'Vanna feels that she has put her time in. She devoted her entire life to this show and she had an incredible run while making a fortune,' the insider added. 'She knows that the show needs to go in a different direction and appeal to a younger demographic. She wants the show to continue. This will require a younger female host, someone who can be to Ryan what she was to Pat.' In an emotional video released the night before Pat's final episode aired, Vanna tearfully remarked: 'I can't believe that tomorrow is our last show together.' The South Carolina native went on: 'I don't know how to put into words what these past 41 years have meant to me, but I'm going to try.' She fondly recalled: 'As the years have gone by, we've grown up on television, but we've also shared so much more behind the scenes.' Vanna noted that 'as much fun as we had on camera, those memories, milestones and life events we shared with our families outside the studio are my favorite.' Following his 'forced' departure, the television personality is said to be 'resentful of the way he was treated and then kicked off the show' and has no interest in giving Seacrest, 49, any advice or guidance When Pat's last episode aired in early June, he responded with a heartwarming tribute to Vanna and their decades of work together. 'Finally, to my professional other half, dear Vanna. Like me, she takes the show very seriously but not herself. I shudder to think what these 40-plus years might have been like had they brought someone in all full of themselves, playing the prima donna role. Vanna is as sweet and unassuming as she seems,' said Pat. 'We've seen a lot of changes in each other's lives over the years, but we've always been there for each other. I want to thank her for her lovely goodbye on yesterday's show, and while I'll very much miss working with her, I take solace in the fact that we live about five miles apart, so we'll see plenty of each other.' He confessed however that he would 'miss our nightly closes and her laughter and her good nature. She's a very special woman. And I know you're all pleased to know that she'll be back next season.' At the end of the episode, Vanna crossed the stage to Pat and wrapped him in an embrace, sharing a private chat with him that was drowned out by the exit music. Pat announced in June 2023 that his 'wonderful ride' on Wheel Of Fortune would be coming to an end this year after his 41st season. 'Id rather leave a couple of years too early than a couple of years too late,' he later told his daughter Maggie on Good Morning America. Last month, White broke her silence over the rumors that she 'doesn't jibe' with Seacrest as she posted a photo of them dining together Following his departure, Pat will remain involved with the show for another three years as a consultant, according to Sony Pictures Television's executive vice president of game shows Suzanne Prete. Additionally, he's returning to host another season of Celerity Wheel Of Fortune. Nara Smith is opening up about the pushback she's received to her promotion of the 'tradwife' way of life. The 'tradwife' lifestyle, which has been a growing trend on social media, showcases women who don clothes in the 1950s style while embracing traditional gender roles and preparing homemade meals. The fashion model and influencer, 22, told the outlet that she's had 'a really hard time' digesting the concept of the 'the trad wife, whatever it is,' according to a profile of Smith published in Harper's Bazaar Thursday. The Bloemfontein, South Africa-born beauty, who was raised in Germany, said that she's 'a working mom' and that the posts she put up on social media are 'really not that deep,' regardless of the controversies over it. Smith has been wed to fellow model Lucky Blue Smith, 26, since February of 2020, and the couple are parents to three children: daughter Rumble Honey, three, son Slim Easy, two, and daughter Whimsy Lou Smith, four months. Nara Smith, 22, is opening up about the pushback she's received to her promotion of the 'tradwife' way of life. The breakout social media star pictured in November 2022 in London Smith is also stepmother to her husband's daughter Gravity, seven, from his previous relationship to model Stormi Bree. The IMG Models-signed beauty told the outlet that she's still learning about herself and can't put a label on what it is she does and the values she's seeking to put on display. 'I never know what to say when people ask me [what I do], because technically, yes, I create content,' said Smith, who has 9.3 million TikTok followers and 4 million Instagram followers. 'But then I'm just living my life and sharing that with people, which a lot of people do.' Smith's rapid rise to fame - which has fans asking her to take to a reality TV platform - has been buoyed by her clips in which she makes things from scratch, with ASMR qualities for Internet users. The clips have garnered a measure of controversy at times, according to the profile. Some commenters are critical of her embracing the cliche of a traditional housewife and nostalgia toward a timeframe when women's rights had not evolved to the point where they are now. Smith said of her critics, 'For the sake of my mental health, I cant indulge in that. I cant keep correcting people or read things and get frustrated.' Her spouse Lucky defended her in the publication, saying that her online haters are coming from a place of envy. The 'tradwife' lifestyle, which has been a growing trend on social media , showcases women who don clothes in the 1950s style while embracing traditional gender roles and preparing homemade meals Smith has been wed to fellow model Lucky Blue Smith, 26, since February of 2020, and the couple are parents to three children. Pictured in London in 2022 Smith said in the piece that she is expressing the essence of her individuality and hopes that viewers find value in it The Bloemfontein, South Africa-born beauty, who was raised in Germany, integrates elements of ASMR into her social media posts 'People are seeing her gaining some success from everything shes doing,' Lucky said. 'If you have someone who doesnt know you at all and theyre making a video about you online with things that are not true, you can just tell its coming from a place of jealousy. Lets call it what it is.' Smith said in the piece that she is expressing the essence of her individuality and hopes that viewers find value in it. 'To me, it's all about just putting what I love out there, and whoever can resonate with that and take something away from it - that's what I want to do,' Smith said. 'Sometimes my outfits aren't the most practical, but then again fashion isn't always practical. 'That's what I do. I post videos of me cooking for my kids and my husband. It's really not that deep.' In the piece, Smith described herself as 'a girly girl' and a 'working mom who gets to go about her day in a very different way than' a person with 'a normal nine-to-five job' would. She added, 'You don't see me getting on a plane, hopping to New York, modeling, coming back all while I have a newborn - paying bills, filming content, getting my kids dressed. 'Being put into a certain box, just because people think that I'm slaving away, is so weird to me.' Teresa Giudice's daughter Milania Giudice is emotional as she kicks off her college journey. This week the 52-year-old Real Housewives of New Jersey star's firstborn daughter Gia, 23, took to TikTok to document her 18-year-old sister's preparations before beginning her first semester at the University of Tampa. In the four-minute clip, she showed the new college student's five large suitcases as they prepped for her flight to Florida. Gia wrote in the caption, 'and she's off. I love you so much Milania! I can't wait to watch you do amazing things and thrive at the University of Tampa!! See you soon.' In the comments section of the post, Milania wrote that she was 'sobbing in the airport.' Teresa Giudice's firstborn daughter Gia, 23, took to TikTok to document her 18-year-old sister's preparations before beginning her first semester at the University of Tampa Gia wrote in the caption, 'and she's off. I love you so much Milania! I can't wait to watch you do amazing things and thrive at the University of Tampa!! See you soon' 'Im a little bit sad right now, leaving,' Milania admitted in the clip, adding, 'But its okay.' Teresa recorded her daughters tearfully hugging each other goodbye at the airport before joining Milania ahead of their flight. Earlier this year, the then-high school senior announced her plans to study at the university in the fall. Her famous mother decorated their home in red, white, black, and gray her new school's colors. 'Congratulations on the University of Tampa! I love you so much and I am so proud of you! I cant wait to see what you accomplish within your four years, make mommy proud,' Teresa wrote in an Instagram post at the time. She shared images of her and her daughter sitting side-by-side on Milania's bed, which was covered with merchandise from UT. Weeks later, the young adult attended her senior prom and then her graduation. Teresa shares Milania and Gia, as well as Gabriella, 19, and Audriana, 15 in September, with ex-husband Joe Giudice, 52. In the comments section of the post, Milania wrote that she was 'sobbing in the airport' Teresa and her four daughters pictured at Milania's high school graduation Earlier this year the 18-year-old TV personality announced her plans to attend the University of Tampa in the fall The Giudice family had a reunion last December when Teresa and her new husband Luis 'Louie' Ruelas traveled with her daughters to the Bahamas, where they visited Joe. Joe and Teresa both served prison time on federal fraud charges. Following more than three years behind bars, the patriarch was deported to his native Italy, despite living nearly his entire life in the United States. The former couple divorced in 2020 and Joe later moved to the Bahamas, where his daughters now take turns visiting him. Joe Garofoli, Chronicle senior political writer, spent the week at the DNC in Chicago. He recounts three main takeaways from the convention. San Francisco Chronicle CHICAGO From her earliest days in California politics, Kamala Harris has frequently shared her mothers admonition with audiences: You may be the first to do many things, but make sure you are not the last. Harris shared more of Shyamala Gopalan Harris wisdom with the rest of America on Thursday as she became the first Black woman and first southeast Asian American to accept the Democratic Partys nomination for president. It was another in a long line of firsts for the former San Francisco district attorney, California attorney general and senator. My entire career, Ive only had one client: the people, Vice President Kamala Harris said as she accepted the Democratic presidential nomination at the DNC. San Francisco Chronicle But Harris knows that the potential of being a first isnt enough to make her a first. Just ask Hillary Clinton. So she didnt mention it. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Nor will she be able to win solely by running against Donald Trump. Just ask Joe Biden, who abandoned his reelection bid. Instead, Harris tried to shoehorn three things into her speech: introducing herself to the rest of America, contrasting herself with Trump and explaining the new way forward she would chart if elected. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on Thursday. Gabrielle Lurie/The Chronicle Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris emphasized her role as a uniter in her nomination speech. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle Delegates and supporters attend the DNC in Chicago on Thursday. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, wave to the crowd after Harris accepted the Democratic Partys presidential nomination at the United Center in Chicago on Thursday. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle It was a tall order, and her speech highlighted the challenges Harris faces in accomplishing all three tasks in the 75-day sprint to Election Day, even with a full sail of Democratic enthusiasm propelling her into a virtual tie with Trump across battleground states where Biden had been trailing for months. The Oakland-born and Berkeley-raised 59-year-old Harris focused Thursday on shepherding listeners on her unlikely journey that is similar to those of many other children of immigrants who rise from modest beginnings. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Before an American flag-waving, USA, USA!-chanting and suffragette white-suit-wearing audience, Harris introduced herself to swaths of America who either dont know her or who knew only the conservative media caricature of her as a San Francisco radical. Harris heeded the advice of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who urged her earlier in the week to govern from the center, and embraced the description of her Thursday by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: Tough. Tested. And a total badass. She gets us. She sees us. She is us, Whitmer said. Harris promised to be a uniter who leads and listens. Who is realistic. Practical. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Thursday marked another milestone on a meteoric two-decade rise from San Francisco to the doorstep of the Oval Office. The most unlikely leg of that journey began with Bidens faltering June debate performance and ended with him abandoning his campaign and endorsing Harris. The path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected, said Harris, who spoke in a direct, even tone for much of her speech. But Im no stranger to unlikely journeys. Harris rooted her journey in the Bay Area as the child of a Jamaican father and an Indian mother who met at a civil rights demonstration in Berkeley. (Harris never actually said she was born in Oakland or raised in Berkeley, a likely nod to concerns that it would give voice to Trumps ongoing attempt to tag her as a radical, communist and socialist.) Instead, she noted that her family rented a small apartment in the East Bay. In the Bay, you either live in the hills or the flatlands. Some of the stops of the journey that Harris described were familiar to California voters. Especially the story of her mother, who was 19 when she crossed the world alone, traveling from India to California with an unshakeable dream to be the scientist who would cure breast cancer. I miss her every day, especially now. And I know shes looking down tonight, and smiling, Harris said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad She said her mother taught her to never complain about injustice. But do something about it. She also taught us: Never do anything half-assed. And thats a direct quote. For longtime Harris-watchers who have long struggled to characterize her as either a progressive or a cop, there was no doubt where shes moored now, if only because she is squaring off against a convicted felon in Trump. She has fully embraced prosecutor mode, a role where she has always been most comfortable during her political career. She explained that she wanted to become a prosecutor after her high school friend Wanda confided in her that she was being sexually abused by her stepfather that is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor. To protect people like Wanda. Because I believe everyone has a right: To safety. To dignity. And to justice. My entire career, I have only had one client: the people. Advertisement Article continues below this ad She drew a sharp contrast between her background, career and values and those of Trump. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails, she said. How he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States. Not to improve your life. Not to strengthen our national security. But to serve the only client he has ever had: Himself. She started to sketch out what shed do if elected. Key word: sketch. There werent a lot of details. She promised that building that middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency. She pledged to create an opportunity economy where everyone has a chance to compete and a chance to succeed and pass a middle-class tax cut that will benefit more than 100 million Americans. One of the loudest ovations she received came when she said she and Biden are working to end the war in the Middle East so that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity. Security. Freedom. And self-determination. Ultimately, it was a speech that did not lean on voters embracing her because of all the historic firsts she would represent. It didnt work in 2016, thats what we know, Inland Empire Rep. Pete Aguilar, who is the highest-ranking Latino ever in the House and No. 3 overall, told me Thursday shortly before Harris spoke. You look up on that stage, you will know that she is the first. Theres some things you dont need to say. I mean, it should be acknowledged, but shes not the one that needs to say it. The Rev. Al Sharpton was one of the people who took on that role. Sharpton noted that Shirley Chisholm, who in 1972 was the first Black woman to seek the Democratic nomination, is watching us tonight as a Black woman stands up to accept the nomination for president of the United States. Tonight, Sharpton said, we are going to realize Shirley Chisholms dream. Reservoir Dogs star Michael Madsen has broken his silence on his recent domestic violence arrest. He was taken into custody on Sunday after police responded to a 'family disturbance' involving his estranged wife DeAnna Madsen, 64, at his Malibu, California home. Michael, 66, had allegedly 'shoved' DeAnna before locking her out of the house. The actor was arrested on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge but released on $20,000 bond. In a statement to THR on Thursday, Madsen's lawyer Perry Wander insisted that his client was 'not guilty of domestic violence.' Reservoir Dogs star Michael Madsen has broken his silence on his recent domestic violence arrest; seen in 2019 He also accused DeAnna of 'breaking into' Madsen's home on Sunday, when the alleged incident occurred. 'He confronted her and asked her to leave,' Wander said. He also claimed that this 'has been an ongoing problem.' 'Michael has shown immense compassion and restraint during this period towards his estranged wife. He's definitely not guilty of domestic violence,' Wander concluded. In response, DeAnna issued her own statement, alleging that her estranged spouse is 'struggling with personal issues.' 'Myself and our children have been supporting him to the best of our ability. We would request privacy at this time,' she said. As of Thursday, Malibu PD told THR that the investigation into the couple's 'disagreement' is 'ongoing and will be forwarded to the Van Nuys Superior Court House for filing.' TMZ revealed the news of Madsen's shock arrest on Monday. At the time, the outlet reported that Madsen was taken into custody shortly after midnight on Saturday on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. The scene appeared to be chaotic as police were called to the house, but by the time they had arrived, his wife was 'safe with a security team.' But police still wanted the actor arrested after they spoke with him and his wife. Madsen posted a $20,000 bond and was released from custody. A representative for the star confirmed the incident to the outlet - saying: 'It was a disagreement between Michael and his wife, which we hope resolves positively for them both.' Michael wed DeAnna in 1996. Together they have three children - Hudson, Luke and Calvin. Sadly, son Hudson died by gunshot wound in 2022. The couple separated soon after Hudson's tragic death. This recent arrest wasnt Madsens first brush with the law. He was taken into custody on Sunday after police responded to a 'family disturbance' involving his estranged wife DeAnna Madsen, 64, at his Malibu, California home. Michael, 66, had allegedly 'shoved' DeAnna before locking her out of the house; the couple seen in 2012 In a statement to THR on Thursday, Madsen's lawyer Perry Wander insisted that his client was 'not guilty of domestic violence'; seen in 2023 In 2022 the Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood actor was arrested for trespassing at a luxury house from which he was evicted, DailyMail.com reported. It was a $5.3 million Malibu mansion just across the Pacific Coast Highway from La Costa Beach. A source exclusively told DailyMail.com at the time: 'Michael had been living at the house since last year, but the lease was in another persons name. The house was leased out by another person and several thousand dollars were owed in back rent, DailyMail.com has learned. The owner had tried for the past two years to get the tenants evicted, but because of the moratorium on evictions on account of Covid, it took several months to go through the legal process. The person who leased the house was taken to court and all the parties were evicted including Madsen on February 17, added the source. At about 8:30PM the owner received a call phone from his rental houses security company saying that someone was trying to break into the house. The owner who lives a few miles away from the house drove over and found Madsen out on the front porch. The owner quickly called 911 and a Los Angeles County Sheriff Deputy came out and arrested disheveled looking Madsen for trespassing. He also accused DeAnna of 'breaking into' Madsen's home on Sunday, when the alleged altercation occurred. 'He confronted her and asked her to leave,' Wander said; the couple seen in 2011 A frequent collaborator of Quentin Tarantino, Madsen has starred in films including 1993's Reservoir Dogs (left) and 2003's Kill Bill (right) Wearing baggy jeans, a denim jacket and a partially unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt, the Kill Bill star was first taken to the West Hills hospital then the police station. According to booking documents he was given a $500 citation for a misdemeanor and released shortly before 7am on Thursday. Since his arrest three-times-married Madsen and the owner of the property have reached an agreement which will allow him to retrieve his belongings. Madsen had a terrible start to 2022. His arrest came just a month after his son, US Army Sgt. Hudson Madsen shot himself dead on the Hawaiian island of Oahu, where he was stationed with the 25th Infantry Division. Hudson was an Afghan war vet. Hudsons death came a week after his wife Carlie underwent surgery to remove a tumor from her breast. 'I am in shock as my son, whom I just spoke with a few days ago, said he was happy - my last text from him was "I love you dad,"' he told the Los Angeles Times. 'I didn't see any signs of depression. It's so tragic and sad. I'm just trying to make sense of everything and understand what happened.' Madsen said his son's marriage was 'going strong' and he had recently completed his first tour in the U.S. Army. 'He had typical life challenges that people have with finances, but he wanted a family. He was looking towards his future, so its mind-blowing. I just can't grasp what happened.' Michael wed DeAnna in 1996. Together they have three children - Hudson, Luke and Calvin Sadly, son Hudson died by gunshot wound in 2022 at age 26. Madsen and DeAnna separated soon after Hudson's tragic death; Madsen and Hudson seen in 2011 Madsen has requested a full military investigation into his sons death. The actor thinks 'the officers and rank and file were shaming' Hudson for wanting therapy. He believes this stopped him from seeking help for mental health issues he had been keeping to himself. In 2019, the actor was axed from a $100,000 role in movie Confessions of a Serial Killer after crashing his Land Rover into a pole and subsequently being arrested for DUI. He was later sentenced to four days in jail. In 2012 he was also arrested for DUI after driving erratically but struck a plea deal that involved attending AA meetings in lieu of more severe punishment. However, after Madsen failed to attend his court ordered Alcoholics Anonymous meetings his probation was revoked. Freddie Highmore has booked his first acting gig following the wrap The Good Doctor after its seven-season run on ABC. After playing the lead role of Dr. Sean Murphy since 2017 in the medical drama, the British actor is now set to slip into the shoes of Edward, who just happens to be the son of a retired assassin named Julie (Keeley Hawes) in the upcoming Amazon Prime thriller The Assassin. The story follows Julie as she's now living a secluded life on a remote Greek island with her estranged son who is now seeking answers about his father and his mother's past, according to TV Line. But eventually, both find themselves in the crosshairs of danger when the former assassin's past catches up with her, and the newfound mother-and-son duo end up on the run for their lives. The shoot for the upcoming series, which was created by Harry and Jack Williams, only just started earlier in August in Greece. Freddie Highmore, 32, is now set to return to TV in the Amazon Prime Video thriller The Assassin after wrapping on The Good Doctor in May after seven seasons on the ABC show The six-episode series will show Edward as he's trying to find the right time to speak to his mother about his paternity. But then, just as the right moment finally presents itself, 'things take a deadly turn as Julies dangerous past catches up with her, and they are forced to flee the island and go on the run together.' Along with the two lead roles, the cast also features Gina Gershon, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Jack Davenport, Alan Dale, Gerald Kyd, Devon Terrell, Richard Dormer, and David Dencik. On top of starring in the lead roles, both Highmore and Hawes will also be serving double duty as executive producers with Sarah Hammond. The London, England native became well-known child actor after starring in the acclaimed film Finding Neverland (2004) with Johnny Depp when he was 11-years-old, followed by Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (2005), Arthur And The Invisibles (2006), August Rush (2007), and The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008). Unlike many other child actors, the London, England native, now 32, has made a name for himself as an adult, starring as Norman Bates in the drama-thriller series Bates Motel (2013-2017) before moving on to The Good Doctor (2017-2024). 'Playing Dr. Shaun Murphy has been an immense privilege and one of the most remarkable and rewarding experiences of my life,' Highmore shared in a statement, as per The Hollywood Reporter. 'I will always be grateful to David, Liz, and Erin as well as the hugely talented and lovely cast, writers, and crew who made this show possible,' he went on. After beginning her career in a number of literary adaptations, such as Our Mutual Friend (1998) and Tipping The Velvet (2002), Hawes rose to fame for her portrayal of Zoe Reynolds in the BBC series Spooks (2002-2004), and as DI Alex Drake in Ashes to Ashes (2008-2010). In The Assassin, Highmore will play Edward, the estranged son of a former assassin, Julie, who's now living in Greece Highmore became a bonafide child star when he played the role of Peter Llewelyn Davies in the acclaimed biographical film Finding Neverland (2004) with Johnny Depp The Paddington, London, England native is also known for her roles in Line Of Duty (2014-2016), and the BBC One drama Bodyguard (2018). In her latest film role, Hawes, 48, stars in the biographical drama film Scoop (2024) alongside Gillian Anderson, Billie Piper, and Rufus Sewell. Harry and Jack Williams are English brothers best known for their work as television screenwriters and producers, which includes The Missing (2014), its spinoff Baptiste. After creating their own production company, Two Brothers Pictures in 2014 they developed and produced Fleabag (2016-2019), and then created Liar, Angela Black (2021) and The Tourist (2022). So far, there's no official word on when The Assassin will premiere on the Amazon Prime Video platform. Kyle Sandilands' brother Chris' upcoming wedding date to his fiancee Nat Bartolo has been revealed - but KIIS FM radio star Jackie 'O' Henderson won't be attending. Radio stars Kyle, 53, and Jackie, 49, were discussing the upcoming ceremony on Friday's The Kyle and Jackie O Show, when they revealed Chris will be saying 'I do' on Saturday, August 24. 'Kyle's brother Chris is getting married on Saturday. We're all going - oh sorry, Jackie's not,' senior staffer 'Intern' Pete Deppeler said. 'He loves country music so we will be playing Kid Rock!' It is not known why Jackie, had an 'awkward' encounter with Kyle's truck driver brother at Kyle's lavish wedding to Tegan Kynaston last year, will not be attending the event. Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Jackie's management for comment. It comes after the blonde radio host revealed what really happened during her 'awkward' encounter with Chris at Kyle's wedding in Sydney in April last year. Jackie said Chris' comments to her at Kyle's wedding reception had been taken out of context by the media. Kyle Sandilands' brother Chris' upcoming wedding date to his fiancee Nat Bartolo has been revealed - but KIIS FM radio star Jackie 'O' Henderson (pictured) won't be attending Footage of their conversation made it look as though truck driver Chris was scolding Jackie and telling her to stop filming on her phone and just enjoy the party. But she insisted this wasn't the case at all, saying Chris was instead just pointing out to her how beautiful the venue was. 'He said something like, "It's amazing, maybe you should actually look at the venue," and people took that to be, "Stop filming me and put your phone down",' she said on radio. 'When he talks to you, he seems angry all the time. But if you know Chris, you know he doesn't mean any harm,' she added. Radio stars Kyle, 53, and Jackie, 49, were discussing the upcoming ceremony on Friday's The Kyle and Jackie O Show, when they revealed the date. Pictured: Chris Sandilands and his fiancee Nat Bartolo Jackie (left) and Chris Sandilands (right) had an awkward run-in at Kyle and Tegan Sandilands' wedding last year 'I think he was just saying, "Why don't you show everyone at home how beautiful it is by turning the camera around,"' Jackie clarified. Chris then called into the radio show to insist he had been misunderstood: 'There was no malice. I was just like, "Yeah, everything looks great, why don't you just spin around and film the venue,"' he told the hosts. Jackie bumped into Chris at the reception of Kyle's wedding to Tegan Kynaston, held under a marquee at the $60m Swifts mansion in Darling Point. Last year, Chris announced he is engaged to girlfriend Nat Bartolo after a surprise stadium proposal - Radio king brother Kyle shared the happy family news with KIIS listeners. Chris popped the question to Nat during a Luke Combs concert in Sydney - with him clearly thrilled to have a new sister-in-law. Lisa Millar bid an emotional on-air farewell to ABC News Breakfast on Friday after confirming she would be stepping down from the show. The veteran journalist, 55, shocked viewers last month by announcing her departure, and has now marked her final day on air ahead of her big career change. She admitted saying goodbye to the show had been an 'emotional rollercoaster' as she paid tribute to her co-host Michael Rowland and the ABC team. 'After five years of sharing this couch with awesome people and the people behind the scenes as well, it is time to say farewell,' she gushed. Lisa then joked that the ABC managing director David Anderson's shock resignation on Thursday had somewhat 'upstaged' her exit. 'Talk about trying to upstage me. Managing director David Anderson, good morning to you,' she quipped as she accused him of 'raining on her parade'. Lisa, who has worked with the network since 1998, confirmed her next steps as she announced she would be taking on a new job with the content division of the ABC. The broadcaster has stepped down from ABC News Breakfast after five years as co-host, but was hit by a barrage of abuse upon confirming her exit last month. Lisa Millar bid an emotional on-air farewell to ABC News Breakfast on Friday after confirming she would be stepping down from the show, which she co-hosts with Michael Rowland Social media trolls berated the morning news legend following her resignation, sparking outrage from many of Lisa's loyal friends, who jumped to her defence and called out the abuse. 'I've known Lisa Millar personally and professionally for 25 years,' columnist Paul Syvret posted on X - formerly known as Twitter. 'She is one of the most experienced journalists and broadcasters in the country, with the utmost integrity. The abuse here today is sickening.' Author Mike Carlton, who worked with Lisa 'regularly' on ABC Sydney's drive time radio program, stepped in to defend her as well, describing her as 'thoroughly professional and a delight to work with'. Lisa's last day on air comes just hours after ABC's embattled managing director David Anderson confirmed he has resigned from his post. Sarah Ferguson, the presenter of the network's flagship current affairs program, confirmed the news on X, writing: 'MD David Anderson announces his intention to leave the ABC early next year'. Staff were informed of the news on Thursday through an internal email, which read: 'I am still very much committed to the importance of the ABC to the nation. I believe it is the right moment for leadership renewal for the next stage of the ABC's continued evolution. Lisa then joked that the ABC managing director David Anderson's (pictured) shock resignation on Thursday had somewhat 'upstaged' her exit 'To have the opportunity to serve the Australian public and lead such talented and dedicated people across the country, and overseas, for what is approaching six years is humbling. 'To have had this opportunity after a long career at the ABC is an achievement I am proud of and incredibly grateful for. 'The relationships forged with hard working people who possess a shared passion for the purpose and value of the ABC is an experience I will always cherish. 'It has been an absolute honour to be part of the ABC community. We are all custodians of this great national institution that has served Australians for over 90 years.' Mr Anderson will remain in the role until a new managing director is appointed, at the request of ABC chair Kim Williams. He is likely to stay in the role until early next year. He was permanently promoted to the managing director role in May 2019, after serving as the acting managing director since September 2018. Jennifer Lopez had requested that she has her old surname back as part of her divorce petition from estranged husband Ben Affleck. The star, 55, filed for divorce without an attorney on Tuesday, August 20 which also marked the couple's second wedding anniversary. In her petition, seen by DailyMail.com, Lopez has requested that her name be restored to Jennifer Lynn Lopez, dropping the Affleck name altogether. Lopez, who has recently been spotted wearing her wedding ring, listed the date of separation as April 26, 2024. The couple did not sign a prenuptial agreement before tying the knot in July 2022, insiders have revealed. It marks Jennifer's fourth failed marriage and Ben's second. The star, 55, filed for divorce without an attorney on Tuesday, August 20 which also marked the couple's second wedding anniversary Lopez, seen here last Sunday, has requested that her name be restored to Jennifer Lynn Lopez Without a prenup in place, their individual earnings from the last two years, whether it be from film projects or major brand deals, would be community property. Jennifer, who has a reported $400million net worth, has put out four films since marrying Ben, including her $20million self-funded project This Is Me... Now: A Love Story, which documents the couple's rekindled romance. She launched her Delola cocktail line in 2023 and she was set to embark on a world tour in support of her latest album 'This Is Me... Now' but it was canceled weeks before kick off so she could 'focus' on family. Oscar-winner Ben, who has a reported net worth of $150million, has recently starred in the films Air (2023) and Hypnotic (2023). He also recently wrapped production of a sequel to 2016's The Accountant. To further complicate things, Jennifer and Ben worked on the upcoming film, Unstoppable. While Affleck is producing the project alongside Matt Damon, Lopez is among the film's stars. Jennifer is not seeking spousal support and has asked the judge to deny it for Ben as well. Ben Affleck dropped a major clue months ago that he was done with wife Jennifer Lopez, who filed for divorce on Tuesday. Seen in 2021 The stars seen in 2003 at the Los Angeles Lakers v. San Antonio Spurs playoff game at the Staples Center According a new report from People, it was alleged that Lopez also had a hand in getting Afffleck to focus more on his kids. The site claimed that the Atlas actress motivated the Argo director to be more 'family oriented.' During their two year marriage - which Ben dropped a clue about months ago - the kids were 'very important to them,' added the insider. Lopez shares twins Max and Emme, 16, with ex-husband Marc Anthony, while Affleck shares three children with ex-wife Jennifer Garner: Violet, 18, Seraphina, 15, and Samuel, 12. But the way they spent their time with the kids divided them, it was claimed. While JLo was happy to take the little ones out shopping and to fun events, Affleck preferred to hang out at home. 'They are very different people,' the source added of Affleck and Lopez. 'She's super public and wants to go out, and he's more of an introvert and is happy to hang out at home.' Indeed, Jennifer was often seen traveling with the kids as she has a busy schedule. And she likely wanted to take all five of the children with her during her summer tour, which has been postponed to 2025. Ben may not want to go out as much as he is just not as gregarious as Lopez. In an interview with Kevin Hart earlier this year, Ben said he was 'shy': 'I'm also a little bit shy. I don't like a lot of attention,' he told the comedian. 'This is why people see me and they're like, 'Why is this dude always mad?' Because someone had their camera sticking in my face, and I'm like, 'OK, here we go.'' 'You have resting b***h face,' Hart joked. 'B****h? Now,' Affleck responded as he pretended to be mad. 'I have resting hard face. People are projecting onto me something that I don't feel about myself at all.' Lopez shares twins Max and Emme, 16, with ex-husband Marc Anthony, while Affleck shares three children with ex-wife Jennifer Garner: Violet, 18, Seraphina, 15, and Samuel, 12 (pictured in March) The divorce filing came exactly two years after the couple's extravagant second wedding in Georgia on August 20 2022 Meanwhile, Lopez is reportedly feeling 'disappointed and sad' after filing for divorce from Affleck but she knew it was 'time to move on'. The superstar was engaged to the Hollywood actor Ben in the early 2000s and the pair famously reconciled in 2021 before tying the knot in two ceremonies in 2022. A new report suggests Jennifer felt the time was right to start moving on with her life. A source told PEOPLE: '[She knows] it's time to move on' for various reasons 'She's very disappointed and sad, but Ben hasn't given her any signs that he wants to continue their marriage. He hasn't shown any commitment and interest in making their marriage work. It's gotten to the point that she just needs to look out for herself.' The divorce filing came exactly two years after the couple's extravagant second wedding in Georgia on August 20 2022 - and an insider told the publication the significance of the date wasn't lost on Jennifer. They said: 'She was done waiting and the date she did it speaks a ton... [The divorce filing] gives her control of the process ... It's good that she did it ... 'She tried really hard to make things work and is heartbroken.' The source went on to insist the former couple's blended family is taking priority, adding: 'The kids are a top priority, as they always have been.' The singer/actress wrote a whole album - 'This Is Me ... Now' - inspired by the pair's reignited love affair and even made a film version. Kanye West was seen arriving to South Korea alongside wife, Bianca Censori, and three of his children on Friday ahead of his Vultures 2 listening party with Ty Dolla $ign. The Heartless rapper, 47 - who recently took his scantily-clad wife on a fast food run to KFC - strolled through the airport with the Australian-born architect, 29, and his kids in photos obtained by TMZ. The music artist shares North, 11, Saint, eight, Chicago, six and Psalm, five, with ex Kim Kardashian. Censori - who is known for donning racy ensembles - covered up for the day of travel in a fitted, nude-colored dress that clung to her frame and fell down past her knees. She additionally slipped into a pair of closed-toed pumps and wore a tan hat that partially covered her dark locks. Kanye West, 47, was seen arriving to South Korea alongside his wife, Bianca Censori, 29, and three of his children on Friday ahead of his Vultures 2 listening party with Ty Dolla $ign; seen in March in Inglewood, California Censori - who is known for donning racy ensembles - covered up for the day of travel in a fitted, nude-colored dress that clung to her frame and fell down past her knees Bianca carried Chicago in her arms as they walked around the airport lobby, with North and Saint by her side. Psalm seemingly did not tag along on the trip. West - who also goes by Ye - kept it casual in a plain, white hoodie as well as a pair of comfy, white sweatpants. The star completed his overall outfit by wearing a pair of black shades and pulled the hood up on top of his head. At one point, he was seen flashing a cheerful smile as he sent a friendly wave to fans that were also at the airport. The Vultures 2 listening party in South Korea will take place on Friday, August 23 at Goyang Stadium, following by another event in Taiwan on August 25. Kanye last performed in South Korea 14 years earlier while at the Summer Week&T music festival back in 2010. Earlier this month, Bianca supported her husband at a listening event for the album alongside her sisters, Angelina and Alyssia, in Salt Lake City. Their mother seemingly was also in attendance at the Delta Center for the live concert. Bianca and her sisters also had the chance to possibly mingle with two of West's children - North and Chicago - during the concert. Kanye last performed in South Korea 14 years earlier while at the Summer Week&T music festival back in 2010; seen in February in Milan The music artist shares North, 11, Saint, eight, Chicago, six and Psalm, five, with ex-wife Kim Kardashian During the event, his daughters joined him on stage as they performed the song, Bomb, according to TMZ. North notably was featured on the track, and rapped in fluent Japanese throughout the song. Bianca's sibling, Angelina, also jumped to her Instagram stories to give her followers a glimpse of the album release party inside the venue. Censori is no stranger to spending time with Kanye and Kim's children after tying the knot with the rapper in 2022. Last week, the architect grabbed dinner with her mother as well as some of Kanye's children: Saint, Chicago, and Psalm. The group stopped by the hotspot, Nobu, in Malibu. Late last month in July, Bianca enjoyed a movie date with stepdaughter North to watch Deadpool & Wolverine in L.A. with Kanye also joining the pair. The family has been on other trips together in the past and in June, Bianca was seen on a shopping excursion in Tokyo with North and Chicago. Earlier this year in February, a source revealed to DailyMail.com that the SKIMS founder had asked Kanye to have his wife cover up when around their children. Earlier this month, Bianca supported her husband at a listening event for the album alongside her sisters, Angelina and Alyssia, in Salt Lake City 'Kim instructed Kanye to never let Bianca dress like that around their kids. She is truly surprised that Kanye would let his wife leave the house like that.' The insider added, 'Kanye did the same thing he is doing with Bianca to Kim throughout their marriage. 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.' Ahead of their trip to South Korea, the Stronger rapper was seen taking his wife to grab a quick bite to eat at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Los Angeles. In a photo that seemingly was taken from a security camera inside the fast food chain, the pair could be seen standing at a counter as they ordered items from the menu. Ahead of their trip to South Korea, the Stronger rapper was seen taking his wife to grab a quick bite to eat at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Los Angeles Bianca turned heads in a skimpy, bralette top that had a deep, plunging neckline on the front as well as a pair of nude-colored bottoms. West kept it casual in a white, hooded sweatshirt as well as a pair of black shorts for the errand run. While it is not exactly known when Kanye and Bianca stopped by the KFC, the architect notably wore the same, racy top in a photo recently shared by her sister, Angelina, on her Instagram stories. Over the weekend, the music artist and Censori were seen making a surprise stop at a pro-Trump rally in Beverly Hills - which reportedly left her friends worried for her safety. Jase Hawkins fought back tears on Friday morning as he revealed he is flying up to Queensland amid a family tragedy. Speaking with co-host Lauren Phillips on their Melbourne Nova 100 radio show, the 42-year-old explained he will be jetting to the Gold Coast after work to spread his parents' ashes. The media personality broke down in tears as he recalled the deaths of his parents Paul and Janet, with his father passing in 2021 and his mother following in 2023. 'I'm going up to the Gold Coast this weekend. We are scattering my parents ashes,' Jase began. Co-host Lauren, 37, asked: 'How are you feeling about it? We've talked about this. We have talked about it offline. 'We've talked about it online a couple of times, but we've talked about it offline a lot.' Jase told his colleague it was particularly hard to watch his father's funeral via Zoom in 2021 because he was stuck in the Melbourne lockdowns during Covid. 'It's funny, just the last two days, it's probably hit me,' he said while beginning to choke up with tears. Jase Hawkins, 42, fought back tears on Friday morning as he revealed he is flying up to Queensland amid a family tragedy. Pictured with his late father Paul 'Dad passed away during Covid. I was never there for the funeral. Watched it on Zoom. Possibly the toughest thing I've ever done in my life. 'And I know, unfortunately, a lot of other people had to do that as well. And I think it's something that...' Jase abruptly cut off with an apology as he began to break down. 'Don't be sorry,' Lauren said. When he managed to compose himself, Jase explained to viewers he was flying to the Gold Coast that same day to scatter his parents' ashes at Miami Beach. 'We're gonna scatter both their ashes this weekend at Miami Beach, which is where we used to go on holiday every year,' he said. 'So it'll be really cool. It's gonna bring up some nice memories... The whole family, we're all staying at the same place. So it's gonna sort of feel like schoolies week.' Lauren cheerfully replied: 'That's what dad would have wanted!' Despite feeling teary over the loss of his parents, Jase said he would try to 'have fun' over the weekend and enjoy the memories he will share with family. 'Dad passed away during Covid. I was never there for the funeral. Watched it on Zoom, possibly the toughest thing I've ever done in my life,' Jase said Jase announced both his parents' deaths on Instagram at the time of their passing. In 2021, he shared a reel of images of his father Paul and wrote: 'On Friday afternoon my Dad Paul lost his battle with cancer, but mate you put up one hell of a fight. 'To say I'm shattered is an understatement. 'It's so hard being in lockdown and not being able to be with my family in Brisbane but I'm taking comfort in being left with so many amazing memories.' Just a few years later, in 2023, Jase's mother Janet followed her husband in death, leaving her son heartbroken over the loss. 'It's taking me a good week to write this and I wasn't sure if I would post anything at all, because in a strange way, sharing the news makes it feel a lot more real,' he said. 'Last Tuesday night I sadly said goodbye to my Mum, Janet Hawkins. 'As sad and horrible as it was at the end, I was also lucky to be there so I could give her one last hug, a kiss and be able to say thank you.' 'My sisters and I had the best upbringing, full of laughter and love. 'Something you don't appreciate at the time being a kid but looking back now, wow we were lucky to have the parents we did.' Teen Mom 2 star Kailyn Lowry says that she and boyfriend Elijah Scott have gotten engaged. Lowry, 32, on her Coffee Convos Podcast Thursday confirmed that she and Scott, 26, are slated to wed after he proposed to her. The Honesdale, Pennsylvania-born reality star - who shares eight-month-old twins Valley and Verse and son Rio, one, with Scott - revealed the news to her cohost Lindsie Chrisley 34, who asked her if she was wed or not. Lowry said, 'No, I'm not married - this is the ring that they give you before you get married,' she said, calling attention to the diamond engagement ring Scott presented her with in his proposal. Lowry said that Scott had asked her to wed before, but she didn't take the proposals 'seriously' since they were not accompanied by a ring. Teen Mom 2 star Kailyn Lowry, 32, said on her Coffee Convos Podcast Thursday that she and boyfriend Elijah Scott, 26, have gotten engaged The Honesdale, Pennsylvania-born reality star revealed the news to her cohost Lindsie Chrisley, who asked her if she was wed or not. 'I was just like, "We'll play this by ear - I'll let you know, if you have a ring one day, we'll reevaluate" - and then one day he just showed up with a ring,' Lowry said. Lowry said that Scott's non-traditional proposal in an unlikely part of their home came as a pleasant surprise. 'He came into the bathroom one day while I was getting ready and he gave me the ring,' Lowry said. 'I was like, "Oh my God, thank you!"' Lowry said that Scott didn't drop to one knee in popping the question to her: 'We've both been married already, so we both don't care about the whole "get on one knee and make it all romantic and stuff," because that's just not how we are.' Lowry said she prefers to not be 'the center of attention' and 'would have been happier if [Scott] had left the ring on the table and walked out.' Lowry was past engaged and wed to ex-husband Javi Marroquin from 2012-2017, and Scott had been married from 2018-2020 to ex-wife Kayla Brooke. The MTV star is mother to seven children: Lowry and ex Chris Lopez share a pair of sons - Lux, seven, and Creed, four - from their on-and-off romance that spanned between 2016 to 2020. Lowry is also mother to son Isaac, 14, with her ex-boyfriend Jo Rivera; and son Lincoln, 10, with ex-husband Marroquin. The MTV personality shares twins Valley and Verse, eight months, and son Rio, one, with Scott Lowry said that Scott had asked her to wed before, but she didn't take the proposals 'seriously' since they were not accompanied by a ring Lowry praised her fiance for his 'cool, calm and collected' demeanor in an interview with Us Weekly on Tuesday. 'I've never experienced that in my entire life,' Lowry told the outlet. 'He's an angel on this earth, and I don't know what I did to deserve him.' Lowry said that her fiance has a can-do mentality of 'Nothing is too big of a problem, we're gonna figure it out,' adding that it's 'really different for' her. Lowry said that Scott has 'seamlessly' blended in with her family, saying, 'My kids love him, which is so - I just have never really seen that.' Said Lowry: 'Isaac and Elijah are best friends. If Elijah is not at a game for Lincoln, Lincoln's like, "Where is Elijah?" Not even looking for me, looking for him. 'And then Lux and Creed love him because they just jump all over him. They think he's, like, the cool dad. Maybe not their dad, but the cool dad.' Blink Twice (15, 103 mins) Rating: Verdict: This decades Get Out Has Halloween come early this year? It appears so, judging by the unseasonal onslaught of scary movies hitting cinemas. And, if youve already survived Alien: Romulus and Trap, brace yourself for more summer darkness with a reboot of The Crow (out today; mercifully no advance press screenings), next weeks sci-fi horror AfrAId (likewise), plus British chiller Broken Bird, followed by folk horror Starve Acre and a Beetlejuice sequel that squeaks out just as school holidays end. After that, well all need a lie down in a nice, dark crypt. Today, two additional hair- raisers are unleashed. The better of them, Blink Twice, marks the directorial debut of actress Zoe Kravitz best known as the daughter of music legend Lenny and for playing Catwoman. As such, Blink Twice had all the hallmarks of a nepo baby plaything, yet confounded my (low) expectations by being genuinely good. Channing Tatum is chillingly good as a disgraced tech billionaire who invites two waitresses to a holiday in hell (pictured: Channing Tatum) Channing Tatum, from left, Naomi Ackie, director ZoA Kravitz and actor Levon Hawke on the set of Blink Twice. When we first meet our heroine, Frida (Naomi Ackie), she is scrolling through Instagram, watching a confessional video made by disgraced tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) apologising for his abuse of power. Later on, Frida is working as a waitress at the charismatic Slaters swanky fundraiser, when she and best friend Jess (Alia Shawkat) don slinky dresses to catch his eye and get invited to stay on his luxury private island. To ensure Slaters privacy, all phones are confiscated by his nervy PA (Geena Davis). Suddenly, Frida is swept into the kind of super- VIP bubble that she has only ever glimpsed through Instagram (yet which Kravitz herself would have observed first hand) a tsunami of Champagne, Michelin-starred food, designer clothes and MDMA-fuelled partying with beautiful girls like Sarah (Adria Arjona) and the hosts pals (played by Christian Slater, Haley Joel Osment and Kyle MacLachlan). All seems great!!! (as everyone keeps gushing at each other), yet something evil is clearly slithering through this Eden Channing Tatum and Naomi Ackie in a scene from Blink Twice Channing Tatum, left, and director Zoa Kravitz on the set of Blink Twice The immaculate Glass Onion/White Lotus style is seductive, but theres more to this psychological thriller than good looks. Kravitz mixes up a provocative MeToo cocktail of cancel culture, forgiveness, female solidarity, the lure of social media and taking responsibility for ones past, and does so in a way that is brilliantly entertaining and wildly funny. Kravitz is an impressively precise director. She takes us into seriously dark territory, yet the movies tone barely stumbles. Shes hot on casting, too. Her real-life fiance Tatum hasnt done proper acting like this for a decade and puts in a storming turn. And lets hope rising Brit star Ackie gets the acclaim she missed out on after her Whitney Houston biopic, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, failed to catch fire. As usual, the trailer gives way too much away, and thus is best avoided. Maybe not one for a first date, but otherwise a sure-fire hit. Cuckoo (15, 102 mins) Rating: Verdict: Well-named horror oddity Theres more gore in paradise, courtesy of Cuckoo. This head-scratching horror features former Downton heartthrob Dan Stevens as Herr Konig (right), a mad Bavarian scientist who runs a remote Alpine resort by day and likes to tootle on his wooden recorder (not a euphemism) in his spare time. Latest guests to his snowy retreat are a fractured family who have relocated from the US to Germany. Theres sulky 17-year-old Gretchen (Hunter Schafer), her father (Marton Csokas), his new wife (Jessica Henwick) and their eight-year-old daughter, an elective mute called Alma (Mila Lieu), who starts behaving very oddly. Along with everybody else. The eerie atmosphere is masterfully conjured; far less so the storytelling (pictured: Cuckoo film art) Sulky 17-year-old Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) in Cuckoo Oddest of all is the screeching bogeylady in the forest, notable for her rain bonnet, Gary Larson sunglasses and single soggy hand. Still not sure what that was all about. At 25, Euphoria star Schafer is clearly too old to play a teen, yet she is a mesmerising presence, and its thrilling to see her spread her wings on the big screen. The eerie atmosphere is masterfully conjured; far less so the storytelling. Schafer and Stevens just about keep you invested in the weird goings-on. But the cuckoo-in-the-nest concept is underdeveloped while, ironically, the demented mystery plot becomes less clear the more that is revealed. By the climax I was so brain-boggled that a cartoon bird may well have been springing out of my forehead. All films are in cinemas now. An intoxicating celebration of Frances first lady of fizz Widow Clicquot (15, 90 mins, ) is a soothingly picturesque biopic of the legendary Grande Dame of Champagne, Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin (a career-best Haley Bennett). After her troubled husband (Tom Sturridge) dies in 1805, a grieving Veuve (French for widow) Clicquot resolves to run their vineyard like a woman, much to the pooh-pooh-ing of the men around her. You make it sound like a dinner party, one scoffs of her radical collaborative ideas.Yet Barbe-Nicole proves them wrong, invents pink fizz, and sets out to beat Napoleons trade blockades with the support of her loyal distributor (Sam Riley). Sensual and lightly intoxicating, with more complexity than meets the eye, this sparkling tribute to Frances foremost female entrepreneur slips down a treat despite a few flat moments. Hayley Bennett poses upon arrival at the special screening for the film 'Widow Clicquot' on August 21 in London In Between The Temples (15, 111 mins, ), a depressed 40-something synagogue cantor (Jason Schwartzman) gets his chutzpah back after he reconnects with his old music teacher (Carol Kane). Less predictable than that summary suggests, this New York romantic comedy drama enjoys jangling your expectations, upending conventions at every turn. Lurching from tiresome to tender, it most obviously appeals to community insiders who can appreciate the Jewish in-jokes. But the dysfunctional family scenes would make anyone laugh with recognition. Caroline Aaron and Dolly De Leon all but steal the show as overbearing moms, while the odd-couple chemistry between Schwartzman and Kane shouldnt work, yet does just like this movie. I wouldnt want to spend a real night out with the proud-to-be lowlife scum of Kneecap (18, 105 mins, ), but an evening at the pictures with them is an absolute blast. A Troubles tale with a cheeky difference, this is the outrageous, mostly true origin story of a potty-mouthed hip-hop trio called Kneecap, formed by two young Belfast drug dealers and a teacher (Liam Og O Hannaidh, Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh all effortlessly playing themselves), who rap mainly in the Irish language. Rich Peppiatt (l) and other cast members attend a preview and Q&A for Kneecap on August 22 Every word of Irish spoken is a bullet fired for Irish freedom, intones Michael Fassbender as one of their dads, an IRA fugitive who the lads both heed and take the mick out of. Writer/director Rich Peppiatts script takes a similarly irreverent tone, its intelligence and wit belying a cartoonish attitude towards violence and anti-social behaviour. Boasting unstoppable, Trainspotter-level energy, Irelands entry to the 2025 Oscars may just go all the way to nomination. Christine Quinn appeared to shade her estranged husband, Christian Dumontet, while flaunting her figure in a skimpy swimsuit in a new Instagram video on Thursday. The TV personality, 35 - who was recently seen moving out of her marital home amid her ugly divorce battle - soaked up the sun on a boat as she continues to move on from her nasty split. In text added over the reel, the star penned, 'Remember ladies, while you're healing he's balding.' Earlier this year in March, Christian was arrested at their L.A. house for assault with a deadly weapon. Quinn was soon granted a temporary restraining order and he filed for divorce in early April shortly after the incident. The media personality - who shares son Christian Jr., three, with her ex - showed off toned physique in a pink bikini top that contained thin fabric that wrapped down her waist. Christine Quinn, 35, appeared to shade her estranged husband, Christian Dumontet, while flaunting her figure in a skimpy swimsuit in a new Instagram video on Thursday She additionally wore a pair of matching bottoms and allowed her platinum blonde locks to effortlessly flow down past her shoulders. The beauty - who tied the knot with her ex in 2019 - lounged on the back of a boat that floated on the water as she enjoyed a relaxing getaway. In the caption of the post, Christine simply added green heart emojis as well as an apple, followed by the hashtags, '#brat #bratsummer #bratslay #summervibes #hotgirlsummer.' Throughout the reel, the upbeat track titled 360 by Charli XCX, played in the background and Quinn later jumped to the comment section to add, 'Correction "Still Balding."' Other social media users also shared their thoughts on the star's latest post and her subtle shade towards her ex. One fan typed out, 'His hairline isn't very demure and he needs to be mindful of that..,' while another added, 'Very demure, very classy teach us Christine .' The demure trend began last month in July after a TikTok user, Jools Lebron, used the term while doing her makeup. Real Housewives Of Miami star, Lisa Hochstein, added an assortment of applauding hand emojis. Earlier this year in March, Christian was arrested at their L.A. house for assault with a deadly weapon. Quinn was soon granted a temporary restraining order and the pair filed for divorce in early April shortly after the incident; seen in 2021 in L.A. The media personality - who shares son Christian Jr., three, with her ex - showed off toned physique in a pink bikini top that contained thin fabric that wrapped down her waist Amid the former couple's divorce battle, her estranged husband recently filed a request earlier this week on Tuesday to drop the temporary restraining order against him. He asked the court, in documents obtained by Page Six on Wednesday, to drop the order which also allows Christine access alone to their marital Hollywood Hills mansion. The reason for his request was due to getting, 'a utility bill in excess of $10,000.' He further claimed that he is also receiving, 'daily criminal fines from the Los Angeles Vector Control since July 18, 2024, for the abandonment and lack of upkeep to the property.' Quinn's ex also stated in the filing that he has gotten 'thousands of dollars' in fines, but cannot solve the issues due to not being permitted to visit the Los Angeles home. He claimed his legal team has tried to contact Quinn and her representation, but has yet to hear back. 'Mr. Dumontet owns the property alone, as separate property, there is no marital interest in the property, and no funds were co-mingled during the duration of the marriage to have converted the property to community property.' 'It is clear that Ms. Quinn is not maintaining the property as the marital home, nor the familial home for the child. Ms. Quinn does not reside at the property nor has she maintained it since at least July of this year,' the documents state. Amid the former couple's divorce battle, her estranged husband recently filed a request earlier this week on Tuesday to drop the temporary restraining order against him; seen in 2023 in West Hollywood On top of the $10,000 utility bill, Christian is also requesting that Quinn repay him '$29,000 in rental value per month for the home' as well as the cost of the luxurious Hermes bags he bought during their marriage. His attorney, Alexandra Kazarian, expressed in an email included in the filing, per Page Six, 'Mr. Dumontet also seeks CP reimbursement for the various Hermes bags that were purchased with his separate property "as investment items" at the behest of your client.' The real estate agent's own legal team has denied the $10,000 water bill claims. Quinn's attorney stated, 'There is no water damage or emergency at the house. We believe this is just an unpaid LADWP bill that hasn't been paid for months.' 'There have been ongoing problems with water leaks since September 2023, when a pipe burst flooded the basement.' In March, Christian was spotted outside of their house in handcuffs as he was arrested for allegedly throwing a 'bag of glass' which hit their son. However, the retired tech entrepreneur was notably arrested a second time when he returned to the L.A. home and violated the restraining order. He has denied hitting their son and claimed an argument began over their dogs urinating on some of his personal belongings, TMZ reported at the time. On top of the $10,000 utility bill, Christian is also requesting that Quinn repay him '$29,000 in rental value per month for the home' as well as the cost of the luxurious Hermes bags he bought during their marriage In March, Christian was spotted outside of their house in handcuffs as he was arrested for allegedly throwing a 'bag of glass' and accidently hitting their son; seen with son in 2021 in Santa Monica Christian claimed that he had picked up a bag of trash and tossed it against a wall, but his wife and son were never hit. In April, the Selling Sunset alum was granted a temporary restraining order against Christian, and just days later, he filed for divorce while also requesting for sole custody of their son. The next month, he was formally charged with misdemeanor child abuse, assault and violating a protective order. In June, Quinn was seen moving her things out of their marital home, including Louis Vuitton and Hermes bags and boxes. Codion Isom is one of the few participants in the Urban Ed program to become a San Francisco schoolteacher. He teaches kindergarten at Malcolm X Academy in the Bayview, where he is known to students as Mr. C. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle Urban Ed Academy had an ambitious goal when it asked San Francisco officials for taxpayer funding in the spring of 2021. As the country grappled with the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota, the nonprofit pitched the city on its mission to place one Black male teacher in every San Francisco elementary school within a few years. Urban Ed had been founded a decade earlier to address the racial achievement gap in San Francisco schools by mentoring children. Its newest program, Man the Bay, recruited Black men from around the country who aspired to be teachers, helped them with housing, and paid them stipends as they worked toward their credentials. City officials awarded Urban Ed a contract ultimately worth as much as $1.2 million under Mayor London Breeds Dream Keeper Initiative. The initiative, launched amid nationwide protests over Floyds death, sought to redirect $60 million a year from law enforcement to the citys often underserved, and dwindling, Black community. Advertisement Article continues below this ad But after three years, Urban Ed got teaching jobs for only five people in the San Francisco Unified School District, including one who worked as a substitute, according to records filed by the nonprofit with the city and obtained by the Chronicle. Instead, most of the people who got jobs through the city-funded program ended up working at youth-focused nonprofits or teaching at Oakland public schools. Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, who is running against Breed for mayor, called the results unconscionable and a misappropriation of taxpayer funds. This is a service for the good people of Oakland, not the good people of San Francisco, Peskin said. Weve got plenty of problems to solve in the city of San Francisco. A Chronicle analysis of city records found that Urban Ed and its city sponsor, the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, made a series of decisions that increasingly pushed the program away from its original purpose and the overarching goal of Dream Keeper. Among the problems: a vague contract that doesnt include the word teacher; San Francisco taxpayers being billed for services provided in another city; and a lack of buy-in from the partner Urban Ed needed most SFUSD. There were red flags from the beginning: OEWD gave Urban Ed the contract against the recommendation of a scoring panel that reviewed the proposal for the department. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Urban Ed was among the more than 90 local nonprofits and other organizations awarded a combined $107 million in Dream Keeper funding by various city departments from 2021 to 2023. The initiative represents a historic investment by the city in a community largely displaced from San Francisco, and is credited with funding arts programs, helping Black entrepreneurs open new businesses and providing valuable job training. Codion Isom is one of the few participants in the Urban Ed program to become a San Francisco school teacher. A former Army sergeant, Isom teaches kindergarten at Malcolm X Academy in the Bayview, where he is known to students as Mr. C. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle The disparities that Urban Ed wants to address are reflected in state numbers. Four percent of teachers in California were Black as of the 2018-19 school year, and 1% were Black men, according to the latest state data. By comparison, 4.9% of public school students in the state last school year were Black. SFUSD declined to provide demographic data on its teachers. Six percent of its students were Black last school year. This is not the first time that questions have been raised about spending by a Dream Keeper recipient. In February, the San Francisco nonprofit J&J Community Resource Center allegedly billed the city for bourbon and cigars, as well as for motorcycle rentals in Lake Tahoe, under a Dream Keeper contract it received to run an anti-violence program. The city has not accused Urban Ed of wrongdoing. Since 2021, Urban Ed has billed the city for nearly $709,000 of its $1.2 million contract. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In the first two years, the Chronicle found that the city reimbursed Urban Ed for more than $337,000 in stipends and housing subsidies that it paid to its participants. City officials acknowledge that some of that money went toward people living and working outside San Francisco, but they cant say how much because they did not collect receipts due to staff capacity. The department authorized for some non-SF residents to be placed in positions outside of the City to gain experience and to be housed in locations close to their workplaces, and OEWD reimbursed (Urban Ed) accordingly, OEWD officials said in a statement. The rationale was to not limit job opportunities for people in the program, according to the department. Urban Eds interim executive director, Kai Mathews, said 55% of the men in the program in those two years were in Oakland, but did not know how much San Francisco funding they received. She said the nonprofit has tried to have an equal number of prospective teachers in both cities. We have been diligent in adhering to the grant guidelines and utilizing funds in accordance with the approved grant proposal, Mathews said. We are proud of our work. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In the third year, the Chronicle found that the nonprofit billed San Francisco for about $371,000, which the city has not yet reimbursed, including $74,000 in stipends that it paid to eight participants working in Oakland schools. OEWD officials said they decided to collect receipts for those expenses months after Urban Eds founder, Rudolph Dwayne Jones, was charged in an alleged bribery scheme last summer. Jones has pleaded not guilty; his trial is pending. Despite these issues, OEWD nearly tripled the size of Urban Eds contract this winter before abruptly canceling it at the end of the fiscal year, citing budget cuts. San Francisco Human Rights Commission Executive Director Sheryl Davis oversees the citys Dream Keeper Initiative. She defended the citys partnership with Urban Ed, and a Dream Keeper-funded program to place Black male teachers in San Francisco schools that ended up placing more in Oakland. Benjamin Fanjoy/The Chronicle Sheryl Davis, who oversees Dream Keeper as executive director of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, defended the partnership. Each of the City departments administering Dream Keeper Initiative funds have their own policies and procedures relevant to their areas of expertise, Davis said in a statement. We honor and respect the practices of our partner agencies. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Gloria Berry, an African American community activist, said spending Dream Keeper dollars outside of San Francisco went against the spirit of the initiative. Berry said Dream Keeper could be a beautiful thing with the right oversight and more assistance for smaller organizations with limited operational capacity. She received funding through the initiative for her consulting firm and knows of many other valuable businesses and arts projects funded through the initiative. I just dont want to see it cut, she said. There are people who got food trucks, art studios, there are people who are doing really good in the community. Urban Ed was founded in 2010 by Jones to provide educational services to students of color. It formally registered as a nonprofit in 2013, state records show. Jones was a top aide to former Mayor Gavin Newsom and then a businessman whose companies received city contracts. In September, San Francisco barred Jones and various companies associated with him from doing business with the city after local prosecutors charged him in the alleged bribery scheme to secure city contracts. Jones has donated to Urban Ed over the years but has not been involved in its operations since around the time he founded it, according to his attorney, Sarah Potter. Man the Bay, the Urban Ed program that the city would later fund, was started in 2018. The idea was simple: Help close the racial achievement gap by ensuring students of color can see themselves reflected in their teachers. The focus was initially on San Francisco. The four-year fellowship program promised to invest up to $150,000 in each participant, providing them with housing and living stipends to supplement their district salaries and covering $15,000 in costs toward obtaining a teacher credential, according to recruiting materials. The program anticipated that participants would get jobs as teachers by year two and earn up to $80,000 as credentialed teachers by the end of the fellowship. In early 2021, OEWD put out a call for organizations running job training programs in San Francisco to apply for Dream Keeper funding. The panelists who recommended rejecting Urban Eds proposal, a nonprofit executive and two city employees, called the application an interesting idea but said its budget lacked details and the nonprofit had failed to provide a clear timeline for completing its goals. They also questioned where teachers would be placed and whether SFUSD was engaged. OEWD awarded the funding anyway, with a spokesperson later saying the department seeks to fund as many proposals as possible. The ensuing contract left room for interpretation on what the city could expect from the program. It required Urban Ed to train unemployed and underemployed Black and African American job seekers to get jobs in an unspecified industry. Urban Ed was to conduct its work in San Francisco, unless it got prior written consent. But in the first year of the partnership, the city learned Urban Ed wasnt going to be able to place all its participants at San Francisco public schools, because the district did not have enough capacity to help credential them, according to OEWD. SFUSD officials said that Urban Ed wanted to credential its participants through Pathway to Teaching, an accelerated district program that had limited seats. Each of their candidates had to apply and gain acceptance, SFUSD officials said in a statement. If their candidate did not gain acceptance, they could have considered other employment opportunities outside of SFUSD. Facing challenges placing teachers at SFUSD, Urban Ed shifted its focus to Oakland. Mathews, the Urban Ed official, attributed the Oakland placements in part to circumstances beyond our control. She said Urban Ed reached a formal agreement with Oakland school officials to place prospective teachers in their schools, but has not struck a similar deal with SFUSD. Mathews noted that SFUSD closed its Pathway credentialing program. District officials said it was put on hold in February due to budget constraints. The district also said it provided Urban Ed with steps on how to complete an agreement last October, but the nonprofit never followed up. OEWD officials said they were aware that Urban Ed Academy would need to develop relationships with neighboring school districts, including Oakland Unified, in order to reach the goal of creating economic mobility. While OEWD focuses on helping San Franciscans find jobs and grow the citys economy, the department officials said they dont restrict job placements to the city because participants need to have the ability to go where the good-paying jobs are. Randal Seriguchi, who served as executive director of Urban Ed for eight years before leaving in January, said Urban Ed was clear with OEWD about how it used the funding and was allowed to spend some funding on participants outside of San Francisco. Seriguchi said Urban Ed still tried to connect the Oakland student teachers to San Francisco in other ways, including by having them mentor kids in the city. We definitely werent doing anything we shouldnt have been doing, Seriguchi said. Seriguchi defended the single-digit number of student teachers placed in San Francisco. Becoming a teacher is not a slam dunk, Seriguchi said. I wouldnt ever claim that we had dozens of teachers in SFUSD. Three years after OEWD partnered with Urban Ed, the metrics of the programs success differ depending on the source. By the end of 2023, Urban Ed recorded having deployed 35 teaching fellows to schools in Oakland and San Francisco, according to its annual impact report. By comparison, OEWD credited Urban Ed with placing 34 participants in educational instruction employment, 24 of whom worked in San Francisco. The Chronicle found the vast majority of participants did not work as teachers. According to documents, many worked in Oakland or San Francisco as tutors or support staff in summer camps, at the YMCA, or at after-school programs focusing on reading or other school subjects. Some ended up working for Urban Ed or another Dream Keeper recipient, the nonprofit Young Community Developers, which Jones previously led. Records show seven of Urban Eds participants during the three years of the contract were hired in SFUSD schools: four as teachers, one as a substitute teacher and two as teaching assistants. Only four remain employed, according to an SFUSD spokesperson. Oakland Unified School District has hired 13 Urban Ed participants since the 2021-22 school year, two of whom were expected to join the district this year, according to records and a district official. Codion Isom is one of the few participants in the Urban Ed program to become a San Francisco school teacher. He says its his mission to show California that Black men can be seen as educators and can have a positive influence on students of all ethnic backgrounds. Yalonda M. James/The Chronicle Codion Isom, a kindergarten teacher at Malcolm X Academy in the Bayview who is known to his students as Mr. C, is one of only two graduates from the four-year fellowship. An Army veteran from Michigan, Isom said many of his peers did not make it through the program for various reasons, including that some were unqualified. Still, he said the program is worth funding. If you went to Malcolm X Academy and asked about Mr. C, Isom said, I would think you would hear great things. And you dont get a Mr. C without a program like Urban Ed. Mathews said Urban Ed is trying to do a better job retaining prospective teachers. She said sometimes people realize the career isnt for them. Teaching is hard, Mathews said. It is not for everyone, hence why we have a statewide and national shortage. The decision by OEWD to allow the spending on Oakland puzzled Dan Lindheim, a professor specializing in public policy at UC Berkeley and former Oakland city administrator. If grants or money was specified for getting teachers to San Francisco, I could see paying someone who was in Oakland to come work in San Francisco, Lindheim said. I cant see how it would be okay to pay an entity in San Francisco that sends teachers to Oakland that doesnt make sense. The future of Urban Eds partnership with the city is unclear. In February, OEWD decided to extend the contract with Urban Ed through June 2025 and nearly triple its size to as much as $1.2 million. Then, in May, OEWD said it would need to apply greater scrutiny to Urban Ed. Based on recent direction from the city attorney, the nonprofit would need to submit further documentation showing who was receiving the subsidies and stipends to be reimbursed for the last program year, OEWD told Urban Ed in emails obtained by the Chronicle. An auditor from the Controllers Office and a representative for the City Attorneys Office were set to meet with nonprofit officials to discuss the new requirements. As the Chronicle was reporting this story in June, an OEWD spokesperson said the agency had canceled the Man the Bay contract, citing budget reductions. Meanwhile, Urban Ed continues to tout its progress. Home and Away fans have been left stunned after the long-running soap opera screened two shocking - and controversial - storylines this past week. In the first, Nicholas Cartwright's character Cash Newman was dealt double heartache after his sister Felicity, played by Jacqui Purvis, died - and his relationship with his fiancee Eden ended. Meanwhile, Felicity's ex-husband Tane Parata, played by Ethan Browne, was told by his one night stand Harper that she is pregnant with his baby - while he is still mourning his ex Felicity. The two bombshell storylines took fans by surprise, many of whom quickly went on social media to express their frustration over how the characters behaved. 'Poor Eden she didn't deserve that, I get that Cash is hurting big time but Eden also lost her best friend,' one person sniped. 'I cried so much! And then Cash did WHAT!!! Im stunned,' a second user added. However, others were sympathetic to Cash's plight and said people needed to be understanding towards him in his time of need. 'He's speaking from grief. He lost his mum, dad, and now his sister. He told Eden he doesn't want to bury her either, that's why he broke it off with her. He doesn't feel like he can have a happy ending.' Home and Away fans have been left stunned after the soap opera screened two shocking storylines this past week. In the first, Nicholas Cartwright's (centre) character Cash Newman was dealt double heartache after his sister Felicity died - and his relationship with Eden ended Elsewhere, fans were calling out Harper, played by Jessica Redmayne, for dropping the shock news on Tane at the worst possible time. 'She should've told him straight away or at least waited for them to give his ex-wife a proper goodbye. Very hard timing,' one person complained. 'Harper picked the wrong time, yet again. Tane isn't happy,' another viewer chipped in. 'Tane always wanted a child but he wanted to be in a relationship before he has a child, not a one night stand,' a third person added. The character also broke up with his fiancee Eden Fowler, played by Stephanie Panozzo (left), shortly after a passionate moment, leaving her absolutely devastated Meanwhile, Felicity's ex-husband Tane Parata, played by Ethan Browne (left), was told by his one night stand Harper, played by Jessica Redmayne (right) that she is pregnant with his baby - while he is still mourning his ex It comes after audiences were left devastated earlier this month when fan-favourite character Felicity Newman collapsed and died in shock scenes. After leaving fans in tears following her character's death on the soap, the actress, 33, has now broken her silence on her heartbreaking final episodes. The Aussie star, who is looking to make it big in Hollywood, posted to Instagram on Tuesday a touching tribute to her fans and the show which made her famous. 'What a life! Thank you to @homeandaway for an incredible three years. Had an absolute blast,' she wrote alongside a montage of her behind-the-scenes antics. Jacqui went on to pay special thanks also to her co-star and on screen romantic interest Ethan Browne, who portrayed Felicity's ex-husband Tane Parata. Zoe Kravitz said she was amazed how her friend Taylor Swift behaves normally after stadium performances on Thursday's episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The 35-year-old actress and director, who recently got engaged to actor Channing Tatum, recounted her experience attending Taylor's concert at Wembley Stadium in London. 'It's crazy,' Zoe told Jimmy. 'I mean, I'm not surprised, because Taylor is scary talented at everything she does, so it's not surprising that she's so good. But what is weirder actually to me, is that after she performs for however many thousands of people that is, you know, she just comes over after, and like, we drink some wine, and like, eat a burger, and like, hang out.' Zoe marveled at Taylor's ability to seamlessly transition from global superstar to just another friend. 'You would just never know that she just performed at Wembley,' she added. Zoe Kravitz said she was amazed how her friend Taylor Swift behaves normally after stadium performances on Thursday's episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on NBC 'There are a lot of famous people who like, don't let you forget that they're famous, you know what I mean? Like, they just ...they bring Wembley home with them if that makes sense,' Zoe explained. 'She really just turns into a normal person. It's pretty crazy.' Jimmy, 49, agreed Taylor's normality was impressive after performing for more than 70,000 people. Zoe, who wore a black lace camisole and tan skirt, appeared on the show to promote her new film Blink Twice that she co-wrote, co-produced and directed. The film comes out nationwide in theaters on Friday. Jimmy congratulated her on the movie. 'I want to also say congratulations to you on your engagement to Channing Tatum,' Jimmy said. 'Oh thanks,' Zoe said smiling. 'That's my buddy,' Jimmy said. 'He's my buddy,' Zoe said. 'I love both you guys,' said Jimmy, who then played a video of her and Channing, 44, dancing at Taylor's concert. Taylor Swift is shown performing in June at Wembley Stadium in London as part of her Eras Tour Channing Tatum shared a tender moment with Zoe at the Taylor Swift concert in London on Instagram Zoe, who wore a black lace camisole and tan skirt, appeared on the show to promote her new film Blink Twice that she co-wrote, co-produced and directed 'I want to also say congratulations to you on your engagement to Channing Tatum,' Jimmy said Jimmy then said that her new movie was already getting good reviews. Jimmy said he saw the movie and it was scary and was an entertaining psychological thriller. 'It is a roller coaster of emotions,' Zoe said. 'There are elements in it that are very fun. But there are also, we explore these themes - power, the abuse of power, sexual abuse - so it is important that the audience does know that going in. I do want the audience to feel taken care of and safe.' Jimmy said Channing, who also is a co-producer of the film, was great in it. 'He's scary in it,' Zoe said. Jimmy then played a clip from the movie. Zoe explained the story was about a waitress who meets a tech billionaire who recently had to apologize for some questionable behavior. She said the billionaire invites the waitress to an island he bought and she soon figures out things are not as they seem. Jimmy also did a cute skit with Zoe and Sabrina Carpenter, 25, who was also on the show, where they acted as characters in a show he called 'Ew!' where they pretended to be girlfriends from summer camp. Jimmy also did a cute skit with Zoe and Sabrina Carpenter, 25, who was also on the show, where they acted as characters in a show he called 'Ew!' where they pretended to be girlfriends from summer camp Zoe and Sabrina joined Jimmy for the skit They hung out in the basement of his house all wearing dresses and danced together to Sabrina's song Espresso. Jimmy also had them look at pictures and say whether things like Hooka shoes, mullets, pop sockets, and Love Island were 'Eww.' The skit featured Jimmy speaking in a wildly exaggerated voice. They said they all were except for Stanley Tucci who they said was a good actor. Sabrina Carpenter reacted to learning that she reached a charts record with the Beatles on Thursday's episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on NBC. The 25-year-old hitmaker, wearing blue sparkly shorts with matching jacket and blue platform shoes, appeared on the show the same day her sixth studio album Short n' Sweet dropped. 'This is your summer,' Jimmy, 49, said. 'This is the summer of Sabrina Carpenter!' 'Thank you,' Sabrina said. 'I'm so happy to be here.' 'You became the first artist since the Beatles to have two songs debut within the top three on the Billboard Hot 100,' Jimmy said after sharing that her songs Espresso and Please Please Please have been crushing it on Spotify. Sabrina Carpenter reacted to learning that she reached a charts record with the Beatles on Thursday's episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on NBC 'The Beatles one sounds fake,' Sabrina said. 'No, the Beatles one is real,' Jimmy said. 'But there's one of me and four of them. So I don't understand. The math doesn't math,' Sabrina quipped. 'How cool is it to be in the same sentence as the Beatles?,' Jimmy asked. 'Very cool,' Sabrina said. 'That's an understatement. I don't really have the words for it. I'm just so grateful that you guys are listening. ' Jimmy pointed out one of her tweets she sent on March 16, 2016, where she said 'ppl r always scared to give me caffeine!!!? I don't know whyyyy those little espresso things taste cute and I likemmmm.' 'So I was 15 drinking espresso, which says a lot about my parents or me I don't know,' Sabrina said. Jimmy said it shows that she can predict the future with her tweets. The Beatles, consisting of John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, are shown in July 1964 in Liverpool, England 'You became the first artist since the Beatles to have two songs debut within the top three on the Billboard Hot 100,' Jimmy said after sharing that her songs Espresso and Please Please Please have been crushing it on Spotify Jimmy pointed out one of her tweets she sent on March 16, 2016, where she said 'ppl r always scared to give me caffeine!!!? I don't know whyyyy those little espresso things taste cute and I likemmmm' 'So I was 15 drinking espresso, which says a lot about my parents or me I don't know,' Sabrina said 'What do I tweet tonight,' Sabrina said. 'Let me tweet from your phone. Where's your phone?' 'That's you're going to have the number one album,' Jimmy said. Jimmy asked if she had any favorite songs. He said he liked the song Taste. She said her video for the song was coming out tomorrow. 'It does really feel like a self-titled album to me in a weird waywell, also cause Short N' Sweet is sort of Sabrina in another language to me,' she said. 'It really just feels like all of these stories and memories is very much like blunt, very forward, very fun and just some of the best memories I've had over the last two years of writing it. So I'm so excited for everyone to hear it.' 'It's really great,' Jimmy said. Jimmy tried to get asked about the photo she posted from the video shoot and she confirmed the other woman in the picture was Jenna Ortega. 'It was inspired by one of my favorite films and she was a huge fan of the film and also I'm so excited for you guys to see this video,' Sabrina said. ' I think it's my favorite one I've ever done.' Jimmy said Sabrina was taking off on her arena tour. 'I'm so small and those stages are so big,' Sabrina said. ' I don't know what I will do other than I want it to be the best show for everyone that is attending.' Sabrina later changed outfits into a black sequined dress and took the stage and performed her hit song Please, Please, Please. She sang barefoot on top of a white grand piano. Sabrina later changed outfits into a black sequined dress and took the stage and performed her hit song Please, Please, Please Sabrina will kick off her 'first-ever arena tour' with the 47-date Short n' Sweet Tour on September 23 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. 'I'm so small and the stage is so big so I don't really know what I will do other than I want it to be the best show for everybody that's attending,' Sabrina said. Sabrina is scheduled to be one of the performers for the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards airing September 10 from the UBS Arena in New York. She will compete for six Moonperson trophies - song of the year, artist of the year, and best pop as well as technical awards for best editing, best direction, and best art direction. Sabrina Carpenter glammed up to perform on The Tonight Show in Manhattan on Thursday while promoting her newly-dropped, sixth studio album Short n' Sweet. The 25-year-old pop star slipped her petite 4ft11in frame into a plunging, backless black-sequin gown selected by stylist Ron Hartleben. Sabrina sang a jazzy, stripped rendition of her No. 1 hit song Please Please Please while barefoot and perched on a white grand piano. Carpenter eventually stood up as she finished off the track about instructing her boyfriend not to blunder and blemish her reputation. Hairstylist Scott King coiffed the Espresso hitmaker's signature flaxen, fringed mane and make-up artist Carolina Gonzalez fully contoured her complexion for her fourth appearance on the NBC talk show. Sabrina Carpenter glammed up to perform on The Tonight Show in Manhattan on Thursday while promoting her newly-dropped, sixth studio album Short n' Sweet Sabrina opted for a baby-blue sparkly collared top, matching shorts, and towering platform heels for the interview segment with host Jimmy Fallon. 'I mean honestly, like, it does really feel like a self-titled album to me,' Carpenter said of her 12-track record that dropped Friday at midnight ET. 'Well, also because Short n' Sweet is sort of like Sabrina in another language to me. It really just feels like all of these stories and memories and very much like blunt, very forward, very fun, and just some of the best memories that I've had for the last two years of writing it, so I'm so excited for everyone to hear it!' That same night, the former Disney Channel star - who taught herself how to play piano and guitar with YouTube tutorials - shared a BTS slideshow of the making of Short n' Sweet with collaborators like Jack Antonoff, Amy Allen, Julia Michaels, John Ryan, Julian Bunetta, and Steph Jones. Sabrina - who boasts 76.3M social media followers - wrote on Instagram: 'The making of Short n' Sweet was one of the most special, honest, up-and-down, stupid, and fun experiences of my life! I thought if something was funny enough to make me laugh then maybe it belonged in a song. Happy or sad! Thank you to my brilliant [and] talented friends.' On Friday, she will finally unveil the music video for her next single Taste co-starring Wednesday actress Jenna Ortega, in which she seemingly takes a naughty shower with Carpenter's man. 'It was inspired by one of my favorite films, and she was a huge fan of the film,' the Pennsylvania-born blonde explained of the casting. 'And also just like, I'm so excited for you guys to see this video. You have no idea. I think it's my favorite one I've ever done!' The 25-year-old pop star slipped her petite 4ft11in frame into a plunging, backless black-sequin gown selected by stylist Ron Hartleben Sabrina sang a jazzy, stripped rendition of her No. 1 hit song Please Please Please while barefoot and perched on a white grand piano Carpenter eventually stood up as she finished off the track about instructing her boyfriend not to blunder and blemish her reputation Hairstylist Scott King coiffed the Espresso hitmaker's signature flaxen, fringed mane Make-up artist Carolina Gonzalez fully contoured her complexion for her fourth appearance on the NBC talk show Sabrina - who gets 75.9M monthly listeners on Spotify - is excited to kick off her 'first-ever arena tour' with the 47-date Short n' Sweet Tour on September 23 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH. 'I'm so small and the stage is so big so I don't really know what I will do other than I want it to be the best show for everybody that's attending,' Carpenter gushed. But first, the Hot Ones champ is scheduled to be one of the performers for the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards airing September 10 from the UBS Arena in New York. Sabrina will compete for six Moonperson trophies - song of the year, artist of the year, and best pop as well as technical awards for best editing, best direction, and best art direction. Sabrina opted for a baby-blue sparkly collared top, matching shorts, and towering platform heels for the interview segment with host Jimmy Fallon Carpenter said of her 12-track record that dropped Friday at midnight ET: 'It really just feels like all of these stories and memories and very much like blunt, very forward, very fun, and just some of the best memories that I've had for the last two years of writing it, so I'm so excited for everyone to hear it!' That same night, the former Disney Channel star - who taught herself how to play piano and guitar with YouTube tutorials - shared a BTS slideshow of the making of Short n' Sweet with collaborators like Jack Antonoff (L) Sabrina gushed on Instagram: 'The making of Short n' Sweet was one of the most special, honest, up-and-down, stupid, and fun experiences of my life!' On Friday, she will finally unveil the music video for her next single Taste co-starring Wednesday actress Jenna Ortega, in which she seemingly takes a naughty shower with Carpenter's man The Pennsylvania-born blonde explained of the casting: 'It was inspired by one of my favorite films, and she was a huge fan of the film. And also just like, I'm so excited for you guys to see this video. You have no idea. I think it's my favorite one I've ever done!' Sabrina is excited to kick off her 'first-ever arena tour' with the 47-date Short n' Sweet Tour on September 23 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH Carpenter gushed: 'I'm so small and the stage is so big so I don't really know what I will do other than I want it to be the best show for everybody that's attending' On the personal front, Carpenter reportedly split with Oscar-nominated actor Barry Keoghan 'around three weeks ago because his party lifestyle was getting in the way of their relationship.' 'Barry acts like an idiot when he is drunk and Sabrina was getting increasingly frustrated,' a source told The Sun last Saturday. 'He has always been a party animal and Sabrina was fed up with his antics. She is soaring in the charts and is putting herself first as she gears up for her tour next month.' The SKIMS brand ambassador had first crossed paths with the 31-year-old Irishman at the Givenchy runway presentation during Paris Fashion Week on September 28 before being spotted on a date in Brentwood on December 3. Jessica Alves has sparked engagement rumours after flashing a giant ring on her finger during date night. The model, 41, was enjoying a romantic night out with boyfriend Dalton Phillips in London on Thursday when she showed off a dazzling pearl and diamond ring. She looked as glamorous as ever in a semi-sheer mesh mini dress for the evening and seemed more smitten than ever as she shared a kiss with the personal trainer, 31. She teamed the bejewelled piece with a pair of nude stiletto heels and opted for her usual full makeup. Dalton opted for a smart polo neck top, beige trousers and a pair of leather Chelsea boots for their outing. Jessica Alves sparked engagement rumours as she flashed a giant ring on her hand during a romantic date night with boyfriend Dalton Phillips in London on Thursday She looked as glamorous as ever in a semi-sheer mesh mini dress for the evening and seemed more smitten than ever as she shared a kiss with the personal trainer, 31 The couple, who first met during her birthday in Miami, posed for a series of photos outside Sican Restaurant, off Tottenham Court Road, before heading home The couple, who first met during her birthday in Miami, posed for a series of photos outside Sican Restaurant, off Tottenham Court Road, before heading home. Jessica looked happier than ever, flashing a huge smile and waving to the cameras from her taxi. A source told MailOnline that while nothing is yet official Jessica 'believes Dalton is the one and a proposal could be on the cards soon.' She has previously opened up about being 'unlucky in love' due to men using her for her riches and discriminating against her for being trans. But it appears she has found love at last, telling MailOnline that her new man is 'generous, kind, and a true gentleman'. She revealed that the pair grew a 'genuine connection naturally,' with Jessica admitting he 'is the best birthday present she could have wished for.' 'Dalton is from a lovely family, has good morals and values, he is also adventures and inspires me everyday,' Jessica told MailOnline. 'He is also super intelligent which makes him even more attractive to me.' The star has a reported net worth of 30million and speaking exclusively to MailOnline last year, Jessica outlined how her potential suitors have asked for financial help, as well as free holidays and other hefty expenditures. The TV personality, 41, looked as glamorous as ever in a semi-sheer mesh mini dress Jessica revealed to MailOnline that she is 'living a fairytale' with her new boyfriend She was pictured publicly with Dalton for the first time two weeks ago - after previously admitting to being 'unlucky in love' She said, 'I have been going on dates, being a single woman, and it's been very difficult to meet Mr. Right. Men are just so complicated. 'I've had some bad dates where men just wanted to take advantage of me, they just wanted my money and, yeah, they weren't looking for a relationship as such. 'They just wanted commodity so they say, "Let's travel together. Let's do this together but all on my account." 'Sometimes they would ask for things. I was dating this guy and he started asking me for financial help. I was like, "Gosh, p**s off." Anyway, I haven't been very lucky.' Kanye West showed off his $850,000 golden grills as her arrived in Seoul Korea on Thursday with his wife Bianca Censori and his children. Model and architect Bianca, 29, who has risked flouting the law around the world with her increasingly outrageous outfits, chose a much more conservative ensemble while walking through the airport with the rapper, 47. She covered-up in a fitted, highneck midi dress, paired with stiletto heels and a matching bakerboy cap. Kanye also kept it casual in a plain, white hoodie and matching joggers, shielding his eyes with black sunglasses. Bianca carried Chicago, six, in her arms as they walked around the airport lobby, with North, 11, and Saint, eight, by her side. Psalm, five, seemingly did not tag along on the trip. Kanye West showed off his $850,000 golden grills as her arrived in Seoul Korea on Thursday with his wife Bianca Censori and his children Model and architect Bianca, 29, who has risked flouting the law around the world with her increasingly outrageous outfits, opted for a much more conservative ensemble The couple are in South Korea ahead of Kanye's Vultures 2 listening party with Ty Dolla $ign. The event will take place on Friday, August 23 at Goyang Stadium, following by another party in Taiwan on August 25. Kanye last performed in South Korea 14 years earlier while at the Summer Week&T music festival back in 2010. The musician shares his four children with ex-wife Kim Kardashian. They began dating in 2012, married in 2014 and filed for divorced in 2021. In February, a source revealed to DailyMail.com that Kim had asked Kanye to have his wife cover up when around their children, which might explain her clothing choice. 'Kim instructed Kanye to never let Bianca dress like that around their kids. She is truly surprised that Kanye would let his wife leave the house like that.' The insider added: 'Kanye did the same thing he is doing with Bianca to Kim throughout their marriage. The difference is that when Kanye dressed Kim, he was respected as a person as an artist.' The couple are in South Korea ahead of Kanye's Vultures 2 listening party with Ty Dolla $ign. Kanye also kept it casual in a plain, white hoodie and matching joggers, shielding his eyes with black sunglasses Bianca carried Chicago, six, in her arms as they walked around the airport lobby, with North, 11, and Saint, eight, by her side. Psalm, five, seemingly did not tag along on the trip The couple are in South Korea ahead of Kanye's Vultures 2 listening party with Ty Dolla $ign (seen in February in Milan) The event will take place on Friday, August 23 at Goyang Stadium, following by another party in Taiwan on August 25. Ahead of their trip to South Korea, the rapper was seen taking his scantily-clad wife to grab a quick bite to eat at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Los Angeles. As they entered the popular fast food restaurant, all eyes were on the Australian architect, who left little to the imagination in a tattered grey bra and satin underwear. In a photo, which appears to be taken from the KFC security camera, the Grammy winner could be seen sporting a white hoodie and black pants. While it is unclear when the pair visited the KFC, Censori's sister, Angelina, posted a snap of her wearing the same revealing outfit to her Instagram Story on Saturday. From LA to Tokyo and Berlin to Paris and Venice, Bianca's increasingly shocking and shrinking outfits have been getting her in troubles with the authorities around the world. Two weeks ago, Bianca's most 'extreme' outfit yet was the latest in a long list of outraging public decency incidents around the world - and has seen her teetering on the very edge of the law. The music artist shares North, 11, Saint, eight, Chicago, six and Psalm, five, with ex-wife Kim Kardashian In February, a source revealed to DailyMail.com that Kim had asked Kanye to have his wife cover up when around their children , which might explain her ensemble (pictured in July) Ahead of their trip to South Korea, the Stronger rapper was seen taking his wife to grab a quick bite to eat at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Los Angeles with Bianca in a tattered grey bra Her decision to go topless in LA raises yet more questions about whether on the orders of husband Kanye because of a PR war with his ex-wife Kim. Mark Borkowski, arguably Britain's leading PR guru, told MailOnline: 'Where does it end? She clearly is very comfortable with her public image and demonstrates it with this extreme fashion statement. 'I can only think this is a considered act. It feels to be a desperate attempt for publicity. It feels like a living embodiment of the Empress has no clothes'. Bianca has continued to push the boundaries of fashion to the very limit since she got together with Kanye - and there are questions about whether she is the source of the ideas or simply West's muse. Lottie Moss put on a sultry display as she shared a series of bathroom snaps before heading for a night out in Bodrum, Turkey. Taking to Instagram on Thursday, the OnlyFans star, 26, showed off her figure in a pale pink slip dress which showed off her cleavage with its plunging ruched neckline. Lottie wore her blonde locks down and accessorised with silver earrings. The Celebs Go Dating star, who is the younger sister of Kate Moss, is staying at three star hotel Bobo by The Stay. Lottie captioned the post: ' Bodrum baby'. Lottie Moss put on a sultry display as she shared a series of bathroom snaps before heading for a night out in Bodrum, Turkey Taking to Instagram on Thursday, the OnlyFans star, 26, showed off her figure in a pale pink slip dress which showed off her cleavage with its plunging ruched neckline Lottie has jetted off to Turkey after she opened up to about her ongoing family feud. Kate Moss and her half-sister, Lottie, were once so close that they lived together during the Covid lockdowns. Now, Lottie has revealed that she has become so estranged from her family that even her own mother has reportedly stopped talking to her. The fall-out is believed to have happened when Lottie started showing her bare skin for the adult subscription website OnlyFans, after moving to Los Angeles in 202 'I did have a hunch that people wouldn't be as forgiving in the UK, but it was nothing like how I felt when I did get back,' she says. 'I lost a lot of friends from the modelling industry. My mum didn't speak to me for weeks and my family was a little bit in turmoil over it.' Lottie grew up in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, with her mother, Inger, who's Norwegian. She's the second wife of travel agent Peter Moss, the father she shares with Kate, 50. Lottie wore her blonde locks down and accessorised with silver earrings The Celebs Go Dating star, who is the younger sister of Kate Moss, is staying at three star hotel Bobo by The Stay Lottie captioned the post: ' Bodrum baby' Lottie has jetted off to Turkey after she opened up to about her ongoing family feud including sister Kate Moss (pictured in 2014) Speaking on her new podcast, Dream On with Lottie Moss, she added: 'There's so many OnlyFans girls in LA and so many porn stars in LA. People really just accept them into society, and people are cool with them, and nobody asks many questions about it.' Lottie, who was educated at 20,000-per-year Bede's school, adds: 'Then I moved back to London, and this was when it got real for me. All my friends thought I was having a serious mental breakdown.' She was a bridesmaid at Kate's wedding and, when she started modelling at the age of 16 for Teen Vogue, it appeared that she was destined to follow in her sister's footsteps. She has now said that living in Kate's shadow has left her 'depressed' and it has forced her to turn down working with high-end fashion houses. 'For years with modelling I have just been told who I was, and I had been put down this alley of, ''this is who you are, you are Kate Moss's sister and you're going to be part two of her'', and it so wasn't me.' While she previously appeared in an advertising campaign for Calvin Klein, something most models would die for, Lottie says she achieves more job satisfaction from being a 'content creator' for OnlyFans. 'People think I came into it because I was in this bad place in my life, and it was all going wrong, but it was the opposite,' she insists. 'Modelling stood for something I was not really a fan of and when I found Only Fans I met all these girls that were similar to me. I always wanted to be a bit more risque and I always wanted to get my body out.' The son of a notable Australian TV star was spotted keeping a low profile as he stepped out in Sydney on Friday. The 24-year-old, whose father hosts a hugely popular Channel Nine show, cut a casual figure as he headed out for a quick snack. Wearing a maroon jumper with the hood pulled up, he stopped on the street to eat a pastry during the daytime outing. He added loose fit black slacks and a pair of sneakers to the look as he kept things low-key during the outing. The star, who has previously spoken about how his father fostered his love of music, wore a pair of headphones during the outing. He blended in with the crowd with few likely aware he's the son of a breakfast television superstar. But can you guess who he is? The son of a notable Australian TV star was spotted cutting a low profile as he stepped out in Sydney on Friday - but can you guess who it is? The 24-year-old, whose father hosts a hugely popular Channel Nine show, was spotted cutting a casual figure as he headed out for a quick snack That's right, he's Jackson Stefanovic, the son of famed Today presenter Karl, 50. Nine Network star Karl shares Jackson with his former wife, Cassandra Thorburn. Jackson is passionate about music and previously told how an acoustic guitar gifted to him by his father Karl on his 17th birthday helped him with his mental health. 'I've battled my whole life with ADHD, and various other mental health issues, and at times I really struggled to find my place in the world,' he told Woman's Day in 2022. 'But my passion for music and song has helped me wade through some pretty tough stuff.' 'My parents remain my biggest fans. Family is everything,' he added. 'Thanks to their unconditional love, and music and song, my journey through life suddenly got a whole lot brighter'. As well as Jackson, Karl and Cassandra also share another son, River, 17, and a daughter Ava, 19, who now goes by her middle name Willow. The pair went their separate ways in 2016 after 21 years of marriage, and Cassandra has since stepped away from the spotlight. He is Jackson Stefanovic, the son of famed Today presenter Karl, 50. Jackson is passionate about music and previously told how an acoustic guitar gifted to him by his father Karl on his 17th birthday helped him with his mental health. Karl shares Jackson with his former wife, Cassandra Thorburn (pictured together in 2011). As well as Jackson, the exes also share another son, River, 17, and a daughter Ava, 19, who now goes by her middle name Willow Jackson is passionate about music and previously told how an acoustic guitar gifted to him by his father Karl on his 17th birthday helped him with his mental health Cassandra now works in sales and support for the aged care sector in Sydney and previously told how she was happy to put a life in the public eye 'behind' her. Meanwhile, Willow is currently studying fashion at the London College of Fashion, which is part of the University of the Arts London - a collection of six of the most prestigious arts colleges in the world. It recruits on a global scale and its list of alumni reads like a Who's Who of the creative industries, from illustrator Quentin Blake to Florence Welch of Florence and The Machine. Willow is also ready to follow in her famous father's footsteps by kicking off a career in the spotlight, signing with Precision MGMT to launch a career as a model. Karl is also father to another daughter Harper, four, whom he shares with his second wife, shoe designer Jasmine Yarbrough. The Nine presenter found love with shoe designer Jasmine in late 2016, after splitting from Cassandra, and the pair were married two years later in December 2018. Crisis-hit Sean Wilson has whisked his lover away on holiday to get away from the stress of his abrupt sacking of his Coronation Street comeback. MailOnline revealed yesterday how the actor who plays Martin Platt was called into a meeting with ITV producers and told they would no longer be using him and pulled the plug on the remaining production plans. A source close to the set said that the 59-year-old was abruptly kicked off the show after a concern was raised to bosses. Now MailOnline can reveal how the actor who started a successful cheese-making business after leaving the Street has gone on holiday with his long-term girlfriend, Carol Hammond. A neighbour where the couple live in Leicester, said: 'They have gone away. It's been a tough few weeks for Sean with all the speculation around Corrie, so I'm sure the break will do him good.' Crisis-hit Sean Wilson has whisked his lover away on holiday to get away from the stress of his abrupt sacking of his Coronation Street comeback Sean began a relationship with Carol just before the pandemic hit in 2020, with both sharing loved-up snaps together on social media. Before that Sean dated actress Susie Fenwick. Their romance began after his 16-year marriage to his wife Gaynor ended in 2013. Yet MailOnline can reveal over the past four years, Sean has been in a relationship with Carol - with both parties openly sharing photos cuddled up together on social media. While they have kept their relationship out of the public eye, Carol has accompanied Sean to cheese fairs, where has sold his award-winning dairy products. One picture shows them holding hands looking into the camera, while another photo shows the pair beaming wearing sunglasses while on a sunny beach. The pair are now thought to be on a summer holiday following the Coronation Street fallout. Sean, who played Martin Platt for two decades, had begun filming episodes for the ITV series, which would see his character reunited with his ex-wife Gail, before sailing off into the sunset together. MailOnline revealed yesterday how the actor was called into a meeting with ITV producers and told they would no longer be using him and pulled the plug on the remaining plans MailOnline can reveal how the actor who started a successful cheese-making business after leaving the Street has gone on holiday with his long-term girlfriend, Carol Hammond Sean began a relationship with Carol just before the pandemic hit in 2020, with both sharing loved-up snaps together on social media Yet, after an unexplained concern was raised with bosses about the star, he was abruptly axed from the show, with producers scrambling to re-write episodes set to air in October. Corrie's bosses have failed to divulge details about his exit, only citing 'personal reasons' while the actor's representatives have refused to comment or offer explanation for the sudden change. It marks just another hurdle in Sean's chequered past with long-running television series set on the cobbled streets of Greater Manchester. He sensationally quit Coronation Street back in 2005 when he was told by producers how his character was going to seduce an underage girl. It was intended as a controversial Christmas storyline that would have seen the family man nurse branded a paedophile. At the time, Sean said: 'I didn't want to do it and suggested they could bring in another actor, but the producer was insistent. 'It wasn't for me, so I told them, 'No, I will not be doing that storyline and I suggest that maybe you go and have a rethink.' 'They came back a couple of weeks later and said, 'No, we do feel that this storyline is going to go ahead.' 'Then they decided to unilaterally tell the country that I was sacked, which wasn't the case, and it was frustrating. 'I think with the individuals involved at the time, it wasn't surprising that it entered the playground.' Sean did make a brief return to the soap in 2018, which was a surprise; he swore when he left that he would act again, 'but never with Coronation Street'. 'They were very rude to me when I left. I would rather walk down any other street even if I had a nail in my shoe.' Corrie's bosses have failed to divulge details about Sean's exit, only citing 'personal reasons' while the actor's representatives have refused to comment or offer explanation By 2022, however, Sean was once again insisting that he would never return to Cornation Street as a cast member after falling in love with his new career as a cheesemaker. And in February he slammed the soap for 'trying to solve world issues' rather than focusing on its former 'great writing and great acting'. He told the Daily Star: 'People don't have to watch it anymore. They were all segwayed together; you were five minutes from laughing and five minutes from crying. Nowadays it seems very much issue-centric, they're trying to solve the world's issues, which they're not going to do.' By July, however, he had been persuaded to take part in the exit story line for Helen Worth's character Gail Platt, after the actress announced she was stepping down after 50 years on the cobbles. After he picked up his first scripts to start shooting, he said: 'It was great to be invited back to Coronation Street again, to contribute to Helen's exit story.' He added: 'We'll have a few months to catch up with Martin and Gail again, following the ebbs and flows of the unfolding storyline. 'Playing Martin has been a joy since day one and in a way, I'll be slipping back to where I left off, which no doubt will throw a spanner into the heart of the Platt family. 'It's just like slipping on an old and comfortable jumper from the back of the wardrobe I'm looking forward to reuniting with my TV family.' Yet just a month later, the plans were in ruins with Sean reportedly being left with 'no explanations'. A source told The Sun: 'It has come as a complete and utter shock to everyone - and his sudden exit has rocked everyone involved with Corrie. Sean was loving his time on the show, and he was very popular on set. 'He had filmed scenes with loads of the cast, but then suddenly he was summoned to head office, and later it filtered out he wouldn't be returning or his scenes airing, but no explanation offered. 'Clearly it's a major blow for bosses who must now find a new magical and happy ending for Helen - but they are confident they'll pull it out of the bag, and give viewers something wonderful.' An ITV spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Sean Wilson has stepped down from filming for personal reasons.' Narelda Jacobs walked down the aisle with her bride Karina Natt earlier this month. And the newlyweds made their red carpet debut as a married couple at the opening night Gaslight at the Roslyn Packer Theatre in Sydney on Friday. The Channel 10 presenter and her wife looked absolutely smitten as they enjoyed their honeymoon period in the spotlight. The women exchanged warm looks and laughed together while posing for photos while holding hands. Narelda cut a fashionable figure in a horse themed shirt in retro tones of bright orange and dark brown. She added a pair of camel toned trousers that clung close to her figure as well as black leather boots. The television star chose a clean and fresh makeup look with a rosy blush and a pink matte lipstick. She completed her ensemble with a pair of earrings that matched her trousers and otherwise skipped the accessories but for her wedding band. Narelda Jacobs walked down the aisle with her bride Karina Natt earlier this month. And the newlyweds made their red carpet debut as a married couple at the opening night Gaslight at the Roslyn Packer Theatre in Sydney on Friday. Both pictured The Channel 10 presenter and her wife looked absolutely smitten as they enjoyed their honeymoon period in the spotlight The women exchanged warm looks and laughed together while posing for photos while holding hands Karina was also on trend in long-sleeved olive green top and a pair of wide-legged black pants worn with leather boots. The pair were married in a fun-filled ceremony in Sydney in early August, just 18 months after they went on their first date. The 48-year-old looked to be having an absolute ball in images shared to Instagram on while surrounded by friends, family and famous guests. The two said 'I do' in front of a floral arch placed before a huge window at what appeared to be an upper floor location. Narelda and her new wife each opted for white ensembles, with the TV star choosing a fitted gown with fur accents from Aussie luxury label Zhivago. Narelda cut a fashionable figure in a horse themed shirt in retro tones of bright orange and dark brown. She added a pair of camel toned trousers that clung close to her figure as well as black leather boots Karina was also on trend in long-sleeved olive green top and a pair of wide-legged black pants worn with leather boots Karina meanwhile also dressed in a Zhivago gown, which likewise sat close to her figure and included high fashion raised shoulders. Among the celebrity guests were MasterChef Australia star Melissa Leong and celebrity chef Kylie Kwong. Also in attendance was comedian Luke McGregor and his wife Dr Amy Thunig-McGregor. Following the intimate vows ceremony, the brides changed outfits to party into the night. The new wives donned matching opalescent disco frocks with plunging necklines and a 1980s style silhouette. The pair were married in a fun-filled ceremony in Sydney in early August, just 18 months after they went on their first date Narelda and her new wife each opted for white ensembles, with the TV star choosing a fitted gown with fur accents from Aussie luxury label Zhivago Natt is the chief of staff for South Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young. Jacobs was previously in a long-term relationship with filmmaker Stevie Cruz-Martin. While it's unclear when Jacobs and Cruz-Martin broke up, the film and television director now appears to be based in London. She debuted her new romance in an Instagram post in early 2023, sharing a photo of the two women kissing during Sydney World Pride celebrations. In the caption, Jacobs revealed the pair went on their first date in February that year, going public when they had been an item for just four weeks. 'Can't ignore the numbers. First date 23/02/23. One month later 23/03/23,' she wrote. Karina meanwhile also dressed in a Zhivago gown, which likewise sat close to her figure and included high fashion raised shoulders Natt is the chief of staff for South Australian Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young. Following the intimate vows ceremony, the brides changed outfits to party into the night Natt first appeared on Jacobs' Instagram feed on March 4 that year. Jacobs told The Australian in 2021 she was brought up being told it was wrong to be gay and she would go to hell for her sexuality. She also said she wanted her daughter Jade Dolman to have a more tolerant and accepting childhood than the one she had. 'I wanted Jade to grow up with an open mind; I didn't, because of our very Christian upbringing. We thought gays were going to hell,' she said. Jacobs, who was raised in a strict Christian family before coming out at the age of 21, previously struggled to accept she was gay. 'I buried my sexuality so deep because of how we were brought up,' she told The Sydney Morning Herald in February 2021. Her mother Margaret has made it clear she does not accept her sexuality, but loves her all the same. '[My mother and I] have great conversations about all sorts of things, but there are certain things we just don't talk about,' she said. 'I would love to be able to talk about relationship stuff with my mum, but I know that I will never be able to.' San Francisco Mayor London Breed, right, listens as San Francisco Police Chief William Scott speaks to visitors of the Lady Shaw Senior Center in San Francisco in February. Breed recently secured the police unions endorsement. Jessica Christian/The Chronicle San Francisco Mayor London Breed has been endorsed by the union representing the citys police officers, a key political victory as she seeks to strengthen her reelection bid in a race dominated by voters public safety concerns. In a news release from Breeds campaign, the San Francisco Police Officers Association praised the mayors efforts to support law enforcement in various ways, including backing a contract last year that gave local police the highest starting salaries among large Bay Area cities. Breed also put a successful measure on the March ballot to expand police powers by giving officers more leeway to chase fleeing suspects by car and use surveillance technology. Breed is expected to use the unions endorsement to bolster her argument that she is the best choice for voters worried about car break-ins, retail theft and open-air drug scenes. While San Francisco Police Department data shows reported crimes as of Sunday were down nearly 34% compared to last year, a Chronicle poll released this month found that public safety remained the most important issue among likely voters. Another factor that was important to the union and its president, Tracy McCray, was Breeds support for a November ballot measure, Proposition F, that would allow officers to delay their retirement in exchange for a compensation bump for up to five years. Its easy to stand on the sidelines and say what ought to be done. Its very different to stand up and take action, especially in San Francisco, McCray said in a statement. Mayor Breed has stood up for smart public safety policies, weathered the anti-policing attacks, and has stood with San Francisco police officers as weve worked with the community to turn the tide on crime and lawlessness. Its working. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Mayoral debate: On Sept. 19, the Chronicle and KQED are hosting an S.F. mayoral debate with the leading candidates. Click here to register for the livestream. While the police union backing is good news for Breed, its a setback for Mark Farrell, the former supervisor and interim mayor running to Breeds right. Farrells campaign is premised largely on the belief that the city must respond more aggressively to its public safety problems, including by requesting that the state send armed National Guard troops to crack down on drug dealing in the Tenderloin. Breed said in a statement that she was honored that her efforts to fully staff the department and support our officers are being recognized and acknowledged by the unions endorsement. The core function of city government is to keep our residents, businesses, workers, and visitors safe and I will never waver in my commitment to public safety in San Francisco, fully staffing our police department, and giving our officers the tools they need to succeed, Breed said. A police union board member told the Chronicle that when the board met this week to consider making its endorsement in the mayors race, around six of its more than 30 members said they were inclined to back Farrells mayoral campaign. Only McCray spoke out in favor of Breed, said the board member, who asked not to be named because they feared retribution. (The Chronicle agreed not to name the person under its confidential sources policy.) We never voted. We just said, OK, well stay united, and well go with what you say, the board member said, calling McCrays advocacy a one-sided presentation of what Mayor Breed has done. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Kanye West's daughters North and Chicago - whom he shares with ex-wife Kim Kardashian - stole the show at his Vultures 2 album listening party in Korea on Friday. The kids looked overjoyed as they showed off their dance moves. North, 11, commanded attention in a fur-trimmed jacket and military boots as she moved to the beat under the spotlights of Goyang Stadium. Her younger sister Chicago, six, danced by her side, looking adorable in a black outfit with her braids tied in pink bows. The siblings captivated the packed audience as their father and album collaborator Ty Dolla $ign performed their tracks nearby. The lively moment came just hours after the famous siblings joined by the controversial rapper, 47, his wife Bianca Censori, 29, and their 8-year-old brother Saint touched down in Seoul for the whirlwind trip. Kanye West 's daughters North and Chicago stole the show at his Vultures 2 album listening party in Korea on Friday, showing off their dance moves 11-year-old fashionista North commanded attention in a fur-trimmed jacket and military boots as she moved to the beat under the spotlights of Goyang Stadium The Grammy winner also Psalm, five, with Kardashian; Psalm did not appear to be at the show. The Vultures 2 listening party in South Korea will be followed by another event in Taiwan on August 25. Kanye last performed in South Korea 14 years earlier while at the Summer Week&T music festival back in 2010. Earlier this month, Bianca supported her husband at a listening event for the album alongside her sisters, Angelina and Alyssia, in Salt Lake City. Their mother seemingly was also in attendance at the Delta Center for the live concert. Bianca and her sisters also had the chance to possibly mingle with two of West's children - North and Chicago - during the concert. During the event, his daughters joined him on stage as they performed the song, Bomb, according to TMZ. North notably was featured on the track, and rapped in fluent Japanese throughout the song. Bianca's sibling, Angelina, also jumped to her Instagram stories to give her followers a glimpse of the album release party inside the venue. Her younger sister Chicago, just six years old, danced by her side, looking adorable in a black outfit with her braids tied in pink bows The adorable siblings captivated the packed audience as their father and album collaborator, Ty Dolla $ign, performed their tracks nearby The lively moment came just hours after the famous siblings joined by the controversial rapper, 47, his wife Bianca Censori , 29, and their 8-year-old brother Saint touched down in Seoul for the whirlwind trip The Vultures 2 listening party in South Korea will be followed by another event in Taiwan on August 25 Censori is no stranger to spending time with Kanye and Kim's children after tying the knot with the rapper in 2022. Last week, the architect grabbed dinner with her mother as well as some of Kanye's children: Saint, Chicago, and Psalm. The group stopped by the hotspot, Nobu, in Malibu. Late last month in July, Bianca enjoyed a movie date with stepdaughter North to watch Deadpool & Wolverine in L.A. with Kanye also joining the pair. The family has been on other trips together in the past and in June, Bianca was seen on a shopping excursion in Tokyo with North and Chicago. Earlier this year in February, a source revealed to DailyMail.com that the SKIMS founder had asked Kanye to have his wife cover up when around their children. 'Kim instructed Kanye to never let Bianca dress like that around their kids. She is truly surprised that Kanye would let his wife leave the house like that.' The insider added, 'Kanye did the same thing he is doing with Bianca to Kim throughout their marriage. 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.' Ahead of their trip to South Korea, the Stronger rapper was seen taking his wife to grab a quick bite to eat at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Los Angeles. In a photo that seemingly was taken from a security camera inside the fast food chain, the pair could be seen standing at a counter as they ordered items from the menu. The music artist shares North, 11, Saint, eight, Chicago, six and Psalm, five, with ex-wife Kim Kardashian Kanye last performed in South Korea 14 years earlier while at the Summer Week&T music festival back in 2010; seen in February in Milan Kim Kardashian departs her NYC hotel en route to Washington DC on August 15 Earlier this month, Bianca supported her husband at a listening event for the album alongside her sisters, Angelina and Alyssia, in Salt Lake City Bianca turned heads in a skimpy, bralette top that had a deep, plunging neckline on the front as well as a pair of nude-colored bottoms. West kept it casual in a white, hooded sweatshirt as well as a pair of black shorts for the errand run. While it is not exactly known when Kanye and Bianca stopped by the KFC, the architect notably wore the same, racy top in a photo recently shared by her sister, Angelina, on her Instagram stories. Over the weekend, the music artist and Censori were seen making a surprise stop at a pro-Trump rally in Beverly Hills - which reportedly left her friends worried for her safety. Phoebe Dynevor oozed elegance as she enjoyed a dinner date with fiance Cameron Fuller at celebrity hotspot Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica on Thursday. The newly-engaged couple enjoyed a sweet dinner date with actress Nina Dobrev, 35, and her Olympian boyfriend Shaun White, 37, at the famed eatery in Los Angeles. The Bridgerton actress, 29, looked effortlessly chic in grey tailored trousers and a sleeveless black top, paired with stylish Louis Vuitton pumps. Her doting fiance Cameron, 28, tenderly placed his hand on her lower back as they departed the restaurant. Cameron - who is the son of Hollywood producer Brad Fuller - cut a casual figure in blue denim jeans and a knitted black cardigan. Phoebe Dynevor, 29, oozed elegance as she enjoyed a dinner date with fiance Cameron Fuller, 28, at celebrity hotspot Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica on Thursday The newly-engaged couple enjoyed a sweet dinner date with actress Nina Dobrev, 35, and her Olympian boyfriend Shaun White, 37, at the famed eatery in Los Angeles Meanwhile, The Vampire Diaries star looked elegant in an all-black ensemble, teamed with an oversized grey blazer. Her three-time Olympic gold medalist boyfriend - who retired from snowboarding - gripped hold of Nina's hand as they departed dinner. Nina and Shaun first met at an awards show in 2012 but were formally introduced at a Florida workshop organized by motivational speaker Tony Robbins in late 2019. 'I actually didn't know anything about her,' White told People of their first interaction. The pair dated secretly until going Instagram official in April 2020. Since, the pair have grown closer. In April, the athlete told the outlet that he felt 'no pressure' to propose to the actress. He said: 'We're just enjoying our time together right now, but I told her, I was like, "Look, after the Olympics, I finally got my freedom to do whatever. And let's just have fun and be together and support each other." 'But you never know. We'll see what happens,' he added. The Bridgerton actress looked effortlessly chic in grey tailored trousers and a sleeveless black top, paired with stylish Louis Vuitton pumps The smitten couple couldn't take their hands off each other as they departed the popular LA eatery Nina and Shaun first met at an awards show in 2012 but were formally introduced in late 2019. The pair dated secretly until going Instagram official in April 2020 Bridgerton actress Phoebe and Camero appeared to announce their engagement earlier in May 2024 Phoebe Dynevor's mother Sally confirmed her daughter's engagement to actor Cameron as 'thrilled' Corrie star called him a 'lovely man' on Loose Women Phoebe and Cameron are thought to have got engaged earlier this month and Cameron has already got the seal of approval from Phoebe's mother Sally Dynevor. The Coronation Street star was overjoyed when Phoebe shared her happy news and she can't wait for the wedding. She said: 'My daughter has just got engaged ... He's gorgeous, he's such a lovely man. I'm so, so happy. I'm thrilled, it's actually made my year.' Sally insisted she won't be getting involved in the couple's wedding plans and will let them decide what they want for their big day. Discussing the ceremony, she said: 'To be honest, I'll be keeping well out of it.' Sally's attention has turned to what comes after the nuptials, and she is hoping that grandchildren come along sooner rather than later. The soap actress - who is married to scriptwriter Tim Dynevor, with whom she has two other children - said: 'I can't wait for my grandchildren, [although] let's not jump ahead!' Phoebe and Cameron shared the news of their engagement via Instagram on May 13, uploading a photo of Cameron embracing his shocked fiancee from behind on a stone balcony. Phoebe had her hands clasped to her face in shock with her engagement ring on display. TV presenter Anna Ryder Richardson has declared that her 60s will be her best decade yet after winning a three-year legal battle to keep her zoo. The former Changing Rooms star bought the Manor Wildlife Park 16 years ago with her ex-husband, restauranteur Colin MacDougall. The couple's struggle to turn the dilapidated Pembrokeshire reserve into a top tourist attraction was documented in the TV series Chaos at The Zoo. But when the couple's marriage broke down in 2017, Anna found herself locked in a legal wrangle over who would retain ownership after their divorce. She said: 'For the last three years, I've woken up with palpitations about the situation. It's been the worst time; it's been going on such a long time. I do go: 'have I wasted all this time, being in this horrid limbo and not really living my life?' TV presenter Anna Ryder Richardson has declared that her 60s will be her best decade yet after winning a three-year legal battle to keep her zoo The former Changing Rooms star bought the Manor Wildlife Park 16 years ago with her ex-husband, restauranteur Colin MacDougall (pictured in 2012) 'I'm a different scared now. Now I'm waking up with palpitations about the enormity of taking back the zoo. It's terrifying, but it's also really exciting. This is a new, improved Anna. This is Anna in a business suit.' Speaking to Kaye Adams on her How To Be 60 podcast, Anna said she was now looking forward to the future after the turmoil of her marriage breakdown. She explained: 'My girls are grown up, I need a purpose, this is my passion. This next chapter is going to be so exciting and in a way for me I think my life is going to begin at 60.' Set in 52 acres near Tenby, Manor Wildlife Park, is home to endangered Sumatran tigers, as well as rhinos, zebra, gibbons, camels and lemurs. Despite the legal battle, Anna, 60, insisted she had no regrets about the impulsive decision to buy the zoo in the first place. She told Kaye Adams: 'I do think it's one of the best things I've ever done, even though my marriage has broken down and we then have bizarrely ended up fighting over the zoos - because actually there are two zoos involved. 'Three years we've been in legal battles. As the judge said: ''Right, you've got a zoo each. Now go away and be happy.'' And that is what is going to happen, I will have my zoo and he will have his.' But she conceded that running the park solo was a daunting prospect. 'I will freely say that business is not my strength,' she said. The couple's struggle to turn the dilapidated Pembrokeshire reserve (pictured) into a top tourist attraction was documented in the TV series Chaos at The Zoo But when the couple's marriage broke down in 2017, Anna found herself locked in a legal wrangle over who would retain ownership after their divorce (pictured in 2012) 'But I had a very quick learning curve over the last year, particularly with looking at all the intricacies of business and learning how to read an account sheet. 'I've got some really good professionals around me as well, who will compensate for all my weak areas. 'This time, rather than running around the zoo, chatting to the animals and the visitors and picking up rubbish, I will be in the office and I will understand the figures and I will learn how this business has got to be sustainable. Otherwise, we can't look after the animals as well.' Anna said that she had therapy to help her cope with her divorce and also with the recent heartbreaking discovery that her birth parents had been traced, but did not want any contact. The interior design guru, who was adopted by Colin and Jill Ryder Richardson when she was six weeks old, said: 'In the last three years they found my birth mother and my birth father and neither of them want to meet me. 'It was horrendous. My mother never told anybody, so that's totally understandable. And he is just not a very nice guy. He's Malaysian. I really thought this Malaysian man was going to come into my life, teach me how to cook and give me an orangutan, because we'd be hanging out in Malaysia. And he refuses to acknowledge that he has a daughter.' Despite the legal battle, Anna insisted she had no regrets about the impulsive decision to buy the zoo in the first place She said that she had therapy to help her cope with her divorce and also with the recent heartbreaking discovery that her birth parents had been traced, but did not want any contact The former I'm a Celebrity contestant, who has two daughters from her marriage, Bibi Belle, 20 and Dixie Dot, 19, told How to be 60: 'My girls were like: ''what are you doing, Mum? Don't we have enough s**t going on in our lives? Why are you trying to bring in more?'' 'And I was like: ''Oh my God, yes. What am I doing? Why am I looking for people to save me all the time?'' Anna said her girls had been a huge support during her divorce. She told How to be 60: 'I couldn't have got through this without them. 'And maybe I've leant on them too much. My eldest daughter, who wears her heart on her sleeve, said to me: ''I just need you to be my mum.'' 'It made me feel awful. It literally stopped me in my tracks, because I was like: ''oh, my goodness, she's so right. It's not all about you.'' Kaye Adams: How to be 60 is available on all podcast providers. Farrah Abraham splashed out on a epic first car for her daughter Sophia's upcoming 16th birthday. The reality star, 33, bought a $123k Tesla Cybertruck Cyberbeast Foundation for the teenager - who will turn 16 in February - despite Sophia not even having a drivers license yet. The proud mom shared a snap of Sophia posing with the monster car - beloved by celebrities including Kim Kardashian. She wrote: 'Sophia just got her first car! We can't wait for delivery.' Sophia is currently unable to drive the car alone due to only having a learner's permit. Farrah Abraham splashed out on a epic first car for her daughter Sophia's upcoming 16th birthday Earlier this week the motherdaughter duo were recent dropping by a car dealership in a photo Farrah reposted to Instagram over the week. Her daughter, who recently started affecting a rebellious goth style, is eligible for a learner's permit in California at age 15 1/2, so she is potentially only days away from being able to hit the open road as long as she has adult supervision. '@sophialabraham Car shopping,' Farrah captioned a photo of Sophia admiring a sleek black vehicle. Farrah's only child perfectly matched the car in a black T-shirt and shorts, along with matching black trainers. Earlier this month, the reality star posted a fun video of herself quizzing Sophia ahead of her first time behind the wheel. Farrah opened by asking Sophia what she thought could be better about a hypothetical 'driving experience' and the car she would be using that day. But that only teed her up to snarkily reply, 'My own car.' Then Farrah appeared to go over a checklist for her daughter to keep in mind once she was actually driving. The reality star, 33, bought a $123k Tesla Cybertruck Cyberbeast Foundation for the teenager - who will turn 16 in February - despite Sophia not even having a drivers license yet Farrah's daughter Sophia is only days away from turning 15 1/2, meaning she'll soon be eligible for a learner's permit in California. The Teen Mom star shared a photo over the weekend of her daughter while they went car shopping But the video took an oddly philosophical turn next. 'OK, what's realer? Real life or online?' Farrah quizzed Sophia. 'Real life,' Sophia responded, which was the answer her mother was hoping for. Afterward, the aspiring driver took a seat behind the wheel of her mother's SUV, though she only adjusted the seat in the clip. 'It looks like your head's a little too forward. Do you need me to help you?' Farrah teased Sophia as the purple-haired teen leaned the seat backward while giving her mother a steely glare. Farrah revealed that one of the things her daughter was hoping to do once she could drive on her own was to pick up mice to feed to her pet snake, and the 15-year-old added that she was also looking forward to going on 'road trips.' The Teen Mom star ended her clip with what seemed like another non sequitur, as she praised services including Instacart and DoorDash for allowing her to stay home and avoid taking a drive to pick them up. Regular viewers of Teen Mom would likely have been shocked by Farrah's wise-cracking daughter and how much Sophia had changed since she was a pre-teen; Farrah and Sophia pictured in 2018 in Santa Monica In place of the vibrant colors, tulle skirts and sparkling sequins that Sophia once gravitated toward, she now favors all-black goth-style clothing; pictured with her mother in 2019 in Hollywood She may have intended to suggest those service apps to other parents who either didn't want to drive or didn't want their teenage children driving, as she captioned her post: 'ARE YOU READY TO DRIVE? @sophialabraham, Parents my favorite apps and this checklist is everything.' In another related clip, Farrah made it clear that she was teaching Sophia about topics including defensive driving and how to navigate car insurance. She again set her daughter up to dunk on her when she asked for an example of something that could cause distracted driving, to which Sophia replied: 'You.' Regular viewers of Teen Mom would likely have been shocked by Farrah's wise-cracking daughter and how much Sophia had changed since she was a pre-teen. In place of the vibrant colors, tulle skirts and sparkling sequins that Sophia once gravitated toward, she now favors all-black goth-style clothing. She has also taken to dying her brunette hair jet black and accenting it with purple or blue. Last year, Farrah courted controversy when she posted a video of Sophia getting multiple face piercings to celebrate her 14th birthday. But she defended herself against concerned fans by noting that the piercings were done by professionals. Farrah added that she objected to parents who look the other way at underage drinking or teen sex a viewpoint she adopted after becoming a teen mother herself and she hoped that letting Sophia get piercings was a safer, more supervised form of teenage rebellion. Farrah became a reality fixtureturnedsocial media star after she was cast on MTV's 16 And Pregnant in 2009, which she was actually 17. Last year, Farrah courted controversy when she posted a video of Sophia getting multiple face piercings to celebrate her 14th birthday But she defended herself, saying the piercings were done by professionals. She said it was a safer form of teenage rebellion than underage drinking or having sex as a teen, a view she adopted after becoming a teen mother herself Farrah appeared on 16 And Pregnant in 2008, when she was actually 17. She gave birth two months after Sophia's father Derek Underwood was killed in a car crash; pictured together in Amsterdam in June 2023 She experienced tragedy ahead of Sophia's birth, as her daughter's father Derek Underwood was killed in a car crash just two months before her birth. Controversy erupted during Farrah's tenure on the series and on its follow-up, Teen Mom, after she filmed two pornographic videos with the porn star James Deen in 2013. Then, in 2017, she was fired from Teen Mom due to her work in the adult industry, after other stars of the series had previously complained that she was a bad role model. Despite that, she was still invited back as a guest in 2022 for the first season of the sequel series Teen Mom: Family Reunion. Glenn Close has confessed she had 'no clue' how to play a 'white woman who lived her life in the black community' in her new film The Deliverance. Directed by Lee Daniels , the Netflix horror movie stars Glenn with Andra Day and Mo'Nique in the story of a family battling a demon in a haunted house. The Fatal Attraction star features as Alberta, who has a black daughter played by Andra and 'has only dated black men' throughout her life, said Glenn. She shared that when Lee 'told me that there are white women like this in every black community, I was intrigued and I wanted to do her justice.' Lee dished that 'every black person knows a white woman like this, but not every white person knows a white woman like this!' Glenn, 77, recalled to People. Glenn Close has confessed she had 'no clue' how to play a 'white woman who lived her life in the black community' in her new film The Deliverance (pictured) She explained that she was delighted to play the part because the 'rule that I've tried to hold myself to' has been 'never to repeat myself' - a challenge she took on 'for my own sake' because she would get 'bored' otherwise. The Deliverance is centered on Andra's character Ebony, an alcoholic who begins to fear that her children are being possessed. Her mother Alberta, a devout Christian, is also an incorrigible tease who enjoys making advances to the nurses when she goes in for chemotherapy, which has caused her to start modeling a string of extravagant wigs. Meanwhile Mo'Nique features as Cynthia, the social worker assigned to Ebony's case who could snatch her children from her into foster care. The movie marks a stunning turnaround for Mo'Nique, who carried on an explosive public feud with Lee for over a decade before they reconciled. Glenn described her own character as 'a woman who has been abused and I think she has become an abuser. She has found God in a very real way, and she's hoping that her daughter will be able to clean up as well.' Andra has showered Glenn with praise for her performance, gushing: 'The way she embodied this character and the way - watching her, she's so legendary and she's been doing this to the highest level for such a long time.' She shared that she and Glenn formed a 'deeper kinship' with one another while playing characters who butt heads onscreen. She explained that she was delighted to play the part because the 'rule that I've tried to hold myself to' has been 'never to repeat myself' Directed by Lee Daniels, the Netflix horror movie stars Glenn with Andra Day (right) and Mo'Nique (left) in the story of a family battling a demon in a haunted house The movie marks a stunning turnaround for Mo'Nique, who carried on an explosive public feud with Lee for over a decade before they reconciled; the pair are pictured in August 'We could do what we needed to do for the scenes where we're just beefing and there's so much anger and pain. But we needed that love and we absolutely have it.' Andra explained the dynamic between the characters: 'There's this huge tension between mother-daughter in this film, which basically is based on their ultimate love for each other. But life has been hard for them.' Over her long and storied career, Glenn has been nominated for eight acting Oscars but never won - a record that she holds along with Peter O'Toole. Andra received a best actress Oscar nod for Lee Daniels' 2021 film The United States vs. Billie Holiday, but lost to Frances McDormand for Nomadland. Mo'Nique is the only Oscar winner in the cast of The Deliverance, having taken home best supporting actress in 2010 for Lee's acclaimed drama Precious - the project that launched their blistering feud. Angelina Jolie's estranged father Jon Voight has pleaded for her ex Brad Pitt to end their 'nonsense' eight year divorce battle for their children's sake. Voight, 85, who last month slammed Jolie's political views, told Fox News Digital that he wished pair could 'find a way to make peace' - just days after Pitt's daughter Shiloh officially dropped his surname. He said: 'You know, I think the kids need some stability. I love the kids, and I love my daughter. And I want Brad to step up to do, you know, what he has to do. End this nonsense. He added that he 'doesn't talk to his grandchildren as much as [he'd] like.' Pitt and Jolie share six children - and split in 2016 - yet their divorce - including a contentious battle over a vineyard - has kept their split drama rumbling on. Angelina Jolie's estranged father Jon Voight has pleaded for her ex Brad Pitt to end their 'nonsense' eight year divorce battle for their children's sake - pictured 2001 Voight, 85, who last month slammed Jolie's political view s, told Fox News Digital that he wished pair could 'find a way to make peace' - just days after Pitt's daughter Shiloh officially dropped his surname; seen in January 2023 in Paris A source close to Pitt told Page Six that the famed Chateau Miraval suit protects the Hollywood stars six children. They said: 'Its important that people realize that Brads motivation is to ensure that his kids can maximize the benefit of this asset. 'Once it was sold, thats no longer the case and it significantly decreased their inheritance. In July Voight claimed his daughter's views on the Israel-Hamas war have been 'influenced by anti-Semitic people' during a fiery interview with Variety. 'She has been exposed to propaganda,' right-wing pro-Israel firebrand Voight said. 'She's been influenced by anti-Semitic people. 'Angie has a connection to the U.N., and she's enjoyed speaking out for refugees. But these people are not refugees.' Although the father-daughter duo have had moments of reconciliation throughout their strained relationship, they have also experienced many turbulent moments that have led to them becoming estranged. But Voight's latest incendiary comment came less than a month after he said he was 'proud' of Jolie and his granddaughter Vivienne after they stole the spotlight at the 2024 Tony Awards with their remarkable victory. The mother-daughter duo produced the musical The Outsiders, which won four trophies, including the top honor of Best Musical. 'I'm very proud of Vivienne,' Oscar winner Voight, 85, told TMZ afterward. 'I'm really proud of Angie because she really tries to encourage each of the kids to be what they want to be.' He said: ' You know, I think the kids need some stability. I love the kids, and I love my daughter. And I want Brad to step up to do, you know, what he has to do. End this nonsense' - pictured 2015 In July Voight claimed his daughter's views on the Israel-Hamas war have been 'influenced by anti-Semitic people' during a fiery interview with Variety - pictured August 2024 Brad Pitt 's daughter Shiloh Jolie has officially and legally dropped her father's surname. - pictured with mom Angelina Jolie in 2021 Shiloh, who hired and paid for her own lawyer when she filed to drop the Pitt name on her 18th birthday in May, filed to change her name from Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt to Shiloh Nouvel Jolie. TMZ reports there was no formal hearing for the name change - with the petition granted on Monday, per official court documents. Last month Shiloh took out a newspaper ad marking the name change - which is a standard step before the court would approve a name change. The notice also stated anyone who had objections to the petition should show up in court. A source close to the matter told Dailymail.com last month: 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. The revelation that Shiloh paid herself suggests that the ugly spat between former couple Pitt, 60, and Jolie, 48, may still rumble on in the form of legal action from the six children the couple once shared. There have been long custody battles which ended eventually in a victory for Pitt, who got 50-50 custody in 2021 only to have it overturned on appeal. Hes had a judge intervene to tell Angelina she mustnt listen in on his mobile phone calls with the children. The judge has also ordered reunification therapy for Pitt and the kids. The actor set up a skate park in his home for Shiloh, and more recently an art studio to reflect their common interest in art. Hes sent cars and security to ferry the children from her home to his whenever there is an allotted custody visit. Sadly, none of it has brought them closer. In fact son Pax said in an Instagram post in 2016 that all four of the youngest children thats including Shiloh tremble with fear in his presence. The two elder ones were at that point already declining point blank to see him. The current situation has seen the children - Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh 18, and Knox and Vivienne, 16 - form a tight gang of seven with his former wife. Shiloh, who hired and paid for her own lawyer when she filed to drop the Pitt name on her 18th birthday in May, filed to change her name from Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt to Shiloh Nouvel Jolie, per the newspaper notice last month - pictured 2021 The current situation has seen the children - Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh 18, and Knox and Vivienne, 16 - form a tight gang of seven with his former wife Pitt has been involved in an ongoing divorce battle for years, seemingly stemming from a 2016 incident on a plane in which Jolie accused Pitt of assaulting her; the family seen in 2011 A central issue seems to be a notorious private jet confrontation in 2016. An FBI report on the incident, which was published in 2022, saw Jolie accuse Pitt of physical assault while flying to California in 2016. She claimed that he was intoxicated and that he grabbed her by the head and shook her, and later pushed her down, as part of a confrontation allegedly related to their children. Jolie told the FBI that Pitt told the children that she was 'f***ing up this family,' and she said he punched the ceiling of the airplane four times. She claimed that at one point he poured beer on her and a blanket she was under with multiple children. Source close to Pitt later claimed that he never hit any of the children, though they admitted that he had been drinking. This comes amid recent claims that Pitt and Jolie's divorce - which has now dragged on for eight years - is still ongoing as neither of the stars can 'let it go. A source told People 'their disagreements took over' in the relationship, adding that things 'turned nasty and it was not a good situation for anyone.' 'All the bitterness is partly why the divorce has dragged on for so many years. Neither will let it go. Youd think they would be over it and just settle.' Angelina Jolie, pictured in April 2024, has been blamed for widening the rift between her daughter and ex-husband A separate insider said: 'Both of them were having issues with each other. The differences added up over time. It's really sad for the children, but also the parents. Divorce, especially one so high-profile, can be challenging for the whole family. 'They both care. They both care about the children.' Pitt and Jolie began dating publicly shortly after he and his then-wife Jennifer Aniston announced their divorce in 2005. The Mr. And Mrs. Smith costars remained unmarried for years despite having multiple adopted and biological children together, but they got engaged in 2012 and finally tied the knot in 2014. However, it was only around two years later when the Maleficent actress filed for divorce in 2016. She and Pitt were declared legally single in 2019. Pitt is now dating Ines de Ramon, 35. Rapper Enchanting's cause of death has been revealed - two months after she died aged 26 following a battle for her life in intensive care. The Texas-based star, whose real name was Channing Nicole Larry, died from an accidental opioid overdose, per TMZ. The Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed Enchanting took oxycodone and benzodiazepines. Oxycodone is a synthetic opioid and benzodiazepines are a class of depressants - marketed as brands including Valium and Klonopin. Enchanting was signed to Gucci Mane's 1017 label as recently until earlier this year. Rapper Enchanting's cause of death has been revealed - two months after she died aged 26 following a battle for her life in intensive care The star was signed to Gucci Mane's 1017 label as recently until earlier this year 'She came to my house the last four days to get clean. She tried her best and I did everything I could to help her, she tried,' a representative from her management team told The Shade Room, who confirmed her death on Tuesday evening. Larry's boyfriend, MotionGod Bandman, posted a photo of the couple on Facebook while she was still fighting for her life, with the caption: 'You finally found that peace that you was looking for you. Y'all hurt me bad.' Larry's profile remains active on 1017's website. The bio says that Larry began in music after graduating high school. The rapper is quoted on the website as describing her style as 'Trap-n-Blues.' 'Other people can relate to the things I say. I might help somebody through any situation, they can listen to me and find peace,' she said. Larry's YouTube page has generated four million views in total, and she has around 660,000 monthly streams on Spotify. In 2020, Larry appeared on the mixtape Gucci Mane Presents: So Icy Summer. In addition to her music career, Larry is also a creator on OnlyFans where she boasts over 25,000 likes. Larry explained in a 2021 interview that she was born as an Army brat in Germany then moved to Atlanta before the family settled in Fort Worth, where she considers home. Channing Nicole Larry, 26, is pictured left in September 2020 A post from Larry's boyfriend on Tuesday morning In 2023, Larry was profiled by the Dallas Observer. She told the website about her beginnings in music in the church choir and being a cheerleader in high school. After graduation, she worked doing hair and nails before going into hip-hop. 'I feel like music was always something that was easy for me. I felt like I was musically inclined, always. It was something that I thought should probably put more time and effort into, because it was natural, you know, instead of trying to force a talent,' she said. At that time, Larry was working with producer J White who previously crafted hits for Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion and Gucci Mane. Larry also spoke of her love of the growing number of female artists in the realm of hip-hop. 'It's looking hopeful for more and more women to just continue to blow up. I feel like it was a male-dominated sport, but now it's becoming more feminine-dominated. I love that for the girls,' she said. Katie Holmes looked chic as she was seen walking alone in New York City on Friday. The Batman Begins veteran wore a pale blue denim chambray shirt that was not tucked into her long green skirt. Black flat ballet shoes looked comfortable as she toted a pale brown leather purse from Khaite on her shoulder as well as a book bag. With little makeup on and large sunglasses covering her face, the star looked like she was flying under the radar while getting coffee in midtown Manhattan. This comes after DailyMail.com reported that her ex-husband Tom Cruise is footing the bill for their daughter Suri Cruise's college education at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania. In divorce papers, Cruise committed to covering the child's educational costs. Katie Holmes looked chic as she was seen walking alone in New York City on Friday. The Batman Begins veteran wore a pale blue denim chambray shirt Holmes was seen on Sunday at Carnegie Mellon helping Suri move into her dorm room. The two ladies were side by side as they walked on the campus and later picked up lunch. Katie has been a single mother since she divorced Cruise in 2012 after six years of marriage. Katie was granted full custody of their daughter in the split, with the divorce settlement also stating that Tom had to pay $400,000 a year in child support payments, as well as all of Suri's 'medical, dental, insurance, education, college and other extracurricular costs.' Suri has not been photographed with her Top Gun actor father in 11 years and it is believe they are estranged as she recently dropped his last name and now goes by Suri Noelle, which is Katie's middle name. Tom, however, does have contact with the two adopted children he shares with second ex wife Nicole Kidman. They are Isabella and Connor. Black flat ballet shoes looked comfortable as she toted a pale brown leather purse from Khaite on her shoulder as well as a book bag. With little makeup on and large sunglasses covering her face, the star looked like she was flying under the radar Meanwhile, DailyMail.com has learned that Tom is paying the $65K a year fee for Suri to attend Carnegie Mellon. Suri is now a college freshman at Carnegie Mellon University, a private university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The 18-year-old student starts classes on August 26, according to the school's website. 'Tom is indeed paying for Suri's tuition, he has always paid for her schooling and would never stop as he is a stand-up guy,' a friend of Tom's told DailyMail.com. The annual tuition at CMU is $65K. 'He has never hesitated paying his daughter's child support and expenses. He does not go back on his word. He is fulfilling his obligation.' This comes after DailyMail.com reported that her ex-husband Tom Cruise is footing the bill for their daughter Suri Cruise's college education at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania. In divorce papers, Cruise committed to covering the child's educational costs Holmes and Suri arrive the opening night premiere of In The Heights during the Tribeca Festival at the United Palace Theatre in 2021 in New York City But he is likely no longer paying Katie $38,000-a year in child support as Suri is now 18 and no longer a child. Earlier this week DailyMail.com reported that Suri is looking forward to her college experience and is sharing a dorm room with another female student in an all-female dorm hall. 'Suri wants the full college experience so she is giving the dorm rooms a try and she will have a roommate,' an insider told DailyMail.com. 'She is excited for a new chapter in her life.' Instead of mom Homes' three-bedroom high-rise luxury apartment in NYC, the teenager will be in a bare-bones dorm room. She is believed to be house in Scobell House which has a maximum of 88 students and is all female. One of the highlights of Carnegie Mellon? The campus houses several restaurants that offer cappuccinos, croissants, pasta and smoothies. And there is a state-of-the-art wellness center. Cruise and Holmes with Suri at Nino's Restaurant at the bottom of the Piazza De Spagne (Spanish Steps) in Rome, Italy two days before their fairytale wedding in November 2006 The rooms can be for one person, two or three, depending on need and price. One of the rooms has two bunk beds which means as many as four students can be crammed in the space. Most of the dorm rooms offer furniture: there is a single bed with space underneath for storage, a five level chest of drawers, a desk with three drawers and a chair. There are plenty of amenities at the complex like a TV lounge, a study lounge, a recreational area, laundry facilities, and a kitchen. Scobell is in the WHeSco community, which includes the houses Henderson and Welch. 'WHeSco is proximate to many academic buildings and dining options in Resnik. Each building has a central area on the ground floor where students have access to lounges, laundry, and a kitchen,' the website shared. There is plenty of food to purchase on campus so Suri won't go hungry as she crams for finals. There are restaurants like Au Bon Pain cafe bakery at Cohon Center where Cruise can pick up chocolate croissants and sodas. There is also a Ciao Bella restaurant for tasty pasta dishes like Fettucine Alfredo; it is also located at Cohon Center. The Edge Cafe and Market at Resnik House is where Suri can get bagels and cream cheese as well as pizza. Also Carnegie Mellon has College of Fine Arts department which Holly Hunter and Ted Danson have graduated from. Cruise is starting as a college freshman at Carnegie Mellon University, a private university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, this month Scobell House houses 88 students and is all female. Scobell is in the WHeSco community, which includes the houses Henderson and Welch. 'WHeSco is proximate to many academic buildings and dining options in Resnik Suri has a break coming up soon: Labor Day falls on September 2, and she will have that day off. September 27 and 28 is Family weekend, and Katie is allowed to visit then. Tom won't be there. It has been hinted by Katie that Suri may be studying acting and dance at Carnegie Mellon. Holmes told Town & Country magazine that after college, her daughter wants to enter showbiz. Both Katie and Suri's father Tom have been in the industry since their early 20s. The magazine claimed that Suri 'is said to be interested in pursuing a career in fashion or acting.' That does not sound off base Suri starred in a high school production of The Addams Family. And Katie has already put Suri to work on two of her films. Suri contributed vocals to songs in two of Holmes' films - the 2023 drama Rare Objects and 2022 romantic drama Alone Together. 'I'm proud of my daughter,' Holmes told Town & Country of her daughter. 'Of course, I will miss the close proximity, but I'm really proud of her and I'm happy.' Holmes, speaking with Glamour in April 2023, said that she has sought to encourage Suri's performing on her projects. 'I hope she always does something on my films,' Holmes said. 'I always ask her.' Holmes said that 'both of those experiences came out of the same sense of what I love about our industry, which is, you have these projects and you become a family with people.' Holmes said she strived to create a 'safe, beautiful, creative space' for Suri to hone her craft as a performer. 'So it comes out of love for me to include someone who I love dearly,' Holmes said. 'It was very meaningful to me to have her there, because she's my heart.' YouTube star Twomad's cause of death has been revealed six months after his passing aged just 23. The controversial Canadian social media star - real name Muudea Sedik - was found dead at his LA-area home on February 13 2024 after police reported his therapist requested a welfare check on him. Twomad died from an accidental morphine overdose - with morphine toxicity noted on the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner's report obtained by TMZ. Mitragynine - another drug commonly used to treat opioid withdrawal - also contributed to his death, per the report. Law enforcement source previously revealed the death was being looked into as a possible overdose - with drug paraphernalia found at the scene. YouTube star Twomad's cause of death has been revealed six months after his passing aged just 23 Days before he was found dead, Twomad sparked concern when he posted photos with apparent assault rifles. He had more than 2.2 million subscribers on his Youtube channel Twomad 360 and boasted 395,000 followers on Instagram. At the time of his death, his YouTube channel had accumulated 156 videos and garnered over 200 million views, Following his death, fellow YouTuber Jameskii accused Sedik of trying to murder him 'multiple times' and alleging that Sedik 'was a rapist and a pedophile.' 'Over the past few years he tried to murder me multiple times for helping the police & detectives in multiple states to investigate a lot of horrible things he's done,' Jameskii wrote on X. In 2023, X user @Goldibell accused Sedik of sexually assaulting her, posting a stream of unanswered text messages from him. '[S]pam from twomad after I blocked him for sa'ing me, he made 6 burner numbers after this to also spam me on as well as instagram accounts and a twitter account. if you want proof i have all of it just ask you can see him send texts actively at the end of this clip,' she wrote. Sedik denied the allegations, writing that he 'never sexually assaulted nobody in my life but not gonna stop crazy b**** from lying on youtuber guy.' Goldibell posted a statement in the wake of Sedik's death saying: 'Im not celebrating, I hope his family is ok, though Im sure they arent. Losing your child is tragic no matter the circumstances.' Twomad, whose real name is Muudea Sedik, had around 2.18 million followers on his YouTube channel, as well as hundreds of thousands following him on Instagram and X Sedik was found unresponsive Tuesday after a welfare check was performed on him at his home in the Los Angeles area. It is not yet clear when exactly he died His recent updates on X had concerned followers, as he posted several photos of firearms a week before he was found dead Following his death, fellow YouTuber Jameskii accused Sedik of trying to murder him 'multiple times' and alleging that Sedik 'was a rapist and a pedophile' Jameskii's roommate at the time quoted the post and confirmed the stories of Sedik's harassment Jameskii, continued with his allegations, claiming that Sedik 'wanted to take out multiple innocent lives by getting behind a wheel and going head on on freeway while being high on illegal drugs. He didn't succeed once as he overdosed before killing anybody, so he tried it again.' He added that despite Sedik's alleged attempts to kill him, Jameskii had been 'trying to help law enforcement to make sure he's safe, doesn't get hurt and doesn't harm anybody.' 'Please remember that he's a rapist and a pedophile, he continued to prey on the vulnerable even after the police got involved, including a 13 y/o in mental hospital. The tragedy doesn't excuse any of his actions,' he added. Jameskii's roommate at the time quoted the post and confirmed the stories of Sedik's harassment. Sedik began posting videos in 2016, using YouTube as a platform for streaming video games and making comedy sketches. Despite his massive following, Sedik had not uploaded a new video to YouTube in more than a year, though he would still post on X and stream on Twitch and Discord and at one point, collaborated with an OnlyFans model. He created the Goodnight Girl meme in 2009 with his videos featuring comedy sketches and gaming content. In 2023, X user @Goldibell accused Sedik of sexually assaulting her, posting a stream of unanswered text messages from him. Sedik denied the allegations Goldibell posted a statement in the wake of Sedik's death saying: 'Im not celebrating, I hope his family is ok, though Im sure they arent. Losing your child is tragic no matter the circumstances' He was credited with popularizing 'zoombombing' - randomly entering online meetings and conferences - which he would livestream. In 2022, he sparked controversy by doing a sexually suggestive Toy Story shoot with Internet personality Belle Delphine. In 2019 he was accused of racism after portraying BTS member Jimin in a video by wearing whiteface and a blonde wig. In 2021, Sedik attended a BTS concert wearing an Asian conical hat while holding an edited photograph blending the faces of BTS member V and communist leader Mao Zedong, joking that it depicted his father. He was also slammed online in 2023 for posting a photo of murdered transgender teenager Brianna Ghey and stating she was his "girlfriend". Barbara Eden looked as sprightly as ever as she stepped out in Los Angeles on Thursday. The I Dream Of Genie star, who was spotted out on the town earlier this week for dinner with friends, was pictured during a day of pampering at a beauty salon ahead of her 93rd birthday on Friday. The nonagenarian looked surprisingly youthful in a simple black long-sleeve blouse and a mustard yellow boho chic skirt with a lace stripe. She sported her trademark blond locks and rocked a stylish pair of chunky white-frame glasses. The TV veteran completed the pre-birthday look with a set of modest cork wedges with beige straps. I Dream Of Jeannie star Barbara Eden looked sprightly and surprisingly youthful when she was spotted out in Los Angeles on Thursday, a day ahead of her 93rd birthday Barbara showed she was still totally independent after driving herself to the RC Hair Salon in her red Mercedes-Benz SL 550. She opted for a modestly made-up look for her self-care day, but she was all dolled up on Sunday when she was spotted in photos obtained by DailyMail.com. Though the actress' public appearances tend to be rare, she was spotted dropping by the LA celebrity hotspot The Grill on the Alley for a dinner with friends ahead of her birthday. Despite her impressive age, Barbara looked remarkably similar to her I Dream Of Jeannie heyday, and one fan who stopped dead in their tracks after recognizing her said, 'Oh my God, it's Jeannie!' Charming as ever, the TV star replied, 'Yes, that's me!' She was recognized for her iconic sitcom, in which she played a 2,000-year-old genie who is rescued from the bottle she has been kept in by an astronaut (played by future Dallas star Larry Hagman) who lands far from his intended rescue location on a deserted island. Jeannie his name for her manages to stow away with him in her bottle, and the rest of the series highlighted the hijinks her magical abilities cause as she tries to express her love for her rescuer. Eden's real-life love is her husband Jon Eicholtz, whom she married in 1991. It was the third marriage for the Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea actress, who was previously married to actor Michael Ansara who made multiple guest appearances as the Blue Djinn on I Dream Of Jeannie from 1958 to 1974, and to Charles Fegert from 1977 to 1982. While speaking to People on her birthday, Eden gushed: 'I am so grateful to have completed another trip around the sun.' The actress, who drove herself in her red Mercedes-Benz SL 550, wore a black blouse and boho chic mustard yellow skirt for a day of pampering at a salon ahead of her big day Eden is best known for starring in the title role on five seasons of I Dream Of Jeannie. She played a 2,000-year-old genie rescued by her future love interest, an astronaut played by future Dallas star Larry Hagman; publicity still from the series While speaking to People on her birthday, Eden gushed: 'I am so grateful to have completed another trip around the sun'; publicity still for I Dream Of Jeannie featuring Larry Hagman She said her birthday plans included lunch with her third husband Jon Eicholtz whom she married in 1991 plus weekend plans with her sister Alison's family; publicity still for I Dream Of Jeannie She shared that her birthday plans included lunch with her husband Jon and other close friends, followed by weekend celebrations with family, including her sister Alison and her family. 'I want to thank all my friends and fans around the world for their outpouring of love and well wishes on my special day,' she added. Barbara starred on I Dream Of Jeannie for five seasons from 1965 to 1970, and she also had a bevy of guest roles on high-profile shows in the '50s and '60s, including I Love Lucy, Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, Father Knows Best, The Andy Griffith Show and Route 66, among many others. Her big break was in 1955, when she began appearing occasionally as a sketch performer on The Johnny Carson Show, a single-season variety show preceding his 1962 advancement to hosting The Tonight Show. A container is lowered from the top of a construction site of a new residential building at 555 Bryant S. to workers below. The White House is singling out several major American cities and San Francisco in particular for their unnecessary and onerous permitting processes. Lea Suzuki/The Chronicle The White House is singling out several major American cities and San Francisco in particular for their unnecessary and onerous permitting processes, which federal officials say have contributed to housing shortages and unaffordability. In a blog post about the national housing crisis, President Bidens Council of Economic Advisers wrote that the median time that large projects spent in the permitting process in San Francisco in recent years is about 33 months the longest of any other city cited. Thats compared to 13 months in Los Angeles, eight months in Oakland and 30 months in New York City. The numbers came from a 2022 report on New York Citys land use decision-making process from the Citizens Budget Commission think tank. The White House cited the studys findings as it announced a $100 million grant program for state and local governments looking to make reforms including streamlining their housing permitting process. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The White House blamed slow approvals on unnecessary and onerous permitting processes in these cities, adding that permitting requirements directly increase the cost of building new housing by increasing soft costs, administrative burdens, uncertainty and delays. In California, the White House added that environmental review lawsuits sought to block the permitting of 48,000 proposed units nearly half of all proposed units in 2020 alone. Even for projects that are ultimately greenlit, construction cannot begin until litigation is completed, typically in four to five years, the blog post says. Permitting woes and the need for affordable housing have been top of mind for San Franciscans for years as the Bay Area has failed to build enough housing to keep pace with a spike in jobs, particularly in the tech industry. Due to high construction and borrowing costs, 2023 was the citys weakest year for housing production in a decade, with just 2,024 units completed. The new units represented a 30% decline from 2022, and a 57% drop from 2021. The mayors office said in a statement that city departments are looking at applying for a chunk of the $100 million from the federal government but its also important to note that a lot of the policy areas covered by this grant are improvements weve already made and are working on as part of our Housing Element. Since July 1, San Franciscos approvals are required to be considerably shorter. A law written by state Sen. Scott Wiener cuts the average time frame for approvals to under six months.The majority of housing projects in San Francisco are now be eligible for over-the-counter approval. Advertisement Article continues below this ad The Biden administrations interest in curbing onerous permitting rules shows the federal government and Democrats are taking seriously the impact that local governments are having on housing affordability in major cities. The announcements came just days before presidential nominee Kamala Harris announced her own plan to tackle housing affordability by pledging to build 3 million homes through private-public partnerships and go after obstacles in construction rules. It also calls for banning algorithm-based rent-setting tools which the Board of Supervisors banned last month and providing tax incentives for homebuilders and downpayment assistance for first-time homebuyers. And in a speech at the Democratic National Convention this week, former President Barack Obama touted Harris plan in a speech lauded by YIMBY activists. Harris knows that if we want to make it easier for young people to buy a home, we need to build more units and clear away some of the outdated laws and regulations that made it harder to build homes for working people in this country, Obama said. One key sticking point the White House blamed for costly approval processes is the by-right versus discretionary permitting process. In by-right permitting, a housing development proposal can be approved as long as it conforms to local zoning and building regulations, while discretionary permitting is subject to the approval of a public body, such as the Planning Commission or Board of Supervisors in San Franciscos case. The White House said that discretionary permitting increases costs, time to approval and uncertainty citing a 2022 paper that questions whether discretionary permitting delays approvals. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In San Francisco, the White House said discretionary permitting can create opportunities for corruption and favoritism. Rob Brydon has revealed he was 'moved to tears' by the script of the last-ever episode of Gavin And Stacey. The actor, 59, portrayed Bryn West, or Uncle Bryn, on the beloved BBC sitcom, which ran for three seasons between 2007 to 2010 along with three specials. In July, the programme's co-creators James Corden and Ruth Jones sent fans into a frenzy by confirming that the show will return. Viewers will once again be invited to Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, on Christmas Day 2024 to find out what has happened during the show's five-year break. Speaking to Chris Evans live from Laverstoke Park Farm, Rob said of the final episode: 'First of all, we knew it was going to happen, but we were told we had to keep it a secret. So you have to lie to people! Rob Brydon, 59, has revealed he was 'moved to tears' by the script of the last-ever episode of Gavin And Stacey The iconic BBC comedy is set to return on Christmas Day for its last ever episode, with fans hoping to see the outcome of the dramatic proposal cliffhanger between Nessa (Ruth Jones) and Smithy 'It's a horrible feeling, because you don't want to lie to somebody right in the face.' He continued: 'It was a couple of months before the cast saw the script. I only saw it, we were on holiday, we were away, about a month ago. I read it. Oh, it's so good.' When BBC Radio's Chris, 58, asked Rob if he was saying that because he had to, Rob replied: 'No, I kind of wouldn't, actually. I don't want to tempt fate, but I think it's fantastic.' He revealed: 'Do you know what? I was moved to tears, because it's emotional.' Rob also admitted he read parts of the script to his wife, a big no-no due to Ruth and James' secretive ways. He said of his work schedule: 'This week is CarFest, next week is rehearsals, week after that, we start filming it. Chris asked if Rob was excited to reunite with the cast, and Rob answered: 'I really am, because I know this will be the last time we'll all be together. 'We all get on so well. And I think it has been 17 years since we started, which is crazy.' In July, Gavin And Stacey co-creator James Corden gave a major Gavin & Stacey update as he appeared on Capital Breakfast radio In July, James gave a major Gavin & Stacey update as he appeared on Capital Breakfast radio. When the iconic comedy returns, fans are hoping to see the outcome of the dramatic proposal cliffhanger between Nessa (Ruth) and Smithy (James). And James, 45, told Capital host Jordan North that the final script will definitely be ready this Friday meaning shooting can start very soon. Jordan asked him in an interview: 'Is it all written, is it all locked in? Is there still stuff to write?' James replied: 'It's written right but now we're doing rewrites. So we have to, we have to remove some time, we have to change some bits around. 'So, we've been doing that, it's quite tough because Ruth Jones's (Nessa) in Sister Act over in the West End at the minute, and I'm doing The Constituent at the Old Vic. 'So, we've been doing quite a bit of writing in dressing rooms and things like that. And then both looking at each other being quite tired from the plays but we'll be back at it tomorrow. 'Back at it Friday. I hope by Friday it will be done and finished this Friday!' Jordan then said: 'This Friday? Is that the deadline?' James then quipped: 'Well it's the deadline we've set ourselves, because we start shooting pretty soon now. It's not far away now.' And Smithy actor James, 45, has now told host Jordan North that the final script will definitely be ready this Friday Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker attended Reading Festival on Friday. The reality star, 45, and her Blink-182 rocker husband, 48, arrived at the annual music event in the UK over the weekend and walked hand-in-hand as they walked into the festival. For the outing, Kourtney donned an army camouflaged coat, complete with leggings and boots. She went for a natural look for her makeup and let her sleek black hair flow free for the outdoor gathering. Meanwhile, Travis - who married The Kardashians star in a series of lavish ceremonies in 2022 - opted for a pair of army pants and proudly displayed his tattoo sleeves in a white vest. Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker attended Reading Festival on Friday The reality star, 45, and her Blink-182 rocker husband, 48, arrived at the annual music event in the UK over the weekend and walked hand-in-hand as they walked into the festival Travis completed the overall look with a black beanie and a chain necklace as he clutched onto his wife. The Poosh founder - who has Mason, 14, Penelope, 12, and nine-year-old Reign with former partner Scott Disick - welcomed baby Rocky Thirteen with Travis in November last year. And she took to Instagram to show off a fluffy baby grow for the little one and captioned it 'Matchy matchy'. She then shared a picture of her thigh-high boots and tagged her location in the photograph. Reading is the must-attend event for thousands of teenagers for a post-GCSE all-out celebration - with potentially deadly consequences. Reading Festival and its sister event in Leeds attract 200,000 music fans every year, including thousands of 16 and 17-year-olds who can attend without adult supervision. Meanwhile, over at Leeds festival, Liam Gallagher was on fine form as he headlined the event on Friday. Wrapping up against the elements in a black waterproof jacket and matching hat, the Oasis rocker, 51, took his signature stance as he belted out a number of his tracks. Kourtney took to Instagram to show off a fluffy baby grow for the little one and captioned it 'Matchy matchy' She then shared a picture of her thigh-high boots and tagged her location in the photograph Meanwhile, over at Leeds festival, Liam Gallagher was on fine form as he headlined the event on Friday Wrapping up against the elements in a black waterproof jacket and matching hat, the Oasis rocker, 51, took his signature stance as he belted out a number of his tracks Keeping the crowds entertained, the singer played both the tambourine and the maracas during his lively set Keeping the crowds entertained, the singer played both the tambourine and the maracas during his lively set. According to the Met Office, there will be drizzle early Saturday for festival-goers , but fairly settled conditions are likely to develop across southern and eastern England and Wales. The warning stretches from the Isle of Wight up to Ipswich in Suffolk and includes London As teenagers across the UK head to pick up their GCSE results this week, parents will be bracing themselves for a weekend of worry while their children pack their bags and head off to the unknown. It comes as police release new warnings to festival attendees, telling them to be wary of thieves and pickpockets with tips to stay safe - as many teenagers enjoy a taste of unsupervised freedom for the first time. Bruce Willis' daughter Rumer Willis provided an update on her father's ongoing battle with a rare and aggressive form of dementia on Thursday. The 36-year-old actress engaged with fans during an Instagram Q&A, where she addressed concerns about the Hollywood icon's health. 'He is great,' she wrote alongside a sweet snap of her holding the Pulp Fiction star's hand. 'I love him so much. Thank you.' In February 2023, Bruce's family revealed his diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), shortly after the 69-year-old retired from acting due to his struggle with a brain disorder known as aphasia. In the Instagram Q&A, Rumer also confirmed her recent split from Derek Richard Thomas, the father of her only child. Bruce Willis ' daughter Rumer Willis provided an update on her father's ongoing battle with a rare and aggressive form of dementia on Thursday The 36-year-old actress engaged with fans during an Instagram Q&A , where she addressed concerns about the Hollywood icon's health (pictured in May) The split came just 16 months after the birth of their daughter, Louetta Isley Thomas Willis, in April 2023. After a fan asked if she and Derek were still together, Rumer replied: 'Nope I am single momming it and co-parenting.' 'I'm so grateful for Lou,' she continued. 'She is the best thing in my life and I am forever grateful I was able to have the time in that relationship for her to come into my life.' The exact timing of when Rumer and Derek began dating is unclear, but they made their relationship public in November 2022. After revealing the news, she noted that she was 'definitely' still open to having more children as a single mother because she wants her little one to have siblings. Siblings ins one of the best parts of my entire life,' she noted. 'I want that for Lou. So open to whatever that looks like in the future.' When asked how many children she wants, Rumer responded: '6 or 7.' In March, Rumer took to social media to say she 'absolutely' wants more children and wished she was 'pregnant right now.' 'He is great,' she wrote alongside a sweet snap of her holding the Pulp Fiction star's hand. 'I love him so much. Thank you' In February 2023, Bruce's family revealed his diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), shortly after the 69-year-old retired from acting due to his struggle with a brain disorder known as aphasia Demi Moore has urged the families of dementia sufferers to 'let go of' the person they used to be after her ex-husband Bruce's diagnosis (pictured with daughter Tallulah) In the Instagram Q&A, Rumer also confirmed her recent split from Derek Richard Thomas , the father of her child Thursday's revealing Instagram Q&A comes after haters online called her and sisters Tallulah and Scout 'unattractive' and 'clones' of their famous father. Scout Willis, 33, recently released her single Over and Over and shared a viral Instagram video dancing to it with family, including sisters Rumer and Tallulah, and their mother, Demi Moore. Despite their parents 2000 divorce, Bruce and Demi have remained close, co-parenting Rumer, Scout, 33, and Tallulah, 30. The video sparked harsh criticism on Instagram, targeting the sisters appearance. Tallulah responded in a now-deleted post, revealing theyve faced such "cruel and mean" comments about their looks their "whole lives." She also shared screenshots of the negative remarks. Kamala Harris vowed to carry out a 'new way forward' with a focus with on building the middle class in a rousing Democratic convention speech where she warned of the risks of an unburdened Trump reboot that would 'pull our country back into the past.' The prime-time convention speech Thursday night was among the biggest of her life, and she sought to reintroduce the nation to her biography and childhood growing up in 'the flats' of Oakland, California, while once again unleashing a blistering attack on Trump. 'In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious. Consider not only the chaos and calamity when he was in office, but also the gravity of what has happened since he lost the last election,' she said. She used her extended remarks to tear into Republicans on abortion, an issue that has driven turnout in elections since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and once again hammered 'Project 25' developed by ex-Trump officials. 'Simply put, they are out of their minds,' she said, in one of her biggest applause lines of the night. Her words about Trump warned he could try to unleash the military on American citizens and came even in a convention where speakers like Barack Obama deployed a lighter tough, mocking Trump's 'obsession' with crowd sizes with a suggestive gesture. 'Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes. When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol, where they assaulted law enforcement officers. When politicians in his own party begged him to call off the mob and send help, he did the opposite. He fanned the flames,' said Harris, who stressed her biography as a former prosecutor. 'And now, for an entirely different set of crimes, he was found guilty of fraud by a jury of everyday Americans. And separately, found liable for committing sexual abuse,' she said, referencing Trump's guilty verdict in the Stormy Daniels hush money case as well as the E. Jean Carroll lawsuit. The 59-year-old vice president and former California senator sought to strike a presidential tone as she delivered a message of unity and patriotism for Americans after one of the most extraordinary turnarounds in US political history. US Vice President Kamala Harris pledged to unify Americans as she accepted the Democratic presidential nomination 'With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past -- a chance to chart a new way forward,' Harris said to huge cheers from tens of thousands of pumped-up supporters. 'And I want you to know: I promise to be a president for all Americans.' Harris faced the task of reintroducing herself to the party and the nation after a stunning series of events that had President Joe Biden stepping back after his debate disaster against Trump and throwing his support to her. Her speech capped off the convention that had none of the signs of a free-for-all that some were predicting, although with a few lingering divides over Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. The convention became a giant party to celebrate Harris's astonishing ascent. As usual, it featured a huge balloon drop, and like past conventions it featured steps to humanize the candidate with testimonials by family, in this case sister Maya Harris and grand-nieces who taught the crowd how to pronounce her name. A sea of waving Stars and Stripes flags and chants of 'USA' filled the arena as jubilant Democrats anointed Harris. Harris was later joined on stage by her running mate Tim Walz and their families, as they held their arms aloft while 100,000 red, white and blue balloons tumbled from the ceiling. Country act The Chicks sang a version of 'The Star-Spangled Banner' while pop star Pink also performed as the Democrats rolled out a list of celebrity backers. - 'President who unites us' - But it was Harris's time to shine on the biggest night of her political life, after becoming the first Black woman to be nominated by a major US party. Kamala Harris was joined by family members as 100,000 balloons were released at the end of her speech US band The Chicks performed the US national anthem ahead of Kamala Harris's speech She reached out to voters across America's bitter political divide, promising to bring economic opportunity and protect their personal freedoms on key issues like abortion. 'I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations,' she vowed. Harris then launched a broadside at 78-year-old Trump, whose campaign has been upended by having to face a woman two decades younger, rather than the increasingly frail Biden, 81. 'We know what a second Trump term would look like,' she said, saying he wanted to 'pull our country back to the past.' She laid out her personal story as a child of a single working mother, and her career as a prosecutor, saying she has the background and experience to serve the country in contrast to Trump who she said only works for himself and 'his billionaire friends.' Turning to foreign policy, she accused Trump of trying to 'cozy up' to foreign autocrats like Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump 'threatened to abandon NATO. He encouraged Putin to invade our allies. Said Russia could "do whatever the hell they want," she said. US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (2L) stands onstage with Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff, Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz and Gwen Walz on the fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention Harris pledged instead to 'stand strong' with Ukraine as it fights Russia's invasion and support NATO allies -- again all in stark contrast to Trump's isolationist stance. On the hugely divisive issue of Israel's war in Gaza, Harris went further than the rhetoric of her boss Biden by calling the scale of suffering in the Palestinian enclave 'heartbreaking'. She vowed to get a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, and cheers erupted when she vowed 'self-determination' for the Palestinian people. Pro-Palestinian protesters have demonstrated throughout the Democratic convention, with several thousands rallying outside it again on Thursday. - 'Ready on day one' - The Democrats have been riding a wave of energy and enthusiasm since Harris stepped up. She has wiped out former president Trump's lead in the polls, drawn enormous crowds and raised record funds. Kamala Harris vowed to bring unity if elected in November Donald Trump campaigned in Arizona on the Mexican border as Kamala Harris prepared to speech The torch having well and truly been passed, Biden gave a farewell speech on the first day of the convention and said he had called Harris to wish her luck. 'I am proud to watch my partner Kamala Harris accept our nomination for president. She will be an outstanding president because she is fighting for our future,' Biden, who is on holiday in California, said on X. Barack Obama, who along with his wife Michelle delivered rousing support for Harris at the convention on Tuesday, said Harris had 'showed the world what I have known to be true. 'She is ready on day one to be President and represents the best of America. Let's get to work.' Yet Democrats will also be trying to temper their hopes. Harris told reporters after her speech that the Democrats were the 'underdogs' in the election, with a nail-biting sprint to November against a combative opponent. As he struggles to recalibrate his own campaign, Trump is increasingly resorting to personal insults, racially charged attacks, and dark rhetoric. He gave a play-by-play commentary on Harris's speech on his Truth social platform, accusing her of making the United States a 'failing nation' while part of the Biden administration. 'She's done nothing for three and a half years but talk, and that's what she's doing tonight, she's complaining about everything but doing nothing!' he wrote. Harris' speech drew poor reviews from one animated TV viewer: Trump. 'Too many 'Thank yous,' too rapidly said, what's going on with her?' the former president posted after she began her speech with a barrage of thank yous to the cheering audience. Trump also complained when Harris referred to her running mate as 'Coach Walz.' 'Walz was an ASSISTANT Coach, not a COACH,' Trump weighed in on his Truth Social site, blasting Harris on immigration and defending himself from her attacks on abortion. The abortion issue has mobilized Democrats and pro-choice Republicans and independents since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade with the help of three Trump appointees. 'As a part of his agenda, he and his allies would limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion and enact a nationwide abortion ban with or without Congress,' said Harris. 'And get this, he plans to create a national anti-abortion coordinator, and force states to report on women's miscarriages and abortions. Simply put, they are out of their minds.' 'And one must ask: Why exactly is it that they don't trust women? Well, we trust women. We trust women,' she said to applause. The US has emerged as India's top trading partner during January-June this year, while the country has recorded its highest trade deficit of USD 41.6 billion with China during the period, according to think tank GTRI. It also said the country's merchandise exports rose 5.41 per cent to USD 230.51 billion during the first of 2024. China topped the list with a substantial trade deficit of USD 41.6 billion, as exports to China were USD 8.5 billion, while imports reached USD 50.1 billion during January-June 2024, it added. The data analysis for the first half of this calendar year by the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) showed India exports goods to 239 countries and out of these, 126 countries showed positive growth in exports. These nations account for 75.3 per cent of India's total exports. Major countries with increased exports include the USA, UAE, Netherlands, Singapore, and China. However, exports declined in 98 countries, which account for 24.6 per cent of India's exports, with notable declines in Italy, Belgium, Nepal, and Hong Kong. The US is India's top export partner. Exports to the US increased from USD 37.7 billion in January-June 2023 to USD 41.6 billion in January-June 2024, reflecting a growth of 10.5 per cent. The UAE saw a significant rise in exports, increasing from USD 15.8 billion to USD 19.7 billion, marking a 24.9 per cent growth, it said. In the first half of 2024, China remained the largest import supplier, with imports increasing from USD 46.2 billion to USD 50.1 billion. In FY2024, China was India's top trading partner, just ahead of the US. However, from January to June 2024, the US became India's largest trading partner, with total trade growing from USD 59.4 billion to USD 62.5 billion, a 5.3 per cent increase, GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said. China followed as the second-largest trading partner, with total trade rising from USD 54.4 billion to USD 58.6 billion, marking a 7.7 per cent increase. Brazil will begin imposing restrictions on the entry of some foreigners from Asia who use the country as a launching point to migrate to the United States and Canada, the justice ministrys press office said Wednesday. More than 70% of requests for refuge at the airport come from people with either Indian, Nepalese or Vietnamese nationalities, an official document says. The African nations of Somalia, Cameroon, Ghana and Ethiopia are among the remaining 30% of refuge seekers. The move, which starts on Monday, will affect migrants from Asian countries who require visas to remain in Brazil . It does not apply to people from Asian countries currently exempt from visas to Brazil . US citizens and many European nationals also do not require visas for Brazil .A Federal Police investigation has shown these migrants often buy flights with layovers in Sao Paulos international airport, en route to other destinations, but stay in Brazil as a place from where they then begin their journey north, according to official documents provided to The Associated Press. Starting next week, travellers without visas will either have to continue their journey by plane or return to their country of origin, the ministry said. A report signed by federal police investigator Marinho da Silva Rezende Junior informs the justice ministry that since the beginning of last year there has been great turmoil due to the influx of migrants at the airport in Guarulhos, a city located in the Sao Paulo metropolitan area. Evidence suggests that those migrants, for the most part, are making use of the known - and extremely dangerous - route that goes from Sao Paulo to the western state of Acre, so they can access Peru and go toward Central America and then, finally, reach the U.S. from its southern border, one of the documents says. An AP investigation in July found migrants passing through the Amazon, including some from Vietnam and India. Many returned to Acre state, on the border with Peru, as U.S. border policies triggered a wait-and-see attitude among them. Brazil s justice ministry said that the new guidelines will not apply to the almost 500 migrants currently staying camping out at a Sao Paulos international airport. Remullo Diniz, the coordinator of Gefron, Acre states police group for border operations, told the AP the governments move comes after local authorities spoke to U.S. diplomats about the situation with many Asian and undocumented migrants in the region. We have seen growth both in the number of migrants coming here and in the number of nations they come from, Diniz told the AP over the phone. Bangladesh, Indonesia also send a lot of people here. They come either with no documents or with fake documents from other nations. That is a concern for us, they could be running from police, he added. And there are also the coyote networks, taking unaccompanied children, trafficking drugs. Earlier on Wednesday, Brazil s federal prosecutors office said in a statement that Sao Paulos international airport is once again counting a high number of foreigners who arrive on flights of the airline LATAM and do not exit quickly due to the overload on the Brazil ian migration system. The prosecutors office added that it will put pressure on airlines to give migrants some basic supplies as they wait for their concession of refuge. The term refers to an application for refugee status, regardless of the reason.LATAM did not immediately respond an AP request for comment. It is important that we quickly decide on these refuge requests so that the growing arrival of foreigners does not impact the operation of the airport itself, federal prosecutor Guilherme Rocha Gopfert said after a meeting at Sao Paulos international airport Wednesday. One of the documents says Brazil s federal police received 9,082 requests for refuge this year through July 15. That is more than the double the amount for the entire 2023, and the most in over a decade, according to the figures. However, federal police said that just a few hundred of those sought to get documents to remain in Brazil .The same document says federal police are convinced there is a consolidated route of irregular migration in Brazil , with a strong presence of people who are involved in migrant smuggling and human trafficking, with an evident fraudulent use of the application for refugee status. Brazil has historically welcomed refugees, particularly Afghans in recent years, regardless of ideological leanings of the Latin American countrys leaders. But reports of migrants seeking refugee status as a means to use Brazil as a waystation has caused frustration in the government, particularly at a time when the system is burdened by many people from Haiti, Syria, Afghanistan and Ukraine seeking humanitarian visas. Brazil granted 11,248 humanitarian visas to Afghans alone between between Sept. 2021 and April 2024, government figures show. Brazil s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva decided in January 2023, in the early days of his administration, to bring his country back to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, an intergovernmental agreement. His administration has kept humanitarian visas, but guidelines for the concession of those has become more restrictive under his administration. A tactical drone belonging to the Indian Army accidentally crossed the Line of Control (LoC) from the Rajouri sector into Pakistan on Friday morning. The Pakistan Army has reportedly recovered the drone following its unintended landing. The incident occurred at approximately 9:30 am while the drone was engaged in a routine surveillance mission. In response to the situation, the Indian Army is expected to initiate discussions with the Pakistan Army at the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) level. According to reports, the drone was on a routine surveillance mission when it crossed the line of control and it landed in Pakistan due to some technical snag. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday launched a scathing attack on the Congress over its decision to ally with the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference in the upcoming Assembly polls beginning September 18. Accusing the Congress of repeatedly putting at risk the country's unity and security in its greed for power, the Union Home Minister also sought clarification while he posted 10 straight questions for the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi on the microblogging site X. Before launching the party's election campaign on ground zero, the top brass of the BJP is also in the process of finalising the names of the party candidates for the 90 Assembly seats in Jammu Kashmir. As per the reports, the NC-Congress alliance has almost finalised its seat-sharing formula. Inside reports suggested the National Conference is laying its claim on at least 60 Assembly seats (41 from Kashmir and 19 from Jammu province) and offering 30 seats to the Congress (24 from Jammu and 6 from Kashmir valley). The alliance partners are yet to formally announce the final seat-sharing arrangement. In New Delhi, BJP president JP Nadda Friday chaired a meeting of the core group to review the report cards of the party aspirants ahead of the final meeting of the Central Election Committee on August 25. The meeting was also attended by Shah and all the core group members, including Union Minister and Election in charge G Kishan Reddy and Ram Madhav, along with other leaders National General Secretary and BJP J&K in charge Tarun Chugh, co-incharge Ashish Sood, MP Jammu Jugal Kishore, State General Secretary (org) Ashok Kaul, State President Ravinder Raina, Union Minister and MP from Jammu, Dr Jitendra Singh. Meanwhile, referring to the manifesto of the National Conference the Union Home Minister asked, "Does the Congress support the National Conference's promise of a separate flag for Jammu and Kashmir? Do Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party support the JKNC's decision to restore Article 370 and 35A, thereby pushing Jammu and Kashmir back into an era of unrest and terrorism?" The Union home minister asked whether the Congress supports promoting separatism again by engaging in dialogue with Pakistan instead of Kashmir's youth and the National Conference's decision to start LoC trade with Pakistan, thereby nurturing terrorism and its ecosystem across the border. His other queries fired to Congress and Gandhi included whether the party supports reinstating relatives of those involved in terrorism and stone-pelting into government jobs, "thereby bringing back terrorism, extremism and the era of strikes". The alliance has exposed the Congress party's anti-reservation stance, he said. "Does Congress support the JKNC's promise to end reservations for Dalits, Gujjars, Bakarwals and Pahadi communities, thereby inflicting injustice upon them? Does the Congress want 'Shankaracharya Hill' to be known as 'Takht-e-Suleiman', and 'Hari Hill' as 'Koh-e-Maran'," he sought to know. Shah asked whether the Congress supports the politics of pushing Jammu and Kashmir's economy back into corruption and handing it over to selected Pakistan-supported families and whether it endorses the National Conference's politics of "discrimination" between Jammu and the Valley. "Do the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi support the JKNC's divisive politics of granting autonomy to Kashmir?" he asked. The former BJP president claimed that the Modi government ended years of discrimination against Dalits, tribes, Pahadis and backward communities by granting them reservations after the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A. "Does Rahul Gandhi support the JKNC manifesto, which calls for abolishing reservations for Dalits, Gujjars, Bakerwals and Pahadis? After allying with the National Conference, he should now clarify the Congress Party's stand on reservation policy," he said. Restoration of Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmir's statehood as well as implementation of the autonomy resolution passed by the erstwhile assembly in 2000 are among the National Conference's 12 guarantees announced in its manifesto for the upcoming polls. Announcing the release of the pensions for one lakh elderly residents of the city, Delhi Finance Minister Atishi said on Friday that her government ensured the resumption of the pensions withheld by the Central Government for five months. Crediting Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for the resumption of the pensions, the Minister said true to his role as Delhis son he fought tirelessly for the rights of the elderly to ensure that they get what is due to them. Meanwhile, Delhi BJP staged a protest outside the Department of Social Welfare office in Lajpat Nagar on Friday. They claimed that the announcement by the AAP government is a victory for them. Atishi said that four lakh elderly people of Delhi get an old age pension and out of these, the pension of one lakh elderly people is shared partly by the Delhi government and a part of it comes from the central government. These one lakh elderly people had not been getting their pensions for the last 5 months, Atishi claimed, adding that these people were not getting pensions because the part of the pension which comes from the central government was stopped by the BJP-ruled central government. She shared, "These elderly people used to come to me often. They used to go to our different MLAs. These one lakh elderly people of Delhi were very upset for the last 5 months. They felt that their son Arvind Kejriwal, who takes care of them, is in jail, there is no one to fight for them, that is why their pension is not being released." Congratulating people for getting pension, the senior AAP leader said, "I want to congratulate these one lakh elderly people that the pension which was stopped since the month of April has started coming now. From yesterday itself, the Social Welfare Department of Delhi has started crediting this pension into the accounts of the elderly. Till yesterday, about 90,000 pensions have been transferred and the remaining 10,000 pensions will be credited into the bank accounts of the elderly of Delhi today." Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said that any government's primary duty is to provide social pensions to the elderly and widows in a timely manner, but the Delhi government has halted these pensions. The late former Chief Minister of Delhi, Madan Lal Khurana, introduced this scheme, but the Kejriwal government, with its double standards, has stopped these pensions for the last five months. This pension, which helps the elderly purchase their medicines and provides support in their old age, has been stopped by the Kejriwal government as part of dirty politics, he said. He added that after stopping the pensions for the last five months, when BJP has taken to the streets, Atishi has announced through a press conference that the elderly's pensions will be issued from today. In a decisive move aimed at curbing corruption and expediting development in Punjab, the states Power and Public Works Minister Harbhajan Singh on Friday conducted a high-stakes review meeting with senior district officials in Moga primarily focusing on assessing the progress of development works and welfare schemes that witnessed significant administrative actions taken against those found lacking in their duties. The session took a dramatic turn when the Minister, demonstrating a zero-tolerance approach to corruption, suspended a Junior Engineer (JE) from the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) stationed at Bilaspur sub division. The suspension was a result of allegations that the JE had solicited bribes for completing official tasks. In addition, a private company employee was dismissed on the spot for similar charges of corruption. These actions underscored the Ministers commitment to transparency and accountability within the states administrative and public service sectors. Not stopping there! The Minister also issued show-cause notices to several officials who had either performed poorly or failed to attend the meeting. Addressing the assembled officials, the Minister emphasized the need for prompt initiation of approved projects, urging them to expedite the process of issuing labour cards and rationalizing patwaris (land record officers). He also stressed the importance of involving elected representatives in the foundation ceremonies, inaugurations, and other public welfare activities. Punjab Government is relentless in its pursuit of the states overall developmentTimely completion of development projects is crucial for achieving our development goals, he stressed. To enhance the sustainability of public services, the Minister instructed the officials to connect schools, hospitals, and Ayush hospitals to solar energy systems an initiative aimed at increasing the efficiency and reducing the operational costs of these essential services. Furthermore, Singh reiterated the significance of the Aap Di Sarkar-Aap De Dwar campaign, highlighting the need to maximize benefits for the public through this initiative. In the forward for Project 2025, Paul Dans, director of the Heritage Foundation policy document, views Silicon Valley with a mix of suspicion and hostility, describing large social media companies as imperiling childrens mental health and as data-mining operatives of the Chinese government. Dans, a former Trump administration official, left Heritage last month. DOMINIC GWINN/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images Project 2025, the far-right agenda intended for a second Donald Trump presidency, portrays Silicon Valley as an incubator for technological products that addict children, censor conservatives and help the Chinese government spy on U.S. citizens and sets out to transform the internet as we know it. Yet, some of the valleys wealthiest executives are backing Trump in what amounts to a high-stakes bet about which provocations he and his surrogates are serious about, and which ones are negotiable. Project 2025, or The Mandate for Leadership, was prepared by more than 100 former Trump administration staffers and released last year by Washington, D.C., think tank the Heritage Foundation. It envisions a Republican presidents first 180 days in office and outlines plans for expanding executive power, defanging congressional oversight and turning back the clock on American society. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Project 2025s withering view of Silicon Valley is scattered throughout the policy manuals 900-plus pages and begins in the tone-setting forward by Paul Dans, Trumps former chief of staff at the Office of Personnel Management. The worst of these companies prey on children, like drug dealers, to get them addicted to their mobile apps, Dans writes on page 5. TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms are specifically designed to create the digital dependencies that fuel mental illness and anxiety, to fray childrens bonds with their parents and siblings. Federal policy cannot allow this industrial-scale child abuse to continue. A few pages later, Dans says the conservative response must be severe. These are problems not of technocratic efficiency but of national sovereignty and constitutional governance. We solve them not by trimming and reshaping the leaves but by ripping out the trees root and branch. Project 2025, the conservative policy blueprint for a second Donald Trump term, ranges from being suspicious to openly hostile toward Big Tech, alternately characterizing social media companies such as TikTok, X and Meta, whose campus is pictured here, as industrial-scale drug dealers regarding childrens mental health and suppressors of conservative views. Anadolu/Anadolu Agency Under Project 2025, this uprooting would happen by weakening Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, often referred to as the 26 words that created the internet. Enacted in 1996, Section 230 says that online companies are not legally responsible for content created by their users. The provision, interpreted broadly by the courts, allowed the internet to rapidly expand from a smattering of message boards to a busy universe of knowledge, community and provocation. Advertisement Article continues below this ad In a chapter written by Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission and a Trump nominee, the FCC would clarify that Section 230 does not apply to dominant platforms that censor protected speech. The seemingly minor tweak would be a thermonuclear attack on the sector, said Darrell M. West, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institutions Center for Technology Innovation. What has allowed those companies to grow to the extent that they have is almost a complete absence of any legal liability concern, said West, who has authored books on artificial intelligence, disinformation and political division. The mere threat of Section 230 reform would send chills up and down the backbones of all these tech executives. In Project 2025s telling, a less independent FCC, firmly controlled by the president, could single-handedly usher through a shift that could have far-reaching consequences, especially as artificial intelligence grows more powerful. Advertisement Article continues below this ad American internet users could encounter even more violent, disturbing and corrupting content than they already do, warned Adam Hadley, the founding executive director of Tech Against Terrorism, a global terrorist disruption network that started as a United Nations initiative. Not wanting to risk the broad federal immunity Section 230 affords, large platforms could be dissuaded from removing the worst the internet has to offer, including child sexual abuse imagery, mass shooter manifestos, videos depicting terrorism, content promoting self-harm and rampant disinformation. It does open up a can of worms, West said. And, in my view, their recommendations go way beyond political speech, because we now have contested facts about elections, public health, climate change, race relations, war and many other aspects. If there were Section 230 reforms, it would really complicate the ability of these companies to navigate those issues. Carr writes that Congress could prevent such fallout through legislation clarifying that platforms arent required to host illegal content, but that assumes Congress ability to pass legislation. In a statement, Hadley said that would be an incredibly difficult and politicised task given the deeply divided political landscape. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Roxana Muenster, a doctoral student at Cornell University studying disinformation and online social movements, contends that Project 2025s concern with free speech is one-sided, as other chapters call for scrubbing federal policy of protections for reproductive health care; critical race theory; diversity, equity and inclusion; gender identity, and even climate change. The idea behind Project 2025 is theyre irate about what they think is censorship against conservative values, and their response is, we will now basically enact the same censorship on liberal values, said Muenster, who wrote about Project 2025s tech implications as for Brookings in July. Online safe spaces for queer and other marginalized communities, she added, would be massively infringed upon if Project 2025 got its way. Project 2025 would still let smaller social media companies remove content without losing their Section 230 protections, a carveout that Muenster said would benefit Trumps own TruthSocial platform as well as Rumble, the right-wing video-hosting platform that counts Trump running mate J.D. Vance as an investor and venture capitalist David Sacks on its board of directors. Theres a lot of overlap between certain companies and the collaborators of Project 2025, Muenster said. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Since endorsing Trump in June, Sacks, a San Francisco investor in Facebook, SpaceX and Palantir Technologies, has been joined by several tech billionaires attracted to Trumps positions on AI, cryptocurrency and corporate taxes, and who rail against political lawfare and diversity, equity, inclusion initiatives. Biden issued an executive order last year requiring safety and security standards in the development of AI, and his Securities Exchange Commission has brought dozens of enforcement actions against crypto exchanges since he took office. His administration has pursued antitrust lawsuits against Meta, Amazon and Google parent company Alphabet, claiming the companies illegally stifle competition on the path to becoming monopolies. Project 2025 calls for dismantling the Federal Trade Commission that has pursued these antitrust actions and, even if Trump doesnt go that far, a second Trump is very likely to change antitrust enforcement dramatically, said Eric Chaffee, a business law professor at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. As a result, Big Tech has reason to hope that Donald Trump will be elected again as president. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said he supported Biden and his Democratic predecessors until the Department of Justice sued his astronautics company last year for allegedly refusing jobs to refugees and people granted asylum. Ben Horowitz, whose influential Menlo Park venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz has invested in 105 cryptocurrency startups, complained that the Biden administration had sued over 30 of our companies while refusing to meet with him and partner Marc Andreessen. And Peter Thiel, the PayPal and Palantir co-founder and crypto investor who introduced Vance to Trump, grumbled during an April interview with economist Tyler Cowen that its hard to even have an illegal Swiss bank account these days. Musk, Sacks and Thiel all of whom spent their youth in apartheid-era South Africa are outspoken critics of DEI. Some of the billionaires probably believe that they can cut a deal with Trump, West said, echoing a sentiment by others interviewed by the Chronicle. We know Trump is very transactional in how he thinks about things. And if you have billionaires who are dumping millions of dollars into Trumps campaign, they probably think that will shield them from the type of regulation that even Trump might be willing to support. Trump is no stranger to reversing himself. n Chief Minister Mohan Yadav has said that encouraging participation at the local level in the multidimensional use of indigenous satellites will speed up the development process. While ensuring the implementation of space science-related technologies, activities will be conducted at every level in the state to improve the lives of the people of the state and increase the use of geospatial technology in the process of development. Chief Minister Yadav was addressing a seminar on capacity building of women in the field of Geospatial Technology at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Good Governance and Policy Analysis. At the outset, Chief Minister Yadav inaugurated the programme by lighting the lamp. The symposium titled Touching Lives While Touching the Moon on the first National Space Day, August 23, was organized by the state government in collaboration with ISRO, National Commission for Women, Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, and Earth Sight Foundation. Meenakshi Negi, Member Secretary of the National Commission for Women, Vinay Sahastrabuddhe, Vice President of Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini and Mayor of Bhopal Malti Rai attended the seminar. Negi, Member Secretary of the National Commission for Women, presented a digital book focused on the activities of the Womens Commission to Chief Minister Yadav. Additional Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Good Governance, Lokesh Sharma was also present in the programme. Chief Minister Yadav said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a special contribution in providing opportunities for progress to women in all fields. Along with playing an important role in public life, women in the country are also making achievements in specialized fields like space science. During the Covid period, women played an important role in making vaccines and managing health services. Chief Minister Yadav said that astronomy has a special place in the Indian knowledge system. The mention of planets and satellites in ancient Indian texts and various concepts in this regard is indicative of this fact. The detailed explanation and accuracy of dates in the Indian panchang system also show the credibility of Indian astronomy. Meenakshi Negi, Member Secretary of the National Commission for Women, said that capacity building in the field of geospatial technology will make it easier for public representatives to take decisions regarding development activities. This technology will bring more transparency and speed in development activities. Vice President of Prabodhini, Vinay Sahastrabuddhe while extending wishes for the first National Space Day said that an ambitious programme has been started by the Government of India for enhancing efficiency in the field of geospatial technology. This will help the public representatives in making decisions as per the actual situation and in better monitoring of plan implementation. It was told in the programme that to commemorate the successful landing of Chandrayaan-2 on the lunar surface on August 23 last year, Prime Minister Modi had called for celebrating August 23 as National Space Day. Space technology is rapidly becoming an integral part of life. Daily life is becoming easier with its use. Besides management of all areas of development including agriculture, forests, fisheries, and water resources can also be done in a more transparent and people-oriented manner. There was a detailed discussion in the workshop for capacity building in the field of satellite technology with the aim of making women representatives more efficient and effective in the implementation of development schemes at the local level. Cotton procurement in Hry to begin from Oct 1 Chandigarh: Haryana Additional Chief Secretary (Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department) Raja Sekhar Vundru on Friday said that the cotton procurement for the Kharif Marketing Season 2024-25 in the State will begin on October 1. As per the rules of the Government of India, the procurement will be done at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) through the Cotton Corporation of India, Vundru added. Presiding over a review meeting on the preparations for cotton procurement, Vundru directed that every possible assistance should be provided to the Cotton Corporation of India during the procurement process. He assured that both the Cotton Corporation of India and the Haryana Government is fully prepared, ensuring that farmers face no difficulties in selling their crops. A total of 20 procurement centres have been set up across the state for cotton procurement. These centres are located in Siwani, Dhigawa, and Bhiwani (Bhiwani District); Charkhi Dadri (Charkhi Dadri District); Bhattu, Bhuna, and Fatehabad (Fatehabad District); Adampur, Barwala, Hansi, Hisar, and Uklana (Hisar District); Uchana (Jind District); Kalayat (Kaithal District); Narnaul (Mahendragarh District); Meham (Rohtak District); and Ellenabad, Kalanwali, and Sirsa. MSTC to e-Auction mines of Himachal: Industries Minister Shimla: Himachal Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan on Friday said that the State Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Metal Scrap Trade Corporation Limited (MSTC), a Government of India enterprise under the Ministry of Steel, to facilitate e-Auction services for mining leases and composite licenses in Himachal Pradesh. The MoU was signed by Director of Industries Rakesh Kumar Prajapati on behalf of the State Government and Regional Manager Nitin Anand representing MSTC. He said that the state government was going to auction two big blocks of limestone in Arki tehsil of Solan district and Sunni tehsil of Shimla district. The limestone from these blocks is of fine quality making it highly valuable for use in cement, steel, glass and fertilizer industries. He emphasized that the MoU was signed to ensure a transparent auction process. Chauhan said the auction of these mineral mines would not only boost the States revenue but also create employment opportunities for the local population. Waste management and sewage treatment be given a top priority: Rana Gurjeet Kapurthala: Reacting to the imposition of a penalty of Rs. 1000 crore on the Punjab government by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for failing to comply with environmental laws, Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh on Friday said that the commissioners and the executive officers of the local civic bodies in the states municipal corporations and councils need to put special efforts for municipal waste management and sewage treatment. The MLA suggested building a protocol for solid waste management and treatment of sewage in the cities and towns of the state, suggesting for mechanized system of waste treatment. To begin with, the department of local should start mohalla level cleaning of sewage lines in the cities so that the neighborhoods are clean and there is no overflowing, he said. The waste originating from the cities and towns has become a big problem and is taking the shape of an epidemic and this needs to be dealt with as a top priority, suggested the MLA. Citing an example from his constituency, he said that despite his repeated requests the system of waste management remains improper. According to the MLA, it is sad that the Punjab government has been asked to pay huge penalties for failing to comply with the environmental laws. This is the second time in three years that Punjab has come under the scanner of the NGT. Instead of paying heavy penalties, the government should focus on capital investment for sewage treatment and waste management, the Kapurthala MLA added. Sukhbir Urges NGT to Penalize AAP, Hold CM Accountable for Environmental Failures Chandigarh: A day after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) imposed a Rs 1,026 crore fine on the Punjab Government for failing to manage legacy waste and untreated sewage, the SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday called for further action. Sukhbir has appealed to the NGT to direct the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to cover the full Rs 3,108 crore penalty levied for environmental non-compliance. Criticizing AAP Government for its continued disregard for environmental regulations, Sukhbir argued that the people of Punjab should not bear the financial burden due to the Government's persistent failures. The AAP Government has ignored repeated warnings and failed to address waste management issues even after being fined Rs 2,080 crore in 2022, leading to this latest Rs 1,026 crore penalty. It is only fair that AAP, not the citizens, should be held accountable, he argued. Sukhbir also urged the NGT to hold Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann personally responsible for the environmental breaches, suggesting that the AAP leader should face prosecution under Section 26 of the NGT Act, 2010. Instead of targeting officers, the Chief Minister should be held accountable for obstructing necessary remedial actions, he emphasized. Chd MC Commissioner Anindita Mitra's 3-yr tenure ends Chandigarh: Chandigarh Municipal Corporation (MC) Commissioner Anindita Mitras three-year tenure ended on Thursday with the UT Administration granting her 22 days' leave on completion of her inter-cadre deputation period. The order was released on Friday. Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh has been given additional charge of MC Commissioner. All political parties must adhere to MCC during Assembly Elections: Hry CEO Chandigarh: Haryana Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Agarwal on Friday said that all political parties must adhere to the Model Code of Conduct during the Haryana Assembly elections, as per the guidelines of Election Commission of India. He said that any individual can file a complaint regarding any violation of the Model Code of Conduct on the C-Vigil app and legal action will be taken against those found violating these rules. The political parties must place their hoardings and banners only at locations designated by the District Election Office. Applications for permission can be submitted online. Agarwal also called on all political parties to strictly follow the guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India for candidates and political parties. He stated that all political parties and candidates should be cautious while using social media and to avoid spreading rumours. Any suspicious information should be verified with the respective Returning Officer (RO) before sharing it further. Strict action will be taken against those spreading false and misleading information during the Assembly elections, he warned. He further said that the voters must confirm their names in voter list. Hry Head Constable arrested for accepting bribe of Rs 20,000 Chandigarh: The Haryana Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Friday arrested Head Constable Sandeep, posted at Sector-32 Police Station in Karnal, for accepting a bribe of Rs 20,000. The bribe was demanded in exchange for removing the complainant's name from an FIR registered at the same police station. According to a government spokesperson, the ACB team received a complaint that Head Constable Sandeep had been demanding a bribe of Rs 20,000 from the complainant to remove their name from an FIR. Upon receiving the complaint, the ACB team from Karnal initiated an investigation and devised a plan to catch the accused in the act. Subsequently, Sandeep was caught red-handed while accepting the bribe. A case has been registered against him at the ACB police station in Karnal, and legal proceedings are underway. SLUG: HARYANA ASSEMBLY POLLS With the date of filing nominations getting closer, the process of selection of the candidates for the Haryana Assembly election has started in various parties- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The finalisation of the names wont be easy for them as community and caste-based associations have started lobbying for their representation. In the Assembly election 2019, out of 90 seats, BJP had won 40; the Congress 31, JJP 10, INLD 1 and Independents/others had 8 MLAs. As parties like INLD, JJP, BSP and AAP did not perform well in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election, the fight this time round seems to be a direct one between Congress and the BJP. The Congress party and BJP each had won five seats in the Lok Sabha election in Haryana. The Lok Sabha poll results have led to a spurt in the number of aspirants for the Congress party tickets in the majority of the assembly segments in the State. A total of 2,556 aspirants have applied for the Congress ticket for the 90-member Haryana Assembly polls slated for October 1. The Congress has got 743 applications for 17 reserved seats with an average of around 44 applications per seat while a total of 1,813 aspirants have applied for the remaining 73 general seats with an average of around 25 applications per seat. This party has received on average 19 applications more in each constituency reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) than general ones. Congress is looking for a qualified candidate through interviews, surveys, and other methods, but looking at the competition and factionalism among the claimants, it is clear that ticket distribution is not going to be easy for both parties. A senior Congress leader said, The interviews of the aspirants are being carried out by multiple teams of the Congress in Delhi. Over 100 aspirants are being called for that daily. Around 1,000 of 2556 aspirants have appeared for the interview till date. The process has been expedited keeping in view the date of filing nomination getting closure. He further said that during the interview, besides their profile, aspirants are being asked about the details of their Assembly constituency, the number of villages or polling booths, caste equation, etc. Two other suitable candidates in the constituency and what is their poll contesting plan etc, he added. Though various parties have adopted selection criteria and invited formal applications, demands raised by community and caste-based groups and their pressure on the party's high command or leadership play a crucial role in deciding the ticket allotment. The greater the vote share of a community, the bigger the pressure. While every community has at least two or three associations, some of these tend to become active during the elections as they see it as an opportunity to strengthen their representation at political levels. Several associations under the banner of the Brahmin Sabha, Gaur Brahmin Sabha, Jat Mahasabha, Gurjar Mahasabha, Maharaja Agrasen Sabha (Vaishya), Punjabi Mahasabha, Rajput Sabha and Ambedkar Sabha have their presence in almost every district. Such organisations do want to increase their influence or participation in the power corridors, they take up their demands with senior leaders or party high commands through various means. An association of the Punjabi community has raised the demand for the selection of its candidates. Since anti-incumbency is the biggest challenge for the BJP after two consecutive terms in the government, the party had made it clear that fresh faces would be fielded from several seats and deadwood would be removed. Sources in BJP said that the party has not yet formally invited applications from aspirants for the party ticket, but it had recently conducted an opinion poll to find out the three most suitable candidates for each Assembly segment. Under the process, the party leaders, including MLAs and MPs, office bearers of various cells and workers had written the name of three such candidates in each segment on a slip and put it in a box at every headquarters till August 11. Besides the opinion poll, the party has conducted multiple surveys to ascertain winnable candidates, he added. Moreover, despite opposing dynastic politics vociferously, the BJP is likely to depart from its 'one family, one ticket' formula and make an exception to accommodate family members of its leaders in the state. Union Minister of State Rao Inderjits daughter, Aarti Rao, has already announced her decision to contest the election with or without a party ticket; Established leaders are also making such demands. While another Union Minister, Krishan Pal Gujjar, wants a ticket for his son, MP Dharambir Singh is also keen for his son to contest the Assembly elections. The party's nominee, Kiran Choudhry, who is set to be elected to the Rajya Sabha, is also keen on a ticket for her daughter, Shruti, a former MP. Also, MP Naveen Jindals mother, Savitri Jindal, a former minister, is hoping to get a ticket, a source said. Aam Aadmi Party's Haryana unit chief Sushil Gupta said that his party would soon declare its candidates for Assembly polls with screening and survey for the purpose underway. AAP will put up a strong fight in all 90 Assembly segments. Candidates will be declared by August 31. The AAP will give tickets to those whom people want, he said. With just over a month left for Assembly polls, Dushyant Chautala has found himself in a major crisis as his Jannayak Janata Party MLAs continue to desert him. With one after another MLA bidding farewell, the party has lost 60 per cent of its assembly strength in the last few days. Dushyant said that the list of candidates would be finalized by convening a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Political Affairs before September 1. For the Assembly election, BSP and INLD have reached a seat-sharing arrangement. Of the 90 seats in the state, INLD will contest 53, while the BSP will contest 37 seats, including all 17 reserved seats for Scheduled Caste (SC) candidates as BSP is considered a party of Dalits. JJP, BSP and INLD are facing difficulty in finding good candidates because of the declining vote share of these parties in subsequent elections in the state. These parties are now waiting for the candidate list of major parties like Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party, so that those who could not get tickets from these parties. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath paid a courtesy visit to Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday morning at his residence in Delhi. Demonstrating mutual respect and cordiality, Chief Minister Yogi reached out to enquire about Vice President Dhankhars well-being. During the meeting, Vice President Dhankhar praised the developmental strides made by Uttar Pradesh under Chief Minister Yogis leadership, acknowledging the progress made by the state in multiple sectors. Following the meeting, Chief Minister Yogi took to his social media platform X to share his gratitude. He wrote, Paid a courtesy visit to Honorable Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar ji in New Delhi. Thank you very much for giving your valuable time. Vice President Dhankhars official X handle also shared a photograph of the meeting, highlighting the cordial interaction and mutual respect between the two leaders. This is not the first time Vice President Dhankhar has commended Uttar Pradeshs governance under Chief Minister Yogi. Last year, he praised the improved law and order situation in the state, describing Uttar Pradesh as a global role model in maintaining public safety and security. He also referred to Chief Minister Yogi as a person of action, recognising his proactive approach to governance and development. Minister of Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Friday , highlighted how the Ramcharitmanas offers solutions to everyday challenges, emphasising that the life of Shri Ram serves as an ideal for humanity. Making these assertions while addressing a one-day conference Ramcharitmanas for Humanity organized by the Centre for Hindu Studies, University of Delhi, he discussed the different stages and phases of life as depicted in the Ramcharitmanas and its relevance in contemporary times. Shekhawat also noted how the Ramcharitmanas has carried the roots and wisdom of Bharat to the world, stressing the importance of applying its teachings in daily life applied Ramcharitmanas and encouraging everyone to reflect on how to implement its principles. The conference was organized with the aim of providing a platform for experts to engage in insightful discussions on various aspects of Ramcharitmanas . Eminent scholars and experts in the field of Ramcharitmanas shared their perspectives on topics ranging from Ram and Ramrajya, social and cultural impact of Ramcharitmanas, and application of Ramcharitmanas in contemporary times. Dr. Prerna Malhotra, Conference Convener and Joint Director of Hindu Studies explained that dharma serves as the sustainer, embodying the principle of righteous actions. Guest of Honour Santosh Taneja, founder , Samkalp and Advisor, Sanskriti Sangyan, elaborated on the concept of Ramrajya, emphasising the immense yet invisible powerof spirituality. As the Haryana assembly elections are around the corner the State BJP Election Committee has started brainstorming to prepare a panel of winning contenders at the assembly constituency level. The two-day brainstorming session of the state election committee of the BJP to shortlist candidates for the Assembly elections started on Thursday. The session will continue on Friday as well. Meanwhile, Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar sounded confident about the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) forming the government in Haryana for the third consecutive time. The former Haryana Chief Minister attended a party meeting here that was held to discuss the probable nominees for the upcoming October 1 election for 90 Assembly seats. The two-day brainstorming session of the state election committee of the BJP to shortlist candidates for the Assembly elections had commenced on August 22. Speaking to the mediapersons after the meeting, the Union Minister said that around 25-30 candidates had shown interest in each seat. He said that the names would be shortlisted soon and submitted to the party's parliamentary board for finalisation. In the session detailed information about the status of seats was obtained from the officials of five districts, which include Gurugram, Faridabad, Palwal, Nuh and Rewari. After getting information about the remaining districts on Friday, an attempt will be made to prepare a panel of three contenders each. A senior party leader for Gurugram said that the candidates' winnability was the only factor that would be considered for the selection. Meanwhile, an assessment exercise is being carried out to determine the political situation in all the districts of the state. At the beginning of the meeting, all the members including state election in-charge and Union Human Resource Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, election co-in-charge and MP Biplab Deb, National Vice President Saudan Singh, state in-charge Dr Satish Poonia, co-in-charge Surendra Nagar, Union Minister Manohar Lal, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, State President Mohan Lal Baroli, National Secretary Omprakash Dhankhar, Election Management Committee Convenor Kuldeep Bishnoi and State Organization Minister Phanindranath Sharma discussed this. During the session, party officials of Gurugram, Faridabad, Palwal, Nuh and Rewari districts were called separately, and the political scenario was discussed. Information about the problems of the area was also obtained from the officials. Along with this, there was also a discussion on solving them soon. It is being said that on Friday's session, an attempt will be made to prepare a panel of winning contenders. It is said that a large number of applications have come from all assemblies. To further boost tourism in the state, the Himachal Pradesh government is set to introduce new flight routes connecting Chandigarh, Kullu and Dharamsala. According to a statement, the government is already in discussions with airlines and other stakeholders to launch flights in these routes. The direct flight between Kullu and Dharamshala is expected to significantly benefit the tourism sector, addressing a long-standing demand from visitors, a statement said. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu emphasised the government's commitment to attracting high-end tourists to the state. "Strengthening air connectivity was crucial to achieving our tourism goals and reducing travel time and costs for tourists is essential," he said. "Himachal Pradesh is blessed with breathtaking landscapes and has immense tourism potential. Systematic development of tourism infrastructure would not only increase tourist footfalls but also bolster the local economy," Sukhu said. Four flight routes, linking a few popular tourist destinations in the state with other parts of the country, are currently operational. Fights on the Delhi-Shimla-Delhi and Shimla-Dharamsala-Shimla routes operate daily, while the Amritsar-Shimla-Amritsar and Amritsar-Kullu-Amritsar routes are operational thrice a week. In addition to expanding flight routes, the Himachal Pradesh government is also developing new heliports to further improve air connectivity for tourists, the statement said. "Rs 13 crore has been allocated for the construction of heliports in Rakkar and Palampur in Kangra district, Reckong Peo in Kinnaur district and another in Chamba district," it said. "The hilly terrain of Himachal Pradesh makes the construction of heliports beneficial," the chief minister. "These heliports would attract more tourists by saving travel time and they would also provide assistance to local residents in emergencies, if any," he added. The more tourists we attract, the more benefits would accrue to the people of the state, Sukhu said, adding that the state government was adopting a focused approach to establish these heliports, ensuring that each district headquarters was connected to this facility. Furthermore, the state government has declared Kangra district as the tourism capital of Himachal Pradesh and is upgrading the necessary tourism infrastructure in the district, the statement added. Medi-Caps University, Indore, successfully organized a two-day induction program for its newly admitted students, marking the beginning of their academic journey. Dr. Kuber Datt Gautam, Media In-charge of the university, emphasized that the event was designed to introduce students to the university's academic environment, clubs, and extracurricular activities. The program commenced with the Medi-Caps Anthem, followed by an inspiring address by the Honorable Vice Chancellor, Prof. (Dr.) D.K. Patnaik. Dr. Patnaik urged the new students to embrace hard work and perseverance, sharing his own experiences to highlight the importance of dedication and a continuous learning attitude. His thought-provoking speech resonated deeply with the students, leaving a lasting impression. Following the Vice Chancellor's address, Dr. Shilpa Tripathi, Dean of Students Welfare, along with other deans and faculty members, provided crucial information about the university's academic curriculum, attendance requirements, examination criteria, and the variety of extracurricular activities available. This session was aimed at equipping new students with essential knowledge about university life, ensuring they are well-prepared for the challenges ahead. The program also featured a series of cultural presentations, including drama and dance performances by current students, showcasing the vibrant cultural life at Medi-Caps University. The new students were captivated by the performances, expressing excitement for the experiences that await them over the next four years. In addition to the main induction program, special sessions were conducted where students had the opportunity to interact with their class coordinators and faculty members. These sessions provided valuable insights into the curriculum and academic expectations. The new students were also introduced to various student clubs and activities, with faculty and student club coordinators offering detailed information on the opportunities for holistic development at the university. The induction program was a resounding success, setting a positive tone for the academic year and fostering a sense of community among the new students at Medi-Caps University. Director General of Police Prashant Kumar on Friday refuted allegations of UP police constable recruitment exam question paper leak and warned of strict action against rumour mongers. He asserted that the examination was conducted peacefully and the district magistrates and police officials were reviewing the arrangements and keeping a check. The DGP said that the Uttar Pradesh Police Recruitment and Promotion Board Board had also denied paper leak claims. His comments followed media reports which suggested that the Special Task Force had arrested a woman constable in Gorakhpur for allegedly leaking a question paper in exchange for money. He said an FIR had been lodged and action would be taken against the guilty. No information about the question paper leak has been received and people spreading misinformation will be booked, the DGP said. Talking about the examination process, he said it involved a lot of steps, including storage of question papers, taking them to the centres, verifying Aadhaar cards and then conducting the exams. This time arrangements were made keeping in mind that the candidates appearing for the examination are not inconvenienced, he claimed. Candidates from other states are also trying their luck in the UP police constable recruitment exam, the DGP said. He said that after healthy competition, brilliant candidates would be selected to serve the police force and the public for 30-35 years. Meanwhile, besides Gorakhpur, a candidate was caught in Rae Bareli taking the exam with an electronic device. The police and administration are interrogating the accused. Reports said that during the police recruitment examination in the citys Acharya Dwivedi Inter College, Upendra Singh, son of Motilal Singh, resident of Bela police station area of Auraiya district, serial number 4943762, was cheating through his mobile 7060030488. When the centre administrator noticed the cheater, the matter was revealed. The cheating candidate has been taken into custody by the police. Circle Office (City) Amit Singh said that the arrested accused was being questioned. He was cheating by connecting the mobile to Bluetooth. The matter is being thoroughly investigated and further necessary legal action will be taken against him, he added. Singh, however, denied any paper leak. Earlier in Gorakhpur, a lady constable, identified as Pinki Sonkar, posted in Shrawasti, was held with five admit cards. She allegedly came in contact with a senior political leader over Facebook and was collecting Rs 20 lakh per candidate, ensuring their selection in the police recruitment exam. One Devendra Pratap Singh was also held along with the constable. He claimed himself to be national general secretary of Rastriya Jan Adhikar Yuva Manch. He presently hails from Sangam Vihar Colony in New Delhi. The sleuths of the Special Task Force are interrogating them along with three other suspects. The lady constable was also put under suspension. It may be mentioned that the Uttar Pradesh Police Constable Recruitment Exam 2024 commenced on Friday amid tight security arrangements. The examination was conducted peacefully across the state on the first day and no untoward incident was reported from anywhere, the police headquarter claimed on Friday evening. The examination was conducted in two shifts. Over 48 lakh students are registered for the exam to be held at examination centres in 67 districts across the state in five days (August 23, 24, 25, 30 and 31) in two shifts. For the convenience of the aspirants, Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation buses will provide them free rides to examination centres upon showing their admit cards. The Uttar Pradesh Police have made extensive security and support measures to ensure the smooth conduct of the police recruitment examination. The re-examination is being conducted as the Uttar Pradesh Police Constable Recruitment Exam was cancelled in February due to allegations of a paper leak. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had announced that the examination would be conducted within six months. The recent theft and desecration of the Shivpuri Temple in Khanna have ignited a fervent call for enhanced security at religious sites across Punjab. Hindu leaders, voicing deep concerns over rising vandalism incidents, met with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday to express their gratitude for the swift resolution of the case and to advocate for stronger protective measures. Punjab Polices rapid response led to the arrest of the culprits involved in the temple desecration, a move that has been widely praised by the community. In a meeting held in Chandigarh, representatives from the Shivpuri Temple committee and various Hindu organizations commended Chief Minister Mann for his decisive action. Deepak Bali, a senior leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab, highlighted the importance of the swift police work, noting that the incident had stirred emotions not only within the Hindu community but across all religious and communal groups in Punjab. Bali lauded Chief Ministers leadership, asserting that his intervention had reinforced public trust in the Punjab Government. AAP spokesperson Neel Garg echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the commendable nature of the Chief Ministers response. Garg noted that the prompt resolution prevented the situation from escalating further, and he praised the local community, temple committee, and Hindu organizations for their patience and support during the crisis. During the meeting, the Chief Minister reiterated the governments commitment to secularism, underscoring that all religions Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, and Christianity are treated equally under his administration. He assured that there would be zero tolerance for any form of communal hatred or violence in Punjab. This stance was reinforced by the Chief Minister's directive to the police to ensure that no culprits go unpunished. Mahant Banshi Das, a prominent Hindu leader, expressed satisfaction with the Chief Ministers approach, commending him for embodying the secular values he promotes. The Mahant also praised the Punjab Police for their effective work in capturing the accused from out-of-state locations a move that has bolstered the morale of the Hindu community and reassured them about the safety of their religious sites. The meeting also touched on broader security concerns, including the prevention of future incidents of vandalism and addressing recent violence against Hindu leaders in Punjab. Chief Minister Mann assured that maintaining law and order remains the government's top priority, and he vowed to prevent any disruptions to the communal harmony of the region. In a broader context, Chief Minister Mann also addressed concerns related to the resurgence of terrorism linked to Khalistan, reassuring the public that the states commitment to maintaining Hindu-Sikh brotherhood remains unwavering. The governments proactive stance in these matters reflects a broader effort to ensure peace and security for all communities in Punjab. Weather models predict scattered rain showers across Northern California on Friday afternoon and evening. Rain chances will be greatest along the North Coast and northern Sacramento Valley, and they will be lowest in the Bay Area. Baron/Lynx UPDATED FORECAST: Heat returns to Northern California this week after unusual August storm Atypical August weather is expected across portions of Northern California on Friday. Conditions will be more similar to early November than late August, with high temperatures in the upper 60s to mid-70s, scattered showers and a chance of snowflakes in the high Sierra. The late summer rainfall is being spawned by a strong low-pressure system just off the coast of southern Oregon. A cold front will sweep across Northern California very early Friday morning, and the atmosphere is expected to destabilize in its wake, increasing the chance for showers and thunderstorms. Widespread wetting rain is not expected in the Bay Area, but drizzle is likely along the coast and perhaps as far east as the Oakland and Berkeley hills. Live storm map: See where rain is hitting California and Bay Area Advertisement Article continues below this ad Coastal areas from Point Arena to Crescent City have the best chance of thunderstorms. The threat will begin midmorning and peak in the afternoon. Anywhere from quarter inch to an inch of rain is expected in Del Norte and Humboldt counties, which would break daily records in both Crescent City and Eureka. Rainfall totals will be highly dependent on the coverage and intensity of thunderstorms. Some breaks in the clouds throughout the northern Sacramento Valley may provide energy for an afternoon thunderstorm threat, most likely north of Chico. Isolated thunderstorms are expected to remain weak, but Redding may pick up a tenth of an inch of rain from the passing showers. The National Weather Service predicts a high probability of rain in northwestern California on Friday afternoon into early Saturday morning. Baron/Lynx Any heavier rainfall that sets up over the Park Fire burn scar may result in flash flooding or debris flows. The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for areas around the burn scar. Residents near the Park Fire burn scar should follow National Weather Service updates to stay safe. Temperatures will be quite chilly for August standards, with highs in the low to mid-70s in the Sacramento Valley and inland Bay Area, 15 to 25 degrees below normal. In the Tahoe Basin, temperatures Friday night will plummet to near freezing. Another near-freezing night is expected Saturday. The average first freeze in South Lake Tahoe is Monday. Advertisement Article continues below this ad A light dusting of snow is possible above 8,000 feet Friday night into Saturday morning. However, the storm is expected to dry out rather quickly by the time it reaches the Sierra, limiting potential accumulations. Parts of the Cascade Range, including the 14,163-foot peak of Mount Shasta, could pick up a foot of snow. Gradually clearing skies are anticipated throughout Northern California on Saturday, allowing temperatures to rebound slightly. Sundays highs will jump another 5 to 10 degrees from Saturday, near to slightly above normal in the Bay Area and remaining slightly cooler-than-normal in the Sierra and Sacramento Valley. Bay Area Weekend Breakdown San Francisco: Friday will be partly cloudy throughout the city, with periods of sun and occasionally breezy winds. There is a slight chance of drizzle, especially on the west side of the city in the morning and again overnight. Highs will be in the low to mid-60s in the Sunset and Richmond districts and mid- to upper 60s along the bay shoreline. Overnight lows will be in the mid-50s. Saturday will be partly to mostly sunny, and temperatures are expected to climb a few degrees. Sunday should be pleasant and warmer than normal. Neighborhoods west of Twin Peaks will be in the upper 60s, while downtown should reach the low to mid-70s. Advertisement Article continues below this ad North Bay: There is a chance of light rain along the coastlines of Marin and Sonoma counties Friday. Rainfall probabilities will drop significantly south and east of Santa Rosa, but partly cloudy skies and a cool air mass will result in temperatures around 10 to 15 degrees below normal across the North Bay. Highs will be in the upper 60s to low 70s in Marin, Sonoma and Napa counties and the low to mid-70s in Solano County. Overnight lows will be in the low to mid-50s in Sonoma and Marin counties and mid- to upper 50s in Napa and Solano counties. Temperatures will trend upward through the weekend with clearing skies. Saturdays highs will jump around 5 to 7 degrees from Fridays marks. Slightly warmer-than-normal conditions are forecast to return Sunday, with inland highs in the 80s to low 90s and upper 60s to 70s at the coast. Overnight lows will remain in the 50s. East Bay: Cooler-than-normal weather will prevail across the East Bay on Friday. Highs will reach only the mid-60s to low 70s along the bay shoreline and the mid-70s inland. There is a very slight chance of drizzle in the Oakland and Berkeley hills, especially in the early morning. The clouds should burn off midday for a partly sunny afternoon. Clouds are expected to return overnight, possibly bringing another round of drizzle to the hills. Lows will be in the mid- to upper 50s. Sunshine will gradually return over the weekend. High temperatures will climb a few degrees Saturday before a significant jump Sunday. Concord, Antioch and Walnut Creek will likely crack 90 degrees Sunday, with mid-70s to low 80s in Oakland, Hayward and Fremont. Overnight lows will remain in the mid- to upper 50s. Advertisement Article continues below this ad Pacific Coast and Peninsula: Partly cloudy to overcast skies Friday morning are expected to gradually clear for afternoon sunshine. While inland areas experience a big cooldown, temperatures in San Mateo County will be closer to normal: in the low 60s at the beaches, upper 60s on the north side of the Peninsula and mid- to upper 70s near Redwood City. Lows will be in the mid-50s with partly cloudy skies and a slight chance of coastal drizzle. A minor warm-up is expected Saturday before a more significant jump in temperatures Sunday. Daly City, Pacifica and Half Moon Bay could reach the upper 60s Sunday, while bay-facing cities may get close to 80 degrees. Overnight lows will be in the mid- to upper 50s. South Bay and Santa Cruz: The South Bay will be farthest removed from the low-pressure system, meaning its weather effects will be muted in San Jose and Santa Cruz County. Despite the distant nature of the system, passing clouds and cooler weather are expected Friday. Highs are only forecast to be in the low to mid-70s throughout the Santa Clara Valley, in the Santa Cruz Mountains and along Monterey Bay. Overnight lows will be in the mid- to upper 50s. Temperatures will climb a few degrees Saturday, but by Sunday, areas away from the water will return to the mid-80s to low 90s. Even Santa Cruz could flirt with the 80-degree mark. Skies will be mainly clear through the weekend. Overnight lows will be in the mid-50s to around 60. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath emphasised on Friday that while India has embraced parliamentary democracy to reinforce democratic foundations, each branch of government judiciary, executive and legislature has its own boundaries. He noted, However, the role of the media as the fourth pillar cannot be ignored. Speaking at the inauguration of a private channel in Ghaziabad, the chief minister emphasised, The media plays a vital role in accurately informing the public, providing reliable information, spearheading significant initiatives when needed, and addressing issues through detailed reporting. This critical role has been evident throughout Indias history, even after Independence. Yogi Adityanath highlighted Indias status as the largest democracy of the world, often called the mother of democracy. He remarked, Throughout history and mythology, there are numerous examples where the ruling power of the time made decisions by prioritising public sentiment. When the government advances with the public as its highest priority, its decisions become popular, universally accepted and widely endorsed. Chief Minister Yogi emphasised the need to adapt and evolve with the times. He noted that the media must cater to the needs of society, including youth, common households and farmers, by providing information tailored to their preferences. He reminisced that people relied on radio and newspapers to follow national and global events. With the emergence of numerous media channels and platforms, including social media, the landscape of information dissemination has rapidly changed, he said. He observed that digital and social media platforms have had a significant influence on recent elections. Looking ahead to the next few years, print and visual media may play a more secondary role, while digital media could become increasingly impactful. As such, the launch of this new channel aims to integrate these evolving dynamics. He said. Chief Minister Yogi expressed confidence that this media organisation, with its commitment to unbiased reporting, will effectively deliver news that reflects Indias values and become a trusted pillar of the media landscape, achieving its goals and earning the trust of the public. The green energy initiative has benefitted the environment and significantly reduced electricity costs for government departments. In line with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanaths vision, the Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Authority (UPSIDA) is expanding the use of green energy. Building on the success of the rooftop solar plant at its Kanpur headquarters, UPSIDA has developed a plan to install rooftop solar plants, green belts and solar paths in its other industrial areas. The plan includes installation of solar rooftop plants on public facilities within its industrial zones, such as administrative buildings, civic centres, common facility centres (CFCs), transit hostels, common effluent treatment plants (CETPs), and offices of regional managers. The rooftop solar plant at the Kanpur headquarters of UPSIDA has already saved the authority Rs 27.35 lakh in electricity bills over the past few months. UPSIDA estimates that this initiative will have a net savings of approximately Rs 1,104 lakh over the next 23 years. UPSIDA installed a 150-kW solar rooftop plant at its Kanpur headquarters in January 2024 to reduce carbon emissions and promote renewable energy. The project, completed under the CAPEX model with assistance from the Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA), at a cost of Rs 82.98 lakh. Since the installation of the solar rooftop plant, the UPSIDA has achieved significant energy savings 35 per cent in January and February 2024, 32.42 per cent in March, 56.92 per cent in April and May, and 34.95 per cent in June and July 2024. This has already covered about 33 per cent of the total project cost. The UPSIDA expects to recover the full price within two years, while the lifespan of these solar panels is approximately 25 years. Over the next 23 years, this solar plant is projected to generate net savings of around Rs 1,104 lakh for UPSIDA. As part of UPSIDAs plan to expand green energy, a survey conducted with the assistance of UPNEDA has identified 53 key locations across various industrial areas with a total electrical load of approximately 2,000 kW. These locations include MG Road (Hapur), Begrajpur (Secunderabad), Surajpur Site-B (Gautam Buddha Nagar), Site 5 Kasna (Surajpur), Secunderabad (Bulandshahr), EPIP Kasna, TDS City (Baghpat), Foundry Nagar (Agra), Kosi Kotwan (Mathura), Bhogaon (Agra), Chinhat (Lucknow), Rae Bareli, Sandila (Hardoi), Kursi Road (Barabanki), Jainpur (Kanpur Dehat), Malwan (Fatehpur), Naini (Prayagraj), Karkhiyav (Varanasi), Bargarh (Chitrakoot), Unnao, Banthar, Parsakheda (Bareilly), Gajraula-2 (JP Nagar), and Shahjahanpur. The UPSIDA plans to develop solar pathways along the green belts in these industrial areas. These pathways will enhance the aesthetic appeal of outdoor spaces and provide a sustainable, off-grid lighting solution. Ideal for parks, playgrounds, and surrounding paths, these solar pathways will contribute to both environmental sustainability and the beautification of industrial areas. UPSIDA Chief Executive Officer Mayur Maheshwari said that in line with the Solar Energy Policy 2022 of the Government of India and the Uttar Pradesh government, the industrial development authority would soon install solar rooftop plants across all regional offices and projects. UPSIDA is actively encouraging entrepreneurs in industrial areas to adopt solar rooftops for their factories. It has attracted entrepreneurs to install solar plants at their units by raising awareness of the benefits. This initiative will lower electricity bills and enhance their contribution to energy production. Family members of youth who committed suicide protested at TT Nagar area, youth who depressed after he was shifted from Bhadbhada Basti in Bhopal to TT Nagar hanged on Thursday night. The family and residents allege that the officers of the corporation and the district administration were threatening to demolish his house at Bhadbhada due to which the youth committed suicide by hanging with the ceiling. On Friday, the family members protested by placing the body outside the Bhadbhada Basti. They were demanding to call the SDM and Tehsildar on the spot. After the incident on Thursday night, former minister PC Sharma, leader of opposition in the corporation Shabista Zaki and many Congress leaders reached the spot. Residents said that after demolishing the Bhadbhada Basti, some people were given sheds in TT Nagar. The officers of the corporation and the administration were threatening to demolish these too. Due to this, the driver Shadab was tense. Late on Thursday evening, Shadab hanged himself in his own house. After the family spotted Shadab's body hanging, the family took the body down and reached JP Hospital. The doctor examined him, but Shadab had already died. TT Nagar police station in-charge Manoj Patwa said, at 8 pm, we received information from JP Hospital that a young man has committed suicide. His name is Shadab. Suicide note has not been found. We are investigating. The Bombay High Court on Friday restrained political parties or even individuals from calling for a Maharashtra bandh. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance has called for a shut-down across the state on August 24 to protest against the alleged sexual assault of two kindergarten girls at a school in Badlapur in Thane district. A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar said the Maharashtra government shall take all necessary steps to prevent a bandh. They would pass a detailed order shortly on two petitions filed on Friday through advocates Subhash Jha and Gunaratna Sadavarte challenging the call for bandh, the judges said. "We are restraining any political party and/or any individual from calling for a bandh. The state shall take all preventive steps," the HC said. State Advocate General Birendra Saraf told the court that the call for general strike was illegal. "The state government will take all steps to ensure there is no damage or destruction of human lives or property. The state will do its duty but everyone has constitutional responsibilities which they should abide by," Saraf said. The court asked Saraf what preventive steps the government has taken, and if any preventive arrests have been made. Saraf said notices have been issued to a few persons, but no arrests have been made yet. Advocates Jha and Sadavarte pointed out a judgment of the Kerala High Court which held that no political party can call for a state-wide bandh, and an HC has ample powers to intervene in such matters. They also cited the example of the Maratha reservation agitation during which a lot of public property was destroyed. The court's detailed order is expected by evening. The Calcutta High Court on Friday ordered the transfer of investigation into alleged financial irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital from a state-constituted Special Investigation Team (SIT) to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The decision followed a petition by former deputy superintendent of the medical establishment, Akhtar Ali, who sought an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into alleged financial misconduct during the tenure of the college's former principal, Sandip Ghosh. Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj directed the CBI to provide a progress report on the investigation within three weeks. The matter is scheduled for a follow-up hearing on September 17, when the court will review the report. The West Bengal government had established the SIT on August 20 to investigate the alleged financial irregularities at the medical college and hospital. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy here on Friday, he first shook hands and immediately gave him a warm hug. The hug to the top leader of the war-torn country came barely six weeks after Modi had similarly hugged the leader of Ukraines arch enemy Russia, President Vladimir Putin. During a media briefing after the Modi-Zelenskyy talks, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was asked about the embrace in a question meant to seek comments on apparent linkages with Modis meetings with Putin earlier and Zelenskyy now. In our part of the world, when people meet people, they are given to embracing each other, it may not be part of your culture but I can assure you it is part of ours. In fact, today, I think, I saw, Prime Minister (Modi) also embrace President Zelenskyy, Jaishankar replied to a specific question by a Western reporter which mentioned in as many words about Modis embrace of Putin a few weeks ago. And I have seen him do it with a number of other leaders in a number of other places. So, I think, we have a slight ... cultural gap here in terms of what these courtesies mean, Jaishankar added. Much to the chagrin of the Western powers that be, Modi met Putin in July and spoke about how a solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and how peace efforts do not succeed in the midst of bombs and bullets. On Friday, India maintained that Ukraine and Russia need to engage with each other to find a solution to the ongoing conflict between them as Modi held wide-ranging talks with Zelenskyy under the shadow of the raging war. After Modi met with Putin, the Western media was full of news with headlines such as Modis Embrace of Putin Irks Biden Team Pushing Support for Kyiv while the BBC in one of its reports said, Photos from Moscow showed a beaming Mr Modi hugging the Russian president. Incidentally, Zelenskyy had criticised Modi for meeting Putin -- coincided with the NATO summit in Washington -- describing it as a huge disappointment. Earlier, Modi had met Zelenskyy on the margins of the G7 Summit in June in Italy. In the first-ever visit to Ukraine by an Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi arrived here on Friday on a nearly seven-hour trip to hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amid Kyiv's fresh military offensive into Russian territory. Modi will hold both one-on-one and delegation-level talks with Zelenskyy with a focus on ways to find a negotiated settlement to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. "PM @narendramodi arrived in Kyiv this morning on a landmark official visit. This is the first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries," Randhir Jaiswal, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson posted on X. "Reached Kyiv earlier this morning. The Indian community accorded a very warm welcome," Prime Minister Modi wrote on X. The prime minister arrived in Kyiv from Poland onboard a 'Rail Force One' train that took around 10 hours, in the second and final leg of his two-nation trip. The prime minister's visit to Kyiv comes nearly six weeks after his high-profile trip to Moscow during which he held extensive talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin largely with a focus on ending the conflict. Following talks with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Modi said on Thursday that the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia are a matter of "deep concern" and that "dialogue and diplomacy" is the way forward to restore peace. "This is India's firm belief that no problem can be solved on the battlefield. In any crisis, the loss of lives of innocent people has become the biggest challenge for the whole of humanity," he said. "We support dialogue and diplomacy for the early restoration of peace and stability. For this, India, along with its friendly countries, is ready to provide all possible support," he said in a media statement in Warsaw. Modi held talks with Zelenskyy in June on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy's Apulia. In the meeting, Modi conveyed to the Ukrainian President that India would continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution to the Ukraine conflict and that the way to peace is through "dialogue and diplomacy". Modi also told Zelenskyy that India believes in a "human-centric" approach to find a solution to the conflict in Ukraine. In the meeting, the Ukrainian president invited the prime minister to visit Kyiv. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday demanded the withdrawal of cases against those who had protested in Badlapur against the alleged sexual abuse of two kindergarten girls, warning that the opposition would have to hit the streets if it is not done. Addressing a news conference, Thackeray said the August 24 Maharashtra Bandh' called by the opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is not political but against perversion and urged people cutting across caste and religion to participate in it. He claimed the bandh would be observed on behalf of the people of the state. Slamming the Eknath Shinde government's action over the Badlapur protest, Thackeray said, Arrests are still taking place in Badlapur. The cases against the protesters must be withdrawn or else we have to hit the streets. A massive protest rocked Badlapur town in Thane district on Tuesday after thousands of people hit the streets and spilled onto railway tracks to protest the alleged sexual assault of two four-year-old girls by a male attendant at a local school. At least 25 police personnel were injured in the incidents of stone-pelting at the railway station and other parts of Badlapur during the protest. Police have arrested 72 persons in connection with the violence during the stir. The accused was arrested on August 17. He has been sent to police custody till August 26. Thackeray said the bandh should be strictly followed till 2 pm, ensuring that emergency services remain operational. He said people are entitled to express their anger not just during elections. When all roads are shut, justice is sought in the court of people, he said. The bandh is to make the government realise that the system should discharge its duties diligently. The former chief minister said even the Bombay High Court, which has taken suo motu cognisance of the alleged sexual assault of the young girls in Badlapur, has slammed the government. During a hearing on the matter on Thursday, the HC said, Unless there is a strong public outburst, the machinery won't move. Kamala Harris used her forceful presidential acceptance speech to present herself as a leader who could unite the country to chart a "new way forward" and warned Americans of "extremely serious" consequences of putting her Republican rival Donald Trump back in the White House. Vice President Harris, who is of Indian and African heritage, on Thursday night accepted her party's presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, on the 10th wedding anniversary. The 59-year-old leader walked on stage to thunderous applause and a standing ovation from the audience. Chants of Yes You Can! erupted before her remarks. Taking the stage at the United Center in Chicago to accept her nomination, Harris, who was a tough prosecutor in California before becoming US Vice President, said she is no stranger to unlikely journeys. "I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self, to hold sacred America's fundamental principles, from the rule of law, to free and fair elections, to the peaceful transfer of power," she said in the most important speech of her amazing political career. While introducing herself to Americans, Harris fondly remembered her mother Shyamala Gopalan and said that she misses her every day, especially when she is on the verge of breaking the highest glass ceiling of the United States. She said the November 5 election is the most important in America's history. Our nation with this election has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans," she said in her 40-minute speech. Vice President Harris outlined her plans for a new way forward if shes elected to be the 47th president of the United States. "I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations. A president who leads -- and listens. Who is realistic, Practical and has common sense. And always fights for the American people. From the courthouse to the White House, that has been my lifes work, Harris said. She laid out the consequences of electing former president Trump, 78, to a second term. In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man, but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious, she warned. She spoke about the chaos and calamity of his years in the Oval Office and also pointed to him questioning election results in 2020 when he lost his reelection bid to Biden. Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes. When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol where they assaulted law enforcement officers. When politicians in his own party begged him to call off the mob and send help, he did the opposite. He fanned the flames, she said. Harris also highlighted that Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts in a hush-money case and that a federal jury in his civil defamation trial found that the former president had sexually abused writer E Jean Carroll. He was found guilty of fraud by a jury of everyday Americans, and separately found liable for committing sexual abuse, she said. In describing her unexpected ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket after President Joe Biden decided to leave the race in July, Harris said that she is no stranger to unlikely journeys. America, the path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected. But Im no stranger to unlikely journeys, Harris said. Harris said she remembers her mother every day and the values that she instilled in her and said that she misses her every day, especially when she is on the verge of breaking the highest glass ceiling in the US. Her mother, she said, taught her to never do anything half-assed. If elected, Harris would break one of the highest glass ceilings left for women in the United States -- that of occupying the country's top office. She also wished her husband, Doug Emhoff, a happy anniversary at the top of her remarks. Thursday was the couples 10th wedding anniversary. She said she would ensure America strengthens and not abdicate its global leadership. "I will make sure that we lead the world into the future on space and Artificial Intelligence, and that America-not China-wins the competition for the 21st century. And that we strengthen not abdicate our global leadership," Harris said. Harris doesnt fight for the middle class. "Instead, he fights for himself and his billionaire friends. He will give them another round of tax breaks that will add five trillion dollars to the national debt," she said. Harris also called for reforming the broken immigration system. We can create an earned pathway to citizenship- And secure our border. America, we must also be steadfast in advancing our security and our values abroad, she said. Harris has said that, if elected the commander-in-chief of the US, she will ensure that the country always has the strongest and most lethal fighting force in the world. "And I will not cosy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim-Jong-Un, who are rooting for Trump. Because they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favours. They know Trump wont hold autocrats accountablebecause he wants to be an autocrat, Harris said. "As President, I will never waver in defence of Americas security and ideals. Because, in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I standand where the United States of America belongs, she said. Harris said as Vice President, she has confronted threats to security, negotiated with foreign leaders, strengthened alliances, and engaged with brave troops overseas. As commander-in-chief, I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world. I will fulfil our sacred obligation to care for our troops and their families, she said. "And I will always honour, and never disparage, their service and their sacrifice," she said. Trump, on the other hand, threatened to abandon NATO. He encouraged Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade America's allies, she said. Trump said Russia could do whatever the hell they want", she alleged. Harris said five days before Russia attacked Ukraine, she met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to warn him about Russias plan to invade. "I helped mobilise a global response over 50 countriesto defend against Putins aggression. And as President, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies, she said. On the disastrous Gaza war, she said: "President Biden and I are working around the clock. Because now is the time to get a hostage deal and ceasefire done. Let me be clear: I will always stand up for Israels right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself." Trump reacted to Harris speech in real-time on Truth Social. IS SHE TALKING ABOUT ME? Trump posted. The former president posted in rapid succession, criticising Harris speech, saying A lot of talk about childhood, and Too many Thank yous, too rapidly said. Trump repeatedly questioned why Harris hadnt already accomplished the policy proposals she had put forward as part of her reelection campaign while serving as vice president. She said, Chart a new way forward, but shes had three and a half years, and has done nothing but HARM! Trump wrote. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,414 shares of the business services providers stock, valued at approximately $250,000. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEX by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 377 shares of the business services providers stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in WEX by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 1,733 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in WEX by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,831 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $1,148,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in WEX in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in WEX by 233.9% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 187 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.47% of the companys stock. Get WEX alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets WEX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of WEX from $200.00 to $190.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. William Blair upgraded shares of WEX to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of WEX from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of WEX from $275.00 to $230.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $239.58. WEX Price Performance WEX stock traded up $0.38 during trading on Thursday, reaching $181.85. 7,116 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 333,729. WEX Inc. has a twelve month low of $161.95 and a twelve month high of $244.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a 50-day moving average of $177.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $202.59. WEX (NYSE:WEX Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The business services provider reported $3.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.09. WEX had a net margin of 9.32% and a return on equity of 31.05%. The firm had revenue of $673.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $677.44 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that WEX Inc. will post 13.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Insiders Place Their Bets In other WEX news, insider Ann Elena Drew sold 1,182 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $204,166.86. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,584 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $964,524.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Melanie J. Tinto sold 1,564 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $185.04, for a total transaction of $289,402.56. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,461 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,565,623.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ann Elena Drew sold 1,182 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.73, for a total transaction of $204,166.86. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,524.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,826 shares of company stock valued at $693,369 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. WEX Profile (Free Report) WEX Inc operates a commerce platform in the United States and internationally. The Mobility segment offers fleet vehicle payment solutions, transaction processing, and information management services; and provides account activation and account retention services; authorization and billing inquiries, and account maintenance services; account management; credit and collections services; merchant services; analytics solutions; and ancillary services and offerings. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WEX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for WEX Inc. (NYSE:WEX Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for WEX Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for WEX and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. American National Bank lifted its position in shares of The Southern Company (NYSE:SO Free Report) by 75.0% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,806 shares of the utilities providers stock after buying an additional 774 shares during the quarter. American National Banks holdings in Southern were worth $140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SO. Red Door Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.9% during the second quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,926 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $1,080,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Southern by 31.8% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 585 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Southern by 4.5% in the second quarter. Gilman Hill Asset Management LLC now owns 3,256 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Southern by 4.5% in the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 3,309 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Southern by 0.9% in the first quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 16,141 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $1,158,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the companys stock. Get Southern alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Southern from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a sector outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Southern from $87.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Southern from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Southern from $83.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $82.64. Southern Price Performance NYSE SO traded down $1.20 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $86.37. 3,696,099 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,458,944. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.66. The Southern Company has a 1 year low of $61.56 and a 1 year high of $89.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $94.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.51. Southern (NYSE:SO Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.19. Southern had a return on equity of 12.88% and a net margin of 17.67%. The firm had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.79 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that The Southern Company will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year. Southern Announces Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. Southerns dividend payout ratio is 74.42%. Insider Buying and Selling In other Southern news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Southern news, CEO Anthony L. Wilson sold 6,900 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total value of $535,509.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,620,831.49. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sloane N. Drake sold 12,000 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.61, for a total transaction of $931,320.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,301,597.31. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,280 shares of company stock valued at $1,678,625 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Southern Company Profile (Free Report) The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Southern Company (NYSE:SO Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Southern Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Southern and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC raised its holdings in BondBloxx Bloomberg One Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF (NYSEARCA:XONE Free Report) by 33.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,887 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 13,390 shares during the quarter. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC owned 0.63% of BondBloxx Bloomberg One Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF worth $2,619,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of XONE. Norden Group LLC raised its holdings in BondBloxx Bloomberg One Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF by 1,636.9% during the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 222,324 shares of the companys stock worth $11,176,000 after buying an additional 209,524 shares during the period. Pasadena Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of BondBloxx Bloomberg One Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at about $5,493,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of BondBloxx Bloomberg One Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF by 40.8% in the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 278,165 shares of the companys stock valued at $13,847,000 after purchasing an additional 80,656 shares during the period. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. increased its holdings in shares of BondBloxx Bloomberg One Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF by 479.5% in the 1st quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. now owns 74,265 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,668,000 after purchasing an additional 61,450 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BondBloxx Bloomberg One Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF by 252.6% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 74,303 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,688,000 after purchasing an additional 53,232 shares during the period. Get BondBloxx Bloomberg One Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF alerts: BondBloxx Bloomberg One Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF Price Performance Shares of XONE traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $49.75. The companys stock had a trading volume of 23,861 shares, compared to its average volume of 91,774. BondBloxx Bloomberg One Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF has a 1-year low of $49.24 and a 1-year high of $52.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.53. BondBloxx Bloomberg One Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF Profile The Bondbloxx Bloomberg One Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF (XONE) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in investment grade fixed income. The fund is passively managed to invest in a portfolio of US Treasury securities with a target duration of one year. XONE was launched on Sep 13, 2022 and is managed by BondBloxx. See Also Receive News & Ratings for BondBloxx Bloomberg One Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BondBloxx Bloomberg One Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Courier Capital LLC grew its stake in Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO Free Report) by 6.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,197 shares of the mining companys stock after acquiring an additional 897 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLCs holdings in Rio Tinto Group were worth $936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Rio Tinto Group in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 55.4% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 415 shares of the mining companys stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Rio Tinto Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc purchased a new position in Rio Tinto Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new position in Rio Tinto Group in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 19.33% of the companys stock. Get Rio Tinto Group alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Rio Tinto Group from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Rio Tinto Group from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Hsbc Global Res raised Rio Tinto Group to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Citigroup lowered Rio Tinto Group from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, May 20th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Rio Tinto Group from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy. Rio Tinto Group Price Performance RIO stock traded down $0.73 during trading on Thursday, hitting $62.66. 938,166 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,715,685. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Rio Tinto Group has a 1 year low of $59.80 and a 1 year high of $75.09. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $65.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.32. Rio Tinto Group Cuts Dividend The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a yield of 6.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. About Rio Tinto Group (Free Report) Rio Tinto Group engages in exploring, mining, and processing mineral resources worldwide. The company operates through Iron Ore, Aluminium, Copper, and Minerals Segments. The Iron Ore segment engages in the iron ore mining, and salt and gypsum production in Western Australia. The Aluminum segment is involved in bauxite mining; alumina refining; and aluminium smelting. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RIO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Rio Tinto Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Rio Tinto Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. KG&L Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. (NYSE:SQM Free Report) by 37.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,521 shares of the basic materials companys stock after selling 4,585 shares during the period. KG&L Capital Management LLCs holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile were worth $306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile during the first quarter worth $34,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile during the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile by 40.1% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 790 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile by 133.8% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 830 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile by 396.2% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 913 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 12.41% of the companys stock. Get Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes Several research firms have recently commented on SQM. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Berenberg Bank initiated coverage on Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. They set a hold rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile from $47.00 to $38.00 and set an underperform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile from $70.00 to $65.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile from $45.00 to $36.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $56.43. Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile Price Performance Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile stock traded down $1.32 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $37.13. 332,555 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,225,724. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.07. The company has a market cap of $10.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 2.34, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. has a twelve month low of $32.24 and a twelve month high of $66.45. Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (NYSE:SQM Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.24). Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile had a return on equity of 30.74% and a net margin of 6.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.03 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. will post 1.36 EPS for the current fiscal year. About Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (Free Report) Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA produces and distributes specialty plant nutrients, iodine derivatives, lithium derivatives, potassium chloride and sulfate, industrial chemicals, and other products and services. The company offers specialty plant nutrients, including potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate, sodium potassium nitrate, specialty blends, and other specialty fertilizers. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. My Legacy Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Visa Inc. (NYSE:V Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 8,766 shares of the credit-card processors stock, valued at approximately $2,301,000. Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Visa in the 4th quarter valued at $3,895,015,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Visa by 787.1% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,619,881 shares of the credit-card processors stock valued at $1,296,820,000 after buying an additional 4,099,122 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Visa during the 1st quarter worth about $511,321,000. GQG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Visa by 40.1% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,990,634 shares of the credit-card processors stock worth $1,671,866,000 after acquiring an additional 1,715,686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado increased its holdings in shares of Visa by 14,306.3% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,500,270 shares of the credit-card processors stock valued at $390,595,000 after acquiring an additional 1,489,856 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.15% of the companys stock. Get Visa alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth V has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America restated a neutral rating and set a $297.00 target price (down previously from $305.00) on shares of Visa in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Visa from $335.00 to $330.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Visa from $315.00 to $311.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Macquarie reissued an outperform rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Visa in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Visa from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Visa currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $308.50. Visa Price Performance Shares of V stock traded down $1.84 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $266.10. 1,435,688 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,164,799. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $265.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $273.36. The firm has a market cap of $486.68 billion, a PE ratio of 29.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 1.37. Visa Inc. has a 1-year low of $227.78 and a 1-year high of $290.96. Visa (NYSE:V Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The credit-card processor reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.42. The firm had revenue of $8.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $8.92 billion. Visa had a return on equity of 51.94% and a net margin of 54.72%. Visas revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Visa Inc. will post 9.91 EPS for the current fiscal year. Visa Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Visas dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.24%. About Visa (Free Report) Visa Inc operates as a payment technology company in the United States and internationally. The company operates VisaNet, a transaction processing network that enables authorization, clearing, and settlement of payment transactions. It also offers credit, debit, and prepaid card products; tap to pay, tokenization, and click to pay services; Visa Direct, a solution that facilitates the delivery of funds to eligible cards, deposit accounts, and digital wallets; Visa B2B Connect, a multilateral business-to-business cross-border payments network; Visa Cross-Border Solution, a cross-border consumer payments solution; and Visa DPS that provides a range of value-added services, including fraud mitigation, dispute management, data analytics, campaign management, a suite of digital solutions, and contact center services. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Visa Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Visa and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Alger Mid Cap 40 ETF (NYSEARCA:FRTY Get Free Report) shares were down 0.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $16.06 and last traded at $16.09. Approximately 9,440 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 36% from the average daily volume of 14,636 shares. The stock had previously closed at $16.23. Alger Mid Cap 40 ETF Price Performance The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $15.87. The firm has a market cap of $34.49 million, a PE ratio of 60.83 and a beta of 1.39. About Alger Mid Cap 40 ETF (Get Free Report) The Alger Mid Cap 40 ETF (FRTY) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the Russell Midcap Growth index. The fund is an actively-managed, non-transparent ETF that provides exposure to US mid-cap companies with growth characteristics. The fund utilizes the Precidian non-transparent model. FRTY was launched on Feb 26, 2021 and is managed by Alger. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Alger Mid Cap 40 ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Alger Mid Cap 40 ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Scotiabank reissued their sector underperform rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU Free Report) in a report published on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $30.00 price target on the mining companys stock, up from their prior price target of $27.00. A number of other brokerages also recently commented on AU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on AngloGold Ashanti from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of AngloGold Ashanti from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $28.50. Get AngloGold Ashanti alerts: View Our Latest Stock Analysis on AU AngloGold Ashanti Trading Down 4.8 % AU stock opened at $30.80 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.63 and a beta of 0.92. The firms 50-day moving average price is $27.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.96. AngloGold Ashanti has a 12-month low of $14.91 and a 12-month high of $32.57. AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The mining company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.51 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.17 EPS. Equities analysts predict that AngloGold Ashanti will post 2.39 EPS for the current year. AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend The firm also recently announced a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This is a boost from AngloGold Ashantis previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.19. AngloGold Ashantis payout ratio is 13.75%. Institutional Investors Weigh In On AngloGold Ashanti Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL boosted its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 14,100 shares of the mining companys stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in AngloGold Ashanti by 17.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,938 shares of the mining companys stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 26.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,383 shares of the mining companys stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 1.0% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 64,843 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $1,630,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 12,279 shares of the mining companys stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 36.09% of the companys stock. AngloGold Ashanti Company Profile (Get Free Report) AngloGold Ashanti plc operates as a gold mining company in Africa, Australia, and the Americas. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as produces silver and sulphuric acid as by-products. Its flagship property is a 100% owned Geita mine located in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the Mwanza region in north-western Tanzania. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for AngloGold Ashanti Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AngloGold Ashanti and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Azul (NYSE:AZUL Free Report) had its price objective trimmed by Barclays from $10.00 to $4.50 in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Azul from an overweight rating to a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Azul from $8.00 to $6.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Azul in a research note on Friday, May 24th. They set an equal weight rating and a $7.40 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $9.60. Get Azul alerts: Get Our Latest Report on Azul Azul Stock Performance Shares of AZUL opened at $3.96 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.62 and a beta of 2.00. Azul has a 1 year low of $3.70 and a 1 year high of $11.26. The companys fifty day moving average is $4.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.93. Azul (NYSE:AZUL Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 12th. The company reported ($1.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.60) by ($0.63). The firm had revenue of $800.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $791.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.81) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Azul will post -1.03 EPS for the current year. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Long Focus Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Azul by 106.3% in the second quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 4,454,000 shares of the companys stock valued at $17,816,000 after acquiring an additional 2,295,000 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Azul by 2,466.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 598,670 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,395,000 after purchasing an additional 575,344 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC grew its stake in Azul by 20.1% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 22,463 shares of the companys stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 3,764 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Azul by 35.9% in the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 10,649 shares of the companys stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 2,812 shares during the period. Finally, Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. lifted its stake in Azul by 9.5% in the second quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 27,341 shares of the companys stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 2,380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 0.82% of the companys stock. About Azul (Get Free Report) Azul SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides air transportation services in Brazil and internationally. As of December 31, 2023, the company operated approximately 1,000 daily departures to 160 destinations through a network of 300 non-stop routes with an operating fleet of 183 aircraft and a passenger contractual fleet of 189 aircraft. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Azul Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Azul and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO Free Report) (NYSE:BMO) had its target price lowered by Scotiabank from C$129.00 to C$123.00 in a research report report published on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports. Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on BMO. Royal Bank of Canada cut Bank of Montreal from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating and decreased their target price for the company from C$124.00 to C$118.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. UBS Group set a C$122.00 target price on shares of Bank of Montreal and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$136.00 to C$135.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, TD Securities dropped their price target on Bank of Montreal from C$134.00 to C$130.00 in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of C$127.86. Get Bank of Montreal alerts: Get Our Latest Report on BMO Bank of Montreal Trading Up 0.2 % Shares of TSE:BMO opened at C$118.14 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of C$116.07 and a 200-day moving average of C$122.78. The firm has a market cap of C$86.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.16. Bank of Montreal has a twelve month low of C$102.67 and a twelve month high of C$133.95. Bank of Montreal (TSE:BMO Get Free Report) (NYSE:BMO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The bank reported C$2.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of C$2.74 by C($0.15). Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 8.19% and a net margin of 20.07%. The firm had revenue of C$7.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$8.06 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 11.6437811 EPS for the current year. Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a $1.55 dividend. This is an increase from Bank of Montreals previous quarterly dividend of $1.51. This represents a $6.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of Montreals dividend payout ratio is currently 74.34%. About Bank of Montreal (Get Free Report) Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. It operates through Canadian P&C, U.S P&C, BMO Wealth Management, and BMO Capital Markets segments. The company's personal banking products and services include deposits, mortgages, home lending, consumer credit, small business lending, credit cards, cash management, financial and investment advice, and other banking services; and commercial banking products and services comprise various of financing options and treasury and payment solutions, as well as risk management products. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Bank of Montreal Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bank of Montreal and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Free Report) by 2.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 855 shares of the companys stock after selling 25 shares during the quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLCs holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $774,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC. Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,992,890,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $932,797,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $682,139,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,745,011 shares of the companys stock worth $56,592,709,000 after acquiring an additional 1,133,810 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 20.2% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 3,848,886 shares of the companys stock worth $2,994,280,000 after acquiring an additional 648,094 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.53% of the companys stock. Get Eli Lilly and Company alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus upped their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $770.00 to $840.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $875.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Truist Financial restated a buy rating and set a $1,000.00 price objective (up from $892.00) on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,001.00 to $1,101.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $884.00 to $1,030.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Eli Lilly and Company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $956.88. Insider Activity In other news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 92,563 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $809.21, for a total transaction of $74,902,905.23. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 98,556,247 shares of the companys stock, valued at $79,752,700,634.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 92,563 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $809.21, for a total transaction of $74,902,905.23. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 98,556,247 shares of the companys stock, valued at $79,752,700,634.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Johna Norton sold 7,056 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.38, for a total value of $5,781,545.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,428 shares in the company, valued at $20,835,194.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,214,704 shares of company stock valued at $1,066,841,316. Company insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock. Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance Shares of LLY traded up $4.39 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $956.36. 1,772,537 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,094,043. The firm has a market capitalization of $908.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $516.57 and a twelve month high of $972.53. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $883.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $811.11. Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Eli Lilly and Companys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 76.58%. Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile (Free Report) Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; Jardiance, Mounjaro, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes; and Zepbound for obesity. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LLY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Eli Lilly and Company Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Eli Lilly and Company and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Asmallworld AG / Key word(s): Half Year Results ASMALLWORLD 2024 H1 results: record half-year sales and net income increased 23-Aug-2024 / 06:00 CET/CEST Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ASMALLWORLD 2024 H1 results: record half-year sales and net income increased Zurich, 23.08.2024 ASMALLWORLD AG announced its results for the first half of 2024, with sales reaching a record CHF 11.7 million, driven by sustained demand for ASW premium memberships and increasing demand for its travel services. Net income also increased, and EBITDA for the first half has already reached 90% of the full-year guidance. At the same time, the company reduced its debt by CHF 1 million, further strengthening its balance sheet and lowering interest costs. During the first half of 2024, ASMALLWORLD achieved record sales of CHF 11.7 million, up from CHF 11.5 million in the same period last year. This increase was primarily driven by strong demand for ASMALLWORLD premium membership. Meanwhile, travel sales also saw a boost, with the ASW Collection, the companys online travel agency, experiencing a 29% increase in bookings. This underscores the advantages of the companys ongoing investment in travel-related services. Net income increased by 2% to CHF 0.6 million, and EBITDA reached CHF 0.9 million, which represents 90% of the full-year guidance. At the same time, the company further reduced its debt by CHF 1.0 million and maintained a comfortable cash position of CHF 2.0 million. The member base grew to 71,600, a 6% increase from June 2023, indicating ongoing interest in ASMALLWORLDs community. Our H1 results underline our ability to steadily grow the business, even during a period where we are investing heavily in the long-term growth of our business, comments ASMALLWORLD CEO Jan Luescher. Changes to membership model and brand coming early November 2024 ASMALLWORLD is set to introduce a new membership model in early November 2024, with the aim of driving sustainable membership growth and creating more demand for its services. A key component of this change will be the introduction of a free membership tier, designed to make it easier for new members to join the community. This new tier provides an accessible entry point, with a clear path for members to upgrade to paid tiers as they engage more deeply with the community and its attractive offerings. These strategic changes are expected to broaden the membership base while preserving the premium offerings that current members value. ASMALLWORLD is also refining its brand to strengthen its position in luxury travel. This effort includes a refined organisational purpose, a logo update and visual enhancements across all brand touchpoints. The goal is to more clearly position ASMALLWORLD as a luxury travel brand, especially in conjunction with the new membership model. The new brand will be introduced in early November, at the same time as the new membership model. While these initiatives require short-term investments, they will ultimately result in a clearer brand profile, a larger membership base and stronger demand for ASMALLWORLDs service business, especially its travel services. We are excited that, after months of preparation, the introduction of our new membership model and our refined brand is finally within reach. This is a crucial step in the transformation of our business model and will set us up for success in the long run, comments ASMALLWORLD CEO Jan Luescher. ASMALLWORLD travel services growing in scale The ASMALLWORLD travel services have experienced significant growth in the first half of the year. The ASMALLWORLD Collection online bookings have seen a 29% growth in bookings, reflecting the strong demand for its curated selection of luxury hotels. At the same time, 120 new hotels were added to the offering, and the customer experience was improved by providing a more stable and user-friendly booking environment. With the arrival of the new membership model, the company expects to scale this business even further. ASMALLWORLD Bespoke Travel, the companys travel curation service, formerly known as ASMALLWORLD Private, was rebranded to reflect the companys overall brand refinement efforts. The team of travel designers was increased, and new systems will be introduced during H2 to allow this team to grow further over the coming months. This will allow ASMALLWORLDs travel business to build more scale, receive higher commissions and ultimately become a more complete and profitable travel setup. Debt reduced by 65% during the last 18 months During 2023, ASMALLWORLD successfully reduced its debt from CHF 9.1 million to CHF 4.2 million. This momentum has carried over into the first half of 2024, with a further reduction of CHF 1.0 million, bringing the total debt down to CHF 3.2 million. Overall, the companys debt was reduced by an impressive 65% during the last 18 months. This significant decrease in debt has strengthened the companys balance sheet and led to a reduction in annual interest expenses to the extent of CHF 0.2 million per year. Guidance for the full year maintained Given the encouraging results from the first six months of the year, the company maintains its guidance for the full year. Sales are expected to come in between CHF 23 and 25 million, and EBITDA is expected to reach between CHF 1.0 and 1.2 million. The member base should reach between 73,000 and 74,000 members by the end of the year. Earnings call and further information ASMALLWORLD CEO Jan Luescher will hold a web conference call later today, August 23rd, to provide additional details and commentary for the 2024 H1 results. The call will take place at 2 p.m. CET. To participate in the call, simply join the call via the following link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86592743521 The full 2024 H1 Financial Report, as well as the presentation for the 2024 H1 Earnings Call, are available for download on the ASMALLWORLD AG website at: https://www.asmallworldag.com/financial-reports This press release and further information can be found at www.asmallworldag.com. Definition of EBITDA as an alternative performance measure: Earnings before interest (including all financial income and expenses), taxes, depreciation, and amortization. The ASMALLWORLD Group: ASMALLWORLD is the worlds leading travel & lifestyle community, focusing on experiences: the modern-day definition of luxury. Centred around the ASMALLWORLD social network, the company operates a digital travel & lifestyle ecosystem that enables and inspires members to travel better, experience more and make new connections. Members of the ASMALLWORLD social network connect through its app and website, where they can meet other members, engage in online discussions, receive travel and lifestyle inspiration, and enjoy a wealth of travel privileges. Members also meet in person at over 800 global ASMALLWORLD events every year, ranging from casual get-togethers in major cities around the world, access to exclusive launches, shows, galas, soirees, exhibitions, major global sporting events and larger flagship weekend experiences hosted in iconic destinations such as Saint-Tropez and Gstaad. Other businesses in the ASMALLWORLD travel & lifestyle ecosystem include: ASMALLWORLD Collection, a high-end online hotel booking engine focused on the worlds most admired hotels, offering the unique ASMALLWORLD VIP Rate, which allows customers to enjoy exclusive travel benefits at no extra cost. ASMALLWORLD Bespoke Travel, a high-end travel agency offering personalised travel curation services. ASMALLWORLD Hospitality, a hospitality consulting and management consultancy that supports owners and developers of hospitality assets throughout the different lifecycle stages of their assets, including acquisition, development, operations and exit. First Class & More, a subscription-based smart luxury travel service that allows members to enjoy luxury travel at insider prices. The Worlds Finest Clubs, the worlds leading nightlife concierge offers its members VIP access to the most exclusive nightlife venues around the world. Jetbeds.com, a flight booking engine, focused on Business and First-Class flights. The Solo Cruise Company, a luxury cruise agency focused exclusively on solo travellers. For more information, please visit: www.asmallworldag.com www.asmallworld.com www.asmallworldcollection.com www.asmallworldbespoke.com www.first-class-and-more.de www.first-class-and-more.com www.finestclubs.com www.asmallworldhospitality.com www.north-island.com www.jetbeds.com www.thesolocruisecompany.com Contact: ASMALLWORLD AG Jan V. Luescher, CEO Seidengasse 20 8001 Zurich Switzerland info@asmallworldag.com Disclaimer The statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements". Such can be identified, for example, by the use of the words "may," "will," "should," "plan," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "intend," "project," "target," "seek," or "aim," or the negative of these words or comparable expressions. Forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Issuer or its industry to be materially different from any future results, level of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The issuer undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. British American Tobacco p.l.c. (NYSE:BTI Get Free Report)s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $36.50 and last traded at $36.50, with a volume of 869326 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.25. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Separately, StockNews.com cut British American Tobacco from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note on Sunday, August 11th. Get British American Tobacco alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on British American Tobacco British American Tobacco Stock Up 0.5 % Institutional Investors Weigh In On British American Tobacco The company has a market capitalization of $80.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $33.56 and a 200-day moving average of $31.37. A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of British American Tobacco by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 15,316,688 shares of the companys stock valued at $448,625,000 after buying an additional 4,259,548 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in British American Tobacco by 0.4% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,836,365 shares of the companys stock valued at $117,009,000 after purchasing an additional 13,643 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 29.9% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,667,339 shares of the companys stock valued at $82,501,000 after buying an additional 614,634 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of British American Tobacco by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,279,765 shares of the companys stock valued at $70,513,000 after buying an additional 43,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in British American Tobacco by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 2,099,969 shares of the companys stock valued at $61,508,000 after acquiring an additional 276,890 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 21.44% of the companys stock. British American Tobacco Company Profile (Get Free Report) British American Tobacco p.l.c. engages in the provision of tobacco and nicotine products to consumers worldwide. It also offers vapour, heated, and modern oral nicotine products; combustible cigarettes; and traditional oral products, such as snus and moist snuff. The company offers its products under the Vuse, glo, Velo, Grizzly, Kodiak, Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Rothmans, Camel, Natural American Spirit, Newport, Vogue, Viceroy, Kool, Peter Stuyvesant, Craven A, State Express 555 and Shuang Xi brands. Read More Receive News & Ratings for British American Tobacco Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for British American Tobacco and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. CMS Energy Co. (NYSE:CMS Get Free Report)s share price traded up 0.1% during trading on Friday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $60.00 to $63.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. CMS Energy traded as high as $67.46 and last traded at $67.36. 218,984 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 2,315,506 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.26. Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on CMS. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of CMS Energy from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, May 20th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on CMS Energy from $66.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a sector outperform rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upgraded CMS Energy to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on CMS Energy from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on CMS Energy from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $66.82. Get CMS Energy alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on CMS Energy Insider Activity at CMS Energy Hedge Funds Weigh In On CMS Energy In other news, Director Jon E. Barfield sold 2,360 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.79, for a total transaction of $143,464.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,556 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $884,859.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link . In related news, Director Jon E. Barfield sold 2,360 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.79, for a total transaction of $143,464.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $884,859.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website . Also, SVP Brandon J. Hofmeister sold 1,667 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.98, for a total transaction of $99,986.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 68,330 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,098,433.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 6.2% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 27,850 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $1,658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,631 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC lifted its holdings in CMS Energy by 15.3% during the 2nd quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 6,619 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 878 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp grew its position in shares of CMS Energy by 29.9% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 735,233 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $43,768,000 after buying an additional 169,160 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of CMS Energy by 118.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,325 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC raised its position in shares of CMS Energy by 6.6% during the second quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 313,493 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $18,662,000 after acquiring an additional 19,349 shares during the last quarter. 93.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. CMS Energy Stock Down 0.2 % The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $62.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.54. The company has a market capitalization of $20.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.87. CMS Energy (NYSE:CMS Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. CMS Energy had a net margin of 13.10% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that CMS Energy Co. will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year. CMS Energy Cuts Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. CMS Energys dividend payout ratio is 62.80%. About CMS Energy (Get Free Report) CMS Energy Corporation operates as an energy company primarily in Michigan. The company operates through three segments: Electric Utility; Gas Utility; and Enterprises. The Electric Utility segment is involved in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. This segment generates electricity through coal, wind, gas, renewable energy, oil, and nuclear sources. See Also Receive News & Ratings for CMS Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for CMS Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Transcontinental Realty Investors (NYSE:TCI Get Free Report) and Boston Properties (NYSE:BXP Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their risk, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations. Volatility and Risk Transcontinental Realty Investors has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Boston Properties has a beta of 1.18, meaning that its stock price is 18% more volatile than the S&P 500. Get Transcontinental Realty Investors alerts: Insider & Institutional Ownership 98.7% of Boston Properties shares are held by institutional investors. 85.6% of Transcontinental Realty Investors shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Boston Properties shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term. Analyst Recommendations Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Transcontinental Realty Investors 0 0 0 0 N/A Boston Properties 1 8 5 0 2.29 This is a breakdown of recent ratings for Transcontinental Realty Investors and Boston Properties, as provided by MarketBeat. Boston Properties has a consensus target price of $70.54, indicating a potential downside of 0.47%. Given Boston Properties higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Boston Properties is more favorable than Transcontinental Realty Investors. Earnings and Valuation This table compares Transcontinental Realty Investors and Boston Properties top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Transcontinental Realty Investors $47.09 million 5.36 $5.94 million $0.58 50.41 Boston Properties $3.34 billion 3.33 $190.21 million $1.22 58.09 Boston Properties has higher revenue and earnings than Transcontinental Realty Investors. Transcontinental Realty Investors is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Boston Properties, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. Profitability This table compares Transcontinental Realty Investors and Boston Properties net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Transcontinental Realty Investors 9.91% 0.59% 0.47% Boston Properties 5.01% 2.05% 0.66% Summary Boston Properties beats Transcontinental Realty Investors on 10 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks. About Transcontinental Realty Investors (Get Free Report) Transcontinental Realty Investors, Inc., a Dallas-based real estate investment company, holds a diverse portfolio of equity real estate located across the U.S., including office buildings, apartments, shopping centers, and developed and undeveloped land. The Company invests in real estate through direct ownership, leases and partnerships and invests in mortgage loans on real estate. The Company also holds mortgage receivables. About Boston Properties (Get Free Report) Boston Properties, Inc. (NYSE: BXP) (BXP or the Company) is the largest publicly traded developer, owner, and manager of premier workplaces in the United States, concentrated in six dynamic gateway markets Boston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. BXP has delivered places that power progress for our clients and communities for more than 50 years. BXP is a fully integrated real estate company, organized as a real estate investment trust (REIT). Including properties owned by joint ventures, BXP's portfolio totals 53.3 million square feet and 188 properties, including 10 properties under construction/redevelopment. BXP's properties include 167 office properties, 14 retail properties (including two retail properties under construction/redevelopment), six residential properties (including one residential property under construction) and one hotel. BXP is well-known for its inhouse building management expertise and responsiveness to clients' needs. BXP holds a superior track record of developing premium Central Business District (CBD) office buildings, successful mixed-use complexes, suburban office centers and build-to-suit projects for a diverse array of creditworthy clients. BXP actively works to promote its growth and operations in a sustainable and responsible manner. BXP has earned a twelfth consecutive GRESB Green Star recognition and the highest GRESB 5-star Rating. BXP, an S&P 500 company, was founded in 1970 by Mortimer B. Zuckerman and Edward H. Linde and became a public company in 1997. Receive News & Ratings for Transcontinental Realty Investors Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Transcontinental Realty Investors and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. EastGroup Properties, Inc. (NYSE:EGP Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of Hold from the fourteen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $186.79. EGP has been the topic of several research reports. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of EastGroup Properties from $178.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $176.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on EastGroup Properties from $195.00 to $175.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on EastGroup Properties in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. They issued a neutral rating and a $167.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of EastGroup Properties from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Get EastGroup Properties alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on EastGroup Properties EastGroup Properties Stock Up 0.5 % NYSE:EGP opened at $185.64 on Friday. EastGroup Properties has a 1 year low of $154.75 and a 1 year high of $192.61. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $178.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.92. The stock has a market cap of $8.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.11, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. EastGroup Properties (NYSE:EGP Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The real estate investment trust reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.05 by ($0.91). EastGroup Properties had a net margin of 37.16% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The business had revenue of $159.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. EastGroup Propertiess revenue for the quarter was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that EastGroup Properties will post 8.3 earnings per share for the current year. Institutional Trading of EastGroup Properties Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 24.2% during the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 334 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of EastGroup Properties by 30.2% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 345 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of EastGroup Properties by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,945 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $724,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of EastGroup Properties by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 31,093 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $5,328,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in EastGroup Properties by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 2,730 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 92.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. About EastGroup Properties (Get Free Report EastGroup Properties, Inc (NYSE: EGP), a member of the S&P Mid-Cap 400 and Russell 1000 Indexes, is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with an emphasis in the states of Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and North Carolina. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for EastGroup Properties Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for EastGroup Properties and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI Free Report) had its price objective increased by Scotiabank from $17.00 to $18.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the stock. Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised Gold Fields from an underperform rating to a market perform rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $13.50 to $14.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. StockNews.com raised Gold Fields from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Gold Fields from $17.50 to $16.70 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $16.23. Get Gold Fields alerts: Check Out Our Latest Research Report on GFI Gold Fields Stock Performance Institutional Trading of Gold Fields Shares of NYSE:GFI opened at $15.76 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Gold Fields has a 12-month low of $10.31 and a 12-month high of $18.97. The companys 50 day moving average price is $15.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $15.64. The firm has a market cap of $14.11 billion, a PE ratio of 7.76 and a beta of 1.16. Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GFI. Creative Planning grew its position in Gold Fields by 15.2% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 54,242 shares of the companys stock valued at $808,000 after acquiring an additional 7,155 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Gold Fields by 28.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,609,289 shares of the companys stock valued at $38,878,000 after purchasing an additional 581,730 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Gold Fields by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 49,462 shares of the companys stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 3,673 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Gold Fields during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,898,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Gold Fields by 258.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 440,848 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,569,000 after purchasing an additional 317,719 shares during the last quarter. 26.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. About Gold Fields (Get Free Report) Gold Fields Limited operates as a gold producer with reserves and resources in Chile, South Africa, Ghana, Canada, Australia, and Peru. It also explores for copper and silver deposits. The company was founded in 1887 and is based in Sandton, South Africa. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Gold Fields Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Gold Fields and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. (NYSE:ASR Get Free Report)s stock price fell 2.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $270.50 and last traded at $271.04. 31,838 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 26% from the average session volume of 43,249 shares. The stock had previously closed at $279.15. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. Price Performance The company has a current ratio of 3.97, a quick ratio of 3.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $8.27 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.14. The stocks 50-day moving average is $297.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $311.00. Get Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste S. A. B. de C. V. alerts: Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. (NYSE:ASR Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The transportation company reported $9.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.64 by $3.96. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. had a return on equity of 25.99% and a net margin of 49.57%. The firm had revenue of $357.51 million for the quarter. On average, equities analysts predict that Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. will post 23.04 EPS for the current year. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. Cuts Dividend Institutional Investors Weigh In On Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. The firm also recently declared an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 8th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 25th were paid a dividend of $5.597 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 25th. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V.s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.54%. A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 227.8% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 118 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 981 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 12.0% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 813 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 21,992 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $6,691,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. by 116.7% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 221 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. 10.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. Company Profile (Get Free Report) Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, S. A. B. de C. V. holds concessions to operate, maintain, and develop airports in the southeast region of Mexico. The company operates airports that are located in the cities of Cancun, Cozumel, Merida, Huatulco, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Villahermosa, Tapachula, and Minatitlan. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste S. A. B. de C. V. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste S. A. B. de C. V. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Leo Lithium Limited (ASX:LLL Get Free Report) insider Simon Hay bought 284,908 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of A$0.51 ($0.34) per share, with a total value of A$143,878.54 ($97,215.23). Leo Lithium Price Performance The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 6.68 and a current ratio of 32.25. Get Leo Lithium alerts: About Leo Lithium (Get Free Report) Featured Stories Leo Lithium Limited engages in exploration and mining activities in Mali. Its project include the Goulamina lithium project that covers 100 square kilometres land holding in the Bougouni Region of southern Mali. The company was incorporated in 2019 and is based in West Perth, Australia. Receive News & Ratings for Leo Lithium Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Leo Lithium and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 23rd, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of 0.08 per share by the real estate investment trust on Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $0.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 7.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. Medical Properties Trust has raised its dividend by an average of 6.6% per year over the last three years. Medical Properties Trust has a dividend payout ratio of 146.3% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect Medical Properties Trust to earn $0.94 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 63.8%. Get Medical Properties Trust alerts: Medical Properties Trust Trading Down 0.7 % Shares of MPW stock traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $4.51. 8,363,230 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 18,534,332. The stock has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.05, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a quick ratio of 3.10, a current ratio of 3.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Medical Properties Trust has a fifty-two week low of $2.92 and a fifty-two week high of $7.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.54. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Medical Properties Trust ( NYSE:MPW Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.54) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.21 by ($0.75). The business had revenue of $266.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $259.53 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.48 EPS. Medical Properties Trusts revenue for the quarter was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Medical Properties Trust will post 0.88 EPS for the current fiscal year. MPW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas cut shares of Medical Properties Trust from an outperform rating to a neutral rating and reduced their price target for the company from $6.00 to $4.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $4.50 to $5.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com lowered Medical Properties Trust from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Saturday, May 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and issued a $5.00 price target on shares of Medical Properties Trust in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $4.86. Get Our Latest Report on Medical Properties Trust Insider Activity at Medical Properties Trust In related news, Director Elizabeth N. Pitman sold 10,025 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.98, for a total transaction of $49,924.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 68,653 shares in the company, valued at $341,891.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.53% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Medical Properties Trust Company Profile (Get Free Report) Medical Properties Trust, Inc is a self-advised real estate investment trust formed in 2003 to acquire and develop net-leased hospital facilities. From its inception in Birmingham, Alabama, the Company has grown to become one of the world's largest owners of hospital real estate with 441 facilities and approximately 44,000 licensed beds as of September 30, 2023. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Medical Properties Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Medical Properties Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY Get Free Report) shares shot up 1.7% on Friday . The company traded as high as $57.06 and last traded at $57.06. 3,527,331 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 8,223,104 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.10. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research analysts recently commented on OXY shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $67.00 to $65.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a sector outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Stephens reissued an overweight rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Occidental Petroleum from $69.00 to $65.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Occidental Petroleum presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $71.69. Get Occidental Petroleum alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Occidental Petroleum Occidental Petroleum Stock Performance The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59 and a beta of 1.61. Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.26. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 17.91% and a net margin of 16.62%. The company had revenue of $6.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. Occidental Petroleums revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 3.7 EPS for the current fiscal year. Occidental Petroleum Dividend Announcement The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 10th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 10th. Occidental Petroleums payout ratio is 24.04%. Insider Transactions at Occidental Petroleum In other news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total transaction of $697,125,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 165,681,578 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,923,116,413.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, major shareholder Petroleum Corp /De/ Occidental sold 19,500,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.75, for a total value of $697,125,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 165,681,578 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,923,116,413.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased 1,386,844 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.67 per share, with a total value of $82,752,981.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 250,583,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,952,323,710.35. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 4,656,747 shares of company stock valued at $278,664,028 over the last ninety days. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Occidental Petroleum A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OXY. CapWealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,105 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 8,503 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 75.2% in the 1st quarter. Investment Research & Advisory Group Inc. now owns 389 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 6,850 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Occidental Petroleum by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 20,911 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. 88.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About Occidental Petroleum (Get Free Report) Occidental Petroleum Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of oil and gas properties in the United States, the Middle East, and North Africa. It operates through three segments: Oil and Gas, Chemical, and Midstream and Marketing. The company's Oil and Gas segment explores for, develops, and produces oil and condensate, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Occidental Petroleum Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Occidental Petroleum and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. American National Bank increased its stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG Free Report) by 116.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 606 shares of the industrial products companys stock after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the quarter. American National Banks holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $111,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 183 shares of the industrial products companys stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Packaging Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the first quarter valued at $43,000. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Packaging Co. of America alerts: Insider Buying and Selling In related news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 6,000 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total value of $1,177,680.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,077,128.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Charles J. Carter sold 5,389 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total transaction of $1,057,752.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,012,794.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 6,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total transaction of $1,177,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,772 shares in the company, valued at $4,077,128.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Packaging Co. of America from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup upped their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, July 8th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $194.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Packaging Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $190.50. Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Packaging Co. of America Packaging Co. of America Stock Up 0.4 % NYSE PKG traded up $0.83 during trading on Thursday, hitting $201.92. 137,295 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 621,153. The company has a market capitalization of $18.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.20, a PEG ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $189.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $183.21. Packaging Co. of America has a 12 month low of $143.82 and a 12 month high of $202.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.06. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 18.21% and a net margin of 9.06%. The firm had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.71 EPS for the current year. Packaging Co. of America Company Profile (Free Report) Packaging Corporation of America manufactures and sells containerboard and corrugated packaging products in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. The Packaging segment offers various containerboard and corrugated packaging products, such as conventional shipping containers used to protect and transport manufactured goods; multi-color boxes and displays that help to merchandise the packaged product in retail locations; and honeycomb protective packaging products, as well as packaging for meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, processed food, beverages, and other industrial and consumer products. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PKG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Packaging Co. of America Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Packaging Co. of America and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Xi urges advancing socialism with Chinese characteristics on 120th birth anniversary of Deng Xiaoping Xinhua) 08:04, August 23, 2024 Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivers an important speech during a meeting to mark the 120th birth anniversary of late leader Deng Xiaoping, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 22, 2024. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping lauded the "outstanding contributions" of late leader Deng Xiaoping and urged advancing socialism with Chinese characteristics initiated by Deng, as the country marked Deng's 120th birth anniversary on Thursday. Addressing a meeting held to mark the anniversary, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said the country must continue to thoroughly study and apply Deng Xiaoping Theory. "Deng made outstanding contributions to the Party, the people, the country, the nation and the world," Xi said, adding that Deng's achievements have been immortalized in history and will always inspire future generations. Deng was the core of the second generation of the Party's central collective leadership, the chief architect of China's socialist reform, opening up and modernization, and the trailblazer of socialism with Chinese characteristics, Xi said, adding that Deng was also a great internationalist who made major contributions to world peace and development. "Comrade Deng Xiaoping had lived a glorious, fighting and extraordinary life," he said. Xi noted that, after the Cultural Revolution, a decade-long turmoil that ended in 1976, Deng had led the Party and the people in achieving China's historic transformation. Deng pushed China to achieve a new breakthrough in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context, break new ground in socialist modernization, and set a correct path for the country's complete reunification, Xi said. Deng's historical achievements are comprehensive and groundbreaking, with profound and lasting impacts on both China and the world, Xi said. "We will forever remember his great historical achievements and forever revere his noble revolutionary conduct," Xi said. The most important intellectual legacy left by Deng is Deng Xiaoping Theory, Xi said, calling for thoroughly studying and applying the theory to address real-world problems. "The best way to honor Deng is to continue advancing the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics that he initiated," Xi said. Xi called for further comprehensively deepening reform to continuously provide strong momentum and institutional safeguards for Chinese modernization. He urged moving faster to build a modernized economy, working toward greater self-reliance in the science and technology sector, and developing advanced socialist culture. Xi also urged efforts to achieve more notable and substantive progress in promoting common prosperity for all. Realizing China's complete reunification has long been the aspiration of Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and other members of the older generation of revolutionaries, Xi said. He urged resolute efforts to promote the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait, and demanded firm opposition to "Taiwan independence" to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Stressing that China has always been a staunch force for world peace, Xi called for unremitting efforts to uphold peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit. Xi said China will take an active role in the reform and development of the global governance system, and create new opportunities for the world with new progress in Chinese modernization. Senior leaders Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng attended the meeting, which was presided over by Cai Qi. Zhao, Wang, Ding, Li and Cai are all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Han is the country's vice president. A meeting marking the 120th birth anniversary of late leader Deng Xiaoping is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 22, 2024. Xi Jinping and other senior leaders of the Communist Party of China and the state including Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng attended the meeting here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) A meeting marking the 120th birth anniversary of late leader Deng Xiaoping is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 22, 2024. Xi Jinping and other senior leaders of the Communist Party of China and the state including Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng attended the meeting here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) A meeting marking the 120th birth anniversary of late leader Deng Xiaoping is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 22, 2024. Xi Jinping and other senior leaders of the Communist Party of China and the state including Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng attended the meeting here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) China remains committed to carrying out int'l science, tech cooperation: foreign ministry (People's Daily App) 16:48, August 23, 2024 Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mao Ning on Thursday told a routine press briefing that China remains committed to carrying out international science and technology cooperation. "Science and technology know no boundaries. China is ready to deepen cooperation with all parties to better serve humanity through common development driven by scientific and technological innovation," she said. (Produced by Xu Zheqi) (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) August 22, 2024: Russian officials are planning on military reforms after the war in Ukraine is over. The major problem is none of the Russian planners can agree on when the war will end. The Russians are unsure how to end the war. Russian leaders are willing to continue the war indefinitely and wait for NATO countries supporting Ukraine to tire of the expense and futility of their efforts. Russia believes that it cannot afford to end the war and Ukraine is certain that it cannot lose the war and disappear as a country. This is the old irresistible forces versus the immovable object problem. One thing is certain, low Russian production of tanks and sanctions related shortages of tanks, including older ones brought out of storage, means that by sometime in late 2025 the supply of tanks and replacement artillery barrels will be exhausted. Howitzers wear out their barrels after 2,000 to 2,500 shells are fired from them. Russian plans to eventually win conflict with NATO plans to support Ukraine for as long as it takes to prevent a Russian victory. One thing both sides agree on is that the cost of continuing the war is high but both sides believe they can keep at it longer than their enemy. Russia is in a weaker position even though they have created a wartime economy. This has led to an increased poverty rate and problems for Russian businesses that long prospered because they could do business with NATO countries. That is gone and Russian leader Vladimir Putin punishes Russians who complain about economic problems caused by the Ukraine invasion. It is generally understood in Russia that once Putin is gone, either from power, the Ukraine War will end, or at last the Russians will withdraw their forces. There is still the problem of Russia still occupying about a quarter of Ukraine and not in a mood to give that up. Ukraine insists it will keep fighting to regain its territory. Giving up the Ukrainian territory in return for peace and an end to sanctions would be a good deal for Russia, Ukraine and the NATO supporters of Ukraine. That is unlikely to happen, at least not as long as Vladimir Putin is still running Russia. Putin was behind Russian voting reforms that allowed him to remain in power, if the voters agree, until 2036. At that point Putin will be 83 years old. The current age limit for Russian presidents is 70, Putin can get that changed. The problem is that during the Soviet period Russian dictators served for life and often became unstable rulers as they got into their 70s. Putin has been in office since 2000 and kept getting reelected because he took care of basic needs that are important to most Russians. This included pensions you can survive on and low unemployment rates. What Putin cant change is his age. He is currently 71 and in modern Russia history that makes him one of the oldest. Josef Stalin, the Soviet leader who was in power longest, died in 1953, at 75 from a stroke. His successor, Nikita Khrushchev, died in 1971, at 77, of a heart attack. He was followed by Leonid Brezhnev who died in 1892, at 76 from an undisclosed ailment. He was followed by Yuri Andropov who died at 70 from kidney failure. Then came Konstantin Chernenko who died in 1985, at 74 from pneumonia. Boris Yeltsin, who retired in 1999 and died in 2007 from heart failure at age 76, criticized his successor Vladimir Putin for changing the government from a democracy to Soviet style dictatorship with rigged elections. When the war is over in Ukraine, Putin plans to ignore the current election laws and serve until he is 83 years old, unless the stress of running the war in Ukraine does not kill him sooner. Putins strategy for keeping the war going was to create a wartime economy. This included spending huge sums to entice Russian men to join the military. That fell out of favor as these newly affluent soldiers were killed or disabled and discovered that the high pay was not worth it if you are dead or disabled. Paying for the war had ruined the economy in many ways. Putin soon discovered that no matter how much he improvised he could not match the combined economic power of the Americans and Europeans. With more resources the NATO nations supplied Ukraine with more numerous and powerful weapons. The economic sanctions imposed on Russia for invading Ukraine hampered Putins efforts to create a wartime economy. Putin has created a paradox he has a hard time getting out of. He has no one but himself to blame and thats an outcome most Ukrainians, Russians and anyone from Europe or the United States can agree with. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC lowered its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK Free Report) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,681 shares of the companys stock after selling 784 shares during the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. makes up approximately 1.5% of Plimoth Trust Co. LLCs holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Plimoth Trust Co. LLCs holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. were worth $5,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kiley Juergens Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 29.8% in the second quarter. Kiley Juergens Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,758 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,951,000 after purchasing an additional 3,616 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 78.0% during the second quarter. Heritage Financial Services LLC now owns 6,730 shares of the companys stock worth $833,000 after acquiring an additional 2,949 shares during the last quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 3.1% during the second quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,679 shares of the companys stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Benin Management CORP lifted its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 9.4% during the second quarter. Benin Management CORP now owns 4,595 shares of the companys stock valued at $569,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. Finally, Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Merck & Co., Inc. by 19.3% in the second quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,192 shares of the companys stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 1,165 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.07% of the companys stock. Get Merck & Co. Inc. alerts: Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 0.5 % Shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock traded up $0.56 during trading on Thursday, reaching $116.59. The stock had a trading volume of 8,199,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,674,124. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $295.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 129.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $122.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.79. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $99.14 and a 52 week high of $134.63. Merck & Co., Inc. Announces Dividend Merck & Co., Inc. ( NYSE:MRK Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $16.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $15.87 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 41.67%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($2.06) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 8.04 EPS for the current fiscal year. The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be issued a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Merck & Co., Inc.s payout ratio is 342.22%. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $142.00 to $143.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $132.00 to $134.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an overweight rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Merck & Co., Inc. from $140.00 to $125.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Merck & Co., Inc. to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merck & Co., Inc. has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $134.58. Read Our Latest Stock Report on MRK Merck & Co., Inc. Profile (Free Report) Merck & Co, Inc operates as a healthcare company worldwide. It operates through two segments, Pharmaceutical and Animal Health. The Pharmaceutical segment offers human health pharmaceutical products in the areas of oncology, hospital acute care, immunology, neuroscience, virology, cardiovascular, and diabetes under the Keytruda, Bridion, Adempas, Lagevrio, Belsomra, Simponi, and Januvia brands, as well as vaccine products consisting of preventive pediatric, adolescent, and adult vaccines under the Gardasil/Gardasil 9, ProQuad, M-M-R II, Varivax, RotaTeq, Live Oral, Vaxneuvance, Pneumovax 23, and Vaqta names. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MRK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Merck & Co. Inc. Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Merck & Co. Inc. and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. reduced its stake in Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO Free Report) by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 4,013 shares of the oil and gas companys stock after selling 382 shares during the quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc.s holdings in Valero Energy were worth $629,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Valero Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the first quarter worth $33,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Valero Energy in the first quarter valued at $33,000. First Foundation Advisors bought a new position in shares of Valero Energy during the 1st quarter worth $37,000. Finally, LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Valero Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.69% of the companys stock. Get Valero Energy alerts: Valero Energy Price Performance Shares of VLO traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $143.43. 1,176,737 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,005,054. The company has a current ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $151.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.51. The stock has a market cap of $45.95 billion, a PE ratio of 7.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.42. Valero Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $119.88 and a 12 month high of $184.79. Valero Energy Announces Dividend Valero Energy ( NYSE:VLO Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.60 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $34.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $32.97 billion. Valero Energy had a net margin of 4.25% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.40 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Valero Energy Co. will post 13.06 EPS for the current year. The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 1st will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 1st. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. Valero Energys payout ratio is 21.20%. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Valero Energy from $187.00 to $169.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Argus downgraded shares of Valero Energy from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Mizuho raised shares of Valero Energy from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and boosted their target price for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Valero Energy from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Valero Energy from $171.00 to $165.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $174.00. Read Our Latest Analysis on VLO Valero Energy Company Profile (Free Report) Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells petroleum-based and low-carbon liquid transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latin America, Mexico, Peru, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VLO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Valero Energy Co. (NYSE:VLO Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Valero Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Valero Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. WSP Global (TSE:WSP Free Report) had its price objective lifted by Stifel Nicolaus from C$250.00 to C$260.00 in a report published on Tuesday, BayStreet.CA reports. Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. ATB Capital increased their price target on WSP Global from C$225.00 to C$235.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on WSP Global from C$252.00 to C$261.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of WSP Global from C$250.00 to C$255.00 and gave the stock a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of WSP Global from C$265.00 to C$273.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, National Bankshares set a C$255.00 price objective on shares of WSP Global and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of C$254.50. Get WSP Global alerts: Read Our Latest Stock Report on WSP WSP Global Stock Down 0.2 % Shares of TSE WSP opened at C$226.40 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of C$217.74 and a 200 day moving average price of C$214.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 71.81, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of C$28.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 0.82. WSP Global has a 52-week low of C$174.39 and a 52-week high of C$230.98. WSP Global (TSE:WSP Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported C$1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of C$1.90 by C($0.01). WSP Global had a net margin of 4.03% and a return on equity of 9.40%. The firm had revenue of C$2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of C$2.93 billion. Analysts expect that WSP Global will post 8.0147448 EPS for the current year. WSP Global Announces Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. WSP Globals payout ratio is 31.45%. About WSP Global (Get Free Report) WSP Global Inc operates as a professional services consulting firm in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia, and internationally. It advises, plans, designs, and manages projects for rail, transit, aviation, highways, bridges, tunnels, water, maritime, and urban infrastructure for public and private clients, construction contractors, and other partners. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for WSP Global Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for WSP Global and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD Get Free Report) (NYSE:TD) had its price objective reduced by analysts at Cormark from C$87.00 to C$86.00 in a report released on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. Cormarks price target suggests a potential upside of 7.07% from the stocks previous close. Cormark also issued estimates for Toronto-Dominion Banks Q3 2024 earnings at $2.05 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $8.02 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $8.36 EPS. Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on TD. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Toronto-Dominion Bank from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. Desjardins reduced their price objective on Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$91.00 to C$90.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$91.00 to C$93.50 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. National Bank Financial lowered Toronto-Dominion Bank from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Toronto-Dominion Bank from C$89.00 to C$88.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of C$87.23. Get Toronto-Dominion Bank alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Toronto-Dominion Bank Toronto-Dominion Bank Trading Up 0.9 % TSE TD traded up C$0.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting C$80.32. The company had a trading volume of 2,314,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,100,114. The company has a market capitalization of C$141.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of C$77.79 and a 200-day moving average price of C$78.72. Toronto-Dominion Bank has a twelve month low of C$73.67 and a twelve month high of C$86.89. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TSE:TD Get Free Report) (NYSE:TD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The company reported C$2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$1.84 by C$0.20. The firm had revenue of C$13.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$13.38 billion. Toronto-Dominion Bank had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 9.89%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Toronto-Dominion Bank will post 8.3985432 EPS for the current year. Toronto-Dominion Bank Company Profile (Get Free Report) The Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, U.S. Retail, Wealth Management and Insurance, and Wholesale Banking. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Toronto-Dominion Bank Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Toronto-Dominion Bank and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma lifted its holdings in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM Free Report) by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,235 shares of the semiconductor companys stock after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Oklahomas holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing were worth $910,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in TSM. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its position in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 670.4% during the 1st quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 208 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 16.51% of the companys stock. Get Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $130.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $168.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Susquehanna reaffirmed a positive rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $200.00. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Stock Performance Shares of TSM stock traded down $5.00 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $166.44. The company had a trading volume of 13,531,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,081,361. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $171.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.96. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited has a 52-week low of $84.01 and a 52-week high of $193.47. The stock has a market cap of $863.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.70, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 2.21. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The semiconductor company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.11. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a return on equity of 25.54% and a net margin of 37.85%. The company had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.33 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.14 EPS. The companys revenue was up 34.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited will post 6.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be paid a $0.4871 dividend. This is an increase from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturings previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $1.95 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturings dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.95%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Profile (Free Report) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, packages, tests, and sells integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices in Taiwan, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, the United States, and internationally. It provides a range of wafer fabrication processes, including processes to manufacture complementary metal- oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) logic, mixed-signal, radio frequency, embedded memory, bipolar CMOS mixed-signal, and others. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. August 22, 2024: Civil war has returned to Sudan with intense combat between the army and the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The RSF was established in 2013 as a paramilitary force that fought alongside the army to suppress ongoing violence in the western Sudan region of Darfur. The disputes in Darfur were mainly about violence between Moslem Arab Sudanese and largely Christian black African Sudanese. Several hundred thousand died in this conflict that was based on ethnic and religious differences. This violence has continued since 2003 with no end in sight. The RSF continues to attack civilians as well as fighting the Sudanese army. Because of more than a year of violence, about 11 million Sudanese have been driven from their homes. Combat is currently occurring in at least 80 percent of Sudan. The RSF and government agreed to a peace deal in 2023 but dissident elements in the RSF felt they had been cheated and began attacking the army and the government in general. This is another example of how unstable any peace deals between the army and RSF are. This is the latest in many attempts to form a stable and effective elected government. For example, back in 2019 the military dominated SNC (Sovereign National Council or Sovereign Council) first officially convened. It was agreed that there would be a 39 month-long transition from military dictatorship to an elected civilian government. It didnt happen because of ongoing rebellions in some parts of the country and until these local disputes were settled, efforts to form an elected national government would not work. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has been in office from 2019 to early 2022, with a one month break in November 2021. Hamdok was pushed aside by military leaders in 2022 and that triggered another civil war. The SNCs military officers continue to exercise considerable power, both overt and covert. The SNC generals all served under former dictator Omar al Bashir and at least one of them, Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo is implicated in Bashir-era corrupt business practices. He also commanded the Rapid Support Forces militia, which traces its roots to the Janjaweed militias which continue to wage genocidal warfare in Darfur. Dagalos career is marked by corruption and genocide. Prime Minister Hamdok deals with complicated problems and complicated people as well as threats of assassination. A 2020 attempt on Hamdoks life failed but it sent the message that Hamdok must rely on the security forces for his own protection. Meanwhile, Sudans economy continues its steep decline, remaining on the U.S. State Sponsor of Terrorism list, and currently has to deal with floods and famine. Floods have always been a problem but the recent ones this year were among the worst ever and arrived in the midst of a major famine. Sudan still has problems tolerating its Christian citizens. Back in 2020 a transitional government announced it had abolished the Islamist committees created during the earlier Bashir dictatorship. The committees were used to persecute Christians and other non-Muslims. Persecution included confiscating Christian church properties and property belonging to Christians. By 2024 the violence against Sudanese Christians continued with the RSF doing most of the attacking. The war in Darfur ended in 2020, with over 300,000 dead, many of them Sudanese Christians. Darfur was once again declared to be an official region of Sudan. Since then the RSF has moved east into the heart of Sadan and even the capital Khartoum. This has forced the army to move its headquarters to the Red Sea coast. Fighting in and around Khartoum between the JSF and the army continues. August 23, 2024: For nearly a year NATO nations have been training Ukrainian pilots to operate the American-made F-16 jet fighters. Most of the Russian-made MiG and Sukhoi aircraft Ukraine had in before the invasion are gone. Some east European NATO members that were controlled by Russia during the 1949-91 Cold War still had some retired Russian aircraft and gave these to Ukraine. What Ukraine wanted was F-16s, the most widely used jet fighter in the world since the Cold War ended. Now Ukraine has received the first of over a hundred F-16s and is using them against Russias declining air power. Economic sanctions have made it difficult and sometimes impossible for Russia to build more of some types of aircraft. A lot of F-16s are available in Europe and America because the F-35 is in full production and rapidly replacing the 1970s era F-16s. The F-16 first flew fifty years ago, and the Americans didnt realize how many F-16 fans were pilots in the Ukrainian Air Force. A growing number of Ukrainian pilots have been trained to operate F-16s and deliveries to Ukraine began in the last few months. F-16s have been the worlds most popular post-Cold War combat aircraft. Communist governments and the Soviet Union collapsed by 1991 and eastern European nations, recently under communist rule, wanted to join NATO so the Russians, Communist or not, would be less likely to return. During the last three decades these former Communist-controlled nations joined NATO and have been replacing their Russian weapons with Western models. The Ukraine War that began in early 2022 was often a desperate battle for Ukrainians. Nevertheless, Russia suffered heavier casualties and huge weapons losses. Aircraft losses were also heavy, with over 600 manned and unmanned aircraft lost by both sides. Currently Russia has about a thousand fighters and strike aircraft. Russia is a large country and most of these aircraft are stationed in distant areas of Russia with about a third of the aircraft concentrated against Ukraine. Russia started this war with a larger air force than Ukraine had. Russia has an aircraft production industry. While crippled by sanctions, Russia can still build a few new warplanes each year but can repair and refurbish even more of them. Currently Russia is running out of damaged aircraft to refurbish. Most Russian aircraft losses now are total. Thats because Ukrainian air defenses and pilots are getting better while Russia is running out of spare parts for its remaining aircraft. Ukraine depends on its NATO allies for replacement aircraft. Eastern European NATO nations once used Russian warplanes and have finished replacing them with Western models like the F-16. These NATO nations have already donated dozens of their older Russian warplanes to Ukraine. This is done as they receive newer Western aircraft, mainly F-16s. Ukraine noted this and asked for preference to receive F-16s and convinced the Americans that they could quickly adapt to them. Ukrainian MiG and Sukhoi pilots demonstrated that they could quickly adapt to F-16s. Meanwhile, Ukraine has lots of experience with MiG-29s and Su-27s and uses them extensively. Some have been modified to handle Western anti-radar missiles as well as GPS guided bombs. While the Ukrainians have made good use of their MiGs and Su-27s, they always wanted Western aircraft, especially F-16s. The F-16 and MiG-29 are both considered 4th generation, 1970s aircraft. The 5th generation, so far, consists of the American F-22 and F-35 as well as Chinas J-20. Each generation has been about twice as expensive, on average, in constant dollars, as the previous one. But each generation is also about twice as safe to fly and cheaper to operate. Naturally, each generation is more than twice as effective as the previous one. The Russians had a hard time developing their 5th generation, although some of the derivatives of their Su-27 are at least generation 4.5. Other nations did the same and it wasnt until the 2020s that there were three different fifth-gen fighters purportedly in service. There were several decades between fourth and fifth generation aircraft, which is partly due to the end of the Cold War in 1991 and China not becoming a major military power until two decades later. The MiG-29 dates from the 1980s and was the last aircraft designed by the now defunct MiG company. Rival Sukhoi later introduced two new aircraft, the Su-24 and Su-35. Both performed poorly in combat over Ukraine. The MiG-29 entered service in 1983. Some 1,600 MiG-29s have been produced so far, with about 900 of them exported. The 22-ton aircraft is roughly comparable to the F-16, but it depends a lot on which version of either aircraft you are talking about. Russia is making a lot of money upgrading MiG-29s. Not just adding new electronics but also making the airframe more robust. The MiG-29 was originally rated at 2,500 total flight hours. At that time, Russia expected MiG-29s to fly about a hundred or so hours a year. Didnt work out that way. India, for example, flew them at nearly twice that rate, as did Malaysia. Eventually Russia offered an upgrade to the airframe so that the aircraft could fly up to 4,000 hours, with more life extension upgrades promised. This has not been easy, as the MiG-29 has a history of unreliability and premature breakdowns, both mechanical and electronic, which indicates a flawed design. Western warplanes are built to last longer. The F-16C was originally designed for a service life of 4,000 hours in the air. Advances in engineering, materials, and maintenance techniques extended that to over 8,000 hours. Because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, F-16s sent to these areas flew over a thousand hours a year more than what they would fly in peacetime. That led to a refurbishment program to extend F-16C flight hours to 10,000 or more. The U.S. Air Force had to refurbish several hundred of its 22-ton F-16 fighters, because their replacement, the 31-ton F-35, did not arrive on time. Most existing F-16s are old, and by 2016, many were too old to operate. Back then the average age of F-16s was over 20 years, and the average aircraft has over 5,000 flight hours on it. In 2009 the first Block 40 F-16 passed 7,000 hours. In 2008 the first of the earliest models, Block 25 F-16s, passed 7,000 hours. While older F-16s are being retired for their age, they tend to have at least twice as many flight hours as their Russian counterparts. Because of greater durability and ease of maintenance, the seemingly more expensive Western fighters are actually cheaper over the lifetime of an aircraft because they last longer and are easier to maintain than equivalent Russian designs. New East European users of the F-16 purchased spares, maintenance equipment, training, aircraft accessories, like look and shoot helmets plus tech support and assistance in setting up maintenance and support facilities. These can be used for other aircraft types and are a good investment. The sale includes air-to-air missiles and smart bombs as well. The F-16V was introduced in 2012 as the last model of the F-16. Production of the F-16 did not end as planned in late 2016 because possible further sales of the F-16V unexpectedly appeared. Additionally it became possible to upgrade some or all of the older F-16s to the Block 7o standard. These Block 7o upgrades are not always possible, or practical, for the oldest models of the F-16. These upgrades include replacing many structural elements as well as installing more powerful engines and the most modern electronics and fire control systems available. Although production of the F-16 ceased temporarily, its manufacturer Lockheed Martin (LockMart), continues to do upgrades and refurbishments, and produce new F-16Vs due to buyer demand. The changes in the V model are considerable. The airframe is upgraded and strengthened to enable 12,000 flight hours per aircraft. The electronics undergo an even more extensive upgrade which involves replacing the mechanical radar with an AESA phased array radar, an upgraded cockpit, a Sniper targeting pod, a Link 16 digital data link and upgraded navigation gear. The newly redesigned cockpit is all digital and flat screen touch displays that replace dozens of gauges and switches and make it much easier to fly. AESA and the new fire control system make it possible to track multiple aircraft at once as well as track vehicles on land or vessels at sea. The targeting pod enables the pilot to confirm visually what is on the surface and promptly attack it with smart bombs or missiles. LockMart initially expected to get orders for at least 700 newly built F-16V or less expensive upgrades. An upgrade brings in as little as $10 million per aircraft while five or ten of these upgrades equals the price of one new F-16V. But when you have orders for hundreds of F-16V upgrades you have a lot of F-16 work. The F-16 thus follows the path of previous best selling fighters. During the 1947-1991 Cold War Russia built over 10,000 MiG-21s and the U.S over 5,000 F-4s. After 1991 warplane manufacturing plummeted about 90 percent. However, the F-16 has been popular enough to keep the production lines going strong into the 2020s. The U.S. still has about 1,200 F-16s in service, with about half with reserve units. F-16s built so far went to 27 countries before Ukraine requested them. America has hundreds in storage, available for sale on the used airplane market. The end of the Cold War led to a sharp cut in U.S. Air Force fighter squadrons. Moreover, the new F-35 is on its way to replacing all U.S. F-16s by the late 2020s. The U.S. has plenty of little-used F-16s sitting around, while many allies need low cost jet fighters. Many current F-16 users planned to replace the F-16 with the F-35 but that aircraft costs more than twice as much as a new F-16V so air forces are seeking to operate a mixed force of F-35s and late model F-16s. A current example of this is Poland, which has sent its older MiG-29s to Ukraine. These have a few good years left, which is all Ukraine needs. Since the 1990s most F-16s produced were for export and some cost as much as $70 million each, like the F-16I for Israel. Some nations, like South Korea, built over a hundred F-16s under license. The 16 ton F-16 also has an admirable combat record and is very popular with pilots. It has been successful at ground support as well. When equipped with 4-6 smart bombs, it is an effective bomber. Since first entering service some 4,600 F-16s have flown over 12 million hours. Despite fears that a single engine fighter would be less safe, F-16s have, in the 21st century, suffered an accident rate (loss or major damage) of 2.4 per 100,000 flight hours. The U.S. also sent Ukraine a lot of the most effective guided missiles and bombs used by F-16s. The most successful F-16 user is Israel which set a number of combat records with its F-16s. Israel plans to keep some of its late model F-16s flying until 2030 as it retires the oldest ones. At the end of 2016, Israel retired the last of its 125 F-16A fighters. The first 70 were acquired in 1980 and 1981 and included 8 two-seater F-16B trainers. One of the F-16As achieved a record by being the single F-16 with the most air-to-air kills, 6.5, all achieved in 1982 using three different pilots. Israel received 50 used F-16As in 1994 including 14 B models and used these mainly as trainers. The Ukrainians are well aware of the F-16s track record, especially when compared to the MiG-29. Thats why Ukraine keeps asking for more F-16s. August 23, 2024: The NATO alliance supporting Ukraine in its battle against Russian invaders believes that Ukrainian victory is inevitable. This is based on the fact that the NATO alliance provides Ukraine with far more military resources than Russia produces and can do it for a longer time than Russia can handle. The NATO coalition represents a huge economic capacity equal to nearly half the global GDP. Russia is on its own, is dealing with economic sanctions and their only allies are equally sanctioned outlaw states North Korea and Iran. While Russia has nuclear weapons, so do several NATO members as in the Americans, Britain and France. If Russia used nukes the retaliation would be much larger and Russia would cease to exist while most of NATO would still exist. Few Russians are in favor of national suicide, so nukes are not an option. This means Russia will lose in Ukraine despite its optimistic press releases. As a result the NATO coalition is preparing to accept Ukraine as the 33rd member of NATO. The large quantities of military aid Ukraine has been receiving from NATO will continue, but at lower levels depending on the level of threat Russia provides. While doing this Ukraine will continue to replace Soviet era Russian weapons and equipment and replace it with European or American items that NATO members use. Standardization is one of the key elements of being a NATO member. It means that NATO members can use the same or similar weapons and equipment as well identical ammunition. Tactics and military organization are similar throughout NATO. While not a participant in the Ukraine War, massive NATO supplies of weapons, munitions and economic aid enabled Ukraine to stop the Russian invasion and now force them out of Ukraine. NATO has been aiding Ukraine for ten years. The assistance began in 2014 when Russia seized Crimea and positions of two eastern provinces from Ukraine. There was low level fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces in those eastern provinces until 2022 when Russia invaded in an effort to seize all of Ukraine, not just the 25 percent they grabbed in 2014. In 2021 Russia believed a full scale invasion of Ukraine would work because they believed the Ukrainians were demoralized by years of futile fighting. The Russians miscalculated and the unexpected fierce resistance of Ukrainian forces in 2022 caused Russia to lose most of its tanks, many of its combat aircraft and several hundred thousand troops. The Russian attacks and heavy losses continued into early 2024 but now the Russians realize they are out of troops and will soon be out of tanks and artillery. Russia still insists it will prevail in Ukraine and reunite their conquest as a Russian province. Even the Russian minority in Ukraine does not want to be part of Russia again. Many Russians agree that their government started a war that Russia cant win. Russian leader Vladimir Putin started the war and, so far, he refuses to acknowledge the possibility of defeat. Now that defeat is a reality, Putin is trying to improvise some reasonably convincing story about how Russia actually won. If he cant do that, Putin risks seeing his 24 year-long rule of Russia come to an end. The Croatian Ministry of Defence has announced its intention to acquire the highly sought-after High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) from the United States, signaling a significant step in the modernization and bolstering of its defense capabilities. This move aligns Croatia with a growing number of central and eastern European nations investing in the advanced rocket system, particularly in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine. Get alerts: Croatias Defense Priorities A spokesperson for the Croatian Ministry of Defence emphasized the importance of this acquisition, stating that introducing new weaponry and equipment directly enhances existing capabilities and fosters the development of new ones within the Croatian Armed Forces. The procurement of HIMARS is a priority within the countrys defense planning process. The ministry anticipates finalizing a government-to-government agreement with the United States by the end of 2024, paving the way for delivering these advanced rocket systems. While the exact number of HIMARS units to be acquired remains undisclosed, the move signifies a significant investment in Croatias defense posture. Joining the HIMARS Ranks in Eastern Europe Croatias pursuit of HIMARS places it within a growing contingent of Eastern European nations embracing this advanced artillery system. Poland, a regional leader in defense modernization, has already procured 20 HIMARS launchers and recently signed a framework agreement to potentially acquire up to 486 units, highlighting the systems strategic importance. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania have also joined the ranks of HIMARS operators, demonstrating a collective effort to bolster regional defense capabilities in the face of evolving security challenges. The systems proven effectiveness in the Ukrainian conflict against Russian forces has undoubtedly contributed to its growing popularity. What is HIMARS? The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) is a lightweight, highly mobile artillery system developed by Lockheed Martin. It boasts a truck-mounted launcher capable of firing a variety of munitions, including Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) rockets and Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles. Key Features and Capabilities Mobility: HIMARS is renowned for its high mobility, allowing for rapid deployment and repositioning, making it difficult for adversaries to target. HIMARS is renowned for its high mobility, allowing for rapid deployment and repositioning, making it difficult for adversaries to target. Range: GMLRS rockets provide a range of up to 80 kilometers, while ATACMS missiles can extend the reach to approximately 300 kilometers, offering significant standoff capabilities. GMLRS rockets provide a range of up to 80 kilometers, while ATACMS missiles can extend the reach to approximately 300 kilometers, offering significant standoff capabilities. Precision: HIMARS utilizes GPS-guided munitions, ensuring pinpoint accuracy and minimizing collateral damage. HIMARS utilizes GPS-guided munitions, ensuring pinpoint accuracy and minimizing collateral damage. Versatility: The system can fire a variety of munitions, adapting to different target types and mission requirements. The system can fire a variety of munitions, adapting to different target types and mission requirements. Rapid Firepower: HIMARS can launch a full pod of six rockets in under a minute, delivering a devastating blow and quickly relocating to avoid counter-battery fire. HIMARS: A Game Changer in Modern Warfare The HIMARS has proven to be a game-changer in modern warfare, providing a crucial advantage on the battlefield. Its precision strike capability and high mobility allow for effective targeting of enemy positions, command centers, and logistical hubs while minimizing the risk to friendly forces. The systems performance in the Ukrainian conflict has further solidified its reputation as a highly effective and reliable artillery system. Ukrainian forces have successfully employed HIMARS to disrupt Russian supply lines, destroy key infrastructure, and neutralize enemy artillery positions. Implications for Regional Security Croatias acquisition of HIMARS carries significant implications for regional security in Eastern Europe. The systems advanced capabilities will undoubtedly enhance Croatias defense posture and contribute to the overall deterrence against potential threats. The growing proliferation of HIMARS across the region demonstrates a collective commitment to strengthening defense capabilities and promoting stability in an increasingly complex security environment. This trend underscores the evolving terrain of defense cooperation and modernization efforts within Eastern Europe. Looking Ahead As Croatia moves forward with its HIMARS acquisition, the country will further integrate into the network of nations equipped with this advanced artillery system. This move strengthens Croatias individual defense capabilities and contributes to a more robust and resilient defense architecture across Eastern Europe. The HIMARS acquisition marks a significant step in Croatias ongoing modernization efforts, underscoring its commitment to national security and regional stability. Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content. Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist. If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter . Support our mission and join our community now. A man accused of shouting at two Romanians in a Turkish barbers to 'speak English this is Ireland' has been remanded in custody at Derry Magistrate's Court today. Cahill Seamus Doherty (47) of Brookview Glen, Eglinton appeared charged with disorderly behaviour on August 22. A police officer connected the accused to the charge and opposed bail. He told the court that police were called to a Turkish barbers in the Diamond area of Derry at 10am on August 22. The owner told them Doherty had entered the premises and appeared to be intoxicated. As the defendant was waiting two Romanians came in and began talking in their own language at which Doherty was said to have shouted 'speak English this is Ireland'. Shortly afterwards when two of the barbers began speaking in their native language Doherty was said to have shouted again about speaking English. The officer said that Doherty was currently on bail for an alleged racially motivated assault on a doctor in Altnagelvin Hospital on March 16. Bail was opposed due to the risk of re-offending and the officer said that the defendant had not addressed his alcohol issues. Defence counsel Grainne McAnaney said she accepted thus was 'a difficult application' especially in light of the other charge. She said he was 'vehemently denying' the charge and would claim it was 'banter'. The barrister said that Doherty had taken steps to tackle his alcohol issue and asked for bail with conditions. Deputy District Judge Alan White said normally this type of case would warrant bail but thus offence was allegedly committed while on bail for another racially motivated charge and a suspended sentence. He refused bail and remanded Doherty in custody to appear again on September 19. Ulster University today marks a historic moment for Northern Ireland, as the first cohort of BSc Hons Paramedic Science students celebrate ahead of graduation in December 2024, from the regions first-ever BSc Paramedic Sciences programme. Forty students attended an official celebration ceremony, recognising their successful completion of all elements necessary to register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). This milestone marks their readiness to contribute significantly to the future of healthcare delivery across Northern Ireland. With funding support from the Department of Health, the three-year course launched in September 2021 with 40 students and three dedicated lecturers. Due to its growing popularity, the programme now accommodates 130 students across all year groups and boasts a teaching team of 10 academics. This expansion emphasises the courses vital role in supporting Northern Irelands healthcare workforce and easing pressures on the health service. Throughout the course, students completed a comprehensive range of academic modules focused on the fundamentals of emergency and urgent care. They completed 60 weeks of practice-based learning in various community health and social care settings, hospital services, and ambulance services. In addition to classroom-based learning, students benefited from hands-on experience within Ulster Universitys cutting-edge facility Skills Suite featuring hospital wards, clinical rooms, and a unique simulated ambulance custom-built for the School of Nursing & Paramedic Science at the Derry campus - the only one of its kind in the region. Graduates have developed the knowledge, skills and behaviours necessary to become a competent and confident paramedic who provides safe person-centred care. This groundbreaking course, based within multi- award-winning School of Nursing & Paramedic Science is a significant step forward in the development of the paramedic profession in Northern Ireland and beyond. Until 2021, aspiring paramedics from Northern Ireland were required to travel to the south of Ireland or across the Irish Sea to complete a BSc Hons programme in Paramedic Science. Ben Malone a student on the course always wanted to be a paramedic since the age of 8 years old after his Nanny experienced a stroke, he remembered feeling relief and reassurance as the Paramedics arrived, he said: Ive always wanted to be a paramedic. We have been at the forefront of this programme, pioneering its development over the past three years. The friends I have made, skills and knowledge I have learned from expert lecturers and the experience I have gained through practice learning, will stand to me in years to come. Whilst it has been challenging and demanding at times, both academically and throughout practice learning, I am glad to say that I have successfully completed the course, passed all modules and received a conditional offer of employment from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service HSCT (pending my registration in the coming weeks). I look forward to what the future holds, embarking on a career as a paramedic and witnessing the success of future cohorts from the BSc programme at Ulster University." Professor Neal Cook, Head of School of Nursing and Paramedic Science at Ulster University said: We are immensely proud of our paramedic science students reaching this important and historic milestone as the first cohort to graduate with their BSc Hons Paramedic Science. "Their success is testament to their dedication to the profession and their studies and also testament to the support and expert education they have received from their course team and practice partners, without whom we could not deliver this quality provision. Forty students attended an official celebration ceremony, recognising their successful completion of all elements necessary to register with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). (Photos: William Cherry/Press Eye) "The success of their programme is the culmination of valued partnerships and collaborative endeavours across a spectrum of stakeholders, including all six health and social care trusts in Northern Ireland as well as the Department of Health and the independent and voluntary sectors. We have every faith that these graduands will have long and impactful careers as paramedics, we are so proud of their achievements. Mr. Andrew Chambers, Course Director BSc Paramedic Science at Ulster University said: Despite often being the first, and sometimes the crucial medical contact for people within the community, paramedics have lacked the credibility that they deserve. "However, the introduction of this degree programme and the recent elevation of paramedics to Allied Health Profession (AHP) status helps to further cement the position of paramedics as healthcare professionals in their own right, capable of operating across a wide variety of healthcare environments. "The students from our course represent the future of the paramedic profession and the wider Health Service here in Northern Ireland and I have no doubt that with the diverse learning opportunities they have received as part of this programme that they will go on to have a profound impact on the delivery of prehospital care within the province for years to come. Neil Sinclair, Chief Paramedic Officer, Northern Ireland Ambulance Service said: We are delighted to join Ulster University, and all of the other partner organisations, in congratulating the first cohort of UU Student Paramedics as they complete their BSc (Hons) programme. "They have been on a journey through academic and practice-based learning over the past 3 years, and they will soon embark on the next phase of their careers as they transition into employment. "We are looking forward to welcoming many of them to NIAS in the very near future; where they will be able to utilise the knowledge and personal attributes they have developed over the last 3 years, alongside their new colleagues in NIAS, to provide the best possible pre-hospital care to people across all of Northern Ireland. "The arrival of this large number of highly-skilled new recruits will bring benefits and welcome support, not only to NIAS, but across the entire health and social care system, and most importantly to the local community. If you are interested in studying BSc Hons Paramedic Science at Ulster University Derry, or would like more information on the course, please click here. The funeral has taken place of the renowned Derry journalist Nell McCafferty. The veteran campaigner died earlier this week at the age of 80 in a nursing home in Inishowen. The former Irish Times journalist, originally from the Bogside area of Derry, was a prominent voice on womens rights issues across the island of Ireland and in 1970 co-founded the Irish Womens Liberation Movement (IWLM). Considered a journalistic trailblazer and fearless social commentator, McCafferty wrote several books and also wrote for publications including the Sunday Tribune and Hot Press. Campaigning for the legalisation of contraceptives in Ireland in the 1970s, she famously took part in an event known as the Contraceptive Train in 1971 when members of the IWLM travelled across the border to Belfast, bought a range of contraceptive products and took them to Dublin, where they staged a protest at the citys Connolly station. Tributes have flooded in since her death on Wednesday. President Michael D Higgins said Ms McCafferty had a "unique gift in stirring people's consciousness, and this made her advocacy formidable on behalf of those who had been excluded from society". He said she was a "pioneer in raising those searching questions which could be asked, but which had been buried, hidden or neglected". Taoiseach Simon Harris described her as a "fierce, fearless and fiery" campaigner who "suffered no fools". "If she was in the room or in the debate, you knew about it," the Taoiseach said in a statement. "Her passion and wrath was not scattergun, it had a laser-like focus on calling out inequality and injustice. She suffered no fools but had a kindness and warmth for many. "Her wit and Derry turn of phrase made her impossible to ignore." Nell's Requiem Mass was held in St Columba's Church, Long Tower this afternoon. Mourners stood for a round of applause as her remains were carried from the church. Among the mourners were First Minister Michelle O'Neill, the Mayor of Derry Cllr Lilian Seenoi-Barr, veteran civil rights campaigners Eamonn McCann and Bernadette Devlin McAliskey. Addressing the congregation, former journalist Eamonn McCann read out extracts from an article McCafferty wrote for her local paper about Bloody Sunday, which bore the headline There will be another day. The article gave a powerful immediate reaction to the news that 13 people had been shot dead after soldiers opened fire on a civil rights march on January 30 1972. Mr McCann said: Bloody Sunday is very important to Derry of course, its defined us all. Whatever you thought of your politics and so on, its defined everybody from Derry. He said that hours after the chaos unfolded, no-one knew exactly how many people had been killed or wounded. The then-MP for Mid-Ulster Bernadette McAliskey, who was in attendance at the funeral, was given the names of the 13 men who were killed after phoning the hospital. I remember Nell holding Bernadettes elbow as she was taking the names of the Bloody Sunday dead, and she just kept on writing, Mr McCann said. That was a terrible omen, and I remember the shiver which went through the hallway and through the McCafferty house and eventually through the whole of Derry and large parts of the world. He said Bloody Sunday had an effect on McCafferty, on how she viewed politics, on how she thought of her citys people and its marches. In the article that she wrote for the paper, she called the infamous event both a fine day and a foul day, he said. She described the thousands of people singing and marching through the streets as part of the fine day it had been, but that death is no stranger to us now. Let it not be said of us that they died in vain. Stay free brothers and sisters, there will be another day, she wrote. And so there will be another day, but there will never be another Nell McCafferty, Mr McCann said, which was met with a lengthy applause from mourners. After the funeral mass ended, mourners applauded her once more as her coffin was carried out of the church. McCaffreys body was taken for a private cremation in Co Cavan following the mass. A book of condolence has been opened by Ms Seenoi-Barr in The Guildhall for those who wish to pay tribute to McCafferty. 1. Sale! HP Victus 15-fb0147AX HP Victus 15-fb0147AX Operating System: Windows 11 Home Display Size : 15.6 Processor : AMD Ryzen 5-5600H PROS: Solid Performance: AMD Ryzen 5 5600H and Radeon RX 6500M. Ample Storage: 512GB SSD. Backlit Keyboard: Includes numeric keypad. Good Audio: B&O speakers. CONS: Display Brightness: 60Hz screen is not very bright. Base RAM: 8GB RAM should be upgraded. Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5600H AMD Ryzen 5 5600H Graphics Card: AMD Radeon RX 6500M AMD Radeon RX 6500M SSD Capacity: 512 GB 512 GB RAM: 8 GB DDR4 8 GB DDR4 Display: 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080 60 Hz 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080 60 Hz Type: Gaming Laptop Gaming Laptop Operating System: Windows 11 Home Windows 11 Home Wireless LAN: MediaTek Wi-Fi 6 MT7922 (22) MediaTek Wi-Fi 6 MT7922 (22) Bluetooth: v5.3 v5.3 Warranty: 1 Year 1 Year Whats inside the box: Laptop, User manual, Adapter The HP Victus 15, featuring the AMD Ryzen 5 5600H and Radeon RX 6500M, is one of the most affordable gaming laptops available in India. It comes with a 6-core, 12-thread processor and 4GB of dedicated graphics memory, providing the power needed for smooth gameplay and rendering detailed environments in games like GTA V. The laptop also boasts 8GB of DDR4 RAM and a 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD, ensuring fast load times and ample storage. Its 15.6-inch FHD display offers crisp visuals with 250 nits brightness and anti-glare properties, perfect for immersive gaming. The Victus 15 supports seamless connectivity with Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, and multiple USB ports, while the long battery life and fast charging feature allow for extended gaming sessions. This laptop strikes an excellent balance between performance and affordability, making it ideal for gamers on a budget. 2. Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 SSD Capacity: 512 GB 512 GB RAM: 16 GB DDR5 16 GB DDR5 Display: 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080 120 Hz 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080 120 Hz Type: Gaming Laptop Gaming Laptop Operating System: Windows 11 Home Windows 11 Home Wireless LAN: Wi-Fi 6, 802.11ax 22 Wi-Fi 6, 802.11ax 22 Bluetooth: v5.1 v5.1 Warranty: 1 Year 1 Year Whats inside the box: Laptop, Power Adaptor, User Guide, Warranty Documents The next best laptop you can have on a budget to smoothly play GTA V is the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3, featuring the AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 6GB variant. The good thing about the GPU is that it is more power-efficient and delivers better performance compared to the RTX 3050 4GB, allowing for smoother gameplay at higher settings. This laptop also comes with a 15.6 FHD IPS display with a 120Hz refresh rate, ensuring crisp visuals and fluid motion, perfect for immersive gaming experiences. With 16GB of DDR5 RAM and a 512GB SSD, the Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 offers fast load times and ample storage, making it an excellent choice for those looking to enjoy GTA V and other demanding games without breaking the bank. 3. Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4050 SSD Capacity: 512 GB 512 GB RAM: 8 GB DDR5 8 GB DDR5 Display: 16-inch 1920 x 1200 165 Hz 16-inch 1920 x 1200 165 Hz Type: Gaming Laptop Gaming Laptop Operating System: Windows 11 Home Windows 11 Home Wireless LAN: Wi-Fi 6, 802.11ax 22 Wi-Fi 6, 802.11ax 22 Bluetooth: v5.1 v5.1 Warranty: 1 Year 1 Year Whats inside the box: 1U (contains Laptop 1N, Power cord 1N, Adapter 1N, User Manual 1N) The next laptop on the list is the Acer Nitro 16, not to be confused with the slimmer Acer Nitro V. The former is a much thicker, full-fledged gaming laptop. Playing GTA V on the Nitro 16 is a great experience thanks to the powerful AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS and the latest Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 6GB GPU, which together deliver exceptional performance and smooth gameplay. The 16 IPS display with a 165Hz refresh rate further enhances the experience, providing crisp visuals and fluid motion, making this laptop a top choice for gamers looking for power and immersion. 4. Processor: AMD Ryzen 7 7435HS AMD Ryzen 7 7435HS Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 SSD Capacity: 512 GB 512 GB RAM: 24 GB DDR5 24 GB DDR5 Display: 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080 144 Hz 15.6-inch 1920 x 1080 144 Hz Type: Gaming Laptop Gaming Laptop Operating System: Windows 11 Home Windows 11 Home Wireless LAN: Wi-Fi 6, 11ax 22 Wi-Fi 6, 11ax 22 Bluetooth: v5.2 v5.2 Warranty: 1 Year 1 Year Whats inside the box: Laptop, Power Adaptor, User Guide, Warranty Documents The Lenovo LOQ 2024 could possibly be one of the best value-for-money gaming laptops this year, thanks to its combination of an AMD Ryzen 7 7435HS CPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU with 8GB GDDR6 VRAM. This pairing delivers outstanding performance for gaming and multitasking, especially with the support of 24GB of DDR5 RAM and a 512GB SSD for fast load times and ample storage. The 15.6 FHD IPS display with a 144Hz refresh rate and 100% sRGB coverage ensures crisp, vibrant visuals, while the advanced cooling system and AI Engine+ further enhance performance, making it an exceptional choice for gamers seeking power and value. Rating and Price of the Best AMD Gaming Laptop For GTA V Product Name Price Ratings HP Victus 15-fb0147AX 48,757 3.3 Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 82SB00QKIN 64,990 4.0 Acer Nitro 16 AN16-41 | Ryzen 7 7840HS | RTX 4050 | 8GB 94,990 4.7 Lenovo LOQ 20204 83JC0046IN 88,490 4.5 Disclaimer: Digit, like all other media houses, gives you links to online stores which contain embedded affiliate information, which allows us to get a tiny percentage of your purchase back from the online store. We urge all our readers to use our Buy button links to make their purchases as a way of supporting our work. If you are a user who already does this, thank you for supporting and keeping unbiased technology journalism alive in India. Optical lens watch for 2H24: iPhone 16 CIS upgrade could become biggest highlight Apple's annual new product announcement event is approaching, with rumors from foreign media suggesting it will be held on September 10th, US time. There is speculation that the theme of the event, "Capture," hints at a high likelihood of a lens upgrade. The 2024 models are expected to introduce a new "Capture Button," similar to a typical digital camera's shutter button, where a light press can "auto-focus" and a firm press takes a photo. Additionally, this button will allow users to zoom in and out of the scene while capturing photos or videos. A leading optical company with Apple as its primary customer has noted that in recent years, with each new iPhone launch, camera specifications have required constant upgrades to attract consumers to purchase newer devices, leading to intense competition among supply chains. Over the past one to two years, due to customer demands for smaller pixels, higher resolution, and improved image quality, there has been a trend toward larger CMOS image sensors (CIS) in its main cameras. Largan Precision chairman Adam Lin pointed out that lens design has become more difficult. So far, new products announced in 2024 saw a higher proportion of periscope lenses used in telephoto cameras. Lin also mentioned that Largan's new factory is fully utilized due to the larger CIS, which occupies more production space. Supply chain sources have observed that larger CIS sizes provide better details and colors in low-light lenses. Additionally, one of the most criticized issues with current lenses is flare during video recording, a problem that has remained unresolved. Industry sources speculate that the market is closely watching whether Apple will adopt new coating technologies from the iPhone 15 launch to the 2024 models. This would address the iPhone issue of green spots or flares regularly appearing in photos or videos taken under strong light. Industry sources suggest that the high-end models in the iPhone 16 series might feature lens coatings with atomic layer deposition (ALD), a new-generation semiconductor process technology. The primary suppliers are Taiwan's leading optical companies, Largan Precision and GSEO, with an estimated supply ratio of around 8:2. This technology is expected to trickle down from flagship iPhone 15 models to the Pro series, potentially doubling the quantity compared to the iPhone 15. Despite this, component manufacturers remain cautious about whether these camera upgrades will trigger a wave of device upgrades. Industry sources familiar with smartphones believe that although AI smartphones caused a stir in 2024, most major brands and component suppliers are still preparing and won't see an immediate boom. The situation is expected to become clearer by 2025. The focus on AI applications by major brands is mainly due to the lack of a "main selling point" in smartphones in recent years, resulting in consumers upgrading devices less frequently. As a result, generative AI has become the only highlight, but the extent of its computing power and application potential remains uncertain. Supply chain insiders predict that with the start of the "AI smartphone era", the penetration rate of AI smartphones in 2025 could grow to 20%, and by 2027, it could rise to 40%. The top five global brands have all unveiled AI solutions, and Apple also announced its own Apple Intelligence at WWDC. Industry players generally believe that the increasing penetration of AI smartphones will help trigger a wave of upgrades among high-end smartphone users, positively impacting related sub-industries recovering from a downturn and benefiting from specification upgrades. Samsung releases new foldable smartphone to defend its place in the Japanese market In an effort to strengthen its position in the Japanese smartphone market, Samsung Electronics (Samsung) has released two new foldable phone models earlier than planned: the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Fold 6. The company aims to expand the synergy between its Galaxy S and Z series. According to ET News, Samsung reportedly released the Galaxy Z Flip 6, Fold 6, Galaxy Watch 7, Ultra, FE, and the Galaxy Buds 3 series on July 31st, approximately three weeks after the Galaxy Unpacked event on July 10th. This release timeline is significantly shorter than Samsung's usual two to three-month wait for new product releases in Japan. Notably, the Galaxy Ring was not included in this lineup. The accelerated release schedule stands in contrast to previous launches. For instance, the Galaxy S24 series, released globally on January 18th, saw its official sales date in Japan delayed by three months to April 11th. Industry observers are curious to see if this early release strategy will help Samsung overcome its underwhelming performance in the second quarter. Data from Canalys reveals that Samsung's shipment volume in the Japanese smartphone market for the second quarter of 2024 declined by 39% compared to 2023, marking the largest decrease among the top five companies in terms of sales. In contrast, Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi experienced a 359% increase in sales, further highlighting Samsung's challenges in the market. In comparison, China-based company, Xiaomi, experienced a 359% increase in sales, throwing Samsung even further into the shade. Looking at the overall local market shares in Japan, Apple is ranked first with 56%, Google is second with 12%, followed by Xiaomi with 6%, while Samsung and Sharp are tied for fourth with 5% each. Samsung's early release of the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Fold 6 is viewed as a strategic move to capitalize on the successful launch of the Galaxy S24 series in Japan, aiming to create synergy between the two product lines and narrow the gap with competitors. To support this launch, Samsung's Japanese branch has intensified operations in Galaxy experience spaces and marketing campaigns across locations including Harajuku, Osaka, and Shibuya. The company has also enlisted female Generation Z idol groups as spokespersons to appeal to younger consumers. Initial reception of Samsung's new products has been positive, and the company plans to continue various marketing initiatives in the Japanese market. A representative from Samsung's MX department stated that the main reason for releasing multiple new products in Japan in the latter half of 2024 is to respond to Japanese consumer preferences. Samsung aims to globally synchronize the high demand for new products. Tata Motors signs MoU with Delta Electronics and Thunderplus Solutions to install fast charging stations in India Tata Motors, the leading commercial vehicle provider and largest EV brand by sales in India, signed an MoU with Delta Electronics India and Thunderplus Solutions for charging infrastructure investment. According to a statement on Tata's website, on August 21, Tata Motors, India's largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, announced that it is collaborating with Delta Electronics India and Thunderplus Solutions to expand the charging infrastructure for its electric commercial vehicles by setting up 250 new fast charging stations in India. Strategically located in and around over 50 cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Pune, and Kochi, these new charging stations will significantly increase the existing 540 commercial vehicle charging points network. E-commerce companies and parcel & courier service providers, among other industries, are increasing the adoption of commercial EVs for last-mile deliveries to reduce their carbon footprint. Based on its understanding of commercial EV movement, Tata Motors will recommend optimal locations and nearest dealerships for setting up these fast-charging stations. While Delta Electronics will supply the necessary hardware, Thunderplus Solutions will install and operate them. Vinay Pathak, vice president and business head of SCV&PU at Tata Motors Commercial Vehicles, said, "We endeavor to make emission-free cargo transportation easily accessible. Expanding the charging infrastructure on high-use routes will encourage more customers to opt for electric commercial vehicles and improve vehicle uptime, resulting in higher revenues and better profitability while contributing to a cleaner, greener environment. Installing fast chargers at our dealerships makes it convenient for them to gain access at a familiar location with a reliable charging facility." Delta Electronics India managing director Niranjan Nayak said, "Delta aims to provide innovative, clean, and energy-efficient solutions for a better tomorrow. This collaboration with Tata Motors and Thunderplus allows us to contribute significantly to India's electric cargo ecosystem. Our advanced charging technology will play a crucial role in enhancing users' electric commercial vehicle experience nationwide." Rajeev YSR, CEO of Thunderplus Solutions, stated, "We are excited to partner with Tata Motors and Delta in this groundbreaking initiative. We focus on enabling electric commercial vehicle customers with top-notch charging solutions that ensure convenience and reliability. This collaboration aligns perfectly with our mission to drive sustainable transportation solutions across India. This initiative completely falls in line with our campaign HarGharThunder, through which we intend to make the charge point affordable to each house, making electric vehicle charging abundantly available, thus removing the charge anxiety." 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Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe A Dundalk woman has started a petition calling on Louth County Council to build more playgrounds and recreational spaces for children in the town. Ellen Mao, a mother-of-two who lives in Dundalk, has already gotten more than 70 signatures on her petition, which she started on the Uplift petitions platform. In her petition, Mao says building more playgrounds in Dundalk would make it a more vibrant place to live as they foster community interaction and engagement among parents and families. She also said the lack of good quality playgrounds in Dundalk near residential areas means that children are often forced to play in unsafe areas like streets and roads. Speaking about her campaign, Mao said: Our community needs more playgrounds to provide children with safe and accessible spaces to play, promoting their physical and social development while reducing the risks of playing in unsafe areas like streets. Patrick Kelleher, a campaigner at Uplift, said: We commend Ellen for taking action to make her local community in Dundalk a better place for children and adults alike. We all deserve to live in communities where our children can thrive, make friends, and be themselves but the lack of good quality playgrounds in Dundalk means that many children are missing out on the childhood they deserve. The good news is that we know people power works. When we raise our voices together, we can force our elected leaders to listen to us. We are now urging Louth County Council to engage with parents like Ellen to help make Dundalk a better place for families to live. Uplift is a people-powered community of over 340,000 people in Ireland. Each day hundreds of people take small actions together, such as signing petitions or contacting their TDs, to help build a more equal, sustainable, and just Ireland. Ukrainian communities in Ireland have said that they won't give up hope for Alex Ryzhuk, a Dublin soldier who who has been missing in action and presumed dead in the war-torn country. Alex Ryzhuk was born in Dublin to Ukrainian parents and lived in the Rathmines area of the city. He travelled to Ukraine last year to join the military. The 20 year-old had been serving as a volunteer with the Ukrainian military in combat against Russian forces, but it is understood he was reported missing in recent weeks after getting involved in fighting in eastern Ukraine. The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed it is aware of the case and is providing consular assistance. Clare Catterson, headteacher at Synge Street CBS in Portobello where Alex was a former student, told RTE's Morning Ireland that when the news broke, teachers reached out to her in shock. She told RTE's Morning Ireland: "There was great shock and sadness because they remember the young man who was just three short years ago walking these corridors in his school uniform with a smile on his face and wanting to help in any way he could. "He was just one of those all-rounders, a very dedicated student as well." She said he was well-known throughout the school and a "good role model" for younger students. She added: "He was very proud of his Ukrainian heritage. He was bilingual. "You would have heard him on the corridors speaking to other Ukrainian students in his own language ... definitely he would often speak about having been home during the summers to visit relatives." Mariya Starukh, of the Association of Ukrainians in Republic of Ireland, paid tribute to Mr Ryzhuk, telling the Irish Daily Mail that they had been in touch with Alex's relatives. "Wed like to not give up hope," Mariya told the Daily Mail. "We would like to remain strong and hopefully we will have more information soon." She added: "The community are very worried. He is young and brave man." READ NEXT - 'We're so proud of you' - Heartbroken tributes paid as footballer Caolan Finnegan dies after cancer battle Three charity fundraising events take place in Cork next month in aid of the Alzheimers Society of Ireland (ASI). The ASI is the leading national dementia-specific service provider and works across local communities in Ireland to provide services and supports to those living with dementia, as well as advocating for the rights and needs of all patients and their carers. The annual charity Alzheimers Memory Walk, organised by the ASI and supported by Payzone, will take place across 30 locations nationwide on September 22, with three official fundraisers taking place across Cork county. Great cause The Memory Walk campaign, launched earlier this week in Cork by Munster Rugby player, Josh Wycherley, is an opportunity for families, friends, and those living with dementia to come together, and fundraise while walking for a great cause. The three official walks taking place in Cork, which offer participants varying lengths of distance, include: The 5km Blackrock Castle Walk, commencing from 11am with a meeting location at the ASI Day Care Centre in Bessboro, Blackrock. The 3.5km Mallow Castle River Park walk, commencing from 11am, with a meeting location at the main gate of Mallow Castle. The 3.2km Macroom Town Park walk, commencing from 11am, with a meeting location at the Macroom Castle Demesne Gates. Proceeds All proceeds raised from the walks will be donated to the ASI to help support the provision of care for the 64,000 people living with dementia nationwide, and their families. The ASI provides a number of supports and services to people with dementia and their carers, including day care, day care at home, home care, family carer training, dementia advisers, Alzheimer cafes, among other social clubs. Each event is open to people of all ages and abilities, with participants also having the option to create their own fundraising walk, choosing a time and location that suits them best. For further information, to register for one of the official walks, or to set up your own fundraiser, visit: https://alzheimer.ie/get-involved/fundraising-events/alzheimer-memory-walk. A Cork school principal has shared advice for students who may not receive the Leaving Certificate exam results they had been hoping for. Colaiste Eamann Ris principal Aaron Wolfe advised students: The results dont define you theyre only a snapshot in time. Lots of people at their age dont even know what they want to be when they grow up their futures are well ahead of them. People should be celebrating today, he said, advising people to celebrate responsibly. They shouldnt be too hard on themselves if they dont get the results they wanted, because life has a way of working out. Theres lots of different ways into jobs now, the big achievement is actually doing the Leaving Cert its a rite of passage. Mr Wolfe acknowledged that some people will be very upset, and if they are, they should go to their schools and meet with their guidance counsellors next week. If you dont get what you want, youre still connected to your school and they can give you advice about back doors into different courses. Any adult will tell you, they didnt know what they wanted to be when they were young, he said, adding: Everything happens for a reason. National mental health charity Turn2Me has also reminded students and families that exam results do not define a person. Paths to success CEO Fiona OMalley said: Its important for students to remember that their Leaving Cert results are not the final word on their abilities or potential. There are many paths to success, and this is just one step along the way. If things didnt go well for you on the day, there are so many alternative routes into different careers, including conversion courses. Our message to students is simple: You are more than a set of grades. While exams are important, they do not define who you are or what you can achieve in life. Its OK to feel disappointed if you didnt get the results you were hoping for, but its also important to keep things in perspective and know that there are many opportunities ahead. Turn2Me is offering free online counselling sessions and peer support groups to help young people navigate the stress associated with exam results, encouraging students to reach out if they need someone to talk to or if they are feeling overwhelmed. Congratulated The minister of state for further and higher education, research, innovation and science, Patrick ODonovan, has congratulated students and commended them on all their hard work. He said: I want to reassure everyone that, while it is a significant day, the Leaving Cert results do not define you as a person, and even if you didnt do as well as you hoped, there are a variety of different pathways available to your chosen studies. There are so many different opportunities available now for students, including [Further Education Training] and [Post Leaving Certificate] courses, more than 70 different apprenticeships, and of course the new unified tertiary degree courses, which allow students to earn a degree outside of the [Central Applications Office] system. Mr ODovovan said that education is now, more than ever, a lifelong journey, explaining that there are constantly new courses and pathways being developed, and his department will continue to drive these new initiatives so that every person in Ireland can reach their full potential. ESB and the Land Development Agency (LDA) have reached an agreement on the transfer of a greenfield site in Wilton earmarked for the development of hundreds of new homes. The land being transferred by ESB is located at the energy utilitys Sarsfield Road site in Wilton. Plans for housing at the site have been in the pipeline, with a Housing for All Q1 2024 Progress Report published in April, stating that it was envisaged that the lands would transfer to the LDA in the final quarter of 2024. Following news of the transfer agreement, a local councillor has called for the construction of the new homes to be fast-tracked. In an update yesterday, the LDA said it has appointed a design team for the project, and is expecting to make a planning application for about 350 new homes in Q1 of next year. Mix The proposed homes, the LDA said, will include a mix of affordable houses for sale and cost-rental apartments. Subject to planning approval, the agency said construction could start in early 2026, with the first homes being delivered in late 2028. This is another positive development for the LDA as the agency continues to ramp up the delivery of affordable new homes, said LDA chief executive John Coleman. This planned development will have the potential to provide much-needed housing and new facilities in a desirable area alongside established communities and close to a range of existing amenities and services. The LDA is actively working with State bodies to access State-owned land that has the potential to deliver thousands of homes. I would like to thank the ESB for making this land available and working closely with us to conclude its transfer. There is an opportunity for State bodies to create a lasting legacy by making land available, and that is certainly true in this instance. Much needed housing ESB chief executive Paddy Hayes said the site will make an important contribution to the development of much-needed housing. As part of the planning process for the land, the LDA said it intends to undertake extensive public consultation and will publish framework and vision documents to facilitate this process ahead of any planning application being made. Speaking to The Echo, Labour councillor for the citys South West ward Laura Harmon, who lives in Wilton, said she welcomes plans for new homes at the site but said she would like to see the construction of such units fast-tracked. I very much welcome that this land is being made available for affordable housing, she said. Its important that the housing being built will be truly affordable to people and also that the building is fast-tracked. Late 2028 is more than four years away that is a long time for people to wait who need housing today. Fianna Fail councillor Terry Coleman also welcomed plans for new homes at the 2.7-hectare site located next to Wilton Shopping Centre. Housing people is one of the Governments top priorities, and this will help to deliver homes for many people and families alike, he said. It is imperative that the scale and mix of this development is in line with the area. We already have a great road network there. But, we will have to continue to work hard to improve the bus connectivity in order to service the potential new residents. We need to see improvements with both reliability and the number of buses on these routes. A man who is accused of the murder of Michael Foley in Macroom, Co. Cork in February has been sent for trial at the next sitting of the Central Criminal Court in Dublin. Daniel Hourigan, 31 with an address at Cork Simon Community, Mill House, Andersons Quay, Cork appeared before Judge Brendan OReilly at Clonakilty District Court. Detective Garda Denis Curtin from Macroom Garda Station told the court that he had served the book of evidence on Daniel Hourigan. Court presenter Sergeant Tom Mulcahy said that Mr Hourigan was facing a single charge of murder and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had consented to the accused being sent forward for trial before a judge and jury at the next sitting of the Central Criminal Court in Dublin, the date of which was yet to be confirmed. Judge OReilly issued an alibi warning to Mr Hourigan that if he intended to rely on an alibi as part of his defence he must give notification to the prosecution within 14 days. Defence solicitor Eddie Burke requested legal aid and the provision of one senior and one junior counsel. Judge OReilly accepted the request and sent the accused for trial at the next sitting in the Criminal Courts of Justice. Mr Hourigan had been detained since February 16 when he was charged with the murder of Michael Foley, 61, whose body was found at his home at Annville, Barretts Place, Macroom on February 6 last. A second accused in the case, Linda O'Flynn, 31 of Leeside Apartments, Cork was also charged with the murder on June 14 and is currently in custody awaiting directions from the DPP. Gardai have said they are concerned for the welfare of a Cork teenager who has been missing from his home for more than a week. They are seeking the publics assistance in tracing the whereabouts of 15 year old Christopher (Chris) Quinlan who was last seen at his home in the Mayfield area of Cork city on Thursday, August 15. Christopher is described as being approximately six feet in height and of slim build. He has black hair and brown eyes. When last seen he was wearing a navy tracksuit. A garda spokesperson said they and Christophers family and concerned for the well bein of the teenager. Anyone with information on Christophers whereabouts is asked to contact Mayfield Garda Station on 021 4558510, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station, said the spokesperson. Gardai from the Cork County Policing Unit have urged motorists to make sure they 'fill out the paperwork' before taking a new vehicle onto a public road. This after gardai from the Cork County Policing Unit seized a vehicle after detecting that it had no insurance cover. The brand new van, travelling on its maiden voyage, was detected by the gardai using their mobility app during a routine checkpoint. In a post shared on social media, a spokesperson for An Garda Siochana said that the van was subsequently seized, with a court appearance to follow for the driver that may result in a two year disqualification. Leaving Cert students in Cork and across the country are this morning receiving their results, with students being encouraged to look ahead with optimism for the future on this milestone day in their lives. Results this morning went live at 10am on the Candidate Portal. In Cork, news of the results have begun to emerge. The principal of Christian Brothers College (CBC) has paid tribute to the Leaving Cert class of 2024 upon receiving their grades. Thirteen students at CBC have received the maximum points of 625, with one student achieving eight H1 grades. Seven students were awarded seven H1s and five achieved six 6H1s. In total, 151 students received their results today in the college with 22% obtaining over 600 points. We are absolutely delighted to be celebrating our students outstanding Leaving Cert results again this year, principal David Lordon said. Im sure the last few weeks have been an anxious time for the boys, but they can be very proud of their incredible results and are no doubt relieved that all the hard work and effort has paid off. Their Leaving Cert journey has been a real team effort, so its also a very special day for their parents and teachers who have supported and guided them every step of the way. Its an exciting time for them now as they look forward to new opportunities and experiences in Third Level and beyond. Taoiseach Simon Harris has congratulated the nearly 61,000 students nationally who are receiving their results on what he described as a momentous occasion. Today is one of those milestone days in your life and I hope our students across Ireland enjoy the final chapter in their school lives, Mr Harris said. The range of emotions students will experience today will go from delight to disappointment but its so important to keep everything in perspective. Luca Bonnet from Christian Brothers College in Cork city photographed in the school library with his father David Bonnet, CBC principal David Lordon and mom Carol O'Leary, after achieving 8 H1s in this year's Leaving Certificate. Picture: Noel Sweeney Receiving the Leaving Cert results is not only about points on a page but the beginning of the next stage of your life. That might be college, work, an apprenticeship, a PLC or a path that you havent yet decided on. In a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, Tanaiste Micheal Martin also wished students across the country well. Theres a very broad pathway for you in terms of the career of your choice whether its further education, on to college, going to work or indeed pursuing a trade. There are tremendous opportunities there, so its important to stand back and to reflect on the wide range of opportunities for you, Mr Martin said, encouraging students to enjoy their day and look ahead with optimism for the future. (back row) James Kelleher and Finn O'Brien, (front) Lee Butler, Sid O'Herlihy, Gerry Fitzgearld and Ross O'Donovan who received their Leaving Cert results at Glanmire Community College, Co Cork. - Picture: David Creedon Education Minister Norma Foley also offered her well wishes. Today is a momentous day in the lives of almost 61,000 students across Ireland and your families and school communities as you receive your Leaving Certificate results. I would like to congratulate each and every one of you on this milestone, which brings reward and recognition for all your work and dedication over the past number of years. Pictured taking time out from recruit training to celebrate their Leaving Cert results at Collins Barracks Cork were members of the 2nd RDF recruit platoon Jason Bolger, Kilkenny, Sean O'Connor, Milstreet, Clodagh Lehane, Mallow, Luke Phelan, Kilkenny and Patrick Hoode Syms from Mallow. Picture: Denis Boyle I hope you can enjoy the day and reflect on all you have achieved, as well as the friendships you made and the many ways you enriched the life of your school on your journey to today, she said. Chloe Collins and Laura Hilliard, are thrilled after receiving 625 points in their Leaving Cert, at St Aloysius' College, Carrigtwohill. Also included is college principal Sean Twomey. Picture: David Keane. This is an exciting moment in your life, as you look ahead to the many great and varied opportunities that lie ahead. Whether your next step will take you into the world of further or higher education, an apprenticeship, work, or other possibilities, I would like to wish you every success and happiness for all to come. It was confirmed today by the State Examinations Commission that it intends to issue the results of any Leaving Certificate appeals on Friday, 27 September, and also that it intends to issue Junior Cycle results on Wednesday, 9 October. Figures show that 2,402 fines were issued by Cork City Council and 309 fines by Cork County Council to motorists for parking on footpaths over the course of last year. As part of its Clear Our Paths campaign, Vision Ireland has published a survey exploring the experiences of people with sight loss regarding footpath obstacles. It highlighted that illegal parking on footpaths and not cleaning up after dogs were named as key issues for people who are blind or vision impaired in Cork. Cars parked on footpaths have an adverse impact on the ability of people who are blind or vision impaired to navigate public spaces, with 70% of survey respondents identifying parked cars as blocking their route when using public paths. Data provided by local authorities revealed that over 22,000 fines were issued nationally to motorists who parked on footpaths in 2023. There were 309 such fines issued by Cork County Council, and 2,402 issued by Cork City Council. Crowding Green Party councillor for Cork North East, Oliver Moran, said: Often, youll see someone pulled up on a footpath imagining its a courtesy for other road users. What theyre actually doing is crowding out the footpath for pedestrians. These sort of habits are really ingrained, and we need to consciously unpick them but like any bad habit, once you start doing things differently, the new habit then becomes second nature. I think businesses have a leadership role in this, putting in place employee policies to never pull up on footpaths. Habits in the workplace become habits outside of work as well, as setting examples on the street. It would be good to see businesses roll in behind the Vision Ireland campaign, as well as everyday motorists. Over a third of respondents also said they were impacted by dog waste in public spaces, as dog fouling presents a slipping hazard and can also dirty white canes used by blind or visually impaired people. There were no dog fouling fines issued by Cork City Council and just six fines issued by Cork County Council in 2023, and overall, very few dog fouling fines were issued across the country. Responsibility Kevin Kelly, head of policy, partnerships and external affairs at Vision Ireland, said: Fines alone will not solve these problems. We must all work together and do our part to clear our paths. If everyone takes more responsibility for their actions, we can work towards making paths in Cork safer for all. Vision Ireland national access and mobility manager Chantelle Smith added: When people who are blind and vision impaired encounter obstacles like parked cars on footpaths, they often result in them having to take the decision to step off the footpath onto the roadway into traffic. Unfortunately, this places them at significant risk, as drivers may not be expecting them to do so, as it is not a crossing point. Vision Ireland is calling on the public and motorists alike to be considerate of the needs of vulnerable pedestrians. Eleven vacant pubs are set to be redeveloped to create nearly 30 new homes in Cork, as part of a new initiative made possible by a planning exemption. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh OBrien published figures which show that local authorities received 92 notifications relating to pubs with the intention to create 295 new homes nationally. Three of these notifications were in Cork city and eight in Cork county, with the potential to create nine homes in the city and 21 homes in the county. Planning exemptions introduced in 2018 removed the requirement for planning permission for the conversion of certain types of vacant commercial property into residential units. In 2022, the exemption was extended to allow vacant pubs to be converted into homes, and that year and the following year, 92 notifications relating to pubs were received by local authorities nationally with the intention to create 295 new homes. In 2022 and 2023, 11 notifications relating to pubs were received by Cork City and County Council combined with the intention to create 30 new homes. Converting empty buildings into new homes for people in Cork is a crucial pillar of Housing for All, Minister of State, and Cork North Central TD, Colm Burke said. These figures demonstrate that policies easing the planning process for converting unoccupied commercial premises, including pubs, into residential use are effectively increasing housing supply, reducing vacancy, and rejuvenating urban areas across Cork. During my visits to communities in Cork, Ive witnessed firsthand the transformation of vacant pubs into vibrant apartments, bringing life back to neighbourhoods. Streamlining these exemptions and simplifying the conversion of commercial buildings into high-quality homes is not just practical, it is essential to ensure the vibrancy of our local communities. This, alongside other government initiatives such as the enhanced resources for local authorities vacant homes offices, the repair and lease scheme, and the vacant property refurbishment grant which offers grants of up to 70,000 to turn a vacant property into a permanent home, are turning spaces of neglect into places of hope and opportunity, ensuring a vibrant and thriving community for everyone in Cork, he said. LATEST A man in his fifties has died after he got in to difficulty in the sea at Inch Beach, near Roches Point in Co Cork this afternoon. It is understood he had gone to the aid of a number of young people. The Irish Coastguard in Valentia, Co Kerry received a notification that five people had got in to difficulty in the water off Inch Beach in Inch at 3pm today. Four people were rescued from the water. The man who rushed in to the sea was taken from the water in a serious condition. He was tended to by paramedics at the beach. He was subsequently transferred to Cork University Hospital by ambulance where he has since died. A postmortem examination will be carried out on the deceased. A file will be prepared for the Coroners Court. It is understood the man is from the northside of Cork city. A spokesperson for the Irish Coastguard said that the centre was informed of the serious incident in the mid-afternoon. "The search and rescue coast guard units at Guileen and Crosshaven along with the RNLI from Ballycotton and Crosshaven were alerted. Rescue Helicopter 117 from Waterford was also tasked to to go to the scene. "Four people were rescued from the sea by members of the public. One person was subsequently recovered from the water in a serious condition. He was transferred by the National Ambulance Service to Cork University Hospital. "Gardai and the Fire Service were also at the scene and assistance was offered by the Irish Naval Service. A garda spokesperson said: "Gardai and local emergency services responded to an incident in Inch Strand in Whitegate, Co.Cork shortly before 3pm this afternoon, Friday, 23rd August 2024. "A number of people had gotten into difficulty in the water at the location. "A man, aged in his 50s, was removed from the water. He was later pronounced deceased. "Arrangements will now be made for a post-mortem and the local coroner has been notified." EARLIER It is understood that one person was taken to hospital by air ambulance after five people were taken from the water in a major rescue operation in East Cork this afternoon. The incident began just after 3pm, when the Irish Coast Guard at Valentia was alerted to five people who had been reported as being in difficulty in the water off Inch Beach near Whitegate. A major search and rescue operation was immediately initiated, with the local Coast Guard unit from Guileen, a unit from Crosshaven Coast Guard, and RNLI rescue boats from Crosshaven and Ballycotton, all dispatched to the scene. The Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 117 was also tasked from Waterford, while the National Ambulance Service tasked ambulances and its air and medical helicopter to the scene. Five people were rescued from the water, and one of them who required medical attention was transferred to the National Ambulance Service and taken by helicopter to hospital. In a statement to The Echo, a spokesperson for the Coast Guard said: "Today at 3pm, the Coast Guard at MRSC Valentia were alerted to several persons in difficulty in the water at Inch Beach, County Cork. "A search and rescue mission was immediately initiated with the local Coast Guard unit from Guileen, Crosshaven Coast Guard and RNLI rescue boats, Ballycotton RNLI Lifeboat, in addition to the Coast Guard helicopter R117 from Waterford tasked to the scene. "Four persons were rescued from the water by members of the public; however one person was subsequently recovered from the water requiring medical attention and was transferred to the National Ambulance Service who had also deployed to the scene." More to follow. Gordon Deegan A man accused of the murder of his wife and two children took his own life in his prison cell only six days before he was due to stand trial at the Central Criminal Court in 2022. A new prison watch-dog report records that just after 3.30pm on June 9th 2022, Sameer Syed (39) was found dead in his cell at the Midlands Prison. Arising from the circumstances around the death of Mr Syed of Grosvenor Lodge, Rathmines, Dublin 6, the report by the Office of the Inspector of Prisons (OIP) has recommended that when conducting routine checks of cells, prison officers should be especially attentive to the presence of non-standard items, such as hammock type footrests, that could be deployed as ligatures. Mr Syeds death occurred only six days before he was due to stand trial for the murder of his wife Seema Banu (37), his daughter Asfira Riza (11) and son Faizan Syed (6) at Llewellyn Court, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16 on October 28th 2020. Seema Banu, who was from India, lived in a house in Llewellyn Court with her two children. Their bodies were found after residents in the estate became concerned when the family hadnt been seen in several days and alerted the Gardai. Mr Syed was on remand at the Midlands Prison ahead of his expected five-week long murder trial and in an investigation into the circumstances into the prison death of Mr Syed by the OIP, it records that at a Prison Service critical incident meeting the day after Mr Syeds death, a doctor stated that Mr Syed had denied having any thoughts of self-harm following his meeting with an independent psychologist on June 9th. The report also records the desperate attempts made by prison staff to revive Mr Syed after he was found unresponsive in his prison cell just after 3.30pm. Mr Syeds death was the fifth death of a prisoner from the Midlands Prison in 2022 and the 11th death in Irish Prison Service (IPS) custody that year. The report doesnt name Mr Syed or any other party, and it records that on the day, at 11:45am, Mr Syed received an in-person professional visit from an independent psychologist and the meeting related to his upcoming trial was organised by his legal team. The meeting lasted for around 30 minutes and Mr Syed returned to his landing where he collected his meal and was locked back in his cell with another prisoner. At 2.30pm, the prisoner sharing Mr Syeds prison cell left the cell to go to the outdoor yard and Mr Syed remained in the locked cell. At 3.32pm, the prisoner returned to the cell. He discovered Mr Syed with a ligature around his neck and exited the cell 10 seconds later to alert prison officers. A prison officer cut the ligature and commenced CPR in a bid to revive Mr Syed. Nurse Officers immediately took over resuscitation attempts on arriving at the scene. A defibrillator was also used without any success and a doctor pronounced the death of Mr. Syed at 4.18pm. In an interview with the OIP the following day, Mr Syeds cellmate of four months described Mr Syed as an easy going person who enjoyed art and playing chess. On the day of Mr Syeds death, the cellmate reported watching television with Mr. Syed while locked in the cell during the meal period. He described Mr. Syed as being jovial and making a number of humorous comments in relation to the television programmes they watched together. He described a footrest that Mr. Syed had constructed by weaving towels and bed linen together into a hammock like formation and it was secured to both ends of the lower bunk beds. The prisoner stated that this was used as a foot rest while sitting on the lower bunk. The cellmate stated that Mr Syed had used the hammock like footrest as a ligature. The prisoner said that after making the grim discovery, "I was shocked. The anonymised OIP report recorded that, following his transfer to the Midlands Prison on 22 December 2020, Mr. Syed was subject to an ongoing review by the in-reach psychiatric team. In February 2021, a psychiatric nurse recorded that there was no evidence of symptoms or major affective or psychotic illness. On March 31st 2021, Mr Syed was seen by a consultant psychiatrist who recorded that there was no overt evidence of symptoms of major affective or psychotic illness. No recommendations were recorded at the conclusion of the IPS critical incident meeting on June 10th. In one of three recommendations, the OIP has recommended that when conducting routine checks of cells, prison officers should be especially attentive to the presence of non-standard items, such as hammock type footrests, that could be deployed as ligatures. The OIP states that "if detected, such items should be immediately confiscated and a clear written record kept of their confiscation, indicating the cell location and the name of the prisoner concerned. The report records that Mr Syeds next of kin, his father, told his sons lawyer that he didnt believe Mr Syed would have harmed himself. By Grainne Ni Aodha, PA Mourners have gathered to remember the activism of journalist Nell McCafferty, who was described as a unique and bold figure. People held LGBT+ rainbow flags on the way into St Columbas Church, Long Tower, and applauded after one of her articles about Bloody Sunday was read out during the ceremony. First Minister Michelle ONeill and representatives of the President of Ireland Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Simon Harris were among those in attendance. Tributes have poured in from activists, politicians and artists about her work as a journalist, as a prominent voice on womens rights issues across the island of Ireland and for co-founding the Irish Womens Liberation Movement in 1970. The writer, 80, died on Wednesday at a nursing home in Fahan, Co Donegal, following a long illness. Nell McCafferty at the funeral of Brendan Duddy (Niall Carson/PA) Addressing the congregation, former journalist Eamonn McCann read out extracts from an article McCafferty wrote for her local paper about Bloody Sunday, which bore the headline There will be another day. The article gave a powerful immediate reaction to the news that 13 people had been shot dead after soldiers opened fire on a civil rights march on January 30 1972. Mr McCann said: Bloody Sunday is very important to Derry of course, its defined us all. Whatever you thought of your politics and so on, its defined everybody from Derry. He said that hours after the chaos unfolded, no-one knew exactly how many people had been killed or wounded. The coffin carrying Nell McCafferty is carried into St Columbas Church (Liam McBurney/PA) The then-MP for Mid-Ulster Bernadette McAliskey, who was in attendance at the funeral, was given the names of the 13 men who were killed after phoning the hospital. I remember Nell holding Bernadettes elbow as she was taking the names of the Bloody Sunday dead, and she just kept on writing, Mr McCann said. That was a terrible omen, and I remember the shiver which went through the hallway and through the McCafferty house and eventually through the whole of Derry and large parts of the world. He said Bloody Sunday had an effect on McCafferty, on how she viewed politics, on how she thought of her citys people and its marches. In the article that she wrote for the paper, she called the infamous event both a fine day and a foul day, he said. She described the thousands of people singing and marching through the streets as part of the fine day it had been, but that death is no stranger to us now. Let it not be said of us that they died in vain. Stay free brothers and sisters, there will be another day, she wrote. And so there will be another day, but there will never be another Nell McCafferty, Mr McCann said, which was met with a lengthy applause from mourners. As her coffin was carried out of the church at the end of the mass, mourners applauded her once more. Mary Robinson, the first female President of Ireland, the former UN High Commissioner, and the current Chair of the Elders, is an iconic figure in Ireland and on the international stage. Throughout her illustrious career, she has accomplished numerous feats and remains dedicated to championing justice, womens rights, and the fight against climate change. The documentarian Aoife Kelleher examines her life and work in her superb new documentary, Mrs Robinson. Kelleher says her warts-and-all approach caught Robinsons attention. I spoke with Cormac Hargaden of Loosehorse Productions, and he said he would pitch an idea for the documentary to Mary. We came up with a pitch but were up against several companies. We wanted to make a warts-and-all documentary. We wanted to take an unvarnished look at every aspect of her life, and that appealed to her. Kelleher says that the pitch, which delved into all facets of Robinsons life, embracing her triumphs and tribulations, complements her open demeanour. In 2020, Kelleher held in-depth interviews with Robinson. It was the pandemic, so it was enjoyable to feel normal and be out in the world. It was a chance to take stock. The interviews were intense. We covered every aspect of Marys life and her career. We went through her childhood and her formative years with her grandfather, who had a significant effect on Marys life. After that, we moved on to her time at Harvard and her early work as a lawyer, and then discussed the presidency, her work with the UN, and her climate activism. The documentarian says it felt like a back-to-school moment as she began extensive research on Robinson and politics before commencing the interviews. I bought every biography of Mary Robinson, including her autobiography. I had to digest all the material and remember the key moments and nuances of the geopolitical movements she was involved in. I went into the interviews with facts and figures and as much political understanding as possible because Marys memory is extraordinary. She is very clued in, engaged, and informed, so those are interviews where you want to be at your best. Production came to a halt at the height of the pandemic, and it took two years for Kelleher and her team to resume work. The documentary contains a treasure trove of footage from Robinsons early life with her family, her tenure as president, and her international endeavours. You can never have enough archive material. We have this beautiful family archive. As much as we know Mary Robinson, we dont often see her private life. It is brilliant to see her having fun with Nick [her husband], playing with her children, and seeing her life before she became a public figure. Kelleher says the political archive will fascinate anyone interested in history and politics. Mary has had a big life on so many levels. Shes been so influential in Irish law and politics and on the global stage, whether with the UN or her fight for climate justice. There was a lot to go through, but fortunately for myself and the team, it was really interesting. Robinsons husband Nick and her son Aubrey contributed to the documentary, which Kelleher describes as an unexpected delight. I was delighted that we managed to convince Nick to do an interview; for much of her political career, he was the silent, supportive spouse walking several steps behind. It was great to get his perspective on his role in her career, their lives together and the impact on family life. Aubrey was a reluctant contributor, but hearing his memories of the presidential campaign and his reflections on Hello magazine shooting photos for a story on Mary was great. There is a clip in which Robinson gets visibly upset on camera as she speaks about climate inaction. Its unusual to see a seasoned politician show emotion, and Kelleher says its admirable to see someone in power express their feelings openly. Its interesting how emotion can often be stigmatised in a political context. I remember one time during the interview when Mary became emotional, describing her time with the nationalist community in West Belfast. Its admirable when politicians connect with the moments emotion and significance. Why do we want our representatives to be soulless automatons? Surely, we want people to connect with the reality and significance of their decisions. Kelleher recalls Robinsons presidential win and says the impact stayed with her from a young age. I was eight, and I remember that moment and that feeling that the perception of politics and our society was changing irrevocably. It was a watershed moment when everything suddenly seemed possible, whether it was for women, the LGBTQ community, or communities throughout Ireland that had been excluded from political and public life for so long in a society that seemed so homogenous up to that point. The film-maker hopes audiences see the documentary as an opportunity to take stock. When we are seeing a surge of the right globally, it is time to reflect on how much progress has been made in our society, how precious it is, and how we dont want to lose that progress. Theres much to take in from the film about feminism, womens rights, reproductive rights, and inclusivity in Irish society and politics. It is time to take stock of what we as a nation have achieved over the past decades and how important and precious that is. Mrs Robinson is in cinemas from August 23, Cert: 12a. Read a review in Downtown tomorrow. 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. A new study led by Dartmouth College researchers has found that a worst-case projection for sea level rise from the melting of polar ice sheets is highly unlikely, though the accelerating ice loss in Antarctica and Greenland is still alarming. The study challenges a prediction in a United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report that evaluates climate research and projects long- and near-term climate crisis impacts. The sixth assessment report from the IPCC proposed the possibility of the collapse of Antarctic ice sheets contributing twice as much to average sea level rise worldwide by 2100 than was projected by other models, with three times the amount by 2300, Dartmouth said in a press release. High-end projections are important for coastal planning, and we want them to be accurate in terms of physics. In this case, we know this extreme projection is unlikely this century, said lead author of the study Mathieu Morlinghem, an Earth Sciences professor at Dartmouth, in the press release. While IPPC called the prediction low likelihood, the model projected the possibility of oceans rising up to 50 feet. This would mean the submersion of the Florida Peninsula, other than a piece of high ground in the interior of the state. The prediction was based on a new theory of the manner in which ice sheets retreat and break apart. However, the research team said the mechanism marine ice cliff instability (MICI) has yet to be observed and has only been put to the test with one low-resolution model. [N]o one has observed marine ice cliff instability in action. We dont know if it will happen, because a lot depends on how quickly the ice collapses, Morlinghem said in The Conversation. When the theory of marine ice cliff instability was first introduced, it used a rough approximation of how ice cliffs might collapse once the ice shelf was gone. Studies since then have determined that ice cliffs wont fail systematically until the ice is about 442 feet (135 meters) high. Even at that point, they would fail more slowly than projected until they became much taller. The team used three high-resolution models to test the MICI with an ice collapse rate that more accurately captured the complicated dynamics of ice sheets, the press release said. They simulated Antarcticas Thwaites Glacier called the Doomsday Glacier for its accelerating rate of melt and corresponding potential to raise sea levels retreating, and found that even Thwaites was not likely to experience rapid collapse this century. Morlinghem said the studys findings suggested that the physics in the IPCC report were inaccurate. These projections are actually changing peoples lives. Policymakers and planners rely on these models, and theyre frequently looking at the high-end risk. They dont want to design solutions and then the threat turns out to be even worse than they thought, Morlighem said in the press release. Were not reporting that the Antarctic is safe and that sea-level rise isnt going to continue all of our projections show a rapid retreat of the ice sheet. But high-end projections are important for coastal planning, and we want them to be accurate in terms of physics. In this case, we know this extreme projection is unlikely over the course of the 21st century. The researchers found that glacial collapse is not simple and does not happen that quickly. Everyone agrees that cliff failure is real a cliff will collapse if its too tall. The question is how fast that will happen, Morlighem explained. But we found that the rate of retreat is nowhere near as high as what was assumed in these initial simulations. When we use a rate that is better constrained by physics, we see that ice cliff instability never kicks in. The computer model used by the researchers was based on how ice moves and melts. They used it to simulate the retreat of Thwaites for a century after its ice shelf suddenly collapsed, as well as for a half-century using the current actual rate of retreat. None of the simulations predicted the inland retreat of Thwaites ice cliffs at the speed suggested by MICI. Instead, when the ice sheet was not being held back by the ice shelf, the glaciers movement toward the ocean accelerated rapidly, causing its ice sheet to expand. The accelerated movement thinned ice at the edge of the glacier, reducing cliff height and susceptibility to collapse. Were not calling into question the standard, well-established projections that the IPCCs report is primarily based on, said Helene Seroussi, an associate professor in Dartmouths Thayer School of Engineering, in the press release. Were only calling into question this high-impact, low-likelihood projection that includes this new MICI process that is poorly understood. Other known instabilities in the polar ice sheets are still going to play a role in their loss in the coming decades and centuries. 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 National Weather Service's HeatRisk map shows heat-related impacts to occur over a 24-hour period, as of 8:47 a.m. ET on Aug. 23, 2024. National Weather Service A heat dome over Texas and the southwestern United States is baking more than 23 million people with some of the summers hottest temperatures, leading to heat advisories and warnings, Heat.gov said. Extreme temperatures were predicted to continue through the end of the week with record or near-record temperatures in some parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Texas, the National Weather Service said, as USA Today reported. Hazardous heat continues across Texas and the Gulf Coast with temperatures in the triple digits, the weather service said. Heat domes stop cool air from penetrating heat trapped over a region by high pressure, leading to high temperatures for extended periods. Thunderstorms and heavy rain were also projected for parts of northern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah, according to the National Weather Service. The associated heavy rain will create mainly localized areas of flash flooding, with urban areas, roads, small streams, low-lying areas, narrow canyons/gullies, and burn scars the most vulnerable, the weather service said. Dry heat and vegetation in Texas was also creating wildfire conditions, reported The Guardian. Texans are strongly urged to take all necessary precautions and heed the guidance of state and local officials to keep their families and their loved ones safe from wildfires. I thank the Texas division of emergency management and local emergency management personnel for their work as they prepare for potential wildfires across the state, said Governor Greg Abbott, as The Guardian reported. The excessive heat was putting the unreliable Texas electrical grid to the test, with millions of customers turning up the air conditioning to battle the sweltering conditions. More than 800,000 residents of Houston were without power during a hot period earlier this summer after power lines were downed by Hurricane Beryl. Neighborhoods without power after Hurricane Beryl, in Houston, Texas on July 12, 2024. Brandon Bell / Getty Images Phoenix was one degree shy of breaking a record when the mercury reached 112 degrees Fahrenheit this week. It is recommended that those suffering under the heat dome stay hydrated, avoid strenuous outdoor activities and wear light-colored clothing and sunscreen. Outdoor workers are recommended not to work during the hottest part of the day, but to restrict their work to the early or very late hours. Extreme precautions are advised for vulnerable populations like children and those who are elderly or disabled. Heatwaves and prolonged excess heat conditions are increasing in frequency, duration, intensity and magnitude due to climate change, the World Health Organization said. Even low and moderate intensity heat waves can impact the health and well-being of vulnerable populations. Some states, like Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, have set up cooling centers. Roughly 1,220 people in the country are killed by extreme heat each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. So far though, its business model of becoming a marketplace where AI companies can pay publishers directly for their data is a complete hypothetical TollBit The 28-year-old founders of TollBit, a New York-based startup that is all of six months old, think were living in the Napster days of AI. Just like people of a certain generation downloaded digital music, companies are ripping off vast swaths of the internet without paying the rights holders. They want TollBit to be the iTunes of the AI world. Its kind of the Wild West right now, Olivia Joslin, the companys co-founder and chief operating officer, told Engadget in an interview. We want to make it easier for AI companies to pay for the data they need. Their idea is simple: create a marketplace that connects AI companies that need access to fresh, high-quality data to the publishers who actually spend money creating it. AI companies have, indeed, only recently started paying for (some of) the data they need from news publishers. OpenAI kicked off an arms race at the end of 2022, but it was only a year ago that the company signed the first of its many licensing deals with the Associated Press. Later that year, OpenAI announced a partnership with German publisher Axel Springer, which operates Business Insider and Politico in the US. Multiple publishers including Vox, the Financial Times, News Corp and TIME, have since signed deals with OpenAI and Google. But that still leaves countless other publishers and creators out in the cold without the option to strike this Faustian Bargain even if they want to. This is the long tail of publishers that TollBit wants to target. Powerful AI models already exist and they have already been trained, Toshit Panigrahi, TollBits co-founder and CEO told Engadget. And right now, there are thousands of applications just taking these existing models off the shelves. What they need is fresh content. But right now, theres no infrastructure neither for them to buy it, nor for content-makers to sell it in a way that is seamless. Both Joslin and Panigrahi werent particularly knowledgeable about the media industry. But they both knew how online marketplaces and platforms operated they were colleagues at Toast, a platform that lets restaurants manage billing and reservations. Panigrahi watched both the deals and the lawsuits pile up in the AI sector, then called on Joslin. Their early conversations were about RAG, which stands for Retrieval-Augmented Generation in the AI world. With RAG, AI models first look up information from specific databases (like the scrapable portions of the internet) and use that information to synthesize a response instead of simply relying on training data. Services like ChatGPT dont know current home prices, or the latest news. Instead, they fetch that data, typically by looking at websites. That absence of fresh data is why AI chatbots are often stumped by queries about breaking news events if they dont scrape the latest data, they simply cant keep up. We thought that using content for RAG was something fundamentally different than using it for training, said Panigrahi. TollBit By some estimations, RAG is the future of search engines. More and more, people are asking questions on the internet and expecting complete answers in return instead of a list of blue links. In just over a year, startups like Perplexity, backed by Jess Bezos and NVIDIA among others, have burst onto the scene with ambitions of taking on Google. Even OpenAI has plans to someday let ChatGPT become your search engine. In response, Google has sprung into action it now culls relevant information from search results and presents it as a coherent answer at the top of the results page, a feature it calls AI Overviews. (It doesnt always work well, but is seemingly here to stay). The rise of RAG-based search engines has publishers shaking in their boots. After all, who would make money if AI reads the internet for us? After Google rolled out AI Overviews earlier this year, at least one report estimated that publishers would lose more than $2 billion in ad revenue because fewer people would have a reason to visit their websites. AI companies need continuous access to high quality content and data too, said Joslin, but if you dont figure out some economic model here, there will be no incentive for anyone to create content, and thatll be the end of AI applications too. Instead of cutting one-off checks, TollBits model aims to compensate publishers on an ongoing basis. Hypothetically, if someones content was used in a thousand AI-generated answers, they would get paid a thousand times at a price that they set and which they can change on the fly. Each time an AI company accesses fresh data from a publisher through TollBit, it can pay a small fee set by the publisher that Panigrahi and Joslin think should be roughly equivalent to whatever a traditional page view would have made the publisher. And the platform can also block AI companies who havent signed up from accessing publishers data. So far, the founders claim to have onboarded a hundred publishers and are in pilots with three AI companies since TollBit launched in February. They refused to reveal which publishers or AI companies had signed on so far, citing confidentiality clauses, but did not deny speaking with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta. So far, they say that no money has changed hands between AI companies and publishers on their platform. TollBit Until that happens, their model is still a giant hypothetical although one that investors have so far poured $7 million into. TollBits investors include Sunflower Capital, Lerer Hippeau, Operator Collective, AIX and Liquid 2 Ventures, and more investors are currently pounding down their door, Joslin claimed. In April, TollBit also brought on Campbell Brown as a senior adviser, a former television anchor who previously acted as Metas head of news partnerships for the better part of a decade. In spite of some high-profile lawsuits, AI companies are still scraping the internet for free and largely getting away with it. Why would they have any incentive to actually pay publishers for this data? There are three big reasons, the founders say: more websites are taking steps to prevent their content from being scraped ever since generative AI went mainstream, which means that scraping the web is getting harder and more expensive; no one wants to deal with ongoing copyright lawsuits; and, crucially, being able to easily pay for content on an as-needed basis lets AI companies tap into smaller and more niche publications because it isnt possible to strike individual licensing deals with every single website. Joslin also pointed out that multiple TollBit investors have also invested in AI companies which they worry might face litigation for using content without permission. Getting AI companies to pay for content could provide a recurring revenue stream for not just large publishers but to potentially anyone who publishes anything online. Last month, Perplexity which was accused of illegally scraping content from Forbes, Wired and Conde Nast launched a Publishers Program under which it plans to share a cut of any revenue it earns with publishers if it uses their content to generate answers with AI. The success of the program, however, hinges on how much money Perplexity makes when it introduces ads in the app later this year. Like Tollbit, it's another complete hypothetical. Our thesis with TollBit is that if you lose a page view today, you should be compensated for it immediately rather than a few years after when a tech company figures out its ads program, said Panigrahi about Perplexitys initiative. Despite all the existing licensing deals and technical advances, AI-powered chatbots still make for terrible news sources. They still make up facts and confidently conjure up entire links to stories that dont actually exist. But technology companies are now stuffing AI chatbots in every crevice they can, which means that many people will still get their news from one of these products in the not-so-distant future. A more cynical take on TollBits premise is that the startup is effectively offering hush money to publishers whose work is more likely than not to be sausaged into misinformation. Its founders, naturally, dont agree with the characterization. We are careful about the AI partners we onboard, Panigrahi said. These companies are very mindful about the quality of input material and correctness of responses. Were seeing that paying for content even nominal amounts creates incentive to respect the raw inputs into their systems instead of treating it as a free, replaceable commodity. Americans should not have to pay more in rent because [RealPage] has found a new way to scheme with landlords to break the law, AG Garland wrote. The Department of Justice and eight states attorney generals filed an antitrust lawsuit against rental software company RealPage on Friday, accusing it of using algorithms to drive up rent prices nationwide. The suit alleges RealPages software, YieldStar, gathers sensitive information from landlords and rental companies, which it feeds into algorithms that recommend prices and practices that limit competition and force renters to pay more. Americans should not have to pay more in rent because a company has found a new way to scheme with landlords to break the law, Attorney General Merrick Garland wrote in a DOJ press release. RealPages software reportedly manages more than 24 million rental units globally. The DOJs complaint accuses the Texas-based company of contracting with competing landlords who agree to share nonpublic, competitively sensitive information about rental rates and other lease terms. RealPage then trains YieldStars algorithms, which generate pricing and other competitive recommendations based on their and their rivals competitively sensitive information, according to the DOJ. The DOJ was joined in its suit by the attorney generals of North Carolina, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington. It filed the lawsuit in the US District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, accusing the company of violating Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act. The 1890 law is considered the bedrock of US antitrust actions. In addition, the lawsuit accuses RealPage of monopolizing the rental market in a feedback loop that strengthens RealPages grip on the market, making it harder for honest businesses to compete on the merits. The DOJs complaint cites internal documents and sworn testimony from the company, along with landlords who have used the software to allegedly price-gouge renters. The agency says RealPage admitted its software was designed to maximize rent prices, saying its product excels at driving every possible opportunity to increase price, avoid[ing] the race to the bottom in down markets and a rising tide raises all ships. In addition, the DOJ quotes a RealPage executive as observing that its software helps landlords avoid competing. The executive allegedly opined that there is greater good in everybody succeeding versus essentially trying to compete against one another in a way that actually keeps the entire industry down. (Perhaps the executive doesnt consider renters part of the greater good.) The DOJ also quotes a RealPage executive as explaining to a landlord that its competitor data can help spot situations where they may have a $50 increase instead of a $10 increase for the day. The suit even cites a landlords comment that YieldStar helps the supply side control the market. I always liked this product because your algorithm uses proprietary data from other subscribers to suggest rents and term. Thats classic price fixing. Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products . The laptop buzzword of 2024 is "AI PC" notebooks that have neural processing units (NPUs) for AI-related tasks. But while it's smart to be aware of those systems, there are far more important things to consider beyond AI-savviness. It turns out buying a computer in 2024 isn't really that much different than in recent years: You'll still want to find something that balances power, weight and screen size with your computing needs. Out of the 11 notebooks we've tested and reviewed in the first half of 2024, we consider Apple's 13-inch MacBook Air M3 to be the best laptop for most people. It's powerful enough to handle most tasks (even light video editing); it has a great screen and built-in speakers; and its battery could last around 20 hours (depending on what you're doing, of course). The MacBook Air M3 is also one of the lightest and thinnest systems we've reviewed, and it's dead silent, thanks to a fanless design. While Apple has debuted its new M4 chip in the recent iPad Pro, we may not see it in the MacBook Air until next year. For now, the MacBook Air M3 is still an excellent laptop to buy. As for Windows laptops and Chromebooks, the recommendations are a bit more nuanced and varied. While the aforementioned AI features may dominate the news, the more traditional choices between Intel and AMD CPUs, and whether or not you want a dedicated graphics chip (or GPU) still stand. And unlike Macs, your options include systems with touchscreens, 2-in-1 convertible tablets and more. To that end, we have plenty of recently tested and recommended models from brands including HP, Dell and ASUS in this guide. Table of contents Best laptops of 2024 Photo by Devindra Hardarwar / Engadget Best laptop for 2024 Apple 13-inch MacBook Air M3 Display: Liquid Retina | Screen size: 13.6 inches | Screen refresh rate: 60Hz | CPU: 8-core M3 | GPU: Up to 10-core | RAM: Up to 24GB | Storage: Up to 2TB | Weight: 2.7 lb | Battery life: Up to 18 hours | Dimensions: 0.44 x 11.97 x 8.46 inches Read our 13-inch MacBook Air M3 review The latest MacBook Air ticks a lot of boxes: not only is it our top pick for the best laptop available now, but we also consider it the best laptop for college students and the best MacBook for most people. Apple didn't change much with the latest iteration, but that's to be expected considering the last entry was the most significant redesign in almost a decade. The new 13-inch MacBook Air gets a faster M3 chip, as well as the ability to run dual external monitors (but only when the lid is closed) and support for Wi-Fi 6E. Theres also a finger-print free finish for the black midnight model that actually works! It's hard to improve on a laptop we previously considered near-perfect, but a new chip certainly helps. The M3 processor is around 20 percent faster than the M2 for both single-core and multi-core tasks, and it offers a significant GPU bump, along with support for real-time ray tracing. Battery life remains best in class, with enough juice to get you through multiple work days without reaching for a charger. It also has one of the best keyboards weve ever seen in a laptop its wonderfully tactile and responsive and the trackpad is spacious and smooth to the touch. Even the speakers are light years beyond what youd find on most other systems. The only major knock against the MacBook Air is that it only has a MagSafe charging port and two USB-C connectors on its left side. That makes charging a bit more awkward if your plug can only reach the right side of the machine. But hey, at least theres still a 3.5mm headphone jack, something thats become increasingly hard to find in ultra-thin notebooks these days. If you need more screen space, the 15-inch MacBook Air will serve you well. It's a half-pound heavier, but its larger display makes it more useful for media editing. It also has a six speaker array for even more explosive sound. Pros Sturdy and sleek design Fast performance thanks to M3 chip Excellent 13-inch screen Great keyboard and trackpad Solid quad-speaker array Cons Charging and USB-C ports are only on one side $894 at Amazon Explore More Buying Options $1,099 at Abt Electronics$1,099 at Apple Photo by Devindra Haradwar / Engadget Best Windows laptop Dell XPS 13 Display: InfinityEdge FHD+ | Screen size: 13.4 inches | Screen refresh rate: 120Hz | CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 | GPU: Intel Arc | RAM: Up to 64GB | Storage: Up to 2TB | Weight: 2.6 lb (1.23 kg) | Battery life: Up to 18 hours | Dimensions: 0.5 x 7.84 x 11.62 inches Read our Dell XPS 13 review The XPS 13 (previously called the XPS 13 Plus) offers a solid balance of speed and attractive-yet-minimalist design. This year, its powered by a new Core Ultra 7 processor, which makes it an AI PC. Thanks to a built-in NPU (neural processing unit), it can handle a few AI tasks, like Windows Studio Effects for video chats, without taxing your CPU or battery life. But it also has everything we previously liked about the XPS 13 Plus: An edge-to-edge keyboard with lusciously large keys, along with a huge invisible trackpad nestled within its glass wrist rest. And of course, it features a nearly border-less Infinity Edge screen, which has been a mainstay of the XPS line for almost a decade. When it first debuted, the XPS 13 Plus was a more powerful alternative to Dells thinner and weaker XPS 13. While well miss the previous XPS (which you can still find refurbished), it makes sense for Dell to lean into its stunning new aesthetic. The 2024 XPS 13 Plus looks more refined than the vast majority of Windows ultraportables, and like the Infinity Edge display, it raises the bar for what other PC makers should emulate. If you need a bit more screen space and power, theres also a new XPS 14 model this year, which can be equipped with NVIDIAs RTX 40-series graphics. That machine is more than a pound heavier than the svelte 2.6-pound XPS 13, but the tradeoff may be worth it for demanding users. For most people though, the XPS 13 should be all the Windows notebook you need. Just give yourself a bit of time to get used to its unique trackpad. Pros Attractive and modern design Solid performance for an ultraportable Excellent keyboard Gorgeous display Cons Invisible trackpad leads to usability issues Function keys disappear in sunlight Trackpad feels sluggish at 60Hz Could use more ports Expensive $1,249 at Dell Photo by Sam Rutherford/Engadget Best gaming laptop ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 Display: 2,880 x 1,800 | Screen size: 14 inches | Screen refresh rate: 120Hz | CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS | GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 | RAM: Up to 32GB | Storage: Up to 1TB | Weight: 3.31 pounds | Battery life: Up to 10 hours | Dimensions: 12.24 x 8.66 x 0.63 inches Read our ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 review The beauty of the ASUS ROG Zephryus G14 is that it features an all-new unibody aluminum chassis, a vibrant 120Hz OLED display, solid performance and tons of portsall for hundreds less than an equivalent Razer Blade 14. It even has a built-in microSD card reader and presets for several color gamuts, so it can easily pull double duty as a photo/video editing machine. Its audio is also way above average thanks to punchy up-firing stereo speakers. Battery life is solid too, with the Zephyrus lasting just shy of eight hours on our rundown test. And to top it off, the G14 weighs almost half a pound less than rival laptops with similar designs. The main downsides are that its GPU caps out at an RTX 4070 (instead of a 4080 like on the previous model) and that its RAM is soldered in. But if you want a really great all-rounder that offers big power in a portable package, this system has to be at the top of your list. If you're set on having a larger screen, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G16 is available now as well. And if you've got a tight budget, there are still options for you. Our top pick for the best budget gaming laptop is currently the Dell G15. Sam Rutherford, Senior Writer, Reviews Pros Beautiful understated design Gorgeous OLED screen Strong performance Good port selection Punchy speakers Cons Bottom vents can get a bit toasty Keyboard only has single-zone lighting Armoury Crate app is kind of messy RAM is soldered in $2,000 at Best Buy Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget Best Chromebook Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 Display: FHD | Screen size: 14 inches | Screen refresh rate: 60Hz | CPU: 13th-generation Intel Core i3 | RAM: Up to 8GB | Storage: 128GB | Weight: 3.52 lb (1.6 kg) | Battery life: Up to 10 hours | Dimensions: 12.2 x 8.43 x 0.83 inches Our favorite Chromebook is Lenovos Flex 5 Chromebook, which Engadgets resident Chrome OS aficionado Nathan Ingraham described as a tremendous value. This laptop nails the basics, with a 14-inch Full HD touchscreen, a great backlit keyboard and a 13th-gen Core i3 processor. The latest model has an upgraded 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, which when paired with the Core i3 CPU, make for a speedy, capable machine. Its also nice to see one USB-A and two USB-C ports, six hours of battery life and a 360-degree hinge that makes it easy to use the Flex 5 as a tablet. This could be the ideal laptop for Chrome OS fans, and itll hit the sweet spot for a lot of other buyers out there, providing a level of quality and performance thats pretty rare to find at this price point. Pros Great overall performance for the price Nice display Solid keyboard and trackpad Cons Mediocre battery life A bit heavy and chunky $479 at Amazon Photo by Daniel Cooper / Engadget Best budget laptop HP Pavilion Aero Display: Micro-edge | Screen size: 13.3 inches | Screen refresh rate: 60Hz | CPU: AMD Ryzen 5000 series | GPU: AMD Radeon | RAM: 16 GB | Storage: 256GB | Weight: 2.2 lb (<1 kg) | Battery life: Up to 10.5 hours | Dimensions: 11.72 x 8.23 x 0.67 inches Read our HP Pavilion Aero review If youre looking for a budget laptop priced around $800, your best bet is the HP Pavilion Aero 13. For around $799 (or often less when on sale), youll get a Full HD screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio and surprisingly thin bezels, as well as a comfortable keyboard and spacious touchpad. Importantly, the Aero 13 provides solid performance and relatively powerful components compared to others in this price range, with an AMD Ryzen 5000 series processor and Radeon graphics. Plus, this pick for best budget laptop has a generous array of ports and all-day battery life. Pros Good performance Lightweight design Generous port selection Cons Boring design Backlit keyboard only available on custom orders $800 at HP Explore More Buying Options $835 at Best Buy Photo by Devindra Hardawar / Engadget Best high-end laptop Apple MacBook Pro M3 Display: Liquid Retina XDR | Screen size: 14 or 16 inches | Screen refresh rate: 120Hz| CPU: Apple M3 | RAM: Up to 128GB | Storage: Up to 8TB | Weight: Starts at 3.4 pounds | Battery life: Up to 22 hours | Dimensions: 12.31 x 8.71 x 0.61 inches (14 inch), 14.01 x 9.77 x 0.66 inches (16 inch) Read our 14-inch and 16-inch Apple MacBook Pro M3 review I called the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pro Apples Mighty Macs when they debuted in 2021, and they remain our favorite premium notebooks. Thanks to the companys M3 chips, the MacBook Pros are incredibly powerful, surprisingly efficient and pretty much everything Id expect of workhorse machines. They both offer gorgeous and bright Mini-LED screens, incredible speakers and a ton of connectivity, including HDMI ports and SD card readers. But best of all, though, is that I could actually play games and render video on both MacBook Pros for more than five hours while running on battery. Thats practically impossible on a Windows system. Choosing between the 14- and 16-inch options depends on what youre aiming to do: If youre mainly typing, programming and processing data, the smaller model makes more sense since it offers enough power and weighs just 3.5 pounds. But if youre working on large media timelines or just prefer a more immersive screen, then the 16-inch model will be better. Sure, it weighs 4.7-pounds, but its also fast enough to blow away most Windows desktops. Pros M3 chip is both fast and efficient Gorgeous screen Useful port selection Excellent keyboard and trackpad Lower $1,599 price Cons Base model has limited RAM M3 models lose a USB-C port $1,299 at Amazon Explore More Buying Options $2,170 at HSN$1,299 at Abt Electronics Photo by Devindra Hardawar / Engadget Best 2-in-1 laptop HP Spectre x360 14 Display: OLED touchscreen | Screen size: 14 inches | Screen refresh rate: 120Hz | CPU: Intel Core Ultra 5 125H | RAM: Up to 32GB | Storage: Up to 2TB | Weight: 3.19 pounds | Battery life: Up to 13 hours | Dimensions: 12.35 x 8.68 x 0.67 inches Read our HP Spectre x360 14 review If you want a laptop that can occasionally turn into a tablet, HPs new Spectre x360 14 is our top choice for the best 2-in-1 laptop. Its a beautiful notebook that can rotate its screen into a variety of orientations: a tent mode for propping it up in bed or on a table and a tablet mode with the keyboard tucked away neatly behind the lid. While it wouldnt completely replace something like an iPad, the x360s rotating hinge makes it more versatile than a conventional notebook. Its perfect for diving into a lengthy article or PDF or using the bundled stylus to jot down some notes. The Spectre x360 14 is also a solid laptop in its own right, with an excellent keyboard, an extra-large touchpad and some of the best PC industrial design on the market. Pros Versatile convertible screen OLED display is incredibly vibrant Solid CPU upgrade Starts with 16GB RAM Excellent keyboard Plenty of ports Cons HPs design hasnt changed in years Haptic touchpad is a bit finicky Average battery life $1,449 at HP Engadget Best Copilot+ laptop Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition Display: PixelSense Flow | Screen size: 13.8- or 15-inch | Screen refresh rate: 120Hz | CPU: Snapdragon X Plus or Elite | RAM: Up to 32GB | Storage: Up to 1TB | Weight: 2.96 pounds | Battery life: Up to 17.5 hours | Dimensions: 11.85 x 8.67 x 0.69 inches (13-inch) Read our full Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition review After more than a decade of tests and trials for Arm-based Windows PCs, Microsofts Surface Laptop 7 feels like a breakthrough. Its fast, its quiet and thanks to Qualcomms Snapdragon X Elite chip, it delivers well above average performance and battery life. Meanwhile, on the inside, Microsofts Prism emulator has almost completely smashed the barrier between Arm and x86, so aside from gaming, almost all of your favorite apps just work. Tack on a bright 120Hz display and excellent build quality and you get something really close to an ideal ultraportable PC. Sam Rutherford, Senior Reporter Pros Slick design Excellent battery life Good performance Bright display Powerful Prism emulator Responsive haptic touchpad Cons Some apps and games still dont play nicely with Arm-based chips No OLED display option $1,300 at Microsoft Lenovo 87 100 Honorable mention Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 Display: 1,920 x 1,200 WUXGA | Screen size: 14-inch | Screen refresh rate: 60Hz | CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 | RAM: Up to 32GB | Storage: Up to 1TB | Weight: 2.4 pounds | Battery life: 13 hours (tested) | Dimensions: 0.59 x 12.31 x 8.45 inches Read our full Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 review The latest ThinkPad X1 Carbon deserves a shout on this list because its been one of the best options for business users for a long time and continues to be. The Get 12 model runs on the newest Intel Core Ultra CPUs and includes an integrated NPU, a 14-inch matte touchscreen, a larger trackpad and a spill-proof keyboard. It performed well in our real-world testing, handling everything from dozens of Chrome tabs to light video editing without breaking a sweat. It didnt score as well on some of our benchmark tests as other top picks like the HP Spectre x360, but that wont be a dealbreaker for most people. Workers who spend hours typing away at emails and spreadsheets will appreciate the spacious 4.7-inch glass trackpad and Lenovos signature, comfortable keyboard thats also nicely backlit. On top of that, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 lasted up to 13 hours in our battery tests, which should be more than enough to carry you through even your longest days. Valentina Palladino, Deputy Editor, Buying Advice Pros Lightweight, durable design Excellent battery life Comfortable keyboard and trackpad Cons Performance is a mixed bag Power button placed on the side of the laptop $2,296 at Amazon Back to top How we test laptops Engadget has been reviewing laptops for two decades, and while the definition of what a portable PC is has changed considerably since, our obsession with testing their limits and serving up informative buying advice remains the same. Be it a hybrid tablet like Microsoft's Surface machines, a rotating 2-in-1 convertible like HP's Spectre x360s or a plain old clamshell notebook, our review process follows similar beats. How does it look and feel? How fast is it? Whether its a Windows device, a MacBook or a Chromebook, we aim to answer the most important question: Is it actually worth your hard-earned cash? Back to top Factors to consider when choosing a laptop Price You can expect to spend between $1,000 and $1,800 for a new laptop these days, depending on the configuration. If you're looking for more of a workhorse, that could cost you well over $2,000 for additional RAM, storage, as well as a beefier GPU and CPU. But you can also find some good deals under $1,000 if you're willing to overlook build quality (or buy a refurbished or previous generation machine, which we highly recommend). Systems with AMD chips tend to come in cheaper than their Intel counterparts, but the bulk of their cost will come down to other components like RAM and storage. Ive included our favorite affordable model in this best laptop buying guide, but we have a list of the best budget laptops that you can check out as well. Operating system: Apple, Windows or Chrome OS There's a good chance you've already committed to an operating system, but my advice is to be as flexible as possible. These days, most major software is compatible with both Macs and PCs. (Of course, it's another story if you've become dependent on an Apple-only app like Final Cut Pro.) Web-based apps, naturally, will work on any platform with an internet browser. If you're an Apple-loyalist, there aren't many reasons to consider Windows laptops (unless you want a secondary gaming machine). But for Windows users, macOS is becoming more tempting every year. Apple's MacBooks, powered by its M-series Silicon chips, are among the fastest and most efficient laptops we've ever seen. They're incredibly well-built and have tremendous battery life to boot. MacOS itself is also an easy platform to learn, especially if you're used to iOS and iPadOS. That brings up another point: iPhone users may want to consider Macs because of the seamless integration with Apple's other platforms. You can't respond to iMessage conversations easily or hop into FaceTime chats on Windows PCs, but doing so is simple on Macs. (Microsoft's Phone Link app lets you send iOS users individual texts, but not media or group chats.) Android users, meanwhile, may be better off with Windows, as Phone Link can make calls, synchronize all your texts and also access your phone's photos. As for whether youll want a PC with a dedicated Copilot AI button on the keyboard, that depends on how often you see yourself using Microsofts generative tools. Given were only just seeing the first slate of AI PCs, it would be wiser to wait out the hype and see what improvements might come over time. And what about ChromeOS? Chromebooks are a smart and (typically) inexpensive way to browse the web and hop on a few video chats, but they're not the best choice as your primary computer. There aren't many apps or games that work offline, and they also don't work with powerful software suites like Adobe's (you can use the stripped-down Adobe Express and Photoshop online tools, though). Chromebooks are great secondary machines to use alongside a more powerful Mac or PC, and they're popular in schools because they're cheap and easy for IT workers to manage. And if all you need is web access, or a notebook for a kid, a Chromebook might be enough. If, for some reason, youre looking for a powerful ChromeOS system, there are also Chromebook Plus models to consider. These machines sport faster processors and more RAM than typical Google notebooks, and they can also tap into a few of the companys online AI features, like AI image generation and photo processing. Ports and connectivity These days, most laptops ship with a few USB-C ports, which can handle both charging and speedy data transfers. Apple's MacBooks also include a separate connection for MagSafe power, and you'll find custom power connections on some PCs like Microsoft's Surface. Older USB Type-A connections are less common now, but they still pop up in systems like HP's Spectre x360 14, as well as many models from ASUS. If you're a fan of wired headphones, it's worth keeping a close eye on headphone jack availability. Many ultra-slim laptops, like Dell's XPS 13, dont have the 3.5mm socket entirely. They usually include a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter, but that's a clunky solution, and it also takes up a USB port. Sure, most people use wireless earbuds and cans today, but it's still helpful to have a wired one around for when those devices run out of juice. Most laptops in 2024 offer Wi-Fi 6 or 6E and Bluetooth 5.0 or later, which should mean faster and more stable connections if you have compatible routers and devices. While Wi-Fi 7 routers have started appearing, that spec hasn't made its way into laptops yet. As for cellular coverage, there are notebooks like the Surface Pro 9 and Samsung Galaxy Book models that offer integrated 5G. But from our testing, that feature may not be worth the cost of a separate data plan. Instead, you could tether to your smartphone or invest in a wireless hotspot that can keep multiple devices online. Laptop size and weight So how portable do you want your laptop to be? That's the ultimate question you need to ask when choosing between various screen sizes. 13-inch machines have become a solid starting point for most shoppers it's enough real estate for the majority of tasks like emailing and writing, and it also helps keep machines relatively light (typically between two to three pounds). Thanks to manufacturing advancements, these dainty machines sometimes even come with larger screens (the smaller MacBook Air actually has a 13.6-inch display). If you have trouble seeing fine text, wed recommend going for a display larger than 13 inches. ASUSs Zephyrus G14 is a solid 14-inch option for gamers, and were also seeing more productivity-focused machines aim for that size, like the XPS 14 and MacBook Pro. While 14-inch notebooks are a bit heavier than 13-inch models, coming in between three to four pounds, their screens are noticeably roomier. For artists, or anyone else who needs a large canvas, a 15-inch laptop may make the most sense. They typically weigh between 3.5 and 4.5 pounds, but that extra heft may be worth it to fit wider video editing timelines or Photoshop windows. And, as you'd expect, you'll also pay a bit more for a 15-inch notebook compared to smaller ones (the 15-inch MacBook Air starts at $1,299, while the smaller model goes for $999). PC makers are also replacing 15-inch systems with 16-inch versions, which will give you even more space to work. You can still find laptops with 17-inch or 18-inch screens, but those are typically gaming systems or souped-up workstations. They're not meant for mere computing mortals. Battery life A laptop's battery life depends on several factors: The power draw from the screen and other hardware, the optimizations used to avoid unnecessary power drain, and, of course, the size of the actual battery. One of our favorite systems, the Dell XPS 13, lasted 13 hours and 15 minutes in the PCMark 10 battery benchmark. In real-world testing, I was able to use it for a day and a half without needing a recharge. The MacBook Air 13-inch, meanwhile, lasted 20 hours in our benchmark and kept running for more than two work days of my typical workflow. In general, you should expect a modern laptop to last at least eight hours. If battery life is your absolute priority, I'd strongly suggest looking at Macs over Windows PCs. Apple's M-series chips are essentially mobile hardware, with all of the power efficiency you'd expect from something originally designed for phones. Qualcomms upcoming Snapdragon chips could help Windows PCs compete with Apples astonishing battery life, but weve yet to see those in action. Chromebooks also typically get decent battery life (as long as you dont overstuff them with power-draining tabs). Refresh rate A laptop's refresh rate refers to the amount of times its screen is cycled every second. Modern displays like LCDs and OLEDs support 60Hz refresh rates at a minimum, but we're seeing more devices offering 120Hz, 240Hz and beyond. The higher the number, the faster the screen is refreshed, which ultimately leads to a smoother experience while mousing around or scrolling through web pages. (If you want to get a sense of what a slow refresh rate looks like, just grab an e-reader like the Kindle and try to flip between book pages.) While high refresh rates used to be reserved for gaming laptops, nowadays we're seeing more mainstream machines like the XPS 13 offer 120Hz (or variable rates that move between 60Hz and 120Hz). If there's one knock against the MacBook Air, it's that it's still stuck at 60Hz. CPU If youre buying a new laptop, youll want to make sure its powered by the latest CPUs. For Windows PCs, that includes Intels Core Ultra chips for thin-and-light machines or the 14th-gen HX chips for beefier systems. The Core Ultra series have NPUs for handling AI tasks, while the HX hardware does not theyre based on Intels previous chip architecture, and theyre more focused on delivering raw horsepower. Intel's older 13th-gen and 12th-gen laptop chips also don't have NPUs, so keep that in mind if you're looking at used systems. You'll also see AMD's Ryzen 8000 and 9000 chips in plenty of new systems like the ASUS Zephyrus G14 and Razer Blade 14. Those CPUs mainly target gaming laptops and high performance systems, while you'll still find AMDs older Ryzen 7000 chips in ultraportables. AMD's main advantage is that its chips also include Radeon graphics, which are far more capable than Intel's Arc hardware (though those are getting better). Qualcomms new Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus are also an option in Copilot+ PCs (more on those below). Since theyre based on mobile chip designs, theyre likely also more power efficient than AMD and Intels hardware. In the past, weve avoided recommending Snapdragon chips because they led to a slow and frustrating Windows experience. But Microsoft claims its rebuilt Windows 11 around Snapdragons Arm-based architecture, which should lead to far faster performance and better app compatibility. As for Apple's laptops, you'll be choosing between the M3, M3 Pro and M3 Ultra, each of which is progressively more powerful. Apple is also keeping its older M2 chip around for the $999 MacBook Air, which is still a solid performer for the price. Apples M4 chip made its debut in the recent iPad Pro, but its not in any laptops yet (and it likely wont be until the end of 2024). GPU A GPU, or graphics processing unit, is the component that communicates directly with a laptop's display. Laptop CPUs all have some form of integrated GPU: Intel has either its standard graphics or beefier Arc hardware, while AMD's chips include fast Radeon mobile graphics. If you want to play demanding games at high speeds (measured in frames per second, or fps), or if you need some extra power for rendering video or 3D models, you can configure a laptop with a dedicated GPU like NVIDIA's RTX 40-series hardware or AMD's Radeon RX 7000. Just be sure to leave room in your budget if you want a powerful GPU, as they typically add $300 or more to the cost of a laptop. Apple's M-series chips, meanwhile, have GPU cores that can perform as well as NVIDIAs and AMD's lower-end dedicated GPUs. That's quite the accomplishment for systems like this (especially the MacBook Air and 14-inch MacBook Pro), and it's another reason we highly recommend Apple's notebooks. AI PCs, NPUs and Copilot+ Simply put, an AI PC is a computer equipped with a neural processing unit (NPU), which is designed to handle AI-related tasks. Much like how GPUs tackle heavy-duty gaming and rendering workloads, NPUs are designed to handle the complex math necessary for AI workloads. Theyre also far more power efficient than CPUs or GPUs, which could lead to better battery performance in laptops. While many factors go into NPU performance, for the most part we measure their potential speed by TOPS (tera operations per second). We were primed for AI PCs in 2024 based on the chips Intel and AMD announced late last year. Intel unveiled its "Core Ultra" CPUs in December, its first to include an NPU for AI work. AMD also announced its Ryzen 8040 AI mobile chips that month (and it couldn't help but say they were faster than Intel's new hardware). But in May, Microsoft announced its Copilot+ initiative, which is pushing major PC makers to deliver premium AI PCs with specifications including 16GB of RAM, 256GB SSDs and NPUs with at least 40 TOPS of AI performance. Copilot+ is more than just a marketing term: Microsoft is also launching AI-powered features in Windows 11 that take advantage of powerful NPUs. That includes Recall, which can help you locate anything youve done on your PC (whenever it finally launches), as well as Cocreator in Paint, which can generate AI images based on text prompts and doodles. If you buy an AI PC that isnt Copilot+ certified, youll still be able to use some features like Windows Studio Effects, which can blur your background in video calls or keep you in frame. Developers like Adobe and Audacity are also building features into their apps that can take advantage of NPUs. At the time of this post, Chromebook Plus notebooks can also access a few of Googles online AI features, like image generation and photo processing. Back to top Other laptops we tested that didn't make the cut Apple 15-inch MacBook Air M3 This Apple laptop is just a larger version of the 13-inch M3 MacBook Air. It's still quite portable at 3.3 pounds, and some will appreciating having just a tad more screen real estate all the time. Configuration options are the same as well; you can spec out the 15-inch Air with up to 24GB of RAM and 2TB of storage. But considering it starts off $200 more than the smaller model, it's primarily best for those who absolutely need a larger screen and are willing to pay for it. ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED Aside from its lovely OLED screen, the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED doesn't stand out from the crowded laptop field in any way. It just looks dull and boring, especially compared to the strikingly beautiful ASUS Zephyrus G14, which also came out this year. While you can probably find the Zenbook 14 for a decent price, I'd recommend holding out for something with a bit more personality (and with a less wobbly screen hinge). Razer Blade 14 The Razer Blade has almost everything you'd want in a 14-inch gaming notebook, but it's far pricier than the Zephyrus G14 on this list, and it doesnt even have an SD card reader. It would be a solid competitor once its price falls a bit, and it's certainly a great option if you just have to have a jet-black laptop. Framework Laptop 16 Framework gave its modularity magic to the Laptop 16, delivering a gaming notebook where almost every single component is user replaceable. But you'll have to pay a pretty penny to snag it with upgraded hardware, and its optional Radeon 7700S GPU was surprisingly slow. Alienware m16 R2 The Alienware m16 r2 has been revamped with a slimmer case, but its otherwise a fairly typical gaming laptop. Its a solid option for Alienware fans, but youll find better hardware and deals elsewhere. ASUS Zenbook Duo (2024) The Zenbook Duo is a fascinating dual-screened notebook, and according to my colleague Sam Rutherford its the first of its kind thats worth buying. But its unique hardware isnt really meant for mainstream consumers, and Windows 11 still doesnt support multi-screen setups well enough to make full use of the Zenbook Duos ample canvas. Dell XPS 16 Dells XPS 16 is big and beautiful, but its far too expensive compared to the competition. Plus, it uses a capacitive row of function keys that you basically cant see under bright light and has too few ports for a machine of this size. See Also: Back to top Laptop FAQs What is the average battery life of a laptop per charge? Its hard to come up with an average battery life for laptops, since that will ultimately depend on what youre doing with them. An ultraportable like the MacBook Air that sips power can last around 20 hours in our battery benchmark, and around two full work days of real-world usage. But a gaming laptop may last only a few hours if youre actively playing something while on battery. At this point, Macs are delivering far better battery life than PCs, thanks to Apples Silicon chips, but Microsoft claims Copilot+ systems with Qualcomm chips will also get over 20 hours of batter life. How much RAM do I really need? The more RAM you have, the more things your computer can do simultaneously. For that reason, we recommend buying PCs and Macs with at least 16GB of RAM. That gives you enough memory to have several applications open at once, as well as web browsers filled with RAM-hogging tabs. Many PC games also require at least 16GB of RAM. While you could use a system with 8GB of RAM for basic tasks, youll quickly run into slowdowns and error messages as your apps stack up. Many laptops, especially ultraportables, dont let you upgrade RAM, too so youll have to buy an entirely new computer if you didnt equip enough memory at the start. If youre a hardcore gamer, programmer or planning to render videos or 3D models, then you may want to go for 32GB of RAM or more. And if you just need a secondary laptop for lighter work perhaps a no-frills system for writing then you can probably get by with 8GB. Just be sure to keep those browser tabs in check. What is the best storage capacity for a laptop? There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to laptop storage. Youll typically find configurations between 256GB and 1TB SSDs (solid state drives) on most laptops, and Id recommend most people get at least 512GB. Thatll be enough space for large apps, music and video files without stressing your system too much. If youre a media hoarder, or want to play a ton of games, then its definitely worth getting a 1TB SSD. If youll mainly be streaming your shows and music, and would rather invest in RAM or other hardware, then 256GB of storage would be serviceable. Id recommend staying away from any machine with 128GB of storage though. Most of that will be taken up by the operating system, and youll likely run into issues cramming in large apps after a few months. We recommend springing for extra built-in storage or investing in a portable SSD for backing up your most important files. It's also worth noting that Chromebooks tend to come with less built-in storage 32GB, 64GB or 128GB since ChromeOS encourages users to save their files in the cloud rather than on the device. In that case, 128GB is plenty. What's a good price range for a decent laptop in 2024? You can expect to spend between $1,000 and $1,800 for a typical 13-inch laptop today. As I explained above, you'll pay more if you want to stuff in more RAM or better GPU hardware. But you can also find deals below $1,000 if you look for refurbished or older-generation models. Whats the difference between macOS and Windows? Which is better? Simply put, macOS is the operating system in all of Apple's notebooks and desktops, while Windows powers the vast majority of PCs. You'll also find Chromebooks running Google's ChromeOS, but those are basically just web browsers running on top of Linux. Debating the differences between Windows and Macs is something PC nerds have been doing since the '80s, so we won't be declaring a winner here. There are some small, negligible distinctions, like using a Command versus a Control key, how file explorers work and concerns about viruses and security. For the most part, those are minor issues or have become moot thanks to better built-in security. But if you care more about playing the newest games, you'll want to have a Windows system. If you're more focused on creative apps, like Photoshop, Premiere and Final Cut Pro, then macOS may be a better fit (especially if you're running an iPhone). What are the best laptop brands? There is no single "best" laptop brand, but judging from this guide alone, we're generally impressed by notebooks from Apple, Dell and ASUS. They all offer fast, reliable and sturdy machines. HP also makes some eye-catching devices if you want an option thats the most aesthetic. Those four brands, along with Lenovo and Acer, dominate laptop sales worldwide. We'd avoid systems from any retail store brands, or companies that don't have a major presence in the US. Back to top Best laptops specs comparison chart Product Tested configuration Tested battery life Rated battery life Apple MacBook Air M3 (13-inch) Apple M3, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD 21 hours Up to 18 hours Dell XPS 13 Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD 13 hours Up to 18 hours ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 7.5 hours 10 hours Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 13th-gen Intel Core i3, 8GB RAM, 128GB storage 6 hours 10 hours HP Pavilion Aero AMD Ryzen 5800U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD Up to 9.75 hours Up to 10.5 hours Apple MacBook Pro M3 (14-inch) Apple M3, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD 24.5 hours 22 hours HP Spectre x360 14 Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, 32GB RAM, 2TB SSD 5 hours Up to 13 hours Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 1 Intel Core Ultra 7 165U, 32GB RAM, 512GB SSD Up to 13 hours "All day battery life" Back to top August 2024: Updated to include the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12. June 2024: Updated with more information about current AI PCs, Microsofts Copilot+ initiative and the latest CPUs from Intel, AMD and Qualcomm. Weve also added a FAQ query around RAM and updated the Other laptops weve tested section to include the Alienware m16 r2, Dell XPS 16 and ASUS Zenbook Duo. Back to top On August 24, NASA will finally announce how Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, the astronauts that flew to the ISS aboard Boeing's Starliner, will be coming home. Earlier this month, the agency said it was already in talks with SpaceX about the possibility of giving the astronauts two seats aboard an upcoming Crew Dragon mission. While NASA was making sure that the option was available, it continued asking Boeing for data to prove that the Starliner is safe to ride back to Earth. The Starliner's batteries won't last forever, though, and the agency needs to make a decision soon. In its announcement, NASA said that on August 24, its leadership will make a final examination of the data Boeing gathered through various ground tests and simulations by engineers with help from Williams and Wilmore. An hour later, at around 1PM Eastern time, it will hold a news conference to broadcast its official decision. You can watch the event on NASA+, NASA Television, the NASA app, YouTube and the agencys website, but we'll also keep you updated. The Starliner's first crewed mission blasted off the space in June on top of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket after several delays. It was only supposed to stay docked to the ISS for eight days before making its way back home with both astronauts. During its flight to the orbiting lab, however, five of its maneuvering thrusters had failed. The helium leak that caused Boeing and NASA to scrub its launch also came back and had even worsened. Over the past few months, engineers conducted tests and simulations on the ground to provide NASA with the data it wanted. "We are letting the data drive our decision making relative to managing the small helium system leaks and thruster performance we observed during rendezvous and docking," said Steve Stich, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, back in June. If NASA does decide to go with its backup plan of making Wilmore and Williams hitch a ride on the Crew Dragon, then the Starliner will be coming back to Earth without a crew onboard. It's still unclear when the Starliner is making its way back to the planet, but it likely couldn't come soon enough for the company. Aside from the fact that the Starliner's batteries are running out, Boeing reported earlier this month that it took another $125 million in losses due to the spacecraft's delayed return. Wilmore and Williams will then be coming home as part of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission, the same mission that had to be delayed because Starliner was still taking up one of the two slots on the ISS that can accommodate astronaut capsules. The Crew-9 capsule won't be flying back to Earth until February 2025, though, so the astronauts' supposed eight-day trip will turn into an eight-month stint. Theres a lot of power in the notion of the default: The obvious, sensible choice you wont get picked on for making. Until now, the default choice for an Android flagship is whatever model of Galaxy Samsung is stamping out this year. Sam Rutherford has been using Googles new Pixel 9 as his daily driver , and he feels the winds of change are blowing. This may be the first time a Google handset has well and truly taken the lead as the default choice. What has pulled the Pixel 9 out from under Samsungs shadow is the better industrial design, with its utterly gorgeous look and feel. That, combined with class-leading cameras, a great display and all of Googles newfangled AI smarts, makes it a winning handset. Youll have to read the full review to find out just why its worth your cash , but the list of downsides is so short youll have to make an effort not to buy one right now. Dan Cooper The biggest stories you might have missed You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here! We may see them launch on September 17 Snap Snap is reportedly gearing up to launch its fifth-generation pair of Spectacles with some more augmented reality features . The last pair released, in 2021, had limited availability and only lasted 30 minutes on a charge. Its thought the latest pair has addressed many of the hardware issues inherent in the last model, but it still may not be ready for wide sale. Continue Reading. In the battle between common sense and money, the latter wins. Photo by Jamie Rigg / Engadget Pelotons financial doldrums mean the company is looking for any and every way to get more cash in the door. Even if that means further alienating users it could otherwise rely upon for some of that sweet, sweet subscription revenue. Like insisting on charging a $95 activation fee for users who buy a used Peloton before they can get riding . Dont you just love the smell of being nickeled-and-dimed even when youre buying second-hand? Continue Reading. The second patient saw less thread retraction. Neuralink says the second patient in its human trials has had a more successful implant experience than the first. The company claims it observed no thread retraction connective threads pulling away from the brain in its latest test. Its hoped this will, if successful over the long term, offer more communication and connectivity for patients with accessibility needs. Continue Reading. The founder of Autonomy and Darktrace was 59. Mike Lynch, founder of Autonomy and Darktrace, was confirmed dead after a days-long search and rescue operation . Lynch was with his family on a yacht that capsized on Monday in a violent storm. Three years after vanishing, a Michigan woman's remains were found. Family and friends of Dee Warner reported her missing three years ago after she was last seen at a pole barn on Paragon Road in Lenawee County. Though foul play was suspected, nothing concrete had been discovered. According to 'WILX 10,' Warner's remains were discovered by authorities on one of her husband's properties. Dale Warner, Dee's husband, was first arrested in November 2023. At the time, he was charged with open murder and tampering with evidence. A statement was released by Captain Steve O'Neill of the Lenawee County District Court praising those who had been working on the case thus far. Read more: Scott Peterson Shares His Theory On What Happened To His Pregnant Wife Laci Peterson Before Her Murder "I am extremely proud of the tireless work our detectives have put in to solve this case. With incredible determination, they have pieced together a very difficult case culminating with an arrest. This arrest is another step in our investigation, and we will continue our efforts to bring closure to the family and to find Dee Warner's remains so that her family can lay her to rest," he said. However, it was ruled in June that there was not enough evidence to make Dale stand trial for the murder of his wife. Authorities obtained a search warrant of Dale's property in Tipton, Lenawee County, southwest of Detroit, on August 16. The 52-year-old's remains were found in a tank. Her remains were found in a propane tank, which normally holds anhydrous ammonia an inorganic chemical compound often used in farming fertilizer. However, this specific tank had a sign on it reading, "Do Not Use," which attracted the attention of authorities. When the tank was opened, they found her remains inside. Read more: Man Sentenced To 143 Years In Jail For Pointing Firearm At Fast Food Worker Who Refused Drugs For Payment Michigan State Police ruled her death a homicide, per the outlet. The investigation is still ongoing. Lenawee County Sheriff Troy Bevier told 'Dateline' last year how the night Dee disappeared there was a dispute over business between the spouses and one or two of the woman's employees. Dee, who was a mother of five, was described by her family as a fearless and confident social butterfly. 'ABC 13' reports Dee's son called her "caring" who would "move mountains to make sure us kids had anything we needed or wanted." We Are China Heavy rains flood Dalian: Police form human wall, protecting residents (People's Daily App) 16:50, August 23, 2024 Heavy rains flooded Pulandian district in Dalian, Liaoning Province on August 19. Local police formed a human wall to protect residents. (Produced by Liang Xiaojian) (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) Ana Navarro is drawing backlash after posting photos of herself adjusting former President Barack Obama's necktie. Critics felt the gesture was inappropriate given that Obama is a married man. On Wednesday, during the third night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), Navarro uploaded the photos to X, formerly Twitter, giving her followers a behind-the-scenes look at the event. In the first image, the 52-year-old is seen fixing Obama's tie while holding her small brown dog. In the second photo, the political commentator appears to lean in and kiss Obama on the cheek. "Somebody had to fix his tie. So Chacha and I pitched in," wrote Navarro, co-host of ABC's 'The View.' Somebody had to fix his tie. So Chacha and I pitched-in. pic.twitter.com/V2Y5qPuL3P Ana Navarro-Cardenas (@ananavarro) August 21, 2024 Though Navarro restricted replies to her post, viewers found ways to voice their opinions by quoting her original upload. Journalist April Reign was among the first to criticize the images and Navarro's caption. She tweeted, "Girl, delete this. You are not that somebody, or whatever Aaliyah said. You know this is out of bounds, which is why you locked the responses." Girl, delete this. You are not that somebody, or whatever Aaliyah said. You know this is out of bounds, which is why you locked the responses. https://t.co/Ftc21NGjiQ April (@ReignOfApril) August 21, 2024 Reign continued in a follow-up post, "Because what you NOT gon do is imply YOU needed to fix his tie when Michelle was right around the corner in the green room. You and your purse dog need to remember your place, and it's not within tie distance of our POTUS. Like literally how dare you." One user on X agreed, stating, "If my hubby needs any kind of adjustment, I'll do it. My hubby would've grabbed her hand to stop her and said my wife will fix it lol glad he's not in politics." Another user commented, "A lot of y'all are unfamiliar with BOUNDARIES! Unless you are my husband's personal assistant, close friend, or his tailor, you DON'T FIX HIS TIE!! Ana Navarro knew good and well she was being inappropriate with Obama, which is why she locked off her replies. Weirdo." A lot of y'all are unfamiliar with BOUNDARIES! Unless you are my husband's personal assistant, close friend or his tailor, you DON'T FIX HIS TIE!! Ana Navarro knew good and well she was being inappropriate with Obama which is why she locked off her replies. Weirdo pic.twitter.com/rudLlFX8Ho c u n t y (@RobynDMarley_) August 21, 2024 However, some people feel the backlash is unnecessary, believing Michelle Obama wouldn't care about another woman adjusting Barack's tie. "If there is one thing Mrs. Obama is not, it's insecure, so find something better to do," wrote one supporter via 'TJB,' while another added, "Grow up people and get a life. He's not your man; and I have 0 doubt his wife is way too secure to be bothered." Although a staunch Republican, Navarro has openly supported Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign over former President Donald Trump's. Per 'Variety,' she was invited to host at the DNC when President Joe Biden was still seeking re-election. "This is incredibly special for many reasons. Kamala Harris is my friend. I love her, and I admire her. She has captured lightning in a bottle. There's this extraordinary joy and enthusiasm. And my God, we're nominating an incredibly qualified woman. We have another shot at making history," Navarro explained to the outlet. "I never thought, as a little refugee girl from Nicaragua, that I would ever be at a convention, much less be on stage at a convention. There is no larger celebration of democracy than a political convention. It's an incredible privilege," she added. "The energy was ecstatic. I just wish my mom and Kamala's mom had been around to watch it." Lee Daniels remains in Jussie Smollett's corner. Back in 2019, Jussie Smollett, a Black and gay actor, alleged that he was assaulted by two men who, while they attacked him physically, threw racist and homophobic slurs at him in a downtown Chicago neighborhood. However, in 2022, authorities determined that the entire situation was a hoax, fabricated by Smollett himself. It was determined that Smollett, now 42, paid two brothers $3,000 to deliberately attack him. Following the court's 2022 verdict, Smollett was sentenced to 150 days in jail, 30 months felony probation, and several monetary punishments. To this day, the issue of whether Smollett faked the hate crime is debated by many. Whatever happened during the altercation, Lee Daniels confirms that he is still a friend to Smollett. According to 'Complex,' Daniels confirmed that he would work with Smollett again without hesitation. The film producer and director was interviewed on 'The Breakfast Club.' During his appearance he was asked if he would ever work with Smollett again, having worked with him on Fox's hit series 'Empire.' "I'd work with him again, I'd cast him in something. He was a son to me," Daniels, 64, said. When Daniels thinks of Smollett, he is not thinking of him in terms of the legal trouble he has found himself in and, allegedly, created for himself. Daniels shared with the morning radio show hosts that he barely understands what happened himself. "Honestly, I don't know what to believe. People say he didn't do it, he did do it. God bless him on his journey," Daniels stated. This is a change from what was originally said of their relationship around the time of the original hearings. According to 'TMZ,' the Academy Award nominated director and Smollett were not on speaking terms shortly after speculation surrounding the attack's legitimacy began to circulate. Now, the two are reportedly in communication again. In 2021, a jury convicted Smollett on five felony counts of disorderly conduct, per 'PBS,' a charge that can be filed in the state of Illinois when an individual is untruthful to police. He served six days behind bars as he was released while he filed an appeal. A grand jury subsequently restored his convictions, therefore, the actor was required to finish his original sentence of 150 days in jail. The 'Associated Press' reported he began his sentence in March 2022 separated from other detainees in protective custody and watched by security cameras and an officer. It appears things aren't going as planned, according to the message Ben Affleck allegedly had written on J. Lo's band. Jennifer Lopez who officially filed for divorce from Affleck on August 20 previously opened up about the engraving on her engagement ring her now-estranged husband had personalized for her. The 8.5 carat green diamond ring features radiant-cut and half-moon accents set in a platinum band. A personalized message was reportedly engraved into the piece, which stated: "not.going.anywhere," per 'PEOPLE.' "That's how he would sign his emails when we started talking again. Like 'Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere,' " Lopez, 55, admitted during an interview with Zane Lowe for Apple Music. Drawing from the heartfelt connection, 'The Accountant' star proceeded to write it on the band. Not only did the quote not hold up it appears there was also no prenuptial agreement. According to 'TMZ,' the divorce documents were filed Tuesday in L.A. Superior Court, "pro per," meaning by herself and without an attorney. Per the Hollywood news hub, the separation was listed as April 26, 2024. The star-studded duo tied the knot two years ago in Sin City on July 16. Now, August 20th is said to be the day the two will close their chapter per Lopez taking initiative on the divorce papers. The media outlet also revealed that Lopez waived spousal support and requested that the judge deny Affleck's support as well. The lack of protections in the agreements might be a signal that the two intended to commit to forever, which apparently is no longer the plan. On top of that, it's been reported that Ben Affleck, 52, has moved into his new home an estate worth millions in Los Angeles. Lopez is known for making headlines involving her romantic relationships, as the mother of two has been engaged six times, including twice to Affleck, per 'E! News.' A post by Alex Rodriguez, Lopez's ex, shared the same day as Bennifer 2.0's divorce announcement, had many thinking the post was a diss. "You either go one way or the other, you might as well be the one deciding the direction," the quote read on his Instagram Story. Lopez and A-Rod first met in 2005 at a Yankees game. They ended their engagement in March 2021 after postponing their summer 2020 destination wedding due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Governor Josh Shapiro had choice words for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump after some comments which he considered hateful and divisive. The Pennsylvania governor took the stage Wednesday night at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago to share a theme of freedom to the cheering crowd. Trump then activated his social media fingers, calling Shapiro a "highly overrated Jewish Governor." "Are you ready to protect our rights?! Are you ready to secure our freedoms?! And are you ready to defend our democracy?! And are you ready to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz?! America, let's get to work," Shapiro said. The controversial former POTUS took to his app TruthSocial to voice his opinion on a speech made by the governor while promoting Kamala Harris for president. He considered the speech "poorly delivered" and accused him and Harris of being "comrades" "The highly overrated Jewish Governor of the Great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, made a really bad and poorly delivered speech talking about freedom and fighting for Comrade Kamala Harris for President, yet she hates Israel and will do nothing but make its journey through the complexities of survival as difficult as possible, hoping in the end that it will fail," Trump, 81, stated. Trump concluded: "Shapiro has done nothing for Israel, and never will. Comrade Kamala Harris, the Radical Left Marxist who stole the nomination from Crooked Joe, will do even less. Israel is in BIG trouble!" The politician didn't take the comments lightly, claiming the 78-year-old pushes divisive rhetoric and is "obsessed" with him. He also accused Trump of "antisemitic tropes." "I mean first off, I think it's clear over the last few weeks, Donald Trump is obsessed with me and obsessed with continuing to spew hate and division in our politics. He's someone who has routinely peddled antisemitic tropes like this," Shapiro told 'NBC.' "I think you all heard me talk last night at the DNC, the exact polar opposite of what Donald Trump is talking about. I'm talking about real freedom... Bringing people together. Accepting folks no matter what they look like, where they come from, who they love, who they pray to and saying: 'This is a place for you,' " the governor stated. "I think Donald Trump has a long history of spewing antisemitic tropes, racist tropes," Shapiro said, per the news outlet. "He attacks other people for who they are, what they look like, what they believe in." He added: "That is not the way any American should act, let alone someone who wants to be the leader of this country." Gus Walz became so emotional he was moved to tears, as he was filled with inspiration following his father, Tim Walz's speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. While many felt warmth in the moment, Ann Coulter remained cold. In a now-deleted tweet, political commentator Coulter known for her controversially conservative sentiments took to Twitter to mock Gus Walz, the special needs son of the Kamala Harris' Democratic VP pick. As many were touched by the 17-year-old's tears, Coulter reposted the emotional reaction Gus had to his father's acceptance speech with the cold hard jab: "Talk about weird." Fans were flabbergasted by the mockery of Gus, who has a non-verbal learning disorder and ADHD. Did Tim Walz seriously just crush Ann Coulter for making fun of his son? pic.twitter.com/qlGsew1LGG Devin Duke (@sirDukeDevin) August 22, 2024 "Talk about why your fiances keep leaving you," an account that looked like Tim Walz's allegedly responded on Twitter. The now-deleted tweet, which included a photo of the personal life section of Coulter's Wikipedia, alleged that she's been "engaged several times, but she has never married and has no children." Although the tweet has been seen millions of times, readers' context on the app informed viewers that the tweet was fake, and was not sent from the Minnesota governor's verified account. Nevertheless, fans took jabs of their own. One even went so far as to post a video response, which has since received over 500,000 reactions. "Coulter has always been ghastly, in acts, mind, spirit, and appearance," one fan replied. "Imagine you loaded the dishwasher wrong and Ann Coulter was your wife," a second joked. In a video response posted by a fan who was covering the convention, Elizabeth Booker Houston clapped back with a vengeance, adding to the caption: "Somebody tag Ann Coulter so she can get this smoke," in her TikTok video. In the emotional moment, Gus stood up and put his hand over his heart and mouthed: "That's my dad," per 'The Guardian.' The statement came after Tim said, "Hope, Gus, and Gwen, you are my entire world and I love you." Kamala Harris announced Tim Walz as a running mate early August, citing him as "the kind of person who makes people feel like they belong and inspires them to dream big," while standing alongside him in Philadelphia. Tim Walz, 60, who has been married to Gwen Walz since 1994 after meeting when they were both high school teachers, are parents to two children; Gus and Hope. "My kids keep me humble," Walz said, per 'ABC 7.' Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's struggles to retain employees allegedly stem from their treatment of their staff, royal insiders and pundits have claimed. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's issues were dragged into the spotlight once more recently after People and other news outlets reported that Prince Harry's chief of staff quit his role after just three months. Josh Kettler, who was hired just days before the couple's trip to Nigeria in May, was reportedly brought in on a trial basis. He and Prince Harry reportedly mutually agreed to part ways because it "wasn't the right fit." However, Kettler's departure has further fueled the claims that Prince Harry and Markle are difficult to work with. "At least 18 staffers have left since 2018," one unnamed source told In Touch Weekly. "People are saying they're the bosses from hell." Earlier this month, the U.S. Sun reported that half of these 18 staffers quit working for them in the years after they moved from the U.K. to California in 2020. Following Kettler's exit, British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard suggested to Fox News Digital that Prince Harry and Markle's "revolving door of staff" appears to signal that "something is wrong" within the Sussex camp. She noted that even elites like Kettler -- who previously served as the head of strategic partnerships and chief of staff at the communication platform Cognixion -- are unable to last under Prince Harry and Markle. "The sad thing is all these employees have been chosen carefully," Chard said. "They have previously excelled working for demanding bosses in high-performing companies and environments. I can only believe that Harry and Meghan are tricky customers and make it near impossible for their staff to excel in their roles." Chard claimed that compared to the royal family, who "steer a tight ship," the Duke and Duchess of Sussex seem more like "rudderless ships." "They lack direction, jump on board many different ideas, think they are an authority on all these ideas, and then move on to something new," she said. Months before Kettler's departure, Archewell production manager Bennett Levine quit in January. Archewell also lost Oscar-nominated producer Ben Browning and head of marketing Fara Taylor in January last year. Mandana Dayani resigned as president of Archewell, and "Archetypes" podcast producer Rebecca Sananes left in late 2022. Royal author Valentine Low previously claimed in his book "Courtiers" that some of Prince Harry and Markle's former palace aides called themselves the "Sussex Survivors Club" after they quit working for them, Page Six reported. Low also alleged that Markle launched screaming tirades at staff and left people "broken" by their experience with her and her husband. The couple's former private secretary Samantha Cohen -- who resigned in 2018 -- was allegedly among those who were subjected to verbal attacks, the book claimed. Earlier this year, Cohen confirmed to the Australian Herald Sun that she was one of the staffers who were questioned during the investigation into the allegations that Markle "bullied" palace aides when she was a working royal. While Cohen did not reveal any details about the investigation, she alluded to Prince Harry and Markle's struggle to hire and retain staffers. "I was only supposed to stay for six months but stayed for 18 -- we couldn't find a replacement for me, and when we did, we took them on tour to Africa with Prince Harry and Meghan to show them the ropes, but they left as well while in Africa," Cohen told the outlet. In 2021, reports surfaced that Markle was privately accused of bullying two aides out of Kensington Palace. The former "Suits" star denied the allegations, calling them a "calculated smear campaign." Buckingham Palace soon launched an investigation into the claims, but the results were not made public. Sean "Diddy" Combs has been revealed as one of the owners of X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. Elon Musk completed his $44 billion acquisition of Twitter back in October 2022 with the help of wealthy investors and loans from Wall Street banks but did not make public the list of entities who helped him acquire the social media site -- until now. The newly unsealed document, cited by The Washington Post and TMZ, revealed that Combs owns a stake in X through his limited liability company Sean Combs Capital. According to the outlets, billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al Saud and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey were also among the almost 100 stakeholders of X Holdings Corp. X previously filed the document under seal following a lawsuit filed by former Twitter employees last year. The ex-employees sued the platform for allegedly failing to pay the cost of legal arbitration. The list of investors was made public following a motion filed by the nonprofit group Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press on behalf of independent tech journalist Jacob Silverman. Silverman previously explained the reason behind the motion in a blog post, writing that "people have a right to know who owns a company with such a prominent role in shaping public discourse, both in the United States and around the world." It is unclear who currently holds shares in X and how much each entity invested. But in November 2022, TMZ reported, citing anonymous sources close to the rapper, that Diddy pumped more than $10 million into Musk's takeover of the platform. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Diddy is estimated to be worth $800 million thanks to his record label Bad Boy Records music and acting careers, investments and business partnerships, including with liquor company Diageo. According to the insiders, Combs allegedly wanted "a seat at the table" and believed in the SpaceX CEO's vision for Twitter, which Musk rebranded as X last year. Months before Musk's acquisition, he and Diddy were spotted together at Dave Chappelle's show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Elon Musk, Gunna & Diddy at Dave Chappelles show last night pic.twitter.com/SkgnJp7Hwf RapTV (@Rap) May 4, 2022 Musk and Combs also both attended Kanye West's "Donda 2" live listening event for fans at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, in February 2022. Since then, however, Combs has faced numerous lawsuits accusing him of rape, sexual assault, violence, and sex trafficking, among many others. The hip-hop mogul's homes were raided by federal agents in March as part of a sex trafficking probe. Combs has not been charged with any crimes and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. However, he apologized publicly in May after surveillance footage surfaces showing him beating accuser and ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura in a hotel in 2016. "My behavior on that video is inexcusable," Diddy said in a video shared via Instagram. "I take full responsibility for my actions in that video." Judge Greg Mathis' wife Linda has filed for divorce from him following nearly 40 years of marriage. Linda filed the divorce papers Thursday, citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split, according to court documents cited by TMZ. The paperwork indicated that the "Judge Mathis" star, 64, and Linda have been separated since July 17. Judge Mathis and Linda -- who are both alumnus of Eastern Michigan University -- tied the knot in 1985 and welcomed four children together: Jade, Camara, Greg Jr. and Amir. All four of their kids are now adults, so the estranged couple does not need to reach an agreement on custody and child support. However, Linda is seeking spousal support in the divorce. She indicated in her filing that she was blocking the court's ability to grant the television court show arbitrator spousal support. It is unknown if Judge Mathis and Linda signed a prenuptial agreement before their union. Judge Mathis has an estimated net worth of $25 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. He built his fortune from his career as a judge and television star. He served as a district court judge for Michigan's 36th District for five years until 2000. Judge Mathis went on to star in his eponymous reality courtroom show for 24 seasons from September 1999 to May 2023. Warner Bros. canceled his show last year amid the declining daytime syndication landscape, according to Variety. "Judge Mathis" earned him several awards, including a Daytime Emmy in 2018 for outstanding legal/courtroom program and the NAACP Image Award for outstanding news, talk or information series in 2004. "Judge Mathis" also became the second longest-running court show in continued production with the same host At the time of the show's cancellation, "Judge Mathis" was only second to "Judge Judy" on the list of longest-running court shows in continued production with the same host. Judge Mathis -- who had presided over 13,000 cases on his show -- also held the record for the longest-running Black male host on television and the second-longest-reigning arbitrator in courtroom TV history. He was surpassed only by "Judge Judy" star Judy Sheindlin. Judge Mathis has not released a statement on his wife Linda's divorce filing as of this writing. D.L. Hughley gave a strong and passionate speech as well as an apology at the 2024 Democratic National Convention Thursday night. After laying out some jabs against Kamala Harris' controversial opponent, Republican nominee Donald Trump, he laid out what many would call an impactful speech where he admitted he stands corrected regarding the 59-year-old female Democrat. "Now of course, Trump is saying that Kamala isn't Black. I guarantee you this... Kamala's been Black a lot longer than Trump's been a Republican," Hughley said, opening his strong speech. "And... if he keeps sliding in the polls the way he is, the only way he can keep Kamala out of the White House is if he buys it and refuses to rent it to her," the actor said to the cheering, laughing crowd. He then turned his attention to his endorsement for the candidate, saying he believes in her ability to perform. "I believe in Kamala Harris," he stated boldly. "She has the vision, the experience, and the strength to lead our nation as the 47th President of the United States." The comedian who currently is host of his eponymous radio show, 'The D.L. Hughley Show' revealed that a while back, the potential 47th president invited him into her home and invited him to do research on her past work. At this point, he realized he had misjudged her based on inaccurate information. "I was wrong," Hughley admitted, humbly. "And I am so very glad I was wrong... because Kamala you give me hope for the future." That said, he walks it like he talks it as his social media page is riddled with celebrations of accomplishments made by the Dems. Documenting the Democratic National Convention (DNC), the 61-year-old celebrated their packed crowds, deemed the Obamas an "undeniable power couple," and added a repost of Tim Walz's emotional son who was moved to tears during his father's acceptance speech. Kamala Harris announced Tim Walz as a running mate early August, citing him as "the kind of person who makes people feel like they belong and inspires them to dream big," while standing alongside him in Philadelphia. The Democratic National Convention was held from August 19 through August 22 in Chicago. Delegates virtually nominated both Harris and Walz during the first week of August. Authorities discovered 16,000 grams of methamphetamine hidden in a secret storage area in a game store. Hong Kong police uncovered a significant methamphetamine stash worth millions at a store selling Pokemon trading card game products. The 'South China Morning Post' reported that on Monday, police raided the store and found commercial quantities of meth valued at HKD 10 million ($1.3 million) in a concealed storage area. The narcotics warehouse was located after officers stopped a 28-year-old man outside the Pokemon store with five kilograms (5,000 grams) of meth in his possession. In total, 16 kilograms (16,000 grams) of meth were seized from the facility. The Pokemon TCG store is known to be popular and often hosts tournaments that draw in children and teenagers. Police assured the public that no drugs were sold to or trafficked by the store's customers. "Storing such a large quantity of narcotics in a place where teenagers and children can visit is irresponsible and disgraceful behavior that also heightens the possible risk of teenagers and children mistakenly encountering illegal drugs," stated Hong Kong Narcotics Bureau Inspector Liong Chun-Hin. Authorities suspect that a larger drug trafficking ring was behind the operation and had recruited the store owners to use the storage facility, which had been active for over a month before the raid. According to 'Game Rant,' New Bedford, Massachusetts, cops shut down a drug trafficking production using Pokemon boxes filled with large amounts of cocaine last summer. Pokemon, a Japanese media franchise of video games, animated series and movies, and trading cards, takes place in a shared universe where creatures with special powers, called Pokemon, co-exist with humans. A family in North Carolina went on record blaming an evil entity for some serious child endangerment charges. A mother and grandmother are behind bars after they told law enforcement that the severe injuries and trauma which were present on two toddlers in their care were caused by "evil ghosts" or some kind of "paranormal activity." According to 'Law & Crime,' Emily Marie Edwards and her mother, Sherrie Jean Edwards, are accused of causing serious bodily harm to the children, per Catawba County Jail records. Emily, 25, and Sherrie, 54, were arrested by the Newton Police Department last week following their indictment in December 2023 due to allegations made against them. Police also alleged a third adult male was responsible for abuse however, he died last year. They heard the kids yelling: Mother and grandmother allegedly blame paranormal activity for toddlers severe child abuse and fentanyl exposure https://t.co/EShJB5rd5Z Law & Crime (@lawcrimenews) August 21, 2024 A neighbor who spoke with 'WSOC' doesn't buy the "haunted apartment" given by the two family members. "I think that's crazy," the unnamed neighbor stated, per the news outlet. "I don't believe there's any paranormal activity here." Read more: Man Sentenced To 143 Years In Jail For Pointing Firearm At Fast Food Worker Who Refused Drugs For Payment Paperwork related to their indictment obtained by 'WSOC' alleged that the women showed an evident "reckless disregard for life" and inflicted "serious bodily injury" on the two young children in question. Per authorities, the children one child just 1 years old and the other a year older suffered burns, bite marks, and broken bones. They also tested positive for the presence of the drug fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid often mixed with other harmful substances and is considered 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, per the National Institute of Drug Abuse. "The basic response, really, was nightmares," Newton Police Chief Vidal Sipe told 'WSOC.' "They heard the kids yelling and they'd go over there and they'd see injuries on the kids. So, they're saying there's spirits that were in the house at the time that caused these injuries." Not only did the adults blame evil spirits, they also reported that they used a Ouija board a popular witchcraft toy which pretends to produce automatic writing in order to summon spirits. Both the mother and daughter are currently being detained on a $250,000 bond. Emily has reportedly already appeared in court and doesn't currently have another date scheduled. Sherrie is expected to show up in court October 7. In todays episode, hosts Gina Carr and I break down Googles 7-11-4 rulea powerful framework thats reshaping the world of relationship marketing and AI. Learn how this rule, which emphasizes 7 hours of interaction, 11 touchpoints, and 4 platforms, can help you convert content into cash and build stronger connections with your prospects. From leveraging diverse forms of high-quality content to employing cutting-edge AI tools like Cast Magic and OpusClip, we share actionable insights to help you stand out in a crowded digital landscape. Join us to discover how understanding and implementing the 7-11-4 rule can transform your marketing efforts and drive meaningful engagement with your audience. First, heres a gift for you to better understand AI and build sales Recommended AI tools for business growth. http://AItools4biz.com Heres a link to the video: https://youtu.be/tz678TENdeM Listen to this & other episodes on our podcast https://bit.ly/sre_podcast Here are some timestamps that can be useful for you: [00:00:00] Introduction to Googles 7-11-4 Rule: Terry Brock introduces the concept of Googles 7-11-4 rule and its relevance to relationship marketing and AI. [00:00:30] Explanation of ZMOT and 7-11-4 Rule: Gina Carr explains Googles ZMOT (Zero Moment of Truth) and breaks down the 7-11-4 rule for marketers. [00:02:05] Breakdown of the 7 in 7-11-4 Rule: Terry Brock details what the 7 stands for: seven hours of content consumption across various formats. [00:02:23] The 11 in 7-11-4 Rule Eleven Touch Points: Gina Carr elaborates on the importance of eleven different touch points, such as social media interactions, emails, and website visits. [00:03:05] The 4 in 7-11-4 Rule Four Platforms: Terry Brock explains the significance of being present on four platforms where your audience is most active. [00:09:00] Using AI to Personalize and Repurpose Content: Terry Brock discusses tools like Cast Magic for repurposing content to fit the 7-11-4 strategy effectively. [00:16:57] Importance of Relevant Content and Relationship Building: Terry Brock emphasizes the need for creating highly relevant and customized content to build strong customer relationships. These timestamps should give your listeners a comprehensive understanding of the key points discussed in the episode. __________________________________________________ For your convenience, heres a transcription of this episode: Terry Brock: In marketing, theres a very important term thats making its way around the net right now about Googles 7, 11, 4 rule. And we think, what in the world is that? Well, it relates a lot to relationship marketing and AI as well and how you can put those together. And thats what were gonna talk about here on this episode of Stark Raving Entrepreneurs. Got some good things for you. Im joined by my partner, Gina Carr, whos gonna tell us a little bit about this. Gina, what in the world is this 7, 114 thing that theyre talking about as a rule from Google? Gina Carr: Well, its a realization that Google had years ago, a while back anyway, and and they are sharing it with the world so that people know that theres what they call the zmot, the zero moment of truth. And its in the zero moment of truth that people, your prospects, people who are considering doing business with you are learning about you. So theyve learned about you and the problem that you solve, and now theyre getting educated. Theyre getting to know you. Theyre trying to figure out if your solutions right for them, if your personality is right for them. And so they have coined this term, the ZMOT, the zero moment of truth, and then they have determined based on their analytics that theres 7, 11, and 4 rule the 7, 11, 4 rule is what will help marketers to evaluate, what theyre if what theyre doing is enough so that they can bring prospects on board as a client. Terry Brock: Yeah. I like this as we look at it because it brings in a lot of the elements that we talk about here at Star Craving Entrepreneurs about, using AI, of course, as tools to find it out, but then also relationship marketing where youre using this to really build the content that converts to cash. Content to cash is a real big thing. So the 7 stands for 7 hours that people are gonna be able to see you. They get used to seeing your material. That might be 7 hours of video or usually, its a combination, a little bit of podcasting. Maybe theyre reading some of your materials on LinkedIn or Facebook or TikTok, wherever it would be. A total of about 7 hours. Terry Brock: And, of course, all these numbers are approximate. Its not like it must be a 7, 11, and 4. And if you deviate from it, youre wrong. No. Its a matter of okay. Usually, it takes around this many hours. And then, Gina, we get over to the 11 number. What does that 11 stand for? Gina Carr: The 11 is 11 different touch points. So this can be that they visited your website or that theyve interacted with you on social media, that theyve gotten an email from you, that they saw you in person. So touch points is what the 11 stands for. Terry Brock: Okay. And then the 4 is for platforms. So its saying, okay. Weve got 4 platforms that youre going to be on. They recommend 4, and, those 4 will depend on you and your audience of what you want. For us, we often use YouTube a lot. That is our primary source that we go to only for because it works for us as thought leaders. By YouTube, we can get the video, obviously. Terry Brock: We also get the audio for a podcast. We can also get enough visuals and graphics to use them in different places on LinkedIn, which we use a lot. Well use it on x. Well use it in different areas and then send that out through email as well. So those 711 Ford numbers really matter, and it matters a lot in how were buying today using those digital points. What it could be could be in many different areas. And the 11 points that were talking about are really going to be different ways. They can be, for instance, in digital or a physical condition, or I should say well, it might be a condition. Terry Brock: Its actually a connection. Is there youre making a connection with folks, and theyre hearing about it. And so tell us a little bit about that, Gina, and what you see are the the digital physical connections and some of the other areas of that. Gina Carr: Well, I think its important to to know that youre youre gonna do best if you are creating some diverse, high quality content that people are consuming. And this is part of building relationships as as you talk about a lot, business relationships. And you want to ensure that you have a consistent presence across platforms. So you want to be sure that your brand and that you are being represented consistently. A way to do that is to develop a content calendar that that can help you a lot. And then lets say that you create 1 pillar piece of content per week, such as a YouTube video, as were doing right now. And then from that video, you repurpose it into additional pieces of content, smaller videos or text, pieces or images or audio. Of course, were gonna take this one and turn it into a podcast, and were gonna turn it into a number of other pieces of content. Gina Carr: So thats how you are able to really increase the amount of touch points that youre gonna have when youre interacting with your prospects. Terry Brock: Yeah. I think thats very important. And, Gina, as you know, here at Start Raving Entrepreneurs, we like to talk about number of different AI platforms that can help you with that. One of my favorites is Cast Magic. Cast Magic gives you the ability to take something that you have like an interview and to carve it up into different pieces. So it can give you titles. It can give you the, stories that you might need. Itll give you an introduction, a LinkedIn post if you want. Terry Brock: Itll give you threads for x. It can give you Instagram reels, all of that repurposed. And thats all part of that 7, 114 that Google talks about so that youre reaching people in a major way, making sure that youre connecting with them in a way that they go, hey. I like this. I like what shes saying. She writes some good material here. Oh, hes got some good stuff over on this. So you want all that to be there. Terry Brock: But also a lot of this relates to the way that people used to buy. As we were preparing for this, Gina, you were telling me some of the ways they worked, that you worked before when you were growing up, I think going to school and before you got into, undergrad school, of what you did and the way you buy. Tell us a little bit about that and how that related to and still relates to today, the 7114 idea. Gina Carr: Well, if you think about it, in the in the old days, the pre Internet days, how did you make your purchasing decision? And it reminded me of when I was in I think it was just in junior high. Might have been high school, but junior high, high school back in Atlanta, Georgia, I worked at a little dress shop in a shopping center. And so people would drive by, maybe their friends would tell them, oh, you gotta go check out, this little dress shop. And we we had custom items, things that you wouldnt find in the big department stores. And so we had a good reputation. The, staff, including me maybe, were were considered friendly and helpful, and we would certainly keep files on people in a good way such as, oh, we know that miss Smith really loves this sort of fancy dress. And if we get some of these fancy dresses coming in, then we know that we need to contact missus Smith. Terry Brock: Yeah. I think this way, we keep track of it and able to really personalize what youre talking about, and I think thats really good. Its real still based on what we talk about, the know, like, and trust. Back then, long, long ago, whenever long, long ago would be for you watching this or listening to this, You know that you have to build that relationship with somebody. You get to know them. Then you like them a lot, and then you trust them before youre gonna do business with them. And, really, what were doing there is were talking about what I like to call you eyes. Youre you izing your content, talking about you to help them really customize it. Terry Brock: This is something that is imperative to make sure that youre getting close to the customers. Ive come up with a term you eyes. But, Gina, you seem to like that, and were finding a lot of people seem to like it. What is it that you like about that term, UIs, and what it means? Gina Carr: Well, its certainly a way to put your own personality and your stories and your insights into the work that youre doing. Nowadays, people are smartly using AI to generate part of their content, but you dont want a lot of, just blander thats soulless and personalityless out on the Internet and with the content that youre creating for yourself. So you want to put yourself into it. And one of the ways that Ive helped people do that is I walk people through what I call the memory lane exercise, and thats where I prompt them to look back at their history and think of stories that they could interject into their their content today and lessons that can be learned. So its really, a great way to combine your concept of UIs with my memory lane concept and put together customized special content that converts to cash, which is a lot of what we talk about in our programs, content to cash. Terry Brock: And thats gonna be really important because what you wanna do is you wanna make sure that you bring that into play so that youre it. In other words, youre personalizing it, and that helps you to stand out from the AI. A lot of times now with AI, people say, oh, it just is AI written. And, yeah, we can tell. But the AI doesnt know about what you did at that seminar last March, where you heard a speaker and she was really good about this and this topic. You put that in there and talk about it in the way you reflected on it, or the experience you had when you were in 3rd grade that relates to this, idea here. Those are the ways that we really get ahead. And so were doing that, and then we couple that. Terry Brock: A part of the 7 is the 7 hours of interaction. Gina, when I first heard that, I thought, thats an awful long time, which means it could take a lot of different exposures. Tell us what your thoughts are on the 7 hours of interaction that Google is recommending. Gina Carr: Well, its good to have, content out there, to have video short even if you have short videos, have a lot of them so so that somebody can really figure out whether they, mesh with you or not, whether they are grokking with you, so to speak, and, like your personality, like the way that you teach, like what you have to say, like your sense of humor or or lack thereof. And so thats part of it. So the 7 hours does not have to be video, although video, I think, is the most compelling and the the best content, the best converting content. You could also have a lot of written material. You certainly, in some fields, images are very important. So just some way for the clients to get to know you and, 7 hours 7 hours worth. Terry Brock: Yeah. I Gina Carr: mean hours worth out there. Terry Brock: Well, I think that would be really good, 7 hours. And that can be in different ways too because it might not all be in video. It might be part of that is they saw you in a seminar live in person. It also might be they enjoyed your podcast, so they listened to a little bit of that. And they read that article that you had that took them a while to read it. So all of that together really comes out to doing a lot, and having a lot of variety on that is good. Making sure youve got a a variety of different types of forms as well as long form video can be good so that you have that. That takes up some more time. Terry Brock: But I think the most important thing is gonna be frequent interactions. Tell me a little bit about that, Gina, where you see the different kinds of interactions that people have from YouTube Shorts and more. Gina Carr: Well, YouTube Shorts are fantastic. One of the tools that we use for that, OpusClip. You can find it at opus.pro. So thats one of the one of the interactions, one of the ways. Certainly using different social posts, having training sessions, that are either open to the public or that are inside a private group. We do a lot of that in our community. And then just creating and a great example is creating YouTube videos like this and asking people to interact. So Id like to ask you, dear viewer, put it down in the comments below. Gina Carr: How are you engaging with your people? How are you building this 711 4 rule? How are you going to use that in your business as you are interacting with your clients? Terry Brock: Okay. And I think those are really good. And, Jane, I wanna ask you a question here. They talk about the 11. Thats 11 touch points, different ways that you reach someone in different ways. Theres many ways that you can positively interact with prospects and customers and those kind of things. Tell us about some of those that you see have worked most effectively with clients that you and I have worked with. Gina Carr: Well, what Ive seen most effective is leading people to interactive virtual events. I love, hosting workshops, webinars, master classes, and teaching there. And from teaching there, I get a lot of questions, and I get a lot of inquiries from people who want to know how they can do business with me or with us or join our community so that they can get to know us better. And, I know youve had a lot of success recently with, email marketing that youre doing. Youre doing some very personalized, very effective emails, and so so thats important. You can, the in person events, you and I just returned from a big in person event or going to another one next week, Those are great ways to have additional interactions with people for those touch points. Terry Brock: Yeah. Exactly. I think theres a lot of good things there. And then also we noticed that were gonna be doing a lot with many other forms of, connection with people. One that I like a lot is Loom. Loom gives you the ability to create those customized videos that you can send to someone and then send them through email. Thats really good. And another way that I like to look at is using LinkedIn. Terry Brock: LinkedIn audio, I think theres something about LinkedIn audio. People gotta listen to it. You know? How can you get how could you omit that? If somebody gives you an audio on LinkedIn, you gotta listen to the thing, and thats good. Make sure that its relevant and dont and keep it short too. But thats a great way to look at it to see what can be done and how you do it. Because, you know, when we get down to it right now, Gina, you might have heard about this. One of the things I looked it up and I did some study here. Right now, were seeing a lot of competition out there. Terry Brock: And so youve gotta stand out in a real prominent way. There are 500 hours of video uploaded every minute of the day. 500 hours. 3 30000 hours of video uploaded per hour, and here we go, 720,000 hours of video uploaded per day. So its no way that anyone can listen to that. So what happens is we get swapped with it. So you cant do it all, but you wanna look at those 4. Now so weve talked about the 7 and the 11. Terry Brock: Now we come up to the 4, the 4 platforms that are there. Gina, what are your thoughts on those 4 platforms, what you would recommend, and why would you recommend them? Gina Carr: Well, I think you need to choose the platforms that youre gonna be most comfortable with and the ones where you believe that your people are gonna be most receptive. So that can include social media channels. It certainly can include your website or websites, your emails, your physical events, or your virtual events. Regarding social media, one of the ones that I like best that we havent talked about yet is the LinkedIn newsletter. So this is a special feature of LinkedIn that allows you to create a newsletter, essentially, its like your own newspaper. And every time you post to the newsletter, it sends a notice directly to the email of the person who subscribed. And because LinkedIn is really supporting this feature, its promoting and and helping you get a lot of subscribers very quickly. So I thats a feature that weve been teaching for a while, our clients are loving, and were loving as well. Terry Brock: Yeah. I think theres a lot of platforms there that we can use, and those kind of tools are good. So be bear in mind, what you wanna do is you wanna have the right kind of platform, get your message out, and make sure that youre doing something that is answering a specific question. Because theres so much information out there, the 720,000 plus videos uploaded every hour, you wanna make sure that yours answers a specific question. Because if you think about it, if your expertise is on well, lets say ours is AI, which is what it is. We look at AI, particularly how you can turn content into cash using AI and build relationship marketing. Those are our real narrow. Now theres a lot of other areas even within AI that you can focus on, but you want to answer those specific questions and become the subject matter expert in a particular area. Terry Brock: Because were so much out there, well, thats good that people can get all those answers, but also you wanna focus in on whats gonna be important. As an example, one that I did recently, I was doing a program as a professional speaker. I go out and speak to a lot of different places, and I was speaking for the big annual meeting for about, oh, there were about 10,000 people there at this, event. And I got a chance to talk with them about what was going on in their industry. And so what I did is I went and did a search on Perplexity, one of my favorite AI tools, and I told them, here is what is going on in the next 6 months that your customers want to know based on the research and data that we got from 100 of thousands of robots going out, checking different data points on what your customers like and want more of. Would that be of interest to you? And, of course, they said, yes. Of course. We wanted that. Terry Brock: And so I put it all into a Google Doc that I shared with them. So they had this way before it was going. I was in a June presentation, and and so they were interested in whats gonna work in the second half of the year. So I put it together that way, and it worked really nicely. So this is something you can do in a major way, making sure that its customized. Another one I did recently, I was working for a group in one industry where they had certain challenges. I got in, studied that industry as I like to customize these presentations. And on the day that I was supposed to speak was a Tuesday. Terry Brock: The day before that, Monday afternoon, there was a major announcement from OpenAI about chat gpt. Big thing that happened and changed a lot and changed it for their industry. So what I did is I went in there and changed my presentation. I put together all the slides, omitted a bunch of them, brought in some new things, created some new ones to say, heres what they announced yesterday and what you can use here in your industry. Well, they were flabbergasted. They were like, this is great. You know, we can use it because it was exactly what they need. And the whole point is you wanna make sure that its highly relevant to the people that youre talking to. Terry Brock: Make sure that they are working with you, and you understand that. Gina, I know youve done that as well sometimes when you customize programs, when youre talking to someone. Have you seen that thats something that audiences look to and something that ties in with the 7, 11, 4 strategy? Gina Carr: Well, certainly, it does. And as we are presenting and sharing ideas, sharing our insights, and sharing tools and ways for people to reach their own customers and grow their business, which is what were focused on, Thats been, thats been a big part of what we do. Absolutely. Terry Brock: Yeah. I think theres a lot there. And so what youd wanna do in that case, for instance, those two cases there, I was working with a speakers bureau. Theyve known me for decades, literally. Ive worked with them a lot. So when their client their client said, who is someone that would be good to talk about AI for our industry? Well, they said, well, Terry Brock, of course. So we are able to help them on that. And this is all the key. Terry Brock: Its about building relationships, all about getting to know people, those seven hours of contact they have minimum, then the 11 touch points. And I would say you want those to be going on on a regular basis. So you see, what it really comes down to is 7114 involves relationships. Its about relationships, anticipating what theyre gonna need. And, again, this is not the exact number. Its not like you must do it 7 hours exactly. No. Sometimes it might be a little less. Terry Brock: Sometimes it might be more. Like when my, speakers bureaus that I work with talk to their clients, they dont take 7 hours to say, we you need Terry Brock. They go, hey. Terry would be perfect for this one right here. Now if you wanna talk about team building or something, thats not Terry. Okay. We got some others who do that. But you want this on AI, relationships mark relationship marketing, the latest tools and what you can use. Terry Brock: Terry Brocks the guy for you. And so the their client listened to that and said, okay. Were gonna go with Terry. And they make the decision. So this is good, and this is how it all works together. You anticipate whats there, and you start looking forward to that. So, Gina, theres a lot involved in this. I see theres a lot going on there. Terry Brock: Anything that, you want I know you had mentioned some things about the the others are doing this on, building the long term relationship, something with Gary Vaynerchuk. As we were putting this together, what were your thoughts on how Gary v is bringing this in so well? Gina Carr: Well, when I think about someone who is doing a great job of creating a lot of content that people can consume. Gary v is the poster child for that, and I was, just listening to some updates from him. I believe his team is maybe 20 people, and I think his goal is to put out a 100 pieces original pieces of content every day. And even with even with a team of 20, he says he feels like hes not doing enough. So it it can be overwhelming, but if you just start working on content, working on creating content out of things youre doing already so it doesnt have to be in the silo of go create some content. Its film yourself doing things that youre already doing or take excerpts from trainings that youre already creating. Or as soon as you get off the phone with a client or thinking about something, just write some notes, make some posts about it, and it can all come to life. So just just make it a regular part of what youre doing. Terry Brock: I think youre right. I like the way you say that, Gina. Make it a regular part of what youre doing. And so thats what were talking about here at Stark Raving Entrepreneurs. Work with this. Make sure that its something that we can, see we as customers of yours, how we can use that, how we can work with you, and how we can make sure that things are working in a better way all the time. Thats the real key and what it what matters most when youre talking about relationship marketing and doing it. And a matter of fact, if you wanna find out more about that, come on over and join us at Stark Raving Entrepreneurs. Terry Brock: And be sure and hit that like, share, and subscribe button. That way, youll get a chance to know when we got another piece of content for you, and youll also be able to tell the algorithms you like the idea of relationship marketing and working with people. And heres some goodies that we wanna make available to you. Go over to ai tools for biz dotcom. Thats all in lowercase, ai tools, the number 4, biz.com, and well get you some good ideas right there. Theyll tell you about tools like Canva, DALL E 3, chat g p t, and many, many others. And, also, we got something for you here that I wanna share with you, a QR code. Theyll help you get over there to ai tools for biz.com. Terry Brock: You just click on that. I know you got your phone with you. You can take a look at that and get some real goodies and some other videos that are waiting for you. Thank you very much for joining us, and this is a part of a movement. Its a part of helping people to help other people to make the world a better place by using AI, build relationships. Using that Google 7 11 4 technique. I think its sound real good. On behalf of Gina Carr and myself, Im Terry Brock. Terry Brock: Thanks for joining us today. The NFU has said that 'crucial questions' remain over the use of methane suppressing supplements in the UK following recent calls for the government to incentivise them. The union's comment follows analysis by the Green Alliance, which said British farmers were being 'left behind' in tackling greenhouse gas emissions. Methane suppressants - which can be made out of chemicals or natural ingredients such as seaweed - would be a cheaper way to tackle emissions than current Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) offerings, the think thank said. It noted that government support in the UK lacked in comparison to subsidies offered in Belgium and Slovenia. Defra has talked about mandating the use of methane suppressants by 2030 and is developing a Dairy Demonstrator programme, explained Green Alliance. But this isnt backed up by support for farmers to use these products, whereas farmers in Belgium and Slovenia are receiving subsidies of up to 80% of the costs through new agricultural payments." Responding to this, the NFU said methane suppressing supplements had the potential to be 'a really useful' tool to reduce farm GHG emissions. But it warned there were 'crucial questions' about how these products worked, their long-term effectiveness and their impact on animal health and welfare. Farmers also faced the additional cost of buying the suppressants - at a time when many see higher feed and fertiliser costs. The union's president Tom Bradshaw said: Viability must also be addressed in terms of costs, credible certification and availability, as well as finding solutions to inconsistent and unequal intake by cattle in grazing systems. Feed supplements are just one piece of the puzzle, and they need to work alongside a range of further GHG emission-reducing techniques, such as genetic selection, efficiency improvements and other technologies." Livestock, particularly cows and sheep, are the main cause of greenhouse gas emissions in the agricultural sector. But research has shown promising evidence that feed products with methane-inhibiting properties could significantly reduce emissions. In its report, Green Alliance said the government should include methane suppressants in its SFI scheme and that doing so would be a cheap solution to reducing the UK's methane emissions. It said: If this product was fed to just a third of English dairy cows, it could cut UK-wide methane emissions by around one per cent, i.e. almost 16,000 tonnes per year, equivalent to half a million tonnes of CO2. "The cost of implementing it is relatively low, only about half a penny per pint of milk produced. In October 2023, Defra renewed its commitment to reducing methane emissions in livestock through plans to incentivise the use of methane suppressing feed products in England. : ... Aliens are more likely to be purple than green. Purple aliens could be roaming in space Scientists have long thought that extraterrestrials were green like the colour of the pigment chlorophyll that enables oxygen to sustain life on Earth but new research suggests that they could in fact be purple like the earliest bacteria on our planet. Experts are now planning to make sure telescopes are capable of searching for purple pigments to prevent any evidence of alien life in space from being overlooked. Lisa Kaltenegger, co-author of the study at Cornell University in New York, told the Scientific American news website: "(The move is designed) to create a database for signs of life to make sure our telescopes don't miss life it happens not to look exactly like what we encounter around us every day. "Purple bacteria can survive and thrive under such a variety of conditions that it is easy to imagine that on many different worlds. Purple may just be the new green." Men are three times more likely than women to have sex on the mind. Men are a lot more likely to have sex on the brain A study has revealed that one in eight chaps fear they could be addicts compared to just one in 25 females while men were more likely to be concerned about the amount of pornography they watched. Over 2,800 people in the US were asked if they thought their sexual behaviour was addictive or out of control in the past six months and between eight and 13 per cent of men admitted that it was, with the figures dropping to just three to four per cent for women. Professor Joshua Grubbs, a researcher at the University of New Mexico, explained that men were more likely to be worried that they are overdoing it regarding sex and thinks that something that alarms so many should be subject to more attention. He said: "Concerns about sexual addiction and compulsivity are common enough in the general population to warrant attention from mental health research." Matthew Perry said taking ketamine was like being hit in the head with a giant happy shovel a year before he was killed by the drug. Matthew Perry said taking ketamine was like being hit in the head with a giant happy shovel a year before he was killed by the drug The tormented Friends actor who shot to fame playing Chandler Bing on the NBC sitcom from 1994 to 2004 was killed on 28 October, 2023, aged 54 from the acute effects of the anaesthetic after getting into the hot-tub of his $6million mansion in the Pacific Palisades area of Los Angeles while high on three doses of the substance, with five people now indicted over his passing. An extract about the drug from Matthews 2022 memoir Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing which dealt with his years of addiction has resurfaced since their arrests. In a section of the book in which the actor wrote about using ketamine therapy to treat his depression, he said its numbing effect was like being hit in the head with a giant happy shovel. He added: (It) has my name written all over it they might as well have called it Matty. Ketamine felt like a giant exhale. Theyd bring me into a room, sit me down, put headphones on me so I would listen to music, blindfold me, and put an IV in. Matthew said the drip contained Ativan and ketamine, and he would lie down for an hour while it flowed into his bloodstream. He went on: I would disassociate, see things Id been in therapy for so long that I wasnt even freaked out by this: Oh, theres a horse over there? Fine might as well be. As the music played and the K ran through me, it all became about the ego, and the death of the ego. I often thought that I was dying during that hour. Oh, I thought, this is what happens when you die. Yet I would continually sign up for this s*** because it was something different, and anything different is good. Even though he was a fan of the drugs effects and despite him going on to take the drug after saying he was clean in promotional interviews for his book Matthew insisted in his autobiography ketamine was not for me. He added: (The) hangover was rough (I) felt like a f****** pin cushion. Matthew Perrys former partner and assistant has insisted he was petrified of needles. Matthew Perrys former partner and assistant has insisted he was petrified of needles The actor propelled to global fame playing Chandler Bing on NBC sitcom Friends from 1994 to 2004 and who was killed on 28 October, 2023, aged 54 from the acute effects of anaesthetic ketamine after receiving three injections of the drug has had the circumstances of his death questioned by his ex-employee Kayti Edwards. She told the Daily Mirror about how she was convinced he would never agree to being injected as he told he had a fear of dying from a jab: This is the weird thing to me Matthew always, always told me that he would never, ever, use needles or inject anything into his body. He didnt even want to have tattoos. I would often see him very high and using lots of different drugs. I would always get so scared, and tell him that he had to stop mixing all this stuff, saying, Youre gonna die. But he was like You only die when you use needles and I would never, ever, ever do that. Kayti, 47, was Matthews assistant in 2011, and she dated the Friends star in 2006, with the pair staying friends until his death. Matthews assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, 59, has told authorities he administered three doses of ketamine by injection to the actor on the day he died. But Kayti said: When I heard that he let his assistant do it, I just couldnt understand, especially as he had no medical training. Iwamasa was among five people indicted over Matthews death, and he has already pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute ketamine causing death. He admitted in plea deal papers to repeatedly injecting Perry with ketamine without medical training. US Attorney Martin Estrada said two doctors charged in connection to the actors death cared more about profiting off of Mr Perry than caring for his well-being. He added: Matthew Perrys journey began with unscrupulous doctors who abused their position of trust because they saw him as a payday, to street dealers who gave him ketamine in unmarked vials. Nev Schulman is back on his feet after breaking his neck when he was knocked off his bike by a truck. Nev Schulman is walking again after his accident The 'Catfish' star was rushed to hospital earlier this month after he was involved in a terrifying accident on the way to pick his son up from school and he needed emergency spinal surgery after sustaining a number of "stable fractures" - but Nev has now revealed he's up and walking again after the crash. Sharing a video of himself walking around wearing a neck brace on Instagram, Nev explained: "Its been two weeks since I broke my neck and had emergency spine surgery. And I thought Id get on here [and] just give you all a quick little update. "As you can see, Im up and about. Finishing a little neighbourhood stroll, he said, "which was recommended to me by my physical therapist to keep my body moving. "I never had such fatigue from a 10-minute walk but Im almost home now. I mainly just wanted to get on here to say thank you." Nev went on to thank all the medical staff at the hospital in New York where he was treated after the crash as well as all his friends and family for supporting him as he recovers from his injuries. He added: "Thank you to the doctors and nurses at Stony Brook [hospital]. Thank you my family and friends for all the amazing support that Ive been given and felt deeply for the past two weeks. And thank you so much to you guys. "The support and love that Ive been getting online has been really, really incredible. It meant so much to me. So thank you, really, from the bottom of my heart. "If Ive learned anything in the last two weeks, its to really appreciate what you have. Because you can lose it in a second. You can lose it in a second." In a previous update after the accident, Nev revealed he was lucky not to have been left paralysed and is now expected to make a full recovery. Nev - who is dad to Cleo, seven, Beau, five, and two-year-old Cy with wife Laura Perlongo - said of the accident: "I never made it to pick up my son from school on the bike. In fact in some ways, Im glad I didnt. I was alone on impact. Me and the truck. And then I guess the pavement. "I was alone and unconscious. And then conscious. Maybe I was fine (I wasnt). Maybe I can still do my long run on Thursday (I couldnt). "I broke my neck. C5 and C6 to be exact. Stable fractures. Im not paralysed. My hands were a question mark there for a minute but the human body is incredible and so are HUMANS [sic]." Sabrina Carpenter feels "lucky" that no-one tries to tell her what to do. Sabrina Carpenter loves writing her own music The 25-year-old pop star loves writing her own songs and, at this stage of her career, Sabrina doesn't welcome a lot of outside input. The blonde beauty - who has just released her new album, 'Short n' Sweet' - told the Guardian newspaper: "Im very lucky that I dont have people around me telling me what to do Im also a Taurus, so if they did, Id probably get a little stubborn." Asked if she's a tyrant in the studio, Sabrina replied: "Im a tyrant in life." Sabrina is determined to be open and honest with her songwriting. But the 'Espresso' hitmaker is aware of the potential pitfalls. Discussing the impact of existing in a social media era, Sabrina said: "Its not what I signed up for, but I cant really help when I was born". "I want to be honest I want to just write about whats happening in my life as a 25-year-old girl. But it comes with the territory and I just have to be like OK!" Sabrina is riding high on the success of 'Espresso', the first single from her sixth album 'ShortnSweet' and is now considered one of 2024s biggest pop stars a decade after she released her first single. She added to The Guardian: "Full transparency: I've never really been on charts until quite recently, so it's a newfound, like I'm interested. "It's not the reason I write music and its not the reason I'll ever write music. It's like the sprinkles on top of the sundae." Sabrina was raised in small-town Pennsylvania and kicked off her career as a child actor aged 11, with a role in 'Girl Meets World', before signing a deal with Disneys Hollywood Records. She added from a young age she had "no plan-B mentality" when it came to her showbiz career. The United Kingdom imported apparel from Turkiye worth $615.123 million during January-May 2024. Inbound shipments were noted at $1,750.479 million in 2023 and $2,247.352 million in 2022. Around 85 per cent of apparel imports from the country were recorded at $9.53 per unit in the first five months of the current year. According to Fibre2Fashion's market insight tool TexPro, out of the total apparel import from Turkiye, the UK imported 54.882 million units of apparel at a unit price of $9.53, totalling $522.828 million in the first five months of the current year. Apparel imported by number of units accounted for 85 per cent of the total apparel imports. It is worth noting that the UK categorises apparel into four groups for better representation. The UK imported $615.123 million worth of apparel from Turkiye during January-May 2024, with 85 per cent of imports priced at $9.53 per unit. In 2023, imports totalled $1.75 billion. The UK imported 54.882 million apparel units in 2024. Other imports included pairs valued at $53.438 million and 1.312 million kg of apparel at $28.38 per kg. The country imported $65.791 million worth of other apparel, which were valued at $53.438 million during the same period. The per pair import price was $0.81 during this period. It also imported 1.312 million kg of another type of apparel at $28.38 per kg, valued at $37.240 million during the period. There were also imports of 14,737 UNK (unknown units) at a price of $41.78 per unit, totalling imports of $0.615 million, as per TexPro. In 2023, the UK imported 166.207 million units at an average price of $8.88 per unit, totalling $1,475.512 million. The largest category of apparel accounted for around 84 per cent of the total apparel imports from Turkiye. Apparel imported in pairs were valued at $156.888 million, with an average price of $0.80 per pair. Apparel imported in kilograms were valued at $115.935 million, and the imports in UNK were valued at $2.142 million. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL) A coalition of prominent international organizations, including Amfori, Cascale, Ethical Trade Denmark, Ethical Trade Norway, the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), ETI Sweden, the Fair Labor Association, Fair Wear Foundation, and Mondiaal FNV, have issued a joint call to companies operating in and sourcing from Bangladesh to conduct their business responsibly. This appeal comes in light of recent events in Bangladesh that continue to have significant repercussions on the country's garment, footwear, and accessories industries. The coalition highlighted ongoing concerns, such as reports of unpaid or reduced wages for workers in July and the extended overtime being demanded of factory employees. These issues underscore the critical need for responsible business practices to address the adverse impacts on workers as the situation in Bangladesh continues to evolve, the coalition said in a joint statement. The organisations collectively recommend that companies uphold their commitments to suppliers, conduct enhanced human rights due diligence (eHRDD), and implement responsible purchasing practices to mitigate potential negative impacts on workers and supply chains. Their guidance is grounded in a commitment to international human rights laws and standards, including the International Labour Organization (ILO) core conventions and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). The coalition emphasised that these standards must be adhered to in all circumstances, especially during periods of civil unrest and transition, as is currently the case in Bangladesh. The coalition urges companies to conduct human rights due diligence in line with the UNGPs to better understand the rapidly changing situation in Bangladesh. This process is vital for identifying and mitigating risks, as well as providing remedies where necessary. Additionally, they stress the importance of meaningful stakeholder engagement, particularly with workers and their representatives, as defined by the OECD. The organisations also call on companies to implement responsible purchasing practices in accordance with the Common Framework for Responsible Purchasing Practices. This approach is seen as essential to maintaining the integrity of supply chains and safeguarding workers' rights. The coalition has been actively engaging with affected stakeholders in Bangladesh to monitor the impacts on workers and the industry. By working together, these organisations aim to facilitate a collective response to the challenges faced by the sector. Together, these organisations represent over 3,000 international brands, retailers, suppliers, and workers involved in global supply chains. Their member companies source a significant share of products and services from factories in Bangladesh and are committed to responsible business conduct and sustainable trade practices. In their joint statement, the coalition expressed optimism for a stable future for Bangladesh, underpinned by responsible business practices that prioritise the well-being of workers and the sustainability of the industry. A global coalition urged companies sourcing from Bangladesh to act responsibly amid ongoing challenges in the garment sector. They highlighted concerns over unpaid wages and excessive overtime, recommending enhanced human rights due diligence and responsible purchasing. The coalition emphasised adherence to international standards for workers' well-being. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP) Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2024) - Wedgemount Resources Corp. (CSE: WDGY) ("Wedgemount" or the "Company") is pleased to announce, further to the news release dated July 29, 2024, that it has closed the first tranche (the "First Tranche") of its non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") of convertible debenture units (the "Debenture Units") of the Company at a price of CAD$1,000 per Debenture Unit. Under the First Tranche, a total of 1,615 Debenture Units were sold for gross proceeds of $1,615,000. Each Debenture Unit is comprised of CAD$1,000 principal amount of unsecured redeemable convertible debenture (a "Debenture") and 2,941 common share purchase warrants (each, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one common share of Wedgemount (each a "Common Share") at a price of CAD$0.30 for a period of thirty-six (36) months from the date of issuance thereof. The Convertible Debentures will bear interest at a rate of 10.0% per annum, calculated and payable semi-annually in arrears, commencing February 24, 2025 and maturing thirty-six (36) months from the date of issuance (the "Maturity Date"). The principal amount of each Convertible Debenture will be convertible into Common Shares of the Company at a price of CAD$0.17 at the option of the holder of a Convertible Debenture at any time prior to the close of business on the Maturity Date. On or after August 24, 2025 the Convertible Debentures may be redeemed in whole or in part from time to time at the option of the Company at CAD$1,050 plus accrued and unpaid interest. Under the Offering, the Company issued a total of 30 finder's Debentures equal in number to up to 5% of the number of Debenture Units sold by the respective finder, together with 88,230 finder's warrants (the "Finder's Warrants"). Each Finder's Warrant is exercisable to purchase one common share of the Company at a price of CAD$0.30 for a period of 36 months following closing of the First Tranche. The Convertible Debentures are unsecured obligations of the Company and are subordinated in right of payment of principal and interest to all secured debt and to all existing and future senior indebtedness of the Company and senior to any of the Company's future debt that is expressly subordinated to the Convertible Debentures. The net proceeds received by the Company from the Offering will be used for the acquisition of the Huggy Assets described in the Company's July 29, 2024 news release and for continued optimization of the Company's operated oil and gas assets. One Insider of the Company participated in the Offering, acquiring 500 Debentures and 1,470,500 Warrants. As such, the closing of the Offering may constitute a related party transaction under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"), but is otherwise exempt from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements of MI 61-101 by virtue Sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, as neither the fair market value of any securities issued to, nor the consideration paid by such person, exceeds 25% of the Company's market capitalization. The securities issued pursuant the Offering are subject to a statutory four month and one day hold period, which expires on December 22, 2024. About Wedgemount Resources Corp. Wedgemount Resources is a junior oil & gas company focused on maximizing shareholder value through the acquisition, development and exploitation of natural resource projects in the southern USA. On behalf of the Board of Directors, WEDGEMOUNT RESOURCES CORP. Mark Vanry, President and CEO Reader Advisory Certain statements in this press release may contain forward-looking information (within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation), including, without limitation, the intended use of proceeds from the Offering and issuance of Common Shares in connection therewith. These statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date those statements are made. 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 the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include regulatory actions, market prices, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to update or to publicly announce the results of any change to any forward-looking statement contained or incorporated by reference herein to reflect actual results, future events or developments, changes in assumptions, or changes in other factors affecting the forward-looking statements. If the Company updates any forward-looking statement(s), no inference should be drawn that it will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN THE UNITED STATES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/220871 SOURCE: Wedgemount Resources Corp. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2024) - Legend Power Systems Inc. (TSXV: LPS) (OTCQB: LPSIF) ("Legend Power" or the "Company"), a global leader in commercial electrical system solutions, reports its financial results for the three months ended June 30, 2024 ("Q3 F2024"). The Company has also scheduled a conference call to provide a business update to discuss its Q3 F2024 financial results tomorrow at 11:00 AM ET (8:00 AM PT) (details below). The call will be hosted by Randy Buchamer, President & Chief Executive Officer. A complete set of Financial Statements and Management's Discussion & Analysis has been filed at www.sedarplus.ca. All dollar figures are quoted in Canadian dollars. Q3 F2024 Highlights Revenue of $1.04 million versus $470 thousand in Q3 F2023 Adjusted EBITDA loss of $392 thousand versus a $884 thousand loss in Q3 F2023 Net loss of $482 thousand versus a $1.02 million loss in Q3 F2023 Cash of $806 thousand, no debt, and $1.5 million in working capital at June 30, 2024 "The third quarter of fiscal 2024 illustrated several key milestones we have been talking about over the last few quarters," said Randy Buchamer, Legend Power Systems CEO. "These include, gross margin improvement to 50% illustrating the power of our financial model, initial orders and deliveries of our Gen3 systems and an LOI for another $3 million from the DOD, bringing order visibility to $5.5 million over the last few quarters. As we work to close additional deals, our pipeline continues to grow. We continue to manage our cash carefully and expect that with deposits and working capital we have the funds necessary to execute on our business model. I look forward to being able to update investors as additional deals are finalized in the coming quarters." Q3 F2024 Operational Highlights Progress continues with the City of New York's Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) IDEA program. The City of New York has closed its first round of bids for school projects, which includes the SmartGATE solution in the specification and the award is expected to result in bookings in the near future. The first order from DCAS was received during the quarter, with the expectation of additional orders to follow. The second site for the Green Proving Ground program for the United States General Services Administration has been selected, which operates approximately 1,800 federally owned buildings is proceeding well. This second unit will be commissioned and shipped in the coming months. The Company continues to build upon key milestones achieved in the prior year, the deployment and evaluation schedule continues to progress. The pipeline remains very strong with opportunities into government and commercial real estate including residential, hospitality, big box retail and commercial office. Currently Legend Power Systems is engaged in active sales processes with several of the top firms in the Commercial Real Estate space, with large building portfolios. Q3 F2024 Financial Highlights Financial summary for the three and nine months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023 Three months ended June 30, Nine months ended June 30, (Cdn$, unless noted otherwise) 2024 2023 Change 2024 2023 Change Revenue 1,042,412 470,310 122% 1,167,638 946,979 23% Cost of sales 522,274 366,307 43% 611,845 747,124 (18)% Gross margin1 520,138 104,003 555,793 199,855 Gross margin %1 50% 22% 48% 21% Operating expenses 999,539 1,128,015 (11)% 3,037,366 3,429,420 (11)% Other income (2,985) 5,444 (155)% 10,539 17,392 (39)% Net loss (482,386) (1,018,568) 53% (2,471,034) (3,212,173) 23% Adjusted EBITDA2 (392,191) (883,821) 56% (2,175,010) (2,769,341) 21% 1 Gross margin is based on a blend of both equipment and installation revenue. 2 Adjusted EBITDA is a non-IFRS financial measure. See EBITDA Reconciliation for details. Revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2024, was $1,042,412 compared with $470,310 in the same quarter of fiscal 2023. The increase in revenue during Q3 of fiscal 2024 was primarily due to an increase in the number of SmartGATE units delivered during the period. Gross margin in the third quarter of fiscal 2024 was $520,138 (50%), compared with $104,003 (22%) in same quarter of fiscal 2023. The increase in gross margins in Q3 of fiscal 2024 was due to an increase in the average selling price of SmartGATE units. The Company's operating expenses for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 were $999,539, down from $1,128,015 in the same quarter of fiscal 2023. The primary cause for the decrease was lower salaries and consulting costs as a result of internal cost cutting measures. Adjusted EBITDA for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 was negative $392,191, compared with negative $883,821 in same quarter of fiscal 2023. Net loss for the third quarter of fiscal 2024 was $482,386, compared with a net loss of $1,018,568 in the same quarter of fiscal 2023. Increase in gross margins and decreased operating costs in Q3 of fiscal 2024 compared with the same quarter of fiscal 2023 resulted in a lower net loss. CONFERENCE CALL DETAILS: DATE: Friday, August 23, 2024 TIME: 11:00 AM ET (8:00 AM PT) WEBINAR: Legend Power Q3 Fiscal 2024 Financial Results Investor Webinar (via Zoom) REPLAY: Available at: https://legendpower.com About Legend Power Systems Inc. Legend Power Systems Inc. (https://legendpower.com/) provides an intelligent energy management platform that analyzes and improves building energy challenges, significantly impacting asset management and corporate performance. Legend Power's proven solutions support proactive executive decision-making in a complex and volatile business and energy environment. The proprietary and patented system reduces total energy consumption and power costs, while also maximizing the life of electrical equipment. Legend Power's unique solution is also a key contributor to both corporate sustainability efforts and the meeting of utility energy efficiency targets. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This Press Release may contain statements which constitute "forward-looking information", including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities and operating performance of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities or performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Such risks, uncertainties and factors are described in the periodic filings with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, including the Company's quarterly and annual Management's Discussion & Analysis, which may be viewed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or 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. Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results to not be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements other than as may be required by applicable law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/220869 SOURCE: Legend Power Systems Inc. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2024) - Pure Energy Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: PE) (OTCQB: PEMIF) ("Pure Energy" or "the Company") announces that it has granted a total of 800,000 stock options (the "Options") to directors, officers and consultants of the Company to purchase common shares of the Company in accordance with its approved Stock Option Plan. The Options vest over one year and are issued at an exercise price of C$0.30 per share with expiry of five years from the date of issuance. The Option grant is subject to TSX Exchange approval. The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Ann Fehr as Corporate Secretary and extends its appreciation to Ms. Yulia McCutcheon for her dedication and contributions to Pure Energy as Corporate Secretary during the past year, and wishes her well in future endeavours. About Pure Energy Pure Energy Minerals is a lithium resource company that has consolidated a pre-eminent land position at its Clayton Valley Project in the Clayton Valley of central Nevada for the exploration and development of lithium resources, comprising 950 claims over 23,360 acres (9,450 hectares), representing the largest land holdings in the valley. Pure Energy's strategic partner, SLB, is operator of the Clayton Valley Project. In May of 2019, Pure Energy and SLB signed an Earn-In agreement over the CV Project which requires significant investment by SLB in the Project, to include the design and construction of a pilot plant capable of processing lithium-bearing brines for high-quality lithium hydroxide monohydrate ("lithium hydroxide" or "LiOHH2O") and/or lithium carbonate ("Li2CO3") products at a specified rate. For further details regarding SLB's participation, please refer to Pure Energy's Annual General and Special Meeting Management Information Circular dated April 4, 2019, available on SEDARplus.com. On behalf of the Board of Directors, "Joseph Mullin" CEO, Pure Energy Minerals Ltd. Cautionary Statements and Forward-Looking Information The information in this news release contains forward looking statements that are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include: changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry, change in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry. Forward-looking statements in this release may include future exploration and development on the Clayton Valley Project. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, results may vary, and we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except as required by applicable laws. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture 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/220890 SOURCE: Pure Energy Minerals Ltd. An Enchanting Fusion of Culture and Dance Captivates Spectators Against the Majestic Backdrop of Nature's Wonder NIAGARA FALLS, ON / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2024 / The captivating performances of "My Mulan Fantasy Dance Drama" produced by Mulan Culture Company and Lindance Dance Academy, enthralled audiences at the Fallsview Theatre, Niagara Falls Convention Center, over two weekends from August 9-18. This marks a significant milestone as the production, produced by Xu Hu and directed by Lin Li, ventured beyond the Greater Toronto Area after five successful rounds of 12 performances. The event received enthusiastic support from prominent figures, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, MP Tony Baldinelli, MPP Wayne Gates, Mayor Jim Diodati, City Councilor Mona Patel, Deputy Lord Mayor Erwin Wiens, and Doug Birrell, President of the Niagara Falls Canada Hotel Association. The attendance of China's Acting Consul General in Toronto, Cheng Hongbo, and Deputy Consul General Guo Jian at the premiere highlighted the show's international importance. "My Mulan" follows the journey of modern-day Michelle, who, despite her self-doubt, draws strength from the legendary tale of Hua Mulan. Disguised as a man to take her ailing father's place in the army, Mulan leads her troops to victory, empowering Michelle to reclaim her confidence and return to the stage. Featuring innovative choreography, stunning visual effects, and a diverse cast of approximately 100 performers-including local talents like Molly Levay-"My Mulan" sets a new standard for multicultural narratives in dance theatre. Co-presented by the Canadian Mulan Cultural Association and the Canadian International Dance Culture Association, this original dance drama is the first of its kind in North America. Prime Minister Trudeau praised the team's dedication to showcasing Chinese culture on Canada's multicultural stage, while Acting Consul General Cheng expressed pride in the production's ability to reach an international audience and share Mulan's spirit with the world. Mayor Jim Diodati lauded the performance as a perfect fit for Niagara Falls, highlighting its "magnificent choreography, exquisite costumes, and professional displays of dance, martial arts, and gymnastics." He expressed hopes that "My Mulan" could become a cultural landmark for the city. Doug Birrell emphasized the emotional depth and modern dialogue of "My Mulan," noting its resonance with audiences and its potential to enhance the cultural impact of the Niagara Falls region. The production collaborated with major hotels in the area, with support from Ms. Anna DiCienzo, VP of Sales from Niagara Falls Hotels, in promoting tourism in Niagara Falls. Following the performances, "My Mulan" received overwhelmingly positive feedback from attendees who traveled from New York, Buffalo, Ottawa, Montreal, and the Greater Toronto Area, many of whom came specifically for the show. Continuously refined since its premiere in 2019, "My Mulan" aspires to become a classic cultural hallmark. This summer, the all-star cast features American dancer Xinyi Zhang as the heroic Mulan and renowned Canadian dance troupe leader Kealan McLaughlin as the loyal general. The production masterfully blends dance and martial arts, capturing the essence of Mulan's spirit and motivational power. The stage design, enhanced by dynamic backdrops and multimedia elements, further enriched the experience. Special performances by Toronto's rap newcomer Forever Chen and Christina Li, along with a live choir in the lotus-picking scene, added a three-dimensional narrative depth. "My Mulan" not only mesmerized audiences with its outstanding performances but also continued its charitable mission, promoting the theme of "Walking with Love." A portion of the proceeds from this performance will be donated to the Niagara Health Foundation to support the construction of the new South Niagara Hospital, which will benefit local residents' health and well-being. Audience members praised the choreography, exquisite costumes, original storyline, and diverse dance styles, expressing hopes for the production to have a permanent presence in the Falls and become a cultural landmark in the stunning Niagara Falls region. The show is poised to significantly enhance local tourism and enrich the cultural landscape of Niagara Falls. For more information about "My Mulan," please visit our website at https://mymulan.ca and follow us on Instagram @mymulan.ca. Contact Information Xu Hu Producer mymulan.ca@gmail.com 6478383268 Related Files FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-My Mulan (1) SOURCE: Mulan Culture Company View the original press release on newswire.com. Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2024) - Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits Inc. (TSXV: DWS) ("Diamond Estates" or "the Company") today announced its financial results for the three-month period ending June 30, 2024 ("Q1 2025"). Q1 2025 Summary: Revenue for Q1 2025 was $6.2 million, a decrease of $1.7 million, from $7.9 million in Q1 2024. The Winery division experienced an increase in sales of $0.4 million while the Agency division experienced a decrease of $2.1 million. The increase in sales in the Winery division is largely attributable to the VQA wine support program of $0.7 million and sales of D'Ont Poke the Bear of $0.4 million offset by bulk sales of $0.6 million and the sales from Queenston Mile Vineyard in the prior year. The decrease in the Agency division was primarily driven by the loss of two suppliers in the prior year in the amount of $2.1 million; Gross margin1 as a percentage of revenue increased to 44.8% for Q1 2025 compared to 36.8% in Q1 2024; however, gross margin for Q1 2025 was $2.8 million, a decrease of $0.1 million, from $2.9 million in Q1 2024. The gross margin at the Wineries increased from 36.3% in Q1 2024 to 47.7% in Q1 2025 as a result, of the VQA Wine support program and general margin increases across various skus in the wholesale channel as a result improving cost of goods sold and strategic price increases. The gross margin at the Agency decreased from 37.4% in Q1 2024 to 33.6% in Q1 2025 from the loss of a key supplier and its related revenue in the commission markets; Adjusted EBITDA1 increased by $0.6 million to negative $0.3 million in Q1 2025 from a negative $0.9 million in Q1 2024. The increase is mostly the result of improving gross margin as a percent of sales and an overall decrease in SG&A expenses of $0.6 million compared to the prior year; and Net loss of $2.0 million, compared to a net loss of $2.5 million in Q1 2024, includes $0.6 million of charges resulting from the debt reduction program and the rationalization of the Company's footprint. Subsequent Event(s) Private placement On July 17, 2024, the Company closed a fully subscribed non-brokered private placement through the issuance of 11,466,065 common shares at an issue price of $0.20 per common share. The aggregate gross proceeds of $2.3 million were used for general working capital purposes. Lassonde and a company related to it subscribed for 9,000,000 of the total common shares issued. Deferred share units ("DSUs) In August, 2024, the Company issued an aggregate of 163,888 DSUs in settlement of $44,250 of previously accrued deferred directors compensation. VQA proceeds In July, 2024, the Company received the $2.1 million of VQA Wine Support Program accrued as at March 31, 2024. Agreement with Renaissance Wine Merchants On June 6, 2024, in accordance with the terms of the agreement, TBP gave written notice to exercise a put-option. As of the reporting date, the Company has received $1.5 million and expects to receive an additional $0.8 million. The Company continues to work collaboratively with Renaissance and continues with its discussions around a potential merger. BMO non-revolving loan repayment Under the terms of its amended BMO credit agreement, the Company was required to have repaid all of its non- revolving term loan by May 31, 2024. As of the date of release of these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements, the balance of $6.8 million outstanding as of June 30, 2024 has been reduced by the scheduled monthly principal payments of $0.1 million, the VQA Wine Support Program of $2.1 million, $1.5 million from the exercise of the put option agreement with Renaissance and $0.1 million from the sale of bulk wine leading to an outstanding balance of $3.0 million. The Company expects to apply the proceeds of the assets currently held for sale, and the remainder of the expected proceeds from the exercise of the TBP put option with Renaissance against this indebtedness. While management expects the target to be achieved, there is uncertainty relating to the amount and timing of the actual funds that will ultimately be received. President's Message "We continue to experience an unprecedented time in the beverage alcohol industry here in Canada, and around the world. With dramatic changes in the Retail landscape in our core market of Ontario, significant changes in consumer behaviour, weather related events impacting vineyards and changing government perspectives on the benefit of the wine industry to economic health - this is an exciting time to be in this industry," said Andrew Howard, President and CEO. "We are also in the midst of significant change as a company and I am pleased to see those changes beginning to impact our financial results in a positive manner. We have initiated an aggressive series of projects to reduce debt, drive growth and improve profitability. We are well on our way to having all of the key projects come to fruition and I am excited to be part of the very capable team that is guiding these projects. The enhanced VQA Wine Support Program, key agency and winery partnerships including with D'Ont Poke the Bear (effective in mid-May), the sale of non- strategic assets and the nimble response taken to address the expansion of beverage alcohol retailing in all Grocery and Convenience in Ontario are key projects driving the turnaround." About Diamond Estates Wines and Spirits Inc. Diamond Estates Wines and Spirits Inc. is a producer of high-quality wines and ciders as well as a sales agent for over 120 beverage alcohol brands across Canada. The Company operates four production facilities, three in Ontario and one in British Columbia, that produce predominantly VQA wines under such well-known brand names as 20 Bees, Creekside, EastDell, Lakeview Cellars, Mindful, Shiny Apple Cider, Fresh, Red Tractor, Seasons, Serenity, Backyard Vineyards, and most recently, D'Ont Poke the Bear ("DPTB") wines and ciders. Through its commercial division, Trajectory Beverage Partners, the Company is the sales agent for many leading international brands in all regions of the country as well as being a distributor in the western provinces. These recognizable brands include Fat Bastard, Gabriel Meffre, and Andre Lurton wines from France, Merlet and Larsen Cognacs from France, Kaiken wines from Argentina, Blue Nun and Erben wines from Germany, Calabria Family Estate Wines, McWilliams Wines and Joiy Wines from Australia, Saint Clair Family Estate Wines and Yealands Family Wines from New Zealand, Cofradia Tequila from Mexico, Maverick Distillery spirits (including Tag Vodka and Barnburner Whisky) from Ontario, Talamonti, Cavit and Cielo wines from Italy, Catedral and Cabeca de Toiro wines from Portugal, Edinburgh Gin, Tamdhu, Glengoyne and Smokehead single-malt Scotch whiskies from Ian McLeod Distillers in Scotland, Islay Mist, Ryelaw, and Waterproof whiskies from MacDuff International in Scotland, C. Mondavi & Family wines including C.K Mondavi, Charles Krug, and Flat Top Hills from Napa Valley, Wize Spirits, Hounds Vodka, Walter Caesars, Glen Breton Whisky from Canada, Bols Vodka from Amsterdam, Warsteiner Beers from Germany, Koyle Family Wines from Chile, Rossi D'Asiago Limoncello from Italy and Becherovka from Czechia. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or 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. Forward-Looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Diamond Estates Wines and Spirits Inc. to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Actual results and developments are likely to differ, and may differ materially, from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions which may prove to be incorrect, including, but not limited to: the economy generally; consumer interest in the services and products of the Company; financing; competition; and anticipated and unanticipated costs. While the Company acknowledges that subsequent events and developments may cause its views to change, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the views of the Company as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Non IFRS Financial Measure Management uses net income (loss) and comprehensive income (loss) as presented in the unaudited interim condensed consolidated statements of net income (loss) and comprehensive income (loss) as well as "gross margin", "EBITDA" and "Adjusted EBITDA" as a measure to assess performance of the Company. The Company defines "gross margin" as gross profit excluding depreciation. EBITDA and "Adjusted EBITDA" are other financial measures and are reconciled to net income (loss) and comprehensive income (loss) below under "Results of Operations". EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are supplemental financial measures to further assist readers in assessing the Company's ability to generate income from operations before considering the Company's financing decisions, depreciation of property, plant and equipment and amortization of intangible assets. EBITDA comprises gross margin less operating costs before financial expenses, depreciation and amortization, non-cash expenses such as share-based compensation, one-time and other unusual items, and income tax. Adjusted EBITDA comprises EBITDA before non- recurring expenses including cost of sales adjustments related to inventory acquired in business combinations, EWG transaction costs expensed, government funding under CEWS and CERS programs, and other non-recurring adjustments included in the calculation of EBITDA. Gross margin is defined as gross profit excluding depreciation on property, plant and equipment used in production. Operating expenses exclude interest, depreciation on property, plant and equipment used in selling and administration, and amortization of intangible assets. 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. 1 See definition of selected terms under the heading "Non-IFRS Financial Measures" To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/220892 SOURCE: Diamond Estates Wines & Spirits Ltd. CALGARY, AB / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2024 / ASIA GREEN BIOTECHNOLOGY CORP. (CSE:ASIA) ("Asia Green" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a non-binding letter of intent ("LOI") dated August 22, 2024 to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Paladin Services Group Ltd. ("Paladin"), a private company that owns a Class II Disposal Well in the Bonnie Glen field area of central Alberta and which has secured disposal commitments from several major producers in the area to inject Class II fluids into the Leduc Formation. About Paladin's Duvernay Disposal Facilities Paladin recently acquired an existing Class II Disposal Well in the Bonnie Glen field of central Alberta. Paladin has also received Crown mineral authorization for Class Ib disposal into the Cooking Lake formation for its proposed waste management disposal facility located near Rimbey, Alberta (Bonnie Glen and Rimbey projects, collectively referred to as the "Waste Management Facilities"). Having recently received Crown mineral authorization, Paladin anticipates drilling a Class Ib well and constructing related facilities at Rimbey in early 2025, subject to completion of the Financing (as defined below). Paladin has engaged Keystone Field Engineering to assist with applications to the Alberta Energy Regulator (the "AER") and the AER has approved the construction of surface infrastructure at the Bonnie Glen facility. Paladin expects Bonnie Glen to be operational by Q4 2024 and Rimbey by Q2 2025. The Transaction Pursuant to the LOI, the Company will issue to the shareholders of Paladin, prior to completion of the minimum Financing described below, approximately 15,053,333 common treasury shares in exchange for all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Paladin (the "Transaction"). The final number of common shares to be issued will depend on the actual number of common shares issued by Paladin under the Financing. It is currently anticipated the Transaction will be structured as a three-cornered amalgamation whereby Paladin shall amalgamate with a newly formed wholly owned subsidiary of the Company. Pursuant to the Transaction, the Company shall: Issue to the Paladin shareholders, one common share of the Company for each outstanding Paladin share on the closing date of the Financing and Transaction, being approximately 15,053,333 common shares; Exchange all outstanding stock options held by the directors and officers of Paladin on a one for one (1:1) basis on the same terms as the existing Paladin options, being 2,000,000 options exercisable at $0.25 until June 30, 2029; Exchange all outstanding warrants of Paladin on a one for one (1:1) basis, on the same terms as the existing Paladin warrants, being 2,005,000 warrants exercisable at $0.40 until July of 2027; and Cancel all outstanding stock options of the Company. On closing of the Transaction, assuming completion of the minimum Financing, the shareholders of Paladin will own approximately 90% of the outstanding common shares of the resulting issuer. It is a condition of the closing of the Transaction that a private placement financing for a minimum $5,000,000 be completed, which can be increased or decreased as determined by Paladin depending on the final capital requirements to complete the construction of the Bonnie Glen facility. Additional conditions, including the execution of a formal agreement, completion of the Consolidation (described below), shareholder approval and receipt of regulatory approval, must be met in order for the Transaction to close. The proposed Transaction will be a reverse takeover of the Company by Paladin and their respective shareholders. The proposed Transaction is not considered a related party transaction. Concurrent Financing In conjunction with the closing of the Transaction, Paladin and the Company intend to complete a financing by way of private placement for aggregate minimum proceeds of $5,000,000 and up to a maximum of $10,000,000 (the "Financing"). It is anticipated the Financing will proceed as a combination of: (i) Paladin common shares at an issue price of $0.75 for gross proceeds of approximately $2.5 million and releasable immediately upon closing to fund completion of the Bonnie Glen facility, and (ii) $2.5 million of subscription receipts issued by the Company (the "Subscription Receipts") at a price of $0.75 per Subscription Receipt (after giving effect to the Consolidation described below) and will be subject to the rules of, and approval by, the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE"). Upon satisfaction of the escrow release conditions relating to the Financing, including all conditions precedent to the closing of the Financing being satisfied, each Subscription Receipt will automatically convert without any further action on the part of the Subscription Receipt holder into one common share of the resulting issuer upon closing of the Transaction. Debt Conversion From the Financing proceeds, the Company and or Paladin shall pay $300,000 to its non-arms length debt holders of the Company currently owed approximately $450,000, with the remainder of such being converted into common shares of Paladin at a deemed issued price of $0.25. This will result in the issuance of approximately 600,000 Paladin common shares. Capitalization As of the date hereof, the Company has 36,247,100 common shares issued and outstanding. As a prerequisite to closing the Transaction, the Company shall complete a share consolidation of its outstanding common shares on a 15:1 basis (the "Consolidation"), resulting in 2,416,473 outstanding common shares of the Company immediately prior to closing. The anticipated capital structure of the Company after closing of the Transaction will be approximately as follows: Minimum Financing ($5,000,000) Maximum Financing ($10,000,000) Owned by the Company's shareholders post-Consolidation 2,416,473 2,416,473 Shares to be issued to Paladin pursuant to the Transaction 15,053,333 15,053,333 Shares to be issued under the Financing 6,666,667 13,333,333 Shares to be issued for debt conversion 600,000 600,000 Total Resulting Issuer Common Shares Outstanding 24,736,473 31,403,139 Trading Halt The Company's common shares are currently halted and management anticipates they will remain halted until the Transaction has closed. Go Forward Management After closing of the Transaction, senior management of the Company will be members of the current management team of Paladin, including Kevin Baumann as President and CEO of the resulting issuer. With decades of experience in the waste disposal industry, Mr. Baumann has a proven track record of success, having founded and grown previous waste disposal companies in Alberta, namely, Producers Disposal and White Swan Environmental, whose assets were later sold for more than $300 million. Under his leadership, Paladin is positioned to capitalize on this expertise, driving exceptional value creation for investors and stakeholders. The resulting issuer will also include two directors from the Company. Mr. Baumann, as the founding shareholder, director, and officer of Paladin, commented "As we continue to advance our operations in the Alberta Duvernay play, the development of Paladin's Waste Management Facilities marks a significant milestone. Once completed, these facilities will not only set new standards in environmental responsibility but also be highly accretive to shareholder value. We are confident that our strategic growth initiatives will drive long-term success while delivering meaningful returns for our investors". Further information regarding the background of directors and officers of the resulting issuer will be included in a follow-up news release. Selected Financial Information Paladin is currently preparing audited financial statements which are expected to be included in the information circular being prepared in connection with the proposed Transaction. Further details will be provided in a future news release. For further information: Asia Green Bio-technology Corp. David E. T. Pinkman, President and Chief Executive Officer PH: (403) 863-6034 EM: pnk574@hotmail.com Disclosure Completion of the Transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, CSE acceptance and, if applicable, disinterested shareholder approval. Where applicable, the transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the transaction will be completed as proposed or at all. The CSE has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release. This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Such information includes, without limitation, information regarding the completion of the proposed acquisition of Paladin and the Financing; and the anticipated business plan of the resulting issuer subsequent to completion of the transactions described herein. Although the Company believes that such information is reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Information disclosed herein regarding the Company is provided by the Company. Information disclosed herein regarding Paladin is provided by Paladin. The parties have not verified the information provided by the other parties. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, forecast, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Asia Green cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by Asia Green are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking information as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to: Asia Green's ability to complete the proposed transaction; the state of the financial markets for Asia Green's equity securities; the state of the market for gold or other minerals that may be produced generally by the resulting issuer in the event the transaction is completed; recent market volatility; Asia Green's ability to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies; and other risks and factors that Asia Green is unaware of at this time. The reader is referred to Asia Green's most recent annual and interim Management's Discussion and Analysis for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects, copies of which may be accessed through Asia Green's page on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. SOURCE: ASIA GREEN BIOTECHNOLOGY CORP. View the original press release on accesswire.com Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - August 22, 2024) - Bengal Energy Ltd. (TSX: BNG) ("Bengal" or the "Company") announces that it has filed the information circular - proxy statement (the "Information Circular") and related meeting and proxy materials (together with the Information Circular, the "Meeting Materials") in relation to its Annual General Meeting of shareholders (the "Meeting") and announces an additional upcoming change to the board of directors (the "Board"). As previously announced, Bengal will hold the Meeting on Thursday, September 19, 2024, at 3:00 p.m. (Calgary time) at 640, 630 6th Avenue S.W., Calgary, Alberta. Shareholders and guests can listen to the Meeting via teleconference a link will be available on the Company's website prior to the Meeting. Shareholders and proxyholders will not be able to vote their common shares of the Company via teleconference. We encourage all shareholders to submit their proxies in advance of the Meeting. Copies of the Meeting Materials are available on Bengal's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca. Board of Directors Renewal Bengal announces that Mr. Peter Lansom has informed the Company of his decision not to stand for re-election as a director at the upcoming Meeting and will retire from the Board effective at that time. Mr. Lansom, who joined the Board on September 28, 2021, has been a valued director of Bengal over the past few years. Chayan Chakrabarty, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bengal stated: "I consider myself very fortunate to have worked with Mr. Lansom over the past two years and to have benefited greatly from his guidance and expertise. On behalf of Bengal's Board of Directors, management, employees, and stakeholders, I extend our heartfelt thanks to Mr. Lansom for his dedicated service and significant contributions. We wish him all the best in his future endeavors." As previously announced, Mr. Robert Steele will also not stand for re-election as a director at the Meeting and will retire as a member of the Board at the Meeting. Bengal is pleased to announce the nomination of Mr. R. Neal Grant, based in Adelaide, Australia, for election to the Board at the Meeting. Mr. Grant holds an Engineering degree and an MBA from the University of Calgary and brings over 40 years of experience to the role. His career has included significant roles in various technical and operational capacities, including work with other producers in the Cooper Basin and involvement with a Western Canadian CO2 project. His extensive background in engineering and financial management, coupled with hands-on experience in leadership, auditing, and compliance, makes him exceptionally well-suited for the Board. Chayan Chakrabarty further commented: "We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Grant to our Board. His extensive experience in the Cooper Basin and the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin, combined with his strong technical and operational expertise and industry contacts, will bring invaluable business insights to Bengal. We look forward to the significant contributions he will make to our strategic direction and growth." Since May 2023, Mr. Grant has been an independent businessman. Prior to this, he served as General Manager of Todd Energy Canada Ltd. from July 2017. He has also held senior positions, including Chief Financial Officer for two private companies and General Director and COO at Samotlor Services, where he developed substantial expertise in financial audits, compliance, and internal controls. About Bengal Bengal Energy Ltd. is an international junior oil and gas exploration and production company with assets in Australia. The Company is committed to growing shareholder value through international exploration, production and acquisitions. Bengal's common shares trade on the TSX under the symbol "BNG". Additional information is available at www.bengalenergy.ca . CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS: Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements or information ("forward-looking statements") as defined by applicable securities laws that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Bengal's control. These statements relate to future events or our future performance. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements. The use of any of the words "plan", "expect", "future", "project", "intend", "believe", "should", "would," "anticipate", "estimate", "advance", "continue", "new", "develop" or other similar words or statements that certain events "may" or "will" occur are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In particular, forward-looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the anticipated board changes; and expectations regarding the timing, format and location of the Meeting. The projections, estimates and beliefs contained in such forward-looking statements are based on management's estimates, opinions, and assumptions at the time the statements were made, including assumptions relating to the ability to hold the Meeting on the expected timing, in the planned location and in the anticipated format; that the date of the Meeting doesn't change; and the anticipated changes to the Board and the expected benefits to be derived therefrom. We believe the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable but, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits Bengal will derive from them. As such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control, including that the Meeting date could be postponed or changed; that the location, timing and format of the Meeting may change; that the anticipated timing of the Board changes are different than as set forth herein; and the risk factors disclosed previously and from time to time in the Company's filings available under its SEDAR+ profile at sedarplus.ca. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release speak only as of the date hereof and Bengal does not assume any obligation to publicly update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be require pursuant to applicable securities laws. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Bengal Energy Ltd. Chayan Chakrabarty, President & Chief Executive Officer (403) 205-2526 Jerrad Blanchard, Chief Financial Officer (403) 205-2526 Email: investor.relations@bengalenergy.ca Website: www.bengalenergy.ca To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/220858 SOURCE: Bengal Energy Ltd. Kupfer wird oft als das Gold der Energiewende bezeichnet, weil es aufgrund seiner hervorragenden elektrischen Leitfahigkeit eine zentrale Rolle in vielen Technologien spielt, die fur nachhaltige Energiesysteme entscheidend sind. Experten gehen aufgrund der Angebotsknappheit von einem Superzyklus aus. Korrektur als Einstiegschance Nach Hochststanden im Mai korrigierte das rote Metall stark. Die Abwartsspirale verstarkte sich in den vergangenen Tagen aufgrund schwacher Konjunkturdaten aus den USA und China. Langfristig konnte sich die aktuell laufende Korrektur als exzellente Einstiegsmoglichkeit herausstellen. 3 Kupferaktien mit hohem Potential Im neuen, kostenlosen Spezialreport stellen wir drei aussichtsreiche Unternehmen vor, die bei einem weiteren Anstieg uberproportional profitieren konnten. Handeln Sie jetzt und sichern Sie sich Ihren kostenfreien Report! 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! The growth in both commercial and residential construction sectors, coupled with evolving architectural trends and design preferences, is driving significant demand for interior glass solutions. Interior glass elements such as floor-to-ceiling windows, glass staircases, and glass balustrades, play a crucial role in realizing these architectural visions, creating homes that feel expansive, inviting, and connected to nature. WILMINGTON, Del., Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Interior Glass Market by Product Type (Movable Partition Glass, Sliding Doors Glass, Demountable Glass, Acoustical Glass, and Others) and Application (Commercial Buildings, Institutional Buildings, Industrial Buildings, and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2024-2033". According to the report, the interior glass market was valued at $0.8 billion in 2023, and is estimated to reach $1.3 billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 7.1% from 2024 to 2030. Prime determinants of growth The global interior glass market is experiencing growth due to several factors such as surge in commercial and residential construction and architectural trends and design preferences. However, installation challenges and labor costs hinder market growth to some extent. Moreover, sustainable interior design solutions present additional opportunities for interior glass market. As environmental concerns become more prominent, both consumers and businesses are seeking eco-friendly solutions for their spaces. Interior glass offers a sustainable alternative to traditional building materials such as wood and metal due to its energy-efficient properties and recyclability. Moreover, interior glass offers versatility in design, allowing for the creation of visually stunning and functional spaces that align with sustainable principles. Download Sample Pages of Research Overview: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/A323752 Report coverage & details: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2024-2030 Base Year 2023 Market Size in 2023 $0.8 billion Market Size in 2033 $1.3 billion CAGR 7.1 % No. of Pages in Report 320 Segments Covered Product Type, Application, and Region. Regional Scope North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, LAMEA Country Scope U.S., Canada; Mexico; Germany; UK; France; Italy; Spain; China; Japan; India; South Korea; Australia; Brazil; Saudi Arabia; South Africa Drivers Growth in commercial and residential construction Architectural trends and design preferences Opportunity Sustainable interior design solutions Restraint Installation challenges and labor costs Movable partition glass segment maintains its dominance by 2033 By product type, the movable partition glass segment held the highest market share in 2023 and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. The trend towards open-plan layouts in both commercial and residential settings has heightened the demand for movable partition glass. Open layouts offer benefits such as improved communication, collaboration, and natural light penetration. Movable partition glass provides a flexible solution for dividing large spaces into smaller, more intimate areas without sacrificing the benefits of an open floor plan. These partitions are easily maneuvered to create temporary enclosures for meetings, presentations, or private discussions, enhancing the functionality and usability of the space. Commercial buildings segment is expected to lead the trail by 2033 Based on the application, commercial buildings segment held the highest market share in 2023 and is estimated to dominate during the forecast period. Sustainability has become a significant concern in commercial construction, with businesses seeking eco-friendly solutions to reduce their carbon footprint and operating costs. Interior glass contributes to green building initiatives by maximizing daylighting, which reduces the need for artificial lighting and decreases energy consumption. In addition, glass is recycled and reused that makes it a more sustainable alternative to traditional building materials such as concrete or wood. Procure Complete Report (320 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/checkout-final/interior-glass-market Asia-Pacific is expected to grow faster throughout the forecast period Based on region, Asia-Pacific was the fastest growing region in terms of revenue in 2023. rapid urbanization and population growth across Asia-Pacific have spurred a surge in construction activities, particularly in urban centers where space is limited, and vertical expansion is the norm. As a result, there's a growing need for innovative building materials and design solutions that maximize space efficiency while maintaining aesthetic appeal. Interior glass, with its ability to create open, light-filled environments, is increasingly favored by architects and developers seeking to optimize interior layouts and enhance the overall user experience in residential, commercial, and institutional buildings. Furthermore, the rise of smart building technologies and digitalization in the construction industry is reshaping the way interior glass is utilized and integrated into building designs. All these factors are anticipated to offer new growth opportunities for the global interior glass market in Asia-Pacific. Leading Market Players: - AGC Inc. Saint-Gobain Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Ltd. PPG Industries Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. Viracon Guardian Industries Nana Wall Systems, Inc. Lizzanno CARVART Want to Access the Statistical Data and Graphs, Key Players' Strategies: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/interior-glass-market/purchase-options The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players in the global interior glass 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: Epoxy Glass Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032 Glass Mat Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032 Laminated Glass Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031 Glass Ceramics Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030 Optical Glass Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032 Tempered Glass Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2030 Advanced Glass Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2027 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 help@alliedmarketresearch.com 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 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/interior-glass-market-to-reach-1-3-billion-globally-by-2030-at-7-1-cagr-allied-market-research-302229340.html ZURICH, SWITZERLAND, Aug 23, 2024 - (JCN Newswire) - Hitachi Energy, a global technology leader, is launching a new technology that will tackle emissions of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), 80 percent of which come from the power sector.Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) is widely used in switchgear, the critical components protecting our power grids anddelivering the energy transition in a time of extraordinary grid expansion. It is 24,300 times more climate-hostile than CO2 and remains in the atmosphere for over a thousand years - much longer than CO2, which lasts less than 200years. Overall, it makes up 220 million tons of CO2 equivalent or 0.6 percent of global emissions. To put it intoperspective, this exceeds the equivalent of 50 typical coal power plants.While high industry standards mean that leaks are minor and accidental releases of SF6 rare, private stakeholders and regulators alike are reluctant to continue using SF6, a gas they see as a significant environmental threat and liability.To help the power sector tackle this huge problem, Hitachi Energy has launched the world's highest voltage SF6-freeswitchgear - the EconiQTM 550 kV circuit breaker that can be used in gas-insulated switchgear (GIS) or dead tankbreakers (DTB) and the EconiQ 420 kV Live Tank Breaker (LTA).This equipment will replace SF6 switchgear around the world, including in China, which is the source of 57 percent of the global SF6 emissions. Each new 550 kV GIS substation using EconiQ eliminates the carbon equivalent of 170 fully booked jumbo jets flying from Paris to New York while retaining the size, performance, and reliability levels oftraditional switchgear.Markus Heimbach, Executive Vice President and Managing Director of the High Voltage Products business unit at Hitachi Energy said: "It's hard to overstate the critical role that this little-known gas plays in keeping the lights on - it has been as central to building our modern world as steel and concrete.""This makes SF6 exceptionally challenging to phase out. The industry can only overcome the dual challenges of strict SF6 regulations and rising transmission demands with solutions that eliminate this gas without sacrificing size or performance. Our new EconiQ technology is the first to meet this critical need. Hitachi Energy is the first to have come up with sustainable products for this voltage level, where the largest portion of SF6 is used.""As the world shifts to a sustainable energy future, so must power systems. With switchgear typically in service for 40years, it's important to act fast, as decisions taken today will determine the success of Net Zero in 2050."As the industry's only SF6-free solution for these voltage ratings, Hitachi Energy's new offerings maintain the samefootprint, dimensions, compatibility, lifespan, safety, reliability, and efficiency as traditional SF6 equipment. This allowsutilities and operators to plan SF6 phaseout roadmaps, enabling them to swap components, retrofit or replace oldswitchgear and install new ones with no new construction requirements, and with only minor technical changes and minor new training needs.Around 1,300 tons of SF6 is used in the UK's network of substations alone, with more than 10,000 tons used in the European Union. This leaves power grid operators to focus on two pressing challenges: delivering the energy transition and addressing climate change. The former demands a rapid expansion of grid infrastructure like switchgear, while the latter necessitates an urgent phaseout of SF6.The European Union has already implemented a strict phaseout and banned SF6 in medium and high-voltage switchgear by 2030 and 2032, respectively. The UK and USA are preparing similar regulations.SF6-free switchgear in actionBoth new EconiQ products have pilot orders confirmed and form part of ambitious climate commitments from utilities, demonstrating the need for SF6-free products at this voltage.TenneT, the Dutch-German transmission system operator responsible for over 25,000 km of high-voltage lines and cables, has placed an order for Hitachi Energy's new EconiQ 420 kV LTA. TenneT plans to use the new infrastructureto support its ambition of reducing grid losses, along with the climate impact of its own operations.SSEN Transmission, one of Europe's fastest growing network businesses with ambitious plans to invest EUR20 billion inthe north of Scotland electricity transmission network to support UK and Scottish energy security and clean powertargets, has placed an order for the new generation EconiQ 420 kV LTA. The new order supports the company's strategy to no longer install equipment containing SF6 wherever viable. These are part of the company's wider decarbonization ambitions, having been the world's first transmission network accredited by the Science Based Target initiative for its carbon reduction targets, which are consistent with Net Zero pathways.Rob McDonald, Managing Director of SSEN Transmission, said: "We are delighted to collaborate with Hitachi Energyand order some of the world's first SF6-free 420 kV AIS circuit breakers, which is a testament to our position as a leader in the adoption of SF6 alternatives. The use of the technology is a key enabler to ensure we meet our ambitious grid expansions plans for 2030 and beyond, as well as our science-based carbon reduction target. The equipment will be used for a substation upgrade project in the north of Scotland which will reinforce the local network and allow for the connection of several onshore wind farms, contributing to UK Net Zero targets."In North America, where the 550 kV voltage is common, two customers have also placed orders for the new EconiQ 550 kV DTB, Hydro One and Wesco.Hydro One Limited, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, is Ontario's largest electricity transmission anddistribution provider with approximately 1.5 million valued customers,approximately $32.8 billion in assets as of December 31, 2023, and annual revenues in 2023 of approximately $7.8 billion. Hydro One expects this partnership to contribute to its climate change mitigation initiatives to achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.Wesco is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and has remained committed to powering progress around the world since the rise of electrification in the early 1900s to the digital revolution of today, delivering ingenuity and expertise to approximately 150,000 customers worldwide. The EconiQ eco-efficient 550 kV dead tank breaker will enable Wesco to fulfill its customers ambitious sustainability goals for 2030 and beyond.Jim Cameron, Wesco's Executive Vice President and General Manager of its Utility and Broadband Solutions business unit, emphasized Wesco's dual commitment to sustainability. He stated, "We are dedicated to minimizing the environmental impact of our operations and assisting our customers in achieving their sustainability goals. Thegroundbreaking technology of Hitachi Energy's EconiQ 550 breaker, which reduces SF6 emissions, aligns perfectly with our corporate sustainability charter. We are proud to be part of the first installation in North America."About Hitachi EnergyHitachi Energy is a global technology leader that is advancing a sustainable energy future for all. We are advancing the world's energy system to be more sustainable, flexible and secure and we collaborate with customers and partners to enable a sustainable energy future - for today's generations and those to come. Hitachi Energy has a proven track record and unparalleled installed base in more than 140 countries, serving customers in utility, industry, transportation, data centers and infrastructure sectors. With innovative technologies and services including the integration of more than 150 gigawatts of HVDC links into the power system, we help make the energy value chain more efficient, making electricity more accessible to all. Together with stakeholders across sectors and geographies, we enable the digital transformation required to accelerate the energy transition towards a carbon-neutral future. Headquartered in Switzerland, we employ around 45,000 people in 90 countries and generate business volumes of around $13 billion USD.www.hitachienergy.comwww.linkedin.com/company/hitachienergyhttps://twitter.com/HitachiEnergyAbout Hitachi, Ltd.Hitachi drives Social Innovation Business, creating a sustainable society through the use of data and technology. We solve customers' and society's challenges with Lumada solutions leveraging IT, OT (Operational Technology) and products. Hitachi operates under the 3 business sectors of "Digital Systems & Services" - supporting our customers' digital transformation; "Green Energy & Mobility" - contributing to a decarbonized society through energy and railwaysystems, and "Connective Industries" - connecting products through digital technology to provide solutions in variousindustries. Driven by Digital, Green, and Innovation, we aim for growth through co-creation with our customers. The company's revenues as 3 sectors for fiscal year 2023 (ended March 31, 2024) totaled 8,564.3 billion yen, with 573 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 270,000 employees worldwide. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at www.hitachi.com.Source: Hitachi, Ltd.Copyright 2024 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. Worcester, Massachusetts--(Newsfile Corp. - August 23, 2024) - Hines Bankruptcy Law, home of leading Massachusetts bankruptcy lawyers, is expanding its footprint, now serving clients in northern and southern Worcester County at the Leominster and Worcester offices. Hines Bankruptcy Law To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8814/220782_f1028bdd64ef5ad6_002full.jpg Holly Hines, a board-certified Chapter 7, Chapter 13, and wage garnishment expert and founder of Hines Bankruptcy Law, expressed her excitement about the firm's growing presence in Massachusetts, saying, "We are excited about the fact that we are driving access to bankruptcy law in Massachusetts. Our commitment to meeting the unique needs of our clients and delivering the highest level of representation drove our decision to open our offices in Leominster and Worcester." She continued, "With our growing local presence, we are underlining our ambitions as a leading bankruptcy law firm in Massachusetts." Hines Bankruptcy Law's offices in Leominster and Worcester aim to bring bankruptcy representation closer to individuals, businesses, and families facing financial challenges in these communities. With a focus on Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 bankruptcy cases, the firm has proven its deep commitment to helping people overcome financial hardship and find relief. "We are eager to offer Leominster and Worcester communities access to highly experienced bankruptcy lawyers with an outstanding reputation," said Holly. "We also promise to continue accelerating our growth to reach more people." Beyond helping individuals, families, and businesses find financial stability through bankruptcy, Hines Bankruptcy Law's expansions open new exciting opportunities for Massachusetts residents. Among them is access to comprehensive education about the bankruptcy process. "We understand the stress and uncertainties that come with financial challenges," said Holly. So instead of just offering our clients representation and sending them on their way, we strive to ease their concerns by helping them understand the process, from what to expect before, during, and after filing." Hines Bankruptcy Law's growing local presence brings the firm's renowned strength in Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 bankruptcy law to Massachusetts. The firm looks forward to helping the Leominster and Worcester communities take charge of their financial futures with a better understanding of bankruptcy law. The law firm invites residents of Massachusetts to explore its comprehensive bankruptcy services to achieve financial relief. Individuals, families, and businesses can begin to explore their options with a free consultation with Hines Bankruptcy Law's experienced team of bankruptcy attorneys. About Hines Bankruptcy Law Hines Bankruptcy Law is an elite bankruptcy law firm established in 2005 by Holly Hines. With a proven track record, a personalized approach, and specialized expertise, the firm has established a reputation for providing personalized and effective representation. Holly explained that the law firm is on a mission to streamline the legal process for bankruptcy filings, making it as smooth and stress-free as possible. Together with her team of licensed Massachusetts bankruptcy lawyers, who are uniquely qualified to provide tailored solutions for each client's financial situation, Holly is bringing compassionate, expert, and personalized bankruptcy representation to Massachusetts. Visit Hines Bankruptcy Law to learn more about filing for bankruptcy in Leominster and Worcester, Massachusetts. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/220782 SOURCE: Plentisoft TORONTO, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Manulife Investment Management (Manulife IM), the world's largest manager of natural capital with over $16 billion in assets under management in timberland and agriculture1, has recently released three reports detailing how it incorporates financially material climate- and nature-related investment considerations into its asset management and portfolio construction capabilities. Interested market participants can use the insights from Manulife IM's Natural Capital Sustainability report, Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) report and Sustainable and Responsible Investing (SRI) report, for deeper awareness about sustainable investing and to assess various investment risks and opportunities across public and private market asset classes. The reports highlight Manulife IM's commitment in seeking to deliver strong long-term investment performance, the importance of natural capital to human health, and the opportunity for timberland and agriculture assets to bring value to portfolios and to the planet. As an example, within its climate and natural capital investment solutions, Manulife IM has a strategy that provides investors with an opportunity to invest in timberlands in a way that creates high integrity carbon credits through enhanced management practices which purposefully add to the stored carbon in the forest. "We are excited to share these reports with market participants as we believe that climate-related risks and other sustainability factors can have a material effect on long-term financial value and, as a result, on our clients' investment objectives," said Paul Lorentz, President & CEO of Manulife IM. "Throughout all of our investment processes, we seek to incorporate all financially material risks, including sustainability factors, as our primary goal is to enhance the returns of the capital we manage on behalf of our clients." Manulife IM's most recent Natural Capital Sustainability report highlights the importance of natural capital to institutional investment portfolios, the dependency the world has on these assets, and how these investments can create value beyond the physical products they generate. Highlights include: Manulife IM's timberland investment properties planted over 50 million seedlings, produced lumber to build more than 100,000 houses, enough fiberwood to make approximately 2.2 million tons of paper, and yielded enough biomass to produce electricity for the equivalent of 1,500 American homes for a year; Manulife IM's integration of regenerative practices across its agriculture portfolio continues to focus on producing more food with a smaller footprint. During 2023, 100% of client properties reported using at least one regenerative practice and 78% of properties use four or more regenerative practices; and Progress reports on the firm's five nature targets, aligned with the Finance for Biodiversity Pledge that are on track to be fulfilled by 2025. The targets include improving collaboration and knowledge sharing on assessment methodologies, incorporating biodiversity into ESG policies, assessing the impact of investments on biodiversity, using science-based targets to improve biodiversity impact, and annual reporting to measure and assess progress toward biodiversity goals. "Natural capital is not just a concept; it's a measurable and monetizable reality that has intrinsic value in supporting the global economy," said Brian Kernohan, Chief Sustainability Officer, Manulife Investment Management. "We believe nature is a mispriced asset that provides true economic and societal value for the benefit of all." The latest TCFD report outlines how Manulife IM incorporates climate-related risks and opportunities into investment decisions through appropriate governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets. Highlights from the TCFD report include: 90% of Manulife IM 's global real estate equity portfolio earning certification of a green building standard, such as LEED, ENERGY STAR, or BOMA BEST; 2 Manulife IM removing an estimated 1.5 million tons of CO2e from the atmosphere by its managed forests and farms on a five-year rolling average; and Manulife IM seeks to increase access to the number and variety of sustainable investing options available to its clients. Manulife IM's latest SRI report provides insight into the firm's approach to sustainable investing, including its governance, stewardship information, its scorecard from the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), and other sustainability milestones and outcomes. Highlights from the SRI report this year include the firm's: Publication of its inaugural nature report aligned with the recommendations of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), outlining the firm's approach to managing nature-related risks and opportunities in its timberland and agriculture businesses; Achievement of a GRESB 5 Star rating for the sixth consecutive year; 3 Formalization of its sustainable investing strategy for its private equity and credit platform, which included establishing near-term priorities and longer-term commitments; Development of a firmwide client-directed exclusions framework; and Publication of its water statement, which recognizes the fundamental importance of water to human health, livelihoods, ecosystems, the global economy, and the future of asset management. "As we navigate this dynamic space, our reporting looks to provide comprehensive insights to help drive positive change and foster long-term sustainability through our investment strategies. We're committed to continue enhancing our reporting so that all our stakeholders can get a clear picture of our efforts to manage climate impact and risk exposures as well as enhance long-term value creation," concluded Mr. Kernohan. Please find more information about Manulife IM's approach to sustainable investing online here: https://www.manulifeim.com/institutional/global/en/sustainability. About Manulife Investment Management Manulife Investment Management is the brand for the global wealth and asset management segment of Manulife Financial Corporation (NYSE: MFC). Our mission is to make decisions easier and lives better by empowering investors for a better tomorrow. Serving more than 19 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. It should not be assumed that any ESG or sustainability initiatives, standards, or metrics described herein will apply to each asset in which Manulife Investment Management invests or that any ESG or sustainability initiatives, standards, or metrics described have applied to any individual prior investment of Manulife Investment Management. There is no guarantee that any initiatives or anticipated developments described herein will ultimately be successful or achieve anticipated outcomes. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are only some of many considerations that Manulife Investment Management takes into account when making investment decisions, and other considerations can be expected in certain circumstances to outweigh ESG considerations. Any ESG or sustainability initiatives described will be implemented with respect to a portfolio investment solely to the extent Manulife Investment Management determines such initiative is consistent with its broader investment goals. Individual portfolio management teams may hold different views and make different investment decisions for different clients, and views may change over time. Investors should always read the current investment services information or fund offering documents before deciding to select an investment manager or to invest in a fund. 1. IPE research, as of February 2024. Ranking is based on total natural capital assets under management (AUM), which includes forestry/timberland and agriculture/farmland AUM. Firms were asked to provide AUM and the as of dates vary from 12/31/2022 to 12/31/2023. 2. Based on square footage of the gross floor area or building size, of properties in the global portfolio. Totals from different certification standards do not sum as properties with multiple certifications are only counted once. Certifications are provided by LEED, ENERGY STAR Certification, BOMA BEST, GBCA Green Star, BCA Green Mark, NABERS, CASBEE, BOMA 360, and Fitwel. 3. Based on GRESB results released October 2023 that cover the 2022 time period. Manulife Investment Management paid a per fund submission fee, per year. The GRESB Rating is an overall measure of how well sustainability issues are integrated into the management and practices of companies and funds. For more information about the GRESB Real Estate Assessment, please see gresb.com/nl-en/real-estate-assessment. Asia: Carl Wong Carl_KK_Wong@manulifeam.com North America and Europe: Elizabeth Bartlett Elizabeth_Bartlett@manulife.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/manulife-investment-management-shares-analysis-and-investment-insights-within-natural-capital-tcfd-and-sri-reports-302229433.html CHICAGO, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Animal Disinfectants Market is estimated at USD 3.9 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 5.7 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 7.9% from 2024 to 2029 according to a report published by MarketsandMarkets. Global demand for animal disinfectants has risen drastically over the past few years, driven by a number of factors. Greater awareness about biosecurity measures has drawn significant attention to the contagious diseases of animals, primarily in livestock and poultry farming. At the same time, the perpetual threat of zoonotic diseases has raised awareness about the use of proper disinfection techniques. As such, the global animal disinfectants market has appreciably grown to meet these new requirements. Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=38718363 Browse in-depth TOC on " Animal Disinfectants Market" 70 - Tables 70 - Figures 300 - Pages The Iodine type is projected to dominate within the type sector of the animal disinfectants market. The share of the iodine segment in the animal disinfectants market is the highest due to its significant efficacy in killing most microorganisms, from bacteria to viruses and even fungi. Iodine-based disinfectants have shown a great antimicrobial effect, so they are applied as one of the most preferred solutions in the sphere of animal healthcare and biosecurity. Furthermore, such iodine-based products are positioned and perceived as relatively safe and less toxic compared with other disinfectant choices, hence helping to drive further projected growth in the market. Zagro's article on farm biosecurity in January 2021 talks about the exclusion of infectious agents, namely viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites, from entering the animal. In this context of reducing risk and protecting animal health toward the sustainability of livestock production, properly designed biosecurity measures play an important role. Of these, iodophors are more effective, because they have a broad spectrum germicidal action with low toxicity and stability. Zagro's product launch in 2021, IOGUARD 300, is a strong iodophor-based disinfectant containing 3.4% iodine. This may be used in livestock housing and equipment and hatcheries with excellent activity against bacteria, viruses, and fungi. The benefits associated with Iodine & companies launching new innovative products with Iodine will have a dominating share within the market. Dairy cleaning is estimated to be the dominating application segment in the animal disinfectants market during the forecasted period 2024-2029. Disinfectants are designed to destroy the vast majority of the harmful pathogens that contaminate dairy equipment, surfaces, and the entire facility. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, there were more than 1 billion cows globally in 2022. This will increase the demand for the usage of animal disinfectant products. All surfaces should be cleaned well to avoid the growth of any type of pathogenic microorganisms. The farmer can do more in reducing the risk of transmitting the disease from one animal to the other, through reduced spread of the pathogen, continuing to assure the production of safe and quality milk. Milking machines, teat dips, and milk tongs are the major sources of infection that produce bad health effects on livestock. The acid or alkaline solutions are to be used for cleaning the milking machines to prevent infections. Additionally, hydrogen peroxide plus peracetic acid is an important treatment intended to clean the milking system by washing off pipelines and storage tanks. The disinfectants can be applied to various surfaces, like the milking parlor, holding pens, and feeding areas, as well as on the milking machines themselves for sanitizing and eliminating possible sources of contamination. The application of animal disinfectants regularly in dairy cleaning achieves a cleaner and healthier work environment for both animals and workers on dairies. It tends to set a better and more productive routine for dairy farming, in general. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=38718363 North America is expected to hold a substantial portion of the animal disinfectants market. The key regions in the North American animal disinfectants market are the US, Canada, and Mexico. The export of poultry meat products in North America has climbed, according to USDA particularly in Mexico, where production jumped from 983.43 million to 1.25 billion during 2020-2022, and in Canada, production rose from 350.26 million to 563.94 million within the period being reviewed. Such an increase in poultry production could mirror increased demand in the regional market. In the growing poultry sector, an increased requirement for effective animal disinfectant products is necessary to continue maintaining biosecurity and livestock health. Their demand is based on preventing diseases within larger, more intensively populated farming environments for animals, thereby supporting the sustainability of poultry. Neogen Corporation's (US) recent launch in April 2024, in Great Britain of Neogen Farm Fluid MAX. This disinfectant was developed for serious farm conditions by Neogen's leading Pathogen Programme, targeting a range of pathogens, including Eimeria oocysts. It will be upon such innovative products that the animal health sector shall rely on to ensure the continuous growth and productivity of this industry while the North American poultry industry continues to grow. Key Market Players in this include Neogen Corporation (US), GEA Group Aktiengesellschaftv (Germany), Lanxess (Germany), Zoetis (US), Solvay (Belgium), Stockmeier Group (Germany), Kersia Group (France), Ecolab (US), Albert Kerbl GmbH (Germany), PCC Group (Germany), DeLaval Inc. (Sweden), Diversey Holdings Ltd. (US), Virbac (France), Kemin Industries Inc. (US) and Fink Tec GmbH (Germany). Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=356 Browse Adjacent Reports @ Agriculture Industry Market Research Reports & Consulting Related Reports: Food Disinfection Market by Chemical Type (Chlorine, Hydrogen Peroxide & Peracetic Acid, and Quaternary Ammonium Compounds), End Use (Food Processing and Beverage Processing), Application Area, and Region - Global Industry Forecast to 2025 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 Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/animal-disinfectant-market.asp Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/animal-disinfectant.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1951202/4609423/MarketsandMarkets.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/animal-disinfectants-market-worth-5-7-billion-by-2029--exclusive-report-by-marketsandmarkets-302229366.html LOBAMBA Two and a half years later, jailed Mkhitsini Chiefs family still crams Kaphunga Police Station. The Chairperson of the Prime Ministers office, Senate Portfolio Committee, Senator Chief Prince Ngangabani urged Prime Minister (PM) Russell Dlamini to intervene, as police officers in the police station were sharing space with the family of the jailed Mkhitsini Chief, Mfukama Mndzebele. Chief Mfukama was sentenced in November 2022, after he shot his nephew in November 2021. Aggrieved The aggrieved residents torched his home and the royal kraal. The 77-year-old chiefs family of now 63 members, was given refuge at KaPhunga Police Station to save it from the wrath of the community.Senator Chief Prince Ngangabani of Kaphunga, said the police were struggling to use the police station properly, as it was shared with Chief Mfukamas family. He said the family members had multiplied and they were now crowding the police station.The senator added that the police station had the same buildings that were built during its inception in 1984 and does not have fencing. The senator said this family used to be provided for by World Vision and some good Samaritans. He said they were over 60 in number and are growing by the day, as new children had been born in their place of refuge. The senator said the family no longer has a shelter. The police station is no longer recognisable, as there are people in and out of the building and the information that is collected by police is no longer safe, he said. Adding, the chairperson said children were crawling and running in and out of the police station. He said they are concerned as a community, because it seems like government has no plans for the people crowding the cop shop.They are giving birth like there is no tomorrow. The children are in and out of the police station and some of them sleep inside the police station conference room, he said.The senator asked the PM to explain if there were any arrangements to properly accommodate the family. He went on to state that even Kaphunga community was not engaged in terms of how long they would be staying at the police station. The chairperson revealed that no one was even taking care of them anymore and they had nothing to eat. He said an office had been turned into a bedroom, which is shared by the couples. Police cannot start work until they wake up, I heard ngatsi kuyashitjwana kutsi namuhla kulala lona nemkakhe kusasa kungena labanye (the couples take turns in the room for their adult activities), he added. Activities The chairperson said what was concerning was the children who grew up exposed to such activities. He urged the PM to address the issue of the family. He highlighted that the court sentenced Chief Mfukama, but the family was struggling. The senator said if the matter had to be reported to authorities in order to get direction, then let it be, for a lasting solution or permanent shelter for the family. In response, the PM acknowledged the senators concern and his bravery to speak about the issue. He said surely the government needed to spring into action and address the situation promptly. Unusual Machines, Inc. (NYSE American:UMAC) ("Unusual Machines" or the "Company"), a supplier to the American drone industry, reports over 6,700 Rotor Riot Brave F7 Flight Controllers have been ordered since being approved and listed on the Blue UAS Framework on August 7, 2024. The Rotor Riot Brave F7 Flight Controller is the first flight controller on the Blue UAS Framework list designed specifically for First-Person View (FPV) flight. This listing positions Unusual Machines as a provider of FPV technology to the United States Department of Defense as well as commercial customers seeking alternatives to components produced in restricted regions or in China. "The market response has been tremendous," said Allan Evans, CEO of Unusual Machines. "Customer demand has surprised us as the interest our components is even greater than we originally anticipated. We have listened to the feedback that price does matter, and we expect similar demand for other products in our roadmap." The Rotor Riot Brave F7 Flight Controller meets the performance standards required by the U.S. government, commercial enterprises, and drone enthusiasts. As the first of many American-made components planned by Unusual Machines, this aligns with the company's mission to bring more drone manufacturing to the U.S. and strengthen domestic supply chains. "We are extremely proud of the market's positive reception of the Brave F7," said Drew Camden, COO of Unusual Machines. "The response reflects the growing interest in American-made drone technology, particularly in FPV systems. This demand showcases the confidence our customers have in our products and the significance of the Blue UAS approval in driving innovation and growth within the drone industry." Unusual Machines remains focused on developing dual-use products and technology that support the American drone industry. The company looks forward to further innovations and expanding its presence in the market. For more information about the Rotor Riot Brave F7 Flight Controller or to place an order, please visit www.RotorRiot.com or contact via purchasing@rotorriot.com. About Unusual Machines Unusual Machines manufactures and sells drone components and drones across a diversified brand portfolio, which includes Fat Shark, the leader in FPV (first-person view) ultra-low latency video goggles for drone pilots. The Company also retails small, acrobatic FPV drones and equipment directly to consumers through the curated Rotor Riot e- commerce store. With a changing regulatory environment, Unusual Machines seeks to be a dominant Tier-1 parts supplier to the fast-growing multi-billion-dollar U.S. drone industry. According to Fact.MR, the global drone accessories market is currently valued at $17.5 billion and is set to top $115 billion by 2032. For more information, visit Unusual Machines at https://www.unusualmachines.com. Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the expected future demand for our products, our development of new products and seeking to expand of our market presence, and projections and anticipated future growth of our business and the industry in which we operate. The words "believe," "may," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "should," "plan," "could," "target," "potential," "is likely," "will," "expect," and similar expressions, as they relate to us, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The results expected by some or all of these forward-looking statements may not occur. Factors that affect these forward-looking statements include competition we face and the possibility that competitors develop and market more effective and/or less expensive alternatives to our products, our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory clearance for our products, private and government spending trends and initiatives which may among other things be adversely impacted by economic challenges such as a possible U.S. or global recession and potential adverse developments in government spending on our products and related technologies, and those risks described in the section titled "Risk Factors" contained in the Company's final Prospectus filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 19, 2024. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. Any forward-looking statement made by us herein speaks only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake 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. CONTACT: CS Investor Relations Phone: 917-633-8980 Email: investors@unusualmachines.com SOURCE: Unusual Machines, Inc. View the original press release on accesswire.com Erinnern Sie sich, als Moderna und BioNTech von unbekannten Unternehmen zu globalen Marktfuhrern wurden und fruhzeitige Investoren reich belohnt haben? Die Branche steht vor einem erneuten Innovationsschub von bahnbrechenden Medikamenten bis hin zu revolutionaren Therapien. Warum sollten Sie dabei sein? Sie sollten jetzt in Biotech-Aktien einsteigen, weil wir am Beginn einer neuen Ara der medizinischen Innovation stehen konnten! Gen- und Zelltherapien, personalisierte Medizin und bahnbrechende Technologien konnten das Gesundheitswesen revolutionieren und die Aktienkurse in die Hohe schieen lassen. Die nachste Erfolgsgeschichte im Biotechbereich warten nur darauf, entdeckt zu werden. Wer jetzt investiert, hat die Chance, von gigantischen Durchbruchen und enormen Renditen zu profitieren. Warten Sie nicht, bis es zu spat ist - der nachste Biotech-Superstar konnte morgen schon durchstarten! Verpassen Sie nicht diese Chance! Fordern Sie sofort unseren brandneuen Biotech-Spezialreport an und erfahren Sie, welche 3 Biotech-Aktien das riesige Potenzial haben, Ihren finanziellen Erfolg zu sichern. Dieser Report ist komplett kostenlos und zeigt Ihnen zukunftstrachtige Investments im Biotech-Sektor. Handeln Sie jetzt und sichern Sie sich Ihren kostenfreien Report! Rush Rare Metals Corp. (CSE:RSH) ("Rush" or the "Company) is pleased to announce that its earn-in partner on the Copper Mountain uranium property in Wyoming, Myriad Uranium Corp. (CSE:M)(OTCQB:MYRUF)(FRA:C3Q) - "Myriad") has closed another tranche of its previously announced non-brokered private placement financing (the "Financing") (see Myriad's news release dated August 13, 2024). In this latest tranche of the Financing, Myriad raised gross proceeds of $1,170,000. This adds to an earlier tranche of $2,912,500, closed June 25, 2024. Rush CEO Peter Smith commented, "We are very excited with Myriad's continued success in this financing, which we anticipate will predominantly be used to fund its upcoming drill program at Copper Mountain. Since entering our earn-in agreement with them, tremendous value has been added for both companies with the addition of several new highly prospective areas (see Rush press release of April 24, 2024) and the development of a drill program to start verifying and expanding on tens of millions in historical work previously done in the area, mostly conducted by Union Pacific back when the USA, and Wyoming in particular, was one of the world's most important uranium producers." Rush has also entered into an amending agreement (the "Amending Agreement") dated as of August 21, 2024, respecting the Company's Copper Mountain project, which amends Rush's mineral property option agreement with Myriad dated October 18, 2023. The amendments essentially clarify a few functional aspects of the option agreement so that both companies have greater certainty going forward. The Amending Agreement can be found on SEDAR+. The Company is also pleased to announce that it will be visiting its Boxi Property in Quebec, which is prospective for Niobium and other Rare Earth Elements ("REE's"), on August 27th with a new geologist that has knowledge and experience in the exploration of U-Nb-REE pegmatites. Rush CEO Peter Smith continued, "We are very excited to have some fresh eyes on our Boxi project, and it's our hope that we can make some additional progress at Boxi during the fall. With continued progress at both Copper Mountain and Boxi, Rush truly has what we feel is one of the best 1-2 punches for potentially explosive future value among Canadian junior mining companies going forward." About Rush Rare Metals Corp. Rush Rare Metals Corp. is a mineral exploration company focused on its Boxi Property located in the Province of Quebec, Canada. Rush also owns the Copper Mountain Project located in Wyoming, USA, which it has optioned to Myriad Uranium Corp. Rush currently has a 100% interest in both properties. For further information, please refer to Rush's disclosure record on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) or contact Rush by email at psmith@rushraremetals.com or by telephone at 778.999.7030, or refer to Rush's website at www.rushraremetals.com. Rush Contacts: Peter Smith Chief Executive Officer psmith@rushraremetals.com Mineralization hosted on adjacent or nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Company's properties. Certain statements in this news release are forward-looking statements, including with respect to future plans, and other matters. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as "may", "expect", "estimate", "anticipate", "intend", "believe" and "continue" or the negative thereof or similar variations. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including but not limited to, business, economic and capital market conditions, the ability to manage operating expenses, and dependence on key personnel. Such statements and information are based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, anticipated costs, and the ability to achieve goals. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include, the continued availability of capital and financing, litigation, loss of key employees and consultants, and general economic, market or business conditions. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The CSE has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the contents of this news release. SOURCE: Rush Rare Metals Corp. View the original press release on accesswire.com NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / August 23, 2024 / Entergy New Orleans partnered with the New Orleans Women's and Children's Shelter for a back-to-school supply give away. The event brought families together for a fun-filled day of activities, learning and community connection. Students received backpacks filled with essential school supplies, including lunchboxes, notebooks, binders and more. "It's always a pleasure to see the smiles on the children's faces during these events," said Nyka Scott, Entergy New Orleans' vice president of customer service. "We believe in giving back to the communities we serve, and events like this allow us to make a meaningful impact by ensuring our children have the tools and support they need to succeed in the classroom and beyond." The event helped the residents of the Women's and Children's Shelter prepare for the upcoming school year. The New Orleans Public Library was on-site signing up parents and children for library cards so they can access the wealth of resources available at local branches. Adding to the day's excitement, Entergy New Orleans brought along a bucket truck and provided participants with a hands-on opportunity to explore the world of electrical engineering. "This event means so much to our families," said Dawn Bradley-Fletcher, CEO of the New Orleans Women & Children's Shelter. "The support from the community and partners like Entergy New Orleans makes a huge difference in the lives of the women and children we serve. It's not just about the school supplies; it's about showing them that the community cares and that they are not alone." As we head into the new school year, we are reminded of the importance of community connection and the power of coming together. Entergy New Orleans looks forward to continuing our partnership with the New Orleans Women's and Children's Shelter and to giving back to the community we serve. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Entergy Corporation on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Entergy Corporation Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/entergy-corporation Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Entergy Corporation View the original press release on accesswire.com Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 23, 2024) - Caprock Mining Corp. (CSE: CAPR) ("Caprock" or the "Company") is pleased to announce its intention to complete a non-brokered private placement of units (the "Offering") for gross proceeds of up to $130,750 from the issuance of 8,716,667 units. Each unit is priced at $0.015 and is comprised of one common share and one half of one common share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant (individually a "Warrant", and collectively "Warrants") is exercisable to purchase one common share of the Company for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance at a price of $0.05. The common shares and Warrants will be subject to a four-month hold period. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering for working capital and for other general corporate purposes. Closing of the Offering is conditional upon the approval of, and compliance with the policies of, the Canadian Securities Exchange and general corporate and securities laws applicable to the Offering. The Offering is expected to close on or before August 29, 2025. It is anticipated that Daniel Cohen, a director of the Company will be purchasing 1.25 million units. As such, the Company will be issuing securities to a purchaser that is considered a "related party" (within the meaning of Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101")), making the applicable Offering a "related party transaction" (within the meaning of MI 61-101) (the "Related Party Subscription"). If such sales are completed the Company will be exempt from obtaining a formal valuation for, and minority approval of, the Related Party Subscription pursuant to Section 5.5(b) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, respectively. The securities to be issued under the Offering have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. About Caprock Mining Corp. Caprock Mining Corp. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on exploring battery metals in Newfoundland and precious metals in Ontario. The Company has an option to earn a 100% interest in the Ackley Lithium-Tin-Molybdenum-REEs property located in the Fortune Bay area of south-eastern Newfoundland. Additionally, the Company's 100% interest in several gold exploration properties gives it a substantial landholding in the historical Beardmore-Geraldton Gold Belt ("BGB") of Ontario - a belt that has produced over four million ounces of gold historically (Reference: Beardmore-Geraldton Gold Camp - Tashota Resources), and contains the world-class Greenstone gold project (formerly known as the Hardrock gold project) which is being brought to production by a joint venture partnership between Equinox Gold (TSE:EQX) and Orion Mine Finance (Reference: Greenstone Gold Mines - Mining & Processing). With an experienced management team that has a strong exploration pedigree, Caprock is poised to generate incremental shareholder value by advancing its portfolio of highly prospective exploration projects. Forward-Looking Statements This news release includes forward-looking information and statements, which may include, but are not limited to, information and statements regarding or inferring the future business, operations, financial performance, prospects, and other plans, intentions, expectations, estimates, and beliefs of the Company. Such statements include statements regarding the anticipated closing of the proposed Offering and the use of proceeds resulting therefrom. Forward-looking information and statements involve and are subject to assumptions and known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause actual events, results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future events, results, performance, and achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking information and statements herein. The assumptions on which the forward-looking statements contained herein rely include the ability to complete the proposed Offering and receipt of regulatory approval. Although the Company believes that any forward-looking information and statements herein are reasonable, in light of the use of assumptions and the significant risks and uncertainties inherent in such information and statements, there can be no assurance that any such forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, and accordingly readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such risks and uncertainties and should not place undue reliance upon such forward-looking information and statements. Any forward-looking information and statements herein are made as of the date hereof, and except as required by applicable laws, the Company assumes no obligation and disclaims any intention to update or revise any forward-looking information and statements herein or to update the reasons that actual events or results could or do differ from those projected in any forward-looking information and statements herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws. Neither 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/220895 SOURCE: Caprock Mining Corp. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 23, 2024) - World Copper Ltd. (TSXV: WCU) (OTCQB: WCUFF) (FSE:7LY0) ("World Copper" or the "Company") announces an upcoming corporate update webinar, scheduled for September 5, 2024 at 1:15pm PST. Webinar Details Time: 1:15pm PST / 4:15 PM EST Date: September 5, 2024 Speaker: Gordon Neal, President & CEO Link: https://event.webinarjam.com/channel/WCU-Webinar Shareholders and attendees are encouraged to submit questions and comments for management review to info@worldcopperltd.com prior to the webinar date. World Copper President & CEO, Gordon Neal, states, "I am looking forward to giving our shareholders and stakeholder a corporate update on behalf of the Company. Specifically, this webinar will focus on the value proposition of the Zonia Project, and growth plans for the next twelve months." ABOUT WORLD COPPER LTD. World Copper Ltd., headquartered in Vancouver, BC, is a Canadian resource company focused on the exploration and development of its copper porphyry projects: Zonia in Arizona and Escalones in Chile. Both projects have estimated resources with significant soluble copper mineralization, and they boast exciting potential to expand the resource base. The company is dedicated to sustainable practices and leveraging technology to develop safe and productive mining operations in stable, mining-friendly jurisdictions. Detailed information is available at World Copper's website at https://worldcopperltd.com, and for general Company updates you may follow us on our social media pages via Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn. On Behalf of the Board of Directors of WORLD COPPER LTD. "Gordon Neal" Gordon Neal President & Chief Executive Officer Follow us: Twitter: https://twitter.com/WorldCopperLtd Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WorldCopperLtd LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/worldcopperltd Neither 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. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, the results of the PEA, the potential production from and viability of Escalones, the potential tonnage, grades and content of deposits, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves and the anticipated business plans and timing of future activities of the Company are forward-looking statements. 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: "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "estimates", "plans", "may", "should", "would", "will", "potential", "scheduled" or variations of such words and phrases and similar expressions, which, by their nature, refer to future events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that the Company will receive all necessary approvals required to develop Escalones as outlined in the PEA, that the assumptions in the PEA are reasonably accurate, that market fundamentals will result in sustained copper demand and prices, the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection with the future development of the Company's Chilean projects in a timely manner, including Escalones, the availability of financing on suitable terms for the development, construction and continued operation of the Company's projects and its ability to comply with environmental, health and safety laws. 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 differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, requirements for additional capital, actual results of exploration activities, including on the Escalones Project and the Cristal Project, the reasonability of the economic assumptions at the basis of the results of the PEA for the Zonia Project, the estimation or realization of mineral reserves and mineral resources, future prices of copper, changes in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets and in the demand and market price for commodities, lack of investor interest in the Private Placement, accidents, labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals (including acceptance of the Proposed Transaction, the Private Placement and the Consolidation by the TSXV), permits or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities, risks relating to epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19, including the impact of COVID-19 on the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations, title disputes, the timing and possible outcome of any pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, as well as the risk factors described in the Company's annual and quarterly management's discussion and analysis and in other filings made by the Company with Canadian securities regulatory authorities under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this news release or incorporated by reference herein, except as otherwise required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/220857 SOURCE: World Copper Ltd. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 23, 2024) - Xigem Technologies Corporation (CSE: XIGM) (FSE: VZ6) ("Xigem" or the "Company"), today is pleased to advise of its unaudited interim financial information for the three and six month periods ending June 30, 2024. The Company realised gross sales of $720,036 with net sales of $21,600 in its second fiscal quarter of 2024, as compared with gross sales of $0 and net sales of $0 for its second fiscal quarter of 2023. For the six month period ending June 30, 2024, the Company realised gross sales of $1,414,343 with net sales of $42,430, as compared with gross sales of $439,684 and net sales of $13,191 for the same period in 2023, representing an increase of approximately 221%. Further, the Company has reduced its net comprehensive loss in its second fiscal quarter of 2024 by 58% when also compared to the same period in 2023; and a reduction of 61% in its net comprehensive loss for the six-month period ending June 30, 2024 when also compared to the same period in 2023. Xigem's sales performance in its second quarter is attributable to its EchoDigital asset, which is currently employed with a dealer of pre-owned cars in the greater Toronto area. EchoDigital is a SaaS-based platform that uses a proprietary AI to seamlessly capture and convert leads from traditional sources. The EchoDigital technology then assesses and qualifies the leads in part determining their psychological aptitude to be later matched with the most suitable customer service/sales representative ("CSR") to help complete the sale, all online. The Company intends to make EchoDigital available to other dealers of pre-owned cars in the near future. EchoDigital may be readily scalable, customizable and applicable to almost any CSR-dependent sales system in a range of industry verticals, and may likely have application with the Company's other assets. The Company expects to work towards research, development and further commercialization of the EchoDigital asset. About Xigem Technologies Corporation Established in Toronto, Ontario, Xigem aims to position itself to become a leading technology provider for the emerging near trillion-dollar remote economy, with software capable of improving the capacity, productivity, and overall remote operations for businesses, consumers, and other organizations. iAgent, the Company's patented technology, FOOi, its proprietary peer-to-peer mobile payments app, and EchoDigital, a SaaS automotive shopping platform, are intended to provide organizations, businesses, and consumers with the tools necessary to thrive in a vast array of digital working, learning, shopping and treatment environments, as the Company looks to aggregate a portfolio of innovative technologies capable of disrupting traditional business models. www.xigemtechnologies.com Instagram: @xigemtechnologies Twitter: @XigemTech Facebook: @xigemtechnologies LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/xigem-technologies Further Information This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities, in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The market data presented in this press release is not indicative of the Company's future performance and in no way should be interpreted as such. CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking statements. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "appears to be", "likely, "plans", "possible", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". The forward-looking information and forward- looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: future market data for the global automotive industry; the future products and performance of the Company and the ability of the Company to continue adding innovative technologies to its portfolio. Forward-looking information in this news release is based on certain assumptions and expected future events, namely: the Company's ability to continue as a going concern; the commercial viability and growth in popularity of the Company's applications; the Company's ability to continue to develop and acquire revenue-generating applications; continued approval of the Company's activities by the relevant governmental and/or regulatory authorities; the continued development of the Company's technologies; the Company having sufficient funds to continue operations as planned; growth of the global automobile industry as currently anticipated or at all; the impact of growth of the global automotive industry on the Company's operations; and the continued growth of the Company in general. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including but not limited to: uncertainty with respect to the future growth of the global automobile industry and/or any other industry group or subset relevant to the Company's operations; uncertainty to predict the Company's ability to compete with other participants in the industries in which it operates; the potential inability of the Company to continue as a going concern; the risks associated with Software-as-a-Service ("SaaS") and technology industries in general; increased competition in the SaaS and technology markets in general; the potential future unviability of the Company's product offerings; risks associated with potential governmental and/or regulatory action with respect to the Company's activities; risks associated with a potential collapse in the value of SaaS services and the SaaS market; risks associated with the Company's ability to generate a profit; the inability of the Company to add innovative technologies to its portfolio; the Company not having adequate resources, financial and otherwise, as required to continue its operations as planned; and risks with respect to market demand for the Company's products. Furthermore, the market data presented in this press release is not indicative of the Company's future performance and in no way should be interpreted as such. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and reflect the Company's expectations as of the date hereof and are subject to change thereafter. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Xigem Technologies Corporation On behalf of the Company: Brian Kalish, Chief Executive Office To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/220860 SOURCE: Xigem Technologies Corporation CHANGZHOU, China, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Trinasolar's factory in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, has obtained the 2023 Zero-carbon Factory (Type I) Four-star Certificate from TiGroup, the second time such authoritative green certification has been awarded to it since it became the first zero-carbon factory in the photovoltaic industry last year. Green practices have been adopted in the factory by cutting energy use, reducing carbon emissions, improving energy efficiency, continually improving energy management and upgrading equipment and facilities. With such efforts the power consumption per unit product (kWh/MW) of the factory fell by 6.86% last year compared with that of 2022, and carbon emissions per unit of production (tCO2e/MW) fell 6.18%. TiGroup conducted a detailed evaluation of the Yiwu factory on July 19 in accordance with the Evaluation Specification of a Zero-carbon Factory, covering six areas: infrastructure; the intelligent information management system of energy and carbon; energy and resource use; products; greenhouse gas emissions reduction measures; and carbon offset implementation. TiGroup highly rated the factory's environmental protection measures and gave the factory a Zero-carbon Factory (Type I) four-star level. Trinasolar is an industry leader in low-carbon practices. The company was recently awarded EPD Norway and EPD International certifications for its Vertex S+ series module. The Yiwu factory is one of major bases for mass producing Vertex S+ modules. In January Trinasolar's Vertex N 720W, Vertex N 625W series modules and Vertex 670W modules received UL EPD and EPD Italy certifications. In 2022 Trinasolar's Vertex modules were awarded a Life Cycle Assessment Certificate and Carbon Footprint Certificate by TUV Rheinland for their low-carbon management capabilities throughout lifecycle. Helena Li, executive president at Trinasolar, said: "It's an honour for our Yiwu factory to once again secure the Zero-carbon Factory certification. It's a significant achievement, especially because this time, the factory has been upgraded from three stars to four, underscoring Trinasolar's commitment to sustainable development. We're passionate about ensuring that our modules and entire production cycle are as sustainable as possible." Trinasolar, with the mission of "Solar Energy for All", is building a unique SOLAR sustainability management culture. Last year the company established a net-zero system and said it aims to achieve carbon neutrality at global organizational and operational levels by 2030. Trinasolar will strictly honor its social responsibility to reduce carbon emissions and contribute to a net-zero world. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/trinasolar-awarded-zero-carbon-factory-four-star-certificate-302229331.html MBABANE Police officers are going through depression. The Royal Eswatini Police Service Staff Association (REPOSA) Secretary General (SG), Dumisile Khumalo, said police officers are not only depressed, but also demotivated and stressed. Khumalo was reacting to comments made by the Prime Minister, Russell Mmiso Dlamini, when addressing members of the Royal Eswatini Police Service (REPS) at the Police Headquarters. Dlamini decried the manner in which some police officers treated members of the public. Change He said the manner in which some of the officers address the public is uncalled for and something should be done to sharpen them, so that they could change for the better. This was after he toured some institutions including Matsapha Police Academy, Malkerns Police Station, Mbabane Police New Camp, Police Photography and Printing and Police Stores and Tailoring Services departments, among others. The SG described money as a form of therapy and challenged government to offer police officers money and realise the impact it would have on their performance. You can actually take someone through a course, but if their mind is not aligned, there will be no positive results. Khumalo wondered that if someone had failed at university, were they taken back to high school, adding that it did not work like that. The SG noted that only when the mind was stable, the results would be positive. She said the police are stressed and require motivation. Khumalo likened the situation of the police reaction to the public to that of a doctor and patient. She said if a patient visits the hospital and finds the doctor also sick, there is no way their health could be restored. People individually visit the police stations with their problems, only to find the person who needs to offer a solutions is also undergoing challenges.The REPOSA SG stated that most police officers are sinking in debt, hungry and in need of counselling due to the fact that a lot has been happening within the institution. She said they do not understand why the PM feels that they need to go back to college. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 23, 2024) - Red Light Holland Corp. (CSE: TRIP) (FSE: 4YX) (OTCQB: TRUFF) ("Red Light Holland" or the "Company"), a company engaged in the production, growth and sale of functional mushrooms and mushroom home grow kits in North America and Europe and a premium brand of psilocybin truffles to the legal, recreational market within the Netherlands, is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, 4316747 Nova Scotia Limited o/a Happy Caps Mushroom Farms ("Happy Caps"), has received a substantial reorder from Costco Canada. This reorder includes 26,880 units of the popular Happy Caps "Mega Block" 2kg Mushroom Home Grow Kits, marking a 33.33% increase from the previous order of 20,160 units. Happy Caps 2Kg "Mega Block" Mushroom Home Grow Kits To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/2017/220898_208123_image1redlight.jpg This significant reorder, expected to be in stores nationwide in mid September 2024 from Costco Canada, underscores the continued strong demand and growing consumer interest in the Happy Caps Mushroom Home Grow Kits, which offer a simple and sustainable way to cultivate fresh mushrooms at home. The 2kg "Mega Block" kits, featuring Shiitake, Lion's Mane, and Oyster mushroom varieties, have continued to gain popularity since their initial launch. Furthermore, based on the previously announced (July 11th, 2024) "informal projection letter" received from Costco Canada, Happy Caps anticipates an additional order of approximately 13,500 units in October 2024. This projected order reflects Costco's continued confidence in Happy Caps' products and highlights the expanding footprint of Happy Caps within the Canadian retail market. "We are thrilled with the continued support and enthusiasm from Costco Canada," said Todd Shapiro, CEO and Director of Red Light Holland. "This increased order volume and the expected future order for October 2024, not only signifies the success of our partnership but also demonstrates the growing demand for sustainable home grow kits in the market. We remain committed to providing high-quality mushroom cultivation solutions to our customers." Happy Caps continues to scale and explore further opportunities with major retailers across North America and Europe as it expands its distribution network and strengthens its position as a leader in the mushroom home grow kit market. For more information about Happy Caps and its range of mushroom home grow kits, please visit www.happycaps.ca. About Happy Caps Mushroom Farm Happy Caps is an urban gourmet mushroom farm specializing in quality 'grow your own mushroom kits' and mushroom plug spawn. About Red Light Holland Red Light Holland is an Ontario-based corporation engaged in the production, growth, and sale of functional mushrooms and mushroom home grow kits in North America and Europe, and a premium brand of psilocybin truffles to the legal, recreational market within the Netherlands, in compliance with all applicable laws. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition, but instead represent only the Company's beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Company's control. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or 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. Forward-Looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company or its respective subsidiaries to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained in this news release. Examples of such information include statements with respect to: the stated plans, goals, and benefits of the partnership with Costco Canada, including the products and mushroom varieties to be offered for sale, the Costco Canada locations which the Company's products will be available for purchase, and the timelines thereof; the stated benefits of the Company's Happy Caps Mushroom Home Grow Kits; the Company's continued exploration of partnerships with major retailers across North America; and the Company's stated business plans and goals. Forward-Looking information in this news release are based on certain assumptions and expected future events, namely: continued approval of the Company's activities by the relevant governmental and/or regulatory authorities; the Company's ability to carry out its stated plans, goals, and benefits of the partnership with Costco Canada under the stated timelines; the potential that Costco Canada may not re-order Happy Caps Mushroom Grow kits including the potential of Costco Canada to cancel the order of 26,880 Mega Block Kits; and the Informal Projection Letter future order of approximately 13,500 Happy Caps Home Grow Kits; the Company's ability to realize upon the stated benefits of the Company's Happy Caps Mushroom Home Grow Kits; the Company's ability to continue its exploration of partnerships with major retailers across North America; and the Company's ability to carry out its stated business plans and goals. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, the Company's inability to obtain continued approval of the Company's activities by the relevant governmental and/or regulatory authorities; the Company's inability to carry out its stated plans, goals, and benefits of the partnership with Costco Canada under the stated timelines; the Company's inability to realize upon the stated benefits of the Company's Happy Caps Mushroom Home Grow Kits; the Company's inability to continue its exploration of partnerships with major retailers across North America; the potential that Costco Canada may not follow through with the recent Purchase Order of 26,880 kits set to be in stores nationwide in September 2024, or at a future date; and the certainty of the Informal Projection letter order including the future order of approximately 13,500 home grow kits; and the Company's inability to carry out its stated business plans and goals. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing, and the expectations contained in, the forward-looking information and 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 information and statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information and statements. The forward-looking information and forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/220898 SOURCE: Red Light Holland Corp. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 23, 2024 / Gold Mountain Mining Corp. ("Gold Mountain" or the "Company") (TSX:GMTN)(OTCQB:GMTNF)(FRA:5XFA) is pleased to announce that further to its press release of August 15, 2024, the Company has raised $6.5 million by way of issuance of a convertible secured debenture (the " Convertible Debenture ") to a choomEEnsh a Nlaka'pamux LP (the " Investor "). The Convertible Debenture is convertible at the Investor's option into 81,250,000 common shares at a conversion price of $0.08 per share. The Convertible Debenture matures ten (10) years from the date of issuance and will accrue interest at the rate of 10.0% per annum, calculated monthly and payable in cash in arrears on each anniversary date from the date of issuance. The Convertible Debentures may be prepaid in whole or in part, at the option of the Company. The Investor is an affiliate of Nhwelmen Construction GP Ltd. (" Nhwelmen ") who is an existing insider of the Company. Nhwelmen currently holds a convertible debenture which is secured by a second-priority security interest over all of the assets of the Company including its current and after-acquired property and the security for the Convertible Debenture will be evidenced by the general security agreement dated effective March 10, 2024 between the Company and Nhwelmen. The maximum number of securities issued, assuming the conversion of the Convertible Debenture, is 81,250,000 common shares representing 10.24% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company on a non-diluted basis. The transaction noted above was negotiated at arm's length and there will be no effect on control. Insider Participation As previously disclosed in the August 15, 2024 press release, Nhwelmen owns 216,666,667 common shares of the Company, representing 27.30% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company and therefore is an "insider" of the Company for purposes of the TSX Company Manual and a "related party" of the Company pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). As an affiliate of Nhwelmen, the Investor is also considered to be an "insider" of the Company for purposes of the TSX Company Manual and a "related party" of the Company pursuant to MI 61-101. Assuming full conversion of the Convertible Debenture, Nhwelmen and its affiliates, being the Investor, would own 297,916,667 common shares representing 34.05% of the Company's common shares, on a non-diluted basis. The issuance of the Convertible Debenture to the Investor is a "related party transaction" within the meaning of MI 61-101. The Company's Special Committee (as defined below) have determined that the Company meets the financial hardship requirements of Section 5.5(g) and Section 5.7(1)(e) of MI 61-101, respectively, as the Convertible Debenture is designed to improve the financial position of the Company, and the terms of the transaction is reasonable in the circumstances of the Company. Special Committee A special committee of the board of directors of the Company (the "Special Committee") was constituted and considered the fairness of the Convertible Debenture and related matters. The Special Committee was comprised of the independent directors. The Special Committee determined that the Convertible Debenture was reasonable for the Company in the circumstances and recommended that the Company proceed with the issuance of the Convertible Debenture. Security Holder Approval Pursuant to Section 604(a)(ii) and Section 607(g)(ii) of the TSX Company Manual, as the Company provided consideration to the Investor, which is an affiliate of a current insider of the Company, in aggregate of 10% or greater of the market capitalization of the Company during a six-month period, the TSX required and the Company obtained security holder approval with respect to the issuance of the Convertible Debenture. Instead of seeking security holder approval at a duly called meeting of security holders, the TSX permitted the Company, pursuant to section 604(d) of the TSX Company Manual, to provide written evidence from more than 50% of the voting securities of the Company held by disinterested shareholders who are familiar with the terms of the transactions. The vote of the disinterested shareholders excluded the 216,666,667 common shares of the Company held by Nhwelmen which represented approximately 27.30% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company. Early Warning Disclosure Nhwelmen and a choomEEnsh a Nlaka'pamux LP are providing the following additional information pursuant to the early warning requirements of applicable Canadian securities laws. Prior to the issuance of the Convertible Debenture, Nhwelmen owned an aggregate of 216,666,667 Common Shares, representing approximately 27.30% of the issued and outstanding common shares on a non-diluted basis. Assuming full conversion of the Convertible Debenture, Nhwelmen and the Investor, being an affiliate of Nhwelmen, will collectively own an aggregate of 297,916,667common shares representing 34.05% of the Company's common shares, on a non-diluted basis. The securities above are held by Nhwelmen and the Investor for investment purposes. Both Nhwelmen and the Investor have a long-term view of the investment and may acquire additional securities of the Company including on the open market or through private acquisitions or sell securities of the Company including on the open market or through private dispositions in the future depending on market conditions, reformulation of plans and/or other factors that Nhwelmen or the Investor considers relevant from time to time. A copy of the early warning report for Nhwelmen and a choomEEnsh a Nlaka'pamux LP will appear on the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements thereunder. About Gold Mountain Gold Mountain is a British Columbia based gold and silver production, exploration and development company focused on the development of the Elk Gold Mine, a producing mine located 57 kilometers from Merritt in South Central British Columbia. Additional information is available at www.sedarplus.ca or on the Company's new website at www.gold-mountain.ca. For more information, please contact: Gold Mountain Mining Corp. Calvin Cheung, Chief Financial Officer Email: IR@gold-mountain.ca Website: www.gold-mountain.ca Twitter: www.twitter.com/goldmtnmine Forward Looking Statements This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation regarding final approval of the Convertible Debenture, the ability of the Company to continue as a going concern, the impact of the raising of funds pursuant to the Convertible Debenture on the Company and the results thereof, including that it will allow the Company to address its significant working capital deficiency and provide operating capital to the Company so that it can go forward as a viable going concern, receipt of the final TSX approval and the ability for the Company to restart the mine, thereby significantly improving the Company's financial situation. Forward-looking statements include statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release and are not purely historical including any information relating to statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future and often, but not always, use words or phrases such as "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "estimates" or "intends", or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals; the price of gold; and the results of current exploration. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Gold Mountain disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. The TSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this News Release. SOURCE: Gold Mountain Mining Corp View the original press release on accesswire.com COLUMBIA, MD / ACCESSWIRE / August 23, 2024 / Nava Health, a leader in longevity, integrative, and functional medicine, is excited to announce it will be expanding its footprint to include Annapolis, Maryland, with a new 5,808-square-foot Nava Center expected to open in October 2024. The Annapolis Nava Health location will be located at 1906 Towne Centre Blvd., Suite 2203, in the popular Annapolis Town Center shopping destination. This new location will mark Nava Health's fifth center in the Baltimore Washington Metro area, with a sixth planned in Hunt Valley in 2024. Nava Health isn't just about treating illness; the Company views healthcare as a proactive journey toward optimal well-being. Recognizing the growing emphasis and effectiveness of preventative and longevity-focused medicine, Nava Health offers a comprehensive suite of services tailored to empower individuals. Offerings include functional medicine, focused on the root causes of health issues, regenerative medicine, which aims to restore cellular and tissue function, and personalized wellness plans that provide a roadmap for long-term health. "This expansion to Maryland's capital reflects the rising demand we are seeing for Nava Health's innovative services. We are dedicated to offering residents across the state convenient access to a transformative approach to healthcare, and we are excited about Nava's growth potential in this area," says Bernie Dancel, CEO of Nava Health. "Annapolis is renowned for its active lifestyle and vibrant waterfront community. Residents here prioritize well-being, and our data-driven approach to personalized healthcare perfectly complements that focus. We're excited to empower Annapolis residents to take control of their health and achieve their full potential." A Perfect Fit for the Active Annapolis Community Annapolis fosters a strong sense of community with a focus on healthy living. With its beautiful waterfront, historic charm, and extensive trails like the Severn Run Trail, Annapolis provides ample opportunities to embrace an active lifestyle. Nava Health's focus on preventative care, longevity, and health optimization complements this dedication to well-being perfectly. About Nava Health Nava Health is a vertically integrated, tech-enabled healthcare practice combining integrative, functional, preventive, and regenerative medicine. Their innovative medical practice utilizes a data-driven, personalized approach to optimize health and increase longevity. Each client receives an individualized wellness roadmap tailored to their specific needs and goals. All client wellness roadmaps are developed through a proprietary diagnostic process, the "Nava Method," which leverages data and specialized software to create optimal personalized client outcomes. To learn more, visit https://navacenter.com/. Media Contact Suzanne Coblentz Scoblentz@navacenter.com Investor Contact John Nesbett/Jen Belodeau IMS Investor Relations nava@imsinvestorrelations.com SOURCE: Nava Health View the original press release on accesswire.com Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 23, 2024) - Izotropic Corporation (CSE: IZO) (OTCQB: IZOZF) (FSE: 1R3) ("Izotropic" or the "Company"), a medical device company commercializing IzoView, a breast CT (computed tomography) imaging system, is pleased to announce that it is pursuing a regulatory strategy in the U.S. and EU to launch IzoView as a diagnostic device indicated for use in patients with dense breast tissue, a normal variation associated with an increased risk for developing breast cancers. The Company's reformed regulatory strategy positions IzoView Breast CT for market entry as a diagnostic imaging device to be used adjunctive to digital breast tomosynthesis ("DBT") and indicated for use in patients with dense breast tissue (BI-RADS C and D). This regulatory pathway in the U.S. will require a Pre-Market Authorization (PMA) clinical study with an estimated sample population size of 400 patients and an estimated cost of $3.5M USD. Izotropic is currently completing a pre-submission that it expects to complete and file with the U.S. FDA in approximately 6-8 weeks. Upon completing the pre-submission meeting with the FDA that will follow, the Company will make a further announcement regarding the full clinical study timeline, knowing in part that a period of 1-year post imaging of the last study patient will be required to validate negative breast cancer cases and prepare the final PMA submission for FDA approval. The clinical study design intends to prove the superiority of DBT in combination with Contrast-Enhanced Breast CT compared to DBT images alone for the detection of breast cancers in a screening population of women with dense breasts. In the study, radiologists will read DBT and IzoView images together, complete a diagnosis using both images and compare the diagnostic accuracy against DBT images alone. By implementing an adjunct indication for use in IzoView's initial market launch strategy, Izotropic will be able to execute a smaller and less costly clinical study on a shorter timeline compared to other diagnostic regulatory pathways previously explored by the Company. This, in turn, expedites patient access to Breast CT technology for a population with an increased risk factor for developing breast cancer. Given the risk factors of breast density and the severity of breast cancer diseases as a global concern, the Company is expanding its focus and will be applying for market approval in the EU under the CE Mark pathway. In the coming months, Izotropic will be engaging a designated organization known as a notified body that has the authority to assess the conformity of medical devices and other products under applicable EU legislation. The intended use, indication for use, and clinical burden needed for CE Marking for IzoView will be negotiated with the notified body under the new MDR process. Breast CT clinical data established in the U.S. will be leveraged in whole to support CE marking and may result in earlier commercialization in the EU before IzoView's market launch in the U.S. The schedule for CE Marking will be finalized after notified body negotiations. What is Digital Breast Tomosynthesis? DBT is a mammography-like compression-based breast imaging device that uses software to generate slightly 3D images from a series of images acquired in 2D. While mammography takes stationary images from the top and sides of the breast, the camera in DBT moves in an arc over the breast ranging from 15-50 degrees depending on the device model and reconstructs these images using software to provide more detail. DBT is replacing traditional 2D mammography for breast cancer screening because it has been shown to be more effective at breast cancer detection. However, the limited number of views collecting during the DBT imaging process means that the resulting images are not truly 3D. With IzoView breast CT, the patient places their own breast in the IzoView imaging cup. There is no breast handling or potentially painful breast compression required. With a comfortable face down view, natural breast orientation is maintained, producing more suitable image outputs. The imaging hardware beneath the table then circles around the patient's breast, producing approximately 500 high-resolution images (depending on breast length) in approximately 10 seconds, with a radiation dose comparable to 2-view mammography. A true 3D reconstructed image (data set) is produced within 30 seconds, which a radiologist can then view from any angle like a 3D model, or slide through the 500+/- cross-sectional images individually to better determine tumor size, shape, location, and relation to internal breast structures. As of August 2024, 8,915 certified facilities are operating under the Mammography Quality Standards Act in the U.S., and over 90% of these facilities have DBT units. Of the 26,045 accredited units at these facilities (mammography and DBT), DBT units account for 47% of these devices. What is Dense Breast Tissue? Breasts are comprised of three different types of tissue: fibrous and glandular tissues, which are both dense and fatty tissue. Breast density refers to the amount of fibrous and glandular tissue in the breast compared to fatty tissue. A grading system called BI-RADS (Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System) classifies breast density into four categories: (A) Almost entirely fatty breast tissue, found in about 10% of women; (B) Scattered areas of dense glandular tissue and fibrous connective tissue, found in about 40% of women; (C) Heterogeneously dense breast tissue with many areas of glandular tissue and fibrous connective tissue, found in about 40% of women; and (D) Extremely dense breast tissue, found in about 10% of women. Izotropic's clinical study will focus on patients with BI-RADS C and D. According to the National Cancer Institute, nearly half of all women in the U.S. aged 40 and older who get mammograms are found to have dense breasts. The denser the breast tissue is, the greater the risk factor for developing breast cancer. Dense breast tissue appears white on a mammogram- so do suspicious lesions and tumors. The density of the tissue itself and the compression required for mammography and DBT imaging could obscure abnormalities that may otherwise be further investigated if they were observed using these imaging modalities in patients with non-dense breast tissue. Currently, only mammography has been approved to diagnose and confirm breast density. The Company's clinical study design incorporates breast density considerations consistent with the FDA's most recent position that, as of September 2024, it is mandated that all U.S. screening facilities inform women about their breast density with their mammography results. Some states additionally require a statement recommending women discuss the option of supplemental screening with ultrasound or MRI due to dense breasts with their primary care clinicians. Izotropic's U.S. patent portfolio includes the only patent to measure breast density using the Breast CT modality. FDA Filing History and Progress Izotropic has been developing a relationship with the FDA since 2020 when its first pre-submission was filed with the intention of initiating a breast cancer-focused clinical study under a PMA pathway. This study was designed to demonstrate the superiority of non-contrast-enhanced breast CT over the current standard of care diagnostic imaging modalities- mammography, DBT, and ultrasound. After approximately two years of important filing work and communications with the FDA, the clinical study design was nearly completed. While nearing completion, the cost of executing the clinical study became three times higher than initially estimated before factoring in operating costs of at least $10+ million USD in pre-commercial regulatory investment, and the timeline became twice as long, which proved prohibitive. Although additional discussions and meetings were held with the FDA in an effort to reduce the timeline and number of patients required for the clinical study, and other indications for use without the use of contrast were discussed, this pathway became unrealistic given the Company's prior planning for clinical study costs of $3M USD plus an additional $2M to fund the build and install IzoView units at 2 study locations. The clinical study details included the following: Regulatory Pathway Indication for Use Study Population Estimated Cost Estimated Timeline Class III PMA Non-contrast enhanced diagnostic imaging for the detection of breast cancers with superiority over standard-of-care mammography, DBT and ultrasound 1,100+ women $10M+ USD 5+ years With an eroding market capitalization, it became challenging for the Company to secure the financial backing required to proceed with this clinical study for FDA approval as a Class III device. In early 2023, the Company re-engaged with the FDA in an effort to secure a downgraded Class II 510(k) clearance pathway with the intention of launching IzoView as a general breast CT imaging device adjunctive to mammography for broader investigational imaging versus a breast cancer-specific diagnostic device. This approach aimed to reduce submission expenses from tens of millions to just several hundred thousand dollars and to expedite from an approval timeline of 5+ years to a clearance pathway of approximately 6-9 months. This would be achieved by using pre-existing data from phantom Breast CT images and a small sampling of patient images instead of running a large clinical study. This approach proved to be unsuccessful. The FDA took the position that it did not consider imaging of the breast to be a general CT exam and that a clinical study was required. Although CT imaging devices are generally cleared through a 510(k) filing process and considered to be Class II devices by the FDA, the FDA ultimately advised that breast anatomy was considered separate and apart from other appendages and body parts and that they wanted anatomy specific imaging studies for specific indications for use and not a general CT device that images breasts. As a result, the Company has formally abandoned the 510(k) approach for initial market clearance. The market clearance details included the following: Regulatory Pathway Indication for Use Study Population Estimated Cost Estimated Timeline Class II 510(k) General/ discretionary use breast imaging without contrast adjunctive to mammography Use of phantom images (non-human) from the pre-commercial model of IzoView and a small sampling of patient images Under $1M USD 6-9 months To circumvent this setback, Izotropic enlisted the expertise of 2 FDA specialists in April 2024: a regulatory expert with Class III PMA experience and a former FDA Director with the Division of Imaging, Diagnostics, and Software Reliability to review all historical FDA filings, formal responses, and communications to assist the Company in developing and implementing a regulatory and clinical strategy with an objective of achieving FDA market approval. After considering several previously unexplored clinical study options, the Company met with the FDA on May 28, 2024, to discuss a revised intended use and clinical study design. This meeting was attended by the Company's FDA specialists and focused on obtaining a consensus from the FDA on the most appropriate regulatory path, intended indication for use, and clinical study design. As a result of this meeting and the additional necessary detailed planning that followed, Izotropic will be pursuing its initial market launch for IzoView as a contrast-enhanced diagnostic device adjunctive to DBT for patients with dense breast tissue. The clinical study details include the following: Regulatory Pathway Indication for Use Study Population Estimated Cost Estimated Timeline Class III PMA DBT in combination with Contrast-Enhanced Breast CT is superior to DBT alone for the detection of breast cancer in a screening population of women with dense breasts. Estimated 400 women Estimated $3.5M USD To be announced after the pre-submission meeting. Expect a multi-year timeline to include a year post study period to the final PMA submission CEO Message: Mr. Robert Thast states, "Izotropic has invested considerable time and capital in the filing and regulatory preparation stages aimed at securing market approval or clearance for IzoView in the U.S. The current clinical study design selected for IzoView as a contrast-enhanced diagnostic device adjunctive to Digital Breast Tomosynthesis for patients with dense breast tissue is in line with the expectations of the FDA and supported by the new U.S. government-mandated breast density notifications for patients undergoing breast cancer screening. With a former FDA director advising the Company, we are now confident of the regulatory approach and approval pathways identified for U.S. and EU markets. Once Izotropic has obtained formal acceptance from the FDA for its clinical study plan in response to the pre-submission, the Company will be in a position to confirm and finalize timelines and costs and endeavour to complete long-term debt funding tied to milestones or non-dilutive options to execute the clinical study and prepare for commercialization. Ahead of a major financing, convertible debt and/or equity funding will be required for mandatory overhead; ongoing public company administrative line items; the lease, insurance, and basic expenses related to the Company's engineering facility in Sacramento, CA where the first pre-commercial IzoView device is situated; and for ongoing legal and patent related costs. In lieu of major financing, Izotropic also has a significant opportunity whereby near-term debt and/or equity financing may be warranted to generate catalysts and improve its market capitalization by funding the build and installations of IzoView units in tier-one U.S. hospitals. The Company has always been mindful of the dilution associated with equity financing, and this operational culture will continue. Subject to debt and/or equity financing being amenable, the Company may proceed with this initiative to secure the partnerships required for the clinical study and place IzoView in the hands of researchers and physicians at world-renowned facilities for breast-related research. The research studies conducted on IzoView would produce data and journal publications that would drive regulatory approvals and clearances for future indications for use. This continuously evolving system with few limitations would drive progress and create long-term momentum for the Company and its shareholders. While there are still challenges ahead as a development company, with capital being chief among them, Izotropic now has a defendable market authorization plan backed by esteemed FDA consultants that is optimal for both the Company and the regulatory authorities. With solidified plans and renewed energy, Izotropic is on its way to reinstating full operational activities to commercialize Breast CT for the more accurate diagnosis of breast cancers globally." ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Robert Thast, CEO Cell: 604-220-5031 About Izotropic More information about Izotropic Corporation can be found on its website at izocorp.com and by reviewing its profile on SEDAR at www.sedarplus.ca. Forward-Looking Statements This document may contain statements that are "Forward-Looking Statements," which are based upon the current estimates, assumptions, projections, and expectations of the Company's management, business, and its knowledge of the relevant market and economic environment in which it operates. The Company has tried, where possible, to identify such information and statements by using words such as "anticipate," "believe," "envision," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "predict," "project," "target," "potential," "will," "would," "could," "should," "continue," "contemplate" and other similar expressions and derivations thereof in connection with any discussion of future events, trends or prospects or future operating or financial performance, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These statements are not guarantees of performance and involve risks, including those related to capital requirements and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict, and as such, they may cause future results of the Company's activity to differ significantly from the content and implications of such statements. Forward-Looking Statements are pertinent only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any Forward-Looking Statements to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances unless otherwise required to do so by law. Neither the Company nor its shareholders, officers, and consultants shall be liable for any action and the results of any action taken by any person based on the information contained herein, including, without limitation, the purchase or sale of Company securities. Nothing in this document should be deemed to be medical or other advice of any kind. All images are for illustrative purposes only. IzoView has not yet been approved or cleared for sale. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/220897 SOURCE: Izotropic Corporation Der Goldpreis haussiert und schwingt sich von Hoch zu Hoch. Getrieben von geopolitischen Unsicherheiten sowie der Aussicht auf eine lockere Geldpolitik der FED gehen Experten aktuell von weiter steigenden Notierungen bis sogar in den Bereich von 3.000 US-Dollar je Unze Gold aus. Im Schatten des Basispreises notieren Goldproduzenten aus der zweiten Reihe sowie Explorationsunternehmen noch weit weg von ihren historischen Hochststanden entfernt und bieten dadurch erhebliches Aufholpotential. In diesem kostenlosen Report geben wir Ihnen Favoriten an die Hand, die aufgrund von Sondersituation die Chance auf eine Kursvervielfachung besitzen. Handeln Sie Jetzt! Fordern Sie jetzt den brandneuen Spezialreport an und profitieren Sie von dem weiter steigenden Kurs des Edelmetalls. Sichern Sie sich jetzt Ihren kostenfreien Report. ROCHESTER, N.Y., Aug. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE: STZ), a leading beverage alcohol company, announced today that Bill Newlands, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Garth Hankinson, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will participate in a fireside chat at the 2024 Barclays Global Consumer Staples Conference on Tuesday, September 3 in Boston, MA. The presentation is scheduled to begin at 11:15 a.m. EDT and is expected to cover the company's strategic business initiatives, financial metrics, and operating performance, as well as outlook for the future. A live, listen-only webcast of the presentation will be available on the company's investor relations website at ir.cbrands.comunder the News & Eventssection. When the presentation begins, financial information discussed in the presentation, and a reconciliation of reported GAAP financial measures with comparable and other non-GAAP financial measures, will also be available on the company's investor relations website under the Financial Historysection. For anyone unable to participate in the webcast, a replay will be available on the company's investor relations website through the close of business on March 3, 2024. ABOUT CONSTELLATION BRANDS Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) is a leading international producer and marketer of beer, wine, and spirits with operations in the U.S., Mexico, New Zealand, and Italy. Our mission is to build brands that people love because we believe elevating human connections is Worth Reaching For. It's worth our dedication, hard work, and calculated risks to anticipate market trends and deliver more for our consumers, shareholders, employees, and industry. This dedication is what has driven us to become one of the fastest-growing, large CPG companies in the U.S. at retail, and it drives our pursuit to deliver what's next. Every day, people reach for our high-end, iconic imported beer brands such as those in the Corona brand family like the flagship Corona Extra, Modelo Especial and the flavorful lineup of Modelo Cheladas, Pacifico, and Victoria; our fine wine and craft spirits brands including The Prisoner Wine Company, Robert Mondavi Winery, Casa Noble Tequila, and High West Whiskey; and our premium wine brands such as Kim Crawford and Meiomi. As an agriculture-based company, we have a long history of operating sustainably and responsibly. Our ESG strategy is embedded into our business and our work focuses on serving as good stewards of the environment, enhancing social equity within our industry and communities, and promoting responsible beverage alcohol consumption. These commitments ground our aspirations beyond driving the bottom line as we work to create a future that is truly Worth Reaching For. To learn more, visit www.cbrands.comand follow us on X, Instagram, and LinkedIn. MEDIA CONTACTS INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACTS Amy Martin 585-678-7141 / amy.martin@cbrands.com (mailto:amy.martin@cbrands.com) Carissa Guzski 315-525-7362 / carissa.guzski@cbrands.com (mailto:carissa.guzski@cbrands.com) Joseph Suarez 773-551-4397 / joseph.suarez@cbrands.com (mailto:joseph.suarez@cbrands.com) Snehal Shah 847-385-4940 / snehal.shah@cbrands.com (mailto:snehal.shah@cbrands.com) A downloadable PDF copy of this news release can be found here: http://ml.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/ec260f8c-d18f-42c8-8521-45c189d5d8ee Major players in the green cement industry have focused on business expansion and product launch strategies to gain the maximum share in the market. This further results in consolidation of the green cement market. WILMINGTON, Del., Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Green Cement Market by Type (Fly-ash Based, Slag Based, Recycled Aggregates and Others), End User (Residential, Commercial and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2024-2032". According to the report, the green cement market was valued at $36.1 billion in 2023, and is estimated to reach $86.2 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 10.2% from 2024 to 2032. Prime determinants of growth Increasingly stringent environmental regulations aimed at reducing carbon emissions and promoting sustainable construction practices are major drivers of the green cement market. Governments and regulatory bodies worldwide are implementing policies to encourage the use of eco-friendly building materials, including green cement, leading to increased adoption and market expansion. Download PDF Sample Copy@ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/2209 Report coverage & details: Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 2024-2032 Base Year 2023 Market Size in 2023 $36.1 billion Market Size in 2032 $86.2 billion CAGR 10.2 % No. of Pages in Report 197 Segments covered Type, End-User, and Region. Drivers Rapid infrastructure development Growth in government initiatives and incentives Opportunities Technological Advancements Restraints Volatile price of raw materials Covid-19 Scenario The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the green cement market, owing to the temporary closure of manufacturing firms during the lockdown. Not only the production but also the sale of green cement was hampered due to the closure of manufacturing factories across the world, especially in the initial period of the pandemic. Buy This Research Report (197 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, Figures) : https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/checkout-final/c36cabab6fd8ea2dedd2fe4e98f313b4 The fly-ash based segment dominated the global market share, in terms of revenue Based on type, the market is divided into fly-ash based, slag based, recycled aggregates, and others. The fly-ash based segment accounted for a higher market share in 2023. Rapid infrastructure development in emerging markets create new opportunities for manufacturers. The demand for green cement is particularly high in regions with significant construction activity, such as LAMEA, and Asia-Pacific. The commercial segment dominated the market in 2023 Based on end user, the market is segregated into residential, commercial, and others.The commercial is the leading segment that dominated the global market share in 2023. There is a growing emphasis on sustainability in commercial real estate, with businesses and developers increasingly prioritizing eco-friendly construction practices. Green cement, which produces lower carbon emissions and utilizes sustainable materials, aligns with these sustainability goals and is therefore widely adopted in commercial projects. TheAsia-Pacific region dominated the market share in terms of revenue in 2023 The green cement market is analyzed across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and MEA. In 2023, Asia-Pacific accounted for largest market share, and it is expected to grow at a significant CAGR throughout the forecast period. China holds the maximum share in the green cement industry in the Asia-Pacific region. Governments in Asia-Pacific region are providing various incentives to promote sustainable construction practices, including tax breaks, subsidies, and grants for using green building materials. These incentives make green cement more attractive for commercial developers looking to reduce construction costs and benefit from financial support. Inquire Before Buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/2209 Leading Market Players: - LafargeHolcim Heidelberg Cement AG Anhui Conch Cement CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V. Taiheiyo Cement Corporation China National Building Material Votorantim cimentos S.A. UltraTech Cement Ltd. Taiwan Cement Corporation ACC Limited The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players in the green cement market. These players have adopted different strategies such as new product launches, expansion, and acquisitions 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 Cement Industry (Book Now with 10% Discount): Concrete Plasticizer and Super plasticizer Market https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/concrete-plasticizer-and-super-plasticizer-market-A13256 Cement Mixer Market https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/cement-mixer-market Green Cement Market https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/green-cement-market Cementitious Flooring Market https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/cementitious-flooring-market-A16407 Cork Flooring Market https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/cork-flooring-market-A17048 Concrete and Cement Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032 Cement Manufacturing Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032 Cement packaging Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032 Cement Grinding Aids Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023-2032 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: Wilmington, Delaware 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 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/green-cement-market-to-reach-86-2-billion-globally-by-2032-at-10-2-cagr-allied-market-research-302229532.html EMMA GREDE MO GAWDAT HEADLINE UNITE 24, THE WORLD'S LEADING EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE EVENT Recognized as one of America's Richest Self-Made Women by Forbes, Emma Grede is a British businesswoman, serial entrepreneur, and philanthropist. The Co-Founder CEO of Good American, Founding Partner of SKIMS and Chairwoman of The Fifteen Percent Pledge will share her tips on engaging a global audience and leveraging the power of purpose to rally people behind your vision Former Google X Chief Business Officer Mo Gawdat asks what role happiness could play in unlocking growth within organizations and champions the role of the Chief Happiness Officer Organizational Velocity takes center stage at Unite 24 as the world's largest companies discover how to maximize performance across a global, modern workforce that's changed forever Unily the market-leading Employee Experience (EX) Platform, has announced Emma Grede and Mo Gawdat as headline speakers at the industry's most renowned EX conference, Unite 24Grede, the multihyphenate mogul behind some of the most disruptive brands of the decade including Good American, SKIMS, and Safely and Gawdat, the globally-renowned expert in AI, willlead an agenda of industry visionaries presenting the latest employee engagement strategies in front of 3,500+ attendees, between 15 and 16 October, at the iconic 22 Bishopsgate in London, UK. At a time when 80% of the global workforce is disengaged, employee burnout is at a record high, and connection to company purpose has plummeted to a record low, enterprises need a new approach to building the ultimate employee experience. As the leader in solving these challenges, Unily launched Unite to connect and inspire enterprise leaders striving to make change happen and create the best future of work. Unite is now a cornerstone of the EX calendar, boasting the largest audience of enterprise EX leaders anywhere in the world. In its fifth year, Unite 24 will explore today's EX challenges through the lens of Organizational Velocity, the ability of modern organizations to maximize performance across a global, modern workforce that's changed forever. Headliners offer insight into disruption and propose happiness as the key to success. Emma Grede is recognized as one of America's Richest Self-Made Women by Forbes. The British businesswoman, serial entrepreneur, and philanthropist will take to the main stage on Day 1 in a session titled "The New Rules of Engagement". The talk focuses on providing attendees access to the latest strategies to help the next generation of business leaders position themselves for success. With so many enterprises at risk of being replaced by disruptive brands waiting in the wings, Emma Grede offers a rare insight into how those disruptors, helmed by the next generation of business leaders, are positioning for success. She will share her strategies for carving out niches in crowded markets, engaging global audiences, leading with authenticity, fueling a high-performance culture, and activating employees as brand ambassadors. On Day 2, Mo Gawdat asks three thought-provoking questions: What would happen if we increased the happiness of our workforce by just 1%? Can happiness be a catalyst for productivity and innovation? And will we be happier in the age of AI?The former Chief Business Officer at Google X and thought leader on happiness and AI will challenge attendees to redefine their formula for success and discover a future where happiness powers growth. As enterprises struggle to shape-shift their workforce to always meet what's next, suffering from organizational lethargy, Mo Gawdat explores the potential of a Chief Happiness Officer to help unlock performance, reshape corporate culture, and build resilience against burnout. Driving Organizational Velocity at Unite 24 Grede and Gawdat headline an agenda of inspiring stories and critical discussions on how the world's leading companies are maximizing Organizational Velocity. These organizations have proven their ability to make sharp pivots, embrace frictionless operations, and stay one step ahead with a global, modern workforce that has become borderless, flexible, hyper-distributed, diverse, and unbound by roles, functions or hierarchies. "The performance champions of the next decade are the companies that maximize Organizational Velocity," said Chris Ciauri, CEO, Unily. "Our years of experience working with large companies has shown that most suffer from organizational lethargy, with employees stuck in silos, not engaged or actively disengaged. We call this the Velocity Drain, one of the enterprise's greatest threats today. At Unite 24, we answer the question: how can today's enterprise leaders maneuver their complex, multinational organizations at new speed with a modern digital workforce?" Unite 24 is a two-day event offering valuable insights into strategies for maximizing Organizational Velocity, addressing AI's promise, and helping build the ultimate employee experience playbook. Attendees will have their choice of panels, spotlights, and deep dives into the future of employee experience, employee journeys, and building the EX super team, featuring industry speakers from such recognizable brands as Estee Lauder Companies, British Airways, David Lloyd, American Airlines, Aflac, Lloyds Banking Group, Pearson, BBC, and Microsoft "Unite 24 is a unique opportunity for business leaders to prepare for what's next," added Ciauri. "We believe that every attendee will better understand the challenges that the Velocity Drain presents and will come armed with the strategies and tools to maximize Organizational Velocity in their company. We're excited to welcome the world to London this October as Unite kicks off for the fifth year." For more information, visit the Unite 24 official website: https://www.unily.com/unite About Unily Unily is the leading employee experience platform used by enterprises to engage, empower, and inspire employees, and is positioned by Gartner as a Leader in its 2023 Magic Quadrant for Intranet Packaged Solutions. Enterprises around the globe, including CVS Health, Johnson Johnson, The Estee Lauder Companies, Shell, Wipro, and many more rely on Unily's world-class, AI-enhanced SaaS technology to transform their employee engagement and alignment effectively and create exceptional employee experiences. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240815154843/en/ Contacts: Red Lorry Yellow Lorry (on behalf of Unily) unily@rlyl.com Paris, August 23, 2024 KLEA HOLDING (FR0013481835 - ALKLH), a group focused on the acquisition, development, and digitalization of companies across multiple sectors, announces the launch of its first CLN (Credit-Linked Note) and becomes a pioneer among French small caps to access this type of financing. This new source of funding, in addition to the Group's cash position of 2.5m as of 31/7/24, will be used to refinance the company's existing debt (bond raised in August 2022 through Equisafe[1]) and to support the company's growth and expansion across the Middle East and France. The two-year Note offers an annual coupon of 12.0% throughout the investment with capital being returned to investors at maturity. The Note embeds a one-year extension option at the discretion of the issuer. Subscriptions from investors have started and commercial terms of Klea Holding's CLN are as follows: Maturity: 31 July 2026 (with a one-year extension option) Currency: EUR denominated Coupon: 12.0% p.a. (paid semi-annually) ISIN: CH1338343135 Clement Pacaud, CEO of Klea Holding, said: "We are extremely proud to launch this Credit-Linked Note, the first ever launched by a company listed on Euronext Growth in Paris. With this new financing in place, Klea demonstrates once again its ability to secure funding from various sources and without dilution for shareholders. Being able to secure long-term funding from institutional investors is above all a testimony of the company's positive trajectory. " About Klea Holding Klea Holding is a group focused on acquiring, developing and digitizing companies in various sectors to maximize their growth and value. Through its "scaling industries of the future" identity, Klea Holding draws on its successful experience in developing Smart Salem, the first network of digitalized medical analysis centers accredited by the Dubai Ministry of Health (DHA) in the United Arab Emirates, and its Smart Health joint venture developed in Saudi Arabia, to extend this entrepreneurial approach to the four corners of the globe. Klea Holding is headquartered in Paris and listed on Euronext Growth (ALKLH). For further information, please visit http://www.kleaholding.com. Investor Relation: Jerome FABREGUETTES LEIB // +33 1 53 67 36 78 // kleaholding@actus.fr Press Relation: Fatou-Kine N'DIAYE // +33 1 53 67 36 34 // fndiaye@actus.fr [1] As planned, the coupon of the 2022 bond has already been repaid on 22nd August and as agreed with Equisafe, the nominal of 3.6m will be fully returned by 30 September 2024. ------------------------ This publication embed "Actusnews SECURITY MASTER ". - SECURITY MASTER Key: lm1tYZhvl2+Zy2tsl8tpbmpkm21plpSVl5XJyWaZlcyXm2ySmZxjbseaZnFomGlu - Check this key: https://www.security-master-key.com. ------------------------ Copyright Actusnews Wire Receive by email the next press releases of the company by registering on www.actusnews.com, it's free Full and original release in PDF format:https://www.actusnews.com/documents_communiques/ACTUS-0-87348-klea_cp-cln_2024_eng_vf.pdf NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / August 23, 2024 / FedEx Corporation The "Delivering for Good" initiative by FedEx goes beyond shipping packages-it's a commitment to making a positive impact in the communities we serve. By lending our global network and logistics expertise, we assist organizations with precious cargo requests, like delivering a plant fossil collection that offers an effective way to study and combat the ongoing issue of climate change. In New Haven, the Yale Peabody Museum temporarily housed thousands of specimens of plant fossils that were collected in the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming and Montana in the 1960s-80s by then Smithsonian curator Leo Hickey. They were subsequently loaned to the Yale Peabody Museum when he became its director in 1982. These plant fossils, mostly leaves, document changes in vegetation and climate during the period from 50 - 66 million years ago, when the Earth's climate was much warmer than it is today. They include extinct relatives of sycamores, dawn redwoods, dogwoods, birches and palms, among many others. Many of the fossils are also aesthetically beautiful, and small selections are on display at both the Yale Peabody and the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History's "Deep Time" exhibit, which opened in 2019. Why should we care about ancient leaves? Because they reveal Earth's climate history, according to the National Museum of Natural History. Scientists study them to understand temperature fluctuations, ecosystem changes, and abrupt warming events. These fossils provide unique insights into our planet's history, allowing us to apply the lessons of the past to help ensure a brighter future. The collection from the Yale Peabody Museum was returned home to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C. where it is now part of the world's largest plant fossil archive. There, the fossils will be preserved so that scientists may use them to help reconstruct lost ecosystems and better understand our changing planet, all made possible with a little help from FedEx. ***Photos courtesy of the Smithsonian Institution Click here to learn about FedEx Cares, our global community engagement program View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from FedEx Corporation on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: FedEx Corporation Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/fedex-corporation Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: FedEx Corporation View the original press release on accesswire.com Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 23, 2024) - Tenet Fintech Group Inc. (CSE: PKK) (OTC PINK: PKKFF) ("Tenet" or the "Company"), an innovative analytics service provider, owner and operator of the Cubeler Business Hub, today announced that it intends to conduct a private placement financing by selling up to 30,000,000 units with each unit priced at $0.10 for gross proceeds of up to $3,000,000 (the "Offering"). Each unit (a "Unit") will be comprised of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant shall entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at an exercise price of $0.20 for a period of 36 months from the date of issuance thereof (the "Expiry Date"). After a period of 12 months from the date of their issuance, if at any time the price of the Common Shares closes at or above $0.30 for 10 consecutive trading days, the Expiry Date of the Warrants will be reduced to thirty 30 days (the "Accelerated Expiry Date"). Any Warrants remaining unexercised after the Accelerated Expiry Date will be cancelled. Certain qualified individuals and registered investment dealers ("Finders") may assist the Company with respect to the Offering by introducing potential subscribers to the Company, and in connection therewith, may receive from the Company, if agreed upon between the Company and the applicable Finders and subject to compliance with securities laws, a cash finder's fee equal to 8% of the gross proceeds raised and a number of finder's warrants ("Finder's Warrants") equal to 8% of the number of Units placed. Each Finder's Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to subscribe for one Common Share at a price of $0.20 during the 36 months following their issuance, subject to the Accelerated Expiry Date conditions. The Units will be eligible for RRSP, RESP, RRIF, TFSA and DPSP accounts within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada), subject to certain qualifications, and will be offered and sold by private placement in Canada to "accredited investors" within the meaning of NI 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions and under the applicable securities laws. The securities issued in connection with the Offering are subject to a hold period of four months and one day from the closing date of the Offering. The Offering is expected to close on or before August 30, 2024. The Offering presents both an opportunity for certain strategic investors to take an equity position in the Company and for Tenet to continue to advance the commercialization process of its ie-Pulse product offering, for which Tenet intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering. Completion of the Offering is subject to certain conditions precedent, including compliance with the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange. About Tenet Fintech Group Inc.: Tenet Fintech Group Inc. is the parent company of a group of innovative financial technology (Fintech) and artificial intelligence (AI) companies. All references to Tenet in this news release, unless explicitly specified, include Tenet and all its subsidiaries. Tenet's subsidiaries offer various analytics and AI-based products and services to businesses, capital markets professionals, government agencies and financial institutions either through or leveraging data gathered by the Cubeler Business Hub, a global ecosystem where analytics and AI are used to create opportunities and facilitate B2B transactions among its members. Please visit our website at: https://www.tenetfintech.com/. For more information, please contact: THIS NEWS RELEASE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER TO SELL OR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY NOR SHALL THERE BE ANY SALE OF ANY OF THE SECURITIES IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH OFFER, SOLICITATION OR SALE WOULD BE UNLAWFUL, INCLUDING ANY JURISDICTION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN HAVE NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE REGISTERED UNDER THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE "1933 ACT") OR ANY STATE SECURITIES LAWS AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD WITHIN THE UNITED STATES OR TO, OR FOR ACCOUNT OR BENEFIT OF, U.S. PERSONS (AS DEFINED IN REGULATION S UNDER THE 1933 ACT) UNLESS REGISTERED UNDER THE 1933 ACT AND APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS, OR AN EXEMPTION FROM SUCH REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS IS AVAILABLE. Forward-looking information Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of Tenet to be materially different from the outlook or any future results, performance or achievements implied by such statements. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Important risk factors that could affect the forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, holding company with significant operations in China; general economic and business conditions, including factors impacting the Company's business in China such as pandemics and COVID-19; legislative and/or regulatory developments; Global Financial conditions, repatriation of profits or transfer of funds from China to Canada, operations in foreign jurisdictions and possible exposure to corruption, bribery or civil unrest; actions by regulators; uncertainties of investigations, proceedings or other types of claims and litigation; timing and completion of capital programs; liquidity and capital resources, negative operating cash flow and additional funding, dilution from further financing; financial performance and timing of capital; and other risks detailed from time to time in reports filed by Tenet with securities regulators in Canada. Reference should also be made to Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) in Tenet's annual and interim reports, Annual Information Form, filed with Canadian securities regulators and available via the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR+) under Tenet's profile at www.sedarplus.ca, for a description of major risk factors relating to Tenet. Although Tenet has attempted to identify certain factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward-looking statements reflect information as of the date on which they are made. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect future events, changes in circumstances, or changes in beliefs, unless required by applicable securities laws. In the event the Company does update any forward-looking statement, no inference should be made that the Company will make additional updates with respect to that statement, related matters, or any other forward-looking statement. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. ***** NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES ***** To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/221010 SOURCE: Tenet Fintech Group Inc. Madison, Wisconsin--(Newsfile Corp. - August 23, 2024) - IndaCloud, a leading name in premium hemp products, has officially launched its latest lineup of THCA flower strains, specifically curated for enthusiasts seeking the highest quality and potency. This collection of the "Ultimate Strains" features a carefully selected range of hemp flowers rich in Tetrahydrocannabinolic Acid (THCA), catering to a growing market of discerning consumers. As the demand for THCA products continues to rise, IndaCloud's new offerings set a new benchmark for excellence in the industry. Black Runtz Gold Edition THCA Flower IndaCloud's Black Runtz THCA Flower represents the pinnacle of hemp craftsmanship, designed for connoisseurs who demand the best. This exclusive strain is part of IndaCloud's Ultimate Strains lineup, boasting a remarkable 30.4% THCA content, ensuring a powerful and euphoric experience. The Black Runtz strain is renowned for its perfectly balanced genetics, combining the sweet, fruity flavors of Zkittlez with the potent and relaxing effects of Gelato. This Gold Edition increases the standard by offering an ultra-premium flower with an exceptional resin production, dense bud structure, and a striking appearance. Ideal for both medicinal and recreational users, Black Runtz Gold Edition delivers consistent quality that sets it apart in the crowded THCA market. Aromas: Rich notes of tropical fruits, berries, and earthy undertones. Smell Profile: A complex blend of sweet, candy-like scents with a subtle earthy background. Taste Profile: A smooth and flavorful mix of sweet berries, tropical fruits, and a hint of creaminess. Preferred Usage Time: Evening or nighttime for relaxation and stress relief. Density: High-density, compact buds with a frosty trichome coating. Phenotype: Hybrid (Indica-dominant) THC (Delta-9): 0.3% or less (compliant with federal regulations) THCA: 30.4% CBGA: 1.2% Skywalker OG Gold Edition THCA Flower IndaCloud's Skywalker OG THCA Flower is a premium strain tailored for those seeking a deeply relaxing and potent hemp experience. As part of our latest lineup, this Gold Edition variant offers an impressive 27.8% THCA content, making it a top choice for enthusiasts looking for a strong, calming effect. Skywalker OG is a classic Indica-dominant hybrid, famous for its robust genetics that combine the best traits of Skywalker and OG Kush. The flower features dense, resinous buds, coated in a thick layer of trichomes, giving it a striking appearance. This strain is ideal for winding down after a long day, providing a heavy, tranquilizing effect that eases stress and promotes restful sleep. Aromas: Pungent notes of earth, pine, and a hint of spicy herbs. Smell Profile: A powerful, earthy scent with underlying tones of pine and spice. Taste Profile: A rich, earthy flavor with notes of pine, citrus, and a touch of peppery spice. Preferred Usage Time: Evening or nighttime for deep relaxation and sleep. Density: High-density buds with a thick trichome coverage. Phenotype: Hybrid (Indica-dominant) THC (Delta-9): 0.3% or less (compliant with federal regulations) THCA: 27.8% CBGA: 0.9% Pineapple Express Platinum Edition THCA Flower Our Pineapple Express THCA Flower is a standout selection in this recent lineup, delivering a potent and uplifting experience that has become synonymous with the Pineapple Express name. This Platinum Edition boasts a remarkable 26.5% THCA content, ensuring a vibrant and energetic high that is perfect for daytime use. The strain is known for its sativa-dominant genetics, offering a balanced combination of uplifting cerebral effects and subtle body relaxation. The buds are dense and sticky, with a striking appearance enhanced by a thick layer of frosty trichomes. Pineapple Express Platinum Edition is ideal for those looking to enhance creativity, focus, or simply enjoy a flavorful and exhilarating hemp experience. Aromas: Sweet tropical fruit with strong pineapple and citrus notes. Smell Profile: A bright and refreshing scent dominated by pineapple, with hints of citrus and sweet earthiness. Taste Profile: A sweet, fruity flavor with dominant pineapple, citrus, and a touch of pine. Preferred Usage Time: Daytime for an energetic and creative boost. Density: Medium to high-density buds with a sticky, resinous texture. Phenotype: Hybrid (Sativa-dominant) THC (Delta-9): 0.3% or less (compliant with federal regulations) THCA: 26.5% CBGA: 1.1% Blue Hawaiian Haze THCA Flower The Blue Hawaiian Haze THCA Flower is a premium sativa-dominant strain designed to deliver a refreshing and uplifting experience. This strain is part of IndaCloud's most recent collection, featuring a substantial 24.3% THCA content. Blue Hawaiian Haze is celebrated for its unique combination of tropical flavors and invigorating effects, making it an excellent choice for daytime use. The buds are light and airy, covered in a generous layer of trichomes that give them a frosty appearance. Whether looking to enhance creativity, enjoy a social gathering, or simply increase moods, Blue Hawaiian Haze offers a perfect balance of potency and flavor. Aromas: Fresh tropical fruit with notes of pineapple and berries. Smell Profile: A sweet and fruity aroma with dominant hints of pineapple, berries, and a subtle earthy undertone. Taste Profile: A smooth and fruity flavor featuring pineapple, berry, and a slight hint of citrus. Preferred Usage Time: Daytime for an uplifting and energizing experience. Density: Light to medium density buds with a frosty trichome coating. Phenotype: Hybrid (Sativa-dominant) THC (Delta-9): 0.3% or less (compliant with federal regulations) THCA: 24.3% CBGA: 0.8% IndaCloud's All-Time Favorite Strains IndaCloud offers a handpicked selection of premium THCa flower strains, each celebrated for its unique flavor profile, potency, and consistent quality. These strains are among the most popular on their site, providing a range of effects to suit different preferences, whether you're looking for relaxation, focus, or an uplifting experience. Strawberry Cough THCA Flower: Known for its sweet, berry-like flavor and uplifting effects, Strawberry Cough is a sativa-dominant strain perfect for boosting mood and creativity during the day. Bubba Kush THCA Flower: This indica-dominant strain delivers a potent, full-body relaxation with its earthy and sweet flavor profile, making it a go-to choice for evening use and stress relief. Mango Dream THCA Flower: Offering a tropical mango flavor and balanced effects, Mango Dream is ideal for those seeking a calming yet focused experience, making it suitable for both daytime and nighttime use. Super Silver Haze THCA Flower: A classic sativa known for its energizing and cerebral effects, Super Silver Haze combines spicy, citrus flavors with a long-lasting, uplifting high, perfect for enhancing productivity and creativity. These strains reflect IndaCloud's commitment to quality and variety, ensuring that every user can find a product that fits their needs. About IndaCloud IndaCloud is a premier hemp brand dedicated to delivering high-quality, innovative products that cater to the diverse needs of hemp enthusiasts. Specializing in THCA flowers, edibles, and other premium hemp products, IndaCloud has built a reputation for excellence through its commitment to quality, transparency, and customer satisfaction. The company prides itself on using sustainable cultivation practices and rigorous testing to ensure that every product meets the highest standards of potency, purity, and safety. With a focus on education and customer empowerment, IndaCloud strives to create a welcoming and informed community around hemp, offering products that not only enhance well-being but also increase the overall hemp experience. From novice users to seasoned connoisseurs, IndaCloud is dedicated to providing an exceptional and trustworthy hemp journey for all. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/220995 SOURCE: lucorpmedia Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 23, 2024) - European Energy Metals (TSXV: FIN) (FSE: W28) ("European Energy Metals" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement of up to 16,000,000 units ("Units") at a price of $0.125 per Unit to raise gross proceeds of up to $2,000,000 (the "Private Placement"). Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company and one half of a common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one additional common share at an exercise price of $0.20 for a period of two years following closing of the Private Placement. The Company may pay finder's fees in the amount of 7% cash and issue finder's warrants equal to 7% of the number of Units placed by such finder on all or a portion of the Private Placement. The finder's warrants will have the same terms of the Warrants forming part of the Units. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Private Placement for exploration work on its properties and for working capital. Completion of the Private Placement remains subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. About European Energy Metals Corp. European Energy Metals Corp. is a junior mining company currently focussed on the Lithium-Cesium-Tantalum Finnish Pegmatite Project in central Finland. Governing bodies in Europe and Finland are legislating environmentally friendly and energy independent laws and policies. One of the key components is access to REE and, specifically, lithium. The Company's concessions are located within 15 kms of the Keliber mine and production complex, currently under construction and expected to begin production in H2 2025. The Company cautions the presence of lithium mineralization on Keliber's properties is not necessarily indicative of similar mineralization on the Company's mineral reservations. An estimated 600 million investment by Keliber's parent company Sibanye-Stillwater Limited (NYSE: SBSW) in partnership with the Finnish Minerals Group (www.mineralsgroup.fi) is underway in the Kautinen Region and will see the development of open-pit and underground mining from several deposits, construction of a central spodumene concentrator plant and a lithium hydroxide chemical plant at tidewater in Kokkola. When completed, this complex will comprise a complete hard-rock spodumene pegmatite lithium supply chain (source: www.sibanyestillwater.com). Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking information is 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. Such statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the regarding completion of the Private Placement, the use of proceeds of the Private Placement, future results of operations, performance and achievements of the Company, including the presence of lithium mineralization at, and the exploration and development potential of, the Finnish Pegmatite. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that such expectations will prove to be correct. All such forward-looking information is based on certain assumptions and analyses made by the Company in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management believes are appropriate in the circumstances. This information, however, is 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 information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from this forward-looking information include the Company's ability to find suitable investors for the Private Placement or to obtain the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, management's discretion to reallocate the proceeds of the Private Placement as well as risks inherent in exploration as well as those described under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" in the Company's most recently filed MD&A. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or revise the forward-looking information contained in this news release, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/221014 SOURCE: European Energy Metals Corp. Dieppe, New Brunswick--(Newsfile Corp. - August 23, 2024) - Colibri Resource Corporation (TSXV: CBI) ("Colibri" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it intends to conduct a non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") of up to 9,000,000 units (the "Units") at a price of $0.05 for gross proceeds of up to $450,000, each Unit consisting of one (1) common share (a "Common Share") and one (1) common share purchase warrant (the Warrants). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one additional Common Share of the Corporation at a price of C$0.075 for a period of 24 months following the closing of the Offering. The net proceeds of the Offering will be used for upcoming exploration expenses at its highly prospective precious metals projects in Mexico, including the Pilar Gold Project & the EP Gold Project and for working capital. The Offering is anticipated to close towards mid-September 2024 (the "Closing"). Closing may occur in one or more tranches. Closing of the Offering remains subject to the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. Common Shares issuable will be subject to a statutory hold period expiring on the date that is four months and one day after Closing. The Company may pay finders fees to qualified finders as per the guidelines of the TSX Venture Exchange. The Offering will be conducted by the Company utilizing the "accredited investor" exemption of National Instrument 45-106 -- Prospectus and Registration Exemptions and other applicable exemptions available to the Company. Interested parties may request further details by contacting: Ian McGavney, President & CEO at (506) 383-4274 or ianmcgavney@colibriresource.com. Certain insiders of the Company may acquire Units in the Offering. Any participation by insiders in the Private Placement will constitute a "related party transaction" as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company, however, expects that such participation will be exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI 61-101 as the fair market value of the Units subscribed for by the insiders, nor the consideration for the Units paid by such insiders, will exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization. The securities of the Company in this Offering have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any U.S. state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an available exemption from the registration requirement of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities, in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. ABOUT COLIBRI RESOURCE CORPORATION: Colibri is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company listed on the TSX-V (CBI) and is focused on acquiring, exploring, and developing prospective gold & silver properties in Mexico. The Company holds four high potential precious metal projects: 1) 100% of EP Gold Project in the significant Caborca Gold Belt which has delivered highly encouraging exploration results and is surround by Mexico's second largest major producer of gold on four sides, 2) 49% Ownership of the Pilar Gold & Silver Project which is believed to hold the potential to be a near term producing mine, and 3) two highly prospective interests in the Sierra Madre (Diamante Gold & Silver Project and Jackie Gold & Silver Project. For more information about all Company projects please visit: www.colibriresource.com. Forward-Looking Statements Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements". These statements are based on information currently available to the Company and the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Forward- looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results relating to, among other things, results of exploration, project development, reclamation and capital costs of the Company's mineral properties, and the Company's financial condition and prospects, could differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements for many reasons such as: changes in general economic conditions and conditions in the financial markets; changes in demand and prices for minerals; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; technological and operational difficulties encountered in connection with the activities of the Company; and other matters discussed in this news release. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements. These and other factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement that may be made from time to time by the Company or on its behalf, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/220952 SOURCE: Colibri Resource Corporation Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - August 23, 2024) - Romios Gold Resources Inc. (TSXV: RG) (OTCQB: RMIOF) (FSE: D4R) ("Romios Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to its Press Releases of July 11, 2024 and August 6, 2024 it has completed the final tranche of a non-brokered private placement offering of up 15,000,000 million shares (the "Shares") priced at $0.01 per Share for up to $150,000 (the "Offering") with the placement of 1,500,000 Shares for gross proceeds of $15,000.00 (the "Final Closing"). The securities issued at the Final Closing of the Offering are subject to a hold period expiring on December 24, 2024. The Company closed the first tranche of the Offering on August 2, 2024, with the placement of 8,500,000 Shares for proceeds of $85,000 and together with the Final Closing, the Company raised $100,000.00 in total. The securities described herein have not been, and will not be, 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 within the United States except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities requirements or pursuant to exemptions therefrom. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy any securities in any jurisdiction. About Romios Gold Resources Inc. Romios Gold Resources Inc. is a progressive Canadian mineral exploration company engaged in precious- and base-metal exploration, focused primarily on gold, copper and silver. It has a 100% interest in the Lundmark-Akow Lake Au-Cu property plus 4 additional claim blocks in northwestern Ontario and extensive claim holdings covering several significant porphyry copper-gold prospects in the "Golden Triangle" of British Columbia. Additional interests include the Kinkaid claims in Nevada covering numerous Au-Ag-Cu workings, and two former producers: the Scossa mine property (Nevada) which is a former high-grade gold producer and the La Corne molybdenum mine property (Quebec). The Company retains an ongoing interest in several properties including a 2% NSR on McEwen Mining's Hislop gold property in Ontario; a 2% NSR on Enduro Metals' Newmont Lake Au-Cu-Ag property in BC, and the Company has signed a definitive agreement with Copperhead Resources Inc. ("Copperhead") whereby Copperhead can acquire a 75% ownership interest in Romios' Red Line Property in BC. For more information, visit www.romios.com As part of our ongoing effort to keep investors, interested parties and stakeholders updated, we have several communication portals. If you have any questions online (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) please feel free to send direct messages. To book a one-on-one 30-minute Zoom video call, please click here. This News Release contains forward-looking statements which are typically preceded by, followed by or include the words "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "intends", "plans" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance as they involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements and shareholders are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such statements. TSX Venture Exchange or its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) do not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. 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. NOT FOR DISSEMINATION, DISTRIBUTION, RELEASE, OR PUBLICATION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES OR FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/221031 SOURCE: Romios Gold Resources Inc. AI/ML Innovations Inc. (the "Company") (CSE:AIML)(OTCQB:AIMLF)(FWB:42FB) announces that it has made an application to the British Columbia Securities Commission ("BCSC") to approve a management case trade order ("MCTO") under National Policy 12-203 Management Cease Trade Orders ("NP 12-203"), which, if granted, will prohibit trading in the securities of the Company by the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Company until such time as the Required Filings (defined below) and all continuous disclosure requirements have been filed by the Company, and the MCTO has been lifted. During the period in which the MCTO is effective, the general public, who are not insiders of the Company, will continue to be able to trade in the Company's listed securities. The MCTO application has been made but there is no guarantee or assurance that the MCTO will be granted. If the MCTO is not issued by the BCSC, the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities could issue a general cease trade order against the Company for failure to file the Required Filings within the prescribed time period. The Company expects that it will be unable to file its audited financial statements for the financial year ended April 30, 2024, and the related management's discussion and analysis and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer certificates for this period (collectively, the "Required Filings") before the filing deadline of August 28, 2024 (the "Filing Deadline"). The Company will be late in the preparation of the Annual Filings as a result of the bookkeepers for one of its investee entities (Tech2Heal) being unable to provide the Company with certain financial information that the Company's auditors need to complete their audit. Due to the Company's material investment in Tech2Heal, Tech2Heal was required to supply documentation to be audited by the Company's auditors to support incorporation into the Company's consolidated financial statements by way of equity accounting. The bookkeepers for Tech2Heal are located in France and due to extended holidays in that country over the summer the Company is not expected to receive the information that it needs until approximately September 1, 2024. The Company anticipates that it will be in a position to remedy the default by filing the Required Filings on or before September 15, 2024. The MCTO will be in effect until the Required Filings are filed. The Company intends to satisfy the provisions of the alternative information guidelines set out in sections 9 and 10 of NP 12-203 so long as the Required Filings are outstanding. The Company confirms that there are no insolvency proceedings against it as of the date of this press release. The Company also confirms that there is no other material information concerning the affairs of the Company that has not been generally disclosed as of the date of this press release. For more information about AI/ML Innovations : For detailed information please see AI/ML's website or the Company's filed documents at www.sedar.com. For further information, contact: Blake Fallis at (778) 405-0882 or info@aiml-innovations.com. About AI/ML Innovations Inc. https://aiml-innovations.com/ AI/ML Innovations Inc. has realigned its business operations to capitalize on the burgeoning fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), with an initial investment focus on emerging digital health and wellbeing companies that leverage AI, ML, cloud computing and digital platforms to drive transformative healthcare management solutions and precision support delivery across the health continuum. Through strategic partnerships with Health Gauge (70% owned by AIML), Tech2Heal (22% ownership commitment by AIML), AI Rx Inc. (70% owned by AIML) and other planned accretive investments, the Company continues to capitalize on expanding growth areas, to the benefit of all the Company's stakeholders. AI/ML's shares are traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol "AIML", the OTCQB Venture Market under "AIMLF", and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under "42FB". Certain statements in this news release are "forward-looking statements", which reflect management's expectations regarding the issuance of the MCTO and timing of the filing of the Required Filings. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this news release are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, as they reflect management's current beliefs and are based on information currently available to management. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in the statements made. The forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances except as expressly required by applicable securities law. Further information regarding the uncertainties and risks can be found in the disclosure documents filed by the Company with the securities regulatory authorities, available at www.sedar.com. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: AI/ML Innovations, Inc. View the original press release on accesswire.com Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 23, 2024) - Golden Spike Resources Corp. (CSE: GLDS) (OTCQB: GSPRF) (FSE: L5Y) (the "Company" or "Golden Spike") has been requested by OTC Markets Group Inc. ("OTC Markets") to issue this statement about promotional activity concerning its common shares traded on the OTCQB market (operated by OTC Markets). On August 19, 2024, OTC Markets informed the Company that it became aware of certain promotional activities concerning the Company and its common shares traded on the OTCQB market, including the distribution of a promotional newsletter email published by Spartan Trading Inc. discussing the Company, its investors, management team and exploration and development strategies. OTC Markets provided a copy of the promotional material for reference. The promotional material was derived from a third-party marketing and advertising firm. On August 6, 2024, the Company entered into an advisory agreement (the "VHLA Agreement") with Black Swan Solutions Inc. doing business as VHLA Media Inc. ("VHLA"), whereby VHLA agreed to provide marketing services to the Company. VHLA is permitted to further hire third parties. The agreement entered into with VHLA is valid until February 6, 2025, if not earlier terminated by mutual consent. After an inquiry of management, the directors and control persons, the Company was aware of the distribution of the newsletter on August 19, 2024 after it was distributed. The Company paid for its distribution pursuant to the agreement with VHLA. However, none of the Company's directors, officers, or controlling shareholders were involved, directly, with the creation of the materials nor was management informed of the specific release date and time. The Company provided the service providers publicly available sources of information for the newsletters and did not have editorial control over the materials, except that the Company reviewed information specific to the Company for factual accuracy prior to its dissemination. The newsletter presented factual statements regarding the Company's mineral properties, exploration and business strategies and investors. The Company does not believe the statements in the newsletter were false or misleading, but wishes to caution readers that such statements are speculative in nature. The Company has been advised by OTC Markets that OTC Markets takes the position that the newsletter touts the Company and encourages investors to purchase its shares. For more complete and specific information regarding the Company, its prospects, and the risks associated with those prospects, readers should consult the Company's public filings on SEDAR+, its website, and other reliable sources. The Company encourages investors to contact their investment advisors prior to making any investment. Further, the Company understands this promotional activity may have coincided with increased trading activity in the common shares beginning on August 19, 2024. The Company believes the increased trading activity resulted from a combination of factors including the following: (i) certain promotional materials in respect of the Company were prepared by VHLA pursuant to the VHLA Agreement and released to the public on or about August 19, 2024; and (ii) the Company issued a news release on August 19, 2024, announcing that it had completed its Phase 1 exploration program at its Gregory River copper-gold property in western Newfoundland. After an inquiry of management and the directors, none of the officers and directors of the Company sold or purchased securities of the Company within the past 90 days except as disclosed below: On August 19, 2024 prior to opening of the markets, a director of the Company sold an aggregate of 200,000 common shares at a price of $0.21 per common share. After an inquiry of control persons, to the extent of management's knowledge, none of the controlling shareholders have sold or purchased the Company's securities within the past 90 days. Additionally, after an inquiry of third-party service providers, management is not aware of any third-party service providers who have sold or purchased the Company's securities within the past 90 days. OTC Markets has further requested that the Company state whether, at any point, it has issued any shares or convertible instruments allowing conversion to equity securities at prices constituting a discount to the current market rate at the time of the issuance. The Company confirms that it has issued shares and convertible securities at a discount to market at the time of issuance as is industry practice for Canadian Securities Exchange listed companies. Details are provided in the Company's public filings on SEDAR+. In the past 12 months, the Company has entered into an agreement with VHLA, as previously described above, to provide marketing services. The Company has also entered into an advisory agreement with Altitude Capital Consultants Inc. ("Altitude") dated August 15, 2024, pursuant to which Altitude agreed to provide marketing advice, services related to market analysis strategy and market maintenance and financial advisory support. The agreement entered into with Altitude is valid until August 12, 2025, if not earlier terminated by mutual consent. About Golden Spike Golden Spike Resources Corp. (CSE:GLDS), (OTCQB: GSPRF), (FSE: L5Y) is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on identifying, acquiring and unlocking value in mineral opportunities in Canada and other low-risk jurisdictions. The Company currently holds 100% interest in the 5,050-hectare Gregory River Property in Newfoundland, strategically centered over an approximate 11-kilometer-long stretch of the Gregory River VMS-belt, a north-northeast trending corridor of very prospective ground with potential to host Cyprus-type polymetallic VMS deposits. In addition, the Property hosts a cluster of historically explored, high-grade, copper gold vein structures. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Keith Anderson To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/221036 SOURCE: Golden Spike Resources Corp. Credbull, a Nassau, Bahamas-based onchain private credit fund manager, raised $5.2M in funding. The round was led by GnosisVC, with participation from Outlier Ventures, HODL Ventures, LucidBlue Ventures, CryptoHedge, Marcello Mari (Founder of SingularityDAO), and other investors. The company intends to use the funds to further enhance its platforms capabilities, broaden its product suite, and consolidate its market position as a provider of onchain private credit solutions. Led by CEO Jason Dehni, Credbull is a licensed onchain private credit fund manager which gives access to private credit and institutional-grade RWA through blockchain technology. By offering risk-adjusted high yield solutions and access to a high performing asset class with full transparency, it provides innovative investment solutions to both Web3 and TradFi investors. FinSMEs 23/08/2024 Miami International Holdings, Inc., a technology-driven leader in building and operating regulated financial markets across multiple asset classes, received a $100m investment from Warburg Pincus. Subject to certain conditions, Warburg Pincus may expand its investment in MIH to support additional growth. The growth investment will accelerate the next phase of Miaxs global expansion as it executes on its strategy of building a diversified revenue stream across multiple asset classes and geographies. Among other uses, the investment will fund the construction and fit-out of a physical trading floor in Miami, Florida for MIAX Sapphire, MIHs fourth national securities exchange for trading U.S. multi-listed options. MIAX Sapphire will operate both an electronic exchange and physical trading floor. The electronic exchange launched on August 12, 2024, with the trading floor in Miami scheduled to go live in 2025. MIAX Sapphire will be the first national securities exchange to establish operations in Miami. The new trading facility will include a next-generation trading floor, ancillary office space for MIAX employees and market participants, conference facilities and broadcast media space. The investment will also support further growth and expansion of MIHs agricultural and financial futures businesses on its two U.S. futures exchanges, Minneapolis Grain Exchange (MGEX) and MIAXdx including the development of new matching engine and clearing technology using MIHs proprietary technology. Additionally, the investment will fund the companys expansion plans into international markets including the development and trading of new proprietary and other financial products. FinSMEs 22/08/2024 VividQ, a Cambridge, UK-based deep technology innovator in computational holography, closed an additional $7.5m Series A funding, bringing the companys total funding to over $30m. The round was led by Foresight Group and included new investors such as GameTech Ventures, and Florida-based Ruttenberg Gordon Investments (RGI), as well as existing investors. The company intends to use the funds to expand its U.S. presence. Founded in 2017 by Darran Milne, CEO, VividQ is engineering immersive 3D and holographic visual experiences within the world around us. Its computational display technology is creating a future where real and virtual experiences are no longer separated by a screen. The company has partnered with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) including JVCKenwood to integrate its advanced software and hardware solutions into augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), automotive head-up displays, and other consumer electronics. The company also has partners and teams in the U.S. and Japan. FinSMEs 22/08/2024 Sunil Kumar Dhareshwar, Infosys executive vice president for finance, recently met with senior bureaucrats to argue that the tax notice was unwarranted. NASSCOM, an influential industry lobby group, also intervened, urging the government to ensure ease of doing business read more Bengaluru-based IT giant Infosys is likely to get relief in the $4 billion GST demand. Image source: Infosys India is likely to retract its $4 billion back tax demand on Infosys. The controversial tax notice, issued last month, called for Infosys to pay goods and services tax (GST) on its overseas offices dating back to 2017, sparking an industry-wide outcry. Behind the potential tax demand U-turn is weeks of intense lobbying by the Bengaluru-headquarterd IT giant and mounting criticism from the software services industry, Reuters cited two government sources with direct knowledge of the situation as saying. Advertisement Although a formal decision is still pending, the move to retract the notice would mark a significant win for Infosys, which has been actively lobbying top government officials to seek relief from the tax demand. Sunil Kumar Dhareshwar, Infosys executive vice president for finance, recently met with senior bureaucrats to argue that the tax notice was unwarranted. The backlash from the tech sector, which argued that the tax demand was unjustified and harmful to Indias business environment, played a significant role in prompting the government to reconsider its position. The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), an influential industry lobby group, also intervened, urging the government to ensure that such tax notices do not create uncertainty or damage Indias reputation for ease of doing business. NASSCOM emphasized that the demand reflected a fundamental misunderstanding of the software industrys operating model. Reuters cited a source within the finance ministry as indicating that while the tax investigation unit followed existing regulations, the broader principle of not taxing services exports has led the ministry to believe the notice was misplaced. The GST Council, composed of state finance ministers and chaired by the federal finance minister, is expected to formally address the issue on September 9. The resolution could also affect similar tax notices worth over $1 billion that were sent to ten foreign airlines operating in India, including Etihad and British Airways. Shares of Airtel and SBI Life are likely to be in focus due to multi-crore GST penalty demands. Zomatos cessation of the inter-city Legends service may keep the stock abuzz. Nykaas shares may be in focus owing to a potential stake sale by pre-IPO investor read more The GIFT Nifty index on Friday (August 23) around 8:45 am was down 10.5 points or 0.04 per cent at 24,848.5. It hinted at a muted to negative start for Dalal Street. The India VIX, an indicator of volatility in the market, was down 2.49 per cent at 13 points. Ahead of the opening bell in India, heres a look at stocks to watch: SBI Life: SBI Life on Thursday (August 23) said tax authorities have slapped a demand notice of about Rs 239.27 crore on it for short payment of GST for the financial year 2019-20. The company, in a regulatory filing, said it has received an order for interest and penalty from the Deputy Excise & Taxation Commissioner, Rohtak, Haryana. Advertisement Airtel: The GST Appellate Authority has ordered Bharti Airtel to pay Rs 194 crore GST on licence fees and spectrum usage charges demanded by the Department of Telecom. The matter pertains to the demand for GST of Rs 604.66 crore by the GST Department. Zomato: Zomato has announced the immediate shutdown of its Intercity Legends service, which was designed to deliver iconic dishes from 10 cities across India. This move marks a shift in the companys strategy as it continues to streamline its operations and focus on core services. JSW Steel: The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday gave its approval for executing an absolute sale deed for the proposed sale of a total 3,667.31 acre of land to JSW Steel in Ballari district. The cabinet has also given in-principle clearance for two big-ticket projects in Bengaluru a sky deck (a tall panoramic platform or building) and an underground vehicular tunnel. Wipro: A step-down subsidiary of Wipro, Rizing Management LLC, has been voluntarily liquidated as of August 21. Nykaa: A pre-IPO investor in Nykaa, Harindarpal Singh Banga, is likely to sell up to a 1.4 per cent stake in the company, CNBC-TV18 cited sources as saying. The stake sale is expected at a floor price of Rs 198 per share. Singh held a 6.4 per cent stake in Nykaa as of the end of the June quarter. With inputs from agencies A court in Australia ruled in favour of a transgender woman who alleged gender discrimination by a women-only social media app. The landmark judgment could echo beyond the country. Heres why read more Transgender woman Roxanne Tickle leaves the Federal Court of Australia in Sydney, Australia, August 23, 2024. Reuters What is a woman? A landmark ruling in Australia has addressed the crucial question. A transgender woman has won a discrimination case against a women-only social media app, with a court awarding her A$10,000 (Rs 564,256) plus costs. The Federal Court ruled Roxanne Tickle, a transgender woman from New South Wales, was indirectly discriminated against in a judgement that could set a legal precedent. Lets take a closer look. What was the case? Tickle downloaded the Giggle for Girls social networking platform in 2021, which was marketed as an online refuge" for women, according to ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Advertisement The app allowed women to share their experiences in a safe space and excluded men from the platform. Users had to provide a selfie to verify they were a woman. This picture was examined by a gender recognition software that screened out men. Tickles photo was accepted and she joined the app. But seven months later she was barred from the platform. Tickle sued Giggle for Girls and its CEO Sall Grover, seeking A$200,000 (Rs 1,12,89,114) in damages. She alleged she was discriminated against based on her gender identity. Tickle, who identifies as a woman, claimed she was legally entitled to use services meant for women, reported BBC. Taking the Giggle app and its CEO to court, she claimed that persistent misgendering by Grover had triggered constant anxiety and occasional suicidal thoughts. This was the first claim of discrimination based on gender identity since the changes to Australias Sex Discrimination Act in 2013. These changes made it illegal to discriminate against a person based on sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status. What did they argue? Giggles legal team argued that sex is a biological concept. Sex is discriminatory, it always has been and always will be biological sex must prevail, Grovers counsel Bridie Nolan was quoted as saying by The Guardian. As per the BBC report, the legal team conceded Tickle was discriminated against on the grounds of sex but not gender identity. Advertisement Tickles counsel, Georgina Costello KC, said Ms Tickle is a woman but that the respondents flatly deny that fact. Transgender woman Roxanne Tickle won the discrimination case. Reuters The court was told during a three-day hearing in April that Tickle, who was born male, changed her gender and has been living as a woman since 2017. She had a female birth certificate and gender affirmation surgery and feels in her mind that psychologically she is a woman. Examining Grover, Tickles lawyer asked, Even where a person who was assigned male at birth transitions to a woman by having surgery, hormones, gets rid of facial hair, undergoes facial reconstruction, grows their hair long, wears makeup, wears female clothes, describes themselves as a woman, introduces themselves as a woman, uses female changing rooms, changes their birth certificate you dont accept that is a woman? Advertisement To this, Grover a self-declared TERF or trans-exclusionary radical feminist replied: No. The apps chief executive officer refused to address Tickle as Ms, asserting she is a biological male. What has the Australian court ruled? On Friday (August 23), federal court justice Robert Bromwich said that case law has invariably found sex is changeable and not necessarily binary, as per BBC. Dismissing Giggles argument, he reportedly said, These arguments failed because the view propounded by the respondents conflicted with a long history of cases decided by courts going back over 30 years. Those cases established that on its ordinary meaning sex is changeable. Advertisement The judge ruled there had been indirect gender identity discrimination against Tickle. However, he found that she was not directly discriminated against. Justice Bromwich also highlighted Grovers behaviour, including mocking a caricature of Tickle during the trial. [Grovers] explanation, that it was funny in the context of the courtroom, was obviously disingenuous. It was offensive and belittling and had no legitimate place in the respondents prosecuting their case. Tickle had sought orders for a written apology but the judge refused. It is plain that any apology given by Ms Grover, and any apology given by her on behalf of Giggle, would be through clenched teeth and utterly devoid of sincerity, he said, as per ABC. Advertisement Welcoming the judgement, Tickle said it showed transgender people could take a stand for themselves. Im pleased by the outcome of my case and I hope it is healing for trans and gender diverse people. The ruling shows that all women are protected from discrimination, she said outside court, reported The Guardian. Grover earlier said she would appeal against the courts decision. Sex Discrimination Commissioner at the Australian Human Rights Commission Anna Cody said she was happy that the judgement recognised discrimination. We now know that you cannot discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, Dr Cody reportedly said. Why the ruling matters According to BBC, the landmark ruling could set a legal precedent for resolving conflicts between gender identity rights and sex-based rights in other countries. As many as 189 countries, including India and Australia, have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). This global treaty, adopted by the United Nations in 1979, basically concerns itself with rights for women. The social media apps defence argued Australias ratification of CEDAW makes it obligatory to protect womens rights. If more courts give favourable judgements to gender identity claims, other countries would likely follow suit, reported BBC. With inputs from agencies Botswana has solidified its place as a global diamond powerhouse with the discovery of a massive 2,492-carat diamond, the largest found in over a century. This exceptional gem, unearthed at the Karowe Mine, adds to Botswanas legacy of producing some of the worlds most valuable diamonds, raising the question what makes Botswana the ultimate treasure trove? read more A person holds a 2,492-carat diamond which was found in the country and on show, in Gaborone, Botswana, August 22, 2024. File Image/AP Botswana has long been renowned for its extraordinary diamond discoveries, consistently unearthing some of the worlds most exceptional gems. The recent discovery of a colossal 2,492-carat diamond further defines Botswanas status as a global leader in the diamond industry. Botswanas diamond mining journey dates back to pre-historic times, but modern exploration began in earnest in the mid-20th century. The countrys first significant discovery occurred in 1967, a year after its independence, with the unearthing of the Orapa kimberlite field. Advertisement Watch: This discovery marked the beginning of a diamond boom in Botswana, leading to the establishment of major mines such as Letlhakane (1968), Jwaneng (1973), Gope (1981), and Lerala (1991). Since then, Botswana has become the second-largest producer of natural diamonds globally, trailing only Russia. The country has produced 665 million carats of diamonds since 1971, representing 14 per cent of the worlds total diamond production. Notably, Botswanas diamond reserves are still far from depleted, with the potential to increase its global share as other producers resources dwindle. The recent discovery In a remarkable find, Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond Corp. unearthed a staggering 2,492-carat diamond at the Karowe Mine in Botswana. This diamond, the largest found in more than a century, is the second-largest ever discovered, following only the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond unearthed in South Africa in 1905. The as-yet-unnamed diamond was revealed to the world at a ceremony at the office of Botswanas President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who expressed his awe at the sight of the stone, saying, It is overwhelming. I am lucky to have seen it in my time. Botswanas President Mokgweetsi Masisi holds the 2,492-carat diamond that was unearthed at one of its mines and will be put on show, August 22, 2024, in Gaborone, Botswana. File Image/AP Lucara Diamond Corp.s President and CEO William Lamb shared his excitement, stating, We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492-carat diamond. Advertisement The diamond, which weighs nearly half a kilogram, was located using advanced X-ray technology designed to identify large, high-value diamonds, highlighting the role of innovation in modern diamond mining. A legacy of exceptional diamonds Botswanas Karowe Mine has been the source of several other notable diamond discoveries in recent years. Before the 2,492-carat diamond, the mine had produced the 1,758-carat Sewelo diamond in 2019, which was purchased by luxury group LVMH in January 2020. Another significant find from Karowe was the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona diamond, discovered in 2015 and later sold to British jeweler Laurence Graff for $53 million. Other remarkable diamonds from Botswana include the 1,111-carat Lesedi La Rona and The Constellation, which set a record when it was sold for $63 million. These discoveries have consistently placed Botswana at the forefront of the diamond industry, demonstrating the countrys unparalleled geological richness. Advertisement How Botswana impacts the global diamond market Botswanas diamond production has significantly impacted the global market. Between 1870 and 2012, the world produced approximately 4,898 million carats of diamonds, with Botswana contributing 665 million carats to this total. The countrys diamonds are not only abundant but also of exceptional quality, with many of the worlds largest and most valuable stones originating from Botswana. In 2011 alone, Botswana produced 23 million carats of diamonds, valued at $3.9 billion, accounting for 18.5 per cent of the global production by volume and 27 per cent by value. This economic impact has been crucial for Botswana, contributing significantly to its GDP and overall economic development. Advertisement What next? Looking ahead, Botswana is poised to maintain its leading position in the global diamond industry. With many other diamond-producing regions nearing the end of their productive lives, Botswanas rich reserves are expected to continue yielding significant finds. The discovery of the 2,492-carat diamond is a testament to the ongoing potential within Botswanas mines and the advanced technology being employed to uncover these hidden treasures. Also Watch: With inputs from agencies PM Modi will visit war-torn Ukraine, a first by an Indian PM since bilateral relations were established. India will also celebrate its first National Space Day to mark the first anniversary of the historic success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission. Heres what else will happen today read more Prime Minister Narendra Modi is poised to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a landmark visit to Ukraine. File photo/ PTI Its going to be a busy Friday. PM Modi to visit war-torn Ukraine, the first visit by an Indian PM to the country since the establishment of bilateral relations in 1992. India will celebrate its first National Space Day to mark the one-year anniversary of the historic success of Chandrayaan-3 mission. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will hold talks with his American counterpart Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon. MP-MLA court in Sultanpur will hear the defamation case involving senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. Advertisement BJP ally IPFT will hold demonstrations in Delhi demanding a separate state for Tripura tribals. Heres a glimpse of what will happen today PM Modi in Ukraine Prime Minister Narendra Modi is poised to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a landmark visit to Ukraine, marking the first time an Indian prime minister has visited Kyiv since diplomatic relations were established over 30 years ago. Modis visit is particularly significant, as he has expressed a desire to share perspectives on peacefully resolving the ongoing conflict with the Ukrainian leader. The discussions are also expected to centre on enhancing economic ties and cooperation in defence, science, and technology. Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands during the G7 leaders summit in Hiroshima, Japan May 20, 2023. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters/File Photo This visit follows closely on the heels of Modis trip to Moscow, where he met with President Vladimir Putina move that drew criticism from the US and some Western allies. After wrapping up his two-day visit to Poland, Modi made his way to Ukraine via train. India to celebrate first National Space Day India is all set to celebrate its inaugural National Space Day today. This day commemorates the Chandrayaan- 3 missions historic success, marking the day when the Vikram Lander achieved a soft landing on the lunar surface last year. This occasion is a tribute to Indias remarkable achievement, as the country became the fourth in the world to land a rover on the moon and the first to do so near the lunar south pole. Following this monumental success, the Indian government officially designated August 23 as National Space Day, celebrating Indias growing strength in space exploration. Advertisement People watch a live stream of Chandrayaan-3 spacecrafts landing on the Moon, inside an auditorium of Gujarat Science City in Ahmedabad, India. India is one of the few countries that has made a successful Moon landing. File image/Reuters The day also aims to inspire Indias youth, encouraging them to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and contribute to the nations future space missions. To mark the occasion, ISRO will broadcast a series of events, including discussions, panel talks with space scientists, and educational sessions designed to engage students and space enthusiasts across the country. Rajnath Singh at Pentagon US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is set to welcome Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the Pentagon today, as part of Singhs four-day visit to the United States. The relationship with India remains one of great importance. Its one of great importance to the Indo-Pacific as well, Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh informed reporters. Advertisement During their meeting, the two leaders are expected to explore a wide range of bilateral and regional issues, focusing on ways to strengthen the strategic ties between the worlds two largest democracies. In addition to his talks with Austin, Defence Minister Singh is also scheduled to meet with Jake Sullivan, the US Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. Hearing on defamation case against Rahul Gandhi The MP-MLA court in Sultanpur is set to hear a defamation case against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today. The case, filed by BJP leader Vijay Mishra in 2018, alleges that Rahul made objectionable comments about Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the assembly elections in Bengaluru that year. Advertisement Rahul has previously told the court that the case was brought against him for cheap publicity and with the intention of tarnishing his image. The case, filed by BJP leader Vijay Mishra in 2018, alleges that Rahul made objectionable comments about Union Home Minister Amit Shah during the assembly elections in Bengaluru that year. File photo/.Reuters Earlier, on February 20, the special MP/MLA court granted bail to Rahul after he surrendered before the court, posting two bail bonds of Rs 25,000 each. Although he was granted exemption from personal appearance, the court had instructed him to appear in person to respond to the charges. However, the earlier hearing was delayed due to the absence of the special judge. IPFT to hold demonstrations for Tipraland The Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT), a tribal-based party and the main ally of the ruling BJP in Tripura, is set to stage a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi to urge the Centre to create Tipraland, a separate state for the tribal population. Advertisement IPFT General Secretary Swapan Debbarma announced that the party would hold a sit-in demonstration to press for their demand for a full-fledged Tipraland. This would involve upgrading the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), which currently governs two-thirds of the states 10,491 square km area and is home to over 12,16,000 people, with around 84 percent being tribals. We have been demanding Tipraland for the past 15 years, and in support of our demands, we are holding numerous agitations both in Tripura and in the national capital, the tribal leader told IANS. A new study on the Moon by Indian scientists has backed the Lunar Magma theory which states that the planet was once covered by molten lava. This National Space Day, which celebrates Indias growing exploration of space, lets examine some other theories that delve into the Moons origins read more This photograph shows a Super Blue Moon in the sky over Bogota on August 19, 2024. AFP A new study has claimed that the Moon was once covered by a magma ocean. The analysis, made on data collected by Indias Chandrayaan-3 mission, supports the Lunar Magma theory about the formation of the Moon. It was published in the journal Nature on Wednesday. The analysis comes from measurements of the lunar soil recorded by the Pragyan rover. It was taken at multiple points along a 100-metre track on the surface of the Moon. Advertisement The Chandrayaan-3 mission launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) landed near the south pole of the Moon on August 23, 2023. Before Indias mission, the main evidence backing the magma oceans theory came from the mid-latitudes of the Moon by the US Apollo programme, according to the BBC. But what theories have been put forth about the origins of the moon? Lets take a closer look: Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kyiv has rebuffed the claim that India has taken a neutral position on the Russia-Ukraine war, saying it has not been a neutral or an indifferent bystander and that it has always remained on the side of peace. The two countries also signed a number of agreements to cooperate in the fields of agriculture, food industry, medicine and culture read more Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Mariinskyi Palace in Kyiv. PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi has wrapped up his trip to Ukraine. Modi became the first Indian prime minister to make a state visit to Ukraine since the two countries established relations over three decades ago. Modi and Volodymyr Zelenskyy held wide-ranging talks at Mariinskyi Palace, the official residence of the Ukrainian President, paid homage to Mahatma Gandhis statue at Oasis of Peace park in Kyiv and honoured the memory of the children that have been killed by the Russia-Ukraine war at the Martyrologist Exposition on children at the National Museum of History of Ukraine. Advertisement Modi wrote on X, My visit to Ukraine was historic. I came to this great nation with the aim of deepening India-Ukraine friendship. I had productive talks with President Zelenskyy. India firmly believes that peace must always prevail. I thank the Government and people of Ukraine for their hospitality. Lets examine some takeways of PM Modis trip: Never indifferent bystander Modi on Friday rebuffed the claim that India has taken a neutral position on the Ukraine war. Modi said India had not been neutral or an indifferent bystander since the beginning of the conflict. India was always on the side of peace, he added. India has been taking flak from the United States and the West since the beginning of the war for not condemning Russias special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. While the West has imposed a number of sanctions on Moscow, India has sought to balance its relationship between the two. New Delhi has sought to maintain its decades-old strategic relationship with Moscow which also provides much of Indias military hardware. Modi also expressed Indias willingness to play an active role to bring peace between Russia and Ukraine. I want to assure you that India is ready to play an active role in any efforts towards peace. If I can play any role in this personally, I will do that I want to assure you as a friend, Modi said as per Indian Express. Advertisement The road to resolution can only be found through dialogue and diplomacy. And we should move in that direction without wasting any time. Both sides should sit together to find a way out of this crisis, Modi added. Modi, since the beginning of the war, has repeatedly reiterated that diplomacy and dialogue is the only way to resolve the conflict. Modi was criticised by some including Zelenskyy for his recent visit to Russia in July. Modis trip to Russia his first since 2019 and the beginning of the war in Ukraine and his meeting with Putin came on the day that Russias missiles targeted various locations across Ukraine including a childrens hospital in Kyiv which left scores of people dead. Advertisement Russian President Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his official residence in Moscow. Reuters Zelenskyy had called the meeting as a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts. A Russian missile struck the largest childrens hospital in Ukraine, targeting young cancer patients. Many were buried under the rubble, Zelenskyy wrote on X at the time. It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the worlds largest democracy hug the worlds most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day, he said. Modi during his trip to Russia, referring to the strike on the childrens hospital, called the killing of innocent children heart-wrenching and very painful. Lets take war, any conflict or terrorist acts: any person who believes in humanity feels pain when people die, and especially when innocent children die. When we feel such pain, the heart simply explodes, and I had the opportunity to talk about these issues with you yesterday, Modi told Putin. Advertisement India is not neutral Modis stance was echoed by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar who hinted at Indias willingness to play peacemaker between Russia and Ukraine. NDTV quoted Jaishankar as emphasizing Indias willingness to contribute in all ways possible. It is Indias view that the two sides need to engage with each other to find a solution, Jaishankar added. Jaishankar said Modi called for practical engagement between all stakeholders to develop innovative solutions that will contribute towards peace. The Ukrainian side wanted continued involvement of India with the Global Peace summit, he said. Advertisement He called the talks very detailed, open and in many ways constructive. Jaishankar said there was also a discussion on what could be effective ways of taking the discussions forward. Jaishankar said the prime minister sought the presidents assessment both of the ground situation as well as the diplomatic scenario and Zelenskyy spoke on both issues. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar echoed Prime Minister Narendra Modis remarks. AP Much of the discussions between PM Modi and President Zelenskyy was with regard to the war in Ukraine. PM Modi reiterated Indias willingness to contribute in all possible ways to facilitate an early return of peace, Jaishankar was quoted as saying by Indian Express. There have been a number of public positions taken by India and the prime minister in the subject A little more than two years ago, he publicly said that this is not the era of war and underlined that dialogue and diplomacy are the key Most recently he emphasised that solution will not come out of the battlefield, he added. The external affairs minister said the two leaders reiterated their readiness to continue cooperation to uphold principles of international law such as respect for territorial integrity and protect the sovereignty of states. MOUs, inviting Zelenskyy to India Modi and Zelenskyy spoke about elevating the comprehensive partnership to a strategic partnership in the future. New Delhi and Kyiv also signed a number of MOUs during the trip. As per Business Today, India and Ukraine inked agreements to cooperate in the fields of agriculture, food industry, medicine, culture and humanitarian assistance. Jaishankar said a significant part of discussions between Prime Minister Modi and President Zelenskyy was devoted to bilateral relations. There were discussions on trade, economic issues, defence, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, education, he said. PM arrived by a special train in the morning, he was received by the First Deputy Foreign Minister at the Kyiv railway stationIn the discussion, a significant part of it was devoted to our bilateral relations. There was a discussion about trade, economic issues, defence, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, education Jaishankar said. Modi and Zelenskyy also tasked the India-Ukraine inter-governmental commission to specifically focus on rebuilding trade and economic relations. India has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to visit. File Photo The leaders also tasked the Intergovernmental Commission, of which Minister Kuleba and I are the co-chairs, to specifically focus on rebuilding our trade and economic relations, which had gone down in recent times. And we certainly look forward to having an early meeting of that body, definitely by the end of this year, ANI quoted Jaishankar as saying. Jaishankar said Modi also invited Zelenskyy to visit India at a mutually convenient time. We hope President Zelenskyy too will visit India at his convenience well, Jaishankar said. India continues humanitarian assistance India also continued its humanitarian efforts to help Ukraine handing over medical support equipment worth 22 tonnes. Today, we handed over cubes containing medical support equipment to Ukraine, Jaishankar said. The equipment, known as the BHISHM Cube, is a state-of-the-art mobile hospital designed for rapid deployment in disaster zones. The mobile hospital is made through packing all essential medicines and equipment in cubical boxes (15 inches each) in a well-organised manner, and arranged according to the types of injuries and medical issues that could be encountered in a war or natural disaster. One cube, the officials said, has the ability to handle about 200 cases of diverse nature in emergency situations such as trauma, bleeding, burns, fractures, shock, apart from managing initial triage and classification. It also has the ability to support basic surgeries and can also generate its own power and oxygen in limited amounts and duration, they added. With inputs from agencies New Delhi, Aug 23 (UNI) Congress on Friday reaffirmed the party's united support for Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah following state Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot's decision to sanction his prosecution. The party held a high-level meeting here, in the presence of AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other senior leaders, Speaking to the media after the meeting, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar emphasised the Congress party's determination to resist what they perceive as attempts by the BJP to destabilise the state government. "The entire Congress party, under the leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, has thoroughly discussed the political developments in Karnataka. They stand with us, fully aware of the harassment we have endured. They know the BJP aims to destabilize our government, but the entire party, from the grassroots to the national level, is united behind Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar asserted. He further highlighted the partys unwavering support for Siddaramaiah, particularly in his efforts to uplift the downtrodden and backward classes in Karnataka. "Karnataka is one of the biggest states, and the BJP wants to destabilise it. The Congress will not allow this, Shivakumar added, emphasising the importance of maintaining stability in the state. The meeting, which also included Congress leaders like Randeep Singh Surjewala and KC Venugopal, was convened in response to the purported MUDA scandal allegedly involving Siddaramaiahs wife, which has sparked a political firestorm. The controversy intensified after the Karnataka Governor granted permission to prosecute the Chief Minister, a decision the Congress has strongly opposed. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed his gratitude to the partys leadership for their support. I would like to thank the High Command, particularly Mallikarjun Kharge ji, Rahul Gandhi ji, Venugopal ji, and Surjewala ji, for engaging in the discussions. "We have explained the developments and the situation in Karnataka, including the Governors partisan decision to sanction my prosecution. This has been challenged in court and is scheduled for a hearing on August 29. We believe in the courts, in the law of the land, and we hope for justice, as the Governors decision is both unconstitutional and illegal, Siddaramaiah stated. Randeep Singh Surjewala also spoke out, condemning the Governors decision as constitutionally flawed, legally indefensible, and a political misstep. He vowed that the Congress party would challenge the decision both in the courts and before the public. The people of Karnataka stand with us. We have full faith in the Constitution of India, and we believe that the law is on our side. The Honorable High Court, and if necessary, a higher court, will make the right decision, and Satyamev Jayatetruth alone triumphswill prevail, Surjewala affirmed. With the court hearing set for August 29th, the Congress is exploring all options, including the possibility of seeking an audience with the President of India. UNI BDN SSP After Africa, cases of mpox have been detected in Thailand, Pakistan and Sweden. As the virus travels across the globe, it has triggered a wave of online misinformation. We debunk some of the misinformation around it read more The World Health Organization has declared a global health emergency as mpox spreads across several African countries. The outbreak, which began in the Democratic Republic of Congo and has claimed at least 450 lives, has reached Central and East Africa, with the Clade 1B strain now moving beyond the continent. Mpox has spread its wings to Europe and South East Asia where countries such as Sweden, Thailand, the Philippines, and Pakistan are reporting cases of the viral disease. Advertisement The escalating crisis has not only prompted a public health emergency declaration but also triggered a wave of misinformation online. We debunk some of the most common misconceptions surrounding mpox. No links to shingles or the Covid vaccine In a recent video circulated on X and Facebook, German doctor Wolfgang Wodarg, known for his anti-vaccine stance, claimed that mpox and shingles exhibit the same symptoms. According to Mayo Clinic, Shingles is a viral disease that causes a painful rash with blisters on one side of the body or face. Wodarg also alleged that the pharmaceutical industry is using fear to profit. However, this claim is incorrect. Mpox is not a shingles outbreak triggered by the Covid-19 vaccine. The virus, which was first identified in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the 1970s, predates Covid vaccines by decades. Mpox is not a shingles outbreak triggered by the Covid-19 vaccine. File Image/ Mpox, transmitted from animals and spread between humans through close contact, is part of the poxvirus family, while shingles is caused by the herpes virus. Their symptoms also differ significantly: shingles produces smaller, painful lesions and rashes, contrasting with mpox. Mpox does not affect only gay men Some social media users have dismissed their risk of contracting mpox with homophobic comments. Richard Martinello, an infectious disease specialist at Yale University, counters this by stating, There is no infectious disease in the world whose transmission is limited by a persons sexual orientation. He emphasises that it is close, skin-to-skin contactnot sexual orientationthat leads to spread of mpox. The virus is carried by liquid enclosed in vesicles small pimples that form on the skin said Antoine Gessain, an mpox expert at the Pasteur Institute, adding that children can be infected through skin contact. Additionally, heterosexual individuals with multiple partners, like those who contributed to the epidemic in the DRC in late 2023, can also transmit the disease. Advertisement No miracle drug A popular conspiracy theory sparked by a 2022 video by controversial French researcher Didier Raoult has re-emerged on social media. According to Raoult, a very effective drug used to treat mpox exists but is not made available. The most effective molecule against mpox is a Japanese drug called Tranilast, he said in the video. It will never be marketed here (Europe) because it is extremely cheap, he added. Despite Raoults claims, Tranilast, which has been approved in Japan and China since 1982 for asthma treatment, has not undergone clinical trials for mpox. Tranilast, which has been approved in Japan and China since 1982 for asthma treatment, has not undergone clinical trials for mpox. However, vaccination combined with educating at-risk individuals and isolating contact cases, helped the world contain the 2022 mpox outbreak. Advertisement Raoult, the former head of Frances IHU Mediterranee research hospital, has been accused by French medical authorities of conducting the largest unauthorised clinical trial ever seen with hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19. WHO did not order any lockdowns The World Health Organisation (WHO) has refuted online claims that it has mandated mega lockdowns or any type of lockdown due to mpox. The WHO cannot and has not ordered governments to prepare for mega lockdowns or any kind of lockdown due to mpox," the organisation clarified in a statement to AFP. The UN health body emphasised its role in offering technical advice and support, but noted that countries have the sovereignty to take decisions and actions concerning the health of their populations." Advertisement Some conspiracy theorists are framing mpox as a plandemic, alleging that it is a pandemic orchestrated by the WHO, which they claim is under the influence of major pharmaceutical companies. Additionally, misinformation circulated on social media platform including TikTok suggesting that the start of the school year in France was postponed due to mpox. However, the French Education Ministry has dismissed these allegations as false. With inputs from AFP Prime Minister Narendra Modi is en route to Kyiv where he will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Modi is taking forward Indias message of peace and will reiterate his popular stance - this is not an era of war read more Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G7 leaders' summit in Hiroshima. Many are asking if Modi's visit to Ukraine will bring an end to the war. File image/Reuters It is Indias firm belief that no problem can be solved on the battlefield. In any crisis, the loss of lives of innocent people has become the biggest challenge for the whole of humanity, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 22 in a media interaction following talks with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk in Warsaw. With these remarks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrapped up his two-day visit to Poland and is now making his way to Ukraine, via train, where he will meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This visit is unprecedented; it is Modis first since the Russia-Ukraine war broke out and the first ever by an Indian leader since the modern formation of the country following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Advertisement As Modi makes his way to the war-torn country, all eyes are on him, as many believe that he could play a role in pushing the two sides towards talks. But is that possible? We explore why the PM could be the right person for this almost impossible task. Is the timing right? Modis visit to Ukraine it is expected to be seven hours long comes at a very tricky time. The Independent notes that Modis visit to Kyiv coincides with Ukraines National Flag Day, commemorating its independence from the Soviet Union. Moreover, it also comes just over a month after the prime minister met V ladimir Putin in Moscow, inviting criticism from Western capitals as well as Zelenskyy, who called it a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the worlds largest democracy hug the worlds most bloody criminal on such a day. It is important to note that on the same day, Modi and Putin were meeting, Russian forces carried out missile strikes across Ukraine that reportedly killed at least 42 people, including several children. Theres also the recent incursion by Ukraine into Russias Kursk, where it claims to have grabbed 1,250 sq km of territory. This action by Kyiv has tilted the scales in the war, with many experts noting that it has embarrassed Vladimir Putin and put him on the backfoot within his own country. At such a juncture, analysts say that the Russian strongmans willingness to come to the negotiation table would be low. Furthermore, Putin has vowed a firm response, with Russias foreign minister even adding that there was no possibility of any talks with Kyiv at the moment. PM Modis visit to Kyiv comes amid the escalation of war with Ukraines incursion into Russias Kursk region. File image/Reuters Amid this escalation in the war, it would be very difficult, almost impossible, to get both sides to sit down and hold a dialogue, say diplomatic experts, with an ambassador from a European Union nation telling Al Jazeera: It is not safe for him (Modi) after the escalation of war between the two countries. Advertisement Why is Modi the right person for the job though? Many analysts believe that if there is a leader who can bring Putin and Zelenskyy to a negotiation table it is Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India enjoys good relations with Putin and Russia it is Moscows top oil buyer in July and also shares defence ties since the Cold War. On the other hand, New Delhi also shared a good rapport with the US, Ukraines principal backer. PM Modi has also constantly and throughout the war reiterated that dialogue and discussion are the only way out and that this isnt the era of war he made this utterance for the first time in 2022 to Russias Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Samarkand. Advertisement Even in Poland, in his discussions with Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Modi said that India is ready to work with friendly countries to provide all possible support for the early restoration of peace and stability in Ukraine. Just before leaving for the trip, Modi also said he would share perspectives on a peaceful resolution of the war. As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region, he said. Russias President Vladimir Putin hugs Prime Minister Narendra Modi following their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow. File image/Reuters But others argue that not much can be expected of the visit. Gulshan Sachdeva, professor of European Studies at New Delhis Jawaharlal Nehru University, told Al Jazeera that he does not expect much from Modis trip and that Russia and the West are capable of talking with each other directly. Advertisement Chietigj Bajpaee, a senior research fellow for South Asia at Chatham House, also shared similar views. I am sceptical of Indias ability to play the role of a mediator as its self-interest in Russia raises questions about whether it has the means and motivation to play the role of some sort of mediator or peace builder, particularly given its long-standing and close relationship with Russia, he told The Independent. At most, he added, India could serve as a conduit to relay messages between Moscow and Kyiv and potentially offer a back channel for the West to communicate with Russia. Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in the UK, also concurred. Expectation of India playing a role in mediation is too exaggerated, he was quoted as saying by The Independent. In my view, India has been able to do a balancing act between all these different parties. It has been able to do it reasonably successfully. But that is the extent. Mediation means going far beyond this. Advertisement But what is the purpose of Modis visit then? For PM Modi and India, this visit is significant. It is a display of Indias strategic autonomy it shows the world that New Delhi doesnt and wont choose a side in the war. Some believe that Modis visit will provide New Delhi an opportunity to build on its relations, be it trade or otherwise, with Ukraine. India imports Ukrainian grain and agricultural goods and this would provide the two countries to deepen this tie. Also, several Indian naval vessels rely on Ukrainian engines and spare parts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Apulia, Italy. File image/PTI However, there are some geopolitical pundits who note that this is Indias attempt of placating Western powers. Harish Khare, Indian political analyst and former adviser to Manmohan Singh, told Al Jazeera: No substantive results should be expected from the visit, he said. He is going there to appease his Western friends. For Ukraine, this visit also marks a big diplomatic win. Ukraines Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba earlier noted, Its important to have diplomatic evidence that the picture is more complicated, and these players also respect Ukraine and engage with Ukraine under these circumstances. He stated that the visit is a success in its effort to push neutral nations to show balance in their relations with the warring countries. But as the New York Times said in one report the mere presence of the Indian leader in Kyiv is perhaps the most significant development. With inputs from agencies On this day last year, India did what no other nation had done before. Isros Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully landed on the Moons south pole, bringing glory to the country and its space agency. Lets take a look at how Indias space sector has become a major global player read more People watch a live stream of Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft's landing on the moon, inside an auditorium of Gujarat Science City in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, August 23, 2023. File Photo/Reuters India left an indelible mark on the global space sector with the success of its Chandrayaan-3 mission. On August 23, 2023, the Indian Space Research Organisations (Isro) lunar spacecraft landed on the Moons south pole a feat no other country has achieved. Today marks one year to that historic moment. India is celebrating its first National Space Day to commemorate Chandrayaan-3s landing on the lunar surface. Besides India, only the United States, China and Russia have landed on the Moon. Advertisement Isros accomplishment garnered global praise for India and its space agency. Despite a slow start, India has become a major space player. Lets take a closer look. Slow beginnings From carrying rocket cones on bicycles to achieving a feat no other country has, Isro has come a long way. Vikram Sarabhai, who is hailed as the father of the Indian space programme, launched a small space lab in the garage of his Ahmedabad house. He convinced the Indian government of the significance of a space programme for a developing country like India, according to the Isro. Starting as the Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR), Isro was formally established on August 15, 1969. Sarabhai supported the idea of leapfrogging for space flight, meaning using knowledge gained by other nations apart from skills developed domestically. Over five decades later, Isro has become a force to be reckoned with in the space sector. This handout photo taken and released by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on January 1, 2024 shows the lifting-off the PSLV-C58 rocket carrying the X-ray Polarimeter Satellite (XPoSat) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. File Photo/AFP Speaking to New Scientist magazine, Itty Abraham at Arizona State University said, What youre seeing now is the product of four decades of serious investment in this programme that a lot of people dismissed as being inappropriate for a developing country, but turns out to have been a smart decision all along. Its done a great job of absorbing technologies from different countries and stitching them together to make something thats uniquely Indian. Advertisement Cost-effective missions Isro has launched several major projects at low-cost. Last years Chandrayaan-3 mission was one of the countrys most cost-effective space flights with an estimated value of Rs 615 crore. Compared to that, the budgets of Hollywood and Bollywood movies are more. Similarly, Isros 2013 Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), also called Mangalyaan, cost less than Christopher Nolans Interstellar. According to Outlook, Isro has been able to rein in the budgets of its missions by building critical components indigenously and through a lower cost to recruit talent. As per Business Today, Isros ethos of frugality and pragmatism was made clear by its head earlier. Isro chairman S Somanath had said in July 2022, India, especially, is a country where if you like giving it [for] free, its very good. You will be building a huge business. But then, of course, there needs to be a business model. Advertisement He is also pushing to make technology affordable. We have to find ways through which on-ground infrastructure and connectivity are actually delivered to people in millions at an extremely low cost, the Isro chairman said. The space agency has also raked in significant revenue by launching missions of several private and international agencies over the last few years. Union minister Jitendra Singh previously informed that Isro earned about Rs 288 crore between 2019 and 2021 through such missions. Many giant leaps await Various future missions of Isro revolve around the Moon. India has partnered with Japan for a joint moon mission for which the South Asian country will provide the landing machine. Advertisement India is planning to send three astronauts to space. The ambitious Gaganyaan mission is Indias first human spaceflight programme. The Ernst and Youngs (EYs) Developing the space ecosystem in India report published in October 2022 predicted the market for space launches will expand in the coming years owing to low-cost launch services, more navigation satellites and higher demand for communication satellites. The launch segment is fast becoming a key focus area for startups and small and medium businesses (SMEs) in India to drive the innovation agenda and make use of new revenue opportunities, the report said. Indias private space sector worth over $6 billion is also growing. There are at least 140 registered space startups in the country, as per New York Times (NYT). Advertisement Abraham gave credit to the Narendra Modi-led government for encouraging the private firms into the space sector. Where Modi has made a difference is that he has encouraged the private sector to step in in a way that is very unusual for Indian government programmes, he told New Scientist. The Modi government inaugurated the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) to oversee the space activities of the private sector. Pawan Goenka, chairman of IN-SPACe, wrote for Business Today in February 2024 that the next five years will herald a new era in the Indian space sector, where the focus is not just on technological advancement but also on global collaboration, on leveraging space for socio-economic benefits and on inclusive growth. With inputs from agencies As PM Narendra Modi travels to Ukraine on a special train, heres remembering how an Indian restaurant in Kyiv became a refuge for hundreds of people fleeing Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 read more Saathiya turned into a shelter for those fleeing the Ukraine war. X/@good Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Ukraine on Friday (August 23), the first trip by an Indian premier since diplomatic relations were established between the two countries in 1992. The trip assumes significance amid the ongoing Russias war with Ukraine. India has maintained a neutral stance in the conflict and repeatedly called for peace through dialogue and diplomacy. As Modi reaches Kyiv on a special train, lets recall how an Indian offered his restaurant as a shelter to those fleeing the war in the Ukrainian capital. Advertisement Saathiya to the rescue Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, forcing thousands to flee their homes. As Moscow mounted its attack, residents in Kyiv were asked to take shelter. Manish Dave, an Indian restauranteur, opened the doors of his basement eatery and provided shelter to locals, children, pregnant women, students and homeless people, as per The Washington Post report. His establishment gave refuge to more than 130 people. According to The New Indian Express report, Dave had reached out to students, who made up his largest customer base. On Twitter, he also urged people seeking shelter to get in touch with him. If you dont have any proper safe place to stay during this time, please go here, Dave tweeted at the time. Sharing the address of his restaurant, he wrote, We will try our best to arrange for free food and stay according to our capacity. Stand united with Ukraine. Dave, a widower, had moved from Gujarats Vadodara to Kyiv in October 2021 to open an Indian restaurant. He wanted to give the Indian students in Ukraine a taste of home, reported The Washington Post. In January, he opened the Saathiya restaurant near the hostel for international students studying at Bogomelets National Medical University. Towards the end of the next month, the conflict began. A man called Manish Dave has turned his restaurant into a shelter for over 125 vulnerable people in Ukraine. He & his staff cook food & risk their lives in search of ration for them all. The world needs more people like Manish Dave. pic.twitter.com/ZnQlViwDoZ GOOD (@good) February 27, 2022 Advertisement Speaking to Indian Express in March 2022, Dave recalled, On February 14, there was a siren-like sound and two Ukrainian locals asked me if they could take shelter at my restaurant. They told me it is a good shelter in case of small bombings as it is underground. As the concerns about a possible Russian attack heightened over the next few days, the Indian government advised its nationals to leave Ukraine unless their stay was essential. Advertisement Dave closed his restaurant on February 15 and soon people started pouring in to take shelter. I needed to do something. So I put a small note on a Telegram group informing people that shelter and food is available at the restaurant, he told Indian Express. The WhatsApp group of the restaurant was also used to spread the message. Dave said everyone was welcome at his basement eatery-turned-shelter. Any nationality, any person can come here and take shelter, The Washington Post quoted him as saying. He told Indian Express that most people were praying all day and taking care of their loved ones. Dave and his staff of 11 cooked Indian meals, pasta and other European dishes to feed the people for free. Speaking to The Washington Post, he said we are trying to make less spicy Indian food to satisfy everyones palates. Advertisement During non-curfew hours in the morning, the restaurants staff stood in queues at malls to restock. Some locals also brought food from their homes, as per the Indian newspapers report. He and his staff also delivered free food to another nearby bunker. While Dave sheltered and fed people, the Ukrainians showed Indians how to protect themselves in the case of a bombing. Dave told The Washington Post that his mother and daughter are quite worried. But he hoped to stay in Ukraine unless the situation further escalated. ALSO READ: Inside Rail Force One, the special train that will ferry PM Modi from Poland to Ukraine Advertisement Why Dave finally left Ukraine India issued an advisory on March 1 for its citizens to leave Kyiv urgently, preferably by available trains or through any other means available. That day, Russian forces bombarded Kyivs main TV tower which killed five people. As the situation turned intense, Dave and his staff were among the last people to flee Kyiv. He left the keys to his restaurant with the Ukrainians seeking shelter at the eatery. After reaching the Romanian border, a charitable trust took 47 evacuees, including Dave and his staff, to a temporary lodging, as per the Indian Express report. They stayed there until March 4 when they received a call from Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia informing them about their return to India. The day after we left, there was a blast at the Kyiv railway station. We heard people left the restaurant and went to some other part of the country. I think my restaurant is closed now, but there is no way of finding out, Dave told the Indian newspaper. With inputs from agencies Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is making the trip at the invitation of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will become the first Indian prime minister to make a state visit to the country. India was one of the first countries to recognise Ukraine after it gained independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992. Heres what you need to know read more Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to arrive in Ukraine on Friday. File photo/PTI Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on his way to Ukraine on Friday (August 23). Modi, who is visiting at the invitation of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will become the first Indian prime minister to make a state visit to Ukraine. Tanmaya Lal, West Secretary, the Ministry of External Affairs, said PM Narendra Modi will undertake an official visit to Ukraine later this week on Friday, August 23, on the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This is also a landmark and a historic visit since this will be the first time an Indian PM will be visiting Ukraine in more than 30 years since we established our diplomatic relations. This visit will build upon the recent high-level interactions between the leaders Advertisement Modi will travel to Kyiv from Poland by train. His visit to Kyiv will last nearly seven hours. The meeting between Modi and Zelenskyy will provide an opportunity to review the entire gamut of relations including agriculture, economy, defence, pharmaceutical and people to people ties, Lal said. The MEA added that the prime ministers trip in Kyiv will touch a range of aspects of bilateral ties including political, trade, economic, investments, education, cultural, people-to-people exchanges, humanitarian assistance and others. The prime minister will also interact with Indian community, including students during the visit. But what do we know about the relationship between New Delhi and Kyiv? Lets take a closer look: Establishing diplomatic ties India was one of the first countries to recognise Ukraine after it gained independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Indias government on December 26, 1991, recognised Ukraine as a sovereign state. The two countries signed an agreement establishing diplomatic relations on January 17, 1992. India opened its embassy in Kyiv on 7 May, 1992. Ukraine, meanwhile, opened up its mission in New Delhi in February 1993. Advertisement This was also its first mission in Asia. High-level visits In March 1992, the then president of Ukraine Leonid Kravchuk made the first state visit to India. In July 1993, Indias then president Shankar Dayal Sharma reciprocated with a state visit to Ukraine. That would be followed by Leonid Kuchma visiting India as president of Ukraine in 2002. Next, APJ Abdul Kalam would make a trip to Ukraine as president of India in 2005. The last state visit by a Ukrainian president to India occurred in 2012. Advertisement Viktor Yanukovych, accompanied by a large official delegation and several businessmen, came on the 20th anniversary celebrations of the establishment of diplomatic relations. APJ Abdul Kalam made a trip to Ukraine as president of India in 2005. More recently, Modi and Zelenskyy have met on the sidelines of a number of summits including the UN Climate Change Conference (COP-26) in Glasgow in 2021, the G7 Summit in Japan in 2023 and the G7 Summit in Italy in 2024. Economy and trade Bilateral trade between the two countries touched $3.386 billion in 2021-22 . That figure was at $2.59 billion in 2020-2021, $2.76 billion in 2019-2020, $2.73 billion in 2018-2019 and $2.68 billion in 2017-2018. India exports pharmaceuticals, machinery, chemicals, food products to Ukraine, while it imports agricultural products, metallurgical products, plastics and polymers. A number of Indian companies like Ranbaxy, Dr Reddys Laboratories, Sun Group have their representative offices in Ukraine. Advertisement Representatives of major pharmaceutical companies have set up an Indian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (IPMA) in Ukraine. Indian diaspora and humanitarian assistance As per RFI.FR, Ukraine is home to a significant Indian community, including business leaders, engineers and builders. Prior to the war breaking out, India had around 19,000 students in Ukrainian universities, as per DW. After Russia invaded in February 2022, India, Ukraine and Poland repatriated most of them in Operation Ganga. The Hindu quoted Lal as saying that 16 packages of humanitarian assistance including power generators, medical equipment and medicine have been delivered to Ukraine thus far. Advertisement I think 135 tonnes of material has been supplied so far and further initiatives are being explored, Lal added. Indian pharmaceutical companies have donated over $8 million worth of medical aid and financial assistance to Ukraine. What do experts say? That this is a good opportunity for India to yet again emphasise its neutral position on the Ukraine-Russia war. Russia is a long-term traditional ally and Ukraine also has had very friendly relations with India. It is a difficult task to manage this, especially because Ukraine has received strong support from the West, with which India also has good relations," Rajiv Bhatia, former Indian ambassador, and a distinguished fellow at the Gateway House think tank, told DW. India wants to expand, consolidate and maintain its ties with Russia, Bhatia added. Defence and economic cooperation, and the role of India in the eventual rebuilding of post-war Ukraine will also be discussed. Modi is also likely to express gratitude towards the Ukrainian government for their help in evacuating Indian students after the war broke out. Kyiv-based Indian academic Mridula Ghosh told DW that Modis visit could be a soothing presence. It will be an overwhelming thing for the Ukrainians, Ghosh said. They view it as a visit of goodwill, a visit that will definitely try to seek some peace for the country as the prime minister has been very, very vocal about the inadmissibility of the war. India on Monday said it is willing to contribute in finding a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine. India has always been advocating diplomacy and dialogue to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, Lal said. The ongoing conflict in Ukraine will form a part of discussions and India has independent ties with both Russia and Ukraine, he added. This is not a zero-sum game. The PM had also travelled to Russia. Many ideas were discussed. The PM has also met President Zelenskyy on a couple of occasions in the last one year or so, and they will now be meeting again in Ukraine The ongoing conflict will form part of the discussions Lal was quoted as saying by The Hindu. India has maintained a very clear and consistent position that diplomacy and dialogue can resolve this conflict (between Russia and Ukraine) and which can lead to enduring peace, so dialogue is absolutely essential. Lasting peace can only be achieved through options that are acceptable to both parties, and it can only be a negotiated settlement. On our part, India continues to engage with all stakeholders, Lal added. With inputs from agencies Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alongside President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, honoured the memory of the children who lost their lives in the Russia-Ukraine war at the Martyrologist Exposition in the National Museum of History of Ukraine. Experts say thousands of children have died, while others have witnessed violence, seen their families killed, lost their homes, had their schooling interrupted and even been deported to Russia and Belarus since the conflict began in February 2022 read more Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy honour the memory of children during a visit to Martyrologist Exposition, in Kyiv, Ukraine. PTI On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Martyrologist Exposition on children at the National Museum of History of Ukraine in Kyiv. Modi, who is on a historic state visit to Ukraine, was accompanied by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The museum was set up in memory of children who have lost their lives in the conflict. As per The Times of India, the exhibition examines biggest military conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries. It also sheds light on the heroic struggle of Ukrainians for their freedom, independence and cultural identity. Advertisement The conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief, Modi, honouring the memory of the deceased, said at the memorial. The Indian prime minister also placed a toy at the exhibition as a mark of respect. Children in every country deserve to live in safety. We must make this possible, Zelenskyy added. Lets take a closer look at how children have suffered during the Russia-Ukraine war: Death and violence According to the Georgetown University website, over seven million children have been impacted since the beginning of the war in February 2022. The kids have witnessed violence, seen their families die, lost their homes and had their schooling interrupted. UNICEF in May in a joint statement said around 2,000 children have been killed since the war began around two children per day. The UNs Europe and Central Asia Regional Office and its regional director, Regina De Dominicis, said in a joint statement, At least 1,993 children in Ukraine have been killed or injured since the escalation of war more than two years ago, an average of two child casualties each day. The agency said this number is what the it has been actually able to verify. It said that the actual figure is likely far higher. Advertisement In July, a strike on Ukraines largest children hospital left at least 42 dead. Cardiac surgeon and anesthesiologist Dr Volodymyr Zhovni the Okhmatdyt childrens hospital in Kyiv told members of the UN Security Council that the ground shook and the walls trembled. Both children and adults screamed and cried from fear, and the wounded from pain. It was a real hell, he added. Rescue workers clear the rubble at the site of Okhmatdyt childrens hospital hit by Russian missiles. AP Zhovni said he heard people crying out for help from beneath the rubble. Most of the over 600 young patients had been moved to bomb shelters, except those in surgery, Zhovnir said. Advertisement He said over 300 people were injured, including eight children, and two adults died, one of them a young doctor. Russia denies responsibility for the strike at the hospital, where at least two staffers were killed. Moscow has insisted that the building was struck by a Ukrainian air defence rocket. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in May noted that attacks in Kharkiv region had left civilians and several children dead. Trauma Experts say the war has impacted the mental health and wellbeing of children. The UN noted that half of teenagers have admitted to having trouble sleeping. One in five say they are having intrusive thoughts and flashbacks. Advertisement As we see in all wars, the reckless decisions and actions of adults are costing children their lives, safety and futures. Beyond the killings of children and the physical harm caused by the attacks, many children across Ukraine have experienced levels of loss and violence harmful to their mental health and well-being. Half of young teenagers report having trouble sleeping, and 1 in 5 have intrusive thoughts and flashbacks, the statement read. Two years of this war is wreaking havoc on childrens mental health now. They have not been anywhere near a classroom for years, and they have not seen their friends. Many of their friends have gone, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told Voice of America in February. I must have heard parents and psychologists talk to me about their concerns about socialisation of children, of little ones being scared in groups together, of teenagers that are never seeing each other, he said. That isolation and lack of socialisation, I think, is just bringing home what everyone fears that this psychological scarring after two years is becoming very pronounced among young people and among their parents. Advertisement The outlet quoted UNICEF as saying that children in major cities have spent anywhere from four to seven months seeking refuge from the violence in basements and underground Metro stations. It said this winter has been particularly horrific for children, with thousands sheltering in cold, damp basements, as increasing attacks have left many families without heat, water and electricity. The continued shelling leaves little opportunity for Ukraines children to recover from the distress and trauma associated with attacks, UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell told the website. Every siren and explosion bring further anxiety. Education is a pillar of hope, opportunity and stability in childrens lives, but it continues to be disrupted or out of reach for millions of Ukraines children, she added. Elder said kids are being robbed of the experience of being children. And the war is not stopping, Elder told VOA. In fact, in some areas, it has deteriorated. It has got more intense in the last month or two. And that is pushing children further and further into their shells more and more squashing their hopes. Fewer and fewer children think about what they might want to do in six months or 12 months. Everyone I talk to says they take things day by day. As a woman said, our aim is to survive the night and then wake up in the morning, he added. Schooling disrupted The schooling of millions of Ukrainian children has also been disrupted. Human Rights Watch has estimated that 3,790 educational facilities have been damaged or destroyed since the beginning of the war. VOA in February reported that just two out of 700 schools in Kharkiv continue to have in-person classes. While most children are learning online, others have to head to five Metro stations that have been converted into underground schools. Ukraines schools have been left a wreck. Human Rights Watch compiled the 71-page report entitled Tanks on the Playground after visiting 50 schools in Kyivska, Kharkivska, Chernihivska, and Mykolaivska regions. Nearly 90 school officials, representatives of local authorities, and eyewitnesses to Russias military operations were interviewed. The report noted the damage to the schools from aerial attacks, artillery shelling, rocket strikes, and even cluster munitions. The report detailed how Russian soldiers would loot and pillage schools taking away desktop and laptop computers, televisions, interactive whiteboards, other equipment, and heating systems which is a war crime. Russias soldiers have also occupied schools using it as quarters for their troops, keeping ammunition on hand, parking military vehicles on the premises as a base to attack Ukrainian soldiers. Moscows soldiers used Kyivskas Borodianska school, for example, to fire on Ukrainian forces. Serhii Zaichenko, 63, school guard shows his school which was heavily damaged after Russian airstrike in Mohrytsia, near Russian-Ukrainian border. Zaichenko said two people were killed, including one child. AP The school was left badly damaged by return fire. Russian soldiers eventually left but not before scribbling anti-Ukrainian graffiti and a flag with a Nazi swastika on the walls. It was impossible to hold back tears, the schools director said. In the cafeteria, they [Russian forces] set up a bath [in the sink]. In another room there was blood on the walls. They broke all the computers and filled everything with dirt. They simply stole the laptops. A woman living in Kharkivskas Izium told Human Rights Watch she was struggling to give her 14-year-old son an education online. There is no internet, so no video lessons, she said. You cant just [convey tasks to teachers] by phone, you need a laptop. He cant set up the virtual classroom on his phone. Ukrainian children have paid a high price in this war because attacks on education are attacks on their future, said Hugh Williamson, director of the Europe and Central Asia division at Human Rights Watch. The international community should condemn the damage and destruction of schools in Ukraine and looting by Russian forces. The UN noted, Nearly half of children enrolled in school in Ukraine are missing out on in-person schooling, with almost one million children across the country not able to access any in-person learning at all due to insecurity. UNICEF is working across Ukraine to rehabilitate schools and shelters and provide at-home learning kits and online learning support to children. Last year alone we reached 1.3 million children with formal and non-formal learning opportunities and 2.5 million children and caregivers with mental health and psychosocial support services. The agency has called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and for all children to be protected from harm. Ukraines children urgently need safety, stability, access to safe learning, child protection services, and psychosocial support. More than anything, Ukraines children need peace, the agency noted. Deportation and re-education Worse, tens of thousands of children have been forcibly snatched away from their families. Kyiv has said it estimates around 20,000 children have been taken from Ukraine to Russia without family or guardians consent. However, it noted that the actual figure could be higher. The Georgetown University website stated that many children have been taken to Russia and Belarus. Some have been placed in foster care and made Russian citizens, while others have been sent to camps for patriotic re-education. Just under two per cent of abducted children have been returned to Ukraine. The International Criminal Court (ICC) had issued warrants against Putin and childrens ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova on war crimes charges related to the abduction of Ukrainian children. Speaking on the sidelines of an international summit in Switzerland about the war in June, Mykola Kuleba, the leader of a Ukrainian charity working to return the children, said Russia is stealing our future. They base their strategy on deception, indoctrination of children, and genocide of the Ukrainian nation, Kuleba, founder and CEO of Save Ukraine, told an event in Lucerne, close to the mountain resort where world leaders were gathering. The International Criminal Court (ICC) had issued warrants against Putin and childrens ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova on war crimes charges related to the abduction of Ukrainian children. He told the story of an eight-year-old girl who was sent to a Russian camp he said was designed to eradicate her Ukrainian identify. Children are forbidden to speak Ukrainian or display any Ukrainian symbols. Children are severely punished if they resist singing the Russian anthem, he said. The names and dates of birth of children are also routinely changed by Russian authorities, he added. Save Ukraine has returned 373 children, including 88 orphans, Kuleba said, adding that many returnees showed signs of trauma. He mentioned a 5-year-old boy who saw his father being beaten by occupying soldiers, which left him with nightmares and debilitating fear. Kuleba called for an international effort to gather information about the abducted children and return them home. The Kremlin rejects the allegations. It claims to have only been protecting vulnerable children from a war zone. It denounced the warrants as outrageous and unacceptable. Lvova-Belova rejected the accusations as false. With inputs from agencies Kamala Harris paid homage to her late mother, Dr Shyamala Gopalan, during the Democratic National Convention. An Indian immigrant and breast cancer researcher, Shyamala played a pivotal role in shaping the US vice presidents identity and career read more Then San Francisco's new district attorney, Kamala Harris, right, with her mother Dr. Shyamala Gopalan holding a copy of The Bill of Rights, receives the oath of office from California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald M. George, left, during inauguration ceremonies, January 8, 2004, in San Francisco, California, US. File Image/AP Shyamala Gopalan, the mother of United States Vice President Kamala Harris, was a figure whose life and achievements played a significant role in shaping Harriss identity and career. Gopalans journey from India to the United States, her career in scientific research, and her involvement in social activism are all essential aspects of her legacy. From Chennai to California Shyamala Gopalan was born in the South Indian city of Chennai, formerly known as Madras. Her family had a strong connection to Indias struggle for independence; her grandfather was a civil servant and an advocate for the countrys freedom from British rule. This background likely influenced Gopalans own activist leanings. Advertisement At the age of 19, Gopalan made a significant decision to move to the United States to pursue higher education. She arrived in California, enrolling at the University of California, Berkeley, where she would eventually become involved in the Civil Rights Movement. Also Watch: Her participation in this movement reflected her deep commitment to social justice, a value that she would later impart to her children. A doctorate and a wedding Gopalans academic journey was marked by notable achievements. By the age of 25, she had earned her doctorate in endocrinology from UC Berkeley, establishing herself as a prominent breast cancer researcher. Her work in this field contributed to advances in understanding and treating breast cancer, making her a respected figure in the scientific community. While at Berkeley, Gopalan met Donald Harris, a Jamaican student who would later become an esteemed economist. The two married in 1963, and their union produced two daughters, Kamala and Maya Harris. However, their marriage ended in divorce in 1971, after which Gopalan raised her daughters largely on her own. Raising the future vice president of the US* Despite the challenges she faced as a single mother and an immigrant, Gopalan was determined to provide her daughters with a strong sense of identity and purpose. She raised Kamala and Maya in a household that celebrated both their Indian and African American heritage. Kamala Harris has frequently spoken about how her mother immersed her in Indian culture, teaching her about traditional South Indian customs, food, and language. All of my mothers words of affection or frustration came out in her mother tongue which seems fitting to me since the purity of those emotions is what I associate with my mother most of all, Harris wrote in her memoir. Advertisement Gopalan also ensured that her daughters were aware of the racial realities they would face in the United States. Despite her own Indian roots, Gopalan recognised that her daughters would be perceived as Black women in American society. Advertisement As Harris wrote, 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. Gopalans influence on Harriss career Kamala Harris has often credited her mother with shaping her views on justice and public service. In her speeches, Harris frequently references Gopalans influence, particularly in terms of her mothers unwavering commitment to activism and her insistence on taking action against injustice. My mother taught us to never complain about injustice but to do something about it, Harris said during her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Thursday. Advertisement Gopalans impact on Harriss life is further evident in the US vice presidents professional choices. Harriss decision to pursue a career in law and public service was heavily influenced by the values instilled in her by her mother. During her time as a prosecutor, US Senator, and now the United States Vice President, Harris has often drawn on the lessons learned from her mothers life. Advertisement In fact, Harris herself acknowledges the direct influence of her mothers words on her political rhetoric. In one notable instance, she recalled Gopalans words: I dont know whats wrong with you young people. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you. Kamala Harris poses for a photo with her mother Shyamala Gopalan Harris. Facebook/KamalaHarris This quote not only became a popular soundbite but also highlighted Gopalans emphasis on understanding the historical and social context of ones actions. Roots in India Gopalan maintained a strong connection to her roots in India, a connection that she passed on to her daughters. Harris has often spoken about her trips to India as a child, where she spent time with her maternal grandfather, PV Gopalan, in Chennai. These visits played a crucial role in shaping her early political consciousness. The familys village in Tamil Nadu, Thulasendrapuram, remains an important symbol of Harriss heritage, and residents there have continued to maintain ties with the family. In her public life, Harris has not shied away from acknowledging her South Asian heritage. She has celebrated traditional Indian festivals, cooked South Indian dishes, and highlighted the cultural significance of her background. However, she has also made it clear that her mothers primary concern was ensuring that her daughters were equipped to navigate the world as Black women in America. Gopalans legacy Shyamala Gopalans achievements in the field of breast cancer research, her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, and her dedication to raising her daughters with a strong sense of identity and purpose have left an indelible mark on Kamala Harris and, by extension, on American politics. Kamala Harriss acknowledgment of her mother during her acceptance speech for the Democratic presidential nomination served as a testament to the profound impact Gopalan had on her life. My mother Shyamala Harris had one of her own. I miss her every day especially now. And I know shes looking down tonight, and smiling, Harris said, reflecting on her mothers enduring influence. Shyamala Gopalan passed away in 2009. Also Watch: With inputs from agencies A Nigerian woman has been arrested in Delhi for allegedly smuggling and supplying psychotropic substances and 3.87 kilogrammes of mescaline. Mescaline, commonly used as a party drug, is a natural psychedelic derived from the Mexican peyote cactus and the Peruvian and Ecuadorian San Pedro cactus. It has the same hallucinogenic effects as LSD and magic mushroom read more a Nigerian woman was arrested for allegedly smuggling and supplying psychotropic substances and 3.87 kilogrammes of mescaline. Image Courtesy: @CellDelhi/X A drug that thrives in a desert has invaded a party circuit in Indias New Delhi. Police in Delhi have confiscated the first-ever shipment of mescaline, a substance that had not been known to the city before, raising concerns. According to PTI, a Nigerian woman was arrested for allegedly smuggling and supplying psychotropic substances and 3.87 kilogrammes of mescaline worth around Rs 15 crore in the international market, police said on Thursday. Heres all we know about it. Advertisement About mescaline According to officials, mescaline, commonly used as a party drug, has the same hallucinogenic effects as LSD and psilocybin (magic mushroom). It is a natural psychedelic derived from the button-shaped Mexican Peyote cactus and the Peruvian and Ecuadorian San Pedro cactus. The drug is also found in other cactus and bean plants from the Cactaceae and Fabaceae families. Also known as buttons, cactus, mesc and peyoto, the drug can affect all the senses, altering a persons thinking, sense of time and emotions, according to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation. It is well-known for its strong effects at parties and can be taken in a variety of forms, such as liquid, tablets, powder, or capsules. Each person experiences mescaline in a different way, but some common effects include euphoria, increased energy, distorting perceptions of space and time, elevated heart rate and blood pressure, severe nausea and vomiting, decreased appetite, increased body temperature, and sweating. According to anecdotal reports, the effects of mescaline take approximately 4590 minutes to commence and can last between nine and 14 hours. No fatal overdoses from taking mescaline have been reported. Its history Native American ceremonial rites have been using mescaline for hundreds of years. The Times of India claims that the substance rose to prominence in the middle of the 20th century after Aldous Huxley wrote about his experiences using it in his 1954 book, The Doors of Perception. Advertisement Because mescaline was thought to have benefits for mental health, it also became a popular drug in Europe and the United States. In the early 2000s, psychedelic trance band 1200 Micrograms came up with a track called Mescaline. The psychoactive substance was a rage in the US and Mexico at the time. Mexico was the sole producer of the contraband at the time, TOI source explained. But eventually, lack of supply and some Russian groups overpowering the market with the LSD supply caused the substance to lose its appeal. Despite its popularity in other countries, the drug never gained much traction in India. Mexico has long been recognised as the primary mescaline producer. Advertisement The raid in Delhi The Delhi Police obtained information in April 2024 on a global drug trafficking organisation that was bringing mescaline into Delhi and the surrounding areas. The Special Cell monitored every member of this drug network closely throughout the following four months, according to News18. The culmination of the efforts was a raid in Mehrauli, Delhi, on August 14, 2024, where Nigerian citizen Faith Rachel was arrested. Upon searching her trolley bag, 3.8 kilos of premium mescaline were found, deceptively hidden among fish products and branded toffee packaging. The cost of these toffees varied according to the buyers status. The amount of mescaline that was found is estimated to be worth Rs 15 crore. Advertisement Rachael arrived in India on a medical visa in August of 2022. She didnt go back to Nigeria when her visa expired. She began smuggling drugs after meeting a Nigerian national, according to the authorities. With the assistance of the above person, she joined the drug cartel and was responsible for delivering shipments of narcotics substances from one conduit to another. An investigation showed that the substance was manufactured in hidden labs run by the drug gang outside of India. A global problem In India, mescaline-related cases have been rare. Two years ago, a minor amount of the substance was found in Pune, and in 2013, there was another case recorded in Punjab. Advertisement Earlier this year, 18 people were detained by Spanish police after a raid on a drug den in Madrid on suspicion of trafficking in mescaline and the psychedelic substance ayahuasca, as per TOI. These traffickers advertised their goods as components of neo-shamanic rituals that enhanced mental and physical well-being. They even planned retreats where participants ingested these substances combined with road venom, or the deadly secretions of kambo frogs. With inputs from PTI British YouTuber Miles Routledge has found himself at the centre of a storm after he joked about launching nuclear bombs on India if he were to become the UK prime minister. Popularly known as Lord Miles, the 25-year-old YouTuber has also made many racist remarks about India in the past read more UK YouTuber Miles Routledge has previously made a distasteful comment about the population in India and Africa. Image Courtesy: X/ @real_lord_miles British YouTuber Miles Routledge has found himself at the centre of a storm after making racist comments about India and joking about launching nuclear bombs against the country if he were to become the UK Prime Minister. The 25-year-old, who boasts 126,000 followers on X, posted, When I become Prime Minister of England, Ill open the nuclear silos as an explicit warning to any foreign power that interferes with British interests and affairs. Im not talking huge incidents, Im itching to launch and atomise entire nations over the smallest infraction. Advertisement When I become prime minister of England, I'll open the nuclear silos as an explicit warning to any foreign power that interferes with British interests and affairs. I'm not talking huge incidents, I'm itching to launch and atomize entire nations over the smallest infraction. pic.twitter.com/UGBKYB3pku Lord Miles (@real_lord_miles) August 20, 2024 He didnt stop there, specifically targeting India as one of the nations he would attack just for the sake of it. He wrote, Hell, I might just launch at India just for the sake of it! Although the post was later deleted, the damage had already been done, igniting a wave of online condemnation. I just dont like India Earlier this week, Miles sparked a wave of racist posts targeting Indians by sharing a screenshot where an anonymous X user appeared to threaten him. Despite no clear indication of the users nationality, Routledge accused them of being Indian. Indian threatens to find me, it backfires lmao, Miles wrote alongside the screenshot. The image showed a message stating, I will find you I promise, your apology video will be sweet." Indian threatens to find me, it backfires lmao. pic.twitter.com/4xNIYeksrT Lord Miles (@real_lord_miles) August 20, 2024 Advertisement In response, Routledge posted his address and followed up with, Saar okay lord saar good luck saar haha saar, mocking the way he perceives Indians speak. After facing backlash for his post about launching a nuclear bomb on India, an Indian X user accused him of rage-baiting. Routledge replied, Believe it or not, I just dont like India. Also I can sense an Indian, he is Indian. If a man online suddenly talks about ducking your mother in the first response, hes Indian. Many such cases." The controversy around Routledge doesnt end there. He has previously made a distasteful comment about the population in India and Africa. Advertisement If I was reincarnated, I would like to return as a virus to contribute to humanity by solving the overpopulation in India and Africa, he wrote in a post dated August 18, 2024. These series of racist statements have resulted in widespread social media backlash against Miles, with many calling for accountability and urging platforms to take action against such offensive behaviour. Who is this Miles Routledge? Popularly known as Lord Miles, Routledge was raised as an only child in Falcon Lodge, Birmingham, UK. His father was a sperm donor, and he was conceived through in vitro fertilisation. He attended Hollyfield School and completed his sixth form at Plantsbrook School in 2018. While in school, he worked part-time as a hairdresser. Advertisement After working part time in a hairdresser since I was 14 until I was 20, I possess the weird skill of sending people to sleep with head massages at a backwash. pic.twitter.com/VrMroqs8nk Lord Miles (@real_lord_miles) February 15, 2022 He later pursued higher education at Loughborough University, studying physics and then banking and finance. However, he left the university due to controversies, including concerns over his book on Afghanistan titled, Lord Miles in Afghanistan. Advertisement A danger tourist Miles Routledge first came into limelight in 2021 when he decided to visit Afghanistan after Google ranked it among the most dangerous countries to visit. Ignoring warnings from the British government, he ventured to Afghanistan to experience life under the Talibans offensive, arriving in Kabul on August 13, just days before the city fell on August 15. According to The Tribune, Routledge travelled the country and documented his journey on social media platforms like 4chan, Facebook, and Twitch. When the Taliban took control, he found himself stuck in a pickle. He sought refuge in a safe house and with the help of a local guide he was eventually evacuated by the British Army, disguised as a woman in a burkha. I bought a burkha, put it on, and pretended to be a woman walking around with my tour guide, who people thought was just my husband, Routledge told British tabloid The Tab. In an interview with foreignperspectives.net, Routledge expressed his willingness to return to Afghanistan and continue his cultural exchange. As people were screaming and running around, I was befriending the Taliban and Nato special forces with a smile and my smartphone, posting everything for the world to see, he said. The YouTuber later signed a book deal with Antelope Hill, publishing his account of the Fall of Afghanistan in December 2022. TEA WITH THE TALIBAN! Im in Afghanistan, walked into Taliban residency by accident and after talking they gave me food, tea and even offered for me to stay the night. They are so kind! pic.twitter.com/BsI1n095CF Lord Miles (@real_lord_miles) April 27, 2022 Undeterred by the dangers, he continued travelling to risky destinations, including Kazakhstan, Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, Ukraine, and Brazil, where he faced challenges like false imprisonment and illegal border crossings. Routledge returned to Afghanistan in 2022 and again in 2023, only to be arrested by Taliban intelligence. He was detained alongside two Polish nationals for questioning. During his eight-month imprisonment, Routledge claimed to have been treated well, staying in a luxurious guest house, and described his detention as the most enjoyable holiday, complete with privileges like buying an Xbox and eating pizza. A friend, who was in contact with him during this time, told The Mirror that Routledge was treated so well because the Taliban are fans of his book and find him to be a goofy guy. This is a friend of Lord Miles to give an update. 4 months in Taliban custody. He's treated very well, has several servants, loads of movies on his laptop, goes on picnics and has tea with the Taliban cabinet gov. He still loves Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/feNkoaVUuo Lord Miles (@real_lord_miles) July 17, 2023 The British publication also reported that Routledge was reportedly working on his second book, titled: Lord Miles Holiday in Taliban Prison. With input from agencies The Centre has banned 156 cocktail medicines, many of which might be easily found at home. The list includes medicines for fever, cold, allergies, pain, hair growth, skin care, multivitamins, antiparasitics, and more. Officials say these medicines are likely to involve risk to human beings' read more The Centre has also banned the combination of Paracetamol, Tramadol, Taurine and Caffeine. Tramadol is an opioid-based pain killer. Reuters The Centre has banned 156 cocktail medicines, many of which might be easily found at home. The list includes medicines for fever, cold, allergies, pain, hair growth, skin care, multivitamins, antiparasitics, and more. Authorities believe the banned medicines are likely to involve risk to human beings. Lets take a closer look. The ban on cocktail medicines Fixed-dose combinations (FDCs) are medicines that combine more than one drug in a single pill and are also referred to as cocktail medicines. Advertisement According to a gazette notification issued by the Union Health Ministry on August 12, the government has banned Aceclofenac 50 mg + Paracetamol 125 mg tablet, one of the popular combinations used as pain-relieving medicines manufactured by top pharma companies. The list also includes a combination of Levocetirizine + Phenylephrine to treat runny nose, sneezing, and other symptoms of allergic rhinitis or seasonal hay fever, as well as Paracetamol + Pentazocine to relieve pain, as per News18. It consists of numerous formulations including levocetirizine, an antihistamine that blocks the bodys histamine production. Other banned medicines include Mefenamic Acid Paracetamol Injection, Cetirizine HCI Paracetamol Phenylephrine HCI, Paracetamol Chlorpheniramine Maleate Phenyl Propanolamine and Camylofin Dihydrochloride 25 mg Paracetamol 300 mg. The list bans magnesium chloride, which is used in the treatment of nutritional deficiencies, and multi-enzyme complexes that contain about 1215 enzymes and 20 formulations containing naphazoline, a decongestant commonly used in eye drops, as per The Print. The Centre has also banned the combination of Paracetamol, Tramadol, Taurine and Caffeine. Tramadol is an opioid-based pain killer. The list also includes certain products which have already been discontinued by many drug makers. Leading pharmaceutical businesses, including Cipla, Torrent, Sun Pharma, IPCA Labs, and Lupin have all seen some of their medicines affected by the ban. The reason The Central Government is satisfied that the use of the Fixed Dose Combination drug is likely to involve risks to human beings, whereas safer alternatives to the said drug are available, the notification said. Advertisement It said that the matter was examined by an expert committee appointed by the Centre, which considered these FDCs irrational. It further stated that the apex panel of the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) also examined these FDCs and recommended that there is no therapeutic justification for the ingredients contained in these FDCs. The FDC may involve risks to human beings. Hence in the larger public interest, it is necessary to prohibit the manufacture, sale or distribution of this FDC under Section 26A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940, the notification read. In view of the above, any kind of regulation or restriction to allow for any use in patients is not justifiable. Therefore, only prohibition under Section 26A is recommended, it added. Advertisement Following the DTABs recommendations, the notification said that the Central government is satisfied that it is necessary and expedient in public interest to prohibit the manufacture, sale and distribution for human use of the said drug in the country. Public health experts have repeatedly pressed the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), the health regulatory body and the ministry of health, to remove cocktail medications from the Indian market, as per The Print. These cocktail medications are intended to make it easier for patients who must take more than one medication to comply with long-term treatment regimens or when the combination shows proven advantages over single-compound medications. However, it was only recently that they came under scrutiny. Advertisement Not the first time Irrational FDCs began to appear on the Indian market in the 1980s, according to The Print, which cited experts on drug safety, but the issue was not brought to light until 2012, when a parliamentary standing committee published a critical report. The committee noted that certain state licencing agencies had authorised the manufacture of multiple FDCs without first obtaining approval from the CDSCO. This led to an excess of medication formulations that had not been thoroughly examined for safety and efficacy, endangering patients. Notably, only CDSCO is authorised to grant marketing permits for new drugs under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of India. Advertisement The CDSCO requested a list of FDCs that had been authorised by the state drug authorities in response to the 2012 parliamentary report, and 6,320 applications were submitted. As a result, a commission headed by senior pharmacologist CK Kokate was established to investigate the scientific basis of FDCs. In 2016, the health ministry banned 344 FDCs based on the panels first recommendations. However, some drug companies contested this in the Supreme Court, and the courts ruling led to the formation of another DTAB subcommittee, led by Dr Nilima Kshirsagar. The panel supported the Kokate committees conclusions, and the Centre ultimately banned the 344 FDCs in 2018. The decision had impacted over 2,700 branded drugs, the report said. Drugmakers response Although businesses continue to analyse the prohibition, an official response from the sector is anticipated. Experts in the field informed News18 that several FDCs on the list received little attention because they were licenced before 1988. Additionally, because the procedure has not been carried out transparently, they think that other lawsuits will probably be brought. Also, we are quite surprised that when these meetings with DTAB took place. We are still analysing and we believe that many pharma companies may drag the government into court cases, said an industry insider told the channel. While applauding the recent action, Chinu Srinivasa, co-convenor of the All India Drug Action Network (AIDAN), a patient rights organisation, also drew attention to the decisions lack of transparency. The government should put out the basis and recommendations of the expert panel based on which the decision has been made and also tell us whether the views by the companies have been heard, he told The Print. With inputs from PTI Eight years of warmth and love: Canteen in Chinese city of Shantou provides free meals for people in need People's Daily Online) 13:24, August 23, 2024 "People can get as much as they need here, and we make sure the food provided is always warm, said Li Qiuping, a regular volunteer at a public-benefit canteen in Shantou city, south Chinas Guangdong Province. The fundamental role of the restaurant is to warm the hearts of those in hardship, she said. Photo shows people lining up outside Sanyuan Canteen, a public-benefit canteen in Shantou city, south Chinas Guangdong Province, to receive free boxed meals. (Photo courtesy of the interviewees) Sanyuan Canteen was founded in 2016 by a man named Xiao Yi. Over the past eight years, it has been providing free lunch and dinner every day for anyone who needs free food, including elderly people without family, people with disabilities, residents from poor families, and people experiencing temporary difficulties. Every day at 10 a.m., volunteers start cooking at the canteen, and around 11:30 a.m., they begin distributing boxed meals. Approximately 230 portions of lunch are distributed per day. In the late afternoon, around 4 or 5 p.m., people who need boxed meals start coming in gradually, and the volunteers distribute another several dozen boxes. Li Qiuping (left), a volunteer of Sanyuan Canteen, a public-benefit canteen in Shantou city, south Chinas Guangdong Province, packs food at the canteen. (Photo courtesy of the interviewees) The meals for three households that require home delivery are delivered by elderly female volunteers as they return to their own homes. A boxed meal typically consists of at least three dishes, usually including one seafood dish, one meat dish, and one vegetarian dish. The canteen doesnt have a fixed menu, nor does it have specific shift schedules or division of labor for volunteers. "Volunteers come when they have time, and we cook whatever dishes we have ingredients for and know how to make, said Xiao, adding that two elderly female volunteers and several middle-aged female volunteers often come to help. One of the regular female volunteers is Li, a 54-year-old cook working at a kindergarten in Shantou. Since learning about the canteen on the news eight years ago, she has become a regular volunteer, spending more than two hours cooking dishes in the canteen every weekend at noon. Photo shows the free boxed meals provided by Sanyuan Canteen for people in need. Sanyuan Canteen is a public-benefit canteen in Shantou city, south Chinas Guangdong Province. (Photo courtesy of the interviewees) Following Lis lead, her two daughters, sister, sister-in-law, and other members of her family have also developed a habit of coming to the canteen to help now and then. Over the past eight years, the canteen has experienced many changes. Its address has changed three times, and its operating space has evolved from a small room with a floorage of a dozen square meters to a well-equipped area spanning over 30 square meters. With a wider variety of cooking utensils and equipment, including a steamer, wok, refrigerator, and induction cooker, the canteen is more confident about offering flavorful meals. The volunteer team of the canteen has also grown, expanding from four or five members eight years ago to a large group of more than 50 people today, said Li, who added there are more than 10 volunteers working at the canteen every day. Photo shows the free boxed meals provided by Sanyuan Canteen for people in need. Sanyuan Canteen is a public-benefit canteen in Shantou city, south Chinas Guangdong Province. (Photo courtesy of the interviewees) According to Xiao, the operating costs of the canteen are covered by donations from kind-hearted people. For those times when the donations arent enough to cover daily expenses, Xiao himself or staunch supports of the canteen make up the difference. Although he once paid more than 40,000 yuan ($5,591.75) in one month for the expenses of the canteen, Xiao feels that money isnt one of the canteens biggest challenges. Having experienced doubts, irresponsible remarks, and even rumors about the canteen, Xiao realized how trust is a rare and precious source of strength. Fortunately, as it silently warms the hearts of people in need with carefully prepared meals, the canteen has attracted the attention of more caring people across the country, especially after two vloggers posted videos of the canteen online not long ago. Since the beginning of this year, more people have volunteered to help at the canteen and made donations. With these new donations, the canteen can basically cover all of its operating costs. "Many young people in their 20s and 30s volunteer to help on their days off, and there are also children who come with their parents, wanting to use their lucky money received during the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday to do good deeds, said Li, who donates 180 yuan on a monthly basis to the canteen. The word Sanyuan in the canteens name means 3 yuan in Chinese. It connotes the idea that charity doesnt have to be associated with economic pressure, and even a donation as small as 3 yuan can guarantee a free meal for someone in need. Xiao Yi, founder of Sanyuan Canteen, a public-benefit canteen in Shantou city, south Chinas Guangdong Province, carries supplies donated by kind-hearted netizens to the canteen. (Photo courtesy of the interviewees) The establishment of this canteen was motivated by Xiaos volunteer experience during the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday in 2016, when he joined an activity organized by a public-interest organization, and brought rice and cooking oil to elderly residents. During the charity activity, Xiao noticed that some elderly people with disabilities in their legs or eyes had difficulty cooking even if they received the rice and oil. One old man in particular left a deep impression on Xiao. As he couldnt see, his relatives or friends would cook for him every two or three days. "He would eat the same old meal for two or three days. Even if the food had gone bad, he couldnt see it and still ate it, Xiao recalled. The experience gave Xiao an idea - instead of just delivering rice and oil to these elderly people, why not cook and deliver meals to them every day? He immediately acted on the idea, starting by preparing boxed meals and delivering them to an area in Wuqiao subdistrict, Jinping district of Shantou, where many elderly people lived. A few months later, Sanyuan Canteen was officially opened on July 24, 2016. Despite his great efforts and financial investment in the canteen, Xiao doesnt think he should get all the credit for its good reputation. Whenever someone refers to him as the founder of Sanyuan Canteen, he always explains that the canteen doesnt belong to anyone. "It is just something I started at the beginning, and later my friends knew about it and thought it was a good idea, so we all got involved together, he said. In an effort to better receive and manage donations, the canteen established a non-profit organization and submits a report on its financial situation, including the use of funds, to the relevant civil affairs department for an annual audit. The canteen cherishes kindness and donations from everyone who has offered help. The names of the caring people have been carefully recorded on the walls of the canteen. The names of the people who have provided volunteer services and made donations to Sanyuan Canteen, a public-benefit canteen in Shantou city, south Chinas Guangdong Province, are written on the walls of the canteen. (Photo courtesy of the interviewees) Since its inception, Sanyuan Canteen has witnessed numerous heart-warming stories. It has provided security for people experiencing hardships while bringing a sense of happiness to volunteers. "It makes me happy. Even if there are troubles in life, when I step into this place and can actually help others, I feel healed, said Li, who is filled with gratitude to the canteen. Many people who have received free boxed meals from the canteen have also tried their best to pay back the care and love they have got from the place, according to Li. An elderly woman in her 70s, who used to come to the canteen to get meals due to her difficult financial situation, later became a regular volunteer; a few elderly people who collect scrap materials occasionally buy a few boxes of eggs for the canteen; despite his mental disorder, a male student who regularly receives meals from the canteen often comes to help with physical tasks...These stories and many more just like them show the power of showing kindness. The impact of the canteen has reached beyond just those who volunteer or receive meals. After learning that Sanyuan Canteens food is provided for free to people in need, stall keepers at the nearby market not only offer discounted prices on vegetables, but help prepare them for free every day, according to Li. Two female volunteers wave to camera in Sanyuan Canteen, a public-benefit canteen in Shantou city, south Chinas Guangdong Province. (Photo courtesy of the interviewees) Owners of meat and seafood stalls also offer the lowest prices and deliver the goods to the canteen, she said, adding that sometimes the canteen even receives fish, shrimp, meat, and other items from kind-hearted individuals who wish to provide extra meals. Stories behind the loving canteen and the kindness it has created are endless. The canteen has created accounts on social media platforms to share its stories with internet users across the country. However, Xiao said he doesnt want to be an internet celebrity. Being an internet celebrity is exhausting, while cooking food is not, he explained. Believing that a small stream flows far, Xiao prefers a steady and long-lasting approach regarding the operation of the canteen and the donations to it. "We are very grateful to the kind-hearted netizens who donate 100 bags of rice, but it would be even better if it could be changed to one bag per month, he said. Xiao said he doesn't have a specific plan in mind for the future of the canteen, and he just wants to do a good job doing what he needs to do for it every day. "As long as the food is good and people can eat well here, that's all that matters, he said. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) New Delhi, Aug 23 (UNI) Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi Minister Atishi on Friday said that the Delhi government has transferred 5 months of pension payments to the accounts of 90,000 elderly residents, which had been withheld by the BJP-led central government. The remaining 10,000 pensions will be credited to the accounts of elderly residents today, Atishi said. Addressing the media, Atishi claimed, For the past 5 months, these one lakh elderly residents were not receiving their pension because the portion of the pension that comes from the central government was being withheld by the BJP-led central government. Four lakh elderly residents of Delhi receive old-age pension. Out of these, one lakh pensions have a portion that comes from the Delhi government and a portion from the central government, She alleged. It is the result of the love and blessings of the elderly residents of Delhi that despite being in jail, their son Arvind Kejriwal Ji fought against the BJP-led central government and ensured that these one lakh elderly residents received their pension, Atishi said. Congratulating one lakh elderly residents, Atishi said, Since yesterday, the Social Welfare Department of Delhi has begun transferring these pensions to the accounts of the elderly residents. As of yesterday, around 90,000 pensions have been transferred, and the remaining 10,000 pensions will be transferred to the bank accounts of the elderly residents of Delhi today. "The BJP has only one job, to harass the people of Delhi, to stop their work, and in this sequence, the pension of the elderly was stopped. But on behalf of Arvind Kejriwal and the Kejriwal government, I promise the people of Delhi that no matter how much we have to fight, we will continue to get the work of Delhi residents done, Atishi added. Just as we fought against the BJP-led central government to provide the elderly with their pension, we will fight to get all pending work done for Delhi residents, she said. UNI PSP GNK PM Modis visit to Ukraine has come a month after he visited Russia for the annual summit held after a gap of three years. India has maintained that its relations with the two countries are not tagged with the bilateral relationship of the two former Soviet constituents read more Narendra Modi on Friday became the first Indian prime minister to visit Ukraine since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1993. Modi arrived in Kyiv from Poland by train. His Ukraine visit, coming close to his two-day Russia tour, is being viewed as a balancing act by the Indian government. India has maintained that its relations with both Russia and Ukraine are not tagged with the bilateral relationship of the two former Soviet constituents. India has substantive and independent relations with Russia and Ukraine that stand on their own, Secretary West in the Ministry of External Affairs, Tanmaya Lal, said earlier this week while announcing Modis landmark visit to Poland and Ukraine. Advertisement This is not a zero-sum game. The PM had also travelled to Russia. Many ideas were discussed. The PM has also met President Zelenskyy on a couple of occasions in the last one year or so, and they will now be meeting again in Ukraine The ongoing conflict will form part of the discussions, Lal told reporters. Modi himself and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar have maintained since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war that India would not look it from the prism of Nato-backed West or from the expansionist point view of Russia that gets support from China, which is facing international criticism for its territorial expansionist policies in the South China Sea and the Himalayas. PM Narendra Modi with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv There are seven specific attributes that define Indias balancing, not neutral as the New Delhi emphasises, act while dealing with the two warring nations, Russia and Ukraine. India denounces war but does not condemn Russia for invasion From the beginning of the war that began with Russian troops invading Ukraine in February 2022, India has called for settling the issues through dialogue, with Modi saying that while war is not a solution the legitimate concerns of Russias about the security situation in its neighbourhood should be addressed. In September 2022, at the Shanghai Cooperation Summit in Uzbekistan, Modi directly rebuffed Russias invasion of Ukraine, telling President Vladimir Putin that it was not the era of war. Advertisement I know that todays era is not of war and we have talked to you many times over the phone on the subject that democracy and diplomacy and dialogue are all these things that touch the world, Modi told Putin during the SCO event in Samarkand. We will definitely get a chance to discuss how we can move onto the path of peace in the coming days, I will also get an opportunity to understand your point of view, Modi said. The next year, in June 2023, Modi dismissed the charge that India is neutral in the ongoing war in an interview with Wall Street Journal. Modi told WSJ that India stood on the side of peace in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the country is not neutral. Advertisement Some people say that we are neutral. But we are not neutral. We are on the side of peace, he said. He also dismissed criticism of India in the US for not taking a more forceful stance against Russia over its Ukraine invasion. Modi said, I dont think this type of perception is widespread in the US. In July this year, when Modi visited Russia, he told Putin that peace is of utmost importance and the solution to the war in Ukraine cannot be found on the battlefield. However, during the period of war, India has not condemned Russia for invading Ukraine in 2022 which came eight years after it annexed Crimea, a peninsula of Ukraine. Some of the Western countries have criticised India for not expressly condemning Russias aggression against their ally Ukraine. Advertisement But India has maintained that the issue can be resolved only through dialogue between the two warring countries. On his Moscow visit, Modi emphasised the significance of peace, saying, As a friend, I have also said for the brighter future of our next generation, peace is of utmost importanceWhen innocent children are murdered, one sees them die, the heart pains and that pain is unbearable. India has sent humanitarian aid to Ukraine India has sent several consignments of humanitarian aid to war-torn Ukraine, following engagements of the two governments to process this through diplomatic channels. In February this year, the external affairs ministry told Parliament, Since March 2022, Government of India (GoI) has sent 15 consignments of humanitarian assistance weighing about 117 metric tons Advertisement The things that India has sent to Ukraine include medicines, medical equipment, blankets, tents, tarpaulin, solar lamps, dignity kits, sleeping mats, and diesel generator sets. The ministry also told Parliament that India provided financial assistance for reconstruction, remodelling and refurbishment of a school in Kyiv, besides extended financial assistance for training of teachers from three schools in Kyiv aimed at restoring and supporting the psychological health of Ukrainian children and youth. Just ahead of Modis visit, Lal told the media that at least 16 consignments of humanitarian assistance have been delivered to Ukraine so far, ranging from medicines to power generators and medical equipment. He said, I think 135 tonnes of material has been supplied so far and further initiatives are being explored. Modis telecons and offer to mediate While the focus has been on Modis meetings in-person and virtual with Putin, the Indian prime minister has also met Zelenskyy twice and spoken to him on phone at least five times since the war broke out two and a half years ago. In all these conversions with both Putin and Zelenskyy, Modis emphasis has been on dialogue and diplomacy. Also, India has not responded to Ukraines angry outbursts at New Delhis continued engagement with Moscow in the same tone and tenure in public. For example, the day Modi met Putin at the Kremlin, Zelenskyy wrote on X, It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the worlds largest democracy hug the worlds most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day. India did summon the Ukrainian envoy to express its displeasure, but it didnt make it an issue to affect Modis visit to Ukraine, which was still in the planning stage. It should also be noted that since the war broke out, India did not commit to the annual summit for three that takes place between New Delhi and Moscow. Modi attended the 22nd annual summit after a gap of three years in July. The last summit happened in December 2021, when Putin visited Delhi. The parity in Indias relations with the two countries has tilted towards Ukraine in the aftermath of the war. In the pre-February 2022 world, Indias ties with Ukraine were lukewarm over Kyivs strong military ties with Pakistan and its stand against New Delhi on the issue of Kashmir in the United Nations. Moreover, Modi in a telephonic conversation with Zelenskyy in October 2022 hinted at Indias readiness to mediate between Russia and Ukraine to end the war. Modi reportedly told Zelenskyy that there can be no military solution to the conflict and reiterated his call for early cessation of hostilities and the need to pursue the path of dialogue and diplomacy. This was the stance that Modi had taken a month earlier at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit, when he told Putin that this was not a time for war as there was a global food shortage among other concerns Manages to keep Putin virtual for key summits India hosted in 2023 Two big events happened in 2023 that India chaired the SCO summit in July and the G-20 summit in September. There was intense speculation about Putin meeting Modi. However, India opted for hosting the SCO summit a first for New Delhi in virtual mode, cancelling the physical meeting of the group. Two months later, G20 leaders including US President Joe Biden were to visit India for the summit. Against this backdrop, there was speculation about Putin being in the same event as those staunchly opposing him over the Ukraine war. But days before the summit was to begin, Russia announced that Putin would not be visiting India. Becomes top buyer of cheaper Russian oil While sanctions came on Russia thick and fast from the West after Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, it faced an acute cash crunch. Russia resorted to selling oil at a cheaper rate than the other traditional oil exporters. India imports most of its oil requirements. For a country growing fastest among major economies, India needs to secure its energy requirements. The oil prices have largely been linked to the security situation in West Asia. Any flare up in the region can push oil prices and impact Indias fiscal management adversely. For India, Russias oil offer came as a much-needed relief and an opportunity to do business. India has been among the top buyers of Russian oil. Records for the last month show that India surpassed China to become the top buyer of Russian oil. Indias strategic interests are intricately linked with Russia, which is its main defence supplier. The two countries have a long-standing strategic partnership. India hugely depends for the maintenance of its defence equipment on Russian services. Cheaper oil just oiled their bilateral relation for a smoother functioning possibly in the post-Ukraine war world. With this in the background, Modi paid a visit to Moscow in July but quickly followed it up with a visit to Ukraine, where not too many non-ally leaders have gone with missiles flying in its skies. Modi will hold both one-on-one and delegation-level talks with Zelenskyy with a focus on ways to find a negotiated settlement to the Russia-Ukraine conflict that has badly impacted the world. read more PM Modi highlights Gandhi's message of peace ahead of talks with Zelenskyy in Ukraine. Image/X/@narendramodi Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid floral tribute on Friday to the statue of the iconic Indian leader in war-torn Ukraine. He underscored the relevance of Mahatma Gandhis eternal message of peace in building a harmonious society, Paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Kyiv. The ideals of Bapu are universal and give hope to millions. May we all follow the path he showed to humanity, Modi wrote on X. Remembering Mahatmas timeless message of peace. PM @narendramodi paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi in the Oasis of Peace park in Kyiv. PM underscored the relevance of Mahatmas eternal message of peace in building a harmonious society and finding solutions to present-day global challenges, Randhir Jaiswal, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson posted on X. Advertisement Paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Kyiv. The ideals of Bapu are universal and give hope to millions. May we all follow the path he showed to humanity. pic.twitter.com/vdqiUQcjJV Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2024 Modi arrived earlier in the day after a nearly seven-hour trip from Poland to hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amid Kyivs fresh military offensive into Russian territory. The prime ministers visit to Kyiv is expected to last for around seven hours. Ahead of his talks with Zelenskyy, Modi also paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at his statue located in the Oasis of Peace park in Kyiv. Modi underscored the timeless relevance of Gandhis message of peace in building a harmonious society and noted that the path shown by him offered solutions to present-day global challenges, the MEA said. Reached Kyiv earlier this morning. The Indian community accorded a very warm welcome, Modi said on X shortly after reaching the Ukrainian capital. Modi is holding both one-on-one and delegation-level talks with Zelenskyy with a focus on bringing peace and stability to Ukraine and the larger region. Advertisement The prime ministers visit to Kyiv comes nearly six weeks after his high-profile trip to Moscow and it is seen as a balancing act as the prime ministers trip to Russia triggered anguish among the Western countries. Following talks with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Modi said on Thursday that the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia are a matter of deep concern and that dialogue and diplomacy is the way forward to restore peace. This is Indias firm belief that no problem can be solved on the battlefield. In any crisis, the loss of lives of innocent people has become the biggest challenge for the whole of humanity, he said. Advertisement We support dialogue and diplomacy for the early restoration of peace and stability. For this, India, along with its friendly countries, is ready to provide all possible support, he said in a media statement. Modi held talks with Zelenskyy in June on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italys Apulia. In the meeting, Modi conveyed to the Ukrainian President that India would continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution to the Ukraine conflict and that the way to peace is through dialogue and diplomacy. Modi also told Zelenskyy that India believes in a human-centric approach to find a solution to the conflict in Ukraine. Advertisement In the meeting, the Ukrainian president invited the prime minister to visit Kyiv. With inputs from agencies. The ongoing controversy over the Dumbur reservoir reveals more than just floodwatersit exposes how anti-India rhetoric and unfounded claims are being used to divert attention from Bangladeshs own failures in flood management read more A fierce debate has erupted over the recent catastrophic floods in Bangladeshs southeastern region, with accusations flying over the role of Indias Dumbur reservoir in Tripura. The controversy centres on claims that Indias decision to release water from the reservoir worsened the already severe flooding caused by relentless monsoon rains. Zakarias accusations: Blaming India for Bangladeshs flooding In a scathing op-ed published in The Dhaka Tribune, Sultan Mohammed Zakaria, co-founder of the Bangladeshi Diaspora for Justice and Accountability and Associate Editor at South Asia Perspectives-SAP, launched a barrage of accusations against India, holding New Delhi responsible for the catastrophic flooding that has ravaged Bangladeshs entire south-eastern regionflooding of a magnitude unseen in generations. Zakaria boldly pointed the finger at Indian authorities, accusing them of deliberately opening the gates of the Dumbur Reservoir in Tripura for the first time in three decades, unleashing a torrent of water into an area already overwhelmed by relentless monsoon rains. Advertisement Understanding the floodgate controversy Zakarias frustration seems hard to comprehendwhat exactly is the issue if the floodgates were opened for the first time in 30 years? Were they supposed to stay locked forever? The reality is that the region experienced relentless rainfall in recent days. Perhaps Dhaka was too preoccupied with political manoeuvres against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to notice the heavy rains. A missed raincheck, perhaps. Zakaria didnt mince words as he claimed that the scale of the disaster could have been significantly mitigated had India not made the decision to release the massive volumes of water. He asserted that this sudden and unprecedented action by India had plunged the region into chaos, with the deluge submerging vast swathes of land and leaving thousands in despair. The underlying motivation behind Zakarias fervent accusations remains unclearwhether it stems from a deep-seated animosity towards India or genuine sorrow for the countless lives devastated by the floods. Role of abnormal rainfall: Insights from Professor Salehin Zakaria might find it enlightening to read an article by professor Mashfiqus Salehin from the Water and Flood Research Institute at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, published in Prothom Alo. Salehin explains that a significant factor contributing to this years severe flooding is the abnormal rainfall pattern. Heavy rains, driven by low-pressure systems, have lashed the Indian state of Tripura, causing widespread flooding in Bangladeshs Feni and Comilla districts through the Muhuri, Feni and Gumti riversrivers whose catchment areas are primarily located in Tripura. This deluge, combined with persistent rainfall within Bangladesh, exacerbated the situation. Its worth noting that even as July drew to a close, the water levels in these rivers had already risen dangerously high, with floodplain reservoirs nearly at capacity. Advertisement Professor Mashfiqus Salehin, with a studied perspective on the recent rainfall patterns, noted that the rain began on August 19 and intensified significantly on August 20, with the region recording 150 to 300 millimetres of rainfall. Comilla saw 210 mm, Amarpurlocated above the Gumti catchmentrecorded 267 mm, and Parshuram near the Muhuri River registered 304 mm. Although there was a slight decrease in rainfall on August 21, it surged again in the following 24 hours. As an expert in the field, Salehin dismissed the claimsmostly circulated by those with limited understanding of flood dynamicsthat the flooding in Bangladeshs eastern border districts was caused by the opening of the Dumbur Dam gates on the Gomti River in Tripuras Dhalai district. He asserted that attributing the flood solely to the dams gate release would be incorrect. Advertisement Salehin emphasised the locational context, pointing out that the dam in question is 120 km from the Bangladesh border. Considering the dams size, water storage capacity, distance from the border, the volume of water released, and the heavy rainfall across the catchment, Salehin highlighted that the rainfall within the catchment area primarily determines the flood flow at Bangladeshs border. Additionally, he noted that there is no dam on the Feni river and some of the barrages on these rivers did not contribute to the flooding, as all their gates were already open at the time. Salehin also highlighted the problem of poor drainage systems, stressing that rather than casting blame, the focus should be on better preparation and minimising flood damage. Advertisement Emphasising the positive aspects of mutual cooperation between India and Bangladesh, Salehin noted that information sharing under bilateral agreements has been functioning effectively, with India providing Bangladesh with data from numerous water monitoring stations for the past 8-10 years. However, he also acknowledged that there is room for improvement in this collaborative effort. No science and sense? It seems Zakaria has been in a state of hibernation for years, only to suddenly awaken with a torrent of vitriol, accusing India of unilaterally constructing dams and arbitrarily controlling water flows, which he claims have become a perpetual threat to Bangladesh, causing either drought or flooding downstream. He goes on to allege that this so-called reckless behaviour has devastated millions of lives and wreaked havoc on the environment. Zakaria went as far as to lecture India, asserting that international law requires it to inform Bangladesh of any actions that might cause substantial harm downstream. He criticised India for allegedly failing to notify Bangladesh before opening the Dumbur Reservoir gates, which, according to him, resulted in widespread distress and damage. Really? Advertisement Lets be honesthow prepared would Bangladesh have been, even if, by some divine intervention, India had informed Dhaka three days in advance about the opening of the Dumbur Reservoir gates? The harsh reality is that it would have made no difference. Bangladesh is simply not equipped to handle flooding of this magnitude, with or without prior notice. The sooner wiser minds like Zakaria come to terms with this, the better it will be for the struggling nation. In his fit of anger, Zakaria claimed that India has constructed dams on at least 30 of the 54 transboundary rivers shared by the two countries, singling out the Farakka Dam as the most infamous for its catastrophic impact on northern Bangladesh. He went on to assert that over 80 per cent of Bangladeshs 20 million small farmers depend on the water flowing through these rivers. But is Zakaria seriously suggesting that without these dams, Bangladesh would be flood-free? Have science and common sense been abandoned by those embracing Zakarias arguments in Bangladesh? As if granted a license to spread misinformation, Zakaria cited a list of international laws, such as Articles 5 and 6 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses (1997), Article 7 of the 1997 Convention, and The Espoo Convention (1991). According to his self-proclaimed expertise, he argued that India has been routinely violating these laws. He went further, claiming that India has never recognised the rights of Bangladesh and its people under international law. Perhaps a simple history lesson from any Bangladeshi schoolbook on the events of December 1971 would remind him of the facts he conveniently overlooked in his vitriolic tirade. Zakaria justifies his hollow accusations as the reasons for the supposed anger of Bangladeshi citizens against India. But who is he to speak on behalf of his fellow citizens? A nobody trying to be somebody? On Thursday, Indias Ministry of External Affairs noted concerns from Bangladesh about flooding in eastern districts being caused by the opening of the Dumbur dam on the Gumti river in Tripura and clarified that these concerns are not factually accurate. The ministry pointed out that the recent flooding in Bangladesh is primarily due to heavy rainfall in the catchment areas of the Gumti river, not the dam itself. This was even pointed out by Salehin in his Prothom Alo piece. The ministry said that India has three water level observation sites along the river and has been transmitting real-time flood data to Bangladesh. However, heavy rainfall since August 21 caused some communication issues, but efforts were made to maintain data transmission. As a matured country, the Indias Ministry of External Affairs emphasised that flooding in shared rivers is a mutual problem that requires cooperative efforts from both countries. This was even mentioned by Salehin in his article. The ministry further stressed that India is committed to resolving water resource issues and managing river water through bilateral consultations and technical discussions. Although Bangladeshs information and broadcasting adviser, Nahid Islam, labelled India as inhumane during a press briefing in Dhaka for not providing early notice, he should consider reviewing Indias official response, Salehins article in Prothom Alo and the reality of his countrys resources before assigning blame. Bangladeshs flood management challenges The fact is, despite its annual vulnerability to floods, Bangladesh failed to prepare adequately for this disaster. Effective flood management relies on timely warnings and accurate rainfall predictions. Without these, handling severe floods becomes a major challenge, exposing significant gaps in preparedness. From evacuation plans to rehabilitation efforts, everything should be pre-planned or, at the very least, a solid framework should be in place. Regrettably, Bangladesh lacks such preparations and instead chose to blame India for an issue beyond its control. Military modernisation and human resource reforms cannot be divorced from each other. The two reforms require deliberate planning, financial resourcing, an implementation strategy extending over decades, and oversight at the highest level read more Restructuring and reorganisation of the Indian Army and manpower optimisation have been a subject of deliberation within the army for over a decade. Image: ANI The Indian Armys reform measures are in the news in all forms of media. Two issues that have caught the attention of lawmakers and defence analysts alike are, firstly, the need for an infusion of technology and force modernisation, and secondly, the reported deficiency of manpower in the army. The first issue was addressed by the author in the article published in the Firstpost on July 16, 2024. It has been widely reported that there has been no fresh recruitment of regular soldiers in the Indian Army since 2020. In 2022, the first batch of Agniveers were recruited. Reportedly, there is a mismatch between the number of fresh recruits and regular soldiers retiring every year, leading to an overall deficiency in the army. As per the article published in The Print dated June 13, 2024, the manpower deficiency in the Indian Army could be in the range of 1,27,660 to 1,68,660. Advertisement Several countries have successfully carried out manpower reductions for a variety of reasons. It would be instructive to see how two of the advanced militaries have implemented reforms leading to manpower reduction. The United States The breakup of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War radically altered the USs threat scenario. Beginning in 1988 and through most of the 1990s, the US armed forces conducted a series of downsizing programmes. Known as the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), five such rounds of base closures were conducted in 1988, 1991, 1993, 1995, and 2005. Rationale for Troop Reduction and Implications: By 1988, the Soviet Union had begun withdrawing from Afghanistan, and there were plans to cut Soviet armed forces in 1991 by approximately 700,000 military personnel. At the same time, the Iraq-Iran War had ended and the communist regimes in Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Romania had fallen. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, it was assessed that the US and Europe faced little conventional threat; hence, a decision was taken to reduce the size of the US armed forces. In 1990, the total number of active-duty military personnel in the US armed forces was over 2.1 million, which by the year 2000 had reached a figure of 1.4 million, a cut of over 6 lakhs. Similarly, there were cuts in equipment and weapon platforms to allow the country to enjoy the peace dividend. A comparison of select major combat systems in the service in the US military from 1990 to 2017 is reflective of the kind of cuts the three services faced. The navys major warships were reduced by more than fifty per cent, as was the air force, which saw a reduction of manned combat aircraft by more than half. The most significant cut was in the armys main battle tanks, which were reduced by 85 per cent. Most of these cuts were attributed to reductions in conventional threats post-Cold War. However, there were reductions in manned aircraft and tanks even after the year 2000, when the country was involved in the Global War on Terror (GWOT). Advertisement The cuts in the armed forces were accompanied by changes in operational doctrine. The US armed forces, which were organised, trained, and equipped to conduct large-scale manoeuvres against the conventional Soviet army, were reorganised and re-equipped to undertake counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations post-9/11 attack. The manpower reduction of the US armed forces continued through the years of GWOT and reached the bottom figures in 2017, when the Trump administration reversed the trend and began increasing the strength. Such was the scale of reduction in manpower that there was a perception among some analysts in the US that they were made too quickly and severely. The US enjoyed a brief period of unipolarity, and thereafter the world has returned to the days of great power competition. Today, China is a formidable military power, and Russia is fighting to regain its lost glory. Even though the US is the strongest military force in the world, its ability to gain and maintain local military dominance against China and Russia has declined. A 2020 RAND study has assessed that even if the US military has a 10-per cent real growth in defence spending, it will take 10 to 15 years to reverse the decline in its military power. Advertisement China The modern Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) has its origin in the civil war (19271949) between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) forces and the nationalist Kuomintang forces. The PLA initially relied on mass mobilisation to fight guerrilla wars. Even though the modernisation of the PLA had begun in the late 1970s, it largely retained its original organisation and structure till the 1990s, when the US demonstrated its technological prowess in the Gulf War and the third Taiwan Strait crisis (1995-96). The Chinese leaders acknowledged the deficiencies of the PLA and launched the modernisation programme. The impetus provided by the demonstration of US technological prowess led to many years of double-digit annual increases in the defence budget and multiple iterations of manpower reduction. In the 1990s, the estimated strength of the PLA was 3 million, of which the strength of the army was over 2 million. In 1997, President Jiang Zemin announced a reduction of manpower by 5 lakhs, with the biggest cut in the army amounting to over 4 lakh soldiers. The second tranche of manpower reduction was announced in 2015 with a proposal to further reduce the strength by 3 lakhs. Today the assessed strength of PLA is 2 million, with the army accounting for less than one million. Advertisement Creation of Conditions Conducive for Military Reforms: In the 1980s and the 1990s, China famously adhered to Deng Xiaopings hide your strength, bide your time approach to foreign policy by maintaining a low profile and accumulating strength. It avoided direct conflict with major powers, remained neutral in disputes that did not directly concern China, and focused on developing an economic and technological base. China is conscious of its technological differential with the US. Accordingly, in the Chinese scheme of things, technology is factored differently from how the US armed forces do. Chinese military leadership realises the weakness of the PLA in the future battlefields. Consequently, they plan to bridge the technological gap with the US using creative strategic thinkingusing speed, surprise, deception, and stratagem. Grey zone and hybrid warfare are part of Chinas strategic thinking. Chinas policy of avoiding direct confrontation with the US, yet being prepared using creative strategies, allowed it time to undertake human resource reforms and force modernisation. Advertisement As far as India is concerned, following Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhis visit to Beijing in 1988, border talks were undertaken by the two countries. In the next decade and a half, three bilateral agreements were signed between the two countries, in 1993, 1996, and 2005. These agreements led to maintenance of the status quo and reduction of forces by both countries on the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Subsequently, two additional agreements were signed in 2012 and 2013. By signing the bilateral agreements in the 1990s, China was able to reduce the chances of military confrontation on its Western front with India. The policy of avoiding direct confrontation with major powers and having secured the LAC allowed China over two decades of uninterrupted time for human resource reforms and force modernisation. It was after Xi Jinping came to power and China had grown in stature and power that it began challenging the US hegemony, both on economic and military fronts. Frequent military standoffs have also been reported on the LACin Depsang (2013), Chumar (2014), Burtse (2015), Doklam (2017), and Eastern Ladakh (2020). Manpower Optimisation by the Indian Army Restructuring and reorganisation of the Indian Army and manpower optimisation have been a subject of deliberation within the army for over a decade. There is, however, no report in the media of any concrete proposal or implementation strategy for human resource optimisation until the manpower deficiencies were reported recently. The military capability of an army is a function of several factors, including manpower, equipment, operational concepts and doctrine, and logistics, among others. Among these stated factors, the size of the armed forces is an important determinant of the military power of a nation. There are several studies that suggest that the size of the armed forces is one of the fundamental conditions for effective deterrence, besides increasing the chances of victory in wars. The principal capability of any army is its ability to deploy soldiers on the ground. Technology can help soldiers to be more effective, but numbers are important. As Joseph Stalin reportedly said, Quantity has a quality of its own. The reduction in manpower can be offset by the infusion of better systems. However, it is also the case that a smaller army cannot ensure dominance if the threat assessment demands the presence of boots on the ground. Today, Indias external and internal security situation is a cause of concern. There has been an ongoing military standoff with the PLA in Eastern Ladakh since 2020, leading to the near-permanent deployment of troops on the LAC. The Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan has had permanent deployment of troops for a long time. The situation in Afghanistan is fragile, and China is making steady inroads in South Asia. Chinas ever-growing Navy has a permanent presence in the Indian Ocean region. Nepal, the Maldives, and Bangladesh require attention at the highest level in the country. There is also a rise in terrorist violence in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), and violence has been witnessed in the northeastern part of the country. In addition, neither has Pakistans intention nor has the capability to calibrate violence in J&K and the rest of the country diminished. Under these circumstances, the manpower deficiency of the Indian Army has been reported by the media. Downsizing of militaries following victory in major wars or conflict situations is not an uncommon phenomenon. The US military saw significant downsizing following World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. China initiated military reforms and manpower cuts following the implementation of the policy of avoiding military conflicts and securing LAC from any imminent military confrontation. Military modernisation and human resource reforms cannot be divorced from each other. The two reforms require deliberate planning, financial resourcing, an implementation strategy extending over decades, and oversight at the highest level. Implementation of reforms may create temporary instability in the organisation, which must be factored in the plan. It, therefore, behoves Indias defence establishment to undertake a study at the highest level that can recommend an appropriate plan and a roadmap for military modernisation and force optimisation, keeping in mind the assessed threats. This was the last part of a two-part series on the reforms in the Indian Army. The author is a Research Fellow at MP-IDSA. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. PM Modis meeting with Zelenskyy will not just dwell on the current state of the Russia-Ukraine war but also on how India and Ukraine can cooperate in the massive infrastructure rebuilding that the war-ravaged country will need after the conflict ends read more Prime Minister Narendra Modi travels to Kyiv from Warsaw in Poland after completing a more comprehensive visit in a country with which India has significant trade and technology ties. Image: REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Peter Mandelson attained notoriety years ago in a British political loan scandal. He resigned not once, but twice, from former Prime Minister Tony Blairs cabinet. Britain frequently rewards notoriety by sending the disgraced minister to the House of Lords. Now 70, Lord Mandelson believes India can play peacemaker in the Russia-Ukraine war. He wrote in a newspaper op-ed: Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Ukraine represents a historical opportunity for India to step up, build on its nonaligned heritage and become a global peacemaker. Advertisement Modis visit to Ukraine on August 23 will last just a few hours. He travels to Kyiv from Warsaw in Poland after completing a more comprehensive visit in a country with which India has significant trade and technology ties. Poland hasnt forgotten that India gave refuge to 6,000 Polish women and children who escaped Soviet detention during the Second World War. Modis meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not just dwell on the current state of the Russia-Ukraine war but on how India and Ukraine can cooperate in the massive infrastructure rebuilding that the war-ravaged country will need after the conflict ends. And end it will. Zelenskyy, for all his public bravado, knows that the time for negotiations with Moscow is drawing near. If Donald Trump wins the November 2024 US presidential election, Ukraine will have to accept peace on Russias terms. Trump has said multiple times that he will end the Russia-Ukraine war in weeks through talks, not on the battlefield. Zelenskyys key worry is that Trump as president will halt the transfer of US weaponry that has helped Ukraine resist Russian advances. Without US and NATO weapons, Ukraine will be forced to negotiate on Moscows terms. Ukraines lightning thrust into Russias Kursk region on August 6 was aimed at using the captured territory as a bargaining chip when diplomatic negotiations with Moscow begin. Advertisement What if Kamala Harris wins the presidential election as seems increasingly likely? Zelenskyy would clearly prefer a Democratic president even though Kamalas support for Ukraine in the war against Russia is not as strong as outgoing President Joe Bidens. Biden has a long history with Ukraine. His son Hunter earned millions of dollars as a director in the Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Bidens support for Ukraine has been crucial for Zelenskyy. He knows that whether Trump or Kamala is the next US President, the supply of US and NATO fighter jets, cruise missiles and drones will dry up. This is where Modis short visit to Kyiv could prove productive. Like most Western commentators, Mandelson uses a carrot-and-stick while arguing that its in Indias national interest to play a larger role in resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Advertisement He first warns, stick in hand: The relationship between Russia and China has now evolved into a proper no limits geopolitical and military alliance, supported by North Korea and Iran. These countries are forming a consolidated anti-democratic axis that is prepared to ignore the rule of law, human rights and the sanctity of international borders. It is in Indias strategic and geopolitical interest to ensure that such an alliance does not dominate the Global South and threaten Indias territorial integrity. Mandelson then brings out the carrot: As one of the largest economies in the world, India must now show leadership in promoting regional and global stability. With power comes responsibility. Modi is one of the few political leaders in a position to broker a peace deal between Moscow and Kyiv. Advertisement With a new US president in power soon, fatigue over the Russia-Ukraine war will grow in Washington, London, Berlin and Paris. Germany has already announced it will cut its budgetary support for weapons to Ukraine by half. Other European countries are likely to follow suit. Europe is broke Germany is fighting recession. Britain has endured two quarters of a technical recession. France is in political limbo with a fragmented legislature. Italy is beset with illegal immigrants flooding across the sea from the Middle East. The Russia-Ukraine war has meanwhile destroyed Ukraines economy. Rebuilding its bombed infrastructure will take years and billions of dollars. Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraines energy infrastructure have crippled power across Ukraine. A senior Ukrainian minister warned that as winter approaches in October, most Ukrainians will have to do with just 7 hours of electricity every day. Half of Ukraines total generating capacity of 18 GW has been destroyed. Advertisement Ironically, despite the most sweeping sanctions ever imposed on a country, Russias GDP growth of 3 per cent is higher than GDP growth in the US and across Western Europe. Indias relationship with Europe is due for a reset beyond the Russia-Ukraine war. With Britain, it is dealing with a new prime minister, Keir Starmer. While Labour has a strong British-Pakistani constituency, Starmer knows that Britains interests lie in New Delhi, not Islamabad. He will give Pakistani lobbies short shrift and move ahead with the much-delayed free trade agreement (FTA). Criticism in Europe over Indias continuing trade with Moscow has meanwhile ebbed. The target has shifted to China. The European Union (EU) recently announced an increase in tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) from 10 per cent to over 46 per cent. The Europe-China trade honeymoon is over as Beijing becomes a technology pariah in the West. India occupies a sweet spot between the US-led West and the Russia-China bloc. While Beijing is keen to tap the expanding Indian consumer market as Western markets dry up, India has become an investment and talent hub for the West. The unprecedented growth of Global Capability Centres (GCC) established in India by over 1,600 MNCs has transformed the country from the worlds back office to the worlds engineering and R&D innovation centre. Modis Kyiv visit comes at a time when the endgame of the Russia-Ukraine war has begun. What Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin at the September 2022 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) leaders meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, resonates even more strongly today: This era is not of war. The writer is an editor, author and publisher. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. The assault on Kursk caught the Kremlin off guard, delivering a psychological blow to Russias carefully cultivated narrative of invulnerability, yet the hard reality is that Ukraines resources are stretched thin read more Ukraines incursion into Russias Kursk region is nothing short of a bold Queens Gambit. The strategic move has startled many observers, flipping the board on Moscow, which has long believed it held the initiative. By striking deep into Russian territory, Kyiv has demonstrated not only its audacity but also its capability to extend the war beyond the contested frontlines in Donetsk and Luhansk. However, like any gambit, this carries promise and peril. Advertisement The assault on Kursk caught the Kremlin off guard, delivering a psychological blow to Russias carefully cultivated narrative of invulnerability. The penetration into one of Russias key military districts with significant gas reserves signals that Ukraine is far from the defensive. The attack reaped immediate, if symbolic, gainsa breach in Russias heartland, undermining the myth of its impregnable defences, and a jolt to the Kremlins confidence. Yet, these gains may be fleeting, as Ukraines long-term success hinges on far more than just a momentary disruption. In response, Russia finds itself increasingly cornered, running out of the proverbial red lines it has so often drawn to deter further escalation. Each new Ukrainian advance erodes Moscows strategic posture, pushing the Kremlin closer to a point where its threats of severe retaliation might either ring hollow or, worse, necessitate a dangerous escalation. This is a troubling prospect, not only for Ukraine but for the broader international community, as the unpredictability of an increasingly desperate Russia grows. Yet, the real battleground remains in Donetsk, where the Ukrainian forces are engaged in a gruelling, attritional fighta do or die struggle that will determine the fate of Kyivs war effort. While the audacious strike into Kursk has gained headlines, the hard reality is that Ukraines resources are stretched thin. The recent losses of vital military assets, including Centurion tanks and HIMARS systems, have taken a toll on Ukraines ability to sustain its offensive in the east. The Kursk operation, though symbolically powerful, may have diverted critical resources from where they are needed most. The chessboard in Ukraine is cluttered with debris of conflict, and the players are showing signs of strain. Zelenskys government, emboldened by this daring foray, must now reckon with the strategic implications. Putins carefully orchestrated image of strength and control has been pierced. But in this dangerous game, a gambit is only as good as its follow-up. Ukraines ability to capitalise on this strike will depend on balancing the immediate gains with the harsh, enduring demands of the war in Donetsk. Advertisement As the pieces are reset and new moves contemplated, the world watches with bated breath. For both Kyiv and Moscow, the next moves will be decisive, perhaps even determinative. In chess, as in war, a gambit can lead to victorybut only if the risks are carefully managed and the sacrifices made are worth the final prize. The race is between time and prestige. Wow, now thats a face-off, as it often is, between security and status. Kursk could well decide the course of this incredibly long-drawn war. Stakes, as the famous line from the movie Wall Street goes, are going up. No mistakes. Advertisement The writer is a senior journalist with expertise in defence. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. Concentrations of Indian-Americans in swing states are rising rapidly, and most importantly, they actually go out and vote read more Kamala Harris takes the stage at Democratic National Convention 2024 for her acceptance speech. Image source: Screengrab from Kamala Harris's YouTube channel The third day of the Democratic National Convention launched with chants of Om Shanti Shanti Shanti resounding in the halls as Indian-American priest Rakesh Bhatt delivered a first-of-its-kind Vedic sermon that prayed for blessings for a united country and justice for all. No, not in India, home to 94 per cent of the Hindu population in the world, but in the United States of America, right in the throes of a fiery and hotly contested campaign for the presidential elections to be held in November. Advertisement A situation very much like the recent elections held in the United Kingdom, where the victorious Labour Party switched up their previous, slightly shaky stance towards India and British-Indians, especially regarding the Kashmir issue, to actively visit Hindu temples and appease the Hindu voters in the UK, during the run-up to the elections. It seems the Hindu vote is the prized ingredient in every major election around the globe. Especially in the US, where Kamala Harris, the daughter of an Indian Hindu, Shyamala Gopalan, through whom she was connected to Hinduism, is the current Vice President and Democratic Presidential nominee. Even her name Kamala is significant in Hindu mythology, being associated with the Lotus flower and Sri Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth and good fortune. Kamala Harris credits her connection with Hinduism for fuelling her commitment to social justice. Not just in the US, but around the world, Indians are feeling more secure and respected. Kamala Harris is far from being one of the only recognisable Hindu names in the political fray in America. Neeraj Antani, Ohio State Senator, member of the American Republican Party, and the self-proclaimed youngest Hindu and Indian elected official in the US, has often used his voice strongly to denounce Hinduphobia. Bhavini Patel of the Democratic Party has the confidence of Indian-American donors. As of August 2024, Hinduism is the fourth-largest religion in the US. Indians are the second-largest immigrant group in America. Ten per cent of Asian Americans, who are 5.8 per cent of the total population of the US, follow the Hindu faith. The United States is home to the eighth-largest Hindu population globally. Advertisement According to studies conducted by the Pew Research Center, this number is likely to ascend, and the United States is projected to house the fifth-largest Hindu population by 2050. Between 2010 and 2050, the most rapid growth in Hindu population in percentage terms is expected to take place in North America (160 per cent), which is more than six times the expected population increase in the region (26 per cent). These are some crazy numbers with real consequences in a democratic country. As important are their numbers, equally important are the figures theyre writing donation checks in the tune of. In June of last year, the US Capitol hosted its first ever Hindu American Summit for Political Engagement. This was organised by the American Hindu PAC (Political Action Committee) and a few other Hindu diaspora bodies, whose main aim has been to raise the concerns of the Hindu community in the US in front of lawmakers. Advertisement The origins of the India lobby in the United States started in 1991, when BJP leader LK Advani launched the Overseas Friends of the BJP (OFBJP) to educate American lawmakers, American people, and the Indian community about the true principles of the BJP." It became almost a protective shield for Indias external image. In 1993, Gopal Raju, an Indian-American entrepreneur, formed the Indian American Centre for Political Action (IACPA), intended to mould brand new generations of politically remarkable and astute Indian-Americans. Along with arranging internships on Capitol Hill, Raju also hired Ralph Nunberger, a legislative liaison for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, to help the organisation. Advertisement Raju, Congressman Frank Pallone, and Bill McCollum, together, eventually formed the India Caucusan organisation that recognised India as a US ally and partner, with intentions of strengthening ties between the two countries. Another key figure in the diplomatic relations between the two countries was Democrat Gary Ackerman, who recognised the requirement and called for greater collaboration between India, Israel, and the US of America. Within ten years, the India Caucus expanded from less than ten members to a quarter of the US Congress. Of course, the deep entrepreneurial spirit and the enormous financial muscle that the Indian community in America earned helped the cause. Advertisement Taking inspiration from IACPA helped todays organisations, such as Hindu American PAC, Hindus 4 America, Republican Hindu Coalition, etc, become enormously influential in America. Apart from their general financial and political influence, in these upcoming elections Hindu Americans are being courted more aggressively than ever before, as they are seen as the all-important plug to the gap that will possibly occur due to the boycott of the Arab and Muslim votes in response to the administrations offensive against Hamas in Gaza. Hindu Americans are currently a confident lot after convincing Gavin Newsom, the California Governor, to veto a legislation passed by the California legislature to add caste to the list of prohibited discriminatory practices. In Loudoun County, Virginia, Asians are the second largest ethnic group after white people, and Governor Glenn Youngkins efforts to reach out to the Hindu community while campaigning definitely tipped the scales in his favour, eventually. Concentrations of Indian-Americans in swing states are rising rapidly, and most importantly, Indian-Americans actually go out and vote. In a 2020 American Asian Voter Survey, 97 per cent of eligible voters responded in the affirmative about their intentions to vote. It might have been added to his long list of recent public gaffes, but Biden spoke the truth when he remarked in March of 2021, on a phone call with Indian origin scientist Swati Mohan. Its amazing Indian-of-descent Americans are taking over the country: you, my vice president Kamala Harris, my speech writer Vinay (Vinay Reddy, Indian-American) You guys are incredible. Well said, Mr Biden, and surely he wont be the last American President to think about this whether he says it aloud or not. The author is a freelance journalist and features writer based out of Delhi. Her main areas of focus are politics, social issues, climate change and lifestyle-related topics. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstposts views. Trumps comments highlight a growing issue with AI-generated content and its potential for misrepresentation. He mentioned that he too has been a victim of AI, recounting instances where his voice and likeness were used without his consent to promote products he never endorsed read more Despite his public denials of involvement in the creation of the image, as of now, the controversial post remains visible on Trump's Truth Social account. This ongoing situation raises questions about the legal responsibilities and potential liabilities of individuals sharing AI-generated content. Image Credit: Reuters Former President Donald Trump has found himself at the centre of a controversy involving AI-generated images after sharing a doctored image of pop star Taylor Swift. The image, styled after an Uncle Sam propaganda poster, depicted Swift pointing at the viewer with a message urging fans to vote for Trump. The image was posted on Truth Social, a social media platform owned by Trump. When questioned by Fox Business about the possibility of facing legal action from Swift, Trump distanced himself from the creation of the image. I dont know anything about them other than somebody else generated them, I didnt generate them, Trump stated. He emphasized that the image was produced by others and expressed concern about the dangers of AI, calling it very dangerous in that way. Advertisement Trumps comments highlight a growing issue with AI-generated content and its potential for misrepresentation. He mentioned that he too has been a victim of AI, recounting instances where his voice and likeness were used without his consent to promote products he never endorsed. Theyre having me speakand Im like endorsing other products and things. Its a little bit dangerous out there, Trump remarked. The legal implications of Trumps actions could be significant, particularly given Swifts reputation for fiercely protecting her image. In Tennessee, where Swift has deep ties, the Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security (ELVIS) Act was signed into law earlier this year. The act protects artists from unauthorized use of their likenesses and voices, which could make Trumps sharing of the AI-generated image a potential violation of state law. Despite his public denials of involvement in the creation of the image, as of now, the controversial post remains visible on Trumps Truth Social account. This ongoing situation raises questions about the legal responsibilities and potential liabilities of individuals sharing AI-generated content, especially when it involves high-profile figures like Swift. Trumps concerns about AI are not new. In a previous Fox Business interview, he described AI as maybe the most dangerous thing out there and warned of its potential to create realistic yet false representations that are difficult to distinguish from reality. He expressed frustration over the lack of effective solutions to address the misuse of AI, calling it a tremendous problem in terms of security and urging for immediate action. Advertisement These statements are in stark contrast to the official stance of the Republican Party. While Trump has voiced fears about the dangers of AI, the 2024 GOP platform includes a plan to repeal President Joe Bidens executive order aimed at making AI safer and more trustworthy. The GOP platform argues for AI development that supports free speech and human flourishing, rejecting what they describe as Radical Leftwing ideas imposed by Bidens administration. As the debate over AIs role in society continues to evolve, Trumps recent experiences underscore the urgent need for clearer regulations and solutions to address the ethical and legal challenges posed by this powerful technology. The controversy surrounding the Taylor Swift deepfake serves as a reminder of the potential consequences of unchecked AI and the complexities it introduces in the digital age. Over the past two years, the US has imposed strict controls on the export of high-end AI chips to China, aiming to curb the Chinese militarys technological advancements read more Amazon and other US companies have been capitalising on China's growing demand for computing power, offering not only access to AI chips but also advanced AI models like Anthropic's Claude. Image credit: Reuters Chinese state-linked entities have turned to cloud services provided by Amazon and other US companies to access advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips and capabilities that are otherwise restricted under US export regulations. Public tender documents reviewed by Reuters reveal how these entities, unable to directly acquire high-end AI chips due to US government restrictions, are leveraging cloud-based platforms to bypass these limitations. Over the past two years, the US has imposed strict controls on the export of high-end AI chips to China, aiming to curb the Chinese militarys technological advancements. However, these restrictions only apply to the physical transfer or export of technology, not to the access provided through cloud services. Advertisement This loophole has enabled Chinese entities to gain access to advanced computing power and generative AI models, which are critical for developing large-language models (LLMs) and other AI-driven technologies. A Reuters investigation into more than 50 tender documents posted on Chinese databases over the past year showed that at least 11 Chinese entities sought access to restricted US technologies or cloud services. Among these, four specifically named Amazon Web Services (AWS) as their cloud service provider, though they accessed AWS through Chinese intermediary companies rather than directly from AWS. For instance, Shenzhen University spent approximately $28,000 on an AWS account to access cloud servers powered by NVIDIA A100 and H100 chips, which are essential for training large AI models like OpenAIs ChatGPT. Exports of these NVIDIA chips to China are banned by the US, but the university circumvented this by procuring the services through a local intermediary, Yunda Technology Ltd Co. Similarly, Zhejiang Lab, a research institute working on its own LLM called GeoGPT, planned to spend around $25,000 on AWS cloud services because it couldnt get sufficient computing power from domestic providers like Alibaba Cloud. Although the lab eventually did not follow through with the purchase, the intent underscores the reliance of Chinese entities on foreign cloud services to meet their AI needs. The US government is aware of this loophole and has been working to close it. In April, legislation was introduced in Congress to empower the Commerce Department to regulate remote access to US technology. Advertisement Additionally, a proposed rule would require US cloud computing services to verify the identity of large AI model users and report when these models are used in a manner that could enable malicious activities. The rule would also allow the Commerce Secretary to impose prohibitions on certain customers. AWS, which controls nearly a third of the global cloud infrastructure market, has stated that it complies with all applicable US laws, including trade laws related to the provision of services inside and outside of China. However, concerns remain about how effectively these regulations are being enforced, especially as Chinese entities continue to seek access to restricted technologies through intermediaries and cloud-based platforms. Advertisement In addition to Amazon, Chinese entities have also sought access to Microsofts cloud services. For example, Sichuan University purchased 40 million Microsoft Azure OpenAI tokens to support a generative AI platform it was developing. Like Amazon, Microsofts Azure service operates under US regulations, but the sale of such tokens to Chinese entities highlights the ongoing challenges in controlling the flow of advanced AI capabilities to China. Amazon and other US companies have been capitalising on Chinas growing demand for computing power, offering not only access to AI chips but also advanced AI models like Anthropics Claude. Despite the efforts to regulate access, Chinese organisations have found ways to utilise these models through cloud platforms, often by working with subsidiaries located in regions outside of China. Advertisement As the US government tightens its regulations, the ability of Chinese entities to access these technologies could be further restricted. However, the continued demand for advanced AI capabilities suggests that these entities will keep seeking new methods to bypass restrictions, raising concerns about the potential impact on global technology competition and national security. BYDs rapid ascent in the automotive rankings is particularly notable as many leading global automakers, including industry giants like Toyota Motor and Volkswagen Group, experienced declines in the same period read more In a significant shift within the global automotive landscape, Chinas BYD has risen to become the seventh-largest automaker worldwide by the number of vehicles sold during the April-June quarter, according to data from automakers and research company MarkLines. This remarkable leap was driven by a 40 per cent year-on-year increase in sales, totalling 980,000 units, propelled largely by the growing demand for BYDs affordable electric vehicles (EVs). BYDs rapid ascent in the automotive rankings is particularly notable as many leading global automakers, including industry giants like Toyota Motor and Volkswagen Group, experienced declines in the same period. A substantial portion of BYDs growth can be attributed to its burgeoning overseas market, where sales nearly tripled compared to the previous year, reaching 105,000 units. Advertisement In the same quarter of the previous year, BYD had ranked 10th globally, with 700,000 vehicles sold. However, the company has since surpassed Japanese automakers Nissan and Suzuki, and for the first time, outpaced Honda on a quarterly basis. Toyota remains the only Japanese automaker ahead of BYD, having led global sales in the April-June period with 2.63 million vehicles. Despite this, BYD is rapidly closing the gap with major U.S. automakers, particularly Ford Motor. BYDs success is part of a broader trend in which Chinese automakers are gaining ground on the global stage. Companies like Geely and Chery Automobile also ranked within the top 20 in global sales for the April-June period. The surge in BYDs sales, especially in Chinathe worlds largest auto markethas been fueled by the growing popularity of its electric vehicles, leading to a 35 per cent year-on-year increase in sales for June alone. In contrast, Japanese automakers, whose strengths have traditionally been in gasoline-powered vehicles, are facing significant challenges. Honda, for instance, saw its sales in China drop by 40 per cent in June and has announced plans to reduce its production capacity in the country by approximately 30 per cent. Even in Thailand, where Japanese brands dominate with around 80 per cent market share, companies like Suzuki are ending production, while Honda is halving its capacity. Advertisement Chinas dominance in vehicle exports has also become evident, with the country exporting 2.79 million vehicles in the first half of 2024, surpassing Japan by 780,000 units. BYD, in particular, is expanding its global footprint by opening its first full-scale overseas vehicle assembly plant in Thailand and planning additional hubs in Hungary and Brazil, with Mexico also under consideration for future production. These moves are part of BYDs strategy to mitigate the impact of rising tariffs on Chinese-made EVs in various markets, including the U.S., where tariffs have been increased to 100 per cent, and Canada, which is contemplating similar measures. The European Union has also begun imposing additional tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, with potential increases up to 36.3 per cent, prompting BYD to plan a new factory in Turkey to avoid these tariffs. Advertisement Elon Musk too has a reason to be worried. Musk was adamant about dominating the global EV scene. However, Chinese EV companies have proven to be a major hindrance for Tesla. BYD in particular has been a major threat to Tesla especially in the European and Chinese markets. For Japanese automakers struggling to keep pace with Chinese competitors, the North American market, where Chinese EVs have little presence due to high tariffs, is becoming increasingly vital. While EV demand in North America has slowed, hybrids from Toyota and Honda are seeing popularity. However, it remains uncertain whether this success in North America will be enough to offset declining sales in China and other regions. Advertisement As competition intensifies, the need for scale to reduce costs and develop new, profitable models is more crucial than ever. In response, Honda is collaborating with Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors on electric vehicle development, signaling that broader industry consolidation may be on the horizon as automakers strive to stay competitive against the rising tide of Chinese automotive prowess. New Delhi, August 23 (UNI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday slammed the Congress for forming an alliance with the National Conference (NC) for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, questioning its stance on issues outlined in the NC's poll manifesto. "The Congress party, which has repeatedly risked the nations unity and security to satiate its greed for power, has once again exposed its ulterior motives by allying with the Abdullah family's 'National Conference' in the Jammu and Kashmir elections" Amit Shah said on X, posing 10 questions to Congress over their alliance. Amit Shah said, "Do Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party support the JKNC's decision to restore Article 370 and 35A, and thereby push Jammu and Kashmir back into an era of unrest and terrorism?". He also asked Rahul Gandhi whether Congress supports the National Conference's promise of a separate flag for Jammu and Kashmir and its stance on engaging with Pakistan, implying that such a dialogue could promote separatism in the region. Do the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi support the National Conference's decision to start 'LoC Trade' with Pakistan, thereby nurturing terrorism and its ecosystem across the border? he asked. The Home Minister also accused the Congress of having an "anti-reservation stance," alleging that NC's promises would end reservations for Dalits, Gujjars, Bakarwals, and Pahadi communities. "The Modi govt ended years of discrimination against Dalits, tribes, Pahadis, and backward communities by granting them reservations after the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A" he added. On Thursday, Congress and NC announced their alliance after discussions between Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, and NC president Farooq Abdullah in Srinagar. Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases - September 18, September 25 and October 1. The counting of votes will take place on October 4. UNI JA SSP DeepMind, a top-secret AI lab under Googles umbrella, is known for its cutting-edge advancements in artificial intelligence. However, the employees argue that the companys involvement with military entities contradicts Googles own AI principles read more Concerns within DeepMind have been fueled by reports that AI technology developed by the lab is being made available to military organisations through Googles cloud contracts. Image credit: Reuters Googles AI division, DeepMind, is facing internal unrest as around 200 employees have signed a letter calling on the company to terminate its contracts with military organisations. The letter, drafted on May 16, 2023, represents about 5 per cent of DeepMinds workforce and reflects growing concern within the AI lab about the ethical implications of using their technology for military purposes. DeepMind, a top-secret AI lab under Googles umbrella, is known for its cutting-edge advancements in artificial intelligence. However, the employees argue that the companys involvement with military entities contradicts Googles own AI principles. The letter emphasises that this issue isnt about the geopolitics of any specific conflict but rather about the ethical implications of using AI in military applications. Advertisement The employees urge DeepMinds leadership to deny military users access to its AI technology and to establish a new governance body within the company to ensure that the technology is not used for military purposes in the future. Concerns within DeepMind have been fueled by reports that AI technology developed by the lab is being made available to military organisations through Googles cloud contracts. According to a report by Time, Googles contracts with the US military and the Israeli military grant these organisations access to cloud services that may include DeepMinds AI technology. This revelation has sparked significant ethical concerns among DeepMind employees, who feel that such contracts violate the companys commitment to ethical AI development. This isnt the first time Google has faced internal protests over its military contracts. The companys partnership with the Israeli government, known as Project Nimbus, has been particularly controversial. Project Nimbus, which involves providing cloud services to the Israeli government, has drawn criticism from employees who are concerned about the potential use of Googles technology in politically sensitive and military contexts. Earlier this year, Google reportedly fired dozens of employees who spoke out against the project. The letter from DeepMind employees reiterates concerns about the impact of military contracts on Googles reputation as a leader in ethical and responsible AI. The employees argue that any involvement in military and weapons manufacturing undermines the companys mission statement and goes against its stated AI principles. They reference Googles former slogan, Dont be evil, as a reminder of the companys commitment to ethical practices. Advertisement Despite these concerns, Google has yet to offer a substantial response to the employees demands. Four unnamed employees told Time that they have received no meaningful response from leadership and are growing increasingly frustrated. In response to the report, Google stated that it complies with its AI principles and that its contract with the Israeli government is not directed at highly sensitive, classified, or military workloads relevant to weapons or intelligence services. However, the partnership with the Israeli government has come under increased scrutiny in recent months. DeepMind was acquired by Google in 2014 with the promise that its AI technology would never be used for military or surveillance purposes. Advertisement For many years, DeepMind operated with a degree of independence from Google, allowing it to focus on ethical AI development. However, as the global race for AI dominance has intensified, DeepMinds autonomy has been reduced, and its leaders have struggled to maintain the labs original ethical commitments. The internal tensions at DeepMind highlight the broader challenges that tech companies face as they navigate the ethical implications of AI development. As AI technology becomes increasingly powerful and versatile, the potential for its misuse in military and surveillance applications has become a major concern. The letter from DeepMind employees is a reminder that the ethical principles guiding AI development must be upheld, even as the technology becomes more integrated into various sectors, including defence. Advertisement For Google, the challenge will be balancing its business interests with its commitment to ethical AI practices. The growing discontent among DeepMind employees suggests that the companys leadership may need to take more decisive action to address these concerns and ensure that its AI technology is used in ways that align with its stated principles. Rhumi-1 is designed to reach an altitude of 35 kilometres, carrying three Cube satellites and 50 Pico satellites. After deploying its payload, the rocket is engineered to fall back into the sea, where it will be recovered and prepared for future launches read more The he technology developed for Rhumi-1 could be applied to missile technology, promoting the Make in India initiative and reducing the countrys reliance on foreign imports for defence equipment. Image Credit: Space Zone India On August 24, India is set to make history with the launch of its first hybrid reusable rocket, the Rhumi-1. The rocket will be launched from the East Coast Road coastline in Chennai, marking a significant milestone for the countrys aerospace industry. This event represents a leap forward in Indias space technology, promising cost-effective solutions for space exploration. Rhumi-1 is designed to reach an altitude of 35 kilometres, carrying three Cube satellites and 50 Pico satellites. After deploying its payload, the rocket is engineered to fall back into the sea, where it will be recovered and prepared for future launches. This reusable design is a key feature that could revolutionize space travel by significantly reducing costs. Advertisement The innovative rocket utilizes a hybrid propulsion system, combining a liquid oxidizer with solid fuel. Its airframe is constructed from advanced materials such as carbon fibre and glass fibre, ensuring durability and efficiency. A parachute deployment system, developed in-house, aids in the rockets safe descent back to Earth. The mission will also gather crucial data on radiation levels, vibration intensity, and temperature, contributing to future advancements in aerospace technology. Anand Megalingam, the CEO of Space Zone India, the company behind Rhumi-1, explained that the primary goal of the rocket is to lower the cost of space missions. The hybrid propulsion system, which uses Nitrous Oxide and Wax fuel, was chosen for its cost-effectiveness. Megalingam emphasized that this system was developed at a fraction of the cost of traditional liquid propulsion systems, making space exploration more accessible and affordable. The rockets name, Rhumi-1, holds personal significance for Megalingam. It is named after his son, Rhumendran, as a tribute to the time he has sacrificed for the project. This emotional connection underscores the dedication and personal investment that has gone into the development of the rocket. Support from both the Indian government and Tamil Nadus state government has been crucial in bringing this project to fruition. This collaboration between the central and state governments highlights the importance of public-private partnerships in advancing Indias space capabilities. The Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) and INSpace have also played a vital role by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that allows private companies to use the new launchpad under construction in Kulasekarapattinam. This initiative is aimed at encouraging more private sector participation in space exploration, which is expected to drive further innovation and growth in the industry. Advertisement Jose Charles Martin, Director of the Martin Group of Companies and a patron of the project, pointed out that the private sector in India has a vast potential to explore in the field of space technology. He highlighted that the cost of sending a satellite into space in India is only a tenth of what it would be in the West. This significant cost advantage positions India as a competitive player in the global space market. Martin also suggested that the technology developed for Rhumi-1 could be applied to missile technology, promoting the Make in India initiative and reducing the countrys reliance on foreign imports for defence equipment. This potential crossover between space technology and defence underscores the broader implications of the Rhumi-1 project for Indias technological and strategic future. The success of Chandrayaan-3 has undoubtedly paved the way for the expansion of Indias space sector. In the wake of this achievement, the country has witnessed a surge in high-profile space missions and increased investments in the sector read more This achievement, however, was not just a leap in space exploration; it also marked Indias entry into a prestigious league of nations that have demonstrated advanced space capabilities. Image Credit: ISRO August 23 marks a significant milestone in Indias history, and will be remembered forever as the day the country made its indelible mark on space exploration. A year ago, on this day, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), under the leadership of S Somanath, achieved an extraordinary feat by successfully landing the Chandrayaan-3s Vikram lander near the Moons South Pole. This monumental achievement not only elevated Indias status in the global space community but also established the country as a pioneer, being the first to land near the lunar South Pole. Advertisement Chandrayaan-3s First Anniversary As India celebrates the first anniversary of the Chandrayaan-3 landing on National Space Day, it is clear that this achievement is not just a historical moment but also a stepping stone towards a future where India continues to lead in space exploration and technology. The successes of the past year have laid a solid foundation for the ambitious goals that lie ahead, including the establishment of Indias first space station by 2035 and the landing of the first Indian on the Moon by 2040. The journey that began with Chandrayaan-3 is far from over; it is only the beginning of Indias bold foray into the final frontier. The success of Chandrayaan-3 went beyond just landing on the Moon. It catapulted India into an elite group of nations, joining the ranks of the former USSR, the United States, and China, who have accomplished lunar landings. This achievement, however, was not just a leap in space exploration; it also marked Indias entry into a prestigious league of nations that have demonstrated advanced space capabilities. The triumph of the Chandrayaan-3 mission was a testament to years of perseverance, learning, and innovation. It followed the unfortunate failure of Chandrayaan-2 in 2019, where the mission was tragically cut short just minutes before the lander could make a soft landing. The disappointment of Chandrayaan-2 heightened the tension and anticipation surrounding Chandrayaan-3. Advertisement However, this setback also served as a crucial learning experience, ultimately making the success of Chandrayaan-3 even more rewarding. Beyond the Moon: Chandrayaan-3s Legacy The Chandrayaan-3 mission not only fulfilled its primary objectives but also ventured beyond, conducting a series of in-situ experiments that yielded groundbreaking discoveries. The Vikram lander and Pragyan rover played crucial roles in these experiments, revealing the presence of significant minerals on the Moon and testing Indias landing and roving capabilities. These findings not only contributed to our understanding of the Moon but also set the stage for future interplanetary missions by ISRO. Senior scientists from ISRO shared that the success of the mission allowed for additional bonus experiments that were not initially planned. The constantly changing landing conditions and the preservation of fuel enabled the Chandrayaan-3 module to carry out these extra experiments, providing further insights into the lunar surface. Advertisement In the days leading up to the first anniversary of Chandrayaan-3s landing, the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad, one of ISROs key scientific labs, released the missions findings. Among these was the significant discovery that an ocean of liquid molten rocks once covered the Moons South Pole, supporting the theory that magma formed the Moons surface around 4.5 billion years ago. This finding adds a new dimension to our understanding of the Moons geological history. Moreover, the Pragyan rover confirmed the presence of various minerals on the Moon, including sulfur, aluminum, calcium, iron, chromium, and titanium. Further analysis revealed the presence of manganese, silicon, and oxygen. These discoveries are not just scientific milestones but also lay the groundwork for future explorations and the potential for resource utilization on the Moon. Advertisement In addition to these mineral findings, Chandrayaan-3 conducted seismic readings, detecting both the movement of the rover and other scientific instruments on the Moons surface, as well as what appeared to be a natural event. These seismic readings offer valuable data for understanding the Moons internal structure and geological activity. On September 3, 2023, another remarkable achievement was recorded when the Vikram lander successfully conducted the hop experiment. This involved firing its rockets to reach a height of 40 cm and landing back on the lunar surface. Only a few countries have demonstrated the ability to take off and land again on a celestial body, and this experiment showcased Indias growing expertise in space technology. Advertisement Furthermore, ISRO successfully brought back the propulsion module of Chandrayaan-3 from lunar orbit to Earths orbit. These tests established Indias capabilities not just in sending objects to space but also in safely returning them to Earth, a critical requirement for future lunar missions. The Road Ahead: Expanding Indias Space Sector The success of Chandrayaan-3 has undoubtedly paved the way for the expansion of Indias space sector. In the wake of this achievement, the country has witnessed a surge in high-profile space missions and increased investments in the sector. The Indian government has taken significant steps to support this growth, including the introduction of the New Space Policy in 2023, which opened the doors to private players and clearly defined the roles of various stakeholders in satellite building, technology development, and infrastructure. In the last one year, since we as a nation landed on the moon, Agnikul has had the unique opportunity to fly a new kind of launch vehicle demonstrator out of Indian soil from our own private launchpad that was enabled by IN-SPACe and ISRO, says Srinath Ravichandran, Co-Founder and CEO, Agnikul Cosmo. India has now truly become an enabler of everyones space tech dreams and is already well on its way to become a global leader in all aspects of space technology, he added. Says Akash Yalagach, CTO and Co-Founder, KaleidEO, The Indian space technology startup ecosystem has experienced remarkable growth over the past decade, especially post the sectors liberalization, the government has significantly enabled the private sectors development through multiple initiatives. Key measures like the Indian Space Policy, 2023, the National Geospatial Policy, 2022, as well as amendments to the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy highlight the support ISRO and In-SPACe have taken for the private space sector. Most recently, the announcement of allocation of a Rs 1000 crore venture capital fund during the Union Budget 2024 and the announcement of a Public-Private Partnership to develop a comprehensive Earth Observation System, are very positive indicators of the belief of the Government to substantially enhance the sectors progress, he added. India aims to capture 10 per cent of the global space economy over the next 10 years and Indian Space Policy 2023, ISRO & IN-SPACe have created a framework for startups like Agnikul, Galaxeye, Astrogate, KawaSpace & InspeCity to participate in Indias space revolution, says Vishesh Rajaram, Managing Partner at Speciale Invest. He added, As the country celebrates its first National Space Day, we can expect to see a new wave of space-focused startups emerging, driven by the promise of a lucrative market, government support, and the thrill of exploring the unknown. As India continues to make strides in space exploration, the role of the private sector will become increasingly important. The governments efforts to create pathways for commercialization, streamline FDI applications, and explore updates to taxation policies on intellectual property in the deep tech sector will be crucial in supporting innovation and ensuring sustained growth and success. Chandrayaan-3s success is a continuation of Indias pioneering efforts in lunar exploration, which began with the Chandrayaan-1 mission in 2008. That mission was instrumental in discovering water molecules on the Moon, a finding that has shaped subsequent lunar research read more The Chandrayaan-3 mission, which achieved a soft landing on the Moon, made India the fourth country to accomplish this feat, joining the ranks of the United States, the Soviet Union, and China. Notably, India became the first country to land near the lunar South Pole. Image Credit: ISRO India is celebrating its first-ever National Space Day today, August 23, marking a year since the historic landing of Chandrayaan-3s Vikram Lander on the Moons South Pole. This day has been designated by the central government to honour the remarkable achievements of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and to inspire future generations with the wonders of space exploration. National Space Day is intended to ignite interest in space science and technology among young minds, enhancing public awareness about the significance of space exploration. This celebration is also a reflection of national pride, showcasing Indias technological advancements and its growing influence in the global space community. Advertisement To commemorate this occasion, the government has launched a month-long campaign aimed at highlighting the successes of Indias space missions. This campaign will travel across schools and public spaces, engaging with the public and educating them about the intricacies of space science. Visitors will have the opportunity to explore detailed models of Indias first two launch pads and learn about historic missions like Chandrayaan-1 and the Indian Mars Orbiter Mission (Mangalyaan). The theme for this inaugural National Space Day is Touching Lives while Touching the Moon: Indias Space Saga, which emphasises the profound impact of the countrys space program on everyday life and its strides in technological innovation. Says Suyash Singh, Co-founder and CEO of GalaxEye Space, By celebrating National Space Day on a grand scale, we can inspire and empower the next generation of space enthusiasts to contribute to Indias growing space industry. Initiatives like these are crucial for our nation to tap into the vast potential of the global space economy and secure a larger share, driving innovation, growth, and prosperity for years to come. The day is packed with events designed to captivate and educate, including space-themed exhibits, demonstrations, panel discussions, and cultural programs. These activities are all geared towards generating interest in space science and motivating young minds to pursue careers in this exciting field. Advertisement Later in the day, ISRO will also release some never-seen-before photos and other data from the mission, on the Pradaan portal. Some of the images and videos were accidentally published last night, before being taken down. The first images from the Chandrayaan-3 mission are now out on ISRO's PRADAN website! Below are the left and right NavCam images of Pragyan rover taken just as it was about to exit the ramp. More data can be accessed here- https://t.co/m3TZBY1UHH pic.twitter.com/TKbGOmefC5 Astro_Neel (@Astro_Neel) August 22, 2024 Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, highlighted the significance of National Space Day in showcasing Indias rapid advancements in space exploration. He emphasised the importance of the day in encouraging future talent and nurturing the growth of the Indian space sector. In recent months, the space industry has seen a surge in activity, with the number of space startups increasing from just a few to around 300, many of which have the potential to make a global impact. National Space Day also serves as a tribute to Indias expanding space economy and scientific achievements. It reminds the nation of the vital contributions space exploration makes to technological progress and national pride. The celebration reflects the growing recognition of Indias role in the global space arena, especially following the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission. Advertisement In addition to the public events, ISRO has organised outreach activities through its network of 120 registered Space Tutors. These educators are hosting talks, quizzes, and exhibitions across the country, engaging with communities and spreading knowledge about space science. A unique initiative by ISRO is the national-level hackathon, which presents students with complex problem statements related to space exploration. The best teams from this competition will be selected to compete in the finale, with the top performers earning internships at ISRO centres. The winners will also have the opportunity to showcase their innovations during the National Space Day celebrations. The Chandrayaan-3 mission, which achieved a soft landing on the Moon, made India the fourth country to accomplish this feat, joining the ranks of the United States, the Soviet Union, and China. Notably, India became the first country to land near the lunar South Pole, a region of significant scientific interest. This mission built upon the lessons learned from Chandrayaan-2, which, despite failing to achieve a soft landing in 2019, provided valuable data about the Moon. Advertisement Chandrayaan-3s success is a continuation of Indias pioneering efforts in lunar exploration, which began with the Chandrayaan-1 mission in 2008. That mission was instrumental in discovering water molecules on the Moon, a finding that has shaped subsequent lunar research. As National Space Day unfolds, ISRO is set to release previously unseen photos and data from the Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover, offering the public a deeper glimpse into the groundbreaking work being done by Indias space scientists. This day not only celebrates past achievements but also looks ahead to the future, inspiring a new generation to reach for the stars. Mpox, a viral infection that spreads through close contact and is usually mild but can kill, was declared a public emergency of international concern by the WHO last week after a new offshoot of the virus spread quickly in Democratic Republic of Congo and beyond. read more A new strain of mpox was reported by scientists in May to be spreading in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Reuters The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) has called for coordinated global efforts to control a new outbreak of mpox. In order to address the concerning situation, the WHO announced a comprehensive response plan, which will require at least $135 million in funding over the next six months. Let me be clear: this new mpox outbreak can be controlled and can be stopped, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a speech to WHO member states on Friday, later posted on social media platform X. Advertisement Responding to this complex outbreak requires a comprehensive and coordinated international response, he said. I briefed @WHO Member States today on the spread of #mpox, and steps WHO and partners are taking to respond globally and in Africa, where there has been an unprecedented increase and geographical expansion of cases. I emphasized that concerted action and collaboration can Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) August 23, 2024 Watch Also: Mpox Spreads to Countries: Will the World Learn from its Mistakes? | Vantage with Palki Sharma Earlier this month, the WHO asked vaccine manufacturers to submit information so it could accelerate its approval process, and grant an emergency licence by mid-September. However this week, one of the vaccine manufacturers, Bavarian Nordic, said it needed orders immediately from organisations like Gavi and the WHO to make more shots this year, raising fears that lower-income countries could miss out or be forced to rely once again on precarious donations from high-income countries, as happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. A partners thread on the website is designed for people find partners to end their lives together. The site, linked to over 130 deaths in the UK, also serves as a hunting ground for predators. Legal challenges hamper efforts to shut it down read more The pro-suicide website appears to be connected to at least 130 cases of deaths in the UK. Image used for representational purpose/Pixabay In December 2019, Brett, a 28-year-old, travelled from his home in Central England to Scotland. He had gone to meet a woman he had gotten in touch with on a website. The pair rented an Airbnb. Then, they took their lives together. The service Brett had used to find her was a pro-suicide website. The site has a members-only partners thread where people can make a post and look for someone to end their lives with, according to BBC. Advertisement Brett wasnt necessarily the first one. But he wasnt the last, either. In 2023, a woman named Linda put up a post looking for a suicide partner. She contacted a man through the partners thread and met him at a hotel in East London. On July 1 last year, they consumed a toxic chemical and died together. The chemical waas promoted by the website. In September 2023, Sarah devastated by the loss of her sister Linda also ended up on the website. She, too, died after ingesting the toxic chemical. Earlier, in March, it was found that more than 130 Britons may have committed suicide after using a chemical promoted by the site. BBC quoted Linda and Sarahs other sister, Helen Kite, as saying that innocent victims seeking support are snared by the forum, unimpeded by the authorities. How the partners thread works The partners thread on the pro-suicide website, which is small and based in US, not only encourages members to end their own lives, it also gives them instructions on how to go through with it. On the members-only thread, users search for someone to die with them by posting their age, sex, location and preferred method of death. BBCs investigation found more than 5,000 posts on the thread. These werent limited to the UK and US. People from all over the world made the posts. Advertisement There were at least two cases where men had travelled abroad to meet and assist their suicide partners, young women, in going through with their act. A hunting ground for predators There is yet another disturbing aspect of the website and the partners thread. Vulnerable suicidal people, especially young women, have become easy targets for predators using this forum. One such case of repeat offences is of 31-year-old Craig McInally. He had responded to multiple posts made by young women who were looking for someone to die with. McInally offered advice and assistance to them in committing the act. In one case, he had persuaded a 25-year-old woman to come to his flat and practise suicide. When she got there, McInally repeatedly choked her such that she lost consciousness. Advertisement He was arrested at his home. In our investigation we found that in the past two years some forum users had even travelled overseas to meet partners. Obstacles in stopping the website According to BBC, the previous Conservative government introduced the Online Safety Act in 2023. It was intended to empower the regulator, Ofcom, to take action against such websites. The new Labour administration has expressed its commitment to the new law and is determined to address online harm. Meanwhile, Ofcom has acknowledged that due to the websites small size and US-based location, legal action against it will be challenging. Melanie Dawes, Ofcoms chief executive, stated, We informed [the website] that its actions were illegal and promoted suicide. Initially, they restricted access for UK users, but they have since reversed this decision. Ofcom is currently seeking input on the best way to implement the law, and its enforcement powers will not be effective until the end of the year. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus demand to retain the control of the Philadelphi Corridor, the strip of land along the Gaza-Egypt border, is the biggest flashpoint in ceasefire talks read more The mediators the United States, Qatar, and Egypt have floated a new bridging proposal for a deal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of hostages (Representative Photo, Credit: Reuters) Amid deadlock over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus demands, an Israeli delegations arrived in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Thursday to hold talks. Israel and Hamas are engaged in indirect talks through mediators Egypt, Qatar, and the United States for a deal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the release of all hostages taken by terrorists during the attack on October 7, 2023. The talks are in a deadlock over a slew of demands inserted in recent weeks into the proposal being discussed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Advertisement Currently, the biggest flashpoint in the talks appear to be the Netanyahus demand to retain the control of the Philadelphi Corridor, the strip of land along the Gaza-Egypt border. The Israeli delegation in Cairo was led by external intelligence agency chief David Barnea and internal intelligence agency Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar. The US delegation was led by Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) chief William Burns. The deal is being negotiated on a proposal outlined by US President Joe Biden in May, which sought to end the war in Gaza in three stages starting with a six-week truce and the return of a select class of hostages. Last week, the United States floated a bridging proposal to narrow the gaps in the positions of Israel and Hamas, but Hamas rejected the proposal. Egypt to pass on latest proposal to Hamas today: Report It is expected that Egypt will transfer an updated proposal regarding the Philadelphi Corridor to Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar later on Friday, according to Israeli outlet Ynet. Even as Netanyahu is not willing to drop the demand retaining the border, despite the all-round advice to do so, there have been reports that he has toned down the extent of control. Ynet reported that progress was made in bridging the disagreements between Israel and Egypt regarding the Philadelphi Corridor. Sullivans trip comes ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election in US that pits Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, the current vice president, against former President Donald Trump, in which U.S. competition with China is a key foreign policy issue. read more White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in China next week to discuss issues ranging from Taiwan to U.S.-China military talks and the U.S. fentanyl crisis, a senior U.S. administration official said on Friday. In the Aug. 27-29 talks in Beijing the two will also discuss Chinas support for Russias defense industry, as well as the South China Sea, North Korea, the Middle East, Myanmar and artificial intelligence, the official told reporters. Advertisement Both sides have sought to stabilize rocky ties in the past year since they sank to a historic low point after the U.S. downed a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon. Axios reported earlier that Sullivan and Yi are expected to lay the groundwork for a potential meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping later this year, to follow up on their California summit last November. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on whether such a meeting was being contemplated. Sullivan has held regular talks with Wang, aiming as the administration says, to responsibly manage competition between the superpowers. The official noted that the two last met in January in Bangkok, where they discussed ways to advance outcomes from the California summit, including resumption of military-to-military talks, counter-narcotics cooperation, and the risks posed by AI. TOUCH POINTS The official said the visit should not be associated too closely with the election. Thats not the point. Weve tried to do these Wang Yi-Jake Sullivan touch points about once a quarter. (The election) is always in the background in any engagement we have with foreign officials concerned about what comes next or what the transition will be like, but this meeting will be focused on the topics and the issues that we are dealing with. Advertisement Theres a lot we can get done before the end of the year in terms of just managing the relationship. I think that will be the focus. The official said Sullivan would push for a resumption of theater-level military-to-military talks with China, and was also likely to raise U.S. concerns about Chinas increased military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan. He would be looking too to hear Chinas assessment of the situation in the Middle East, where the two sides have different approaches but some shared concerns about instability. It really is about clearing up misperceptions and avoiding this competition from veering into conflict more than anything else, the official said. Advertisement The official said there were areas where the sides could cooperate, such as the crisis of fentanyl flooding into the U.S. The fight against illicit precursor chemicals and fentanyl is a constantly evolving trade, and so there are always things we need to push forward. Critics in Washington argue the Biden administration has not put enough pressure on Beijing over fentanyl-related substances, which are the leading cause U.S. drug of overdoses. China says it is cracking down on fentanyl and precursor chemicals and that the U.S. crisis is a problem of demand, not supply. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Wang Yi and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing in April. That visit brought little progress on contentious issues, although there was some effort to ease the mood by emphasizing educational and other cultural exchanges. Advertisement Blinken reiterated Washingtons concerns over Beijings actions toward Taiwan and its support for Russias war in Ukraine when he met Wang Yi in Laos in July. Rescue divers continue searching for UK tycoon Mike Lynchs teenage daughter, the last person missing after a superyacht sank off Sicily, killing six, including Lynch. Investigations suggest multiple safety errors may have led to the disaster read more Divers operate in the sea to search for the missing, including British entrepreneur Mike Lynch, after a luxury yacht sank off Sicily, Italy August 19, 2024. Reuters Divers returned to the sea Friday in search of UK tycoon Mike Lynchs teenage daughter, the last person missing after their boat sank off Sicily killing the businessman and five others. Italys fire service said sea dives resumed in the early hours, continuing days of complex operations to recover bodies after the superyacht sank during a sudden storm before dawn on Monday. The long and delicate search operations for the last missing person continue, the service said on social media Friday. Advertisement Lynch, a celebrated technology entrepreneur and investor, had invited friends and family onto the sailing boat Bayesian to celebrate his recent acquittal in a massive US fraud case. But as the 56-metre (185 feet) British-flagged yacht was anchored off Porticello, near Palermo, it was struck by a waterspout akin to a mini-tornado during a storm. It sank within minutes. Fifteen people were rescued, but one body, believed to be of the yachts chef, was found a few hours later. Six people, including Lynch and his daughter, were reported missing. After an intensive search involving specialist divers, boats from several emergency services and helicopters, Lynchs body was pulled up on Thursday, the day after another four bodies had been found. The bodies of Lynchs lawyer Christopher Morvillo and his wife Neda, and Jonathan Bloomer, the chair of Morgan Stanley International, and his wife Judy, were also recovered. A source close to the investigation had earlier indicated Lynchs daughter had yet to be found. Many questions remain about why the yacht sank, and so quickly, when other boats nearby were unaffected. On Thursday the head of the company which built the boat said the tragedy could have been avoided. Everything that was done reveals a very long summation of errors, said Giovanni Costantino, head of the Italian Sea Group, which includes the Perini Navi company that built Bayesian in 2008. Advertisement He told Italys Corriere della Sera newspaper that bad weather was forecast and all the passengers should have been gathered at a pre-arranged assembly point, with all the doors and hatches closed. Instead it took on water with the guests still in the cabin. They ended up in a trap, those poor people ended up like mice in a trap, he said. Lynch, 59, was acquitted on all charges in a San Francisco court in June after he was accused of an $11 billion fraud linked to the sale of his software firm Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard. The US also imposes new sanctions on nearly 400 entities and individuals who are enabling Russias illegal war as part of our enduring commitment to hold Russia accountable for its aggression. read more Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and U.S. President Joe Biden react as they attend a Ukraine Compact meeting, on the sidelines of the NATO's 75th anniversary summit in Washington, U.S. July 11, 2024. File Photo- Reuters US President Joe Biden talked to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday and announced a new package of military aid for Ukraine, the White House said. The package includes air defense missiles to protect Ukraines critical infrastructure; counter-drone equipment, anti-armor missiles to defend against Russias evolving tactics on the battlefield; and ammunition for frontline soldiers and the mobile rocket systems, the White House said in a statement. I spoke with President Zelenskyy today to reaffirm this message, and to express Americas unwavering support for the people of Ukraine. For two and a half years, they have repelled Russias vicious onslaught, including retaking more than half of the territory Russian forces seized in the initial days of the war. They have remained unbowed in the face of Russias heinous war crimes and atrocities. And day after day, they have defended the values that unite people across both of our nations and around the worldincluding independence, he said Advertisement Earlier today, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday to sit down for talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine and offered to act as a friend to help bring peace as the two leaders met in wartime Kyiv. The first visit by an Indian prime minister in modern Ukrainian history came at a volatile juncture in the war launched by Russia in February 2022. Moscow is making slow gains in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv presses a cross-border incursion. Police in central Virginia were investigating a mass shooting on a college campus that left four people with injuries. The Chesterfield County Police said it happened around 12:30 a.m. in a parking lot on Boisseau Street near the stadium. The victims are not enrolled for the fall semester and are expected to survive, WTVR-TV reported. The campus was closed and on a lockdown overnight as police investigated the shooting. It has since reopened. Police had multiple suspects in the shooting and charges were pending, WBBT-TV reported. It is the second shooting on campus this year. In April, a 15-year-old girl was shot on campus. A university spokesperson told WBBT that only freshmen and a few upperclassmen are currently on the campus. Classes are set to begin on Monday. Virginia State University is a historically black college and university in Petersburg, about 30 minutes south of Richmond. The call, made at Starmers request, is the first between Xi and Starmer since March 2022, when the president spoke with then leader Boris Johnson, according to a report, citing state broadcaster CCTV read more Chinese President Xi Jinping and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had their first official phone call on Friday afternoon. Reuters File Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday called British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and said that both countries should take a long-term and strategic view of their relationship and step up dialogue and cooperation. According to South China Morning Post report, citing state broadcaster CCTV, the call, made at Starmers request, is the first between Xi and Starmer since March 2022, when the president spoke with then leader Boris Johnson. China is willing to carry out dialogue on an equal footing with the British side on the basis of mutual respect, understanding and trust to make mutual benefit and win-win cooperation the main keynotes of China-UK relations, Xi was quoted as saying. Advertisement Xi emphasised that China highly values Britains interest in increasing engagement and dialogue. He expressed a strong willingness to sustain communication at all levels to advance stable and meaningful China-UK relations, reported South China Morning Post. He suggested that the two countries could enhance cooperation in areas such as finance, the green economy, artificial intelligence, and people-to-people exchanges. According to the South China Morning Post report, citing Chinese readout, Starmer congratulated Xi on Chinas success at the Paris Olympics and affirmed that developing a closer UK-China relationship benefits both nations. He reiterated the UKs commitment to the one-China policy and expressed hope for enhanced cooperation in areas like economy, trade, finance, education, clean energy, and health, as well as joint efforts on global challenges such as climate change, added the report. Last month, Chinese Premier Li Qiang congratulated Starmer on becoming British Prime Minister, highlighting Chinas commitment to strengthening ties with the UK and expanding mutual cooperation. British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is considering a visit to China, following groundwork laid by Catherine West, who visited Beijing in March to meet key Chinese officials. Starmers Labour government is expected to review the UKs China strategy within its first 100 days, though a formal China strategy document has not been committed to. China is also monitoring the potential deployment of the UKs carrier strike group to the Indo-Pacific in 2025, a plan announced by former UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps. Advertisement Shapps has stated that freedom of navigation, including through the Taiwan Strait, is universally recognised, though the exact route for the carrier group is still pending. With inputs from agencies The idea of humans being a multiplanetary race is exciting, but the first human settlers will have a very tough time as they will not just have to adapt to an alien world but figure out everything from growing food to building houses from scratch read more Previously, Elon Musk had said that he wanted a city on Mars by the end of the century. Now, he wants it in 20 years. As of now, there is no sure-shot way of reaching Mars and there is no human habitation in space except for the International Space Station (ISS) and the Chinese space station. Many countries and private companies are working on numerous space stations for a sustained presence in space. The United States has publicly stated that a permanent settlement on the Moon is just a matter of time. Under the Artemis programme, the United States will have a settlement on the Moon and use it as a stepping stone to Mars and beyond. Advertisement Even though there has not been a public declaration, the Firstpost understands that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has also held internal discussions about having a research station of sorts on the Moon once India lands astronauts there the stated timeline is by 2040. That would make perfect sense as the new space age is not about merely planting your flag on the Moon but plotting the next chapter in the human spacefaring journey. Elon Musk plans to populate Mars with the first town within 20 years (Photo: NASA) Whether humans build a settlement on the Moon or Mars, they would need to address some fundamental questions: What kind of a life are they looking forward to? How are they going to sustain their presence? Are these settlements going to be self-sustaining or are we going to keep them fed from the Earth? A more fundamental question may also be: Why do we even need settlements on Mars or Moon in the first place? Why should we settle on Moon or Mars? The arguments for settling in space are two-fold. One, you would need to exploit space to support life on Earth as resources here become scarce. Two, you would need to expand beyond Earth to become a multiplanetary to ensure the continuity of the human race in case something cataclysmic happened on Earth. While the second argument may appear like stuff out of a science fiction plot, its not. Life has ended on Earth before. The dinosaurs were killed by an asteroid strike around 66 million years ago and a super-volcanic eruption in Southeast Asia around 75,000 years ago nearly ended the human race on the planet the swathe of land from Malaysia to India was covered in 30 feet of ash. Advertisement It is only a matter of time before we become a multiplanetary race, says astrophysicist Somak Raychaudhury, adding that there are very practical reasons for us to be a multiplanetary race. We are overflowing the planet and our resources are getting scarce by the day. The critical minerals, such as lithium which is central to electric mobility, are finite whereas the need is increasing every day. From an environmental point of view, there is a very practical case for us to be multiplanetary. We would need to expand beyond Earth to fulfil Earths need for resources as well as to ensure our continuity, says Raychaudhury, the Vice Chancellor of Ashoka University. Advertisement Physicist Michio Kaku argues that humans are the only species that is not helpless against natural extinction. He says that going multiplanetary is the human races way to avoid extension. In his book The Future of Humanity, Kaku writes that 99.99 per cent of all species must await their extinction helplessly, but humans have a choice. Unlike all other life-forms on this planet, which must passively await their fate, we humans are the masters of our own destiny. Fortunately, we are now creating the tools that will defy the odds given to us by nature, so that we dont become one of the 99.99 per cent of life-forms destined for extinction, writes Kaku, referring to under-development techniques such as terraforming to make alien habitats habitable. Advertisement But is Musks timeline realistic? Mars atmosphere has around 95 per cent carbon dioxide. There are no known water sources on the surface, and the temperature range is between 20*C and -153*C. Either you would live in enclosed spaces or underground settlements. Either way, what kind of a life are you looking at? Life on Mars, at least in the initial phase, will be completely different from the one we know on Earth. Thats why the idea of a town is not feasible for now even with Musks enthusiasm. The first settlers on Mars would likely be supplied by Earth and the settlement would likely be a mere outpost that would take years to grow. Advertisement Colonising a planet like Mars would be a multi-generational effort that could take up to 100 to 200 years, says space scientist Chaitanya Giri. Humans can definitely be a multiplanetary race but its a long game. We cannot win this game in one lifetime. It will take multiple generations to build a self-sustaining ecosystem on any planet that we colonise. Until then, wed need to sustain the colony from Earth and our success in colonisation would depend on whether we can sustain these efforts, says Giri, a Fellow at the Observer Research Foundations (ORF) Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology. The best shot is perhaps this: One generation perhaps Musks will pave the way for humans to reach Mars, another generation will constitute the first settlers, and yet another will be the first native residents of the planet. Raychaudhury is much more optimistic. He says that a lot depends on how technology develops. Within our own lifespan, in just 50 years, we have seen technology evolve so much that what was science fiction 50 years back is now our everyday reality. If technological development keeps pace, then the stated timeline can very well be worked out. Elon Musk has been a trailblazer in spacefaring. The building of reusable rockets at SpaceX has been a game-changer. That way, we have already seen the emergence of technology that would enable us to be multi-planetary, says Raychaudhury. The life of first settlers on Mars The life of first settlers will be hard and unenviable. They will start like prehistoric humans figuring out how to live, grow food, and reproduce. It may be comparable to what historian Yuval Noah Harari calls Agricultural Revolution the moment in history around 10,000 years back when humans took to farming and life changed fundamentally. From a migratory race, humans began settling and a long phase of backbreaking labour began. In his book Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, Noah Harari writes: From sunrise to sunset humans sowed seeds, watered plants, plucked weeds from the ground and led sheep to prime pastures. This work, they thought, would provide them with more fruit, grain and meatThe body of homo sapiens had not evolved for such tasks. It was adapted to climbing apple trees and running after gazelles, not to clearing rocks and carrying water buckets. Human spines, knees, necks and arches paid the price. Imagine such labour in spacesuits in domed settlements out of a sci-fi film and you would get glimpses of the life of the first settlers on Mars. This is how they would likely pave the way for the future generation of settlers to become the proper residents of a new planet. The first wave of settlers would likely be subject experts who would establish first domed communities, terraform the planet if need be, create an atmosphere if such technology comes up, and figure out farming and that would take up much of their lives. Humans cannot live on Mars in its current form and would either need to live in protected environment or terraform the planet (Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS) Life would be much different from what we know on Earth. There would be no strolls through the neighbourhood there is no air. There will be no long drives as you would initially live in small settlements and would need space suits to space suits. You will not procreate as having babies in an alien world would not be prescribed. Life would change so fundamentally that you would need to change your nature and stop thinking as Earthlings entirely. You would need to think as Martians. In his book The Case for Mars, Robert Zubrin writes that only those explorers and settlers thrived throughout history who laboured to study, learn, and adopt the survival and travel methods of the natives. Zubrin writes: There is a lesson in all of this for space exploration. There are no Martians, yet. But if there are to be, let us ask ourselves some questions. How will they travel? Will they import their rocket fuel from Earth? How about their oxygen? Where will their water come from, their food? How will they survive? There can only be one answer: When on Mars, do as the Martians will do. But how can you make Mars habitable? Even though Mars is barren with no visible water on the surface, its an exciting place as there are many possibilities on the planet. For one, the planet has an atmosphere and there are ways to make it fit for humans. The feasible plans include modifying the climate and radical ways include Musks idea of exploding nuclear bombs there to heat the planet. Such an approach to modify a planets climate to your liking is called terraforming. Explaining the feasible approach, space engineering expert Matteo Ceriotti told this writer last year that climate change may be triggered on Mars to make it suitable for humans. In the case of Mars, where an atmosphere already exists, there are studies that have hinted that it may be possible to trigger some sort of balance point in its climate by inducing more heat. The climate of Mars is in a certain equilibrium at the moment, so it does not change. Its stuck in a temperature range of a maximum of around 20*C to -153*C with a very low density atmosphere and high carbon dioxide. It is possible to change it. By adding energy into particular places, its possible to trigger changes and arrive at a different equilibrium with a different kind of atmosphere thats suitable for human habitation, said Ceriotti, Senior Lecturer in Space Systems Engineering at the School of Engineering at the University of Glasgow. While there are no oceans of water on Mars, there are strong indications of streams and water being there under the surface. There are also indications that water may be trapped in the permafrost of Mars or inside large subterranean reservoirs. An Indian project shows the way for Mars habitation A project at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, has sought to answer one of the very basic questions of spacefaring: How will humans build houses and other buildings on the Moon or Mars? Throughout history, settlers have always used local resources to build houses and the same should be replicated in space but thats challenging. So far, modules have been taken from Earth and assembled or deployed in space. This may work for short stays but is not sustainable if you plan to settle there. It is neither practical nor economically sustainable to take prefabricated structures from Earth to the Moon or Mars during space colonisation and the only solution is to use local resources to make settlements, says Aloke Kumar, an Associate Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering at IISc Bengaluru. An artistic depiction of a human outpost on Mars (Photo: NASA by Pat Rawlings, of Eagle Engineering Incorporated) Kumar and colleagues have developed space bricks using simulants of Martian and lunar soils. Whenever humans colonise Mars or the Moon, such space bricks should literally be the building blocks of the new chapter of human civilisation. The idea is the in-situ utilisation of resources to build those settlements on Mars or Moon. It will not be 100 per cent local manufacturing initially as you would need to take inflatable equipment from Earth to make bricks. But the brick-making will still happen there which will allow much more flexibility in building housing or research stations in space. Otherwise, if you take only prefabricated structures from Earth to Mars, then you may only build small settlements as you cannot transport large prefabricated structures all the way to Mars, says Kumar. While the approach is not unique as some Western players are also working on similar space bricks, the Indian approach is much more affordable. Western bricks could cost up to $8,000 per kilogram whereas Indian bricks would cost a fraction of that. Kumar tells Firstpost, We are in touch with private space industry players regarding the project. They have shown good interest. They acknowledge that if humans have to be multiplanetary, then houses and other buildings on other planets would have to be built locally using local resources. Thats where our brickmaking technique becomes critical. Amid growing criticism and after weeks without a new government leader, Macron is consulting with political factions to form a coalition. While the leftist bloc pushes for economist Lucie Castets for the post, Macrons camp is leaning towards a centrist alliance read more French President Emmanuel Macron has finally begun talks to decide the country's next PM. A decision is expected next week. AP French President Emmanuel Macron was Friday to begin a round of thorny consultations with political leaders, hoping to cobble together a viable ruling coalition after last months inconclusive election. A full six weeks after a snap election in which Macron lost his parliamentary majority, he has still not named a new prime minister, whose first major task will be to submit next years budget plan to the National Assembly. The left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) which emerged as the largest faction post-election has said it wants the economist Lucie Castets to be the new premier. Advertisement But Macrons forces have shown little interest in the idea, preferring a potential alliance with the traditional right. Castets will be the first political figure to meet with Macron at the Elysee palace on Friday, accompanied by other NFP representatives. Were not going to negotiate with him, said Manuel Bompard, coordinator of the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) party of the upcoming meeting with Macron. Well tell him that there is no alternative to Lucie Castetss appointment. But allies of Macron who said after the election that nobody won have argued that the leftist bloc is too weak to claim the prime ministers post, and are hoping instead to form a majority around a centrist figure. The current period is the longest France has ever been without a leader of government following a legislative election, after Macron said he would not prioritise the task of finding one during the Paris Olympic Games, which ended on August 11. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal has been running a caretaker government. Opposition figures have sharply criticised Macron for taking so much time, with Green Party senator Yannick Jadot calling the presidents stance a denial of democracy. Even some of Macrons own allies have become impatient. An official in his office insisted Thursday that the president is on the side of the French people, the guarantor of the institutions. Advertisement The Elysee talks scheduled for Friday and Monday include representatives from across the political spectrum. Macrons office did not give an indication when the president might make his choice for prime minister, but observers expect him to do so sometime next week. Whoever is appointed must be able to survive a confidence motion in parliament and present a 2025 budget draft law to parliament by October 1, the legal deadline. These ruled were approved by the Talibans supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and are part of the regimes continued efforts to enforce what the regime calls virtue and curb vice, according to a report read more An Afghan woman carries empty containers to fetch water in Nahr-e-Shahi district in Balkh province, Afghanistan, August 6, 2023. File Image/Reuters The Afghanistans Taliban government has implemented a series of strict new laws requiring women to wear veils and imposing significant restrictions on their public roles. According to a Times of India report, these ruled were approved by the Talibans supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada and are part of the regimes continued efforts to enforce what the regime calls virtue and curb vice. The new regulations require women to cover their entire bodies, including their faces, in public. Advertisement The legislation also stipulates that clothing must be neither thin, tight, nor short, and mandates a face covering to prevent temptation and protect others from temptation. Women are also barred from making eye contact with men outside their immediate family, added the report. Additionally, the laws label a womans voice as intimate, prohibiting activities such as singing, reciting poetry, or reading aloud in public, effectively silencing women in social and cultural settings. The new regulations are detailed in a comprehensive 114-page, 35-article document issued by the Talibans Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. This ministry, re-established after the Talibans 2021 takeover, now wields significant authority in enforcing these laws. Notably, Article 17 bans the publication of images of living beings, further threatening Afghanistans already fragile media landscape. Article 19 restricts the playing of music, solo female travel, and interactions between unrelated men and women. The regulations also require prayers to be performed at specific times, reflecting the Talibans strict interpretation of Islamic practices. These laws have raised substantial concerns among international human rights organisations. A recent United Nations report highlighted the increasing climate of fear and intimidation in Afghanistan, exacerbated by the Talibans enforcement methods. The report warns that the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice is expanding its influence into various aspects of public life, including media oversight and drug eradication efforts. Oil and oiling negotiations for resolving conflicts are two big strengths of Qatar, which has emerged as a go-to mediator for Western democracies involved in settling international disputes. But why do conflicting partners accept a small country like Qatar as the master mediator? read more An oil-rich Gulf country, Qatar, has built a huge diplomatic worth with mediation. Its mediation profile could trigger envy among those nations trying to become a global leader in conflict resolution. Constitutionally a hereditary monarchy, Qatar is ruled by al-Thani family and headed by an Emir, but it has made mediation its diplomatic capital. Qatar has mediated the Sudan civil war, America-Taliban deal, Israel-Hezbollah agreement, came close to mediating the Russia-Ukraine war and has resolved multiple hostage situations by getting prisoners freed. Advertisement First, a look at Qatars mediation feats Darfur peace deal: It was the first major difficult peace effort that Qatar led as a third party mediator. The warring factions of Sudan reached an agreement about power sharing and establishing a fund for victims and displaced families in the Darfur region. Its significance could be gauged from the fact that it was achieved after a US-mediated deal of 2006 had collapsed. Qatar facilitated a peace agreement in Darfur in 2011, and then again in 2020. US-Taliban negotiations: The US was in Afghanistan for about two decades and under Donald Trump, it wanted to exit the country even as the Taliban, who it had replaced in 2001, were making a military comeback. Qatar hosted several rounds of talks between the US and the Taliban camps to mediate the 2020 agreement. The US left the country and the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021. Israel-Hezbollah-Hamas conflict: Following the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, Qatar strongly spoke out against Tel Aviv, bridging the Sunni-Shia divide across West Asia. This also elevated its status in the Arab world. Hezbollah is an Iran-backed Shia militia. And unlike other Sunni Arab nations, Qatar has maintained a relatively cordial relation with Shia Iran. This has helped Qatar play a mediator in conflicts between Israel and Hezbollah or Hamas. It is actively involved in the ongoing truce efforts for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. In November 2023, Qatar helped broker a temporary ceasefire between the two. Russia-Ukraine war: Qatar showed acute mediation potential earlier this year, when it brokered a deal between Russia and Ukraine to free more than 15 children taken captive by either side. It also hosted children freed through the deal. And recently the Washington Post reported that Russia and Ukraine were on the brink of engaging in indirect ceasefire negotiations in Qatars Doha early August. The Qatar-mediated discussions were aimed at halting the destructive strikes on energy and power infrastructure. However, a surprise invasion of Russias Kursk region by Ukraine nixed the diplomatic breakthrough that could have deescalated the ongoing war. International hostage talks: Besides mediating the release of kids displaced during teh Russia-Ukraine war, Qatar has earlier played the role of the third party negotiator for the release of Americans held in Iran, Afghanistan, and also Venezuela. Its role as a hostage-situation mediator came to the fore in the 2004 abduction of two French journalists in Iraq by an Islamist militant group though it faced criticism with some saying that the deal ended up financing a terror group for securing the release. Qatar then also played a key role in five-year-long negotiation for the release of an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas in 2006. In the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, Qatar has been one of the lead mediators in securing some of the hostages Hamas had taken during its October raids in Israel. But why Qatar is accepted as a mediator The evolution of Qatar as the master mediator has taken place over at least three decades. It was the first Arab country to open a Trade Office for Israel following the Oslo agreement signed in the early 1990s for establishing peace in the Palestine-Israel region. But the major turn in its mediation role came after the 9/11 terror attacks on the US. Qatars role came under scrutiny for being one of the funding sources for Osama bin Ladens al-Qaeda that carried out the attacks killing thousands in the US. But soon, Qatar did two things it hosted the US military at al-Udeid Air Base in 2001 (continues to do so and this is now the biggest US base in West Asia with around 10,000 troops), and it opened the Doha Forum for diplomatic talks. Over the years, Qatar has shaped its own foreign policy by forging alliances with dissidents, aiding revolutionaries and militant groups, and also playing the neutral card when a big player is involved in the business. Groups like the Taliban of Afghanistan, the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt, various militias of Libya, and anti-government revolutionaries of Tunisia, Syria and Yemen during the the Arab Spring years found refuge, financial support and weapon supplies from Qatar. Stable national finances and the presence of the US increased Qatars heft in pulling punches above its weight as a third party negotiator. Deep pockets have allowed it to establish an extensive connectivity. For example, Qatar Airways has direct flight connectivity with more than 90 countries, helping the Emirate to act as a bridge between various peoples. Advertisement But Qatars acceptance as a major mediator comes from the fact that the US trusts its government to act independently and decisively in negotiating a deal. At times, the US has even encouraged Qatar to be home to a terror or jehadi outfit. For example, when it was being speculated that Hamas may move its base to Iran or possibly even Syria, the Barack Obama administration of the US reportedly asked Qatar to host the political wing of the Palestinian militant group. The US viewed that it would be difficult to access Hamass political leadership if the group moved to Iran or Syria. Advertisement Qatar expert Sultan Barkat, who is Senior Professor in Public Policy at Qatar Foundations Hamad Bin Khalifa University, and Honorary Professor at the University of York, wrote a paper for Brookling in 2014, explaining how the monarchy made mediation part of its official foreign policy Barkat says that Qatar has adopted a process of professionalisation of its mediation capacity, and has a Special Envoy for Counterterrorism and Mediation in Conflict Resolution to act as Qatars chief mediator and coordinate efforts between other agencies. All the mediation efforts are led by Qatars foreign minister, explaining why the governments role is so significant. In another paper this year, Barkat says, [The Qatari] foreign ministrys ability to take decisions without being questioned or scrutinised by the public has meant that it can act decisively. Advertisement The Qatari interest in furthering the countrys mediation role was clearly spelt out at the 2022 UN General Assembly, with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani telling the member-nations that conflict mediation is a key element of his countrys foreign policy. The country sees itself as a dependable international ally. Al-Thani said, Qatar will continue its mediation efforts to find just solutions in conflict zones. Prime Minister Viktor Orbans administration insisted they would have to take unorthodox actions if a top EU court ruling forced the European nation to adopt a no-detention refugee policy read more In an effort to curb migration, Hungarys government said that it is ready to give every migrant trying to enter Budapest, a one-way ticket to Brussels. Prime Minister Viktor Orbans administration insisted they would have to take this action if a top EU court ruling forced the European nation to adopt a no-detention refugee policy. After the asylum procedure, we will offer all migrants at the Hungarian border the opportunity to be transported to Brussels voluntarily and free of charge, Gergely Gulyas, a minister in Prime Minister Viktor Orbans office said in a governments weekly briefing on Thursday. If Brussels wants migrants, it can have them," he added. Advertisement Gulyas exclaimed that the asylum seekers can then negotiate there with the European Commission about their own care. The remarks from Hungary came months after the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a fine of 200 million euros against Budapest for ignoring EU asylum laws. Why is Hungary in trouble? The country which has been ruled by Orbans right-wing Fidesz party, has been notorious for taking a hard stance against asylum-seekers entering the country. In 2020, a court in Luxembourg ruled that Budapest failed to comply with the European Unions rules on the treatment of migrants by unlawfully detaining asylum-seekers and deporting them before they could appeal the rejection of their applications. The top EU court has been urging Hungary to change its refugee policy, however, the Orban government has often ignored the directives. In June this year, ECJ called out Hungary for ignoring the matter and called the whole ordeal an unprecedented and exceptionally serious breach of EU law. In addition to the 200 million euro fine, Hungary was also asked to pay 1 million euros for each day it failed to comply with the courts ruling. Budapest in turn filed a lawsuit and is now hoping to recover some of these costs from the European Commission. Hungarys proposal has a US connect In the Thursday briefing, Gulyas emphasised that Hungary is unable to come to a reasonable agreement with the Commission and accused the ECJ of creating an unacceptable, intolerable and unfair situation. He insisted that if the matter is not resolved, Budapest will be taking unorthodox steps and will let all asylum-seekers into the country and offering them a one-way ticket to Brussels. Advertisement Interestingly, the proposal made by the Hungarian leadership came from the playbook of the Republican Party in the United States. In 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis made a similar with asylum-seekers entering the US border. The DeSantis administration boarded around 50 migrants on a flight to Marthas Vineyard in Massachusetts. DeSantis said he had arranged the flights to expose liberal hypocrisy. In the past, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and former Arizona Governor Doug Ducey have bussed migrants to states that voted for the Democrats. With inputs from agencies. Vehicle with an Uttar Pradesh number plate was en route to Kathmandu from Pokhara and all those onboard the bus were Indian nationals read more An Indian passenger bus carrying 40 people veered off the road and plunged into the Marsyangdi River in Nepals Tanahun district on Friday, claiming the lives of 27 passengers. Deputy Superintendent of Police Santosh Paudel of the Traffic Police Office in Tanahun told the Kathmandu Post that 27 out of 43 passengers aboard the bus died, while 16 others were injured. According to police, all those onboard the bus were Indian nationals, the Kathmandu Post reported, adding that a total of 15 people are undergoing treatment at the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital and one at the Kalanki-based Sahid Memorial Hospital. Advertisement The bus bearing number plate UP FT 7623 plunged into the river and is lying on the bank of the river, DSP Deepkumar Raya from the District Police Office Tanahun confirmed to ANI over the phone. The Marsyangdi River is located in the Tanahun district of Nepal. Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner also gave an update on the situation. Regarding the Nepal incident, we are establishing contact to find out if any person from Uttar Pradesh was on the bus, the relief body said in a statement. This is not the first time Nepal witnessed a bus tragedy. In July this year, 65 people on board two buses were swept into a swollen river Trishuli in Nepal. The incident occurred amid heavy rainfall and involved two buses: the Angel bus, heading to Kathmandu and the Ganpati Deluxe travelling from Kathmandu to Gaur in Rautahat. This is a developing story. After Modi met with Putin, the Western media was full of news with headlines such as Modis Embrace of Putin Irks Biden Team Pushing Support for Kyiv while the BBC in one of its reports said, Photos from Moscow showed a beaming Mr Modi hugging the Russian president. read more During the visit to Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended a warm hug to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after a handshake, signaling a gesture of solidarity towards the leader of the war-torn country. This hug came barely six weeks after PM Modi similarly hugged Russias President Vladimir Putin, Ukraines arch enemy. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was asked about the embrace in a question meant to seek comments on apparent linkages with Modis meetings with Putin earlier and Zelenskyy now. Advertisement In our part of the world, when people meet people, they are given to embracing each other, it may not be part of your culture but I can assure you it is part of ours. In fact, today, I think, I saw, Prime Minister (Modi) also embrace President Zelenskyy, Jaishankar replied to a specific question by a Western reporter which mentioned in as many words about Modis embrace of Putin a few weeks ago. #WATCH | Kyiv: On PM Modi's hug to President Putin in Moscow, EAM Dr S Jaishankar says, "In our part of the world when people meet people they are given to embracing each other. It may not be part of your culture, it is part of our culture..." pic.twitter.com/PJOwrJIFIo ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 And I have seen him do it with a number of other leaders in a number of other places. So, I think, we have a slight cultural gap here in terms of what these courtesies mean, Jaishankar added. Much to the chagrin of the Western powers that be, Modi met Putin in July and spoke about how a solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and how peace efforts do not succeed in the midst of bombs and bullets. Advertisement On Friday, India maintained that Ukraine and Russia need to engage with each other to find a solution to the ongoing conflict between them as Modi held wide-ranging talks with Zelenskyy under the shadow of the raging war. With inputs from agencies. When addressing the Democratic convention - and indirectly the millions of Americans watching on television - Harris will make a direct appeal to voters to support her vision for the US read more Democrat presidential nominee and US Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage on the final night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) 2024 on Thursday (August 22) night amid wild cheers. Her acceptance speech as the nominee began with a note of appreciation to President Joe Biden. To our President Joe Biden: When I think about the path we have travelled together, Joe, I am filled with gratitude. Your record is extraordinary, as history will show and your character is inspiring. Advertisement To Tim Walz, she said, You are going to be an incredible vice president. She spoke about her mother who migrated to the US from India, and talked about her upbringing as her parents moved around the country for various jobs, and the virtues they instilled in her. Following this, Harris wasted no time in accepting her partys nomination, making sharp attacks against her rival in the race, Republican nominee Donald Trump, and contrasting her vision for America with his. Here are key takeaways from her speech: 1. Acceptance of nomination: Harris began, In the courtroom, I stood proudly before a judge and I said five words: Kamala Harris for the people. And to be clear, my entire career, Ive only had one client- the people. Continuing, Harris said, And so, on behalf of the people, on behalf of every American regardless of party, race, gender, or the language your grandmother speakson behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journeyon behalf of Americans liek the people I grew up with people who work hard, chase their dreams, and look out for one anotheron behalf of everyone whose story could only be written on the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America. The crowd burst out in cheers. 2. Precious, fleeting opportunity: Harris told the convention that a second term by the Republican ex-president would pull our country back to the past. Advertisement Stressing how high the stakes this election are, Harris said, Our nation, with this election, has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past, a chance to chart a new way forward not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans." Later in her speech, Harris again warned of extremely serious consequences of a Trump presidency. Consider his explicit intent to set free violent extremists who assaulted those law enforcement officers at the Capitol. His explicit intent to jail journalists political opponents, and anyone, he sees as the enemy, his explicit intent to deploy our active duty military against our own citizens. Consider the power he will have, especially after the United States supreme court just ruled that he would be immune from criminal prosecution, she told the audience. Advertisement 3. On Gaza ceasefire and support for Israel: Harris pledged to get a Gaza ceasefire deal done. She balanced her support for Israel and Gaza, saying, Let me be clear. I will always stand up for Israels right to defend itself. And I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organisation called Hamas caused on October 7At the same time, what has happened In Gaza over the past 10 months is devastatingThe scale of suffering is heartbreaking. Harris said that she and President Joe Biden are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination. Advertisement 4. Support for Ukraine: Speaking on Ukraine, Harris used the opportunity to show her support for the war-ravaged country, and attack Trump for his closeness with leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that the West has shunned. She said that as US president she would stand with Ukraine and not cozy up to dictators like her Trump does. As president I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies, she said, later adding that autocrats and tyrants are rooting for Trump because they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favours. They know Trump wont hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself. Advertisement 5. Immigration and bipartisan border deal: Immigration has been a crucial issue for Democrats. For Biden, when he was the presidential nominee, he had the lowest marks when it came to immigration in almost every poll. After decades in law enforcement, I know the importance of safety and security, especially at our border, Harris said. I will bring back the bipartisan border security bill that he [Trumpt] killed and I will sign it into law. Harris and Biden have accused Trump of killing the bipartisan deal because it would hurt him politically if passed. Mounting an attack on this line, Harris said, I refuse to play politics with our security. 6. Attacking Republicans on abortion: Speaking about how women in US do not have enough freedoms, she recounted how we got here. She said Trump handpicked members of the US Supreme Court to take away reproductive freedom. She said he is proud of it. Harris said, over the past two years, Ive traveled across our country, and women have told me their stories. Husbands and fathers have shared theirs stories of women miscarrying in a parking lot, developing sepsis, losing the ability to ever again have children, all because doctors are afraid they may go to jail for caring for their patients, couples just trying to grow their family, cut off in the middle of IVF treatments. This is whats happening in our country because of Donald Trump. And understand he is not done. As a part of his agenda, he and his allies would limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion, and enact a nationwide abortion ban, with or without Congress, she said. August 23, 2024, 19:14:42 (IST) Whatsapp Facebook Twitter India was never neutral, says PM Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that India was never neutral in its stance on the ongoing war between Russia-Ukraine and had chosen the side of peace since the onset of the conflict. India was never neutral, we have always been on the side of peace, PM Modi said during his meeting with Zelensky. #WATCH | Kyiv: Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, "...India was never neutral, we have always been on the side of peace..." https://t.co/HvUgzAiRx4 pic.twitter.com/VnkW6aheyy ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 During their discussions, the leaders emphasised the importance of achieving a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace through dialogue and diplomacy. This visit marks the first ever by an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine since diplomatic relations were established between the two countries in 1992. PM Modi and President Zelenskyy reiterated their commitment to further cooperation in upholding international law, including the UN Charter and principles such as respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states. They agreed on the desirability of closer bilateral dialogue in this regard, according to a joint statement by the Ministry of External Affairs. The Indian side reaffirmed its principled stance and focused on peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomacy. As part of this commitment, India attended the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, held in Burgenstock, Switzerland, in June 2024. Despite enduring a vicious, slur-filled assault in 2022, which was caught on camera, a Black Kentucky student chose grace over retaliation, simply declaring, "I forgive her." Kylah Spring was a University of Kentucky student employee who Sophia Rosing, also a student, assaulted when she was unable to enter a dorm without a student ID while intoxicated. Rosing pleaded guilty in Fayette County Circuit Court to four counts of fourth-degree assault, one count of disorderly conduct, and one count of alcohol intoxication. Spring was given the opportunity to speak to Rosing during mediation and took the high road following the slur-filled assault when she told LEX18, "I forgive her." Fred Peters, Rosing's attorney, said that Rosing has since quit drinking and learned how hurtful words can be. "She's extremely remorseful," Peters said. "Not just words." Spring also stated in open court that Rosing did not mention the racial slurs she used against her. "I think her admitting at least a piece of what she's done-admitting the things she said and being able to own up to them-I think it's going to follow behind," Spring said. "Seeing yourself act in that light is not an easy thing to see, I imagine, so I guess there's still a bit of maturing and unpacking she needs to do with that. So I'll give her the space to do that." Rosing was also accused of assaulting an officer during the incident. "She read a very heartfelt apology to Kylah during our mediation." However, Smith revealed that she does not believe Rosing is remorseful after attending the hearing. "I feel that a person who is remorseful takes actions that are moving towards proving they are remorseful," Spring said. Prosecutors have recommended a sentence of 12 months total for the charges, along with 100 hours of community service and a mandatory public service announcement for the university about the dangers of drinking. "I forgive her more so for myself," Spring told the news outlet. "I was raised not to hold grudges; I was raised that we give people forgiveness because God forgave us. It's a hard thing for me to come to terms with, but in the end, I want to live a life where people can say I was a kind and forgiving person." Spring has since founded an organization called The Spirit & Grace Project, aimed at creating opportunities, resources, and support for Black women in predominately white collegiate institutions. "I saw there was a lack of support there with what I went through, and I want to be able to give others the support that I don't think I was able to have," she explained. Rosing is scheduled for sentencing on October 17, 2024. In the statement released on Thursday, the group slammed the Harris-Walz campaigns refusal to allow a Palestinian person to speak on the main stage read more A day before US Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic Presidential nomination, the group called Muslim Women for Harris released a statement in which they announced that they would withdraw their support to the Harris-Walz campaign. The statement was released on the third day of the Democratic National Convention. In the statement released on Thursday, the group slammed the Harris-Walz campaigns refusal to allow a Palestinian person to speak on the main stage. The statement was released hours after the Uncommitted National Movement, which won 30 delegates to the convention, held a sit-in outside the convention. Advertisement We cannot in good conscience continue Muslim Women for Harris-Walz, in light of this new information from the Uncommitted movement, that VP Harris team declined their request to have a Palestinian American speaker take the stage at the DNC, the Muslim Women for Harris said in a statement on Friday. 30 Convention Delegates stage sit-ins On the third day of the convention, 30 delegates conducted sit-ins outside the convention centre. Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar joined the demonstration online. Even Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was one of the Democratic stalwarts who addressed the convention, also attended the sit-in via FaceTime. Uncommitted delegates urge the Democratic party to reject a hierarchy of human value by ensuring Palestinian voices are heard on the main stage. We are learning that Israeli hostages families will be speaking from the main stage. We strongly support that decision and also strongly hope that we will also be hearing from Palestinians whove endured the largest civilian death toll since 1948, the Uncommitted statement read. Advertisement STATEMENT: Uncommitted delegates urge the Democratic Party to reject a hierarchy of human value by ensuring Palestinian voices are heard on the main stage. We are learning that Israeli hostages families will be speaking from the main stage. We strongly support that decision and Uncommitted National Movement (@uncommittedmvmt) August 21, 2024 What Harris said about Israel in her DNC address In her nomination acceptance speech, Vice President Kamala Harris affirmed that she will always ensure that Israel will continue to have the ability to defend itself. However, she also called for the end of Palestinian suffering in Gaza. With respect to the war in Gaza, President Biden and I are working around the clock because now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done, she told the crowd which was followed by a loud applause. I will always stand up for Israels right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself. Because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that the terrorist organization Hamas caused on October 7, she added. Advertisement However, Harris also pointed towards the horrors in Gaza which included " unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival." So many innocent lives lost, desperate hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking, she said. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination, she added. With the mayhem that ensued, one thing remains clear, Harris will have to maintain a fine balance between Pro-Palestine and Pro-Israeli group ahead of the November polls. The visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Ukraine showed that national interests alone drive Indias foreign policy and not any alignment with a partner read more Last month, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi met President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia bombed a childrens hospital in Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Earlier today, Modi accompanied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a memorial of children killed in the war with Russia in Kyiv and paid his respects. The sombre visuals of Modi walking with Zelenskyy and holding him by the shoulder as they watched a feature on deceased children conveyed much more than accompanying statements. Advertisement Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that Modi was deeply touched by the poignant exposition set up in memory of children killed in the ongoing war. He further said, He expressed his sorrow at the tragic loss of young lives and as a mark of respect placed a toy in their memory. While the visit was brief, it was rich in substance and signalling. It was yet another demonstration to the world that Indias foreign policy was driven by national interests alone and not by any partner or bloc even if it is a historic partner like Russia. It was a message to the world that India stood by long-standing principles and to Russia that had been cosying up to China for years and is now part of the China-led anti-Western bloc which runs counter to Indias interests. In the joint statement, India and Ukraine called for upholding territorial integrity and sovereignty of states even as Russia has formally annexed four regions of Ukraine and is fighting in other regions as well. Modis visit to Ukraine served to set the record straight of how India saw Ukraine, Russia, and the ongoing conflict, says Swasti Rao, a scholar of Europe at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA). The perception has always been that while India has had a historic relationship with Russia, there has not been a substantial relationship with Ukraine. The fact, however, is that Indias relationship with Russia is rooted in the relationship with erstwhile Soviet Union and Ukraine was also part of the Soviet Union until the break-up in 1991. Historically, India has always had a relationship with Ukraine even though it stayed under the radar, says Rao. Advertisement Similar to Russia, India had a good military and defence relationship with Ukraine where the country was a major source of aircraft and ship engines. India has also bought small arms from Ukraine in the past which inherited a part of the former Soviet Unions military-industrial complex. Indias strategic autonomy at display Modis visit to Ukraine shows that Indias view of the country and the ongoing conflict is independent from that of Russia. Indias engagement with Ukraine is also part of the renewed interest in Eastern Europe where India has ramped up interactions with the likes of Poland and Greece. Rao, an Associate Fellow at the Europe and Eurasia Center at the MP-IDSA, says that India has dehyphenated the relationships with Russia and Ukraine. Advertisement The messaging from Russia suggested that the Indian neutrality in the Ukraine conflict was being taken for granted and that India was bound to see the conflict from Moscows point of view. Thats obviously not the case. India has been quite consistent in call for peace and stopping the war. It has been part of all the peace conferences so far and has been in constant touch with Ukraine since the beginning of the war. It has constantly provided humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. Indias neutrality was never passive or inclined towards Russia. It was in line with Indias own values, says Rao. Advertisement Indias long-held principle of strategic autonomy was at display in Kyiv where Modis actions were in direct contravention to the agenda of Russia which sees India as a friendly piece in the three-dimensional chess against the West. Modi in Kyiv paid respects to Ukrainian children killed by Russia, handed over mobile hospital units to help treat people injured by Russia, and called for the respect of Ukraines territorial integrity hampered by Russia. As India affirmed the respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of states, India effectively rejected the basis of the Russias war. Putin invaded Ukraine on grounds that its an illegitimate country and went on to illegally annex four of its regions. Indias call for the respect to territorial integrity tears through Putins premise. Advertisement At the same time, India has not jumped into the Ukraine-West wagon. While Modi and Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar reiterated Indias support to the resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy and emphasised on Indias participation in peace conferences, they also stressed that India had skipped joint communiques in these conferences as it was a futile exercise as Russia was not part of these meetings. Similarly, Jaishankar said that Indias long-held practice is to only abide by the United Nations (UN) sanctions. There is another message to Russia with the meeting. It is public knowledge that China is Indias principal adversary and Russia has consistently moved closer to China over the years to the extent that its now part of a China-led bloc against the West along with Iran and North Korea. Modi has conveyed to Russia subtly that if it would not respect Indias sensibilities regarding China, it may not always respect the Russian sensibilities, says Rao. The India-Ukraine engagement has increased since the beginning of the war. That way, Russia has only brought India closer to Ukraine, says Rao. Whats next in Ukraine-Russia War? Modis visit came at a time when the Ukraine-Russia War has entered a new phase. Earlier this month, Ukraine invaded Russia in the border province of Kursk. Since then, it has occupied more than 1,000 square kilometres of Russian territories and the fighting has spread to the second province of Belgorod. The idea was to use the offensive as a bargaining chip in future negotiations with Russia. Even as Ukraine continues to make gains in Kursk, including controlling the town of Sudza which is critical to gas trade, Russia has continued to push inside Ukraine. In the recent days, it has scored numerous victories in the eastern Ukraines Donbas region and is closing on the town of Pokrovsk, which is the regional logistical hub. The situation is precarious for the Ukrainians there and a Russian control of Pokrovsk could potentially compromise the entire east for Ukraine. While the purpose of the Kursk incursion was to use the gains as a bargaining chip and ease pressure off the Ukrainian defenders, that does not seem to be happening as the Russians have continued to push deeper irrespective of the losses in Kursk, says Rao. As Ukraine has opened a new front, Rao says that chances of any talks between the two sides in the near-future are also dead. Rao tells Firstpost, The war has now entered a very dangerous phase. The idea behind Ukraines push inside Russia was to gain as much ground as possible to prepare for a potential Trump presidency in the United States. The idea appears to have been that if Trump as president forces Ukraine to come to the negotiating table, then Ukraine would have a bargaining chip to negotiate from a position of relative strength. Ukraine also wanted Russian resources to be spread more so that the pressure on the war inside Ukraine eased. While it has indeed won lots of land, the pressure has not eased and Russia has continued to push. So far, the Ukrainian plan has not worked to its liking. As things stand, particularly as Russia keeps moving towards Pokrovsk, Ukraine stands to lose more if things so south. Nicaragua has imposed a 30 per cent income tax on churches and religious entities and shut down over 150 NGOs. This crackdown has drawn widespread condemnation from international bodies, including the UN and the IACHR read more Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega has been ruling the country since 2007. Reuters Nicaragua ordered churches and religious entities to pay income tax and forced the closure of more than 150 non-governmental organizations, according to an official statement Thursday, in a further crackdown on opponents of President Daniel Ortega. The resolution to repeal the law exempting such organizations from tax was published in the official La Gaceta newspaper, and signed by Ortega. Now they will have to pay taxes of up to 30 percent of their annual income. Advertisement The government also shuttered 151 non-governmental organizations. The move came three days after Managua closed some 1,500 NGOs, in what the opposition in exile described as an attack against civil society. The government has jailed hundreds of critics, real and perceived, since protests against Ortegas regime in 2018 that were met with a crackdown the United Nations said left more than 300 people dead. Mondays announcement was the single-largest targeting of NGOs to date. In total, more than 5,200 civil organizations have been dissolved since 2018. The United States condemned the unjust closures Thursday, according to a tweet by the State Departments assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere affairs, Brian Nichols. The crackdown marks a dark new chapter in the systematic repression that has characterized Daniel Ortegas regime, said former Nicaraguan presidential candidate Felix Maradiaga, in exile in the United States, in a post on X. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) also condemned the move. This action intensifies the repression in Nicaragua, demonstrating the relentless onslaught against pluralism and the deliberate closure of civic and democratic space in the country, the IACHR said in a statement. The United Nations termed the development deeply alarming. Ortega became the leader of Nicaragua first as a junta head in 1979, after fighting as a guerrilla in the Sandinista movement that toppled the US-backed Somoza family dictatorship. He was later elected as the countrys president in 1985. Advertisement Beaten in elections in 1990, he returned to power in 2007 and has since quashed presidential term limits and seized control of all branches of the state. His regime is under US and European Union sanctions. The planned opening on August 14 - Pakistans Independence Day - was abruptly delayed following mass protests earlier this month that paralysed Gwadar, the city where the airport is located read more New Gwadar International Airport, set to be Pakistan's largest air hub by size, was built with a $246 million grant from China. Image Courtesy: Facebook Pakistan has postponed the opening of a nearly $250 million China-funded New Gwadar International Airport (NGIA) due to security concerns. According to Nikkei Asia report, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was due to attend the inauguration of New Gwadar International Airport (NGIA), close to a port at the center of the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). However, the planned opening on August 14 - Pakistans Independence Day - was abruptly delayed following mass protests earlier this month that paralysed Gwadar, the city where the airport is located. Advertisement No new opening date has been announced for the $246 million project, which got off the ground following a grant deal with Beijing in 2015. All the required work and prerequisite arrangements on [the New Gwadar] airport have been completed and its ready for flight operations, Nikkei Asia quoted a government official familiar with the matter as saying. The New Gwadar International Airports opening has been delayed again, following an initial postponement last year, due to concerns over low flight demand amid ongoing militant attacks and separatist unrest. The single-runway airport, located 45 kilometers from the Chinese-controlled Gwadar port, spans 4,300 acres and can accommodate large aircraft like the Airbus A380, making it Pakistans largest airport by size, surpassing Islamabads airport. Gwadars efforts to establish itself as a major hub have been underwhelming, with only three weekly flights to a smaller nearby airport from Karachi, many of which are canceled. Despite anticipated direct flights from Chinese airlines, analysts doubt there will be a significant increase in demand, reported Nikkei Asia. The inauguration of NGIA is symbolic in nature because it is not commercially viable for any airline in the short term, Afsar Malik, an expert in airline economics, was quoted as saying. Pakistani governments have long touted the multibillion-dollar investment with China as a means to transform Gwadar into the next Singapore. However, on Monday, the prime minister ordered that half of all government sea cargo, originally slated for Karachi, be rerouted to Gwadars port, underscoring its underutilisation. There are concerns that Gwadars new transport hub may become a white elephant, akin to Sri Lankas Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, which is often labeled the worlds emptiest international airport due to sparse flight activity. Advertisement Vanity projects are not new for the Chinese, they have built similar projects back home which have limited use, Nikkei Asia quoted Mohammad Shoaib, an assistant professor at Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad, as saying. The Chinese are biding their time and the NGIA can be of use once Gwadar kicks off. In the meantime, NGIA and old Gwadar airport can be used by other support missions from China, Shoaib added. This month, Gwadar saw major protests by groups advocating for civil, political, and economic rights in Balochistan, where the China-funded port is located. Beijing has become increasingly cautious about investing in Pakistan following a series of deadly attacks on its nationals. The country faces a rise in militant activity from both Islamist groups and separatists in Balochistan. Advertisement Islamabad, already struggling with a fragile economy, has pledged to enhance security for workers and launch new counterterror operations. Despite hopes that the new airport will attract more Chinese investment, skepticism remains about its impact on the largely impoverished local population. Pakistan has taken precautions to tackle the virus and put in place a strict screening system at airports after it emerged that all the patients affected by mpox reportedly returned from abroad. read more Pakistan has reported its second case of mpox, which was detected at Peshawar airport on Friday. The patient who had travelled from a Gulf country was shifted to a hospital by the health desk at the airport. Pakistans National Health Coordinator Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmad said that the health ministry is closely monitoring the situation through a robust screening and surveillance system in place at all airports, ensuring continuous vigilance to prevent further cases. Advertisement Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also chaired a meeting last week on the issue of mpox and ordered strict vigilance on the spread of the disease. He also instructed that effective screening measures be ensured at all airports, seaports and borders, besides asking Border Health Services to keep complete surveillance of the situation. Mpox, formerly called monkeypox, can spread through close contact and the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the recent outbreak of the disease as a public health emergency of international concern on Wednesday after the new variant of the virus was identified. Africas Ivory Coast and Thailand reported cases of mpox Clade 2 on Thursday. Democratic Republic of Congo has been hit hardest as the total number of cases has reached 27,000 cases and more than 1,100 deaths reported since January 2023, since January 2023, largely among children. Asian countries, including China, India, and Pakistan, many of which have high population densities, have recently intensified their surveillance efforts. Travelers from affected regions are being asked to report any symptoms, and hospitals are on heightened alert for potential cases. I look forward to the opportunity to share perspectives on a peaceful resolution to the ongoing Ukraine conflict, PM Modi said ahead of his visit read more Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday (August 23), marking the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Ukraine since the country gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The visit takes place at a critical juncture in the ongoing conflict, with Ukrainian forces still operating in Russias western Kursk region following an incursion on August 6, while Russian troops continue to make slow but steady advances in Ukraines eastern territories. Advertisement Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, told Reuters that PM Modis visit holds particular significance as New Delhi wields a certain influence over Moscow. The trip, which comes after PM Modis visit to Moscow in July, is also seen as a key moment for Kyiv, which has been working to strengthen diplomatic ties with nations in the Global South as part of its efforts to secure a fair resolution to the conflict. I look forward to the opportunity to share perspectives on a peaceful resolution to the ongoing Ukraine conflict, PM Modi said ahead of his visit. As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region. PM Modis recent trip to Russia coincided with a heavy Russian missile strike on Ukraine that targeted a childrens hospital, an attack that prompted PM Modi to issue an implicit rebuke to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their summit. The timing of PM Modis visit to Moscow drew sharp criticism from Zelenskyy, who described it as a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the worlds largest democracy embrace the worlds most blood-stained criminal in Moscow on such a day. India, historically a close economic and defence partner of Moscow, has publicly condemned the loss of innocent lives in the conflict. However, it has also continued to strengthen its economic ties with Russia, maintaining a delicate balancing act in securing its interests on the global stage, instead of simply following the West. Advertisement With inputs from agencies Ukraines push into Russia marks the first capture of Russian territory since World War II, but it comes as Kyiv continues to lose ground in eastern Ukraine. read more Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said that President Vladimir Putin has devised a response to the Ukrainian militarys ongoing presence in the Kursk region, warning that those responsible for the attack will face consequences. Antonovs remarks followed a high-level meeting held by the Kremlin leader on Thursday. The meeting, attended by senior officials and governors of border regions, took place more than two weeks after Ukraine launched its largest incursion into Russian territory since World War II. However, Antonov did not elaborate on the specifics of Putins plans. Advertisement I tell you sincerely that the president has made a decision, the TASS state news agency quoted Antonov as saying late on Thursday. I am firmly convinced that everyone will be severely punished for what has happened in Kursk region. Antonov, who has served in his post since 2017, also warned in comments published by the RIA state news agency that the U.S. will at some point remove all restrictions on the use of weapons supplied to Ukraine. The current administration behaves like a person who extends one hand and holds a dagger behind their back with another one, Antonov said, describing Washingtons recent comments about Kyiv not being allowed to use U.S. weapons for strikes deep into Russian territory as goading. They are, essentially, laying ground (for a decision) to simply remove all the existing restrictions at a certain point, without much thought, he said. The United States has provided Ukraine with more than $55 billion worth of military aid since 2022, but has limited the use of its weapons to Ukrainian soil and counterfire, defensive cross-border operations. The Biden administration will send about $125 million in new military aid to Ukraine, U.S. officials said Thursday, even as Washington works to get a better understanding of Kyivs incursion into Russia and how it advances the broader battlefield goals more than two years into the war. Advertisement US officials said the latest package of aid includes air defense missiles, munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Javelins and an array of other anti-armor missiles, counter-drone and counter-electronic warfare systems and equipment, 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition, vehicles and other equipment. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his first visit Thursday to the border area where his forces launched their surprise offensive into Russia, saying that Kyivs military had taken control of another Russian village and captured more prisoners of war. While in Ukraines northern Sumy region, Zelenskyy said the new POWs from the Russian region of Kursk would help build an exchange fund to swap for captured Ukrainians. Advertisement A visit to Kyiv by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is meeting Friday with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is being closely watched. Modi, who has maintained cordial ties and economic relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, could play a role in forging a mediated peace. But the incursion into Russia itself is risky. It has highlighted Russian vulnerabilities but also further stretched Ukrainian forces, who were already fighting on a frontline running for hundreds of kilometers. With inputs from agencies. Russia emerged as Indias biggest supplier of crude oil, which is converted into fuels like petrol and diesel in refineries, after Russian oil became available at a discount following some European nations shunning purchases from Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. read more India, the worlds third largest oil-consuming and importing nation, in July bought USD 2.8 billion worth of crude oil from Russia, second only to China. Image- Vladimir Zelenskyy (File Reuters) Russia will have significant challenges if the world, including India, stops buying subsidised oil from it, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday. The West has been critical of Indias continued buying of Russian oil despite sanctions on that country since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Imports from Russia, which were less than one per cent of the total oil imported in the pre-Ukraine war period, now make up for almost 40 per cent of Indias total oil purchases. Advertisement On Friday, pointing out that there are very significant contracts between India and Russia vis-a-vis oil, the Ukrainian president said, Putin is afraid of losing the economy, he has nothing except for oil, his main currency is oil. They do have a kind of energy-based economy, and theyre export-oriented. So, the countries importing energy resources from the Russian Federation, then they will be helping the whole world, Zelenskyy said while addressing the travelling India media persons after his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi here. PM Modis nearly nine-hour visit to Ukraine, the first by an Indian prime minister since Ukraines independence in 1991, came six weeks after he held summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in July in Moscow. Describing what he called very significant challenges that Russia faced, Zelenskyy said that with an energy-based economy, Russia is paying for pensions, paying salaries. They are not selling their technologies, and their economy is very slow. Later, addressing the media persons after the bilateral talks, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also said that the question of Indias energy trade with Russia did come up for discussions between the two sides. I wouldnt say at great length, but what we did was to explain to the Ukrainian side what was the energy market scenario, the fact that today many energy producers are sanctioned, making the market potentially very tight; and why actually today there is a compulsion. Advertisement In fact, not just a compulsion, why it is in the interest of the international economy as a whole, that oil prices remain reasonable and stable, he said. India, the worlds third largest oil-consuming and importing nation, in July bought USD 2.8 billion worth of crude oil from Russia, second only to China which remains the largest importer of Russian oil, the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said in a report. Special National Guard sniper units neutralised four prisoners who had taken colony staff hostage, with four accurate shots. The hostages were released, the National Guard said in a statement read more Russian special forces on Friday neutralised four inmates who had taken staff hostage at a prison in the southern Volgograd region, the National Guard said in a statement. Special National Guard sniper units neutralised four prisoners who had taken colony staff hostage, with four accurate shots. The hostages were released, the agency said in a statement posted on Telegram. However, AFP, citing local governor, reported that some hostages were also killed in the prison siege. Advertisement Unfortunately, there are people dead from the actions of the criminals, Volgograd Governor Andrey Bocharov said in a statement on Telegram, without specifying how many people the attackers had killed. Earlier in the day, knife-wielding prisoners identifying themselves as Islamic State militants staged a bloody attack on guards in a Russian penal colony on Friday and seized hostages, according to state media and news outlets with ties to the security services. A video posted by one of the news channels, Mash, showed at least two attackers. One of them shouted that they were mujahideen of the militant group Islamic State and had seized control of the prison in the Volgograd region. At least four uniformed prison officials could be seen lying or sitting in pools of blood. Three were lying motionless, one with his throat cut. Another was sitting upright in a doorway, where a man with a knife was holding him by the neck. Russia state media said at least one member of the prison staff had been killed, but the video suggested the death toll was almost certainly higher. The prison service said in a statement, During a session of a disciplinary commission, convicts took staff of the penal institution as hostages. Measures are currently being taken to free the hostages. There are casualties. Advertisement The prison is designated as a harsh regime penal colony with capacity to hold up to 1,241 male prisoners. News sites with security connections published the names of up to four alleged attackers, identifying them as citizens of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. There was no official confirmation. Russia, whose defence and security agencies are heavily focused on its war in Ukraine, has seen a recent upsurge in Islamist militant attacks. In June, a bloody Islamic State-linked prison uprising took place in the southern region of Rostov, where special forces shot dead six inmates who had taken hostages. Later that month, at least 20 people were killed in shooting attacks in two cities in Dagestan, a mainly Muslim region of southern Russia. After the recovery of the Mike Lynchs 18-year-old daughters body, Italian prosecutors are investigating possible manslaughter charges in connection with the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian, according to a report read more A fishing boat sails past a finance police vessel and a coast guard vessel operating in the sea to search for the missing, including British entrepreneur Mike Lynch, after a luxury yacht sank off the coast of Porticello, near the Sicilian city of Palermo, Italy, on Tuesday. Reuters File After the recovery of the Mike Lynchs 18-year-old daughters body, Italian prosecutors are investigating possible manslaughter charges in connection with the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian, according to The Guardian report. The Bayesian went down off the coast of Sicily early Monday morning amid severe storms, resulting in the deaths of seven people, including British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch. After a four-day search, the Italian coastguard announced on Friday that they had recovered the body of Lynchs daughter Hannah, the last person missing from the luxury yacht. Advertisement According to The Guardian, citing the PA Media news agency, a green body bag was seen being transported from the site of the sinking to Porticello just before 1 pm local time. The public prosecutor in Termini Imerese is investigating the sinking on charges of shipwreck, disaster, and multiple homicides, added the report, citing Italian news agency Adnkronos. These charges are akin to manslaughter in the UK, with the specific offense of causing a shipwreck potentially carrying a prison sentence of up to 12 years. Prosecutors are set to hold a press conference on the matter in Termini Imerese on Saturday afternoon, The Guardian reported. Mike Lynch, 59, founder of Autonomy Corporation, had been celebrating his acquittal on US fraud charges when the 56-meter yacht capsized around 5 am local time on Monday. According to the report, citing Adnkronos, investigators believe the yacht sank bow-first before slowly tipping onto its right side. Sources involved in the recovery operations said the victims were found outside their cabins. The passengers sought escape routes, reaching the opposite side of the vessel they were in, the report quoted Adnkronos as saying. But the water had already reached the cabins and five of them were found in that direction, it added. Five victims were found in different locations than those indicated by survivors. Advertisement Search efforts for Hannah, the last missing person, resumed on Friday morning, with divers now inspecting the seabed around the wreck. Vincenzo Zagarola of the Italian coastguard described the search as challenging, likening the sunken yacht to an 18-storey building full of water. Carlo DallOppio, head of Italys firefighters, noted that the search for the teenager was hindered by obstructing furniture. The other deceased included Jonathan Bloomer, chair of Morgan Stanley International, his wife Judy, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, his wife Neda, and the yachts chef, Recaldo Thomas. With inputs from agencies The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has reported a significant decrease in the percentage of Black, Hispanic, Native American, and Pacific Islander students in its incoming class of 2028, the institution's first undergraduate class admitted since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to ban affirmative action. For the class of 2028, about 16% of students belong to these minority groups, the university announced, down from a baseline of approximately 25% in recent years. The drop is particularly notable when compared to the 2027 class, where the percentage of Black students fell from 15% to 5%, and Hispanic and Latino students decreased from 16% to 11%, according to The New York Times. MIT noted that the percentages do not total 100 because students could declare more than one race. MIT president Sally Kornbluth described the class as exceptional but acknowledged to The Times the contrast comparedto previous years: "The class is, as always, outstanding across multiple dimensions. What it does not bring, as a consequence of last year's Supreme Court decision, is the same degree of broad racial and ethnic diversity that the M.I.T. community has worked together to achieve over the past several decades," she said. The shift in enrollment aligns with patterns observed in lawsuits against Harvard and the University of North Carolina, which argued that Black students, who generally scored lower on standardized tests, were given an admissions advantage, while Asian students were penalized. With race no longer a factor, a decrease in Black enrollment and an increase in Asian American students were anticipated. The university attributed the decline partly to disparities in access to advanced high school courses in science and technology, as Stuart Schmill, dean of admissions told the outlet: "Black and Hispanic students are less likely to attend high school where calculus is taught, where physics is taught, where computer science is taught." The news stands in contrast with a recent study by Common Application, which found that during the first admissions season after the landmark Supreme Court ruling, not much changed as far as application trends. The study did however point out an important caveat, as highlighted by Jenny Rickard, president and chief executive the organization: "Many of the students who applied this admissions cycle were already thinking about going to college when that decision came down. And we won't have the full picture and the makeup of entering classes until the fall." Robert F. Kennedy Jr said on Friday that he was suspending his independent US presidential bid and is now backing Donald Trump read more Independent Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks to reporters at the Nassau County Supreme Court in Mineola, N.Y. on Wednesday. AP Robert F. Kennedy Jr said on Friday that he was suspending his independent US presidential bid and is now backing Donald Trump. He said he will seek to remove his name from the ballot in battleground states because he believes his presence in the race would help Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. Addressing a press conference in Arizona on Friday, he said, I want everyone to know that I am not terminating my campaign. I am simply suspending it and not not ending it. Advertisement He said his will remain on the ballot in most states. My name will remain on the ballot in most states. If you live in a blue state, you can vote for me without harming or helping president Trump or vice president Harris," he said. In about 10 battleground states where my presence would be a spoiler, Im going to remove my name, and Ive already started that process and urge voters not to vote for me, he added. Kennedy Jr said the move followed conversations with former President Donald Trump over the past few weeks. Kennedy Jr said he will now endorse Donald Trump. Citing the reasons for his endorsement of Trump, he said the causes were free speech, war in Ukraine and the war on our children. These are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent and now to throw my support to President Trump," Kennedy said. Raising doubts over the system, he said in an honest system, he believes, he would have won the election. My father and my uncle thrived in a systemopen debates with fair primaries, with a regularly scheduled debate with fair primaries and with a truly independent media, untainted by government propaganda and censorship. In a system of nonpartisan courts and election boards, everything would be different, he added. Meanwhile, five of Kennedy Jrs siblings have issued a statement condemning his endorsement of Trump. We want an America filled with hope and bound together by a shared vision of a brighter future, a future defined by individual freedom, economic promise and national pride. We believe in Harris and Walz. Our brother Bobbys decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Courtney Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Chris Kennedy and Rory Kennedy said in a statement. Advertisement With inputs from agencies A trade surplus refers to a situation where Thailand exports more goods and services to the US than it imports from them. Thaksin suggested that Washington may reassess trade relations as part of broader efforts to address its trade deficit read more Thailand should brace for a possible reassessment of its trade relations with the United States, regardless of which political party emerges victorious in the upcoming presidential election, former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said. The founder of the ruling Pheu Thai Party issued this cautionary note during a televised 70-minute speech on the anniversary of his return to Thailand, according to Nikkei Asia. Speaking at a dinner talk hosted by a local news outlet, Thaksin stressed the need for Thailand to prepare for potential shifts in US trade policy. The US will have to look at its trade deficit and what they can do to decrease it, he said, adding that Thailand needs to prepare because we have a trade surplus with them. Advertisement A trade surplus refers to a situation where Thailand exports more goods and services to the US than it imports from the North American country. Trade surplus with US Thailands trade surplus with the US is wide. US goods and services trade with Thailand totalled an estimated $79.1 billion in 2022. Exports were $18.6 billion; imports were $60.5 billion, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative. This means that in 2022, the US recorded a goods and services trade deficit with Thailand of $41.9 billion. Thaksin was highlighting that because Thailand has a trade surplus with the US, Washington might reassess and potentially seek to reduce this imbalance, especially as part of broader efforts to address its trade deficit. Thailand-US trade relations The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates Thailands GDP to be $548 billion as of July 2024, making it the largest economy in Mainland Southeast Asia, the second largest among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), and larger than some members of the G20. The United States and Thailand collaborate through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) on economic issues. Thailand and the United States, together with other IPEF partners, have signed the IPEF Pillar II Supply Chains Agreement, Pillar III Clean Economy Agreement, and Pillar IV Fair Economy Agreement. Currently, Thailand is the United States 18th-largest goods trading partner, with two-way goods trade amounting to $72.8 billion in 2023. Minister Gallant and I also discussed progress towards securing a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages, and I underscored the importance of finalizing a deal, said Austin read more US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin called Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant to discuss continued exchanges of fire on the Israel-Lebanon border and the risk of escalation from Iran, Lebanese Hezbollah, and Iran-backed terrorist groups across the Middle East and assured United States commitment to Israels security. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III tweets, "I called Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant yesterday to discuss continued exchanges of fire on the Israel-Lebanon border and the risk of escalation from Iran, Lebanese Hizballah, and Iran-backed terrorist groups across pic.twitter.com/nTbCRoqfep ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 Advertisement Taking to X, Austin said I called Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant yesterday to discuss continued exchanges of fire on the Israel-Lebanon border and the risk of escalation from Iran, Lebanese Hizballah, and Iran-backed terrorist groups across the Middle East. He said that he confirmed the US commitment to Israels security and shared that Washington is well postured across the region to defend Israel and protect US personnel and facilities. Minister Gallant and I also discussed progress towards securing a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages, and I underscored the importance of finalizing a deal, Austin added. Israeli forces were engaged in combat with Hamas inside Gaza and were involved in daily skirmishes with Hezbollah along the northern border with Lebanon. A low-level conflict, primarily consisting of airstrikes, persisted with Iranian-backed forces in Syria. Also, Israel faced drone attacks from the Houthis in Yemen, though these strikes were largely ineffective. The day following Israels bombing of an Iranian diplomatic facility in Damascus, the situation escalated. Within two weeks, Iran retaliated by launching 300 missiles and drones at Israel, adding a new front to the ongoing conflict. Advertisement The opening of this new front with Iran raises significant concerns about Israels ability to manage multiple conflicts simultaneously, especially in what seems to be an indefinite state of hostilities. Following this, the Middle East was on high alert after Iran pledged to retaliate against Israel for two recent strikes. On July 31, Israel assassinated Hamas leader Ismael Haniyeh in Tehran, followed by an airstrike on Hezbollahs senior commander, Fuad Shukr, in Lebanon. With inputs from agencies Narendra Modi is the first Prime Minister of India to visit Ukraine since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1993 read more Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting an exposition in the memory of Ukrainian children killed in the war in Kyiv with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Photo: X/Narendra Modi) With President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by his side, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday attended an exposition in the memory of Ukrainian children killed in the war. Following his arrival in Ukrainian capital Kyiv after a 10-hour rail journey, Modi met Zelenskyy and the two went to the Martyrologist exposition on children at the National Museum of History. At the exhibition, Modi and Zelenskyy watched a film on the children killed in the war and laid wreath to honour their memory. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that Modi was deeply touched by the poignant exposition. Advertisement Separately, Modi said, Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief. President @ZelenskyyUa and I paid homage at the Martyrologist Exposition in Kyiv. Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief. pic.twitter.com/VQH1tun5ok Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2024 Since February 2022, Ukraine has been fighting a war after Russia launched an unprovoked invasion of the country. Throughout the conflict, Russia has attacked non-combatant targets such as apartments, hospitals, railway stations, and critical infrastructure such as power stations. In areas freed from Russian control, mass graves have also been discovered and systemic sexual assault has also been reported. In a post featuring a video of their visit to the exposition, Zelenskyy said, Today in Kyiv, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and I honoured the memory of the children whose lives were taken by Russian aggression. Children in every country deserve to live in safety. We must make this possible. Today in Kyiv, Prime Minister @NarendraModi and I honored the memory of the children whose lives were taken by Russian aggression. Children in every country deserve to live in safety. We must make this possible. pic.twitter.com/gKdjqcL5iz Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) August 23, 2024 Advertisement The MEA said that Modi expressed his sorrow at the tragic loss of young lives and as a mark of respect placed a toy in their memory at the exposition. Last month, when Modi visited Russia and met Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Russia had launched an attack on a childrens hospital in Kyiv. The Ukrainian authorities at the time said that the Russian missile attack killed at least 44. The World Health Organization said on Friday its partners such as Gavi and Unicef can start buying mpox vaccines before they are approved by the UN health agency, in a bid to get inoculations to Africa faster read more A person holds doses of Bavarian Nordic's Imvanex vaccine, used to protect against mpox virus, at the Edison municipal vaccination centre in Paris, France, on July 27, 2022. Reuters File The World Health Organization said on Friday its partners such as Gavi and Unicef can start buying mpox vaccines before they are approved by the UN health agency, in a bid to get inoculations to Africa faster as the continent battles an escalating outbreak of the virus. Traditionally, organisations like Gavi, which helps lower-income countries buy vaccines, can only start purchasing shots once they have approval from the WHO. But the rules have been relaxed in this instance to get talks moving, as the WHOs approval is due in a few weeks. Advertisement Two vaccines, made by Denmarks Bavarian Nordic and Japans KM Biologics, are already approved by regulators around the world, including the United States and Japan, and have been in widespread use for mpox since 2022. Around 1.2 million people have had Bavarian Nordics vaccine in the United States alone. The WHO is expected to grant an emergency licence to the shots in September. Mpox, a viral infection that spreads through close contact and is usually mild but can kill, was declared a public emergency of international concern by the WHO last week after a new offshoot of the virus spread quickly in Democratic Republic of Congo and beyond. Earlier this month, the WHO asked vaccine manufacturers to submit information so it could accelerate its approval process, and grant an emergency licence by mid-September. However this week, one of the vaccine manufacturers, Bavarian Nordic, said it needed orders immediately from organisations like Gavi and the WHO to make more shots this year, raising fears that lower-income countries could miss out or be forced to rely once again on precarious donations from high-income countries, as happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some donated mpox vaccines are due to arrive in Africa next week, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has said. On August 23, 2024, Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong, upon request, introduced China's expectations for the future development of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) at a briefing for Chinese and foreign media on the 2024 FOCAC Summit. Chen Xiaodong said, thanks to the joint efforts of both sides, over the past 24 years since its establishment, the FOCAC has developed its features of equality, practicality and efficiency. China-Africa cooperation within the framework of the FOCAC has yielded significant results, which are widely recognized by both the Chinese and African peoples and have been highly praised by the international community. The Forum has become a prominent brand for China-Africa cooperation and a banner for promoting the spirit of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, forging the collective strength of the Global South, and leading international cooperation with Africa. It has provided important driving forces for building a community with a shared future for mankind. China has the following expectations for the future development of the Forum: First, embark on a new journey toward jointly building a high-level China-Africa community with a shared future. This Summit is a meeting that builds on past achievements while opening up a new future, and upholds fundamental principles while breaking new ground. On the basis of taking stock of and summarizing past achievements, the Summit will lay out new designs and formulate new blueprints for the future development of China-Africa relations. The leaders of China and Africa will discuss major cooperation strategies, explore cooperation plans together, and strengthen exchanges on state governance, which will provide important guidance for the development of the Forum in the next stage. Second, gather new momentum for deepening China-Africa cooperation in various fields. China and Africa will actively implement the outcomes of the Summit, give play to each other's strengths, and ensure that practical cooperation in various fields becomes increasingly substantive, creating a model example of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. China is ready to take this Summit as an opportunity to seek greater synergy with Africa's development strategies and work out a broader path of mutual benefit and common development between China and Africa. Third, continue writing a new chapter in the mutual understanding, affinity and friendship between the people of China and Africa. The brotherhood between China and Africa is time-honored, time-tested and ever-stronger. The Summit will introduce a series of new cooperation initiatives to deepen mutual understanding, respect and affinity between the people of China and Africa, so that the China-Africa friendship will be passed on from generation to generation and the flower of China-Africa friendship will blossom with renewed brilliance. While large-scale protests have not yet erupted on Columbia University's campus like they did last spring, new and returning students arriving in the coming days might notice some early signs of unrest and additional safety measures. Small protests and barricades cropped up around Columbia's Barnard College earlier this week, with reports of drones and a police presence. A history professor also shared photos of fenced-off green space on campus, "presumably to stop future encampments." Columbia began restricting access to its Morningside campus on Aug. 9, in preparation for potential disruptions and protests ahead of the fall semester. Only those with university ID cards or pre-authorized guests are allowed to enter the area. The new restrictions come after a series of pro-Palestinian protests last spring, which included encampments and a takeover of Hamilton Hall. Over 40 students were charged after the incident, but many have had those charges dropped. Most of those arrested following the demonstrations will be allowed to return to campus this fall, according to documents received by the congressional Committee on Education and the Workforce, which subpoenaed school officials on Wednesday as part of an ongoing antisemitism investigation. Students are also exploring new ways to express their viewpoints. Hundreds of Jewish and pro-Israel students recently gathered in Washington, D.C., for a leadership summit aimed at strategizing for the upcoming year, according to Fox News Digital. The summit, hosted by the Israel on Campus Coalition, focused on rallying students against rising antisemitism and bolstering pro-Israel activism. Meanwhile, pro-Palestinian activists are gearing up for more protests. Despite over 2,000 arrests across the country last year, they are planning to intensify their efforts to push their institutions to divest from Israel, among other demands. Protesters are also strategizing new ways to raise awareness and apply pressure, despite more universities adopting stricter protesting policies surrounding demonstrations. "We've been working all this summer on our plans, on what's next to pressure Columbia to listen to the students and to decide to be on the right side of history," Mahmoud Khalil, of Columbia University Apartheid Divest, told The Hill earlier this month. Tensions have remained high at the Ivy League institution throughout the summer. Chief Operations Officer Cas Holloway had his Brooklyn residence vandalized by protesters last week, three university deans recently resigned after "antisemitic" text exchanges were revealed, and Columbia's President Minouche Shafik resigned last week following her controversial handling of student protests last semester. University officials are also considering giving campus police broader authority to arrest protesters, though it's unclear if or when those policies will be put in place. Columbia's fall semester begins Sept. 3. Explore the rich history and architectural beauty of Trinity Episcopal Church in this captivating tour given by Reverend Jimmy Abbott. Join J.R., Lisa, Erika, and Reverend Jimmy in uncovering the layers of history, from its founding in 1841 to its role in wartime and natural disasters. 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. Military officers given up to 13 years in jail for spying for China ROC Central News Agency 08/22/2024 09:47 PM Taipei, Aug. 22 (CNA) Eight people, including several active-duty military officers, were handed prison sentences ranging from 18 months to 13 years on Thursday for collecting intelligence for China. The eight people were among the 10 indicted in November 2023 by the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office for allegedly spying for China. Of the 10, one was found not guilty, while retired military officer Chen Yu-hsin () remains wanted, according to the judgment handed down Thursday by the Taiwan High Court. The case stems from a 2022 investigation by the prosecutor's office into Chen after he was suspected of having been recruited to run espionage activities for Beijing in 2021. Chen was found to have used money to lure retired military officers Hsiao Hsiang-yun () and Hsieh Ping-cheng () to help run spy rings for China. They in turn recruited active-duty military personnel surnamed Kang () and Ho () to gather military secrets. Hsiao delivered military (state) secrets gathered by Kang and Ho to Chen and took a bribe of NT$620,000 (US$19,400). Hsiao also handed NT$700,000 and NT$600,000, respectively, to Kang and Ho on China's behalf. Hsieh then recruited Hsieh Meng-shu (), a lieutenant colonel at the Taoyuan-based Army Aviation and Special Forces Command's 601st Brigade as well as two soldiers surnamed Hung () and Lu () between December 2022 and March 2023. They all gathered military (state) secrets which were delivered to Chen. Later, Hsieh Ping-cheng persuaded the lieutenant colonel to pilot a Boeing CH-47 Chinook military helicopter to defect to China. He also paid bribes to Hung (NT$446,000), Hsieh Meng-shu (NT$556,000 and 40,000 Thai baht) and Lu (NT$10,000). The verdict indicated that Hsieh Meng-shu had plans to surrender to China. Lu also followed his instructions to film a video saying they were willing to surrender to the People's Liberation Army in the event of a war. Hsiao was therefore given a 13-year prison sentence, Hsieh Meng-shu nine years, Hsieh Ping-cheng eight years, and five others got jail terms ranging from 18 months to 88 months, according to the court document. The ruling can still be appealed, according to the High Court. (By Liu Shih-yi, Hsieh Hsin-en and Evelyn Kao) Enditem/kb NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address How An Accused Russian Spy Traversed Nagorno-Karabakh And Armenian Politics As A Journalist By Heghine Buniatian and Hasmik Smbatian August 22, 2024 YEREVAN -- Following a historic prisoner swap between Russia and the West this month, Armine, an ethnic Armenian displaced from the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, watched footage of the exchanged Russians disembarking from their plane and being greeted on the tarmac by Russian President Vladimir Putin -- rewinding and replaying it in disbelief. Among those returning home were convicted Russian spies and one convicted assassin. But Armine, whom RFE/RL is identifying with a pseudonym due to security concerns, recognized another one: a Spanish journalist who had been a frequent visitor to Nagorno-Karabakh -- particularly during times of escalating tensions there. "I met Pablo about 10 years ago.... He introduced himself as a Spanish journalist and was eager to interview Karabakh officials, visit the seven districts around Karabakh, and talk to the locals," Armine told RFE/RL's Armenian Service. "He made many contacts in Karabakh and was warmly received. Strangely enough, the Karabakh authorities -- who were typically suspicious of outsiders -- had no doubts about Pablo," she added. The man Armine recognized is Pablo Gonzalez, Spanish-Russian freelance journalist who is identified in his Russian passport as Pavel Rubtsov. He was arrested in Poland in 2022 on charges of spying for Russian military intelligence, known as the GRU. Armine is one of more than a dozen people who spoke to RFE/RL's Armenian Service about their encounters with Gonzalez in Nagorno-Karabakh, which was a predominantly ethnic Armenian region before it was recaptured by Azerbaijan after the attack on September 19, 2023. Most said they found nothing suspicious about the visitor, who in addition to reporting about hostilities in the region wrote about Armenia's nuclear power plant and used his status as a journalist to interview Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian and snap photographs inside the ruling Civil Contract party headquarters. They did note that Gonzalez, 42, demonstrated an appetite for covering conflict. "He was not afraid of war at all," said Sergey Shahverdian, the former director of Stepanakert's Hotel Europe, where Gonzalez stayed. Just days after Putin launched Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Polish authorities arrested Gonzalez in the border town of Przemysl, through which hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war have passed. Following the arrest, Poland's counterintelligence agency alleged Gonzalez had "carried out his activities for Russia using his journalistic status." Richard Moore, the head of Britain's MI6 foreign spy service, said later in 2022 that Gonzales was a deep-cover spy who was "trying to go into Ukraine to be part of their destabilizing efforts there." Polish prosecutors last week formally indicted Gonzalez, accusing him of supplying the GRU with information that was potentially "harmful" to Poland and NATO, though after the prisoner swap he is now beyond Warsaw's reach. While Polish authorities have not officially disclosed further details, journalistic investigations have previously found that Gonzalez had ingratiated himself with Russian opposition activists and compiled reports on them. Karo Sahakian, an Armenian photographer who says he first met Gonzalez during the 2020 war over Nagorno-Karabakh, told RFE/RL's Armenian Service that he "didn't notice anything suspicious" about him. "I'm still not 100 percent sure," Sahakian said. 'He Did Not Hide' During the 2020 war, Gonzalez checked into the Hotel Europe in Stepanakert -- now called Xankendi under Azerbaijani rule -- several hundred miles from what would later become the Russian-Ukrainian front. "You couldn't mistake him for anyone else," Shahverdian, the former director of the hotel who was displaced from the region along with tens of thousands of other ethnic Armenians, told RFE/RL's Armenian Service. Shahverdian says Gonzalez registered locally as a Spanish citizen and an independent journalist, and that unlike many journalists he would rush to the battlefronts like a trained soldier. "He did not hide in bomb shelters or fear bombings," Shahverdian said. "We appreciated his resilience a lot." Shahverdian noted that the alleged spy "spoke Russian very well." "He would explain that he was born and raised in Russia, and that his grandparents were communists," Shahverdian said. A profile of Gonzalez by U.S.-funded broadcaster VOA, for which he had contributed reporting as a freelancer, cited his wife and a friend as saying that his late grandfather, Andres Gonzalez, fled with his family as a child from Spain to the Soviet Union during the Spanish Civil War. He moved to Spain with his mother at age 9, VOA reported. Both Armenian and foreign journalists who knew Gonzalez described him as cheerful, humorous, and quick to make friends -- a person who loved noisy gatherings where he often showed off his tattoos. "He had a tattoo of Tatik-Papik ("Grandmother and Grandfather"), a statue widely regarded as a symbol of Karabakh," the photographer Sahakian told RFE/RL's Armenian Service. "He would say that the Karabakh war was close to his heart, which is why he got the tattoo." Gonzalez introduced himself as Basque and an independent journalist, Sahakian recalled. He spoke with Sahakian only in English and worked alone, never with accompaniment, the photographer added. Probing Armenian Domestic Politics Gonzalez also took a keen interest in Armenia's domestic political affairs, particularly in Yerevan's relations with its neighbors. During the 2020 war, he managed to secure an interview with Pashinian on behalf of the Spanish news agency EFE -- Gonzalez's only known face-to-face interview with a head of government. According to a transcript of the October 2020 interview released by Pashinian's office, Gonzalez asked him about the course of the war and whether Moscow was doing everything it could to fulfill its obligations under its strategic alliance with Yerevan. "We do feel Russia's support as a strategic partner of Armenia, and we do feel Russia's mediation efforts," Pashinian said. "We see these mediation efforts for establishing stability in the region and achieving a peaceful resolution." Gonzalez also asked Pashinian why Russian border guards had been deployed along the border between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, according to reports published by Russian state media outlets. His questioning of Pashinian on that issue was not included in either the EFE report or in the transcript released by the Armenian leader's office. Russia's state-run RIA Novosti noted the absence of this part of the interview in the official transcript and the EFE report, explaining that Gonzalez had shown its reporter this part of the interview. A year after the war over Nagorno-Karabakh, Gonzalez wrote about the conflict on his Spanish-language website, and he continued to visit Armenia, including during the 2021 snap parliamentary elections. Following the war, the Armenian opposition along with high-ranking military officials demanded Pashinian's resignation. Gonzalez covered Armenia's political landscape at the time, taking photographs in the offices of Pashinian's ruling Civil Contract party and attending a press conference held by the country's second president, Robert Kocharian. RFE/RL's Armenian Service spoke with people both from the pro-government and opposition circles about Gonzalez, but in stark contrast to those he encountered in Nagorno-Karabakh, none seems to remember him. During this period, Gonzalez also focused on another issue of strategic importance: Armenia's Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant and its energy cooperation with Russia. On his Spanish-language website, Gonzalez published an article featuring information about the nuclear power plant's location, the capacity of its reactors, the number of reactors in operation, and Russian fuel supplies for the facility. The article also addressed whether Armenia would build a new nuclear power plant and, if so, whether Yerevan would award the contract to Russia once again. Getting 'Back To Work' After Gonzalez descended onto the tarmac following the August 1 prisoner exchange, Putin greeted him on a red carpet with a warm handshake. His fellow returnees included Vadim Krasikov, a former Russian FSB officer convicted of the 2019 murder of ex-Chechen field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin. Gonzalez was wearing a Star Wars T-shirt that read: "Your Empire Needs You." "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," Putin told the group. The following day, Putin's head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, Sergei Naryshkin, said Russia had "welcomed our colleagues on home soil." "They will rest a little now and get back to work," Naryshkin said. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/pablo -gonzalez-russian-spy-pavel-rubtsov-nagorno-karabakh -armenia-pashinian/33087059.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 The Hamas' Command and Control Center embedded inside the "Salah al-Din" School Compound IDF Press Release August 21, 2024 21.08.24 A short while ago, with the direction of IDF and ISA intelligence, the IAF conducted a precise strike on Hamas terrorists who were operating inside a command and control center. The command and control center was located inside a compound that previously served as the "Salah al-Din" School in Gaza City. Hamas operatives used the compound as a hideout and a base to plan and execute attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel. Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence. The Hamas terrorist organization systematically violates international law and operates from within civilian infrastructure and shelters in the Gaza Strip, brutally exploiting the Gazan civilian population for its terrorist activities. The IDF will continue to operate against the Hamas terrorist organization in defense of the State of Israel. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Delegates Highlight Central Role of Inclusive Development, State-owned Strategies in Defusing Violence, as Security Council Debates Peacebuilding, Sustaining Peace Meetings Coverage Security Council 9709th Meeting (AM & PM) SC/15796 21 August 2024 Sustainable Financing Key to Achieving Requisite Conflict Prevention, African Union Commissioner Stresses Holding an open debate centred on preventing conflict and building and sustaining peace today, the Security Council heard that the principles contained in the UN Secretary-General's "A New Agenda for Peace" must be translated into concrete action on the ground while speakers, to that end, spotlighted the central role of inclusive development and State-owned strategies in defusing cycles of violence around the world. "Peace is the foundational goal of the United Nations," observed Elizabeth Spehar, Assistant Secretary-General for Peacebuilding Support in the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. However, while building and sustaining peace are central to the UN's work, a decades-long high of conflict is inflicting unimaginable suffering, devastating economies and robbing communities of their future. Against that backdrop, she said that prioritizing conflict prevention and peacebuilding can contribute to reversing these trends, provide people affected by violence with opportunity and reduce the human and economic costs of war. "A New Agenda for Peace", she said, provides Member States with a road map to this end, and it proposes a "paradigm shift" in prevention based on two core principles. First, that prevention should be universal and, second, a recognition of the need to focus on national action and priorities. Further, while the Agenda underscores national ownership as a guiding principle, it also emphasizes the need to include diverse voices, needs and participation by all segments of society, which can help make peace more sustainable. "The best way to prevent societies from descending into crisis is to ensure that they are resilient through investment in inclusive and sustainable development and inclusive governance," she went on to say, underlining the imperative to accelerate implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. While also spotlighting the importance of strengthening critical partnerships, she nevertheless emphasized: "Funding peacebuilding is what translates commitment and strategies into impact on the ground." Addressing Council members, she urged them to lead in "pushing us to move from the 'what' of prevention and peacebuilding to the 'how' of concrete implementation". Building on that, Bankole Adeoye, African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, called on the Council to integrate the voices of all regions to ensure an inclusive, effective peace-and-security framework. He also detailed numerous African Union initiatives aimed at conflict prevention, including its release of principles and guidelines for the use of digital and social media in the context of elections "another critical contribution to enabling peaceful elections and, therefore, preventing conflict". Further, the African Union supports member States and the region through direct assistance, support for security-sector reform, building human capacity and serving as a platform for coordination. "We cannot achieve the requisite conflict prevention without sustainable financing," he emphasized, describing efforts to mobilize public and private resources so that the Union can contribute to African-owned and -led sustainable funding of all its peace operations particularly conflict prevention. Also detailing several recommendations for future action, he urged building institutions and resilience in local and border communities, as well as investing in quality, accessible and inclusive education for deprived communities. "I want to assure you", he concluded, "that the African Union remains committed to 'A New Agenda for Peace' that is driven by a new architecture that prioritizes early warning, early response and conflict prevention." Meanwhile, Arnoux Descardes, Executive Director of Volontariat pour le developpement d'Haiti, provided a tangible example of the need for conflict prevention as he detailed the dire state of his country. The worsening security situation is preventing the movement of people, goods and services and, thus, aggravating food insecurity. "Bruised by an escalation of violence", Haiti has seen thousands of deaths and kidnappings, he reported. It is therefore vital to reverse the trend of violence, re-establish institutional order through elections and build lasting peace, he said, noting Government efforts to strengthen law enforcement as well as the arrival of the first contingents of the Multinational Security Support mission. "In light of the reality on the ground", he recommended that the peace agenda for Haiti should focus on community violence reduction through national dialogue and an effective disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme that targets those responsible for the current strife. Equally, Haiti needs a programme to promote truth and justice as well as rehabilitation efforts for those groups who are vulnerable to offers from armed gangs. It is also essential to manage the acute humanitarian crisis that Haiti is experiencing, he said, stressing the role of the international community in translating these recommendations into reality. Positively, by contrast, Hawa Samai, Executive Secretary of the Independent Commission for Peace and National Cohesion, said that, 22 years since the end of the brutal civil war in Sierra Leone, the nation's progress "has far exceeded the predictions of everyone including the international community" and "demonstrates that even the most devastated nations can rise again". Drawing attention to the reasons for this, she first pointed to unwavering political will and commitment to dialogue. Further, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, established in July 2002, played a critical role by identifying the root causes of the war and recommending comprehensive systemic reforms. "This was not just a procedural necessity, but a deeply transformative process that healed the wounds of war through truth-telling, accountability and recommendations for systemic reforms," she underscored. Turning to lessons learned, she highlighted the importance of community-owned and -driven conflict prevention, which helps resolve conflicts before they escalate. Also highlighting the need to integrate gender perspectives and involve youth and persons with disabilities, she emphasized that local ownership and participation is vital. "The UN has been indispensable in ensuring Sierra Leone enjoys lasting peace," she said, noting that the UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) was instrumental in disarming combatants, facilitating the return of refugees and supporting the Government in restoring authority and rebuilding institutions. Her country's "remarkable journey from conflict to peace, from instability to stability, from underdevelopment to the pursuit of sustainable development", she said, is "a story that stands as a beacon of hope and a testament to the power of commitment, dialogue and inclusive peacebuilding". Echoing that was Musa Timothy Kabba, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Sierra Leone, Council President for August, who said that his country's "remarkable recovery and sustained peace over the past two decades demonstrate the importance of national ownership and inclusive governance in conflict prevention". Sierra Leone's experience also underscores the need to address the root causes of conflict, including economic marginalization, youth unemployment and political exclusion. Outlining national efforts to do so, he said: "Our vision is that, through dialogue and engagement on this shared development plan, Sierra Leoneans will continue to choose peace and prosperity, now and in the future." As other Council members took the floor, many spotlighted the connection between development and peace and echoed the importance of nationally owned conflict-prevention strategies. "People that have basic services, education, opportunity and jobs are less inclined to choose the path of violence or crime," observed Ecuador's delegate, stressing that the fight against poverty, inequality and exclusion should be the priority for democratic societies. He added that prevention is the best way to maintain peace, accounting for people's needs in an inclusive manner. However, national ownership is needed to craft prevention strategies that are adopted to national realities. "That is why there is no peace without development or justice," he said, stating that accountability through the establishment of strong institutions is crucial for sustainable development. The representative of the Republic of Korea concurred, stressing that national ownership should be at the "core" of preventing conflict and sustaining peace. He also urged the UN to work more closely with stakeholders outside of the Organization that have a "deep understanding of regional complexities and local dynamics", such as the African Union. Also spotlighting the crucial role played by regional and financial institutions in assisting countries to achieve sustainable peace, he said: "Studies show that economic growth significantly contributes to lowering the likelihood of conflicts." And, stating this another way, China's representative spotlighted poverty and underdevelopment as major sources of conflict. "Only through inclusive development can we build the foundation of lasting peace," he said, also underlining the need to ensure that all peoples' well-being and interests are accounted for so that social resources can be allocated rationally. He also provided a concrete example of how his country has contributed to development, detailing the benefits of "Juncao" technology for smallholder farmers in developing countries. This technology, he said, "epitomizes China's practical actions to support the realization of sustainable development in the Global South". "Underdevelopment can drive conflict, and conflict undermines development," noted the United Kingdom's delegate, pointing to this as the reason for his country's investment in development partnerships around the world. He, too, stressed the importance of nationally owned prevention strategies, adding that they should be "locally rooted, human rights-based and conflict-sensitive". The representative of the Russian Federation, however, said that "in a bid to preserve their ebbing hegemony, former colonial capitals and their allies impede the creation of a just, multipolar world". This reinforces economic underdevelopment, poverty and political instability in developing countries providing fertile ground for conflict. "We can only talk about real prevention when a more-just world order is clearly defined, and all countries in the world can enjoy equal circumstances for development and building their own States," he concluded. Meanwhile, the representative of the United States said: "We know how to create conditions that foster peace, and we also know what effective conflict-prevention looks like; now, we just need to make these strategies real." Moving beyond words to invest in prevention, she emphasized, will require inclusive approaches, political will, effective partnerships, sustainable resources and national ownership. Prevention strategies can reinforce State institutions, promote the rule of law, strengthen civil society and build greater tolerance and social cohesion. Along those lines, the representative of Algeria said that the "foundation of stable and prosperous societies lies in effective governance and the firm adherence to the rule of law". He therefore called for strengthening institutional capacity to ensure that States are equipped to deliver essential services efficiently and equitably. Further, he underlined the need to address the resource shortfall faced by disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes, adding that the "central aim" is to establish "professional security forces as a concrete expression of Statebuilding, while ensuring that these forces operate in accordance with relevant human-rights compliance frameworks". Turning to the Council's role, the representative of Guyana said that the organ "should not just be the emergency room of the world", reminding members that the Council's mandate dictates that prevention be a central part of its work. Citing Martin Luther King, Jr., she said: "True peace is not just the absence of tensions; it is the presence of justice." The Council must acknowledge that there are significant gaps in its approach to conflict prevention. It is also vital to invest in localized and context-specific early warning systems to identify flashpoints and budding grievances before they erupt into violence, she said, highlighting the role of the Peacebuilding Commission. Many speakers today underscored the crucial role that body can play, with Japan's delegate pointing out that, while any Member State can request meetings in the Commission, the Council can also advise the Commission on establishing its agenda. He also stressed the need for context-specific and nationally led conflict prevention strategies that account for "root causes and sources of resilience". France's delegate, who called on Member States to "reflect collectively" on the United Nations' peace tools, the causes of crises and how to "nip them in the bud", said that post-conflict situations must benefit from international support. "This is the whole meaning of the Peacebuilding Commission and its Fund," she said, noting that her country is one of the major contributors to the Fund. The representative of Malta, similarly, noted that the Commission is well-placed to spot emerging threats and early warning signs that can be conveyed to the Security Council. This can assist the orderly withdrawal of UN peacekeeping operations and special political missions. Expressing regret that the Peacebuilding Fund continues to face financing shortages, he called for a recommitment to voluntary contributions to help close these gaps. He also stressed the role of "gender-responsive disarmament and arms-control measures" in preventing conflict-related sexual violence. Further, gender-responsive constitutional, judicial, legislative and electoral reforms are needed to help overcome obstacles to women's participation in public life. In that vein, the representative of Slovenia said that no crisis or conflict can be successfully resolved without women's inclusion. "Gender-equitable communities are resilient, inclusive and peaceful," she said. Removing all barriers to gender equality and women's empowerment creates effective institutions. Noting that women bear the burden of conflict and can be among the main drivers of prevention, she said that it is therefore imperative to implement fully the women, peace and security as well as the youth, peace and security agendas. "There is no glory in prevention," Switzerland's delegate said, adding that, while monuments to victory abound, "avoided wars and defused violence barely catch our attention". Yet, he pointed out, "it would be more useful to erect statues to the heroes who prevented or overcame conflicts, to the facilitators and mediators who saved the lives of thousands of civilians and averted humanitarian disasters". Expressing appreciation for the lessons learned from countries such as Sierra Leone, he said; however, "it would be wrong to believe that prevention only concerns States that have suffered or are at risk of suffering armed conflict". "War is always a choice," observed the representative of Mozambique. His country's experience with conflict resolution and peacebuilding and "even peacemaking" provides valuable lessons, he said, recalling that Mozambique's internal conflict "left deep scars in our social and political fabric". "But it also laid the groundwork for an arduous peace process," he noted, adding that the Maputo Peace Process is a testament to the importance of national leadership and local ownership. Mozambique's experience "vindicates the premise of 'A New Agenda for Peace' by underscoring the need for conflict-prevention strategies that are deeply rooted in local realities while supported by regional and global institutions", he said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Battling elements: 2nd Chemical Bn enhances unit cohesion, readiness through intensive field training, gunnery exercises By Pfc. Stanislav Mitchell, 7th MPAD August 22, 2024 FORT CAVAZOS, Texas -- Amidst the relentless Texas sun, Staff Sgt. Victor Ramos, a squad leader in the 181st Chemical Company, 2nd Chemical Battalion, 48th Chemical Brigade, squinted at the horizon, the heat waves shimmering off the Stryker's metal surface. The 2nd Chemical Bn. was amid a pivotal field training exercise and an intensive gunnery event July 29-Aug. 7 at Fort Cavazos. For Ramos and his team, this wasn't just another training session; it was a crucial step toward heightened mission readiness and operational effectiveness. The training underscored 2nd Chemical Bn.'s commitment to readiness, engagement and discipline, ensuring it is prepared for any mission. The FTX and gunnery event was designed to simulate real combat conditions, pushing Soldiers to apply their skills and knowledge in high-pressure environments. Such exercises involved a shift from controlled training environments to scenarios that tested the Soldiers' preparedness in unpredictable situations. However, the exercises had their challenges. The intense Texas heat added a layer of difficulty, testing Soldiers' physical endurance and the equipment's reliability. Ramos explained how transitioning from controlled environments to real-world scenarios tested their preparedness. "Before this FTX, we focused on training in controlled environments," he said. "Here, we see our training in action, where everyone steps up to address challenges and ensures tasks are completed effectively." Ramos also emphasized the critical role of maintaining equipment readiness, underscoring its importance in successful operations. "Equipment maintenance is crucial for effective training," he expressed. "Being here helps us understand the importance of reliable equipment for successful operations." While equipment maintenance and individual preparation are vital, the battalion's true strength lies in its ability to operate as a cohesive unit. Collaboration among the companies within the battalion became a central aspect of the training, fostering unity and teamwork. Command Sgt. Maj. Joshua Wareheime, command sergeant major for 2nd Chemical Bn., highlighted the enhanced collaboration observed among the troops throughout the training. He noted bringing together separate companies significantly strengthened their unit cohesion, allowing Soldiers to build relationships and share experiences. "Having five separate companies across different locations come together has significantly strengthened our camaraderie," Wareheime expressed. "It allows our Soldiers to build relationships, share experiences and unify their efforts towards common goals." Building solid and unified teams is crucial, but the battalion's dedication to readiness includes more than just collaboration, encompassing one of the four Phantom mottos the III Armored Corps instills warfighting by using a multi-echelon training approach to train a proficient and lethal team of teams. The battalion's commitment to readiness is cultivated through the RED acronym ready, engaged and disciplined. "This training aids us in achieving readiness to deploy swiftly, engage effectively and maintain discipline throughout all operations," Wareheime said. Transitioning from collaboration, the historical context and strategic objectives play a significant role in the battalion's training approach. Lt. Col. Theodore DeMaria, commander of 2nd Chemical Bn., contextualized the training within the battalion's historical legacy and strategic objectives. "If you look at the 2nd Chemical Battalion's contributions to the Korean War, the battalion was in continuous contact for 1,007 days," DeMaria highlighted. "This enduring commitment underscores the importance of rigorous, combat-focused training like what we're conducting here. It's about preparing for the unexpected, maintaining readiness and ensuring we can achieve our mission objectives under any circumstances." The strategic importance of such exercises extends beyond current readiness. "We're not just preparing for today; we're preparing for potential future deployments and ensuring our readiness for any mission," DeMaria said. The FTX and gunnery event included training across several tables, each designed to enhance proficiency and readiness progressively. From gunnery tables IV to VII, they involved day and night iterations of dry fires and live-fire exercises. These exercises simulated combat scenarios, allowing Soldiers to practice with their weapons systems under realistic conditions. This structured approach to training ensured each Soldier mastered their roles and contributed effectively to the battalion's collective mission. "Through these exercises, we ensure that our Soldiers are proficient in their individual roles and capable of functioning seamlessly as a cohesive unit in any combat scenario," Wareheime said. Ramos reflected on the morale among the troops, noting that hands-on training fosters camaraderie and teamwork, essential elements for mission success. "When things go right, morale goes up," Ramos said. "When challenges arise, we learn from them and grow stronger as a team." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address August 22, 2024 Transcript Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh Holds a Press Briefing DEPUTY PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY SABRINA SINGH: Hi. All right. Good afternoon. I do not have that much at the top, so I'll be quick and then happy to jump in and take your questions. So, as you saw yesterday, US Central Command announced that the USS Abraham Lincoln, equipped with F-35C aircraft, entered the CENTCOM area of responsibility. The movement of the ABE into the CENTCOM AOR was directed by Secretary Austin earlier this month as part of broad adjustments to US military posture in the region designed to improve US force protection, increase support for the defense of Israel, and to ensure the United States is prepared to respond to a various range of contingencies. Again, we remain focused on efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region and while also remaining focused on securing a ceasefire as part of a hostage deal to bring all of the hostages home and to end the war in Gaza. With that, happy to take your questions. Lita? Q: One quick follow on the Lincoln. It's crossed into CENTCOM, which means it's still out in the middle of the Indian Ocean though, correct? MS. SINGH: I don't have exact location. I wouldn't be able to give you the exact location of where she is. But she's in the Central Command AOR, and she will remain there. Q: I understand that, but that's but she's still quite a ways from MS. SINGH: For more on her movements, I'd refer you to CENTCOM. I don't have her exact location, but she is she is in the AOR. And I'll just leave it at that. Q: And then secondly, the Greek ship that caught fire that was attacked MS. SINGH: Yeah. Q: And caught fire, the fire I think is out at this point. But do you know, is the US going to try to do anything, either through coordination or do something itself? Because there's it's still loaded with fuel. MS. SINGH: So, what just for awareness, what you're referring to is the Houthis launched an attack on a on a vessel that was carrying approximately one million barrels of crude oil. I'm not I know that the ship did catch fire. I don't know the status. What I would say is that, once again, the Houthis have attacked a ship that is carrying oil and that could likely spill into the Red Sea, creating an environmental disaster. Also brings to question, you know, what exactly does this accomplish, seeing as how they said that they were launching these attacks to help the people of Gaza. Not exactly sure how that helps anyone in Gaza. And this was a a Greek flagged ship that had a crew of Russian and Filipino sailors. So, not exactly sure their intention. In terms of US response, you know that, through Operation Prosperity Guardian, we have ships in the in that region that, you know, continue to defend and protect freedom of navigation. The US will assist where possible. But I believe another partnership was in the vicinity and was able to help assist getting crew off of that ship. Q: Right. The French got them off the ship. I'm talking about the impending environmental disaster. MS. SINGH: Yeah. Q: Is there any effort ongoing right now that you're aware of that the US is involved in to do something to mitigate what could be an environmental disaster there? MS. SINGH: At the moment, I think we're working with that the private company, but I'm not aware of like right now we are, you know, engaged in, you know, any environmental mitigation. This is something that we're going to work with that private company on. But I'm not aware of anything else that we're doing at this moment. That that's not to say that we won't in the future. Yeah. Joe? Q: Thanks. Could you provide any updates on the Georgia submarine? Is it still in transit? MS. SINGH: The Georgia's still in transit. She's in the eastern Mediterranean. And when she chops into the Central Command area of responsibility, it'll be pretty noticeable. But, you know, we will can let you know. Q: And then can I ask, on the force posture, the increased force posture in the region, it was presumably done in the aftermath of the Iranian threats and the threats from Hezbollah and others to retaliate against Israel. It's been a couple of weeks, I think. I don't know, two or three now. We haven't seen that retaliation. Is it an open ended deployment of these increased of this increased force posture or until an attack happens, or how is the Pentagon assessing how long these troops and these assets will be will be there? Because some of these were taken out of the Indo-Pacific, which the department has said is the number one threat to US national security. MS. SINGH: So, in terms of a timeline, you know, I don't have anything to broadcast in terms of how long the TR will stay in theater and how long the ABE will stay in theater. But in terms of your question on, you know, timing of a potential response from Iran, you know, we've moved capabilities into the region that I think it's fair to say have gotten into the headspace of Iran and will influence their calculation on how and if they choose to respond. We don't want to see that happen, but we have two carrier strike groups there, each, you know, with four destroyers. That sends a very powerful message of deterrence, and it also sends a message that, you know, we will stand with Israel should we need to come to their defense. But I can't you know, I don't have a crystal ball to be able to forecast how long they're going to be stay there, only that I can tell you is that we are we are well postured should we need to come to the defense of Israel. Q: And just one last one. From what I could what I tried to look up, the Secretary of defense hasn't had a single call with his Lebanese counterpart. I know the Joint Chiefs have spoken to the Lebanese army chief, but throughout this and since I guess post-October 7th, and that's a key scene of what's going on in the region. Is there a reason? Is that is that a is that a reflection of what the department thinks of the current government? MS. SINGH: No, I don't I don't think so. I don't have any calls to to announce or read out. I think it's important to remember that the Secretary has calls with different his you know, a variety of counterparts in the and it's not just from the Secretary, it's you know, the interagency that engage their counterparts at all different levels of government. Just because he hasn't doesn't mean that there aren't ongoing conversations at different levels of government. And as you know, whether it be Israel or Egypt or Qatar or any other country, you know, the Secretary has engaged over time. And, you know, recently, well, I guess it seems recently, but you know, it was in the was in CENTCOM, you know, a few months ago and I'll just leave it at that. Great, I'm going to go Lucas and then I'll go to the phones. Q: Sabrina, do you support Ukraine's incursion into Russia? MS. SINGH: So we're supporting Ukraine in what they need on the battlefield right now. As you heard us say time and again, you know, we are we are getting a better understanding of what the Ukrainians are doing in Kursk. Our policy does allow for them to engage in those counter fires, but we are still supporting Ukraine in what they need on the battlefield, and that is through different Presidential drawdown packages. That's not going to change. Q: You said something similar last week, that you're still trying to learn what they're doing. I think it's pretty obvious what they're doing. I think, for the whole world, it's obvious what they're doing. Why can't the Pentagon publicly support Ukraine's incursion into Russia? MS. SINGH: Well, Lucas, to respectfully push back on that, I would say that we have and are supportive of Ukraine broadly. This is Q: Not broadly. Why can't you specifically support this operation? MS. SINGH: Sure. So if you'd let me finish. So when it comes to Kursk, we have an understanding from what President Zelenskyy laid out that they want to create a buffer zone. We are still working on with Ukraine on how that fits into their strategic objectives on the battlefield itself. When we feel confident that we have a better understanding of how that all knits together, you know, I'm happy to read out more. But right now, we're still working and still have some questions and we're getting that back. And the Secretary is going to engage again with Minister Umarov. Q: It's been two weeks. MS. SINGH: Yeah, I understand. These things take time. Q: And also one on the Houthis. MS. SINGH: Sure. Q: General Kurilla wants to destroy this group. Why won't you let him? MS. SINGH: Can you repeat that? Q: General Kurilla, head of US forces in the Middle East, CENTCOM commander, wants to destroy the Houthis. Why won't you let them do that? MS. SINGH: I think they're you know, I'm not sure if you're referring to specific comments. I think General Kurilla is in lockstep with the Secretary on wanting to degrade the Houthis' capabilities to being able to do to being able to disrupt shipping lanes in the Red Sea and the BaM. And General Kurilla has done an incredible job of bringing together and leading a coalition of like minded nations to degrade the Houthis' capabilities. And you're almost seeing them doing that on a daily basis and it actually has degraded the Houthis' capabilities. Q: These attacks keep happening. We now have an environmental disaster in the making. You said a million tons of oil is about to be dumped in the Red Sea. This is a big problem. MS. SINGH: Yeah, can I just say, like, 1 million potentially an environmental catastrophe of 1 million barrels of crude oil in the Houthis' backyard. That is an environmental disaster that they're going to have to deal with. And at the end of the day, you tell me what they say on how that gets to their strategic objectives because I'm not sure that I'm understanding that. I'm going to go to the phones and I'm happy to come back to the room. Jeff Schogol, Task and Purpose. Q: Hi. I came in late, so I'm really sorry if you've already addressed this. Is the Theodore Roosevelt still in the AOR, meaning there are two carrier groups in the AOR? MS. SINGH: That's correct, Jeff. There are two carriers in the AOR right now. Q: Thank you. MS. SINGH: OK, great. Heather, USNI. Q: Hi, Just to go on about the Sounion and environmental disaster. So at this point the Houthis have now created a couple different environmental disasters and sank a couple different ships. You know, in terms of degrading, when you're seeing them being able to do this after all the strikes that the US has done, do you think that the Pentagon has been successful in degrading the Houthis' capabilities? MS. SINGH: Yeah. Thanks, Heather, for the question. So the simple answer is yes. We have been successful in degrading their capabilities. They still maintain a robust arsenal, but we have been able to degrade their capabilities over time and we have been able to protect ships that transit the Red Sea with our alliance through Operation Prosperity Guardian. So it's not for nothing. We still know that they maintain capabilities, but the fact that we have been able to do, you know, conduct dynamic strikes to prevent ships from being harmed, to prevent innocent sailors and mariners transiting that that region, yes, they have gotten, you know, a few attacks through when it comes to some vessels transiting, but we've also been able to degrade their capabilities, and I think that is due in large part to the leadership of General Kurilla and, you know, the coalition that he's built with the Secretary as well of Operation Prosperity Guardian. I'll take one more from the phone and then happy to come back in the room. Lara Seligman, Wall Street Journal. Lara, are you there? Q: Hey. Sorry for that delay. Just unmuting myself. A couple questions following up on the Kursk incursion. First of all, what is DOD's understanding is the strategic goal of the Kursk incursion? And then secondly, has the use of US weapons in Kursk violated any US policies? MS. SINGH: Yeah. Thanks, Lara, for the question. In terms of their goals, I would direct you to what President Zelenskyy said a few days ago, which is, our understanding, is to create a buffer zone. We do have some more questions on that. We are trying to understand more on, you know, how that knits into their strategic objectives on the battlefield. And in terms of your follow up, you know, our policy does allow for Ukraine to conduct counter fires to defend itself from Russian attacks coming over that border region. And that border region does include Kursk. It does include Sumy, and so they are defending themselves from Russian attacks within that region. All right, happy to come back in the room. Oren. Q: Two questions, one on Ukraine. When you're talking about a buffer zone and Ukraine tells you that's what they're creating or says openly that's what they're creating, is there a limit that you have placed on the Ukrainians on how big that buffer zone can be? How wide of a buffer zone are they going for? MS. SINGH: That's something that we continue to work with them on, on exactly what are their strategic objectives on creating that buffer zone and how if they plan to expand. These are questions that we're continuing to ask. So I don't have an update for you right now. Q: So they haven't communicated to you here is here is how far we're going with our buffer zone. MS. SINGH: Not to my knowledge. Q: And then on the Abraham Lincoln, Secretary Austin had ordered it to accelerate. It's now in the AOR. What was its original arrival date supposed to be and how much time did the acceleration cut off? How much faster did it get there? MS. SINGH: Yeah. So I'm not going to get into timelines and specific dates, but what I can tell you is that in transit, INDOPACOM had set up a few stops that were in the pre-planning phase that the ABE was going to engage on and those were pulled down so that she could have an expedited in-shop into Central Command. Goyal. Q: Thank you, madam. Two questions, please. One, tomorrow morning, Defense Secretary, of course, will be welcoming the defense Minister of India, Mr. Rajnath Singh. So much going on in the region in South China Sea and all the conflicts going on in Bangladesh, conflicts going on in Pakistan, and also China's expansion in the region going on. So what do we have new now between the US and India military to military relations when Secretary Lloyd Austin welcome him tomorrow here at the Pentagon? MS. SINGH: So as you mentioned, it's happening tomorrow, so I'm not going to get ahead of the Secretary. We will have a readout. There will be a range of issues discussed. I have no doubt they will be discussing the close coordination and partnership when it comes to the Indo-Pacific and, you know, our shared goals of maintaining and keeping a free and open Indo-Pacific. But you know, I'm just not going to get ahead of the Secretary. And once that meeting concludes, we will have a readout. Q: Before my second question, how the two leaders are getting together. Have they known each other very well as far as relations are concerned? And how the military to military relations between the US and India are standing today? MS. SINGH: I you know, the mil to mil relationships between the United States and India are strong. You've seen that cooperation deepen, and not just from a DOD perspective, but from an administration perspective. You know, our close coordination and, you know, working together remains strong and you saw, you know, the Secretary when he visited India, you know, announced some of those deliverables. I'm not going to go through all of what he announced then, but it remains strong and I'm not I'm just not going to get ahead of the meeting that's happening tomorrow, but we will have a readout after that meeting. I'm going to come over here. I'm just going to I'm going to jump over here, Luis, and then over to you. Yeah. Q: Hi. First, on Ukraine, earlier this week General Ryder said that the indications were that a small number of Russian forces were moving into Kursk. Is that still the same guidance or can you amplify that just a little bit more and, you know, give us some information about where these forces are coming from? Are they sizable enough to potentially push back? MS. SINGH: So I can't get into more details right now on, you know, the size and how many you know, how Russia is repositioning some of their forces. We know that there has been some movement, but I just I can't get into details on, you know, what that more specifics on what that looks like. Q: And as you strive to get more indications, you know, of the strategic purpose, are you seeing the Ukrainians digging in to try to hold those positions that they've seized so far, or does it seem more like they continue to be on the broader offensive? MS. SINGH: Well, that's actually some of our, you know, questions that we have for Ukraine. Is their intention to continue to hold, or how you know, when they say they're creating a buffer zone, and to Oren's question of, you know, how large are they going to expand, these are some of the questions that we're asking. Because if they are going to create a buffer zone, that does entail creating, you know, multiple defensive lines. And so, those are questions that we're working through with them. I don't have all those answers right now, but that's something that you know, the Secretary is going to engage Minister Umerov again in the coming days. When we have more to share, you know, we certainly will. But I think it's important that, you know, Ukraine also speak to their operations, and Ukraine should really speak to their objectives and goals. And that's still something that we're trying to learn from them, on how this fits into their strategic operations. It's important that you know, our support for Ukraine is still unwavering. We're still going to have PDA packages that come out from this building. I don't have one for to announce today, if that was going to be your follow up. But, you know, we are going to continue to support Ukraine in in their fight and whatever they need to be successful. Q: So, my follow up MS. SINGH: Uh-huh. Q: Is actually going to be a follow up to Joseph's point MS. SINGH: Okay. Q: From earlier about our preparation preparing, the change the force posture MS. SINGH: Yeah. Q: For potential retaliation from Iran. That hasn't happened. It's been almost three weeks now. Do you see a correlation between any lack of action there and the new Iranian government, you know, essentially trying to determine its path forward? MS. SINGH: So, I can't you know, I can't really speculate on that and the new government that's forming. I think that, by surging capabilities into the region, by having two carriers in the Central Command or in CENTCOM, by moving destroyers closer to Israel, should they need to be called to the defense of Israel, you know, the announcement of the Georgia as well, having a squadron of F-22s also in the region, I think that gets into the headspace of Iran. And I think that gets into you know, they see us positioning should we need to support Israel, I'm sure that gets to their calculation. What that, you know, means for them at the end of the day, that I can't speak to. And their new government, as you mentioned, I can't really speak to that. I can just speak to our movements, and, you know, it we are messaging that we are there to deter and that, of course, we are there to protect our forces and if needed to come to the defense of Israel. Yes, sir? Q: Thank you very much for the opportunity. A couple of questions. Before that, if you allow me, I have someone to introduce you, Mr. Mughal, a Pakistani journalist. He's been in Russia and the United Kingdom, reported many political events and other things. Now he is joining us from here. So, the question is regarding the top Iraqi official visited this week Pakistan and held meetings with Pakistani military officials. And it's been reported from July that Pakistan and Iraq both comes to an agreement of $1.8 billion for the 12 units of Mushshak training jets. And now there are they are in talks regarding JF-17 fighter aircraft that China and Pakistan initially produced. So, at the same time when US is considering its troop withdrawal from Iraq and Iraqi military is considering to get some Chinese technology from Pakistan, is there any concern from US? Are you are aware on this? MS. SINGH: I don't really have a comment to offer on unfortunately, I just I don't have a lot to offer on what you're asking right now. What I can tell you is that, when it comes to our relationship with Iraq, the HMC conversations are ongoing. We are moving towards a bilateral security agreement. When we have more to announce on that, we certainly will. But I just don't have more for you today on that. Q: So, about the USS Abraham Lincoln that just arrived in Middle East with F-35 fleet MS. SINGH: Um-hmm. Q: So is there also something in the consultation with the US to address your Arab allies security from there specifically? Because we are aware that, like, USA and Saudi Arabia both are in talks for defense deal, and Saudi Arabia are continuously asking for defense shortage from the US. So, in the context of Iran retaliating to Israel, is there something, consideration as well, for the Saudi context to secure their interest with this placement? MS. SINGH: I don't have anything in terms of the you know, I think Saudi should speak for their own government and their own decisions. Our decisions are made on, you know, what the Secretary deems is needed for the region and working with General Kurilla and others to ensure that, one, of course we're always taking into consideration protection for our forces in the region. Two, we do not want to see we know that tensions are high. We want to see a de-escalation of tensions in the region. Three, we're also sending a message that, you know, should we need to do what we did on April 13th, we are even better positioned than we were then to come to the defense of Israel. Again, we don't want to see it get to that level. We want to see tensions deescalate. And the best way for us to see that happen is through, you know, seeing the ceasefire deal come to fruition. You know, our teams are working hard over there right now to see that be put into place, and we want to see the hostages come home. Q: Just a little on the High Level Military Commission you've in the Iraq. So, with the ongoing possible Iranian retaliation, is there any changing about the US troop withdrawal talks or something that was in process, something in consideration? MS. SINGH: The HMC conversations and dialogs continue. I'm not going to speculate on what a future attack could do to those to those conversations. Yes? Q: Yeah. Thanks so much. A few days ago, General Ryder said that, if we see any real threats from ISIS based in Afghanistan, we will take an action. So, the Taliban officials claimed that they eliminated all Daesh or ISIS in Afghanistan. My question is that are the Taliban a partner with the Pentagon or with the US government in terms of fighting Daesh or ISIS? MS. SINGH: So, the US has a global coalition to defeat ISIS. The Taliban is not part of that. The US works with like-minded partners and allies when it comes to the to ensuring the defeat of ISIS. I don't have more for you on to anything additional to offer. I'm going to go to Konstantin over here. Yeah. Q: Thanks. Thanks, Sabrina. CNN is reporting that the Army is looking to contract some boats to take three of the Army JLOTS ships back to the United States. Can you speak to why this this is necessary? MS. SINGH: I would refer you to Army. I don't have anything on that. Q: Thank you. MS. SINGH: Yeah, Noah. Q: Can you give the JLOTS update more broadly MS. SINGH: Sure. Q: Specifically where the aid is that was left to be delivered? MS. SINGH: Sure. So, in terms of JLOTS, I think I read out, maybe it was last week, but we do have some of our soldiers and sailors that have returned back CONUS. We still have about six million pounds of aid that remains on the Cape Trinity. The Cape Trinity just recently left Cyprus and is moving towards Ashdod. We're hoping within the next couple of days you're going to see aid roll off the Cape Trinity, and then when that happens, the Cape Trinity would be, you know, redeployed. But that's our latest update. Q: Thank you. MS. SINGH: Jim? Q: Back to Ukraine, so have you guys seen that the Russians, are they pulling folks out of the Donbas? Because that that offensive is still going on. And is the is the Kursk operation having any effect at all on the Donbas? MS. SINGH: So, you know, in terms of where Russians are repositioning some of their troops from, I can't really speak to that. We know that there has been some movement. But, you know, really that's not for us to speak to. I think when it comes to your second question, it remains to be seen how Kursk impacts the east. That's something that you know, we're still trying to get a better understanding from the Ukrainians on the long term goals in the region or in that in that area, and also understanding how that fits into their strategic operations. So, you know, that's still something that we're working through, and I just don't I just don't have that answer for you on how that impacts the east just yet because I don't think we know. Q: Is that one of the things that the Secretary is asking his counterpart? MS. SINGH: I won't go beyond the readout. But you can believe that the Secretary is asking a lot of questions. Yes, one here and then I'll go to Liz. Q: Thank you very much, Sabrina. Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited Chechnya after 13 years. How do you see this visit, especially in context of Ukraine advancing into Russian territory? Is it a back step of Russia, or is it a victory of US led Western Bloc military strategy that a Chechnya group had been supporting Russian army, so President Vladimir Putin has visited after 13 years. So, is Russia on the back foot right now? MS. SINGH: You know, I think you're seeing Russia continue to recruit and amass a force, and you know, they have that ability to do that. I can't really speak to this visit, I'm sorry, I just don't know enough about it to really comment on it, but what I can tell you is what we're doing. And what we're doing is supporting Ukraine and you have, you know, the Secretary leading the Ukraine defense contact group almost monthly. You have 50 nations coming together to support Ukraine. So that stands in contrast to some of the friends that Russia is turning to when it comes to procuring either security assistance or you know whatever it might be. That stands in strong contrast to, you know, the 50 countries and like -minded nations that are supporting Ukraine every single day in their battlefield needs. Liz, last one. Q: Thanks, Sabrina. MS. SINGH: We have Liz and Lucas in the room today with questions. Q: Yeah. Moving back to the Houthis, why does the US not have a larger presence in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden? Because the Houthis are still having successful attacks. MS. SINGH: So I wouldn't say that we don't have a presence. We still maintain a presence in the region. And it doesn't just because the United States not might not have a destroyer in the Red Sea doesn't mean that we don't have other partners operating there that are either part of Operation Prosperity Guardian or operating on their own. So I think it's important to remember that this is a global coalition and it is a global problem, and it's not just the United States that is there to defend shipping lanes and to ensure freedom of navigation. It is on all of us and that's what you're seeing, you know, other countries come to the rescue and support of crews who you know were hit by the Houthis. You know earlier this morning, another country ship helped rescue that crew. So the United States will always adjust its force posture there, but just because we don't necessarily have a presence in like in that specific strait doesn't mean that one of our partners or allies doesn't. Q: Thanks. Just a quick follow up, since these attacks are still continuing and the US hasn't been able to deter the Iran backed Houthis, how is the US supposed to deter this potential attack from Iran on Israel? MS. SINGH: And yet, I just got questions about why hasn't Iran attacked yet and, you know, I would almost say is almost is deterrence working? You know, I can't speak for Iran. The Houthis continue to engage in their, you know, unlawful attacks against innocent mariners. I'm not exactly sure how hitting a ship carrying over a million barrels of crude oil and creating, you know, a spill in your backyard helps people in Gaza who you said you're trying to help. I'm not sure how that that works. Also I think this this vessel was leaving from Iraq and was a Greek a Greek flagged ship. So again, not sure how that plays into your broader strategic objectives. And then, you know, on top of that, what does that accomplish? You sunk a ship in your back yard and now you have potentially an environmental disaster. We're going to continue to hold the Houthis accountable. You see us do that. You know, CENTCOM puts out, you know, pretty regular updates on when we engage. Our commitment is there through Operation Prosperity Guardian. We're going to continue to engage where appropriate. And then, of course, when it comes to Iran, we have two carriers in the region. We have a squadron of F-22s. I think that sends a really powerful message, but I can't get into to more than that. Yes. Q: I just want to follow up on that question. Why not strike the launchers? I mean, at the end of the day it's driven so much global trade out, you know, there's going to be extra costs that are going to be reflected in the economy over this. At what point do you need to escalate strikes on the missile launchers themselves to try to establish perhaps a little bit more deterrence, a little bit more order to the questions that have been kind of going around on that? MS. SINGH: You're talking about the Houthis? Q: Correct. MS. SINGH: We have struck missile launchers. Q: I understand that, but it doesn't really it doesn't seem to have attenuated anything that the Houthis at this point are doing, and yet they keep imposing costs. And these sort of drip drop attacks are driving more shipping out of that, right? I mean, their whole goal is to create as much disruption as possible, even if they take environmental damage at the end of it. I mean, is there some calculus, some metric that attacks get to X amount and we would respond in a more forceful manner to send maybe a clearer deterrent? MS. SINGH: I think every single day that we respond and we blow something up that they are about to launch does send a forceful message. And even though it, you know, even though they continue to launch their attacks, we are still degrading their capabilities and every single day that they launch attacks, they're not always successful. They're not always hitting a ship, they're not always you know, their intentions, while you know, can't get into their mindset, they're not always achieving their goals. And sometimes you know, things are landing, you know, miles and miles away from their intended target. So what is also their objective and their goals at the end of the day? To your question on the launchers, I mean from looking at some of the strikes we've done, we've hit over 150 launchers. We're going to continue to take the actions that we need to protect commercial shipping, to protect our forces in the region, and we're just going to continue to do that day in and day out. Q: Bottom line, Sabrina, this does not appear MS. SINGH: I'm going to go to Mike, and then I'm going to wrap up. Q: It just does not appear that this international coalition is finding success against the Houthis. These attacks keep happening. MS. SINGH: I would actually push back on that and say it doesn't appear that the attacks that the Houthis are launching, be it every single day, every other day, every few days, are actually meeting their intended targets. They just created an environmental disaster right outside their own home country. Like, what purpose does that serve? That is going to have lasting impacts. And they've done that before. I mean, what kind of impact does that have for the region? Q: Their goal is to degrade shipping, and they're doing it. MS. SINGH: So I'll just one more on this. They while they continue to launch attacks, we have ensured that shipping has continued through those shipping lanes. We want to see it. We want to see it protected. That's why you have Operation Prosperity Guardian. We're going to continue to do our jobs and we'll leave it at that. Mike, and then we'll wrap up. Q: The British MOD said the Russians have been forced to create ad hoc infantry units out of support personnel and air force units to engage the Ukrainians in the Kursk region. Can the Pentagon confirm that, and what does that say about the Russians ability to oppose Ukraine, the fact that they don't have enough, apparently, main line infantry units? MS. SINGH: I can't confirm those reports. I haven't I haven't seen what you're referencing. This is something that we are talking to the Ukrainians about, about what their long term objectives are in Kursk and you know creating that buffer zone. What that means in terms of their own, you know, commitment in military power, how much they're going to need for that region, that's something that we're continuing to work with them on. OK, thanks, everyone. https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcripts/Transcript/Article/3882144/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address August 22, 2024 Release Readout of Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Ms. Amanda Dory Meeting With the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Eisa Al Mazrouei Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Col. Garron Garn, USMC, provided the following readout: Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Amanda Dory hosted UAE Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Eisa Al Mazrouei today at the Pentagon. Ms. Dory reaffirmed the United States' commitment to a strong bilateral defense partnership with the UAE based on shared interests and priorities. The two sides discussed ongoing efforts to deescalate regional hostilities, Houthi threats to the free flow of commerce in the Red Sea, and the destabilizing actions of Iran and its regional proxies. Ms. Dory recognized the UAE as a key partner in addressing regional challenges and highlighted opportunities to deepen bilateral security cooperation. The two sides agreed to increase joint training and exercises to address shared threats and improve interoperability. https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3882058/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address August 22, 2024 By Jim Garamone, DOD News USS Lincoln Strike Group Arrives in U.S. Central Command The USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group has arrived in the U.S. Central Command's area of operations, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh announced today. The Lincoln group joins the USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group in the region. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III ordered the Lincoln to accelerate its deployment to Central Command earlier this month, Singh said. The secretary ordered the plus-up of U.S. forces in the region "as part of broad adjustments to [the] U.S. military posture" to ensure U.S. force protection, increase support for the defense of Israel and ensure the United States is prepared to respond to a wide range of contingencies, she said. An Air Force F-22 Raptor squadron has already arrived in the region, and the USS Georgia a cruise missile submarine is operating nearby. The deployment of U.S. forces to the region may have gotten into the "headspace" of Iranian officials who have threatened strikes on Israel. Singh said the forces are well positioned to counter any attack from Iran or Iranian-backed proxies. "We remain focused on efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region, and while also remaining focused on securing a ceasefire as part of a hostage deal, to bring all of the hostages home and to end the war in Gaza," Singh said. The deputy press secretary said conversations continue with Ukrainian officials on their strategy to counter Russian attacks in their country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine continues operations in the Kursk region of Russia and that Ukrainian forces are fighting against the "occupiers" in the Donbas region. Bottom line for the United States, Singh said, is that efforts to support Ukraine will continue. She said presidential drawdown authority packages will continue, as will training of Ukrainian service members. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address August 22, 2024 By C. Todd Lopez, DOD News Climate Change Is Crisis for Entire Planet, Deputy Secretary Says Climate change affects the entire planet, said Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, and no one nation can solve the problem on its own not even the United States. During the "Climate and Defense Summit of the Americas," being held August 22-23 at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, civilian and military representatives from a variety of Caribbean, South, Central, and North American nations met to discuss the environmental challenges they face and possible solutions. "Climate change is a global security issue, it knows no borders, nor boundaries. It respects no sovereignty, and it can't be reasoned with," Hicks said today, adding that the U.S. has co-hosted several events in the past several months, including in Barbados, Peru and Honduras to discuss how to integrate resilience into defense strategies and to conduct security cooperation efforts. "One thing is clear," she said. "None of us can tackle the climate challenge alone. We have a better chance [of] tackling the threat when we find ways to confront it together." Within the defense community, Hicks said, a top concern for officials has been securing national interests in the face of climate change effects such as heat waves, flooding and storms. "The U.S. national security community has been clear-eyed about these challenges for decades," she said. "Earlier this year, the U.S. intelligence community released its annual assessment on the effects of climate change for our world, highlighting how it exacerbates risks in global health, deepens economic challenges and could lead to global unrest. We have a responsibility to act on this knowledge, adapting with common purpose to the threat that climate change poses." At the Defense Department, she said, the readiness of America's military is of primary concern. "We've taken climate change into account in everything we do at every level," she said, pointing to the Defense Climate Risk Analysis, published in 2021, as an example of the department's efforts to assess the strategic risks of climate change. "It describes how we will integrate climate considerations into our key processes, including strategy, planning and budget, and engagements with our allies and partners," she said. With partners from across the Americas in attendance, Hicks said continued forums provide an opportunity to address Pan-American environmental problems and to develop Pan-American solutions. "Through these regional convenings, we've confirmed that among the shared problems that our nations face, climate change is an existential threat for all of us," she said. "I know that each of you is concerned about climate resiliency, about building resilient forces, infrastructure and operations. You're concerned about disaster response and preparedness, and so are we. And we're committed to collaborating and finding common ground to address these issues with you." As part of the summit, Rebecca Zimmerman, the acting assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and hemispheric affairs and Deanne Criswell, FEMA administrator, discussed how the two federal agencies work together when the nation is affected by disasters related to climate change. Both Zimmerman and Criswell praised the strong relationship between the two partner agencies, and Criswell highlighted the strong support FEMA gets from the U.S. military. But Zimmerman also discussed how the Defense Department and partner nation militaries can be stretched thin when helping other government agencies during climate-related disasters, and what can be done to strengthen those agencies to make them more robust and independent. During national emergencies that arise from climate-related crises, Zimmerman said, security forces such as the DOD, with their robust ability to develop strategy and to plan, are well-suited to step in and offer assistance to other federal agencies. "We have a lot of really 'can do' people who want to get in there and help, which is wonderful, but ... sometimes that means we get out of balance with what our other responsibilities are and should be, and we end up taking on roles which are more appropriately civilian roles," she said. To meet that challenge, Zimmerman said, the DOD and partner nation militaries must work to ensure civilian partner agencies are more robust and able to handle larger crises on their own. "I think a shared challenge is, how do we as communities make sure that our civilian partners exist if they don't actually exist in every home country [and] make sure that they have the funding they need and that they're able to build up the planning and operational capabilities that they need in order to be able to meet the response appropriately as civilians." Another challenge, she said, involves ensuring that civilian institutions can grow and change to meet new environmental challenges. One example in particular, she said, involves those agencies that maintain and manage critical infrastructure, like water and power, which militaries depend on but don't always own or maintain for themselves. "Our ability to stand sovereign and independent depends upon [critical infrastructure] being able to work when we need it," she said, adding that the challenge involves ensuring that critical infrastructure institutions are modernized and robust and able to, for instance, keep water and power running so that militaries can continue to operate. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Romania - AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov Transmittal No: 24-74 WASHINGTON, August 22, 2024 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Romania of AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles and related equipment for an estimated cost of $592 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today. The Government of Romania has requested to buy up to one hundred eighty-six (186) AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and four (4) AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM guidance sections. The following non-MDE items will also be included: AIM-120 Captive Air Training Missiles (CATMs), missile containers, propulsion sections, control sections, telemetry kits, and warhead spares; KGV-135A Cryptographic Devices; Common Munitions Built-In-Test (BIT)/Reprogramming Equipment (CMBREs); ADU-891 Computer Test Set Adapter Groups; spare parts, consumables, accessories, and repair and return support; munitions support and support equipment; classified and unclassified publications and technical documentation; classified and unclassified software delivery and support; warranties; studies and surveys; transportation support; contractor logistics support (CLS); U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical and logistics support services; and other related elements of logistics and program support. The estimated total cost is $592 million. This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve the security of a NATO Ally that is an important force for political and economic stability in Europe. The proposed sale will improve Romania's capability to meet current and future threats by further equipping Romania to conduct self-defense and regional security missions while enhancing interoperability with the United States and other NATO members. Romania already has AMRAAMs in its inventory and will have no difficulty absorbing these articles and services into its armed forces. The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region. The principal contractor will be RTX Corporation, located in Tucson, AZ. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale. Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives to Romania. There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale. The description and dollar value are for the highest estimated quantity and dollar value based on initial requirements. Actual dollar value will be lower depending on final requirements, budget authority, and signed sales agreement(s), if and when concluded. All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military-Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Norway - Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles-Extended Range Media/Public Contact: pm-cpa@state.gov Transmittal No: 24-86 WASHINGTON, August 22, 2024 -- The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Norway of Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles-Extended Range and related equipment for an estimated cost of $405 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today. The Government of Norway has requested to buy one hundred (100) Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles-Extended Range (AMRAAM-ER) and four (4) AMRAAM AIM-120C-8 guidance sections. The following non-MDE items will also be included: AMRAAM containers and support equipment; spare parts, consumables, accessories, and repair and return support; weapons software and support equipment, and classified software delivery and support; transportation support; classified publications and technical documentation; training equipment and support; studies and surveys; U.S. Government and contractor engineering, technical, and logistics support services; and other related elements of logistics and program support. The estimated total cost is $405 million. This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of a NATO Ally that is a force for political stability and economic progress in Europe. The proposed sale will improve Norway's capability to meet current and future threats by supplementing and replacing Air Intercept Missile 120B (AIM-120B) AMRAAMs with the more capable AMRAAM-ER. The newly acquired missiles will be used for ground-based air defense in the Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS). Norway already has AMRAAMs in its inventory and will have no difficulty absorbing these articles into its armed forces. The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region. The principal contractor will be RTX Corporation, located in Tucson, AZ. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale. Implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives to Norway. There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale. The description and dollar value are for the highest estimated quantity and dollar value based on initial requirements. Actual dollar value will be lower depending on final requirements, budget authority, and signed sales agreement(s), if and when concluded. All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military-Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign diplomats, representatives of int'l organizations impressed by development of China's green energy industry People's Daily Online) 13:56, August 23, 2024 Foreign envoys and diplomats from 23 countries, along with representatives of international organizations, embarked on a trip to north China's Hebei Province on Aug. 20. They learned about green energy related industries and experienced the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Marcelo Suarez Salvia, ambassador of Argentina to China, talks with Yu Min, general manager of SinoHytec Power Technology Co., Ltd., at the company's production workshop. (People's Daily Online/Song Ge) At the production workshop of SinoHytec Power Technology Co., Ltd., located in Zhangjiakou city of Hebei, the foreign diplomats and representatives of international organizations engaged in discussions on the development of hydrogen energy with Yu Min, general manager of the company. The company was founded in 2012, and is a national high-tech enterprise integrating research and development with the industrialization of hydrogen and fuel cells. Foreign diplomats and representatives of international organizations visit the production workshop of SinoHytec Power Technology Co., Ltd. in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province. (People's Daily Online/Fang Tong) At the company's production workshop, technicians were conducting a systematic test on engines. It requires 16 production procedures to finish assembling an engine. The company's production line, equipped with an intelligent Manufacturing Execution System (MES), oversees and organizes the engine assembly process. This guarantees the production of high-quality engines that meet commercial standards. A technician carries out a systematic test on engines at the production workshop of SinoHytec Power Technology Co., Ltd., located in Zhangjiakou city of north China's Hebei Province. (People's Daily Online/Yu Yang) Yu explained with great familiarity the different fuel cell vehicle models, including fuel cell refrigerated trucks used for cold chain logistics transportation and fuel cell tractor heads used for medium and long-distance freight transport. One of the visiting envoys was Khamis Mussa Omar, ambassador of Tanzania to China. After visiting the SinoHytec Power Technology Co., Ltd. workshop as well as other facilities focusing on solar and wind energy, he was left with a good impression. Yu Min, general manager of SinoHytec Power Technology Co., Ltd. gives an introduction on the company to foreign diplomats and representatives of international organizations. (People's Daily Online/Song Ge) "You know, with all the concerns in the world about global warming and climate change, countries have to take measures to invest in renewable energy and clean energy, and I'm glad to see what China is doing here in Hebei," said Omar. Omar went on to say that "all of this is very important to achieve zero emissions." Yu Min, general manager of SinoHytec Power Technology Co., Ltd., introduces a fuel cell vehicle of the company to foreign diplomats and representatives of international organizations. (People's Daily Online/Yu Yang) SinoHytec Power Technology Co., Ltd. has established a presence in cities such as Beijing, Zhangjiakou, Shanghai, Tangshan, Zhengzhou and Chengdu. Over 5,600 vehicles equipped with fuel cells developed by the company are operating in 23 cities, with a total mileage of over 200 million kilometers. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) Guatemala: Statement by the Spokesperson on the latest actions by the General Prosecutor's Office European External Action Service (EEAS) 22.08.2024 EEAS Press Team The recent actions by the Guatemalan General Prosecutor's Office (Ministerio Publico), including its request to strip the democratically elected President Bernardo Arevalo of his immunity, are part of a broader and highly concerning pattern of politically motivated allegations and investigations targeting the current government. The EU has repeatedly voiced its concern over the ongoing misuse and instrumentalisation of the justice system, particularly in the wake of the 2023 elections and ongoing efforts to overturn the will of the Guatemalan people. The EU remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting democracy in Guatemala and remains vigilant against any actions that threaten democratic governance or further erode the rule of law. In this context, the EU recalls the restrictive measures it imposed this February against five individuals responsible for actions that undermine democracy, the rule of law, or the peaceful transfer of power in Guatemala. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Experts warn of possible Philippine provocations on China's Zhongye Dao Global Times By Liu Xuanzun Published: Aug 22, 2024 11:34 PM The Philippines could stir up trouble in yet another Chinese island in the South China Sea, Chinese experts warned on Thursday, after Manila's provocative intrusions into waters adjacent to Xianbin Jiao (also known as Xianbin Reef) and Ren'ai Jiao (also known as Ren'ai Reef) on Monday. The Philippines is expanding the military infrastructure on Zhongye Dao (also known as Zhongye Island), a part of China's Nansha Qundao (also known as Nansha Islands) but illegally occupied by the Philippines, in a move to potentially invite warships and warplanes from countries outside the region such as the US and Japan, sabotaging peace and stability in the South China Sea in the process, Chinese experts said. According to an analysis made by Zhang Jie, a research fellow at the National Institute of International Strategy under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Philippines has been building up tensions in the domain of international public opinion this year in a bid to ramp up the pace of its infringing moves on Zhongye Dao. In May, Philippine defense chief Gilberto Teodoro Jr and other Philippine officials attended a groundbreaking ceremony of the Philippine Navy barracks on Zhongye Dao, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported at the time, hyping the presence of Chinese vessels around the island during the event. In July, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said that the development of an airport on Zhongye Dao is one of the priorities of his government, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported. The Philippines has established a military and civilian presence in the area, the report said. Then in August, the New York Times published a story entitled "The Filipinos Living in the Shadow of China's Military Might," claiming that the Chinese presence around Zhongye Dao "startled" the Philippines, prompting it to upgrade its crumbling military facilities that lie on the island's southern end. Zhang told the Global Times on Thursday that these moves show the distinctive characteristics of what the Philippines commonly does before stirring up trouble in the South China Sea. Since August 2023, the Philippines has made infringing provocations on multiple Chinese islands and reefs in the South China Sea, including Ren'ai Jiao, Huangyan Dao, Tiexian Jiao, Houteng Jiao and Xianbin Jiao. On Monday, Philippine Coast Guard ships consecutively intruded into waters adjacent to Xianbin Jiao and Ren'ai Jiao in violation of China's territorial sovereignty. The Philippines' moves on the South China Sea issue have been more proactive and aggressive compared with China's restrained measures, as Manila relies on its allies rather than its own strength and is playing with global public opinion and international law, Zhang said. After hyping up tensions, Manila will likely speed up its infringing activities on Zhongye Dao. It cannot be ruled out that the Philippines' latest upgrade of Zhongye Dao's infrastructure could host aircraft and ships from countries outside the region, providing convenience to countries such as the US and Japan in their possible military interference in the South China Sea, Zhang said. A Chinese military expert who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Thursday that after the extension, the Philippines' airport could potentially host larger warplanes in addition to those capable of short takeoff and landing. Aircraft such as medium-sized transport planes, special mission aircraft and fighter jets from countries outside the region could appear on Zhongye Dao, the above-quoted expert said. This will undoubtedly sabotage peace and stability in the South China Sea, observers said. Restraint from Chinese side Despite increasing domestic calls for a response, China has restrained itself from pushing further in the construction of civilian facilities in Nansha Qundao in a move to maintain the overall stability in the South China Sea. It has become obvious that it is the Philippines that has been escalating the South China Sea issue, observers said. To resolve the issue, Zhang suggested that China and ASEAN member states continue to promote the full implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea, and accelerate the negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea, so as to form a set of common rules and standards that will be followed by all parties and achieve peace and stability in the region. But if the Philippines insists on acting willfully, China will have to show its determination to safeguard territorial sovereignty and maritime rights in the form of strength, Zhang said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Explosives in UNRWA Bags and Hidden Weapons Near a School Compound IDF Press Release August 22, 2024 22.08.24 For the past few days, troops of the Nahal Brigade have been conducting precise, intelligence-based targeted operations in the 'Tel al-Sultan' area in Rafah as part of a divisional operation of the 162nd Division. Directed by the division's Fire Control Center and the troops in the field, an IAF aircraft eliminated an armed terrorist cell and dismantled terrorist infrastructure. While carrying out intelligence based searches in the area near the schools' compound, the troops of the 50th Battalion located a large amount of weapons, among them: rifles, explosives, military vests, and intelligence documents of the enemy. Additionally, the troops located UNRWA bags containing hidden explosives meant to be used in attacks on IDF troops. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Yemen conducts fresh operation in Red Sea to support people of Gaza IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Aug 22, 2024 Tehran, IRNA -- The Yemeni armed forces announced in a statement on Thursday night that it has launched two more operations to continue supporting the oppressed people of Gaza and the Mujahideen of resistance and to respond to the aggression of the United States and the UK against yemen. According to the website of Yemen's "Al-Masira" network, in the first Yemeni operation, the oil ship "SOUNION" belonging to a company that cooperates with the Zionist enemy, was attacked by the Yemeni armed forces in the Red Sea and the ship is sinking. According to this report, in the second operation, the ship "Sw North Wind I" was targeted in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, which also belongs to a company related to the Zionist regime. In these two operations, Yemeni naval, drone and missile forces participated. The Yemeni armed forces emphasized that they will continue their operations until the war against Gaza stops and the blockade of this strip is lifted. 2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hamas and Jihad call for full withdrawal of occupying regime's military from Gaza IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Aug 22, 2024 Tehran, IRNA -- Hamas and Islamic Jihad emphasized the necessity of the complete withdrawal of the occupying regime's military from Gaza in order to reach any agreement with the occupying regime. The leaders of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad demanded the complete withdrawal of the Israeli military from the entire Gaza Strip in order to reach any agreement with Tel Aviv. After meeting with the Secretary General of the Islamic Jihad Movement, Mohammed Darvish, the head of the Hamas Advisory Council, Ziyad al-Nakhaleh and his deputy, Mohammed al-Hindi, issued a joint statement and announced that in order to reach any agreement with Tel Aviv, the complete withdrawal of the Israeli military from the entire Gaza Strip region, the beginning of the reconstruction of the region, the agreement on the exchange of prisoners and the end of the siege are necessary. 2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 42 more Palestinians martyred in Gaza; total number hits 40,265 IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Aug 22, 2024 Tehran, IRNA -- The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that the number of martyrs in the Gaza Strip has increased to 40,265. The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced in the Gaza Strip that the Zionist occupying army committed 4 more massacres against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours. The said ministry added that 42 Palestinians were martyred and 163 people were injured in these attacks With the testimony of these people, the number of martyrs of the war against Gaza increased to 40,265 and the number of wounded increased to 93,144. Thousands of people are still missing and under the rubble in the Gaza Strip. 2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Zionist regime martyred 3 more Palestinians in West Bank IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Aug 22, 2024 Tehran, IRNA -- Three Palestinians have been martyred in the West Bank city of Tulkarm as Israeli occupation forces raided the city's refugee camp. Explosions rocked Tulkarm as occupation troops entered the refugee camp, prompting clashes with Palestinian resistance fighters, Palestinian media reported. Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement that three Palestinians were killed by an Israeli strike on a house in the city's refugee camp. An Israeli D9 bulldozer was set ablaze by an improvised explosive device (IED), and ambulances were dispatched to evacuate injured troops, according to Lebanon's Al-Manar news network. Hamas's armed wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, said fighters from its Tulkarm Battalion clashed with Israeli soldiers in the camp and detonated explosive devices targeting military vehicles. "Our fighters continue to clash with the occupation forces and we have achieved direct hits among them," the Al-Qassam Brigades said. Palestinian resistance groups have been fighting Israeli soldiers in different parts of Gaza to defend the civilian population against the regime's intense attacks that have left more than 40,173 people dead since early October 2023. 3266**9417 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Planning for 'painful response' is one of reasons for delay in punishing Zionist regime: Ansarullah IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Aug 22, 2024 Tehran, IRNA -- The leader of Yemen's Ansarullah movement has described the response of the Axis of Resistance to the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran as "painful" and "effective", adding that planning for this painful response is one of the reasons for the delay. Abdul-Malik al-Houthi made the remarks on the recent developments in Palestine on Thursday. Emphasizing the Islamic Ummah's responsibility to support Palestine, he noted that neglecting Palestine and not helping them has put the entire Ummah in danger. He pointed out that with the support of the US and the West, the Israeli enemy has been committing crimes against the people of Gaza for 321 days, adding that the Zionist enemy is destroying Palestine through bombing, starvation, the spread of diseases, torture, and other crimes. Al-Houthi also highlighted the response of the resistance front, citing Yemen's recent operations involving 21 ballistic missiles, unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV), and drones. He mentioned that Iran's response to the assassination of commander Haniyeh is also anticipated, noting that the Zionist's fear of Iran's response has forced them to hide in shelters. Haniyeh and one of his bodyguards were martyred when their residence was targeted in Tehran on July 31, hours after attending Pezeshkian's inaugural. Reacting to the Israeli act of terror, high-ranking Iranian officials vowed to give a proper response to the Zionist regime, with Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei saying, that by assassinating Haniyeh, the Israeli regime has prepared the ground for harsh punishment for itself. 3266**9417 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Over 10,200 Palestinians arrested in West Bank since Oct. 7 IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Aug 22, 2024 Tehran, IRNA -- The Zionist regime has arrested over 10,200 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank since the start of the war on Gaza on October 7, news sources have reported. The Palestinian Commission for Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs announced on Thursday that the Israeli regime has arrested at least 25 Palestinians in the past 24 hours, including two women and a child, according to the Beirut-based Al Mayadeen news network. Since the war on Gaza began on October 7, more than 10,200 Palestinians have been arrested in the West Bank. Israel waged a genocidal war on the besieged Gaza on October 7, 2023, after the Palestinian Hamas Resistance group carried out a historic operation against the occupying entity in retaliation for the regime's intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people. Israel has imposed a complete siege on the densely populated territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food, and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there. 3266**9417 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 19 Palestinians martyred by Israeli airstrike in Gaza IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Aug 22, 2024 Tehran, IRNA -- Nineteen Palestinians were martyred by an Israeli airstrike on a residential house in northern Gaza, local media reported. The Zionist regime's warplanes targeted a residential house in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, martyring 11 Palestinians, according to Palestinian Shahab News on Thursday. Additionally, Israeli fighter jets also bombed a residential house in Tal Al-Zaatar neighborhood, east of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip, killing two Palestinians and wounding a number of others. The Zionist regime's warplanes also targeted another residential house in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, killing six Palestinians. Earlier on Wednesday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that 40,223 Palestinian people have been martyred in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023. 3266**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UKMTO reports fresh maritime incident in Yemen IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Aug 22, 2024 Tehran, IRNA -- The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has reported a new attack on a vessel off the coast of Yemen. In a statement on Thursday, UKMTO announced that two explosions occurred in the vicinity of a vessel located about 57 nautical miles south of Aden. No additional details about the incident have been reported. Yemenis have declared their open support for Palestine's struggle against the Israeli occupation since the regime launched a devastating war on Gaza on October 7 after the territory's Palestinian Resistance movements carried out a surprise retaliatory attack, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Storm, against the occupying entity. Yemeni Armed Forces have said that they won't stop their attacks until unrelenting Israeli ground and aerial offensives in Gaza, which have killed at least 40,223 people and wounded another 92,081 individuals, come to an end. The United States and Britain in December announced a military coalition to target Yemen in support of the Zionist regime. 3266**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hezbollah rockets target Zionist military positions IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Aug 22, 2024 Tehran, IRNA -- Lebanon's Hezbollah Resistance Movement has announced yet another night of retaliatory strikes on Israeli military targets in the northern occupied Palestinian territories. C According to Al-Manar TV, the Lebanese group announced that its rockets targeted the artillery unit of the Zionist regime in the Al-Zaourah region, the second such attack there this week . Previously, Hezbollah had published images of its operations targeting the Al-Rehab base and the town of Shatula in the north of occupied Palestine and the Tsnobar base on the occupied Syrian Golan heights. Earlier, the Zionist regime also carried out fresh attacks on the towns of Kafarkala and Eita al-Shaab located in southern Lebanon. Israel and Hezbollah have been exchanging fire across the frontier since October 8, a day after the Zionist regime launched its genocidal war on the Gaza strip. Hezbollah has pledged to continue its operations in support of the defenseless Palestinians in Gaza and in response to the Israeli aggression against Lebanon. It has marked the worst escalation along Lebanon's southern border since 2006 war, in which, Hezbollah fighters forced the Zionists to retreat. 4399 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Palestinian resistance leaders discuss latest developments IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Aug 22, 2024 Tehran, IRNA -- Senior officials of Palestinian resistance movements, Hamas and Islamic Jihad have met in the Qatari capita to discuss the latest developments in Palestine, especially the war-ravaged Gaza Strip. Ziad al-Nakhalah, the Secretary General of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement and his deputy Muhammad al-Hindi met with Muhammad Ismail Darwish, the head of the Hamas Consultative Council, and a delegation of this movement in Doha, according to IRNA's Thursday morning report based on a Hamas statement cited by from the Palestinian Shihab news agency. The two sides discussed the latest political and field developments across Palestine, the report said, adding that Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders emphasized the need to immediately stop the war against the Palestinian nation and prosecute and punish the Zionist regime for its crimes. They also reportedly emphasized the stance of the resistance and the Palestinian nation that they are agree to on any agreement that includes a complete cessation of war, the withdrawal of the occupying forces from Gaza, the beginning of the reconstruction of the strip, the end of the siege and the exchange of prisoners. The resistance leaders in Doha held the leaders of the Zionist regime responsible for the failure of the mediators' efforts by insisting on continuing the war and withdrawing from previous agreements, especially the plan accepted by Hamas on July 2. 4399 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary of the United States Air Force visits the Air Force Base "Lielvarde" Republic of Latvia - Ministry of Defence 08/22/2024 - 16:57 In Latvia International cooperation Information prepared by Media Relations Section On Thursday, 22 August, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Defense Aivars Purins and Air Force commander Colonel Viesturs Masulis met with the Secretary of the United States Air Force Frank Kendall during his visit at the National Armed Force Air Base "Lielvarde". "Alongside our Latvian allies, we consistently and convincingly demonstrate NATO's value as an enduring deterrent to potential aggressors in the Baltics. The United States deeply appreciates Latvia's contributions to our mutual security relationship. Visiting Lielvarde Air Base and seeing all our partners working together there was a terrific experience," after the visit at the National Armed Force Air Base "Lielvarde," said Secretary of the United States Air Force Frank Kendall. "Military presence of the United States in Latvia and investments into development of our capabilities send a strong signal of deterrence, which is very significant in current geopolitical situation. Secretary of the United States Air Force and I discussed the next steps in Latvian-US cooperation, which will further contribute to the development of our military capabilities and strengthen Latvia's defense," State Secretary of the Ministry of Defense Aivars Purins commented the meeting. During the meeting, the officials discussed defense cooperation between Latvia and the United States, topical issues in Latvian defense policy and the development of the capabilities of the National Armed Forces, as well as the situation of regional security and support to Ukraine in strengthening its defense capabilities. Mr. Purins briefed Mr. Kendall on the priorities of the Latvian defense sector, including the implementation of the National Defence Service and comprehensive national defense, the establishment of Selonia Military Training Area and strengthening of air defense. Further opportunities of joint military exercises at the Air Base "Lielvarde" and Selonia Military training area were discussed, as well. The officials also spoke about the NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission and Latvia's experience in hosting the NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission. During his visit, Mr. Kendall got acquainted with the infrastructure of the National Armed Force Air Base "Lielvarde" and met with Latvian and allied soldiers stationed at the base. The Air Base "Lielvarde" is manned on a rotational basis by the US Air Force personnel, Spanish NASAMS anti-aircraft battery personnel, as well as German Air Force personnel ensuring the NATO Baltic Air Policing Mission from the base. The long-term US military presence in Latvia and support for strengthening the military capabilities of the National Armed Force significantly strengthens Latvia's defense within NATO. The U.S. continues to support the acquisition of Black Hawk helicopters, Naval Strike Missiles and HIMARS missile artillery systems. As already reported, in December 2023 Latvia and the US announced about signing an agreement on the acquisition of Naval Strike Missile anti-ship missile systems manufactured by the US company Raytheon and the Norwegian company Kongsberg. At the same time, Latvia signed an agreement with the US government for the purchase of six HIMARS high mobility artillery rocket systems manufactured by Lockheed Martin at the end of last year. Latvia is expected to receive these missile systems starting from 2027. The US is a long-standing strategic partner and ally of Latvia and plays an important role in strengthening Latvia's security. Latvia and the US have a relationship based on shared values and security interests. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO reaffirms commitment to regional stability as Assistant Secretary General Ruge wraps up trip to Western Balkans NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 16 Aug. 2024 - 22 Aug. 2024 Last updated: 22 Aug. 2024 21:09 NATO Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, Ambassador Boris Ruge, held high-level consultations in Sarajevo, Pristina and Belgrade from 16 to 22 August 2024. Ambassador Ruge highlighted that the Western Balkans is a region of strategic importance for the Alliance and reiterated NATO Allies' steadfast commitment to lasting security. He noted the continued, long-standing cooperation between NATO, the European Union and other international organisations to consolidate regional stability. During meetings with the Presidency and other senior officials in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including Minister of Foreign Affairs Elmedin Konakovic and the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina Christian Schmidt, Ruge affirmed that: "NATO has been engaged in Bosnia and Herzegovina for 3 decades; we remain strongly committed to the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity and we will not allow any type of security vacuum to emerge." In Pristina, Ruge met with Ms. Vjosa Osmani and senior officials from the EU, OSCE, QUINT group (represented by France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States), and the NATO-led KFOR mission. Concerning the re-opening of the Austerlitz bridge over the Ibar river in Mitrovica, the Assistant Secretary General underlined NATO's position that "decisions must be taken through dialogue and in a coordinated manner." He also emphasised NATO's full support to the EU-facilitated dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, as the framework for resolving pending political issues. In Belgrade, Ruge met with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Foreign Minister Marko Djuric, and representatives of the international community. "We had good exchanges on the various aspects of NATO-Serbia partnership, which we hope to deepen, and on the Alliance's efforts across the region," he said. "We look to Serbia to help ensure full accountability for the violent acts perpetrated in Kosovo in May and September 2023 and to play a positive role, based on good neighbourly relations, with all states in the region," he said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Estrada: China's action vs. PH vessels in WPS 'uncivilized, shameless' Philippine News Agency By Wilnard Bacelonia August 22, 2024, 4:59 pm Updated on August 22, 2024, 5:43 pm MANILA -- China's constant harassment and bullying of Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) is "uncivilized and shameless," Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada said Thursday. Estrada made the statement when asked for a reaction on the two Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ships that were heavily damaged after colliding with Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) vessels near Escoda Shoal, only 139 km. from the Palawan coast. The National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea said the PCG's BRP Bagacay (MRRV-4410) and BRP Cape Engano (MRRV-4411) were damaged after they were harassed and rammed by CCG vessels while en route to Patag and Lawak Islands near Escoda Shoal on Aug. 19. "Ang problema dito sa China, hindi sila civilized (The problem with China is that they are uncivilized). They have to act in a civilized manner, mukha na silang (They are already looking) uncivilized," Estrada said during the Kapihan sa Senado. "Nakikipag-usap sila (sa atin), eh iba naman yung ginagawa nila. Walang hiya talaga (They talk with us but their actions are different. They are shameless)." He also reiterated that China's claim over the WPS is "invalid, illegal, and has no basis whatsoever." Estrada, who chairs the Senate Committee on National Defense and Security, Peace, Unification, and Reconciliation, also defended the Philippines for seeking assistance from its allies in ensuring peace and order in its territory. "Natural lang yun (That's just natural). We are a third-world country. We are a small country. We are not mightier as compared to China. Natural lang na (It's only natural that) we have to ally with these countries," he said. Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino earlier urged the National Security Council to demand compensation from the People's Republic of China for the damage sustained by the two PCG patrol vessels, citing the incident as "unacceptable." Wanton disregard for int'l norms Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., meanwhile, said China's acts of destruction of ecosystems in the WPS shows its disregard for international norms. "On my end, it just goes to show you a pattern or a mindset of disregard for international norms by the government of China so it is another piece of evidence that the world should know and it adds to the pile up of violations that they that so far committed not only in the WPS but in other areas," he said in a press conference at the launch of the Philippines' hosting of the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City. Teodoro added these actions show that China's version of international law is a "perverted one". "(It's) sad to say but it is what it is," the defense chief said. Last month, the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) said China is aware of its fishers' destructive acts of harvesting endangered sea turtles, coral, and giant clams on a substantial scale in WPS. However, it said Beijing did not do anything to stop these methods that have inflicted severe damage on the coral reef environment in these waters. (with Priam Nepomuceno/PNA) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Houthi: Planning for painful response to Haniyeh assassination reason for delay Iran Press TV Thursday, 22 August 2024 4:27 PM The leader of Yemen's Ansarullah movement says the Axis of Resistance will definitely avenge the Israeli assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, but meticulous planning is needed to deliver a painful and effective response. "The Axis of Resistance will surely carry out the retaliatory operation, which will be stinging and effective. Careful planning is among the reasons behind the delay in its implementation," Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said in a televised speech broadcast from the Yemeni capital Sana'a on Thursday afternoon. Israel, he said, is in a state of extreme fear and anguish amid anticipation of Iran's retaliatory response to Haniyeh's targeted assassination on July 31, while operations continue to be carried out elsewhere across West Asia. "The operations are in full swing in southern Lebanon and Israel awaits an inevitable response from Hezbollah resistance fighters," the Ansarullah chief noted. The retaliatory response will absolutely come, Houthi said. This week, Yemeni forces used 21 winged ballistic missiles, and kamikaze drones as well as unmanned underwater vehicles in various operations against Israeli targets, he added. So far, Houthi said, Yemeni naval units have targeted 182 merchant vessels affiliated with Israel and its Western sponsors during their maritime operations in the Red Sea in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The Ansarullah leader hit out at the Israeli regime, saying it has been committing the crime of the century against Gazans for the past 321 days with the help and support of the US and some other Western countries. "The Zionist enemy is waging a genocidal campaign of extermination against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip through bombardment, starvation, epidemics, torture and other crimes," he said. Houthi said religious scholars and thinkers have a great responsibility to raise awareness among Muslims and world nations about the danger of failing to support Palestinians and their cause. He also strongly criticized certain Arab regimes for repressive measures like imprisonment, financial penalties, torture and even enforced exile against those sympathizing with the Palestinians and their resistance groups. "Whilst some Arab regimes continue to trade with the occupying Tel Aviv regime, the Colombian government has banned coal export to Israel. Defense of Gaza and the al-Aqsa Mosque compound is a primary duty for all Muslims. This is while some are negligent and others are accomplices. "Negligence and failure to assist Palestine is a danger for the entire Muslim world," Houthi said. The Ansarullah chief finally called upon all walks of the Yemeni society to take to the streets on Friday in a strong show of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza amid the relentless Israeli ground and aerial offensives. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address IRGC cmdr.: Resistance fighters to continue operations as long as Israel launches strikes Iran Press TV Thursday, 22 August 2024 11:29 AM A senior commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has warned that the operations of the resistance axis will continue as long as the US-backed Israeli airstrikes on Gaza persist. Deputy Commander of the IRGC's Quds Force Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Fallahzadeh on Thursday said that following the al-Aqsa Storm operation, the Israeli regime started bombing Gaza, which prompted resistance groups to join the anti-Tel Aviv combat from different areas of the region. The resistance groups joined the battle field from different areas and hit the territories, where the United States and the Israeli regime had interests, Fallahzadeh added, asserting that their operations will "continue as long as the bombings and atrocities persist." The IRGC commander emphasized that following the al-Aqsa Storm operation, the Israeli regime faced a significant downfall, prompting the United States to step in and take over control in a vain effort to stabilize the situation. Commenting on Hezbollah's achievements, he further noted that Lebanon's resistance movement has grounded three Israeli military units, leaving them in a state of total disarray. Fallahzadeh added that the Iraqi resistance movement has also intensified pressure on the US forces, launching 100 drone strikes against them to date. Israel has been founded on terror, he said, noting that the Israeli regime has so far assassinated 280 resistance figures, with the most recent being the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. He went on to say that that Israel has killed 40,000 Palestinians through relentless bombardments in Gaza, prompting accusations of a genocidal campaign aimed at dismantling family structures, while global awareness and outrage continue to grow against these actions. Since the start of the Gaza war, the Tel Aviv regime has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Lebanon's Hezbollah targets Israeli military sites with 'squadron of attack drones' Iran Press TV Thursday, 22 August 2024 11:26 AM Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement has carried out fresh retaliatory attacks against a number of strategic Israeli military positions in the northern part of the occupied territories in support of Lebanese soil and Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip. Hezbollah said in separate statements on Thursday that the resistance group targeted the Branit barracks "with heavy artillery shells and achieved a direct hit." The fighters of Hezbollah also launched drone attacks on positions of Israeli soldiers in Kiryat Shmona settlement and struck spying equipment in one of the occupation army's sites. "In support of our steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in support of their brave and honorable resistance, and in response to the Israeli enemy's attacks on the steadfast southern villages and safe homes, the fighters of the Islamic Resistance, on Thursday, 22-08-2024, launched an aerial attack with a squadron of attack drones on positions of Israeli soldiers in the Kiryat Shmona settlement, hitting their targets with precision," Hezbollah said in a statement. The resistance group also "targeted surveillance equipment at the Jal al-Alam site with an attack drone, achieving a direct hit." In the early hours of Thursday, the Israeli military launched airstrikes on over 10 areas in southern Lebanon amid escalating tensions between the usurping regime and Hezbollah. Local media reported that the Israeli raids targeted the Lebanese villages of Kfar Kila, Kawthariyat al-Siyad, Ramya, Zibqin, Aita al-Shaab, Mhaibib, Kfar Chouba, and the Shebaa Farms. There has been no report on possible casualties or damage caused by the Israeli strikes. The Israeli regime has been staging numerous sporadic attacks against southern Lebanon since October 7, when it launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip. Hezbollah has launched a series of strikes against Israeli positions in retaliation for the regime's aggression against Lebanon and in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. In the most recent one, Hezbollah on Wednesday launched a series of drone and rocket attacks on key Israeli military targets, including the Tsnobar base in in Syria's Tel Aviv-occupied Golan Heights. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Three Palestinians killed in airstrike in Tulkarm as resistance fighters clash with Israeli troops Iran Press TV Thursday, 22 August 2024 10:48 AM Three Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli strike on the Tulkarm refugee camp, in an attack that ignited intense confrontations between Israeli forces and resistance fighters. Israeli troopers launched a drone strike on a house in the Tulkarm refugee camp on Thursday morning, killing three young men, the Palestinian Health Ministry said in a statement. The ministry named the victims as Imad Tayseer Shraim, 34 , and Muawiya al-Hajj Ahmed, and Wassim Anbar, both 30 years old. As the drone hit Tulkarm, local sources reported that Israeli military vehicles launched an incursion into the West Bank city from the west, and moved through various neighborhoods with a particular focus on the western and eastern areas. They positioned around critical sites, such as the al-Isra Specialized Hospital, the Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital, and the vicinity of the District Coordination Office close to the Tulkarm camp. Reports indicate that both public and private property, including homes and shops along the main service road, had been deliberately targeted and vandalized by Israeli forces during the eight-hour incursion. Hamas's armed wing, Qassam Brigades, reported on Thursday that its Tulkarm Battalion engaged in confrontations with Israeli soldiers in the camp and detonated explosive devices targeting military vehicles. "Our fighters continue to clash with the occupation forces and we have achieved direct hits among them," the Qassam Brigades said. The Quds News Network also posted a video of fire in the camp following Israel's ground assault on the camp in the early hours of the morning. Fire rages on following the detonation of an explosive device near an Israeli military bulldozer amid the raid in Tulkarm, according to reports. Other groups, including the Tulkarm branch of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement's Quds Brigades and the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, joined the clashes against the Israeli army. Moreover, the Israeli military has confirmed that one of its soldiers sustained injuries during the clashes with resistance fighters in Tulkarm and its camp. Israeli forces also stormed several other towns across the occupied West Bank, and arrested 25 Palestinians, including two women and a child, overnight and through Thursday morning. Since Israel unleashed a war on the besieged Gaza Strip in early October 2023, casualties have been rising in the West Bank as a result of intensified near-daily raids into villages and cities in the occupied territories. A total of 636 Palestinians, including 147 children, have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces since the beginning of Israel's Gaza onslaught, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address More than 20 Palestinians killed in Israel's overnight strikes as genocidal war on Gaza rages Iran Press TV Thursday, 22 August 2024 8:08 AM More than 20 Palestinian have been killed and many more injured in Israel's overnight airstrikes on the Gaza Strip as the regime's attacks on residential areas and schools sheltering displaced people continue unabated. In the early hours of Thursday, 11 Palestinians were killed in a airstrike on a home in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza, according to official Palestinian news agencies. Medical sources reported that the majority of the victims were women and children, with their burnt bodies transported to Kamal Adwan Hospital, while several others remain under the rubble. Israeli forces also targeted a house in the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, killing at least six Palestinians and injuring several more. Online videos showed the victims' bodies covered with blankets and placed in body bags at a hospital. In another attack on a residential apartment in the Tall az-Zaatar area in the northern Jabalia refugee camp, at least three Palestinians were killed and a number of others, including women and children were injured, according to Gaza's civil defense. Additionally, a mother and her child were killed in a separate Israeli attack on the Abu Daqqa family home in the southeastern area of Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza. Israel has killed and wounded dozens more Palestinians in Gaza as its military has ordered new evacuation orders, and its forces have advanced deeper into the overcrowded central city. The recent attacks came two days after Israel's horrific attack on Salah al-Din School, a sheltering school for displaced Palestinians in Gaza City, which killed and injured more than 20 Palestinians, mostly women and children. Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA, denounced Wednesday's strike on the Gaza City school, saying some victims "were burnt to death" in the "horrific attack on one of our UNRWA schools." "Is there any humanity left?" Lazzarini wrote on the social media platform X. "Gaza is no place for children anymore. They are the first casualty of this merciless war. Israel has hit more than 500 Gaza schools in the past 10 months, according to an Al Jazeera report as schools in the Gaza Strip have been used to shelter nearly two million displaced Palestinians. Within a 10-day period in August, the regime's military forces struck five schools in Gaza City, killing more than 179 people and injuring scores more. Under the Fourth Geneva Convention, schools are considered civilian objects and should be protected from attacks. The Israeli regime has killed more than 40,223 and wounded 92,981 Palestinians since the regime launched its campaign of death and destruction in Gaza on October 7, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Aug 21: 'Axis of Resistance' operations against Israeli occupation Iran Press TV Thursday, 22 August 2024 7:59 AM By Press TV Website Staff Amid Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed over 40,000 Palestinians so far, the majority of them children, resistance groups in Palestine and across the region continue their operations against the Tel Aviv regime and its Western backers. The major operations carried out by the Palestinian and regional resistance groups on Tuesday, August 21, are as follows: Al-Qassam Brigades' operations on August 21: - Targeted an Israeli Merkava tank with an al-Yassin 105 shell east of Dayr al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. - Detonated a pre-rigged explosive device at the entrance of a tunnel, targeting an Israeli military force, west of the "al-Hawuzin" area, north of Khan Yunis city in the southern Gaza Strip. Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades' operations on August 21: - Targeted Israeli military command and control centers along the "Netzarim" axis, south of Gaza City, with a barrage of 107 mm rockets. - Engaged in intense clashes with Israeli forces in the Old City of Nablus, occupied West Bank, using machine guns. Al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades' operations on August 21: - In a joint operation with the Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, targeted the "Kissufim" military site with two 107 mm rockets. - In a joint operation with the Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades, launched a rocket attack on the "Kissufim" military site east of the central Gaza Strip using 107 mm rockets. Martyr Abu Ali Mustafa Brigades' operations on August 21: - In a joint operation with the Ansar Brigades, targeted Israeli military command and control headquarters in the "Netzarim" area, north of the central governorate, with heavy mortar shells. - In a joint operation with the al-Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades, launched a rocket barrage at the "Kissufim" military site. Hezbollah's operations on August 21: - After monitoring Israeli forces around the "Zarit" barracks, targeted them with a barrage of artillery shells. - Attacked the logistical base of "Tsnobar" in the occupied Golan Heights with a barrage of Katyusha rockets. - Targeted the Hadab Yaroun site with a drone strike and artillery shells. - Launched a drone attack on the northern corps' reserve headquarters and the logistics base of the Galilee Division in "Amiad," targeting command centers and the positions of officers and soldiers. - After tracking Israeli forces at the Abbasiya site, targeted a Merkava tank with a guided missile. - Fired a barrage of Katyusha rockets at the "Ramim" barracks, a battalion command post occupied by Golani Brigade forces. - Targeted Israeli soldiers' positions at the "Misgav Am" site with rockets. - Shelled the Malikiyah site with artillery. - Attacked the surveillance equipment at the Birkat Risha site with appropriate weapons. - Bombarded the "Zarit" barracks with artillery shells. - Targeted the "Ramot Naftali" barracks with Katyusha rockets. - Fired rockets at Israeli military's artillery positions in "Zaoura." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israeli military launches massive attacks on southern Lebanon as tensions escalate Iran Press TV Thursday, 22 August 2024 6:17 AM The Israeli military has launched airstrikes in over 10 areas in southern Lebanon amid heightened tensions between the usurping regime and the Hezbollah resistance movement. The occupation's army announced that its aerial assaults were conducted overnight into Thursday, claiming that the targets included "weapon warehouses, military structures and a launch pad." Al-Mayadeen TV channel reported that the Israeli raids targeted the Lebanese villages of Kfar Kila, Kawthariyat al-Siyad, Ramya, Zibqin, Aita al-Shaab, Mhaibib, Kfar Chouba, and the Shebaa Farms. There has been no report on possible casualties or damage caused by the Israeli strikes. The Israeli regime has been staging numerous sporadic attacks against southern Lebanon since October 7, when it launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip. In its most daring attack against the country since the beginning of the Gaza onslaught, the regime assassinated Fuad Shukr, a senior Hezbollah military commander and an advisor to the movement's Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in Beirut on July 30. Hezbollah has launched a series of strikes against Israeli positions in retaliation for the regime's aggression against Lebanon and in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. In the most recent one, Hezbollah on Wednesday launched a series of drone and rocket attacks on key Israeli military targets, including the Tsnobar base in in Syria's Tel Aviv-occupied Golan Heights. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US carrier, warships arrive in West Asia amid prospect of Iran, Hezbollah response to Israel Iran Press TV Thursday, 22 August 2024 3:10 AM The US's Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and its accompanying warships have arrived in the West Asia region amid the country and the Israeli regime's fears of Iran and Hezbollah's promised severe response to Tel Aviv's assassination of senior resistance figures. The US Central Command (CENTCOM), which is tasked with handing the country's forces deployed to the region as well as other places, announced the development in a post on the X social media platform on Wednesday. "USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), equipped with F-35C and F/A-18 Block III fighters, entered the US Central Command (USCENTCOM) area of responsibility," the post read. "The USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 3, is accompanied by Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 21 and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9," it added. The Pentagon ordered the carrier's deployment to the region at the beginning of the month. On August 11, however, it ordered it to "accelerate its transit." The carrier's arrival brings the number of such American vessels in the region to two alongside the USS Theodore Roosevelt. The latter is, however, reportedly slated to leave the region later. The Israeli regime staged a targeted killing operation against Tehran on July 31, assassinating Ismail Haniyeh, the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas' former Political Bureau chief. Haniyeh was in the Iranian capital to attend the inauguration ceremony of Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian. The regime has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility, but the Islamic Republic has vowed to face it with "harsh punishment." Most recently, Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations said the country was to respond to the assassination in a time and manner that would take the regime "by surprise." Hours before carrying out the atrocity, the regime had assassinated Fuad Shukr, a senior commander of the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah, in an attack against Lebanon's capital Beirut. The movement has likewise pledged to retaliate strongly. On August 16, it revealed a new underground missile facility featuring a convoluted tunnel network, missile launchpads, and blast doors opening outwards, hinting at its operational readiness to stage the reprisal. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address CIA Chief Makes Stop In Kosovo As Part Of Unannounced Visit To Balkan Region By RFE/RL's Kosovo Service August 22, 2024 CIA director William Burns has arrived in Kosovo after stops earlier this week in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia on an unannounced trip amid concerns about U.S. relations with Kosovo and Russian influence in the Balkans. Burns was seen on August 22 entering the building of Kosovo's presidency. A U.S. government official confirmed to RFE/RL earlier this week that Burns arrived in Sarajevo and met with his Bosnian counterparts, members of the presidency, and the foreign minister. Burns is believed to have traveled from Sarajevo to Belgrade, Bulgaria, and North Macedonia before arriving in Kosovo. According to the flight-tracking website Flightradar24, a U.S. military plane believed to be used to fly the CIA chief made stops in those countries. On August 22, it was seen parked at the VIP gate at Pristina's international airport, according to an RFE/RL photographer. But there has been no confirmation of Burns' visit to Kosovo from the U.S. Embassy in Pristina, the Kosovar presidency, or the Interior Ministry. The U.S. government official who confirmed Burns' visit to Sarajevo said the CIA chief was in the Bosnian capital to discuss the "worrying secessionist rhetoric and actions" of the pro-Russian president and government of Bosnia-Herzegovina's Serb entity. Burns' visit to Kosovo follows concerns about the partnership between the United States and Kosovo, especially regarding the government's handling of issues related to the country's Serb minority. In an interview last week with RFE/RL's Kosovo Service, U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo Jeffrey Hovenier said the U.S. administration had been "challenged" by Kosovar Prime Minister Albin Kurti and his government and the "quality of our partnership is not what we would hope it would be on some of these issues." The U.S. State Department has urged Kurti to return to "constructive and close engagement" with Washington, the European Union, and NATO, while the United States is also urging Kosovo not to reopen a bridge in Mitrovica because of security concerns. Burns did not meet with Kurti because the prime minister is in Chicago attending the Democratic National Convention at the invitation of the National Democratic Institute. Former Kosovar security forces commander Kadri Kastrati said Burns' visit may be linked to Russia's activities in the western Balkans, where he said Moscow is waging a "hybrid war." Kastrati said the greatest risk of conflict is in Bosnia through Republika Srpska and in northern Kosovo. Burns' visit shows that the CIA has "enough information about Russian efforts -- through its satellite, Serbia --- that this part of Europe is at risk of a potential conflict," Kastrati said. "They came here to give their recommendations." Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/kosovo-cia-burns- serbia-bosnia-republika-srpska/33088883.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 Israel Strikes Another School in Gaza, Killing Four, Injuring Children Sputnik News 20240822 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Israeli air force carried out an airstrike on a school building in the Gaza city area where fighters from Palestinian movement Hamas were allegedly operating, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said. "The IAF conducted a precise strike on Hamas terrorists who were operating inside a command and control center. The command and control center was located inside a compound that previously served as the 'Salah al-Din' School in Gaza City. Hamas operatives used the compound as a hideout and a base to plan and execute attacks against IDF troops and the State of Israel," the IDF said on Telegram on Wednesday. The Gaza Civil Defence agency said that at least four people were killed and another 18 were wounded. Spokesman Mahmud Bassal told the AFP news agency that 10 children were among the injured. The Israeli military claimed that it took the necessary measures to reduce risks to the civilian population. Israel has targeted more than 500 schools since it started its offensive in Gaza in October. It has repeatedly alleged that Hamas is using the schools as command centers but has provided scant evidence to back their claims. Hamas has denied that it operates inside of schools. Video posted on social media appears to show civilians, including women and children, fleeing the school after it was targeted. On Tuesday, the Palestinian Civil Defense said that at least 12 people were killed as a result of Israel's airstrike on a school building in the western part of Gaza city. On Wednesday, Belgium condemned the recent attacks on schools inside Gaza. On October 7, 2023, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented rocket attack from the Gaza Strip. In addition, Hamas fighters infiltrated the border areas, opened fire on the military and civilians and took hostages. Israeli authorities say that about 1,200 people were killed during the raid. The IDF launched Operation Iron Swords in the Gaza Strip and announced a complete blockade of the enclave. The enclave's health ministry says that the death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip since October 7 has exceeded 40,000. In July, The Lancet Medical Journal estimated that the true death toll is likely exceeded 186,000. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary Blinken's Call with Qatari Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani US Department of State Readout Office of the Spokesperson August 22, 2024 The below is attributable to Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel: Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke yesterday with Qatari Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. They discussed ongoing efforts to negotiate a ceasefire agreement that would alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people and secure the release of the hostages to return to their families. The Secretary underscored that the bridging proposal presented by negotiators addresses the remaining gaps in a manner that allows for swift implementation of the deal. They affirmed that no party in the region should take actions to undermine efforts to reach a deal and welcomed the next round of talks in Cairo. The Secretary expressed gratitude to the Amir for Qatar's vital role in mediating negotiations and promoting regional peace. The Secretary and the Amir also discussed continued efforts to end the war in Sudan. The Secretary and the Amir noted the importance of allowing unhindered humanitarian access to Sudanese civilians. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Gaza has become the deadliest place in the world to be a child: UK statement at the UN Security Council Statement by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on Gaza. 22 August 2024 Gaza has become the deadliest place in the world to be a child. Women and children continue to bear the brunt of this brutal conflict that since October 7 has killed over 40,000 people. Children account for nearly a third of identified casualties. We call on Israel to take all possible steps to avoid civilian casualties. Over 100 innocent hostages remain captured by Hamas in Gaza. Time is running out for them as they remain in captivity subject to unimaginable horror. We call again for their immediate and unconditional release. President, we've heard today that Gaza is on the brink of a devastating polio outbreak. Another deadly threat to a people already facing a multitude of deadly threats: ongoing bombardment, risk of famine and dire sanitary conditions. Meanwhile regional tensions remain high - any attack by Iran would have devastating consequences. Urgent action is needed, on three fronts: First, we need an immediate ceasefire. All sides need to focus on the negotiations led by the US, Egypt, and Qatar. These talks offer a vital opportunity to secure an immediate ceasefire that ends the conflict, gets the hostages out, allows urgent access to aid and de-escalates regional tensions. We also urge Iran, Lebanese Hezbollah and other Iranian-aligned militia groups to stand down the ongoing threats of military escalation against Israel. All parties need to exercise restraint, as my Prime Minister has made clear in recent weeks. Second, Gaza stands on the precipice of a polio outbreak with over 640,000 children under the age of 10 in need of vaccinations. We call on the parties to continue cooperating with the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, and partners to facilitate vaccine rollouts. Israel needs to allow safe and unhindered aid access into and across Gaza and to put in place an effective deconfliction mechanism to ensure aid and vaccines can be delivered and administered safely. Israel's ramping up of new evacuation orders is causing chaos in Gaza. The humanitarian zone, now just covering 11% of Gaza, is chronically overcrowded with people desperately seeking shelter. It is not safe and it is still receiving fire. British NGO, UK Med, reports that just last night their residential compound in a humanitarian zone was damaged by Israeli shelling. Humanitarian actors are being forced to evacuate their offices and abandon warehouses full of aid. If this does not stop, a polio vaccine rollout may become impossible. All parties must comply with their obligations under International Humanitarian Law. Third, President, settler violence in the West Bank is inexcusable. The violence in the Palestinian village of Jit last week was abhorrent. We call on Israel to take action against these extremists. The UK has sanctioned eight individuals and two entities related to settler violence. We condemn the continued expansion of settlements in the West Bank - it is a clear violation of international law. Finally, President, my Foreign Secretary and French Foreign Minister Sejourne visited Israel and the OPTs last week. They conveyed three key messages: that the current ceasefire talks were the only way to avert a full regional crisis; that the humanitarian situation was catastrophic and we needed to see immediate improvements; and that there had to be accountability for the appalling settler violence in the West Bank. I hope that we can all unite around these three messages today. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Development Minister calls for urgent humanitarian action for crisis-hit South Sudan, announcing life-saving support package on first Africa trip The Minister for Development, Anneliese Dodds visited South Sudan where she announced a package of support. 22 August 2024 Anneliese Dodds visits a large camp for internally displaced people in Bentiu, witnessing first-hand the desperate situation of those impacted by regional conflict and the climate crisis the Development Minister pressed senior South Sudanese Government ministers to act urgently to support humanitarian efforts and to make progress towards holding free and fair elections later in the year she also announced a package of support for the most vulnerable people in South Sudan, Sudan and Chad, including new funding for a programme to tackle endemic gender-based violence Development Minister Anneliese Dodds has today [22 August] announced vital UK aid for people in South Sudan, who face a humanitarian crisis driven by conflict, drought and flooding. The minister visited the country's largest internally displaced persons' camp in Bentiu, Unity State, where 100,000 people live in extreme poverty surrounded by flood waters that have not receded in years, seeing how UK aid is supporting them. This followed meetings with senior South Sudanese government officials in Juba, when the minister highlighted the urgent need for humanitarian aid to support those fleeing conflict. She also pressed ministers on reforms to deliver free and fair elections scheduled for December 2024, emphasising the need for political progress to ensure peace and stability, greater government investment in health and education services and the importance of unrestricted humanitarian access. In recent years, over a million people have been displaced by unprecedented flooding in South Sudan which has destroyed farms and livestock, and damaged schools and health facilities. The funding announced today will address these key issues, helping people improve farming techniques and build flood controls. Further UK aid will support women-led organisations in South Sudan to work with communities to prevent gender-based violence, including education on the harm it causes. Counselling and support services will also be made available to women and girls who have experienced gender-based violence. The Minister of State for Development, Anneliese Dodds said: The humanitarian crisis in South Sudan has left over 75% of the population in desperate need, with many struggling to feed themselves and their families. The camp I visited is also on the frontline of the climate crisis, following unprecedented flooding that threatens to overwhelm over 100,000 displaced people who are already facing acute hunger and need. The heartbreaking accounts I heard from those who were forced to flee the civil war in neighbouring Sudan hit home the urgent need to support those fleeing conflict. The levels of gender-based violence women and girls face in South Sudan is appalling, and I want to thank the survivors who shared their harrowing stories with me. I also heard how UK aid is helping provide a lifeline to those in dire need and provide the building blocks for a better future. As Minister for Development and Women and Equalities I am determined to do more to alleviate their suffering of these people. New funding I have announced will save lives and tackle food shortages and malnutrition. It will also provide essential support to stop gender-based violence and ensure displaced communities can adapt to deal with the impacts of flooding and the climate crisis. The conflict in Sudan is also causing vulnerable people to flee and seek safety in South Sudan and Chad. To address this, the UK is also providing food parcels for 145,000 people in Sudan and around 60,000 vulnerable refugees in Chad. Displaced people in South Sudan will also receive critical nutrition services for children under 5 and their caregivers. Working in partnership with the UN and NGO partners, this package will provide 180,000 people with access to food and cash transfers, 15,000 children with treatment for severe malnutrition, and 40,000 displaced people with safe water in South Sudan. All this support is part of a total funding package of 86 million for this year announced during the visit. The Director General of the International Organization for Migration, Amy Pope said: We welcome the much-needed attention the United Kingdom is bringing to the displaced people in South Sudan, where already fragile communities are facing the extreme impact of climate change, alongside a large influx of refugees and returnees escaping the war across the border in Sudan. Since these multiple crises began, IOM has been responding to the mounting humanitarian needs of displaced populations in the region. While the needs are vast, these additional resources will help us save lives and provide practical solutions by scaling up life-saving transportation assistance, health care, provision of water, sanitation, hygiene, shelter, and specific support for victims and survivors of gender-based violence. In Ethiopia, on the last day of her trip, which finished yesterday [Wednesday 21 August] the minister met with Foreign Minister Taye Atske-Selassie to discuss UK support for peace and security across Ethiopia and the wider region, as well as economic growth and development priorities. Meeting with African Union Commissioner Bankole Adeoye, she discussed peace and security issues across the continent, including in Sudan, South Sudan and Somalia. Background The Minister for Development has announced a 86 million package which includes: 69 million humanitarian assistance and resilience funding to South Sudan 1.8 million to prevent gender-based violence and to support survivors in South Sudan 15 million for those in Sudan, as well as people fleeing the Sudan conflict in Chad and South Sudan this additional 15 million brings total UK ODA country allocations to Sudan, South Sudan and Chad this financial year to over 220 million this funding aims to reduce the drivers of famine in South Sudan, protect women and girls and rebuild livelihoods for displaced communities, including people fleeing violence in Sudan more than 9 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in South Sudan. the Sudan conflict has left over half of the Sudanese population in desperate need of food assistance. The conflict has created additional strain on South Sudan, with more than 780,000 people arriving since April 2023 meeting with representatives of Sudanese political parties and civil society in Ethiopia, the minister also discussed regional efforts to end the conflict in Sudan NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address World News in Brief: UN chief condemns religious hate, threats to freedom in Sri Lanka, four young people executed in Somalia, human rights office for Caribbean 22 August 2024 - As the world marks the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief on Thursday, the UN Secretary-General urges a renewed global commitment to ensuring everyone can live free from "fear, stigma, and persecution," regardless of their religion or beliefs. The UN General Assembly designated the international day on 22 August, highlighting the need to support those affected by acts of violence due to their religion or beliefs. The Assembly's resolution condemned violence against individuals due to their faith, including attacks on homes, businesses, places of worship, and cultural sites, reinforcing the importance of upholding international law and protecting religious freedoms. Condemning hate The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, said many individuals and communities globally continue to face violence based on religious beliefs, which needs to be urgently combatted. "Governments must protect all people and places of worship, implement comprehensive anti-discrimination laws, and invest in education initiatives that foster inclusion and equal rights," Mr. Guterres said. The UN chief further said that political leaders need to condemn hate speech and be "clear that violence can never be the answer," and digital platforms need to ensure policies align with international human rights standards. "We must work together to stem the tide of hatred and promote tolerance, mutual understanding and respect," Mr. Guterres said. UN report warns of rising threats to freedoms in Sri Lanka ahead of elections A new report from the UN Human Rights Office, OHCHR, released on Thursday highlights renewed threats to fundamental freedoms in Sri Lanka, citing regressive laws, recurring human rights violations and more. The report highlights various laws and proposals introduced by the government since 2023, granting broad powers to security forces while significantly restricting freedoms of expression, opinion, and association. OHCHR's chief, Volker Turk said this trend is concerning since Sri Lanka is approaching a "crucial pre-election period." "As the country approaches presidential and parliamentary elections, it has an opportunity to recommit to the transformational changes demanded by a broad cross-section of Sri Lankans, including accountability and reconciliation," Mr. Turk said. Other report highlights The report also discusses the lingering effects of the 2022 economic crisis, particularly on vulnerable populations. Mr. Turk said economic policies need to be guided by human rights obligations. Persistent impunity for crimes committed during and after the civil war, which ended in 2009, including the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, is also highlighted, and OHCHR's chief urges the next government to address the root causes of conflict. The report further highlighted long patterns of intimidation toward journalists, civil society actors assisting civilians with social disputes and families, especially those that were forcibly disappeared. Given the Sri Lankan State's failure to prosecute perpetrators, the report calls on the international community to support accountability through targeted sanctions and other measures in line with international law. UNICEF condemns the execution of four minors in Somalia The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced on Thursday that four young people in Puntland, Somalia were executed over the weekend for crimes they committed when they were under 18 years old and allegedly associated with Al Shabaab, an armed group. UNICEF said the sentences were issued by military courts that do not specialise in child justice procedures. Preventing the death penalty In a statement released by the children's fund, they said, "The Puntland Age Verification Committee including representatives from Puntland authorities met with the young people and concluded that they were minors at the time of arrest and that they should not face the death penalty." UNICEF has asked Puntland authorities to ensure that the young children's sentencing is in line with Juvenile law as their association with the armed group occurred when they were not of adult age. "The authorities are urged to take advantage of pathways for reintegrating children associated with armed groups, which already exist and have proven to be effective in upholding the rights of the child," UNICEF said. The children's fund further said they are prepared to work with the Somali government to implement government action plans that will increase the protection of children in armed conflict. UN rights chief welcomes agreement to create regional office in the Caribbean UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk welcomed the signing of an agreement on Thursday with the Government of the Bahamas paving the way for a regional branch of his Office (OHCHR) in the Caribbean. The Office will be located in the Bahamian capital, Nassau, and will serve all countries that belong to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Mr. Turk said CARICOM States' unanimous support for its establishment is shared recognition that human rights are a pathway for solutions. In this regard, he particularly mentioned their adoption of a consensus resolution at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva last November. Furthermore, he was encouraged by the bloc's willingness to increase cooperation with his Office to address numerous challenges in the region, including climate change, the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the enjoyment of the full range of human rights, and to strengthen their human rights architecture. "Together with my team, I look forward to working with all CARICOM countries, fellow UN actors and other partners to advance human rights for everyone in the region," he said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ceasefire in Gaza Needed Now, Special Coordinator Tells Security Council, as Polio Spreads, Destruction of Palestinian Territory Continues Meetings Coverage Security Council 9711th Meeting (AM) SC/15797 22 August 2024 Representative Calls Gaza 'Deadliest Place in the World to Be a Child' With polio beginning to spread through the Gaza Strip, and humanitarian and health agencies overextended, an immediate humanitarian pause and a long-term peace deal is imperative, the Security Council heard today during an open briefing on the Palestinian question. "We need a ceasefire now," Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said, as he stressed that individual and collective capacities to manage the current crises in the Middle East "are stretched beyond their limits". Detailing the "staggering toll on human life" that the war in Gaza continues to levy, reverberating violence throughout the region and the over 200,000 Palestinians affected by evacuation orders over the past month, he reported that UN agencies and humanitarian organizations continue to deliver life-saving assistance "with remarkable courage" through all available crossing points. However, he cautioned, their efforts are jeopardized by unsafe conditions on the ground that, if allowed to prevail, will render humanitarian operations in Gaza continuously unable to meet the massive needs of the population. "The scale of destruction is immense, and will take years if not decades to recover," he said. While the UN works to repair almost-entirely defunct water, sanitation and hygiene systems in Gaza, the Palestinian Ministry of Health just confirmed the first case of polio in 25 years. In response, 1.6 million doses of vaccine for the disease have been released for a campaign scheduled to begin on 31 August. And while the eyes of the international community focus on Gaza, he pointed out that the occupied West Bank is "a tinderbox of violence and tension". Detailing the situation there, he underscored: "If we are to prevent yet another spiralling escalation, the violence must end there are no justifications for acts of terror, civilians must be protected and the incitement must stop." Also spotlighting wider regional tensions and violence along the Blue Line and in the Israeli-occupied Golan, Beirut, Tel Aviv, Hudaydah and Tehran, he said that the Middle East is at an "inflection point". Stressing that a deal for a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza is imperative "now" for regional peace and security, he urged the parties to reach such an agreement in the coming days. Meanwhile, the profound social, economic and political fallout from this devastation is yet to be seen or comprehended, and he underscored that "security and governance are intrinsically linked and must be addressed in tandem to achieve lasting peace in Gaza and address the West Bank situation". Adding that the Palestinian Authority must be at the centre of governance in the Occupied Palestinian Territory "there is simply no credible alternative" he urged: "Security fixes alone will not lead to a more stable future for anyone in the region." Also briefing the Council today was Louisa Baxter, Operations Lead at Save the Children's Emergency Health Unit, Gaza, who spoke via video link from Deir al Balah, where Israel has issued an evacuation order. "Outside this room, I am surrounded by overwhelming destruction more than 1.9 million people have been displaced and are moving through streets filled with rubble, rubbish and wastewater," she reported. Further, she said: "As we speak, polio is spreading in Gaza and it will not wait at the inspection gate at Kerem Shalom or the customs desk at Ben Gurion airport." Polio anywhere is a threat to children everywhere, she stressed, adding that without immediate preventative action, the outbreak will substantially set back global eradication efforts. The first confirmed case a 10-month-old baby in Deir al Balah is an individual tragedy, as well as a sign of a larger looming catastrophe, she said. For every 200 children who become infected, one will suffer irreversible paralysis. Noting that polio is highly infectious and spreads via wastewater "which is now everywhere in Gaza", she said "Israel has destroyed water and sanitation infrastructure, while effectively shutting off clean water from entering the Strip". And while polio is easily prevented by a vaccine, vaccination services have also broken down over the last 10 months and 750 health staff have been killed since October 2023 while less than a quarter of hospitals remain functional. "This decimated health system is wholly unprepared to face this new polio crisis," she said. To effectively respond to the polio outbreak, she called for "two sustained cessations of hostilities, no less than one week for each phase", to commence immediately. All attacks on humanitarian and medical personnel must end and people must be able to bring children to vaccination points in safety. If the parties to the conflict cannot agree to implement a ceasefire, "then it falls to this Council and its members to demand and enforce one, including by adopting measures to halt the transfer of weapons to Israel and Palestinian armed groups", she stressed. Save the Children's clinic in Deir al Balah has seen over 13,000 people, she said, noting that the children show signs of profound trauma, with common childhood illnesses made so much worse by lack of food and water. Life-saving medicines are being blocked at the crossing gates by myriad restrictions. The organization's protection teams in Gaza are working with children released from the Israeli military detention system, she said, adding: "These children report sexual violence, including rape," as well as being denied food, attacked by dogs, and seeing their parents stripped and beaten in front of them. "We are not humans if such briefings don't touch us," Slovenia's delegate said about that briefing, when the floor opened for discussion. "As a parent myself, I cannot imagine the suffering of parents not able to provide their children a safe and carefree childhood," he added, voicing support for a humanitarian pause and the plan to allow for two rounds of vaccination campaigns in Gaza. Noting that last week saw a "sobering milestone" with 40,000 fatalities in the war in Gaza, he expressed support for the negotiations to finalize a ceasefire deal. The whole world is watching to see what the Council will do and Slovenia "at least" feels the pressure to do something, he said. "We are still counting our martyrs over 40,000," said Algeria's representative, noting this figure may rise, with the spread of polio and Israeli forces deliberately targeting hospitals. His country is ready to contribute to international efforts to assist the polio vaccination campaigns, including by building three hospitals in Gaza and deploying medical personnel. However, such a campaign cannot happen under continued bombardment, he said, adding that the so-called "deconfliction mechanism" in Gaza is fiction. Despite being told for months that a ceasefire deal was close, "unfortunately, nothing happened", he rued. The occupying Israeli authorities are determined to crush any hope for an independent Palestinian State, with Al-Quds al-Sharif as its capital. However, the representative of the United States said a comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal is now "in sight". Reaffirming her country's "iron-clad support for Israel's security", she recalled United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken's recent visits to the region, and said Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has confirmed acceptance of the bridging proposal that her country, Qatar and Egypt put forward last week. "This is a decisive moment," she said, calling on all Council members to use their leverage to press Hamas to accept the bridging proposal, "which includes massive and immediate benefits for the Palestinians in Gaza and incorporates a number of Hamas's earlier demands". Her Government continues "to work with the Israeli authorities to speed up clearances and remove restrictions so that Palestinian civilians can get much-needed food, medicine, shelter, clean water and other essentials including vaccines", she added. "Washington, for 10 months now, has kept the entire Council hostage, threatening their veto," the representative of the Russian Federation said. He recalled that during negotiations for Council resolution 2735 (2024), "our American colleagues told us that the fate of the deal between Hamas and Israel on ceasefire and hostage release hinged upon that resolution". The Council was told that Israel had agreed to the proposed deal even while that country's official statements clearly showed no intention of stopping the military operation. Indeed, despite that adoption, Israel is continuing its brutal operation, only pausing when it needs to. Now the United States is trying to sell yet another deal that suits Israel and is asking Council members to exert pressure on Hamas. But, "according to the information we have", he said, Israel insists on keeping a military presence in Gaza. The Security Council "never blessed" such a deal, he said, asking the representative of the United States: "On whose behalf are you acting now?" Several delegates expressed concern over the lack of implementation of that text. The representative of Sierra Leone, Council President for August, speaking in his national capacity, pointed to the "collective desperation" for meaningful progress to be made towards the cessation of hostilities since the adoption of resolution 2735 (2024). Also expressing support for the UN's polio vaccine campaign, he underlined the need to facilitate humanitarian access to ensure an effective campaign for vulnerable children in Gaza and beyond. The General Assembly, Security Council and International Court of Justice have all made clear demands for a ceasefire, China's representative pointed out, but "Israel has turned a deaf ear to them". More than two months after the adoption of resolution 2735 (2024), Israeli military operations continue to cause new casualties every day. "It must be noted that humanitarian issues cannot be politicized, hunger cannot be weaponized and civilian lives cannot be trivialized as bargaining chips," he added. Speakers also echoed concerns about the emergence of polio on the Gaza Strip, and reiterated the calls for a humanitarian pause, to carry out a full-scale vaccination campaign, among them the representative of the United Kingdom. "Gaza has become the deadliest place in the world to be a child," he observed, noting that the polio outbreak is "another deadly threat to a people already facing a multitude of deadly threats". Israel must allow safe, unhindered aid access into Gaza and establish effective deconfliction mechanisms, he said, also pointing out that the British non-governmental organization UK-Med reported that their residential compound in the humanitarian zone was damaged by Israel shelling "just last night". The representative of France called for an urgent ceasefire and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance. "The UN cannot work to save lives through vaccines, only to have them destroyed again by bombs and bullets," added Malta's representative. Meanwhile, she observed: "When speaking of the living nightmare that Gazan civilians experience day after day, it is truly disturbing that all major threats to the human condition can be used as descriptors: famine, disease, displacement, lawlessness, impunity, psychological trauma and hopelessness." The speaker for the Republic of Korea reminded the Council that viruses do not respect borders; "polio in Gaza is a regional threat". Israel's right to protect its citizens and security does not negate its obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians, he added. Ecuador's delegate said: "The only lasting vaccine against polio in this context is peace." He, as well as other delegates, also condemned the recent suicide attacks in Tel Aviv, which have been claimed by Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Mozambique's representative was among several speakers who highlighted the "relentless and horrifying" settler violence in the West Bank he underscored the urgency of meaningful intervention in that regard. Japan's delegate said his country has introduced sanctions against settlers, adding that their conduct undermines the viability of a two-State solution. The representative of Switzerland noted that attacks, threats and intimidation by Israeli settlers against Palestinians recently seen in the village of Jit "continue with almost total impunity". Guyana's delegate noted that while the attack on Jit "was so unprecedented that it elicited a rare condemnation from the Israeli Government", one Israeli Minister said such incidents happen because Israeli soldiers are not allowed to "shoot terrorists who throw stones". This is illustrative of Israel's heavy-handedness, she said every form of resistance to its oppression "is met with a brutality that would make some of history's most cruel oppressors blush". She also contemplated "the illogical philosophy" that has driven Israel's behaviour while that country has established that security is one of its highest priorities, "it uses its military might to make enemies in the region" and undermine its own security, she said. For his part, the representative of Israel, said: "We did not ask for this war." Israel is not intentionally killing civilians and "there is no famine in Gaza", and the Israel Defense Forces take pride in being "the most moral army in the world", he added. Since the start of the war, his country has facilitated more than 14,000 trucks carrying aid into Gaza including over 700,000 tons of food, he said. Further, it continues to work with partners to address medical needs in the Strip, he said, adding that enough polio vaccines for over 2 million Gazans were delivered between December 2023 and January 2024. "Between 95 to 99 per cent of Gazans are already vaccinated," he said. Noting that over 100,000 Israelis remain displaced in their own country "unable to return home due to constant rocket attacks by Hamas and Hizbullah" he said that, 320 days since the "slaughter", the Council has not condemned Hamas for the atrocities committed on 7 October 2023. He asked how the organ created and charged with protecting peace after the horrors of the Holocaust could not condemn the largest slaughter of Jews since that time. It is Hamas, he continued, that puts civilians in harm's way and deprives them of international aid and, rather than condemn Hamas' abuse of its own people, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and other UN agencies have chosen to collaborate with them. He asked: "How can these bodies be part of the solution when they intensify the problem?" Emphasizing that Gaza "stands at a crossroads", he said that defeating Hamas will enable civilians in the Strip to "chart their own destiny in partnership with the most successful countries in the region". However, he stressed that "so long as terrorists carrying rifles and suicide vests are entrusted to administer aid, terrorists will stay rich and civilians will remain poor". Against that backdrop, he stressed that the Council has a choice "continue down the path of moral ambiguity or stand up for what is right". Gaza had been polio-free for the last 25 years, Riyad H. Mansour, Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine, said. But, now it is under threat of this terrible disease that causes paralysis and death. "Gaza does not need more paralysis and death," it needs life to be restored, and it needs it now, he said. Voicing support for the Secretary-General's proposal for an urgent vaccination campaign, he stressed that any obstruction of this effort is proof of Israel's genocidal intent. The ultimate vaccine for polio is peace and an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, he added. Noting that the Israeli Government does not care about even its own citizens, he said it is killing hostages and bragging about retrieving their corpses when it could have secured their release alive. "Clearly, it cares more about killing Palestinians than it cares about saving Israelis," he said, adding: "Those who want to place the fate of our people in the hands of this Israeli Government, hoping it will ever act in good faith, are gravely mistaken." "Who is stopping you from implementing" Council resolution 2735 (2024), he asked the members of the 15-member organ. Deal or no deal, there is no excuse for Israel's continued killing in Gaza and its assaults in the West Bank. Israel does not have a right to genocide, and the Council has the obligation to stop a genocide, he stressed. "[State of Palestine] President [Mahmoud] Abbas has declared his intention and the intention of the Palestinian leadership to head to Gaza," he said, calling on the Council to visit the Gaza Strip, "to see first-hand the horrors our people are enduring" and to support President Abbas. Gaza is the beating, bleeding heart of Palestine, he said, inviting "all those who have spines" to come to the Strip and collectively impose the ceasefire and "stop the bleeding." In September, he said, the State of Palestine plans to introduce an actionable General Assembly resolution demanding the end of this illegal occupation within a time frame. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address SECNAV Advances Maritime Statecraft during Visit to Barrow-in-Furness Shipyard in UK US Navy - Press Release 22 August 2024 Barrow, ENGLAND - Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro visited BAE Systems Submarines Barrow-in-Furness Shipyard during a trip to the United Kingdom last week. During the visit he met with UK government, Royal Navy and industry leadership to discuss expanding collaboration and applying best practices to U.S. submarine construction and maintenance. Secretary Del Toro was also updated on the SSN-AUKUS program as well as U.S.-UK collaboration on knowledge transfer, technology insertion and senior leadership engagements. A tour of facilities showcased submarine production from hull sections of the future Dreadnought-class to the final stages of construction of the Astute-class. The secretary stopped by the Submarine Skills Academy as well and spoke with apprentices pursuing a variety of skilled trades at the shipyard. "It was an incredible visit to BAE's Barrow Shipyard, where I saw construction of the Royal Navy's most advanced submarines by highly skilled technicians and toured their apprentice workshops to develop the next generation of submarine-builders," said Secretary Del Toro. "Lessons learned from building these extraordinary ships will pave the way for industry to build the next-generation SSN-AUKUS." The visit also highlighted use of the Shiplift system to raise and lower submarines in and out of the water, both for delivery and for maintenance, instead of using a dry dock. Construction of a public university satellite facility at the shipyard demonstrated ways that overseas industry is working to attract, educate and incorporate new talent into its workforce. "I was very impressed with the strong partnership displayed between the shipyard, national and local governments to address skilled-workforce challenges in the shipbuilding industrial base that we all face," said Del Toro. "As part of my Maritime Statecraft initiative, I will continue to promote public-private training partnerships like this that revitalize American shipbuilding." Launched on Sept. 23, 2023, Maritime Statecraft promotes whole-of-government efforts to restore U.S. and allied comprehensive maritime power. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israeli airstrikes hit Gaza, southern Lebanon amid push for cease-fire By VOA News August 22, 2024 Israeli forces carried out airstrikes Thursday in the Gaza Strip and in southern Lebanon, while uncertainty remained about the latest push to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza as negotiators worked to resolve differences between Israel and the Hamas militant group. The official Palestinian news agency WAFA said Thursday an Israeli strike in Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza, killed at least 11 people. Israel's military reported an airstrike hitting a weapons warehouse near a Hamas military site in Gaza City, as well as strikes that killed militants in central Gaza. Another round of airstrikes targeted more than 10 areas in southern Lebanon overnight, the Israel Defense Forces said Thursday. Those attacks were aimed at locations used by the Hezbollah militant group, the IDF said. As tensions remain high in the region, the U.S. now has two aircraft carrier strike groups in the Middle East. The USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in the region with accompanying destroyers on Wednesday, the U.S. military announced. The USS Theodore Roosevelt is the other. "We've moved capabilities into the region that, I think it's fair to say, have gotten into the headspace of Iran and will influence their calculation on how and if they choose to respond. We don't want to see that happen," Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters Thursday. U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke Wednesday about efforts by the United States to support Israel "against all threats from Iran, including its proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, to include ongoing defensive U.S. military deployments," according to a White House statement. Biden also "stressed the urgency of bringing the cease-fire and hostage release deal to closure and discussed upcoming talks in Cairo to remove any remaining obstacles," the statement said. Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen on Wednesday attacked a Greek-flagged oil tanker in the Red Sea that was carrying about 1 million barrels of crude oil, setting the ship ablaze and potentially creating an environmental disaster, Singh said. The 25-person crew was rescued by a vessel with the European Union's naval force after the attack. Houthi militants have carried out a continuous assault campaign on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden that has disrupted commercial shipping through the important corridor. The campaign began after Israel launched a retaliatory attack against Hamas in Gaza following the October 7 terror attack, and the Houthis claim they are acting in solidarity with Palestinian amid the war. "I'm not exactly sure how hitting a ship carrying over a million barrels of crude oil and creating a spill in your backyard helps people in Gaza who you said you're trying to help," Singh said Thursday in response to a question about the attack. The United Nations warned Wednesday that Israeli evacuation orders in Gaza are pushing Palestinian civilians into overcrowded areas along the Gaza Coast. Israel's latest order was for people to leave a residential area in Deir al-Balah, near the main hospital in central Gaza, and in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, which combined affect more than 150,000 people, the U.N. said. The war began with a Hamas attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people and led to the capture of about 250 hostages. Israeli airstrikes and ground operations have killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to Gaza health officials. The Israeli military says the death toll includes thousands of Hamas fighters. Negotiators from the United States, Egypt, Qatar and Israel are expected to meet in the coming days in Cairo to try to push forward the process of achieving a cease-fire that would include a halt in fighting and the release of hostages still held by Hamas. Netanyahu's office said Wednesday that Israel insists on achieving all of its goals for the war, including ensuring that Hamas cannot pose a security threat to Israel. Hamas on Wednesday reiterated its core demands, which include Israel fully withdrawing from Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who traveled to the region for talks about the cease-fire earlier this week, has spoken with diplomats and leaders from Jordan and Qatar to stress "the urgent need to finalize the cease-fire deal that would alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people and secure the release of hostages," according to the State Department. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Somalia warns Ethiopian Airlines over 'sovereignty violations' By Eskinder Firew, Harun Maruf August 22, 2024 The Somali government threatened to suspend Ethiopian Airlines flights to Somalia unless concerns over "violations of Somali sovereignty" related to destinations served by Ethiopian Airlines are resolved. In a statement, the Somali Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) said it had previous correspondence dating to August 14 with Ethiopian Airlines about the issue. It did not provide details, but many observers in the region say they believe it refers to the airlines' flights to Hargeisa, Somaliland. "It has come to our attention that, instead of addressing the sovereignty issues outlined in our letter, Ethiopian Airlines has made adjustments to its flight operations by removing references to Somali destinations and retaining only airport codes," the statement said. The SCAA also said it has received an "increasing number of complaints" from the Somali public regarding their travel experiences with Ethiopian Airlines. "If these issues are not resolved by 23rd August, 2024, the SCAA will have no choice but to suspend all Ethiopian Airlines flights to Somalia, effective from that date. This would result in the cessation of Ethiopian Airlines services flights to Somalia." The SCAA said it will not provide any warning about future steps. VOA's Horn of Africa Service contacted Ethiopian Airlines officials who have not yet responded to requests for comment. But the director of the Ethiopian civil aviation authority, Getachew Mengiste, tells VOA that officials are aware of the issue, though they have not yet received any official letter from the SCAA. Mengiste said they will discuss the issue, investigate the cause and respond to it in the future. Ethiopian Airlines has been flying to Somaliland for many years. In January of this year, Ethiopia signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Somaliland, which officials in Hargeisa said will give them recognition in return for leasing 20 kilometers of seafront to Ethiopia in a deal that angered Somalia, which considered it a violation of its sovereignty and territorial unity. The SCAA sent a similar warning to the United Arab Emirates-based airline, Fly Dubai, citing "serious violations committed by Fly Dubai regarding the representation of destinations served to/from Somalia in your official website, ticket booking platform, and mobile application." "These representations blatantly disregard the sovereignty of the Federal Government of Somalia and are unacceptable," the statement said. Somalia asked Fly Dubai to give an "accurate representation of destinations." "All destinations to/from Somalia operated by Fly Dubai must clearly and correctly reference the name of the destination along with Somalia on both your official website and mobile application used for ticketing and booking services," it said, adding, "This must be corrected no later than August 24, 2024." Somalia threatened to revoke Fly Dubai's operating permit within Somalia if the directive is not implemented. "This decision will be enforced without further notice." VOA contacted Fly Dubai but has not received a reply about the Somalia aviation statement. This story originated in VOA's Horn of Africa Service. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russo-Ukraine War - 22 August 2024 - Day 911 Su M Tu W Th F Sa 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos. On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace. "To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal] The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that the Defense Forces of Ukraine continue to withhold the pressure of the occupation troops. The situation in the Pokrovsky direction remains tense - the enemy is focusing the main offensive efforts there. Today, so far, there have been 135 combat clashes. Today, Russia made one rocket strike with one rocket, 49 air strikes, dropping 56 cabiv. In addition, the zagarbniki used 556 kamikaze drones for strikes and carried out more than 3,300 shelling at the positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements. In the Kharkiv direction, Russian terrorists twice unsuccessfully stormed the positions of Ukrainian units in the Vovchansk district. Also, on the designated shades of the front, Ukrainian warriors were conducting active actions to improve the tactical position. Today, Ukrainian defenders in the Kharkiv direction eliminated and wounded 69 Russian invaders, destroyed a tank, three artillery systems, 63 BPLAs, four automobile units and four special equipment. In addition, seven artsystems, one RSZV, three cars and two units of special equipment of the Russian occupiers were damaged. 14 times the enemy attacked Ukrainian positions in the kupans komu direction. Near the settlements of Stelmakhivka, Sinkivka, Glushkivka, Lozova and Andriyivka, the units of the Defense Forces repelled ten attacks. The situation is tense, four clashes are ongoing. In the Lyman direction for today, Russian troops 11 times attacked Ukrainian defenders in the areas of eight different settlements. Near makiiivka and novosadovogo, the most boezitknen , two and three respectively. Russian forces tried five times with assault actions to push Ukrainian defenders out of positions in the areas of Viimka, Bilogorivka and Spirny in the Siversky direction. All attacks are stopped. In the Kramators komu direction Ukrainian warriors fought off 11 attempts of Russian zagarbnikiv to move forward. Concentrated the enemy of effort, supported by assault aviation, near Chasovoye Yar and Ivanivsky. In the Toretsky direction, where the Russian invaders attacked Ukrainian positions near New York 12 times, Nelipivka, Toretsk and Friendship - 11 clashes are already completed. The fight is going on near New York. The main efforts of the Russian enemy continue to put in the Intercession Direction, here, throughout this day, Russian forces 53 times attacked Ukrainian positions. In the areas of mikhajlivka, novogrodivka and nikolaivka happened over half of all boezitknen . According to preliminary estimates, today Russian forces in this direction lost 122 soldiers killed and 201 wounded. Three cars and the artsystem have been destroyed. Ukrainian defenders also caused significant damage to five more artillery systems, two cars and three combat armored vehicles of the enemy. The Kurakhivs komu direction is also quite active - at this time of the day recorded 19 Russian attacks. Ukrainian defenders stopped 16 of them. Fighting near Karlivka continues. Also Russian zagarbniki tried to advance near konstantinivka and krasnogorivka. A loss has taken place. In the Vremivsky direction today, Russian forces attacked the front edge of Ukrainian defense three times in the direction of Vugledara, also tried to move from Vladimirovka's side. Ukrainian soldiers strictly stopped all attacks of the occupiers. In the Orikhiv, Gulyaipilsky and Pridniprovsky directions, the units did not carry out offensive actions in the direction of Russian enemy. Defense Forces of Ukraine continue to carry out operations in the Kursk direction, there are successful actions in some areas. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that in Liptsy and Volchansk directions, units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted losses on units of the AFU 57th Motorised Infantry Brigade, 92nd Assault Brigade, and 36th Marine Brigade near Glubokoye, Lipsy, and Volchansk (Kharkov region). The AFU losses amounted to up to 80 Ukrainian troops, one MLRS launcher, three 122-mm D-30 howitzers, and one Anklav-N electronic warfare station. Units of the Zapad Group of Forces improved the tactical situation and inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the AFU 44th, 67th, 115th mechanised brigades, 3rd Assault Brigade, 103rd, 110th territorial defence brigades, and 1st National Guard Brigade near Tabayevka (Kharkov region), Stelmakhovka, Rozovka, Nadiya, Nevskoye (Lugansk People's Republic), Torskoye (Donetsk People's Republic), and Serebryansky forestry. Four counter-attacks launched by assault detachments of the AFU 12th Azon Special Operations Brigade and 23rd Separate Rifle Battalion were repelled. The AFU losses amounted to up to 440 Ukrainian troops, two armoured fighting vehicles, 11 motor vehicles, two Grad MLRS launchers, one U.S.-made 155-mm M198 howitzer, two UK-made 155-mm FH-70 howitzers, one 122-mm Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, and one 122-mm D-30 howitzer. Units of the Yug Group of Forces took more advantageous lines and positions as well as inflicted losses on manpower and hardware of the AFU 24th, 28th, 54th, and 69th mechanised brigades, 56th, 59th motorised infantry brigades, 143rd, 144th infantry brigades, 10th Mountain Assault Brigade, 116th, and 117th territorial defence brigades near Verkhnekamenskoye, Pereyezdnoye, Grigorovka, Chasov Yar, Krasnogorovka, Maksimilyanovka, and Konstantinovka (Donetsk People's Republic). The AFU losses amounted to up to 765 Ukrainian troops, four pickup trucks, one Grad MLRS launcher, U.S.-made 155-mm M198 and M777 howitzers, one UK-made 155-mm FH-70 howitzer, one 152-mm Msta-B howitzer, one 122-mm Gvozdika self-propelled artillery system, two 122-mm D-30 howitzer, and three U.S.-made 105-mm M119 guns. Seven AFU field ammunition depots were destroyed. As a result of active actions, units of the Tsentr Group of Forces liberated Mezhevoye (Donetsk People's Republic). Losses were inflicted on formations of the AFU 32nd, 47th, 100th mechanised brigades, 65th Infantry Brigade, 25th Airborne Brigade, 95th Air Assault Brigade, and 109th Territorial Defence Brigade near Dzerzhinsk, Panteleymonovka, Rozovka, Grodovka, Sergeyevka, and Vozdvizhenka (Donetsk People's Republic). Five counter-attacks launched by units of the AFU 53rd, 151st mechanised brigades, 15th National Guard Brigade, and Lyut Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian National Police were repelled. The AFU losses amounted to up to 640 Ukrainian troops, two Kozak armoured fighting vehicles, nine motor vehicles, one U.S-made 155-mm M777 howitzer, two 152-mm Msta-B howitzers, two 152-mm D-20 howitzers, four 122-mm D-30 howitzers, and one U.S.-made 105-mm M119 gun. Units of the Vostok Group of Forces inflicted losses on manpower and hardware cluster of the AFU 72nd Mechanised Brigade, 58th Motorised Infantry Brigade, 105th, and 127th territorial defence brigades near Vodyanoye, Razdolnoye, Makarovka, and Rovnopol (Donetsk People's Republic). The AFU losses amounted to up to 130 Ukrainian troops, eight motor vehicles, and one 152-mm D-20 howitzer. Units of the Dnepr Group of Forces inflicted losses on formations of the AFU 141st Infantry Brigade, 128th Mountain Assault Brigade, and 35th Marine Brigade near Stepnoye, Kamenskoye (Zaporozhye region), Tokaryovka, and Kamishany (Kherson region). The AFU losses amounted to up to 70 Ukrainian troops, five motor vehicles, one 152-mm D-20 howitzer, and one 122-mm D-30 howitzer. One Anklav-N electronic warfare station and one field ammunition depot were destroyed. Operational-Tactical Aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile Troops and Artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have engaged AFU manpower and hardware in 138 areas during the day. Air defence units shot down one MiG-29 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force, three French-made Hammer guided aerial bombs, 11 U.S.-made HIMARS MLRS projectiles, 91 unmanned aerial vehicles, 53 of them outside the special military operation zone. In total, 640 airplanes and 282 helicopters, 30,346 unmanned aerial vehicles, 575 air defence missile systems, 17,352 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,420 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 13,530 field artillery guns and mortars, as well as 25,014 units of special military equipment have been destroyed during the special military operation. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation also reported that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to repel the AFU attempt to invade the territory of the Russian Federation. Units of the Sever Group of Forces supported by Army Aviation and artillery fire repelled attacks launched by assault detachments towards Komarovka and Malaya Loknya, as well as thwarted the enemy's attacks in the direction of Korenevo, Martynovka, Olgovka, and Russkoye Porechnoye. The AFU losses have amounted to more than 45 Ukrainian troops killed and wounded, one tank and four armoured fighting vehicles have been destroyed. The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue reconnaissance and search operations to locate and eliminate the enemy small sabotage and reconnaissance groups attempting to get to the depth of the Russian territory. In a forest belt 1 kilometre south-west of Skrylevka, one sabotage and reconnaissance group of the AFU 82nd Air Assault Brigade was located and eliminated. Two armoured fighting vehicles and seven Ukrainian troops were eliminated, one Ukrainian serviceman was taken prisoner. Aviation and artillery strikes and actions of troops inflicted losses on manpower and hardware clusters of the AFU 22nd, 115th mechanised, and 82nd Air Assault Brigade near Apanasovka, Borki, Vishnyovka, Gordeyevka, Mikhailovka, Plekhovo, Snagost, and Loknya. Operational-Tactical Aviation delivered strikes at the enemy's reserves in concentration areas of manpower and hardware of the AFU 22nd, 41st, 61st mechanised brigades, 80th, 82nd air assault brigades, 1st National Guard Brigade, 103rd, 106th, 107th, and 119th territorial defence brigades as well as 69th Rifle Battalion in Sumy region near Basovka, Boyaro-Lezhachi, Vorozhba, Druzhba, Zhuravka, Krasnopolye, Katerinovka, Miropolskoye, Loknya, Obody, Pervomayskoye, Sumy, Starikovo, and Chernevoye. Over the past 24 hours, the AFU losses have amounted to more than 300 Ukrainian troops and 23 units of hardware, including three tanks, 20 armoured fighting vehicles, one artillery gun, and 15 motor vehicles. Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk region, the AFU losses amounted to up to 4,700 Ukrainian troops, 68 tanks, 27 infantry fighting vehicles, 53 armoured personnel carriers, 336 armoured fighting vehicles, 148 motor vehicles, 32 artillery guns, five SAM launchers, ten MLRS launchers, including three of HIMARS system and one of MLRS system, six electronic warfare stations, as well as four units of engineering vehicles, including two counterobstacle vehicles and one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle. The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address United States Files Suit Against the Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia Tech Research Corporation Alleging Cybersecurity Violations Thursday, August 22, 2024 For Immediate Release Office of Public Affairs The United States joined a whistleblower suit and filed a complaint-in-intervention against the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and Georgia Tech Research Corp. (GTRC) asserting claims that those defendants knowingly failed to meet cybersecurity requirements in connection with the Department of Defense (DoD) contracts. GTRC is an affiliate of Georgia Tech that contracts with government agencies for work to be performed at Georgia Tech. The whistleblower suit was initiated by current and former members of Georgia Tech's Cybersecurity team. "Government contractors that fail to fully implement required cybersecurity controls jeopardize the confidentiality of sensitive government information," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department's Civil Division. "The department's Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative was designed to identify such contractors and to hold them accountable." Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that until at least February 2020, the Astrolavos Lab at Georgia Tech failed to develop and implement a system security plan, which is required by DoD cybersecurity regulations, that set out the cybersecurity controls that Georgia Tech was required to put in place in the lab. Even when the Astrolavos Lab finally implemented a system security plan in February 2020, the lawsuit alleges that Georgia Tech failed to properly scope that plan to include all covered laptops, desktops, and servers. Additionally, the lawsuit alleges until December 2021, the Astrolavos lab failed to install, update or run anti-virus or anti-malware tools on desktops, laptops, servers and networks at the lab. Instead, Georgia Tech approved the lab's refusal to install antivirus software a in violation of both federal cybersecurity requirements and Georgia Tech's own policies a to satisfy the demands of the professor who headed the lab. The lawsuit further alleges that in December 2020 Georgia Tech and GTRC submitted a false cybersecurity assessment score to DoD for the Georgia Tech campus. DoD requires contractors to submit summary level scores reflecting the status of their compliance with applicable cybersecurity requirements on covered contracting systems that are used to store or access covered defense information. The submission of this score was a "condition of contract award" for Georgia Tech's DoD contracts. The lawsuit alleges that the summary level score of 98 for the Georgia Tech campus that Georgia Tech and GTRC reported to DoD in December 2020 was false because (1) Georgia Tech did not actually have a campus-wide IT system and (2) the score was for a "fictitious" or "virtual" environment and did not apply to any covered contracting system at Georgia Tech that could or would ever process, store or transmit covered defense information. "Cybersecurity compliance by government contractors is critical in safeguarding U.S. information and systems against threats posed by malicious actors," said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia. "For this reason, we expect contractors to abide by cybersecurity requirements in their contracts and grants, regardless of the size or type of the organization or the number of contracts involved. Our office will hold accountable those contractors who ignore cybersecurity rules." "Deficiencies in cybersecurity controls pose a significant threat not only to our national security, but also to the safety of the men and women of our armed services who risk their lives daily," said Special Agent in Charge Darrin K. Jones of the DoD's Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS), Southeast Field Office. "As force multipliers, we place a substantial amount of trust in our contractors and expect them to meet the strict standards our service members deserve." The whistleblower lawsuit was filed by Christopher Craig and Kyle Koza, who were previously senior members of Georgia Tech's cybersecurity compliance team, under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act, which allow private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and to receive a share of any recovery. The act permits the United States to intervene and take over responsibility for litigating these cases, as it has done here. A defendant who violates the act is subject to liability for three times the government's losses, plus applicable penalties. On Oct. 6, 2021, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced the department's Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative to hold accountable entities or individuals that put U.S information or systems at risk by knowingly providing deficient cybersecurity products or services, knowingly misrepresenting their cybersecurity practices or protocols or knowingly violating obligations to monitor and report cybersecurity incidents and breaches. Information on how to report cyber fraud can be found here. Senior Trial Counsel Jake M. Shields of the Justice Department's Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam D. Nugent and Melanie D. Hendry for the Northern District of Georgia are handling the matter. The case is captioned United States ex rel. Craig v. Georgia Tech Research Corp, et al., No. 1:22-cv-02698 (N.D. Ga.). Investigative support is being provided by the DoD Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Air Force Office of Special Investigations and Air Force Material Command. The claims alleged by the United States are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability. Complaint Components: Civil Division USAO - Georgia, Northern Press Release Number: 24-104 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Dozens of indigenous satellites under construction in Iran, says Iranian Space Agency Iran Press TV Thursday, 22 August 2024 2:41 PM Head of the Iranian Space Agency (ISA) Hossein Salariyeh says the country has achieved remarkable progress in the space industry over the past three years and is currently building dozens of domestically-designed satellites for various purposes. Salariyeh said on Thursday that 30 indigenous satellites are under construction in Iran, of which 20 will be built by the private sector. The senior Iranian space official also noted that 12 satellites have been successfully put into orbit since August 2021. He said the Iranian Space Agency has 14 satellites scheduled for launch. The pace of designing and manufacturing homegrown satellites has accelerated as the ISA has set up joint projects with the private sector, Salariyeh said. Despite sanctions imposed by Western countries in recent years, Iran has taken giant strides in the civilian space program. The country is among the world's top 10 nations capable of developing and launching satellites. Earlier this year, Iran successfully sent the homegrown Mahda research satellite, along with two research cargoes, to space onboard the domestically developed Simorgh (Phoenix) satellite launch vehicle (SLV). Mahda weighs 32 kilograms and its primary task is to test the satellite-related subsystems, verify the function of Simorgh SLV in dispensing space cargoes, and evaluate the performance of new designs and the reliability of indigenous technologies in space. Earlier, the Aerospace Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) successfully put the Soraya satellite into an orbit 750 kilometers above Earth in 11 minutes. The research satellite, manufactured by the ISA, was launched with a Qaem-100 space launch vehicle (SLV). Qaem-100 is a three-stage SLV with solid fuel developed by the IRGC Aerospace Force. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US Air Force Pays Northrop $100Mln Extra to Complete 2 Polar Satellites - Pentagon Sputnik News 20240822 WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Air Force has extended the Northrop Grumman Space Systems contract to build two new High Earth Orbit (HEO) polar reconnaissance satellites by almost $100 million, the Department of Defense announced in a press release. "Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, Space Systems Division [in] Redondo Beach, California, was awarded a $97,348,304 contract modification ...for Next Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared Polar Space Vehicles 1 and 2," the release stated on Wednesday. The contract extension will provide the additional scope to complete the design, building, integration, and testing of the two satellites, the Defense Department explained. "The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $2,301,726,852," the release said. According to Northrop Grumman's website, the satellites operate in "highly elliptical orbits" and represent the next generation of missile warning systems. The website notes that the northern polar region "is the shortest route for a missile to travel towards the United States" and is difficult to monitor from space. Northrop Grumman also toutes their "new resiliency features to stay in the fight in contested scenarios." Work on the satellites will be performed in Redondo Beach, and Azusa, California over the next two years and is expected to be completed by July 25, 2026, the Defense Department said. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address When the surf gets rough, specialists get going By Captain Joanne Leca 22 August 2024 Soldiers from the 10th Force Support Battalion (10FSB) conducted advanced watercraft training with the lighter, amphibious, resupply, cargo, 5-tonne (LARC-V) vehicle and F470 Zodiac vessels at Rainbow Beach, Queensland, in early August. Exercise Surfing Penguin exposed marine specialists to rough surf conditions, enabling them to respond to high-risk weather events in support of domestic and international operations. Demonstrating the Army's littoral manoeuvre capabilities, soldiers reinforced their surf drills, with crews practising rapid rescue and recovery, and paired LARC-V recovery from the sea back to land through the surf zone. Lieutenant Kaleb Booth said the exercise exposed them to different environmental conditions, which built confidence in individual and crew skills. "We need to put our soldiers into this type of environment so they're used to it, so when they do it for real, they are confident in what they're doing," Lieutenant Booth said. "This type of training is not only important, it's fun and it's what we get to do on a daily basis. There's no better job. "The extraordinary is the ordinary for us." Officer Commanding 35 Water Transport Squadron Major Brenton Chapman said Rainbow Beach provided perfect conditions to train soldiers on the LARC-V and Zodiacs. "Here at Rainbow Beach, near Wide Bay Training Area, the rough surf conditions give our soldiers more of a challenge - training the crews to find the best spot to launch the LARC-V into the sea," Major Chapman said. "The LARC-V provides the ability to move both people and equipment across beaches that are not feasible for aircraft to land on. "The LARC-V is very resilient, being able to handle not only the rough surf but also difficult terrain on land." He said the LARC-V, which Army had operated since the 1960s, was capable of handling most conditions. "There's nothing else like the LARC-V that Defence has in its watercraft fleet," Major Chapman said. "They have a long history of supporting operations, from various flood assists through to their extensive career supporting the Australian Army." Under Land 8710, the Army is in the process of replacing the LARC-V with the Amphibious Vehicle - Logistics. Until then, the LARC-V will remain the primary amphibian watercraft. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Strengthening international ties on Exercise Red Flag 22 August 2024 RAAF aircraft and personnel are in Alaska for Exercise Red Flag, a large-scale air-combat exercise hosted by the United States Pacific Air Forces Command. This year, RAAF F-35A Lightning IIs are teaming up with US combat and support aircraft to face simulated peer adversaries and ground-based air-defence systems. The RAAF's E-7A Wedgetail's superior airborne surveillance capabilities will play a critical role in coordinating aircraft. Task Unit Commander Group Captain Tracy Douglas said the exercise was important for training in complex environments alongside the US so they can meet any future contingency. "Exercise Red Flag Alaska enables United States and allied aviators to refine their operational concepts, enhance their capabilities and develop strategies that strengthen deterrence and maintain a competitive edge," Group Captain Douglas said. "Our air forces continue to improve interoperability and integration through combat scenarios that reflect the challenges of real-world conflicts." The expansive 174,000 square-kilometre Joint Alaska Pacific Range Complex provides an ideal setting for simulating a contested environment, where battlefield strategy demands a high-operations tempo and necessitates innovation, determination and teamwork to stay ahead of ever-changing mission needs. "The goal of Red Flag is learning as a team," Group Captain Douglas said. "While individuals may improve from their exercise experience, the aspiration is to forge ever-greater ability and efficiency working with our United States partners. "Taking aircraft overseas and adapting to different airspaces and procedures can be challenging, but the rewards of such exercises are immense, paving the way for enhanced capabilities and stronger international cooperation." The exercise involves more than 260 Australian personnel operating from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska from August 19-30. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Local factory to boost ADF strike power 22 August 2024 Australia will contribute $850 million in partnership with Kongsberg Defence Australia to manufacture and service missiles at Williamtown near Newcastle. The project involves the construction of a factory in the Newcastle Airport precinct that will manufacture and service naval strike missiles (NSM) and joint strike missiles (JSM) to be used by the ADF. It will be one of only two facilities in the world capable of producing the missiles. The other site is in Kongsberg, Norway. The JSM - which can be fitted to the F-35A aircraft - and NSM are modern anti-ship cruise missiles designed to defeat highly capable enemy warships. Both can also be deployed against land-based targets. The NSM will enhance the maritime and land strike capabilities of Hobart-class destroyers and Anzac-class frigates, and will replace the Harpoon anti-ship missile, supporting the increased lethality of the enhanced surface combatant fleet. HMAS Sydney test-fired a NSM in July 2024. The project delivers on priorities in the 2024 National Defence Strategy to both develop the ADF's ability to precisely strike targets at longer range and manufacture munitions in Australia. Defence Industry and Capability Delivery Minister Pat Conroy said: "This is about investing in our advanced, high-tech manufacturing industry and developing our sovereign defence industrial base in areas which have been identified as strategic priorities, which in turn means we can accelerate capability delivery to the ADF." The Government has included Kongsberg Defence Australia as a strategic partner in the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise. The GWEO Enterprise is backed by a commitment of up to $21 billion over the coming decade through the Government's 2024 Integrated Investment Program. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address New training module bolsters reserve capability By Captain Rohan Hurst and Captain Andrew Lee 22 August 2024 8th Brigade's Melbourne University Regiment has been training Australia's newest part-time soldiers through the new Land Combat Module (LCM) this year, improving Army Reserve capability and readiness. The course is the next stage in Army Reserve training for combat corps soldiers after graduation from Kapooka, focusing on developing their marksmanship as well as qualifying them on a range of new weapon systems. The overall continuum has been streamlined to enable higher trainee output for 2nd (Australian) Division units, with Melbourne University Regiment successfully qualifying hundreds of trainees in 2024. The accelerated training model also means Army Reserve soldiers spend less time away from their civilian commitments, making it easier to balance their military and civilian lives. Warrant Officer Class One (WO1) Melvyn Wood, Regimental Sergeant Major of Melbourne University Regiment, emphasised the importance of the Land Combat Module. "The LCM is a crucial stage for Army Reserve soldiers as they consolidate and extend skills learned during Army Initial Foundation Training," WO1 Wood said. "It is refreshing to see the spark of enthusiasm in these young soldiers." Trainee feedback has been positive, with many appreciating the mature learning environment fostered by the instructors, who are a mix of full-time and part-time non-commissioned officers from the Royal Australian Infantry Corps. Trainees come from a diverse range of civilian work backgrounds, which enriches the interpersonal experience of the course. It is also their first opportunity to bond with other soldiers posted to their regional units. Sergeant Siaosi Paseka, the LCM Course Manager, highlighted the trainees' diverse civilian backgrounds and positive attitudes. "It's been great working with our Army Reserve trainees - they're keen and have a lot of life experience, which allows us to foster a positive learning environment," Sergeant Paseka said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Belarus: Statement by the Spokesperson on the release of some political prisoners European External Action Service (EEAS) 22.08.2024 EEAS Press Team The European Union takes note of the release of several political prisoners in Belarus, convicted for taking part in peaceful protests after the 2020 fraudulent presidential elections. We share the relief and joy of the released individuals and their families. We also take note of the fact that some of those released were prisoners requiring urgent medical assistance and call on the authorities to provide all prisoners with adequate medical care. The EU continues to urge Belarusian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners, often held in life-threatening conditions. There remain more than 1300 political prisoners in Belarus, including Sergei Tsikhanouski, Ihar Losik, Maria Kalesnikava, Mikalai Statkevich, Maksim Znak and Viktar Babaryka who have been denied any possibility to communicate with the outside world for over 18 months. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China, Russia discuss Western pressure, cooperation in latest meetings Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. By Taejun Kang for RFA 2024.08.21 -- Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin accused Western countries of "containing" the potential of Russia and China, saying that the duo should jointly defend their shared interests and uphold the principles of a multipolar world order amidst increasing pressure from the West, state-run media reported. Mishustin made the remarks when co-chairing the 29th regular meeting between Chinese and Russian heads of government with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday in Moscow. "Western countries are trying to maintain their global dominance and contain the economic and technological potential of Russia and China," Mishustin said, cited by the TASS news agency. "That is why it is important to concentrate efforts on protecting our common interests, building a multipolar world order and strengthening coordination on international platforms," he added. Mishustin said Russia will join China in strengthening communication and coordination in international affairs, better safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the two sides, without elaborating. Li said China was ready to work with Russia to strengthen "all-round practical cooperation" between the two countries. Focus on China As the divide between Russia and the West grows, the Kremlin is increasingly focusing its attention on China, with ties between the two states growing ever stronger. In particular, strategic cooperation between Moscow and Beijing has visibly intensified in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. On May 29, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell spoke to NATO representatives in Brussels on the seriousness of Chinese-Russian relations. In July, 32 NATO members also stated during the NATO summit in Washington that China played a crucial role in enabling Russia's invasion of Ukraine by supporting its defense industry. In the same week of the summit, the Chinese and Russian militaries conducted joint exercises in western Belarus near the border with NATO member Poland, though Beijing publicly denied that the exercises were aimed at the summit. In a joint statement, the 32 NATO member states urged Beijing to cease its support for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, which has provided Russia with the resources needed to produce weapons and military hardware despite strict U.S.-led trade sanctions. While China has repeatedly denied sending weapons or military equipment to aid Russia's war effort, Ukrainian forces on the ground have reported finding a growing number of components from China in Russian weapons. After his meeting with Mishustin, the Chinese Premier met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin where Li reiterated China's willingness to work with Russia on a global stage. "Against the backdrop of accelerating changes in the world unseen in a century, China is ready to work with Russia to further strengthen multilateral coordination, deepen mutual trust and cooperation with developing countries, firmly promote a multi-polar world and economic globalization, and better safeguard its legitimate rights and interests and basic norms governing international relations," Li said as cited by China's Xinhua News Agency. Li added that the steady development of China-Russia relations not only served the fundamental interests of the two countries and two peoples, but also contributed to regional and world peace, stability and prosperity. Li also stressed that China was willing to work with Russia in "emerging areas" such as scientific, technological and industrial innovation as well as cultural, tourism, education, youth and sub-national exchanges and cooperation to promote mutual understanding between the two peoples. An important part of bilateral cooperation has been seen in skyrocketing Chinese exports to Russia, with a recent analysis of Chinese customs data by Nathaniel Sher, a senior research analyst at Carnegie China, revealing that in 2023, some 90% of "high priority" dual-use use goods used to produce Russian weapons were imported from China. In May Putin visited China for the first time since beginning a new term, and he and Chinese President Xi Jinping underlined their "long and strong" friendship, and a strategic partnership that has been described as having "no upper limits." At that time Xi described the China-Russia relationship today as "hard-earned," saying "the two sides need to cherish and nurture it" in a joint statement. "China is willing to ... jointly achieve the development and rejuvenation of our respective countries, and work together to uphold fairness and justice in the world," Xi said in May. Edited by 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 August 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 China, Russia to boost all-round cooperation Global Times Pragmatic efforts in emerging areas such as AI, aerospace highlighted By Yang Sheng Published: Aug 22, 2024 09:38 PM China and Russia will boost all-round cooperation with exploration in emerging fields and bilateral ties will not be weakened by the sanctions and containment imposed by the US and its allies, Chinese analysts said on Thursday after the two countries signed a joint communique of the 29th regular meeting between the Chinese and Russian heads of government and a new version of the outline of the China-Russia investment cooperation plan. Visiting Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday voiced China's readiness to work with Russia to strengthen all-round cooperation to lift the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era to a new level, the Xinhua News Agency reported. Li made the remarks when co-chairing the 29th regular meeting between the Chinese and Russian heads of government with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. In the joint communique issued Wednesday, the two sides agreed that joint efforts will be made to optimize trade structure, create new growth points for the two countries' economies and trade, and promote the development of e-commerce, Xinhua reported. With 2024 and 2025 designated as the China-Russia Years of Culture, the two sides also agreed to take it as an opportunity to deepen people-to-people exchanges, consolidate popular support for friendship, constantly strengthen the internal driving force of bilateral cooperation, and improve the quality of cooperation. According to the text of the joint communique released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the two countries will boost all-round cooperation in many fields, and in addition to traditional areas like trade, investment, finance and energy, it also includes pragmatic cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI) technology, cybersecurity, and aerospace cooperation. Yang Jin, an associate research fellow with the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the joint statement shows that China and Russia will keep deepening and expanding their pragmatic cooperation regardless of the impact and pressure from the US and its allies, and it's a certainty that China-Russia relations will keep developing to reach new heights in the future. Cui Heng, a scholar from the Shanghai-based China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation, said that apart from planning for pragmatic cooperation, the two countries are also looking forward to solving the problem caused by the blockade, isolation, long-arm jurisdiction and sanctions imposed by the US and some of its allies, which are attempting to contain the rightful development of China and Russia. "China and Russia will explore new trade routes and improve the interconnectivity on trade ports; the two sides also agree to jointly develop AI and boost cooperation among BRICS members to strengthen connections between industries among the emerging economies," Cui noted. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning's Regular Press Conference on August 22, 2024 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China Updated: August 22, 2024 17:50 China News Service: It's reported that Japanese Ambassador to China Kenji Kanasugi recently published an article in Japanese media. One of the main points is to make good use of the economic opportunities offered by China. He wrote that China leads the world in electric and smart vehicles, digital economy and green development, and that the economic growth in Japan and the wider world would not be possible without China's economic growth. He stressed the need for Japan to make the best use of the economic opportunities offered by China. What's China's comment? Mao Ning: I noted the reports. Ambassador Kenji Kanasugi's view is objective and constructive. China's economic growth gives a strong boost to the world's economic growth and China's prosperity offers significant opportunities to global prosperity. We will continue to work for high-quality development and promote high-standard opening up. China will also, as always, welcome companies from all countries, including Japanese companies, to seize China's development opportunities and share in China's development dividends, so as to realize greater development. Yomiuri Shimbun: It was reported that in mid-August, China indicted a male employee of Astellas who was arrested in October last year. What are the charges and the content of the indictment? Can you share more details? Mao Ning: Recently Chinese procuratorial authorities filed a public prosecution in accordance with law against relevant Japanese citizen on suspicion of espionage. China is a country that upholds the rule of law. We investigate and handle illegal and criminal activities in accordance with law, protect the lawful rights and interests of the person concerned and provide facilitation for Japanese consular officials in China to perform their consular duties. We hope the Japanese side will help its citizens enhance their awareness of abiding by China's laws and regulations and not conducting illegal and criminal activities in our territory. I'd refer you to competent authorities on the specifics. Hubei Media Group: Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on Myanmar Julie Bishop visited China recently. Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with her. Could you share more details with us? Mao Ning: At the invitation of the Chinese side, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Myanmar Julie Bishop visited China on August 20 and 21. Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and Special Envoy for Asian Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deng Xijun met with her respectively. They had in-depth exchange of views on the Myanmar issue. China respects Myanmar's sovereignty, independence, national unity and territorial integrity, and stays committed to non-interference in Myanmar's internal affairs and the Myanmar-owned and Myanmar-led peace process. China supports ASEAN's role as the main channel and hopes that ASEAN's five-point consensus on Myanmar and Myanmar's new five-point roadmap will reinforce each other and be effectively implemented. China supports the UN in playing a constructive role in the political settlement of the Myanmar issue, and stands ready to provide support and assistance to the Special Envoy in performing her duties. We hope the Special Envoy will uphold an objective and just position, handle relations between all parties in a balanced manner, bear in mind the long-term interests of the Myanmar people, and help the Myanmar side find an effective way to bridge differences. Antara: Both Indonesia and China have been actively engaging with each other this year, and now Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi is set to meet with Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the 5th Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation. What level of relations does China hope to achieve with Indonesia through this meeting? Mao Ning: Under the strategic guidance of the presidents of the two countries, China-Indonesia relations have maintained a momentum of robust growth, with close high-level exchanges, deepening strategic mutual trust, and continuous progress in building a community with a shared future. The China-Indonesia Joint Foreign and Defense Ministerial Dialogue was officially launched last week. This week, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi will co-chair the 5th Meeting of the Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation between the two countries. China-Indonesia relations are increasingly growing at a high level with greater strategic significance. Next year marks the 80th anniversary of Indonesia's independence and the 75th anniversary of China-Indonesia diplomatic ties. This presents important opportunities for our two countries' respective growth and bilateral relations. China stands ready to work with Indonesia, follow the strategic guidance of the two presidents, focus on building a community with a shared future, and keep deepening strategic cooperation on all fronts. The two countries can set an example of major developing countries pursuing self-strength through unity and engaging in win-win cooperation, so as to bring more benefit to the two peoples and make new contribution to world peace, cooperation and development.a AFP: Senior officials of the US met with the Dalai Lama in New York yesterday. What is China's comment on this? Mao Ning: As many people know, the 14th Dalai Lama is not a pure religious figure, still less a figure promoting "non-violence" and "peace," but a political exile engaged in anti-China separatist activities under the cloak of religion. China firmly opposes any country allowing the Dalai Lama to make visits under any pretext and opposes government officials of any country meeting with the Dalai Lama in any form. We've made serious protest with the US. The appointment of the so-called "US Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues" constitutes an interference in China's internal affairs. China has never recognized it. We urge the US to fully understand the gravity and sensitivity of Xizang-related issues, be fully aware of the Dalai group's anti-China and separatist nature, honor the commitments the US has made to China on issues related to Xizang, truly respect China's core interests and major concerns, not allow the Dalai Lama to engage in political separatist activities in the US, have no contact with the Dalai Lama in any form, and stop sending the wrong message to the world. Shenzhen TV: The European Commission issued a draft decision on imposing import duties on Chinese electric vehicles. It's reported that on August 20, the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU expressed its strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the European Commission's protectionist practice and said this move will exacerbate trade tensions between China and the EU, sending a profoundly negative signal to global cooperation and green development. Chairman of the German Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade said in a media post that building up new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles sent the wrong signal at the wrong time. What's the Foreign Ministry's comments?a Mao Ning: Yesterday, I made clear China's position. This probe is a typical protectionist and politically-motivated move. It disrupts the EU's green transition process and global effort to respond to climate change. The views of the EV industry and business associations need to be paid attention to. We urge the EU to heed the objective and rational views from various sectors, stop pursuing this wrong action at once, and work with China to find a proper way out through discussion and avoid escalating trade frictions. China will also take measures to firmly defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies. AFP: US prosecutors have filed criminal charges against a Chinese living in the US, accusing him of being an agent of Beijing's intelligence service. What is China's comment on this? Mao Ning: I am not familiar with the specifics you mentioned. Xinhua News Agency: Recently, a scientific expedition team set sail to conduct a 45-day marine exploration in the Western Pacific Ocean. One of the highlights of the mission is that the manned submersible Jiaolong for the first time carried eight foreign scientists from five continents for underwater operations. What's your comment on this? How do you see China's progress and prospect for international cooperation on science and technology? Mao Ning: Over recent years, China has conducted deep-sea scientific exploration and joint scientific expeditions with multiple countries, making positive contribution to global marine biodiversity protection and sustainable development.a China remains committed to carrying out international science and technology cooperation. The submersible Jiaolong had foreign scientists on board for scientific expedition, the Chang'e-6 Mission carried international payloads for lunar exploration, and the Tiangong space station announced it will welcome foreign astronauts. All these are vivid examples of China's efforts to seek common development and share the outcomes with the rest of the world in science and technology. China has established scientific and technological cooperation ties with over 160 countries and regions, and signed 118 intergovernmental agreements on such cooperation. China also issued the International Science and Technology Cooperation Initiative, which champions open, fair, equitable and non-discriminatory international science and technology cooperation. Together with all parties, China is committed to jointly exploring a new model for global scientific and technological innovation and cooperation that is win-win for all. Science and technology know no boundaries. China is ready to deepen cooperation with all parties to better serve the humanity through common development driven by scientific and technological innovation. Reuters: Paraguay has said recently that it is open to trade deals with China through the trade block Mercosur despite maintaining diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Do you have any comment? Mao Ning: On the normalization of China-Paraguay relations, China made clear its position more than once. We hope the government and leader of Paraguay will follow the trend of history, meet the aspiration of its people, stand on the right side of history as early as possible, join the overwhelming majority of the international community and make the right decision that serves the fundamental and long-term interests of the country.a China values trade and economic cooperation with Mercosur and Latin American countries. I believe with the joint effort of all parties, such cooperation will achieve positive progress. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China asserts seeks no nuclear arms race with US Iran Press TV Thursday, 22 August 2024 11:00 AM China says it has no intention of engaging in a nuclear arms race with the United States, firmly rejecting Washington's fears of a growing Chinese threat as baseless. At a regular press conference on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Washington's fear-mongering over China's nuclear arsenal is completely unfounded. Her remarks followed a New York Times report from Tuesday revealing that US President Joe Biden had quietly revised the Nuclear Employment Guidance, refocusing it on China. Mao stressed that Beijing was "gravely concerned" with the report. "As we have seen over the past few years, the US has called China a 'nuclear threat' and used it as a convenient pretext for the US to shirk its obligation of nuclear disarmament," she added. The Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman further said that China's nuclear arsenal is by no means comparable in size to that of the US. She further said that China adheres to a 'no first use' policy regarding nuclear weapons, maintains a nuclear strategy centered on self-defense, and keeps its capabilities at the minimum level necessary for national security. "We have no intention to engage in any form of arms race with other countries," Mao stressed. "In contrast, the US sits on the largest and most advanced nuclear arsenal in the world. Even so, it clings to a first-use nuclear deterrence policy, and has invested heavily to upgrade its nuclear triad and blatantly devised nuclear deterrence strategies against others. It is the US who is the primary source of nuclear threats and strategic risks in the world," she emphasized. Citing a classified document approved in March, the Times reported that Biden had directed US forces to be ready for potential coordinated nuclear conflicts with Russia, China, and North Korea. The American president approved a top-secret nuclear strategic plan for the US that, for the first time, shifts America's deterrent strategy to address China's purported swift growth in its nuclear arsenal, the report further said. In 2023, the Pentagon projected that China would increase its operational nuclear warheads to over 1,000 by 2030. Currently, the US has 5,550 warheads, while Russia's arsenal is estimated at 6,255, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. "China urges theaUS to fulfill its special and primary obligation of nuclear disarmament by further making drastic and substantive cuts to itsanuclear arsenal, and stopping nuclear sharing, extended deterrence, expanding nuclear alliance, and other negative moves that undermine global and regional peace and stability," Mao concluded. Chinese officials have criticized US concerns as an irrational and unfounded paranoia, asserting that such Sinophobic sentiments only serve to escalate tensions. Beijing has time and again emphasized that its nuclear strategy is defensive in nature, calling for a more rational and cooperative approach to nuclear arms control. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Shock and sympathy greet news of arrest of Chinese dissident on spy charges Yuanjun Tang, a former Tiananmen protest leader, is accused of spying for Beijing. By Huang Chun-mei for RFA Mandarin 2024.08.22 -- The arrest of a prominent Chinese pro-democracy activist on spy charges has shaken a community of dissidents already alarmed by the specter of infiltration from Beijing. Yuanjun Tang, who was part of the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 but is now a naturalized U.S. citizen, was arrested Wednesday after federal prosecutors accused him of secretly working for the Chinese Ministry of State Security, or MSS. Prosecutors allege that Tang failed to notify the U.S. government of his work for Chinese intelligence agencies, as required by law, according to the Justice Department. Tang is accused of passing information about pro-democracy activists in the United States to an unnamed MSS agent, using methods similar to those disclosed in another recent Chinese spy case. Tang, 67, had once been the chairman of the China Democracy Party, the New York-based group founded by Juntao Wang, the leader of the Tiananmen protests, that sought to affect change in Beijing. Following Tang's arrest, the party announced that it would expel him from its membership. Wang and other members of the dissident community reacted to Tang's arrest, which was first reported by CBS News, with a measure of sympathy and disdain. In an interview, Wang called the arrest "really embarrassing" but noted that his brother and mother had been ill and needed care. Tang would have likely been arrested if he traveled back to China to see them without some agreement with authorities. "It was actually dangerous for him to return to China," Wang said. "Because he was involved in the democracy movement, his family became very miserable. "In the end, we still have to look at the FBI indictment and the U.S. government indictment to see what he did," Wang said. Liren Hu, an exiled entrepreneur from Shanghai who now lives in the United States, told RFA Mandarin that he was "very surprised" by the arrest. Hu said he met Tang in April 2019 after just arriving in the U.S. At the time, Tang was serving as the head of the China Democratic Party, and Hu said they had gotten along well. He described Tang as polite, well-spoken and knowledgeable. "We have always been in contact with each other as good friends. I was very shocked to see this news today, and called him because I often talk to him on the phone," Hu said. The line had been disconnected, he said. Other dissidents were less surprised, saying Tang had signaled he could not be trusted. Pokong Chen recalled seeing Tang at a Tiananmen commemoration event taking photos and videos, rather than participating in the demonstration. Suspicions circulated within the community that Tang had been lured to betray the democracy movement by offers from the Chinese Communist Party to return to see his family, Chen said. "Then he saw that the overseas democracy movement was not as successful as he had imagined, and he felt frustrated and disappointed," Chen said. "Under these circumstances, he gradually showed various signs of betrayal." Mike Gao, a Chinese American lawyer who said he has known Tang for 20 years, said Tang's attitudes toward the Communist government in China appeared to soften as he grew older. "He's changed somewhat in recent years, often criticizing the student movement for being too aggressive during the Tiananmen protests," Gao told RFA in an interview. "I had many face-to-face debates with him about this, and I confronted him, 'Why don't you condemn the Chinese government instead for the massacre?'" A shaken community Even so, Gao said that Tang's arrest had sparked a flurry of discussion within the dissident community, as members try to understand why another pro-democracy leader was now being accused of working as a Chinese agent. The recent verdict in the Shujun Wang case and Tang's arrest have made the Chinese diaspora more aware of the risks involved in navigating gray areas with Chinese officials. "My advice to the Chinese community is to be cautious," he said. "The Chinese government may exploit your identity or use threats to coerce you into working for them." Chen believes that the overseas democracy movement has already been deeply infiltrated by the CCP. "There are probably more cases like Wang and Tang in the overseas democracy movement, and more cases may not be exposed yet," Chen said. Additional reporting by Jane Tang. Edited by Boer Deng and Jim Snyder. 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 August 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 China looks to reaffirm ties with Russia through premier's trip By William Yang August 22, 2024 Chinese Premier Li Qiang's four-day visit to Russia and Belarus this week is aimed, analysts say, at deepening coordination with both countries and reaffirming ties between Beijing and Moscow as trade relations are showing signs of strain. They say Beijing hopes to use Li's trip to reassure Moscow that the bilateral relationship remains positive and urge Russia to prevent further escalation in the war against Ukraine, even as both announced gains on the battlefield in recent days. "China wants to reassure Russia that issues in the bilateral economic and trade relationship are merely logistical issues while conveying the message that Bejing doesn't want to see an escalation in the Ukraine-Russia conflict," Philipp Ivanov, a nonresident Asia Society Policy Institute senior fellow, told VOA in a video interview. Li arrived in Moscow on Tuesday and wraps up his trip Friday, following a stop in Belarus. During his meeting with Li Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the growing trade relations between China and Russia, and said bilateral efforts have "yielded positive results." "Our countries have developed large-scale joint plans and projects in the economic and humanitarian spheres, which are set to continue for many years," Putin said, adding that bilateral trade relations are not only developing "but also flourishing." In response, Li said China is ready to empower bilateral cooperation through scientific and industrial innovation while urging both sides to deepen cultural, tourism, and education exchanges. In addition to meeting Putin, Li also met with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and both sides agreed to advance ties in areas such as economy and trade while exploring cooperation in emerging sectors including digital economy and green development. Despite the optimism expressed by top officials from both sides, bilateral trade relations between China and Russia have been complicated in recent months, as many Chinese banks reportedly rejected direct Chinese yuan payments from Russian entities and raised the yuan-ruble exchange rate. Meanwhile, media reports suggest Chinese exports to Russia have had to go through third countries, such as Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan, to avoid international sanctions imposed on Russia. This has caused a significant drop in Chinese exports to Russia since the start of this year. Ivanov said these trade complications have caused serious issues for Russia as Moscow has become "almost exclusively dependent" on Chinese imports, such as automotive and manufacturing equipment, to sustain its economy and war efforts since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. "I expect economic problems in bilateral relationships to dominate the discussion [between Li and Russian officials] and while there may be some progress, I don't expect them to be substantial since some of the issues are not easy to solve," he told VOA. Political and strategic ties Li's visit also comes amid efforts to strengthen strategic cooperation between the two countries. While Russia continues to fight Ukrainian troops on the battlefield, China and Russia have recently conducted joint patrols in areas near Alaska and Japan and held a joint naval exercise in the South China Sea. During Putin's visit to China in May, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Putin issued a statement that they had agreed to deepen the "comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination" between both countries. "Putin and Xi's statements in May indicate that there will be more security and military cooperation between Russia and China and Li's trip is part of the efforts to elevate their comprehensive strategic partnership," Sari Arho Havren, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, told VOA by phone. Despite the agreement to further deepen bilateral strategic ties, Ivanov said the trajectory of the Ukraine war and Russia's elevated ties with North Korea remain factors that could complicate relations between China and Russia. "Li will likely highlight the need for Russia to avoid escalation, especially when it comes to the use of tactical nuclear weapons and any attacks on nuclear power stations during his trip," he said. Improved relations between Moscow and Pyongyang are a concern but manageable, Ivanov added. "China understands that the relationship between Russia and North Korea is a predominantly military-industrial relationship and since Beijing has direct channels of communication with both countries, they think the risks of that relationship are manageable," he said. Countering NATO Apart from maintaining ties with Russia, some analysts say China will also seek to demonstrate its ability to push back against what it views as increased NATO pressure through Li's visit to Belarus. "Given the increased concern China has about NATO, I think aligning more closely with Belarus helps to demonstrate that Beijing can push back against NATO in certain ways," Elizabeth Wishnick, a senior research scholar at Columbia University's Weatherhead East Asian Institute, told VOA by phone. In July, Belarus became the latest member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Minsk and Beijing organized a joint antiterrorism exercise with China near the Polish and Ukrainian borders, which Wishnick said was a demonstration to NATO that Beijing "has friends" in Europe. Despite the challenges that exist in the bilateral relationship, Ivanov said China's and Russia's mutual interest in strengthening their diplomatic coordination globally, such as working to expand organizations such as BRICS, and their joint efforts to address current global conflicts such as the war in Gaza, will ensure that their ties remain strong. "The pace of diplomacy and the level of engagement demonstrate that this is a partnership that China and Russia are pursuing very seriously," he told VOA. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Lam-Xi meeting suggests Vietnam's supply chain balance tilting toward China By Christy Lee August 22, 2024 Vietnamese President To Lam's first state visit to China since taking office underscores the strategic importance Hanoi attaches to Beijing as it balances a supply chain reshuffle by both the U.S. and China, according to analysts. Lam and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to "promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization" during their meeting, said Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning on Wednesday's press briefing in Beijing. Lam wrapped up his three-day visit to China on Tuesday after meeting Xi and issuing a joint statement agreeing to expand their bilateral ties including trade. On Monday, they signed 14 documents including ones on industrial and financial cooperation. Mark Kenney, director of the Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition at the Wilson Center in Washington, said Lam's choice to visit China first after taking office earlier this month is significant as the U.S. and China are "both at the highest level of Vietnam's diplomatic relations." The U.S. and Vietnam elevated their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership last September. China and Vietnam upgraded their relations to that level in 2009. China is Vietnam's largest trading partner, with their trade last year totaling $172 billion; whereas trade between the U.S. and Vietnam accounted for about $125 billion. Investment from China and Hong Kong in Vietnam exceeded $8.2 billion in 2023 for more than 6,600 projects. In contrast, investment from the U.S. accounted for $500 million the same year. That figure may change as Vietnam in recent years has become a premium site for U.S. companies seeking to expand their businesses or relocate their manufacturing supply chains from China. In March of last year, Hanoi welcomed several U.S. companies, including Boeing, SpaceX, Pfizer and Amazon. Retail giants Zara and H&M, as well as Nike and Adidas, relocated their production factories from China to Vietnam. U.S. companies have been acting to guard against supply chain disruption, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, and to protect against Beijing's coercive economic practices that G7 countries vowed to counter for the past two years. But the U.S. and Western supply chain shift has stimulated China to reshuffle its manufacturing supply chain networks to Vietnam as well. "The PRC is sidestepping U.S. tariffs by shipping intermediate goods from the PRC to countries in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, to be repackaged for export to the U.S. after various degrees of in-country processing," the Wilson Center's Kennedy said. In May, the U.S. increased tariffs on $18 billion worth of goods imported from China to protect American industry. "Hanoi's strategy centers on securing its position as a key player in global supply chain while maximizing its economic and security benefits," said Shay Wester, the director of Asian Economic Affairs at the Asia Society Policy Institute. "As China seeks to solidify relationships across the developing world, Vietnam is becoming increasingly strategic in the broader U.S.-China economic rivalry" and essential for "ensuring that Vietnam remains a critical partner amidst the ongoing reconfiguration of global supply chains." However, Vietnamese made products containing parts imported from China have increasingly been under U.S. scrutiny. In August of last year, the U.S. determined that solar panel manufacturers in Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, have circumvented U.S. trade rules by exporting products containing Chinese-sourced materials subject to U.S. tariffs. "This example shows how deepening economic ties between Vietnam and China can bring additional risk to economic ties with the U.S.," said Robert Walker, research associate at the Lowy Institute's Indo-Pacific Development Center. "It is plausible in the future [that] economic ties could become more strained due to the growing presence of Chinese companies in Vietnam, but this is not a major concern at this time," Walker said. Vietnam's heavy reliance on Chinese imports, such as steel, plastic and electronic parts critical for manufacturing finished products, could pose risks to its economy, analysts said. "This trade dynamic has widened Vietnam's trade deficit with China to $50 billion in 2023, a nearly 50% increase over the last five years," Wester said. "This highlights the complexities of Vietnam's rapid industrialization, where its integration into global supply chains has been fueled by, and remains tightly linked to, Chinese imports." Kennedy said, "A sounder path for Vietnam is to develop its own manufacturing capabilities that rely on supply chains from a diversified group of nations" other than China. According to Alice Ba, acting chair of the political science and international relations department at the University of Delaware, Vietnam may have doubts over U.S. economic commitments. "There are questions about how future domestic politics and also U.S. human rights concerns might affect U.S. economic commitment to Vietnam," Ba said. "Human rights concerns, for example, may have factored into the U.S. decision" rejecting Vietnam's request to be designated as market economy by the U.S. The U.S. earlier this month denied the request, saying the Vietnamese government's involvement in its economy distorts prices and costs in ways that are unfavorable to the U.S. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Statement by Chief of Foreign News Section of Department of Press and Information of DPRK Foreign Ministry Korean Central News Agency of DPRK Pyongyang, August 23 (KCNA) -- The chief of the Foreign News Section of the Department of Press and Information of the DPRK Foreign Ministry on Thursday issued a press statement "To definitely keep military balance is prerequisite for peace and stability", which said: Amid the ongoing large-scale U.S.-ROK military exercises, Ulji Freedom Shield, the U.S. Department of State approved the sale of 36 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and components to the ROK. Claiming that the sale would improve the ROK's military capability, the U.S. military clarified a contradictory stand that it would not change the fundamental military balance in the region. Media and experts are focusing on the future impact on the security situation in the Korean peninsula, estimating that if the sale is fulfilled, attack helicopters will be newly deployed in the ROK and the performance of Apache helicopters, purchased from the U.S. and deployed for operation in 2017, will be improved. We strongly oppose and reject the U.S. and its vassal forces' arms buildup posing a grave danger to the regional security environment and escalating the military tension and warn them seriously of the consequences to be entailed by it. One side's arms buildup against the other side, whether its scale is large or small, may affect military and political situation in the region. Amid the ever-escalating political and military tension in the Korean peninsula due to the U.S.-ROK large-scale joint military drills, the U.S. announced the sale of offensive weapons to the ROK. This is a reckless provocative act of deliberately increasing the security instability in the region. The U.S. is now getting more active in its arms sale to Japan, ROK and other allies in the Asia-Pacific region, and this is a challenge to security in the region that cannot be overlooked. Last year, too, the U.S. concluded a "security of supply arrangement" with the ROK military aimed at prompt supply of military goods, after deciding to deliver such various kinds of ultra-modern lethal war equipment worth of astronomical amount of money as 25 F-35 stealth fighters, 36 SM-6 fleet-to-air interceptor missiles and 42 AIM-9X Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. It also offered six latest P-8A Poseidon sea-patrol planes to the ROK in June this year and is going to hand over in December the first supplies of 12 new-type MH-60R sea operational helicopters to delivered to the latter. Besides, it has recently eased its military technology and arms export control on UK and Australia and got more undisguised in the sale of weapons to its allies in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan and Taiwan. The security crises in different parts of the world clearly prove that the U.S. offer of lethal weapons is a key factor in escalating military confrontation and contradiction in the region and disturbing the military balance and thus increasing the danger of a new conflict. The prevailing situation urgently calls for thoroughly ensuring the military balance in the region by increasing the defence capabilities in every way in direct proportion to security challenge and threats that may result from the U.S. arms sale. To thoroughly reject and strongly counter the imbalance of strength imposed by the U.S. and its followers is a prerequisite for defending the sovereign interests of our country and ensuring the regional peace and stability. Since the U.S. is keen on the provision of war hardware and lethal equipment to its allies in the region, the DPRK's strategic deterrence will be further strengthened to protect the national security and interests and the regional peace. The DPRK will steadily conduct the necessary military activities for self-defence to control the military imbalance and instability that may be caused by the military moves and delivery of lethal equipment of the hostile forces getting more reckless with passage of time. -0- NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Transcript of Special Briefing by Secretary (West) on Prime Minister's visit to Poland (August 22, 2024) India - Ministry of External Affairs August 22, 2024 Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, I warmly welcome you to this Special Press Briefing on the visit of Prime Minister to Poland. We have with us, for the Special Briefing, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Shri Tanmaya Lal. Also joining us on the dais is Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, Shri Arun Kumar Sahu. With that, I invite Secretary (West) to make his opening remarks. Sir, over to you. Shri Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West): Thank you, Randhir. As all of you know, Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi is completing his official visit to Poland and he was here at the invitation of Prime Minister, His Excellency Donald Tusk. The visit has been historic and very successful; historic, since this was after 45 years that an Indian Prime Minister was visiting Poland and also this year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. During the visit, extensive discussions were held between the leadership. Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi also called on His Excellency President Duda earlier today. One of the main aspects of the visit has been that both the countries have decided to take their relationship to the level of strategic partnership. And in this context, a Joint Statement has been released and an Action Plan has been finalized. So, there have been multiple aspects or areas where the two countries have decided to cooperate even further. Some of the areas that are of focus in this relationship are, for example, economic sector. As you would know, India is the fifth largest economy now and Poland is the sixth largest economy within the European Union. Poland is a very, very important partner for India in this region. Poland will also be holding the Presidency of the European Union Council next year. India-EU relations are also extensive as some of you would be knowing that there are negotiations ongoing on finalizing an India-EU FTA. And last year, India and EU had set up the Trade and Technology Council, which is already doing very substantive work. So both in the bilateral aspect, regional aspect and multilateral aspects, the relationship is extensive and this visit; and the discussions provide a useful impetus for this partnership going forward. I would also make reference to some of the program elements. Yesterday, Prime Minister had visited two Memorials. One was for the Memorial for the very, very special episode in our shared people-to-people contacts when he visited the Memorial for Jam Sahib of Navanagar. He also visited the Kolhapur Memorial; and I am sure you would be aware that this refers to an episode during 1940s when during World War II, 6,000 Polish women and children found refuge in India. Jam Sahib of Navanagar gave shelter to almost 1,000 Polish women and children, and also in Kolhapur. The Prime Minister also laid a wreath at the Monument of the Battle of Monte Cassino, where both Indian and Polish troops had fought together and this was also a very special moment. Yesterday evening, there was a community event, where the Prime Minister met members of the Indian diaspora who welcomed him very enthusiastically and with great warmth. This morning, there was a Ceremonial Welcome at the Chancellery, followed by first a Restricted Meeting and then the Delegation Level Talks. Prime Minister Modi also laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and this was followed by the call on the President. The Prime Minister has also been meeting some of the business leaders from Poland who have business presence in India. The Action Plan that has been agreed to focuses on various aspects of cooperation. For instance, in the political dialogue and security cooperation, how to catalyze the trade and investment, areas like climate, energy, mining, science and technology, transport and connectivity, the fight against terrorism, cyber security, health and people-to-people ties and cultural cooperation. These are the bilateral elements and then there is reference to the India-EU relations. So, both sides agreed for the need for regular high-level contacts; strengthening the economic relations in a range of sectors ranging from agriculture, food processing, clean technology, connectivity, mining, renewable energy and AI and digital areas. The importance of connectivity has been highlighted and the two sides also agreed to continue the cooperation in the field of defence. An important development was also that there has been an understanding reached to finalize a Social Security Agreement which will be of importance for the professionals that are working in each other's countries. Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: With that, we open the floor for some questions. Please do identify yourself before you ask one. Sahil: Sir, I am Sahil Pandey from ANI News Agency, regarding the Social Security Agreement, any plan of action or roadmap in this regard, because you said understanding has been reached regarding this, so any details if you can share? Patryk: Thank you very much Patryk Kugiel, Polish Institute of International Affairs. It was a historical visit indeed. We are very grateful and happy that both countries agreed to elevate the relationship to the strategy partnership level. And my question is what will be the follow-up? Do you expect any high-level re-visit from Poland to India in coming months, maybe President or Prime Minister of Poland? Have you discussed this issue? And also additionally, have you discussed the question of reform of the global institutions, including the UN Security Council? Did you hear a clear support from Poland when it comes to the question of full permanent membership for India at the Security Council? Thank you. Thomas: Thomas [Inaudible]. I'm an Asia-Pacific correspondent for Polish media. Well, I would like to join Patryk at asking this question about the high-level meetings and what sort of meetings are envisioned in the next several months. Whether there will be a meeting in November of the economic delegation? Who would from the Polish side come to India? Whether that's agreed? And then a similar question regarding Mr. Tusk and Mr. Sikorski and also President Duda's possible visits in the months to come. But the other question would be about the defence cooperation that you mentioned. What that would entail exactly? What sort of cooperation that would be? Whether that would entail also space cooperation? Whether there have been any talks about satellite launches, for example, for Poland from India? Thank you. Shri Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West): Well, as I mentioned, there has been an understanding which has been reached on the Social Security Agreement. And you'll have to wait for the Agreement to be signed, and which we expect will be done in the coming short time. And that will really facilitate the issues relating to the professionals working in each other's countries. UN reform is one of the issues that was discussed. This is an important issue for the global situation. And this was definitely discussed. I will not go into further details. High-level meetings, well, the series of high-level meetings have been continuing. It is not as if this was a... so, for example, this year alone, there have been interactions between our Foreign Ministers earlier in the year, in February, when External Affairs Minister had met Foreign Minister Sikorski at the Munich Security Conference. The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Bartoszewski had visited India. There have been other high-level contacts that have been ongoing. I think the then Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau had visited India in 2022. Patryk: Sir, if I could make it a little bit more precise, regarding the meetings in the pipeline. So, what will be the next high-level meeting that is actually being discussed right now? Shri Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West): So, I was wanting to convey that there is a series of ongoing meetings. Also, in the context of the strategic partnership, it was agreed that the high-level meetings will continue. And we should expect a high-level visit in the coming months and the time forthcoming. Speaker: Prime Minister Modi, did he receive any invite to Poland for the next year? Are you aware of that? Shri Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West): I will not like to go in more details. You will come to know when the meetings are announced and the other visits. On defence, we have a long-standing Agreement and there is a Working Group which meets. So, the Working Group will continue to explore opportunities that exist in the different sector for both sides. Space is also one of the areas that there is potential collaboration. And the upcoming business delegations, especially in the high-technology areas, will lay the groundwork for space and other sectors of collaboration. Sahil: Sir Sahil again from ANI. Was there any discussion and if you could share some details regarding the conflict which is happening in the neighborhood, was there any discussion regarding that? Shri Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West): Yes, of course, there was discussion on the situation in Ukraine and Prime Minister stressed the Indian consistent position on this. For example, Prime Minister had said that there cannot be a solution on the battlefield, that only dialogue and diplomacy can lead to a peaceful resolution of the conflict and that India stands ready to work with friends and stakeholders to contribute to resolving the situation, and any loss of innocent lives is really a concern and the conflict has aspects of concern for all of us. Thomas: So, in the bigger scheme of things, I think that would be for you, Jaiswal ji. What is the most important takeaway and perhaps some surprise and then what is the most important part of the relationship with Poland that you are just crafting right now? So, surprise, takeaways and the most important thing about the relationship, from Indian perspective obviously. Shri Tanmaya Lal, Secretary (West): As I said, this was a historic visit and the most visible outcome is the fact that both countries have decided to make this a strategic partnership, which really is not just words, but it means that there is an extensive engagement between the two sides on a whole range of issues, not only in the bilateral sense, but also in the regional and international sense. I referred to the fact that if you look at the size of the economies of India and Poland now, India is the fifth largest economy, soon to become third largest. Poland is the sixth largest economy and again very dynamic and growing fast. If we look at the India-EU relations in this context; again, there are many, many important aspects going on in terms of trade, investment, agreements, critical technologies, etc. So, this is a relationship which has very, very diverse elements, also in terms of the engagement on global issues, both at the United Nations and other multilateral contexts. So, it is a very, very comprehensive partnership now and it has matured to a strategic partnership, and there is full intention on both sides to take it forward in a more concrete sense in different areas that I enumerated earlier. Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Thank you. Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, with that we come to the close of this Press Briefing. Stay tuned for further updates from us. Thank you. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran air defense force 'absolute power' in West Asia: Senior commander Iran Press TV Thursday, 22 August 2024 6:57 AM A senior Iranian commander says the country is the "absolute power" in the air defense force sector in the West Asia region. "It is an undeniable fact when we say that we are the absolute power of air defense in the region and have say [in it] in the world," Commander of the Iranian Army's Air Defense Force Brigadier General Alireza Sabahi-Fard said on Wednesday. He added that enemies are well aware that Iran is not dependent on any country and is in possession of equipment completely designed and manufactured by Iranian experts. He emphasized that the eight-year war imposed by Iraq on the country in the 1980s and an order by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on the need for the country to boost its power all contributed to promotion of defense capabilities. Sabahi-Fard reiterated that the Iranian Army's Air Defense Force is currently in its best condition to defend the country. Iran stands ready to target enemies and fire its missiles at them if deemed necessary, the senior commander said. Enemies' miscalculations Sabahi-Fard advised enemies against making any miscalculations, warning them that the Iranian Army and Air Defense Force will definitely emerge victorious in any possible confrontation. In recent years, Iranian military experts and engineers have made remarkable breakthroughs in manufacturing a broad range of indigenous equipment, making the armed forces self-sufficient. Iranian officials have underscored that the country will not hesitate to strengthen its military capabilities which are entirely meant for defense, and that Iran's defense capabilities will never be subject to negotiations. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has on numerous occasions called for efforts to maintain and boost Iran's defense capabilities. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iranians Decry The Demise Of Republicanism After Cabinet Controversy By Kian Sharifi August 22, 2024 When Iran's reformist President Masud Pezeshkian submitted nominees for his 19-member Cabinet, many expected the hard-line parliament to reject at least some of his picks. But in a rare move, lawmakers accepted the entire slate of ministers without a change, the first time a president has managed the feat in over two decades. Pezeshkian hailed the move as a win for consensus in the divided country. But critics said the unanimous approval of his cabinet showed the limits of the president's powers in Iran's clerically dominated political system. That is because Pezeshkian, addressing parliament before they voted on his nominees, said that the names were selected in "coordination" with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and preapproved by him. Some Iranians saw Pezeshkian's comments as an admission that the government is controlled by the supreme leader, who has the final say on all important matters of the state. Hamid Aboutalebi, a former Iranian ambassador to Australia, said Pezeshkian may have "won the battle in parliament" but had "lost [Iran's] century-long war for constitutionalism and republicanism." Some Iranian social media users said the presidency had lost all legitimacy and Pezeshkian was effectively a prime minister reporting to Khamenei. "Get rid of this meaningless position of president and appoint a prime minister," said political activist Hossein Razzaq. Razzaq added that Khamenei should pick the head of government so that public funds are not spent on holding "ridiculous elections for show" in Iran, where votes are tightly controlled. In many countries, including Iran, a president is elected by the people. A prime minister, a role that does not exist in Iran, is typically chosen by parliament or the head of state. Some Iranians argued that Khamenei had finally realized what they said was his yearslong goal of abolishing the presidency and installing a prime minister, arguing that in Pezeshkian, he had accomplished it without the need to change the constitution. In 2011, Khamenei said there would be "nothing wrong in changing" the system of government if "one day in the distant future it is felt that a parliamentary system is better than a presidential system for appointing officials." Getting rid of the presidency would further widen Khamenei's powers. Iran abolished the position of prime minister in 1989, a decade after the Islamic Revolution. The prime minister's duties were divided between the president and the newly established position of first vice-president. Under the Islamic republic, the prime minister was nominated by the president and approved by parliament. He served as the head of the government. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-pezeshkian- khamenei-demise-republicanism/33088861.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 Kazakhstan Summons Belarusian Ambassador After Lukashenka Interview By RFE/RL's Kazakh Service August 22, 2024 ASTANA -- Kazakhstan summoned Paval Utsyupin, Belarus's ambassador in Astana, to "objectively assess" the Central Asian nation's stance on key international issues in an unbiased manner amid rising tensions between the two countries. The ministry did not say specifically why it summoned Utsyupin, but it comes after Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the authoritarian ruler of Belarus, made several controversial statements in an interview with Russian state television. Kazakh Foreign Minister Murat Nurtileu said at the August 21 meeting with Utsyupin that Astana is "confident that all differences between any nations must be solved solely via political and diplomatic means." In the televised interview on August 20, Lukashenka accused some post-Soviet states of what he called "unfair relations with Russia," specifically mentioning antigovernment protests in Kazakhstan in January 2022 that turned deadly after Kazakh President Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev invited troops of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) to help him restore order. "We have to be together. The time will come soon to ask Russia for help. Nobody else is there to ask for help.... When the situation occurred in Kazakhstan, whom did it refer to for help? China, India, Pakistan? No. It turned to Putin for help. And we sent [CSTO] troops there. In just half of one day our planes landed there, and order was restored," Lukashenka said in the interview. The interview caused a sharp reaction in Kazakhstan and other countries such as Armenia, where protesters pelted the Belarusian Embassy in Yerevan with eggs and other produce and demanded diplomatic ties with Minsk be cut over Lukashenka's interview, in which he also criticized Armenia's shift westward. "Who needs Armenians? Nobody. Let them develop their economy and rely on their own resources. What is France? Who is [French President Emmanuel] Macron? Tomorrow, when Macron is gone, everybody will forget about the Armenians," Lukashenka said in the interview. The rally in front of the Belarusian Embassy was organized by the pro-Western For the Republic Party. The party's leader, Arman Babajanian, was among the protesters. Lukashenka's interview came amid Ukrainian armed forces' incursion into Russia's Kursk region, which led to speculations in many post-Soviet countries that Russia could now call on the CSTO member states -- Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan -- to help it repel Ukrainian troops. Armenia suspended its membership in the CSTO in February. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/kazakhstan-summons- belarus-ambassador-lukashenka-russia/33088440.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 Transcript of the Press Briefing by the Spokesperson on Friday, 16 August 2024 Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Assalam-o-Alaikum, Thank you for joining us for the Weekly Briefing. The 7th session of Pakistan-TArkiye Bilateral Political Consultations (BPC) was held in Islamabad last week. Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi led the Pakistan side while the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of TArkiye, Nuh Yilmaz, led the Turkish side. The talks encompassed all aspects of bilateral cooperation between Pakistan and TArkiye. The two sides will strengthen high level bilateral engagement and fully operationalize existing agreements; and upgrade the Pakistan-TArkiye Strategic Economic Framework (SEF). They will also enhance cooperation in trade and investment, energy, security and defence, information technology, culture and tourism, education, and consular matters. Yesterday marked a tragic milestone in the ongoing war on the people of Gaza. Israeli occupation forces have massacred 40000 people, majority of them women and children. The ongoing genocide in Gaza must end and Israel should be held accountable for its war crimes and crimes against humanity. Pakistan strongly condemns the illegal storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque by hundreds of extremist settlers led by office bearers of the Israeli occupation authorities. Desecration of one of Islam's holiest sites and obstruction to the rights of worshippers have deeply hurt the sentiments of Muslims worldwide. This act is a violation of Geneva conventions and blatant disregard of multiple UNSC resolutions regarding the historical city of Jerusalem. We share the concerns of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation about the peril posed by the Israeli occupation's policies aimed at altering the Arab and Islamic character of the occupied city of Jerusalem. Pakistan calls on the international community, especially the United Nations Security Council, to take immediate action to end these serious and repeated transgressions against the sanctity of holy sites in Jerusalem; protect the Islamic character of Al-Aqsa; and to ensure the freedom of worship of the Palestinian people. Pakistan strongly condemns the killing of four Kashmiri youth by Indian troops in the Doda district of Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). This brutal action by the Indian occupation authorities is yet another example of their illegal and oppressive acts against the Kashmiri people. We urge the international community to take immediate and decisive action to hold India accountable for its egregious human rights violations in IIOJK and to take steps to protect the rights and freedoms of the Kashmiri people. Pakistan will continue to extend political, diplomatic and moral support to our Kashmiri brothers and sisters for the just and peaceful settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UN Security Council Resolutions. Thank you ** (Khawaja Hamza Iqbal, Media Today): Despite various statements by higher officials of government regarding trade revival with India, we have not received any news from Indian side. Was there not any from Back Door diplomatic channel regarding trade revival with India, which prompted statement from government? Spokesperson: First, you would recall the developments that took place in 2019 and the illegal and unilateral steps taken by India in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). Following that, several measures were taken by Pakistan, including the suspension of bilateral trade. That situation remains intact, and at this point there are no bilateral talks between the two countries with respect to bilateral trade between Pakistan and India. (Allah Noor, Mashriq TV): Talks have commenced in Doha regarding ceasefire in Gaza. What is Pakistan's position on this? (Naveed Siddiqui, Talon News): It is the second day of ceasefire talks and many high ranking American officials are participating in the Doha talks but no official of Hamas is participating in these talks. Will these talks succeed without Hamas participation? Spokesperson: Pakistan has repeatedly since October 2023 called for an urgent and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza. We have called on the international community to bring an end to the massacre and genocide of the Palestinian people. And in that context, we welcome any initiative that may lead to peace and dialogue and resolution of the current situation where Palestinians continue to be under attack by the Israeli occupation authorities. Pakistan is not party to these talks in Doha. So, we are not in a position to comment on the details of these negotiations. (Azaz Syed, Geo News): Last week, international media was discussing Pakistan, with regard to the arrest of Asif Merchant and you had shared with us that Pakistan had contacted the American authorities. Any details or any updates about that issue. Spokesperson: I do not have any update to share with you. We are still awaiting official communication from the United States in this particular case. (Anas Mallick, Capital TV): Couple of questions, but up to you how you want to take it. Firstly, there's been an offensive in Russia by the Ukrainian side in Kursk region. How does Pakistan see that? Number two, Bangladeshi ousted Prime Minister's party, Awami League, has alleged the role of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence behind the ouster and the protest. How do you want to respond to that? Spokesperson: Regarding your question about the war between Russia and Ukraine, Pakistan continues to see with concern the ongoing hostilities. We reiterate our call for peaceful settlement of this conflict and we urge all parties to take action towards that end. On your question about Bangladesh, I think I already made a comment last week. There is absolutely no truth to such allegations. Pakistan believes that the people of Bangladesh have the capacity to settle their own affairs and determine their future without foreign intervention or unsolicited advice from outsiders. The people of Bangladesh will continue to have our best wishes. (Aghar Ali Mubarak, The Daily Mail International): Ma'am, you mentioned genocide taking place in Gaza in opening statement. You also answered my colleague saying that Pakistan is not a party in Doha talks. We are witnessing genocide in Gaza and disrespect of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Will Pakistan, just like, TArkiye take this matter to ICJ or become a party in the ICJ case, like TArkiye has announced. Spokesperson: Pakistan has expressed its serious concerns about the ongoing genocide in Gaza. We have urged the international community, including the UN Security Council, to hold Israel to account for its crimes against humanity. Pakistan has also expressed support for the case moved by South Africa at the ICJ regarding Israel's violations of the Genocide Convention. In that respect, Pakistan also welcome the statement made by TArkiye to support this case. At this point, we have nothing further to add with respect to this particular case at ICJ. (Abdullah Momand, Dawn News): I have two questions. One regarding this tension in the region, specifically about Iran and Israel. So Pakistan is a neighboring country. How Pakistan sees this conflict, and what is the role of Pakistan? Has Pakistan contacted Iran or China regarding? Spokesperson: Okay. Pakistan is deeply concerned at the recent developments in the Middle East. We are concerned that the situation in the Middle East is a result of the illegal acts by Israel against the people of Palestine and its adventurism against its neighbours and countries in the region. We also support the statement which was made by OIC that held Israel fully responsible for its crime of assassinating the political bureau chief of Hamas in Tehran. OIC called that attack a crime of aggression and flagrant violation of international law and a serious infringement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and national sovereignty of Iran. We believe that it is the responsibility of the United Nations under international law to ensure that there is peace in the region that Israel is held accountable for its acts. We reiterate to call on all parties to ensure that peace prevails in the Middle East. (Abdullah Momand, Dawn News): Second question is in last 23, 24 days around 1200 Pakistanis have been arrested in Iraq, in which 800 have been deported to Pakistan. There are allegation on these Pakistanis that they are they are involved in selling drugs, begging and other crimes. So what is your view? Spokesperson: First of all, I would like to underline that there are all kinds of figures which are floating around, and many of these figures are based on speculative reporting. You would also have seen that the Ministry of Religious Affairs has also issued a clarification with regards to a statement which was basically attributed to the Minister. The Government of Pakistan is focused on enhancing management of religious tourism to ensure the well-being and timely return of all pilgrims. As part of its commitment, Pakistan is implementing measures, including signing a Memorandum of Understanding on Zaireen management with the Government of Iraq. And we believe that the two sides, both Pakistan and Iraq, can work together to ensure that the Pakistani nationals who visit Iraq for Ziarat return in a timely manner and respect the laws of the host state. (Azaz Syed, Geo News): Ma'am, Pakistan has detected first case of monkey pox in KP from Gulf. Will Pakistan be clamping down further on border controls and testing? Spokesperson: We have seen the advisory which has been issued by the World Health Organization. This is now a matter on which our health authorities will be issuing an advice and guidelines and they will be the right forum to make any further announcements from the Government of Pakistan. (Shaukat Piracha, AAJ News): Thank you so much. Yesterday, the Interim Afghan Government celebrated Victory Day. When on 15th August 2021, they took over, Islamabad rejoiced, and at the level of the Prime Minister, there was warmth and celebrations. But hardly I saw, or anyone saw any message this year from Islamabad for Kabul, for Afghan Interim Government. My question is, has the relationship really reached its the lowest ebb between Kabul and Islamabad that there is no greetings, no hello, hi at the moment, thank you. Spokesperson: I would like to first underline that Pakistan and Afghanistan have functional diplomatic missions and there is a robust exchange of communications on all aspects of bilateral relations between the two countries. Secondly, with regards to the celebrations on the 15th of August, you would be aware that the Government of Pakistan participated in the event which was organized by the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad. The Minister for Housing, Riaz Hussain Pirzada represented the Government of Pakistan at the event, which also included participation of the Special Representative on Afghanistan, Ambassador Asif Durrani. This participation reflects the culture of both Pakistan and Afghanistan to accept invitations and join in each other's celebrations. (Siyar Ali Shah, Khyber News): Ever since the Afghan Taliban took control of Kabul, incidents of cross-border firing between Pakistan and Afghanistan have increased. Few days ago, the Torkham border was closed for 3 days due to cross-border firing. What are the reasons behind it, despite Pakistan and Afghanistan having channels of communications at all levels? Are both countries cooperating in taking steps to stop cross-border firing? Spokesperson: First, I would not like to go into history of such border violations from the Afghan side. However, as you know, the recent incident was very unfortunate when on the 12th of August, Afghan forces opened indiscriminate fire at the Torkham border. Pakistani forces responded appropriately in self-defence. We urge the Afghan authorities to exercise restraint and avoid unprovoked acts against Pakistan-Afghanistan border. They must understand that Pakistani forces will always defend their territory. We also remain ready to resolve any misunderstandings through established diplomatic channels. I would also like to underline that the relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan is multifaceted, and it encompasses various aspects of bilateral cooperation between the two countries. This is a historic relationship, so seeing this relationship from a narrow prism would not be advisable. (Anwar Abbas, 24 News): Ma'am, Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently revised the visa guidelines for the National Assembly Secretariat and Senate Secretariat. I want to know how many people from the National Assembly Secretariat and Senate Secretariat used note verbale and other similar documents, issued by Foreign Affairs, for travelling abroad and then seek asylum there? Spokesperson: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has revised its guidelines for issuance of introductory letters to officials. And there are many factors behind it, including the misuse of the introductory letters by government officials. I would not like to go into details of cases where this facility was misused. But we hope that with these new guidelines, this practice of misuse of introductory letters would be discouraged. (Ali Hussain, Business Recorder): Ma'am, State Department said that it is also using diplomacy to prevent Iran from attacking Israel. Pakistan has good relations with both America and Iran. Has Pakistan also been requested to get involved to contribute to this initiative of diplomacy by America? Spokesperson: Pakistan is not involved in any mediation in this situation at this particular time. (Anas Mallick, Capital TV): We're less than two months away with regards to the SCO Heads of Governments Meeting to be held here in Islamabad. Have the invites been sent, and has there been any confirmation with regards to the participation from the member countries? Spokesperson: The SCO procedures are very specific. Pakistan as the Chair of the Heads of Government Meeting is following the SCO procedures under which all such initiatives are first brought to the SCO setup, where the participating governments confirm the dates of the conference and then their participation. We are in the process of receiving confirmations from the participating countries. I am not in a position to give the names of the countries which have confirmed their participation, but a vast majority has confirmed their participation. (Ghazala Noreen, Suno TV): Thank you, Ma'am. Recently, a gang was arrested for selling radioactive materials in India and a statement was issued by the Ministry expressing concerns. Even in the past, such incidents occurred in India. My question is, if such an incident occurs in a country, then that country is sanctioned but in case of India, it is not such a case. So what is the strategy of Pakistan? Does Pakistani Foreign Ministry just comment and express its concerns or is there a specific strategy to bring world's attention towards India which is responsible for the spread of radioactive material? Spokesperson: First, we have issued our statement on this subject. I would advise you to relook at the statement, which is very comprehensive. Secondly, Pakistan has, on various occasions and forums, expressed its concern about India's disregard of international norms and practices, with regards to the safety and security of sensitive materials, including nuclear and radioactive materials. And this concern has been raised at various forums of the United Nations, including the First Committee of the UN General Assembly. (Shaukat Piracha, AAJ News): There have been arrests of senior military officials in Pakistan who are ex-servicemen. Yesterday, the Americans termed that this is purely an internal affair of Pakistan. Do you welcome such a statement from the United States that they are no more interfering into Pakistan's affairs, as has been the case in the past, when they passed resolutions in the Senate, in the Congress, etc? How do you respond to their latest comments? Spokesperson: I do not wish to welcome a statement or lack thereof which was not even expected from a foreign government. A foreign government, as we have said on multiple occasions, need not comment on the domestic affairs of Pakistan. So if a government refrains from making a statement, they are doing the right thing and the Government of Pakistan does not need to welcome that. (Saqib Ali Rathore Daily Kashmir Times): Any updates on Pakistani prisoners abroad, which according to figures released by Pakistan Foreign Office were 12000. For how many prisoners have any efforts been made? On Pakistani prisoners in India, Foreign Office had said that we have demanded consular access. Has any contact been established? Spokesperson: Pakistani missions abroad all over the world are under directions to look after the welfare of Pakistani nationals, including those incarcerated in prisons. In that respect, Pakistani Missions remain in contact with the host governments and with jail authorities, seek consular access and visit individuals who are incarcerated in prison. They also provide legal assistance where required. With regard to Pakistani prisoners in India, we have made multiple statements. What we have shared in the past is that Pakistan regularly, twice every year, exchanges list of prisoners with India and we call on the Indian authorities to provide access to Pakistanis incarcerated in Indian prisons. Occasionally we get that consular access. We hope that this will be frequent. (Asghar Ali Mubarak, The Daily Mail International): Two days ago in his independence speech, the COAS gave a clear message to Afghan Taliban that they should not give preference to Fitna Al Khawarij over well wishing friendly nations. Pakistan's sacrifices are there for everyone to see. Is Pakistan planning to back this up through the diplomatic channel as well? (Anwar Abbas, BOL News): I would like to refer to that cup of tea in Kabul in 2021 when the Afghan interim government was welcomed. Do you think sine then cross border terrorism incidents in Pakistan have increased? Terrorist safe havens have increased. Recruitments have also increased. All anti-Pakistan activities from across the Afghan border have increased. What future holds for Pakistan-Afghanistan under these circumstances? Spokesperson: First, I would like to inform you that Pakistan has consistently raised its concerns about the hideouts and sanctuaries of terror groups, including TTP in Afghanistan. This concern is well known. We have voiced it publicly. We have conveyed it bilaterally, through different channels at various occasions, including recently. We expect the Afghan authorities to take immediate and robust action against these terror groups so that they stop their terror activities inside Pakistan. With respect to the question that was asked by Mr. Anwer Abbas, yes, we are concerned that the terror attacks by these terror groups, which have bases in Afghanistan, have increased. Pakistan has been expressing its concern for the last several months. We expect the Afghan authorities to take immediate and effective action and robust action against these terror groups. (Allah Noor Wazir, Mashriq TV): Pakistan's SRA Asif Durrani has said that if Afghanistan hands over TTP operatives to Pakistan, the problem will end. Does Pakistan actually believe that if TTP operatives are handed over to Pakistan by Afghan interim government? Are any talks going on? Spokesperson: The statement made by the Special Representative on Afghanistan is consistent with Pakistan's position that the Afghan authorities need to take effective action, robust action, against these terror groups, and that includes the handing over of individuals who are involved in terror incidents inside Pakistan; the handing over of their leadership; and disarming those individuals and groups that continue to threaten Pakistan. (Abdullah Mohmand, Dawn News): You have rich experience in diplomacy and foreign affairs, and you have served in various capacities. Recently, the Prime Minister of Pakistan appointed Lieutenant General Amir as the new ambassador the UAE. So appointing people with zero experience in diplomacy is a good choice, in your view? Spokesperson: I would not like to comment on any individual cases, except to say that the Government of Pakistan appoints ambassadors according to its own assessment of the suitability of an individual for a particular ambassadorial assignment. **** NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Deputy Defence Minister of the Russian Federation Colonel General Aleksandr Fomin holds protocol meeting with Commander of People's Liberation Army Ground Force General Li Qiaoming 22.08.2024 Deputy Defence Minister of the Russian Federation Colonel General Aleksandr Fomin held a protocol meeting with Commander of People's Liberation Army Ground Force General Li Qiaoming. During the talks, the sides discussed topical issues of bilateral military cooperation of mutual interest. General Li Qiaoming is on a working visit in the Russian Federation at the invitation of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces of the Russian Federation. Department for Media Affairs and Information NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. warship transits Taiwan Strait ROC Central News Agency 08/22/2024 05:51 PM Taipei, Aug. 22 (CNA) A United States military vessel transited the Taiwan Strait Thursday, according to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND). The vessel sailed north through the Taiwan Strait, the MND said in a statement, adding that it was closely monitoring nearby airspace and waters as the ship made the transit and observed nothing unusual. In its statement, the U.S. 7th Fleet identified the ship as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson. The ship was conducting a routine Taiwan Strait transit through waters where high-seas freedom of navigation and overflight apply under international law, according to the statement. "Ralph Johnson's transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the United States' commitment to upholding freedom of navigation for all nations as a principle," the statement read. "No member of the international community should be intimidated or coerced into giving up their rights and freedoms." Meanwhile, Li Xi (), spokesperson for the People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theater Command, criticized the U.S. for "trumpeting" the transit. The command mobilized air and naval forces to shadow the USS Ralph Johnson as it was sailing up the strait in accordance with China's law, Li said in a statement. "The command will remain vigilant at all times and remain steadfast in its resolve to uphold national sovereignty and regional peace," according to the statement. The U.S. last transited the Taiwan Strait on May 8 when it sailed the guided-missile destroyer USS Halsey down through the strait. (By Sean Lin) Enditem/kb NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Australian Senate passes motion supporting Taiwan's sovereignty ROC Central News Agency 08/22/2024 06:11 PM Taipei/Sydney, Aug. 22 (CNA) The Australian Senate passed an "urgency motion" Wednesday in support of Taiwan's sovereignty and participation in international organizations. Senators agreed by vote to move the motion: "That United Nations (U.N.) Resolution 2758 of 25th October 1971 does not establish the People's Republic of China's (PRC) sovereignty over Taiwan and does not determine the future status of Taiwan in the United Nations, nor Taiwanese participation in U.N. agencies or international organizations." Supported by lawmakers from across the political spectrum, the motion was co-sponsored by Senators David Fawcett of South Australia and Deborah O'Neill of New South Wales, both of whom visited Taiwan last month to attend the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China's (IPAC) annual conference. Addressing Parliament House in Canberra, Fawcett, of the main opposition Liberal Party, said the motion was "urgent" because of the "growing risk to the security and stability in the Indo-Pacific." "It's important not just for the human rights of the 23.5 million people in the democracy that is Taiwan," Fawcett said, "but for the impact that a decrease in security and a conflict there would have on the rules-based order that underpins peace and security around the world, as well as for the global economic impact, which Australia would not escape." O'Neill followed Fawcett's remarks by saying that "the resolution does not mention Taiwan or address its political status." "Despite this fact, there is an ongoing and egregious campaign currently underway from the PRC to reinterpret the resolution and misrepresent what the resolution actually does," she said, referring to China's attempts to minimize Taiwan's participation in the international community. O'Neill, of the ruling Labor Party, said it was "not in the interest of the international community to have 24 million Taiwanese excluded" from critical bodies such as the International Civil Aviation Organization and the World Health Organization. Senator Jacqui Lambie of Tasmania said that "the people of Taiwan continuously reject reunification with the Chinese Communist Party, with less than 5 percent of support for the reunification in Taiwan." "The Chinese Communist Party has no business in destroying democracy in Taiwan," she said. "Australia must stand up against the Chinese Communist Party and back the more than 22 million people of Taiwan who choose democracy and freedom over the authoritarianism of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)," she added. Senator Raff Ciccone of Victoria, who is also deputy government whip in the Senate, said that Australia's economic, trade and cultural interests with Taiwan "cannot be understated." Pledging to continue energy cooperation and support Taiwan's transition to renewable energies, Ciccone told the house that Australia was currently Taiwan's largest energy supplier, contributing "around two-thirds of Taiwan's coal and almost half of its natural gas." Senator Pauline Hanson of Queensland voiced her view that Australia and the rest of the world "should recognize Taiwan for the independent sovereign nation it has effectively been since the 1950s." "[The CCP] regime's highest priority is to capture Taiwan -- most likely by force -- and turn that beautiful island nation of 24 million free people into another oppressed, polluted, communist hellhole," she added. Rebuking former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating, who recently said that the whole world agreed with Beijing's position on Taiwan, Chandler described his claim as "false." "I think there are questions to be asked about why Australians should pay to support private office for a former official who consistently pushes a false narrative about Australia's policy, especially when that false narrative aligns with that being pushed by foreign regimes such as the CCP," Chandler said. Finally, Senator Linda Reynolds of Western Australia said Beijing had been "gaslighting" Taiwan and warned that China had formed an "axis of dictatorship and authoritarianism" with Russia, Iran and North Korea. On Thursday, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) welcomed the Australian senators' pro-Taiwan motion, describing it as "just." "MOFA strongly affirms the Australian parliament's firm support for Taiwan's international participation and thanks Australia and IPAC for speaking out for Taiwan," the ministry told CNA. "We also call on the international community to jointly counter China's misinterpretation of U.N. General Assembly Resolution 2758 and China's attempts to make false connections between the resolution and the so-called 'One China' principle." "We will continue to cooperate with partners like Australia and other countries to jointly defend the core values shared by the global democratic camp and maintain regional peace, stability and prosperity," the ministry added. The PRC claims Taiwan as a part of its territory and has ramped up threats to use military force to annex the country in recent years. Since assuming China's seat in the U.N. following Resolution 2758 in 1971, the government in Beijing has continually pressured other countries to exclude Taiwan from international organizations. (By James Thompson, Yang Chun-hui and Yang Yao-ju) Enditem/ASG NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Taiwan redirects 3 Chinese asylum seekers to another country ROC Central News Agency 08/22/2024 09:59 PM Taoyuan, Aug. 22 (CNA) A Chinese family of three who were seeking political asylum in Taiwan had been redirected to another country that could provide them with the safety they were pursuing, the National Immigration Agency's Border Affairs Corps said Thursday. The family includes a woman who has a presence on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter, the corps told CNA, adding that her Chinese passport shows her name as Deng Liting (). Deng and her family recently entered Taiwan as transit passengers, and on arrival, they made a request to be redirected to a western country and also asked about Taiwan's political asylum laws and its prospects, the corps said. The three family members, however, were unable to board a transfer flight to a western country as they did not have the required visas, the corps said. As Taiwan's current laws do not include a political asylum policy, the corps said, it arranged for the family to be redirected to another country, with their consent. In that undisclosed country, the family will have a chance to obtain the safety they are seeking, the corps added. It said Taiwan's handling of the matter did not violate the United Nation's Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its principle of non-refoulement. Meanwhile, Deng has posted on X about her family's efforts to seek asylum, saying Tuesday that they had landed safely in Taiwan. Her posts, which also indicate that she is a writer published on Amazon, included an apology to the people of Taiwan for creating a difficult situation. Deng said she and her family had decided to take their chances in Taiwan, although they were aware that its laws do not cover refugees seeking political asylum. After the family fled China, they went to Thailand and then to Singapore, seeking asylum, but to no avail, she wrote, adding that they had no choice but to try Taiwan next. According to the post, Deng has been persecuted in China and was at risk of severe punishment, which could have collaterally involved her young son. On Thursday, Deng posted on X that before her family arrived in Taiwan, they had applied for political asylum in Canada. However, even with the help of the Ireland-based human rights organization Front Line Defenders, the asylum process could take six months to a year, she wrote. She also told her followers on X that Taiwan has no obligation to her family, and she urged them not to hold Taiwan "hostage emotionally." The case of the Deng family was the third attempt in the past year by Chinese nationals to seek political asylum in Taiwan. In September 2023, Chinese dissident Chen Siming () refused to return to China after his flight from Thailand made a transit stop in Taiwan. Before his arrival in Taiwan, he had made an appeal to Canada, where he was subsequently redirected and granted political asylum. In February, three Chinese asylum seekers, who arrived in Taiwan from Malaysia, were sent back there, as they could not present travel proper documents such as visas and permits. (By Wu Jui-chi and James Lo) Enditem/pc NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Second Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: UK statement on Pillar 1 This statement reiterated the UK's commitment to transparent, verifiable and irreversible nuclear disarmament, with undiminished security for all. 22 August 2024 Chair, The United Kingdom remains committed to the long-term goal of a world without nuclear weapons in a transparent, verifiable, and irreversible manner and with undiminished security for all. We firmly believe the best way to achieve this goal is through gradual multilateral disarmament negotiated through the NPT. The only viable, effective framework for achieving the complex technical requirements for the elimination of nuclear weapons. The global security environment remains extremely challenging - we are working on disarmament in a more contested and volatile world. There is greater need than ever for all states to recognise these challenges, and to work together to create the environment in which we can make disarmament a reality. As a nuclear weapon state, the UK takes its responsibilities seriously. We remain committed to working with others - including those who may threaten our interests and security - to build stability, transparency, and better mutual understanding, and to identify and implement effective measures which will ultimately shape the conditions for achieving a world free of nuclear weapons. Chair, The UK remains proud of our contributions to the reduction in the global stockpile of nuclear weapons. We are the only nuclear-weapon state to reduce our deterrent capability to a single delivery system. We continue to be transparent on maintaining the safety, security, and effectiveness of our deterrent through our statements to Parliament, the public and in international fora. Progress on disarmament is reflected not just through reduction in weapon numbers but also by building confidence in the disarmament process. Building collective trust and creating a suitable security environment is necessary if we want to achieve our ultimate goal. Chair, Notwithstanding the challenges, there are opportunities to make progress towards disarmament, through focusing our efforts on verification, irreversibility, and transparency, and building on the working papers the UK submitted, on our own and with partners, at the 2022 Review Conference. These areas remain the fundamental building blocks toward a trusted, verifiable process of disarmament. On verification, the UK will continue our domestic research programme and international work including the QUAD Nuclear Verification Partnership with Norway, Sweden and the US and with the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification. This week, the UK will co-host a Nuclear Verification side event under the QUAD partnership giving an overview of our work, for both technical experts and policy makers alike. We will continue our efforts on irreversibility. With Norway, we are facilitating an enhanced dialogue among States parties to build a common understanding of the conditions that would make nuclear re-armament as difficult and unlikely as possible. We will be hosting a side event later this week and aim to broaden this work with a wider range of States. The UK will continue to focus on transparency as a priority. We publish the UK's overall warhead stockpile limit. We issue regular updates on maintaining the safety, security and effectiveness of our deterrent through our statements to Parliament, the public and in international fora. We will continue to pursue strategic dialogues to develop greater trust, confidence, and transparency between states in relation to nuclear weapons. The UK recently published the Defence Nuclear Enterprise Command Paper, which sets out, for the first time, a full account of what it takes to deliver the UK's nuclear deterrent. We are ready to explore integrating discussion of National Reports within the NPT cycle and we look forward to sharing a draft of our National Report ahead of the next PrepCom in 2025. Chair, We reiterate our long-standing positions calling for the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), and we urge all States that have not already done so to sign and ratify the Treaty, and particularly those listed in Annex 2. We also call for the commencement of negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament on an international and effectively verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for use in nuclear weapons and other nuclear explosive devices. Chair, Let me conclude by assuring you, once again, of the UK's continued commitment to progress on this issue throughout this Review Cycle. Thank you. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Second Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: UK statement on Pillar 2 This statement emphasised the UK's support for comprehensive nuclear safeguards and other non-proliferation measures under the NPT, including via the IAEA. 22 August 2024 Mr Chair, For over half a century, the NPT has kept us safe. It has enabled the growth of a secure international civil nuclear sector while restricting the number of States possessing nuclear weapons to single figures. This is to be rightly celebrated, and we must recognise what has enabled that success, alongside looking to what should be done to ensure its work continues. The NPT is underpinned by the tireless efforts of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The UK remains one of the IAEA's largest extra-budgetary contributors in support of its work on safeguards. This support has helped train IAEA inspectors, provided samples analysis to the IAEA, and supported open-source information collection. The UK will remain steadfast in our support for the Agency and will champion its independence and impartiality given its importance to international security. In pursuing its mission, the IAEA provides expertise and confidence to its membership. The value of this is seen clearly in its verification of robust international safeguards. We encourage all states to sign and ratify the Additional Protocol, together with a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, as the universal verification standard under the NPT. The UK supports the IAEA's work on nuclear security. The high engagement with and participation at ICONS this year demonstrated strong global support for nuclear security. We encourage all remaining states to become party to nuclear security instruments. It was disappointing to most of us that the ICONS Ministerial Declaration was in the end not adopted and blocked by just one state. That must not distract from the vital work that is being carried out, and we fully support the co-Presidents' statement. We also underline the importance of the IAEA's role in protecting nuclear security in Ukraine, where Russia's illegal invasion and continued presence at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant threatens nuclear safety, security and safeguards. Mr Chair, The UK is also working to ensure developments in technology and new partnerships uphold and strengthen safeguards. We are working closely with our US and Australian partners so that Australia's development of a nuclear-powered submarine capability sets the highest non-proliferation standard. AUKUS partners will host a side event in Geneva on 26 July to discuss our non-proliferation objectives in developing a naval nuclear propulsion programme. Mr Chair, While the vast majority of NPT States Parties fully comply with their safeguards obligations and uphold the integrity of the NPT, there remain serious problems that should be of concern to us all. Iran's nuclear programme is more advanced than ever and poses a clear threat to regional and global security. Iran's persistent lack of cooperation with the IAEA on its legally binding safeguards obligations undermines the safeguards system and the IAEA's authority. The UK continues to hold Iran to account. At the June IAEA Board of Governors meeting, the Board adopted a resolution condemning Iran's failure to cooperate and reiterated its support to the IAEA's efforts to resolve the long outstanding safeguards issues. We call on Iran to fulfil its legal obligations and clarify and resolve all outstanding issues. The DPRK's illegal nuclear and ballistic missile programmes remain a serious threat to international security, including the threat of a seventh nuclear test. We call on the DPRK to abandon their nuclear and ballistic missile programmes in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner, to return to their NPT obligations and IAEA safeguards oversight and to renew dialogue. Mr Chair, There are other tools that we must deploy to ensure Non-Proliferation standards are upheld. Export controls is one such tool, that facilitates the responsible exchange of civilian nuclear technology. They give states the confidence to transfer nuclear technology which supports economic growth and contributes to sustainable development while minimising proliferation risks. The UK continues to engage with the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Zangger Committee and urges all States to adhere to NSG's Guidelines. The UK also supports Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones and the contribution they can make to enhance regional and international security. The UK has signed and ratified the Protocols to the Treaties of Tlatelolco, Rarotonga, Pelindaba and Semipalatinsk providing legally binding negative security assurances to more than 100 countries. We stand ready to do sign and ratify the Treaty of Bangkok. The UK remains committed to a zone free of all weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems in the Middle East, based on arrangements freely arrived at by all countries in the region. Mr Chair, Non-proliferation and the protection that the NPT provides is in all our security interest. Over the coming review cycle the UK stands ready to work with all States Parties to reinforce the global non-proliferation system and through its application, expand access to the peaceful uses of nuclear technology. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Second Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: UK statement on Cluster 3 specific issues This statement outlined the UK's approach to the Strengthening the Review Process work strand, especially regarding transparency. 22 August 2024 Thank you, Chair, Allow me to start by putting on record the United Kingdom's appreciation for your efforts as Chair of the 2023 Working Group on further strengthening the NPT review process. The UK was prepared to join consensus on the Chair's recommendations in Vienna last year. We very much regret that a small handful of States blocked that consensus, and that one State blocked the subsequent proposal on interactive consideration of national reports. We stand ready to continue to engage on the basis of the Chair's recommendations and encourage continued consultations between here and the 3rd Preparatory Committee in New York. Mr Chair, The UK urges States Parties to support steps to strengthen the NPT and the review process. This is an important part of ensuring the NPT is successful for the next 50 years. From effectiveness and efficiency, through transparency and accountability, to practical steps around the nominations and role of Chairs and working groups, there are several steps we can collectively take to strengthen our ability to realise the objectives of the NPT. While Strengthening the Review Process is not limited to transparency - the last few days have illustrated once again the need for a pack of measures aimed at strengthening the review process - I will nonetheless focus my comments on this, and the related question of accountability. Mr Chair, In my statement under Cluster One, I noted that the United Kingdom strives for the greatest level of transparency in our nuclear doctrines, policies and capabilities consistent with our national security and non-proliferation responsibilities. Transparency in the context of nuclear disarmament has two aims: first, to increase mutual confidence among the Nuclear Weapon States and enable practical disarmament steps; and second, to provide accountability as to the implementation of Treaty obligations and other commitments and undertakings. It is crucial for Nuclear Weapon States to be as transparent as possible about their nuclear capabilities, doctrines and policies. Transparency plays an important role in building confidence. Transparency and dialogue are necessary to prevent or reduce risks of miscalculation and misperception, and thus strengthen stability and reduce risk of unintended nuclear use. As we made clear in our national statement in the General Debate, we remain committed to the P5 nuclear process. The UK regrets that some Nuclear Weapons States do not publish details of their overall warhead stockpiles or on the delivery systems they deploy. In not doing so, these states are undermining trust and confidence in the NPT process, particularly when states are expanding their capabilities rapidly, at scale and across multiple delivery systems. Mr Chair, This brings me to the question of accountability. States must be held accountable for the implementation of the obligations under Treaties they have signed up to and other commitments they have entered into. One of the primary means of accountability for the UK is its National Implementation Reports. In preparing our report for the last NPT RevCon, the UK conducted an extensive consultation exercise involving the other nuclear-weapon States, nonnuclear weapon States and civil society. The report is a comprehensive statement of the UK's national measures on disarmament, non-proliferation, and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Mr Chair, The UK will continue to prioritise the question of improving transparency and accountability in the current NPT review cycle. While Action 20 of the 2010 Action Plan asks all States Parties to submit national implementation reports, it is right, building on Actions 5 and 21, that the Nuclear Weapon States should take steps to improve the quality and consistency of reporting on our specific nuclear disarmament commitments. We continue to support the idea of allocating dedicated time in the formal proceedings of the review cycle for the interactive consideration of the reports of States Parties. As in past review cycles, the UK intends to submit its draft National Implementation Report at the third session of the Preparatory Committee in New York next year, using the common reporting framework agreed upon by the Nuclear Weapon States in 2013. We would once again welcome discussion and feedback from other States Parties and from civil society in order to ensure the final report to the Review Conference in 2026 is as useful as possible to its readers. Thank you. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Swedish Government appoints special envoy for Ukraine's reconstruction, business sector and development Government Offices of Sweden Press release from Ministry for Foreign Affairs 22 August 2024 Today, the Government has appointed Ulrik TidestrAm as special envoy for Ukraine's reconstruction, business sector and development. "Supporting Ukraine is the Government's top foreign policy priority. By appointing a special envoy, the Government is stepping up Sweden's engagement and prospects of further contributing to Ukraine's reconstruction," says Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias BillstrAm. "The Government is strengthening Sweden's efforts to support Ukraine by appointing a special envoy for its reconstruction, business sector and development. This new role has a particular focus on trade, development assistance and promotion. I welcome Ulrik TidestrAm to the team and look forward to working together," says Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Johan Forssell. The special envoy will cooperate closely with the Ukrainian Government, EU institutions, international financial institutions, the G7 countries and other international partners to support Ukraine's reconstruction. One of his main tasks will be to represent the Government in international donor coordination for support to Ukraine's reconstruction and developing closer ties to the EU. Promoting Swedish businesses' participation in Ukraine's reconstruction, in close cooperation with Business Sweden and other Team Sweden organisations, will be another important task. Mr TidestrAm has been Sweden's Ambassador to Georgia and Armenia, and has also served at the Embassies in Warsaw, Helsinki, Kyiv and Moscow. His most recent post was Diplomatic Training Programme Director at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Mr TidestrAm will take up his new position on 26 August. "There is fantastic and widespread engagement for Ukraine in Sweden. As special envoy, I look forward to collaborating closely with Swedish businesses, government agencies and civil society organisations that support Ukraine and want to take part in its reconstruction and development. A key aspect of my assignment will also be close cooperation with the Ukrainian Government and international partners to maximise the impact of Sweden's engagement," says Mr TidestrAm. The special envoy position is placed at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs Department for Eastern Europe and Central Asia and has the rank of Ambassador. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address IAEA Informed of Drone at Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, Director General Grossi to Assess Site International Atomic Energy Agency 76/2024 Vienna, Austria 22 Aug 2024 The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been informed by the Russian Federation today that the remains of a drone were found within the territory of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. The drone fragments were reported to have been located roughly 100 metres from the plant's spent fuel nuclear storage facility. The IAEA was informed that the drone was suppressed in the early morning of 22 August. In this context, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi confirmed his intention to personally assess the situation at the site during his visit next week. During his visit, Director General Grossi will assess the situation on site and discuss modalities for further activities as may be needed to evaluate the nuclear safety and security conditions of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. "Military activity in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant is a serious risk to nuclear safety and security. My visit to KNPP next week will provide us with timely access to independently assess the situation," Director General Grossi said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russian troops manage to capture another village in Ukraine's Donetsk region, army says Iran Press TV Thursday, 22 August 2024 4:04 PM Russian troops have seized another village in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, the Russian army says, while Kiev claims that its forces are further advancing in Russia's Kursk region. In a statement on Thursday, Russia's defense ministry said that its troops had seized the village of Mezhove, situated between Avdiivka, taken in February, and the logistics center of Pokrovsk, toward which Russian forces are advancing. The ministry stressed that capturing the village, which is the latest in a string of territorial advances for Moscow's troops, was the "result of successful operations." Moscow continues its offensive in Ukraine's Donetsk region, which was added to the Russian Federation in late September 2022 following a referendum, while also fending off a Ukrainian counter-attack in the Kursk border region. One of the aims of the bold and unexpected offensive by Ukraine inside Russia on August 6, which resulted in territory being seized in the Kursk region, is believed to be pressuring Moscow to reallocate some of its forces from the eastern campaign. Due to manpower and ammunition shortages throughout much of 2024, Ukraine has been forced onto the defensive in the industrial eastern region after months of stalemate. In recent weeks, Russia's defense ministry has claimed that it has taken control of new settlements in the area almost daily. Separately on Thursday, President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine was attempting to target Russia's Kursk nuclear power plant, which is around 50 kilometers from the fighting in the border region, in a nighttime attack. He said Moscow has already notified the United Nations' nuclear safety watchdog about the incident. "The enemy tried to strike the nuclear power plant at night, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been informed," Putin said in a televised meeting of senior officials, without giving further details. An IAEA spokesperson told AFP earlier on Thursday that the UN agency chief Rafael Grossi plans to visit the Kursk nuclear plant next week. The West has loaded Ukrainian armed forces with an overwhelming supply of Western weapons and ammunition since Russia launched its military campaign against Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow has time and again warned that such all-out military support of Kiev will only prolong the war. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ferry Carrying Fuel Tanks Sinks In Russian Port After Ukraine Missile Strike By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service and RFE/RL's Russian Service August 22, 2024 Ukrainian forces sank a Russian ferry carrying fuel tanks in a missile strike on a port in Russia's southern Krasnodar region on August 22, Russian officials said. "As a result of the damage, the ferry sank in the waters of the Kavkaz port," the Krasnodar region's operational headquarters said on Telegram. The headquarters reported earlier that "a railroad ferry with fuel tanks in the Kavkaz port was attacked" and that emergency services had been dispatched. Images circulating on social media showed a plume of dark smoke rising in the area of the ferry crossing. The port sits in the Kerch Strait separating Russia from Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula that Moscow illegally annexed in 2014. Ukraine has issued no official comment on the incident, but Darya Zarivna, a communications adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, posted a photo on Telegram showing a large fire at the port and the word "Beautiful." Fyodor Babenkov, the district head of the Russian town of Temryuk, was quoted by Reuters as saying the ferry was carrying 30 fuel tanks. The vessel sustained significant damage as a result of the attack, which caused a fire, Babenkov said. The Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti said five people were on the vessel at the time of the attack and were unaccounted for. The Russian online news channel Baza reported that the number of people on board was 15 and all were missing. All port employees were evacuated, TASS reported citing the Transport Ministry. Ukraine in recent weeks has taken bold steps, including a surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk region and attacks on fuel storage facilities and airfields inside Russia used to conduct attacks on Ukraine's civilian infrastructure, in an effort to turn the tide of the war. A drone strike earlier on August 22 on an airfield hundreds of kilometers inside Russia was the work of Ukraine's military intelligence, security sources told RFE/RL. Zelenskiy, meanwhile, traveled to Ukraine's Sumy region that borders Kursk for the first time since the start of Ukraine's invasion there on August 6. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) together with the Special Operations Forces early on August 22 struck the Marinovka airfield in Russia's Volgograd region, located 275 kilometers east of the Ukrainian border, SBU sources told RFE/RL on the condition of anonymity. After the impact, "plumes of black smoke and a powerful detonation" occurred on the airfield surface, the SBU source said. The strike targeted a storage site for fuel, antitank missiles, and glide bombs, the security source said. Earlier, Russian Telegram channels, citing eyewitnesses, reported a series of explosions at Marinovka, and the Astra channel on Telegram posted a video showing what appeared to be a large explosion and plumes of black smoke rising above the airfield. Volgograd Governor Andrei Bocharov said drone strikes ignited a fire at a military facility in the region but claimed the attack had been repelled. "As a result of the UAV crash, a fire broke out on the territory of a ministry facility. Fire and rescue services quickly began extinguishing the fire," Bocharov said on Telegram, adding that there were no casualties. Meanwhile, the airport of regional capital Volgograd, a city of some 1 million people 55 kilometers east of Marinovka, restricted the arrivals and departures of commercial aircraft. Volgograd is the current name of Tsaritsyn, which from 1925 to 1961 bore the name Stalingrad, after Soviet dictator Josef Stalin. Stalingrad became famous for its repelling a monthslong Nazi siege in 1942-1943 during World War II. The General Staff of the Ukrainian military said late on August 22 that 135 combat clashes had taken place at the front during the day, and that Russia continues to concentrate its main efforts in the Pokrovsk area, where it attacked Ukrainian positions 53 times. A Russian military strike killed a 56-year-old man and injured eight others in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office said .The injured included a 15-year-old boy, while residential buildings were also damaged. After Zelenskiy met with Ukraine's top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskiy, in Sumy, a Russian drone attack killed two civilians and wounded a third. During his visit to Sumy, Zelenskiy was briefed by Syrskiy on the operational situation in the area controlled by Ukrainian forces in Russia's Kursk, Ukraine's presidential administration said in a statement. Sumy Governor Volodymyr Artyukh told Zelenskiy that following the start of Ukraine's operation in Kursk, the number of cross-border shellings and the casualties among civilians had dropped drastically, also allowing the start of infrastructure repairs badly needed after months of incessant Russian bombardments, the statement said. Ukraine's leadership has repeatedly stated that its bold move into Kursk aims to establish a buffer zone inside Russia meant to protect Ukrainian civilians from cross-border Russian shelling. Ukraine has also said it is not pursuing territorial gains from Russia. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/marinovka-volgograd- kursk-kavkaz-oil-erry-sunk-missile/33088154.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 Spinning Ukraine's Kursk Incursion, Kremlin Says Russia Is Conducting A 'Counterterrorism Operation' By Alya Ponomaryova August 22, 2024 In the days immediately after Ukraine's audacious August 6 cross-border invasion into Russia's Kursk region, the message dominating the airwaves on state-run TV and sympathetic media was this: Russian President Vladimir Putin is in charge. Russia's military will repel the Ukrainian incursion. The war against Ukraine itself, now in its 30th month, will continue to victory. Now, as the Ukrainian successes continue more than two weeks in, cracks are spreading in the message that the Kremlin wants the Russian public to hear. On the talk show hosted on state TV by Vladimir Solovyov -- an influential media personality known for occasionally outlandish propaganda -- some commentators have spoken openly about the Russian military's failures in Kursk and have warned that things are likely to get worse. "We must proceed from the fact that we can lose," Karen Shakhnazarov, a prominent film director, said on August 13. "If there are more mistakes like this, we may lose. And this is not defeatism, this is not alarmism. This is an absolute understanding of the price that we and our homeland will have to pay." "[We must] prepare for the worst-case scenario: these territories -- God willing, without people -- will have to be sacrificed," Maksim Yusin, a commentator known for his pro-government views, said on August 12 on the talk show Meeting Place, hosted on the Gazprom-owned channel NTV. For the overwhelming majority of Russians, television -- dominated by state-controlled channels -- is the medium where they consume news. Coverage of the entire war against Ukraine has extolled the heroics of Russian soldiers and highlighted the grinding progress Russian troops have made -- even while downplaying, or ignoring, the eye-watering number casualties suffered since February 2022. Dispelling A Myth If nothing else, Ukraine's incursion dispels the myth of the might of the Russian armed forces, said Rustem Adagamov, a widely read liberal blogger who now lives outside of Russia. "Not only does the Russian Federation not have an army to reach the English Channel or to capture something in Latvia or Estonia, the Russian Federation does not have an army to simply defend its own territory, to protect Russians," he wrote in a post on his blog. "It turns out that it is not capable of this at all." Aleksandr Morozov, a political scientist who also now lives outside the country, said the way the Kremlin has responded publicly to the Ukraine invasion is damning. "Let's imagine any other country: The president makes an address to the nation; there is an emergency meeting of parliament, etc.," he wrote on his blog. Instead, "we are historical witnesses of something amazing: the president holds some working meetings, parliament goes on vacation." "There is deafening silence; neither the heads of the upper and lower houses nor the head of government, nor any state council, that is, not a single similar institution that might exist in other countries, has addressed the population with anything," Morozov said. "For the most part, neither the authorities nor the people perceive this as an enemy invasion; rather it's viewed as a natural disaster," Aleksandr Plyushchev, a liberal-leaning journalist, said in a commentary on his YouTube channel. The Kremlin and its various power centers -- the presidential administration, the Federal Security Service, and the Security Council -- are famously difficult to pry information from, particularly in times of crisis. More Russians Anxious Or Concerned However, a survey conducted by a government-linked pollster, the Public Opinion Foundation, known as FOM, found Russians are not entirely happy with what is happening. The pollster found a sharp jump in the number of Russians saying they were anxious or concerned. The survey, however, also found a slight increase in the level of trust in Putin. Citing unnamed officials in the presidential administration and elsewhere, Meduza, the exiled Russian-language online publication, said the Kremlin is trying to find a way to level with the Russian public, but without causing panic. "The Kremlin, with the help of propaganda, is trying to prepare Russians for life in the conditions of a 'new reality' or a 'new normal,'" the Riga-based outlet said. The idea that the authorities might be trying to prepare the population for an extended fight on Russian territory, rather than working to defeat the Ukrainian troops, angered some commentators. "What are you preparing people for, experts?! For the surrender of Shebekino, Bryansk, and, finally, Crimea?" Platon Besedin, a pro-government publicist wrote in a post to Telegram, referring to a Russian border town, a western regional capital, and the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula that was seized by Russia in 2014. "Yes, in normal times, they would give you a helmet and send you to the front for this, but instead here we have only miracles!" he wrote. 'Putin's Next Moves Are All Bad' Dmitry Gudkov, a liberal politician who was famously kicked out of parliament and now lives outside of Russia, said the Kursk invasion has brought the Russian authorities to a dead end. "Putin's next moves are all bad," he wrote on Telegram. "But the further you go, the higher the risk of the people's muted discontent morphing into mass unrest." Also telling is the label that the Kremlin has bestowed upon the invasion itself. The entire 30-month war on Ukraine is officially called a "special military operation," according to government regulations, not a "war." Similarly, said Dmitry Kolezev, the former editor of the online magazine Republic, the Russian response to the Ukrainian invasion is described with the euphemism -- "counterterrorism operation." "Perhaps the whole point is that the Russian authorities are avoiding calling a spade a spade," Kolezev wrote. "Firstly, with all its might, the Russian state is showing that it does not need this: It does not declare war, does not impose martial law, but activates a counterterrorism operation," he said. "Should civilians take up arms here? And where can I get a weapon anyway?" "By this logic, a civilian should move away [from the invasion] since this is a professional battle against 'terrorists,'" he said. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-ukraine-kursk-invasion- public-opinion/33087421.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 FSB Opens Criminal Case Against Journalists From CNN, Ukraine Over Reporting From Kursk Region By RFE/RL's Russian Service August 22, 2024 Russia's secret service agency, the FSB, said it has opened a criminal case against CNN journalist Nick Paton Walsh and two Ukrainian correspondents saying they illegally crossed into the country to film reports on Ukraine's incursion into Russian territory. The journalists -- which include Paton Walsh, a British national, and Ukrainian journalists Diana Butsko and Olesya Borovik -- reported from the Sudzha area of the Kursk region, where Ukraine has surprisingly taken a foothold inside of Russia in recent weeks. The incursion is the biggest into Russia by a foreign power since World War II. "In the near future, they will be put on the international wanted list," the FSB said in a statement on August 22, adding all three face up to five years in prison. The journalists entered Russia embedded with a Ukrainian military convoy and travelled to the town of Sudzha in a reporting mission CNN said was a legitimate reporting trip. "Our team was invited by the Ukrainian government, along with other international journalists, and escorted by the Ukrainian military to view territory it had recently occupied," CNN said in a statement. "This is protected activity in accordance with the rights afforded to journalists under the Geneva Convention and international law," it added. The FSB move comes on the heels of a similar case launched last weekend against two Italian journalists who reported on Ukraine's offensive in the Kursk region. Simone Traini and Stefania Battistini were also accused of illegally crossing the border. Moscow subsequently summoned Italy's ambassador to Moscow, Cecilia Piccioni, who informed Russia's Foreign Ministry that Italian state broadcaster RAI, "and in particular the editorial teams, plan their activities in a totally free and independent way." The Russian Foreign Ministry earlier this week also summoned the U.S. Embassy's Deputy Chief of Mission Stephanie Holmes to protest what it called "provocative" reports by U.S. journalists from the Kyiv-controlled part of Russia's Kursk region who "illegally" crossed the Russian border. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-s-fsb- opens-criminal-case-against-journalists-from-cnn-ukraine-over- reporting-from-kursk-region/33089068.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 In Warsaw Ahead Of Kyiv Visit, Indian PM Modi Urges Path For Russia-Ukraine Peace By RFE/RL August 22, 2024 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged Russia and Ukraine to find a path to peace "as soon as possible" ahead of his historic visit to Kyiv. Modi was in Warsaw on August 22 to meet with Polish officials before heading to Ukraine, the first trip by an Indian leader to Kyiv since the countries established bilateral relations more than 30 years ago. His visit also marks the first trip by an Indian prime minister to Warsaw in 45 years. "It is India's strong belief that no problem can be resolved on a battlefield," Modi said while in the Polish capital, adding that his country supported "dialogue and diplomacy for restoration of peace and stability as soon as possible." India came under fire from some Western countries after he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month, which coincided with a deadly Russian missile attack on a children's hospital in Kyiv that elicited harsh international condemnation. The United States was particularly concerned with Modi's two-day visit to Russia as it sees New Delhi as an important pillar in its strategy to contain an ascending China. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said as he welcomed Modi that "history has taught our nations the importance of respecting the rules, respecting borders, [and] territorial integrity." Modi said in a statement published before he left for Poland that "as a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region." The statement added that Modi will hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and "share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict." Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/in-warsaw- ahead-of-kyiv-visit-indian-pm-modi-urges-path- for-russia-ukraine-peace/33088651.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 UN Nuclear Agency Confirms Grossi To Visit Russia's Kursk Plant Next Week By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service August 22, 2024 UN nuclear agency head Rafael Grossi will visit Russia's Kursk nuclear power plant next week, a spokesperson confirmed on August 22, weeks after Ukraine launched a surprise counteroffensive in the region. "We can confirm (it's planned for) next week," a spokesperson for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. The IAEA said later that Russia informed the agency that the wreckage of a drone was found on the territory of the Kursk nuclear power plant. The IAEA said in a news release that Russia informed the agency that fragments of the drone were "reported to have been located roughly 100 meters from the plant's spent fuel nuclear storage facility." The IAEA said it was informed that the drone was "suppressed" in the early morning of August 22. Grossi confirmed his intention to independently assess the situation when he visits the site next week. "Military activity in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant is a serious risk to nuclear safety and security," Grossi added in the news release. During his visit Grossi will also discuss the terms of further measures that may be needed to evaluate the nuclear safety and security conditions of the plant, the IAEA said. Last week, Russia accused Ukraine of preparing an attack on the nuclear power plant, and Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called on the UN and the IAEA to condemn the "provocation." Ukraine denied the accusations. "Ukraine has neither the intention nor the ability to take any such actions. Russia should stop spreading dangerous lies," said Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokes, Heorhiy Tykhy. The IAEA urged Russia and Ukraine on August 9 to exercise "maximum restraint" to "avoid a nuclear accident with the potential for serious radiological consequences." Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/grossi-iaea-kursk-nuclear-russia- ukraine/33088341.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 Putin: Ukraine Attempted Overnight Strike on Kursk Nuclear Power Plant Sputnik News 20240822 The Kiev regime's forces tried to bombard the Kursk nuclear power plant at night, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting focused on the situation in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions. The Ukrainian Army launched an offensive at 5.30 a.m. on August 6 to seize territory in the Kursk region, but their advance was stopped, Chief of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff Valery Gerasimov said. "The enemy tried to launch strikes on the nuclear power plant at night today," Putin said, adding that the "International Atomic Energy Agency has been informed, they promise to ... come themselves and send specialists for an assessment." Gerasimov emphasized that the operation in the Kursk region aims to defeat the enemy and secure the state border. According to a report from the Russian Defense Ministry on August 22, Ukraine's army has suffered losses of more than 4,700 servicemen and 68 tanks during the fighting in the Kursk area. Gerasimov emphasized that the operation in Kursk region will be completed by defeating the enemy and reaching the state border. As the Russian Defense Ministry reported on August 22, the Ukraine's army lost more than 4,700 servicemen and 68 tanks during the fighting in the Kursk area. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the Kiev regime has engaged in provocations, indiscriminately targeting civilian areas. He assured that the enemy would receive a fitting response and that all goals set for Russia would be achieved. In the Kursk region, as well as in the Belgorod and Bryansk regions, a counter-terrorism regime has been instituted to ensure the safety of the nation's citizens. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine Loses Up to 765 Soldiers in Fighting With Russia's Yug Group - Russian Military Sputnik News 20240822 MOSCOW, August 22 (Sputnik) - Russia's Yug group of forces has eliminated up to 765 Ukrainian servicemen over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday. "The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces amounted to up to 765 troops, four pickup trucks, one Grad MLRS launcher [among other military losses in battles with the southern group]," the ministry said in a statement. The Tsentr group of forces has taken control of the settlement of Mezhevoe in the Donetsk People's Republic, eliminating up to 640 Ukrainian troops, the statement read, adding that the Zapad group of forces has eliminated up to 440 Ukrainian troops. Additionally, Kiev has lost up to 130 servicemen in battles with the Vostok group. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Sending Proceeds From Frozen Russian Assets to Ukraine Illegal - Foreign Ministry Sputnik News 20240822 At the end of July this year, the EU sent the first tranche of military aid to the Ukrainian side in the amount of 1.5 billion euros ($1.6 billion) in proceeds from immobilized Russian assets. Sending proceeds from frozen Russian assets to Ukraine is illegal, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "Although the frozen assets themselves are not being confiscated, Brussels' use of the proceeds... is an illegal act... Both the freezing of Russian assets and any subsequent actions with them are absolutely illegal," the ministry said. It said the practice of freezing assets cannot but affect the attitude toward the euro as a reserve currency. Moscow will respond to the West freezing its assets, the Russian Foreign Ministry assured. "Retaliatory measures will certainly follow. They will be balanced, verified and will not cause damage to Russian economic operators. We have a sufficient arsenal of appropriate political and economic steps against those who are trying to 'lay their hands' on Russian gold and foreign currency reserves," the ministry said. Financial injections into Kiev contribute to the escalation of the Ukrainian conflict, the ministry added. "Financial injections into the military machine of the Kiev regime are pushing [President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy's junta to more adventures and contribute to the escalation of the conflict, excluding the possibility of a political and diplomatic settlement," the ministry said. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address International Compensation Mechanism and Special Tribunal: Bundestag Member Visits Presidential Office President of Ukraine 22 August 2024 - 21:07 Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Iryna Mudra met with Bundestag member from the Social Democratic Party of Germany Ralf Stegner who visited Ukraine for the first time in over 10 years. During the meeting, the parties discussed security, economic, diplomatic, and legal cooperation between Germany and Ukraine. Iryna Mudra expressed gratitude to Germany and the German people for their unwavering support of Ukraine. She emphasized the importance of quickly finalizing the creation of an international compensation mechanism and a special international tribunal for the crime of aggression. Ralf Stegner noted Ukraine's ratification of the Rome Statute and supported the idea of directing frozen Russian sovereign assets to the international compensation mechanism. According to Ralf Stegner, this aligns with the interests of all European countries. He also emphasized that Germany's support for Ukraine will not diminish under any circumstances. Iryna Mudra and Ralf Stegner agreed that their meeting is an important step toward broader dialogue and cooperation between the two countries. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Implementation of the Peace Formula Began with "Energy Security" Clause: A Thematic International Conference Was Held Online President of Ukraine 22 August 2024 - 20:11 Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak opened and participated in the first expanded thematic meeting of the working group dedicated to the implementation of the "Energy Security" clause of the Peace Formula. The meeting took place online. Representatives from over 40 partner countries and international organizations involved in the "Energy Security" working group participated in the meeting. On the Ukrainian side, Deputy Heads of the Presidential Office Ihor Zhovkva and Mykola Tochytskyi, Minister of Energy German Galushchenko, his Deputy Svitlana Hrynchuk, and advisors to the Head of the Presidential Office Dariia Zarivna and Oleksandr Bevz also attended the meeting. In his opening remarks, Andriy Yermak noted that due to constant Russian missile and drone attacks on the energy system, Ukraine has lost over 9 gigawatts of generating capacity, which has significantly worsened the humanitarian and economic situation. The Head of the Presidential Office emphasized that given the critical importance of energy security and the approaching autumn-winter season, it is vital that this conference marks the beginning of a series of events aimed at implementing the agreements reached at the Peace Summit in Switzerland in June 2024. Similar meetings dedicated to the subsequent points of the Peace Formula will follow shortly. The co-heads of the "Energy Security" working group are Denmark, Norway, and Poland. The Head of the Presidential Office expressed special gratitude to these countries for their leadership and assistance to Ukraine, particularly in preparing this conference. "Protecting energy infrastructure facilities, their rapid restoration and development is the only way to prevent the deepening of the crisis. Ukraine needs your energy solidarity. At the same time, it can become a platform for implementing and testing new approaches to green transition and enhancing sustainability," said Andriy Yermak. Minister for Climate, Energy, and Utilities of Denmark Lars Aagaard emphasized that his country stands by Ukraine in its efforts to build a lasting peace and rebuild the energy sector. "When Denmark assumes the EU presidency in 2025 it will also be one of the top priorities that we retain a strong political focus in the EU on supporting Ukraines energy system," emphasized Lars Aagaard. Norwegian State Secretary of the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy Astrid BergmAl stressed that assistance to improve energy security is a priority in Norway's support program for Ukraine. Polish Secretary of State of the Ministry of Climate and Environment Krzysztof Bolesta noted that during its presidency of the Council of the EU, his country will work towards advancing Ukraine's accession talks, especially with regard to the energy sector integration. "We will also aim to progress on the EU's RePower goal to end completely imports of Russian fuels into the European Union. We are two and a half years into the war; it is high time to cut those energy links and remaining dependencies on Russia," added Krzysztof Bolesta. Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko emphasized the importance of partner countries' support for Ukraine. "International assistance is crucial for the restoration of Ukraine's energy system, as well as for the protection of energy infrastructure from military threats, in particular by strengthening Ukraine's air defense by the countries that have pledged to do so," said German Galushchenko. The thematic conference followed the first Peace Summit, where general approaches to the peace framework were discussed, and nuclear security, food security, and humanitarian issues (human dimension) were discussed in detail. The goal of this process is to develop a comprehensive peace plan initiated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Following the conference, participants adopted a Joint CommuniquA, the text of which is provided below. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Volodymyr Zelenskyy Visited the Border Area of the Sumy Region and Received the Report by Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi President of Ukraine 22 August 2024 - 12:00 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his team visited the border area of the Sumy region and held a meeting with Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi and Head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration Volodymyr Artyukh. General Oleksandr Syrskyi reported on the operational situation in the areas of active actions in the Kursk region and along the entire frontline - the Kharkiv region, the Donetsk region, the south of our country, and separately on key areas of the frontline. He informed about the steps taken by the command to strengthen the defense in the Toretsk and Pokrovsk directions, where the Russian army continues to concentrate its main efforts. In the designated areas of the Kursk region, Ukrainian forces took control of another settlement and replenished the exchange fund for our state. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also reported on the establishment of the military commandant's office functioning in this area. The Head of the Regional Military Administration Volodymyr Artyukh spoke about the situation in the Sumy region after the beginning of the Kursk operation. In particular, he spoke about the reduction of shelling from barrel weapons and civilian casualties. This has also allowed for safer restoration of the energy infrastructure and preparation for the start of the heating season. During the meeting, they discussed coordination between the military, police and the State Emergency Service in the border area, in particular to organize humanitarian convoys to designated areas of the Kursk region. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Zelenskyy visits Ukrainian region near where Kyiv's troops invaded Russia By VOA News August 22, 2024 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited his country's northeastern Sumy region on Thursday, his first trip to a location near the border with Russia since Kyiv's troops staged a secretive incursion into Russia's Kursk region in early August. Zelenskyy met with Ukraine's military commander, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, and then declared that Ukrainian forces have taken control of another settlement in Kursk and captured more Russian prisoners of war whom he hopes to exchange for captured Ukrainians. He referred to that as Ukraine's "exchange fund." But Kyiv's gains there a the first foreign capture of Russian territory since World War II a have come as Ukraine continues to lose ground in its eastern Donetsk region. The Russian Defense Ministry announced Thursday that its military has captured control of the village of Mezhove. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday accused Ukraine of trying to attack the Kursk nuclear power station, about 50 kilometers from the fighting in the Russian border region. But the Kremlin leader did not present any evidence for his claims or provide further details on the alleged attack. The offensive into Russia was a first for Ukraine in the 2 A year war. Ukraine and Russia for months have relied on drones to go after targets deep behind enemy battle lines. Ukraine has often targeted Russian military sites that are used to direct drone and missile attacks against Ukraine. Officials in southern Russia's Volgograd region said Thursday a Ukrainian drone hit a military facility and sparked a fire. Andrei Bocharov, the regional governor, said on Telegram the attack happened in the Marinovka area, but no injuries were reported. A Russian air base is in the area. Videos shared on Russian social media showed an explosion in the night sky, reportedly near the base. Marinovka is about 300 kilometers east of the Ukrainian border and about the same distance west from the border with Kazakhstan. Ukraine claimed responsibility for the attack. Drone warfare rages on in the war. Russia's Defense Ministry said Thursday that Ukrainian forces attacked overnight with a total of 28 drones, with 13 targeting Volgograd. The Rostov, Belgorod, Voronezh, Bryansk and Kursk regions were also targeted. Ukraine's military said Thursday it shot down two Russian drones overnight after Russia launched an aerial attack from Kursk. Alexei Smirnov, the regional governor of Kursk, said Thursday that authorities were installing concrete air-raid shelters in the regional capital. In Russia's Bryansk region, which borders Kursk, officials said Russian forces thwarted an attempt by Ukrainian fighters to cross the border Wednesday. Russia's FSB security service said Thursday it opened criminal cases against several journalists, accusing them of illegally crossing the Russian border to report on the Ukrainian incursion in Kursk. The FSB named CNN correspondent Nick Paton Walsh among those who had reported from Sudzha, along with two Ukrainian journalists. Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and Reuters. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Columbia Station, OH , Aug. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EvenMix has released a detailed case study that showcases how its innovative technology is transforming mixing at Chautauqua Chemical Company. The study highlights significant improvements in efficiency, consistency, and product quality, underscoring the impact of EvenMix's advanced mixing solutions in industrial applications. The case study reveals that by implementing EvenMix's patented Variable Pitch Blade technology, Chautauqua Chemical Company achieved more uniform mixing, directly reducing production time. Additionally, the durable and lightweight design of EvenMix's equipment has minimized maintenance costs, further enhancing operational efficiency. The collaboration between EvenMix and Chautauqua Chemical Company focused on addressing the challenges faced by the chemical manufacturer in achieving reliable and uniform mixing results. Chautauqua Chemical Company, a recognized leader in chemical manufacturing, had struggled with outdated equipment that led to inconsistencies in product quality. By implementing EvenMix's cutting-edge technology, the company experienced a transformative shift, resulting in enhanced production efficiency and superior product uniformity. Partnering with EvenMix has been a game-changer for us. Their technology is truly transforming mixing at Chautauqua Chemical Company, enabling us to produce higher-quality products and meet customer demands more effectively, said a representative from Chautauqua Chemical Company. We look forward to continuing our relationship with EvenMix as we scale our operations. The case study delves into how EvenMix's patented Variable Pitch Blade technology provided Chautauqua Chemical Company with exceptional mixing precision. This innovative approach to 3D mixing ensures thorough blending throughout the mixture, reducing the risk of inconsistencies. Additionally, EvenMix's use of lightweight and durable materials has minimized maintenance requirements, further optimizing the production process. To further illustrate the versatility and reliability of EvenMix's technology, the company offers a range of product categories designed to meet the diverse needs of industries ranging from chemicals to agriculture. The IBC Tote Mixers are well-suited for industries requiring precise and consistent mixing in bulk containers, such as chemical manufacturing and food processing. These mixers use patented 3D mixing technology to ensure uniform blending, reducing waste and improving product quality. Similarly, Drum Mixers are designed to handle various viscosities, from thin liquids to thick pastes, making them ideal for companies in the cosmetics, paint, and coatings industries. These mixers have folding blades that fit through small openings, allowing for effective mixing even in closed-head drums. Clamp Mount Mixers provide portability and flexibility, making them essential for operations that require frequent changes in mixing locations. These mixers are often used in small-scale production facilities where space and adaptability are critical. Finally, Tank Mixers are built for large-scale operations, capable of handling up to 5,000 gallons of material. They are crucial for industries like water treatment and large-scale food processing, where consistent and thorough mixing is essential for maintaining product quality and efficiency. This diverse range of products demonstrates EvenMixs commitment to providing advanced mixing solutions tailored to meet the specific needs of its customers, ensuring that every application benefits from enhanced efficiency and product quality. To learn more about how EvenMix is transforming mixing technology, visit https://evenmix.com/. About EvenMix EvenMix is a Cleveland-based company specializing in innovative mixing solutions for various industries. With patented technology and a commitment to quality, EvenMix delivers reliable and efficient mixing equipment designed to meet the specific needs of its clients. EvenMix continues to lead the industry in providing advanced mixing solutions that enhance production processes and improve product quality. ### Media Contact EvenMix 4641 Spring Road, Cleveland, OH 44131 (440)236-6677 Website: https://evenmix.com/ Attachment Investors can contact the law firm at no cost to learn more about recovering their losses LOS ANGELES, Aug. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Portnoy Law Firm advises Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. ("Arbor" or the "Company") (NYSE: ABR) investors of a class action representing investors that bought securities between May 7, 2021 to July 11, 2024, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Arbor investors have until September 30, 2024 to file a lead plaintiff motion. Investors are encouraged to contact attorney Lesley F. Portnoy, by phone 310-692-8883 or email: lesley@portnoylaw.com, to discuss their legal rights, or click here to join the case. The Portnoy Law Firm can provide a complimentary case evaluation and discuss investors options for pursuing claims to recover their losses. On March 14, 2023, NINGI Research published a report alleging, among other things, that Arbor had been "hiding a toxic real estate portfolio of mobile homes with a complex web of real and fake holdings companies for more than a decade." On this news, Arbor's stock price fell $1.46, or 11.2%, over two consecutive trading days to close at $11.53 per share on March 15, 2023, thereby injuring investors. Then, on December 5, 2023, Viceroy Research published a report claiming that, in an "industry plagued with delusion and bad decisions, [Arbor] stands out as the worst of the worst." The report further stated that the Company's "entire loan book is distressed and underlying collateral is vastly overstated." On this news, Arbor's stock price fell $0.71, or 5.1%, over two consecutive trading days, to close at $13.15 per share on December 6, 2023. Then, on July 12, 2024, Bloomberg reported that federal prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were looking into Arbor regarding its lending practices and the Company's claims about the performance of their loan book. On this news, Arbor's stock price fell $2.64, or 17%, to close at $12.89 per share on July 12, 2024, thereby injuring investors further. The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants: (1) provided investors with false and/or materially misleading information concerning its operational and financial health, including its balance sheet loan book and net interest income; (2) provided investors with this information in quarterly and annual reports filed with the SEC as well as orally during earnings conference calls; and (3) as a result, Defendants' positive statements about the Company's business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. Please visit our website to review more information and submit your transaction information. The Portnoy Law Firm represents investors in pursuing claims against caused by corporate wrongdoing. The Firms founding partner has recovered over $5.5 billion for aggrieved investors. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Lesley F. Portnoy, Esq. Admitted CA and NY Bar lesley@portnoylaw.com 310-692-8883 www.portnoylaw.com Attorney Advertising CALGARY, Alberta, Aug. 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Teamster members will hold a rally outside of CPKC's headquarters in Calgary. Union leaders will be available for interview. Locomotive engineers, conductors, yard workers, and rail traffic controllers at CPKC are currently locked in a labour dispute following a breakdown in bargaining. WHO: Francois Laporte, National President, Teamsters Canada Sean OBrien, General President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters Picketing rail workers WHAT: Media availability, photo op, rally WHEN: Friday, August 23 from 9:00am to 10:30am MDT WHERE: CP Headquarters 7550 Ogden Dale Road S.E. Calgary, AB T2C 4X9 Canada With over 130,000 members, Teamsters Canada is the countrys largest transportation, warehouse, and supply chain union. They are affiliated with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents over 1.2 million workers in North America. Media requests: Marc-Andre Gauthier Teamsters Canada Cell: 514-206-0492 magauthier@teamsters.ca Novaturas Group, the leader in the Baltic tourism market, has reported revenues of EUR 91.3 mln. generated in the period from January to June this year. This represents a decrease of 9.9%, compared to the first half-year of 2023, when revenues reached EUR 101.4 mln. Nevertheless, the strategic goal of maintaining regional leadership in a dynamic environment has been achieved. During the first half-year, the company served 112 thsnd. customers in the Baltic States, which is a decrease of 9.4%, compared to the corresponding period in 2023. The companys EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) for the first half-year was negative and amounted to EUR 1.6 mln., whereas the net loss was EUR 2.3 mln. We relate this half-year result to complex reasons, some of which were already present in the first quarter. One of the main reasons is the competition in the market, which has already increased since last year and continues to intensify. This has led to an oversupply of travels in the Baltic States, which has outstripped demand this year and led to intense price competition. Particularly strong supply was recorded for trips to Turkey, the Greek islands and other most popular destinations, said Kristijonas Kaikaris, CEO of Novaturas. According to him, Novaturas has responded to the market situation by optimising the travel programme and reducing the volume of certain flights. However, even though we have seen an oversupply, we have not carried out aggressive optimisation to ensure our obligations to the customers, because their trust is our priority. We have also sought to rely on our broadest offering of destinations in the region, and by reducing volumes in Turkey, we have been able to partially diversify our operations and focus more on other destinations, said Mr Kaikaris. All these factors have helped the company to achieve its strategic goal of maintaining its market leadership in such a dynamic environment. While this has had a negative impact on profitability in the short term, we believe that maintaining leadership is important for long-term success, as it allows us to maintain the trust of our customers, agencies and other partners, and to offer our solutions and services to an even wider range of customers in the future, added the CEO of Novaturas. The management of Novaturas Group is also considering the alternatives for raising additional capital and has been currently evaluating the possibility of a bond issue as one of them. This would be aimed at raising funds to invest in the development of services and the improvement of customer experience and to ensure financial stability. This is important in balancing the fluctuations in cash flow that occur in the tourism sector due to the nature of business and seasonality. The company also relates the raising of additional capital to its strategic goals of delivering long-term shareholder value and maintaining its leading position in the Baltic States. Expanding the hotel offering to customers One of the areas of service development in which the company is actively working is a hybrid travel packaging solution, which the company aims to introduce to its customers in certain destinations later this year. This solution will allow us to integrate new accommodation providers into our reservation systems and thus provide our customers with a much wider choice of hotels. We will therefore offer travellers even better accommodation options, more flexibility and more attractive prices to suit their needs. This solution will allow us to attract a wider audience of customers, as well as to increase our revenues and improve our load factor, explains Mr Kaikaris. According to him, the service is planned to be launched first in the ski destinations of the upcoming winter season (Italy, Austria, France), and then to be extended to other destinations (the resorts in Spain, Italy, Portugal), and gradually expanded afterwards. In the long term, the company also plans to launch dynamic packaging, which will allow a choice not only of additional hotels, but also of flights (not only by Novaturas, but also by various air carriers). This will give travellers even more flexibility in terms of flight times, destinations and prices. Better early bookings for the winter season and new services In July Novaturas announced that it had already sold around 75% of this years programme, just like last year. According to the CEO of the company, this is a good achievement given the current market situation and the supply available. The Group has also had a successful start with its 20242025 winter holiday programme, which was launched in June. For the coming winter season, Novaturas offers Lithuanian travellers a total of 21 different destinations in 18 countries, Latvian travellers are offered 20 destinations in 17 countries, and Estonian travellers can choose from 17 destinations in 14 countries. According to the company, the early bookings for the winter season exceed the result recorded last year. During the summer months, Lithuania and Latvia have so far recorded a 25% increase in early bookings, with only Estonia experiencing a slowdown in the market due to the macroeconomic situation. There has also been an increase in demand observed in exotic travel sales, which grew almost 30% this half-year, compared to last year. In addition, a couple of weeks ago Novaturas also launched a brand new winter season destination trips to The Gambia with Turkish Airlines, as well as package tours to the Dominican Republic. The company has also introduced combined tours, offering holidays in several different resorts instead of just one. These are available to Indonesia (Bali), Thailand (Bangkok), Vietnam, Cuba and the United Arab Emirates, with combinations of several resorts of interest. Novaturas also launched a new eSIM mobile internet service in the second quarter of this year. It is available in all destinations offered by Novaturas and allows enjoying better mobile internet rates and a more secure connection when travelling abroad. This is especially relevant when you are outside the EU. Novaturas is the first tour operator in the Baltic States to offer this service to its customers. The company submits a revenue adjustment Novaturas Group has already submitted its full unaudited financial statements for the first quarter of 2024. They report first-quarter earnings of EUR 34.5 million. The company revised the figures for the second quarter of this year, and they are as follows: revenue was at EUR 16 million in April (the company announced revenue of EUR 15.1 million in preliminary results of April); revenue was at EUR 19.7 million in May (the company announced revenue of EUR 14.1 million in preliminary results of May); revenue was at EUR 21.1 million in June (the company announced revenue of EUR 21.6 million in preliminary results of June). The revenue after the revision was at EUR 91.3 million for January through June 2024. The numbers indicate that the actual revenue was higher in the first half of the year than previously announced in the preliminary results. The changes occurred due to the revision of the preliminary results and the technical error in the revenue calculation in the second quarter results. Performance of Novaturas Group for the 1st half-year of 2024 (EUR 000's): Financial indicators H1 2024 H1 2023 H1 2022 Revenue 91,320 101,351 89,775 Gross profit 8,507 15,426 7,423 EBITDA (1,565) 5,667 (1,074) Net profit (loss) (2,277) 4,582 (1,984) About the company Novaturas Group is the largest and the only charter flights local tour operator in the Baltic States, offering summer and winter trips to more than 30 destinations worldwide and more than 100 tours. Based on audited data, in 2023 Novaturas Group recorded revenues of EUR 208,3 million and served 259 000 passengers in Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Aukse Kriauciunaite Interim CFO +370 630 3736 Dublin, Aug. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Electric Wire Rope Hoist Market - Global Outlook & Forecast 2024-2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Electric Wire Rope Hoist Market was valued at USD 814 million in 2023, and is expected to reach USD 1.30 billion by 2029, rising at a CAGR of 8.21%. The global electric wire rope hoist market is highly competitive, with the presence of many vendors. The rapid technological changes adversely impact market vendors as end users increasingly expect continuous technology-enabled innovations and upgrades to existing products. The present scenario drives vendors to alter and refine their unique value propositions to achieve a strong market presence. TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES The improvement of electric wire rope hoists has significantly evolved due to rapid technological advancements, enhancing their efficiency, safety, and versatility in material handling across various industries. These innovations have transformed traditional lifting equipment into sophisticated machines capable of meeting the complex demands of modern industrial environments. Smart and Connected Hoists: The most notable advancement in the electric wire rope hoist market is the integration of smart technologies. Modern electric wire rope hoists now feature sensors and IoT connectivity that enable real-time monitoring and data analytics. This connectivity allows for remote operation and diagnostics, providing operators with critical information about load weight, hoist performance, and maintenance needs. By analyzing this data, companies can predict potential issues before they lead to equipment failure, reducing downtime and maintenance costs. Konecranes, for example, has developed smart hoists that offer enhanced operational insights and predictive maintenance capabilities, setting new standards for efficiency and reliability in lifting operations. The most notable advancement in the electric wire rope hoist market is the integration of smart technologies. Modern electric wire rope hoists now feature sensors and IoT connectivity that enable real-time monitoring and data analytics. This connectivity allows for remote operation and diagnostics, providing operators with critical information about load weight, hoist performance, and maintenance needs. By analyzing this data, companies can predict potential issues before they lead to equipment failure, reducing downtime and maintenance costs. Konecranes, for example, has developed smart hoists that offer enhanced operational insights and predictive maintenance capabilities, setting new standards for efficiency and reliability in lifting operations. Enhanced Safety Features: Safety is vital in lifting operations, and recent technological advancements have significantly improved the safety features of electric wire rope hoists. Innovations such as overload protection systems, anti-collision devices, and automatic brake systems are now standard in many hoists. These features prevent accidents by ensuring that the hoist operates within safe parameters and stops automatically in case of a malfunction or excessive load. Additionally, advanced safety monitoring systems can provide real-time alerts to operators about potential hazards, further enhancing the safe operation of hoists in dynamic industrial settings. Safety is vital in lifting operations, and recent technological advancements have significantly improved the safety features of electric wire rope hoists. Innovations such as overload protection systems, anti-collision devices, and automatic brake systems are now standard in many hoists. These features prevent accidents by ensuring that the hoist operates within safe parameters and stops automatically in case of a malfunction or excessive load. Additionally, advanced safety monitoring systems can provide real-time alerts to operators about potential hazards, further enhancing the safe operation of hoists in dynamic industrial settings. Advanced Control Systems: The introduction of sophisticated control systems has revolutionized the precision and ease of operating in the electric wire rope hoist market. Variable frequency drives (VFDs) are commonly used to provide smooth and precise control over hoist speed and movement. This capability is crucial for delicate lifting tasks where precision is essential. Moreover, advanced joystick or touchscreen controls allow operators to manage hoist operations with greater accuracy and less physical strain. These control systems also enable programmable lifting patterns and automatic positioning, which are particularly useful in repetitive lifting tasks and increase overall productivity. The introduction of sophisticated control systems has revolutionized the precision and ease of operating in the electric wire rope hoist market. Variable frequency drives (VFDs) are commonly used to provide smooth and precise control over hoist speed and movement. This capability is crucial for delicate lifting tasks where precision is essential. Moreover, advanced joystick or touchscreen controls allow operators to manage hoist operations with greater accuracy and less physical strain. These control systems also enable programmable lifting patterns and automatic positioning, which are particularly useful in repetitive lifting tasks and increase overall productivity. Lightweight and High-Strength Materials: The development of new materials has also significantly enhanced the performance of electric wire rope hoists. Using lightweight yet high-strength materials in the construction of hoists has reduced their overall weight while maintaining or even increasing their load capacity. This improvement makes the hoists easier to install and maneuver and contributes to energy efficiency by requiring less power to lift loads. The development of new materials has also significantly enhanced the performance of electric wire rope hoists. Using lightweight yet high-strength materials in the construction of hoists has reduced their overall weight while maintaining or even increasing their load capacity. This improvement makes the hoists easier to install and maneuver and contributes to energy efficiency by requiring less power to lift loads. Energy Efficiency: Advances in motor technology and energy management systems have made modern electric wire rope hoists more energy efficient. High-efficiency motors consume less power, reducing operational costs and environmental impact. Additionally, regenerative braking systems can recover energy during hoisting, enhancing the hoist's performance. Advances in motor technology and energy management systems have made modern electric wire rope hoists more energy efficient. High-efficiency motors consume less power, reducing operational costs and environmental impact. Additionally, regenerative braking systems can recover energy during hoisting, enhancing the hoist's performance. Therefore, the technological advancements in the electric wire rope hoist market have significantly improved their functionality, safety, and efficiency. These innovations continue to evolve, driven by the needs of various industries for reliable, efficient, and versatile lifting solutions. Thus, these several advancements in electric wire rope hoists are anticipated to drive the market globally during the forecast period. MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS Growing Construction Industry The global electric wire rope hoist market is experiencing significant growth, driven primarily by the expanding construction industry. Electric wire rope hoists, crucial for lifting and moving heavy loads, are indispensable in construction activities. Their efficiency, reliability, and safety features make them a preferred choice in various construction projects, from residential buildings to large-scale infrastructure developments. Also, the construction industry is a major driver of economic growth globally. It encompasses various activities, including residential, commercial, and infrastructure projects. The industry's growth is fueled by urbanization, population growth, and the need for modernization and expansion of infrastructure. According to the Global Construction Perspectives and Oxford Economics, the global construction market is expected to grow by 85% to $15.5 trillion worldwide by 2030, with China, the U.S., and India accounting for 57% of all global growth. This robust growth directly impacts the demand for material handling equipment, including electric wire rope hoists. Stringent Government Regulations on the Material Handling Industry Government regulations play a crucial role in shaping the practices and standards within the material handling industry. Government agencies enforce these regulations worldwide to minimize workplace accidents, enhance operational efficiency, and promote sustainable practices. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) enforces standards to ensure safe and healthful working conditions in the US. OSHA regulations cover various material handling aspects, including lifting equipment such as hoists. For instance, OSHA standard 29 CFR 1910.179 mandates specific overhead and gantry crane requirements, including electric wire rope hoists. Compliance with these standards is mandatory, driving companies to adopt high-quality hoists that meet regulatory criteria. Similarly, the European Union (EU) imposes strict regulations through directives such as the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC. This directive sets essential health and safety requirements for machinery, including hoists and cranes. Manufacturers must ensure that their equipment complies with these directives to be marketed within the EU. The directive requires electric wire rope hoists to undergo rigorous testing and certification to meet safety standards, ensuring their reliability and safe operation in industrial environments. The adherence to these regulations drives demand for compliant hoisting equipment, fostering electric wire rope hoist market growth. INDUSTRY RESTRAINTS Lack of Professional Technicians to Operate Hoists The global electric wire rope hoist market is a crucial material handling equipment industry segment. These hoists are extensively used in various sectors, such as construction, manufacturing, logistics, and mining, where heavy lifting and precise handling are essential. Operating hoists and cranes require a high level of technical skill and training. Professional technicians must understand not only the mechanics and electronics of the equipment but also the safety protocols and operational guidelines. The shortage of skilled professionals in this field has emerged as a critical issue, impacting the efficiency and safety of operations across industries. For instance, a report published by the International Labour Organization (ILO) highlighted that the lack of skilled labor in technical fields, including crane and hoist operation, is a significant challenge in the industrial sector of many African and South Asian countries. This shortage is attributed to insufficient training programs, lack of investment in technical education, and the rapid pace of industrialization that exceeds the supply of skilled labor, which are anticipated to impact the market growth during the forecast period. GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS The global electric wire rope hoist market is significantly developed in Europe, North America, and APAC, owing to the increasing penetration of electric wire rope hoists. On the other hand, Latin America and the Middle East are highly potential markets with enough opportunity for growth. In 2023, APAC was the largest electric wire rope hoist market, with a revenue share of over 32%. The market in the APAC region is experiencing substantial growth, driven by rapid industrialization, infrastructure development, and advancements in manufacturing technology. Countries such as China, India, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Indonesia, and Singapore are at the forefront of this expansion. Economic growth, technological innovations, and increased investment in industrial and infrastructure projects support the market's robust growth trajectory. Moreover, China leads the market in the region, thanks to its massive industrial base and aggressive infrastructure investments. The country's extensive manufacturing sector requires efficient and reliable material handling solutions, propelling the demand for electric wire rope hoists. China's Belt and Road Initiative also fosters large-scale domestic and international construction projects, further driving market growth. Key Company Profiles ABUS Kransysteme GmbH Columbus McKinnon Corporation Demag Cranes & Components GmbH Hitachi, Ltd. IMER International S.p.A. JASO Industrial Cranes KITO Corporation Konecranes Street Crane Company Limited Verlinde Other Prominent Vendors BEFANBY Donati Sollevamenti S.r.l. GEDA GmbH GH CRANES & COMPONENTS Hindustan Hoist & Cranes Industries Hoist UK Pegasus Technocrats REVA INDUSTRIES LTD. Safex Industries Limited TBM Hoist International Pvt. Ltd. Tianjin Kunda Hoisting Equipment Co., Ltd. Henan Weihua Heavy Machinery Co., LTD. Henan Feima Lifting Machinery Co., Ltd. Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 382 Forecast Period 2023 - 2029 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2023 $814 Million Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2029 $1307.12 Million Compound Annual Growth Rate 8.2% Regions Covered Global Key Topics Covered: Market Opportunities & Trends Expansion of Supply Chain Networks Rapid Technological Advances and Continuous Product Innovations Government Investments in Infrastructure Development Market Growth Enablers Growing Construction Industry Growing Applications in Automotive and Transportation Industries Stringent Government Regulations in Material Handling Industry Market Restraints Lack of Professional Technicians to Operate Hoists and Overhead Cranes Availability of Substitutes Growth in Rental Services for Material Handling Equipment Segmentation by Capacity Up to 1 Ton 1 to 3 Ton 4 to 6 Ton 7 to 10 Ton More than 10 Ton Segmentation by Height Up to 10m 11 to 20m 21 to 40m 41 to 80m More than 80m Segmentation by Distribution Channel Offline Online Segmentation by Application Industrial Manufacturing Construction Oil & Gas Mining Automotive Aerospace For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/tgprwe 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. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Fertility Test Market - Forecasts from 2024 to 2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The fertility test market is projected to rise at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.54% to reach a market valuation of US$775.732 million by 2029, from US$531.831 million in 2022 The fertility test market is subject to various influences, including heightened awareness of fertility issues and advancements in testing technology. Ongoing technological enhancements are improving the accuracy, ease of use, and accessibility of these tests, driving their adoption rates. Additionally, a growing emphasis on preventive healthcare is fueling demand for fertility testing as a proactive means of managing overall reproductive health and detecting potential issues early on. In terms of product segmentation, the fertility test market encompasses ovulation product kits, fertility monitors, men's fertility testing kits, and other options. Ovulation predictor kits cater to women seeking natural conception, offering a range of choices such as urine tests, saliva tests, and digital monitors. Fertility monitors provide advanced features like cycle tracking and personalized insights. Male fertility testing kits, available for home and clinical use, assess factors like motility, concentration, and morphology. Other options include hormone testing kits, ovarian reserve tests, and genetic testing kits. In terms of application segmentation, the market is divided into female fertility testing and male fertility testing. Female fertility testing comprises various tests tailored to different aspects of the menstrual cycle and hormonal levels, reflecting the higher prevalence of female infertility concerns. Conversely, male fertility testing demonstrates an increasing focus on preventive healthcare, leading to the development of user-friendly home-based testing kits. End-user segmentation categorizes the market into homecare settings and hospitals/fertility clinics. Homecare settings primarily feature non-prescription (OTC) tests such as ovulation predictor kits and basic semen analysis kits. In contrast, hospitals and fertility clinics offer a comprehensive range of fertility tests, including prescription-based hormonal assessments and specialized diagnostic evaluations. Despite challenges like shifting demographics and healthcare landscapes, the fertility test market is poised for significant growth. By addressing these trends and obstacles, fertility testing empowers individuals and couples to make informed decisions about their reproductive health and family planning goals. North America is anticipated to hold a significant share of the fertility test market In North America, notably in the United States, infertility rates are relatively high, influenced by factors such as delayed childbearing, environmental factors, and lifestyle choices. This heightened prevalence underscores the importance of early diagnosis and timely intervention, driving the increasing demand for fertility testing solutions. Both men and women in North America are becoming increasingly aware of the available fertility testing options and their associated benefits. This growing awareness is fueled by educational campaigns, media coverage, and open discussions about fertility-related issues. Consequently, there is a rising demand for fertility testing services as individuals seek proactive approaches to addressing fertility concerns. Market Drivers: Initiatives to spread infertility awareness have bolstered the market growth. The fertility test market is anticipated to grow at a constant rate, which is attributable to the growing fertility tourism and first-time pregnancies. In addition, favorable initiatives and campaigns regarding infertility awareness and early detection, coupled with the growing prevalence of PCOD (Polycystic Ovary Disease) among females, have further bolstered the market expansion. The rising popularity of telehealth services for healthcare consultations is also significantly driving the fertility test market. Telehealth provides a convenient and accessible platform for individuals to undergo remote fertility testing and consult with specialists, facilitating early intervention and personalized guidance. Trend towards a rising age of first-time mothers Women are increasingly postponing parenthood for a variety of reasons, including pursuing higher education, advancing their careers, or attaining financial stability. This trend is particularly prominent in developed nations compared to underdeveloped ones, with the average age of first-time mothers being higher in countries such as the US (27 years), the UK (29 years), and Uganda (19.4 years), which is considered a developing country according to CIA data. As women delay starting families, fertility testing becomes increasingly crucial in identifying potential issues that could impact pregnancy and infant health. Early detection and intervention can lead to improved pregnancy outcomes, reduce the risks associated with high-risk pregnancies, and contribute to a decline in the infant mortality rate. Fertility testing plays a critical role in identifying potential issues that may affect both pregnancy and infant health. Timely intervention and treatment for these concerns can enhance pregnancy outcomes, mitigate risks associated with high-risk pregnancies, and ultimately contribute to reducing the infant mortality rate (IMR). For example, while the IMR was 29 in 2020, it decreased to 28 by 2021. Market Restraint: Cost-related restraints Fertility testing procedures can pose a financial challenge, as they often include costs associated with the tests, consultations with specialists, and any necessary follow-up investigations. This expense can dissuade certain couples from pursuing testing, particularly those without insurance coverage for fertility-related services. Although some insurance plans provide partial or complete coverage for fertility testing, many plans do not include such coverage or may impose restrictions on the types of tests eligible for reimbursement. The absence of financial assistance can be a notable obstacle for individuals seeking fertility testing. The fertility test market is segmented by mode of purchase into prescription-based and non-prescription-based categories. The segmentation of the fertility test market by mode of purchase divides it into prescription-based and non-prescription-based categories. Prescription-based Fertility Tests cater to individuals facing diagnosed fertility issues or possessing complex medical backgrounds, with the involvement of medical professionals offering guidance and interpretation. Conversely, non-prescription (OTC) fertility tests are suitable for individuals with fertility health concerns but without diagnosed problems, offering a more economical option compared to prescription-based tests. Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 124 Forecast Period 2022 - 2029 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2022 $531.83 Million Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2029 $775.73 Million Compound Annual Growth Rate 5.5% Regions Covered Global Companies Featured Church & Dwight Co., Inc. Geratherm Medical AG Fertility Focus Fairhaven Health LLC bioZhena Corporation Hilin Life Products, Inc. UEBE Medical GmbH AdvaCare Pharma Mankind Pharma Ltd. Modern Fertility Market Segmentation: By Product Ovulation Product Kits Fertility Monitors Men's Fertility Testing Kits Others By Application Female Fertility Testing Male Fertility Testing By Mode of Purchase Prescription based Non-prescription based By End-User Homecare setting Hospitals and Fertility Clinics By Geography North America USA Canada Mexico South America Brazil Argentina Others Europe Germany France UK Others Middle East and Africa Saudi Arabia UAE Israel South Africa Others Asia Pacific China Japan India South Korea Taiwan Australia Others For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/g8z5fl 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. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Europe Otoscope Market - Forecasts from 2024 to 2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The European otoscope market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.49% over the forecast period, from US$110.598 million in 2024 and is expected to reach US$151.442 million by 2029. An increasing number of ear-related ailments, technological improvements like LED, video, or convenient otoscopes, and an aging populace that's more inclined to hearing problems are the major components boosting the market. The need for otoscopes and their diagnostic services is additionally rising, generally due to the increment in the prevalence of noise-induced hearing loss. The growing rate of otolaryngologists worldwide and the accessibility of rechargeable, user-friendly pocket otoscopes fuel the market. A global health problem that impacts autonomy, quality of life, communication capacities, and general well-being is hearing loss or disability. Additionally, there are genetic variables, pregnancy complications, and the spread of exceedingly contagious infections like mumps, rubella, and meningitis that contribute to the rising predominance of hearing loss. Moreover, the requirement for otoscopes for the essential diagnosis of ENT-related disorders has expanded due to the increasing elderly population. For instance, in terms of the proportion of the population that is 65 years of age or older, the highest shares were found in Italy (24.0%), Portugal (24.0%), Finland (23.3%), Bulgaria (23.5%), Croatia (22.7%), and Greece (23.0%), while the lowest shares were found in Luxembourg (14.9%) and Ireland (15.2%). As people age, deafness becomes more common. More than 25% of adults over 60 suffer from debilitating hearing loss. EUROPE OTOSCOPE MARKET DRIVERS: The growing utilization of pocket otoscopes is predicted to bolster the market expansion. Because of their small size - some are even pen-sized - pocket-sized otoscopes are easier to handle. These otoscopes are smaller and lighter than standard-sized ones. Some otoscopes come equipped with a camera or interface that allows viewing the image on a computer, therefore improving the efficiency of the otoscopy process due to the provision of high-quality images. One of the factors driving this market segment's growth is the benefits that pocket-sized otoscopes have over their full-size counterparts. Further, during the forecast period, factors like increased hearing loss and ear-related illnesses are expected to propel market growth. In developed countries like Europe, patients suffer from hearing loss or impairments, which has become one of the most common problems among them. Almost 190 million residents of Europe have hearing or deaf problems at a certain level. To put it simply, this represents 20% of their entire population, which is equivalent to a fifth of them being unable to hear well due to either complete or partial malfunctioning ears. 236 million Europeans will have hearing loss of some kind by 2050. On average, 58,5 million people in Europe, or 11.1% of the total population, self-report having hearing loss, with 20% of those people being 65 years of age or older. Europe Otoscope Market Geographical Outlook The United Kingdom is expected to contribute to a significant share in the market expansion. One of the key factors driving the otoscope market in the UK is the rising geriatric population. With increasing age, cases related to hearing loss and other ENT issues are expected to exist. For instance, according to the Age UK, the number of people aged 65 or above will be about 11 million in 2023. In the coming years, this number is expected to grow by 10% in the next five years and reach 32% of the total UK population by 2043. Moreover, the population aging above 85 years is projected to increase rapidly by 8.2% in the next five years and 62.7% by 2043. Hence, the increasing elderly population will significantly impact market growth in the projected period. Deafness is also one of the reasons propelling the otoscope market in the projected period. For instance, according to the Consortium for Research in Deaf Education, approximately 45,671 children will be deaf in the United Kingdom in 2023. London has the highest number of deaf people in the country, standing at 7,654, followed by North West, where 6,308 children are suffering from deafness. Hence, the increasing prevalence of deafness in the country is anticipated to fuel the market growth in the projected period. According to the British Academy of Audiology, approximately 11 million people are suffering from hearing loss, making it the second most common disability in the country. Every 1 in 6 adults in the UK suffers from hearing loss in the country, and 8 million of these are aged from 65, and above. Moreover, about 9,00,000 people are profoundly or severely deaf. Many people suffering from hearing loss also suffer from tinnitus, which is expected to impact every 1 in 10 adults in the UK. Therefore, the increasing disease predominance is anticipated to propel the otoscope market in the coming years. Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 98 Forecast Period 2024 - 2029 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2024 $110.6 Million Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2029 $151.44 Million Compound Annual Growth Rate 6.4% Regions Covered Europe Companies Featured Adam Rouilly AUG Medical . HEINE Optotechnik GmbH & Co. KG Fazzini Srl Luxamed Midmark Corporation Rudolf Riester GmbH Hill-Rom GmbH orlvision GmbH Interacoustics A/S Prestige Medical KIRCHNER & WILHELM GmbH + Co. KG Market Segmentation: By Type Pocket Otoscope Full-Sized Otoscope Video Otoscope By Modality Wired Wireless By Portability Wall-Mounted Portable By End-Users ENT Clinics Hospitals Others By Country UK Germany France Spain Italy Others For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/reduoy 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. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Global Baby Care Products Market - Forecasts from 2024 to 2029" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The baby care products sector is on an upwards trajectory with an anticipated growth of 5.54% CAGR, projecting an increase from US$147.403 billion in 2024 to US$192.977 billion by 2029. This expansion is fueled by a global upsurge in demand for cutting-edge, child-friendly products that cater to the evolving needs of parents worldwide. A notable increase in the global infant population serves as a cornerstone for the rising demand for baby care products. Further backed by heightened awareness around infant health and safety, consumers show an inclination towards products with natural ingredients that comply with stringent safety standards. Moreover, innovative products that resonate with the contemporary values of environmentally-conscious parenting are gaining traction, which in turn stimulates the market growth. Infant Formula Segment to Propel Market Expansion The infant formula sector, with its vital role in providing essential nutrients for newborns and infants, is a significant contributor to the market's growth. The segment's potential is underpinned by growing concerns over nutritional deficiencies and a concerted effort from organizations to promote infant health, particularly in economically developing regions. India's Notable Market Contribution Due to its large share in the global population and a consistent rise in its infant population, India is poised to fast-track the market growth for baby care products. The country's increasing urbanization, augmented parenthood awareness, and the strong presence of major industry players consolidate the market at a national level. Governmental initiatives to enhance child nutrition further invigorate this progress. Extensive Market Segmentation The global baby care products market is meticulously segmented and analyzed across various domains, including product types such as baby food, body care, safety and convenience, as well as distribution channels ranging from online platforms to offline stores. This segmentation provides comprehensive insights into the extensive scope of the market. Geographical Spread and Future Outlook The market spans across key geographic regions, encompassing North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific, each contributing to the global market landscape through specific regional dynamics and consumer behaviors. With persistently evolving consumer preferences and technological advancements in product development, the global baby care products market is poised for a significant ascension in the forthcoming years, supporting the well-being of infants and addressing the dynamic needs of modern-day parenting. Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 150 Forecast Period 2024 - 2029 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2024 $147.4 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2029 $192.98 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 5.5% Regions Covered Global Companies Featured Offline Procter & Gamble Pigeon Corporation Nestle S.A. Johnson & Johnson Abbott Unilever Kimberly Clark Corporation Cotton Babies Inc. The Himalaya Drug Company Dabur International Limited Online Mamaearth Mother Sparsh The Moms Co. Chicco India Littlo Me n Mom Firstcry Maate Mothercare India Omumsie Softsens For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/c14f1h 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. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Mobile Social Networking - Global Strategic Business Report" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global market for Mobile Social Networking is estimated at US$55.1 Billion in 2023 and is projected to reach US$82.9 Billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 6.0% from 2023 to 2030. This comprehensive report provides an in-depth analysis of market trends, drivers, and forecasts, helping you make informed business decisions. For businesses, social media is invaluable for brand building, customer engagement, and direct marketing. It allows companies to reach wide audiences, gather insights into consumer behavior, and respond quickly to market trends. Furthermore, social media acts as a critical channel for news dissemination, often outpacing traditional media in speed and breadth of reach. As social media continues to evolve, its role in both personal and professional spheres is likely to expand, reinforcing its position as a central element of modern digital communication. Understanding and leveraging the capabilities of social media platforms can provide significant advantages, making it crucial for users and businesses alike to stay informed about the latest developments and strategies in this rapidly changing landscape. Regional Analysis Gain insights into the U.S. market, estimated at $14.6 Billion in 2023, and China, forecasted to grow at an impressive 9.3% CAGR to reach $19.5 Billion by 2030. Discover growth trends in other key regions, including Japan, Canada, Germany, and the Asia-Pacific. Report Features: Comprehensive Market Data: Independent analysis of annual sales and market forecasts in US$ 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 Facebook Inc., Google Inc., LINE Corporation, and more. Complimentary Updates: Receive free report updates for one year to keep you informed of the latest market developments. Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 259 Forecast Period 2023 - 2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2023 $55.1 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $82.9 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 6.0% Regions Covered Global MARKET OVERVIEW Influencer Market Insights World Market Trajectories 'Social Connectedness' - A Vital Characteristic of Today's Human Being Recent Market Activity Facts and Figures in a Nutshell Soaring Mobile Device User Base Reflect High-Potential Opportunities Proliferation of Smartphones: Cornerstone for Ongoing Market Expansion Current and Future Analysis Emerging Markets - Hotspots for Growth Mobile Social Networking - Global Key Competitors Percentage Market Share in 2024 (E) Global Economic Update Competitive Market Presence - Strong/Active/Niche/Trivial for Players Worldwide in 2024 (E) MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS Rising Smartphone Penetration Drives Adoption of Mobile Social Networks 5G Deployment Expands Addressable Market Opportunities for Mobile Social Networking Evolving User Demographics Propel Growth in Mobile Social Media Augmented Reality Integrations: Creating New Engagement Avenues in Mobile Social Networking The Surge of Mobile Commerce: How Social Platforms Are Driving Sales Content Personalization Through AI: Strengthening User Engagement on Mobile Social Networks Influence of Micro-Influencers: Accelerating Brand Engagement Through Mobile Social Media Adoption of Blockchain for Enhanced Security and Transparency in Mobile Social Networking Mobile Advertising Trends: Leveraging Social Media for Deeper Consumer Reach Cross-Platform Capabilities and Their Impact on User Stickiness and Growth The Role of Data Analytics in Personalizing User Experiences on Mobile Social Media FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS(Total 14 Featured) Facebook Inc. Google Inc. LINE Corporation LinkedIn Corporation Microsoft Corp. Pinterest Reddit Inc. Snap Inc. Tencent Holdings Limited Tumblr Inc. Twitter Inc. Viber Media S.a r.l WhatsApp Inc. YouTube LLC For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/318iys 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 DALLAS, Aug. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lone Star PACE, a leading administrator of Texas Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy Program, today announced it helped arrange $16.7M in C-PACE financing for Garages of America, a luxury car storage facility in the Dallas-area suburb of Carrollton. The 125,000-square-foot facility at 2308 and 2328 Marsh Lane will include 67 luxury garage suites, six flex-office units and a secure indoor parking facility for up to 120 vehicles. It is the second phase of an existing Garages of America development located on the adjacent site. Financing proceeds will fund the installation of sustainable building components, including energy-efficient windows and walls, LED lighting, HVAC systems and low-flow plumbing. Lee McCormick, president of Lone Star PACE, said: We are thrilled to have partnered with Garages of America on this exciting project. In today's tight debt environment, C-PACE helps round out the capital stack while also ensuring owners don't have to compromise on quality, which is especially critical for businesses catering to the luxury market. C-PACE makes it possible for commercial property owners to obtain low-cost, long-term financing for conservation measures in their projects. Property owners can use C-PACE to finance building retrofits, renovations or new construction. Established in 2014 by longtime friends and real estate pros Fred Gans and Jack Griffin, Garages of America is the premier community for car collectors. The concept has quickly grown to include several locations in DFW, Houston and Austin. The developers recently tapped Lone Star PACE to administer C-PACE financing for a location in Frisco. Fred Gans, founder of Garages of America, said: C-PACE enhanced our capital stack and allowed us to embrace sustainability and innovation within Phase 2 of our Carrollton campus. By leveraging this tool, we can implement cutting-edge technologies that not only reduce our carbon footprint but also elevate the experience for our exclusive clientele. This commitment underscores our dedication to setting new standards in sustainable development within the luxury garage industry. About Lone Star PACE Lone Star PACE serves as a program administrator for city and county Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) programs in Texas. We help local governments, economic development corporations, chambers of commerce and trade associations promote business growth and conservation by facilitating C-PACE projects with property owners, PACE lenders, contractors and other stakeholders. Our goal is to promote sustainability and increased property values while positively impacting cash flow and utility savings for property owners. About Garages of America Garages of America, formerly Garages of Texas, didnt set out to make a glorified storage facility. Instead, we wanted to create the ideal atmosphere for motor vehicle owners. Our luxury garage suites are the optimal place for the luxury garage owners car and themselves the perfect place for both man and machine. Luxury garages, otherwise known as mancaves, represent the latest concept in commercial real estate. The Garages of America first-class luxury garage condominium unit is one where the customer owns the oversized garage/luxury suite as opposed to renting it. Garages of America allows residents and small business owners to build equity while enjoying the privacy and convenience of their own customizable luxury garage. Media Contact Olivia Lueckemeyer Director of Marketing & Media Relations at Lone Star PACE Olivia@LoneStarPACE.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e84af19b-8a66-464c-b50d-f8feefdfd1ea Covina, Aug. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to Prophecy Market Insights, the global firefighting drone market size and share is projected to grow from USD 1.5 Billion in 2024 and is forecasted to reach USD 3.5 Billion by 2034, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.8% during the forecast period (2024 - 2034). Firefighting Drone Market Report Overview Firefighting Drone represents a significant technological advancement in emergency response and firefighting operations. These unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are specifically designed and equipped to assist firefighters in combating fires more effectively and safely. By providing real-time aerial views, thermal imaging, and also the ability to access hard-to-reach areas, and mainly these firefighting drones have become an invaluable tool in modern firefighting efforts. Drones that battle fires have a number of benefits but one of the biggest is that they can access places that are too hazardous for firefighters to get. Drones can operate in hazardous situations including high-rise buildings, dense forests, and industrial sites while still providing vital information and preventing harm to people. Download a Free Sample Research Report with Latest Industry Insights: https://www.prophecymarketinsights.com/market_insight/Insight/request-sample/5565 Our Free Sample Report includes: Overview & introduction of market study Revenue and CAGR of the market Drivers & Restrains factors of the market Major key players in the market Regional analysis of the market with a detailed graph Detailed segmentation in tabular form of market Recent developments/news of the market Opportunities & Challenges of the Market Competitive Landscape: The Firefighting Drone Market is characterized by rapid growth, technological innovation, and fierce competition. Companies are expanding their global presence, focusing on sustainability, and diversifying their service offerings to stay competitive. Some of the Key Market Players: DJI Parrot SA Lockheed Martin Corporation Elbit Systems Ltd. Yuneec International Ehang Holdings Limited AeroVironment, Inc. FLIR Systems, Inc. Insitu, Inc. (a subsidiary of Boeing) Draganfly Innovations Inc. Microdrones GmbH Kespry Inc. Honeywell International Inc. Robotic Skies, LLC Teledyne FLIR (formerly FLIR Systems) To Know More on Additional Market Players, Download a Free Sample Report Here: https://www.prophecymarketinsights.com/market_insight/Insight/request-pdf/5565 Analyst View: The target market is mostly driven by the quick advancements in drone technology which includes improvements in AI, thermal imaging, and autonomous navigation. Drones can now manage more complicated fire situations such as extensive wildfires due to these improvements. Market Dynamics: Drivers: Growing Focus on Firefighter Safety The use of firefighting drones is being aided by the growing emphasis on reducing the risks that firefighters must deal with. Firefighters may evaluate fire situations more safely by using drones, which eliminates the need for them to access dangerous areas. Request for FLAT 30% Discount on this Report @ https://www.prophecymarketinsights.com/market_insight/Insight/request-discount/5565 Market Trends: Government and Institutional Support Governments and emergency management organizations are investing in the development and use of firefighting drones as they become more and more aware of their potential. Segmentation: Firefighting Drone Market is segmented based on Product Type, Payload Capacity, Application, and Region. Product Type Insights This sector includes Multi-Rotor Drones, Fixed-Wing Drones, Single-Rotor Drones, and Hybrid Drones. The multi-rotor Drones segment is expected to dominate the target market growth as these drones can easily navigate through tight spaces and urban environments which makes them highly effective in situations where precision is required. Payload Capacity Insights This sector includes Light Drones, Medium Drones, and Heavy Drones. The medium drones segment is expected to dominate the target market growth as compared to heavy drones, medium drones are more cost-effective both in terms of purchase price and operational costs. They provide a powerful combination of capability and affordability, making them an attractive option for fire departments and emergency services, particularly those with budget constraints. Application Insights This sector includes Surveillance and Inspection, Firefighting, Search and Rescue Operations, and Delivery of Fire Suppression Materials. The firefighting segment is expected to dominate the target market growth as firefighting drones are equipped with specialized equipment, such as fire retardant dispensers and high-pressure water hoses, allowing them to engage fires from the air. Request FREE Unlimited Customization on this Report @ https://www.prophecymarketinsights.com/market_insight/Insight/request-customization/5565 Recent Development: In December 2023, Russia launched its first firefighting drone production in St. Petersburg. The drones planned by InFinTech Corporation, which specializes in the production of civilian products, include a lightweight drone for fire reconnaissance, and several firefighting drones, said the report, citing Nikita Dontsov. According to the companys GR director Nikita Dontsov the design work will take place in the companys technology park in the Central District of St. Petersburg, while testing and production will be carried out in the suburbs of the city and the Leningrad region. Regional Insights North America: The U.S. government and various local agencies are increasingly investing in firefighting drones as part of their disaster response strategies. Grants and funding for firefighting departments to adopt drone technology have accelerated target market growth. The U.S. government and various local agencies are increasingly investing in firefighting drones as part of their disaster response strategies. Grants and funding for firefighting departments to adopt drone technology have accelerated target market growth. Asia Pacific: Rapid urbanization and industrialization in this region have increased the risk of fire-related incidents. As a result, there is a growing demand for advanced firefighting solutions including drones that protect densely populated urban areas and large industrial complexes. Browse Detail Report on "Firefighting Drone Market Size, Share, By Product Type (Multi-Rotor Drones, Fixed-Wing Drones, Single-Rotor Drones, Hybrid Drones), By Payload Capacity (Light Drones, Medium Drones, Heavy Drones), By Application (Surveillance and Inspection, Firefighting, Search and Rescue Operations, Delivery of Fire Suppression Materials), and By Region - Trends, Analysis, and Forecast till 2034" with complete TOC @ https://www.prophecymarketinsights.com/market_insight/firefighting-drone-market-5565 Browse More Research Reports: About Us: Prophecy Market Insights is a specialized market research, analytics, marketing, and business strategy, and solutions company that offers strategic and tactical support to clients for making well-informed business decisions and to identify and achieve high-value opportunities in the target business area. 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Badillo Street #2042 Covina, CA 91724 US toll-free: +1 860 531 2574 Rest of world: + 91 7775049802 RAK, UAE, Aug. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RAK Digital Assets Oasis (RAK DAO), the worlds first and only Free Zone with Common Law features established to support digital asset companies, is pleased to announce the appointment of Luc Froehlich as its new Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). With a distinguished career spanning digital assets, asset management, and investment banking, Luc Froehlich brings unparalleled expertise to the role, positioning RAK DAO for continued growth and innovation in the rapidly evolving digital assets landscape. Luc joins RAK DAO following his tenure as Global Head of Digital Assets Solutions at Fidelity International, where he established a business line dedicated to digital assets, built an ecosystem and consulted institutional investors. His influence extends beyond corporate leadership, having authored influential research for the World Economic Forum on topics such as distributed ledger technology in capital markets, stablecoins for financial inclusion, and the macroeconomic impact of central bank digital currencies and cryptocurrencies. Luc's experience also encompasses asset management, where he managed portfolios for central banks and pension funds, and investment banking, where he served as a proprietary trader in credit derivatives. Since 2017, Luc has been an advisor to tech startups at the forefront of financial innovation and a guest lecturer on digital assets at several universities. Commenting on Luc Froehlichs appointment, Dr. Sameer Al Ansari, CEO of RAK DAO, said, "We are thrilled to welcome Luc to our leadership team at RAK DAO. His extensive experience and deep understanding of the digital assets space make him an invaluable asset as we continue to drive innovation and foster a thriving ecosystem for digital assets. Lucs strategic vision and leadership will be instrumental in achieving our mission to position RAK DAO as a global leader in the digital assets industry." "I am excited to join RAK Digital Assets Oasis at such a pivotal time in the digital assets industry. The unique positioning of RAK DAO as a global hub for innovation and its commitment to fostering a thriving ecosystem for digital assets make it an exceptional place to contribute my expertise. I look forward to working with the talented team at RAK DAO to drive growth, attract leading digital asset companies, and further establish RAK DAO as a world leader in this dynamic sector," Luc Froehlich commented. Luc Froehlich holds a Masters degree in Economics and Business Administration from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, and a Master of Science in Blockchain and Digital Currency from the University of Nicosia, Cyprus. He is also a CFA and CAIA charter holder. As CCO, Luc will oversee the development and execution of RAK DAOs commercial strategy, focusing on expanding the Free Zone's influence and attracting leading digital assets companies to the region. His appointment marks a significant milestone in RAK DAOs ongoing efforts to solidify its position as a leader in the global digital assets industry. ______ About RAK Digital Assets Oasis (RAK DAO): RAK Digital Assets Oasis (RAK DAO) is the worlds first and only Free Zone with Common Law features, established to support and nurture digital asset companies. Located in the UAE Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, RAK DAO offers a transparent legislative framework that simplifies the process of establishing and operating digital asset companies. By fostering a vibrant ecosystem and providing comprehensive services, RAK DAO drives the future of emerging sectors, propelling innovation, and unlocking the potential of digital assets. Dublin, Aug. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "China Botulinum Toxin Type A Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application (Upper Face, Mid Face, Lower Face, Body), By Gender (Female, Male), By Age (Below 30 Years, 31 to 59 Years, Over 60 Years), By End-use, And Segment Forecasts, 2024 - 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The China botulinum toxin type A market size is anticipated to reach USD 3.6 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 18.9% Key factors driving the country's botulinum toxin market are increasing disposable income fueling spending on medical aesthetics, diverse demand channels across genders and age groups, and the development of consumer-centric treatment modalities. The introduction of newer players within the Chinese botulinum toxin type A market paradigm shifted the market share structure; before 2020, only two products had received approval from China's National Medical Product Administration (NMPA). However, post-2020, several established market players gained product approvals, while several others are in the pipeline. Such developments are expected to create lucrative opportunities in the market. The growing number of strategic initiatives in China is expected to impact the market positively. For instance, in July 2023, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd received approval from the NMPA for its RT002 product to treat moderate to severe glabellar lines in adults. Moreover, in October 2023, Sinclair, a subsidiary of Huadong Medicine Co., Ltd. & ATGC Co., Ltd, announced a strategic collaboration and licensing agreement through which Sinclair shall develop and commercialize ATGC's BoNT-A, ATGC-110 for aesthetic and therapeutic indication. China Botulinum Toxin Type A Market Report Highlights The upper face segment held the largest share of over 59.75% in 2023 and is anticipated to grow at the fastest CAGR over the forecast period owing to increasing demand for aesthetic treatments aimed at reducing wrinkles in areas, such as the forehead, glabella, and crow's feet The females segment held the largest share of 85.01% as women in China often experience early signs of aging and skin dullness, influenced by hormonal fluctuations, such as declining estrogen levels. However, the male segment is anticipated to grow at the fastest CAGR of 23.2% during the forecast period due to changing societal patterns, greater willingness to undertake aesthetic treatments, and media influence regarding signs of aging The 31 to 59 years age group segment held the largest share of over 64.1% in 2023. This age group is typically more concerned with signs of aging, such as wrinkles and fine lines, making botulinum toxin type A injections a popular choice for rejuvenating facial appearance The Med Spas segment held the largest share of over 43.4% in 2023. These facilities offer increased accessibility and convenience, which boosts the growth Companies Featured Hugel Medytox Daewoong Galderma AbbVie Huons Global Sinopharm Group Huadong Medicine Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Industrial Development Co., Ltd. Merz Pharma Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 125 Forecast Period 2023 - 2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2023 $1.06 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $3.6 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 18.9% Regions Covered China Key Topics Covered: Chapter 1. Methodology and Scope Chapter 2. Executive Summary 2.1. Market Outlook 2.2. Segment Outlook 2.3. Competitive Insights Chapter 3. China Botulinum Toxin Type A Market Variables, Trends & Scope 3.1. Market Lineage Outlook 3.1.1. Parent market outlook 3.1.2. Related/ancillary market outlook 3.2. Market Dynamics 3.2.1. Market driver analysis 3.2.1.1. Increasing demand for aesthetic procedures 3.2.1.2. Advancements in technology and techniques 3.2.1.3. Rising disposable income 3.2.2. Market restraint analysis 3.2.2.1. Stringent Regulatory Policies 3.2.2.2. Declining Number Of Aesthetic Practices 3.3. China Botulinum Toxin Type A Market Analysis Tools 3.3.1. Industry Analysis - Porter's 3.3.2. PESTEL Analysis Chapter 4. China Botulinum Toxin Type A Market: Application Estimates & Trend Analysis 4.1. China Botulinum Toxin Type A Market: Application Dashboard 4.2. China Botulinum Toxin Type A Market: Application Movement Analysis 4.3. China Botulinum Toxin Type A Market Size & Forecasts and Trend Analysis, by Application, 2018 to 2030 (USD Million) 4.4. Upper Face 4.4.1. Market estimates and forecast 2018 to 2030 (USD Million) 4.4.1.1. Glabellar Wrinkles 4.4.1.2. Forehead Wrinkles 4.4.1.3. Crow's Feet 4.5. Mid Face 4.6. Lower Face 4.7. Body Chapter 5. China Botulinum Toxin Type A Market: Gender Estimates & Trend Analysis 5.1. China Botulinum Toxin Type A Market: Gender Dashboard 5.2. China Botulinum Toxin Type A Market: Gender Movement Analysis 5.3. China Botulinum Toxin Type A Market Size & Forecasts and Trend Analysis, by Gender, 2018 to 2030 (USD Million) 5.4. Female 5.5. Male Chapter 6. China Botulinum Toxin Type A Market: Age Estimates & Trend Analysis 6.1. China Botulinum Toxin Type A Market: Age Dashboard 6.2. China Botulinum Toxin Type A Market: Age Movement Analysis 6.3. China Botulinum Toxin Type A Market Size & Forecasts and Trend Analysis, by Age, 2018 to 2030 (USD Million) 6.4. Below 30 Years 6.5. 31 to 59 Years 6.6. Over 60 Years Chapter 7. China Botulinum Toxin Type A Market: End Use Estimates & Trend Analysis 7.1. China Botulinum Toxin Type A Market: End Use Dashboard 7.2. China Botulinum Toxin Type A Market: End Use Movement Analysis 7.3. China Botulinum Toxin Type A Market Size & Forecasts and Trend Analysis, by End-use, 2018 to 2030 (USD Million) 7.4. Hospitals 7.5. Clinics & Aesthetic Centers 7.6. Med Spas Chapter 8. Competitive Landscape 8.1. Recent Developments & Impact Analysis, By Key Manufacturers 8.2. Company/Competition Categorization 8.3. Vendor Landscape 8.3.1. List of key distributors and channel partners 8.3.2. Key customers 8.3.3. Key company market share analysis, 2023 For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/sitsw 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. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Modular Construction Global Market Report 2024" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global modular construction industry has demonstrated a robust growth trajectory, expanding from a substantial $95.68 billion valuation in 2023 to an anticipated $102.52 billion by 2024. This equates to a solid compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2%. Industrializations mass production ethos, post-war housing needs, and the emphasis on cost and temporal efficiencies have been foundational in this historical expansion. Anticipated Advancements and Governmental Support Looking ahead, the market is projected to continue its momentum, reaching an estimated $138.37 billion by 2028, with a CAGR of 7.8%. Innovations in resilient construction, supportive government policies, and regulatory frameworks are set to drive growth, particularly in sectors such as healthcare and education that require agility and rapid development in response to evolving demands and labor considerations. Construction Industry as a Catalyst for Modular Methods With a rise in global construction demands, modular construction has become the optimum solution for meeting the fast-paced growth of both residential and commercial sectors. The modular methodology lends itself to accelerated construction timelines, reduced labor costs, and heightened efficiency. For example, the U.S. has observed a 16% increase in construction spending since the advent of the pandemic, underscoring the significant opportunities for modular construction applications. Urbanization: A Key Growth Propeller The ongoing surge in urbanization heavily endorses modular construction's methodology, as population concentrations in urban locales necessitate efficient, scalable building solutions. Projections indicate the global urban population is expected to grow to 6 billion by 2045, leading to an extensive need for urban infrastructure that is anticipated to expand faster than population growth. Innovation and Industry Leadership Pioneering developments represent a significant trend within the modular construction industry. Market leaders are integrating advanced technologies like 3D printing to enhance the efficiency of their offerings, create sturdier structures more quickly, and cater to rising multi-story building needs. These innovations embody the industrys commitment to evolving its construction capabilities and delivering state-of-the-art solutions. Strategic Acquisitions and Market Enhancements Key industry participants are utilizing strategic acquisitions to strengthen their market presence and offer differentiated products. These ventures allow companies to leverage cutting-edge technologies and expand their capabilities in the modular construction market. Global Coverage and Market Segmentation The Asia-Pacific region has emerged as the dominant force in the modular construction market as of 2023. The market encapsulates a diverse array of segments including permanent and relocatable modular constructions, and spans various sectors such as residential, commercial, and healthcare. This comprehensive coverage assures that customer needs across multiple domains are addressed and fulfilled through modular construction practices. The modular construction industrys upward trajectory is supported by increasing global urbanization, innovative technological integration, and strategic market initiatives. Its potential for continued expansion reflects a commitment to sustainable growth, efficiency, and meeting the evolving needs of global infrastructure development. Companies Featured Bouygues Construction SA Laing O'Rourke Skanska AB ATCO Ltd. Balfour Beatty Plc. Taisei Corporation Supertech Industries LLC Anderco Pte. Ltd. Giant Containers Inc. Honomobo Corporation Lendlease Corporation SG Blocks Inc. Guerdon L.L.C Modulex PLC Bechtel Corporation ACS Group Fluor Corporation JL Construction Julius Berger Nigeria PLC Kiewit Corporation Larsen & Toubro Limited McGRATH RENTCORP Palomar Modular Buildings Red Sea Housing Services SEKISUI CHEMICAL CO. LTD System House R & C Co. Ltd WillScot Mobile Mini Holdings Corp Westchester Modular Homes Koma Modular For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/5kjzhh 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. Wilmington, Delaware, United States, Transparency Market Research, Inc. , Aug. 23, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global rice water shampoo market (mercado de champu de agua de arroz) was projected to attain US$ 205.5 million in 2023. It is likely to garner a 6.5% CAGR from 2024 to 2034, and by 2034, the market is expected to attain US$ 410.4 million. The key ingredient in rice shampoo is fermented rice water, which is the milky liquid left over after rice is cooked or soaked. Numerous beneficial components, such as vitamins and minerals, are present in this water and help to strengthen and repair damaged hair. Shampoos and conditioners made with rice water frequently contain natural ingredients like tea tree oil, aloe vera, or coconut oil. They restore damaged hair, moisturize the hair, and invigorate the scalp. Additionally, proteins for hair development, including keratin or collagen, are added to rice shampoo. Request a Sample PDF to Obtain Authentic Analysis: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=86043 Nutrients in rice strengthen hair, encourage growth, and impart a glossy finish. As a result, rice water shampoos and conditioners also support the maintenance of a balanced pH and help restore balance to the natural oils on the scalp. Key Findings of Market Report E-commerce platforms improve the accessibility as well as accessibility of rice water shampoos along with additional cosmetic items. They enable customers to compare items, read reviews, and make educated buying decisions. In 2021, a large proportion of internet customers in the United Kingdom examined what previous purchasers had to say about things before making a purchase. According to McKinsey & Company, the beauty sector will produce around $430 billion in sales in 2022. E-commerce use is rapidly increasing globally. The increase in digitization has encouraged all brands to begin selling online. As a result, the e-commerce industry has grown extremely competitive, particularly in the cosmetics and beauty goods categories. Thus, the expansion of e-commerce platforms is offering significant rice water shampoo market potential for firms operating in this industry. Market Trends For Rice Water Shampoo Globally, consumers are more aware of the potential health dangers associated with synthetic chemicals, which are frequently present in traditional hair care products. Chemicals like parabens, sulfates, and artificial fragrances have been linked to long-term negative consequences on skin and general health as well as health issues including allergies and skin irritation. In response to these concerns, consumers are choosing safer options that prioritize their health and welfare more and more. Their preference is for organic hair care products made with natural components that are mild and have low potential for negative responses. Despite the hurdles given by the COVID-19 epidemic and Brexit, the organic beauty and wellness industry in the United Kingdom increased by 15% in 2021. This upward trend continued till 2022. Global Market for Rice Water Shampoo: Regional Outlook Various reasons propel the rice water shampoo market growth throughout the regions. These are: According to the most recent rice water shampoo market study, Asia Pacific accounted for the majority of the global market in 2023. Increasing consumer disposable income, shifting lifestyles, growing consumer awareness of the advantages of organic products, and the growing influence of social media celebrities and influencers on consumer trends are some of the major factors driving the Asia Pacific rice water shampoo market share. In Asian countries, a greater number of younger, more educated women are joining the workforce. As a result, Asia Pacific market expansion is being supported by an increase in the number of working women and a rise in per capita disposable income. The World Bank reports that the female to male labor force participation rate in India was 37.11% in 2022. A number of major companies are developing new and inventive organic haircare products in Asia Pacific to take advantage of the substantial market opportunities brought about by the improvement in customer awareness in the region. One such company is WOW Skin Science, which expanded its offline stores in India in 2021. The North American rice water shampoo market is expected to grow steadily from 2024 to 2034. This is due to the presence of well-established beauty and personal care sector and the rise in popularity of various shampoo categories. It includes hydrating rice water shampoo for frizzy hair, rice water shampoo for dandruff control, and sulfate-free rice water shampoo for curly hair. Unlock Growth Potential in Your Industry! Download PDF Brochure: https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=86043 Global Rice Water Shampoo Market: Key Players To meet the growing customer demand for these varieties of natural shampoos, manufacturers in the rice water shampoo market are working hard to provide the finest rice water shampoo for dry scalp as well as rice water shampoo for damaged hair restoration. Leading industry participants are also developing vegan products made from natural sources to appeal to discriminating customers worldwide, particularly those in developed nations like the United States and the United Kingdom. The following companies are well-known participants in the global rice water shampoo market: Luv Me Care Kitsch Svvimer Viori GIFBEA Pure Roots Herbals Key developments: In September 2022, Herbal Pharm, a Singapore-based maker of nutraceuticals and personal care products, unveiled intentions to offer a variety of natural hair care products to combat common concerns such as graying hair and hair loss. Global Rice Water Shampoo Market Segmentation Form Type Bar Gel Category Scented Unscented Consumer Group Men Women Kids End-use Individual Commercial Spas Beauty Salons Others (Hotels, Resorts, etc.) Distribution Channel Online E-commerce Websites Company-owned Websites Offline Hypermarkets & Supermarkets Specialty Stores Other Retail Stores By Region North America Latin America Europe Asia Pacific Middle East & Africa Gain Competitive Advantage: Buy the Premium Report! https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=86043 USCIS employees never use social media to contact people seeking to emigrate to the United States. If you receive sponsorship offers through applications such as Telegram, WhatsApp or Facebook, please report the user on the platform itself and report the scam at https://www.uscis.gov/scams-fraud-and-misconduct/avoid-scams/report-immigration-scams HL/ HaitiLibre Adlercreutz on Tuesday argued that revisiting the programme is justified and necessary in response to recent estimates about a decline in immigration because the programme was also revisited in response to the erosion of the national economy. ANDERS ADLERCREUTZ , the chairperson of the Swedish Peoples Party, believes the government programme should be amended to boost immigration to Finland. The four-party ruling coalition estimated at the start of the electoral term that fiscal adjustments worth six billion euros would be required to balance public finances. Later, though, it decided on adjustments worth another three billion euros in response to mounting despair about the national economy. That of course meant that we revisited the governments commonly agreed position on the economy, he explained to Helsingin Sanomat. Now that the figures are coming in, its simply a must that we react to them. The government cant operate based only on the operational picture it had in the spring of 2023, he argued, referring to both economic data and estimates about a drop in work-based immigration in the coming years. While Finland registered a net migration gain of 58,000 people in 2023, the Ministry of Finance forecasts in its latest economic forecast that the net gain will dwindle to 30,000 in 2024 and to roughly 25,000 in 2025. In the coming years, the net gain is forecast to fall roughly to the levels of the 2010s to around 15,000. Adlercreutz told Helsingin Sanomat that the government should commit to maintaining net immigration at 40,000 per year. The downward trend is a concern. This isnt a so-called ideological question, but a necessity thats based on figures. The coalition government, he reminded, has been able to make fairly difficult decisions to balance public finances and should thus be able to also examine immigration with neutral and objective eyes. Given that we know we should keep [net immigration] above 40,000 to be able to wipe out the sustainability deficit, we should adopt a goal like this, he said to the daily newspaper. The proposal is part of 26-item list of measures unveiled at the summer meeting of the Swedish Peoples Party in Vaasa on Tuesday by Adlercreutz and Otto Andersson, the chairperson of the Swedish Peoples Parliamentary Group. Andersson said some of the measures to increase growth, inbound investment and work-based immigration should be discussed as soon as at the upcoming budget session. We should now remove all ideological locks on both sides of the political spectrum and think about what it is that Finland really needs, he underscored. According to Helsingin Sanomat, the list contains a number of measures that deviate from the government programme. The junior coalition partner is proposing, for example, that the labour availability consideration for work-based immigrants be scrapped and that immigrants who complete a high-school or university degree be automatically granted a permanent residence permit. The Finns Party has, unsurprisingly, shot down the proposal. Jani Makela, the chairperson of the Finns Party Parliamentary Group, described it as a deliberate provocation in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat on Wednesday. It doesnt sound well thought-out to start the parliamentary session with this kind of a deliberate provocation. They know themselves that the demand wont move forward. Its unusual that the new chairperson takes this kind of an approach. It doesnt represent good coalition co-operation, he remarked. He also questioned the attempt to frame the issue as a necessity, rather than an ideological issue. Statistics from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment reveal that the number of foreign nationals registered as unemployed job seekers stood at almost 50,000 at the end of July, an all-time record. The figures show that huge numbers of immigrants are unemployed, he said. Makela told YLE that the proposed target is utterly unfeasible, pointing to the fact that it is not much higher than the number of births in the country. In 2023, Finland registered 43,383 live births, according to Statistics Finland. [The target] isnt significantly higher than the current birth rate in Finland. Theres no way you can continuously bring that high a number of immigrants here, he argued to the public broadcaster. Minister of Employment Arto Satonen (NCP) reminded that Finland requires work-based immigration to cope with its demographic challenges, continue financing the welfare state, and maintain its appeal and competitiveness, according to YLE. Also he, though, expressed his reservations about a numerical target due to significant fluctuations in labour demand. For example, in the construction sector, which has had a lot of foreign labour, currently has a lot less of it. I reckon therell be much more of them soon, when construction re-starts, he said to YLE. On Tuesday, Adlercreutz and Andersson both also criticised the nature of economic discussion Finland, wrote Helsingin Sanomat. Doomsday rhetoric and the cataloguing of problems wont take Finland forward. We have to recognise the opportunities and seize them, the latter said, viewing that the outlook for economic growth depends also on the impression given by lawmakers. The economic policy discussion has been very much focused on fiscal adjustment, but the real world isnt on the excel sheets of the Ministry of Finance, said Andersson. Aleksi Teivainen HT A COMEDIAN tells of life growing up with a West Indian mother and what it takes to get out of a relationship rut in the second anniversary show of Honk! later this month. Heleana Blackwell will headline alongside Red Richardson and also Arielle Dundas, who appeared at the inaugural event, who will take the mic at the Relais Henley hotel on Tuesday, August 27, from 7.30pm. Heleana is coming to Henley for the first time and says: I know its where the royal regatta is, so Im expecting it to be very glamorous and nice. The 2023 Funny Women semi-finalist, whose television show Attack of the 5ft Woman about a black nerd in a small town that doesnt like people to be outside of any boxes recently aired on Apple TV, will be performing her latest work in progress, which has an observational flavour. Heleana says: Ill talk about West Indian mothers a lot and how they love differently, how they love you by trying to scare you, and I talk about three reasons why immigrant parents really care about the kind of job you get. Also, about how sometimes, when youve been with someone for a while, you can become a little bit boring and routine, but you dont realise it until you get a sign from the outside world. One of my jokes is about exactly how I get that sign, which is somewhat humbling because it comes from a bank and involves a sex shop. Happily married to poet Sophia Blackwell since 2016, last year the couples show, Wife Material, went to venues including the Brighton Fringe, the Camden Fringe and the Bill Murray comedy club in Islington. Heleana says: We met through a mutual friend, Jo Webber, who likes to set people up on Facebook once a quarter. She has been so successful at it that shes got three marriages and two babies to her name, so theres actually human beings walking this earth due to her efforts. That was really lovely because people say, Oh, when you stop looking, youll find someone and I was 100 per cent looking, I was leaving no stone unturned but, by that point, I was looking in a relatively zen way. My view at the time was like, if I went on a date with someone and it didnt work out, then Ill make a great friend. I think that sometimes, particularly on the lesbian scene, with that girlfriend radar, its almost shark-like in its precision, so I think sometimes its just relaxing to find someone not doing that. The pair took swing dancing lessons before their wedding but did so for very different reasons. My wife and I are really different and really similar at the time, says Heleana. At a values level were really similar but in terms of how we go about things, we often wildly diverge into two different directions, so our show is about that and sometimes our lives are like that too. So, as a perfect example, for the swing dancing, I thought, Brilliant, exercise, and she was like, Great, nice dresses. Im the slightly more punitive, Calvinist one and I call her the fun csar, because shes the one in charge of the fun. So, when were moving house, Im the one that does all the negotiation and making sure we dont get ripped off and shes the one that makes sure that in the house, everything looks beautiful and everything is in its perfect place and doesnt get lost and never gets messed up and is all perfectly Marie Kondo-ed. Ive got no hand-eye co-ordination, my sense of detail is absolutely shocking but Ill get you the best deal on a painter-director, so its about knowing what youre bad at and being honest. The couple were also excited to be invited to play Scissors, a new LGBTQ space in Glastonbury, in June. Heleana says: It was incredible, theyve got a whole sort of gay village with music and whatnot, so we got to be part of the first ever one, on the Saturday night and that was really fun. She got in touch with Honk! founder Tom Ryan, from Henley, having heard about the comedy nights on the grapevine. I actually messaged Tom on Instagram, says Heleana. They sounded really cool and they had got really great people on it. I had heard good things about it and its got a really good vibe, so I just literally went, Hey!. Red is the son of Comic Strip director and screenwriter Peter Richardson and is married to Rosie Mayall, daughter of the late Rik Mayall. His first nationwide tour, Bugati Live, is about to start and he has appeared on ITV2s The Stand Up Sketch Show and Ricky Gervais & Friends. Arielle kicked off Honk! when she appeared at the former Drifters coffee house in Henley almost exactly two years ago. She will arrive straight from her run at the Edinburgh Finge with Hyperactivity Disorder, exploring how her diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has affected her life. Honk! Henleys second anniversary show, with Heleana Blackwell, Red Richardson and Arielle Dundas is at the Relais Henley on August 27. Doors open at 7pm. Tickets cost from 11.55. For more information and to book, visit linktr.ee/honkhot POOR mobile signal during this years Rewind South festival last weekend cost businesses income, it has been claimed. Traders said slow mobile data internet connection meant they could not capitalise on the increased number of visitors to the town on Saturday and Sunday. Klaire Silver, who runs The Witches Kitchen in Woodcote, had a stall at the annual Vegan Fiesta in the Market Place and said that a signal was non-existent when trying to take electronic payments. This meant there were times when she had to turn away business or use another traders card machine instead. Ms Silver said: Its just frustrating and embarrassing having to have to walk around the back of this gazebo and hold the machine in the air, just trying to get a signal. Its not a very good look when youve got somebody there waiting. The dip in signal is obviously worse when there are lots more people about and in the end another trader kindly tethered me up to their phone so that I was able to use it. There was only one cashpoint and somebody said that the queue was round the block. Jo Eddon, who runs a Honeys of Henley stall at the farmers market twice a month, said the lack of signal has got worse over the last three months. She said: The ability to connect by using your mobile data to then process your electronic payments has been absolutely appalling for months. Ive lost customers when people have tried to pay electronically. They stand there with me for minutes and minutes and while a minute doesnt sound like very long, to put it into perspective, electronic payments are usually processed within about 10 seconds. In that time a customer may then go and say, dont worry, Ill go to the cashpoint and get cash but then they come back and say they couldnt get any because the cashpoint is either broken or empty. That could be a situation where Im losing anything from, on average, 10 up to 20. It could be something like an eighth of what I take on the day. Ms Eddon said that large-scale events such as Rewind and Henley Royal Regatta, where similar issues were reported this year, added an unfair strain on the towns cellular network. She said: Its way worse when the town is hosting events like the regatta, like Henley Festival because they divert the signal to accommodate all the visitors down by the riverside. Thats really unfair. During the regatta in July, the organisers installed two temporary masts which traders say improved the situation but did not solve it. Sarah Zeneli, who organises Henley Vegan Fiesta, said: During this years regatta it was fine in the morning and then all of a sudden, in the afternoon, payments just took a really long time to go through. We try to tell customers to bring cash with them, but there is a lack of cash machines in Henley and ive spoken spoken to the town council about it. Last month, town councillor Gill Dodds raised the issue at a meeting after being unable to pay with card when she visited Gabriel Machin butchers in Market Place. She said: All the shops were affected. Thats why I raised it at and it seemed to strike a chord with what other people are experiencing. I think the message really was to the Mayor that when they have a wash-up meeting after these events, this is a big issue that they should have a look at. It is a big problem. Town clerk Sheridan Jacklin-Edward said that it had plans to install a new cash point and were talking with the organisers of the royal regatta to understand how to improve the issue for future events. He said: We have been speaking with Ed Warner at the regatta to understand the situation better and see what we can do to alleviate the problem around next years event. Paul Carey, the town centre manager, said that he is lining up a contractor to commence work on installing a new cashpoint next month on the Waitrose car park side of Gardiner Place. The former chief minister and senior leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Champai Soren, who has rebelled against his party leadership, said on Wednesday that the Shibu Soren-led party is now a closed chapter for him and is all set to embark on a new political journey. Addressing his supporters who had gathered in Jillinggora, his ancestral village in the Sraiakela-Kharsawan district, Champai said he was open to launching a new party, and the situation would be clear in a week. The developments related to Soren have created a political buzz in Jharkhand where Assembly elections are barely two months away. Both the JMM and the opposition BJP are closely watching Champais next move, a six-term sitting legislator from Saraikela, who earned the tag of Kolhan Tiger due to his organisational work in JMM and the resultant political influence he has enjoyed in the tribal-dominated Kolhan division of the state. Located in the southwestern part of Jharkhand, the Kolhan division is spread across the resource-rich and industrially developed districts of East Singhbhum (Jamshedpur), West Singhbhum and Saraikela-Kharsawan. The division has 14 legislative constituencies in the 81-member Jharkhand assembly. Soren is the third chief minister from the Kolhan division after Arjun Munda and Madhu Kora. However, the political stature of 67-year-old Soren towers over the other two because of his roots in the movement for a separate Jharkhand state when he had fought shoulder-to-shoulder with JMM-supremo Shibu Soren. And it is in this context that the politicians and experts are weighing the impact Champai could have on their electoral fortunes in the upcoming assembly polls. Its not that he is called Kolhan Tiger for nothing. While he worked under the watch of our tallest leader Shibu Soren, he is credited with single-handedly building the organisational network in the Kolhan region. In organisational matters, even Guruji (Shibu Soren) would depend on Champi Da in matters related to Kolhan. Though executive president Hemant Soren has literally been in command of the party for the past few years, it would surely be a test for the present leadership to hold on to its cadre in the wake of this crisis, a senior JMM leader said, requesting anonymity. It is difficult to predict the real impact he would have as a rebel as a lot can change in politics in two months. Hemant Soren is no doubt the most established tribal face in the state, but Kolhan has its own ecosystem and the four-decade-old career of Champai has the potential to put a dent. What would be the extent of it is to be seen. Its not easy to form a new front barely weeks ahead of the polls and emerge victorious. A lot will depend on what decision Champai takes and how effectively he plays the victim care and how much we are able to mitigate it, the leader added. Traditionally, Kolhan, which has 14 assembly segments and two Lok Sabha seats, has been a stronghold of the JMM and its ally Congress. Of the 14, nine assembly seats are reserved for scheduled tribes (ST), while one seat is reserved for scheduled castes (SC). In the 2019 assembly elections, the JMM swept the region winning 11 seats including the eight ST and the one SC seat. Two seats including one ST seat went to the Congress while the 14th seat was won by independent Saryu Roy who defeated former chief minister Raghubar Das from Jamshedpur East, leaving the BJP empty-handed in Kolhan. JMM leaders said Soren has had a strong influence on the tribal seats due to his organisational work and personal connect with people. People often talk about the way he helped around 3000 persons till now to gets jobs at different levels in Tata Group alone, besides others in other industrial units in the area. After his return from Delhi, he started touring the region, basically a show of strength. Its good for us as well as that would help us in assessing the situation and making course corrections accordingly, said a JMM leader, who also has his roots in Kolhan. The top JMM leadership has remained silent on Soren and his political moves and party spokespersons have been very guarded in their response. JMM spokesperson Manoj Pandey said while Soren is a respected leader, his exit wont make much of an impact. This is Gurujis party. The history of our party shows that what matters in JMM is our symbol, the bow and the arrow. Some very senior leaders of the party had quit and contested elections on other symbols, but they failed and ultimately returned to the party fold. We still believe that Champai Da wont take any step that would prove to be self-destructive, Pandey said. The opposition BJP, expectedly, has rubbished allegations that they are behind the present crisis. However, party insiders are excited about the development as they think it improves their chances in Kolhan region including in some of the ST seats. A senior BJP leader said while the result was 14-0 for the saffron party in Kolhan in 2019, things are set to change. In 2019, the BJP- ALL Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU) alliance broke. The Jharkhand Vikas Morcha-Prajatarntrik (JVM-P) led by Babulal Marandi (Full party names please.) was also contesting separately. This time, there is no JVM and AJSU is back in the NDA fold. The Champai factor is only going to dent the INDIA bloc further. Take for example Chakradharpur, which is an ST seat. The JMM defeated the BJP here by around 12000 votes. On the other hand, AJSU and JVM candidates together got 34000 votes, a BJP leader, who asked not to be named, said. In Jaganathpur, the Congress defeated the JVM candidate by around 12000 votes, and the BJP and AJSU together received almost similar votes to the victorious Congress candidate. In Jugsalai, BJP lost to JMM by around 22000 votes, while the AJSU candidate got around 47000 votes. While the NDA gets stronger this time around, the Champai Soren factor is going to dent the INDIA alliance. Even if he dents around five to ten thousand votes in different assembly seats, it could change the dynamics in several seats helping the BJP in the process the leader added. An independent political observer Sudhir Pal said Sorens departure could hit the INDIA bloc more if he decides to form his own front. I dont think BJP has to gain much if he joins them because of the visible lack of trust among the tribals for it. At best, he can then win his own seat or help them in another one or two seats. But if he forms his own party, he can play the victim card and dent into INDIA bloc votes, which could prove crucial in a tight contest. All votes that Champais party gets would be at the cost of JMM, said Sudhir Pal. On August 20, the Supreme Court of India (SC) reversed the findings of the Calcutta High Court judgment acquitting a person for an offence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO). In its judgment in the matter referred to as In Re: Right to Privacy of Adolescent , Justice Abhay Oka noted, The Judge has to decide a case and not preach. The judgment cannot contain irrelevant and unnecessary material. A judgment must be in simple language and should not be verbose. Brevity is the hallmark of quality judgment. On December 8, the SC took suo motu cognisance of a judgment rendered by the division bench of the Calcutta High Court, in an appeal challenging a conviction under POCSO. The High Court while acquitting the assailant made several observations on the nature of adolescent relationships and carved out what it termed to be certain duties of adolescent girls which included among other things the duty to, (iv) Control sexual urge/urges as in the eyes of the society she is the loser (sic) when she gives in to enjoy the sexual pleasure of hardly two minutes. The SC admitting the matter appointed senior advocate Madhavi Divan and Advocate Liz Mathew as amicus curiae. The brief facts of the case are that on May 20, 2018, the victim, a 14-year-old girl, left her house. Her mother learnt that the girl was residing with the accused aged 25 years. The mother subsequently lodged an FIR on May 29, 2018, against the accused for charges of sexual assault and kidnapping. The accused was arrested over two years later on December 19, 2021. Meanwhile, the victim who was staying with the accused, gave birth to a child in 2021. Noting the age of the victim as 14 years at the time of the offence, the trial court convicted the accused to 20 years imprisonment and held him guilty of penetrative and aggravated penetrative sexual assault under POCSO. The trial courts order was challenged before the High Court, which using its inherent powers under Section 482 and plenary power under Article 226 set aside the conviction. The High Court on the first hearing in July 2023, had also granted bail to the convict, who had been imprisoned since his arrest in December 2021. However, the acquittal of the High Court was not based on the law but on observations, surmises and inferences drawn by the judges. The law under POCSO is very clear: S. 2(d) defines any person below the age of eighteen to be a child. Thus, the victim being 14 years old at the time of the offence was a child and sexual intercourse would be deemed as penetrative sexual assault. Further, in this case, the victim became pregnant hence the sexual assault would fall within the definition of aggravated penetrative sexual assault. Thus, the law is very clear that based on the facts an offence under POCSO has been committed. The High Court in its judgment went into detail on sexual relations of adolescents and what it coined as consensual sexual relations among adolescents and between older adolescents and adults and non-exploitative sexual activities by adolescents. It also conjectured that lack of reignition of consensual sexual behaviour of older adolescents or romantic relationships led to automatic criminalisation. It was while expanding on these concepts that the Court enumerated what it termed to be the Duties of adolescents. The High Court effectively overruled the law laid by the legislature and suo motu created an exception for consensual non-exploitative sexual relations between older adolescents, which had no basis in law. The SC, on August 20, overruled this judgment and noted that there was no need to make the observations and that at the most those issues could be debated by experts in a different forum. The Court noted, it (High Court) forgot that in the facts of the case, the Court was not dealing with the sexual acts involving adolescents above sixteen years, as the age of the victim was fourteen years, and the accused was twenty-five years at the relevant time. The apex court also noted that the plight of the victim who had been abandoned by her biological parents and received no support, forcing her to stay with the accused reflected a complete failure of the State machinery. The failure of the State machinery was evident from the beginning due to the unexplained delay in arresting the accused. The Court proceeded to note that the welfare provisions of the POCSO Act in the form of informing the Child Welfare Committee within 24 hours of being informed about the commission of an offence were not complied with. The Court also went on to observe that a victim under POCSO was also a child in need of care and the Child Welfare Committee should be informed so that it can exercise its power to protect the child. The Court said: If sub-section (6) of Section 19 is implemented in relation to the victims of the offences under the POCSO Act and thereafter, the CWC strictly implements the provisions of the JJ Act which we have referred to above, no victim will face the situation which the victim in this case had to face. The SC directed the state of West Bengal to constitute a committee of three experts including a clinical psychologist and a social scientist. The Committee with the assistance of the State will meet the victim provide her with a concrete list of what the State Government will offer and assist her in making an informed choice about her future. The findings of the committee are to be communicated by October 18, 2024. The Court noted that the sentence to be served by the accused will be determined based on the findings of the report. Consent is premised on the fact that the person consenting is aware of not only the nature of the act but also the consequences of the act. The reason the law provides an age of consent is because of the assumption that an immature person might have consented to a false belief or not been aware of what they are consenting to. While the age of consent may be changed with time, the forum to debate the same is a legislature and not a Court. For instance, the High Court in its hurry to carve out exception failed to hold the State accountable for its failure. Perhaps, had the state provided the required support to the victim she might not be in the position she is in. Judgments, as noted by the SC, should be based on the facts of the case and the law of the land. Extraneous considerations with regard to the trends in society or personal opinions of the Judge cannot replace the law. Allowing the same will lead us to a dangerous path where the outcome of the proceeding will not be decided based on the rule of law but in a court of opinion. Parijata Bharadwaj, a lawyer and researcher based in New Delhi, co-founded the Jagdalpur Legal Aid Group that offered legal services to adivasis in Chhattisgarh. The views expressed are personal. Sufiya Ahmed grew up loving Enid Blytons stories. She spent most of her free time in the public library, the only place that my mother allowed me to be on my own. It was my favourite place, my safe and happy place, which gave me access to all those free books that I could devour, she says. Author Sufiya Ahmed (Courtesy the subject) Ahmed, who was born in Gujarat, arrived in the UK as a baby. Her mother moved to Bolton, Lancashire, a textile town, where South Asian communities had settled after answering the call to rebuild Britain after the destruction of World War II. When I was four, we moved to London and Ive been a Londoner since, says Ahmed says, who worked in advertising and the House of Commons before becoming a full-time author. She recalls that her library stocked the Famous Five adventures, and the boarding school series, Malory Towers and St Clares, which I absolutely loved. Blytons books gave me so much pleasure, transporting me into worlds where mysteries were solved, adventures were experienced, and fantastical settings were explored. The escapism that grabbed me really and that made me a reader, she says. I started to dream about being a writer just like Blyton. Sufiya Ahmeds partnership with Hachette was to reimagine the Famous Five into modern Britain Fast forward to years later, and Ahmed has written several childrens books, including My Story: Noor-Un-Nissa Inayat Khan, Secrets of the Henna Girl, Princess SophiaDuleep Singh, and Under the Great Plum Tree, which was longlisted for the UK Literacy Association Book Awards. I am now a full time writer with over 30 childrens books published, says Ahmed, who set up BIBI Foundation, a non-profit that arrange visits to the Houses of Parliament for diverse and underprivileged school children. Ahmed went on to give talks in schools as a published author, and Blyton was up there on my presentation slide as an author who inspired me to become a writer. So when she was asked, in 2022, if she would like to pen new adventures with the Famous Five characters, she grabbed the offer right away. Her partnership with Hachette was to reimagine the Famous Five into modern Britain. The series, which began with a plan for four books, has now been extended to eight. Six of these have already been published: Timmy and the Treasure, Five and the Runaway Dog, Message in a Bottle, The Mysterious Noise, Five and the Missing Prize, and The Library Mystery. In the Painting Puzzle, the five learn to break secret codes to help them solve a mystery. she says. My adventures are for a slightly younger age group, 7-9 years, and include illustrations and a shorter word count to the originals. The settings and the main characters are the same. Julian still likes to play the leader, George is always challenging that leadership, Dick is still the funny one, and Ann the shy quiet one. Timmy the dog saves the day many times too, she says. I dont really have a favourite character, but I do enjoy being creative with George and Dicks sparring in my stories, and Timmys tendency to create chaos with his eagerness, she adds. On how she went about reimagining Blytons most popular series, Ahmed says she re-read some of the originals to get a feel of the books again and put pen to paper once she had worked out her own new plot. The challenge, of course, was to make sure each character was true to the personality that Blyton had created, she says. Blyton, who believed that writing for children is an art in itself, and a most interesting one, wrote more than 700 books and 4,500 short stories. Her work has been translated into 90 languages, with more than 600 million copies of her books being sold. However, even though her books were popular, as time passed, her stories came to be seen as full of racism, sexism, class bias, and lacking merit. The Famous Five a series of 21 books, is one of Blytons most popular works and the one most frequently cited for its sexism. The Five include two boys (Julian and Dick), two girls (Georgina and Anne), and a dog (Timmy), that belongs to Georgina. Julian, the oldest, is the assumed leader, while Anne the youngest, is written as a timid, highly domesticated girl. Georgina is a fearless tomboy who responds only to the name George. In Five have a gender-ful time: Blyton, sexism, and the infamous five, David Rudd, a senior lecturer at Bolton Institute of Higher Education in the North West of England, writes: The undermining of Georges independence is increasingly characteristic of the Five books, read in chronological order. By the time of Five Go to Demons Rocks (the nineteenth) George does not even raise her normal protest at being left out of an adventure (Chapter 20); remarkably, she doesnt speak at all (even Anne speaks once!). She seems effectively silenced. Rudd also speaks up for Anne, whos often come under criticism for her domesticated ways and dialogues: Ill just see what weve got in the larder, Julian; Youd never get your bunks made, or your meals cooked, or the caravans kept clean if it wasnt for me!; or Ill do the washing-up. It would be wrong [to] belittle Annes behaviour, particularly as it still represents a reality for many women. Rather than ignoring it, Blytons books seem to engage in a dialogue about it addressing it as an issue. Amid Blytons fall from grace, how did Ahmed aim to right past wrongs? How did she work on imbuing a much-loved franchise with inclusivity and diversity to help the characters fit into todays world. Inayat Khans story has also inspired Sufiya Ahmeds Rosie Raja series. Rosie is a 11-year-old spy who subverts and sabotages the Nazis during WWII. Ahmed says her new stories include a cast of characters that are more reflective of Britain today, for example, people of colour who live in Kirrin village are depicted in the illustrations. A young reader sees the Britain they are familiar with, one that is multicultural and inclusive. Ive included a South Asian girl called Simi in some of the stories and she appears on two front covers, she says. The author says new editions are also very sensitively updated, changing words where the definition is unclear in context and therefore the usage is confusing, and where words have been used in an inappropriate or offensive sense while retaining the original language as far as is possible and preserving the period and original setting that so many fans love. Whether its the Five, the Secret Seven or the girls at Malory Towers, these are beloved characters. Im just making the setting for the Famous Five adventures more reflective of the world that young readers live in, without changing the essence of their appeal. The Five still love the countryside and the coast, go camping on their island, and are good-hearted children who help their friends and neighbours, and, of course, are devoted to Timmy, she says. The year 2024 saw the release of Ahmeds fifth and sixth Famous Five titles: The Library Mystery and Five and the Missing Prize. The first is very special because of my own love for libraries. I am a campaigner for libraries as I believe the opportunities they provided for me a little girl should continue for others, she says. Two new titles are scheduled for a 2025 release: The Painting Puzzle and Trouble at the Farm. Both were fun to write. We have an adorable new character in the latter. Its a little duckling called Treacle, who I think our little Famous Five fans will love. In the Painting Puzzle, the five learn to break secret codes to help them solve a mystery, she says. The Famous Five remains one of Blytons most popular series. Last Christmas, the BBC, which had banned Blyton for almost three decades as a second-rater whose work lacked literary value, released Nicolas Winding Refns Famous Five reboot, which reimagines the stories with a mixed-race lead, outdated fashions, and synthetic score. Ahmed may be writing the new Famous Five books, but her other work has also become popular. She speaks about her book on Noor-Un-Nissa Inayat Khan, one of Winston Churchills spies during WWII. She was a great-great-great granddaughter of Tipu Sultan, and was a hero. I love that her life story is being shared through my book in British schools, she says. Ahmeds new series, Time Travellers, follows three children, Suhana, Mia and Ayaan, as they go back in time to witness moments in history that are not very well known. Khans story has also inspired her Rosie Raja series. Rosie is a 11-year-old spy who subverts and sabotages the Nazis during WWII. Her mother is an Indian princess but has died, so Rosie is brought to live in England with her English father. The new book is called Rosie Raja Undercover Codebreaker and is set in 1942 at Bletchley Park, where codebreakers raced against time to break the Germans Enigma code, she says. Alan Turing, who is credited with breaking Enigma, and Noor Inayat Khan, appear in the story. Ive also included Gandhis Quit India movement which was happening at the same time. Ahmeds new series, Time Travellers, follows three children, Suhana, Mia and Ayaan, as they go back in time to witness moments in history that are not very well known. The first, Adventure Calling, was released in February 2024. The three time travellers find themselves in 1911 at a suffrage march in which Indian women are taking part. Mrs Lolita Roy was a suffragist whose face and name is engraved on a suffragist plaque in Londons Parliament Square, but whose story is not well known, she says. The second book in the series, Secrets and Spies, is scheduled for release on October 3rd 2025. This time, the trio spin back in time from Edinburgh Castle to end up in Seringapatam in 1799. There they meet Tipu Sultan as he battles the East India Companys soldiers. Some British schools teach the British Empire and this story ties in well with those lessons, Ahmed says. Teja Lele is an independent editor and writes on books, travel and lifestyle. As the UPSC Mains 2024 approaches, aspirants across the country are entering the final, crucial phase of their preparation. VisionIAS is pleased to announce that the Abhyaas Mains Mock Test Series 2024 is scheduled to begin on 24th August 2024, offering a golden opportunity for candidates to fine-tune their strategies, sharpen their answer-writing skills, and simulate the actual exam experience. Abhyaas Mains 2024 Mock Test Series Schedule The Abhyaas Mains Mock Test Series is designed to closely replicate the actual UPSC Mains examination schedule. The schedule is as follows: GS Paper I and II: 24th August 24th August GS Paper III and IV: 25th August 25th August Essay: 31st August 31st August Optional Paper I and II: 1st September Why the Abhyaas Mains Mock Test Series is a Game-Changer Owing to its ability to simulate the UPSC Mains environment, build confidence, identify preparation gaps, and enhance answer-writing skills, the Abhyaas Mains Mock Test Series consistently attracts top achievers like Aditya Srivastava (AIR 1, 2023), Animesh Pradhan (AIR 2, 2023), Ishita Kishore (AIR 1, 2022), Waseem Ahmad Bhat (AIR 7, 2022), and Ankita Agarwal (AIR 2, 2021), helping them achieve exam-readiness. Key features of the Abhyaas Mains Mock Test Series include: Realistic Exam Simulation: Experience the UPSC Mains exam under timed conditions and familiarize yourself with the format and question patterns. Comprehensive Feedback: After each test, receive in-depth evaluations of your answers, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement.. All India Ranking: Measure your performance against peers nationwide with an All India Ranking, providing a clear indicator of your exam readiness. Live Test Discussions: Engage in live discussions to gain insights into different approaches, common pitfalls, and strategies for writing high-quality answers. Optional Subject Coverage: The series includes tests for various optional subjects, ensuring a well-rounded preparation. Essential Guidelines & Tips to Maximize Your Abhyaas Experience 1. Prepare Strategically for Each Test Prioritize Subjects: Focus on your strengths and high-scoring areas first. For instance, dedicate ample time to revising key topics in General Studies Papers I to IV, ensuring a strong foundation in areas like Polity, Geography, Economy, Ethics, and Social issues. 2. 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Pre-Exam and Exam Day Tips: Simulating the Real UPSC Mains Experience Since Abhyaas is designed to closely replicate the UPSC Mains exam environment, its crucial to follow the same routine and adhere to the same practices you plan to implement on the actual exam day. Here are some tips to ensure youre fully prepared: Pre-Exam Day Tips Get Ample Rest: Ensure you get a good night's sleep before each test. Avoid cramming late into the night; instead, trust your preparation and go to bed early. Ensure you get a good night's sleep before each test. Avoid cramming late into the night; instead, trust your preparation and go to bed early. Organize Your Materials: Prepare your test materials the night before. This includes your admit card, stationery, and other essentials youll need for the mock test. Prepare your test materials the night before. This includes your admit card, stationery, and other essentials youll need for the mock test. Review Key Points: On the morning of the test, briefly review your notes, focusing on key points and summaries . Exam Day Tips Arrive Early: Just as you would for the actual UPSC Mains, arrive at the test center early to avoid any last-minute rush or stress. Just as you would for the actual UPSC Mains, arrive at the test center early to avoid any last-minute rush or stress. Follow Your Routine: Eat a light, nutritious meal before the test to maintain energy levels. Stay hydrated, but avoid excessive caffeine. Eat a light, nutritious meal before the test to maintain energy levels. Stay hydrated, but avoid excessive caffeine. Stay Calm and Focused: Once the test begins, keep calm and focus on the task at hand. If you encounter a challenging question, move on and return to it later rather than spending too much time on it. Once the test begins, keep calm and focus on the task at hand. If you encounter a challenging question, move on and return to it later rather than spending too much time on it. Time Management: Keep a close eye on the clock, but dont let it distract you. Develop a rhythm that allows you to balance speed with accuracy. Keep a close eye on the clock, but dont let it distract you. Develop a rhythm that allows you to balance speed with accuracy. Read the questions carefully: Carefully read each question, underline the key requirements, and ensure that your answer aligns precisely with the demand of the question. Carefully read each question, underline the key requirements, and ensure that your answer aligns precisely with the demand of the question. Pay attention to instructions: Read the instructions stated on the question paper carefully and thoroughly to ensure you fully understand the requirements before beginning your answers. 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Visit us at: https://visionias.in/abhyaas/login-form.php Or Call us at: 8468022022, 9019066066 Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same. Billionaire Gautam Adanis power generating unit has raked up unpaid dues of as much as $800 million from Bangladesh, where weeks of violent protests left hundreds dead and forced out the previous administration this month. Adani Power is in talks with Bangladeshs interim government to sort out this issue (Reuters) The South Asian country owes this sum to Adani Power Ltd., part of the Indian mining-to-media conglomerate, for electricity supplied by its coal-fired plant in the Godda district of the eastern state of Jharkhand, Bangladesh Banks newly-appointed Governor Ahsan H. Mansur told Bloomberg News in an interview. Also Read: Anil Ambani-led group stocks plummet after Sebi bans him, others from securities market If we dont pay them, they will stop providing electricity, he said. While the power producer has no plans of cutting the supply lines as of now, it will come under pressure from lenders and coal suppliers if the payments remain unpaid, according to people familiar with the internal discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Adani Power is in talks with Bangladeshs interim government to sort out this issue, they added. An Adani Group representative did not immediately respond to an email seeking a comment on the Bangladesh dues. Geopolitical Risks The delayed payments underscore the financial and geopolitical risks Adani Group faces as it steadily expands its global footprint, including in Indias neighboring nations of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal often in lockstep with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modis policy priorities. Gautam Adani shared a post on X in 2022 on the commissioning of the Godda power project and lauding the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas vision for Bangladesh. The plant started commercial operations in April last year. Besides Adani Power, a handful of other India state-owned firms, including NTPC Ltd. and PTC India Ltd., also supply electricity to Bangladesh. Theres no clarity on whether those companies have some unpaid dues as well. Also Read: Bengaluru Billionaires' Tower apartment worth 50 crore goes on sale Earlier this month, Bangladeshs powerful army chief and president helped install an interim government to calm deadly student-led protests that had forced Hasina to flee the country. But its still facing an economic crisis with overall arrears of as much as $2 billion, including dues to airlines that have to be paid immediately, Mansur said. Its foreign exchange buffer is also eroding, with gross reserves of $20.5 billion as of July 31 that are enough to cover about three months of imports. The interim government is trying to secure more loans from the International Monetary Fund, beyond a $4.7-billion program to tide over these economic hardships. The message is that we need money, Mansur said. We want to clear all the arrears. Also Read: IT and textile sector labelled 'job destroyers,' significant decline in job growth in FY 2023-24: BoB report Markets regulator Sebi barred industrialist Anil Ambani, 24 other entities, including former key officials of Reliance Home Finance from the securities market for five years over diversion of funds from the company. Sebi also has imposed a penalty of 25 crore on Anil Ambani and restrained him from being associated with the securities market including as a director or Key Managerial Personnel (KMP) in any listed company or any intermediary registered with the Also, the regulator barred Reliance Home Finance from the securities market for six months and slapped a fine of 6 lakh on it. Anil Ambani is seen. What Sebi said in its order against Anil Ambani Sebi said in its 222-page final order that Anil Ambani, with the help of RHFL's key managerial personnel, orchestrated a fraudulent scheme to siphon-off funds from RHFL by disguising them as loans to entities linked to him. The Board of Directors of RHFL issued strong directives to stop such lending practices and reviewed corporate loans regularly but the company's management ignored these orders. This suggests a significant failure of governance, driven by certain key managerial personnel under the influence of Anil Ambani, Sebi noted. Anil Ambani used his position as 'chairperson of the ADA group', Sebi notes Sebi said its findings have established the "existence of a fraudulent scheme, orchestrated by Noticee No. 2 (Anil Ambani) and administered by the KMPs of RHFL, to siphon off funds from the public listed company (RHFL) by structuring them as 'loans' to credit unworthy conduit borrowers, and in turn, to onward borrowers, all of whom have been found to be 'promoter linked entities' i.e. entities associated/ linked with Noticee 2 (Anil Ambani)". Anil Ambani used his position as 'chairperson of the ADA group' and his significant indirect shareholding in the holding company of RHFL to orchestrate the fraud. Sebi's action against 24 entities Sebi also restrained 24 entities which include former key officials of Reliance Home Finance Ltd (RHFL) -- Amit Bapna, Ravindra Sudhalkar and Pinkesh R Shah. The regulator levied a fine of 25 crore on Ambani, 27 crore on Bapna, 26 crore on Sudhalkar and 21 crore on Shah. The remaining entities including Reliance Unicorn Enterprises, Reliance Exchange next Lt, Reliance Commercial Finance Ltd, Reliance Cleangen Ltd, Reliance Business Broadcast News Holdings Ltd and Reliance Big Entertainment Private Ltd have been imposed a penalty of 25 crore each. Nestle chief executive Mark Schneider quit from the Swiss food group after eight years in charge. He will be replaced by Latin America boss Laurent Freixe, the company said as Mark Schneider has decided to relinquish his roles as CEO and member of the Board of Directors. In a statement, Mark Schneider said, Leading Nestle for the past 8 years has been an honor for me. I am grateful for what we have achieved, having transformed Nestle into a future-proofed, innovative and sustainable business. Laurent Freixe, EVP and CEO Zone Americas of Nestle, smiles during an interview in Mexico City, Mexico.(Reuters) Who is Laurent Freixe? Laurent Freixe joined Nestle in France in 1986 and has "successfully managed" the company's European zone during the 2008 financial crisis and until 2014, the statement said. After this he was named CEO of the Americas region before taking over at the newly created Latin America zone in 2022, "where he has been successfully leading through challenging conditions". Laurent Freixe has been nominated as a candidate for the board of directors at its 2025 annual general meeting, the company said. He acknowledged that "there will always be challenges" but expressed confidence in Nestle's ability to "lead and win everywhere we operate". Nestle said that Schneider "has actively shaped the company's portfolio, in line with Nestle's strategy and with a focus on high-growth categories like coffee, pet care and nutritional health products". Nestle chairman Paul Bulcke praised Laurent Freixe as a talented leader with strategic acumen, extensive in-market experience and expertise as well as a deep understanding of markets and consumers. Laurent is the perfect fit for Nestle at this time. {Laid by him in 2022} MLA Gogi damaged his own inaugurated Budhha Nullah project in Ludhiana on Friday, August 23, 2024. (HT Photo) High drama unfolded as Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Ludhiana West Gurpreet Bassi Gogi demolished the foundation stone of a pipeline project to be built under 650 crore Buddha Nullah rejuvenation project. It was Gogi who laid the foundation stone in 2022. Gogi said the move stems from frustration over the poor performance of the departments involved in the project. He pointed out that the project has been marred by multiple delays. Gogi highlighted that he had inaugurated the project to install rising pipes in the Buddha Nullah on May 18, 2022. However, the pipes are mostly blocked, and the drainage department and Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) have failed to implement the project effectively. The work was to be done under the Buddha Nullah rejuvenation project, which was launched in 2020 with an initial deadline set for 2022. However, it has since missed the deadline and as of now, officials claim that the work is 98% complete. However, locals and officials have raised the issue multiple times, claiming that the ground reality is far from these claims. The Buddha Nullah is a key water channel running through Ludhiana. Locals have time and again pointed out that the water in the channel is visibly polluted and poses serious risks for their health and the environment. MLA Gogi voiced his dissatisfaction and said most of the project payments have been made but the state of Buddha Nullah has not changed. This foundation stone is of no use if nothing has been done to clean the nullah, the MLA said. However. (MC or admn version) During a recent Vidhan Sabha committee meeting, Gogi had also demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the project. He claimed that 95% of the payments, totaling 588 crore, plus 34 crore for annual maintenance, have been cleared and despite that, the sewage treatment plants (STPs) are not functioning properly. Gogi pointed out that a meter near Wallipur village showed chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biological oxygen demand (BOD) levels far above the acceptable ranges, indicating that the water treatment plants are ineffective. Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) district chief Rajneesh Dhiman did not miss the opportunity to take a dig at the ruling AAP. He said that it clearly shows that things are not going well within the AAP. Even the MLAs are unable to get their work done. Who will listen to the common peoples problems? he questioned. He added the while AAP MLAs are putting up stones with their names on them by giving false promises of development to the people, there is zero progress in reality. Dhiman also pointed out that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has slapped a 1,026 crore fine on the state government for not taking concrete steps to manage legacy waste and sewage discharge. According to the revamp projects details, the budget was allocated for the construction of STPs, pumping stations, effluent treatment plants (ETPs) for dairy complexes and the rehabilitation of existing STPs to reduce pollution in Buddha Nullah. The project includes a maintenance period of 21 months during construction and 10 years after completion. The project was awarded to M/s Khilari Infrastructure Private Limited and GVPR Engineers Ltd. The project involves constructing two new STPs at Jamalpur and Balloke. While these STPs are operational, other parts of the project, including construction of intermediate pumping stations and the installation of pipelines, have faced delays. According to reports, sources of pollution in nullah mainly include domestic effluents, dairy waste and industrial effluents. The responsibility for the water channels cleanliness and maintenance falls upon multiple departments, including the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board, municipal corporation, Punjab Energy Development Authority and the PPCB. Former minister and senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia lauded Gogis move. Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami has requested the external affairs minister (EAM) and the Indian ambassador to Qatar to intervene for release of two holy saroops of Guru Granth Sahib which have been confiscated by the police in Doha, Qatar. Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami has requested the external affairs minister (EAM) and the Indian ambassador to Qatar to intervene for release of two holy saroops of Guru Granth Sahib which have been confiscated by the police in Doha, Qatar. (HT File) He said, Keeping the saroops confiscated at a police station is a big disrespect which cannot be tolerated. This matter was recently brought to the attention of Akal Takht Jathedar by United Kingdom-based Bhai Kanhaiya Humanitarian Aid following which the SGPC was asked to pursue the matter. In his letter to EAM S Jaishankar and ambassador to Qatar Vipul, Dhami stated that Bhai Kanhaiya Humanitarian Aid came to know that a Sikh man was arrested by the Doha police in Qatar in December last year who was later released, but the two saroops taken from him are still kept in Al Wakara police station by the Doha police. Dhami mentioned that the Sikh who was arrested and released in Doha had been practising the Sikh faith privately along with local community members in a gurdwara established in his private property at Birkat Al-Awamer without any public display due to strict restrictions of Qatar government on the non-Islamic faiths public worship, etc. Dhami sought release of saroops and their reinstallation on the same premises. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal too wrote to Jaishankar to take up the issue. She said the Sikh sangat of Qatar was perturbed at the manner in which two saroops had been seized around eight months back. She said prakash of Sri Guru Granth Sahib had been going on at two places in Doha for the last nearly 35 years. She also appealed to him to take up the issue of establishment of gurdwaras in Qatar so that Sikhs could practice their religion freely. Sikhs feel that they too should be allowed to worship in gurdwaras in the same manner as Christians. As gurdwaras are allowed in some other Islamic countries, including neighbouring Dubai (UAE), the Qatari government may also be requested to allow the Sikh community to establish its own gurdwaras on the same pattern in Qatar, she suggested. Zirakpur police on Wednesday arrested a bus driver at a prominent school in Chandigarh for repeatedly raping a 17-year-old Class 12 student of the school. According to police officials familiar with the matter, the school driver, who was employed on contract basis, submitted his resignation after the school authorities took up the matter with him. Childline helpline, which is run by the Chandigarh administration, was also informed about the crime. (HT Photo) Blackmailing her with her morphed pictures, the accused, identified as Mohammad Razaq, 26, of Manimajra, Chandigarh, raped her thrice between May and July, each time at her house, said police. Unable to bear more trauma, the minor girl finally revealed her ordeal to her parents, who lodged a complaint with the police. Acting swiftly, Zirakpur police immediately arrested the accused, who is facing charges under Sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Read more: HC: If schools are not safe, why talk about Right to Education? Had been stalking the girl for months The minor girl told the police that the accused, who was the driver of another bus in her school, said Razaq had been stalking her for several months and also approached her for friendship. After she turned him down, he morphed her pictures from a family function and threatened her with them. On May 18, she and her sister were home while their parents were away at work. Meanwhile, Razaq visited her house and coerced her into establishing sexual relations with him after threatening to circulate the objectionable pictures if she did not relent. Continuing to threaten her, she visited her house twice more on July 6 and July 26, and raped her. According to police officials familiar with the matter, the school driver, who was employed on contract basis, submitted his resignation after the school authorities took up the matter with him. Childline helpline, which is run by the UT administration, was also informed about the crime. UT director school education Harsuhinderpal Singh Brar said the school informed the education department, following which the matter was taken up with appropriate authorities. 35-year-old man sodomises 8-year-old boy In another shocking case of sexual violence against a minor in Mohali, an eight-year-old boy was sodomised by a 35-year-old man, said police. Identified as Gurdip Singh of Mohali, the accused took the boy to the jungle area of Boothgarh and sodomised him, according to the complaint of the childs father. My son alerted me after he started bleeding, following which I informed the police, the complainant said. Police arrested the accused on Wednesday and on Thursday produced him before a local court that sent him to two-day police custody. He was booked under Sections 137 (2) and 351 (3) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and under relevant sections of POCSO Act at the Majri police station. 23-year-old woman raped, impregnated Police also launched a manhunt for a Zirakpur resident who raped and impregnated a 23-year-old woman after luring her with the promise of marriage. The accused works at a clinic and lives in a rented accommodation near the house of the victim who works as a domestic help. The woman alleged that the accused established sexual relations with her after promising to marry her. After she discovered that she was four months pregnant, she approached him for marriage, but he backtracked from his promise and has ever since cut all contact. His mobile phone also remains out of reach. Thus, she approached the police. Police have booked the accused under Sections 376 (2) (n) of IPC at the Zirakpur police station. UP native rapes cousin Another case of sexual violence came to fore in Zirakpur, where an Uttar Pradesh native raped his maternal cousin. The 23-year-old complainant told police that her cousin lived with her family in Ludhiana for two years. He brought her to Chhat village in Zirakpur, where he raped her in the bushes near the zoo. After marriage, she revealed the matter to her husband, who lodged a police complaint. Zirakpur police have booked the accused under Section 376 of IPC and launched a probe to arrest him. The Supreme Court on Friday issued a stern rebuke to land-owning and development authorities in Noida, castigating them for their indifference for the suffering endured by thousands of homebuyers who have been waiting for years to receive their apartments. These homebuyers, the top court lamented, have found themselves trapped between real estate developers inability to complete construction and the authorities relentless pursuit of recovering dues owed by such developers. The bench directed YEIDA to submit records of schemes and regulations it has framed and implemented to ensure the protection of homebuyers interests. (Sanchit Khanna/HT photo) Most of the projects under the IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) are in Noida, and Noida authorities are largely to blame for this. The scheme they framed, they never bothered about flat buyers. They are least concerned about flat buyers, remarked a bench led by justice Sanjiv Khanna the bench, highlighting the systemic neglect of homebuyers rights. Coming down hard on the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) for assailing a resolution plan for the debt-ridden Jaypee Infratech Limited (JIL) over compensation claims, the court rued that the authorities in Noida prioritised the recovery of dues from developers over the interests of those who had invested in homes. The bench, also comprising justices Sanjay Kumar and R Mahadevan, directed YEIDA to submit records of schemes and regulations it has framed and implemented to ensure the protection of homebuyers interests when entering concession agreements with private developers. Read more: Excise policy case: CBI gets Delhi court's sanction to prosecute Arvind Kejriwal Asserting that the authority must act in a way to protect the flat buyers, the bench added: You cant say Im concerned only about my money and that I have nothing to do with the flat buyers. That wont be acceptable to this court. The directive came during the courts hearing of YEIDAs appeal against a May 24 order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), which had approved the Suraksha Groups resolution plan for JIL, which has failed to deliver nearly 20,000 apartments in its Wish Town housing project in Noida and Greater Noida. The Supreme Courts insistence on protecting homebuyers interests offers a glimmer of hope for tens of thousands of homebuyers, who have been caught in the crossfire of the prolonged real estate and financial dispute. For nearly a decade, these homebuyers have faced uncertainty and financial strain as real estate developers failed to deliver promised apartments, while development authorities focussed primarily on recovering their dues. As soon as the matter came up on Friday, the court, however, was clear in its stance that the authority could not focus solely on recovering its dues at the expense of the homebuyers. Even if you want a concessionaire to pay, they will not pay from their own pocket. They will shift the burden on the home buyers... Ultimate sufferers are the flat buyers, it told solicitor general Tushar Mehta, who appeared for YEIDA. While SG pointed out that the authority was not against the rehabilitation of the projects, but was acting in a public duty to collect dues that will eventually be used for public amenities, the bench countered by demanding evidence of what YEIDA had done so far to assist the distressed homebuyers. Read more: Legally Speaking | A look at the Supreme Court's judgment on the right to privacy of adolescents You told NCLAT that you want to extend a helping hand to the home buyers. Now, you show us what you have done... Let us tell you that if you are not concerned about the home buyers, this court will step in, the bench remarked. In its order, the court directed YEIDA to submit a detailed affidavit outlining the monetary and other concessions granted to homebuyers, as well as the status of projects delayed due to IBC proceedings. The authority was also instructed to provide specific clauses in its agreement with Jaypee Infratech that were meant to protect the interests of flat buyers. You gave it (land) to Jaypee, and you cannot now say I am not responsible for anything. You must tell us what you have done, the bench told SG while scheduling the next hearing in October. The court also refrained from interfering with separate proceedings initiated by YEIDA, which challenged an arbitral award favoring Jaypee against the authoritys demand for additional compensation from the lessees of land, including corporate debtors. NCLATs May 24 order had set aside a previous decision by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) that had asked Suraksha Group to pay only 10 lakh towards farmers increased land compensation. YEIDA had sought 1,689 crore in compensation, but NCLAT ultimately ruled that Suraksha Group could pay 79% of this amount 1,334.3 crore over four years. The impugned order passed by adjudicating authority (NCLT) insofar as it deals with the claim of the appellant of 1,689 crore of additional farmers compensation is set aside. The rest of the impugned order approving the resolution plan is upheld, stated the NCLAT order, delivered by chairperson justice Ashok Bhushan and member (technical) Barun Mitra. NCLAT directed Suraksha Group to implement its modified resolution plan, emphasising the need for swift action to benefit all stakeholders, including 20,000 homebuyers and 10,000 farmers. NCLAT order revived hopes of homebuyers, who have been waiting nearly a decade to receive their homes many of whom have paid over 50% of the total flat cost. In addition, YEIDA had also raised a demand in April 2024 for Suraksha Group to pay 1,500 crore as external development charges (EDC) for the development of common area facilities in the Wish Town project. However, NCLATs order did not address the EDC demand, leaving the issue unresolved. Also Read: NCR real estate news: Work on 41 towers of Jaypee Wish Town resumes The Karnataka government on Friday suggested a slew of measures to be adopted to ensure the safety and security of doctors working in hospitals across the state. Karnataka govt recommends safety measures for doctors post Kolkata incident(AP) A meeting chaired by Minister for Medical Education Sharanprakash Patil discussed safety measures for doctors, nurses and hospital staff. Members of the doctors association were asked to draft a document so that the Department of Medical Education can prepare a standard advisory. After the recent rape and murder of a woman doctor in Kolkata, which has shocked the entire nation, the safety profile for the working doctors has once again been reviewed, the Director of Medical Education Dr Shobha Rathod said. Also Read - Bengaluru airport cab ride to get dearer for passengers after new pick-up point tariffs. Full details On the instructions of our minister, we have held a meeting with all the directors of the government institutes and the super specialty hospitals to identify the gaps in the safety profile for our working doctors, she told PTI. According to DME, there are 71 medical colleges including 22 government medical colleges under the Department of Medical Education. Apart from them, there are nursing and paramedical institutes in the state. During the meet, the department also reviewed the safety lapses. Following the Nirbhaya advisory, the department has been insisting that there are no dark corridors anywhere and all the places should be well lit, Rathod said adding that CCTV cameras should be installed in most of the areas. The security personnel are the ones who can walk anywhere with the consent in all the areas of the institute, so whether we have a good background check of all these people whom we take under security and housekeeping, that was one issue. Also Read - Bengaluru airport cab ride to get dearer for passengers after new pick-up point tariffs. Full details All the institutes have the Prevention of Sexual Harassment committees, which can also suggest a precautionary measure so that if there is any such incident then an alert can be sounded. Rathod said the POSH committees have been regularly conducting meeting to make sure that there are no incidents of harassment of women. The department is also using Artificial Intelligence for the safety of each doctor. Self-defence training of the doctors and counseling of medical professionals regarding their stress levels were also discussed, she explained. We are also encouraging pink boxes so that in case of unbiased complaints, the administration can look into it, Dr Rathod said. Introducing of code white system. - If there is something called a code white, which we have already seen, it being worked out in our Indian Institute of nephro-urology, that will make all of them alert, how quickly we can be alerted if there is an untoward incident which is happening, she added. Mumbai What is the use of speaking about the right to education if children are not safe inside schools, the Bombay high court asked on Thursday as it heard a suo motu plea on the alleged sexual assault of two kindergartners at a school in Badlapur. The incident sparked protests earlier in the week with thousands of people blocking the Central Railway Line. If public had to come to the streets, then think about the future, the Bombay high court said. (HT Photo) The division bench of justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan also pulled up the state police, saying it was not at all happy with the manner in which the Badlapur police handled the case. If the school is not a safe place then whats the use of speaking about all this right to education and all other things Even 4-year-old girls arent being spared, justice Mohite-Dere remarked. What is this situation? Extremely shocking, the judge said. A male attendant allegedly sexually assaulted two girls, aged around 4, in the schools washroom on August 12 and 13. The FIR was, however, registered on August 16, and the accused was arrested the following day, according to police documents presented in court. Read more: Kolkata rape-murder: CBI gets nod for polygraph test on ex-principal, 4 doctors Unless there is a strong public outburst, the machinery wont move, the court remarked. The sexual assault of the two girls was not only heinous, but also shocks the conscience, it said. Such serious matters where girls as young as three and four years old have been sexually assaulted... how can the police take it so lightly, the court questioned. If schools are not a safe place, what is a child supposed to do? What did a three and four-year-old child do? This is absolutely shocking, the court said. The bench directed the police to ensure that all support was given to the victims and their families, adding that the minors should not be victimised further. In this case, the girls complained, (but) there might be so many cases which may have gone unnoticed, the court said. Read more: Security of complainants in Brij Bhushan case removed? Delhi Police refutes Police should have offered support to the families of the two girls, but it did not happen, said the judges. First thing, the police should have filed FIR. School authorities were silent. This discourages people from coming forward, the judges observed. People should not lose faith in the police system or the judicial system. If public had to come to the streets then think about the future, the HC said. The police department should take some steps to sensitise its officials and staff, the judges said, while directing the SIT set up to probe the case to file a report by August 27 on what steps it had taken regarding recording of the statements of the girls and their families. The report should also explain why there was a delay in registering the FIR by the Badlapur police and recording the statement of the second victim, the court said. We are appalled that the Badlapur police has not taken any steps to take the statement of the second girl to date, the HC said. If it found that there was an attempt to hush up the case, it would not hesitate to take action against the concerned police officer, the high court stated. Also tell us what steps the state government is taking to ensure the safety and security of girls. There can be no compromise on this, said the judges. The bench noted that the school authorities were aware of the incident, but kept silent and did not inform the police. Under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, non-reporting of a sexual assault is also an offence, the court observed. Maharashtra Advocate General Birendra Saraf assured the court that action would be taken against the school authorities on Thursday itself. Saraf informed that the errant police officials at the Badlapur police station have been suspended. The incident sparked a massive protest in Badlapur on August 20 when parents and locals blocked the Central railway line for over nine hours in protest against delay in police action. The accused was arrested on August 17, a day after the FIR was registered. In the sweltering heat of India's Thar desert, where summer highs soar above 50 degrees Celsius, an architecturally striking school is an oasis of cool thanks to a combination of age-old techniques and modern design. HT Image The Rajkumari Ratnavati girls' school uses the same yellow sandstone as the 12th-century fort in nearby Jaisalmer, in India's western state of Rajasthan, dubbed the "golden city" due to the colour of the rock. Like the fort, the school has thick rubble walls that help bounce back the heat, while the interior is plastered with lime, a porous material that regulates humidity and aids natural cooling. Unlike the ancient fort, its roof is lined with solar panels, which provide all the school's power in an area with frequent electricity cuts. Temperatures inside the school, designed by US-based architect Diana Kellogg and built by local artisans many of them parents of pupils can be as much as 20 percent lower than those outside. "I love going to the school," said eight-year-old Khushboo Kumari, one of the 170 students. "The air feels as if it is coming from an AC." The school's classrooms are arranged around an open elliptical courtyard resembling a Roman coliseum, and walls with grids of vents create shade while allowing for cooling airflow. Elevated windows allow hot air to escape as it rises. Rainwater is harvested from the flat roof. In some places, the walls are dotted with perforations a technique known as "jali" that was traditionally used for modesty, shielding women from view in the conservative society. At the school, it is used to promote ventilation, creating a breeze channelled by the building's oval shape. "There is cross-ventilation," said school supervisor Rajinder Singh Bhati, aged 29. "The white tiles on the terrace reflect the sunlight." "It is totally eco-friendly." India this year baked in its longest-ever heatwave, according to government weather experts. Temperatures surged above 50 degrees Celsius , with warnings people will face increasingly oppressive heat in the future. Manohar Lal, 32, the father of pupil Khushboo, said students looked forward to class thanks to the relative cool. "There are frequent power cuts in Rajasthan, and children have to suffer as temperatures touch almost 50 degrees Celsius in summer," Lal said outside his modest home of mud and brick, which does not have a ceiling fan. "But there are no such worries in the school because it is powered by solar energy," he added. "It is airy and cool, and that is why the children enjoy going to school". The school is supported by the US-based CITTA Education Foundation, meaning pupils attend for free in a state where the literacy rate for women is about 52 percent. Uniforms, school materials and lunch for pupils are also provided. "It's a big thing that they are getting quality education free of cost, considering they can't even afford proper meals or clothing," said Hindi teacher Priyanka Chhangani, 40. Kellogg, the architect, said combining tradition with modern design and sustainable techniques was key. "Because the craftsmen were so familiar with the stone, we were able to integrate traditional architectural details along with indigenous heritage details, so that the structure felt authentic to the region", she said. Her oval design was inspired by "feminine symbols of strength", she added. But while her design focused on tackling baking heat, it also faces an unexpected, climate change-driven problem floods. Intense rainfall during the annual monsoon is common from June to September, but experts say climate change is increasing its frequency and severity. That increased rainfall has begun to impact the school, which was designed for a drier climate. This year, a long-dormant river was overflowing, washing away soil at one side of the school. Rajan Rawal, a professor at India's Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology University, said the increasing intensity of rain was impacting buildings designed for other weather. "Disasters like heat waves and floods impact the structural stability," Rawal said. They also affect the thermal performance of the building, he added. But teacher Chhangani said the school was still changing the lives of the pupils. "These children don't even have fans at home," she said. "When they come to school, it feels like heaven to them." abh/pjm/smw This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Maharashtra Supplementary Result 2024 Live: MSBSHSE supply results have been declared at mahresult.nic.in, direct link to check is given here. Maharashtra Supplementary Result 2024 Live: Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, MSBSHSE has declared the Maharashtra HSC SSC Supply Results 2024 on August 23, 2024. The Class 10th, 12th supplementary results was announced at 1 pm today. Candidates who have appeared for the supply examination can check the results on the official website of MSBSHSE at mahahsscboard.in and also on mahresult.nic.in....Read More DIRECT LINK TO CHECK MAHARASHTRA SSC SUPPLY RESULTS 2024 DIRECT LINK TO CHECK MAHARASHTRA HSC SUPPLY RESULTS 2024 The Class 10 supplementary examination was conducted from July 16 to July 30, 2024. The examination was held in two shifts- first shift from 11 am to 2 pm and second shift from 3 pm to 5 pm. The Class 12 supplementary examination was conducted from July 16 to August 8, 2024 for general and bifocal courses. The examination was held in two shifts- from 11 am to 2 pm and from 3 pm to 6 pm. The Maharashtra SSC result was announced on May 27 and Maharashtra HSC result was announced on May 21, 2024. Follow the blog for latest updates on results, direct link and more. The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) has long been the gateway to India's prestigious medical institutions. Still, its evolving landscape has transformed the exam into a dynamic and demanding entity. With the exam pattern and syllabus changing, students must be agile and responsive to adapt their preparation strategies and stay ahead in the race for a coveted seat in India's top medical institutions.(Sanjeev Verma/HT file) Every year, lakhs of students participate in NEET, making it one of India's most competitive entrance exams. The sheer number of aspirants, combined with the limited number of seats available in medical colleges, creates a high-stakes environment where even the slightest advantage can make a significant difference. With the exam pattern and syllabus changing, students must be agile and responsive to adapt their preparation strategies and stay ahead in the race for a coveted seat in India's top medical institutions. Healthcare has become one of Indias largest sectors, both in terms of revenue and employment. According to IBEF, the Indian Healthcare industry continued its healthy growth in 2023 and reached a value of US$372 billion, driven by both the private sector and the government. As of 2024, the Indian healthcare sector is one of Indias largest employers, employing 7.5 million people. The NEET has long been a cornerstone for medical aspirants in India, determining admission to MBBS, BDS, and other undergraduate medical courses. With each passing year, the NEET exam pattern evolves, reflecting changes in educational standards and the needs of students. Revised Question Structure The NEET 2025 syllabus reflects this trend, ensuring the exam content is more relevant to the current NCERT textbooks. The structure of the NEET 2025 exam will continue to follow the pattern established in previous years but with refined question formats. The exam will consist of 200 multiple-choice questions (MCQs), of which students must attempt 180. Each subjectPhysics, Chemistry, and Biology (split into Botany and Zoology)is divided into sections: Section A and Section B. Section A includes 35 mandatory questions. At the same time, Section B allows students to choose 10 out of 15 questions to answer. This optional section introduces a strategic element to the exam, where students must carefully select questions that play to their strengths. Extended Exam Duration The exam duration for NEET 2025 will remain at 3 hours and 20 minutes, as in 2024. This extension is intended to give students ample time to consider their options in Section B, reducing the pressure and allowing for more thoughtful responses. Language and Accessibility NEET 2025 will be offered in 13 languages, including English, Hindi, and regional, to cater to India's diverse linguistic backgrounds. This inclusive approach enables students to take the exam in their preferred language, reducing language barriers and promoting equal opportunities for all. The NEET 2025 exam pattern changes present challenges and opportunities for students. Preparing for NEET requires a strategic approach that goes beyond rote learning. Focus on Core Concepts With the streamlined syllabus, students must focus intensely on core topics aligned with the NCERT curriculum. This reduction in syllabus content means that every topic covered becomes crucial, and students must aim for a deep understanding rather than superficial knowledge. Emphasis on NCERT textbooks will be more pronounced, and students should incorporate these texts as the foundation of their study material. Strategic Question Selection The optional questions in Section B of each subject introduce a new dimension to the test-taking strategy. Students must practice the skill of selective answering, choosing questions where they are most confident. This approach not only maximises scoring potential but also minimises the risk associated with negative marking. Regular practice with mock tests that simulate the new exam pattern will be essential for mastering this strategy. Time Management and Stamina The extended exam duration requires students to build endurance and maintain focus over a longer period. Effective time management becomes critical, and students should practice pacing themselves to ensure they can complete the exam within the allotted time. Incorporating regular breaks during study sessions and simulating exam conditions will help build the necessary stamina. Preparing to Uncertainty While the revised pattern offers more clarity about what to expect, the unpredictability of NEETs difficulty level remains a factor. Students should prepare for various scenarios, including the possibility of tougher questions or unexpected twists in the exam format. This adaptability will be key to handling the pressure on exam day. The evolution of the NEET exam pattern in 2024 reflects a broader trend towards creating a more focused and concept-driven assessment for medical aspirants. While these changes present new challenges, they also offer opportunities for students to fine-tune their preparation strategies. As always, thorough preparation, self-discipline, and adaptability will be the keys to success. (Author Nidheesh Saxena is Senior Director of Admissions, Gitam Deemed to be University. Views expressed are personal.) As many as 40 children, between the age group of eight to 15 years, were injured when a floor of the verandah of the first floor of a private school building caved in Lucknows adjoining Barabanki district on Friday morning, confirmed senior police officials. 40 students were injured in Barabanki after first floor of school caved in. (Representative image/RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO) Barabanki District Magistrate, Satyendra Kumar said around 25 injured students are undergoing treatment at Jahangeerabad Community Health Centre located merely 300 meters from the accident site while the remaining . He said the students are being provided with the best medical facility and the children trapped on the first floor after the portion of its floor caved in was rescued. Also read: Coaching centre death case: Delhi court rejects bail pleas of 4 co-owners of basement, details here He said the school has been sealed till further orders while a magisterial inquiry has been ordered to probe into the reason behind the cave-in. He said the legal action will be initiated against the school authorities and other people responsible for the incident. Sharing further details, Barabanki Superintendent of Police (SP), Dinesh Kumar Singh informed that the incident occurred at Awadh Academy School under Jahangeerabad police station limits at around 8 am when students were preparing for the morning assembly. Also read: Maharashtra SSC, HSC Supplementary results 2024 out at mahresult.nic.in, here's how to check He said the preliminary investigation revealed that the first floor caved in apparently due to overloading. He explained that quite possibly the construction quality was not so good, and many children came together on the first floor to line up for the morning assembly following which the incident happened. He said the school manager and other responsible authorities, who were not found at the school after the incident, will be questioned and the strictest action will be taken against them as per the findings. The priority is to provide medical treatment to the injured students, he added. Also read: Master in Business Administration: Elevate your leadership potential with UMass Global's MBA Program The SP said parents of the students were informed and the help desk was set up at the school and the hospital to help students reach their homes safely. He said one more thing has come to light the school has affiliation till 10th standard, but the school authorities were taking admission and running classes till 12th standard. He said the education department authorities have been asked to give their report in this regard. The Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS) held a protest demonstration outside the Delhi University Vice-Chancellors Office here on Thursday where a joint meeting of the varsity's academic council and executive council was convened to discuss the issue of the funding crunch faced by 12 colleges. The students have demanded that a provision should be made to reserve 85 percent of seats for the Delhi government school students in the 12 colleges.(Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo) The students demanded 85 percent reservation for the Delhi government school students in these 12 colleges that are fully funded by the state government. Carrying posters bearing slogans like "Our funding, our seats", and "Say no to shoving government school students in SOL", the students gathered outside the VC office raising their demands. "Every year lakhs of students pass out of Delhi schools, especially the schools run by the Delhi government. These students are mostly from deprived sections and first-generation learners from their families. However, very few are able to make it to the higher education institutions in Delhi, especially the DU, because a large majority of seats are cornered by private school students from Delhi as well as from other states, including in Delhi government-funded colleges. Also Read: DU admissions: Nearly 92 % of UG seats at Delhi University filled in first round; 65,800 students admitted "As a consequence, most of the students are shoved into pathetic informal-mode institutions such as DUs School of Open Learning (SOL) or are forced to drop out altogether," the students body said in a statement. As per the Shri Prakash Singh Committee constituted by the DU Executive Council in December 2023, these 12 colleges were established especially for catering to the needs of the students of Delhi and, therefore, are 100 percent funded by the Delhi government, it said. "This expressly implies that these 12 colleges are being run through Delhis taxpayers money. We demand that these DU colleges must cater to the educational needs of Delhi government school students," the statement said. The students have demanded that a provision should be made to reserve 85 percent of seats for the Delhi government school students in the 12 colleges. They have also demanded that evening classes should be started in all Delhi government-funded colleges and the total number of seats in Delhi University should be increased. Also Read: DU finalises probe committee's recommendations on irregularity in 12 fully funded colleges New Delhi, The fifth edition of Delhi Theatre Festival will return from September 20 with plays by theatre and cinema veterans like Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Shabana Azmi and Lillete Dubey. 5th season of Delhi Theatre Festival to feature plays by Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah Organised by Alchemist Live, the shows will be staged at the Siri Fort Auditorium, Kamani Auditorium, and OP Jindal Auditorium in Delhi, and Orana Conventions in Gurugram. The three-day festival will stage a total of seven plays by some of the most noted names in theatre. On September 20-21, Ratna Pathak and Naseeruddin Shah's "Old World" will be staged at the Siri Fort Auditorium. The play will move to Orana Conventions on September 22. The drama involving the actor couple is revolves around the friendship that develops between an eccentric woman and a reserved doctor after a chance encounter at a health resort. Twinkle Khanna's celebrated play "Salaam Noni Appa", featuring Lillete Dubey, Yateen Karyekar and Jayati Bhatia will open at Kamani Auditorium on September 21. "Salaam Noni Appa" explores the dynamics between two widow sisters, as one of them finds love in a younger man. Mandira Bedi and Samir Soni's "Anything but Love" will be staged at Kamani Auditorium on September 20. A comedy for adults, "Anything but Love" is a story of two people, recently divorced but maybe still very much in love. "Broken Images" by Shabana Azmi will be staged at Orana Conventions on September 21. The show features Azmi playing two sisters living under the same roof - one an intellectually brilliant paraplegic, the other a plodding writer - but the arrangement is fraught, because as they respond to life together, and separately, they continually modify the image they have of each other and the world around. "Delhi Theatre Festival has always held a special place in my heart. Performing for a Delhi audience is always an invigorating experience. Returning to Delhi to perform 'Broken Images' after a couple of years fills me both with excitement and anxiety," Azmi said in a statement. "One on One Dhamaal" by Rajit Kapur, Vrajesh Hirjee, Sumeet Vyas, Sohrab Ardeshir, Anu Menon, and Shikha Talsania will be staged on September 21 at OP Jindal Auditorium. The unique theatrical production brings together nine of Mumbai's finest actors to deliver monologues and duologues in English and Hindi to address subjects as varied as marriage, Bollywood, inedible airline food, the politics of road naming ceremonies, and the experience of living in a big city. "Jaya - A Rock Musical of the Mahabharata", featuring Megan Murray, 2Blue, Vikrant Chaturvedi, and Asif Ali Beg will go live at Siri Fort Auditorium on September 22. "Jaya presents the key events of the Mahabharata in a dramatic montage style through the eyes of Yudhishthira. It examines and contrasts his experiments with truth with two divergent beliefs and viewpoints: those of Duryodhana and his faith in victory and power at any cost, and those of Karnas fatalism and belief in an unchangeable destiny. Vinay Pathak and Rajat Kapoor's "Whats Done is Done" will be staged at OP Jindal Auditorium on September 22. Julio and Pedro draws you into the world of Macbeth or Macky B & Lady Macbeth, an adaptation of Macbeth and his lady. "This is the third time we are collaborating with Delhi Theatre Festival. We have been there with 'nothing like Lear', and this time we are back at the festival with 'what's done is done', which is our adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. A theatre festival like this is a wonderful idea - to work as a bridge between theatre practitioners and audience," Kapoor said. Talking about the festival, Prabhu Tony, COO and co-founder of Alchemist LIVE, said that they are trying to introduce new formats within the realm of theatre every year. "The energy and anticipation surrounding the Delhi Theatre Festival is truly inspiring. As we embark on our incredible fifth season, Alchemist Live is determined to raise the bar even higher. This year's festival promises to be a captivating exploration of theatrical diversity. We envision the Delhi Theatre Festival as a global hub for theatre enthusiasts, and we're honoured to provide a platform where playwrights, actors, and audiences can come together to celebrate the magic of live performance," Tony said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Earlier this year, Ayesha Takia who was seen in films like Dil Maange More, Dor, No Smoking, Wanted, Salaam-E-Ishq and Paathshaala was spotted with her son at Mumbai airport after a long time. The former actor had slammed trolls for 'dissecting her looks' at that time. Ayesha is once again grabbing attention for her looks, and this time, she has deactivated her account after facing a fresh round of trolling amid plastic surgery rumours. Also read: Ayesha Takia throws subtle shade at her haters in Instagram post Ayesha Takia's latest Instagram post grabbed a lot of attention. Ayesha's 'Instagram page isn't available' After she posted a glimpse of her ethnic blue and golden saree look on August 19, a section of social media users said that Ayesha looked almost unrecognisable after having 'undergone plastic surgery'. Amid all the chatter around her 'new look', the actor's Instagram account is now deactivated. Here's what it says: Ayesha Takia deactivates Instagram account. Ayesha is yet to issue a statement, unlike in February this year when she schooled people who were obsessing over her appearance and insinuating that she was looking to make a comeback in films. Ayesha is married to Farhan Azmi, who is a restaurateur. He is also politician Abu Azmi's son. Ayesha and Farhan have a son, Mikail. Ayesha Takia on being trolled for her look She had shared on Instagram in February 2024, Need to say this, rushed to Goa two days ago Had a medical emergency in my family... My sister has literally been in hospital. Amidst all this, I remember being stopped by paps and posing for them for basically a few seconds before flying off. Turns out there are no other important issues in the country except dissecting my looks. She went on to clarify that she had 'zero interest in films or comeback', adding, Been bombarded by viral ridiculous opinions of how people think I should have looked and don't. Literally get over me yaar, I have zero interest in doing any films or any comeback like people are saying. I'm living my life happily, never want to be in the limelight, not interested in any fame, don't wanna be in any film...So chill.. Pls feel free to not care about me at all. Expecting a girl whose mostly been seen in her teens to look identical even after 15 years...How unrealistic and ridiculous are these ppl...Lol please find better things to do with your time rather than pick apart good looking women, I'm blessed with a fabulous life and do not need your opinions, save it for those interested. I'm sending back all your sh***y energy. Do better ppl, get a hobby, eat a fun meal, talk to your friend, smile, whatever it takes to not feel so unhappy that u need to tell a gorgeous happy woman how she's not looking like u wanted, she had added. Mallika Sherawat recently support on social media thanks to a throwback video in which a journalist attacked her for calling India regressive. The actor has now spoken about the impact of US Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, in reference to another old post of hers. In an old post, she had predicted that Kamala could become the future US President. Now, in an interview with Vanity Fair, Mallika praised Kamala again. (Also read: Mallika Sherawat's old 'Kamala Harris could be US President' tweet resurfaces, fans say she was spot on) Mallika Sherawat reacted to her old Kamala Harris tweet and said women politicians are rare in India. Mallika Sherawat on lesser women politicians in India She lauded her for being a self-made leader, in contrast to women politicians from dynastic or royal families in India. Mallika recalled attending an intimate Beverly Hills fundraiser for Kamala who was then running for California attorney general and stated that, I was feeling like a fish out of water. It was my first time in LA, and she really put me at ease. I remember her saying that getting out of your comfort zone is good to build character, and itll make you a stronger person." Mallika added, "Coming from India, female politicians are so rare. If they are there, they come from a very dynastic or royal family. Here I was meeting a lady who had built everything with her own two hands. Malllika's 2009 tweet resurfaced a month ago in which she shared a picture with the US Presidential nominee and wrote, Having fun at a fancy event with a woman who they say could be US President, Kamala Harris. Chicks rule! Why Mallika was in news recently For the unversed, during a 2013 press conference for the Indian reality show Bachelorette India, Mallika was asked why does she find India regressive. The actor reshared the post and mentioned that she was harassed and bullied for her opinion. The actor pointed out, With female foeticide and infanticide happening in almost a daily basis, with gangrapes making the headlines of every newspaper Today I read in the paper, according to UNFPA, 40 percent of Indian women are married below the age of 18, I think it is a very, very regressive state for women. And I stand by it. Mallika Sherawat's acting career Mallika made her Bollywood debut with Govind Menon's Khwahish (2003). She later achieved her first commercial hit with Anurag Basu's Murder, co-starring Emraan Hashmi and Ashmit Patel. The film was produced by Mahesh Bhatt and became one of the biggest hits of 2004. She also worked in popular movies such as Pyaar Ke Side Effects, Welcome, Double Dhamaal, and Dirty Politics. Additionally, the actor starred in Hollywood films like Hiss and Politics of Love. Mallika was last seen in the Tamil horror-thriller Pambattam. Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan took some time out from his busy schedule and stepped out to pay his respect to late veteran press photographer Pradeep Bandekar at a prayer meet. Also read: Shah Rukh Khan reveals he keeps some of his 300 awards in his 9-storey office: It's not a room but a library... Shah Rukh Khan seemed in a sombre mood at the prayer meet. Shah Rukh at prayer meet On Friday, a prayer meeting in memory of Pradeep was held at a hotel in Juhu in Mumbai. He passed away on August 11 at his residence in Mumbai. The prayer meeting was attended by several stars from the film industry. Shah Rukh attended the prayer meet, and paid his respect to the departed soul. He was spotted entering and exiting the venue by several photographers stationed outside the hotel. Shah Rukh was seen wearing white shirt paired with denims, and black shades. He seemed to be in a sombre mood. The actor attended the prayer meet with his manager Pooja Dadlani. About Pradeep Bandekars death Earlier this month, it was reported that Pradeep passed away. The news was confirmed by his son Prathamesh. He was 70. After learning about Pradeep Bandekars death, several members of the Indian film industry, including Ajay Devgn and Bipasha Basu, took to their respective social media handles to pay their condolences. Ajay Devgn wrote on X, Pradeep Bandekar jis passing is a personal loss His decades-long bond with our family goes beyond the lens He will be dearly missed and fondly remembered. Om Shanti. Bipasha Basu reacted to the news of Pradeep Bandekars demise on Instagram, writing, RIP Pradeep ji. Strength to the family. In his decades-long career, Pradeep had worked closely with several Bollywood stars, from Ajay Devgn to Manoj Bajpayee. On the work front Shah Rukh is currently prepping for his under-production action-drama King, in which he portrays a gangster. Shah Rukh, in an interview with Variety, said that Sujoy Ghosh's King is going to be a massy, emotional film. Shah Rukh has also done voiceover for the Hindi version of Disney's photorealistic animated musical-drama The Lion King. While the actor plays the grown-up version of Mufasa, his sons Aryan Khan and AbRam Khan have voiced Simba and younger Mufasa, respectively. The movie is scheduled to release on December 20. Sonakshi Sinha's apartment in Mumbai's Bandra West is reportedly up for sale soon after her June wedding with actor Zaheer Iqbal. While Sonakshi is yet to react to reports of her listing the spacious 4200 sq. ft. sea-facing property for 25 crore, an ETimes report quoted a source close to the actor, who revealed why the celebrity home was on the market. Also read: Sonakshi Sinha's wedding home listed for sale; fans wonder why so soon? Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal married on June 23 in the presence of their loved ones at her residence in Mumbai. Sonakshi has bought a bigger apartment? The source said the reason behind Sonakshi's decision was linked to Zaheer, who hails from a family that has a construction business. They said, "Sonakshi has bought a bigger apartment in a building that Zaheer is developing." Earlier in August, details of Sonakshi's home being on sale were shared by the real-estate Instagram account, The Property Store, which said the apartment was located in the prestigious 81 Aureate Building, Bandra Reclamation. The home is fully furnished and is now priced at 25 crore. Sonakshi herself liked the post. Check it out: Step inside Sonakshi's Mumbai home Sky-high ceilings, open floor plans, large windows and lots of statement mirrors were some of the highlights of Sonakshi's Mumbai apartment. Ample natural light, wide open spaces, and beautiful views of the city and sea on either side make the celebrity home appealing. Plus, the colour theme light brown, grey and terracotta adds and distinct personality to her house, which she showed in a 2023 home tour video shared by Architectural Digest (AD). The actor's house has a luxe, minimalistic look while incorporating enough storage features sliding walls, Murphy beds, automated screens to ensure a clutter-free environment. The house, complete with wrap-around terraces, was earlier a four-bedroom apartment. Sonakshi's 1.5-bedroom home has an art studio, a yoga area, a dedicated dressing room, and a walk-in wardrobe overlooking the sea. The earlier 4-bedroom flat came with provisions for a private pool on the terrace, which was converted into a pit with comfortable seating. Matthew Perry's suspected 'ketamine queen', Jasveen Sangha, may have referred to the Friends actor as Chandler. Matthew Perry died in October 2023. His death was attributed to the acute effects of ketamine, according to a toxicology report dated December 2023.(Brian Ach/Invision/AP) Erik Fleming's plea deal, which Us Weekly was able to access, states that during their conversation on or around October 12, 2023, Sangha mentioned Perry using the name of a well-known character that [Perry] portrayed in a television series when they were discussing supplying ketamine to Perry. Fleming, who is Perry's acquaintance, entered a guilty plea to one count each of ketamine sale plot and ketamine distribution leading to the actor's demise. Sangha entered a not guilty plea in her case, and she remains in custody as the judge denied her bail last week. The plea agreement did not particularly mention which name Sangha allegedly used for Perry. 54-year-old Perry died in October 2023. His death was attributed to the acute effects of ketamine, according to a toxicology report dated December 2023. Other contributing factors included coronary artery disease, the effects of buprenorphine, and drowning. Also Read: Matthew Perry found 'unconscious' multiple times before his fatal overdose, here's what happened Matthew Perry's death probe Earlier this month, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California revealed that five persons had been charged in relation to Perry's death, despite the fact that his death was initially ruled an accident. The five individuals include Fleming, Perry's former assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, Sangha, Dr. Salvador Plasencia, and Dr. Mark Chavez. According to the documents, Fleming allegedly texted Sangha using the Signal app two days after Perry's demise, stating that he was 90 percent sure everyone is protected and referred to Iwamasa as the enabler. Sangha, Plasencia, and Chavez were accused of conspiring to distribute ketamine. Sangha was additionally charged with one count of keeping a drug-related establishment, one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intention to supply, one count of possessing ketamine with the intent to distribute, and five counts of ketamine distribution. While Chavez has consented to enter a guilty plea, Plasencia and Sangha entered not guilty pleas. Iwamasa confessed to frequently injecting Perry with ketamine without medical expertise, including on the day of his passing. Earlier this month, he entered a guilty plea to one charge of conspiracy to distribute ketamine causing death. Angelina Jolie's 85-year-old father, Jon Voight, an Oscar-winning actor in his own right, recently spoke out about how Brad Pitt and her divorce drama is consuming their children's lives. Cast member Jon Voight attends a premiere for the film "Reagan" at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, California, U.S., August 20, 2024. (REUTERS) While he had much to say about it, his advice's crux was summed up in his firm three-word suggestion to the F1 actor: End this nonsense. Jolie's dad has evidently had enough of it all. As blunt as his words may seem, he presumably did it all in good faith, with their children in mind. Entangled in a contentious, almost eight-year-long legal battle over their $164 French winery, the divorced couple were recently plagued by a new piece of heart-rending news in the family. Their 21-year-old son Pax suffered head injuries after a helmetless accident while riding his e-bike in Los Angeles. Angelina Jolie's father wants her and Brad Pitt to make peace for the children's sake Possibly with the memory of his grandson's near-fatal crash still fresh in mind, Voight told Fox News Digital, I wish they'd find a way to make peace. Despite being on different sides of the conversations, Jolie's father and Brad share one thing in common they don't talk to the kids as much as they'd like. Voight isn't exactly on speaking terms with Jolie either, as the father-daughter duo are said to have shared a turbulent relationship over the years. Also read | Jennifer Garner-Ben Affleck not getting back together: She's still very much dating John Miller | Report Positive about the much-need resolution in the Jolie-Pitt clan, the Reagan star said, You know, I think the kids need some stability. I love the kids, and I love my daughter. And I want Brad to step up to do, you know, what he has to do. End this nonsense. Brad, 60, and Angelina, 49, tied the knot in 2014 but ultimately went their separate ways in 2016 after Jolie accused him of physical abuse. Since then, their messy divorce has only gotten messier, with more and more clauses for a deepening rift added to the debate. In addition to their seemingly never-ending fight over the French estate Chateau Miraval, the ex-couple is still fighting over custody of their children. The connections have only worsened since multiple kids decided to drop their father's surname from their names. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's messy divorce No matter the issue, all of Jolie and Pitt's problems seem to date back to the highly publicised 2016 incident, per which the Moneyball star allegedly got violent with his then-wife and children during a private jet journey. According to an April report by USA Today, "While Pitt's history of physical abuse of Jolie started well before the familys September 2016 plane trip from France to Los Angeles, this flight marked the first time he turned his physical abuse on the children as well. Jolie then immediately left him," says an extract of a court filing by Jolie's lawyers. Also read | Blake Lively-Ryan Reynolds leaving Hollywood, going suburban amid It Ends With Us controversy? Rumours swirl again Page Six added to the account, saying that per 2016 records, the Fight Club actor had been allegedly drinking. He took to the restroom and grabbed her by the head shaking her amid an argument about their children. In 2017, Pitt seemingly addressed the issue in a GQ Style interview, saying that his alcohol problem had contributed to his marriage's death. As a distant response to Voight's recent message, an insider told People Magazine in July, All the bitterness is partly why the divorce has dragged on for so many years. Neither will let it go. Further addressing how unrelenting the pair that first started dating in 2005 is, the source added, You'd think they would be over it and just settle. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt share six children: Maddox (23), Pax (21), Zahara (20), Shiloh (18), and twins Knox and Vivienne (16). Contrary to other reports, a friend of Pitt's told the New York Post in April that allegations against the actor were misleading, inaccurate, and/or irrelevant information being tied in as a distraction. Tom Cruise has assumed full financial responsibility for his daughter Suri's college education as part of his divorce agreement with his ex-wife Katie Holmes. The Hollywood A-lister is reportedly paying $65,000 per year to cover her education as she begins a new chapter at Carnegie Mellon University. This comes after Suris recent decision to drop her father's name, whom she has not met in 11 years. In 2005, Tom Cruise made public appearances as he waved to well-wishers on his arrival with fiancee Katie Holmes in the old port of Marseille, southern France. Tom Cruise to pay for Suris college tuition According to the Daily Mail, the Mission Impossible star will cover the annual $65,000 tuition fee as Suri begins her freshman year at a private university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This arrangement is part of Cruise's 2012 separation agreement with Holmes, where the actress received full custody of Suri. Cruise agreed to cover all education and related expenses as part of child support, and to pay her college fees once she turned 18. Tom is indeed paying for Suri's tuition; he has always covered her schooling and would never stop, as he is a stand-up guy, a friend of the action star told the Mail recently. Earlier this week, the 18-year-old was seen moving into her college dorm with her mother, while her father was busy cruising in his helicopter, likely preparing for his next big project. Also read: One Piece season 2 casts British-Indian Charithra Chandran of Bridgerton for THIS interesting role Tom Cruise will no longer pay to Katie Holmes Suri turning 18 means that Tom Cruise will no longer be obligated to pay his ex-wife, Katie Holmes, the annual child support he had been providing for their daughter. According to their divorce settlement, Cruise was required to pay $400,000 per year in child support, as well as cover all of Suri's expenses, including medical, dental, insurance, education, college, and extracurricular activities. The last time Suri and Cruise were seen together publicly was in April 2013. He has never hesitated to pay his daughter's child support and expenses. He does not go back on his word. He is fulfilling his obligation, the friend of Cruise added in their statement to the Mail. Suri Cruise drops her father Tom Cruises last name Suri is likely not on a very good term with her father and her recent move proves it as she dropped the infamous cruise surname from hers and instead chose to go buy her mothers middle name, Noelle. Before enlisting in college she changed her name to Suri Noelle. Also read: Fox News dumps Trumps Harris rant mid-air so he ended up calling: Dont get into trouble please' The mother-daughter duo was spotted with bags and walking around the school together. Before that, the young Starkid, who looks a lot like her mom, caught everyone's attention with her cool style and her PDA-filled relationship with her high school sweetheart, who is also a musician. Reportedly, she will be sharing an all-female dorm room with other students at the university. Beyonce was never meant to be the special music guest at the Democratic National Convention, so they say now after hyping millions of fans with dreams that ultimately didn't take off the ground. This combination photo shows Beyonce at the iHeartRadio Music Awards in Los Angeles on April 1, 2024, left, and Vice President Kamala Harris speaking from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on July 22, 2024.(AP) After the massive disappointment ailing an army of fans, a representative for Beyonce claimed that she was never scheduled to be there, as per The Hollywood Reporter's August 22 exclusive. Addressing a previous buzzworthy report pushed by TMZ stating that Beyonce would be closing out the Chicago event on Thursday, August 22, the rep also said, The report of a performance is untrue. Beyonce's publicist responds In addition to her rep shutting down the fierce rumour chain in a statement to THR, her publicist Yvette Noel-Schure also also slammed the old claims on her socials. Taking to her Instagram, she posted a snap of the TV, watching CNN: At home watching and anticipating the VP's historic speech. Focus on the win and register to vote. Do not report rumours. FOCUS (American flag emoji). Also read | Taylor Swift is ready to be a mom; concerned about having a baby with Kelce before she turns TMZ releases statement after Beyonce rumours turn out fake Meanwhile, TMZ tried its best to extinguish the fire it had fanned earlier by quoting Beyonce herself. Flashing the message not only on its website, the outlet also plastered her words on their socials to calm the agitated crowd down. But that didn't do the trick. To quote the great Beyonce: We gotta lay our cards down, down, down we got this one wrong. Endless streams of tearful, enraged and sad GIFs poured out in the comments on X, formerly Twitter. Once the media outlet fanned the rumour mill, social media went up in flames, anticipating Queen Bey's arrival at this year's DNC in support of Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential bid. Although the Single Ladies hitmaker had previously granted the Democratic presidential candidate's campaign the permission to use her 2016 track, Freedom as an anthem for the first Black female presidential nominee, mentions of her attendance at the event were nothing more than mere speculation. Beyonce's absence at the United Center arena hit extra hard on Thursday after rumours blew up online mayhem. However, she was still there in spirit, as her Lemonade album track played on for Harris' onstage welcome when she officially accepted the party's nomination on the final day of the DNC. Internet reacts to Beyonce's absence at DNC A user wrote, Omggggg the first step is admitting you were wrong! Next step is compensation for the emotional, physical, and mental distress placed upon us. Also read | Coldplay's Chris Martin wins Swifties' hearts with sweetest Love Story gesture after Taylor Swift Vienna terror threat Someone else linked a video of a man initially being locked out of an establishment and said, The TMZ intern who tweeted the Beyonce news trying to get into the LA office tomorrow. A third person commented, You were lied to just like the rest of America was lied to for four days. Some others speculated if the rumours were merely a premeditated stunt executed on purpose so that people would tune in to watch the DNC. Elsewhere on the platform, an angry user fumed, Beyonce should sue the DNC for defamation for lying about her performing just to get views. Someone else said, That's the kind of chaos I expect. It's wild how much power these celebrity appearances have over people's attention." Contrary to the outlet's most recent report stating that Queen Bey is in Chicago, and getting ready to pop out for Kamala Harris on the final night," it had said otherwise in an early August article. Some other sources with direct knowledge about the Harris-Walz campaign's decision about DNC performances boldly claimed that they were trying to restrict their celebrity involvement so that the whole thing would not end up looking like a giant Hollywood fest. Despite all that, the DNC did enlist some significant celebrity power to put on a big show. On night three Wednesday, August 21John Legend and Sheila E performed rock and roll icon Prince's song, Let's Go Crazy. Pink ultimately headlined the final day event with her daughter, Willow, on Thursday. Tony Goldwyn, Ana Navarro, Mindy Kaling, and Kerry Washington hosted the 2024 DNC. The four-day convention also welcomed stars like Stevie Wonder and Patti LaBelle, and surprise appearances by Oprah Winfrey and many more. Tovino Thomas recently shared his take on the Justice Hema Committee report on the harassment faced by women in the Malayalam film industry. However, the actor expressed disappointment that only the Malayalam film industry was being singled out. During an interview with The Indian Express, Tovino said that not everyone in the industry is experiencing terrible things and that similar issues exist in other industries as well. (Also read: Parvathy Thiruvothu on Justice Hema Committee Report findings: It took so many years) Tovino Thomas feels Malayalam film industry is being targeted post Hema Committee report. Tovino Thomas on Malayalam industry being targeted The Malayalam actor, when asked about the measures that could be taken to ensure women's safety at workplace stated that, Yes I spoke to the committee. This committee was set up only in the Malayalam industry, thats why were talking about things happening in the Malayalam film industry. If such a committee is set up in any other industry not just films, or anywhere in the world, youd know that this problem exists even there. Now, if people say this happens only in the Malayalam film industry, it is hurtful for me because Im a part of the industry. He further said, Not everyone in the industry is going through that or perpetrating that. According to the report, people are going through those terrible things, and some have done that. But not everyone, I want to clarify that. While concluding, the 2018 actor emphasised the importance of punishing those responsible for harassing and exploiting women. He also stressed the need to prevent such incidents from happening again. Tovino highlighted the importance of education and awareness to create safer workplaces for women. About Justice Hema Committee report The Kerala government released the Justice Hema Committee report on Monday, four and a half years after it was submitted to the Kerala Chief Minister. The 233-page document criticises the discrimination and exploitation experienced by women in the Malayalam film industry. Lucknow, Lucknow-based storyteller Himanshu Bajpai is set to present a compelling Dastan on Wajid Ali Shah, the eleventh and final king of Awadh, which he says is aimed at challenging entrenched colonial narratives. Storyteller Himanshu Bajpai says his 'Dastan' on Wajid Ali Shah challenges colonial narrative The Dastango says that through "Dastan-E-Jaan-E-Aalam" his attempt is to highlight the cultural and historical significance of the monarch, whose story has been subject to differing interpretations over the years. Bajpai, who has received accolades from Sahitya Akademi, former President Ram Nath Kovind and praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mann ki Baat, described the story as a culmination of years of research and personal dedication. Ahead of the August 24 public premiere of the Dastan here, Bajpai told PTI said that his fascination with Wajid Ali Shah began early in life, influenced by the rich storytelling traditions of Lucknow, where the stories about the king are widely shared. "From childhood, I was immersed in stories about Wajid Ali Shah. It became evident that he was a remarkably interesting character, with narratives deeply embedded in the fabric of old Lucknow." He said that while the British established a negative portrayal of Wajid Ali Shah to justify the annexation of Awadh, the local sentiment in Lucknow tells a different story. The colonial narrative, as Bajpai elaborated, portrayed Wajid Ali Shah as an ineffective and indulgent ruler, suggesting that his removal was necessary for the welfare of the people. "The British aimed to discredit Wajid Ali Shah to legitimize their control over Awadh. They depicted him as a failure and his removal as a necessity," Bajpai said and criticised this portrayal as a distortion designed to serve colonial interests. Bajpai said local perspective on Wajid Ali Shah is starkly different. "For the people of old Lucknow, Wajid Ali Shah is a cherished figure. His reign is remembered for nurturing the Ganga-Jamuni Tehzeeb, an amalgamation of cultural and religious traditions," he noted. He emphasised that the king's contributions to music, theatre, and the arts significantly shaped the cultural landscape of Lucknow. The storyteller described his mission as both a personal and cultural endeavour. "As a Lucknowi, I felt a deep sense of protest against the colonial myths that have overshadowed the true legacy of Wajid Ali Shah," Bajpai said. He said the Dastan is intended to present the king's story as it is remembered by those who lived through his era, capturing the elements of love, beauty and social progress. The research process for the Dastan was extensive, involving three to four years of meticulous work. Bajpai compiled primary sources, including books and oral histories from local experts and elders. "Gathering material from various sources, including books in English, Hindi, Urdu, and Bangla, was a monumental task. The challenge was to piece together an authentic narrative from a wide range of perspectives," he explained. Bajpai also addressed the political significance of the Dastan, noting that it aligns with the broader theme of revisiting historical narratives in the context of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. "This Dastan is not only a tribute to Wajid Ali Shah but also a political act aimed at correcting historical distortions. It represents an Indian narrative that stands in opposition to the colonial version," Bajpai asserted. He said the free and open for all performance at the Sahu Theatre here on August 24 is set to be aimed at reinvigorating public memory about Wajid Ali Shah's contributions and correcting longstanding misconceptions. Bajpai added, "I hope this Dastan will bring to light the true essence of Wajid Ali Shahs legacy and celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Lucknow. It is a long-overdue correction to the myths that have persisted for over 150 years." Bajpai will be joined by frequent collaborator Pragya Sharma in narrating 'Dastan-E-Jaan-E-Aalam'. "Sharma who has a PhD in economics quit her government job some yeas ago to pursue her passion for storytelling. We have performed serveral shows together within India and abroad," he said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Director Mari Selvaraj is one of those Tamil directors who gives the audience stories which come from his core combined with his beliefs and values. Vaazhai, his latest film, is based on true events from his life and this rural drama combines everything from life, hope, dreams and destiny to the unsavoury reality. (Also Read: Mari Selvaraj denies that Dhruv Vikrams Bison Kaalamaadan is a biopic; says film revolves around kabaddi) Vaazhai review: Mari Selvaraj's film deals with oppression and disparity that exists even today in society. Vaazhai story Sivanaindhan or Sivanenjam (Ponvel) and his bestie Sekar (Raghul) go to the Karunkalam village government school and it is Sivenenjams crush on teacher Poonkodi that gets him into trouble. When the pink and white handkerchief drops from Poonkodis (Nikhila Vimal) hand, Sivanaindhan quickly grabs it and hides it in his pocket. In class, he takes a whiff of the hanky and starts to think of himself as Rajinikanth and his teacher as Radha in Rajathi Radha whom he falls in love with at first glance. Incidentally, Sivenanjam is an ardent Rajini fan while Sekar is a Kamal fan and the two banter about their idols quite a bit. Living at home with his mother and sister Vembu, Sivenenjam goes for plucking bananas in the plantations with them on the weekends to make ends meet. Sivenenjam hates working on the plantations and will come up with any lie for escaping this arduous chore and in Poonkodi he finds a sympathiser who forgives him his lies rather than punish him. Beyond his own family, the villagers who are engaged in work on the banana plantations. Kani (Kalaiyarasan) who helps load the banana stalks on three truck becomes the voice of the village against the scheming trader who gives them a meagre wage. All this comes to a head when the Kani demand more money. What happens next? Does Sivanenjam still go to help his mother on the plantation? The themes of Vaazhai Writer and director Mari Selvarajs repertoire of work is so haunting that every film of is a piece of art that transcends the silverscreen. In Vaazhai (Banana), he presents a simple film through the eyes of a child but it is not a childrens film. Sivanenjam represents everything that a child does - innocence, joy, and happiness despite the poverty and despondent life he has. Yet the painful and tough experiences he goes through are all that affect the entire community. But there is also tremendous love, a sense of nurturing and the vibrant beauty of nature that this story encapsulates. The themes of caste, capitalism, exploitation and oppression are woven into the story very powerfully and subtly and thats what is most striking in this film. Mari Selvaraj has given us a heart-wrenching film that is also heartwarming and thats a big achievement for any director. The music by Santhosh Narayanan is a highlight in this movie as he has captured the village, its people, nature and emotions so seamlessly through his BGM. The visuals by DOP Theni Eswar are captivating and with the music are a real visual treat. Most importantly, Ponvel is the backbone of this movie and his performance is worthy of a National Award. Raghul too is perfect as Sekar and the chemistry between the two boys is a delight on screen. Vaazhai is not just another Tamil film - it makes you laugh, cry and most importantly, think. The oppression and disparity that exists even today in society needs a voice - and who better than a brilliant Mari Selvaraj for this. Actor Ram Charan recently attended an event hosted by a vehicular brand in Hyderabad. While there, he discussed his passion for animals, revealing that his recent gift for daughter Klin Kaara had a Magadheera (2009) connection. (Also Read: Ram Charan shares a sweet glimpse of Klin Kaara's memorable first trip to Paris with Chiranjeevi) Ram Charan in a still from Magadheera and with his daughter Klin Kaara. Ram Charans gift to Klin Kaara Ram shared at the event that he recently had a special gift for his daughter Kaara, revealing that shes also learning to ride horses like her father. He said, There is one passion that I have. I love animals and I have about 15 horses on a farm. Theyre close to my heart. In Magadheera I rode a horse called Badshah. After we wrapped up shooting I asked SS Rajamouli garu if I could keep it. Its at my farm. How beautiful is it that it recently had a baby. I gifted that foal to my daughter. Shes very young but she rides it on a baby saddle. Its a passion I share with her. Ram Charan in Magadheera For the unversed, Ram played dual roles in the 2009 SS Rajamouli-directorial Magadheera. He played a street bike racer called Harsha, who remembers his past as a warrior called Kaala Bhairava. Magadheera was the first hit in Rams career. The Hindi film Raabta (2017) courted controversy when it was released by producer Allu Aravind due to its similarities to the story and characters of Magadheera. The film had Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon in lead roles and was directed by Dinesh Vijan. Upcoming work Ram will soon star in director Shankars debut Telugu film Game Changer, which will be released in theatres later this year. The film also stars Kiara Advani, SJ Suryah, Samuthirakani, Anjali, Jayaram and others in key roles. Thaman S composed the films music, and the song Jaragandi from the film received mixed reviews. Ram also spoke about his upcoming movie with Buchi Babu Sana at the event, revealing that it will be a comedy. The film will also star Janhvi Kapoor in the lead role. He also has a film lined up with Sukumar. As global temperatures rise, the implications of the climate crisis, particularly in the form of increasing heat, are becoming increasingly evident. The world is witnessing more frequent and severe heat waves, which impact public health, economic productivity, and environmental stability. This intensifying heat crisis necessitates a critical examination of who bears the most significant financial burden: The State, industries, or consumers. Understanding how the costs of rising heat are distributed across these groups is crucial for developing equitable and effective responses to the climate crisis. Money (HT File) The economic impact of rising heat is substantial. According to a study published in Nature Communications, heat-induced productivity losses could cost the global economy over $2.4 trillion annually by 2050. This figure does not include additional costs such as health care, infrastructure damage, or agricultural losses, all of which are exacerbated by rising temperatures. For instance, in 2023, record-breaking temperatures impacted major cities worldwide. Phoenix, Arizona, experienced temperatures exceeding 110F (43C) for over 31 consecutive days, while several European countries faced heat waves that disrupted economic activities and public services. In India, the situation is equally severe. Cities like Delhi and Mumbai have faced extreme temperatures exceeding 45C (113F), with the 2023 heatwave in Delhi reaching 49C (120F). This intense heat has disrupted daily life and strained the citys energy infrastructure due to increased demand for cooling. Governments are on the frontlines of addressing these challenges. Public health systems, emergency services, and infrastructure require reinforcement to cope with the effects of heatwaves, which places significant strain on state budgets. Rising temperatures increase the prevalence of heat-related illnesses such as heat exhaustion, dehydration, and heatstroke, particularly among vulnerable populations including the elderly, children, and those with pre-existing health conditions. For example, the European heatwave of 2003 resulted in over 70,000 deaths, overwhelming health care systems. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that extreme heat causes approximately 700 deaths annually, a number expected to rise as temperatures continue to climb. In India, the situation is similarly dire. The 2023 heatwave in Ahmedabad saw a significant increase in heat-related illnesses and mortality rates, prompting emergency health responses. The costs associated with treating heat-related conditions, expanding healthcare capacity, and implementing preventive measures such as cooling centres and heat alerts require substantial government funding. The impact of rising heat extends to public infrastructure, which is increasingly vulnerable to extreme temperatures. Roads, railways, and bridges can suffer damage such as cracking or buckling, necessitating costly repairs and upgrades. In India, where heat waves have become more severe, infrastructure resilience is a significant concern. During the 2022 heatwave, the high temperatures contributed to the deterioration of roads and increased rail disruptions. To address these issues, Indian cities have implemented heat action plans that include building shaded areas, expanding water access, and retrofitting public spaces with cooling systems. Similarly, in the United States (US), cities like Miami and Los Angeles have appointed chief heat officers to manage city-wide responses to heatwaves. These measures underscore the growing role of governments in managing the impacts of heat but come with considerable financial burdens. Industries also face substantial costs due to rising heat. Business operations, worker productivity, and supply chains are negatively impacted by extreme temperatures. The International Labour Organization (ILO) projects that by 2030, heat stress will cause a 2.2% loss in global working hours, equivalent to 80 million full-time jobs. Sectors reliant on outdoor labor, such as agriculture, construction, and manufacturing, are particularly vulnerable. In India, where agriculture is a major economic sector, heatwaves have already reduced crop yields and forced laborers to cut back on working hours. For example, the severe heatwave in 2019 led to a 12-17% drop in productivity across various sectors. Additionally, the ILO estimates that India could lose up to 5.8% of its working hours by 2030 due to heat stress, translating to a loss of 34 million full-time jobs. The increased demand for energy due to higher cooling needs also places additional pressure on industries, as seen during the 2021 heatwave in Texas, which caused widespread power outages and significant financial losses for businesses. The global supply chains are also affected by rising temperatures, particularly in industries dealing with temperature-sensitive goods. For instance, a heatwave in California in 2020 disrupted the supply of fresh produce across the US, leading to increased food prices and reduced availability. Similar disruptions have occurred in India, where heatwaves have impacted the supply of perishable goods, contributing to higher food prices and shortages. The increased cost of maintaining temperature-controlled environments further drives up operational costs for businesses globally. Ultimately, consumers bear a significant portion of the costs associated with rising heat. Households face higher prices for goods and services, increased energy bills, and diminished economic opportunities. As heatwaves become more frequent, the need for cooling drives up electricity bills. In the US, extreme heat is expected to increase household energy costs by eight-10% annually in the coming decades. Low-income families, who already spend a larger portion of their income on energy, are disproportionately affected. In India, rising electricity demand due to increased use of air conditioning has put immense pressure on the energy grid, leading to higher costs for consumers. Additionally, rising food prices due to reduced agricultural yields further strain household budgets. The World Bank estimates that climate change could lead to a 10-20% increase in food prices by 2050, which will put additional financial pressure on consumers, particularly in developing countries where food insecurity is already a significant issue. Water scarcity, exacerbated by rising temperatures and droughts, will also drive up water prices. Cities like Cape Town, South Africa, have already experienced increased water costs due to climate-induced scarcity, and similar scenarios are likely to become more common as rising temperatures exacerbate water shortages globally. In summary, while the costs of rising heat are shared among the state, industries, and consumers, the greatest financial burden often falls on consumers. Governments invest in infrastructure and health care to mitigate the impacts of heat, but these costs are often passed down to individuals through taxes and higher prices for goods and services. Industries facing productivity losses and increased operational costs typically offset these by raising prices for their products. Vulnerable populations, including low-income households, the elderly, and those in climate-vulnerable regions, experience the most severe effects of rising heat. As temperatures continue to rise, it is imperative for policymakers to develop strategies that protect these vulnerable groups and promote sustainable practices across all sectors to address the root causes of the climate crisis. This article is authored by Ananya Raj Kakoti and Gunwant Singh, scholars, international relations, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Dosti ka ek usool hai madam no sorry, no thank you. Salman Khans iconic line from Maine Pyar Kiya still rules hearts, and as the Sooraj Barjatya directorial re-releases on the big screen 35 years after first conquering hearts, we talk to actors Bhagyashree and Mohnish Bahl going down memory lane. Salman and Bhagyashree in Maine Pyaar Kiya Bhagyashree's version When the films intense love anthem, SP Balasubrahmanyams Mere Rang Mein Rangne Wali, was being shot, the films leading lady was facing a complete contrast in her real life. We were shooting the most romantic song of the film, and its uncanny that I was going through so much stress at that time because my parents were against my marriage. After every shot, I would just burst into tears, and Salman and Sooraj ji would try to calm me down, recalls Bhagyashree, who got married to producer Himalay Dassani a year later. Also Read: Salman Khan and Bhagyashrees Maine Pyar Kiya to re-release in theatres after 35 years The lead pairs chemistry and camaraderie couldnt help but get spilled into their real-life bonding, too. Salman was a brat and a really naughty boy on the sets. He would constantly pull my leg. Thats something I can never forget. He was also extremely protective about me. Whenever we used to go in crowds, he would protect me and make sure that I was doing okay. We bonded in a different way of innocent friendship," she tells us. Bhagyashree in Maine Pyaar Kiya Salman and I were very thick, says Mohnish Bahl Bahl tells that he and Salman had a great equation and the latters father, screenwriter Salim Khan, predicted the films success way in advance. We were very thick even before the film. Salmans father Salim uncle was the first one who believed in this film and said that it will surely work way before the release, he says. The producers werent sure I would be OK playing a negative role Bahl, who made his debut in 1983 with Bekaraar, gained popularity with Maine Pyar Kiya, where he played a negative role. Salman introduced my name to Sooraj ji and the producers. They werent sure if I would be OK with a negative role, but I was, says Bahl. Mohnish Bahl in Maine Pyaar Kiya Lesser-known facts Lee Minho in the web series Pachinko Lee Minho is basking in the love that the second season of his Apple TV's web series Pachinko, has been receiving. While he may be known to fans as the Prince Charming of K-dramas, the South Korean actor plays the ruthless yet charming Koh Hansu in the series a role that he feels has set the tone for the next decade of his career. I think there comes a time [in everyones career] when it is important to introspect about the direction they want to take. Looking back at the path I was seeking, this [serious] character seemed like a step in the right direction. It gave me confidence and nudged me into maturing as an actor, says Lee who shot to fame with the teen romance Boys Over Flowers in 2009. Pachinko Pachinko, based on Min Jin Lees 2017 novel of the same name, follows the arduous journey of a Korean immigrant family in Japan. Lees character a fish broker-turned-gangster is a departure from his usual roles. Season 1 concluded with a glimpse into the tragic backstory of Hansus life, which many felt had almost humanized him. Lee Min Ho says it helped him add dimensions to the anti-hero status that is merited to his screen character. How did he prepare for it? For me, Hansu is neither good nor bad. I studied him in the context of a man who is desperate to survive and protect. I wanted to portray him as someone who wont stop at anything until he gets what he wants, he shares. Talking more about getting into the skin of his characters, Lee reveals that he often internalises their psyche to better understand them. Though Hansu and I are very different, there were aspects I could relate to. I began my career at a very young age and had to struggle and learn to survive. Thats why I understood his need to sustain himself, he tells us. As the current season unfolds Sunjas family is faced with the calamity of surviving the world war, picking the pieces and rebuilding their life after. Hansu, a looming figure in their struggle, dons the mantle of the benefactor, as seeks to protect the woman he desires, and his son from the union. The actor excels in getting the beats of his character and divulges that his character is way more evolved than the previous season., and his human instincts are stronger, but he is a man who wants to be in control. For me, the most important aspect of his personality and objective is to exercise authority in every situation. He wants to take charge of Sunja and his son Noa. Though on the surface it appears as being very sweet and caring, it all stems from the desire to keep both of them within his boundary. I wanted to portray him as a man who wont stop at anything until he gets what he wants. Interestingly, while the 37-year-old has played diverse characters across genres, this was the first time he played a father. I have never played a father on screen, nor have I experienced [parenthood, but] I think being a dad is the purest version of love a human can ever feel, he says. As soon as the lights are on, a galloping golden deer gets hit by an arrow and yelps Lakshmana. This is a scene from the Ramayana, which shows the demon-ascetic Maricha disguised as the deer and deployed by Ravana in the plot to avenge God Rama for Surpanakhas humiliation. All these mythological characters come alive as one walks into an art gallery in Delhi that's showcasing the ongoing exhibition, Chhaya. Shadow puppets made years ago in southern India are exhibited at the ongoing show, Chhaya, in Delhi. It's here that the play of hide and seek with shadows acquires a dramatic meaning as one admires the hand-crafted leather puppets on display. "These 45 exhibits represent characters from not just Ramayana but also Mahabharata," says Siddhartha Tagore, founder of MATI Management of Art Treasures of India, adding, I have a large collection of 400 pieces, but couldn't exhibit all. The puppets that I mainly have in this collection are from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, but this art that's now almost dying was also practiced in other southern states like Kerala, Maharasthra, and Odisha, some hundreds of years ago. It's intriguing to see the female characters, crafted into shadow puppets, which were also part of the epics. This includes a shadow puppet of Surpanakha. The religious theme was dominant in this folk art, which thrived in southern India as artists were quite secular, especially in Karnataka, explains Tagore, sharing, Some of these displays are in large size (46 inches to 76 inches) whereas others are in medium size (21 inches to 45 inches) and small size (10 inches to 20 inches). One can't help but marvel at the craftmanship of the detailing in the displayed shadow puppets. It takes a month to create one puppet, informs Khande Bhaskar Rao, from Andhra Pradesh. He is the fourth generation artistan pursuing this craft and shares how tedious is the process to create a single shadow puppet. Rao explains, Leather is first washed in hot and cold water. It's then dried in the sunlight before processing. The character is then created on it with the use of black pencil. Phir needle se drawing karke, punching hoti hai and bamboo pe place karke cutwork ke baad colouring. The movement in the puppets is created with stitching. The puppet is then placed on a bamboo stick and projected with the use of light from behind a white screen to show its performance. To deliver one such performance it requires a team of 10 artistes and to prepare the show it takes six months! Come Ganesh Utsav and we will start performing at different places for the festive season, says Rao, who began making puppets six months ago, with an unheard desire to perform his art in Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh) ever since the new Ram Temple has come up. Rao adds, Ayodhya jaane ka man hai. Perform karne milega toh zaroor jayega. Catch It Live What: Chhaya The Shadow of Leather Puppets and Storytelling Where: MATI, 1 Basement, Hauz Khas Village When: August 14 to 30 Timing: 10.30am to 7.30pm Nearest Metro Station: Green Park (Yellow Line) For more, follow @htcity.delhijunction The Delhi police on Thursday busted an Al-Qaeda module, arresting 11 people and detaining three others across Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. They carried out at least 15 raids in collaboration with the police forces of the involved states after receiving intelligence inputs. Official sources indicated that Delhi Police Special Cell teams have conducted raids at 15 locations across the three states. (File)(Sunil Ghosh/HT photo) This comes after the Special Cell of the Delhi police had registered a case under Section 61 (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on July 15, following which the anti-terror unit has been gathering information about the suspects, reported PTI. Details of the arrests According to the police, six people were arrested in Rajasthan's Bhiwadi while undergoing weapons training, reported PTI. The arrested individuals are Hasan Ansari, Enamul Ansari, Altaf Ansari, Arshad Khan, Umar Farooq, and Shahbaz Ansari - all residents of Jharkhand. They had been residing in Rajasthan for the past few days, the police said. Five people were arrested from Ranchi, Jharkhand. They were identified as Ishtiyaq Ahmed, Motiur, Rizwan, Mufti Rahmatullah, and Faizan. The police also detained three additional individuals from Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh for questioning. The police have recovered one AK-47 rifle, a .38 bore revolver, six live cartridges of .38 bore, 30 live cartridges of .32 bore, and 30 live cartridges for the AK-47 from the raided locations. They also found a dummy Insas rifle, an air rifle, an iron elbow pipe, one hand grenade, a key remote control mechanism, some wires, a 1.5-volt AA battery, a table watch, four ground sheets, a target, a camping tent, and various food items such as biscuits, a packet of chips, and a water bottle. Delhi police on Al-Qaeda module According to a statement by the Delhi police, the Al-Qaeda module was being led by Dr. Ishtiyaq of Ranchi (Jharkhand), and it was aspiring to declare 'khilafat' and execute serious terrorist activities within the country, reported PTI. There is suspicion that the module was planning to carry out a terror attack in northern India during the upcoming festive season, the police said. A senior police officer involved in the operations said that the module has been active for the past few months, and its members connected through social media. The official added that the members of the terror module received training, including weapon handling, at various locations, such as the jungles of the Aravalli Hills in Rajasthan. (With inputs from PTI) Union home minister Amit Shah launched a scathing attack on the Congress party over its alliance with the National Conference (NC) for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly elections, questioning its stance on key issues outlined in the NC's poll manifesto. Union Home Minister Amit Shah.(PTI) The Congress party, which has repeatedly risked the nations unity and security to satiate its greed for power, has once again exposed its ulterior motives by allying with the Abdullah family's 'National Conference' in the Jammu and Kashmir elections, Shah said on X, listing ten pointed questions directed at the grand old party and its leader, Rahul Gandhi. Does the Congress support the National Conference's promise of a separate flag for Jammu and Kashmir? the senior BJP leader asked. One of Shah's primary concerns was the National Conference's pledge to restore Article 370 and 35A, provisions that granted special autonomy to Jammu and Kashmir. Shah questioned whether the Congress party supports this move, suggesting that it would push the region back into an "era of unrest and terrorism." The abrogation of Article 370 by the BJP-led central government in 2019 was a landmark decision that Shah has often defended as essential for national security and integration. Also Read | Congress will restore statehood in Jammu and Kashmir: Rahul Gandhi in Srinagar Shah also questioned the Congress-NC alliance's stance on engaging with Pakistan, implying that such a dialogue could promote separatism in the region. Do the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi support the National Conference's decision to start 'LoC Trade' with Pakistan, thereby nurturing terrorism and its ecosystem across the border? he asked. Shah accused the Congress of having an "anti-reservation stance," alleging that NC's promises would end reservations for Dalits, Gujjars, Bakarwals, and Pahadi communities. The home minister went on to question the Congress party's position on renaming prominent places in Jammu and Kashmir, such as Shankaracharya Hill and Hari Hill, to names with Islamic connotations. Does the Congress want 'Shankaracharya Hill,' to be known as 'Takht-e-Suleiman,' and 'Hari Hill' as 'Koh-e-Maran'? he wrote, using the narrative often employed by the BJP, which accuses its rivals of indulging in "appeasement politics." The Congress-NC alliance, announced after discussions between Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, and NC president Farooq Abdullah, represents a united front against the BJP in a region that has long been at the centre of India's most sensitive security concerns. What's the seat-sharing formula for J&K assembly elections? National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Friday said seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress has been finalised for a majority of assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir. "Consensus has been reached to a large extent. I can tell you that we have reached a consensus on the maximum seats out of the 90," Abdullah told reporters in Kulgam district of south Kashmir. Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases -- September 18, September 25 and October 1. The counting of votes will be held on October 4. Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Thursday called upon all hazardous industries falling under the red category to conduct regular internal safety audits so as to prevent explosions and fire accidents in the wake of the pharma factory blast in Anakapalli district, which claimed the lives of 17 people. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu meets an injured victim of the Achyutapuram Pharma Company accident at Visakha Hospital, in Anakapalli on Thursday. (PTI) Naidu made these comments as he inspected the premises of the Escientia Advanced Sciences Pvt Ltd, located in the Atchutapuram special economic zone (SEZ) in Anakapalli district on Thursday. Naidu pointed out that in the last five years, 119 incidents took place in the SEZ, killing 120 people. I appeal to all the industries, especially those companies under red category, to immediately take up internal safety audits, Naidu said. During his visit, the Andhra Pradesh chief minister announced ex gratia of 1 crore each to the families of the deceased and 50 lakh each to the grievously injured employees. 25 lakh will also be given to people who suffered minor injuries. The government will stand by the affected families in the future. We will take all necessary measures to prevent accidents, Naidu said, after calling on the families of the deceased and also injured workers at the King George Hospital at Visakhapatnam. Naidu went round the premises of Escientia pharma company and inspected the unit where the explosion took place. Anakapalle district collector Vijaya Krishnan and officials of the factories department explained in detail how the mishap occurred. Later, he had an hour-long review with all the senior officials of the industries, labour and factories departments, besides district authorities and medical and health department officials to discuss the steps to be taken to prevent such accidents in future. Speaking to reporters before winding up his tour, the chief minister said it was imperative that industries should be established for generation of employment and revenue for the government. But at the same time, maintenance of safety standards is paramount. We cannot compromise on the safety of workers, especially in the industries falling under red category, he said. He said the incident at Escientia Advanced Science Pvt Ltd took place due to lack of safety measures. The company is under the red category. During the preliminary investigation, it was found that the pharmaceutical company did not follow proper standard operating procedure, the chief minister said. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who condoled the loss of lives, also announced ex gratia from Prime Ministers National Relief Fund (PMNRF) of 2 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased and 50,000 for those injured. In a post on X, the Prime Ministers Office said: Pained by the loss of lives due to a mishap at a factory in Anakapalle. Condolences to those who lost their near and dear ones. May the injured recover soon. An ex gratia of 2 lakhs from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given 50,000. The rescue operations, which began at the chemical unit, soon after the accident took place at 2.15pm on Wednesday, concluded at around midnight. In all, 17 bodies were recovered from the accident site. New Delhi: Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi on Friday reached Manipur for a security review of the strife-torn state, officials aware of the matter said. This is Dwivedis first visit to the state after taking over as army chief from General Manoj Pande on June 30. Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi met Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh during his visit to the state (X/@NBirenSingh) Dwivedis visit is aimed at reviewing the armys operational readiness, the officials said. He will return to Delhi on Saturday. During his visit, the army chief met with chief minister N Biren Singh at his residence in Imphal. Following the meeting, Singh took to X, saying, Had a productive meeting with General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of Army Staff, along with Lieutenant General RC Tiwari, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Lieutenant General Abhijit S Pendharkar, General Officer Commanding 3 Corps, and Major General Ravroop Singh, Inspector General Assam Rifles (South) at my Secretariat. I deeply appreciate General Dwivedis visit to Manipur. We deliberated on critical issues concerning the current situation in our state. We reaffirmed the cooperation between the state government and the security forces in effectively responding to the challenges we face, maintaining peace and harmony in the state, he further wrote. Since May 2023, Manipur has been rocked by ethnic clashes between the majority Meitei community and the tribal Kukis, with other communities increasingly getting sucked into the violence that has continued unabated. Over the past 10 months, at least 220 people, including security personnel, have lost their lives, and over 50,000 people have been displaced. Divisions still exist on the ground and people from one community are not allowed to enter an area where those from the other community are in a majority. Despite heavy deployment of central security forces and the army, sporadic violence continues, thanks to nearly 4,000 arms looted from state armories which are still in the hands of civilians. New Delhi: A mini unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the Indian Army, being operated in the Rajouri sector, developed a technical snag on Friday and strayed across the Line of Control (LoC) into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, officials aware of the matter said. (Representative Photo) The army sent a message over the hotline to the Pakistani Army to return the UAV, said one of the officials. It was on a training mission. At 9.25am, a mini UAV on a training mission well within the Indian territory lost control due to a technical malfunction and drifted into the Nikial sector of Pakistan, opposite our Bhimber Gali sector, said another official. Pakistani troops are believed to have recovered the UAV. The army is keeping strict vigil along the LoC to prevent terrorist infiltrators from entering the country. On August 14, defence minister Rajnath Singh chaired a top security meeting to review the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir following a spike in terror attacks and hammer out a strategy to crush the menace, on a day a 25-year-old army officer was killed fighting terrorists in the mountain forests of Doda district. The Doda encounter came days after chief of defence staff General Anil Chauhan said that the proxy war waged by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir, whose sudden escalation is being witnessed in areas to the south of the Pir Panjal range, was one of the main security challenges confronting India. Assam witnessed massive protests across its streets on Friday following the alleged gangrape of a minor girl by three men in Nagaon district. The assault reportedly occurred in the Dhing area of Nagaon on Thursday and chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has pledged to take strict action against those responsible. People from various segments of society took to the streets on Friday, calling for the arrest of the perpetrators involved in the rape of a minor girl in Assam's Nagaon.(ANI) We will NOT SPARE anyone & BRING the perpetrators to JUSTICE. I've directed @DGPAssamPolice to visit the site and ensure swift action against such monsters, Sarma posted on X. "The criminals who dared to commit such a heinous crime against a minor Hindu girl of Dhing will not be spared by the law. I have directed the DGP and Water Resources Minister Pijush Hazarika to rush to Dhing and take the toughest action," Sarma told reporters in Hailakandi on Friday. Sarma claimed that since the Lok Sabha elections, members of a specific community have been indulging in criminal activities. However, we will take strong action against the offenders, and no one will be exempt. On Friday morning, people from various segments of society took to the streets, calling for the arrest of the perpetrators. Shopkeepers closed their businesses, while social and political groups demanded harsh penalties for the offenders and increased security for women and girls, according to news agency PTI. Tensions in the area remained high, leading to heightened police patrols and vigilance. A video released by news agency ANI showed a large group of men and women marching through the Dhing area of Nagaon, chanting We want justice in response to the rape of the minor girl. During the press briefing, chief minister Sarma further noted that in the past two months, there have been 22 incidents of crimes against women, with this being the 23rd such case in the state. In Lower and central Assam and Barak Valley districts, where indigenous people have become a numeric minority, they are living in constant fear. People outside these regions cannot gauge this harsh reality, he said. The chief minister urged all to be sensitive about indigenous people's issues. We should identify the real perpetrators behind these heinous crimes and not be stuck in blaming communities within the Hindu society, Sarma said. Details on the incident The girl, according to the police was reportedly attacked and raped by three people while she was riding her bicycle home from tuition in the Dhing area around 8 pm on Thursday. The three assailants arrived on a motorcycle, encircled her, and then allegedly raped her before abandoning her injured and unconscious by a roadside pond. The class 10 student was later found and rescued by residents, who notified the police. She was first brought to a health centre in Dhing and transferred to a hospital in Nagaon for further treatment and medical examination. According to the police, one suspect has already been arrested, another has been detained, and efforts are underway to capture the remaining people. DGP G P Singh, accompanied by district police officials, visited Dhing to inspect the crime scene, PTI reported. (With inputs from ANI, PTI) Pune, NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Friday said that atrocities against young girls and women are rising in Maharashtra and suggested that the home department should be alert to keep a check on such crimes. Atrocities against girls and women rising in Maharashtra, govt should remain alert: Sharad Pawar Referring to the Badlapur incident, Pawar said it was shocking that such a crime happened in a school. Then there was a public reaction to this alleged crime outside, he told reporters in Pune. He also slammed Chief Minister Eknath Shinde for calling the Badlapur protest political. There was a need to take strict action against such an act and everybody demanded the same. The state government should remain alert to keep a check on such incidents. The home department should take stringent action wherever required, said Pawar. After the alleged sexual assault of two kindergarten girls at a school in Badlapur town of Thane district, Pawar said, many more similar crimes were reported across the state. Be it small girls or women, many such atrocities are being reported. Unfortunately, the numbers are increasing day by day in the state and people are reacting to them to express their anguish. A one-day bandh is being organised on Saturday, he said. Advocating the need to raise awareness among all sections of society and push the law and order system of the state for action, he said, I am not blaming anyone but we all need to take measures to stop such things, that too peacefully, he said. The opposition grouping Maha Vikas Aghadi , comprising Congress, Sena and NCP , has called for a Maharashtra Bandh on August 24 to protest against the Badlapur incident. Pawar urged all sections of society to take part in the bandh. Thousands of people had hit the streets and spilled onto railway tracks in Badlapur on Tuesday to protest the alleged sexual assault on two four-year-old girls by a male attendant at a local school. About CM Shindes comments that the protest was largely political and there were only a few locals, Pawar said nobody from his party went there. It would have been better had the CM not talked like that. The anguish expressed by people was a reaction to the atrocities committed against the young girls. There was no political motive and no one should look into this incident from that angle, he said. To a question about the arrest of some of the Badlapur protesters, the senior politician stressed the need for a more sensitive approach in such cases. People came together to react to the incident. They protested peacefully but still cases were registered against them The home department and police should be more sensitive towards such things, he said. Earlier in the day, Pawar met candidates preparing for the Maharashtra Public Service Commission exam over their demands. The MPSC on Thursday postponed its preliminary exam, scheduled for August 25, amid a protest by the aspirants. After we intervened, a couple of issues are being addressed. The aspirants want their demands to be looked into. I told them to prepare a memorandum addressed to the CM and we will see if we can find a way forward, he added. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. The head of Bangladeshs interim government, Mohammad Yunus, on Thursday proposed that India and his country should consider a mechanism for high-level collaboration to tackle floods since the two sides share several rivers and catchment areas. People wade through flood waters in Feni on Thursday. Floods triggered by torrential rains have swamped a swathe of low-lying Bangladesh, disaster officials said. (AFP) Yunus made the proposal at a meeting with Indian high commissioner Pranay Verma in Dhaka on Thursday afternoon, against the backdrop of devastating floods in the Indian state of Tripura and eastern districts of Bangladesh. Referring to regular meetings between Indias Border Security Force and Border Guard Bangladesh, the interim governments chief adviser called for a mechanism for high-level collaboration that can be activated in case of emergencies such as floods, Yunuss spokesperson Shafiqul Alam told a media briefing. Alam quoted the Indian envoy as saying that heavy rains had caused unprecedented floods in Tripura, where some 50,000 people were displaced. The flooding caused havoc on both sides, Verma said. Some reports in Bangladesh, especially on social media, implied that the flooding was caused by Indias decision to open a dam in Tripura. Indias external affairs ministry dismissed these reports and said flooding in Bangladesh was due to waters from large catchments downstream. Despite the Indian sides clarification, Bangladeshs de facto information minister Nahid Islam contended India opened the dam in Tripura without any warning. He claimed India had demonstrated its inhumanity and was not cooperating with Bangladesh. We hope India will abandon such anti-people policies against Bangladesh as soon as possible. The students and people of Bangladesh are angered by this policy of India, Nahid told reporters. At his meeting with Yunus, Verma said India wants to work with Bangladesh, and also raised the issue of protecting the minorities of Bangladesh. Verma emphasised the shared prosperity of the two countries and said India strongly believes in a strong and prosperous Bangladesh, Alam told reporters. Verma noted that 1.6 million Bangladeshi citizens visited India last year, and that India has its largest visa operation in Bangladesh. We are really looking forward to working together, Verma was quoted as saying by Alam. Yunus said that Bangladesh is a big family and we are all brothers and sisters. He reiterated his earlier remarks that reports in India on the status of Bangladeshs minorities and their rights were exaggerated. Alam said the Indian envoy also raised concerns about the security of the Indian high commission in Dhaka in light of some unfortunate social media posts. The Indian high commission said Verma had paid an introductory call on Yunus. Reiterated Indias commitment to working with Bangladesh to fulfil shared aspirations of peoples of India and Bangladesh for peace, security and development, the mission said in a post on X. Ousted Bangladeshs prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India on August 5 following massive protests against her government. Kolkata: The Calcutta high court on Friday ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe allegations of financial scams at Kolkatas state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital during the tenure of former principal Dr Sandip Ghosh, who is already under the federal agencys scanner in the August 9 rape and murder of a 31-year-old postgraduate trainee doctor. (R G Kar Medical College and Hospital) Lawyers who attended the hearing said the single bench of justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj ordered the CBI to take into its possession all official records relevant to the alleged financial scams by 10am on Saturday and file a status report before the bench by September 17. The high court heard my petition and ordered CBI to take over the probe from the special investigation team the state government formed two days ago. I am happy. I am sure CBI will unravel the truth, Dr Akhtar Ali, the hospitals former deputy superintendent who filed the petition, told the media. Ali moved the high court on Wednesday seeking an Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe into the alleged malpractices and financial scams that surfaced during the tenure of Ghosh. During the hearing, his lawyers told the court that the CBI can probe the financial scams as well since it is already probing the rape and murder case. Also Read: Kolkata rape-murder: CBI gets nod for polygraph test on ex-principal, 4 doctors Ali, who was the hospitals deputy superintendent till 2023, has accused Ghosh of illegally using unclaimed corpses, illegally selling biomedical waste, and passing tenders against the commission paid by medicine and medical equipment suppliers. Ali also alleged that students were pressured to pay amounts ranging between Rs.5 and 8 lakhs to pass exams. In July 2023, I lodged a written complaint at the state vigilance commission, but no action was taken against Ghosh. I want everybody involved in the racket exposed, Ali said after filing the petition. Justice Bharadwaj passed the order around the same time Kolkatas Sealdah court permitted CBI to make Dr Sandip Ghosh and five others take a polygraph. A Kolkata court on Thursday allowed the CBI to conduct a lie detection test on Ghosh and four others in connection with the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor. The CBI has interrogated Ghosh multiple times. The prime suspect, Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer working for the Kolkata Police, who was arrested on August 10, is currently in custody. Lawyers said Ghoshs counsels promptly moved the division bench of justice Harish Tandon challenging the single bench order, but no hearing took place till 4pm. This is the second investigation to be conducted by CBI at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital under the supervision of the Calcutta high court. On August 13, the division bench of chief justice TS Sivagnanam and justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya transferred the rape and murder investigation from Kolkata police to the CBI with immediate effect after hearing a petition filed by the victims parents. The family members of the victim have repeatedly expressed their dissatisfaction with the police. We have put our faith in the CBI but till now it has not been able to make any noticeable progress in my daughters death. Lets hope the CBI gets to the bottom of the financial irregularities, the victims father told the media on Friday afternoon. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha member Abhijit Gangopadhyay, a former judge of the high court, welcomed the order. A CBI probe was necessary to get to the bottom of the scams taking place at the hospital, he said. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has justified the arrest of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi excise policy case, accusing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief of playing a pivotal role in the formulation and implementation of the controversial policy. Arvind Kejriwal being taken to Tihar Jail Gate No. 1 in New Delhi on June 2. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo) According to the agency, Kejriwals arrest was essential for the just conclusion of the investigation, particularly given the CMs non-cooperation and the substantial evidence pointing to his involvement. This came even as the Supreme Court on Friday postponed the hearing of Kejriwals petition seeking release from jail to September 5. A bench comprising justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan adjourned the matter to September 5 after CBI requested additional time to file another affidavit opposing bail for Kejriwal. Separately, Kejriwal has also appealed against the August 5 decision of the Delhi high court, which upheld his arrest and denied him bail. During the brief hearing on Friday, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, accused CBI of intentionally delaying proceedings to extend his clients detention. A short date was given by this court on the last occasion. One counter was given, and another was not given. The counter was also filed late at night yesterday to ensure it does not reach the judges, Singhvi argued. Responding to Singhvi, additional solicitor general SV Raju said that the agency had filed one reply within the limited time available and denied any delay on the part of the agency. The bench then granted the CBI an additional week to submit the second affidavit and two days to Kejriwals legal team for submitting their rejoinder. Read more: Excise policy case: CBI gets Delhi court's sanction to prosecute Arvind Kejriwal Submitting an affidavit on Thursday night in response to Kejriwals petition challenging his arrest, the agency contended that his actions were not only illegal but were also part of a larger conspiracy involving significant financial irregularities and misuse of public office. The CBI accused Kejriwal of attempting to politicise the case, arguing that he is trying to politically sensationalise the case before court, despite repeated orders passed by various courts being prima facie satisfied of the commission of the offences. Asserting that Kejriwals arrest was lawful, with due procedure followed at every step, the CBI highlighted that the Delhi high court had already dismissed Kejriwals writ petition, concluding that it cannot be said that the arrest of the petitioner (Kejriwal) was without any justifiable reasons or was illegal. While hearing the matter on August 14, the top court had denied immediate interim bail to the Delhi CM and sought a response from the agency. The Delhi high court had on August 5 upheld Kejriwals June 26 arrest and remand by a trial court, ruling that his arrest was neither illegal nor without justifiable grounds because CBI presented evidently enough evidence to warrant his detention and remand. Kejriwal approached the Supreme Court on August 12, two days after the top court granted bail to former Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia in the related probed by CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). In his petition before the Supreme Court, Kejriwal relied heavily on the Sisodia verdict, in which the top court held that the former deputy CMs long incarceration of 17 months and his continued detention in a case where there was no hope of trial ending anytime soon impinged on his fundamental right to liberty and speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution. The AAP chiefs petition argued that the grounds on which the court found it appropriate to release Sisodia on bail should equally apply to him. Read more: SC denies Kejriwal immediate interim bail in excise case, seeks CBI response CBIs affidavit before the top court premised on Kejriwals alleged involvement in the formulation and execution of the Delhi excise policy 2021-22, which was later scrapped over allegations of irregularities and corruption, followed by a probe ordered by the Delhi lieutenant governor. Although Kejriwal did not hold any official ministerial portfolio, CBI contended that all critical decisions in the formulation of the new excise policy were taken at the behest of the petitioner, in connivance with the then deputy chief minister and minister of excise, Manish Sisodia. According to CBI, Kejriwals influence extended beyond the Delhi government, with his directives allegedly shaping decisions across the AAPs national footprint. The agency claimed that Kejriwal was central to the policys privatisation plan, which included tweaking and manipulating the policy to benefit specific entities. One such manipulation, as alleged by CBI, was the increase in profit margins for wholesalers from 5% to 12%, a change that purportedly resulted in a windfall gain for certain groups in exchange for illegal gratification of 100 crore from the South Group comprising liquor business from the southern part of India. It added that Kejriwal cannot claim parity with other accused in the case (Sisodia) owing to his key role in the criminal conspiracy and specifically because all decisions of the Delhi government and the party were taken only according to his directions. A significant portion of the affidavit was dedicated to tracing the financial transactions linked to the excise policy with the CBI alleging that 44.54 crore was funneled through hawala channels from Delhi to Goa to fund the AAPs election campaign during the 2021-22 Goa assembly elections. These funds were reportedly received and distributed by individuals closely associated with the party, including Chanpreet Singh Rayat and Rajiv Ashok Mondkar, under the instructions of Vijay Nair, a key figure in AAPs campaign strategy, according to the agency. The affidavit also contended that data retrieved from the hard drives and mobile phones of the accused corroborated Kejriwals involvement. This included WhatsApp chats, screenshots and contact details linking Kejriwal to the financial transactions and policy decisions under scrutiny. The agency said these documents indicate a direct connection between Kejriwal and the illicit activities, further implicating him in the case. CBIs affidavit also highlighted Kejriwals alleged non-cooperation during the investigation, claiming that when Kejriwal was interrogated in Tihar jail on June 25, 2024, he was evasive and non-cooperative, failing to provide satisfactory answers regarding his role in the 100 crore bribe allegedly paid to the AAP by the South Group. CBI alleged that despite being confronted with incriminating evidence, Kejriwal provided contradictory statements and concealed critical information, which impeded the investigation.This behavior, according to CBI, justified Kejriwals arrest. The affidavit further detailed that the decision to arrest him was not taken lightly and was only made after Kejriwals interrogation revealed his pivotal role in the conspiracy, coupled with his attempts to derail the investigation. CBI underscored that Kejriwals influence, both as the Delhi CM and as the AAP national convenor, posed a risk to the integrity of the investigation, with the potential for witness tampering and evidence destruction. CBI sought to dismantle Kejriwals claim that his arrest was unwarranted, arguing that all procedural requirements under the law, including those under Section 41A of the Criminal Procedure Code, were met. Stressing that there was sufficient compliance with the legal provisions, the agency stated that the necessity for Kejriwals arrest was thoroughly documented in the case diary, which was reviewed by both the special court and the Delhi high court. Furthermore, CBI pointed out that Kejriwals arrest was sanctioned by the relevant authorities under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, following a thorough investigation that pointed to his central role in the alleged crimes. Kejriwal has been in custody since March 21 following his arrest by ED, apart from a 21-day interim bail in May granted by the top court for Lok Sabha elections campaigning. On July 12, the Supreme Court granted interim bail to Kejriwal in the ED case, acknowledging that he had spent over 90 days in incarceration. Still, he continued to remain in custody due to his arrest by CBI on June 26 in the same matter. Defence minister Rajnath Singh said on Thursday that Indians can't cheat others because "deceit is not in our character". Addressing members of the Indian diaspora in the United States, the minister said their dedication to America as expats should not be questioned. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh(PTI file photo) "I would like to tell Indian members working here to work with full honesty. You should be dedicated to India, but since you are working here, your dedication to America should also not be questioned. Only then will the perceptions of Indians be good," he said. Rajnath Singh said Indians can be cheated but can never cheat others. "Deceit is not in our character. We can be cheated, but we can never cheat others. This is the message that should go to the world," he added. The minister further said that India has given to the world the message of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam', and considers everyone in this world across all castes and religions as one family. "We are the country that gave the message of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' to the whole world. Those living in our country are not our only family members, but everyone in the world, irrespective of their caste, religion or community are members of the same family. 'Whole World is a Family', if there is one country that has given this message, it is only India. Everyone can't do this, only a spiritual country can do this," Singh further said. What Rajnath Singh said on India-US relations Rajnath Singh said India and America are destined to be strong partners. He said the two countries are natural allies. "India and the US are natural allies, we have old ties. Even destiny wants India-US relations to be strong," he said. Rajnath Singh said only India and the US can bring peace, prosperity and stability to the world. "When Columbus went on the expedition to discover America, he met the native Americans...so I believe, from the start, destiny wanted India-US ties to be strong. And, our ties are continuously strengthening. Only India and the US coming together can bring peace, prosperity and stability to the world," he added. Rajnath Singh further emphasised India's transformation in the last 10 years and said there has been a rapid change in the country's perception globally. During his US visit, Rajnath Singh will hold a bilateral meeting with his US counterpart Secretary Austin. He will also meet the US Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Jake Sullivan. Ahead of leaving for the US, Rajnath Singh wrote on X: "Leaving for Washington. India and the United States share a Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. Looking forward to meet my friend @SecDef Austin. Will discuss areas of strategic interests, while seeking to strengthen defence cooperation." With inputs from ANI The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday received approval from Delhi's Rose Avenue Court to prosecute Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case, for which he is currently in judicial custody, news agency ANI reported. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal (HT Photo) The CBI has already filed a supplementary charge sheet against Kejriwal, who was arrested on June 26 by the agency and has been in judicial custody since then. The court is set to review the supplementary charge sheet on August 27. This sanction was a necessary step for the CBI to proceed with prosecuting Kejriwal. On August 20, the Rouse Avenue Court extended Arvind Kejriwal's judicial custody in the CBI case until August 27, 2024. Special Judge Kaveri Baweja will also review the Enforcement Directorate's supplementary chargesheet against Kejriwal and others on the same day. On July 30, the CBI filed its fourth supplementary chargesheet, naming Kejriwal as an accused and alleging that he was one of the key conspirators in the case. Although the Supreme Court granted Kejriwal interim bail in the ED case on July 12, he remains in jail due to the CBI case. Kejriwal was initially arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 regarding the excise policy case, just hours after the Delhi high court rejected his request for interim protection from arrest. Subsequently, on June 26, the CBI took him into custody from the Delhi Rouse Avenue Court which sent him to judicial custody on June 29. What happened to the bail plea? On Friday, the Supreme Court adjourned Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's petition challenging his arrest by the CBI in the excise policy case. The next hearing is scheduled for September 5. Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan permitted the CBI to file its counter affidavit and granted Kejriwal two days to submit a rejoinder. Additional solicitor general SV Raju, representing the CBI, requested more time to file an affidavit for one of the petitions, noting that the agency has already submitted an affidavit for the other petition. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, claimed that the affidavit was filed late Thursday at 8 pm to prevent it from reaching the bench in time. The affidavit submitted by the CBI in one of the petitions alleged that Kejriwal was using the case for political sensationalism. It claimed he was involved in a criminal conspiracy related to the formulation and implementation of the Delhi excise policy. On August 5, the Delhi High Court affirmed the legality of Kejriwal's arrest, dismissing his plea against it. The court noted that the CBI had proceeded with further investigation only after gathering sufficient evidence and obtaining sanction in April 2024. Here is what the Delhi excise policy case about In 2021-22, the Delhi government introduced an excise policy to rejuvenate the city's struggling liquor business. The policy aimed to replace the sales-volume-based system with a license fee for traders and promised more modern stores, free from the notorious metal grilles, to enhance the customer experience. However, the policy was abandoned after Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena requested a CBI investigation, citing allegations of irregularities. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has claimed that the AAP, led by Kejriwal, received 100 crore kickbacks to finalise the policy. It is also alleged that the party used a huge portion of this money in its election campaign in Goa. The five-member expert team headed by geologist John Mathai, investigating the landslides in Keralas Wayanad in which over 230 people were killed, recommended five areas suitable for townships for the survivors. As per the governments directions, the probe team examined the danger zones within the settlements of Chooralmala, Mundakkai and Punchirimattam, the most-affected landslide-hit areas, as well as the safety aspects of the areas identified by the government to build townships as part of the long-term rehabilitation of the survivors. (Reuters) The experts submitted two reports.As per the governments directions, the probe team examined the danger zones within the settlements of Chooralmala, Mundakkai and Punchirimattam, the most-affected landslide-hit areas, as well as the safety aspects of the areas identified by the government to build townships as part of the long-term rehabilitation of the survivors. John Mathai, retired scientist of the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS), told HT, We have submitted one report on the areas within the landslide-affected villages which can be classified as safe and where people can be relocated if the government wishes. We have drawn boundaries on the left and right banks of the Iruvazhinji river up till the Army-constructed Bailey bridge to show which are the safe and unsafe areas. In the second report, we have assessed the safety aspects of the locations where the government is considering building townships for the survivors. There was a list of 24 places out of which the government itself eliminated many and finally arrived at 8 spots. Out of the eight spots that we assessed, we screened out three of them as they were unsuitable for large townships due to factors like limited area and steep slopes. In the remaining five locations, we have demarcated areas which are suitable to build townships. We have avoided steep slopes and slanted areas. All of them are close to Meppadi town, which is 13 kilometres from the landslide site, he said. At the same time, the expert team is yet to submit the main report on the causative factors that led to the massive landslides, the nature of the debris flow and its impact on the topography of the area. The team, said Mathai, hopes to visit the landslide-affected zones again in September as they were unable to conduct detailed examinations earlier this month due to inclement weather and paucity of time. Damming effect likely caused massive debris flow The preliminary assessment, however, is that a damming effect induced by extremely heavy rainfall caused the debris consisting of trees, boulders and large amounts of mud to flow down heavily over more than seven kilometres, flattening the human settlements below, Mathai said. During our inspection, when we traced the high water line of the Iruvazhinji river, we found that there were sudden dips in the water level in three places. One was upstream of Punchirimattam, the second at Punchirimattom and the third at Seethammakundu waterfall. In all these three places, the water level upstream was very high, but downstream at certain points, the water level was seen to fall by around 10-15 metres. This is what I consider to be the result of a damming effect, Mathai added. The landslide event took place in a pristine forest area where there are a lot of tall and stout trees. These trees likely got uprooted and washed down. Below, in a narrow gorge like area, the trees along with boulders must have gotten stuck, forming a temporary dam. But due to continuous heavy rainfall, the water level must have risen and at a particular level, when it becomes unstable, it causes the dam-like structure to burst and break out. Once the dam bursts, it has enough energy to eat away both banks of the river and destroy all the houses in its path, he underlined. If not for the damming effect, the landslides impact would have been much less and the number of fatalities far lower, he said. Mathai added the team found evidence of such damming effect at least at three places. However, he stressed that this was only a preliminary analysis, which will need more evidence to substantiate. The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) on Friday celebrated the first-ever National Space Day, marking the anniversary of the Chandrayaan-3 mission that made India the first country to land a probe on the lunar south pole, in a grand event where the nation laid out its ambitious roadmap for space exploration for the next two decades which included plans for more lunar mission, an indigenous space station, a new rocket, as well as placing a man on the moon by 2040. President Droupadi Murmu being felicitated by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman S Somanath during the first National Space Day celebrations commemorating the successful landing of the 'Vikram' Lander on the surface of the Moon at Bharat Mandapam, in New Delhi on Friday. (ANI) At a ceremony in New Delhis Bharat Mandapam attended by President Droupadi Murmu, Isro chairman S Somanath and minister of science and technology Jitendra Singh the countrys space agency also announced ambitious plan aimed at removing space debris from the Earths orbit, a concern echoed by many, including President Droupadi Mumu. Speaking at the event, the President expressed about the increasing effort and appreciated Isros efforts to remove them. Space debris can cause problems for space missions, she said. I am also happy to note that India is moving forward to make all its space missions debris-free by 2030. Murmu also underscored Isros achievements despite its humble beginnings. It was a glorious moment for all the Indians when Chandrayaan-3 landed on the moon. I saw the live telecast of that moment, I was so proud that day like other Indians Along with the strides in the space sector, Isro also plays a vital role in the social and economic development of the country. I am confident that our country will make continuous progress in space science and we will continue to set new standards of excellence, she said. The projects that Isro laid out for the next 21 years include expanding the Chandrayaan mission the project that has clearly been the standout among all of Isros achievements on the global stage. Plans for two more lunar missions (also to the south pole) have been laid out. Read more: Chandrayaan 4-5 design complete; 70 satellites likely to be launched in five years: ISRO chief The first is Chandrayaan-4, which aims to bring rock samples from the lunar surface back to Earth after a soft landing. The mission, slated for launch in 2027, will expand on the technology developed in Chandrayaan-3 by adding elements like lunar docking, precision landing, sample collection and a safe journey back to Earth. Chandrayaan-5, which will be in collaboration with Japans space agency JAXA, will feature an Indian lander and a 350kg Japanese rover designed to explore these challenging lunar areas. Last year we successfully launched the Chandrayaan-3 mission. We never imagined the impact that is going to create out of this accomplishment We were asked to prepare a long-term roadmap, a vision for space 2047 in the Amrit Kaal. The Prime Minister was delighted with our presentation on future space missions, Somanath said. Perhaps the most significant project ahead, however, is to establish an indigenous space station dubbed the Bharatiya Antariksha Station (BAS) which will orbit 400km above the Earths surface. The 52-tonne behemoth space station will serve as a research platform for Indian astronauts and scientists to conduct experiments in microgravity, astronomy and Earth observation, and will allow astronauts to stay in orbit for 15-20 days. The modular station will be assembled in space after getting launched in several stages starting 2028. The target to finish the entire project is for 2035, according to Isro. Read more: First Gaganyaan test flight launch likely in December: ISRO chief S Somanath Currently, there are only two operational space stations the International Space Station (ISS), developed in cooperation by United States, Russia, Japan, Europe and Canada; and Chinas Tiangong Space Station (TSS). The station, Jitendra Singh said: By 2035, there would be a Indian space station if everything goes well, as was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi India has proved how space technology can be used in health, agriculture, climate, disaster management, smart cities, highway construction, or security of railway lines. The third project, development of the Next Generation Launch Vehicle, or NGLV, dubbed Soorya a three-stage partially reusable rocket, being developed by Isro will form the backbone of Indias future missions. Soorya, Isro has said, will be capable of carrying 10 tonnes of payload in geostationary orbit, and a payload of 30 tonnes in low-Earth orbit. It is expected to give a significant boost to Indias future missions, which will require heavier payloads than the current generations of rockets. The fourth major project on Isros timeline is the expansion of the Gaganyaan mission (slated to kick off next year) to place the first Indian astronaut on the moon. The target for this project is 2040, according to Isro. The newest addition to the agenda was the announcement of Indias plan to clear space. Now we are going to the next level, to reach out and clear the space debris. I am glad to share with the President, that this problem has also been addressed by India. We have set up one of the latest technologies in Bengaluru to detect and clear debris, and very soon, we will be also retrieving back the decommissioned satellites. The satellites that have accomplished their missions, will be returned to the Earth, and the world will learn this art from India, said Jitendra Singh. See more Get Current Updates on... Get Current Updates on India News Weather Today along with Latest News and Top Headlines from India. Get real-time updates on the Assembly Election 2024 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that India had not been neutral or an indifferent bystander during the Russia-Ukraine war and was always on the side of peace. During an interaction with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Modi reiterated India's position that the conflict can be resolved only through dialogue and diplomacy. He added that New Delhi is ready to make proactive contributions towards efforts for peace, Reuters quoted the prime minister as saying. Later, external affairs minister S Jaishankar revealed details on the bilateral meeting between Modi and the Ukrainian president. Much of discussions between PM Modi and President Zelenskyy was with regard to the war in Ukraine, the minister said at a briefing. On the Ukraine conflict, Jaishankar said that the prime minister called for practical engagement between all stakeholders to develop innovative solutions that will contribute towards peace. Modi and Zelenskyy tasked inter-governmental commission to specifically focus on rebuilding trade and economic relations, Jaishankar added. ALSO READ: Modi meets Zelensky in Kyiv with hug and handshake amid Russia-Ukraine war Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky.(Reuters) Hope President Zelensky will too visit India: Jaishankar The minister said that both leaders held discussions on trade, economic issues, defence, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and education. The leaders also tasked the Intergovernmental Commission, of which Minister Kuleba and I are the co-chairs, to specifically focus on rebuilding our trade and economic relations, which had gone down in recent times. And we certainly look forward to having an early meeting of that body, definitely by the end of this year, ANI quoted Jaishankar as saying. PM Modi's visit to Ukraine is historic and we hope President Zelenskyy too will visit India at his convenience well, he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kyiv early on Friday, the first Indian premier to do so since Ukraine attained independence in 1991. He paid homage to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. Both Modi and Zelenskyy visited the Martyrologist Exposition, built in memory of children killed in the Ukraine war. The visit assumes deeper significance as it comes at a time when the region finds itself in the middle of a conflict. (With agency inputs) New Delhi: India and the United States have signed an agreement to ensure the mutual supply of defence goods and services to enable the acquisition of the industrial resources they need from one another to resolve unanticipated supply chain disruptions and meet national security needs, the Pentagon announced. Additional secretary and director general (acquisition), ministry of defence Samir Kumar Sinha with principal deputy assistant secretary for industrial base policy, US department of defence, Dr Vic Ramdass (X/@SpokespersonMoD) Vic Ramdass, the American principal deputy assistant secretary of defence for industrial base policy, and Indian defence ministrys additional secretary and director general (acquisitions) Samir Kumar Sinha signed the non-binding Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) on Thursday. The pact will allow India and the US to request priority delivery of goods and services from defence firms in both countries for executing contracts and subcontracts. The two sides also signed a memorandum of agreement regarding the assignment of liaison officers to deepen defence cooperation, the defence ministry said on Friday. This agreement seeks to enhance cooperation, understanding, interoperability, and sharing of information on matters of mutual interest. The two agreements were signed on the day defence minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Washington on a four-day official visit. SOSA represents a pivotal moment in the US-India Major Defense Partner relationship and will be a key factor in strengthening the Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI), the Pentagon stated. It further quoted Ramdass saying, I look forward to the next DTTI meeting this fall to deepen cooperation between our respective defense industrial bases and pursue bilateral co-development, co-production, and co-sustainment initiatives. In 2023, the two countries concluded a new road map for future defence industrial cooperation with the goal of fast-tracking technology cooperation and co-production in critical areas in a renewed push for deepening collaboration. The areas included air combat and land mobility systems, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, munitions, and the undersea domain. India is the 18th SOSA partner of the US after Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. SOSA comes four years after India and the US signed the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA), the last of four so-called foundational agreements to boost defence cooperation. The two sides have been sharing real-time intelligence under the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), which was signed in 2018. The two countries signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016. In 2019, India and the US signed the Industrial Security Annex to shore up defence cooperation. It allows the US government and American original equipment manufacturers to share classified information with private Indian defence firms. Before this, the US could share such information only with the Indian government and public sector undertakings under the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) signed in 2002. The US will provide India assurances under the US Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS), with program determinations by the Department of Defense (DoD) and rating authorisation by the Department of Commerce (DOC). India will in turn establish a government-industry Code of Conduct with its industrial base, where Indian firms will voluntarily agree to make every reasonable effort to provide the US priority support, the statement on SOSA said. With an expanding global supply chain, SOSAs are a key mechanism for DoD to strengthen interoperability with US defence trade partners, it said. The arrangements institute working groups, establish communication mechanisms, streamline DoD processes, and proactively act to allay anticipated supply chain issues in peacetime, emergencies, and armed conflict. They are also a useful tool in developing investment strategies to ensure redundancy and security, the statement added. Supply chain bottlenecks can delay defence projects. For instance, the Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA Mk-1A) project to strengthen the Indian Air Forces capabilities is running behind schedule. 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 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited by US firm GE Aerospace. The delivery of the engines is delayed by around 10 months. GE Aerospace earlier said 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. Jamshedpur, An Indian Navy team on Friday resumed a search operation for the trainer aircraft that went missing after taking off from Jharkhand's Jamshedpur on August 20, an official said. Indian Navy team resumes search ops for missing aircraft in Jharkhand The search operation was called off at 6 pm on Thursday due to inclement weather, he said. Bodies of the trainee pilot and his instructor, who were on board the two-seater aircraft, were found in the Chandil dam on Thursday. "A 19-member team of the Indian Navy, which came from Visakhapatnam following a request from the Seraikela-Kharswan district administration, has resumed the search operation to locate the missing trainer aircraft. We had to call off the search operation at 6 pm yesterday due to inclement weather," the official said. The trainer aircraft, a Cessna 152, belongs to a private aviation company. The post-mortem examinations of the bodies of trainee pilot Shubhrodeep Dutta and pilot-in-command Captain Jeet Satru Anand will be conducted at Mahatma Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Jamshedpur, the official said. Dutta was a resident of Adityapur. The aircraft went missing after taking off from the Sonari aerodrome on Tuesday, following which a search operation was launched in the nearby areas, including the reservoir of the dam. Villagers had claimed that the aircraft crashed into the water body. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation along with the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau , Directorate of Flying Training and Directorate of Airworthiness also started an investigation into the incident, another official said. Alchemist Aviation, which owned and operated the aircraft registered as VT-TAJ, in a statement said it was too early to comment about the reasons for the crash. "The aircraft had 80 litres of fuel in it with an endurance of 4 hours 30 minutes, and the flying time was scheduled to be 1 hour," it said. The plane lost contact with the Jamshedpur Air Traffic Control Tower around 11.10 am on Tuesday. The aircraft was in an airworthy condition with an airworthiness certificate issued by DGCA and was fitted with an engine manufactured by the original equipment manufacturer , according to the statement. Initially, the search operation was conducted along with local authorities and then with the National Disaster Response Force , the company said. The Indian Navy was then called for help and it deployed a Sonic Navigation and Ranging device, which would assist in identifying the exact position of the incident, it said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. New Delhi: The Jammu and Kashmir elections next month will see a third-generation member of the Mufti family contest from the family borough of Bijbehara. Iltija Mufti, 37, is stepping into the fray from a family bastionrepresented by her mother Mehbooba and grandfather Mufti Mohammad Sayeedsince the 1960s. Iltija Mufti, daughter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti (PTI Photo) The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is yet to announce any alliance so far. However, Iltija spoke to HT about the chances of aligning with other parties, her partys goals, and her political leap, among other issues. She said that the priority was to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The political science graduate who became a major voice in the valley during the scrapping of 370 rejected charges that regional parties are nepotistic. What made you decide to take the leap into politics? Honestly, I have to admit that this is not my decision. The party felt it was best for me to contest because theres been a complete vacuum since the past five years. The current state of affairs in Kashmir is such that the party feels that we need voices that are going to be strong and, more importantly, truthful. And they felt that Ive been very vocal since 2019, after the scrapping of Article 370. And obviously, Ms (Mehbooba) Mufti also had quite a big role to play in this. Ive always been a very political being... when you grow up in a political family where your breakfast, lunch, dinner, and conversations all revolve around politics. Are you having the first challenge of dealing with charges of nepotism? Reports that people are disappointed in the party because they are ticket aspirants. I think this is a figment of the medias imagination, and this is something that is, interestingly, being planted in Delhi because I read about it as well. People in the party have no problem at all. In fact, this was an idea that was pitched by them. Like I mentioned earlier, I wasnt very comfortable about getting into electoral politics, but they felt that this is a decisive role that I will have to play. And so I took it up. Im sorry, Ill have to dismiss data, speculation, and gossip. But you have taken note of the fact that this has been one of those recurring themes that Prime Minister Modi also talks about a lot? But he doesnt mind aligning with them? He doesnt mind aligning with Chirag Paswan? Who do you have in Andhra? The new chief minister (Chandrababu Naidu)? You have a problem, but not your allies. So, I dont take this very seriously. Just because I am entering the political arena does not mean that somebody else should not get that space, because they dont come from a political family, or they dont have a political legacy, so to speak. They are immensely talented people in our own party, young people, young boys and girls who are not Mufti. What is it that the party and you are promising? And what do you think the people of the Valley need? For the past five years, after the illegal abrogation of Article 370, people have suffered immensely. And its just not economic strain. Its also a psychological blow thats been inflicted since 2019. Theres no sense of security. Theres no sense of dignity. Theres a sense that theyre going to be losing their identity because its almost like the government in India wants to do a lobotomy. They want us to forget our collective history, our collective identity, and our collective culture. And so we want to reassure people that we keep fighting for their rights. The statehood is something that Congress has also talked about. What do you think of the alliance (with the National Conference) that theyve just announced? I think an alliance at this point in Kashmir is a good idea because this is something that the PDP has consistently said. So much has been done to the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Its imperative for political parties to put aside, set aside the political differences and come together on the same platform. You see, the BJP is a very formidable entity that youre up against. They have agencies, they have the media, and they have pretty much everybody in their pocket. So I think an alliance is a good idea. The positivity with which you talk about alliancesdoes that mean that the PDP isnt ruling out joining together and that something like the Gupkar alliance could be revived? The Gupkar alliance was Ms Mehbooba Muftis brainchild. And she put aside her ego and all her differences, and she came up with this idea that why dont we all get on the same platform and pass a resolution? And this was way back, five years ago, right before they revoked Article 370. I think an alliance is always a good idea. But as far as the nitty-gritty is concerned, this is something only the party can answer. What Im telling you here is my personal opinion. It doesnt necessarily represent the party stand. Rahul Gandhi (Congress leader and MP) and Mallikarjun Kharge (Congress president) were in the valley. Did they reach out to the PDP? That is something that only Ms. Mufti can answer. A lot of people were curious about the win that Engineer Rashid had. And now he is supposed to be fighting on many more seats. What do you think of that phenomenon? I think the biggest lesson for the Lok Sabha election, in regards to Jammu and Kashmir, was for the government that is sitting in Delhi, for the powers that bethat no matter how much you try to orchestrate this propaganda of normalcy, and I call them normalcy acrobatics that theyve been doing for the past five years, they stand discredited. At the end of the day, people chose a representative who fought the elections with minimum resources, sitting in a cell in Tihar. This is a man whos had very controversial views. Hes been pro-azadi; hes been pro-referendum as well. Hes seen as someone who is pro-separatist camp. So when he wins, that is emblematic of New Delhis failures in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. You are critical of the BJP, but they were your allies at one point. Do you bear the burden of the alliance that went wrong? Mufti Sahib gambled his party for the people of Jammu & Kashmir. There was a reason why he went with the BJP, because he felt that allying with a Muslim party would moderate Prime Minister Modi, just like it moderated Atal Bihari Vajpayee to a great extent. The kind of confidence-building measures that were taken during Vajpayees tenure as prime ministereven a Congress prime minister wouldnt have done it. So my grandfathers intention was never wrong. Whats sad is that he died with this sadness, with this aching pain in his heart, knowing what he was going to lose; his party was at stake. The BJP also announced that Ram Madhav (architect of the alliance with the Peoples Democratic Alliance) is back in the BJP and headed straight for Srinagar. Do you have any comments to make? Im not going to fall into this trap that youre laying out for me. I know what youre trying to say. None of it makes sense. And nor is it true. So its completely up to the BJP who they choose. We have absolutely nothing to do with it. Nothing at this point will make the BJP popular. Theyre extremely unpopular. Theyre so unpopular in their own bastions in Jammu that people just want them gone. And Im afraid that no matter how many rallies the union ministers make, it is not going to help because people have had enough of their nonsense. External affairs minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Friday defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi embracing Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month. During the briefing on Modi's meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, a reporter asked him,"You spoke about Prime Minister Modi's visit to Moscow last month. A lot of people were quiet upset to see the embrace between the two leaders. Also, they were quiet upset to see India overtaking China as the biggest importer of Russian crude oil. Also, they say they are disappointed that there has been no explicit condemnation of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. I am just wondering whether you had difficulty persuading President Zelenskyy that India is not favouring Russia but is indeed pursuing non-alignment." In our part of the world when people meet people they are given to embracing each other. It may not be part of your culture, it is part of our culture, ANI quoted the minister as saying. PM Modi's Ukraine visit LIVE coverage Prime Minister Modi had visited Russia on July 8-9 on the invitation of the Russian president. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who met Modi on Friday, had criticised the latter for embracing Putin. ALSO READ: PM in Ukraine: Modi-Zelenskyy relationship during the ongoing war Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Russian President Vladimir Putin at Moscow last month.(X/MEAIndia) It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world's largest democracy hug the world's most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day," Zelenskyy had posted on X. On Friday, Modi did shake hands and hugged Zelenskyy, a gesture he is known for have extended to several world leaders including French president Emmanuel Macron, US president Joe Biden and others. What PM Modi said in Ukraine today? Modi said that India has stood for peace concerning the Ukraine-Russia conflict. We have stayed away from the war with great conviction. This does not mean that we were indifferent. We were not neutral from day one, we have taken a side, and we stand firmly for peace, the prime minister was quoted by AFP as saying, with Zelenskyy seated next to him. Whatever help is required from a humanitarian standpoint, India will always stand with you and will go above and beyond to support you, Modi added. External affairs minister S Jaishankar said that during bilateral talks, much of the discussion between Modi and Zelenskyy took place on the Ukraine war. It is India's view that the two sides (Ukraine and Russia) need to engage with each other to find a solution, the minister said. Several women doctors of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata have left the campus amid fear after the gruesome rape and murder of a junior doctor inside the hospital premises on August 9. Doctors and nursing staff participate in a huge mass rally near RG Kar Medical College and Hospital (PTI) According to the junior doctors, barring the nursing hostel, almost all other hostels at the medical college have been deserted, reported The Indian Express. One of the students at the RG Kar College and Hospital told The Indian Express that there were around 160 junior women doctors living on the campus before the incident. However, only 17 women are left at the hostel now. After August 9, students started to leave the campus. Some returned a couple of days later. But after the attack on the hospital by miscreants on the night of August 14, more students, especially the girls, left, a student said, as quoted by the media organisation. The nurses, who are still at the campus, said that while they are scared but they have no option. According to the report, there are two nursing hostels on the campus - both of which are almost full. Even after such scary incidents, we are doing night duties and sometimes we find ourselves alone in a ward. We are now really feeling unsafe, a nurse said. On the night of August 14, a mob entered the RG Kar Hospital campus where protests against the rape and murder of a trainee doctor were underway and wreaked damage to the demonstration site, vehicles and public property. They also vandalised the hospital's emergency department, nursing unit, and medicine store and damaged CCTVs. Following the incident, a large number of women doctors left the campus. According to senior advocate Aparajita Singh, out of the nearly 700 resident doctors, only about 30-40 women doctors and 60-70 men doctors were staying on the campus after the vandalism incident. Kolkata rape-murder case The body of a 31-year-old trainee woman doctor was found in a semi-naked state in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College on August 9. According to the police, the incident took place between 3am and 5am. The autopsy report of the victim indicated that the woman was sexually assaulted before being strangled and smothered to death. According to the probe, after severely hurting and sexually assaulting the doctor, the arrested accused, identified as Sanjoy Roy, killed her by throttling and smothering her. The gruesome incident sparked widespread outrage and led to protests within and beyond the medical community across the country. Meanwhile, the CBI on Thursday got permission from a city court to conduct the polygraph test on the former principal and four doctors of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, with whom the victim allegedly had dinner before being found dead the next morning. Chicago: Harini Krishnan is the national organising director of the South Asians for Harris and an elected member of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from California. In 2016, when Donald Trump became president, Krishnan decided to become a political organiser, joined Harvard to attend a course on political organising, and went to Harriss Senate office to offer her support. Krishnan led the volunteers team for the Harris campaign for presidency for the 2020 cycle, travelled with her, and has remained a supporter ever since. At Chicagos McCormick place, right after a meeting of an Asian-American caucus to mobilise the community to vote for Harris, Krishnan spoke to HT about Harriss candidacy. Edited excerpts: Harini Krishnan with Kamala Harris. (X) You supported Harris in her campaign for the 2020 cycle. She suspended her campaign. But you stayed involved. Take us through that.. I have always been a supporter of Kamala Devi Harris. People forget the Devi part. It is very important and she thinks its very importantI was heartbroken when she suspended her campaign in December 2019, but she told me to stay engaged. There is a core group of about 25 people who have been with her for a long time, and I am proud to be a part of that. And that includes her schoolmate, her classmate from Howard, her sorority mate, and some of her earliest supporters when she lived in San Francisco and Oakland. And there are two South Asians in that group. I am one of them. And then the other is Dita Bhargava who ran for office in Connecticut. So we continue to stay engaged and support her. I then started NorCal Joyful Warriors for Joe (Biden) and Kamala, hence the term joyful warrior. Another women leader Neha Dewan (who led South Asian political groups) contacted me. I became the National Grassroots Organising Chair for South Asians for Biden. It was Covid. There was no door knocking. So we pivoted to virtual phone banks. I helped set up phone banks in every battleground state. We made 350,000 calls. In Wisconsin, Biden won by 20,000 and some votes. We made calls to 25,000 Indian Americans in Wisconsin and told them what was at stake in this election. Do you want a president who demonises you or a president whos going to be more inclusive? He won because we were the margin of victory in Wisconsin, in Georgia where Gwinnett County and Fulton County are two of the most minority-majority districts in the country in a red state. We helped turn out South Asian American votes in those counties. I continued to be part of this group of 25. So every couple of months, we traveled to the office of the vice president. We would meet Harris for round tables and discussions. We would have Zoom sessions with her staff once a month and share feedback both ways in terms of policies, but also in terms of what should we amplify. When this cycle came around, we launched South Asians for Biden in April. And I will be honest with you, a lot of people were disenchanted because of all the narratives in the media. It made me upset because he was one of the most transformative presidents of our times and remember, he appointed Harris. He was willing to put himself on the line by choosing a black and South Asian woman. After the Biden-Trump debate and before he announced leaving the race, did you know it was coming? What did Harris say? I met her a week before the announcement. Her instructions to me were face-to-face. I held her hand. She said I want you to keep working until and unless you hear otherwise. For Biden? Yes. So we knew our job was to advocate for Biden-Harris until and unless we heard otherwise, and when we heard, we pivoted. What happened on July 21 when you heard he was leaving and endorsing her? I cried. I am a proud member of the K-Hive. The K-Hive is this organic network of people on social media who pushed back against those attacking her in 2019. Its made up of black, brown, and white women mostly. We all got together on Zoom that night. We all cried our hearts out. There were 160 K-Hive leaders on a Zoom call saying, we have waited five and a half years for this. So overnight we pivoted. We switched to South Asians for Harris. We had thousands of volunteers. A couple of women came to us and said, can we do a South Asian women for Harris Zoom? We helped build and facilitate that. We raised nearly $300,000 and 10,000 people joined that Zoom call and thousands of people signed up to volunteer. We now have 24 state chapters in the last three weeks. We have 75 National core team members, including advisors from every battleground state on our national core team. We have a rapid response team that is putting out graphics on Project 2025 and how it impacts South Asian communities. We will canvas after Labour Day in battleground states. We have buses going and knocking on doors. We are ready, and we are going to be doing this for the next 75 days. Tell us about Harris and what she is like... Shes one of the most warmest, thoughtful, and compassionate people I have met. She doesnt care whether you are an elected leader, organiser, staff member, president, or governor. She treats you the same. She looks you in your eyes. She will remember your family. She knows what theyre doing, and shell ask about them. She does the same to every single person. This is somebody who cares. She is also fierce and fearless. She has had to break that highest glass ceiling in every job she has been in as district attorney, attorney general, senator, and VP. She is also very thoughtful and inclusive. Whatever the issue, she brings everybody who is part of that conversation and narrative to the table. And she says, okay, let me listen. And then she comes to a decision. She did that when it was dealing with maternal care. She did that when it was dealing with early childhood learning. She did that for gun violence. She did that with technology. She brought the tech CEOs, including a lot of the Indian CEOs, and said, listen, AI is here, but lets talk about how we promote the innovation of AI and technology but in an accountable way. What does she think about her identity? There are a lot of people who question her identity. Is she Indian enough? Is she black enough? And I will say this, imagine being a biracial child of a single mom growing up in Oakland. And when you are a biracial child, there are people from both communities who are going to ostracise you, and are not going to accept you with open arms. But when she talks about her mother, her grandfather, about the members of her family, those values are in her. Her Tata (grandfather) taught her about justice and thats why she pursued a path of social justice. Kamala Harris is Indian. She is Black. She has a Jamaican father and an Indian mother. She is a woman. She unites us in a way that our country needs at this time because were so polarised. But she also represents the best of us, especially immigrants who are questioned under Trump and whether we belong here. She sees us in a way that I dont think Trump ever will. The greatest part of her story is that her parents met in the Civil Rights movement. Think about her going as a toddler in a stroller to the civil rights marches. That was the genesis of who Kamala Harris is. Not enough of the Indian American community recognises that we owe a debt of gratitude to the Civil Rights movement, and to the members of the black community, for opening the door for us to be here. We are here because we have built coalitions, and we need to remember that we dont operate in silos. For the past three and a half years, the media had a fairly negative narrative about her. What did you think of it? And what changed suddenly? What has she been doing that everyone missed? In 2019, there were so many presidential candidates. When she would be questioned by the media and she would make a statement, they would say, shes not assertive enough on this policy. When she thought that she made a mistake, she would acknowledge it and say I thought about it and this is how I feel. Then they would say, oh, look, shes fluctuating. When a white male candidate did the same thing, they would applaud him for being able to say I have learned from this mistake. They would portray him in a favourable light, but they didnt give her that grace. So you think it was racism and misogyny? Why do you think the K-Hive started? To push back against this narrative. We saw this where she would make a policy and no media would cover it. A white male candidate would have the identical policy, and they would say, look at the vision. This is exactly what they did to Hillary, talking about the way she laughed, and what she wore. San Francisco is one of the most political spaces in this world. For Harris to become DA, AG, and Senator, it was not easy. You have to be brilliant. You have to be competent. You have to be experienced. With reference to what shes been doing over the last three and a half years. Thats the other part that frustrated us. She has been crisscrossing this country, travelling to so many states for reproductive freedom. She did her reproductive freedom tour. How many media covered it? Zero. She has been travelling around the world. Did the media cover it? No, they didnt. So what changed? Because shes bringing in the money. She has the entire Democratic Party behind her. The youth recognise who she is. Kamala is brat, right? So now theres all this euphoria. Theres all this energy. All of a sudden the media does a 360. Theyre like, oh yeah, she was always smart. She was always competent. She was always experienced. Right. But are they willing to admit that it was their narrative? No There has been speculation about how she shares an uncomfortable dynamic with the current political dispensation in India. How will she approach that relationship? We do not opine on foreign policy. I am the national director of South Asians for Harris. We represent multiple countries, multiple identities, and faith groups. It is hard enough to bring everybody together because unfortunately, the first generation, whether its Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi, would much rather talk about the politics of the country they came from than talk about what is happening here. So is the division within the diaspora based on Indian politics affecting your ability to mobilise South Asians or Indians in particular for Harris? I think its a generational thing. The older generation is still very much watching Zee and NDTV and not as much MSNBC or CNN. They want to be in touch with their roots. They have very strong connections. So they identify with their home country and view political candidates through that lens, which makes it difficult for us. But the second generation, they dont view it that way, they are very progressive. We deal with a different set of issues. We have to constantly remind people, hey folks, that we have abortion bans happening around this country. Think about the abortion bans that will happen. Think about your daughter bleeding to death because, in the state that she lives in, they will put her behind bars before she is allowed to have an abortion because her pregnancy is not viable and she has to have it. Think about gun violence and that we have 10 mass shootings a day. Imagine if the NRA gets the blessing of Trump. Youll have guns in grocery stores and places of worship. Think about how it will impact your communities. So my job is to remind folks about what is at stake here. Anti-AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) violence is on the rise. We are seeing the greatest incidents of hate crimes against Sikh Americans because theres also a lack of knowledge about who they are. Were seeing incidents of hate crimes against Indian Americans. So many students have been impacted. Those are the issues here. What would you say to people in India on how they should view the Harris candidacy and how should they not view it? I will tell them not to judge her based on whether or not they think shes Indian enough. Kamala gets to dictate who she is... And dont impose your politics on her because she is an American. She is an Indian-American. She is going to be true to the values that have been imparted by her Indian mother, and grandfather. But she is also going to be true to all her identities, and shes going to uplift all the communities she represents. Bengaluru: The Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday recommended Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot to take action on pending prosecution sanctions against several prominent political leaders, including Union minister for heavy industry and steel HD Kumaraswamy. Union minister for heavy industry and steel HD Kumaraswamy (Arun Kumar Rao) The decision comes days after the Governor approved the prosecution against chief minister Siddaramaiah over alleged irregularities in land allotment by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA). State law and parliamentary affairs minister HK Patil said that the Cabinet decided to exercise its constitutional right under Article 163 to advise the Governor to act on these cases. To take decisions in the pending cases at the earliest and to smoothen the judicial process, under article 163 of the Constitution the cabinet can give aid and advice to the governor. Using it, the cabinet has given its approval to give the governor aid and advice, he said. Patil added that the advice is rooted in the need for timely judicial action and is not motivated by political revenge. The Cabinets recommendation is based on the necessity for legal processes to proceed without delay, Patil added. This recommendation follows the Governors sanction on August 16 against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, granted under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and Section 218 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, based on petitions filed by Pradeep Kumar SP, TJ Abraham, and Snehamayi Krishna. Gehlot granted permission to prosecute chief minister Siddaramaiah last Friday. The allegations centre on claims that MUDA in 2021 allocated sites to the chief ministers wife in exchange for land acquired from her in Mysuru On Thursday, the Cabinet recommended action against Kumaraswamy and other leaders such as former ministers Shashikala Jolle, Gali Janardhan Reddy, and Murugesh Nirani. Patil further clarified that the cases against Kumaraswamy and Janardhan Reddy are particularly urgent, as charge sheets have already been filed. The advice will be sent to the governor. Out of the four cases that are pending regarding which we have given aid and advice, in two of these cases (Janardhan Reddy and Kumaraswamy) the charge sheet has been filed he added. Patil stressed that the Cabinets advice is not connected to the recent prosecution sanction against CM Siddaramaiah, which has sparked controversy and is now being challenged in the High Court, with a hearing set for August 29. The minister said that numerous petitions seeking the Governors sanction for prosecution are still pending, including those submitted by investigative agencies under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Some of these cases have advanced to the stage where charge sheets have been filed. One of the pending cases involves former BJP minister Shashikala Jolle, against whom the Lokayukta police submitted an application on December 9, 2021, seeking prior approval under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Another case involves former minister Murugesh Nirani, with an application submitted on February 26, 2024, also seeking prior approval under Section 17A. Additionally, an application against H. Kumaraswamy, submitted on November 21, 2023, seeks approval for sanction under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the provisions of the BNSS. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) had filed a charges heet in Kumaraswamys case, and the Governor sought clarification on July 29, 2024, which the SIT provided on August 16, 2024. A fourth case involves Janardhan Reddy, against whom an application was submitted on May 13, 2024, seeking sanction under Section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the BNSS, with a charge sheet also filed in this case. In response, HD Kumaraswamy lashed out at Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, accusing him of diverting attention from controversies and clinging to power. You are a master of all tricks, and such dirty tactics come to you naturally, Kumaraswamy claimed, alleging that Siddaramaiah conspired to approve 550 acres for Sai Venkateshwara and questioned why he is desperately holding onto that report. Siddaramaiah, you claim to be a legal expert, were you not aware of the 2011 Supreme Court order given to the SIT in Sai Venkateshwara Minerals case? he added. He further accused Siddaramaiah and his family of grabbing government land and tampering with records, saying, Isnt it true that those records were smuggled out of MUDA by your henchmen in a helicopter? Kumaraswamy also mocked Siddaramaiahs legal expertise, stating, Fools never appreciate wisdom. He warned Siddaramaiah of potential exposes, declaring, I have hundreds of tales that will determine your fate. Finally, Kumaraswamy contrasted his own integrity with Siddaramaiahs alleged power-driven politics, saying, Whether in power or not, I remain the same. Resident doctors of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital at the protest site in Kolkata on August 22. Kolkata doctor rape-murder case: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will conduct a polygraph test on former RG Kar Medical College principal Sandip Ghosh and four other doctors in connection with the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee at the hospital on August 9. They were on duty when the incident took place....Read More A special court in Kolkata granted the CBI permission to hold a polygraph test on Thursday. The lie detection test can only be conducted after obtaining the court's permission and the suspect's consent. The agency has also sought the polygraph test on the main accused, Sanjay Roy. The trainee doctor was raped and murdered inside a seminar hall of Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. Also Read | Supreme Court slams Bengal lapses, shields agitating doctors The crime took place on the third-floor seminar hall of the chest department late at night, and police later said multiple lacerations and wounds were found on her body. The crime has sparked widespread outrage and led to protests within and beyond the medical community. Resident doctor associations in most government hospitals across India have been protesting against the brutal rape and murder of the trainee doctor for the last 11 days. As result all elective services, including OPDs, non-emergency surgeries, diagnostics, among other services, were halted. The strike was called off on Thursday after a bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud requested doctors to do so. How does a public health infrastructure run if the doctors dont report to work? Justice and medicine cannot go on a strike, the Supreme Court had said. The court ordered CBI to submit another status report on its investigation into the rape and murder, while directing the Kolkata Police to submit its report on the vandalism incident by September 5. The bench also ordered proactive steps to address the larger issue of doctors safety in public hospitals, a concern that has resonated across the medical community in the wake of the Kolkata incident. The body of a 31-year-old trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital had been discovered by a first-year PGT doctor of the chest department at 9.30 am on August 9. The first general diary (GDE 542) was recorded by the Tala police station at 10.10 am and the police collected 40 exhibits from the crime scene before the FIR was lodged at 11.45 pm. Kolkata rape and murder: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) activists protest in Kolkata on August 22, 2024, to condemn the rape and murder of a doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.(AFP) At around 3.40 pm, a confidential letter in a closed envelope was given by MSVP (medical superintendent cum vice principal) of RG Kar Hospital to the officer-in-charge (OC) of Tala station for registration of FIR about discovery of a dead body, reported News18. The channel reported that the police reached the RG Kar crime scene at 10.10 am and 10.30 am. The seminar room, where the rape and murder took place, was sealed off to prevent contamination. Senior officers and the forensics team along with a photographer and videographer reached the crime scene between 11 am and 11.30 am. The family of the victim was informed by a police official at 10.52 am. The police commissioner reached the spot at 12.30 pm, reported the channel. The victim was declared deceased at 12.44 pm. The body was handed to the police at 1.47 pm. A police officer said in a report to the magistrate that he rushed to the crime spot and found the woman in an "unconscious state in half-naked condition". The report said there were injuries to the private parts. While the port-mortem examination was underway, reported the channel citing documents, the police started reviewing CCTV footage and all entry and exit points. They questioned 11 people, including four doctors who were on duty that night. Between 8.30 and 10.45 pm, 40 exhibits were collected under videography. The FIR was registered at 11.45 pm. The Supreme Court on Thursday criticised Kolkata Police for their "extremely disturbing" delay in registering the case. "Who was in touch with the principal of RG Kar Medical College? Why did he delay the FIR? What was the purpose?" the bench asked. "How was it that the post-mortem was conducted at 6:10 pm on August 9 and yet the unnatural death information was sent to the Tala police station at 11:30 pm on August 9? This is extremely disturbing," the bench added. With inputs from PTI Kolkata murder case: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is conducting rigorous investigation into the rape and murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. According to PTI, the agency is also scrutinising a broken bolt on the seminar hall's door where the crime occurred. The officials are puzzled as to why no one heard any noise from inside the seminar hall while the victim was being assaulted in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital.(Samir Jana/HT Photo) The 31-year-old trainee doctor was found dead in the early hours of August 9, while she was sleeping during her 36-hour-long shift, at 4 am in the hospital's seminar hall. She was raped and murdered, allegedly by a civic volunteer named Sanjay Roy. The central investigative agency is focusing on the crime scene to understand how the offence was carried out without any interruption in the seminar hall of the state-run hospital. Preliminary findings suggest that the door had malfunctioned for a while due to the broken bolt. The victim entered the hall between 2 am and 3 am on August 9. An officer, quoted by PTI, said that a doctor on duty saw her asleep inside the hall. Interviews with doctors, interns, and junior doctors revealed that the doors malfunction had been a known issue, which prevented the victim from locking the door that night, the official said. CBI doubts if someone was stationed outside The CBI is also investigating whether anyone was stationed outside the seminar hall to ensure the crime occurred without disturbance. They are reviewing CCTV footage to verify this. The officials are puzzled as to why no one heard any noise from inside the seminar hall while the victim was being assaulted. The tower bolt was broken, which caused the door to malfunction. We are probing whether anyone was stationed outside to act as a guard while the crime was committed, a CBI officer told PTI. As a part of the investigation, the CBI will conduct polygraph tests on four employees from RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, including three junior doctors, to determine their involvement in the rape and murder of a trainee doctor. The authorities have also obtained permission to administer a lie-detector test on Sandip Ghosh, the principal of RG Kar Medical College, who resigned two days after the incident. The Supreme Court has criticised Sandip Ghosh and the West Bengal police for a 14-hour delay in filing the murder FIR. The court also noted that Ghosh attempted to categorise the murder as a suicide. The psychoanalytic profiling of the Kolkata doctor rape-murder accused, Sanjay Roy, has revealed that he is a pervert and severely addicted to pornography, a CBI officer said on Thursday. The man has an "animal-like instinct" and he showed no remorse for the grisly murder inside the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital during interrogation, the officer added. Sanjay Roy, the main accused in the Kolkata doctor rape-murder case. The CBI officer told PTI that Sanjay Roy showed no repentance for the crime that triggered national outrage. He narrated the entire crime to the investigation agency without displaying any hesitation. "The man showed no repentance and narrated the entire episode giving every minute detail without hiccups. It appeared he had no remorse," the officer told the agency. Also read: Kolkata rape-murder: Why CBI wants to subject 3 junior doctors to polygraph test? The Kolkata doctor had gone to rest in the hospital's seminar hall during her 36-hour-long shift when she was attacked. The post-mortem report suggests she was raped and severely beaten. She had 16 external and nine internal injuries and died due to strangulation. Sanjay Roy was arrested a day after the crime. He was seen entering the building around the estimated time of the crime and his Bluetooth headphones were found near the crime scene. Several pornographic clips were found on Sanjay Roy's mobile phone. The officer said technical and scientific evidence suggests the accused's presence at the crime scene. CCTV footage shows him around the chest department at 11 am on August 8. At 4 am on August 9, the cameras showed him entering the same building. The estimated time of death of the woman was between 3 am and 5 am on August 9. The CBI has been probing if a larger conspiracy led to the murder of the victim. They have questioned ex-RG Kar medical college principal, Dr Sandip Ghosh, for several days. They are mulling polygraph tests on Sanjay Roy, Dr Sandip Ghosh and others. The Kolkata Police is also probing allegations of financial irregularities against Dr Sandip Ghosh. On Wednesday, Sandip Ghosh's ex-colleague, Akhtar Ali, alleged that he used to be involved in the business of dead bodies. The murder and rape case at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital has witnessed some major developments recently. Police produce R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital rape and murder case accused Sanjoy Roy at Sealdah Court in Kolkata on Saturday. (ANI Photo)(Saikat Paul) As of today, August 23, the Sealdah Court had remanded 14 days of judicial custody of the main accused in the rape and murder case of a postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. The main accused, Sanjay Roy, will remain in judicial custody until September 6, 2024, under the supervision of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). In another development, the Calcutta High Court today has also granted permission to the CBI to conduct a polygraph test on Dr. Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and five others related to the incident. These five include four doctors who had dinner with the deceased doctor on the day the incident occurred, as well as one civic volunteer. The Calcutta High Court has also transferred the investigation of financial irregularities involving Dr. Sandip Ghosh, previously handled by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), to the CBI. The decision was made while hearing a petition filed by Dr. Akhtar Ali, the former deputy superintendent of the hospital, who accused Dr. Ghosh of financial misconduct and unethical practices. The High Court assigned the CBI to investigate the matter, as it is also handling the investigation into the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the hospital. Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj has ordered the SIT to hand over all investigation documents to the CBI by 10 a.m. on Saturday. The Court has granted the CBI three weeks to submit a progress report on the investigation, which is to be presented on September 17. Furthermore, the Court directed that the petitioner, Akhtar Ali, may request security from the CBI if necessary. Speaking on the verdict of the High Court, Union Minister and West Bengal BJP President Sukanta Majumdar said, "I welcome this judgement... CBI will start conducting an inquiry into this from tomorrow. A huge scam has taken place... Close associates of Mamata Banerjee are involved in this scam. In the case of the money trail, ED should also conduct the investigation." On the same matter, BJP MP Abhijit Gangopadhyay said, "I welcome this order... The SIT was formed to suppress all the scams committed by Sandip Ghosh and this was another episode of Mamata Banerjee to destroy all evidence." On the matter of the 14-day judicial custody of accused Sanjay Roy, his sister said, "I have not spoken to him in 17 years. Neither did he visit me nor did I visit him. I have not seen him in years. So, I am unable to say anything... As a child, he was normal like all other children. I never saw anything odd... He was in the police job (civic volunteer), so he sometimes had a day shift or sometimes a night shift. So, I never saw him... I never heard anything about him that he got into a fight or anything... I don't know whether he has done anything. If he has indeed done something, I will accept any punishment given to him. It is very wrong if he has done this to a girl." A delegation of junior doctors from RG Kar Medical College and Hospital was also summoned to the CBI Special Crime Branch at the CGO complex in Salt Lake to meet CBI officers today. The protest continued as BJP workers staged a demonstration in Kolkata and Siliguri. Actor-turned-politician Roopa Ganguly, who joined the protest, spoke out against the police, accusing them of attempting to suppress evidence related to the crime. "People are protesting across the country against the rape and murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital... This is a protest against the police force that tried to suppress the evidence. I welcome the Calcutta High Court's decision to task the CBI with investigating all instances of irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital," she said. CISF Deputy Inspector General along with other officers also took stock of and status of the security deployment at the college and hospital complex earlier this evening, following the Supreme Court's order to hand over security of Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) during the hearing of the suo motu case of the rape and murder of the trainee doctor there on Tuesday. CISF personnel were deployed to beef up the security at the hospital and college complex in all shifts. This move comes as West Bengal faces a period of heightened agitation, with protesters voicing various grievances. The CISF's intervention is expected to bolster security efforts and help mitigate any potential threats to public peace. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, urging the central government to bring in central legalisation and set up fast-track courts for "sensitive" issues to ensure fast speedy trial in the wake of the national outrage over the RG Kar medical hospital incident. Kolkata rape-murder case: The parents of the 31-year-old trainee doctor who was raped and murdered at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital expressed their belief in the CBI investigation and accused the West Bengal Police of attempting to misguide the case, alleging that the police have not conducted a thorough investigation. The victim's father, speaking to news agency PTI, said that the state government is trying to hide something and shield someone, as he believes that such a serious crime could not have been committed by one person alone. Doctors and nursing staff participate in a huge mass rally near RG Kar Medical College and Hospital protesting against rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata. (File)(PTI) The Kolkata Police tried to misguide us in the case... We have confidence in the CBI probe, the victims father stated. They mentioned that they might participate in the demonstration organised by students at the state-run hospital where their daughter's body was discovered earlier this month. From the outset, we felt the (state) administration and police were trying to shield someone, trying to hide something as one person cannot be involved in such a crime, the father said during a press interaction at their residence in North 24 Parganas district. The victims mother added that they found Commissioner of Kolkata Police Vineet Goyals comments unconvincing. We felt they were not carrying out investigations in a comprehensive manner. They were in a hurry, she remarked. We hope any racket active in RG Kar will be unearthed and actions taken, the mother said when asked about the ongoing investigation. The rape and murder of the trainee doctor have sparked widespread outrage and protests in cities including Delhi, Chandigarh, Mumbai, and Kolkata, with demands for justice for the victim and punishment for the perpetrators. Here are the latest updates on the probe - The victim's father mentioned that he has been unable to speak with former RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh, who is under investigation, regarding the incident that occurred on August 9. He noted that Ghosh called them on the day of the incident but was advised by students not to visit the scene. Although Ghosh did come to the location, he did not speak with them. - When asked if they would approach the Supreme Court regarding the irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, he said, We will consider it if necessary. We have not yet made a decision. - The Sealdah Court has remanded the main accused, Sanjay Roy, in the rape and murder case of the postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital to 14 days of judicial custody. He will remain in custody until September 6, 2024, under the supervision of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). - The Sealdah Court has also approved the polygraph tests for former RG Kar principal Sandip Ghosh and five others related to the case. The five others include four doctors who had dinner with the deceased and one civic volunteer. -The Calcutta High Court has assigned the CBI to investigate irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and also the case involving former deputy superintendent Akhtar Ali. Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj has ordered the SIT to transfer the investigation documents to the CBI by 10 am on August 24. The CBI is to report the progress of the investigation to the High Court in three weeks, with a report due on September 17. - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) protested on Friday demanding justice for the rape and murder of the postgraduate trainee doctor. Protesters chanted We want justice, and BJP leader Dilip Ghosh called for West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjees resignation, claiming justice cannot be achieved unless she steps down. - On Tuesday, the Supreme Court directed that the security of Kolkatas RG Kar Medical College and Hospital be handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) while addressing the suo motu case of the trainee doctors rape and murder. (With inputs from ANI, PTI) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will conduct polygraph tests on four RG Kar Medical College and Hospital employees, including three junior doctors. It will be done to find out if they were involved in the rape and murder of a trainee doctor. All Doctors Association protest against the rape-murder of a Kolkata trainee doctor on Wednesday (HT Photo/Bachchan Kumar) The woman was found dead on the morning of August 9. She was raped and murdered, allegedly by a civic volunteer named Sanjay Roy. Per reports and CCTV footage, he entered the seminar hall, where the victim was sleeping after her 36-hour-long shift, at 4 am. He left the hall at 4.40 am. He later left for his home. The police arrested him based on the CCTV footage. The police will conduct the polygraph tests on two first-year postgraduate trainee doctors because their fingerprints were found inside the seminar room, reported India Today. Before the woman went to rest in the seminar room, the two PG doctors ate dinner with her. An intern would also be subjected to the test because he went to the seminar room and had a conversation with her. He later left the room and the woman went back to sleep. A house staff member would also undergo the test because the worker was seen going to the third floor from the first-floor emergency room. Per the channel, the staff member went to the third floor at 2.45 am and returned at 3.45 am. None of the four people heard any noises from the seminar room. The authorities have also secured permission to conduct a lie-detector test on Dr Sandip Ghosh, the principal of the RG Kar Medical College who resigned two days after the incident. The Supreme Court has pulled up Sandip Ghosh and the West Bengal police for delaying filing the murder FIR by 14 hours. The court also noted that Ghosh tried to pass off the murder as a suicide. Congress MLC Ivan DSouzas residence in Valencia area of Mangalore was targeted in a stone-pelting attack on Wednesday night, said police. The attack occurred shortly after DSouza made a controversial statement against Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot. (ANI) The attack occurred shortly after DSouza made a controversial statement against Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot. According to police, two unidentified individuals on a bike threw stones at DSouzas house before fleeing, only to return minutes later to hurl more stones, causing significant damage to the houses windows. Mangaluru City DCP Siddarth Goel confirmed that a case has been registered at the Pandeshwar police station. Preliminary investigation suggests that two persons committed the crime, which is bailable. We are tracing CCTV footage to identify and apprehend the suspects, who are booked under BNSS Section 324 (mischief), Goel stated. The motive behind the attack is believed to be linked to DSouzas recent remarks about the Governor following his sanction to prosecute chief minister Siddaramaiah. If the Governor does not withdraw his order, or if the President does not compel him to do so, Karnataka may face a situation similar to Bangladesh, where the PM fled the country. In this case, the Governor might also escape. The next protest will be a march to the Governors office, DSouza said on August 19 Police reports indicate that on Wednesday night, DSouzas wife, Dr Kavitha DSouza, had just arrived home and parked her car near the house when the first attack took place. She entered the house within minutes, unaware of the impending second attack. Locals reported that while two individuals carried out the assault on the bike, two others were also seen on foot nearby. Pandeshwar police arrived quickly at the scene and began reviewing CCTV footage from the area. It was confirmed that Ivan DSouza was not at home during the incident, as he was attending a party meeting in Bangalore. At the time, Dr. Kavitha, their two daughters, and her brother were present in their home. One of DSouzas daughters reportedly witnessed the second attack from an upstairs window, police said. The police are investigating whether the same group was responsible for both stone-pelting incidents. Additional security has been deployed at DSouzas residence, and authorities are working to identify the suspects using CCTV footage. I dont know the motive behind the attack, DSouza said, adding that he plans to lead a protest march from his house to the BJP office on Friday in response to the incident. Meanwhile, Mangaluru North MLA and BJP leader Dr Y Bharath Shetty suggested that the incident could be an inside job. Ivans boys might have done the crime, Shetty told reporters, alleging that the Congress filed multiple cases against him and other BJP leaders. Shetty also mentioned plans to approach the special court for elected representatives to file a case against DSouza for his seditious statement against the Governor. Dakshina Kannada district Congress president MK Harish Kumar, however, pointed fingers at the BJP, suggesting their involvement in the attack. We suspect BJPs hand in this incident, Kumar said, announcing that the Congress will organize a protest march against the incident on Friday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday during his historic visit to the war-torn nation. The two leaders shook hands and exchanged a warm hug at the entrance of the Martyrologist Exposition at the Ukraine National Museum, before a planned bilateral meeting at the Mariinsky presidential palace. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv. Zelensky posted a video on X and said, Today in Kyiv, Prime Minister @NarendraModi and I honored the memory of the children whose lives were taken by Russian aggression. Children in every country deserve to live in safety. We must make this possible. Why is Modi's visit to Ukraine historic? Modi became the first Indian prime minister to set foot in the country since the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Ukraine over 30 years ago. The visit comes at a critical juncture, as Modi is expected to advocate for a diplomatic resolution to the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, which looks more elusive than ever following Ukraine's shock offensive into Russia's western Kursk region. Before arriving in Kyiv, Prime Minister Modi made a stop in Poland on Thursday, where he called for intensified diplomatic efforts to end the war. "No problem can be resolved on a battlefield," Modi said ahead of his visit, adding that India supports "dialogue and diplomacy for restoration of peace and stability as soon as possible". Despite Indias reluctance to condemn Russias invasion outright, Modi has consistently called for both Russia and Ukraine to resolve their differences through dialogue. The prime minister's visit to Kyiv is seen in many quarters as a diplomatic balancing act as his trip to Russia triggered anguish among the Western countries. Modi recently drew criticism from Zelensky for hugging Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit to Moscow in July. Zelensky described that meeting as a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts. Modi's arrival in Kyiv followed a nearly 10-hour train journey from Poland, where he was warmly greeted by members of the Indian community at the Hyatt Hotel. He then visited the Martyrologist Exposition at the Ukraine National Museum, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. India and Poland on Thursday elevated their relations to a strategic partnership as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk explored ways to expand cooperation in defence and security, trade and investment and digitalisation. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, is greeted by his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk, right, before talks in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)(AP) Modi was the first Indian premier to travel to Poland in 45 years, and the visit signalled Indias intention to revitalise ties with the sixth largest economy in the European Union (EU) and a rising military power in Central Europe. Besides drawing up a four-year action plan for the strategic partnership that encompasses security cooperation, trade, technology, connectivity, counter-terrorism, cyber-security and health, the two sides decided to finalise a social security agreement to protect the interests of professionals working in each others countries and to promote mobility. This year, we celebrate 70 years of diplomatic relations. On this occasion, we have decided to reshape our relation into a strategic partnership. Relations between India and Poland are based on shared values such as democracy and rule of law, Modi told a media interaction after his talks with Tusk, speaking in Hindi. Tusk said the upgrading of ties was not about just the definition but about the determination and readiness to cooperate across many fields. Besides India, Polands other strategic partners in Asia are China, Japan and South Korea. Modi described close cooperation in defence as a symbol of our deep mutual trust and said collaboration in this field will be strengthened. Tusk said there are many opportunities for genuine synergy between defence industries of the two sides. Poland is ready to participate in the modernisation of military equipment. We have the qualifications, companies and technological capabilities for this, he said. Modi invited companies from Poland, a world leader in food processing, to join mega food parks in India and pointed to new opportunities for cooperation in water treatment, solid waste management and urban infrastructure. Clean coal technology, renewable energy and AI can be other areas for collaboration, he said. At the same time, India can share its expertise in fintech, pharmaceuticals and space, Modi said. Poland, Tusk said, has a lot to offer to India in the fields of green transformation and green energy. As Modi expressed understanding regarding temporary difficulties faced by Indian citizens intending to travel to Poland, the Polish side said this problem is not limited to India and was caused by the ill-considered decisions of the previous government. Work is underway to ease visa regulations. Thank you for understanding these actions. They are, of course, not in any way aimed at India or Indian citizens. Here we have the full sense that Indian guests will always be welcome in Poland, Tusk said. Under the strategic partnership, the two sides will maintain regular high-level contacts, stimulate trade and investment and take steps to balance two-way trade and expand the trade basket. Bilateral trade is currently worth $6 billion, making Poland India's largest trade partner in Central Europe. The two sides reiterated their commitment to peace and a rules-based international order and agreed cooperation in security is vital during serious conflicts and tensions in various regions of the world, according to a joint statement. They decided to enhance collaboration at multilateral forums to help maintain global stability and security. Tusk and Modi expressed their deepest concern at the war in Ukraine and its tragic humanitarian consequences. They reiterated 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, the joint statement said. In the context of this war, they shared the view that the use, or threat of use, of nuclear weapons is unacceptable, the joint statement said, adding all states must refrain from the threat of or use of force against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state. The two leaders condemned all forms of terrorism and emphasised that no country should provide a safe haven to those who finance, plan, support or commit terrorist acts. According to the action plan for the strategic partnership, institutions from the two sides will hold regular consultations on security and defence cooperation to promote contacts between defence industries and modernise military equipment. The next meeting of the joint working group for defence cooperation will be held in 2024. The action plan said the two sides will explore cooperation in hi-tech, agri-tech, energy, green technologies, infrastructure, defence, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and mining at the next meeting of the Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC) scheduled for the end of 2024. Modi also met Polish President Andrzej Duda at Belweder Palace in Warsaw and discussed bilateral relations and regional and global issues, including the conflicts in Ukraine and West Asia. Modi expressed gratitude for Polands invaluable and timely assistance in evacuating Indian citizens from Ukraine. He also held separate meetings with Gawel Lopinski, CEO of Billenium Pvt Ltd, a Polish IT company with a presence in Pune, Alina Posluszny, the managing director of TZMO India, a manufacturer of diversified hygiene products, a group of prominent Polish Indologists, and Kabaddi Federation of Poland president Michal Spiczko and board member Anna Kalbarczyk. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his engagements in Ukraine on Friday by visiting a special multimedia exhibit at a museum in Kyiv dedicated to hundreds of children killed since the launch of Russias invasion in February 2022. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (X/@narendramodi) The visit to the National Museum of the History of Ukraine, for which Modi was joined by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, appeared to be aimed at addressing the outrage among Ukrainians over images of the Indian leader embracing President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on July 8, the same day a Russian strike hit Ukraines largest childrens hospital. Modi was greeted on his arrival at the museum by Zelenksyy, clad in his trademark green sweatshirt and brown cargo pants, and the two leaders embraced before watching a video on children killed in the conflict. Modi stood close to Zelenskyy, his arm around the Ukrainian presidents shoulder. They then entered the museum and placed toys at the site of the multimedia martyrology, or catalogue of martyrs, titled Children and honoured the memory of the fallen young Ukrainians with a moment of silence. President @ZelenskyyUa and I paid homage at the Martyrologist Exposition in Kyiv. Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief, Modi said in a post on X. Zelenskyy said on X that he and Modi had honoured the memory of children whose lives were taken by Russian aggression. He added, Children in every country deserve to live in safety. We must make this possible. Ukraines prosecutor general Andriy Kostin informed Modi and Zelenskyy about the history of the exhibit and Russian attacks on places where children were present, including the missile strike on Okhmatdyt, the largest childrens hospital, a statement from the Ukrainian presidents office said. Since the beginning of Russias full-scale invasion, 570 Ukrainian children have been killed. However, this number is not final, as complete information from the temporarily occupied territories is unavailable. The number of victims continues to grow due to constant Russian attacks, the statement said. A statement from the external affairs ministry said Modi was deeply touched by the poignant exposition in memory of children killed in the conflict. Modi referred to the exhibit in his televised opening remarks at his meeting with Zelenskyy and said the death of innocent children is unacceptable. For a long time, we have heard that the first casualty of war is truth. But when I visited the museum dedicated to the children with you today and was offering my tribute, my heart was deeply hurt, he said, speaking in Hindi. I now feel the first casualty of war are the innocent children. That is very painful. In any civilised society, for those who believe in human values and for sensitive people, such incidents are unacceptable. Any person in the world who believes in human values cannot accept this, he said. The multimedia exhibit Children was created in June 2022 on the Day of Remembrance of Children Killed by Russias Armed Aggression Against Ukraine. The martyrology features names and photographs of young Ukrainians killed by the aggressor state. The Supreme Court on Friday expressed dismay over the persistent misunderstanding and misapplication of the law regarding the offences of criminal breach of trust and cheating, underscoring the urgent need to sensitise lower courts and law enforcement agencies across the country to correctly apply these two distinct provisions. The Supreme Court on Friday expressed dismay over the persistent misunderstanding and misapplication of the law regarding the offences of criminal breach of trust and cheating. (HT Archive) A bench comprising justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra highlighted that even after more than 160 years of the Indian Penal Codes (IPC) existence, the judiciary and police officers continue to conflate the two offenses, often leading to erroneous prosecutions. The court observed that it is common practice for police officers to register FIRs for both criminal breach of trust and cheating based on mere allegations of dishonesty or fraud. This mechanical approach, it noted, has led to numerous instances of injustice and has muddied the legal waters. It is very sad to note that even after these many years, the courts have not been able to understand the fine distinction between criminal breach of trust and cheating, the bench held. The Supreme Court passed the remarks as it quashed summons by an Uttar Pradesh court to the secretary, honorary president and non-executive director of Delhi Race Club over alleged unpaid dues concerning the sale of horse grains and oats to the club. In its ruling, the top court emphasised the need for comprehensive training of police officers to ensure that they can correctly distinguish between criminal breach of trust and cheating. The court was unequivocal that both offences are independent and distinct and cannot coexist under the same set of facts. The offences, it said, are antithetical to each other and must be treated as such by law enforcement and judicial officers alike. Read more: Supreme Court adjourns Arvind Kejriwal's plea challenging CBI arrest in Delhi excise policy case It is high time that the police officers across the country are imparted proper training in law so as to understand the fine distinction between the offense of cheating vis-a-vis criminal breach of trust, the bench said. The court further directed that copies of its judgment be sent to the principal secretaries of the ministry of law & justice and the home department, urging them to take steps to rectify this long-standing issue. The court also took the opportunity to provide detailed guidance on how to differentiate between criminal breach of trust (previously under section 406 of IPC) and cheating (previously under section 420 of IPC), now governed by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. The BNS provides for enhanced punishment for the offences of cheating and criminal breach of trust. While both offences involve dishonest intent, the court highlighted, they are distinct in nature. Criminal breach of trust pertains to a situation where property is legally entrusted to a person, who then dishonestly misappropriates it. Cheating, however, involves a fraudulent inducement from the outset, where a person is deceived into parting with property or consent, it said. Regretting the casual approach of trial courts in cases involving these offences, the bench admonished the magistrates for failing to meticulously examine complaints to determine whether the facts constitute criminal breach of trust or cheating. The bench emphasised that in cases arising from FIRs, it is the polices responsibility to ascertain whether the allegations genuinely fall under cheating or criminal breach of trust before proceeding. Read more: Legally Speaking | A look at the Supreme Court's judgment on the right to privacy of adolescents In this particular case, the court found that the magistrate had failed to make this crucial distinction and had wrongly taken cognisance of the offence of criminal breach of trust without proper analysis. The bench stressed that a mere failure to pay for goods sold does not automatically constitute criminal breach of trust, especially when there is no evidence of entrustment, as it quashed the February 2023 summoning order by a Bulandshahr magistrate upon a complaint by a businessman who supplied horse feed, barley and oats to Delhi Race Club. Narendra Modi Ukraine visit: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Ukraine on Friday, his first visit to the country since the start of the war with Russia in 2022. Modis stop in Ukraine is expected to last about seven hours and involve a 10-hour train journey in tight security conditions. While the Indian side gave virtually no details of Modis programme in Ukraine, citing security protocols associated with travelling to an active war zone, the PM had confirmed his visit to the war-torn country, saying that it will be an opportunity to deepen the India-Ukraine friendship....Read More We will also share perspectives on the peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict. As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region, Modi wrote on X. Modi's visit to Ukraine comes over a month after Modi travelled to Russia for two days for the annual summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. During his visit, Modi held an informal meeting with Putin, followed by a dinner at Putin's dacha or country home in the suburb of Novo-Ogaryovo a rare honour reserved by the Russian president for only a handful of visiting leaders. Modi in Poland Modi visited Poland on Wednesday, becoming the first Indian premier to travel to the country in nearly half a century since Morarji Desai in 1979. During his visit, Modi met Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Andrzej Duda to advance the bilateral partnership and interacted with the Indian community in Poland. In his departure statement, Modi noted that he was visiting Poland at a time when the two countries are marking 70 years of diplomatic relations. Poland is a key economic partner in Central Europe. Our mutual commitment to democracy and pluralism further reinforces our relationship, he said. He also said that he would discuss the peaceful resolution of the conflict in Ukraine. Srinagar National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah on Thursday said that his party has finalised an alliance with the Congress for all 90 assembly seats in Jammu & Kashmir, and added that they were open to also bringing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on board after the elections, indicating the possibility of the three INDIA bloc members coming together in the Union territorys political arena. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi with National Conference president Farooq Abdullah and party vice president Omar Abdullah in Srinagar on Thursday. (ANI) The former J&K chief minister made the announcement hours after Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge met him and his son, NC vice president Omar Abdullah, in Srinagar. We had a good meeting in a cordial atmosphere. The alliance is on track, and it will run smoothly. The alliance is final, and it will be for all 90 seats. Our common program is to fight together and defeat the divisive forces in the country, Abdullah said, and added that the two parties will soon formalise a seat-sharing pact. Read more: Congress will restore statehood in Jammu and Kashmir: Rahul Gandhi in Srinagar The first assembly elections in Jammu & Kashmir in a decade will be held in three phases on September 18 and 25, and October 1. They will be the first assembly polls in the restive region since its special status and statehood were scrapped five years ago and are likely to be the last step before the Union territorys statehood is restored. Statehood is very important for all of us. This has been promised to us. This state has witnessed bad days, and we hope it will be restored with its full powers. For that, we stand together with the INDIA bloc, Abdullah said, adding that former MLA and CPI(M) leader Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami also extended support to them. Congress general secretary and former president of J&K unit Ghulam Ahmad Mir said the two parties took different factors into consideration before sealing the alliance: We resolved almost all hurdles and both the parties even agreed to some sacrifices for the sake of a fruitful coalition. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior Congress leader said: The NC will likely get around 50 seats and the Congress between 35-38 seats. Some allies will also be accommodated. The NC and Congress formed a post-poll alliance in 2008, with Omar Abdullah leading the coalition government as the chief minister. The two parties did not tie-up for the 2014 polls and contested all seats separately. The PDP emerged as the single-largest party with 28 seats and formed an alliance of ideological extremes with the BJP, which had 25 seats. But the coalition collapsed early in 2018 after the BJP withdrew support and Governors Rule was imposed in June. The NC won 15 seats in the 2014 elections, and the Congress 12. Read more: Ram Madhavs return to energise BJPs campaign in Jammu and Kashmir Asked if there was a possibility of the PDP also joining the alliance, Abdullah said: Let us first go through the polls, then we will look into those things. No doors are closed for anybody. Although part of the INDIA bloc and the Peoples Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD), the NC and the PDP continue to have a tumultuous relationship. The two main regional parties of the region were unable to reach a seat-sharing pact for the recently held Lok Sabha elections, accusing each other of violating the coalition agreement. The NC and Congress contested the polls together, with the former winning two of the three seats it contested on and the latter failing to open its account. The PDP was also unable to win a single Lok Sabha seat. PDP spokesperson Tahir Sayed took shots at the NC but also said that they were not against any alliance. Our fight for democratic principles, which is more important than getting power. The NC is more concerned about seats than our collective fight . We are part of INDIA bloc as we have ideological alliance with them...we are not against any kind of alliance. The three-phase electoral contest will also be the first assembly polls in Jammu & Kashmir since a controversial delimitation exercise earmarked 47 assembly seats for Kashmir and 43 for Jammu. The panel gave Jammu six additional seats and Kashmir one, sparking allegations from the Opposition that the balance was tilting in favour of Hindu-majority Jammu. The panel also reserved nine seats for scheduled tribes, a first, renamed some assembly constituencies, and redrew some others. Welcoming the alliance, Tarigami said: It is time now that the secular parties act together and defeat those in power who have been doing away with whatever constitutional guarantees were there for J&K. Political expert and retired political science professor at Kashmir University, Noor Baba, said the alliance between NC and Congress was expected: The alliance between the two in the changed political circumstances makes sense. I think they have made their chances of forming a government in J&K brighter. Meanwhile, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy challenged the Congress to clarify its stance on Article 370 and the National Conferences resolution to revoke it. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should inform the country about the National Conferences resolution. Tarun Chugh has already questioned them. They should also clarify the Congress stand on Article 370, Reddy the BJPs election in-charge for Jammu and Kashmir told reporters at the BJP headquarters. Earlier in the day, Gandhi addressed party workers on the second day of his J&K visit and said the Congress will forge an alliance for the polls, but it wont be at the cost of party functionaries interests. An alliance is happening... I want our workers and leaders to get respect from whatever alliance takes place, he said. The Congress MP added that the party will continue to push for the restoration of J&Ks statehood. We want statehood for you. We want you to run your state the way you want to, this is the message we came to convey, he said. Attacking the BJP, he said that the Centre snatched away the representation of the people of the region. For the first time in the history of independent India, a state was made a Union territory. In independent India, new states were carved out ... but never was a state was downgraded into a UT, Gandhi said. Kharge told leaders of the partys J&K unit that the Lok Sabha elections proved that the Opposition can take on the BJP if they stand united. We are interested in contesting the elections unitedly with other parties in Jammu & Kashmir. We have had success as well. We have seen the results in the Lok Sabha polls, he said. At least 27 Indian nationals were killed and another 16 got injured after a bus carrying tourists plunged off a Nepali highway and into a river on Friday. The victims, mostly from Maharashtra's Jalgaon district, were travelling as part of a pilgrimage group when their bus veered off the highway and plunged into the fast-flowing Marsyangdi River. Security force personnel work to rescue injured passengers after a bus carrying Indian passengers traveling to Kathmandu from Pokhara plunged into a river in Tanahun District, Gandaki Province, Nepal August 23, 2024.(REUTERS) "We are deeply pained by the tragic death of 27 Indian nationals in a road accident in Tanahun district of Nepal. We convey our deepest condolences to the families of the deceased," the ministry of external affairs said on X. The ministry confirmed that 16 others were injured in the accident, all of whom have been airlifted to Kathmandu for medical treatment. The bus, which was en route from Pokhara to Kathmandu, was carrying 43 passengers when the accident occurred. Nepalese authorities, supported by local rescue teams, faced significant challenges as they battled the raging river currents to rescue survivors and retrieve the bodies of those who died. Who were the victims of Nepal bus accident? The Maharashtra government identified 16 persons from Jalgaon as "reported deceased". Ramjeet alias Munna, Sarla Rane (42), Bharti Jawade (62), Tulshiram Tawade (62), Sarla Tawade (62), Sandeep Sarode (45), Pallavi Sarode (43), Anup Sarode (22), Ganesh Bharambe (40), Nilima Dhande (57), Pankaj Bhangade (45), Pari Bharambe (8 years) , Anita Patil, Vijaya Jhawade (50), Rohini Jhawade (51) and Prakash Kodi reportedly died in the accident, it said. The Indian Embassy has set up emergency helpline numbers to facilitate communication and support. They are in constant touch with local authorities and with affected families and are making arrangement for early transportation of mortal remains to India. Embassy would be giving regular updates on the matter, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. Friday's accident is the latest in a series of deadly road incidents in Nepal. Just a month ago, two buses with 59 passengers on board were swept into a river by a landslide in Chitwan district. Three people were able to escape alive from that incident, but authorities have so far only managed to recover 20 bodies in the weeks since, and the search is continuing for the two buses and the remains of the missing passengers, reported AFP. Road travel becomes deadlier during the annual monsoon season as rains trigger landslides and floods across the mountainous nation. Mumbai, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said the passengers onboard the bus that fell 150 metres into a river in central Nepal were from Jalgaon district in the state as per preliminary information, and efforts are on to bring them back. Nepal bus tragedy: Passengers from Jalgaon, efforts on to bring back victims, says Fadnavis In a post on X, Fadnavis condoled the deaths of 14 passengers and said the state government has communicated with the Indian embassy in Nepal. "The passengers are from Jalgaon. The district collector is in touch with the Maharajganj collector in Uttar Pradesh to bring back the victims and survivors," he said. At least 14 people were killed and 16 others injured after an Indian tourist bus veered off a highway and fell 150 metres into the Marsyangdi river in central Nepal, authorities said. The bus from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh was heading towards Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, from the resort town of Pokhara when it drove off the highway in Aaina Pahara in the Tanahun district. There were 43 people, including the driver and the co-driver, in the bus with the registration number UP 53 FT 7623. Maharashtra Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Anil Patil said the state government is in touch with the relief commissioner of Uttar Pradesh and the Indian embassy in Kathmandu to bring back the victims and survivors of the accident. Talking to PTI, Patil said, "It is reported that most passengers are from Jalgaon district. We are trying to confirm. We are in touch with the relief commissioner of Uttar Pradesh and the Indian embassy in Nepal and have told them that the district collector will ensure the return of the victims and survivors," he said. Senior NCP leader Eknath Khadse said the passengers were part of a group of 80 people from Varangaon in Jalgaon who had travelled to Ayodhya four days ago. Talking to PTI, Khadse, who hails from the district, said he visited the families of the victims and survivors. He said his daughter-in-law, Union Minister Raksha Khadse, will be travelling to Kathmandu as she has received permission from the PMO to oversee the return of the victims and survivors. Khadse said the toll in the accident may rise to 30 as per information he received from authorities in Nepal. Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner GS Naveen Kumar, in a press statement, said, "As per media reports and further confirmed from the MEA Nepal Division, today at about 11.30 am, a bus with registration number - UP 53 FD 7623 carrying approx 41 passengers from Maharashtra, including the driver and one assistant, fell around 150 metres into river Marshyandi in Ambukhereni region in the Tanahu District of Nepal. The statement added, "The UP government has sent SDM Maharajganj to the incident site. The MEA is coordinating the search and rescue operations with local authorities." As per MyRepublica, a news portal, the passengers were part of a group of 104 Indian pilgrims who arrived in Nepal from Maharashtra in three buses two days ago for a 10-day tour. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United) has joined key Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) allies in expressing concerns over the government's Waqf (Amendment) Bill, a stance previously taken by Chirag Paswan's Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) and Andhra Pradesh's Telugu Desam Party led by Chandrababu Naidu. Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) with TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu (centre) and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar during National Democratic Alliance (NDA) meeting at PM's residence in New Delhi on June 5. (PTI) The JD(U) is pushing for changes to the proposed law to better protect the interests of the Muslim community, which makes up 18 percent of the population in the state facing an assembly election next year, NDTV reported. The party had initially backed the Bill earlier this month and its MP Rajiv Ranjan even supported the legislation during a Lok Sabha debate. He had termed the amendments as essential for enhancing transparency. However, dissent has emerged within the JD(U) as Bihar minority welfare minister Mohammad Zama Khan expressed concerns about certain provisions to the chief minister, the report said. Not only has Khan raised concerns, but water resources minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary has also expressed apprehensions about the impact on the Muslim community. Why has the Waqf Bill been referred to a 21-member Joint Parliamentary Committee? The Lok Sabha on August 9 set up a 21-member Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to examine the contentious Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which will submit its report by the end of the first week when Parliament convenes next. The motion for the JPC was moved by Union minister of parliamentary affairs and minority affairs Kiren Rijiju. The Bill, introduced by Rijiju in Lok Sabha on August 8 , seeks to bring changes to the powers of state Waqf boards, survey of Waqf properties and removal of encroachments by amending the Waqf Act, 1995. A waqf is a Muslim religious endowment, usually in the form of landed property, made for purposes of charity and community welfare. Rijiju also introduced the Mussalman Wakf (Repeal) Bill, 2024, which seeks to repeal the Mussalman Wakf Act, 1923. The Opposition accused the government of violating the right to freedom of religion. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the bill was being introduced to appease the Bharatiya Janata Partys hardcore supporters. The most controversial provision is a proposal to induct non-Muslims in the central waqf council, state waqf boards, and waqf tribunals, calling for such bodies to become more broad-based, with representation of Shia, Sunni, Bohra, Agakhani, and other Muslim sects, along with non-Muslims. Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kyiv on Friday, six weeks after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, making this his first visit to Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Modi met on the margins of the G7 Summit in Italy in June and they also met on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Japan last year. (PTI) During the visit, the two leaders are anticipated to explore opportunities for cooperation in defence, economic and business sectors, as well as in science and technology. Modi is the first Indian head of state to visit Ukraine since its independence in 1991, and the trip comes with significant expectations for diplomatic progress concerning the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Ahead of his visit to Poland and Ukraine, PM Modi expressed India's hope for an early return to peace and stability in Ukraine. He reiterated India's commitment as a friend and partner to support the region through its challenges. Despite its traditionally close relationship with Russia, India has kept a neutral stance on the Ukraine war. Following the conflict's outbreak, India has managed to maintain amicable relations with both Russia and Ukraine. However, President Zelenskyy's outreach to Modi represents a recognition of India's strategic importance and influence on the world stage. By engaging with Modi, Zelenskyy aims to secure broader support and aid, underscoring the significance of Modis diplomatic role. During the G7 summit, Prime Minister Modi and Zelenskyy engaged in a bilateral discussion, where Modi reaffirmed Indias commitment to resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict through diplomatic means. How has India responded to the Russia-Ukraine war? In December 2022, President Zelenskyy reached out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking India's assistance with a proposed peace formula. This request came amid India's efforts to enhance trade relations with Russia, having emerged as a significant purchaser of Russian oil despite Western sanctions, which has provided essential financial support to Russian President Vladimir Putin during the ongoing conflict. Zelenskyy shared his call for India's involvement in implementing the peace plan via X (formerly Twitter), while also expressing appreciation for India's humanitarian aid and support at the United Nations. Earlier in March 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with Zelenskyy, focusing on strengthening the India-Ukraine partnership across various sectors. During their conversation about the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Modi reiterated India's commitment to a people-centric approach, advocating for dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward. He emphasised India's support for a swift and peaceful resolution to the conflict and pledged continued efforts to aid in achieving this goal. President Zelenskyy had expressed appreciation for Indias ongoing humanitarian support to Ukraine. The leaders agreed to stay in touch. Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Ukraine on Friday, becoming the first Indian head of government to travel to the country for a visit that is being closely watched for any steps that will be taken by New Delhi to help end the conflict triggered by Russias invasion in 2022. Modi made a journey by train that lasted about 10 hours to reach Ukraine early on Friday morning. (AFP photo) Following his engagements in Poland on Thursday, Modi made a journey by train that lasted about 10 hours to reach Ukraine early on Friday morning. There was no official word on his arrival and the Indian side had said there would be few updates about the visit because of stringent security protocols associated with a trip to an active warzone. Indian TV channels beamed footage of Modis motorcade driving through the deserted streets of Kyiv to draw up at a hotel. Modi travelled to Ukraine a little more than a month after his visit to Russia for the annual summit with President Vladimir Putin during July 8-9. The visit coincides with Ukraines National Flag Day, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyys office said his talks with Modi will focus on bilateral and multilateral cooperation. It was also expected that a number of documents would be signed by the two countries. Also Read: Modi, Tusk elevate ties to strategic partnership between India & Poland Ahead of his arrival in Kyiv, Modi said during a media interaction in Warsaw on Thursday that India stands ready to work with friendly countries to provide all support for early restoration of peace and stability in Ukraine. It is Indias firm belief that no problem can be solved on the battlefield. In any crisis, the loss of lives of innocent people has become the biggest challenge for the whole of humanity, he said, speaking in Hindi. We support dialogue and diplomacy for the early restoration of peace and stability. For this, India, along with friendly countries, is ready to provide all possible support, he said. The Ukrainian side, which has been looking to India taking on a greater role in ongoing peace efforts because of the countrys proximity to Russia, said President Volodymyr Zelenskyys 10-point peace formula will be one of the main topics of discussion during Modis visit that is expected to last about seven hours. Ukraine has also said it believes India, as the voice of the Global South, should enhance its efforts to bring about a just and lasting peace. Modi joins the leaders of Indonesia, Hungary, South Africa and Turkiye in visiting both Russia and Ukraine during the war and is among the handful of Asian leaders who have travelled to Kyiv since the Russian invasion in February 2022. The visit is being seen as part of Indias attempts to balance between the countrys longstanding strategic relationship with Russia and expectation from the West, especially the US, that New Delhi should do more to back efforts aimed at bringing Moscow and Kyiv to the negotiating table. However, India has ruled out any mediatory role and indicated it can help by passing messages between Russia and Ukraine, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity ahead of Modis visit. India has so far not publicly criticised Russias actions and has abstained or voted against most Ukraine-related resolutions at the United Nations. It also stepped up the purchase of discounted Russian commodities such as oil and fertilisers despite initial criticism of the move from the West. At the same time, it has called for a return to dialogue and diplomacy to find a lasting solution to the conflict. At his meeting with Putin last month, Modi said talks would not be successful under the shadow of the gun. After arriving in Ukraine to hold talks with President Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Mariinskyi Palace in Kyiv, where the award-winning song Naatu Naatu was filmed. A still of Jr NTR and Ram Charan from the Oscar-winning song Naatu Naatu The energetic track from the Indian film RRR, featuring Ram Charan and NTR Jr., won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 2023, surpassing two songs performed by renowned American pop stars. The song was shot at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's official residence, just months before the war broke out in the region. Many Ukrainian film professionals who assisted with the song's filming later became prominent figures in the resistance during the war. Vitali Klitschko, Kyiv's mayor played a key role in facilitating the film shoot at the Presidential residence. He is now considered a prominent target along with President Zelenskyy. Similarly, film producer Anna Palenchuk took up arms when the conflict erupted. The film also featured several scenes shot at various locations throughout Kyiv. Follow all PM Narendra Modi Ukraine visit Live Updates On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, marking a significant intensification of the Russo-Ukrainian War that began in 2014. This invasion is the largest conflict in Europe since World War II and resulted in hundreds of thousands of military casualties and tens of thousands of civilian deaths in Ukraine. PM Modi arrives in Ukraine, to hold talks with President Zelenskyy Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kyiv on Friday, six weeks after he met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, making this his first visit to Ukraine. During the visit, the two leaders are anticipated to explore opportunities for cooperation in defence, economic and business sectors, as well as in science and technology. Modi is the first Indian head of state to visit Ukraine since its independence in 1991, and the trip comes with significant expectations for diplomatic progress concerning the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Despite its traditionally close relationship with Russia, India has kept a neutral stance on the Ukraine war. Following the conflict's outbreak, India has managed to maintain amicable relations with both Russia and Ukraine. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday visited the Martyrologist exposition on children at the National Museum of History of Ukraine in Kyiv. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was also present on this occasion. President @ZelenskyyUa and I paid homage at the Martyrologist Exposition in Kyiv. Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief, Modi posted on social platform X. ALSO READ: On historic visit, Modi meets Zelensky with hug and handshake amid Russia-Ukraine war Zelenskyy also posted on X about the visit, saying,"Today in Kyiv, Prime Minister @NarendraModi and I honored the memory of the children whose lives were taken by Russian aggression. Children in every country deserve to live in safety. We must make this possible." PM Modi's Ukraine visit LIVE coverage Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky pay tributes to the children who lost their lives in the Ukraine conflict in Kyiv.(Narendra Modi/X) PM Modi pays tribute to Mahatma Gandhi Earlier in the day, the prime minister paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at his statue, located in the Oasis of Peace park in Kyiv. Paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Kyiv. The ideals of Bapu are universal and give hope to millions. May we all follow the path he showed to humanity, he said. ALSO READ: PM Modi to visit Mariinskyi Palace in Ukraine, where Naatu Naatu was filmed Prime Minister Modi arrived in Ukraine from Poland on Friday, the first visit by an Indian PM since it gained independence in 1991. His visit to Ukraine comes nearly six weeks after his high-profile trip to Moscow and it is seen as a balancing act as the prime minister's trip to Russia triggered anguish among the Western countries. Modi had met Zelenskyy in June in Italy along the sidelines of G7 Summit. During the interaction, he had conveyed to the Ukrainian President that India would continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution to the Ukraine conflict and that the way to peace is through "dialogue and diplomacy". Modi also told Zelenskyy that India believes in a "human-centric" approach to find a solution to the conflict in Ukraine. (With PTI inputs) The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has justified the arrest of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi excise policy case, accusing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief of playing a pivotal role in the formulation and implementation of the controversial policy. Supreme Court of India. (PTI File Photo) According to the agency, Kejriwals arrest was essential for the just conclusion of the investigation, particularly given Kejriwals non-cooperation and the substantial evidence pointing to his involvement. Submitting a detailed affidavit in the Supreme Court on Thursday night in response to Kejriwals petition challenging his arrest, the agency contended that his actions were not only illegal but also part of a larger conspiracy involving significant financial irregularities and misuse of public office. The CBI accused Kejriwal of attempting to politicise the case, arguing that he is trying to politically sensationalise the case before this Honble Court, despite repeated orders passed by various courts being prima facie satisfied of the commission of the offences. Asserting that Kejriwals arrest was lawful, with due procedure followed at every step, the CBI highlighted that the Delhi high court had already dismissed Kejriwals writ petition, concluding that it cannot be said that the arrest of the petitioner (Kejriwal) was without any justifiable reasons or was illegal. A bench led by justice Surya Kant will take up Kejriwals petition challenging his arrest by the CBI later today. Hearing the matter on August 14, the top court had denied immediate interim bail to the Delhi CM even as it sought a response from the agency. The Delhi high court had on August 5 upheld Kejriwals June 26 arrest and remand by a trial court, ruling that his arrest was neither illegal nor without justifiable grounds because CBI presented evidently enough evidence to warrant his detention and remand. Kejriwal approached the Supreme Court on August 12, two days after the top court granted bail to former Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia in the related probed by CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED). In his petition before the Supreme Court, Kejriwal relied heavily on the Sisodia verdict, in which the top court held that the former deputy CMs long incarceration of 17 months and his continued detention in a case where there was no hope of trial ending anytime soon impinged on his fundamental right to liberty and speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution. The AAP chiefs petition argued that the grounds on which the court found it appropriate to release Sisodia on bail should equally apply to him. The crux of the CBIs argument in its affidavit before the top court premised on Kejriwals alleged involvement in the formulation and execution of the Delhi excise policy 2021-22, which was later scrapped over allegations of irregularities and corruption, followed by a probe ordered by the Delhi lieutenant governor. Although Kejriwal did not hold any official ministerial portfolio, the CBI contended that all critical decisions in the formulation of the new excise policy were taken at the behest of the petitioner, in connivance with the then deputy chief minister and minister of excise, Manish Sisodia. According to the CBI, Kejriwals influence extended beyond the Delhi government, with his directives allegedly shaping decisions across the AAPs national footprint. The agency claimed that Kejriwal was central to the policys privatisation plan, which included tweaking and manipulating the policy to benefit specific entities. One such manipulation, as alleged by the CBI, was the increase in profit margins for wholesalers from 5% to 12%, a change that purportedly resulted in a windfall gain for certain groups in exchange for illegal gratification of 100 crores from the South Group - a group of liquor business from the southern part of India. It added that Kejriwal cannot claim parity with other accused in the case (Sisodia) owing to his key role in the criminal conspiracy and specifically the fact that all decisions of the Delhi government and the party were taken only as per his directions. A significant portion of the affidavit was dedicated to tracing the financial transactions linked to the excise policy with the CBI alleging that 44.54 crore was funneled through hawala channels from Delhi to Goa to fund the AAPs election campaign during the 2021-22 Goa assembly elections. These funds were reportedly received and distributed by individuals closely associated with the party, including Chanpreet Singh Rayat and Rajiv Ashok Mondkar, under the instructions of Vijay Nair, a key figure in AAPs campaign strategy, according to the agency. The affidavit also contended that data retrieved from the hard drives and mobile phones of the accused corroborated Kejriwals involvement. This included WhatsApp chats, screenshots and contact details linking Kejriwal to the financial transactions and policy decisions under scrutiny. The CBI stated that these documents indicate a direct connection between Kejriwal and the illicit activities, further implicating him in the case. The CBIs affidavit also highlighted Kejriwals alleged non-cooperation during the investigation, claiming that when Kejriwal was interrogated in Tihar Jail on June 25, 2024, he was evasive and non-cooperative, failing to provide satisfactory answers regarding his role in the 100-crore bribe allegedly paid to the AAP by the South Group. The CBI alleged that despite being confronted with incriminating evidence, Kejriwal provided contradictory statements and concealed critical information, which impeded the investigation.This behaviour, according to the CBI, justified Kejriwals arrest. The affidavit further detailed that the decision to arrest him was not taken lightly and was only made after Kejriwals interrogation revealed his pivotal role in the conspiracy, coupled with his attempts to derail the investigation. The CBI underscored that Kejriwals influence, both as the Delhi CM and as the AAP national convener, posed a risk to the integrity of the investigation, with the potential for witness tampering and evidence destruction. The CBI sought to dismantle Kejriwals claim that his arrest was unwarranted, arguing that all procedural requirements under the law, including those under Section 41-A of the Criminal Procedure Code, were met. Stressing that there was sufficient compliance with the legal provisions, the agency stated that the necessity for Kejriwals arrest was thoroughly documented in the case diary, which was reviewed by both the special court and the Delhi high court. Furthermore, the CBI pointed out that Kejriwals arrest was sanctioned by the relevant authorities under Section 17-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, following a thorough investigation that pointed to his central role in the alleged crimes. The prime suspect in the sexual assault of a schoolgirl at a fake National Cadet Corps (NCC) camp in Bargur area of Tamil Nadu died allegedly by suicide on Friday. Around 41 students, including 17 girls, had participated in the fake NCC camp a week ago. ((PIC FOR REPRESENTATION)) Police said that the suspect identified as Sivaraman consumed rat poison before his arrest on August 19. He was receiving treatment at the Government Medical College and Hospital in Krishnagiri for a leg fracture, which he sustained while trying to escape from police. He was later shifted to the Government Medical College Hospital in Salem due to deteriorating health and passed away today. Sivaraman was one of 11 individuals including school authorities, who were arrested by the Bargur All Women Police. He had organised the fake NCC camp where an eighth-grade girl was sexually assaulted and several other girls were allegedly abused. Approximately 41 students including 17 girls, attended the camp. The assault was uncovered after the girl reported her trauma to her parents, who then filed a complaint with the police. The National Commission for Women (NCW) on August 21 said that it has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report about the sexual assault of a girl and sexual abuse of around 12 girls at a fake National Cadet Corps (NCC) camp in Tamil Nadu's Krishnagiri. The commission said it directed the Chennai's director general of police (DGP) to ensure a fair and time-bound investigation into the matter. On its part, the NCC has clarified that it did not conduct any camp in the area and that the person involved in the incident has no connection with it. The district administration, too, said that NCC was not involved in organising the camp. The girls were being given counselling and psychological support through the district child protection unit. Their parents were also being given support and counselling. If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist. Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669 Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918 Roshni Foundation (Secundrabad) Contact Nos: 040-66202001, 040-66202000, ONE LIFE: Contact No: 78930 78930, SEVA: Contact No: 09441778290 With PTI inputs Rains lashed parts of the national capital on Wednesday, causing waterlogging and traffic snarls in several areas. Visuals showed commuters navigating heavy rains with waterlogging in many areas causing traffic snarls on several stretches. August 2024 is set to become one of the rainiest months for Delhi as the city has recorded 269.9 mm of rainfall so far, marking the highest amount in a decade, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Water logging after heavy rain at Ring Road Near ITO Flyover in New Delhi, India, on Tuesday, August 20, 2024. (Photo by RAJ K RAJ / Hindustan Times) IMD data also shows that prior to 2024, August had the highest rainfall in recent years with 321 mm in 2013 and 378 mm in 2012. Delhi's maximum temperature reached 36.6 degree Celsius on Wednesday , which was 2.4 degree Celsius above the average, as reported by the weather department. The IMD forecasted a mostly cloudy sky with light rain and thunderstorms for Friday, expecting maximum and minimum temperatures of 36 degree Celsius and 26 degree Celsius respectively. In addition to the overall rainfall, Delhi has also experienced more rainy days than usual this August. Typically, Safdarjung sees about 10.2 rainy days in August, but by August 22 this year, there have already been 11 such days, reflecting the exceptional intensity of the monsoon. The record for August rainfall in Delhi is 583.3 mm, set in 1961, according to IMD data. The weather forecast for the next seven days predicts light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorms. The Central Pollution Control Board reported that at 9 am, Delhis Air Quality Index (AQI) on Thursday was at 79, falling into the satisfactory category. AQI levels are classified as follows, 0-50 is good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 is moderate, 201-300 is poor, 301-400 is very poor, and 401-500 is severe. The IMD has forecast severe rainfall across Uttar Pradesh from August 23 to August 26 and over Rajasthan on August 27. It also said that there is likelihood of isolated very heavy rainfall in Uttarakhand on August 22 and 23, and in East Rajasthan on August 25. With PTI inputs The prime suspect in the rape of a 14-year-old school girl and sexual harassment of a dozen others at a fake National Cadet Corps (NCC) camp in Bargur in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu died allegedly by suicide on Friday, police said. The incident comes hours after accuseds father died in a road accident on Thursday (File photo) The 31-year-old accused, identified as Sivaraman, had reportedly consumed a poisonous substance ahead of his arrest on August 19, a senior police officer said. He is survived by wife and a three-year-old daughter. On Thursday, Sivaramans father Ashok Kumar died in a road accident when he was riding a two-wheeler allegedly in an inebriated condition. Krishnagiris superintendent of police, P Thangadurai, said the 31-year-old accused was evading arrest by hiding at a location in Coimbatore ever since the rape survivor filed a complaint with the police, and he was arrested on Monday (August 19) following a tip-off. He had sustained fractures on one of his legs, reportedly from a fall while attempting to escape from the police net. As a result, he was admitted to the Government Medical College Hospital in Krishnagiri. When doctors questioned him over his blood test report, he confessed to having consumed a poisonous substance fearing his arrest, he said. Read more: Kolkata rape-murder case: Court sends main accused to 14-day judicial custody He further said that the accused as shifted to the better-equipped Salem Medical College Hospital on Wednesday night as he required dialysis to recover. However, his health situation worsened late on Thursday night, and he died by Friday morning at around 5.30am, he said. Police have arrested 11 other suspects, including the school authorities, for helping Sivaraman organise the fake NCC camp without verifying his credentials and prompting students to take part in it, the SP said. Deputy director general of the Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Andamans NCC directorate, Commodore S Raghav, confirmed that no official NCC camp conducted at the Krishnagiri private school. The police said that a teacher of the same school for over four years, one of the accused, was facing charges for organising similar fake NCC camps at schools in other parts of the district, presumably to harass the participating girls sexually. Other than the cases under the Protection of children from sexual offences (Pocso) Act, which were registered based on the complaints filed by the students, Sivaraman is also facing a financial fraud case of cheating a neighbour for 36 lakh by posing as an advocate. One 31-year-old Sakthivel filed a complaint from Krishnagiri, who alleged that unidentified individuals created a fraudulent purchase deed for his property in Pettalapalli, leading Sivaraman to approach him with promises to restore the property. Claiming to be a lawyer, Sivaraman deceived him by collecting a total of 36 lakhs, the SP added. Read more: Amid uproar over Kolkata rape-murder case, Kanika Dhillon says men need to step up to make workplaces safe for women' About 41 students, including 17 girls, Kandikuppam school participated in the fake NCC camp organised from August 5 and 9. The incident of rape of the 14-year-old girl came to light after she narrated her trauma, which allegedly took place on August 8, to her parents, who then lodged a complaint with the police. In her statement, the Kandikuppam survivor said all the female participants spent the nights in the school and were sleeping in the auditorium on August 8 when the incident occurred. The NCC officer, Sivaraman, aged 30, lured the girl outside and sexually assaulted her, the SP explained. He further revealed that when the girl confided to the principal, Sathish Kumar, about the incident but the principal urged her to remain silent. After the camp concluded, the girl returned home, but her health worsened by August 16. It was during a visit to the hospital for treatment that she disclosed the incident to her parents. At least 12 other girls have also lodged a complaint of sexual harassment and molestation by the accused in the camp, police said adding that the accused fled from his home since the case was registered against him. Sudhakar, another person who faked to an NCC officer to help Sivaraman organise the camp, is still at large. Police alleged that the accused was leader of Tamil Nadus regional party Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) and after the rape case sparked outrage, NTK founder Seeman expelled him from the party. Following the intervention of chief minister MK Stalin, state social welfare secretary Jayasri Muralidharan and senior inspector general Bhavaneeswari visited the girls who took part in the fake camp. Psychological counselling has also been provided to the affected students and their families, officials said. On Friday, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) took a suo motu cognisance of the case and sought report from the state government. Political reactions BJP Tamil Nadu unit president K Annamalai expressed doubts about the deaths of Sivaraman and his father, Ashok Kumar. In a statement, he described both deaths as suspicious. He alleged that the accused might have been murdered to stop him from revealing the identities of other key accused. There is a significant concern about whether all accused involved in the case have been arrested or if the deaths of both father and son were planned to protect someone, Annamalai said. Annamalai also called for the SIT, which has been set up to investigate the rape and sexual harassment of schoolgirls, to carry out a thorough investigation to uncover the truth behind these incidents. General secretary of the AIADMK and Leader of Opposition, Edappadi K Palaniswami, has expressed concern about the suicide and the accidental death of his father. He said that these incidents have raised numerous questions among the people of Tamil Nadu. Palaniswami criticised the state government and the police for their inaction against certain private school administrations that allowed the fraudulent NCC trainer Sivaraman to conduct fake NCC camps in their institutions. He also enquired about the certificates issued to cadets who participated in these illegitimate camps and called on the SIT to investigate whether similar camps were organised in many districts nationwide. The opposition leader also questioned whether the police were attempting to protect influential individuals connected to these incidents and urged Stalin to break his silence and disclose the truth to the people of Tamil Nadu. Palaniswami referred to a recent police encounter involving an accused in the murder of BSP state leader Armstrong and noted that Stalin had not explained that encounter. He insisted that the CM address the questions and concerns surrounding the deaths of Sivaraman and Ashok Kumar. Sanjay Roy, the main accused in the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape and murder case, had told the Kolkata police that he stalked the victim at the chest medicine ward on August 8, a day before the crime. Sanjay Roy, accused in Kolkata rape-murder case The CCTV footage of the chest ward of the hospital shows the 33-year-old civic volunteer leering at the victim and four other junior doctors. "The CCTV footage captures Roy glaring towards them, sources told News18. The victim went to the seminar hall at 1 am on August 9, to rest. A junior doctor spoke to her at 2.30 am at the seminar hall. After their conversation, she went back to sleep. She was found dead in the morning. Sanjay Roy was seen in the CCTV footage entering the premises at 4 am. Meanwhile, the psychoanalytic profiling of Sanjay Roy, conducted by experts at the insistence of the CBI, has concluded that the accused is a pervert and a severe porn addict. The profiling also revealed that he is found to have what a CBI officer called an "animal-like instinct". Sanjay Roy displayed no nervousness during interrogation and had no remorse. "The man showed no repentance and narrated the entire episode giving every minute detail without hiccups. It appeared he had no remorse," the officer told PTI. Roy was arrested based on CCTV footage and a Bluetooth headset found at the crime scene. The autopsy of the deceased revealed she had been raped before being strangled to death. 16 external and 9 internal injuries were found on the body. The woman's father had alleged more than one person was involved in the crime. The Central Bureau of Investigation, meanwhile, is mulling to subject Sanjay Roy, the ex-principal of the RG Kar hospital, Dr Sandip Ghosh, and four other doctors to the polygraph test. The Supreme Court on Thursday slammed the West Bengal government and the police for a 14-hour delay in the registration of the FIR. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday fast-tracked the premature release of undertrials and first-time offenders who have completed half or one-third of their maximum sentence by directing the jail superintendents across the country to process applications of all eligible prisoners under the newly enacted Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) within two months. (Representative Photo) This comes after the Centre on Friday informed the apex court that the new criminal laws, providing for a beneficial clause for the release of first-time offenders who had undergone one-third of the maximum punishment for their offence, will apply even to cases lodged prior to the implementation of the law on July 1, 2024. A bench headed by justice Hima Kohli directed superintendents of jails across the country to process applications of all such first-time offenders who stand to benefit under Section 479 of the BNSS, preferably within two months. In a judgement delivered on August 23, the top court ruled that Section 479 of the BNSSwhich has replaced the Code of Criminal Procedurewill now be applied to all undertrials. According to Section 479 of the BNSS, undertrials are eligible for bail if they have served a detention period. However, the provision will not apply to offences where one of the punishments specified is life imprisonment or death. The court also directed states and union territories to submit a status report by October, providing information about the number of applications forwarded to the undertrial review committee (UTRC) and the prisoners who actually stood benefitted. The order was passed in a suo motu petition where the court is considering inhuman conditions in jails and steps to reduce overcrowding of prisoners. On August 13, senior advocate Gaurav Agarwal, assisting in the matter as amicus curiae, pointed out this beneficial provision under BNSS that will solve overcrowding of jails if the same is applied retrospectively. Following this, the court directed the Centre to submit its response to the amicus suggestion. Additional solicitor general (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for Centre, told the court that she had been instructed by the government that the provision for first-time offenders and other undertrials shall apply to all accused in pending cases, irrespective of whether their case was registered before July 1, 2024 (date when BNSS came into effect). The bench, also comprising justice Sandeep Mehta, said, It is deemed appropriate to direct implementation of Section 479 BNSS by calling upon superintendents of jails across the country to process applications through concerned courts on completion of half or one-third of maximum punishment, as the case may be. This may be done as expeditiously as possible, and preferably within two months. Though the bench was initially keen to give three months time for the exercise to be completed, Agarwal pointed out that a related hearing on prison reforms is scheduled in the month of October. The court remarked, This can be a Diwali gift to prisoners. The court further directed the superintendents of all jails to submit a report to the respective states and union territories providing details of undertrials who stood eligible under this provision, applications forwarded, and the actual figure of undertrials who got benefited. The court also asked the session judge in charge of the UTRCs to make adequate provisions to ensure there is no laxity in implementing the order. Agarwal, in his note to the court, said, The provison to section 479 for releasing first-time offenders on undergoing a 1/3rd sentence is a very positive step. It would help in rehabilitation of prisoners and reduce overcrowding in jails. He added that the new code does not specify if this provision will apply to offences committed prior to the date of commencement of BNSS and requested the apex court to issue directions to all UTRCs and all courts to consider cases of all first-time offenders, irrespective of the date of commission of crime, under the newly introduced provision. The Supreme Court has sought the Tamil Nadu governments response to a plea challenging the latest detention order against YouTuber Savukku Shankar even as he was given protection in 16 criminal cases pending against him in the southern state. The Supreme Court. (AFP) Shankars mother A Kamalas plea sought the quashing of the order and his release. Advocate Balaji Srinivasan, who appeared for Kamala, argued for the production of records cited for the detention. A Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud-led bench on Thursday issued the notice while scheduling the matter for hearing next on August 27. The plea said Shankar was detained under the Tamil Nadu Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Drug Offenders, Forest Offenders, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders, Sand Offenders, Goonda, Immoral Traffic Offenders, Sand Offenders, Slum Grabbers and Video Pirates Act. On August 14, the Supreme Court ordered that no coercive action be taken against Shankar in the 16 cases pending against him after he got bail in all of them. Kamala argued the latest detention order was issued to keep him in custody. Shankar was detained on May 12 in a case the Madras high court quashed on August 9. In her plea, Kamala said the action against him was a clear attempt to harass him. It added Shankar has been exposing the corrupt activities of bureaucrats and politicians since 2021. One notable expose of the petitioner was the cash for jobs scam that led to the arrest of a powerful minister of the ruling party who was also forced to resign, the plea said, referring to V Senthil Balaji, who is in jail for alleged bribery. New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday expressed its dismay over the persistent misunderstanding and misapplication of the law regarding the offences of criminal breach of trust and cheating, underscoring the urgent need to sensitise lower courts and law enforcement agencies across the country to correctly apply these two distinct provisions. (Representative Photo) A bench comprising justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra highlighted that even after more than 160 years of the Indian Penal Codes (IPC) existence, the judiciary and police officers continue to conflate the two offenses, often leading to erroneous prosecutions. The court observed that it is common practice for police officers to register first information reports (FIR) for both criminal breach of trust and cheating based on mere allegations of dishonesty or fraud. This mechanical approach, it noted, has led to numerous instances of injustice and has muddied the legal waters. It is very sad to note that even after these many years, the courts have not been able to understand the fine distinction between criminal breach of trust and cheating, the bench held. The judgment was delivered while quashing summons by a court in Uttar Pradesh against the secretary, honorary president, and non-executive director of Delhi Race Club over alleged unpaid dues concerning the sale of horse grains and oats to the club. In its ruling, the top court emphasised the need for comprehensive training of police officers to ensure that they can correctly distinguish between criminal breach of trust and cheating. The court was unequivocal that both offences are independent and distinct and cannot coexist under the same set of facts. The offenses, it stated, are antithetical to each other and must be treated as such by law enforcement and judicial officers alike. It is high time that the police officers across the country are imparted proper training in law so as to understand the fine distinction between the offense of cheating vis-a-vis criminal breach of trust, the bench said. The court further directed that copies of its judgment be sent to the principal secretaries of the ministry of law & justice and the home department, urging them to take steps to rectify this long-standing issue. The court also took the opportunity to provide detailed guidance on how to differentiate between criminal breach of trust (previously under Section 406 of the IPC) and cheating (previously under Section 420 of the IPC), now governed by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. The BNS provides for enhanced punishment for the offences of cheating and criminal breach of trust. While both offences involve dishonest intent, the court highlighted that they are distinct in nature. Criminal breach of trust pertains to a situation where property is legally entrusted to a person, who then dishonestly misappropriates it. Cheating, however, involves a fraudulent inducement from the outset, where a person is deceived into parting with property or consent, it said. Regretting the casual approach of trial courts in cases involving these offences, the bench admonished the magistrates for failing to meticulously examine complaints to determine whether the facts constitute criminal breach of trust or cheating. The bench emphasised that in cases arising from FIRs, it is the polices responsibility to ascertain whether the allegations genuinely fall under cheating or criminal breach of trust before proceeding. In this particular case, the court found that the magistrate had failed to make this crucial distinction and had wrongly taken cognisance of an offence of criminal breach of trust without proper analysis. The bench stressed that a mere failure to pay for goods sold does not automatically constitute criminal breach of trust, especially when there is no evidence of entrustment, as it quashed the February 2023 summoning order by a Bulandshahr magistrate upon a complaint by a businessman who supplied horse feed, barley, and oats to Delhi Race Club. The Supreme Court on Thursday sharply criticised the West Bengal government over the 14-hour delay in registration of the FIR after the rape and murder of a doctor at Kolkatas RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9, directed a magisterial court in Kolkata to pass an order within 24 hours on conducting a polygraph test on the accused to move the case along, and implored stirring doctors at the hospital and across the country to resume work. The courts scrutiny came during the hearing of a suo motu case, initiated in response to the horrific incident that has sparked widespread protests and a strike by doctors across the nation. (AFP) Simultaneously, the bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud issued a stern directive to states and Union territories (UTs) prohibiting any coercive measures against doctors who participated in protests following the gruesome incident to highlight the growing concern over the safety of medical professionals. The bench, also comprising justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, directed the Union health secretary to hold a meeting with the chief secretaries and director generals of police (DGPs) of all states and UTs within a week to establish a mechanism ensuring the safety of doctors at public hospitals. The courts scrutiny came during the hearing of a suo motu case, initiated in response to the horrific incident that has sparked widespread protests and a strike by doctors across the nation. The victim a second-year postgraduate student at the state-run hospital was found brutally assaulted and murdered in the seminar hall on August 9. A civic volunteer assigned to the hospital was arrested the next day in connection with the crime. The incident sparked widespread protests across the state, especially after the governments delay in removing the principal and then reinstating him at another institute within four hours. The victims family and protesters have alleged that the crime was a gang rape, demanding a thorough investigation. An autopsy later confirmed that the victim was sexually assaulted before her death. Kolkata Police in the dock Highlighting the discrepancies in the polices records, the bench on Thursday pointedly asked senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the West Bengal government, why the FIR was registered only at 11.45pm, almost 14 hours after the discovery of the victims body. Nothing seems to explain why the FIR was registered at 11.45pm when the incident was reported in the morning. Whats the reason for the FIR almost 14 hours after the discovery of the body? What was the principal of the college doing? What was his connection? And after he was made to step down from that hospital, how was he made the principal of another hospital? Let the investigation continue. We are going to assess the investigation, said the bench, fixing September 5 as the next date of hearing. It added that the top court would continue to closely monitor both the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the rape and murder and the Kolkata Polices investigation into the vandalism of the crime scene within the hospital precincts on August 14 by an unruly mob that the Kolkata Police failed to control. The courts criticism was further underscored by the benchs volley of questions for Sibal, who tried to assert that the Kolkata Police followed procedure even as the court appeared unconvinced. Read more: Kapil Sibal laughs in SC amid hearing on Kolkata case, SG Tushar Mehta reacts Mr Sibal, there is one aspect which is extremely disturbing. The GD (general diary) entry with regard to unnatural death is recorded at 10.10 in the morning. So, the police station is informed that there is an unnatural death. Notwithstanding all this, securing the crime scene, seizure etc. take place at 11.30 at night. What was happening all this while? the bench asked. The courts examination of the case revealed further inconsistencies in the police records. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for CBI (which took over the probe following the August 13 order of the Calcutta high court) and the Union government, raised concerns over the timing of the lodgment of the Unnatural Death (UD) case, suggesting it was suspect and highlighting the delay in the FIR registration. The most shocking fact is that the FIR was lodged at 11.45pm after she was cremated. First, the parents were informed that she wasnt well, and then they were told she had committed suicide. It was only on the insistence of her colleagues and friends that a medical examination was done, he argued. Sibal, assisted by senior counsel Menaka Guruswamy, attempted to counter these allegations by presenting the case diary. He maintained that the UD case was registered at 1.45pm on August 9, insisting that there was no inordinate delay. Sibal also pointed to the inquest report, post-mortem report and the seizure list to bolster his claim that the police acted promptly. However, the bench remained unconvinced, noting that the facts on record indicated a significant delay in registering the FIR, a matter that would be examined further when CBI submits its next status report. The court ordered CBI to submit another status report on its investigation into the rape and murder, while directing the Kolkata Police to submit its report on the vandalism incident by September 5. The bench further instructed the additional chief judicial magistrate (ACJM) of Sealdah, to pass an order on CBIs request for a polygraph test of the accused within 24 hours. Ensuring safety of medical professionalsAt the same time, the top court ordered proactive steps to address the larger issue of doctors safety in public hospitals, a concern that has resonated across the medical community in the wake of the Kolkata incident. As several doctors associations and groups, represented by senior advocates Maninder Singh, Geeta Luthra, Vijay Hansaria, Aparajita Singh, Devdatt Kamat and Karuna Nundy laid bare a raft of concerns regarding the safety, well-being and conducive working conditions of doctors, nurses and other medical staff, the bench issued an order to ascertain that the national task force (NTF), set up by the court on August 20, will give them an audience and specific attention to their pleas regarding a distress call system, regulation of duty hours and a compensation mechanism. The nine-member NTF, comprising eminent doctors and health care administrators, has been tasked with formulating effective recommendations to remedy the issues of concern pertaining to the safety, working conditions and well-being of medical professionals. It is expected to submit an interim report within three weeks, detailing its findings and proposed measures. Flagging the long working hours for doctors, the bench commented: We are deeply concerned about the inhuman working hours of resident doctors across the country. Some doctors work 36-hour shifts. The committee appointed should look into streamlining the on-duty hours of all doctors; 36 or 48 hour shifts are just inhuman! During the proceedings, the bench appealed to all the parties and stakeholders to refrain from politicising the matter, underscoring that the courts prime concern was to ascertain the safety and well-being of the medical professionals in the country. Law will take its own course, and we are assuring you that it will happen quickly... we are not just going to lay down the guidelines based on the NTFs report, but we will pass enforceable directions to be followed by Centre and all states and UTs, it said. Imploring doctors who have been on strike at the RG Kar Hospital and in several government hospitals across the country, it remarked: How does a public health infrastructure run if the doctors dont report to work? Justice and medicine cannot go on a strike. To address the doctors predicament regarding coercive action against them for protesting against the grisly incident and demanding improved safety measures, the bench ordered: An apprehension has been expressed on behalf of doctors that some of them have been acted against for the protest. We have been assured that doctors will resume work. In the meantime, we order that no coercive steps shall be taken against the doctors for participating in the protests prior to our passing of this order. Awaiting NTFs interim report on guaranteeing the protection of the medical professionals in state-run hospitals, the court directed putting in a system for the time being. It ordered: In view of the fact that this court has taken certain measures to streamline the concerns of medical professionals, we expect that doctors will now continue to work. Pending submission of the NTFs report, all states and UTs shall ensure there are adequate measures in place against apprehended violation of breach and peace at healthcare institutions. The bench further directed the Union health secretary to convene a meeting with the chief secretaries and DGPs of every state and UT within a week and take appropriate steps to ensure their safety. The Union ministry of health and family welfare was also directed to open a redressal portal for all the stakeholders to convey their concerns to the NTF. It is undoubted that the views of diverse stakeholders be taken by the NTF before framing the recommendations. To facilitate the filing of suggestions before the NTF, we direct the Secretary, Ministry of Family Welfare of the Union to open a specific portal on the website of the ministry on which the different stakeholders can submit their suggestions or consideration, the bench recorded in its order. Addressing Sibals apprehensions regarding a proposed protest in Kolkata on August 27 which the senior lawyer contended could take a violent turn, the bench clarified that its previous order directing the West Bengal government not to unleash the might of the State on peaceful protestors did not injunct the state from taking lawful measures against breaches of law and order. It, however, reiterated that there must not be coercive actions against peaceful protestors. The Supreme Court on Thursday underscored the need for courts to exercise caution while imposing bail conditions, noting that excessively onerous requirements could undermine the very purpose of granting bail. The Supreme Court of India (Anushree Fadnavis/HT) A bench of justices Bhushan R Gavai and KV Viswanathan stressed that the essence of bail should not be diluted by imposing conditions that are virtually impossible to fulfill, thereby negating the relief intended by the order. From time immemorial, the principle has been that excessive (conditions with) bail is no bail. To grant bail and thereafter to impose excessive and onerous conditions, is to take away with the left hand what is given with the right, held the bench. The case in question involved a petitioner, Girish Gandhi, who faced multiple criminal cases across six states, Kerala, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Uttarakhand. Despite being granted bail in several cases, the petitioner remained in custody due to the inability to furnish sureties in some states. The court observed that while the petitioner had managed to comply with the bail conditions in some instancessuch as providing sureties in Kerala and Haryanahe continued to struggle in other states where separate sureties were required. In its judgment, the court cited the Oxford Dictionarys definition of surety as a person who takes responsibility for anothers obligation and acknowledged the difficulties individuals face in finding sureties, especially in criminal proceedings. The court recognised that the pool of potential sureties is often limited to close relatives or longtime friends, and in many cases, individuals are reluctant to disclose their legal troubles to others, further narrowing their options. In a criminal proceeding, the circle may get even more narrowed as the normal tendency is to not disclose about the said criminal proceeding to relatives and friends, to protect ones reputation. These are hard realities of life in our country and as a court of law we cannot shut our eyes to them. A solution, however, has to be found strictly within the framework of the law, said the bench. The court reiterated the longstanding principle that excessive bail is no bail, adding what constitutes excessive depends on the facts and circumstances of each case. In the present case, the petitioner was facing genuine difficulty in finding multiple sureties as required by the various courts. While the bench acknowledged the importance of sureties in ensuring the accuseds presence during trial, it also highlighted the need to balance this requirement with the fundamental rights of the accused under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The court stated that any order related to bail should be reasonable and proportionate, considering the need to secure the accuseds presence and their right to personal liberty. In support of its ruling, the court referenced its earlier judgment in Satender Kumar Antil Vs Central Bureau of Investigation & Anr (2022), where it had held that imposing a condition which is impossible of compliance would be defeating the very object of release. It also referred to its order in In Re Policy Strategy for Grant of Bail (2023), where it had endorsed the suggestion that courts should not insist on local sureties and should consider modifying or relaxing bail conditions if the bonds are not furnished within a month from the date of the bail order. Granting relief to Gandhi, the court finally relieved him of the requirement of producing a fresh local surety in each case, directing that Gandhi would be released on bail after he furnishes personal bond with the same set of two sureties that will hold good for all cases in which he has secured the reprieve. We feel that this direction will meet the ends of justice and will be proportionate and reasonable, held the bench. Earlier this month, the Court has held that bail should be the rule and jail an exception even under laws such as the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), while granting bail to a man accused under the anti-terror law. Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Friday appealed for the withdrawal of Saturday's Maharashtra bandh in view of a Bombay high court ruling. National Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar. (Photo by Bachchan Kumar/ HT PHOTO) The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, of which NCP(SP) is a member, initially called for a statewide bandh to protest against sexual assault on two four-year-old girls in a school in Badlapur and pressure the government for swift action. However, the Bombay high court intervened on Friday and restrained all political parties and individuals from supporting or participating in the bandh. A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar said the Maharashtra government shall take all necessary steps to prevent a bandh. In the wake of the Badlapur incident, a statewide public shutdown was called for tomorrowThis was an attempt to draw the government's attention to this matter, Pawar posted on X in Marathi. However Bombay High Court has ruled that the bandh is unconstitutional. Due to time constraint it is not possible to appeal in the Supreme Court against the High Court order (on bandh). The Indian judiciary is a constitutional body and in respect of the order given, the bandh call should be withdrawn, he added. Congress also withdrew the call for bandh, with state unit chief Nana Patole saying party workers will stage protests across Maharashtra from 11 am to 12 noon on Saturday. Honouring Bombay High Court judgement, all Congress leaders will protest in all Maharashtra district headquarters with black bands on their face/mouth from 11 AM to 12 noon against the cases of sexual harassment against women and failure of Maharashtra govt to prevent that. I will be part of the protest in Thane district, Patole said. While Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray expressed disagreement with the ruling, he said we respect the court. Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde termed the Bombay High Court's order a "slap" for the Opposition, and said the government will implement the directive. Speaking at a gathering in Nashik to launch the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin scheme, Shinde said the Badlapur incident was a "blot on humanity." "It also impacted the happiness we derived from transferring 1500 in accounts of beneficiary women under the Laadki Bahin scheme. But, the Opposition has been politicising the incident and maligning this scheme," he said. The high court's order was "a slap across the Opposition's face", Shinde said, adding that his government will implement the directive. Telangana and chief minister and state Congress president A Revanth Reddy on Thursday demanded the resignation of Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch for her alleged business links to the Adani group. Reddy made his comments during a dharna in front of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office in Hyderabad, as part of Congress nationwide protest (ANI) Reddy made his comments during a dharna in front of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office in Hyderabad, as part of Congress nationwide protest. The party has also demanded a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the issue. Even under Modi, chairman Madhabi Buch did not resign over the SEBI scam, he said in a post on X. Senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid, Telangana deputy chief minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and other Congress leaders took part in the protest. Earlier, the party leaders and cadre assembled at Gun Park in front of the state assembly and went in a procession to the ED office, raising slogans. Addressing the gathering, the chief minister demanded an ED probe into the allegations against her and also a Joint Parliamentary Committee inquiry into allegations against Madhabi and Adani, following accusations by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research. The company had alleged that SEBI chief Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband Dhaval Buch had a stake in obscure offshore entities used in the Adani money siphoning scandal. Revanth Reddy also alleged that the countrys debt burden had doubled during Prime Minister Narendra Modis 10-year regime. He also lashed out at the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) for not questioning the Modi government in the Hindenberg-Adani issue and accused them of supporting the BJP, which he claimed was looting the countrys wealth. The United States (US) and India have signed an agreement to provide reciprocal priority support for goods and services to promote national defence and to enable the two countries to acquire the industrial resources they need from one another to resolve unanticipated supply chain disruptions to meet national security needs. The Security of Supplies Arrangement (SOSA) was signed on Thursday. (X) Vic Ramdass, the American principal deputy assistant secretary of defence for industrial base policy, and Indian defence ministrys additional secretary and director general (acquisitions) Samir Kumar Sinha signed the non-binding Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) on Thursday. India is the 18th SOSA partner of the US after Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Ramdass called the arrangement a pivotal moment in the US India Major Defense Partner relationship and added it will be a key factor in strengthening the US India Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI). He said he looked forward to hosting the next DTTI meeting this fall to deepen cooperation between defence industrial bases and pursue bilateral co-development, co-production, and co-sustainment initiatives. In 2023, the two countries concluded a new road map for future defence industrial cooperation with the goal of fast-tracking technology cooperation and co-production in critical areas in a renewed push for deepening collaboration. The areas included air combat and land mobility systems, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, munitions, and the undersea domain. SOSA comes five years after India and the US signed the Industrial Security Agreement to shore up defence cooperation. It allows the US government and American original equipment manufacturers to share classified information with private Indian defence firms. The US and India committed under SOSA to support one anothers priority delivery requests for the procurement of critical national defense resources. Washington will provide India assurances under the US Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS), with program determinations by the US Department of Defense (DoD) and rating authorization by the Department of Commerce (DOC). India will establish a government-industry Code of Conduct with its industrial base, where Indian firms will voluntarily agree to make every reasonable effort to provide the US priority support. With an expanding global supply chain for DOD, SOSAs are an important mechanism for DoD to strengthen interoperability with US defense trade partners. The Arrangements institute working groups, establish communication mechanisms, streamline DoD processes, and proactively act to allay anticipated supply chain issues in peacetime, emergency, and armed conflict. They are also a useful tool in developing investment strategies to ensure redundancy and security, DoD said in a statement. The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) started a detailed review of the Waqf (amendment) bill on Thursday, with members of the Opposition in the panel questioning the intent behind it, seeking explanation on the rationale and the logic behind the large number of amendments proposed, and posing several questions to officials from the law and minority affairs ministry. Bharatiya Janata Party lawmakers in the committee defended the bill, leading to heated exchanges between the two sides. In the first meeting of the panel, officials from the minority affairs ministry and the law ministry presented their views on the bill, and sought to answer questions posed to them, but the Opposition lawmakers in the panel, led by the Trinamool Congress Kalyan Banerjee, Aam Aadmi Partys Sanjay Singh and Congress leader Nasser Hussain, said the officials were ill-prepared, according to a person familiar with the proceedings, who asked not to be named. (AFP) In the first meeting of the panel, officials from the minority affairs ministry and the law ministry presented their views on the bill, and sought to answer questions posed to them, but the Opposition lawmakers in the panel, led by the Trinamool Congress Kalyan Banerjee, Aam Aadmi Partys Sanjay Singh and Congress leader Nasser Hussain, said the officials were ill-prepared, according to a person familiar with the proceedings, who asked not to be named. Panel chairman and BJP lawmaker Jagdambika Pal stressed the importance of wide-ranging discussions and a constructive outcome. The government presented the bill and it has been referred to the JPC. All members of JPC will discuss this bill in it. Whatever the concerns are, we will discuss them in the JPC, he said before the meeting. Read more: Andhra Pradesh: TDP in a bind over NDAs stand on Waqf board, fears backlash in the state Pal added that many people and organisations, including stakeholders such as the chairmen of State Waqf Boards and bodies representing minority communities would engage with the panel. While the ministry officials focused on the differences between the 2013 bill and the new bill, Opposition MPs demanded that they explain the salient features of and the rationale behind bringing a new bill. We asked them why two Hindus are included in the Waqf board, and why the law demands that only Muslims practising for five years can donate land to Waqf, a member of the panel from an opposition party said, asking not to be named. Lawmakers pointed out that many Muslims and Hindus have donated for each others causes but the new law tries to prohibit such goodwill gestures. They also questioned why collectors have been given power to decide whether a property is Waqf or not, in case of a dispute, when judgments in the Supreme Court ruled otherwise. Some Opposition lawmakers objected to inclusion of two Hindus in the Waqf boards and said in the meeting that while the bill prohibits Hindus from donating land for Waqf , it want Hindus in management of Waqf, HT has learnt. According to the person cited in the first instance, one lawmaker also demanded that the government come out with correct figures on the total area of land under Waqf while another leader argued because India has a large Muslim population, it is natural that there are a large number of Waqf properties. Read more: Purpose of Waqf bill is to dispossess Muslims of ancestral inheritance: JUH president The bills provision of having one member each from Bohra and Agakhani communities, if they have Waqf in the state, was also discussed in the meeting. Pointing out that Bohras and Agakhanis are part of the 14 sects of Shia, many Opposition leaders sought representation for backward Muslims in Waqf committees but asked the officials whether the government could ensure adequate representation of backward Hindus and one person from the SC and ST in each temple board. According to Opposition leaders, the officials could not answer many of the questions. The Opposition leaders maintained that the bill violates Article 26 that deals with the freedom to manage religious affairs. Banerjee, according to two other leaders who attended the meeting, also said that there was no need to bring a new law for Waqf properties. The Waqf bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 8 and was referred to a 31 member-Joint Parliamentary Committee. Some of the controversial provisions of the bill include induction of two non-Muslims members in the Central Waqf Council and waqf boards; inclusion of one member each from Bohra and Agakhani communities in the boards; empowering collectors to survey Waqf properties. Under the current Waqf Act, the Waqf tribunals decisions were final but the bill allows for that tribunals orders to be appealed against in the high court within 90 days. AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi submitted a 15-page note to the panel registering his objection to the bill. Owaisi, one of the top minority leaders in Parliament, argued that the government has cherry-picked the Sachar Committee recommendations. He cited that the Sachar Committee Report recommended broad basing the membership of the Waqf boards and the government used this as a pretext to mandate non-Muslim members in the Boards. Owaisi has pointed out that the commissions recommendations meant the broad-basing was supposed to be within the community. Owaisi also argued that the state can make law pertaining to the secular aspects, while leaving the religious aspects in the hands of the adherents as the Supreme Court has held that regulations can be made to prevent mismanagement and maladministration, without intervening in the religious activity itself. In other words, the law may play an orderly and enabling role, but not an interventionist or restrictive role, he argued. The panel will meet again on August 30. Hyderabad, Former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba, who was acquitted in an alleged Maoist links case, on Friday said he was not taken to a hospital for nine months by the authorities despite the left side of his body got paralysed and was given just painkillers at the Nagpur Central Jail, where he was earlier lodged. Wasn't taken to hospital for 9 months though left side of my body got paralysed: Ex-DU Prof Saibaba The former English professor, who was arrested by Maharashtra Police in May 2014 from Delhi for his alleged links with Maoists, claimed he was "kidnapped" and arrested by the police in order to silence his voice. The Bombay High Court in March this year had set aside the life sentence of Saibaba, noting that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. He was subsequently released from the Nagpur Central Jail. Saibaba had been lodged in the Nagpur Central Jail since 2017 after his conviction by a trial court in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district. Before that, he was in prison from 2014 to 2016 and was subsequently granted bail. Narrating his experiences, the former DU professor, who depends on a wheelchair for mobility, told mediapersons here that he was warned by authorities that if he did not stop "talking" he would be arrested under some false case, though he did not succumb to the pressure. He said a case was foisted against him and he was arrested. He alleged he was "kidnapped" from Delhi and arrested by Maharashtra Police. Senior officers of Maharashtra Police along with an investigating officer went to his house and threatened him and his family, he alleged and said there were other agencies also which accompanied the Maharashtra Police, though they did not reveal their names. He alleged the Maharashtra Police dragged him out of the wheelchair during the course of arrest as a result a serious injury was caused to his hand and it also impacted the nervous system. The wheelchair was also broken, he said. "Nagpur Medical College doctors recorded the injury caused to him and submitted a report to the High Court in this regard," he added. "As such I am not able to walk due to polio, I was dumped in a broken wheelchair and lodged in jail . Even in jail they didn't do anything . I was not taken to hospital for nine months though the left side of my body got paralysed. They just gave me painkillers only. No doctor visited me," Saibaba said, recalling his incarceration at the Nagpur jail. He maintained that though he was not subjected to physical torture at the prison, but they created such conditions. Saibaba said after he was arrested in Delhi, he was produced before a magistrate in Gadchiroli in Maharashtra and taken to a prison in Nagpur. He claimed that the police did not even seek his custody from the court. "Though I volunteered to be in police custody, the investigating officer said it is not necessary. When I asked the police why they had not sought custody, they said they didn't have to ask him anything because he hadn't committed any crime," he said. According to him, even the magistrate wondered why the police did not seek his custody. Saibaba, who was lodged in 'anda' cell during incarceration at Nagpur jail, further said "there was lack of oxygen in the anda cell. I am the only one lodged in anda cell of Nagpur jail for nine years, even the biggest gangsters would be lodged in the cell only for one or two years. Lodging in anda cell would result in mental imbalance." In March 2017, a sessions court in Gadchiroli convicted Saibaba and five others, including a journalist and a Jawaharlal Nehru University student, for alleged Maoist links and for indulging in activities amounting to waging war against the country. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Prime Minister Narendra Modi engaged with a group of Ukrainian students who were learning Hindi, during his visit to Ukraine on Friday. He praised their efforts in fostering mutual understanding between the people of both countries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with Ukrainian students learning Hindi during his visit to Ukraine on Friday (X/@MEAIndia) Sharing pictures of the interaction on X, Randhir Jaiswal, the official spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs (MEA), said, PM @narendramodi interacted with Ukrainian students who are learning Hindi language at the School of Oriental Studies in Kyiv. PM appreciated the scholarship of the students and their contribution to promoting mutual understanding between the people of the two countries. He also commended their efforts to bring Indian culture and history closer to the Ukrainian people. In a series of videos shared by the news agency ANI, Ukrainian students spoke in Hindi, including one female student who sang the Indian national song Vande Mataram. After meeting PM Modi, one of the Ukrainian students learning Hindi told ANI, We are very happy and excited also...we never thought that we would meet PM Modi...We hope after this meeting everything will be fine. Another Ukrainian student studying Hindi said, This is a very important meeting for Ukraine, and after this meeting, it will be proved that there is a good relationship between India and Ukraine...And we also hope that in the future, there will be more and more people who learn the Hindi language. Modi meets Ukrainian President Zelenskyy Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday in Kyiv during his landmark visit to the war-torn nation. The two leaders greeted each other with a handshake and a warm hug at the entrance of the Martyrologist Exposition at the Ukraine National Museum. Modi's visit marks the first time an Indian Prime Minister has visited Ukraine since diplomatic relations between the two countries were established over 30 years ago. He held discussions with President Zelenskyy at his official residence, the same location where the iconic song Naatu Naatu from the movie RRR was filmed in Ukraine, just months before the conflict erupted in the region. During this visit, the two leaders signed four agreements including the Agreement on Cooperation in Agriculture and the Food Industry; a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in Medical Products Regulation; an MoU on Indian Humanitarian Grant Assistance for High Impact Community Development Projects; and a Program for Cultural Cooperation for 2024-2028, according to a press release from the Ministry of External Affairs. Karnataka deputy chief minister and Bengaluru development minister DK Shivakumar has announced that a water tariff increase is unavoidable in the city. Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar.(PTI) He has attributed the reason behind the rise to the ongoing financial difficulties faced by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). "There has been no water tariff hike in the last 12-13 years. The BWSSB is managing its finances with great difficulty. Water tariff hike is inevitable and it will be done irrespective of any opposition to it," the Deputy CM said while speaking at the launch of the 'Cauvery water at your doorstep' campaign, according to ANI. The deputy chief minister further explained that without an increase in water tariffs, the BWSSB might face collapse, impacting its ability to support its employees and manage basic operational costs, including electricity bills. "We are still determining the exact amount and the segments to which the hike will apply," he pointed out. It is imperative to supply water to 140 crore people of Bengaluru. It is difficult to do so without investing in a larger distribution network. On a question about the proposal to privatise BWSSB service, he said that past experiences have show that privatisation leads to an increase in cost without any substantial benefits. "Despite many proposals and past experiences, including a study I conducted on water utility privatization in France, I am resolute in opposing privatization of public utilities," Shivakumar said, according to ANI. "Adani and other companies have taken up responsibility for utilities in many cities including Mumbai. But I firmly told them that I would not allow the privatisation of public utilities. There have been many proposals for privatisation of utilities even during the times of JH Patel and SM Krishna," he added. Water supply in Bengaluru During his interaction on Thursday, DK Shivakumar also spoke on the water supply issues in the city, highlighting that there has been an increase in water supply by 6 million litres per day (MLD) since he took office. "We have released more than 100 TMC of water to Tamil Nadu and we can't hold excess water currently. I am confident that we will get justice for Mekedatu balancing reservoir. We are also addressing the water crisis through efforts to recharge groundwater and manage dried-up borewells," he said. "There are proposals to bring drinking water to Bengaluru directly from KRS. We are also thinking of bringing water from Sharavathi, but there is opposition to it. Yettinahole has witnessed many twists and turns due to politicisation, but we have completed it to a certain stage," he added. (Inputs from ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday presented four BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri) Cubes to the Ukrainian government during his historic visit to Kyiv. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Prime Minister Modi for BHISHM Cubes, which will help in the expeditious treatment of the injured amid the ongoing conflict with Russia. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during presentation of BHISHM cube to Ukraine, in Kyiv, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024.(PTI) What are BHISHM Cubes? The BHISHM Cubes are compact, portable medical units designed to provide first-line care in emergency situations. The name BHISHM stands for Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri, symbolising India's spirit of cooperation and friendship. These Cubes are equipped to handle a wide range of injuries and medical emergencies, making them a critical asset in conflict zones or disaster-stricken areas. Each BHISHM Cube is a self-contained medical facility. The Cubes are stocked with essential medicines and equipment needed for immediate care. This includes supplies to treat injuries such as trauma, bleeding, burns, and fractures, ensuring that the most common and urgent medical situations can be addressed promptly. Also Read | India not neutral or indifferent bystander, always on side of peace: PM Modi on Ukraine conflict The Cube comes equipped with surgical tools necessary for a basic Operation Room (OR). It is capable of performing 10-15 surgeries per day, covering a range of procedures from minor operations to more complex surgeries that can be vital in an emergency. A single BHISHM Cube can manage approximately 200 cases, catering to diverse medical needs. This makes it a crucial resource in situations where local medical facilities may be overwhelmed or inaccessible. The BHISHM Cube is designed to operate independently, even in challenging environments. It has the ability to generate its own power and produce limited amounts of oxygen, which is essential in sustaining life and supporting medical operations in remote or war-torn areas. Also Read | Jaishankar on those upset over PM Modi-Putin hug in Moscow: In our part of world' To ensure the effective use of these Cubes, a team of Indian medical experts has been deployed to Ukraine. This team is tasked with providing initial training to Ukrainian personnel, enabling them to operate the Cubes efficiently and maximise their life-saving potential. The gesture underscores Indias continued commitment to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, the ministry of external affairs said in a statement. Former Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday demanded that the cases against those who protested against the alleged sexual abuse of two girls at Badlapur be withdrawn. He warned that the opposition would hit the streets if it is not done. Calling Saturday's Maharashtra Bandh as not political, Thackeray said that the shutdown is against perversion, urging people across castes and religions to participate. The Shiv Sena (UBT) chief said that the bandh would be observed on behalf of the people of Maharashtra, PTI reported. ALSO READ: After Badlapur incident, parents afraid to send children to school The alleged sexual assault of two girls at a school in Maharashtra's Badlapur has sparked massive outrage. On August 17, the police arrested an attendant of the school for allegedly abusing the girls. Shiv Sena (UBT) party chief Uddhav Thackeray has called for a Maharashtra Bandh on Saturday, August 24. (Raju Shinde/HT Photo) Thackeray slammed the ruling Eknath Shinde government's action over the protest, saying,Arrests are still taking place in Badlapur. The cases against the protesters must be withdrawn or else we have to hit the streets. ALSO READ: HC: If schools are not safe, why talk about Right to Education? At least 25 police personnel were injured in the incidents of stone-pelting at the railway station and other parts of Badlapur during the protest. Police have arrested 72 persons in connection with the violence during the stir. ALSO READ: Badlapur sexual abuse: Why was second girl's statement not recorded, asks HC Badlapur sexual assault case investigation The Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Friday registered an FIR against the school authorities for not complying with provisions of Section 19 of the POCSO Act. It mandates that every authority when they come to know about any such kind of sexual assault against minors, have to report this to police authorities for further action. According to an ANI report, the school authorities did not inform the police and that is why an FIR has been registered against them under section 21 of the POCSO Act which is punishment for violation of section 19 of the same Act. The Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (MSCPCR) has recommended the establishment of special branches or "mini-police stations" for women and children in every police station across the state. (With agency inputs) Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday said India will play its role, referring to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. India will play its role. I think that India began to recognise that this is not just conflict, this is real war of one man and his name is Putin against whole country whose name is Ukraine. You are a big country. You have a big influence and you can stop Putin and halt his economy, and put him really in his place, Zelenskyy told ANI. ALSO READ: Today, history was made: Zelenskyy on Modi's Ukraine visit. His Instagram post breaks records Zelenskyy made the remarks after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kyiv. Modi said India is ever ready to play an active role in ensuring peace in Ukraine. Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting, at Mariinskyi Palace in Kyiv, Ukraine.(PTI) We (India) are not neutral. From the very beginning, we have taken sides. And we have chosen the side of peace. We have come from the land of Buddha where there is no place for war, the prime minister told reporters with Zelenskyy seated next to him. After the meeting, Zelenskyy in an X post spoke on four agreements signed between India and Ukraine covering the medical field, agricultural cooperation, humanitarian relations, and culture. India supports Ukraine's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. And this is critical because everyone in the world must equally respect the UN Charter, he said. Modi's visit to Ukraine is the first by any Indian prime minister since diplomatic relations were established between the two countries three decades ago. The visit comes a month after Modi visited Russia amid its raging war with Ukraine. ALSO READ: Jaishankar on those upset over PM Modi-Putin hug in Moscow: In our part of world' Told Putin this was not era of war: Modi to Zelenskyy Some time back, when I met President Putin in Samarkand, I had told him that this was not the era of war. Last month when I went to Russia, I said in clear words that a solution to any problem is never found on the battlefield, Modi told Zelenskyy. ALSO READ: Modi, Zelenskyy visit exhibit dedicated to Ukrainian children killed in conflict External affairs minister S Jaishankar said a significant part of discussions between PM Modi and President Zelenskyy was devoted to the bilateral relations. (With agency inputs) Krishna Janmashtami marks the divine birth of Lord Krishna, the eighth avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu, who is the preserver and protector of the universe. Lord Krishnas auspicious birth is celebrated across India with unparalleled devotion and love. In 2024, it will be observed on August 26th. On Janmashtami, the pure and innocent mischiefs of Lord Krishna are celebrated and honored through various reenactments. One such reenactment is Krishna Leela, which recreates his playful antics and pranks. Dahi Handi celebration symbolises Lord Krishna's fondness for makhan or butter.(Pexels & Pinterest) ALSO READ: Krishna Janmashtami 2024: Is Janmashtami on August 26 or 27? Know correct date, significance, history and more The Dahi Handi celebration is integral to Janmashtami, symbolising baby Krishnas endearing habit of stealing butter from hanging pots in the villagers houses. Thats why he was also called Makhan Chor or Butter Thief. Lord Krishnas short height wont let him reach the earthen pots, so he called his friends to form a pyramid, and climbed to break the pot. During Dahi Handi celebrations, a similar human pyramid is formed to reach and break a pot filled with dahi (curd) and butter, which is suspended high up in the air. The men, representing the Govindas, work together with teamwork and balance to form the pyramid. The women, symbolizing the Gopis from Lord Krishna's village, splash water and other slippery substances on the human pyramid to try and disrupt it. In many places, Dahi Handi is a vibrant experience, accompanied by dance, music, and boundless joy. Attending a Dahi Handi celebration is a must to truly feel the vibrancy of the Janmashtami festival. Here are some temples you can visit, where Dahi Handi celebrations also take place. ALSO READ: Krishna Janmashtami: Know the incredible story of Lord Krishna's birth Banke Bihari Temple Located in Vrindavan, this sacred temple is one of the most renowned shrines dedicated to Lord Krishna. The idol of Lord Krishna here is called Thakur Ji and is believed to have self-manifested. The Banke Bihari idol is a combined representation of Radha and Krishna, the divine lovers, in a single form. It is said that a musician and saint named Swami Haridas created this special idol. This idol is not just a statue; it is considered a symbol of the divine connection between masculine and feminine energies. Devotees visit Banke Bihari for the darshan of this special idol and participate in Janmashtami celebrations. Guruvayur Temple Also known as Dwarka of the South, Guruvayur Temple is located in the Thrissur district of Kerala. Devotees visit Guruvayur Temple to seek blessings, offer prayers, and participate in various rituals. Udupi Sri Krishna Temple Udupi is often referred to as the Mathura of South India. Here, Lord Krishna is worshipped as Balakrishna, his baby Krishna form. The idol is not directly visible but is seen through a nine-holed window known as the Navagraha Kitiki. Dwarkadish temple Dwarkadhish Temple, located in the coastal town of Dwarka, Gujarat, India, is one of the most sacred Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Krishna. It is believed to be built on the site of the ancient city of Dwarka, which was once the capital of Lord Krishna's kingdom. Krishna Balaram temple The Krishna Balaram Temple, situated in Vrindavan, Uttar Pradesh, India, is a prominent Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Krishna and his elder brother, Balarama. It stands as one of the key temples in the Braj region, renowned as the birthplace of Lord Krishna. ALSO READ: Janmashtami 2024: How to celebrate Janmashtami to spiritually connect with Lord Krishna There are no words to describe the horror that every woman felt when the facts of the rape and murder of a young woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata came to light. Sadly, though, there were enough men who found it within themselves to shout Not All Men on social media when they were confronted with women expressing shock, sadness and, indeed, anger, at this horrific incident. Every man may not be a rapist. But nearly every woman has experienced sexual assault. (HT PHOTO/ARVIND YADAV) When it comes to power dressing, no one does it quite like Kamala Harris. Once known for her laid-back jeans and white sneakers, she has notably elevated her style as she campaigns to become the first female president of the United States. Her fashion choices now scream confidence, elegance, and leadership. As the Democratic nominee for the 2024 Presidential election, Kamala's wardrobe isn't just about styleit's a powerful way to show who she is and what she stands for. Kamala Harris elevates her style, blending confidence, elegance and leadership as she campaigns for the U.S. presidency.(Instagram) "Kamala Harris is transforming political fashion by embracing a wardrobe that speaks to both authority and approachability. Her use of classic, structured silhouettes, often paired with bold yet understated accessories, challenges traditional notions of political attire. She's redefining power dressing by making it more inclusive and relatable, proving that a strong woman can be both stylish and influential," says Palak Dhawan, designer and founder of Tabeer India. (Also read: Combat shorts, bleached eyebrows to pee stains: Why fashions ugly trends are becoming the new cool ) Talking about Kamala Harris's style revolution, fashion designer and founder of Afwah, Saisha Vijray, says, "Kamala Harris is revolutionising political fashion by seamlessly blending power dressing with genuine authenticity. She's transforming the narrative of leadership with her bold yet relatable style. Harris's wardrobe choices reflect a modern interpretation of leadership, where tailored suits, pearl necklaces, and classic footwear are more than just clothingthey are symbols of strength, resilience, and professionalism. Kamala Harris is not merely following fashion trends; she is setting a new standard for political fashionone that embraces diversity, authenticity, and the evolving role of women in leadership." Let's take a look at some of her most stylish appearances: Royal blue pantsuit In a stunning royal blue pantsuit paired with a sleek black mock-neck top and classic black pumps, Kamala Harris made a striking impression at a recent campaign rally. Joined by Democratic vice presidential candidate Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota, she graced the stage at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, showcasing her refined yet commanding style. Camel-coloured suit In a bespoke, camel-coloured suit from Chloe, paired with a cream blouse and matching tan pumps, Kamala Harris made a sophisticated statement at the opening night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Blue blazer and black trouser In a blue blazer with a two-tone trim layered over a black blouse and slacks, Kamala Harris blended sophistication with a touch of casual flair. Complementing her look with her iconic Chuck Taylor sneakers and a striking Labradorite necklace from Irene Neuwirth, she showcased a unique blend of elegance and personal style. Sky blue pantsuit In a sky blue pantsuit paired with camel-toned pointy pumps, Kamala Harris created a visually striking contrast that exuded both elegance and modernity. She accessorised with diamond stud earrings and a sleek silver necklace, adding a touch of sophistication to her ensemble. Oat-coloured pantsuit During a campaign event in Glendale, Arizona, Kamala Harris sported an oat-coloured pantsuit with coordinating heels. She completed the look with a black top subtly visible beneath her buttoned blazer. The auspicious festival of Krishna Janmashtami is just around the corner, with celebrations scheduled for August 26 and 27 this year. This sacred festival honours the birth of Lord Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Devotees will celebrate with a series of rituals dedicated to Bal Gopal, Krishna's childhood form. The festivities include a full day of fasting, where participants abstain from food and water until they break their fast after performing prayers, arti, and offering Chappan Bhog. Scroll down to explore what Chappan Bhog is and its significance in the Janmashtami celebrations. (Also read: Janmashtami: Top 5 places to visit in India for Janmashtami celebrations ) Chappan Bhog, which is a Hindi translation of the number 56 followed by bhog which is food is representative of a devoted offering that is made towards a deity, most commonly to Lord Krishna during Janmashtami. What is Chappan Bhog? Chappan Bhog refers to a sacred platter of sattvic foods offered to Lord Krishna during Janmashtami. This special assortment features dishes that provide all five tastessweet, sour, spicy, salty, and bitteras well as umami, ensuring a balanced and divine feast. What is included in Chappan Bhog? Chappan Bhog, a significant offering during Janmashtami, consists of 56 delectable prasadam items that Lord Krishna is fond of. This array includes a rich variety of sattvic dishes such as: Milk Products: Makhan Mishri, Kheer, Rasgulla, Rabdi, and Malpua. Sweets: Jeera Laddus, Jalebi, Mohanbhog, Moong Dal Halwa, Ghevar, Peda, and Raisins. Nuts and Spices: Cashews, Almonds, Pistachios, and Cardamoms. Savoury Items: Shakkar Para, Mathri, Pakore, Saag, Curd, Kadhi, Cheela, Papad, Khichdi, Baingan ki Sabji, Dudhi ki Sabji, Poori, Tikki, and Daliya. Fruits and Vegetables: Mango, Banana, Grapes, Apples, Plums. Breads and Snacks: Kachori, Roti, and Bhujia. Drinks: Coconut Water, Almond Milk, Chaach, Shikanji. Other Treats: Channa, Meethe Chawal, Supari, Saunf, and Paan. This diverse collection embodies the full spectrum of flavours and textures, making Chappan Bhog a truly special and festive feast. The story behind Chappan Bhog If you're curious why the prasad offered to Lord Krishna during Govardhan Puja or Janmashtami traditionally includes 56 dishes, here's the fascinating story behind it. In the village of Vrindavan, farmers used to offer a grand feast to Lord Indra, the god of storms and rain, to ensure timely rainfall and a good harvest. However, young Krishna found this practice unfair to the farmers and advised them to stop the offerings. Angered by the lack of offerings, Lord Indra unleashed torrential rains upon Vrindavan, leading to a devastating flood. To protect the villagers, Krishna lifted the massive Govardhan Parvat on his little finger, providing shelter to everyone for seven days. During this period, Krishna did not eat a single meal, even though he was accustomed to having eight dishes each day. After the rains subsided and Indra realised his mistake, the grateful villagers prepared 56 dishes (8 dishes x 7 days) and offered them to Krishna as a token of their gratitude and devotion. This tradition continues today, with Chappan Bhog symbolising the villagers' heartfelt thanks and Krishna's divine protection. Flexibility might just unlock the door to greater health and happiness a recent study states that working on body flexibility can enhance the quality of life and alleviate the risk of premature death. Flexibility comes handy at every age be it in our teenage years or in adulthood. Body flexibility and working on it helps in unlocking greater potential for better health. The research outcome suggested that people with more body flexibility had lower risk of premature death. The research was led by Dr. Claudio Gil S. Araujo, Exercise Medicine Clinic, where the study was conducted on 3,139 middle-aged adults (2,087 men and 1,052 women) between the ages of 46 and 65. The researchers used a comprehensive flexibility assessment tool called the Flexitest where they examined 20 different joint movements across seven major joints in the body. Usually when a study is conducted to understand physical health, cardiovascular fitness and strength are taken into consideration. However, this study solely focused on body flexibility. ALSO READ: Gentle Yoga poses that can help manage arthritis: 10 exercises for enhancing joint flexibility Which joint movements were studied? The research studied the joint movements including that of the ankles, knees, hips, trunk, wrists, elbows, and shoulders. The research followed the participants over a period of 13 years to understand their health outcomes and survival rates. ALSO READ: Yoga for flexibility: Poses and sequences to increase your range of motion Other factors: Factors such as age, body mass index (BMI), and overall health status were also considered during the study. However, the research outcome suggested that people with more body flexibility had lower risk of premature death. ALSO READ: Supporting healthy joints with Yoga: 5 exercises for joint flexibility and mobility Flexibility and death rate: The connection It was observed in the study that among men, people in the lowest 10 percentage of flexibility and a 21.2 percentage death rate, while the people among the highest 10 percentage of flexibility had a 7.8 percentage death rate. Among women, 15.4 percentage of death rate was observed in the ones among the lowest flexibility level, while the ones in the higher flexibility level demonstrated only 2 percentage of death rate. The study also suggested that women are more flexible than men. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition. Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modis July visit to Moscow and this weeks trip to Ukraine revived the debate on what role Russia plays in Indias evolving strategic balance. Some argue that Russia needs more, not less attention, while others question the utility of the relationship, especially since the Russia-Ukraine war. Common to most analyses, however, is the restrictive tendency to focus on only three pillars: Arms, energy, and China. But a closer look shows that except for Pakistan Russia is also playing a rising role in South Asia, aligned with Indias Neighbourhood First policy from Afghanistan to Myanmar and from Bangladesh to Sri Lanka. Moscow, Jul 10 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi embraces Russian President Vladimir Putin after receiving the Order of St Andrew the Apostle the First-Called, Russia's highest civilian honour, at St Catherine's Hall, in Moscow on Tuesday. (ANI Photo) (ANI) Like Ukraine or Georgia who are part of Moscows near abroad sphere of influence, South Asia is crucial to Indias security. At the inauguration of his third term in June, PM Modi reaffirmed the centrality of the neighbourhood as his top strategic priority. Yet Chinas growing influence has threatened Indias once predominant position in the region. To combat this, India must present alternative development solutions for South Asian countries. So far, India has attempted this through partnerships with extra-regional powers, including the United States, Japan, and Australia. However, bringing in the Quad countries presents its own complications, explaining why India has also been keen to engage with France and other European countries in the Indian Ocean region. Russia is also playing a growing role in Indias regional posture. Moscow is determined to Look East, with a renewed focus on economic partnerships in Eurasia and the Indo-Pacific. First, it brings a long history of development cooperation in South Asia dating back to the early Cold War, including the Panauti Hydropower Station in Nepal, Ghorashal and Siddhirganj power plants in Bangladesh, or the Ceylon Steel, Tyre and Sugar Corporations in Sri Lanka. Second, in contrast to western values-based interventionism, Russia defaults to non-interference, as evident from issues such as the 2021 Myanmar coup or, more recently, the regime crisis in Bangladesh, where Moscow and New Delhis positions broadly overlap. Two recent examples help explain why New Delhi sees the growing utility in partnering with Moscow in the region. The first relates to supporting nuclear as a source of clean energy for the climate transition requirements of two billion people in the region. Russia and India have developed a growing collaboration on the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) in Bangladesh. Under a 2018 tripartite agreement, Russia provides financing and core construction, while Indian experts and firms are subcontracted to work on-site, with the plant expected to finish construction in 2024. A second example comes in the context of bitter experiences with China-financed white elephants infrastructure projects in South Asia. Moscow and New Delhi are now exploring joint ventures to manage these sustainably. One notable example is Sri Lankas Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport. Built on a $190-million high-interest loan from Chinas Exim Bank, it was soon dubbed the worlds emptiest airport, sustained heavy losses and shut down. In July 2024, the Sri Lankan cabinet announced that it would transfer the airports management for 30 years to an Indo-Russian joint venture. Such examples demonstrate the potential for partnership, though collaboration with Russia is not without risks for India. First, Beijings growing leverage over Moscow could render Russias utility as an alternative to China obsolete. Second, Russia may be tempted to use South Asia as a staging ground to undermine American interests, which could complicate Indias more important relationship with the US. Finally, western sanctions have complicated Russias ability to conduct international business, limiting what Indian public and private capital can achieve together with Moscow in third countries. For India, the more actors in the South Asian neighbourhood, the better. No single country is willing or able to single-handedly offer significant alternatives to Chinas expanding footprint and New Delhi has been roping in Russia to deliver more, better and faster solutions to its neighbour countries. Future joint ventures could include the takeover of other Chinese-owned projects or the co-development of Nepals vast hydropower potential. India and Russia are also likely to explore joint production of military hardware, as well as the softer dimensions of training and defence diplomacy to engage countries in the Indian Ocean region and Southeast Asia as already exemplified in the co-production and export of the Brahmos missiles to Vietnam and the Philippines. As Modi stated on his recent visit to Moscow, the friendship between India and Russia has stood the test of time and there are growing indications that it is now also finding a new footing in South Asia. The relationship between New Delhi and Moscow is still taking shape, but the regional cases of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka show why India sees Russia as a strategic partner beyond just weapons, oil and global balancing. Constantino Xavier is senior fellow, and Lucas Daley is former intern, The Centre for Social and Economic Progress. The views expressed are personal Race riots in the United Kingdom, the toppling of a democratically-elected government by mobs in Dhaka, a new chapter of the war in Ukraine that is now a war inside Russia the continuing bloodshed in Gaza, and the looming threat of an Iran-Israel war breaking out, all point to an ominous future. Unrest, disruption, and violence, or threats of these, dominate headlines. How should we, as citizens of the world, react? Residents hold placards during a counter demonstration against an anti-immigration protest called by far-right activists in the Walthamstow suburb of London on August 7, 2024. (Photo by BENJAMIN CREMEL / AFP) (AFP) History is, no doubt, continually pockmarked by similar occurrences that have sometimes been loosely called mere aberrations in periods of tranquillity. More often, a one mans terrorist is anothers freedom fighter view adopted by many in the West has woefully dominated the discourse on a subject that deserves the utmost seriousness and objectivity. The current unrest both in the West and East is dangerously widespread, with political debates everywhere getting more shrill and divisive. Lamentably, none of the hotspots of the world seem to have cooled down. The fires that have been burning underneath the surface are now breaking through with ferocity. On top of these, the climate crisis continues to play havoc all over the world. The ferocious flash floods and landslides that occurred this year in Kerala seem to be becoming common occurrences. Severe flash flooding has been seen in many European locations. Wildfires have ripped through communities in Canada, Greece, California and Uttarakhand. They are no longer forest fires, but uncontrollable firestorms. And now, a global public health emergency, Mpox, has us all hurrying to prevent it from graduating into a pandemic. With these natural disasters and dangers threatening to impact large sections of humanity, tragically, the sum of all human progress is now deployed to wars or fighting disasters. Most concerning is the fraught discussions on the internet, social media, and TV channels that are sowing fear and hatred, thus creating fertile ground for even more violence. In the East, tensions are at all-time highs across the Korean Demilitarised Zone. North Korea continues to test missiles and rockets that can strike Japan and South Korea in a matter of minutes. Meanwhile, the United States (US) deployments in the region have long threatened the North. Chinese tensions in the South China Sea and with Taiwan threaten to break out into a war any time. There are no interlocutors that could calm the tensions. Closer home, Pakistan has ramped up cross-border terror strikes in the Jammu region. Just a few months after its last general election, violence engulfed the streets of Dhaka. Attacks against minority Hindus were reported from across the country. This could have unpredictable consequences. India could not just stand by and watch in 1970-71, but it is hard to surmise what course of action it can take today. The conflict in Gaza that has levelled the enclave and killed close to 40,000 persons so far shows no signs of abating. A bigger war might break out any minute in Israels North, between Israelis and Lebanons Hezbollah militia, which is a proxy of Iran in the region. A direct conflict between Israel and Iran, too, cant be taken off the board just yet. The US has moved two aircraft carrier strike forces, both nuclear-capable, to the East Mediterranean and Persian Gulf. Reinforcements have been pouring into the region. Again, much like other hotspots, while there are many on both sides baying for blood, there are fewer and fewer voices for calm and sanity. Meanwhile, Ukraine has taken the war right into Russia, and Ukrainian troops have occupied large tracts of Russian land. They are also said to be moving toward control of Kurchatov nuclear power plant. What Ukraine plans is not clear just yet, but this marks the first time since World War II that foreign troops are on Russian soil. Instead of seeking calm, the US and European powers are egging Ukraine on. While these crises are sprinkled across the world, they pose very pertinent threats to India. Energy supply-chain disruptions would cause oil prices to skyrocket. That would have disastrous consequences for the Indian economy. Closing of marine and air routes in West Asia, which are already at choking points because of wars, will impact exports and travel. While India has made great and essential strides toward self-reliance, in this very interconnected world of technology and commerce, English author John Donnes words come to mind: No man is an island. In this world, we all rely on each other on neighbours, nations, and continents. How did we, in the past get over, crises to move forward and give most of us a meaningful and enjoyable life? It is introspection of this kind that gives us a measure of optimism that we will somehow tide over the current crises resulting from senseless killings in various regions of the world. One must inevitably come to the conclusion that if we wish for peace, we must prepare for war. Preparation for dealing with existential crises requires that there is unity at home. India can ill afford to continue fractious politics over every issue, and all the time. Wishing for these crises to go away would be preposterously naive. What is needed is sharp preparedness to predict and prepare for consequences on this wild chessboard. How many of us are able to connect the dots is a matter of speculation. RK Raghavan is a former Indian high commissioner to Cyprus. The piece was co-authored with Ajay Goyal, a security analyst based in Europe. The views expressed are personal An Indian man married to a British woman took to Reddit to seek feedback on which Indian city he should settle in when he, along with his wife and three-month-old daughter, relocate to India next year. Kochi is the commercial capital of Kerala.(Unsplash) The user, J Pal, said the family will be moving to India in February 2025 and that they are considering making Kochi in Kerala their new home. The man, who is originally from Kolkata, said his parents suggested they consider Kochi. Pal had four main concerns before he made up his mind and shared these with Redditors. His first question was whether Kochi has "language-based regionalism like Bangalore." He also wanted to know if the commercial capital of Kerala is safe for women and if it is a conservative city. Pal said he and his wife would be commuting mostly by car. Next, the new father wanted to know if Kochi has good iGCSE schools for their daughter's education. Lastly, he wanted to know if Kochi, being a Tier-2 city, lags behind cities such as Pune and Kolkata. Pal, however, admitted that he and his wife prefer the slower pace and quiet of a smaller city. Take a look at the Reddit post here: How Reddit responded to NRI's question Pal's questions received reassuring responses from other users who told him that Kochi is a highly liveable city with little language barriers or regionalism and a largely cosmopolitan culture. Redditors on the Kochi forum said those who do not know Malayalam can manage day-to-day affairs in English or Hindi. The city is relatively safe for women, many users said, adding that Kochi had many Whites living there. Users also emphasised that Kochi has good hospitals and a well-connected public transport system, including the metro and the water metro. (Also Read: IITian couple moves back to India after living in US, shares 10 differences between countries) Kochi vs Bengaluru: Reddit reacts While several users said Kochi does not have language-based regionalism that is common in Bengaluru, it is not as pet friendly as the Karnataka capital. Another user seemed to prefer the moderate weather of Bengaluru over the tropical weather of Kochi. (Also Read: NRI family picks Bengaluru over Gurgaon as they move back from Australia: 'We're okay with the traffic') Flooding in 12 districts of Bangladesh has affected more than 4.5 million people, adding to the pressure on the interim government led by Nobel laurate Muhammad Yunus, which is grappling with a host of political and economic challenges. The districts affected by floods include Cumilla, Noakhali, Brahmanbaria, Chittagong, Coxs Bazar, Sylhet and Habiganj. (AFP photo) The floods have caused at least 13 deaths and left nearly 800,000 people homeless, Kamrul Hasan, secretary in the disaster management and relief ministry, told the media on Friday. The districts affected by floods include Cumilla, Noakhali, Brahmanbaria, Chittagong, Coxs Bazar, Sylhet and Habiganj. The latest report from Bangladeshs Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre said five rivers in the eastern part of the country were flowing above the danger level, while data from Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) showed 14% of mobile towers in the flood-hit districts had ceased functioning. The Bangladesh army, navy, coast guard, border guards, fire service, police and members of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement and NGOs are engaged in relief measures in the flooded areas, and the interim government has launched a fund collection drive to help the flood victims. The Bangladesh Army contributed an amount equivalent to one days salary of all its personnel to the drive. Also Read: Bangladeshs Yunus proposes high-level collaboration on floods with India We are now providing dry food, drinking water and toilet facilities at shelter centers in flood-affected areas, said Liakath Ali, director of the disaster risk management programme at Brac, the worlds largest NGO. The disaster management ministry has set up a control room for providing information and support. The ministrys secretary, Kamrul Hasan, said 188,739 people were evacuated from the flooded areas and the government is providing cash, rice and dry food items to affected communities. Mashfiqus Salehin, professor at the Institute of Water and Flood Management at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), said the eastern part of the country, especially Feni district, hadnt witnessed such floods in recent years. Since people dont usually face floods in this region, they could not prepare for the deluge, he said. Salehin highlighted the need for updating the flood warning and rain forecasting systems to minimise damage. I think Bangladesh and India can jointly set up an integrated warning system, he said. He cited heavy rains in catchment areas as the main reason for the unprecedent flooding. On Thursday, Bangladeshs interim government chief Muhammad Yunus proposed during a meeting with the Indian envoy that the two countries should consider a mechanism for high-level collaboration to tackle floods since the two countries share several rivers and catchment areas. Sarder Udoy Raihan, chief of Bangladeshs Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre, told HT the flood waters had begun receding in most areas as rains had reduced in upstream areas. I think the water will further recede within the next two days and go below the danger level in most of the areas, he said. Dhaka, A retired judge of Bangladesh's Supreme Court was detained from the northeastern frontier with India in Sylhet while he was allegedly attempting to flee the country, the Border Guard Bangladesh said late on Friday. Bangladeshi border guards detain ex-supreme court judge near border with India The report came hours after the arrest of Awami League leader ASM Firoz from his residence. The BGB headquarters, in an SMS, informed reporters that they have detained former apex appellate division judge of the Supreme Court Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik as he was trying to cross over to India through Sylhets Kanaighat border. Newspaper Prothom Alo said Manik was kept at a BGB outpost till midnight citing the camps in-charge. Bangladesh descended into chaos after ousted premier Sheikh Hasina's government collapsed and she fled to India on August 5 amid violent protests over quota for government jobs, while the Army stepped in to fill the power vacuum. Before that, anti-government protests had killed more than 500 people since mid-July. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took oath as the Chief Adviser of the interim government on August 8. Since August 5, a number of leaders of the deposed regime, including senior ministers, have been arrested many of them on murder charges. The Bangladesh Army has earlier said that several hundred leaders of Hasina's Awami League and others have been sheltered in cantonments as their lives were at risk. Former law minister Anisul Huq and the ex-premiers private sector affairs adviser Salman F Rahman were the first to be arrested from Dhakas main river port Sadarghat terminal area as they were allegedly trying to leave Dhaka on a boat. A number of members of Hasina's cabinet, including former foreign minister Hassan Mahmud and former social welfare minister Dipu Moni, several lawmakers and leaders of Awami League and its allies, including pro-left Workers Party chairman Rashed Khan Menon, and a number of recently sacked military and civil officials have been arrested. This included sacked major general Ziaul Hassan, who was serving as the head of the governments telecommunications system, and Chittagong Port Authority chairman rear admiral Mohammad Sohail, who once was the spokesman of the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion. A TV journalist couple Farzana Rupa and her husband Shakil Ahmed have also been arrested. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. The Italian coast guard on Thursday said that the body of British tech magnate Mike Lynch, 59, was among those recovered off the coast of Sicily from the wreckage of a superyacht whose builders had called it unsinkable. British tech tycoon Mike Lynch were among the victims found dead on a luxury yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily on Monday. (Bloomberg Photo) One woman remains missing. She has not been identified, but Hannah, Lynchs 18-year-old daughter, is reportedly unaccounted for. The family was celebrating Lynchs recent acquittal on fraud charges with the people who defended him at trial in the US. All passengers were his guests. Lynchs wife, Angela Bacares, was among the people rescued. The Bayesian a 56-metre (185 feet) British-flagged sailing boat was anchored some 700 metres off Porticello, near Palermo on the north of the Italian island. It was then struck by a waterspout akin to a mini-tornado, and sank within minutes on Monday. Fifteen of the 22 people aboard, including a mother who was reported holding her one-year-old baby over the waves to save her, were rescued by sailboat Sir Robert Baden Powell. Termini Imerese public prosecutors office investigators were collecting evidence for a criminal investigation, which they opened immediately after the tragedy despite no formal suspects having been publicly identified. According to the New York Times, the yacht was anchored on a stretch of water favoured by the Phoenicians thousands of years ago for its protection from the mistral wind and, in more recent times, by the yachts of tech billionaires. The chief executive of The Italian Sea Group, which owns the Bayesians manufacturer, said superyachts like these are the safest in the most absolute sense. First of all, because they have very little surface compared to a yacht facing into the wind, CEO Giovanni Costantino told Sky News on Wednesday. Second, with the structure, the drift keel, they become unsinkable bodies. Investigators are now looking at why the Bayesian, built in 2008 by Italian shipyard Perini Navi, sank while the Sir Robert Baden Powell remained largely unscathed. The sailboats captain, Karsten Borner, said his craft sustained minimal damage the frame of a sun awning broke even with winds that he estimated had reached 12 on the Beaufort wind scale, which is the highest hurricane-strength force on the scale. He said he remained anchored with his engines running to try to maintain the ships position as the forecast storm rolled in. Another possibility is to heave anchor before the storm and to run downwind at open sea, Borner told AFP. But he said that might not have been possible for the Bayesian, given its 75-meter (246-foot) tall mast. If there was a stability problem, caused by the extremely tall mast, it would not have been better at open sea, he said. Yachts like the Bayesian are required to have watertight compartments that are specifically designed to prevent a rapid, catastrophic sinking even when some parts fill with water. Lynch is the only person confirmed dead; the other bodies have not been formally identified. Everything that was done reveals a very long summation of errors, said Costantino, adding that bad weather was forecast and all the passengers should have been gathered at the assembly point, all the doors and hatches closed. Security camera footage of the ship from the shore showed the lights on its mast going out, which Costantino said indicated a short circuit, meaning that the ship had already taken on water. It is good practice when the ship is at anchor to have a guard on the bridge, and if there was one he could not have failed to see the storm coming. Instead it took on water with the guests still in the cabin... They ended up in a trap, those poor people ended up like mice, he added. Lynchs death happened less than a week after his co-defendant, business partner, and former Autonomy executive Stephen Chamberlain, died after being hit by a car on Saturday in England. Both Lynch and Chamberlain were acquitted of fraud charges in the US by a San Franciscio court in June after a decade-long legal battle with US firm Hewlett-Packard (HP). Lynch was once dubbed Britains Bill Gates, indicating the enormity of his business empire. However, the fraud allegations tarnished his image as a UK tech success story. Since returning home, Lynch an advisor to two British prime ministers had criticised the government for allowing his extradition to the US in the first place. Lynch and his wife, who also had an older daughter aged 21, had a combined fortune of 500 million ($648 million) according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List. He owed much of that wealth to his software firm Autonomy, which he founded in 1996 in Cambridge and turned into a leading British tech company. Autonomys search software was informed by Bayesian learning frameworks, inspiring the name of the ill-fated yacht. Lynch sold Autonomy to HP for $11 billion in 2011 in a mega deal that raised eyebrows at the time. Just one year later, HP reported a write-down of $8.8 billion including more than $5 billion it attributed to alleged inflated data from Autonomy plunging Lynch into the fraud case he spent over a decade fighting. The US prosecutors accused him of taking part in a massive scheme as Autonomys chief executive to deceive HP by pumping the value of the company. Lynch was extradited last year and spent a year under house arrest before being cleared. He could have faced two decades in jail, an ordeal the entrepreneur said he would not have survived due to various medical conditions. Lynch, who made around $815 million from the Autonomy sale, always denied the fraud charges, accusing HP of making him a scapegoat for its own failings. He was honoured by Queen Elizabeth II in 2006 with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to enterprise and appointed to the board of the BBC the same year. After the Autonomy sale, he founded venture capital firm Invoke Capital, which was an early investor in cyber security firm Darktrace. However, despite the US acquittal this year, the legal saga was not over for Lynch. In 2022, Londons high court ruled in a civil fraud case that HP had been duped and had overpaid for Autonomy. The court has yet to rule on the billions of dollars in damages claimed by the US group. David Yelland, a reputation management advisor who described Lynch as a client and friend, said in an X post it was devastating to think he had lost his life just as he had began to rebuild it. His entire life is one of beating the odds in the most extraordinary of situations, Yelland said. Chicago: Kamala Harris on Thursday accepted the Democratic Partys nomination to be its presidential candidate for the 2024 election on the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. Delivering her acceptance speech, Harris accused her rival and Republican nominee Donald Trump of serving only one client all his life himself. Here are the key takeaways from the four-day convention. US Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff (from left), US Vice-President Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota and Democratic vice-presidential nominee, and his wife Gwen Walz in Chicago, Illinois, US, on Thursday. (Bloomberg) The race is on A month ago, at the Republican convention in Milwaukee, after Joe Bidens disastrous debate performance and Donald Trumps assassination attempt, it appeared that the 2024 presidential election was heading towards a clear win for Trump. Four weeks is indeed a long time in politics, for the Democratic convention in Chicago has shown that the party is alive, vibrant, united, and ready to fight till the last vote. This race is truly on. Democrats are united A big tent party that has seen deep divisions between its centrist and progressive factions, between its older and newer generation of leaders, between its Jewish American and pro-Israel and Arab American and progressive members, is today largely united in their opposition to Donald Trump. Yes, Chicago saw protests and it is still unclear if Muslim Americans will vote for Democrats on the same scale they did. But the threat of Trump has resulted in rare unity. Obamas still have it The stars of the convention were undoubtedly Michelle and Barack Obama. Eight years after their exit from White House, the first Black couple to live in the presidential home retain their aura. Michelles speech and unapologetic attack on Trump galvanised the Democratic base, Obamas one liners and support for Harris but also his thoughtful analysis of social divisions in America offered a blueprint to the party. Both also warned against complacency. Women and minorities matter This Democratic Party is a party of women and a party of immigrants. It is a party of Black Americans and the LGBTQ+ community. It is a party that looks like America in ways that Republicans dont, in the composition of the leadership, the support base, policies and statements. Irrespective of the electoral outcome, the fact that these constituencies have a strong voice within a political party that fights for them speaks well of American democracy, especially when minority rights are under attack. The Harris-Walz magic is real Few had thought that Kamala Harris was popular till a month ago. Few knew Tim Walz till three weeks ago. But the combination of a half Black, half Indian daughter of immigrants and a regular White army veteran, school teacher and football coach both willing to fight for liberal beliefs, but in a pleasant and joyful manner has changed the mood and optics of American politics in an unprecedented way, whether they win or not. The magic is real for the base. Whether it extends to the swing voters will decide this election. India's Narendra Modi urged President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday to sit down for talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine and offered to act as a friend to help bring peace as the two leaders met in wartime Kyiv. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kyiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)(AFP) The first visit by an Indian prime minister in modern Ukrainian history came at a volatile juncture in the war launched by Russia in February 2022. Moscow is making slow gains in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv presses a cross-border incursion. The optics closely resembled the Indian leader's visit to Moscow last month where he called for peace and embraced Russian President Vladimir Putin, angering Ukraine, where a Russian missile strike hit a children's hospital on the same day. "The road to resolution can only be found through dialogue and diplomacy. And we should move in that direction without wasting any time. Both sides should sit together to find a way out of this crisis," Modi said in Kyiv. "I want to assure you that India is ready to play an active role in any efforts towards peace. If I can play any role in this personally, I will do that, I want to assure you as a friend," he said. It was not immediately clear what Kyiv made of his remarks and whether they were part of a diplomatic push taking place behind closed doors with a November presidential election looming in the United States, a close ally of Ukraine. Speaking later on Friday in his regular address to the nation after the visit had ended, Zelenskiy said it is "important to us that India remains committed to international law and supports our sovereignty and territorial integrity". He also said he appreciated that Modi had begun the visit by paying tribute to the children killed in the July hospital strike. India, which traditionally has close economic and defence relations with Moscow, has publicly criticised the deaths of innocent people in the war, but also strengthened its economic ties with Moscow. Both leaders described Modi's visit as "historic" in their statements during their meeting, in which Modi spoke second and Zelenskiy had no opportunity to respond to the call for dialogue. Zelenskiy said that "the matter of ending the war and a just peace are the priority for Ukraine". Ukraine has repeatedly said it wants the war to end but on Kyiv's terms, not Russia's. Ukraine has been pushing to hold a second international summit later this year to advance its vision of peace and involve representatives from Russia. The first summit, held in Switzerland in June, pointedly excluded Russia, while attracting scores of delegations, including one from India, but not from China, the world's second largest economy. Zelenskiy urged Modi to sign the summit's communique, which India has not done. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that talks were out of the question after Ukraine launched its incursion into Russia's Kursk region on Aug. 6. Kyiv's top commander has touted the capture of almost 100 settlements in the assault, part of what military analysts see as an attempt to divert Russian troops from eastern Ukraine where Moscow's forces are making gains. Certain influence Modi's visit to Moscow prompted Zelenskiy to criticise the Indian prime minister when the trip coincided with the missile strike that hit a children's hospital in Kyiv. As he welcomed Modi to the Mariinskyi presidential palace in Kyiv, Zelenskiy embraced him with a frowning expression before they began talks. Modi issued renewed condolences over the missile strike on X in a post written in Ukrainian. "Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief," the post said. In the run-up to the visit, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser in Zelenskiy's office, told Reuters it was significant because New Delhi "really has a certain influence" over Moscow. "It's extremely important for us to effectively build relations with such countries, to explain to them what the correct end to the war is - and that it is also in their interests," he said. As Western nations have imposed sanctions on Russia and cut trade relations with it over the invasion, India has developed its economic ties. Indian refiners that rarely bought Russian oil in the past have emerged as Moscow's top clients for seaborne crude since Russia poured troops into Ukraine two-and-a-half years ago. Russian oil accounts for over two-fifths of India's oil imports. Kamala Harris backed Israels right to defend itself, reaffirmed American support for Israels security, termed what has happened in Gaza devastating, supported the Palestinian quest for security and self-determination, said the time for a hostage and ceasefire deal was now, and warned Iran that she would do whatever it took to defend American forces against Tehran and its terror proxies. US Vice-President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks on the fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on Thursday. (AFP) In her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, offering a glimpse of her foreign policy world view, Harris positioned herself as a champion of democracy against tyranny, claimed that America will win the competition with China in the 21st century and lead the world in AI and space, alleged that Donald Trump was prone to manipulation by autocrats since he wanted to be one himself, and attacked Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and pledged support for Kyiv. But Harriss most difficult challenge was framing her position around the war in West Asia that has partly fractured her party, posed an electoral challenge given the anger of progressive and Muslim voters, eroded Americas moral high ground across the world, and triggered street protests, including in Chicago. Harris said that President Joe Biden and she had been working around the clock and now was the time to get hostage and ceasefire deal done. I will always stand up for Israels right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on Oct. 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival, Harris said, at a time when Trump has sought to cast doubts on Harriss commitment to Israel and said that any Jewish American who voted for Harris should have their head examined. Harriss husband, Doug Emhoff, is Jewish. She then shifted to the brutal war in Gaza where Israel has killed over 40,000 Palestinians. What has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. Summarising her position on both the immediate crisis as well as the broader seven and a half decade conflict, Harris said, President Biden and I are working to end this war, such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination. In the backdrop of Trump accusing Democrats for being soft on Iran, Harris also said that she would never hesitate to take whatever action was necessary to defend American forces and interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists. At a time when Trump is projecting himself as a strong leader who can end wars, while also turning to a relatively narrower role for America in the world, Harris both sought to project her experience and credentials for the job and reaffirmed the Democratic position on a wider and more expansive American role in the world. She said that the US must be steadfast in defending its security and values, and claimed that as vice president, she had confronted threats to our security, negotiated with foreign leaders, strengthened our alliances and engaged with our brave troops overseas. As commander-in-chief, I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the worldI will make sure that we lead the world into the future on space and artificial intelligence. That America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century, and that we strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership Drawing a contrast with her opponent, Harris reminded the audience that Trump had said that Russia could do whatever the hell it wanted. Five days before Russia attacked Ukraine, I met with President Zelensky to warn him about Russias plan to invade. I helped mobilise a global response over 50 countries to defend against Putins aggression. And as president, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies. Later in the speech, Harris returned to Trumps foreign policy record, claiming she would not cosy upto tyrants and dictators such as Kim Jong-un, who are rooting for Trump, a line that drew applause from the crowd. Because, you know, they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. They know Trump wont hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself. Harris ended the foreign policy segment of her speech with a categorical defence of what has been Americas traditional position on democracy and self image of itself. As president, I will never waver in defense of Americas security and ideals, because in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs. Trump, responding to Harriss speech, said, There will be no future under Comrade Kamala Harris, because she will take us into a Nuclear World War III! She will never be respected by the Tyrants of the World! Australian wine's renewed access to the Chinese market has not only provided a much-needed boost for the sector, but has also underscored the importance of fostering robust trade relationships to sustain growth and competitiveness, analysts said. The total export value of Australian wines was 2.2 billion Australian dollars ($1.48 billion) during the previous fiscal year from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024 up 17 percent year-on-year, according to a report released by Wine Australia, the Australian government's statutory authority that promotes and regulates its wine industry. The surge in Australian wine exports during this period, as shown by the report, has been largely attributed to a pivotal policy change by China in March, when tariffs on Australian wines were lifted. On March 28, the Ministry of Commerce announced the termination of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on imported Australian wine, effective March 29. Tariffs of up to 212 percent were originally introduced by the ministry in November 2020. A final ruling the following March set anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties of between 116 percent and 218 percent for a five-year period. Simultaneously, China and Australia submitted a notification to the World Trade Organization's Dispute Settlement Body of a mutually agreed solution on discontinuing these punitive tariffs. This led to an upswing in Australian wine exports to the Chinese market from April to June, propelling the Chinese mainland to become the number one export market for Australian wine in terms of value, and number four in terms of volume during the last fiscal year, the report revealed. Between April and June, 31 million liters of wine valued at $389 million were exported to the Chinese mainland. This resulted in Australian wine exports to the destination increasing from 1 million liters valued at $8 million in the fiscal year before the last, to 33 million liters valued at $400 million in the previous fiscal year, according to the report. "The restored access to one of the world's largest consumer markets for wine has rekindled prospects for Australian wine producers, enabling them to once again tap into the immense potential offered by Chinese consumers," said Bai Ming, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. Moreover, the improvement of trade ties between Australia and China serves as a poignant reminder of the mutual benefits that accrue from fostering open, cooperative trade environments that facilitate the free flow of goods and services, Bai said. However, despite the impressive growth in exports to China, the expansion still represents only a fraction of the historic peak levels witnessed in the market, analysts said. Changes in wine consumption patterns, particularly in the realms of business banquets and gift-giving, have led to a marked reduction in wine drinking, resulting in a notable shrinkage in the market as a whole, said Guo Songquan, a wine industry analyst. According to a report by International Wine and Spirits Record, the consumption of domestically produced wine in China plummeted from 95 million cases in 2017 to 27 million cases by 2023, while sales of imported wine dropped from 61 million cases to less than 20 million cases over the same six-year period. Collectively, the consumption of both domestic and imported wines in the Chinese mainland now stands at less than one-third of levels recorded six years ago, according to the report. The reentry of Australian wines into the Chinese market is not expected to significantly alter the overall Chinese wine market. However, given the finite size of the market, any gains made by Australian wines might come at the expense of competitors like French and Chilean wines, Guo said. The degree of impact will be determined by the marketing efforts of Australian wine brands and the responsive measures adopted by other countries in the industry, Guo added. Vice President Kamala Harris acceptance speech was a call for a new path forward, to a country where a womans job is commander-in-chief. It was also a callback to the past, to her immigrant mother who joined Americas fight for freedom and taught her daughter to never let anyone define her, but to define herself on her own terms. Kamala Harris Charts Her Vision for America Over a 40-minute address that unfolded in stories about her career as a tough prosecutor, inspired both by a close friends plight and civil rights legends and in stories about her time in the White House, Harris spoke not in soaring oratory, but in a conversational way. If a perennial question for women is how to run for office without seeming too shrill or too ambitious or too something, then Harris has figured this out, simply by being herself, laugh and all. She looked and sounded like an American president, forceful in her defense of democracy and proud of the nations ability to inspire the world and renew its promise. We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world, she said. And on behalf of our children and our grandchildren and all those who sacrificed so dearly for our freedom and liberty, we must be worthy of this moment. She appeared on stage, wearing a blue pants suit and flag pin, to a roaring crowd that strained capacity at Chicagos United Center. Many were members of her sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha, dressed in white and draped in pearls in homage to her. There was a quiet and workmanlike quality to her speech. For those insistent that detailed policy plans matter above all else, Harris pledged to build the middle class, secure the border and fight for womens reproductive freedom, which she smartly connected to the economy. I believe America cannot truly be prosperous unless Americans are fully able to make their own decisions about their own lives, especially on matters of heart and home, she said. Harris speech capped a week featuring the Democratic Partys brightest stars, showcasing a broad, diverse and inclusive party, some unafraid to name Americas greatest sins. From Michelle Obama, America heard about former President Donald Trumps dangerous attacks on her family and the kind of affirmative action that is only the province of White folks. His limited, narrow view of the world made him feel threatened by the existence of two hardworking, highly educated, successful people who happen to be Black, the former first lady said. Wait, I want to know: Whos going to tell him that the job hes currently seeking might just be one of those Black jobs? But, the American presidency has never been one of those womens jobs, and that is Harris hurdle, breaking that highest, hardest, glass ceiling as Hillary Clinton first called it in 2008 and again in 2016. Harris, 59, runs as a record 12 women serve as governors. A Black woman has never been elected governor, though Stacey Abrams came close in Georgia. Two Black women, Angela Alsobrooks in Maryland, and Lisa Blunt Rochester in Delaware are seeking US Senate seats. They are the favorites to make history, just as Harris did before them and can do again. Just off stage as Harris spoke were a group of women who call themselves the colored girls convention co-chairs Minyon Moore and Bishop Leah Daughtry and who worked as hidden figures on campaigns dating back to Jesse Jackson and were inspired by women like Representative Shirley Chisholm of Brooklyn, who was the first Democratic woman to run for the White House in 1972. Harris, who was on the front lines of the civil rights struggle as a toddler marching along with her parents, paid tribute to Chisholm in her failed 2020 presidential run by adopting a similar color scheme and typeface in her logo. She was, at times, withering in her criticism of Trump. She painted him as a man apart, unserious and untethered from the countrys values and virtues, the very mores she embodies. Trump is the choice of dictators, she said. They know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. They know Trump wont hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself, she said. And as president, I will never waver in defense of Americas security and ideals because in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand, and I know where the United States belongs. In the last four weeks, Harris has deftly navigated one of the most extraordinary periods in political history a reluctant sitting president passed her the torch, and she ran with it, sewing up her partys nomination, filling campaign coffers and volunteer rolls and sparking untold memes. While she has pulled even in the race with Trump, 78, and opened several paths to the Oval Office, she rightly insists that she is an underdog. And its because Harris, a graduate of Howard University, knows this countrys history and how powerful the forces of both racism and sexism have been. She also deeply believes in this countrys ability to overcome. It was exactly 60 years ago that famed Mississippi civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer testified before the credentialing committee of the Democratic convention after they refused to seat her racially integrated Freedom Democratic Party instead of an all-White delegation. Hamer spoke of being fired, shot at, jailed and severely beaten after trying to vote. Hers was a primetime address too, a searing indictment of the America that Harris was born into just two months later. Is this America, Hamer asked. Six decades on, this is the fundamental question at the heart of this election. Is America a nation nostalgic for a divisive past or, in Hamers words, ready to go up this freedom road together? More From Bloomberg Opinion: This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Nia-Malika Henderson is a politics and policy columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. A former senior political reporter for CNN and the Washington Post, she has covered politics and campaigns for almost two decades. /opinion This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. By Fabian Hamacher and Ann Wang On frontline island, Taiwan president rejects China's rule for freedom KINMEN, Taiwan, - Taiwan wants to continue its free way of life and rejects being ruled by China's Communist Party, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said on Friday, visiting a frontline island between the two sides to mark a key battle with Chinese forces. China's military carried out another round of manoeuvres around Taiwan as Lai was making the comments, underscoring what Taiwan's government views as Beijing's ongoing efforts to undermine regional peace and stability. Taiwan has controlled the Kinmen and Matsu islands, which lay just off the Chinese coast, since the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taipei in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong's communists. No peace treaty or armistice has ever been signed. The scene of on-off fighting during the height of the Cold War, China's coast guard has since February conducted regular patrols around Kinmen following the death of two Chinese people on a speedboat which Beijing blamed on Taipei. On his first trip to Kinmen since assuming office in May, Lai laid a wreath and bowed his head in respect at a memorial park for the 66th anniversary of a clash with Chinese forces, known as the start of the second Taiwan Strait crisis. Addressing veterans at a lunch and speaking off the cuff, Lai said he grew up with stories of the battle as his uncle served in Kinmen. Taiwan must resist China's threats, Lai added. "Our aim is that we hope for peaceful development across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan is a country that ardently loves peace. Taiwan's people are kind," he said. "We are no longer trying to retake the mainland. But we are also unwilling to be ruled by the communist party. We want to continue a life of democracy, freedom, human rights and rule of law. Right?" Lai added, to shouts of "yes!" Shortly after Lai returned to Taipei, Taiwan's defence ministry said it had detected 27 Chinese military aircraft operating around the Taiwan Strait on Friday, carrying out a "joint combat readiness patrol" with Chinese warships. It did not give an exact location. Taiwan sent its own forces to keep watch, the ministry said, using its usual wording for when China carries out such activities. The ministry reports almost daily Chinese air force and naval missions operating around Taiwan. China's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the latest combat patrol was related to Lai visiting Kinmen. TAIWAN BOOSTS DEFENCE SPENDING Lai, speaking to the veterans and their families, said the Taiwanese government continues to strengthen and spend more on the military and will defend the country's sovereignty. Taiwan's defence spending will rise 7.7% next year, outpacing expected economic growth, as it adds fighter jets and missiles to strengthen its deterrence against a rising threat from Beijing. China views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory and has repeatedly denounced Lai as a "separatist". He rejects Beijing's sovereignty saying only Taiwan's people can decide their future, but has also offered talks with China. Jessica Chen, Kinmen's member of parliament from Taiwan's largest opposition party, the Kuomintang, wrote on social media on Friday that her home should "not become a war zone". "The two sides of the Taiwan Strait need peace," she added, having met Song Tao, the head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, in Beijing on Thursday to discuss re-opening the islands to Chinese tourists. Kinmen at its closest is less than two kms away from Chinese-controlled territory. The 1958 crisis was the last time Taiwanese forces battled with China on a large scale. In August of that year, Chinese forces began more than a month of bombardment of Kinmen, along with Matsu, including naval and air battles, seeking to force them into submission. Taiwan fought back with support from the United States, though the crisis ended in a stalemate. Taiwan observes Aug. 23 every year as the date it fended off the Chinese attack. Formerly called Quemoy in English, Kinmen today is a popular tourist destination, though Taiwan maintains a significant military presence. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Kyiv, In a significant move, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday proposed India among a handful of Global South countries for hosting the second Ukraine peace summit and conveyed his idea to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. President Zelenskyy proposes India among few Global South countries for hosting 2nd Ukraine peace summit The inaugural peace summit was held at a resort near Lucerne in Switzerland in June that was attended by more than 90 countries and global institutions with a sole focus on bringing peace to Ukraine. At a media briefing, Zelenskyy said he told Prime Minister Modi that the peace summit could be hosted in India. "As for the Peace Summit, I truly believe that the second Peace Summit has to take place. It would be good if it could be held in one of the Global South countries," he said. "We are very open to it. There are countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkiye and Switzerland. We are currently talking to those countries on hosting the peace summit," Zelenskyy said. "I told Prime Minister Modi that we could have the Global Peace Summit in India. It's a big country, it's a great democracy - the largest one," he said. However, at the same time, the Ukrainian president said it would not be possible to host the summit in a country that has not joined the communique of the last peace summit. India had attended the first edition of the summit but refrained from associating itself with the communique that emerged from the deliberations. New Delhi asserted that it will remain engaged with all stakeholders to facilitate a peaceful resolution to the Ukraine conflict. The summit concluded with dozens of countries throwing their support to Ukraine's "territorial integrity" and calling for talks among all parties to find a lasting solution to the conflict. Modi on Friday conveyed to Zelenskyy that both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the ongoing war and that India was ready to play an "active role" to restore peace in the region. His nearly nine-hour visit to Ukraine, the first by an Indian prime minister since its independence in 1991, came six weeks after he held summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin that triggered anguish in some Western countries. "I have come with a message of peace..I want to assure you and the entire global community that India is committed to respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity and it is of utmost importance to us," Modi told Zelenskyy during the talks. The prime minister also asserted India's strong commitment towards respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. "I want to assure you and the entire global community that India is committed towards respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity and it is of utmost importance to us," he said. Zelenskyy said India supports Ukraine's national sovereignty and territorial integrity and it is "critical because everyone in the world must equally respect the UN Charter." This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged the significance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Kyiv on Friday, as he listed the agreements reached by the two countries to deepen bilateral cooperation in various fields. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. Today, history was made, Zelenskyy posted on X. The Prime Minister of India @narendramodi made his first visit to Ukraine since our country's independence, on the eve of our Independence Day. The Ukrainian leader highlighted the signing of four bilateral agreements covering the medical field, agricultural cooperation, humanitarian relations, and culture, signalling a new chapter in Ukraine-India relations. Also Read | What are BHISHM Cubes that PM Narendra Modi presented to Ukraine? The visit saw the two leaders agree on a joint statement emphasising the development of a strategic partnership, bilateral trade, and continued military-technical cooperation. India supports Ukraine's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. And this is critical because everyone in the world must equally respect the UN Charter, Zelenskyy added. Zelenskyy's Instagram post with Modi Zelenskyy also posted pictures of his meeting with PM Modi on his Instagram account, which quickly became his most popular post on the platform, garnering over 1 million likes within hours of being uploaded. In his post, Zelenskyy said, "Our meeting is important for strengthening the dialogue and relationship between India and Ukraine." Also Read | Jaishankar on those upset over PM Modi-Putin hug in Moscow: In our part of world' Prior to the meeting, Zelenskyy's most popular Instagram post had garnered 780,000 likes. The new post with Modi, however, surpassed 1 million likes within a few hours, a testament to the increased engagement world leaders often experience when associated with Modi. Modi enjoys more following than any head of government on various social media platforms. The backdrop of the visit is deeply intertwined with the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. During their meeting, Modi reiterated India's position on the importance of sovereignty and territorial integrity, while also offering to play a mediating role to bring peace to the region. "We say it very loudly and clearly that we support the respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity," Modi said, stressing that dialogue and diplomacy are the only ways to resolve the conflict. Also Read | Modi, Zelenskyy visit exhibit dedicated to Ukrainian children killed in conflict The Ukrainian President described Modis visit as both "friendly" and "symbolic," particularly because it occurred on the eve of Ukraine's Independence Day. The two leaders commenced their meeting by visiting a memorial dedicated to the Ukrainian children who have died in the ongoing war. The solemn moment was captured in a video shared by Zelenskyy on Telegram, showing the leaders laying teddy bears at the memorial and observing a moment of silence. * Ukraine's new judges aim to build rule of law Nearly 250 judges sworn in amid national hiring spree * New hires must reinstate public faith in courts * Cementing rule of law key to joining the European Union By Dan Peleschuk and Serhii Chalyi KYIV/ZORIZHZHIA Aug 23 - Ukraine's newly minted judges have waited years to be hired and know they must create trust in the courts for the country's European aspirations to be realised. "Morally, you need always to be thinking about the fact that you are a judge," said Olha Vdovychenko, 37, a native of eastern Ukraine who began working in the capital long after qualifying for the job she always wanted. "People always come to court with problems," she said. "So you need to be relatable and person-centric." Vdovychenko's recent appointment alongside nearly 250 other judges is aimed at helping Ukraine firmly establish the rule of law and finally dismantle a Soviet legacy of corruption and impunity. In Zaporizhzhia, near the front line in the southeast, district appointee Ievgen Zavgorodnii, 44, is a former anti-corruption investigator who joined the bench after fighting for Ukraine in Russia's 2022 invasion. He served in the defence of Kyiv and on the eastern front, climbed the ranks to a battalion chief of staff in the 72nd Mechanised Brigade and misses his comrades-in-arms. The transition has been challenging, he says, but he welcomes the new vocation he first applied for in 2017. "My task right now is to professionally, impartially and independently administer justice," he said. Their appointments - long stalled by political tussles even before the war - follow an overhaul of judicial governance sought by the European Union, which Kyiv aims to join to cement its shift from Moscow's orbit. The war-weary population has less and less tolerance for official impunity. Some 70% of Ukrainians distrust the judicial system, according to a March survey by the Razumkov Centre think tank in Kyiv, their cynicism fuelled by years of corruption that authorities are trying to show they are now stamping out. A former head of the Supreme Court is awaiting trial for accepting a $2.7 million bribe, a charge that he denies. A judge charged with being drunk when he crashed his Lexus into, and killed, a national guardsman at a checkpoint, is now being tried. He denied being drunk when he was arrested at the scene, saying he had not seen the soldier in the dark. Zavgorodnii, sworn in last month in the first wave of hires to begin filling more than 2,000 vacancies in the judiciary, said corruption in the sector is no more widespread than in other state institutions, but that judges are more visible. "For better or for worse, because judges are objects of intense scrutiny from society, their mistakes ... are more noticeable," he said. Vdovychenko, whose grandfather was also a judge, said her behaviour outside the court will be as important as that within it. "I think we need also to show that judges are regular people ... that they truly want to work in the interests of the people," she said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. The Sicily superyacht tragedy search operation has reached its heartbreaking conclusion. The final victim of the shipwreck has been recovered from the wreckage of the vessel that sank off the island's coast. All six passengers on board, including a prominent tech tycoon and his family, as well as Morgan Stanley International's chair, are reportedly confirmed dead in the accident. Divers of the Vigili del Fuoco, the Italian Corps. of Firefighters enter Porticello harbor near Palermo, with the body of the last missing person at the back of the boat on August 23, 2024(AFP) 6th missing body from the Bayesian yacht tragedy found On August 23, Italian rescuers and expert divers retrieved the body of the last missing person from a superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily. Earlier, the body of Mike Lynch, often referred to as British Bill Gates was recovered. Another body, believed to be his 18-year-old daughter Hannah, was also found, though it has not been officially confirmed. Also read: Fox News dumps Trumps Harris rant mid-air so he ended up calling: Dont get into trouble please' According to reports, a womans body was discovered on Friday, but she has yet to be formally identified. Hannah Lynch, Mike Lynch's daughter, remains unaccounted for, AP reports. Angela Bacares, Lynchs wife reportedly was rescued before the ship flipped over. All 6 passengers missing from the superyacht confirmed dead The recovery of the sixth body has officially concluded the search operation for the sunken ship, which was reportedly carrying a total of 22 people, including 10 crew members and 12 guests. Reportedly four bodies on Wednesday were discovered and a fifth body was found in the wreckage shortly after. Among those previously identified as missing are Jonathan Bloomer, Chairman of Morgan Stanley International, his wife Judy, as well as New York City lawyer Christopher Morvillo who also played a big role in Lynchs legal case and his wife Neda. Also read: Barron Trump vs. Gus Walz drama turns 'nasty' online as Republicans mock Walzs son over ADHD struggle "Obviously the priority is being able to work out what has happened to those that are missing and recover any bodies," a source earlier informed PEOPLE. "At the moment, no one has been placed under investigation because until they find the bodies, they cannot evaluate any sort of accusation or charge, they added. The tragedy struck on August 19 when the yacht was hit by an unexpected waterborne tornado, leading to a loss of balance and the eventual sinking of the vessel. British entrepreneur and tech magnate Mike Lynch was on board, celebrating with his family and fellow associates after his recent acquittal in the Hewlett-Packard fraud case. Following the disaster, 15 people were rescued, and one body was initially recovered, later identified as Chef Recaldo Thomas. Grammy-winning artist Beyonce will give a surprising appearance at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Thursday, according to TMZ. She is scheduled to perform on the fourth and the final day, when Kamala Harris will deliver her address to the enthusiastic crowd and Democratic delegates at the United Center. In addition to Beyonce, netizens on social media speculated that pop sensation Taylor Swift would make an unexpected visit. The outlet claims that Chicago police are on high alert and have been involved in security in relation to Beyonce's anticipated attendance. Since Wednesday, there have been rumors circulating in the Windy City regarding the tonight's surprise visitor at DNC. What about Taylor Swift? In addition to Beyonce, netizens on social media speculated that pop sensation Taylor Swift would make an unexpected visit. During a short commercial ad, a DJ at the DNC played Swift's Shake it Off inside the United Center, stoking rumors that the pop sensation might make an appearance tonight. However, it now looks like the rumor was unfounded. The song that Beyonce will play from her extensive repertoire, which includes nine Billboard No. 1 hits, is still unknown. Also Read: Tim Walz's son Gus bursts into tears as father accepts VP nomination at DNC, That's my dad Her 2016 song Freedom has been a significant highlight of the convention's agenda. Delegates at the DNC were seen dressing as Cowboy Kamala, a reference to the most recent album by the former member of Destiny's Child, "Cowboy Carter." Queen Bey collected funds for the 2012 campaign of Barack Obama and backed Presidents Biden and Harris in the 2020 election. On the final night of the DNC, pop sensation P!NK and country music group The Chicks are also scheduled to perform. Between political speeches, delegates will be entertained by musical musical acts from Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Lil Jon, and Maren Morris. Fox News pulled the plug on Donald Trumps lengthy Harris rant mid-air after the former president voiced his displeasure with what he saw during the DNC on Thursday night. As the network switched gears to Greg Gutfelds show, Gutfeld couldnt resist a jab, joking, "Trump is still talking." BOZEMAN, MONTANA - AUGUST 09: Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a rally (Getty Images via AFP) Not one to be left speechless, Trump dialled in live, turning what started as a routine segment into a real Trump card moment. Fox News cuts Trumps call mid-air It was the final night of the Democratic National Convention, and as usual, the Republican nominee was closely monitoring both his social media accounts and TV. However, he couldnt stomach it when his opponent, Kamala Harris, accused him of being a highly 'unserious man' who grovels to dictators, imperils democracy, and betrays American values. Also read: Barron Trump vs. Gus Walz drama turns 'nasty' online as Republicans mock Walzs son over ADHD struggle Frustrated, Trump decided to call Fox News, which was busy covering the DNC at the time, and the network chose to air his live reaction. As Trump spoke and went on for a fiery long rant, Fox anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum attempted to ask questions. Several times, Trump ignored them. Mr. President, let me interrupt, Baier pleaded at one point, but Trump kept talking. Trump kept bashing Harris and Walz but was all over Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hinting at a potential endorsement. Even though anchor Bret Baier kept trying to tell him to wrap it up, Trump kept going on about the Democratic primary, not paying attention to the signals. The anchors were left with no choice but to give out a unanimous Thank you, We appreciate that live feedback. So Trump called Gutfeld on-air Fox was gearing up to air its late-night comedy show, "Gutfeld!," when host Greg Gutfeld jumped in, launching the show with a cheeky, "That wasnt my fault, Donald Trump." He quipped, "Hes still talking, by the way," but little did he know that Trump would actually call in livenever one to back down from the spotlight. Also read: Trump claims he is innocent after posting fake Taylor Swift endorsement photos: Happening with me too Amused, Gutfeld picked up the call and excitedly asked Trump to greet the audience. He then jokingly warned, "Dont say anything thatll get you in trouble," hinting that they were live. Trump jumped back into his rhythm, but the conversation was quickly wrapped up. Only Donald Trump can pull that off! He's genuine and authentic, putting his life on the line for the country. God bless him, a social media user commented. But he ended up hanging up on his call too, another joked. This is one of the many reasons why I love President Trump! He knows what he needs to do and he wont quit until he gets it done!!!! Were going to win this and President Trump 47 will FIX the mess Communist Kamala and her sidekick Biden have made of EVERYTHING! God is good! one more added. Ohio Senator JD Vance faced immense backlash after a video showing him stopping at a Georgia doughnut store went viral on social media. JD Vance, Donald Trump's running mate, on Thursday made a surprise visit at Holt's Sweet Shop in Georgia's Valdosta, which is a key battleground state that Republicans are hoping would return to the former President after voting only narrowly for Joe Biden in 2020.(X) Vance, Donald Trump's running mate candidate in the White House, on Thursday made a surprise visit at Holt's Sweet Shop in Georgia's Valdosta, which is a key battleground state that Republicans are hoping would return to the former President after voting only narrowly for Joe Biden in 2020. After the footage of his visit went viral on social media, he was met with a barrage of mockery, with some calling the halt awkward. The Trump team is still hung up on Vance's popularity among voters, which is why he is making this campaign visit. In the 2024 presidential contest, Vance has positioned himself as a fervent social conservative. He has been a close supporter of Trump since his 2022 election. However, Democrats have fiercely retaliated against him because of his positions on matters like LGBTQ+ rights and abortion. Also Read: JD Vance tears into disgusting Andy Beshear, accuses him of wishing rape on his family JD Vance meets Georgia doughnut store, but something went wrong In the video, Vance is heard telling a worker that the zoo has come to down. He then asks the worker how many donuts he should order. The worker then requested not to be recorded while on the job. She doesn't want to be on film guys, so just cut her out of anything, he stated. I appreciate that ma'am. Were gonna do two dozen. Just a random assortment of stuff here, he continues while gazing at the donuts in the display cases. Everything. A lot of glazed here. Sprinkle stuff. A lot of cinnamon rolls. Just whatever makes sense, Vance stated. Introducing himself to the worker, he said, I'm JD Vance, I'm running for vice president. Okay, she replied. Vance then started making small talk with the counter staff. JD Vance faces netizens' furry His visit has garnered sharp criticism from X users, with netizens mocking him for the awkward encounter. JD Vance had a very awkward visit to a donut shop in Georgia earlier. Trust us, it's worse than you even think, wrote Meidas Touch while posting the Ohio Senator's video that has been viewed over one million times. I'm JD Vance...I'm running for vice president'....woman has no idea who he is and is just trying to do her job, one X user wrote. These morons went to the wrong donut shop to do their stupid photo op. I don't think my face will ever un-cringe after watching this, commented journalist Aaron Rupar. Has JD Vance ever bought donuts? He has no idea how to talk to people. And the very smart lady behind the counter, who clearly does not give AF about Vance, said she DID not want to be on camera, another remarked. The hilarious thing is that they think is going to somehow overshadow the DNC's awesome week & deflate the post-convention poll bounce. Which is as laughably silly as trying to get JD Vance to order doughnuts in a non-cringe manner," one more chimed in. Kamala Harris, the US vice president and Democratic nominee, made a bold appearance at DNC on Thursday to deliver the biggest speech of her career. Kamala Harris speaks during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)(AP) She entered the 2024 presidential contest following President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the campaign after his dismal debate performance against Donald Trump. During her address, Harris first paid tribute to Biden, who paved the door for her to attend tonight's DNC. I love you so very much to our President, Joe Biden, the US VP asserted. When I think about the path that we have traveled together, Joe, I am filled with gratitude. Calling the record of POTUS extraordinary, she said, Your character is inspiring. Doug and I love you and Jill and are forever thankful to you both. Before her DNC appearance, Biden and former First Lady Jill Biden spoke to Harris over phone. Later in a post on X, Biden asserted: Kamala and Tim will inspire a generation and lead us into the future. Kamala Harris tells crowd: I accept your nomination to be US President Harris, who formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president, told the crowd: I accept your nomination to be President of the United States of America. She promised to be the president for all the Americans, adding that You can always trust me to put country above party and self. As the Democratic contender has been drawing on her experience as a state and local prosecutor, she noted: My entire career I've only had one client the people. Harris' catchphrase during her unsuccessful 2020 presidential campaign was For the People. She presented herself as a realistic and practical leader and pledged to serve as a president who leads and listens, who is realistic, practical and has common sense and always fights for the American people. Kamala Harris blasts unserious man Trump, invokes Capitol riots Targeting her Republican opponent, the US VP declared, Donald Trump is an unserious man. She further invoked Jan. 6 to warn about the extremely serious consequences of Trump's return to the White House. In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences, but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious, she asserted. She told the crowd that Trump attempted to discard your ballots. When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol, where they assaulted, law enforcement officers. Harris continued with a list of grievances directed at Trump, claiming that he would have no guardrails in the event of a second term because of the Supreme Court's decision on presidential immunity. Harris vows to stand with Ukraine and Israel She vowed to stand firmly by Ukraine if she wins the run for the White House. As president, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies, she stated. She furtherattackedTrump for his previous endorsements of autocratic opponents in an attempt to position herself as a steadyhand in international affairs. Harris said she will never hesitate to take important actions required to defend the American forces and the US' interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists. I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong-Un who are rooting for Trump, she declared. They know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors, she continued. Harris went on to declare that she will stand up for Israel's right to defend itself, but also insisted that a cease-fire in Gaza must be done. Now is the time to get a hostage deal and a cease-fire deal done! she said, amidst thunderous cheers. And let me be clear, I will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself, she said. Harris says will sign bipartisan border bill The majority of Republicans opposed the expansive border security measure this summer, but Harris has now pledged to sign it into law. I know the importance of safety and security, especially at our border, after decades in law enforcement, she remarked. She blasted Trump for giving his congressional friends the order to sabotage the agreement. She vowed to revive the bipartisan border security bill that Trump killed and ensure that it becomes law. Chicago, Kamala Harris has vowed to be president for all Americans" and asked them to reject political divisions, warning of "extremely serious" consequences of putting her Republican rival Donald Trump back in White House. Kamala Harris warns about consequences of putting Trump back in White House in her acceptance speech Vice President Harris, who is of Indian and African heritage, on Thursday night accepted her party's nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, becoming the second woman to do so for the Democratic Party. The 59-year-old leader walked on stage to thunderous applause and a standing ovation from the audience. Chants of Yes You Can! erupted before her remarks. Taking the stage at the United Center in Chicago to accept her nomination, Harris said she is no stranger to unlikely journeys. "On behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey on behalf of Americans, like the people I grew up with, people who work hard, chase their dreams and look out for one another, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination the United States," she said. She remembered her mother Shyamala Gopalan and said that she misses her every day, especially when she is on the verge of breaking the highest glass ceiling of the United States. She said the November 5 election is the most important in America's history. Our nation with this election has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans," she said in her 40-minute speech. Vice President Harris outlined her plans for a new way forward if shes elected to be the 47th president of the United States. She laid out the consequences of electing former President Donald Trump to a second term. In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man, but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious, she warned. She spoke about the chaos and calamity of his years in the Oval Office and also pointed to him questioning election results in 2020 when he lost his reelection bid. Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes. When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol where they assaulted law enforcement officers. When politicians in his own party begged him to call off the mob and send help, he did the opposite. He fanned the flames, she said. Harris also highlighted that Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts in a hush money case and that a federal jury in his civil defamation trial found that the former president had sexually abused writer E Jean Carroll. He was found guilty of fraud by a jury of everyday Americans, and separately found liable for committing sexual abuse, she said. She said she would ensure America strengthens and not abdicate its global leadership. She also said she would ensure "America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century". She also extended support to Ukraine and NATO allies. Trump reacted to Harris speech in real-time on Truth Social. IS SHE TALKING ABOUT ME? Trump posted. The former president posted in rapid succession, criticizing Harris speech, saying A lot of talk about childhood, and Too many Thank yous, too rapidly said. Trump repeatedly questioned why Harris hadnt already accomplished the policy proposals she has put forward as part of her reelection campaign while serving as vice president. She said, Chart a new way forward, but shes had three and a half years, and has done nothing but HARM! Trump wrote. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Kamala Harris on Thursday gave a powerful speech at Democratic National Convention (DNC) on Thursday and refused to cozy up to tyrants and dictators like her Republican rival, Donald Trump. Kamala Harris gestures after speaking on the fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 22, 2024. She blasted her rival Donald Trump for endorsing dictators like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.(AFP) She criticised Trump for publicly praising North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin, stating, I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators. According to the US Vice President, Kim and Putin are rooting for Trump because they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. They know Trump wont hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself, she added. The Democrat claimed that Trump had threatened to withdraw from NATO and encouraged Putin to invade Ukraine. She, however, pledge to stand strongly with NATO, always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself and protect Ukraine. Trump shares Biden-Harris administration's report card In the meantime, Trump made fun of Harris in a string of tweets on X by posting the Biden-Harris administration's report card, which included references to the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars. Trump has maintained his position that these wars would not have happened if he had been president. He even claims that he can stop conflict between Russia and Ukraine within 24 hours after coming into power. Hitting back at Trump over the report card, Harris wrote: This election is not only the most important of our lives, it is one of the most important in the life of our nation. She called Trump an unserious man, adding that the consequences of putting him back in the White House are extremely serious. And were not going back, she asserted. Also Read: Trump rips Kamala Harris as US VP calls for Gaza ceasefire: She hates Israel Kamala Harris wows netizens with her fiery speech Meanwhile, social media users lauded Harris for her speech and giving Trump a reality check. Man, she had so many good lines in that speech You can tell she really put a lot of work into it and made many revisions. The hard work showed! one X user reacted. Trump cozies up to dictators. He brags about them loving him. Kamala Harris will not entertain dictatorship, a second user wrote, while the third one said: Obama level of greatness. Another user hailed Harris for being spot on, stressing that she is right to stand firm against those who would exploit our democracy. We need leaders who prioritize integrity, not flattery! However, her critics blamed her administration for wars, with one writing: Trump gave us peace, while Kamala has us on the brink of WWIII. Meghan Markle's Toronto property, where she lived while filming Suits, is up for sale. The three-bedroom house, located in the Seaton Village neighbourhood of the Canadian city, has been listed on the market for $1.9 million. The Duchess of Sussex lived there when she started dating Prince Harry in 2016 and rented the lavish estate for at least two years. Meghan Markle's Toronto property where she lived while filming Suits is on the market (AFP) Meghan Markle's Toronto home is on the market for sale The property, which boasts two spa-inspired bathrooms, is where Prince Harry visited Meghan in Canada. The home also features a double garage that includes a Tesla charger, according to the listing. Before relocating to the UK, Meghan lived there with her dogs Bogart and Guy, according to Daily Mail. The Duchess had a dedicated puppy play area with a sandpit and a kennel. ALSO READ: Simone Biles celebrates Olympic victory with new $150k Mercedes G-Wagon In 2017, Meghan moved out of the house to live with Prince Harry. The couple went on to get married a year later. Despite having numerous past accommodations, the Canadian property holds a special place in the duke's heart. In his 2023 memoir, Spare, he recalled spending his initial days with Meghan there. Meg was excited to show me her life, her dogs, her little house, which she adored, he wrote. ALSO READ: Blake Lively under fire for claiming pregnant women exploit symptoms in resurfaced 2014 interview The duchess' Toronto property previously sold for $1.6 million in 2018. It has since been renovated and features elegant high-end finishes & detailing in the interior and exterior, according to the property's listing. The description further notes that it is located in an area cherished by families, academics & celebrities. Additionally, it boasts a custom designed eat-in chefs kitchen w/ walk-out to a serenely private, deep & lush backyard retreat. Secret Service has placed at least five of its agents on administrative leave as part of its investigation into Donald Trump's assassination attempt. The probe follows the July 13 shooting at the former president's campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Those placed on leave were four agents from the Pittsburgh Field Office, including the special agent in charge and one member of Trump's personal security team. Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures with a bloodied face while he is assisted by U.S. Secret Service personnel after he was shot in the right ear during a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show in Butler, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 13, 2024. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo(REUTERS) Secret Service places multiple agents on leave in Trump's assassination attempt probe The administrative leave of multiple Secret Service agents comes nearly six weeks after a 20-year-old gunman fired eight rounds from a rooftop near where Trump was speaking. While it is unclear whether the leaves were part of a disciplinary action, the Secret Service's internal affairs division is continuing with the probe. ALSO READ: Trump blasts weak Harris, crazy Pelosi and crooked Biden on Truth Social after final night of DNC Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesperson for the agency, denied confirming if the agents were placed on leave. However, he did reveal that the Secret Service's mission assurance review is progressing, and we are examining the processes, procedures and factors that led to this operational failure, according to CBS News. Guglielmi went on to say that the agency holds our personnel to the highest professional standards, and any identified and substantiated violations of policy will be investigated by the Office of Professional Responsibility for potential disciplinary action. ALSO READ: Who was Shyamala Gopalan? Kamala Harris honours brilliant mother in emotional DNC speech Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned just two weeks after the assassination attempt on Trump that left him with an ear wound. Cheatle left the agency after giving her initial testimony in front of Congress members, who ripped her with scathing questions about the agency's inability to prevent the harrowing incident. During last month's shooting, Trump narrowly escaped a terrible outcome after a bullet grazed his ear. However, Pennsylvania father and firefighter Corey Comperatore was shot and killed last month, while two other spectators at the rally were left seriously injured. RFK Jr. has officially suspended his 2024 presidential campaign and publicly endorsed Donald Trump, according to a recent court filing in Pennsylvania. The move marks a dramatic political shift, as the Kennedy scion, who had been vying for the presidential bid as an independent candidate, now aligns with Trumps vision for the upcoming election. Kennedy campaign accused of being spoiler, Donald Trump favours RFK Jr. over Joe Biden(Getty Images via AFP/AP) Kennedy announced that while his name will stay on the ballot in most states, both Republican and Democratic, he plans to withdraw it from swing states where his presence could influence the outcome RFK Jr. officially suspends Presidential run The formal announcement of RFK Jr.'s campaign suspension came shortly after speculation that he would end his bid and support the Republican candidate against the Democrats. His running mate, Nicole Shanahan, also hinted the same during a recent appearance. Despite not being a major contender, Kennedy had enough influence to affect the presidential race, as indicated by several polling. Also read: Fox News dumps Trumps Harris rant mid-air so he ended up calling: Dont get into trouble please' Court records in Pennsylvania revealed Kennedys decision, following his earlier move to remove his name from the Arizona ballot. According to the POST, talks between Trump supporters and Kennedy's group, along with how he felt left out by the Democrats during the campaign, influenced his choice. He made the announcement just a day after the Democratic National Convention concluded with Kamala Harris being named the official nominee. Not terminating my campaign In a recent press conference, Kennedy, who had previously branded Trump as a sociopath and terrible human being, has shifted his stance to support him. Texts obtained by The New Yorker reveal Kennedys earlier criticisms of Trump. Despite Trumps earlier dismissal of Kennedy as a Radical Left Lunatic and a WASTED PROTEST VOTE, they met at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month. I want everyone to know that I am not terminating my campaign, Kennedy said in his rally recently. I am simply suspending it and not ending it. My name will remain on the ballot in most states, he added. When a predictably bungled debate performance precipitated the palace coup against President Biden, the same shadowy DNC operatives appointed his successor," Kennedy was heard slamming the democrats for replacing Biden with Harris. "Also without an election, they installed a candidate who was so unpopular with voters that she dropped out in 2020 without winning a single delegate, he added. Trump said he would be honoured by RFK Jr.s endorsement On Thursday morning, the Republican nominee hinted at an imminent endorsement and was really excited about it. In a speech in Phoenix, Kennedy laid out his plans and also took shots at the big media. He called out the Democratic Party for "betraying democracy" and launching legal battles against him and Donald Trump. During a phone call with Fox & Friends, Trump described Kennedy Jr. as someone he has known for a long time. Ive known him for a long time. Hes, as you know, hes a little different kind of a guy. Very smart guy. Very good person, he said. Also read: 'Never Trump guy' hits TikTok hot charts as JD Vance's retro rant gets hip-hop remix If he endorsed me. I would be honored by it. I would be very honored by it, Trump continued. He really has his heart in the right place. He is a respected person. Women love some of his policies, and I guess some people dont like some of his policies. Tesla's senior employee count is dropping like dominoes. Amid the ongoing mass walkouts and layoffs, another longtime worker has parted ways with Elon Musk's company. Tesla VP Sreela Venkataratnam leaves Elon Musk's company, citing the work culture is not for the faint-hearted. (LinkedIn) Per her LinkedIn profile, Tesla Vice President of Finance and Business Operations, Sreela Venkataratnam, had worked there since early 2013. Her 11-year tenure began as Director of Finance Operation, and two years later, she moved up to the post of Senior Director Finance two years later, ultimately settling at the VP position from June 2019 to June 2024. She announced her exit from the carmaker in a LinkedIn post two days ago. Although proud of her achievements, accompanied by the company's growth over the years, she finally confirmed her departure, writing this week: After 11 incredible years, I bid farewell to Tesla. Reflecting on this journey, it has been nothing short of extraordinary. Mapping out her projects since her early days in Tesla, when it was a company with less than $1B in yearly revenues, a market cap of ~$4B and less than 3000 cars delivered in a year, she proudly professed to be one of only two women VPS in the company. Observing the Elon Musk carmaker's trajectory, she also said: I am proud of how much weve achieved together. Also read | Who was Shyamala Gopalan? Kamala Harris honours brilliant mother in emotional DNC speech Sreela Venkataratnam's LinkedIn post (1). Tesla's former CFO responds to the post Jason Wheeler, Tesla's former CFO, joined in to express appreciation for Venkataratnam's decision in the comments. You did it right, Sreela. Congrats on an amazing run at a company that wasn't always easy to work at. Bravo! The former Tesla VP expressed her gratitude to Wheeler and agreed with him. It is definitely not for the faint of heart! It was great working with you especially during those tough days! As it turns out, Venkataratnam clearly needs some time away from the hectic commotion and mind-numbing exhaustion. Her LinkedIn post confirms that she will take a break before seeking new professional opportunities. Sreela Venkataratnam's LinkedIn post (2) Jason Wheeler, Tesla's former CFO, responds to Sreela Venkataratnam's post. Venkataratnam's departure comes months after the company slashed over 10% of its workforce. In April, the Tesla Motors CEO also told the employees that the company needed to be absolutely hard core about headcount and cost reduction. Other senior Tesla employees who parted ways in the recent past In addition to the mass layoffs happening in the background, several other senior executives walked out on their own accord. Also read | Elon Musk foreclosing on $13m LA home of Willy Wonka actor; owners say no tragedy here because A former Tesla employee who'd previously been attached to the brand for nearly eight years told Business Insider that their lack of faith in Musk's leadership fuelled their exit. Despite their initial confidence in his and the company's vision, their view about them eventually dwindled. The person even went as far as claiming that he was pretty hands-off for some of 2023 and that it was radio silence for a bit from Musk" once he took over Twitter. Later, he turned his attention back to Tesla and sent out an email about taking an active part in approving all hiring. One of the statements from this former employee's account matches that of Venkataratnam and Wheeler, as they also highlighted how Tesla's breakneck pace can be exciting, but it can also get exhausting. Similarly, Drew Baglino, the company's former senior vice president of powertrain and electrical engineering, also announced that he was leaving Tesla earlier this year. He had been associated with Musk's business for 18 years. "I made the difficult decision to move on from Tesla after 18 years yesterday. I am so thankful to have worked with and learned from the countless incredibly talented people at Tesla over the years. I loved tackling nearly every problem we solved as a team and feel gratified" he tweeted on X, formerly Twitter. Around that time, Tesla's vice president of public policy and business development, Rohan Patel, also exited. He told TechCrunch that he had quit due to overall changes at the company. Donald Trump targetted Kamala Harris after she accepted her party's nomination for president at Democratic National Convention (DNC) on Thursday by calling for an end to the Gaza War and the fight against tyranny worldwide. Kamala Harris accused Donald Trump of embracing tyrants and declared, I know where I stand and where the United States belongs in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny. Harris accused Trump of embracing tyrants and declared, I know where I stand and where the United States belongs in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny. Both anti-Israel and pro-Palestine demonstrators protested this week against the Biden administration's lack of support to ensure Gaza ceasefire. However, Harris has now made a commitment to protect Israel, free the captives from Gaza, and put an end to the war. She also emphasized on the sufferings of Palestinians. Now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done, she asserted, vowing to always stand up for Israels right to defend itself. She underscored that it is devastating what has transpired in Gaza throughout the last ten months. Calling the scale of suffering heartbreaking, Harris mentioned: So many innocent lives lost, desperate hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are release, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination. Trump claps back at Harris In a series of disparaging remarks, Harris accused Trump of not standing up for the middle class, of preparing to raise taxes through his proposed tariffs, and of having initiated the end of the constitutional right to an abortion through his nominees to the US Supreme Court. Trump, who earlier vowed to react to her speech in real time, shared a number of remarks on Truth Social. Mocking her rival, he said she stands for incompetence and Weakness, adding that Our Country is being laughed at all over the World! Also Read: Kamala Harris storms DNC stage to give biggest speech of her career, pays tribute to extraordinary Biden Reacting on US VP's remarks on Israel, he wrote: SHE HATES ISRAEL - Wouldnt even show up to Congress for Netanyahus session! This was in reference to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's last US visit, where he addressed the US Congress in absence of Harris. Trump reminds radical Marxist Harris that she has only 4.5 months left In another post, labelled Harris as radical Marxist. She just called to give all Illegals CITIZENSHIP, SAY GOODBYE TO THE U.S.A.! SHE IS A RADICAL MARXIST! Trump had one question for Harris shortly after her keynote address at the DNC. Why didn't she do the things she's complaining about? Trump wondered. On the border issue, he said, She could do it tonight by leaving the auditorium and going to Washington, DC, and closing the border. She doesn't need a bill. I didn't have a bill. I closed the border. He further quipped she has 4.5 months left in the office, predicting his win in the November elections. On a pivotal night at the Democratic National Convention, 17-year-old Gus Walz captured the nations attention with a simple yet powerful gesture. As his father, Tim Walz, accepted the vice-presidential nomination, Gus stood up, teary eyed and proudly declared, Thats my dad, adding, I love you, Dad. It was a touching moment that resonated with millions, but behind the scenes, Guss journey has been anything but easy. Gus Walz applauds for his father Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Aug. 21, 2024. (AP) Gus is a high school senior. His parents recently disclosed to People magazine he has a non-verbal learning disorder, ADHD and an anxiety disorder. But they called his condition his secret power and said hes brilliant and poised for success. He got his drivers license last fall. Also Read: Gus Walz vs Baron Trump drama turns into a nasty online slugest Actor Jeremy London defends Gus Walz Actor Jeremy London was one of the first to stand up for Gus as he faced trolls, saying this fight just got personal' in a viral video. Jeremy London offered a tearful message to the digital world describing why protecting the 17-year-old, who has a non-verbal learning disorder, ADHD, and an anxiety disorder from the harm of hateful commentary. You guys know that weve been raising our grandbaby Kingston. But what I havent ever mentioned, because it just simply doesnt matter in the big picture of things, is that hes also nonverbal, and hes autistic, and [there are] challenges to raising him that I didnt have with my other sons, London said. But I wouldnt trade it for the world. This babys my hes my life. Hes my world. Im telling you right now, if anybody says anything mean about Gus, Im not gonna be nice anymore. What is nonverbal learning disability ? Nonverbal learning disability (NVLD) affects a person's visual-spatial skills, making everyday tasks like reading maps, following directions, and recognizing social cues difficult. Gus was diagnosed with nonverbal learning disability (NVLD) during his teenage years. Social situations, with their unwritten rules and subtle cues, often present significant challenges for patients like Gus. While they can be incredibly articulate and excel in verbal communication, the world around such persons can be a confusing maze. Hence, nonverbal doesn't mean they can't speak. Understanding sarcasm, reading body language, and integrating knowledge across different subjects can become increasingly challenging for them. Gus's presence at DNC and remarkable gesture has not just triggered hate and bigotry but also spread awareness about the disease, forcing many like Jeremy London to come forward and support the cause. WASHINGTON Recent polls show that Republicans are more likely than Democrats to have a favorable opinion of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who suspended his presidential campaign on Friday and gave his support to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. What polling shows about Americans' views of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. During a speech made in Arizona, Kennedy cited concerns that continuing his campaign would help Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. Kennedys support appeared to have declined in recent polls as he struggled to find his political lane in a race reshaped by the departure of Democratic President Joe Biden and Harris nomination in his place. The developments left relatively narrow room for Kennedys presence or departure to make a difference in the election outcome. Recent polls dont give a clear indication that Kennedys presence in the race had an outsized impact on support for either major-party candidate. While some polls earlier in the year put Kennedys support in the double digits, his support hovered in the mid-single digits in most recent polls. Its unclear if Kennedy would have even received that level of support in the general election, since third-party candidates frequently dont live up to their early poll numbers when voters actually cast their ballots. Partisan appeal In recent months, Americans overall have been split in their views of Kennedy, 70, the son of former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. About as many people had a favorable as unfavorable view of Kennedy, according to a July -NORC poll that was conducted before Biden dropped out of the presidential race last month. That marked a decline from February, when more had a positive than negative view of Kennedy, and about 3 in 10 did not have an opinion. In the most recent poll, about 2 in 10 U.S. adults didnt know enough about Kennedy to give an opinion. Republicans were significantly more likely than Democrats and independents to have a favorable view of Kennedy. And those with a positive impression of Kennedy were more likely to also have a favorable view of Trump than Harris . Kennedy also struggled to endear himself to political independents. Although he was running as an independent presidential candidate, polling showed about 4 in 10 independents did not know enough to form an opinion. Those who did were divided equally between favorable and unfavorable opinions. The base of support Kennedy's appeal largely rested on being an alternative to the match-up many Americans dreaded when Biden was facing Trump in a rematch of the 2020 election won by Biden. A Pew Research Center poll from July found that about half of voters who were supporting Kennedy said the main reason they backed him was because he was neither Biden nor Trump, compared with about 3 in 10 who listed Kennedy's characteristics or policies. Harris move to the top of the Democratic ticket may have further harmed Kennedys prospects. An August Pew poll suggested that Harris had gained support at Kennedys expense. She appeared to have received the support of some women and non-white voters who previously were considering Kennedy. About that family name Kennedys initial pitch was largely focused on his family name and his relation to other famed Kennedys, including his father and his uncle, former President John F. Kennedy. CNN polling conducted last summer when RFK Jr. was running for the Democratic nomination found that many Democrats said theyd consider supporting him because of the Kennedy name or his family connections. Many members of the Kennedy family endorsed Biden before he withdrew from the race. John F. Kennedy remains the most highly rated former president in Gallups retrospective approval ratings, and his appeal crosses party lines. Nine in 10 Americans approve of how Kennedy, a Democrat, handled his job as president, according to data from last summer, with Democrats, independents and Republicans in agreement. News of Robert Kennedys withdrawal comes a little over a week since a New York judge ruled that he should not appear on the ballot in the state because he listed a sham address on nominating petitions. Kennedy appealed the ruling, but has faced several similar challenges around the country. __ This story originally ran Aug. 22, 2024. It was updated Aug. 23, 2024, to add that independent candidate RFK Jr. suspended his campaign and is supporting former President Donald Trump. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Maya Harris, a lawyer and public policy advocate, stunned the audience with her surprising appearance at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), supporting her elder sister Kamala Harris' 2024 presidency bid. Maya Harris, attorney and sister of Kamala Harris, speaks on the fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 22, 2024. (AFP) Maya kicked off her speech by discussing the values their late Indian-origin mother, Dr Shyamala Gopalan Harris, instilled into them. Kamala Harris says she miss her mother everyday as Maya reflects on mom's journey Not just Maya, even Kamala too paid tribute to her mother, who she said was 19 years old when she crossed the seven seas alone and arrived in California from India. The US VP said she entered America with an unshakable dream to be the scientist who would cure breast cancer. I miss her every day, and especially right now - and I know she's looking down, smiling, the Democrat said. When she finished school, she was supposed to return home to a traditional arranged marriage, but as fate would have it, she met my father, Donald Harris, a student from Jamaica. They fell in love and got married, and that act of self-determination made my sister, Maya, and me, she added. Recalling how their mother immigrated to the US from India in search of a better life, Maya said it was their mother who pushed them to be the authors of our own stories. Mommy's journey, and the opportunity that she wanted for Kamala and me - that's a distinctly American story, she stated. She added that their late mother would express her pride in Kamala if she were present here at DNC. Then, without missing a beat, she'd say, 'That's enough. You've got work to do.' Maya claimed that Kamala, like many Americans, is familiar with what it's like to be the underdog in the United States. Taking a jab at Donald Trump, She remarked, Where others want to drag us back to the past. My sister says, hold up we are not going back. Kamala knows what it's like to be underestimated and be counted out. She knows what it's like to be the underdog, and yet still beat the odds, and now she has created so much electricity, so much optimism, so much joy throughout the nation. And it is why we need her leadership in this historic moment, Maya concluded. Who is Maya Harris? Maya Harris, the younger sister of Kamala, was born two years after the US VP. 57-year-old Maya is the sole sibling of her sister Kamala. She is a writer, speaker, policy advocate, and attorney who served as head of Kamala's presidential campaign in 2020. Maya went on to work as a national surrogate for the Biden-Harris ticket after her Kamala was selected as Joe Biden's running mate. She also served as a key advisor to Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2016. Maya and her spouse, Tony West, reside in both California and New York. Also Read: Joe Biden's farewell to star-studded event: Sneak peek at 'joyful' DNC as Kamala Harris' real test just begins Internet reacts at Maya Harris' DNC appearance Reacting to Maya's DNC appearance, one X user wrote: So I just fell in love with Maya Harris and I'm ready to call her the First Sister. She is an inspiration to us all, another wrote. Their mother knew just what she was doing when she raised such fine intelligent poised classy women! a third user wrote. While some called her beautiful, others hailed her for being a great speaker at DNC. She was most impressive and a natural speaker. I enjoyed seeing her watching her sister as she gave the most important speech of her life, one more user reacted. Kamala Harris paid an emotional tribute to her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention. Calling her a brilliant woman, the vice president honoured Gopalan in an empowering speech Thursday night. The Democratic presidential nominee was filled with emotions as she recalled her mother's impactful journey before her passing in 2009. FILE - San Francisco's new district attorney, Kamala Harris, right, with her mother Dr. Shyamala Gopalan holding a copy of The Bill of Rights, receives the oath of office from California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald M. George, left, during inauguration ceremonies, Jan. 8, 2004, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/George Nikitin, File)(AP) Who was Shyamala Gopalan Harris? Gopalan played a major role in establishing Harris' connection to her Indian heritage. She was born and raised in the Indian city of Chennai (then Madras) before relocating to California. Earning her doctorate by the age of 25, she went on to become a prominent breast cancer researcher. My mother was 19 when she crossed the world alone, travelling from India to California with an unshakable dream, Harris said during her keynote address, adding, She taught us to never complain about injustice but to do something about it. ALSO READ: Trump denies claims Queen Elizabeth found him very rude, says he was her favourite president Following her move to the US, Gopalan enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, where she met Harris father, Donald Harris. The couple married in 1963 and divorced in 1971. Following their separation, Gopalan raised her two daughters, Kamala and Maya. When she finished school, she was supposed to return home to a traditional arranged marriage, but as fate would have it, she met my father, Donald Harris, a student from Jamaica. They fell in love and got married, and that act of self-determination made my sister, Maya, and me, Harris said. Recounting her mother's struggles with racism as a person of colour, Harris said, My mother was a brilliant 5-foot-tall brown woman with an accent. As the eldest child, I saw how the world would sometimes treat her. But my mother never lost her cool. Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear sword of Damocles, hanging by the slenderest of threads, capable of being cut at any moment by accident or miscalculation or by madness, the American president told the world, friend and foe alike. Why Is the US Fighting Nuclear Threats Behind Closed Doors? That was John F. Kennedy, speaking to the United Nations in 1961, in one of his many public entreaties to Americas adversaries and all humankind to limit the insanity of atomic warfare. His predecessor had started seizing the high ground in the nuclear age with bold ideas for controlling these diabolical weapons, and other presidents would continue, in time leading to arms-control and test-ban treaties, and helping to avert nuclear holocaust. Joe Biden also used to speak regularly and urgently about the dangers of nuclear proliferation and war. But that was when he was vice president, and apparently moving toward endorsing an official US policy of no first use, a doctrine to which only China among the worlds nine atomic powers subscribes today. Since becoming president, though, Biden has largely been silent on the subject. So has his vice president and possible successor, Kamala Harris. Instead, Biden has apparently given classified instructions to the Pentagon to prepare for a new approach, based on deterring that is, being able and determined to retaliate against a concerted nuclear attack by Russia, China and North Korea. That policy shift occurred this spring, before he passed the baton in the presidential race to Harris. The reasons for the new strategy are fathomable, and yet the new approach by Biden and Harris is wrong. Secret armaments or doctrinal shifts without public messaging will only make adversaries more paranoid and a full-on arms race all but inevitable, raising the risk of miscalculation by someone, somewhere, somehow. Bidens decision does make a narrow kind of sense because the world has changed for the worse since his time as vice president. Russia has walked away from the last remaining arms-control treaty and broken taboos by threatening the tactical use of nukes in the context of its invasion of Ukraine. China is adding to its arsenal as fast as it can, with the goal of achieving parity with the US and Russia in a decade or so. North Korea is adding to its stockpile. And Iran is poised to break out and build nukes at short notice. Even more ominously, all four authoritarian powers, despite their differences, are increasingly behaving as an axis. Theyre supporting one another diplomatically, economically and militarily, and aligning against the United States and what it stands for. Washington is becoming anxious that they could, in the course of escalation in any given Eurasian conflict, coordinate a nuclear strike against the US or its allies. This frightening scenario has some American policymakers arguing that the US needs to enter and win a new arms race, with warheads and launch technologies that will in sum always match or exceed not only the arsenal of Americas only nuclear peer, Russia, but the combined forces of those four horsemen of the atomic apocalypse. The cognoscenti of arms control counter that such a nuclear build-up would be foolish. Not only would it be economically ruinous and divert resources from Americas non-nuclear military might. It would also be pointless, because in a nuclear war the absolute number of warheads stops mattering once you can convince any and all enemies that you could annihilate them even after they hit you first. America has that capability several times over. Bidens secret shift this year does not yet amount to launching such an arms race. That would have to go through Congress and survive the mother of all budget fights. Instead, his orders can only pertain to the way the Pentagon thinks about the roles of its bombers, submarines and intercontinental missiles in responding to a concerted enemy attack, and also the American warheads in Europe that allied countries would drop from their aircraft. Theres nothing wrong with such strategizing per se; in military matters as in life, readiness is all. The problem is that neither Biden nor Harris nor Donald Trump, for that matter is talking publicly about these apocalyptic scenarios and choices as Eisenhower, Kennedy, Reagan and other presidents once did. In this election cycle, the foreign-policy controversy that hogs most attention is the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, but that couldnt escalate to nuclear war. You might think nukes would merit some sermons from the bully pulpit. The more important audiences are in Beijing, Moscow and Pyongyang, but especially in Zhongnanhai. The Chinese have so far rebuffed American overtures to begin earnest negotiations on nuclear arms control. Officially, they maintain their stance of no first use, but Washington is skeptical whether they still mean it. Their nuclear build-up could mean that they want to assure themselves a second-strike capability. It could also suggest that they want options if a conventional attack on Taiwan risks failing. By lining up with his Russian and North Korean counterparts, President Xi Jinping also seems to be calculating that hes building, and indeed leading, a new anti-American front in preparation for a multipolar world order with Chinese characteristics. Biden broached these concerns privately during his meeting with Xi in California last fall. But nothing has really come of it. So its time for him, Harris, Trump and others to exhort Xi and the world loudly and publicly. No Chinese leader can rationally desire a nuclear arms race against the worlds strongest economy. And everybody can agree that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. Biden and Harris must remind Americans and their adversaries alike about whats at stake. They could signal good faith by matching Chinas pledge of no first use. And they must resume preaching what Kennedy said that time at the UN: Nuclear weapons must be abolished before they abolish us. More From Bloomberg Opinion: This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Andreas Kluth is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering US diplomacy, national security and geopolitics. Previously, he was editor-in-chief of Handelsblatt Global and a writer for the Economist. /opinion This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Chicago, Kamala Harris has said that, if elected the commander-in-chief of the US, she will ensure that the country always has the strongest and most lethal fighting force in the world, Israel has the ability to defend itself and Ukraine and NATO allies are not abandoned. Will ensure America always has strongest, most lethal fighting force: Harris Harris, 59, made these remarks as she formally accepted the Democratic Party's presidential nomination to take on Republican rival and former president Donald Trump in the November 5 election. In her address to the Democratic National Convention here on Thursday, she said that she would never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend American forces and the country's interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists. "And I will not cosy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim-Jong-Un, who are rooting for Trump. Because they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favours. They know Trump wont hold autocrats accountablebecause he wants to be an autocrat, Harris said. "As President, I will never waver in defence of Americas security and ideals. Because, in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I standand where the United States of America belongs, she said. Harris said as Vice President, she has confronted threats to security, negotiated with foreign leaders, strengthened alliances, and engaged with brave troops overseas. As Commander-in-Chief, I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world. I will fulfil our sacred obligation to care for our troops and their families, she said. "And I will always honour, and never disparage, their service and their sacrifice," she said. Trump, on the other hand, threatened to abandon NATO. He encouraged Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade America's allies, she said. Trump said Russia could do whatever the hell they want", she alleged. Harris said five days before Russia attacked Ukraine, she met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to warn him about Russias plan to invade. "I helped mobilise a global response over 50 countriesto defend against Putins aggression. And as President, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies, she said. On the disastrous Gaza war, she said: "President Biden and I are working around the clock. Because now is the time to get a hostage deal and ceasefire done. Let me be clear: I will always stand up for Israels right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself." "Because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that the terrorist organisation Hamas caused on October 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival," she said. What has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating, the Vice President said, referring to the unprecedented terror attack by Hamas. "So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking, she said. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realise their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination, Harris said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text. Former bureaucrat and YouTuber, Orya Maqbool Jan, who is critical of the Pakistan Army, has been arrested for allegedly inciting religious hatred and defaming institutions, particularly the military. Former bureaucrat and YouTuber, Orya Maqbool Jan, who is critical of the Pakistan Army has been arrested for allegedly inciting religious hatred and defaming institutions. (Facebook/Orya Maqbool Jan) Jan, 72, was placed under the custody of the Federal Investigation Agencys (FIA) cybercrime wing for four days on August 22, following a raid on his residence in Lahore. A playwright, poet, columnist, and former civil servant, Jan has over one million subscribers on his YouTube channel. He was previously detained by intelligence agencies for several days due to his outspoken criticism of the military's political role and his support for the imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan. Former Punjab provincial minister Mehmood-ur-Rasheed suggested Jan as a candidate for Punjab caretaker chief minister with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in 2018. However, this proposal sparked significant criticism on social media due to Jans controversial reputation. PTI spokesperson Fawad Chaudhry had confirmed the consideration but later retracted it, leading to Jan being dropped from the list. Jan's visa application to Norway was rejected that year because of his critical remarks about the Ahmadiyya and Jewish communities. During his tenure as deputy commissioner in Balochistan, Jan was recognised for his positive portrayal of the Taliban. In 2019, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) imposed a 30-day ban on Jan's show Harf-i-Raaz on Neo TV due to rule violations. He was accused of making derogatory remarks about Pakhtuns and interviewed a spokesperson for the Afghan Taliban, discussing their views on Pakistans domestic and foreign policies. Why is Orya Maqbool Jan in controversy? Jans lawyer, Mian Ali Ashfaq argued that his client had not insulted anyone and claimed that the charges against him are false and baseless, reported Dawn. Jan is alleged to have made remarks in a social posts related to the Mubarak Sani case. On February 6, Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa overturned Mubarak Sani's conviction, which had been based on the Punjab Holy Quran (Printing and Recording) (Amendment) Act of 2019. The court had said that the alleged offence was not criminalised until 2021, leading to the conviction being set aside and Sanis immediate release. This ruling sparked what was described by the government and legal community as a malicious and slanderous campaign against the Chief Justice, prompting the Supreme Court to issue a clarification. Dhaka: Rashed Khan Menon, president of the Workers Party of Bangladesh that was part of the previous government led by the Awami League, was arrested on a murder charge from Gulshan area of Dhaka on Thursday. Anti-riot police deployed during the first day of the non-cooperation movement at Dhaka University campus in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on August 4. (PTI) Dhaka Metropolitan Police issued a brief statement to reporters on Thursday evening that said Menon was arrested on a murder charge filed at New Market police station. The Workers Party of Bangladesh was one of the partners in the 14-party alliance led by former premier Sheikh Hasinas Awami League party. During the Awami Leagues rule, he served as the minister of civil aviation and tourism and later as the minister of social welfare. Menon was recently accused in several cases in connection with the killing of protesters in clashes with law enforcement personnel during the student-led protests that led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5. Hasina stepped down and fled to India following weeks of protests spearheaded by the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement. Since Hasinas ouster, a raft of criminal cases have been filed against her and former ministers with police across the country. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday he hoped they could have "honest" discussions about thorny issues as they held the first call between leaders of the countries in over two years. The formal conversation was the first between the pair since Starmer won power last month, and was also the first official call between a British leader and Xi since March 2022. The chat comes amid a period of strained relations between London and Beijing over espionage allegations and Beijing's tightening control over former British colony Hong Kong. The two remain major trading partners, however, and are both permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. According to a Downing Street readout of the call, Starmer noted hope that he and Xi "would be able to have open, frank and honest discussions to address and understand areas of disagreement when necessary". Such issues include "Hong Kong, Russia's war in Ukraine and human rights," the readout said. China was Britain's fifth-largest trading partner as of 2023, according to UK statistics, but diplomatic relations were icy under Starmer's predecessor Rishi Sunak. Soon after taking office in October 2022, Sunak declared an end to the so-called "golden era" of UK-China relations trumpeted by former prime minister David Cameron. Sunak characterised China as a "systemic challenge" to UK values. Espionage allegations have since presented additional hurdles to repairing relations, with Beijing saying in June that MI6 recruited Chinese state employees to spy for the UK. That came after British police in April charged two men under the UK's counter-espionage Official Secrets Act, accusing them of spying for China. Xi emphasised to Starmer that China aimed to "make mutual benefits and common wins the fundamental tone of China-UK relations", according to state broadcaster CCTV's report of the phone call. His comments also appeared to call for resetting the relationship. "China is willing to conduct equal dialogue with the UK side on the basis of mutual respect... (and) expand cooperation in the fields of finance, green economy, artificial intelligence, etc," Xi was quoted as saying. Xi also congratulated Starmer on becoming prime minister following his Labour party's thumping general election win over the Conservatives on July 4, CCTV said. Chinese Premier Li Qiang was the first senior leader from the country to publicly congratulate Starmer, two days after the Labour leader entered office. Friday's phone call -- which CCTV said came at Starmer's invitation -- is the first to be reported between top Chinese and British leaders since Xi spoke with former prime minister Boris Johnson on March 25, 2022. Xi told Starmer that "China attaches great importance to the UK side's wish to strengthen contact and dialogue", CCTV said. He added that China is "willing to maintain exchanges with the United Kingdom at all levels, promote the steady and long-term development of China-UK relations, and work together to promote world peace and development". The Downing Street readout said the leaders discussed "potential areas of cooperation... including on trade, the economy and education" and "agreed on the importance of close working in areas, such as climate change and global security". The statement added they also agreed "on the need for a stable and consistent UK-China relationship, including dialogue between their respective foreign and domestic ministers". The Guardian newspaper reported earlier this month that Britain's top diplomat, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, is planning to visit China in September. In Lebanon's biggest public hospital, nurses are busy honing their life-saving skills as the spectre of all-out war looms, 10 months into intensifying clashes between Hezbollah and Israel over the Gaza war. "We are in a state of readying for war," nurse Basima Khashfi said as she gave emergency training to young nurses and other staff at the hospital in Beirut. "We are currently training employees -- not just nurses, but also administrative and security staff. "With our current capabilities, we're almost prepared" in case of a wider war, she told AFP. Lebanon has been setting in motion public health emergency plans since hostilities began, relying mostly on donor funds after five years of grueling economic crisis. The threat of full-blown war grew after Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement vowed to avenge the killings last month, blamed on Israel, of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and top Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in south Beirut. "We're training to handle mass casualty incidents and to prepare for disasters or war," said Lamis Dayekh, a 37-year-old nurse undergoing training. "If war breaks out, we'll give everything we have." The cross-border violence has killed nearly 600 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but including at least 131 civilians, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, including in the annexed Golan Heights, 23 soldiers and 26 civilians have been killed, army figures show. In a building next to the hospital, where the emergency operations center is located, health ministry officials are busy typing away, making calls and monitoring news of the war in Gaza and south Lebanon on large television screens. "This is not our first war and we have been ready every time," said Wahida Ghalayini, who heads the center, active since hostilities began in October. She cited a massive 2020 Beirut port explosion, Hezbollah and Israel's 2006 conflict and Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war. The health ministry's plan includes a helpline for those already displaced by war, an assessment of hospital needs, disaster training for staff and a mental health module. The emergency room coordinates with rescue teams and hospitals in Lebanon's south. The plan prioritises hospitals based on their location. The "red zone", at high risk of Israeli strikes, comprises Hezbollah's strongholds in the country's south, east and Beirut's southern suburbs. But despite Lebanon's long history of civil unrest and disasters, the public health sector now faces an economic crisis that has drained state coffers, forcing it to rely on aid. "We need lots of medical supplies, fuel, oxygen... the Lebanese state has a financial and economic problem," said Ghalayini. The state electricity provider barely produces power, so residents rely on expensive private generators and solar panels. Most medical facilities depend on solar power during the day, she said, pointing to panels atop the adjacent hospital's roof and parking lot. Lebanese Health Minister Firass Abiad said the country had enough drugs and medical supplies to last at least four months in case of a wider war. "Efforts to increase readiness follow the (Israeli) enemy entity's threat of expanding its aggression," Abiad said in a statement. Last month's strike that killed a top Hezbollah commander targeted a densely packed residential area, killing five civilians and wounding scores more. It tested the readiness of Beirut hospitals in the high-risk Hezbollah stronghold, Ghalayini told AFP. As Israel threatens full-scale war, Lebanon is also looking to health workers in Gaza for emergency planning strategies, she said. "We are observing the Gaza emergency centre... to learn from them," she said, pointing at television footage of bloodied patients at a hospital in Gaza, where the death toll has sparked mounting concerns. For 25-year-old nurse Mohamed Hakla, the prospect of war is frightening but "our job is to help others. I will not deprive people of this (help) because of fear". White Lodging and Kimpton Santo, part of IHG Hotels & Resorts' luxury and lifestyle portfolio, are thrilled to announce Kimpton Santo will open on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. Kimpton Santo is located at 431 S. Alamo and stands at the forefront of a new wave of hospitality destinations in the city, offering a truly exceptional luxury lifestyle hotel experience. The property, complete with four luxe food and beverage outlets, creates a new culinary destination alongside the 347 luxury guest rooms and suites that melds the rich history of the area with premier service and modern amenities. Kimpton Santo's stylish guest rooms include 16 spacious suites and the more than 13,000 square feet of conveniently located event space features two ballrooms and a unique outdoor atrium. Kimpton Santo is situated in the heart of San Antonio's burgeoning arts and business communities. Nestled on the border between Downtown and Southtown, Kimpton Santo seamlessly merges a 19th-century historic German-English schoolhouse with sleek, ultra-modern rooms and amenities. Upon arrival guests will experience vintage craftsmanship fused with modernist touches and Spanish-inspired decor. The inspiration behind Kimpton Santo's name stems from the soulful essence of San Antonio's namesake, Saint Anthony, along with the history of the land on which the hotel resides. An unforgettable feature of the property is its eight charming historic guest suites built within one of the historic buildings, complete with stone-clad walls and semi-private patios overlooking a historic courtyard shaded by century-old oak trees. Another historic building was recreated into Kipton Santo's signature restaurant, Dean's Steak & Seafood. Exclusive Food & Beverage Specials A range of exclusive promotions are available at Kimpton Santo starting August 29, including 50% off dinner, BOGO brunch deals with $1 bottles of bubbly, and a special bounce-back offer. Kimpton Santo's signature restaurant, Dean's Steak & Seafood (DeansSteakandSeafood.com), boasts a stunning two-level dining room with 207 seats, an oyster bar, and a specially curated private wine room, ensuring that every meal is a memorable one. From Thursday Aug. 29, 2024, until Monday, Sept. 30, 2024, Dean's Steak & Seafood will offer guests 50% off the entire food bill during dinner service every Thursday through Sunday. Guests can also enjoy a bottle of bubbly for only $1, with a limit of one bottle per group of two. For brunch, available on Saturdays and Sundays, guests will receive a buy one, get one (BOGO) entree. Kids 10 and under eat for free every breakfast and brunch service. Set to become one of San Antonio's most distinguished open-air venues, Tenfold Rooftop (TenFoldRooftop.com) is offering visiting guests a special treat: a postcard with their final bill, redeemable for 50% off their next visit. This exclusive promotion is available for the first 30 days only and must be used before by Sept. 30, 2024 The hotel is also offering a special Epicurean VIP Package. This package features an overnight retreat that begins with bespoke cocktails at the reservation-only Study at Dean's, followed by a gourmet dinner, and concluding with a refined nightcap while watching the sunset at the rooftop bar. Hotel website Hard Rock Hotel San Diego has announced the appointment of Matt Greene as the new Managing Director. Greene, a seasoned hospitality executive with an impressive track record, returns to the Hard Rock team where he previously served successfully as General Manager from 2008 to 2011. Greene's career spans over three decades in the hospitality industry, with significant roles at prestigious organizations including Highgate Hotels, Evolution Hospitality, and W Hotels. Most recently, he was Executive Vice President of Luxury & Lifestyle Residences at Highgate Hotels, where he oversaw a diverse portfolio of high-end condo-hotels and branded residences, as well as new developments. Prior to joining Highgate, Greene served as Executive Vice President, Lifestyle Operations for Evolution Hospitality. In his role, he managed the Lifestyle hotel portfolio and technical services for a significant number of new developments across the US and Mexico. He also previously served as Senior Director of New Builds & Conversions for W Hotels Worldwide, where he was responsible for over 40 new property developments. In his previous tenure as General Manager at Hard Rock Hotel San Diego, Greene managed the operations of the hotel's 420 rooms and suites, 40,000 square feet of meeting and event space, signature Maryjane's Diner, Float rooftop lounge, and street-level 207 Bar driving significant revenue growth and achieving high employee satisfaction scores. His visionary leadership and aptitude for developing unique programming and creative initiatives make him the ideal candidate to lead the hotel into its next phase of development. As Managing Director, Greene will leverage his historical knowledge and strategic expertise to guide Hard Rock Hotel San Diego through upcoming renovations, new food and beverage concepts, enhanced programming, and more. His return marks a significant milestone for the property, promising renewed energy and a commitment to excellence. EDITION Hotels, a unique collection of one-of-a-kind hotels conceived through a collaboration between visionary hotelier Ian Schrager and Marriott International, announces George Fleck as Senior Vice President and Global Brand Leader. In this role, Fleck will guide the brand through its extensive growth, overseeing all aspects of the brand's culture, training platforms, hotel openings, design evolution, marketing strategy, nightlife programming, and food and beverage concept development. Fleck has been with Marriott International for more than 20 years, including an accomplished span of nearly 15 years with Starwood Hotels & Resorts. Fleck's robust tenure includes brand management, marketing, and sales leadership roles around the world including the Americas, Europe, and Asia Pacific. Fleck dually serves as the Senior Vice President and Global Brand Leader for W Hotels, where he continues to spearhead the brand's global evolution, which is reimagining design, culture, programming, visual identity, food & beverage, and ushering in a new era of W Hotels. Prior to his current role, Fleck was Vice President and Global Brand Leader for St. Regis Hotels & Resorts where he was responsible for redefining and enriching St. Regis' guest experience across its global portfolio of more than 50 hotels and resorts. His skillful leadership fostered owner and investor relations through sustained expansion, alongside a comprehensive oversight of brand design, service delivery, and integrated marketing. Fleck assumes his new role at a critical time for EDITION Hotels, which recently debuted its 20th property in Jeddah. New properties in Lake Como, Dali and Red Sea will follow in 2025. The hotel company has avoided the waste of 30 tonnes of food thanks to its alliance with Too Good To Go, avoiding the emission of 81 tonnes of CO2e. The alliance between the two companies began in November 2019 and is already active in 25% of Melia's hotel portfolio in Spain. The hotels offer daily surprise packs through the Too Good To Go app with a variety of surplus products from their breakfast buffet. The Melia Hotels International hotel group, as part of its determination to develop policies committed to sustainability and the environment, continues to confront food waste in its hotels. In addition to adopting measures to reduce waste in its properties, through its collaboration with the Too Good To Go app, the leading mobile application in the fight against food waste, the hotel group has just reached the figure of 30,000 food packs saved, which represents more than 30 tonnes of food. This positive milestone means that all these food resources have been put to good use, avoiding waste and the emission of 81 tonnes of CO2eq into the atmosphere*. The alliance between the two companies began in November 2019 with a pilot phase in hotels in Barcelona, Madrid, Palma de Mallorca, Seville, the Canary Islands and Malaga. After the good results obtained, the collaboration has been extended and this initiative is currently implemented in 25% of Melia's portfolio in Spain, with the aim of continuing to add more hotels. Thanks to this initiative, users have the opportunity to save surprise packs through the Too Good To Go app with a wide variety of products from the daily breakfast buffets at Melia hotels. As part of its sustainability strategy, Travel for Good, the hotel company has launched various initiatives to promote a responsible supply chain and contribute to the reduction of food waste. These include, among others, the adoption of new demand control technologies to adjust production to the real volume of hotel occupancy, the unification of production kitchens, employee training and customer awareness, as well as the collaboration with Too Good to Go. For Gabriel Escarrer, Chairman and CEO of Melia Hotels International, At Melia, we are committed to a circular and proximity hotel model, essential to reduce waste and minimise our environmental footprint, where reducing food waste is fundamental in our industry. In addition, we focus on raising awareness among our guests about responsible consumption, preventing food waste, adopting healthy habits and promoting local culture through a quality gastronomic offer. According to Marie Lindstrom, general manager of Too Good To Go in Spain, all actors involved in society must join forces in the fight against food waste, as it is a problem that affects us all. We must not forget that in Spain alone almost 8 million tonnes of food end up in the rubbish bin every year and food waste is responsible for up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The commitment and action of big brands like Melia is a great sign that the sector is increasingly involved in achieving a greener planet free of food waste. *Data corresponding to the 'Index Life Cycle' of foods saved through the Too Good To Go app conducted independently by Merieux Nutrisciences | Blonk and validated by experts from Oxford University and WRAP. About Melia Hotels International Founded in 1956 in Palma de Mallorca (Spain), Melia Hotels International has more than 400 hotels open or in the process of opening in more than 40 countries, and a portfolio of nine brands: Gran Melia Hotels & Resorts, ME by Melia, The Melia Collection, Paradisus by Melia, Melia Hotels & Resorts, ZEL, INNSiDE by Melia, Sol by Melia and Affiliated by Melia. The Company is one of the world's leading hotel chains in the leisure segment and its experience in this area has allowed it to consolidate itself in the growing market of urban hotels inspired by leisure. Its commitment to responsible tourism has led it to be recognised as the most sustainable European hotel company according to S&P Global's Sustainability Yearbook 2024, as well as being a "Top Employer 2024" brand in Spain, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Italy, Germany, France and Vietnam. Melia Hotels International is also part of the IBEX 35. For more information, please visit www.meliahotelsinternational.com Nestled amongst a quaint row of shops in Guangzhous West Temple Front Street, Hope & Sesame started when speakeasies were an unknown concept in Guangzhou back in 2016. Founded by EHL Hospitality Business School alumni and successful entrepreneurs Bastien Ciocca and Andrew Ho when they were just 30-year-olds, their unassuming cocktail bar has grown from a hidden gem into one of Asias top bars. Having recently been named the Best Bar in Mainland China (2023 and 2024) by Asias 50 Best, today Hope and Sesame has become a mainstay, not just in Guangzhou, but in the global cocktail scene. The beginning of a partnership The founding of Hope & Sesame was largely a stroke of serendipity. After having built successful careers in luxury hotels in different countries, it was Andrew and Bastiens chance reunion in Guangzhou that changed everything. They both decided to leave the hotel industry to start their own food and beverage (F&B) business. You just have to be open to new opportunities all the time, and when it's the right time, you kind of feel it, Andrew reminisces. They chose Guangzhou for its growth potential due to its increasing consumer demand for diverse and innovative F&B experiences. The pair began their venture by first securing a venue. One key element is the landlord. If they understand what we want to do, its a green light, said Bastien. The venue itself played a role in shaping their decision, since they initially intended to open a restaurant. That was, until they discovered the kitchen wouldnt fit their design. Since Bastien and I both love cocktails, I just thought, why not turn it into a bar then? Andrew recalls. Had the kitchen been larger, maybe theyd be running a Michelin starred restaurant today. No one knows, but that was how Hope & Sesame was born. Located just outside the city centre, the neighbourhood's old-school charm and predominantly older residents inspired them to launch a speakeasy bar. During the day, nobody realizes there's a bar there. Guests have to find the hidden door to enter. Andrew Ho With no other bars or restaurants nearby, they initially depended on word of mouth and events to attract customers. With the crucial support they needed coming from the EHL alumni network. The strong alumni network helped us set up the collaboration between our bar and hotels such as Mandarin Oriental in Beijing and Shenzhen. EHL is a label for trust and quality which has really helped us throughout our journey. Bastien Ciocca As Hope & Sesame gained recognition, other bars began to appear in the neighbourhood, drawing locals and eventually turning the area into a destination for out-of-town visitors. We get a lot of tourists, so now when they visit Guangzhou, they see the TV Tower, the museums, and they go to Hope & Sesame. Andrew From bootstrapping, to Chinas best bar While Andrew and Bastien now run several bars, Hope & Sesame holds a special place in their hearts. It was their first venture together in a city that was relatively new to both of them; Andrew was from Hong Kong and Bastien from Switzerland. It was also a business they bootstrapped with their own funds. We did not raise [funding] once. We just depleted our bank accounts, jokes Andrew. However, there was also a practical reason for not raising funds. If you have an investor, you're basically just working for the investor. If so, then why don't I just work in a hotel? So we decided that this has to be only ours, in order for us to execute our vision. To which Bastien adds, That also gave us a lot of motivation to find solutions, and in the end it worked. As they expanded, their strategy of keeping financial and creative control hasnt changed. This means that for subsequent brands like Bar SanYou and DSK Cocktail Club, Andrew and Bastien continue to maintain ownership, with the support of some close friends and family as partners. In the first four years of bootstrapping their operation, they worked every single day, and as Andrew recalls, We did everything, from cleaning the toilets to making drinks. As it happened, their first year at EHL, particularly the Annee Preparatoire (AP), had already well-prepared them for this aspect of their business. As the AP builds essential operational skills, fostering resilience and mastery in customer-centricity, adaptability, and agilitycrucial for any hospitality business. On creating winning concepts Thanks to their hospitality training at EHL and their extensive experience in the hotel industry, Andrew and Bastien were already well-equipped to run a high-end bar. Unlike bartenders whove worked their way up the ranks, the pairs hospitality education provided them with the communication skills and business background necessary to connect with the luxury market. Our international education helped us understand how to create a better bar. Andrew Every business should embrace a sense of locality and cultivate the cultural identity surrounding their venue. Bastien To emphasise the bars distinctive Chinese roots, they focus on using only ingredients from China, especially traditional Chinese liqueurs. For example, when they established Bar SanYou Guangzhou in 2020, they focused heavily on baijiu. With signature cocktails like Moutai Milk Punch, they aim to bridge the gap between baijiu and a younger generation of drinkers but thats not the only reason theyre focusing on baijiu. I think baijius going to be a huge trend, like mezcal and tequila had in the past 10 years. Because consumers are always looking for something new, and they look for something that has culture and quality. Baijiu has all that. Andrew Overcoming the challenges of running a bar Initially, they faced some challenges in finding qualified employees because, as Bastien explains, many of them have not had the chance to see other countries, so our expectations were harder to understand at first. As Andrew explains: Youre working with different kinds of people. Some may not be good at certain things, so you have to motivate them to use the best of their abilities. He also believes that cultivating a brand name employees can admire is crucial for fostering their pride in working for the company. Brands like Four Seasons or Mandarin Oriental are names that people love. If there are issues at work, theyll be more willing to fix them because theyre proud to work there, right? And as Hope & Sesames brand grew, it began attracting EHL students as interns, some of whom eventually transitioned to full-time staff. We see EHL interns being a lot more hardworking, a lot more resourceful. They all have a bit of flair. Theyre a lot more passionate about food and beverage, and for us, that's very important. Andrew Our industry requires flexibility and fast problem-solving, Bastien adds. And we could always count on every EHL intern that joined us. However, the most challenging aspect for the pair is keeping up with the standard of service. People will always need to eat, sleep, travel, but not go to a bar. Its a challenge to ensure that guests have a great time. Things move super fast here; its not easy to stay on trend. Bastien Industry insights and the way forward Andrew firmly believes that trends come and go, but the future of cocktail bars will always be anchored in quality hospitality: You can have the most creative drinks, but once people try it, then that's it. But people come back because they feel like they were treated well. People will always focus on the core, which is service and hospitality. We see a lot of well-designed venues by leading architects, but with no soul, no talents involved in the process. Such venues may struggle to sustain long-term success, Bastien emphasises. Consumers crave connections with brands. Once established, these connections turn customers into ambassadors. Celebrating their eighth anniversary this year with five bars under their belt, the team has also evolved into sought-after bar concept consultants for top hotels across China. Andrew credits their success to the power of delivering good hospitality, and the importance of follow-through. Its about execution, he asserts. Anyone can have ideas and the best bar concept, but if they can't execute it or make it profitable, it doesnt work. That's what separates successful entrepreneurs from the rest. About EHL Group EHL Group is the global reference in education, innovation and consulting for the hospitality and service sector. With expertise dating back to 1893, EHL Group now offers a wide range of leading educational programs from apprenticeships to master's degrees, as well as professional and executive education, on three campuses in Switzerland and Singapore. EHL Group also offers consulting and certification services to companies and learning centers around the world. True to its values and committed to building a sustainable world, EHL Group's purpose is to provide education, services and working environments that are people-centered and open to the world. www.ehlgroup.com EHL Hospitality Business School Communications Department +41 21 785 1354 EHL View source Since 1824, The Shelbourne has been a warm and inviting jewel of hospitality and the setting for some of the most dramatic cultural and political moments in Irish history. Beloved by guests and locals as Irelands living room, The Shelbourne has always reflected the spirit of the city around it, playing a significant role in the literary, social, political, culinary and artistic traditions of Irish society. The hotel is the work of one Martin Burke, a man of means and considerable style who, hailing originally from Tipperary, had ambition to woo genteel customers who wanted solid, comfortable and serviceable accommodation at a fashionable address. Burke found that address with the purchase of three houses located along St. Stephens Green, then as now the grandest square and most fashionable part of Dublin, and located just a short walk from popular shopping and famed landmarks like Trinity College and the National Gallery, Museum and Library. Burke cleverly named the property after William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne and Prime Minister of Great Britain in the late 1700s, to link it to contemporary fame and give an air of ascendency - though not before adding an o. One year after The Shelbourne began welcoming guests, it became the first hotel in Dublin lit by gaslight. Within a quarter century of opening, the hotel grew to its current footprint with the addition of three more adjoining houses: two on St. Stephens Green and one on Kildare Street. And by 1863, The Shelbourne was firmly positioned as the premier address in Dublin accommodating locals and visitors alike. The Shelbourne Exterior The Shelbourne History Happened Here Guests and visitors of The Shelbourne have a unique opportunity to walk through Irish history. The Republican Rising in Ireland of Easter 1916, for instance, was a seminal date for The Shelbourne, whose then-owners, the Jury and Cotton families, remained loyal to the British Crown while some staffers did not. It later emerged that a porter regularly forayed to the rooftop and signaled the movement of troops within the hotel to rebel forces across St. Stephens Green. As fighting broke out over the days that followed, soldiers were garrisoned within The Shelbourne, which came under regular fire. Years later, during the Irish Civil War, The Shelbourne became home to the new army of Ireland, whose constitution committee, including the revolutionary, soldier and politician Michael Collins, held its first meeting at the hotel. Over the course of three months in early 1922, the committee drafted the Irish Constitution in Room 112. Now known as the Constitution Suite, the room is available for private dining occasions, with the original antique table and chairs, creating a unique and captivating setting for up to 22 guests. These days, anyone entering The Shelbourne follows in the footsteps of an impressive segment of the worlds elite, such as Princess Grace of Monaco, John F. Kennedy, Peter OToole, Academy Award-winning director John Ford, Maureen OHara, English novelist and illustrator William Thackeray, and myriad heavyweights of Hollywoods Golden Age like James Cagney, John Wayne, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rock Hudson, Orson Welles, Burl Ives, Robert Taylor, and Rita Hayworth. The hotel has also welcomed many of Irelands musical and literary geniuses such as Count John McCormack, Sean O Riada, Patrick Kavanagh, Brenden Behan, and Seamus Heaney. If all of the above werent enough - and its really just scratching the surface - no less than one of Irelands greatest traditional music groups, The Chieftains, was formed after Sean O Riada suggested it to Paddy Moloney in The Horseshoe Bar at The Shelbourne. The 1922 Constitution Committee in Room 112 The Shelbourne Arrayed for Hospitality Key to the hotels prominence and longevity is the 265 guest rooms, which includes 19 suites. The former are available in five categories, from Heritage Parkview Rooms starting at 194 sq ft, to a variety of Queen Guest Rooms. Meanwhile, suites mark the elegance and luxury of The Shelbourne with generous proportions, lofty ceilings, and separate seating and sleeping areas. All suites are individually designed and meticulously appointed, including those named for illustrious guests such as the John F. Kennedy, inspired by the 35th President of the United States; the Michael Collins, for the leader of the Easter Rising of 1916 and co-founder of the Irish Free State; and the Eamon De Valera, named for the 3rd President of Ireland, who played a leading role in introducing the countrys Constitution. The top of the line Heritage Suite is the Princess Grace Suite, named for Princess Grace of Monaco, nee Grace Kelly. The American actress, turned royalty, frequented The Shelbourne with her husband Prince Rainier and developed an attachment to Room 270 and its view of St. Stephens Green. The luxurious two-bedroom/two bathroom suite offers elegant furnishings, a separate living room, dining room sized for up to 8 people, separate pantry, along with memorabilia and a library of books celebrating the life of the Princess. And quite a life it was. All guest rooms and suites at The Shelbourne are arrayed with exquisite comforts, stylish design elements, and conveniences desired by contemporary travelers. Picture pillowtop mattress, 300-thread-count Egyptian cotton bedding, marble bathroom, work desk, in-room safe, hair dryer, alarm clock, mini-bar, plush robes and slippers, flat-screen television, complimentary Wi-Fi, and more. 1824 Bar The Shelbourne Shall We Dine? The Shelbourne sets an impressive table, and many of them, with six restaurants and lounges celebrating local ingredients and traditional Irish cuisine with a modern twist. Set overlooking St. Stephens Green, The Lord Mayors Lounge is a venerable drawing room tastefully designed with buttercream damask walls, extravagant chandeliers casting a distinctive golden glow, arched passageways, colorful floral displays and more, resulting in a preferred setting for Afternoon Tea. This year, a special 200th Anniversary Tea menu highlights a new selection of pastries inspired by recipes from the 1800s, among them The Peach Melba, originally crafted by French Chef Auguste Escoffier in tribute to Australian soprano Nellie Melba, and The Carrot Cake, playing off an original recipe from the English version of the 1824 cookbook by French restaurateur Antoine Beauvilliers. The Saddle Room, the hotels fine dining restaurant decked out with an open kitchen and lavish Oyster Bar, strikes a balance between formality and relaxation, with dark oak walls, rich splashes of gold, and a menu created with fine Irish ingredients. The perfect setting for business and pleasure, the restaurant is also a destination for group clientele with two private dining spaces including one decorated with cartoons by Martyn Turner, who has worked for the Irish Times since 1971. One of Dublins best-kept secrets, 1824 Bar is the spot for laid-back luxury, a hand-picked selection of whiskey, and unique cocktails served in lead crystal glasses on lush linens. Tucked away at the top of the grand staircase ascending from the lobby, the top-shelf only bar is a snug and sophisticated hideaway open only to hotel guests. Another space at the top of the staircase is The Terrace, a lovely outdoor mezzanine-level plaza with sky-blue views, canopied shelter from the elements, and a menu of classic and contemporary seafood dishes best enjoyed with a glass of bubbly. Its open from early May to the end of September, and this year, will be showcasing fine Champagnes from Laurent-Perrier. The new menu offers a selection of elegant Champagne cocktails, seafood pairing dishes, and a selection of exquisite caviar from around the globe. Our in-house Head Florist, Mary OReilly designed an eye-catching floral installation and living wall that celebrates sustainability and the flora and fauna of St. Stephens Green. A popular meeting spot for everyone from local journalists and politicians to visiting dignitaries and bright-light celebrities, The Horseshoe Bar remains as distinctive as ever, true to its handsome, evocative, and recently restored 1957 design. The bar features prints by English painter William Hogarth, a curved white countertop and brass-trimmed bar, and rich red walls. Finally, The Shelbournes signature hotspot, No. 27 Bar & Lounge, is the place to see and be seen in Dublin, with quite a bit to see of its own, including views of St. Stephens Green through tall, graceful windows, and specially commissioned artworks by Victor Richardson. The menu brims with local classics, from fresh oysters from Irish waters to Knockalara Salad, Kilmore Quay Seafood Chowder, and Bram Stoker Robber Pie inspired by the author of Draculas residency on Kildare Street. Meantime, The Shelbourne was one of the first hotels in Dublin to introduce non-alcoholic cocktails, a tradition that lives on with a fresh N/A menu that debuted earlier this year at No. 27 Bar & Lounge. It includes sober takes on classics such as the Old Fashioned, and new creations combining flavors of grapefruit, tomato and honey, green apple and pistachio, and more. Serene Along the Green The Spa at The Shelbourne is a beloved destination for travelers and locals alike, with a curated menu of treatments from world-class beauty brands. Originally unveiled in 2012, The Spa is an oasis of calm laid out over three floors, with facilities that can only be described as glamorous. They include seven treatment rooms and a lovely relaxation room brightened by elegant chandeliers and a view overlooking St. Stephens Green. There is also The Salon for full-service hairstyling, beauty treatments and manicures, and The Health Club featuring an 18-meter indoor swimming pool warmed to 86F, thermal suites including sauna and steam, a dance studio offering exercise classes led by personal trainers, and a state-of-the-art fitness center. Treatments are keyed to both on-going trends and desires of guests. The Ground Sleep Ritual designed exclusively for The Spa by the luxury Irish beauty brand Ground Wellbeing, for instance, serves to guide the mind and body into deep rest, with the aromas of organic geranium and jasmine to enable healing, reconnection, and self-repair. We were the first hotel in Ireland to partner with Swiss skincare brand, Swissline, one of the few brands that can trace its origins back to cellular therapy, and Elemis, renowned for outstanding results and available through a unique network of spas and salons around the world. Lounge in Princess Grace Suite The Shelbourne A Perfect Setting for Meetings, Events, and Milestone Celebrations For the past two centuries, The Shelbourne has been the scene of some of the most elegant and sophisticated weddings in Ireland, as well as its share of significant meetings and social gatherings, with capability for hosting grand affairs, intimate receptions, and traditional dinners alike. Starting with the famous Shelbourne red carpet, nuptial couples typically head for The Great Room, sized for 348 guests and highlighted by walls hung with extravagant silk damask, or the more intimate and important Constitution Suite, as described above, with space for 22. Additional spaces for gatherings, meetings, and events include The Adams & Deirdre Suites, with room for 80 guests between them; The St. Stephens Suite overlooking its namesake green and sized for up to 60 people; and The George Moore Suite, named for the renowned Irish playwright and novelist, with space for 22 attendees. Whatever the venue, all meeting and events clientele can count on the services of a committed and professional team, including the hotels dedicated wedding specialist and Head Florist Mary OReilly, to ensure that every detail and their every need is addressed to perfection. 200 Years ofIrelands Living Room As mentioned, 2024 marks two centuries of history, elegance, and Irish hospitality for Dublins grande dame. Throughout this monumental year, we are paying tribute to its storied past while looking ahead to another 200 years as the epitome of luxury in the heart of Dublin. Its hard to imagine how many special moments big and small have happened within our walls and in the city over the past 200 years, and yet the hotel continues to innovate and look ahead to the future, setting the standard for Irish hospitality. We are delighted to invite travelers from all over the world to experience the independent spirit that has made The Shelbourne the most inviting address in Dublin since 1824, and look forward to all the special celebrations to come. Reprinted from the Hotel Business Review with permission from http://www.hotelexecutive.com/. Jada Kingdom and Govana offer a Caribbean Music Case Study Learn about the rise of Caribbean Music with a case study of two of its top torch-bearers Jada Kingdom and Govana. by Randi Zimmerman of Symphonic Blog At Symphonic, we pride ourselves on making sure our clients get the most out of our services. Through our global reach, extensive network and tech, in-depth industry knowledge and years of experience, were stoked to have been able to provide hundreds of artists with the resources they needed to get to the next level in their artist journey. Two of those artists are Jamaican dancehall powerhouses, Jada Kingdom & Govana! Heres what we did Case Study: Jada Kingdom & Govana About Jamaican dancehall powerhouses Govana and Jada Kingdom teamed up to release a single titled, Pull Over. This is the second collaboration from these artists following their 2018 track Better Than That. Pull Over is the first single from Govana off his most recent album on Ineffable Records. The song is produced by Chimney Records (Shenseea, Kranium), and theres a music video with both artists to accompany the release. In addition, Jada Kingdom has received acclaim from The FADER, Rolling Stone, Vibe and more for this release. Distribution/Marketing First, we distributed the track to our network of over 200 DSPs to ensure that the single would resonate with audiences worldwide, creating a wave of exposure and engagement. The new single titled Pull Over builds on the success of their previous 2018 hit collaboration, offering fans a familiar and proven musical chemistry that has resonated well in the past. That said, the release also follows a high-profile back-and-forth with another popular dancehall artist, which significantly boosted Jada Kingdoms visibility in the music scene. This heightened attention provided an ideal platform for the new single. In addition, the strategic timing of Pull Over taps into the surge of public interest generated by recent events, ensuring the single reached an audience, eager for new music during this peak period of popularity. Results: 20 playlist adds across major streaming platforms: Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, TIDAL, Audiomack https://youtube.com/watch?v=Uh6XHxqNDNU%3Ffeature%3Doembed Since 2006, we have worked with independent artists, labels, and managers to build and grow their brands and businesses. Alongside our legendary client support team, artists all over the world can get the most out of their music with the help of our technology, music distribution network, royalty management, music monetization services, and music promotion tools. Your team can make or break your success, especially as an independent artist. This success story is a true testament to the power a comprehensive marketing strategy can have in elevating an artists trajectory. With a team that has your back, theres nothing you cant do. Want to see what weve done for other artists? // Check out our other case studies right here. Share on: Friday 23 August 2024, 15:51 - Last updated: 17:53 Pokrovsk is currently the hottest front of the war in Ukraine: Russia is advancing rapidly in the area, and Kyiv is proceeding with mass evacuations (but some residents are reluctant to leave the area, even hiding family members from the authorities). Here is the situation on the eastern front of the war, how far Russia has advanced, Moscow's plan, and possible developments. GBU-39B Bombs: How Ukraine is Cornering Russia in Kursk: How the New Weapon Works Pokrovsk: Where It Is and How Big It Is Pokrovsk, known as Krasnoarmijsk until May 2016, is a medium-small city in eastern Ukraine, located in the Donetsk Oblast. In 2022, it had a population of 60,127 inhabitants, many of whom had already left the city following the start of the large-scale invasion. A small place, therefore, but of great importance for the developments of the war. Why Is It Strategic? Pokrovsk serves as a key hub for the Ukrainian army (and is therefore an important target for Russia). According to CNN, it allows easy access to Kostiantynivka, where another military center is located, and convenient passage to the Chasiv Yar stronghold. Kostiantynivka was already hit by a Russian missile attack on August 9, confirming the importance of these targets for Moscow. The Russian Advance: Here's How Close They Are After capturing the village of Zhelannoye (30 km from Pokrovsk), the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that Russian troops had captured another village in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, Mezhevoye, in the direction of the town of Pokrovsk. Recent Russian advances in the Pokrovsk direction appear to have prompted Ukrainian withdrawals from limited positions southeast of Pokrovsk, and Russian forces have likely failed to achieve their apparent objective of tactically encircling Ukrainian forces in the area. https://t.co/wRDQIhvgLr pic.twitter.com/IU36vlF2CN Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) August 23, 2024 According to geolocated footage from yesterday, August 22, reported by ISW, Russian forces recently seized Ptyche (southeast of Pokrovsk) and advanced further south of the settlement. ISW believes this confirms Russian claims that Moscow's forces had already previously seized the rest of the eastern bank of the Karlivske reservoir in the area. The (Failed) Plan Was to Encircle the Enemy Moscow's original plan - according to ISW - was likely to encircle the opposing forces in the Oblast, but this strategy seems to have failed: Russian advances would have prompted the Ukrainians to withdraw promptly, preventing the success of the project. The confirmation comes from the spokesperson of a Ukrainian brigade operating in the Pokrovsk direction: he acknowledged on August 22 that the Russian advances had encouraged withdrawals to level the front and preserve the lives of Ukrainian personnel. The Mass Evacuation According to CNN, about 600-700 people have been evacuated daily near Pokrovsk in recent times. On Thursday, the national railway network declared that at least 371 people were removed from the area by train (9 carriages were added to accommodate the large crowd). "Don't wait. It won't get better, it will only get worse. Leave," warned local official Yurii Tretiak, head of the Myrnohrad military administration. But despite the imminent danger, Tretiak stated that many people are still reluctant to leave. Parents Hide Their Children But the most determined residents even hide their children from local authorities, prompting the military to conduct home visits. "We have cases where parents hide their children. Today (August 20), we will have a meeting with the police to discuss how to work with these people," concluded Tretiak. Among those who wish to stay is Evheniya, a 65-year-old woman living in Pokrovsk who worked as a chef in a local restaurant. She told CNN that she hears the sound of explosions at night but has no intention of leaving the city. "At night, I hear explosions and sit in my bed. It's so scary when you're alone. I wait for it to calm down, and as soon as I lie down, it starts again," she confessed. Winning in Pokrovsk to Forget Kursk Since the start of the Ukrainian invasion in Kursk, ISW has noted that Moscow's leadership has launched a communication campaign to minimize, in the eyes of the Russian public, the effects of the invasion by Kyiv's forces. Moscow's strategy would therefore be to give maximum priority to Russian offensive operations on the eastern front (with the advance towards Pokrovsk and Toretsk) to reduce the impact (including media) of Ukrainian successes in Kursk, which would have surprised the Kremlin. 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 SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy JD Vance declared himself a never Trump guy in 2016. Now that hes Donald Trumps running mate, the Ohio senators words have come back to haunt him in the form of a viral hit on social media app TikTok. The 22-second long audio clip was created by DJ duo Casa Di and Steve Terrell, who sampled Vances comments from a 2016 Vance interview with Charlie Rose when he was promoting his memoir Hillbilly Elegy. In the clip, Vance can be heard saying: Im a never Trump guy. I never liked him. That sample was added to the Petey Pablo hip-hop beat Freek-a-Leek and the resulting song has proved wildly popular on TikTok, where it has soundtracked more than 8,500 videos in the last month, racking up over 40 million views in total. The clip has also been shared by @KamalaHQ, the official account of the Harris - Walz campaign. The song is not Casa Di and Steve Terrells first encounter with viral fame. Last year, they teamed up with rapper That Chick Angel for One Margarita (Margarita Song), a track that was also initially inspired by a popular TikTok sample. Speaking to The New York Times, Terrell explained that the pair had heard Vance speaking in a clip and found his voice sort of melodic in a sense. Casa Di, whose real name is Carl Dixon, added: We were like, what if we put this to a catchy beat or something? Dixon continued: When Kamala decided to start running, me and Steve were figuring out ways to encourage people to vote or be aware of whats going on. This is our first time doing something as politically charged. open image in gallery JD Vance speaking in Pennsylvania in August 2024 ( Getty Images ) In recent weeks, several politicians have joined TikTok even as a ban on the popular video app looms. Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, Pete Buttigieg, JD Vance and Donald Trump have all joined TikTok as the race ramps up, and they hope to gain favor with younger voters. But the social media app is still embroiled in a contentious legal battle with the US Department of Justice, which is threatening to ban it entirely. In April, President Joe Biden signed a bill that forces the Chinese company ByteDance to either sell their app or be banned from US app stores within a year. TikTok sued in return, arguing the bill unfairly singles it out and violates the First Amendment. Meanwhile, Harris has said shes not in favor of the ban, just new ownership. As the VP has said before, we dont want to ban TikTok, a spokesperson for Harris told NBC News. We would just like to see a change in ownership. 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 Amy Dowden has revealed that her Strictly Come Dancing return was thrown into uncertainty when she had another cancer scare in recent months. In May 2023, the Welsh professional dancer was diagnosed with an aggressive form of stage three breast cancer finding a lump in her breast the day before her Maldives honeymoon with fellow professional dancer Ben Jones. She underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy and fertility treatment in those nine months and was eventually told she had no evidence of disease in February. That journey is documented in a new film, Strictly Amy: Cancer and Me, which follows Dowden from the beginning of her diagnosis as she navigates each stage of her treatment. However, at the end of the documentary, when Dowden finds out she will be well enough to return to Strictly in September after a year off from work, she goes to the hospital for a routine MRI scan and receives worrying news from her doctor. In footage recorded exclusively for the documentary, doctors tell Dowden they have detected a few little dots in the scan that suggest calcification and a change occurring in the breast. Her doctor warned her it could be a sign of breast cancer returning. Dowden, who took the news in her stride, then underwent a biopsy, and told the cameras afterwards: Im feeling really anxious and worried because it obviously brought back memories of everything I went through a year ago. open image in gallery The BBC started recording the documentary just six days after Dowden received her diagnosis ( BBC/Wildflame Productions ) But Ive just gotta try and remain positive and not take myself to those worrying places. In the next clip, Dowden and her husband Ben are given the welcome news that the biopsy showed benign changes there was no cancer detected. When the consultant told us there was no evidence of disease, it felt surreal, Dowden exclaimed. Im so relieved. It feels like Im set free. In another clip, Dowdens mother told the camera: We just want to dance and sing and tell everyone about it. 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 Reflecting on the hardest year of her life, Downden said: In the past year, Ive had a mastectomy, fertility treatment, chemotherapy, sepsis, blood clots, a broken foot and finally its time for me to get back on that dancefloor. open image in gallery Amy Dowden with cold cap on while undergoing chemotherapy treatment in 2023 ( BBC/Wildflame Productions ) The dancer, who first joined the cast of Strictly in 2017, was too ill to compete in last years series of the show, but would regularly make surprise appearances on the show like the time she arrived in a sparkly gown and read out the terms and conditions for the public voting. When Dowdens name was announced in the 2024 line-up for Strictly, she celebrated the news and told her fans that she could not wait to be back doing what she loves the most: dancing. open image in gallery Strictly Amy: Cancer and Me follows Dowden through every stage of her breast cancer treatment ( BBC/Wildfire Productions/Sam Lumley ) My heart is so happy, she wrote. The best team on and off the dance floor. Feel blessed and more excited than ever. Bring it on! Professional dancer Vito Coppola, who will also dance in this years competition, wrote on Instagram about how much the Strictly cast had missed Dowden in the previous season. Beautiful Amy we are so happy to have you back. We have missed you. Be ready because I am going to lift you very high, he said. We love you and I am sure I can speak for all us when I say that it was not same without you. Dowdens friend and fellow Strictly pro Diane Buswell said she was so happy to have the dancer back on the dancefloor where she belongs. Strictly Amy: Cancer and Me airs on BBC One on Monday 26 August at 8pm. She will appear in this years 20th anniversary series of Strictly Come Dancing. 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 Roger Cook, the landscaper who brought his expert problem-solving skills to PBSs popular home renovation show This Old House for nearly 40 years, has died. His death at age 70 was announced on the shows official website. With tremendous sadness, This Old House bids farewell to our friend and longtime landscape contractor, Roger Cook, who passed away on August 21, 2024 after a long battle with illness, a press release said. Cook first appeared on the series during its second season in 1982. He later signed on as the shows full-time landscape contractor from season 10 in 1988. The long-running reality series, which is preparing to debut its 46th season in September, follows a team of experts as they renovate homes. He went on to join its sister series, Ask This Old House, when it debuted in 2002. The spin-off series featured various do-it-yourself projects and answered specific remodeling questions sent in by viewers. Cook simultaneously appeared in both series for years before he officially exited the franchise in 2020 due to health issues. I remember every lesson from Roger, said This Old House executive producer Chris Wolfe. More importantly, there are millions of people whose lives have been enriched by everything Roger taught them. open image in gallery Roger Cook imparted landscaping wisdom on the This Old House franchise for nearly 40 years ( Keller + Keller ) Other colleagues described him as a gentle giant, big-hearted, and Americas landscape legend. Born in 1954, Cook grew up in Burlington, Massachusetts. He attended the University of Maine, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in wildlife management and conservation law in 1977. He later returned to Massachusetts where he became a certified landscape contractor. In 1982, he and his wife Kathleen founded their own landscaping business, K&R Landscape, specializing in plants and hardscaping. 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 Dad spent his entire life helping people friends, family, and customers. One of the biggest regrets with his illness was that he could no longer help people in the same way, Cooks son Jason said in a statement. With that in mind Dad, asked us to set up a family foundation so that we can continue his legacy as a helper going forward. Donations to the Cook Family Giving Fund, which will support wildlife and land conservation, medical research, childhood education, and military veterans, can be given here. Cook was preceded in death by his wife Kathleen, who died from cancer in 2010. He is survived by his son Jason, daughter Molly, brother Greg, daughter-in-law Anna, and three grandsons: Peter, Noah and James. 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 }} India has chosen to stay on the sidelines since its close ally Russia invaded Ukraine, dismissing pressure from Western nations to join in condemnation of Vladimir Putins war while still seeking deeper trade ties with the likes of the US and UK. This tricky balancing act is one that prime minister Narendra Modi is expected to keep up during his visit to Kyiv, the first by an Indian prime minister since the two countries established diplomatic relations over 30 years ago. Mr Modi arrived in Kyiv on Friday, having been in Poland on Thursday for the first leg of his Europe trip. The timing of the visit, during which Mr Modi will meet president Volodymyr Zelensky, has not gone unnoticed: it coincides with Ukraines National Flag Day, commemorating its independence from the Soviet Union. It also comes just over a month after the prime minister met Vladimir Putin in Moscow, inviting criticism from Western capitals as well as Mr Zelensky, who called it a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the worlds largest democracy hug the worlds most bloody criminal on such a day. The same day Mr Modi and Mr Putin were meeting, Russian forces carried out missile strikes across Ukraine that reportedly killed at least 42 people. Vladimir Putin awards Narendra Modi the Order of St Andrew the Apostle at the Kremlin in Moscow ( AP ) Strategic observers say Mr Modis trip to Kyiv is aimed at reassuring Indias Western partners upset over his Moscow visit. And although it is mainly being undertaken for the sake of optics, the trip may present an opportunity for New Delhi to strengthen defence cooperation with Ukraine, which has been providing spare parts for its warships. Modis visit is primarily about providing reassurance to the West after the fallout of the Moscow visit, which coincided with the airstrikes in Ukraine ahead of the Nato summit, Chietigj Bajpaee, a senior research fellow for South Asia at Chatham House, told The Independent. Its a form of strategic signalling by India to the West and Europe in particular which has been more critical of India. Swaran Singh, professor of diplomacy and disarmament at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, argues that Mr Modis trip is not an afterthought after his Moscow summit but rather a way of India showing off its strategic autonomy. Western pressures are important but the decision is fundamentally driven by Indias foreign policy being built on the axis of strategic autonomy. And to demonstrate - even to Moscow New Delhi will have a bear hug with Putin and we will also engage in Ukraine as well, he told The Independent. He also claimed that Mr Modi visiting Ukraine on the eve of its National Day was meant to send a message that India stands with the independence of Ukraine. Narendra Modi meets Vladimir Putin in Moscow on 9 July 2024 ( AP ) In any case, it wont be easy for Mr Zelensky to sway India to his side against Russia. The Ukranian leaderships limited engagement with New Delhi in the past has yielded no significant shift its position, which is largely driven by self-interest. India relies heavily on Russia for weapons and energy supplies, to the point that New Delhi is accused by the West of indirectly funding Moscows war by buying vast quantities of Russian crude oil. These purchases have increased almost 20-fold since 2021. Just before leaving for the trip, Mr Modi said he will "share perspectives" on a peaceful resolution of the war. As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region, he said. Delhi has previously indicated a willingness to give support to resolve the conflict peacefully, but hasnt any plan, unlike rival China, which has proposed a 12-point peace plan. I am sceptical of Indias ability to play the role of a mediator as its self-interest in Russia raises questions about whether it has the means and motivation to play the role of some sort of mediator or peace builder, particularly given its long-standing and close relationship with Russia, Mr Bajpaee said. At most, he added, India could serve as a conduit to relay messages between Moscow and Kyiv and potentially offer a back channel for the West to communicate with Russia. Narendra Modi met Vladimir Zelensky on the sidelines of the last G7 summit ( EPA ) Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in the UK, seemed to agree. Expectation of India playing a role in mediation is too exaggerated, he said. In my view, India has been able to do a balancing act between all these different parties. It has been able to do it reasonably successfully. But that is the extent. Mediation means going far beyond this. This could be because, Prof Singh said, India was wary of making a grand proposal, like Chinas peace plan, that could fall flat on its face. India is being very cautious, very modest, very sublime. It is not making any grand proposals and any claims to do things as yet. I am also hopeful that a more definite wording will appear when Modi speaks in Kyiv, he said. Mr Chaudhury said the West could try and project Mr Modis visit to Mr Zelensky as a victory borne out of its pressure and criticism of his trip to Russia. Russia will understand that this is just for the optics and not much substance. And on Indias policy, there will be no substantive change in its ties with Moscow despite this visit to Ukraine, he said. Vlodomyr Zelensky and Narendra Modi shake hands at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, last May ( Reuters ) At the same time, he pointed out, India could benefit by deepening defence trade with Kyiv. A number of Indian naval vessels rely on Ukrainian engines and spare parts, he explained. If Moscow does object to Mr Modis visit, Mr Bajpaee said, it would manifest in other ways. Putin could deepen or grow outreach between Moscow and Pakistan, for instance, he said. In the worst-case scenario, Russia could lean more in Chinas favour in its border conflict with India. 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 }} At least 14 people were killed, 16 others injured, and several more believed to be missing after a bus carrying dozens of Indian pilgrims drove off a key highway on Friday in Nepal, officials said. The bus veered off the Prithvi Highway and rolled toward a fast-flowing river, stopping on the rocky bank. The top part of the bus was ripped, but the wreckage did not plunge into the Marsyangdi river. Armed police force spokesperson Shailendra Thapa said that among those pulled out of from the bus, 14 were declared dead and 16 were injured in the accident. This photograph provided by Nepal Armed Police Force (APF) shows APF personnel carrying out rescue operation after a bus carrying Indian pilgrims fell into a river near Abukhaireni town, about 75 miles west of the capital, Kathmandu, Nepal, Friday, 23 Aug 2024. (Nepal Armed Police Force via AP) ( Nepal Armed Police Force ) Officials could not yet say how many more were missing or the exact number of people on the bus when it crashed, but they estimated there were some four dozen on board at the time of the accident. Police and army rescuers were helping to pull people from the wreckage near Abukhaireni, a town about 120km (75miles) west of the capital, Kathmandu. At least 29 passengers were rescued from the bus bearing the Uttar Pradesh state number plate UP 53 FT 7623, reported the Times of India newspaper. The bus from neighbouring Indian town of Gorakhpur was heading toward Kathmandu from the resort town of Pokhara on Friday when it drove off the highway midway in the journey. In July, two buses were swept by landslides not too far from Friday's accident site. Of the 65 people on board those two buses, only three survived and only about half the bodies were recovered. The wreckage of those buses have not been found yet but authorities have continued to search. Bus accidents in Nepal are mostly due to poorly maintained roads and vehicles and much of the country is covered by mountains with narrow roads. 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 }} At least 12 police officers have been killed in Pakistans deadliest attack of its kind by bandits in the eastern province of Punjab, officials said. The toll rise by one on Friday after a wounded officer died in hospital. Thursdays attack with guns and rocket-propelled grenades also wounded eight officers. It took place in the Kacha area in Rahim Yar Khan district, which is known for hideouts along the Indus River where hundreds of heavily armed bandits evade police. Punjab police chief Usman Anwar said police killed a bandit leader who was behind the attack named Bashir Shar. In a statement, Anwar said the operation against the robbers is still ongoing, and it will continue until the last bandit is eliminated in the province. Senior police and government officials will attend the funerals of slain officers later Friday. Bandits often rob people traveling on highways in Punjab and elsewhere in the country. Some areas in Punjab are so dangerous that people avoid traveling after sunset to avoid getting robbed, though police have cleared most of the so-called no-go areas. According to police, the bandits ambushed police when one of the vehicles carrying officers broke down while passing through flooded farm fields. Pakistan has been lashed by monsoon rains since July. The attack was denounced by President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who released statements to express sorrow and described the slain officers as martyrs. Pakistan has witnessed a surge in violence, mostly blamed on militants, in recent years but the death of so many police officers in one attack in unprecedented. Police said the robbers took advantage of the darkness to attack police. In a statement, they said that the morale of the police is high, and such cowardly actions by robbers cannot lower the morale of the police. 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 An Indian woman fell into an 8m-deep sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur after a pavement caved in, Malaysian authorities said. The incident happened in the Dang Wangi area of the Malaysian capital that is straddled by the citys two main rivers Klang and Gombak. The parts of the district experienced flash flood on Thursday from the heavy downpour, causing the rivers to overflow, reported the South China Morning Post. Kuala Lumpurs fire and rescue department, which received a distress call early Friday, barricaded part of the area and used an excavator to clear the debris. There were no signs of the victim, who is yet to be identified. We have conducted a manual search but failed to find the victim. We expect to continue with a more extensive excavation in the subsidence area soon, Fire and Rescue Department deputy director Rozihan Anwar Mamat was quoted as saying by Malay Mail. open image in gallery Rescue operation after woman falls into 8m-deep sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur ( EPA ) The search will continue until the victim is found, said local police chief Sulizmie Affendy Sulaiman. He declined to comment when asked about the possible condition of the woman, or the cause of the incident. open image in gallery Rescue operation after woman falls into 8m-deep sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur ( EPA ) The authorities are sifting through the security camera to find more details. At present, we are reviewing CCTV footage and taking witness statements from those present at the scene, Dang Wangi district police chief assistant commissioner Sulizmie Affendy Sulaiman told Bernama, the Malaysian National News Agency. No further details on the exact chronology of the incident can be provided at this time. We will update information once the victim is found, the senior policeman was quoted as saying. 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 Indonesias legislature postponed ratifying changes to the election law amid massive protests on Thursday as demonstrators attempted to tear down the gates of the parliament building in Jakarta. The proposed changes were seen as a move to strengthen the influence of outgoing president Joko Widodo, not least by allowing his 29-year-old son Kaesang Pangarep to run in the Central Java election in November and blocking a critic of his government from running for Jakarta governor. The delay in ratification was due to the lack of quorum and it was uncertain if the changes would pass before registration for regional elections opened. The attempt to change the law sparked widespread protests. The demonstrators accused the government of undermining democracy, leading to fears of a constitutional crisis. This is the peak of my disdain, Afif Sidik, a 29-year-old teacher who joined the protest outside the parliament, told Reuters. This is a republic. Its a democracy, but if its leadership is decided by one person, or an oligarch, we cant accept that. Thousands of protesters demonstrated outside the parliament on Thursday. They displayed banners and props like a mock guillotine with the presidents face. Presidential spokesperson Hasan Nasbi urged for calm even as some protesters threw rocks at the parliament building. Protests were also held in other cities and police used tear gas to disperse demonstrators in Semarang, local media reported. The proposed legal changes were meant to reverse a ruling by the constitutional court on Thursday that would, if enforced, disqualify the presidents son but let another popular candidate run in the forthcoming elections. The changes would also prevent a prominent government critic, Anies Baswedan, from running for governor of capital Jakarta. open image in gallery Indonesians protest against controversial changes to the election law outside the parliament building in Jakarta on 22 August 2024 ( REUTERS ) Mr Widodo claimed the proposed amendments were simply a part of the governments checks and balances. Titi Anggraini, an elections analyst at the University of Indonesia, told the BBC that the parliaments move to reverse the courts decision amounted to constitutional insubordination. This is a robbery of the constitution. Bivitri Susanti from the Jentera School of Law said that the constitutional courts ruling was final and binding. It is not possible for the legislative body to violate the judiciarys ruling. This is a power struggle. Additional reporting by agencies. 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 }} Thailand has confirmed Asias first known case of a new, more dangerous strain of mpox in a European traveller. The patient, a 66-year-old man who arrived from an unnamed African country on 14 August, has tested positive for the Clade 1b variant, which is deadlier and more transmissible. Thailands Department of Disease Control wishes to confirm the lab test result which shows mpox Clade 1b in a European patient, the department said in a statement. The man had minimal contact with other people after he arrived in Thailand and sought medical attention the following day after he experienced symptoms similar to mpox, authorities said. We have monitored 43 people who have been in close contact with the patient and so far they have shown no symptoms, but we must continue monitoring for a total of 21 days, the department said. Earlier, Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, head of the Department of Disease Control, told Reuters: After he arrives from the flight there is very little timeframe where he comes into contact with others. He arrived around 6pm and on the next day, 15 August, he went to see the doctor at the hospital. He had earlier told AFP that the department had done a test and they definitely have mpox and its definitely not Clade 2. We are convinced the person has the Clade 1 variant, but we have to wait to see the final result in the lab for two more days. Thailand previously detected 800 cases of the Clade 2 variant but not any of Clade 1 or Clade 1b. The European traveller had been placed in quarantine after his arrival in Bangkok, and lab tests were conducted to confirm the strain. The department added that anyone travelling to Thailand from the 42 designated risk countries must register and undergo testing upon arrival. Thongchai Keeratihattayakorn, head of Thailands Department of Disease Control, speaks during a press conference in Bangkok on 21 August 2024 ( AFP via Getty Images ) There are two distinct clades or natural groups of the mpox virus: Clade 1 and Clade 2. Clade 2 was responsible for the global outbreak which started in 2022. Clade 1 is considered more severe and is classified as a high consequence infectious disease. The WHO has declared a public health emergency due to a new mpox outbreak in several African nations, with at least three cases now reported outside the continent. More than 17,000 cases and 571 deaths have been confirmed in Africa so far this year. In Thailand, authorities have mandated that all international airport disease control checkpoints and ports, particularly at Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi airports and Laem Chabang port, screen passengers arriving from Africa, the Bangkok Post reported. Paramedical staff prepare an isolation ward set up as a preventative measure following Pakistan's health ministry confirmation of a case of mpox (Clade 2) in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, at a hospital in Karachi, Pakistan, Thursday, 22 August 2024 ( AP ) The Philippines also recently reported its first mpox case of the year, involving a 33-year-old Filipino male with no travel history, the Department of Health announced on Monday. The patient is currently recovering in a hospital. Were lucky because this mpox we found [here] was the original variety, clade 2. Mpox entered the country and [is] probably circulating in our community, countrys health secretary Teodoro Herbosa was quoted as saying by news channel ANC. Patients gather to collect water from taps at the treatment centre for Mpox, an infectious disease caused by the Mpox virus that causes a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes and fever, in Munigi, Nyiragongo territory, near Goma in North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo on 19 August 2024 ( REUTERS ) Elsewhere in the region, Indonesia is implementing screening measures at its entry points. The Malaysian health ministry also announced it will start preventive measures, including increased surveillance at international entry points, requiring travellers from countries with mpox cases to monitor their health for 21 days. Vietnams health ministry stated in a directive on Monday that it will monitor for suspected cases at the border and report them to a central database. 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 All nine people on board a small passenger plane are believed to be dead after the aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Bangkoks main airport in Thailand on Thursday afternoon. There were five tourists from Hong Kong on board, as well as two cabin crew members and a pilot and co-pilot, all four from Thailand. The crash occured 11 minutes after departure, the countrys civil aviation authority confirmed. The plane, a Cessna Caravan C208B, reportedly lost contact with air traffic control and crashed in a mangrove swamp in Chachoengsao province. The plane was on its way to Trat, a coastal province located about 275km (171 miles) southeast of Bangkok. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand reported that the turboprop plane, operated by the Thai Flying Service Company, took off from Bangkoks Suvarnabhumi Airport at 2.46pm local time. However, 11 minutes later, air traffic control lost radio and radar contact with the aircraft, which was about 35km southeast of the airport at that point. open image in gallery A handout photo made available by the Poh Teck Tung Foundation shows rescue workers conducting a search and rescue operation to recover the wreckage of a plane after it crashed into a mangrove forest in Chachoengsao province, Thailand. All nine passengers, including five Chinese tourists from Hong Kong, two Thai female crew and the Thai pilot and co-pilot were killed in the crash, according to the governor of Chachoengsao province ( EPA ) According to the Bangkok Post, search and rescue efforts continued into Thursday night. It stated that the wreckage of the small plane was discovered in the muddy terrain of a mangrove forest and search and rescue teams found womens clothing and a photo of three foreign women at the crash site. open image in gallery A small plane with nine people on board was found in the mud after it crashed in a mangrove forest in Chachoengsao province in Thailand ( EPA ) Local police said search teams were collecting the wreckage, but as of Thursday evening, no sign of the planes occupants had been found. However, the Associated Press, citing a provincial government spokesperson, stated that after approximately an hour of searching rescuers discovered fragmented body parts in the swampy terrain. The search efforts have also been hampered by high tide flooding the area near the mouth of the Bang Pakong River. The cause of the crash is still unknown. 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 }} Finance Secretary Shona Robison says she is working on cutting back Scottish Government spending amid a very challenging environment for public finances, pledging to update MSPs on her choices in early September. Ms Robison said more cost-cutting measures are needed following the Treasurys review of public finances and uncertainty over how pay review body recommendations will be funded. Earlier this month she confirmed a freeze on public sector recruitment for everything except essential frontline posts. Scottish ministers have also confirmed their version of the winter heating payment will now be means-tested, following a similar decision by the UK Government. I am working with my cabinet colleagues to agree the necessary actions to reduce expenditure and ensure our finances are on a sustainable footing Finance Secretary Shona Robison The arts body Creative Scotland has also closed one of its key funds due to concerns over support from the Scottish Government. In a letter to Kenneth Gibson, convener of Holyroods Finance Committee, Ms Robison said more cost-cutting is needed in the 2024/25 financial year. She said: The Scottish Government, along with government and public sector bodies across the UK, faces a very challenging environment as we manage our finances through the current financial year and set our budget for 2025-26. I am working with my cabinet colleagues to agree the necessary actions to reduce expenditure and ensure our finances are on a sustainable footing. Further to this, additional measures are now necessary following the UK Treasurys recent audit of public spending and lack of clarity over whether their decision to deliver pay review body recommendations will be fully funded. Details are expected to be set out when the Scottish Parliament returns from recess in early September. The Finance Secretary also said the Government would publish its tax strategy at the same time as the draft Budget document for the upcoming financial year. Responding to Ms Robisons comments, Conservative MSP Liz Smith said: Shona Robisons imminent spending cuts are entirely of her partys own making. The SNP finance secretary will continue to try and point the blame elsewhere, but after 17 years of financial mismanagement, the nationalists have nowhere left to hide. Despite being in receipt of record block grants, they have squandered money on a colossal scale on their own pet projects, rather than on Scotlands real priorities. 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 }} Gunmen armed with rocket-propelled grenades ambushed a police convoy in eastern Punjab province on Thursday, killing at least 11 officers and wounding seven others, authorities said. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in the Rahim Yar Khan district. The officers were ambushed while on patrol in a deserted area in search of robbers who operate in the region. Punjabi police said the gunmen were likely robbers and not militants. The victims were taken to a nearby hospital. Pakistan has witnessed a surge in violence and militants attacks in recent years, but such a high number of police casualties in a single attack is rare. Security forces often carry out operations against bandits in Punjab and in the southern Sindh province, where they hide in rural, forested areas and where they have killed several police officers in attacks over the past months. Thursday's attack in the district of Rahim Yar Khan's area of Kacha is known for robbers' hideouts along the Indus River, where hundreds of heavily armed bandits evade police. Police said that one of the police vehicles apparently broke down while passing through accumulated rainwater along farm fields, when dozens of bandits launched the attack. Pakistan has been lashed by monsoon rains since July. Authorities swiftly condemned the attack in Kacha, one of the deadliest on police in recent years. President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi released statements denouncing the attack, expressing sorrow and describing the slain officers as martyrs. Police were ordered to take immediate action against the attackers and Sharif demanded the best medical care for the wounded officers. Earlier on Thursday, gunmen opened fire on a school van in Punjab, killing two children and wounding six other people, police said. No one claimed responsibility for that attack. ___ Associated Press writer Asim Tanveer in Multan, Pakistan, 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 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 man accused of faking his own death and fleeing the U.S. to avoid rape charges will stand trial, a judge in Utah ruled Thursday. District Judge Barry Lawrence ruled during Nicholas Rossi's preliminary hearing that prosecutors had presented enough evidence to warrant a jury trial, KTVX-TV reported. Prosecutors say Rossi, 37, raped a 26-year-old former girlfriend after an argument in Salt Lake County in 2008. In a separate case, he is accused of raping a 21-year-old woman in Orem, Utah, that same year and was not identified as a suspect for about a decade due to a backlog of DNA test kits at the Utah State Crime Lab. His attorneys at the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press on Thursday evening. Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, has used several aliases and has said he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who had never set foot on American soil and was being framed. The American fugitive grew up in foster homes in Rhode Island and had returned to the state before allegedly faking his death and fleeing the country. An obituary published online claimed Rossi died on Feb. 29, 2020, of late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Authorities and his former foster family doubted his death. Rossi was arrested in Scotland in 2021 after being recognized at a Glasgow hospital during treatment for COVID-19. He lost an extradition appeal in the country in December. Utah County court documents show that Rossi is also accused of sexual assault, harassment and possible kidnapping in Rhode Island, Ohio and Massachusetts, KTVX-TV reported. Sign up for our free Health Check email to receive exclusive analysis on the week in health Get our free Health Check email Get our free Health Check email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Thanks for signing up to the Health Check email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The World Health Organisation on Wednesday declared mpox a global health emergency in response to the growing number of cases both in Africa and other continents. Mpox belongs to the same family of viruses as smallpox but causes milder symptoms like fever, chills and body aches. People with more serious cases can develop characteristic lesions on the face, hands, chest and genitals. Formerly known as monkeypox, the virus that was first identified by scientists in 1958 when there were outbreaks of a pox-like disease in monkeys. The name was changed to mpox because it is inaccurate, with scientists suggesting that the virus may have actually originated from rodents. This week WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the emergence and spread of a new variant of mpox as very worrying. Its clear that a coordinated international response is essential to stop these outbreaks and save lives, he said, as he raised concerns about the viruss spread across international borders. The first case to reported outside of Africa was discovered in Sweden, with officials in Thailand also seeking on Wednesday to determine the strain of an mpox case in a European man who arrived from Africa the previous week. More than 17,000 mpox cases and 524 deaths have been reported in Africa this year alone, with more than 96 per cent of fatalities reported from the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is the second time in two years that the WHO has expressed deep concern about the virus, which first seized global attention in 2022. The WHOs emergency declaration is aimed at spurring donor agencies and countries into action. But the global response to previous declarations has been mixed. This photo supplied by MSF (Doctors Without Borders) dated 31 May 2023, shows health workers educating children on the symptoms of the mpox disease in Goma, Congo ( AP ) Africa CDC director general Dr Jean Kaseya said his own agencys declaration of a public health emergency was meant "to mobilise our institutions, our collective will and our resources to act swiftly and decisively." He appealed to Africas international partners for help, saying that the escalating caseload in Africa had largely been ignored. "Its clear that current control strategies arent working and there is a clear need for more resources," said Michael Marks, a professor of medicine at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. "If a (global emergency declaration) is the mechanism to unlock these things, then it is warranted," he said. Heritier Bwira, a Congolese health worker guides relatives and patients discharged on the hygienic measures to follow after recovering from Mpox ( Reuters ) For decades most human cases of mpox were seen in people in central and West Africa who had close contact with infected animals. The WHO declared its first mpox emergency in 2022 when the virus was confirmed to spread via sex for the first time, triggering outbreaks in more than 70 countries across the world that had never previously reported cases. Cases plunged dramatically after a sustained campaign to deliver vaccines. However, it remained endemic to certain parts of Africa where the vaccines could not be delivered. The number of cases this year has jumped dramatically, already exceeding last years figure. Last week, the Africa CDC reported that mpox has now been detected in at least 13 African countries. Compared with the same period last year, the agency said cases are up 160 per cent and deaths have increased by 19 per cent. Earlier this year, scientists reported the emergence of a new form of mpox in a Congolese mining town that can kill up to 10 per cent of people and may spread more easily. Unlike in previous mpox outbreaks, where lesions were mostly seen on the chest, hands and feet, the new form of mpox causes milder symptoms and lesions on the genitals. That makes it harder to spot, meaning people might also sicken others without knowing theyre infected. During the global outbreak of mpox in 2022, gay and bisexual men made up a large majority of cases and the virus was mostly spread through close contact, including sex. This undated image provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases shows a colorized transmission electron micrograph of mpox particles (red) found within an infected cell (blue), cultured in the laboratory that was captured and color-enhanced at the NIAID Integrated Research Facility ( AP ) Although some similar patterns have been seen in Africa, children under 15 now account for more than 70 per cent of the mpox cases and 85 per cent of deaths in Congo. Ahead of its emergency meeting, Mr Tedros said officials were dealing with several mpox outbreaks in various countries with "different modes of transmission and different levels of risk." "Stopping these outbreaks will require a tailored and comprehensive response," he said. The WHO said mpox was recently identified for the first time in four East African countries: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. All of those outbreaks were linked to the epidemic in Congo. This is an outbreak that has been simmering and festering and expanding over the course of a year now, Gregg Gonsalves, a Yale School of Public Health epidemiologist who has advised the WHO on mpox, was quoted as saying by the Washington Post. Im not quite clear why they took so long to do it, he added referring to the emergency declaration. Now that its done, we need to move quickly to ensure DRC gets all the requisite tools they need to combat the outbreak. One person in Sweden has been diagnosed with mpox caused by the clade I variant, marking the first such case outside Africa. There are two distinct clades of the mpox virus: Clade I and Clade II. Clade II was responsible for the global outbreak that began in 2022. Clade I is considered more severe and is classified as a high consequence infectious disease. According to the public health agency of Sweden, the individual contracted the virus during a stay in a part of Africa experiencing a major outbreak of clade I mpox. Clade I is more likely to cause severe disease and higher mortality than clade IIb the variant previously found in Sweden. Although the risk to the general population remains very low, the public health agency said the authorities are closely monitoring the situation. Sweden has measures in place for infection control and no additional steps are needed at this time, it added. MPXV a virus related to smallpox causes a rash illness that can range from mild and localised to severe and widespread. Reuters reported on Friday that China will monitor people and goods entering the country for mpox over the next six months, following the declaration by the World Health Organisation that the virus is again a global health emergency. Individuals from countries with mpox outbreaks who have had contact with cases or show symptoms are required to report to customs. Vehicles and goods from affected areas should be sanitised. China classifies mpox as a Category B infectious disease, allowing for emergency measures during outbreaks. The global health agency has released $1.45m from its emergency fund to assist surveillance, preparedness and response activities to contain the spread of virus, but would need up to $15m to ramp up the system effectively. 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 Netflix boss has defended Baby Reindeer as a drama, not a documentary, after the show came under fire for claiming to be a true story. The show - which follows a struggling comic as he is relentlessly harassed and stalked by a woman for more than four years - instantly captivated viewers from Britain and beyond as viewers praised the shows unique storyline which is based on the true life events of Richard Gadd. However, soon after its release, the show became embroiled in controversy over its opening statement: This is a true story. Pressure grew on the streaming platformto prove claims made about the stalker, called Martha, in the show. The real Martha was swiftly identified by fans as Scottish lawyer Fiona Harvey, who is now suing Netflix in the US after she alleged the story is inaccurate. The real Martha was swiftly identified by fans as Scottish lawyer Fiona Harvey , who is now suing Netflix in the US after she alleged the story is inaccurate. ( Piers Morgan Uncensored ) Anne Mensah, its vice-president of UK content, she would be disappointed if the controversy had detracted from the shows positive impact, which saw an increase in men who had been abused seeking support. It was important for those reasons, and if you feel [the controversy] detracted from that, I would be absolutely disappointed, she said at Edinburgh TV Festival. I absolutely stand by all the show. Its drama, not a documentary. She added that Netflix takes safeguarding incredibly seriously as she insisted: I dont make shows for publicitys sake. It was about giving [Gadd] the space to tell that story. Chasing publicity is the antithesis of what I believe in. Ms Menshah, who was previously the director of Drama and Sky Studios at Sky UK, also denied Netflixs algorithm was responsible for its success. The show - which follows a struggling comic as he is relentlessly harassed and stalked by a woman for more than four years - instantly captivated viewers from Britain and beyond. ( Ed Miller/Netflix ) Its not about trying to manipulate anybody [with] an algorithm, she said. The truth is way simpler: the audience is incredibly clever and they spot [what is] good and not boring. A really controversial show that isnt great goes nowhere. Netflix has admitted that Baby Reindeers real-life Martha was never convicted of stalking, despite the show depicting her pleading guilty to stalking and being sentenced to prison. The series is billed as a true story, which Harvey argues in her $170m lawsuit is the biggest lie in television history. While Gadd isnt named as a defendant in the lawsuit, he filed a response in federal court defending a motion to dismiss Harveys claim in a declaration dated 28 July. I never intended the Series to identify any real person as Martha Scott, including Harvey, he wrote in the 21-page document. 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 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 }} Norways government said Friday it wants to relax restrictions on abortion for the first time in nearly half a century to make it legal for women to terminate pregnancies up to the 18th week of gestation. Norway's laws currently allow legal abortions up to 12 weeks, but many pregnant women ask for an abortion after the 12th week and are granted it in hospitals and clinics. The proposed changes are "in line with practice today. Almost no one is refused applications for abortion after the 12th week, Norwegian Health Minister Jan Christian Vestre said. He said that womens right to self-determined abortion is a fundamental value in Norway. The Norwegian Institute of Public Health said abortion rate has remained historically low for several years at about 12,000 each year, but began to rise in 2022. Last year some 12,814 pregnancy terminations were performed in Norway, a 6.7% increase from 2022, figures show. The government agency said that eight out of 10 abortions are performed before the 9th week, and that nine out of 10 abortions are performed with medication. Free abortion was introduced in Norway in 1978 and women can opt for a surgical or medical abortion. Society has changed significantly since the 1970s, Vestre told a press conference. The law proposal needs a majority 85 votes in the 169-member Stortinget, or parliament. So far some 80 lawmakers have said they will vote in favor of the new law. It was not yet clear when a vote would be held in parliament. The Center Party, which holds 28 seats in Stortinget and is one of the parties in the governing coalition, wants to keep the current abortion limit of 12 weeks. Family Minister Kjersti Toppe said she hopes that as many people as possible vote in line with the party line," but added that the issue was "a matter of conscience and allowed party members to vote against the party's stance. In May, Denmark said it was liberalizing the abortion law to allow the procedure until 18th week of pregnancy. 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 man arrested on suspicion of murdering three children and their mother is the ex-partner of a woman who was staying with the family, police say. Bryonie Gawith, 29, Denisty, nine, Oscar, five, and Aubree Birtle, 22 months, all suffered fatal injuries in a house fire in Bradford in the early hours of Wednesday. The three children were taken to hospital, but later died from their injuries, police said. Their mother died at the scene. A 39-year-old man, who is the ex-partner of a woman who was visiting the family, was arrested at the house on suspicion of murder and was taken to hospital with critical injuries. Ms Gawiths long-term partner, whose name has been given as just Jonathan, said: I am absolutely distraught at the sudden loss of my fiancee, Bryonie and our three beautiful children. The house was badly damaged by the fire ( Getty Images ) In a statement issued through police, he added: Bryonie and I were together for a long time, and we had a good life together. She was a beautiful woman and a loving mother to Oscar, Aubree and Denisty. I loved them with all my heart and if I had the chance, I would take their place in a heartbeat. I cannot imagine life without them. They will never be forgotten and will always be in my heart. West Yorkshire Police said the familys home in Westbury Road in the city was deliberately set alight and the attack was domestic-related. Other members of the family of Ms Gawith, also known as B, have paid tribute to her and the children, saying no words could make up for their loss. They said in a statement issued by police: Our B was the life and soul of the party music was a big part of her life; she loved music, singing and dancing. She would always be singing and dancing with Chuch, Oggy and Strawberry. B was always a really happy, joyful, bubbly beautiful woman, who cared for everyone and was loved by everyone. Her kids were everything to her, her whole life. Oggy had the cheekiest smile he was cheeky but he was a shy boy; Strawbs was shy and bashful with big blue eyes and blonde hair, and Chuch was a beautiful, confident, outgoing and creative young girl. They said the family is still trying to comprehend what has happened to our beautiful family. No words can describe how we are feeling and no words could ever make up for the profound loss we are now faced with, they said. We are overwhelmed and grateful for all the support and kind words we are receiving, but we ask as a family if we can be given respect and privacy so we can try to come to terms with the unimaginable sadness and grief of this tragic loss of our beautiful family. Also our thoughts and support for the father of our three babies. Please allow him peace to grieve and come to terms with the loss of his family. 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 grandfather armed with a bicycle who was bitten by a police dog and a demonstrator who stole an officers riot shield during the riots are among the latest offenders to be jailed. Judges up and down the country were again on Friday sentencing the perpetrators of the hate-fuelled violence that erupted across the UK in the wake of the Southport mass stabbings on 29 July. The crimes included violent disorder as well as racially aggravated offences, with prison sentences handed out, including three years and three months for a rioter who played a leading role in the Southport unrest. Two brothers who were at the forefront of rioting outside a hotel housing more than 200 asylum seekers in Rotherham were among those jailed, while a 15-year-old boy was spared detention after admitting to using threatening or abusive words or behaviour. Judges up and down the country were again on Friday sentencing the perpetrators of the hate-fuelled violence that erupted across the UK in the wake of the Southport mass stabbings on 29 July ( Owen Humphreys/PA Wire ) A grandfather was one of a number of men imprisoned for their role in the unrest in Hull earlier this month. Michael Campbell, 56, was jailed for 20 months at Kingston-Upon-Hull Crown Court after he used a bicycle as a makeshift cordon to deflect police officers and to fend off a police dog before the animal bit him on the leg during the hate-fuelled 12-hour riot. The ship loading supervisor, of Hull, was only in the city centre to buy himself a suit for a funeral when he became involved with the mob violence, the court heard, with the judge describing him as a family man whose behaviour had been out of character. Daniel Mennell, 36, who was prominent at the front of the riot on 3 August, had pleaded guilty to violent disorder and was jailed for 27 months at the same court. The drunk labourer was seen taking a selfie with a stolen police riot shield and threw missiles at police. Hostile Jackie Miller, 57, was jailed for eight months for a racially aggravated public order offence after she unleashed a diatribe towards police officers in the presence of her 15-year-old daughter, which the judge described as disgraceful. Grandfather Michael Campbell (left) was one of a number of people imprisoned for their role in the unrest in Hull earlier this month ( Humberside Police ) Jarrod Farrah, 32, told his family love you all as he was jailed for two years and made the subject of a criminal behaviour order for violent disorder after he behaved aggressively towards police by lunging at them in Hull. Judge John Thackray KC said it had been depressing and horrifying to watch footage of the disorder. Two men who threw missiles at police during the Hull riots were also locked up after pleading guilty to violent disorder. Ben Chapman, 20, was sentenced to 32 months detention in a young offenders institution in total, while Joshua Hobman, 33, was jailed for two years, a sentence that was reduced as he has sole custody of his nine-year-old son. In Sheffield, a court heard a self-employed gas fitter watched hours of rioting outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham while filming the violence on Snapchat. Christopher Rodgers, 38, of Barnsley, then turned on officers when he was bitten by a police dog three times once in an area of particular tenderness. Anti-migration protesters attempt to enter the Holiday Inn Express Hotel, which was housing asylum seekers, on 4 August in Rotherham ( Getty Images ) The 38-year-old was jailed for two years at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday after becoming involved with a group that threw missiles at police on 4 August. Brothers Luke Sissons, 34, and Paul Sissons, 37, both of Barnsley, have each been jailed for three years at the same court for their leading roles in the violence at the Rotherham hotel in Manvers, which involved rioters breaking into the building and trying to set it alight. The pair are the latest of more than 20 men who have now been jailed over the Manvers disorder after they were involved in a range of violent incidents, including an attack on a police dog van and violent confrontations with riot officers. Rory Allington-Mott, 34, was handed the longest sentence of the day at Liverpool Crown Court after police said he played a leading role in the Southport riot, throwing objects including bricks and a wheelie bin at police. The 34-year-old, of Shropshire, has been jailed for three years and three months after pleading guilty to violent disorder. Rory Allington-Mott, 34, was handed the longest sentence of the day at Liverpool Crown Court after police said he played a leading role in the Southport riot ( PA/Merseyside Police ) A 15-year-old boy who swore at a police officer and said I hope you die during the Enough Is Enough protest in Whitehall on 31 July was spared detention. The teenager, from Kent, was conditionally discharged for nine months and ordered to pay 105 in court and victim costs by a judge at Sevenoaks Youth Court who told him please dont come back to court again. Elsewhere, Louis McGrother, 22, of Middlesbrough was jailed for 20 months at Teesside Crown Court after kicking out at a police officer and setting fire to a wheelie bin during unrest in Middlesbrough. The well-balanced young man had admitted violent disorder. And at Newcastle Crown Court, a former member of the English Defence League (EDL) who shouted dirty Muslims outside a mosque, along with other abuse, in widespread disorder in Sunderland was jailed for eight months. Racist and Islamophobic David Hann, 58, of Sunderland, had admitted causing racially aggravated fear of violence. Jack Fowler, 24, of Newcastle, was sentenced to two years imprisonment at the same court after admitting violent disorder at the Sunderland riot. The drunk and masked father of a baby girl was holding a flag of St George and confronted police on 2 August. 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 }} Households in Britain will face higher energy bills this winter after the regulator raised the price cap by 10 per cent. Ofgem announced that the average home energy bill will increase from 1,568 to 1,717 on 1 October. It means a typical households annual energy bill will rise by 149. The regulator sets the price limit for each unit of energy used based on several factors including wholesale energy prices the amount energy providers pay for gas and electricity before supplying it to households. The limit changes every three months in January, April, July and October. Energy prices have fallen twice this year in April and July but are set to move back up. Those on standard variable tariffs paying by direct debit will pay on average 24.5p per kilowatt hour (kWh) for electricity and a daily standing charge of 60.99p, and 6.24p for gas with a standing charge of 31.66. Nevertheless, average bills remain 6 per cent lower than a year ago and considerably lower than during the peak of the energy crisis, which was fuelled by Russias invasion of Ukraine, driving up costs in an already-turbulent energy market to a high of 4,059 in the first quarter of 2023. Urging consumers to shop around and consider opting for a fixed-rate tariff, Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley said: We know that this rise in the price cap is going to be extremely difficult for many households. Customers on standard variable tariffs will pay 6.24p per kWh for gas and a daily standing charge of 31.66p ( PA ) Anyone who is struggling to pay their bill should make sure they have access to all the benefits they are entitled to, particularly pension credit, and contact their energy company for further help and support. He added: We are working with government, suppliers, charities and consumer groups to do everything we can to support customers, including longer-term standing charge reform, and steps to tackle debt and affordability. Cornwall Insight also said there is likely to be a further modest increase in January 2025, with more rises possible early in the new year due to escalating tensions in the Russia-Ukraine war. Jess Ralston, head of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said bills in winter will be about 50 per cent higher than they were pre-crisis on average. A lack of progress on energy efficiency and heat pumps means that our reliance on gas hasnt fallen much in recent years, despite the volatility in the international markets forcing bills to skyrocket, she said. With the removal of the winter fuel payment for some pensioners at the same time as bills going up, its likely that some will struggle and it remains to be seen if the government will bring in measures to support those worst hit by the removal of winter fuel payment. Rachel Reeves announced the removal of winter fuel payments for close to 10 million pensioners ( PA ) The new government decided to stop winter fuel payments for those who are not in receipt of pension credits or other means-tested benefits, in the first change to the benefit since it was introduced in 1997 for all pensioners. The Treasury said the changes would see the number of pensioners receiving the payments of up to 300 fall from 11.4 million to 1.5 million so just under 10 million people would miss out. The government has since urged pensioners to check that they are claiming pension credit, with an estimated 800,000 pensioners not claiming the benefit despite being eligible. Pension credit tops up the weekly income of all people aged 66 and over to 218.15, or 332.95 if in a couple. Bills will rise at the start of winter ( Getty ) A Labour spokesperson said: This price increase is the harvest of 14 years of Tory neglect and failure to prepare and invest in British-owned clean energy. The Labour government has hit the ground running to tackle the root causes of high energy prices. In under 50 days we have set up Great British Energy to cut bills for good, lifted the onshore wind ban, consented unprecedented amounts of solar power and have set the largest-ever budget for our renewables auction. Labours bold energy plans will warm homes across the country, cut energy bills for good and create thousands of high-skilled, well-paid jobs as we move towards cheaper, homegrown clean power. Warning that energy price rises are driven by international gas price rises and that the UK will be in this world until we build out of it, Mr Brearley said: Until we build different infrastructure that gets us a different energy system, what we all need to do is to make the best of the circumstances were in and look after the most vulnerable customers. The Lib Dems said ministers must take urgent action to address the Conservative Partys legacy. But Tory shadow energy secretary Claire Coutinho said: Instead of prioritising cheap energy, the new Labour government are pursuing Ed Milibands reckless net zero targets with no thoughts to the costs. Campaign group Warm This Winter accused energy companies of profiteering, with 20 firms making more than 470bn in profits since 2020. That shows there is money in the system but that is going to energy bosses and their shareholders when it needs to go to ordinary people, a spokesperson said. Urging ministers to come up with a plan to support households this winter, the End Fuel Poverty Coalition said: Ending energy debt, extending the household support fund, expanding warm home discounts and evolving standing charges would all help mitigate the impact of high bills and the axe to the winter fuel payment. But as well as support this winter, the public need to see a clear timetable for when the very real benefits of cheaper renewable energy and the warm homes plan will kick in. To add insult to injury, in the detail of todays Ofgem announcement is the fact that the profit margins energy suppliers are allowed to make will increase by 11 per cent. Add to this that every month we hear about more massive profits for firms in the wider energy industry. Its time to tax these firms fairly not just the fossil fuel producers and use the money to keep people warm now and in the long term. Theres a new circus in town and its butterfly-themed banners are emblazoned with the name of a nurse called Lucy Letby. Increasingly, vocal supporters would have us believe that the 34-year-old has been wrongly convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven more for which she has received 15 whole-life prison sentences. Pitching her as a loving nurse whose life of selfless dedication has been wilfully destroyed because of a problematic neonatal unit in need of a scapegoat for the babies that died on their watch, she emerges as a perfect heroine, you might think, for the next Netflix blockbuster. Except that in the real world, the evidence tells us there has been no miscarriage of justice. Letby was convicted by not just one, but two, juries at two separate trials. Having spent nights and early mornings compiling a 17,000-word timeline of that lethal year at the Countess of Chester Hospital, like them, I have no doubt of the culpability of this nurse. And according to the time-honoured workings of the UK legal system, she actually is the real deal a convicted serial killer who murdered the most vulnerable infants in her care, causing untold devastation to their parents and all who loved them. Barring a confession as to why she committed such an evil act, its unlikely well ever get to know. Indeed the puzzlement which surrounds this absence of a motive beyond the notion of a disturbed mind has created a vacuum that is being filled by amateur sleuths convinced of her innocence. While they create hot wind and hysteria, however, the rest of us would do well to cast our minds back to the scrawlings on Post-it notes, which were found after a police search on her home. I am evil I did this, shed written. I killed them on purpose because Im not good enough to care for them [and] I am a horrible evil person. It was the closest to a confession the jury would get from the nurse who was convicted, in part, by the words tucked away on a scrap of paper in one of her diaries. Of course, her supporters will direct you to some of the lines that could be interpreted as indicators of innocence: I havent done anything wrong, for example. And Why me? but these werent the ones that resonated most deeply with the original jury who had all the other evidence before them. Throughout the trial, the one-time Ellie Goulding fan steadfastly maintained her innocence. Even as security guards led her out of court, she cried out Im innocent. It was an echo of her mothers own anguished cries when the first guilty verdicts were returned last August. You cant be serious, Susan Letby shouted out in court. This cannot be right. The Letby Is Innocent bandwagon started to really gather momentum with a 13,000-word article published in The New Yorker earlier this year. The timing of this piece, which questioned the logic and competence of the statistical evidence in her trial, was mischievous given that the retrial over one of the babies, Baby K, was about to begin. As a result, the article was referred to the attorney general for investigation as a possible contempt of court. While online versions were banned from UK websites, a British audience quickly found a way to read it while proceedings for her second trial were active. David Davis, the Conservative MP, seized on the issue, suggesting the court order was in defiance of open justice and demanded a review. The then justice secretary, Alex Chalk, had to remind him as if he didnt know of the need to protect the neutrality of an imminent trial. The spark of social media interest was already smouldering by the time the retrial got underway. A small but passionate cohort of Letby supporters turned up at Crown Square in Manchester, queuing for places either in Court 7 or the overspill seats in Court 16. Many wore yellow butterfly badges similar to one their heroine had once worn on her scrubs. A diary and a handwritten note used as evidence against the nurse ( Reuters ) Last weekend, the ante went up a notch when the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed there were errors in some of the time-swipe data presented in the original trial. This threw into question some of the precise timing of another nurses return to the neonatal unit and the possibility that Letby hadnt actually been the sole nurse on the unit at a key point in the evidence. But were talking of events eight years ago, and for half the trial there was actually zero door swipe data because the hospital had somehow failed to save it. There was also no CCTV to monitor because none had ever been installed. Ultimately, whether Letby was the sole nurse or not, the key evidence lies in the recollections of Baby Ks designated nurse, Joanne Williams, and the lead paediatrician, Ravi Jayaram what they saw, heard and sensed in real time. Jayaram, who already held suspicions about Letby and was therefore on high alert, recalls walking in and seeing the killer standing beside the infants incubator but doing nothing to intervene as her oxygen levels dropped to critical levels. They could see how she had moved so deftly in the shadows, so often protected by the trust of colleagues who made the fatal assumption that she cared as much for the babies on the unit as they did Letbys very capable barrister, Ben Myers KC, questioned whether Jayarams account was truthful and alleged he had exaggerated the situation in the court proceedings simply to make things worse for his client and thus make the charges stick. Jayaram, however, said that he was certain of what he felt and that it was a matter of infinite regret that he had not called 999. I only wish I had the courage to do that, he said, adding that he had been in unchartered territory feeling an element of denial that a carer in their midst could be a serial killer. To many observers, however, the entire prosecution case felt like a lacklustre affair. For much of the time I sat watching the trial, it felt as though Nick Johnson KC, the crowns lead barrister, wanted to keep the tone as beige as the woman in the glass-panelled dock behind him. Emotion was kept to a minimum. Very few of the babies parents gave live evidence, their accounts were generally reduced to written statements read out in rushed monotone by a junior barrister. Many of the medical witnesses appeared behind screens, and the married registrar Letby was said to be in love with was among those granted anonymity which felt unusual in the context of a major trial. There were other times, too, when the prosecution seemingly became its own worst enemy, most notably when it refused point blank to publicly release a key X-ray image that showed a white line of air tracking a dead babys spine which would show how air was deliberately forced into their tiny bodies. Supporters of Letby outside the High Court in London during her appeal hearing ( Thomas Krych/ZUMA/Shutterstock ) While the jury was given sight of an X-ray, the public were denied that opportunity. At the time the CPS said it was because the image formed part of the babys private medical records. The fact that it was a key element in a landmark murder trial didnt seem to register in their thinking. Perhaps some of Letbys supporters would change their minds if the CPS released it retrospectively. However, they have said this isnt something they will do. The X-ray also underpinned the evidence of the prosecutions main expert witness, retired paediatrician Dewi Evans, who under an intense cross-examination repeated time and time again his belief that infants had been deliberately injected with air. His evidence was questioned by Myerss closing speech to the jury and in an appeal against her original convictions by Letbys defence team who argued his evidence should be disregarded. Her lawyers claimed he had constructed theories designed to support allegations rather than forming and presenting an independent opinion on the facts. However, this appeal was rejected and Evans found it to be thoughtful, fair and correct. His evidence was found to be sound. The original jury was bombarded with reams of files, medical notes, and yes, a welter of door swipe data. One of the most emotional moments came when a female paediatrician told how she effectively begged the transport team from a higher-level hospital to take away the one surviving infant from a set of triplets. It is to the parents of her victims, all of them still trying to grieve for their lost babies, that our minds must turn His brothers, both viable for all their diminutive size, had already died by Letbys hand and the colleague sensed that this baby, too, would be in mortal danger from the nurse if he remained in Chester. His transfer was authorised and, today, he is a thriving eight-year-old. Myers had every opportunity to call some of the medical experts now being quoted in The New Yorker and elsewhere. He chose not to. Indeed, the only witness he did call, aside from Letby, was a plumber by the name of Lorenzo Mansutti. His knowledge extended no further than drainage problems unconnected to the charges, so for many observers, it remains a mystery as to why he was asked to give evidence at all. For all the paucity of Letbys defence, there was some sympathy for Myerss view that his client was often being damned if shed been on the unit at certain times and damned if she hadnt. Having heard the evidence over a period of 10 months, the jury was effectively asked to decide whether Letby had been an innocent passer-by in a series of unprecedented deaths and near deaths, or a deadly killer eventually caught out by a constellation of coincidences that had no other plausible explanation. And at the end of that process, which took weeks of diligent deliberation to complete, they returned the largely guilty verdicts that will keep Letby behind bars until her dying breath. These parents who have experienced the deepest loss are resolute in their condemnation of Letby ( Chester Standard/SWNS ) Suddenly, for all the woolliness of the case as it unfolded, they could see how she had moved so deftly in the shadows, so often protected by the trust of colleagues who made the fatal assumption that she cared as much for the babies on the unit as they did. Many of these people counted her as a friend, and when she broke down in apparent distress over those dying on her watch, they instinctively reached out in support. Their sense of betrayal must now be complete. But it is to the parents of her victims, all of them still trying to grieve for their lost babies, that our minds must turn. Throughout the legal process, they have had to confront the horrific reality that Letby, the nurse who seemed anxious to comfort them in their darkest moments, and who even sent some of them sympathy cards, was in reality the cause of their pain. Now they have the challenge of coping with unsubstantiated noise about the safety of her convictions and the blind faith of some who, unlike the jury, didn't spend months sitting in court considering the evidence, that she is innocent. Today, these parents who have experienced the deepest loss are resolute in their condemnation of Letby, and content that she is behind bars and will remain there. A police tent seen outside Lucy Letbys home after her arrest ( PA ) The pro-Letby campaign has been described by Peter Skelton KC, who represents some of the families of her victims as grossly offensive and distressing. One mum, whose baby the former nurse tried to kill, told The Times: You dont want to see her face, you dont want to hear her name, you dont want to hear people shouting that shes innocent. Shes not innocent, she was found guilty in a court of law. Meanwhile, Cheshire Police are continuing the second phase of Operation Hummingbird, sifting through further material that may amount to a catalogue of further historic attacks by the woman now ranked as the most prolific baby killer of modern times. Next month, Lady Justice Thirlwall will begin her inquiry into Letbys killings and the failings in hospital systems she was able to exploit. Would all that really be happening if there was any genuine concern over her conviction? Letbys barrister is engaging with no one neither the media nor the conspiracy theorists. But still, the fevered circus rumbles on with little thought to the new pain being caused to the parents who had hoped the nightmare they had endured was finally coming to an end. The Sands national helpline provides support for anyone affected by the death of a baby. You can call 0808 164 3332 free of charge, or email helpline@sands.org.uk 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 }} Workers have been filmed hitting suffering pigs at an RSPCA-backed slaughterhouse supplying pork to Tesco and other supermarkets. The scenes of cruelty were captured in secret filming at C&K Meats in Eye, Suffolk, which kills up to 1,400 pigs a day in gas chambers both intensively-reared and free-range. The abattoir, which is endorsed by the RSPCA Assured scheme, sells pork to Tesco, the Co-op, Aldi, Sainsburys, Morrisons, Asda and Lidl among others. Some of it, such as bacon and sausages, is sold under differently branded labels. C&K Meats says it takes animal welfare seriously, with regular inspections by vets. Workers were seen striking the pigs ( Animal Justice Project ) But the Animal Justice Project (AJP), which shot the footage, said that despite CCTV being on site and auditors being present, the footage suggested numerous apparent breaches of animal welfare laws including: Pigs being struck with instruments, causing pain and distress Visible injuries, lameness, wounds, abnormal growths and other deformities Unclean pens and poor hygiene practices Severe stress indicators, such as frothing at the mouth and heavy panting Ayesha Smart, a barrister specialising in animal welfare law, said the footage appeared to show multiple and clear breaches of statutory welfare regulations. The AJP investigator recorded a worker at C&K Meats saying: Nothing we do for these pigs is for their benefit. From the moment they arrive, everything is geared towards their death. Another worker was recorded saying: They do wind you up at times; anyone would think they didnt want to die [laughs]. A pig frantically tries to escape by climbing over others as they are herded to carbon dioxide chambers ( AJP ) Workers struck pigs with their hands and with paddles, even though the animals had nowhere to go, and pigs were rushed to the gas chambers with excessive force, the witnesses claimed. Alick Simmons, a former UK government deputy chief vet, said: There were several instances in the footage where the use of the paddle for short periods verged on the excessive. It is an offence to strike or kick animals in a slaughterhouse lairage [the area adjacent to the slaughterhouse, where animals are rested before they are killed]. Footage showed some pigs frothing at the mouth and heavily panting. One pig unable to move was killed on arrival. The flooring was said to be soiled ( AJP ) The investigators claimed pigs were forced to lie in faeces in filthy and overcrowded pens where they could not move freely, leading to fights and increased stress. AJP claimed pigs arrived with injuries and in poor health, as complaints from staff about transportation delays suggested prolonged periods without food and water. Dr Simmons added that the transport of unfit animals and pigs dying in transit suggests to him that insufficient care was taken when selecting pigs for transport. He said that during unloading, several lame pigs and some, otherwise apparently unfit to travel because of suspected respiratory distress and large umbilical hernias, were seen. He said that in his opinion: These animals should not have been transported and should have been treated or killed humanely at the point of origin. Many animals were thought to have spent long periods without food or water ( AJP ) C&K Meats website says the company takes great pride in its high animal-welfare standards. Animals are treated kindly and with respect from the moment they arrive. They are slaughtered quickly and humanely and we are one of the very few independent abattoirs to use gas stunning on animals, it says. But Ms Smart said she believes the findings indicated recurrent breaches directly related to physical abuse, undue distress and neglect of the pigs welfare. Alice Brough, a pig vet turned activist, claimed: This is typical of a UK abattoir. Enough pigs are found in acute distress, expressing fear and pain, to indicate that this is not an isolated or infrequent issue. Some animals were clearly so unwell they were shot dead on arrival and discarded ( AJP ) Law firm Advocates for Animals is pressing authorities to take enforcement action. It is understood a third-party audit took place earlier this week and no major concerns were found. But AJP claims there is a troubling pattern of regulatory failures and illegal practices in slaughterhouses, because official data suggests fewer than 0.1 per cent of animals killed were involved in breaches of regulations last year. The organisation said it believed the true number was much higher. The Independent has exposed repeated violations of animal welfare laws and guidelines behind closed doors, including cows being beaten with electric prods and pigs cut while still alive; pigs being beaten to death on a free-range farm; sheep being killed without being properly stunned, and thrown around; chickens collapsing in agony and piglets heads being smashed against walls. Workers hit the pigs to get them to leave the lorry ( AJP ) A spokesperson for C&K meats said: We are committed to ensuring high levels of animal welfare and take the subject matter very seriously. Independent official veterinarians employed by the government oversee our activities on a daily basis to ensure we continually meet animal welfare standards. Strict policies are in place and our compliance with those aforementioned standards and policies is also regularly audited by internal and external bodies, both announced and unannounced. A Tesco spokesperson said: We take animal welfare extremely seriously and expect all our suppliers to adhere to our high welfare standards. Any poor practice has no place in our supply chain, and having been made aware of this upsetting footage, we are urgently investigating with our supplier. Most supermarkets sell pork from the abattoir, some of it under differently branded labels ( AJP ) Andrew Opie, of the British Retail Consortium, said: Our members know how important animal welfare is to their customers and take their responsibilities to animal welfare very seriously with regular audits being carried out to ensure that expected standards are being met. This is being investigated and action will be taken if any breaches to the high animal welfare standards our members uphold are confirmed. Sainsburys, Morrisons, the Co-op and Aldi aligned themselves with that statement. Asda and Lidl did not respond to requests to comment. The slaughterhouse kills up to 1,400 animals a day ( AJP ) An RSPCA Assured spokesperson said: Animal welfare is our absolute priority and we always investigate any allegations of poor welfare. As soon as we were made aware of the footage, which was taken more than a year ago, we launched an immediate and urgent investigation. As an investigation is ongoing, we are unable to comment further at this time. We take complaints of poor animal welfare very seriously and would always urge anyone with any concerns to contact us straight away, without delay. This is so that we can immediately investigate, visit the premises and address any welfare issues as a priority. Get Nadine White's Race Report newsletter for a fresh perspective on the week's news Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent 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 Race Report email {{ #verifyErrors }} {{ message }} {{ /verifyErrors }} {{ ^verifyErrors }} Something went wrong. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} UK politicians, public figures and media outlets are fuelling racial hatred, a new United Nations (UN) report has warned. CERD criticised the persistence of hate crimes, hate speech and xenophobic incidents on various platforms and by politicians and public figures across the UK. In the wake of recent race riots which swept the UK, The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) was concerned about recurring racist acts and violence against ethnic and ethno-religious minorities, migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers by extremist far-right and white supremacist individuals and groups. Following the murder of three children in Southport last month, racist rioting broke out around the country with Muslim, Asian and Black people targeted in violence for a number of days. The violence, denounced as far-right thuggery by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, was sparked by false claims about the identity of a suspect being a migrant of Muslim faith. The new Labour government is being urged to implement comprehensive measures to curb racist hate speech and xenophobic rhetoric including thorough investigations and strict penalties for racist hate crimes, plus effective remedies for the victims and their families. This comes as the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Britains equalities watchdog, published a report into racial disparities across the country which points out serious inequalities in areas including criminal justice, employment, housing and mental health The watchdog submitted these findings to the UNs Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and demanded that ministers tackle racial disparities experienced by ethnic minority communities. CERD published findings on Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and Venezuela after reviewing the seven countries in its latest session. The committee monitors the extent to which countries are eliminating all forms of racial discrimination, as per a UN treaty they all signed. Baroness Kishwer Falkner, chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission said: Everyone should enjoy their human rights, regardless of their race. We urge the UK and Welsh governments to closely look at our report and action our recommendations, to support the achievement of racial equality in Britain. The UN committee also expressed concern about the disproportionate impact of police stop-and-search practices, including strip searches, on ethnic minorities, especially children. This comes as new data recently revealed that Black children remain four times as likely to be strip-searched across England and Wales, compared to national population figures. The polices use of excessive and deadly force was also referenced in the report, as well as a lack of accountability and inadequate support for victims families, all of which disproportionately affect Black people and other ethnic minorities, the committee concluded. It further highlighted concerns about institutional racism within policing and the criminal justice system. Black people comprise 13 per cent of the prison population within the UK which is over three times their proportion of the national population. Black children made up 26 per cent of the youth custody population in 2023 compared to just 6 per cent of the general population aged 10 to 17, as indicated by the governments own youth justice statistics. Moreover, Black people are stopped, searched and arrested by police at higher rates than their white counterparts. The UN Committee is calling on the UK government to set up an independent complaint mechanism to investigate allegations of racial profiling, stop-and-search practices, strip searches, and excessive use of force by police. The government has been approached for comment. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email 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 }} Thousands of steelworkers are set to be laid off just before Christmas after British Steel brought forward plans to close its blast furnaces in Scunthorpe. In a move unions say will be devastating for the local community, at least 2,500 jobs are set to be put at risk by the early closure. British Steel has previously announced it would be building an electric arc furnace (EAF) as part of its decarbonisation plans, replacing the carbon-intensive blast furnaces at the Scunthorpe site. The British Steel steelworks in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire ( PA ) While blast furnaces need a large team to run, EAF requires far fewer staff, meaning any change will result in heavy layoffs. The company had previously proposed to keep its current operations up and running until the transition had been made to electric arc steelmaking. But a source told The Independent the plant will stop importing coke and coal in October, meaning the blast furnaces will be turned off permanently just before Christmas. That means at least 2,500 jobs lost before the end of the year, the source added. British Steel said no decision has been made and talks with the government are ongoing. The GMB union, which represents steelworkers at the site, said the early closure would be devastating for the community and workforce. National officer Charlotte Brumpton-Childs said: Unions have been assured throughout the process that the blast furnace operations would continue throughout the construction of an electric arc furnace. There has been no consultation over an early closure. British Steel and the government must engage with workers immediately to safeguard jobs and livelihoods. Shadow business minister Kevin Hollinrake told The Independent: This is classic do as I say not as I do socialism in practice. In opposition Labour were promising billions for steel making in the UK and now have totally betrayed Scunthorpe and the UK steel industry. This has Ed Milliband and Rachel Reeves written all over it one with a bonkers, virtue-signalling approach to trying to save the planet by switching to foreign imports, the other trying to save money so she can give it straight to her union paymasters. The plants Chinese owners are believed to be in negotiations with the government over the closure, with the potential for British Steel to import 3 million tonnes of steel from the country, allowing its mills to keep operating. The plants Chinese owners are believed to be in talks with the government over the closure ( Alamy/PA ) One critic of the plans said: The government are genuinely entertaining the possibility of allowing British Steel to close the vast majority of the business, lose at least 2,500 jobs and let them import steel from China and give them more than 600m to invest ... which might see an electric arc furnace built in five years if theyre lucky. The shock early closures come after the closure of two separate blast furnaces at Britains biggest steelworks, Port Talbot in south Wales. Its owner Tata Steel said it would cut 2,800 jobs at the plant as Britain becomes increasingly reliant on foreign steel imports from countries including India and China. The replacement electric arc furnaces that are to come online in Scunthorpe and at Port Talbot take years to develop, with the Port Talbot EAF not expected to come online until 2027 at the earliest. British Steels Scunthorpe EAF was approved in April, with an application document suggesting the firm believes it could be operational by December 2025. A British Steel spokesperson said: Our imports of raw material are continuing but have reduced in light of ongoing production issues. Were working to restore production levels from our ageing blast furnaces. Were discussing our decarbonisation plans with the government and no final decision has been made. A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: Were working in partnership with trade unions and businesses, including British Steel, to secure a green steel transition thats right for the workforce and safeguards the future of the steel industry in Britain. Decarbonisation does not mean deindustrialisation, which is why weve committed to 2.5bn of investment to rebuild the UK steel industry and support communities for generations to come. 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 }} Ukrainian forces say they have recaptured territory in the eastern region of Kharkiv, where Russia launched a large offensive in the spring that brought initial gains but the operation soon stalled. Ukraines 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said in a statement late Thursday that its forces advanced nearly two square kilometers (about three-quarters of a square mile) in that area. It was unclear when the attack was launched, its scale, and the area of the offensive, and its hard to predict if it will have further impact on the battlefield. Ukraine's reported counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region comes as its forces have gained new momentum and altered the battlefield this month. Kyiv launched a shock offensive into Russia's western Kursk region on August 6, while simultaneously intensifying a drone war against military and fuel targets that sparked blazes deep in Russia this week. On Friday some new details emerged about damage and injuries caused by some of those attacks. A Ukrainian drone attack targeting a distant Russian air base in its Volgograd region caused significant damage to an airfield that reportedly housed glide bombs used by Moscow in the war, satellite photos analyzed Friday by The Associated Press showed. Meanwhile, an attack on a cargo ferry at the port of Kavkaz in Russias Krasnodar region on Thursday injured 13 people, Russias state news agency Tass reported Friday. Citing health officials, Tass said that four of the injured have been hospitalized and one other person remained unaccounted for. Ukraine's gains have reshaped the battlefield and buoyed the morale of Ukrainians 10 years after Russia first invaded their country, and 2 1/2 years after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion that has led to mass death and destruction and created Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. Ukraine and its Western allies hope that the regained momentum could strengthen Kyiv's hand on the diplomatic front. A visit to Kyiv by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is meeting Friday with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is being closely watched. Modi, who has maintained cordial ties and economic relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, could play a role in forging a mediated peace. But the incursion into Russia itself is risky. It has highlighted Russian vulnerabilities but also further stretched Ukrainian forces, who were already fighting on a frontline running for hundreds of kilometers. And it has possibly compromised its ability to hold back Russian forces who have slowly but steadily gained ground in the Donetsk region, diverting Ukrainian forces who otherwise could bolster defense there. Ukraines 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said in a statement published late Thursday that Ukrainian soldiers also took control of an area that was held by a Russian battalion, and some strongholds. Brigade Commander Andrii Biletskyi said that they attacked Russian troops that had superiority and won, adding that the ratio of forces on the battlefield was 2.5:1 in Moscows favor. The Associated Press was unable to independently verify the claims, and there was no immediate comment from Russia. Russia launched an offensive in the Kharkiv region in May that led to some gains but soon stalled. Fighting in that area has diminished as the Russian army has concentrated its efforts in Donetsk, part of the industrial Donbas region that it formally annexed but does not fully control. ___ Gera contributed from Warsaw, Poland. Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed. 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 }} Survivors and family members of victims of gun violence attested at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday to the ways shootings impacted their lives and spurred them to advocacy. One of the most potent speeches came from Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was wounded in a 2011 shooting in her Arizona district. Giffords, who was shot in the head while out greeting constituents, spoke Thursday about her long road to recovery. I learned to walk again, one step at a time. I learned to talk again, one word at a time, said Giffords, who appeared with her husband, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly. I almost died, but I fought for life and I survived, Giffords said, thrusting her arm into the air and drawing cheers from the crowd. She praised Vice President Kamala Harris and endorsed her. Kamala can beat the gun lobby and can beat gun trafficking, said Giffords, who opened the Giffords Law Center to track and analyze firearm legislation in all 50 states. Harris, a former prosecutor, has advocated for more laws to stop gun violence, including reinstating a ban on assault weapons. President Joe Biden in 2023 tapped Harris to lead the first-ever federal office of gun violence prevention. Republican nominee Donald Trump has positioned himself directly against gun-control measures and downplayed a ban he instituted on bump stocks, the attachments that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire like machine guns and were used during the October 2017 shooting massacre in Las Vegas. Harris has changed her position on some gun issues. Since becoming vice president, she has backed away from her previous support for mandatory gun buy-back programs. The policies, which she backed in 2019 while running in the Democratic presidential primary, would force millions of gun owners to sell their AR-15s and similar firearms to the government. Harris now supports more moderate proposals such as universal background checks on gun sales. The other survivors and family members turned advocates each told their stories Thursday, at times becoming emotional. Democrats in the arena could be seen wiping their eyes at one point as a screen behind the speakers projected the words, Freedom From Gun Violence. The advocates were led by Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath, who became an activist against gun violence after her 17-year-old son was shot in 2012 by a white man who was angry over the loud music the Black teenager and his friends were playing. McBath said she was moved to run for office after the 2018 shooting massacre at Parkland, Floridas Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 were killed. The Georgia Democrat won her election, flipping a House seat long held by Republicans. Our losses do not weaken us, McBath said. They strengthen our resolve. Abbey Clements, who was teaching second grade at the Sandy Hook school in Newtown, Connecticut when a gunman in 2012 killed 26 people, 20 of them first grade children, described the day and the sounds of more than 150 gunshots ringing out. Hiding in the coats, trying to sing with my students, trying to read to them, trying to drown out the sounds. Terror. Crying. Running. I carry that horrific day with me, Clements said. As she spoke about the children and her coworkers who were killed, Clements' voice caught as she said, They should still be here. Kimberly Rubio, whose 10-year-old daughter Lexi was among the 19 children killed in the 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, became emotional as she described her daughter, right before she was killed, with her smile that lights up the room. Other speakers included Melody McFadden of Charleston, South Carolina, whose mother and niece were both killed by gun violence, and Edgar Vilchez of Chicago, Illinois, who as a high school student in 2022, witnessed the drive-by shooting of a classmate. The classmate survived. ___ Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri in Chicago 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 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 Sikh separatist leader reportedly survived an assassination attempt on 11 August in Sacramento, California. The truck in which Satinder Pal Singh Raju was travelling was allegedly sprayed with bullets on Interstate 505 near Sacramento earlier this month. Mr Raju is the leader and organiser of Sikhs for Justice an organisation that seeks a separate Sikh state or Khalistan. Sikhs for Justice said in a statement that a car pulled up next to Mr Rajus vehicle and opened fire, causing the driver of the truck to veer off the road. Mr Raju and two of his colleagues who were travelling with him in the truck escaped the vehicle and took cover behind a haystack, where they called 911, according to The Sacramento Bee. The California highway patrol confirmed that there was a shooting on Interstate 505 on 11 August at about 11.30pm and is investigating the incident. The Guardian reported that no arrests have been made so far, according to the agencys spokesperson, Rodney Fitzhugh. Mr Raju is reportedly associated with Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another Khalistan advocate who was allegedly assassinated in Canada last year. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau described what he called credible allegations that India was connected to the assassination of Nijjar in June. The Indian government denied any hand in Nijjars killing while also saying Canada was trying to shift the focus from Khalistan activists there. Sikhs for Justice suggested that India, which has been linked to several plots against Sikh leaders in the US and other countries, could be responsible for the attack in Northern California. They believe that the attack was part of a broader effort by the Indian government to suppress the Khalistan independence movement globally. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, lawyer and spokesperson for Sikhs For Justice, said in a statement: (Indian prime minister Narendra) Modi 3.0 Regime is continuing with its policy of transnational repression to violently suppress the global Khalistan Referendum campaign seeking liberation of Punjab from Indian occupation. The Indian government has not yet responded to Mr Pannuns allegation. A member of United Hindu Front organisation holds a banner depicting Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a lawyer believed to be based in Canada designated as a Khalistani terrorist by the Indian authorities during a rally along a street in New Delhi on 24 September 2023 ( AFP via Getty Images ) In 2023, Mr Pannun was the target of a thwarted assassination attempt in the US, which US officials attributed to the Indian government, though India denies any involvement. Mr Pannun is also facing terrorism charges in India for his advocacy of an independent Sikh state. Mr Raju has played a significant role in organising Khalistan referendum votes a symbolic effort by some Sikhs worldwide to advocate for independence from India. He was involved in votes held in San Francisco and Sacramento earlier this year and also helped with a referendum in Calgary, Canada, in July. The American administration and the Canadian government, they have not held India accountable, and Modi feels emboldened, Mr Pannun said. They are using their proxies to target leaders of the Khalistan referendum movement. Activists of the Dal Khalsa Sikh organisation, a pro-Khalistan group, stage a demonstration demanding justice for Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed in June 2023 near Vancouver, after offering prayers at the at Akal Takht Sahib in the Golden Temple in Amritsar on 29 September 2023 ( AFP via Getty Images ) Photos from Sikhs for Justice revealed at least four bullet holes in the drivers side window, marked with what appeared to be police evidence tags. One bullet seemed to have lodged in the trucks dashboard, while another appeared to have exited through the windshield. Mr Raju told The Los Angeles Times: The day of our death is already written. I am happy to survive. But this wont change the work that we do. He is currently helping Sikh activists organise a November referendum in New Zealand. The Independent has reached out to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs for comment. 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 man who was allegedly spotted running around naked in a New York town has been arrested for the suspected murder of his girlfriend after she was found strangled to death in her home. Jeremy J. Kirch, 45, was apprehended by Rome police and taken to the hospital for a mental health evaluation. He was later charged with second-degree murder in the death of 50-year-old Elizabeth A. Gerling. Gerling was found dead in her bed on Tuesday morning at her home on Birch Circle in Rome, New York, deputies said. The elementary school principal is the daughter of a retired US bankruptcy judge, Stephen Gerling, according to her obituary. Elizabeth Gerling was found strangled to death in bed on Tuesday ( Dimbleby Funeral Home ) Her death has been ruled a homicide due to strangulation, according to the medical examiners office. Kirch, who deputies identified as Gerlings boyfriend, told police he had been at her home the night before her death, until early the next morning. Its not clear who found the principals body and alerted police. Hours after the suspected murder, Kirch was spotted running around naked in Rome before he was taken into custody, The Daily Sentinel reported. After a short conversation with him, he was transported to the Kurt B. Wyman Law Enforcement Building for further questioning, authorities said, according to Law&Crime. Kirch was arrested for murder in the second degree and he was arraigned in Rome City Court and remanded to the Oneida County Jail without bail. Jeremy Kirch, 45, was arrested and faces a murder charge after his girlfriend was found dead ( Oneida County Sheriffs Office ) According to Gerlings obituary, she was a mother of one son. She was hired as a school principal at Columbus Elementary School in Utica in 2013 and truly loved her job. On the schools website, Gerling was remembered for being an exceptional leader and for her dedication to the school community. In Loving Memory of Principal Elizabeth Gerling. Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of our beloved principal. Ms. Gerlings dedication to our school community will forever be remembered, it read. Utica City School District Superintendent Dr. Christopher Spence remembered Gerling as not just an exceptional educator and leader but also a dear friend and colleague to many. He wrote that her death was a shock to all of us, especially just before the new school year. 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 former Florida sheriffs deputy has been charged with manslaughter months after the shooting death of 23-year-old Senior Air Force Airman Roger Fortson. An arrest warrant has been issued for former Okaloosa County Sheriffs Office deputy Eddie Duran, 38, who shot Fortson inside his Fort Walton Beach apartment on May 3, according to the Office of the State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit of Florida. Fortson opened his door to police responding to a domestic call at his apartment complex, the Elan Apartments by ARIUM. The Black serviceman was holding a gun at his side pointed at the floor, body camera footage released after the incident showed. Fortson was at home with his dog and on a video call with his girlfriend when the officer, who identified as Hispanic, began banging on the door and shouting Sheriffs Office open the door. Eddie Duran, 38, has been charged in the shooting death of Senior Air Force Air Man Roger Fortson Roger Fortson ( Facebook ) After spotting the firearm, the deputy fired six shots, striking Fortson. The officer then yelled at him to drop the gun. Fortson responded: Its over there and said, I dont have it. Duran is not in custody. Officials are waiting for him to turn himself in to the police. He faces 30 years in prison if convicted of the charge. An attorney for Duran did not respond to the outlets request for comment. Following the incident, Ben Crump, who is representing Fortsons family, claimed that officials went to the wrong apartment and did not announce themselves, a statement the sheriffs office disagreed with. Duran was first placed on paid administrative leave as an investigation into the matter proceeded. He was later terminated from his post. The deputy first joined the sheriffs office in 2019 and resigned in November 2021 before returning in June 2023. In a statement issued on Friday, authorities with the sheriffs office said they found Durans use of force was not objectively reasonable after the investigation found the serviceman did not make any hostile, attacking movements. We continue to wish Mr Fortsons family comfort and peace, as the former deputys criminal case proceeds, Fridays statement read. In a statement issued through Crumps office following the announcement, Fortsons family said: This is the first step towards justice for the family of Roger Fortson. Nothing can ever bring Roger back, and our fight is far from over, but we are hopeful that this arrest and these charges will result in real justice for the Fortson family. About two months after Fortsons death, his 16-year-old brother Andre Fortson died in a shootout between two groups in the Atlanta area. 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 }} The husband of a missing Virginia woman told police he last saw her at the dinner table three weeks ago. Now, hes been charged with concealing a dead body. Missing mother Mamta Kafle Bhatt, 28, is presumed dead, Manassas Park Police Chief Mario Lugo confirmed on Thursday, after police revised their original timeline saying her husband, Naresh Bhatt, was the last person to see her alive on July 31, according to Fox5. Police now believe she was last seen four days earlier, on July 27 at the UCA Health Prince William Medical Center, with her last communication being on July 28 when she spoke with a friend. The investigation began on August 2 after police received a call from Kafles coworker, requesting a welfare check as she didnt turn up for her shift at work, reported WJLA. After executing a search warrant on the family residence on Wednesday, detectives arrested Bhatt in connection with his wifes disappearance. The couple have one child, a daughter named Neema who was placed in the care of the Department of Social Services. In yesterdays press release, the City of Manassas Park Police Department said, The child is safe and being cared for. The release also says police are still investigating the disappearance of Kafle and are hoping to locate her. Naresh Bhatt has been charged with concealing a dead body as police search for his wife, Mamta Kafle ( Prince William-Manassas Regional Adult Detention Center/ City of Manassas Park Police Department ) Bhatt was held without bond pending an arraignment this morning. In another release, the police claimed to have obtained and executed in excess of 10 search warrants and hundreds of hours of interviews related to this case. Nadia Navarro, a woman claiming to be another friend of Kafle, has opened a Facebook and GoFundMe page to advocate for the missing mother and raise money to fund search efforts. So far, more than $14,000 has been raised out of 341 donations. In the most recent Facebook post, Navarro said she is one of two people who are candidates to take care of Neema, explaining that she has a spare room for the child and would be honored to have her. Were making sure she wont go to strangers or to a facility, she added. We love her and she will stay with us! 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 }} Google will soon give California millions of dollars to help pay for local journalism jobs in a first-in-the-nation deal, but journalists and other media industry experts are calling it a disappointing agreement that mostly benefits the tech giant. The agreement, which was hashed out behind closed doors and announced this week, will direct tens of millions of public and private dollars to keep local news organizations afloat. Critics say it's a textbook political maneuver by tech giants to avoid a fee under what could have been groundbreaking legislation. California lawmakers agreed to kill a bill requiring tech to support news outlets they profit from in exchange for Google's financial commitment. By shelving the bill, the state effectively gave up on an avenue that could have required Google and social media platforms to make ongoing payments to publishers for linking news content, said Victor Pickard, professor of media policy and political economy at the University of Pennsylvania. California also left behind a much bigger amount of funding that could have been secured under the legislation, he said. Google got off easy, Pickard said. Google said the deal will help both journalism and the artificial intelligence sector in California. This public-private partnership builds on our long history of working with journalism and the local news ecosystem in our home state, while developing a national center of excellence on AI policy, Kent Walker, president of global affairs and chief legal officer for Googles parent company Alphabet, said in a statement. State governments across the U.S. have been working to help boost struggling news organizations. The U.S. newspaper industry has been in a long decline, with traditional business models collapsing and advertising revenues drying up in the digital era. As news organizations move from primarily print to mostly digital, they have increasingly relied on Google and Facebook to distribute its content. While publishers saw their advertising revenues nosedive significantly in the last few decades, Googles search engine has become the hub of a digital advertisement empire that generates more than $200 billion annually. The Los Angeles Times was losing up to $40 million a year, the newspaper's owner said in justifying a layoff of more than 100 people earlier this year. More than 2,500 newspapers have closed since 2005, and about 200 counties across the U.S. do not have any local news outlets, according to a report from Northwestern Universitys Medill School of Journalism. California and New Mexico are funding local news fellowship programs. New York this year became the first state to offer a tax credit program for news outlets to hire and retain journalists. Illinois is considering a bill similar to the one that died in California. Here's a closer look into the deal California made with Google this week: What does the deal entail? The deal, totaling $250 million, will provide money to two efforts: funding for journalism initiatives and a new AI research program. The agreement only guarantees funding for a period of five years. Roughly $110 million will come from Google and $70 million from the state budget to boost journalism jobs. The fund will be managed by UC Berkeleys Graduate School of Journalism. Google will also kick in $70 million to fund the AI research program, which would build tools to help solve real world problems, said Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, who brokered the deal. The deal is not a tax, which is a stark departure from a bill Wicks authored that would have imposed a link tax requiring companies like Google, Facebook and Microsoft to pay a certain percentage of advertising revenue to media companies for linking to their content. The bill was modelled after a policy passed in Canada that requires Google to pay roughly $74 million per year to fund journalism. Why are tech companies agreeing to this now? Tech companies spent the last two years fighting Wicks' bill, launching expensive opposition campaigns and running ads attacking the legislation. Google threatened in April to temporarily block news websites from some California users' search results. The bill had continued to advance with bipartisan support until this week. Wicks told The Associated Press on Thursday that she saw no path forward for her bill and that the funding secured through the deal is better than zero. This represents politics is the art of the possible, she said. Industry experts see the deal as a playbook move Google has used across the world to avoid regulations. Google cannot exit from news because they need it, said Anya Schiffrin, a Columbia University professor who studies global media and co-authors a working paper on how much Google and Meta owes to news publishers. So what they are doing is using a whole lot of different tactics to kill bills that will require them to compensate publishers fairly. She estimates that Google owes $1.4 billion per year to California publishers. Why do journalists and labor unions oppose the agreement? The Media Guild of the West, a union representing journalists in Southern California, Nevada and Texas, said journalists were locked out of the conversation. The union was a champion of Wicks' bill but wasn't included in the negotiations with Google. The future of journalism should not be decided in backroom deals, a letter by the union sent to lawmakers reads. The Legislature embarked on an effort to regulate monopolies and failed terribly. Now we question whether the state has done more harm than good. The agreement results in a much smaller amount of funding compared to what Google gives to newsrooms in Canada and goes against the goal to rebalance Googles dominance over local news organizations, according to a letter from the union to Wicks earlier this week. Others also questioned why the deal included funding to build new AI tools. They see it as another way for tech companies to eventual replace them. Wicks' original bill doesn't include AI provisions. The deal has the support of some journalism groups, including California News Publishers Association, Local Independent Online News Publishers and California Black Media. What's next? The agreement is scheduled to take effect next year, starting with $100 million to kickstart the efforts. Wicks said details of the agreement are still being ironed out. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has promised to include the journalism funding in his January budget, Wicks said, but concerns from other Democratic leaders could throw a wrench in the plan. 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 }} Tropical Storm Hone barrelled toward Hawaiis Big Island early Thursday morning, as residents braced for impact. The National Weather Service (NWS) said that the system had strengthened, swirling east-southeast of the Hawaiian Islands at 16 mph, with maximum sustained wind speeds of 45 mph and higher speed gusts. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward for up to 90 miles from the storms center. A Tropical Storm Watch meaning that tropical storm conditions are possible in that area over the next 48 hours is in effect for Hawaii County, but residents of other islands were told to monitor the storm. Some gradual strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days as it continues moving west. Tropical Storm Hone swirls over the Pacific Ocean on Friday morning. Hawaiis Big Island is bracing for impacts from the storm ( NOAA ) The center of Hone is expected to pass near or south of the Big Island from Saturday night and into Sunday. Threats from the tropical storm include windy conditions, swells that are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip currents, and rainfall of four to eight inches over mainly windward and southeast facing slopes of the Big Island, with some locally higher amounts. Smaller totals of two to four inches will also be possible mainly on the windward side over portions of the smaller Hawaiian Islands. A NOAA satellite image shows Tropical Storm Hone and Hurricane Gilma over the Pacific Ocean on Thursday ( (NOAA via AP) ) The agency said the storm would strengthen into a hurricane briefly southwest of Hawaii late Sunday and into Monday. Mayor Mitch Roth said in a Facebook video on Thursday that residents should start getting prepared due to the potentially hazardous wind and flooding conditions. Make sure you are getting your news from credible news sources, he said. In a separate post, he asked Hawaiians to review their emergency plans. The U.S. Coast Guard said in a release that it had set the port condition for the seaports of Hilo and Kailua-Kona in Hawaii County to Whiskey. That condition is set when there are expected sustained gale force winds that may arrive to the area within 72 hours. Recommended Tropical storm forecast to bring strong winds and heavy rain to Hawaii this weekend During Whiskey, port facilities are open to all commercial traffic and transfer operations may continue. However, all ocean-going commercial vessels and barges are require to make plans for departure if they dont have the permission to remain, commercial vessels are required to complete cargo operations and leave the port within 60 hours after Whiskey is set, and vessels that want to remain in the port must submit a safe mooring plan and obtain permission from the U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port and the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation (DOT) Harbors Division. Hone formed in the central Pacific Ocean on Thursday. It is the first named storm of the Central North Pacific season. The Eastern North Pacifics Category 3 Hurricane Gilma could potentially also impact Hawaii, but the NWS said weakening was expected. The storm was moving nearly 2,000 miles east of the town of Hilo on the Big Island. Its maximum sustained winds were strong at 120 miles per hour. Gusty winds from either storm could raise the risk of wildfires in Hawaii. Strong winds were a factor in fanning the devastating and deadly wildfires that rocked Mauis historic Lahaina last summer. The Washington Post reported that Hones winds are not expected to be as strong. 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 New York City museum has been slammed by its staff for banning employees from wearing the keffiyeh, a Palestinian headscarf. The ban came to light when a gallery attendant at the Noguchi Museum in Queens was reportedly pulled into a meeting with the Museums Director, Amy Hau, and Lizan Highland, its director of people and culture. The employee was notified that they would no longer be allowed to wear the keffiyeh at work, employees alleged in an Instagram post. Hau then reportedly told the employee that failure to comply with the new policy would result in being sent home, in addition to other potential disciplinary action. The attendant chose against removing the scarf and was sent home as a result. Employees said the attendant was the only person pulled into such a meeting despite other employees having worn the headscarf regularly. On August 21, the museum moved to officially ban the keffiyeh. Museum leadership announced that it would be enforcing the decision To maintain a neutral and professional environment that would prohibit staff members from wearing clothing or accessories that display political messages, slogans or symbols, an email shared with The Independent stated. In an emailed statement to The Independent, a spokesperson for the museum said: We recognize that we are living in complex and challenging times, where personal expression and public discourse often intersect in unexpected ways. Recently, concerns were raised about a staff member wearing a keffiyeh while at work at the museum. While we understand that the intention behind wearing this garment was to express personal views, we recognize that such expressions can unintentionally alienate segments of our diverse visitorship. The statement continued: However, within the museum, our responsibility is to foster a safe, inclusive, and welcoming environment for all staff and visitors. To maintain this environment, we have made the decision to remove political statements from our workplace. The keffiyeh is an Arab headscarf synonymous with Palestinian culture ( Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) Clothing that promoted political parties, candidates, or ideological movements would not be permitted, museum leadership wrote. The museum simultaneously barred political speech or display of ideological symbols to ensure that the museum remains a space where all visitors and staff can feel welcome. Employees have called the ban racist and have drafted a petition signed by 54 out of 72 employees. Staff members are asking that the museum erase the policy and not discipline employees who choose to wear keffiyehs, a traditional Arab headdress synonymous with Palestinian culture. Noguchi Museum in New York City has been accused of not allowing its employees to wear the keffiyeh, a Palestinian headscarf ( Google Maps - street view ) On the day the ban was put into place, 15 staff members, including nine part-time front-facing staff, one full-time staff member, three warehouse staff members and two archives staff members refused to go to work. The following day, three front-facing staff came to work wearing the keffiyeh and were sent home by the museums director by 12.30pm. Five other staff members left the museum that day in solidarity. Employees say the museums new policy doesnt honor its namesake, Isamu Noguchi, a sculptor of Japanese heritage who spent six months in a Japanese internment camp in the 1940s. As staff members, we are dedicated to protecting and fostering the work and legacy of Isamu Noguchi a man who understood intimately the injustice of targeted discrimination and displacement, the petition reads. We believe that this directive does not serve the overall mission of the Museum. We reject the assertion that politics can be separated from cultural institutions. In December, the keffiyeh made national news after three Palestinian university students were shot in Vermont. Two of the men had been wearing the headscarf at the time and called the shooting a hate crime. They were left seriously injured, including one who was left paralyzed from the waist down. The assailant, Jason J Eaton, 48, was arrested on three counts of attempted murder. The Noguchi Museum isnt the only place where the headscarf has been banned. In May, the Australian state of Victoria ruled members of parliament could not wear the scarves in parliamentary chambers. In Ontario, Canada, the provinces legislature banned members of the provincial parliament from wearing the scarf, claiming that those who were doing so were making political statements. 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 }} The Supreme Court handed the Republican National Committee a partial win on Thursday, granting their request to reinstate an Arizona voter ID law that requires new voters to prove their citizenship when using a state form. Huge win for the integrity of elections, the GOP wrote on X in response to the ruling. However, the court denied the portion of the RNCs request to prohibit voters from participating in the presidential election or by mail unless they provide proof of citizenship. The RNCs request emerged from a dispute over the 2022 Arizona law that would have required county officials to verify any person registering to vote via a federal form or state form is a US citizen. That means new voters would need to include their birth certificate or passport. A group of plaintiffs including voting rights groups, Democrats and the government challenged the law arguing that the National Voting Registration Act overrides the 2022 law. An elections worker inspects a mail-in ballot as she opens up and sorts mail-in ballots prior to tabulation at the Maricopa County Tabulation and Election Center on November 06, 2022. Maricopa Couny was the subject of unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election ( Getty Images ) Citing a 2013 precedent, the government said, A State violates the Act by rejecting a federal form on the ground that the voter failed to submit documentary proof of citizenship along with it. The Act thus preempts Arizonas requirement that voters who register with the federal form submit documentary proof in order to vote for President or vote by mail. A district court sided with the plaintiffs but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a partial ruling in favor of the RNC allowing the voter ID requirement for state voting registrations to move forward. Among the GOPs arguments included raising concerns over the Purcell principle a precedent that states courts should not change election results too close to an election because it can be confusing. The RNC asked the Supreme Court to issue a decision before August 22. The 5-4 decision arrived in the form of an unsigned order as typical for cases on the emergency docket and did not provide any explanation for the decision. It noted that Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch would have granted the RNC its full request while Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson would have denied the request in full. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh did not indicate how they would have voted. The 2022 Arizona voter ID law was undoubtedly inspired by the unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud in the swing state made by former president Donald Trump and his allies after the 2020 election. The ramifications of Trumps accusations are palpable. Republicans in the state have enacted sweeping changes to the states voting process. Disputes over election laws and other voting measures, like in Arizona, are likely to be a recurring theme at the court in the near future. 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 }} Social media speculation is swirling that Beyonce will perform at the Democratic National Convention for Vice President Kamala Harriss acceptance speech. White House Political Director Emmy Ruiz posted a bee emoji on X, which many social media users took as a reference to the Beyhive and an indication that Beyonce is set to perform on Thursday night. Sorry guys my 6-year-old took my phone, Ruiz added, which didnt stem the flow of hopeful posts that the artist would appear. The White House director of political strategy and outreach has tweeted a emoji. The Beyonce DNC buzz is really buzzing now, Joey Garrison of USA Today wrote on X. Taking this as Beyonce at the DNC confirmation, former Obama staffer and podcaster Tommy Vietor added. City officials and Democratic party organizers have been preparing for a surprise performance, according to Rolling Stone magazine. Beyonce accepts the Innovator Award onstage during the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California on April 01, 2024. Rumors are swirling that shes set to appear at the DNC on Thursday night ( Getty Images for iHeartRadio ) Two sources told the magazine that local law enforcement has been prepping for a possible Beyonce visit to the Windy City, with one person saying that its been crazy. People running the show and working here obviously will prepare for Beyoncepalooza We just keep being told I dont know when this comes up, the individual said. It has come up frequently. While no one has spotted Beyonce in Chicago, two people told the magazine that they heard a marching band checking the sound for Beyonces song Cuff It on Thursday. The artists song Freedom has been used as the theme song of the Harris campaign, with the vice president walking out on stage at the DNC on Monday to the song. Live update from the @DemConvention: The band is practicing @Beyonce songs, Fentrice Driskell, the minority leader of the Florida House of Representatives, wrote on X on Thursday afternoon. Writer and educator Sari Beth Rosenberg shared a video of a band practicing on stage, saying Its definitely going to be @Beyonce right? Beyonces team is reported to have given the green light to the Harris campaign to use Freedom only hours before the campaign was launched last month. The artist backed President Joe Biden and Harris a day before the 2020 election, she also spoke at a rally for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and fundraised for Barack Obama during his re-election campaign in 2012, Rolling Stone noted. MINSK, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang said here Thursday that China stands ready to work with the Belarusian side to push for the high-level development of their all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership. Li made the remarks while meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at the Palace of Independence in Minsk. Li conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings to Lukashenko. Li said that China-Belarus relations, regardless of how the international situation changes, have always shown vigor and vitality since the establishment of diplomatic ties 32 years ago. The two sides adhere to mutual benefit and common development, and their practical cooperation has yielded fruitful results and brought tangible benefits to the two peoples, Li noted, pointing out that the two heads of state met in Astana this July and made strategic arrangements on deepening bilateral relations. China is willing to work with Belarus to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, continuously consolidate political mutual trust, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and push for the high-level development of the China-Belarus all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership to better benefit the two peoples, Li said. Noting that China will continue to firmly support Belarus in pursuing a development path suited to its national conditions, Li said that China stands ready to further synergize development strategies with Belarus, solidly advance cooperation in various fields, steadily expand trade scale, effectively implement projects such as the China-Belarus Industrial Park, and continuously deepen people-to-people exchanges. Li also said that China is willing to further strengthen multilateral cooperation with Belarus, jointly promote the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, advocate an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, promote the development of the global governance system towards a more just and reasonable direction, and safeguard the common interests of developing countries. Lukashenko asked Li to convey his sincere greetings to Xi. Noting the two countries have always firmly supported each other on major issues concerning each other's core interests, he said that the Belarus-China relations are enjoying a strong momentum of development and are at an all-time high. The Belarusian side sincerely appreciates China's long-term selfless assistance to its economic and social development, Lukashenko said, adding that Belarus stands ready to maintain close high-level exchanges with China, deepen practical cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, agriculture, science and technology. Belarus is willing to actively participate in the important global initiatives proposed by President Xi and make greater progress of the Belarus-China all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership, said Lukashenko. 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 }} In 1964, Fannie Lou Hamer, the head of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, spoke in stark detail about how she was brutally beaten in a police cell for seeking the right to vote. All of this is on account of we want to register, to become first-class citizens, she said. Hamer and other Black people in heart of the Deep South had lived under a cruel racial apartheid regime in the United States for years. Her goal was to speak at the convention and offer an alternative to the segregationist delegation of Dixiecrats from her state. And if the Freedom Democratic Party is not seated now, I question America, she said. Is this America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, where we have to sleep with our telephones off the hooks because our lives be threatened daily, because we want to live as decent human beings, in America? In the 60 years since Hamers speech, the Democratic Party has relied on Black women as the most consistent organizing force and a reliable voting bloc. But at the same time, they would often be relegated to the background, while white politicians and then later Black male politicians ascended to the highest ranks. On Thursday night in Chicago, Vice President Kamala Harris gave a very different speech at 2024s Democratic National Convention. Her speech marks an important moment: Black women have finally reached a point where they are at the forefront of the party. Fannie Lou Hamer, a leader of the Freedom Democratic party, spoke before the credentialing committee of the Democratic National Committee. ( Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) Harris has borrowed the slogan For the People from Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress and the first Black woman to run for president. And she is only one of three Black women to have served as a United States Senator. Its for a long time been stated that Black women were characterized as the backbone of the Democratic Party like that is true, not just in folks who have been volunteering on the ground, volunteering as poll workers, Senator Laphonza Butler of California told The Independent last month. What I believe we are seeing is a manifestation of decades of commitment to a party where Black women have been more than happy in the past to work behind the scenes. The convention has highlighted two other Black women who won their primaries. On Wednesday, Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware delivered a primetime address; and on Tuesday evening, Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland did the same. Alsobrooks had beaten a self-funded Democratic congressman named David Trone earlier this year, but had the backing of almost the entire Maryland Democratic political establishment, underscoring how much money and political capital Black women need to get to the top. Some Black Democratic consultants are putting muscle behind it. Ashanti Gholar, president of Emerge, has promoted fundraisers for Harris such as White Dudes for Harris. We know the issues in our community like the back of our hand, she told The Independent. So of course, we're going to be putting our name on the ballot, and with so much going on in the world, we know that we need those diverse lived experiences if we really want to have an inclusive democracy, to have a representative democracy. No Black woman in the US has ever won a governorship. During the convention, Democrats applauded Stacey Abrams as she roamed around the Hyatt Regency. Her historic campaign for governor of Georgia in 2018 led to a narrow loss to Brian Kemp, during which she refused to concede, attributing her loss to voter disenfranchisement. Abrams would go on to lay the groundwork for Georgia voting for Biden, but would lose by a larger margin in 2022 in a rematch against Kemp. Similarly, in 2021, two Black women ran for the Democratic nomination for governor, but both lost to Terry McAuliffe, a white former governor, who would go on to lose to Republican Glenn Youngkin. It blows my mind [that] we're still having firsts but we have worked very hard to get to this place, and I'm very excited to see it, Representative Jennifer McClellan told The Independent. McClellan became the first Black woman elected to Congress from Virginia in a special election. I think the biggest hurdle that I saw was imagination people just could not see it, she said, while discussing her campaign and the hurdles in getting elected. We need people to do more than just say yes, they support candidates, but to actually put their money where their mouth is, put their footwork where their mouth is, she continued. So if you see a woman who's doing the work, who has the qualifications, who's exciting, then get behind it the same way you would any other candidate. And there are signs Harris will need plenty of infrastructure once she leaves Chicago. Earlier this week, former president Donald Trump went on conservative talk host Hugh Hewitts show and blasted her membership in Alpha Kappa Alpha, a Black sorority. She went actually to a [sorority] party, and you know that, he said. And a very unimportant one. They have them numerous times during the year. Its a shame. Considering the organizing strength of Black women now, Trump might be about to find out how supposedly unimportant such parties can be. Throughout the weekend, Harris and Hamers names seemed to rhyme. On Thursday evening, as Harris was about to walk in, Nancy Rotering, the mayor of Highland Park, Illinois, filed in and wore a sticker commemorating Hamer. 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 a volunteer for the Democratic National Convention and a proud American, I had the rare opportunity to watch live as Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. As a fellow woman of color, this was meaningful to me but it was even more noteworthy because it happened on the fourth anniversary of my dads death. My father Armando, a Cuban exile and small-business owner, was a staunch Republican, but Id like to think hed be proud of me nevertheless. From an early age, Dad cautioned me not to take my civic duty for granted. He never missed an election; sometimes I tagged along as a kid when he went to the voting booth. Dad had voted Republican since he became a citizen in the 1960s. Like many Cubans, he had never forgiven the Democratic Party for the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, where Cuban exiles trained by the US attempted to overthrow Fidel Castro but were abandoned by the Kennedy administration. That failure left a lasting distrust among the community. Add to that the fact that the GOP has historically taken a more hardline stance against Castros dictatorship and has advocated for stricter sanctions and a firm foreign policy against communist states something that aligns with the views of many Cuban exiles and you might begin to understand why he always cast his ballot for a Republican. In fact, my father said he would never vote for a Democrat for any office for as long as he lived. Part of me thinks Dad would be both impressed and annoyed by my determination and persistence to volunteer for a party he vowed never to support. I attended my first prospective volunteer virtual information session for the Democrats last December, and submitted my application early in the summer, as soon as I was eligible to do so. I provided personal details, including my Social Security number, date of birth, and other identifiers, to the US Secret Service for clearance. With thousands of applicants across the country vying for a volunteer spot, I was happily surprised to be among those chosen. Every day, fellow convention-goers and I went through rigorous, airport-style security before we can entered the convention venue. I was on the media logistics team, so during the week, I primarily worked on press check-ins and answered questions, but I also went on food runs to ensure fellow volunteers are fed. During our volunteer info sessions, we learned there were more than 50,000 people who attended the convention, including nearly 5,500 delegates and alternates, 20,000 members of the media, senior government officials, and elected leaders from around the country. There were also business leaders, entrepreneurs, nonprofit leaders, and more. Cusido on Day 2 of the DNC ( Carmen Cusido ) In between volunteer duties, colleagues and I took turns heading to the upper levels (or sometimes, if we were lucky, close to the convention floor) of the United Center in Chicago to catch primetime speeches by President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former first lady Michelle Obama, and other political superstars. I was able to meet Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, a mental-health advocate who I greatly admire. I was also stationed within feet of Pete Buttigieg, whose speeches and media interviews I look to as both sources of personal inspiration and as good examples of expert message delivery. Some tasks were different this time, but the process was familiar to me. Because before I became a pro-choice, climate-conscious, universal-healthcare-supporting Democrat, I volunteered at the Republican National Convention in New York City in 2004. Carmen Cusido with Rep. Jamie Raskin at the DNC ( Carmen Cusido ) Growing up in a working-class New Jersey town, my identity as the American-born daughter of elder Cuban exile parents shaped my worldview. Summers spent in Miamis Little Havana with family only reinforced my conservative upbringing. I attended anti-communist plays (I often was the only child in the audience) and participated in hours-long pig roasts where my parents and maternal grandmother joined uncles, aunts, cousins, and other family as they animatedly discussed the fall of the Soviet Union and the latest US-Cuba policies. These discussions werent just about politics; they were about who we were, and who we might be in the future. By 2004, I was a 21-year-old college senior, but I was an anomaly among my peers. While most college kids typically decorate their dorms with a string of lights, potted plants, a photo wall, and music posters, I displayed Bush Cheney 04 campaign signs, anti-communist bumper stickers, and pictures of myself with local Republican politicians. Carmen Cusido, age 21, volunteering at the RNC ( Carmen Cusido ) At the time, I hadnt yet begun fertility treatments or knew of friends who needed medically necessary abortions (or chose to terminate their pregnancies for other reasons.) I had not yet worked for a global wildlife conservation organization, which opened my eyes to the urgent need for action on environmental issues. My friends and I hadnt yet been laid off or left jobs during health crises, leading me to realize how crucial universal healthcare can be. But gradually, as the years went on, all of that happened and my views changed in response to the life that I was living. Dad and I who barely spoke as it was found less to talk about when I registered as a Democrat in the early 2010s. We did find some common ground near the end of his life, though. When he received his primary ballot to vote in New Jersey in June 2020, Dad looked at me and said, I dont want to vote for Trump. He said the pandemic would be over by Easter, and everything would be open, and he lied. Papi, does that mean youre ready to finally vote for a Democrat? I joked. Me, vote for a Democrat? No, never, he answered, without hesitating. What else can I do? The Bush twins at the RNC ( Carmen Cusido ) Well, you can write someone in, I said. Okay, Dad responded, and penned the name of Marco Rubio, Floridas Cuban-American senator, in the write-in box. Todays version of the GOP with its insistence on policing womens reproductive choices and controlling what books students can or cannot read feels like a scary glimpse into the kind of terrifying government overreach that my parents and other family members escaped from. I think Dad sensed that, too, because he admitted during that same conversation: Carmen, the Republican Party is no longer what it used to be. I guess we can agree on that, I answered. Carmen Cusido is a freelance writer based in Northern New Jersey. She is working on a memoir about grief and loss titled Never Talk About Castro and Other Rules My Parents Taught 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 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 }} Several prominent Republicans and onetime Trumpworld figures came out in force at the Democratic National Convention in support of Kamala Harris urging their own party members to vote for a Democrat rather than second Donald Trump back to the White House for a second term. Notable Republican figures, some who had worked in Trumps White House when he was president, used their platform at the DNC to speak directly to conservative voters at home, appealing to them to vote for Harris in November. By contrast, no prominent Democrats spoke at the Republican National Convention in Miluwakee back in July. Speaking on the second day of the DNC, Trumps former press secretary Stephanie Grisham unleashed a fiery attack on Trump and the former first lady Melania Trump, when she revealed what happened on the day she quit: January 6 2021. On January 6, I asked Melania I asked if we could at least tweet that while peaceful protest is the right of every American, theres no place for lawlessness or violence, Grisham said. She replied with one word - no. I became the first senior staffer to resign that day. I couldnt be part of the insanity any longer. Former Trump White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham speaks on stage at the DNC in front of an apparent text message with former first lady Melania Trump ( Getty Images ) Acknowledging how as press secretary she never held any White House briefings, Grisham said it was because unlike my boss, I never wanted to stand at the podium and lie. Advocating for Harris, she said: Kamala Harris tells the truth, she respects the American people and she has my vote. Grisham also claimed Trump calls his loyal supporters basement dwellers behind closed doors. Whene former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan took to the stage, he sent the crowd wild by telling Republican viewers at home: If you vote for Kamala Harris in 2024 youre not a Democrat youre a patriot. Duncan accused Trump of being a direct threat to democracy and described the Republican party as a cult worshiping a felonist thug. Delivering another blow to Trump was former Illinois Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger, who said in his speech: Donald Trump has suffocated the soul of the Republican Party. Republican former Representative from Illinois Adam Kinzinger speaks on the final night ( EPA ) He added: The Republican Party is no longer conservative. It has switched its allegiance from the principles that gave it purpose to a man whose only purpose is himself. Donald Trump is a weak man pretending to be strong. He is a small man pretending to be big. Hes a faithless man pretending to be righteous. Hes a perpetrator who cant stop playing the victim. Olivia Troye, a lifelong Republican and former advisor to ex-vice president Mike Pence, described Trumps White House as terrifying. She told the convention hall: What keeps me up at night is whatll happen if he gets back in [the White House]. The guard rails are gone, the few adults in the room the first time resigned or were fired. Olivia Troye, a former Mike Pence advisor, said Trump pretends to care about Republican values ( CNN / YouTube ) Troye added that Trump pretends to care about Conservative, Catholic, Texan values. By contrast, voting for Harris would be protecting our freedom, she said, adding that she is proud to support Kamala Harris. So to my fellow Republicans, you arent voting for a Democrat - youre voting for democracy. You arent betraying our party, youre standing up for our country, she added. Former Trump fixer Michael Cohen was also at the convention but not invited to speak. Cohen testified against the former president in his hush money trial which saw Trump convicted on 34 charges of falsifying business records. Michael Cohen, former personal lawyer to Donald Trump, on the second day of the Democratic National Convention ( Getty Images ) The Republican Mayor of Mesa, Arizona, John Giles, also appeared at the convention and said: Trump made a lot of lofty promises, unlimited economic growth, American manufacturing reborn, a secure border. Turns out Donald Trump was all talk. He wanted our votes, but he couldnt deliver a thing. The prominent conservatives appeared at the DNC after the Harris campaign launched Republicans for Harris. The initiative is a grassroots organizing program to further outreach efforts to the millions of Republican voters who continue to reject the chaos, division, and violence of Donald Trump and his Project 2025 agenda, the Harris campaign said in a statement. 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 Trumps behavior in recent weeks has reportedly raised concerns in his camp that he could be suffering from PTSD, as he is said to be replaying the clip of the assassination attempt over and over again. Hes been watching that seven-second clip of how close he was to getting shot right in the head over and over and over again, a Republican close to the Trump campaign told Vanity Fairlast week. They added: He may actually legit have PTSD. Hes been through a lot, a campaign official added to the outlet, referring to how the shooting continues to weigh on Trumps mind. So does Trump really have undiagnosed PTSD from the near-death experience? The Independent spoke to some experts to find out. Rather than PTSD, one top expert said that Trumps habit for rewatching the moment he was shot is more likely a sign of the former presidents narcissism. Trump punches his fist into the air after surviving an assassination attempt ( Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved ) If he is going back and watching this and this is my opinion hes not watching this in the vein of PTSD, hes watching this in a vein of look at this event that happened to me, I took a bullet for democracy, Dr Seth Norrholm, a PTSD specialist and director of the neuroscience center for anxiety, stress and trauma at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, told The Independent. For him, its more about revisiting his own battle in the context of military service. He added: Put simply, narcissism overshadowed the post-traumatic response. Norrholm defines a narcissist as someone with an elevated sense of importance, who doesnt think the rules apply to them. A narcissist might use deceit and trickery to get ahead in life and can often display elements of sociopathy. Norrholm pointed to Trumps behavior in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. When gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire at Trumps rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, the former president ducked behind the podium and Secret Service agents leaped on top of him. After agents shot the gunman dead, they tried to whisk Trump from the stage. His face covered in blood, Trump stalled for a moment to thrust his fist into the air and shout fight at the crowd three times. Trump was bundled away by Secret Service after the shooting in Butler, Pennsylvania ( AFP via Getty Images ) Norrholm explained that he would expect a victim of an assassination attempt to feel an extreme level of fear and that there would be a reflexive or biological urge to preserve the self to survive. Whats a little different in this situation is youre talking about someone with an extreme level of narcissism, he said. What we saw from Trump was the reaction to fist bump to the crowd, to state fight three times and thats a little bizarre. It is possible that in those few seconds when he realized he had survived, maybe he had this rush of adrenaline it comes into his mind that hes going to do something about this...to make it a story, to get those photo opportunities. For Norrholm, theres another reason the PTSD expert isnt convinced the Republican presidential nominee has the disorder: because it is typically too soon for such a diagnosis. Responses and reactions in the days and weeks immediately after a traumatic event are characterized as an acute stress reaction, not PTSD, according to Norrholm. It wouldnt be surprising to hear that there may be psychological consequences ruminating about it, re-experiencing it, he said. But we dont really consider it to be PTSD or a disorder until those symptoms become consistent over a period of time. Laurie Kramer, a clinical psychologist and former director of the university honors program at Northeastern University in Boston, would not comment directly on the mental health of the former president for ethical reasons. Trump is bundled to the ground after a shooter opened fire at the rally in Butler ( Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved ) However, when speaking about behaviors in general she said that it is not uncommon for someone with PTSD to keep going over or perseverate over the event that has traumatized them. As well as reportedly replaying the footage of the attack, in the weeks since the attack, Trump has also publicly spoken about the shooting multiple times in media interviews, rallies and campaign speeches. People may keep on thinking about the event, wanting to talk about it repeatedly, playing the events over in their mind, Kramer explained. Thats probably a strategy to cope, to figure out why this happened and what meaning it has for them - theyre really grappling with how to respond. Kramer added: We know that individuals who have experienced significant stress like this can have trouble concentrating, their memory might be affected. That said, she added: Most people who have experienced a traumatic event dont keep talking about it in order to get sympathy and support from others rather they are actively trying to cope with the stress theyve experienced. The Independent has contacted the Trump campaign for comment. 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 }} Dozens of Democratic officials are demanding Kamala Harriss campaign and Democratic National Convention organizers let a Palestinian American speak on the stage on the final night of the event. Roughly three dozen uncommitted delegates sent to the DNC by voters in primaries who selected uncommitted in protest of the Biden administrations support for Israels war in Gaza have successfully recruited more than 200 Harris delegates to support calls for an immediate ceasefire and stop the flow of US-supplied bombs into Israel. But Uncommitted National Movement leaders announced on Wednesday that the DNC rejected their request for a speaking slot. A petition urging the DNC to reverse course has collected more than 90 signatures from Democratic elected officials and party chairs. Including a Palestinian speaker would not only honor our commitment to inclusivity but also provide an opportunity for these deeply personal and painful narratives to be heard, the petition reads. Just as we have collectively mourned and stood in solidarity with hostage families who have endured unimaginable grief, we must also offer compassion and understanding to Palestinians who have suffered under indiscriminate bombing. After vice presidential candidate Tim Walzs keynote speech on Wednesday night, uncommitted delegates and supporters staged a sit-in demonstration outside Chicagos United Center. Demonstrators included Georgia state representative Ruwa Romman, the first Palestinian elected to public office in the state, criticizing the fact that the convention included Republican speakers opposed to abortion. I know for a fact that the @DNC did not act in good faith and continue to lie about the negotiations. They are exposing themselves. https://t.co/wtPL8mcBD7 Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) August 22, 2024 Clearly they have room for anti-choice Republicans, but sadly, it doesn't seem like they have room for Palestinians Romman said, during the demonstration, she told The Independent. Uncommitted delegates and supporters have been urging the DNC and the Harris campaign to give Romman a two-minute speaking slot, or calling on other elected officials to give up their spot to let her or another Palestinian American speak instead. Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American congresswoman representing Michigan, went further on X: I know for a fact that the [DNC] did not act in good faith and continue to lie about the negotiations. They are exposing themselves. A Harris campaign adviser, Ian Sams, was asked about the issue on CNN but deflected, saying that Palestinian-American supporters had been given other opportunitites to engage with the party at the DNC. He then pivoted to arguing that the vice president was focused on efforts to protect civilians while stressing that Israel had a right to self-defense. Wolf Blitzer: "Why was a Palestinian-American denied a speaking slot tonight?" Harris campaign senior advisor Ian Sams: "Well, I think we've given them a lot of opportunities to engage in this process at the convention." pic.twitter.com/mans8e4hN5 Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) August 22, 2024 In her remarks, Romman planned to discuss her familys roots in the villages of Suba in Jerusalem and Al Khalil in the West Bank. Her parents, who were born in Jordan, moved to Georgia when she was eight years old. After her grandfather passed away a few years ago, and as weve been moral witnesses to the massacres in Gaza, Ive thought of him, wondering if this was the pain he knew too well, she planned to say. When we watched Palestinians displaced from one end of the Gaza Strip to the other I wanted to ask him how he found the strength to walk all those miles decades ago and leave everything behind. She also planned to celebrate the beautiful, multifaith, multiracial, and multigenerational coalition within the Democratic Party that is calling for a ceasefire, end the killing of Palestinians, free all the Israeli and Palestinian hostages, and to begin the difficult work of building a path to collective peace and safety. Pro-Palestinian uncommitted delegates continued to protest outside the venue ahead of the fourth day of the Democratic National Convention, which had rejected their pleas for a Palestinian American speaker at the conference. ( REUTERS ) Biden has refused calls from within his own party to withhold weapons sales to Israel to pressure a ceasefire in Gaza, even as the death toll from the conflict has reached more than 40,000 and famine has spread across the territory. The DNC heard from Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the parents of a 23-year-old American taken hostage by Hamas. The couple also made an emotional plea for a ceasefire and the release of hostages. In his message from the stage of the conference on Wednesday, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said Harris and Walz are listening. They agree with us, said Ellison, a former DNC deputy chair. If you wanna know where they stand on some of the most urgent issues let me assure you, Kamala and Tim hear you. They listen, they care, and everyone is included in their circle of compassion. On Thursday, he wrote that a Palestinian-American sharing his or her story, calling for cease fire and release of all hostages, and calling everyone to support the ticket against facism would be powerful. Campaign communications director Michael Tyler did not directly answer reporters on Thursday when pressed why the campaign is not allowing a Palestinian speaker on the stage. A group of uncommitted delegates held a sit-in just outside the United Center to protest the lack of a Palestinian American speaker at the Democratic National Convention on August 21. The protests continued into the following day, ahead of Kamala Harriss closing remarks. ( EPA ) Harris is committed to ending the violence, ending the conflict, making sure that we resolve this conflict with a permanent ceasefire that allows Israel to fully secure itself and make sure that we have full humanitarian aid, and also make sure that Gazans are able to peacefully live and prosper in Gaza, according to Tyler. In a letter to Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison, Michigan state Representative Alabas Farhat -- whose district includes Dearborn, where the uncommitted movement was born -- said the DNCs failure to address the movement cannot be understated. Leaders of the [DNC] cannot claim to want peace in Gaza but actively thwart the ability for Palestinians to speak their truth at the DNC, said Michigan House leader Abraham Aiyash. The plight of the Palestinians isnt just an inconvenience you can ignore because itll ruin vibes children and families are being blown to pieces by US funded bombs, and to silence folks who want to lift their stories is another sad attempt to dehumanize Palestinians, he added. It is shameful that this is even a conversation that needs to be had. Still, Abbas Alawieh, one of the leaders of the Uncommitted Movement and former chief of staff to Representative Cori Bush, said that the movement made strides. Our movement is strong and our movement is growing, Im very hopeful, he told The Independent. John Bowden and Eric Garcia contributed reporting 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 }} Preliminary ratings for the Democratic National Convention show Kamala Harriss keynote speech had 22% more viewers than Donald Trumps address last month. Harris became the first woman of color to accept a major partys presidential nomination on Thursday night during her address in Chicago, Illinois. Some 15 million people tuned into Harriss 45-minute speech, according to the combined ratings of seven major networks shared by Michael Mulvihill, president of insights and analytics for the Fox Corporation. MSNBC alone averaged 6.8 million viewers during the vice presidents speech. Meanwhile, Trumps 90-minute, rambling keynote address, had 12.3 million viewers, according to combined ratings of seven networks. Ratings for Kamala Harriss keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention beat Donald Trumps Republican National Convention address by 22% ( Getty Images ) Harris also had higher ratings in Philadelphia, Atlanta and Detroit all cities in major swing states. Trumps keynote speech, meanwhile, beat Harris in Pittsburgh, Milwaukee and Greensboro, Mulvihill said. The final night of the DNC saw 14.3 million viewers, according to the combined ratings from seven networks shared by Mulvihill. The Chicago event once again beat the Republican National Convention, which had 12.2 million viewers on its final night. All week the DNC has had big leads in the overnights and the margins have narrowed in the final nationals, Mulvihill wrote on X. The 17% gap for last nights full show is close enough that you cant rule out the possibility of the RNC having the bigger national audience. Trump was reportedly concerned about Harriss speech receiving higher ratings than his ahead of Thursday, two sources close to the campaign told Rolling Stone. The sources claimed Trump brought up the topic multiple times while noting his own tremendous viewership. In response to the report, the Trump campaign told Rolling Stone that voters know Kamala is weak, failed, and dangerously liberal, and the Democrat ticket is the most radical in American history. During her historic keynote speech, Harris pledged to write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told and warned listeners about the dangers of a second Trump presidency. In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious, she said. Imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails, and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency not to improve your life, not to strengthen our national security, but to serve the only client he has ever had: himself, she continued. 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 again from the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where US vice president and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris will give her acceptance speech. She accepted the partys nomination a month after the Democrats forced Joe Biden to exit the race. Ms Harris own presidential ambitions were always clear, but had been undermined by her own shaky 2020 campaign and bumpy vice presidential term. Since being thrust to the top of the ticket, she has tightened the race against Republican Donald Trump. Her forceful stump speeches have been met by a surge in enthusiasm from voters. If Harris wins on 5 November, she will be the first woman to be elected president, as well as the first person of South Asian heritage. In her speech Ms Harris, 59, plans to talk about her life as the daughter of a Jamaican father and Indian mother and lay out her plans to tackle rising costs and advance personal freedoms, including abortion rights, aides said. She will also deliver a robust denunciation of former president Trump. 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 }} When MAGA conspiracy theoristLaura Loomer criticized Donald Trumps former press secretary over her weight, the internet was having none of it. Stephanie Grisham, who was also Melania Trumps press secretary and chief-of-staff, delivered remarks at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night. During her remarks, she told attendees that the former president mocks his supporters behind closed doors, calling them basement dwellers. Grisham said she resigned on January 6, 2021 - the day of the Capitol insurrection - because she couldn't be part of the insanity any longer. She added: Kamala Harris tells the truth, she repsects the American people and she has my vote. On Tuesday, Loomer, known for her right-wing conspiracy theories and anti-Muslim activism, posted a screenshot of Grisham on X, and wrote: Stephanie Grisham really hit the wall. Another traitor who got rich off Donald Trump and then turned on him on J6. Stephanie Grisham, a former press secretary to Donald Trump, addressed the DNC on Tuesday night ( Reuters ) I guess she started eating uncontrollably ever since she quit Trump. She must have gained about 75 pounds since she resigned. Now shes voting for KamalaHarris. Thats what happens when you hit the wall. Her remarks were quickly seized upon by social media users, who came out in defense of Grisham and fired back at Loomer. What a hideous person you areand its not even your looks, one wrote. Another added: Whys fat-shaming so easy for you, Republicans?? with another writing: Your account and your conspiracies are trash. You cant talk about the way anyone looks, Laura. The Independent has contacted Loomer for comment. Loomer has kept up her social media attacks on speakers at the DNC throughout the week, including on celebrity attendee Oprah Winfrey, who addressed the convention on Wednesday night. Oprah Winfrey begged Donald Trump to be his running mate, Loomer wrote on X. Shes a hypocrite and a liar. She is also so rich that the Democrat policies wont make her suffer like they will make everyday Americans suffer. Lauran Loomer, 31, is a zealous follower of Trump and the MAGA movement, known for her right-wing conspiracy theories and anti-Muslim activism ( Getty Images ) On Thursday she added: Im still stunned at the utter hypocrisy of the last 3 nights of the DNC. It is enough to make me feel disoriented and stunned. And that is saying a lot, because it takes a lot to leave me stunned. Watching the DNC will make you feel like you live in an alternate universe. 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 }} Michelle Obama has jumped to praise Tim Walzs teenage son for his emotional reaction to his dads Democratic National Convention speech and taken a swipe at critics after firebrand conservative commentator Ann Coulter cruelly called him weird. During Walzs rousing acceptance speech for the vice presidential nomination on Wednesday night, Gus Walz proudly leaped to his feet, tears streaming down his face and shouted: Thats my Dad! While most viewers and political pundits found the moment heartwarming, right-wing media pundit Coulter shared a news article about the teens reaction on X and captioned the post: Talk about weird Coulter, who was seemingly parroting the weird epithet that Walz branded Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance with back in July, later deleted the post following a swathe of backlash online. Asked why she deleted the post, she replied on X: I took it down as soon as someone told me hes austistc [sic], but its Democrats who go around calling everyone weird thinking its hilariously funny. Later, Michelle Obama, who herself delivered an electrifying speech at the DNC on Tuesday eviscerating Donald Trump, took to X to defend the teen and hit out at anyone making fun or mocking the 17-year-old. I was touched to see Gus Walzs joy when his dad @Tim_Walz took the stage last night. Thankful for you showing us all what real love looks like, Gus, Obama said as the DNCs fourth and final day wrapped up on Thursday evening. Michelle Obama (seen speaking at the DNC on Tuesday) seemingly clapped back at Ann Coulters comments about Gus Walz ( AP ) Lets be a nation that embraces this kind of warmth and vulnerability, instead of making fun or mocking it. We could all use some of Guss example in our own lives. Other figures also hit out at Coulter directly for her attack on Gus, who has a non-verbal learning disorder, ADHD and anxiety disorder. Hollywood actor Billy Baldwin shared a quote from Comedy Centrals Roast on X and wrote: F*** off Ann you... repugnant, hatchet faced b****. I can see why a child loving their parents would feel foreign to you, former Obama staffer and podcaster Tommy Vietor retorted. Heartwarming moment Gus Walz reacted to his fathers speech ( Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) Ann Coulter will die alone, and forensic pathologist will discover her withered corpse is nothing but Marlboro reds and box wine, former Republican strategist Rick Wilson chimed in. Coulter previously faced flak in 2020 for sharing a post of a crying Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager who fatally shot two Black Lives Matter protesters in Wisconsin in 2020, along with the caption: I want him as my president. X, then Twitter, removed the statement due to a violation of its rules. Gus had joined his mom Gwen Walz and 23-year-old sister Hope on Wednesday night to watch his fathers biggest speech of his career, where he accepted the partys nomination to become Vice President Kamala Harriss running mate. Ann Coulter, a conservative commentator, faced backlash for her post ( Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Politicon ) Walz was talking about the fertility struggles he and Gwen had faced and how, after seven years of fertility treatments, they finally had their daughter and aptly named her Hope. Hope, Gus and Gwen, you are my entire world. And I love you, Walz told the crowd. It was at this moment that the captures captured Guss heartfelt reaction. The Walzes first spoke out about Guss conditions earlier this month during an interview with People magazine. When our youngest Gus was growing up, it became increasingly clear that he was different from his classmates, the couple said. Gus preferred video games and spending more time by himself. Walz and Gwen describe his conditions as, not a setback, but rather their sons secret power: making him brilliant, hyper-aware and above all, an excellent son and brother. The Independent has contacted Coulter for comment about her X post, and its subsequent removal. 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 }} Warning: This livestream has not been independently fact-checked and may contain misinformation. Watch again as Robert F Kennedy Jr makes an announcement on the future of his presidential campaign on Friday 23 August. The independent candidate on Thursday filed paperwork to withdraw from presidential ballots in the state of Arizona, according to Adrian Fontes, Arizona Secretary of State. He addressed the nation 24 hours later. A super PAC supporting Mr Kennedy also said on Wednesday that he wants a deal with Donald Trump in which he endorses the Republican in exchange for a job in a potential Trump administration. Mr Trump told CNN this week he would certainly be open to Mr Kennedy playing a role in his administration if the independent candidate drops out of the race and endorses him. Mr Kennedy, 70, the son of late Democratic politician and US attorney general Robert F Kennedy and nephew of the late president John F Kennedy, started his presidential campaign as a Democrat, challenging Joe Biden for the nomination. 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 }} Dark horse presidential contender and well-known vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Friday that he is suspending his independent bid for the White House and throwing his support to Donald Trump. The mainstream of American politics and journalism derided my decision [to run], Kennedy, 70, insisted during a press conference Friday afternoon, where he railed against chronic disease, corruption in health agencies, and the Democratic Party. In an honest system, I believe that I would have won the election, the independent candidate claimed, slamming the media, without evidence, as being tainted by government propaganda. At an appearance in Las Vegas, Trump commented, I want to thank Bobby. That was very nice. That was really very nice. Thats big. Hes a great guy. Respected by everybody. Kennedy, who infamously revealed during his campaign that a parasitic worm had embedded itself in his brain and died there, blew through millions in cash to get to his present five percent share of the expected national vote in November, an inarguably anemic figure even for a third-party candidate. Polls showed that figure continuing to drop, and the rest of his own family fully disavowed his candidacy. Conventional wisdom said that it would be impossible even to get on the ballot as an independent, Kennedy said on Friday. Because each state poses an insurmountable tangle of arbitrary rules for collecting signatures, I would need over a million signatures something no presidential candidate in history had ever achieved, and then Id need a team of attorneys and millions of dollars to handle all the legal challenges from the DNC. Kennedy said he would now be endorsing Trumps run ( AP ) In my heart, I dont believe that I have a realistic path to electoral victory in the face of this relentless systematic censorship and media control, Kennedy insisted. Kennedy said he would now be endorsing Trumps run, while at the same time lobbing bitter brickbats at the DNC. He will not be terminating his campaign, but rather, will be simply suspending it, Kennedy went on, clarifying that he would remove his name from the ballot in 10 battleground states. My name will remain on the ballot in most states, he continued. If you live in a blue state, you can vote for me without harming or helping President Trump or Vice President Harris, and [in] red states, the same will apply... If you do vote for me, [and] the major party candidates dont win 270 votes, which is quite possible.. I could conceivably still end up in the White House in a contingent election. But in about 10 battleground states where my presence would be a spoiler, Im going to remove my name, and Ive already started that process and urge voters not to vote for me. Kennedy said he met with Trump and was surprised to discover how many ideas and views the two shared. He called himself a ferocious critic of Trumps during his first administration, and continues to disagree with him on many issues, then went on to decry legal warfare against both President Trump and myself, arguing the Democratic primary was rigged, echoing Trumpian grievances about shadowy government forces out to silence him. Kennedy said he tried unsuccessfully to open similar discussions with Vice President Harris, who declined to take the meeting. Endorsing Trump was agonizing for him, Kennedy said, and will damage his existing relationships with family and others, he said. However, he believes Trump is allied with his stance against Big Pharma, and said, somewhat nebulously, that he thinks a Trump administration will work to combat chronic disease. The Democratic National Committee responded to Kennedys announcement before it had even ended, calling the appearance bizarre and rambling. [H]is candidacy has never been anything other than a spoiler campaign for Trump, the DNC statement said. He was recruited into the race by MAGA Republicans like Steve Bannon, he was propped up by Trumps largest donor, and he parroted MAGA attacks on Democrats. DNC Senior Advisor Mary Beth Cahill said, The more voters learned about RFK Jr. the less they liked him. Donald Trump isnt earning an endorsement thats going to help build support, hes inheriting the baggage of a failed fringe candidate. Good riddance. Kennedy announced that he was suspending his presidential campaign and supporting Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump ( Getty Images ) The Kennedy family also put out a statement about their relatives speech, saying, they want an America filled with hope, and that they were endorsing Harris and her VP contender, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Out brother Bobbys decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear, the statement said. It is a sad ending to a sad story. Trump will be holding a campaign rally in Phoenix on Friday evening, and has promised a special guest. Kennedy, who recently outed himself as the one who dumped a baby bear carcass in Central Park a decade ago to make a point about bike lanes, has previously called Trump a sociopath, a terrible human being, and the worst president ever. On Thursday, Kennedy withdrew his name from the ballot in Arizona, just a week after (somewhat mysteriously) gathering enough signatures to get on it in the first place. On Friday, several hours before Kennedy revealed his plans to drop out, Trump, who has been endorsed by rapper Waka Flocka Flame, actress-turned-conspiracy-theorist Roseanne Barr, and the former keyboard player from Journey, responded to speculation about the possibility of receiving the nod from Kennedy. I have a lot of respect for RFK Jr, Ive known him a long time, Trump told reporters. There are rumors that he is going to make an endorsement. That would be a great honor for me. Shanahan had been teasing an endorsement for several days, saying she feared drawing votes away from Trump were the duo to stay in the race. Earlier this week, Donald Trump Jr. told right-wing broadcaster Glenn Beck that if his father retakes the presidency, he would welcome Kennedy in some sort of role in some sort of major three-letter entity or whatever it may be and let him blow it up. The former presidents son and ex-Fox News personality Tucker Carlson had reportedly pushed Kennedy to leave the race and line up behind Trump. 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 }} Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s running mate Nichole Shanahan expressed doubts about Donald Trump and said their campaign would never sell out, hours before RFK Jr. endorsed the former president. In an interview on the Adam Carolla Show that aired on Friday, Shanahan described the challenges the RFK campaign has had getting on the ballot in states like New York and tried to calm speculation they were about to endorse Trump, telling Carolla only RFK would make that announcement. We would never sell out this campaign ever. Its not what we would ever choose to do nor are we defeated in this moment, but I have to say something. We are up against something that is unprecedented, she said. My statement was that we are weighing our options of staying in or working however we can with a plan b to ensure that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz do not end up in office in November, she added, referring to comments on a different podcast where she described the campaign looking at endorsing Trump. Elsewhere in the interview, Shanahan described certain reservations about allying with Trump, including his record on Covid, including "the vaccinations, the lockdowns letting Fauci and Francis Collins run the show, the firing of the other folks at the NIH and individuals at the CDC that were censored." "There was a lot that happened under Donald Trumps watch that should not have happened and cannot happen again," she said. Later that day, RFK Jr. did in fact endorse Trump, suspending his campaign and removing his name from the ballot in 10 battleground states. Donald Trump celebrates RFK Jr's endorsement The decision was agonizing, Kennedy said, but he argued it aligned with his stances against Big Pharma and his belief a Trump administration would work to combat chronic disease. Other members of the Kennedy family, many of whom opposed RFK Jr.s candidacy to begin with, condemned the endorsement. Our brother Bobbys decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear, they said in a statement. It is a sad ending to a sad story. The Kennedy campaign was projected to get about five percent of the expected share of national votes, and its unclear how his supporters will impact the race going forward, given the tight margins between the two leading candidates. 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 }} Several politicians have joined TikTok in recent weeks as a ban on the popular video app looms. Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, Pete Buttigieg, JD Vance and Donald Trump have all joined TikTok as the race ramps up and campaign strategists scramble to influence young voters. But their accounts come amid a contentious legal battle between the US Department of Justice and TikTok over a potential ban on the social media app. Transportation Secretary Buttigieg joined the platform earlier this week, joking in his first post that viewers might recognize him from Fox News. That came after Walz joined the app last week, quickly amassing more than 1 million followers. Vance, meanwhile, joined TikTok earlier this month and has since gained over 450,000 followers. Harris also created a personal account just days after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race. Kamala Harriss running mate Tim Walz joined TikTok last week, just days before Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined the app ( Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) Trump jumped on the TikTok bandwagon months ago, however, joining in June and amassing millions of followers. Trump has flipped on his support for a ban, initially pushing for one during his presidency before speaking out against the legislation earlier this year. If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business, Trump said in March, referring to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. In April, Biden signed a bill that forces the Chinese company ByteDance to either sell their app or be banned from US app stores within a year meaning the app will stick around through the election. TikTok has since sued the US, arguing the bill unfairly singles it out and violates the First Amendment. Never before has Congress expressly singled out and shut down a specific speech forum, TikToks attorneys wrote in June. Never before has Congress silenced so much speech in a single act. The Justice Department responded in late July, asking the court to uphold the legislation and arguing the bill pertains to national security rather than the right to free speech. The United States has long been concerned that the Chinese government could use its robust authority to take control of these data and thus obtain access to Americans personal and proprietary information, which China may stockpile and strategically deploy to undermine the United States security, the Justice Department replied. Major presidential contenders arent the only ones joining TikTok despite the controvesy. Several lawmakers supported the ban while still using TikTok, including Democratic Representative Jeff Jackson of North Carolina and Representative Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, CNN reports. Meanwhile, Harris has made her position on the app clear. As the VP has said before, we dont want to ban TikTok, a spokesperson for Harris told NBC News. We would just like to see a change in ownership. The Independent has contacted Buttigieg, the Harris-Walz campaign and the Trump-Vance campaign for comment. 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 }} The US Secret Service has reportedly placed multiple agents on leave, including the agent in charge of the Pittsburgh field office, in the aftermath of an assassination attempt against Donald Trump. Their leaves comes as the agencys internal affairs division continues to investigate how a 20-year-old gunman armed with an AR-15-style rifle was able to fire at the former president during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, grazing his ear and killing one attendee and injuring two others. Five or six agents have been placed on leave as disciplinary action, according to MSNBC. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi declined to comment to CBS News about personnel, but told the outlet that the agencys mission assurance review is progressing, and we are examining the processes, procedures and factors that led to this operational failure. The agency holds our personnel to the highest professional standards, and any identified and substantiated violations of policy will be investigated by the Office of Professional Responsibility for potential disciplinary action, he added. Members of Donald Trumps Secret Service detail surround him after shots were fired at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. ( REUTERS ) In his testimony to members of Congress last month, Secret Service acting director Ronald Rowe who replaced Kimberly Cheatle after she stepped down following growing calls from lawmakers for her resignation admitted that the agency had failed on multiple levels. That roofline shouldve been covered, he said. We shouldve had more eyes on that. He said that in no way should any state or local agency that supported Secret Service agents in Butler, Pennsylvania, should be held responsible for a Secret Service failure. During a briefing on August 2, when asked whether any Secret Service members have been suspended or fired, Rowe said that very thorough internal disciplinary investigations will ensure that anyone responsible for agency failures will be held accountable. Secret Service will not be able to provide real-time updates of any disciplinary actions, he said at the time. The Independent has requested additional comment. Acting US Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe testified before a joint Senate hearing on July 30 about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. ( Getty Images ) Recently released body-camera footage from local law enforcement in Pennsylvania suggested that officers had warned Secret Service agents that they needed to secure the building that Thomas Matthew Crooks climbed. I f****ing told them they need to post the f****** guys over here, an officer can be heard saying in the video. A Secret Service counter sniper assigned to Trumps detail ultimately fired the single shot that killed Crooks seconds after he started firing into the crowd, roughly 400 feet away from where Trump was speaking. Trump and his running mate JD Vance, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz, now have additional coverage from Secret Service counter snipers staged around their campaign rallies. Trump returned to holding outdoor rallies with bulletproof glass shielding him on the stage. 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 pushed millions of dollars of funds from campaign donations into his family businesses, a new report reveals. The former president and associated political groups have spent $28m in campaign funds at Trump-owned businesses throughout his three presidential bids, a report from CNN revealed. Other Republicans have similarly used campaign funds to make big purchases at Mar-a-Lago, Trump hotels and other affiliated businesses, according to CNN, which translates into profit for the former president. Trumps campaign and associated committees have spent more than $14m at TAG Air, Inc., a Trump-owned company that runs Trump Force One, the former presidents private jet, according to the news network. The biggest bill so far this year was a $1.9m purchase by Trumps campaign and associated committees at TAG Air, CNN reports. Donald Trump and associated political groups have spent more than $28 million in campaign funds at his own businesses throughout his three presidential bids, a new report reveals ( Getty Images ) Associated campaigns and committees have also spent more than $1m at Mar-a-Lago so far this year, the CNN report revealed. Theyve spent another $200,000 at other Trump hotels and resorts. A Trump campaign spokesperson told CNN that committees are paying the fair market rate for all venues and services provided by Trump-owned businesses. The spokesperson also said that any claims that Republicans are spending at Trumps businesses in exchange for favors are false and politically motivated to bolster an old and tired narrative. It is not illegal for candidates to spend campaign funds at their businesses as long as they pay the fair market rate, CNN reports. Meanwhile, Trump is having an expensive year following a pile-up of legal judgments that require him to pay millions. A New York judge ordered Trump to pay writer E Jean Carroll $83.3m in January after he was found liable for defaming her. One month later, he was found liable for financial fraud in New York and ordered to pay more than $350m though the bond was later brought down to $175m. In July, Trumps campaign raked in just $137m in donations. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris campaign earned $310m during the last ten days of July after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her. The vast majority of Harriss July donations were from individuals giving less than $200, The Independent previously reported. Harris became the first woman of color to accept a major partys nomination at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday evening. 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 campaigns in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Friday 23 August. The Republican presidential nominee touted his pledge to end federal taxes on tips. He was speaking on the same day that independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr said he would suspend his campaign, and endorsed Mr Trump. The decision ends a presidential bid that he began as a Democrat trading on one of the most famous names in American politics. His campaign indicated that he feared staying in the race would siphon support from Former President Trump, who is locked in a tight contest with Kamala Harris ahead of the 5 November election. An environmental lawyer, anti-vaccine activist and son and nephew of two titans of Democratic politics who were assassinated during the turbulent 1960s, Mr Kennedy entered the race in April 2023 as a challenger to Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination. 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 couldnt let the Democratic National Convention end on Thursday without one last attempt to grab the spotlight from Kamala Harris. The vice president became the first Black woman to headline a major partys nomination for the presidency on Thursday evening as she officially took on the mantle of the Democratic party. She delivered a moving speech that touched on her childhood while also broaching the topic of her 2024 opponent and the threat she says that he poses to the countrys future. All the while, Trump himself was firing back not in front of the cameras, but on Truth Social, his social media platform largely populated by his own diehard supporters. In total, the former president fired off more than 50 posts on Truth Social during Harriss 38-minute speech. Her address, energetic and punctuated by boisterous cheers, sharply contrasted Trumps own acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention last month, which touched on somber notes at the beginning as he spoke of his attempted assassination but quickly evolved into a ramble which lasted 92 minutes. While Trumps Truth Social barrage was billed ahead of time as a fact check, it was instead a collection of recycled attack lines and what appeared to be random thoughts spun off from the ex-presidents mind. Kamala Harris gave the keynote address on the final night of the Democratic convention in Chicago as her opponent, Donald Trump, posted angrily on Truth Social ( Getty Images ) IS SHE TALKING ABOUT ME? Trump questioned, seemingly in anger, at one point in her address. He didnt elaborate further. Other responses from Trump to lines from Harriss speech were more direct and in-depth. They fell on themes Trumps advisors clearly prepared for attacks abortion rights and the bipartisan border security compromise that he instructed his allies to kill in Congress earlier this year. The Border Bill is one of the worst ever written, would have allowed millions of people into our Country, and its only a political ploy by her! It legalizes Illegal Immigration, and is a TOTAL DISASTER, WEAK AND INEFFECTIVE! She doesnt need a Bill. As President, Crooked Joe and her could have just said, CLOSE THE BORDER! like I did I didnt have a Bill, I didnt need a Bill. The Border Patrol respected me, they did their job. We had the Safest Border in Recorded History! Trump wrote of the bill championed by James Lankford, the lead Republican negotiator, who blamed the former president for its downfall. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump spent the final night of the DNC posting a rapid-fire series of corrections on Truth Social ( AFP via Getty Images ) On abortion rights, he claimed: Everybody, Democrats, Republicans, Liberals, and Conservatives, wanted Roe v. Wade TERMINATED, and brought back to the States, a factually untrue statement given that Democrats, at the minimum, have long supporter federal protections for abortion rights. Trumps truthing appeared to be a stream of consciousness in response to whatever Harris was saying in the moment, with little sign that his advisers had pre-written any material. If there was one theme that Trump did return to frequently, it was the assertion that Harris, as vice president, had three years to pursue the policies which her campaign has vowed to push for in her administration, such as border security and legislation to reduce housing costs. Shes done nothing for three and a half years but talk, and thats what shes doing tonight, shes complaining about everything but doing nothing! She should leave the Speech right now, go to Washington, D.C., close the Border, allow fracking in Pennsylvania and other places, and start doing the things shes complaining about arent done, he wrote in one post. In another: No specific programs, ALL TALK, NO ACTION Why didnt she do it three and a half years ago? Trump is so rattled that he keeps hitting the buttons on his phone while hes talking pic.twitter.com/U1rXcJPpsU Acyn (@Acyn) August 23, 2024 Later on Thursday, Trump continued his unhappy tirade against Harris on Fox News to Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum as they anchored the networks coverage of the DNC. As he heatedly accused Harris of wanting to raise taxes, he could be heard accidentally hitting buttons on his phones keypad. Harriss four-day convention in Chicago ended with another star-studded night; pop star Pink performed, while comedian Dave Chappelle was spotted in the rafters and actor Ben Stiller was also seen onsite. One star not present: Beyonce, despite a quickly-circulating rumor egged on by the likes of Mitt Romney. Harris and her new running mate Tim Walz will return to the campaign trail in the days ahead likely boosted by another polling bump stemming from their partys successful convention. Harris had already risen in the polls ahead of the convention, and was on course to overtake Trump in a majority of the battleground states shell need to win the 2024 election. Trump, meanwhile, is set to headline an event with his running mate JD Vance in Nevada tomorrow; the ex-president has held smaller-venue events throughout the week as he has sought to compete for coverage with his Democratic rivals. 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 }} During Vice President Kamala Harriss Thursday night speech wherein she accepted the nomination for president at the Democratic National Convention, she specifically mentioned Palestinians. What has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating, she told the crowd at the United Center in Chicago. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. It was a surprisingly human line in a speech that otherwise touted a muscular foreign policy and patriotism; one that could have easily been delivered by George W Bush at the 2004 Republican National Convention or the late John McCain in 2008. Harris then went a step further by saying that she and President Biden are working to end this war, such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination. That mirrored the words Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made on the first night of the convention. But Abbas Alawieh, one of the leaders of the Uncommitted movement, told The Independent he wasnt fully satisfied with what Harris said. I was glad that she mentioned Palestinian dignity, and it did not surprise me that there was thunderous applause, and it's part of what we've been saying: that Democrats widely support Palestinian human rights, he told The Independent. Alawieh, a former chief of staff to Representative Cori Bush of Missouri, has led the charge among delegates who represent primary participants who chose to vote uncommitted as a way to protest the Biden administrations policy toward Israel since the October 7 attack by Hamas. While the Democratic National Convention reflected the larger jubilation within the party after Biden stepped away, uncommitted delegates grappled with that happiness, given that it seemed to knock the wind out of their movement. I was honestly quite disappointed with what seemed to me like repackaged talking points that perpetuate the status quo, Alawieh continued. Because what the Vice President is saying and how she's saying it, when she was talking about Palestinians, she said, Palestinians have died and they are starving, as if Palestinians are just dropping dead for no reason, or that somehow they're going hungry and nobody knows why. There's a perpetrator here. Advocates like Alawieh and others had hoped that they could get Democrats to support a ceasefire in Gaza and support an embargo on arms to Israel. They also hoped that they could get a Palestinian to speak onstage at the convention. Instead, Ruwa Romman, one of proposed speakers, read her speech outside the convention during a press conference. Clearly they have room for anti-choice Republicans, but sadly, it doesn't seem like they have room for Palestinians, she told The Independent, noting how the convention featured Republicans like former congressman Adam Kinzinger and former Georgia lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan. To be clear, uncommitted garnered about a million votes, and they had very specific policy asks, and what they said was, at bare minimum, we would like a symbolic gesture, and we never even got the symbolic gesture, she added. Asma Mohammed, one of the delegates from Minnesota, noted at a press conference on Thursday evening that she was pushing Democrats because she loves the party. Imagine me a hijabi woman with a keffiyeh walking into the RNC right now, she told reporters. It would never happen. This is our party. That's why we are working on our own party. This is my political home. That's why we are working on the inside. This is not to say that their work was a wash. Throughout the convention, numerous delegates, including older Black and white delegates from as far flung as Texas, were spotted wearing keffiyehs in clear support of the pro-Palestinian movement. Now, uncommitted delegates are giving Harris until September 15 to meet with them. If we wait until October to start having this conversation, that would be too late, because there's a lot of harm that needs to start being repaired. And it's going to take a lot of work on our part if we're going to help Vice President Harris, Abbas Alawieh said, noting how early voting is just around the corner. But there is little sign that the Democratic Party wants to kill the vibe shift as they hope for a Harris victory. If anything, these protesters will likely face the same fate as the Chicks, who were viciously maligned by many Republicans and effectively banned from country music radio because of their opposition to the Iraq War. On Thursday, the Chicks performed the national anthem at the DNC, with many of those Republicans who likely hated them now on the same side, opposing Trump. Its funny how history can work itself out sometimes. 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 exclusion of a transgender woman from a female-only social media app was unlawful, according to an Australian courts landmark ruling that is likely to have far wider ramifications in the space of trans rights. Roxanne Tickle, a transgender woman from New South Wales, found that her account on the Giggle for Girls social media app was restricted after seven months even though she was initially accepted. Ms Tickle sued the platform and its CEO Sall Grover for discrimination. Federal Court Justice Robert Bromwich stated on Friday that the respondents had defined sex as the unchangeable sex assigned at birth. Although Justice Bromwich found Ms Tickle wasnt subjected to direct discrimination, he upheld the claim of indirect discrimination because the Giggle for Girls app required her to appear as a cisgender woman to use it. He ordered the app to pay her 5,100 in addition to costs. These arguments failed because the view propounded by the respondents conflicted with a long history of cases decided by courts going back over 30 years. Those cases established that on its ordinary meaning sex is changeable, he said. Ms Tickle told the court that she has lived as a woman since 2017 and had her birth certificate reissued in 2018 to reflect the name and gender change. She underwent gender-affirming surgery in 2019. Up until this instance, everybody has treated me as a woman, she said. The case was significant as it was the first to address discrimination based on gender identity under the scope of the countrys Sex Discrimination Act. The case had sparked a debate in the country on what constitutes a woman under Australian law, and whether sex is binary. The apps CEO, Ms Grover, however, denied any discriminatory conduct. Her lawyers cited an exception in the sex discrimination law, arguing that the app intended to promote substantive equality between men and women. Ms Tickle had joined Giggle for Girls in February 2021 and had her access revoked in September of the same year. Tickle told reporters that she felt three years of her life had been stolen from her ( EPA ) Ms Tickles counsel, Georgina Costello KC, argued that sex and gender are not binary and involve psychological and social dimensions, not just biological ones. Giggle for Girls founder Sall Grover speaks after having lost in court. Among the arguments of her case was that gender was a social construct but sex biological ( EPA ) On the other hand, Ms Grovers lawyer, Bridie Nolan, argued that sex is biological and gender was a social construct, disputing that Ms Tickle had the psychology of a woman, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. After the verdict, Ms Tickle told reporters that the case had stolen three years of her life. There is so much hate and bile cast on trans and gender diverse people simply because of who we are. Sometimes its difficult to remember that not all people are like that. The ruling shows that all women are protected from discrimination. I brought my case to show trans people that you can be brave and that you can stand up for yourself, she 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 }} British technology tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were among the people initially unaccounted for after his superyacht Bayesian sank in a storm off the coast of Sicily in the early hours of Monday. On Saturday morning, Italian authorities announced a manslaughter investigation had been launched into the deaths of seven people, after a five-day operation that has seen divers carefully navigating their way into the cabin bedrooms. After a decade-long legal battle which had seen him extradited to the US to face an $11bn fraud case, Mr Lynch had celebrated by inviting his close friends, colleagues and those who helped him on his legal team aboard his boat as a gesture of gratitude. Mike Lynch missing ( PA Archive ) Yet a week of sunshine along the Italian coastline would soon turn to horror after the boat capsized shortly before dawn, only offering those onboard a few minutes to get themselves to safety. British tech mogul Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were among the seven people who died after the Bayesian superyacht sank near Porticello at about 5am local time on Monday. Morgan Stanley chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judith Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Christopher Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo also died. The British-flagged vessel named Bayesian was carrying 12 passengers and 10 members of crew when it sank at around 5am local time near the Sicilian capital of Palermo. The yachts chef, Recaldo Thomas, is already confirmed to have died after his body was recovered from the wreck on Monday, while 15 survivors were rescued. Here's what we know about the 22 people on board: Mike Lynch Hannah and Mike Lynch ( Supplied ) British technology tycoon Mike Lynch had been in the headlines long before the boat incident following being the centre of a high-profile fraud case. The 59-year-old is known for founding Invoke Capital and Autonomy, and his disappearance comes just weeks after he was cleared of all charges by a US jury related to the sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011. HP claimed, just a year after the sale, that Mr Lynch had used accounting tricks to artificially inflate its value before the sale. He spent 13 months under house arrest before being extradited to the US last May for a trial that acquitted him in June this year on all 15 counts. Mr Lynch told a Sunday Times journalist last month that he was about to go on a very long holiday. In June, he spoke of his indescribable relief at being back at home in Suffolk with his wife, daughters and their six dogs. He told reporters: I am looking forward to returning to the UK and getting back to what I love most: my family and innovating in my field. Angela Bacares Mike Lynch and Angela Bacares ( Desmond O'Neill ) Wife of Mike Lynch, 57-year-old Angela Bacares managed to escape to safety and is in a wheelchair with abrasions on her feet that prevent her from walking, according to la Repubblica. The newspaper said she told doctors that at 4am, the boat had tilted and she and her husband were woken up. Under Angela Bacares name, the couples estimated wealth is 852m, the Sunday Times Rich List revealed in 2023. They have a house in Chelsea, west London, but primarily live on their farm in Suffolk with their six dogs and rare breeds of pigs and cows. Hannah Lynch Hannah Lynch ( Supplied ) Mr Lynch was travelling with his daughter Hannah, whose body was lifted ashore on Friday afternoon. The 18-year-old had just completed her A-levels and secured a place to read English at Oxford University. Hannahs former English teacher Jon Mitropoulos-Monk said she was one of the best English students in the country having scored 100% in her English Literature GCSE. Patrick Jacob, a family friend, paid tribute to her on Friday, saying: Hannah was charming and ferociously intelligent with an insatiable thirst for life and knowledge. She was also warm, loving and deeply considerate; remarkably for her age. I am 50 years older than her and in my life I have never met anybody like Hannah. We have lost one of our brightest stars whose future held so much promise. Her loss is unbearable. Chris Morvillo Neda Morvillo and Chris Morvillo ( Patrick McMullan via Getty Image ) Chris Morvillo is a lawyer who represented Mr Lynch in his US trial. He is a partner at the Clifford Chance law firm who confirmed on Tuesday he was among the six missing. In his most recent LinkedIn post, he thanked the legal team that helped win Mr Lynchs trial. At the end of the post, he thanked his family for their support: And, finally, a huge thank you to my patient and incredible wife, Neda Morvillo, and my two strong, brilliant, and beautiful daughters, Sabrina Morvillo and Sophia Morvillo. None of this would have been possible without your love and support. I am so glad to be home. And they all lived happily ever after. Neda Morvillo Chris Morvillos 57-year-old wife Neda was with him on the holiday. She has a luxury jewellery brand, which she runs under her maiden name Neda Nassiri. Her husbands firm Clifford Chance said in a statement: Our thoughts are with our partner, Christopher Morvillo, and his wife Neda who are among the missing. Jonathan Bloomer Jonathan Bloomer ( PA Media ) Another of those confirmed to be dead is lawyer Jonathan Bloomer who is the chairman of investment bank Morgan Stanley International. He is also chairman of the insurance provider Hiscox, which confirmed he is missing. Its group chief executive Aki Hussain said they were deeply shocked and saddened by the news. Mr Bloomer was a defence witness for Mr Lynch during his US criminal trial and the pair are believed to be good friends, according to the Financial Times. Judy Bloomer Jonathan and Judy Bloomer ( Family Handout/PA ) Jonathan Bloomers wife Judy was also on board the yacht and has been confirmed dead. Mr Hussain said in his statement: Our thoughts are with all those affected, in particular our chair, Jonathan Bloomer, and his wife Judy, who are among the missing. Mrs Bloomer is on the board of The Eve Appeal charity, which focuses on gynaecological cancers. The charity described her as a brilliant champion for womens health and medical research... an incredible supporter, committee member, and trustee of our charity for over 20 years. Recaldo Thomas Recaldo Thomas ( Facebook ) Recaldo Thomas was the superyachts chef and the first person whose death was confirmed. The Canadian-Antiguan national was found by the Italian coastguard near the sunken boat. A friend of Mr Thomas, who asked to remain anonymous, said the yachting community has been saddened by his death. She told The Independent: He was a one-of-a-kind special human being. Incredibly talented, contagious smile and laugh, an incredible voice with a deep love of the ocean and the moon. I spoke to him nearly every day. He loved his life his friends and his job. Ayla Ronald Ayla Ronald ( Clifford Chance ) Ayla Ronald and her partner are two of the 15 who survived the yacht disaster, law firm Clifford Chance confirmed. The 36-year-old worked defended Mr Lynch in court and was on the trip as part of the celebration for his acquittal. Clifford Chance said in a statement: Our utmost priority is providing support to the family as well as our colleague Ayla Ronald, who together with her partner, thankfully survived the incident. She is originally from Christchurch, New Zealand, but lives in London, her father Lin Ronald told The Telegraph, saying she was very shaken. Mr Ronald said that she was invited to go sailing as a result of the success in the recent United States court case. Matthew Aylas partner Matthew also survived the boat disaster. There is little more known about his background or condition. Charlotte Golunski Charlotte Golunskys face covered by an officer from the British embassy as she leaves hospital in Italy ( REUTERS ) Charlotte Golunskis testimony of the ordeal on the ship were some of the first to be published after she was rescued along with her one-year-old daughter, Sofia. She spoke to Italian newspaper La Repubblica, confirming she survived the yacht sinking and told how she kept her daughter alive after she was rescued. She said: I held her afloat with all my strength, my arms stretched upwards to keep her from drowning. It was all dark. In the water I couldnt keep my eyes open. I screamed for help but all I could hear around me was the screams of others. The 35-year-old is a partner at Invoke Capital, one of Mr Lynchs law firms, and has worked there since 2012, according to her LinkedIn profile. James Emsley Ms Golunksis partner James Emsley was also rescued from the yacht, according to Sicilys civil protection agency. There is little information on him, but it has been confirmed the 36-year-old is the father of her one-year-old daughter. Sofia One-year-old Sofia was rescued from the water by her mother and subsequently looked after in hospital. Ms Golunski told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica that her family survived only because they were on deck when the yacht sank after encountering a heavy storm. Dr Domenico Cipolla told local media that the family have had a physical and psychological upheaval of their lives. He said the hospital provided toys for the baby, cuddles, and fed them because they were frightened and hungry. The family of three left the Di Cristina Childrens Hospital in a black van on Tuesday via a back entrance today. They were accompanied by an officer from the British embassy, who covered the familys faces with a jacket to hide them from a huddle of photographers. James Catfield The captain of the superyacht James Catfield survived the horror and broke his silence on Tuesday with just five words. He said: We didnt see it coming and was described as limp as he waited outside an emergency room in the Sicilian town of Termini Imerese, according to local media. Leo Eppel The Italian coastguard confirmed on Tuesday evening that Leo Eppel, a crew member, also survived the yacht sinking. 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 daughter of British entrepreneur Mike Lynch is the final person left to be found after a superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily, with emergency workers saying that she remains their priority. Hannah Lynch, 18, had been onboard her tech tycoon fathers luxury boat alongside 20 others, when the Bayesian capsized during stormy weather. The bodies of Mr Lynch, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, have all been recovered from the wreckage and identified. Technology tycoon Mike Lynch has died in the yacht disaster (Yui Mok/PA) ( PA Wire ) The yachts chef, Recaldo Thomas, was found and identified on Monday, just a few hours after the vessel capsized. The Italian coastguard have now confirmed that the search has resumed to find the teenager, who remains unaccounted for. Her mother, Angela Bacares, was among the 15 survivors who were rescued from a lifeboat after the boat dramatically sank in minutes at around 5am on Monday morning. Prior to the tragedy, Mr Lynch had been hosting colleagues and collaborators in celebration after winning an $11bn fraud case in the US. Those also killed include Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer; his wife, Judy Bloomer; Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo; and his wife, Neda Morvillo. Hannah had been due to study English at University of Oxford having recently finished her A-levels, The Times reported. A gifted pupil, she won a prize for English while she was in Year 10 at Latymer Upper School. She had studied at Upper Latymer School but had been due to attend Oxford in September ( Google Maps ) The prestigious Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, where she had been a pupil, has said they are all incredibly shocked after a yacht sank with her onboard. A spokesperson said: We are all incredibly shocked by the news that Hannah and her father are among those missing in this tragic incident and our thoughts are with their family and everyone involved as we await further updates. Friends of the teenager described her as a supernova - a gentle, kind, clever young woman who was a staunch feminist, according to The Times. Since her fathers death has been confirmed, tributes have flooded in from across the science and technology sector, with David Tabizel, Mr Lynchs Autonomy co-founder, saying: The world has lost a genius. His family have lost a giant of a man. Divers are still searching for Mike Lynchs missing teenage daughter ( AFP via Getty Images ) Mr Lynch was a member of the Create The Change fundraising board, set up by Cancer Research UK, which helped fund the building of the Francis Crick Institute. Chairman Lord John Browne, who described him as a human being of great ability, said: MikeLynch should be remembered as the person who catalysed a breed of deep tech entrepreneurs in the UK. His ideas and his personal vision were a powerful contribution to science and technology in both Britain and globally. 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 }} Friends have paid tribute to the brilliant, caring and beautiful daughter of tech tycoon Mike Lynch after her body was recovered from the Italian yacht disaster. Hannah Lynch was one of 22 people onboard her fathers luxury boat the Bayesian when it capsized during stormy weather on Monday. Italian rescue teams retrieved her body, the last of six to be found, on Friday after five days of searching. Grieving classmates said the 18 year-old, who was set to attend Oxford in a matter of weeks before tragedy struck, was a lover of literature and life. Hannah and Mike Lynch pictured together ( Supplied ) The love Hannah had for everything she held dear was passionate and pure, Katya Lewis said. She had a warm and beautiful soul. Being with Hannah made me feel whole and happy. She is the most special friend anyone could ask for and I will always love Hannah. Hannah had been due to study English at the University of Oxford having recently finished her A-levels, and has been described as a gifted pupil by her former teacher. Hannah was warm, loving and considerate a classmate said ( Supplied ) Jon Mitropoulos-Monk, Head of English at Latymer Upper School said: Ive never taught someone who combined sky-high intellectual ability with warmth and enthusiasm in the way Hannah did. She lit up the classroom with her energy, passion for learning and sheer intelligence (though never with a hint of arrogance). One of the best English students in the country, she scored 100% in her English Literature GCSE. The bodies of her father Mr Lynch, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo, have all been recovered from the wreckage and identified. Mr Lynch has been celebrating the end of a 13 year legal battle on the trip ( PA Wire ) The yachts chef, Recaldo Thomas, was found and identified on Monday, just a few hours after the vessel capsized. The Italian coastguard have now confirmed that the search has resumed to find the teenager, who remains unaccounted for. Hannahs mother, Angela Bacares, was among the 15 survivors who were rescued from a lifeboat after the boat dramatically sank in minutes at around 5am on Monday morning. Prior to the tragedy, Mr Lynch had been hosting colleagues and collaborators in celebration after winning an $11bn fraud case in the US. Those also killed include Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer; his wife, Judy Bloomer; Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo; and his wife, Neda Morvillo. Hannah had studied at Upper Latymer School but had been due to attend Oxford in September ( Google Maps ) The prestigious Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, where she had been a pupil, has said they are all incredibly shocked after a yacht sank with her onboard. A spokesperson said: We are all incredibly shocked by the news that Hannah and her father are among those missing in this tragic incident and our thoughts are with their family and everyone involved as we await further updates. Since her fathers death has been confirmed, tributes have flooded in from across the science and technology sector, with David Tabizel, Mr Lynchs Autonomy co-founder, saying: The world has lost a genius. His family have lost a giant of a man. The search has ended after five days ( AFP via Getty Images ) Mr Lynch was a member of the Create The Change fundraising board, set up by Cancer Research UK, which helped fund the building of the Francis Crick Institute. Chairman Lord John Browne, who described him as a human being of great ability, said: MikeLynch should be remembered as the person who catalysed a breed of deep tech entrepreneurs in the UK. His ideas and his personal vision were a powerful contribution to science and technology in both Britain and globally. 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 volcano in southwestern Iceland has erupted for the sixth time since December, spewing bright orange lava plumes high into the air. The eruption began at 9.26pm local time on the Reykjanes peninsula, near the abandoned town of Grindavik, following a series of earthquakes, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office. The total length of the fissure was about 3.9km and extended by 1.5 km in about 40 minutes, it added. Residents of the capital Reykjavic posted on social media that they could see the plumes of lava rising from about 50km away. Live streams from the volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula showed glowing hot lava shooting up from the ground, their bright yellow and orange colours set in sharp contrast against the dark night sky. "The impact is limited to a localised area near the eruption site. It does not present a threat to life and the area nearby was evacuated," Icelands Ministry for Foreign Affairs said on X. Icelands authorities are well prepared for seismic and volcanic activity which occurs regularly as a feature of our countrys natural geography. A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted Thursday, 22 August 2024, for the sixth time since December ( AP ) The lava was not flowing towards the nearby Grindavik fishing town, whose nearly 4,000 residents have been mostly evacuated since November, the Met office said. The eruption took place on the Sundhnukar crater row east of mountain Sylingafell, partly overlapping the other recent outbreaks on the Reykjanes peninsula, in a volcanic system which has no central crater but erupts by opening giant cracks in the ground. Studies had shown magma accumulating underground, prompting warnings of new volcanic activity in the area located just south of Icelands capital, Reykjavik. Tourists and visitors try to get a view of the eruption from a distance from the intersection between Reykjanesbraut, Iceland, and the road to Grindavik, Thursday, 22 August 2024 ( AP ) The most recent eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula, home to some 30,000 people or nearly eight per cent of the countrys total population, ended on 22 June after spewing fountains of molten rock for 24 days. The eruptions show the challenge faced by the island nation of nearly 400,000 people as scientists warn that the Reykjanes peninsula could face repeated outbreaks for decades or even centuries. Since 2021, there have been nine eruptions on the peninsula ( AP ) Since 2021, there have been nine eruptions on the peninsula, following the reactivation of geological systems that had been dormant for 800 years. Grindavik, a town of 3,800 people about 50km south-west of Icelands capital Reykjavik, was evacuated in November last year when the Svartsengi volcanic system awakened after almost 800 years with a series of earthquakes that opened large cracks in the earth between the town and Sylingarfell, a small mountain to the north. Grindavik, a town of 3,800 people about 50km south-west of Icelands capital Reykjavik, was evacuated in November ( AP ) The volcano eventually erupted on 18 December, sending lava flowing away from Grindavik. A second eruption that began on 14 January sent lava towards the town. The third eruption took place in February, when Sylingarfell volcano, located about 3km north of the town Grindavik in the southwestern part of the country, began spewing lava. A new volcanic eruption is seen from the intersection between Reykjanesbraut, Iceland, and the road to Grindavik, Thursday, 22 August2024 ( AP ) The fourth eruption occurred in March along Icelands Reykjavik peninsula, nearby the abandoned town of Grindavik while the fifth eruption was Sundhnuksgigar at noon on 29 May, with lava shooting 50 metres into the sky. A volcano erupts, near Vogar, Iceland, 22 August 2024 in this picture obtained from social media ( Reuters ) In response, authorities have constructed man-made barriers to redirect lava flows away from critical infrastructure, including the Svartsengi power plant, the Blue Lagoon outdoor spa and the town of Grindavik. Flights were unaffected, Reykjaviks Keflavik Airport said on its web page, but the nearby Blue Lagoon luxury geothermal spa and hotel said it had shut down and evacuated its guests. With Iceland straddling two major tectonic plates, fissure eruptions are a regular feature, and typically do not result in large explosions or significant production of ash dispersed into the stratosphere. Though the impact is often highly localised, an increased number of eruptions over recent years has attracted attention internationally, making it a prime destination for volcano tourism a niche segment that attracts thrill seekers. 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 }} Tributes have been paid to the 18-year-old daughter of British tech tycoon Mike Lynch after her body was recovered from the sunken yacht Bayesian. Hannah Lynch was brought ashore on Friday following a five-day search operation off the coast of Sicily, which had already retrieved the bodies of five others, including her father. Unconfirmed reports in the Italian media have now said that prosecutors are set to announce a manslaughter investigation into the incident, which killed seven in total and saw 15 others rescued from a lifeboat. A teacher said Hannah Lynch combined sky-high intellectual ability with warmth and enthusiasm ( PA ) Tributes have poured in for the charming and ferociously intelligent teenager, who had been due to start studying English at Oxford University in September. She died alongside her father when his boat capsized during stormy weather at around 4am on Monday morning, with the wreckage sitting at a depth of 50m below the surface of the sea. The trip had been a celebration of Mr Lynchs acquittal in a decade-long fraud case in the US, and he had invited close friends, colleagues and his legal team onboard to thank them for their support. Also killed in the incident was Morgan Stanley International chair Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, his wife Neda Morvillo, and the yachts chef, Recaldo Thomas. Technology tycoon Mike Lynch also died in the yacht disaster ( PA ) In a statement, the family of Mr Lynch and Hannah said: The Lynch family is devastated, in shock and is being comforted and supported by family and friends. Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy. They would like to sincerely thank the Italian coastguard, emergency services and all those who helped in the rescue. Their one request now is that their privacy be respected at this time of unspeakable grief. Hannahs sister, Esme, said: Hannah often burst into my bedroom and lay down with me. Sometimes beaming with a smile, sometimes cheeky, sometimes for advice. No matter what, she brought boundless love to me. She was endlessly caring, passionately mad, unintentionally hilarious and the most amazing, supportive and joyful sister and best friend to me. And on top of all this, she had even more love to give endlessly to all her friends and passion to give to her incredible studies and goals. She is my little angel, my star. Vincenzo Zagarola, of the Italian Coast Guard, said the search for Hannah was not easy or quick, comparing the sunken yacht to an 18-storey building full of water. Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judith were also confirmed dead on Thursday ( PA ) Specialist divers faced complex conditions while searching for the six missing people, with debris and furniture cluttering the narrow spaces leading to the cabin bedrooms. They only had a 10-minute window per dive to carry out their search, with a helicopter, remotely controlled underwater vehicles and naval units also deployed to assist. After the discovery of Hannahs body on Friday morning, coastguard members, police officers and search and rescue teams lined up along Porticello Harbour, before an ambulance transported her to the mortuary in Palermo. Among those paying tribute was her former head of English at Latymer Upper School, who described her as achieving success with extraordinary levels of grace and fortitude. Rescue workers line the harbour after Hannah Lynchs body is recovered ( Reuters ) Jon Mitropoulos-Monk said: Ive never taught someone who combined sky-high intellectual ability with warmth and enthusiasm in the way Hannah did. She lit up the classroom with her energy, passion for learning and sheer intelligence (though never with a hint of arrogance). Tributes from across all sectors have been paid to Mr Lynch, who founded the software giant Autonomy in 1996 and sat on the board of a number of prestigious institutions. His close friend and colleague Andrew Kanter said: Mike was the most brilliant mind and caring person I have ever known. Over nearly a quarter century I had the privilege of working beside someone unrivalled in their understanding of technology and business. There is simply no other UK technology entrepreneur of our generation who has had such an impact on so many people. A search operation had been ongoing for five days off the coast of Sicily ( Vigili del Fuoco/AFP/Getty ) In a statement confirming their parents deaths, the Bloomer family described the couple as incredible people and an inspiration to many. An investigation is now due to look at the circumstances in which the boat sank, with the yachts captain, James Cutfield, reportedly questioned for two hours by authorities. Mr Zagarola has said a decision on whether to raise the sunken yacht from the seabed is not on the agenda but will be in the future. The CEO of The Italian Sea Group, which owns the firm that built the Bayesian, said that the yacht was unsinkable and that the vessels are the safest in the most absolute sense. Prosecutors in the nearby town of Termini Imerese are scheduled to hold a press conference on Saturday morning. Close Final moments of seven who died in Bayesian tragedy revealed by fire service boss 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 captain of the Bayesian has insisted that he did everything possible to save those on board the superyacht, according to local reports. Sources close to James Cutfield, 51, told the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera that the 51-year-old New Zealander is currently living through the darkest days of his life as he is under investigation for possible manslaughter and culpable shipwreck charges. They reportedly said Mr Cutfield repeatedly insists that he did not abandon any of the 22 passengers and crew and that he did everything could could to save them. However, there reached a point when he could do little as the vessel had taken on too much water, they added. Since Wednesday, Tim Parker Eaton, the engineer who was in charge of securing the yachts engine room, and sailor Matthew Griffith, who was on watch duty on the night of the disaster, are also under investigation for the same possible charges, their lawyer said on Friday. British technology tycoon Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah were among the seven people who were killed after his superyacht capsized and went down on 19 August within minutes of being hit by a pre-dawn storm off the coast of Sicily. 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 }} Former Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw and his 81-year-old mother were drugged and then robbed in their holiday villa on Ibiza earlier this month. The Celebrity Gogglebox star had rented a luxury villa on the party island to celebrate his 40th birthday with his family and fiance. It is believed the raids carried out by a gang who have previously attacked on the island by pumping sedative gas into properties before breaking in wearing hazmat suits. It is not believed the criminals attacked the TV personality personally but rather targeted the villa, as it is renowned for being used by wealthy visitors. Grimshaw with fiance Mesh Henry, who was reportedly also on the Ibiza holiday ( PA ) A source said: There have been a spate of attacks in luxury villas across Ibiza this summer. Sadly Nicks villa was on the target list, simply due to it being known for being used by high net worth clients. The gang would have had no idea who he was. Sadly its a case of the wrong place at the wrong time but its scary to say the least. Nick was obviously upset but thought it best to keep things off social media. At the end of the day it was meant to be a private low-key break with his family. It is believed neither he or his family were physically hurt in the attack and that he is now back home in London. The DJ had rented a luxury villa on the island to celebrate his 40th birthday with his family ( PA ) Nick was pictured in Ibiza last week with his niece Liv, who appeared on Celebrity Gogglebox alongside him, and his fiance Mesh Henry eating ice cream. He rose to fame in 2012 when he began hosting the Radio 1 breakfast show, replacing radio veteran Chris Moyles. He also served as a judge on the X factor for one season in 2015. In 2021, he quit BBC Radio 1 after 14 years and his usual slot on the station was replaced by a new show fronted by Vick Hope and Jordan North. Other celebrities have claimed to have been victims of robberies aided by aesthetic gas in the past. Former Top Gear host Richard Hammond and his wife Mindy said they had been gassed as they slept in their St Tropez villa in 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 }} Vladimir Putin played to Donald Trumps ego and insecurity with flattery when the former president was in the White House, a former national security advisor who was later fired from office has alleged. HR McMaster, Trumps national security advisor from February 2017 until he was effectively fired by tweet in April 2018, claims in his new book At War With Ourselves: My Tour of Duty in the Trump White House that Putin had a hold over the former president. Putin, a ruthless former KGB operator, played to Trumps ego and insecurities with flattery, McMaster writes. Putin had described Trump as a very outstanding person, talented, without any doubt, and Trump had revealed his vulnerability to this approach, his affinity for strongmen, and his belief that he alone could forge a good relationship with Putin. Like his predecessors George W Bush and Barack Obama, Trump was overconfident in his ability to improve relations with the dictator in the Kremlin. The fact that most foreign policy experts in Washington advocated for a tough approach to the Kremlin seemed only to drive the president to the opposite approach. The now retired general McMaster served as national security adviser for 457 days before being fired and becoming one of several officials who eventually fell out with Trump over his foreign policy approach, including McMasters successor John Bolton. McMaster recalls telling his wife Katie in the aftermath of the poisoning in the UK by Putins agents of Sergei Skripal, a Russian former intelligence officer, and his daughter, in March 2018, that he could not understand Putins hold on Trump. While western leaders were preparing strong responses to the assassination attempt in Salisbury, McMaster claims Trump was sat in the White House fawning over a New York Post article with the headline: Putin heaps praise on Trump, pans US politics. McMaster then wrote that Trump penned an appreciative note on the article with a black Sharpie and asked McMaster to get the clipping to Putin. I was certain that Putin would use Trumps annotated clipping to embarrass him and provide cover for the attack, McMaster writes. The former national security advisor then said he handed the note to the White House office of the staff secretary, which handles Oval Office communications. Later, as evidence mounted that the Kremlin, and very likely Putin himself had ordered the nerve agent attack on Skripal, I told them not to send it, McMaster writes. The author went on to argue that Putins pandering to Trump was, he believed, a calculated effort by the Russian leader to exploit the US president and drive a wedge between him and hawkish advisers in Washington DC. 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 Brazilian migrant is being hailed as a hero after he risked his life to rescue a child dangling from the second-storey balcony of a building in Spain. Felipe David Souza was walking past the neighbourhood in the coastal city of Alicante, when he heard a cry for help, as several passersby gathered under a building, frantically pointing to a boy who had his whole body and one leg outside the window in a block of flats. A 1.52 minute-long video of the incident showed the boy stuck outside his homes balconey, seemingly frozen in fear. Mr Souza was seen climbing out of the balcony of another house on the same floor and inching closer calmly along the narrow parapet to reach the boy. He was able to gently push the six-year-old inside the balcony to safety, before jumping inside himself. I did it without thinking, he was quoted as saying by the Guardian. I was staring at the child to keep him calm, willing him not to move, he said. Its a short distance but it felt so long. Im really happy that the child is safe, he shared, adding that the family of the boy thanked him. The child had managed to slip out of the window, when the parents dozed off, reported the Guardian. Filipe David Souza, 29, helping a six year child to safety ( Screengrab/ TodoAlicante ) Describing the incident, the owner of a nearby cafe said the neighbours had begun putting cushions out on the street, in case the child fell, when they saw Mr Souza appearing out of nowhere to rescue him. We all had our hearts in our throats, Ines Su, told the outlet. The crowd burst into applause once the boy and Mr Souza were both safely inside. In recognition of his heroic action, the Alicante City Council has decided to award him in a ceremony in November, reported TodoAlicante. You risked your life to save that of the minor, councillor Julio Calero reportedly told him. 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 }} Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has urged Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky to sit down for talks with Russia to end Moscows invasion during a visit to Kyiv a month after hugging Vladimir Putin. Mr Modi, whose visit to Moscow last month was widely criticised, said he had come to Ukraine with a message of peace and called for dialogue at the earliest opportunity. "The road to resolution can only be found through dialogue and diplomacy. And we should move in that direction without wasting any time. Both sides should sit together to find a way out of this crisis," Mr Modi said. He urged the two countries to move in the direction of dialogue, calling it the only way to resolve conflict. The remarks were made during joint statements, in which both leaders hailed the visit as "historic". Mr Modi spoke second and Mr Zelensky did not have an opportunity to respond to the call for dialogue. But the Ukrainian leader said in his remarks that "the matter of ending the war and a just peace are the priority for Ukraine". Mr Modi and Mr Zelensky hugged and shook hands as they met at the National Museum of History in Kyiv. Mr Zelensky said of the meeting that he and Mr Modi agreed on a joint statement focusing on the development of a strategic partnership, bilateral trade, and continued military-technical cooperation... India supports Ukraine's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Conflict is particularly devastating for young children, Mr Modi wrote on the social media platform X after the visit. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief. Volodymyr Zelensky welcomes Narendra Modi on Friday ( Reuters ) They laid teddy bears at the memorial at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War before observing a moment of silence. Prime minister [Modi] was deeply touched by the poignant exposition set up in memory of children who have lost their lives in the conflict, said Indias foreign ministry in a statement. He expressed his sorrow at the tragic loss of young lives and as a mark of respect placed a toy in their memory. He also paid tribute at the Mahatma Gandhi monument in Kyiv. The chief of Ukraines presidential office, Andriy Yermak, emphasised Ukraines expectation that India could play a role in ending the war with a just peace. Ukraine has repeatedly said it wants the war to end but on Kyiv's terms, not Russia's. Ukraine has been pushing to hold a second international summit later this year to advance its vision of peace and involve representatives from Russia. We respect India as a very big democracy in the world and a powerful country, Mr Yermak said in an interview with India Today. But now its necessary to say who is the aggressor, who is the victim. Reached Kyiv earlier this morning, the Indian prime minister had posted on X on his arrival, as he shared pictures of a reception with members of the Indian diaspora in Ukraine. The Indian community accorded a very warm welcome, he said. Mr Modis visit comes one month after he met Putin in Moscow. It is also the first trip by any Indian prime minister to Ukraine since Kyiv gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Volodymyr Zelensky and Narendra Modi at the entrance of the Mariinskyi Palace ( AFP via Getty ) The visit comes at a volatile juncture in the war as Ukrainian forces are still occupying swathes of Russias western Kursk region following an incursion that began on 6 August, while Russian troops are grinding out slow but steady advances in Ukraines east. India and Ukraine have some important links in terms of migration and trade in military spare parts, but the trip is largely being seen in the context of Indias ongoing balancing act when it comes to the Ukraine war. Delhi has condemned the suffering taking place in the conflict without directly criticising Putins invasion, and has profited enormously from buying large volumes of discounted Russian oil. I look forward to the opportunity to ... share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict, Mr Modi had said before the trip. As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region. Mr Modis visit to Moscow last month coincided with a heavy Russian missile strike on Ukraine that hit a childrens hospital. It elicited strong criticism from Mr Zelensky, who said it was a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the worlds largest democracy hug the worlds most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day. Putin awards Modi the Order of St Andrew the Apostle the First-Called at the Kremlin in July ( AP ) Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser in the Ukrainian presidents office, told Reuters that Mr Modis visit to Kyiv was significant because Delhi really has a certain influence over Moscow. Its extremely important for us to effectively build relations with such countries, to explain to them what the correct end to the war is and that it is also in their interests, 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 }} A tanker carrying 150,000 tonnes of oil has been damaged in the biggest attack on Red Sea shipping in weeks. The assault on the Greek-flagged MV Sounion comes during a monthslong campaign by the Houthis targeting ships over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip that has disrupted a trade route through which $1 trillion in cargo typically passes each year. A French destroyer rescued 29 mariners onboard, while also destroying a bomb-carrying drone boat in the area. However, the EU mission in the Red Sea warned that the Sounion has 150,000 tons of crude oil aboard and represents a navigational and environmental hazard. It is essential that everyone in the area exercises caution and refrains from any actions that could lead to a deterioration of the current situation, the mission said. The Sounion is now anchored in the Red Sea and no longer drifting, while the rescued mariners have been taken to nearby Djibouti, the mission said. The vessel had been staffed by a crew of 25 Filipinos and Russians and four private security personnel when it was hit by at least four projectiles that sparked a fire and left it without engine power. A handout photo made available by EUNAVFOR ASPIDES shows an unmanned surface vehicle being neutralized by a unit of the European operation Aspides ( EPA ) Men in two small boats also opened fire on the vessel about 90 miles off the coast of the Yemeni port city of Hodeida, the UK Maritime Trade Operations office said. The first craft had three to five persons onboard while the second had approximately 10, the statement said. The two small craft hailed the merchant vessel, leading to a brief exchange of small-arms fire. Houthi officials in Yemen claimed to have targeted the Sounion, along with the Panama-flagged ship the SW North Wind I, which suffered minor damage in a separate attack. The ship was accurately and directly hit while sailing in the Red Sea and is at risk of sinking, thanks to God, said Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree, reported AP. Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi on Thursday said: "From this weeks operations targeting ships violating blockade on vessels heading to Israel, a ship was adrift ... after it malfunctioned because of strikes". An unmanned surface vehicle was successfully neutralized by a unit of the European operation Aspides in the southern Red Sea region ( EPA ) The US meanwhile destroyed three Houthi drones in strikes on Thursday, the American militarys Central Command said. Blaming the Houthis for the attack on the vessel, deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said she was "not exactly sure how [the attack] helps anyone in Gaza". The Houthis have targeted more than 80 vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that also killed four sailors. Additional reporting by agencies 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 Microsoft has announced that it will soon phase out a popular feature that has been a part of the Windows operating system since its inception nearly four decades ago. The US tech giant said in a statement on its support website that the Windows Control Panel will be retired and replaced with the Settings app. The Control Panel formed a crucial part of Windows when the software was first introduced in 1985, offering users the ability to adjust various options, such as the display, time and date. The Control Panel is a feature thats been a part of Windows for a long time, Microsofts support page noted. It provides a centralised location to view and manipulate system settings and controls... The Control Panel is in the process of being deprecated in favour of the Settings app, which offers a more modern and streamlined experience. Windows users on social media lamented the loss of the iconic and classic feature, while the tech history site Version Museum described it as the nerve centre for the worlds most popular desktop operating system. With around 1.5 billion active users around the world, Windows has a 73 per cent global market share, according to Statista. At 39-years-old, Microsofts Control Panel is one of the longest lasting features of the Information Age, however its role has gradually been diminished over the last decade. When Microsoft introduced the Settings app with Windows 8 in 2012, key components of the Control Panel began to migrate to the newer interface. Microsoft did not give an exact date for the transition to be completed, but encouraged Windows users to use the Settings app whenever possible until it occurs. Narendra Modi met with Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday 23 August during a brief visit that many in Ukraine hope will pave the way for an Indian role in peace mediation. As part of the visit, that coincides with Ukraines National Flag Day, President Zelensky received Indias prime minister at the presidential palace. Officials say the visit will focus on boosting economic ties and cooperation in defence, science and technology, but analysts say it could also be an attempt by Mr Modi to strike a more neutral stance after what has been seen as a lean toward Russia. Footage shows police seizing an alleged fake Leonardo da Vinci painting in Spain. Spanish National Police intercepted the work of art, believed to be fake, at the Modane border post. Authorities said they discovered discrepancies in the documentation accompanying the artwork during a routine inspection. The suspect, whose identity remains undisclosed, was detained on suspicion of attempting to transport the artwork with an invalid export permit. The painting, allegedly attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, is being authenticated by art experts. The Spanish National Police are conducting further investigations into the origins of the painting and the circumstances surrounding its transportation. Protesters tore down a section of a fence outside Indonesia's parliament in an attempt to storm the building in a demonstration over controversial revisions to the country's election laws on Thursday, 22 August. Some were met with tear gas and water cannons. If implemented, the revisions could have further enhanced the political influence of outgoing president Joko Widodo. Lawmakers passed an emergency motion to change the minimum age to serve as governor to 30 at the time of inauguration and further ease nomination requirements, and planned to ratify the change in a plenary session on Thursday. Plans to ratify the revisions were cancelled on Thursday after the protest. CCTV footage released by the Metropolitan Police shows two officers catching a brazen phone thief. The footage was taken on 5 July, when two plain-clothed officers had been out on patrols in Soho, London. A man dressed in white can be seen running across the road. He then steals a mobile phone from the back pocket of an unaware victim, before being tackled by the two officers. The stolen phone was later retrieved before being returned to its owner. Kaidi Nasser, 25, appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on 8 July, where he pleaded guilty to theft and was given 30 weeks imprisonment. A man who threw objects including bricks and a wheelie bin at police during disorder has been jailed for three years and three months. Rory Allington-Mott, 34, of Newport in Shropshire, was shown in footage released by police appearing to smile as he took part in the unrest in Southport on 30 July. He was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to violent disorder, a spokesman for Merseyside Police said. In the video, he was seen to throw bricks, a wheelie bin, a plastic box and what appeared to be a picture frame towards police vans and officers. Fashion giant Mango is planning on opening a new shop on Dublins Grafton Street as its Irish expansion continues to gather pace. The Barcelona-headquartered clothing retailer has applied for planning permission from Dublin City Council for what is described as a Mediterranean-inspired, female-only clothing store on the stretch of Grafton Street that links to Dame Street and College Green. It follows a recent opening in the Dundrum Town Centre. Mangos existing city centre store in Dublin, on Henry Street, is temporarily closed until September for refurbishment. A spokeswoman for Mango said the brand was continuing its international expansion plans in Ireland. The new point of sale, planned for next year, will have a selling space of over 560 m sq and stock products from the woman line exclusively, she said. In addition, the store will feature the Mediterranean-inspired store concept, New Med, which showcases the brands spirit and freshness. Architectural integration and sustainability are key in this new design, which conceives the Mango store as a Mediterranean home with different rooms in which warm tones and neutral colours predominate, combined with traditional, artisanal, sustainable and natural materials. The opening of this store is part of Mango's 2024-2026 Strategic Plan, which was created with the aim of promoting the company's differential value proposition, its commitment to innovation and sustainability, and boosting sales through a major expansion of its store portfolio and the growth of all its lines and channels. Mango also opened a store in Dundrum Town Centre in May. It has been present in Ireland since 1998. Last year the company returned to Cork with a shop on St Patrick Street. It ended 2023 with 18 points of sale in the country, as well as a significant digital presence. Mango, which is led by CEO Tony Ruiz, achieved record sales last year, growing turnover by 15pc to 3.1bn. The fashion giant also had over 130 net store openings, reaching a total of almost 2,700 stores in over 115 markets worldwide. During 2023, Mango also doubled its net profit to over 172m at the end of 2023. The company also launched a new strategic plan, setting an objective of sales in excess of 4bn in 2026. As part of this plan, the company foresees the opening of more than 500 new stores. The international business accounted for 77pc of Mangos total turnover last year, with its best performing markets being Spain, France, Germany, Turkey and the US. The 2,492-carat diamond was pulled from Lucaras Karowe mine, in western Botswana after it was detected by the firms X-ray transmission technology The second-largest diamond ever found has been unearthed in a Botswana mine by Canadian company Lucara. The 2,492-carat diamond was found in the Karowe diamond mine and was detected by the companys X-ray transmission technology. It is the latest recovery from the Karowe mine following the discovery of a 1,758-carat diamond in 2019 and a 1,109-carat diamond in 2015. It is the biggest find since the 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond, found in South Africa in 1905. Botswana is the worlds largest diamond producer by value, the IMF has said. Diamonds account for around 80pc of exports from the country. A number of exploration companies are active in the region, including John Teelings Botswana Diamonds. We set up a company in 2002 called African Diamonds and we joint-ventured with (diamond company) De Beers at that time, Mr Teeling, who is chair of Botswana Diamonds, said. In 2004, we hit what is now the Karowe mine. It took seven years, that came on stream at the end of 2011 and was acquired by (Lucara parent company) Lundin Group, who still own it. The company, which became known as Botswana Diamonds after the sale of Karowe, kept the exploration interests of African Diamonds and has been searching for diamonds since 2011. It also has a small operation in South Africa. Botswana is the home of big diamonds, Mr Teeling said. Were continuing to explore there. Botswana is 93pc sand so it can be expensive and difficult. The chances of finding another Lucara (diamond) are about one in 2,500. There have probably been about 50 hard rock diamond mines ever discovered in the world, he said. Botswana Diamonds, which has the second-largest diamond exploration database in the country, has introduced an artificial intelligence programme in recent weeks to support its search for diamond deposits. Currently, the business has a database of around 375,000 square kilometres of geological data, Mr Teeling said. The mineral prospectivity technology, which has been created by UK group Planetary AI Ltd, is set to analyse the existing data that has been collected by Botswana Diamonds. Initial results are expected in six to eight weeks. Niall Horan brings out Ed Sheeran as surprise guest at his Dublin gig Niall Horan surprised fans at his sold out Dublin show tonight at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham. The One Direction star is back in the capital and playing two nights this weekend. The Show tour is the stars biggest yet, as he performs songs from all three of his solo albums. Towards the end of the show, Horan introduced his good friend Ed Sheeran, who joined him on stage. Horan told the crowd: He loves this country dearly and made his way across from England today to be here with us tonight. Can you please give it up for my good friend, the great Ed Sheeran. The pair sang Horans hit song Little Things, with both playing the guitar. Ed Sheeran wears Niall Horan merch and drinks Guinness in his Instagram story. Sheeran took to Instagram after the show and shared a photo to his stories of himself drinking a pint of Guinness wearing a green Dublin is for Lovers t-shirt. It comes as Sheeran also surprised Taylor Swift fans last week as he joined her on stage in Wembley at the Eras Tour. Siomha Ni Ruairc,Grainne Seoige and James Kavanagh of Gra ar an Tra pictured at the launch of Virgin Media Television's Autumn Schedule.Picture Brian McEvoy Ireland AM's Alan Hughes pictured at the launch of Virgin Media Television's Autumn Schedule. Picture Brian McEvoy As Ireland AM celebrates 25 years, veteran host Alan Hughes has described the show as like family to him. Virgin Media Television has launched its new season schedule with notable documentaries including Generation Rent, addressing Irelands housing crisis, and a documentary about the woman at the centre of Donald Trumps chaotic legal woes titled Stormy. Additionally, Lucy Kennedy returns with her four-part series Real Lives, covering topics such as psychics, addiction and scamming. Kennedy said she likes to put her guests at ease. We are very conscious this is a very honest documentary series, and these are peoples real lives, she said. "Think people feel very comfy with me, that and Im usually in a tracksuit wearing no bra and very little makeup so I think well if thats the presenter, Im fine. Siomha Ni Ruairc,Grainne Seoige and James Kavanagh of Gra ar an Tra pictured at the launch of Virgin Media Television's Autumn Schedule.Picture Brian McEvoy Morning show Ireland AM is back in the schedule and still going strong after 25 years. Panto star and long-time host Alan Hughes reflected on the legacy of the early-morning audience favourite. Ireland AM to me is a family, he said. Its been 25 years of pleasure and joy. Its been great, Ive loved every minute of it. Meanwhile, the nations favourite Gogglebox Ireland returns for its tenth season, with new households joining our seasoned TV fanatics ready to comment on the weeks top tv. The Irish dating show with a twist, Gra ar an Tra, is back for a second series with ten new singletons checking in to the Love Teach to find a love for the Irish language and each other. Archive: Ireland AM's Alan Hughes' 'spanking' mishap leaves Tommy Bowe in stitches Anthony Nilan, director of programming at Virgin Media Television said: Were thrilled to launch a new season of programming that truly reflects the diversity, ambition, and creativity at the heart of our content. "This lineup brings together bold new voices and familiar favourites across a range of genres, that will captivate and engage audiences, staying true to our role as a valued public service broadcaster for Irish viewers. Meanwhile, Virgin Media has launched a new free streaming app for mobile, tablet and smart TV called Virgin Media Play. Viewers can restart content and watch all Virgin Media channels in-app and stream major shows minutes after they have aired. New exclusive programmes include drama series The Arrangement, and reality shows such as Below Deck Mediterranean, Million Dollar Listing, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Vanderpump Rules. Businessman has bankruptcy extended amid cryptocurrency claims High Court told he failed to disclose his involvement with company The High Court in Dublin. Photo: PA Shane Phelan Fri 23 Aug 2024 at 03:30 An Austrian businessman adjudicated bankrupt in Ireland with debts of 35m had his period of bankruptcy extended by a year-and-a-half amid claims he failed to disclose his involvement with a cryptocurrency company. Two older gentlemen stood in the sun outside St Columbas Church near Derrys Bogside, reminiscing about Nell McCafferty. Shed a tongue like acid, as Im sure you know, one recalled fondly. Oh aye, a tongue that could cut corn, the other man agreed. The first gentleman could remember a night many years ago, when Nell was talking about the pity she felt for whichever priest would one day have to celebrate her funeral mass. She was concerned the poor man would be up all night trying to think of something nice to say about me. McCafferty, the trailblazing journalist and activist who died this week at the age of 80, need not have worried. At her funeral this afternoon, the self-professed outlaws with whom she had spent much of her life fraternising were entrusted with her eulogy. As it turned out, there were more than enough good things to be said. From midday, they gathered. Old comrades from McCaffertys time at the frontline of almost every social battle in modern Irish history, all of them gently weathered from long lives and fights that felt longer still. Five friends including legendary campaigner Bernadette McAliskey gathered on the holy grounds of the church with Pride flags; a guard of honour for the casket of the woman who had powerfully challenged Catholic doctrine against gay people. Instead of the traditional mass of black clothing, McCaffertys funeral congregation bore a rich tapestry of causes on their clothes. T-shirts that promoted equality and gay rights, as well as badges for Palestine. Nell McCafferty's coffin is carried into St Columba's church, Derry. Photo: PA Mourners joked that they made quite the motley crew the Buddhists and the lesbians, the feminists and the republicans. The only established majority among the congregation were the women. A sad day, one woman told another outside the church. The end of an era, for sure. At the top of the church, First Minister Michelle ONeill and mayor of Derry City and Strabane Lilian Seenoi-Barr embraced the deceaseds family, including her sister Carmel. After the ceremony, Carmel would help carry her sisters casket out of the church, with tears spilling from her eyes. Are you all right, Carmel? a friend asked. No, she whispered, as she walked towards the hearse. Its easy to forget that when a nation loses an icon, a family also loses a loved one. Before the mass started, Nell McCaffertys lifelong friend Eamonn McCann was delegated with the major task of leading the tributes. He stood not on the altar but in front of it, at the head of the casket. Deacon Stephen Ward, who was celebrating the mass, politely and discreetly slipped into the sacristy. A picture of Nell McCafferty and her mother next to her coffin after her funeral in Derry. Photo: PA The eulogy was not broadcast on the live feed of the funeral. As in her life, McCaffertys Catholic funeral mass was rich in sweet contradictions. For today at least, humanity would win out over orthodoxy. Mr McCann thought about all of the fights of the last 100 years in this country. Who made the biggest contribution? Nell McCafferty did. Nell McCafferty changed Ireland, and changed Ireland for the better. And she came from the Bogside to do that, he said, to warm applause. He did not varnish his relationship with McCafferty, a woman whom he described as being wounded by the world, but who also had the capacity to wound herself. Im still afraid of Nell, he only half-joked. Indeed, outside the church, people who grieved her fondly swapped stories of times they invoked her ire. We heard the story of the young feminist who was threatened for calling it the condom train rather than the contraceptive train, as it placed too much focus on the penis. With the mighty, ornamented altar behind him, Mr McCann reminded those gathered of a time when his now-departed friend had challenged the Catholic church. Mourners follow the hearse after Nell McCafferty's funeral. Photo: PA In 1993, she criticised the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity for exhuming the remains of 155 women from a former Magdalene laundry in Dublin, so that they could sell the land to a property developer. He said that McCafferty would make left-wing people embarrassed, if not ashamed of our own reticence on some issues. As journalists with notebooks in their hands and photographers with cameras around their necks looked down from the balcony, Mr McCann pointed out that while the newspapers are full of praise for Nell now, it was not always that way. She had been maligned by some of the outlets covering her funeral. With representatives for the Taoiseach and the President sitting in the row in front of him, Mr McCann reminded mourners of the work McCafferty did to challenge and expose the way Irelands authorities treated Joanne Hayes during the Kerry Babies scandal. He then pulled a sheaf of newspaper out of his pocket, which had long turned yellow in the 50 years since it was first printed. He laid it on the coffin in front of him. It was the front page of a wee local paper called The Starry Plough, a Derry socialist republican publication that has been shut down for a long time now. Nodding at Ms McAliskey, Mr McCann stood in the church of the patron saint of Derry and recalled the dreadful night of Bloody Sunday. At the mention of the citys darkest day, a thick silence fell. He recalled how that night, they had all wandered through the chaos and devastation to Nells house in the Bogside. Nobody knew how many people had been killed. Nobody stopped to count, he said. McCaffertys late mother had stood at the kitchen door with her hand over her mouth, while Ms McAliskey called a hospital to get the names of the dead. McCafferty kept her hand on the then-MPs elbow, as she wrote down name after name after name, of everyone who had been murdered that day. And she just. Kept. Writing, Mr McCann said, his voice scarcely louder than a whisper. A shiver went through the hallway of that house that night, a shiver that would soon spread across all of Derry and the rest of the world. He explained how after that call, McCafferty sat down to write her article about Bloody Sunday for The Starry Plough before the smoke had even cleared from the street. He read it out loud, the whole article. And suddenly, mourners were listening to McCaffertys voice. Like all of her writing, it had a timbre of moral authority. You almost could have mistaken it for a sermon. The last lines of the article read: Let it be said of them with pride that they died on their feet, and not on their knees. Let it not be said of us that they died in vain. Stay free, brothers and sisters. There will be another day. And so there will, Mr McCann said. There will be another day. But there will never be another Nell McCafferty. Katie Brady Dunboyne College of Further Education to BA Maynooth University Katie Brady faced a conundrum in sixth year. She fancied studying psychology, but also wondered whether she was ready to commit to a degree course. I was only 17, I wasnt ready for college, says the now 19-year-old from Athboy, Co Meath. There was the added complication for the former pupil of Athboy Community School she hadnt studied a third language (as well as Irish and English) in the Leaving Cert and so didnt meet entry requirements for her CAO choice, BA, in Maynooth University (MU). The BA includes psychology among its many subject choices. Katie was offered a business and law degree, also in MU, but I didnt know whether I wanted to do that. So, I said Ill take a year to figure it out. She deferred the offer, opting instead for a one-year post-Leaving Cert (PLC) course in her area of interest. She signed up with Dunboyne College of Further Education (DCFE) to study psychology and criminology. Her plan was to use her results to apply for one of the reserved places for FE students on the BA in MU. She wasnt expecting what happened next: I ended up hating psychology, while I fell in love with criminology immediately. Ending the year with a full house of distinctions, Katie walked into the BA programme in September 2023, and this time around she had no doubts about what she wanted. She took criminology along with sociology, a subject to which she was also introduced in Dunboyne, and law. According to Katie, she had a great first year; I met so many friends and I cant wait to go back. Among her classmates is a student who met on the same PLC in Dunboyne. The BA is a three-year programme, unless she wants to take up an opportunity to do an Erasmus year, and she hasnt decided on that yet. But Katie is very clear about her career goal: I want to work with the children and young people on detention in Oberstown. This is the state campus for children and young people on sentence or remand from the courts. I only started thinking about that when I was in Dunboyne and did work experience. I was in the courts and there was one case that really stuck with me. A child was being sent off and I saw his reaction and his parents reaction. I thought gosh, this actually goes on; I would like to be helping these people. Gardai are investigating a number of incidents which occurred in Cork yesterday evening involving criminal damage to a property, a hit-and-run with a motorcycle and the seizure of a firearm. Gardai are investigating an incident of criminal damage at a property in the Shanakiel area of Cork at about 5.40pm. No injuries were reported at this incident. A short time later, at about 6.10pm, a road collision occurred on the Churchfield Road when a Motorcycle collided with a pedestrian. Today's News in 90 seconds - 24th August 2024 A male pedestrian (60s) was taken to Cork University Hospital for treatment following the collision. His condition is currently described as serious. The motorcyclist and passenger failed to remain at the scene. A suspected firearm was seized by gardai and a man in his 20s was arrested afterwards by gardai. He is currently detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act, 1939 at a garda station in the Southern Region. Gardai are appealing to anyone with information in relation to these incidents or road users with video footage to contact them. Gardai can be contacted at Gurranabraher garda station on 021 494 6200, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station. No further information is available at this time. Investigations ongoing. The Social Democrats and Aontu are the only parties so far to meet gender quotas ahead of the next general election as parties select their Dail hopefuls. Under new rules, all parties will have to meet gender quotas at the next election if they are to keep receiving state funding. This means at least 40pc of their general election candidates will have to be women. All of the bigger political parties have said they will meet the 40pc target to keep their funding. Selection conventions are currently under way and most are due to conclude by the end of next month. Party headquarters will then have the option of adding candidates to tickets, if they deem this to be necessary. Aontu, which is led by Peadar Toibin, says it has selected the highest number of female candidates so far, with 12 of its 23 would-be TDs being female. Aontu leader Peadar Toibin. Photo: Colin O'Riordan The Social Democrats has also already met its target, with 40pc of candidates selected so far being women. The party has picked 15 hopefuls and six of these are women. Other key conventions for the party will be held in the coming weeks, including in Wicklow and Limerick city, where TD Jennifer Whitmore and councillor Elisa ODonovan will be selected for Dail tickets. More than a third of Labours candidates are women. Sixteen candidates are selected and six are women. A third of the candidates selected by Fianna Fail are female; the party has selected 23 politicians and seven are women. A spokesperson for the party said it will increase the number of women representing the party. The remaining selection conventions will be concluding throughout August and September. Following on from the candidate selection convention, the National Constituencies Committee reviews the ticket and, where appropriate, completes the process, the spokesperson said. Sinn Fein said it has 40 candidates selected, but did not say how many are women Fine Gael has the fewest women chosen when compared with men, with just 21pc of their candidates so far being women. The party has picked 28 candidates for the general election and six of them are female. In Fine Gael we are committed to increasing gender representation in our elected representatives at all levels, a party spokesperson said. They said only a third of candidates have been selected for the election so far. We have consistently increased the number of women standing for election at national level, they said. In general elections 2016 and 2020, we ran 30pc women; this represents an increase from just 16pc in 2011. Sinn Fein said it has 40 candidates selected, but the party did not say how many of these are women. The Green Party did not respond to queries. Parties have had an obligation to run at least 30pc women and 30pc men in general elections since 2012. That threshold rose to 40pc last year. If the quota is not met, political parties will lose half of the state funding they receive on an annual basis to run their operations. There are no quotas in place for local elections or the Seanad. Privately, politicians across parties have recently reported difficulties in convincing women to run for public office due to intense online scrutiny, as well as increased hostility towards politicians. This article was updated on August 27, 2024 to include Aontus figures. It originally stated the Social Democrats were the only party to reach the quota. More than 60,000 students have already been awarded a Susi grant to support them in their studies over the coming year. That includes school-leavers who took the wise step to apply early to give themselves certainty about what financial support they could expect. Susi stands for Student Universal Support Ireland and it is the main source of state financial assistance for students enrolled in a post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) course or in higher education. As well as in Ireland, Susi grants may also be paid to Irish students studying in the UK or the EU. As the early bird school-leavers realised, a student does not need to have accepted a place on a course in order to apply for a grant. And even if a student has applied for course, but ends up on a different one after the offers are released, Susi can track them. Leaving Cert students who have applied to Susi but who plan to attend a different course to the one noted on their application form can update their course details online through their Susi student portal. Alternatively, if they applied for their course through the CAO and gave the CAO permission to share their information with Susi, the CAO will update Susi directly once the course has been accepted by the student. PLC students and undergraduate students studying outside the State may be eligible for a maintenance grant only. Now that the class of 2024 have their results, and with many having a level of expectation about a transition to college, those who think they are eligible for a grant but have not applied should not delay. The earlier Susi receives an application, the earlier it will be processed. Applications can be made online at www.susi.ie until late autumn/early winter and there will be an option to submit a late application after this time. The Susi website also has a handy reckoner that will give students an indication of whether they are eligible. There are two types of funding available, maintenance grants and fee grants. Maintenance grants help students with their living costs and are paid directly to the student. Fee grants can pay the student contribution charge of up to 3,000, or tuition fees for students who do not qualify for the Free Fees Scheme. Fees are paid directly to the college on behalf of the student. PLC students and undergraduate students studying outside the State may be eligible for a maintenance grant only. Eligibility for a grant is largely determined by family income, based on earnings for the previous calendar year, as well as the number of children in a family. Grants are paid on a scale that also takes account of whether a student lives within 30km from college. There have been some rate increases this year and the maximum to be paid in 2024/25 is 7,586, to the most economically disadvantaged students who also live more than 30km away from their college. Other changes introduced include an increase in the amount a student can earn outside term time, up from 6,552 to 7,925. This is known as holiday earnings. Some colleges run a special maths exam for students who come up short in the subject in the Leaving Cert, writes Katherine Donnelly Students have the option of sitting extra maths exams posed by colleges. Photo: PA Every year, there are students who achieve the points for a CAO choice, but their maths grade is not up to the mark. While success in second-chance exams does not guarantee entry to a particular CAO course, many students do get an offer. The nature of the exams and the courses for which they can pave the way for entry vary between colleges. Below is a guide. Atlantic Technological University Two options to achieve the minimum maths requirements for a chosen programme (with some exclusions): *Enabling Maths Course (free), from Wednesday, August 28 to Friday September 6 , with assessment at equivalent to Leaving Cert ordinary level paper. Applicants who are otherwise eligible but lack a pass in ordinary and higher-level maths are welcome. Successful students will be eligible for a place on any ATU programme for which there are available places and ordinary maths is an entry requirement. Classes are online, or on-campus at ATU Donegal. Successful students will be required to participate in ongoing maths support throughout first year, delivered by the respective Maths Learning Centre. *Alternative Maths Assessment will take place on Monday, September 2 at multiple ATU campus locations. Dundalk IT Exam, Monday, September 2 to allow applicants to meet requirements on BEng (Hons) in Engineering (Common Entry); BEng (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering; BEng (Hons) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering; BEng (Hons) in Civil Engineering; BSc (Hons) in Computing in Games Development The exam is aimed at candidates who have either taken the higher level maths paper or have studied higher level to an advanced stage during senior cycle. Students are advised to participate in a preparation course running from August 26-28. Fee is 30, inclusive of course. Munster Technological University Exams, Friday, August 30, with two separate papers. Paper One is set at ordinary level and is compulsory. Paper Two is set at higher level, and is optional. Fee is 30 for Paper 1 and 50 for both papers. A minimum of a pass (40pc) will allow an applicant to replace the Leaving Cert maths requirement of Grade O6/H7 minimum with a grade O6/H7 minimum in another subject. Applicants to courses that have a H4 maths requirement must sit the second paper and achieve a 70pc average across both papers. National College of Ireland A preparatory course from Monday, September 2 to Wednesday, September 4, with an exam on Thursday, September 5, for CAO applicants to the BSc in Data Science and the Higher Certificate in Computer Science. South East Technological University Two options: *Exam, August 30, based on ordinary level syllabus and success may lead to entry to any SETU course with the exception of all nursing programmes (SE914, SE915, SE916); SE407 BA (Honours) in Accounting; SE713 B Eng (Honours) in Civil Engineering. *Special exam on August 30 at 2pm. A pass (55pc) will fulfil the maths entry requirement for applicants to the BEng (Honours) in Civil Engineering SE713 programme as an alternative to the Leaving Cert H4 requirement. An intensive preparatory course will run on August 29 and August 30. TU Dublin Maths Competency Tests (MCT) over three days in the first week in September. Revision classes on September 2 and 3 and exam on September 4 for applicants to TU 805 (engineering general entry), which has a minimum requirement of a Leaving Cert H4 in maths. A grade of 60pc or higher is deemed equivalent to a H4. TU Shannon Exam on August 28 (30) at Moylish Park campus, Limerick, similar in standard to ordinary level. University of Galway Exam, Saturday, August 31. Successful candidates may be offered a place on an engineering or computer science programme. (Leaving Cert requirements are H4 for BE Programmes, H7/O3 for BSc Project & Construction Management, H6/O2 for BSc Computer Science & IT). Students who register for the exam are offered a place on online preparatory course, starting Monday, August 26. University of Limerick Exam, Thursday, August 29, based on higher level paper, for applicants to the Faculty of Science and Engineering and LM092; LM094; LM095; LM096 and LM097. Mourners have gathered to remember the activism of journalist Nell McCafferty, who was described as a unique and bold figure. People held LGBT+ rainbow flags on the way into St Columbas Church, Long Tower, and applauded after one of her articles about Bloody Sunday was read out during the ceremony. First Minister Michelle ONeill and representatives of the President of Ireland Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Simon Harris were among those in attendance. Tributes have poured in from activists, politicians and artists about her work as a journalist, as a prominent voice on womens rights issues across the island of Ireland and for co-founding the Irish Womens Liberation Movement in 1970. The writer, 80, died on Wednesday at a nursing home in Fahan, Co Donegal, following a long illness. Addressing the congregation, former journalist Eamonn McCann read out extracts from an article McCafferty wrote for her local paper about Bloody Sunday, which bore the headline There will be another day. The article gave a powerful immediate reaction to the news that 13 people had been shot dead after soldiers opened fire on a civil rights march on January 30, 1972. Mr McCann said: Bloody Sunday is very important to Derry of course, its defined us all. Whatever you thought of your politics and so on, its defined everybody from Derry. He said that hours after the chaos unfolded, no-one knew exactly how many people had been killed or wounded. The coffin carrying Nell McCafferty is carried into St Columbas Church (Liam McBurney/PA) The then-MP for Mid-Ulster Bernadette McAliskey, who was in attendance at the funeral, was given the names of the 13 men who were killed after phoning the hospital. I remember Nell holding Bernadettes elbow as she was taking the names of the Bloody Sunday dead, and she just kept on writing, Mr McCann said. That was a terrible omen, and I remember the shiver which went through the hallway and through the McCafferty house and eventually through the whole of Derry and large parts of the world. He said Bloody Sunday had an effect on McCafferty, on how she viewed politics, on how she thought of her citys people and its marches. In the article that she wrote for the paper, she called the infamous event both a fine day and a foul day, he said. She described the thousands of people singing and marching through the streets as part of the fine day it had been, but that death is no stranger to us now. Let it not be said of us that they died in vain. Stay free brothers and sisters, there will be another day, she wrote. And so there will be another day, but there will never be another Nell McCafferty, Mr McCann said, which was met with a lengthy applause from mourners. As her coffin was carried out of the church at the end of the mass, mourners applauded her once more. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill proposes restrictions on the flavours, packaging and display of e-cigarettes in a bid to put youngsters off taking up the habit (Jacob King/PA) A complaint was made to the Department of Health that a vaping company allegedly offered financial incentives to customers in return for making a submission to a public consultation on the further regulation of traditional and e-cigarettes, a new report has claimed. The claim is made in the report published by the Department today on the findings of the public consultation on further regulation of tobacco and nicotine inhaling products. It said that there were a series of spikes in entries, beginning twelve days into the consultation period. This included submissions continuing to be received throughout the night. "The Department received complaints from members of the public that a vaping company was offering financial incentives to customers in the form of online retail vouchers and discounts instore in return for making a submission to the consultation. "Some individuals claimed that the response was submitted by staff members instore on their behalf with a copy sent to them by email, and they were not aware in advance of what they were submitting a response to, and/or which answers were submitted on their behalf. "In one of these cases, the response was excluded at the request of the individual," said the report. It added that even though views were only sought from residents of Ireland, the consultation was reported on and publicised internationally, including by a US-based lobbying group with links to the tobacco industry. "As the Department did not collect identifying information it was not possible to identify any responses as being fraudulent. "If respondents selected themselves as residents of Ireland, their submissions were included at face value. With the exception of the response that was removed by request, none of the above factors resulted in submissions being excluded from the consultation." The consultation ran for six weeks from November 2023 to January 2024. The consultation looked at potential additional measures to decrease the appeal of nicotine inhaling products to young people, further de-normalise smoking and improve public health. Some 15,821 responses were received in total, with 90pc of members of the public who responded being current vapers. Other responses were received from organisations and individuals in the spheres of health, education, consumer rights, retail, hospitality and the manufacture and distribution of nicotine inhaling products and tobacco products. Findings showed strong support for all possible interventions from health organisations, healthcare workers, teachers and non-vapers, highlighting the need to protect children and the uncertainty about the long-term impact from vaping. There was majority support from all respondents for some regulation of point-of-sale display and of the packaging and appearance of nicotine inhaling products. There were mixed views on other measures from vapers, the tobacco and vaping industries and retailers, particularly in relation to flavours. In particular, many vapers and industry said that these were important for adults using nicotine inhaling products to stop smoking. Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said: We know that there is strong public support for further action on tobacco and nicotine inhaling products. This consultation was an opportunity for particular stakeholders to share their views." He added that "we were also made aware of a vaping industry campaign, with financial incentives, to encourage customers to contribute to the consultation. It is my intention to introduce legislation to regulate the display and advertisement of vapes in shops, the packaging and appearance of the products and the flavours of vape liquids. I will also ban single use vapes, which are detrimental to the health of our young people and to our environment. I have already taken action on this issue with the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act 2023, which includes the banning of the sale of vapes to under 18s and introducing a new licensing system, but there is more to do. I am committed to ensuring that we progress further legislation as soon as possible after summer." Director of content Jim Jennings is leaving the broadcaster at the end of this month The head of the Dails media watchdog has expressed disappointment that the terms of the latest executive departure from RTE will be kept confidential. RTE announced yesterday that director of content Jim Jennings will leave on August 31. His departure follows a Workplace Relations Committee (WRC) mediation process, which means the terms of his departure will remain confidential. Mr Jennings is the fifth former RTE executive to leave in the wake of the payments controversy. Former director general Dee Forbes resigned with immediate effect when the scandal broke, and commercial director Geraldine OLeary retired early in the wake of the controversy. Director of strategy Rory Coveney and chief financial officer Richard Collins both received exit packages when they agreed to resign. All five executives were removed from the RTE board in a shake-up by director general Kevin Bakhurst. RTE had failed to agree a settlement with Mr Jennings, who has been on sick leave since last summer, leading to the matter going to the WRC. Last night, Niamh Smyth, head of the Oireachtas Media Committee, said any exit packages paid to former RTE executives should be public. I have to say its disappointing to read that its a confidential agreement, she told RTEs Drivetime. We have been through this so many times with both the director general of RTE and with the minister, that any exit packages would be public knowledge, and I think that would have been the view of the minister that, that would have been the case. It seems that RTE have come to a different agreement with Jim Jennings, with their work through the WRC. I think it would be disappointing to those of us that have been trying to, I suppose, get to a point where there is full transparency on all exit packages. Mr Jennings departure from RTE ended up before the WRC after he and the broadcaster were unable to agree on a settlement. Mr Bakhurst had previously confirmed that RTE had been taking legal advice throughout the process with Mr Jennings. I do not like paying out large sums of money, but I have to live within Irish law in trying to change the organisation Under the WRCs code of practice for its mediation service, mediation is conducted in private and the terms of any settlement are not published. In a message to staff yesterday, Mr Bakhurst said Mr Jennings would be leaving the organisation on August 31 after 40 years. I would like to thank Jim for his long service to RTE and his great contribution to the organisation and public service media for almost 40 years, he said. I am pleased we have been able to reach agreement around the terms of his departure with the support of the Workplace Relations Commission. I wish Jim the very best for the future. Mr Bakhurst told the Oireachtas Media Committee last month that Mr Jennings case had ended up in the WRC because we were unable to do a deal early on. They went to the WRC and because it has gone to the WRC, I am very limited in what I can say about it. Im sorry about that, he said. We have taken legal advice. The matter has gone through the remuneration committee. It has gone through the board. We tried to arrive at a settlement but could not. The matter ended up in the WRC. We took legal advice throughout on it. As I think I said before, I personally do not like making payouts to people. However there was an expectation I would change the senior team at RTE. I cannot deliver change to the organisation with the same team that was in place before. Mr Jennings had been a member of the RTE board when the payments controversy first emerged last year. When Mr Bakhurst took over as director general, one of his first acts was to stand down the organisations executive board, and replace it with a temporary interim leadership team. Mr Jennings was not included in the new team. Mr Bakhurst had told the Oireachtas media committee that if he were to exit people from any organisation, there is no alternative but to offer payouts. If you just try to get rid of them with the wrong process, you end up paying more in legal fees and costing the taxpayer more, he said. I do not like paying out large sums of money, but I have to live within Irish law in trying to change the organisation. Mr Jennings had declined to appear before the Oireachtas committee when it was looking into the payments scandal, for health reasons. Hearty veg-forward plates starring lush tomatoes to ease you into autumn The end of summer always arrives with a familiar dose of nostalgia. Evenings begin to close in while we bask in the last of sunny days. Lunchboxes are dusted off and school uniforms, and theres the smell of new school books and pencil cases. A return to routine and structure to our days. This summer was our first full one in our own home after years of renting and its been wonderfully grounding. In between a week spent in the South of France, with many play dates and outings, I had a week to myself solo in the house while Sofie, my wife, travelled to the west coast of Sweden with our boys. Dont get me wrong, I missed them but every parent should taste the sweetness of having time in your own home without the Tasmanian devils running riot. The freedom of no bedtime routines or worrying about whats for dinner. Instead they were replaced with a simple supper with a glass of pet-nat; a picky dinner of fridge leftovers. This week, I have three effortless but impressive recipes ideal for soaking up the very last of the summer. The first is a recipe thats perfect for using up any vegetables that require a breath of life. Roasting a combination of cherry tomatoes, fennel and courgette into a sweet caramelised mix makes them a worthy topping for a simple blitz of tinned white beans spiked with roast garlic. Feed it with the very best extra-virgin olive oil and charred sourdough bread for dipping. One of my favourite things to make is the wood-fired fennel salmon with roasted veg and lemon aioli dish here. The key to flavouring the fish is to make a fennel seed and lemon salt. Give it enough time and the fish will take on the citrus and aniseed flavour, which intensifies while it cooks in the hot oven. Serve this platter-style to the table and allow everyone to enjoy. The last of summers tomatoes requires a little ingenuity, like this Thai-style tomato salad. If youve ever had som tum salad, youll know how wonderfully the umami-laden dressing brings to life these simple ingredients. The combination of the saltiness of fish sauce, the lip-puckering acidity of lime juice and the sweetness of sugar transforms the best of the summers tomatoes into an addictive, simple platter. While we prepare to return to routines, perhaps set aside a little moment to savour the last of the summer with these simple meals. Bean Dip with Roast Veggies & Garlic Sourdough Toast Bean Dip with Roast Veggies & Garlic Sourdough Toast. Photo: Donal Skehan. Food styling: Charlotte OConnell Serves: 2. Time: 40 minutes Ingredients 350g cannellini beans Small handful of dill, finely chopped, to serve For the roasted veg: 2 baby fennel, cut into chunky rounds 1 red onion, sliced into wedges 1 courgette, cut into rounds 500g cherry tomatoes, on the vine 5 tbsp olive oil 1 bulb of garlic Juice of lemon For the sourdough toasts: 2 slices of sourdough Olive oil, to drizzle Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper Method 1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/400F/Gas Mark 6. 2. Add the fennel, red onion, courgette and cherry tomatoes to a deep baking tray, drizzle with 2 tbsp of the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper, then place into the oven for 25 minutes until softened and slightly charred. Wrap the garlic bulb in tin foil, place on to a separate baking tray and add to the oven at the same time. Once roasted, remove both trays from the oven. 3. When the garlic has cooled slightly, squeeze the garlic from its skin and add to a bowl with 1 tbsp of olive oil, mashing together with a fork to create a puree. 4. Using a sieve, drain off the liquid from the beans and add to a blender with half of the roasted garlic puree and the remaining olive oil as needed to loosen and create a dipping consistency. Whizz until smooth, then season with the lemon juice, salt and pepper. 5. Heat a griddle pan over a high heat and toast the sourdough slices with some olive oil until golden and charred. Mix the remaining roasted garlic puree with some salt and pepper and when the bread is toasted, spread with the puree. 6. To serve, divide the blitzed bean dip between two bowls and top with the roasted veggies and a sprinkle of dill. Serve the toasted sourdough on the side for scooping. Wood-Fired Fennel Salmon with Roasted Veg & Aioli Wood-Fired Fennel Salmon with Roasted Veg & Aioli. Photo: Donal Skehan. Food styling: Charlotte OConnell Serves: 6. Time: 1 hour 10 minutes Ingredients 500g baby potatoes, halved 1 large courgette, roughly chopped 2 red onions, halved and then quartered 350g cherry tomatoes, halved 3 tbsp olive oil Small handful of rosemary, roughly chopped Small handful of thyme, roughly chopped Large handful of rocket leaves/arugula 2 tsp chive flowers, roughly chopped Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper For the fennel salted salmon: 1 tbsp fennel seeds Zest of lemon 1 tbsp sea salt 950g salmon fillet, skin on 1 tbsp olive oil For the lemon aioli: 1 egg yolk Juice of lemon tsp Dijon mustard 1 clove of garlic 3 tbsp olive oil Small handful of parsley, roughly chopped Method 1. Add the potatoes, courgette, red onions and cherry tomatoes to a large bowl. Season with plenty of salt and pepper, and pour over the olive oil. Add the herbs and toss to combine. 2. Transfer the vegetables to a roasting tray and add to a wood-fired pizza oven heated to 200C/400F for 30 minutes. If youre using a regular oven, ensure it is preheated to 200C/180C fan/400F/Gas Mark 6. Halfway through, toss the vegetables to ensure even cooking. 3. While the vegetables are roasting, add the fennel seeds, lemon zest and 1 tbsp sea salt to a pestle and mortar. Season with a pinch of black pepper and grind to create a well-mixed powder. 4. Spread the fennel salt mix over the salmon with the olive oil. Ensure the salmon is evenly coated on both sides. Leave to marinate while you make the lemon aioli. 5. Add the egg yolk, lemon juice and mustard to a bowl. Season with a pinch of salt and whisk to combine. 6. Add the garlic clove with a sprinkle of salt to a pestle and mortar, smash to create a paste and add to the egg mixture. Continuously whisk to combine and slowly pour in the oil a few drops at a time and then gradually pour a steady stream. Dont add the oil too fast and ensure its completely incorporated before adding more. Whisk until completely emulsified before stirring through the parsley. 7. After 30 minutes, spread out the vegetables on the roasting tray and make room for the salmon. Add the salmon and transfer back to the oven for a further 20 minutes. 8. Once the salmon and vegetables are fully roasted, remove from the oven and serve on a platter, drizzling with the aioli and scattering with the rocket leaves and chive flowers. Give the salmon a final squeeze of lemon juice and enjoy! Thai-Style Tomato Salad with Fish Sauce Dressing, Peanuts & Crispy Onions Thai-Style Tomato Salad with Fish Sauce Dressing, Peanuts & Crispy Onions. Photo: Donal Skehan. Food styling: Charlotte OConnell Serves: 4, as a side. Time: 25 minutes, plus marinating time Ingredients 200ml vegetable oil 2 banana shallots, thinly sliced 500g heirloom tomatoes, thinly sliced 2 tbsp soy sauce 3 tbsp fish sauce 1 tsp caster sugar 1 red chilli, thinly sliced Handful of fresh coriander leaves 75g peanuts, bashed in a pestle and mortar Sea salt Method 1. Place the vegetable oil into a saucepan over a medium heat and add the thinly sliced shallots. Slowly fry the shallots, stirring until they are browned about 7-10 minutes. Pour the shallots into a sieve placed over a glass bowl, reserving the oil, then transfer the shallots to a plate lined with kitchen paper and sprinkle with some salt. Set both aside and allow the oil to cool. 2. Place the tomatoes into a bowl with the soy sauce and a pinch of salt, stir and allow to sit for 30 minutes. 3. After 30 minutes, remove the tomatoes from the bowl, reserving the liquid and transfer to a platter for serving. 4. Pour 150ml, or as close to it, of the juice from the tomato bowl into the jug of a blender, discarding the rest and add in the fish sauce and sugar. Add 100ml of the reserved shallot oil and mix in the blender on a high setting until emulsified. 5. Drizzle the oil dressing over the tomatoes on the platter, then scatter with the sliced chilli, coriander, bashed peanuts and crispy shallots. Taoiseach Simon Harris at a media briefing to highlight how Fine Gael is delivering for families and working parents. Photo: Sam Boal/Collins Ive been reading with great interest about the increase in asylum-seekers arriving in Dublin. While Taoiseach Simon Harris rightly acknowledges the global migration crisis and the need for a co-ordinated EU response, it is essential to consider the broader context of Irelands foreign policy and the domestic repercussions. Irelands decision to recognise the state of Palestine, although morally commendable, highlights the interconnectedness of international actions and domestic consequences. This recognition, while aligning with our values, seems to have contributed to an increase in asylum- seekers from the Middle East. This is not to suggest we should shy away from making principled stands on the global stage, but rather that we should be fully aware of the potential domestic outcomes of such decisions. Furthermore, the issue of migration is exacerbated by our chronic under-investment in key public sectors. The shortage of housing, healthcare, education and childcare resources has turned what could be a manageable situation into a crisis. This is a failure of successive governments, particularly Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, that have overseen these sectors for decades. The lack of adequate planning and resources to accommodate new arrivals, whether they be migrants or home-bound citizens, has made the situation more dire. It is clear that if we wish to address the challenges posed by increased migration, we need a twofold approach. First, our foreign policy decisions must be made with a full understanding of their potential domestic effects. Second, we need to prioritise investment in public services to ensure our society can cohesively absorb new members, rather than strain under the pressure. Ireland must continue to uphold its humanitarian values while also ensuring we are prepared for the realities that follow. The key to this balance lies in prudent policy-making and a commitment to strengthening our national infrastructure. Killian Brennan, Malahide Road, Dublin 17 Weak case by Government for exemption of actively farmed land from new tax The case for fully exempting zoned and serviced development land that is being farmed from the Residential Zoned Land Tax (RZLT) is very weak. Most of the time, development land values are rising, so if holding on to it is costless, there is often an incentive to delay making it available for construction. However, the current version of the RZLT disproportionately penalises active farmers, because an annual charge of 3pc of development value is likely to be a small fraction of the profit made on building and selling housing on a site, but a multiple of the amount a normal farmer will make by continuing to farm it. RZLT in its current form forcefully pushes farmers to put their land on the market as quickly as possible, while developers are mildly encouraged not to delay too long before building. The mild encouragement approach could be extended to actively farmed land, by applying a suitably reduced rate to it. Retention of development land in an undeveloped state should never be costless, but the amounts charged should take account of the differing circumstances of different types of owner. I have outlined how this could work in more detail in the chapter on development land in The Irish Construction Cycle. Dr Nicholas Mansergh, Friarsfield, Co Tipperary Informative radio brings particular comfort to the people of rural Ireland Frank Coughlans piece (Radio is a safe port in this world full of noise and nonsense, Irish Independent, August 20) hit the nail on the head. He went on to say its a medium that keeps the head while all around are losing theirs and where content is more important than performance. In rural Ireland in particular, local radio keeps the countryside well informed about local matters as well as the goings-on in national and world affairs. Here in the west and north-west, we have the musings of Midwest Radio, Ocean FM, Highland Radio and Shannonside to keep us all up to speed on a daily basis of the happenings in our under-developed region. Tommy Marren of Midwest and Niall Delaney of Ocean, among many others, produce brilliant morning programmes that keep us all up to date on the topical matters of the day. The first thing we do when we get out of the cot each morning is turn on the radio and tune in to get the latest hot topic. They never disappoint. Tom Towey, Cloonacool, Co Sligo Trumps reliance on nasty personal jibes is a sure sign he is losing the battle Do Donald Trump and his advisers not know that when you get personal with your opponent, in this instance Kamala Harris, you are losing the argument or battle? When you denigrate a person because of their looks, race or how they sound, you are no longer credible. Trump should have learned from his last failed run for the presidency that getting personal with your opponent never pays. Richard Whitty, Swords, Co Dublin Lovers of small-ball game should be worried about its unrelenting decline Frank Roche (Conor Burke wants next Blues boss to build on Micheal Donoghues legacy, Irish Independent, Sport, August 15), in an appraisal of the state of hurling in Dublin, writes that whoever takes up the vacant Dublin hurling reins will inherit a squad not quite in flux, but certainly in transition. This transition has lasted 86 years. Despite one in five of the population of the country living in the greater Dublin area, Dublins last senior hurling title win was in 1938 when Joe Louis was world heavyweight champion, General Franco was in the thick of the Spanish Civil War and Douglas Hyde was president of Ireland. It was 1961 when Dublin last played in an All-Ireland hurling final, losing to Tipperary by a point. The rapid decline of Wexford, Antrim, Waterford and, to a lesser degree, Cork senior hurling teams in recent years should set alarm bells ringing, not just in Croke Park but with all lovers of the small-ball game. With a population over 1.2 million and some wonderful hurlers and hurling clubs around the county, Dublin should be doing better. Tom Cooper, Templeogue, Dublin 6 The proposed amendments would introduce a 60pc grant rate and a dedicated 90,000 ceiling for nutrient storage investments starting in January 2025 Fine Gael councillor John Paul OShea has welcomed the publication of the Nitrates Derogation Renewal Plan by the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine. The plan, titled Water and Agriculture, a Collaborative Approach, outlines key actions to secure Irelands Nitrates Derogation post-2025, emphasising its importance for farmers in Cork North West and across Ireland. Cllr OShea commended the governments commitment to supporting farmers while ensuring environmental sustainability. This plan is crucial for our farming community here in Cork North West. The actions outlined, including the financial support and advisory services, will directly benefit our local farmers as they continue to balance productive farming with the need to protect water quality, he said. The plan introduces several measures that are of particular significance to the farming community in Cork North West. These include the opening of the 70% Nutrient Importation Storage Scheme (NISS), which will provide essential financial support to farmers for nutrient storage, helping them manage their resources more effectively. Additionally, the 60 million innovation programme will enable local farmers to adopt practices that improve water quality, ensuring that Cork North West remains a leader in sustainable agriculture. Cllr OShea also highlighted the importance of the Better Farming for Water advisory programme, which is set to play a key role in helping farmers enhance their practices for better water quality outcomes. The governments approach of providing dedicated water quality advisors, funded by both government and industry, will be invaluable to farmers in our region. Cllr OShea emphasised the collaborative nature of the plan and its potential to make a significant impact. The success of this plan depends on all stakeholders working together government, farmers, and industry. I am confident that with this support, our farmers in Cork North West will continue to operate successfully while protecting our precious water resources. Leaving Cert students in Cork city and county received their results this morning after the results went live at 10am on the Candidate Portal. A total of 60,839 candidates nationwide received their Leaving Certificate examination results today. The principal of De La Salle College Macroom John Murphy said their students were very happy with the results. Quite a number of the students came in this morning. The majority would have already known their results by the time they came in. They came to meet with their teachers and to thank them. They also wanted to meet up with their classmates. It was a very positive experience. They were very happy with their results. I am delighted for them, said the school principal. That particular group didnt get the opportunity to sit the Junior Certificate like previous other classes. We are extremely proud of them and very happy with them. Their results were really good. We are thrilled to bits. The general consensus from the students was one of happiness with the results. We are very proud of them. They did very well. It was a very satisfying and proud day for all of us. The Leaving Certificate class of 2024 were full of good characters. They engaged well. They finished the year very positively. We are very happy for them, he added. Mr Murphy advised any student who is feeling a bit anxious to reach out and have a conversation if they require more clarity. Our guidance counsellor makes contact with all the students to make sure they are all okay. She engages with all the parents who make contact with her to make sure about any uncertainties. If students feel a bit anxious they can reach out and have a conservation with our guidance counsellor. It is a very exciting time in their lives, said the school principal. The Leaving Certificate is just the key in the door to a lifetimes opportunity. Once they have it done, they can move on. The principal of Boherbue Comprehensive School Vera Leader congratulated their Leaving Certificate class on their phenomenal results. They were a lovely class group of friends that worked so hard. It is great to see the hard work paying off. Ms Leader also thanked the deputy principal, parents, subject teachers and SNAs for contributing to the outstanding success of the Leaving Cert students. Thirteen students at Christian Brothers College (CBC) received the maximum points of 625, with one student achieving eight H1 grades. Seven students were awarded seven H1s and five achieved six 6H1s. A total of 151 students received their results with 22% of their Leaving Cert students obtaining over 600 points. The principal of Christian Brothers College David Lordon said the students can be proud and relieved all the hard work has paid off. We are absolutely delighted to be celebrating our students outstanding Leaving Cert results. Im sure the last few weeks have been an anxious time for the boys. They can be very proud of their incredible results and are no doubt relieved that all the hard work and effort has paid off. The secondary school principal wished them well as they prepare to embark on the next chapter in their lives. Their Leaving Cert journey has been a real team effort, so its also a very special day for their parents and teachers who have supported and guided them every step of the way. Its an exciting time for them now as they look forward to new opportunities and experiences in third level and beyond, he added. The Minister for Education, Norma Foley paid tribute to each student who completed the Leaving Certificate. I would like to congratulate each and every one of you on this milestone, which brings reward and recognition for all your work and dedication over the past number of years. I hope you can enjoy the day and reflect on all you have achieved. Minister Foley wished all the students continued success in their next step. This is an exciting moment in your life. Whether your next step will take you into the world of further or higher education, an apprenticeship, work, or other possibilities, I would like to wish you every success and happiness. It was also confirmed by the State Examinations Commission (SEC) that it will issue the results of any Leaving Certificate appeals on Friday, September 27. The SEC also announced that it intends to issue Junior Cycle results on Wednesday, October 9 which is a week earlier than last year. Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Patrick ODonovan TD also congratulated the Leaving Certificate class of 2024. I want to congratulate and commend them on all the hard work they have done to get this far as they prepare to take the next step on the path to their chosen career. The Leaving Cert results do not define you as a person, said Minister ODonovan. Even if you didnt do as well as you hoped, there are a variety of different pathways available to your chosen studies. There are so many different opportunities available now for students, including FET and PLC courses, more than 70 different apprenticeships, and of course the new unified tertiary degree courses, which allow students to earn a degree outside of the CAO system. Complaints about disappearing buses and rude drivers were among the issues raised on certain Dublin bus routes with the National Transport Authority (NTA) in the last 18 months. A Freedom of Information (FOI) request revealed the total number of complaints regarding a selection of Dublin bus routes received for 2023, and between January and July this year. The sample of complaints provided by the NTA included Dublin Bus route numbers 13, 27, 40, 77A, and 79. Many complaints centred around the behaviour of bus drivers, with passengers reporting instances of rudeness, aggressive behaviour, and unprofessional conduct. This includes accusations of drivers ignoring passengers, using offensive language, and refusing to stop at designated bus stops. On the 27 bus route, which serves Jobstown to Clare Hall, one customer detailed an experience they had on Cork Street on February 21 this year. Today, your driver nearly hit the front of my car with my two children under the age of two, then proceeded to give me the middle finger and shout abuse, they wrote. This same route received 22 complaints by July this year, with route 27 having the highest overall complaint volume out of this sample, with 51 in 2023. In another case in January this year, on board the 77A bus route, which runs from Citywest towards Ringsend Road, a passenger made an accusation of reckless driving. An elderly man and I boarded the bus last night; I let him go ahead of me. He moved slowly, scanned his pass, and went to put his card back in his pocket when the driver dangerously closed the door on me. The driver began driving as the old man was unready, causing him to fly all over. Then the driver shouted at me to sit down, even though the old man was in front of me, leaving me no choice but to either push past or floor the elderly man. I cannot emphasise how disappointed I am in the transport authority for allowing this man to boss and dictate the public around. Im appalled, they added. There was a consistent number of complaints about buses failing to stop, either at designated stops or upon passenger request. The first three months of 2023 and 2024 saw numerous complaints about buses being cancelled without notice or not arriving as scheduled, particularly on routes such as the 13 and 77A. One person detailed an experience they had while waiting for the 13 bus route serving Harristown towards Grange Castle on February 9 this year. They said the first bus, which was scheduled to arrive, went missing, and the following service also didnt show up. They were waiting on Fonthill Road and decided to go to a different stop on Alpine Height/Nangor Road to catch the same bus, which also failed to show. We ended up getting on the 151 bus and went into the city centre, they said. The 13 bus was going up to Grange Castle on their usual routine but was not coming down to pick up passengers going toward the city centre. This has been happening a lot lately, with multiple people saying the bus is not turning up at the stop. They seem to cancel two or three buses minutes before they leave the terminus, and this is not acceptable. People rely on the buses to arrive, and they are left standing there for an hour or so waiting. Please let me know what is happening regarding this matter, they added. The NTA responds to all complaints sent to them by customers of Dublin Bus. In response to this complaint on the number 13 route, they said: There are many reasons why buses might be late or cancelled: driver shortage, illness of the driver, passenger or member of the public, traffic, unplanned traffic obstructions, anti-social behaviour the list goes on. The National Transport Authority works with public transport operators, who are responsible for the provision of public transport services. At this stage, wed ask that you please contact the public transport operator directly. If, after you have contacted them, you are unhappy with their response, you can then forward the full details, case number, or email chain to us here, and at that stage, we can investigate. There was a total of 127 complaints received by the NTA regarding Dublin Bus services on routes 13, 40, 27, 77A, and 79 in 2023. From January 1 to July 31, 2023, these routes had 62 complaints in total. These same routes have received 57 complaints up to July this year. A spokesperson for Dublin Bus said the number of complaints received so far in 2024 is below the target set by the NTA. Dublin Bus takes all complaints, including complaints by customers using these routes, extremely seriously and all are fully investigated as per our customer charter, they said. Last year saw us carry 146 million customers journeys, an increase of 20pc on 2022, and this year will likely see us carry the most customers in our company's history. We want every customer to have the best possible experience when using our services and are pleased to see the growth in people using Dublin Bus. "When you consider this growth, and the size and scale of our operations, the number of complaints is relatively low. Killarney-based Meabh de Brun who is nominated for an award for her radio play Meabh de Brun, who is based in Killarney is a finalist in the 17th Writers Guild of Ireland (WGI) Zebbie Awards. The award-winning actor, playwright and writer is a finalist in the Best Radio & Audio Drama Script category for her radio play High Spirits, which was broadcast on Near FM. High Spirits, which de Brun also performed in, is a dark comedy in which three siblings and one in-law gather after a patriarchs burial to honour his unusual wishes. Despite a tumultuous year for the arts last year, with strikes, cutbacks and the erosion of opportunities for emerging talent, an exceptionally high standard of writing is reflected throughout this years nominations, with other nominees including Christine Molloy & Joe Lawlor who wrote the highly acclaimed feature film Baltimore. The awards ceremony, which will be presented by Tara Flynn, will take place on Tuesday, September 3 at The Sugar Club in Dublin, and Cork. This years Zebbie Awards will also present former Senator David Norris, The Zebbie Awards celebrate the best of Irish writing in Theatre, Television Drama, Continuing Drama, Short Film, Feature Film, Radio and Animation. Only WGI members can read the nominated scripts and vote in the awards. They are named in honour of O.Z. Zebby Whitehead, a Broadway and Hollywood actor who was a great supporter of theatre and writing in Ireland after he moved to Dublin in 1963. This years awards take place as the Writers Guild of Ireland celebrates its Emerald Anniversary, marking 55 years since it was first established as the Society of Playwrights in Ireland. As part of its Emerald celebrations, the WGI will be hosting the World Conference of Screenwriters 2024 in Galway this October, where over two hundred screenwriters from all across the world will gather to discuss their craft and their industry. The WGI, which campaigns for rights, remuneration, more control of work and better recognition for its members, represents over 400 Irish writers for film, television, theatre, radio, animation and games. Two South Kerry towns have been allocated funding this week which will help them develop exciting new projects in each area. Milltown and Valentia have been allocated almost 100,000 in Town Centre First funding The funding is part of a nationwide allocation targeted at assisting local authorities to create a pipeline of significant, well-developed projects in local towns across Ireland. In Milltown plans are to be developed to reimage the Milltown heritage quarter and the Milltown Civic Centre while in Valentia. The funding will go towards assessing the rejuvenation of the disused Coast Guard houses into affordable accommodation. Minister for Education and Kerry T.D, Norma Foley, has welcomed confirmation that Milltown and Valentia town centres will benefit from combined funding of 99,950 allocated by the Department of Rural and Community Development under Measure 3 of the Town Centre First Suite of Supports 2024. Milltown will receive 49,950 whilst Valentia will receive 50,000. Minister Foley explained that in Milltown the funding will support the delivery of the detailed design, planning and assessments necessary to advance the Milltown heritage quarter and the Milltown Civic Centre to construction. In Valentia the funding will help redevelop the coast guard houses. "This will involve a thorough investigation into the present condition of the structures, assessment of rehabilitation costs, and evaluation of their suitability for housing. The project seeks to restore these historic buildings while addressing the pressing need for affordable accommodation," said Minister Foley. She said the funding is to make more towns across the country a better place to live and work and these projects in Kerry will be of huge benefit to rural communities. Cllr Michael Cahill (FF) has also welcomed the funds. He said it would be great to see the Coast Guard houses back in use. "This is a very welcome first step in this process and we can all look forward to these beautiful buildings being restored to their former glory as living housing units said Cllr Cahill. The gathering at Minister Peter Burke's visit to Gallarus Industry Solutions in Farranfore recently. At the Ministerial visit to Gallarus Industry Solutions is John McKeon, CEO of Gallarus Industry Solutions, Peter Burke, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Patrick Doyle, Southwest Regional Manager, IDA, and Sean Kelly MEP for Ireland South. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade & Employment Peter Burke recently visited Farranfore-based company Gallarus, which highlighted the companys leadership in the manufacturing industry and digital transformation. The momentous visit involved many of Gallarus partners including the Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR), InterTradeIreland, Enterprise Ireland, and the Industry Research & Development Group (IRDG). The visit showcased Gallarus cutting-edge innovations in Industry 4.0., while also demonstrating its pioneering Unified Namespace (UNS) technology that integrates real-time data across manufacturing sites that reduces waste, increases efficiency, and enables predictive maintenance. The presence of local and European politicians like Sean Kelly, Michael Healy-Rae and Bobby O' Connell further emphasised the significance of Gallarus' contributions to the industry. Discussions during the visit were pivotal, leading to commitments for creating new jobs and securing future investments that will drive the companys growth. The gathering at Minister Peter Burke's visit to Gallarus Industry Solutions in Farranfore recently. John McKeon, CEO, and Patrick McCarthy, COO, emphasised the importance of the visit that helps to expand Gallarus influence in the sector. This visit is a testament to our teams hard work and innovation. We are excited about the opportunities it opens up for Gallarus in terms of growth and collaboration, said Mr McKeon. Minister Burke praised Gallarus for its innovative spirit and its critical role in enhancing Irelands enterprise landscape, stating that the companys efforts are vital for the countrys economic future. This visit sets the stage for Gallarus continued success, reinforcing its commitment to excellence, innovation, and collaboration across Ireland, Europe and North America. Minister for Education Norma Foley has congratulated the 60,839 candidates across Ireland who are receiving their Leaving Certificate examination results today. Minister Foley reminded students of the wide range of wellbeing and career supports available to assist them as they receive results and begin to look ahead to future education and career options. She welcomed confirmation from the State Examinations Commission that it intends to issue the results of Leaving Certificate appeals on September 27 in time for the final round of CAO offers. Junior Cycle results will be on October 9. Minister Foley said this would provide clarity for students and their families. This is an exciting moment in your life, as you look ahead to the many great and varied opportunities that lie ahead. Whether your next step will take you into the world of further or higher education, an apprenticeship, work, or other possibilities, I would like to wish you every success and happiness for all to come, Minister Foley said. She thanked the State Examinations Commission and teachers who undertook work as examiners. Parents, families and school communities were also praised, as were the dedicated teachers, SNAs, and school staff. They all helped to ensure you were supported throughout your time at school and played a vital role in your journey to today. They will no doubt also join in celebrating your achievements and congratulating you on your results and I would like to wish them well for the future also, Minister Foley said. Leaving students benefit from COVID era bumper results today The National Parents and Students Leaving Cert Helpline (1800 265 165) will operate from 23 August until 31 August, from 10am to 5pm each day, except for 25 August when it will be closed and 31 September when it will be open from 10am to 2pm. The Helpline is a free-phone service provided to Leaving Certificate students and their parents and guardians. The Helpline is staffed by qualified and experienced guidance counsellors who will deliver one to one support to parents and students. The guidance counsellors involved in the helpline are members of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors (IGC). The National Parent and Student Leaving Cert Helpline is supported by the Department of Education, the National Parents Council, the Irish Second Level Students Union (ISSU) and Trinity College Dublin. The helpline can be contacted on 1800 265 165. Some of the participants in the Positive Aging Project Sheila Thompson, Paul Hayes and Pat McKenna at the film screening in An Tain Arts Centre Older people living in Co Louth have shared their views on aging in two short films made as part of an age friendly project supported by Louth County Council, Creative Ireland and Age Action Louth,. Both films were screened recently in An Tain Arts Centre, Dundalk before an audience comprising the twenty participants who contributed to the project, their families and friends. The event was opened by Paul Hayes, Director of An Tain Arts Centre, who explained the films grew out of what had started as a drama project to challenge ageism. However, it quickly became evident that the participants on the community-led arts project were wonderful examples of positive ageing and brought with them an array of stories and experiences from all walks of life that begged to be made into a film. The project provided a safe space for participants to explore the subject of ageing and ageism, Sinead McVerry, Age Friendly Programme Manager, Louth County Council said: It also provided an opportunity for participants to get to know one another, to build up trust and friendships and to share stories and life experiences." She explained that people from different backgrounds and experiences took part in the project. Through the workshop participants helped to reframe the conversation around growing old in County Louth. The result, entitled Ordinary People is far from ordinary, indeed this extraordinary piece of work is a powerful and moving tribute to each person involved in the film. Each participant selected an item from their life that has a very special meaning for them, explaining the backstory to the object and why it has such significance for them. For some it was an item of clothing a dress or a coat, for others a ring or a teddy bear. In the second film shot in black and white, the participants introduce themselves and make a personal statement in relation to ageism and ageing. This shorter film will be launched at the Louth Age Friendly Expo on October 2nd 2024 during Positive Ageing Week. The films are the first project that the Louth Age Friendly Programme has delivered as part of ongoing series of initiatives aimed at raising awareness around ageism. The project, which is part funded by Creative Ireland, also saw a variety of creative professionals involved in bringing the films to life. Paul Hayes from An Tain Arts Centre facilitated the workshops and engaged a writer, a videographer, director and a sound engineer to assist to work on the project. Ashlee Watkins and Andrew Small have captivated audiences around the globe with their stirring harmonies and hard-hitting old-time sound. They will performing at the Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival in the Strand Inn, from August 23 25. Dunmore East Bluegrass Festival in Waterford is kicking off this week, from Friday to Sunday, August 23-25, with an exciting line up of artists and performers sure to draw large audiences from far and wide. The main stage in Carbally Community Centre, about a seven-minute drive from Dunmore East, will play host to Hank Wangford and The Messages, supported by the Mons Wheeler Big Band on Sunday, August 25. Gates open at 2pm, with the support band at 3pm. Hot food will be on sale, with a free shuttle bus available from the village and Cost Cutters. The advice is to bring your own drinks. A camper van package is available, contact cccbookings@yahoo.com. Among the headline acts over the weekend in Dunmore East are Ashlee Watkins and Andrew Small, Mons Wheeler Band, Kiss My Grass, Backyard Band, Whistle, Alan Power and The Aftershocks, Common Good, Woodbine, and Annette Joy Duo. Venues include the Strand Inn and Powers Bar. The festival will be officially opened by Waterford Mayor Cllr Jason Murphy at 6pm on Friday in the Strand Inn. The main stage in Carbally Community Centre will play host to Hank Wangford and The Messages, supported by the Mons Wheeler Big Band on Sunday, August 25 Tickets are 25 for Hank Wangford and The Messages and can be booked online at bluegrassfestival.cpanelireland.com and discoverdunmore.com/events. The Eircode location for Carbally Community Centre is X91 NW64. This is an over 18s event. Based in the Blue Ridge Mountains of southwest Virginia, Ashlee Watkins and Andrew Small have captivated audiences around the globe with their stirring harmonies and hard-hitting old-time sound. Their songs range from heartbreaking country duets to foot stomping breakdowns as the duo moves effortlessly between fiddle, banjo, mandolin, and guitars, according to a review. Ashlee and Andrew have won many awards from fiddlers conventions throughout the region including first place with The Alum Ridge Boys and Ashlee at the 85th Annual Galax Old Fiddlers' Convention. Follow Independent Waterford on Facebook As songwriters, Ashlee and Andrew were featured in the 2022 IBMA Songwriter Showcase and won first prize in the 29th Annual MerleFest Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. The duo has been featured on the PBS television show Song of the Mountains, played on the Cabin Stage at MerleFest, and performed for the inauguration of the 74th Governor of Virginia. In 2021-22, they hosted the tenth season of The Floyd Radio Show and their music is also featured on the soundtracks of The Green Tunnel podcast and the PBS documentary Rock Castle Home. Sadie Harpur author of the Hidden World of a Foster Girl, will be interviewed at the Write By The Sea Festival in Kilmore Quay, Wexford. Gorey author Sadie Harpur of the recently-published memoir, The Hidden World of a Foster Girl, will be interviewed at the Write By The Sea Festival in Kilmore Quay, Wexford as part of a discussion on the world of fostering. Sadie who was fostered to a family in Mount Merrion, Dublin as a child, will share the stage with Fiona Neary, author of Parcels in the Post: Growing Up With Fifty Siblings. Sadie and Fiona will chat with social worker Geraldine Quigley about their lived experiences of the Irish fostering system. As she explains in the book, as a child, Sadie went through turbulent periods of high anxiety and suffered from learning difficulties resulting from undiagnosed dyslexia. She was described as mentally below average and suffered bouts of depression, suicidal thoughts and was repeatedly bullied. She also endured violent outbursts, self-harm, low self-esteem, and the eventual suicide of her foster-brother Gary. After the launch of the Hidden World of a Foster-Girl, the Lord Mayor of Dublin invited Sadie to address a specially-invited audience of care workers in the Mansion House. She has also had her poems published in two anthologies of Wexford Women Writing Undercover. Sadie's memoir has been met with high praise, the Irish Foster Care Association describing it as inspirational. Similarly, Niamh Browne of Hot Press said, The Hidden World Of A Foster Girl is a gut-wrenching read, pulling at every heart string. Hugely powerful, its a memoir about the anxieties of growing up in foster care in Ireland. Grace OReilly on www.writing.ie wrote: Sadie is an inspiration to many and I sincerely hope that she is proud of both how far she has come in her life, and of writing her true-life story to help others both now and in the future overall my heart ached for her. The World of Fostering event will take place at 3p.m. on Saturday, September 28 in the Saltees Coast Hotel, Kilmore Quay. Tickets are now on sale for 10, with day passes available for the full day event costing 75. A spotlight will be shone on the topic of Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour as legal experts, psychologists, criminologists, journalists and retired law enforcement take to the stage on Saturday, August 31, at the Kennedy Summer School in New Ross. Since emerging from the pandemic crime has become a more visible issue in Ireland and many European and American cities. NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said: You cannot police a community without effectively working with the community. In this session, the Kennedy Summer School will look at what has caused the reverse in decades of declining crime numbers and the rise of youth violence. The panellists include crime correspondents Nicola Tallant and Paul Reynolds, along with the former NYPD Deputy Commissioner and Vice Provost St Johns University, NYC James OKeefe, former chairperson of the Assoc. for Criminal Justice Research and Development, lawyer Maura Butler and psychologist Catherine Norton will tell the story from the point of view of Ireland and abroad. The rise in knife crime, were the Dublin Riots inevitable, has social media and the internet contributed to this surge in anti-social behaviour, gender-based violence and crime, how can Dublin be made to feel safe - will all be discussed. Moderator of the panel and one of the directors of the Kennedy Summer School, Charles Larkin said: We will hear about the lessons of how New York City won the war against crime. If no place is unpoliceable; no crime is immune to better enforcement efforts. What does the future of policing look like in Ireland? This promises to be a greatly relevant and spirited panel discussion. Other events on Saturday, August 31, include the US politics panel which will see the former consultant to Clinton, Biden and Obama campaigns, Dr Laura Barberena, chairman of Republicans Overseas UK and founded the Hamilton Society Greg Swenson, FMR Mayor of Indianapolis Greg Ballard and Associate Professor of Law at Moritz College of Law Prof. Dakota S Rudesill join moderator Dr Charles Larkin to discuss American politics in this pivotal year of the 2024 presidential election. For further details and tickets for the 2024 events see www.kennedysummerschool.ie or call St. Michaels Theatre on 051 421255. Colaiste Abbain students having collected their Leaving Cert results, catching up at the school. Our Lady of Lourdes New Ross principal Toni Ormond with Karina Conway, Hannah Barrett, Ana Dillon and Jenny Burke (English teacher). Fifty students sat the Leaving Cert and 10 students completed the Leaving Certificate Applied at Colaiste Abbain secondary school in Adamstown, in the heart of Co Wexford. With many students receiving over 500 points and a record number of H1s, 2024 has been a record high results year for the school. Students were extremely happy with the results with many predicting that they will get their first choice on their CAO form, said deputy principal Avril Buttle. "Students have varying plans with many hoping to study at third level in colleges around the country and some staying locally to do PLCs. We are also delighted to hear that many of our students have already started their apprenticeship programmes around the county. We are delighted to see so many students opting for apprenticeship programmes in recent years. Ms Buttle said: "It was fantastic to see so many happy faces in the school this morning. Our students have worked extremely hard throughout their time in Colaiste Abbain to get to this moment and on behalf of our principal John Nolan and myself, we wish them all every success in their future. "It is also important to note that there are many pathways to success in life and success looks very different for everyone. We are very proud of every single student and the resilience and determination they have shown in recent years. Even though all students received their results at home online, the vast majority came into the school to celebrate their excellent results with the teaching staff. At Our Lady of Lourdes in New Ross, students were also thrilled with their results. Principal Toni Ormond said: As usual, the results were excellent reflecting the students hard work, focus and dedication to their studies. Although the students accessed their results online through the Candidate Self Service Portal, most of them called to the school to meet their teachers. Management and staff would like to acknowledge the effort of the students families who have supported and helped them through their Leaving Certificate experience. Management would like to extend a big thank you to the teaching staff for their continued hard work and dedication to the pupils of Our Lady of Lourdes. A total of 60,839 candidates received Leaving Certificate results this year; 56,791 candidates followed the Leaving Certificate (Established) programme and 4,048 (6.6pc) candidates followed the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme. While there has been a slight drop overall (-1.45pc) in the cohort this year compared to 2023, it is notable that the number of candidates who participated in the Leaving Certificate Applied programme has increased by 8.5pc in the same period. In the Leaving Certificate established 405,171 individual results are issuing, 94pc of which are in subjects marked through the SECs online marking system. Results in both the Leaving Certificate and the Leaving Certificate Applied have been subject to the application of a post marking adjustments following normal examinations marking processes. The numbers sitting the two newest Leaving Certificate subjects continue to rise. The cohort sitting Physical Education is up by approximately 12pc and Computer Science up approximately 28pc. Jim was clever, a scholarship boy. He had a great sense of humour and no time for any sort of clerical nonsense. Shortly after his arrival in Argentina he grew a beard. At the time it was forbidden for priests to grow beards in the diocese where he was working. On the feast of St Dominic the local bishop came to lunch in the community where Jim was living. During his visit the bishop suggested he shave off his beard. Jim looked at him and said: You might be my bishop but youre not my barber. End of story. Two Wexford artists have been shortlisted for the prestigious AIB Portrait Prize. Caolan Barron from Wexford town is nominated for his photograph Isabella Gerbola, Circus Gerbola, Tramore, 2023, while Darragh OConnell, who was shortlisted for the Zurich Portrait Prize in 2018, has been nominated for his oil painting John and Fionnan. The pair are part of a 46-strong shortlist announced by the National Gallery of Ireland and will have their work exhibited at the gallery from November 9 until March 9 of next year. The winning entry will be announced at a ceremony on November 27. The AIB Portrait Prize shortlist includes painting, drawing, sculpture, video and photography demonstrating the breadth of contemporary Irish art. The winner of the AIB Portrait Prize will receive a cash prize of 15,000 and will be commissioned to create a work for the national portrait collection, for which they will be awarded a further 5,000. Two additional awards of 1,500 will be given to highly commended works. Dr Caroline Campbell, Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, said, We are proud to be working with AIB on the annual AIB Portrait Prize where we showcase the work of Irish portrait artists of all ages and encourage an interest in contemporary portraiture across the island of Ireland. The artists shortlisted for the 2024 prize demonstrate an incredible breadth of Irish artistic talent. We are looking forward to the opening of the exhibitions on November 9 and announcing this years winners on November 27. Colin Hunt, Chief Executive Officer of AIB, said, We are delighted to share the shortlist for the 2024 AIB Portrait Prize. The portraits selected demonstrate the wonderful creativity and expertise of Irelands portrait artists of all ages. We are proud to be associated with such a strong and diverse selection of portraits, and very proud to sponsor this inspiring competition. Painted stones placed in the foundation of the new Greystones Community College building by those attending the sod-turning event. Photo: Leigh Anderson. Taoiseach Simon Harris and Dr Deirdre Keyes turn the sod at the site of the new building in Greystones. Photo: Leigh Anderson. On the day that 1,727 students received their Leaving Certificate results across the secondary schools of the county, Wicklows Taoiseach, Simon Harris, was already out paving the way for next years crop, when he turned the sod on the new building for Greystones Community College. He did so in front of a thrilled gathering of school staff and students, as well as local councillors and constituency TDs, many of whom were deeply critical of the Department of Education's perceived lack of urgency when it came to addressing the challenges of providing enough school places in the Taoiseachs home town. But, despite those challenges, there he was, calling a spade a spade and announcing that it was determination and work that made this happen a new 1,000-pupil post-primary school, which will include four classrooms for children with special educational needs. There was a long list of people he wished to thank, including the chief executive of Kildare Wicklow Education and Training Board Dr Deirdre Keyes and principal Ruairi Farrell, who he singled out for managing to set up his school from scratch in temporary accommodation, and with a growing population. "Quite the phenomenal feat he has done, he remarked. It's been a demonstration of patience, but he has always put the needs of the students, the people of Greystones, and the staff to the fore, he added. I want to thank you today for getting to this point. It's really down to your own determination and work. I want to thank those who have provided the space for this school to exist, because when we're turning the sod on a new school today, of course, Greystones Community College already exists. Greystones Community College already has students, we've seen them here today, and it wouldn't be possible to have such a vibrant school community, had others in our community not stepped up during the interim period, and provided space. The Taoiseach then turned to his fellow TDs and public representatives including Stephen Donnelly, Jennifer Whitmore, Steven Matthews and Cllr Stephen Stokes who, in the words of one were like broken records over the past year calling for this day to come, but seemed happy, jubilant even, now ground was finally broken. I mean this sincerely, the Taoiseach continued, and I can assure the people of Greystones that this is not the case in every constituency but we do tend to work in quite a collaborative and collegiate manner on issues of importance. Thank you to everyone who's worked together, and we've all tried to pull in the same direction to get to this point. The Taoiseach, who had just come from his former school, St Davids, where students had been collecting their Leaving Cert results, went on to say how he reflected on two things while he was there. "Firstly, when I went to secondary school in Greystones, when I collected my Leaving Cert 20 years ago today, in St David's, we used to have one secondary school in this town. We now have three. Three brilliant schools that we can all be proud of, providing greater diversity and choice for parents and students, and with this building, providing modern facilities in all three schools, he said. And the second thing I thought of and an issue very close to my heart was when I was attending the one secondary school that we had in this town, there wasn't an ability for people with additional educational needs to access second level in Greystones. "We now have three second level schools, all of which are providing for the needs of children with additional educational needs, and I just wanted to acknowledge that progress that our education partners have made in Greystones over the last 14 years, he said. Of course, today, the reason we do this is for the students, and to the students that I see here today, particularly dedicated students in Greystones Community College who come in when they're not actually due back until next week, and put on their school uniform early to be here, providing such a momentous day. Adding that this is the moment the train leaves the station . . . and there's no going back, the Taoiseach then threw down the gauntlet and announced a delivery of 65 weeks, which will mean cutting the ribbon on September 26 next year. As Taoiseach? Well, he does love a challenge. Principal Ruairi Farrell couldn't let a moment like today pass without reflecting on where we have come from, he said, when he rose to stand before the site of the new school. "When I was given the honour of being appointed as founding principal at Greystones Community College nearly five years ago, I had nothing more than a vision for this school. I had no premises, I had no students, I had no plans, I had no policies. We had absolutely nothing. "The vision back then that still guides us to this day is to leave no stone unturned in creating a dynamic, vibrant and inclusive school of excellence which is embedded in the community, which delivers high quality education in a caring environment where every student is supported to reach the full potential. "We now stand proud, nearly five years later, with a school community of 630 students and 70 staff and a fantastic new state-of-the-art building in the pipeline. We have earned the confidence of the community and it is evident that our students are our best applicants and our biggest supporters. "Those same students have waited patiently for today, they have never complained. We have done all of this for you, the students, and I'm excited not only for you but for the generations of students to come who will be very fortunate to attend Greystones Community College, he said. One of those students, in a proud moment for all, echoed the passion and sentiments of her principal, when she invited the guests to leave a stone as a marker on the soil, to honour their motto, more than apt for the school and the town: Leave no stone unturned. The village of Ashford is set for a major facelift as permission has been granted to finally complete a significant development, which has been bringing down the overall appearance and attracting anti-social behaviour since work on the site ceased. Work on the development was halted in 2016 after it was found to be in non-compliance with planning granted by Wicklow County Council, and the site has been vacant ever since. Permission was granted for the development in 2009 to Chieftain Construction Ltd for the demolition of existing site structures and construction of a new mixed use development consisting of 24 units and office/retail space. The lifetime of that permission was extended to August 2019. In July of 2021, An Bord Pleanala granted Vartry Developments Limited, the receivers of the site, leave to apply for substitute consent, having concluded that exceptional circumstances existed such that it would be appropriate to permit the regularisation of the development through the submission of an application. The planning authority has now granted permission to retain and complete the residential and retail development. The site currently accommodates a partially completed development, arranged in five blocks. The development has been subject to vandalism since work on the site halted in 2016. Cllr Gail Dunne feels the residents of Ashford will be relieved to see work finally taking place to complete the development, which has been considered an eyesore for years. The site has been sitting vacant for the past eight years and it was bringing down the overall appearance of Ashford," he said. This has been ongoing for a long time and I have been contacted by a lot of residents living in the village complaining about the appearance of the unfinished site. Essentially, it has been a derelict site since 2016. It was also attracting anti-social behaviour and was becoming a bit of a nuisance. Now everyone will be keen for the works to commence so the development can be completed, which will also help tidy up the appearance of that part of Ashford village. The site at Mount Usher View is currently enclosed by hoarding along the public footpath. The remainder of the development is visible from the surrounding public road network. Blocks A and B are characterised by blockwork which has been completed to first-floor level only. Blocks C and D have been substantially completed and are characterised by projecting bay windows and rendered facades. Block E comprises of four semi-detached dwellings of 2.5-storeys in height. These units have been completed to roof level, but appear to be unrendered and are not weather tight. The planning authority agreed with and adopted the screening assessment and conclusion of the inspectors report that the Murrough SPA and the Murrough wetlands are the only sites which the proposed development has the potential to have a significant effect on. They considered the remedial Natura Impact Statement and associated documentation submitted with the application for approval, and were satisfied that the subject development, by itself or in combination with other plans or projects, would not adversely affect the integrity of these sites. However, some 25 conditions were attached to the granting of planning. One condition states that the construction of the proposed outfall adjacent to the River Vartry shall be carried out in consultation with Inland Fisheries Ireland. Any instream works that may be required to facilitate the construction of the proposed outfall must be completed within the open period between July and September of any given year. Two Wicklow projects will receive 50,000 each under Town Centre First funding, including plans to develop a high-quality public space in Market Square, Blessington. A comprehensive design plan will also be carried out on the Black Castle in Wicklow town. On Friday, the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, announced funding of 2.6 million to support the development of a total of 53 Town Centre First projects. In County Wicklow, funding will go towards a Blessington project which will create plans to develop a high-quality public space in the Market Square. Professional services will be commissioned to carry out a predevelopment exploration of Market Square as a de-risking exercise for the construction phase if the project was successful in a later funding application. However, local Blessington resident, Cllr Gerry ONeill, is opposed to any plans for Market Square which would result in a reduction of car parking spaces. I am totally against any plans to pedestrianise the last bit of the square still left when little if any consultation was held with the local community or with local representatives, he said. It doesnt make sense to remove any parking spaces, considering there is already what I would consider a shortage of parking. I carried out my own survey of local businesses and none of the businesses I spoke to were aware of any plans to reduce parking. Wicklow County Council purchased the old health care centre on the Kilbride road which closed when the primary care health centre opened. There are plans to upgrade the property so it becomes an information office for the Blessington Greenway. I think they are being a bit pre-emptive as An Bord Pleanala hasnt made a decision yet. "Even if the greenway gets permission, its based on the lakeside and not the centre of Blessington. Even if someone is to drive from the greenway to the information office, where are they meant to park if the parking spaces are removed? Deputy Steven Matthews was more enthusiastic as he welcomed the 50,000 funding provided for the historic Black Castle in Wicklow town. A supplier/contractor will complete a comprehensive design plan aimed at improving of public lands surrounding the Black Castle and assessing the structure and condition of the castle. This is great news for the iconic Black Castle, said Deputy Matthews. "The castle dates to 12th century Norman times and has a dark history associated with conflict and violence with local O'Byrne and O'Toole clans. Despite its bloody past, the site and the castle are very popular with locals and tourists. This funding for a professional design and structure assessment is very important to enable a further application to carry out improvements and accessibility to the area. "There have been great improvements to Wicklow town such as the wander walls murals and the refurbishment of Market Square and Fitzwillam Square and great credit has to go the local councillors, Wicklow County Council and the hard working Wicklow Town Team. I am always delighted to support them in their work and investment in our county town. While welcoming the funding, Taoiseach Simon Harris said he will be making every effort to improve further community spaces across the country. The Black Castle is a fantastic natural and historical amenity, and todays decision to further support and develop this site I know will be warmly welcomed by the local community, he said. This is only the start however, as over the coming weeks and months I will be looking for every opportunity to find new ways to improve and further support our community spaces to help create places that can be enjoyed by all for years to come. In Blessington we will see plans to further develop the towns Market Square and identify how best we can lay the foundations for the creation of a high-quality public space. "Market Square is already a vital community area for Blessington, with many events and festivals centred around the Square throughout the year, and I want to keep working towards improving this area, especially as Blessingtons population continues to grow at a rapid rate. A County Wicklow hotel bar has featured amongst the winners at the 2024 Bar of the Year Awards. Nanny Kellys Bar at the Parkview Hotel in Newtownmountkennedy was awarded second place in the Bar Food of the Year category, only bested by the Black Forge Inn in Dublin. After an intense selection process and careful consideration by the esteemed panel of judges, the very best of the best in the bar industry were announced on Monday, August 19, at the gala awards ceremony held at the Clayton Hotel, Burlington Road, Dublin. The Parkview Hotel reacted to winning silver at the awards by thanking all their hard-working staff on Facebook for their contribution towards the success. Were delighted to have scored so high and of course would have loved to have finished first but we are still over the moon with the result. Thank you to all of our chefs and service staff who go over and beyond every day from preparing meals to looking after and welcoming all of our guests. Whilst Nanny Kellys was the only County Wicklow winner on the night, The Parkview Hotel is owned by the Chris Kelly Group, who had double reason to celebrate on the night after another of their venues, The Kingswood Lodge in Tallaght, was announced as the outright winner of the Local Bar of the Year award. How Niall Horan went from Mullingar boyband hopeful to the biggest (and most likeable) Irish star of his generation Since that first life changing X-Factor audition in 2010, the Mullingar native has charmed everyone from Taylor Swift to Rory McIlroy Niall Horan performs onstage during TikTok In The Mix at Sloan Park on December 10, 2023 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for TikTok) Lauren Murphy Fri 23 Aug 2024 at 03:30 In the middle of Mullingar town, a statue of its most famous musical export stands with his head at a charismatic tilt; one hand clutching a microphone, the other arm outstretched to his adoring audience. Former Countdown star Carol Vorderman will deliver the Alternative MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Friday. The presenter and maths expert, 63, has increasingly turned to political activism, including criticising the previous Conservative government. Vorderman said: I feel honoured to have been asked to be this years Alternative MacTaggart speaker. As our industry transitions, there is much to discuss, 42 years on the box, hosting shows for all channels, its been an interesting life. I choose to live a life outside of the media thrall of London and I live without apology. Beware the post-menopausal woman who doesnt give a damn. Ill see you in Edinburgh. Following being sacked by the BBC over their social media policy, she works for LBC. Vorderman is due to publish her book Out Of Order: Whats Gone Wrong With Britain And One Womans Mission To Fix It in September and it will be supported by a tour across 11 dates in the UK. Martin Lewis from Money Saving Expert (Jonathan Brady/PA) Her speech follows the James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture, which saw Dear England writer James Graham call for action on getting more working class people opportunities within the TV industry on Wednesday. Previous Alternative MacTaggart speakers have included SNP politician Nicola Sturgeon, actress Rose Ayling-Ellis and Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker. On the last day of the 2024 edition of the media event, Martin Lewis will have an interview following him winning the Outstanding Achievement Award. The event said the 52-year-old consumer affairs champion is unwell and unable to travel so is joining via Zoom to speak to Jake Kanter, international investigations editor at Deadline. A six-year-old boy who went missing inside a hilly forest in Vietnam has been found alive after five days in what is being hailed as a miracle rescue. Dang Tien Lam, who lives in the Van Yen district of the north-east region of Vietnam, went missing last Saturday after he went to play with his siblings near a stream and decided to return home alone. LATEST | Body of Mike Lynchs missing daughter Hannah (18) recovered by divers in Sicily A source told Reuters on Friday that the body of Hannah the sole remaining missing person had been foundThe search was called off at around 8pm in Sicily on Thursday with divers expected to begin again at 6.30am on FridayFive bodies have now been brought to shore in the small fishing village of Porticello, around 11 miles from the Sicilian capital of PalermoIn a statement confirming their parents deaths, the Bloomer family described the couple as incredible people and an inspiration to many Mr Lynch and his daughter were among seven people who died after a yacht sank off the coast of Sicily (Family Handout/PA) Connor Stringer, Albert Tait and Josephine McKenna Telegraph.co.uk Fri 23 Aug 2024 at 12:19 Italian rescue divers have found the body of the last person missing, believed to be Mike Lynch's daughter, Hannah (18), after the British tech entrepreneur's superyacht sank off Sicily this week, a source close to the matter told Reuters on Friday. Hungarys anti-immigration government is prepared to provide free one-way tickets to Brussels for migrants and asylum-seekers attempting to enter the EU, a minister said yesterday, in response to hefty fines recently imposed on the country over its restrictive asylum policies. Speaking at a news conference in Budapest, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbans chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, criticised a June ruling by the European Court of Justice that ordered Hungary to pay a fine of 200m for persistently breaking the blocs asylum rules, and an additional 1m per day until it brings its policies into line with EU law. X-ray evidence contradicts research dating relic to middle ages Experts say latest tests show the Shroud of Turin can be dated back to the time of Christ. Photo: Antonio Calanni Italian scientists say they have found evidence that the Shroud of Turin may indeed have been Jesus Christs burial cloth, countering controversial previous research dating the artefact to medieval times. The worlds most studied archaeological artefact has been subject to scrutiny since it first emerged in 1350s, bearing the faint image of a man that some believe to be an imprint of Jesus. Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the Security Council via video link at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia August 23, 2024. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov. Knife-wielding prisoners identifying themselves as Islamic State militants staged a deadly attack on guards in a Russian penal colony on Friday and seized hostages, according to state media and news outlets with ties to the security services. In a video posted by news channel Mash, three uniformed prison officials could be seen lying motionless in pools of blood on the floor, one with his throat cut. Another was sitting upright in a doorway, where a man with a knife was holding him by the neck. Fake watermelons stuffed with drugs seized at US-Mexico border Among real watermelons, officers found 1,220 packages wrapped in paper coloured to look like watermelon skins A fake watermelon, used to disguise a shipment of methamphetamines, is shown after a bust by US Customs and Border Protection (AP) Irish Independent Newsdesk Fri 23 Aug 2024 at 09:52 A truckload of methamphetamine disguised as a shipment of watermelons was seized at a US-Mexico border crossing in San Diego, US Customs and Border Protection said. How Islamic State supporters turned to AI to bolster online support Pro-Islamic State AI-generated video follows Moscow attackLarge Language Models vulnerable to exploitationExperts say company safeguards and regulation are lacking ISIS militants. Stock image Nazih Osseiran Fri 23 Aug 2024 at 08:41 Days after a deadly Islamic State attack on a Russian concert hall in March, a man clad in military fatigues and a helmet appeared in an online video, celebrating the assault in which more than 140 people were killed. Donald Trump travelled to the shrub-dotted hills of Arizona near the US-Mexico border yesterday to campaign on immigration, his signature issue since launching his first successful presidential bid nine years ago. The visit is the fourth in a series of events held in battleground states this week to try to draw the focus away from Democrats celebration of vice-president Kamala Harris presidential nomination in Chicago. The Trump campaign placed a lectern with a sign that says the southern border on a dirt road between a border wall and piles of steel beams. Kamala Harriss much-anticipated DNC speech: Im no stranger to unlikely journeys The Vice President accepted the Democratic nomination for president by saying the country has a chance to move past divisive battles Kamala Harris calls on America to chart a 'new way forward' Irish Independent Newsdesk Fri 23 Aug 2024 at 07:44 Vice President Kamala Harris told Americans they have a chance to chart a new way forward in November as she accepted her partys nomination for president at the Democratic National Convention. How low can we go? Boys in Green must aim to end one of the worst losing streaks in our football history Teledensity Rises in India, Internet Subscribers Cross 954 Million: 2023-24 TRAI Report The Indian telecom sector made significant strides during the financial year 2023-24. Between March 2023 and March 2024, the total number of internet subscribers in India increased by 8.3 percent, rising from 881.25 million to 954.4 million. Indias overall teledensity increased from 84.51 percent in March 2023 to 85.69 percent in March 2024, at an annual growth rate of 1.39 percent. On August 14, 2024, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released its report titled The Indian Telecom Services Yearly Performance Indicators 2023-24. The report highlights that the sectors gross revenue experienced an annual growth of 0.71 percent, rising from INR 3.33 trillion (US$39.6 billion) in 2022-23 to INR 3.36 trillion (US$40 billion) in 2023-24. The Applicable Gross Revenue (ApGR) also rose by 6.38 percent, climbing to INR 3.23 trillion (US$38.4 billion) in 2023-24 from INR 3.03 trillion (US$36.1 billion) the previous year. This growth was primarily driven by heightened data consumption and consumer upgrades, resulting in an 8.24 percent increase in telecom providers Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR), which surged from INR 2.49 trillion (US$29.6 billion) in 2022-23 to INR 2.7 trillion (US$32.1 billion) in 2023-24. AGR refers to the revenue earned by telecom operators from their core services, such as the provision of mobile and internet services, after excluding certain deductions. In October 2021, the Department of Telecom (DoT) introduced the concept of the applicable gross revenue (ApGR), which is arrived at by removing all non-telecom revenues earned by telecom companies from their gross revenue. Indias leading telecom service providers in FY 2023-24 Reliance Jio led the Indian telecom sector with 9.62 percent year-on-year AGR growth, rising from INR 892.79 billion (US$10.6 billion) in 2022-23 to INR 978.68 billion (US$11.6 billion) in 2023-24. Bharti Airtel followed with a 12.12 percent increase, reaching INR 805.29 billion (US$9.5 billion). However, government-owned telecom service providers, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) faced declines of 1.92 percent and 22.34 percent, respectively, with MTNLs AGR falling from INR 7.85 billion (US$93.5 million) in 2022-23 to INR 6.10 billion (US$72.6 million) in 2023-24. In terms of the increase in telecom subscribers, the report notes that Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. added 42.42 million (net addition) telephone subscribers as of the end of March 2024. Service provider Subscriber base (in million) Rate of growth Market share as on Mar-23 Market share as on Mar-24 Mar-2023 Mar-2024 Yearly net addition/decline Reliance Jio 439.35 481.77 42.42 9.66 percent 37.48 percent 40.17 percent Bharti Airtel 378.06 394.54 16.48 4.36 percent 32.25 percent 32.90 percent Vodafone Idea 237.45 220.60 -16.85 -7.10 percent 20.25 percent 18.39 percent BSNL 110.79 94.75 -16.04 -14.48 percent 9.45 percent 7.90 percent MTNL 4.66 4.10 -0.56 -12.00 percent 0.40 percent 0.34 percent Tata Tele. 1.54 2.29 0.74 48.33 percent 0.13 percent 0.19 percent Quadrant 0.34 0.41 0.07 21.77 percent 0.03 percent 0.03 percent Reliance Com. 0.15 0.13 -0.02 -14.20 percent 0.01 percent 0.01 percent VMIPL 0.05 0.05 0.00 percent 0.00 percent APSFL 0.64 0.64 0.00 percent 0.05 percent Total 1,172.34 1,199.28 26.94 2.30 percent 100 percent 100 percent Source: The Indian Telecom Services Yearly Performance Indicators 2023-2024 Meanwhile, the telecom license fees in India saw an 8.45 percent rise, growing from INR 199.54 billion (US$2.3 billion) in 2022-23 to INR 216.42 billion (US$2.5 billion) in 2023-24. However, spectrum usage charges (SUC) decreased significantly by 32.20 percent, dropping from INR 49.68 billion (US$592 million) in 2022-23 to INR 33.69 billion (US$401.5 million) in 2023-24. Private players dominate Indias telecom market As of March 31, 2024, private telecom service providers dominate the Indian wireless telephone subscription market, holding a 92.26 percent share. In contrast, public sector undertakings (PSUs), specifically BSNL and MTNL, account for only 7.74 percent of the market share. The Adjusted Gross Revenue share for PSUs declined to 6.64 percent in 2023-24, down from 7.04 percent the previous year. However, their AGR contribution slightly increased to INR 179.73 billion (US$2.14 billion) in 2023-24, up from INR 176.05 billion (US$2.09 billion) in 2022-23. Regarding broadband subscriptions, mobile devices (including dongles and telephones) remain the predominant mode of access, making up 95.58 percent of total broadband subscribers as of March 2024. In contrast, wired internet subscribers represented only 4.33 percent of the total during the same period. Surge in Indias telephone and internet subscribers in FY 2023-24 Indias Internet Subscribers (As of March 31, 2024) Internet/broadband subscribers Access Total internet subscribers 954.40 million % change over previous quarter 1.95% Narrowband subscribers 30.34 million Broadband subscribers 924.07 million Wired internet subscribers 40.27 million Wireless internet subscribers 914.13 million Urban internet subscribers 556.05 million Rural internet subscribers 398.35 million Total internet subscribers per 100 population 68.19 Urban internet subscribers per 100 population 111.75 Rural internet subscribers per 100 population 44.16 Total outgoing minutes of usage for internet telephony 93.47 million No. of public Wi-Fi hotspots 165,147 Aggregate data consumed (GB) 4,111,451 Source: TRAI The number of telephone subscribers in India has increased from 1.17 billion in March 2023 to 1.19 billion in March 2024, with a growth rate of 2.30 percent. Broadband subscribers increased from 846 million in March 2023 to 924 million in March 2024, showing a robust 9.15 percent growth, with 78 million new subscribers. From March 2023 to March 2024, the total number of internet subscribers in India grew by 8.3 percent, increasing from 881.25 million to 954.4 million. Wireless data subscribers grew from 846 million in March 2023 to 913 million in March 2024, with a 7.93 percent growth rate. Data usage surged 21.69 percent, from 1,60,054 PB (Petabyte) in 2022-23 to 1,94,774 PB (Petabyte) in 2023-24. (US$1 = INR 83.91) Mumbai: Financial services provider Religare on Friday confirmed that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had conducted raids at the residences of its senior officials on August 21, 2024, the Economic Times Reported. The officials included Dr. Rashmi Saluja, Executive Chairperson; Nitin Agarwal, Group CFO; Nishant Singhal, Group General Counsel of Religare Enterprises Limited (REL); and Chirag Jain, Chief Operating Officer of Religare Finvest Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, said a press release issued by Religare. Earlier ET reported that the ED had seized several documents, including demat and bank accounts belonging to these officials. The ED has frozen the ESOP shares of Care Health Insurance Limited (CHIL), a health insurance subsidiary of the company, which were held by Dr. Saluja, Agarwal, and Singhal. Religares statement clarified that the officials, who were searched, the inquiries made during the search, and the frozen ESOP shares were not related to the FIR or the predicate offense as indicated in the FIR. The EDs investigation stems from a first information report (FIR) lodged by Vaibhav Gawli, an office assistant at a pet cafe in Mumbai, alleging the misappropriation of funds from Religare Finvest. The complaint implicates former REL promoters Shivinder Singh and Malvinder Singh, as well as members of the Burman family, who had made an open offer to acquire a 26% stake in REL, among others. The FIR, which accuses 14 individuals, was filed under Sections 420, 120-B, 511, and 114 of the Indian Penal Code, covering offenses such as cheating and criminal conspiracy. Photo Courtesy: CDC Thailand, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, has found the deadlier strain of the mpox infection in a recently detected patient. The patient reportedly arrived in Thailand from Africa. According to reports, the infected person arrived at Bangkok airport from an African nation on August 14. He was sent to hospital after he showed symptoms of mpox. Also read: Europe can defeat mpox, must support Africa in getting vaccines, assures WHO This is the first confirmed case of Clade 1b in Asia. Thailands Department of Disease Control wishes to confirm the lab test result which shows mpox Clade 1b in a European patient, the department said in a statement as quoted by The Guardian. Earlier, Sweden detected the first case of the deadlier strain of the mpox outside the Africa continent. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern, following the rapid spread of a new strain of the disease known as clade 1b from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Clade 1b is mainly transmitted through sexual contact, although the WHO said on Tuesday that more research was needed into other potential modes of infection from the blisters that are associated with the disease, such as contaminated bedding. Latest WHO data indicates more than 15,000 suspected cases in the DRC including 537 deaths so far. The global total of mpox cases is more than 100,000. The disease is known to transmit from animals to humans and spread by close contact with infected individuals or animals through respiratory droplets, blood, body fluids, or lesions. Symptoms include fever, rash, headaches, sore throat, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, and backache. Photo Courtesy: Unsplash Plastic pollution is causing environmental contamination and is now damaging human health with scientists detecting microplastics in various organs. A growing body of scientific evidence shows that microplastics are accumulating in critical human organs, including the brain, leading researchers to call for more urgent actions to rein in plastic pollution, reported The Guardian. Studies also found the presence of tiny shards and specks of plastics in human lungs, placentas, reproductive organs, livers, kidneys, knee and elbow joints, blood vessels and bone marrow. Given the research findings, it is now imperative to declare a global emergency to deal with plastic pollution, Sedat Gundogdu, who studies microplastics at Cukurova University in Turkey, told the newspaper. The effect of microplastics on the human body is still not clear. Recent studies are just beginning to suggest they could increase the risk of various conditions such as oxidative stress, which can lead to cell damage and inflammation, as well as cardiovascular disease, The Guardian reported. The researchers found that 24 of the brain samples, which were collected in early 2024, measured on average about 0.5% plastic by weight. Its pretty alarming, Campen was quoted as saying by The Guardian. Theres much more plastic in our brains than I ever would have imagined or been comfortable with. Earlier another study had said microplastics and nanoplastics have found their way into human testicles with scientists believing it might be the leading cause of declining sperm count in men. University of New Mexico researchers have detected significant concentrations of microplastics in the testicular tissue of both humans and dogs, adding to growing concern about their possible effect on human reproductive health, reported UNM Health Sciences website. In a new paper published in the journal Toxicological Sciences, a team led by Xiaozhong John Yu, MD, PhD, MPH, a professor in the UNM College of Nursing, reported finding 12 types of microplastics in 47 canine and 23 human testes. Our study revealed the presence of microplastics in all human and canine testes, Yu told UNM Health Sceinces website. The team was also able to quantify the amount of microplastics in the tissue samples using a novel analytical method that revealed correlations between certain types of plastic and reduced sperm count in the canine samples. Indian Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh. Photo Courtesy: PIB Indian Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh on Friday said an Indian will land on the surface of the Moon in 2040. Addressing an event marking the first-ever National Space Day, Singh highlighted the historic landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon's South Pole, a feat that astonished the world and established India as a leader in space exploration. "In the last six decades, India has not only touched the lives of its citizens but also reached the Moon," said Jitendra Singh. He emphasized the significant progress made in the past decade, including the successful Mars Orbiter Mission, the launch of AstroSat, Chandrayaan-2, and Chandrayaan-3, the upcoming Aditya-L1 solar mission, and the XPoSat, an X-Ray astronomy mission. Also read: India celebrates its first-ever National Space Day, PM Modi lauds contributions of space scientists Jitendra Singh traced Indias Space journey beginning only 55 years back in 1969 when the US astronaut Neil Armstrong had already set his foot on the Moon. He lauded the scientific community for their unwavering dedication, which culminated in India becoming the first nation to land on the Moon's South Pole. The Minister of State for Space credited the policy support and leadership provided by Prime Minister Modi since 2014 for accelerating scientific missions and unlocking the potential of Indias scientific community. He also noted the significant increase in Space startups, now numbering nearly 300, following the opening of the Space sector to private participation. He echoed the Finance Ministers projection that Indias space economy will grow from $8 billion to $44 billion in the next decade. Jitendra Singh praised PM Modi for "unshackling" the space sector and making it more accessible to the public, as evidenced by the over 5,000 spectators and nearly 1,000 media personnel who witnessed the Chandrayaan-3 launch live at Sriharikota. Looking ahead, Jitendra Singh outlined the Space Vision 2047, which includes the commissioning of the Bharatiya Antariksha Station (BAS) by 2035 and Indian astronauts landing on the Moon by 2040. He expressed confidence that what begins with human spaceflight in Low Earth Orbit will expand to Indias own scientific activities onboard an indigenous space station, leading to further lunar exploration and beyond. Jitendra Singh highlighted Indias end-to-end capabilities in Space transportation, platforms, and ground stations were highlighted as a key aspect of the countrys self-reliance in the space sector. Singh also underscored the impact of space applications on sectors such as fisheries, agriculture, natural resource management, disaster management, and satellite communication, which have all benefited from Indias space advancements. What did Narendra Modi say on the National Space Day celebration? In a message shared on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently in Ukraine, expressed immense pride in Indias remarkable achievements in the space sector. "Greetings to everyone on the first National Space Day. We recall with great pride our nations achievements in the space sector. It is also a day to laud the contributions of our space scientists," Prime Minister Modi stated. Why India is celebrating National Space Day? To commemorate the successful launch of Chandrayaan-3 Mission, and soft landing of the Vikram Lander and deployment of the Pragyaan Rover on the Moon on August 23, 2023, the Government of India has declared 23rd Day of August of every year as the National Space Day (NSpD). Success of Chandrayaan 3 In a game-changing feat in India's space exploration, the country's lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 successfully soft-landed on the South Polar region of the moon on August 23, 2023, as a nation of 1.4 billion people erupted in joy and pride ending an anxious wait for the moment. Photo Courtesy: Screengrab from viral video on X At least 14 passengers died after an Indian bus fell into the Marsyangdi river in Nepal's Tanahun district on Friday, media reports said. The mishap left 16 others injured. #BREAKING: Indian passenger bus with 40 people onboard has plunged into the Marsyangdi river in Tanahun district of Nepal. The bus bearing number UP FT 7623 plunged into the river and is lying on the river bank. Bus was en route to Kathmandu from Pokhara. Rescue Ops underway now. pic.twitter.com/2e4nH1zIYY Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) August 23, 2024 Police after preliminary enquiry estimated that there were around 40 passengers on board the bus that was en route to Kathmandu from Pokhara, reported The Kathmandu Post. Deputy Superintendent of Police Deepak Kumar Raya, told the Neapli newspaper that rescue operation is going on with the help of Nepal police, Armed Police Force (APF) and locals. He said some passengers had been rescued from the crash site. The bus was badly damaged in the mishap. Photo Courtesy: Mehedi Hasan Marof X page The Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which is a part of the interim government that was formed following the ouster of late PM Sheikh Hasina earlier this month, has accused India of the recent flood which has disrupted normal life in the protest-hit nation and even led to the death of six people. In a statement, BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi alleged India has deliberately opened the gates of Dumbur Dam on the Gomti River in Tripura, causing the flood in Bangladeshs eastern districts, as it is indifferent to the people of Bangladesh and their safety, reported Dhaka Tribune. Anti-India sentiment is on the rise in Bangladesh in recent times following the toppling of Hasina's regime. Amid worsening flood situation due to incessant rainfall, Bangladesh reported six deaths in Comilla in the past three days. Also Read: Bangladesh's interim govt revokes Sheikh Hasina's diplomatic passport Nearly 1.8 million people have been affected by severe flood situations in the country which recently witnessed major political unrest. Several netizens have even blamed India for the flood situation in Bangladesh. One Afraan Raj posted on X: "India has created an artificial flood in Bangladesh by releasing water from its dams and you still wonder why people hate India so much??" India opened the Doombur dam in Tripura without notifying Bangladesh violating the UN Watercourses Convention. This unexpected release has caused the Muhuri River to flood surpassing a 40-year record and endangering hundreds of villages in Feni, Noakhali, Cumilla and Chittagong pic.twitter.com/mHBuJmhla5 Syed Abid Hossain (@S_AbidHossain) August 22, 2024 Another Syed Abid Hossain wrote on the platform: "India opened the Doombur dam in Tripura without notifying Bangladesh violating the UN Watercourses Convention. This unexpected release has caused the Muhuri River to flood surpassing a 40-year record and endangering hundreds of villages in Feni, Noakhali, Cumilla and Chittagong." India opened the Doombur dam in Tripura without notifying Bangladesh violating the UN Watercourses Convention. This unexpected release has caused the Muhuri River to flood surpassing a 40-year record and endangering hundreds of villages in Feni, Noakhali, Cumilla and Chittagong pic.twitter.com/mHBuJmhla5 Syed Abid Hossain (@S_AbidHossain) August 22, 2024 X user Amir Hamza posted on X: "India has created an artificial flood in Bangladesh by releasing water from its dams." I was on a flight from Dhaka to Chittagong. Seems like whole of Bangladesh is covered by water right now! Never seen anything like this! India has created an artificial flood in Bangladesh by releasing water from its dams.#FloodInBangladesh#IndiaOut#BoycottIndia#ShameOnIndia pic.twitter.com/zpKTe0q52u Amir Hamza (@Hamzabinmh) August 22, 2024 Indian government rejects Bangladesh's claims The Indian government, however, rejected the claims and called them factually incorrect. " We have seen concerns being expressed in Bangladesh that the current situation of flood in districts on the eastern borders of Bangladesh has been caused by opening of the Dumbur dam upstream of the Gumti River in Tripura. This is factually not correct," read the statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs. "We would like to point out that the catchment areas of Gumti river that flows through India and Bangladesh have witnessed heaviest rains of this year over the last few days," the statement said. "The flood in Bangladesh is primarily due to waters from these large catchments downstream of the dam," MEA said. India said the Dumbur dam is located quite far from the border - over 120 Km upstream of Bangladesh. "It is a low height (about 30m) dam that generates power that feeds into a grid and from which Bangladesh also draws 40MW power from Tripura," MEA said. MEA said: "As two countries sharing 54 common cross-border rivers, river water cooperation is an important part of our bilateral engagement. We remain committed to resolving issues and mutual concerns in water resources and river water management through bilateral consultations and technical discussions." Photo Courtesy: PR Team New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday slapped a fine of Rs 99 lakh on Air India and two of its senior executives for operating a flight last month with unqualified pilots, media reports said. The aviation regulator emphasized that the incident had "serious safety implications." According to the DGCA, the incident occurred around July 10 when a trainee pilot and a non-instructor pilot jointly operated a commercial flight for the airline,breaching safety regulations. The penalties include Rs 90 lakh on Air India, Rs 6 lakh on the airlines director of operations, and Rs 3 lakh on its director of training. "Furthermore, the pilot concerned has been warned to exercise caution to prevent such occurrences in future. Air India operated a flight commanded by a non-trainer line captain paired with a non-line-released first officer which has been viewed by the regulator as a serious scheduling incident having significant safety ramifications," it said. The DGCA took cognisance of the incident through a voluntary report submitted by Air India on July 10. "Taking cognisance of this incident, the regulator undertook comprehensive investigations into Air India operations including examination of documentation and spot check of Air India's scheduling facility. Based on investigation, it was prima facie revealed that there are deficiencies and multiple violations to the regulatory provisions by several post holders and staff, which could significantly affect safety," the DGCA noted. Show cause notices were issued on July 22 to the pilot-in-command of the flight and the executives of the airline in connection with this incident. "The reply submitted by the concerned failed to provide satisfactory justification. As such, DGCA has initiated enforcement action in terms of provisions of the extant rules/regulations and imposed the above penalty," said the regulator. In recent years, the airline has faced criticism from the regulator on multiple occasions. Already, there have been four instances this year when the DGCA rapped the airline for failure to observe aviation norms. Photo courtesy: Women protesting against RG Kar horror | courtesy: Avishek Mitra/IBNS Kolkata/IBNS: Four colleagues of the 31-year-old doctor, who was raped and murdered in Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital , will be put through the polygraph test as according to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) their statements are contradicting each other, media reports said. These include two first-year postgraduate trainees, a house surgeon, and an intern. NDTV quoting sources in the central agency reported that it doesn't appear that the four doctors were involved in crime, but the CBI wants to check if they played a role in tampering with evidence or were part of a conspiracy. The investigators have also pieced together the sequence of events the night before the trainee doctor was brutally and killed. According to Kolkata Police's timeline of events, one of these doctors saw the victim's body in the seminar hall around 9.30 am the next day and alerted the authorities. All these four doctors have been questioned by the Kolkata Police before the CBI took over the probe. The CBI has already received permission to conduct a polygraph test on RG Kar Hospital's former Principal Sandip Ghosh and four other doctors. What has CBI found? The CBI has found fingerprints of two of these four doctors in the third-floor seminar room where the body was found. A CCTV camera had captured the house surgeon going from the first floor to the third floor that night. The house surgeon has said he went to the third floor at 2.45 am that night. The intern was on the third floor and had spoken to the victim that night, the CBI has reportedly found. What happened that night? According to the NDTV sources, the victim and two first-year postgraduate trainees had dinner around midnight. Then they went to the seminar room and watched Neeraj Chopra's javelin event at the Olympics. Around 2 am, the two colleagues went to the sleep room where doctors on duty rested. The victim stayed back in the seminar room. The intern said that he was in the interns' room. All these three rooms -- the seminar hall, the sleep, and the interns' room are located close to each other on the third floor. What followed the morning after? Around 9.30 am, one of the postgraduate trainee doctors, with whom the victim had dinner the night before, went to look for her before the ward rounds began. He found "her body in motionless state from a distance", the Kolkata Police timeline says. He then informed his colleagues and senior doctors who alerted hospital authorities. Photo courtesy: PIB Kyiv/IBNS: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated India's willingness to contribute through "dialogue and diplomacy" to resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday. Jaishankar said PM Modi stressed "India's willingness to contribute in all ways possible". The two leaders also discussed PM Modi's conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting in Moscow in July, he added. Highlights from a very special visit to Ukraine, a valued friend of Indias. pic.twitter.com/0LuQ6vm5Iw Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2024 "It is India's view that the two sides need to engage with each other to find a solution," Jaishankar said. Also read: India was never neutral and we were always on the side of peace: PM Narendra Modi tells Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his visit to conflict-torn Ukraine PM Modi is on a historic visit to Ukraine, which is reeling under the shadow of a long-drawn war with Russia. It's the first-ever visit by an Indian prime minister after Ukraine became independent in 1991. "This is a landmark visit. It's the first time that an Indian PM has visited Ukraine since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992. PM arrived by a special train in the morning and he was received by the First Deputy Foreign Minister at the Kyiv railway station. He met the Indian community," Jaishankar said in a media briefing. "The Prime Minister also discussed his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin," added the Foreign Minister. During his meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, PM Modi said India never took a neutral stance in the ongoing conflict with Russia but was always on the side of peace. "However, we want to say that India was never neutral in its stance and from the very first day we were on the side of peace," he said during his discussion with the President. President @ZelenskyyUa and I had very productive discussions in Kyiv today. India is eager to deepen economic linkages with Ukraine. We discussed ways to boost cooperation in agriculture, technology, pharma and other such sectors. We also agreed to further cement cultural pic.twitter.com/EOrRyHeNX7 Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2024 Following his meeting with Zelenskyy, Modi said he discussed ways to boost cooperation in various sectors including agriculture, technology, pharma, among others. We also had discussions about the ongoing conflict. It is of topmost importance that peace be maintained. A peaceful solution to the conflict is best for humanity. pic.twitter.com/7nv7SjkvbQ Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2024 Earlier in the day, Modi visited the multimedia Martyrologist exposition on children at the National Museum of History of Ukraine in Kyiv and condoled the death of the young victims of the ongoing war with Russia. President @ZelenskyyUa and I paid homage at the Martyrologist Exposition in Kyiv. Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief. pic.twitter.com/VQH1tun5ok Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2024 The Indian PM said he was deeply touched by the poignant exposition set up in memory of children who have lost their lives in the conflict. PM Modi was accompanied by Volodymyr Zelenskyy whom he hugged and consoled as both the leaders turned emotional at the memorial. The Indian PM also paid tribute to a memorial statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Kyiv. Modi, earlier in the day, arrived in Ukraine at the invitation of Zelenskyy. Photo Courtesy: Lucara website Canadian firm Lucara Diamond has announced the world's second-largest diamond was found in a mine in Botswana recently, probably the biggest found in this century. The company said the 2,492 carat diamond was found in Karowe Diamond Mine in Botswana. In a statement, the company said: "This remarkable find, one of the largest rough diamonds ever unearthed, was detected and recovered by the Company's Mega Diamond Recovery ('MDR') X-ray Transmission ("XRT") technology, installed in 2017 to identify and preserve large, high-value diamonds." The stone was recovered from the processing of EM/PK(S) kimberlite, the dominant ore type that Lucara will continue to target during the first years of the Company's underground mining operations. This discovery underscores Karowe's reputation as a world-class asset and reaffirms Lucara's position as a leading producer of large, exceptional diamonds. "This latest recovery joins an impressive roster of other significant finds from the mine, including the 1,758 carat Sewelo and the 1,109 carat Lesedi La Rona," the company said in a statement. William Lamb, President and CEO of Lucara, said, "We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492 carat diamond. This find not only showcases the remarkable potential of our Karowe Mine, but also upholds our strategic investment in cutting-edge XRT technology." "The ability to recover such a massive, high-quality stone intact demonstrates the effectiveness of our approach to diamond recovery and our commitment to maximizing value for our shareholders and stakeholders," Lamb said. Lamb added, "This discovery reinforces Karowe's position as a truly world-class diamond mine and highlights the continued success of our operational and underground development strategy." The massive stone was shown to Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi on Thursday. Tobias Kormind, managing director of Europes largest online diamond jeweller, 77 Diamonds, told Al Jazeera that it was the largest rough diamond to be unearthed since the Cullinan Diamond, parts of which adorn Britains crown jewels. This discovery is largely thanks to newer technology that allows larger diamonds to be extracted from the ground without breaking into pieces. So we will likely see more where this came from, he said. Botswana is one of the largest producers of diamonds in the world. The largest diamond found in Botswana before the latest unearthed gem was a 1,758-carat stone mined by Lucara at the Karowe mine in 2019 and named Sewelo. Photo Courtesy: Kamala Harris Instagram page US Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday formally accepted the Democratic nomination for the upcoming presidential race and vowed to be the president for all Americans. Addressing the final night of the National Democratic Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Harris said: "I know there are people of various political views watching tonight." " I promise to be a president for all Americans," she said. Harris said she will always put the country ahead of the party and herself. Pledging to fight for 'America's future', Harris slammed his opponent Republican nominee Donald Trump and described him as an 'unserious man'. Warning American voters, Harris said: "The consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious." Israel issue The American Vice President vowed to stand up for Israel's right to defend itself. "I will always stand up for Israels right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on October 7," she was quoted as saying by CNN. Gaza situation 'devastating' However, Harris said the situation through which Gaza has been passing for the past 10 months is 'devastating'. "So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking," she said. Kamala Harris joined the presidential race after US President Joe Biden quit the path to re-enter the White House for the second term. If elected to power, Harris will be the first American President of the country. Joe Biden posted on X: "Jill and I just spoke to @KamalaHarris we cant wait to watch her accept this historic nomination." Jill and I just spoke to @KamalaHarris we cant wait to watch her accept this historic nomination. Kamala and Tim will inspire a generation and lead us into the future. pic.twitter.com/guKuTevT8F Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) August 23, 2024 " Kamala and Tim will inspire a generation and lead us into the future," he said. The BBC series Call the Midwife is returning with Season 13 on Netflix in the US and the UK soon. The show is one of the last remaining BBC shows on the OTT giant and has already released its twelve seasons on it. The thirteenth season of the British drama will now be released on Netflix in early September. For the UK, the Call the Halfwife OTT release date will be the first of September, and for the US, it is the second of September. Here's the trailer for the series and everything else you need to know about the series: Plot Call the Midwife, which is a period TV drama, is all about a group of nurse midwives who work in East London. The first season of the series was set in the 1950s, and the theme of the episodes back then was poverty and post-war immigration. The show will continue to feature midwives working in the London community hospital. Also Read: The Judge From Hell OTT release date Disney+ Hotstar: When to watch Park Shin Hye's K-drama Apart from Season 13, the BBC has also confirmed that the show has been renewed for Season 14 and even Season 15. The upcoming fresh parts of the series will be set in the 1970s. In the US and the UK, Netflix will not air the show in other locations around the world. Cast and crew The series has been made under the supervision of Neal Street Productions. Timeline of the seasons of Call the Haldwife so far on Netflix: Netflix streamed Season 12 of the series last year; before this, Seasons 11 and 10 were released in 2022. In 2020, season 9 was added to Netflix. In 2019, season 8 was released on the OTT platform. In 2018, seasons 7 and 6 were launched. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. The OTT release date for The Judge From Hell has been confirmed. The K-drama will be available on OTT platforms Disney+ Korea and Hotstar for the audience worldwide. The show stars actors like Park Shin Hye and Kim Jae Young in the lead roles. Here's the trailer for the action fantasy show and everything else you need to know about it before its OTT debut on September 21. Plot The Judge From Hell is all about a demon with a beautiful appearance who comes to Earth and works as a judge who will send culprits to hell based on their karma. Actor Park Shin Hye will be playing Kang Bit Na, the devil of the story. The actor is shown as the anti-hero protagonist of the show. Also Read: The Legend of Vox Machina season 3 OTT release date Prime Video: When to watch this science fiction show Another lead in the show will be Kim Jae Young, who will play detective Han Da On. The detective will have a friendly, gentle personality and a sharp mind. The guy will have a keen sense of observation, but he will carry pain inside that nobody knows about. The story of The Judge from Hell will progress after the demon and the detective meet. After Kang Bit Na and Han Da meet, everything will change in the lives of the leads completely. The South Korean TV series will be released on September 21 with 14 episodes. Fresh episodes of the show will air every Friday and Saturday at 6:30 p.m. IST. Cast and crew The Judge from Hell is directed by Park Jin Pyo. The show has been written by Jo Yi Soo. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. Everyone has extreme opinions about Prabhas' Kalki 2898 AD. While some people are calling the Nag Ashwin directorial a spectacular game-changing film for Indian cinema, others think its quite horrible and boring. Arshad Warsi who watched the film also said that he didn't like the film which also stars Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone. His comments flared up a big controversy after which the fans of the film and Baahubali actor slammed him. In turn, Telugu star Nani also slammed him for his comment and got massively trolled by Warsi's fans and those who didn't like the film. Nani now regrets his comments on Arshad Warsi Arshad Warsi's comment about Prabhas' role in #Kalki is spot on. Prabhas' character was unimpressive and cringeworthy. It's okay to be critical about it.#ArshadWarsi #Prabhas pic.twitter.com/2kqi0wixwP Mohit (@_mohitpande) August 22, 2024 After getting heavily trolled, Nani has now said that he regrets making those comments about the Munna Bhai MBBS actor. He said when he made the comment, he had only watched the edited/cut clips on social media in which Warsi called Prabhas a joker. However, after receiving criticism, he went back and watched the entire interview on Unfiltered by Samdish where the Bollywood actor made the comment. After watching it, he realised that Warsi's statement was blown out of proportion and so was his reaction to it. Neither Prabhas nor Nani can compete #ArshadWarsi in acting skills and dialogue delivery. That's easy to understand. This two minute Arshad's monologue in Jolly LLB is more impactful and superior than whole career of Nani. https://t.co/zvpLa1fOA5 pic.twitter.com/I4WfrxACUg Bruce Wayne (@_Bruce__007) August 22, 2024 Calling it a case of loss in translation, he praised Warsi and his acting skills. Calling him a "good actor", he said "we all loved him in Munna Bhai, not just north or south, but the whole of India. It's a household movie." Furthermore, he added that being actors they all need to be careful about their choice of words. He said both of them became a victim of the same. "Definitely, my choice of words was also poor. The biggest thing that you can do is accept your regret... Also, who are we to correct? But somebody asked us about our opinion and we reacted to it," he was quoted as saying by Mid-Day. What did Nani say about Arshad Warsi? Arshad Warsi this scene is bigger than Nani's whole career#Nani pic.twitter.com/KLKsWbDKXH Harish (@haris_pawar) August 22, 2024 Soon, after Warsi's comments about Kalki 2989 AD went viral, Nani said that Arshad Warsi made this comment to get free publicity. " The person that youre referring to, this must be the most publicity he has got in his life. You are unnecessarily glorifying an unimportant matter," he had said. Also Read: Prabhas was like a joker in Kalki 2898 AD: 5 times Arshad Warsi didn't hold back and dropped savage truth bombs For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. by Xinhua Writers Cao Bin and Zuo Wei BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission's latest draft decision to slap hefty import duties on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) will definitely hurt European businesses, as the decision ignores a bare truth: the shared weal and woe along industrial chains. Some politicians are busy stoking fears over the supposed risk of relying too much on China-made products while trumpeting the de-risking narrative, but they have lost sight of the fact that China's EVs are increasingly manufactured globally, which means that erecting a tariff barrier will not benefit local industries in Europe. China's EV industry has a long industrial chain and involves extensive participation from the United States and Europe. From assembly robots and car chips to tires and stereos, the auto parts and components of a China-made EV demonstrate the close cooperation among global companies across various industries. As with an iPhone, one can hardly say with complete certainty that it is made or not made in the United States, as every product coming off the production lines has taken a global journey that involves multiple suppliers in multiple countries. This reality check echoes well the response of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) on Wednesday, which warned that the commission's move could "severely impact the EU's automotive industry, employment, and efforts toward green and sustainable development." CAAM urged the European side to uphold dialogue and cooperation to foster a "fair, non-discriminatory and predictable market environment" conducive to the automotive industry's development. The automotive industries of China and Europe are highly complementary, a fact that has been proved repeatedly by BMW, Volkswagen, Faurecia and other EU companies with their expanding new energy vehicle (NEV) business in China. Foreign brands, in fact, hold an important position in China's EV exports. One example is Tesla, which ranked a steady first in China's export volume of NEVs in 2023. In the meantime, Chinese companies such as CATL, NIO and BYD have built factories in European countries including Germany and Hungary, contributing to the competitiveness of the EU electric vehicle industry. The draft decision to impose definitive countervailing duties, however, has heightened the concerns of Chinese EV manufacturers over the possible risks of investing in Europe. Industrial analysts have criticized using "overcapacity" as a pretext to pan-politicize economic and trade issues to restrict China's EV industry. Such actions not only fail to address relevant countries' own industrial challenges, but will further drag down the growth of global trade and the recovery of the world economy. As the commission's investigation advances, it is worth noting that the probe on Chinese EVs that started last October was not initiated by the EU's industries, but was an ex-officio action, meaning it was initiated by the commission grounded on the threat of damage. The China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products responded on Wednesday that there was a serious lack of procedural transparency in the commission's probe, which failed to provide objective analysis of the indicators of damage to the EU industry. Standing in sharp contrast to the repulsion of some EU politicians over China's EV industry is the welcome from the broader market. For instance, Chinese EV manufacturers have tapped into the Southeast Asian markets, including Thailand and Indonesia, forming partnerships with local companies and establishing production facilities. The New York Times described Thailand's ambitious goal to have EVs account for 30 percent of its automobile production by 2030 as an objective "that seems unattainable without Chinese companies." So far, at least 12 Chinese car companies have entered the Mexican market, a move expected to facilitate local transition to clean energy and strengthen the latter's competitive position in the global EV industry. All of these suffice to illustrate what may be overlooked by misconceptions about industrial chains. It is not just about the already globalized EV industry. From chips to semiconductors, industrial chain cooperation is a vivid demonstration of a community with a shared future for humanity in the industrial age. Some politicians love to play the "China threat" card for political gain, fueling fear of the so-called China-centric industrial chains. The truth is that there has never been a global supply chain that centers around a single country, nor will there ever be in the future. The dynamism and sustainability of value chains, including crucial aspects like research and development, must rely on multi-centered cooperation across the globe. That being said, what political headwinds cannot change is the trend that businesses are ever more interdependent, comprising integrated communities with shared interests. Thus, openness, inclusiveness and mutually beneficial cooperation are the only right choice. Arshad Warsi's opinion about Kalki 2898 AD hasn't gone down well with many. Most celebrities don't diss a movie openly. Even if they don't like it, they call it average. However, Warsi was brutally honest in his recent interview where he said that he didn't like the Nag Ashwin directorial and thought that Prabhas' character in the movie was made to look like a joker. This has rubbed many people including Nani the wrong way. The Telugu actor who slammed Warsi however has now taken a U-turn saying he regrets his comments. Now actor-producer Vishnu Manchu has written a lengthy letter to CINETAA. Vishnu Manchu writes to CINETAA over Arshad Warsi-Prabhas row Vishnu Manchu (MAA President) writes a letter to the President of Cine & TV Artists Association, Mumbai expressing concern over Arshad Warsis remarks on #Kalki2898AD and #Prabhas. pic.twitter.com/sF0R4GRPGR Nishit Shaw (@NishitShawHere) August 23, 2024 In his letter, he stated that the comments from a seasoned actor like Warsi have hurt the sentiments of the Telugu film industry and created "unnecessary negativity among cinema lovers". Furthermore, he has requested the Cine and Television Artists Association (CINTAA) to advise him to refrain from making such comments in the future about his fellow actors. "It is essential that we maintain the dignity and respect that each of our colleagues deserve, regardless of their regional affiliation," he wrote. Fans call it overacting Now, fans are calling out Vishnu Manchu for overacting. "I think this is unnecessarily blown out of proportion by third parties for their own clout," one of them said. "Overreacting over a small comment about a character in a film is crazy, why do we have to overdramatise everything and make it cringe," said another one. "Prabhas would probably greet Arshad with utmost respect and take his words under constructive criticism, all these nofos are tarnishibg his image by defending him, he is the last good at heart celebrity we have left," said another user. What did Arshad Warsi say? Arshad Warsi's comment is understandable. He criticized the character Prabhas portrayed, which is fair. In #Kalki, Prabhas's role did come across as awkward, with many cringeworthy scenes.#ArshadWarsi | #Prabhas | #Kalki2898ADpic.twitter.com/y6ZUAR1VNe (@shinewid_SAM) August 22, 2024 In the podcast Unfiltered with Samdish, Warsi said, "I am really sad. Prabhas was like a joker. I want to see a Mad Max. I want to see Mel Gibson over there. What have you made of it? Why do they do such things? I never understand." Nani's comment on Arshad Warsi "The actor #ArshadWarsi who commented on #Prabhas garu has gained more publicity and popularity now than he ever did throughout his entire acting career." ~ Actor @NameisNani pic.twitter.com/gfr6mh3Vwd Hail Prabhas (@HailPrabhas007) August 21, 2024 After this blew up into a big controversy, Telugu actor Nani also slammed Munna Bhai MBBS actor saying that he did this for publicity. However, after watching the complete interview, he changed his mind. Now he feels the controversy was blown out of proportion and so was his comment. He has now said that he regretted making that comment and he admires Warsi as an actor. For more news and updates from the world of celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. Following their honeymoon, Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha and her husband Zaheer Iqbal are currently on another vacation in the United States. After a 7-year-long relationship which both kept private, they are now openly displaying their love on social media with regular posts and videos. Both Sonakshi and Zaheer now seem to be super active on their Instagram accounts as they share glimpses of their fun-filled 'second honeymoon'. Traipsing through the vast geography of the US, the newly-wedded couple is enjoying the last of summer days exploring the country. Yesterday, Zaheer shared pictures of the duo where they can be seen acting like complete tourists as they visit a zoo. Acting goofy the pair posed for a quick snap where one can clearly see a bear in the background. While in another photo shared by him, you can clearly the sprawling high-rise buildings in the background. Sonakshi also shared snaps of the couple's beach day on her Instagram story. The 'Dabangg' actress seems to be enjoying sunbathing as Zaheer poses in a goofy pose! Credit: Instagram | Sonakshi and Zaheer beach day In another post today, the 37-year-old actress shared sunkissed photos of the duo as they explore a vineyard and attend a wine-tasting event. Although the couple had to face harsh trolling after they shared news of their interfaith marriage, which took place on June 23 in an intimate ceremony in Mumbai, the people of the internet now seem to be warming up to the couple. With many of them taking to comment sections of their posts to shower the couple with their love and blessings. While one user wrote, "May Allah bless you both", another commented, "Dher saara pyaar to both of you". And a third user left a comment saying, "You two are absolutely glowing" Credit: Instagram | Internet reacts to Sonakshi-Zaheer vacay pics Even Sonakshi's 'Heeramandi' co-star Manisha Koirala expressed her support as she commented, "You two are just gorgeous" Also Read: Natasha Poonawalla is on a vacation in Rwanda & here's why you should go too For more on lifestyle, astrology and health from around the world please visit Indiatimes Lifestyle. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who was on a three-day visit to India, took everyone by surprise after he sang the famous Hindi song by Mukesh, "Dost Dost Na Raha." On Thursday, on the last day of his India visit, PM Ibrahim was at his farewell reception at the Taj Mahal Hotel in the national capital when he took the guests gathered there by surprise. VIDEO | Malaysia PM Anwar Ibrahim (@anwaribrahim) sang Bollywood classic 'Dost Dost Na Raha' while bidding farewell to Delhi earlier today. Ibrahim was on his first visit to India after becoming the PM. pic.twitter.com/rnWTd7pS1s Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 22, 2024 Later, the Malaysian PM also expressed his admiration for Bollywood and Shammi Kapoor. How India and Malaysia stopped being friends While PM Ibrahim might have impressed the gathering with his musical skills, the choice of song can only be described as ironic, as the two countries have not been on the same page in recent years. CREDIT: ANI The relations between India and Malaysia had strained considerably under Ibrahim's predecessor Mahathir Mohamad's term in office. Mohamad, who is of Indian ancestry, had angered India with his 2019 comments at the UNGA that India has invaded and occupied Kashmir. Mohamad's refusal to extradite controversial televangelist Zakir Naik to India also resulted in the relations hitting their lowest levels. Also read: Malaysia PM Says That He Will Not Deport Controversial Islamic Leader Zakir Naik India, the largest importer of Malaysian palm oil, responded by restricting its import. India and Malaysia agree to work together However, things have de-escalated, and the two countries have agreed to work together in several fields. CREDIT: ANI On Tuesday, PM Modi and Anwar Ibrahim held bilateral talks at Hyderabad House. The discussions focused on deepening engagement across various areas of partnership between India and Malaysia. Following the meeting, PM Modi announced that ties between India and Malaysia would be elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. India and Malaysia to strengthen cooperation India and Malaysia agreed to further intensify defence cooperation through regular exchanges and dialogues, exercises, and capacity-building initiatives. CREDIT: AP During the meeting in Delhi, PM Modi and his Malaysian counterpart discussed the entire range of bilateral cooperation, including political, defence and security cooperation, economic and trade relations, digital technologies, start-ups, fintech, energy (including renewables), healthcare, higher education, culture, tourism, and people-to-people relations. For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. Starting Monday, Australian employees will have the legal right to ignore work-related communications outside their official working hours, following the introduction of a new law enshrining the "right to disconnect." Passed in February, the legislation safeguards employees who choose not to monitor, read, or respond to contact from their employers outside their designated work hours. This move places Australia alongside several European countries like France and Germany, which have already implemented similar measures to protect workers' personal time. Criticism arose from employer groups during the law's progression through parliament earlier this year. They argued that the legislation was rushed and contained flaws that could complicate its implementation. However, the law does allow for exceptions. In certain situations, such as emergencies or roles with specific responsibilities, an employees right to disconnect may be considered unreasonable, depending on the nature of the contact and how it is made. Understanding the Right to Disconnect Nowadays, technology has made it possible for people to remain connected in the virtual world all the time. This can be productive as it boosts their performance but it could also ruin employees mental health from various negative effects and interfere with work-life balance. The Right to Disconnect is an effort to shield workers whereby they are allowed not to be part of office conversation after each business day with emphasis laid on breaks as well as having a sound existence between working hours and other aspects of life. Work and personal lives became more intertwined during COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent transition to remote work. According to a report by the Centre for Future Work in 2022, 71% of workers who participated in their study often worked more hours than they were expected to, causing weariness, tension, interference with private activities, thus diminishing job fulfillment. Global Perspective on 'Right to Disconnect' Australia is not the only country to have implemented this kind of legislation; Belgium and Portugal did it in 2022. In Belgium, as an example, there is a right to disconnect that is applicable to almost 65,000 federal civil servants, which aims at striking a balance between work and private life while also reducing stress, and burnout as stated by Petra De Sutter. Also under the Portuguese Labor Code employers are forbidden from contacting employees during their breaks with penalties for non-compliance. The policies that follow are just some of the steps being taken in Europe. However, Europe has made substantial strides to address these problems whereas; America is still lagging behind. France first introduced the policy regarding right to disconnect in 2016, followed by Italy in 2017, Spain in 2018 and Ireland in 2021. Also Read: End To After-Hour Manager Calls, Texts: Indian Workers Need 'Right To Disconnect' Now More Than Ever Moreover, the European Union recognizes the relevance of the right to be disconnected and requests for its declaration as a basic human right. For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. Ever since it became clear that Kamala Harris would be the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, one of the issues many in the US faced was how to pronounce her name. Because, for obvious reasons, Kamala is not a name that most Americans have heard a lot while they were growing up. CREDIT: AP How Trump mocked Kamala's name But for her opponent, Donald Trump, the confusion was yet another way to make fun of her, and the Republican candidate deliberately started referring to her as 'Kambala', which nobody really knows why. However, some believe that it was a veiled reference to Barack Obama, implying that he was the one controlling her. Whatever Trump's intention was, he got some help in learning how to pronounce the name of the Democratic candidate. CREDIT: AP Masterclass on how to pronounce Kamala Day four of the Democratic National Convention included a tutorial on pronouncing Kamala Harris' name, led by the US Vice President's grandnieces. Actress Kerry Washington invited 8-year-old Amara and her sister, 6-year-old Leela, to the stage of the DNC to help Trump and even some in the Democratic camp to end the confusion on how to pronounce Kamala. Also read: Kamala Harris makes history, accepts Democratic nomination CREDIT: DNC The two girls are the daughters of Harris' niece, Meena Harris. Its come to my attention that there are some folks who struggle or pretend to struggle with the proper pronunciation of our future presidents name. Confusion is understandable. Disrespect is not. So tonight we are going to help everyone get it right, Washington said before inviting the two girls. 'Comma-la' Amara and Leela then explained to the crowd how to pronounce Kamala. First you say comma like the comma in a sentence, Amara said. "Then you say la like la-la-la-la-la," added Leela. BREAKING: Kerry Washington just brought out Kamala Harris nieces to teach Donald Trump how to pronounce a Kamalas name. Retweet so all Americans see this incredible clip. pic.twitter.com/5UcOarXzT3 Kamalas Wins (@harris_wins) August 23, 2024 The two girls then made the attendees at the DNC practice how to pronounce Kamala. Everybody over here say comma! Amara told those on the stage's left, while Leela turned to stage right and said, "Everybody over here say la! For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. Exactly a year ago todayISRO chairperson S. Somanath rose from his seat at Bengaluru's ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network and smiled brightly at his still-anxious crew. The landing of Chandrayaan-3 had not yet been confirmed, but he was confident that the mission had overcome all obstacles. India is celebrating the first anniversary of Chandrayaan-3 Just minutes later, as shouts erupted, he declared, "India is on the Moon." The announcement strengthened India's standing in the global space market. On that day, India not only joined an elite group of only three other countries that had landed on the Moon, but it also became the world's first country to land near the lunar south pole. Since that historic landing, ISRO has made steps toward future lunar missions. As per reports, the designs for Chandrayaan-4 and 5 have already been finished and are awaiting government approval. How did people on the internet react? Today, Indians are in a celebration mode. They have taken to social media to express their joy towards the heartwarming feat. of the country. Here's what some people wrote. An emotional user posted this on X. So today 1 year has passed I seriously want to relive all the emotions and happiness that I can't express in words which I experienced that day You made us Proud Chandrayaan-3#Chandrayaan #Chandrayaan3 #isro #NationalSpaceDay2024 pic.twitter.com/X5t3RrkJkm RocketGyan (@rocketgyan) August 23, 2024 Here's what some other users posted. Success Of Chandrayaan-3 Completes 1 Year Today. pic.twitter.com/YPzaW1W5yA RVCJ Media (@RVCJ_FB) August 22, 2024 Chandrayaan-3 is a testament to Indias growing technological prowess and our commitment to space exploration. Every Indian is proud of our scientists and engineers for their hard work and dedication." Happy 1st National Space Day! #NationalSpaceDay2024 #Chandrayaan3 #ISRO pic.twitter.com/rgJRC2xNoQ Dr. Radhakrishnan Pillai (@rchanakyapillai) August 23, 2024 From #Chandrayaan to Gaganyaan, our nation's achievements inspire the world. Today we celebrate the first anniversary of Chandrayaan 3 moon landing and India's incredible journey in space exploration! Kudos to the visionaries, scientists, and dreamers propelling us to new pic.twitter.com/5GVBmlXS2d Pralhad Joshi (@JoshiPralhad) August 23, 2024 On this #NationalSpaceDay, let's celebrate 's cosmic strides, from #Chandrayaan-3's lunar triumph to the awe-inspiring #Aditya-L1 #solar mission. We salute the brilliance of our scientists and the @isro crew who make India's cosmic dreams a reality. With upcoming missions pic.twitter.com/uIk2ykB7pc Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) August 23, 2024 Also read: ISRO's Aditya-L1, Chandrayaan-2 Capture Recent Solar Eruption Behind Aurora Borealis What do you think about this? Tell us in the comments. To stay updated on the stories that are going viral follow Indiatimes Trending. Greeces tax authority AADE will be focusing on private vehicles, professionals, and businesses as it steps-up its attempts to The upcoming NATO air exercise, Ramstein Flag 24, scheduled to be hosted for the first time in Greece, is facing significant hurdles due to a dispute with Turkey over Athens' flight information region (FIR) jurisdiction. Ramstein Flag 24, NATOs largest air exercise, is expected to involve over 140 aircraft, personnel, and support from 14 member countries. The plan includes the participation of Turkish F-16 fighters , which would need to operate within the Athens FIR. However, Turkey has a long-standing policy of not submitting flight plans to Greek authorities, as it contests part of Athens' FIR jurisdiction. This creates a significant obstacle for the exercise, as flight plan submission, inspection, and approval are essential for safe and coordinated operations. Despite the exercise being just weeks away, with the first arrivals of personnel and aircraft expected soon, the issue remains unresolved. This is not the first time such a dispute has affected a NATO exercise in Greece. In 2022, Greece withdrew Turkeys invitation to the NATO Tiger Meet exercise due to Turkey's aggressive actions in the Aegean. The ongoing disagreement highlights the complex geopolitical tensions in the region and the challenges faced by NATO in conducting joint operations in such a sensitive environment. iefimerida.gr A Turkish maritime patrol aircraft and helicopter were intercepted by Greek authorities after entering the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR) without submitting a flight plan. The incident, which occurred in the southeastern Aegean on Thursday, resulted in three airspace violations within the Athens FIR. Greek authorities swiftly identified and intercepted the Turkish aircraft in accordance with international protocols. The latest incident is part of an ongoing pattern of airspace violations by Turkish aircraft, further escalating tensions between Greece and Turkey in the Aegean region. iefimerida.gr Hakan Fidan is scheduled to attend a European Union ministers meeting in Brussels next week, with hopes of advancing Turkeys relationship with the bloc. The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, has ordered an investigation into the alleged killing of three villagers and cattle by Nigerian troops in Sabon Birni community, Kaduna State. Maj.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, Director of Army Public Relations, announced this in a statement made accessible to journalists in Kaduna on Thursday. Nwachukwu stated that the probe was spurred by accusations in social and mainstream media blaming Nigerian Army troops of the heinous crime. Advertisement The attention of the Nigerian Army has been drawn to a disturbing news report with gory pictures/video footage published in some mainstream and social media platforms. The reports alleged that troops of 1 Division annihilated three persons and some cattle during a recent operation at Sabon Birni in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State, he said. READ MORE: Kidnapper Caught By Residents In Jos, N1.5m Ransom Recovered Nwachukwu conveyed the Nigerian armys condolences to the Sabon Birni community and the families of those impacted. We also wish to state that the allegation will be thoroughly investigated and any personnel found culpable will be appropriately sanctioned. It is also necessary to add that the Nigerian Army, which is constitutionally mandated to protect lives and property of the citizenry, cannot tolerate doing otherwise. Accordingly, Lagbaja has directed a thorough investigation into the incident with a view to establishing the immediate and remote causes of the incident and unraveling those behind it, he said. Nwachukwu urged the people to remain calm and assured them that the investigations findings will be made public. David Umahi, the Minister of Works, says the over six court cases against the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway will not deter the Federal Government from its job. The Minister stated this on Thursday during a press briefing marking his one year in office. The project, he said went through restrictive procurement, and the Federal Government has been paying compensation to affected owners of structures along the right-of-way. Advertisement Speaking on the legal cases against the Coastal highway, he said, That is the beauty of democracy, and under the guise of democracy, we have some fraudulent individuals who want to rip where they did not sow. READ ALSO: Is That The Right Priority? APC Chieftain Queries Tinubu Over Coastal Road Project We have not just one court casewe have over sixbut we are equal to the task. They want to socket their pipes, which is all they do. We are paying compensation, we are following the gazette right of way, and we are following the corridor that is legally allowed for the federal government, so we dont know why they are taking it to court. We have an ESIA certificate on the project, and the project is listed in the 2023 supplementary budget. He explained that the budget and project are different. The FEC approved the project under restrictive procurement, which is in the law. They will go nuts because we have what they thought we didnt have; if they want to benefit from the project unduly, they will not, he added. Terrorists suspected to be Boko Haram members have killed four farmers in Kirawa, a border town in Gwoza local government area of Borno State. It was gathered that the incident happened on Thursday between 12 and 1 pm while they were working on their farms. Bukar Umar Aji, a councilor of Kirawa Jimini Ward and Speaker of Gwoza Local Government Council, also described the incident as a sad day and called on security agencies to protect the people. Advertisement He said: This is a devastating blow to our community. We urge the security agencies to take immediate action to ensure the safety of our people. READ MORE: Borno: Troops Invade Forest, Neutralise Five Boko Haram Fighters Also reacting to the incident, Yakubu Mabba Ali, the Chairman of Kirawa Development Association, condemned the attack, describing it as barbaric and urged the government to take decisive action to end the insurgency. He said: The government must do more to protect our communities from these terrorists. We cannot continue to live in fear of attacks every day. A Sharia court in Kano State has ordered the remand in prison of one Hassan Adamu, 25, for stealing 15 iron signboards from a cemetery. The prosecution counsel, Abdullahi Wada, told the court that the case was reported on August 21, at the Dala Police Station by one Bello Aliyu in Gwale Local Government Area. READ ALSO: Kano Chemist Rapes Underage Girl To Death After Treating Her For Malaria Advertisement Wada revealed that the defendant trespassed into a cemetery and stole iron signboards. The defendant pleaded guilty to the two-count charge of trespass and theft. Conclusively, the Judge, Malam Umar Lawal-Abubakar, sentenced the defendant to six months in prison and ordered that he should be given 30 lashes of the cane. The Katsina State Police Command has announced the rescue of 30 abducted kidnap victims. The rescue followed raids on terrorist hideouts and foiled kidnapping attempts in several local government areas, including Dutsinma, Safana, Jibia, and Malumfashi. One Ak-47 rifle was also recovered during the operations. Advertisement In a statement issued Thursday, the Commands Public Relations Officer, ASP Abubakar Aliyu, said seven of the victims were found after searching terrorist hideouts between Dutsinma and Safana on August 17, while three were freed after a kidnapping attempt on Jibian-Maje in Jibia local government. He stated that 20 people who were kidnapped on August 20, 2024, in Yaba village, Malumfashi Local Government, were also rescued following a gunfight between police officers and the marauding hoodlums. READ MORE: Osun: Motorcyclist Arrested For Robbing, Raping OAU Student The statement read in parts: In a swift and decisive rescue operation, the Katsina State Police Command raided a bandits hideout situated between Dutsinma and Safana LGAs today, August 21st, 2024, rescuing seven hostages kidnapped from two villages in Dutsinma LGA on August 17th, 2024, and recovering one AK47 rifle. The intelligence-led operation, conducted by a combined team of police operatives attached to Dutsinma Police Divisional Headquarters and members of the Vigilante, led by the DPO, CSP Bello Abdullahi Gusau, was carried out at about 1330 hrs. The rescued hostages, who were kidnapped from Farar Kasa and Shanga villages in Dutsinma LGA, were successfully rescued unharmed by the team and rushed to the nearest hospital for medical attention. Also, one AK47 rifle was recovered during the course of the operation. The investigation is still ongoing with a view to arresting the fleeing suspects. It added: Similarly, date at about 0005 hours, a distress call was received at the Jibia Divisional Police Headquarters that armed bandits in their numbers, armed with dangerous weapons such as the Ak 47 rifle, shooting sporadically, concurrently attacked Jibian Maje, Nasarawa, and Lankwasau villages of Jibia LGA. Upon receipt of the report, the DPO Jibia mobilised teams of operatives and responded to the scene where the teams gallantly engaged the hoodlums in a fierce gun duel. The teams successfully foiled all three attacks and rescued three kidnapped victims. However, the victims were rushed to the hospital for medical attention as they sustained minor injuries due to the attack. Additionally, on August 20th, 2024, at about 1958 hrs, a distress call was received at the Malumfashi Divisional Headquarters that armed bandits in their numbers, wielding dangerous weapons, attacked Yaba village, Malumfashi LGA, kidnapped 20 persons, and rustled five cows. Upon receipt of the report, promptly, DPO Malumfashi marshalled a team of operatives and responded to the scene, where they intercepted the hoodlums at the outskirts of the village while trying to escape with their victims. The team valorously engaged the hoodlums in a gun and succeeded in foiling the attack, rescuing all the kidnapped victims and recovering the rustled animals as the hoodlums escaped the scene with various degrees of bullet wounds. He did, however, state that command operatives were stepping up their efforts to apprehend the fleeing terrorists. Nollywood actress Tawa Ajisefinni has finally spoken out after the arrival of her first child. On Thursday night, news spread that the Yoruba actress and her husband had welcomed a baby boy in the US. Biola Bayo, her colleague, shared the news on social media with immense joy, acknowledging the couples patience and determination after many years of waiting for a child. Advertisement She wrote, ATI BIMO O ITS A BOY! After many years of waiting, God has finally blessed us with a bouncing boy from the throne of grace. Oh God, were grateful Welcome to the world, my prince charming. Congratulations to Mr&Mrs Alli @tawaajisefinni @jamomayor AMERICA YA O. READ MORE: Laycon Confronts DJ Neptune Over Unpaid Dues For Nobody Remix Verifying the news, Tawa took to her Instagram page on Friday to share stunning photos from her maternity shoot, expressing her gratitude to God. In her announcement, she revealed that she had given birth to a baby boy and congratulated herself and her husband on the joyful news. All I have to say is Alhamdulilahi. Robil-Al-Amin. Ode Olorun Anu Its a boy. Congratulations to us, Okomi. she wrote. SEE POST: Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, says plans are underway by the Federal Government to relaunch the suspended school feeding programme. Edun said the government would ensure adequate resources are available to support and sustain educational programmes across the country. Advertisement He die closed this on Thursday when the House of Representatives committee on alternative education visited him. The Ministry said the meeting was held to address the pressing issue of out-of-school children in Nigeria, providing a platform for the minister to outline the governments financial strategies and programmes aimed at tackling the challenge. According to a statement by Mohammed Manga, Director of Information and Public Relations at the Ministry, Edun reaffirmed the Federal Governments commitment to strengthening education. He said through a lineup of initiatives, every child will be provided with access to quality education. READ ALSO: Weve Spent Nearly $100m Feeding 10m Pupils FG These initiatives, Edun said, would positively impact the national budget by providing sufficient resources to support and sustain the educational programs. Edun also announced the upcoming relaunch of the Home-Grown School Feeding Program an initiative designed to increase school attendance by providing meals to students. He said, feeding children at school would not only improve their health and well-being but also incentivise them to remain in school, thereby reducing the number of out-of-school children. The minister said the government is dedicated to tackling critical issues through innovative initiatives like the secretariat for financing safe schools and the home-grown school feeding program. As the government continues to prioritise education, Nigerias future generations can expect improved access to quality learning, setting the stage for a brighter, and more prosperous tomorrow, Edun added. On January 12, President Bola Tinubu suspended all programmes, including school feeding, administered by the National Social Investment Programme Agency (NSIPA), as part of a probe into alleged irregularities in the management of the agency and its activities. Renowned clergyman Jerry Eze marked his 42nd birthday on Thursday with a remarkable display of generosity, leaving a lasting impact on the lives of numerous individuals. In a selfless act of kindness, he built 18 houses for widows across Nigeria, providing them with secure and comfortable living spaces. The 18 houses are located in the following cities: Calabar, Abeokuta, Warri (2 houses), Minna (2 houses), Maiduguri (2 houses), Aba (2 houses), Umuahia (2 houses), Owerri (2 houses), Uyo (2 houses), Akure, Ado Ekiti. Advertisement Furthermore, Pastor Eze empowered young people by awarding N100million in business grants, enabling them to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams and ambitions. READ MORE: Pastor Jerry Eze Celebrates 42nd Birthday With Tribute To Gods Mercy Taking to his Instagram page on Thursday, Pastor Eze shared the good news with his followers in a video. Captioning the post, he wrote, 18 houses for widows across Nigeria 100m Business GRANTS to over hundred young persons !!! TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!. SEE POST: Former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Kola Ologbondiyan, has said that there will be no reconciliation until the acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, return to his position as deputy national chairman. The PDP chieftain added that resolution can only work for the opposition party if there is equity. Ologbondiyan, in an interview with Daily Trust on Thursday, said that the right thing to do is for the acting Chairman to revert to his position and allow the North Central to produce the National Chairman and also appear before the Olagunsoye Oyinlola committee towards reconciling members of the party. Advertisement Ologbondiyan said: The reconciliation committee headed by former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola must be courageous enough to tell Damagum that his position is that of Deputy National Chairman North and that nobody is saying that he must be removed from that position. READ MORE: You Cant Be In PDP And Be Influencing Other Parties To Fight Us Senator Ningi To Wike But there can only be reconciliation and for reconciliation to endure there must be justice and that justice is to allow the North Central to produce a successor to Dr Iyorchia Ayu. Reconciliation is a welcome development but it must start from the office of the National Chairman, that is where it should begin from because you cannot say you want to reconcile and come out with a swat for your perceived enemy. At a time you are talking of reconciliation. It means that himself needs to be reconciled. Addressing rift between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesome Wike, in Rivers State, Ologbondiyan accused Damagun of taking sides. He said: At the inauguration, he hinted about his perceived enemies, so he needs to be reconciled. But mind you he is supposed to be the leader of the party, who is not supposed to take sides on any issue, but unfortunately, he said nobody can intimidate him it means he has perceived enemies. If the party that he is the acting Chairman has consistently said that those who left the party have vacated their seats and the Chairman and secretary wrote to the court to take a side between two members of the party. It means he has taken side. The Supreme Court has affirmed the re- election of Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma of the All Progressives Congress as the winner of the November 11, 2023 gubernatorial poll. It was gathered that a five-member panel of the apex court, in a lead judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Idris, on Friday, dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party and its governorship candidate, Samuel Anyanwu, for lacking in merit. Justice Idris resolved all the issues raised for determination in the appeal against the appellants. Advertisement The judge equally dismissed the appeal by the Labour Party and its candidate, Athan Achonu, for being unmeritorious. Justice Idris, who authored and read the lead judgment, resolved the three issues identified for determination against the appellants. He found that the appellants as petitioners at the election tribunal, failed to prove their case as required. The judge also proceeded to affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which upheld the decision of the Imo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which dismissed the appellants petition. READ MORE: Off-Cycle Poll: You Have Seven Days To Cancel Imo Election PDP, LP Tell INEC Recall that the Court of Appeal, in Abuja had, on July 16, dismissed the appeal filed by the PDP and Anyanwu, challenging the decision of the Imo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which affirmed the election of Hope Uzodinma as the authentic governor of the state. The appellants also challenged Uzodimmas qualification with an allegation that his West African Examination Certificate, result was forged. While delivering judgment, the court of appeal held that the appellants in their appeal, failed to prove the allegation of non-compliance as alleged. The panel also held that the appellants failed to prove that the governor submitted a forged certificate. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has sworn in Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun as the 23rd and second female Chief Justice of Nigeria, in an acting capacity, pending confirmation by the Senate. Kekere-Ekun took the oath of office and signed the oath register at 11.40 am at the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja on Friday. She succeeded Olukayode Ariwoola, who assumed office on June 27, 2022, and bowed out on Thursday, upon attaining the mandatory retirement age of 70 years. Advertisement The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, who disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, said that the President also congratulated Ariwoola, whose stint in the judiciary he described as a successful public service career, commending him for his services to the nation. READ MORE: Tinubu To Swear-In Kekere-Ekun As CJN Friday President Bola Tinubu congratulates Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, GCON, as he retires as Chief Justice of Nigeria after a successful public service career. President Tinubu will swear in Justice Ariwoolas successor at the State House Council Chambers on August 23, 2024. President Tinubu commends the eminent jurist for his services to the nation, noting his impactful leadership of the judiciary and his efforts in enriching Nigerian jurisprudence, as well as in strengthening the fibre of the law. Troops of 6 Brigade/Sector 3 Operation Whirl Stroke have secured the arrest of kidnappers, terrorists and suspected bandits in various locations in Taraba State. According to the Nigerian Army, among those apprehended are individuals linked to the killing of a traditional ruler and his son in the State. Advertisement This information is contained in a statement released on Friday by the acting Assistant Director of Army Public Relations for the 6 Brigade, Captain Olubodunde Oni. The arrests followed series of clearance operations carried out by the troops across various Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the State in collaboration with other security agencies, aimed at ridding the State of criminalities. Notably, on 18 August 2024, troops, acting on credible intelligence, raided a criminals enclave in Takum LGA during which a suspected kidnapper named David Musa was arrested. Oni stated that the troops arrested multiple criminals and terrorists, including a Tiv militia kingpin, Mela Selim, who is believed to have masterminded the killing of the traditional ruler of Chanchangi, Kumbiya Tanimu and his son, Yusuf, at Jankindo village in the Takum LGA. The statement reads, The operations, carried out across various Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state, resulted in the arrest of several criminals, kidnappers, terrorists, and suspected bandits. On August 18, 2024, acting on credible intelligence, troops raided a criminal hideout in Takum LGA, leading to the arrest of a suspected kidnapper named David Musa. He explained that preliminary investigations revealed that Musa is associated with a notorious kidnap kingpin, Ephraim, also known as Skin the Body. Oni noted that the suspect is currently undergoing further investigation to uncover more details about the criminal network. He said, In another operation on August 20, 2024, troops arrested suspected gunrunners, James Nuhu and Dan-Asabe Ango, in Wukari LGA. During interrogation, the suspects confessed to participating in various criminal activities within Wukari and surrounding areas. READ ALSO: Unknown Gunmen Kill Monarch, Son In Taraba They also identified Ibrahim Philemon as the groups armourer, responsible for storing weapons and managing the proceeds of their criminal activities. He added that in a follow-up operation, troops swiftly mobilized to the residence of Mr Philemon and recovered a safe cabinet containing large quantity of 7.62 mm ammunition and assorted weapons. It added that in a related development, troops and other security agencies, acting on intelligence regarding the movement of two members of the Konyo-led Tiv militias along the TakumKatsina-Ala Road in Takum LGA, conducted a covert operation that led to the arrest of the suspects -Fidelis Nyitar and Isaiah Ioraa. Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspects were en route to Takum to procure logistics items for the militia cells hiding between Dogon Gawa in Takum LGA and Tor Donga in Benue State. The suspects are in custody and undergoing further investigation, he said. Similarly, on August 21, 2024, troops tracked down and arrested Mela Selim, a Tiv militia kingpin believed to have masterminded the killing of the Chief of Chanchangi at Jankindo Village in Takum LGA on July 19, 2024. Oni further explained that Selim is currently being interrogated, and efforts are ongoing to apprehend other members of the militia group. In another operation, troops of the 6 Brigade, along with members of the vigilante, encountered an ambush by terrorists while on patrol in Lissam, Kuruku, and Kwesati communities in Ussa LGA, he said. He said the troops effectively countered the ambush, using superior firepower to force the terrorists to flee into the bushes. During the pursuit, troops discovered traces of blood along the terrorists escape route and recovered one AK-47 rifle, one AK-47 magazine, a locally fabricated gun, and two motorcycles, he said. He said efforts are ongoing to track and arrest the fleeing terrorists. While appreciating the citizens of the State for supporting the military and security agencies with credible intelligence that led to the successes recorded in its area of operations, Oni enjoined members of the public not to relent in providing further support that will aid the military in ensuring lasting peace in the State. The persistent fuel queues across the country was on Thursday attributed to the weak distribution chain within the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry. President of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Festus Osifo, disclosed this at the 3rd edition of the PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Summit in Abuja. Osifo who called for urgent reforms to address the issue, said that Nigerias distribution chain using trucks on the nations bad roads is outdated and insufficient to meet the demands of its large population. Advertisement He said, There is no country in the world as big as Nigeria, with our population, that relies on a single point of product importation and uses trucks to distribute across the nation. The Association boss, who is the President of Trade Union Congress, explained that the method is vulnerable to disruptions, including bad roads and flooding, which can lead to fuel scarcity. He emphasized the need for the government to develop and strengthen the countrys value chain to ensure a more efficient and reliable distribution system, warning that without these improvements, the country would continue to face recurring fuel shortages. READ ALSO: They Dont Supply Us Anymore IPMAN Blames NNPCL Over Fuel Scarcity Osifo also addressed other critical issues facing the oil and gas industry where he noted that the high cost of production in Nigeria, which is 15 to 20 percent higher than in other parts of the world, is partly due to the burden of security on oil and gas companies. He called on the government to take over security responsibilities from investors, which would significantly reduce production costs. Osifo further urged the government to strengthen laws and sanctions against those involved in oil theft, while he advocated for harsher penalties to deter bad behavior and encourage integrity within the industry. Our distribution chain has challenges, that the distribution chain is weak in the downstream section of the oil and gas industry. So that is why today you see queues in most of the stations. The problem may be solved today, but tomorrow it will be surfaced. Because there is no country in the world that is as big as Nigeria, that has the same population that we have in Nigeria, that brings its product to a particular area and uses trucks to take it around. Because whenever there are challenges, whenever roads are bad, whenever you have floods, those trucks cannot pass through a certain area and what is going to happen? we are going to have scarcity. So we must do everything possible to strengthen that area. So as PENGASSAN, we have called for this in the past, and we also reiterate that today, that the value chain must be developed. The woman sustained a non-life threatening injury to her right leg, according to police. Read more A 4-year-old boy in Upper Darby accidentally shot his mother in her right thigh while playing with a handgun, police said Friday. The shooting took place inside the familys home on Burmont Road just before 11 a.m. as the woman, 34, and her son were lying in bed, according to Upper Darby Police Superintendent Tim Bernhardt. Advertisement Both were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment: The mother for her gunshot wound, and the boy for burns on his hands from firing the gun. Bernhardt said neither the mother nor another adult male living at that address have criminal histories that wouldve prevented them from owning a gun. Still, it was unclear who had purchased the firearm. READ MORE: 17 Philly children and teens shot themselves last year. CHOPs new gun lock program aims to reverse the trend. Its very frustrating. These guns should be secured, locked and nowhere near children, Bernhardt said. Thank God shell be OK, and the child will be OK. Bernhardt said the investigation into the shooting was ongoing, and it was too early to determine whether criminal charges for negligence would be filed. Philadelphia School Superintendent Tony Watlington, shown with Mayor Cherelle L. Parker at City Hall earlier this month, talked year-round school and teacher vacancies at Thursday's school board meeting. Read more On the cusp of a new school term, Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. touted Mayor Cherelle L. Parkers extended day, extended year programming, scheduled to begin this year at 20 district schools and five charters. Speaking at Thursdays school board meeting, Watlington noted the program, slated to run from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., will include student enrichment and optional care during winter and spring breaks. Advertisement Thats a value add, Watlington said. We commend the mayor and the team working together on this very important initiative. Watlington initially said the district aimed to start an extended day, extended year pilot with up to 10 schools, a priority he identified in his five-year strategic plan, released last year. But Parker, who ran on a campaign promising year-round school, this summer said the district and city would start bigger, with 20 district schools and five charters. Those district schools are: Add B. Anderson Elementary, Carnell Elementary, Cramp Elementary, Farrell Elementary, F.S. Edmonds Elementary, Gideon Elementary, Gompers Elementary, Greenberg Elementary, G.W. Childs Elementary, Juniata Park Academy, Locke Elementary, Morton Elementary, Overbrook Educational Center, T.M. Peirce Elementary, Pennell Elementary, Solis-Cohen Elementary, Southwark Elementary, Vare-Washington Elementary, Webster Elementary and Richard Wright Elementary. The charters are: Belmont Charter, Northwood Charter, Pan American Charter, Mastery Pickett, and Universal Creighton Charter. But one parent of children who attend one of the 20 district schools in the pilot said theres scant information available for families. Mallory Fix-Lopez, a former board member, said she doesnt know what date the before- and after-care starts, how many seats are available, and who the providers are citywide. I would have thought that by now, at the very least, we would know the working definition of all-year school. Shared vocabulary with shared meaning is step one to getting public buy-in and support, Fix-Lopez said. The district starts school Monday. But, its hard to buy into something that doesnt even have a clear definition, shape, or framework, at least not a public one. Extended day and extended year is the citys flagship education initiative, Fix-Lopez said. I dont think these are unreasonable questions considering the significant financial and personnel investments put into this, she said. Families genuinely desire to champion the work of public education in Philadelphia but its very hard to do that when you have no idea whats going on. As Ive said over and over for years, communication is our Achilles heel. Bring us along for the journey with the information so we can champion it. Watlington stressed Thursday night that schools operating in the first-year pilot arent guaranteed to be in year two of the pilot, which is expected to contain more academic programming delivered by teachers. The 2024-25 program requires no extra time or changed calendar for Philadelphia Federation of Teachers members. In other board matters: Philly needs 347 teachers Watlington said that the district has a 96% fill rate for teaching positions. That translates to 347 open teaching jobs with school beginning Monday. The numbers change literally every day and theyll continue to change, Watlington told the board. Well continue to hire as long as we find good-quality teachers in the pool. The district is in better shape, hiring-wise, than it was at this point last year and the year before, the superintendent said it had a 93% fill rate in 2022-23 and 95% fill rate last year. Watlington said every Philadelphia classroom will have a credentialed teacher on Day 1, even if that means a long-term substitute or central office staffer with a teaching license. Controversy around antisemitism and Islamophobia Speakers alternately decried what some said was rampant antisemitism in the district and others said was a lack of protection of Islamic, Palestinian and pro-Palestinian students. Community member Jill Altshuler said many Jewish students do not feel safe in the district, and raised concerns about teacher training offered by the district and by outside groups. Anti-Israel narrative is clearly making its way into the classroom ... how is that OK with you? Altshuler asked the board. What are you doing to address it? Brandy Shufutinsky, another community member, said teachers who are members of the Philly Educators for Palestine group are activists not only engaging in Jew hatred but are presenting falsehoods as facts. Our children deserve better, Shufutinsky said. Parent and teacher Rayya El Zein said that growing up as a Muslim, she was told to keep her head down, to keep silent. She will not encourage her students to do the same, she said, though in the district it is still not safe to talk about Palestine. It is still not safe to question U.S. foreign policy. El Zein said she was asking the school district to condemn genocide. Other speakers told the board not to conflate condemnation of Israels political actions with antisemitism. District teacher Keziah Ridgeways work and personal social media posts became a flashpoint after she raised concerns over the removal of her Northeast High students assignment examining Palestinian art as an act of resistance. Ridgeway told the board Thursday night that the district does not adequately support Black, Muslim and Palestinian students and questioned district training, which she said did not adequately educate about Islamophobia. $32 million for new science curriculum The board voted to spend $32 million on a new science curriculum, the third part of a plan that saw a new math curriculum, introduced last year, and a new English curriculum, which is rolling out this school year. Three companies were named by the board Amplify Education got a $20 million contract, Kendall Hunt a $3.8 million contract, and SAVVAS an $8 million contract. The funds will come from federal COVID-19 relief funds, which must be spent by Sept 30. Teachers from Lewis Elkin Elementary School celebrate after completing the ropes course at the Philadelphia Outward Bound Discovery Center in Philadelphia. Read more Helmet strapped onto his head, harness firmly in place, brand-new Philadelphia teacher Frank Bandy made his way carefully across a rope course, shaking a little, but determined. Behind him, Gabriella Pacheco, also a new educator, moved with similar energy. Later, Bandy, an incoming emotional support teacher at Elkin Elementary in Kensington, was philosophical: If I can balance on a wire thats 40 feet above the ground, what are these kids going to say thats going to rattle me? Advertisement In the lead-up to the first day of school for 113,000 Philadelphia students, thousands of educators returned to work this week to set up classrooms, learn the ins and outs of a new English curriculum, and, in some cases, calibrate their own strength and resilience and build bonds with one another through the Philadelphia Outward Bound School. Hundreds of Philadelphia teachers have completed rope courses, taken nature walks, zip-lined, canoed and tackled ground-based challenges at the Philadelphia Outward Bound Schools Discovery Center in the last two weeks. (The district in 2022 signed a $1 million contract to send students and teachers chosen by schools and administrators to Outward Bound programs.) Elkin teachers were among the educators who visited this week. Principal Charlotte Gillum brought her administrative team to the Discovery Center in the spring, and then took teachers a few days before school began to experience what they found to be a valuable exercise in coming together. And as they wobbled across the course, Gillum did, too. I just want them to feel supported and welcomed and loved on, Gillum said. This is hard work. Bandy and Pacheco, who will teach first grade at Elkin, are brand-new to Philly, placed through Teach for America. (Bandy is from Texas and Pacheco from New Jersey.) After a morning spent getting to know her colleagues in a very oh-hi-youre-intimidated-too kind of way, Pacheco said she felt energized. Everyone has different strengths, said Pacheco. Outward Bound gave her skills that shell be expecting her students to learn, too: This was about learning how to encourage people that you dont really know well yet. We want them to trust us and to be able to learn from us, and to feel encouraged by the things we tell them, right off the bat. Even Tessa Nitkin, Elkins math teacher leader and an eight-year veteran of the district, found the experience valuable. Teaching is tough anywhere, and especially so in a high-needs school in a high-needs district. Sometimes, you make eye contact with a colleague across a chaotic cafeteria, and sometimes, you support a new peer struggling with a fear of heights on a rope course, Nitkin said. Its all about those I got you moments, she said. We have to mentally be well for ourselves, too; as an educator, its the only way to survive. Mason Luksch Wilson, Elkins assistant principal, said he felt a little better prepared to take on the school year new curriculum, new students in a dual-language school. Its all great stuff, but its a lot, said Luksch Wilson. You are walking and chewing gum at the same time, and we need each other more than we know. The Wallingford Swarthmore School District board of directors listens to members of the public after voting to approve the separation agreement for Wagner Marseille, who is leaving the district after facing complaints about alleged poor treatment of staff members. Read more The Wallingford-Swarthmore school board on Thursday approved a $330,000 separation agreement with Superintendent Wagner Marseille, who had faced mounting criticism from parents for his management style. The agreement, which includes a $300,000 lump sum payment and a $30,000 contribution to Marseilles retirement plan, adheres to Pennsylvania law governing superintendent payouts, according to the districts solicitor. The law says superintendents leaving with less than two years left on their contracts Marseilles contract was to expire June 30, 2026 cant receive more than half what they would have been owed had they worked the rest of their contracts, said the solicitor, Kyle Berman. Advertisement Marseilles salary last year was $248,000. The board also hired as an interim superintendent James Scanlon, a retired West Chester superintendent who has recently served in a number of temporary district leadership positions, including as acting superintendent in Central Bucks. Wallingford-Swarthmore will pay a staffing agency representing Scanlon a per-diem fee of $1,540, under an agreement approved Thursday. With the new school year starting, we felt it was important to move forward quickly, board president Kevin Henry said at the start of Thursdays school board meeting. He said that given Scanlons experience, we believe hell provide the stability we need at this time. READ MORE: Wallingford-Swarthmores superintendent is leaving, after accusations of tyrannical management style The leadership changes follow a tumultuous month for the well-ranked school district, after criticism of Marseille erupted during a July 22 school board meeting. Parents alleged that Marseille had mistreated and alienated staff, resulting in the departures of a series of administrators and a crisis in teacher morale. (Henry said Thursday that the board was working to resolve an impasse over a teachers contract.) Marseille who attributed the criticism to how quickly he had pushed to make changes in the district since taking over in 2021 was not present Thursday. A district spokesperson said earlier this week that she was unable to reach him. Henry said Thursday that Marseille had dedicated a significant amount of time, energy and expertise to the district, and thanked him for his work. Under the separation agreement which Berman said was being negotiated until it became public Thursday afternoon the district and Marseille issued a joint statement that said they had mutually agreed to amicably end their contractual agreement. Marseille has led and implemented significant changes in the district that have positively impacted all of our students academic growth, achievement, and support, the statement said, describing the number of programs and initiatives led by Marseille as too numerous to count. The statement credited Marseille with facilitating audits and a vision of excellence that guided the districts strategic plan. Dr. Marseilles changes will help make and maintain WSSD as a top-performing district for all students and staff, it said. The agreement also requires that Wallingford-Swarthmore post a statement on its website saying Marseille met performance standards and earned a proficient rating on his annual evaluation in 2023-24. Parent pushback A number of parents, including at Thursdays board meeting, had questioned what Marseilles performance standards were and how the district was evaluating him, saying they could not find them on the districts website. Some residents pressed the board Thursday for transparency going forward, including during the search for a permanent superintendent; Henry said the search process would involve student, faculty and community input. One parent, Dina Stonberg, spoke in support of Marseille, telling the board that as the parent of a Black daughter and leader in the local NAACP, she was aware of numerous incidents of racism in Wallingford-Swarthmore schools that she alleged had been inadequately addressed by district staff. But Black families felt safer with Dr. Marseille around, she said; the superintendent is also Black. Stonberg said that in a community of people who purport to be good white people, there appeared to be a difference between things we have swallowed about white people in leadership and things we are saying about a person of color. The lone vote on the board against Thursdays actions was Nannette Whitsett, who opposed both Marseilles separation agreement and the agreement to hire Scanlon. Of her vote against Scanlons agreement, Whitsett said she was a little concerned about the speed in which this decision was made. Wasim Muhammad, President of the Camden School Advisory Board, attends the school board meeting at the Camden Board Education Administration building in Camden, N.J., on Thursday, August 22, 2024. Read more Embattled Camden School Advisory Board President Wasim Muhammad returned Thursday to a raucous board meeting where he was met with a protest, boos and chants of Shame! Shame! Shame! and a call for his removal. It was Muhammads first school board meeting since the district reached a $2 million settlement with a former student who accused him of sexual assault in a civil case two months ago. He took a leave of absence pending the outcome of the case brought by Salema Robinson, who was his middle school student 30 years ago. Advertisement In its May 14 decision, a jury found that Muhammad, formerly known as Donnie Walker, had not sexually abused his former student, but recklessly or intentionally committed extreme and outrageous conduct upon Robinson. Before the meeting at the boards headquarters, a small group of protesters picketed outside the building, calling Muhammad a predator. Community activist Vida Neil, a frequent critic of Muhammad, shouted on a bullhorn. Neil verbally sparred with a supporter of Muhammad, whom she called a pedophile, sitting across the room. Hes my friend, the supporter said. Muhammad, 56, entered the packed meeting flanked by several of his 17 children. Several of his wives waited in a nearby overflow room. Several security officers were joined in the back of the room by Camden County Metro Police officers. After greeting board members, Muhammad took his seat next to state Superintendent Katrina T. McCombs. He banged a gavel to call the boards work session to order, but was immediately interrupted by Neil. Hes a sexual predator. He should not be sitting at the helm, Neil shouted from the audience. Shame on you for every little girl. Do you have a heart? As Muhammad hammered the gavel, Neil continued to shout. Police were told to remove Neil, but ignored the directive and supporters chimed in. Eventually, the board ordered a recess and the board members quickly left the room. What parent in their right mind would want him around their children? asked Maria Montero, a mother of three. Its outrageous. Muhammad did not speak during the meeting, which resumed after an hour-long closed session. He has denied any wrongdoing. During public comment, Natalie Rivera, a social worker in North Camden, called for Muhammads resignation, without further comment. The board took no action during the work session. Its monthly meeting will be held Tuesday at Camden High School. Board Vice President NNamdee Nelson said the board could have removed Muhammad after three unexcused absences, but decided to await the outcome of the legal matter. The board has not met since the split jury decision in May. This has been challenging times for everyone, Nelson said. McCombs, who has disclosed that she had experienced sexual assault as a child and found the Muhammad allegations triggering, reassured the audience that their concerns would be reviewed. She said the board is reviewing its sexual harassment policies, too. This is not the end of the conversation. Your voices matter, McCombs said. We will continue to do the work that needs to be done. READ MORE: A former student has alleged sexual abuse for years by current Camden Advisory School Board president A jury rejected Robinsons sexual assault and battery allegations, but she was awarded $1.6 million, which was increased to $2 million under a later settlement between her, Muhammad and the school district. Gov. Phil Murphy has called for Muhammad to resign, citing the appalling and heinous nature of the allegations. Muhammad has served on the nine-member school advisory board since 2013 and has been president since 2020. Because the district is under a state takeover, the board serves in an advisory role only without any authority. READ MORE: Who is Wasim Muhammad, Camdens school board president accused of sexually abusing a student? A petition drive recently launched by Elton Custis, a former Camden school board member, contended that Muhammads removal from the school board is necessary to maintain the integrity of our educational system and to ensure the safety and well-being of our students. In her lawsuit, Robinson alleged that Muhammad began having sex with her in 1994 when he was her social studies teacher. The abuse continued after she moved out of state after her freshman year at Camden High School. District employees, including a principal and a teacher, who knew about the abuse failed to stop it, according to the lawsuit. The jury held Muhammad and the district liable for counts including willful misconduct and negligence in supervising Muhammad, and for permitting a sexually hostile educational environment. The verdict did not offer insight into its findings. Robinson, now 45, filed the lawsuit in 2021 under a state law passed in 2019 that allows victims of child sexual abuse to sue their abusers up until they turn 55. She was initially identified in the case as Jane Doe, but decided to come forward after the verdict to encourage other victims to speak up. READ MORE: In his sex abuse trial, Wasim Muhammad testified that four of his six wives were 18 when he met them READING The only member of John Doughertys inner circle to ever agree to testify against him was spared prison time and granted probation Thursday in recognition, a federal judge said, of the role he played in securing the former labor leaders conviction. Contractor Anthony Massa, 70, emerged as a key witness in Doughertys 2023 trial on charges that he and others had embezzled more than $600,000 from Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the union he led for nearly 30 years. Advertisement He walked jurors through detailed records hed kept on hundreds of thousands of dollars in renovation work hed done at the homes of Dougherty, his relatives and other union officials all of it charged to Local 98. And though defense lawyers sought throughout the trial to paint Massa as a fraudster and a liar, the contractor remained resolute in his testimony, insisting that Doughertys codefendant and former Local 98 president Brian Burrows had instructed him to bill that way. He was unique in this case, where everyone else was tight-lipped in a very tight-knit community, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Grenell said as Massa faced sentencing Thursday. He was the only one in this case who stood up and did that right thing. In the end, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl agreed. While federal sentencing guidelines called for a sentence of anywhere from a year to a year and a half behind bars, the judge noted that Massa pleaded guilty relatively quickly after he, Dougherty and six other union officials and allies were indicted in 2019 and made the difficult decision to cooperate with the government. Schmehl sentenced Massa to three years probation and 120 hours of community service. He also ordered the contractor to pay back more than $84,000 to the union as well as a $10,000 fine. You cooperated. You testified, the judge said. Thats not an easy thing to do. Massas decision to do so in 2020 came with considerable risk. For the better part of two decades, federal authorities had investigated Dougherty across a number of probes each time looking for people on the inside who might cooperate against the states most powerful union chief. Until Massa, theyd repeatedly failed. Though four other union officials and allies pleaded guilty in the embezzlement case, none of them agreed to testify. Nor did other contractors and allies whod been charged in other cases as far back as 2007 by prosecutors who hoped they might flip. The significance of Massas decision to do what those others would not, Grenell said Thursday, could not be overstated. As prosecutors told it, the contracting work Massas company performed on the personal residences of Burrows, Dougherty and Doughertys family between 2010 and 2016 was by far the largest expense the union leaders improperly paid for with Local 98 money. In 2010, for instance, Massas firm carried out a complete remodel of Burrows primary bathroom and installed a walk-in closet at the union leaders Mount Laurel home at a cost of more than $30,000. The contractor told jurors that Burrows told him to hide the charge for that job by padding invoices for other work he was simultaneously overseeing for Local 98. At Doughertys home in Pennsport, Massa said, he performed more than $35,000 of work jobs that included leak repair, mold remediation, and drywall installation between 2010 and 2016. Never once, he said, did Dougherty ever ask how much he owed. In addition, Massas company oversaw renovations at homes owned by Doughertys father, John Sr.; daughter Erin; sister Maureen Fiocca; and brother, Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty all of it covered by Local 98. For his part, Dougherty insisted he had no idea where Massa was sending the bills. He assumed, his lawyers said, that the contractor was doing the work for free in gratitude for the lucrative work Local 98 had steered his way over the years. Still, jurors believing Massas word convicted Dougherty and Burrows, both of whom have since been sentenced to hefty prison terms. Dougherty is set to surrender next month to begin serving a six-year sentence both for his role in the embezzlement scheme as well as a separate bribery case involving former Philadelphia City Councilmember Bobby Henon. Burrows was sentenced in June to four years. Massa, for his own part, declined the opportunity to address the court during his sentencing hearing Thursday. But as he emerged from the Reading courthouse one of the few charged in the case to avoid a future in prison the contractors lawyer defended his clients choices. All of the defendants in this case are basically good people, who some by their own admission just lost their way, attorney William J. Brennan said, of Dougherty and the others. Of his client, Brennan added: He did what he had to do to protect his family and himself. The sign at One Parkway Building, 1515 Arch Street, for the Philadelphia's Citizen's Police Oversight Commission still reads as the former Police Advisory Commission Monday, May 13, 2024, on the first day on the job for Tonya McClary, the new CPOC director. Read more In the two years since it was created to investigate complaints against Philadelphia police, the Citizens Police Oversight Commission has done little. The agency, designed to replace a previous commission that many viewed as toothless, was given broad powers to subpoena records, examine crime scenes, review internal affairs records, and investigate allegations of police misconduct. Advertisement Since its debut in 2022, the commission has been allocated more than $3 million in taxpayer money, hired a staff of 22, and put in place a panel of nine commissioners who hold monthly meetings to discuss public safety issues. Agency staffers sit in on administrative hearings for officers accused of wrongdoing and audit internal affairs reports prepared by the police department. But the commission has not independently investigated a single complaint against police. Such investigations were the primary goal City Council set for the agency when it was created in response to calls for police accountability after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. And critics say the commission has failed to carry out its central mission. The agency has been stuck in a quagmire of infighting and petty power politics that have stopped a highly qualified staff from accomplishing its main goal, said Afroza Hossain, a former commission vice chair who resigned in protest last spring. I think CPOC has been troubled by retaining people who really believe in its mission, said Hossain. I really wanted this commission to take off and be a national model for what police accountability could be. And this city desperately needs it. But there is also disagreement over who gets to decide whether and when CPOC can conduct independent investigations. Not about the will of CPOC The agencys first permanent executive director, Tonya McClary, who was hired in May, acknowledged that CPOC has faced roadblocks along the way and has pledged to begin independent investigations. But she said that work has been thwarted in part by a lack of cooperation from the Police Department and skepticism from the police union. Its not about the will of CPOC, McClary said in a recent interview. Its about the complications of how do you do that. I cannot do investigations without the cooperation of PPD. The police department is open to working with the commission, said department spokesperson Sgt. Eric Gripp, but Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel believes the internal affairs bureau can competently investigate on its own. He declined to comment further on the departments position on the commission launching independent investigations, saying it was too early to do so. We are committed to cooperating fully within the framework that CPOC is empowered to operate, as it aligns with our dedication to transparency and accountability, Gripp said in a statement. The president of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 5, the Philadelphia police officers union, noted its contract requires that independent investigations receive permission from the union, which the union does not foresee granting to CPOC. President Roosevelt Poplar has promised legal action if the commission pursues its own investigations of allegations of police misconduct. Catherine Twigg, CPOCs general counsel, agreed the commission needs to come to agreements with the involved agencies, including the police department and the FOP. And although independent officer misconduct investigations are provided for in the legislation that formed CPOC, when a law is passed, there are often a number of additional things that need to happen before that part of the law can be carried out. And sometimes, when you try to do some of those things, you get sued by some entity that disagrees with either your authority to do it or the way that youve done it, she added. The agency does not need city approval to launch or conduct any independent investigations, a spokesperson for the mayor said. The commission is an independent city agency that does not report to Mayor Cherelle L. Parkers office or City Council. (The mayor does select two of the five committee members who select CPOC commissioners.) The Parker Administration fully supports our Police Department and has the utmost confidence in Commissioner Bethel, the spokesperson said in a statement. The mayor has also made it clear that we will not tolerate any abuse or misuse of authority. System change is not easy The Citizens Police Oversight Commission was designed to have more power than its predecessor organization, the Police Advisory Commission, which critics saw as largely ineffective, and supporters had high hopes for the new agency. McClary, for one, said she believes the agency can live up to the goals established at its outset. She said CPOC will continue to review internal affairs investigations and have staff monitor criminal investigations, and prepare reports for the public to highlight trends in city policing. And in time, she said, the plan is to launch police misconduct inquiries of its own. System change is not easy, she said. Meanwhile, critics say, the agency is mired in political power grabs, petty squabbling, and high turnover. Three commissioners, including the vice chair, resigned last year in protest, citing a lack of progress toward the agencys goals. My experience was that commissioners at least some of them, the ones who were the most vocal were much more concerned about asserting their own authority and power than they were about assisting the work of the commission, said Benjamin Lerner, one of the three who resigned in protest last spring. He is a former Common Pleas Court judge who heard and ruled on pretrial motions in thousands of homicide cases and was the deputy managing director for criminal justice during Mayor Jim Kenneys administration. A fourth commissioner, Rosaura Torres Thomas, was suspended in early July for allegedly sharing confidential information. Thomas said the confidential information the commission has accused her of leaking included emails sent from her private email address in which she defended a person other commissioners had disparaged. McClary and commission chair Hassan Bennett declined to comment further on the allegations against Thomas, citing the ongoing internal investigation. The commission is now down to four active commissioners, less than half the nine posts on the agency. Critics say the internal inquiry is a distraction from the agencys stated mission and important work. But Lerner said he was hopeful that McClary would steer the agency into a more proactive role of investigating police misconduct and that the commission can move forward with a renewed focus. Shes got a really good staff to work with and a system of oversight in place which never existed before, said Lerner. Hossain echoed Lerners praise of the agencys staff and what theyve accomplished with community engagement events and other oversight initiatives. She, too, hopes the commission will eventually align with its original mission. I think they are probably doing the best they can with the resources they have, Hossain said. I want to see these investigations happen. I want the core of what this commission was supposed to be fulfilled. Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris walks off stage after speaking during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. Read more CHICAGO Fannie Lou Hamer, a Black sharecropper and activist from Mississippi, couldnt get a seat at the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City. So, she went before the DNC credentials committee and described how she had been fired from her job after attempting to register to vote. How she had been arrested and brutally beaten while jailed. How Medgar Evers, the leader of the states chapter of the NAACP, had been killed the year before. And how the integrated group she cofounded, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, should be seated at the convention instead of her states official delegation, which was racially segregated. Advertisement If the Freedom Democratic Party is not seated now, I question America, Hamer said during her speech, which was televised. Is this America? she asked. The land of the free and the home of the brave, where we have to sleep with our telephones off the hooks because our lives be threatened daily because we want to live as decent human beings, in America? The Democrats should have escorted the entire group onto the convention floor after that. But America was still too deeply steeped in its own denial to recognize the contradictions between the lofty ideals upon which it was founded and its shameful second-class treatment of African Americans. Instead, while she was still speaking, President Lyndon B. Johnson called an impromptu news conference to cut into the TV coverage her testimony got. Stations aired her testimony anyway. Sixty years later to the day, Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic Partys nomination to run for president. Hamer, who died in 1977, would have been amazed. I am amazed. Weve come so far. It was important for me to attend in person. I did so in memory of my late parents, faithful Democrats who never gave up on the promise of America, despite being treated like second-class citizens during the early part of their lives because of their race. I did so in memory of both sets of my grandparents, who were denied the right to vote and suffered all manner of discrimination in the Jim Crow South. I did so in memory of my great-grandparents, including the late Robert Armstrong, who was born into slavery in South Carolina. Donald Trumps running mate, JD Vance, may write me off as a childless cat lady with no stake in the countrys future, but I also wanted to be there for myself. My time at Howard University, a historically Black university, overlapped for two years with Harris time. Seeing a fellow Bison, who attended classes inside Frederick Douglass Hall and studied at the Founders Library, reach this pinnacle fills me with so much pride. I felt it in my gut Monday night when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: I wish my mother and Kamalas mother could see us. They would would say, Keep going. I would add my mothers name to that list. She would say the same thing. Anne Armstrong greatly admired Clinton, and I know she would feel similarly about Harris. She was an elementary school librarian who would stop and watch each time U.S. Rep. Shirley Chisholm showed up on our black-and-white TV. I was way too young to understand the significance of Chisholm being the first Black woman elected to the United States Congress. Same thing when Chisholm became the first woman, as well as the first African American, to seek the nomination of the presidency from one of the two major political parties. Years later, Harris credited Chisholm as having helped inspire her. In 2019, she told the Grio a website geared toward African Americans, I stand as so many of us do on her shoulders. There was nowhere else I would have rather been last week than at that convention, watching history unfold. Like many attendees, I wiped away a tear or two. But as former first lady Michelle Obama reminded the crowd at the United Center, its not time to take a victory lap. She pointed out that while Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are doing great right now this is still going to be an uphill battle. But as Clinton said, we need to keep going. Thats what Hamer did. Thats what Chisholm did. Thats what Harris is doing. Thats what we all must do to ensure everyone has a chance to claim a seat at the political table and answer Hamers question: Is this America? Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker speaks to Pennsylvania delegates on Tuesday during the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Read more Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, the first Black woman to hold her office, said she felt inspired and energized as she watched Vice President Kamala Harris accept the Democratic nomination to accomplish the same feat for the highest office in the nation. It was also very pragmatic, Parker said after Harris speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. It was connected connected to real people and what they are going through in their daily lives. Advertisement Parker praised Harris for being a straight shooter in the speech, and talking about the opportunity economy, a message Parker likened to her own oft-repeated goal of creating economic opportunity for all Philadelphians. Its not about giving anyone anything, Parker said. Its about using government as a tool to create access to opportunity. Parker was invited to watch the speech from Harris own VIP suite in the United Center, sitting with celebrities like Don Cheadle and Spike Lee, members of Harris family, and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Parkers special treatment at Harris history-making speech provided a poetic bookend to a moment four years ago that helped both of them rise to power. In 2020, when she was running as President Joe Bidens running mate, Harris made her first in-person campaign stop since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in Philadelphia and made an appearance at an event in the backyard of Parkers Mount Airy home. The trip was a political boon for Parker, who was then a City Council member plotting her 2023 mayoral run. And it helped connect Parker to Sincere Harris, who was then serving in the Biden administration and later left the White House to be Parkers campaign manager. She is now a chief deputy mayor. While she was watching Harris speech Thursday, Parker said she was thinking about that day in 2020, which she said was packed with potential and pregnant with possibilities. Senator John Fetterman speaks during an event with US Vice President Kamala Harris & Gov. Tim Walz at Temple University's Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 6, 2024. Read more The Virginia woman whose vehicle was rear-ended by Sen. John Fetterman (D., Pa.) in Maryland in June is still reportedly recuperating from the car crash that also sent Fetterman and his wife, Gisele, to the hospital. In a statement through her lawyer, Jennifer Campbell, 62, said she seeks to maintain her privacy as she heals from her unspecified injuries, the Baltimore Sun reported last week. Advertisement But, through her lawyer, Campbell said she also believed it was important to come forward in the aftermath of the collision with the Pennsylvania senator. I think its important to recognize that Im a real human being, and this crash left me with real injuries, she said in the statement to the Sun. Campbell has retained Andrew K. Thomas, a Virginia attorney, to help her pursue a personal injury claim, the Sun reported. Were handling it like we would with any other case by making an insurance claim, Thomas told the Baltimore Sun. Neither Thomas nor a spokesperson for Fetterman returned requests for comment Friday. READ MORE: Sen. John Fetterman was speeding and at fault for crash on his 16th wedding anniversary Fetterman was found at fault for the crash that took place near Hancock, Md. on the morning of June 9 Fetterman and his wifes 16th wedding anniversary. No charges have been filed. Maryland State Police said the junior senator was going well over the posted 70 mph speed limit before rear-ending Campbell. Both vehicles Fettermans Chevrolet Traverse and the womans Chevrolet Impala were towed from the scene due to the damage, according to the police report. Campbell said the crash caused her trunk to be compressed into the cars backseat, the Sun reported. After the collision, Fetterman approached Campbells car and checked on her, she said. The police report listed the extent of damage for both parties as disabling. Fetterman and his wife were taken to a local hospital to be evaluated out of an abundance of caution, the senators spokesperson said at the time, and Fetterman was treated for a bruised shoulder. In June, Fetterman called the collision an unfortunate accident. Im relieved and grateful that there were no serious injuries, he said in a statement. Ive been driving for almost 40 years, and Ive gotten a small handful of tickets. When I sped, I was held accountable. I need to do better and do it slower and I will. The Pennsylvania senator has a history of risky driving behavior, according to state records. Earlier this year, he was ticked for exceeding the speed limit in Westmoreland County by 34 mph. After receiving that ticket in March, Fetterman was required by Pennsylvania to take a drivers improvement course, the Washington Post reported, citing unidentified people it said had knowledge of the situation. In addition, the senators aides have said Fetterman has texted and FaceTimed while driving, prompting concerns among his staff and fears about riding with him, the Post reported, citing three people with knowledge of staff discussions who spoke about internal conversations on the condition of anonymity. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro waves after speaking during the Democratic National Convention Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago. Read more There are 73 days until Election Day. In this edition: Advertisement Trump attacks Shapiro: Why Pennsylvanias governor said former President Donald Trump is obsessed with me following a late-night social media attack. Scranton says goodbye: Watching President Joe Bidens speech passing the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris was bittersweet for his hometown delegates. Addition, not subtraction: How a Philly Republican found himself in a place he never thought hed be: the Democratic National Convention. Julia Terruso, Gillian McGoldrick, Anna Orso, Katie Bernard, Aliya Schneider, Sean Collins Walsh, Oona Goodin-Smith, pa2024@inquirer.com If youd like to get this free newsletter in your inbox, sign up for free here. We want to know what you think about this newsletter. By taking our quick survey, you can enter for a chance to win a gift card. Have a question about this election? Email us and well try to answer it in a future newsletter. Getting stuff done, Chicago-style Conventions are made-for-TV productions. Unless youre a popular politician in attendance, then theyre made for networking and profile raising. Gov. Josh Shapiro was everywhere this week, stopping up and down the Magnificent Mile, Chicagos posh stretch of hotels along Michigan Avenue, where many of the state delegations stayed for the DNC. He talked about getting stuff done, at early morning breakfasts, sat for national news interviews, and hit receptions across the city boosting Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz, and also promoting his own administration. And that was all before he delivered a prime-time speech to the convention Wednesday. Its clear to basically everyone in politics that Shapiro has national ambitions, so soaking up the spotlight wasnt exactly a surprise. But his reception off his home turf was something we havent seen a lot of. Reviews were good. Delegates from around the country, most of them party loyalists who tend to know Democratic political figures, really like Shapiro. There were selfie lines and flattering reviews, eager handshakes and hugs among Democrats from some key states. I specifically wanted to be here in New Hampshire this morning, he told residents of the early voting state. Because when the power is in the hands of New Hampshire, you all know how to pick a president, and you know how to get the job done. We did pick up on a little criticism after Shapiro spoke to one delegation, an attendee who didnt want to be named called him a great orator, but questioned how well he could connect. There can be such a thing as too polished. The latest Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted her partys historic nomination for president Thursday before a packed-in crowd at Chicagos United Center. Now that the balloons have fallen, here are our takeaways from the DNC, and what it could mean for Harris in November in crucial Pennsylvania. The DNC roll call, making Harris the first Black woman and first Asian American nominated by a major party for president, was largely ceremonial. But it also meant a whole lot. Trump was in Pennsylvania twice in the past week, and he made clear why he has become a frequent visitor to the battleground state: They say that if you win Pennsylvania, youre going to win the whole thing. Trump also set his sights on Shapiro, attacking his DNC speech in a rant on Truth Social, and calling him a highly overrated Jewish Gov. Shapiros response: Hes someone who has routinely peddled antisemitic tropes like this. The DNC was a whos who of Democratic politicos (except Sen. John Fetterman), and celebs like Lil Jon and Oprah. But also in the mix was a coalition of Philly-based former Nikki Haley voters and anti-Trump Republicans, rallying around Harris. Among those anti-Trump Republicans: A former Montco GOP leader, who said police were called to his home after he backed Harris, and later lost his position. Most small-city mayors dont see the president of the United States as often as Scrantons. And as President Joe Biden delivered his farewell speech this week, Mayor Paige Cognetti said the city is making a push for his presidential library and to start celebrating him and his legacy. Across the Delaware River, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy named his former chief of staff to replace convicted U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez until Novembers high-stakes election. Rep. Andy Kim the Democrat vying for the seat had a moment in the DNC spotlight, reflecting on the aftermath of the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Fact check The claim: Project 2025 would cut overtime pay for hard-working Americans. That was Philly state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who spoke at the DNC Tuesday and pilloried Project 2025, the blueprint for a second Trump administration put together by conservative groups. The check: Not exactly. Project 2025 does mention overtime, but it doesnt recommend cutting it. It urges Congress to pass the Working Families Flexibility Act, a Republican-backed bill that amends labor regulations to explicitly allow employers to give employees time-and-a-half comp time instead of overtime pay. Democrats oppose the legislation, saying it empowers employers to strip workers of overtime pay and effectively cut wages. But thats not what the text of the bill says. Under the legislation, employees must agree to accept comp time in lieu of overtime, and it explicitly bars employers from coercing or threatening employees into doing so. Stock up Austin Davis: Pennsylvanias lieutenant governor had a big week in Chicago, too. Davis is the nations youngest lieutenant governor and the first Black person elected to the executive branch in Pennsylvania (excluding the state row offices, where Republican Auditor General Tim DeFoor was the first Black official elected in 2020.) The Western Pennsylvanian made his national stage debut in joint remarks with other lieutenant governors on Monday. But hes also been trying to make a name for himself back at home by attempting to make the mostly unknown office more useful. Stock down RFK Jr.: Less than 48 hours after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. showed up to court in Harrisburg too late to testify in defense of keeping his name on Pennsylvanias November ballot, major news organizations reported he plans to drop out of the presidential race. Blaming a canceled flight, Kennedy was an hour and 40 minutes late to the Pennsylvania hearing, the Associated Press reported. Kennedys independent campaign for president was already struggling when his running mate said he was considering endorsing Trump. Sources told the New York Times he is planning to do just that on Friday though they warn his plans could still change. Politics translator What he said: Republican Sen. JD Vance, Trumps running mate, held a rally in North Philadelphia on Monday. And before stopping for a cheesesteak on his way out, he made sure to mock Minnesota Gov. Tim Walzs military service record, which has become a talking point for Republicans since Walz was tapped as Vice President Kamala Harris running mate. Before the end of the campaign, Tim Walz is going to be talking about how he was carrying an M-16 through the jungles of Vietnam, Vance said. Republicans have fixated on Walz retiring from the military to run for Congress just months before his unit was alerted it would be going to Iraq. Vance and Walz are both veterans, but neither fought in combat. Vance spent four years in the Marine Corps and Walz spent 24 years in the National Guard. What he meant: Tim Walz is a poser for embracing his military background. What he said: During his speech to the DNC, Biden remarked on his 52 years in national politics: Ive either been too young to be in the Senate, because I wasnt 30 yet, and too old to stay as president. What he meant: The goalposts are always moving. The president, former vice president, and former U.S. senator representing Delaware, was first elected at age 29 in 1972. And he faced the opposite issue as president on the other side of his career, getting pressured to drop out of the race until he withdrew last month. It was one of a handful of times Biden, 81, joked about his age during his 45-minute address. Scenes from the campaign trail The Pennsylvania delegation floor section was a popular (and crowded) place to be at the DNC all week. Here are some of the things we overheard on the floor: Mayor Cherelle L. Parker asking who Lil Jon was as he started performing during the Georgia roll call. Some grumbling that Maryland Gov. Wes Moore got a longer speaking slot than Shapiro. A lot of complaints about camera people blocking delegates views (the downside of Pennsylvania getting primo seats up front). What were watching next The polls, and whether Harris sees a post-convention bump in numbers. If the Sept. 10 presidential debate at Phillys National Constitution Center will have a live audience. Which media outlet gets the first interview with Harris, who has promised a sit-down interview by the end of the month. Thats all for this week. Thanks for following along with Julia and Sean from the floor of the DNC, and as always, you can find our most recent coverage at inquirer.com/politics. Well see you here again next Friday. The six-bedroom home in New Hope includes a pool, outdoor kitchen area for entertaining, a guest cottage, and carriage house. Read more A property in New Hope is on the market for $5,995,000 at 2169 Aquetong Rd., which was once the address of famed musician Leon Redbone, according to the current owner, Mike Dalewitz. The 9,800-square-foot house, which has been dubbed The Gatsby Barn, is the result of a gut renovation inside and out after Dalewitz purchased the property in 2018. Advertisement We wanted to keep some parts of the original identity, while making it something really transformative, said Dalewitz, who did not disclose the cost of the renovation. Maureen Reynolds, a real estate agent with Serhant, who is listing the property, noted the cost of the renovation was more than the asking price of the home. The home has an interior clad in black and white design, several chandeliers, and gold accents. The six-bedroom home also has a black and gold balcony rail originally from the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York City, as well as a glass wine cellar that holds up to 900 bottles. After hosting a Great Gatsby-themed party at a private event space in Doylestown in 2018 for his wifes 40th birthday, Dalewitz says they wanted to keep the party going, using that inspiration to design their home. We wanted to bring a little bit of that joy of that moment after having her party to have that feel and vibe for the rest of our lives, he said. Dalewitz, an attorney and entrepreneur, has started several businesses, including the Borscht Belt Delicatessen, a Jewish deli. Hes selling the home and relocating to New York with his wife, Alison, and children to be closer to family and for a new business venture. The home originally listed on the market in 2023 for $10 million, as Dalewitz said they assessed the market and were deciding whether to leave the area. They then took it off the market for some time, and it was listed again this August at a lower price for a more expedited sale. The property is on 10.5 acres, which include a one-bedroom guest cottage, as well as a separate carriage house with a gym. There is also a covered two-car garage as part of the main house and a covered two-car garage in the carriage house. Amenities in the home include a movie theater, bar, and elevator. There is also an outdoor heated saltwater pool and hot tub, as well as an adjoining covered kitchen area for entertaining that spans 1,300 square feet and includes a pizza oven, custom-built smoker, and a bar that can seat 22 people. The target buyer for the home could include a celebrity or culinary enthusiast, says Reynolds. It could also serve as a vacation home, she said. Its a statement of luxury, innovation, and timeless elegance, Reynolds said. New Hope has been known as a welcoming place for artists, small businesses, LGBTQ people, and others. The downtown has recently seen new development move in and rents go up. Youd come to New Hope, and I always thought it was this special place, and just gave me a sense of belonging, with great food, arts, culture, music, said Dalewitz. He says leaving the home and area is bittersweet. Ive had amazing memories with my family and friends and great events that have been thrown here, Dalewitz said. Were gonna miss this. Were gonna miss our community. We still want to be tethered to this community forever. When I started Trade Risk, Id never been a broker, Id never run a business, I had no idea what I was doing, I had no money and I didnt really have anything, said Moore. But I had a wife - a girlfriend at the time - who had some sort of faith in what I was trying to build and she stuck by me, so thank you, Jessica! We celebrated not just the winners, but the dedication, innovation, and brilliance that define our industry. [The] achievements reflect a commitment to excellence that inspires us all. Congratulations to our winners for setting new benchmarks and leading the way with their outstanding contributions, she said. While the bank has implemented actions to improve its risk governance and culture over the past five years, these recent issues suggest there continues to be material gaps that need to be closed as a priority, he said. Trust in the financial system and markets means greater confidence, which means more investment. That has direct benefits for the jobs and opportunities of Australians, he said. While Australias private markets are dwarfed in size by our listed equity markets, their opacity presents an outsized risk to market integrity, particularly as more investors become exposed. It requires commitment from all individuals in that business and an ability of the leaders to respond and support the front of the business to ensure we continue to provide our clients with fantastic outcomes, the company said. It was a privilege to have known Jonathan and to have benefitted from his generosity and wisdom over the last year, Hussain said. His deep experience across our industry and in the broader business arena, combined with his personal values, made him both an excellent chair and a person I was proud to know and work with. Grayson brings over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry and the London insurance market, with a proven track record in leading global technology teams. His role will focus on leveraging the latest technology solutions to improve underwriting and claims processes and drive the company's digital transformation initiatives. Crawfords career in the industry began with a regional Affordable Care Act carrier, where he initially worked in marketing, managing broker events and sponsorships. He later shifted to sales and eventually transitioned to the brokerage side, specializing in individual/Medicare coverage as well as auto and home insurance policies. Smith previously served as chief sales officer at HUB International Carolinas and was a market leader in the Charlotte area. Before joining HUB, he was the managing director of business development for Wells Fargo, where he established a leading insurance development team for the South Region. In April, The Hilb Group expanded its employee benefits division in the Midwest by acquiring a book of business in Illinois. The financial terms of this transaction were not disclosed, and the acquisition took effect at the beginning of that month. It was a privilege to have known Jonathan and to have benefited from his generosity and wisdom over the last year, Hussain said. His deep experience across our industry and in the broader business arena, combined with his personal values, made him both an excellent chair and a person I was proud to know and work with. An expelled Yale University student who was acquitted of sex assault charges in 2018 is now suing 15 womens advocacy groups and an attorney for defamation after being called a rapist in a court brief that they filed in a 2022 proceeding. Saifullah Khan, a 31-year-old Afghanistan native, said the organizations, which include the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence and the National Womens Law Center, repeated his accusers allegations as fact, such as writing, When Jane Doe was in college, the Plaintiff raped her and referring to Khan as her rapist. While that language was amended, Khan says his reputation was harmed and that he has suffered economic and non-economic damages. His lawsuit, which seeks financial damages, said the original draft brief remains published, indefinitely on the Connecticut Judicial Branch website and was also published online by the womens advocacy groups and for donors. We would like for them to understand that there is harm to someone when you just label them, said Alex Taubes, Khans attorney. No one could complain about it if he had been found guilty. But he wants to see that when you actually are found not guilty, is there any vindication? Is there any way to stand up for yourself at that point? Also Suing Yale Although Khan was acquitted of four sexual assault charges by a jury in May 2018, he was expelled from Yale in November 2018 following a university investigation and sexual assault disciplinary proceeding. He sued both Yale and his accuser, and that case is pending in federal court. As part of that case, the Connecticut State Supreme Court was asked to weigh in on the question of whether the accuser should be immune from a civil suit for comments made during the university proceeding. Various womens rights groups argued that such immunity is crucial to prevent rape victims from being discouraged to come forward. The court, however, ruled 7-0 last year that because Khan had fewer rights to defend himself in the university proceeding than he would in criminal court, his accuser could not benefit fully from immunity granted to witnesses in criminal proceedings. As in many U.S. universities, Yales procedures do not subject accusers to cross-examination and do not require witnesses to testify under oath. Messages seeking comment were left with National Alliance to End Sexual Violence and the National Womens Law Center, as well as Jennifer Becker, the former legal director at the womens advocacy group Legal Momentum who submitted the original application to file the amicus brief with Connecticuts highest court. In a response to an ethics complaint Khan filed against her, Becker wrote that when she drafted the brief I wholly believed that my statements were fully supported by the record. Becker said she did appreciate that the language drafted was overzealous and unnecessarily forceful. But she noted in her statement how the brief was refiled, shorn of all facts not supported by the record, as ordered by the justices, and the court never admonished her for the language she used in the original one or made any finding that it was inappropriate. Additionally, any overzealousness on my part was ameliorated by the Courts order and there is no resulting harm to Mr. Kahn, she wrote, noting the language he had complained about has been stripped. Legal experts have said the Connecticut State Supreme Courts ruling last year could be a major precedent cited in other lawsuits by students accused of sexual misconduct in challenges to the fairness of their schools disciplinary proceedings. Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Lawsuits A woman who faced eviction from her Manhattan apartment over her three emotional support parrots will be paid $165,000 in damages plus $585,000 for her apartment under a consent decree announced by federal prosecutors. The consent decree announced Monday resolves a dispute between Meril Lesser and the board of the Rutherford, a 175-unit cooperative apartment building where Lesser lived with her parrots Layla, Ginger and Curtis. Lesser purchased an apartment at the Rutherford in Manhattans Gramercy Park neighborhood in 1999 and moved into it with her birds. Neighbor Charlotte Kullen started complaining in 2015. Oh God, I wake up still with nightmares of them screaming in my head, Kullen told the Daily News. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection sent inspectors 15 times but did not find any evidence of excessive noise. No birds, no screeching no noise, an inspector wrote on Feb. 7, 2016. Lesser submitted letters from her psychiatrist explaining that she needed the birds for her mental well-being, but the Rutherford board began eviction proceedings in May 2016. Lesser moved out and sublet her apartment. She filed a federal fair housing complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2018, and HUD found probable cause to believe that Rutherford had violated Lessers fair housing rights. Rather than settle the case, Rutherford chose to proceed to federal court, triggering the statutory requirement that the Department of Justice file suit, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said. Williams said the consent decree approved by a federal judge on Aug. 16 represents the largest recovery the federal government has ever obtained for a person with disabilities whose housing provider denied them their right to have an assistance animal. This outcome should prompt all housing providers to consider carefully whether their policies and procedures comply with federal law, Williams said. Peter Livingston, an attorney for the Rutherford co-op board, said his client was pleased to resolve the case. In addition to paying Lesser $165,000 and purchasing her shares in the co-op for $565,000, the Rutherford must adopt a reasonable accommodation policy for assistance animals and allow the federal government to monitor compliance. It must also dismiss the eviction proceeding against Lesser in housing court. Lesser did not respond to a text sent to a phone number listed for her. Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. said profit rose nearly 7% in the first half, after a stock-market recovery helped bolster investment returns at Chinas second-largest insurer by market value. Net income climbed to 74.6 billion yuan ($10.5 billion) in the six months ended June 30, from 69.8 billion yuan a year earlier, the Shenzhen-based company said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange Thursday. That reversed a 4.3% profit decline in the first quarter. Operating profit, which the insurer says better reflects performance by stripping out short-term investment volatility and one-time items, dropped 0.6%. Chinas CSI 300 Index eked out a 0.9% gain in the first half after recovering from a meltdown early in the year, underpinning the performance of insurers equity holdings. Ping Ans new business value benefited from improved margins of life policies as bancassurance fees tightened and it sold more protection-type products, Bloomberg Intelligence said before the results were released. The overall operating results remained solid, demonstrating resilience, Ping An said in a statement. Investment income jumped 65% to 65.8 billion yuan, according to the filing. Net impairment losses on financial assets dropped 26% to 26.5 billion yuan. New business value, which gauges the profitability of new life policies sold, grew 11% in the first half, slowing from a 21% gain in the first quarter. A three-year reform at the main life unit lifted agent productivity. All listed Chinese insurers likely saw earnings improve in the first half compared with the first quarter, Morgan Stanley analysts wrote in a July 25 report. They expect life insurers to report sound new business value growth helped by higher margin and agent productivity. Ping An rose almost 1% to HK$34.30 in Hong Kong trading before the announcement. That trimmed this years decline to 3%. Copyright 2024 Bloomberg. Topics Trends Profit Loss Between hail, strong winds, floods and plant disease, US corn crops were put through some tough times this summer. But somehow, the fields of green blanketing Americas heartland have proved to be ever resilient. Those are the findings heading into the final day of a Midwest tour that sends scouts traversing through the Crop Belt to measure yield potential. The scouts saw evidence of corn stalks with the tell-tale vibrant dark green leaves that typically signal plants will produce plump, starchy kernels of grain in the final stretches of the growing season. Soybean fields were also lush and healthy. Theres big yields out there, both corn and beans, said Brian Grete, leader of the eastern leg of the Pro Farmer Crop Tour, which completes its four-day survey on Thursday. Three days of data so far show that corn yields are looking better than the historical three-year averages in South Dakota, Ohio, Illinois and parts of Iowa. Soybean yields also look strong in many key growing areas. Final figures will be released late Thursday. The findings buttress an outlook from the US Department of Agriculture, which is projecting record-large US corn and soybean yields this year. The croup tour provides the first boots on the ground look at fields, according to Chris Hawthorn, head of field crops section at USDAs National Agricultural Statistics Service, and a scout on the tour. The agency did away with its own objective yield analysis the physical counting of crops in the field for the month of August back in 2019. Wearing my crop-tour hat, it looks amazing out there, Hawthorn said. Beans look really good and are reflective of what our numbers say. Ironically, many American farmers arent celebrating the bumper crops. Mega-harvests are creating a host of challenges, as the ample inventories pushed soybean and corn futures to the lowest since 2020 last week. Wheat futures also hit a four-year low late last month, with production set to be 9% higher than the prior year. Farmers incomes are heading for a 26% slide this year, the biggest drop since 2006, forcing them to cut back on everything from fertilizer to equipment. Weather is playing a significant role in the state-by-state outlook. Corn crops in parts of Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota were damaged by hail, strong winds and floods. Storms also swept in pathogens that cause a corn disease called tar spot evident by small, black spots on leaves. But ample rains throughout the growing season and mild summer temperatures benefited many fields in places like Indiana. One field looks like its ready to burn up and the next one is as green as a gourd, said crop scout Mike Berdo, a farmer from Iowa. David Benes, who helps manage 8,000 acres of farmland in Nebraska, said he expects his corn harvest to average as much as 240 bushels per acre, which is below his own record but above the average for past years. With the exception of a two-week dry spell in July, it was almost an ideal year with adequate to good precipitation levels, Benes said. And you can still add weight to those kernels, he said, leaving further room for yields to improve before the harvest. The crop tour is putting a spotlight on the problems farmers must face as grain prices stay depressed. You have to stop spending your money foolishly, said Steve Zavadil, a Nebraska farmer who planted 300 acres with corn and 250 acres with soybeans this season. You cant be going out and buying any new equipment all the time. Weve just got to adjust. While farm-machinery makers can lay off workers or sell businesses in lean times, grain growers best option usually is to maximize yields so they have more to sell even if prices are low. US farmers cut back on corn plantings this spring by 3% and boosted soybean sowings by the same amount. Timely rains and sunshine, with a relative lack of damaging heat during the peak growing season, were nearly ideal for crops. I suppose thats just the way it is, Zavadil said while observing scouts taking samples of his soybean and corn crops. You know, big crop coming down the road, and everybody knows it probably the best weve seen here. Photo: Corn field in Cedar County, Nebraska.Photographer: Gerson Freitas/Bloomberg Copyright 2024 Bloomberg. Topics USA Agribusiness New research indicates that what used to be the 100-year hurricane will now happen every 25 years, according to Deep Sky Research, a Montreal-based carbon removal project developer. The new report analyzes data within the U.S. via its Hurricane Rainfall Model to examine how hurricane risk is changing due to climate change. The analysis resulted in six key findings: 1. Frequency of deadly hurricane weather has jumped 300 percent. Deep Sky Researchs model finds that severe hurricane rainfall (which causes damages and deaths) that used to occur only once every 100 years will now happen every 25. In addition, the probability of smaller storms has doubled. 2. Severity of extreme hurricane rainfall has grown 33 percent. Not only has the frequency of extreme hurricane rainfall increased, but the maximum severity is growing as well, the report found. 3. Hurricanes could cost more than $450B in the next 5 years (a 50 percent increase). Deep Sky Research built a proprietary machine learning model that projects losses of more than $450B USD in the next 5 years across Gulf and South Atlantic coast states due to hurricanes. Florida is expected to have the greatest losses, with Texas a close second. 4. Gulf Coast states face greatest rainfall increases. States along the Gulf Coast including Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi should expect the greatest increases while those on the Atlantic coast such as North Carolina and South Carolina will see smaller increases, the analysis found. 5. Flash flooding will now hit South Atlantic counties every year. Storm surge is worsening because hurricanes are getting stronger but also because sea levels are rising. This means that when a storm surge occurs, flooding is more severe. Miami is extremely vulnerable to flash flooding caused by hurricanes, for example. 6. Houston is most vulnerable to hurricane-caused power outages. Houston is particularly vulnerable due to its likelihood of being in the path of severe storms and its well-documented power grid issues, the report added. Most deaths caused by hurricanes are a result of the massive volumes of water they drop on coastal areas. Deep Sky Research analyzed millions of public data points to build a Hurricane Rainfall Model based on the past four decades of climate data to examine these trends, which found that the frequency and severity of extreme hurricane rainfall is climbing. Deep Sky Research uses a risk assessment approach for predicting the impact of climate change, said Max Dugan-Knight, Deep Sky climate data scientist. Just like those used by the insurance industry, a risk-first approach helps us quantify disasters before they happen. In the case of hurricanes, an increase in frequency and severity is being driven by record-breaking sea surface temperatures. Deep Sky Research developed an interactive map to show flood hazard predictions in each Atlantic coast county of the continental US. By hovering over each county, it shows how deadly hurricane weather is becoming more frequent and more severe. The darker purple the county, the greater the flood risk. Flooding is most destructive in densely populated areas. Miamis three counties are extremely vulnerable to flash flooding caused by hurricanes, for example. One storm per year is now expected, on average, to reach 2.5 feet of flooding in Miami Beach, for example. The damage and loss of life from hurricanes are aggravated by the power outages they cause. Data from the past decade shows where the grid is most vulnerable to hurricane-caused power outages. Many of the impacts of climate change are slow-moving, but some will be devastating in their rapid escalation. Deep Sky said the U.S. will see worsening hurricanes not in the next 50 years, but in the next five. To read the full report, visit deepskyclimate.com/research. Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Hurricane Amazon.com Inc. was legally the boss of a group of subcontracted delivery drivers, US labor board prosecutors have concluded, rejecting the companys claims that workers in its sprawling delivery network arent its employees. The general counsel office of the US National Labor Relations Board has determined that a group of drivers in Southern California were employees of Amazon itself, as well as of the delivery service partner company that hired them, agency spokesperson Kayla Blado said Thursday. The agency prosecutors also concluded that Amazon violated federal labor law by making illegal threats and refusing to negotiate after the workers organized last year with the Teamsters. Absent a settlement, the agencys regional director plans to issue a formal complaint against Amazon, deeming it a joint employer, meaning a company with enough control over workers conditions to be legally responsible if theyre mistreated and obligated to negotiate if they unionize. independent contractir vAmazon denied wrongdoing. As we have said all along, there is no merit to the Teamsters claims, company spokesperson Eileen Hards said in a statement, noting that the agency dismissed other allegations from the union. If and when the agency decides it wants to litigate the remaining allegations, we expect they will be dismissed as well. The company has denied being the boss of its subcontracted drivers, saying that those workers are only employees of delivery service partners, or DSPs small independent businesses that the retail giant contracts with for its delivery needs. Read More: Amazon Violated Nationwide Worker Rights Agreement, NLRB Says Delivery drivers are responsible for a crucial aspect of Amazons business, and by not directly employing them, the company has shielded itself from costs and liabilities that come with their work. While the NLRB determination applies to a small group of drivers at a DSP that Amazon has already cut off work with, it creates a landmark precedent that could affect the companys operations nationwide. More subcontracted drivers may now try to unionize and force Amazon to negotiate with them, and have a better chance of also being deemed by the government to be jointly employed by the company. Bloomberg News reported in 2021 that Amazon imposes extensive rules regarding such drivers, including policies requiring clean teeth, face/ears, fingernails and hair, as well as drug testing whenever requested by the company. Theres also a prohibition on obscene social media posts. DSPs are mandated to adhere to Amazons policies, which the company can unilaterally change at its discretion, and are required to provide the retailer with physical access to their premises and information such as geolocation data, speed and movement of the drivers, according to a contract viewed by Bloomberg at the time. Complaints issued by NLRB prosecutors are considered by agency judges, whose rulings can be appealed to labor board members in Washington. From there, they can go to federal appeals court. The agency lacks authority to impose punitive damages or hold executives personally liable for wrongdoing, but can order companies to change policies, compensate and reinstate terminated workers, and negotiate with unions. A group of drivers in Illinois, hired through a different DSP, have also been organizing with the Teamsters this year. The Amazon Labor Union, which won a landmark unionization vote at a New York City warehouse in 2022 but has so far been unable to bring Amazon to the bargaining table also affiliated with the Teamsters this summer. While siding with the union on other issues, the NLRB regional director dismissed the Teamsters claims that the companys decision to cut off business with the Southern California DSP constituted illegal retaliation. In an emailed statement, Teamsters President Sean OBrien said the workers activism in Palmdale, California, has paved the way for every other Amazon worker in the country to demand what they deserve and to get Amazon to the bargaining table. Photo: A contractor working for Amazon.com cleans a delivery truck in Richmond, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020. Amazon.com Inc.s two-day Prime Day sale kicks off on Tuesday and is expected to give the worlds largest e-commerce company an early advantage over brick-and-mortar rivals still contending with pandemic-spooked consumers wary of battling Black Friday crowds. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg Copyright 2024 Bloomberg. Topics Personal Auto FORT SMITH, Ark. (AP) A county in western Arkansas has approved a $3 million settlement with the family of a man who died from dehydration and malnutrition while being held in a local jail. The Sebastian County Quorum Court on Tuesday unanimously and without discussion voted to settle the lawsuit filed over the 2021 death of Larry Eugene Price Jr. at the county jail, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. An attorney for the county did not immediately respond to an email late Wednesday afternoon from The Associated Press. An attorney for the Price family declined to comment. Price died after being held a little over a year at the facility awaiting trial on a terroristic threatening charge. Price, 51, who had a history of serious mental illness, had been held in solitary confinement at the county facility, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit filed last year against Sebastian County accused the jail and its medical provider of neglecting Price as he ate and drank less over the course of a year and his weight dropped from 185 pounds (84 kilograms) to 90 pounds (41 kilograms). The lawsuit accused the jail and its medical provider of violating Prices constitutional rights. The parties in June requested that the case be referred to a settlement conference. An attorney for the provider, Oklahoma-based Turn Key Health Clinics, told the AP it had also entered into a settlement but could not comment until the terms were finalized. Jail staff discontinued Prices mental health medications after he refused to take them, the lawsuit said, and didnt make any effort to follow up with the inmate to address his mental health needs. According to the lawsuit, inspections at the jail over the years identified problems such as overcrowding, understaffing and inadequate space at the county facility. Price was arrested in August 2020 after he walked into the Fort Smith Police Department and threatened officers while pointing his finger as if her were pulling an imaginary trigger, the lawsuit said. Price, who also had a developmental disability, was homeless at the time of his arrest. Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. AUSTIN, Texas (AP) Summer heat scorched Texas and the Southwest this week, pushing Phoenix to nearly 90 consecutive days of triple-digit temperatures and putting millions of people under excessive heat warnings. Meanwhile, energy demand in Texas hit an unofficial all-time high Tuesday, according to data from the states grid operator. A major heat alert is in place for Texas, reflecting what the weather service called rare and/or long-duration extreme heat with little to no overnight relief. An extreme heat alert was issued for eastern New Mexico. This area of high pressure, sometimes referred to as a heat dome, is a slow moving, upper-level high pressure system of stable air and a deep layer of high temperatures, meteorologist Bryan Jackson said. It is usually sunny, the sun is beating down, it is hot and the air is contained there, Jackson said. There are dozen or so sites that are setting daily records mostly over Texas. Record high temperatures were expected in cities such as Corpus Christi, San Antonio and Amarillo. In Phoenix, monsoon rains have provided brief respites since Sunday, although daytime highs continue to top 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius). The dome was expected to move into western Oklahoma and eastern New Mexico beginning Saturday, then into the mid-Mississippi Valley, where it was forecast to weaken slightly, Jackson said. About 14.7 million people are under an excessive heat warning, with heat indexes expected at 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius) and above. Another 10 million people were under a heat advisory. In Fort Worth, Texas, hundreds in August have sought emergency care due to the heat, according to MedStar ambulance. The service responded to 286 heat-related calls during the first 20 days of August, about 14 per day, compared to about 11 per day in August 2023, according to public information officer Desiree Partain. Austin-Travis County EMS Capt. Christa Stedman said calls about heat-related illness in the area around the Texas state Capitol since April 1 are up by about one per day compared with a year ago, though July was somewhat milder this year. The vast majority of what we see is heat exhaustion, which is good because we catch it before its heat stroke, but its bad because people are not listening to the red flags, such as heat cramps in the arms, legs or stomach warning that the body is becoming too hot, Stedman said. Despite the record heat in Texas, residents havent been asked to cut back on their energy use like in years prior. This contrasts with the 11 conservation notices issued last year. One reason is that the agency, which manages Texas independent energy grid and deregulated providers, has improved the grids capabilities to better control supply and demand, Doug Lewin, an energy consultant and president of Stoic Energy said. However, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas criteria for when to notify residents to conserve energy has also changed, Lewin said, because theyre ineffective and unpopular. I dont think theyre seeing all that much reduction when they give notices, Lewin said of ERCOT. In fact public uproar against the conservation warnings has led to the agency sending fewer of them, he continued. There are many factors that ERCOT operations take into consideration when determining the need to issue conservation, case by case depending on conditions at the time, communications manager Trudi Webster said on the matter. Its been a hot summer, but this one does stand out in terms of extremes, said Jackson, the meteorologist. Earlier this month, about 100 people were sickened and 10 were hospitalized due to extreme heat at a Colorado air show and at least two people have died due to the heat in Californias Death Valley National Park. Globally, a string of 13 straight months with a new average heat record came to an end this past July as the natural El Nino climate pattern ebbed, the European climate agency Copernicus announced Thursday. Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Texas A former West Virginia volunteer fire official is awaiting sentencing after he admitted to setting fire to his home, filing an insurance claim, and using the fire departments credit card for personal gain. Donald A. Ennis, 43, of St. Albans, pleaded guilty this week in federal court. In 2021, he fraudulently obtained an insurance payout on his home of $161,100 for the dwelling and $120,825 for the contents, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia said in statement. A fire completely engulfed the property on Feb. 15, 2021 and fire crews were unable to contain it, according to the felony information document filed in the case. The Bloomington, Illinois-based property insurance company was not named. The annual premium was less than $980. As finance and operations manager for a volunteer fire department in Kanawha County, Ennis also ran up $153,700 in charges on the departments credit card, through ATM withdrawals and purchases in 2020, 2021 and 2022, prosecutors said. Among other items, he purchased a winch kit, brake lines and other parts for his Jeep, along with an air compressor, the court document shows. The fire department was funded in part by the Kanawha County Commission. Ennis is set for sentencing on Nov. 18. He could face up to 40 years in prison on each count, a fine of more than $500,000, and likely will be asked to pay restitution of more than $500,000 and forfeit property and other assets. The U.S. Attorney credited the West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner, the state Auditors Office and the FBI for investigating the case. Topics Trends Fraud West Virginia An attorney for a health clinic in a Montana town polluted with deadly asbestos asked a federal appeals court on Wednesday to reverse a lower court determination that it submitted hundreds of false claims on behalf of patients. That judgment came last year in a jury trial following a lawsuit against the clinic from Texas-based BNSF Railway, which separately has been found liable over contamination in Libby, Montana, thats sickened or killed thousands of people. Asbestos-tainted vermiculite was mined from a nearby mountain and shipped through the 3,000-person town by rail over decades. After BNSF questioned the validity of more than 2,000 cases of asbestos-related diseases found by the clinic, a jury last year said 337 of those cases were based on false claims, making patients eligible for Medicare and other benefits they shouldnt have received. The judge overseeing the case ordered the clinic to pay almost $6 million in penalties and fees. However, even if the lower court ruling is affirmed, the clinic wont have to pay that money, under a separate settlement it reached in bankruptcy court with BNSF and the federal government, court documents show. Clinic attorney Tim Bechtold told the three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday that Libbys Center for Asbestos Related Disease acted in compliance with federal law. A provision in the 2009 Affordable Care Act sponsored by former U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat, said asbestos-related disease could be determined for Libby-area residents even without a clinical diagnosis, assuming other evidence of disease such as an X-ray interpretation from an outside party, Bechtold said. Bechtold also wrote in court filings that the judge overseeing the lawsuit gave the seven-person jury erroneous instructions, essentially predetermining the verdict. BNSF urged the judges to affirm last years ruling. Railroad Attorney Dale Schowengerdt argued that an outside X-ray reader can identify abnormalities in a patients lungs, but cant diagnose them as asbestos-related disease. The abnormality could be asbestos-related disease, but it could also be a broken rib, emphysema, past thoracic surgery, autoimmune disease, Schowengerdt said. Asbestos-related diseases can range from a thickening of a persons lung cavity that can hamper breathing to deadly cancer. Exposure to even a minuscule amount of asbestos can cause lung problems, according to scientists. Symptoms can take decades to develop. The Libby area was declared a Superfund site two decades ago following media reports that mine workers and their families were getting sick and dying due to hazardous asbestos dust from vermiculite that was mined by W.R. Grace & Co. Federal prosecutors previously declined to intervene in the false claims case, and there have been no criminal charges brought against the clinic. Clinic representatives argued during last years trial that they were acting in good faith and following the guidance of federal officials who said an X-ray reading alone was sufficient diagnosis of asbestos disease. But Judge Dana Christensen issued a scathing judgment following the trial and ordered the clinic to pay $5.8 million in penalties and damages. He said clinic staff demonstrated a reckless disregard for proper medical procedure and the legal requirements of government programs. Christensen said he was concerned in particular that the clinics former doctor diagnosed himself with asbestos-related disease and that a nurse signed off for benefits for her own mother. The clinic filed for bankruptcy after the judgment, but that case was later dismissed at the request of government attorneys. They said the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services was the main funding source for the clinic, meaning any costs associated with the bankruptcy or the false claims judgment would have come at taxpayers expense. The clinic has certified more than 3,400 people with asbestos-related disease and received more than $20 million in federal funding, according to court documents. There has been no attempt to revoke those services following the false claims ruling, according to testimony on Wednesday, and the jury in last years trial did not specify which patients cases were problematic. BNSF is itself a defendant in hundreds of asbestos-related lawsuits. In April, a federal jury said the railway contributed to the deaths of two people who were exposed to asbestos in Libby decades ago. The jury awarded $4 million each in compensatory damages to the estates of the plaintiffs, who died in 2020. Top Photo: Dr. Lee Morissette shows an image of lungs damaged by asbestos exposure, April 4, 2024, at the Center for Asbestos Related Disease in Libby, Mont. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File) Copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Claims A series of regional meetings will be held in the coming weeks to discuss farm finance and budgeting in the context of significant cashflow pressures on farms. The first meeting will take place next Thursday, August 29, in Cork Marts, Fermoy, Co Cork. Borders are always causing problems, something we know well in Ireland. It is easy to forget that Italy is a young country and that its borders are fairly new. I was thinking about this when tasting some wines from Italys northern borders recently. There is much joy to be found in the regions along Italys northern borders, I just wish they were more available. The modern orange wine revival could be said to have begun in this area, specifically in the village of Oslavia just inside the Slovenian-Italian border in Friuli - do read Simon J. Woolfs excellent book Amber Revolution. Josko Gravner and Stanko Radikon were the instigators - Gravners wines are imported by Grape Circus and available in Green Man and 64 Wines among others. In Alto Adige or the Sud-Tirol as it is sometimes called you get influence from both the Alps and the Mediterranean - warm days and cool nights. A Germanic-Italian character is found here and you may meet a winemaker called Hans or Kurt and find Gewurztraminer or Riesling. The Valle dAosta meanwhile borders Switzerland and France with Piedmont to the South and you will find cross pollination of wine styles here too. In Lombardy the wine to watch for is Valtellina made from Nebbiolo - MacCurtain Wine Cellar has the excellent Barbacan Valtellina and Ely Wines sell the similarly good Arepe. Wines from these northern regions are difficult to find, you need to drop into somewhere like MacCurtain or LAttitude for a chat about what is available. I have two northerners suggested below and I had to give a shout out to the gorgeous Il Casolare served at the long table dinner recently - this Marche wine takes Sangiovese from Tuscany to its west and combines it with silky Montepulciano from Abruzzo in the south to make one of Italys tastiest and most underrated wines. Il Casolare Rosso Piceno, Fattoria San Lorenzo, Marche - 16.70 Il Casolare Rosso Piceno, Fattoria San Lorenzo, Marche - 16.70 MacCurtain Wine Cellar; Lettercollum Kitchen; Sheridans Galway and Dublin, Mitchells, siyps.ie This was served at the brilliant MacCurtain St. Long Table event to launch Cork on a Fork 2024 so I had to give it a mention. 50-50 Sangiovese-Montepulciano, organic & biodynamic with lush plum and strawberry fruits and lovely purity. A perfect wine for late summer - maybe with a bbq or pizza. Cantina Tramin Pinot Grigio, Sudtirol-Alto-Adige, Italy - 21 Cantina Tramin Pinot Grigio, Sudtirol-Alto-Adige, Italy - 21 Jus de Vine; Clontarf Wines; Martins; 64 Wines; Fresh; CelticWhiskeyShop.com Tramins Pinot Grigio is a quality benchmark for this much-abused grape - this is what Pinot Grigio should taste like. A faint pink hue (its natural colour), creamy tropical fruit aromas with pear and apple - textured and lively with lingering pear skin flavours. Its big brother Unterebner Pinot Grigio is significantly richer and also recommended. Kurtatsch Schiava Sonntaler DOC 2022 25 Kurtatsch Schiava Sonntaler DOC 2022 25 Whelehans Wines Loughlinstown whelehanswines.ie Schiava is most commonly found in Trentino and Alto-adige on the Austrian and Slovenia border and tastes somewhere between a Gamay and a Zweigelt from Austria. This fine example is packed with bright floral red fruit aromas with a hint of pepper, raspberry and strawberry, red currant and cherry skins, light tannins giving body and some texture. Delicious. Counting Pigs Irish Potato Vodka, 40% ABV, 70cl 38.00 Counting Pigs Irish Potato Vodka, 40% ABV, 70cl 38.00 Available from CountingPigs.ie and coming to retail soon Brand new to the Irish market this vodka is made from potatoes grown by Ciaran Kelly on his 5th generation family farm in Athenry in Co. Galway. Using potatoes gives a more complex flavour and a richer texture. Classic vodka aromas but with added apple and citrus notes, creamy and soft on first sip with a peppery kick on the mid-palate, textured and round on the finish. I found this particularly good for Vodka Martinis and Bloody Marys. Recommended. Ask anyone who is expecting a baby if they are hoping for a boy or girl and the response you get is almost always the same their prime concern is that it doesnt matter as long as the baby is healthy. American technology company Orchid Health claims it can help parents maximise the chances of their children being born healthy by using a process called whole genome sequencing on embryos. This is a form of pre-implantation genetic testing and heres how it works. The first step is IVF, which starts with women taking daily hormone injections to stimulate their ovaries to produce eggs. These eggs are then extracted and fertilised with sperm to create embryos. Five days later, the surviving embryos are either transferred into the womans uterus or frozen for future use. But just before this step, Orchids test screens each embryos genetic predisposition for some 1,200 health conditions. These include birth defects, neurodevelopmental disorders, chromosomal abnormalities, various cancers, diabetes, epilepsy and mental illnesses. Hopeful parents are then given genetic risk scores for each embryo to help decide which to implant. To date, pre-implantation genetic testing has been used to screen embryos for a limited number of genetic or chromosomal conditions. But whole genome sequencing represents a major leap forward, according to a spokesperson speaking on behalf of Orchid, because it means there is no limit to the number of conditions that can be checked. Dr John Waterstone questions reliability of the whole genome sequencing test. In a country where 3% of babies are born with birth defects and where the Growing Up in Ireland report published in 2019 found that 7% of 20-year-olds had mental, behavioural or neurodevelopmental disorders, Dr John Waterstone, medical director of Waterstone Clinic, can understand the attraction of such a test. No parent would wish for their child to be born with a serious illness or for their life to be limited by disability, he says. This test appears to offer the possibility of reducing or even eliminating the possibility of that. Its no wonder that Orchid reports a high demand for its test. Orchid patients include those who have genetic conditions in their families they dont want to pass on, older couples who are worried that their age might impact their childrens health, and parents who have already had a child with a disability and want to reduce the risk of that happening again. While Orchids test seems to provide parents with the ultimate reassurance, Waterstone questions its reliability. Its uncertain whether the predictions made by tests like Orchids are accurate, he says. And even if they are, the results are always shades of grey rather than black and white. Take diabetes, for example. There is a genetic component but theres more than one gene involved, and environment plays a role too, says Waterstone. This means prospective parents are presented with test scores that are difficult to interpret. And then theres the cost. Orchid charges $2,500 per embryo on top of the IVF fee. Its expensive. Its as of yet unproven. Pragmatically, one has to ask is it worth it. Dystopian nightmare? Orchids screening test has been certified by the College of American Pathologists and Clinical Laboratories Improvements Amendments in the US, but it has not been approved for commercial use on this side of the Atlantic. The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology regards the polygenic screening offered by Orchid as unethical and rejects its use in clinical care, says Waterstone. Orchid argues that, while its interpretation of whole genome sequencing may not be 100% accurate, it provides more accuracy than any other currently available methods. In the case of polygenic conditions that involve multiple genes, its never black or white, says the Orchid spokesperson. But genetic counsellors explain this to patients. Orchids role is to provide prospective parents with as much information as possible and to place that information in context so they and their IVF doctor can decide on the best embryo to implant. Dr John Kennedy fears new test could lead tosocial engineering. Dr John Kennedy, medical director of Therapie Fertility, worries that such tests could lead to the social engineering of children. It feels like the start of a dystopian nightmare or the movie Gattaca made real, he says. In that movie, they screen embryos and then go one step further, fixing whats wrong with them. Were very far from being able to do that, but there are concerns to be considered here. What will parents do with these test results? In the short term, he imagines these results will likely affect how parents treat their children. Would you not be anxious around a child that was born from an embryo that showed an elevated risk of schizophrenia? he asks. Would you tell that child about that risk or withhold it from them? The information could be wrong but could have ramifications for your childs life, regardless. Its a potential quagmire. Orchid takes a different viewpoint. Parents might treat children differently but likely in a way that would help them, says the spokesperson. They would get them checked for those particular conditions regularly and get the help, support and treatment they might need earlier than they might otherwise have done. Brave new world Genetic testing has been available in Ireland since 2012, with three main offerings. The first test is the PGT-M or pre-implantation genetic testing for single-gene defects. It is offered to prospective parents who have an inherited genetic condition such as cystic fibrosis that they dont want to pass on to their children, says Dr Ahmed Omar, medical director of Beacon Care Fertility. This test has been a game-changer for couples identified as being at risk of having a child with a genetic condition, according to Waterstone. In the past, they had two options: do no testing and take a chance or have an amniocentesis to check for the condition 15 weeks into the pregnancy, he says. Then, if their child had the condition, they would have to make the horrendous decision of whether or not to terminate the pregnancy. The second test is PGT-A. Pre-implantation genetic testing for aneuploidy screens for chromosomal abnormalities such as one too few or one too many chromosomes, which allows for the selection of chromosomally normal embryos for transfer, says Omar. Dr Ahmed Omar points to existing tests that enhance chances of a successful pregnancy. Kennedy explains that embryos with one too few or too many chromosomes arent usually compatible with life. They typically result in miscarriage, he says. Consequently, PGT-A is often offered to women over 35 or women who have already experienced recurrent pregnancy loss. It significantly enhances the chances of a successful pregnancy, says Omar. Too few or too many chromosomes can also lead to children being born with Down syndrome, for example. PGT-A testing allows us to screen for this and to reduce the risk of babies being born with a congenital condition that could greatly impact their health, says Omar. The third test is PGT-SR, which examines the chromosomal structure of embryos for segments that may have been deleted, duplicated or inverted. None of these tests come cheap, with IVF plus genetic testing costing couples up to 15,000. However, it is hoped that funding for PGT-M and PGT-SR will eventually be included under the new HSE funding for IVF. Couples also have the option of testing post-conception. A simple blood test that costs between 200 and 300 can be carried out on the mother, says Waterstone. Its currently used to screen for Down syndrome and is being expanded to screen for other single-gene disorders like cystic fibrosis. He points out that screening post-conception comes with a potentially greater emotional toll than screening embryos. If you find out the baby you are carrying has a condition, can you be completely sure of the impact it will have on their lives, he asks. Deciding what to do in that case is a massive ethical question. While Waterstone is aware of thousands of families in Ireland who cherish children born with serious genetic conditions, he thinks were inching our way towards what he calls a brave new world in which these conditions no longer exist. As for Orchid, Kennedys verdict is that it is overpromising. With traditional genetic screening like PGT-M and PGT-A, we can screen for single-gene conditions and chromosomal abnormalities and advise patients accordingly, he says. But its harder to steer patients in one direction or another with Orchids test. I dont think its ready to be used commercially yet. Rather than prospective parents subjecting themselves to the difficulty of interpreting Orchids risk scores, Waterstone says they might be better advised to use tried-and-tested methods, one of which is expanded carrier screening pre-conception. This involves screening the man and woman who are planning to have a child together to see if they both happen to be carriers of a harmful mutation in the same gene, he says. Couples who turn out to be at risk can then opt for PGT-M to have a child safely. Its a simple blood test that costs approximately 700. Its much more targeted than the scattergun approach of Orchid and the results are more black and white. I predict it will become the norm for all couples planning a pregnancy. Waterstone doubts whether science will ever eliminate the risks involved in conception and pregnancy. Couples who have no family history of certain conditions can have babies with those conditions, he says. I dont know if well ever be able to prevent the genetic mutations that can arise as a baby is formed. Then there are conditions like bipolar and ADHD that arent entirely determined by genetics. Having a baby and raising it to adulthood will always involve some unpredictability. Yet its to be expected that scientists will continue to push the limits of embryo screening, which is why Kennedy thinks we should confront its potential implications. The screening options we have now, and whats purportedly being offered by Orchid, were but pipedreams when I first started out in fertility medicine, he says. We need to talk about what they mean for us. Its obviously helpful to be forewarned about serious conditions but do we benefit from knowing about more subtle and non-life-threatening ones? Or is such information likely to confuse parents and make the process of parenthood even more fraught with anxiety? Now is the time to have these conversations. In our own words Three women share their experience of embryo screening: Sabrina Tadim lives in Carlow. The 33-year-old has been pregnant three times, but has yet to have a baby. After my third pregnancy, we found out I have a chromosomal issue called balance translocation, she says. It doesnt affect me, but theres a 50/50 chance it will affect my child and result in miscarriage or such severe disability that the baby dies in early childhood. She could throw the dice and conceive naturally again. But its so hard, she says. Only one of our pregnancies ended in miscarriage. We had to travel to England to terminate the other two, as our situation isnt covered under Irish abortion law. I dont want to go through that again. Instead, she and her husband are about to embark on IVF and PGT-SR. We will screen for the chromosomal condition and only implant healthy embryos, says Tadim. We dont meet the criteria for the funded IVF scheme, as we have no problems getting pregnant, so it will cost us up to 15,000. Itll be worth it if we get to hold our baby in our hands this time next year. While Tadim is starting her genetic screening journey, Alison Lynch, from Wicklow, is in the middle of hers. She decided to try to become a mother, using donor sperm, at the age of 40. I got pregnant for the first time aged 41, says Lynch, who is now 46. But a scan at 25 weeks showed that my baby boys brain and bones werent developing properly. I made the heartbreaking decision to terminate that pregnancy. It took six fertility treatments for her to become pregnant again, at the age of 43, but once more, there were abnormalities. I continued with that pregnancy, and my little boy lived for about 45 minutes, she says. Dr Sam Doyle, the National Maternity Hospitals clinical geneticist, became involved at that stage. She discovered that I carry a pathogenic variant of the orofacial digital gene OFD1, says Lynch. If I pass that on to my baby and that baby is a boy, its fatal. Since realising this, Lynch has had four IVF cycles with PGT-M testing, but has yet to become pregnant. Finding out I had this genetic issue massively stacked the odds against me becoming a mother to a living child and Ive since had to take huge gambles financially, physically, and mentally, she says. I have two embryos left, neither of which has the pathogenic variant of the gene, but which do show chromosomal abnormality. With so many improvements being made in genetic screening and fertility treatments, I hope theres still a chance for me. Claire* and her husband are at the end of their journey. In 2016, they were worried that any children they conceived naturally might have Huntingtons disease. This incurable neurodegenerative disease is in my husbands family and we didnt want to take the risk of our children inheriting it from him, she says. Having confirmed that he was a carrier, they underwent IVF and PGT-M screening. We were lucky, says Claire. We got eight embryos and three made it to day five, so they could be tested. One had Huntingtons, but the other two didnt. We returned on two occasions for embryo transfers and both resulted in healthy babies. That process cost us approximately 12,000. A man in his fifties has died after he got into difficulty in the sea when he went to the aid of a number of young people at Inch Beach, near Roches Point in Co Cork. The Irish Coastguard in Valentia, Co Kerry, received a notification that five people had got into difficulty in the water off Inch Beach at 3pm on Friday. Four people were rescued from the water. The man, who rushed into the sea to help others, was taken from the water in a serious condition. He was tended to by paramedics at the beach. He was subsequently transferred to Cork University Hospital by ambulance where he has since died. A postmortem examination will be carried out on the deceased and a file will be prepared for the coroners court. The dead man is from the northside of Cork City. A spokesperson for the Irish Coast Guard said it was informed of the serious incident mid-afternoon on Friday. "The search and rescue Coast Guard units at Guileen and Crosshaven along with the RNLI from Ballycotton and Crosshaven were alerted. Rescue Helicopter 117 from Waterford was also tasked to go to the scene. "Four people were rescued from the sea by members of the public. One person was subsequently recovered from the water in a serious condition. He was transferred by the National Ambulance Service to Cork University Hospital. "Gardai and the Fire Service were also at the scene and assistance was offered by the Irish Naval Service. Overcoming a late diagnosis for autism, ADHD and an expulsion from mainstream school, were just some of the battles faced by Kris Hayes-OSullivan up until the moment he collected his Leaving Cert results on Friday morning. The 17-year-old St Lukes native was one of 12 Leaving Cert students who opened their results in Corks Life Centre, supported by staff and volunteers as they celebrated their success. The school offers an alternative education centre that allows students to reach their full potential, with many having transferred from various mainstream schools. Im over the moon, Kris said, crediting the move to Cork Life Centre for offering him the support to allow him to complete his final exam with flying colours. Theres a lot more support and other sorts of help that you would be waiting years to get through mainstream school, he told the Irish Examiner. Kris says his decision to attend the school is one of the changes I made for the better, as he looks ahead to September, when he will begin a carpentry course in the Cork College of FET, Tramore Road campus. Kriss mother Donna credits the Cork Life Centre for acting as a life saver for her son. Every day in primary school, I was waiting for a phone call and when he went to secondary school, I walked around with my phone in my hand because I knew I was going to get a phone call, text or e-mail about something, she said. Donna says her son was able to be himself within the school, allowing him to finish up with a really good Leaving Cert, something she could only have dreamed of if he remained in mainstream school. 'The world is his oyster now' The world is his oyster now, she added. I'm so proud. We knew this was him, every parent knows, but you need someone else to advocate with you in the school system and they [the staff] have advocated for all of our children. It's just amazing, Donna added. After dropping out of mainstream school at 15, Katelyn Cross was in disbelief collecting her Leaving Cert results, marking a huge milestone in her life. The 18-year-old from Grenagh, Cork, was delighted to find out she had passed her final exams, after experiencing hardship throughout her schooling years. I was brutally bullied about family circumstances, and I dropped out of school at 15, she told the Irish Examiner. Kris says his decision to attend the school is 'one of the changes I made for the better'. When her mum found the Cork Life Centre, Katelyn was hesitant to return to school, but admits it was the best decision I ever made. I never thought I would have done a Leaving Cert, I never thought I would have sat it, not to mind pass it, she said. Although upset to leave the centre behind with great memories and friends made, she plans to study veterinary medicine, to incorporate her love of animals. Katelyns mother Katherine said: We are so delighted for her, she so deserves it. Katherine said the small class size and one-on-one approach to learning allowed her daughter to unlock her full potential, after transferring from a large school. 'Considered like family' If she went to another school there could be 500 or 600 people. So you're only just one out of that, whereas here, youre considered like family, she said. Secretary at Cork Life Centre Eimear O Connor said she had watched them grow and develop as individuals throughout the years. I would have taught a good few of them in Junior Cert as well and it's just making me even happier if anything to see them grow, to see them change and develop, even the ones who would have come into us in fifth year, seeing that development is just massive, she said. We're a family up here and it's really important that we celebrate these milestones for all of them. Director of Cork Life Centre Sharon ONeill was once at the other end of the table, when her child attended the Cork Life Centre back in 2007. It is because of this she truly understands and cares about the students and tries her utmost to help them in their developmental journey. We don't try and fit any child into a particular mold, but we try to fit around who the child is and how they're showing up in the world, she said. Ms ONeill explains the centre is privileged to show some of these children there is an alternative method of learning out there for them. I have the full breadth of the experience and relationship with the centre as a parent, as a tutor, and now to have the privilege of being the director of something so completely amazing, she added. The children that come here are spectacular. But there is no scope in the mainstream system for spectacular to shine. Ms ONeill admits she has a pain in her chest from thinking about her students over the past couple of days, filled with pride as they finish their schooling days. Their future is not written on those pieces of paper. Their future is engraved in their hearts and every single one of them has the right to claim that and to follow that path, their path, whatever way they choose, she said. An elderly pedestrian remains in a serious condition in hospital after he was hit by a motorbike being driven by suspects fleeing a crime scene. Gardai are investigating a number of linked incidents that occurred in Cork City on Friday, including criminal damage, and the seizing of a suspected firearm. My Leaving Certificate students will get their results today. I will be there to hug or high-five them at school, along with all their other teachers and support staff, the school caretaker, the secretaries, and school management. The class of 2024 inspired us so much over the last two years and long before. They made us laugh every day, and they floored us with their patience, their wisdom, and their kindness. They will go on to do great things, every one of them, whatever their results. Once weve congratulated them, every other teacher will head off to prepare for their first week back. Not me for the first time in nearly 20 years (excluding maternity leaves) there will be no back to school for me this September. Ive decided to take a career break for a year. A gap yah, if you will, aged 44, one that will be less about finding myself in Bali (in the arms of a dangerously handsome man perhaps) and a little more about taking a professional break from teaching. I need a break so I can return to my classroom in 2025, with a clearer vision and a clearer conscience too. Since returning to Ireland in 2018, Ive been vocal about my sadness over elements of our system and sadly, little has changed. In 2021, I released the book, O Captain, My Captain: One Teachers Hope for Change in the Irish Education System. Ive spoken extensively about education since, across newspapers, on air and television, about the wrongs we need to right to provide all children with an equal start in life. But more and more, over the last few years and this is where my conscience clouds over I have found myself discussing issues that matter little when placed in the bigger context of the system. Ive found myself in conversations about school uniforms and homework worthwhile topics, but not crucial ones. We are all guilty of it. We have all, myself included, allowed ourselves to get caught up in this game of distraction. We often debate things such as mobile phone policies, homework, and single-sex schooling, but all of these can be changed at local level. In fact, they can only be changed at local level, signed off by school boards of management. 'We often debate things such as mobile phone policies, homework, and single-sex schooling, but all of these can be changed at local level.' File picture: iStock In every other sector, be it health or finance, our national conversations address national issues, but we treat education differently. Health experts discuss health. Parents (with opinions) discuss education. Imagine debating the significance of hospital uniforms during a trolley crisis on air it would be obscene. Yet thats where were at in education. Many children, far too many children, lack basic support in schools. Whether its a lack of learning support and assistance, poor facilities, the recruitment crisis, or an absence of appropriate therapy beyond school, children are regularly denied access to the curriculum while we busy ourselves discussing minor issues which have no impact on education outcomes at all. People may cry whataboutery at me but there is a valid hierarchy of needs in education. The free school meal scheme, for example, being expanded to include all primary schools by 2030, is a lovely and worthwhile development, but shouldnt we first ensure that all children have access to education? Or that all schools can afford to heat the ovens they need to run the scheme? Should we not let principals of schools tell us what they most urgently need, before offering middle-class children a meal they might not want or need? Of course, we should. Autism campaigner Cara Darmody wrote in the Irish Examiner last week that there are over 20,000 children on HSE waiting lists for various types of assessments and services and that the waiting lists are only getting worse. There are only three times that number, on estimate, receiving their Leaving Cert results today. The media attention on that will be considerable. The Department of Education has already released details of a Leaving Certificate Freephone Helpline. Where is the helpline and the national focus on the 20,000 children mentioned by Cara Darmody, the most vulnerable children, still waiting? Cara Darmody referenced the larger national picture in her piece because, at the age of 13, she understands what matters most in health and education equality and inclusion. Sadly, there is a vital link missing. We ignore what teachers and principals on the ground are telling us and so, what they are telling us fails to affect voters, election campaigns, and budgets. In June, a group of impassioned and frustrated primary school principals, one from every county, made their way to Leinster House, pleading for extra supports to run their schools and to cater for children with additional needs. They asked for a change to the current allocation model. These professionals are the experts who see the reality of poor policy and even poorer funding, every single day. Angela Dunne is a member of the group, which was formed to bring about timely positive change and tackle what Dunne refers to as chronic underfunding in the sector. She says three successive ministers of education have refused to meet with them. Autism campaigner Cara Darmody wrote last week that 'there are over 20,000 children on HSE waiting lists for various types of assessments and services and that the waiting lists are only getting worse'. Picture: Sam Boal/Collins Photos Our political leaders dont respect teachers as experts, so they dont respond appropriately to their pleas for help. Respecting and listening to teachers is vital for our children to thrive because they are the single biggest influence in education. In his research, John Hattie, a globally renowned education expert, synthesised the results of over 1,000 meta-studies on more than a quarter of a billion students to determine the effect that different factors have on learning outcomes. The teacher matters most, how teachers feel and think about teaching and learning. So, how we make teachers feel directly impacts our children. A child can have a uniform or not, be in a single-sex environment or not, work on an iPad or not; they could be sitting wearing a tutu or a toga, sitting on a beanbag or a wooden stool, but they can get an excellent education if they have a teacher who is trained, supported, respected and treated like the professional they are. Teachers and principals are telling us that children need more support. They are saying that they, in turn, need more support. Too many of them are choosing to leave the country or the profession. Sadly, if the average voter is happy enough with their own childs school, education gets pushed to the bottom of the national priority list. The budget will come out in six weeks, possibly with random once-off payments to taxpayers, even when vulnerable children are left without adequate care in our system. And we will all go back to debating school uniforms and homework. If we want to get out of this loop, perpetuated by us all, ensnaring people in the media like me, radio producers, policymakers, and politicians, we need to do one very important thing we need to respect teachers and listen to what they care about most when they discuss their students. We need to make equality in education a serious priority, alongside health and housing. How often have I heard that Tim Waltz, Kamala Harriss running mate, was once a high school teacher? How many articles are out there from his former students lauding his passionate teaching style? Apparently, this means something to American voters. Teachers are poorly treated and abysmally paid in the States, and yet the fact of being a teacher is somehow a badge of honour in their political campaigns? Its fascinating that dissonance. Its enough to make any teacher feel disheartened. Its enough to make this teacher, at least for a short time, walk away. The last really good time I had with Nell was when an American artist made a nude portrait of her. Executed as Nell emerged naked from her bedroom, despite not wearing a stitch, Nell didnt look naked. She looked like Nell, a little sad, a little quizzical, a little defiant. Nell's portrait in the RHA in 2008. Picture: James Horan/Photocall I was asked to interview her, in the RHA where the portrait hung. Within the hour we were surrounded by a crowd of admirers. Nell, Nell, Nell, Nell! I remembered that ordinary people adored Nell. We met in the 1970s. A fellow founding member of the Irish Womens Liberation Movement, then darling of the Irish Times, her column, In The Eyes of the Law, set in the Bridewell, chronicled the astonishing parade of demented women, vague men and wandering children, that came daily in front of the judge. The age of criminality was seven. Children were sent down for stealing sweets. Thrillingly, it was written gonzo style. Truth unvarnished, as it happened. One column was about the toilets, reeking and shit strewn. It caused a sensation. Fresh from the petrol bomb, Bogside barricades, Nell set about making middle class, middle of the road, middle aged southern Ireland wake up. Her working class, Northern Irish, lesbian credentials, were both armour and touchstone. Being an outsider was difficult. It was also a superpower. Lesbians, said the Church, are "intrinsically disordered". Really? said Nell. Refused absolution aged 14, she left and never returned. She was free. Her genius lay in getting to the heart of things. With 1970s Ireland still in the grip of an authoritarian Church and conservative State, the repressions mainly impacting women, Mairin de Burca, Nell and 12 others of us, founded the Irish Womens Liberation Movement. Tackling the patriarchy The patriarchy Church and State was tackled with zest. We would take it down from the inside, with facts, and figures. We put together Chains or Change the first time women and girls' situation in Ireland had been properly examined. From the get-go girls' education was skewed. No science. No higher maths. Almost no university. When/if she entered the workforce it was as a typist, a cleaner, a factory worker. All properly paid careers doctor, scientist, editor etc required maths, which girls didnt have. If she got a job in the civil service, or bank, once married she had to go. Nell McCafferty, second left, with some of the 42 women who went on the Contraception Train to Belfast in 1971. Picture: The Irish Times If she did get married often a womans only survival option her legal rights disappeared down the toilet. If he got fed up with her he could skidaddle off to England, get a divorce, sell the family home, get custody of the children, and remarry. All legally. If it hadnt been so criminal it would have been laughable. Spancelled, with no sex education. No contraception. No abortion. No divorce. We entered marriage, green as cabbages, both hands tied behind our backs. It wasnt that men were bastards. It was the architecture of the patriarchy, the rule of the many by the few top dogs. Womens role was to be servants of men. And produce babies. Contraception Train and Forty Foot One of Nells best direct action stunts was the now famous Contraception Train. Forty two women headed to Belfast to buy the Pill, returning with aspirin (the Pill was available only on prescription in the North also), condoms, spermicidal jelly, challenging the embarrassed customs men in Connolly Station to take their devices. Showing the law to be an ass. The actions biggest impact was not the legalisation of contraception that took another two million years but a demonstration that the days of the stultifying grip of respectability were over. Hurray! Another direct action stunt dreamed up by Nell and others was the invasion of the Forty Foot in Dublin. Listed today as one of the top 10 swimming spots in the world, it had been taken over by old fellas who swam there nude. One justification was priests had to have somewhere to swim where they wouldnt see women. I swear to God. Nell loved the high life, champagne, celebrity, mad jaunts, but the North, then in a ferment of bombs, killings, torture, was her lodestar. Hah! said the feminists and invaded. Jumping off rocks, rowing in from the sea, rushing in from the land. Walloped with knotted towels, yelled at, pushed into the water, they had naked, old men's genitalia waved in their faces, but eventually the battle was won. Nell, meantime, was having battles of her own. She loved the high life, champagne, celebrity, mad jaunts, but the North, then in a ferment of bombs, killings, torture, was her lodestar. Shamefully, many of us in the south didnt want to know. They were "all mad up there". Nell took a sabbatical to write a novel. When she returned she found the doors of the Irish Times closed. A shattering blow. She lost career, status, colleagues. Journalists whom shed shepherded round the North, whod slept on her mums floor, shunned her. To rub salt in the wound, the Irish Times gave her friend, then lover, Nuala OFaolain, a column. Nell bounced around the windswept wastes of freelance land. She began to be seen as "difficult". As part of a panel in RTE one evening, Conor Cruise OBrien asked guests if they supported the IRA. Nell, who visited the Bogside every other weekend, saw "the neighbours sons" join the freedom fight, said she did. The next day, the Provos let off a bomb which mistakenly killed 11 civilian Protestants instead of the police and military it was destined for. Frantic with horror, Nell tried to explain she supported the struggle, not what the Provos did. It was too late. Relationship foundered Next, her 15-year relationship with Nuala OFaolain foundered. Nuala wanted out. She claimed she "never saw Nell as a woman". That shed climb over 59 women "to get to a man". The same Nuala whod gifted Nell a red fox fur coat, red silk knickers from Dior? The same. They had never been lovers, she said. "You were my lodger", she told a broken Nell. It wasnt until she was dying OFaolain admitted "12 of those 15 years were the greatest fun". Nell McCafferty at her home in Ranelagh, Dublin, in 2005. Nells banishment from love was compounded when she falsely claimed, on Newstalk, that then minister for health Mary Harney was a recovering alcoholic. The allegation was completely untrue. She might have got away with it in the old days but these were Celtic Tiger days. Everyone was lawyered up. Mary Harney got 450,000. Nell got the boot and a 15-year ban from Newstalk. In retrospect it seems savage. The last years of Nells life were health-plagued. Functionally blind after a stroke, and multiple medical interventions, increasingly isolated and lonely, she was often angry, that wonderful laugh absent. Her attempts at gaining headlines by interventions such as in the Repeal debate that abortion numbers were equivalent to mass slaughter at the Somme were pitiful. Her family, who rescued her and brought her home to Derry, say they are incredibly moved and touched by the wave after wave of good times recalled by friends this past week. Id like to also remember the price Nell paid for being outspoken. For being a woman. For being a woman without a man. For being a lesbian. For being working class. For being Nell. There was no shortage of compelling personal stories from students who have just received their Leaving Cert results. Many were elated, others disappointed, with a considerable mass falling somewhere in between. Nationally speaking, however, taken at a distance, results day 2024 was near identical to results day 2023, and the three years before. If Fridays results day were a room with a door, wed be hanging up a sign: Nothing to see here. This has everything to do with the ministers decision in April to continue the adjustment of grades upwards, noting the ongoing impact of the pandemic on the learning journey of the class of 2024. As with 2022 and 2023, post-marking adjustments to the results have ensured grades in the aggregate remain at the same level. Erhan Farley, Oisin McCarthy, Sean Hynes, and Darragh Collins all received their Leaving Certificate results at Kinsale Community School. Picture: Dan Linehan This year, 68% of all grades increased following the marking process, compared to just over 71% in 2023 and 50% in 2022. This is great news for candidates, but it will inevitably affect the CAO, putting pressure on universities to choose from top candidates in the most sought-after courses. If students of 2024 defer, there are valid concerns that students starting in fifth or sixth year this September could suffer. It will be fascinating to see how these inflated grades are phased out in the coming years, presumably by another minister. There are some small changes worth celebrating this year. The migration of more students towards the Leaving Cert Applied option, as opposed to the Leaving Cert Established, is promising. A total of 60,839 candidates received Leaving Certificate results on Friday; 56,791 candidates followed the Leaving Certificate (Established) programme, and 4,048 (6.6%) candidates followed the Leaving Certificate Applied programme. While there was a slight drop overall (-1.45%) in the cohort compared to 2023, the number of candidates who participated in the Leaving Certificate Applied programme has increased by 8.5% in the same period. Small gains for the Leaving Cert Applied programme perhaps, but a cultural move away from our bottleneck mindset of the past with all students being funnelled towards university, often to drop out months later. Daniel Ewubare and Joel Heatley celebrate after collecting their Leaving Certificate results at Donahies Community School in Dublin. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA Certainly, the language around the Leaving Certificate is improving, with Further and Higher Education Minister Patrick ODonovan reminding students yesterday that: There are so many different opportunities available now for students, including FET and PLC courses, more than 70 different apprenticeships, and of course the new, unified tertiary degree courses, which allow students to earn a degree outside of the CAO system. Education Minister Norma Foley similarly mentioned the various routes offered by further or higher education, an apprenticeship, work, or other possibilities. This is all great news for education, and long overdue. Looking at the very top marks, and how easy they are to achieve across subjects, there was a slight upturn from last year in higher maths, with 12.6% of students receiving H1, up from 11.2%, and a contrasting downturn in students achieving the very top grades in Irish and English. English is particularly interesting, with only 6.9% of students achieving a H1 in the higher-level paper. As an English teacher, Id suggest that this has much to do with how the subject is designed, as a mix of both English language and literature, something that works wonderfully at junior cycle, but could change at senior cycle to allow for more student choice. Laura Whitehead and Jenny Foley after receiving their Leaving Certificate results at Kinsale Community School in Co Cork. Picture: Dan Linehan Other non-curricular languages, studied outside school, yielded startlingly high results for students. Top of the pops was Russian, with 77.6% of 833 candidates claiming the H1. This is in stark contrast to the 6.9% of students who obtained a H1 in higher-level English this year, or the 14.1% of students who received the same result in Irish. Interestingly, the Russian exam reads just like a second language exam, like French or German, testing comprehension, grammar, and composition. The Russian paper, presumably taken by at least some native speakers, is clearly aimed at second language speakers. A minority of native speakers are benefiting here. Not that they wont have struggled in English and Irish. Both assume absolute fluency, hence the intense focus on literary analysis. With Irelands changing population, this might be an interesting area of development in future years. Might students have an opportunity to sit different English and Irish papers based on their individual context? Perhaps, as is the case in England, English literature might be taught as a separate and potentially choice subject. Leaving Certificate students Luke Power and Anthony Dowling celebrate with their results at St Michael's School, Listowel, Co Kerry. Picture: Domnick Walsh The same could apply for Irish literature, giving gaelscoileanna a deserved advantage. Might students have the option of an Irish paper for non-native speakers, potentially lowering the demand for Irish exemptions in our schools, and exposing more students to cupla focal? Students are certainly responding well to other changes in the Leaving Cert. The numbers sitting the two newest Leaving Certificate subjects continue to rise. The cohort sitting physical education is up this year by approximately 12% and computer science is up approximately 28%. Also, under the programme of senior cycle redevelopment, there is improved access for Leaving Certificate Applied candidates to Leaving Certificate Established Mathematics and Modern Foreign Languages. A total of 16 Leaving Certificate Applied candidates took subjects in the Established Leaving Certificate. All small changes, but positive, nonetheless. Lets hope we see more of them, keeping student choice, and a broader understanding of education, at the centre of our decision-making. Frame of reference If the terms sleep hygiene and circadian rhythms are part of your lexicon, congratulations you have reached peak grown-up. The perfect mattress and silkiest pillowcase will work even harder for your slumber when theyre supported by a solid bed frame. Now is the perfect time to invest in one with summer sales in tow. The Malmo natural walnut bed frame from Caseys Furniture currently has 900 off and is discounted to 899. It comes in two measurements; 4ft 6 and 5ft and the slatted base will provide ventilation for your mattress. Run, dont walk to the Oliver Plunkett shop while the family-run store is offering free delivery or order from your current bed and give it one last hurrah. Shop the bed frame at caseys.ie Let there be light The insouciant designs of French lighting brand Mattina Moderna look so good you could almost eat them (almost). Picture sherbet pastels, swirling ceramics and unusual shapes. With the anti-big light trend sweeping social media, interiors mavens are turning more and more to soft lighting to create ambience and ditching the overheads. This mother-daughter business originally thrifted its products and has evolved into a slow design studio with original pieces made partially from deadstock materials. The Ombrellina is part of the new collection and retails for approximately 635 at www.mattinamoderna.com Window dressing Copenhagen-based studio Arne Aksel offers an online service for clients looking to create bespoke curtains. The Core collection comes in seven fabrics ranging from sumptuous velour to chic corduroy think muted 70s sensibilities without the dated florals or paisley. We love the peach curtains from the Zulu collection. Ideal for someone who enjoys the intricacies of natural light, this iridescent style shimmers like a seashell nacre, adding interest and intrigue at different times of the day. This style retails at approximately 210 per metre and you can order a fabric sample for less than a euro at www.arneaksel.com Porcelain, please The bathroom is our first port of call in the morning and the last pitstop before bed. Not all tiles are made equally but porcelain reigns supreme as one of the most water-resistant, durable and sustainable materials. Irish tile supplier and installer, Fossil the Stone Specialist worked with interior architect Abigail Woods to create this lush bathroom in Malahide. The porcelain tiles in melange matt finish cost 89 plus VAT per metre. Its giving serene sanctuary and we are here for it. For the full range of products and materials, visit fossilstone.ie Fun on a plate Want to inject some chutzpah into your girl dinner for one or maybe youre entertaining some like-minded fun-loving friends? Laetitia Rougets tableware features tongue-in-cheek statements like "Dodgy Business or Mussels from Brussels. Guaranteed to spark conversation, the French designers handpainted plates are made by artisans in Portugal, meaning each piece has its own original, unique fingerprint. If a moussed-up, black-vested Patrick Swayze was your pin-up as a teenager, youll love the Take me Dirty Dancing dessert plate for 60 at www.laetitiarouget.com Glass menagerie Coloured glass is one of those delightfully retro things that evokes fond memories for millennials like me. Whether its drinking tea in the parlour with great aunts in mustard glasses or knocking back a cheeky glass of TK red lemonade in a shiny green beaker at a birthday party, multi-coloured glassware is nostalgia in a gulp. British-Nigerian designer Yinka Iloris technicolour vision has shone across multiple platforms from textiles and architecture to furniture and decorative objects. The Oorun Didion glasses, 114.20 each in pink and amber will invigorate your tablescape and make even a glass of water seem like a celebration. Shop this collection at www.yinkailori.com Over the counter The breakfast bar is going nowhere and if youre lucky enough to have your own kitchen island, then take heed. CA Designs' new wishbone-style walnut stain stool, 480 is the antithesis of the plastic/acrylic swivel stool we see in so many kitchens. The Hans Wegner-inspired seat offers back support with its bent solid wood frame while the hand-woven cord alleviates thigh pressure. For those who like to savour their morning coffee, this elegant design bridges the gap between form and function, bringing warmth and elegance to the space. Shop this style at www.cadesign.com Sitting pretty Footstool, ottoman, pouffe; whatever you call it, this is the hardest working piece of furniture in your sitting room. Doubling up as an impromptu side table/tray, the Soho pouffe from Cult Furniture, 179 in ivory white boucle would complement all types of upholstery in your room. Curved edges ensure the flow of the space isnt interrupted and the soft cushioning for your feet prioritises comfort without compromising on style. This piece is available at www.cultfurniture.com Palestinians are planning to introduce a UN General Assembly resolution in September enshrining the recent sweeping ruling by the UNs top court that declared Israels presence in the occupied territories unlawful and setting a time frame for it to end. Palestinian UN ambassador Riyad Mansour told the UN Security Council on Thursday the resolution, which would not be legally binding, is essential to spur the end of Israels occupation. We are sick and tired of waiting, he said. The time for waiting is over. On July 19, the International Court of Justice issued an unprecedented, sweeping condemnation of Israels rule over the lands it captured 57 years ago. It called for the occupation to end and for settlement construction to stop immediately. Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip in the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek all three areas for an independent state. Israeli ambassador Danny Danon, who spoke to the council after Mr Mansour, made no mention of the Palestinians plan or the court ruling. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the non-binding opinion by the courts 15 judges, saying the territories are part of the Jewish peoples historic homeland. Mr Netanyahu stressed in a statement that the Jewish people are not conquerors in their own land not in their capital Jerusalem or West Bank lands. No false decision in The Hague will distort this historical truth, and likewise the legality of Israeli settlement in all the territories of our homeland cannot be contested, he said. The court said the General Assembly and Security Council in which staunch Israeli ally the United States holds a veto should consider precise modalities to end Israels presence in the territories. Mr Mansour did not disclose the time frame the Palestinians are planning to include in the General Assembly resolution. He said the resolution will be a significant step towards a two-state solution in which independent states of Israel and Palestine live side-by-side in peace. Mr Netanyahu, who leads a far-right government opposed to Palestinian statehood, has repeatedly stated his long-standing opposition to a two-state solution, which the United States supports. He has said a Palestinian state would become a launching pad for attacks on Israel. Mr Mansour also told the council that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has declared his intention to visit Gaza and has called for world leaders, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and leaders of the 15 Security Council nations to join him. He wants them to see first-hand the horrors our people are enduring and to demand a halt to the nearly 11-month war between Israel and Hamas, Mr Mansour said. The war was sparked by the October 7 invasion of southern Israel by Hamas and other militants that killed about 1,200 people and saw about 250 people taken hostage. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants. Israel controls access to the Gaza Strip and Mr Mansour called on the council and UN chief to push to secure Mr Abbas ability to reach Gaza. Mr Danon said that Gaza stands at a crossroads and unless Hamas is ousted the territory has no future. The defeat of Hamas will enable Gaza civilians to chart their own destiny in partnership with the most successful countries in the region, he said. The search continues for the final person missing from the wreck of a yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily. The body of technology tycoon Mike Lynch was recovered from the luxury yacht Bayesian on Thursday, but his 18-year-old daughter reportedly remains missing. The Italian Coastguard confirmed that the sixth and final person yet to be found is a woman. Mr Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, and his wife Neda Morvillo were lost when the Bayesian sank at around 5am on Monday. The search was called off at around 8pm in Sicily on Thursday with divers expected to begin again at 6.30am on Friday. Five bodies have now been brought to shore in the small fishing village of Porticello, around 11 miles from the Sicilian capital of Palermo. In a statement confirming their parents deaths, the Bloomer family described the couple as incredible people and an inspiration to many. They said: We are grieving for our loved ones and all of those affected by the tragedy. Our parents were incredible people and an inspiration to many, but first and foremost they were focused on and loved their family and spending time with their new grandchildren. Together for five decades, our only comfort is that they are still together now. This is an unimaginable grief to shoulder. Italian emergency services heading out to sea (Jonathan Brady/PA) The chief executive of legal AI company Luminance, which was founded by Mr Lynch, paid tribute to the technology tycoon, saying he was a visionary unlike any other. Eleanor Lightbody said in a statement: I am devastated to hear the news about our founding investor, Mike Lynch, and all of those involved in this tragic accident. Mike was a visionary unlike any other. He had a unique ability to spot the next technological revolution and solve tomorrows challenges before others even knew they were coming. Above all, Mike was a kind man who had an impact on many and will be sorely missed. I feel honoured to have known him, worked with him and learnt from him over the years. The UK has lost someone with the means, authority, knowledge and drive to propel the UK into technological leadership, but his legacy will live on in all of the extraordinary businesses he built and mentored, as well as his family who are in my thoughts. The body of the fifth person recovered from the yachts wreckage was returned in a blue body bag to the port of Porticello on Thursday morning. Of the 22 passengers and crew on board, 15 including Mr Lynchs wife, Angela Bacares were rescued after escaping on to a lifeboat. The body of Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the superyacht Bayesian, was recovered at the scene of the sinking on Monday. The boat trip was a celebration of Mr Lynchs acquittal in a fraud case in the US. The businessman, who founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, was cleared in June of carrying out a massive fraud relating to its $11bn sale to US company Hewlett Packard. A decision on whether to raise the sunken yacht from the seabed is not on the agenda, but will be in the future, a spokesman from the Italian Coastguard has said. Vincenzo Zagarola told PA: This is not a topic on the agenda. It will be, but not now. He also said that the Italian Coastguards working theory is still that the missing woman is inside the boat. The luxury yachts captain, James Cutfield, was reportedly questioned by authorities for two hours as they began speaking to all crew members. Giovanni Costantino, chief executive of the firm that built the yacht, told The Sun the ship was virtually unsinkable. He instead wondered if doors and hatches had remained open. The disturbance was completely readable on all the weather maps, he said. Fishermen did not go out precisely because of the adverse weather conditions. It was therefore expected that the ship would take precautions. A helicopter was previously drafted in to help the search effort, and divers from the local fire service have been seen entering the water with torches attached to their headgear. Fire crews from the Vigili del Fuoco said they had been accessing the vessel through natural entrances, without making openings. Remotely controlled underwater vehicles have been used, with naval units and cave divers also taking part in the search, the Italian Coastguard has said. Bayesian was moored around half a mile off the coast of Porticello when it sank at about 5am local time on Monday as the area was hit by a storm. The wreckage of the Bayesian is resting on the seabed off the coast at a depth of 50m. Italian authorities believe they have found the bodies of all six people who were missing after a luxury yacht sank during a storm off the coast of Sicily. Technology tycoon Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo were lost when the Bayesian was hit by a storm and sank at around 5am on Monday. Five bodies have now been brought to shore in the small fishing village of Porticello, around 11 miles from the Sicilian capital of Palermo. On Friday, the Italian Coastguard confirmed that a sixth body, thought to be that of 18-year-old Hannah, had been found. Mike Lynch was on board the Bayesian celebrating his acquittal in a fraud case (Yui Mok/ PA) These are the details of each of the victims on board. Mike Lynch British technology tycoon Mr Lynch founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, and made his name as one of Britains most influential entrepreneurs. In June, the 59-year-old was cleared of conducting a massive fraud relating to an 11 billion dollar (8.64 billion) sale to US company Hewlett Packard. The boat trip was a celebration of his acquittal. Of the 22 passengers and crew on board, 15 including Mr Lynchs wife, Angela Bacares were rescued after escaping onto a lifeboat. Mr Lynch was born in Ilford, east London, brought up in Essex, and was the son of a nurse from Co Tipperary and a fireman from Co Cork who enjoyed childhood summers in Carrick-On-Shannon and Tipperary, where he had family. He went to Cambridge University and started his first business while studying for a PhD in signal processing and communications research. He was made an OBE for services to enterprise in 2006. That same year, he was appointed to the board of the BBC, and was later elected to then-prime minister David Camerons council for science and technology in 2011. David Tabizel, Mr Lynchs Autonomy co-founder, said: The world has lost a genius. His family have lost a giant of a man. Mr Lynch was a member of the Create The Change fundraising board, set up by Cancer Research UK, which helped fund the building of the Francis Crick Institute. Chairman Lord John Browne, who described him as a human being of great ability, said: Mike Lynch should be remembered as the person who catalysed a breed of deep tech entrepreneurs in the UK. His ideas and his personal vision were a powerful contribution to science and technology in both Britain and globally. He became a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2008, which paid tribute to his active role as a mentor, donor and former council member. Mr Lynch was an inaugural member of the enterprise committee. On Thursday, the technology industry group TechUK also described him as a hugely significant and pioneering figure in the UK technology sector. Hannah Lynch The 18-year-old daughter of Mr Lynch had recently finished her A-levels and was due to study at Oxford University. A spokesperson for Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, west London, where Hannah was a former pupil, said on Tuesday: We are all incredibly shocked by the news that Hannah and her father are among those missing in this tragic incident and our thoughts are with their family and everyone involved as we await further updates. Jonathan Bloomer had an extensive career in financial services (Hiscox/PA) Jonathan Bloomer The Morgan Stanley International bank chairman was a prominent businessman who held a number of boardroom roles after an extensive career in financial services. He was the chief executive of global finance group Prudential between 2000 and 2005, and was chairman of Morgan Stanley International as well as Hiscox and property business SDL. Mr Bloomer was among those to give evidence as a defence witness for Mr Lynch, and media reports suggest the pair were close friends. Judy Bloomer Mr Bloomers wife Judy worked as a psychotherapist for nearly 30 years, specialising in anxiety and stress. In a statement confirming their parents deaths, the Bloomer family described the couple as incredible people and an inspiration to many. They said: We are grieving for our loved ones and all of those affected by the tragedy. Our parents were incredible people and an inspiration to many, but first and foremost they were focused on and loved their family and spending time with their new grandchildren. Together for five decades, our only comfort is that they are still together now. This is an unimaginable grief to shoulder. Ms Bloomer was a trustee and long-time supporter of gynaecological cancer research charity the Eve Appeal. She studied English language and literature at Homerton College, Cambridge, and previously worked as a teacher. Chris and Neda Morvillo Mr Morvillo, 59, a partner at law firm Clifford Chance, represented Mr Lynch during the long-running criminal fraud trial where he was eventually cleared of all charges. His long career included representing corporate and individual clients in white-collar government investigations, related regulatory and civil proceedings, and internal investigations. Mr Morvillo had previously been a federal prosecutor, working on cases related to the 9/11 attacks and securing the conviction of lawyer Lynne Stewart for assisting terrorism during his time as assistant US attorney for the Southern District of New York between 1999 and 2005. A Clifford Chance spokesperson said: We are heartbroken at the tragic passing of our partner, Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Neda. We are deeply saddened and still coming to terms with this terrible loss. Our utmost priority is to continue to support Chriss family at this very distressing time. Our thoughts extend to the families and loved ones of all those affected. We wish to express our deepest condolences and our love and support to Chriss family and friends at this incredibly difficult time. We also want to thank the Italian authorities and rescue teams for everything they have done. Mrs Morvillo reportedly ran a luxury jewellery line. Recaldo Thomas The first body recovered at the scene of the sinking on Monday was that of Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the Bayesian superyacht, the Italian coastguard told Sky News. In a tribute shared on Tuesday, Gareth Williams, a friend of Mr Thomas, told the BBC: I can talk for everyone that knew him when I say he was a well-loved, kind human being with a calm spirit. Mr Thomas grew up in Antigua and spent his time there during the off-season, Mr Williams said. Another friend, Eli Fuller, told the outlet Mr Thomas was friends with everybody, always positive and sought after in his profession. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a brief visit that many in Ukraine hope will pave the way for an Indian role in peace mediation. Officials in India and Ukraine said the visit was focused on boosting economic ties and co-operation in defence, science and technology, but analysts said it could also be an attempt by Mr Modi to strike a more neutral stance after what has been seen as a lean towards Russia. The meeting started with both leaders visiting a memorial commemorating hundreds of Ukrainian children who have been killed over more than two years of war. Mr Zelenskyy posted a video showing the two men hugging each other after shaking hands. Narendra Modi and Volodymyr Zelensky at the memorial (Indian Prime Ministers office/AP) Conflict is particularly devastating for young children, Mr Modi wrote on X. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief. They laid teddy bears at the memorial at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War before observing a moment of silence. Ukrainian media reported that Mr Modi met representatives of the Indian diaspora after arriving. The crowd gathered around the Indian prime minister cheering Modi, Modi, Modi. He also paid tribute at the Mahatma Gandhi Monument in Kyiv. The chief of Ukraines Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, called Mr Modis visit historic and emphasised Ukraines expectation that India could play a role in ending the war between Russia and Ukraine with a just peace. We respect India as a very big democracy in the world and a powerful country, Mr Yermak said in an interview with India Today. But now its necessary to say who is the aggressor, who is the victim. Before arriving in Ukraine, Mr Modi called for diplomatic efforts to end the war during a visit to Poland on Thursday, pledging Indias support and saying no conflict can be solved on a battlefield. His arrival came a month and a half after Mr Zelenskyy criticised his visit to Moscow in July, when he met President Vladimir Putin on the day Russian missiles struck across Ukraine, killing scores of people. Mr Zelenskyy described that meeting as a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts, and criticised Mr Modi for hugging Mr Putin during the meeting. India has avoided condemning Russias invasion and has urged Moscow and Kyiv to resolve the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. Mr Modis visit is the first by an Indian premier to Ukraine since the two countries established diplomatic relations more than 30 years ago. Robert F Kennedy Jr, the scion of the Democratic Kennedy family whose independent presidential campaign threatened to draw votes from both Republicans and Democrats, has suspended his campaign and endorsed Donald Trump. Kennedy said he will be removing his name from the ballot in critical swing states, but will remain on the ballot in other states and some voters could still cast ballots for him. In a rambling statement that started three-quarters of a hour behind schedule, Kennedy said he would be giving his support to Trump following a series of conversations with him, the first of which took place days after the Republican nominee survived an assassination attempt on 13 July. I was surprised to discover that we are aligned on many key issues, Kennedy said, explaining that he and Trump met several times. In those meetings, he suggested that we join forces as a unity party. We talked about Abraham Lincolns team of rivals. That arrangement would allow us to disagree publicly and privately and seriously, if need be, on issues over which we differ while working together on the existential issues upon which we are in concordance. He also praised Trumps call for an end to Russias war with Ukraine, which he blamed on the US and the Nato alliance. Kennedy said the war was one of three great causes that drove him to enter the race and ultimately to give his support to Trump, with the others being free speech and what he called the war on our children, a phrase covering his well-known opposition to vaccines, about which he has peddled conspiracy theories. Kennedy, whose uncle, John F Kennedy, and father, Robert F Kennedy, were both assassinated, announced that he was running against Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination in April 2023. He left that race last October however, warning that under the two-party system the US is cycling from despair to rage and back to despair, and ran as an independent. Kennedys campaign was seen as a threat to both Harris and Trump, but in the past few months Kennedy was dogged by controversies. He was accused of assaulting a former babysitter, it emerged that Kennedy believed that part of his brain had been eaten by a worm, and in early August he admitted to having staged a bizarre bicycle hit-and-run incident with a dead bear cub in a New York City park. As his election bid floundered, Kennedy reportedly made overtures to the Harris campaign in August to discuss dropping out and endorsing her in exchange for a job in her administration, while he was also courted by Trump in July. Having initially hovered at about 10% in national polling, Kennedys popularity dropped amid the scandals, with the 70-year-old averaging about half of that in August. The campaign struggled to raise money, with just $3.9m cash-on-hand at the end of July, and debts of $3.5m. Politico reported that Kennedy spent more than $7m in July more than the $5.6m it raised. Both Democrats and Republicans watched Kennedys campaign closely, however, mindful that his mix of vaccine skepticism, hardline policies on the border, and ties to the most famous Democratic family in politics, could draw votes in key swing states. Kennedy, as a former Democrat, was initially seen as more of a threat to Democrats winning the presidential election, but in recent months he was seen to be drawing more votes from Trump, something his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, admitted on Tuesday. Theres two options that were looking at, Shanahan told the Impact Theory podcast. One is staying in, forming that new party, but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and [Tim] Walz presidency, because we draw votes from Trump. Or we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump. We walk away from that and we explain to our base why were making this decision. There has been evidence that Trump did see Kennedy as a threat. A video posted online on 16 July showed a phone call between Trump and Kennedy where Trump appeared to offer an opportunity for the pair to work together in the future. The video came after reports denied by Kennedy that he might drop out and endorse Trump. Kennedys apparent efforts to meet with Harris to discuss endorsing her in exchange for a possible cabinet secretary position were snubbed by the Harris campaign. His run for president has been controversial. Recently Kennedy responded to an allegation that he sexually assaulted an employee by stating: I am not a church boy, while in July 2023, a video surfaced of Kennedy making false claims that Covid-19 was ethnically targeted to attack Black people and white people while sparing Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people. Last year Kennedy claimed that wifi causes leaky brain and has linked antidepressants to school shootings. In 2023 he also claimed that chemicals in water were making children transgender, while Kennedy has longstanding, and wrong, beliefs about apparently any and all vaccines. I am sharing a personal statement that my family and I have made in response to my brothers announcement. pic.twitter.com/j7vTTabNYZ Kerry Kennedy (@KerryKennedyRFK) August 23, 2024 In a joint statement, five of Kennedys siblings Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Courtney Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Chris Kennedy and Rory Kennedy denounced his endorsement of Trump as a betrayal of the values of their father, Robert F Kennedy, the former attorney general and Democratic senator. We want an America filled with hope and bound together by a shared vision of a brighter future, a future defined by individual freedom, economic promise and national pride, they said. We believe in Harris and Walz. Our brother Bobbys decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story. The Guardian On August 22, reporters learned from Hefei Customs that in July, Anhui Province's total import and export value with the EU reached 11.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 38.6%, marking the highest point in nearly 19 months. Among them, Anhui imported 3.44 billion yuan worth of electromechanical products from the EU, a year-on-year increase of 362.1%. The EU is Anhui's largest foreign trade partner. The economic and trade relationship between Anhui and the EU continues to heat up, bringing tangible win-win results for both sides in promoting industrial development and enhancing people's livelihoods. In July, Anhui exported 5.5 billion yuan worth of electromechanical products to the EU, including 1.19 billion yuan in automobile exports, a year-on-year increase of 366.4%. Anhui's automobile industry is thriving and accelerating its global expansion, with the EU becoming a direct beneficiary. In April of this year, Chery Automobile signed a contract for its factory project in Spain, with an expected annual production of 50,000 vehicles by 2027, creating over 1,200 jobs locally. As "Anhui manufacturing" enters the EU market, Anhui has also become an important export destination for EU products. The EU has many developed countries with strong manufacturing capabilities, leading the world in high-end equipment and precision instrument research and development. It is an important partner in the supply chain of Anhui's manufacturing industry. In July, the amount of advanced manufacturing equipment imported by Anhui from the EU increased by 1797.6% year-on-year. Source: Anhui Daily By Clarence Lusane | ( Tomdispatch.com ) One of the nations best-known Black Republicans is former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. In the twenty-first century (and perhaps ever), no African American woman rose higher in Republican politics than Rice, who served as President George W. Bushs national security adviser and then his secretary of state, both firsts. Like her or not, agree with her politics or not, she brought significant experience, knowledge, and professionalism to those positions. Donald Trumps first public words about Rice date back to 2006 when he labeled her with a vile term. In a speech before 8,000 people in New York City, he said, Condoleezza Rice, shes a lovely woman, but I think shes a bitch. She goes around to other countries and other nations, negotiates with their leaders, comes back, and nothing ever happens. There was no justification for Trump using such repulsive language other than his own toxic petulance and racist misogyny against Black women. His vulgarity and sexism toward Rice foreshadowed a political future of hateful attacks on women particularly women of color with whom he disagrees. That incident provides some context for a recent New York Times report that, in private, Trump has referred repeatedly to Vice President Kamala Harris, his most formidable challenger for the 2024 presidential race, as a bitch. His campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung shamelessly and unbelievably stated that, when it comes to the person many would view as the most profane president ever, That is not language President Trump has used to describe Kamala. In fact, Trumps longstanding and fixed sense of patriarchy and the cruel slurs against women that go with it are well documented. The stunning upheaval in the 2024 presidential race has, in fact, brought into sharp focus Trumps longstanding animosity toward and war against Black women. President Joe Bidens June 21st decision to drop out of that race propelled Harris to become the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, which means Trump now faces the one opponent who not only threatens his return to office, but also triggers his worse racist and sexist behavior. Trump Goes After Harris and Other Black Women In her first weeks running for president, he has publicly called Kamala Harris dumb as a rock, nasty, a bum, and real garbage. In front of thousands of his followers, he has deliberately and repeatedly mispronounced her name, claiming, I dont care when called out on it. At his rallies, some of his supporters can be seen wearing and selling T-shirts that say, Joe and the Ho Must Go, or some variation on that, deplorable mantras that date back to 2020. Neither Trump nor his campaign have ever denounced such unacceptable activities. His effort and that of many MAGA adherents to other Harris is not just meant to humiliate her but degrade and dehumanize her as well. Nor is this one-off focused on Harris. Trump has done the same to other Black women and women of color for decades. Before, during, and after his presidency, he specifically targeted Black women with a kind of venom he rarely aimed at white women or men. Hes gone after Black women, whether elected and appointed officials (Republican or Democrat), journalists, athletes, prosecutors, or celebrities. Here are just a few examples of his loathing: Former Representative Mia Love (R-UT): Mia Love gave me no love and she lost. Too bad. Sorry about that Mia. Former Apprentice contestant and then Trumps White House director of communications for the Office of Public Liaison Omarosa Manigault Newman: When you give a crazed, crying lowlife a break, and give her a job at the White House, I guess it just didnt work out. Good work by General Kelly for quickly firing that dog! Four congressional women of color Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI): Why dont they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came? CNN journalist Abby Phillips: What a stupid question that is. What a stupid question. But I watch you a lot you ask a lot of stupid questions. CNN reporter April Ryan: April Ryan You talk about somebody thats a loser. She doesnt know what the hell shes doing Shes very nasty. Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA): an extraordinarily low IQ person. MSNBC host Joy-Ann Reid: Who the hell is Joy-Ann Reid? Never met her, she knows ZERO about me, has NO talent, and truly doesnt have the it factor needed for success in showbiz. The examples of Trumps enraged responses to Black women who criticize or call out his lies, ineptitude, insecurities, and ignorance are endless. He is also fully aware that his attacks put targets on the backs of those women. In fact, that may be exactly the point. While the journalists and celebrities that he goes after are part of his bullying approach to life, with some added racist and sexist spice, he clearly feels most threatened by Black people and Black women in particular who could send him to prison. Georgia Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, New York State Attorney General Letitia James, and Washington, D.C., District Judge Tanya Chutkan have all felt the pressure of Trumps inflammatory wrath as they oversaw legal cases attempting to hold him accountable for his criminal behavior. They have all experienced countless death threats since taking on his cases. In addition to referring to them as racists, animal, rabid, liars, and worse, he also called Willis and James Peekaboo, a nickname he has yet to explain but that seems awfully close to the racist slur jigaboo. Its an obvious dog whistle similar to his calling them and others prosecuting him riggers, which, of course, rhymes with the N-word and which he normally spells out in caps in social posts to make sure it gets attention. His attacks on Judge Chutkan led to the arrest of a woman in Texas who threatened to murder her and a swatting attack on her home, bringing the police to her house in response to a false report of a shooting there. Chutkan is attempting to move forward with the case against Trump in Washington, D.C., although there will clearly not be a trial before the November election. If Trump loses the election, the case will likely go forward with the strong possibility that hell be convicted and punished. If he wins, hell undoubtedly order the Justice Department to drop it. While Black leaders in politics, the media, womens groups, and community organizations consistently denounced Trump for his chauvinist attacks, there was dead silence from his best-known Black women supporters. MAGA devotees like far-right commentator Candace Owens, social media celebrities like (the late) Diamond and Silk, conservative abortion extremist Reverend Alveda King, and others said nary a word as he raged and ranted. A Record of Exclusive Hiring Notably, in his businesses and during his presidency, very, very few Black individuals were either in Trumps employ or in his inner circle. In his White House, only three Black women held high political or staff positions: the briefly tenured Manigault Newman, the briefly acting Surgeon General Sylvia Trent-Adams (from April 2017 to September 2017), and Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) official Lynne Patton. Only Patton worked for Trump for any period of time. Prior to 2016, she worked for the Trump Organization and the Eric Trump Foundation for at least a decade, eventually becoming a Trump family senior aide. After taking office, Trump appointed her administrator of HUD Region II under Secretary Ben Carson. Like Carson, she had no background or expertise in housing policy, yet was put in charge of hundreds of thousands of public housing units in New York and New Jersey. She made excuses for Trumps unsuccessful effort to cut millions of dollars from the New York Housing Authority budget that could have led to a potential 40% rent increase for public housing residents. She was scandal-ridden throughout his tenure, caught, for instance, misrepresenting her education background on her government resume, implying that she had attended and graduated from Quinnipiac University School of Law and Yale University when she hadnt. She dropped out of Quinnipiac and only took summer classes at Yale. When caught, she responded: Lots of people list schools they didnt finish. Her most notorious scandal occurred on February 27, 2019, when she volunteered to be a political prop for then-Representative Mark Meadows at a congressional hearing. To repudiate the testimony of former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, who was accusing him of being racist, among other charges, Meadows had Patton stand silently behind him while he ludicrously stated that Trump couldnt be racist because Patton had worked for him and she was a descendant of slaves. Like other White House staff under Trump, Patton repeatedly violated the Hatch Act, which doesnt allow federal employees in the executive branch to engage in political partisanship. She was first warned by the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) in September 2019 but continued her transgressions. She and other Trump staffers broke the law, but the Trump administration did little to enforce it. However, when Biden came into office, the OSC did apply the rule of law. In response, Patton was forced to admit her violations and reached a settlement. She was fined $1,000 and banned from holding any federal government position for four years. And yet she still remains loyal to Trump. Following his recent disastrous interview appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists, Trumps campaign issued a statement claiming that Trump, who slung insults, spewed endless lies, refused to answer questions, and hurried off early, was the victim of unhinged and unprofessional commentary. His most noted unbalanced remark and there were plenty of them was his contention that Kamala Harris had only in recent years happened to turn Black. At the Republican National Convention, where African Americans were only three percent of the attendees, eight speakers were Black, seven of them men. The only Black woman given a prime speaking spot was rapper and model Amber Rose, whose Trump-loving father converted her to support him. Rather than include an elected official, state party leader, or conservative scholar, Trump selected someone who fulfilled his gendered view of Black women as either spectacles or subservient. Trumps Gendered and Racist Policies Its not just Trumps hateful words but the policies and initiatives he pushed while in office that harmed Black women as well as millions of other Americans. Much of what hes done and is planning to do is laid out in policy proposals detailed in the Heritage Foundations racially discriminating Project 2025 report, written by many of Trumps former officials and those aligned with him. These include policies relating to abortion rights, education, criminal justice, civil rights, and healthcare access, among many other concerns. In addition, Black women have been disproportionately suffering from the abortion bans implemented since the significantly Trump-built conservative Supreme Court ended Roe v. Wade in 2022. According to the Democratic National Committee, More than half of Black women of reproductive age now live in states with abortion bans in effect or with threats to abortion access. Close to seven million Black women, ages 15 to 49, reside in those states. Worse yet, Project 2025 advocates a nationwide ban on abortion for a future Trump administration. He himself has become increasingly coy in addressing such an electorally damaging issue by deferring to whatever states want to do, fearing otherwise that he might lose a majority of women voters, but not wanting to anger the Christian nationalist extremists in his base. That same Trumpified Supreme Court also ended affirmative action at colleges and universities. In 2023, it ruled that colleges and universities can no longer consider race in admissions. As yet, its not clear whether acceptance rates have fallen, particularly at elite schools. What is clear, thanks to the ruling, is that many colleges and universities have cut or dramatically redefined hundreds of scholarships worth millions of dollars that were previously targeted for Black and Latino students. This particularly hurts Black women students (who attend college in disproportionate numbers compared to young Black men). Black women voters have responded in kind to Trump. In 2016, he won about 6% of the Black vote overall, but there was a stunning gender gap. While he gained about 14% of Black male votes, 98% of Black women voted for Hillary Clinton. Four years later, in 2020, Trump garnered about 8% of the overall Black vote, but only 5% of Black women. Black Support for Harris Swells Despite Trump Given those numbers (and his sexism), its clear why Trump has focused his Black outreach on Black men. However, the wedge he seeks to build may not be as stable as he imagines. Not only have Black women rallied behind the Harris-Walz ticket, but it appears that Black male voters are shifting as well. In a poll conducted in late July by the Howard University polling service, the Howard Initiative on Public Opinion (HIPO), of which Im a member, we found 96% of Black women and 93% of Black men expressing their intention to vote for Harris. Meanwhile, a Zoom gathering of 40,000 Black men voicing their support and suggestions only days after Harris was rising to become the nominee suggested that the Trump campaigns hope for an irreversible gender split among Black voters wasnt on target. As New York Times columnist Charles Blow noted, Trump is the totem of contemporary patriarchy. He is also the embodiment of what Black feminist scholar Moya Bailey terms misogynoir, the marriage of misogyny and racism. Certainly, he dreads with every fiber in his body the rise of Harris and the intensity of her support, and also the organizing might of Black women voters. In Georgia, in 2021, it was the on-the-ground mobilization of Black women that led to the defeat of Trumps preferred Senate candidates and the victories of senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock. Count on one thing: Donald Trump is now running scared. What he assumed barely a month ago would be an essentially uncontested victory has been transformed into his worst nightmare: facing a smart, confident, younger Black woman who has stolen his momentum and whose possible victory in November would be a defeat from which he could never recover. Copyright 2024 Clarence Lusane Via Tomdispatch.com Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) The Norwegian Refugee Council, an aid NGO active in Palestine, reports that new Israeli decrees have forced thousands in Gazas Deir al-Balah to flee once more, and have disrupted the Strips last aid hub. The former safe zone is now under concerted attack by Israeli forces. It and numerous other aid agencies again are calling for an immediate ceasefire, in the light of two International Court of Justice decisions against Israel. They point out that Civilians who are unable or unwilling to leave their homes remain protected under international humanitarian law. The organization said that new expulsion directives issued by Israeli authorities have compelled another large-scale movement of families and aid workers from regions in Deir al-Balah - one of the few remaining zones in the occupied Gaza Strip that still has vital infrastructure and storage facilities for relief supplies. NRC explains that Rafah in the South functioned as the central point for Gazas overburdened relief activities until early May, when Israeli troops broadened their land operations in the area. Relief organizations had to relocate their efforts to Deir al-Balah in the middle of the Strip. With northern Gaza obliterated and southern Gaza mostly unreachable, civilians, aid personnel, and essential humanitarian activities now have no remaining refuge. They point out that the United Nations stated that multiple directives issued by Israeli forces in Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah between 8 and 17 August affected 17 healthcare facilities, including five primary health centers and nine medical service points, disrupting essential health services. NRC warns that disruptions will also jeopardize the ability to administer critically necessary polio vaccines once they arrive in Gaza. Jeremy Stoner, Save the Children Regional Director for the Middle East, is quoted as saying, Even if Israeli authorities let polio vaccines in, with the biggest responders in Gaza constantly pin-balled from one place to the next, how can we deliver an effective campaign and reach the children in dire need of that protection? If you want to understand the access situation, this is it not the trickle of trucks exceptionally allowed to enter. Thousands of newborns and young children have never been vaccinated for polio, and NRC is saying that the expulsion of Palestinians en masse from Deir al-Balah will make it almost impossible to give all those shots. Gaza Apocalypse, by Juan Cole, Digital, Dream / Dreamworld v. 3 / Clip2Comic, 2024. The Norwegian NGO says that numerous Palestinian families, having already been forcefully relocated innumerable times since October, are on the move once more, including crucial aid workers essential for delivering the limited humanitarian assistance that remains feasible. I should underline this statement. NRC is saying that when the Israeli commanders keep pushing thousands of families from one place to another, they are also displacing the humanitarian volunteers who are trying to provide them food, water, medicine and other essentials that are in short supply. They note that at least 24 non-governmental organizations have reported disruptions due to these directives in the past week, resulting in the forced relocation of staff, obstructed operations, and the abandonment of at least one location sheltering civilians under assault. Warehouses storing supplies are situated within the areas subjected to these orders, making them inaccessible. Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfams Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, is quoted as saying, Palestinians in Gaza have been relentlessly uprooted, forced from one so-called safe area to the next, enduring unimaginable hardship and loss. Among them are brave humanitarian workers who risk their lives every day to save others. Our ability to provide meaningful aid in any part of Gaza does not meet our ambitions, let alone the overwhelming needs. Deir al-Balah, once declared a humanitarian zone, is now under attack with bombardment at our doorstep. The Norwegian aid organization says that so-called evacuation decrees issued by Israeli authorities on 13, 15, 16, and 21 August continue to impede humanitarian operations, affecting various agencies including Save the Children, Mercy Corps, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), MSF, Solidarites International, Medical Aid for Palestinians, Oxfam, Humanity & Inclusion, Action Against Hunger, Islamic Relief, Project HOPE, DanChurchAid and Norwegian Church Aid and their partners, as well as Palestinian partners of ActionAid, War Child, Danish Refugee Council, Medicos del Mundo, Middle East Childrens Alliance, and WeWorld. Lena, a Mercy Corps staff member in Gaza, complained bitterly: The situation has become incredibly dangerous. Theres constant fighting, and the sounds of shelling and explosions are clearly audible. Skin diseases are spreading rapidly. Were all becoming paranoid that well get infected. The physical toll is real. Ive been having severe stomach pains, likely from the contaminated water were forced to drink. I dont know how much longer we can survive like this. NRC reports that an ANERA (American Near East Refugee Aid) shelter has come under bombardment, while the NRC waited over 15 days for Israeli authorities to respond to a request to avoid fighting in an area where they intend to relocate staff following Israels latest expulsion decree. They say communities are isolated from crucial aid as suppliers who deliver essential items like water face difficulties reaching locations near the areas where people have been ordered to evacuate. NRC says that humanitarian workers must be permitted to deliver aid based on necessity rather than the designation of safe areas by a belligerent in the conflict. That principle seems sensible. You provide aid where and when it is needed, not on the run because people are being harried from one tent city to another amid the rubble. These are the signatories of the statement: Save the Children War Child ActionAid DanChurchAid Solidarites International Islamic Relief Middle East Childrens Alliance Danish Refugee Council WeWorld Humanity & Inclusion/ Handicap International (HI) Norwegian Peoples Aid The Palestinian Association for Empowerment and Local Development REFORM Agricultural Development Association PARC Anera Medicos del Mundo Medecins Sans Frontieres / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) Medical Aid for Palestinians Norwegian Church Aid Action Against Hunger ChildFund Alliance Global Communities Mercy Corps Oxfam CARE International Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Project HOPE By Jonathan Este, The Conversation | It would be a brave or foolhardy analyst who presumes to predict the outcomes of the talks which continue in Doha. But the fate of Gaza and its 2 million inhabitants as well as the 109 remaining Israeli hostages being held in Gaza, will depend on a political solution being found. And there are many moving parts involved, not all of them in the Middle East. Despite the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, talking up what he referred to as a bridging proposal, designed to overcome the differences between Hamas and Israel over matters such as whether and where the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would retain troops on the Gaza Strip. The Netanyahu government wants to maintain a military presence along the Philadelphi corridor, which runs along the southern border that divides Gaza from Egypt. It also wants the IDF to continue to patrol the Netzarim axis, which has been established during the IDF ground operation against Hamas in Gaza and effectively cuts the enclave in two below Gaza City. Israel eyes 2 corridors in Gaza: Israeli PM Netanyahu vows not to withdraw troops from Philadelphi Corridor or Netzarim Axis under any circumstances pic.twitter.com/iDJnV7l6Ey Turkiye Today (@turkiyetodaycom) August 22, 2024 The US president Joe Biden spoke with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on August 21, and stressed the urgency of reaching a ceasefire deal. With his vice-president, Kamala Harris who has now been formally confirmed as the Democratic Partys nominee in Novembers presidential election sitting in, Biden is reported to have stated the importance of removing any remaining obstacles blocking an agreement with Hamas. Whether the remaining obstacles include Netanyahus insistence on retaining an Israeli military presence on the strip is not yet clear. But the previous day an unnamed administration official quoted by the BBC said that Netanyahus maximalist statements were not constructive to getting a ceasefire deal across the finish line. There will be another round of talks in Qatar at the weekend, including representatives from the US and Israel as well as Egyptian and Qatari mediators. Hamas does not have representatives directly engaged in the talks. The group recently lost its chief negotiator when Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Tehran in an assassination widely believed to have been organised by Israeli intelligence. Haniyehs successor as Hamas political leader, Yahya Sinwar, is believed to be hiding out in Gaza. Blinken has been shuttling to and from the US, where he attended the Democratic National Convention this week. He will no doubt have conveyed his impressions to Biden as well as to Harris, who will inherit the issue from Biden if she wins the November 5 election. If Donald Trump wins the election, by contrast, things could be very different. Netanyahu visited Trumps Mar-a-Lago headquarters at the end of July and was reported to have told the Israeli prime minister to get your victory and get it over with. More recent reports that Trump had urged Netanyahu not to agree a ceasefire deal during the election campaign have been denied by both Israel and the Trump campaign. Amid all this confusion, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: this conflict is likely to play a prominent part in the election campaign, which is now heating up considerably as the Democratic National Convention (DNC) reaches its culmination with Harriss keynote speech tonight, August 22. While the DNC has been a slickly presented love-in for the Democrats inside Chicagos United Center, out on the street, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters have been making their presence felt, with dozens of arrests after they clashed with police and burned US flags on Tuesday night. Kamalas Dilemma, Digital, Dream / Cartoonist v. 3 / Clip2Comic Scott Lucas, a specialist in Middle East politics at University College Dublin, has recently returned from the US and was able to take the political temperature over the conflict. He believes that while Biden known by protesters as Genocide Joe has a longstanding record as a supporter of Israel, Harriss position is more nuanced. This might actually help her in Novembers polling, writes Lucas. In a state such as Michigan, seen as crucial to the Democratic Partys hopes of winning the White House, Biden was trailing Trump by several percentage points. Then he stepped down on July 21 and things changed immediately. Lucas notes: Within days, a deficit of between three and seven percentage points in polling in Michigan turned into an advantage of between three and four points. This turnaround has shown no signs of reversing itself. Harriss public face when it comes to the Israel-Palestine question is certainly more balanced than Bidens. When Netanyahu addressed a joint session of the US Congress, days after Biden stepped out of the campaign, Harris had conveniently arranged to be elsewhere. Her pronouncements have given equal weight to the welfare of the people of Gaza with the need to rescue the hostages, while also stressing that a ceasefire must be accompanied by progress towards a two-state solution which recognises the Palestinian peoples right to self-determination. That said, a Democrat group, Muslim Women for Harris-Walz, has announced it has withdrawn its support for the ticket after a request was denied for an American-Palestinian to address the DNC but the family of an Israeli hostage was allowed to speak. Be that as it may, though, Lucas observes that theres no real sense that Harriss chances of victory in November will hang on her opinion on the conflict in Gaza. He identifies what he calls three realities on the possibility of a ceasefire. Netanyahu facing an early election and a possible trial on bribery charges if the war ends cannot afford one. Harris can win whether or not one is agreed. And Gazas civilians will continue to die without one. Rules of war Meanwhile the fighting continues and the Palestinian death toll is reported by the Gaza health ministry to have topped 40,000, with the vast majority of casualties civilians. It seems that every few days the evening news bulletins bring accounts of yet another attack on what the IDF calls a Hamas target and what Palestinians say was a school or hospital in which civilians are sheltering. On August 10, an airstrike hit a compound in Gaza city containing a school and a mosque. Palestinian authorities claimed more than 80 people had been killed. The IDF countered by saying it had killed just 19 people, all Hamas fighters, including Hamas commanders. Just two days later marked the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Geneva conventions in 1949, which spelled out the rules for treatment of civilians in war. Under the rules, schools and hospitals are clearly protected, writes Lawrence Hill-Cawthorne, professor of public international law at the University of Bristol. But its not as simple as that, he cautions. Any building including those protected under the Geneva onventions that are being used for military purposes can potentially become a lawful military objective something that Israel regularly alleges when such buildings are targeted. Hill-Cawthorne explains how the rules work here. A Palestinian state? Meanwhile the vexed issue of international recognition of Palestinian statehood remains unresolved. The vast majority of UN members, some 148 countries out of 193, have formally recognised Palestine as a legitimate and sovereign state. But significantly, write Donald Rothwell and Sarah Krause, experts in international law at Australian National University in Canberra, the list does not include the US, UK, New Zealand, Japan, France, Germany, Canada or Australia. Australias Labor government promised recognition would be a priority for its first term. But an attempt by the Australian Greens in May to raise a motion in parliament failed. Rothwell and Krause walk us through what statehood means and whether Palestine fits the bill. . Jonathan Este, Senior International Affairs Editor, Associate Editor, The Conversation This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. TORONTO, ONTARIO (August 23, 2024) TheNewswire LAURION Mineral Exploration Inc. (TSX.V: LME and OTCPINK: LMEFF) (LAURION or the Corporation) is very pleased to announce grab and channel sample results from its Summer 2024 field exploration program at the Corporations Ishkoday Project, located 220 km northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Stated Cynthia Le Sueur-Aquin, President and CEO of LAURION: We are incredibly pleased with the progress and results from our Summer 2024 exploration program. The high-grade gold and some copper values we have encountered, particularly within the channel samples, yielded up to 24.9 g/t Au and 37.7 g/t Ag across 0.65 m, along with grab samples yielding values up to 73.2 g/t Au and 132.0 g/t Ag. These assay results are a testament to the mineral potential of the Ishkoday Project. The LAURION teams meticulous approach to exploration, including trenching, power washing, and detailed mapping, has returned exactly the kind of results we had anticipated, and these findings provide us with a good foundation for the next phase of our work. LAURION remains committed to realizing the full potential of the Ishkoday Project, and we believe that the results bring us one step closer to achieving that vision. LAURION initiated its Summer 2024 field exploration program in mid-May, conducting a program of prospecting over several areas of specific interest in the vicinity of the Ziibi zone, Sturgeon River Mine Area and Twin Falls property, collecting a number of grab samples. Ziibi Zone The Ziibi Zone, situated 1.8 km north of the Namewaminikan River and east of Highway 801, lies to the northeast of the Sturgeon River Mine. The program on the Ziibi Zone involved trenching, power washing, and channel sampling, followed by detailed geological mapping. These efforts are designed to further delineate the mineralization potential of this new exploration zone and to enhance the overall understanding of the area's structural geology. Highlights the grab samples are as follows (See Image): Ziibi North - 0.25 g/t Au, 7.2 g/t Ag and 1.20 % Cu; and Ziibi North - 2.28 g/t Au, 3.4 g/t Ag and 0.56 % Cu; Highlights from the Ziibi Zone channel sampling are as follows: Ziibi L24: 5.91 g/t Au over 1.04 m; and Ziibi L21: 1.61 g/t Au over 0.75 m. 85 Zone (Sturgeon Mine Area) After completing the channel sampling at the Ziibi Zone, the exploration team turned their attention to the 85A and 85M veins which were delineated during the 2023 summer field season. This next phase involved excavation, power washing, and further channel sampling in these promising areas. The 85M2 and 85M3 zones are located approximately 540 m and 380 m northwest of the Sturgeon River Mine, respectively. The 85M2 and 85M3 zones are characterized by a complex network of parallel quartz veins and shears, within the altered felsic volcanic host rock. Below are the highlights of the best channel samples from these 2 zones (See Image): 85A L15: 24.9 g/t Au over 0.65 m; 85A L20: 21.0 g/t Au over 0.75 m; 85A L25: 9.36 g/t Au over 0.35 m; 85M L28: 7.48 g/t Au over 0.43 m; 85M L16: 2.83 g/t Au over 0.95 m; 85M L9: 4.19 g/t Au over 0.25 m; 85A L18: 4.69 g/t Au and 13.1 g/t Ag over 0.30 m; 85A L21: 4.02 g/t Au over 0.50 m; 85M L26: 1.365 g/t Au and 37.7 g/t Ag over 0.85 m; West SRM - 53.90 g/t Au and14.4 g/t Ag; and West SRM - 2.09 g/t Au. Twin Falls Property Acquired in 2023, the Twin Falls property spans 10.46 km, hosts several orogenic gold occurrences and is of great interest to LAURION. The Twin Falls property is situated approximately 7 km west of the Sturgeon River Mine and is contiguous with the Ishkoday Project. The geological setting at Twin Falls is characterized by Archean intermediate to felsic metavolcanic rocks. Many of the gold occurrences are stock-related, often found at the margins of intrusive igneous bodies, including granite and granodiorite. Locally, the claim group is underlain by feldspar and quartz-feldspar porphyry, as well as medium to coarse felsic volcanic breccia (agglomerate). The Corporation completed an initial prospecting program on the Twin Falls property this summer. Highlights of the grab samples from the Twin Falls property as follows (See image): 73.20 g/t Au; 61.50 g/t Au; 14.20 g/t Au; 13.10 g/t Au and 31.4 g/t Ag; 5.08 g/t Au; 4.53 g/t Au and 132.0 g/t; 3.33 g/t Au and 125.0 g/t; 1.24 g/t Au and 10.2 g/t Ag; 0.84 g/t Au; 0.61 g/t Au; and 0.22 g/t Au and 18.2 g/t Ag. **All sample values are from grab sample and channel samples which by their nature, are not representative of overall grades of mineralized areas. Readers are cautioned to not place undue reliance on the assay values reported in the highlights above. Qualified Person The technical contents of this release were reviewed and approved by Jean-Philippe Paiement, PGeo, MSc, a consultant to LAURION, and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. About LAURION Mineral Exploration Inc. The Corporation is a junior mineral exploration and development company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol LME and on the OTCPINK under the symbol LMEFF. LAURION now has 267,271,735 outstanding shares of which approximately 72% are owned and controlled by insiders who are eligible investors under the Friends and Family categories. LAURION's emphasis is on the exploration and development of its flagship project, the 100% owned mid-stage 57 km2 Ishkoday Project, and its gold-rich polymetallic mineralization. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: LAURION Mineral Exploration Inc. Cynthia Le Sueur-Aquin President and CEO Tel: 1-705-788-9186 Fax: 1-705-805-9256 Douglas Vass - Investor Relations Consultant Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Website: http://www.LAURION .ca Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release contains forward-looking statements, which reflect the Corporations current expectations regarding future events including with respect to LAURION's business, operations and condition, management's objectives, strategies, beliefs and intentions, the Corporations ability to advance the Ishkoday Project, the nature, focus, timing and potential results of the Corporations exploration, drilling and prospecting activities in 2024 and beyond, including its planned activities for the Ishkoday Project for the remainder of 2024. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. Actual events and future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements could differ materially from those projected herein including as a result of a change in the trading price of the common shares of LAURION, the interpretation and actual results of current exploration activities, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, future prices of gold and/or other metals, possible variations in grade or recovery rates, failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, the failure of contracted parties to perform, labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of exploration, as well as those factors disclosed in the Corporations publicly filed documents. Investors should consult the Corporations ongoing quarterly and annual filings, as well as any other additional documentation comprising the Corporations public disclosure record, for additional information on risks and uncertainties relating to these forward-looking statements. The reader is cautioned not to rely on these forward-looking statements. Subject to applicable law, the Corporation disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements. NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICE PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE. August 23, 2024 TheNewswire Vancouver, British Columbia Radius Gold Inc. (TSXV: RDU) (Radius or the Company) is pleased to announce initial results of the exploration program on its Plata Verde silver project in Chihuahua, Mexico. Radius, in partnership with Minera San Julian, S.A. de C.V. (Minera San Julian), a wholly owned subsidiary of Fresnillo plc (Fresnillo), are targeting bulk minable, underground silver resources at the historic Plata Verde mines. The first batch of assay results from Plata Verdes drill program has been received, with the first four holes, PV-01 to PV-04 totalling approximately 900m in drilling, focused on the eastern side of the valley. These initial drill holes cut several zones of low-grade silver mineralization and indicate limited potential for an economic discovery in the eastern extension of silver mantos. However, encouraging results have been achieved on the western side of the valley with drill holes PV-05 through PV-08 showing greater thickness of the basaltic host rock and improved visual mineralization (assays pending). The most recent hole drilled, PV-09, located further northwest (Figure 1: Plata Verde Drill Program), intersected visually improved results, cutting through greater width of basaltic host and encountering visibly the most attractive mineralization seen so far in this drilling program. The improving visual results as the drill rig moves west has prompted the JV partnership to extend the planned drill program, adding three additional drill holes to test the extension of this target zone. We are excited to continue drilling at Plata Verde, particularly with the results from PV-09, stated Bruce Smith, CEO/President of Radius Gold. The decision to extend the drill program reflects our commitment to fully explore and unlock the potential of this project. Radius Gold will continue to provide updates as the drilling progresses. Figure 1: Plata Verde Drill Program Technical Information Bruce Smith, M.Sc. (Geology), a member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, is Radius Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Smith has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. Radius Gold Inc. Radius has a portfolio of projects located in Mexico and Guatemala utilizing partnerships where appropriate to retain the Companys treasury. Management is seeking out additional investment and project acquisition opportunities across the globe. Radius is a member of the Gold Group of companies, led by Simon Ridgway. You may find more information on Radius Gold at www.radiusgold.com or www.sedarplus.ca. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Simon Ridgway Executive Chairman Symbol: TSXV-RDU Contact: Bruce Smith 200 Burrard Street, Suite 650 Vancouver, BC V6C 3L6 Tel: 604-801-5432; Toll free 1-888-627-9378; Fax: 604-662-8829 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Website: www.radiusgold.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-looking statements Certain statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements included herein, other than statements of historical fact, are forward- looking statements and include, without limitation, statements about the Companys plans for its properties. Often, but not always, these forward looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as estimate, estimates, estimated, potential, open, future, assumed, projected, used, detailed, has been, gain, upgraded, offset, limited, contained, reflecting, containing, remaining, to be, periodically, or statements that events, could or should occur or be achieved and similar expressions, including negative variations. 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 be materially different from any results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Such uncertainties and factors include, among others, changes in general economic conditions and financial markets; the Company or any joint venture partner not having the financial ability to meet its exploration and development goals; risks associated with the results of exploration and development activities, estimation of mineral resources and the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; unanticipated costs and expenses; and such other risks detailed from time to time in the Companys quarterly and annual filings with securities regulators and available under the Companys profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward-looking statements contained herein are based on the assumptions, beliefs, expectations and opinions of management, including but not limited to: that the Companys stated goals and the planned exploration and development activities at its properties will be achieved; that there will be no material adverse change affecting the Company or its properties; and such other assumptions as set out herein. Forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by law. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Ugandan army commandos have destroyed camps belonging to Joseph Kony, the fugitive leader of the feared Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in the Central African Republic, Uganda's military said on Tuesday. The operation was carried out jointly with armed forces from South Sudan and CAR against three camps east of Sam Ouandja near the Sudan border, said the Uganda Peoples' Defence Forces (UPDF). "All camps were destroyed, and equipment was captured," the UPDF said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter. Kony has been wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) since 2005 for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity over the LRA's three-decade reign of terror across several African nations. "Remnants of the LRA still taking refuge in CAR or elsewhere on the African continent will be hunted down. Unless they surrender to the authorities for proper processing and rehabilitation, they will continue to be considered criminals," it added. The Ugandan army post featured a picture of a building in flames, but did not mention if there were casualties during the raids, nor say if Kony was there at the time. Kony, a former altar boy turned warlord, founded the LRA in the 1980s with the aim of setting up a regime based on his version of the Ten Commandments, launching a rebellion against Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni that spread to the CAR, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan. He has been accused by the Hague-based ICC of murder, cruel treatment, enslavement, rape, and attacks against civilian populations. The militia killed more than 100,000 people and abducted 60,000 children who were forced to become sex slaves, soldiers and porters. - Landmark Uganda trial - A Ugandan court last week found a former LRA commander guilty of multiple counts of crimes against humanity in the first such trial in the East African country. Thomas Kwoyelo was convicted of 44 offences including murder, rape, torture, pillaging, abduction and the destruction of settlements for internally displaced people. Kwoyelo, who had been waiting for years behind bars for a verdict in the landmark case, had denied all the charges against him. He was cleared of three counts of murder while 31 "alternate offences" were dismissed. The court will hold hearings in October to confirm charges against the 62-year-old Kony. It will be the first time the tribunal -- which opened its doors in 2002 to try the world's worst crimes -- will hold a hearing to see if an absent suspect should be sent to trial. Although suspects cannot be tried in absentia at the ICC, it is possible to hold confirmation hearings while they are still fugitives to speed up the process. In 2021, Dominic Ongwen, a Ugandan child soldier who became a top LRA commander, was sentenced by the ICC to 25 years in prison for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The court threw out his appeal in December 2022. bur-txw/ju/gv X Lying on a hospital bed, Aisha Mohammed said she is "suffering" from cholera symptoms, an increasingly common ailment in Sudan where a prolonged war has ravaged the healthcare system. Cholera, caused by contaminated water or food, had been common in Sudan particularly during the rainy season even before war broke out in April 2023 between rival generals. But more than 16 months of fighting have forced most hospitals out of service, leaving the country of 48 million people struggling to control the sometimes deadly but treatable disease. In the southeastern Sudanese town of Wad al-Hulaywah, 40-year-old Mohammed receives intravenous medicine to ease her crippling symptoms. "I'm suffering from acute diarrhoea," she whispered. Sudanese authorities and the United Nations have reported a surge in cholera cases amid several weeks of torrential rains that have battered parts of Sudan and displaced thousands. Rains and floods have contributed to a resurgence of the largely waterborne disease, which can cause severe dehydration and lead to death within hours if not treated. The health ministry on Monday declared an epidemic, later reporting 556 cholera cases including 27 deaths, most in Kassala state where Wad al-Hulaywah is located. Nearby Gedaref state has also been hit particularly hard, the ministry said. The World Health Organization said Sudan has had at least 11,327 cholera cases, 316 of them deadly, since June 2023. Sudan's Health Minister Haitham Ibrahim said "climatic conditions and water contamination" were behind the epidemic. In Wad al-Hulaywah alone, "we've counted 150 cases so far, among them seven dead" since late July, local health official Adam Ali told AFP. - 'Polluted water' - Before the start of the war between Sudan's army and paramilitary forces, the UN had said that about 40 percent of Sudanese did not have access to clean water. Conditions have since worsened. "Our problem is drinking water," said Ali. Most residents of Wad al-Hulaywah "drink water directly from the river -- polluted water", he said. During the rainy season, large amounts of silt are washed into the Setit river, which begins in neighbouring Ethiopia, increasing pollution levels, the health official added. Near the local hospital, workers spray insecticide to fight the proliferation of flies, which Ali said was a symptom of poor sanitation. Dam construction in 2015 on the Setit river had displaced "entire villages", he said, and their inhabitants "dug makeshift latrines, which attract flies because they are not maintained". Access to clean water has been hampered across the country, in areas under either the army or the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, both vying for control of Sudan. - 'I will have no one' - The paramilitaries have laid siege to entire areas, preventing the entry of fuel needed to pump clean water, while bureaucratic hurdles and fighting have blocked aid operations, putting key water stations out of service. The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced more than 10 million and shuttered more than 70 percent of Sudan's healthcare facilities, according to the UN. The rival forces have both been accused of war crimes, including targeting civilians and looting or obstructing humanitarian aid. With Sudan facing what the UN has called "one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent memory" and aid groups unable to help, many feel they have to fend for themselves. Sitting outside a hospital in Kassala, 49-year-old Hassan al-Junaid said he has been displaced by the war, and now "we are living in very bad conditions, which caused my sister to get cholera." "I am the only one with her, but I can't go with her inside because she has been placed in quarantine," he said. "So I'm staying here, worried for her and afraid that I might be infected myself," added Junaid. "If that happens, I will have no one to buy me the medicine I would need." Ukraine's parliament voted on Wednesday to join the International Criminal Court (ICC), as Kyiv seeks to bring Russia to justice over war crimes it is alleged to have committed throughout its invasion. The ICC prosecutes grave offences like genocide and crimes against humanity, and has the power to issue arrest warrants that its 124 members are obliged to execute. Ukraine signed the Rome Statute that founded the court in 2000, but had not ratified it, as some political and military figures expressed fears Ukrainian soldiers could face prosecution. Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba called Wednesday's move "historic" after Parliament adopted the ratification of the statute. "This has been a long journey full of challenges, myths, and fears. None of them have been true. And today, we are finally there," he said in a post on X. The ratification controversially included a reference to Article 124 of the Rome Statute, which would exempt Ukrainian citizens from being prosecuted for war crimes for seven years, ruling party lawmaker Yevgeniya Kravchuk said on Facebook. "The ratification of the Rome Statute will simultaneously facilitate greater opportunities for punishing Russians and increase the isolation of Russia," she said. Last year, the court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children's ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova over the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia and Russian-controlled territory. Kyiv had long faced pressure from rights groups to ratify the treaty as well as from the European Union, which Ukraine has sought to join. bur-jza/cad/jm Meta Ukrainian civilians on Wednesday fled areas close to the front line as Russian troops steadily seized more territory across the eastern Donetsk region. The Russian army has captured several towns and villages in recent days, even as Moscow scrambles to fight off a Ukrainian counterattack into its western Kursk region. Civilians in Myrnograd -- less than 10 kilometres (six miles) from the front line -- told AFP that increased shelling had finally prompted some to leave, two and a half years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion. "I need to leave, because the situation is really getting worse. Every day -- not even every day, but every hour -- is like an avalanche," said Maksym, a 40-year-old mine worker. A recent strike hit the nine-storey block of flats where he lives, blowing out the windows. "Thank God I wasn't home but I decided to leave, because life is precious," he said. AFP reporters saw civilians watching as houses burned after a recent Russian shelling attack on the small town. The remains of a half-destroyed residential building stood surrounded by rubble and a burnt-out car was crumbling by the side of the road. Firefighters were tackling a blaze at another house hit in a recent barrage, as its owner stood outside, shirtless. Russian troops are fighting to reach the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk, a strategically important city five kilometres west of Myrnograd. Officials on Monday ordered families with children to evacuate Pokrovsk and the surrounding areas, where they said more than 50,000 people still live. Asked whether he would return one day, Maksym said: "I'd like to believe so." - 'Sorry for the children' - Galyna, 74, on Wednesday was helping her granddaughter leave for the comparative safety of central Ukraine. "My granddaughter is scared. I feel sorry for the children," she said. Regional officials said they had set up a temporary accommodation centre for families forced to abandon their homes but with nowhere else to go. Russia on Wednesday claimed its latest territorial advance, with the defence ministry saying its forces had captured the town of Zhelanne, around 20 kilometres to the southeast. Moscow claims to have annexed the industrial Donetsk region, as well as three others in eastern and southern Ukraine, despite not having full control over any of them. The Donetsk region has been at the centre of the war between Russia and Ukraine since 2014, when Moscow-backed separatists tried to seize control of the Donbas region and secede from Kyiv. Separately, Ukraine's parliament voted on Wednesday to join the International Criminal Court (ICC), as Kyiv seeks to bring Russia to justice over war crimes it is alleged to have committed throughout its invasion. Ukraine signed the Rome Statute that founded the court in 2000, but had not ratified it on fears Ukrainian soldiers could face prosecution. - Drone attacks - Ukrainian military units disputed Russia's claim that it had taken control of the town of New York, one of its key targets in recent months. Moscow's defence ministry said Tuesday its forces had seized it in a recent advance. Kyiv might have hoped its shock border incursion into Kursk, now in its third week, would force Moscow to divert troops from other parts of the front line. It claims to have captured dozens of settlements and more than 1,000 square kilometres of territory in the unprecedented cross-border assault. So far there has been little sign that fighting on the front lines in Ukraine's east has subsided, however. Russia on Wednesday foiled an attempt by a group of Ukrainian fighters to cross the border into its western Bryansk region, which neighbours the Kursk region. Regional governor Alexander Bogomaz wrote on Telegram that "during a battle, an attempt to break through was prevented by FSB border guards" who fired on the enemy fighters. He described the attackers as a "reconnaissance-sabotage group". The situation at the scene was now "under control", the governor said. Both countries also launched attempted overnight drone strikes aimed at Kyiv and Moscow. Russia said it destroyed 45 drones -- 11 of them headed for the Russian capital. "This is one of the largest ever attempts to attack Moscow with drones," Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. The Ukrainian air force said it detected 72 air targets over Ukraine and downed 50 drones and one missile, some of which were headed for Kyiv. A United Nations team arrived in Bangladesh Thursday to assess whether to investigate alleged human rights violations committed during the recent student-led protests that ended the 15-year-rule of Sheikh Hasina. More than 450 people were killed -- most by police fire -- during the weeks leading up to Hasina's ouster on August 5, when she fled by helicopter to neighbouring India. The UN rights office had said in a preliminary report last week that there were "strong indications, warranting further independent investigation, that the security forces used unnecessary and disproportionate force" during the protests. "Alleged violations included extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detention, enforced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment," it added. The advance team in the country now will look into the "modalities for investigating human rights violations", the rights office said in a statement Thursday. "Depending on the discussions, a separate fact-finding team may be deployed in the coming weeks to conduct the investigation," the UN's Dhaka office said in a statement of its own. Bangladesh's interim leader Muhammad Yunus has said his administration would "provide whatever support" UN investigators need. Hasina's government was accused of widespread abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killing of political opponents. Separately, a Bangladeshi war crimes tribunal set up by Hasina has launched three "mass murder" probes into its founder over the recent unrest. All three cases were brought by private individuals, and several of Hasina's former top aides have also been named. Selecting the best personal injury lawyer in Atlanta can be a critical decision that affects the outcome of your case. With so many options available, its important to know how to distinguish the top professionals from the rest. This article outlines the top strategies for choosing the best Atlanta personal injury lawyer in 2024, providing you with valuable insights to make an informed decision. Understanding the Importance of Choosing the Right Personal Injury Lawyer When youve been injured in an accident, the lawyer you choose to represent you can make or break your case. A skilled personal injury lawyer not only helps you navigate the legal system but also ensures that you receive the compensation you deserve. In a city like Atlanta, where legal professionals are abundant, finding the right lawyer involves more than just a quick internet search. It requires careful consideration of various factors. The Role of a Personal Injury Lawyer A personal injury lawyer represents individuals who have been injured due to the negligence or wrongful actions of others. They handle cases such as car accidents, slips and falls, medical malpractice, and workplace injuries. The lawyers role includes gathering evidence, negotiating with insurance companies, and, if necessary, representing you in court. Therefore, choosing an experienced and reputable lawyer is crucial for securing a favorable outcome. Key Strategies for Selecting the Best Personal Injury Lawyer 1. Look for Experience and Expertise When choosing a personal injury lawyer in Atlanta, experience is paramount. A lawyer with a proven track record in handling personal injury cases will be more familiar with the complexities of the law and the tactics used by insurance companies to minimize payouts. Specialization in Personal Injury Law Not all lawyers have the same level of expertise in personal injury law. Some may practice general law, while others specialize in specific areas such as medical malpractice or car accidents. Its important to select a lawyer who specializes in the type of injury youve sustained, as they will have deeper knowledge and experience in that area. 2. Check Their Track Record of Success A lawyers past performance can give you a good indication of how well they might handle your case. Look for lawyers who have a strong track record of winning significant settlements and verdicts for their clients. Case Results and Testimonials Many law firms publish case results and client testimonials on their websites. Reviewing these can provide insight into the lawyers ability to deliver positive outcomes. Additionally, dont hesitate to ask the lawyer directly about their experience with cases similar to yours and the outcomes they achieved. 3. Consider Their Reputation and Standing in the Legal Community A lawyers reputation within the legal community can be an important factor to consider. Lawyers who are well-regarded by their peers and have received awards or recognition in the field are likely to be more capable of handling complex cases. Professional Associations and Certifications Membership in professional organizations, such as the Georgia Trial Lawyers Association or the American Association for Justice, can indicate a lawyers commitment to staying updated on the latest developments in personal injury law. Additionally, certifications such as being a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer demonstrate a high level of competence. 4. Evaluate Their Communication and Availability Effective communication is key in any attorney-client relationship. You want a lawyer who will keep you informed about the progress of your case and be available to answer your questions. Responsiveness and Personal Attention During your initial consultation, take note of how the lawyer communicates with you. Are they attentive to your concerns? Do they explain legal concepts in a way that is easy to understand? A lawyer who is responsive and provides personal attention is more likely to be someone you can trust to handle your case effectively. 5. Understand Their Fee Structure Before hiring a personal injury lawyer, its important to understand their fee structure. Most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, meaning they only get paid if you win your case. However, the percentage they take and other associated costs can vary. Contingency Fees and Costs Ask potential lawyers about their contingency fee percentage and any additional costs you might incur, such as filing fees or expenses for expert witnesses. Understanding these fees upfront can prevent any surprises later on. Steps to Take When Meeting Potential Lawyers 1. Prepare Questions for the Initial Consultation When meeting with potential lawyers, its important to come prepared with questions that will help you assess their suitability for your case. Some questions to consider include: How many years have you been practicing personal injury law? Have you handled cases similar to mine? What were the outcomes? What is your approach to handling my case? How do you communicate with clients? What are your fees and costs? 2. Assess Their Legal Strategy and Approach During the consultation, ask the lawyer about their strategy for handling your case. Do they have a plan for gathering evidence, dealing with insurance companies, and potentially going to trial? Understanding their approach can help you determine if they are the right fit for your needs. 3. Trust Your Instincts While qualifications and experience are crucial, its also important to trust your instincts when choosing a lawyer. You should feel comfortable and confident in your lawyers abilities and believe that they have your best interests at heart. Red Flags to Watch Out For 1. High-Pressure Tactics Be wary of lawyers who use high-pressure tactics to get you to sign a contract quickly. A reputable lawyer will give you the time you need to make an informed decision. 2. Lack of Transparency If a lawyer is not transparent about their fees, experience, or the potential challenges in your case, its a red flag. You need a lawyer who is upfront and honest with you from the start. 3. Overpromising Results While a lawyer should be optimistic about your case, be cautious of those who guarantee a specific outcome. The legal process can be unpredictable, and no lawyer can promise a particular result. Conclusion Choosing the best Atlanta personal injury lawyer in 2024 requires careful consideration of experience, reputation, communication skills, and fee structures. By following the strategies outlined in this article, you can make an informed decision that will help you secure the best possible outcome for your case. Remember to trust your instincts, ask the right questions, and take your time in making this important decision. Netflix Korea is under fire after a controversial social media interaction involving the K-Drama My Sweet Mobster. The official Netflix Korea Instagram account, @netflixkr, shared a clip celebrating the show's premiere, featuring leads Um Tae Goo and Han Sun Hwa, a former member of the girl group SECRET turned actress. The post, highlighting a scene where Han Sun Hwa's character, Eun Ha, playfully bombards Um Tae Goo's character, Ji Hwan, with aegyo (cute behavior), seemed innocent enough. However, the account's decision to pin and respond to a particular comment has sparked significant criticism. Source The pinned comment in question referred to Um Tae Goo as a "king" who was too great to be seduced by Han Sun Hwa, dismissively calling her an "ahjumma. ALSO READ: 'My Sweet Mobster' Episode 8: Uhm Tae Goo Starts to Distance Himself From Han Sun Hwa " The term "ahjumma" is commonly used in Korea to address older or middle-aged women, and its use in this context was seen as derogatory, given that Han Sun Hwa is not considerably older and is, in fact, seven years younger than her male co-star. @netflixkr's response, "It's cuter that way," only fueled the backlash, with many K-Drama fans and netizens expressing their discomfort and anger at the official account's interaction with a comment they deemed disrespectful. "Is Netflix out of their mind?" one user commented. Another added,"Who are they calling an ahjumma? Even children know Han Sun Hwa as unnie or noona. There's no need to stomp on a woman to hype up a man." As the criticism mounted, Netflix Korea deleted the interaction entirely, but the damage was already done. Screenshots of the comment and @netflixkr's response circulated widely online, leading to even more backlash. Many users demanded an apology, arguing that deleting the comments and pretending nothing happened was insufficient. "What kind of a social media person would use the official account to pin and interact with a hater comment that is disrespectful toward one of the cast members?" a user wrote. "Better apologize and explain yourself." The incident has drawn attention to the sensitivity required in managing official social media accounts, particularly when it comes to interactions that could be seen as dismissive or disrespectful. Here are other comments from the online community theqoo: As of now, Netflix Korea has not issued a formal apology or statement regarding the incident, but the controversy continues to stir heated discussions among fans and netizens alike. READ MORE:THIS Second Lead Couple Is Stealing the Show With Their Slow-Burn Romance in 'My Sweet Mobster What can you say about the story? Share your comments below Kdramastars own this. This article was written by: Rovelyn Barba Rapper Sik K is facing drug charges following an incident where he voluntarily surrendered to the authorities amidst a June investigation that revealed his methamphetamine test results. The incident has sparked worry among his supporters and the general population. Sik K (whose real name is Kwon Min Shik) is a South Korean rapper affiliated with the label 'H1GHR MUSIC'. He gained attention as a contestant in the fourth season of the Korean rap competition "Show Me The Money. On August 22, the announcement about Sik K's accusation surfaced after weeks of rumors surrounding the rapper's actions. Sik-Ks legal team has published an official statement Sik-K did NOT test positive for any form of drugs such as meth Sik-K previously turned himself in for the possession and smoking of marijuana, and it is a separate case that happened before the shoulder surgery pic.twitter.com/jYHMd8CpK3 tea time (@dropthekhhtea) April 29, 2024 READ MORE: THIS 'Parasite' Actor is Suspected of Drug Usage + Agency Responds to Claims Sources mention that Sik K willingly cooperated with authorities in the past, which led to a drug examination revealing traces of methamphetamine. Despite this revelation, his legal representatives have dismissed the claims related to methamphetamine usage. Sik K's lawyer released a statement to explain the situation regarding the rapper's actions: "Following shoulder surgery for an injury sustained during his service and receiving propofol and lidocaine during the procedure resulted in his disorientation post surgery rather than any drug related issues." The lawyer emphasized that Sik K went to the police due to operative confusion and not drug-related concerns. The defense argues that the rapper's strange actions stemmed from the side effects of the medications administered during his care rather than from illicit substance consumption. Despite what the defense has been saying, Sik K will be in court on September 28 to address the accusations against him for the first time.This legal matter has drawn much attention and discussions from fans, showing a mix of worry and backing for the rapper as the court date nears. THIS MIGHT INTEREST YOU: Yoo Ah In's Counsel Claims He 'Suffered From Depression' While Living a Celebrity Life What can you say about the story? Share your comments below Kdramastars own this. This article was written by: Rovelyn Barba Friday, August 23, 2024 - A group of gullible investors are in distress after they were conned close to Ksh 300 million by a Kikuyu lady identified as Passy Ma Travor. She used her huge social presence to convince her followers and fans to invest money with a promise of paying them a monthly interest of 23.5 %. Thousands of people, majority being women, invested their hard-earned money, hoping to get interest. The victims were roped into the scam in 2022, having been influenced by her public display of acts of kindness like creating fundraisers, which were later exposed to be self-enrichment scams. She also launched a new land firm that was selling plots via Lipa Mdogo Mdogo plan. To the investors, she was a business expert. Without doing due diligence or having met her in person, the investors sent their hard earned money to her. Some took millions from their savings while others took loans and invested the money hoping to get the huge interest. Others introduced their family and friends to this get-rich-quick-scheme and invested heavily waiting for profits. She built herself a palatial home and bought high-end cars using the money that she defrauded the investors. The investors realized that they had been conned after she switched off her phones and disappeared. Below is a thread on how the lady, who is currently on the run, executed the scam. Friday, August 23, 2024 The Kenyan police officers deployed to Haiti to restore peace and order are reportedly suffering in silence as they battle the dreaded gangs. According to a source within the police force, the officers are yet to receive their salaries, two months after they were deployed for the peace-keeping mission. The gallant officers have been instructed by their bosses not to raise the issue about the delayed salaries. When they left the country, they were given just Ksh 20,000 to cater for their personal needs. The officers had been promised a monthly pay of Ksh 182, 242 and other allowances but they are yet to get their dues. The cops also lack access to medication even as they risk their lives fighting the battle-hardened gangs. This comes amid reports that the Kenyan troops on the United Nations backed mission are also facing equipment challenge. They have requested for additional armoured vehicles and helicopters. The Kenyan DAILY POST The opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Katonga faction has been urged to shift its focus from individualistic politics. Delivering the keynote address at the factions delegates conference in Katonga, Kampala on Monday, Mr Godber Tumushabe a political analyst from Makerere University advised politicians to move away from debates centered on removing President Museveni and his son from power. Instead, he encouraged them to concentrate on crafting a vision for a better nation post-Museveni. Mr Tumushabe emphasized that Ugandans yearn for improved service delivery, a stable economy, enhanced security, and overall well-being. We have to find a forward-looking agenda. We have to move out of our current situation and begin to try a future where we are in charge. As citizens, we need to be able to frame a debate that leaves Museveni where he is and we go into the future and if he wants to come with us, he will come, said Mr Tumushabe. However, FDC founder and former presidential candidate, Dr. Kizza Besigye, disagreed with Tumushabes position. He argued that they cannot passively wait for Museveni to handover power as this might not happen. Besigye asserted the need to actively oust the president. Mr Museveni is a paper tiger. We must cast our fear away and face the paper tiger and tear it into pieces, Besigye said. Mr. Lugya Bbosa Tabula has confessed to a judicial officer that he planned the murder of Engineer Daniel Bbosa Lwomwa, the Ndiga clan leader. He told Buganda Road Chief Magistrate Ronald Kayizzi that he believed Late Lwomwa and his family members had murdered his father, Israel, in 1989, sold off the Ndiga clan land in Mbale, and built a toilet on it, forcing his ancestors to relocate to Namulonge. Tabula added that he killed Lwomwa in an attempt to secure ownership of the Namulonge land, which the deceased was hindering his pursuit. He insists that he is the true Lwomwa of the Ndiga clan. He further stated that four of the five people arrested and charged before the Mwanga II court are innocent, and only Noah Lugya, his nephew, is guilty of committing the murder of Bbosa. He clarified that the Kisekwa Court secretary, Ms. Milly Naluwenda, only committed the crime of informing him (Tabula) about Lwomwas murder. Tabula explained that the 18 skulls recovered from his shrine in Mpigi were obtained for ancestral rituals and that he never killed anyone to acquire them. He will appear in court on Monday, August 26, 2024. The source, who preferred anonymity due to the confidential nature of the recorded statement, is considered highly reliable. Tabula, who was apprehended on August 19, 2024, in Kimelika-Namulonge, Busikuma, faces additional charges related to the discovery of human skulls at his Mpigi residence. His co-accused include Kisekwa court secretary Milly Naluwenda, 21-year-old Noah Lugya from Kabanga Village, Harriet Nakiguli from Nkere corner zone in Kawempe Division, carpenter Joseph Nakabale from Gala, Mpigi District, and Ezra Mayanja from Kawempe Division. Engineer Bbosa was tragically killed on February 25, 2024, in Kikandwa, Lungujja Rubaga Division. Following the murder, residents captured and lynched one of the assailants, while the other, Lugya, was rescued by police and treated at Mulago Hospital. The story of Alice Kyteler and her maid Petronilla has captured the imaginations of generations of tourists who visit Kilkenny and are enthralled by this ancient story of witchcraft and betrayal. Author Hugh Fitzgerald Ryan published The Devil To Pay in 2010 which tells the true story of Alice and Petronilla portrayed against a backdrop of the struggles between Norman and Irish bringing to life a remarkable tapestry of this pivotal era in Irish history. The author started out his teaching career in Kilkenny in 1964 and became fascinated with the story. "I taught Latin at CBS Kilkenny from 1964 to 1966. I enjoyed my time in Kilkenny, especially in investigating the rich historical legacy of the city. I used to walk past Alice Kyteler's house, several times a day," he said. Hugh and his wife Margaret lived at Green's Hill during their time in Kilkenny. "We rented a flat from Toby Strong, who was very kind to us. It was delightful to hear the bells of Saint Canice's Cathedral ringing out over the meadow by the river on a Sunday morning. I tried fishing in the Nore with no great success. I also swam in the river, which gave me some interesting perspectives on the city. "Toby secured permission for me to climb to the bell loft, which was spectacular, as was the round tower. "I asked the bishop, in later years, if I might go up there again. He said No. Nobody is permitted to go higher than 30 feet, not even the bishop. Health and safety. Fortunately I had taken a lot of photographs and made some sketches in the early days, which subsequently fed my imagination when I came to writing the story of Alice. The history contained in the cathedral was a mine that I could use in re-imagining the story of Alice. I was charmed to find in the old maps of Kilkenny, that we were living on Brogue-makers Hill, another component for the story.. "The view of the river, the castle weir and the purple blur of the cathedral at sunset, as viewed from the Dublin Road, gave me a picture of the young Petronilla of Meath, arriving at a city of churches, a city of God, as she thought," he added. The author said that he originally read the story of Alice in an old manuscript edited by the Reverend Butler in 1847, in Latin. "It took me 44 years to write the story and get it published--- in English. Full marks to the Reverend Butler for doing all the hard work. The character of Petronilla appealed to me as the chief victim of the tragedy. "This gave me licence to imagine what he might have written. It was the time of the end of the Crusades, the suppression of the Templars, the disastrous invasion of Edward Bruce, the beginnings of science and the hysteria about heresy and witchcraft. Don't forget the dispossessed Irish outside the walls and the arrival of the poetic, musical and utterly implacable Bishop Ledrede, with his ambition to build a cathedral to rival those of France and eliminate heresy and all witches. I was spoiled for choice. The author recently reprinted the book which is now called In Barefoot as I Go. The book was first published in 2010 as The Devil to Pay. The story is set in Kilkenny in 1324. Alice Kyteler, the outspoken daughter of a wealthy Flemish banker, has survived four husbands and is beset by the gossip and rivalry of a medieval Anglo-Norman town. Her beautiful maid is Petronilla, child of an itinerant shoemaker, her lover Sir Arnaud le Poer is seneschal and Lord of South Leinster. Her nemesis is Richard de Ledrede, English Fransciscan, scholar, poet and now bishop of Ossory, determined to reassert clerical power and restore the dilapidated cathedral. To him Alice embodies the moral laxity of the age, her irreverence and knowlege of healing feeding his anger and obsession with witchcraft. Outside the city walls the native Irish are resurgent after 150 years of dispossession. In the streets of Kilkenny, crowds gather around the stake. Hugh Fitzgerald Ryan is the author of six other novels, set variously in Napoleonic Ireland and seventeenth-century Uruguay. In 2024 he published Under the Rainbow, a collection of observations and reminiscences of a long life. He is a native of Skerries in north County Dublin and is an accomplished artist whose drawings form the headpieces in Barefoot as I Go. He spent two years living and working in Kilkenny and was inspired by the story of Alice and Petronilla. "My wife Margaret and I spent two very happy years in Kilkenny and made some life-long friends. We often went back in later years, to walk the streets and ponder the events that took place there. It was appropriate that when at last, the book was completed, we went back with some of our children and grandchildren to launch it in the house of Alice herself. Afterwards, they scampered up the tower, while we followed at a more sedate pace. It was exhilarating to look down on the city by the gliding Nore, which had nurtured a major part of our life together." Barefoot as I Go is available in the Medieval Mile Museum and The Book Centre in Kilkenny. Dawn Meats has announced the launch of a new incentivised sustainability programme for Irish beef farmers, which is being supported and co-funded by McDonalds UK & Ireland. Pictured above: Jim O Toole, Chief Executive Officer of Bord Bia, Alistair Macrow, Chief Executive Officer of McDonald's UK & Ireland, Laura Henderson, Vice-President UK & Ireland Supply Chain of McDonalds, John Phelan, ACTIVATE farmer and Niall Browne, Chief Executive Officer of Dawn Meats at the launch of the ACTIVATE sustainability programme The ACTIVATE initiative involves a total investment of 4.4 million over three years and will provide payments to participating farmers for successfully implementing agreed sustainability plans and reducing emissions. The programme, which is the first of its kind in Ireland, has been created to accelerate the adoption of cost effective on-farm sustainability practices and will involve both online and practical training for famers to support them in achieving their emissions reduction targets. Progress will be assessed annually and ACTIVATE members will be compensated through a sustainability dividend for their engagement, active collaboration and successful delivery of target outcomes. McDonalds, the leading global foodservice retailer, will co-sponsor the programme while the initiative will also be supported by Bord Bia, the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) and Teagasc. So far, 50 farmers, who are suppliers of Dawn Meats, have signed up to participate in the programme and have already completed farm sustainability plans. A second phase of recruitment is now ongoing, and the target is for up to 200 farmers to have joined the programme in its first year. The initiative aligns with Dawn Meats Plan Four Zero and McDonalds Plan for Change sustainability strategies and also aligns with the Irish governments objective to achieve a 25% absolute reduction in agricultural emissions by 2030. The ACTIVATE programme will seek to encourage participating farmers to accelerate the adoption of science-based solutions, to mitigate biodiversity loss, enhance soil health, and combat global warming. Farmers will be provided with the tools required to implement sustainability plans including access to an array of resources, from online and practical training to in-person events and knowledge transfer workshops. Dawn Meats and Teagasc representatives will share their expertise in sustainable farming practices and the use of on-line sustainability tools in addition to offering one-on-one support to farmers. Training modules will be delivered through the on-line Bord Bia learning platform. Participating farmers will also be required to sign up to the Teagasc Signpost sustainability programme and to complete the Bord Bia sustainability survey annually, which will assist in calculating their on-farm emissions performance. Farm performance data will be monitored and reported through AgNav, a sustainability support framework run by Bord Bia, Teagasc and ICBF. Herdwatch will provide farmers with herd management software funded by Dawn Meats, and act as a project partner to streamline data collection. The value of the ACTIVATE payments and technical supports participating famers can expect to receive, will be between 4,000 and 8,000 a year depending on factors such as the number of animals per farm, qualifying grades and the level of emissions reductions. Dawn Meats will extend the ACTIVATE programme beyond the initial three-year timeframe with continued support from existing and future ACTIVATE partners. Given the level of broader customer interest it is expected there will be scope to scale up the programme to increase the number of farmers involved. Niall Browne, CEO, Dawn Meats said: We are excited to launch our ACTIVATE farm sustainability programme in partnership with McDonalds. This is a key sustainability initiative for Dawn Meats, and it marks a major step forward in our ongoing efforts to reach our emissions targets. At Dawn Meats, we recognise that our future relies upon the health of our natural world and the wellbeing of our communities. Sustainability has been central to our business plan for over 40 years and this is why we are helping farmers to set ambitious targets and incentivising them to achieve verified results. By working closely with the farmers that supply us, we will be helping them to farm more sustainably while reducing our Scope 3 emissions. This is a win-win situation for us, for farmers and for our valued customers, who share our commitment to achieve Net Zero. Laura Henderson, Vice-President UK & Ireland Supply Chain, McDonalds said: As one of the biggest supporters of Irish agriculture, we are delighted to co-sponsor this innovative programme alongside our long-term supplier partner, Dawn Meats. The programme presents a real opportunity to explore the ways in which we can futureproof the industry and drive more resilient production to ensure our future beef supply contributes to a sustainable food system where people, local communities, animals and the planet can thrive. As a business, we have set ourselves ambitious climate targets as part of our Plan for Change strategy. Our scope 3 emissions present the biggest challenge, not just to our business but to the entire agriculture industry, and we can only achieve these targets through close collaboration across the supply chain, ensuring the right levels of practical support are in place to deliver positive change. By partnering with our suppliers and industry partners on programmes like ACTIVATE, we hope to ensure that our customers can continue to have feel good moments when enjoying our famous beef burgers. Jim O Toole, Chief Executive Officer of Bord Bia said: Bord Bia is delighted to support McDonalds and Dawn Meats on the ACTIVATE initiative, enabling farmers to improve their sustainability performance and achieve their emission reduction targets. Together with our partners, Teagasc and ICBF, Bord Bia wants the AgNav platform to become the primary sustainability support tool for Irish farms. AgNav will provide participating farmers with environmental performance data, empowering them to take the most appropriate actions for their farm and play their part in climate action. It is extremely encouraging to see a leading company such as McDonalds making a clear commitment towards the global climate agenda and achieving carbon neutrality. The targets outlined in ACTIVATE will not only help McDonalds achieve its Net Zero targets but will also have a positive impact on the Irish agricultural sector and environment, in line with targets set out in the Climate Action Bill. We are blessed with an abundance of heritage gems to visit across the county of Kilkenny. From unique buildings to fascinating walking trails, one is truly spoiled for choice. Lets start with a walking trail first, to get the legs going. Its technically more of a hike, but a hike that can be done by people of all ages, including families - Tory Hill in South Kilkenny. Legend goes that the hill got its name during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Many of the young rebellious Irishmen of the district were seemingly branded as tories (toiraidh), meaning outlaws or bandits, because they often made raids on the attackers, taking shelter in the cover of the hill between raids. These days, you can follow in their footsteps and let your imagination run wild. There are two looped walks that you can take from the nearby carpark, both of which are worth doing (youll want to visit again anyway). Keep an eye out for Lough Cullen on your way up, the only lake in Kilkenny - home to legends of witchcraft and ghost hurlers. READ NEXT - American professors amazing life story and links to Kilkenny Each looped walk will take you about an hour and a half to complete, giving you plenty of time to check out some other nearby heritage gems including Kilmogue Portal Tomb. Also known as Leac An Scail, the tomb is noted for being the tallest dolmen of its kind in Ireland. A jewel of local heritage, it can be found pitted amongst the sloping green hills of South-West Kilkenny. Constructed all the way back around 4000-3000 BC, it has held up so incredibly well throughout the millennia. Once again, its in a wonderfully peaceful spot and new car parking facilities were recently installed for those seeking better access to the attraction. Also in South-West Kilkenny, The Lingaun Valley is home to some of Irelands most important heritage sites including the megalithic double passage tomb at Knockroe where hundreds of people gather to celebrate the solstice on December 21. Other notable sites in the valley include the Killamery High Cross, which was also commissioned by Cerball in the 8th Century, Kilkieran High Crosses, which date back to St Kieran, Kilmacoliver Stone Circle, Carrigadoon Hillfort, Owning Portal Tomb, Lamogue Ogham Stone and the Ahenny High Crosses, which were commissioned in the 8th Century by Cerball mac Dunlaighe. Although St Canices Cathedral and Round Tower in Kilkenny City gets a lot of deserved attention, many people may not be aware of the wealth of history and heritage that is present at other round towers across the county. My personal favourite lesser-known round tower to visit is in Tullaherin, on the backroads between Bennettsbridge and Kilfane. The round tower sits on a site that features two ogham stones and a church that dates back to between the 11th and 13th Century. Its a great place to reflect and there is signage at the site to explain some of the history. Its rarely ever busy. Also rarely busy is Kilree Round Tower and High Cross near Kells. Many people visit Kells Priory, one of the largest medieval monuments in Ireland, but arent aware of the round tower and high cross literally just down the road. If youre looking for a guided tour thats slightly off the beaten track, its well worth paying a visit to Jerpoint Abbey. Founded in the 12th Century, Jerpoint Abbey is one of the best examples of a medieval Cistercian Abbey in Ireland. Children can explore the abbey with a treasure hunt available in the nearby visitor centre that houses an excellent exhibition. From April 1 to September 30, Jerpoint Abbey is open from 9am to 5.30pm, with last admission 45 minutes before closing. If you ever visit the quaint Kilkenny town of Thomastown or you drive through it on your way to the picture-perfect village of Inistioge, its definitely worth a pause to take in the view of Grennan Castle from the designated roadside viewpoint and picnic area youll meet along your journey. With the foundation of Thomastown, the eminent Anglo-Norman settler Thomas fitz Anthony built this fine fortress. Although it now stands in ruin, it is an impressive and unique construction in its style and shape, and is a huge part of the history of charming Thomastown. Perhaps youre more in the mood to explore some social history? It could well be worth your time paying a visit to the Coal Mining Museum in Castlecomer Discovery Park. The museums coal mining exhibition comprises a 45-minute tour through Castlecomers coal mining past that takes the visitor on a journey through time. Finally, if you cant leave the city for whatever reason, dont forget to visit Talbots Tower, an historic gem that is often overlooked or missed by visitors and locals alike. It is the only surviving complete defensive tower of the city wall circuit in Kilkenny and has undergone an impressive programme of restoration, conservation and interpretation. Talbots Tower can be accessed via Lower New Street and there is ample seating at the site where you can sit back for a moment and use your imagination to travel back through centuries of history. FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS, CLICK HERE Italian authorities believe they have found the bodies of all six people who were missing after a luxury yacht sank during a storm off the coast of Sicily. Technology tycoon Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo were lost when the Bayesian was hit by a storm and sank at around 5am on Monday. Five bodies have now been brought to shore in the small fishing village of Porticello, around 11 miles from the Sicilian capital of Palermo. On Friday, the Italian Coastguard confirmed to the PA news agency that a sixth body, thought to be that of 18-year-old Hannah, had been found. These are the details of each of the victims on board. Mike Lynch British technology tycoon Mr Lynch founded software giant Autonomy in 1996, and made his name as one of Britains most influential entrepreneurs. In June, the 59-year-old was cleared of conducting a massive fraud relating to an 11 billion dollar (8.64 billion) sale to US company Hewlett Packard. The boat trip was a celebration of his acquittal. Of the 22 passengers and crew on board, 15 including Mr Lynchs wife, Angela Bacares were rescued after escaping onto a lifeboat. Mr Lynch was born in Ilford, east London, brought up in Essex, and was the son of a nurse from Co Tipperary and a fireman from Co Cork who enjoyed childhood summers in Carrick-On-Shannon and Tipperary, where he had family. He went to Cambridge University and started his first business while studying for a PhD in signal processing and communications research. He was made an OBE for services to enterprise in 2006. That same year, he was appointed to the board of the BBC, and was later elected to then-prime minister David Camerons council for science and technology in 2011. David Tabizel, Mr Lynchs Autonomy co-founder, said: The world has lost a genius. His family have lost a giant of a man. It looks like weve lost our dear Dr Mike Lynch. RIP. The world has lost a genius. His family have lost a giant of a man. #MikeLynch #Autonomy pic.twitter.com/eBesEwOe88 David Tabizel (@Tabizel) August 21, 2024 Mr Lynch was a member of the Create The Change fundraising board, set up by Cancer Research UK, which helped fund the building of the Francis Crick Institute. Chairman Lord John Browne, who described him as a human being of great ability, said: Mike Lynch should be remembered as the person who catalysed a breed of deep tech entrepreneurs in the UK. His ideas and his personal vision were a powerful contribution to science and technology in both Britain and globally. He became a fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 2008, which paid tribute to his active role as a mentor, donor and former council member. Mr Lynch was an inaugural member of the enterprise committee. On Thursday, the technology industry group TechUK also described him as a hugely significant and pioneering figure in the UK technology sector. Hannah Lynch The 18-year-old daughter of Mr Lynch had recently finished her A-levels and was due to study at Oxford University. A spokesperson for Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, west London, where Hannah was a former pupil, said on Tuesday: We are all incredibly shocked by the news that Hannah and her father are among those missing in this tragic incident and our thoughts are with their family and everyone involved as we await further updates. Jonathan Bloomer The Morgan Stanley International bank chairman was a prominent businessman who held a number of boardroom roles after an extensive career in financial services. He was the chief executive of global finance group Prudential between 2000 and 2005, and was chairman of Morgan Stanley International as well as Hiscox and property business SDL. Mr Bloomer was among those to give evidence as a defence witness for Mr Lynch, and media reports suggest the pair were close friends. Judy Bloomer Mr Bloomers wife Judy worked as a psychotherapist for nearly 30 years, specialising in anxiety and stress. In a statement confirming their parents deaths, the Bloomer family described the couple as incredible people and an inspiration to many. They said: We are grieving for our loved ones and all of those affected by the tragedy. Our parents were incredible people and an inspiration to many, but first and foremost they were focused on and loved their family and spending time with their new grandchildren. Together for five decades, our only comfort is that they are still together now. This is an unimaginable grief to shoulder. Ms Bloomer was a trustee and long-time supporter of gynaecological cancer research charity the Eve Appeal. She studied English language and literature at Homerton College, Cambridge, and previously worked as a teacher. Chris and Neda Morvillo Mr Morvillo, 59, a partner at law firm Clifford Chance, represented Mr Lynch during the long-running criminal fraud trial where he was eventually cleared of all charges. His long career included representing corporate and individual clients in white-collar government investigations, related regulatory and civil proceedings, and internal investigations. Mr Morvillo had previously been a federal prosecutor, working on cases related to the 9/11 attacks and securing the conviction of lawyer Lynne Stewart for assisting terrorism during his time as assistant US attorney for the Southern District of New York between 1999 and 2005. A Clifford Chance spokesperson said: We are heartbroken at the tragic passing of our partner, Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Neda. We are deeply saddened and still coming to terms with this terrible loss. Our utmost priority is to continue to support Chriss family at this very distressing time. Our thoughts extend to the families and loved ones of all those affected. We wish to express our deepest condolences and our love and support to Chriss family and friends at this incredibly difficult time. We also want to thank the Italian authorities and rescue teams for everything they have done. Mrs Morvillo reportedly ran a luxury jewellery line. Recaldo Thomas The first body recovered at the scene of the sinking on Monday was that of Canadian-Antiguan national Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the Bayesian superyacht, the Italian coastguard told Sky News. In a tribute shared on Tuesday, Gareth Williams, a friend of Mr Thomas, told the BBC: I can talk for everyone that knew him when I say he was a well-loved, kind human being with a calm spirit. Mr Thomas grew up in Antigua and spent his time there during the off-season, Mr Williams said. Another friend, Eli Fuller, told the outlet Mr Thomas was friends with everybody, always positive and sought after in his profession. A protest has been held outside Irelands houses of parliament to call for an immediate end to the killing of people in Gaza. The demonstration was organised in response to a US delegation visiting the Irish parliamentary building, Leinster House, on Friday. Protesters criticised the US for continuing to arm Israel and called for the killing of civilians in Gaza to stop. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the 11 months since the October attack on southern Israel, in which militants killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage. Much of Gaza has been devastated by Israels subsequent military operation, which has destroyed water and sanitation services and limited food supplies to the Palestinian enclave. UNRWA, the UN relief agency for Palestinians, said this week there was now a risk of a polio outbreak due to the collapse of the regions health services and a confirmed case in a 10-month-old child. At the protest outside the gates to Leinster House on Dublins Merrion Street, people held signs with the slogans Stop the genocide and Genocide Joe, referring to US President Joe Biden and the US continuing to support Israel. People carried signs reading Im a mother, not a target and Im a child, not a target and two protesters wore masks featuring the faces of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr Biden. At the Kildare Street end, a larger demonstration was held to the beat of drums, with people chanting Free, free Palestine and Occupation no more while waving Palestinian flags. People Before Profit TD Brid Smith said she was informed in July that a US delegation would visit the Dail chamber, to which she responded to say that her party did not approve in the context of US support for Israel. Were in the middle of the worst genocide that the world has seen in many decades and if the US werent funding Israel it would come to an end, she said of the destruction in Gaza. She said when she heard nothing back, she told the Irish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign and Mothers Against Genocide who organised the protest on Friday. She said she understands that the protest will continue until the delegation leaves Leinster House. Its not a mass protest like Ive seen in Ireland on the question of Palestine, its not of that size, but it is a very young and very loud and very vibrant protest, she said. People are disgusted and raging that the Dail chamber was used in this way, she said, adding that although it has happened before, it was now in the context of Israel depending on the US. She added: On the boycott (of Israeli goods), I was involved in the anti-apartheid movement in the 80s, and it didnt happen overnight that the apartheid state was brought down in South Africa. It took many years of the South African people fighting back but also global solidarity. I think people feel very dispirited and hopeless about whats going on in Gaza but actually the boycott movement is very, very important. Castlecomer Community School in North Kilkenny have congratulated their Leaving Cert students of 2024 and their teachers after recording 'some exceptional results this year'. This year, the school saw the highest number of students in its history taking honours Maths, English and Irish papers. "Out of our 79 students who sat Leaving Cert 2024, 20% got over 500 points," Principal Pat Murphy told Kilkenny Live. READ NEXT: First look at proposed Tesco store and housing for mart site in Kilkenny "Just over 40% attained more than 450 points in their Leaving Cert. Special congratulations to Taya Korenska who achieved the maximum 625 points in her Leaving Cert. "Also, a big well done to our Leaving Cert Applied students who did exceptionally well. We expect the great majority of our class to go onto third level degree courses this year. "Last year, 91% of our Leaving Cert class went on to study third level degree courses and we would expect similar numbers in 2024. "We know that from our work with past students, an average 85% of our students will go on to study third level degrees, 7% will go on to apprenticeships, 3% will go on to PLC courses with about 5% going to agricultural college or employment." Principal Murphy added that the school's two guidance counsellors are on hand this week and next week to assist the 6th Year class of 2023 with any further options or queries they might have. "Well done to everyone and all the very best in your future endeavors," he concluded. FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS, CLICK HERE Abbey Community College, located in Ferrybank in South Kilkenny, has congratulated their class of 2024 on their 'outstanding' Leaving Certificate results. The Principal of Abbey Community College, Ms Michelle Jefford, told Kilkenny Live that the school is 'incredibly proud' of each and every one of their students, and 'would like to take this moment to extend our heartfelt congratulations to all of them on this special occasion'. READ NEXT: Much-anticipated Kilkenny festival is finally here! "These results mark a significant milestone for our students, their families, and the primary schools they represent, all of whom have provided unwavering support during their time at Abbey Community College and have been essential contributors to our thriving school community," she said. "We would like to thank all the staff of Abbey Community College, teaching and non-teaching for their dedication and support to the class of 2024. "An advantage of our large school is the ability to offer an extensive range of subjects for our students in senior cycle. This diverse selection enables our students to pursue university and college courses, as well as enter trades and transition directly into the workforce. "An exceptional group of students consistently excels beyond the national academic averages. This year, we are proud to have many students who achieved scores exceeding 600 points in their Leaving Certificate, along with a significant rise in the percentage of students scoring over 500 points. "Additionally, our Leaving Certificate Applied results are at the highest end of the national range. We extend our best wishes to all our students as they eagerly await their CAO offers." Principal Jefford further noted that the school's support team and guidance counsellors have been in constant contact with the students and that they 'will be there supporting them throughout the whole CAO process and beyond if necessary'. FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS, CLICK HERE Exciting stories from Irish history are hidden all across the country - and one of those fascinating tales is set to be brought back to life in a special Heritage Week talk in north Kilkenny tomorrow (Saturday) evening. Did you know that in 1944 a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber crash landed in a field in Johnstown, narrowly missing a local farmhouse and just half a mile from the village? Not only is it a great story, but many local families still have souvenirs from that dramatic January, Sunday morning! From parachutes to machines guns, sheds and homes in North Kilkenny, for many years, held on to the memory of the daring tale! Local woman Susan Garrett first heard the story when she was at a family gathering, when she was five years old, and was presented with a round from one of the B-17's machine guns! It sparked a life-long curiosity about the exciting event, and now she is sharing the full story with us for Heritage Week. Tomorrow, Saturday, August 24, St Lachtain's Church, Museum and Arts Centre in Freshford will host the talk, starting at 7.30pm. It's a fascinating story and one Susan brings to vivid life, thanks to a lifetime of research, including making contact with the son of one of the American airmen who shared his father's photographs, some taken from inside the B-17 in flight, and his war diaries. But neither that airman, nor any of his crewmates, were found in the wreckage in Johnstown! The plane had taken off from Goose Bay airfield in Newfoundland, earlier on the day it crashed, en route to a goods drop at Nutts Corner in Belfast before flying on to RAF Prestwick in the UK to be made battle ready. But it never made it to those destinations. Ireland was a neutral country during 'The Emergency' so how did a famed American bomber end up in the fields of North Kilkenny? And what happened to her crew who were not found in the wreckage? (Small spoiler - they all survived the war and lived full lives!) Don't miss Susan's presentation tomorrow evening when the mystery will be solved! Check out https://www.heritageweek.ie/event-listings for more Heritage Week events! Two local projects in Callan and Paulstown will receive funding today of 49,950 each under the Governments Town Centre First Projects according to local TD John McGuinness. The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys T.D., has today announced funding of 2.6 million to support the development of a wide range of Town Centre First projects. This funding will assist local authorities in creating a pipeline of significant, well-developed projects in local towns across Ireland. The two Kilkenny projects are part of 53 projects nationwide that will be supported with up to 50,000 of funding per project. This funding will support pre-development works for projects and support costs including detailed design, planning, procurement, professional fees, assessments and other development costs. Welcoming the news, Deputy John McGuinness said, this is very positive news for Kilkenny with significant funding allocated to these worthy projects. In Callan, the funding of almost 50,000 will help develop plans to establish an outdoor classroom community space in Abbey Field and examine the re-development of a derelict cottage in Moate Field and complete biodiversity studies on both sites. In Paulstown, the same level of funding will be used to complete feasibility and design studies for the creation of a centre point in the village,consisting of an open public green space with seating and leisure facilities. This will redevelop the village centre and provide accessibility between the main street and residential areas, said Deputy John McGuinness. Announcing the funding, Minister Humphreys said: Im delighted to announce funding of 2.6 million today which will support Local Authorities and Town Teams to develop a strong pipeline of shovel-ready projects in our local towns. I am announcing funding for a wide range of projects today from the development of green spaces and parks in our town centres to projects which look at how vacant and derelict building in our towns can be brought back into use. I look forward to seeing these exciting projects and initiatives progress and make positive impacts for our rural towns and villages. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Chinese premier says to promote high-level development of China-Belarus bilateral partnership Xinhua) 08:09, August 23, 2024 Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at the Palace of Independence in Minsk, Belarus, Aug. 22, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Xiang) MINSK, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang said here Thursday that China stands ready to work with the Belarusian side to push for the high-level development of their all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership. Li made the remarks while meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at the Palace of Independence in Minsk. Li conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings to Lukashenko. Li said that China-Belarus relations, regardless of how the international situation changes, have always shown vigor and vitality since the establishment of diplomatic ties 32 years ago. The two sides adhere to mutual benefit and common development, and their practical cooperation has yielded fruitful results and brought tangible benefits to the two peoples, Li noted, pointing out that the two heads of state met in Astana this July and made strategic arrangements on deepening bilateral relations. China is willing to work with Belarus to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, continuously consolidate political mutual trust, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and push for the high-level development of the China-Belarus all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership to better benefit the two peoples, Li said. Noting that China will continue to firmly support Belarus in pursuing a development path suited to its national conditions, Li said that China stands ready to further synergize development strategies with Belarus, solidly advance cooperation in various fields, steadily expand trade scale, effectively implement projects such as the China-Belarus Industrial Park, and continuously deepen people-to-people exchanges. Li also said that China is willing to further strengthen multilateral cooperation with Belarus, jointly promote the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, advocate an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, promote the development of the global governance system towards a more just and reasonable direction, and safeguard the common interests of developing countries. Lukashenko asked Li to convey his sincere greetings to Xi. Noting the two countries have always firmly supported each other on major issues concerning each other's core interests, he said that the Belarus-China relations are enjoying a strong momentum of development and are at an all-time high. The Belarusian side sincerely appreciates China's long-term selfless assistance to its economic and social development, Lukashenko said, adding that Belarus stands ready to maintain close high-level exchanges with China, deepen practical cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, agriculture, science and technology. Belarus is willing to actively participate in the important global initiatives proposed by President Xi and make greater progress of the Belarus-China all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership, said Lukashenko. Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at the Palace of Independence in Minsk, Belarus, Aug. 22, 2024. (Xinhua/Rao Aimin) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) The 2024 summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in Beijing from Sept. 4 to 6, China's foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced recently. Leaders from China and African countries will gather in China's capital to further strengthen joint efforts in solidarity and cooperation. Since its establishment in 2000, the FOCAC, a milestone in the development of Sino-Africa relations, has served as a platform and multilateral mechanism for effectively advancing collective consultation and expanding cooperation between China and African countries within a pragmatic framework. The FOCAC is guided by five main objectives: promoting cooperation, enhancing understanding, ensuring equal consultation, expanding consensus and strengthening friendship. This has injected new impetus into long-standing China-Africa relations. Given all of this, China, the world's largest developing country, and Africa, home to the greatest number of developing nations, have found common ground. Faced with similar challenges in a world fraught with profound volatility, China and African countries have come together via mutual interests, with both reaping enormous benefits from their alliance via the FOCAC. Organized triennially at the heads-of-state level with African and Chinese cities taking turns as host, the FOCAC summit is characterized by the release of a three-year joint action plan that not only advances respective development pathways of the two parties but also contributes to the building of a close-knit China-Africa community with a shared future. For African countries, the FOCAC is a window of opportunity to attract more Chinese investments and to also tap into China's vast experience and expertise in various fields. Since the establishment of the FOCAC, African countries have witnessed an influx of Chinese investments, a key source for the region's industrial growth and an invaluable resource for the timely achievement of the African Union's 2063 Agenda, the continent's blueprint for industrial and economic development over the next 50 years. Over the past 24 years, the FOCAC has been a springboard for a host of Chinese enterprises to expand their investments in Africa. During this period, Chinese enterprises have built industrial parks and economic zones all over Africa, contributing significantly to African countries' industrialization and the continent's "value-added" industrial potential. Recognized as a source of technology transfer, infrastructure financing as well as employment and skills transfer, Chinese-built industrial and economic zones provide a number of benefits including contributing to the expansion of Africa's manufacturing production and exports, the growth of local innovation and the further enhancement of the region's integration into global value chains. The Zambia-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, China's first overseas economic and trade cooperation zone in Africa, was established in 2007. Since its opening, the multi-functional economic zone has made steady progress, contributing significantly to Zambia's drive for industrialization. Data from China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group Co., Ltd. (CNMC), the company behind the Zambia-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, shows that the zone has created more than 10,000 local jobs and has attracted nearly 100 businesses in various sectors including agriculture and manufacturing, mining, engineering equipment assembly and banking, with total investments surpassing $2.5 billion. For Africa, the flow of Chinese foreign direct investment is crucial in transforming and upgrading the continent's traditional sectors and fostering emerging industries, as it is an important source of infrastructure financing, technology transfer, skills transfer and an indispensable source for injecting new momentum for industrialization. For example, Africa has abundant natural resources such as vast mineral deposits and 65% of the world's arable land yet has minimal capacities to harness natural resources for sustainable development. But, over the last two decades, the surge in Chinese FDI flow has increasingly provided countries in the region with the opportunity to chart new development pathways that seek to balance productivity growth, job creation and ecological conservation, which are the bedrock of sustainable economic growth. Data released by China Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University shows that annual Chinese FDI flows to Africa have been increasing steadily since 2003 rising from $75 million in 2003 to $5 billion in 2021. The data also shows that since 2013 Chinese FDI flows to Africa have exceeded those coming from the United States. Through the FOCAC, China has played a critical role in accelerating Africa's industrialization and development. For example, to address Africa's huge infrastructure gap, an impediment to the industrialization process, China has made unparalleled contributions by working with relevant stakeholders who seek to bridge the continent's infrastructure financing gap. A policy paper from the Center for Global Development, a U.S.-based think tank, shows that between 2007 and 2020 China's two main development finance institutions (DFIs), China Exim Bank and China Development Bank, invested $23 billion in infrastructure projects across Africa. For a 13-year period, infrastructure investments made by these two Chinese DFIs have been $8 billion more than the combined investments attributed to the top eight lenders, including U.S. and European development banks, the World Bank and the African Development Bank. Funds from Chinese DFIs, typically concentrated in energy and transport infrastructure projects, have contributed significantly in laying a solid foundation for sustainable industrialization in Africa. According to the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa (ICA), Chinese investments in Africa's information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure passed $1 billion in 2015. Thanks to the massive and continued investments from Chinese enterprises into the region's ICT sector, Africa's sustainable industrialization pursuit is yielding concrete results. In Nigeria, Africa's largest economy, a GSMA report (2024) shows that the mobile sector accounted for 13.5% of total GDP in 2023, including the direct value added by wider ICT industries and the mobile sector's impact in enhancing the productivity of other sectors. Digital transformation is not peculiar to a few African countries. In 2022, mobile technologies and services generated 8.1% of GDP across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) that amounted to approximately $170 billion of economic value added, supporting around 3.5 million jobs in the region. Mobile technologies' contribution to the SSA's economy is expected to reach $210 billion by 2030. At the upcoming 2024 FOCAC summit, it is projected that new opportunities for enhanced cooperation in key areas, such as ICT, renewable energy, trade and transport will be mapped out, with these future channels crucial for Africa's further industrialization and green development. Alexander Ayertey Odonkor is a global economist with keen interest in the social, environmental and economic landscape of developed countries, emerging markets and developing economies particularly in Asia-Pacific, Africa, Europe and North America. Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. By Park Jin-hai The much acclaimed Apple TV+'s original series "Pachinko" returned with the second season. The epic melodrama, based on the 2017 bestselling novel by Korean American author Min Jin Lee, unfolds the survival and life of a Korean immigrant family across four generations from the perspective of the family's matriarch, Sunja (Kim Min-ha and Youn Yuh-jung). The drama won Best Foreign Language Series at the Critics Choice Awards in 2022, recognized for its cinematography and the actors' performances. Three directors collaborated on the latest season of the series. Leanne Welham directed the first and second episodes, focusing on the actors' intricate emotions, while Arvin Chen, known for his distinctive style, handled episodes three to five. Korean Japanese director Lee Sang-il explored themes of anxiety and turmoil in episodes six to eight. The first season features Sunja's first romance with Hansu, a wealthy fish broker with ties to the yakuza, unexpected pregnancy and betrayal under Japanese colonial rule in their home country Korea and then her move to Osaka with Isak (Steve Sanghyun Noh), a young pastor who marries her while she is already pregnant. Picking up seven years after the events of Season 1 in Osaka, 1945, Season 2, which premieres on Friday, chronicles Sunja's determination to safeguard her family as the shadow of World War II looms large. The narrative also shifts to Tokyo in 1989, where her grandson Solomon (Jin Ha) begins a new life from scratch. While the series is based on a novel, the fact that it depicts a painful chapter of Korean history for a global audience made the actors' experiences particularly meaningful. Oscar winner Youn Yuh-jung, who has been representing Koreans in various films, including award-winning "Minari," takes the role of old Sunja. "I focused on staying true to the character. Despite being uneducated and poor, she has an unwavering spirit to live with dignity. I found it incredibly rewarding to portray her," the 77-year-old actor said. Reflecting on the experience, she added, "It was during filming this epic drama that I realized how little we and our government understood about the lives of those people who endured that time." Lee Min-ho, who portrays the complex character Hansu, said that Hollywood making a story based on Korean history, which had scarcely been told, is significant. "When I read the script, I realized that the fact that our story, which had been overlooked for so long, was now receiving such significant attention in a large market was incredibly meaningful. I am grateful for the sacrifices and hardships endured by our ancestors, who made it possible for us to be here today." As for his character blurring the lines between good and evil, Lee said if Season 1 focused on the struggle for survival, Season 2 delves into the lives of those who must persevere. He said, "My character in Season 2 is a more multifaceted individual with his own ambitions, making him a more complex figure than in the previous season," Hansu continues to watch over Sunja and their son Noa, both from afar and up close, after she left him to settle in Osaka. When asked about Hansu's feelings for Sunja, Lee mentioned that his emotions are more complex than mere love. "Initially drawn to her strength, Hansu developed a possessive desire that went beyond love. His self-centered nature and focus on his own desires became increasingly apparent," Lee said. "As Season 2 progresses, his growing wealth and power serve to amplify his insecurities, leading to a more obsessive pursuit of Sunja and her son as he struggles to define his own identity amid his material gains." Kim Min-ha, who plays young Sunja, said that Hansu holds a special place in Sunja's life. "Hansu was like an encyclopedia, introducing Sunja to the world for the first time and opening up new possibilities for her. Beyond being her first love, he played a pivotal role in her life. In Season 2, the relationship gets so intricate and multifaceted. She often finds herself wanting Hansu out of her life but can't seem to stop thinking about him. It's a strange and contradictory feeling," she said. Kicking off with the premiere of the first episode Friday, a new episode will be released every Friday on Apple TV+ through Oct. 11. By Baek Byung-yeul The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) will honor late "Parasite" actor Lee Sun-kyun for his contribution to the country's film scene at this year's event, the festival's organizer said Friday. Lee will posthumously receive the Korean Cinema Award at the BIFF, which will take place in the southern port city of Busan from Oct. 2 to 11. The festival will feature a special program, "In Memory of Lee Sun-kyun," to honor the late actor's achievements by showcasing six of his most celebrated films. Additionally, special talk events will be held to explore how the actor contributed to the diversity of the Korean film scene. Debuting in 2001, Lee appeared in various dramas and films, including director Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning film "Parasite." Last October, he underwent a series of police questioning on allegations of illegal drug use. Though he tested negative for drugs, he was found dead amid the investigation last December. The BIFF said it aims to remember Lee's acting career and achievements and provide a space to commemorate him. "The Korean Cinema Award is given to filmmakers who have contributed to promoting Korean cinema globally. This year, the award will be presented to the late actor Lee Sun-kyun at the opening ceremony (of the festival) for his diverse filmography, which is beloved by the international film community," the organizer said. The six works featuring Lee that will be screened are director Park Chan-ok's 2009 film "Paju," director Hong Sang-soo's 2013 film "Our Sunhi," director Kim Seong-hun's 2014 film "A Hard Day," director Kim Won-suk's 2018 drama "My Mister," Bong's 2019 film "Parasite" and director Choo Chang-min's "Land of Happiness," Lee's final work currently in theaters. Among the works, the organizer will showcase the fifth episode of My Mister (2018), a 16-episode TV series, in which Lee touched the hearts of many through his humane performance. The organizer said the episode best showcases both Lees presence as an actor and the essence of (his) character Park Dong-hoon cinematically. By Lee Hae-rin Sofitel Ambassador Seoul will celebrate its third anniversary of opening by collaborating with the world-renowned artist Ran Hwang to present four masterpieces under the theme of Cultural Link in the hotel lobby from Sept. 2 to 29. Hwang's "The Secret Sublime," which will be displayed in the hotel lobby, combines French and local culture through the shape of a vegetable used by a queen of the Joseon Dynasty on a colorful chandelier. Hwang is a global artist who embodies the human network, visibility and invisibility, and the colorful and beautiful moments of her life with symbolic images. Based in New York, the Korean artist presented a reinterpretation of the "Lady Dior" and permanently displayed large works at Facebook headquarters in Manhattan, New York. Her installation work, which uses buttons, yarn and pins as the main materials, combines Korean elements such as plum blossoms, tiles, palaces and palms with cultural objects representing France, such as chandeliers, the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, and offers a deep resonance with both sides of life while providing visual pleasure with a bold sense of color. The exhibition, designed to commemorate the third anniversary of the opening of Sofitel Ambassador Seoul, will provide a broader artistic experience to guests with its carefully selected four pieces from the "Plum Blossom Series," which contains the peak beauty felt in the moment's life. Also on display will be "The Kiwa Series," which expresses vain human desires and illusions by reinterpreting and distorting images of representative buildings from various cultures, and "The Chandelier Series," which contains the visible light and splendor created by the intertwining of spider webs and chandeliers. The hotel will host an art talk on Sept. 3 between Hwang and Richard Vine, the former editor-in-chief of the world-renowned art magazine Art in America, at Salon S on the hotel's fifth floor. North Korea on Friday denounced the United States' approval of a potential sale of Apache attack helicopters to South Korea as a provocative act that deliberately aims to increase security instability in the region. A North Korean foreign ministry official issued the statement after the U.S. announced a decision earlier this week to approve a proposed sale to South Korea of 36 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and other items for $3.5 billion. "This is a reckless provocative act of deliberately increasing the security instability in the region," the statement said, noting that the approval came at a time when tensions on the Korean Peninsula were high due to joint military exercises under way between the South and the U.S. "The U.S. is now getting more active in its arms sale to Japan, ROK and other allies in the Asia-Pacific region, and this is a challenge to security in the region that cannot be overlooked," it said, according to the Korean Central News Agency. The North warned it will steadily conduct necessary military activities to control the military imbalance and instability in the region as the U.S. is determined to provide "war hardware and lethal equipment" to its allies. "Since the U.S. is keen on the provision of war hardware and lethal equipment to its allies in the region, the DPRK's strategic deterrence will be further strengthened to protect the national security and interests and the regional peace," it said. Seoul and Washington launched their annual Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise Monday for an 11-day run in a bid to bolster their joint defense readiness against North Korea's evolving military threats. North Korea has long denounced the allies' joint military drills as a rehearsal for an invasion. (Yonhap) Five Russian university students have arrived in North Korea for a language program, marking Russian students' first entry to Pyongyang after a four-year hiatus since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian Embassy in Pyongyang said Friday. The students from MGIMO University of the Russian Foreign Ministry visited the embassy Wednesday, and they will participate in a language program at Kim Il Sung University, the Russian Embassy said on its Telegram account. "We wish MGIMO students success in learning the Korean language and hope to meet them in the future as new diplomats in Pyongyang," it said. MGIMO is known as an educational institution under Russia's foreign ministry that focuses on nurturing diplomats. Earlier this year, North Korea allowed the entry of Chinese students, marking the first time that foreigners were permitted to visit the reclusive regime for study. Since North Korea began reopening its border in August last year following its closure in early 2020 due to COVID-19, it has partially approved the entry of foreigners, including diplomats and Russian travelers. After summit talks in Pyongyang in June, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed deals to boost exchanges and cooperation in agriculture, education, public health, sports, culture and tourism. (Yonhap) South Korea and the United States will continue efforts to enhance practical capabilities and readiness to respond to "any type" of North Korean nuclear threats, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday. The ministry made the statement after The New York Times reported that U.S. President Joe Biden approved a secret strategy in March to focus on China's growing nuclear threats and prepare his country for possible coordinated nuclear challenges from North Korea, China and Russia. The highly confidential Nuclear Employment Guidance, updated around every four years, was only distributed to a handful of security officials and Pentagon commanders, the newspaper said. When asked to comment with regard to the news report, a foreign ministry official in Seoul said the allies are continuing to enhance the effectiveness of extended deterrence, citing the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), in response to the North's advancing nuclear and missile threats. "Going forward, the U.S. and South Korea will continue to develop practical capabilities and readiness to effectively deter and respond to any type of North Korean nuclear threats," the official said on condition of anonymity, without elaborating further. The NCG was launched last year to strengthen the U.S.' commitment to using the full range of its capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its ally. As part of the NCG efforts, the defense officials of the two sides signed a set of nuclear deterrence guidelines in July, but questions have lingered over what the guidelines actually entail as the details have been kept undisclosed. (Yonhap) A U.S. senator, known for his close ties to former President Donald Trump, said Thursday that he will visit Seoul next month to attend an annual trilateral economic meeting between Korea, the United States and Japan. Sen. Bill Hagerty, who served as the U.S. ambassador to Japan from 2017-2019 during Trump's presidency, plans to participate in the second annual Trilateral Economic Dialogue on Sept. 4 that will bring together private- and public-sector leaders from the three countries. The trip comes as he is set to lead a bipartisan group of senators in a delegation to South Korea and Japan. "As the former United States ambassador to Japan, it is my privilege to lead a bipartisan group of my Senate colleagues on a congressional delegation to Japan and the Republic of Korea," he said in a statement. "I look forward to bringing our delegation of U.S. senators even closer to these two nations whose vital alliances with the United States I came to so greatly appreciate as ambassador," he added. Hagerty underscored the importance of trilateral cooperation on various fronts. "Now more than ever, it is imperative that our three nations continue to strengthen our economic, diplomatic, and strategic relationship," he said. (Yonhap) Increased exchanges in recent months boost hopes of improved relations By Lee Hyo-jin Relations between South Korea and China appear to be warming as the two Asian neighbors commemorate the 32nd anniversary of their diplomatic relations on Saturday. Diplomatic observers said, Friday, that a series of recent bilateral exchanges signal Beijing's willingness to mend fences. The relationship between the two nations have deteriorated under President Yoon Suk Yeol who took office in May 2022. His administration's foreign policy, which emphasizes ties with like-minded nations such as the United States and Japan to counter North Korean threats, has been perceived by Beijing as South Korea aligning with U.S.-led efforts to encircle China. However, recent weeks have seen notable exchanges in trade, people-to-people interactions, and military sectors between Seoul and Beijing. "We are witnessing a markedly different atmosphere compared to last year when China showed virtually no willingness to improve relations," said Lee Sang-man, head of the China Research Center at Kyungnam University. Earlier this week, South Korea's Trade Minister Jeong In-kyo traveled to Jinan, China, for the seventh South Korea-Shandong Economic and Trade Cooperation Exchange Meeting. This was the first in-person meeting in five years. Shandong Province is a key hub for the supply chain cooperation between the two nations, especially in the automotive sector. Last week, a group of 48 young South Koreans visited China for a week, signaling the resumption of the South Korea-China youth exchange program after a five-year hiatus. The program, aimed at fostering mutual cultural understanding, will see Chinese youth visiting South Korea next year. Notable exchanges have also occurred in the military sector, traditionally one the most sensitive areas of bilateral relations. According to South Korean military sources, the defense ministries of South Korea and China conducted a military hotline inspection for the first time in four years in late July. During the working-level meeting in Beijing, officials discussed ways to improve call quality. The meeting was held privately, and details were not publicly disclosed. Observers suggest that Beijing's efforts to mend ties with Seoul may stem from unease within China's leadership about the growing relationship between North Korea and Russia. The deepening ties between the two countries, including the potential for weapons trade, have unsettled Beijing, which has traditionally been North Korea's main patron. "Chinas increased engagement with South Korea is partly related to its strained ties with North Korea," said Lee. "From North Koreas perspective, China isn't being as supportive as it once was. Notably, the Chinese ambassador to Pyongyang was absent from North Korea's major military parade that took place July 27." Kang Joon-young, a professor of Chinese studies at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, viewed that there seems to be a tactical shift in China's diplomacy with South Korea, noting that Beijing's outreach to Seoul reflects its view of South Korea as the weakest link in the Seoul-Washington-Tokyo triangle. "Previously, China's policy toward South Korea was focused on pressure telling us not to get too close to the U.S. and discouraging us from strengthening Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation. However, the more they pushed, the stronger the Korea-U.S. alliance and trilateral cooperation became," Kang said. "China now seems to have realized that continuing to exclude and pressure South Korea would only strengthen the U.S.-led alliances. They appear to be focusing on managing relations with South Korea to prevent the current situation from becoming permanently entrenched," he added. Visits by the heads of Chinese local governments to South Korea also signal Beijing's growing willingness to normalize ties. Xin Changxing, secretary of the Jiangsu provincial committee of the Communist Party of China, visited Seoul in June, following Hainan Province Governor Liu Xiaoming's visit the previous month. With this changing dynamic, there is speculation that the South Korean president may hold a bilateral meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang during the ASEAN leaders' summit in October in Laos. If it occurs, this would be their meeting in five months since the last one held in May in Seoul. There is also optimism that the current positive momentum could result in a visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to Seoul next year, as South Korea is set to host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, which Xi typically attends. Since the start of President Yoon's term, there have been no official visits between the leaders of South Korea and China. Lee emphasized that South Korea should leverage this momentum and pursue more flexible diplomacy, broadening its foreign policy beyond the current focus on Seoul-Washington-Tokyo trilateral cooperation. "China remains a crucial player in addressing North Korea's nuclear issues. Our national interest lies in maintaining a strategic balance between trilateral cooperation with the U.S., Japan and bilateral relations with China," the professor said. By Jon Dunbar This is the fifth part in a series intended to raise awareness of Korea's elusive live music scene and help more people find it. Younger people might be surprised nowadays to hear that the area in front of western Seoul's Hongik University, known as Hongdae, was once ground zero for the entire country's live music scene and independent culture spirit. It used to be the place to get away from K-pop's omnipresent sensory overload. The area became a subcultural hotbed sometime around the early 1990s, and in the latter half of the decade, it was bursting at the seams with the (then-still-youthful) energy of live music. There are still people around who remember these early days, and while they've grown old, some of them still haven't grown up. There are a lot of sad stories around the rise and fall of live music venues in Hongdae, but let's face it, it's not really a business that churns out success stories. 9. Spangle Ever notice Taeyeong Apartment, the biggest apartment complex in the Hongdae area? Before redevelopment, that spot used to have a lot of culture. This is where Spangle opened its doors in 1996, replacing an earlier music bar called Double Deuce. Spangle was the house venue for some of the well-known first-generation modern rock bands, including Huckleberry Finn, Cocore, Deli Spice and My Aunt Mary. According to one website, the legendary British guitarist Bernard Butler apparently showed up there in July 1999 during a stop on his way to Japan to play at the Fuji Rock Festival. After losing a bet in a card game, he agreed to perform there the next day. News spread fast, and by sunrise, people were already lining up outside the venue. Spangle closed in 2000 and has been replaced with the high-rise apartment complex. Read More Hongdae community coping with drastic changes 8. Skunk Hell The main punk club of the 1990s was Club Drug, but as it increasingly closed its doors to new acts, another venue was needed. The call was answered by Won Jong-hee of the street punk band Rux, who opened Skunk Live Hall on the wrong side of the tracks (literally) in Nogosan-dong, near the Sinchon neighborhood. Various stories abound regarding how the name was changed to Skunk Hell. This tiny place was accessed via a narrow alley leading to basement stairs at the back of a building. It was "close to the size of a good-sized living room," according to an American high school student who ran away from his home in Yongsan Garrison in 2002 and lived there for a while. Graffiti from that era still marked the alley entrance until it was removed only a few years ago. Skunk closed sometime before January 2004, when it moved into its second location, the former site of Club Drug in Sangsu-dong, now Bender. Skunk now exists in its fourth location in Sindang-dong. 7. Blue Devil Not much information about Blue Devil seems to have survived to this day. I don't even know where it was located, although it appears the building is still standing with no traces remaining of its cultural significance. It was operated by Lee Hyun-sook, who was interested in psychedelic and avant-garde music. This venue discovered and incubated bands the likes of Jaurim, Ppippi Band and U&ME Blue. Its legacy carried on in two forms, one being Jaurim which is still active and renowned to this day, and also... 6. DGBD There was a bit of a game of musical chairs around the end of 2003 in the Hongdae music scene. Club Drug, the most legendary venue of the area, exited the original Sangsu location and teamed up with Blue Devil, creating a new venue in a new location. This was to be called DGBD, an anagram of their names stuck together, and obviously intended to be reminiscent of the New York punk club CGBG. DGBD was superior to Drug, at least as a facility (no offense to the original Drug space, which has been fixed up incredibly well and is now called Bender). The ceiling was extra high, with a catwalk and sound booth around the upper level, and it had an emergency exit and a licensed bar. After opening in 2004, DGBD survived all the way into the pandemic, closing sometime in late 2020. A new business moved in, and now the space is once again empty, possibly flooded. Read More Live music venues going out of business one after another amid COVID-19 pandemic 5. Club Ta Club Ta was an underrated venue. Located in a basement next door to the louder Club FF, it was owned by Jeon Sang-kyu of the band YNot? Club Ta opened in May 2006 and closed its doors a decade later in 2016, when the monthly rent reportedly doubled from 3.5 million won to 7 million won. The space was then gutted and appears to have remained unoccupied ever since. So... congratulations to that landlord? Read More Hongdae indie spirit gutted 4. Yogiga Another barren basement, Yogiga, was opened by Lee Han-joo around 2004. Lee, the founder of the Bulgasari monthly experimental music concert series, turned the place into a landmark for a unique corner of Hongdae's music scene. Yogiga has actually appeared in seven different spaces over its life, starting with Seogyo-dong near Hongik University Station for the first year. Then, it moved to its best-known location in Hapjeong-dong. Later, it bounced around to Mangwon-dong in 2016, Yeonnam-dong in 2017 and Donggyo-dong in 2018. It's a classic example of a Hongdae gentrification refugee relocating to the rim of the region referred to as "Hongdae" while being pursued by gentrification forces and pushed further away from the center. Lee mentioned a seventh location has since opened in southern Seoul's Sillim-dong, once again giving Bulgasari a home. Read More Bulgasari celebrates 20 years of experimental music in Seoul 3. Salon Badabie I have warm memories of Badabie, and it may be due to the warm-feeling, wood-lined interior. It was opened in December 2004 by a poet who went by the penname Ujungdokbohaeng. Badabie had a bit more of an open-door policy than other clubs and wasn't pigeonholed by genre; one week you could see acoustic folk, and the next week there could be crust punk. Around 2011, the owner, who was already struggling with rent, underwent brain surgery for cancer. The musicians of Hongdae, including many who had got their start in this hallowed basement venue, banded together to save Badabie and its owner with an 11-day festival titled "Badabie Never Die." The proceeds were used to pay rent, and Badabie's owner survived the surgery. The venue stayed open for a few more years, until at least 2014, before inevitably closing. Read More [Weekender] Saving Salon Badabie 2. Club Spot Club Spot opened in December 2005, searching for its niche in the swiftly saturating Hongdae punk venue field. One way it found this was by holding shows later, starting after other shows ended (Hongdae shows used to be notorious for starting and finishing early). It also offered free cocktail hours, I believe from 11 p.m. to midnight, but for some probably obvious reason, my memory of this is incredibly hazy. Although it might be most easily characterized as pop-punk, it was not beholden to any one faction of the increasingly splintering punk and hardcore scene. Its original founder moved on to the much larger Club Prism, before opening Danginri Theater, Newsboy Burger Pub and now most recently Highball Club Nakasu. After almost a decade, Club Spot closed in 2014, with its final show on Halloween weekend. A music video was made that night showing most if not all of the people in attendance. The space has since been converted into a K-pop coin noraebang. 1. Hippytokki This is the most recent closure, and because of that maybe still the most painful. This basement space had gone through several name changes, before becoming Goinmool and then Hippytokki. It brought a little momentum to Hongdae's live scene, especially punk, during the difficult days of the pandemic. Once the light at the other end of the tunnel was visible, it closed. The place had a warm, colorful, inviting interior, and at least through pandemic restrictions it provided a lot of seating. I also liked its location, near the subway station and a few doors down from Strange Fruit, a less-crowded part of the neighborhood. It may be gone, but it is survived by the Hippytokki Compilation Project, which is still listenable online, along with a couple of other albums, at hippytokki.bandcamp.com. The head of the state arms procurement agency visited Australia this week to discuss expanding arms industry cooperation, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said Friday, as Seoul eyes clinching more defense deals with Canberra. On Wednesday, DAPA Minister Seok Jong-gun met Jim McDowell, Canberra's deputy secretary of naval shipbuilding and sustainment, to discuss strategic cooperation in the two countries' warship projects, according to his office. In February, Australia announced a plan to acquire 11 new frigates for its Navy, with Korean, Japanese, German and Spanish vessels being mentioned as candidates. Seok also attended a ceremony Friday to mark Korean defense company Hanwha Aerospace's completion of a factory in Geelong, southeastern Australia, to build K9 self-propelled howitzers, K10 ammunition resupply vehicles and Redback infantry fighting vehicles. In December 2021, Hanwha signed a deal to supply 30 K9 Thunder howitzers and 15 K10 armored ammunition resupply vehicles to Australia by 2027. It also struck another deal to sell 129 Redbacks to Australia last December. On the sidelines of the ceremony, Seok held talks with Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and other officials to discuss efforts for long-term cooperation, such as Korea's potential participation in Australia's frigate project. (Yonhap) Police have booked four additional medical staff, including an anesthesiologist, on charges of abetting murder in connection with the abortion of a 36-week-old fetus, officials said Friday. Police have launched an investigation after a vlog video surfaced in June in which a YouTuber claimed that she had an abortion in the 36th week of her pregnancy. Police have since booked the woman and the doctor who performed the abortion on murder charges. "We have confirmed that five medical personnel participated in that," a police official said. "In addition to the operating surgeon, we have booked an anesthesiologist and three assistant medical staff on charges of abetting murder." The YouTuber in her 20s underwent two rounds of questioning and admitted to getting an abortion. The anesthesiologist, who was outsourced for the operation, and two assistant staff were questioned earlier this week, and police plan to call in the operating surgeon and others for questioning after analyzing what was seized during two raids on the hospital. During the raids, police also obtained a stillbirth certificate in which the doctor said that the abortion was performed after a natural stillbirth. Investigators plan to look into whether the stillbirth claim is true. Police have also secured a cremation certificate issued on July 13, weeks after the abortion was performed on June 25. The fetus's body was kept at the hospital in between and police plan to look into why that happened. (Yonhap) A short circuit or other electrical causes are believed to have sparked a fire at a hotel in Bucheon, west of Seoul, a fire official said Friday, after the tragedy left seven dead and a dozen others injured. Cho Seon-ho, chief of the Gyeonggi-do Fire Services, made the remark during a briefing to Interior Minister Lee Sang-min visiting the fire site, saying a guest had smelled burning after entering Room 810, where the fire started, and asked the hotel for a room change. "We believe an electrical factor is the most likely cause," Cho said. Firefighters suspect the fire began in the empty room and smoke rapidly spread. "Motels tend to have narrow corridors and accumulate large amounts of heat, making it difficult for guests to evacuate," Cho said. The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency said it formed an 84-person investigation team to look into why the deadly blaze occurred on the eighth floor of the nine-story hotel in Bucheon, 20 kilometers west of Seoul, at 7:39 p.m. Thursday. Firefighters put out the fire in about three hours but as many as seven hotel guests in their 20s to 50s lost their lives. Of the 12 injured, three are said to be in serious condition. The police agency said the investigation will be focused on determining the cause of the fire and possible negligence in building management. The investigation team was set to conduct a joint on-site inspection at the fire scene at 11 a.m., together with firefighters and personnel from the National Forensic Service, it noted. (Yonhap) Justice minister faces grilling over decision to acquit Kim Keon Hee By Kwak Yeon-soo The ruling party and opposition camps clashed, Friday, over the prosecutions decision to acquit first lady Kim Keon Hee of violating anti-graft laws during a meeting of the legislation and judiciary committee at the National Assembly. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has called for a special counsel investigation into Kims luxury handbag case. The request follows the prosecutions conclusion and the Anti-Corruption & Civil Rights Commissions decision to close the case against Kim, citing the lack of a punitive clause for public officials spouses under the anti-graft act. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office (SCDPO), which investigated the allegation that Kim received a luxury handbag worth about 3 million won ($2,252) from a Korean American pastor named Choi Jae-young in 2022, concluded that she was not guilty of any wrongdoing. The office stated that the bag was given "not in exchange for favors" but simply "out of gratitude." The Supreme Prosecutors Office referred the case to a prosecution investigation review committee after the SCDPO's three-month investigation cleared Kim of any criminal charges. This review committee, which examines investigations of significant public interest, is composed of 15 experts randomly selected from a pool of 300 members. However, its recommendations are not legally binding. "Given the high public interest and controversy surrounding the case, it is advisable to refer it to the prosecution investigation review committee to ensure fairness and eliminate any potential for further debate," Prosecutor General Lee One-seok said. Choi, who made headlines for secretly filming himself handing over the luxury handbag gift to the first lady, held a press conference in front of the SCDPO, Friday, and requested the office to convene the prosecution investigation review committee. The prosecution granted immunity to the first lady in the luxury handbag case, opening up a new path like Moses Miracle for all spouses of public officials to freely receive money and valuables, Rep. Kim Byung-joo of the DPK said, Friday. Rep. Lee Sung-yoon of the DPK, and a former chief of the SCDPO, denounced the prosecution for failing to hold the powerful accountable. The investigation by prosecutors into the first ladys luxury bag case was conducted unfairly, leading to an unjust outcome. If the prosecution continues to do this, it should be abolished. We need to request a reinvestigation, Lee said. Justice Minister Park Sung-jae, who attended the judiciary committees meeting, was grilled by the opposition regarding the prosecutions decision to acquit and not indict the first lady. I wasnt briefed about the prosecutors investigation, so it seems inappropriate as justice minister to give an opinion merely based on media reports, the minister said. Opposition parties also claimed that prosecutors had failed to properly investigate allegations behind the first lady's involvement in a stock manipulation scheme involving Deutsch Motors Inc., a BMW car dealer in Korea. On the other hand, the ruling People Power Party (PPP) introduced a separate bill to appoint a special counsel to investigate allegations that former first lady Kim Jung-sook, wife of former President Moon Jae-in, abused her power by taking a taxpayer-funded solo trip to India in November 2018. The PPP alleges that Kim spent 400 million won in public funds, including about 62 million won on in-flight meals, and that she used taxpayer money to visit the Taj Mahal for personal reasons. The controversy is heightened by the fact that this was the first time in 16 years that a Korean first lady made a foreign visit unaccompanied by the president, raising questions about whether she was officially invited. Meanwhile, a parliamentary confirmation hearing for Shim Woo-jung, the prosecutor general nominee, will be held on Sept. 3. Shim, the incumbent vice justice minister, was tapped as the new prosecutor general on Aug. 11. Prosecutor General Lee One-seok referred the case of first lady Kim Keon Hee's acceptance of a luxury bag to a review committee, his office said Friday, amid controversy over the prosecution team's decision to clear her of the charges. The announcement came as the controversy is growing after prosecutors concluded that anti-graft law violation charges cannot be sought against Kim although she received a Dior bag worth about 3 million won ($2,255) and other expensive gifts from pastor Choi Jae-young two years ago. Lee made the decision to ensure that the case "undergoes careful deliberation by the committee comprising entirely of outside civilian members," the Supreme Prosecutors' Office (SPO) said. The SPO said that while the investigation results show that the evaluation of the evidence and legal interpretation have been thorough, it came to the decision given the high public attention to the case. "Given the intense public interest and the ongoing controversy, it is deemed appropriate to resolve the matter through the investigation review committee to enhance fairness and prevent further dispute," the office said. The prosecution's conclusion to drop all charges against Kim has fueled a wrangling among political circles. During a plenary meeting of the legislation and judiciary committee on Friday, lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) criticized the prosecutors for conducting an "unjust" and lenient investigation. DP Rep. Lee Sung-yoon, who previously served as chief of the SCDPO, said that Justice Minister Park Sung-jae should immediately order a reinvestigation, adding that the prosecution has "become an institution that is unable to investigate those in power" and is now considered a subject to be abolished. "According to the prosecution's decision to acquit, all public officials in this room will now be able to freely accept expensive gifts through their spouses with no limit," DP Rep. Jeon Hyun-heui said in a sarcastic tone. On the other hand, Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok of the ruling People Power Party argued that "there is no provision in the Anti-Graft Law on penalizing the spouse of a public official for accepting a bribe." The prosecution's decision came about four months after the top prosecutor ordered the SCDPO to set up a special investigation team on the case. The team reportedly regarded the bag Kim received as a gift exchanged between individuals to express gratitude. (Yonhap) By Nam Hyun-woo Dongsuh Foods' cafe in Itaewon, Seoul, is gaining tourists' attention with its coffee-based beverages using the company's famous Maxim Mocha Gold instant coffee. According to the company, it recently introduced five new coffee drink options at its Maxim Plant cafe located in Hannam-dong, Yongsan District, to offer customers a unique experience of enjoying the company's instant coffee products with creative recipes in a cafe setting. The new offerings include Mocha Gold Quick Shot, which provides a bold espresso flavor, Mocha Gold Original, made with a newly created recipe, Mocha Gold Boost, which adds a deeper flavor to the Mocha Gold Original, the chilly and refreshing Mocha Gold Iced and Mocha Gold Filter, made with a filter-brewed coffee recipe. The company said each option offers a distinctive taste, allowing customers to enjoy Maxim Mocha Gold in various ways according to their tastes. Dongsuh Foods opened Maxim Plant in 2018 as part of its effort to refresh its brand image and appeal to younger customers. During the past six years, more than 1.12 million customers have visited the cafe and enjoyed various drinks made with the Maxim brand's instant coffee products. Maxim Mocha Gold has been the top-selling instant coffee brand in the Korean market for more than 30 years. Dongsuh Foods said Maxim coffee is based on the company's 50-year-long know-how and technology in making products, perfecting the ratio of coffee, sugar and creamer to ensure a consistent flavor that is easy for anyone to prepare. To appeal to younger people, the company has partnered with popular character franchises such as Kakao Friends, Kitty Bunny Pony and the Moomins. These collaborations feature attractive packaging that helps to enhance the product's appeal. In June, Dongsuh Foods collaborated with Zanmang Loopy, based on one of the characters in the children's animation "Pororo the Little Penguin," to roll out a package of merchandises that come with Maxim instant coffee. The package included summer vacation essentials such as beach towels, cooler bags and ice boxes as well as trendy merchandise like figurines, mood lamps, pouches, keyrings and mugs. "Maxim Mocha Gold has become the most beloved instant coffee in Korea based on our continuous product development and active engagement with consumers through various marketing activities," an official at Dongsuh Foods said. "Dongsuh Foods will continue to introduce diverse products catered to consumer preferences and will promote the taste of Maxim coffee through distinguished marketing strategies." Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has said she will not "cozy up to" dictators like North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, whom she cast as "rooting for" her Republican rival Donald Trump. In her nomination acceptance speech in Chicago on Thursday, Vice President Harris took aim at Trump, who has long boasted about his personal ties with Kim, stressing she knows "where I stand" in the "struggle between democracy and tyranny." "I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong-un who are rooting for Trump," she told a cheering crowd of Democrats on the fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention. "They know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. They know Trump won't hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself," she added. The remarks reinforced expectations that Harris, if elected, could focus on working together with allies to bolster deterrence against North Korean threats while leaving the door open for dialogue with Pyongyang largely in line with President Joe Biden's approach. Offering clarity on what had been her sketchy foreign policy vision, she affirmed her commitment to reinforcing America's global leadership and standing "strong" with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) while decrying Trump's controversial stump speech in February that drew the ire of NATO allies. "I will make sure that we lead the world into the future, that America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century, and that we strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership," she said in an emphatic voice. "Trump, on the other hand, threatened to abandon NATO. He encouraged Putin to invade our allies, said Russia 'do whatever the hell they want,'" she added. She was referring to Trump's remarks during a campaign rally, where he said that if reelected, he would "encourage" Russia to do whatever it wants to do to "delinquent" NATO members that fail to meet their defense spending commitments. The Democratic flag bearer laid out her vision to realize if she becomes the nation's commander-in-chief. "I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world," she said. She also highlighted her determination to safeguard America's ideals. "As president, I will never waver in defense of America's security and ideals because, in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand, and I know where the United States belongs," she said. During the pomp-filled convention, Harris was formally crowned as the Democratic presidential nominee for the Nov. 5 general election. Her nomination followed a tumultuous period marked by an assassination attempt against Trump last month and Biden's unprecedented exit from the presidential race days later. (Yonhap) Disappointed Pro-Palestinian activists said Kamala Harris' speech to close the Democratic convention in Chicago failed to demonstrate any break from the status quo, after a week in which the most divisive issue facing the party was mostly ignored. Under pressure to respond to critics of U.S. support for Israel's war in Gaza, the vice president used her Thursday night speech to repeat earlier calls for a ceasefire and a hostages deal. She said she supported Israel's right to defend itself while also favoring the Palestinian right to self-determination. Abbas Alawieh, co-founder of the Uncommitted National Movement that mobilized more than 750,000 voters to protest U.S. policy on Israel, said Harris missed an opportunity to win over those people, many of whom live in battleground states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Arizona. "What's needed in this moment is courageous leadership that breaks from the current approach," Alawieh told Reuters shortly after Harris formally accepted the party's nomination. Uncommitted delegates and their allies had pushed unsuccessfully for a prime-time speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) to address the latest bloodshed in the decades old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which began on Oct. 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing about 1,200, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's assault on Hamas-governed Gaza, with the aid of U.S. support, has since killed 40,000 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say, along with displacing nearly its entire 2.3 million population, causing a hunger crisis and flattening almost the entire enclave. Rima Mohammad, an Uncommitted delegate from Michigan, said the speech added to disappointment over the DNC's refusal to let a Palestinian speak, and offered nothing to assuage the concerns of her progressive, diverse community in Ann Arbor. "I'm actually more concerned now," Mohammad said. "This is just a bad look. You're going to lose Michigan." A campaign spokesperson declined to explain the decision not to schedule a speech by a Palestinian speaker at the DNC. The decision was made by DNC organizers in close consultation with the Harris campaign, sources familiar with the discussions said. Party insiders fear the Gaza war could cost Harris needed votes in battleground states such as Michigan, which is home to large Muslim and Arab American populations and college campuses that have been the site of Gaza protests. The convention was held in Chicago, home to the United States' largest Palestinian community, according to the Arab American Institute. The DNC faced pro-Palestinian protests each day in Chicago, including thousands of demonstrators on Thursday night ahead of Harris' speech. Dozens of arrests were made during the week. Protesters carried banners that read "No Embargo No Vote" and "No Ceasefire No Vote," while thousands chanted "ceasefire now," and "long live Palestine." "Leading with Israel's right to defend itself in the wake of 40,000 massacred Palestinians is absolutely tone deaf," said Hatem Abudayyeh, spokesperson for the Coalition to March on the DNC and National Chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, who said Harris simply repeated President Joe Biden's positions. "Harris said nothing new," he said. "We continue to demand that the U.S. and Harris implement an arms embargo and stop sending weapons and all other aid to Israel." Mohammad, Alawieh and other Uncommitted delegates spent the previous night on the sidewalk outside the convention to protest the DNC's rejection of their request for a Palestinian speaker. They welcomed a call for a ceasefire and the return of hostages by the parents of one U.S. hostage held in Gaza - Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin - on Wednesday night, but said they should also have been given a chance to speak. Pro-Palestinian protesters and delegates said they were heartened by messages of solidarity from the United Auto Workers union and the Movement for Black Lives, a network of over 150 leaders and organizations. Muslim Women for Harris-Walz said on X it would cease operations after the DNC decision. Ruwa Romman, a Georgia state legislator and delegate who spent the night outside the DNC, said Uncommitted organizers had negotiated with the Harris campaign for weeks and provided a list of possible speakers, only to be rejected. Prior to Harris' remarks, only a handful of speakers even addressed the war, including Biden, Senators Bernie Sanders and Raphael Warnock, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. One major Harris campaign donor, who requested anonymity to be candid about their private conversations with the campaign, said they worried that without a near-term ceasefire deal and clear statements from Harris about ending the war and protecting civilians, campus protests could flare again when universities resume classes in coming days. "We need every vote," the donor said. (Reuters) Floods wreaked more havoc in Indias northeast and neighboring Bangladeshs eastern region, raising this weeks total death toll to 30, officials and media reports said Friday. Rain stopped in many parts of Bangladesh on Friday and weather officials in Dhaka said the waters had started receding in some areas, but said the flooding would not be over for days. In India's Tripura state, eight more people died in the last 24 hours, raising the death toll to 19 since Monday, said a state disaster management official on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media. Earlier, 11 people were reported dead. In Bangladesh, seven more people died in the last 24 hours, Dhaka-based Ekhon TV reported Friday. Earlier, four deaths were reported in raging waters flooding downstream from India, and amid incessant rains in the countrys eastern region. Bangladeshi non-government organization BRAC said in a statement that up to 3 million people remained stranded as fast-moving water inundated vast areas of farmland, destroying livelihoods, homes, and crops. It said many remained without electricity, food or water. Other media reports said up to 4.5 million people have been affected in the delta nation of 170 million people. A number of charity groups have called for help, with a student group collecting dry food, cash, water and medicines at Dhaka University in the nations capital. In the Indian state of Tripura, authorities said around 100,000 people took shelter in over 400 relief camps, as the floods affected 1.7 million people in eight districts of the state. Chief Minister Manik Saha undertook an aerial survey to assess the situation. Liakath Ali, BRACs director of Climate Change, Urban Development and Disaster Risk Management, said that these were the worst floods Bangladesh has seen in three decades. Entire villages, all of the families who lived in them, and everything they owned homes, livestock, farmlands, fisheries have been washed away. People had no time to save anything. There are people stranded across the country, and we are expecting the situation to worsen in many places as rains continue, he said. New breaches on a flood protection embankment in the Gomti River in the eastern district of Cumilla inundated about 100 low-lying villages from Thursday midnight, Dhaka-based The Business Standard newspaper reported Friday. Other districts including Noakhali, Feni and Chattogram were also hard hit. Volunteers at the scene at Cumilla attempted to alert people to move to safety after the breaches on Thursday midnight, while residents used loudspeakers at neighborhood mosques to relay warnings. Some victims in the area told television stations that they had left their belongings behind and rushed to higher ground for safety. Abed Ali, a senior relief official in Cumilla district, told The Associated Press by phone that residents have been asked to move to shelters, but are facing difficulties reaching them in current conditions. The military used helicopters to ferry relief materials and dry food to affected people on Friday, according to posts on its Facebook page. In Bangladesh, rumors spread online that the flooding was caused by India opening the Dumbur dam in Tripura, causing a number of anti-India protests. Indias External Affairs Ministry denied the connection, pointing out that the dam is far from the border and that heavy rains had caused major flooding over a wide area in both countries. (AP) China will work to promote economic and trade cooperation with Vietnam, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said on Thursday. China will use the celebration of the 75th anniversary of China-Vietnam diplomatic ties next year as an opportunity, and support enterprises on both sides in expanding trade in agricultural products and manufactured goods by fully leveraging platforms such as the China International Import Expo and the Canton Fair, MOC spokesperson He Yadong told a press conference. China will also foster new investment cooperation drivers in sectors such as the digital economy and green development, and deepen supply chain cooperation to ensure smooth trade flows between the two countries, according to the spokesperson. He also stressed the importance of facilitating regional economic integration, saying that China will accelerate negotiations for Version 3.0 of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, and make greater contributions to regional development and prosperity. Trade between China and Vietnam has seen rapid expansion in recent years. The annual trade volume between the two sides has exceeded 200 billion U.S. dollars for three consecutive years. In the first seven months of 2024, China-Vietnam trade surged by 20.9 percent year on year to about 145.07 billion dollars, MOC data showed. Zarazeno pa 23.08.2024 05:08:55 Vydano Zdroj scio.gov.cn Original english.scio.gov.cn/pressroom/2024-08/23/content_117383417.htm lang en Kolkata, August 22: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi demanding stringent central legislation with exemplary punishment for perpetrators of rape, a senior official said here. Alapan Bandopadhyay, Chief Advisor to the West Bengal Chief Minister, read the letter at a press conference. Banerjee, also the Trinamool Congress supremo, wrote the letter in the backdrop of countrywide protests over the alleged rape and murder of a woman doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata earlier this month. Noting the regular occurrence of rape cases throughout the country, Banerjee highlighted that, according to available data, nearly 90 rape cases occur daily. In many cases, rape victims were murdered. Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Probe: CBI Seeks Lie Detection Test on Former RG Kar Principal Sandip Ghosh, 4 Other Doctors. It is horrifying to see this trend. It shakes the confidence and conscience of society and the nation. It is our bounden duty to put an end to it so that women feel safe and secure. Such a serious and sensitive issue needs to be addressed comprehensively through stringent central legislation that prescribes exemplary punishment for those involved in these dastardly crimes, the letter read. Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Case: Professor Manas Kumar Bandopadhyay Appointed Principal of RG Kar Medical College Amid Ongoing Probe. Banerjee also proposed the establishment of fast-track special courts for speedy trials in these cases. To ensure quick justice, trials should preferably be completed within 15 days, she suggested. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) New Delhi, August 22: The CBI Thursday sought a polygraph test on former RG Kar Medical College principal Sandip Ghosh and four other doctors in connection with the alleged rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee at the hospital, officials said. The CBI took Ghosh and four other doctors, who were on duty on the date of the incident, to a special court for seeking its permission to conduct the lie detection test on them, they said. Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Case: Supreme Court Mandates CISF Deployment at RG Kar Hospital Following Junior Doctor's Death. The lie detection test can only be done after a permission from the court and the consent of the suspect, they said. Earlier in the day, the CBI alleged in the Supreme Court that there was an attempt by the local police to cover-up the rape and killing of the post-graduate medic as the crime scene was altered by the time the federal agency took over the probe. Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Case: Professor Manas Kumar Bandopadhyay Appointed Principal of RG Kar Medical College Amid Ongoing Probe. The rape and killing of the junior doctor in a seminar hall of the hospital has sparked widespread protests. The medic's body with severe injury marks was found inside the seminar hall of the hospital's chest department in the morning of August 9. A civic volunteer of the Kolkata Police was arrested the following day. On August 13, the Calcutta High Court ordered the transfer of the probe from the Kolkata Police to the CBI, which started its investigation on August 14. (This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body) Warsaw, August 22: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to hold a bilateral meeting with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk on Thursday. He will also call on Poland's President Andrzej Duda, and thereafter hold a meeting with business leaders. Later in the day, Prime Minister Modi will meet Indologists and some kabaddi players to see what is there that attracts India and Poland at the people-to-people level together, stated Randhir Jaiswal, Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Prime Minister Modi arrived in Warsaw on Wednesday on a two-day visit to Poland, becoming the first Indian leader to visit the central European nation in 45 years. On Wednesday, he paid tributes at The Dobry Maharaja Memorial, Kolhapur Memorial, and the Monument to the Battle of Monte Cassino; and later addressed the Indian community in Warsaw. PM Modi Poland Visit: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Pays Homage at 3 Memorials, Including 'Good Maharaja Square', in Warsaw (See Pics). After his two-day visit to Poland, Prime Minister Modi will leave for Ukraine. This will be the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1992. "From Poland, I will be visiting Ukraine at the invitation of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This is the first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine. I look forward to the opportunity to build upon earlier conversations with President Zelenskyy on strengthening bilateral cooperation and share perspectives on the peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict. As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region," Prime Minister Modi said in a statement released by the MEA before his departure on Wednesday. PM Narendra Modi Embarks on 2-Nation Visit to Poland and Ukraine, Says We Hope for Early Return of Peace, Stability in Region in Departure Message. According to MEA, the Prime Minister's engagements in Kyiv will touch a range of aspects of bilateral ties including political, trade, economic, investments, education, cultural, people-to-people exchanges, humanitarian assistance and others. Prime Minister Modi will also interact with the Indian community, including students during the visit. The Prime Minister's landmark visit to Ukraine will help further consolidation and expansion of bilateral ties. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 22, 2024 07:37 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). On 22 August US Ambassador to Mexicoreleased a statement warning that Mexicos planned judicial reform was a major risk to democracy. End of preview - This article contains approximately 397 words. Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article Not a Subscriber? Choose from one of the following options An Easton attorney was accused Thursday of threatening an attorney from the Pennsylvania Office of Disciplinary Counsel. Attorney Ronnie Creazzo, 60, of Bushkill Township, sent a threatening email after an investigator from the disciplinary counsels office showed up at his home on June 21, according to a criminal complaint. Creazzo said he would consult his attorney and expected to make a statement addressing the allegations Friday. The investigator was unable to serve Creazzo a notice to plead after Creazzo yelled an expletive and told the investigator to get off his property before there is a problem, the complaint says. The investigator feared for his safety and left. Five minutes later, Creazzo allegedly sent an email to an attorney with the disciplinary counsels office saying, If you send someone from your office to my personal property again, they will not live to tell about it. He punctuated the email with more expletives, the complaint says. Creazzo sent the same email about 25 minutes later, then sent a third email saying, Trespassers are not welcome. You have my office address. This was extremely uncalled for. That was outrageous and extremely unprofessional and your superior will be notified, according to the complaint. The complaint says Creazzo was asked in front of the Disciplinary Board of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court whether the life-threatening statements were wrong. In testimony he gave on July 18, Creazzo allegedly answered, Yes. That went too far. Its unclear why an investigator came to Creazzos home or why he testified before the judicial board. There are no pending actions against Creazzo nor does he have a case history listed on the Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board website. The attorney for the disciplinary board, Laura K. Mohney, had no comment Monday, Aug. 26, on the matter. The state disciplinary board reviews complaints made by clients against Pennsylvania attorneys. Those cases are investigated by the disciplinary counsels office. Creazzo is charged with three counts of threatening harm to a judicial process, three counts of criminal use of a communication facility, and single counts of retaliation against a witness, obstruction of law enforcement and making terroristic threats. He was also charged with three counts of harassment. The charges were filed by a Northampton County detective working for the district attorneys office. District Attorney Stephen Baratta said his office doesnt know why a state discipline investigator went to Creazzos home. He said that information is likely sealed. The complaint is limited only to the interaction between the alleged victim and Mr. Creazzo on the day in question, Baratta said in an email. Creazzo was arraigned Thursday by District Judge Jan Vislosky, who set bail at $75,000 unsecured. The state website says Creazzo has been practicing law since 1990. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to Lehighvalleylive.com. Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Weeks after the tragic death of 25-year-old Victoria G. Lee who was shot in her apartment by a Fort Lee police officer just minutes after her familys 911 call seeking help Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin has issued major changes regarding how officers should handle situations involving barricaded individuals who are frequently in the throes of a mental health crisis. The revisions, which follow several other similar fatal police shootings of individuals suffering from behavioral or mental health emergencies, come after more than a year of study and discussions with law enforcement agencies across the country, community support groups and mental health experts, Platkin said. The intention is to ensure tactical and crisis-negotiation teams responding to such incidents are optimally trained and have essential resources and equipment they need, he added. Calling the mandates involving Use of Force guidelines the first of their kind in the country, Platkin said encounters involving barricaded individuals are often difficult and high risk. In an interview, he noted that the challenge is not unique to New Jersey, where those in law enforcement are often asked to be patrol officers and mental health counselors at the same time, adding that we can no longer ask law enforcement to be the sole response. We are encouraging them to slow down, ensuring proper resources are deployed, he said. The attorney generals directives, which will begin to take effect in October, include joining negotiating teams with mental health professionals and even disengaging from the immediate scene as a way of de-escalating the situation. New Jersey already has a program called Arrive Together, which pairs police with mental health professionals, but it is not available in every town. Among the changes: Tactical and crisis negotiation teams will be required to identify qualified mental health professionals who will be available to respond to incidents involving a barricaded individual or hostage situation. First-responding officers facing a barricaded situation will be advised to wait for appropriate resources to respond and not attempt to force a resolution, unless that would be immediately necessary to prevent injury or death. In certain situations, the rules call for law enforcement to consider tactical disengagement a decision to leave, delay contact, delay custody or planning to make contact at a different time and under different circumstances as a possible method of reaching a resolution, particularly when continued contact may result in an unreasonable risk. Law enforcement agencies will have to adopt policies mandating an immediate response by an on-duty supervisor to barricaded situations who will establish incident command to begin determining what resources are needed. Additionally, the tactical unit notified must be whats known as a Tier 1 or Tier 2 SWAT team, which Platkin said have more personnel and greater capabilities when it comes to rescuing hostages and dealing with barricaded subjects. Tactical teams will also be required to carry less lethal weapons, such as Tasers and impact munitions, in an effort to resolve incidents without the use of deadly force. Platkin would not discuss the Lee case, which is still under investigation, other than to say his heart goes out to her family. But her death follows a number of others with similar outcomes. Earlier this week, the sister of Andrew Drew Jerome Washington, of Jersey City, who was shot and killed a year ago at his Bergen-Lafayette home after family members called the Jersey City Medical Centers psychiatric unit for a wellness check, filed a lawsuit in federal court naming the city, county, Jersey City Medical Center, RWJ Barnabas Health and 11 police officers and EMTs as defendants. It alleges use of excessive force, warrantless entry and discrimination based on disability. He is dead because Jersey City Police Department officers dispatched to check on Drews safety during a mental health episode, instead broke down his apartment door, shot him twice, and tased him. Drew, a Black man experiencing symptoms related to a mental health disability, was unjustifiably killed by the police, the lawsuit alleged. Washington, 52, had a history of chronic mental health issues. According to city officials, body camera footage showed that he charged with a kitchen knife when officers opened the door of his home. Another police shooting of a man in crisis took the life last year of Najee Seabrooks, a high-risk intervention specialist with the Paterson Healing Collective, a group that works to stem the tide of violence in New Jerseys third-largest city, after he texted friends amidst his own alleged mental health episode. He begged them to come to me after barricading himself inside his home, before everyone tries to kill me. The shooting of Lee in July told a similar story, records show. Police bodycam footage of the horrifying incident released last week showed that it took just 130 seconds for armed officers to arrive at The Pinnacle apartment complex on Main Street in Fort Lee around 1:25 a.m. on July 28 in response to a 911 report of the young womans agitated behavior, before shooting her once in the chest after breaking down her door. Lee was in the apartment with her mother and holding a water bottle when she was shot, although there was a knife nearby, the bodycam footage shows. Lees family said they called 911 to have her taken to Valley Hospital in Paramus after she began exhibiting unusual behavior, including rolling on the bed, briefly shouting, and lightly tapping her head against the wall, according to the Attorney Generals office. They said she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2017, but managed her mental health condition through work, travel and music. An attorney for the family, Henry Cho, said last week that in past crises that led to calls to 911, first responders were understanding and worked with the family to de-escalate the situation and transport Lee to the hospital. This time, there was no attempt at de-escalation, said Cho. The family of 26-year-old Victoria Lee has asked the Attorney General's office to conduct a thorough investigation into her killing by police.Courtesy of Lee Family Experts have been sharply critical of the response of the Fort Lee police and what they said were critical errors in judgment that raised major questions about the training of the officers and their strategy upon arriving at the scene. Platkin said additional funding under New Jerseys ARRIVE Together program, which he called the only statewide program for alternative responses to behavioral health crises in the country, will provide funding to support the implementation of the added directives. That program pairs a plainclothes police officer trained in crisis intervention and de-escalation with a certified mental health specialist to respond to 911 calls involving people having behavioral health issues. Those funds will be available to agencies in all counties through the Office of Alternative and Community Responses. __ Local journalism needs your support. Subscribe at nj.com/supporter. Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @TedShermanSL A 41-year-old Whitehall man admitted last week he went to Ohio to commit a sex offense against a 14-year-old girl. Soumya Rudra pleaded guilty Aug. 15 traveling across state lines to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and to possession of child pornography. Because the matter is still in litigation pending sentencing our practice is not to comment, said Rhys Cartwright-Jones, one of Rudras two defense attorneys. More public money is on its way to Laois under a Government drive to revitalise rural town centres around Ireland. The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, has announced funding of 2.6 million to support the development of a wide range of Town Centre First projects. Laois is getting a 100,000 share of what is the latest in a multi-million euro investment of public money. On this occasion Mountrath and Rathdowney are the beneficiaries. Mountrath will receive 50,000 to complete design studies to reimagine the Town Square which is currently dominated by parking by providing improved public realm, improved pedestrian facilities and a dedicated space for community facilities. The Department also says 50,000 for Rathdowney will allow for the redesign of the Town Square, which is currently operating as a carpark, by parking by providing an improved public realm, improved pedestrian facilities in a space which it is claimed has potential to become a multifunctional area for markets and events. Both towns are already officially in the Town Centre First programme with Rathdowney getting the most money under the scheme which was launched in early 2022. The Rathdowney Town Team is implementing a master plan completed with KPMG and Laois County Council for the town centre with the 100,000 secured in 2022. At the start of 2024, Mountmellick was chosen as the second Laois town to get full town Town Centre First status. It received 30,000 to allow at local Town Team to complete a strategic and comprehensive plan to address the challenges faced by the town centre. Mural on the Square in Rathdowney. Also in 2024 Mountrath and Ballylinan were allocated 10,000 each to support the development of town teams in each area. Mountrath had a Town Team in place prior to getting the funding. It had already developed a plan for the town. Laois Offaly TD and Minister of State Sean Fleming welcomed the latest money. "This funding will support pre-development works for both projects and costs with planning and design, to Mountrath and Rathdowney Town Teams. "Mountrath and Rathdowney Town Teams are groups of local residents, business people, community representatives, who work with Laois County Council to develop Town Centre First plans to regenerate and develop their areas. "This is very welcome news for both local communities in Laois. This Government funding for Mountrath and Rathdowney will allow for further regeneration of Laois communities. "I want to thank all of the local people in both towns for their work on these projects so far and I look forward to the works progressing to make a positive impact for both towns," said the Fianna Fail TD. The money was also welcomed by his Fine Gael Government colleague Charlie Flanagan who said the funding will have a positive impact for residents, businesses, and community groups in rural towns and villages and their communities right across Laois. MORE BELOW PICTURE. Mountrath's Square. The funding will guarantee there is a strong pipeline of shovel-ready projects in the county with 2.6m of funding for a total of 53 projects across the country. The funding also supports exciting projects such as the development of green spaces and parks, community and visitor hubs, shopfront upgrades, and more. This is just one of many initiatives and recent funding announcements for County Laois, a clear demonstration of Fine Gaels intention to ensure our towns and villages are great places to live, work and raise a family in. I look forward to seeing these projects and initiatives progress, so vacant and derelict buildings in our towns can be brought back into use, said the TD. The Department of Rural and Community Development said on Friday, August 23 that the funding will support pre-development works for projects and support costs including detailed design, planning, procurement, professional fees, assessments and other development costs. I am announcing funding for a wide range of projects today from the development of green spaces and parks in our town centres to projects which look at how vacant and derelict buildings in our towns can be brought back into use," said Minister Humphreys. The Town Centre First initiative was developed under the Government's Our Rural Future future policy for rural Ireland for the period 2022-2025 Businesses throughout County Kildare are being encouraged to apply for a new supply chain and sourcing service. Economic development agency InterTradeIreland is offering Kildare businesses operating within the food, manufacturing, and engineering sectors the chance to boost their supply chain resilience with support from a sector-specific supply chain specialist. InterTradeIreland is working in partnership with Blue Sky Food Consulting and MOAT Consultants to deliver the programme. Blue Sky Food Consulting will work directly with food businesses, and MOAT Consultants will work with manufacturing and engineering businesses. Commenting on the announcement, Colin McCabrey, the Director of Trade at InterTradeIreland, said: "Im delighted to launch our first Supply Chain and Sourcing Service. "This initiative presents a great opportunity for 60 business across the island to receive support from sector-specific supply chain specialists from both the food industry and the manufacturing and engineering industry." "Under their guidance, businesses will gain invaluable insights to enhance their supply chain operations by identifying new sales and sourcing opportunities on the island," Mr McCabrey added. Margaret Dineen, CEO and founder of Blue Sky Food Consulting, also weighed in: "As a food supply chain consultant within the industry, I understand the value of a service like this, which can hugely benefit any company to further grow and scale." She added: "Im delighted to work in partnership with InterTradeIreland and directly with businesses to help them thrive in todays competitive market." Aidan Farnan, Director at MOAT Consultants, also had this to say: "Were delighted to work in partnership with InterTradeIreland to deliver this new service to help Small-to-Medium Enterprises identify and mitigate supply chain risks." Mr Farnan added: "If youre a business operating in the manufacturing or engineering sector and looking to build a stronger and more resilient future, dont miss out on this opportunity to strengthen your supply chain with expert support." To be eligible for support, businesses must: Be operating in the food or manufacturing/engineering sector Have less than 250 employees Have a turnover of more than 50,000 and less than 40 million (or Euro equivalent) Be a business registered in Ireland or Northern Ireland Have a minimum of 12 months trading history Limited places are available, and as a result, businesses are encouraged to apply without delay. For further information, you can visit: www.intertradeireland.com/supplychainandsourcingservice. Left to right: Aidan Doherty, Managing Director MOAT Consultants, Caroline Sweeney, Trade Manager InterTradeIreland, Siobhan Caulfield, Project Manager InterTradeIreland, Margaret Dineen, CEO & founder Blue Sky Food Consulting, Aidan Farnan, Director MOAT Consultants. Photograph credit: Press Eye Photography. Three towns in Leitrim are set to benefit from a total of 148,165 funding to support vital community projects. This funding announced by Minister Heather Humphreys will support pre-development works for projects and support costs including detailed design, planning, procurement, professional fees, assessments, and other development costs. Dromahair will receive 50,000. The focus of this application is to conduct an evaluation of the narrow access bridge (for both pedestrian and vehicle access) that provides entry to Dromahair Community Park, which includes the GAA pitch. Following this evaluation, planning permission will be sought to complete the project. Leitrim Village will receive 48,165. This project will undertake surveys, reports, assessments and prepare for planning permission for the development of the derelict building purchased under 2023 BAM. The project will bring this derelict building through to detailed design stage to planning permission stage. Finally, Carrick on Shannon is set to get 50,000. This project will complete assessments, including environmental and active travel, of four key green areas that will improve connectivity around the town centre and improve access and connection to the river. The project will also complete a public consultation and the development and submission of planning permission. Deputy Frank Feighan said the funding will have a positive impact for residents, businesses, and community groups in rural towns and villages and their communities right across Leitrim. I was delighted to receive confirmation of funding for projects in Leitrim from my colleague minister Humphreys. I am particularly pleased that this funding will support bringing vacant and derelict buildings back into use, highlighting Fine Gaels commitment to positive impacts for our rural towns and villages. This is just one of many initiatives and recent funding announcements for Leitrim a clear demonstration of this governments intention to ensure our towns and villages are great places to live, work and raise a family in. I look forward to seeing these projects and initiatives progress, so vacant and derelict buildings in our towns can be brought back into use. concluded Deputy Feighan. This funding will ensure continued investment in towns and villages around County Leitrim. The communities of Leitrim have shown great enthusiasm and commitment for improving their local areas in recent years, and I am pleased to see this announcement today," said Cathaoirleach Cllr Paddy O'Rourke. "I am confident that this funding will enhance the development of infrastructure and amenities in towns and villages throughout the County, benefiting both residents and visitors alike. Mr. Joseph Gilhooly, Chief Executive of Leitrim County Council continued: I welcome this investment by Minister Humphreys under the Town Centre First Project Development Measure. This funding will help to renew and bring further vibrancy to these towns and villages, and indeed their surrounding communities, and thereby making them attractive place to live and visit. A crew from ARTE, a European TV channel which focuses on culture, is filming in Leitrim this month. They have travelled to Leitrim to capture content for two 45-minute episodes about Ireland's Hidden Heartlands. Filming is supported by Tourism Ireland and Failte Ireland. The episodes will air next Spring in Germany and France, as part of a programme called ARTE Decouverte, which focuses on discovering different countries and landscapes by highlighting the culture and history of destinations. Each episode has around 800,000 viewers and is also available on the ARTE streaming service, reaching a further 300,000 online viewers. The TV crew has been filming at a number of locations including Carrick-On-Shannon. Tourism Ireland was delighted to support the production of these two 45-minute episodes showcasing Ireland's Hidden Heartlands, said Nadine Lehmann, Tourism Irelands Manager Germany. With around 1.1 million people in Germany and France expected to watch both episodes on the ARTE TV channel and streaming service, its a great way to inspire potential visitors by shining a spotlight on our rich culture, heritage and history, as well as our breath-taking landscapes, she added. With the episodes set to air next Spring, Leitrims hidden gems will hopefully captivate new visitors from Germany and France, inciting a deeper interest in Irelands hidden treasures. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Nuxalk Nation, and Ingenium collaborate to create new Snootli Creek Hatchery Welcome Centre, marking the completion of the $20 million hatchery rebuild BELLA COOLA, BC, Aug. 22, 2024 /CNW/ - Protecting, conserving and restoring wild Pacific salmon stocks in British Columbia is a key priority for the Government of Canada. Pacific salmon hatcheries have a key role to play in this effort and are critical in aiding the recovery of vulnerable stocks. Today, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Nuxalk Nation, and Ingenium (Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation), announced the official opening of the new Welcome Centre at Snootli Creek Hatchery. The opening marks the completion of a seven-year major project to refurbish and modernize infrastructure and fish culture systems at the Snootli Creek Hatchery facility. Built in 1978, the facility has been in operation for more than 35 years and needed significant renewal to extend its operational life and enable more efficient and effective operations. The new Welcome Centre is a key element of the refurbished hatchery and will help to educate and engage the local community and visitors about enhancement, the role of hatcheries in the ongoing effort to protect and support this iconic species and the shared responsibility of all in the stewardship of healthy habitats and ecosystems. The Centre features dynamic and interactive displays written in three languages: Nuxalk, English and French, to highlight the importance of salmon to Nuxalk people and affirm their deep and historic connection to salmon and rivers in their traditional territory. The Hatchery also serves as a focal point for salmon education and watershed stewardship in the area through its work with the Nation, volunteers, streamkeepers, schools and community partners in helping to support the protection of the Bella Coola Valley's unique cultural and natural heritage. Quotes "The Government of Canada is committed to a renewed relationship with Indigenous Peoples based on the recognition of rights, respect, cooperation and partnership. Our collaboration with Nuxalk Nation and local community members to create such a dynamic and visually stunning Welcome Centre is an important step in advancing this commitment. The renewal and modernization of the hatchery itself further demonstrates our ongoing efforts to ensure the long-term protection of Pacific salmon, and helps to underscore that education and public awareness are crucial to the future of this iconic species." The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard "This project is a step forward in honouring Nuxalk knowledge, language, and culture, and shows us how much we can accomplish when we work together in a truly inclusive way. For Nuxalk, protecting our salmon is akin to protecting our way of life, and this common vision has united us all to care for and preserve our salmon for our Putl'lt, those yet unborn. This Welcome Centre will help inform both visitors and locals and inspire students about the role Nuxalkmc have always played in the stewardship of our salmon, and how this hatchery and its personnel are helping to continue this important work." Dr. Snxakila (Clyde) Tallio, Cultural Director, Nuxalk Nation "We know that true reconciliation includes reconcili-ACTION; resulting in projects and initiatives on the ground that make a real difference in our communities. By collaborating with us on this important project, Fisheries & Oceans Canada has demonstrated their commitment to continue building their relationship with Nuxalk through shared values and mutual respect. On behalf of Nuxalk Chief and Council, I offer my congratulations to everyone involved in this incredible Welcome Centre." Samuel Schooner, Nuxalk Nation Chief Councillor "We are beyond thrilled to be reaching residents and visitors in the Bella Coola Valley with Ingenium's brand of story-telling. Our partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada continues to bring fascinating and timely science to people everywhere, and we are so very grateful for the opportunity to collaborate on this project with the Nuxalk First Nation. The Nation has offered and shaped an exciting narrative to be discovered in the Snootli Creek Hatchery Welcome Centre, a site privileged to be operating on the lands of the Nuxalk Peoples." Christina Tessier, President and CEO, Ingenium ? Canada's Museums of Science and Innovation Quick Facts The Hatchery is located on the lands of the Nuxalk Peoples, 12 kilometers east of Bella Coola, at the head of the North Bentinck Arm on B.C.'s central coast. The Hatchery enhances chum, Chinook, sockeye and coho salmon. Hatchery staff have a long history of working with external initiatives to provide facilities and guidance for projects around the B.C. Central Coast. Pacific salmon hatcheries, under DFO's Salmonid Enhancement Program (SEP), have a key role to play under the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI) in supporting vulnerable salmon stocks; with our Reconciliation journey with Indigenous communities; with our partnerships with community groups and coastal areas; in lessening the impacts of recreational and commercial fishing on wild salmon populations by providing targeted harvest opportunities to reduce impacts on vulnerable salmon stocks, and in supporting regional and international stock assessment programs. The Snootli Creek Hatchery is one of 23 major salmon hatcheries and spawning channels operated by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. While the planning for the Snootli Creek Hatchery rebuilding project predates the PSSI, the refurbished facility will be an important resource supporting this transformative initiative. Stay Connected Follow Fisheries and Oceans Canada on X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Follow the Canadian Coast Guard on X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. SOURCE Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Region 22 august 2024 at 18:00 News published onand distributed by: Aquaporin enters strategic partnership with industry leader Brenntag Company announcement No. 17/2024 Aquaporin A/S Nymllevej 78 DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby aquaporin.com Company registration no.: DK28315694 KONGENS LYNGBY, Denmark, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Aquaporin A/S (ticker: AQP) ("Aquaporin" or the "Company"), an innovative water technology company dedicated to rethinking water filtration with biotechnology, today announces that Aquaporin has signed a distributorship agreement with Brenntag in APAC and in Turkey. The first membrane element order has already been shipped from Aquaporin to Turkey. Brenntag has offices in more than 70 countries and works across many different industries, including water treatment. The global market leader in chemicals and ingredients distribution is driven by innovative technology, and has decided to add Aquaporin's CLEAR products to its portfolio. Aquaporin is enthusiastic about the opportunities that this new strategic partnership with Brenntag will bring. This partnership is set to open new doors and significantly expand Aquaporin's reach in the industrial element business. Already contributing to revenue numbers in 2024, Aquaporin expects this collaboration to contribute to a double-digit growth in 2025 in this segment. "We are proud to partner with Brenntag, a company that shares our commitment to technology, quality, and innovation. This agreement reflects the dedication and hard work of our teams across Aquaporin and marks the beginning of a collaboration that will be a cornerstone partnership for years to come," says Matt Boczkowski, Chief Executive Officer at Aquaporin. Brenntag has an extensive line of water and wastewater treatment products and has the expertise to assist with many aspects in a broad spectrum of applications. "We are pleased to add Aquaporin's CLEAR product series to our portfolio. This addition expands our portfolio and supports our ongoing commitment to providing innovative solutions in the water treatment sector and will enhance our ability to meet our customers' needs," says Uwe Webers, Global Head of Water Treatment at Brenntag. By adding Aquaporin's CLEAR membranes, Brenntag can now offer customers a full product offering tailored to their needs. Working across continents Aquaporin has already shipped the first container of CLEAR membranes to the Brenntag office in Turkey. Sren Robenhagen, Business Development Director EU, is delighted that the strategic partnership is starting now. "We are excited to launch this strategic partnership, which combines our strengths to deliver advanced and sustainable wastewater treatment solutions. We are eager to see the positive impact of our Aquaporin Inside technology," says Sren Robenhagen. CLEAR is a series of brackish water RO membrane elements embedded with the Aquaporin Inside technology. The CLEAR membranes deliver best-in-class flow rates, great rejection of contaminants, and low-energy consumption solutions to reverse osmosis system users. For further information, please contact: Matt Boczkowski, Chief Executive Officer Klaus Juhl Wulff, Chief Financial Officer +45 53 55 55 19, [email protected] About Aquaporin Aquaporin is an innovative water technology company with operations in Denmark (HQ), Singapore, Turkey, the United States, and China. We are committed to rethinking water filtration with biotechnology to solve global water challenges. By combining three disciplines from the world of natural sciences: biology, chemistry, and physics, we have created the unique, nature-inspired Aquaporin Inside technology which we embed into all our membranes and solutions. Our technology is based on Nobel Prize-winning research and is used to clean and reuse water in industries, in our homes, and even by NASA in space. We work with customers and partners around the globe to responsibly treat industrial wastewater, concentrate food and beverage products in a natural way, and enhance drinking water quality and accessibility. About Brenntag Brenntag is the global market leader in chemicals and ingredients distribution. The company holds a central role in connecting customers and suppliers of the chemical industry. Headquartered in Essen, Germany, Brenntag has more than 17,700 employees worldwide and operates a network of about 600 sites in 72 countries. In 2023, Brenntag generated sales of 16.8 billion EUR. The two global divisions, Brenntag Essentials, and Brenntag Specialties, provide a diversified and broad portfolio of industrial and specialty chemicals and ingredients as well as tailor-made application, marketing and supply chain solutions, technical and formulation support, comprehensive regulatory know-how, and digital solutions for a wide range of industries. Brenntag pursues an ambitious sustainability agenda and is committed to sustainable solutions in its sector and the industries served. Brenntag shares have been listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since 2010, and DAX since September 2021. In addition, the Brenntag SE shares are listed in the DAX 50 ESG and DAX ESG Target. For more information, visit www.brenntag.com. Forward-looking statements Matters discussed in this report may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and that can be identified by words such as "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "will", "may", "continue", "should", and similar expressions, as well as other statements regarding future events or prospects. Specifically, this report includes information with respect to projections, estimates, and targets that also constitute forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this report are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions. Although the Company believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties, contingencies, and other important factors which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond its control. Such risks, uncertainties, and other important factors include, among others: Limited experience in commercialization of the Company's products, failure to successfully implement strategies, dependence on third parties for manufacturing certain product components and the supply of certain raw materials, manufacturing disruptions, strategic collaboration, protection of the Company's intellectual property rights and other risks disclosed in Aquaporin's annual reports and company announcements. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies, and other important factors could cause actual events to differ materially from the expectations, projections, estimates, and targets expressed or implied in this report by such forward-looking statements. The information, opinions, and forward-looking statements contained in this report speak only as at its date and are subject to change without notice. Aquaporin expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, except as required by law. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/aquaporin-a-s/r/aquaporin-enters-strategic-partnership-with-industry-leader-brenntag,c4027819 The following files are available for download: https://mb.cision.com/Main/22362/4027819/2958971.pdf 17-2024 Aquaporin enters strategic partnership with Brenntag https://news.cision.com/aquaporin-a-s/i/071119-aquaporin-00867-sh,c3326680 071119-AQUAPORIN 00867-sh SOURCE Aquaporin A/S 23 august 2024 at 01:47 News published onand distributed by: Lahontan Provides Corporate Update TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / August 23, 2024 / Lahontan Gold Corp (TSXV:LG)(OTCQB:LGCXF) (the " Company " or " Lahontan ") reports that Ms. Kimberly Ann, Lahontan Founder, CEO, President, and Director, has been appointed Executive Chair by the Company's Board of Directors, effective immediately. The Company would also like to provide an update on the status of the block of Lahontan common shares held by Victoria Gold Corp ("VGCX"). As announced by VGCX on August 15, 2024, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ("the Court") granted an order ("the Order") appointing PricewaterhouseCoopers Inc. as the receiver and manager of VGCX, including, without limitation, all property, assets and undertakings in which VGCX has an interest. As a result, the VGCX share block cannot be sold without Court approval, which Management believes will permit an orderly sale of the Lahontan common shares held by VGCX. The Company is working diligently to assist in any potential sale process to ensure the best possible outcome for Lahontan shareholders. On behalf of the Board of Directors Kimberly Ann Founder, CEO, President, and Director FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Lahontan Gold Corp. Kimberly Ann Founder, Executive Chair, Chief Executive Officer, and President Phone: 1-530-414-4400 Email: [email protected] Website: www.lahontangoldcorp.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: 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. Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to delays or uncertainties with regulatory approvals, including that of the TSXV. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties that could affect financial results is contained in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com SOURCE: Lahontan Gold Corp 23 august 2024 at 07:00 View the original press release on accesswire.comNews published onand distributed by: Government of Canada releases a draft of Canada's Ocean Noise Strategy for public feedback OTTAWA, ON, Aug. 23, 2024 /CNW/ - The effects of human activities and climate change are being felt around the world, both above and below the ocean's surface. The ocean is home to many marine species that rely on sound to navigate, communicate, find food, and more. Ocean noise created by humans can interfere with these activities, causing negative impacts on marine mammals, including endangered whales, and other species. Through Canada's Oceans Protection Plan, the Government of Canada is increasing protections and further preserving important marine ecosystems. Today, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, released a draft version of Canada's Ocean Noise Strategy, which will help us better understand and mitigate ocean noise. Led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), with input from Indigenous Peoples, industry stakeholders, various partners and other federal departments and agencies, the draft Strategy builds on existing work taking place across Canada. It will help guide federal efforts to mitigate the impacts of ocean noise through: science, knowledge gathering and innovation assessment and management communication, coordination and engagement Fisheries and Oceans Canada has launched a 60-day public consultation period to gather feedback from the public, Indigenous Peoples, partners and stakeholders on the draft Strategy. This feedback will inform the final Strategy and will support the development of a Federal Action Plan, both of which are expected to be released in 2025. The Oceans Protection Plan is a Canadian success story. When Indigenous Peoples, industry, communities, experts, academia, and government work together to protect our environment, grow our economy, and support good jobs across the country, we deliver real results. Canada's Oceans Protection Plan will keep our oceans and coasts healthy, advance reconciliation, and build a clean future for our children and grandchildren. Quotes "The Government of Canada is committed to protecting our oceans and the diverse life they contain. The development of Canada's Ocean Noise Strategy is a critical step to safeguarding the diverse species that call our oceans home. By working together, we can better understand and mitigate the impacts of ocean noise." The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard "Healthy oceans are a critical part of Canada's identity and a key pillar to our economy. We're taking steps to ensure our oceans stay healthy for generations to come by working together with First Nations, Inuit, and Metis Peoples, industry, academia, and Canadians across the country." The Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Transport Quick Facts Canada's Ocean Noise Strategy is led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, with contributions from other federal departments including: Transport Canada Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada Canadian Coast Guard Department of National Defence, including Defence Research and Development Canada Impact Assessment Agency of Canada National Research Council Natural Resources Canada Parks Canada the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. Ocean Noise Strategy is led by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, with contributions from other federal departments including: The draft Strategy was informed by public engagement activities that took place in 2021. A What We Heard Report has been published, summarizing the findings from this engagement period. Associated Links Stay Connected Follow Fisheries and Oceans Canada on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. Follow the Canadian Coast Guard on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn. SOURCE Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Canada 23 august 2024 at 12:45 News published onand distributed by: THE MAYOR of Limerick, John Moran has called on local TDs to ensure more funding for Uisce Eireann in the Budget as he welcomed the lifting of a boil water notice affecting thousands of households and businesses in County Limerick. Uisce Eireann has confirmed the notice on the Foynes Shannon Estuary Public Water Supply has been lifted with immediate effect. It was issued in May 2023, impacting 7,000 customers. It followed the detection of cryptosporidium at the water treatment plant. Mayor Moran said he has made the resumption of safe drinking water a priority in his vision for a more healthy Limerick. I committed to voters to finding ways to progress the solutions needed to sort out longstanding boil water notices in county Limerick. To that end I held meetings with ministers and senior representatives of Uisce Eireann in recent weeks and my office engaged with them on an almost weekly basis. I welcome the lifting of this boil water notice but this announcement reminds us that it has taken more than a year to resolve an issue that has hugely inconvenienced thousands of people. Other customers in the east of our county still cannot simply turn on their taps to have a glass of water. I understand that an embargo remains in place and will continue to be a focus for me until a similar result is achieved, said Mayor Moran. READ MORE: Boil water notice lifted for thousands of people across West Limerick The mayor said the boil water notice on the Foynes Shannon Estuary Public Water Supply has been extremely damaging to peoples confidence in the water supply. It has been a financial burden on households that paid for bottled water or paid the energy costs involved in boiling all water required for consumption. In my discussions with Uisce Eireann, it has become obvious to me that they are under-funded to adequately serve Limerick, especially considering the upcoming growth in our housing stock and new industrial activities. I am calling on the Government and our Limerick TDs to ensure in Budget 2025 that Uisce Eireann is given the funding they need to fix our water infrastructure to the level at which it should be operating, concluded Mayor Moran. DROMCOLLOGHER'S St Bartholomews Church commemorate its 200 year anniversary on Sunday, September 8. For the bicentenary of the foundation of the church, a special Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Brendan Leahy on that day, at 2pm. Everyone that may be interested is invited to attend this special occasion in the parishs history. There will be refreshments served afterwards at the Community Hall. Todays Saint Bartholomews church was built in 1824 by Father Michael Fitzgerald, who acquired the site in 1819. He bought the site from Robert Jones Staveley of Glenduff Castle, Co Limerick, a judge of the High Court who had bought Dromcollogher and its surrounding lands from the Courtney estate in 1807. A striking aspect of the building of the Church in Dromcollogher was the patronage it enjoyed from the Catholic gentry families in the area, including the contributions of the Sheehy and the Hannigan families. Renovations were carried out in 1861 by Father Patrick Quaid, who also built a new church in neighbouring Broadford. Fr Michael Byrne refurbished and decorated the church in the early 20th century, with improvements designed in 1906-1909 by the Limerick-based architect Brian Edward Fitzgerald Sheehy. The apse and many of the stained-glass windows were added at this time. In its original form, Saint Bartholomews was probably a T-shaped church. In the 1980s, the walls of the nave were removed and replaced with glass panels, forming light-filled, cloister-like side aisles. The glass panels are the work of Kevin Kelly and the Abbey Stained Glass Studios. The glass is engraved with both religious and secular scenes, including scenes from the life of Saint Bartholomew. Pre-Norman churches, part of a list of churches and land of the see of Limerick compiled in 1201 and contained in The Black Book of Limerick (the ancient historical manuscript about the diocese) mentioned the Church in Dromcollogher as well as references to the churches of Killagholehane, Cloncrew, Mahoonagh, Killeedy and Tullylease. READ MORE: People urged to support Relay for Life Limerick for those affected by cancer An early mediaeval church in Dromcollogher was destroyed by war in 1302. It was rebuilt and was known as the capella Dromcolkylle in Corcomohid in 1418, when it was part of the larger parish of Corcomohide. The ruin of original church for the parish of is located in the graveyard and stands in the Glebe of Carhooard West and the town of Dromcollogher. It could be that the ruin in the graveyard is the successor of the original church. Some who have examined it suggest it more likely dates from the fifteenth century and was most likely built by the ONunans. Father William ODonnell, who was parish priest for 33 years and died in 1876, is the only parish priest buried inside the church. Four parish priests are buried in the church grounds: Michael Byrne; Canon James Foley; Canon John Reeves; and Archdeacon Hugh OConnor. The very precious marble statue of Our Lady, sculpted by Padraig Pearses father, was acquired by Fr Tomas De Bhal when he was curate in the parish from 1910 to 1922. James Pearse (1839-1900) donated the statue of the Virgin Mary to the left of the High Altar. Of the 48 victims of the 1926 Cinema Disaster in Dromcollogher, 46 people who died in that great tragedy are buried in a mass grave on the grounds of the church. On the night of Sunday, September 5, 1926 at 9.15pm, the showing of a film was to take place in the upstairs loft area of a store belonging to a local hardware shop. The films on show were to be a short film called False Alarm and the main film called The Decoy. During the showing of the second film at ten minutes to ten oclock a lighting candle fell upon the highly flammable Nitrate Film reels. The fire spread rapidly from the table, across the floor to the partition and the wainscoting, setting up a dense mass of smoke and fumes. Many of the crowd rushed the small exit, carrying with them the burning reel which landed near the ground where it set fire to the stairs/ladder, blocking the only exit. After just 10 or 15 minutes the roof fell in, the floor gave way and all within were lost. Companies are drawing up their own best practices for the use of AI-generated imagery and video, also known as deepfakes, for a range of business situations, from research to employee training. Amid a dearth of U.S. regulatory guidance on artificial intelligence, its a delicate dance. Synthetic audio and video in the hands of bad actors has been linked to a swath of ills, from misinformation campaigns to revenge porn. More recently the 2024 election has put the spotlight on the potential for AI-powered falsehoods that risk confusing voters. Even the legitimate use of the generative AI raises challenging questions over intellectual property, consent and disclosure that have yet to work their way through the U.S. regulatory system. It is still very new," said Eng Lim Goh, senior vice president of data and AI at Hewlett Packard Enterprise. The company recently created Antonio Nearly," an AI avatar of CEO Antonio Neri. Antonio Nearly can appear in video, audio, text chat or even hologram form. The avatar was augmented with HPE white papers, news releases and marketing materials, as well as speeches Neri has given. HPE owns the avatar and is using it under CEO Neris guidance. But what happens when Neri leaves the company? The company said it could shift the avatar to take on a new persona. But it is a scenario that may come up more often, said Vilas Dhar, president of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, a philanthropic organization focused on AI for social good. Telecommunications company Vodafone said it recently deployed a customer service audio chatbot in Germany based on the voice of one of its agents, who was selected for the role in an internal competition. In a situation like that, Dhar said, companies need to consider what happens if that employee leaves the company, especially if the departure is marked by conflict, and whether there are any ramifications for continuity of service. Sonesta International Hotels said it is using avatars from tech provider Colossyan to create employee training videos at a fraction of the cost it used to take to film and produce the videos manually. But the company ran into obstacles when it needed an avatar in a sexual harassment training video to use sexually explicit language. Actors who lent their likenesses to Colossyan as avatars had initially forbidden certain language in their contracts. The legalities of what the AI can and cannot say isits a minefield right now," said Kristin Broadhead, Sonestas director of learning and development. Efforts in the public sphere designed to protect individuals and entities from deepfake misuseintentional or otherwisecould help clear that minefield. Fears of sophisticated misinformation campaigns around the 2024 presidential election and high-profile incidents involving sexualized imagery are helping propel some of that legislation. The European Unions AI Act, which took effect this month, requires mandatory disclosure of highly realistic AI-generated outputs. But in the U.S., a complex patchwork of legislation includes some bills that offer more explicit rules on deepfakes than others. In New York, for example, Assemblyman Alex Bores, who represents the states 73rd district, was one of the sponsors of the Political Artificial Intelligence Disclaimer (PAID) Act, which requires political communications that use synthetic media to disclose that they were created with the assistance of artificial intelligence. Im very big on: You should know when youre talking to an AI," said Bores. The bill is now in committee. Some companies say they dont necessarily disclose to employees watching a training video, for example, whether the images are AI-generated or not. Sonesta doesnt have any kind of disclaimer on the videos currently. Neither does Birchwood Foods, which uses AI avatars in training videos for employees who work at food plants. AI avatars have allowed the company to reduce costs of translating or dubbing the training for many workers who dont speak English or struggle with literacy. Fortell.ai, an AI startup that works with nongovernmental organizations and humanitarian organizations, said it lets people know when they are about to interact with AI avatars. It uses avatars to interview recipients of humanitarian aid. People who have received aid of some kind receive a link to a site where the avatar asks them questions and their responses are recorded and shared back with the humanitarian organization. Still, Rob Symes, chief executive of Fortell.ai, said many users, who often come from vulnerable communities where AI is less commonplace, dont notice the disclosure and thus dont realize they are communicating with an AI-generated avatar. A simple one-liner may not be enough for a company to show it made a good-faith effort to disclose the use of AI, said Henry Ajder, founder of Latent Space, a consulting firm focused on responsible AI. It is likely disclosures may be required to appear in different languages and be accessible to those with disabilities. What people consistently want is transparency," Ajder said. They want disclosure about what it is theyre viewing and they dont like being fooled. Thats the bottom line." Write to Isabelle Bousquette at isabelle.bousquette@wsj.com India's electric mobility ambitions are about to face a new test. The government is poised to tighten localization rules for electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers within the next month, following consultations led by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), according to two people familiar with the development. As the government prepares for the launch of the third phase of its flagship scheme for faster adoption and manufacturing of (hybrid and) electric vehicles (FAME), the heavy industries ministry is revisiting the Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP) for EVs, these people said. The PMP defines the localization guidelines for manufacturing of EVs and their components. A March 2024 notification reduced the number of components eligible for import under these rules from 18 to 13. "We will hear from ARAI (Automotive Research Association of India) in about a month or so," said one of the people cited above. "A revision (in the PMP) can change the specific types of domestic products that manufacturers will be mandated to use," the person said, adding that the Centre may also tighten guidelines to boost domestic EV components production. Read this | FAME woes: Okinawa fails legal bid seeking stay in govt recovery proceedings This tightening of licalization rules is part of a broader strategy to boost domestic manufacturing capabilities, a key tenet of Indias Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) vision. The ministrys review will determine which components can be feasibly produced at scale in India, with allowances for imports only when domestic production is not viable. "Take any component, for instance. If we know that we cannot make it here immediately, we will allow OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to import them," said the person cited earlier. FAME, launched in 2015, is aimed at encouraging the sale of electric and hybrid vehicles. The first phase of the scheme ran till 2019 and the second phase ended in March this year. After FAME-II concluded, the government rolled out Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS), with an outlay of 778 crore, solely for electric two- and three-wheelers, with an initial run-time of four months, which was later extended till September. The implications for OEMs For OEMs, this impending tightening could trigger a significant shift in their operational strategies. The PMP is crucial because only manufacturers that comply with its criteria are eligible for government incentives under schemes like FAME and the EMPS. More here | Will electric cars miss out on incentives in Fame III? Past government notifications have already laid the groundwork for reducing reliance on imports. A 2021 notification initiated a phased strategy to curb imports of 18 critical EV components by gradually increasing import duties. This allowed manufacturers to import parts such as HVAC systems, circuit breakers, body panels, traction battery packs, and traction motors until specified deadlines to qualify for FAME-II incentives. All other components necessary for EV manufacturing were mandated to be produced, sourced, and tested domestically, as per the notification. Notably, the government included an exception allowing the import of components for traction battery packsthe primary energy storage units in EVsfor local assembly of the final product. The anticipated tightening of directives comes at a time when Indian OEMs are under pressure to compete with Chinese manufacturers, who benefit from extensive capital support and have established themselves as global suppliers. The key battle in the EV market is to compete with Chinese manufacturers," said Pradeep Karuturi, lead at the Centre for Clean Mobility, OMI Foundation. Indian OEMs would require massive amounts of money, often in thousands of crores, to build capacity and compete against China as global suppliers." As localization requirements increase, Indian manufacturers may need to ramp up investments in domestic production facilities, particularly for components like batteries and motors, which have historically been imported. This shift could drive up production costs, potentially impacting the pricing of EVs in a market that is already price-sensitive. "More localization will lead to a gradual dip in prices in the long run, as India's manufacturers of EVs and their components reach economies of scale," said Karuturi of OMI Foundation, adding that substantial investments will be necessary to reach these economies of scale, and that tightening localization rules would encourage such investments. However, the transition is not without its risks. If domestic production fails to meet the required scale or quality, manufacturers could face higher costs, which may be passed on to consumers, industry experts warned. This would be particularly challenging in a market where EV adoption is still in its nascent stages. EV adoption: The road ahead Despite the challenges, EV adoption in India is gaining momentum, albeit unevenly across different vehicle segments. While the penetration of electric three-wheelers has seen significant growthaccounting for more than half of all three-wheelers sold since 2018other segments lag behind. As of August 2023, EVs accounted for a miniscule 1.99% of all four-wheelers sold in India, and 5.28% of two-wheelers. Also read | Govt dithers on subsidy, EV makers fear losing fame The success of FAME-III, when rolled out, will hinge on how effectively the government can balance the need for increased localization with the realities of the market. The revised PMP rules will play a crucial role in shaping the future of EV manufacturing in India, determining whether the country can transition from a major consumer of imported EV technology to a global leader in EV production. Mumbai: Billionaire Gautam Adani's family is likely to raise up to $3.6 billion by selling part of its promoter holdings across Adani group companies in the next 12-18 months, according to a person who is close to the family's fund-raising plans. This would be the biggest fundraise by the family that owns businesses from airports to edible oil. The share-sale plan is part of a strategy to rebalance the familys wealth portfolio after Adani Group firms share prices shot up sharply over the past year, the person cited above said on condition of anonymity. This is not for repayment of any debts, as the family has none. This rebalancing will be carried out to deal with the volatility of the listed firms," the person said, adding that a 0.5-3% monetization of promoter stake can be expected in any given fiscal. But this time, since the stocks of most of the Adani Group firms have moved to their 52-week highs, the monetization will be at the upper end of the spectrum, that is, 3% of the value of the promoter portfolio, which is around 30,000 crore." The value of the familys holdings in group listed companies is more than 10 trillion (about $126 billion), the person said. The immediate plan is to sell stake worth 3,000-4000 crore in Ambuja Cements Ltd, in which the promoters hold 70.3%. Rajiv Jain-led US-based boutique investment firm GQG Partners LLC and at least four other entities, including three large bank-promoted firms, are likely to buy the stake soon in a private placement, the person added. An Adani Group spokesperson declined to comment on the fund-raising plan by the promoter family. As a part of the rebalancing strategy, the family will support strategic growth by continuously strengthening balance sheet; support transactions by those who come as long-term investors into group firms; and be in line with global best practices at par with large international groups. The Adani spread Two weeks ago, a report on Indias most valuable family businesses by Barclays-Hurun India said the Adani family has emerged as the most valued first-generation family business in India with a value of 15.44 trillion. Apart from the 10 trillion value held in listed stocks, the rest of the wealth is held in unlisted businesses spanning real estate and infrastructure to solar energy, wind energy, data centres and defence equipment. As share prices fell, the promoter family, along with global investors, accumulated shares of Adani Group firms. Alongside, the promoters repaid about $2.55 billion to get a significant portion of their pledges released. The move was attributed to Adani groups efforts to allay investor concerns after Hindenburg Research alleged that the group is over-leveraged with total debts of 2.27 trillion then. Apart from the promoters efforts, a clutch of global investors including GQG, QIA, IHC and Total Energies invested in the businesses of Adani Group. On 5 December the 10 listed Adani firms alone contributed about 65% of the overall market gains. The stocks have been mostly rising since then, creating an opportunity for the promoters to monetize part of their stakes. Adani Groups listed firms include the flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd., Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd., energy generation firm Adani Power Ltd., power distribution company Adani Energy Solutions Ltd., renewables firm Adani Green Energy Ltd., new energy company Adani Total Gas Ltd., fast-moving-consumer goods firm Adani Wilmar Ltd., and cement manufacturing firms Ambuja Cements and ACC Ltd. The Adani family, as the promoters, holds 65-75% in most of the listed firms, leaving a wide headroom for the promoters to monetize their stakes if required. The Securities and Exchange Board of Indias (Sebi) norms require listed firms to have 25% or more stake held by the public. The person cited above agreed that the rise in Adani Group stocks in the past few months is behind the familys latest fund-raising plan. On a net basis, since January, shares of Adani Ports have risen 46%, Adani Power 28.4%, Ambuja Cements 22%, Adani Green 18%, and Adani Enterprises 9%. However, on Thursday, Adani Powers shares fell 2.72% to 676 during the day, after some media reports said the promoters may offload stake. The company is trading almost 24% lower from its 52-week high of 896.75 on BSE, which it touched on 3 June. Between April and July, the Adani family had increased its stake in Ambuja Cements (by at least 3%), Adani Enterprises (by 2.11%), Adani Power (1%), Adani Energy Solutions (1.72%) and Adani Green Energy (1.15%). This led to promoters infusing at least 23,000 crore into these five firms. The person said that the family bought into the equities of these companies to support their growth. The prices of these firms (in which the promoters hiked stake) are now going up. They (the companies) have got the promoter support that was required at that time. So, a re-balancing the portfolio of the promoter holding can be done now." Apart from raising funds by selling stakes in listed firms, the family may also sell stakes in some unlisted real estate and infrastructure firms, the person added. However, this would be over and above the $3.6 billion fund-raising plan. At the group level, the conglomerate is planning to invest up to 1.3 trillion in fiscal 2025, primarily with an aim to expand its capacities in the green energy, airports and infrastructure businesses. Among its portfolio companies, Adani Green Energy alone plans to invest 34,000 crore to expand its facilities in Gujarats Khavda. The group, which earned over 82,000 crore in cash in fiscal 2024, plans to invest $21 billion in the airports business and thereafter list it by FY27. Bengaluru: Mid-cap engineering, research, and development (ER&D) services companies including KPIT Technologies Ltd, L&T Technology Services Ltd (LTTS) and Tata Elxsi Ltd are seeing good growth from automotive clients, even as large IT services companies like Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) and HCL Technologies Ltd flagging softness on account of large car manufacturers holding back on fresh investments in the electric vehicle (EV) space. KPIT, LTTS, and Tata Elxsi, which get between 35% and 97% of their total business from car manufacturers, saw their revenues from the transportation vertical jump 3.7%, 6.5%, and 4.4%, respectively, on a sequential basis for the quarter ended June 2024, according to data from the companies' quarterly financial results. Growth was concentrated, driven by the ramp-up of large deals across companiesForvia at LTTS, JLR and others at TELX (Tata Elxsi) and Japanese OEM engagements for KPIT," said Kotak analysts Kawaljeet Saluja, Vamshi Krishna, and Sathishkumar S. in a note dated 29 July. KPIT is a Pune-headquartered ER&D firm that provides its services to automotive companies. It reported $165 million in revenue for the June 2024 quarter, almost all of which came from passenger cars and commercial vehicles. LTTS is a Vadodara-headquartered ER&D company that counts a little more than a third of its revenues from the mobility segment including commercial and personal vehicles. Tata Elxsi is a Bengaluru-headquartered design and technology service provider to automotive companies with the latter making up more than half its 926.5 crore ($111 million) revenue in the quarter ended June 2024. To be sure, two of Indias largest software services companies have sounded a cautionary note on the auto sector. We saw in fact a significant weakness in the automotive segment, contrary to all the expectations, because we see a lot of stress with the automotive firms in Europe," said C. Vijayakumar, chief executive officer of Noida-based IT services company HCL Technologies Ltd, in a post-earnings interaction with analysts on 12 July. K. Krithivasan, chief executive of TCS, mirrored similar caution on headwinds in the companys manufacturing sector. By and large, we are fine. But that (headwind) could be in terms of, like, if you take automotive industry with the advent of EVs coming in, the whole industry is getting reshaped. So there would be some changes in the spending priority or investment priority in this industry," Krithivasan said post-earnings interaction with analysts on 11 July. "So that would be something to watch out for, like adoption of EVs and how the OEMs themselves are going towards vertical integration. How much they do that vertical integration, how much they impact the tier 1s. Those are the areas that we have to watch out for," Krithivasan added. A report by accounting firm Ernst & Young dated 6 June suggests EV adoption in Europe is slowing because of high prices, economic uncertainty and inadequate infrastructure. The general feeling from the automotive industry is that the EV transition will happen at a slower pace than expected. Tata Motors, Indias largest EV maker, witnessed a 21% decline in EV sales on a yearly basis in July. To be sure, homegrown software services companies do not call out revenues specifically for automotive companies. They club it under the manufacturing vertical or the ER&D units. While TCS reported a 1.9% increase in sequential revenue from its manufacturing vertical to $660 million, HCLTech reported a 6.7% decline to $653 million for the quarter ended June 2024. High growth Even as Indias largest software service exporters were cautious, ER&D companies growth from the sector was unabated. A second analyst attributed the growth of these automotive ER&D companies to deals signed and specific clients. Growth for much of these automotive ER&D companies is client-specific or driven by mega deals, which is why their revenue from this sector has gone up despite peers ringing alarm bells on slow demand from the automotive sector," said Apurva Prasad, vice-president of institutional research at brokerage firm HDFC Securities. Electrification is a significant trend and is here to stay. EV sales could have turned out to be different than expectations owing to multiple macroeconomic factors, consumer preferences, and features performance vs expectations. But its a matter of time before electric vehicles, hybrids, and new energy vehicles gain momentum, and the trend will expand," said Sachin Tikekar, president & joint MD, KPIT Technologies, in a mailed response to Mints queries. Currently, hybrid vehicles are seeing an uptick while the electric infrastructure across the globe for mobility develops and matures," an LTTS spokesperson said on email. Our strategic investments in EV, hybridization, vehicle engineering, and SDV have been yielding returns, with significant large-scale deals across these areas." Although the management believes growth from car manufacturers will continue and that the automotive sector presents the biggest growth opportunities, analysts arent sure. Automotive R&D spends were expected to remain at elevated levels in 2024, as OEMs initially planned to continue their aggressive CASE investments. However, this now appears to be slowing down. Few peers highlighted an abrupt and sharp weakening in demand in the industry, especially in Europe, due to slower-than-anticipated adoption of EVs and rising cost pressures from increasing competition," said the Kotak analysts. CASE is an acronym that refers to four major trends in the automobile sector including integration of digital systems in vehicles like navigation and infotainment systems, development of self-driving vehicles, rise of ride hailing services, and transition to electric vehicles. Large IT services companies have acquired ER&D companies focusing on the automotive sector over the past 12 months, with an eye to scale up business from the automobile space. Indias second biggest IT services company, Infosys Ltd. announced the completion of its largest-ever acquisition, that of In-Tech, a German ER&D firm focused on the countrys automotive industry, for $480 million in June. HCLTech had also made strides in the auto ER&D space, having acquired ASAP Group, a German automotive engineering services provider on 31 August 2023. Also read: Why Indian IT firms dread US economic uncertainty Mumbai: At least half a dozen startups are junking their private stake sale deals and opting for public listing, as the rising public market widens the bid-ask gap with a private fundraising market still in the grip of a funding winter, industry experts and bankers told Mint . For instance, investors in companies such as Lighthouse Learnings and Piramal Glass have discarded their stake sale plans due to valuation mismatches in the private markets, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said. KKR-backed Lighthouse Learnings (formerly EuroKids) earlier this year appointed investment banks JP Morgan and Avendus to look for a buyer for its 94% stake in the education company it acquired in 2019. However, the firm is now exploring either an IPO or listing the company as an REIT (real estate investment trust), one of the persons cited above said on condition of anonymity. As for Piramal Glass, majority owner Blackstone is mulling a potential listing after calling off a stake sale process that ran for more than five months starting last November, the second person cited above said. KKR declined to comment, while a Blackstone spokesperson denied any exit plans for Piramal Glass. Then, after exploring a complete sale, Everstone, the majority owner of healthcare services provider Everlife, has decided to take the initial public offering (IPO) route for the company, according to news reports. Packaging company Manjushree Technopack is the other example of M&A being junked in favour of IPO, as reported by Mint earlier. Other companies, too, have moved into IPO mode from private fundraising. For example, Aadhaar Housing Finance, which briefly explored a majority stake sale, turned to an IPO given the positive market sentiment. The company listed earlier this year and the stock has performed well since. Then, Sai Life Sciences, which explored a sale and then filed documents with Sebi for an IPO in July, is awaiting a nod from the market regulator. In 2023, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) in India bought shares worth 1.8 trillion, and in 2024 so far, they have bought worth 2.98 trillion. Klaas Oskam, chief executive of global investment bank DC Advisory said that the current bull market IPO valuations are at times at such a significant premium to private market M&A valuations that taking 30-40% liquidity through an IPO and working towards additional liquidity on the investors balance ownership over a 1-3 year period post-lPO becomes the more attractive option in comparison to taking full liquidity upfront through a private market M&A exit". However, Oskam said that it remains to be seen how long this IPO bull market and material disparity between Indian public and private market valuations will continue. Until it does, we will continue to see PE and VC backed businesses that were planning an M&A exit at times opt for an IPO instead," he said, adding that this clearly indicates that the Indian stock markets are in bull market territory driven mostly by robust domestic liquidity inflows. DII's interest In 2023, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) in India bought shares worth 1.8 trillion, and in 2024 so far, they have bought worth 2.98 trillion. This was higher than the FPI (foreign portfolio investor) inflows of 1.7 trillion in 2023 and just 15,731.6 crore up to 20 August this year. Vibrancy of Indian equity capital markets is giving large PE investors that own controlling or large stakes the necessary liquidity and depth to absorb large sell-downs," said V. Jayasankar, managing director and head of equity capital markets at Kotak Mahindra Capital Co. Jayasankar added that the option to exit via capital markets or M&A route is creating a virtuous cycle of great divestments of earlier investments and fresh investments in many outstanding companies run by promoters or founders with strong track record". The bulls of Indian public markets are now playing tiger, as the global hedge funds are keeping some distance from Indian startups," said Anand Lunia, founding partner at India Quotient, an early-stage investor. But the best companies of our times have been built in publicInfoedge being the first and then Indiamart. Even Zomato continues to innovate and scale massively while being listed. I think this is the next stage of the evolution of startups." According to data from Primedatabase, in calendar year 2023, there were 57 mainboard IPOs that raised 49,435.53 crore. This year, so far (January to July), 40 mainboard IPOs have mopped up 36,342.87 crore from the market. This trend also comes amidst a larger funding winter in the private market with early- and growth-stage investors going slow on dealmaking even as late-stage and buyout investors continue to be bullish. NEW DELHI : Danish drug manufacturer Novo Nordisk plans to scale up its operations in India by expanding its collaborations with its existing partners, said John Dawber, corporate vice-president and managing director for Global Business Services (GBS) at Novo Nordisk. Despite facing a significant shortage of its famous and in-demand diabetes and weight-loss drugs globally, collaborations, Dawber told Mint, will be the extent of Novos operations in India as it already has strategic production sites across the globe for manufacturing". The Indian set-up is the crown jewel of Novo Nordisk. We have been doing contract manufacturing here per our quality guidance, licence, etc. And so, we would like to expand that kind of collaboration," he said. We have gradually been increasing the functions performed in Bangaluru, and now we are doing all sorts of global work here, clinical data management, supply chain management, etc. So, I believe we would like to continue working on elevating this work," he added. Also Read: How GCCs stole the thunder from IT firms Novo is happy collaborating for now The company has been finding it difficult to meet the ever-increasing demand for its GLP-1 products or obesity and diabetes drugs. In order to meet the short-term gap between demand and supply, it plans to expand manufacturing capacities at its existing production sites rather than setting up a new manufacturing hub. The companys operation in these strategic production sites is hugely dependent on its Indian centre, which has grown from a service centre to a full-service home over the years. The company has strategic production sites in Denmark, France, Brazil, China, and the US. The supply chain organization for these sites is managed in Bengaluru. The company, therefore, plans to add 1,300 new job roles to its centre in India by 2026, with plans to onboard 700 new hires by the end of this year. Novo currently has a shade over 4,000 employees in India. The hiring, Dawber disclosed, will span across functions, including doctors, pharmacists, researchers, statisticians, commercial experts, marketers, analysts, finance and accountants, IT engineers and architects. MNCs prefer GCC route Over the past few years, Global Capability Centres (GCC) have emerged as the lynchpin for growth and innovation across various sectors. India, in particular, has become a leading destination for establishing GCCs, mainly because of cheaper talent and conducive government policies. A GCC, or a Global In-House Center (GIC), is an offshore unit set up by a multinational corporation (MNC) to provide services to its parent organization. India boasts over 1,600 GCCs and a workforce of over 1.66 million. According to an October 2023 PwC report, India is poised to have 2,100 GCCs by 2028, with the market size of the centres touching $90 billion. Also Read: GCCs face talent exodus amid rising competition In the March quarter of 2023-24 alone, India saw 10 new GCCs, with 60% covering engineering, research and development (ER&D), IT services and business process management, according to a KPMG and Nasscom report released in May. Furthermore, healthcare and pharma GCCs have witnessed an increased partnership with startups and academia to access newer technologies. According to Indias Economic Survey 2023-24, GCCs are projected to contribute approximately 3.5% to Indias gross domestic product (GDP) by 2030, with revenues expected to reach around $121 billion. Notably, the presence of global leaders in GCCs in India has surged to over 5,000 from just 115 in 2015, reflecting a broader trend across various business functions. The Delhi High Court on Friday issued a stern rebuke to SpiceJet, criticizing the cash-strapped airline for continuing to operate leased engines without paying rental dues. The courts pointed remarks highlighted the airline's precarious financial situation and its inability to honour commitments, casting doubt on the assurances made by SpiceJet's chairman and managing director, Ajay Singh. You are using someone elses property, and you cant use it without paying the rent. Hes (lessor) in the business of letting out that property, whether its an engine today or a house. Which court allows you to use property without paying? justice Rajiv Shakdher remarked. Justice Shakdher further expressed scepticism about the airline's assurances to lessors, pointing out that if Singh had the financial means to fulfill these commitments, the airline wouldnt be defending itself in court. The judge also highlighted the airlines broader financial struggles, including its failure to pay employee salaries. In response, senior counsel Amit Sibal, representing SpiceJet, argued that the airline is making efforts to meet its obligations. He detailed a bona fide offer made by SpiceJet, which included securities and a pledge of shares from the directors to cover the outstanding dues. Sibal noted that SpiceJet had proposed securing the payments with encumbered aircraft or shares listed on the stock exchange, with an obligation to top up in case of a decline in share prices. The airline also committed to continuing its weekly payments of $160,000 and monthly instalments of $1.2 million, backed by additional security. Sibal also pleaded with the court, stressing that SpiceJet is one of the few remaining airlines in the country, aside from IndiGo and Air India, and that the airline is struggling to stay operational amid a challenging environment. SpiceJet's legal disputes and financial woes The high court's division bench hearing on Friday was part of SpiceJets appeal to overturn a single-bench order from 16 August, which mandated the grounding of three leased engines from French companies Team France 01 SAS and Sunbird France 02 SAS. The original order, issued on 14 August, also required SpiceJet to return the engines within 15 days and facilitate their inspection. SpiceJet had argued that grounding these engines would effectively ground two of its planes, as each aircraft uses two engines, causing considerable public inconvenience given the airline's already limited fleet of 21 aircraft. This 14 August order followed the lessors' rejection of Singh's offer to pledge his shares as collateral, citing concerns over the airlines financial stability. SpiceJet's legal troubles are mounting, with previous court orders demanding personal guarantees from its directors due to ongoing financial difficulties. In an attempt to alleviate these pressures, SpiceJet announced plans to raise 3,000 crore through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) by 30 September. The airline pledged to use 4.9 crore from this equity infusion to settle outstanding dues by the end of September. Read this | Delhi HC demands personal guarantees from SpiceJet directors over unpaid engine dues However, lessors have shown little interest in further negotiations. The court filings revealed that Team France 01 SAS and Sunbird France 02 SAS initiated legal action against SpiceJet in December 2023, citing unpaid dues exceeding $20 million. While SpiceJet has managed to pay $8.36 million towards these claims, as of 12 August, the outstanding amount remains at $9.41 million. SpiceJets financial situation remains dire. For the quarter ended 30 June, the airline reported a consolidated net profit of 158.2 crore, a 20% decline from the 197.6 crore reported in the same quarter the previous year. Total income fell by 8.3% to 2,077.8 crore, while expenses decreased by over 7% to 1,919.6 crore. As of end of June, SpiceJets total liabilities stood at approximately 11,252 crore, down from 11,690.7 crore at the end of March and 12,420.2 crore at the end of December 2023. Also read | Mint Explainer: Why SpiceJet repeatedly struggles to announce earnings on time BANGKOK (AP) The U.N.s human rights chief joined a chorus of concern Friday for members of Myanmars Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority after many were reported killed in recent fighting between the military government and the Arakan Army, an armed ethnic rebel group. According to a statement from the Geneva office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, he expressed grave alarm and raised profound concerns about the sharply deteriorating situation across Myanmar, particularly in Rakhine State where hundreds of civilians have reportedly been killed while trying to flee the fighting. It said his agency had documented that both the military and the Arakan Army, which now controls most of the townships in Rakhine, have committed serious human rights violations and abuses against the Rohingya, including extrajudicial killings, some involving beheadings, abductions, forced recruitment, indiscriminate bombardments of towns and villages using drones and artillery, and arson attacks. The statement cited an Aug. 5 attack along the Naf River bordering Bangladesh, when dozens were reportedly killed, including by armed drones, but said it was unclear who was responsible. At the time, The Associated Press reported that at least 150 Rohingya may have been killed by artillery and drone attacks, and cited survivors as saying they believed the attacks were carried out by the Arakan Army. The group, which is the military wing of the states Buddhist Rakhine ethnic group, denied responsibility for the attack on Rohingya fleeing the fighting in the town of Maungdaw, which the Arakan Army has been trying to seize from the army. However, more accounts have since surfaced placing the blame on the group. Pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic minority armed forces, including the Arakan Army, have been battling to oust the countrys military rulers since they seized power in 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. However, the fighting in Rakhine has raised fears of a revival of organized violence against members of the Rohingya minority. In 2017, a military counter-insurgency campaign drove at least 740,000 members of their community to Bangladesh for safety. Almost all still remain there in overcrowded refugee camps, unable to return home because of the continuing instability. International courts are investigating whether the 2017 action by the army constituted genocide. Many Rohingya have lived in Myanmar for generations, but face widespread prejudice and are generally denied citizenship and other basic rights in the Buddhist-majority country. Despite the world saying never again we are once more witnessing killings, destruction and displacement in Rakhine, said Turk's statement. Amnesty International on Wednesday said recent attacks on the Rohingya bear a terrifying resemblance to the atrocities of August 2017. Rohingya civilians are now caught in the middle of intensifying conflict in Rakhine State, said its Myanmar researcher Joe Freeman, adding that the Myanmar military has forcefully conscripted Rohingya to fight on its side. Freeman urged Myanmars military to immediately end their renewed campaign of violence and refrain from unlawful attacks on civilians. New York-base Human Rights Watch last week also raised the alarm about violence in Rakhine. Both sides are using hate speech, attacks on civilians, and massive arson to drive people from their homes and villages, raising the specter of ethnic cleansing, said the group's Asia director, Elaine Pearson. A joint statement from Rohingya support groups Friday estimated that at least 200 Rohingya were killed on Aug. 5 in what it called the Naf River Massacre, and also blamed the Arakan Army. BUELLTON, Calif. (AP) The White House said Friday that cease-fire talks in Cairo have been constructive and will continue over the weekend as the U.S. and Mideast allies continue to press Israel and Hamas to forge an agreement. CIA Director William Burns and Brett McGurk, a senior adviser on the Middle East to President Joe Biden, are leading the U.S. side of negotiations that began on Thursday amid major differences between Israel and Hamas over Israels insistence that it maintain forces in two strategic corridors in Gaza. There has been progress made, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said, We need now for both sides to come together and work towards implementation. Kirby did not detail where progress had been made, but he did insist that theres been momentum in the conversations among the mediators from the U.S., Israel and Hamas's interlocutors Egypt and Qatar. Diplomatic efforts have redoubled as fears grow of a wider regional war after the recent targeted killings of leaders of the militant Hamas and Hezbollah groups, both blamed on Israel, and threats of retaliation. Israel and Hamas have been at loggerheads over the Philadelphi corridor alongside Gazas border with Egypt and the Netzarim east-west corridor across the territory. Hamas is demanding a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. Netanyahu insists on the principle that Israel will control the Philadelphi corridor, with the aim of preventing the rearming of Hamas and a repeat of the atrocities of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel. He also denied reports that Israel would be willing to accept an international force in the corridor. Hamas on Friday pushed back that Netanyahu was blocking any chance to reach a cease-fire deal. Asked whether Netanyahu was negotiating in good faith, Kirby noted that Biden had a constructive conversation Wednesday with Netanyahu. We're in Cairo. They're in Cairo, Kirby said. We need Hamas to participate. We need to get down to the brass tacks of locking in these details. And thats what were focused on here." The war began with the Oct. 7 attack as Hamas and other militants stormed Israel, killing around 1,200 people mostly civilians and abducting around 250. The Israeli offensive launched in response has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the local Health Ministry, which doesnt distinguish between militants and civilians. Biden last week said he was optimistic that an agreement could be reached after he spoke by phone with Qatars emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. That conversation came after a round of negotiations in Doha that White House officials said showed promise that a deal was close. But by Tuesday, Biden was notably more muted about the prospects of the two sides coming to an agreement soon. He told reporters after delivering an address at the Democratic convention that Hamas was now backing off, but that the U.S. is going to keep pushing to land a cease-fire deal. Biden took a break on Wednesday from his vacation with family in Santa Ynez, California, to speak with Netanyahu. The White House said that Biden stressed the urgency of bringing the ceasefire and hostage release deal to closure. Biden made clear to Netanyahu that both Hamas and Israel will need to compromise, according to a person familiar with the leaders' call who spoke on the condition of anonymity about the private conversation. Meanwhile, the families of the Israeli hostages said they met with Netanyahu on Friday to understand what could still be more important than freeing their loved ones, venting their anger at his failure to seal a cease-fire deal that would lead to their loved ones release from Hamas captivity. Representatives from the Hostages Family Forum, a group representing relatives of hostages, said Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to do everything in his power to bring their family members back alive. More than 100 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, including dozens who are presumed dead. The word alive limits this to a certain time frame, said Yizhar Lifshitz, son of hostage Oded Lifshitz, whose mother was kidnapped and freed by Hamas last October. The revelation on Thursday that the autopsies of six captives which Israeli troops recovered from an underground tunnel in southern Gaza were riddled with bullet wounds has escalated domestic pressure on Netanyahu to agree to a cease-fire that might save captives' lives. Ella Ben Ami, daughter of hostage Israeli Ohad Ben Ami, said she left her meeting with Netanyahu with a heavy and difficult feeling that this isnt going to happen soon, and I fear for my fathers life, for the girls who are there, and for everyone. The Committee of Creditors (CoC) of Reliance Capital (RCap) on Thursday filed a fresh application before the Delhi bench of National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) seeking forfeiture of IndusInd International Holdings Ltds equity component of 2,750 crore in case of default by the Hinduja Group-owned company. A copy of the petition has been seen by Mint. In essence, the lenders are seeking modification of the NCLT order of 23 July that allowed IIHL to take over the insolvent Reliance Capital for 9,861 crore. The lenders have since been at odds with the Hinduja Group over the implementation of the resolution plan. The lenders have sought from IIHL payment of interest on the debt component of 7,300 crore from August 2023 till the actual date of the payment, according to the plea filed before the appeals forum. Also Read: Reliance Capital administrator defends use of Reliance brand amid legal dispute IIHL was to deposit the initial equity amount of 250 crore in a domestic escrow account and 2,500 crore in an offshore escrow account of the CoC by 31 July, under the approved plan. Subsequently, just as the deadline was nearing, IIHL filed an interlocutory application before the NCLT, seeking modification of the tribunals order. In this regard, the administrator has opposed granting any relief to IIHL. NCLT, however, had partly granted IIHL an extension till 10 August for implementation of the resolution plan. The forfeiture of funds, experts said, was appealed to secure the interest of the lenders and protect them from further losses which would accrue due to IIHLs delay in implementing the NCLT-approved resolution plan. Earlier too, in the NCLT, the CoC pleaded that they have been deprived of the timely payout of funds owed to them by the corporate debtor under the resolution plan. The resolution plan binds IIHL to pay the lenders within 90 days from the date of the order. Also Read: Anil Dhirubhai Ventures moves NCLT in Reliance Capital case In the event IIHL fails to make the payments within this period and defaults, then it is liable to pay interest to the CoC for the delayed payment and should also be asked to put monies in escrow account which will be forfeited if there are further delays in implementation of the resolution plan, the 31-page petition showed. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has fined Tata-owned Air India 90 lakh for operating a flight with non-qualified crew members. Additionally, due to the lapse, the aviation regulator has imposed a penalty of 6 lakh and 3 lakh on Air India's Director of Operations and Director of Training. DGCA said that the pilot concerned has been warned to be cautious to prevent such instances in the future. Also Read | Scoot plans to slowly build partnership with Air India Express "Air India Ltd operated a flight commanded by a non-trainer line captain paired with a non-line-released first officer which has been viewed by the regulator as a serious scheduling incident having significant safety ramifications," DGCA said in a press release. This incident was highlighted after the airline submitted a voluntary report on July 10. The aviation regulator investigated the airline's operations, including verifying documents and spot-checking the scheduling facility. Also Read | Bomb threat: Air India flight makes emergency landing at Kerala airport "Based on the investigation, it was prima facie revealed that there are deficiencies and multiple violations of the regulatory provisions by several post holders and staff, which could significantly affect safety," the release said. The aviation regulator also said that the flight's commander and the airline's post holders were given an opportunity to explain their position through show cause notices, which were issued on July 22. According to DGCA, the reply submitted to the show cause notices by the concerned parties did not provide satisfactory justification. Following this, DGCA started the enforcement actions according to the provisions of the prescribed regulations and has, therefore, imposed such fines. Also Read | Class war: IndiGo shows Air India it means business For the violations, DGCA has fined Air India 90 lakh, the airline's director of operations 6 lakh, and the carrier's Director of training 3 lakh. New Delhi: With blueberries becoming the next super fruit among health-conscious Indians, the government has mandated that the antioxidants-rich fruit imported from Poland be sourced from orchards registered with that country's National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO), according to an order issued by the Union agriculture ministry. Additionally, the phytosanitary certificates for these blueberries must include a declaration confirming that they are free from acalitus vaccinii (blueberry bud mites pest) and pseudomonas viridiflava (blossom blight disease), according to the order, which was studied by Mint. These measures have been taken to ensure that the imported blueberries are safe and free from pests and diseases that could pose a risk to local crops. In this case, the NPPO of Poland is responsible for ensuring that exported blueberries meet the necessary phytosanitary standards, including being free from pests like acalitus vaccinii and diseases such as pseudomonas viridiflava, before they are shipped to India. NPPO is a country-level institution that works to curb the spread of pests and protect agriculture. India is a signatory of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) under the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. In India, the Directorate of Plant Protection Quarantine and Storage, under the Union ministry of agriculture, is the National Plant Protection Organization. Read more: Subsidies and MSP:It makes most sense for farmers to keep growing rice and wheat Currently, the market size of blueberries in India is relatively small, at around $60 million, compared to other fruits, but it is growing due to increasing awareness about the fruit's health benefits amid rising demand among health-conscious consumers. The market for blueberries in India is expanding, with imports coming from countries like the US, Canada, Poland, and Peru. The fruit is primarily available in supermarkets, gourmet stores, and online retailers, catering to a niche but growing segment of the population. In February this year, the government reduced the customs duty on certain variants of imported blueberries and cranberries from 30% to 10%. This reduction is expected to boost the import of these "super fruits," making them more accessible to consumers and potentially increasing their presence in the domestic market. The blueberry market in India is currently valued at around $60 million, and we anticipate a robust growth rate of 20-25% over the next three years. This growth is driven by a rising demand for blueberries, which is expected to continue increasing even as domestic production scales up, said Sharath Loganathan, co-founder and head of international business at Ninjacart, an agritech company. As we introduce Peruvian blueberries to meet this demand, we aim to market 250-275 tonnes this season. With the growing volume and market competition, we are confident that consumers will benefit from more competitive prices and a steady supply of this nutritious fruit, he said. According to a report by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (Iceier), the consumption of exotic fruits like blueberries has been on the rise in India, particularly among urban consumers. Read more: Pulse of a nation: Of daal and strained international relations Consumption of blueberries is good for health as the exotic fruit is packed with antioxidants, which help protect the body from free radicals that can damage cells and lead to aging and diseases, said Dr. Monashis Sahu, an endocrinologist. The Icrier report highlights that the demand for blueberries is driven by increasing health awareness and the fruit's association with various health benefits, including antioxidant properties and heart health. The report further noted that while blueberries remain a niche product due to their high cost, their popularity is growing among middle-to-high-income groups in metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. The expansion of modern retail chains and e-commerce platforms has made blueberries more accessible to Indian consumers, contributing to the steady increase in their consumption. The use of blueberries in processed foods, such as smoothies, juices, and desserts, is also gaining traction, reflecting a broader trend of adopting healthier eating habits, the report noted. Mao Zedong persecuted the rich. But his successor as paramount leader, Deng Xiaoping, decided to let some people get rich first, as he launched market-oriented reforms. Now a growing number of Chinese are richand the pendulum has swung back, with the government cracking down on ostentatious displays of wealth. Online influencers are the states main target. Until recently, these (mostly young) men and women flaunted their luxury goods to millions of followers. In recent months, though, many have had their social-media accounts suspended by Chinas internet regulators. Among the most famous of these personalities is a man called Wang Hongquanxing. Known as Chinas Kim Kardashian, he has reportedly said that he would never leave his house without clothes, jewellery and accessories worth less than 10m yuan ($1.4m). In May state media reported that he had been banned from Chinas top social-media platforms along with dozens of other influencers. This is not the first time that influencers have found themselves in the governments cross-hairs. They were also targeted in 2021, when Chinas leader, Xi Jinping, launched his common prosperity campaign. That effort aimed to chasten the ultra-rich and reduce inequality. People and companies with a lot of money were encouraged to contribute more to society. The slapping down of Jack Ma, Chinas best-known billionaire, was seen as a warning to the countrys other plutocrats. None of this is stopping people from getting rich in China, according to a report by Knight Frank, a property consultancy based in London. It tracks the number of high-net-worth individuals (defined as those with assets of $1m or more). The global number is expected to rise by 28% between now and 2028. But in China it is expected to increase by 47%. Big multinational banks say they are increasing their wealth-management services for Chinese clients. Yet luxury brands are lowering prices as unsold inventory piles up. This probably has little do with the crackdown on influencers. Amid a sluggish economy, Chinese consumers are simply becoming more frugal, spending less on Balenciaga bags and Gucci wallets. Some luxury brands are putting on a brave face. Louis Vuitton, a French fashion house, has just reopened its renovated boutique in the city of Guangzhou. The CEO of Tissot, a Swiss luxury-watch company, was recently in Shanghai for a product launch. Zegna, a stylish clothing brand, has opened a posh new cafe in Shanghai. Dont expect Chinese influencers to do much promotion though. 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 By Ange Aboa ABIDJAN, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's government will increase its support for small local cocoa exporters to help them more than double their annual purchasing volumes, two government sources said on Friday. Ivorian exporters, which have been struggling to secure financing from local banks due to financial difficulties, have to compete with financially secure international players. Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa grower, produced on average 2.2 million tons of beans over the past three years with big multinationals accounting for around 80% of purchases and exports. At the start of the new cocoa season in October, the government will grant small exporters subsidies of 10 billion CFA francs ($16.75 million) per year over the next four years to help them increase the purchasing volumes to 500,000 metric tons. The government used to grant around 3 billion CFA francs per year. This amount allowed exporters and cooperatives buying and exporting cocoa beans to reach between 150,000 and 200,000 tons per season. "Our aim is to have national champions in the cocoa sector in order to increase their purchasing volumes, which represent less than 10% of our annual production," said one of the sources, who works in the prime minister's office. The other source, who is an official at the agriculture ministry, said this financing should encourage banks to extend loans to small exporters as they will be more financially sound. It should also provide extra support as the European Union prepares to implement new regulations on the import of commodities linked to deforestation, which will make competition among exporters fiercer. Yves Brahima Kone, managing director of the Ivory Coast Coffee and Cocoa Council, the national regulator, told Reuters that though the subsidy was a good gesture, the government needed to do more to make Ivorian companies competitive with other exporters. "If the government wants to achieve this goal, it will need to provide greater, more substantial and sustainable financial support. It's possible, but it will require a larger subsidy," Kone said. ($1 = 597.0000 CFA francs) China is cranking up its massive export machine again, and this time theres nowhere for competitors to hide. A Massachusetts startup called CubicPV bet on silicon wafers, a high-tech component in solar panels. Buoyed by President Bidens climate legislation enacted two years ago, with billions of dollars in tax credits and government loans, CubicPV announced plans in late 2022 for a $1.4 billion wafer plant in Texas. Since then, China has nearly doubled its output of silicon wafers, way more than it needs. The extra wafers had to go somewhereand they went overseas, pushing prices down by 70%. CubicPV had to halt its production plan early this year, putting engineers and other employees out of work, citing a distorted market as a result of Chinas overcapacity." Thousands of miles away, in Chile, iron ore miner and steelmaker CAP is grappling with Beijings continued commitment to low-end commodity manufacturing, as an onslaught of cheap Chinese metal hits its shores. The firm said this month that it would shutter its giant Huachipato steel mill in central Chile indefinitely, with the loss of some 2,200 jobs. The company said it cant compete with low-price Chinese metal even after the government raised tariffs on steel bars and other imported products. Beijings solution to a weak Chinese economyputting the countrys factory sector on steroidsis squeezing businesses around the world and raising the specter of a new global trade war. The European Unions recent decision to impose tariffs on imported Chinese electric vehicles is only the latest sign of deepening tensions. The U.S. earlier this year hiked levies on Chinese steel, aluminum, EVs, solar cells and other products. Turkey has jacked up duties on Chinese EVs, while Pakistan raised tariffs on Chinese stationery and rubber. Other countries have opened antidumping investigations to see whether Chinese goods are being sold below fair value. India is examining Chinese pigments and chemicals. Japan is looking at electrodes. The U.K. is investigating imports of excavators and biodiesel, while Argentina and Vietnam are probing Chinese microwave ovens and wind towers. Behind it all is a bold but risky calculation by Beijing that investing more in manufacturing can restore the countrys economic vitality and build up its industrial resilience without triggering so much international pushback that it threatens Chinas future. Interviews with policy advisers in Beijing and people who have consulted with Chinese officials show that Chinas leadership faced a pivotal crossroads last year, as the countrys real-estate bust brought the economy to one of its weakest points in decades. Some advisers argued that Chinas economy needed a fundamental rethink, graduating from its traditional heavy reliance on manufacturing and construction and instead prioritizing more domestic consumptiona shift that would make China more like the U.S., and potentially put it on a more stable growth path. Instead, Chinese leader Xi Jinping ordered officials to double down on the countrys state-led manufacturing model, with billions of dollars in fresh subsidies and credit. He used a slogan to make sure officials got the message: Establish the new before breaking the old," or xian li hou po in Chinese. The new" in Xis model doesnt mean a pivot to a new growth model. Instead, it is the top leaders way of refining his idea of what kind of manufacturing for the state to back. In essence, the phrase calls for building industries China wants to dominate for the futuresuch as EVs, semiconductors and green energywhile also maintaining the countrys traditional areas of strength in old" sectors such as steel. Any overcapacity problems can be punted to the future. The mantra appeared in an official account of a major government confab last December, when it mapped out its economic agenda for 2024. The readout acknowledged overcapacity in some industries" and insufficient effective demand," yet Xis slogan still indicated an emphasis on expanding industrial production. Xi repeated the slogan at an annual legislative session in March, just weeks before Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen traveled to Beijing to warn the leadership about the global consequences of Chinas manufacturing overcapacity. Two principles have guided Xis thinking, Chinese policy advisers say. The first is that China must build an all-encompassing industrial supply chain that can keep the domestic economy running in the event of severe sanctions by the U.S. and other Western countries. In the top leaders views, advisers say, industrial security sits at the core of Chinas stability as tensions with the developed world rise. The second is a deep-rooted philosophical objection to U.S.-style consumption, which Xi sees as wasteful. That leaves China with few options other than investing in exports to stabilize its weakened economy and create jobs to make up for losses in domestic construction. The upshot: Rather than Chinese workers losing their jobs, steelworkers in Brazil, chemical engineers in Europe, and solar panel makers in the U.S. may lose theirs. Chinese support kicks in Official data show Xis priorities filtering through the economy. Loans to industry, including manufacturing firms, have increased 63% since the end of 2021, while Chinese banks have pulled back sharply on lending to real-estate developers. Government subsidies, though long central to Chinas economic playbook, have also ramped up significantly. Companies listed on the Shenzhen and Shanghai stock exchanges declared $33 billion in government subsidies in 2023, according to figures from data provider Wind23% more than in 2019. Chinese battery maker CATL received the equivalent of around $790 million, double the 2022 level. Other big recipients included PetroChina, China Mobile and Warren Buffett-backed carmaker BYD. In all, 99% of publicly listed Chinese companies now disclose some form of subsidy, according to the Kiel Institute, a German think tank. China spends about 4.9% of its gross domestic product on nurturing industriesseveral times higher than the U.S., Germany and Japan, according to Scott Kennedy, a China expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Craig Allen, president of the U.S.-China Business Council, a lobbying group for American companies in China, said Xis manufacturing fixation was on display when he met recently with the governor of one of Chinas poorest farm provinces. When Allen asked the governor about his economic priorities, the governor listed semiconductors, software, biotechnology, robotics, aerospace, batteries, and EVs. I would have thought that addressing the immediate needs of his overwhelmingly rural constituents, such as improving agricultural harvests, might be at the top of his economic priorities list," Allen said. The fire hose of financial support looks set to keep spraying. The Peoples Bank of China in April said it set up a new facility with roughly $70 billion to help bank lending to tech firms. In May, a national fund aimed at financing semiconductor production raised $48 billion from state-owned banks and other government-linked investment vehicles. More cars and chemicals In a series of articles published by the Peoples Daily in May, Beijing defended its ability to manufacture and export as a positive for the world rather than a problem, saying the U.S. and its allies are hyping" Chinas overcapacity to gain competitive advantages for themselves. Chinas production of advanced electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and photovoltaic products, first met our domestic demand, but also enrich global supply," Chinese premier Li Qiang said in an address to the World Economic Forums June meeting in Dalian, China. The real source of Chinas manufacturing edge isnt government subsidies but its huge scale, which helps pin down costs, he added. The impact, either way, is inescapable. Industrial production in the first quarter in China was 8% higher than it was when Chinas real estate crunch got serious at the end of 2021, easily outstripping output growth in the U.S., Europe and Japan, according to data compiled by CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, a Dutch research institute. China has added capacity to produce some 40 million vehicles a year, even though it sells only around 22 million at home. Its on track to make around 750 gigawatts of solar cells this year, despite only needing 220 gigawatts domestically in 2023. And it is expected to account for 80% of the worlds new supply this year in basic chemicals such as ethylene and propylene, used to make garbage bags, toys and cosmeticseven though prices in China have been falling for 19 months, a sign of oversupply. At the same time, output of steel, one of Chinas old" industries, increased last year despite waning domestic demand due to the continuing property crisis. Industry executives say Beijing has been prodding them to invest more in upgrading steel production through clean technologies and other means. Overall Chinese export volumes, stripping out the effect of exchange-rate movements, are up 10% since the end of 2021, versus 1.5% for world exports in total. Chinas steel exports jumped 36% last year from a year earlier. By doubling down on manufacturing when it already produces close to a third of global factory output, China is effectively asking the rest of the world not to expand its share of production, but to reduce it, said Michael Pettis, a professor of finance at Peking University who has written extensively on imbalances in global trade. The rest of the world wants the opposite. The world cannot accommodate it," he said. Pain spreads The U.S. is in some ways one of the least-affected countries, because it has high tariffs on many Chinese goods that help shield U.S. workers. But Washingtons goal of expanding U.S. manufacturing cant be achieved if overproduction in China continues, and some industriesespecially renewable energyare feeling pressure. Qcells, a global clean energy company owned by South Korean conglomerate Hanwha, which has a big presence in the U.S., recently said the company and its peers are losing millions of dollars a month. The International Trade Commission, a federal agency that analyzes trade issues, in June gave its initial go-ahead to an antidumping petition backed by American solar manufacturers who allege solar cells and modules made by Chinese companies are sold in the U.S. for below market value and unfairly subsidized. Other parts of the world are bearing more of the brunt. European automakers have axed more than 10,000 jobs as more Chinese EVs arrive. Antonello Ciotti, chairman of PET Europe, a trade association for European makers of chemicals used in polyester fibers for clothing and recyclable containers, said European PET producers shed hundreds of jobs as firms slashed costs and production to deal with Chinese imports. The EU late last year imposed antidumping duties on certain imports of Chinese PET. The risk for Xi is that unlike the first China Shock" in the early 2000s, when cheap Chinese manufacturing wiped out an estimated two million jobs in the U.S. but also benefited Western consumers, the latest push could trigger so many protectionist measures that China winds up with few sizable markets to sell to. In the past, some countries didnt mind Chinas overcapacity as much, since many companiessuch as Germanys automakersbenefited from their access to cheap Chinese-made parts, notes Jacob Gunter, an analyst at the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin. But now, China is aiming its industrial policy right at the heart of the Western economy," Gunter said. Policy reversal Xis establish the new before breaking the old" strategy marks a shift from previous years when Beijing, at times led by Xi himself, tried hard to reduce overcapacity, not add to it. China has suffered from persistent overcapacity in the past, at times raising ire from its trading partners for depressing global prices for steel and other goods. In 2015, Xi entrusted his economic czar at the time, Liu He, to implement reforms that led to closures of many small and privately owned steel mills and other businesses. For a while, it seemed as if Xi and his economic team were ready to finally tackle overproduction. But as tensions with the U.S. escalated in recent years, and Chinas economy weakened, Xis views changed, Chinese policy advisers say. He grew more concerned about ensuring China could produce everything it needed in the event of a conflict with the U.S., and became less sympathetic to Western complaints. Chinese officials are now out in force denying the country has overcapacity because Beijing doesnt want to give Washington, Brussels and others justification for tariffs or other retaliatory actions, policy advisers and people who consulted with Chinese officials say. Still, some of Xis closest lieutenants have raised worries internally that government support was leading to extreme overcapacity in sectors such as EVs and batteries, making those sectors less commercially viable. Everybody makes stuff in China," said Joerg Wuttke, former president of the European Chamber of Commerce in China and now a partner at Washington consulting firm DGA Group. But nobody makes money." Phred Dvorak contributed to this article. Write to Lingling Wei at Lingling.Wei@wsj.com and Jason Douglas at jason.douglas@wsj.com Uttar Pradesh Police Constable Recruitment Exam 2024: Large number of candidates have started arriving at various exam centres in the state to appear for the Uttar Pradesh Police Constable Recruitment Exam 2024. Nearly 48 lakh aspirants would be competing to fill 60,244 posts. Also Read | Big win for student power: Rahul Gandhi after UP govt cancels police constable exams Visuals shared by news agency ANI shows aspirants making their way to centers in cities including Lucknow, Noida, Ayodhya, and Varanasi among others. The visuals also showed that following thorough checking by police, the candidates are being permitted to enter the examination centers. Its important to note that this re-examination comes after the original Uttar Pradesh Police Constable Recruitment Exam was cancelled in February due to allegations of a paper leak. The recuitment exam is set to be held for over 60,000 vacancies. The exams will be conducted in two shifts on August 23, 24, 25, 30, and 31. The first shift starts from 10 am to noon, and the second shift will start from 3 pm to 5 pm. The tests will be held at 67 exam centers across the state, with approximately 5 lakh candidates expected to appear for each shift, a report by ANI stated. The UPPBPB has decided to keep the gap between the written examinations, keeping in mind that the Janmashtami holiday falls on 26 August. While speaking to news agency ANI, Noida Joint CP Shivhari Meena said, The exam is being held at 18 centres of the city. The security teams have been deployed. We are ensuring that frisking and checking of aspirants are being conducted properly. DCP Traffic and his team have been deployed for proper traffic management... Also Read | MPESB Exams 2024: MP Employee Selection Board reschedules exam dates DCP Central Lucknow Raveena Tyagi said, CCTV monitoring is being done at all exam centres. Police arrangements are done at all major bus stands, railway stations and metro stations. Several holding areas across the city are made for aspirants. The facility of city buses and inter-district buses is available. Smart City Control and drones being used for surveillance, as quoted by ANI UP. DIG Muniraj G from the Moradabad Range mentioned that the division has been organized into 11 zones and 32 sectors. The verification of identification and facial recognition will be conducted using artificial intelligence. Exam was cancelled in February The exam, initially conducted on February 17 and 18, was canceled due to issues related to paper leaks. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath intervened, ordering the cancellation and mandating that a new Police Recruitment 2024 exam be held within six months, ensuring it would be conducted transparently. Vindhya Telelinks, a BSE-listed engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm, is planning to hive off its fibre infrastructure business and sell a majority stake in the emergent entity, two people aware of the development said on the condition of anonymity. One of the people cited earlier said that Arthur D. Little, a consulting firm, is running the sale process for the deal at a potential enterprise value of $200 million or 1,830 crore. The companies had not responded to queries from Mint till press time. Vindhya Telelinks, an MP Birla Group company, was formed as a public-private joint venture between Universal Cables Ltd and the Madhya Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation Ltd. It makes copper and optical fiber telecommunication cables. Also Read: TRAI issues advisory regarding fraudulent calls impersonating telecom regulator The move to carve out its fibre infrastructure business comes amid a proposal by the European Commission Directorate General for Trade to levy anti-dumping duty - ranging between 8.7% and 11.4% - on nearly a dozen Indian optical fibre cable makers. 8.7% tax on imports proposed The body, responsible for EU's policy on trade with nations outside of the EU, has proposed to levy an 8.7% tax on imports from Birla Cable Ltd, Universal Cables Ltd and Vindhya Telelinks Ltd to the European Union, Mint had reported in June. While Vindhya Telelinks was initially a telecom equipment manufacturing firm, it has diversified into power distribution, system integration and oil and water pipelines that form the EPC division. The latter set of businesses have helped the company increase its sales to 4,110 crore in FY24, with the non-telecom verticals bringing in 3,523 crore. Profit in FY24 stood at 155 crore. For the quarter ended June, Vindhya Telelinks recorded a revenue of 835 crore, with 19.63 in profits. Chief executive officer Sandeep Chawla told Fortune India in March this year that the irrigation projects within EPC are the growth segments for the company over the coming five to 10 years. On the other hand, core telecom business has been slow due to tepid demand from overseas companies, but cable manufacturing will continue to generate revenue locally as the government continues to require supplies of optical fibre cables for the 1.39 trillion BharatNet rural internet connectivity project and as private telecom operators Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea bolster fibre-to-home services. Also Read: Duty changes in telecom to push Make in India for the world Jio and Airtel are increasing fibre deployment to support 4G and 5G services. Both segments will require supplies from companies like Vindhya Telelinks. The company is also a bidder for supplying optic fibre cables for the 65,000 crore BharatNet-III project that will cover the sates of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh (East), Uttar Pradesh (West), Karnataka Uttarakhand, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Jammu & Kashmir and the north-eastern states. Orient Technologies IPO Subscription Status: Retail and non-institutional investors (NII) have responded to the Orient Technologies IPO with remarkable vigour in the first two days. The issue appears to be maintaining its pace as the bidding closes today, Friday, August 23. Orient Technologies IPO subscription status was 151.71 times, on the last bidding day, as per BSE data. The initial share sale got bids for 1,13,02,20,648 shares against 74,49,846 shares on offer, according to BSE data. The portion for retail investors received 66.87 times subscription while the quota for non-institutional investors got subscribed 300.60 times. The qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) part is booked 189.90 times. The second day of subscription for Orient Technologies IPO saw a 16.96 times over subscription on Thursday, as per BSE data. Retail individual investors' portion was oversubscribed by 24.49 times, while non-institutional investors' part received a 20.97 times subscription. The quota for Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) received a subscription of 16%. Also Read | Orient Technologies IPO subscribed over 17 times on day 2; check details here The public issue saw a subscription of 6.65 times on the first bidding day. The retail portion of the book build issue was oversubscribed at 10.50 times. The NII segment received a subscription of 6.17 times, and the QIB portion was subscribed at 2%, according to BSE data. The public subscription for the initial share sale of the information technology solutions provider will end on Friday, August 23. Orient Technologies, an IT solutions provider situated in Mumbai, secured 64.43 crores from anchor investors before its initial public offering. Orient Technologies IPO price band is established at 195 to 206 per equity share, each having a face value of 10. Orient Technologies' public offering has designated 50% of the shares for QIB, assigned 15% for NII, and earmarked 35% of the offer for retail investors. Established in 1997, the company focuses on offering information technology (IT) solutions. The company has honed its skills in IT Infrastructure, IT Enabled Services (IteS), Cloud, and Data Management Services over time to provide products and solutions. Also Read | Orient Technologies IPO: 10 key risks you should know about before investing Orient Technologies IPO Review SBICAP Securities Ltd The brokerage states that the firm is priced at an upper price band FY24 P/E multiple of 20.7x. With a respectable CAGR of 13.6%/11.3%/9.8% in Revenue/EBITDA/PAT for the FY2224 timeframe, the company's fundamentals are solid. The firm will see consistent growth because to its wide range of end-user industries, extensive product and service offerings, and technological partnerships with major competitors. Nonetheless, they think the corporation must contend with fierce competition in the fragmented market. The brokerage advises long-term investors to subscribe to the issue. Arihant Capital Markets Ltd The brokerage said that by utilising its broad experience and proven track record, the firm is well-positioned to capitalise on areas where demand for sophisticated IT services is expanding. Its broad customer base, in-depth knowledge of cutting-edge technologies, and strategic partnerships with top technological companies enhance its capacity to satisfy a variety of client needs and seize newly developing international market possibilities. Based on an FY24 EPS of 9.95, the issue is valued at a P/E ratio of 20.70x at the upper range of 206. For this issue, we advise a Subscribe for Long Term. Orient Technologies IPO details Orient Technologies IPO, which is worth 214.76 crore, comprises a fresh issue of 120 crore, and an offer-for-sale (OFS) of 46 lakh equity shares by the promoters. Ajay Baliram Sawant, Umesh Navnitlal Shah, Ujwal Arvind Mhatre, and Jayesh Manharlal Shah are the ones offloadingshares in the OFS. The company plans to use the net proceeds for general company purposes, including capital expenditure requirements, and the purchase of an office building in Navi Mumbai. The Orient Technologies IPO's book running lead manager is Elara Capital (India) Private Limited, and the issue's registrar is Link Intime India Private Ltd. Orient Technologies IPO GMP today Orient Technologies IPO grey market price is +70. This indicates Orient Technologies share price were trading at a premium of 70 in the grey market, according to investorgain.com. Considering the upper end of the IPO price band and the current premium in the grey market, the estimated listing price of Orient Technologies share price was indicated at 276 apiece, which is 33.98% higher than the IPO price of 206. Today's IPO GMP is showing an upward trend based on the grey market activities of the last 15 sessions, indicating a strong listing. According to analysts at investorgain.com, the GMP has ranged from a low of 0 to a high of 70. 'Grey market premium' indicates investors' readiness to pay more than the issue price. Ambuja Cements bulk/block deals: Rajiv Jain-backed GQG Partners Inc purchased over 4.39 crore shares, amounting to a 1.78 per cent stake in Ambuja Cements through bulk and block deals in two separate transactions on Friday, August 23. The shares were bought at an average price of 625.50 apiece, taking the combined deal value to 2,746.79 crore. After the stake purchase, Fort Lauderdale-based asset management firm GQG Partners increased its stake in Ambuja Cements to 3.13 per cent from 1.35 per cent. The US-based boutique investment firm emerged as the largest buyer in the stake sale of Ambuja Cements by an Adani Group-owned company. Ambuja Cements block deal details Adani-owned Holderind Investments, which owned a nearly 51 per cent stake in Ambuja Cements as of June end, divested an almost 2.8 per cent stake worth 4,250 crore via open market transactions on Friday. According to the block deal data available on NSE, Holderind Investments Ltd, promoter in Ambuja Cements, sold 6.79 crore shares, amounting to a 2.8 per cent stake in the company. The shares were offloaded at an average price of 625.50 apiece, taking the transaction value to 4,250.64 crore. According to news agency PTI, the promoter sold the stake of Ambuja Cements as part of a regular adjustment of holdings they carry to keep the stake across the ports-to-energy conglomerate at desired levels. After the stake sale, Holderind Investments' shareholding in Ambuja Cements has declined to 48.1 per cent from 50.90 per cent. Also, the combined stake of promoters of Ambuja Cements has reduced to 67.53 per cent from 70.33 per cent. According to NSE data, these shares were picked up by Axis Mutual Fund (MF), Baroda BNP Paribas MF, ICICI Prudential MF, Invesco MF, Mirae Asset MF, Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company, SBI Life Insurance, and National Pension System (NPS) Trust. NSE block deal data also showed that the US-based investment banker Morgan Stanley, the Vanguard Group, and the Norwegian government's pension fund were also among the buyers of Ambuja Cements' shares. Billionaire Gautam Adani's promoter group holds shares worth $125 billion across the conglomerate's 10 listed companies. ACCording to PTI, the holdings are adjusted regularly to keep the promoters' interest at a desired level. Equity adjustments typically range from 0.5 per cent to three per cent. The stake sale in Ambuja Cement is part of that and is not linked to any debt reduction. Ambuja Cements is one of the two firms that the Adani Group bought in 2022 from Holcim Ltd to emerge as India's second-largest cement maker. Ambuja Cements Q1 Results Ambuja Cements Ltd reported a consolidated net profit at 789.63 crore for the first quarter ended on June 2024. The company had reported a net profit of 1,135.46 crore in the April-June period a year ago. Revenue from operations was at 8,311.48 crore during the June quarter compared to 8,712.90 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. Ambuja Cement's sales volume, which also includes ACC, was 15.8 million tonnes (MT), up 2.6 per cent. The company's earnings statement said these were the highest ever Clinker & Cement sales in Q1 over the last five years. On Friday, shares of Ambuja Cements settled 0.10 per cent higher at 633.55 apiece on the BSE. Adani Group business update On Monday, the conglomerate said it has enough cash to cover more than 30 months of debt payments. As of the end of June, the group's cash balance ACCounted for 24.8 per cent of its gross debt of 2.41 lakh crore, up from 17.7 per cent a year earlier. The conglomerate saw its June quarter pre-tax profit surge 33 per cent on the back of strong performance by the core infrastructure business and emerging businesses ranging from solar and wind manufacturing to airports. In the 2023 book, Meera Mukherjee: Breaking Moulds , there is a lovely anecdote about how the late sculptors tryst with art started. It all began at the chaukhat of their home in Calcutta. Meera sat with her Maa to decorate the doorway with alponas while the rest of the house was bustling with the celebrations of Laxmi Pujo," writes author Vaishali Shroff in this book from Art1st Books Art Exploration series meant for kids aged eight-plus, illustrated beautifully by Shivam Choudhary. To Mukherjee, her mothers designs represented something fantastical how simple rice paste took the form of exquisite shapes. And thus began her lifelong preoccupation with creating sculptures out of simple materials. It might be tough to imagine artistsmodern or contemporaryas children. Did you know that S.H. Raza struggled with concentration while growing up in the town of Barbaria, Madhya Pradesh? What were the memories from Ganesh Pynes childhood that inspired his exaggerated, often dark, lurking creatures later in life? Children might have heard of these artists and know of their legacies, but more often than not, they view these personalities from a distance. But if they knew of the roller-coaster ride of unfettered freedom, inspiration, exasperation, loss and grief that these artists went through as kids, they might be able to relate to them better. And even more, they may come to realise that artistic expression need not be about finding perfection of form or technique, but ought to be a reflection of ones true voice. Today, publishers, galleries and institutions such as Akar Prakar, the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art and Emami Art are trying to create awareness about artists childhoods, a facet that was earlier left largely undocumentedsad, really, as the tapestries of their growing up years are just as vibrant and insightful as their later practices. I have seen kids, as young as five and six, all ears at Art Room, a collaborative studio space in Gurugram, as facilitators talk about moments of mischief and adventure that some of the leading artists of the world indulged in as children. Also read: Children's art and culture spaces look beyond the metros Books such as Razas Bindu, Ambadass Dancing Brush and Ganesh Pynes Twilight Dreams from the Art Exploration series by Art1stan organisation that seeks to strengthen visual literacy among children and educatorshave helped preteens like my daughter and her friends develop greater empathy towards events such as Partition and the Bengal famine, which hugely impacted lives of artists like Somnath Hore. These have led kids, aged seven-plus, to form associations with the uncertainty of that time, and the resulting migration, with the events that unfolded during the covid-19 pandemic. A friends daughter, Myra Rastogi, an 11-year-old from the National Capital Region, shared recently about how sketching had a calming effect when her mother was in isolation during the pandemic. Often parents might feel that dark works, populated with emaciated skeletal bodies, as seen in the art of Pyne and Hore, might leave kids scarred. However, children have greater resilience and understanding of the many forms that grief can take. This might prompt some of them, like Rastogi, to seek succour in art. Ganesh Pynes Twilight Dreams, authored by Shroff and illustrated by Priya Kuriyan, reflects on art as an outlet for feelings of loss. The book looks at the images that would populate the artists mind after listening to stories from his thakurma or grandmother. I was four when I got a new box of crayons. I couldnt resist the urge to draw on a wall. It made me feel ecstatic. I drew everywhere," states the book. But everything changed when Pyne turned nine and witnessed gory scenes from the Partition. He lost his father soon after and his mind was filled with darkness. Years went by and my only anchor snapped. Thakurma left too, to be in the same place as Baba," reads the book. But her stories stayed with me. There were images in my mind that screamed for help. They begged to be let out." And suddenly the dam of feelings burst, and just like his childhood, he began to scribble everywhere. My images were free. I finally saw beauty in all the sadness inside me," it further states. Also read: How to talk to a child when a parent is sick View Full Image From 'Ganesh Pynes Twilight Dreams', authored by Vaishali Shroff and illustrated by Priya Kuriyan. Image: courtesy Art1st Books Some of these stories also bring to the fore the serendipitous nature of lifeof not knowing who or what might trigger that spark within. So, maybe, it might help children to step away from the screen for sometime and pay attention to sights, sounds and people around them. Contemporary visual artist Sameer Kulavoor, whose practice emerges from a way of decoding his surroundings, found that early inspiration in a neighbour, Sujaya Bangera, an art educator, during his childhood in Mumbai. He would often march into her home and browse through her sketchbook. This was around 1989-90, and she used to teach at Childrens Academy, Kandivali. I remember going completely crazy looking at her sketchbook how was it possible for someone to paint and draw like this. She used to experiment a lot too. In one instance, she had woven human hair into the artwork. She moved to another place after a year-and-a-half, but left me her diary and urged me to draw in it," reminisces Kulavoor. Though it didnt feel momentous at that time, the interaction contributed a great deal to his journey into art. It was while watching his father at work as a child that performance artist Debashish Paul decided on becoming an artist too. In an earlier conversation, Richa Agarwal, CEO, Emami Art, Kolkata reflected on the story of this young queer artist, who questions notions of identity in a society dominated by heterosexual norms. Paul, who hails from a family of kumhars, or potters, would see his father fashion toys out of simple clay in a village in Bengal. That got him interested in sculpture from a very young age, and today his multidisciplinary practice is deeply rooted in this art form. Likla Lall, who has authored books like Somnath Hore: Wounds and runs PanicNot!,a collaborative storytelling community and collective, feels that such stories could be the start of art exploration for young people. Conversations around artists are usually seen as the realm of adults. Strange, really, when children are natural artists. Even before verbal expression, they take to visual expression. So, when a young mind reads about another young mind, it leaves an impression," she adds. Take the story of Gond master Jangarh Singh Shyam, who was always creative at heart. Be it an occasion or a festival, if something artistic needed to be done, he was the child to call. There was no pressure on him about what he needed to do or not do. There was complete freedom to wander to the riverside, pick up clay and make something out of it. This story is important for both children and their families. Creativity takes on a quality of its own when kids are not told that the face has to look a certain way, the line has to be drawn this way. Technique and form are found through exploration and learning," she says. Also read: I am bored need not make parents recoil in horror A lot of stories of artists early years are about learning to find comfort in uncertaintysomething that children struggle with these days, with changing social, familial and political structures. Take the instance of Mumbai-based Aditi Singh, who is known for her meditative paintings. Hailing from a family of achieversfrom economists to political scientistsshe was expected to follow suit. As a scholarship student of economics and political science in the US, she came across Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilkes Letters to Young Poet, musings on solitude, humanity, gender, and even the natural world, which was life-changing in a way. As a 17-year-old, the book made her think deeply on courage, and finding solace even when things werent all figured out. This one quote by Rilke still resonates with her: We must accept our reality in all its immensity. Everything, even the unheard of, must be possible within it. This is, in the end, the only courage required of us: the courage to meet what is strangest and most awesome." Ive always been more comfortable with the unknown and art seemed like a manifestation of that. Thats how painting became my lifes practice and not just a profession," says Singh. When children hear or read such anecdotes, they begin to think of art not just as an end result but as a process of healing, of a way out of the curveballs that life throws at you. Near the entrance of the Mumbai restaurant Bandra Born is a small shelf filled with food books. Taking pride of place is The East Indian Cookery Book , an anthology of recipes from one of the citys most prominent communities, the East Indians. The rare, out-of-print book is special to Gresham Fernandes, chef partner at Bandra Born, who belongs to this community, because it holds recipes for fugyas , a wedding pickle made with toddy vinegar and vindaloo, which have influenced his repertoire. Fernandes is an avid reader with an impressive collection of 800 books, ranging from food writing to culinary culture. Like him, chef Niyati Rao of the restaurant Ekaa and the newly opened bar Bombay Daak is a bookworm with over 550 books. She geeks out on books about ingredients. Gayatri Desai of Punes Ground Up restaurant is curious about the sources of different cuisines. Her collection spans China, Japan and Mexico. Every bookshelf reflects a chefs identity, their diverse interests, from wines to manga, and their ever evolving tastes. TO BOOKMARK The books are reference material as well as for reading pleasure. Rao is loyal to Christine Ingrams Cooking Ingredients, an illustrated book on ingredients from all corners of the world with details of provenance and instructions for use. Raos new bar Bombay Daak champions regional chakna (bar snacks) and drinks. As part of her research, she read The Indian Spirit: The Untold Story of Drinking in India by Magandeep Singh, which dives into the history of alcohol in India complete with tasting notes of local brews. Auroni Mookerjee, culinary director at Delhis Bright Hospitality Pvt. Ltd, often flips through books by old-school cookbook authors Mary Berry and Julia Child. With recipes for pies and puddings, the food is all about comfort. Today, guests know about technique-driven food, but what they want to feel is not from the mind, but from the heart," he says, while explaining why comfort food triumphs over all else. Vanshika Bhatias reference books encompass her plant-based approach to cooking and love for baking. She is the chef-partner at Gurugrams vegetarian restaurant Omo and owns the cafe Petite Pie Shop. Her go-tos are Ottolenghi Flavour by the inimitable chef Yotam Ottolenghi because theyre really nice with their taste combinations", and The Elements of Pizza by the master of bread-baking Ken Forkish. For anyone interested in making bread at home, she recommends his Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast. CHEF AUTHORS I am a big fan of (Australian chef) Josh Niland, because he revolutionised cooking fish," shares Mookerjee. Nilands Fish Butchery: Mastering the Catch, Cut and Craft is a masterclass in nose-to-tail cooking of fish. Mookerjee explains that its genius lies in the application of different butchery crafts unique to cuisines from Japan, US and France to slice, dice and skin fish to perfection. Most chefs have read The Noma Guide to Fermentation by iconic chef and restaurateur Rene Redzepi and David Zilber. With 100 recipes, it is a foolproof guide to unlock umami and discover new flavours. Bhatia runs a vegetarian restaurant and its particularly useful. Theres something called a Tasty Paste in the book. It teaches you how to ferment any sort of fruit with miso and keep it in a vacuumed environment for a week. It develops a really nice kick and it can be paired with a range of dishes," she says. View Full Image Auroni Mookerjee with his copy of 'Wine Folly.' MORE THAN RECIPES Mookerjee has a well-thumbed copy of Wine Follys magnum edition. Its a definitive read for wine aficionados like him. Over the years, he has put together an envious collection of old editions of Wine Spectator magazines. Punes Ground Up is an experimental restaurant with fermentation at its core, led by Desai who has a hunger to learn about different aspects of food. I am drawn towards books that help me understand the source," she says. One of her favourites is Tender by Nigel Slater, she says. Sample the following lines: The rough feel of a runner bean between the fingers, the childish pop of a pea pod, the inside of a fur-lined broad-bean case, the cool vellum-like skin of a freshly dug potato are all reason to linger. And all this even before we have turned the oven on." Desai is drawn to good writing, and likes deep diving into food cultures. She names authors like Fuchsia Dunlop, an authority on regional Chinese cuisines; Elizabeth Andoh, author of six Japanese cookbooks; and the brilliant" Nancy Singleton who has documented Japanese ferments, vegetarian cooking and country-style recipes. THE MAGIC OF COMICS If you are a fan of the American sitcom The Big Bang Theory, then you know that intelligent minds love comics. Fernandes, Rao and Mookerjee are also fans of manga and graphic novels centred on food. Each of them speak of the cooking manga series, Oishinbo. Every volume in this series focuses on a particular ingredient or dish like pub food, ramen or rice. They have incredible lessons in craft and hospitality," shares Mookerjee. The plot revolves around a father who is a revered chef and his son, a food critic. The friction arises because they are constantly throwing challenges at each other and working separately to create the ultimate food guide. The drama is infused with dining etiquette and remarkable teachings on food service. To illustrate, Mookerjee recounts a chapter from the volume on rice. The father takes the son out to eat, where they find that the rice is cooked to perfection with each grain being of the same size. It means the chef carefully picked each grain to ensure it cooked uniformly. It shows his unmatched attention to detail. Celebrated food author Anthony Bourdain also cooked up comics, says Fernandes, sharing a photo of his copy of the graphic novel Get Jiro with a sushi chef as the protagonist who challenges masterchefs portrayed as antagonists. Another Bourdain comic in his collection is Hungry Ghosts that combines the supernatural with food. View Full Image Hungry Ghosts by Anthony Bourdain. Rao suggests another manga series, Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma, written by Yuto Tsukuda and illustrated by Shun Saeki. In it is an Indian character Akira Hayama who was adopted by a Japanese woman. He is known as the master of spices, and rightly so. He makes a curry, and its no ordinary recipeits the Kerala kozhi varutha with lots of curry leaves. The creators have shown not just ingredient quantities, but gone into details about the optimal temperature for growing them," she says. The comics are hard to find, and she recommends watching the series on YouTube. From memoirs to cookbooks and comics on a gamut of food topics, a clear theme emerges: Chefs read to not only learn about recipes but also to feast on ideas. CHEF-APPROVED BOOKSTORES (By Gresham Fernandes, Niyati Rao, Vanshika Bhatia and Gayatri Desai) Books for Cooks in Notting Hill, London Kinokuniya, across countries Pagdandi Bookstore & Coffee, Pune Leaping Windows, Mumbai Bahrisons, Delhi and Gurugram Its a show with a formula: Emily goes to Paris for work, falls in love with the city, decides to stay and navigate her (mostly self-inflicted) chaotic life, while deciding whether she should pick a delicious French chef or a good-looking British finance bro. Familiar chaos drags on in Season 4 of Emily in Paris as well. Whats different this time is the way Emily, played by Lily Collins, dresses. She looks more Parisian than before, reflecting how her character has matured, influenced by her surroundings. Of course, the clashing prints and bold colours are still very much part of her wardrobethats what makes Emily, well, Emily. (I dont want her to look like an ordinary French girl," the shows costume designer Marylin Fitoussi had told The New York Times in 2021, when Season 2 was out. I dont want to make a clone of what is French or what is supposed to be French fashion. If I do that, I fail.") But shes no longer loud just for the sake of loud. Whether its a black-and-white wool Andrew Gn coat with feathered cuffs and Victorian-style buttons, or a sheer Marlene Birger ruffled blouse paired with an Isabel Marant corduroy mini-skirt and Posserys yellow wax jacket, Emily seems to have pared down her outfits. Also read: Why Law Roach wants to tell the India fashion story in the right way Helping complete her evolved look is easy, everyday jewellery, much of which is inspired by Indian motifs and architecture. They have been created by Nue, a brand by Mumbai-born, Antwerp-based enterpreneur Priyanka Mehta, who works with lab-grown diamonds. Emilys Grace Necklace (a gold chain with a coloured diamond accented by and a bunch of colourless diamonds) in the first episode, for instance, is inspired by the inlay work at the Taj Mahal in Agra and other Mughal structures. Similarly, her earrings in the hot-air balloon Ami commercial remind one of jhumars (chandeliers) in Rajasthan palaces. Our brief was straightforward: delicate, sophisticated, wearable and feminine jewellery to go with Emilys new, more pared down look," Mehta says over a call. This project has helped me push myself more. I always wanted to work with black gold but wasnt too sure about it. But then they asked me create a Karl Lagerfeld-inspired ring (to be featured in the second drop of Season 4 expected in September), and I worked with black and white gold." View Full Image Gabriel (Lucas Bravo) wearing the Nue ring, popularly known as the Gabriel Ring About 20 of Nues pieces have been featured in this season; five were used in Season 3, the first time the Emily In Paris team reached out to Mehta after looking at her brands Instagram page. I thought it was a scam when I saw their email," laughs Mehta, a certified goldsmith and an architectural history graduate from New Yorks Columbia University. We were very young (the brand started in 2019) and werent so big on marketing. Now, of course, the series has helped us gain more clients across the world (from the US to India)." One of Nues best-selling products is the Gabriel ring (a gold ring with a hidden diamond) that Lucas Bravos chef character first wore in Season 3 and continues to flaunt in the new season as well. What helps the jewellery stand out is its daintiness. As Emily mixes corporate core with vintage core and a few gender-neutral looks, the jewellery bolsters the efforts to turn a peppy, young American into a calmer marketing professional who wants to reinterpret Parisian fashion codes on her own terms. In 2023, a study by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) revealed a startling statistic: 9 out of 10 traders lose money in the futures and options market. One of them, a 32-year-old Mumbai-based financial services employee, who suffered huge financial loss, shared his journey with Mint . Here is SP (name withheld on request), who narrates his story offering valuable lessons for anyone considering entering the high-risk world of options trading: Over the past eight to nine years, I lost approximately 60 lakh in options trading, a loss so severe that I am now deeply in debt, which is almost that amount. I owe money to 11 different lenders. I have a negative net worth and no assets to sell. My journey began in 2015 while pursuing an MBA in Pune. A friend introduced me to the concept of futures and options, and even the professors encouraged us to invest in the markets as a learning experience. Excited by the prospect, I opened an account with a discount broker (Upstox) and made my first tradean SBI call option. I made a modest profit of 800, but it was enough to spark a fascination that would eventually lead to financial losses. View Full Image Mint After graduating, I started working at a bank in Mumbai with a modest salary of 50,000. I continued trading options for some additional income. The bank allowed employees to borrow money at just 5% interest, up to a limit of 1 lakh. I saw this as an easy arbitrage opportunityborrow at 5% and aim for a return of 15-20%. But the reality of trading was far from my expectations. As I switched jobs and my salary increased, my obsession with options trading only grew. There were times when I made money, like when I held IRCTC put option that soared in value when an announcment caused a stock crash. Then I made profit from puts on Adani Group companies just before the Hindenburg report in 2023. Profits from that trade were enough to part finance my wedding. However, for every win, there were losses. With each loss, I dug a deeper hole, borrowing more to recoup the losses. I tried various trading strategiestechnical analysis, market profiles, and even financial astrology and paid coursesbut nothing yielded sustained profits. Money lost is visible, but time lost is also important. That time could have been spent in up-skilling or in pursuing new courses and certifications. There are good experts whose calls work, but you have to follow all their calls without question. You cant listen to just some of their advice, which is what I did. Also Read: Meet the new YouTube finfluencers: teens making 36-40% returns trading options I also began borrowing money to place as a margin with brokers. The financial system made it easy, especially when you have credit cards. You can pay just the minimum amount due and keep borrowing even without hurting your Cibil score. You can then use the card to pay yourself or your family's rent. Many websites and apps allow this for expenditures like society maintenance, office rent and deposit to buy a house. I used this money to trade instead. I also withdrew money out of my Employee Provident Fund (EPF) on grounds of advance for medical treatment. For consistent success in F&O trading, your skill level needs to be as high as that of a top-ranked competitive exam candidate Now, I owe money to about 11 lenders apart from friends and acquaintances. Out of the lending institutions, around 3-4 major ones have agreed to settle after my loans turned NPA (after 90 days of non-payment). But there was a lot of harassment in the meantime. They didnt just call me but anyone they could find linked to me through my social media profile, including my employer and my spouse's relatives. The relentless pressure pushed me to seek help from debt settlement agents, but they turned out to be scammers who only worsened my situation. Over the past few months, I have taken it upon myself to negotiate with lenders. So far, four out of the eleven lenders have agreed to settle for 30-45% of the amount due. Despite the challenges, I am hopeful. I am determined to settle all my debts, rebuild my career, and repair my credit score. Lessons learned Reflecting on my journey, here are some hard-earned wisdom: 1. Lying to your family about losses and loans takes a heavy emotional toll. The moral guilt is unbearable. 2. Money lost is visible, but time lost is also important. That time could have been spent in up-skilling or in pursuing new courses and certifications. 3. Live within your means and avoid overextending yourself financially. Leveraging your income can be a grave mistake that leads to financial disaster 4. For consistent success in F&O trading, your skill level needs to be as high as that of a top-ranked competitive exam candidate (think All India Rank 100). 5. While personal loan disclaimers often state that the money should not be used for capital markets, theres no strict control on this. Borrowing money for trading purposes is far too easy: you can just give a lame excuse such as house repair and renovation. The financial system needs to check this. Mint has seen P&L screenshots and loan recovery notices of SP to verify the claims made in this story. SPs story is a stark reminder of the perils of F&O trading. While the allure of quick profits can be tempting, the risks are significant, and the consequences can be devastating. Note: If you would like to get in touch with Mint and tell us your own story, please reach out to Neil Borate at neil.b@livemint.com Also read | Sebi may rope in social media giants like Google to regulate finfluencers Badlapur sexual assault case: An FIR against the school authorities, for not complying with the provisions of section 19 of the POCSO Act, in connection with the alleged sexual assault of two fourth-grade girls at a school in Badlapur, Maharashtra. Two four-year-old girls were sexually assaulted inside the washroom of a school in the Thane district of Maharashtra earlier this month. Here are top 10 updates on the case 1. The special investigation team (SIT) has registered an FIR against the school authorities, for not complying with the provisions of section 19 of the POCSO Act. The SIT in the case said, FIR registered against the school authorities for not complying to the provisions of section 19 of the POCSO Act which mandates that every authority when they come to know about any such kind of sexual assault against minors are obligated to report this to police authorities for further action. The statements of the two victims and their parents have been recorded. 2. "According to the SIT, the school authorities failed to notify the police, resulting in charges under Section 21 of the POCSO Act. This section mandates penalties for non-compliance with the requirements of Section 19 of the same Act. The SIT also noted that the statements of both minor victims, along with their parents, have been recorded." 3. On August 22, the Bombay High Court took suo motu cognizance of the Badlapur sexual assault case involving minor girls at a school. 4. On Thursday, the Bombay HC called the sexual assault incident in Badlapur absolutely shocking and said that there cannot be any compromise on the safety and security of girls 5. The incident triggered significant outrage, leading to protests across the western state this week. As per the latest update, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray has said that the government should withdraw the cases registered against the people protesting in Badlapur, else we will have to take to the streets. 6. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has announced a "Maharashtra bandh" for August 24. Vijay Wadettiwar, the leader of the opposition in the state assembly, stated that all MVA allies will take part in the bandh. Earlier on Thursday, Thackeray had stated that the purpose of the bandh is to highlight the importance of women's safety and to prompt the government into action. 7. Speaking on tomorrow's Maharashtra Bandh, the former CM said, Many people have started to feel that girls are not safe in schools. All citizens will take part in tomorrow's bandh, not just Mahavikas Aghadi. The bandh will continue till 2 pm. Bus and train services should also be shut during tomorrow's bandh. You may belong to any religion or caste, but make this bandh successful for the protection of your daughters and sisters. 8. Regarding school closures on August 24, the government has not issued any notifications, so schools will remain open as usual. However, institutions that typically close on Saturdays will be shut. Banks will be closed nationwide tomorrow as it is a fourth Saturday. 9. The parents of the accused in the Badlapur sexual assault case claimed that their son is innocent, claiming that he has been framed. In an interview with a Marathi news channel, the parents denied the allegations against him. The accused, who worked as an attendant, has been remanded to police custody until August 26. 10. In another report, officials informed PTI that a case has been registered against a 21-year-old woman with over five lakhs followers on Instagram for allegedly spreading false rumours about the two girls involved in the case. According to a city police release, misleading messages concerning the health of the victims and their families were circulating widely, prompting the authorities to take action. (Corrects syntax in headline) Aug 23 (Reuters) - Mediterranean restaurant chain Cava Group's shares surged over 23% to a record high of $125.38 on Friday, after strong demand for its salad bowls and pita wraps boosted its annual sales and earnings forecast. The fast-casual chain, which made a strong market debut in June last year, exceeded second quarter expectations after markets closed on Thursday, and said the system-wide roll out of grilled steak on June 3 generated stronger than expected sales. Many Americans are cutting back on dining out due to steadily increasing fast-food prices over the past two years, prompting chains such as McDonald's and Burger King to dole out more offers to attract customers. Cava, in contrast, took a 3% menu price increase in January with no further price increases planned in 2024, Wedbush analyst Nick Setyan noted. "While many have commented on decelerating traffic in the market, we have seen sustained momentum," CEO Brett Schulman said on post-earnings call. Consumers are trading up from cheaper fast food options as price increases since the pandemic have made Cava more competitive with quick service restaurants, Jefferies analyst Andy Barish said. "We continue to view... CAVA's attractive value proposition, growth in advertising, increased brand awareness, menu innovation (like steak) ... as drivers of growth in the near- to medium-term," Wedbush's Setyan said. Cava's restaurant-level margin improved by 40 basis points to 26.5% in the quarter, as higher sales and favorable commodity costs offset increased wages and the introduction of higher-cost steak. The stock was on pace to log its best session ever, if gains hold. Full-year same restaurant sales growth is now expected at 8.5% to 9.5% from prior forecast range of 4.5% to 6.5%. It expects core earnings to come in between $109 million to $114 million. Cava's forward price-to-earnings ratio for the next 12 months, a common benchmark for valuing stocks, was 244.78, compared with Chipotle Mexican Grill's 43.57. DOTHAN, Ala. (AP) A former Alabama prosecutor was found guilty of six corruption charges on Thursday for soliciting sexual favors from at least three women who he was also prosecuting for crimes. Houston County former Assistant District Attorney Mark Johnson was accused of using his role as a prosecutor to ask for sexual photos on multiple occasions and to hire a sex worker on at least one occasion. Johnson also previously served as a Houston County Sheriff's Department deputy. One of the women testified that Johnson demanded that she help him hire a sex worker while she was out on bond, according to News4. In her testimony, the woman said that she wouldve done anything that man wanted, because he could influence whether she would go back to jail. She was facing life in prison for a drug trafficking charge. This is a clear case of someone habitually using their position to exploit vulnerable women for his own gratification, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said. Mr. Johnson violated the public trust by taking advantage of the community he swore to serve and protect, and he now must be held accountable for his crimes. The Houston County jury found Johnson guilty on three counts of soliciting anything for a corrupt purpose, and three counts of intentional use of office for personal gain. The six charges include three felonies and three misdemeanors. Attorneys for Johnson could not be reached for comment by email on Friday morning but argued in court that the former prosecutors behavior was improper but not criminal. (Bloomberg) -- When Katie Lam was deciding what to study back in 2018, she thought that a Law degree would open the most doors in a future career. She was overjoyed to be accepted into her chosen subject at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Almost six years on, the outlook in the city has soured with top tier firms closing, foreign lawyers leaving and, according to recruiters, fewer trainees being retained. While Lam, 23, managed to secure work as a paralegal, an increasing number of graduates appear to be dropping out of the profession altogether. Some industry leaders say the downturn is part of a normal economic cycle and the fundamentals remain strong. But there are also concerns that US-China tensions and national security legislation have undermined faith in the rule of law and are further clouding the future. The legal industry in Hong Kong is growing at the slowest pace in a decade. At the Law Society, which solicitors are required to join, membership grew by only 90 in 2023, down 83% from an increase of 532 members in 2020. At least 16 law firms have left or shut down since 2020 after steady growth in the previous few years, including Philadelphia-founded Dechert LLP and Chicago-based Winston & Strawn LLP. DLA Piper LLP, one of the largest law firms in the world, has cut its office space, while Mayer Brown LLP was preparing to split off its Hong Kong operation, people familiar with the matter said earlier this year. Hong Kongs status as a legal hub has changed significantly, said Richard Cullen, an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Hong Kong. It is caught in the crosshairs of an aggressive campaign by the United States and other Western powers trying to contain China, with the National Security Law becoming a focus. The Hong Kong government said in June theres no truth that the citys courts are under any political pressure from Chinese central authorities or the hubs government in the adjudication of national security cases. Hong Kongs ability to remain as an international financial center is largely attributed to its stable environment with strong rule of law consisting of a robust legal system and a pool of diversified legal talents, the Department of Justice said in an emailed response to questions Thursday. The national security laws will not affect normal business operations and worldwide exchanges of local institutions, organizations and individuals. That said, foreign lawyers have left the city, according to data from the Law Society. Only 1,476 were registered in 2023, down 13% from a peak of 1,688 in 2019. Meanwhile, the number of junior lawyers who are being taken on as associates after their two-year training period is declining. At the junior level, there has been roughly a 25-30% contraction in retention rates, said Johnny Hui, a Hong Kong-based legal and compliance manager at recruitment company Robert Walters. To bump up these rates, some firms retain their trainees on six-month or rolling contracts, defer their commencement dates, or continue paying associates at far lower trainee rates. In-house roles have also been falling since 2021, partly due to some companies moving their Asian hubs to Singapore from Hong Kong, according to a report by Lewis Sanders, a specialist legal and compliance recruitment consultancy. Part of the reason some firms have withdrawn is due to concern they will be forced to divulge client information to the Hong Kong government after implementation of the national security law, according to a partner at a UK-based law firm who asked not to be named due to the sensitive subject matter. The Financial Times reported in February that US firm Latham & Watkins LLP was cutting off default access to its international databases for its Hong Kong-based lawyers amid growing concern of Chinas closer control of the territory. Moreover, the decision by several overseas judges to step down from the former British colonys top court has added to worries over the future of the rule of law. The decision by overseas judges to step down has an impact on Hong Kongs rule of law, in particular when being perceived by the outsiders, said Yun Zhao, a Law professor at the University of Hong Kong. Hong Kong needs to consider possible ways to dissipate possible concerns from the public. Nevertheless, industry associations say the recent decline is due to poor economic conditions rather than political fears. You cant have non-stop expansion, said Victor Dawes, chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association, adding the local decline in deal volume was part of a worldwide trend. Dispute resolution in Hong Kong, including liquidation, restructuring and insolvency, has actually increased over the last few years. Dawes said hes confident that Hong Kong will retain its legal hub status given it is a common law jurisdiction. Joanne Lau, secretary-general of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, said arbitration and mediation in Hong Kong continue to grow. If you look at our fundamentals we continue to have sophisticated laws, a strong judiciary, experienced arbitral institutions, and a community of vibrant talent, she said. Job-Hunting Challenges The career setbacks that Lam and her cohort face are symptomatic of the industrys challenges, however. Even with academic scores that placed her well into the top half of her class and five law-related internships, she didnt secure a full-time offer. Fellow CUHK graduate Nicholas Chu, 22, said his year group had found it far harder to land jobs than previous cohorts. Out of 70 classmates, only a handful had received full-time offers from international firms, he said. Chu, who has to wait a year before he can start a training contract, estimates that around 20% of his class wont take the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws a one-year qualification thats a prerequisite for practicing as a lawyer in Hong Kong. These students may instead defer their graduation, seek opportunities overseas, or opt for careers in the civil service or in-house compliance. The number of applications for the certificate has dropped from around 1,600 10 years ago to around 1,300 in the 2023-2024 cycle, based on data compiled by Bloomberg, while the number of undergraduate law students in Hong Kong has increased slightly over the same period. This indicates that an increasing proportion of students are choosing to leave the legal profession or to qualify elsewhere. It is not surprising that, with the increasing number of law students, some are not seeking professional qualification, said Cullen. They are looking at the difficult job prospects and the cost of the degree and looking around for other employment opportunities. Lam, at least, isnt ready to drop out. She hopes to be recruited as a trainee in a few years time and will work as a paralegal in the meantime. I did consider other options such as working at regulatory bodies, she said. But I didnt want to give up on working as a lawyer after five years of study. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com Supreme Court on August 23 adjourned the hearing into the Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's petition challenging his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Delhi excise policy case. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan posted the case for next hearing on September 5. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju sought time to file a counter-affidavit in one of Kejriwal's petitions, according to legal news website LiveLaw. Raju submitted that CBI's counter-affidavit has been filed in the other petition. Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Kejriwal, said that one counter-affidavit was filed at 8 pm on August 22 with a deliberate design that the same does not reach the bench, the LiveLaw report said. Justice Surya Kant asked the CBI to file reply in another plea after two days while one affidavit has been filed in one case. The CBI told the apex court that Kejriwal is politically sensationalising the case and has been involved in criminal conspiracy. The actions of Manish Sisodia were in consultation with and at the behest of the Petitioner, the Chief Minister of Delhi, the central agency told the Supreme Court, according to Bar and Bench. Granting time to the CBI for filing a counter-affidavit, and to Kejriwal to file a rejoinder, if any, the bench posted the matter to September 5, according to LiveLaw. Kejriwal's latest petition before the Supreme Court, filed through Advocate-on-Record Vivek Jain, challenges the Delhi High Court order of August 5, whereby his plea against CBI arrest was dismissed by a Single Judge bench with liberty to approach the trial Court for bail. The Aam Aadmi Party chief was by CBI on June 26, while he was in custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the money laundering case related to the alleged liquor policy scam. A 15-year-old boy died after he drowned due to waterlogging in central Delhi's Chanakya Puri area on Friday. Police said the incident happened in the noon when it was raining heavily. The boy, Sourabh, lived with his family at the Vivekanand Camp in the same area, the police said. "A 15-year-old boy died due to drowning in Delhi's Chanakyapuri area...This boy was playing and the flow of water was very fast. After going some distance, the body of the boy was found," the Delhi Police was quoted by ANI as saying. Also Read | Heavy rains cause severe traffic jams in Delhi: Check routes to avoid Police told news agency PTI that Sourabh and some of his friends were playing in the rain on the waterlogged road near the British School when he accidentally ventured into deep water and drowned. The boy's friends informed his family members about the incident. The family "immediately reached the spot, pulled him out of the water and rushed him to the hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival," the officials said. The police said the body of the victim has been sent for postmortem and further investigations are underway. Several cases of drowning and falling in open drains o Delhi streets have come to light ever since monsoon hit the national capital. On June 31, it was reported that a woman and a child had reportedly drowned in a drain in the Mayur Vihar Phase 3 area of East Delhi. A rescue operation was then launched to retrieve the bodies. The Delhi High Court on August 22 pulled up the Delhi Development Authority's (DDA) over the death of a mother-son duo who fell into a waterlogged open drain in Delhi last month. The court noted that officials did not "supervise" the work done there by the contractor, who allegedly left certain portions of the drain uncovered. Kolkata doctor rape case: The psychoanalytic profile of the arrested accused in the rape and murder of the woman doctor at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Sanjay Roy, indicated that he was a pervert and severely addicted to pornography, a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officer said on Thursday, August 22. According to the report, Sanjay Roy, a traffic police volunteer, showed no emotions as he narrated his version of the incident. The CBI team is also likely to conduct a polygraph test of the former RG Kar Medical College principal Sandip Ghosh and four other doctors in connection with the alleged rape and murder case. What did Sanjay Roy's psychoanalytic profile reveal? According to news agency PTI, the CBI team found Sanjay Roy to be a sexual pervert with animal instincts. The CBI examination of CCTV footage reveals that suspect Sanjay Roy was caught wandering around the victim in the ward just hours before committing the brutal crime. The 31-year-old victim was at the ward with fellow junior doctors when Sanjay Roy was seen staring at them for a while before leaving. The investigation has revealed that Sanjay Roy observed and glared at the doctors before breaking into the RG Kar Hospital past midnight. Also Read | Kolkata Doctor Case LIVE: FAIMA calls off strike after SC appeal The Kolkata rape and murder case accused was a pervert and severely addicted to pornography, a CBI officer told PTI on Thursday. Quoting the doctors from New Delhi's Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), the officer also said that the civic volunteer of the Kolkata Police has an "animal-like instinct". "The man showed no repentance and narrated the entire episode giving every minute detail without hiccups. It appeared that he had no remorse," the official of the central probe agency told PTI on Thursday. Kolkata doctor rape case accused was a porn addict The CBI investigation revealed that Sanjay Roy was a porn addict. The finding was strengthened after Kolkata police found several pornographic contents inside his mobile phone. Amid the ongoing investigation, the CBI has found enough evidence to prove Sanjay Roy's presence at the crime scene. Referring to the CCTV footage collected from the hospital, he said, Roy could be seen near the chest department ward at around 11 am on August 8. "Footage showed him entering the same building again at around 4 am on August 9. Certain technical and scientific evidence corroborated that," he said. Sanjay Roy, the accused in the harrowing rape and murder case involving a trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, is under intensified scrutiny after CCTV footage established his presence near the victim before the crime. According to sources reported by CNN-News18, the CCTV footage shows that the accused Sanjay Roy, a 33-year-old civic volunteer with hospital access, was observing the victim just hours before the crime. In the CCTV footage, Sanjay Roy was also caught glaring at them. As per the report, Sanjay Roy confessed during interrogation that he had observed the 31-year-old victim in the chest medicine ward on August 8, the day before the attack. CCTV footage supports this claim, Meanwhile, CBI sources describe Roy as a sexual pervert with animal-like instincts and report that he showed no remorse during questioning. Supreme Court sets up National Task Force The Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of the matter and constituted a National Task Force to recommend guidelines to ensure the safety of medical professionals. A CBI investigation into the matter is underway. Following an appeal from the Supreme Court, health professionals at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, have ended their 11-day strike and resumed their duties as of Thursday. The Resident Doctors Association (RDA) announced the decision in a statement: In the interest of the nation and public service, the RDA, AIIMS, New Delhi, has decided to end the 11-day strike. This decision follows the Supreme Court's appeal and direction. We sincerely thank the Supreme Court for addressing the RG Kar Medical College incident and the broader safety and security issue for healthcare workers nationwide. Earlier, the Supreme Court, while hearing the Kolkata doctor rape and murder case, instructed health professionals to return to work and assured them that no adverse action would be taken against them once they resumed their duties. Kolkata doctor rape-murder case This development follows the rape and murder of a junior doctor in Kolkata on August 9, which led to widespread protests and strikes by the medical community. The court also requested the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to provide a status report on the investigation and asked the West Bengal government for a status report on the mob attack at RG Kar Hospital on August 15. Kolkata doctor rape-murder case: In a new development regarding the rape and murder of a post-graduate resident doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, former students have alleged that a 'medical mafia raj' was operating at the institute. According to a News18 report citing sources, the former principal, Sandip Ghosh, ran a racket with a section of students working for him. Even to speak to Dr Sandip Ghosh, we had to go through the TMC students wing," alleged some doctors. From bio-waste trafficking to the sale of corpses, Ghosh is facing a range of allegations. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will investigate these alleged irregularities. Here are 10 latest updates of the Kolkata doctor rape-murder case: According to news agency PTI, the Calcutta High Court transferred the case to the CBI from a Mamata Banerjee government-constituted special investigation team. Calcutta High Courts decision to give the case regarding financial irregularities to CBI came after Akhtar Ali, a former deputy superintendent of the facility, filed a petition seeking a probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the same during Ghosh's tenure. Also Read | Kolkata rape case Sanjay Roy observed victim hours before crime, shows CCTV According to an exclusive News18 report citing Dr Chandramouli Jha, an ex-student of RG Kar, students had protested against Ghosh and the alleged corruption under him in 2021. Dr Jha claimed that Ghosh subsequently cancelled his registration. report citing Dr Chandramouli Jha, an ex-student of RG Kar, students had protested against Ghosh and the alleged corruption under him in 2021. Dr Jha claimed that Ghosh subsequently cancelled his registration. We had raised our voice against corruption and lack of proper hostel facilities. We went on a hunger strike, too. But our protest was nipped in the bud. Dr Ghosh got my registration cancelled. I had to move the court to get the registration," Dr Jha said. "There is a threat syndicate in RG Kar. If one wants to become an in-house staff, they have to pay money to the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) or Trinamool Congresss student wing. MLA Sudipto Roy is also a key player," Dr Jha told News18 . . The CBI has also been asked to investigate the corruption cases and submit a report on September 17. CBI will conduct a polygraph test on Sandip Ghosh and five others concerning the case. CBI has also received the courts nod to conduct a polygraph test on Sanjoy Roy, the arrested Kolkata Police civic volunteer and the prime accused in the case. He was earlier sent into judicial custody for 14 days until 6 September. The junior doctors continue to cease work and protest. This has been going on for over 14 days and has impacted public health services across West Bengal. Earlier this month, doctors closed the OPD services nationwide in a nationwide protest. Apart from doctors, the protests are also being held by students, teachers as well as techies in Kolkata. Also Read | Kolkata Doctor Case LIVE: FAIMA calls off strike after SC appeal Kolkata doctor rape case: Amid nationwide protests following the brutal rape and murder of an on-duty doctor in Kolkata's RG Kar Hospital on August 9, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), on Thursday, submitted a timeline of the case to the Supreme Court and details of the actions taken during the investigation. As the CBI continues its investigation into the 31-year-old trainee doctor's rape and murder case, startling revelations are sending shock waves across the country, revealing glaring gaps in the probe. Kolkata doctor rape case complete timeline A doctor found the lifeless body of the trainee doctor in a semi-naked condition inside the seminar hall at the government-run RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata, West Bengal, on August 9. Kolkata Police began its investigation in which initially the police and college authority maintained that it was a suicide case. Also Read | Kolkata rape case Sanjay Roy observed victim hours before crime, shows CCTV August 9 At 9:30 am, a first-year postgraduate trainee found the victim doctor's body from a distance and immediately informed his colleagues and senior doctors about it, according to an NDTV report. At 10:10 am, a police outpost at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital informed Tala police station about the incident. The victim was found lying in an unconscious semi-naked state on a wooden platform in a seminar room in the emergency building, reported NDTV, citing the General Diary Entry, which is a record of a police station's daily activities and incidents. At 10:30 am, the police officers reached the spot and cordoned off the crime scene. Another team of senior police officials, including a detective, forensic experts, photographer and videographer, reached the spot between 11-11:30 am, reported News18. Later, the Assistant Superintendent called the victim's family and asked them to reach the hospital. The doctor's parents said they received a call around 11:15 am informing them of their daughter's suicide. At 12:44 pm, the Assistant Superintendent of the hospital reached the crime spot, and the police concluded the video recording of the crime scene. The on-duty doctor declared the victim dead after examination. At 1:00 pm, the parents of the victim arrived at the hospital. At 1:47 pm, the doctors prepared and handed over the medical certificate and death certificate of the victim to the police. Later, after the police officer noted injury marks on the victim's body and private parts, the police registered an unnatural death case. At 4:00 pm, the Judicial Magistrate reached the RG Kar Medical College. After the judicial officer arrived, an inquest was held at 4:20 pm in the presence of the victim's family members and colleagues. The forensic doctors performed the post-mortem of the victim from 6:10 pm to 7:10 pm. At 8:00 pm, the police official and investigating team carried out 3D mapping of the crime scene, reported NDTV. The forensic team seized nearly 40 exhibits from the crime spot. At night, the police handed over the victim's body to her family members. The family received the dead body after post-mortem at 10:45 pm. At 11:45 pm, the police registered an FIR in the case based on the complaint of the victim's father. August 10 Kolkata Police arrested primary accused Sanjay Roy in connection with the Kolkata doctor rape case. An autopsy report also confirmed that the doctor was murdered after a sexual assault. August 11 The West Bengal government transferred the Superintendent of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata over alleged lapses which led to the rape and murder of a trainee doctor, reported ANI. August 12 Professor Sandip Ghosh, the principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, stepped down amid a nationwide protest against the case. He was rehabilitated within four hours and returned to Calcutta National Medical College (CNMC) as the principal. August 13 The Calcutta High Court took cognisance of the matter and ordered the former RG Kar Principal to take an extended leave. The CBI took over the investigation from the Kolkota Police and took custody of the accused. August 15 A large group of unidentified men stormed into RG Kar Medical College and obstructed the peaceful overnight protest by doctors in solidarity with the Kolkata doctor's rape and murder case. August 17 The Indian Medical Association sought the Prime Minister's intervention in the matter and called for a one-day nationwide strike of doctors. August 18-20 Nationwide protests demanding capital punishment for the people found guilty in the Kolkata doctor rape-murder case continued. Patients suffered due to doctors' strikes in several states. August 20 The Supreme Court took suo motu cognisance of the matter. A bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud constituted a 10-member task force to formulate a national protocol for ensuring safety and facilities for them in the wake of the rape and murder of the medic in Kolkata. August 22 The Supreme Court reprimanded Kolkata Police for delay in taking action in the case. The Bombay High Court has restrained all political parties and individuals from calling a Maharashtra bandh amid outrage over the Badlapur sexual assault case. A division bench led by Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya also asked the Maharashtra government to take all necessary steps as Opposition leaders reiterated calls for a strike against perversion. The development came even as Opposition leaders including former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray insisted they would take join the strike on August 24. Arrests are still taking place in Badlapur. The cases against the protesters must be withdrawn or else we have to hit the streets, Thackeray said on Friday. There was a need to take strict action against such an act and everybody demanded the same. The state government should remain alert to keep a check on such incidents. The home department should take stringent action wherever requiredMaharashtra Bandh has been called for tomorrow. This bandh should be done peacefully. My party will participate in it. I am sure people of Maharashtra will participate in the bandh, added NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar. Also Read | Badlapur sexual assault: FIR against school for not complying with POCSO Act The Maha Vikas Aghadi had called for a shut-down across Maharashtra on Saturday to protest the sexual assault of two kindergarten girls at a Thane school. A massive agitation also rocked Badlapur earlier this week as the incident came to light. Several police officials were injured as thousands hit the streets and spilled onto railway tracks in outrage. The Shiv Sena (UBT) chief has repeatedly insisted that the strike was not political but to protest and curb the perversity. He also urged the government to focus on the safety of women before talking about other initiatives. We will not take the law into our hands. Shopkeepers should also think that they also have daughters, so they should also join our bandh, tomorrow the bandh will be only till 2 o'clock. Some people have gone to court regarding the bandh, it seems they are not concerned about their sisters and family, Thackeray added. The Maha Vikas Aghadi has withdrawn its call for a Maharashtra bandh on Saturday following a Bombay High Court ruling. Opposition leaders and workers in the coastal state will now hold peaceful demonstrations and tie black bands around their mouth to protest against the Badlapur school sexual abuse case. We have called off August 24 Maharashtra bandh but opposition leaders will protest with black bands around their mouth. We dont agree with the Bombay High Court order on bandh, confirmed Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray. The opposition MVA, which consists of the Shiv Sena (UBT), the Congress and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), had called for a state-wide shutdown on Saturday to protest against the alleged sexual assault on two kindergarten girls at a school in Badlapur in Thane district. The Bombay High Court however restrained political parties or individuals from proceeding with a strike on August 24 or any future date, saying such a protest will paralyse normal life. "Until further orders all concerned are restrained from proceeding with the call for bandh on August 24 and also on any other further date," the HC said. "We are, prima facie, convinced that the call given by the political parties is a call to observe bandh tomorrow in the entire state of Maharashtra, which means a call for cessation of all kinds of activities which will result in the life of the state coming to a halt, that may entail heavy loss to industrial activities, business activities, economic activities and other such activities," the HC said. Also Read | Badlapur sexual assault: FIR against school for not complying with POCSO Act Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Friday said Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders and workers will protest against the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP government with black flags and black band tied around their mouth at different locations in the state. Earlier in the day, the HC restrained political parties and individuals from proceeding with the Maharashtra bandh scheduled for August 24 or on any future date. "Respecting the court's view, we will peacefully protest against the government between 11 am and noon with black flags and black bands tied around our mouth," Patole said. He said the decision was taken after consulting NCP (SP) state president Jayant Patil and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray. A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar said the Maharashtra government shall take all necessary steps to prevent a bandh. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has announced a 'Maharashtra Bandh' for August 24 to protest the alleged sexual assault of two young girls at a Badlapur school in Thane district. The decision was made during a meeting on Wednesday that also addressed seat-sharing for the upcoming assembly elections. Who all are supporting Maharashtra bandh? MVA allies Congress, Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP) headed by Sharad Pawar Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut stated, "People in Maharashtra are upset, and FIRs have been filed against the protesters. On August 24, the MVA will call for a Maharashtra Bandh in response to the Badlapur incident." NCP-SCP leader Jitendra Awhad commented, "This government is unconstitutional. With the rise in criminal activities, a Maharashtra Bandh is necessary." Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat added, "We have called for a Bandh on August 24 due to the seriousness of the Badlapur incident." Maharashtra Bandh: What's open and what's closed Maharashtra Bandh on August 24: Will schools and colleges be closed on August 24? The government hasnt notified us about closures, so they will operate as usual. However, institutions that usually close on Saturdays will be shut. Maharashtra Bandh on August 24: buses and metros Opposition parties have called the Maharashtra Bandh, but the Maharashtra government has not supported it. Therefore, buses and metros are expected to run as usual. Ahead of Tomorrow's 'Maharashtra Bandh' Called by MVA, Shiv Sena (UBT) Leader Uddhav Thackeray states, "Concerns About Girls' Safety in Schools Are Rising. The Bandh, Supported by All Citizens and Not Just Mahavikas Aghadi, Will Last Until 2 PM. We Expect Bus and Train Services to Be Halted. Regardless of Religion or Caste, Join the Bandh to Ensure the Safety of Your Daughters and Sisters." Maharashtra Bandh on August 24: Are banks closed? Banks will be closed nationwide this Saturday, August 24, as it is the fourth Saturday of the month. According to RBI rules, banks are closed on the second and fourth Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays, and regional holidays. Badlapur sexual abuse case The incident has sparked significant outrage in Badlapur. On August 17, police arrested an attendant for allegedly abusing two minor girls. A large protest was held at Badlapur Railway Station, where demonstrators pelted stones at the police. Following the protest, Maharashtra Police arrested over 40 individuals and filed an FIR against 300 people for stone-pelting, disrupting train services, and lathi charges on Tuesday. Bharat Bandh 2024 on August 21 21 organisations nationwide called the Bharat Bandhin response to a Supreme Court ruling. On August 1, the Court determined that states have the constitutional authority to create sub-classifications within Scheduled Castes (SCs), a diverse group, to provide targeted reservations for more socially and educationally disadvantaged castes. -With agency inputs The Yogi Adityanath-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Uttar Pradesh has asked government employees to declare their movable and immovable assets by August 31, failing which they lose their salaries for this month. Earlier, the deadline as per the order issued in August last year was December 31 which was extended first to June 30, and then to July 31. With just 26 per cent of the 17.8 lakh employees declaring their assets on the government portal Manav Sampada, the human resources management system, as per the order, the deadline has now been pushed to August 31, 2024, according to a report in NDTV. As many as 13 lakh government employees in Uttar Pradesh are at the risk of losing their salaries this month if they fail to comply with an order, according to reports. Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh has insisted on strict adherence to this order, saying only those who submit their asset details before the new deadline will have their salaries disbursed. The rule applies to all categories of officers and employees. Officials said that those who do not declare their assets might also become ineligible for promotions. According to the NDTV report, the government justified the step by saying it enhances transparency and accountability. Also Read | Watch: Man sets vehicle on fire after getting challan for illegal parking "This measure aims to enhance transparency and accountability within the government. We have a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi," UP government minister Danish Azad Ansari was quoted as saying in the NDTV report. Kamala Harris Democratic National Convention speech: Kamala Harris, on Friday, August 23, accepted the Democratic presidential nomination in Chicago as the crowd broke into a rapture. Accepting the nomination, Kamala Harris pledged a new way forward if she is elected in the US Presidential elections in 2024. Kamala Harris, 59, said in her Democratic National Convention speech that if she's elected as president, she will aim to pass a middle-class tax cut. Kamala Harris would be contesting against Republican Donald Trump. Top quotes from Kamala Harris' Democratic National Convention speech 1) Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris opened her speech at the party's national convention with a tribute to her Indian-origin mother, Dr. Shyamala Gopalan Harris. She talked about her upbringing as her parents moved around the country for various jobs, and the virtues they instilled in her. Kamala Harris recalled how her mother, at age 19, journeyed from India to California with a steadfast dream of becoming a scientist to cure breast cancer. "I miss her every day, especially nowI know shes looking down and smiling," Kamala Harris said. 2)"I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self, to hold sacred America's fundamental principles from the rule of law to free and fair elections to the peaceful transfer of power," the 59-year-old Harris told the crowd at Chicago's United Center. 3)She also spoke about the "serious consequences" of putting "unserious man" Donald Trump back in the White House. In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences, but the consequences, of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are severe, Harris said. 4)She promised to create an "opportunity economy where everybody will have a chance to compete and succeed" and end America's housing shortage. 5) Harris sought to contrast her agenda, which would prioritise the middle class. The Democratic nominee said she would pass a middle-class tax cut that would benefit more than 100 million Americans, Compare that to Donald Trump, she said. He fights for himself and his billionaire friends. And he will give them another round of tax breaks that will add up to $5 trillion to the national debt. She also referenced Trumps threat to raise tariffs on another nation, calling it a Trump tax hike. 6) "I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can trust me to prioritize the country over party and self, upholding America's core principles, including the rule of law, free and fair elections, and peaceful power transfer." 7)"In the ongoing battle between democracy and tyranny, I am clear on my stance and on America's place. 8)Regarding Gaza: It is crucial to secure a hostage deal and a ceasefire now," she declared, to applause. "Let me be clear: I will always support Israel's right to defend itself and ensure it has the means to do so. The devastation in Gaza over the past 10 months is tragic, with countless innocent lives lost and people fleeing in desperation. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are committed to ending this conflict in a way that ensures Israel's security, releases the hostages, alleviates suffering in Gaza, and allows the Palestinian people to achieve dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination. 9)We can forge a new path forward, "not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans." Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Ukraine's Kyiv on August 23 and received a warm welcome from members of the Indian diaspora. A video shared by news agency ANI showed huge crowd of people gathered to catch a glimpse of the Prime Minister. The video also showed the prime minister shaking hands with the Indians living in the war torn country. PM Modi is in Ukraine at the invitation of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, He is also the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Ukraine. PM Modi arrives in Ukraine PM Modi reached Kyiv from Poland taking the special train Train Force One. The 'Train Force One' is considered one of the most luxurious trains in the world. But, this is not the main reason for PM Modi taking the train route. According to details, all the airports in Ukraine are closed due to the Russia-Ukraine war, and the train route is considered a safe option. Taking to X, the Prime Minister shared photos of his arrival and wrote, Reached Kyiv earlier this morning. The Indian community accorded a very warm welcome. While speaking to news agency ANI, an Indian student expressed his excitement to meet the prime minister. He said, We are excited about PM Modi's arrival here. The government of India has been helping Indian students here since the time of Operation Ganga. We are very excited to meet PM Modi. Here we have an opportunity to see him and also talk to him if possible. Also Read | Ukraine encircles Russian troops in Kursk and digs in for long fight A member of the Indian diaspora described the intense fear and psychological impact of the frequent attacks. He said, The blasts weren't just scary because of the attacks themselves - they would shake you up from inside. Things you can't even imagine were happening live - 4-5 attacks every single day. Drones and ballistic missiles coming right at you and exploding in front of your very eyes. We wouldn't be able to sleep at night amid worries of what might happen, as quoted by ANI. What is the agenda for Prime Minister Modis visit to Ukraine? During the visit, both leaders are expected to discuss collaboration in defence, economic and business relations, and science and technology. Zelenskyys office confirmed Modis trip and said that multiple cooperation agreements, and bilateral and multilateral cooperation issues are on the table. On this day: On August 18, a series historical events took place in India and around the world . This date is seen milestones across various spheres, right from economic and political upheavals to cultural revolutions. Sardar Vallabhai Patel appointed as 1st Deputy Prime Minister of India On this day in 1947, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was appointed as the first deputy Prime Minister of India. During the initial three years following independence, he held multiple key positions including Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs, Minister of Information, and Minister of States. However, his lasting legacy is most notably tied to the peaceful integration of princely states into the Indian Union, significantly contributing to the political unification of India. After suffering a severe heart attack, he passed away on December 15, 1950, in Bombay. Japan declared war against Germany in 1914 The World War 1 began on 28 June 1914. On August 23, 1914 Japan declared war on Germany. Salad Bowl strike in 1970 On August 23, 1970, the Salad Bowl strike commenced, spearheaded by farm labor activist Cesar Chavez. This significant event saw between 5,000 and 10,000 workers leave their jobs, marking the largest farm worker strike ever recorded in U.S. history. Gulf Air Airbus crash in 2000 In 2000, a Gulf Air Airbus A320 tragically crashed into the Persian Gulf near Bahrain. The incident, which resulted in the loss of all 143 passengers and crew on board, was a devastating event. Also Read | Kolkata doctor rape case: Chilling CCTV footage shows accused observing victim Maj. Nidal Hasan convicted in 2013 In 2013, Major Nidal Hasan was convicted by a military jury for his role in the 2009 shooting incident at Fort Hood, Texas, where 13 people were killed. The Army psychiatrist received a death sentence for the attack. Sacco and Vanzetti execution in 1927 In 1927, during a time of global protests, Italian anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were executed in Boston. They had been convicted of killing two men in a 1920 robbery. Fifty years later, former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis declared that Sacco and Vanzetti had been unjustly tried and sentenced. Top events today: There are a host of developments, updates and events expected in India and internationally in the political, educational, sports and general spheres on August 23. We take a look: Also Read | Kolkata doctor rape case: Chilling CCTV footage shows accused observing victim PM Modi on Historic Visit to Ukraine Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left for a historic visit to Ukraine after concluding his two-day visit to Poland during which he held wide-ranging talks with the leadership, PTI reported. Modi is visiting Ukraine at the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Notably, the PM's visit to Kyiv comes nearly six weeks after his much criticised and high-profile trip to Moscow, it said. It is also the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Ukraine since the country became independent in 1991. I look forward to the opportunity to build upon earlier conversations with President Zelenskyy on strengthening bilateral cooperation and share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict. As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region, Modi said on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). US Fed Chair Jerome Powell to Give Speech at Jackson Hole The United States Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas Citys annual gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming began on August 22 with a dinner gathering of central bankers, economists and reporters, Bloomberg reported. It is a three-day conference. US Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to give a speech today (10 am New York Time August 23). For investors and Fed watchers, Powells keynote speech will be the focus, it added. With the Fed on the cusp of lowering borrowing costs from a more than two-decade high, Powells comments will be closely parsed for any kind of signal about the timing, size and pace of interest-rate cuts, Bloomberg added. Also Read | Neeraj Chopra clinches silver with 89.49m throw in Lausanne Diamond League Rajnath Singh in Washington for talks to bolster India-US defence ties Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Washington, United States on August 22 on a four-day trip (August 23-26) aimed at boosting strategic partnership between the two countries, PTI reported. In Washington, Singh will hold talks with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan among others. Singh's visit is also likely to secure for India the US' 31 MQ-9B Predator drones. Proposal of joint manufacturing of Stryker infantry combat vehicles and co-production of GE F414 engines are also likely to be prominent talking points with Austin, officials in New Delhi told PTI. Singh will also chair a high-level roundtable meeting with the US defence industry on the ongoing and future defence collaborations. He will also interact with the Indian community during the visit. SC to Hear Arvind Kejriwal Bail Plea Today The Supreme Court denied interim bail to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the CBI's corruption case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam on August 14. The matter is scheduled for a hearing today, August 23. Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan issued a notice to the CBI in response to Kejriwal's plea against the Delhi High Court's decision to uphold his arrest. We are not granting any interim bail. We will issue notice, the bench told senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, who was appearing for Kejriwal, PTI reported. On August 5, the Delhi High Court upheld Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest, ruling it legal and finding no malice in the CBI's actions. The court noted that the CBI demonstrated how Kejriwal's influence might have prevented witnesses from coming forward until after his arrest. (Bloomberg) -- Three years after the suicide bomber attack at Afghanistans Abbey Gate that killed 13 US service personnel and about 170 Afghan civilians, the network behind the perpetrator is pretty degraded but not eliminated, the Pentagons civilian commando chief said. A lot of allied and partner disruptions of the ISIS-K network have reduced its capability to conduct such an attack, Christopher Maier, assistant secretary for special operations and low intensity conflict, said in a brief interview after a breakfast meeting with reporters Friday. President Joe Biden promised the day of the attack outside Hamid Karzai International Airport that we will not forgive, we will not forget, we will hunt you down and make you pay. Maier said we are in the process of doing that, and we have made significant dents in this network that conducted the Abbey Gate attack. The attack three years ago next Monday marked a devastating low point in an operation that critics have lambasted as chaotic even as 124,000 Afghans were evacuated amid the US exit from Afghanistan and the Taliban takeover of the country. Republicans have seized on the attack to blast Bidens foreign policy. During his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in July, former President Donald Trump said US standing in the world began to unravel with the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, the worst humiliation in the history of our country. Trump forged a February 2020 deal with the Taliban, but not the Afghan government, that set an initial timetable for US troop withdrawals from Afghanistan, which Biden modified. Trump and the Republican Party blame Biden and now Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee to succeed him for how the withdrawal was carried out. During the breakfast with reporters, Maier said we continue to assess that Abbey Gate was the work of more than one individual who benefited from the ISIS-K infrastructure. Since then, he said, the US and partners have had clear cases where weve been able to disrupt the network that was associated with Abbey Gate. One of the things we have been able to benefit from is Central Asian countries more attuned from the threat from Afghanistan, he said. Some of the recent plots that have been foiled point to direct support from some of these partners, he said, without naming the countries involved. The House Foreign Affairs Committee plans to release its review of the withdrawal from Afghanistan early next month. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com At least 40 children were injured, with five of them in critical condition, after a portion of the first-floor balcony of a school in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, collapsed on Friday, August 23. Doctors are treating the injured children at the district hospital. Barabanki Superintendent of Police (SP) Dinesh Kumar Singh informed that five students are in a critical condition, reported PTI. According to the police, the incident took place at the Awadh Academy School, a private institution, when a large number of children had gathered on the first-floor balcony while going down to attend the morning assembly. Also Read | 13 lakh UP govt employees may lose August salaries due to THIS order The staff rushed the injured students to the Jahangirabad Primary Health Centre, around 300 metres from the school, where they received first aid. Doctors later referred them to the district hospital, PTI reported. Police said that they pulled out many students from under the debris of the collapsed balcony. The injured are being treated for injuries to their face, neck, hands and legs. Similar incidents across India Several such incidents have been reported across the country this year. In July, a wall collapsed in a school classroom in Vadodara, Gujarat, injuring a student. According to reports, the classroom, located on the first floor of Shree Narayan Gurukul School on Waghodiya Road, fell during lunch break at around 12:30 pm. In a similar incident in Andhra Pradesh that month, the roof of a private school at Akkayapalli on the outskirts of Kadapa collapsed, injuring six students. According to reports, the incident happened in the 8th class of Saibaba High School, which is said to be owned by MLC Ramachandra Reddy of the YSRCP party. Maharashtra Bandh news: Several organisations and groups had called for a Bharat Bandh on August 21 to to oppose the Supreme Court's ruling to exclude the creamy layer" from the SC/ST quota. The effect of the bandh was seen in several states including Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala among others. Now, a state-wide bandh has been called in Maharashtra tomorrow i.e. August 24. Also Read | Maharashtra bandh on Aug 24 to protest against Badlapur sexual abuse case Who called for Maharashtra Bandh? The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has called for a Maharashtra bandh on August 24. Vijay Wadettiwar, leader of opposition in the state assembly said all MVA allies will participate in the bandh on August 24. Also Read | Badlapur sexual assault case: Maharashtra govt issues new safety guidelines Why is Maharashtra Bandh tomorrow? The bandh has been called to protest against the alleged sexual assault on two young girls at a school in Badlapur of Thane district. On Thursday, Uddhav Thackeray, leader of the Sena UBT, stated that the purpose of the bandh is to highlight the importance of women's safety and to prompt the government into action. He also remarked that those who view the Badlapur protest, which concerns the alleged sexual assault of two minor girls are either abnormal or protectors of the culprits. Will schools, colleges remain closed tomorrow? Till now, there is no notification issued on this regard, hence schools, colleges will operate as usual. However, institutions that usually close on Saturdays will remain shut. All about Badlapur sexual assualt case Two kindergarten girl students were allegedly sexually abused by cleaning staff at a school in Maharashtra's Badlapur last week. On August 17 police arrested an attendant of the school for allegedly abusing the girls. This incident created massive outrage among the people in Badlapur. On August 22, the Bombay High Court took suo motu cognizance of the alleged sexual assault of two girls. As reported by ANI, the High Court was told that the investigation has started from every angle, and there will be no mistake anywhere. During a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kyiv pledged "above and beyond" humanitarian support to Ukraine. "Whatever help is required from a humanitarian standpoint, India will always stand with you and will go above and beyond to support you," PM Modi said. Their meeting commenced with a visit to a memorial honoring the hundreds of Ukrainian children who have lost their lives during the conflict that has spanned over two years. PM Modi also cleared that India was never neutral on the war, and has urged 'dialogue and diplomacy' between Ukraine and Russia. Here are top 10 highlights of PM Modi's meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy: 'India was never neutral' on the Russia-Ukraine war, PM Modi told the reporters in Ukraine. "We have stayed away from the war with great conviction. This does not mean that we were indifferent." "We were not neutral from day one, we have taken a side, and we stand firmly for peace." Narendra Modi also urged Zelenskyy to sit down for talks with Russia to end the war and offered to act as a "friend" to help bring peace as the two leaders met in wartime Kyiv. "The road to resolution can only be found through dialogue and diplomacy. And we should move in that direction without wasting any time. Both sides should sit together to find a way out of this crisis," Modi said. "I want to assure you that India is ready to play an active role in any efforts towards peace. If I can play any role in this personally, I will do that I want to assure you as a friend," he said. Also Read | PM Modi arrives in Ukraines; receives warm welcome from Indian diaspora At the exhibit commemorating children who have died in the war, Modi said, I realised that the first casualty of war is in fact innocent children. And that is truly heartbreaking. India handed over BHISHM Cube of medical assistance to Ukraine. The BHISHM Cube is a revolutionary mobile hospital designed for disaster management. Watch: My visit to Ukraine was historic. I came to this great nation with the aim of deepening India-Ukraine friendship. I had productive talks with President @ZelenskyyUa. India firmly believes that peace must always prevail. I thank the Government and people of Ukraine for their hospitality, PM Modi said in a post on X. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his official residence, Mariinsky Palace in Kyiv. Also Read | Glimpses of PM Modis Poland trip as he leaves for historic visit to Ukraine Zelenskyy said PM Modi's visit to Ukraine was 'very friendly' and 'historic'. He said he planned to discuss a summit on peace in Ukraine with the Indian PM and called for strengthened trade and military cooperation with India. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called PM Narendra Modi's first trip to Ukraine a landmark visit and said that the Indian PM has sought Ukraine President's assessment both of ground situation and diplomatic scenario. Zelenskyy spoke on both issues, he said. Severe flooding has wreaked havoc in the border areas of Bangladesh following heavy rainfall in recent days. Amid massive destruction, Mohammad Nahid Islam, an adviser to Bangladesh's interim government, accused India of non-cooperation, blaming it for opening the sluice gates of Tripura dam without any prior warning. Nahid urged India to come out of what he described as an anti-Bangladesh policy. Also Read | India vs Bangladesh T20I: Opening match venue shifted from Dharamsala to Gwalior The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday rejected these claims, stating that the flooding in Bangladesh's districts resulted from heavy rainfall, not the water released from the Dumbur dam upstream of the Gumti river in Tripura. Indian government sources have also warned the Eastern neighbour not to promote any misplaced narratives in the matter, reported the Times of India. Also Read | Why Dhaka directs immediate return of 7 envoys, including from US and Russia Rumours in Dhaka about Yunus summoning Indian envoy Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma paid his introductory call to Professor Muhammad Yunus, head of Bangladesh interim government, on Thursday. Verma reiterated New Delhi's commitment to work with Dhaka during his meeting. The Times of India reported rumours in Dhaka that Yunus had summoned Verma. However, a source told TOI that the interaction was scheduled days before the Bangladesh floods, adding that the word summon was an attempt at disinformation. The source also warned against backing such misplaced narratives, which are unhelpful to bilateral ties. On Thursday, the High Commission of India in Bangladesh wrote on X, HC Pranay Verma paid his introductory call to Professor Muhammad Yunus, head of Bangladesh interim government, today. Reiterated India's commitment to working with Bangladesh to fulfil the shared aspirations of the peoples of India and Bangladesh for peace, security and development [sic]. A proposed takeover of Seven & i Holdings Co. that could result in the sale of one of Japans strongest brands marks the first big test of the countrys evolving investor-friendly stance. Canadian retailer Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc.s proposal to buy the operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores follows the introduction last year of government guidelines on mergers and acquisitions instructing companies to seriously consider takeover offers. After years of activist investors pushing for change and unconsummated attempts from abroad to buy big companies, the deal is being keenly observed at home and abroad. Its an important litmus test for Japan, said Howard Smith, a portfolio manager at Indus Capital Partners who holds a position in Seven & i. It will be looked at globally by investors and strategic buyers as to the appeal and ease of doing mergers and acquisitions in Japan. The new M&A guideline from the economy ministry isnt binding, but its impact has already been seen in a handful of domestic deals with multiple competitive bidders. This will be the first major one involving a foreign firms proposal. A potential obstruction for the takeover is that the Japanese government can block the deal or ask for changes in the terms, because of the fact that Seven & i is on a list of companies considered important for national security. That means officials will keep a close eye on foreign investors seeking any deal. Seven & i shares have climbed about 14% since Couche-Tards proposal became public. A potential deal could be worth more than 5.25 trillion , based on the retailers current market value, which would be the largest-ever takeover of a Japanese company. Japans greater openness to corporate dealmaking is the latest step in a years-long effort to improve corporate governance thats coincided with a burst of investor interest in the country, including from Warren Buffett. Its become the worlds second-biggest activist market in past years, driven by perceptions that shares are undervalued, companies are badly-managed and more recently, that a weakening yen would boost earnings. Although many activists tend to focus on smaller companies with straightforward requests to raise dividends or boost buybacks, a handful of larger, well-known global firms had also been targeted with more ambitious demands for change the most high-profile of which has been Seven & i itself. The retailer, which has more than 21,000 stores in Japan, has been embroiled in a multiyear spat with San Francisco-based ValueAct Capital Management LP, which has publicly demanded the company spin off the 7-Eleven convenience store brand, sell non-core businesses and replace top management with mixed success. Back in 2015, the company had contended with Dan Loebs Third Point LLC. Couche-Tards bid essentially rode the coattails of activist investors this time, some say. ValueActs very public campaign effectively instigated the bid because it so clearly framed Seven & is shortcomings and undervaluation, and highlighted its potential, said John Seagrim, a broker at CLSA in London. Regardless what happens with the takeover proposal, analysts expect the company to make further moves to boost Seven & is share price, UBS analysts led by Takahiro Kazahaya wrote in a note on Aug. 21. Ironically, Seven & i Chief Executive Officer Ryuichi Isaka was appointed in 2016 with the help of a pressure campaign from Third Point, which held a stake in the firm at the time. Isaka got the post after weeks of boardroom drama and the resignation of his predecessor after an unsuccessful plot to oust him from the line of succession. Couche-Tards proposal for the 7-Eleven operator may also serve as a reminder to to other Japanese companies that they need to improve their business to global standards or risk losing control. This is a very big wake-up call because its an extremely big company, its a household name, Smith at Indus Capital said. Its a reminder that theres no better defense than a high stock price. That is the best defense you can have against an activist or against a strategic buyer. With assistance from Winnie Hsu and Taro Fuse. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held extensive talks with his Ukrainian counterpart during a landmark visit amid the ongoing war with Russia. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said a significant part of the discussions with President Volodymyr Zelensky was devoted to bilateral ties and the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war. PM arrived by a special train in the morning and he was received by the First Deputy Foreign Minister at the Kyiv railway station. He met the Indian community... His last engagement is going on right now, which is that he's meeting Ukrainian students who are studying Hindi, Jaishankar recounted on Friday evening. India-Ukraine ties This is a landmark visit. Significant part of discussions between PM Modi and President Zelensky was devoted to our bilateral relations. There were discussions on trade, economic issues, defence, pharmaceuticals, agricurture and education. Modi and Zelenskyy tasked inter-governmental commission to specifically focus on rebuilding trade and economic relations, said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. Ukraine war The discussions between Modi and Zelensky also focused extensively to the ongoing war with Russia. Jaishankar said the Indian PM had called for practical engagement between all stakeholders to create innovative solutions and ensure peace in the region. Modi also reiterated India's willingness to contribute in all possible ways to facilitate an early return of peace. Warning for students Jaishankar voiced hope for a speedy return to normalcy in Ukraine and urged Indian students in the area to exercise caution. By Trevor Hunnicutt, David Brunnstrom and Susan Heavey WASHINGTON, - White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will travel to China next week for talks with top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi, a visit aimed at keeping U.S.-China tensions in check with the November U.S. election fast approaching. In Aug. 27-29 talks in Beijing, Sullivan will discuss issues ranging from Taiwan to bilateral military talks and the U.S. fentanyl crisis, as well as China's support for Russia's defense industry and tensions in the South China Sea, North Korea, the Middle East and Myanmar, a senior U.S. administration official told reporters. Sullivan has held regular talks with Wang, with an eye to managing competition between the superpowers, and they last met in January in Bangkok. This will be the first visit to China by a U.S. national security adviser since one by Susan Rice under former President Obama before the 2016 U.S. election. Sullivan's trip comes ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election that pits Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, the current vice president, against former Republican President Donald Trump, in which U.S. competition with China is a key foreign policy issue. The U.S. and China have sought to stabilize rocky ties in the past year since they sank to a historic low point after the U.S. downed a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon last year. Axios reported earlier that Sullivan and Wang are expected to lay the groundwork for a potential meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping later this year, to follow up on their California summit last November. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said he had no specific information on this but called U.S.-China "the most important bilateral relationship in the world right now." "We're going to keep trying to manage this relationship in a way that's consistent with our national security priorities," he told a regular briefing. Shortly after the trip announcement, Washington said it was imposing sanctions on more than 400 entities and individuals for supporting Russia's war effort in Ukraine, including Chinese companies U.S. officials believe are helping Moscow to skirt Western sanctions and build up its military. TOUCH POINTS The senior administration official said Sullivan's visit should not be associated too closely with the election. "That's not the point. We've tried to do these Wang Yi-Jake Sullivan touch points about once a quarter." " is always in the background in any engagement we have with foreign officials concerned about what comes next or what the transition will be like, but this meeting will be focused on the topics and the issues that we are dealing with," the official said. "There's a lot we can get done before the end of the year in terms of just managing the relationship. I think that will be the focus." The official added that Sullivan would push for a resumption of theater-level military-to-military talks with China, and was also likely to raise U.S. concerns about China's "increased military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan." He would be looking too to hear China's assessment of the situation in the Middle East, where the two sides have different approaches but some shared concerns about instability. "It really is about clearing up misperceptions and avoiding this competition from veering into conflict more than anything else," the official said. "The fight against illicit precursor chemicals and fentanyl is ... a constantly evolving trade, and so there are always things we need to push forward," the official added. Critics in Washington argue the Biden administration has not put enough pressure on Beijing over fentanyl-related substances, which are the leading cause of U.S. drug of overdoses. China says it is cracking down on fentanyl and precursor chemicals and that the U.S. crisis is a problem of demand, not supply. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Wang and Xi in Beijing in April. That visit brought little progress on contentious issues, although there was some effort to ease the mood by emphasizing educational and other cultural exchanges. Blinken reiterated Washington's concerns over Beijing's actions toward Taiwan and its support for Russia's war in Ukraine when he met Wang in Laos in July. Sexual assault in India isnt just an act of gender-based violence; it is also one that reinforces caste and power equations and the structural biases inherent in society. As if to underscore this point comes the Justice Hema Committee reportheavily redacted and released this week, five years after it was submitted to the Kerala government following the abduction and sexual assault of a leading female actor. It details the ubiquitous prevalence of sexual harassment and exploitation in the Malayalam film industry. The problems range from the absence of toilets, safe transportation and legal work contracts to the existence of a small, powerful coterie of men that gets to decide who works and under what circumstances. Shocking as it may be, this isnt unexpectedand distressingly, similar problems prevail in almost every industry. They may not have been documented, except in whispers and warnings, and therefore, men and women choose not to see them or prefer to make compromises and work around them to keep their place. Silence is the most damaging aspect of rape, and safety in the workplace, irrespective of profession, is largely absent in India. Both are serious hurdles to economic development as well as social justice. The report observes in the context of lack of toilets that this peculiar situation exists because men do not understand or try to understand or pretend not to understand the basic needs of a woman," but replace the word needs with rights and this could apply to any aspect of workplace inequality in any profession. The cascade of headlines lately about violent crimes against women has been accompanied, somewhat predictably, by strident calls for the harshest punishment for perpetrators and even the death penalty. On social media and during protest marches demanding justice for the young Kolkata doctor, the demands are loud for capital punishment, new laws, central ordinances and other forms of instant retribution. Indias laws are stringent enough; it is enforcement that is poor. This is compounded by a lack of will to ensure equal rights for all citizens, irrespective of gender, and an unwillingness to take a clear-eyed view of the real causes of the violence against women. Numerous studies have shown that in India and around the world, it is the most vulnerable who tend to attract the harshest sentences, indicating that power, position and money can influence application of the law. Punishment, therefore, is little deterrent to crimes against women when the root cause is a lack of equality, and systems that privilege those who identify as heterosexual and male. Sexual violence is also about reinforcing dominance in a world that is changing faster than one can fathom. The way ahead lies in understanding that there will be some temporary loss of control for those who currently wield power, but there will be other gains for everyone in a more equal world. Sexual threats are used to police womens behaviouronline trolls employ it to silence outspoken thinkers, writers and activists; families rely on it to manipulate women into doing their bidding; workplaces use it to deny women assignments that could advance their careers. Prevailing social attitudes, cultural norms and institutions protect perpetrators and demand that women make the effort to keep themselves safe while taking the lead in the transformation of society. Also read: Workplace safety is not negotiable at any level This is both unreasonable and unfair. Without an understanding of real justice and change in ideas of what constitutes true equality, outrage is useless. Even as India celebrates 78 years of independence, we stand at the cusp of a transformative era. The vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 is an aspiration to redefine India's global standing. In the next two decades, we aim to achieve 10 times growth in our gross domestic product (GDP), taking India from a $3.6 trillion economy to $30 trillion. Our journey, however, rests on three important pillars: Technology, infrastructure and employment. Their synergy will propel us to new heights. India is rapidly emerging as a global technology powerhouse: Our focus on 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and other leading technologies is transforming how government and businesses operate. From agriculture to manufacturing and processes to governance, we must capitalize on technological advancements to create a scalable impact. This will accelerate Indias development trajectory and further strengthen our position as a leader in the global digital economy. Infrastructure is the bridge on which India's growth will flow: The planned investments of $1.4 trillion by 2025 under the National Infrastructure Pipeline are essential to supercharge development across the energy, transportation and urban landscapes, which is a must to fuel industrial growth. India can build a solid foundation for long-term prosperity as infrastructure-led growth addresses both supply and demand generation. Employment opportunities for the youth: This is a priority for broad-based and sustained economic growth. With nearly half our citizens under the age of 25, job creation is paramount for achieving the 10-times growth in economic output that India is aiming to achieve. Indias manufacturing sector, an emerging global hub, holds immense potential. Government-led development of integrated manufacturing hubs will be instrumental in creating jobs. Simultaneously, the services sector, which currently accounts for more than half of Indias GDP, must be nurtured. The travel and tourism industry, with its diverse skill requirements, offers another promising avenue for employment. The immense growth in the quick-commerce and retail sectors has already created jobs for even the less-educated or unskilled labour, but a structured approach is needed. This is where fostering an education system that generates employable youth with relevant skill sets becomes imperative, and the task needs laser-sharp focus. Stimulating employment generation can ignite a virtuous cycle of growth and consumption. In addition, we should have a strategic focus on TIE, or technology, infrastructure and employment, which will form the bedrock of our journey towards a fully developed nation by 2047. To achieve this ambitious vision, a steady flow of capital is a must. While India continues to be a favoured foreign investment destination, we still need to cover some distance in improving the Ease of Doing Business and regulatory stability. Political stability is already an advantage that we have within the region. What is equally important, if not more, is a concerted effort to mobilize domestic capital. Domestic investment can serve as a potent catalyst to accelerate the pace of Indias economic growth and will enable Indians to participate in fueling this growth. For that, we must encourage domestic long-term capital and unlock untapped pools such as pension funds, provident funds and the wealth of ultra-high net worth individuals (UHNIs). Channeling these resources, particularly towards infrastructure investments, will drive growth and help us achieve our vision of a self-reliant India. We are already reaping the benefits of strong public-private partnerships (PPPs) in our country. The world class airports, extensive road network, and improving education as well as healthcare services are a reflection of the synergy in the use of public resources and private efficiency. Yet, much more needs to be done. A joint effort by the Centre, states, private sector and academia can do wonders. That said, without a healthy environment, the path to a developed nation status will be fraught with complexities. Being conscious of sustainable development is imperative for long-term progress. A lot of action, policies and conversations are taking place to protect the planet while ensuring sustained growth, which is highly encouraging. Achieving a 10-times expansion in GDP in two decades is challenging and could have us lose sight of the impact such rapid growth could have on the environment. But we must remember that being a developed nation is not just a badge of honour, it is also a responsibility. The journey to a Viksit Bharat will only begin with small steps that will together yield big results over time. While this journey may be long and arduous, the nation's immense potential and strategic execution will help us realize our goal. As Indians, the future is ours to shape and we must be the architect of our tomorrow, today. The author is chairman, Welspun World. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state election committee for Haryana met here on Thursday and brainstormed on possible candidates for the October 1 polls in the state. The meeting will continue for the second day on Friday. All 21 members of the committee, including Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and former chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, are attending the two-day meeting at the party's district office Gurukamal in Gurugram, news agency PTI reported. The elections for the 90-member Haryana house will be held in a single phase on October 1. The results will be declared on October 4, along with that of Jammu and Kashmir where polls are being held in three phases. On day one of the meeting, the committee members agreed on some names from the applications received for some assemblies. Other names will be discussed on Friday, the PTI report said quoting sources. Haryana BJP president Mohan Lal Baroli, state co-in-charge Surendra Nagar, state election in-charge and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, election co-in-charge Biplab Deb, Gurugram MP and Union Minister Rao Indrajit Singh, Faridabad MP and Union Minister Krishan Pal Gurjar were also present in the meeting. In 2019 assembly polls, the BJP won 40 seats in and formed a coalition government with the Dushyant Chautala-led Jannayak Janta Party that had won 10 seats in the 90-member assembly. The BJP-JJP alliance broke earlier this year. Also Read | Wrestler Vinesh Phogat holds roadshow with Bajrang Punia, Sakshee Malikkh After the meeting concludes, the list of three names decided for each Vidhan Sabha will be sent to the central leadership. These names will also be discussed at the central level. After this, the name of the final candidate for each Vidhan Sabha will be announced. A report on this meeting will be sent to the central leadership by August 25, a senior BJP leader told news agency PTI. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is expected to decide on the plan to bring back Starliner astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore by the end of August. It's now said that the top US space agency will hold review session on Saturday to discuss whether Boeing's new capsule is safe enough to return two astronauts from the International Space Station. In a press release on Thursday, NASA said, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and leadership will hold an internal Agency Test Flight Readiness Review on Saturday, August 24, for NASAs Boeing Crew Flight Test. NASA said the review will include a mission status update, review of technical data and closeout actions, as well as certify flight rationale to proceed with undocking and return of Starliner from the space station. An announcement is expected from Houston once the meeting ends. "About an hour later, NASA will host a live news conference at 1 p.m. EDT from the agencys Johnson Space Center in Houston," NASA added. In their last update on Being Starliner, Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate, had said, We're reaching a point where that last week in August we really should be making a call, if not sooner. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched aboard Boeing's Starliner on June 5. The return of the test flight from space has now been delayed by months as officials work to fix the spacecraft. During the flight on June 5, Starliner encountered thruster failures and helium leaks so serious that NASA kept the capsule parked at the ISS. The agency said that NASA and Boeing have gathered data, both in space and on the ground, regarding the Starliner spacecrafts propulsion and helium systems "to better understand the ongoing technical challenges". Starliner Vs SPaceX Dragon While Starliner remains the primary option to return Sunita and Butch from space, NASA is weighing other options in case Starliner is not fit enough. If NASA decides SpaceX is the way to go, Starliner would return to Earth empty in September. Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, said earlier that the NASA has been working with SpaceX. "We have been working with SpaceX to ensure that they are ready to respond on Crew 9... returning Butch and Suni on Crew 9 if we need that." To bring them back on a SpaceX craft, NASA would have to re-plan the SpaceX Crew-9 mission by launching only two crew members instead of four in late September. The two Starliner astronauts would then return to Earth after the regularly scheduled Crew-9 increment early next year. Meanwhile, engineers are evaluating a new computer model for the Starliner thrusters and how they might perform as the capsule descends out of orbit for a touchdown in the US Western desert. The results, including updated risk analyses, will factor into the final decision, NASA said. It was the Starliner's first astronaut flight, delayed for years by a multitude of capsule problems. Two previous Starliner test flights had no one on board. NASA hired Boeing and SpaceX a decade ago, after the space shuttles retired, to ferry its astronauts to and from the station. SpaceX has been at it since 2020. Understanding the complexities of the stock market requires more than just basic toolsit demands robust research and insights. HDFC Sky, the cutting-edge platform from HDFC Securities, delivers just that, leveraging over 20 years of research expertise to empower investors. As one of the top choices in Indias competitive market, HDFC Sky combines an intuitive interface with a wealth of analytical tools to enhance your trading experience. Heres how this platform can help you stay ahead in the dynamic world of stock trading. The Importance of Research Expertise in Stock Market Investments In the stock market, expert research by a seasoned share broker is not just valuableits essential. Heres why having access to seasoned research experts can make a significant difference: 1. Informed Decision-Making Expert research provides detailed analyses and accurate data, allowing investors to make well-informed decisions. This reduces reliance on speculation and improves the chances of successful investments. 2. Market Trend Identification Research experts analyze historical data and market patterns to forecast future trends. This foresight helps investors to align their strategies with emerging trends or avoid potential downturns. 3. Risk Management Research expertise aids in identifying and evaluating risks, helping investors to protect their portfolios and minimize potential losses. How Can Investors Leverage Research Expertise of HDFC Sky 1. Daily Recommendations from Expert Analysts HDFC Sky provides users with daily recommendations drawn from its in-house research teams two-decade experience. This feature is divided into three distinct categories, catering to various trading strategies: Intraday Recommendations: These are designed for traders focusing on daily market movements. By leveraging real-time data and expert analysis, users can seize short-term opportunities with confidence. Technical Recommendations: Covering three months, these insights are grounded in technical analysis, providing a medium-term outlook that helps in planning strategic trades. Long-term Recommendations: For investors with a horizon of three to five years, these recommendations are based on thorough research and historical data, aiding in building a resilient, long-term investment portfolio. 2. 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According to insights from iFixit, a major concern is the device's design, which could make repairs nearly impossible if the battery depletes or if there is a damage to any internal parts. According to the report, the problem lies in the Galaxy Ring's internal structure. The teardown analysis reveals that accessing the ring's internal components requires opening it from the inside, which could render the device non-functional. The way the circuit board is configured within the ring seems to be at the heart of this issue. Korean tech giant Samsung may have hit a snag with its latest innovation, the Galaxy Ring, as reports suggest the wearable might be impossible to repair if certain components fail. According to insights from iFixit, a major concern is the device's design, which could make repairs nearly impossible if the battery depletes or if there is a damage to any internal parts. According to the report, the problem lies in the Galaxy Ring's internal structure. The teardown analysis reveals that accessing the ring's internal components requires opening it from the inside, which could render the device non-functional. The way the circuit board is configured within the ring seems to be at the heart of this issue.|#+| Reportedly, one of the major reasons behind this lack of repairability is the lithium-ion battery housed within the Galaxy Ring. iFixit highlights that this battery offers around 400 charge cycles, which is relatively standard for such devices. However, once the battery reaches the end of its life, replacing it appears to be an insurmountable challenge. The report suggests that attempting to access the battery would likely destroy the device, making repairs practically impossible. Adding to the complexity is the ring's inner structure. A computed tomography (CT) scan shared by the publication shows that the internal components are enveloped in an epoxy resin coating. Beneath this protective layer lies the lithium-ion battery, along with the other crucial circuitry. The circuit board, which is connected to the battery, utilizes a press connectora solder-free method often used in compact electronics where space constraints or material properties prevent traditional soldering. While press connectors are useful in certain scenarios, they present a significant obstacle when it comes to repairability. The report emphasizes that reaching the circuit board without damaging the battery is nearly impossible due to this setup. As a result, any attempt to disassemble or repair the device could lead to irreversible damage. Milestone Alert! Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world Click here to know more. 3.6 Crore Indians visited in a single day choosing us as India's undisputed platform for General Election Results. Explore the latest updates here! Bitcoin Update Bitcoin halving events have had a significant impact on many elements of the ecosystem. Halvings occur about every four years, they cut the incentive miners earn for validating transactions in half. Bitcoin halvings have had a considerable impact on onchain volume and transactional costs and recent developments particularly the rise of Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) have shaped these dynamics even more. Bitcoin ETFs and Bitcoin mining companies listed in the USA: Category Name Ticker Symbol Description Bitcoin ETFs Grayscale Bitcoin Trust GBTC One of the most well-known Bitcoin investment trusts. Purpose Bitcoin ETF BTCC The first Bitcoin ETF in North America, listed on the TSX but available to US investors through ADRs. ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF BITO Provides exposure to Bitcoin futures contracts. Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF BTF Invests in Bitcoin futures contracts, similar to BITO. Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin Strategy ETF BTCN Focuses on Bitcoin futures, offering another option for futures-based Bitcoin exposure. Bitcoin Miners Riot Platforms, Inc. RIOT A major Bitcoin mining company based in the USA. Marathon Digital Holdings, Inc. MARA One of the largest Bitcoin miners in North America. Bitfarms Ltd. BITF Operates Bitcoin mining farms and focuses on scaling operations. Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd. HIVE Engages in cryptocurrency mining and has a focus on Bitcoin. Argo Blockchain plc ARBK A UK-based miner with operations in North America, focusing on Bitcoin mining. Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs has been optimistic about Bitcoins long-term potential. They have suggested that Bitcoin could reach as high as $100,000 in the coming years if institutional adoption continues to grow. Their analysis indicates that Bitcoin could become a significant asset class, potentially attracting more mainstream investment. JP Morgan JP Morgan has been cautious but somewhat positive about Bitcoins future. They have projected that Bitcoin could eventually reach $70,000 if it maintains its current trajectory. However, they also warn of potential volatility and regulatory challenges that could impact its price stability. Bank of America Bank of America has highlighted Bitcoin as a major innovation but remains cautious about its short-term prospects. They see potential for Bitcoin to gain mainstream acceptance but predict significant fluctuations in its value. Their predictions generally suggest that Bitcoin could experience substantial volatility before achieving sustained growth. Wells Fargo Wells Fargo has taken a more conservative approach, expressing skepticism about Bitcoins long-term value. They predict that Bitcoin might face considerable hurdles, including regulatory scrutiny and technological challenges, which could affect its growth. Their outlook is generally more cautious compared to other major banks. Citibank Citibank has been relatively bullish on Bitcoin, suggesting that it could potentially reach $300,000 in the next few years. They argue that Bitcoin has the potential to become a major global reserve asset, though they also acknowledge significant risks and uncertainties associated with this prediction. HSBC HSBC has been skeptical about Bitcoin as a viable long-term investment. They view Bitcoin primarily as a speculative asset rather than a stable investment. Their predictions generally lean towards caution, highlighting concerns about Bitcoins volatility and its suitability as a long-term asset. Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank has offered a mixed view, recognizing Bitcoins potential as an innovative financial asset but also emphasizing the risks involved. Their predictions suggest that while Bitcoin could see significant growth, it will likely be accompanied by high volatility and regulatory challenges. Understanding Bitcoin halving The Bitcoin halving is a pre-programmed occurrence that occurs every 210,000 blocks, or approximately every four years. During a halving, the reward for mining a block is reduced by half, slowing the rate at which new bitcoins are created and thereby diminishing the available supply. This process is important to Bitcoins monetary policy and has a significant impact on its long-term value proposition. Impact on Chain Volume Onchain volume is the total quantity of Bitcoin moved through the chain. As of present, the daily onchain volume is around 300,000 $BTC indicating a stable and active network. Impact on Transactional Costs The demand for block space on the Bitcoin network influences transaction charges, often known as fees. The current average transaction cost is about $2.50 per transaction. . The role of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) The launch and increasing popularity of Bitcoin ETFs has complicated the dynamics of Bitcoins on-chain activity and transaction costs. ETFs allow institutional and ordinary investors to obtain exposure to Bitcoin without actually holding the cryptocurrency. Their impact includes: Increased Institutional Participation: ETFs have enabled greater institutional investment in the Bitcoin market. This flood of institutional wealth may increase demand, affecting both on-chain volume and transaction fees. ETFs have helped to increase market liquidity by making it easier to invest. Higher liquidity can result in more stable on-chain transaction costs while also increasing transaction volume. Price Influence: The introduction of ETFs frequently causes higher volatility and price swings in the Bitcoin market. These variations might have an indirect impact on on-chain volume and transactional costs because market players react to price changes. Technically, Bitcoin is currently positioned above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, indicating a bullish trend. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is hovering around 70, suggesting that Bitcoin might be nearing an overbought condition, which could signal a potential short-term correction. Additionally, the current price has broken through key resistance levels, reinforcing a strong upward trajectory. However, with increased volatility and the potential for price swings, market participants should closely monitor support levels and overall market conditions to gauge future movements. Bitcoins halving occurrences have continuously altered on-chain volume and transaction fees, owing to shifts in supply dynamics and market behavior. The rise of Bitcoin ETFs has amplified these effects by increasing market participation and liquidity. As Bitcoin evolves, recognizing these elements will be critical for navigating its complicated financial landscape. Shayne Heffernan Bridgeways Family Resource Centre, Ballymahon had its annual Family Fun Day on Saturday, August 3 which ended our Summer programme with a bang. Almost 400 people from those in buggies to grandparents - came along to enjoy the reptiles, magician, face painting, balloon modeling, crafts, our mascots, family photo-booth, refreshments & treats! Memories were made and our sense of community solidified. Bridgeways was full of fun and everyone really enjoyed their experience. The family fun day was funded by Longford County Council and Eileen McArdle, Manager Bridgeways FRC thanked Ballymahon Municipal District Cathaoirleach Cllr Pat O'Toole who attended on behalf of the council. The summer raffle was organised to raise vital funds for activities that Bridgeways run throughout the year and it generated almost 800. Thank you everyone who entered the raffle and a special thank you to all our sponsors - all proceeds go to Bridgeways FRC. Well done all. Bridgeways had an amazing summer programme for young people of all ages and of varied interests. It began in the last week of June with Science & Digital Skills Camp for teenagers who were interested in science, digital skills, drama, photography and just doing fun experiments. Kayaking for the teenagers, Fishing, Trash to Treasure workshops, Toddler sessions, Family Wellness Workshops, 8-12 year olds camp, 5-7 year olds camp, Family Day Trip to Dublin Zoo, Meditation & Sound Baths & Pottery with our Longford Westmeath CYPSC Youth Forum Group were just some of the highlights. Ms McArdle said, None of this would be possible without our funders; Midlands Science, Longford Westmeath CYPSC, Healthy Ireland, HSE Ireland, Inland Fisheries Ireland, Longford Sports Partnership, Music Generation Longford, Longford County Council, Mental Health Longford and Creative Ireland. We are very grateful to you all. Finally, but by no means least, a massive thank you as always to our wonderful staff team and volunteers for all of their hard work not just over the summer but throughout the whole year. We just couldnt do it without each and everyone of you including our voluntary board of management. Bridgeways Family Resource Centre, Dean Egan Library, Main Street, Ballymahon. N39 TD54 Contact Bridgeways for any Information on 090643269 or find us on Facebook & Instagram, where you will find up to date information regarding activities for the autumn. Bridgeways Family Resource Centre www.bridgewaysfrc.com There was a great buzz in Mean Scoil Mhuire, Longford this morning as the Leaving Cert Class of 2024 returned to the school to discuss their results. Teachers met with the students to pour over the grades and advise on the next step. The predominant mood was one of optimism as former pupils plotted the options available to them in the aftermath of the issuing of results. Mairead Lyons, the Principal of Mean Scoil Mhuire Longford, congratulated the Leaving Cert students the fantastic results. Ms Lyons said: We are absolutely delighted that the hard work of our students and teachers in Mean Scoil Mhuire has paid off, translating into top class results again for our girls this year. 10% of our students achieved over 550points; 25% achieved over 500 points and a total of 60% achieved a Leaving Cert above 400 points. Suzanne Trautte: It was absolutely brilliant. I am delighted with the results. Hopefully I will now go to Maynooth to do criminology. It has always been at the back of my mind that it was something I am interested in. I only know a few girls here going to Maynooth. I hope to make loads of new friends and also keep the ones I have made here in Mean Scoil Mhuire. Students reactions to the results: Jean Kenny: I thought it went really well. I am on track to do veterinary medicine in the UK. I love animals. It started very early in my life. I was at my granny's farm and the vet was doing a caesarean section on a cow. That was when I made up my mind. I am really interested in science so it is something I really want to do. I want to do it in the UK because it is a really good course and I have a couple of friends who are doing it at the minute. It is very practical, which suits me. Amy Finnegan: I had low expectations, but I did better than I expected. I am really happy with how it went. I would like to do a science degree in DCU in Dublin. I think I have the points for my preferred course. I have a few friends going to DCU, so I have my fingers crossed. Breyanna McCormack: I did really well, way better than I thought. Hopefully I will be able to do arts in Maynooth. It's a really nice college, and it is readily accessible from Longford. It would be great if I got the lottery accommodation, but if I don't get that I would consider commuting. There are a few of us going. Aoife Craig: I got on well, I got 509, I am very happy. I want to do pharmaceutical science in Maynooth. I am a good bit over, so I should get it. I love chemistry and my brother did the same course in Athlone. There are lots of opportunities from the course. Alex Lee: Very happy with how it went, delighted with what I got. I hope to do International Business with French in DCU. I have campus accommodation through the lottery system in January, there is easy access by train and it is a lovely college. Hopefully upon graduation I will get employment in investment banking or the area of human resources. Amelia Power: I fell I did good. Last year my course was 350 points, I am above that. I hope to study Psychiatric Nursing in Trinity College Dublin. It is a challenging course, but it is something I am very passionate about. Teigan Elliott: I did okay, I think I got enough for my preferred course. I hope to study optometry at TUD in Grangegorman in Dublin. My dad was blind and I have glasses. It is something I have always been interested in, how the eye works and how people go blind. I would like to help people prevent that. An Irish man has described the "scary" moment a passenger on his flight from Sydney to Melbourne managed to open the emergency exit door after landing in Melbourne airport. Federal agents in Australia arrested an airline passenger on Thursday who officials said opened a commercial plane's emergency exit door, walked along a wing, and climbed down a jet engine to the tarmac. Kyle Kenneth, an Irish passenger aboard the flight, said he was "unfortunately" sitting in the exit row window seat, and witnessed the chaotic moment right in front of him. READ MORE - Leaving Cert 2024: Nearly 61,000 students to receive exam results "The flight was normal, I didn't notice anything for the whole flight until we landed in Melbourne," Kyle explained in a post on TikTok. "They were getting ready to open up the doors, the man ran down and tried to get out through the exit row, but he wasn't being aggressive, he was just looking at the exit. A passenger on Jetstar flight JQ507, which departed earlier from Sydney, had apparently made five or six trips to the bathroom during the hour-long flight, and had eyed up the emergency exit while the flight was mid-air. "Everyone realised what he was trying to to and told him to stop, but he wasn't taking anybody else in, and he just kept trying to reach for the lever for the exit row door," Kyle said. "It was a bit surreal, I didn't think he was actually going to do it considering we had landed and they were just about to open up the main exit, but he just wanted to go out that door". Other passengers and staff then reportedly attempted to physically stop him, but the man reached the lever and opened the door, quickly climbing on to the wing and then the engine of the landed plane. The federal police then restrained the man, before taking him away. Officials did not release the passenger's name or say where they are from. "We had to wait a while on the plane and then the tarmac because of what had happened. I personally think he had some mental health issues and meant no harm, he wasn't being aggresive, he looked almost scared," Kyle added. READ NEXT - REVEALED: How much have garda road policing numbers dropped? Figures revealed as road deaths increase Mourners have gathered to remember journalist Nell McCafferty, who was described as a unique and bold activist who railed against oppression. People held LGBT+ rainbow flags as they attended her funeral mass at St Columbas Church Long Tower in her home city of Derry. Those gathered erupted in applause after one of her articles about Bloody Sunday was read out before the mass began. The writer, 80, died on Wednesday at a nursing home in Fahan, Co Donegal, following a long illness. Tributes have poured in from activists, politicians and artists about her journalism and her advocacy for womens rights issues across the island of Ireland. President of Ireland Michael D Higgins led the tributes, describing McCafferty as a writer who had a fierce drive to tackle repression, poverty and authoritarianism, while Irish premier Simon Harris said she suffered no fools and was impossible to ignore. Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle ONeill and representatives of Mr Higgins and Mr Harris were among those in attendance on Friday. Considered a journalistic trailblazer and fearless social commentator, McCafferty, who was raised in Derrys Bogside area, authored several books and also wrote for publications including the Sunday Tribune and Hot Press. Campaigning for the legalisation of contraceptives in Ireland in the 1970s, she famously took part in an event known as the Contraceptive Train in 1971 when activists travelled across the border to Belfast, bought a range of contraceptive products and took them to Dublin, where they staged a protest at the citys Connolly station. McCafferty had previously been in a long term relationship with fellow author Nuala OFaolain, who died in 2008. McCaffertys sister Carmel, who is a playwright, was embraced by people outside the church on Friday. Also in attendance were the Mayor of Derry and Strabane Lilian Seenoi-Barr, SDLP MLA for Foyle Sinead McLaughlin, and former vice-chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board Denis Bradley, as well as Liam Wray, the brother of Jim Wray who was killed on Bloody Sunday. Addressing the congregation, former journalist Eamonn McCann read out extracts from an article McCafferty wrote for local paper The Starry Plough about Bloody Sunday, which bore the headline Therell be another day. The article gave a powerful immediate reaction to the news that 13 people had been shot dead after soldiers opened fire on a civil rights march on January 30 1972. Mr McCann said: Bloody Sunday is very important to Derry of course, its defined us all. Whatever you thought of your politics and so on, its defined everybody from Derry. He said that hours after the chaos unfolded, no-one knew exactly how many people had been killed or wounded. The then-MP for Mid-Ulster Bernadette McAliskey, who was in attendance at the funeral, was given the names of the 13 men who were killed after phoning the hospital. I remember Nell holding Bernadettes elbow as she was taking the names of the Bloody Sunday dead, and she just kept on writing, Mr McCann said. That was a terrible omen, and I remember the shiver which went through the hallway and through the McCafferty house and eventually through the whole of Derry and large parts of the world. He said Bloody Sunday had an effect on McCafferty, on how she viewed politics, on how she thought of her citys people and its marches. In the article that she wrote for the paper, she called the infamous event both a fine day and a foul day, he said. She described the thousands of people singing and marching through the streets as part of the fine day it had been, but that death is no stranger to us now. Let it not be said of us that they died in vain. Stay free brothers and sisters, there will be another day, she wrote. And so there will be another day, but there will never be another Nell McCafferty, Mr McCann said, which was met with a lengthy applause from mourners. After the funeral mass ended, mourners applauded her once more as her coffin was carried out of the church. McCaffreys body was taken for a private cremation in Co Cavan following the mass. A book of condolence has been opened by Ms Seenoi-Barr in The Guildhall for those who wish to pay tribute to McCafferty. Former Stony Brook Attorney Sentenced to 1 & 1/3 To 4 Years in Prison for Stealing Over $800k from Clients Crime By Chris Boyle Published: August 22 2024 Douglas Valente Pleaded Guilty to Three Counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree. Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced that Douglas Valente, 57, of Florida, the former principal attorney at the Valente Law Group based in Stony Brook, was sentenced today to one and one-third to four years in prison for stealing more than $800,000 from three former clients by taking their money from his escrow account. An attorneys duty is to protect their clients interests, not exploit them for personal gain, said District Attorney Tierney. We will not tolerate crime committed with a law degree any more than we would when committed by violence or deception. This office remains committed to vigorously prosecuting any individual who abuses their position of trust, regardless of their status or profession. According to court documents and the defendants admissions during his guilty plea allocution, from April 14, 2020, to May 31, 2020, Valente stole proceeds from the sale of his elderly clients home in the amount $181,201. The proceeds of the sale were put into Valentes escrow account. Valente was required to send half of the proceeds to his client and the other half was to be sent to her matrimonial attorney to be held in escrow until her divorce was finalized. Although Valente did send half of the proceeds to his client, he failed to send the remaining half of the proceeds to her matrimonial attorney. As a result, when his clients divorce was finalized, she was unable to obtain the remaining proceeds from the sale of her home. Additionally, from September 28, 2020, through October 13, 2020, Valente stole $248,027 from Guaranteed Rate Inc., a mortgage lender. Valente represented the mortgage lender as their attorney and settlement agent in a refinance transaction. Guaranteed Rate Inc. wired money to Valentes escrow account to be dispersed in the transaction. Valente then failed to send a portion of the money of the refinanced mortgage to the prior mortgage company. Lastly, between May 14, 2021, through September 30, 2022, Valente stole nearly $400,000 from a client who had sold a home during a pending divorce proceeding. Valente was to hold the proceeds of the sale in his escrow account to be dispersed when the divorce was finalized. Instead, Valente used the funds for business and personal expenses. On May 18, 2022, the New York Grievance Committee for the Tenth Judicial District disbarred Valente, making him ineligible to practice law in New York State. On December 6, 2023, Valente pleaded guilty to three counts of Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, Class C felonies, before Supreme Court Justice Richard Ambro. On August 22, 2024, Justice Ambro sentenced Valente to one and one-third to four years in prison. Justice Ambro also signed Restitution Judgement Orders totaling $826,525 on behalf of Guaranteed Rate Inc. and The Lawyers Fund for Client Protection, who reimbursed two of the victims. Valente was represented by William Keahon, Esq. This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Donna M. Planty of the Financial Crimes Bureau, and the investigation was conducted by Deputy Sheriff Investigator Yvonne Decaro, and Detective Investigator Vincent Neefus of the Suffolk County District Attorneys Office. Local News By Chris Boyle Published: August 23 2024 Attendees will have the unique opportunity to engage directly with the artists, learning about their training, inspirations, and the intricate processes behind their creations. The Westhampton Beach Festival of the Arts, recognized as one of the top art festivals in the United States, returns for its 16th year, transforming the Great Lawn on Main Street (across from St. Marks Episcopal Church) into a spectacular outdoor gallery of fine arts and crafts on Saturday, August 31 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, September 1 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. This premier event, free to the public, promises a weekend of artistic inspiration and discovery. For over a decade, this celebrated festival has showcased the incredible talents and creative visions of artisans from New York and across the United States. Visitors will find an array of original works in mediums such as sculpture, jewelry, painting, photography, glass, ceramics, mixed media, metalwork, fiber art, and woodworking. Each piece represents the pinnacle of craftsmanship and creativity, with many artisans having their work featured in prestigious private and public collections nationwide. Attendees will have the unique opportunity to engage directly with the artists, learning about their training, inspirations, and the intricate processes behind their creations. This personal interaction allows for a deeper appreciation of the artworks and the chance to commission bespoke pieces tailored to individual tastes. The Westhampton Beach Festival of the Arts is more than just an art show; it's an immersive experience for art lovers and collectors alike. Whether you are searching for the perfect piece to complement your home or office, or simply wish to explore and enjoy the beauty of fine art, this festival offers something for everyone. For more information, visit www.paragonfestivals.com. Local News By Chris Boyle Published: August 23 2024 Freshwater Fishing License Requirement Waived on August 31. Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that Labor Day weekend will kick off with the addition of a new Free Fishing Day in New York State for the 2024 season. The addition of the Saturday, August 31 Free Fishing Day, for a total of seven Free Fishing Days in 2024 in New York State, complements the Governors Get Offline, Get Outside initiative launched this summer to promote physical and mental health by encouraging kids and families to put down their phones and computers, take a break from social media and enjoy recreation and the outdoors. There is no better way to send off summer than adding fishing to your Labor Day weekend plans, Governor Hochul said. Reel in the beauty of New Yorks extraordinary natural waterbodies and take advantage of this affordable opportunity to enjoy the holiday weekend with family and friends. During free fishing days, the fishing license requirement is waived for freshwater fishing on New Yorks waters. The Free Fishing Days program began in 1991 to give people who might not fish a chance to try the rewarding sport of freshwater fishing at no cost, introduce people to a new hobby and encourage people to support conservation by purchasing a New York State fishing license. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Interim Commissioner Sean Mahar said, As summer winds down, its the perfect time to get outside, enjoy nature, and fish with family and friends. Fishing can be enjoyed by anyone, regardless of age or ability, and I encourage both new and practiced anglers to use this bonus free fishing day to throw out a line and experience New Yorks world-class fisheries. To help make fishing even more affordable, DEC has partnered with libraries across the state to provide a free fishing rod lending program. In addition to borrowing a book, library patrons can sign out a fishing rod. This program offers an opportunity for people to try fishing before purchasing their own gear. For more information and a list of participating libraries visit DECs website. DEC also offers a host of resources for those interested in getting started in fishing. The I FISH NY Beginners Guide to Freshwater Fishing provides information on everything from rigging up a fishing rod to identifying catch and understanding fishing regulations. Theres also a video series on DECs YouTube channel that complements the Beginners Guide. DEC's Places to Fish webpages are a reliable source of information when planning a fishing trip. DEC's official app, HuntFishNY, features The Tackle Box. Fishing regulations, boating access, and stocking information are all available within a map-based interface from the convenience of a smartphone. Anglers can also access their sporting license information. For those looking to fish the Great Lakes, DEC recently highlighted the Outstanding Great Lakes Fishing Opportunities. During designated free fishing days, New York residents and non-residents are permitted to fish for free without a fishing license. Free fishing day participants are reminded that although the requirement for a fishing license is waived during free fishing days, all other fishing regulations remain in effect. In addition to Free Fishing Days, there are also learn to fish opportunities available through DEC-approved free fishing clinics. An event is being held today at the Great New York State Fair. For a list of scheduled events, visit DECs website. DEC recently revamped its Angler Achievement Awards Program, which recognizes anglers that catch notable-size fish, including state records. The new and improved program broadens the list of eligible fish species an angler can enter for an award and now features a Youth Angler category and an online entry form where qualifying catches can be submitted from the convenience of a smartphone. All anglers who submit a qualifying catch will receive a species-specific sticker to proudly display on their tackle box, vehicle, etc. For official program rules, eligible species and associated minimum qualifying lengths, visit the Angler Achievement Awards webpage on DECs website. Anglers are reminded that the New York State Department of Health (DOH) provides advice about what fish are safe to eat and how often. Visit DOHs website to search by waterbody location. Bill and Will recently attended a conference organized by the Afghanistan United Front resistance group (and with help from Will). They unpack what was on the docket, including the repercussions of the fall of Afghanistan three years ago and looking ahead to consider Afghanistans future. Powered by RedCircle Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal. IDF soldiers fighting in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. (IDF photo) The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have defeated Hamass Rafah Brigade, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said during a trip to southern Gaza on August 21. Gallant visited with the IDFs 162nd Division, which has led the fighting against Hamas in the areas of Rafah and the Egyptian border since it began operations in early May. It took three and a half months to defeat Hamass forces in Rafah and the Philadelphi Corridor. Before the IDFs offensive into Rafah, Hamas used its control of the border area to control humanitarian aid entering Gaza, also bolstering its strength over the years through smuggling. The IDF began ground operations against Hamas in October, two weeks after the groups terrorist attack on October 7. Israeli forces initial forays focused on defeating Hamas in northern Gaza before shifting focus to Khan Younis in southern Gaza in December. Once the group was largely routed in Khan Younis, the IDF withdrew forces from the area in April and waited a month before going into Rafah. It was believed prior to the Rafah operation that defeating Hamass brigade there was essential to defeating the larger groupby cutting it off from the Egyptian border and isolating its remaining fighters in central Gaza. Israel also believes that many of the remaining 129 hostages kidnapped in the Hamas-led October 7 atrocities are being held in Rafah, The Times of Israel noted in late April before the operation. However, hostages were not found in Rafah. It appears Hamas had moved some forces from Rafah back to Khan Younis. More than 900 terrorists were eliminated in Rafah in several months of fighting, the IDF estimated in July. On his August 21 visit to Rafah, Gallant also said the IDF found and destroyed 150 tunnels in the area. Minister Gallant held an operational situation assessment together with senior IDF officials. He was briefed on the operational activity that enabled the defeat of the [Hamas] Rafah division and the destruction of over 150 tunnels in the area. Minister Gallant instructed the forces to concentrate efforts in the coming period on completing the destruction of remaining tunnels, Gallants office noted. The defense minister also revealed that around 100 of the tunnels in Rafah were dug using engineering tools above ground, and then covered with a meter or two of dirt. On the evening of August 22, Gallant spoke with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, briefing Austin on the IDFs achievements in Rafah and the Philadelphi Corridor. Minister Gallant emphasized the importance of ongoing operations to dismantle remaining terror infrastructure, eliminating terror operatives and destroying Hamas tunnels, a statement from the Israeli defense ministers office said. Gallant also discussed the ongoing hostage negotiations that have taken place between Israel, the US, Egypt, and Qatar. These talks have gone on for months but have not resulted in a ceasefire and hostage deal, despite reports that an agreement was close several times. Minister Gallant reiterated his steadfast commitment to achieving an agreement, and highlighted the critical timing as it relates to ensuring this framework, his office said. As Gallant visited southern Gaza, the IDF continued to operate in Khan Younis and other areas of Gaza. The IDF called on civilians to leave areas in northern Gaza and Khan Younis. It also called on civilians to evacuate parts of Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza. On August 23, the IDF said it had eliminated dozens of terrorists and dismantled dozens of terrorist infrastructure sites in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis. Separately, Hamas continued to carry out attacks on Israel, launching two rockets towards Sderot, one of which was intercepted. In fighting in central Gaza, one Israeli soldier was killed, the IDF said on August 23. A total of 696 personnel from the Israeli security forces have been killed in the war since Hamass attack on October 7, 2023. Reporting from Israel, Seth J. Frantzman is an adjunct fellow at FDD and a contributor to FDDs Long War Journal. He is the senior Middle East correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post, and author of The October 7 War: Israel's Battle for Security in Gaza (2024). The revolutionary overthrow of the Hasina regime, sparked by the students and their courageous protests, have opened the floodgates for a fresh wave of class struggle in Bangladesh. The revolution surges forward! Workers have borrowed and adapted the militant methods and slogans of the students in the fight against the bosses. While Hasina has gone, her system remains. Every boss and factory owner is like a Little Hasina, brutally oppressing and exploiting millions of workers. Now, workers are increasingly using the hard-won democratic victory of 5 August to fight these despots too. Just a week after Hasina fell, we made a prediction. We said: For the working class, democracy is not some abstract thing. Rather, it is a means to an end a means to win better wages and conditions, shorter working hours, and a dignified life. Millions of workers will seek to use their newfound democratic freedoms, won on the streets, to press their demands, and to lift the unbearable yoke that capitalism places around their neck. Already we are being proven correct. The fall of Hasina, far from being the end of the revolution, marked the start of a new chapter. Ordinary people have begun documenting and sharing their struggles on social media and small press outlets. There is a wall of silence in the mainstream press about the militant action of the workers movement. Economic conditions in the country remain dire. They have worsened enormously in the past few years, feeding into the anger that eventually brought down the old regime. Debt spiralled above the $100 billion figure for the first time last year as the economy has slowed. And towards the end of the regime, the looting of state assets and capital flight reached epidemic proportions. Hasina is not the only one who has fled the country. Many other capitalists linked to her regime have simply stuffed suitcases full of cash and left the country, leaving factories idle. Meanwhile, workers have seen spiralling prices of basic foodstuffs and fuel in a country where more than 37.7 million people experience food insecurity, and wages for largely female garment sector workers is as low as $80. Even these wages are now going unpaid in many parts of Bangladesh as a result of the chaos caused by the capitalists mismanagement. Mass struggle erupts Scenes of workers queuing for eight to nine hours outside banks to access their wages have become commonplace. Garments workers claim that the internet connection is active before their salary enters the bank accounts, but after the money enters the bank accounts, the internet cuts out and they are unable to withdraw their cash. But the workers are fighting back now. Garment workers at Searock Apparels Ltd in Gazipur have not been paid their wages for three months. The owner locked out the workers and, in response, the workers have occupied the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway for several days. The students have shown: collective, direct action pays. In fact, it is the only thing that pays, and the workers have learned this lesson well. 380 workers at Synovia Pharma PLC have not been paid wages for 31 months. They organised a sit-in outside the company headquarters on 13 August. The workers have been living in inhumane conditions as a result of this and they have also been struggling for trade union rights. On 14 August, unemployed garment workers in Tongi began protests by blockading the roads an increasingly common method of struggle demanding jobs and equal employment rights between men and women. Garment workers at Anowara Dress Makers Ltd. in Chittagong also occupied the road outside their workplace on 15 August, demanding unpaid wages. Meanwhile, about 3,000 cotton mill workers at Naheed Cotton Mills Ltd. in Tangail occupied the Dhaka-Tangail highway on 16 August, demanding an increase in wages. Significantly, in a number of places weve seen workers directly occupying the factories. Just as the mass mobilisations of students and the oppressed masses posed the question, who runs society, the masses or Hasina? when they mobilised in their millions in recent weeks, so these workers are posing the question, who runs the factories, the workers or the Little Hasinas that own them? Workers at Opso Saline Ltd in Barishal, for instance, held a work stoppage and occupation inside their factory on 15 August. These workers demanded better pay and conditions, but also trade union rights. The recent revolution is rightly being hailed as a democratic victory. But for the working class, democratic rights mean firstly the right to organise and fight for their class interests. Workers are organising themselves and taking the fight against their bosses into their own hands. Even where they have no trade unions, workers are organising factory and highway occupations. These battles are being fought on the factory floors and highways, not in the press conference rooms and through appeals to the interim government, which is what the trade union leaders are limiting themselves to. Undoubtedly the trade union leaders are feeling enormous pressure, forcing them to raise their heads which must be an unusual feeling for some of them, with many leading bureaucrats having direct links to the Awami League state. But in most of the reports of these workers actions, we are seeing little mention of trade union branches. They appear to be spontaneous, throwing up new leaderships. Whilst bureaucratic obstacles within the unions must be fought, and bureaucrats forced to either take up the struggle or step aside, what is really needed in this new stage of the revolution is new, more flexible forms of organisation. Bodies are needed that can adequately express the volcanic mood in the working class, and direct it towards attainment of all their economic and political demands. The students have shown the way there. The grassroots student committees that sprang up prior to and after 5 August took on basic functions of the state in many places. It was a small demonstration of the fact that we do not need capitalists, landlords or their bureaucratic state to run society. Taking on board this lesson, workers committees in every factory and workplace, linking up and drawing in broader layers of the oppressed masses, would give invincible force to the spontaneously erupting movement of the workers. Through them, the workers in various factories could come to one anothers assistance, clearing out the Little Hasinas and the system they are part of. Workers are already taking inspiration from the students example, that much is clear. The 9-point, 13-point and 1-point demands being raised in the factories have direct echoes of the students struggle. The most revolutionary left-wing students must link up with the workers, bringing the example of revolutionary committees, and connecting these apparently disconnected struggles with the need to complete the revolution that is, with the need to smash the rule of the capitalists and landlords entirely, and for the workers to take power into their own hands. Who do you serve? In our last article, we predicted that the entry of the workers onto the scene would quickly expose the hollow democratic language of the new government. They would be forced to prove who they really serve: the bosses. With the sudden eruption of workers struggles, it looks like this prediction may be confirmed sooner rather than later. On 14 August, the chief of the interim government, Mohammed Yunus, held a meeting with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). Yunus appealed to these savage capitalists to keep their business away from politics. Yunus is no idiot. He knows that most of the bosses in Bangladesh were linked by myriad links of patronage and corruption to the old regime and the deposed Awami League. He feels the hot breath of the revolution on his neck, and he has no intention of going after these criminals he wants to protect the capitalists. But he needs their cooperation for that. And, indeed, the BGMEA expressed its full confidence in Yunus at this meeting in return. But he is living in a fantasy land if he thinks he can keep politics and economics separate. Even in this meeting, the BGMEA extended the begging bowl, demanding that their loan repayments and utility bills be relaxed! The turmoil in Bangladesh has already led big international fashion giants to switch many of their orders to other South Asian countries. The Bangladeshi capitalists will be looking to Dr. Yunus government to protect their profits amid a worsening climate. But who will pay for this? The workers and poor. But Dr. Yunus is also feeling pressure already coming from this direction. On Sunday 18 August, women workers in the IT sector held an occupation outside Yunus residence, demanding nationalisation of their jobs. They are part of the Tottho Apa project which is a programme that gives women from rural areas pathways into work in the IT sector. Elsewhere, workers are demanding from this government immediate justice for the crimes committed against their brothers and sisters. In Narsingdi, a young worker called Rubel, only 18 years of age, was electrocuted at work at a factory recently. On 17 August, the workers marched in battle array through the street demanding direct action and that the owner of the mill where Rubel worked be hanged! Other demands are being placed on the government by workers in the Export Processing Zones (EPZs), in particular demanding that they abolish the special exemptions from labour laws that the bosses operating there enjoy. Workers even occupied the entrance to Dhaka EPZ on 19 August, demanding equal employment rights for men and women. These workers are fighting for equality on the streets and they are rightly relying on their own strength to fight for their demands. In these economically vital zones, the capitalists are sooner or later going to demand order, that the state clear the workers off the streets. When that moment comes, the government will be forced to show its true colours. Meanwhile, local government workers are also on the move. Barishal City Corporation workers went on strike and occupied a floor of the City Corporation building on 19 August, again, over pay and conditions. This is a workforce of about 1,000 workers. They clearly see that even in local government, they must rely on class struggle methods in order to get the change they deserve. In other places, workers are demanding nationalisation from the government. Hundreds of railway security workers surrounded the Rail Bhaban (building) in Dhaka on Sunday 18 August. They locked the other staff inside and put forward a 1-point demand: nationalisation of their jobs, which were outsourced and casualised. These workers claimed that they will resume the occupation on 21 August if their demands are not met. The railway workers clearly understand that the bosses cannot be trusted with the vital railways which are crucial to the economy. No trust in Dr. Yunus government! From all these angles and many others, the workers are beginning to press their demands. It is impossible for Dr. Yunus government to satisfy these demands, whilst also serving their real masters: the ruling capitalist class. All the bankers and big business owners care about are their profits. The workers will come to see, with every new struggle, that whilst they, together with the students, overthrew the Hasina dictatorship, the dictatorship of the bankers and the bosses remains. This government is precisely intent on protecting and representing that class that has blood on its hands. The interim government, stuffed with more rogues as time goes by, will be subject to the same fury of the working class. The workers have begun to show, in deeds, not empty words, that a new society is possible / Image: fair use This underlines what a mistake it was for the student coordinators to throw their prestige behind Yunus government and to actively participate in it as ministers. Recently, Asif Mahmood, one of the two leading coordinators of the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement (ADSM) that took up ministries in this government, was made Minister of Labour and Employment. This is a clear move by the capitalist interim government to shield themselves from the anger of the public using the revolutionary credentials of the student leaders. They want to put the blame for anti-worker and other anti-people draconian measures on the student leaders themselves. We underline, again, a point we have made in previous articles: every step forward in this revolution was won by the masses the students, factory workers, informal workers and others on the streets. We declare no confidence in Dr. Yunus government! The workers and students must rely on their own strength alone! The ADSM coordinators must break with this government and reject the poisoned chalice of ministries within it. In the past week, the workers have begun to show, in deeds, not empty words, that a new society is possible. A society without the bosses, bankers, and all the other assorted rubbish and filth of capitalist society. Workers are the main source of wealth in society. The garment workers, for example, produce items for H&M, Zara, and other multinationals that extort billions of dollars of profit from these workers, and syphon them abroad. We say, expropriate all those linked to the old regime! Nationalise the commanding heights of the economy, i.e. the banks, factories, transport, industrial agriculture and telecommunications, under democratic workers control, without compensating the rapacious capitalists! Establish free healthcare for all! Nationalise all privatised hospitals and clinics, under democratic workers' control, without compensation! Equal recognition of all languages of ethnic minorities. Specialists workers to be trained and hired to facilitate the use of all minority languages in education and other public services. For a 100 percent increase in wages for all workers! Full trade union rights for workers across all industries! Casualised workers to be given permanent contracts! Full equality of employment rights and opportunities for women and men workers! Guarantee the right to well-paid work for all! Spread and unite efforts of students and workers to form their own committees of action all across the country! Elect delegates from workers and students committees from across the country, for a national congress of delegates to form a government of workers and students, without the capitalists! Complete the revolution! Forward to socialism! We reject all the old parties the Awami League, but also the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami! We need a new, revolutionary party to take this programme into action, to strive to give this movement a leadership that can draw all the sources of discontent now erupting, and direct it towards the completion of the revolution. This can only be achieved by smashing capitalism, smashing the old Awami League state, and putting the workers in power. The completion of the Bangladeshi revolution can only take the form of a socialist revolution. We call upon all those who agree with us to join the Revolutionary Communist International! Since Kamala Harris entered the 2024 presidential race, the media has highlighted the alleged differences between her and Joe Bidens rhetoric around Gaza, speculating about how she might differ from her current boss when it comes to the war on Gaza. They have noted a more empathetic tone toward Palestinians and a more forceful tone toward Israel. [Originally published at communistusa.org] But according to her own words and actions, Harris will not stop US imperialisms backing of Israel. As one of her advisors perfectly summed it up: The difference is not in substance, but probably in tone. Cynical posturing Harris recognizes that the Biden administrations support of Israel has alienated many would-be Democratic voters, and her softer tone is an attempt to placate them ahead of the election. But if elected, she will continue to enact the same fundamental policies as Biden. Both major parties and their politicians are funded and controlled by the capitalist class, which uses them to carry out its aims. In the case of Israel, this means maintaining a strong outpost for American imperialism in the Middle East through continually funding its bloody war machine. Her tone shift is all the more cynical for this reason: while giving the impression of caring about the suffering of Palestinians, she will do nothing meaningful to actually stop it. Unwavering commitment During Prime Minister Netanyahus visit to the US in July, Harris, along with many senators, chose not to attend his address to Congress as a symbolic gesture of disapproval of his brutal war on Gaza. While giving the impression of caring about the suffering of Palestinians, Harris will do nothing meaningful to actually stop it / Image: Ali Hamad, Wikimedia Commons But she did meet with Netanyahu personally during the visit, and the true essence of her attitude toward the Zionist state was evident in her summary of their meeting: "I will always ensure that Israel is able to defend itself, including from Iran and Iran-backed militias, such as Hamas and Hezbollah. "From when I was a young girl collecting funds to plant trees for Israel to my time in the United States Senate and now at the White House, Ive had an unwavering commitment to the existence of the state of Israel, to its security, and to the people of Israel." She goes on to say that she expressed serious concern to Netanyahu about the deaths and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering. And I will not be silent. This is truly blood-boiling hypocrisy. Expressions of concern and acknowledgement of suffering mean absolutely nothing and will not do one iota to end the inhumanity of Israels war. Netanyahu has not and will not change his actions based on expressions of serious concern. For months, he has been criticized by a litany of world leaders and charged with crimes by international legal institutions, yet nothing has changed. Doubling down on arming Israel A few days after her meeting with Netanyahu, an aid again confirmed that The Vice Presidents support for Israels security is ironclad. Concretely, ironclad support for Israel means arming Israel to the teeth. The US provides 68% of Israels weapons imports, and the Biden administration has sent $6.5 billion worth of military equipment to Israel since October 7 of last year. Cutting off the flow of arms is the one thing that could actually stop Israels brutal assault on Gaza, but there is no chance of Harris actually doing this. Harris has supported Biden over Israel at every step over the past ten months, and her team recently doubled down on her commitment to keep Israel supplied with what it needs to keep murdering Palestinians. After leaders of the Palestinian activist group Uncommitted National Movement claimed that Harris was open to discussing their demand for an arms embargo on Israel, a Harris advisor quickly released a statement clarifying that she will always ensure Israel is able to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups. She does not support an arms embargo on Israel. She will continue to work to protect civilians in Gaza and to uphold international humanitarian law. Only the organized working class has the power and incentive to shut down the transfer of weapons to Israel / Image Al Jazeera English, Twitter This has long been the strategy of the ruling classclaiming to care about protecting civilians and upholding international law in wordswhile actively providing military support with the justification that it is intended only for legitimate self defense. This is exactly the same strategy that Harris will continue to carry out if elected. Only the working class can end the slaughter Harris hopes to appear more balanced on Gaza than Biden, while ensuring her donors and the Democratic party establishment that if elected, she will continue her unwavering commitment to Israel and not change anything fundamentally. Does this mean the Republican alternative is any better? Not at all. Netanyahu also met with his old friend in July at Mar-a-Lago, where Trump glowed with support for his fellow gangster. And what about RFK, Jr.? He is also a die-hard supporter of Israelwhich he considers a moral nationand has no compunctions about letting the slaughter continue unabated. All of these candidates and their parties serve the interests of the American capitalist class, and the politicians within these parties cannot be trusted to put the suffering of the Palestinians ahead of their class interests, no matter what rhetoric they use. Only the organized working class has the power and incentive to shut down the transfer of weapons to Israel. The American working class must be organized in its own party, independent of the imperialist war mongers, to actually end the US-backed war on Gaza. After a shooting during the Caribbean Festival 2023 and another shooting that injured five at the Dominican Festival in Boston last weekend, the citys police department announced changes to this years Caribbean celebrations set for Saturday. A new parade location was set for one of the two processions, the Jouvert Parade, police said Friday. It will now be held from 6 to 10 a.m. solely on Circuit Drive in Franklin Park. Processions will head toward Blue Hill Avenue. All music will be shut off after it finishes, and all parade vehicles will head out on Blue Hill Avenue. The second and main parade, the Caribbean Parade, will be held at the same time and date as last year on Warren Street and Martin Luther King Boulevard. It will begin forming at 11 a.m. and start at 1 p.m., ending by 6 p.m. Barriers will line the route. Read more: Boston shooting leaves 7 people hospitalized Police officers will be stationed at several traffic posts, including Geneva, Blue Hill, Harvard and Walnut avenues, to redirect cars from the parade route. Last weekend, there was a shooting at the Dominican Festival that injured five people. None of the injuries were life-threatening. Boston police asked the public to contact the department with any witness information, images or videos related to the shooting. The department did not immediately respond to an inquiry about specific heightened security related to the shootings at this years Caribbean celebration or other festivities in the city. The shooting during last years festival happened during the Jouvert Parade, which is held early in the morning as jouvert means daybreak, and signals the start of celebrations. Multiple people were hospitalized after gunfire erupted at 7:45 a.m. by Blue Hill and Talbot avenues. Last years Caribbean Parade proceeded later the same day, despite the shootings. Mayor Michelle Wu called the celebration joyful and necessary. Today, the rest of the day is going to be a really wonderful celebration. You see not only our officers and partners out in full force, but community members, organizers, people from every generation coming out to celebrate, Wu had said at a press conference on Aug. 26, 2023. This is the 50th anniversary of the carnival, and thats thanks to the incredible dedication and leadership of people like Ms. Shirley Shillingford and so many organizers, Wu said. Read more: Boston police ask public for help investigating Dominican Festival shooting City councilors on Friday voiced support this year for more security at the parades. Councillor Ed Flynn said he asked the Boston Police Commissioner to invite officers from cities and towns in Greater Boston for assistance, Boston 25 reported. Its up to the police commissioner to decide whether its appropriate or not, but I do think we need more resources in Boston not just for the festival, but theres other events in the North End, theres an event here in the Boston Common and a parade. Lets work together and support each other in challenging times, Flynn told the outlet on Friday. City Councillor Julia Mejia said community members should be included in conversations around helping police prevent violent problems, NECN reported. One way they can take part is stepping up to report issues, she said. However, Meija said the public should not assume all community festivals are dangerous. That narrative around this, being specifically because its the Caribbean Festival or the Dominican Festival what it does is it creates this narrative about people of color, that we cant have good things because we dont know how to act, Mejia told the outlet. The Boston Police Department said the streets will be cleaned and cleared after both parades on Saturday, and all parade goers must disperse at 6 p.m. Late-night and overnight activities will be limited, and the department restated its zero-tolerance policy for weapons, violence, large or loud parties and gatherings, off-road vehicles and loud-speaker cars. The department urges the public if you see something, say something and to call 911. Here is a complete list of street closures in Boston for the Caribbean Festival 2024: Street closures: Online sportsbook giant DraftKings lost its motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed in Middlesex Superior Court last December over its $1,000 signup bonus promotion, which the suit called unfair and deceptive. The class action suit was filed on Dec. 8, 2023, by the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston and the schools Center for Public Health Litigation. After the courts rejection of DraftKings motion on Wednesday, the next hearing in the case is scheduled for Dec. 10. DraftKings did not immediately respond for comment. This decision will allow the case to proceed to the discovery phase, where we have the opportunity to depose those involved with the deceptive promotion and collect internal communications to gain insight into how it was developed and executed, Mark Gottlieb, executive director of PHAI, said in a release. The suit was filed on behalf of Massachusetts residents it claimed were deceived by the widely advertised promotion. Two Massachusetts residents, Shane Harris and Melissa Scanlon, were named plaintiffs in the suit. People who signed up for a DraftKings Sportsbook account were not aware of underlying qualifications for the $1,000 bonus, the suit said, and were targeted by the company because of their betting inexperience. The suit said new customers had to deposit an initial $5,000 in their accounts and gamble $15,000 to $25,000 over a limited time in select bets to get the bonus. The class members also didnt know the bonus would be sent in DraftKings credits they could not withdraw, the suit said. The very sort of gambling this promotion requires of new customers ... is not, by any definition, responsible play, Harry Levant, the gambling policy director for PHAI and therapist for gambling addiction patients, said after the motion to dismiss the suit was denied Wednesday. Instead, its a recipe for addiction. Yet DraftKings hypocritically exhorts its customers to gamble responsibly in every advertisement. I dont believe thats what DraftKings actually wants, Levant said. PHAIs President Richard Daynard, a Northeastern professor of law known for battling tobacco companies in court, likened the promotion to tobacco companies tactics. Online gambling is creating a public health disaster with increasingly addictive products right before our eyes, Daynard said when the suit was filed. In fact, massive advertising using unfair and deceptive promotions to hook customers on an addictive product bears an uncanny similarity to what the cigarette companies used to get away with, Daynard said. PITTSFIELD Andrew Morehouse can flood the zone with stats. Yet behind the numbers lies a stark reality: The cost of living crisis is causing more and more people to go hungry. Prices went up for everything: food, housing those are the key ones and child care, said Morehouse, the executive director of the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. Folks cant make ends meet, and so they oftentimes will scrimp on buying food to be able to pay those fixed costs. He spoke at an event Wednesday that brought together more than 50 people who work in the realm of food security. Titled Voices in Food Equity: Nourishing Tomorrows Leaders, the evening featured a panel discussion at Berkshire Community College. It came at a time of tremendous and growing need for food assistance, Morehouse told the audience. The amount of food his organization distributed to partner organizations in Berkshire County from October to May was up 33% compared to the same period one year prior. We have more work to do to get more food out to people who need it, he said. With the high levels of need, its incumbent upon those who work in the food assistance space to make getting help as accessible as possible, the panelists said. One piece of that puzzle is working to reduce the stigma associated with visiting one of the countys food pantries or community meal sites. Andrew Morehouse is the executive director of Food Bank of Western Massachusetts. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican, File) To address this, many county organizations choose not to ask invasive questions of the people who come in, such as their income or where they live, said Mary Feuer, the director of WIC and Family Services at Community Health Programs. That really helps, because its hard enough as it is to go to a food pantry or to ask for help, she said. Without income-based cutoffs for accessing some of the food at local pantries, those whose income exceeds government guidelines for benefits can often still receive food, Morehouse said. The panelists discussed a range of other topics, like how to engage children and young people in food systems, how to pull more restaurant owners into the fight against hunger and how to provide culturally appropriate food for immigrants in the community. As attendees wrapped up their discussion, one encouraged her peers to think about how they can bring those they serve into the equation as partners. Karen Pelto, a project specialist at the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, told the story of how her father worked at a Massachusetts paper mill growing up. The workers went on strike one day, so money was tight. Their neighbors stepped in and offered food and vegetables, in exchange for haying her familys land. It amounted to something that felt like an exchange, a win-win for both sides; it was neighbors helping neighbors. She asked the group to think about what they can learn from those they serve, be it a recipe or another lesson theyve learned along the way. Theres experts on all sides of this conversation, she said. Dog lovers can purchase a photo series of dogs at some of Bostons most popular spots in the city just in time for National Dog Day on Monday, Aug. 26. The "Dogs of Boston," shot by fine-art photographer Gray Malin, can be bought online. The series contains 17 photos of pooches at some of Bostons most treasured landmarks like the Charles River Esplanade, Boston Common, Acorn Street and the dog-friendly Fairmont Copley Plaza. Boston has always held a special place in my heart, starting with my time at Emerson College, Malin said in a press release. My new series Dogs of Boston is a love letter to this historic city. Among the series stars includes Cori Copley, a 6-year-old black Lab that Fairmont Copley Plaza adopted in 2019 from the Guide Dog Foundation. The hospitality expert spends her work days being a companion to travelers, snoozing in her lobby bed and trotting around Copley Square. To celebrate the gallerys release, Malin is giving away a 2-night stay at the Fairmount, plus an autographed print of the hotel image. Rules on how to enter the contest will be posted on Malins Instagram Saturday. Popular travel television host Rick Steves has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The 69-year-old wrote on X Wednesday, Aug. 21 that his doctor assured him that the cancer does not show signs of spreading. With that in mind, Steves doctor approved of him filming in France for the next three weeks. The TV host and author will return to his home in Edmonds, Washington in mid-September and undergo surgery later that month. Steves is hoping to be fully cancer-free by the end of October. I have great trust in my doctor and in Seattles Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center. And I have lots more to be thankful forincluding the support of friends and loved ones and a strong faith that Im in good hands, Steves wrote on X. "Im looking forward to many more years of happy travels, exciting collaborations, and beautiful friendships, he added. Thank you for your love and support (and any travel tips you may have for me as I set off on this journey). Steves is the longtime host of PBS travel show Rick Steves Europe, which premiered in 2000. He started his business Rick Steves Europe in 1976, which brings 30,000 travelers to Europe each year, according to Steves website. In addition to Rick Steves Europe, Steves has penned several guidebook series, writes his own travel blog and as hosts a radio show called Travel with Rick Steves. Those looking to take home a first-place ribbon, a cash prize or bragging rights this fair season can now enter to win one of hundreds of contests at the Topsfield Fair this year. The 206th Topsfield Fair, which will run from Friday, Oct. 4 until Monday, Oct. 14, has hundreds of contests for both amateur and professional participants. Below is a list of contest categories: Beekeeping Canning Cattle Christmas trees Crafts Draft horse show Farm photography Fine art Flowers Foods Fruit Giant pumpkins Grange Horse and oxen pulling Junior fruit, vegetable and decorative Poultry Rabbit and cavy Sheep Sheep dog trial Stock farm tractor pulling Vegetables Winemaking 4-H Club The Topsfield Fair also hosts two pageants: Junior King & Queen for children ages 58 and Mrs. Essex County for married women 18 or older living in Essex County. Entry deadlines vary by contest. Participants can enter contests online, as well as find more information about the fair. The Topsfield Fair, which is the oldest county fair in the United States, features a showcase of local farm animals, performances, food, rides, vendors and more. Started in 1818 by the Essex County Agricultural Society, the Topsfield Fair welcomes about 450,000500,000 people over its 10-day run, according to Salem News. Highlights include the hot dog eating contest, giant pumpkin weigh-off and Budweiser Clydesdales. The Topsfield Fair is located at the Topsfield fairgrounds at 207 Boston St. A Massachusetts police oversight board stripped four former police officers of their certifications to work in law enforcement, ending their policing careers in the Bay State. The Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission, a product of police reforms passed in 2020, decertified the officers after finding they either engaged in significant on-the-job misconduct or were guilty of criminal infractions. The commission, often known by its acronym, POST, decertified the four officers in closed-door votes on Aug. 15, records show. They are former Brockton Officer Robert Otis, former Somerville Officer Keith ODonnell, former Peabody Officer James Festa, and former Fall River Officer Bryan Custadio. In documents published online, the commission accused Otis of an array of violations, including dangerously pursuing a vehicle without cause, allowing a person to drive after he suspected they were intoxicated, and mishandling a gun on multiple occasions. ODonnell, according to court records, was found guilty of assaulting a man at a neighbors home in 2022 but has appealed the conviction. In a separate case, he pleaded guilty this spring to punching a different neighbor during a dispute. Festa was accused of breaking into the home of a woman he knew, while on duty, according to a commission report. Court records show Custadio faced charges connected to multiple domestic assault and battery incidents in recent years. He pleaded guilty last November. According to the commission, none of the four officers contested their desertification. After the killing of George Floyd by a Minnesota police officer, Massachusetts lawmakers established the nine-member commission with a mandate to increase transparency and scrutiny of law enforcement. All police officers must now hold certifications issued by the commission, acknowledging theyve met the standards required to carry a badge and gun in Massachusetts. With its latest rulings, the commission has decertified 27 police officers since 2023. The board is required to decertify officers found guilty of felony charges, but it also has broad authority to take action against officers found responsible for lesser criminal conduct or noncriminal infractions. Dangerous and unjustified In Otis case, the commission described a pattern of misbehavior that led to his resignation from the Brockton Police in May 2023. While forcibly removing a driver from their car during a March 2022 traffic stop, the commission said, Otis failed to provide adequate support and the person suffered a head injury. Yet according to the commission, Otis did not request medical assistance for the person, who he suspected was intoxicated. Instead, despite the persons state and potential head injury, he allowed them to drive home. On July 4, 2022, Otis pursued a car in a manner his own department later found to be dangerous and unjustified, the commission reported. Department officials observed two other troubling incidents in the week following. On July 5, Otis threatened to call the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families in order to obtain information from an individual, the commission said. He also illegally searched a persons freezer, found and seized a firearm, and then handled the weapon in an unsafe manner. Brockton police also cited Otis for violating orders days later when he seized another firearm from a person permitted to carry it. According to the commission, he repeatedly left the seized firearm unsecured and unattended. In its order decertifying Otis, the commission described his behavior as a pattern of unprofessional police conduct that it believed could escalate. Less than a year before the string of incidents, Otis was lauded for his heroism after he was shot during an armed standoff. Other officers faced criminal charges A Malden District Court judge last year found ODonnell, the former Somerville police officer, guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon tied to a dispute at a neighbors home in fall 2022. During a fight, the victim said ODonnell flashed a firearm tucked into his waistband, according to a police report. ODonnell is on probation and has appealed the ruling, court records showed. The incident closely followed another neighborhood altercation for which ODonnell also faced assault and battery charges. He pleaded guilty in April and has not been sentenced, according to court records. The Somerville Police fired ODonnell last year, according to the commission. When MassLive first reported on the charges in February, ODonnell said through his attorney that he had changed careers and was not planning to challenge the commissions rulings. He declined further comment. Festa resigned from Peabody police last October as the department moved to fire him for an August 2022 incident in Lynn. According to the commission, Festa while on duty and in uniform broke into the home of a woman with whom he had a personal relationship and refused to leave. At the time, he was supposed to be investigating a suspicious vehicle in Peabody. The Salem News identified the woman as an estranged girlfriend and said Festa had come to the home to speak with her. Court records show Festa was charged with a single misdemeanor count of breaking and entering. The case was ultimately dismissed for lack of prosecution. An outside investigator hired by the Peabody police later found Festa had violated 19 department rules during the incident and recommended he be fired, according to the commission. He resigned as the department began the termination process. Custadio was fired in July 2022 as he faced charges tied to multiple domestic violence incidents in October and November 2021. According to the Fall River Herald News, one incident occurred while Custadio was in uniform. An additional domestic assault and battery charge was added following a February 2023 incident, records show. In Fall River District Court, Custadio pleaded guilty in November of last year to four charges of domestic assault and battery and a charge of threatening to commit a crime, all misdemeanors. Records show he was sentenced to a 14-month prison term. The officers have 30 days to appeal the commissions rulings to the Superior Court. Per state law, decertified officers are automatically barred from working for police departments in Massachusetts. The commission also submits their names to a national registry of decertified officers, which could prevent them from finding police work in other states. Whether you live in Massachusetts or not, theres a chance you have heard already that the calamitous fictional and nonfictional events of Jaws were filmed on Marthas Vineyard. The island was chosen for filming the vacation town of Amity after director Steven Spielberg considered filming on Long Island, according to ScreenRant. This would have worked with the fictional geography based on Peter Benchleys novel, where Amity Island is off the coast of Long Island. After the success of the 1975 original film, three more sequels followed before the series seemingly ended with the release of Jaws: The Revenge in 1987. Ignoring how a vacation destination could sustain itself after several fatal shark attacks, Amity Island and by default, Marthas Vineyard played a varied role in the sequels. Jaws 2 (1978) The first sequel does not tread all of the same waters as the first one, but the setting remains largely the same. Jaws 2 follows the family from the first film, the Brodys, as they return to Amity one summer. Just as they return, another white shark appears, terrorizing the Brodys sons and their high school friends while boating. And once again, Chief Martin Brody has to convince the town leaders that theres a big mother preying on vacationers. Director Jeannot Szwarc and his crew traveled back to Edgartown in Marthas Vineyard, which primarily represented the physical town during the first Jaws, ScreenRant wrote. Other parts of the island, namely Oak Bluffs, Chillmark, Aquinnah, Menemsha and Tisbury, were all used for filming. The films opening scene, where scuba divers find the ruins of the Orca after it sank in the first movie before the new shark attacks, was filmed off Catalina Island in California, according to The Daily Jaws. Most of the water sequences away from Amity were filmed at Navarre Beach and in the Emerald Coast region east of Pensacola, Florida, according to Looper. One of the films later water sequences used a manmade island that served as the films Cable Junction, ScreenRant wrote. The island was made of fiberglass rocks built over a barge and served as the setting of the films final scene where Brody saves his sons and their friends and squares off with the shark. At one point, Cable Junctions anchor disconnected and the fake island drifted away, and Szwarc recalled in the Making of Jaws 2 documentary that the island was heading for Cuba before it was retrieved for filming. Jaws 3-D (1983) Much can be said about the gimmicks, cinematography and story of Jaws 3-D, or Jaws 3. But does it copy and paste the setting of the first two movies? The setting of Jaws 3-D plants its heroes, victims and sharks (two sharks, though one is a baby) at SeaWorld Orlando instead of Amity. Filming was largely done at Universal Studios Florida and on location at SeaWorld Orlando, according to IMDb. Given Amitys absence in the threequels plot, Jaws 3-D was not filmed at Marthas Vineyard. Jaws: The Revenge (1987) Actions set in Amity during the opening scenes of Jaws: The Revenge catalyze the rest of the movie. The fourth films return to Amity meant filming in Marthas Vineyard again, according to the Worldwide Guide to Movie Locations website. But as the movie progresses following a Christmastime funeral (a lot can be said about this movie too, but moving on), the Brodys take flight and head to the Bahamas, where the rest of the film was shot. The shark somehow follows the Brodys, where the same blood-gushing chaos ensues. The Newburyport Police Department is asking for the publics help to identify a car involved in a crash with a bike. Around 4:40 p.m. on Aug 20, three bicyclists were traveling in the bicycle lane on High Street when one of them was hit by a car near the intersection of Pond and High streets, police said. As the cyclist was being tended to, the car fled the area toward Route 1, police said. The car was described as a newer model Mini Cooper, possibly Clubman model, that was grey or green, police said. The car had been traveling west on High Street and was turning left onto Pond Street when it struck the cyclist, police said. The car will also likely have damage on the passenger side and may have a New Hampshire registration, police said. Police shared a photo of the car on Facebook. The Newburyport Police are asking people and businesses in the area to check for any video on dash cameras or home security cameras that may have picked up the car before, during or after the crash. Those with further information are asked to contact Inspector Chris McDonald at cmcdonald@newburyportpolice.com. A 53-year-old man who police say followed a teen girl while she was out jogging was arrested by Massachusetts State Police in Hingham Thursday on a charge of failing to register with the Sex Offender Registry Board. The man, Edmund Chance, is a level 3 sex offender, Massachusetts State Police said in a statement. Chance has a history of what State Police called predatory behavior including prior convictions for rape and kidnapping. Level 3 sex offenders are individuals believed to pose a high risk to the public due to their likelihood of reoffending, according to the state. Chance was wanted not just in connection with the failure to register charge, but also for questioning tied to a disturbing incident on Tuesday evening where police say he pulled a car alongside a 17-year-old jogger and offered her a ride. The teen girl declined and continued her route, but police say Chance followed her until she ran away and called 911, State Police said. State Police developed information that Chance may be at a specific location in Hingham, and subsequently arrested him there, according to the statement. He was brought to Hingham District Court for an arraignment, where a judge set $2.5 million cash bail, court records show. A plea of not guilty was entered on Chances behalf. There are still a few months before people need to worry about changing the clocks back for the end of daylight saving time. But for those wanting to plan ahead, heres what youll need to know about the end of 2024s daylight saving time. Daylight saving time will end on Sunday, Nov. 3. At 2 a.m. on Nov. 3, clocks will fall back and many will (hopefully) get an extra hour of sleep that weekend. It will also allow there to be more light in the morning. There is a saying to help people remember which way the clocks go. To remember which way to set their clocks, folks often use the expression, spring forward, fall back, the Farmers Almanac wrote. In the spring, the clock springs forward and we lose an hour. But in the fall, the clock falls back and we gain and hour. The Farmers Almanac also suggests changing your clocks before you go to bed Saturday, so they are correct when you wake up. However, many clocks, including phones and laptops, will automatically change. In 2025, daylight saving time begins Sunday, March 9 at 2:00 a.m. and ends on Sunday, Nov. 2 at 2:00 a.m. According to the Farmers Almanac, it was started by Benjamin Franklins An Economical Project, written in 1784. It was whimsical in tone, advocating laws to compel citizens to rise at the crack of dawn to save the expense of candlelight, the website stated. Some have hoped to end changing clocks twice a year. Lawmakers have argued many Americans would benefit from more light at the end of the day. Pretty much everybody in Rhode Island experiences the same thing on that unhappy day in early November when suddenly an hour of your day, an hour of your daylight disappears and dusk comes an hour earlier, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a cosponsor of the Sunshine Protection Act, said in a Senate floor speech. He argued the process of changing clocks does darken our lives in a very literal sense. No more switching clocks, more daylight hours to spend outside after school and after work, and more smiles that is what we get with permanent Daylight Saving Time, Sen. Ed Markey said in a statement. CHICAGO As the Democratic National Convention entered its final hours on Thursday, delegates from one of the bluest states in the country said theyre taking encouragement and hope home with them. Over four days this week, 116 Democratic delegates from the Bay State formally nominated Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz, even as they raced around the Windy City attending an array of events. She might have been there to tout Kamala Harris presidential candidacy, but for a little more than six minutes on Thursday night, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren owned the crowd at the United Center. The Cambridge Democrat got a sustained standing ovation, running to 1 minute and 13 seconds, as she took to the stage on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. At times, as she tried to quiet the cheering crowd, Warren appeared to be fighting back tears. Warrens appearance came as Harris, the first woman of color to accept a major partys presidential nomination was set to address Democratic activists from across the country. In remarks stretching to about five minutes, Warren praised Harris, of California, for her tenure in the U.S. Senate, and jabbed at Republican former President Donald Trump and his running mate, U.S. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio. Trust Donald Trump and JD Vance, to look out for your family? Shoot. I wouldnt ... trust them to move my couch, Warren quipped to more applause from the DNC audience. Warren said she first met Harris "in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash" as she was setting up the U.S. Consumer Financial Bureau. Harris was then Californias elected attorney general. While Harris was protecting Californians, Trump was "scamming students at Trump University and trying to make money off people losing their homes, Warren asserted. The Republican launched his for-profit university in 2005. It ran until 2010 and ultimately faced multiple civil actions for deceptive business practices, according to an analysis by the left-leaning Center for American Progress. Trump paid a $25 million settlement to the people who attended Trump University in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010, the same analysis showed. And thats the difference between a criminal and a prosecutor, Warren said. Like many who took to the stage in Chicago this week, Warren sought to set up a clear contrast between Trump, the first former president in U.S. history to run for office after being convicted on multiple felony counts, and Harris, the daughter of immigrants who worked at McDonalds in her younger years. You know what else I love about Kamala? She gets it, Warren said. We need to make life more affordable for working people. Donald Trump, the felon, has no plan to lower costs for families. He doesnt know how and frankly, he doesnt really care, Warren continued. Warren is running for re-election this year, and will face one of three Republican candidates who will emerge from the Sept. 3 primary election. The eventual Republican nominee is expected to face an uphill battle in heavily Democratic Massachusetts where Warren, who holds a fundraising lead, is widely expected to prevail in the November general election. But leaving nothing to chance, Warrens re-election campaign blasted out a fundraising email moments after the Democrat left the stage on Thursday night. While the largest fair in New England is still weeks away, a Connecticut bakery has been preparing since the start of August. All of it is from scratch. Literally in our bakery theyre mixing the apple mixture by hand for the crisp. Everything is homemade, said owner Josh Virkler. Theres no factories. Last year, LuAnns Bakery and Cafe in Ellington made a name for itself by offering a pickle cupcake at The Big E in West Springfield, which MassLives Nick OMalley described as a sweet muffin with cream cheese with a little bit of tzatziki vibes. It was the first year the bakery was at The Big E. It offered five cupcakes and frosting shots. But the pickle cupcake outsold all the other cupcake flavors combined. Overall, the bakery sold about 10,000 cupcakes during the fairs 17-day run. Its super exciting. It feels really good to be have people notice what we do, and the fun that we try to have here, Virkler said. The pickle cupcake was first offered at LuAnns Bakery and Cafe for the Super Bowl about five years ago. The bakery continued to offer it during the Super Bowl for something weird. The bakery then brought it to a local farmers markets pickle festival. They sold out. They decided to perfect their recipe and try it at The Big E. Coming up with unique flavor ideas is a group effort, Virkler said. On Wednesday, the cafe, which is open all year, was offering smore cupcakes, snickerdoodle cupcakes and strawberry lemonade cupcakes. But for The Big E this year, itll be focusing on a Maple Bacon Cupcake, which uses maple syrup from Ferrindino Maple, a Massachusetts maple farm. The bakery is also still offering the pickle cupcake, a gluten-free pickle cupcake, triple chocolate, Funfetti and chocolate pumpkin marble at The Big E. The new maple flavor was decided in a customer vote, according to an Instagram post. About 500 people voted. But the cupcake is different from the bakerys past maple bacon cupcakes. LuAnn's Bakery and Cafe is returning to The Big E with its pickle cupcake. It'll also have a new flavor, the Maple Bacon cupcake.Heather Morrison This one we used our vanilla cake, drizzled the pure maple syrup over top, let it soak in, then topped it with maple buttercream and finished it with maple syrup candied bacon. Perfection, the bakery wrote. The cupcakes are topped with an abundance of candied bacon. The bottom includes the maple taste, making it taste similar to a fluffy pancake. Its not the only new item coming to The Big E. The bakery is also bringing two new mini crisp pies and coffee. The apple crisp pie gives fairgoers a traditional apple pie taste without having to buy an entire pie. The fruits-of-the-farm crisp pie includes apples, berries and a little bit of rhubarb, which adds a tartness to the pie. The bakery teamed up with Modern Milkman to offer bottled lattes after realizing they were a bakery without any coffee at The Big E last year. We had so many people coming to us last year saying, Do you have coffee? Do you have coffee? Do you have coffee, Virkler said, adding that they were having to send people inside the Better Living Center to the Dunkin. As a local bakery and cafe, that hurt. So, theyre making some changes. The bottle lattes will be available with cows milk or oat milk, vanilla flavor and are 15 ounces. They will also offer bottled cold brew and bottled chai lattes. All the coffees are cold which likely isnt a problem for most New Englanders. And theyll have more gluten-free options. All five cupcake flavors will be available gluten-free thanks to their gluten-free kitchen, which is totally separate and will be boxed separate from the other cupcakes. This, including their vegan cupcake, is an important option for the bakery. Its super important because I heard from so many people at the fair last year, Thank you for having gluten-free. Theres so few options at a fair, Virkler said. The Big E returns to West Springfield on Sept. 13. Brains Bioceutical Corp. (BBC) has achieved a groundbreaking milestone by submitting one of the worlds first CEP (Certification of Suitability) application for its Cannabidiol (CBD) Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) to the European Directorate for theQuality of Medicines & Healthcare (EDQM). his landmark achievement demonstrates BBCs CBD as meeting the highest industry standard for pharmaceutical-grade cannabinoid products. The CEP confirms that BBCs CBD meets European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) standards, a crucial endorsement for pharmaceutical manufacturers in Europe, Canada, Australia, Japan, and the US. This certification streamlines regulatory processes, ensuring high quality, consistency, and safety for global markets. Additional advantages of the CEP include: Facilitating and simplifying interactions between regulators and industry, ensuring that substances used in pharmaceutical production meet European Pharmacopoeia standards and comply with relevant EU legislation. Easing the management of investigational medicinal product for medicinal products. Serving as a complement and bridge between European Pharmacopoeia monographs and the regulatory dossier requirements for medicinal products. Acting as a link between health authorities and industry, enhancing communication and cooperation. Ricky Brar, CEO and Chairman of Brains Bioceutical Corp., emphasized the importance of this certification in the companys long-term strategy. Achieving a CEP for our Cannabidiol Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient is a pivotal step in our journey to lead the global cannabinoid market. It reinforces our commitment to quality and innovation, and it positions Brains Bio to set the standard for the industry. This is not just about meeting regulatory requirementsits about exceeding them and setting a new benchmark for what pharmaceutical-grade cannabinoid products should be. Dean Billington, Chief Operating Officer of Brains Bioceutical Corp., added, Our submission to the EDQM is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team. The CEP will provide a significant competitive advantage, ensuring that our Cannabidiol API is recognized as a top-tier ingredient for pharmaceutical use. We are proud to be at the forefront of this rapidly evolving industry, driving excellence in every aspect of our operations. The global demand for cannabinoid-based pharmaceuticals remains robust, evidenced by Epidiolex, which Jazz Pharmaceuticals projects will generate approximately $1.4 billion in revenue in 2024 . This reflects ongoing growth and demand for high-quality pharmaceutical cannabinoid products. The EDQMs review process, initiated on August 8, 2024, will take approximately 115 working days. Successful granting of a CEP will confirm that Brains Bios CBD meets, the stringent Ph. Eur. requirements. This CEP application effort underscores Brains Bios unwavering commitment to setting new standards for the cannabinoid industry. This builds on Brains Bios EU GMP and controlled substances licenses. By aligning its CBD API with the rigorous criteria of the European Pharmacopoeia, Brains Bio is not only participating in the market but actively shaping its future. As part of our strategic partnership, Brains Bioceutical and DSM-Firmenich have joined forces to leverage their combined expertise in cannabinoid research and development. Together with Brains Bioceutical manufacturer of high-quality pharma-grade cannabinoids DSM-Firmenich offers an end-to-end innovation platform designed to support early-stage cannabinoid drug development and realize the potential of CBD- based formulations. Its capabilities include leading-edge formulation expertise, a global network of regulatory specialists, and preclinical and clinical study proficiency. The company also has the capacity to provide customized solutions depending on the therapeutic area and drug delivery objective. Canon Academy offers a comprehensive educational program featuring hands-on workshops covering a wide range of photography topics. To date, we have successfully trained 85 students through this initiative. The programme offers a comprehensive curriculum blending theory and practice, where expert trainers instill confidence and passion while covering essential topics like exposure triangle, composition, lighting, focus, and more. Canon Central and North Africa (CCNA) is thrilled to announce the official launch of Canon Academy in Senegal, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at nurturing local photographic talent. In partnership with renowned institutions, Kourtrajme Dakar Film School and SupIMax School, Canon is committed to empowering aspiring photographers and enthusiasts with world-class education and resources. This significant launch was marked by a meet-up event on August 13th at the Kourtrajme Dakar Film School, introducing the local photography community to Canons comprehensive educational offerings, cutting-edge product lineup, authorized dealers, and the immersive Canon Academy workshop experience. The heart of the Canon Academy experience was the hands-on workshops conducted at SupIMax School on August 14th. Led by Canon Ambassador Seibou Traore, these sessions delved into the fundamentals of photography, covering essential topics such as the exposure triangle, lighting, focus, composition, aperture, ISO, and mastering manual mode. By equipping participants with practical skills, Canon Academy aims to unlock their creative potential and elevate their photography to new heights. Canon Academy is dedicated to providing photographers with unparalleled learning opportunities, said Rashad Ghani, B2C Business Unit Director at Canon Central and North Africa. Through hands-on workshops and expert guidance, we empower photographers of all levels to explore their passion and achieve their full potential. We are excited to bring this enriching experience to Senegal and contribute to the growth of the local photography community. Canon Academy is dedicated to Canon users, offering hands-on experiences across a wide array of topics. Workshops are led by certified Canon trainers, ensuring that participants benefit from the expertise of seasoned professionals. The programme caters to different skill levels, from beginners to professionals, allowing each participant to grow at their own pace. Kourtrajme Dakar Film School, a beacon of accessible film education, shares Canons commitment to fostering creativity. Were excited to partner with Canon to empower the next generation of filmmakers and photographers. Together, well create a brighter future for Senegals creative industry. said- Mr Sangare Toumani Director, Kourtrajme Dakar Film School SupIMax School, a leading institution in digital arts and communication, complements Canons vision for a vibrant creative ecosystem. Canon Academy is a fantastic addition to our curriculum. This partnership will equip our students with the skills and tools to excel in the digital world. Said- Mr. Birame Diouf Executif Director, SupIMax School (Ininstitut Superieur des Arts et Metiers du Numerique) This strategic collaboration between Canon Central & North Africa, Kourtrajme Dakar Film School, and SupIMax School (Ininstitut Superieur des Arts et Metiers du Numerique) exemplifies Canons corporate philosophy of Kyosei living and working together for the common good. By joining forces, these organizations are creating a powerful platform for young talent to thrive and contribute to Senegals creative landscape. The launch event and workshops signify a significant milestone for Canon in Senegal, demonstrating the companys dedication to investing in local communities and supporting the growth of photography as an art form. Canon is confident that this initiative will inspire a new generation of photographers and strengthen the brands presence in the market. Les ministres du gouvernement ont pris note que le gouvernement va signer le Charter of the Colombo Security Conclave , va signer un lettre afin de formaliser lentree du pays dans le OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises entre autres. 1. Cabinet has taken note that the following regulations would be promulgated: (a) Customs (Amendment No. 2) Regulations 2024; (b) Excise (Amendment) Regulations 2024; (c) Excise (Amendment of Schedule) (No. 3) Regulations 2024; and (d) Customs Tariff (Amendment of Schedule) (No. 3) Regulations 2024. The Regulations would provide for the implementation of measures mentioned in the Annex to the Budget Speech 2024-25 relating to revenue laws as well as other policy and technical measures. 2. Cabinet has agreed to Mauritius signing the Charter of the Colombo Security Conclave and the Memorandum of Understanding for the establishment of its Secretariat in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Charter defines the functioning and responsibilities of the Colombo Security Conclave by establishing the fundamental principles to be observed by Member States including non-interference on internal affairs of States, respect of sovereignty, territorial integrity, financial and administrative responsibilities of Member States. The Memorandum of Understanding would establish a Secretariat for the Conclave which would coordinate, service, disseminate and monitor the implementation of policy decisions of the Council of National Security Advisers. 3. Cabinet has agreed to the Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development signing a letter formalising Mauritius adherence to the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises. Adherence to the Investment Declaration would demarcate Mauritius by being the first Sub-Saharan country in Africa to adhere to that Declaration. The Declaration, being one of the most important OECD Instrument which all OECD members and candidates have to abide to, would bring the following benefits: (a) improved transparency of investment regimes which would give comfort to both domestic and foreign investors; (b) entitlement to participate along with other adherent countries and the European Commission in the work of the OECD Investment Committee; (c) taking advantage of the OECD diagnosis and benchmarking exercises in the course of the review process of the investment climate of Mauritius; and (d) improved access to global supply chains. 4. Cabinet has taken note that a committee on Mpox had been set up at the level of the Ministry of Health and Wellness to monitor the evolution of the disease across the world. In addition, the committee would ensure that the measures put in place for surveillance at points of entry, namely the Port and Airport, had been reinforced. The existing Protocol on Mpox had also been reviewed which would provide for, inter alia, the following: (a) with respect to any suspected case at the Airport, a Rapid Response Team would assess and take charge of the affected person following which he/she would be transferred to an identified isolation room in a hospital; and (b) as per the protocol, the patient would be under the care of a physician and dermatologist of that hospital. 5. Cabinet has taken note that the Family Planning Guidelines for Service Providers 2024 would be launched in the context of World Sexual Health Day 2024 which is celebrated annually in September to raise awareness on the importance of sexual health and promote the need to make sexual health a global priority. The theme for World Sexual Health Day 2024 is Positive Relationships. The launching of the Guidelines would be followed by a workshop on Sexual Health, Family Planning and Positive Relationships. The workshop would target health professionals, representatives from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare, the Police Department and NGOs. The following activities would also be organised by the Ministry of Health and Wellness to promote good sexual and reproductive health: (a) dissemination workshops on the updated Guidelines on Family Planning in regional hospitals; (b) community sessions and canvassing by Community Health Care Officers; and (c) radio and TV programmes to create awareness on sexual health. 6. Cabinet has taken note of the holding of a capacity building workshop, organised by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare in collaboration with the Southern African Development Community, from 27 to 30 August 2024 in Mauritius, to assist in the development of a National Action Plan to ensure proper implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in line with the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325. The main objectives of the workshop would be to share experiences, strategies and practices on the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda and the formulation of a National Action Plan to enable the development of concrete indicators to identify priorities, determine responsibilities, allocate resources and initiate and monitor strategic actions within defined timed frame. 7. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the recent participation of the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Housing and Land Use Planning, Minister of Tourism in the 44th Summit of the SADC Heads of State and Government held in Harare, Zimbabwe. The Summit elected HE Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, as SADC Chairperson and HE Dr (Mrs) Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, as Chairperson of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation. The Deputy Prime Minister led the Mauritius delegation to the Summit where the following issues were, inter alia, considered: (a) the SADC Declaration on the Protection of People with Albinism (PPWA)/SADC legal instruments were signed by Mauritius and other Member States. The PPWA seeks to condemn all forms of discrimination, violence, and harmful practices against albino people; (b) the Council of Ministers endorsed the appointment of Mauritius as Deputy Chairperson of the SADC Finance Sub Committee for the financial year 2024/25. Mauritius would therefore chair the Finance Committee as from next year. Mauritius was appointed as member of the SADC Board of Auditors for a three-year term 2024-2027; (c) Mauritius expressed the gratitude of Government to the SADC Secretariat for providing technical assistance to implement the food fortification programme and for facilitating the pool procurement of fertilisers; and (d) the Council of Ministers adopted the Safety, Mobility, Automated, Real-time Traffic Management Integrated Economic Corridors as a framework to enhance regional integration. The project was initially planned to link the SADC landlocked Member States. Following the intervention of Mauritius, Council of Ministers agreed that a Maritime Corridor be developed and be complementary to the Indian Ocean Commission Maritime Connectivity Strategy and the COMESA proposed Shipping Line for the Indian Ocean Island States. 8. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the recent participation of the Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance in the promotional mission organised with the collaboration of the Economic Development Board and the Financial Services Commission pertaining to financial services in India. The purpose of the mission to India was to pursue the momentum which was created during the previous missions to India with a view to enhancing the visibility of Mauritius as a preferred International Financial Centre and also to reconnect with the regulatory stakeholders in India. The Minister inaugurated the opening of the 7th Edition of Elektrotec 2024, in Coimbatore which is one of the most known fairs for renewable energy, electronic vehicle and innovation in India, organised by the Coimbatore District Small Industries Association. He had meeting with, inter alia, members of the Indian Economic Trade Organization in Chennai on strengthening the relationship with Mauritius to access the African market. 9. Cabinet has taken note of the appointment of Mr Yashley Reesaul, as President of the Conciliation Service for the Public Service under the Employment Relations Act. 10. Cabinet has taken note of the reconstitution of the Seafarers Welfare Fund Board for a period of two years, with Mr Doorjodhanlall Salandy as part-time Chairperson. Le gouvernement a donne son feu vert pour signer cette charte dans les prochains jours. Cabinet has agreed to Mauritius signing the Charter of the Colombo Security Conclave and the Memorandum of Understanding for the establishment of its Secretariat in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Charter defines the functioning and responsibilities of the Colombo Security Conclave by establishing the fundamental principles to be observed by Member States including non- interference on internal affairs of States, respect of sovereignty, territorial integrity, financial and administrative responsibilities of Member States. The Memorandum of Understanding would establish a Secretariat for the Conclave which would coordinate, service, disseminate and monitor the implementation of policy decisions of the Council of National Security Advisers. MCB announced its participation in the new senior secured facility raised by AIBD, demonstrating its commitment to supporting Senegals aspiration of becoming a regional air hub. The Blaise Diagne International Airport, located 47km from the capital city of Dakar, serves as the primary gateway into Senegal, handling more than 90% of the countrys air traffic. It plays a pivotal role in Senegals objective of emerging as a leading air hub in West Africa by 2035, a strategy that is vital for the countrys economic growth. MCB collaborated with Standard Chartered Bank who acted as the financings Co-Global Coordinator and Sole Structuring Bank, and mandated lead arranger and bookrunner for the Euro Tranche (EUR 100m). Additionally, AIBD also raised up to XOF 131 billion, equivalent to EUR 200 million, from a consortium of local banks. These facilities will be used to continue developing the Blaise Diagne International Airport, which includes enhancing the annual passenger capacity by 40% to over 5 million by 2035, the construction of a cargo terminal, and to the renovation of the regional airports. This expansion is geared towards meeting the growing demands in domestic and international air traffic in the region, while concurrently fostering employment opportunities. We are delighted to confirm MCBs participation in this transaction which will fund the expansion of AIBD and fuel Senegals ambition to become a leading air traffic hub in the West African region. It is a testimony of MCBs commitment to fund promising projects unlocking Africas significant economic potential and the Banks expansion in the wider infrastructure asset class on the continent said Youri Harel, Team Leader Specialised Finance. We are very pleased to have been given the opportunity to participate in this important transaction for the aviation sector in Senegal which looks very promising and has the ambition to be a leading aviation hub in West Africa. MCB continues to support critical infrastructure projects that will boost economic development in our key markets, said NK Naginlal Modi from the Power & Infrastructure financing team at MCB. TikTok is taking major steps to boost safety on its platform across Sub-Saharan Africa with the launch of its inaugural Safety Advisory Council and the expansion of its #SaferTogether community education campaign. By partnering with key stakeholders, including policymakers, members from academia, NGOs, and community leaders, TikTok aims to foster a collaborative approach to ensuring a secure and positive platform environment. This announcement was made at TikToks Safety Summit held in Nairobi, Kenya. A Continuous Investment: The Safety Advisory Council Since 2020, TikTok has established nine regional Safety Advisory Councils alongside the U.S. Content Advisory Council, each composed of experts in areas such as youth safety, free expression, and hate speech. These councils play a vital role in shaping TikToks policies, product features, and safety processes, ensuring the platform remains responsive to evolving challenges. The newly launched Sub-Saharan Africa Safety Advisory Council will further this effort by bringing together local experts who will collaborate with TikTok to develop forward-looking policies and address regional safety concerns. Their input will help TikTok manage current issues and anticipate future challenges, reinforcing the platforms commitment to user safety and fostering a positive online environment. Members of the Sub-Saharan Africa Safety Advisory Council are: Prof Guy Berger, Rhodes University (South Africa) Dennis Coffie, Content creator (Ghana) Peter Cunliffe-Jones, University of Westminster Visiting Research Fellow (UK) Aisha Dabo, Co-Founder and coordinator of AfricTivistes (Senegal) Lillian Kariuki, Founder and Executive Director of Watoto Watch Network (Kenya) Dr Akinola Olojo, Expert on preventing and countering violent extremism (Nigeria) Prof Medhane Tadesse, Policy academic on peace and security issues (Ethiopia) Berhan Taye, Independent Researcher (Ethiopia) With the launch of the Sub-Saharan Africa Safety Advisory Council, we are demonstrating our commitment to including expert African voices in our Trust and Safety work. This group of leaders was chosen for their broad range of expertise and experience, and we look forward to working with them over the coming years. Valiant Richey, Global Head of Outreach and Partnerships, Trust and Safety, TikTok #SaferTogether: A Community-Centric Approach This iteration of the #SaferTogether campaign is designed to engage the community actively in promoting a basic understanding of the platforms community guidelines and safety features. This initiative will include workshops, social media outreach, and partnerships with key stakeholders to raise awareness about the importance of following TikToks community standards. The campaign aims to foster a collaborative effort to ensure a secure environment for creative expression. Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda, Director of Government Relations & Public Policy for Sub-Saharan Africa emphasised, The team at Carraig Donn and Aran Woollen Mills were thrilled to welcomed the Minister for Finance, Jack Chambers, to their head office in Westport. Minister Chambers, whose parents are both Mayo natives, visited the county on Tuesday where be met a number of local businesses and groups to listen to their concerns ahead of his first Budget due to be announced in October. Among the businesses he visited was the headquarters of Carraig Donn and Aran Woollen Mills which is located on the Lodge Road in Westport Minister Chambers, who was holidaying in the area, made time to visit the local business who run their global headquarters in Westport. Combined, the companies employ over 120 people in Mayo and nearly 600 nationwide across its network of retail stores, manufacturing plant, warehousing and online businesses. Minister Chambers, together with Minister of State, Dara Calleary and Senator Lisa Chambers, visited the business to get an insight into their operations and to discuss the success and challenges businesses face. Minister Chambers said: It was great to meet with workers and management at Carraig Donn this morning. They are a really successful export business and local employer in the West of Ireland and it was positive to discuss their ambitious growth plans for the future. Minister Chambers conducted a tour of the company factory floor and observed some of the manufacturing which happens on site daily. The visit concluded with a meeting with senior management. MINISTER for Finance, Jack Chambers, is said to have committed to supporting a project that would represent a major upgrade to Westports marine infrastructure. Minister Chambers and his Fianna Fail colleagues, Minister Dara Calleary and Senator Lisa Chambers, held a meeting with Westport Marina Group to discuss the creation of a marina at Westport Harbour. The long-mooted plan proposes to develop a marina and a lagoon that would allow potentially up to 180 boats to moor at the Quay area in Westport all year-round. Local representatives, community groups, and businesses have backed the plan, but it has yet to secure the necessary planning and funding. The proposed marina has been included in a master plan for the Roman Island area. Senator Chambers has said the progression of the marina project would be a significant addition to Mayos tourism offering while also providing the foundation for the creation of employment. She said: I was delighted to meet with the Westport Marina Group along with the Minister. We discussed the upcoming Budget and the funding needed to help get the marina project through planning and shovel ready. Mayo has a large coastline, with fantastic opportunities to develop marine infrastructure. The Westport marina project presents an amazing opportunity, not just for Westport, but for Mayo and the wider western region to develop marine tourism and create employment. I am glad to confirm that the Minister has committed to supporting the project as it progresses and will do everything he can to assist in its delivery. Senator Chambers also called for the creation of a dedicated source of funding for marine infrastructure similar to existing funding pathways for urban regeneration. The Fianna Fail politician said that the progression of the Westport marina has highlighted wider problems with large marine infrastructure projects. Having this dedicated funding would assist us in developing our marine infrastructure right along our coastline and take advantage of the opportunities available to us, she added. TWO Ballyheane twins shed tears of joy after they scooped a combined 1,191 points in their Leaving Certificate exams. Ella Fallon and her sister Nora were both thrilled from the moment they learned that they had passed their exams with flying colours this afternoon. The St Josephs Secondary School students are both optimistic that they have obtained enough points for their top chosen college courses. Ella, who got 625 points, is hoping to study pharmacy in the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin. Nora, who is hoping to study primary school teaching in Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, obtained 566 points. Their friend, Aisling Flanagan, also secured the highest possible mark of 625. Twins Nora and Ella Fallon with their friend, Aisling Flanagan (centre), with their Leaving Certificate results Many St Josephs students went in to the Castlebar school to get a physical copy of their results even after obtaining them online. A total of 1,545 Mayo students, including 109 Leaving Certificate Applied students, sat the Leaving Certificate in June. Our friend rang us at half-nine to say they were actually out. We were waiting until ten, Nora Fallon told The Mayo News. We were downstairs. Ella had her computer upstairs and mine was in my room upstairs, Ella kind of opened them up halfway up the stairs and next thing it was screams, excitement, tears, everything. I was like I had better open mine now and then when I clicked it I was just shocked. I didnt expect to do as well. Ella and Noras mother, Rosie, told The Mayo News that she was delighted to see her daughters being rewarded for their hard work. They are all-rounders. They are sporty, they are fun, but they are good girls, they do their best at everything. Im just delighted that they are reaping the rewards, she said. We are super happy that we both did well. Its hard when you have twins in the house, youre just hoping that theyll both be smiling. They were both tears of joy. Were thrilled. Were very proud of them. Students from St Joseph's Secondary School in Castlebar with their Leaving Certificate results Elsewhere, Our Ladys Secondary School in Belmullet expressed their delight after their students obtained impressive results in their Leaving Certificate exams. One student received 602 points, with 14 per cent obtaining over 550 points and 22 per cent achieving over 500 points. Mr Edmund Holmes, Principal of Our Ladys Secondary School said: We must acknowledge that It hasnt been easy for this group as this was their first experience of sitting state exams. We are very proud of how they met each challenge along the way and we wanted to mark their contribution to Our Ladys over the last six years in a meaningful way. We are delighted that all of our students were happy with their results having done excellently across the board. They are all leaving here with an immense sense of achievement, which makes us very proud of each of them, he added before wishing them well in their futures. He also thanked their parents for their support and acknowledged the work of the excellent team of teachers in the school. by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, August 23, 2024 Bill Clintons speech at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night was like a class in public speaking. The former president, now 78, spoke for a half-hour and held the vast audience in the United Center in the palm of his hand. How did he do it? The TV Blog attempts to answer that question with these lessons in oratory from Bill Clinton. Exude self-confidence: Sure, it must be easy by now for Bill Clinton to speak before audiences in the many thousands. But as he demonstrated, relaxing before ones audience is important because it establishes a connection with them from the get-go. Avoid fire and brimstone, and speak in conversational tones: Clintons speech was less like a speech and more like a conversation around the ol cracker barrel at the general store. advertisement advertisement The late Paul Harvey once told me that when he did his self-styled newscasts, he imagined he was talking to his Aunt Betty. Clinton seemed to be doing much the same thing. Maintain an upbeat demeanor: One of Clintons charms Wednesday night was that he did not adopt a tone of gloom and doom. This set him apart from other convention speakers. Instead, Clinton spoke reassuringly, gently cautioning his Democratic audience not to take their opponent lightly. But at the same time, his tone said, We got this. Speak inclusively: Clinton used the word we a lot, as in: Im just another guy who happens to be a Democrat. We are all in this together. Be humble: He spoke humbly, in familiar tones, when he talked about the number of jobs created in America by Democrats and Republicans since 1989. Youre gonna have a hard time believin this, Clinton said, who frequently left the g off his -ing words in a folksy way. But so help me, I triple-checked it. Since the end of the Cold War in 1989, America has created about 51 million new jobs. I swear I checked this three times. Even I couldnt believe it. Whats the score? Democrats 50, Republicans 1! Strive for simple phrases and statements: The above job-creation score was a great example. Others included a shot at Trumps outsized ego. The next time you hear him, Clinton said of Trump, dont count the lies, count the Is! Clinton even used a folksy phrase to describe all of the programs, initiatives and progress Democrats are juggling right how. Said he, We Democrats right now have a lot of hay in the barn. Throughout his speech, he put his ideas and statements in simple terms. Every four years people come at the candidates and they say, as theyre saying now: Here are our problems -- solve them. Here are our opportunities -- seize them. Here are our fears -- ease them. Here are our dreams -- help them come true. Vote for Pedro? Vote for me and all your wildest dreams will come true! said Pedro in Napoleon Dynamite when he ran for student body president. The slogan got him elected. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, August 23, 2024 U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C. has ordered Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey to halt his investigation of the watchdog Media Matters over its critical report about brand safety on X. Mehta hasn't yet issued a written opinion spelling out his reasons for the injunction, which he issued Thursday. The order came several months after Mehta issued a similar injunction against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who also attempted to investigate Media Matters. Mehta said at the time that Paxton's investigation likely reflected an unconstitutional attempt to chill Media Matters' reporting activity, which is protected by the First Amendment. (Paxton has appealed the injunction to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which hasn't yet issued a decision.) Both Paxton and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey launched their investigations at around the same time that X, formerly Twitter, sued Media Matters for reporting that ads for Apple, Bravo, IBM and Oracle were being placed next to pro-Nazi posts on the platform. advertisement advertisement X alleged in its suit that Media Matters manipulated X's algorithms in order to bypass safeguards and create images of Xs largest advertisers paid posts adjacent to racist, incendiary content. X also said the ad placements highlighted in Media Matters' report were inorganic and rare. Bailey, like Paxton, subpoenaed a host of material from Media Matters -- including internal documents relating to its report about brand safety on X. Among other items, Bailey's subpoena specifically sought any documents discussing Elon Musk's purchase of X, and any communications relating to Media Matters' supposed strategy to pressure advertisers into pulling advertisements from the social media platform. In March, while Media Matters' request for an injunction against Paxton was pending, Bailey asked petitioned a state court judge in Missouri to order Media Matters to comply with the subpoena. Bailey alleged in his petition that Media Matters used fraud to solicit donations from Missourians in order to trick advertisers into removing their advertisements from X, formerly Twitter, one of the last platforms dedicated to free speech in America. Media Matters then sought a federal injunction blocking Bailey's investigation. Baileys demand, like Paxtons, seeks to rifle through Media Matterss most sensitive internal documents ... in retaliation for Media Matterss reporting about X, the group alleged in its complaint, filed in April with Mehta. Media Matters added that Bailey knew of the group's lawsuit against Paxton and likely engineered the Missouri 'investigation' as a backup to the one in Texas. Mehta's new order prohibits Bailey from issuing any additional subpoenas or taking any steps to mandate action by Media Matter and its employees. by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, August 23, 2024 An appellate court has revived the Washington, D.C. attorney general's claims that Amazon's restrictions on its marketplace vendors stifled competition and resulted in higher prices for consumers. The ruling, issued by three-judge panel of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, reversed District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Hiram Puig-Lugo's order dismissing the case. The decision comes in a legal battle dating to 2021, when former District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine alleged that Amazon unlawfully restricts competition by preventing third-party vendors on its platform from charging lower prices at other sites -- including the vendors' own retail platforms. He argued that the policy led to higher prices for consumers. Amazon said that in 2019 it discontinued its price parity policy, which prohibited third-party vendors from charging lower prices elsewhere on the web. But Racine alleged that Amazon merely replaced that prohibition with a similar fair pricing policy mandate. advertisement advertisement Puig-Lugo dismissed the case in 2022 for several reasons, including that he believed the complaint against Amazon lacked specificity. The District simply repeated vague conclusion after vague conclusion devoid of facts to support the vague conclusions it repeatedly stated, Puig-Lugo wrote. Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb appealed that ruling, arguing that Amazon's terms, combined with its fees, lead to higher prices for consumers. Because Amazon has much higher fees than other marketplaces, sellers could profitably charge a lower price on competing websites were it not for Amazons [restrictions], Schwalb argued. The appellate panel sided against Amazon, writing that the allegations, if proven true, could prove that the company ran afoul of antitrust law. Amazon says it disagrees with the District of Columbia's allegations and plans to demonstrate how good these policies are for consumers. Just like any store owner who wouldnt want to promote a bad deal to their customers, we dont highlight or promote offers that are not competitively priced, the spokesperson stated. The Federal Trade Commission last year filed a similar antitrust lawsuit against Amazon, which is pending in front of U.S. District Court Judge John Chun in Seattle. On Friday, the FTC called Chun's attention to the District of Columbia appellate decision. Highlights: Monkeypox (Mpox) was first declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) in July 2022 during a multi-country outbreak primarily affecting new regions A new strain of mpox, Clade 1b, has emerged and is spreading rapidly primarily through sexual networks Over 15,600 cases and 537 deaths have been reported this year in the Democratic Republic of Congo Trusted Source Mpox (monkeypox) Go to source Trusted Source Did You Know? WHO has approved two mpox vaccines in response to the rapid spread of clade 1b, a new virus strain of monkeypox. #medindia #monkeypox #WHO #vaccine WHO has approved two mpox vaccines in response to the rapid spread of clade 1b, a new virus strain of monkeypox. #medindia #monkeypox #WHO #vaccine Advertisement Origin of Monkeypox Trusted Source WHO Director-General declares mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern Go to source Trusted Source Advertisement Variants of Monkeypox Clade I (formerly the Central African, Congo Basin clade). Clade II (formerly the West African clade). Advertisement New Strain of Monkeypox Symptoms of Monkeypox Rash/ Lesions Fever Sore throat Headache Muscle aches Back pain Fatigue Swollen lymph nodes Characteristics of Monkeypox Rashes and Lesions Palms of the hands and soles of the feet Face, mouth, and throat Groin and genital areas Anus Treatment and Prevention Vaccination Health workers at risk of exposure Men who have sex with men People with multiple sex partners Sex workers Self-Care When Infected Stay home and isolate yourself Wear a mask and cover lesions when around other people until your rash is healed. Keep your skin dry and uncovered when not in contact with others Avoid touching items and disinfect shared spaces frequently. Use saltwater rinses for sores in the mouth. Take sitz baths or warm baths with baking soda or Epsom salts for body sores. Take over-the-counter medications for pain, such as paracetamol (acetaminophen) or ibuprofen. Popping blisters or scratching the sores, as this can slow down healing, spread the rash to other parts of the body, and cause sores to become infected. Avoid shaving areas with sores until the scabs have healed and you have new skin underneath, as this can spread the rash to other parts of the body. Mpox (monkeypox) - (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/monkeypox) WHO Director-General declares mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern - (https://www.who.int/news/item/14-08-2024-who-director-general-declares-mpox-outbreak-a-public-health-emergency-of-international-concern) The recent outbreak of Monkeypox in Africa has been declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) by the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR).The virus is spreading through sexual contact and has caused over 15,600 cases and 537 deaths this year in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Precautionary safety measures have been provided to countries to address the rapid spread of the virus (). Monkeypox (Mpox) is a contagious viral disease caused by the monkeypox virus (MPXV). The first documented infected human was a nine-month-old boy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1970, at a time when efforts to eradicate smallpox were progressing.In 2017, monkeypox re-emerged in Nigeria and continues to spread across the country and to other destinations through travelers. In May 2022, an outbreak of monkeypox rapidly spread across Europe and the Americas, primarily affecting gay, bisexual, and men who have sex with men and has spread person-to-person through sexual networks ().Monkeypox has two distinct genetic groups of the virus:Clade I is more severe and has greater potential for transmission between humans and higher fatality rates.The Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) was declared due to the rapid spread ofa new virus strain primarily transmitted through sexual networks. Over 100 confirmed cases have been reported in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda in the last month. Various strains of mpox have caused outbreaks in different countries with different transmission routes.The WHO has approved two mpox vaccines, which are also approved by individual nations such as Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.Last week, the Director-General initiated the approval process for mpox vaccines for emergency use. This will help lower-income nations to receive vaccines without national regulatory approval. Gavi (Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization) and UNICEF can now procure vaccines for distribution. The WHO is working with countries and vaccine manufacturers for vaccine donations and seeking donations to cover the response cost for mpox.Monkeypox virus is prevalent among primates and small rodents, mainly in Africa, and can cause global outbreaks. The hosts for the virus remain unknown, but small animals such as squirrels and monkeys are susceptible to infection. People with mpox are infectious and can pass the disease on to others until all sores have healed and a new layer of skin has formed.Monkeypox can be transmitted through direct contact with infectious skin or other lesions. Symptoms appear within 1-21 days after exposure.Commonly noticed symptoms of Monkeypox are as follows:The rash caused by mpox starts on the face and spreads over the body, including the palms and soles. It develops over 2-4 weeks in stages.The rash begins as a flat sore, which then turns into a blister filled with liquid, and it may be itchy or painful. The sores then dip in the center before forming crusts and eventually scabbing over. These scabs then fall off.Some individuals may have one or a few skin lesions, while others may have hundreds or more. These lesions can appear anywhere on the body, including:Additionally, some individuals may experience painful swelling of the rectum, as well as pain and difficulty during urination.Mpox treatment aims to decrease the rashes, ease the pain, and prevent complications. Early and supportive care is crucial for managing symptoms and preventing the progression of the condition.Vaccinations should be administered to anyone who has been exposed to the virus, regardless of whether they show symptoms. Isolation protocols need to be followed for individuals who have been infected or are suspected of being infected. Public education efforts should be undertaken to raise awareness about the symptoms and preventive measures.The vaccine should be administered within 4 days of contact with someone who has mpox (or within up to 14 days if there are no symptoms). It is recommended for people at high risk of mpox infection, especially during an outbreak.This includes:Monkeypox, though not as deadly as smallpox, still needs careful public health measures to stop it from spreading. The key to controlling monkeypox is timely vaccination, strict isolation rules, and public education. Understanding the importance of these measures is crucial for preventing more outbreaks and protecting global health.Source-Medindia Trusted Source Pan-pathogen deep sequencing of nosocomial bacterial pathogens in Italy in spring 2020: a prospective cohort study Go to source Trusted Source Did You Know? Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) pose a major risk to patient safety, affecting about 1 in 31 hospitalized patients. The U.S. sees over a million HAIs each year, leading to tens of thousands of deaths and costing billions in healthcare expenses. #genomesequencing #hospitalinfection #medindia Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) pose a major risk to patient safety, affecting about 1 in 31 hospitalized patients. The U.S. sees over a million HAIs each year, leading to tens of thousands of deaths and costing billions in healthcare expenses. #genomesequencing #hospitalinfection #medindia Advertisement Challenges Posed by Multi Drug-Resistant Bacteria in Hospital Settings Advertisement Comparison of old vs New Techniques Advertisement How the New Genomic Study Will Help Track and Limit Spread of Treatment-Resistant Bacteria Pan-pathogen deep sequencing of nosocomial bacterial pathogens in Italy in spring 2020: a prospective cohort study - (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanmic/article/PIIS2666-5247(24)00113-7/fulltext) Scientists have created an innovative genomic method capable of monitoring the spread of various superbugs within a hospital setting, concurrently. This technique would support in enhancing the speed and effectiveness of preventing and managing the common hospital infections ().The study, a proof-of-concept type, presents an innovative deep sequencing technique that simultaneously identifies all common infectious bacteria within a hospital setting. In contrast to the existing methods that culture and sequence pathogens individually, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive, this new approach is more efficient and less time consuming. The study was conducted by the researchers at Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Oslo, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo in Italy, and their collaborators.The study captured the full range of pathogenic bacteria detected in intensive care units (ICUs) and general wards of various hospitals during the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In addition, the researchers were able to detect the types of bacteria affecting patients, including the antibiotic-resistant strains commonly found in hospital environments. The study was published today (20 August) in theThe study revealed that every ICU patient examined showed presence of at least one type of treatment-resistant bacteria, with most patients showing multiple types of bacteria concurrently.Researchers are of the opinion that their methodology can be incorporated into current hospital clinical surveillance frameworks. Given the intensive occurrence of drug resistance in healthcare environments, this system has the potential to identify, monitor, and mitigate the propagation of common multidrug-resistant bacteria simultaneously.Bacteria are frequently present in or on the human body without leading to any adverse effects, a phenomenon referred to as colonization. However, if specific strains enter the bloodstream as a result of a weak immune system, they may result in serious and potentially fatal infections, unless they are successfully managed with antibiotics An additional challenge faced by healthcare providers is the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (AMR). Infections resulting from AMR bacteria pose a significant problem within hospitals, with projections indicating that these treatment-resistant pathogens may lead to more fatalities than cancer by the year 2050. Although certain hospitals conduct tests for AMR bacteria upon patient admission, there is currently no system in place to monitor all multidrug-resistant bacteria across the entire hospital.In the past 15 years, genomic surveillance has emerged as an important tool for monitoring the evolution and transmission of pathogens, offering vital information to help in controlling spread of disease.The existing techniques require culturing of individual bacterial strains from a sample, followed by separate whole genome sequencing for each strain. This approach is labor-intensive, often taking several days, and yields only a limited view of the clinically significant bacteria present in a sample.A recent study conducted by the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Oslo, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo in Italy, and their collaborators introduced an innovative method that enables the simultaneous capture of whole genome sequencing data from various pathogens, at a time. This technique, referred to as a pan-pathogen deep sequencing approach, is capable of delivering genomic data as swiftly as hospitals can analyze the samples.The team took samples from 256 patients in an Italian hospital, capturing bacteria found in the gut, upper airways, and lungs. The 2,418 DNA samples could be associated with 52 species of bacteria. Among these, 66 percent (2,148) were made up of different strains of the seven most common bacterial infections seen in hospitals.They found that patients in ICUs were colonised by at least one bacterium with the potential to cause severe disease at any time, and that clinically important AMR genes were present in at least 40 percent of these.The team effectively mapped the spread of hospital bacteria across a 5-week sampling timeframe, allowing them to also predict which bacteria were most likely to appear in infections acquired while in the hospital.Professor Jukka Corander, co-senior author from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and the University of Oslo, said: Our method that captures genetic information on multiple bacterial strains at the same time has the potential to transform the genomic surveillance of pathogens, enabling us to capture essential information both quicker and more comprehensively than ever before without losing resolution. With our proof-of-concept study, this approach can now confidently be used in future research to capture the full breadth of high-risk bacteria in an area, and hopefully by hospitals to help track and limit the spread of treatment-resistant bacteria.Dr Harry Thorpe, first author from the University of Oslo and visiting worker at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said: Our study is an example of how we can use the power of genomics to create a full picture of antibiotic-resistant bacteria across intensive care units and also elsewhere in hospitals. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria evolve and spread quickly, and therefore our tracking methods have to keep pace with them. Knowing the sequencing of all the bacteria in a sample gives a more complete picture of the diversity found in an area, which is crucial in predicting risk and understanding the external factors involved in the spread of a specific strain.Professor Fausto Baldanti, Director of the Microbiology and Virology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, said Our Unit detected the first COVID-19 case in the Western world, and we witnessed the dawn of the pandemic along with the huge scientific effort worldwide on SARS-COV2. However, the study by our researchers showed that superbugs did not disappear. Indeed, the simultaneous presence of multiple species of drug-resistant bacteria in ICU wards admitting COVID-19 patients could have been a relevant component of the clinical manifestation of the new disease in those dramatic days.Professor Nicholas Thomson, co-senior author from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said: Antibiotic-resistant infections are an ongoing issue in hospitals, and while healthcare professionals work hard to minimise these as much as possible, its hard to fight against something you cant fully see. Integrating a deep genomic sequencing approach into healthcare systems in this way gives those working in hospitals a new opportunity to see and track these bacteria, assisting in diagnosing infections and allowing outbreaks to be identified and controlled. Integration of this approach could help develop and improve guidelines for assessing and managing the risk of treatment-resistant infections for all the patients in a hospital, particularly those on intensive care units.To summarize, this novel technique holds significant importance in the management of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which pose a substantial threat within hospital settings. By incorporating this method into current hospital surveillance systems, healthcare professionals can enhance their ability to identify, monitor, and mitigate the dissemination of these hazardous pathogens.Source-Eurekalert Trusted Source Unraveling the physiological and psychosocial signatures of pain by machine learning Go to source Trusted Source Overuse of opioids can cause addiction and death! #pain #machinelearning #treatment #medindia Advertisement Personalizing Pain Treatment Advertisement Analyzing Pain Perception Advertisement Precision Medicine Is Made Possible by Machine Learning Unraveling the physiological and psychosocial signatures of pain by machine learning - (https:www.cell.com/med/fulltext/S2666-6340(24)00298-8?) Pain is an unpleasant feeling that can be sharp or dull. There are often physical reasons for severe pain. However, emotional, psychological, and social factors can affect our perception and response to pain. Pain is usually made up of a physical and a psychosocial component, says Noemi Gozzi, ETH Zurich doctorate student ().Doctors usually consider this while recommending a course of treatment. However, it hasnt been easy to differentiate one component from the other. Based on the patients complaints, doctors often use simple procedures to assess pain and its severity.This frequently results in unrelated treatments. Opioid medications continue to see widespread use despite their drawbacks, side effects, decline in effectiveness, and the possibility of developing an addiction to the drug or overdose death.In recent years, Stanisa Raspopovics group at ETH Zurich, of which Gozzi is a member, has worked with researchers at Balgrist University Hospital in Zurich to develop an approach that can clearly distinguish and quantify physical and psychosocial components of pain. They have published their new method in the current issue of the journal Med. Raspopovic was a Professor of Neuroengineering at ETH Zurich until recently.Our new approach should help physicians to assess patients pain more individually and thus offer them more tailored personalized treatment in the future, Raspopovic says. If the pain is primarily physical, doctors are likely to focus their treatment on the physical level, including the use of medications or physiotherapy . If, on the other hand, psychosocial factors play a major role in the patients experience of pain, it may be indicated to positively change the perception of pain with psychological or psychotherapeutic support.To develop the new method, the researchers analyzed data from 118 volunteers including people with chronic pain and healthy controls. The researchers asked the study participants in detail about their perception of pain and any psychosocial characteristics such as depression, anxiety, and fatigue and how often they were in so much pain that they were unable to go to work.In addition, the researchers recorded how well the participants can distract themselves from pain, and the extent to which pain gets them brooding or makes them helpless and causes them to overestimate the pain.The researchers used standardized measurements of sensations of spontaneous pain to compare the subjects perceptions of pain. Participants were administered small, non-dangerous but painful pulses of heat on their skin. To record the physical reaction to the pain, the researchers measured the study participants brain activity using an electroencephalogram (EEG) and the electrical conductivity of the skin.The latter changes depending on how much someone is sweating and it is used to measure stress, pain, and emotional arousal. Finally, the extensive dataset included the diagnoses of the study participants, which were made by the researchers at Balgrist University Hospital.Machine learning helped the researchers to analyze a large amount of data, clearly distinguish between the two pain components, and develop a new index for each. The index for the physical component of pain indicates the extent to which the pain is caused by physical processes.The index for the psychosocial component indicates how strongly emotional and psychological factors intensify the pain. Finally, the scientists validated these two factors using the participants comprehensive measurement data.The new method, with its combination of measuring body signals, self-disclosure, computerized evaluation, and the resulting two indices, is intended to help physicians treat pain. Our method enables physicians to precisely characterize the pain a particular person is suffering so they can better decide what kind of targeted treatment is needed, Gozzi says.The researchers at ETH Zurich and Balgrist University Hospital are continuing this project; together with the Clinique romande de readaptation in Sion and the spinal cord injury department of a hospital in Pietra Ligure, Italy: theyre investigating the clinical relevance of the new method in a long-term study.Source-Eurekalert Trusted Source Antimicrobial resistance Go to source Trusted Source In South-East Asia, 170,000 people developed #drugresistant #tuberculosis in 2022, but only 43% were diagnosed and treated. #Nepal is among the 30 high burden countries for drug-resistant #TB globally. #Asia Experts Urge Action to Prevent Anti-Microbial Resistance in South Asia World Health Organization Advertisement Advertisement Medias Crucial Role in Combating AMR: A Quadripartite Toolkit Antimicrobial resistance - (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial-resistance) "No one is safe until everyone is safe," stated Dr. Umesh Dahal, Director General of the Department of Livestock Services, Government of Nepal. He was highlighting the issue of antimicrobial resistance , (AMR) () where microbes (like bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites) no longer respond to medicines, making diseases increasingly hard or even impossible to treat.The misuse and overuse of antimicrobial medicines are alarmingly high in human and animal health and agriculture, affecting the environment as well. As AMR rises, medications are becoming less effective in treating diseases across humans, plants, and animals."AMR can be prevented," said Dr. Palpasa Kansakar,(WHO) National Professional Officer for AMR and Laboratories in Nepal. Dr. Palpasa and Dr. Umesh were among the experts at the South Asia Media Workshop to prevent AMR organised by Health TV Online, Global AMR Media Alliance (GAMA), Ministry of Health and Population of Nepal and partners."Universal access to high quality and affordable antimicrobials is an essential component of universal health coverage, said Dr. Palpasa. She also pointed out that access to WHO recommended diagnostics and standard treatments should also be ensured at all levels for everyone if we are to deliver on universal health coverage.Timely and accurate diagnosis and right treatment can help reduce misuse and overuse of medicines. Infection prevention and control is vital too. But reality on the ground tells a different tale.Drug susceptibility test tells us if a medicine will work against a disease-causing microbe or not. Around 32% of doctors and other healthcare workers have access to laboratory facilities that can test for drug susceptibility test in their healthcare institutions and among them, less than half (49%) recommend these tests before prescribing medicines, said Dr. Pramod Joshi, Executive Chief, Nepal Health Research Council, Government of Nepal. This data is from a study done by Nepal Health Research Council.This study also found that only half (54%) of the doctors and healthcare workers had access to national guidelines for antibiotic prescriptions. Almost half of the medicine-dispensers (43.4%) dispensed antibiotics without prescription, added Dr. Pramod Joshi. Among those patients who came to seek healthcare in outpatient clinics, 22% to 28% of them were found to buy antibiotics without prescriptions and did not complete the full recommended course of antibiotics.The study referred to by Dr. Joshi also looked at antimicrobial use by veterinary doctors. One-third of veterinarians had access to drug susceptibility testing facilities in their working areas. But only 32% of them went for this test before prescribing antibiotics, said Dr. Pramod Joshi.Antimicrobials are also used in food and agriculture. This study found that more than 50% of the farmers thought (wrongly) that antibiotics can be used against all types of diseases in plants and animals. Almost half of the farmers self-medicated their animals - and two-thirds of them arbitrarily increased the dosage and frequency of medication if no sign of improvement was noticed, said Dr. Joshi.The cost of AMR to the economy is significant. According to a World Bank report in 2017, if no action is taken now, AMR is likely to cause additional health expenditure of US$ 1.2 trillion per year by 2050 and push up to 24 million additional people (particularly in low-income countries) into extreme poverty by 2030. AMR can directly affect progress in achieving at least 6 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and can also be linked indirectly to the remaining 11. Moreover, the spread of new resistant strains of bacteria in terrestrial and aquatic animals increases animal suffering and losses. This in turn affects livelihoods worldwide, as 1.3 billion people rely on livestock for their living and over 20 million people depend on aquaculture, said Dr. Joshi.If antibiotics lose their effectiveness, we lose the ability not only to treat bacterial infections but also to manage other health conditions. For example, modern medicine is often dependent on infection prevention and control, and the ability to prevent and treat infections using antimicrobials - such as during surgeries, said WHO Nepals Dr. Palpasa Kansakar. We should only use antimicrobials when prescribed by certified health professionals and never demand antibiotics if our health workers say we do not need them. Please always follow your health workers advice when using antibiotics.Agrees Dr. Sangeeta Mishra, Director General of Health Service Department, Ministry of Health and Population, Government of Nepal: "We have to educate the people to say NO to misuse and overuse of antimicrobial medicines - without correct and timely diagnosis and drug susceptibility testing, they should decline the indiscriminate use of medicines."Dr. Mishra added that "Let us ask questions to doctors why are we being prescribed antimicrobial medicines? Is the diagnosis accurate? Is drug susceptibility test report there? We also need to do a reality check on who should write a prescription. If a doctor is authorised to do so then what happens to those who reside in remote areas where there is no doctor?"Various forms of media help to shape public opinion, narratives and discourse that affect public behaviour, knowledge, attitudes and practice. Media also help to dispel myths and misconceptions, combat misinformation and promote evidence- and science-based information. Media were therefore identified as one of four priorities during two global consultations for raising awareness about AMR, organized in 2022 by the Quadripartite organizations - the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), World Health Organization (WHO) and World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). In response, the Quadripartite developed a practical toolkit for engaging media in AMR and launched it last month.A major share of those who deal with drug-resistant infections and untimely deaths associated with AMR is attributed to TB (tuberculosis).Drug-resistant forms of TB infected an estimated 410,000 people in 2022 globally as per the WHO Global TB Report 2023, informed Dr. Prajowl Shrestha, Director of National TB Programme of Nepal. But only 43% of them (176,650) were diagnosed and initiated on treatment in the same year or in other words, only 2 out of every 5 people with drug-resistant TB could get diagnosed and put on treatment.AMR threatens the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections. For instance, urinary tract infections, upper respiratory tract infections, typhoid and influenza are becoming difficult to treat, resulting in treatment failure, permanent disability or even death. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics directly caused 1.27 million deaths and indirectly caused, contributed to or was associated with an additional 4.95 million deaths annually in 2019. The emergence of extensively drug- resistant gonorrhoea is another major public health concern.Strengthening infection prevention and control, along with boosting access to standard quality diagnostics and treatments with equity globally - especially in low- and middle-income countries - is vital to curb AMR. Raising awareness and health literacy is a bedrock to advance progress towards preventing AMR, as well as towards universal health coverage.Let us hope world leaders at next months United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AMR will commit for stronger action to effectively address the global health threat that AMR poses.Source-CNS As part of our series to celebrate the launch of Civilization V, we are asking the question: who was the greatest military leader of all time? In this article Dr Jonathan Eaton explains why he believes Ramesses II is the greatest. Great leaders should be assessed not by the extent of their territorial gains, but by the worth of their opponents. Greater skill is required to snatch an uneasy victory from certain defeat than to win through overwhelming martial superiority. Ramesses II is widely remembered as one of the last great pharaohs and a key protagonist in one of the most well known clashes of antiquity, the battle of Kadesh. As pharaoh, Ramesses sought to protect and consolidate Egypts borders. He had previously defeated pirates who plagued the Delta region. The north-western frontier was bolstered by a defensive line of forts, which discouraged incursions from Libya. Territorial expansion was only viable in the east, yet here Egypt faced conflict with the powerful Hittite empire. In particular, Ramesses wished to retake the city state of Kadesh, which frequently switched its allegiance between the two neighbouring superpowers. Conquest of the city would demonstrate that Egypt had the power to enforce its will over its Eastern neighbours. Battle of Kadesh In 1274 BCE, Ramesses II advanced on Kadesh with an army of around 20,000 men, comprising of both infantry and charioteers. The Egyptian army was divided into four divisions, named after the gods Amun, Ptah, Ra and Seth. On the approach to the city, Bedouin tribesmen reported that the Hittite force had retreated to over 120 miles away. Ramesses and his Amun division advanced with confidence and constructed his camp within sight of Kadesh, with the other divisions spread out behind. In fact the intelligence was faulty and the enemy were hidden behind the city. Ramesses had walked blindly into a Hittite trap. With little warning, a huge detachment of 2500 Hittite chariots descended on the division of Ra as it marched towards the camp. Hittite chariots carried two soldiers as well as the charioteer and were specifically designed for close-range combat. Egyptian survivors of the initial assault fled in disarray as the Hittites poured into the Egyptian camp. Yet it was at this point, as the pharaoh stood alone and defeat seemed certain, that Ramesses proved his worth. He leapt into his war chariot and personally drove back the Hittite advance from the camp. As the Hittites faltered, they were hit by a second setback. Egyptian reinforcements had been sent by sea and fortuitously appeared in time to help Ramesses repel the Hittites. Ramesses return On returning to Egypt, Ramesses had poems and images of his victory displayed throughout his realm. The victory at Kadesh brought no significant territorial gain, but it did demonstrate that Egypt would not be intimidated by its rival superpower. Eighteen years later, a formal peace treaty was agreed between the Hittite and Egyptian empires, allowing a peaceful and mutually beneficial co-existence. Ramesses IIs military worth can be seen in his success in securing Egypts frontiers and willingness to confront the Hittites. At Kadesh, he proved that great commanders may make mistakes in his case relying on faulty intelligence but true genius lies in the instinctive actions made in that key moment of every battle where victory or defeat is decided. Voting is now closed Inside the cavernous Lockheed Martin aircraft manufacturing plant at Dobbins Air Reserve Base, employees Thursday celebrated nearly 70 years of flight for the C-130 tactical airlifter -- built in Marietta as the longest-running military aircraft production line in history. Since the first flight on Aug. 23, 1954, of the large turboprop plane now known as the Hercules, it has been used to drop bombs, spy on targets and attack them with cannons, according to Lockheed Martin. It has also been used for humanitarian missions around the world. Its cargo hold is fully pressurized and can be reconfigured to carry troops, passengers, equipment or stretchers. Its longevity is due to its versatility for a variety of missions. Rod McLean, Lockheed Martin's vice president and general manager of the Marietta site, said the anniversary "just signifies how Lockheed Martin is one of the key cornerstones of Cobb County and the metro Atlanta region's economy." In Cobb County, there are daily flights overhead of C-130s used for training by air reserve crews at Dobbins, or for test flights of new C-130Js just built. During an all-employee event Thursday for the anniversary, Lockheed Martin also honored four employees who have worked there for at least 60 years. C-130 history The birth of the C-130 stretches back to the United States' entry into the Korean War. The U.S. Air Force commissioned what was then Lockheed Aircraft Corp. to build a military cargo transport that could airlift combat troops and deliver them to small airfields. After successful prototypes were built in Burbank, California, Lockheed moved the C-130 program to its facility in Marietta, then known as Lockheed-Georgia Company. Since then, more than 2,700 C-130s have been ordered or delivered to more than 60 nations. The version currently manufactured in Marietta is the C-130J Super Hercules. C-130s have been used for airdrops, deliveries, medical transport or other passenger transport during humanitarian crises, including in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. In January, the Georgia Air National Guard received its first of eight C-130J-30 Super Hercules tactical airlifters, though the Savannah-based 165th Airlift Wing has operated several other variants of the Hercules over the years. C-130s have also been used to fight fires and are deployed by the Air Force Reserve Command's Hurricane Hunters weather reconnaissance squadron, which flies into the eyes of hurricanes to measure wind speed and barometric pressure and improve accuracy of National Hurricane Center forecasts. There have also been some tragedies. Among them, in 2018, a C-130 crashed onto Ga. 21 shortly after takeoff from Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport. Nine airmen in the Puerto Rico National Guard were killed. The future for Hercules It's yet to be seen what the ultimate life span of C-130 production will be. The volume of C-130Js built in Marietta has declined to about 20 a year from 34 back in 2012. The peak year for C-130 deliveries was early on in the production line, in 1957, when 140 were delivered in one year. "I would have told you in 2010 that we wouldn't be producing C-130Js in 2020," said Lockheed Martin Aeronautics President Greg Ulmer. "We're going to be producing C-130Js in 2035 and beyond." That forecast is based on a combination of firm orders for production into the 2030s and expectations to sell more C-130s, according to McLean. The International Association of Machinists union, which represents workers at the Marietta plant, said it has been "actively working on Capitol Hill to maintain the current production levels" of the C-130J. The union and members of Congress in May pushed for funding for the C-130J program in the federal government's fiscal year 2025 budget, and warned there could be negative consequences of a drop in production. "IAM Local 709 members in Marietta have consistently produced superior aircraft," said IAM Southern Territory General Vice President Craig Martin in a written statement. "These jobs are crucial not only for this community but also for supporting jobs across Georgia and the nation. We are proud of our members' work and look forward to celebrating future milestones." A Timeline of the C-130 Aug. 23, 1954: First flight of YC-130 prototype at Burbank, California 1955: The first production C-130 is flown at the Lockheed-Georgia facility in Marietta 1956: The C-130A, the first production model of the C-130, enters service 1957: A record 140 C-130s are delivered in a single year 1961: Lockheed becomes an integrated assembly line and is a pilot plant in the South to then-President John F. Kennedy's equal opportunity policy 1994: C-130J Super Hercules production begins in Marietta 1998: C-130J enters service 2012: Peak production of the C-130J with 34 aircraft produced in a single year 2015: The 2500th Hercules is delivered to Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta 2024: Lockheed Martin celebrates 70 years since the first flight of the C-130 Source: Lockheed Martin 2024 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. WASHINGTON The Biden administration will send about $125 million in new military aid to Ukraine, U.S. officials said Thursday, even as Washington works to get a better understanding of Kyiv's incursion into Russia and how it advances the broader battlefield goals more than two years into the war. U.S. officials said the latest package of aid includes air defense missiles, munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Javelins and an array of other anti-armor missiles, counter-drone and counter-electronic warfare systems and equipment, 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition, vehicles and other equipment. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the aid has not been publicly announced. The formal announcement could come as soon as Friday, which is the eve of Ukraine's Independence Day. The weapons are being provided through presidential drawdown authority, which means they are taken from Pentagon stockpiles and can be delivered more quickly. The aid comes as Ukrainian forces continue to broaden their surprise offensive into Russia, where officials say they have taken about 100 square kilometers (62 square miles) of territory around Kursk. Russian troops, meanwhile, are making gains in the east, around the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a critical logistics hub. Pentagon officials have said repeatedly that the U.S. has been talking with Ukrainian leaders to get a better assessment of their longer-term goals for the Kursk operation, particularly as they see Russia advancing near Pokrovsk. If Pokrovsk falls, the defeat would imperil Ukraines defenses and bring Russia closer to its stated aim of capturing the Donetsk region. Russian soldiers are now just 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away. Asked about the Kursk operation, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Thursday that we are still working with Ukraine on how that fits into their strategic objectives on the battlefield itself. The U.S., she said, understands that Ukraine wants to build a buffer zone along the border, but the administration still has more questions about how it furthers Ukraine's broader war effort. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his first visit Thursday to the border area where his forces launched the offensive on Aug. 6. He said Kyivs military had taken control of another Russian village and captured more prisoners of war. The latest package of aid brings the total amount of U.S. security assistance to Ukraine to more than $55.7 billion since Russia's invasion in February 2022. The Department of Veterans Affairs has established a new website and call center to help veterans who think they've been defrauded or charged exorbitant or illicit fees -- former service members such as Navy veteran David Rouse, who recently learned he owes a company nearly $9,000 for helping with his disability claim. A former boatswain's mate and master of arms who served until 2015, Rouse has several service-connected conditions, including post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep apnea and musculoskeletal problems, and was awarded a disability rating of 80% a few years ago. Recently, when his life circumstances changed, he decided to apply for a ratings increase and reached out to Trajector Medical, a company he found through a targeted advertisement that specializes in collecting medical information to support VA disability claims. Read Next: Suspended Army 4-Star Asks for Command Back After Pressuring Panel to Prop Up Career of Unfit Subordinate He got his upgrade within two months. But he also received an unexpected, massive bill from Trajector for $8,829.05. He said he had no idea he would be charged so much. "I'm not saying I don't want to pay; I'll pay a percentage. But nearly three times my back pay? That's highway robbery," Rouse said in an interview with Military.com The VA announced earlier this month that its fraud prevention and complaint program, called VSAFE, has a new website and hotline, 1-833-388-7233, for veterans and family members to learn about fraud schemes and report potential scams. The VSAFE, or Veterans, Servicemembers and Families Fraud Evasion, program actually was established last year with the White House's Interagency Policy Council to determine how to protect veterans against fraud. The improved website and call center are the fruits of that effort, with added resources from a litany of federal agencies, including the Defense Department, Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration and Federal Trade Commission. Fraud and predatory practices have become a major concern at the VA following passage of the PACT Act, the law that expanded health care and benefits to millions of veterans exposed to environmental hazards while serving in certain areas. According to the VA, the promise of disability benefits to so many beneficiaries may make veterans and families "targets for bad actors." "We know that more veterans than ever before are now receiving VA benefits, which sadly means that more bad actors are trying to steal those benefits. That's why we're launching these tools: to give these heroes every tool at the federal government's disposal to protect themselves and their families," VA Secretary Denis McDonough said Aug. 9 in a statement. By law, companies are barred from charging veterans any fees for filing initial disability claims and are not allowed to assist veterans with any claims unless they are accredited by the VA Office of General Counsel. The VA recommends that veterans who need assistance seek it from an accredited veterans service organization, a state or local veterans services officer, or approved claims agent. Since passage of the PACT Act, the number of for-profit companies that charge for those services has increased exponentially with no limits on the amount of fees they charge. The companies say that, with the VA's number of disability claims as well as its backlog -- nearly 1 million pending claims with one-quarter of those older than 125 days as of this month, they provide options for those who don't understand the system or have the energy to fight for approval. They have formed a government advocacy group, the National Association for Veteran Rights, to promote the industry and support legislation that allows companies to provide services. The association is led by Peter O'Rourke, former acting VA secretary and VA chief of staff under the Trump administration. "We can do better. This trade association advocates for ethical and transparent business practices for companies that support our veterans," O'Rourke says in a video on the group's website. Veterans advocates argue that the companies' practices are predatory and illegal, given that no unaccredited companies are permitted to help veterans with claims. "This scourge took on a whole new life during COVID-19 and really preyed on veterans, survivors and military caregivers who didn't know where to turn for benefits help," Ryan Gallucci, executive director of the VFW's Washington office, said during a press conference in Washington, D.C., last November. "The bottom line is this: Predatory claim-shark companies are engaging in illegal activities," said VFW National Commander Duane Sarmiento during the same press conference. "There is no gray area here, no matter how much money they want to throw at it. Their latest collusion is a desperate attempt to avoid accountability." Until 2006, unaccredited individuals or companies who charged fees for VA claims assistance were subject to penalties and fines. Without those penalties, however, the VA can only send "cease and desist" letters to companies and must work with local, state and other federal law enforcement agencies to prosecute those that break the law. According to the VA, it has sent more than 40 such letters this fiscal year, up from 18 sent in fiscal 2023 to unaccredited companies and individuals. The VA has asked Congress to reinstate criminal penalties against companies that file illegal claims, but while it waits for that authority, it established VSAFE to educate veterans on the process and potential scams. "We urge you to be cautious against selecting a representative and ensure they are accredited by VA. There are currently more than 14,000 accredited individuals in the VA system," David Barrans, chief counsel for benefits law in the VA's Office of General Counsel, said during a press conference last September. The department also has launched an awareness campaign within the Veterans Benefits Administration to educate employees on these companies, which the VA calls "claims predators" as opposed to "claim sharks," the term preferred by accredited veterans service organizations. "Aggressive communication via emails, phone calls, and/or text messages is used in an effort to get veterans to sign legally binding contracts that are not to the veteran's advantage. They advertise expedited claim processing times and/or guarantee higher disability ratings in exchange for their paid services. These fraudulent schemes target veterans' hard-earned benefits and may subject them to excessive fees," according to an internal email obtained by Military.com. Rouse, the veteran who owes Trajector more than $8,000, said he can't find a copy of his contract but has asked for one. He doesn't recall what it said but, according to Steven Zenofsky, Trajector Medical's communications director, the company charges five times the amount of the monthly increase in their VA pay. Zenofsky said the fees are outlined in a service agreement presented to the veteran before they sign, and the company doesn't charge advanced fees. "The number of satisfied Trajector Medical clients is steadily rising, as evidenced by the increasing number of online testimonials from veterans. This growth in client satisfaction is a testament to ensuring our clients are well-informed at every stage of our service," Zenofsky said in an email to Military.com. Rouse said he first went to two different accredited veterans service organizations for help. One said they would help get a 100% disability rating along with individual unemployability, which meant he would not be able to hold a job and collect disability. The other, he said, didn't seem interested because he was not a member of a local chapter. So, he turned to Trajector, which he said helped make the needed medical appointments but didn't seem to do much else. "I did all the legwork, and they felt like they played some major role. I told them they should be ashamed of themselves for what they're doing," Rouse said. He added that companies such as Trajector provide a needed service, but there should be a cap on the amount they can charge. Attorneys assisting with Social Security claims, for example, can charge up to 25% of benefits backdated to the claims filing or $7,200, whichever is less, with some exceptions. The cap is expected to rise to $9,200 in November. "If they were really trying to help, they wouldn't be asking for so much money," Rouse said. Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., and Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., introduced legislation last year in their chambers that would impose penalties on individuals or companies that solicit, contract and charge "unauthorized" fees for preparing or filing VA benefits. The Governing Unaccredited Representatives Defrauding, or GUARD, VA Benefits Act has 258 additional sponsors in the House and Senate but has not passed through committee, meaning it likely won't be considered this year. "The [VA] must exercise every enforcement tool at its disposal and request those it needs to better protect veterans from bad actors looking to take advantage of them," Pappas and Boozman wrote in a letter to McDonough about the bill in September. Another bill, the PLUS, or Preserving Lawful Utilization of Services, for Veterans Act, sponsored by Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., in the House and Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., in the Senate, would change the accreditation process so the companies can legally continue their operations. It also would impose criminal penalties on businesses that remain unaccredited. Related: 'Status Quo Is Not an Option': Lawmakers Press VA on Handling of Companies Charging to File Benefits Claims Amazon plans on expanding its footprint on the Space Coast with another $19.5 million facility in its efforts to launch thousands of internet-providing satellites for Project Kuiper, the companys competitor to SpaceXs Starlink. To date, only two test satellites from Project Kuiper have flown when they took to space atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket in late 2023. Those two, though, paved the way for Amazon to sign off on the satellite design and begin manufacturing of what is planned to be a 3,232-satellite constellation. While the satellites are built in Washington state, they will be prepped for launch and fueled up at the new $120 million satellite processing facility that is near completion at a nearly 80-acre site at the Kennedy Space Centers former Shuttle Landing Facility. Adjacent to that 100,000-square-foot building will be this 42,000-square-foot expansion that will allow Amazon to process and store more satellites for a busy schedule of launches from nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This decision is a clear indicator of Floridas unbeatable location and world-class infrastructure, Florida Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nunez said in a press release. Through this partnership, we will continue to assert our leadership in the global space economy. The site is now operated by Space Florida, the states aerospace finance and development agency, under a 30-year lease from NASA. Amazons arrival to the site was a boon to the states efforts to attract more aerospace jobs. The original deal promised as many as 50 jobs with an average salary of $80,000 as well as 300 jobs during construction. Amazon said this addition will create 10 more full-time job opportunities in areas such as engineering, logistics, operations and maintenance. This investment underscores our commitment to Project Kuiper as we work toward providing high-speed, low-latency broadband internet to communities around the world, said Steve Metayer, vice president of Project Kuiper production operations. Were proud of our continued partnership with Space Florida and look forward to adding more talent to our team at Cape Canaveral. The new facility will have temperature-controlled storage areas, maintenance bays and other work areas, plus be equipped with industrial rigging capabilities to move heavy equipment. Construction on this side facility should be completed in 2025 while the original facility is projected to be ready before the end of the year. The expansion will allow for quicker turnaround between launches because the company is on a bit of a time crunch to get its satellites into space. Its license from the Federal Communications Commission requires that half of the satellites be placed in orbit by July 31, 2026 and the full constellation by July 31, 2029. The company said it will ship its first set of operational satellites to Florida before the end of summer and is targeting the first launch of Amazons eight remaining Atlas V rockets before the end of the year. It hopes to at optimum flow be able to manufacture five satellites a day. If regular launches begin in January, that only gives Amazon just over 1 years to knock out the 50% requirement from the FCC. That is not a position the company expected to be in when it first announced its launch plans in 2022. Amazon first bought up the remaining available nine Atlas V rockets from ULA but then announced up to 83 more launches across three in-development rockets: ULAs Vulcan Centaur, Blue Origins New Glenn and Arianespaces Ariane 6, all of which were expected to be ready by 2023 and setting Amazon up for potential success. Those three rockets, though, all faced delays with ULAs Vulcan only flying for the first time in January and Ariane 6 launching in July. Vulcans next three launches, which could all happen this year, will be for other customers, and Ariane 6s future launch plans have yet to be announced. New Glenn, meanwhile, has yet to make its first flight but could debut as early as next month. Because of those delays, Amazon announced it had contracted with SpaceX for three additional launches on Falcon 9 rockets. But with SpaceX and ULAs eight additional Atlas V rockets ready to go, Amazon states its on track to serve its first customers sometime in 2025. The first ULA Vulcan and Blue Origin New Glenn missions could also take flight in 2025, so Amazon could be feeding a steady supply of satellites to three launch providers among four rockets on the Space Coast. Arianespace launches from South America. Amazon has also invested in ULA infrastructure at Canaverals Space Launch Complex 41 where ULA is building out a second vertical integration facility that will be dedicated to commercial launches and allow two rockets to be prepped for launch concurrently. Amazons goal is to build out a satellite network to rival SpaceXs Starlink and other low-Earth orbit constellations. SpaceX has been launching operational versions of its Starlink satellites since 2019 and has to date put into orbit nearly 7,000 with the OK from the FCC to grow to as many as 7,500. For the Space Coast processing site, Amazon has footed the majority of the building costs but received matching grants from the Florida Department of Transportation as part of FDOTs Spaceport Improvement Program. Amazons additional investment in the Project Kuiper facility is just another example of the value of the long-term partnerships we forge with our industry partners, Space Florida President and CEO Rob Long said. Space Florida acts as landlord and helped to clear the path for the commercial infrastructure by investing more than $60 million so far from the spaceport program to help build an adequate utility corridor so companies can basically come in, plug in and go about their business. The amount of Amazons lease has not been disclosed. Not only are we here to support their initial activities within the expanding Florida aerospace ecosystem, but we remain by their side and ready to meet their needs as they grow, Long said. Its great to see how far this project has come and I look forward to deepening our strong partnership with Amazon as they broaden global commercial satellite communications availability. 2024 Orlando Sentinel. Visit orlandosentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A Florida sheriff's deputy who shot and killed Air Force special operations Senior Airman Roger Fortson in his apartment in May will face a manslaughter charge, according to the family's attorney. Natalie Jackson, a lawyer for the Fortson family and a member of civil rights attorney Ben Crump's legal team, confirmed to Military.com on Friday that she had been informed by the local state attorney's office that former Okaloosa County Sheriff's Deputy Eddie Duran will be charged in connection with Fortson's death. "This decision marks the first step toward justice for the family of Roger Fortson," Crump said in a statement to Military.com. "Nothing can ever bring Roger back, and our fight is far from over, but we are hopeful that these charges will result in a conviction and real justice for the Fortson family." Read Next: Suspended Army 4-Star Asks for Command Back After Pressuring Panel to Prop Up Career of Unfit Subordinate Crump said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Duran could face up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Fortson, who was stationed at Hurlburt Field, was shot six times by Duran on May 3 when the officer responded to a call at the 23-year-old's apartment complex. Duran began firing shortly after Fortson opened his door when the deputy saw the airman had his legally owned firearm to his side and pointed toward the floor. Duran, an Army veteran, was fired in late May after an internal affairs investigation determined that his "use of deadly force was not objectively reasonable and therefore violated agency policy." The Office of State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit of Florida said in a press release issued Friday that the former deputy was being charged with "one count of manslaughter with a firearm" and that there was a warrant issued for his arrest. "This charge arises from an incident on May 3, 2024, that resulted in the shooting death of Roger Fortson," the release said. In a Friday statement titled "Indictment of Eddie Duran," the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office said the department "has been fully accountable and transparent in its compliance with statutory requirements, providing numerous public statements, making accessible the available body-worn camera footage and other related records, meeting with Mr. Fortson's family and legal counsel, and communicating openly with the U.S. Air Force and our community at-large." Fortson's death sent grief throughout the military community and led to a major outpouring of support from Air Force Special Operations Command. In the wake of his death, members of the command attended his funeral and held a public forum, where Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden received tough questions and criticisms from airmen. Spokespeople from the Department of the Air Force and Air Force Special Operations Command did not provide comment on the charges, but the service typically doesn't issue statements related to ongoing investigations or criminal cases. Last week, Fortson's family and Crump held a press conference expressing concerns for delays in the investigation and questioning whether Duran would be charged, as Aden was facing an election. He was reelected to another term this week. Body camera footage of Fortson's death, dispatch logs and other files released by the sheriff's office and obtained by Military.com revealed the seemingly vague second- and third-hand information that brought Duran to Fortson's door as he was investigating an alleged disturbance. The findings from the internal investigation that led to Duran's removal from the force said that he went to the right unit, where a disturbance was reportedly underway -- despite the airman being alone in the apartment on a video call with his girlfriend before his death. Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional comment from the Office of State Attorney. Related: Family of Airman Fatally Shot by Florida Deputy Decry Delay in Criminal Charges GEILENKIRCHEN, Germany The security alert level for the NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen in western Germany has been lowered again on Friday, less than 24 hours after authorities tightened security at the base following intelligence reports of a potential threat. The security alert level at the air base had been raised to Charlie - the second-highest level - on Thursday as a precaution, but was lowered back to the Bravo+ level on Friday afternoon, according to a spokesman for the air base. That means that security precautions at the airfield have returned to the same level that has been in place since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The air base spokesman said only that the decision to raise the security level on Thursday evening was based on intelligence information indicating a potential threat. In NATO terms, security level Charlie means that there has been an incident or that there is evidence suggesting a high likelihood of terrorist action against the alliance. He again declined to provide any further information about the nature or circumstances surrounding the increased security. He did, however, reject speculation about possible drone overflights at the air base: "That's absurd." Flying over the base is prohibited for unauthorized aircraft and the airspace is closely monitored. "Nothing has flown over here," Brett said. As a precautionary measure, many of the 1,600 employees at the base were sent home during the heightened alert, but flight operations at the base were not interrupted, he said. Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft take off and land five days a week at the air base located along the German border with the Netherlands and close to Belgium. NATO has stationed 14 AWACS aircraft at the base. There are two to three AWACS flights per day from Monday to Friday. The spokesman said that there was no cause for concern and it was purely a precautionary measure to ensure the continuity of critical operations. He added, however, that such a threat level was unusual and hadn't happened at the Geilenkirchen base in years. German police confirmed that they were coordinating security measures with the international military police stationed at the airfield as well as German national security authorities, but declined to provide more information about the response. About a week ago, German military bases went on heightened alert after damaged fences near drinking water supplies close to two facilities raised concerns about potential sabotage. However, those concerns were dismissed and an all-clear was given after an investigation by police and security services found no evidence of problems. There is no indication that the heightened alert at Geilenkirchen is related to the previous incidents at German bases. Security sources told dpa that suspicious observations were also made in Geilenkirchen, and that someone in the vicinity of the airport has since been taken into custody for questioning. The sources said suspicions against the detained person had not been confirmed. 2024 dpa GmbH. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. KYIV, Ukraine Ukrainian forces say they have recaptured territory in the eastern region of Kharkiv, where Russia launched a large offensive in the spring that brought initial gains but the operation soon stalled. Ukraines 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said in a statement late Thursday that its forces advanced nearly two square kilometers (about three-quarters of a square mile) in that area. It was unclear when the attack was launched, its scale, and the area of the offensive, and its hard to predict if it will have further impact on the battlefield. Ukraine's reported counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region comes as its forces have gained new momentum and altered the battlefield this month. Kyiv launched a shock offensive into Russia's western Kursk region on August 6, while simultaneously intensifying a drone war against military and fuel targets that sparked blazes deep in Russia this week. On Friday some new details emerged about damage and injuries caused by some of those attacks. A Ukrainian drone attack targeting a distant Russian air base in its Volgograd region caused significant damage to an airfield that reportedly housed glide bombs used by Moscow in the war, satellite photos analyzed Friday by The Associated Press showed. Meanwhile, an attack on a cargo ferry at the port of Kavkaz in Russias Krasnodar region on Thursday injured 13 people, Russias state news agency Tass reported Friday. Citing health officials, Tass said that four of the injured have been hospitalized and one other person remained unaccounted for. Ukraine's gains have reshaped the battlefield and buoyed the morale of Ukrainians 10 years after Russia first invaded their country, and 2 1/2 years after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion that has led to mass death and destruction and created Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. Ukraine and its Western allies hope that the regained momentum could strengthen Kyiv's hand on the diplomatic front. A visit to Kyiv by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is meeting Friday with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is being closely watched. Modi, who has maintained cordial ties and economic relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, could play a role in forging a mediated peace. But the incursion into Russia itself is risky. It has highlighted Russian vulnerabilities but also further stretched Ukrainian forces, who were already fighting on a frontline running for hundreds of kilometers. And it has possibly compromised its ability to hold back Russian forces who have slowly but steadily gained ground in the Donetsk region, diverting Ukrainian forces who otherwise could bolster defense there. Ukraines 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said in a statement published late Thursday that Ukrainian soldiers also took control of an area that was held by a Russian battalion, and some strongholds. Brigade Commander Andrii Biletskyi said that they attacked Russian troops that had superiority and won, adding that the ratio of forces on the battlefield was 2.5:1 in Moscows favor. The Associated Press was unable to independently verify the claims, and there was no immediate comment from Russia. Russia launched an offensive in the Kharkiv region in May that led to some gains but soon stalled. Fighting in that area has diminished as the Russian army has concentrated its efforts in Donetsk, part of the industrial Donbas region that it formally annexed but does not fully control. ___ Gera contributed from Warsaw, Poland. Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed. When a military sniper makes an accurate shot from an extremely long distance, they need more than a spotter and a rangefinder. They need to take into account things such as wind direction, wind speed, air density and even the Earth's rotation. Amid all that, they might be making those calculations while enemy troops are actively trying to find and kill them. As if all that wasn't impressive enough, the top five longest-distance confirmed sniper kills all came from shots fired at more than a mile away, with the top two coming in from more than two miles away. Since the average human with an unobstructed view can only see 2.9 miles before the curvature of the Earth cuts off their view, there's a good chance the enemy neither saw nor heard the bullet coming. The top five spots on the list of longest-distance sniper kills went largely unchanged starting in 2017, until Russia gave Ukrainian snipers the opportunity to join the list -- which they did. Twice. Here's the latest. 1. Viacheslav Kovalskyi, Ukraine: 2.36 Miles While other shooters on this list go unnamed, 58-year-old Viacheslav Kovalskyi is proud to be known for dropping a Russian officer. An award-winning, long-distance competitive shooter before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, he signed up as a sniper that very same day. He joined the counterintelligence agency of Ukraine's Security Service and topped this list with a shot in the Kherson region in November 2023. Video evidence confirmed that a custom-made round from Kovalskyi's Horizon's Lord anti-materiel rifle connected with a Russian officer 3,800 meters -- or 2.36 miles -- away. The bullet took nine seconds to close the distance with the Russian. After the target doubled over and fell, the other troops scattered. "I was thinking that Russians would now know that is what Ukrainians are capable of," Kovalskyi told The Wall Street Journal. "Let them sit at home and be afraid." 2. Unnamed Canadian Sniper, Iraq: 2.19 Miles Canadians might be known for being overly polite, but there's nothing polite about their shooting skills. Three Canadians have held the top spot on the list of long-distance sniper kills in recent years, but the other two were publicly known. The operators in Canada's Joint Task Force 2 are the most elite of our northern neighbor's special operations forces, and this shooter's identity (along with most details of the incident) are still a guarded secret. Using a .50-caliber McMillan TAC-50 anti-materiel rifle, the JTF-2 sniper posted up in a high-rise building in an undisclosed Iraqi city in 2017. He took aim at an Islamic State fighter attacking Iraqi security forces who couldn't be supported by air strikes due to the proximity of civilians. He then dropped the ISIS fighter from 3,540 meters with a shot verified by video evidence, according to the Globe and Mail. 3. Unnamed Australian Sniper, Afghanistan: 1.74 Miles In their book, "One Shot Kills: A History of Australian Army Sniping," authors Glenn Wahlert and Russell Linwood detail the story of an Australian soldier with the 2nd Commando Regiment whose record kill at the time of the book's publication in 2014 held the world record for the longest-distance hit at 2,815 meters. The sniper was one member of two teams in the Kajaki district of Afghanistan's Helmand Province in April 2012. The first team consisted of two privates, one spotter and one shooter while the second had a lance corporal on the rifle and the corporal spotting. The commandos' commander was also spotting with both teams. The gunman used a Barrett M82A1 anti-materiel rifle with a Schmidt and Bender scope and Woods reticle. All three spotters confirmed the shot hit. It was a world record for the longest-distance hit, one that held for the next five years. 4. Unnamed Ukrainian Sniper, Ukraine: 1.68 Miles A Snipex Alligator in Ukraine. (Nolan Peterson via X) Russia intended for its invasion of Ukraine to last a total of three days, but the war continues even more than two years later. By November 2022, Russia was forced to call up its reserves to blunt Ukrainian counteroffensives in the regions around Kharkiv and Kherson due to the more than 100,000 casualties sustained by the Russian army. If that wasn't enough to boost Ukrainian morale, a special operations soldier of the Ukrainian National Guard hit a Russian "occupier" from 2,710 meters away, securing the No. 2 spot on the list of longest-distance sniper kills at the time. The sniper used a XADO Snipex Alligator, a specially designed, anti-materiel rifle with a claimed effective range of 2,000 meters, made in Ukraine. 5. Cpl. Craig Harrison, Afghanistan: 1.53 Miles It's not a great idea to release the name of a world record-setting sniper, as Craig Harrison will attest. The British Army named him against his wishes, which led to death threats against him and his family. He also struggled with PTSD after serving as a sniper in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. But when he set the world record for the longest-distance sniper kill, he was providing overwatch for British forces in Afghanistan. His record-setting shots came in 2009, on a clear, mild day with little wind. He was using an Accuracy International L115A3 against two Taliban machine gunners in Helmand Province. After ranging the targets, he took them out with two sequential shots. Want to Learn More About Military Life? Whether you're thinking of joining the military, looking for post-military careers or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. Subscribe to Military.com to have military news, updates and resources delivered directly to your inbox. The Padres optioned starter Matt Waldron to Triple-A El Paso. San Diego recalled reliever Logan Gillaspie to step into the bullpen before tonights series opener with the Mets. Waldron, MLBs lone knuckleballer, has held a rotation spot all year. He has made 26 starts and is second on the team behind Dylan Cease with 142 2/3 innings. His 4.79 ERA belies decent peripherals. Waldron has a roughly average 21.6% strikeout percentage and has kept his walk rate to a tidy 6.6% clip. Hitters have generally had a tough time making hard contact against him. An abnormally low 67.1% left on base rate is the biggest factor in Waldron allowing nearly five earned runs per nine. ERA estimators like FIP and SIERA suggest his peripherals should point to an ERA in the low-4.00s. Things have gone downhill over Waldrons last few starts. He carried a 3.71 ERA into the All-Star Break. He has given up exactly eight earned runs per nine innings in 36 frames during the second half. Waldron has surrendered five-plus runs in four of his last five starts. The Twins blitzed him for 12 hits and 10 runs in 4 1/3 innings last night. Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweets that the assignment is about giving Waldron some rest before the stretch run. While its possible that fatigue has played a role in the rightys recent struggles, Waldron isnt too far beyond last years innings total. He combined for 133 2/3 frames between the majors and Triple-A a season ago. There seems to be something amiss with his recent skid, so the Padres will give him at least a couple weeks away from big league hitters. A pitcher cannot be recalled from an optional assignment for at least 15 days unless hes replacing another pitcher who is going on the injured list. San Diego doesnt have an off day until September 3. Theyve got a handful of rest days built into their September schedule but will need a full rotation for the next two weeks. The Friars have Cease, Michael King, Joe Musgrove and Martin Perez in their rotation for now. Theres still not much clarity on whether Yu Darvish will be able to return from the family matter to which hes attending. Randy Vasquez is the top depth arm on the 40-man roster. He has a 4.63 ERA over 17 major league starts this year and has been hit extremely hard (8.78 ERA) in the Pacific Coast League. The demotion shouldnt have much impact on Waldron from a service time perspective. He entered the year with 54 days of MLB service and has already topped the necessary 118 days on the active roster to surpass the one-year service mark in 2024. OAKLAND COUNTY, MI A Redford man is accused of stealing from his grandfather after becoming his court-appointed guardian, officials said. Darius Nance, 33, of Redford, was arraigned Thursday in 48th District Court in Bloomfield Hills on a charge of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult, $1,000 to $20,000, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced. Court-appointed guardians are entrusted with the vital responsibility of protecting our most vulnerable citizens, Nessel said. My office will continue to hold accountable those who use guardianships to unlawfully enrich themselves. Nances grandfather was admitted into the SKLD Bloomfield Hills nursing facility in October 2022, officials said. During February 2023, the Oakland County Probate Court appointed Nance to be his grandfathers guardian. It is alleged that Nance failed to make any payments to the nursing facility for his grandfathers care after assuming guardianship, officials said. It is also alleged that Nance wrote numerous checks from his grandfathers account, not for his grandfathers needs but his own personal business dealings. If convicted, Nance faces up to 5 years in prison and/or a fine of $10,000 or three times the value of the money or property involved, whichever is greater. Nance is due back in court on Sept. 3. NORWAY, MI -- Police arrested a Norway woman Thursday following a police chase involving a stolen taxi. According to WLUC-6, the vehicle was reported stolen around 4:39 p.m. from the Family Dollar store in Norway. Shortly after the theft was reported, the vehicle was spotted in the Iron Mountain and Kingsford areas. Police began chasing the vehicle and the driver eventually drove back toward Norway around 6 p.m.. Stop sticks were deployed by police, disabling the vehicle and allowing officers to arrested the suspect. It could be a while before schools and parents learn if calls to state lawmakers for supplementary mental health funding for Michigan schools bear any fruit. Members of the State Board of Education passed a resolution in a 6-2 vote at their Aug. 13 meeting asking legislators to undo more than $300 million in cuts to mental health and school safety funds in the states budget for the next fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. The Michigan Department of Education on Monday, Aug. 19, echoed concerns over the budget reduction, fearing it would stymie a rise in the states investment in services for children amid ongoing concerns across the state for schools looking to close the treatment gap for a growing number of youths battling mental health concerns. We are hoping the legislature will approve supplemental school mental health/safety funding this fall, MDE spokesman Bob Wheaton said in an email. There are expected to be some session days prior to the (November) election. In the state budget OKd by lawmakers for 2025, mental health and safety funds overall dropped to $136.7 million from this years $491.8 million, a 72% decrease. Read more: Students are struggling. Can Michigan schools meet their mental health needs? The reduction, if left unchanged, could halt schools from hiring professional staff who help students, State Superintendent Michael Rice said in a statement. Michigans previous upswing on investment for student mental health came during the last six years, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rice, who chairs the state boards monthly meeting, told board members Aug. 13. Michigan schools had been able to hire new mental health staff with state funds and federal Medicaid reimbursements for services to eligible students, Scott Hutchins, MDEs School Behavioral Health Unit supervisor, told board members. From 2018 when precisely nothing was there in school aid for mental health, Rice said the state went up to roughly $31 million for the 2019 fiscal year. He reflected that it only equated to 20 bucks a child but said it served as a positive step at the time. According to MDE, those funds rose to $56.9 million, $19.3 million, and $376.4 million in 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively The more than 1,000 mental health professionals the state added during the last four years, however, are in jeopardy and subject to funding under other areas of school aid with lawmakers recent cut to funds for mental health and safety, Rice said. Im concerned about the funding cuts in the fiscal year 2025 budget, which reduces the momentum in addressing childrens mental health issues in the state, he said. If you would like more reporting like this delivered free to your inbox, click here and signup for our weekly newsletter: Michigan Schools. Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page or sign up for the free 3@3 Ann Arbor daily newsletter. FLINT, MI Minutes into his sisters testimony about the events leading up to the shooting death of his father, Timothy John Kildee interrupted the court, blasted profanities at the judge and was removed from a hearing in his case. The 27-year-old is accused of killing his father, Timothy Edward Kildee, on March 19 in Vienna Township. Timothy Edward Kildee is the brother of U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee. OTTAWA COUNTY, MI Construction crews are days away from beginning a water main project in Grand Haven Township that will keep one road closed through November. The work is scheduled to begin on Monday, Aug. 26, the Ottawa County Road Commission announced. On Monday, workers will start installing a new water main on Buchanan Street. During that time, Buchanan Street between U.S. 31 and Lakeshore Drive will be closed to traffic. A detour route will consist of Lakeshore Drive to Lake Michigan Drive to U.S. 31. The project is expected to be finished with the road reopened by Nov. 1. 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. BERRIEN COUNTY, MI -- Police seized a gun and drugs during enforcement in Southwest Michigan. Police served a search warrant at a home on the 500 block of Sycamore Street in Niles following multiple citizen complaints of drug activity, the Michigan State Police said. CHICAGO, MI Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told the crowd at the Democratic National Convention that Vice President Kamala Harris is relatable and reliable, unlike her billionaire opponent. Shes lived a life like ours. She knows us. Donald Trump doesnt know you at all, Whitmer said Thursday, Aug. 22. You think he understands that when your car breaks down you cant get to work? No. His first word was probably chauffeur. You think hes ever had to take items out of the cart before checking out? Hell, you think hes ever been to a grocery store? Thats what the chauffeur is for. But Kamala Harris, she gets us. She sees us. She is us. Harris was born to immigrant parents, her mother a scientist and her father an economist. The Democratic presidential nominee went on to work as a prosecutor and later as attorney general of California before being elected to the U.S. Senate. As of August, Forbes estimated her and her husbands net worth at around $8 million. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, is the son of multi-millionaire real estate developer and businessman Fred Trump. Trump took over his fathers business. Forbes estimated in August that he has a net worth of around $4.5 billion. Whitmer opened her remarks with a callback to Trump dismissing her as the woman in Michigan, which morphed into the popular slogan that woman from Michigan in support for Whitmers pandemic leadership. Being a woman from Michigan is a badge of honor, she said, giving a heart sign to the crowd. Like women across America we just GSD: Get Stuff Done Whitmer talked about the events of the past four years, from a pandemic and an attempted coup to floods, fires and the plot to kidnap her. Its not clear what the next four years will bring, she said, but life will go on people will still have to pay the bills and pick up their kids. And when a crisis hits and people are wondering about their familys safety, Whitmer said, then youll ask: Who the hell is in charge? I know in a crisis we need someone strong enough to come up with a plan, to tell the truth and to bring people together, Whitmer said. Right now before the crisis is when we get to choose. Why wouldnt we choose the leader whos tough, tested and a total badass? I know who I want as our commander and chief. America, lets choose Kamala Harris. Whitmer had been floated as a potential vice presidential pick for Harris, who ultimately chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. The second-term governor and national figure in the Democratic Party talked about her experience at 29 of having to work all while raising a child and caring for her mother, who was dying from brain cancer. Those nights reminded me who I was fighting for: people just trying to make it, Whitmer said. Kamala Harris knows who she is fighting for too. Whitmer said Harris, too, cared for her mother when she battled cancer. As president, Harris would work to lower healthcare and elder care costs for every family, Whitmer said. Two other Michiganders U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson spoke earlier in the evening Thursday. Related: Michigan sheriff with 2026 governor-race buzz touts Kamala Harris anti-crime credentials at DNC Other Michigan political figures who spoke at the convention this week included Democrats such as U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, a Traverse City resident; U.S. Sen. Gary Peters; state Attorney General Dana Nessel, and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow. Motown Records legend Stevie Wonder also addressed the crowd and performed his classic R&B hit, Higher Ground. HOWELL, MI A Michigan sheriff is under investigation by the state Bureau of Elections after he used his department to host former President Donald Trump for a campaign event this week. The investigation into Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy and his office was prompted by two complaints alleging he violated the Michigan Campaign Finance Act in relation to Trumps appearance Tuesday, Aug. 20. Murphy told MLive on Friday there was no violation and that he welcomes any investigation. Trump spoke for about an hour Tuesday inside an equipment and vehicle storage warehouse in Howell managed by the Livingston County Sheriffs Department. During the remarks, he railed against his opponent Vice President Kamala Harris record on crime and immigration. Related: Trump, in Michigan return, says hell stop Kamala crime wave The Republican presidential nominee was flanked by members of Michigan law enforcement, campaign banners and three staged sheriffs office cruisers during the speech. The event was closed to the general public, with only invited guests and members of the press able to attend. Department of State spokesperson Angela Benander declined to share specific details about the complaints but said the bureau is investigating them. Members of the public can submit campaign finance complaints. The Michigan Campaign Finance Act forbids public officials from using public resources to support or oppose political candidates and ballot questions. Those resources range from the use of public dollars and personnel to usage of public facilities and stationary. However, there are exceptions. Laura J. Genovich, an attorney and shareholder at firm Foster Swift Collins & Smith, said public facilities are allowed to be used for political campaign events so long as other candidates have the same opportunity under the same terms to use that space. Whether there was a violation or not for public facility usage boils down to a simple question. If Kamala Harris wanted to use that space, would she also be able to use it? Genovich said. Murphy said he would allow Trumps opponent to use the space. If Kamala Harris wants to come, we would extend her the same courtesy for sure, he said. Related: 5 key takeaways from Donald Trumps August visit to Howell The Michigan Campaign Finance Act allows elected officials with policy making abilities, like a sheriff, to express their political views and take part in political demonstrations so long as public resources arent used. Murphy, a Republican, spoke during the Trump visit. What remains unclear is whether the usage of three sheriffs office cruisers staged behind Trump during the event constituted a violation of the Michigans Campaign Finance Act. Murphy was previously fined for likely violating the act when he appeared in his uniform with a sheriffs cruiser during a 2018 campaign commercial for Bill Schuette, who was running for governor at the time. The commercial was staged and intentionally featured Sheriff Murphy in his full uniform in addition to a Livingston County Sheriffs vehicle parked to be specifically used for the commercial, Bureau of Elections officials wrote. He entered into an agreement with the Bureau of Elections to reimburse Livingston County a total of $100 and pay a $100 fine to the state. At issue in that violation wasnt the uniform but the usage of a sheriffs office vehicle, Murphy said. He pointed out that one of his counterparts, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, appeared in uniform during his remarks to the Democratic National Convention on Thursday. Murphy said the state specifically took issue with the vehicle being taken out of service and out of the county to shoot the political commercial. However, a letter from the Bureau of Elections finding Murphy had likely violated the act by intentionally using the sheriffs office vehicle for the political commercial does not mention that. Murphy said two of the three sheriffs office cruisers staged behind Trump hadnt been in service yet and that, if needed, the vehicles were on the property and ready for usage. Vehicles are stored at the venue where Trump spoke and they were adjusted to create a better backdrop, Murphy said. As I mentioned, its a storage facility for vehicles and equipment, he said. Now does that mean those vehicles are parked that way all the time? Of course not. Were they moved to create a better backdrop? Yes, of course. Genovich said the Bureau of Elections will decide the vehicle usage issue. Murphy will have a chance to formally respond to the complaints before the Bureau of Elections makes an administrative determination on whether or not there was likely a violation. An individual using public resources to support a political candidate can face a one-year misdemeanor charge and a possible fine of up to $1,000, according to the act. It could take months before the Bureau of Elections reaches a decision, according to Genovich. Trumps campaign stop at the Livingston County Sheriffs Office comes a few weeks after his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, gave a speech on the steps of the Shelby Township Police Department. Vance was joined by Shelby Township Police Chief Robert Shelide and others. Related: JD Vance touts tough-on-crime platform in second Michigan campaign stop Benander said the Bureau of Elections hasnt received any other Campaign Finance Act violations related to presidential campaign activities beyond the complaints against Murphy and his department. CHICAGO, IL Under a national spotlight here, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson threw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris 2024 bid for the White House. Swanson, a Democrat who has hinted he might run for governor in 2026, addressed the Democratic National Convention crowd Thursday, Aug. 22, in Chicago. In a 2-minute address, the sheriff referenced a national headline-grabbing event from his law enforcement past and linked it with what he described as the need to elect a president capable of unifying people during times of divisive tension. Swanson first came under the national spotlight in 2020 when the sheriff took off his police helmet and joined a march to protest the death of George Floyd, who was killed while being arrested by Minneapolis police. Swansons decision to march with protesters in Michigan weeks later earned him praise nationally from across the political spectrum, including former President Barack Obama, former President Donald Trumps administration, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who said at the time that Swansons approach to the protesters was one of the things I have been inspired by. On Thursday in Chicago, Swanson wore his sheriffs uniform as he linked his 2020 march with the need to elect Harris. In 2020, righteous anger spilled over into Flint, Michigan, Swanson told the United Center crowd. Instead of hate, we chose hope. He said, if there had been one bad decision from either protesters or law enforcers, there would have been bloodshed. He contrasted that decision in Flint with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot that led many supporters of then-President Trump to storm the U.S. Capitol building as lawmakers attempted to certify the election that ushered Joe Biden into the White House. That day was paved with division, deceit and denigration, Swanson said. Police officers were attacked that day. It could have been stopped. The sheriff said the U.S. needs a president committed to protecting, serving and unifying during moments of social unrest. Kamala Harris is that leader, Swanson said. The sheriff said the vice presidents background as a prosecutor and as Californias attorney general provided her credentials as a tough-on-crime leader. Swanson also seemed to respond to criticism including from Trump, the 2024 Republican nominee for the presidency lobbed at Harris for expressing praise for the defund the police movement in 2020. Harris has not said during her 2024 campaign that she is in favor of defunding law enforcement. Trump earlier this week in Howell said policies from the administration of Biden and Harris were leading to more crime and that Harris would defund the police if elected president. Swanson, though, disputed such claims. I can testify firsthand, where I come from, crime is down and police funding is up, he told the United Center crowd. As president, Kamala Harris will unify our country. She will bring us together, because our country needs a leader who will go toe-to-toe with drug cartels and bullies. Swansons appearance Thursday was not his first time serving as a Democratic advocate in the 2024 presidential race. Harris entered the race as the Democratic Partys frontrunner after Biden announced he would end his reelection bid in July. While Biden was still the likely nominee, though, Swanson was featured in a political advertisement in support of the presidents campaign. That advertisement aired on TV and streaming platforms in June in the hours before a debate between Trump and Biden. In the ad, Swanson called Trumps response to the 2021 Capitol riot a neglect of duty. The ad, titled Stopped, featured news footage of Trump urging supporters to fight like hell in advance of the insurrection. Swanson was no stranger to TV programs and streaming networks at the time. In July 2023, he appeared on the Public Broadcasting Service program, Off the Record, where he said he could join the race in 2026 to replace the term-limited Whitmer as Michigans governor. Asked if there was at least a 50-50 chance he would campaign for the office, Swanson said, I will answer it this way: I never turn down opportunities to help people. Swanson, a Fenton resident, was appointed sheriff in December 2019 and won his first full term in 2020, taking nearly 70% of the votes cast in the general election that year. Republican Jeff Salzeider, of Montrose, is challenging Swanson for the sheriff post in the November election this year. Swanson gained broad statewide recognition by assisting other counties to replicate his Genesee Human Oppression Strike Team (GHOST) and a jail education program dubbed Inmate Growth Naturally and Intentionally Through Education (IGNITE). Swanson also pushed for a statewide ballot initiative that would start an animal abuser registry in Michigan and end a current legal process that can leave pets injured in crimes without a home for years. Other Michigan political figures who spoke at the Democratic National Convention this week included Democrats such as U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, a Traverse City resident; U.S. Sen. Gary Peters; U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin; state Attorney General Dana Nessel; and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow. United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain delivered remarks. Motown Records legend Stevie Wonder also addressed the crowd and performed his classic R&B hit, Higher Ground. Less than an hour after Swanson appeared on stage Thursday, Whitmer addressed the crowd. The sheriff and Whitmer received a prime-time slot in the convention schedule, appearing in the final stretch of the final night of the 4-day event. His address followed comedian D.L. Hughleys appearance on the stage. Swansons remarks came about 70 minutes before Harris the prime focus of the convention addressed the crowd at the events conclusion. Members of the Michigan delegation cast their votes during the Ceremonial Roll Call of States on the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 20, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Delegates, politicians, and Democratic Party supporters are gathering in Chicago, as current Vice President Kamala Harris is named her party's presidential nominee. The DNC takes place from August 19-22. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)Getty Images Special note: Griffin Uribe Brown, a Syracuse University junior from Chicago studying magazine, news and digital journalism and policy studies, is reporting for MLive during the Democratic National Convention. He is covering the DNC as part of a program with Syracuse Universitys S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. CHICAGO In 2008, an 18-year-old Jason Morgan witnessed then-Senator Barack Obama accept the nomination for president of the United States as a Michigan delegate. Sixteen years later, Morgan said he was nearly brought to tears watching Obamas speech Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. As Obama addressed the nation, Morgan, a state representative and vice-chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, watched from the Michigan delegations allocated spots at the United Center, surrounded by delegates who are the age he was when he first saw the former president. I think [Michigan has] more young people as delegates than we have probably ever had, and that was on purpose, Morgan said. We wanted to make sure we had young people running for delegate positions throughout the congressional districts in the state, and we appointed a whole lot of folks as delegates through the state party. Among the young delegates is Adam Lacasse, a student at the University of Michigan and the president of Michigan College Democrats, a caucus of the states Democratic party and a chartered arm of the College Democrats of America. When President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race in July, setting up Vice President Kamala Harris to take the nomination, Lacasse immediately noticed a vibe shift that sparked attention from young people previously uninterested in politics. The moment that President Biden said Kamala was going to be the next president, my DMs and my texts were inundated with college students, Lacasse said. People from high school I havent talked to in like five years, talking about how excited they were. Michigan led the country in youth voter turnout at 36.5% in 2022, according to a Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement report. Stella Camerlengo, a student at American University and the communications director for Michigan College Democrats, hopes youth turnout will increase in November. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (C) speaks alongside Michigan delegates during the ceremonial roll call vote on the second day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 20, 2024. Vice President Kamala Harris will formally accept the party's nomination for president at the DNC which runs from August 19-22 in Chicago. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images As a young person, I know whats on the line this November, said Camerlengo, wearing a neon green Michigan Democrats pin styled like Charli xcxs BRAT album cover. I hope young people understand it as much as I do and rush to the polls. Michigans delegation led by party Chair Lavora Barnes, Sen. Debbie Stabenow and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pledged 125 delegates to nominate Harris in the conventions ceremonial roll call Tuesday. Young delegates main role at the convention was to bring the energy, Lacasse said. He expressed hope that viewers at home who see delegates their age on the national stage will be inspired to get involved and join the growing list of young people running for office. Across the four-day convention, the delegation began each day by attending breakfast at their hotel, featuring speeches from state and national party leaders like U.S. Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Hakeem Jeffries. Before the evening programming began, delegates attended council and caucus meetings hosted at McCormick Place. I was the youngest Michigan delegate in 2008 when I was 18, and so I have literally experienced being at a convention and not having any idea whats happening, Morgan said. Ive tried to make sure that Im bringing a lot of these young folks along that theyre getting into all the cool events and meeting all the neat speakers. Morgan said he got photos of some of the delegations youngest members dancing with U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar at an event they attended after the DNC wrapped on Tuesday night. Throughout the convention, he said he spent time around the enthusiasm of the young delegates. I kind of stumbled into politics on accident back in 2020, Lacasse said. Now, Im at the DNC as a delegate an incredible opportunity for us young people to be here and actually see what happens. CHICAGO, IL U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, told the crowd at the Democratic National Convention here that Vice President Kamala Harris was the right leader to keep secure the United States international ties. Slotkins 3-minute remarks came during the final night of the week-long convention, Thursday, Aug. 22, at Chicagos United Center. She was one of several Michigan political figures at the event to call on voters to elect Harris as president over Republican Donald Trump this November. Trump wants to take the world backwards, said Slotkin, a candidate herself in the November election for Michigans open U.S. Senate seat. He admires dictators a lot. He treats our friends as adversaries and our adversaries as friends. She said, instead, the U.S. should inspire and lead in both domestic and international matters. And guess what? That takes friends, Slotkin said. Vice President Harris understands our strength abroad is inextricably linked to our strength here at home: Our schools, a strong middle class, and the health of our democracy. Slotkin received the loudest ovation with her closing statements. Do not give an inch to pretenders who wrap themselves in the flag but spit in the face of freedoms it represents, she said. This November, lets elect a president who will lean forward to embrace the future, because America doesnt follow. We do not retreat. We are the damn United States of America; we lead. Slotkin will face former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers in the November election for Michigans open U.S. Senate seat currently occupied by Debbie Stabenow. Slotkin, a former CIA officer who has represented mid-Michigan in Congress since 2018, won the Democratic primary this month with 76.5% of the vote. She defeated actor Hill Harper, of Detroit. Others Michigan political figures who spoke at the convention so far this week included Democrats such as U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, a Traverse City resident; U.S. Sen. Gary Peters; state Attorney General Dana Nessel; and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow. United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain delivered remarks. Motown Records legend Stevie Wonder also addressed the crowd and performed his classic R&B hit, Higher Ground. HASTINGS, MI Three days before the Aug. 6 Republican primary, Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf met up with a man in a Goodwill thrift store parking lot and handed over documents that could be damaging to one of his primary opponents. Leaf said the release wasnt an election tactic meant to harm his opponent; he was simply releasing public documents in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. Most of the information was already flying around the social media, Leaf told MLive in a recent interview. But the countys FOIA coordinator said Leaf didnt go through the appropriate process. The county prosecutor, who received similar requests, denied them, saying the documents werent subject to FOIA. And the account of the other man involved in the exchange also a contender in the sheriff race doesnt match Leafs version. Now the state Attorney Generals Office has confirmed to MLive it is reviewing citizen complaints related to Leafs conduct preceding the election. Leaf, who is perhaps best known for his ongoing mission to uncover widespread voter fraud linked to the 2020 presidential election, is now being criticized by an opponent and members of the public for his own election conduct. Related: Extremist or hero? Meet Michigans freedom-loving constitutional sheriff THE HANDOFF The information Leaf released contained notes about allegations involving one of his opponents in the Barry County sheriff race, Sgt. Richelle Spencer. Barry County Sheriff candidate Richelle Spencer poses for a portrait during a campaign event at the Barry Expo Center in Hastings, Mich. on Wednesday, June 12, 2024. Spencer started working for the sheriff department in 2001. Joel Bissell | MLive.com Prior to the election, rumors swirled on social media that law enforcement was looking into Spencer. Its since been revealed there were claims Spencer repeatedly sent unwanted communications to the spouse of her elections campaign treasurer. Spencer has never been charged and denied the claims in an interview with MLive. I 100% think that he was unethical in every possible way, and it makes my stomach sick, Spencer told MLive. Shes researching the possibility of a civil lawsuit. The rumors prompted three Barry County residents including Elden Shellenbarger and Larry Osborne to file FOIA requests in June and July seeking records and related text messages to any investigation involving Spencer. Leaf told MLive the records were not initially released because they were not public information, since there remained the possibility of a police investigation. He contacted the Michigan Sheriffs Association and asked if they would come in and do an investigation with their MISSION team. They look at anything from policy violations to criminal violations. State police look more at criminal violations, said Matthew Saxton, director of the Michigan Sheriffs Association. Leaf did call and ask about a MISSION investigation in regard to an individual within his agency and he thought it involved stalking, Saxton said. I told him at that time that we would not do an investigation involving political opponents and it would behoove him to contact state police. Leaf did so. I sent it to MSP; I forgot what day I sent it to them ... and I didnt hear anything back until -- Im going by memory right now right around the 25th of July, Leaf said. Now Im stuck with: these are public records, does the public have right to know? State police, however, contradict whether Leaf ever contacted them about Spencer. MSP has not been asked to investigate and, as such, does not have an open investigation, whatsoever, related to Richelle Spencer, state police spokesperson DuWayne Robinson told MLive on Aug. 13. Leaf said he believed the records became releasable when heard back from state police that they werent going to investigate. Barry County Sheriff candidate Joel Ibbotson puts together one of his campaign signs in a farm field in Barry County in May of 2024. Joel Bissell | MLive.com Leaf confirmed with MLive that he ultimately gave the investigative notes to Joel Ibbotson, another Barry County sheriff candidate, on Saturday, Aug. 3, during a meeting in a Goodwill thrift store parking lot in Hastings. The photocopied notes Leaf gave to Ibbotson in the parking lot were originally handwritten on notebook paper and included a note that read: misconduct in office, stalking via election and stalking a married woman. Dates on the notes indicate they were taken in late May. No names were redacted in the document Leaf released. Leaf told MLive he gave the notes to Ibbotson to give to Shellenbarger. I dropped them off with Joel (Ibbotson), Leaf said. I asked him, Hey, can you call (Shellenbarger) and see if this would fulfill the FOIA. (Shellenbarger) said, yes, so I went and dropped them off with (Ibbotson). For nearly five years, Ibbotson has run a locally popular government watchdog Facebook group named the Government Accountability Forum, which has about 1,000 members. He told MLive he was collecting the records on behalf of a Government Accountability Forum member. Ibbotson said he never gave the records to Shellenbarger. Its unclear how Shellenbarger got the notes. Regardless, Shellenbarger was the first to publish the notes on Facebook around 12:51 p.m. on Aug. 4. Shellenbarger hasnt responded to MLive requests for comment. STUNK LIKE A SKUNK Osborne, one of the residents who submitted a FOIA for the notes, believes Leaf eventually released them as an election tactic. (Leaf) has never had to run against somebody like Spencer, Osborne said. You dont typically hand out FOIAs on a Saturday And I dont think it changed the election, but in my opinion, he did it because he was nervous. Leaf said he frequently works on Saturdays, however. I come in on Saturdays to get caught up on stuff, because nobody calls me and I dont have people coming in the front door, Leaf said. Ibbotson was coming into town and I was leaving town, thats all that was. Likewise, Ibbotson doesnt think the notes played a significant role in the election results and believes the public had a right to the information, although, he said the timing stunk like a skunk. I think that the name should have been removed but if its not under investigation then its public information, Ibbotson said, referring to the name of the alleged victim. Leaf won the election with 58% of the vote. Spencer had 34%; Barry County Deputy Mark Noteboom, 7%; and Ibbotson, 1%. Related: Meet the contenders who want to unseat Michigans constitutional sheriff Since no Democrats have filed to run in the general election, Leaf is on track to win his sixth term as sheriff in November. The release did not have any impact, Leaf said. I was pretty confident I had the election won. I mean, I polled at over 60% and 94% name recognition. We cant make decisions based on whether or not thats going to affect an election, we make a decision on what the law tells us to do. AFTERMATH The fallout has been significant and has exposed cracks in the Barry County FOIA process. As of Aug. 16, Barry County Administrator Michael Brown, who is also the county FOIA coordinator, said hes received four post-election complaints from citizens related to the matter. Brown said his office has guidelines for FOIA responses and that Leaf didnt follow them. Im not sure who he released (the notes) to, how they got out on Facebook, but it wasnt through my office using the forms that are supposed to be used in following policy thats supposed to be followed ... Brown said. Weve provided those documents multiple times to (the sheriff) and met with him and he understands it well. If the sheriff chooses not to follow those rules, thats the dilemma we fall into. Theres no recourse that exists. He doesnt work for the Board of Commissioners. He doesnt work for me. Leaf claims his office regularly responds to FOIA requests independent of Browns office. Adding to the bureaucratic confusion, while Leaf was deciding whether to release the Spencer notes, Barry County Prosecutor Julie A. Nakfoor Pratt was also communicating with the FOIA office about the same records requests and preparing a separate response. Leaf had already made Pratt aware of the notes. Following the Spencer notes being published to social media, the prosecutor on Monday, Aug. 5, promptly sent FOIA denial letters to the requestors, stating the notes were exempt from FOIA, since release could interfere with law enforcement proceedings and constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Pratt also emailed the sheriff. I am receiving phone calls as to why (one resident) received information, not only that I had denied, but that the other two people that requested the same did not receive them, Pratt said. So that I may properly address these calls, I want to clarify that you did give (the resident) the documents he requested. If so, was that pursuant to his FOIA request? Pratt told MLive she received no response from the sheriff. I didnt open any (emails) that day, Leaf told MLive. I cant recall what I was doing to not check my email. Pratt said she is concerned over the inconsistent manner the FOIAs were handled. I cannot tell you how many people have asked me what Im going to do about it, Pratt said. She plans to present a report summarizing her involvement to the Barry County Board of Commissions at its Aug. 27 meeting. Meanwhile, the AGs office continues to look into the citizen complaints against Leaf. The complaints will be reviewed and a course of action will be determined based on each individual complaint, AG spokesperson Danny Wimmer said. Joule Financial LLC increased its position in shares of General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS Free Report) by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,695 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 294 shares during the period. Joule Financial LLCs holdings in General Mills were worth $297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 10,280 shares of the companys stock valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. boosted its stake in General Mills by 0.8% in the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 17,228 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,205,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp grew its position in General Mills by 40.6% in the first quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 540 shares of the companys stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its stake in General Mills by 0.3% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 48,176 shares of the companys stock worth $3,370,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of General Mills by 0.3% in the first quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 56,652 shares of the companys stock worth $3,964,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. 75.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get General Mills alerts: General Mills Trading Up 0.0 % GIS traded up $0.03 during trading on Thursday, reaching $70.66. 1,823,565 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,007,585. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stocks 50-day moving average is $66.12 and its 200 day moving average is $67.15. General Mills, Inc. has a 12 month low of $60.33 and a 12 month high of $74.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.44 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.09. General Mills Increases Dividend General Mills ( NYSE:GIS Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The company reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.02. General Mills had a return on equity of 26.56% and a net margin of 12.57%. The company had revenue of $4.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that General Mills, Inc. will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current year. The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. This is an increase from General Millss previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. General Millss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.68%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth GIS has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of General Mills from $70.00 to $67.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Mizuho dropped their target price on General Mills from $70.00 to $62.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on General Mills from $70.00 to $63.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Argus reiterated a hold rating on shares of General Mills in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of General Mills from $72.00 to $67.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, General Mills currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $69.71. Read Our Latest Stock Report on General Mills General Mills Company Profile (Free Report) General Mills, Inc manufactures and markets branded consumer foods worldwide. The company operates through four segments: North America Retail; International; Pet; and North America Foodservice. It offers grain, ready-to-eat cereals, refrigerated yogurt, soup, meal kits, refrigerated and frozen dough products, dessert and baking mixes, bakery flour, frozen pizza and pizza snacks, snack bars, fruit and savory snacks, ice cream and frozen desserts, unbaked and fully baked frozen dough products, frozen hot snacks, ethnic meals, side dish mixes, frozen breakfast and entrees, nutrition bars, and frozen and shelf-stable vegetables. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GIS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for General Mills, Inc. (NYSE:GIS Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for General Mills Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for General Mills and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Gray Private Wealth LLC lowered its stake in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO Free Report) by 5.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 715 shares of the medical research companys stock after selling 42 shares during the period. Thermo Fisher Scientific makes up approximately 0.3% of Gray Private Wealth LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Gray Private Wealth LLCs holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific were worth $395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,199 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $1,278,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 14.5% in the first quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 1,031 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 1.0% in the second quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,886 shares of the medical research companys stock worth $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prentice Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Thermo Fisher Scientific by 2.1% during the second quarter. Prentice Wealth Management LLC now owns 913 shares of the medical research companys stock valued at $505,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. 89.23% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Thermo Fisher Scientific alerts: Insider Activity at Thermo Fisher Scientific In related news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.85, for a total value of $1,201,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 13,083 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,860,920.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Michael A. Boxer sold 2,000 shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.85, for a total transaction of $1,201,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,860,920.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Lisa P. Britt sold 3,624 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $613.02, for a total transaction of $2,221,584.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 13,699 shares in the company, valued at $8,397,760.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,084 shares of company stock valued at $19,767,092 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the companys stock. Thermo Fisher Scientific Price Performance Shares of TMO traded down $6.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $603.86. The company had a trading volume of 1,137,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,535,194. The companys 50-day moving average is $572.85 and its 200-day moving average is $573.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $230.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.77. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has a twelve month low of $415.60 and a twelve month high of $622.30. Thermo Fisher Scientific (NYSE:TMO Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The medical research company reported $5.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $5.13 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $10.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $10.50 billion. Thermo Fisher Scientific had a return on equity of 18.22% and a net margin of 14.69%. The businesss revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.15 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. will post 21.72 EPS for the current year. Thermo Fisher Scientific Announces Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Thermo Fisher Scientifics dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.01%. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research analysts recently weighed in on TMO shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $615.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific from $600.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays lowered their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $615.00 to $600.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $620.00 to $632.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Thermo Fisher Scientific from $660.00 to $664.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Thermo Fisher Scientific has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $618.94. Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on TMO Thermo Fisher Scientific Profile (Free Report) Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc provides life sciences solutions, analytical instruments, specialty diagnostics, and laboratory products and biopharma services in the North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company's Life Sciences Solutions segment offers reagents, instruments, and consumables for biological and medical research, discovery, and production of drugs and vaccines, as well as diagnosis of infections and diseases; and solutions include biosciences, genetic sciences, and bio production to pharmaceutical, biotechnology, agricultural, clinical, healthcare, academic, and government markets. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Thermo Fisher Scientific Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Thermo Fisher Scientific and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. A number of research firms have changed their ratings and price targets for International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE: IFF): 8/15/2024 International Flavors & Fragrances had its price target lowered by analysts at UBS Group AG from $107.00 to $103.00. They now have a neutral rating on the stock. 8/8/2024 International Flavors & Fragrances had its price target raised by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $100.00 to $102.00. They now have an overweight rating on the stock. 8/8/2024 International Flavors & Fragrances had its price target raised by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $110.00 to $115.00. They now have an overweight rating on the stock. 8/7/2024 International Flavors & Fragrances had its price target raised by analysts at UBS Group AG from $100.00 to $107.00. They now have a neutral rating on the stock. 7/22/2024 International Flavors & Fragrances was upgraded by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from a hold rating to a buy rating. They now have a $115.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $95.00. 7/12/2024 International Flavors & Fragrances had its price target raised by analysts at Citigroup Inc. from $108.00 to $116.00. They now have a buy rating on the stock. 7/9/2024 International Flavors & Fragrances had its price target raised by analysts at UBS Group AG from $95.00 to $100.00. They now have a neutral rating on the stock. 7/3/2024 International Flavors & Fragrances had its price target raised by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $103.00. They now have an equal weight rating on the stock. International Flavors & Fragrances Stock Up 0.2 % Shares of NYSE:IFF traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $100.43. 1,098,741 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,810,314. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.28 and a fifty-two week high of $101.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.04. The firm has a market cap of $25.64 billion, a PE ratio of -10.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.26. Get International Flavors & Fragrances Inc alerts: International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE:IFF Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.15. International Flavors & Fragrances had a negative net margin of 22.01% and a positive return on equity of 5.78%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.83 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. will post 3.98 earnings per share for the current year. International Flavors & Fragrances Dividend Announcement Insider Buying and Selling at International Flavors & Fragrances The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 20th will be paid a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 20th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. International Flavors & Fragrancess payout ratio is currently -16.38%. In other International Flavors & Fragrances news, insider Angela Strzelecki sold 2,588 shares of International Flavors & Fragrances stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.66, for a total value of $247,568.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,539 shares in the company, valued at approximately $816,840.74. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.20% of the companys stock. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 183.2% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 371 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. acquired a new position in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 2nd quarter worth about $38,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances by 1,856.0% during the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 489 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of International Flavors & Fragrances during the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. 96.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. International Flavors & Fragrances Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cosmetic active and natural health ingredients for use in various consumer products in the United States, Europe, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Nourish, Health & Biosciences, Scent, and Pharma Solutions. See Also Receive News & Ratings for International Flavors & Fragrances Inc Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for International Flavors & Fragrances Inc and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 466 shares of the utilities providers stock, valued at approximately $47,000. A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,093 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $611,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.9% during the second quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 2,147 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $215,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 1,706 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 3,390 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Breakwater Capital Group lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.9% during the first quarter. Breakwater Capital Group now owns 2,912 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $282,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Duke Energy alerts: Duke Energy Stock Down 0.5 % DUK stock traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $112.12. The companys stock had a trading volume of 5,167,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,961,193. The companys fifty day moving average price is $106.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $100.46. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $83.06 and a twelve month high of $116.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Increases Dividend Duke Energy ( NYSE:DUK Get Free Report ) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.25% and a net margin of 10.78%. The business had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Duke Energys quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 EPS for the current year. The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This is an increase from Duke Energys previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energys dividend payout ratio is presently 105.03%. Insider Activity at Duke Energy In other news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total transaction of $61,365.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders. Analyst Ratings Changes Several brokerages have issued reports on DUK. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Duke Energy from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $102.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $110.85. View Our Latest Research Report on Duke Energy About Duke Energy (Free Report) Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding DUK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Duke Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Duke Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pimco Total Return ETF (NYSEARCA:BOND Free Report) by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,272 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after buying an additional 2,565 shares during the quarter. Pimco Total Return ETF accounts for approximately 0.9% of 1620 Investment Advisors Inc.s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc.s holdings in Pimco Total Return ETF were worth $1,209,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of BOND. Mark Sheptoff Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pimco Total Return ETF during the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pimco Total Return ETF during the first quarter worth about $49,000. Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in shares of Pimco Total Return ETF in the 2nd quarter valued at $71,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Pimco Total Return ETF by 75.1% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 842 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Pimco Total Return ETF by 11.5% in the second quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 1,594 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Get Pimco Total Return ETF alerts: Pimco Total Return ETF Stock Performance Pimco Total Return ETF stock traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $93.83. 230,527 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 250,953. Pimco Total Return ETF has a fifty-two week low of $85.10 and a fifty-two week high of $94.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.18. About Pimco Total Return ETF The PIMCO Active Bond Exchange-Traded Fund (BOND) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the Barclays U.S. Aggregate index. The fund is an actively managed portfolio that aims to maintain a consistent level of dividend income by investing in a broad array of fixed income sectors and utilizing income efficient implementation strategies. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BOND? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Pimco Total Return ETF (NYSEARCA:BOND Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Pimco Total Return ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Pimco Total Return ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. 3M (NYSE:MMM Get Free Report) was up 0.8% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $129.63 and last traded at $128.68. Approximately 932,807 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 5,285,420 shares. The stock had previously closed at $127.70. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several research firms recently issued reports on MMM. Wolfe Research raised 3M from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $125.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of 3M from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and raised their price objective for the company from $110.00 to $111.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of 3M from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Argus raised shares of 3M from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $145.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on 3M from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $123.57. Get 3M alerts: View Our Latest Stock Report on 3M 3M Stock Performance The stock has a market cap of $72.24 billion, a PE ratio of -10.21, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $111.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.01. 3M (NYSE:MMM Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.85 billion. 3M had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 112.92%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.17 EPS. Research analysts predict that 3M will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year. 3M Dividend Announcement The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th will be given a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 26th. 3Ms payout ratio is currently -22.01%. Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $700,635.50. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares of the companys stock, valued at $21,486,484.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other 3M news, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 4,364 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $541,659.68. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of 3M stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $700,635.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares in the company, valued at $21,486,484.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On 3M Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MMM. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in 3M during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 3M by 419.1% in the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in 3M in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in 3M by 689.7% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 308 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in 3M during the first quarter worth $32,000. 65.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. About 3M (Get Free Report) 3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company's Safety and Industrial segment offers industrial abrasives and finishing for metalworking applications; autobody repair solutions; closure systems for personal hygiene products, masking, and packaging materials; electrical products and materials for construction and maintenance, power distribution, and electrical original equipment manufacturers; structural adhesives and tapes; respiratory, hearing, eye, and fall protection solutions; and natural and color-coated mineral granules for shingles. See Also Receive News & Ratings for 3M Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for 3M and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Advance Auto Parts (NYSE:AAP Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.22), Briefing.com reports. Advance Auto Parts had a return on equity of 1.59% and a net margin of 0.37%. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $2.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. Advance Auto Partss revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Advance Auto Parts updated its FY24 guidance to 2.00-2.50 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 2.000-2.500 EPS. Advance Auto Parts Stock Performance Shares of Advance Auto Parts stock opened at $51.10 on Friday. Advance Auto Parts has a 12 month low of $47.73 and a 12 month high of $88.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.70. Get Advance Auto Parts alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of research firms recently commented on AAP. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. Wedbush reaffirmed a neutral rating and set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Mizuho cut their target price on Advance Auto Parts from $78.00 to $64.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a hold rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Advance Auto Parts in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Advance Auto Parts from $68.00 to $55.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $63.36. About Advance Auto Parts (Get Free Report) Advance Auto Parts, Inc provides automotive replacement parts, accessories, batteries, and maintenance items for domestic and imported cars, vans, sport utility vehicles, and light and heavy duty trucks. The company offers battery accessories; belts and hoses; brakes and brake pads; chassis and climate control parts; clutches and drive shafts; engines and engine parts; exhaust systems and parts; hub assemblies; ignition components and wires; radiators and cooling parts; starters and alternators; and steering and alignment parts. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Advance Auto Parts Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Advance Auto Parts and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. American National Bank lowered its stake in iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (BATS:QUAL Free Report) by 93.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 291 shares of the companys stock after selling 4,085 shares during the period. American National Banks holdings in iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF were worth $50,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF during the first quarter valued at $37,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF in the second quarter worth approximately $41,000. City State Bank increased its stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF by 123.7% in the first quarter. City State Bank now owns 255 shares of the companys stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF during the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF by 27.2% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 309 shares of the companys stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Get iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF alerts: iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF Stock Down 0.8 % QUAL stock traded down $1.38 during trading on Thursday, reaching $175.76. The companys stock had a trading volume of 694,974 shares. The companys fifty day moving average is $171.42 and its 200-day moving average is $165.11. The company has a market capitalization of $46.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.03 and a beta of 1.03. iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF has a 1 year low of $71.96 and a 1 year high of $88.63. About iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF The iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Sector Neutral Quality index. The fund tracks an index of US large- and mid-cap stocks, selected and weighted by high ROE, stable earnings growth and low debt\u002Fequity, relative to peers in each sector. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding QUAL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (BATS:QUAL Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. AvalonBay Communities, Inc. (NYSE:AVB Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $218.92 and last traded at $217.84, with a volume of 4718 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $218.02. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of brokerages have weighed in on AVB. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $203.00 to $209.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $218.00 to $216.00 and set an in-line rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $207.00 to $213.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $213.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of AvalonBay Communities from $204.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $211.12. Get AvalonBay Communities alerts: Get Our Latest Analysis on AVB AvalonBay Communities Stock Performance The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The businesss 50 day moving average is $207.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.54. The company has a market cap of $31.28 billion, a PE ratio of 32.44, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.96. AvalonBay Communities (NYSE:AVB Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The real estate investment trust reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.93). The company had revenue of $726.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $718.49 million. AvalonBay Communities had a net margin of 29.61% and a return on equity of 7.16%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.66 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AvalonBay Communities, Inc. will post 10.97 EPS for the current year. Insider Buying and Selling at AvalonBay Communities In other news, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.17, for a total value of $414,340.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $908,026.11. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CIO Matthew H. Birenbaum sold 5,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.90, for a total value of $1,044,500.00. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 65,967 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,780,506.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Keri A. Shea sold 2,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.17, for a total transaction of $414,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,383 shares in the company, valued at $908,026.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Hedge Funds Weigh In On AvalonBay Communities Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 270.0% during the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 185 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 1,877.8% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 178 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. BROOKFIELD Corp ON purchased a new position in shares of AvalonBay Communities during the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AvalonBay Communities by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 225 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 92.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. AvalonBay Communities Company Profile (Get Free Report) As of December 31, 2023, the Company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 299 apartment communities containing 90,669 apartment homes in 12 states and the District of Columbia, of which 18 communities were under development. The Company is an equity REIT in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing apartment communities in leading metropolitan areas in New England, the New York/New Jersey Metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Northwest, and Northern and Southern California, as well as in the Company's expansion regions of Raleigh-Durham and Charlotte, North Carolina, Southeast Florida, Dallas and Austin, Texas, and Denver, Colorado. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for AvalonBay Communities Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AvalonBay Communities and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Banco Bradesco S.A. (NYSE:BBDO Get Free Report)s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $2.50, but opened at $2.58. Banco Bradesco shares last traded at $2.58, with a volume of 1,005 shares changing hands. Banco Bradesco Price Performance The stock has a market capitalization of $27.50 billion, a PE ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 1.14. The businesss 50-day moving average price is $2.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Get Banco Bradesco alerts: Banco Bradesco Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be paid a $0.0032 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Banco Bradescos dividend payout ratio is currently 8.70%. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Banco Bradesco Company Profile An institutional investor recently raised its position in Banco Bradesco stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Banco Bradesco S.A. ( NYSE:BBDO Free Report ) by 41.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,795 shares of the banks stock after purchasing an additional 4,898 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.s holdings in Banco Bradesco were worth $53,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. (Get Free Report) Banco Bradesco SA, together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services to individuals, corporates, and businesses in Brazil and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Banking and Insurance. It provides current, savings, click, and salary accounts; real estate credit, vehicle financing, payroll loans, mortgage loans, microcredit, leasing, and personal and installment credit; overdraft and agribusiness loans; debit and business cards; financial and security services; consortium products; car, personal accident, dental, travel, and life insurance; investment products; pension products; foreign currency exchange services; capitalization bonds; and internet banking services. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Banco Bradesco Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Banco Bradesco and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Biotricity (OTCMKTS:BTCY Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The company reported ($0.49) EPS for the quarter, reports. The company had revenue of $3.20 million for the quarter. Biotricity Trading Down 12.9 % Shares of BTCY traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $0.42. The companys stock had a trading volume of 48,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 82,018. Biotricity has a 1-year low of $0.37 and a 1-year high of $2.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.05 million, a P/E ratio of -0.32 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $0.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.02. Get Biotricity alerts: Biotricity Company Profile (Get Free Report) Recommended Stories Biotricity, Inc, a medical technology company, provides biometric data monitoring solutions in the United States. The company focuses on delivery of remote monitoring solutions to medical, healthcare, and consumer markets, including diagnostic and post-diagnostic solutions for lifestyle and chronic illnesses. Receive News & Ratings for Biotricity Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Biotricity and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN (NYSEARCA:FNGD Get Free Report) shares gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $24.26, but opened at $23.55. BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN shares last traded at $23.73, with a volume of 230,037 shares. BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN Stock Performance The companys 50 day moving average price is $24.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.22. The stock has a market cap of $17.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.73 and a beta of -5.03. Get BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN alerts: Institutional Investors Weigh In On BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN stock. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN (NYSEARCA:FNGD Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,165 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $43,000. BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN Company Profile The MicroSectors FANG+ Index -3X Inverse Leveraged ETN (FNGD) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the NYSE FANG+ index. The fund tracks -3x the daily price movements of an index of technology and consumer discretionary companies. The note uses derivatives to achieve its -3x exposure. FNGD was launched on Jan 25, 2018 and is issued by REX Microsectors. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for BMO REX MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE:IRM Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of Moderate Buy by the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $99.83. Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Iron Mountain from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Iron Mountain from $82.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Iron Mountain from $86.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Iron Mountain from $106.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Get Iron Mountain alerts: Read Our Latest Stock Report on IRM Iron Mountain Stock Performance Shares of Iron Mountain stock opened at $112.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.08 billion, a PE ratio of 170.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 0.98. Iron Mountain has a 52 week low of $56.51 and a 52 week high of $112.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 674.63. The stocks fifty day moving average is $98.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.77. Iron Mountain (NYSE:IRM Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.01 by ($0.59). The company had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.50 billion. Iron Mountain had a net margin of 3.94% and a return on equity of 595.44%. Iron Mountains quarterly revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Iron Mountain will post 4.22 earnings per share for the current year. Iron Mountain Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a $0.715 dividend. This is a positive change from Iron Mountains previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Iron Mountains dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 433.33%. Insider Activity In other news, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 954 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.33, for a total value of $77,588.82. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,166 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,860,050.78. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, COO John Tomovcsik sold 35,084 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.76, for a total value of $3,114,055.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 20,366 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,807,686.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Walter C. Rakowich sold 954 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.33, for a total value of $77,588.82. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,166 shares in the company, valued at $2,860,050.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 99,634 shares of company stock valued at $8,874,690 over the last ninety days. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Iron Mountain A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new stake in Iron Mountain during the second quarter worth $32,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Iron Mountain during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Iron Mountain during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Iron Mountain in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Iron Mountain in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.13% of the companys stock. Iron Mountain Company Profile (Get Free Report Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE: IRM) is a global leader in information management services. Founded in 1951 and trusted by more than 240,000 customers worldwide, Iron Mountain serves to protect and elevate the power of our customers' work. Through a range of offerings including digital transformation, data centers, secure records storage, information management, asset lifecycle management, secure destruction and art storage and logistics, Iron Mountain helps businesses bring light to their dark data, enabling customers to unlock value and intelligence from their stored digital and physical assets at speed and with security, while helping them meet their environmental goals. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Iron Mountain Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Iron Mountain and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Brown & Brown, Inc. (NYSE:BRO Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $103.18 and last traded at $103.10, with a volume of 375642 shares. The stock had previously closed at $102.52. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth BRO has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America raised shares of Brown & Brown from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and lifted their price target for the company from $91.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Brown & Brown from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. UBS Group increased their price target on Brown & Brown from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Brown & Brown from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Brown & Brown from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their target price for the company from $94.00 to $112.00 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $99.20. Get Brown & Brown alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Report on BRO Brown & Brown Stock Performance The firm has a market cap of $29.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50 day moving average of $95.31 and a 200 day moving average of $88.64. Brown & Brown (NYSE:BRO Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.14 billion. Brown & Brown had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 21.95%. The businesss revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Brown & Brown, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year. Brown & Brown Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.50%. Brown & Browns dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.00%. Insider Transactions at Brown & Brown In other news, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total value of $250,800.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 88,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,872,802.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Brown & Brown news, CFO R. Andrew Watts sold 2,500 shares of Brown & Brown stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.32, for a total value of $250,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 88,445 shares of the companys stock, valued at $8,872,802.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Julie Turpin sold 3,350 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.92, for a total transaction of $301,232.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 23,597 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,121,842.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 17.02% of the companys stock. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Brown & Brown by 330.4% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 297 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp bought a new position in Brown & Brown in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. First PREMIER Bank bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Intelligent Financial Strategies bought a new stake in shares of Brown & Brown during the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.01% of the companys stock. About Brown & Brown (Get Free Report) Brown & Brown, Inc markets and sells insurance products and services in the United States, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Retail, National Programs, Wholesale Brokerage, and Services. The Retail segment provides property and casualty, employee benefits insurance products, personal insurance products, specialties insurance products, risk management strategies, loss control survey and analysis, consultancy, and claims processing services. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Brown & Brown Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Brown & Brown and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Busey Bank reduced its position in shares of Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY Free Report) (TSE:RY) by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,400 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 407 shares during the quarter. Busey Banks holdings in Royal Bank of Canada were worth $468,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Shell Asset Management Co. lifted its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 2,711 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Royal Bank of Canada by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Muirfield Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 16,437 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Royal Bank of Canada by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,225 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $527,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Royal Bank of Canada by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 15,639 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,578,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.31% of the companys stock. Get Royal Bank of Canada alerts: Royal Bank of Canada Price Performance Shares of NYSE RY traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $113.00. The companys stock had a trading volume of 369,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,107,591. The company has a market cap of $159.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.86. Royal Bank of Canada has a fifty-two week low of $77.90 and a fifty-two week high of $113.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.87. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $108.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.53. Royal Bank of Canada Increases Dividend Royal Bank of Canada ( NYSE:RY Get Free Report ) (TSE:RY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.03 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $10.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $9.95 billion. Royal Bank of Canada had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 12.12%. On average, analysts forecast that Royal Bank of Canada will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year. The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 25th will be given a $1.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 25th. This is a boost from Royal Bank of Canadas previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $4.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Royal Bank of Canadas payout ratio is presently 51.49%. Analysts Set New Price Targets Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on RY shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Royal Bank of Canada from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com cut Royal Bank of Canada from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. Scotiabank upgraded Royal Bank of Canada from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Royal Bank of Canada in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a buy rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $136.33. View Our Latest Research Report on RY Royal Bank of Canada Profile (Free Report) Royal Bank of Canada operates as a diversified financial service company worldwide. The company's Personal & Commercial Banking segment offers checking and savings accounts, home equity financing, personal lending, private banking, indirect lending, including auto financing, mutual funds and self-directed brokerage accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, credit cards, and payment products and solutions; and lending, leasing, deposit, investment, foreign exchange, cash management, auto dealer financing, trade products, and services to small and medium-sized commercial businesses. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE:RY Free Report) (TSE:RY). Receive News & Ratings for Royal Bank of Canada Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Royal Bank of Canada and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (OTCMKTS:CBAUF Get Free Report) shares traded up 0% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $86.03 and last traded at $86.03. 2 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 100% from the average session volume of 464 shares. The stock had previously closed at $86.00. Commonwealth Bank of Australia Stock Up 4.7 % The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $85.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.96. Commonwealth Bank of Australia Company Profile (Get Free Report) Commonwealth Bank of Australia provides financial services in Australia, New Zealand, and internationally. It operates through Retail Banking Services, Business Banking, Institutional Banking and Markets, and New Zealand segments. The company offers transaction, savings, and foreign currency accounts; term deposits; personal and business loans; overdrafts; equipment finance; credit cards; international payment and trade; and private banking services, as well as home and car loans. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Commonwealth Bank of Australia Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Commonwealth Bank of Australia and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. United Bank trimmed its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Free Report) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,665 shares of the companys stock after selling 23 shares during the quarter. Eli Lilly and Company comprises 1.7% of United Banks portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. United Banks holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $3,318,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LLY. Everpar Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,845,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 12,597 shares of the companys stock worth $7,343,000 after buying an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $181,000. AMJ Financial Wealth Management bought a new position in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. grew its holdings in Eli Lilly and Company by 124.7% in the 4th quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. now owns 1,438 shares of the companys stock worth $838,000 after buying an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. 82.53% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Eli Lilly and Company alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an overweight rating and issued a $1,023.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Friday, July 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an overweight rating and issued a $885.00 price objective on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,001.00 to $1,101.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Eli Lilly and Company from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price target for the company from $725.00 to $1,025.00 in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Berenberg Bank increased their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $956.88. Insider Buying and Selling In other Eli Lilly and Company news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 750 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.47, for a total transaction of $614,602.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,130 shares in the company, valued at $5,842,821.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Johna Norton sold 7,056 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $819.38, for a total value of $5,781,545.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,428 shares of the companys stock, valued at $20,835,194.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 750 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.47, for a total value of $614,602.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 7,130 shares in the company, valued at $5,842,821.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,214,704 shares of company stock worth $1,066,841,316. Corporate insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock. Eli Lilly and Company Stock Up 0.7 % Shares of NYSE:LLY traded up $6.65 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $958.62. 1,678,515 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,093,463. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.35. Eli Lilly and Company has a 52-week low of $516.57 and a 52-week high of $972.53. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $883.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $811.11. The company has a market capitalization of $911.08 billion, a PE ratio of 141.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Eli Lilly and Companys dividend payout ratio is 76.58%. About Eli Lilly and Company (Free Report) Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; Jardiance, Mounjaro, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes; and Zepbound for obesity. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LLY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Eli Lilly and Company Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Eli Lilly and Company and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach (OTCMKTS:FMBL Get Free Report)s stock price rose 0.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $5,065.00 and last traded at $5,065.00. Approximately 18 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 119 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5,050.00. Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach Stock Down 0.3 % The business has a 50-day moving average of $4,940.77 and a 200-day moving average of $4,800.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $611.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.40 and a beta of 0.42. Get Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach alerts: Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach (OTCMKTS:FMBL Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $107.86 EPS for the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach had a return on equity of 4.21% and a net margin of 12.34%. The company had revenue of $67.66 million during the quarter. About Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach provides various banking products and services to individuals, professionals, and small to medium-sized businesses in Los Angeles, Orange, and Santa Barbara Counties. It offers checking, savings, Christmas club savings, health savings, market rate savings, and money market accounts; demand and time deposits; certificates of deposit; and individual retirement account. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Farmers & Merchants Bank of Long Beach and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown decreased its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE Free Report) by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,624 shares of the technology companys stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtowns holdings in Hewlett Packard Enterprise were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 3.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 161,853,093 shares of the technology companys stock worth $2,869,655,000 after buying an additional 5,777,901 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 17,733,959 shares of the technology companys stock worth $301,151,000 after acquiring an additional 695,038 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,984,626 shares of the technology companys stock worth $152,559,000 after acquiring an additional 83,037 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 12.3% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,723,120 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $84,166,000 after purchasing an additional 517,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise by 18.4% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 4,448,812 shares of the technology companys stock worth $78,877,000 after purchasing an additional 691,080 shares in the last quarter. 80.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Hewlett Packard Enterprise alerts: Insider Buying and Selling at Hewlett Packard Enterprise In other Hewlett Packard Enterprise news, CEO Gerri Gold sold 22,784 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.67, for a total transaction of $493,729.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 57,081 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,236,945.27. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Kirt P. Karros sold 30,686 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.49, for a total transaction of $628,756.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Gerri Gold sold 22,784 shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.67, for a total transaction of $493,729.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 57,081 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,236,945.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 140,141 shares of company stock valued at $2,850,108. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Analysts Set New Price Targets HPE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, June 21st. Susquehanna increased their price target on Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $14.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from $18.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $26.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $21.08. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on HPE Hewlett Packard Enterprise Price Performance Shares of NYSE HPE traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $18.78. 7,194,695 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,120,713. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has a twelve month low of $14.47 and a twelve month high of $22.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $24.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.20. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 4th. The technology company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.03. Hewlett Packard Enterprise had a return on equity of 8.49% and a net margin of 6.38%. The company had revenue of $7.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hewlett Packard Enterprise will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 19th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 18th. Hewlett Packard Enterprises payout ratio is presently 37.96%. About Hewlett Packard Enterprise (Free Report) Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company provides solutions that allow customers to capture, analyze, and act upon data seamlessly in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Japan. It operates in six segments: Compute, HPC & AI, Storage, Intelligent Edge, Financial Services, and Corporate Investments and Other. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding HPE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE:HPE Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Hewlett Packard Enterprise Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hewlett Packard Enterprise and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown decreased its holdings in General Electric (NYSE:GE Free Report) by 2.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 9,867 shares of the conglomerates stock after selling 225 shares during the quarter. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtowns holdings in General Electric were worth $1,569,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GE. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in General Electric by 33.4% in the 2nd quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,149 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the period. Stableford Capital II LLC lifted its holdings in shares of General Electric by 10.5% in the second quarter. Stableford Capital II LLC now owns 5,714 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $895,000 after buying an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of General Electric by 37.9% during the second quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 211 shares of the conglomerates stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME grew its stake in General Electric by 9.5% during the second quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME now owns 6,143 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $977,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vicus Capital increased its holdings in General Electric by 51.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 2,059 shares of the conglomerates stock valued at $327,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.77% of the companys stock. Get General Electric alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several research firms have commented on GE. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of General Electric from $201.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on General Electric from $148.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on General Electric from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on General Electric from $190.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of General Electric from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $190.38. General Electric Trading Down 0.9 % Shares of General Electric stock traded down $1.53 during trading on Thursday, hitting $169.67. The stock had a trading volume of 2,996,293 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,852,184. General Electric has a 12 month low of $84.42 and a 12 month high of $177.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $163.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.06. The stock has a market cap of $185.72 billion, a PE ratio of 55.50, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.21. General Electric (NYSE:GE Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The conglomerate reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.21. General Electric had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 7.66%. The business had revenue of $9.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.68 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that General Electric will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year. General Electric Announces Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 11th were paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 11th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. General Electrics payout ratio is 36.72%. About General Electric (Free Report) General Electric Company, doing business as GE Aerospace, designs and produces commercial and defense aircraft engines, integrated engine components, electric power, and mechanical aircraft systems. It also offers aftermarket services to support its products. The company operates in the United States, Europe, China, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding GE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for General Electric (NYSE:GE Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for General Electric Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for General Electric and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown lessened its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK Free Report) by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,218 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 333 shares during the period. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtowns holdings in Duke Energy were worth $824,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Traphagen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,754 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. RMR Wealth Builders grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 17.4% during the second quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 14,601 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,463,000 after buying an additional 2,166 shares in the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 2.8% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 67,301 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $6,653,000 after purchasing an additional 1,821 shares during the last quarter. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its position in Duke Energy by 19.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 3,805 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xcel Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 23.8% during the second quarter. Xcel Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,117 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get Duke Energy alerts: Duke Energy Price Performance DUK stock traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $112.12. The company had a trading volume of 5,167,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,961,193. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company has a market capitalization of $86.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.45. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $83.06 and a 12-month high of $116.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $106.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.38. Duke Energy Increases Dividend Duke Energy ( NYSE:DUK Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.16. Duke Energy had a net margin of 10.78% and a return on equity of 9.25%. The company had revenue of $7.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. The firms revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.97 earnings per share for the current year. The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. This is a boost from Duke Energys previous quarterly dividend of $1.03. Duke Energys dividend payout ratio is presently 105.03%. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research firms have recently issued reports on DUK. Barclays raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Duke Energy from $110.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $99.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $110.85. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Duke Energy Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy In related news, EVP Louis E. Renjel sold 540 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.64, for a total value of $61,365.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,617.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.10% of the companys stock. Duke Energy Profile (Free Report) Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Duke Energy Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Duke Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Granite Group Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Free Report) by 50.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 389 shares of the companys stock after selling 398 shares during the period. Granite Group Advisors LLCs holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth about $5,992,890,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 1st quarter worth about $932,797,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth about $682,139,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,745,011 shares of the companys stock worth $56,592,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,133,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GQG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 20.2% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 3,848,886 shares of the companys stock worth $2,994,280,000 after purchasing an additional 648,094 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.53% of the companys stock. Get Eli Lilly and Company alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $994.00 to $1,015.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $1,001.00 to $1,101.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an overweight rating and issued a $1,023.00 target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a research report on Friday, July 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Eli Lilly and Company from $913.00 to $1,025.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $956.88. Eli Lilly and Company Price Performance Shares of LLY traded up $2.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $954.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,972,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,095,276. The firm has a market cap of $907.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 141.57, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.41. Eli Lilly and Company has a 12 month low of $516.57 and a 12 month high of $972.53. The business has a fifty day moving average of $883.39 and a 200 day moving average of $811.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.35. Eli Lilly and Company Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. Eli Lilly and Companys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.58%. Insider Transactions at Eli Lilly and Company In other news, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 210,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $939.82, for a total value of $197,362,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 96,943,810 shares of the companys stock, valued at $91,109,731,514.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO Donald A. Zakrowski sold 750 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $819.47, for a total transaction of $614,602.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 7,130 shares of the companys stock, valued at $5,842,821.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Lilly Endowment Inc sold 210,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $939.82, for a total transaction of $197,362,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 96,943,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $91,109,731,514.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,214,704 shares of company stock valued at $1,066,841,316. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Eli Lilly and Company Company Profile (Free Report) Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, and markets human pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; Jardiance, Mounjaro, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes; and Zepbound for obesity. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LLY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Eli Lilly and Company Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Eli Lilly and Company and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Carrier Global Co. (NYSE:CARR Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 20,547 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,296,000. A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CARR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Carrier Global by 280.1% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 23,098,687 shares of the companys stock worth $1,342,727,000 after acquiring an additional 17,021,768 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Carrier Global during the 4th quarter worth $444,487,000. Capital International Investors raised its position in Carrier Global by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 84,827,130 shares of the companys stock worth $4,931,001,000 after purchasing an additional 3,763,666 shares during the period. PineStone Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Carrier Global by 139.7% in the 2nd quarter. PineStone Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,418,883 shares of the companys stock worth $404,903,000 after purchasing an additional 3,741,206 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Carrier Global by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 92,829,907 shares of the companys stock worth $5,333,084,000 after purchasing an additional 2,961,923 shares during the period. 91.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. Get Carrier Global alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes CARR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Carrier Global from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Carrier Global from $59.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup raised shares of Carrier Global from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the company from $65.00 to $74.00 in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and set a $72.00 target price on shares of Carrier Global in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Carrier Global from an underperform rating to a neutral rating and lifted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $67.08. Carrier Global Stock Down 0.1 % Shares of NYSE CARR traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $69.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,970,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,315,562. The businesss 50 day moving average is $65.38 and its 200-day moving average is $61.20. The company has a market cap of $62.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.70, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.32. Carrier Global Co. has a 52 week low of $45.68 and a 52 week high of $70.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Carrier Global (NYSE:CARR Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.05 billion. Carrier Global had a net margin of 14.27% and a return on equity of 23.68%. The businesss revenue was up 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Carrier Global Co. will post 2.84 EPS for the current year. Carrier Global Announces Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 21st were paid a $0.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 21st. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Carrier Globals dividend payout ratio is presently 53.15%. Insider Transactions at Carrier Global In related news, VP Ajay Agrawal sold 62,382 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.55, for a total transaction of $4,026,758.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 103,066 shares in the company, valued at $6,652,910.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 6.95% of the companys stock. Carrier Global Company Profile (Free Report) Carrier Global Corporation provides heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC), refrigeration, fire, security, and building automation technologies in the United States, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through three segments: HVAC, Refrigeration, and Fire & Security. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CARR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Carrier Global Co. (NYSE:CARR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Carrier Global Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Carrier Global and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co lowered its position in iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (NYSEARCA:IGM Free Report) by 4.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,358 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 120 shares during the quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Cos holdings in iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF were worth $222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC increased its position in iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Horst & Graben Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,814 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its position in iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF by 51.0% during the 2nd quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 20,002 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 6,753 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 6,187 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $583,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF by 57.5% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 427,716 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $40,338,000 after purchasing an additional 156,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, waypoint wealth counsel purchased a new stake in iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF during the 2nd quarter worth about $303,000. Get iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF alerts: iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF Trading Down 1.8 % IGM traded down $1.70 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $92.76. The companys stock had a trading volume of 243,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 300,059. The firm has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.11 and a beta of 1.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $92.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.05. iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF has a 52-week low of $60.65 and a 52-week high of $98.70. iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF Profile iShares North American Tech ETF, formerly iShares S&P North American Technology Sector Index Fund (the Fund), is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, of the United States-traded technology companies, as represented by the S&P North American Technology Sector Index (the Index). Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IGM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (NYSEARCA:IGM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shiseido (OTCMKTS:SSDOY Get Free Report) and Integrated BioPharma (OTCMKTS:INBP Get Free Report) are both consumer staples companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations. Profitability This table compares Shiseido and Integrated BioPharmas net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Get Shiseido alerts: Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Shiseido 1.03% 1.52% 0.77% Integrated BioPharma -0.23% -0.62% -0.44% Analyst Ratings This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Shiseido and Integrated BioPharma, as reported by MarketBeat.com. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Shiseido 0 0 0 0 N/A Integrated BioPharma 0 0 0 0 N/A Insider and Institutional Ownership 0.0% of Shiseido shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 25.3% of Integrated BioPharma shares are owned by institutional investors. 45.6% of Integrated BioPharma shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term. Earnings and Valuation This table compares Shiseido and Integrated BioPharmas top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Shiseido $6.94 billion 1.32 $155.11 million $0.17 135.12 Integrated BioPharma $50.67 million 0.12 -$30,000.00 N/A N/A Shiseido has higher revenue and earnings than Integrated BioPharma. Risk and Volatility Shiseido has a beta of 0.34, meaning that its share price is 66% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Integrated BioPharma has a beta of 0.72, meaning that its share price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Summary Shiseido beats Integrated BioPharma on 6 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks. About Shiseido (Get Free Report) Shiseido Company, Limited engages in the production and sale of cosmetics in Japan and internationally. The company offers fragrances; and skincare and makeup products. It also engages in the restaurant and food, and retail businesses; and operates beauty salons. In addition, the company operates and supports SABFA, a professional hair makeup training school. Further, it offers childcare facilities. The company sells its products through department, specialized cosmetic, drug, and general merchandise stores. Shiseido Company, Limited was founded in 1872 and is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. About Integrated BioPharma (Get Free Report) Integrated BioPharma, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, distributes, markets, and sells vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbal products primarily in the United States and Luxembourg. It operates through Contract Manufacturing and Other Nutraceutical Businesses segments. The Contract Manufacturing segment manufactures vitamins and nutritional supplements for sale to distributors, multilevel marketers, and specialized health-care providers. The Other Nutraceutical Businesses segment distributes healthful nutritional products for sale through mass market, grocery, drug, and vitamin retailers under the Peaceful Sleep and Wheatgrass brands, as well as other branded proprietary nutraceutical products. This segment also sells private label vitamin and nutritional supplement products through the Internet; provides warehousing and fulfilment services; and distributes fine natural botanicals, including multi minerals, as well as raw materials. The company was formerly known as Integrated Health Technologies, Inc. Integrated BioPharma, Inc. was incorporated in 1980 and is based in Hillside, New Jersey. Receive News & Ratings for Shiseido Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Shiseido and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (OTCMKTS:HTZZ Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $3.38 and last traded at $3.46, with a volume of 2817531 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.48. Hertz Global Stock Down 9.0 % The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.07, a current ratio of 2.91 and a quick ratio of 2.91. The businesss fifty day moving average is $3.65 and its 200-day moving average is $5.48. Hertz Global Company Profile (Get Free Report) Hertz Global Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides airport and off airport vehicle rental and leasing services. It operates through three segments: U.S. RAC, International RAC, and All Other Operations. The company provides its vehicle rental services under the Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty, Firefly, and Flexicar brands from approximately 12,000 corporate and franchisee locations in North America, Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, the Middle East, and New Zealand. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Hertz Global Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Hertz Global and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR Free Report) had its price objective trimmed by Evercore ISI from $93.00 to $88.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an in-line rating on the industrial products companys stock. IR has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com cut Ingersoll Rand from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, May 4th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Ingersoll Rand from $109.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ingersoll Rand from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Cfra reissued a hold rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Ingersoll Rand in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Ingersoll Rand from $106.00 to $101.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $100.27. Get Ingersoll Rand alerts: Read Our Latest Report on Ingersoll Rand Ingersoll Rand Trading Down 1.1 % NYSE:IR opened at $90.20 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.85. The stock has a market cap of $36.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.45. Ingersoll Rand has a 1 year low of $59.20 and a 1 year high of $101.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.18. Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.78 billion. Ingersoll Rand had a return on equity of 13.00% and a net margin of 11.73%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ingersoll Rand will post 3.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Ingersoll Rand Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.02 per share. This represents a $0.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. Ingersoll Rands dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 3.98%. Ingersoll Rand declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, April 25th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 2.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the companys management believes its stock is undervalued. Insider Transactions at Ingersoll Rand In other news, insider Vicente Reynal sold 198,486 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.11, for a total transaction of $17,488,601.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,367 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,843,336.37. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Vicente Reynal sold 198,486 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.11, for a total value of $17,488,601.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,367 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $8,843,336.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Elizabeth Meloy Hepding sold 7,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.42, for a total value of $685,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,559 shares of the companys stock, valued at $599,623.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 271,367 shares of company stock valued at $24,180,042. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the companys stock. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ingersoll Rand Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Ingersoll Rand during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Ingersoll Rand during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Ingersoll Rand during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Ingersoll Rand during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ingersoll Rand during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.27% of the companys stock. About Ingersoll Rand (Get Free Report) Ingersoll Rand Inc provides various mission-critical air, gas, liquid, and solid flow creation technologies services and solutions worldwide. It operates through two segments, Industrial Technologies and Services, and Precision and Science Technologies. The Industrial Technologies and Services segment designs, manufactures, markets, and services air and gas compression, vacuum, and blower products; fluid transfer equipment and loading systems; and power tools and lifting equipment, including associated aftermarket parts, consumables, air treatment equipment, controls, other accessories, and services under the under the Ingersoll Rand, Gardner Denver, Nash, CompAir, Elmo Rietschle brands, etc. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Ingersoll Rand Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Ingersoll Rand and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Chemed Co. (NYSE:CHE Get Free Report) Director George J. Walsh III sold 200 shares of Chemed stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $577.95, for a total transaction of $115,590.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,446 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,991,615.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Chemed Trading Down 0.9 % CHE opened at $571.76 on Friday. Chemed Co. has a 12-month low of $492.84 and a 12-month high of $654.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.66 billion, a PE ratio of 30.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $552.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $580.84. Get Chemed alerts: Chemed (NYSE:CHE Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $5.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $5.59 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $595.88 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $599.20 million. Chemed had a return on equity of 29.21% and a net margin of 12.88%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 7.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.71 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Chemed Co. will post 21.77 EPS for the current fiscal year. Chemed Increases Dividend Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chemed The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. This is a positive change from Chemeds previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 12th. Chemeds payout ratio is 10.76%. Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in Chemed in the 1st quarter valued at $1,064,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Chemed by 6,288.9% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 50,600 shares of the companys stock worth $32,482,000 after purchasing an additional 49,808 shares during the last quarter. Cim LLC acquired a new stake in Chemed during the 4th quarter worth $1,328,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Chemed by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 41,336 shares of the companys stock worth $26,535,000 after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust Co. VA acquired a new stake in Chemed during the 1st quarter worth $3,122,000. 95.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of analysts recently commented on CHE shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Chemed from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, May 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Chemed from $712.00 to $697.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Chemed Chemed Company Profile (Get Free Report) Chemed Corporation provides hospice and palliative care services to patients through a network of physicians, registered nurses, home health aides, social workers, clergy, and volunteers primarily in the United States. The company operates in VITAS and Roto-Rooter segments. It offers plumbing, drain cleaning, excavation, water restoration, and other related services to residential and commercial customers through company-owned branches, independent contractors, and franchisees. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Chemed Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Chemed and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR Get Free Report) insider Jalal Ibrahim sold 35,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.56, for a total transaction of $2,329,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 106,550 shares in the company, valued at $7,091,968. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. KBR Stock Performance KBR stock opened at $66.71 on Friday. KBR, Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.37 and a twelve month high of $69.37. The firm has a market cap of $8.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.74, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.90. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $65.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Get KBR alerts: KBR (NYSE:KBR Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The construction company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.04. KBR had a net margin of 2.77% and a return on equity of 27.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.88 billion. Analysts predict that KBR, Inc. will post 3.24 earnings per share for the current year. KBR Dividend Announcement Institutional Inflows and Outflows The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. KBRs dividend payout ratio is presently -31.25%. Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of KBR. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in KBR during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of KBR by 2,029.2% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 511 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in KBR by 39.4% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 817 shares of the construction companys stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its position in KBR by 454.7% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 821 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of KBR in the 4th quarter valued at about $64,000. Institutional investors own 97.02% of the companys stock. Analyst Ratings Changes A number of brokerages have issued reports on KBR. StockNews.com downgraded KBR from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. DA Davidson restated a buy rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of KBR in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of KBR from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of KBR from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, KBR currently has an average rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $76.00. Read Our Latest Research Report on KBR KBR Company Profile (Get Free Report) KBR, Inc provides scientific, technology, and engineering solutions to governments and commercial customers worldwide. It operates through Government Solutions and Sustainable Technology Solutions segments. The Government Solutions segment offers life-cycle support solutions to defense, intelligence, space, aviation, and other programs and missions for military and other government agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for KBR Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for KBR and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Shares of iShares Currency Hedged MSCI United Kingdom ETF (NYSEARCA:HEWU Get Free Report) were up 0% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $24.82 and last traded at $24.82. Approximately 100 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 97% from the average daily volume of 3,330 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.81. iShares Currency Hedged MSCI United Kingdom ETF Price Performance The stocks 50-day moving average price is $24.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.69 million, a PE ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.56. About iShares Currency Hedged MSCI United Kingdom ETF (Get Free Report) The iShares Currency Hedged MSCI United Kingdom ETF (HEWU) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in total market equity. The fund tracks an index of large- and mid-cap UK stocks, hedged against movements in the pound for US investors. HEWU was launched on Jun 29, 2015 and is managed by BlackRock. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for iShares Currency Hedged MSCI United Kingdom ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Currency Hedged MSCI United Kingdom ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY Free Report) had its price objective lifted by Jefferies Financial Group from $18.00 to $19.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the financial services providers stock. A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $17.00 price objective on shares of KeyCorp in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on KeyCorp from $17.50 to $16.50 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on KeyCorp from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on KeyCorp from $16.00 to $18.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of KeyCorp from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $16.65. Get KeyCorp alerts: Get Our Latest Analysis on KEY KeyCorp Stock Performance NYSE KEY opened at $16.43 on Monday. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $14.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.74. KeyCorp has a fifty-two week low of $9.50 and a fifty-two week high of $17.09. The company has a market cap of $15.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. KeyCorp (NYSE:KEY Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.52 billion. KeyCorp had a net margin of 7.35% and a return on equity of 8.64%. The businesss revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that KeyCorp will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current year. KeyCorp Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.205 per share. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. KeyCorps dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 103.80%. Insider Buying and Selling at KeyCorp In other news, Director Carlton L. Highsmith sold 10,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.21, for a total value of $162,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 46,864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $759,665.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders. Institutional Trading of KeyCorp Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in KeyCorp by 1.0% in the first quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 69,213 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,094,000 after buying an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in shares of KeyCorp by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 30,155 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 724 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. boosted its stake in KeyCorp by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 20,927 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 742 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank grew its position in KeyCorp by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 164,768 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $2,605,000 after purchasing an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in KeyCorp by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 50,656 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $801,000 after purchasing an additional 837 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.69% of the companys stock. KeyCorp Company Profile (Get Free Report) KeyCorp operates as the holding company for KeyBank National Association that provides various retail and commercial banking products and services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Consumer Bank and Commercial Bank. The company offers various deposits, investment products and services; commercial leasing, investment management, consumer finance; and personal finance and financial wellness, student loan refinancing, mortgage and home equity, lending, credit card, treasury, business advisory, wealth management, asset management, cash management, portfolio management, and trust and related services to individuals and small and medium-sized businesses. Read More Receive News & Ratings for KeyCorp Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for KeyCorp and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Kiley Juergens Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,811 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $213,000. Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Snap by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 55,660 shares of the companys stock worth $942,000 after purchasing an additional 7,991 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Snap by 77.1% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 11,970 shares of the companys stock valued at $203,000 after acquiring an additional 5,213 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Snap by 609.3% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 336,658 shares of the companys stock worth $5,700,000 after purchasing an additional 289,195 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Snap by 3,121.5% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 6,604 shares of the companys stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 6,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Snap during the 4th quarter valued at $251,000. 47.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Snap alerts: Snap Stock Performance SNAP traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $9.25. The companys stock had a trading volume of 19,786,739 shares, compared to its average volume of 27,895,418. Snap Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.28 and a twelve month high of $17.90. The stock has a market cap of $15.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.42 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $13.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.16. The company has a current ratio of 3.98, a quick ratio of 3.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. Insider Transactions at Snap Analysts Set New Price Targets In other Snap news, Director Joanna Coles sold 3,950 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.17, for a total value of $59,921.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 46,492 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $705,283.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website . In related news, Director Elizabeth Jenkins sold 9,965 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $9.19, for a total value of $91,578.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,406 shares in the company, valued at $371,331.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website . Also, Director Joanna Coles sold 3,950 shares of Snap stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.17, for a total transaction of $59,921.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 46,492 shares in the company, valued at approximately $705,283.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,356,370 shares of company stock worth $12,254,383. Insiders own 22.68% of the companys stock. Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Snap from $12.00 to $13.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of Snap from $17.00 to $14.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Snap in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a peer perform rating on the stock. Raymond James reiterated an outperform rating and issued a $16.00 target price (up previously from $15.00) on shares of Snap in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Snap from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twenty-one have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Snap currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $14.10. Read Our Latest Research Report on Snap About Snap (Free Report) Snap Inc operates as a technology company in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company offers Snapchat, a visual messaging application with various tabs, such as camera, visual messaging, snap map, stories, and spotlight that enable people to communicate visually through short videos and images. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SNAP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Snap Inc. (NYSE:SNAP Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Snap Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Snap and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC Free Report) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 6,260 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $456,000. Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Brunswick in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Brunswick in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Brunswick by 249.5% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 325 shares of the companys stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Brunswick by 347.4% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 434 shares of the companys stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Brunswick by 43,700.0% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 438 shares of the companys stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.34% of the companys stock. Get Brunswick alerts: Insider Activity at Brunswick In other Brunswick news, Director Nancy E. Cooper sold 358 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.34, for a total transaction of $29,119.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 23,877 shares in the company, valued at $1,942,155.18. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades BC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a hold rating and set a $70.00 price target (down previously from $115.00) on shares of Brunswick in a report on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Brunswick from $95.00 to $93.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Brunswick from $78.00 to $75.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Brunswick from $97.00 to $95.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Brunswick from $91.00 to $86.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $88.21. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on BC Brunswick Stock Performance Shares of BC traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $76.64. The stock had a trading volume of 29,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 748,281. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.35 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $75.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $82.05. Brunswick Co. has a fifty-two week low of $66.47 and a fifty-two week high of $99.68. Brunswick (NYSE:BC Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.90 by ($0.10). Brunswick had a return on equity of 23.46% and a net margin of 5.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.35 earnings per share. The companys revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Brunswick Co. will post 5.59 EPS for the current year. Brunswick Dividend Announcement The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. Brunswicks dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.23%. Brunswick Company Profile (Free Report) Brunswick Corporation designs, manufactures, and markets recreation products in the United States, Europe, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Propulsion, Engine P&A, Navico Group, and Boat. The Propulsion segment provides outboard, sterndrive, inboard engines, propulsion-related controls, rigging, and propellers for boat builders through marine retail dealers under the Mercury, Mercury MerCruiser, Mariner, Mercury Racing, Mercury Diesel, Avator, and Fliteboard brands. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Brunswick Co. (NYSE:BC Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Brunswick Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Brunswick and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its position in shares of Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG Free Report) by 1.0% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 10,100 shares of the companys stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement Systems holdings in Asbury Automotive Group were worth $2,301,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Asbury Automotive Group in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. AXS Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 4th quarter worth about $162,000. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Asbury Automotive Group in the 1st quarter worth about $238,000. Get Asbury Automotive Group alerts: Insider Activity In other news, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.18, for a total value of $113,590.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 56,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,911,548.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, major shareholder Impactive Capital Lp sold 8,353 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.63, for a total value of $1,884,687.39. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 2,008,649 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,211,473.87. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Hult sold 500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.18, for a total transaction of $113,590.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 56,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,911,548.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.53% of the companys stock. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ABG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $230.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, June 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Asbury Automotive Group from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Asbury Automotive Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an underweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Read Our Latest Stock Report on Asbury Automotive Group Asbury Automotive Group Stock Up 3.9 % ABG stock traded up $9.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $239.92. 37,507 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 169,295. The firms 50 day moving average is $236.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $226.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 1.16. Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $178.40 and a 1 year high of $277.13. Asbury Automotive Group (NYSE:ABG Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $6.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $7.31 by ($0.91). The company had revenue of $4.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.31 billion. Asbury Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.68% and a return on equity of 20.12%. The businesss revenue was up 17.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $8.95 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. will post 29.12 EPS for the current year. Asbury Automotive Group Company Profile (Free Report) Asbury Automotive Group, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. It offers a range of automotive products and services, including new and used vehicles; and vehicle repair and maintenance services, replacement parts, and collision repair services. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ABG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Asbury Automotive Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Asbury Automotive Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its stake in Tenet Healthcare Co. (NYSE:THC Free Report) by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,600 shares of the companys stock after selling 1,600 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement Systems holdings in Tenet Healthcare were worth $3,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of THC. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Tenet Healthcare by 5,297.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 6,423 shares of the companys stock valued at $485,000 after acquiring an additional 6,304 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Tenet Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at about $946,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Tenet Healthcare by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 20,041 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 1,075 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of Tenet Healthcare by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 12,337 shares of the companys stock valued at $932,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc acquired a new stake in shares of Tenet Healthcare during the 4th quarter valued at about $11,265,000. 95.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Tenet Healthcare alerts: Tenet Healthcare Trading Up 1.6 % Shares of THC traded up $2.58 on Friday, reaching $163.08. 170,241 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,219,736. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 2.15. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $141.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $119.89. Tenet Healthcare Co. has a 12 month low of $51.04 and a 12 month high of $163.80. Tenet Healthcare ( NYSE:THC Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $2.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $5.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.98 billion. Tenet Healthcare had a net margin of 13.17% and a return on equity of 24.66%. Research analysts anticipate that Tenet Healthcare Co. will post 10.68 earnings per share for the current year. Tenet Healthcare announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, July 24th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 10.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the companys leadership believes its stock is undervalued. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In THC has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Tenet Healthcare from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Tenet Healthcare from $156.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Tenet Healthcare from $145.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Tenet Healthcare from $139.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on shares of Tenet Healthcare from $130.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Tenet Healthcare has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $152.69. View Our Latest Report on THC Insider Activity at Tenet Healthcare In related news, CEO Saumya Sutaria sold 86,227 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.41, for a total transaction of $13,314,311.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,773 shares in the company, valued at $2,126,688.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Paola M. Arbour sold 8,377 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $1,306,812.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 21,426 shares in the company, valued at $3,342,456. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Saumya Sutaria sold 86,227 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.41, for a total transaction of $13,314,311.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 13,773 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,126,688.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 126,865 shares of company stock worth $19,186,587. 0.93% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Tenet Healthcare Company Profile (Free Report) Tenet Healthcare Corporation operates as a diversified healthcare services company in the United States. The company operates through two segments: Hospital Operations and Services, and Ambulatory Care. Its general hospitals offer acute care services, operating and recovery rooms, radiology and respiratory therapy services, clinical laboratories, and pharmacies. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding THC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Tenet Healthcare Co. (NYSE:THC Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Tenet Healthcare Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Tenet Healthcare and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in Core & Main, Inc. (NYSE:CNM Free Report) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,400 shares of the companys stock after selling 700 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement Systems holdings in Core & Main were worth $2,369,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Core & Main by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,153 shares of the companys stock worth $595,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Core & Main by 25.6% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,638 shares of the companys stock worth $80,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Core & Main by 74.5% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 855 shares of the companys stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC lifted its holdings in Core & Main by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC now owns 157,865 shares of the companys stock worth $9,038,000 after buying an additional 395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Core & Main during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. 94.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Core & Main alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades CNM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Core & Main from $56.00 to $50.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Core & Main in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $52.90. Insiders Place Their Bets In other Core & Main news, Director James G. Castellano sold 12,500 shares of Core & Main stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.22, for a total transaction of $652,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,769 shares in the company, valued at $614,577.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.49% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Core & Main Price Performance Shares of NYSE CNM traded up $1.14 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $52.40. The company had a trading volume of 284,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,407,883. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. Core & Main, Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.75 and a twelve month high of $62.15. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.06. Core & Main (NYSE:CNM Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 4th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.02). Core & Main had a net margin of 5.53% and a return on equity of 20.01%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Core & Main, Inc. will post 2.32 earnings per share for the current year. Core & Main Company Profile (Free Report) Core & Main, Inc distributes water, wastewater, storm drainage, and fire protection products and related services to municipalities, private water companies, and professional contractors in the municipal, non-residential, and residential end markets in the United States. Its products portfolio include pipes, valves, hydrants, fittings, and other products and services; storm drainage products, such as corrugated piping systems, retention basins, inline drains, manholes, grates, geosynthetics, erosion control, and other related products; fire protection products, including fire protection pipes, and sprinkler heads and devices, as well as fabrication services; and meter products, such as smart meter products, meter sets, meter accessories, installation, software, and other services. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CNM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Core & Main, Inc. (NYSE:CNM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Core & Main Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Core & Main and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Michelmersh Brick Holdings plc (LON:MBH Get Free Report)s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as GBX 108 ($1.40) and last traded at GBX 106.60 ($1.39), with a volume of 320936 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 104 ($1.35). Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MBH. Berenberg Bank reiterated a buy rating and set a GBX 170 ($2.21) price objective on shares of Michelmersh Brick in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Canaccord Genuity Group reaffirmed a buy rating and set a GBX 180 ($2.34) target price on shares of Michelmersh Brick in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Get Michelmersh Brick alerts: Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MBH Michelmersh Brick Price Performance Michelmersh Brick Company Profile The companys 50-day moving average is GBX 98.28 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 98.64. The stock has a market capitalization of 98.36 million, a PE ratio of 1,060.00 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. (Get Free Report) Michelmersh Brick Holdings plc, together its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells bricks and brick prefabricated products in the United Kingdom and rest of Europe. The company offers extruded wirecut facing bricks, clay pavers, paving accessories, and special shaped products under the Blockleys brand; monotone colour blends in rustic, dragwire, smooth, and sand faced textures under the Carlton brand; prefabricated brick components under the FabSpeed brand; various bricks under the Floren.be brand; and clamp-fired stock facing bricks in various colours and textural finishes under the Freshfield Lane brand. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Michelmersh Brick Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Michelmersh Brick and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. (NYSE:NIC Get Free Report) rose 8.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $100.13 and last traded at $100.13. Approximately 9,352 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 41,478 shares. The stock had previously closed at $91.98. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Nicolet Bankshares from $86.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Stephens raised their target price on Nicolet Bankshares from $90.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $100.00. Get Nicolet Bankshares alerts: Check Out Our Latest Report on Nicolet Bankshares Nicolet Bankshares Price Performance The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $88.59 and a 200-day moving average of $83.10. Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $85.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $81.40 million. Nicolet Bankshares had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 21.13%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Nicolet Bankshares, Inc. will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year. Nicolet Bankshares Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. Nicolet Banksharess dividend payout ratio is presently 17.26%. Insider Buying and Selling at Nicolet Bankshares In other news, EVP Brad Vincent Hutjens sold 10,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $990,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 26,642 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,637,558. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Nicolet Bankshares news, Director Susan L. Merkatoris sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.70, for a total transaction of $76,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 88,218 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $6,766,320.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Brad Vincent Hutjens sold 10,000 shares of Nicolet Bankshares stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.00, for a total value of $990,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 26,642 shares in the company, valued at $2,637,558. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,528 shares of company stock valued at $3,053,362. Company insiders own 16.40% of the companys stock. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 705,938 shares of the companys stock worth $60,704,000 after buying an additional 8,213 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 587,488 shares of the companys stock valued at $48,783,000 after acquiring an additional 16,952 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in Nicolet Bankshares by 2,480.2% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 163,919 shares of the companys stock worth $14,094,000 after purchasing an additional 157,566 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Nicolet Bankshares by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 101,665 shares of the companys stock valued at $8,182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,036 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Nicolet Bankshares by 6.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 65,982 shares of the companys stock valued at $5,479,000 after purchasing an additional 4,007 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 43.06% of the companys stock. About Nicolet Bankshares (Get Free Report) Nicolet Bankshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Nicolet National Bank that provides banking products and services for businesses and individuals in Wisconsin and Michigan. The company accepts checking, savings, and money market accounts; various certificates of deposit; and individual retirement accounts. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Nicolet Bankshares Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nicolet Bankshares and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund (NYSE:NQP Get Free Report)s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $11.92 and traded as high as $12.34. Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund shares last traded at $12.31, with a volume of 42,093 shares traded. Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund Price Performance The firms 50 day moving average price is $12.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.92. Get Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund alerts: Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $0.078 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.62%. Institutional Trading of Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund About Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Almitas Capital LLC raised its holdings in Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund by 22.5% in the second quarter. Almitas Capital LLC now owns 1,183,331 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $14,437,000 after purchasing an additional 217,464 shares in the last quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund by 121.1% in the 2nd quarter. Whitebox Advisors LLC now owns 159,331 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,944,000 after buying an additional 87,252 shares during the last quarter. Robinson Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund by 80.8% during the 4th quarter. Robinson Capital Management LLC now owns 139,994 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,620,000 after purchasing an additional 62,573 shares during the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund during the 4th quarter worth $319,000. Finally, Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund by 106.7% during the first quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 49,285 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $583,000 after purchasing an additional 25,439 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 30.58% of the companys stock. (Get Free Report) Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund is a closed ended fixed income mutual fund launched by Nuveen Investments, Inc The fund is co-managed by Nuveen Fund Advisors LLC and Nuveen Asset Management, LLC. It invests in the fixed income markets of Pennsylvania. The fund invests in tax exempt municipal bonds, with a rating of Baa/BBB or higher. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nuveen Pennsylvania Quality Municipal Income Fund and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Oak Family Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (NYSE:TSM Free Report) by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 85,792 shares of the semiconductor companys stock after selling 10,968 shares during the period. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing accounts for approximately 5.1% of Oak Family Advisors LLCs portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Oak Family Advisors LLCs holdings in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing were worth $14,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of TSM. Trust Co. of Oklahoma boosted its stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 7.4% in the second quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma now owns 5,235 shares of the semiconductor companys stock worth $910,000 after buying an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. Granite Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the second quarter valued at approximately $397,000. Keystone Financial Services bought a new stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the second quarter valued at approximately $218,000. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Busey Bank lifted its position in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing by 18.3% in the second quarter. Busey Bank now owns 2,248 shares of the semiconductor companys stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. 16.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several analysts have weighed in on TSM shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $130.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $168.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Susquehanna reiterated a positive rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $200.00. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Trading Down 2.9 % Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing stock traded down $4.91 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $166.53. 13,536,131 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,081,365. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.47. The company has a market cap of $863.69 billion, a PE ratio of 31.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $171.40 and a 200-day moving average of $152.07. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited has a 12 month low of $84.01 and a 12 month high of $193.47. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The semiconductor company reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.11. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing had a return on equity of 25.54% and a net margin of 37.85%. The business had revenue of $20.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was up 34.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited will post 6.45 EPS for the current fiscal year. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Increases Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th will be given a $0.4871 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. This is a boost from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturings previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $1.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturings dividend payout ratio is 36.95%. About Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (Free Report) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, packages, tests, and sells integrated circuits and other semiconductor devices in Taiwan, China, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Japan, the United States, and internationally. It provides a range of wafer fabrication processes, including processes to manufacture complementary metal- oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) logic, mixed-signal, radio frequency, embedded memory, bipolar CMOS mixed-signal, and others. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Oak Family Advisors LLC grew its position in iShares MSCI India ETF (BATS:INDA Free Report) by 23.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 96,201 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 18,192 shares during the period. iShares MSCI India ETF comprises about 1.8% of Oak Family Advisors LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Oak Family Advisors LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI India ETF were worth $5,366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Keeler Thomas Management LLC grew its position in shares of iShares MSCI India ETF by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Keeler Thomas Management LLC now owns 65,185 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,636,000 after acquiring an additional 1,872 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI India ETF by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 93,237 shares of the companys stock worth $5,038,000 after buying an additional 6,861 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI India ETF by 212.6% during the 2nd quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 15,010 shares of the companys stock worth $837,000 after buying an additional 10,208 shares during the period. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI India ETF during the 2nd quarter worth about $142,000. Finally, BigSur Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI India ETF during the 2nd quarter worth about $558,000. Get iShares MSCI India ETF alerts: iShares MSCI India ETF Stock Performance Shares of INDA stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $56.78. 3,486,052 shares of the company were exchanged. iShares MSCI India ETF has a 52 week low of $30.57 and a 52 week high of $38.21. The firms 50 day moving average price is $56.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.95 and a beta of 0.51. About iShares MSCI India ETF The iShares MSCI India ETF (INDA) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI India index, a market-cap-weighted index of the top 85% of firms in the Indian securities market. INDA was launched on Feb 2, 2012 and is managed by BlackRock. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding INDA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI India ETF (BATS:INDA Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI India ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI India ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Orion Oyj (OTCMKTS:ORINY Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $26.90 and last traded at $26.90, with a volume of 2513 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $25.67. Orion Oyj Stock Down 3.0 % The firm has a market cap of $7.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.05 and a beta of 0.19. The businesss 50-day moving average is $22.36 and its 200-day moving average is $20.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.78. Orion Oyj Company Profile (Get Free Report) Orion Oyj develops, manufactures, and markets human and veterinary pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) in Finland, Scandinavia, rest of Europe, North America, and internationally. The company provides prescription drugs and self-care products, which includes Nubeqa for the treatment of prostate cancer; Precedex, Dexdor, and Precedex for human use; Burana for inflammatory pain; Divina series for menopausal symptoms; Trexan for rheumatoid arthritis and cancer; Stalevo, Entacapone, and Comtess/Comtan for Parkinsons disease; Biosimilars for rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel diseases; and Simdax for acute decompensated heart failure, as well as Fareston for breast cancer. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Orion Oyj Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Orion Oyj and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Private Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in iShares MSCI Mexico ETF (NYSEARCA:EWW Free Report) by 2.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,332 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after buying an additional 1,237 shares during the period. iShares MSCI Mexico ETF makes up approximately 1.1% of Private Wealth Advisors LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Private Wealth Advisors LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI Mexico ETF were worth $2,983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. raised its holdings in iShares MSCI Mexico ETF by 4.8% during the second quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 12,142 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $687,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of iShares MSCI Mexico ETF by 3.7% during the second quarter. Evolution Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 92,758 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $5,251,000 after acquiring an additional 3,286 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI Mexico ETF in the 2nd quarter worth about $398,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in iShares MSCI Mexico ETF by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,266 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in iShares MSCI Mexico ETF by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Lowe Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,848 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Get iShares MSCI Mexico ETF alerts: iShares MSCI Mexico ETF Stock Performance Shares of iShares MSCI Mexico ETF stock traded down $0.89 on Thursday, hitting $54.10. The company had a trading volume of 2,325,868 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,402,912. iShares MSCI Mexico ETF has a 1 year low of $50.84 and a 1 year high of $71.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.96 and a 200-day moving average of $63.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.53 and a beta of 0.87. iShares MSCI Mexico ETF Profile iShares MSCI Mexico Capped ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI Mexico Capped Investable Market Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the MSCI Mexico IMI 25/50 Index (the Index). The Index consists of stocks traded primarily on the Mexican Stock Exchange. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding EWW? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI Mexico ETF (NYSEARCA:EWW Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI Mexico ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares MSCI Mexico ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. PSI Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Dorian LPG Ltd. (NYSE:LPG Free Report) by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,725 shares of the shipping companys stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. PSI Advisors LLCs holdings in Dorian LPG were worth $114,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LPG. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. bought a new position in shares of Dorian LPG in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,065,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Dorian LPG by 23.2% in the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 266,875 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $10,264,000 after purchasing an additional 50,200 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Investment Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Dorian LPG during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,424,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Dorian LPG by 844.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 224,958 shares of the shipping companys stock worth $8,653,000 after purchasing an additional 201,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Dorian LPG by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,133,837 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $82,067,000 after buying an additional 305,818 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 62.50% of the companys stock. Get Dorian LPG alerts: Insider Transactions at Dorian LPG In other Dorian LPG news, COO Alexander C. Hadjipateras sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.12, for a total transaction of $90,300.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 82,823 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,991,566.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 15.90% of the companys stock. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Dorian LPG from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Dorian LPG from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, DNB Markets raised Dorian LPG from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $52.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on LPG Dorian LPG Stock Performance Shares of LPG traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $36.95. The company had a trading volume of 392,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 817,909. The firm has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a quick ratio of 3.60, a current ratio of 4.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.02 and a 200-day moving average of $40.25. Dorian LPG Ltd. has a 12 month low of $24.68 and a 12 month high of $51.66. Dorian LPG (NYSE:LPG Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The shipping company reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.23. Dorian LPG had a net margin of 54.48% and a return on equity of 30.64%. The firm had revenue of $114.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $113.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.21 EPS. The businesss revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Dorian LPG Ltd. will post 4.72 EPS for the current fiscal year. Dorian LPG Dividend Announcement The company also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 8th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 8th. Dorian LPGs payout ratio is 13.16%. Dorian LPG Profile (Free Report) Dorian LPG Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the transportation of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) through its LPG tankers worldwide. It owns and operates twenty-five very large gas carriers (VLGCs). The company was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LPG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Dorian LPG Ltd. (NYSE:LPG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Dorian LPG Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Dorian LPG and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in iShares Yield Optimized Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:BYLD Free Report) by 13.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,471 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 5,512 shares during the period. Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC owned 0.60% of iShares Yield Optimized Bond ETF worth $1,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BYLD. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of iShares Yield Optimized Bond ETF during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,127,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its position in iShares Yield Optimized Bond ETF by 38.5% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 262,935 shares of the companys stock valued at $5,879,000 after purchasing an additional 73,110 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of iShares Yield Optimized Bond ETF by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 224,459 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,979,000 after purchasing an additional 25,984 shares in the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of iShares Yield Optimized Bond ETF by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 43,912 shares of the companys stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 966 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of iShares Yield Optimized Bond ETF by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 26,445 shares of the companys stock worth $587,000 after buying an additional 3,128 shares during the period. Get iShares Yield Optimized Bond ETF alerts: iShares Yield Optimized Bond ETF Stock Performance BYLD traded down $0.11 on Thursday, reaching $22.61. 48,268 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 67,718. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $22.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.21. iShares Yield Optimized Bond ETF has a twelve month low of $20.90 and a twelve month high of $22.73. About iShares Yield Optimized Bond ETF The iShares Yield Optimized Bond ETF (BYLD) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in broad credit fixed income. The fund is a fund-of-funds that tracks a broad index of debt securities optimized for yield and mean variance. BYLD was launched on Apr 22, 2014 and is managed by BlackRock. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BYLD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Yield Optimized Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:BYLD Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares Yield Optimized Bond ETF Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for iShares Yield Optimized Bond ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (LON:RBS Get Free Report) shares passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 120.90 ($1.57) and traded as high as GBX 123.10 ($1.60). Royal Bank of Scotland Group shares last traded at GBX 120.90 ($1.57), with a volume of 11,987,617 shares changing hands. Royal Bank of Scotland Group Price Performance The business has a fifty day moving average of GBX 120.90 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 120.90. The stock has a market cap of 14.66 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.37. Royal Bank of Scotland Group Company Profile (Get Free Report) The Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides banking and financial products and services to personal, commercial, corporate, and institutional customers worldwide. It operates through Personal & Business Banking, Commercial & Private Banking, RBS International, and NatWest Markets segments. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Royal Bank of Scotland Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Royal Bank of Scotland Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Scharf Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 10,080 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $159,000. A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in FHN. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its holdings in First Horizon by 6.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 12,623 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of First Horizon by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 29,282 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 786 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in First Horizon by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,520 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $177,000 after buying an additional 804 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its stake in First Horizon by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 265,607 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $3,761,000 after buying an additional 1,068 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in First Horizon by 129.3% in the first quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,954 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,102 shares in the last quarter. 80.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get First Horizon alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets Several research firms have recently commented on FHN. Robert W. Baird restated a neutral rating and set a $16.00 price objective on shares of First Horizon in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Horizon from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of First Horizon from $17.00 to $18.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of First Horizon from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of First Horizon in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. They issued an overweight rating and a $19.00 price target on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $17.31. First Horizon Stock Performance Shares of FHN stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Thursday, hitting $15.89. The companys stock had a trading volume of 2,391,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,674,402. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The company has a market cap of $8.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.61 and a 200-day moving average of $15.15. First Horizon Co. has a 52 week low of $10.08 and a 52 week high of $17.46. First Horizon (NYSE:FHN Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $819.82 million. First Horizon had a net margin of 14.03% and a return on equity of 8.84%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.39 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First Horizon Co. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year. First Horizon Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. First Horizons dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.96%. First Horizon Profile (Free Report) First Horizon Corporation operates as the bank holding company for First Horizon Bank that provides various financial services. The company operates through Regional Banking and Specialty Banking segments. It offers general banking services for consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and governments. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FHN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for First Horizon Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for First Horizon and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Equinox Gold (CVE:EQX Free Report) had its target price boosted by Scotiabank from C$7.75 to C$8.50 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports. Several other analysts have also commented on EQX. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Equinox Gold from C$8.00 to C$10.00 in a research note on Monday, April 29th. National Bankshares cut their target price on Equinox Gold from C$10.25 to C$10.00 in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Equinox Gold from C$7.00 to C$8.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Equinox Gold from C$12.00 to C$12.75 in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, TD Securities reduced their price target on shares of Equinox Gold from C$10.00 to C$9.50 in a research report on Friday, May 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of C$9.50. Get Equinox Gold alerts: View Our Latest Report on EQX Equinox Gold Trading Down 0.9 % Equinox Gold Company Profile Shares of EQX stock opened at C$7.88 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 64.28. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of C$7.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$7.88. Equinox Gold has a fifty-two week low of C$4.25 and a fifty-two week high of C$8.90. The stock has a market capitalization of C$892.46 million and a P/E ratio of -43.54. (Get Free Report) Equinox Gold Corp. engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral deposits. The company's principal properties include the Aurizona project covering a total land package of approximately 223,160 hectares located in Maranhao State, Brazil; and the Castle Mountain property situated in California, the United States. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Equinox Gold Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Equinox Gold and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Scotiabank reaffirmed their sector underperform rating on shares of AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU Free Report) in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $30.00 price target on the mining companys stock, up from their previous price target of $27.00. AU has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $33.00 to $32.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of AngloGold Ashanti from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised AngloGold Ashanti from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AngloGold Ashanti currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $28.50. Get AngloGold Ashanti alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on AU AngloGold Ashanti Price Performance Shares of AU opened at $30.80 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.96. The company has a market cap of $12.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.63 and a beta of 0.92. AngloGold Ashanti has a one year low of $14.91 and a one year high of $32.57. AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The mining company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that AngloGold Ashanti will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. AngloGold Ashanti Increases Dividend The business also recently disclosed a Semi-Annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.7%. This is an increase from AngloGold Ashantis previous Semi-Annual dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. AngloGold Ashantis dividend payout ratio is presently 13.75%. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 27,747,289 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $615,990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948,322 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in AngloGold Ashanti by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,808,722 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $373,154,000 after buying an additional 65,025 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 312.3% during the 4th quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 6,003,149 shares of the mining companys stock worth $112,199,000 after buying an additional 4,547,011 shares in the last quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 5,874,951 shares of the mining companys stock worth $109,803,000 after buying an additional 446,132 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in shares of AngloGold Ashanti by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,396,216 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $75,396,000 after acquiring an additional 181,081 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 36.09% of the companys stock. About AngloGold Ashanti (Get Free Report) AngloGold Ashanti plc operates as a gold mining company in Africa, Australia, and the Americas. The company primarily explores for gold, as well as produces silver and sulphuric acid as by-products. Its flagship property is a 100% owned Geita mine located in the Lake Victoria goldfields of the Mwanza region in north-western Tanzania. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for AngloGold Ashanti Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for AngloGold Ashanti and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. StockNews.com lowered shares of Novo Nordisk A/S (NYSE:NVO Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Monday morning. A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Argus upped their target price on Novo Nordisk A/S from $125.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a buy rating and a $156.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an overweight rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Novo Nordisk A/S in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $145.17. Get Novo Nordisk A/S alerts: Read Our Latest Research Report on NVO Novo Nordisk A/S Price Performance Novo Nordisk A/S Cuts Dividend Novo Nordisk A/S stock opened at $136.90 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $614.34 billion, a PE ratio of 47.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. Novo Nordisk A/S has a 52-week low of $86.96 and a 52-week high of $148.15. The companys 50 day moving average is $136.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $131.34. The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a $0.5126 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 16th. This represents a yield of 0.7%. Novo Nordisk A/Ss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.83%. Institutional Trading of Novo Nordisk A/S Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Advisor OS LLC raised its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 0.6% during the second quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 13,972 shares of the companys stock worth $1,994,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.3% in the second quarter. Cascade Financial Partners LLC now owns 3,801 shares of the companys stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Novo Nordisk A/S by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Cravens & Co Advisors LLC now owns 8,250 shares of the companys stock worth $1,059,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 3.2% during the second quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,805 shares of the companys stock valued at $400,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Finally, Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Novo Nordisk A/S by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,790 shares of the companys stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 11.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Novo Nordisk A/S Company Profile (Get Free Report) Novo Nordisk A/S, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research and development, manufacture, and distribution of pharmaceutical products in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North America, and internationally. It operates in two segments, Diabetes and Obesity Care, and Rare Disease. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Novo Nordisk A/S Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Novo Nordisk A/S and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. CCL Industries Inc. (TSE:CCL.B Get Free Report) Director Stuart W. Lang sold 37,290 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$76.70, for a total transaction of C$2,860,143.00. CCL Industries Trading Up 0.4 % TSE CCL.B traded up C$0.34 during trading on Friday, hitting C$77.09. The stock had a trading volume of 306,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 261,042. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 48.08, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market capitalization of C$12.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.56. CCL Industries Inc. has a one year low of C$52.82 and a one year high of C$79.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of C$73.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$70.31. Get CCL Industries alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of brokerages recently commented on CCL.B. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of CCL Industries from C$79.00 to C$83.00 in a report on Friday, May 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of CCL Industries from C$81.00 to C$83.00 in a report on Friday, May 10th. National Bankshares increased their price target on shares of CCL Industries from C$84.00 to C$87.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of CCL Industries from C$83.00 to C$84.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of CCL Industries from C$80.00 to C$84.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of C$84.78. CCL Industries Company Profile (Get Free Report) CCL Industries Inc manufactures and sells labels, containers, consumer printable media products, technology driven label solutions, polymer bank note substrates, and specialty films. The company operates through four segments: CCL, Avery, Checkpoint, and Innovia. The CCL segment offers pressure sensitive and specialty extruded film materials for decorative, instructional, functional, and security applications in the consumer packaging, healthcare, chemicals, consumer electronic device, and automotive markets. See Also Receive News & Ratings for CCL Industries Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for CCL Industries and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. TELUS International (Cda) Inc. (TSE:TIXT Get Free Report) insider TELUS Corporation acquired 100,000 shares of TELUS International (Cda) stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of C$4.82 per share, for a total transaction of C$481,970.00. TELUS Corporation also recently made the following trade(s): Get TELUS International (Cda) alerts: On Friday, August 16th, TELUS Corporation purchased 200,000 shares of TELUS International (Cda) stock. The shares were bought at an average price of C$4.75 per share, for a total transaction of C$950,240.00. On Friday, August 9th, TELUS Corporation acquired 416,400 shares of TELUS International (Cda) stock. The stock was bought at an average price of C$4.09 per share, with a total value of C$1,703,325.84. TELUS International (Cda) Stock Up 0.2 % Shares of TIXT stock traded up C$0.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching C$4.78. 581,475 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 236,906. The businesss fifty day moving average is C$7.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$9.78. The firm has a market capitalization of C$530.58 million, a P/E ratio of 34.07 and a beta of 0.74. TELUS International has a 12-month low of C$3.90 and a 12-month high of C$15.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 80.53, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.79. About TELUS International (Cda) TELUS International (Cda) Inc design, builds, and delivers digital solutions for customer experience (CX) in the Asia-Pacific, the Central America, Europe, Africa, North America, and internationally. The company provides digital experience solutions, such as AI and bots, omnichannel CX, enterprise mobility solutions, cloud contact center, big data analytics, platform transformation, and UX/UI design; and customer experience solutions, including work anywhere/work from home, contact center outsourcing, technical support, sales growth and customer retention, healthcare/patient experience, and debt collection. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for TELUS International (Cda) Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for TELUS International (Cda) and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (NYSE:TEVA Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy by the nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $18.67. A number of research firms recently weighed in on TEVA. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from $18.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Piper Sandler reiterated an overweight rating and set a $20.00 target price (up previously from $19.00) on shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in a research note on Monday, May 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Saturday, August 3rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Teva Pharmaceutical Industries from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Get Teva Pharmaceutical Industries alerts: Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Price Performance Shares of TEVA opened at $18.39 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -44.85, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.90. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has a fifty-two week low of $8.06 and a fifty-two week high of $18.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.52. The firms 50 day moving average price is $17.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $15.29. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NYSE:TEVA Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.03. Teva Pharmaceutical Industries had a positive return on equity of 39.66% and a negative net margin of 2.73%. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.99 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Teva Pharmaceutical Industries will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Insiders Place Their Bets In other news, insider Eric A. Hughes sold 24,537 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.25, for a total value of $423,263.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,060 shares of the companys stock, valued at $777,285. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Roberto Mignone sold 519,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.03, for a total value of $8,838,570.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 981,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,706,430. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric A. Hughes sold 24,537 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.25, for a total value of $423,263.25. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 45,060 shares of the companys stock, valued at $777,285. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 83.9% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 60,868 shares of the companys stock valued at $989,000 after buying an additional 27,765 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 7.0% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 3,885,251 shares of the companys stock valued at $63,135,000 after acquiring an additional 254,483 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries by 38.0% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,319,217 shares of the companys stock valued at $21,437,000 after acquiring an additional 363,217 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries during the second quarter worth about $23,115,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Teva Pharmaceutical Industries during the second quarter worth about $6,825,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 54.05% of the companys stock. About Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (Get Free Report Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes generic medicines, specialty medicines, and biopharmaceutical products in North America, Europe, Israel, and internationally. It offers generic medicines in various dosage forms, such as tablets, capsules, injectables, inhalants, liquids, transdermal patches, ointments, and creams; sterile products, hormones, high-potency drugs, and cytotoxic substances in parenteral and solid dosage forms; and generic products with medical devices and combination products. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLC reduced its position in shares of The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO Free Report) by 6.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,630 shares of the companys stock after selling 4,568 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors SoCal LLCs holdings in Coca-Cola were worth $4,177,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Joule Financial LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Joule Financial LLC now owns 4,867 shares of the companys stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 30,262 shares of the companys stock worth $1,851,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,681 shares of the companys stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 12,009 shares of the companys stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Coca-Cola by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,697 shares of the companys stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. 70.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Coca-Cola alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Coca-Cola in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They issued an outperform rating and a $72.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Coca-Cola from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Coca-Cola has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $70.20. Insiders Place Their Bets In other Coca-Cola news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total value of $1,224,645.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 223,330 shares in the company, valued at $14,168,055.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Nancy Quan sold 19,304 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.44, for a total value of $1,224,645.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 223,330 shares of the companys stock, valued at $14,168,055.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nikolaos Koumettis sold 80,891 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.34, for a total value of $5,042,744.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 218,880 shares of the companys stock, valued at $13,644,979.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 911,496 shares of company stock worth $574,502,713. Corporate insiders own 0.97% of the companys stock. Coca-Cola Trading Down 0.3 % Shares of Coca-Cola stock traded down $0.24 on Thursday, hitting $69.33. 12,508,569 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,997,473. The Coca-Cola Company has a one year low of $51.55 and a one year high of $70.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $65.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.62. The company has a market capitalization of $298.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.59. Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.81 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $12.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.78 billion. Coca-Cola had a return on equity of 43.62% and a net margin of 22.92%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Coca-Cola Company will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year. Coca-Cola Announces Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.485 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Coca-Colas payout ratio is currently 77.60%. About Coca-Cola (Free Report) The Coca-Cola Company, a beverage company, manufactures, markets, and sells various nonalcoholic beverages worldwide. The company provides sparkling soft drinks, sparkling flavors; water, sports, coffee, and tea; juice, value-added dairy, and plant-based beverages; and other beverages. It also offers beverage concentrates and syrups, as well as fountain syrups to fountain retailers, such as restaurants and convenience stores. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Coca-Cola Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Coca-Cola and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC lessened its stake in shares of The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX Free Report) by 1.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,900 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock after selling 407 shares during the quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLCs holdings in TJX Companies were worth $2,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in TJX. Aprio Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,176 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC boosted its holdings in TJX Companies by 4.4% during the second quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 2,344 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC grew its position in TJX Companies by 4.1% in the second quarter. M3 Advisory Group LLC now owns 2,520 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 0.4% in the first quarter. Manhattan West Asset Management LLC now owns 24,670 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $2,502,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantum Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of TJX Companies by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,109 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailers stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.09% of the companys stock. Get TJX Companies alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on TJX Companies from $114.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on TJX Companies from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of TJX Companies from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the company from $100.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $114.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of TJX Companies from $113.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $126.76. Insider Buying and Selling at TJX Companies In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $102.17, for a total value of $2,043,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 571,148 shares in the company, valued at $58,354,191.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $102.17, for a total value of $2,043,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 571,148 shares in the company, valued at $58,354,191.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 8,171 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.73, for a total value of $831,235.83. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 49,570 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,042,756.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,671 shares of company stock worth $3,027,741 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.13% of the companys stock. TJX Companies Stock Down 1.0 % TJX stock traded down $1.23 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $119.00. The companys stock had a trading volume of 7,842,659 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,455,863. The company has a market capitalization of $134.49 billion, a PE ratio of 29.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $111.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $86.71 and a 12 month high of $121.06. TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.47% and a return on equity of 64.26%. The firm had revenue of $13.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year. TJX Companies Announces Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $1.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. TJX Companiess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.22%. TJX Companies Profile (Free Report) The TJX Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TJX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for TJX Companies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for TJX Companies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC reduced its position in The Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD Free Report) (TSE:TD) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,457 shares of the banks stock after selling 910 shares during the quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLCs holdings in Toronto-Dominion Bank were worth $1,289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,044,900 shares of the banks stock worth $132,141,000 after purchasing an additional 130,801 shares during the last quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Toronto-Dominion Bank by 2.7% during the first quarter. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,388,528 shares of the banks stock worth $83,881,000 after buying an additional 37,002 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Toronto-Dominion Bank in the 1st quarter valued at $6,454,000. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank in the 1st quarter worth $4,025,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank by 5,032.5% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 15,808 shares of the banks stock worth $1,022,000 after acquiring an additional 15,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.37% of the companys stock. Get Toronto-Dominion Bank alerts: Toronto-Dominion Bank Trading Down 2.2 % Shares of TD traded down $1.29 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $58.47. 4,813,644 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,781,296. The Toronto-Dominion Bank has a 52-week low of $53.52 and a 52-week high of $65.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.68. The firm has a market cap of $102.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.82. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Toronto-Dominion Bank ( NYSE:TD Get Free Report ) (TSE:TD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 23rd. The bank reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $10.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $9.90 billion. Toronto-Dominion Bank had a return on equity of 14.38% and a net margin of 9.96%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Toronto-Dominion Bank will post 5.87 EPS for the current fiscal year. TD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. National Bank Financial raised shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank from an underperform rating to a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com cut shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, May 24th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Toronto-Dominion Bank from $86.00 to $84.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Toronto-Dominion Bank in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. They set a neutral rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $88.00. Get Our Latest Research Report on TD Toronto-Dominion Bank Profile (Free Report) The Toronto-Dominion Bank, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, U.S. Retail, Wealth Management and Insurance, and Wholesale Banking. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding TD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD Free Report) (TSE:TD). Receive News & Ratings for Toronto-Dominion Bank Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Toronto-Dominion Bank and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma trimmed its holdings in The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI Free Report) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,518 shares of the health services providers stock after selling 52 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Oklahomas holdings in The Cigna Group were worth $1,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CI. Eads & Heald Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 7.9% in the second quarter. Eads & Heald Wealth Management now owns 2,595 shares of the health services providers stock valued at $858,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Busey Bank boosted its stake in shares of The Cigna Group by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Busey Bank now owns 51,101 shares of the health services providers stock worth $16,893,000 after buying an additional 1,648 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Cigna Group by 79.8% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,438 shares of the health services providers stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in The Cigna Group by 16.2% during the second quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 973 shares of the health services providers stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lynch Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in The Cigna Group by 1.6% during the second quarter. Lynch Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,750 shares of the health services providers stock valued at $3,223,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 86.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors. Get The Cigna Group alerts: The Cigna Group Trading Up 1.2 % The Cigna Group stock traded up $4.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $346.47. 733,989 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,544,775. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $335.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $341.73. The Cigna Group has a twelve month low of $253.95 and a twelve month high of $365.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.42 billion, a PE ratio of 28.10, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.52. The Cigna Group Dividend Announcement The Cigna Group ( NYSE:CI Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The health services provider reported $6.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $6.42 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $60.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $58.30 billion. The Cigna Group had a net margin of 1.70% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 24.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.13 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that The Cigna Group will post 28.4 earnings per share for the current year. The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 4th will be given a $1.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 4th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The Cigna Groups payout ratio is 45.98%. Analysts Set New Price Targets A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on The Cigna Group from $435.00 to $438.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday. Baird R W upgraded shares of The Cigna Group to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays boosted their price target on The Cigna Group from $393.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com raised The Cigna Group from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on The Cigna Group in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. They set an overweight rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $384.86. Read Our Latest Analysis on The Cigna Group Insider Buying and Selling at The Cigna Group In related news, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.68, for a total transaction of $922,151.88. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,539 shares in the company, valued at $6,010,264.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other The Cigna Group news, Director William J. Delaney III sold 2,691 shares of The Cigna Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.68, for a total transaction of $922,151.88. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,539 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $6,010,264.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Brian C. Evanko sold 4,795 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $345.01, for a total value of $1,654,322.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,923 shares of the companys stock, valued at $13,773,834.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 9,033 shares of company stock worth $3,095,820. Insiders own 0.60% of the companys stock. About The Cigna Group (Free Report) The Cigna Group, together with its subsidiaries, provides insurance and related products and services in the United States. Its Evernorth Health Services segment provides a range of coordinated and point solution health services, including pharmacy benefits, home delivery pharmacy, specialty pharmacy, distribution, and care delivery and management solutions to health plans, employers, government organizations, and health care providers. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding CI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Cigna Group (NYSE:CI Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for The Cigna Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for The Cigna Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund Limited (LON:SMIF Get Free Report)s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as GBX 86 ($1.12) and last traded at GBX 84.45 ($1.10), with a volume of 761932 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 84 ($1.09). TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund Stock Performance The stock has a market capitalization of 205.18 million and a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,055.00. The companys 50 day moving average is GBX 84.12 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 82.94. Get TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund alerts: TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund Announces Dividend The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of GBX 0.50 ($0.01) per share. This represents a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Funds payout ratio is currently -8,750.00%. TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund Company Profile TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund Limited is a closed-ended fixed income mutual fund launched by Numis Securities Ltd. The fund is managed by TwentyFour Asset Management LLP. It invests in fixed income markets of the United Kingdom. The fund primarily invests in less liquid instruments across the debt spectrum, including asset backed securities, bank capital, corporate loans, high yield bonds, and leveraged loans issued by a wide variety of issuers. See Also Receive News & Ratings for TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. 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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 Desperate Times, Desperate Measures By now NC readers are well versed on the largely self-inflicted problems the US and its NATO vassals are having keeping weapons and munitions flowing into Ukraine. Most NATO members have already stripped their cupboards bare of weapons stocks, including 155mm shells. In July, a special Reuters report admitted that A decade of strategic, funding and production mistakes [had] played a far greater role in the shell shortage than did the recent US congressional delays of aid. There are many reasons for this chronic munitions shortage. As Yves explained in her preamble to a recent cross-posted article, they include a failure of the US and its NATO allies to invest in surge capacity, protracted and typically porky procurement processes and a general distaste for dirigisme. Stealth Privatisation To bolster their dwindling stocks of munitions, the US and its NATO vassals are once again looking south, to Latin America. This time they are not asking governments in the region to donate or (in the words of the Commander of US Southern Command, General Laura Richardson) switch out Russian military equipment to Ukraine, which has so far yielded nada de nada, but are rather seeking to buy out a state-owned arms manufacturer in Argentina, with the goal of enlisting it in Ukraines war effort. The firm in question is Fabricaciones Militares, which besides manufacturing small arms, machine guns, artillery, munitions, TNT, DNT and nitorglycerin, also produces rolling stock for the state-owned rail operator Ferrocarriles Argentinos. Until recently, Fabricaciones Militares was also producing explosives for a Peruvian mining company, but in May Argentinas Javier Milei government severed the contract. According to the Argentine news broadcaster Canal 26, a U.S. military delegation has visited the company to gauge its logistical capabilities. The Milei government has apparently already given the go-ahead for a US or European firm to take over operations at the Argentine state-owned enterprise. Such a move would be, to put it mildly, controversial, as well as rather strange given Argentinas chronic manufacturing problems. As Canal 26 notes, Fabricaciones Militares is not on the governments list of 35 state-owned companies (public ports, aeronautics, satellites, water, banking, telecommunications, energy, railway, oil, coal and education companies) earmarked for privatisation in its Law of Bases. Instead, it was included in a list of state-owned companies to be transformed into publicly listed companies. That list was featured in the governments Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU), announced in December. Once Fabricaciones Militares is listed on the stock exchange, which could apparently happen as soon as September, a US or European company could take a controlling stake in the company. In other words, this is privatisation by stealth. There are apparently already a number of interested parties. According to Eduardo Bercovich, the secretary general of the ATE union in the city of Azul, where one of Fabricaciones Militares biggest plants is located, the Azul plant has already received visits from delegations of two companies, including the Czech CSG Group. Up for Auction Another installation in Rio Tercero was visited in July by US government personnel, reports Tiempo de San Juan: The visit in question, by US personnel in the company of representatives of the Ministry of Defence and the Directorate of Military Manufacturing, took place outside the traditional channels and was denounced by the unions operating at the plant. The complaint resulted in a call for answers by representatives of Juntos por el Cambio and the Justicialist Party in the Chamber of Deputies. Although the government has not yet commented on the matter, versions are growing regarding the US taking control of military facilities that would be used to manufacture equipment for NATO troops in Ukraine. We understand that at Fabricaciones Militares there is a sign up saying: up for auction, Bercovich told Canal Abierta. For the government, the only option being considered is to turn FM into a publicly limited company and have another country manage our defence industry. This, he said, is extremely concerning, especially since the Milei government wants the country to join NATO as well as produce arms for Ukraine, which could get us embroiled in the war in a big way. As we reported in June, Milei appears to be determined to turn Argentina into the first Latin American country to send weapons to Ukraine: Milei is determined to take sides in international conflicts, believing that this positions him as an international leader, says geopolitical analyst Gonzalo Fiore Viani. Everything he does is to reinforce that image and not to advance Argentinas national interests. Milei seems determined to involve Argentina not only in the escalating tensions in the Middle East, but also in the meat grinder that is Ukraine. Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III welcomed Argentina as a new member of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (aka Ramstein Group) during his opening address at the groups 23rd meeting. The Ramstein Group is an alliance of (mainly NATO) countries that meets monthly at the Ramstein air base in Germany to coordinate the ongoing donation of military aid to the Zelensky government Argentina is the first Latin American country to join the group. In an interview with CNN Espanols Andres Oppenheimer in April, Milei even entertained the possibility of sending military personnel into the meat grinder, a proposal that enjoys the support of just 21% of the population, according to a survey by the consultant Gustavo Cordoba. Any decision to send troops would have to go through Congress first, an unnamed diplomatic source told La Politica Online. The same is not true of sending arms. A new article by Infobae suggests that Milei wants to gift Ukraines (now wholly unelected) President Volodymyr Zelensky five French-made fighter jets. As we noted at the time, the biggest flaw in the plan was that the planes in question couldnt actually fly in fact, hadnt flown for years. Days later, reports began emerging of plans to send Argentine tanks to Ukraine via Germany. A Hostile Act Russia was quick to respond, which it did by describing Argentinas offer to send the planes and/or tanks to Ukraine as a hostile act. Through his ambassador to Argentina, Dmitry Feoktistov, Vladimir Putin urged Mileis administration to refrain from interfering in Russias conflict with Ukraine, suggesting that Argentina would be far better served maintaining its neutral stance, and that way preserving the friendly nature of Russian-Argentine relations, which have historically been immune to political trends. Feoktistov said: The reports about the possible shipment of Argentine tanks through Germany, similar to the agreement of the planes with France, are also worrying. We have clearly and firmly communicated to Argentina that such actions will be considered hostile actions against Russia. Feoktistov also criticised the participation of Argentine Defence Minister Luis Petri in the Ramstein Group. As for the participation of the Argentine Minister of Defense, Luis Petri, in the Brussels meeting, within the framework of the Ramstein coalition, there are still no official comments from the Argentine side. The rapprochement between Buenos Aires and Ukraines military patrons causes us deep disappointment. He also said Russias government had responded to Argentinas application to become a NATO global partner with bafflement. Frankly, we do not understand how granting this status can improve Argentinas security. It is a point weve been making since April when the application for membership was first announced. In fact, a question one could ask about pretty much every aspect of Mileis foreign policy and geopolitical alignment is: how does the country of Argentina benefit? (Of course, it doesnt). How does it benefit from its governments enthusiastic support of Israel as Israel commits war crime after war crime in Gaza including the worst crime of all, genocide. By doing this, Milei has essentially placed a giant target on Argentinas back in return for what? How does Argentina benefit from its governments decision to permit the installation of US military personnel along the Parana-Paraguay Waterway, Argentinas longest river system, upon which roughly 80% of all its exports travel? Or from the establishment of a joint US-Argentine naval base in Ushuaia, on the southern tip of Tierra de Fuego, granting US Southern Command significant influence over this key entry point to Antarctica? Or from distancing itself from its two closest trade partners, Brazil and China? Or from sending an ever larger chunk of its gold reserves to London, where it can be seized by any one of the countrys myriad unpaid creditors? Or proposing to splash $100 million on Argentinas Secretariat of State Intelligence at a time when it is slashing spending for public education, health care, pensions, public works, social spending and just about everything else? Said proposal was unanimously rejected by Argentinas Congress, with even former President Mauricio Macris PRO party blasting the idea of spending $100 million on state intelligence and security at a time when there is no money, especially given the lack of transparency regarding how the money would be spent. But I digress. Back to the main event. As happened months earlier with Ecuador, another country whose US-aligned government offered to send weapons to Ukraine under the seeming impression that Russia would not retaliate, it didnt take long for the Milei government to rectify its position. Just two days after Putins warning, Argentine presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni explicitly ruled out the possibility of providing any kind of military support to Ukraine, in response to a question raised about Russias warnings: We are not going to provide any type of military support. Yes, of course, we are going to offer humanitarian support, logistical support in terms of humanitarian issues and what is called the demining of the territory. But we are not going to interfere in any way in the war. Now, rather than handing Ukraine weapons, the Milei government is looking to give up Argentinas arms manufacturers for the cause. And apparently Putin wont notice or care. But how much use will they be if the Milei government is already stripping Fabricaciones Militares of some of its key workers? Communiques offering early and voluntary retirements have already begun arriving in the staffs inboxes. Many of the workers laid off will have skills and knowledge that will be difficult to replicate. Bercovich, the union man at Fabricaciones Miilitares, gives the example of one worker who has received more than 1,000 hours of training on how to make explosives. That [sort of knowledge] takes years to instil but all the government wants to do is get rid of state workers. Which brings us neatly all the way back to Yves point about Western governments general distrust of dirigisme (state control of economic and social matters) making it so much harder for them to keep up with Russias munitions production. In the case of the Milei government, it is not so much general distrust that it feels toward dirigisme; it is unmitigated hostility. Yves here. This post is noteworthy not just for profiling the extent of gift card cons, but also giving a long form account of a particular victimization. What is striking is that despite the headline claim that no one tries to help victims, the report below shows that multiple parties tried to intervene, including bank branch staff and a branch manager, retail store employees, even a policeman. The thieves fed the mark lines to blow these potential rescuers off. I hope you will circulate this post widely. Even though it states that older people lose the largest amounts, younger people, as in 19 to 49 years olds, are fleeced most often, which means that many fall victim to these scams, not just the aged. Moreover, it may be easy to tell yourself that youd never fall for this sort of thing. I suspect that that for the overwhelming majority of our reflexively skeptical readers, that that is true. However, this piece shows how someone can be manipulated when they are whipped up into a state of fear. Cognitive research has repeatedly found that when people are in emotionally hot states, such as anger, fear, romantic obsession, they cant identify with how they would behave in a cold state, and vice versa. By Dr. David P. Weber, Professor of the Practice in Fraud and Forensic Accounting, Salisbury University and Jake Bernstein, Investigative Journalist, The Conversation. Originally published at The Conversation Wednesday morning, the day before Thanksgiving, Mae awoke, set her hair in curlers and switched on her laptop. The screen froze and a message appeared. It said her Safari web browser had encountered a problem, and a link offered to connect the 83-year-old to the Apple Computer Company. Mae clicked it. She didnt know it yet, but Mae, like millions of Americans each year, had fallen into the grip of fraudsters. Over the next 10 hours, the criminals would try several methods to steal her money. The one that worked without a hitch was getting her to buy gift cards. The common cards, from retailers such as Target, Apple and Amazon, are sold on racks in drugstores and supermarkets. Theyre better than cash for a fraudster, more portable and just as anonymous. Once criminals have the gift card numbers, they use them to purchase goods online, at stores around the world, or sell or trade them in illicit marketplaces on the dark web, Telegram or Discord. An estimated US$8 billion is stolen annually from seniors age 60 and older through stranger-perpetrated frauds, according to AARP. Increasingly, gift cards are a leading fraud payment method reported by older adults, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Maes story is one of many such cases that prompted us a fraud and forensic accounting professor who is a former top financial regulator, and a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter to explore how cracks in the financial regulatory system dating to the Civil War have been exploited by fraudsters and corporations. The investigation shows that federal regulators have consistently failed to protect the public from gift card fraud and have failed to give gift cards consumer protections like those afforded to credit and debit cards. Congress, in turn, has largely deferred to these regulators. Meanwhile, efforts to rein in the industry on the state and federal level have been met with successful opposition from lobbyists and gift card trade groups. When fraud does occur, gift card retailers are often less than helpful in assisting law enforcement in helping to track down the criminals. One of us learned about Maes case in his work as a fraud examiner and has seen dozens of similar cases. Mae, who lives in Maryland, is unwilling to publish her last name for fear of being revictimized, as well as sheer embarrassment, but she still wants people to know the story so they dont make the same mistakes. In gift card fraud, everybody but the victim makes money: fraudsters, gift card companies and retailers. The criminals exploit a rapidly evolving payments industry thats shrouded in secrecy, designed to ensure easy transactions and lacking in consumer protections. The technology companies that provide the infrastructure that enables the gift card economy are privately held and release little information publicly. They facilitate payments behind the scenes, out of the view of consumers who see only the brand name of the card and the drugstore or supermarket where they buy it. While retailers who sell gift cards could do more to thwart fraud, the secretive technology companies that set up and manage gift cards are best positioned to stop rampant criminality, but they dont. Theres no legal requirement to do so, and they make money off the crime. Call This Number When Mae called the number that appeared on her screen, a man answered and identified himself as Mac Morgan, an Apple high security technician. He gave her his employee ID number, which she dutifully wrote down. The problem seemed to originate from her bank, he told her. She volunteered that she banked with M&T, a Northeast bank headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y. Call them, he said, and provided a phone number. The woman who answered said her name was Alivia, from the M&T Bank Fraud Unit. Alivia told Mae that a European pornographer and scammer had tried to gain access to her account and withdraw $20,000 during the night. A hold had been placed on the withdrawal, but Mae needed to come down to the bank and retrieve the money before the fraudsters did. Anxiety rising in her voice, Mae told the woman she hadnt even had a cup of coffee yet; she still had curlers in her hair. Alivia advised her to remove the curlers and, soothingly, promised to stay on the phone with Mae through the entire process. Sophisticated Schemes Gift cards are just the latest in fraudsters seemingly unlimited arsenal of tools that help them steal money from people through deceptions like romance scams, fake IRS notices and phony investment schemes. In addition to consumer swindles like the one that targeted Mae, gift cards, including those that are reloadable, have also been hit with an epidemic of card draining, where criminals either steal barcodes from gift cards on the rack or swap in new barcodes they already control. When consumers put money on a compromised card, the criminals are alerted because they are monitoring the barcodes using automated online account balance inquiries. They can repeatedly check the balances on thousands of barcodes at a time. As soon as money hits a card, the criminals use the account number to purchase items online or in stores, using runners or mules to physically go into stores. The gift card draining problem is widespread enough that it attracted the attention of the Department of Homeland Security and sparked hearings in the U.S. Senate in April 2024. Two months later, Maryland passed the nations first law targeting card draining, which mandates secure packaging aimed at thwarting criminals who steal or tamper with the numbers on gift cards. People ages 18 to 49 are more likely than older adults to lose money in gift card fraud, but adults over the age of 80 lose three times as much as younger adults. The average reported amount lost is $1,000, but more than 100 consumers have reported gift card fraud losses to the Federal Trade Commission in excess of $400,000 each between 2021 and 2023, according to information provided by the FTC through a public records request. Falling victim to a financial scam ranks second in American fears about criminality, after identity theft, far exceeding concerns about violent crime, according to Gallup. Despite these fears, there doesnt appear to be an accurate government number on exactly how much financial fraud is taking place. The gift card and reloadable card industry also doesnt keep data on the amount of money consumers lose through the criminal use of its products. At the same time, many gift card companies are not publicly traded. As such, they arent required to file quarterly or annual financial reports with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which would indicate the size of the industry and might outline the amount of fraud, among other risks. Consequently, nailing down an exact figure for the total amount of fraud involving gift cards and reloadable cards is challenging. To track trends, regulators rely on victims self-reporting to gauge the scope of the problem. Yet the vast majority of people who fall victim to financial scams never report their losses to law enforcement. Most victims are too embarrassed or pessimistic about their chances of recouping losses and so dont complain. And often they are concerned that their adult children, caregivers or authorities such as adult protective services might conclude that guardianship or institutionalization is necessary to protect them. While it is extremely difficult to know how many elders report financial fraud, a 12-year-old study thats still commonly cited, including by federal authorities, estimates it at 4.2%. About $550 billion is added onto gift cards annually in the U.S., according to Jordan Hirschfield, a gift card analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research. He estimates that between 1% and 5% of all gift card sales could be fraudulent in some way, but because no one keeps track, its difficult to arrive at an exact number. If the 1% to 5% figure is correct, the amount of fraud is between $5.5 billion and $27.5 billion per year. A Victims Fear Bubble Mae had entered what AARP calls a fear bubble, an induced state of panic that makes rational thought difficult, if not impossible. This is a greater risk for seniors, because as people get older they experience anger and fear more vividly. The fraudsters who manipulate this panic describe putting their victims under the ether. Frightened beyond reason, the victim is manipulated into transferring large sums of money to the fraudster to ward off the conjured danger. Anyone can fall victim. In February, a former New York Times business columnist wrote about losing $50,000 in a fear-induced scam. Mae had graduated summa cum laude from an elite private university. She is a no-nonsense retired nurse and lives independently. Now she was rushing, panicked, to her bank at the direction of a fraudster. As Mae drove, Alivia advised her to ready a story in case the teller balked at giving her the money. Mae decided to tell them that she needed the $20,000 to buy a used car and it was a matter of urgency. Frictionless and Anonymous Gift cards have experienced rapid and immense growth because theyre a win-win, an innovative convenience for shoppers and a threefold boon for retailers. The gift card racks are mini billboards for retailers. The Conversation , CC BY-ND Consumers commonly spend one- to two-thirds more than the actual value of the card when they use it, said Ben Jackson, chief operating officer for the Innovative Payments Association, one of several trade groups that represent the industry. And sometimes consumers dont spend the gift cards. Terms and conditions of the gift cards, frequently in small print or available only online, may allow retailers to retain the balance after a minimum of five years. Its a tidy gift to retailers amounting to billions of dollars. The National Retail Federation routinely ranks gift cards as the No. 1 thing shoppers plan to buy. You dont want friction in your gift giving, Jackson said. He has traced the first gift card to a glove company in Oregon in 1908. The company extolled the convenience of this new innovation: Gift givers need not worry about picking the right size or color glove; give the recipient a card and let them choose for themselves. In the modern era, plastic gift cards were created by Neiman Marcus, but movie rental company Blockbuster first displayed the cards for customers. Known as a closed-loop card, it can be spent for goods only from that particular retailer. In contrast, open-loop gift cards can be spent at multiple retailers and often have a credit card logo from companies such as Visa or Mastercard, but they dont offer the same protections afforded actual credit cards, such as requiring an ID on file for the card. Some open-loop cards identify as debit cards even though they also lack the fraud protections of bank debit cards. If the money is swindled, theres no obligation for the company to reimburse the cardholder. Open-loop cards work everywhere debit and credit cards do and can sometimes be reloaded with funds. Purchasers can pay by cash to remain anonymous. Criminals love them. In the places where fraudsters lurk on the dark web, which is made up of sites that resemble ordinary websites but are accessible only using special browsers or authorization codes, and on Telegram and Discord messaging apps open-loop and closed-loop gift cards are offered as payment for everything from payroll to the purchase of equipment needed to perpetrate more frauds. The first open-loop card originated with retail malls and foreshadowed how the gift card industry would later game regulators. In 2004, Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group and Bank of America created a stored-value card that could be spent at any store in the 159 Simon malls throughout the U.S. The card activation fee was as much as $6.95. Simon also deducted a fee when a card went unused for six months and charged 50 cents each time a customer checked the card balance after the first inquiry. The fees ran counter to the consumer protection laws of some states where Simon operated, and three states sued Simon. But the mall operator successfully contended that because it was working with a national bank, federal law and regulations, which had no restriction on these fees, preempted state law to allow the fees. While the cards failed to stop online shopping from eclipsing the American mall industry, it eventually roused federal lawmakers into limited action. Meanwhile, another gift card innovation had launched in California. In 2002, an in-house unit of Safeway supermarkets looking to sell nontraditional goods to Safeway customers created the gift card kiosk. It was so successful that a year later the unit became a Safeway subsidiary called Blackhawk Network. By 2007 there were Blackhawk kiosks in 60,000 retail locations, projecting sales of $100 million that year. Seven years later, Safeway spun off Blackhawk as a stand-alone public company. And in 2018, with help from Blackhawk insiders, a private equity firm called Silver Lake Partners and a hedge fund named P2 Capital Partners took the company private in a transaction worth $3.5 billion. In 2023, Blackhawk Network Holdings had an estimated annual revenue of $2.8 billion. Blackhawk and its main competitor, Atlanta-based InComm Payments, put cards in drugstores and supermarket chains throughout the U.S. Each card is a separate, private bespoke agreement negotiated between the card owner and the distributor, according to Jackson. Typically, the distributor negotiates a small discount, usually under 10%, off the cards face value. The discount is split between the distributor and the store selling the card. The distributor handles card activation so that a retailer like Target will recognize that the card is active in the available amount. In some cases, the distributor also handles the back-end technology that allows consumers to spend the money loaded on the card. Starting as a small industry a little more than 20 years ago, the closed- and open-loop gift card business has become a massive enterprise involving hundreds of billions of dollars, a festival of frictionless commerce that is also beloved by criminals for its convenience and anonymity. Mae Gets Stubborn The bank teller tried to dissuade Mae from withdrawing $20,000 in cash. Eventually, the bank manager joined the conversation and suggested she take a cashiers check instead. Mae insisted that the guy selling her the car had demanded cash. After about 15 minutes, she wore them down. They gave her the cash. The bank manager followed Mae to her car to ensure she was OK and to try one more time to get her to reconsider. Mae waived the manager off. Once she was alone again, Mae picked up the phone. Alivia had remained on the line the entire time but told Mae to leave her cellphone in the car while she went into the bank. A Patchwork System of Help In Maryland, the banker had no option but to hand Mae her money. Thats not the case in other states. In Florida, a state that contends with elevated incidents of fraud on seniors, the Legislature passed a law in May allowing financial institutions to delay disbursements or transactions of funds to people over 65 if there is a well-founded belief that they are being exploited. In return, the banks receive immunity from any resulting administrative or civil liability. The delay, which expires after 15 business days, requires that the financial institution launch an immediate review and contact those the account holder has designated as people of confidence. A court may shorten or extend the length of the pause. Anecdotal evidence from law enforcement suggests that even a few hours of delay can pop the fear bubble fraudsters create. As soon as the persuasive ether of the fraudster lifts, most people realize theyve been scammed. A delay also makes time for the target to talk to someone they trust who might dissuade them from parting with their money. In New Jersey in 2021, state Sen. Nellie Pou sponsored a bill that proposed a 48-hour delay before using or validating a gift card worth more than $100 and proposed extending the protections to gift cards that credit cards receive under federal laws and regulations: If a consumer reported fraud, the funds would be frozen, and if the fraud investigation were upheld, the money would be returned to the customer. The bill also proposed a fraud incident hotline for consumers, exempted small businesses and levied a $1,000 civil penalty for card issuers that violated its provisions. The Innovative Payments Association lobbied against the New Jersey bill. The legislation would harm New Jerseyans, it wrote lawmakers, by discouraging gift card providers to issue and sell such cards in the state. The association argued that the waiting period defeats the purpose of having a gift card, which is to allow the recipient to go out and get what they want/need immediately. The legislation passed the state Senate but died in the Assembly and wasnt reintroduced. Several states have also passed or are considering laws requiring retailers selling gift cards to post warning signs, including Delaware, Iowa, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia, but none go as far as the New Jersey bill. Waiting periods and warning signs are not the only tools that gift card companies could use against fraud. The distributors already have a technology in place that would be even more effective: velocity limits. If unusually large numbers of gift cards are being purchased at a drugstore or supermarket, for instance, a distributor like Blackhawk could freeze the sale and alert the retailer. They have done this on occasion, but our investigation shows this does not happen with consistency. If sale freezes and alerts happened consistently, consumers would be less likely to be reporting on the FTC database large amounts of money lost to gift card scams. Gift cards could also be required to use geofencing. If a card is purchased in Maryland but redeemed on the same day in California or China, that could be a red flag for fraud because the likelihood that someone like Mae would be able to get gift cards to faraway friends or family so quickly is slim. Geofencing would freeze redemption outside a certain geographical area. And more simply, retailers could require that gift cards be purchased with a credit or debit card rather than cash to make it easier to reimburse a customer in the event of fraud. In 2022, around the same time New Jersey was trying to rein in gift card fraud all by itself, Congress passed the Stop Senior Scams Act. The bill created an advisory group of industry members, regulators and law enforcement that is run by the FTC and tasked with studying ways to curtail fraud. Included in the mandate was a focus on technology. The advisory group created a Technology and New Methods Committee subcommittee with about two dozen members, including Blackhawk and the Innovative Payments Association. In the two years since the bill was passed, the main committee has met only twice. Recommendations by federal advisory committees are not binding. Although the Federal Advisory Committee Act requires that committee meetings be open to the public and their records available for public inspection, its not a requirement for subcommittees. The committee is aiming to disrupt fraud, particularly among older adults, by more efficiently sharing information, data and other intelligence, according to committee member Jilenne Gunther, national director of AARPs public policy institute. The industry has pushed consumer education as the best response to the gift card fraud epidemic, even as signage and public service announcements have shown questionable effectiveness. Consumer education puts the burden of protection on the targets of fraud, Marti DeLiema, assistant professor of social work at the University of Minnesota, testified at an Elder Justice Coordinating Counsel hearing in 2022. At the same time, fraud targets are often in states of emotional distress. Some retailers are also training their cashiers to be alert to seniors inexplicably buying fistfuls of gift cards, but these efforts are not always standardized across the industry. Expecting a clerk earning minimum wage to prevent a fearful senior from legally buying gift cards is likely unrealistic. Blackhawk did not respond to multiple requests for interviews and declined to answer emailed questions. InComm Payments declined to make anyone available for an interview and did not answer detailed emailed questions. In its letter opposing the New Jersey bill the Innovative Payments Association argued that the industry was highly regulated, required to adhere to federal requirements and strict federal anti-money laundering regulations. In practice, thats not the case. The Criminals Direct Mae to Crypto Before sending Mae to buy gift cards, the fraudsters tried another scheme. Alivia directed Mae to a Shell gas station with a Cash2Bitcoin ATM inside and told her that if she put her money into crypto it would be safe. Mae had never before seen a Bitcoin ATM. Alivia talked her through registering for an account, including uploading her drivers license, a know-your-customer requirement that doesnt exist for gift cards. As Mae fed thousands of dollars into the machine, another elderly woman stood behind her impatiently. I need to get money to send to my nephew, she told Mae. Much later, Mae would realize that the woman was probably being scammed, too. At $15,000, the ATM hit its limit on deposits. The money Mae was feeding into the ATM went flying. She jammed the receipts into her purse and hurriedly gathered cash off the floor. The fraudsters then sent Mae to the areas two other crypto ATMs, but neither worked. It was 5 p.m. and getting dark. Mae hadnt eaten all day. Alivia asked if Cash2Bitcoin had sent her a receipt for the $15,000. No, Mae replied, forgetting she had shoved it into her purse. Alivia told her to call and find out what the holdup was. Maes phone conversation with Cash2Bitcoin was concerning enough that the man at the exchange froze Maes money. Stymied, Alivia handed the call off to her supervisor, Mike Ross. Faced with a crypto dead end, but unwilling to relinquish a chance at the remaining $5,000, Ross directed Mae to a Rite Aid near her house to buy gift cards. Loopholes and Laggards Gift card companies can make the claim they are highly regulated because of legislation that occurred after the 2008 financial crisis. The uproar after Simon Property Group flouted state consumer protection laws led Congress to pass the Credit CARD Act in 2009. The law eliminated many of the garbage fees on gift cards and prohibited cards from expiring for at least five years. It also encouraged states to legislate their own reforms by allowing state law to preempt federal law. But the law didnt extend existing credit and debit card consumer fraud protections for gift card purchasers. As part of the wave of financial reform, Congress also created a single regulator for consumer financial protection: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. It removed regulation-writing authority from the Federal Reserve and gave enforcement and rule writing authority solely to the bureau. It also took away examination and enforcement of all nonbank financial products from the Fed, the FDIC and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Federal consumer protection bank or nonbank would ostensibly now be regulated only by this new single regulator. In the 15 years since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created, there has been a rise in consumer financial products outside of banks, but the new agency hasnt kept up. As part of the rules it issued in 2016 and 2018, it exempted most gift cards, open- and closed-loop alike, from regulation. While the bureau declined multiple requests to explain why gift cards were exempted from its consumer protection rules for fraud, it did point to resources including a flowchart showing what types of electronic payment methods would be covered under its rules. The chart, a near-incomprehensible tangle of arrows and scenarios, shows how most prepaid gift cards are exempt from the fraud consumer protection regulations common for debit and credit cards, including all gift cards and branded reloadable cards purchased in retail drugstores and supermarkets. This exemption exists even though these prepaid cards rely on electronic activation and maintenance, which is the purpose of existing laws such as the Electronic Fund Transfer Act. The FTCs Authority Aside from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the FTC and the Treasury Department have responsibilities that could protect consumers like Mae from gift card fraud. Yet, to date, their actions concerning gift cards are spotty at best. The FTC is the original consumer protection agency. It can regulate unfair or deceptive acts or practices in commerce and provides annual statistics of consumer reports of fraud in all products and services. It provides advice about avoiding scammers, and consumers can fill out a form and join other tragic stories in a growing database, but there is little consequence for the companies involved. The FTC contends it has jurisdiction to bring enforcement actions against gift card nonbank entities for unfair or deceptive acts or practices, but the last time it appears to have done so was in 2007. The FTC provided a background interview and sent a follow-up memo, but it declined to answer questions about the differences between its authority and that of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or confirm which agency is the primary federal regulator of gift cards. More Agencies, Little Oversight The Treasury could also get involved. Two agencies of the U.S. Department of Treasury tackle fraud that touches on national security, terrorism and transnational gangs. Increasingly, criminals from China, Iran, North Korea, Russia and the occupied areas of Ukraine target Americans with tacit, and sometimes explicit, state support. These Treasury agencies have also largely given gift cards a pass, exempting them from controls in place to combat these crimes, even though there is evidence that the cards are being used by international criminals. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a bureau of the Treasury Department, requires two types of reports that can involve gift cards: currency transaction reports for transactions of $10,000 or more that are made in cash, and confidential suspicious activity reports for a variety of transactions of any value that the filer considers suspicious, including suspected elder financial exploitation. Financial institutions, including banks and businesses such as car dealerships, casinos, antique dealers and money service providers, are required to file the reports. These include money transmitters companies such as Western Union and MoneyGram that work through retail establishments such as supermarkets and Walmart to send money overseas or to another city rather than using a bank wire transfer. Those businesses must obtain personal identification information, such as a Social Security number and drivers license from the person conducting the transactions, for the report. Financial institutions file millions of reports every year. In 2011, with gift cards still in their infancy, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a regulation to amend the money service business definition to address prepaid access products such as gift cards. But despite law enforcement concerns, the agency exempted open-loop cards up to $1,000 that werent used internationally and closed-loop gift cards up to $2,000 from the money-laundering regulation. For closed-loop cards, there was no restriction on international use. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network also didnt limit aggregation for gift cards. Banks and money service businesses are generally required to aggregate transactions made on the same day from multiple locations and must report if the total amount goes over $10,000 for the day. For gift cards, however, there is no aggregate tracking requirement, so fraudsters can direct seniors to multiple stores in a day even stores from the same chain to buy $2,000 worth of gift cards at each, racking up tens of thousands of dollars. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Networks rule specifies that categories of prepaid access products and services were exempted because they pos[ed] lower risks of money laundering and terrorist financing, despite noting that law enforcement disagreed. In response to our detailed questions, the Treasurys Financial Crimes Enforcement Network declined to say how many, if any, regulatory examinations it or the IRS on its behalf has conducted of gift card providers. Any information or statistics that we can share publicly are located on our website, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network spokesperson Steve Hudak wrote in an email that also included resource links. FinCEN declines further comment. The final agency in the gift card regulatory puzzle is Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control, which administers and enforces economic sanctions programs against countries and groups of individuals, including foreign hackers and fraudsters targeting the United States. But because gift card purchasers dont have to show identification and can provide the card number or a text picture of the card to someone overseas, gift card companies cant prevent sanctioned people, groups or nations from using their products. Only one enforcement action appears to have been taken by the Office of Foreign Assets Control against a gift card provider. In 2022, when Tango Card products, now a division of Blackhawk, self-reported that cards had been used to purchase goods or services in malign nations, including Iran, North Korea, Syria and Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, the bureau sanctioned the company $116,048.60. The Office of Foreign Assets Control did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Mae Sends the Police Away At Rite Aid, Ross instructed Mae to purchase three types of gift cards: two $500 Nordstrom cards, two $500 Target cards and one $200 Macys card. Given the size of the purchase, the Rite Aid cashier called over the manager. Mae lied and said she needed the gift cards for her grandson. Likely due to the $2,000 limit Rite Aid imposed on daily purchases of closed-loop gift cards, the drugstore would sell her only the four Nordstrom and Target cards for a total of $2,000. Back in her car, Mae scratched the back of the cards to reveal the numbers and read them to Ross. He was about to direct her to the next stop when there was a knock on the car window. It was a police officer. Mae had been scheduled to cook dinner for a gentleman friend who had become worried by her absence and contacted the local police. Theyd tracked down her car. Ross told her to get rid of the cop by inventing a story. Hed stay on the line to listen. She rolled down the window and did as Ross instructed, reassuring the officer that all was well, and shed be home soon. When the policeman left, Ross sent Mae to a nearby Food Lion supermarket to buy more gift cards. The Food Lion was close to Maes house, and the store manager knew her. He refused to sell her the gift cards. This is a scam, he told her. It was now almost 8 pm. Resigned, Ross instructed her to go home but not tell anyone what had transpired. The Fear Bubble Lifts By the time Mae pulled into her driveway, the ether had lifted and she knew shed been scammed. It was a big fat light bulb: Youve been screwed, she said. Mae called M&T and learned there was no open fraud case. She called Target. Only 30 minutes had elapsed since she purchased the gift cards at Rite Aid, but theyd already been spent. Recent prosecutions of Chinese gift card draining rings have revealed that the criminals employ networks of mules. These low-level employees are already positioned to buy goods in person once gift card numbers are obtained. And there are other avenues to monetize the gift cards besides an army of low-level buyers. On the Russian-owned Telegram app, dozens of gift card marketplaces sell illegally obtained cards. The traffic in illicit gift cards appears to be growing in popularity because its possible to move huge sums of money offshore anonymously with little to no regulatory controls. The reduced fraud protection makes it easy for cybercriminals to find buyers, said Ensar Seker, advisory chief information security officer at SOCRadar, a cybersecurity firm that monitors the channels. The cards are usually sold for 50% to 75% of face value, based on the risk incurred in obtaining them, according to Seker. If cards need to be moved quickly because they were acquired through hacking and likely to be canceled, theyre worth closer to 50%. Cards obtained by fraud are worth closer to 75%, because there is little risk of being caught for using one. Retailers arent required to know who their customers are. So the retailer issuing the card has no idea whether the cardholder is the person who bought it, someone who was gifted the card, a fraudster or someone who purchased it from a fraudster on Telegram or the dark web. Sometimes criminals will report the cards stolen and receive a new number to cover their tracks. Because the retailer doesnt know who bought the card, it cant tell that its the fraudster making the call. Increasingly, cryptocurrencies can be traced and recovered, said Seker, but gift cards cannot. The most important aspect for the criminal is to stay anonymous and untraceable. Gift cards allow this, he said. Epilogue Investigators tried to pursue the criminals responsible for scamming Mae. Her case was referred to a special elder financial exploitation team. Investigators met with Mae less than a week after the fraud. The phone numbers the fraudsters used in speaking to Mae were internet lines from a service provider that had little information to offer and denied any responsibility. The phone service had been purchased using an open-loop gift card, so there was no record of who purchased the service. Mae had thrown out the gift cards but gave the investigators the Rite Aid receipts, which had partial numbers of the gift cards, similar to ATM receipts. The investigators subpoenaed Rite Aid for the full gift card numbers using the postal mailing address the store provided for subpoenas. After a substantial delay, Rite Aid responded to the subpoena, claiming it couldnt provide the full card numbers using its point-of-sale records. Investigators later connected with a regional loss prevention manager at a different store who provided the full gift card numbers that Rite Aid corporate headquarters claimed in its subpoena response it didnt have. The investigators then subpoenaed Nordstrom and Target. But by that time there was no information left to provide. Store surveillance footage was months gone, overwritten with new footage. The retailers had no records of who had used the cards. So despite immediate action by law enforcement, the criminals had vanished, along with Maes $2,000. Mae got most of her bitcoin money back, thanks to the compliance efforts and fraud freeze that had been placed on her bitcoin account on the day of the fraud. Even as fraud against the elderly, including through gift cards, continues to grow, its primed to get only worse. In 2023, Americans 65 and older represented 17.3% of the population, about 57.8 million people. By 2040, they will be 22% of the population, numbering more than 78 million. By 2060, that number is expected to be 88.8 million. These seniors will be sitting on nest eggs accrued over a lifetime, and fraudsters want a piece of it. Mae reported her story to the local police, AARP and the FTC database. It can happen to anyone, she said. By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Have I mentioned that expected this year to be volatile? Here is Kennedys speech, live, which is on-going as of this writing [now finished]. UPDATE Hat tip to alert reader marym for the transcript. I was going to put on my yellow waders and look at Kamalas DNC speech I had Sarah Palins 2008 acceptance speech all lined up for a genre comparison but obviously this is more important. Please consider this a live post as I can put more material together, and talk amongst yourselves. P.S. Wowers, is Kennedys description of the horror that is the modern Democrat party. FAFO, and FO they did, with their ballot manipulation shenanigans. * * * I was reluctant to launch this post, because I did not hear and there is no Closed Captioning on YouTube, hence no transcript sentences as simple as this: I am suspending my campaign. In Blue or Red States, vote for me. In swing states, I will take myself off the ballot and I hereby endorse Donald Trump for President. The last part I did not hear. However, I just heard: Joining the Trump campaign will be a difficult sacrifice for my wife and our chldren. So here we are! * * * Here is the Kennedy clans reaction: I am sharing a personal statement that my family and I have made in response to my brothers announcement. pic.twitter.com/j7vTTabNYZ Kerry Kennedy (@KerryKennedyRFK) August 23, 2024 I disagree. Kennedy explained quite clearly in the beginning of his speech that todays Democrat Party is not the Democrat Party of JFK or RFK. Alert reader Martin Oline summarized that portion of his speech, right at tbe beginning, as follows: He says that Kamala Harris dropped out of the 2020 primary without a single vote and yet has been selected by the party to be the chosen candidate for 2024. By doing so they have abandoned democracy and embraced lawfare and manipulated the primary process, using the media to censor his campaign. Kennedy also went into considerable detail about his difficulties getting on the ballot, and how the Democrats tried to prevent this at every turn (while praising his volunteers, who did indeed do an extra-ordinary job. * * * BBC was first out of the box on my RSS feed, so here they are: RFK Jr suspends campaign to throw support behind Trump. A key point: Before working to elect Trump, Mr Kennedy said he asked to have similar conversations with Ms Harris. The Harris campaign reaction being lol, no. * * * Then FOX, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. suspends campaign, backs Trump for president: Kennedy said in Phoenix that the Democratic Party of waged continual legal warfare [I heard this as lawfare] against both President Trump and myself, and ran a sham primary. In an honest system, I believe I would have won the election, he said. Kennedys campaign is asking swing states to remove his name from the ballot because he does not want to be a spoiler, he said. He will remain on the ballot in states that he considers red or blue, he said. If you live in a blue state, you can vote for me without harming or helping President Trump or or Vice President Harris, Kennedy said. In red states, the same will apply. Interestingly: But the relationship between Kennedy and Trump started warming earlier this year, and the two spoke last month after the assassination attempt against Trump and met in person the following day. Would be a little too much All things work together for good if Thomas Crooks brought Trump and Kennedy together And Kennedy then fixed Americans food supply (which needs fixing). Now, Kennedy seemed to believe that Trump made some sort of commitment to him on that topic which also means that the extremely attractive framing of saving Americas children fell into Trumps lap, of all people, who knew but I am hazy on what the commitment was. No doubt it will come up in coverage (or at the rally in Glendale, AZ later today). * * * DNC unveils billboards dubbing Trump, Vance, RFK Jr. weird as hell [The Hill]. Well, thats clarifying. So much for President of all the people (which anybody over six-years-old knows was West Wing-style boilerplate). I dont know whats weird about wanting to save children from chronic disease. Kamala, why do you think thats weird? The wonderful thing about Kennedy throwing his support to Trump to end childhood suffering is that it could give Trump, for once in his life, the moral high ground. It will be interesting to see how Trump handles that, since having the moral high ground will be a very new experience for him. * * * Pre-speech snark (94.9K followers, looks like a Democrat operative from the timeline): In a special ceremony later today, RFK Jr. and Donald Trump will press their ears together for the symbolic passing of the brain worm. TheRealThelmaJohnson (@TheRealThelmaJ1) August 23, 2024 Thelma: If brain worms mean you dont commit genocide, Im all for them (\s, in case any goon actually picks this up). Working to unify all Americans (401.1K followers, Author, Pastor, Activist, Storyteller): RFK Jr endorsing Trump is like E. coli endorsing diarrhea. John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) August 23, 2024 Pastor, eh? Dude needs to get his knee seen to (768K Followers, Pro-democracy conservatives Republicans fighting Trump & Trumpism): BREAKING RFK Jr says that one of the main reasons hes endorsing Trump is because of the former president's anti-Ukraine views. A vote for Trump is a vote for Putin. pic.twitter.com/6RtEIKJ3s0 Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) August 23, 2024 * * * Shanahan before Kennedys announcement: JUST NOW: SHANAHAN SAYS THEY ARE "HESITANT" ABOUT JOINING FORCES WITH TRUMP "The hesitation we have right now in joining forces with Trump is that he has not apologized or publicly come out and said Operation Warp Speed was his fault. The vaccinations, the lockdowns letting pic.twitter.com/FD9xU8rJ07 Lauren Lee (@sheislaurenlee) August 23, 2024 Set up a truth and reconcilation commission. Not only do you get to punt, it might even be a good idea. * * * Now CBS, RFK Jr. endorses Trump and suspends presidential campaign. Key point: And he held out the distant possibility that if neither Trump nor Harris were able to win 270 electoral votes, tying 269 to 269, I could conceivably still end up in the White House in a contingent election. Harris campaign emits strategist- and press-friendly boilerplate in reaction: Jen OMalley Dillon, the chair of Vice President Kamala Harris campaign, appealed to Kennedys supporters in a statement after his announcement Friday. For any American out there who is tired of Donald Trump and looking for a new way forward, ours is a campaign for you, she said. In order to deliver [what?] for working people and those who feel [are] left behind, we need a leader [sigh] who will fight for you, not just for themselves, and bring us together, not tear us apart. Vice President Harris wants to earn your support. Gonna have to pry fight for from their cold dead hands. Anyhow, if you want Kennedys voters, steal his issues, the way you stole Trump not taxing tips (not a good idea, but Kamala went ahead and stole it). * * * Polling: Trump, Harris campaigns weigh in on RFK Jr. suspending bid [The Hill]. The Trump campaign released a memo from its pollster, Tony Fabrizio, positing that Trump would gain the majority of Kennedys supporters in a head-to-head race against Harris. The memo cited campaign polling that found Trump drawing more than half of Kennedys supporters in Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina and Wisconsin, and a plurality of his supporters in Georgia, Michigan and Pennsylvania. So, when you hear or see the Harris team and/or the Democrats try and spin otherwise, now that the data clearly paints a different picture, Fabrizio wrote in the memo. This is good news for President Trump and his campaign plain and simple. Well, the Trump campaign would do that; I will wait for the Old Guys to express their views, or for next weeks polling. If Kamala gets a low-to-no convention bounce, Kennedys well-timed announcement would be the reason. Rove: RFK Jr. endorsing Trump could have impact in Georgia, Arizona [The Hill]. Republican strategist Karl Rove suggested Wednesday that independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. endorsing former President Trump could help the GOP nominee in Georgia and Arizona, two key swing states in November. My gut tells me it probably helps Donald Trump, because the people who were for him because he was a Kennedy, I think they began leaving after Joe Biden pulled out on the 21st, so a small amount of help, Rove told Fox News in an interview. But as you know, in a race like this, think about it. Did he have 10,000 followers in Georgia? Did he have 11,000 followers in Arizona? And then how did they split? Its probably not this positive, but it could have an impact, he added. If the campaigns are fighting over 100,000 voters (a purely notional figure) then 10,000 would have a material impact. RFK Jr. endorses Trump as he suspends presidential campaign [CNN]. There is a presumption among Trumps team and his allies that conservative-leaning mothers a demographic the Republican nominee has struggled to win over could also be swayed. Women were more likely to support Kennedy than men , according to a recent Pew Research Center survey, though other polls havent shown a meaningful difference. But RFK Jr.s supporters could still alter a tight presidential race. Trump is banking on it [CNN]. At the Republican National Convention last month, Trump co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita told a room full of reporters that their internal polling predicted Kennedy siphoned slightly more votes from Democrats in Michigan and Wisconsin but much more from us in Pennsylvania , whose 19 Electoral College votes are one of this years top prizes and could determine the election. Asked why, LaCivita responded, I dont know. I havent figured it out yet.' Hmm. * * * Kennedy would be in what role? Trump Jr. says it would be good to have RFK Jr. at an agency to blow it up [The Hill] From August 21 (but after Trump and Kennedy had opened discussions, note well). Donald Trump Jr., former President Trumps son, told conservative radio host Glenn Beck that hes in favor of having independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. take a position in a new Trump administration so he can take a government agency and blow it up. I loved the idea, love the idea of giving him some sort of role in some sort of major three-letter entity or whatever it may be and let him blow it up, Trump said Wednesday on The Glenn Beck Program.' I can think of several TLAs that need blowing up badly and have yet to see reporting on Trumps actual offer to Kennedy. I mean, there was a deal, right? New in SpyWeek: RFK Jr. as Trumps CIA Chief? [SpyTalk]. Former Gen. Michael Flynn, who briefly served as Trumps national security advisor and became a much-beloved figure in the QAnon conspiracy community, also said he liked the idea. Make him CIA director, and we can finally learn exactly who killed his uncle, his dad, MLK Jr., Malcolm X, etc., Flynn wrote in a post on X. No word on this from RFK Jr.s campaign manager (and daughter-in-law), Amaryllis Fox, who did work at the CIA and published a disputed memoir of her time there. Lately, shes been busy posting the history of CIA covert action on X. I think not, unless Kennedy hires a personal food taster and is very careful about the ventilation in his office. (This also doesnt jibe with Kennedys health/food/children agenda.) Election Live Updates: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Suspends Campaign and Endorses Trump [New York Times]. One hour ago: Trump, taking questions from reporters at a restaurant in Las Vegas, declined to say whether he would offer Kennedy a role in his administration if he is elected in November . He called Kennedy beloved.' Interesting, assuming the Times is reporting accurately. But two hours ago: With President Trumps backing, Kennedy said, Im going to staff these agencies with honest scientists. He is implying that Trump would have him in such a role if Trump wins the White House. Were going to reform the entire food system, he said. Staff in what role? This seems like an awfully important detail to leave so fuzzy. RFK Jr. says he is suspending presidential campaign to help Trump [Axios]. Trump, who Kennedy said Friday has asked him to enlist in his administration, is hosting a rally later in Arizona. He has teased that there will be a special guest at the rally. Enlist? What does that mean? Will the campaigns be integrated? Offices within the Executive Branch are within Trumps gift. So which office? What is the deal? UPDATE I have scanned the transcript. This is closest I can come: If President Trump is elected and honors his word, the vast burden of chronic disease that now demoralizes and bankrupts, the country will disappear. So we know Trump gave his word but about what? Not clear. If some kind reader would confirm or disconfirm me in this view, that would be great. * * * Our democracy: Democratic dynasty heir RFK endorses Republican Trump [New York Post].When a predictably bungled debate performance precipitated the palace coup against President Biden, the same shadowy DNC operatives appointed his successor, also without an election, they installed a candidate who was so unpopular with voters that she dropped out in 2020 without winning a single delegate, he said. And he was right. * * * RFK Jr. endorses Trump ahead of announcement dropping out of presidential election [The Federalist]. I want to thank Bobby, that was very nice, Trump said. Thats big. Hes a great guy, respected by everybody.' Queens boy makes good! * * * Time for me to sign off. Some quick reactions 1) I dont think Kennedys enlistment will swing many of voters, but it wouldnt take many, were they located in the right swing states (the future is not here, and it is not evenly distributed. Thats why elections are so fascinating). 2) I do think that Kennedys wish to solve Americas child health crisis by fixing food has many advantages. First, it makes all of Kamalas proposals look like smallball: focus-grouped, tired, and weak (as they indeed are). Second, for once in his life, Trump would have the moral ascendancy (the children!). Useful in debate! Third, the proposal needs to be fleshed out and made concrete but with a small-ish attack surface (but no woo woo, although if Big Ag fights it, so much the better). Finally, if Trump really puts his weight behind this big policy idea, it changes the complexion of the race completely, not least because it could give his messaging the focus it has hitherto lacked. 3) For Trumps sake, I sure hope the campaign staff was on-board with this from the beginning, and that this didnt come as a shock to them. That they had polling figures to hand argues that they were not surprised. 4) The issue of Kennedys position in the executive branch is fuzzy and it should be fixed. I suppose if Kennedy says Donald and I have a deal, and Im sure hell stick to it that might be enough. But maybe not. Depends on what Kennedy is in Trumps mind: Casino to be raped and pillage, or fine old building to be quietly upgraded and maintained 5) Perhaps Im not being cynical enough happens all the time, sigh but to me Kennedys sincerity was evident (although, like courage, the virtue of sincerity is only virtuous depending on the use to which it is put). That is a major asset for the Trump campaign, Trump not being known for his sincerity. 6) Adding, after reading the comments, I should have asked who Kennedys food advisors are. If theyre lightweights, or gurus, or woo woo, all bets are off (thinking here of the lunatics that ran Trumps election theft operation as well, who not only butchered the job, but made legitimate complaints harder to raise). Have I mentioned that this year was going to be volatile? UPDATE Long-time readers will remember that in 2016 which long-time readers will also remember I called correctly I took to prefacing many of my remarks with I dont love Trump (Trump looked out the window and said Its raining, which it was. You must love Trump!). I dont really want to waste the characters again, but if I must, I must: I dont love Trump. Todays readers will also recall that I dont have a dog in this fight: Liberal Democrats shot my dog in 2016; and then in 2020, they shot my dog again and gave the body a kick to make sure. My revealed enthusiasms, then and now, were and are for the technical aspects of the campaigns; if Susie Wiles (or David Plouffe) does something clever, thats how Im going to call it. That has nothing whatever to do with giving my vote to either campaign. It also has little to do with an expectation that either campaign will deliver on anything. The sole point at issue is the effect on election day. Policy is a whole other thing (on which I do have strong views). A sports analogy may help. I am Celtics fan of the Bird era (Bird is a master trash-talker, among other things). That doesnt, and shouldnt, prevent me from saying that the Detroit Pistons were a worthy rival. It also doesnt mean that I think Bill Laimbeer is a nice guy, a prince among men. He wasnt! I dont love Laimbeer! Country diary: Yet another peril for our poor hedgehogs glitter Guardian Why it might be time to stop riding horses Telegraph Climate What has worked to fight climate change? Policies where someone pays for polluting, study finds AP. Climate policies that achieved major emission reductions: Global evidence from two decades (paywalled) Science. From the Abstract: Our insights on effective but rarely studied policy combinations highlight the important role of price-based instruments in well-designed policy mixes and the policy efforts necessary for closing the emissions gap. New Federal Report Details More of 2023s Extreme Climate Conditions Inside Climate News Scientists closely watching these 3 disastrous climate change scenarios USA Today Syndemics China? India Pine Gap Readies For U.S. Nuclear War Declassified Australia Syraqistan Accusations of US Regime-Change Operations in Pakistan and Bangladesh Warrant UN Attention Common Dreams Africa European Disunion EU reaffirms commitment to lithium deal amid rising tensions with Serbia BNE Intellinews New Not-So-Cold War 2024 Digital Watch In a leaked recording, Amazon cloud chief tells employees that most developers could stop coding soon as AI takes over Business Insider WildChat: 1M ChatGPT Interaction Logs in the Wild arVxiv. From the Abstract: We compare WildChat with other popular user-chatbot interaction datasets, and find that our dataset offers the most diverse user prompts, contains the largest number of languages, and presents the richest variety of potentially toxic use-cases for researchers to study. The Final Frontier South of the Border Nicaragua shuts down 151 more NGOs, including US Chamber of Commerce affiliate Anadolu Agency Our Famously Free Press Healthcare Boeing Imperial Collapse Watch US military contracting vessels will haul back Army boats used in Gaza pier mission FOX Class Warfare Antidote du jour (Calle Eklund/V-wolf): See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here. At least a dozen civilians KILLED in Israeli airstrike targeting Gaza school Israeli forces carried out a devastating airstrike on the Mustafa Hafez school in Gaza City on Tuesday, Aug. 20, killing at least 12 displaced Palestinians The Mustafa Hafez school, like many other schools and hospitals in Gaza, had become a refuge for those fleeing relentless bombings, especially from the northern parts of the Gaza Strip. (Related: Despite overwhelming advantage in military equipment, Israel is incapable of destroying Hamas in Gaza, U.S. officials have now concluded.) The bombing of the school caused the ceiling to collapse, burying hundreds of families who had sought safety inside. Gaza's Civil Defense warns that many more people than the 12 confirmed dead are trapped underneath the rubble, with rescue operations ongoing but severely hampered by a lack of adequate equipment. "Rescuers are unable to reach them due to a lack of equipment," the Civil Defense noted, highlighting the dire situation on the ground. "After Israeli forces targeted the school, the ceiling of the building collapsed on top of the people it had at least 700 families that were sheltering from different parts of the Gaza Strip," the report stated, underscoring the scale of the tragedy. Israel still targeting civilians in Gaza This airstrike is part of a broader pattern of attacks on civilian infrastructure in Gaza. Just days earlier, on Aug. 10, Israeli forces bombed the Tabi'in school near Gaza City, killing approximately 100 displaced Palestinians who were performing morning prayers at the time of the attack. Gaza's Civil Defense revealed that the Tabiin school was hit by three missiles, including a United States-supplied 2,000-kilogram Mark 84 bomb, demonstrating the overwhelming force used in these strikes. The Aug. 20 massacre coincides with ongoing battles between Israeli forces and Palestinian resistance groups, particularly in the southern Gaza Strip. Hamas' armed wing, the Qassam Brigades, reported targeting an Israeli D9 military bulldozer with an explosive device near the Red Housing Junction in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah. The Qassam Brigades also conducted several other operations near Rafah, indicating continued and intense resistance. Additionally, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades announced a joint operation with the armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, the Martyr Omar al-Qasim Forces. The two factions claimed to have bombed Israeli supply lines near the Turkish Hospital on the Netzarim Corridor, an occupation zone established by the Israeli Defense Forces cutting the Gaza strip in two, using rockets and mortars. Meanwhile, ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas have made little progress. Hamas has withdrawn from the latest round of talks, rejecting a new U.S.-backed proposal that Washington claims Israel has already agreed to. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been resistant to accepting any kind of peace deal. "Im not sure there will be a deal, but if there is a deal it will be a deal that preserves the interests that I repeat over and over again, which is the preservation of Israels strategic assets," said Netanyahu. He also firmly rejected any notion of withdrawing Israeli forces from key areas, particularly the Gaza-Egypt border and the Netzarim corridor. His hardline stance has been criticized by some as a deliberate move to derail the peace process, further complicating the already fraught negotiations. Watch this clip showing interviews on witnesses of the Al-Tabi'in school bombing which killed over 100 Palestinian civilians. This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Israel has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, say local authorities. Daniel Kovalik: Gaza residents have been forced to flee their homes and safe zones multiple times as IDF relentlessly bombs civilian areas. Hamas kills Israeli captive and wounds two others in retaliation for string of Israeli massacres in Gaza. Sources include: TheCradle.co MiddleEastEye.net Brighteon.com Gen Z blames social media for mental health struggles, yet few are ready to disconnect A recent survey reveals that three out of four Gen Z individuals with internet access in the United States believe social media negatively impacts their mental health The survey, which gathered responses from 2,000 Gen Z social media users, found that Instagram and TikTok (both at 20 percent) and Facebook (13 percent) were the platforms most often linked to declines in mental well-being. For older members of Generation Z, born between 1998 and 2004, growing up with nearly a decade of social media exposure may have contributed to what one expert referred to as "problematic internet use." (Related: How smartphone addiction affects brain function and mental health.) Commissioned by LG Electronics, this survey was carried out online by Talker Research between June 20 and June 24. The study shows that people start to feel negative emotions just 38 minutes after using social media. This is often because they encounter upsetting content (51 percent), feel unproductive with their time (49 percent) or experience "fear of missing out," or FOMO (36 percent). On average, individuals spend about five and a half hours each day on social media and 45 percent believe they use it more than their friends do. Louis Giagrande, LG Electronics head of U.S. marketing, pointed out that spending a lot of time online can leave people feeling drained. He said people should be mindful of the content they engage with to improve their overall well-being and focus on positive content to help manage life's challenges better and find more happiness. Interestingly, 62 percent of Gen Zers wish they could reset their social media feeds. Many are frustrated with the content they see, with 53 percent saying it doesn't match their interests and 54 percent feeling they have little control over what appears in their feeds. Only 16 percent believe they have full control. Despite these issues, 80 percent of respondents also find that social media can positively impact their mood. Content that tends to lift people's spirits includes comedy (65 percent), animals (48 percent), beauty-related posts (40 percent) and prank videos (34 percent). Conversely, content related to violence (50 percent), politics (40 percent) and sexual themes (32 percent) often leads to negative feelings. The study found that two-thirds of people have managed to turn a bad day into a good one thanks to social media. They are also 70 percent more likely to use social media when they're in a good mood and 44 percent believe it has a positive effect on their outlook on life. Looking ahead, 38 percent think social media platforms will improve their impact on mental health over the next five years. Gen Zers use social media daily for various reasons, according to the study. Sixty-six percent do it out of boredom, 59 percent seek laughs or smiles, 55 percent need a distraction or break, 49 percent want to stay updated on global events, 44 percent check in on friends, 42 percent seek connections with others, 33 percent look for relaxation and 32 percent search for specific information. How smartphone addiction affects mental health Recent findings reveal a concerning link between excessive smartphone use and serious mental health issues. Teens who spend more than three hours daily on social media face an increased risk of developing mental health issues, especially those related to internal stress and anxiety. Research from JAMA Psychiatry, which studied nearly 6,600 U.S. adolescents, suggests that boosting media literacy, limiting social media time and redesigning social media platforms could help alleviate these mental health issues. A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal consolidates evidence from numerous research efforts showing that heavy smartphone and social media use is associated with greater mental distress, self-harm and suicidal thoughts among young people. This effect is particularly pronounced in girls and follows a pattern where more screen time correlates with more severe problems. Experts also point out that social media negatively influences teenagers' self-esteem and their relationship with others. Problems, such as cyberbullying, social comparison and the glorification of self-harm and suicide are prevalent. Furthermore, heavy smartphone use and multitasking contribute to chronic sleep issues impacting academic performance, cognitive abilities and emotional stability. San Diego-based psychologist Dr. Jean Twenge and her colleagues have documented a significant rise in anxiety, depression and loneliness among American adolescents. Her latest research shows that high school seniors now spend about an hour less each day engaging in face-to-face social activities compared to their peers from the 19080s. This decrease in personal interaction such as attending social events, dating and spending time with family correlates with increased feelings of loneliness, especially since smartphones have become widespread. Visit Mental.news for more stories about social media and smartphone use and mental health. Watch this video from SciShow discussing how people can overcome FOMO and lessen their social media addiction. This video is from the Daily Videos channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Study: Teens with "problematic smartphone use" more likely to experience anxiety and depression. Are you feeling down? A digital detox can help improve your well-being, says experts. The link between social media and depression: How to care for your mental health. Mobile devices rewire your brain, turning you into a reward addict who craves more food. The miserable generation: Smartphones make children unhappy, screen time should be limited to 2 hours per day, study finds. Sources include: StudyFinds.org ScienceDirect.com SWNSDigital.com JAMANetwork.com NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov PsychologyToday.com Brighteon.com Israeli snipers shoot Palestinian journalist Salma al-Qadoumi in Gaza The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) shot another journalist this week in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian journalist Salma al-Qadoumi was shot in the back while documenting IDF attacks on civilian areas in Khan Younis. She was among a group of other journalists when Israeli tanks with snipers opened fire on them. Al-Qadoumi was taken to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah for treatment. Since the start of the war on Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has killed more than 100 journalists in Gaza. Palestinian Journalist Salma al-Qadoumi was shot in the back by Israeli snipers while covering the Israeli invasion of Khan Yunis Israel deliberately targets Journalists and has killed over 100 Journalists in Gaza pic.twitter.com/81WkEf1t8a Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) August 18, 2024 (Related: Amir Tsarfati and other prophecy teachers pushing Zionism claim that there is no genocide taking place in Israel and if you think there is, you are an "antisemite.") Israeli war crimes Those who support these kinds of atrocities insist that Israel has the right to "defend itself" as a biblical mandate, no matter the death toll. Israel itself says it tries to avoid civilian casualties with advanced military precision. Not everyone agrees. "These are blatant war crimes and they're getting away with it," someone on X, formerly Twitter, responded to the above video footage. "Everyone should condemn this brutality," wrote another. The White House, meanwhile, supports the carnage. The cash and weapons continue to flow from the United States Treasury to Tel Aviv where they are being used by Israel to advance the offensive in pursuit of the remaining hostages. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the latest ceasefire talks are "probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity" to seal a deal between Israel and Hamas. Peace talks continue to languish, though, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel will "remain in the Philadelphi Corridor" indefinitely. The Philadelphi Corridor represents the entire stretch of land between Gaza and Egypt. Hamas says it already agreed to a ceasefire agreement proposed by the regime of President Joe Biden "a few months ago," but that Israel refuses. "The Israelis have retreated from issues included in Biden's proposal," said Osama Hamdan, a senior member of Hamas. "Netanyahu's talk about agreeing to an updated proposal indicates that the U.S. administration has failed to convince him to accept the previous agreement." On X, someone questioned the shooting of al-Qadoumi, claiming that it may have been staged because "why would anyone lay a press jacket on top of someone being treated for a gun wound to the back?" Others disagreed. "I worry about the remaining journalists in Gaza," one said. Netanyahu's latest statements indicate that Israel under his leadership is not about to accept any ceasefire proposal that would end the war. It does not appear as though a ceasefire will happen any time soon, based on what the two sides are now saying. So, the fighting will likely continue indefinitely. They are 10 months into this thing and the only thing Israel seems to have accomplished is bringing lots of death to Gaza's civilian population. "He's hiding behind the Americans," said Gilad Korngold, 63, whose son Tal Shoham is among the 109 Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza, about Netanyahu and his lack of progress in finding and bringing back the rest of the hostages. "I don't understand the Americans. They really need to tell Bibi: Look, we're your friends and protectors, but youre going to go free the hostages. This is the time." As the war between Israel and Hamas rages on, you will find the latest news updates about it at Chaos.news. Sources for this article include: X.com 1 X.com 2 NaturalNews.com AlJazeera.com NYTimes.com Kamala Harris campaign requires all staffers to have up-to-date COVID-19 vaccinations The official campaign organization of Vice President Kamala Harris is requiring all aspiring campaign staffers to have "up-to-date" Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations despite all the reported dangers associated with the vaccine. The mandate stated on the official website of the Harris for President Campaign, along with the lists of job postings, specifies that vaccination is a condition of employment as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with accommodations available only where legally required. (Related: Kamala Harris issues vaccine mandate for campaign workers can Americans expect government-enforced jab mandates if she becomes president?) "Harris for President requires all employees to be "up to date" on COVID-19 vaccination status as prescribed by the CDC as a condition of employment unless otherwise prohibited by applicable law. If you seek a reasonable accommodation in relation to the campaign's COVID-19 policy, you should speak to the HR Department prior to reporting to an office location," the job listing reads. The CDC advises that individuals receive the 20232024 updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or Novavax to protect against severe illness. However, the policy has raised alarms over the potential risks associated with the vaccines as reports revealed that there are over 1.6 million COVID-19 vaccine-related injuries and deaths in the United States alone. Moreover, European Union regulators previously warned the public that frequent COVID-19 booster shots could adversely affect the immune response of the body and may not be feasible. The largest COVID-19 vaccine study to date has also revealed a "higher than expected" occurrence of neurological and heart issues following vaccination. All this has raised questions about the safety and necessity of requiring "up-to-date" COVID-19 vaccinations for all aspiring members of Harris' presidential campaign. Biden-Harris administration already lifted federal COVID-19 vaccine requirements in May 2023 Aside from the dangers, the administration of President Joe Biden and Harris also lifted federal COVID-19 vaccine requirements back in May 2023 due to a significant decline in reported deaths and hospitalizations. "Today, we are announcing that the Administration will end the COVID-19 vaccine requirements for Federal employees, Federal contractors, and international air travelers at the end of the day on May 11, the same day that the COVID-19 public health emergency ends. "Additionally, HHS and DHS announced today that they will start the process to end their vaccination requirements for Head Start educators, CMS-certified healthcare facilities, and certain noncitizens at the land border. In the coming days, further details related to ending these requirements will be provided," the White House official website posted in May 2023. In other words, the continued warning of the CDC against the "serious" infection of COVID-19 contrasts with the description of on-the-ground doctors as "exceedingly mild." "It isn't the same typical symptoms that we were seeing before. It's a lot of congestion, sometimes sneezing, usually a mild sore throat," Erick Eiting, vice chair of operations for emergency medicine at Mount Sinai Downtown in New York City said about his urgent care patients... "Just about everyone who I've seen has had really mild symptoms. The only way that we knew that it was COVID was because we happened to be testing them." This, in turn, negates the justification for mandatory vaccination. Visit KamalaHarris.news for related stories about the vice president's campaign. Watch the video below where Florida Rep. Byron Donalds talks about how Harris' economic talking points won't work. This video is from the Trending News channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Kamala Harris unveils plan for Soviet-style CONTROLS on food, grocery prices. Kamala Harris promises to CLOSE all migrant detention centers and release criminal illegal aliens on Day 1 if she becomes president. Kamala Harris smears Air Force veteran in effort to defend Tim Walz from stolen valor accusations. Kamala Harris: Owned by Big Pharma, big trans, and big abortion. Kamala Harris just made a colossal mistake Here are 7 things you should know about Tim Walz. Sources include: LifeSiteNews.com Jobs.Lever.co WhiteHouse.gov NBCNews.com Brighteon.com Lukashenko urges Ukraine and Russia to continue PEACE TALKS Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has exhorted both Ukraine and Russia to continue negotiations , warning of the former's destruction if talks fail. Lukashenko made this call during an interview with the state-owned TV channel Russia-1 released on Aug. 18. He specifically urged both Kyiv and Moscow to pick up negotiations from the earlier talks in 2022 that collapsed due to interference from then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. "We must sit down at the negotiating table and discuss the issues. But if it goes on like in [the] Kursk region, this will be an escalation that would result in Ukraine's destruction," Lukashenko warned. He referenced Ukraine's large-scale assault on the western Russian region, an internationally recognized territory under Moscow, in his remarks. According to the close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the warring parties could re-engage based on a proposal by the Russian leader first brought up in the 2022 talks. Lukashenko told Russia-1: "Yes, the situation on the ground has changed. But this [proposal] could be a start for a discussion." Putin talked about the 2022 proposal last month. Under this document, Ukraine would receive certain "security guarantees" in exchange for "permanent neutrality" and downsizing its military. Russia has claimed talks that would have ended the war were on the verge of a breakthrough, if not for the interference of Johnson who reportedly advised Kyiv to "keep fighting." While Johnson has denied the accusation, staff members close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have confirmed his influential role behind the scenes. Nevertheless, Putin has reiterated that the 2022 document "remains on the table and could serve as the basis" for a new round of peace talks. (Related: Boris Johnson has meltdown after being exposed for sabotaging Ukraine peace deal.) "While Russia has repeatedly said throughout the conflict that it is open to talks with Ukraine, Putin has recently said that any engagement with Ukraine is impossible as long as it is conducting attacks on civilians and threatening nuclear power plants both of which Moscow has accused Kyiv of doing during the Kursk incursion," Russia Today noted. Zelensky admits negotiations with Russia are A MUST The state-owned news outlet continued that even Zelensky has admitted the need for Ukraine to open talks with the current Russian leadership, despite a still-active presidential decree signed in 2022 that prohibited Kyiv from doing so. Last month, Zelensky told reporters that he is in the process of organizing a second peace summit concerning the ongoing conflict this time with Russian representatives. The first iteration of the peace summit happened in June in Switzerland but without Moscow. "I set a goal that in November, we would have a fully ready plan," Zelensky said on July 15. "I think that representatives of Russia should be at the second summit." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba echoed these sentiments during a July 24 visit to China. He told top diplomats in Beijing that Kyiv is "willing and ready for dialogue and negotiations with Russia." "I held detailed and thorough negotiations with my Chinese counterpart, [Chinese Foreign Minister] Wang [Yi], about the path to peace," Kuleba wrote on social media following the visit. "I emphasized that Ukraine needs a just and lasting peace, not just an illusion of peace, and I appreciate that this position was reciprocated." The Ukrainian minister added that he and Wang "agreed that all forces must work together to find common ground on the path to restoring true peace per the principles of the United Nations Charter." Head to UkraineWitness.com for more stories about peace talks to end the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Listen to the Health Ranger Mike Adams explaining why Ukraine and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization want to cause a nuclear accident in Kursk below. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Zelensky: Russia SHOULD ATTEND the next Ukraine peace summit. Zelensky now willing to negotiate peace deal to end conflict with Russia. Putin reportedly willing to end war with Ukraine, sit down for PEACE TALKS. Kuleba changes tune, now says Ukraine "willing and ready" to sit down with Russia. Putin ready to end conflict with Ukraine if Russia gets to keep territories it currently controls. Sources include: RT.com News.Antiwar.com Breitbart.com Brighteon.com Mysterious black ring appears in Virginia skies, sparking local curiosity and speculation On Aug. 13, at around 11 a.m. Eastern Time, residents in Williamsburg reported the unusual sighting of the ominous circle above a major highway, prompting a flurry of calls to local news stations. Ron Stepp, who was working near Eastern State Hospital at the time, described the ring as a massive smoke ring drifting through the sky. Witnesses from nearby neighborhoods confirmed the ring's visibility over a wide area. (Related: Unexplained "booming noises" baffles people around the world.) While similar black rings have been attributed to fires and explosions in the past, no such incidents were reported at the time of this sighting. Locals Peggy Olszyk and Renee Fisher were able to capture additional photos of the black ring from their neighborhoods. Many other people were able to capture photos of the black ring from further away, including from Interstate 64 westbound near the Fort Eustis exit and Old Moretown Road. Meteorologist Ricky Mathews from WAVY-TV speculated that the rings could be the result of pyrotechnics or even a special effect from a film shoot. NBC affiliate for southeastern Virginia WAVY-TV contacted the James City County Fire Department, but the fire chief reported no related incidents. Dominion Energy, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, was also consulted to rule out a blown transformer as a cause. Despite various theories, the true source of these mysterious rings remains unexplained. Mysterious black rings being spotted all over the world This is not the first occurrence of such a phenomenon. In June, a similar ring-shaped cloud was filmed over Venezuela, leading to viral attention with a bystander exclaiming, "A flying saucer!" In July, another black ring was photographed drifting across a sunset in Pearland, Texas. Sightings of these enigmatic objects have been reported globally, yet their origins remain unconfirmed. Recently, a large black smoke ring was spotted floating over the small village of Shortandy, in northern-central Kazakhstan. This eerie sight lasted for about 15 minutes before vanishing. A similar ring, dubbed "The Black Ring of Leamington Spa," was later seen in Warwickshire in England, but this one was linked to a fireworks test over at nearby Warwick Castle. Another instance occurred in Florida in 2013 due to a pyrotechnic test, and in 2012, a similar formation appeared over Chicago after an electrical transformer blew up. These rings typically result from a blast passing through a circular structure like a smokestack. In Morocco, a strange "falling cloud" phenomenon was captured on video. This foam-like substance appeared to either fall or be lifted by the wind, though its exact nature remains unclear. Some meteorologists speculate it might be artificial foam, as the "clouds" failed to settle. Chinese residents recently witnessed terrifying blood-red skies, which were simply due to light refraction and scattering from local port lights. The dramatic color was an optical effect rather than a sign of disaster. Red sprites, rare electrical discharges above thunderstorm clouds, have also been captured on film. These luminous flashes occur high in the atmosphere after strong lightning strikes and can reach up to 60 miles above the ground. In March 2018, a rare "horseshoe cloud" appeared over Northern Nevada. This fleeting phenomenon results from a flat cloud passing over a column of warm rising air, giving it a distinctive shape and spin. Rainbow clouds, formed by sunlight refracting through water droplets, create beautiful multi-colored caps over low-altitude clouds. Morning glory clouds, rare rolling tubes stretching over 600 miles, are best viewed in Australia's Gulf of Carpentaria from late September to early November. Blood rain, colored by red dust or pollen, is a known phenomenon where atmospheric dust alters the rain's color. Denmark's "Black Sun" is caused by millions of migrating starlings performing synchronized movements to deter predators. This spectacle lasts around 20 minutes at sunset each spring and fall. Watch this short compilation video of unexplained and mysterious phenomenon from around the world. This video is from the High Hopes channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Pentagon contractor reveals encounter with glowing blue UFO. Why has the Vatican chosen this precise moment to drop bombshells about UFOs, Aliens and "apparitions"? Declassified documents reveal current and former senators believe the government has secretly recovered UFOs of non-human origin. Whistleblower: The U.S. government is hiding a UFO the "size of a football field." Bizarre phenomenon where section of the sun splits and circles solar north pole baffles scientists. Sources include: DailyMail.co.uk Brightside.me Brighteon.com Putin designates Russia a safe haven for those seeking to escape liberal values, offers Westerners easy residency Russian President Vladimir Putin has designated his country a safe haven for those living in Western countries who no longer want to be subjected to destructive neoliberal ideas. A newly signed decree will give any foreigners who wish to trade Western liberal ideals for Russian moral values an easy path to residency. It enables them to apply for temporary residence "outside the quota approved by the Russian government and without providing documents confirming their knowledge of the Russian language, Russian history, and basic laws" that aspiring residents are normally subjected to. By appealing to those who share traditional Russian spiritual and moral values, Putin is making a play for the growing number of people in countless democracies who are fed up with liberal leadership and lamenting where it has brought their country. Its particularly well-timed considering the possibility that Kamala Harris could win the election in November, undoubtedly sending America even further down the leftist spiral that has damaged our economy, national security and morale and seeks to divide and censor Americans. Three-month visas using the new, expedited process are expected to be issued as soon as next month. Russia has been trying to attract disillusioned Westerners for a long time Russian authorities have been on a push to draw conservative Westerners in recent months and years, trying to position the country as a place where traditional values are still respected. As part of this push, they announced they were creating a migrant village outside of Moscow last year where conservative American and Canadian expats can live. One migration lawyer claimed to already have roughly 200 families who wanted to move there for ideological reasons at the time. He added that there were tens of thousands of foreign people without any Russian roots who were interested in moving to Russia due to their ideology. The lawyer, Timur Beslangurov, stated: The reason is propaganda of radical values: Today they have 70 genders, and who knows what will come next. He added that the Russian migration law made this complicated for those wishing to make the move; the new decree seems to be a response to that. Earlier this year, Tucker Carlson visited Russia to interview Vladimir Putin. While there, he praised several aspects of Russian society, saying that he found it disturbing how much nicer Moscow was than American cities. Putin has been highlighting the Wests moral decay References to the moral decay of the West have made their way to several of Putins speeches in recent years. During his Victory Day speech last year, he called out Western global elites for destroying the family and traditional values that make a person human. He called the West satanic in 2022, claiming they are rejecting moral norms and traditional values. He may also be appealing to Western countries that are concerned about the influx of immigrants and associated rises in crime they are seeing. In 2019, he told the Financial Times that he felt it was a cardinal mistake for Germany to take a liberal view of immigration from the Middle East. He stated: The liberal idea presupposes that nothing needs to be done. The migrants can kill, plunder and rape with impunity because their rights as migrants must be protected. What rights are these? Every crime must have its punishment. The decree also instructs the Russian Foreign Ministry to compose a list of the countries Moscow believes are pursuing a destructive neoliberal agenda within 30 days. It will be interesting to see who is on the list, although we already have some guesses. Sources for this article include: Tass.com TheMoscowTimes.com Russias ambassador to Washington warns that Americans will be under TOTAL CENSORSHIP as Election Day approaches Anatoly Antonov, Russia's ambassador to Washington, says that the only people in the United States who still have freedom of speech under the First Amendment are those who express pro-establishment views all others are now being subjected to a "political inquisition," he warns. Antonov's statements came after the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted a raid on the home of Russia-born U.S. political analyst and author Dimitri Simes in Virginia. Simes is a vocal critic of Joe Biden who has been co-hosting a geopolitical talk show on Russia's Channel 1 since 2018. The Simes raid was part of a political "witch hunt," according to Antonov, who warned on Telegram that things will likely get much worse the closer we get to the November 5 election. "Hundreds of people are declared undesirable just because they dare to contradict the policies of the administration," Antonov wrote. "They are forbidden from having their own point of view" as government agents are "breaking into homes, performing searches and seizing documents." (Related: Did you hear that the campaign of Kamala Harris is producing fake ads for the internet that falsely imply major media outlets support the Harris-Walz ticket?) U.S. in 2024 resembles "dark times of McCarthyism," Antonov warns What Americans now face at the hands of their police state in 2024 is similar to the "dark times of McCarthyism," Antonov further said, McCarthyism referring to the period from 1950 through 1954 when then-Sen. Joseph McCarthy lodged an aggressive campaign to root out all alleged communists from U.S. government. "The local ruling circles have decisively embarked on the path of total censorship," he contends. "Freedom of speech in modern America is sacred only if this speech is pro-American. All dissidents are subject to political inquisition, especially when it comes to those who fight against one-sided and biased views on Russia." When it comes to matters of freedom and democracy, the Washington, D.C., power structure engages in blatant double standards. The establishment routinely "lecture[s] the world on democratic values and human rights," Antonov says, even as it "easily" steamrolls Americans' First Amendment rights here at home. A naturalized U.S. citizen who immigrated to America from the Soviet Union in 1973, Simes served as an aid to President Richard Nixon. He was also the publisher and CEO of National Interest magazine, which embraces a realist approach to geopolitics and international relations. When so-called "Russiagate" was reaching a fever pitch, Simes was among those investigated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller as a suspected contact of Donald Trump and the Russian government. "The report by Muller in 2019, which failed to find any evidence of collusion between Moscow and Trump's 2016 campaign, also vindicated Simes," RT reports. A week before the FBI raided Simes' home, agents raided the home of former U.S. marine and United Nations (UN) weapons inspector Scott Ritter in New York. Now a journalist and commentator, Ritter commented that U.S. authorities seem to be "primarily concerned" with his "relationship" with Russian media outlets RT and Sputnik. "Democracy and free speech dying is just another symptom of a collapsing empire," one commenter wrote about the continued demise of the U.S. police state. "They censor everything so that no one can learn the truth," wrote another. "A methodology of basically pushing reverse kabbalist psychology onto unsuspecting victims has been moved to the forefront of most western nations agendas. Almost all legislation, education, etc. is pushed out to the masses in inverted wording that may sound good to the masses but is extremely aligned with at least these 11 Point Plan of the Frankfurt school." As expected, the 2024 election cycle is proving to be a clown circus. Find out more at Rigged.news. Sources for this article include: RT.com NaturalNews.com Sermon 013: Mike Adams discusses why having PURE BLOOD is important The Health Ranger Mike Adams discussed the importance of having "pure blood" on his 13th sermon, part of his 100-sermon series on the "Health Ranger Report." He based this sermon on a verse in the book of Leviticus, which states that "for the life of the flesh is in the blood" (Leviticus 17:11). According to him, this verse is an eye-opener about body fluids, including the blood. Adams noted that the mRNA injections currently promoted by the medical system pollute the blood. "The purity of the blood speaks to the purity of your life and the purity of your flesh. If your blood is contaminated, then your life is contaminated. This is in essence what God is saying. I your blood is clean, you've got a basis to go on and focus on moral purity and spiritual purity because God talks about these different levels of purity and different levels of the dedication to Him," he explained. "God reminds us, the purity of your blood speaks to the purity of your life. So, if you want to be someone of pure blood then do not take man's Satanic injections of toxins and adjuvants which are neuroinflammatory substances that are deliberately put into the vaccines in order to increase their toxicity. Do not take those substances into your body." The Health Ranger continued that mRNA is contradictory to the teachings of God in Leviticus and other books of the Bible. This is because the mRNA hijacks the human body's natural cells and causes the cells to produce non-human proteins. These proteins, according to Adams, are not aligned with the genetic code given to humans who are created in the image of God. He added that the ribosomes of human cells are hijacked by pharmaceutical companies and doctors who are injecting people with a satanic self-assembling molecular toxin system, which causes the body to make biological weapons that they can shed on other people. (Related: COVID-19 vaccine sheds graphene-like substance that causes cellular damage and blood clots in the unvaccinated, warns doctor.) Adams: Pure bloods are the future of humanity The founder of Natural News and Brighteon.com exhorted his viewers: "Do not allow your body to be penetrated and violated by these toxic, demonic substances pushed by Big Pharma and mankind's so-called science." Adams noted the use of the term "pure bloods" in modern pop culture. Given the context of his sermon, he explained that pure bloods are people who did not take the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) injections. These pure bloods, he continued, represent the future of humanity. In contrast, those who took the experimental poisoned mRNA injections now have contaminated blood. They are also suffering from various problems such as very high rates of infertility, spontaneous abortions and sudden death. While some of these problems are deemed as "long COVID," these are actually long-term vaccine injuries. The Health Ranger noted that blood poisons or toxins, such as the ones found in the COVID-19 mRNA injections, impair a person's physical capabilities and neurological function. This, in turn, makes it more difficult to focus on higher values, activities and achievement that brings a person closer to God. Ultimately, he stressed that toxins separate a person from God while healthful nutrition and clean health habits allow an individual to be closer to God. A person should make choices that deliberately enhance the purity and cleanliness of their blood and body. Listen to the sermon by the Health Ranger Mike Adams about why having pure blood is important. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Unvaccinated blood sees demand increase all around the world. Blood transfusions from COVID-vaccinated people are contaminated and carry risks, warn Japanese researchers. Swiss organization to provide people with SAFE blood transfusions from UNVAXXED purebloods. Sources include: Brighteon.com BibleGateway.com Oxford study reveals COVID-19 mRNA vaccines as the sole cause of heart inflammation and heart failure in children Researchers at the University of Oxford have uncovered one of the most significant data points with the COVID-19 vaccines. The COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are the sole cause of myocarditis, pericarditis and heart failure among children and adolescents. This revelation challenges the narrative pushed by the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and mainstream media, which have downplayed or outright denied the risks associated with these vaccines. Children should have never been injected with these instruments of medical fraud, and some suffered heart inflammation and death as a result. (Related: Science behind the CDC's childhood vaccines lacks double blind, placebo-controlled studies and conceals adverse events.) Myocarditis, pericarditis and heart failure occurred only in the vaccinated adolescents The extensive study, which analyzed official government data from over one million children and adolescents aged five to 15 in England, found that myocarditis and pericarditis were exclusively linked to COVID-19 vaccinations. No cases of heart inflammation were recorded among unvaccinated children or those infected with COVID-19. This finding contradicts previous claims linking these serious health issues to COVID-19 infection, sugar intake, video games, or even climate change. Health officials tried to scare parents into vaccinating, claiming their kids would contract COVID-19 and have heart problems from the virus. It turns out that the opposite is true. According to the Oxford study, all reported cases of myocarditis and pericarditis occurred in children who had received at least one dose of the vaccine. Myocarditis and pericarditis cases were documented exclusively in the vaccinated groups, with a rate of 27 cases per million after the first dose and 10 cases per million after the second dose. All myocarditis and pericarditis events during the study period occurred in vaccinated individuals, the study authors wrote. Over half of the adolescents affected by myocarditis were hospitalized for their serious vaccine injury. Nearly 60% of children in the first vaccination group never received a second dose, so obviously there were widespread concerns about continuing with the harmful vaccine protocol. How many more children would have been injured had parents or doctors not stepped in and stopped the protocol? The COVID-19 vaccines were completely unnecessary for adolescents The study also highlighted that hospitalization rates due to COVID-19 were exceedingly rare in the study group, and there were no recorded deaths from the virus. In fact, both the unvaccinated and vaccinated children tested positive for the virus at similar rates, so theres no solid data proving that the vaccine prevented anything. This data point also contradicts the fear-based narratives put out by governments and mainstream media authorities. The vaccine was unnecessary from the start and provided no known benefits for adolescents only heart damage. Dr. John Campbell, a well-known commentator on medical issues, has condemned the results as deeply troubling, stressing that this revelation could have catastrophic implications for public health. "This could not be a more serious report," Campbell warned, urging immediate action to address the public health crisis revealed by the study. He describes how the vaccine causes stroke in the following video. To make matters worse, a recent study by Harvard Medical School has linked COVID-19 mRNA vaccines to a sharp increase in sudden deaths worldwide, including fatal cerebral ischemia. The Harvard researchers specifically implicated Moderna's vaccine in the recent spike in this deadly brain disorder, which shuts off blood flow to the brain. This serious health issue is more prominent in studies that investigate health outcomes up to a year after vaccination. The study is also limited, because the control group is centered around unvaccinated populations that were subject to COVID-19 tests, an instrument of medical fraud that was used to forcibly admit children to hospitals and subject them to further deleterious protocol. The study doesnt look at the large pool of adolescents who didnt take the tests, who got mildly ill and easily recovered at home. Sources include: Medrxiv.com [PDF] Youtube.com NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov 1 NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov 2 NaturalNews.com Congressional report shows 3,000% SURGE in number of illegal immigrants on TERROR WATCHLIST entering the U.S. A congressional report showing a more than 3,000 percent surge in the number of illegal entries from individuals on the terrorist watchlist has sparked national security concerns The report from the House Judiciary Committee stated that the open borders policy espoused by President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have seen millions of illegal aliens enter the United States. It also revealed that terrorist organizations and other bad actors looking to harm Americans have also gained access to the U.S. because of the lenient border policy. According to the report, the Biden administration has released more than 5.4 million illegal aliens into the U.S. in three and a half years. Additionally, at least 1.9 million known "gotaways" escaped into the country. Among the more than 7.3 million illegals in the U.S. are 375 individuals on the U.S. government's terrorist watchlist who have been apprehended by Border Patrol under the current administration over 30 times more compared to time of former President Donald Trump. The report also noted that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released 99 of these individuals into American communities, and immigration judges have granted bail to at least 27. Furthermore, asylum has been granted to four individuals, and cases against two known or suspected terrorists have been terminated. These findings underscore the potential national security risks posed by the current border policies. (Related: Congressional report reveals 99 illegals on TERROR WATCHLIST were released into the U.S. by Biden-Harris government.) Between fiscal years 2021 and 2023, illegal immigrants on the terror watchlist apprehended by Border Patrol came from 36 countries, including nations with active terrorist groups like Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. The report also indicated significant encounters with individuals from high-risk countries in fiscal year 2024, including over 2,000 Afghan nationals and over 500 Iranians and Syrians. FBI Director Wray concerned about potential terrorist attacks At a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in July, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray testified that he is "increasingly concerned that foreign terrorists could seek to exploit vulnerabilities at the southwest border or at other ports of entry, or in other aspects of our immigration system, to facilitate an attack here in the United States." "There has been a lot of focus on the number of known or suspected terrorists encountered at the border. But frankly, to me, the bigger concern is individuals who weren't on the watchlist at the time they came in. That is a bigger concern," he said. A recent case involved Hasan Yousef Hamdan, a Jordanian national on the terror watchlist who was released from federal custody after attempting to breach Marine Corps Base Quantico. According to a Marine Corps Serious Incident Report obtained by Judicial Watch, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer confirmed Hamdan's watchlist status to the Marine Criminal Investigations Division. The report described a concerning picture of the current administration's border policies and their impact on national security. With millions of illegal immigrants released into the country and thousands more evading capture, the risks posed by individuals with potential ties to terrorism have proven significant. As federal and local authorities grapple with these challenges, the findings underscore the urgent need for comprehensive and effective border security measures to protect the U.S. from potential threats. Watch this video that explains why the borders are open and what will happen next. This video is from the Alex Hammer channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: J.D. Vance: Kamalas vision for America includes OPEN BORDERS and CLOSED FACTORIES. TRUTH about Kamala Harris: She was, in fact, appointed by Biden to be Americas open borders czar. Why JD Vance is the right guy to help secure Americas wide-open borders. Open borders policies are really just are a child trafficking operation run by Democrats. Open borders politicians in Europe are contributing to the spread of Wuhan coronavirus the same way they allowed their countries to be invaded by refugees. Sources include: YourNews.com Brighteon.com Woman arrested TWICE for SILENTLY PRAYING outside abortion clinic in Birmingham receives apology and settlement from police A woman arrested twice for saying a "silent prayer" outside an abortion clinic has received an apology and a payout from law enforcement. Modernity News reported that Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, a volunteer for a Christian charity, was first arrested by West Midlands Police (WMP) officers in November 2022. She was apprehended for silently praying inside a 'buffer zone' near an abortion clinic in Birmingham. Vaughan-Spruce challenged the accusations in the Birmingham Magistrates' Court, with judges clearing her of all charges in February 2023 after prosecutors failed to show sufficient evidence. However, she was again arrested for the same offense in March 2023. According to the Telegraph, six WMP officers responded to the scene. "You've said you're engaging in prayer, which is the offense," one of the officers told Vaughan-Spruce. (Related: Truly EVIL: U.K. high court BANS PRAYERS near abortion clinics.) But following a six-month probe, police dropped charges against her. The WMP also apologized to Vaughan-Spruce regarding the lengthy process. Aside from this, she also received a payout of 13,000 ($16,949.40). The Telegraph continued that the case was closed shortly after former Home Secretary Suella Braverman confirmed that silent prayer "is not unlawful" in an open letter to police. Faith-based legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom UK (ADF UK) supported Vaughan-Spruce's legal defense. "Silent prayer is not a crime. Nobody should be arrested merely for the thoughts they have in their heads," Vaughan-Spruce told the Telegraph. "Yet this happened to me twice at the hands of the WMP, who explicitly told me that 'prayer is an offense.'" "There is no place for Orwell's thought police in 21st-century Britain, and thanks to legal support I received from ADF UK, I'm delighted that the settlement that I have received acknowledges that." Others could suffer the same fate as Vaughan-Spruce Despite the apology and payout she received, Vaughan-Spruce expressed concern that others who pray silently outside abortion clinics could suffer the same fate as her. "I am deeply concerned that this violation could be repeated at the hands of other police forces. Our culture is shifting toward a clampdown on viewpoint diversity, with Christian thought and prayer increasingly under threat of censorship." David Frost, a member of the House of Lords and a former cabinet minister under erstwhile British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, commented on the Christian volunteer's predicament. "It is incredible that people have been arrested for thought crime in modern Britain. I am very glad Ms. Vaughan-Spruce has received compensation for her unjust arrest for this so-called offense," he said. "But if a recent report is correct that the government is considering formally criminalizing silent prayer outside abortion centers, then there will be further such cases. And then, not just freedom of speech but also freedom of thought will be under threat. It is hard to imagine a more absurd and dangerous situation." Modernity News confirmed this report, noting that the new Labor government under incumbent British Prime Minister Keir Starmer indicated its intent to junk previous guidance allowing silent prayer within these buffer zones. Under the same guidance, pro-life activists are allowed to hand out leaflets and engage in conversation with women mulling infanticide. "We specifically voted against proposals to allow silent prayer and consensual communication in safe access zones, said British Policing Minister Diana Johnson. Head over to ThoughtCrimes.news for similar stories. Watch this clip of British police officers arresting a man over his posts on Facebook. This video is from the Puretrauma357 channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: THOUGHT CRIME: British police investigating a Christian man for his opinions following widely publicized attack on Sydney bishop. Christian pastors are being arrested in the UK for preaching the word of God while UK tyrants protect Islamic radicals. Pro-life advocate gets 41 months in jail for trying to save babies at Planned Parenthood clinic in NY. Sodom and Gomorrah is being imposed on citizens by allegedly representative governments. Sources include: Modernity.news Telegraph.co.uk Brighteon.com Annoyed residents push back against Amazons drone delivery program in Texas The residents of a quiet city in Texas have pushed back against the noisy drone delivery system by e-commerce giant Amazon. Mayor John Nichols of College Station in Texas wrote to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in July over the matter. The mayor told the FAA that the city has grown tired of the Amazon Prime Air drones loudly buzzing near their homes. "Since locating in College Station, residents in neighborhoods adjacent to Prime Air's facility have expressed concern to the city council regarding drone noise levels, particularly during take-off and landing, as well in some delivery options," Nichols stated in the letter. Nichols' letter echoed the sentiments of several College Station residents, who shared their complaints to CNBC. "It sounds like a giant hive of bees. You know it's coming because it's pretty loud," said semi-retired orthodontist John Case. He added that "nobody really knew how noisy and annoying it was going to be" when the city agreed to be a test market for Amazon. Internal medicine doctor Amina Alikhan likened the drones to "a fly coming by your ear over and over and you can't make it stop." She continued: "It is waking us up and disrupting our ability to enjoy both our outdoor and even our indoor spaces." Meanwhile, resident Ralph Thomas Moore remarked that the drone deliveries are "a huge invasion of our personal space" and have "significant impact on everyone in the neighborhood." (Related: Amazon drone deliveries: The greatest threat to privacy Americans have ever seen.) College Station City Manager Bryan Woods said during a June city council meeting that officials ran tests on a Prime Air drone and found that it had noise levels between 47 and 61 decibels (dB). Chainsaws produce 125 dB of sound while heavy equipment produce between 95 and 110 dB, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. College Station wants Amazon to BUZZ OFF from the city According to CNBC, Prime Air is part of the e-commerce giant's efforts to find a quicker, more cost-effective solution for the so-called "last mile" the part of the delivery that gets the package from the warehouse to the customer's doorstep. Supporters say drone delivery can potentially offset the cost of maintaining a fleet of delivery drivers while cutting down on the need for gas-guzzling delivery vans. Nichols' July letter followed Amazon's petition to the FAA asking that it be allowed to increase daily deliveries from the current 200 to 469. It is also asking for permission to operate drones between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. instead of being limited to daylight hours. Moreover, Amazon is also asking the FAA to allow an expansion of its delivery area to up to 174 square miles (sq. mi.) surrounding its drone port. Currently, Amazon Prime Air drones can only deliver within a radius of 44 sq. mi. around its College Station facility. In May, the FAA permitted Amazon to fly its delivery drones over longer distances and without staffers on the ground observing each flight. Amazon heralded the announcement and said it "lays the foundation" for the service to reach new markets. But given the complaints, the e-commerce giant founded by Jeff Bezos said last month it would move its drone facility farther away from neighborhoods moving forward. Per a recording obtained by CNBC, Prime Air's Head of Regulatory Affairs and Strategy Matt McCardle also mentioned that the company would not renew its lease in College Station and move elsewhere by October 2025. Visit DroneWatchNews.com for similar stories. Watch this report from Next News Network's Gary Franchi about home drone deliveries commencing in major U.S. states. This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Trumps would-be assassin reportedly flew a drone over the fairgrounds before the speech and could have dropped explosives on Trump. Denver to deploy DRONES to respond to 911 calls. Police in Colorado to start using DRONES to respond to 911 calls. Drone footage shows makeshift camps built along Rio Grande by migrants waiting for Title 42 to end. Drone strikes to murder Americans who refuse spike protein shots? All non-vaxxers now labeled BIO-TERRORISTS by the Covid-vaccinated talking heads on MSNBC. Sources include: CNBC.com Brighteon.com Clean energy wind turbine DISASTER in Iowa leaves town on hook for MILLIONS in damages It is bad enough when one "clean" energy wind turbine fails and destroys the nearby terrain, but one Iowa farm recently learned what happens whenwind turbines collapse in less than a year and a half. The farm, located in Mechanicsville, incurred massive destruction after the three wind turbines were all struck by lightning at different intervals. Literal tons of debris, including wires and fiberglass, were strewn about in the disaster site, affecting both crops and soil. The crop, in this case corn, is now unsellable due to the disaster, as are the corn stalks that would normally be used to create animal bedding. The farmland itself is also severely compromised and may not be usable for quite some time. Farming equipment was also damaged. "At least 1,000 acres of farmland," reports indicate, were destroyed by the wind turbine disasters. The amount of damage incurred is estimated to be in the millions. The rules in Cedar County where these incidents took place require that inactive wind turbines be taken down within one year. Their owners are responsible for completing this, but who is going to pay back all the losses that resulted from their failure? (Related: Back in January, an offshore wind turbine in Massachusetts broke to pieces, washing ashore all sorts of "clean energy" debris to nearby beaches.) Most wind turbines are subsidized by taxpayers It is important to remember that just like with other forms of "green" energy, i.e., solar panels and electric vehicles (EVs), wind turbines are largely subsidized by U.S. taxpayers. This means that whoever owns them is only paying a fraction of the cost to install them while reaping all the benefits. Wind turbines and solar panels are also extremely land-intensive, meaning the amount needed to produce a comparable amount of energy to gas, oil and coal is exceptionally high. Wind turbines and solar panels are taking over the landscape, in other words, providing little or no benefits to the public. In this case, one would think that the affected farmer would change her tune about wind turbines after seeing the massive destruction they cause when they fail. Instead, the farmer is complaining that new legislation is needed to require faster cleanup. The public simply cannot be expected to pay for cleanup when the only people benefiting from wind turbines are their owners and the farmers and landowners who lease space for their installation. The father of Sally Freeman, the farm's owner, commented that wind turbine leasing income has always been a "good" deal. In that case, those reaping the benefits need to pay for cleanup, not taxpayers. "I didn't see any of that income though, so why would I foot the bill for disastrous consequences when it all goes south?" asked Olivia Murray, writing for American Thinker. "If Freeman and her family choose to cash-in on handouts, then they're assuming the risk, right? I mean, that's what more 'legislation' means." "I hate to be insensitive, but they're the ones who leased out their land, trying to make a buck on a faulty product information on the limitations of turbines isn't exactly a secret so why should I as a taxpayer be on the hook?" It's tragic, and I absolutely regret all the damage done, but again, why does that warrant using the government to compel me, or any other uninvolved party, to pay for the fallout? Because of course that's who always pays when there's new 'legislation,' in one way or another." There really is nothing "clean" or "renewable" about so-called "green" energy technologies like wind turbines, solar panels and EVs. Learn more about what they are doing to the economy at Disaster.news. Sources for this article include: AmericanThinker.com NaturalNews.com Second Gentleman Emhoff says Kamala Harris faces cowards head on yet she REFUSES to debate Trump Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff says his wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, faces cowards "head on." "Kamala is as tough as it comes," he said during the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 20. "Just ask the criminals, the global gangsters and the witnesses before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She never runs from a fight." "She knows the best way to deal with a coward is to take him head on. Because we all know cowards are weak, and Kamala Harris can smell weakness. She doesn't tolerate any BS. You've all seen that look, and you know that look I'm talking about." But it appears that the "tough" Democratic presidential nominee has refused to accept debate challenges put forward by former President Donald Trump, who initially challenged Harris to three debates: Sept. 4 on Fox News, Sept. 10 on NBC News and Sept. 25 on ABC News. The incumbent vice president only agreed to show up on the Sept. 10 debate and a follow-up in October, the date of which remains unspecified. According to Breitbart News, she also agreed to one vice presidential debate between Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) scheduled on Oct. 1. Because of Harris' refusal to accept the Sept. 4 Fox News debate, Trump announced that a "tele-town hall" will be held on that date instead. Fox News anchor Sean Hannity will host the event, which will happen in Pennsylvania. The former president took to Truth Social on Aug. 19 to announce the new event and confirm the vice president's refusal to pick up the gauntlet. "Comrade Kamala Harris has just informed us that she will not do the Fox News debate on Sept. 4," he wrote. "I am not surprised by this development because I feel that she knows it is very difficult, at best, for her to defend her record setting flip-flopping on absolutely everything she once believed in. [These include] her statements that 'there will be no fracking in Pennsylvania' and her horrible performance on the border [as] our 'border czar' where millions of criminals and people from mental institutions and terrorists have been allowed to pour into our country, totally unchecked and unvetted." Harris far from being tough when it comes to criminals Contrary to her husband's claims, Harris is actually far from being "tough." If anything, she is better described as soft based on how she leniently approached criminals during her time as San Francisco district attorney (DA) and California attorney general. According to a report from the Washington Free Beacon, Harris ran advertisements in several battleground states as part of a $50 million campaign. The said ads paint her as "tough on crime" prosecutor who "put murderers and abusers behind bars" but the truth is nowhere near that. The Free Beacon shared several instances of the now-vice president's soft-on-crime stance. (Related: Kamala Harris remains SOFT ON CRIME despite her tough-on-crime ads.) In 2004, Harris' office offered a plea deal to domestic abuser Scott McAlpin who was charged with stalking and terrorizing a woman for three years. Eight months after the plea deal, McAlpin killed the woman he was stalking and stuffed her body in the trunk of his car. In 2005, she made a deal with Dwayne Reed, who was charged with murdering Hunter McPherson the son of former California Secretary of State Bruce McPherson during a robbery. Despite having six prior felony convictions, Harris agreed to release Reed in exchange for his testimony against his accomplice in the murder robbery that killed the younger McPherson. Reed murdered another man eight months after testifying. In 2006, her office granted probation to Devaughndre Broussard, who assaulted and robbed a passenger while on the San Franciso Municipal Railway. This enabled Broussard to assassinate Chauncey Bailey, editor of the Oakland Post, the following year. According to SFGate, Bailey's 2007 killing arose from his investigation of a crime syndicate implicating the suspect's family. Head over to KamalaHarris.news for more stories about the Democratic presidential nominee. Watch Newsmax's Carl Higbie saying Kamala Harris stole her policies from "The Communist Manifesto." This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Vance and Walz agree to vice presidential debate on Oct. 1. Trump agrees to 3 DEBATES ahead of 2024 presidential election. Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. J.D. Vance discuss terms for vice presidential debate. Sources include: Breitbart.com 1 Breitbart.com 2 FreeBeacon.com Brighteon.com EU nations reject Zelenskys plea to repatriate fighting-age Ukrainian refugees European nations are pushing back against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's calls to repatriate fighting-age male refugees to support the country's ongoing conflict with Russia. Zelensky urged several European Union countries to deport men of military age back to Ukraine to reinforce its military both before and during the current counter-offensive. However, his request was unanimously rejected by EU member states. The Ukrainian news outlet New Voice highlighted opposition from Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic, citing labor shortages as a primary concern. (Related: EU scheming how to force Ukrainian men to return to Ukraine to die for Zelensky.) In Poland and the Czech Republic, for instance, Ukrainians constitute a significant portion of the workforce in sectors like construction and transport, making these countries reluctant to send them back. "Frankly speaking, many Czech companies depend on the skills and hard work of Ukrainian refugees. The construction industry, for example, would come to a complete halt without Ukrainian workers," Tomasz Prouza, head of a hospitality lobbying group in Czechia, told Bloomberg. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are currently over six million Ukrainian refugees, with an additional 400,000 expected to leave in 2024 due to ongoing Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. Legal experts have warned that Poland and Lithuania could violate both EU and Ukrainian law if they assist Kyiv in repatriating Ukrainian men aged 18 to 60 for mandatory military service. According to Brandi Amiss-Towler, a scholar from Lincoln's Inn, Ukrainians protected under the EU's Temporary Protection Directive have the right to access accommodation, benefits, medical care, education and employment in EU countries, including Poland and Lithuania. "If Poland and Lithuania fail to adhere to this directive, denying Ukrainian citizens these rights, they would be in breach of EU law," Amiss-Towler told Brussels Signal. Poland, which currently hosts around 200,000 Ukrainian men within this age group, has indicated that it might not renew their right to stay and could potentially transport them back to Ukraine, according to Polish Minister of National Defense Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz. Lithuania, which has a smaller number of Ukrainian men, is considering restricting their access to social benefits, work permits and documents, but Minister of National Defense Laurynas Kasciunas has ruled out deportation. Ukraine stepping up efforts to recruit men into the army On April 23, Ukraine suspended consular services for men aged 18 to 60 living abroad, complicating their ability to remain overseas. Ukrainian opposition lawmaker Volodymyr Viatrovych criticized the Ukrainian government's move as "openly illegal and exceptionally harmful." He highlighted that if Ukrainians abroad were denied access to accommodation, it could violate their human rights and the Ukrainian Constitution, specifically Article 47, which guarantees the right to housing even under martial law. The new mobilization law, which was amended 4,000 times before being signed by Zelensky on April 17, has been highly contentious. Many had hoped it would allow soldiers who volunteered in February 2022 to return home after three years, but the final version removed provisions for demobilization. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed frustration with Ukrainian men residing abroad, stating on X (formerly Twitter), "A man of conscription age went abroad, showed his State that he does not care about its survival, and then comes and wants to receive services from this state." However, some Ukrainian men argue that they had been living in the EU before 2022. Viatrovych noted that until now, there has been no legal mechanism for Ukrainians abroad to register with the mobilization authorities, nor a requirement for them to do so. Ukrainian MP Olena Khomenko added that it is unclear how or if these men will be able to register from overseas or undergo the required medical examinations. Viatrovych also pointed out that many Ukrainians abroad have actively supported Ukraine by raising funds and awareness. "Ukraine would not have such powerful political, financial, and military support from Western countries if it were not for the activity of foreign Ukrainians," he said. He emphasized that most would be reluctant to leave their jobs, studies and families for a sudden return to Ukraine. Watch this short video showing growing opposition to Ukrainian efforts to recruit more troops. This video is from the channel The Prisoner on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Ukraine so desperate for new troops that Zelensky is now drafting PRISONERS to fight his war. Ukraine rushing to recruit PRISONERS to fight on the frontlines as troops dwindle. Ukraine poised to sacrifice entire adult population as government warns of full mobilization. Sources include: RMX.news BrusselsSignal.eu Brighteon.com IDF recovers 6 bodies of Israeli hostages from Gaza tunnels The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has recovered the bodies of six Israeli hostages during a rescue operation in Gaza. The victims, identified as Nadav Popelwell, Yagav Buchstab, Yoram Metzger, Avraham Monder, Haim Perry and Alex Danzig, were found in a tunnel near Khan Younis on Aug. 20. These victims died earlier this year during the IDF's 98th Division's initial maneuvers in the city. According to the initial findings of the autopsy from the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Abu Kabir, Metzger had been shot dead by one of his captors, while the other five hostages are believed to have died from suffocation during an IDF attack on a nearby Hamas target. The fire, which did not directly target the tunnel, produced carbon dioxide that flooded the confined space where the hostages were held. (Related: More and more Israeli soldiers becoming DISABLED as Gaza conflict drags on.) "We make every effort to avoid harm to captives during our operations," said IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari. "The circumstances of their deaths are being thoroughly investigated, and we will provide answers to the families and the public as soon as possible." Chief of Staff Major Gen. Herzi Halevi, who toured the Gaza Strip following the operation, emphasized the IDF's commitment to bringing back all abductees, both alive and deceased. "Tonight, we achieved an important goal returning our people to Israel. While we had hoped to bring them back alive, ensuring their proper burial in Israel is also a crucial mission." Additionally, three of the bodies recovered appeared in a video released by Hamas' Qassam Brigades in December, pleading not to be abandoned. The Hamas captors, who were also in the tunnel, were also found lifeless alongside the captives. This tragic incident adds to the ongoing toll of Israeli captives being killed in Gaza, with many losing their lives during Israeli airstrikes and ground operations. Families of the victims accuse Netanyahu of "sacrificing" the prisoners and "sabotaging" the ceasefire deal The recovery of the bodies comes amid ongoing and failed ceasefire talks. Hamas has rejected a new American-backed proposal, which includes new conditions imposed by Netanyahu and does not address Hamas' terms for a permanent ceasefire and withdrawal. This news of the captives' deaths has sparked anger among their families, with one family member blaming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for "sacrificing" the hostages. The families of Israeli captives in Gaza have repeatedly called for a ceasefire agreement, but Netanyahu has been allegedly obstructing the process. In fact, Netanyahu reportedly stated that Israel "will under no circumstances leave the Philadelphia Axis and the Netzer Corridor" during a meeting with the Hostages Families Forum on Aug. 2. He also expressed doubts about the feasibility of a cease-fire deal, saying he was "not sure" an agreement could be struck. As a result, the Hostages Families Forum accused Netanyahu of abandoning efforts to secure the hostages' release. "The prime minister's words are practically a refutation of the abductee deal. Netanyahu did not admit that the release of the abductees leads to their murder in captivity. They not only suffer, they also die. There is no hope and no heroism in a 'firm' stand that will result in the continued death of all the abductees. The Israeli government abandoned the abductees on 7.10 and is now abandoning them for good," the Hostages Families Forum wrote on their official account on X. Learn more about the conflict in Israel at IsraelCollapse.com. Watch this report from Al Jazeera discussing Hezbollah's recent missile barrage involving over 200 rockets aimed at military installations in Israel. This video is from the channel Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Armed Israeli settlers attack West Bank village, burning down properties and killing a young Palestinian man. Masked Israeli mob launches deadly anti-Palestinian pogrom in West Bank. Canada revokes Jewish National Funds charitable status after audit found group used donations to fortify Israeli military infrastructure. Hezbollah unveils vast tunnel network capable of launching missiles. Democrats hoping their base gullible enough to fall for ceasefire theater. Sources include: Ynet.co.il TheCradle.co MSN.com X.com Brighteon.com Mayorkas: DHS NOT RESPONSIBLE for illegal alien murdering a mother in Maryland Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas claims the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is not responsible for the August 2023 murder of a Maryland mother by an illegal alien. During an interview with CNN, the secretary rejected accusations that his department played a role in the murder by allowing 23-year-old Salvadoran national Victor Antonio Martinez Hernandez into the country. Instead, he claimed that illegals like Hernandez do not statistically commit more crimes than native-born Americans. Hernandez allegedly raped and killed Maryland mother Rachel Morin along a hiking trail near her home. Police later apprehended Hernandez in Tulsa, Oklahoma and charged him with first-degree murder and first-degree rape. According to law enforcement, the suspect reportedly hid in a drainage culvert and attacked Morin while she was walking. Deputies from Harford County are working to extradite Hernandez to Maryland, which could take 30 to 60 days. Maryland State's Attorney Alison Healey will be the prosecutor on the case, said Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler. According to the sheriff, Hernandez had crossed the border into the U.S. in February 2023 after being issued an arrest warrant for the murder of a young woman in El Salvador the previous month. In March 2023, investigators said he had assaulted a nine-year-old girl and her mother at a home in Los Angeles. Gahler also noted that Hernandez has connections in the Washington, D.C. area, in both Virginia and Prince George's County, Maryland. He also has ties to known gangs. "Hernandez did not come here to make a better life for himself or his family. He came here to escape the crime he committed in El Salvador," the sheriff said. "He came here and murdered Rachel and, God willing, no one else. Hopefully, he'll never have the opportunity to walk free again." Biden administration released illegal wanted for 23 MURDERS But Gahler's wish for the Salvadoran murderer to stay behind bars for good might remain just that. In another instance, the Biden administration released an illegal from Peru reportedly wanted for murdering 23 people in his home country back in May. According to a separate report by the National Pulse, officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested Gianfranco Torres-Navarro, 38, in Endicott, New York. Peruvian authorities claimed he is the leader of the criminal organization "Los Killers," which specializes in contract killings and extortion. Torres-Navarro had been let loose among American citizens by the Biden-Harris government on May 16 after illegally crossing into Texas. "Torres-Navarro poses a significant threat to our communities," commented Thomas Brophy, director of ICE's Enforcement and Removal Operations field office in Buffalo. "We won't allow New York [state] to be a haven for dangerous noncitizens." House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) also reacted to Torres-Navarro's arrest: "It should alarm every American that a Peruvian gang leader, who has murdered 23 people, crossed our border and was released into the country. The Biden-Harris administration's open border policies are terrorizing our communities. However, many Democratic officials in the Empire State refuse to cooperate with ICE. New York Police Department (NYPD) Chief of Patrol John Chell recently expressed frustration at dealing with two migrants accused of raping a woman in Brooklyn. One of them had been released from jail despite a previous arrest for a shelter rape. Mayor Eric Adams blamed the city's sanctuary laws for the situation, saying: "Laws do not allow us to coordinate with ICE. That's the law. And, you know I'm not happy about that." (Related: Mayor Eric Adams calls for modifications to sanctuary city policy as NYC struggles to accommodate nearly 200,000 new migrants that are overrunning the city.) Visit OpenBorders.news for similar stories. Watch a report on how dangerous America has become under the Biden-Harris administration. This video is from the Son of the Republic channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: 14% of illegal immigrants in Georgia admit they are registered to vote in America's elections. Texas rancher sues DHS over "massive flood" of illegal immigrants passing through his property. Sen. Elizabeth Warren: Kamala Harris will forge "pathway to citizenship" for MILLIONS of illegal immigrants. Sources include: TheNationalPulse.com 1 TheNationalPulse.com 2 Brighteon.com Pushing back against viewpoint-based discrimination by banks On paper, Zulfat Suara and Steve Happ dont have much in common. (Article republished from RealClearWire.com) One, a Muslim woman, immigrated to the U.S. from Nigeria in the 1990s and now serves on the Nashville City Council. The other, a Christian man, is a Memphis native with a background in software who began a ministry partnering with Ugandan non-profit charities that care for orphaned and at-risk children in 2015. But they do have at least one thing in common: Both were canceled by large national banks with little warning and virtually no explanation. Suara, who like Happ, is also involved in non-profit work, received a vaguely worded notice of cancelation from Regions Bank earlier this year, giving her 30 days to find a new bank. Happs cancelation by Bank of America came in 2023 shortly before he made a trip overseasforcing him to scramble for solutions and delay hard-earned paychecks to Ugandans. Happs notice said he was operating in the wrong business type. As we reported in this years report for our Viewpoint Diversity Score Business Index, which measures corporate respect for free speech and religious liberty, these problematic policies are present in at least 69% of the countrys largest financial institutions. Incidents like these are a small sample of a larger trend of viewpoint-based discrimination in financial servicesknown as de-banking which has also affected firearms and fossil fuels because of radical net zero emissions commitments and government initiatives like Operation Choke Point. It has also garnered the attention of both sides of the political aisle. These incidents propelled Tennessee lawmakers to adopt a landmark legislative solution aimed at curbing this dangerous weaponization of the financial system. Like a similar law that recently went into effect in Florida, the legislation is a first-of-its-kind consumer protection bill that prohibits big banks from canceling customer accounts based on their constitutionally protected speech and religious exercise. The Tennessee law applies to banks with at least $100 billion in assetswhich includes both Regions and Bank of Americathe latter of which has also been exposed by U.S. House oversight as working hand-in-hand with the U.S. Department of Treasury to profile as domestic terrorist threats my organization, Alliance Defending Freedom, and everyday Americans who committed the sin of shopping at Bass Pro Shops or buying religious texts. It should come as no surprise that this same government entity has now spoken out in opposition to these state-level attempts to protect the God-given freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. In a recent letter lauded in these pages by Hispanic Leadership Fund president Mario H. Lopez, the Treasury makes a series of false assertions about Tennessee and Floridas laws. Chief among these specious claims is that the laws prevent Treasurys Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) from dealing with money launderers and terrorist threats. Theres no need to provide a nuanced answer to this accusation. Its simply untrue. Twenty state attorneys general recently responded to this letter and rightly observed that the standards the Treasury is attacking in the state laws are the exact same standards the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency proposedand the Treasury did not object toonly a few years ago. Likewise, Lopezs reactionary appeal to free market principles fails. Banks dont operate in a free market. ESG is avowedly anti-free market. And the market is not free if access depends on your political and religious views. First, banks are highly regulated. But in exchange for those regulations, they benefit from a wide spectrum of government subsidies. Those include bailouts, tax credits, property tax abatements, and grants at the state and federal levels. Since 1998, for example, JPMorgan Chase has received over $1.7 trillion from American taxpayers in the form of subsidies. Second, ESG activists, and even government regulators, are introducing non-financial and subjective factors into decision-making by classifying groups like mine as domestic terrorist threats and denying service to ministries that support orphans and widows for being the wrong business type. Someone should explain how these groups, or those of Christian broadcaster Lance Wallnau or U.S. Ambassador Sam Brownback, present national security threats. Of course, one of the features of the state laws is that customers like Wallnau and Ambassador Brownback can demand a written explanation from the banks. Third, the market is not free if it does not support a free society. There are numerous antidiscrimination laws that apply specifically to financial services, from the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to state fair lending lawsbecause every American deserves equal access to financial services. If we allow financial services to become politicized, we undermine the democratic process and deny businesses the ability to focus on what they do best, create excellent goods and services for their customers. The Treasury cannot profile half of America as domestic terrorists, institute Orwellian financial surveillance, and then hide behind the fig leaf of national security when the states push back. Banks, insurance providers, and others in the financial sector need to make tangible changes to their policies to protect their customers from discrimination. States like Tennessee and Florida have a critical role to playnot only in adopting laws to ensure their citizens freedoms are protected but also in enforcing these laws so that no one else has to fear financial discrimination because of their religious or political beliefs. Read more at: RealClearWire.com PUTIN: Ukraine tried, but failed, to attack Russian nuclear power plant in Kursk Things are not going so well for Ukraine after the armies of President Volodymyr Zelensky failed to complete their mission of attacking Russia's Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). At a recent cabinet meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that Ukrainian forces tried, but failed, to destroy the facility after sending thousands of troops into Russia's Kursk Oblast earlier this month in what Putin described as an act of "terrorism." To stop Ukraine from succeeding in its quest, Putin deployed additional troops to the region for bolstered protection. "Last night, the enemy attempted to strike the atomic power plant," Putin said at the meeting. "The International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] has been informed. They promised to come themselves and send specialists to assess the situation. I hope they actually do so." At Zaporizhzhia NPP, Europe's largest nuclear facility, IAEA observers have been positioned since the summer of 2023 to keep a close eye on the situation after Ukrainian forces attempted to set ablaze one of the plant's cooling towers earlier this month. Russian media is reporting that Alexey Likhachev, CEO of state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom invited IAEA Director Rafael Grossi to personally visit Kursk to assess the situation there as Ukraine forges on in trying to win a war that it stands no chance at winning. Grossi accepted the invitation and is on his way to Kursk, after which he will visit Kiev to have a chat with Volodymyr Zelensky. (Related: The United States and NATO, Ukraine's biggest backers, are engaging in a nuclear extortion plot against Russia are we about to see World War III unfold?) Kursk NPP uses same reactors as Chernobyl Grossi says the IAEA is extremely concerned about Ukraine engaging in combat operations around the Kursk NPP since it operates the same reactors as the ones located at Chernobyl NPP. "They don't have a protective dome around them just the normal roof which means that the reactor's core is pretty exposed," Grossi revealed, adding that it "is a source of enormous concern to me and the agency" that troops he did not specify which are within artillery range of the plant. Russia remains highly critical of the IAEA, which it says failed to identify the perpetrators of the multiple attacks even though the agency knows full well that Kyiv is to blame. Russian military journalist Marat Khairullin reported last week that Ukraine is preparing to launch a "dirty bomb" on either the Kursk NPP or the Zaporizhzhia NPP as part of a coming false flag attack. Moscow is taking the threat seriously, warning that any such attack will be immediately met with "tough military and military-technical countermeasures." "This is a very dangerous war game," one commenter noted about how all of this military aggression taking place around large nuclear power facilities threatens to unleash a global nuclear holocaust. "This is terrorism, no doubt. Atomic nuclear plants should never be targeted but protected by any parties funding war." Another slammed Putin for failing to stop NATO from invading Russian territory in the first place as this was supposed to be one of those "red lines" we keep hearing about that will not be tolerated. "When will you resign because of your negligence and incompetence in allowing NATO to invade Russia?" this person asked of Putin. Someone else criticized the IAEA for being little more than a "tool" for the "Western cabal" to make it seem like there are watchers keeping a close eye on nuclear power facilities for their protection. "Russia had better do everything within its power to safeguard Kursk no outsider can do it better," wrote another. The latest news about the worsening state of international relations can be found at WWIII.news. Sources for this article include: RT.com NaturalNews.com Trump says hes willing to offer RFK Jr. a role in his administration if elected in November Former President Donald Trump has expressed willingness to offer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a role in his administration if he wins in November. Nicole Shanahan, Kennedy's, running mate revealed on a podcast that their campaign is considering withdrawing from the race to endorse Trump and reduce the risk of Vice President Kamala Harris defeating the former president in the upcoming presidential election. Trump warmly welcomed the potential endorsement from Kennedy in an interview with CNN's Kristen Holmes after a campaign stop in Michigan. "I like him, and I respect him," Trump said. "He's a brilliant guy. He's a very smart guy. I've known him for a very long time. I didn't know he was thinking about getting out, but if he is thinking about getting out, certainly I'd be open to it." (Related: Trump and RFK Jr. fail to win over Libertarian Party during chaotic convention.) He confirmed he would "love that endorsement" because he always liked Kennedy. Trump also responded positively when asked if he would consider appointing Kennedy to a position in his administration should he win in November. "I like him a lot. I respect him a lot," Trump said. "I probably would, if something like that would happen. He's a very different kind of guy a very smart guy. And, yeah, I would be honored by that endorsement, certainly." Moreover, Trump dismissed the possibility of backlash within the Republican Party if he appointed Kennedy due to the independent candidate's progressive stance on various issues. "I like smart people, and Republicans like me," Trump stated confidently. RFK Jr. and Trump set to hold major events in Phoenix on the same day In line with this, RFK Jr. and Trump are set to hold major events in Phoenix on Aug. 23. That day, RFK Jr. is set to address the nation at 2 p.m. EST. His campaign team has kept the content of his upcoming speech under wraps. However, the timing of his address is especially noteworthy as Trump is also scheduled to hold a rally at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale at 4 p.m. that same day. The announcement of this speech has sparked widespread speculation about the plans of RFK Jr., especially after Shanahan revealed that he has been considering withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race to endorse Trump. This upcoming speech will mark the first public event of RFK Jr. since early July. The evolving relationship between RFK Jr. and Trump has drawn attention, especially since they were once vocal critics of each other. However, their rapport has warmed over the past few months, particularly after an assassination attempt on Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania. The two have since met in person, discussing the potential for RFK Jr. to drop out of the race and endorse Trump. Head over to RFKJr.news for more stories about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s presidential campaign. Watch this Fox News report about RFK Jr. being a threat in the November 2024 presidential election. This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: 4th Branch with Tony and Sofia: Robert Stone discusses the CENSORSHIP of Trump and RFK Jr. RFK Jr. accuses Democrats of rigging the nomination with Harris so they can keep Bidens campaign donations. Federal appeals judge: Facebooks CENSORSHIP of RFK Jr. and Childrens Health Defense directly benefited government. RFK Jr. accuses DNC of once again RIGGING the nomination process this time for Kamala Harris. RFK Jr. says Americans must vote AGAINST the Democrats, the party of censorship and lawfare. Sources include: TheNationalPulse.com CNN.com [your]News.com Brighteon.com UN chief hopes PM Modi's visit to Ukraine will help end war U N Secretary-General hopes that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ukraine will contribute to ending the war, his Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Thursday. Asked for a reaction to Prime Minister Modi's visit to Ukraine amid the war, Dujarric said, "We've seen a lot of heads of state and government travel to the region (and) we hope that all of these visits will bring us closer to an end of the conflict in line with General Assembly resolutions, international law, and the territorial integrity." The General Assembly has demanded an end to the Russian invasion in at least three resolutions and in another to stop attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure. India has abstained on the resolutions. Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to go to Ukraine on Friday where he is to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Kyiv visit follows his trip to Russia last month, where he discussed the Ukraine situation with Russia's President Vladimir Putin. According to reports, he will convey messages between Ukraine and Russia. An India-Russia joint statement at the end of Prime Minister Modi's Moscow visit said that the two leaders "highlighted the imperative of peaceful resolution of the conflict around Ukraine through dialogue and diplomacy including engagement between both parties". The statement added cryptically, "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 in its entirety and totality". While India has kept up a veneer of neutrality by not voting for the condemnation of Russia's invasion at the UN, Prime Minister Modi has criticised it. He told Putin at a 2022 meeting in Samarkand in Uzbekistan, "I know that today's era is not of war and we have talked to you many times over the phone on the subject that democracy and diplomacy and dialogue are all these things that touch the world". On the day of Prime Minister Modi's arrival in Moscow in July, Russia's missile attack hit a children's hospital in Ukraine. Reacting to it, Prime Minister 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." Prime Minister Modi and President Zelensky have spoken by phone several times since Russia's invasion began in February 2022. After a conversation in March, the Prime Minister posted on X that he "conveyed India's consistent support for all efforts for peace and bringing an early end to the ongoing conflict. India will continue to provide humanitarian assistance guided by our people-centric approach". Zelensky said in his X post that "Ukraine is interested in strengthening our trade and economic ties with India, particularly in agricultural exports, aviation cooperation, and pharmaceutical and industrial product trade". (Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis) UN chief hopes PM Modi's visit to Ukraine will help end war Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! PM Modi's vision in spotlight as India marks National Space Day A s India commemorates National Space Day this Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for space development and reforms takes centre stage, highlighting their pivotal role in the success of last year's Chandrayaan-3 mission. Leading scientists across the nation lauded the Prime Minister following the mission's achievement, and their interactions with PM Modi were both inspiring and indicative of deep contemplation in this direction. The National Space Day commemorates India's landmark achievement as on August 23 last year, India became the fourth country in the world to land on the moon and the first to reach its southern polar region. The theme for this year's National Space Day is "Touching Lives while Touching the Moon: India's Space Saga". ISRO Chairman S. Somanath in a video message said that the Prime Minister has strengthened the space ecosystem in the country through policy intervention. As a prime minister, he has undertaken many initiatives to reform the space sector. The National Space Policy was announced in which the roles and responsibilities of the Department of Space have been clearly delineated. Similarly, under the new foreign direct investment policy for the space sector, private and foreign investments are now allowed with certain controls and regulations which was not possible earlier, Somanath said. On the geospatial policy, the ISRO chief said that all the geospatial data and satellite data are now made available free of cost, up to five meters, to everybody so as to create a secondary effect on it. These are three important steps in terms of policy initiatives that the government has taken, piloted by the Prime Minister, he added. Somanath also recalled how Prime Minister Modi took a small break from the BRICS summit to watch the live transmission of the Chandrayaan-3 mission's soft landing on the lunar surface. "I remember our honourable Prime Minister, Modi ji, was there watching live transmission, and he was waving the flag." After returning from the BRICS summit, the Prime Minister on August 26 went to the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru to greet the scientists behind the Chandrayaan-3 mission. It was the day when Prime Minister Modi announced that August 23 would be commemorated as the National Space Day. B.N. Ramakrishna, Director, ISRO Telemetry, Tracking & Command Network, recalled how Prime Minister Modi boosted the morale of scientists when the Chandrayaan-2 mission's soft landing failed. "He (PM Modi) was sitting in the visitors' gallery, constantly monitoring the various parameters of Chandrayaan-2. Everything was going so smoothly... but at the last minute, we could not land properly on the moon, we had a hard landing... It took some time for all of us to digest. There was a pin-drop silence in the control centre, and the Prime Minister was also watching from the visitors' gallery. "Then after four to five minutes, when we were not able to communicate to the lander from our deep space antenna, we had to announce that it was not a soft landing. So with that, the Prime Minister came down from the visitors gallery, and consoled each one of us at that moment, because all of us were in great emotions. We thought that he was not going to come back. And we were all trying to analyze what went wrong... We were still having discussions in the meeting room till 4-5 a.m., about what went wrong and why we did not land properly. At that time, we got a message that the Prime Minister is coming and addressing us at 8 a.m. He has taken all of us into his confidence and he said 'failures are part of the success. Do not worry today what you have missed. Please look at it and come back. And I am sure ISRO and India are going to be successful...'. So that was the kind of assurance he gave. And even he patted our former chairman." M. Sankaran, Director, UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC) said, "I am here in ISRO for the last 38 years. The main difference I am seeing in the approach of ISRO is that earlier, what we do, how we do it, was not really known to anybody, only the outcome of that as a service was made available to the concerned departments or public, whatever it is. So it was only concentrating on the outcome. But nowadays, what we are seeing is that not only the outcome is essential, but what we are doing also should reach the public. It should be known to the public. That is the change I am seeing in recent years." Prime Minister Modi, according to Sankaran, was "very clear that we have to involve other than government agencies in the space activities that... finally resulted in the space sector reforms". ISRO Scientist Pavithra Shinde, who was also part of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, recalled how the Prime Minister suggested naming the landing site of Chandrayaan-3 as the 'Shiv Shakti Point' and also Prime Minister Modi's emphasis on women's power during the August 26 interaction with scientists. Chandrayaan-3 was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on July 14, 2023. The spacecraft entered lunar orbit on August 5, and became the first lander to touch down near the lunar south pole on August 23. PM Modi's vision in spotlight as India marks National Space Day Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hails growing India-US ties U nion Defence Minister Rajnath Singh praised the growing strength of India-US relations while addressing the Indian diaspora in Washington DC during his four-day visit to the United States at the invitation of US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin. He said that both countries are long-standing allies capable of working together to promote global peace and prosperity. Rajnath Singh emphasised the importance of maintaining cultural values and loyalty to both India and the United States and also hailed the country's message of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (The entire world is a family). In his address on Thursday (US time), the Union Minister urged Indians working in the US to remain dedicated to their work and uphold their commitment to both nations. "You should always be dedicated to India, but your commitment to America should also not be doubted," he stated, highlighting the integrity and honesty inherent in Indian culture. He further stressed the Indian philosophy of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,' noting that India views all global communities as one family, a belief rooted in its spiritual heritage. He pointed out the rapid transformation India has undergone over the past decade, which has significantly enhanced its global stature. Additionally, two significant defence agreements -- the Security of Supplies Arrangement (SOSA) and a Memorandum of Agreement regarding the Assignment of Liaison Officers -- were also signed between the US Department of Defense and the Indian Ministry of Defence amid Rajnath Singh's visit. The SOSA ensures reciprocal priority support for national defence goods and services between the two nations, aimed at mitigating supply chain disruptions. Both countries also pledged to prioritise each other's critical defence procurement needs. The four-day visit of the Defence Minister also includes a high-level roundtable with the US defence industry to discuss ongoing and future defence collaborations. He is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Secretary Austin and meet with Jake Sullivan, the US Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. This visit comes in the wake of progress made during the fifth annual India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in November 2023, where Washington reaffirmed its support for India's military modernisation and the strengthening of maritime domain awareness in the Indian Ocean Region. The India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) continues to facilitate joint defence technology innovation and co-production between the two countries. Both nations have also been engaged in ongoing discussions under the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden in January 2023. The iCET is seen as a pivotal element in deepening the strategic partnership between India and the United States. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh hails growing India-US ties Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Kamala Harris remembers her mother Shyamala in acceptance speech K amala Harris while accepting the Democratic nomination for US president during the party's convention in Chicago on Friday spoke about her life and her Indian mother. Harris said her Jamaican father, Donald Jasper Harris, always taught her to be "fearless", and her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was "tough and courageous". "My mother taught Maya (her sister) and me to never complain about injustice, but do something about it," she said. "My mother Shyamala Harris had one of her own. I miss her every day, especially now. And I know she's looking down tonight, and smiling," she said. Harris said her mother was just 19 and travelled alone to the US to pursue a dream of being a scientist. "So my mother was 19 when she crossed the world alone, travelling from India to California with an unshakable dream to be the scientist who would cure breast cancer. When she finished school, she was supposed to return home to a traditional arranged marriage, but as fate would have it, she met my father, Donald Harris, a student from Jamaica. They fell in love and got married, and that act of self-determination made my sister Maya and I grow up, we moved a lot," said Harris. Speaking of her father, Harris said, "From my earliest years, he taught me to be fearless, but the harmony between my parents did not last. When I was in elementary school, they split up.." "... it was mostly my mother who raised us before she could finally afford to buy a home. She rented a small apartment in the East Bay, in the bay, in the bay, you either live in the hills or the flatlands. We lived in the flats, a beautiful working-class neighbourhood of firefighters, nurses and construction workers, all of who tended their lawns with pride, my mother worked long hours, and like many working parents, she leaned on a trusted circle to help raise us," Harris said. "I grew up immersed in the ideals of the civil rights movement. My parents had met at a civil rights gathering, and they made sure that we learned about civil rights leaders, including lawyers like Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley, those who battled in the courtroom to make real the promise of America. So at a young age, I decided I wanted to do that work. I wanted to be a lawyer. And when it came time to choose the type of law I would pursue, I reflected on a pivotal moment in my life. Talking about why she wanted to be a lawyer, Harris said, "...when I was in high school, I started to notice something about my best friend, Wanda. She was sad at school, and there were times she didn't want to go home. So one day, I asked if everything was all right, and she confided in me that she was being sexually abused by her stepfather, I immediately told her she had to come to stay with us, and she did. This is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor to protect people like Wanda because I believe everyone has a right to safety, dignity and justice." "My entire career, I've only had one client, the people," Harris said, referring to her career as a public prosecutor in California and then the state's attorney general. "And so on behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey, on behalf of Americans like the People I grew up with, people who work hard chase their dreams and look out for one another, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination." Later she also posted on her X handle, "My mother, Dr. Shyamala Gopalan Harris, came to the United States from India alone at 19. She was a force who had two goals in life: to cure breast cancer and to raise my sister Maya and me. Her dedication, determination, and courage shaped who I am today." US Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic Party's 2024 presidential nomination to fight against her Republican rival Donald Trump pledging to be the "president who unites" Americans. "On behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination for President of the United States of America," she said during her address at Chicago's United Center on the last day of the four-day Democratic National Convention. During her speech, she pledged to be the "president who unites" Americans and "fight for America's future"."With this election, our nation has a precious and fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a New Way Forward, not as members of any one party or faction but as Americans," Kamala Harris said. Harris became the Democratic candidate after President Joe Biden, 81, was forced to quit the race for the White House. If successful Harris, 59, will become the first woman US president. Kamala Harris remembers her mother Shyamala in acceptance speech Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! PM greets nation on 1st National Space Day, lauds India's space scientists P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday greeted the nation on the maiden National Space Day to celebrate the achievements of Chandrayaan 3, which scripted history in 2023 by becoming the first to land on the South Pole of the Moon. "Greetings to everyone on the first National Space Day," PM Modi said in a post on X.com. The Prime Minister also lauded the efforts of the nation's space scientists. "We recall with great pride our nation's achievements in the space sector. It is also a day to laud the contributions of our space scientists," he said. PM Modi also said the government has taken several measures to boost the space sector. "Our Government has taken a series of futuristic decisions relating to this sector and we will do even more in the times to come," he said. Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft consisted of a propulsion module (weighing 2,148 kg), a lander named Vikram (1,723.89 kg), and a rover named Pragyan (26 kg). It landed near the South Pole of the Moon on August 23 after travelling about 3.84 lakh km for over 40 days. With Chandrayaan-3's success, India also became the fourth nation after the erstwhile USSR (now Russia), the US, and China to make a soft landing on the Moon. National Space Day is being celebrated nationwide, involving departments, ministries, educational institutions, science organisations, NGOs, and the public. The theme for the first National Space Day is: "Touching Lives while Touching the Moon: India's Space Saga." On the occasion, ISRO Chairman Dr S. Somnath said that besides commemorating the success of Chandrayaan-3, the day would also "outline future space initiatives during the Amritkal era". Meanwhile, India is expected to send an Indian to Space by the second half of 2025 and also land the first Indian on the Moon by 2040. Gaganyaan -- India's first human spaceflight mission which got delayed due to Covid, is also expected to take flight next year. In addition, India is also aiming to send "robot flights, where a female robot, Vayumitra, will be sent to space in 2025". PM greets nation on 1st National Space Day, lauds India's space scientists Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Mexican President dismisses criticism of proposed judicial reforms M exican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador dismissed criticism by some global financial firms of his administration's proposed judicial reforms, saying their warnings of impending risk to the economy were "pure lies." At his daily press conference on Thursday, Lopez Obrador said the firms were involved in "politicking" when they attributed a recent slide in the Mexican peso to the proposed constitutional amendments, which Congress is set to debate soon. The reason behind the peso's slide is not internal but rather a "global adjustment," especially due to the economy and finances of the United States, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting the Mexican President. In recent days, several global investment banks and rating agencies have warned of potential risks from the judicial reforms, which, among other things, propose that ministers of the Supreme Court be voted into office. Mexico's peso entered a period of volatility against the US dollar following its presidential elections on June 2, though other factors also came into play, including global investors' concerns about the direction of the US economy and Japan's monetary policy, according to experts. Mexican President dismisses criticism of proposed judicial reforms Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! From Gujarat to the nation: How PM Modi's space vision revolutionised governance P rime Minister Narendra Modi's space vision has revolutionaised governance from Gujarat to nation which now plans to have its own space station by 2035. From education to agriculture, and even water management, Gujarat under PM Modi's leadership was ahead of its time, demonstrating how technology can be tailored locally to address specific needs. It's impressive how they used satellite data not just for high-level projects but also for practical, everyday applications that directly benefited the people of the state. This highlights the innovative approach, Gujarat took, under PM Narendra Modi's leadership in integrating space technology with governance. The emphasis on localising technology while maintaining universal scientific principles is a powerful reminder of how innovation can be effectively harnessed for regional development. Modi Archive posted on social media platform X: "A young @narendramodi once scribbled in his diary - 'Science must be universal, but technology must be local'." "Fast forward to 2009, and this vision was already in full swing!" "Under the leadership of then Gujarat CM Modi, the state was not just ahead of the curve but setting it when it came to using space technology for everyday life." Modi Archive also shared a newspaper clipping from 2009, in which the then ISRO chairman, G. Madhavan Nair, emphasised Gujarat's pioneering role in applying satellite data in ways that no other region in India had even imagined. From tele-education to forecasting crop production and mapping minerals to exploring groundwater, remote sensing of gases, urban morphology and identifying fisheries zones - Gujarat was transforming governance using space tech. "And get this - Gujarat was the FIRST state to use satellite data and 3D imaging for laying out pipelines and check dam routes. By then, CM Modi had already mapped 300,000 check dams across the state!" On the occasion of the maiden National Space Day, Prime Minister Modi greeted the nation. Lauding the efforts of the nation's space scientists, PM Modi posted on X, "We recall with great pride our nation's achievements in the space sector. It is also a day to laud the contributions of our space scientists." Highlighting the steps his government has taken to boost the space sector, PM Modi said: "Our Government has taken a series of futuristic decisions relating to this sector and we will do even more in the times to come." With Chandrayaan-3's success, India became the fourth nation after the erstwhile USSR (now Russia), the US, and China to make a soft landing on the moon and the first to have done so in the moon's south polar region. The theme for the first National Space Day is: "Touching Lives while Touching the Moon: India's Space Saga." From Gujarat to the nation: How PM Modi's space vision revolutionised governance Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrives in Washington, to hold bilateral meeting with US counterpart U nion Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Washington, on Thursday at the invitation of the US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin. The Office of the Raksha Mantri shared a picture of Rajnath Singh and said, "Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh has landed in Washington DC. He is on an official visit to the United States." Notably, Rajnath Singh will be undertaking an official visit to the US from August 23 to 26, 2024, at the invitation of the US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin. During the visit, the Defence Minister will hold a bilateral meeting with his US counterpart Secretary Austin. He will also meet the US Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Jake Sullivan, the Ministry of Defence said in a press release on Wednesday. The visit comes in the backdrop of the growing momentum in India-US relations and defence engagements at multiple levels. The visit is expected to further deepen and broaden the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, the release had said. A day earlier, Singh said that he would discuss areas of strategic interests and seek to strengthen defence cooperation between India and US with Lloyd Austin. Taking to X, Rajnath Singh stated, "Leaving for Washington. India and the United States share a Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. Looking forward to meet my friend @SecDef Austin. Will discuss areas of strategic interests, while seeking to strengthen defence cooperation." Defence Minister Rajnath Singh arrives in Washington, to hold bilateral meeting with US counterpart Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Kaziranga National Park signs MoU to provide surveillance centre and dwelling units for frontline workers I n a significant move towards the protection of endangered animals, Anil Agarwal Foundation (AAF) through its flagship animal welfare initiative The Animal Care Organization (TACO), on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve to provide a surveillance centre and dwelling units for frontline workers who are at the forefront of the Park's conservation efforts. As part of TACO's wildlife conservation project 'Mission Vanraksha', this collaboration will strengthen the protection of the Park's wildlife especially endangered species such as the Greater One-Horned Rhinos, Asiatic Elephants and Bengal Tigers. The MoU outlines a grant of Rs 6 crore to be utilised over a period of three years for this collaboration. The MoU signing ceremony was graced by Assam Minister of Environment & Forest, Act East Policy Affairs and Welfare of Minorities Chandra Mohan Patowary, emphasizing the state's commitment to preserving its natural heritage. The MoU was signed between Ritu Jhingon, President, Anil Agarwal Foundation and Dr. Sonali Ghosh, Director of Kaziranga National Park & Tiger Reserve. Also present at the ceremony was Priya Agarwal Hebbar, Chairperson, Hindustan Zinc Ltd, and Non-Executive Director, Vedanta Ltd who anchors the TACO project. Speaking on the occasion, Assam Minister of Environment & Forest Chandra Mohan Patowary, expressed his support for the initiative, stating, "Kaziranga National Park is not just a treasure of Assam but of the entire world. We are committing to support TACO's initiative 'Mission Vanraksha' where they will provide surveillance centre to maintain a zero poaching zone and to promote conservation and sustainability in our state. The establishment of dwelling units for forest frontline workers is a critical component of this initiative, ensuring that those who protect our heritage are well-supported. The well-being of the frontline workers will help them maintain Kaziranga's unparalleled beauty and biodiversity." Priya Agarwal Hebbar, Chairperson, Hindustan Zinc Ltd, and Non-Executive Director, Vedanta Ltd, emphasizing the importance of the partnership, said, "This MoU is especially important as it focuses on improving facilities for frontline workers, including 'Van Durgas' or women forest guards, providing an impetus to conservation activities in Kaziranga. I am delighted that TACO will be contributing to the ongoing efforts in collaboration with the Government of Assam to preserve the region's unique ecosystem while supporting the green warriors of the forest. Together, we can create a sustainable model that benefits both wildlife and the local communities." The grant to build the surveillance centre and dwelling units for the forest guards and staff marks a pivotal step towards enhancing conservation efforts at Kaziranga National Park and will aid in the surveillance and protection of the Park's wildlife population, including rhinos and elephants. The structure set up shall be undertaken in accordance with due compliances under Forest, Wildlife & Environmental laws and regulations, etc. Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, spread over 1302 sq km, is famous for its success story of reviving the population of Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros and is today home to over 2613 of these iconic species. Besides, the park also boasts of the largest population of Asiatic Water Buffalo in the world with estimates at over 2565 individuals, over 1200 Asiatic Elephants, along with significant densities of Bengal Tiger and Eastern Swamp Deer. More than 30 mammalian species, 556 bird species, 17 freshwater turtles, 35 Snakes, 29 lizards and 24 frogs have also been recorded. The park also provides habitat for several globally threatened species including Sambar Deer, Hog Deer, Capped Langur, Hoolock Gibbon, Sloth Bear, Bengal florican and the Gangetic Dolphin. The park is a crucial part of the ecosystem that needs careful safeguarding, and TACO commits to supporting the authorities in their efforts. Notably, TACO's initiatives encompass a holistic approach to 'One Health', recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment. TACO's commitment to wildlife conservation encompasses a multifaceted approach. In 2022, it collaborated with to the Forest Department, Government of Rajasthan, by providing seven patrolling vehicles at Ranthambore National Park to enhance on ground surveillance efforts. TACO's shelter in Faridabad, Haryana is home to 160+ animals, including cows, bulls, and dogs, focusing on rescue, rehabilitation, advanced veterinary care and overall well-being. It recently unveiled a multi-specialty veterinary hospital focused on advanced animal healthcare in Faridabad where it is also running Mobile Health Van and Ambulance services. Since its inception two years ago, it has treated more than 60,000 animals through health camps held across several operational areas of Vedanta group and rescued almost 5,000 animals during the Delhi and Haryana floods. Its dedication also extends to education and training through the TACO Academy, which conducts sessions for veterinarians and paraprofessionals. TACO is the animal welfare initiative by Anil Agarwal Foundation, the umbrella entity for 140+ social impact projects of Vedanta and its business units. Vedanta Ltd., one of the world's leading critical minerals, energy and technology companies, through its subsidiary Cairn Oil & Gas has been exploring and developing the untapped hydrocarbon potential of Northeast India. Cairn has been providing gas supply to the tea estates, from its production facility in Hazarigaon. Further, through its association with Assam Gas Company Limited (AGCL), it is fuelling 100 CNG buses in Guwahati, supporting the clean energy initiative of the Government of Assam. In line with its mission to 'transforming communities', Cairn has set-up a Handloom Center at Borchapori Village, Borpathar District, Golaghat, Assam. This has been developed as a part of the livelihood generation initiatives in partnership with Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission (ASRLM) and District Handloom Department, Govt. of Assam. Kaziranga National Park signs MoU to provide surveillance centre and dwelling units for frontline workers Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! PM Modi to distribute certificates to 11 lakh Lakhpati Didis in Maharashtra P rime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with Lakhpati Didis in Jalgaon, Maharashtra on August 25, Union Minister for Rural Development and Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Shivraj Singh Chouhan said in New Delhi. Prime Minister will also distribute certificates to the new 11 lakh Lakhpati Didis, the Union Minister said. During this program Prime Minister will release a revolving fund - Community Investment Fund of Rs 2500 crore, which will benefit about 48 lakh members of 4.3 lakh Self Help Groups (SHGs). The Prime Minister will also release a bank loan of Rs 5000 crore, which will benefit 25.8 lakh members of 2,35,400 Self-Help Groups (SHGs). Chouhan also informed that from about 30,000 places in 34 states and Union Territories i.e. State capitals across the country, District headquarters and CLF will join this program through virtual medium. Lakhpati Didi is an initiative under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) scheme of the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD). Lakhpati Didis are women who earn Rs 1 lakh or more per annum. Under DAY-NRLM, as of June 30, 2024, 10.05 crore women have been mobilized into 90.86 Lakhs Self Help Groups (SHGs). The Union Minister said that the Lakhpati Didis have not only pulled their families out of poverty but are also becoming role models for the rest of society. The Minister said that the Rural Development Ministry have already created 1 crore Lakhpati Didis. He further stated that the target of the government is to create 3 crore Lakhpati Didis in the next 3 years. It is heartening to note that one of these CRPs has created 95 Lakhpati Didis, he said. During the Financial Year (FY) 2024-25, the Government of India (GoI) has proposed an increased budgetary outlay of Rs. 15047.00 Crore for the DAY-NRLM. This will facilitate increased interventions for the livelihoods of SHG members. These interventions will not only empower the SHG members economically but will also facilitate women-led development. PM Modi to distribute certificates to 11 lakh Lakhpati Didis in Maharashtra Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! JN Port Authority, Rural Electrification Corp, Vadhavan Port signed MoU for infra development: Sonowal T he Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal unveiled major sustainable initiatives after inaugurating Three Freshwater Lakes at Jawaharlal Nehru Port on Thursday. All these lakes were rejuvenated and beautified which will serve as vital reservoirs for rainwater harvesting and habitat restoration. Sonowal also reviewed various port infrastructure and developmental projects. The Union Minister Sonowal also attended the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony among the JN Port Authority (JNPA), Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and Vadhavan Port to shore up financing for infrastructure projects. The second MoU was signed between JNPA and Gateway Terminal India (GTI) to shore up the sustainable initiative of the port. Speaking on the occasion, Sonowal said, "Our ports are our country's greatest assets which must be harnessed to power the economic growth of Bharat to become 'Atmanirbhar' - the vision of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji. The sustainable drive at our ports is a major driver to advance India's maritime infrastructure and contribute to the nation's growth under the 'Viksit Bharat' vision. "It is a moment of great pride that we have named these three pristine lakes in honour of revered saints of Maharashtra, Saint Dyaneshwar Maharaj, Saint Eknath Maharaj and Saint Namdeo Maharaj. With the replenished and rejuvenated lakes, I am sure the efforts will further the sustainability efforts in JN Port," he added Sarbananda Sonowal also performed the groundbreaking ceremony for the Smart SEZ project. This project includes preventing perimeter intrusions, ensuring disciplined vehicle movement, streamlining gate operations, smart tracking of staff and vehicles, as well as extending network connectivity to all utility buildings for LAN users. The project aims to provide the necessary infrastructure for future applications such as an Energy Management System, Smart Water Management, Smart Street Lighting, Smart Parking, and weighbridge. Sonowal also planted a sapling under the 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' initiative at JNPA SEZ. Sonowal added, "Today, we also witnessed the signing up of two major MoUs between JNS Vadhavan Port and REC as well as between JNPA and GTI. These will further bolster the efforts of the Modi Government to propel infrastructure as well as shore up efforts towards sustainability. Our ports are dedicated to advancing India's economic growth by facilitating seamless trade and strengthening its role in global supply chains. Under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, our ministry is working towards more sustainability efforts as we must replenish our environment and achieve economic growth with utmost responsibility for the future generations of our country." The three inaugurated key water bodies designed to enhance the region's ecological balance. Among these are the Admin Building Foothill Lake and the CPP Lake, both strategically situated within the port area. Additionally, the Minister performed the groundbreaking ceremony for Jashkar Lake. These lakes have been named in honour of the revered saints of Maharashtra: Saint Dyaneshwar Maharaj, Saint Eknath Maharaj, and Saint Namdeo Maharaj. Sonowal also issued Letters of Intent (LoI) to SEZ concessionaires. Earlier, the Union Minister was welcomed by the Chairman of JNPT, Unmesh Sharad Wagh. JNPA has allotted plots in 7 phases. The recent e-auction of phase 7 for 57 Acres saw a remarkable response, with 21 bidders submitting bids for 6 unit plots and 3 co-developer plots. Notably, there was an overall 95.23% increase in quoted value for the said plots above the reserve price, resulting revenue increase of 63% above the reserve price for JNPA. As part of the strategic engagements, JNPA issued the date of award of concession to the concessionaires of Liquid Berth 3/ Liquid Berth 4 (LB3/LB4). JNPA announced the successful expansion of its liquid cargo handling capacity with the introduction of Additional Liquid Cargo Berths (ALCB), specifically Liquid Berth-3 and Liquid Berth-4. These berths will be equipped, operated, maintained, and eventually transferred through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. Currently, JNPA handles approximately 6.5 Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MMTPA) of liquid cargo through its existing Liquid Berth-1 and Liquid Berth-2. With the completion of the Additional Liquid Cargo Berths LB3 and LB4, JNPA's total liquid cargo handling capacity will increase to 11 MMTPA. In a move to further empower the local community and enhance workforce development, the Union Minister launched the Vadhvan Skilling Program's Whatsapp ChatBot developed by JNPA, designed to facilitate access to skilling programs, provide information about Vadhvan Port, and guide users through the process of visiting JNPort. The primary goal of this chatbot is to gather valuable data and ensure that the youth of Vadhvan receive targeted training that aligns with employment opportunities. The Vadhvan Port project is expected to create approximately 10 lakh employment opportunities. JN Port Authority, Rural Electrification Corp, Vadhavan Port signed MoU for infra development: Sonowal Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Sitharaman asks Regional Rural Banks to ensure credit to small, micro enterprises U nion Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday asked Regional rural banks (RRBs) to ensure easy credit to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). She asked the RRBs to become more customer-friendly and leverage their local connections to further improve performance. All RRBs have devised customised MSME products aligning with cluster activities. However, they need to regularly review their credit portfolio in that segment, she said.The Finance Minister chaired a meeting to review the performance of nine Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) of the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, in Udaipur today. The review meeting focused on business performance, upgrading digital technology services, fostering business growth in MSME clusters, and deepening financial inclusion in rural areas. Union Finance Minister also highlighted that Sponsor Banks and RRBs must recognise the challenges that lie ahead, especially maintaining asset quality, expanding digital services, and ensuring robust corporate governance are the areas that require continued focus. Sitharaman noted the lower offtake of the MUDRA scheme in the Bundelkhand region and directed the State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) to hold specific meetings with State Government officials, Sponsor Banks and RRBs to improve the performance of the MUDRA scheme along with other financial inclusion schemes in Bundelkhand region and aspirational districts. Similarly, RRBs were directed to identify potential trades under the PM Vishwakarma scheme in their areas of operation to provide credit. RRBs were also directed to increase their share in ground-level agriculture credit disbursement and achieve the stated objectives of Priority Sector Lending. The Union Finance Minister acknowledged the satisfactory improvement in the technology upgradation of the nine RRBs of the Western Central region since 2022 - the year when regular review of RRBs started; and urged these RRBs to continue the momentum in future also. The Union Finance Minister directed RRBs to leverage their healthy CASA ratio to disseminate more credit and also urged the intervention of RBI in resolving the pending dues to RRBs from State Governments, apart from the efforts being taken by the Government and Sponsor Banks. The Consolidated Capital to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio (CRAR) of RRBs has increased from 7.8 per cent in FY 2021 to 13.7 per cent in FY 2024 and profitability has improved from losses of Rs. 41 crores in FY 2021 to a net profit of Rs. 2,018 crore in FY 2024 and Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA) are relatively lower with a ratio of 3.9 per cent. Sitharaman asks Regional Rural Banks to ensure credit to small, micro enterprises Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Chiranjeevi's Vishwambhara: First look shows megastar's fiery new avatar M akers of the upcoming film Vishwambhara unveiled the powerful first look of Chiranjeevi from the film on the occasion of his 69th birthday today. UV Creations on Thursday, took to its official X account on Thursday, revealed the first poster for Vishwambhara, featuring Chiranjeevi in a fierce and commanding avatar. In the poster, the Padma Vibhushan awardee is seen wielding a trishul engulfed in flames, surrounded by striking imagery of lightning and fire. The intense visuals set the tone for what promises to be a formidable and action-packed role. https://x.com/UV_Creations/status/1826478926753067404 To match the vibe of the poster, the makers also shared a powerful description that teases Chiranjeevi's character in the movie. Along with the poster, they extended a heartfelt birthday wish to the Mega Star. "When darkness and evil take over the world, a MAGNANIMOUS STAR shall shine bright to fightHappy birthday, MEGASTAR @KChiruTweets Let the world witness your aura with #Vishwambhara Get ready for a MEGA MASS BEYOND UNIVERSE, In cinemas from January 10th, 2025," read the caption. Vishwambhara, starring Chiranjeevi, is set to hit theaters on January 10, 2025. The film boasts a star-studded cast, including Trisha Krishnan, Kunal Kapoor, Meenakshi Chaudhary, among others. The legendary composer M M Keeravani is leading the musical score for this project. Meanwhile, superstar Chiranjeevi celebrated his 69th birthday on Thursday by offering prayers at the Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirumala. Accompanied by his wife, Surekha Konidela, the veteran star visited the sacred site to seek blessings from Lord Balaji. Chiranjeevi, known for his stellar career in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, and Kannada cinema, greeted fellow devotees warmly as he made his way through the temple. Chiranjeevi is among the most influential and successful actors and worked in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil and Kannada films. He is known for his movies such as 'Vijetha', 'Indra', 'Shankar Dada M.B.B.S.', and most recently he was seen in 'Bholaa Shankar'. He made his debut in 1978 with the film Punadhirallu and since then he has been entertaining audience with his versatile acting skills. Chiranjeevi was honoured with the second highest civilian honour, Padma Vibhushan, by the Government of India. Chiranjeevi's Vishwambhara: First look shows megastar's fiery new avatar Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! PM Narendra Modi emplanes from Warsaw, to travel to Ukraine in second leg of his two-nation visit P rime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday emplaned from Warsaw in Poland for the second leg of his visit in which he will travel to Ukraine. PM Modi's visit to Ukraine is the first by an Indian Prime Minister after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1992. The Prime Minister reached Poland on Wednesday on a two-day visit. A Prime Ministerial visit to Poland from India took place after 45 years. PM Modi said his visit to Poland has been special and India looks forward to closer business and cultural connect with the country. "My Poland visit has been special. It is after decades that an Indian PM set foot on Polish soil. This visit gave an opportunity to deepen cooperation with a valued friend. We look forward to closer business and cultural connect with Poland. Our friendship can certainly contribute to a better planet. I thank the Polish people and Government for their warmth," PM Modi said in a post on X. Earlier in the day, PM Modi held constructive discussions with Poland Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw. The leaders agreed to elevate relations to a 'Strategic Partnership'. Their discussions covered diverse areas of bilateral ties, including trade and investment, Science and technology, Defence and security, and cultural and people-to-people connections. The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual concern. PM Narendra Modi emplanes from Warsaw, to travel to Ukraine in second leg of his two-nation visit Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! An Aussie comedian has accused a city council of being 'sexist' after claiming 'female parking' bays were markedly different from others. Comedian Choccy Dan, who runs a YouTube pranking channel, branded City of Perth 'sexist' after claiming female parking bays were wider than standard spots. Source: TikTok An Aussie comedian has branded a city council sexist for having female parking bays which he claims are 20 per cent bigger than standard spots, sparking a heated debate. In a video posted online, Choccy Dan, who runs a YouTube pranking channel, said the gender-specific parking area was the most ridiculous thing hed ever seen. Im gonna see if the spots are wider, he said, while wandering around the Pier Street underground car park, operated by City of Perth. The footage then shows him lying down in a "blue" standard parking bay, which he can barely squeeze into from head to toe while lying sideways. He then tries the same in a designated female parking bay, to show it was substantially wider. I think that is disgusting, Choccy Dan said. Its sexist. City of Perth needs to be held accountable for their actions. Sexist city. Not on. Predictably, the video hit a nerve with fellow Aussies who argued about the merits of female parking to provide extra security for women, while others argued it was discriminatory towards men. Choccy Dan has sparked an online debate about 'pink parking' in an underground Perth car par after he claimed the spots were 20 percent bigger than standard bays. Source: TikTok While the "pink parking" zone introduced to combat anti-social behaviour towards women following a trial in 2016 includes extra CCTV cameras, brighter lighting and a "Press for Assistance" button, it is understood Choccy Dan picked the largest parking bay to feature in his video. Yahoo News Australia has learned there is one of these larger bays on every level in the car park in addition to designated "parent with prams" parking and mobility parking. Comedian's video sparks jokes about 'women drivers' Proving that sexism is indeed alive and well in Australia, Choccy Dans post sparked the age-old debate over women drivers, with some commenters suggesting they needed extra space to prevent them from accidentally writing off their own vehicles. Last time my wife parked underground it cost me $600 in parts and three days to replace half the right side of her car, one man said, later clarifying that hes not saying women are bad drivers, but his wife managed to write-off her car driving 2km/h in her dads driveway. Some women also got in on the joke with one saying, Real. You should see my rims. I clearly park by feels, later adding: Listen, the gutters just jump out of nowhere. I think were being punked. Others took a more serious note and stated "female parking" was about providing women with safer spaces in underground car parks, while others questioned, Where is this magical place? One more added, Wait, so wouldnt the creeps just know to hang out there then, now theyll know exactly where to park, while another said, "Can we get this in Melbourne please?" Council responds to 'sexist' accusation A spokesperson for City of Perth said the council approved a trial of 28 Pink Parking bays at the Pier St car park in 2016 with the intention of providing a female-friendly service with added safety and security. Pier Street was identified as a key facility due to the anti-social behaviour in and around the surrounding area which was impacting our customers' experience and safety, they said. The female parking spots have sparked controversy online. Source: Reddit We received positive feedback following the 2016 trial, with patrons highlighting they felt safer and more secure. As a result of the successful trial, CPP has continued the operation of female parking bays at Pier Street Car park. The car park is staffed seven days a week by a City of Perth Parking Officer, has 24/7 CCTV and the female-only bays are situated near to the car park office. There have been no complaints received in the last 18 months about the pink parking bays and the trial was not extended to other City of Perth car parks, the spokesperson added. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. India, Poland agrees to formulate 5-year action plan for cooperation across key sectors P rime Minister Narendra Modi and his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk on Thursday agreed to formulate and execute a five-year action plan that will guide bilateral collaboration in the years 2024-2028 across several sectors including trade, investment, health, transport, cyber security and others. In a press release by the Prime Minister's Office, the five-year action plan covers political dialogue and security cooperation in which the two sides will maintain regular contact with foreign ministers, and they will use both bilateral and multilateral fora for these interactions. Both sides will consider supporting each other's aspirations on a case-by-case basis to contribute to multilateral cooperation in the spirit of the United Nations Charter. The two sides will ensure the holding of annual political dialogue at the level of deputy minister in charge of foreign relations, the press release said. The two sides will also encourage relevant institutions to hold regular consultations on security and defence cooperation to promote contact between defence industries, modernise military equipment, and address outstanding issues. The two sides decided that the next round of the Joint Working Group for defence cooperation would take place in 2024. In the trade and investment sector, recognizing opportunities in high-tech, agriculture, agritech, food tech, energy, climate, green technologies, infrastructure, smart cities, defence, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and mining, the two sides will explore further cooperation in these sectors during next Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC) meeting scheduled for the end of 2024. The two sides will strive to organize meetings of JCEC at least twice every five years, with the possibility of more frequent meetings, if necessary. Both sides will work towards achieving balanced bilateral trade and addressing all issues to facilitate smooth trade and investment and will also enhance cooperation in economic security by focusing on increasing supply chain resilience and mitigating risks associated with trade dependencies, added the release. Under climate, energy, mining, science and technology, the two sides will expand their cooperation in sustainable and environmentally friendly technological solutions for the circular economy and waste-water management. Acknowledging their historical reliance on domestic supplies for energy security, both sides will work together on advancing cleaner energy approaches and exploring cooperation in Clean Coal Technologies to minimize environmental impact, the release said. Recognizing the crucial role of innovation and the growing importance of critical minerals, the two sides will also collaborate on advanced mining systems, high-tech machinery, pioneering safety standards, and increase exchanges and cooperation in mining-related industries. Both sides agreed to work on concluding a cooperation agreement to promote the safe, sustainable, and secure use of space and commercial space ecosystems. They also agreed to promote human and robotic exploration. Poland also recognized India's ambition to join the International Energy Agency. Under the transport and connectivity sector, the two sides will explore developing cooperation in the field of transport infrastructure. The two sides will work to enhance connectivity between their countries and respective regions by discussing and pursuing further expansion of flight connections. The two sides also reiterated their unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and emphasized that no country should provide a safe haven to those who finance, plan, support or commit terrorist acts. Both sides will make concerted efforts against all terrorists, including by designating individuals affiliated with groups that are listed by the UN Security Council 1267 sanctions committee, the press release said. Under the sector of cyber security, recognizing the critical importance of cyber security for economic and social development, both sides will enhance close interaction and increased exchanges in ICT-related fields, with particular attention to international cooperation, legislative and regulatory solutions, judicial and police activities, deterrence, prevention and responses to cyber-attacks, awareness-building and educational programs, scientific and technological research and development, business and economic exchanges. Both sides also underlined the vital role of strengthening collaboration in the field of health by exchanging and sharing information on areas of mutual interest, enhancing contacts among health experts, and supporting cooperation between health institutions in both countries. Both sides also decided to work together to implement the agreement on social security and they will make efforts to complete their respective internal legal procedures in this regard. The two sides will strengthen cooperation between cultural institutions and organisations of the two countries. The two sides will strengthen exchanges between artists, language experts, scholars, and cultural institutions from both countries. They will also explore establishing cooperation and dialogue between their think tanks and experts. The two sides will work together to strengthen cooperation in higher education and encourage universities from both sides to organise relevant activities. They will also encourage respective authorities to establish partnerships between academic institutions in both countries. Both sides emphasized the importance of education and linguistic and cultural exchange in building mutual understanding and fostering bilateral cultural ties. They also recognized the role of Hindi and Indian studies in Poland and Polish language and culture studies in India and agreed to work on an agreement between the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange and respective Indian agencies on teaching Polish language at various universities in India, the release by PMO said. Both sides will continue to expand tourist flows in both directions by strengthening cooperation in tourism. This includes organizing tourism missions, arranging family trips for influencers and travel agencies, and participating in tourism fairs and roadshows in both countries. To mark the 75th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, both sides will hold cultural festivals in each other's countries organized by the diplomatic missions. Dates for such special events will be decided in mutual consultations. Both sides will also promote a Student Exchange Programme and build mutual understanding with the younger generation. Recognizing that the EU and India are key international partners with a significant role in promoting peace, stability, and prosperity, both countries will support the early conclusion of the ongoing India-EU trade and investment negotiations, the operationalization of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC), and the implementation of the India-EU Connectivity Partnership to advance the India-EU Strategic Partnership in trade, new technologies, and security. Both sides will ensure regular monitoring of the implementation of the Action Plan, with the annual political consultation as the primary mechanism for reviewing and updating the activities. The extension of the action plan for another five years will be adopted by the respective ministers in charge of foreign affairs, the release added. India, Poland agrees to formulate 5-year action plan for cooperation across key sectors Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! PM Modi meets Polish Indologists, hails their contribution to cultural ties P rime Minister Narendra Modi on his visit to Warsaw met with Polish Indologists and appreciated their interest in Indian subjects. He highlighted that their scholarly contributions have played a significant role in enhancing India-Poland cultural relations and boosting mutual understanding between the two nations. PM Modi appreciated the deep interest of the scholars in Indian subjects. He noted that their work and academic research have played a significant role in strengthening India-Poland cultural ties and promoting mutual understanding. There has been a long interest in Indology in Poland dating back to the 19th century, a press release by the Prime Minister's Office said. PM Modi today met with a group of prominent Polish Indologists which included Prof Maria Christopher Byrski, a distinguished Polish Sanskrit scholar and Professor Emeritus of the University of Warsaw. Prof Byrski served as the Ambassador of Poland to India from 1993 to 1996 and was conferred the prestigious Padma Shri Award by the President of India in March 2022. He also met Prof Monika Browarczyk, a renowned Polish Hindi scholar and the Head of the Department of Asian Studies at Adam Mickiewicz University (AMU), Poznan. Prof Browarczyk was awarded the Vishwa Hindi Samman in February 2023 during the 12th Vishwa Hindi Sammelan in Fiji. PM Modi also met Prof Halina Marlewicz, a prominent Polish scholar in Indian philosophy and the Head of Institute of Oriental Studies at Jagiellonian University (JU), Krakow and Prof Danuta Stasik, a prominent Polish Indologist and former Head of the Department of South Asia Studies at the University of Warsaw; and Prof Przemyslaw Szurek, renowned Polish Indologist and the Head of Indian Studies in University of Wroclaw. While speaking with ANI, Indologist Maria Christopher Byrski said that PM Modi pays a lot of attention to the fact that Indian culture should go out to the world. "We are happy that after 40 years, the Prime Minister of India came here again. He is the PM who established the International Yoga Day and due to this, the knowledge of Indian culture is increasing in the world. After today's meeting, it felt that the Prime Minister pays a lot of attention to the fact that Indian culture, Indian tradition, and ancient Indian thinking should go out to the world and us... Not only politics but the cultural aspect which is in international relations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid attention to this and finally told us that we should try to make the Indian tradition, Indian knowledge and thinking known to the people and society well. This is the duty of an Indologist," he said. PM Modi also shared a post on his X about his meeting with the Indologists and said, "Met Prof Maria Christopher Byrski, Prof Monika Browarczyk, Prof Halina Marlewicz, Prof Danuta Stasik and Prof Przemyslaw Szurek in Warsaw. These eminent scholars and Indologists are working on different aspects of Indian history and culture. We talked about ways to make Indology more widespread. The distinguished academics also expressed joy on the increasing popularity of Yoga across Poland and Europe." Randhir Jaiswal, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs shared pictures on his X handle and said, "Furthering India-Poland cultural ties! A fruitful exchange of views between PM Narendra Modi and leading Indologists of Poland in Warsaw." "PM deeply appreciated the Indologists for their scholarship and work on Indian culture, language and arts. He commended them for their efforts in strengthening cultural ties between the two countries," the post further said. PM Modi meets Polish Indologists, hails their contribution to cultural ties Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Mamata Banerjee suggests fast track courts for sensitive matters, writes to PM Modi over safety of women U rging the central government to bring in central legalization and set up fast-track courts for "sensitive" issues, to ensure fast speedy trial, West Bengal Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the wake of the national outrage over the RG Kar medical hospital incident where a second year trainee doctor was raped and murdered. As the nation fumes over the RG Kar medical hospital incident, igniting discussions and protests on crime against women in India, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in a letter to PM Modi wrote, "I wish to bring your kind attention to the regular and increasing occurrence of rape cases throughout the country and in many cases, rapes with murder are committed." Mamata, in the letter, mentioned that such "sensitive" issues need to be addressed comprehensively through stringent central legalization prescribing exemplary punishment against the persons involved in such dastardly crimes. The Bengal Chief Minister suggested setting up of "fast track special courts" to deal with such cases, which need a speedy trial. "To ensure justice, trial in such cases should preferably be completed within 15 days," the letter further read. The West bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is facing a huge backlash from the opposition over the safety and security of women in her state after the horrific RG Kar medical hospital incident. Earlier, BJP leader Anil K Antony on Friday demanded the resignation of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He alleged that atrocities against women are high in West Bengal despite the state being ruled by a woman chief minister. "West Bengal is a state with a woman Chief Minister but when it comes to atrocities against women, West Bengal has become the state with one of the highest number of cases. In the last few months, we have seen what happened in Sandeshkhali, and now in Kolkata. There are allegations as well as proof coming out that the police have been trying to tamper with evidence and protect people involved in this kind of heinous incident," Anil K Antony told ANI."Law and order in the state is non-existent. Both the police department and the health ministry are under the Chief Minister and both ministries are not functioning. BJP demands that the CM should resign for the safety and well-being of the citizens of India," he added.On August 9, a postgraduate trainee doctor was raped and murdered on duty at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, which has led to nationwide strikes and protests by the medical fraternity. Mamata Banerjee suggests fast track courts for sensitive matters, writes to PM Modi over safety of women Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Who pampered Hugh Jackman with ready playlists on 'Deadpool and Wolverine' sets H ollywood star Hugh Jackman, whose character of Wolverine came back from the dead for the recently released box-office juggernaut 'Deadpool & Wolverine', has shared a word of appreciation for his team. The actor recently took to his Instagram, and shared 2 videos of himself getting ready in his hair and make-up trailer for the film. The videos show the actor going through the process of visually getting into the character like the trimming of hair. He penned a long note in the caption, as he expressed his gratitude to his team for keeping him cool and in check. He wrote, "This is a peek inside the HMU trailer on #deadpoolandwolverine. @wljames and @sean105 you are two of the most talented and patient people I have ever known". He further mentioned, "Even when the days are long and we are running on fumes, when we are chasing light, or catching lightning in a bottle, when I'm cranky and usually hungry ... you both know before I say a word and have the playlist ready for all of it. I'm grateful beyond words". Meanwhile, 'Deadpool & Wolverine' which sees the actor joining forces with his BFF Ryan Reynolds, has breached the $1 billion mark at the global box-office. The film has so far earned $1.15 billion globally. The superhero film has also managed to revive Marvel Studios after a disastrous run of phase 4 of the MCU which bled up to a certain extent in phase 5 as well. In the film, Deadpool, played by Ryan, learns that the Time Variance Authority is set to destroy his universe and works with a reluctant Wolverine from another universe to stop them. Recently, Hugh Jackman shared a monochromatic picture of his Kevin Feige with the director Shawn Levy. Who pampered Hugh Jackman with ready playlists on 'Deadpool and Wolverine' sets Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! PM Modi arrives in Kyiv on landmark visit, to discuss Russia-Ukraine conflict with Zelensky P rime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in war-torn Ukraine on Friday at the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to push for a peaceful resolution to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. The visit is significant as it marks the first time an Indian Prime Minister has visited Ukraine since the establishment of bilateral relations in 1992. Upon his arrival in Kyiv after a 10-hour train journey on Rail Force One from Poland, PM Modi was warmly welcomed at the station. He then proceeded to the Hyatt Hotel for initial meetings, where members of the Indian diaspora greeted him enthusiastically. The primary focus of PM Modi's visit is to discuss a peaceful resolution to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. India is viewed as playing a potentially constructive role in mediating between the two nations. "I look forward to the opportunity to build upon earlier conversations with President Zelenskyy on strengthening bilateral cooperation and share perspectives on the peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict," PM Modi stated before departing from Delhi. PM Modi's visit also comes nearly six weeks after his trip to Moscow and meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which triggered objections from the West. Earlier in a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) highlighted that the Prime Minister's engagements in Kyiv will encompass a broad range of bilateral ties, including political, trade, economic, investments, education, cultural exchanges, and humanitarian assistance, among others. The Ukrainian President's office also emphasised the importance of this visit, noting that the talks between PM Modi and President Zelensky will cover bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Additionally, a number of documents between Ukraine and India are expected to be signed during this visit. PM Modi had previously met with President Zelensky on the sidelines of the 50th G7 Summit in Italy's Apulia on June 14, where they discussed the ongoing conflict and bilateral relations. PM Modi reiterated India's commitment to supporting a peaceful solution through dialogue and diplomacy. India has maintained a consistent position on the Russia-Ukraine war, allowing it to engage with both sides to encourage a resolution through peaceful means. Additionally, New Delhi has provided significant humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, including essential medicines and medical equipment. Prior to his visit to Ukraine, PM Modi made a historic visit to Poland, also marking the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the country in 45 years. During his stay, he met with Polish President Andrzej Sebastian Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who expressed his confidence that PM Modi will push for a peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. PM Modi arrives in Kyiv on landmark visit, to discuss Russia-Ukraine conflict with Zelensky Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Manoj Bajpayee on system of lobbying for awards: Completely against my principles H aving 4 National Awards up your alley, is not an easy feat to achieve but, Manoj Bajpayee, the icon of parallel cinema in India, has managed to bag his 4th National Award recently for his performance in the streaming movie 'Gulmohar'. The actor, who can rightly be called a National Award veteran, has said that in times when members of the film fraternity lobby heavily for the awards, he believes to do his own work and leaves it up destiny to reward rather than push for awards from his end. Manoj spoke with IANS, and said that the concept of lobbying for awards is against his principles. Reacting to his National Award win, the actor said, "I always feel so ecstatic and great. Whenever I get an award like the National Award, it's a huge thing for me in the times when everyone lobbies for every award here". The actor, who completed 3 decades in cinema, is also a recipient of a Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Sharing his opinion on lobbying for awards, he told IANS, "I must tell you that no award in my house which is kept has been lobbied or has been pushed from my side. That is completely against my principles. I have always said that if I lobby for awards, how I could look at those awards every single day in my house". For Manoj, getting the National Award for the Disney+ Hotstar movie 'Gulmohar' is huge for many reasons. He said, "As an actor, I am blessed to be a part of 'Gulmohar' along with "The Sharmila Tagore". To be recognised and to be honoured for being a part of an ensemble piece, is a big thing. There are so many great performances from different film industries of India". "The Special mention in the National Award is given to those who the jury feels has done a remarkable performance. I got the Special Mention Award many years ago for 'Pinjar' and to get it 20 years later for 'Gulmohar', I can't define what the feeling is right now". Manoj Bajpayee on system of lobbying for awards: Completely against my principles Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! DGCA slaps Rs 90 lakh fine on Air India for operating flight with non-qualified pilots T he national civil aviation regulator DGCA has imposed a financial penalty of Rs 90 lakh on Tata Group-owned Air India Limited for operating a flight with non-qualified crew members, according to an official statement issued on Friday. In addition, a penalty of Rs 6 lakh and Rs 3 lakh respectively has been imposed on the Director, Operations and Director, Training of Air India. The concerned pilot has also been warned to exercise caution to prevent such occurrences in future. Air India operated a flight commanded by a non-trainer line captain paired with a non-line-released first officer, which has been viewed by the civil aviation regulator as a serious scheduling incident having significant safety ramifications. The incident came to the notice of DGCA through a voluntary report submitted by Air India on July 10. Taking cognizance of this incident, the regulator undertook comprehensive investigations into Air India's operations, including examination of documents and carrying out a spot check of the airline's scheduling facility. "Based on the investigation, it was prima facie revealed that there are deficiencies and multiple violations to the regulatory provisions by several post holders and staff, which could significantly affect safety," the DGCA said. The concerned commander of the flight and DGCA-approved post holders of Air India were provided with an opportunity to explain their position vide show cause notices dated July 22. The reply submitted by the concerned failed to provide satisfactory justification, according to a DGCA statement. Earlier the DGCA had grounded the two pilots of Air India after the rostering goof-up which led to a trainee pilot operating a Mumbai-Riyadh flight without the supervision of a training captain. The trainee pilot was scheduled to operate the Mumbai-Riyadh flight on July 9, with a training captain. Upon landing in Riyadh, the trainee would have had the training captain sign his Supervised Line Flying (SLF) form. However, the training captain fell ill, and the rostering department replaced him with a regular line captain instead of a training captain. The DGCA has concluded that this was a serious safety lapse on the part of Air India. DGCA slaps Rs 90 lakh fine on Air India for operating flight with non-qualified pilots Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! EAM Jaishankar discusses Ukraine conflict, Indo-Pacific with Polish counterpart E xternal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met his Polish counterpart, Radoslaw Sikorski and discussed the issues of the Ukraine conflict and the Indo-Pacific situation. EAM affirmed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit will give a "fresh impetus" to India-Poland ties. "A good conversation this morning with FM @sikorskiradek of Poland. Discussed the Ukraine conflict, Indo-Pacific situation and bilateral cooperation. Confident that Prime Minister @narendramodi's visit will give a fresh impetus to India-Poland ties," Jaishankar stated in a post on X. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi on Thursday concluded his Poland visit and emplaned from Warsaw for the second leg of his visit in which he will travel to Ukraine. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Poland on Wednesday for a two-day visit, the first visit by an Indian PM after 45 years. PM Modi said his visit to Poland has been special and India looks forward to closer business and cultural connect with the country. "My Poland visit has been special. It is after decades that an Indian PM set foot on Polish soil. This visit gave an opportunity to deepen cooperation with a valued friend. We look forward to closer business and cultural connect with Poland. Our friendship can certainly contribute to a better planet. I thank the Polish people and Government for their warmth," PM Modi said in a post on X. Earlier in the day, PM Modi held constructive discussions with Poland Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw. The leaders agreed to elevate relations to a 'Strategic Partnership'. Their discussions covered diverse areas of bilateral ties, including trade and investment, Science and technology, Defence and security, and cultural and people-to-people connections. The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual concern. Notably, PM Modi's visit to Ukraine is the first by an Indian Prime Minister after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1992. EAM Jaishankar discusses Ukraine conflict, Indo-Pacific with Polish counterpart Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Kennedy Jr likely to end campaign, may endorse Trump: Report I ndependent presidential candidate, Robert F Kennedy Jr is expected to suspend his campaign on Friday at an event in Arizona, CNN reported citing two sources familiar with the plans. Kennedy is also in talks with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's team, for an independent candidate to endorse the former president and appear at Trump's Phoenix-area rally. Kennedy's campaign announced earlier Wednesday that he would make a speech in Phoenix, on Friday morning. The speech on Friday will be the Kennedy campaign's first public event since early July. This will come days after his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, said in a podcast interview that the campaign is considering whether to "join forces" with Trump to prevent the "risk" of Vice President Kamala Harris winning the election, CNN reported. The Republican nominee on Tuesday expressed openness to Kennedy playing a role in a future administration should he drop out and offer his endorsement. "He's a brilliant guy. He's a very smart guy. I've known him for a very long time," Trump told CNN. "I didn't know he was thinking about getting out, but if he is thinking about getting out, certainly I'd be open to it." Discussions between Trump allies and advisors and Kennedy's team began in the lead-up to the Republican National Convention in July, prior to a leaked phone call between the former president and Kennedy that same month, CNN reported citing a source familiar with the conversations. Notably, Kennedy and Trump have grown warmer towards each other in recent months after initial attacks earlier in the campaign. A prominent vaccine sceptic, Kennedy has frequently criticized Trump for his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and his implementation of Operation Warp Speed, the program to accelerate the manufacturing of Covid vaccines. Trump previously labelled Kennedy a member of the "radical left" and attacked Kennedy for his environmental activism. But in July, Trump and Kennedy had a call, days after Trump was shot in an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. The day after the call, Kennedy and Trump met in person in Milwaukee on the first day of the Republican National Convention. Kennedy has struggled to gain traction since Harris took over the top of the Democratic ticket. A Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll conducted earlier this month found Harris at 47 per cent support, Trump at 44 per cent and Kennedy at 5 per cent. The campaign is also quickly burning through funds as it seeks to gain ballot access across the country. Campaign finance reports from July show Kennedy's campaign held just USD 3.9 million on hand while reporting nearly USD 3.5 million in outstanding debts. The independent campaign has led to concerns among both Democrats and Republicans about Kennedy's potential impact on the presidential race, where narrow margins in a handful of battleground states could determine the winner. Though it remains unclear whether Kennedy has attracted more support from voters who backed President Joe Biden or Trump in 2020, the Kennedy campaign has said in recent days they believe they draw more support from voters who have previously backed Trump. Kennedy Jr likely to end campaign, may endorse Trump: Report Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! India gave message of 'Vausdhaiva Kutumbakam' to world, can never cheat anyone: Rajnath Singh in US D efence Minister Rajnath Singh said that India can never backstab others, and has always given the message of 'Vausdhaiva Kutumbakam' to the whole world. Addressing the Indian diaspora in Washington, Rajnath Singh said, "I would like to tell Indian members working here to work with full honesty. You should be dedicated to India, but since you are working here, your dedication to America should also not be questioned. Only then the perceptions of Indians will be good." "Deceit is not in our character. We can be cheated, but we can never cheat others. This is the message that should go to the world," he added. The Defence Minister further said that India has given to the world the message of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam', and considers everyone in this world across all castes and religions as one family. "We are the country, that gave the message of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' to the whole world. Those living in our country are not our only family members, but everyone in the world, irrespective of their caste, religion or community are members of the same family. 'Whole World is a Family', if there is one country that has given this message, it is only India. Everyone can't do this, only a spiritual country can do this," Singh further said. He also told the Indian diaspora that New Delhi and Washington are "destined" to be strong partners. "India and the US are natural allies, we have old ties. Even destiny wants India-US relations to be strong," he said addressing the Indian community in Washington on Thursday. "When Columbus went on the expedition to discover America, he met the native Americans...so I believe, from the start, destiny wants India-US ties to be strong. And, our ties are continuously strengthening. Only India and the US coming together can bring peace, prosperity and stability to the world," he added. Rajnath Singh further emphasised India's transformation in the last 10 years and said there has been a rapid change in the country's perception globally. "The people of the Indian community who live outside India are concerned about the global perception of their country... I can confidently say that India's stature has risen in the international community. Earlier, India's opinions were not taken with as seriousness as they should have been. But, today when India speaks anything on the global forum, the world listens carefully," Singh said. During the visit, the Defence Minister will hold a bilateral meeting with his US counterpart Secretary Austin. He will also meet the US Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Jake Sullivan. The visit comes in the backdrop of the growing momentum in India-US relations and defence engagements at multiple levels. The visit is expected to further deepen and broaden the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, the Ministry of Defence stated. A day earlier, the Defence Minister said that he would discuss areas of strategic interests and seek to strengthen defence cooperation between India and US with Lloyd Austin. Taking to X, Rajnath Singh stated, "Leaving for Washington. India and the United States share a Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. Looking forward to meet my friend @SecDef Austin. Will discuss areas of strategic interests, while seeking to strengthen defence cooperation." India gave message of 'Vausdhaiva Kutumbakam' to world, can never cheat anyone: Rajnath Singh in US Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! The humpback whale was finally set free on Friday morning, and authorities are continuing to monitor the mammal to ensure it is swimming free. The whale that was gravely entangled in fishing nets has been freed, after an exhaustive and hours-long rescue mission on Friday. Source: 9News Wildlife crews have finally freed the whale that was trapped in fishing nets in Sydney Harbour, after a desperate and hours-long rescue mission that took place in the iconic waterway on Friday morning. The humpback, believed to be a juvenile, is now swimming free after crews freed it near Bradleys Head, on the city's Lower North Shore, the NSW department of environment said. "At around 11.15am, an expert team was able to free an entangled humpback whale in Sydney Harbour," it said in a media statement. "Crews are now monitoring the whale to ensure it is swimming freely." NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) offered thanks to all involved in the process, including the members of the NPWS Large Whale Disentanglement team, NSW Maritime, Port Authority of NSW and volunteers from the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA). Crews scoured Sydney Harbour on Friday to locate the humpback whale entangled in netting. Source: 9News An exclusion zone was earlier in place as the animal was cut free from the nets, which were believed to have become completely entangled its tail. The animal was fitted with a tracking device on Thursday before rescue efforts were paused for the day, however it was dislodged after just an hour, making the search this morning extremely difficult. Crews were seen on Friday scouring the harbour for the whale, after it was initially located off Shark Island in the east, near Rose Bay, yesterday. Authorities earlier feared it might've swam out of the harbour overnight and worried it could have gone as far south as Wollongong. They said there's no way it could free itself from the netting on its own. Members of the public have been told not to approach the whale on their own. Volunteers from marine mammal rescue group ORRCA were first alerted to the distressing scene after the animal was spotted at about 1.30pm on Thursday. Its understood the net became stuck on a hook possibly attached to the whales pectoral fin. However, the rescue mission was suspended on Thursday due to failing light. It comes as ORRCA called on residents to help find three separate humpback whales spotted across the state. The animals are frequently reported caught in both fishing gear and shark nets. Wildlife rescuers have repeated pleas to governments to abandon shark nets altogether along the nation's coast. Multiple whales wrapped in netting across state The first entangled whale was spotted travelling north towards Byron Bay dragging a rope. The second was seen with a rope and orange buoys around its head and was possibly travelling north in the direction of the Evans Head area. The third whale had been observed with rope and five buoys trailing behind it travelling south from Seal Rocks. "The behaviour of entangled whales can be unpredictable and they can change directions of travel," ORRCA stated on social media. "As such we are asking for anyone who can get out on headlands between Newcastle and Tweed Heads to please keep a lookout for these whales." With NCA Newswire Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. Senior ISRO scientists share their experience of interacting with PM Modi as nation celebrates National Space Day I ndia is celebrating its first-ever National Space Day to mark the anniversary of the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 mission. Senior ISRO scientists share their experiences of interacting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, particularly during the Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3 missions. Arushi Seth, a senior scientist, at ISRO, spoke to ANI about her experience interacting with PM Modi. "The Mangalyaan mission was about to capture the orbit of Mars. And then he came to our Center. Then he...the capture was successful. And we people were very happy. There was excitement as the Prime Minister was coming there. When the mission was achieved, then he delivered his speech to scientists." Seth also mentioned about PM Modi's interest in space science from the days he was the Chief Minister. "He said about his interest from the beginning in space science. He also spoke about visiting the Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad to see what was going on there when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. He inspired us a lot," Seth said. Pavithra Shinde, Scientist, ISRO told ANI, "I can start from the Chandrayaan-3, the landing time, the most glorious, historic moment. So I was almost in the front row. I was monitoring our Dopplers...At the time of landing, I was monitoring the system. Yes. We landed. Then we had our Chairman announcing it. Then came a virtual... interaction with the honourable Prime Minister. So, it was a moment of joy. Some kind of special joy that I could relate with the PM." Shinde reminded how the Prime Minister applauded the entire ISRO community upon the completion of the mission. "He also experienced the same. Something very rare. Then he congratulated the entire community and then he applauded our efforts. Three days later, he came to Bengaluru and he met us. I was one of the women scientists who were identified to interact with the PM. How he started was our landing, Vikram setting its foot on the moon, the south polar region...He related that with Angad setting his foot. That is a firm. It is a firm. He mentioned that," Shinde recalled. Following the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3, PM Narendra Modi declared August 23 as National Space Day and named the landing site 'Shiva Shakti Point,' while designating the Chandrayaan-2 landing site as 'Tiranga Point.' In 2023, on this very day, Chandrayaan 3 accomplished the safe and soft landing of Vikram Lander on the lunar surface. India became the fourth country to land on the moon and the first to land near the southern polar region of the moon. Senior ISRO scientists share their experience of interacting with PM Modi as nation celebrates National Space Day Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Ayushmaan Khurana gorges on 'thermocol' B ollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana gave a glimpse of what his meal looked like and described it as thermocol. Ayushmaan took to his Instagram stories, where he posted a picture of his lunchbox featuring sabudana khichadi, which according to the actor looked like "thermocol." He wrote on the picture: "Sabudana khichadi = tharmocol." In other news, Ayushmann on the occasion of August 15 said that he considers himself deeply patriotic and added that Viksit Bharat resonates with him as he has witnessed how the country has soared globally. "I consider myself deeply patriotic. I grew up in an environment where my parents told me about the pride we should feel about being Indian because there is no other country like ours." "At this impressionable age, I was deeply moved by the lives of our national heroes who fought for our freedom." He added: "I was in awe of their resilience, grit, and unconditional love for the motherland! My school used to remember such heroes on Independence Day. We celebrated our freedom with a gentle reminder that independence was earned with a lot of sacrifice." "We were taught that maintaining our freedom requires active contribution, and we should each play our part in nation-building in our own little way." Ayushmann recently released his new single titled 'Reh Ja' and shared that he loves all the shades of romance and has always wanted to write more about heartbreaks. On the big screen, Ayushmann is set to work alongside Kareena Kapoor Khan in the upcoming crime thriller film directed by Meghna Gulzar. The film is reportedly based on the Hyderabad rape case. Ayushmaan Khurana gorges on 'thermocol' Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Series of accidents spark fear among workers in Andhra's industrial hub Vizag T wo industrial accidents in Anakapalli District in Visakhapatnam within 48 hours have brought the focus on the need for stringent safety measures to prevent disasters in the industrial hub of Andhra Pradesh. A series of industrial accidents in and around Visakhapatnam in the last few years have sparked fear among thousands of workers in the units, especially those dealing with chemicals. The recent mishaps have also led to panic among people in villages near the industrial hubs. In the first accident on August 21 as many as 17 people were killed and 36 injured in a reactor blast at a pharma unit in Atchutapuram Special Economic Zone (SEZ), about 25 km from Visakhapatnam. In the wee hours of August 23, four workers were injured in another accident in a pharma unit at Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City in Parwada, about 35 km from this port city. Inadequate preventive measures, lack of regular maintenance by industries and the failure of the authorities concerned to conduct safety audits are leading to such disasters, say the workers. Lack of infrastructure to manage emergencies is compounding the problem. Employment of unqualified personnel is said to be another reason for the failure to prevent accidents or deal with emergencies. According to Andhra Pradesh Home Minister, V Anitha the leak of solvent MTBE (Methy Tertiary Butyl Ether) led to the reactor blast at Escientia Advanced Sciences Private Limited at Atchuthapuram SEZ. The workers tried to plug the leak but failed and gas formed and spread from the third floor to the lower floors of the building. "Before the leak could be plugged the solvent fell on an electrical panel and a fire broke out leading to a blast," Anitha said after a visit to the accident site. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said Escientia, a red category industry, failed to follow Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), which led to the mishap. Within 24 hours of CM Naidu warning the industries against negligence, another accident was reported from Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City in Parwada. Four workers of Synergies Active Ingredients were injured in the accident that occurred when they were mixing chemicals. About 40,000 people work in more than 138 industrial units at Atchutapuram SEZ and Parwada Pharma City together. Chief Minister Naidu revealed that since 2019, the combined Visakhapatnam district reported 119 industrial accidents in which 120 people died. Most of the industrial accidents in recent years were caused by reactor blasts. Failure to take adequate safety precautions to control pressure and temperature is said to be leading to reactor blasts. Reactors play a crucial role in chemical industries. Each industry has multiple reactors, each with a capacity of 1-8 KL. Employees handling the process have to be always careful to ensure that there is no leakage from chemical pipeline joints, valves and solvent tanks. The staff working at the reactors also need to be provided safety gear like firecoats to protect themselves in case of any mishap. Leaders of workers' unions alleged that due to the high cost of firecoats and other safety gear, the management are not making the same available to employees. There are allegations that the chemical industries are not storing foam and dry chemicals to deal with any leakage or fire. Visakhapatnam and surroundings have seen several industrial accidents in recent years. After every accident, the government pays compensation to the families of the dead, and everyone emphasises the need to improve the industrial safety mechanism but after a few days everything is forgotten. Following a series of industrial accidents, the state government in 2022 introduced new safety guidelines aimed at preventing accidental leaks of toxic gases and hazardous chemicals in factories. However, workers' unions and people's organisations say this did not result in any change on the ground as more industrial accidents were reported. Following the latest disaster, the authorities are now contemplating to make third party safety audit compulsory for all 300 units which come under red category. Currently, this regulation applies to only 41 units. Visakhapatnam has seen several industrial disasters in recent years. In April 2022, six people were killed and 12 injured in a huge fire in the pharmaceutical intermediate manufacturing unit of Porus Laboratories at Akkireddygudem. In February 2022, one person was killed and four workers were injured in a blast in the Hetero Drugs plant near Nakkapalli. Activist and former IAS officer EAS Sarma had slammed the authorities for allowing the unit to continue. He recalled that in the past, there were two major accidents at the unit, one in 2012-13 and another in 2016, in which 5 workers had lost their lives. In May 2021, a major fire broke out at one of the crude processing unit of the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited. Luckily, there were no casualties. On May 7, 2020, twelve people died and over 580 were hospitalised due Styrene gas leak from LG Polymers in Visakhapatnam. One the worst industrial accidents in the city, it had raised many questions on the safety of people living around the industrial units. The monitoring committee of the National Green Tribunal found that maintenance staff fled the plant after witnessing the leak. The management also allegedly neglected the styrene storage tank, leading to the autopolymerisation of styrene, which resulted in excessive heating and release of vapour through the gooseneck and dip hatch of the storage tank. A month later, two persons died and four were injured due to a leak of hydrogen sulphide at Sainor Life Science at Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City and on July 14, one employee died and one was injured in Visakha Solvents in the same cluster due to a fire in the reactor. In May, 2017, two workers died and three more sustained burns in a reactor blast at the Azico Biophore India Private Ltd on the outskirts of Visakhapatma. The accident occurred when the workers were cleaning a new reactor with a highly inflammable cleaning solvent. In 2016, a worker died and 15 others were wounded due to a leakage of ammonia gas at Srikar Laboratories Private Ltd at Pharma City. Some of the other major incidents that occurred include an oxygen pressure reduction station blast at Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, killing 19 people on June 13, 2012. The HPCL Visakha Refinery fire claimed 27 lives on August 23, 2013. The massive fire at Biomax Fuels Ltd at Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone in 2016 was also a major disaster, though there were no casualties. The fire had to be combated by over 200 men and 40 fire-tenders. More than 30,000 tonne of foam was airdropped using naval helicopters. Series of accidents spark fear among workers in Andhra's industrial hub Vizag Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Russia-Ukraine war in focus as PM Modi and Zelensky begin discussions in Kyiv P rime Minister Narendra Modi met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday as he began his visit to Ukraine, the first-ever by an Indian Prime Minister to the country in the history of bilateral relations. The two leaders met at the Martyrologist Exposition in Kyiv, where they shared a warm hug and a handshake. In a significant gesture symbolising India's solidarity with Ukraine, PM Modi kept his hand firmly on Zelensky's shoulder, emphasising India's support amid the ongoing conflict. The two leaders are set to engage in both one-on-one and delegation-level talks, with the primary focus on exploring pathways to a negotiated settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. August 23 is also the National Flag Day of Ukraine. It is also expected that a number of documents between Ukraine and India will be signed. Earlier in the day, PM Modi arrived in Kyiv after a 10-hour train journey from Poland on Rail Force One. He received a warm welcome at the station, followed by enthusiastic greetings from members of the Indian diaspora at the Hyatt Hotel, where his initial meetings were held. He also paid floral tributes at the Gandhi statue in Kyiv, underscoring the importance of peace and non-violence as guiding principles in India's approach to global conflicts. PM Modi's historic visit is seen as an effort by India to play a constructive role in facilitating dialogue between the warring nations. The Kyiv visit follows Prime Minister Modi's trip to Russia last month, where he discussed the Ukraine situation with President Vladimir Putin. India has maintained a consistent position on the Russia-Ukraine war, advocating for a peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomacy. PM Modi had previously discussed the conflict with President Zelensky on the sidelines of the 50th G7 Summit in Italy's Apulia on June 14, reaffirming India's commitment to a peaceful solution. In addition to diplomatic efforts, New Delhi has extended significant humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, including essential medicines and medical equipment, further showcasing its support for the Ukrainian people. On Thursday, PM Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Poland in the last 45 years. During his stay, he held discussions with Polish President Andrzej Sebastian Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who expressed confidence in India's ability to advocate for peace in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Russia-Ukraine war in focus as PM Modi and Zelensky begin discussions in Kyiv Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Amy Jackson gets married to Ed Westwick B ritish actress Amy Jackson, who works in Bollywood, and is known for films like 'Thaandavam', 'I', 'Yevadu' and the recent release 'Crakk', is now married to her partner Ed Westwick. On Friday, Ed Westwick took to his Instagram and dropped several pictures featuring himself, Amy Jackson, her son and their friends. The pictures were clicked inside a private jet. The actress could be seen wearing a wedding gown. He wrote in the caption, "You're gonna need to change your IG handle ;) @iamamyjackson. we did a little chilled Pizza and Pasta night to welcome our family and the wedding party. The temperature is perfect, the vibes. Let's go @biancobouquetweddings we love you." Earlier, in March this year, the actress and Ed Westwick shared pictures from her engagement dinner party. In one of the pictures, the actress can be seen holding the hand of her son. The last picture in the carousel shows her and Ed Westwick in a lip-lock. Both Amy and Ed Westwick twined in white outfits for the special day. They wrote in the caption, "Let the Celebrations Begin. Surrounded by our families and friends, as dear as family, we had the chance to celebrate our love with those we cherish the most from alllll over the world! To Nicholas, the incredible chefs and entire team at @latelierrobuchonmayfair - thank you for making our engagement dinner party so special." They added, "We didn't even think it was possible to make the restaurant more beautiful but @londoneventflorist you outdid yourself - pure creative genius. Get ready for the party spam." The actress earlier dated actor Prateik Babbar. She began dating hotelier George Panayiotou, the son of English-Cypriot businessman Andreas Panayiotou, in December 2015. They became engaged in Zambia on January 1, 2019. Their son was born on September 19, 2019. The couple later broke up in 2021. Amy Jackson gets married to Ed Westwick Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Ghana invites India to invest in agriculture, manufacturing, technology, and infra D eputy Minister for Trade and Industry of Ghana, Michael Okyere Baafi, on Friday, requested India to invest in his country, underscoring India's critical role in Ghana's development. Baafi said that his country is ready to partner with Indian businesses in sectors, like agriculture, manufacturing, technology, and infrastructure development. Speaking at the ASSOCHAM Commonwealth Champions Conference in New Delhi, he said that the Commonwealth is a unique and diverse community that together represents nearly a third of the global population. Michael Okyere Baafi said that Ghana will be committed to playing a deep role in strengthening trade ties within this community. Extending an invitation to the investors, he emphasised the need to explore the opportunities in his country. Pointing out the trade barriers, Baafi said that he is looking for the reduction of barriers that hinder the free flow of tools and services within the Commonwealth by facilitating market assets for Ghana. The Ghana Minister further said that he recognises the importance of capacity building and technology transfer in enhancing the competitiveness of our industries. "We seek greater collaborations in these areas, particularly in sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and information technology," he added. Going further, Baafi requested trade partner countries to support Africa in building infrastructures. "Investment in transport, energy, and digital infrastructure is critical to unlocking the full potential of the Commonwealth dream", he said. The Minister also expressed the need for partnership in the areas of education and skills development. He stated that Ghana is looking forward to forging a deep collaboration in the education and allied areas through expanded scholarships to achieve programs and vocational training initiatives that will empower the youths of Ghana. Ghana is an important trading partner of India in the African region. Bilateral trade between India and Ghana stood at USD 2.87 billion in 2022-23. India stands as a leading investor in Ghana and emerged as the third-largest investor. These investments traverse diverse sectors, encompassing pharmaceuticals, construction, manufacturing, trade services, agriculture, tourism, and more, as per an official statement. Ghana invites India to invest in agriculture, manufacturing, technology, and infra Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Scientists urge policymakers to consider human-nature link while making environmental decisions E ven as food, culture, and climate are extremely linked, governments must take into account the inextricable connections when making decisions about the environment, scientists suggested on Friday. In the study conducted by the University of Plymouth, UK, a multidisciplinary team of specialists in deep-sea ecology, environmental governance, ecosystem services, and law called for a reevaluation of the procedures used to make decisions that impact biodiversity. The researchers urge a change in strategy to one of prudence, whereby any possible harm to human health should trigger preventive actions, even in the lack of measurable assurance. "Regardless of how unclear the evidence may be, human rights law mandates its consideration in decision-making processes. We know very little about some significant parts of our planet, like the deep ocean. However, these areas are vital to global human well-being. Uncertainty in these relationships should not hinder decision-making." said Dr. Holly Niner, Global Challenge Research Fellow at the University of Plymouth. In the study, published in the journal NPJ Ocean Sustainability, the team emphasised that biodiversity loss is not solely about measurable declines in habitats and species. "To protect biodiversity for future generations, we need to challenge the current context of environmental decision-making. Biodiversity loss should be viewed as a human rights issue, aligning decision-making with advancements in international human rights law," said Dr. Sian Rees, Associate Professor of Social-Ecological Systems at the varsity. The challenges of environmental governance are particularly pronounced in the deep ocean, which covers around 60 per cent of Earth's surface but remains largely unexplored. Despite this, deep-sea habitats and biodiversity are crucial to the planet's health and humanity. The researchers argue that sufficient evidence exists to foresee harm and integrate these values into decisions that could risk biodiversity and human well-being. Scientists urge policymakers to consider human-nature link while making environmental decisions Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Unicef urges Somalia to shun death sentences after execution of four minors T he UN Children's Fund (Unicef) has expressed concern over the execution of four juveniles in Somalia allegedly associated with the al-Shabab extremist group. Unicef said on Thursday evening in a statement that the four children under the age of 18 were executed on August 17 in Puntland State by a military court lacking specialised child justice procedures, which was unsuitable for handling cases involving minors. The UN body called on Puntland authorities to prevent the imposition of death sentences and ensure due process for all young adults arrested for their association with armed groups when they were minors, in line with the Juvenile Law. "The authorities are urged to take advantage of pathways for reintegrating children associated with armed groups, which already exist and have proven to be effective in upholding the rights of the child," Unicef said. According to Unicef, the age verification committee, including representatives from Puntland authorities, met with the young people and concluded that they were minors at the time of arrest and that they should not face the death penalty. It urged Puntland authorities to treat children associated with armed groups as victims. It also called for a review of current judicial procedures to ensure that military courts do not try children. Children have access to appropriate judicial procedures and meet Puntland law's definitions of a child. The four minors, however, were among 10 al-Shabab fighters who were executed by firing squad in Puntland after being sentenced to death for involvement in the killings in the city of Galkayo. Unicef urges Somalia to shun death sentences after execution of four minors Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Matthew Perry described ketamine therapy as Giant happy shovel in 2022 memoir I n his 2022 memoir 'Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing', the late actor Matthew Perry shared vivid details about his experiences with ketamine therapy, describing it as akin to "being hit in the head with a giant happy shovel." This revelation comes to light as Perry's death last year has sparked legal scrutiny and charges, according to People magazine. Perry, who passed away on October 28, 2023, from complications related to ketamine and subsequent drowning, wrote about his use of the drug to manage his depression. As per People magazine, he described ketamine as having "my name written all over it, they might as well have called it 'Matty.'" Perry recounted his therapy sessions, where he was administered an IV drip containing both ketamine and Ativan. He would then spend an hour in a darkened room with music playing through headphones, experiencing intense dissociation. "Ketamine felt like a giant exhale," Perry noted in his memoir. As per People magazine, he elaborated on his sessions, saying, "I would disassociate, see things -- I'd been in therapy for so long that I wasn't even freaked out by this. Oh, there's a horse over there? Fine -- might as well be." He described feeling as though he was experiencing ego dissolution and frequently thought he was dying during these sessions. Despite initially enjoying the effects, Perry ultimately decided that ketamine was not right for him. He criticized the "rough" hangover and described feeling like "a f---ing pincushion" from the treatment, as per People magazine. Tragically, Perry's last day was marked by repeated requests for ketamine. On October 28, he reportedly asked his assistant, Kenneth Iwamasa, for multiple doses of the drug, which ultimately led to his death. The investigation into Perry's death has resulted in charges against five individuals, including two doctors, Mark Chavez and Salvador Plasencia, who are accused of supplying ketamine to Perry. Prosecutors allege that Chavez used a fraudulent prescription to obtain ketamine, which he sold to Plasencia. Additionally, Jasveen Sangha, known as "The Ketamine Queen," is alleged to have provided Perry with the ketamine dose that contributed to his death. United States Attorney Martin Estrada reportedly criticized the defendants, stating, "In the end, these defendants were more interested in profiting off Mr Perry than caring for his well-being." In an interview with People magazine, Perry had expressed his desire to share his story once he was safely sober, believing it would help others saying, "I wanted to share when I was safe from going into the dark side again," he said. Matthew Perry described ketamine therapy as Giant happy shovel in 2022 memoir Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! History made, says Zelensky after PM Modi's landmark Kyiv visit D eclaring that history was made on Friday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that India supports his country's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. "Today, history was made. The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi made his first visit to Ukraine since our country's independence, on the eve of our Independence Day. Today, we reached an agreement on four documents between Ukraine and India, covering the medical field, agricultural cooperation, humanitarian relations, and culture," said Zelensky after the end of diplomatic engagements with PM Modi. "Following the visit, we also agreed on a joint statement focusing on the development of a strategic partnership, bilateral trade, and continued military-technical cooperation. India supports Ukraine's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. And this is critical because everyone in the world must equally respect the UN Charter," Zelensky added in a post on X. During his talks with Zelensky, PM Modi reaffirmed India's principled position and commitment to a peaceful settlement to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. He also reiterated India's readiness to contribute in "all possible ways" to facilitate the speedy return of peace in the region. "My visit to Ukraine was historic. I came to this great nation with the aim of deepening India-Ukraine friendship. I had productive talks with President Zelensky. India firmly believes that peace must always prevail. I thank the Government and people of Ukraine for their hospitality," said PM Modi after the bilateral discussions in Kyiv. Prime Minister Modi also thanked Zelensky and the Ukrainian authorities for the help and support they provided in the safe evacuation of Indian students from the warzone a few weeks after the conflict began in February 2022. The Joint statement issued after the one-on-one and delegation-level talks mentioned that both leaders emphasised the need for "sincere and practical engagement" between all parties to develop innovative solutions that would be widely accepted and contribute to the speedy restoration of peace. It also stated that both leaders have expressed mutual interest in working on upgrading bilateral relations from a comprehensive partnership to a strategic partnership in the future. The two sides recognised pharmaceutical cooperation as one of the strongest pillars of the partnership with the two leaders reaffirming the desirability of greater access to markets and the promotion of investment and joint ventures, including through testing, inspection and registration procedures. "Both parties expressed their desire to expand cooperation in the field of medicines and pharmaceuticals, in particular in the field of education and exchange of best practices. They welcomed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the State Service of Medicines and Drug Control of Ukraine and the Central Organization for the Control of Medicines Standards of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India," the Joint Statement detailed. As the two leaders shared perspectives on enhancing India-Ukraine cooperation in sectors such as economy, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and technology, PM Modi handed over indigenously developed BHISHM Cubes that contain essential medicines and equipment designed to provide medical care for emergency situations, to President Zelensky. History made, says Zelensky after PM Modi's landmark Kyiv visit Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! We've got more information from the Aldi shopper who earlier shared a picture of the Muswellbrook store's collapsed ceiling. Dean Reid, operations manager at Aussie Ark told Yahoo News Australia he felt a "sharp jolt backwards and forwards" in his car. "I was just getting out of the car to go to Aldi and the car shook," he said. "I didn't really trigger what it was. I thought I actually imagined it, because it was that quick." Reid explained that the shaking was over in about two seconds, but could see a power pole swaying in the distance. "I got out [of the car] and looked around the car park, and everyone was acting normal. "I went in and did my full shop, and then I went to the last aisle in Aldi, and they stopped me going down, and I didn't really know why. "At the cash register and they said, 'Oh, it's closed off because the roof fell in the earthquake', and that's when I started putting everything together." Wrestler Vinesh Phogat calls on Hoodas in Delhi W restler Vinesh Phogat, who missed out on an Olympic medal in Paris after she was disqualified for being overweight hours before her final bout in the 50 kg category, on Friday met Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda and his father and two-time Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda along with her wrestler husband Somvir Rathee at the Congress leaders' residence here. The meeting took place amid the call given by Bhupinder Hooda to nominate Vinesh Phogat to the Rajya Sabha for her contributions to wrestling. There were also speculation that the Congress is mulling to field Phogat for the Assembly elections scheduled in Haryana on October 1. However, when asked the same during an exclusive conversation with IANS on Thursday, Bhupinder Hooda said, "That is a hypothetical question. No discussions or talks have taken place with me on this matter. She should be nominated to the Rajya Sabha as a mark of respect." "Athletes do not belong to any party; they belong to the nation. That's why I suggested Vinesh Phogat should be nominated to the Rajya Sabha, as her feelings have been hurt. Both the state and Central governments should bestow upon her the honours typically given to an Olympic gold medallist," the veteran Congress leader added. On August 17, Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda and other Congress were seen at Delhi's IGI Airport receiving Vinesh Phogat on her return from Paris. Meanwhile, the Congress screening committee will meet in the national capital on August 26 to deliberate on the list of candidates for the Haryana polls over the next four days. The first list of 45 potential candidates is expected to be released in early September. With as many as 2,556 leaders expressing their interest in getting tickets for the polls, the Congress is actively finalising on the names, sources said. On Friday, the Congress got a boost in the Ahirwal region with about 100 Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) functionaries joining the grand old party. Along with them, 25 retired principals and 27 retired professors also joined the party, an official statement said. Wrestler Vinesh Phogat calls on Hoodas in Delhi Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! A look back at the time when RRR's Naatu Naatu was shot at Zelenskyy's official residence A s Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Ukraine, it's a good time to remember a special filmy moment in the country's recent past. Just a couple of years ago, the iconic song 'Naatu Naatu' from the movie RRR was shot at Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's official residence, months before the war broke out in the region. The song later became a global sensation, winning the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2023 and earning a Golden Globe for the same category, a first for any Asian song. Meanwhile, Modi visited the multimedia Martyrologist exposition on children at the National Museum of History of Ukraine in Kyiv on Friday. He was accompanied by the Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine. Prime Minister Modi was deeply touched by the poignant exposition set up in memory of children who have lost their lives in the conflict. He expressed his sorrow at the tragic loss of young lives and as a mark of respect placed a toy in their memory, a press release by the Ministry of External Affairs said. Earlier, PM Modi paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at his statue in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and emphasized the relevance of Mahatma Gandhi's message of peace in shaping a harmonious society. Prime Minister underscored the timeless relevance of Mahatma Gandhi's message of peace in building a harmonious society. He noted that the path shown by the Mahatma offered solutions to present-day global challenges, a press release by the Ministry of External Affairs said. Mahatma Gandhi's statue, located in the 'Oasis of Peace' park in Kyiv, serves as a beacon of hope and peace for humanity.The Prime Minister also shared a picture on his X handle and said, "Paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Kyiv. The ideals of Bapu are universal and give hope to millions. May we all follow the path he showed to humanity." Notably, PM Narendra Modi reached Kyiv on Friday morning in what is the first visit by an indian Prime Minister to Ukraine. The visit assumes deeper significance as it comes at a time when the region finds itself in the middle of a conflict. On his arrival at the Hyatt Hotel in Kyiv, PM Modi received a rousing welcome from the Indian community, with many students awaiting his arrival and hoping for a glimpse of the Prime Minister. A look back at the time when RRR's Naatu Naatu was shot at Zelenskyy's official residence Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! PM Modi presents BHISHM Cubes to Ukraine, President Zelenskyy thanks India for humanitarian aid P rime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Ukraine presented four BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri) Cubes to the Government of Ukraine on Friday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked PM Modi for the humanitarian assistance, a press release by the Ministry of External Affairs said. The cubes will help in the expeditious treatment of the injured and contribute to saving precious lives. PM Modi also shared pictures on his X handle and said, "Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri (BHISHM) is a unique effort which will ensure medical facilities in a rapidly deployable manner. It consists of cubes which contain medicines and equipment for medical care. Today, presented BHISHM cubes to President Volodymr Zelenskyy." Notably, each BHISHM Cube consists of medicines and equipment for the first line of care for all kinds of injuries and medical situations. It also includes surgical equipment for a basic Operation Room that can manage 10-15 basic surgeries per day. The Cube has the capacity to handle about 200 cases of diverse nature in emergency situations such as trauma, bleeding, burns, fractures, etc. It can also generate its own power and oxygen in limited amounts. A team of experts from India has been deployed to provide initial training to the Ukrainian side to operate the Cube. The gesture underscores India's continued commitment to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. Under the broad umbrella of Project Aarogya Maitri, Government of India has created the BHISHM initiative, which provides the means to deliver all basic facilities and equipment for providing emergency medical care, in an easy to use and rapidly deployable manner. This is achieved by packing all the relevant medicines and equipment in cubical boxes (of 15 inches) in a well-organized manner, and arranged according to the types of injuries and medical issues, that could be encountered in a war or natural disaster. These mini cubes are then positioned on a framework that is adjustable, strong and permits multi-mode transport (by air, sea, land and drone). In fact, the mini cubes can be carried by a person (max weight of 20 kg). Thirty-six of these mini cubes mentioned above form a mother cube and two such mother cubes combine to form a BHISHM Cube. One mother cube has the medicines and equipment for first-line care of all kinds of injuries and emergency medical situations apart from shelter and food for a crew of five for 48 hours. The other mother cube has surgical equipment and can establish a basic operating room that can manage 10-15 basic surgeries per day. Due to clear and convenient classification, the medicines and equipment are easy to use. The inventory management uses RFID and is automatically updated. Therefore, exact stock is easily ascertained. The BHISHM app and a digital tablet provide access to the required knowhow including through instructional videos. The tablet currently supports about 180 langauges. Overall, the BHISM Cube has the ability to handle about 200 cases of diverse nature in emergency situations such as trauma, bleeding, burns, fractures, shock, apart from managing initial triage and classification. It also has the ability to support basic surgeries and can also generate its own power and oxygen in limited amounts/duration. PM Modi presents BHISHM Cubes to Ukraine, President Zelenskyy thanks India for humanitarian aid Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! PM Modi, Ukraine President Zelenskyy sign agreements on agriculture, medicine, cultural cooperation P rime Minister Narendra Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy signed several documents during the former's visit to Kyiv in sectors including agriculture, food industry, medical products regulation and cultural cooperation. The two leaders witnessed the signing of four agreements. These include the Agreement on Cooperation in the field of Agriculture and Food Industry; MoU on Cooperation in the field of Medical Products Regulation; MoU on Indian Humanitarian Grant Assistance for Implementation of High Impact Community Development Projects; and Programme for Cultural Cooperation for 2024-2028, a press release by Ministry of External Affairs said. Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Ukraine on cooperation in the fields of Agriculture and Food Industry. The objective of this agreement involves expanding mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of agriculture and food industry by promoting ties in areas of information exchange, joint scientific research, exchange of experience, cooperation in agriculture research, creation of joint working groups etc. MoU between Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India and the State Service of Ukraine on Medicines and Drugs Control on cooperation in the field of Medical Products regulation with the objective of envisaging cooperation on medical products including regulation, improvement of safety and quality aspects, mainly through information exchange, capacity building, workshops, training, and exchange of visits, the MEA said. MoU between the Government of the Republic of India and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine regarding Indian Humanitarian Grant Assistance for the implementation of high Impact Community Development Projects. Objective: This MoU creates the framework for India to provide grant assistance for community development projects in Ukraine. Projects under the HICDP will be undertaken in partnership with the Government of Ukraine for the benefit of the people of Ukraine, according to the press release by MEA. Programme of Cultural Cooperation between the Ministry of Culture of the Government of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine for the years 2024-2028 which aims to strengthen cultural cooperation between India and Ukraine including the promotion of cultural exchanges and cooperation in the fields of theatre, music, fine arts, literature, library, and museum affairs as well as protection and promotion of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. PM Modi, Ukraine President Zelenskyy sign agreements on agriculture, medicine, cultural cooperation Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! India supports Ukraine's sovereignty: says Zelenskyy amid PM Modi's visit U krainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday stated that India supports Ukraine's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, emphasizing that global respect for the UN Charter is essential. Sharing a post on his X handle, Zelenskyy said the visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi made history. "Today, history was made. The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi made his first visit to Ukraine since our country's independence, on the eve of our Independence Day," the post said. The President further said, "India supports Ukraine's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. And this is critical because everyone in the world must equally respect the UN Charter." Elaborating on the documents signed between the two nations, Zelenskyy further said, "Today, we reached an agreement on four documents between Ukraine and India, covering the medical field, agricultural cooperation, humanitarian relations, and culture." He further added, "Following the visit, we also agreed on a joint statement focusing on the development of a strategic partnership, bilateral trade, and continued military-technical cooperation." Notably, PM Modi on Friday met with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy for bilateral talks at the Mariinskyi Palace. PM Modi shared a warm embrace with Zelenskyy on his arrival at the Palace and also shook hands with various Ukrainian delegates present at the palace. The PM was accompanied by Foreign Minister S Jaishhankar, NS Ajit Doval and others. Both leaders held a restricted meeting to discuss key issues. High-level delegation meetings followed, where important discussions on bilateral cooperation took place. Document exchanges to formalize agreements and collaborations between the two nations also took place. Meanwhile, elaborating on the discussions that took place between the two leaders, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during a press briefing said, "In the discussion, a significant part of it was devoted to our bilateral relations. There was a discussion about trade, economic issues, defence, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, education. There were a whole lot of issues." India supports Ukraine's sovereignty: says Zelenskyy amid PM Modi's visit Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! PM Modi praises Hindi-learning students in Ukraine for promoting mutual understanding P rime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Ukraine on Friday interacted with students learning Hindi During his visit to Ukraine on Friday, and appreciated their role in fostering mutual understanding between the people of both countries. The Ministry of External Affairs in a statement said that PM Modi on Friday interacted with Ukrainian students who are learning Hindi language at the School of Oriental Studies in Kyiv. The Prime Minister appreciated the scholarship of the students and their contribution to promoting mutual understanding between the people of the two countries. He also commended their efforts to bring Indian culture and history closer to the Ukrainian people, the MEA stated. After interacting with PM Modi, one of the Ukrainian students studying the Hindi language, said, "We are very happy and excited also...we never thought that we would meet PM Modi...We hope after this meeting everything will be fine..." Another Ukrainian student studying the Hindi language, said, "This is a very important meeting for Ukraine and after this meeting, it will be proved that there is a good relationship between India and Ukraine...And we also hope that in future there will be more and more people who will learn the Hindi language..." Meanwhile, during PM Modi's visit, the two leaders witnessed the signing of four agreements. These include the Agreement on Cooperation in the field of Agriculture and Food Industry; MoU on Cooperation in the field of Medical Products Regulation; MoU on Indian Humanitarian Grant Assistance for Implementation of High Impact Community Development Projects; and Programme for Cultural Cooperation for 2024-2028, a press release by Ministry of External Affairs said. Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Ukraine on cooperation in the fields of Agriculture and Food Industry. The objective of this agreement involves expanding mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of culture, agriculture and food industry by promoting ties in areas of information exchange, joint scientific research, exchange of experience, cooperation in culture, agriculture research, creation of joint working groups etc. MoU between Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India and the State Service of Ukraine on Medicines and Drugs Control on cooperation in the field of Medical Products regulation with the objective of envisaging cooperation on medical products including regulation, improvement of safety and quality aspects, mainly through information exchange, capacity building, workshops, training, and exchange of visits, the MEA said. MoU between the Government of the Republic of India and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine regarding Indian Humanitarian Grant Assistance for the implementation of high Impact Community Development Projects. Objective: This MoU creates the framework for India to provide grant assistance for community development projects in Ukraine. Projects under the HICDP will be undertaken in partnership with the Government of Ukraine for the benefit of the people of Ukraine, according to the press release by MEA. Programme of Cultural Cooperation between the Ministry of Culture of the Government of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine for the years 2024-2028 which aims to strengthen cultural cooperation between India and Ukraine including the promotion of cultural exchanges and cooperation in the fields of theatre, music, fine arts, literature, library, and museum affairs as well as protection and promotion of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. PM Modi praises Hindi-learning students in Ukraine for promoting mutual understanding Post your comments Found this article helpful? Spread the word and support us! Download Now The News-Gazette mobile app brings you the latest local breaking news, updates, and more. Read the News-Gazette on your mobile device just as it appears in print. Beijing (Gasgoo)- On August 21, 2024, AVATR Technology, the premium new energy vehicle company backed by Changan Automobile, Huawei, and CATL, officially launched its new range-extending technology, Kunlun, marking its entry into the range-extender market. The company plans to release multiple all-electric and range-extended models within 2024 to meet diverse, all-scenario mobility needs. AVATR 07; photo credit: AVATR Hu Chengtai, Vice President of AVATR Technology, stated, "We believe that a good range extender should offer an experience almost identical to all-electric vehicles, with no range anxiety. As a high-end new energy brand rooted in pure electric vehicles, we set the pure electric experience as the benchmark for our range-extended models." To achieve this, AVATR Technology has applied its peak-level intelligence, developed over years of full-stack in-house research, to its range-extending technology. This represents a leap from traditional to intelligent range-extender, driven by the synergy of advanced software and hardware. Shenxing Super Hybrid Battery; photo credit: AVATR Traditional range-extended vehicles often suffer from significant power loss when the battery is low, impacting performance in high-demand scenarios like high-speed driving or uphill climbs. To address this issue, AVATR Technology, in collaboration with Chinese battery giant CATL, has developed the 39kWh Shenxing Super Hybrid Battery. This battery delivers a peak discharge rate of 9C when fully charged and 7.7C even when low on power, allowing the AVATR 07 range-extended AWD vehicle model to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 5.8 seconds, even in a low battery state. Photo credit: AVATR The Kunlun range-extender system also features an in-house developed seven-in-one rear electric drive unit with a peak power of 231kW and a peak wheel torque of 4,500 Nm. This enables the AVATR 07 range-extended AWD model to accelerate from 40 to 80 km/h in just 1.8 seconds, and from 80 to 120 km/h in 2.7 seconds, providing exceptional power in the most commonly used speed ranges for overtaking. Photo credit: AVATR Kunlun's core intelligence also addresses common issues such as overheating after continuous acceleration, which traditionally results in premature power reduction. AVATR's system, combining hardware-level oil cooling technology with software-based AI models, enhances rotor temperature estimation accuracy from the industry standard of 30C to just 8C, reducing unnecessary power interventions. As a result, the Kunlun-equipped AVATR models can maintain performance across 25 consecutive 0-100 km/h accelerations without power loss, ensuring consistent, on-demand acceleration. In addition to its performance enhancements, the Kunlun range-extender system also prioritizes driving comfort. The system's adaptive energy management adjusts torque based on real-time road conditions, reducing accelerator and brake usage by 60%, and mitigating passengers dizziness that can result from rapid torque responses. To further enhance cabin comfort, particularly at low speeds or idle, the Kunlun system integrates a self-developed HE 1.5T supercharged engine with a world-first electronic oil pump and active piston control technologies. These innovations reduce engine noise to 35.7 dB during idle charging, providing an imperceptible start-stop experience. The electronic oil pump also pre-builds oil pressure to ensure immediate lubrication upon engine startup, reducing noise, improving efficiency, and extending engine life. Photo credit: AVATR Kunlun's unique piston control technology positions the pistons at the optimal point for minimal resistance and vibration when the engine is off, significantly reducing startup noise and vibration. Moreover, the Kunlun range-extender system intelligently manages engine intervention based on navigation data, ensuring that the engine operates only when necessary to preserve battery power for congested routes, maintaining the quiet, comfortable experience akin to driving an all-electric vehicle. Photo credit: AVATR Additionally, the Kunlun HE 1.5T supercharged engine also leads the industry in thermal efficiency and fuel-to-electric conversion rates. With a higher compression ratio and optimized fuel injection, the engine achieves a thermal efficiency of 44.39%, generating 3.63 kWh of electricity per liter of fuel, significantly reducing fuel consumption. To enhance the refueling experience, the Kunlun-equipped AVATR models will feature the 39kWh Shenxing Super Hybrid Battery from CATL with a peak charging rate of 3C, allowing the battery to charge from 30% to 80% of its capacity in just 15 minutes. Kunlun also ensures that battery power is prioritized, with fuel consumption only after the battery is depleted. Finally, the Kunlun system is designed to withstand extreme temperatures, from -35C to 65C, while remaining compatible with 92-octane gasoline, ensuring that users can refuel wherever a gas station is available. The anti-obesity medication semaglutide may help to prevent heart attacks and other major adverse cardiac events among overweight people who have cardiovascular disease, whether or not they also have heart failure, according to a new study led by UCL's Professor John Deanfield. The results follow previous research from the same international team finding that weekly injections of semaglutide were linked to a 20% reduction in major adverse cardiac events (MACE) such as heart attacks and strokes for people with obesity or who were overweight and had cardiovascular disease. The new study, published in The Lancet, found similar cardiovascular benefits for a subgroup of study participants who were also judged to have heart failure (i.e. whose hearts did not pump blood around the body properly) by a clinician at the start of the trial. The researchers looked at data from 4,286 people out of a total of 17,605 from the landmark Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes (SELECT) trial who were randomly assigned either semaglutide or a placebo who were followed up over an average of more than three years. They found that semaglutide was linked to a 28% reduction in major adverse cardiac events (12.3% in the placebo group had such events compared to 9.1% in the semaglutide group), as well as a 24% reduction in cardiovascular disease-related deaths for this subgroup of people with pre-existing heart failure, and a 19% reduction in deaths of any cause. Our previous SELECT analysis showed the benefits of semaglutide for people with cardiovascular disease who had obesity or were overweight. This new study finds that, within this group, people with heart failure did just as well as people without in terms of the outcomes we measured. This is important as there were concerns that semaglutide might be harmful for people with a type of heart failure known as reduced ejection fraction, where the heart pumps less blood around the body. Our findings show that the benefit of semaglutide was similar regardless of heart failure type." John Deanfield, Lead Author, Professor, UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science The study looked at data from the landmark SELECT trial the largest and longest clinical trial of the effects of semaglutide on weight in over 17,000 adults who did not have diabetes but who were overweight or had obesity. The international team that runs the trial includes Professor Deanfield. Semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, simulates the functions of the body's natural incretin hormones, which help to lower blood sugar levels after a meal. It was initially prescribed for adults with type 2 diabetes. Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic. In July, thanks to evidence from the SELECT trial, the UK medicines regulator approved Wegovy as a treatment for those with cardiovascular disease, meaning it can be prescribed privately. However, the drug is not yet recommended for this use in the NHS. Its benefits may first need to be compared to those of another new medicine, SGLT2 inhibitors, a diabetes drug also found to have cardiovascular benefits. (Wegovy is already available on the NHS to help with weight management and for people with type 2 diabetes.) The exact mechanism through which semaglutide delivers cardiovascular benefits is not known, but may include the drug's positive impacts on blood sugar, blood pressure, and inflammation, as well as direct effects on the heart muscle and blood vessels. The researchers said the reduction in all-cause mortality in all heart failure groups "suggests the potential for other, as yet unknown, benefits". The study compared the impact of semaglutide for people with two types of heart failure: preserved ejection fraction, where the heart pumps blood normally but is too stiff to fill properly, and reduced ejection fraction. These two heart failure types have different causes and respond to treatment differently, with preserved ejection fraction, the most common type, not responding so well to traditional treatments, leading to considerable unmet clinical need. The researchers found the clinical benefit of semaglutide was irrespective of type of heart failure. It was also found to be independent of age, sex, baseline BMI, and clinical status. Serious adverse events were reported more frequently in the placebo group than in the semaglutide group. Treatment was discontinued more often in the semaglutide group, primarily driven by gastrointestinal disorders (14.7% vs 9.0% in the heart failure groups; and 17.2% vs 7.9% in non-heart failure groups). These findings, they said, supported the use of semaglutide, on top of usual care, to reduce the risk of major adverse cardiac events in a broad population of people with established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and overweight/obesity. The researchers noted further trials were needed to evaluate the impact of semaglutide on heart failure-related outcomes. As SELECT was not a dedicated heart failure trial, the study results cannot be extrapolated to patients with heart failure in general, they said. In their section on limitations, the authors noted that a majority of study participants were male and a high proportion were white. In future, they said, GLP-1 receptor agonist trials should examine responses by ethnicity and sex. The study was funded by Novo Nordisk. The groundbreaking ChatGPT chatbot shows potential as a time-saving tool for responding to patient questions sent to the urologist's office, suggests a study in the September issue of Urology Practice, an Official Journal of the American Urological Association (AUA). The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer. The artificial intelligence (AI) tool generated "acceptable" responses to nearly one-half of a sample of real-life patient questions, according to the new research by Michael Scott, MD, a urologist at Stanford University School of Medicine. "Generative AI technologies may play a valuable role in providing prompt, accurate responses to routine patient questions potentially alleviating patients' concerns while freeing up clinic time and resources to address other complex tasks," Dr. Scott comments. Can ChatGPT accurately answer questions from urology patients? ChatGPT is an innovative large language model (LLM) that has sparked interest across a wide range of settings, including health and medicine. In some recent studies, ChatGPT has performed well in responding to various types of medical questions, although its performance in urology is less well-established. Modern electronic health record (EHR) systems enable patients to send medical questions directly to their doctors. "This shift has been associated with an increased time burden of EHR use for physicians with a large portion of this attributed to patient in-basket messages," the researchers write. One study estimates that each message in a physician's inbox adds more than two minutes spent on the EHR. Dr. Scott and colleagues collected 100 electronic patient messages requesting medical advice from a urologist at a men's health clinic. The messages were categorized by type of content and difficulty, then entered into ChatGPT. Five experienced urologists graded each AI-generated response in terms of accuracy, completeness, helpfulness, and intelligibility. Raters also indicated whether they would send each response to a patient. Findings support 'generative AI technology to improve clinical efficiency' The ChatGPT-generated responses were judged to be accurate, with an average score of 4.0 on a five-point scale; and intelligible, average score 4.7. Ratings of completeness and helpfulness were lower, but with little or no potential for harm. Scores were comparable for different types of question content (symptoms, postoperative concerns, etc). "Overall, 47% of responses were deemed acceptable to send to patients," the researchers write. Questions rated as "easy" had a higher rate of acceptable responses: 56%, compared to 34% for "difficult" questions. "These results show promise for the utilization of generative AI technology to help improve clinical efficiency," Dr. Scott and coauthors write. The findings "suggest the feasibility of integrating this new technology into clinical care to improve efficiency while maintaining quality of patient communication." The researchers note some potential drawbacks of ChatGPT-generated responses to patient questions: "ChatGPT's model is trained on information from the Internet in general, as opposed to validated medical sources," with a "risk of generating inaccurate or misleading responses." The authors also highlight the need for safeguards to ensure patient privacy. While our study provides an interesting starting point, more research will be needed to validate the use of LLMs to respond to patient questions, in urology as well as other specialties. This will be a potentially valuable healthcare application, particularly with continued advances in AI technology." Dr. Michael Scott, MD, urologist at Stanford University School of Medicine Columbia University announced today a new $400 million gift from Roy and Diana Vagelos, which will secure Columbia's leadership in biomedical science research and education and produce a vast array of compelling opportunities for improving society's health and wellbeing. The gift is the single largest ever made to Columbia's medical school and, taken together with their previous giving, establishes Roy and Diana as the most generous donors in the history of Columbia University. A principal function of this gift will be to significantly expand the mission of the Vagelos-funded institute created in 2023. The Roy and Diana Vagelos Institute for Basic Biomedical Science will now provide the infrastructure to unite cutting-edge research taking place in Columbia's basic science departments, its leading medical and graduate education programs, and the exemplary research initiatives in its clinical departments in a new dynamic organizational model. By assembling this mix of mutually reinforcing activities, we seek to build the world's foremost ecosystem for biomedical research and to attract the next generation of exceptionally creative and collaborative scientists able to realize this vision. The gift announced today also will support construction of the new biomedical research building, to be known as the Vagelos Innovation Laboratories, at 167th Street and Audubon Avenue, on the Washington Heights medical campus. This facility will provide more than 55,000 square feet of new laboratory space. This new building will be a model of sustainability: the very first fully-electrified, university-owned laboratory building in New York City. Roy and Diana's generous gift also provides major support for the medical school's programs in cell engineering and gene therapy and will expand innovative collaborations that harness recent breakthroughs and new technologies. Research to advance these next-generation therapies will revolutionize treatment for a wide variety of diseases ranging from disorders of the blood and immune system to cancers, metabolic disorders, and inflammatory, neurological, and cardiovascular conditions, representing a new paradigm in medicine. The legacy of Roy and Diana Vagelos at Columbia University and in the world of philanthropic support for biomedical research and education was already well established before the announcement of this historic gift. They are unique benefactors guided by laudable values that became guiding principles for our school. Their sustained commitment to education, scientific research, and human health, in general-;and to Columbia, in particular-;is simply unmatched. From the construction of the spectacular Vagelos Education Center, to the creation of a scholarship initiative that sparked a nationwide revolution to address affordability in medical education, the impact of their philanthropy will extend far beyond Columbia and be felt for generations to come. Garret Frey refuses to be sidelined. Frey has been paralyzed from the neck down for more than 37 of his 42 years. He has spent decades rejecting the government's excuses when he and others with disabilities are denied the support they need to live in their own homes and to participate in society. The Iowan won a landmark case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1999, after his school district refused to pay for the care he needed to continue attending high school classes in Cedar Rapids. He recently scored another victory when a complaint he lodged with federal officials pressured Iowa to agree to increase Medicaid payments for caregivers to stay overnight with Frey so he won't need to move into a nursing home. "These are civil rights issues," he said. "They are human rights issues." Frey makes his points a handful of words at a time. The cadence of his speech follows the rhythm of a mechanical ventilator, which pushes air into his lungs every few seconds through a tube in his throat. His voice is soft, but he makes sure it's heard. Frey was paralyzed in an accident at age 4. He uses sip-and-puff controls to drive his wheelchair into courtrooms and through the halls of the Iowa Statehouse and the U.S. Capitol, where he demands policies that allow people with disabilities to live full lives. "We'll get there. It takes time, but I'm not going to just let things go or let things slide," he said in an interview on the sunny patio of his Cedar Rapids home. Frey emphasizes that anyone could find themselves needing assistance if they suffer an accident or illness that hampers their ability to care for themselves. He encourages other people with disabilities to cite his victories when seeking services they're entitled to under federal law. He has served on numerous local, state, and national boards and committees focused on protecting disability rights. He composes emails and updates his website using voice commands and a sticker on his chin that can interact with his computer's camera. His activism has drawn admirers nationwide. "People like Garret are critically important, because they are the trailblazers," said Melanie Fontes Rainer, director of the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In June, Fontes Rainer's office announced an agreement with the state of Iowa to settle Frey's complaint that Medicaid pay rates were insufficient for him to hire and retain overnight caregivers at his home. Frey said he filed his federal complaint after being rebuffed by state officials. The resulting agreement increased his workers' pay from about $15.50 to $22 an hour, the federal agency said. It also made other changes designed to allow Frey to continue living in the home he shares with his mother and brother. Fontes Rainer said state officials cooperated with her office in settling Frey's complaint. She said she hopes other people will take notice of the result and report problems they have in obtaining services that help them remain in their communities. The federal administrator said she gets emotional when she sees how hard Frey and others fight for their rights. "You shouldn't have to advocate for health care," she said. "When I think about all that he's been through, and that he continues to use his voice, I think it is so powerful." The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services declined to comment on Frey's case. But spokesperson Alex Murphy said the department is "committed to ensuring access to high-quality behavioral health, disability, and aging services for all Iowans in their communities." This summer, Frey and his mother visited Washington, D.C., where they participated in a 25th anniversary celebration of the Supreme Court decision Olmstead v. L.C. In that landmark case, the justices declared that people with disabilities have a right to live in their own communities, instead of in an institution, if their needs can be reasonably accommodated. Frey was reminded during the ceremony that others are still buoyed by his own Supreme Court case, Cedar Rapids Community School District v. Garret F. The 1999 case focused on the Frey family's contention that the school district should pay for help Garret needed to safely use his ventilator so he could continue to attend classes. School district leaders said they shouldn't have to pay for such assistance because it was health care. The court, in a 7-2 decision, described Frey as "a friendly, creative, and intelligent young man" who had a right to services enabling him to attend school with his peers. At the recent Washington ceremony, a California teenager approached Frey. "He said, 'You're Garret F? Thank you. Without you, I'd never have been able to go to school,'" recalled Frey's mother, Charlene Frey. The 13-year-old fan was James McLelland, who breathes through a tube in his throat because of a genetic issue that impedes his windpipe. His breathing apparatus needs constant monitoring and frequent cleaning by a nurse. His mother, Jenny McLelland, said she shows printed copies of the Garret F. court decision to school officials when she requests that James be provided with a nurse so he can attend regular classes instead of being sent to a separate school. Because of the Supreme Court precedent, "we didn't have to litigate, we just had to educate," she said in an interview. James, who is entering eighth grade this school year, is thriving in classes and loves playing percussion in band, his mother said. "James has had the life that people like Garret had to fight to get," she said. "These are the kinds of rights that are built brick by brick." Frey said he found inspiration from earlier advocates, including Katie Beckett, a fellow Cedar Rapids resident who, four decades ago, drew national attention to the plight of children with disabilities who were forced to live away from their families. Beckett, who was partly paralyzed by encephalitis as an infant, was kept in a hospital for about three years. At the time, federal rules prevented payment for Beckett to receive care in her home, even though it would have been much less expensive than hospital care. In 1981, President Ronald Reagan denounced the situation as absurd and told administrators to find a way to let the young Iowan go home. The Republican president's stance led to the creation of what are still known as Katie Beckett waivers, which make it easier for families to get Medicaid coverage for in-home care for children with disabilities. Frey knew Beckett and her mother, Julie Beckett, and admired how their outspokenness prompted reforms. He also drew inspiration from meeting Tom Harkin, the longtime U.S. senator from Iowa who was the lead author of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. Harkin, a Democrat, is retired from the Senate but keeps tabs on disability issues. In an interview, he said he was glad to hear that Frey continues to push for the right to participate in society. Harkin said he is disappointed when he sees government officials and business leaders fail to follow requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act. To maintain the law's power, people should speak up when they're denied services or accommodations, he said. "It's important to have warriors like Garret and his mother and their supporters." Iowa's agreement to increase Medicaid pay for Frey's caregivers has helped him hire more overnight workers, but he still goes some nights without one. When no outside help is available, his mother handles his care. Although she can be paid, she no longer wants to play that role. "She should be able to just be my mom," he said. At a recent board meeting of The Arc of Iowa, a disability rights group, Frey told his friends he's thinking about applying for a civil rights job with the federal government or running for public office. "I'm ready to rumble," he said. One hundred years after the human brain's electrical activity was first recorded, experts are celebrating the legacy of its discovery and sharing their predictions and priorities for its future. Since the first recording in July 1924, human electroencephalography (EEG) has been integral to our understanding of brain function and dysfunction: most significantly in the clinical diagnosis of epilepsy, where the analysis of the EEG signal meant that a condition previously seen as a personality disorder was quickly redefined as a disorder of brain activity. Now, a century on, more than 500 experts from around the globe, have been asked to reflect on the impact of this groundbreaking methodology, as well as on the challenges and priorities for the future. A survey, led by University of Leeds academics, saw respondents - with 6,685 years of collective experience - presented with possible future developments for EEG, ranging from those deemed 'critical to progress' to the 'highly improbable,' and asked to estimate how long it might be before they were achieved. The results are published today (22 August 2024) in the journal Nature Human Behaviour. Futuristic innovations The list features an array of fascinating, futuristic innovations that experts believe could be achieved within a generation. This includes using EEG to enhance cognitive performance; early detection of learning disabilities; widespread use as a lie detector; and use as a primary communication tool for those with severe motor disabilities and locked-in syndrome. Real-time, reliable diagnosis of brain abnormalities such as seizures or tumours is believed to be just 10-14 years away, while the probability of reading the content of dreams and long-term memories is judged to be more than 50 years away by some experts, but dismissed by many as closer to science fiction than reality. It may be surprising to many that, according to the survey published today (22 August) in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, within a generation we could all be carrying around our own, personal, portable, EEG. The paper's co-author, Dominik Welke, Research Fellow at the University of Leeds, said: "They could really become something like a smartphone: where almost everybody has access to them and can use them daily - ideally improving their life by providing meaningful insight into physiological factors." One such positive, potential future use of EEG technology could be vigilance control for drivers or pilots. These work-safety systems could assist the user in identifying if they were falling asleep, then wake them up or tell the co-pilot they need to take over." Dominik Welke, Research Fellow, University of Leeds The hardware involved in recording EEG is relatively basic, remaining unchanged in principle since it was first used by psychiatrist Hans Berger, in Germany, on July 6, 1924. What has drastically changed since then is the analysis of and what we can do with the now digitally-recorded data. Consisting of just electrodes and an amplifier, EEG systems are becoming increasingly cheap to produce, as well as more portable and user-friendly. Coupled with its non-invasive nature, there is little to prevent it from becoming more accessible to a wider audience. Reducing health inequalities While the prospect of EEG technology being widely used in gaming and VR predicted to be only around 20 years away - will thrill gamers, the truly exciting possibility for scientists and clinicians is that this increasing accessibility will allow them to engage with communities traditionally excluded from EEG research, crucially, in low-income countries that cannot afford more complex imaging technology. Advances in AI-driven automation are also expected to improve and speed up analysis of complicated data. Dr Welke said: "Looking ahead to the future: from the hardware side, it's comparatively cheap and easy to produce, and from the analysis and software side, with these new computing technologies, all the puzzle pieces are there to really roll out EEG to a very large user base. "As opposed to other methods out there - such as MRI, or implanted devices - EEG has the potential to make neuroimaging available to all the people in the world." The paper's lead author, Faisal Mushtaq, Professor of Cognitive Science and the Director of the Centre for Immersive Technologies at the University of Leeds, said: "Nearly all the data we currently have on the human brain comes from a very small segment of the world's population. "There is a growing recognition that this is hampering our ability to generalise findings and improve global brain health. "EEG stands out as the most cost-effective and logistically feasible neuroimaging tool for worldwide use across diverse settings. This would help build a neuroscience that is inclusive and representative of the global population. He added: "Our partners at the Global Brain Consortium are laying the foundations for increasing reach in this way and I expect this will unlock new opportunities for groundbreaking discoveries on the mechanisms of brain function." Ethical questions Alongside the optimism that emerging technologies are opening exciting new possibilities for EEG, the experts consulted also sounded a note of caution, with concerns that ranged from a lack of adherence to agreed standards and protocols to ethical questions created by novel commercial applications and the lure of 'neuroenhancement'. Dr Welke said: "I'm sure some of the multi-national tech companies might be very interested in rolling out EEG or other neuroimaging technology, just to get more information on their users that hints at their preferences and emotions 24 hours a day. But should it be used in this way? "There are obvious concerns around cognitive freedom and mental privacy. This feeds back into the importance of 'responsibility' the fact that new ways of using a technology are also likely to raise new ethical questions." Another objective of the survey was to identify the priorities of the EEG community for guiding future efforts. Participants rated how important major developments and advancements in various domains of EEG research would be to their work. Professor Mushtaq said: "I think that EEG, when combined with technologies such as AI and virtual reality, could radically transform the ways in which we interact with machines, and in doing so, play an extremely important role in science and society over the next 100 years. "But to ensure this, the neuroscience community-;from academic, clinical and industry settings-;must commit to promoting robust, ethical, inclusive, and sustainable practices that will help realise its enormous potential." The work was conducted by more than 90 authors, ranging from early career researchers to eminent figures in the field, collectively known as the EEG100 consortium. It started out as a partnership between #EEGManyLabs an international network of researchers from more than 30 countries assessing the replicability of the results of some of the most important and influential EEG experiments of psychological phenomena - and the Global Brain Consortium, a diverse network of brain researchers, clinicians and institutions committed to achieving improved and more equitable health outcomes worldwide. The paper's last author, Pedro Antonio Valdes-Sosa, Director of China Cuba Laboratory for Neurotechnology at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China/Cuban Neuroscience Center, said: "In several countries, including Cuba, we have demonstrated that EEG can mass-screen some nervous system disorders at a population level. "This technology is especially appropriate when resources are limited, as they are in disengaged groups worldwide. "There are hurdles to overcome to employ EEG at a global scale, but by doing so, we can hopefully improve millions more lives." Dr Sadhana Sharma, Head of Bioscience for Health Strategy at the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) - which funded the paper's lead authors - said: "EEG technology has the potential to transform our day-to-day activities and how we diagnose and treat neurological conditions in the future, ensuring that insights into brain health are accessible to diverse populations worldwide. "As we embrace developments in bioscience, our focus remains on fostering interdisciplinary collaborations that drive ethical, equitable and impactful advancements in brain science on a global scale." Concerns over the biosecurity risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI) models in biology continue to grow. Amid this concern, Doni Bloomfield and colleagues argue, in a Policy Forum, for improved governance and pre-release safety evaluations of new models in order to mitigate potential threats. "We propose that national governments, including the United States, pass legislation and set mandatory rules that will prevent advanced biological models from substantially contributing to large-scale dangers, such as the creation of novel or enhanced pathogens capable of causing major epidemics or even pandemics," write the authors. Advances in biological AI models hold great promise across many applications, from speeding up drug and vaccine design to improving crop yields and resilience. However, alongside these benefits, biological AI models also pose serious risks. Because of their general-purpose nature, the same model that designs a harmless viral vector for gene therapy could be used to create a more dangerous, novel viral pathogen that evades vaccines. Although developers of these systems have made voluntary commitments to evaluate the dual-use risks of these models, Bloomfield et al. highlight how these measures are insufficient to ensure safety on their own. According to the authors, there is a notable lack of governance to address risks, including standardized, mandatory safety evaluations for advanced biological AI models. Although some policy measures exist, such as the White House Executive Order on AI, and the Bletchley Declaration signed at the UK AI Safety Summit in 2023, there is no unified approach to evaluating the safety of these powerful tools before they are released. Here, Bloomfield et al. call for policies focused on reducing the biosecurity risks of advanced biological models, while preserving scientific freedom to explore their potential benefits. Policies should require pre-release evaluations only for advanced AI models posing high risks. These evaluations can use existing frameworks for dual-use research and should include proxy tests to avoid directly synthesizing dangerous pathogens. Additionally, oversight should address the risks of releasing a model's weights, which could enable third-party modifications to a model after its release. Moreover, policies must ensure responsible data sharing and restrict access to AI systems with unresolved risks. An international research group led by MedUni Vienna and IMBA - Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, Vienna, has made significant progress in understanding the mechanisms that influence the sensation of pain after surgery. Currently available treatment methods for post-operative pain can cause considerable side effects and are often only partially effective. The latest findings reveal a new possibility for localized and targeted therapy. The study has now been published in the renowned journal "Science Immunology". In their research, the team led by Philipp Starkl, Shane Cronin and Josef Penninger built on earlier findings on the role of the substance tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) in neuropathic pain: the higher the concentration of BH4, the more severe the pain. "Whether this correlation also applies to postoperative pain has not yet been investigated," says Josef Penninger (Clinical Department of Laboratory Medicine at MedUni Vienna, IMBA, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Braunschweig), describing the initial situation of the study. In a series of experiments on mouse models with surgically induced skin injuries and with the help of novel analytical methods, the researchers revealed both the central role of BH4 in postoperative pain and the underlying mechanisms. As it turned out, the innate immune system plays a decisive role here. The signaling cascade initiated by tissue injury starts in special immune cells (mast cells) that are positioned near pain-sensing nerves in the skin and act as a BH4 production site after an operation. "In mice whose mast cells did not produce BH4, we observed a drastically reduced sensitivity to pain after surgery. Conversely, we found that increased BH4 production by mast cells was associated with increased pain," reports Shane Cronin (Clinical Department of Laboratory Medicine at MedUni Vienna, IMBA). With the key role of mast cells in pain perception, the research team has also found a possible solution to the puzzle of the function of these cells in the body: "Until now, we mainly knew their influence in allergic reactions and wondered why we have retained this cell type over hundreds of millions of years of evolution despite its harmful and dangerous role in allergies," says Philipp Starkl (Department of Medicine I at MedUni Vienna), emphasizing the significance of the findings. Active substance developed with pain-relieving potential Pain is important to warn the body of danger and to ensure efficient healing after injuries. In many cases, however, post-operative pain becomes chronic and persists for several months after the operation, even though the body has already healed. Current treatment methods are sometimes associated with considerable side effects and often only have limited effectiveness. In the search for alternatives, research into the molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in post-operative pain perception has long been the focus of medical science. A promising approach has now been found by blocking BH4 production in mast cells. The team led by Starkl, Penninger and Cronin has already developed a therapeutic approach in which an active substance can be applied directly to the skin in order to specifically and prophylactically reduce the BH4 concentration. "We see great potential here for a local and targeted therapy option to reduce both post-operative pain and the likelihood of the pain becoming chronic," emphasize the study authors in advance of further investigations that are intended to deepen and confirm the results. How old are you, really? Your chronological age is the number of years you have been alive. Your biological age is how old your cells are which scientists believe may better assess one's age-related health and disease risk. People biologically age at different rates, depending on genetic and environmental factors, so that a person's chronological age does not necessarily match their biological age. In recent years, direct-to-consumer biological age tests have become increasingly accessible and popular as interest has increased in this nascent science. Many of these tests work by looking at distinct changes to the DNA in a patient's blood or saliva. These changes become more abundant as cells age, a phenomenon known as the "epigenetic clock." Importantly, though, it is currently unknown if the epigenetic clock advances at a similar pace in about 200 different cell types in the human body. A recent study by Konrad Hochedlinger, Rebecca Gorelov, and colleagues from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, USA, published in Stem Cell Reports, aims to shed light on this question, asking how the presence of stem cells within a given tissue or organ impacts its epigenetic clock. When measuring DNA changes in every single cell of a tissue individually, rather than in all cells mixed together, it became evident the stem cells in skeletal muscle, blood, and trachea had a lower epigenetic age than the more mature cells. A comparatively younger epigenetic age was not a universal feature of stem cells, though, as stem cells in other tissues such as skin and intestine had the same epigenetic age as the more mature cells. Further experiments showed that the epigenetic age of a stem cell is linked to the rate at which it divides and makes new cells regenerate and repair its tissue of origin. This rate was comparably higher in skin and intestine than in muscle or blood. This research shows that the epigenetic age of a tissue as a whole is influenced by the frequency and activity of its stem cells, which in itself is subject to change in response to aging, injury, or disease. These findings have important repercussions for the interpretation of commercial biological age tests and will help to refine their fidelity and utility for the future. Former President Donald Trump claimed at a recent campaign rally that more than 300,000 Americans are dying each year from the synthetic opioid drug fentanyl, and that the number of fentanyl overdoses was the "lowest" during his administration and has skyrocketed since. "We're losing 300,000 people a year to fentanyl that comes through our border," Trump told his supporters at a July 24 campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina. "We had it down to the lowest number and now it's worse than it's ever been," he said. Trump's figures appear to have no basis in fact. Government statistics show the number of drug overdose deaths per year is hovering around 100,000 to 110,000, with opioid-related deaths at about 81,000. That's enough that the government has labeled opioid-related overdoses an "epidemic," but nowhere close to the number Trump cited. Moreover, though the number of opioid deaths has risen since Trump left office, it's incorrect to claim they were the "lowest" while he was president. Numbers are high, but nowhere near Trump's claim Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt wouldn't comment specifically on the source for Trump's statistics. She instead sent KFF Health News an email with several bullet points about the opioid crisis under the heading: "DRUGS ARE POURING OVER HARRIS' OPEN BORDER INTO OUR COMMUNITIES." One such bullet noted that there were "112,000 fatal drug overdoses" last year and linked to a story from NPR reporting that fact directly rebutting Trump's own claim of 300,000 fentanyl deaths. Additionally, the number NPR reported is an overall figure, not for fentanyl-related deaths only. More recent government figures estimated that there were 107,543 total drug overdose deaths in 2023, with an estimated 74,702 of those involving fentanyl. Those figures were in line with what experts on the topic told KFF Health News. "The number of actual deaths is probably significantly higher," said Andrew Kolodny, medical director for the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at Brandeis University, noting that many such overdose deaths go uncounted by government researchers. "But I dont know where one would get that number of 300,000," Kolodny added. Trump's claim that fentanyl deaths were the "lowest" during his administration and are now worse than ever is also off the mark. Overdose deaths specifically those from synthetic opioids such as fentanyl started climbing steadily in the 1990s. When Trump took office in January 2017, the number of overdose deaths related to synthetic opioids was about 21,000. By January 2021, when he left the White House, that tally was nearing 60,000, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Vital Statistics System shows. Deaths involving synthetic opioids continued to increase after Trump left office. "Theres some truth to saying that there are more Americans dying [of opioids] than ever before," Kolodny said. "But again, if you were to look at trends during the Trump administration, deaths just pretty much kept getting worse." In the last year, though, statistics show that overdose numbers have plateaued or fallen slightly, though it's too soon to say whether that trend will hold. Given that Trump's claims about fentanyl came when discussing the southern border "invasion," it's worth noting that, according to the U.S. government, the vast majority of fentanyl caught being smuggled into the country illegally comes via legal ports of entry. Moreover, nearly 90% of people convicted of fentanyl drug trafficking in 2022 were U.S. citizens, an analysis by the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, showed. That year, U.S. citizens received 12 times as many fentanyl trafficking convictions as did immigrants who were in the U.S. without authorization, the analysis showed. Our ruling Trump said, We're losing 300,000 people a year to fentanyl that comes through our border. We had it down to the lowest number and now it's worse than it's ever been. Annual U.S. fentanyl deaths have increased since he left office, but Trump's claim about 300,000 deaths has no basis in fact and is contradicted by figures his press secretary shared. Trump is wrong to assert that overdoses were the lowest when he was president. Moreover, Trump continues to link fentanyl trafficking to illegal immigration a claim statistics do not support. We rate Trump's claim Pants on Fire! Our sources Cato Institute, U.S. Citizens Were 89% of Convicted Fentanyl Traffickers in 2022, Aug. 23, 2023. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Overdose Deaths Decrease in 2023, First Time Since 2018, May 15, 2024. C-SPAN, Former President Trump Campaigns in Charlotte, North Carolina, July 24, 2024. Department of Homeland Security, Fact Sheet: DHS Is on the Front Lines Combating Illicit Opioids, Including Fentanyl, Dec. 22, 2023. Email exchange with Karoline Leavitt, national press secretary for Donald J. Trump for President, July 29, 2024. National Vital Statistics System, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Provisional Drug Overdose Death Counts, July 7, 2024. NPR, In 2023 Fentanyl Overdoses Ravaged the U.S. and Fueled a New Culture War Fight, Dec. 28, 2023. Phone interview with Andrew Kolodny, medical director for the Opioid Policy Research Collaborative at Brandeis University, July 31, 2024. Bioactive compounds like polyphenols and their health benefits have long captured public attention and interest. Commonly present in plant-based food like fruits, vegetables, seeds, coffee, and tea, the polyphenols have a strong bitter taste and, in the normal course, is excreted by our body due to poor absorption. The polyphenols interact with human bitter taste receptors also known as Type 2 taste receptors (T2R) expressed within and outside the oral cavity. Notably, the activation of T2R expressed along the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is responsible for the bioactivity of ingested polyphenols. The scientific mechanisms beyond T2R activation leading up to the reported health benefits of polyphenols are unclear. With over 8,000 types of polyphenols and 25 types of human T2R, this is a crucial gap in knowledge. With a focus to fill in this gap, a team of researchers led by Professor Naomi Osakabe from Shibaura Institute of Technology, Japan, along with Dr. Makoto Ohmoto from the Takasaki University of Health and Welfare, Japan, Dr. Yasuyuki Fujii and Dr. Takafumi Shimizu from Shibaura Institute of Technology, Japan, and Dr. Keiko Abe from University of Tokyo, Japan, and Dr. Vittorio Calabrese from University of Catania, Italy, conducted a review to understand the interaction between the polyphenols and T2R and the resulting health benefits. Their findings were published on 18 June 2024 in the journal of Food Bioscience. Professor Osakabe asserts, "Despite their poor absorption, there are reports that polyphenols improve glucose tolerance. We are investigating the relationship between polyphenol intake and the risk of type II diabetes, as the mechanism of this beneficial effect is still unknown." The review highlights the mechanism of communication between the polyphenols, T2Rs, and the brain centers regulating glucose homeostasis and appetite. Polyphenol-mediated binding and activation of T2R in the GI tract promotes secretion of GI hormones such as cholecystokinin (CCK) and incretins. The incretins include the glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) that trigger insulin secretion and regulate blood glucose homeostasis. CCK and GLP-1 regulate appetite and food intake by influencing GI motility. Together, the GI hormones triggered by polyphenols reduce the risk of obesity and diabetes. Prof Osakabe explains, "The GI hormones are known to regulate feeding behavior and maintain glucose tolerance via the endocrine and nervous systems, thus it is possible that the bitterness of polyphenols helps to reduce the risk of diabetes and its complications, through T2R activation." Overall, the findings suggest that ingested polyphenols, despite remaining unabsorbed, promote the secretion of gastrointestinal hormones by activating bitter taste receptors expressed on the digestive secretory cells, thereby regulating blood sugar levels and appetite. Prof. Osakabe concludes, "Our study highlights the importance of consumption of polyphenols to reduce obesity and diabetes risk through regulation of blood sugar levels and appetite." As some American scholars have acknowledged, Sinophobia in the US today has reached its highest level. In fact, if someone regularly reads American newspapers, they can find a wealth of hysterical rhetoric - constantly criticizing, opposing and attacking China. In the US, Sinophobia exhibits several characteristics. First, this fear is comprehensive, covering almost all aspects, including geopolitics, military, trade, technology and systemic issues. Second, it is a government-wide phenomenon. Third, the government's fear has spread to all corners of US society, as reflected in various opinion polls. Fourth, it has a strong tendency to spread and infect other countries. In the economic realm, the US remains the world's largest economy. Whether in terms of market or technology, the US continues to be admired by many countries. In this realm, the US' fear stems from the fact that, despite the country having invested in suppressing China, the Chinese economy is not only surviving in an increasing number of areas and showing remarkable resilience, but also growing stronger. The deepest layer of the US' fear regarding China lies in the realm of systems and institutions. In this regard, US Senator Marco Rubio's statements are particularly representative. This outspoken critic of China stated that "Capitalism didn't change China. China changed capitalism," leading the US to face "this historic and catastrophic mistake." President Joe Biden framed the competition between the US and China as a struggle between "democracy" and "authoritarianism," and has shown confidence that the former will win. However, American society has long lost its confidence in US democracy. This is because US democracy is facing unprecedented internal challenges, primarily due to extreme social inequality and division. All of this fear ultimately translates into geopolitical anxiety toward China. Anything China does can be interpreted by Washington as part of its geopolitical rivalry with the US which absolutely will not tolerate any other country challenging its hegemonic position. Clearly, for China, a core issue in international relations and diplomacy for the foreseeable future is how to manage the US' Sinophobia. First, to address the US' fear of China, we need to stay calm, closely analyze how this fear is expressed and understand its reasons before developing and taking effective countermeasures. Second, it's crucial to present China in a positive light. We need to "tell China stories well." The goal of that is to help other countries understand and accept China. China stories are aimed not at anti-China critics but at the majority of foreign readers. Third, in specific areas, including economics and trade, technology, and political systems, we can respond. But we should be aware that responses must be purposeful and rational rather than simple emotional reactions. Fourth, in terms of geopolitics, China does not pursue the same ambitions as the US. Since China's major geopolitical interests are in its surrounding regions, the US concentrates on containing and encircling China in these areas. Therefore, China needs to enhance its national defense to ensure it can adequately protect itself. To effectively respond to the US, China's cooperation should extend beyond its neighboring countries, such as the Belt and Road Initiative. While the US focuses on containment and encirclement through alliances in China's surrounding regions, China emphasizes defense and seeks breakthroughs through inclusive multilateralism. Globally, while the US prioritizes national security, China focuses on economic development, helping regional countries balance their security and development needs. The US has framed the competition between China and itself as a clash of political systems, which is something China must confront directly. It is important to highlight that China's political system is tailored to Chinese civilization, culture and its national conditions. It is a non-Western system, not an anti-Western system. China does not aim to impose its system on other countries, but rather it hopes that every nation can find a political system that aligns with its civilization. At the same time, China also supports mutual learning and exchanges between countries, encouraging countries to share and adopt the best practices from different systems through civilizational dialogue. By Zheng Yongnian. The author is a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen and president of The Institute for International Affairs, Qianhai. (Source: Global Times) Viruses like SARS-CoV-2 don't respect boundaries, moving between species and continents and leaving destruction as they go. Beating the next pathogen with pandemic potential means getting good at crossing borders ourselves -; between fields of study, between research universities, and between scientists and the wider community. An $18 million grant announced by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) will put that goal within reach. The award brings together five universities and more than 20 researchers, academics, and public health experts to establish the Virginia Tech-led Center for Community Empowering Pandemic Prediction and Prevention from Atoms to Societies (COMPASS). Headquartered in the university's interdisciplinary Data and Decision Sciences Building, the center's collaborators will have access to high-tech labs, data centers, and other facilities. But the work won't be confined to the buildings or even the borders of Virginia Tech. Cornell University, the University of Michigan, Meharry Medical College, and Wake Forest University also will collaborate to meet the critical challenge of thwarting infectious diseases that threaten the global community. T.M. Murali, associate department head for research in the Department of Computer Science will direct the new center. The COMPASS Center is part of an overall $72 million NSF Predictive Intelligence for Pandemic Prevention program established to better understand how pathogens and diseases emerge and spread as well as to train the next generation of scientists to carry on the work to stop them. The project was supported by two rounds of funding from the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost that established a Virginia Tech research thrust for pandemic prediction and prevention. "This NSF award exemplifies what can be achieved by convening an interdisciplinary team of faculty committed to advancing an area of particular strength at Virginia Tech the development of predictive models and approaches necessary for management of infectious diseases that so often arise from the inextricable linkages between humans, animals, and the environment," said Executive Vice President and Provost Cyril Clarke. "Pandemic prediction and prevention is an area of scholarly emphasis selected for prioritized investment through our transdisciplinary Destination Area program." At a glance The $18 million Virginia Tech led COMPASS Center will Bring together researchers and academics from many disciplines and rally them to one focus: understanding how a virus infects its host and what it does in the body Include researchers from Cornell University, the University of Michigan, Meharry Medical College, and Wake Forest University Focus on talking with, and more importantly, listening to the needs and concerns of the public Inspire and train the next generation of scientists to further pandemic science and better connect with non-scientists about it The interdisciplinary COMPASS Center established under an $18 million National Science Foundation grant includes more than 20 collaborators across five institutions. Some of the Virginia Tech researchers and staff involved are: (top row, from left) Padma Rajagopalan, X.J. Meng, Patricia Raun, Lisa Lee, and T.M. Murali and (bottom row, from left) Leslie Thornton-O'Brien, Kylene Kehn-Hall, and Anuj Karpatne. Photo by Tonia Moxley for Virginia Tech. The majority of emerging human viruses originate from wildlife and domestic animal species. "There are many challenges in trying to determine if a virus that currently infects one or more animals can jump to humans, and when that leap can lead to a pandemic," Murali said. The center will focus on answering four key questions: How does a pathogen, like a virus, jump from one species to another? Researchers will use predictive models based on machine learning to find out how changes in a pathogen may enable it to infect new species. How does a pathogen replicate inside a host? The research group will develop new ways to create organoids -; miniaturized models of organs that mimic their key functions -; to grow a new virus, study its life cycle, and test new and existing drugs and therapies on it. What are the factors that permit a pathogen to persist in the environment? The goal of the researchers is to develop approaches that can identify the features of a pathogen or the environment that can cause inactivation. How do we empower the public with the scientific knowledge gained through this work? Faculty and students involved in COMPASS will be trained to better communicate with the public around pandemic science, and the researchers will meet with the public in community dialogues. "What we are focusing on is really trying to understand how a pathogen or a virus can shift to a new host and how it interacts with a host at a cellular, organ, or the whole body," Murali said. "Essentially, we want to discover the rules of life that govern these interactions and use that information to make the world safer." In the collaborators' words To achieve the ambitious goal of understanding and predicting how pathogens interact with hosts, collaborators will work in four crucial areas. Jumping the species barrier X.J. Meng, University Distinguished Professor of Molecular Virology at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, studies emerging and zoonotic viruses of veterinary and human public health significance and develops life-saving vaccines. "With colleagues at Cornell University and the University of Michigan, we will attempt to predict, through novel machine learning systems, which viruses will jump from animals to humans, and which specific mutations within the viral genome may enable these shifts. We will also experimentally validate the computational predictions through biological studies using human organoid cultures," Meng said. "Successful identification of genetic elements responsible for virus species jumping and adaptation will help design better prevention and control strategies against emerging viruses." Replicating inside a host Padma Rajagopalan, Robert E. Hord Jr Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, and collaborators at the Wake Forest Medical School will bring their expertise in liver and other tissues and organs to the collaboration. While viruses and other pathogens are the subject of much study, it can be very difficult to grow them in the lab. Organoids could be the key to unlocking a deeper understanding of the life cycle of an emerging virus and ways to counteract it. "We believe that 3D multicellular tissue organoids -; miniature tissue models that mimic key functions of an organ -- can be used to understand how viruses enter, propagate, and potentially cause damage to different organs either individually or when integrated together," Rajagopalan said. "On the other side of the equation, engineers, biologists and virologists can work together to test drugs that could be used against the virus and any complications it causes." Persisting in the environment University Distinguished Professor Linsey Marr in the Charles Edward Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and collaborators at the University of Michigan will seek to discover what helps emerging pathogens grow and survive and what conditions can arrest their spread. "How long a virus survives, or persists, in the environment is one key factor in its ability to spread rapidly. If SARS-CoV-2 didn't survive long in respiratory droplets, we would not have had a pandemic," Marr said. "COMPASS will help us be able to predict whether new threats, such as the H5N1 flu virus in cows, can survive for a long time in milk, or whether it would quickly die off under certain conditions." Empowering scientists and the public In 2016, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Theatre Arts Patricia Raun helped found the university's Center for Communicating Science, which she now directs. Based on a concept developed by actor and science enthusiast Alan Alda, the center uses the tools of the arts, including embodied learning, deep listening, improvisation, role play, and storytelling to train and educate everyone about science. Raun and her staff will work with COMPASS faculty and students to teach them new ways to both talk with and listen to the public. Students receiving this training will include summer interns recruited by collaborators at Meharry Medical College. "I believe it's going to take all of us to solve the world's challenging problems," Raun said. "My part of that is around helping scientists and people in highly technical fields connect with the public and communicate with us in ways we can understand." The Virginia Tech faculty collaborating within the COMPASS Center include T. M. Murali, principal investigator and center director Julie Gerdes, assistant professor of technical and professional writing and rhetoric, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences Anuj Karpatne, associate professor of computer science, College of Engineering and core faculty at the Sanghani Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics Kylene Kehn-Hall, professor of virology in the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine and director of the Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens Lisa M. Lee, interim senior associate vice president for research and innovation and director in the Division of Scholarly Integrity and Research Compliance Linsey Marr, University Distinguished Professor and Charles P. Lunsford Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering X.J. Meng, University Distinguished Professor of Molecular Virology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine and professor of internal medicine at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine Padma Rajagopalan, Robert E. Hord Jr Professor of Chemical Engineering and program director of the Computational Tissue Engineering Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program Naren Ramakrishnan, Thomas L. Phillips Professor of Engineering and director of the Sanghani Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics Patricia Raun, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Theatre Arts and director of the Virginia Tech Center for Communicating Science Next steps One of the first events that the COMPASS Center will organize is a National Dialogue on the Ethics of Pandemic Research in Washington D.C. in November. The goal of the event is to incorporate community voices and feedback into research in pandemic science. Researchers and community-based partners will collaboratively identify key ethical questions that arise in pandemic science. The center will collaborate on diverse research projects with industry, federal agencies, and international organizations. Murali expects these efforts to result in a robust public-private ecosystem to provide solutions to diverse problems in pandemic science. Chief Executive John Lee met visiting Djiboutian Prime Minister Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed at Government House today to exchange views on issues of mutual interest. While welcoming the Prime Minister's visit to Hong Kong, apart from telling him that under the one country, two systems principle, Hong Kong has the distinctive advantage of enjoying the strong support of the country and being closely connected to the world, Mr Lee stressed that it is the only city in the world that enjoys both the China advantage and the global advantage. He also emphasised that Hong Kong, as a major international financial centre and the world's largest offshore renminbi business hub, is an ideal place for Belt & Road companies and projects to raise funds, and could contribute to the economic development and co-operation of Djibouti and other African countries. Noting that there is potential to further deepen the economic and trade ties between Hong Kong and Djibouti, Mr Lee said that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government looks forward to strengthening exchanges with the government of Djibouti, with a view to exploring more business opportunities for the companies of both places. Under Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Bernard Chan and Commissioner for Belt & Road Nicholas Ho also attended the meeting. Orient Technologies IPO: The initial public offering (IPO) of information technology solutions provider Orient Technologies Ltd, which has been closed on Friday, has received a whopping response from investors. The price band of the IPO has been fixed at Rs 195-206 per share. On the final day of bidding on Friday, the 215-crore IPO has received a whopping 154.84 times subscription, garnering bids for 1,12,99,91,256 shares as against 72,97,670 shares on offer. According to the latest data, the retail quota received a 68.93 times subscription, while the non-institutional investors category also got a 310.03 times subscription. The QIB category received a 188.79 times subscription. The Orient Technologies IPO was opened for public subscription on Wednesday, August 21. Its price band has been fixed at Rs 195-Rs 206 apiece. The share allotment will likely be finalised on August 26, while its listing will take place on the NSE and BSE on August 28. Orient Technologies IPO GMP Today According to market observers, unlisted shares of Orient Technologies Ltd are trading Rs 60 higher in the grey market than its issue price. The Rs 60 grey market premium or GMP means the grey market is expecting a 29.13 per cent listing gain from the public issue. The GMP is based on market sentiments and keeps changing. Grey market premium indicates investors readiness to pay more than the issue price. Orient Technologies IPO: Analysts Recommendations Brokerage firm Master Capital Service Ltd in its IPO note said, Orient Technologies Limited expertise in developing IT products and solutions. The company offers wide range and diversified bouquet of products and services ranging from Data Centre Solutions to Cloud and Data Management Services. The company have recently ventured into Device as a service (DaaS). Under DaaS the company will provide desktops, laptops, tablets, printers, scanners, smartphones, and servers, bundled with software, along with managed services on a pay-per-use model i.e. on a subscription basis. The company plans to expand geographic footprint and cater to a broader customer base globally. The company has already set up a branch in Singapore which is primarily engaged in the business of trading of computer equipment such as servers, storage and network devices. Investors looking to invest can invest in the IPO for medium to long term, it added. Another brokerage firm Anand Rathi in its IPO note said, Orient Technologies is engaged in IT solutions and related services providing across the business verticals. OTLs business operations involves technologically advanced solutions for which the company collaborates with a wide range of technology partners including Dell International Services India Private Limited (Dell) and Fortinet, Inc. (Fortinet) and Nutanix Netherlands B.V. (Nutanix). At the upper price band, the company is valuing at P/E of 20.7x with a market cap of Rs 8,580 million post issue of equity shares and a return on net worth of 27.2 per cent. On the valuation front, we believe that the company is fairly priced. Thus, we recommend a subscribe rating to the IPO, Anand Rathi stated. Orient Technologies IPO: More Details The initial public offering (IPO) is a combination of a fresh issue of Rs 120 crore and an offer for sale of up to 46 lakh equity shares valued at Rs 95 crore, at the upper end of the price band, by promoters. This aggregates the transaction size to Rs 215 crore. Orient Technologies Ltd has fixed a price band of Rs 195-206 a share for its Rs 215-crore initial public offering. Those offloading shares in the OFS are Ajay Baliram Sawant, Umesh Navnitlal Shah, Ujwal Arvind Mhatre, and Jayesh Manharlal Shah. Proceeds from the fresh issue to the tune of Rs 79.65 crore will be used for funding capital expenditure requirements, Rs 10.35 crore for the acquisition of office premises at Navi Mumbai, and a portion will also be used for general corporate purposes. Investors can bid for a minimum of 72 equity shares and in multiples thereof. Over the years, the company has developed deep expertise in creating products and solutions for specialised disciplines across IT Infrastructure, IT Enabled Services (IteS), and Cloud and Data Management Services. Orient Technologies has a diverse clientele spanning both public and private sectors, including industries like Banking, Financial Services, Insurance (BFSI), Information Technology (IT) & ITeS, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals. It has clients such as Coal India, Mazagon Dock, DDcor, Jyothy Labs, ACG, Integreon, Bluechip, Tradebulls. The company primarily operates in India and has sales and services offices in cities across the country, including Navi Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, New Delhi, Bengaluru, and Chennai. Additionally, it has a branch office in Singapore. As of June 30, 2024, Orient Technologies order book stood at Rs 101.20 crore. Orient Technologies revenue from operations during the fiscal year 2024 increased to Rs 602.89 crore from Rs 535.10 crore in the previous year and profit after tax rose to Rs 41.45 crore in fiscal 2024 from Rs 38.30 crore in fiscal 2023. Elara Capital (India) Pvt Ltd is the sole book-running lead manager for the IPO. The equity shares are proposed to be listed on the BSE and NSE. Nestle is replacing Chief Executive Mark Schneider with long-serving executive Laurent Freixe, the company said on Thursday, a big change at the worlds biggest foodmaker which has struggled with the cost of living crisis hitting customers. Schneider has decided to relinquish his roles as CEO and member of the Board of Directors after eight years leading the company, Nestle said. Nestle has struggled recently, last month cutting its full year sales outlook, saying it had had to slow its price hikes as cash-strapped customers become more price conscious. Laurent Freixe will be taking over the position of CEO at Nestle. Shares at the maker of KitKat chocolate bars and Nestle instant coffee have fallen 8% in 2024, underperforming rivals like Unilever ULVR.L which have gained 29%. Freixe joined Nestle in 1986, and has been on the Swiss companys executive board for 16 years. In his most recent role he was CEO of Zone Americas. A veteran, knowing Nestle in and out, as well as the markets, is taking over, said Bank Vontobel analyst Jean-Philippe Bertschy. The change is effective from Sept. 1, Nestle said. The switch to Freixe is a return to the Nestles normal practice of promoting chief executives from within the company. Schneider, the former boss of German healthcare company Fresenius was Nestles first external hire for its top job in nearly a century when he took charge in 2016. The Income Tax Department conducted its largest raid to date, seizing an unprecedented Rs 352 crore in cash last year. The operation, which took place in December 2023 against a distillery group in Odisha, involved a rigorous 10-day effort of counting and securing the seized currency. On August 21, 2024, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman recognised the efforts of the Income Tax team responsible for the significant operation. The team, led by Principal Director of Income Tax Investigation SK Jha and Additional Director Gurpreet Singh, was awarded the CBDT Certificate of Excellence during a ceremony in Bhubaneswar. The event was part of the celebrations marking the 165th anniversary of the Income Tax department. The operation, which lasted for 10 days, resulted in the largest cash seizure by any agency in the country so far. On December 6 last year, Singh, a 2010 batch officer of the Indian Revenue Service (IRS), played a crucial role in the raid targeting several premises of an Odisha-based distillery group based on actionable intelligence. During the search, the department utilised a specialised scanning machine to detect valuables buried underground. To manage the massive amount of cash, 36 note-counting machines were used, and various banks and their employees assisted in the counting process. In total, Rs 351.8 crore was recovered from the operation. The Income Tax Department is now focusing on recovering outstanding tax demands. Officials are being instructed to monitor 5,000 cases where a total of Rs 43 lakh crore is to be collected. Central Industrial Security Force has announced the recruitment of 1130 Constable Firemen via a notification on August 21, 2024. Interested aspirants can fill out the applications by clicking on the CISF website, i.e.- https://cisfrectt.cisf.gov.in/. As described in the notification, out of 1,130 fire constable vacancies, 466 seats are for the general category. 144 are for the EWS (Economically Weaker Section), 153 Scheduled Caste, 161 Scheduled Tribes and 236 seats are for the OBC (Other Backward Classes). This space articulates other comprehensive details about the CISF vacancies. 1. Important Dates Online application for this vacancy will commence on August 30. The last date to fill out the form and submit the application fee is September 30, 2024. The dates for the exam and the admit card release are yet to be announced. According to a report in the Times of India, these dates will be released soon. 2. Age limit According to reports, the candidates age for this recruitment should be between 18 to 23 years. The ages will be calculated from September 30. Candidates in the SC and ST categories will get a maximum age relaxation of five years and OBC will get three years of relaxation. 3. Selection Process Selection for the vacancies of the Constable Fireman in CISF will be completed after a physical test, written examination, medical test and document verification. Initially, the candidates will undergo a physical test which includes a physical efficiency test and a physical standards test. After the test, a separate merit list will be released state-wise based on performance in the written examination. 4. Application Fee The candidates from the General, EWS and OBC categories will have to pay Rs 100 as an application fee for Constable Fireman vacancies. For the SC and ST category candidates, there are no application charges. 5. Qualifying marks The aspirants from the unreserved and EWS category will have to score at least 35 per cent. For the candidates from the SC/ST category, it is exactly 35 per cent. 6. Salary Constable Fireman in CISF will get a salary as per Level-3 (Rs 21,700-69,100) pay scale. 7. Instruction The candidates have been advised to thoroughly read the official notification to understand the state vacancy details. They should also understand the other essential criteria before applying. The Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) will roll out the round 1 seat allotment results for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test undergraduate (NEET UG 2024) for MBBS and BDS admissions today, August 23. Once the results are made available, aspirants can visit the official website of MCC at mcc.nic.in and check the MCC NEET UG counselling 2024 seat allotment. As per schedule, the Medical Counselling Committee will finish the seat allotment procedure by August 22. The committee will conduct the NEET UG counselling for 15 per cent of All India Quota seats in four rounds. It is to be noted that the registration for MBBS and BDS admissions began for all qualified candidates who enrolled and cleared the NEET UG exam held by the National Testing Agency (NTA). NEET UG Counselling 2024 Round 1 Allotment Result: How to Download Step 1: Go to the MCCs official website, mcc.nic.in. Step 2: From the homepage, click on the UG Counselling tab. Step 3: Click the link for the Round 1 allotment results. Step 4: Log in using your NEET UG roll number and password. Step 5: Download the NEET UG Counselling 2024 Round 1 allotment letter for admissions. The last date for NEET choice filling and locking was extended by a day till August 21. Candidates were given the chance to add, modify, delete and rearrange the order of preference submitted by them. However, MCC cautioned students that if they fail to complete the choice filling or registration process, they will not be considered for allotment. Following the declaration of NEET UG counselling results, selected candidates must carry all required documents to their allotted college between August 24 and August 29 for verification purposes. NEET UG Counselling 2024: MBBS Cut-Offs of Top Medical Colleges Round 1 Seat Allotment College Opening Rank Closing Rank All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi (General) 1 57 Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi (General) 58 85 Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi (General) 58 107 Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, New Delhi (General) 39 185 JIPMER, Puducherry (General) 1 277 University College of Medical Sciences, University of Delhi, Delhi (General) 127 304 Lady Hardinge Medical College for Women, New Delhi (General) 203 485 AIIMS, Bhubaneswar (General) 35 491 AIIMS, Jodhpur (General) 106 497 NEET UG 2024 counselling will be administered by MCC in four rounds, one of which would be a stray vacancy round for vacant seats. The All India Quota will be the primary focus of this phase, however state-level counselling will be used to fill the remaining 85% of MBBS and BDS seats. Candidates are encouraged to finish their registration and selection process for respective rounds as soon as possible in order to obtain a place at their preferred university. While voter apathy among urban youth is a concern in our country, this centenarian from Haryanas Karnal is eagerly waiting for October 1, when his state will go to polls for the 2024 Assembly election. Sardar Sujan Singh, who casts his vote at the Assandh Assembly constituency in Karnal has retired from the Indian Navy. He has been voting since the time ballot papers were in use. Sardar Singh had recently cast his vote in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and is super excited for the upcoming state elections as well. 103-year-old Sardar Singh who recently celebrated his birthday on August 16, had joined the Indian Navy from Lahore before Partition. He had served as Chief Mechanical Engineer before retiring. Born in 1922, Singh joined the naval forces on August 18, 1944. He served for about 24 years. It is known that Sardar Singh had played an important role in liberating Goa from the Portuguese. Singhs father had also served in the Army. Sardar Singh has set an example for others. Known to be regular in morning and evening walks, this centenarians lifestyle has influenced many around him. Though Sardar Singh currently lives in Part 2 of Sector 8 in Karnal, his native place is at Assandh assembly constituency. He casts his vote at Sheikhupura Manchuri village every election, despite staying away, carried over by his enthusiasm. Sharing his experience, Sardar Singh narrated that he used to vote through ballot paper while he was in the Navy. But over time, he started voting through EVMs. Urging people to exercise their franchise, Sardar Sujan Singh said that people should cooperate to strengthen our democracy. According to the Election Commission, there are more than 10,000 voters in Haryana, whose are more than 100 years old. Is Anil Deshmukh, former home minister of Maharashtra and senior leader of the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), planning to contest the Assembly elections against deputy Chief Minister (CM) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis from Nagpur South-West constituency? Sources say it is possible. The past few days have seen an intense battle of allegations and counter-allegations between the two leaders. Deshmukh, who is out on bail in a corruption case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has been attacking Fadnavis, alleging he pressured him to implicate other leaders of the Opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the case. According to Deshmukh, a person approached him to implicate four former ministers of the MVA government, including then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, failing which, he was told he would face arrest. Deshmukh alleged that this person was sent by Fadnavis. THE NAGPUR SOUTH-WEST SEAT The Nagpur South-West seat is traditionally held by the Congress, but according to sources, the Congress leadership is ready to exchange it with NCP (SP) if Deshmukh agrees to contest. Local Congress leader Praful Gudhge is interested in contesting against Fadnavis, and for the past two-three years, he has been active in this constituency. According to party workers who spoke to News18 on condition of anonymity, Senior Congress leader and former Cabinet Minister Sunil Kedar is very active in the Nagpur South-West constituency. He is helping Praful Gudhge contest against Fadnavis. Kedar recently lost his membership in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly as he was arrested in an old bank fraud case. He is out on bail. Sources said that Deshmukh is keen to contest against Fadnavis. If this happens, Deshmukh will become the third person from his family to contest against Fadnavis. In 2004, former Cabinet Minister and Deshmukhs brother, Ranjit, had contested against Fadnavis and was defeated. Then, in the last state assembly polls, his son, Ashish, had contested against Fadnavis and lost. Currently, Ashish is in the BJP. According to sources in the BJP, Deshmukh levelled these allegations against Fadnavis to gain traction so that it becomes easier for him to enter the constituency and start his preparations. The sources also indicated that Deshmukh has already started his preparations for the assembly polls and is in talks with the party high command to negotiate for the Nagpur South-West seat, likely vacating his traditional seat of Katole for his son Salil, who has been active since Deshmukh was arrested in the corruption cases. In the absence of Deshmukh, Salil has been seen meeting people in the constituency and attending party meetings at the party headquarters in Mumbai. The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference has announced an alliance with the Congress for the upcoming J&K assembly elections. The seat-sharing arrangement is still being worked out but the decision is significant in many ways. National Conference president Farooq Abdullah told the media he was delighted that an alliance had decided to fight the polls. The development came after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and MP Rahul Gandhi met Farooq and his son Omar at their residence in Srinagar for an hour. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which is a member of the INDIA bloc, has been left out again. During the April-June Lok Sabha elections, the NC and Congress had gone together, saying there was limited scope for bringing in the PDP with only six seats, though a war of words had ensued between the two regional parties. The alliance though included the Communist Party of India (Marxist) led by MY Tarigami in the Valley. Jammu and Kashmir will vote in three phases on September 18, September 25, and October 1 for a total of 90 assembly constituencies. The counting of votes will take place on October 4. These will be the first assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir as a union territory and without Ladakh as a part of it after the abrogation of J&Ks special status in August 2019. Ladakh was turned into a UT but without a legislature. Ladakh had four seats in the J&K assembly, out of which three were won by the Congress in the 2014 assembly elections. The NC and Congress are yet to decide on some seats. The Congress, according to sources, wants nine seats, including Tral and Central Shaltang, but the NC is unwilling on some of them. The formula, sources said, is based on the candidates and their winning abilities. We (NC-Congress) have been able to build a consensus on most seats. On some seats, Congress local leaders arent willing to give and, on a few seats, we arent willing. We will sit again today and try to bring others seats in alliance," former chief minister Omar Abdullah said. Why National Conference is in drivers seat The National Conference won two out of the three Lok Sabha seats it fielded candidates on while Omar Abdullah lost from the Baramulla constituency. The Congress lost two seats in Jammu to the Bharatiya Janata Party and one in Ladakh to an independent candidate, who is linked to the NC. The data of the assembly segments from the Lok Sabha elections show that the National Conference would emerge as the single largest party with victory in 34 assembly segments. This has made the party believe that it would win handsomely in the assembly polls. In 2019, the NC won 30 assembly segments in the Lok Sabha polls. In the recent Lok Sabha polls, Omar lost to a dark horse, jailed Independent candidate Sheikh Abdul Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, who many believe won due to a sympathy wave after relentless campaigning by his sons who told the people that the victory of their father would ensure his release. Analysts believe Rashid also got votes from those who supported separatism in the Valley. He got the highest number of votes in 15 assembly segments out of 18. The NC believes it can clinch better results in these segments that it lost. The Congress performed poorly in both 2019 and 2024 and won just 16 and seven assembly segments respectively. In the Lok Sabha polls, the National Conference also won many segments in the Jammu region, including Nowshera, Rajouri ST, Surankore, Poonch Haveli, and others. Whether the voting pattern remains the same this time is a larger question. For the Congress, it's about defeating the BJP and gaining momentum after the exit of senior J&K leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who also took with him several other senior leaders and formed his own party, which didn't do well. With the alliance, the National Conference will kill the narrative built by parties in the Valley of the Abdullahs joining hands with the BJP in case of a fractured mandate, observers say. Fractured mandate looms? The BJP has a significant foothold in the Jammu region where it expects to win most of the seats. In Kashmir, the party has previously failed to gain any solid foothold but has decided to go solo on all the 90 seats. The BJP, analysts say, may not be able to get a huge turnaround in the Valley in these assembly elections. The assembly segment-wise voting data shows that no party had a majority while the BJP stood as the second largest party but slipped one assembly segment down, from 30 in 2019 to 29 in 2024. If the voting pattern doesn't change much, a fractured mandate looms in Jammu and Kashmir. Earlier this year, Omar Abdullah had told reporters that his party wouldn't ally with the BJP. "Let me make it clear that there is no food, window, or even a crack open for the NDA. We are not going to knock at their doors and there is no possibility of us joining them," he had said while reacting to a report that Farooq Abdullah had hinted at the possibility of his party joining the NDA. The 2024 Lok Sabha election data shows that the INDIA bloc in J&K, comprising the NC, PDP, and Congress, had a combined tally of 46 assembly segments, while the majority mark is 45. To counter the rise of the NC and Congress, the BJP has brought Ram Madhav, its old hand in Jammu and Kashmir. Madhav, who was appointed the J&K in-charge, is known to have connections in all parties of the Valley. He was also credited for bringing two ideologically divergent parties, BJP and PDP, together in 2014, and his experience could help the saffron party in case of a fractured mandate. Political parties floated after the abrogation of Article 370 sections, which are called proxies of the BJP by regional outfits like NC and PDP, couldn't make a significant difference in the electoral landscape of the Valley. The BJP was also banking on their victories to later form a government. This leaves a larger question: will any party be in a position to form a government in J&K? The 1954 Allis Chalmers WD-45 tractor had been a part of Jason Alexanders family and farm in Wyoming since his grandfather bought it new. Two years ago, he hauled it to Nebraska and students at BHS auto mechanics II class began the restoration process, which was recently completed. My Grandpa Alexander and his parents came across Nebraska in a covered wagon, said Alexander, superintendent of Beatrice Public Schools. They homesteaded in Lusk, Wyoming. He married at a young age, and they moved a short distance to Manville. His grandparents had purchased approximately 460 acres of land and bought the tractor. Alexander said he remembered riding on the tractor when he was young. I remember as a kid sitting on my grandpas lap on the tractor. We would be mowing hay or pulling fence wire. As I got older, I remember driving it, he said. The old orange tractor had sat unused in a shed for several years before arriving in the shop at Beatrice High School. Teacher Chris Cullison said he thought it was a good experience for the students. I think it gave the students knowledge about what the older technology was like, he said. It was good for them to see what it was like when it came in and be a part of the restoration process, and then see it when it was finished. Student Andrew Enns did the majority of the restoration work. The best part was being able to help Mr. Alexander out since he needed someone who could help him in that way, he said. I was the guy for that, and it was a great learning experience for me to understand it better and see how it all works. Alexander said it was a process. Andrew would dig in and diagnose what was wrong and what needed to be fixed. He would send me a list of parts and where I could order them. When the parts arrived, I would deliver them to the school and be able to see the progress. A few other students helped, but he was really into it, said Alexander, who paid for all the materials to refurbish the tractor. Enns said he had helped his dad, Jerry, with tractor restoration projects in the past. I hadnt dug into ours as I had Alexanders tractor, so that was good experience, Enns said. Alexander said most of the parts were purchased locally. Some of the parts came from NAPA, and they are great people and really took an interest in the tractor. The tires were ordered from Larrys Tires. Then there is Don Nelson, who is a local man who has been really helpful in getting parts from tractors he has collected over the years. Shawn VanLaningham painted the tractor, Alexander said. Alexander said it was a collaborative effort. It was like everything else. When you have a collaborative group of people working, it all comes together in the end and made a 1954 used tractor look like its brand new, he said. The tractor is done except for the hydraulic pump that is still leaking a little fluid. The bright orange restored Allis Chalmers WD-45 now sits in a storage building with plans to be displayed at tractor shows next summer. Alexander said it was a neat moment when they moved the tractor to storage. When Andrew said he had done all he could and needed to get ready to go to college, we met. It was a neat moment as I stood beside Andrew knowing he had put all that time into it the last two years as a school project. Then I got on the tractor to drive it to storage. It just brought back so many memories of being on the tractor with my grandpa. I am really thankful for Andrew and his knowledge, he said. Enns graduated from Beatrice High last spring and will be starting classes in late August at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he is majoring in engineering. He hopes to be able to take the tractor to the Deer Creek Sodbusters Show near Sterling in August 2025 since Allis Chalmers is the feature tractor of the show. How remarkable it would be if blood tests can detect cancer and open up a whole new world of hope. These tests could be especially useful in finding silent cancers such as pancreatic or ovarian cancer, which often dont cause any symptoms until the disease is advanced and more difficult to treat. Cancer is responsible for 18% of deaths from noncommunicable diseases, making it the second leading cause of mortality in the country. In 2022 alone, an estimated 14 lakh new cancer cases occurred in India, a number expected to rise by 12% by 2025. Among women, breast, cervical, ovarian, and colorectal cancers are most common, while lung, esophageal, colorectal, and stomach cancers dominate among men. How Useful is Cancer Screening? When cancer is detected late, the chances of survival fall while the cost of care and treatment skyrockets. Moreover, early detection of cancer can make the disease easier to treat, causing less suffering and increasing life expectancy. It has been studied that the cancer screening programme depends on the percentage of people who complete the test and receive their results on time. The higher the uptake in detecting cancer, the better are the chances to reduce death and ensure cost-effective treatment. Campaigns to increase uptake have only shown modest results, highlighting the need for more innovative solutions to cancer screenings, as per a report by The Hindu. Many countries have established national screening programmes for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers. In England, the National Health Service aims to increase the proportion of people diagnosed at an early stage from 50% to 75% by 2028. Most European countries, North America, Australia, and parts of Asia have adopted organised cancer screening, but in low- and middle-income countries like India, such programs are still uncommon. How Blood Tests Detect Early Signals? A multi-cancer early detection (MCED) test measures cancer signals, which are biological substances shed by cancers such as fragments of tumour DNA. Some can also identify the tissue or the organ involved. If a signal is found, the test can often pinpoint the cancers location, helping doctors plan the appropriate care pathway. The test can detect up to 50 types of cancer, including ovarian, liver, stomach, pancreatic, and esophageal cancers, which currently lack recommended early screening tests. It can also alert individuals to difficult-to-detect and aggressive cancers and is particularly recommended for adults and those at higher risk. According to experts, advancement in machine learning tools, discoveries in tumour biology and the ability to recognise circulating DNA and other substances in blood have made these tests possible, a report in The Washington Post said. The US Food and Drugs Association (FDA) and Indias Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) have not approved MCED tests, but some companies are offering tests to doctors and consumers as laboratory-developed tests (LTDs) at Rs 15,000 per instance. What are the Limitations of Blood Tests? Experts have warned that there is no evidence that finding cancer through a blood test would mean longer survival and fewer deaths. Also, MCED tests do not assess genetic predispositions or inherited genetic changes related to cancer. Experts say the tests are not yet ready to replace colonoscopy, mammography or Pap smear but are meant to complement them. MCED tests also have a risk of false positives, which means a test indicates cancer when there is none. When several MCED tests are used for screening, the false positive increases by 50%. But when it is combined with traditional screening, the false positive rate decreases significantly. Therefore, the US FDA advises that after a positive MCED result, patients and clinicians should receive quick, comprehensive instructions on diagnostic evaluations required to confirm and understand a suspected cancer after a positive test. Can Blood Tests Save Lives? The tests are several years away from widespread use because so many questions remain unanswered such as whether the use of tests should be based on age, risk factors or family history. It is also unclear how frequently should a person take these tests, say experts. India launched its screening programme for most common cancers in 2010 under the NPCDCS programme. However, due to competing priorities for health-care expenditures as well as shifting political and economic situations in the nation as a whole, the process of early detection and treatment of cancers has not received its due attention. What are Cancer Screening Behaviours in India? In 2020, Indias cancer cases were estimated at 1.32 million (International Agency for Research on Cancer et al., 2020) and were predicted to double by 2040. The growing incidence of cancer in India, estimated at 1.32 million cases in 2020, is compounded by the economic burden of the disease, according to a study. The 4th edition of Apollo Hospitals Health of Nation Report released on the World Health Day 2024 warns of a potential healthcare crisis as conditions like pre-diabetes, pre-hypertension, and mental health disorders manifest at younger ages. A high proportion of Indians were also at risk for Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Dr Preetha Reddy, Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals, stressed the importance of addressing non-communicable diseases collectively. We strongly believe that the healthcare ecosystem and the nation need to come together and have a unified outlook so that we can combat NCDs in the truest sense. The findings demonstrated a significant need for immediate interventions to fight, prevent and reverse the growing epidemic of cancer, diabetes, hypertension and obesity among others. The need to educate the public and create individualised preventive healthcare solutions has never been greater, Dr Reddy said, as quoted by Mint. The presidential election in the United States takes place every four years on the first Tuesday in November. Candidates must be at least 35 years old, born in the US, and living in the country for the previous 14 years in order to be eligible. The race for the White House this time is between former US President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, and Vice President Kamala Harris, the nominee of the Democratic Party. Traditionally, candidates make their intention to run for President public in the year before the election takes place. Since there is no national authority which conducts the elections, local authorities organise the polls with the help of thousands of administrators. Who Can Vote If youre a US citizen and youre 18 or over, you should be eligible to vote in the presidential election. One Year Before Elections Candidates from the two main political parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, begin their campaigns. They set up their teams and tour the country to rally support and fundraise. Start of Campaigns Candidates from both parties participate in televised debates. During the debates, each candidate will have to answer tough questions about their policies as well as defend their stance on issues and policies against other candidates Primaries and Caucuses There are many people who want to be President, each with their own ideas about how the government should work. People with similar ideas belong to the same political party. This is where primaries and caucuses come in. Candidates from each political party campaign throughout the country to win the favour of their party members. Beginning in February the main voting events Primaries and Caucuses lead to a selection of delegates who represent the people at the upcoming conventions. The main focus is on the results from Iowa New Hampshire Nevada and South Carolina which can usually determine who the final presidential nominee for each party will be. In a Caucus: Party members select the best candidate through a series of discussions and votes. In a Primary: Party members vote for the best candidate that will represent them in the general election. Delegates And Superdelegates Each state, the District of Columbia, and some US territories are allocated a number of delegates, usually determined by population size. In addition, a formula is used to adjust the number by rewarding states that, for example, voted for the last partys presidential candidate. These delegates represent their state in the national party convention and vote to decide each partys presidential candidate. There are two main types of delegates: Pledged delegates who have to support the candidate to whom they were assigned in a primary or caucus Unpledged or superdelegates who can choose freely which candidate they would like to support National Conventions Each party holds a national convention to select a final presidential nominee. State delegates from the primaries and caucuses selected to represent the people will endorse their favourite candidates and the final presidential nominee from each party is officially announced at the end of the conventions. The presidential candidate also chooses a running mate (vice presidential candidate). The presidential candidates campaign throughout the country to win the support of the general population. General Election People in every state vote for one President and Vice President. When Americans go to the polls in November they will select their favourite presidential candidate and their running mate. When people cast their vote, they are actually voting for a group of people called electors. Except in the states of Maine and Nebraska, if a candidate receives the majority of the votes from the people of a state then the candidate will receive all electoral votes of that state. The presidential nominee with the most electoral votes becomes the President of the United States. Electoral College The Electoral College is a process in which electors or representatives from each state in number proportional to the states population cast their vote and determine who will be president. Each state gets a certain number of electors based on its representation in Congress. There are a total of 538 electors selected according to each states policy. Each elector casts one vote following the general election and the candidate who gets more than half (270) wins. Presidential Inauguration Usually, a winner is declared on the night of the election, but in 2020 it took a few days to count all the votes. The period after the election is known as the transition if there is a change of president, which is time for the new administration, including cabinet ministers, to form and plan for the new term. The newly elected President and Vice President are inaugurated in January. The President is officially sworn into office in January in a ceremony known as the inauguration, held on the steps of the Capitol building in Washington DC. Work from home had become a norm nearly two years ago when Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, and many of the countries were under lockdowns due to the widespread infections. When restrictions eased in 2022, many offices opened in a hybrid set-up to ensure the work-life balance is maintained as many people were still reeling under post Covid trauma. Now, in 2024, many software companies and even others have maintained the hybrid work arrangement to suit employees needs. However, many tech CEOs have underlined this change as an impediment to companys growth and transformation. Recently, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has complained about workers not working enough from office, which has put the company behind others in the AI race. Google decided that work-life balance and going home early and working from home was more important than winning, Schmidt told Stanford students. And the reason startups work is because the people work like hell. The video was later removed from Standfords YouTube channel. Schmidt, however, has taken back his claims, telling that he misspoke about Google and their work hours, in an email to The Wall Street Journal, adding, I regret my error. Who are Other Tech CEOs Opposing Work from Home? Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said people who work from home are not efficient and engineers who come to the office get more work done. Yelp CEO and Co-founder Jeremy Stoppelman had a very strong response to hybrid offices, calling them the worst of both worlds. In a recent interview with The Washington Post, he noted that two things had become increasingly clear following the pandemic: workers want to do their jobs remotely and the company benefits from meeting the demand. AirBnB CEO Brian Chesky, in an interview to The Washington Post, said, The office as we know it is over. It is an anachronistic form factor from a pre-digital age. He also stated that, Hybrid work is also not the ideal. In May 2022, AirBNB introduced a new remote-first that allows employees to live and work from anywhere in their country without a change in pay. Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield on remote work is very different now. He told The Washington Post, If you asked [me] in February of 2020, could the whole company go remote and maintain the same level of productivity? I would have said no. When something you thought was impossible turns out to be possible, youve got to ask yourself, What else do I think is impossible that could actually be possible? OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told Fortune Magazine that tech industrys worst mistake was to allow their employees to go full remote forever. I would say that the experiment on that is over, and the technology is not yet good enough that people can be full remote forever, particularly on startups. Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk told CNBC remote work was morally wrong. I think that the whole notion of work from home is a bit like the fake Marie Antoinette quote, Let them eat cake. Its not just a productivity thing. I think its morally wrong. When WFH Became a Norm At Google Schmidt, who led Google from 2001 to 2011, before handing the reins back to the search giants co-founder Larry Page, stayed on as Googles executive chairman and technical advisor until 2020. Since then, work from home work in office has undergone a huge transformation. Even after the pandemic, many companies are allowing their employees to work from home at least for part of the week. Now, like most firms, Google has asked workers to come into offices around three days a week, per the companys 2022 Diversity Annual Report. It has also begun formally tracking office badge swipes and using it as a metric in performance reviews. Not just Google, other large tech firms (including Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft) advised those employees who wished to continue to work remotely they could expect a pay cut based on their current location. How Work From Office Mandate is Increasing Attrition Several researches suggest that workers would quit their jobs if forced to return to their companys towers. Reports show that many leaders who have enforced work from office have faced more attrition than they anticipated. Also, employees who dont quit in anger are likely to feel less motivated in office. Around 99% of companies who have mandated Return To Office (RTO) have seen a drop in engagement, according to a report by the Fortune. A report by staffing solutions and HR services provider Genius Consultants said 82% of employees have expressed concerns, citing the increasing availability of work-from-home job opportunities in the market. Amid these concerns, most employees stressed the need for flexibility, with 56% believing that employers should provide relaxations or work-from-anywhere benefits for on-site employees whose home location differs from their office posting. The report was based on an online survey among 1,213 employees across sectors like banking and finance, education, FMCG, hospitality, HR solutions, IT, ITES, and manufacturing. What Remote vs Hybrid Working Looks Like? When some team members work in the office, theres an automatic divide between them and those who work remotely. People who work in office and meet each other every day share a closer bond and build camaraderie quicker that those who work from home. While there may be some overlapping work hours, remote employees usually have the freedom to create a personal work from home schedule. Many hybrid companies still prefer using a synchronous communication style, which requires you to respond to messages right away and at a moments notice throughout the day. A hybrid work model may pose a challenge when you want to advance in your career. Since hybrid workers are not seen on the premises, it would be difficult for them to get noticed for promotion. Union home and cooperation minister Amit Shah will chair a review meeting on Left Wing Extremism (LWE) along with an examination of the development work in Chhattisgarh on Saturday. The minister will start a series of meetings on Saturday and will be in Chhattisgarh till Sunday. Top officials like Intelligence Bureau director Tapan Deka and new home secretary Govind Mohan will attend the meetings apart from the chiefs of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Chhattisgarh police. As per Shahs itinerary, he will arrive in Raipur on Friday night. His schedule for Saturday includes a visit to the Mahaprabhu Vallabhacharya Ashram, followed by an inter-state coordination meeting with the chief secretaries and directors general of police from Chhattisgarh and neighbouring states. In the afternoon, he will conduct a meeting focused on security and development in Left Wing Extremism-affected areas. On Sunday, the minister will inaugurate the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) Raipur office and hold a review meeting followed by a meeting on the expansion of cooperatives in Chhattisgarh. According to the ministry of home affairs, the Government of India assists the LWE-affected states by providing CRPF battalions, training, and funds for modernisation of state police forces, equipment, and arms, sharing intelligence, constructing fortified police stations, etc. On the development side, apart from flagship schemes, GoI has taken several specific initiatives in LWE-affected states, with a special thrust on the expansion of road networks, improving telecommunication connectivity, skilling, and financial inclusion. The ministry in a statement in Parliament said, During the last 10 years since 2014-15 Rs. 6908 crore have been released for capacity building of the LWE affected states under the Special Infrastructure Scheme (SIS), Security Related Expenditure (SRE) and Special Central Assistance (SCA) schemes. Further, Rs. 1000 crore has been given to Central Agencies for helicopters and addressing critical infrastructure in security camps in LWE affected areas, under Assistance to Central Agencies for LWE Management Scheme. According to the ministry, in the last 10 years, (since May 2014) the government has done significant expansion of the road network. 14,395 km of roads have been constructed, of which 11,474 km have been constructed in the last 10 years. To improve telecom connectivity, 5,139 mobile towers have been installed in LWE-affected areas. For financial inclusion, 1,007 bank branches and 937 ATMs have been set up in 30 most LWE-affected districts and 5,731 new post offices have been opened in LWE-affected districts since April 2015. For skill development, 46 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and 49 Skill Development Centres (SDCs) have been made functional in LWE-affected districts. The MHA says that LWE violence incidents have reduced by 73% from the high level in 2010. The resultant deaths (civilians and security forces) have reduced by 86% from an all-time high of 1,005 in 2010 to 138 in 2023. In the current year (up to 30.06.2024), there has been a sharp reduction of 32% in LWE-perpetrated incidents and 17% in the resultant deaths of civilians and security force personnel in comparison to the figures of the corresponding period in 2023. The Bharatiya Antariksh Station will have as many as five modules, and the first base module will be launched by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) by 2028, said chief S Somanath. The entire station with mass of about 52-tonne is likely to be completely assembled in space by 2035. The first module with a mass of around 9186 kg will not have any human re-entry capabilities, and will be robotic. This will be the smallest of all the five modules, which can fit into our current rocket LVM Mk-3. Once it is launched, then we will take the next few years to build the rest of the bigger modules. Our plan is to have as many as five modules all of which will then dock in space, said the ISRO chairman, on the sidelines of the National Space Day in New Delhi. ISRO is also in the process of building a new generation rocket Soorya to lift off the heavier modules. It will have two times more capability than the current heaviest rocket LVM Mk-3 which can lift maximum 4-tonne class satellites to Geosynchronous Orbit, and 10 tonnes to Low Earth Orbit (LEO). India has set a timeline for 2035 to assemble the entire space station in a phased manner which will then host 3-4 astronauts for varying time periods to conduct several experiments in space. Space stations are supported through international co-operation. We have been participating in the International Space Station, so we hope that when we build our station, then other countries will also participate and have joint missions, he added. CHANDRAYAAN-3 TO COLLECT LUNAR SAMPLES BY 2027 ISRO also has its eyes on the Moon with the next phase of Chandrayaan likely to be launched by 2027 to collect and bring back lunar samples. It will also demonstrate agencys space-docking capabilities. This mission requires different technologies that can enable us to escape the gravity of the moon, orbit around it, and then re-enter the Earth without getting burnt off. This is very challenging. But we need to develop this capability if we have to send a man to the Moon by 2040, said the ISRO chairman. Marking the first anniversary of its historic landing near the South Pole of the moon, ISRO also made the data collected from the Chandrayaan-3 mission available to the public. Space researchers from across the world can download and access it from the agency website. There are still fundamental questions on the moons origin, and whether it will give some clues on the creation of Earth itself. Also, can we create a habitable space on the lunar surface? We have been trying to understand various aspects, and Chandrayaan-3 team has made new findings which show the kind of volcanic activity that has happened on the moon, he added. The space agency also declared a statement on Zero Debris Mission, and urged other countries to follow. We have to keep launching satellites, but we have also decided that we will not litter space. So, once the satellites stop functioning, we will bring them to Earth, and ensure there is no collision or explosion in space, he added. From paying bribe to become an in-house staff at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital to cancellation of registration for raising voice against any irregularity, ex-students are now speaking up about the alleged corruption and malpractices under Dr Sandip Ghosh, who is under the scanner in the wake of the rape-murder of a trainee doctor on August 9. A racket was being run at RG KarIt was medical mafia raj here," ex-students tell News18. ALSO READ | Injuries on RG Kar Accused, Interrogation of Ex-Principal: Police Timeline Reveals New Details in Rape-Murder Case Dr Chandramouli Jha, an ex-student of RG Kar, who is now trying for PG from Kolkata, had protested against Dr Ghosh in 2021. We had raised our voice against corruption and lack of proper hostel facilities. We went on a hunger strike, too. But our protest was nipped in the bud. Dr Ghosh got my registration cancelled. I had to move court to get the registration. There is a threat syndicate in RG Kar. If one wants to become in-house staff, they have to pay money to the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) or Trinamool Congresss student wing. MLA Sudipto Roy is also a key player," alleged Jha. Dr Mainak from the same batch, too, faced a similar problem. He also alleged that his registration was stopped after his protest. Sources in the hospital alleged that Ghosh use to run his own racket, with a section of students working for him. Even to speak to Dr Sandip Ghosh, we had to go through the TMC students wing," alleged some doctors. From bio-waste trafficking to sale of corpses. Dr Ghosh is facing a range of allegations. Financial irregularities at the hospital will be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by Saturday morning, acting on the order of the Calcutta High Court. Doctors believe the financial irregularities are key and all those involved should be on the CBI radar. STILL LIVING IN FEAR AFTER AUGUST 14 VIOLENCE: HOSTELLERS The August 14 protest against the rape-murder took a violent turn with a mob vandalising the hospital premises. After the incident, several RG Kar hostellers left on August 15 morning. One such hosteller said she, too, had returned, and although back now, is still afraid. At least 80 per cent left the hospital hostel. Some are starting to return. We had a rally that night inside the hospital. We were attacked. While we hid inside the hostel, they were using foul language and threatening us. We spent that night in terror. Next day, I went back to my home in the district. Now I have come back, but theres fear," she said. ALSO READ | Who Was He Protecting? SC Calls Out RG Kar Ex-Principal Sandip Ghosh, Finds Gaps In Initial Rape-Murder Probe Another woman doctor told News18: That night we had to hide under benches and in toilets. We did not go back, unlike many of us. It was horrible that night. We wanted our movement for justice to go on, which is why we stayed put, but a lot of people are not back. We are living in fear." In the Supreme Court, too, during the hearing, a doctor stated that 70 health workers are feeling threatened. While the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has been deployed, they remain unconvinced about their safety. The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) in a now-withdrawn notification had announced to recruit Joint Secretaries, Directors and Deputy Secretaries through lateral entry. The announcement witnessed criticism from opposition parties, claiming it undermines the reservation rights of OBCs, SCs and STs, which forced the Narendra Modi government to revoke the decision. Concept first introduced By Congress UPA government However, the concept of lateral entry first introduced under UPA-I government, and strongly endorsed by the Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC), established in 2005 and chaired by Veerappa Moily. The ARC was tasked with recommending reforms to make the Indian administrative system more effective, transparent, and citizen-friendly. In its 10th Report titled Refurbishing of Personnel Administration Scaling New Heights, the Commission emphasised the need for reforms in personnel management within the civil services. One of its key recommendations was to introduce lateral entry into higher government positions requiring specialised knowledge and skills. Manmohan Singh proposed 10% lateral entry: It was also proposed by the Congress-led UPA-II government. On the recommendation of the sixth Central Pay Commission, the Manmohan Singh government had in January 2011, proposed to open up to 10% of posts at the Joint Secretary level for lateral induction from private sectors as reported by The Indian Express. As per the report, a note by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had said that the lateral entrants would be selected by UPSC based on their CVs and an interview/limited competitive test. The commission had recommended the PMO of identifying several posts which require technical or specialised skills/ knowledge not encadred in any of government services to be filled with suitable candidates on contract. In 2013, DoPT and UPSC examined the recommendations with the latter agreeing to make selection according to its mandate. As per the records accessed by the national daily, a concept note on the proposal was communicated and various ministries and departments were asked to identify posts requiring specified skillset and knowledge. The note was recirculated in June 2014 but, according to official records, very few responses were received and the proposal didnt take off. Lateral entry in Modis tenure: In 2014, the government changed and Narendra Modi took over the charge as prime minister. During his tenure in 2017, the lateral entry scheme was again discussed and was decided to keep the UPSC out of the ambit and the process would be carried by two selection committees made of Secretaries and external experts. However, the DoPT flagged that the UPSC (Exemption from Consultation) Regulation would have to be amended if these posts were to be filled via this method. As the members of these services are initially recruited by UPSC, the Commission is not consulted while picking such officers on deputation. Under the lateral entry scheme, the field of selection was wide open to external candidates and since these posts will have the character of other Group A posts of Central Governmentconsultation of UPSC is mandatory. So, the government decided to hand over the lateral entry recruitment to the UPSC. In 2018, it was formally introduced and announced vacancies for senior positions such as Joint Secretaries and Directors, marking the first time that professionals from both the private and public sectors were invited to apply for these high-level roles. The UPSC said it would recommend one candidate at a time and keep two other names on the reserve list for each post. It further clarified that the process of selection is being considered as a one-time affair and not a routine process to be continued every year. This initiative was influenced by the recommendations of the second ARC, which had earlier laid the conceptual groundwork for lateral entry. Allegations have surfaced against Manish Jaiswal, the principal of the Government GNM Training Institute in Bihars Bettiah, involving alcohol consumption and inappropriate behaviour. A photo has emerged showing Jaiswal drinking alcohol and receiving a massage in his office. GNM students, distressed by the principals actions, have sent a letter with these images to the Chief Minister and Health Minister, questioning the lack of action despite their previous complaints. The students highlighted that the principals behaviour contradicts the states prohibition stance, urging the Chief Minister to address their concerns. They also noted that although the Bettiah Civil Surgeon was instructed to investigate, no follow-up actions had been taken. In response, Jaiswal claimed that the allegations are part of a conspiracy by his opponents and that the photos have been edited to defame him. He asserted that the accusations were unfounded. The Civil Surgeon of Bettiah had initially been ordered by Dr Sunil Kumar Jha, Director General of Nursing, to conduct a confidential investigation. Despite confirming the principals misconduct, no corrective measures were implemented, and the controversial images continued to circulate publicly. In a horrendous incident, a four-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a 22-year-old man in Delhis Shahbad Dairy area, the police said on Thursday. According to the police, the incident took place on Wednesday at around 3pm when the accused, identified as Naseem Ilyas Paalak, took the minor girl with himself on the pretext of giving her candies and chocolates and committed the crime. Later the accused left the girl near her house in the evening. The victim then shared the ordeal with her family, after which they informed the police. The police said that a call regarding the sexual assault was received on Wednesday evening. The victims father told the police that his four-year-old daughter was lured by the accused man, who lives in their neighbourhood, and then later returned at around 6 pm. #WATCH Delhi: DCP Outer North Ravi Kumar Singh says, On August 21, we received a call from Shahbad Dairy that a girl was kidnapped and a neighbour tried to sexually assault her. Taking action in the case, we rescued the girl and got her medical done. Based on the complaint of pic.twitter.com/fiYbMLBG2w ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 The police immediately took the victim to BSA hospital where she was examined and provided medical assistance. The victim was then counselled by a team of counsellors. The police filed an FIR under section 137(2) of the BNS and 6/18 POCSO Act and 3(2)(va) SC/ST(POA) Act. Multiple teams were formed and several raids were conducted at several locations and the accused was apprehended on Thursday, the police said. After the incident, some angry residents tried to torch the residence of the accused, an officer said, adding the police brought the situation under control. Earlier, two four-year-old girls were sexually abused by a male attendant in a washroom at a local school in Maharashtras Badlapur town. The FIR in the case was lodged on August 16 and the accused, who was working as a cleaner on contract via a third-party company, was arrested on August 17 after the girls parents pressed for a formal complaint despite an initial delay in filing the FIR. A local court on Wednesday extended his police custody till August 26. The incident came amid the ongoing protests and outrage in the wake of the gruesome rape and murder of a trainee doctor in RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata. The horrendous crime has shaken the country with the nationwide protests demanding speedy justice. (With inputs from PTI) The Ministry of Home Affairs has engaged Indias premier educational institutions to train police officers to address the countrys cyber infrastructure needs. A special wing of Cyber Commandos is set to launch next month, with 346 commandos from various state police forces will get training. According to an official communication reviewed by News18, apart from the National Police Academy, institutions such as IIT Kanpur, IIT Madras, IIT Kottayam, IIIT Naya Raipur, RRU Gandhinagar, and NFSU Delhi have been tasked with training the first batch of Cyber Commandos. The Cyber Commando Programme is designed to create a core group of highly trained police personnel who will take up the responsibility of securing infrastructure in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), incident response, and digital forensics in their respective organisations. They will also serve as a national resource, a senior official said while quoting an official communication sent to all states and Union Territories. These cyber experts will act in the event of cyberattacks and to address cyber threats. Fifteen institutes have been shortlisted for the training of Cyber Commandos across the country. Initially, ten institutes Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad; Rashtriya Raksha University, Gandhinagar; NFSU Delhi; NFSU Gandhinagar; IIT Kanpur; IIT Madras; IIIT Kottayam; IIIT Naya Raipur; DIAT Pune; and NFSU Goa have been selected for the first phase of training. Candidates selected for training include investigation officers and senior officers. The inauguration program is scheduled for September 10, 2024, in New Delhi, where Home Minister Amit Shah will interact with the Cyber Commandos, according to a senior official. This project is part of the 100 Days Key Action Plan. As part of this plan, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has finalised the inauguration of several initiatives, including Samanvaya (Joint Management Information System), Cyber Commandos, and the Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre (CFMC). An event is planned for the second week of September, with various corporates invited. According to data from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Indians lost Rs 7,488.6 crore to cyber fraud last year. While agencies are struggling to combat rising cybercrime in the country, Maharashtra leads with losses amounting to a staggering Rs 990.7 crore, followed by Telangana with Rs 759.1 crore. India wont pick a side, but it will act like a bridge of peace this seems the big message as Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Ukraine on Friday, six weeks after he was in Russia. Modi is now among a select group of global leaders who have been hosted by both countries while they are at war. Government sources say the sentiment reflected in both the PMs departure message when Modi said he would share perspectives on the peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the PMs reiteration in Poland on Wednesday that this is the not the era of war. Indian PM Modi arrived in Kyiv for the first time in the history of Ukraine-India bilateral relations.: Ukrzaliznytsia / Instagram pic.twitter.com/N1lBzOy06P UNITED24 Media (@United24media) August 23, 2024 Indian Prime Minister Modi has arrived in Ukraine, marking the first visit by an Indian PM since Ukraine gained independence in 1991. He is scheduled to meet President Zelensky. Officially, the visit aims to strengthen economic ties. pic.twitter.com/N3PVoSFG5D KyivPost (@KyivPost) August 23, 2024 This line from Modi, said first by him to Vladimir Putin in 2022, then in the presence of US President Joe Biden in Washington in 2023, and again to Putin six weeks ago in Russia has become a famous recall for world leaders on Indias stand on the war. Zelenskyy just last month had severely criticised Modis Moscow visit and expressed his dismay at Modi after he hugged the worlds most bloody criminal in Moscow but is now welcoming Modi in Kyiv. The Indian PM is expected to reiterate the same message to Zelenskyy as he did to Putin this July that no solution can be found in the battlefield. That these twin trips to Russia and Ukraine come before the PMs highly anticipated visit to USA in September for the UN General Assembly, is also significant on the aspect of messaging and diplomatic posturing. Modi-Zelenskyy Equation An Indian PM is visiting Ukraine after over three decades but Modi and Zelenskyy have met thrice in the last three years in June, this year in Apulia at the sidelines of the G7 Summit, last year in Hiroshima on the margins of the G7 Summit, and in Glasgow on the sidelines of COP in 2021. They have also spoken to each other on phone multiple times since 2020. Earlier this March, the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba was in India. Clearly, both sides have been in touch. Advocacy for peace will be Modis top agenda in his maiden Ukraine visit. The government has made it clear that it stands for diplomacy and dialogue to reach a negotiated settlement for enduring peace. Modi has earlier offered to provide all possible support and contribution required to help find peaceful solutions to what the Modi government concedes to be a complex issue. The government in a official briefing this week said India has substantive and independent ties with Russia and Ukraine. And these partnerships, they stand on their own. I would like to say that this is not a zero-sum game, the government had said. The same will be on test as Modi spends some hours in Kyiv on Friday. A tactical drone of the Indian Army crossed the Line of Control (LoC) from Jammu and Kashmirs Rajouri sector and landed in Pakistani territory on Friday. A mini unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of the Indian Army on a training mission well within the Indian territory lost control at 9:25 am due to a technical malfunction and drifted into the Nikial Sector of Pakistan opposite our Bhimber Gali Sector. The Army drone was engaged in a routine surveillance mission when the incident occurred, sources said. As per reports, Pakistani troops have recovered the same. A hotline message has been sent to the Pakistan Army to return the said UAV. The Indian Army is likely to engage with the Pakistan Army for Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) level talks to address the situation. Kolkata Police notes reveal that RG Kar Medical College principal Sandip Ghosh was examined and his statement recorded on August 13, three days after the rape and murder of a trainee doctor on the premises a detail previously unknown. The development comes amid the Supreme Court questioning the former principals role on August 9, the day of the crime. As the details of the investigation surface, apart from questions about the time lag in filing of the FIR, some new facts have also emerged in the case that has triggered massive outrage. The focus has now shifted to why the hospital delayed filing an FIR, opting instead to send a confidential intimation six hours after a PG student discovered the victims body and raised an alarm. The delay has sparked critical questions about the hospitals handling of the case. The FIR was registered by the victims parents around 11.45pm on August 9, almost 14 hours after the body was found. Sandip Ghoshs first statement was handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as part of the case diary, and his interrogation continues since then. Further, the CBI has received the courts approval to conduct a polygraph test on him. News18 has pieced together the sequence of events that unfolded in and around RG Kar Hospital in Kolkata between August 9 and August 13, until the case was handed over to the CBI as directed by the Calcutta High Court. So, how did the intervening days pass? Here is the final piece of News18s two-part series that began with reliving the day the doctors body was found. Scratches, Abrasion Marks Found on Roy Sanjay Roy, the prime accused in RG Kar Hospital rape and murder, was picked up from a police barrack within 10 hours of the FIR being lodged by the victims parents. According to investigation documents and police notes, some new injuries were found on Roy, which included scratches on left cheek, abrasion in left hand between his left and ring finger, abrasion over the back of left thigh etc. The same day, his mobile phone was seized, but data could not be extracted. It took two more days for the experts to clone his phone. However, Kolkata Police had the medical and medico-legal examination of the accused done at SSKM Hospital on the day of his arrest, and doctors collected samples like urethral swab, semen, hair, nail clippings and nail scraping. Later in the day, Roy was eventually revealed to be a civic police volunteer of Kolkata Police. On August 13, the exhibits collected by experts of the state Forensic Science Laboratory from the SOC (scene of crime) and those collected by a board of autopsy surgeons during the post-mortem examination were submitted to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) for further forensic investigation and DNA profiling. There had been a time lag here too, which is also not explained in the notes or in the timeline submitted with the Supreme Court by the Kolkata Police. Politically Connected Civic Volunteer Arrested Kolkata Police identified the prime suspect using CCTV footage. Roy was seen entering and exiting the seminar hall where the crime occurred. A crucial clue a discarded earphone found near the victims body led investigators straight to Roy, who was later picked up from the police barracks. However, his professional identity was not revealed immediately, and it came to fore later. During the course of investigation, it was found that Roys primary work was to influence police personnel and civic police in favour of the ruling Trinamool Congress and manage or mobilise them when needed. He spent a few nights in West Midnapores Salua, where the headquarters of the Eastern Frontier Rifles (EFR) a state armed police force is located. It is not known what work he was assigned. However, he was learnt to have mentioned that he was sent for meetings. His hotel bills and other expenses were taken care of. He is also a member of the police welfare board, which is politically aligned and a parallel structure to police personnel in uniform. News18 had first reported the alleged malpractices in the civic police volunteer force in terms of recruiting the personnel and posting them in significant government installations without any proper screening. The Intervening Days Between August 9 & 13 By 10.21am on August 10, Roys mobile phone was seized, and by noon, he underwent a comprehensive medico-legal examination at SSKM Hospital. Later, the court approved his remand to police custody until August 23, while evidence, including CCTV footage and incriminating articles, was seized and processed. The investigation continued with the collection of additional evidence, including blood samples from Roy and forensic analysis of his mobile phone. Detailed statements were recorded from multiple individuals, including hospital staff and colleagues of the victim. In the meantime, the court ordered the collection of original reports and data from various sources. By August 13, blood samples were collected, and forensic and DNA analysis was conducted on all evidence forwarded to CFSL Kolkata. The extraction of data from Roys mobile phone was completed in court, and notices were served to 16 individuals for their statements. The same day, Ghosh was interrogated and his statement was recorded. Kolkata Rape-Murder Case LIVE: Rallies, Demonstrations Over Doctor's Rape-murder Rock Kolkata Rallies and demonstrations were held in various parts of Kolkata on Friday amid intermittent showers to protest the rape and murder of the doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Professors of Jadavpur University formed a human chain that spanned its three gates on the Raja SC Mallick Road. Students and non-teaching staff also took part in the demonstration that went on for 30 minutes in the afternoon. Kolkata Rape-Murder Case LIVE: 'I Welcome the Order...', Says BJP's Abhijit Gangopadhyay On CBI Being Tasked to Probe RG Kar's Financial Irregularities On Calcutta High Court giving CBI the task of investigating all the instances of irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, BJP MP Abhijit Gangopadhyay said, I welcome this orderThe SIT was formed to suppress all the scams committed by Sandip Ghosh and this was another episode of Mumta Banerjee to destroy all evidence. On West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee writing a letter to PM Narendra Modi, he said, It is meaninglessShe knows that she is the real culprit in this matter. She has destroyed every evidence. I demand that CBI should start questioning her. If she does not cooperate, she should be taken into custody. Kolkata Rape-Murder Case LIVE: 'Another Midnight Cover Up...', BJP's Amit Malviya Reacts To Calcutta HC 's Latest Transfer Order BJP IT Cell chief, Amit Malviya took to his official X account and said, The pertaining to financial misconduct and unethical practices at RG Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata, following a petition by former deputy superintendent Akhtar Ali, to be handed over to the CBI. He further said, This leaves the SIT Mamata Banerjee constituted infructuous. Another midnight cover up operation bites dust. After ration, education, now a multi crore healthcare scam will blow up in Mamata Banerjees face. She is the Health Minister and stands in the line of fire, he added. Kolkata Rape-Murder Case LIVE: 'We Never Spoke To Him,' Says Deceased Doctor's Father While speaking on the former RG Kar Medical College principal Sandip Ghosh, the deceased doctors father said, We never spoke to him. The day this incident happened, he was calling us but students asked us not to go. He came there (later), but did not speak to us. On CBI investigation so far, he said, CBI is one of the biggest agencies, but in this case, it has been 10 days since they took charge of the probe but no substantial result has come out. We demand that they take strict action and ensure harshest punishment to the accused. Kolkata Rape-Murder Case LIVE: Bengal LoP Suvendu Adhikari Addresses Gathering in Sodepur Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly and BJP leader, Suvendu Adhikari addressed a gathering in North 24 Parganas Sodepur during partys protest over rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. VIDEO | Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly and BJP leader, Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) addresses a gathering in North 24 Parganas' Sodepur during party's protest over rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. (Full video pic.twitter.com/Ozj8QfDMZh Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 23, 2024 BJP Leader Locket Chatterjee Accuses Mamata Banerjee Of 'Doing Politics' Around Former RG Kar Principal Sandip Ghosh BJP leader Locket Chatterjee said, Sandip Ghosh knows a lot of things. Mamata Banerjee is doing a lot of politics around Sandip Ghosh. This shows that this is not a normal murder. It is a very big political rape and murderCBI will bring out the truth after interrogating Sandip GhoshSanjay Roy is a scapegoat a lot of people are involved in itWe want justice Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Case: Sukanta Majumdar 'Welcomes' Calcutta HC's Decision To Transfer Probe Of RG Kar Hospital 'Financial Irregularities' To CBI On Calcutta High Court giving CBI the task of investigating all the instances of irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar said, I welcome the Calcutta High Courts decision as it is a very serious case. In this case of money trail, ED should also conduct the investigation Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Case: Court Grants Permission For Polygraph Test of Former RG Kar Principal Sandip Ghosh Permission for polygraph test of former principal Dr Sandip Ghosh and 5 others has been granted by Sealdah Court. The 5 others include 4 doctors who had dinner with the deceased doctor and 1 civic volunteer. Injuries on RG Kar Accused, Interrogation of Ex-Principal: Police Timeline Reveals New Details in Rape-Murder Case Kolkata Police notes reveal that RG Kar Medical College principal Sandip Ghosh was examined and his statement recorded on August 13, three days after the rape and murder of a trainee doctor on the premises a detail previously unknown. The development comes amid the Supreme Court questioning the former principals role on August 9, the day of the crime. As the details of the investigation surface, apart from questions about the time lag in filing of the FIR, some new facts have also emerged in the case that has triggered massive outrage. Read full Article Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Case: 'Everyone Involved Should Be Punished,' Says Sukanta Majumdar BJP Leader and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar welcomed Calcutta High Courts decision to transfer the SIT probe into the financial irregularities during the ex-RG Kar Principal Sandip Ghoshs tenure to the CBI. Everyone who is involved in this should be punished, said Majumdar. Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Case: Adhir Ranjan Slams Mamata Banerjee Over Her Letter To PM Modi Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury slammed Mamata Banerjee over her letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Kolkata doctor rape and murder case. Chowdhury said There were many such instances in past as well in Bengal. Why was she (Mamata Banerjee) silent till nowwhy didnt she raise her voice then? Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Case: 'Most Dramatic Leader...,'Bengal BJP VeepTakes A Dig At Mamata For Letter To PM Modi Reacting to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee writing a letter to PM Modi, Bengal BJP Vice President Saumitra Khan said, Such a dramatic leader is nowhere else in the world. Mamata Bandopadhyay is the most dramatic leader of this world. The letter that she is giving is complete drama. You are buying the mother of the rape victim for Rs 10 lakhsIf you would look, you will find out that Rohingyas are behind all of thisShe has never done anything good for the country. She is destroying the whole of the West Bengal, and now she is destroying women Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Case: HC Directs SIT To Handover Case Diary, CCTV footage To CBI Calcutta High Court has directed the SIT to hand over the case diary, CCTV footage and other details to CBI by 10 AM tomorrow. The Calcutta High Court has transferred the SIT probe into the financial irregularities during the ex-RG Kar Principal Sandip Ghoshs tenure to the CBI. Health Ministry Directs Govt Medical Institutes To Replace Black Robes, Caps For Convocation Ceremonies With traditional Attire A Health Ministry directive has been sent to all government medical colleges and institutes in the country to replace the black robe and cap attire for convocation ceremonies, as this attire originated in the Middle Ages in Europe and was introduced by the British in all their colonies. The directive said It been decided by the Ministry that the various Institutes of the Ministry including AIIMS /INIs enagged in imparting medical education will design appropriate India dress code for the Convocation Ceremony of their Institute based on local traditions of the State in which the Institute is located Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Case Updates: Calcutta HC Transfers SIT Probe Into Ex-RG Kar Principal Sandip Ghosh's Tenure To CBI The Calcutta High Court has transferred the SIT probe into ex-RG Kar Principal Sandip Ghosh to the CBI. The court noted that multiple agencies probing similar facts would lead to delay and inefficiencies. Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Case Updates: Akhtar Ali Case Given To CBI Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Case Updates: RG Kar Students Continue 'Ceasework' Strike Students of RG Kar have decided to continue their ceasework. Today, a delegation of about 12 students will visit the CBI office to clarify certain matters. On Saturday, the students have planned a mass convention focused on RG Kar. Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Case Updates: Health Secratary Urges Doctors To Resume Work The Health Secretary on Friday said that the absence of doctors has negatively impacted healthcare, especially for poor patients. The Supreme Court has requested doctors to return to work. He again urges the doctors to resume the work. Kolkata Doctor Rape-Murder Case Updates: Prime Accused Sanjay Roy Brought To Sealdah Court In Kolkata | Watch #WATCH | West Bengal: Sanjay Roy, prime accused in the rape and murder of a doctor at the RG Kar College and Hospital brought to Sealdah Court in Kolkata. His police custody is ending today. https://t.co/XoaWJPyQ2A pic.twitter.com/fAy4K2y82W ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 In view of the Maha Vikas Aghadis call for Maharashtra bandh on Saturday, the Bombay High Court on Friday restrained all political parties and individuals from calling for a strike in the state to protest against the tragic incident of sexual assault of two kindergarten girls in Thanes Badlapur. The High Courts response came after Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray called for a strict observance of the Maharashtra Bandh on August 24 until 2 pm, with the exception of emergency services which should remain operational. Speaking at a news conference, Thackeray described the bandh, organised by the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA)which includes Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and NCP (SP)as a stand against perversion and urged people from all backgrounds to participate. Thackeray, in the same press conference, demanded the withdrawal of charges against those who had protested in Badlapur against the alleged sexual abuse incident. He also slammed the Eknath Shinde-led government for its actions against the protesters. The MVA coalition decided to call the bandh after a meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday to protest the alleged sexual assault of two minor girls, aged 4, in a school in Badlapur, Thane district. The assault took place on August 12 and 13, when a male attendant allegedly assaulted the girls in the schools washroom. Sharad Pawar Withdraws Strike; Uddhav Opts For Silent Protests Following High Courts order, NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar called off the Maharashtra bandh slated for August 24 to protest against the sexual assault of two kindergarten girls in Badlapur. Taking to X, Pawar said, In the wake of the Badlapur incident, tomorrow A statewide public shutdown was called for on 24 August 2024. The torture done to those two innocent girls was very disgusting. As a result, strong public sentiments emerged in this regard from all levels of society. This was an attempt to draw the governments attention to this matter. This bandh was within the purview of the Fundamental Rights of the Constitution of India. However, Honourable Bombay HC has ruled that the bandh is unconstitutional. As the Indian Judiciary is a constitutional institution, it is requested to withdraw tomorrows bandh while respecting the Constitution, he added. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray expressed its disagreement with the Bombay HCs decision and said, We dont agree with the Bombay High Court order on bandh. We have called off the August 24 Maharashtra bandh but opposition leaders will protest with black bands around their mouths, he added. Badlapur Horror Huge protests erupted in Badlapur, Thane district, on Tuesday, after reports about the alleged incident came to light. The unrest led to clashes with police, resulting in injuries to at least 25 officers and the arrest of 72 individuals. The accused, Akshay Shinde, 23, was arrested on August 17 and remains in custody until August 26. The school management has suspended the principal, a class teacher, and a female attendant. Three Manipur MLAs from the Paite and Hmar tribes have expressed concerns about the use of the term Kuki Zo in press statements and social media, arguing that it does not adequately represent their tribes and fails to honour their distinct identities. In a statement on Friday, Tipaimukh MLA N Sanate said, I remain committed to upholding the aspirations and dreams of my people. I would like to make a solemn clarification that I have never endorsed, nor will endorse, any platform, organisation, or statement that excludes the Hmar nomenclature. Thanlon MLA Vungzagin Valte said, The recent usage of the term Kuki Zo is perceived by many within my community as non-inclusive and assimilative. I cannot accept or endorse any term that does not respect the individuality and dignity of all groups that form the fabric of my constituency. Valte emphasised that he is a Paite scheduled tribe belonging to the Zomi community and urged stakeholders to promote a term that unites and honours their shared history and future aspirations. Kuki and Zomi are terms used to describe various sub-tribes sharing related customs and identities. The term Kuki became popular during the 19th and 20th centuries under British rule, while Zomi is a collective identity adopted by some Kuki-Chin language speakers in India, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. Zomis generally reject the labels Kuki and Chin. Churachandpur MLA LM Khaute commented, It has always been my endeavour to ensure the usage of suitable and appropriate terminology, and I cannot accept any term that excludes Zomi or misrepresents our identity in press statements. Khaute suggested that the most suitable and inclusive term would be Kuki-Zomi-Hmar. The Bombay High Court on Friday restrained all political parties and individuals from calling for a Maharashtra bandh on Saturday, August 24 to protest against the tragic incident of sexual assault of two kindergarten girls in Thanes Badlapur. Bombay HC has directed all authorities to implement the orders. A Division bench led by Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya has also issued notices to the opposition parties who are respondents to the petitions and had called for the Maharashtra Bandh. A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar said the Maharashtra government shall take all necessary steps to prevent a bandh. We are restraining any political party and/or any individual from calling for a bandh. The state shall take all preventive steps, the HC said. Bombay HC also ruled that no political party has permission to call Bandh till October 9. Opposition Divided On Bombay HCs Decision While NCP(SP) called off the bandh, Shiv Sena (UBT) expressed disagreement with the Bombay HCs decision. We dont agree with the Bombay High Court order on bandh, says Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray. We have called off the August 24 Maharashtra bandh but opposition leaders will protest with black bands around their mouths, he added. On the other hand, NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar Called off the bandh respecting the high courts decision. Sharad Pawar Calls Off Maharashtra Bandh NCP(SP) chief Sharad Pawar has called off Maharashtra Bandh slated for August 24 to protest against the sexual assault of two kindergarten girls in Badlapur. In the wake of the Badlapur incident, tomorrow A statewide public shutdown was called for on 24 August 2024. The torture done to those two innocent girls was very disgusting. As a result, strong public sentiments emerged in this regard from all levels of society. This was an attempt to draw the governments attention to this matter. This bandh was within the purview of the Fundamental Rights of the Constitution of India. However, Honourable Bombay HC has ruled that the bandh is unconstitutional. As the Indian Judiciary is a constitutional institution, it is requested to withdraw tomorrows bandh while respecting the Constitution, Pawar said in an X post. . . . . Sharad Pawar (@PawarSpeaks) August 23, 2024 Notably, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), a political coalition of Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar Faction) and the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray Faction) has called for a Maharashtra Bandh on Saturday (August 24). However, the call was challenged by an advocate highlighting the impact of such Bandh on citizens. The Calcutta High Court on Friday transferred the probe into the alleged financial irregularities, money trail and corruption at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital during Sandip Ghoshs tenure as principal from the Special Investigation Team (SIT), formed by Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government, to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The court noted that multiple agencies probing similar facts would lead to delay and inefficiencies. This court directs the investigation be transferred to CBI as multiple investigation will lead to injusticeinvestigation should not be fragmented to different agenciesSIT directed the case diary and CCTV footage to CBI by 10 AM tomorrow, the order read. A day earlier, the Calcutta High Court had questioned the West Bengal government over the delay in constitution of the probe team. The Bengal government formed an SIT on August 20, nearly a year after the allegations first surfaced. Earlier today, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed in Calcutta High Court challenging the formation of SIT by Bengal government to probe the alleged financial irregularities at the institution. The PIL was filed by advocate Madhurima Basu and moved by advocate and BJP leader, Susmita Saha Dutt. According to the petitioner, the SIT includes officers who were allegedly involved in the scam. The petition further alleged there was a possibility of tampered the evidence if the probe was carried out by the SIT. Further, the PIL demanded the investigation be carried out by a central probe agency (the Enforcement Directorate or the Central Bureau of Investigation). It also urged to seize all the bank accounts of the institutes former principal, Sandip Ghosh. Calcutta High Court questions Bengal government A day earlier, the Calcutta High Court had questioned the West Bengal government over the delay in constitution of the probe team. The Bengal government formed an SIT on August 20, nearly a year after the allegations first surfaced. Akhtar Ali, the former deputy superintendent of the state-run medical college, petitioned for an investigation by the ED into the alleged corruption under the former principal. Ali claimed that he had reported Ghoshs alleged involvement in the financial irregularities to state authorities in 2023. However, no substantial action was taken until recently. During the hearing, Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj asked the state government as to why it had taken a year to form the SIT after the allegations were first reported. Charges against Ghosh Ghosh was removed from his position as principal following the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at the hospital on August 9 this year. Ali has alleged that Ghosh was also involved in scams related to biomedical waste, the illegal handling of dead bodies, passing students in exams in exchange for bribes, awarding unnecessary tenders, and operating unauthorised kiosks on hospital premises. Meanwhile, in the latest, the CBI received the courts approval to conduct a polygraph test on Ghosh and four other doctors who were on duty on the day of the rape and murder of the trainee doctor. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said he would himself want to contribute as a friend if needed towards a peace effort between Russia and Ukraine. Modi said this in the presence of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Friday. This is a major outreach by Modi to strike a peace deal between the two warring nations that he has visited within six weeks of each other. I want to assure you that India is ready to play an active role in every effort for peace. If I can personally contribute to this, I would definitely like to do so. As a friend, I assure you of this, Modi said to Zelenskyy. The PM also said that territorial integrity is of utmost importance and he had told Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow that no solution can be found on the battlefield. Dialogue and diplomacy is required and both sides must move forward on it, Modi said. India land of Buddha, Gandhi The PM said he had come with a message of peace and India was the land of Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi who stood for peace. Our approach is to be on the side of peacewe want to be away from war, Modi said. Foreign minister S Jaishankar also said that Modi had told Zelenskyy: If there is anything that we can do, in any way, (you know) in sort of upfront or behind or supporting somebody, it is the objective that we are interested in rather than the process we are willing to do whatever we can. Because we think continuation of this conflict is terrible for Ukraine itself, and the world. PMs message and embrace Modi said that he was pained at witnessing the death of children in the conflict and said the wars first casualties are invariably innocent children which is very painful. In any civilised world with regard for human values, such incidents are unacceptable, Modi said. He embraced Zelenskyy and placed his arm on the Ukrainian Presidents shoulder in a significant message. Jaishankar later said such gestures were a part of the Indian culture and Modi had embraced many other world leaders in the past when asked about Zelenskyys criticism earlier of Modi embracing Vladimir Putin in July. Jaishankar said Ukraine wants continued involvement of India in the peace summit and added that the UN Charter and respect for territorial integrity are mentioned in the joint statement released by both sides. The foreign minister said there was a detailed discussion between both leaders on the ongoing conflict and Zelenskyy gave a ground assessment of it. The PM reiterated Indias willingness to facilitate an early return to peace. Both sides need to engage with each other to find a solution, the foreign minister said on the meeting, speaking about the PMs repeated stance on the war. The joint statement also recorded Indias willingness to contribute in all possible ways to facilitate an early return to peace. In a first in the state, the Maharashtra governments Special Investigation Team (SIT) has named the governing body of the school in Badlapur, where a cleaning staff member allegedly sexually assaulted two four-year-olds, in the case filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for failing to report the incidents to police. Apart from the management members, the class teacher and two women attendants, too, have been named, said sources. ALSO READ | Badlapur Sexual Assault Survivor Is In Shock, Accused May Have Abused More Girls In School: Family | Exclusive According to the earlier First Information Report (FIR) related to the incident, the assaults took place in the school toilet on August 13 and the parents informed the police on August 16. They alleged the FIR was filed 11 hours after their complaint. The accused, Akshay Shinde, 23, was arrested on August 17, while the school management has suspended the principal, the class teacher and a woman attendant. #WATCH | Badlapur incident: School trustees arrived at the school premises.On August 17, police arrested a school attendant for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls. pic.twitter.com/nzIS9LQTXQ ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 Badlapur on Tuesday erupted in anger over the incident and police insensitivity, vandalizing the school premises and causing a rail roko for 10 hours. Three police officers have been suspended. A family member of one of the survivors in an exclusive interview to News18 said that a few days ago, a few parents had informed the class teacher about the arrested accuseds misconduct, but the teacher didnt pay any attention. In an interview to News18 Lokmat, the principal alleged that the girls class teacher and two women attendants knew about the incident and that he had even told some people about the management about it. According to the law, the school should have immediately reported the incidents. ALSO READ | 11-Hour Wait For FIR On School Sexual Assault: How Police Insensitivity Pushed Badlapur Over The Edge The family member said that there could be more incidents, but parents and girls are scared to speak up. The kin narrated how they were made to wait for over 11 hours on two days, in what they suspected was an attempt to cover up the incident. The Bombay high court, too, took suo motu cognisance of the incident. The HC on Thursday lambasted the Thane Police and administration over the law and order situation and voiced serious concerns about school safety, highlighting that if schools arent safe, discussions on the right to education lose significance. A division bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan said it was appalled to note that the Badlapur police had not probed the case properly. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), reprimanded senior lawyer and West Bengal government counsel Kapil Sibal during the Supreme Court hearing when the latter allegedly laughed amid the proceedings. The Supreme Court was hearing over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkatas RG Kar Medical College on Thursday. During the proceedings, Mehta raised concerns over Kolkata Polices delayed response in registering the unnatural death of the victim and Sibal allegedly laughed during the exchange of arguments. Read more: Everything Was Altered, We Entered The Probe On Day 5: CBI To Supreme Court In Kolkata Rape-Murder Case This irked the Solicitor General who schooled Sibal during the exchange of arguments. so this is from the general entry, the SG stated, prompting an intervention from the West Bengal governments lawyer. A girl has lost her life in the most inhuman and undignified manner. Somebody has died. Do not at least laugh, he sternly said. Sharing the 32-second-long clip, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya slammed Sibal for his complete insensitivity. Complete insensitivity on display. Like Mamata Banerjee, the legal team representing WB Govt, led by former Congressman Kapil Sibal, showed no remorse, whatsoever, for having killed the young doctor twiceSolicitor General Tushar Mehta had to remind Kapil Sibal not to laugh. pic.twitter.com/bwtJBqeSBb Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) August 22, 2024 Like (West Bengal CM) Mamata Banerjee, the legal team representing the WB Govt, led by former Congressman Kapil Sibal, showed no remorse, whatsoever, for having killed the young doctor twiceSolicitor General Tushar Mehta had to remind Kapil Sibal not to laugh, he said on X. Read more: CCTV Caught Rape-Murder Accused Staring at RG Kar Victim Day Before Crime, Then He Struck Well Past Midnight A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud expressed shock at the order of legal procedures followed by the police in probing the highly-sensitive case. The justices found it particularly concerning that the victims postmortem was conducted on August 9 between 6:10 pm and 7:10 pm, prior to the case being officially registered as an unnatural death. This sequence of events raised questions about the proper adherence to standard legal protocols in the investigation. How was it that the postmortem was conducted at 6.10 pm on August 9 and yet the unnatural death information is sent to Tala police station at 11.30 pm on August 9. This is extremely disturbing, the bench, comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, said. Mehta told the top court that the most shocking fact is that the FIR was registered at 11.45 pm after the postgraduate medic was cremated. State police told parents it was suicide, then they said it was murder. Victims friend suspected cover up and insisted on videography, Mehta told the bench. Read more: Abhishek Banerjee Unhappy With TMC Govts Handling Of Kolkata Rape-Murder Case, Wants Accountability: Sources The CBI in its status report said the crime scene was altered and the victims family was misled about their daughters death. The family was informed that their daughter died due to suicide. The court ordered the Kolkata Police officer who recorded the initial report of the rape-murder case, to attend the next hearing on September 5. The officer is required to reveal the exact time when the report was filed. The death toll due to the incessant rains and floods in Tripura, which witnessed such catastrophic monsoon floods for the first time in over three decades, has risen to 22. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has announced the advance release of funds of Rs 40 crore to assist the state. Taking on the microblogging site X Shah said Given the flood situation in Tripura, the central govt, under the leadership of Modi Ji, has approved the release of 40 crore in advance, as the central share from SDRF, to provide relief to the affected people. The 11 NDRF teams, 3 columns of the Army, and 4 helicopters of the Air Force deployed by the Centre are already assisting the state govt. in relief and rescue operations. No matter what, our sisters and brothers in Tripura will find the Modi govt standing shoulder-to-shoulder with them to battle these difficult times, added Shah. According to an IANS report, at least seven members of two families, including three women and a child were killed at Santirbazar in South Tripura district when their houses collapsed due to a massive landslide triggered by incessant rain late on Wednesday night. Disaster Management Response Force personnel, along with local people, recovered all the bodies on Thursday. Expressing his shock at the incident, Chief Minister Manik Saha said that the state government would provide Rs 4 lakh as financial assistance to each affected family. Earlier 13 deaths, including that of a 12-year-old girl and a woman, were reported from South Tripura, Gomati, and Khowai districts since Monday and two persons were also said to be missing. VIDEO | #TripuraFloods: Indian Air Force airlifted multiple NDRF teams and relief supplies to flood-affected areas in Agartala to aid human assistance in relief operations.(Source: Third Party) (Full video available on PTI Videos https://t.co/dv5TRARJn4) pic.twitter.com/N2LEJDt77h Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 23, 2024 An official said that around 65,500 people are taking shelter in 450 relief camps in all eight districts. He said that 17 lakh people were affected in the entire state, which witnessed the devastating floods since Monday. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) recorded 233 mm rainfall in Agartala from 8.30 a.m. on Wednesday to 8.30 a.m. on Thursday. According to IMD, all eight districts in Tripura received one of the highest levels of rainfall in the last 24 hours on Thursday with South Tripura districts Bogafa, under the Santirbazar sub-division, recording 493.6 mm rainfall. An IMD official said that though a heavy to very heavy rainfall alert has been continued and a Red alert sounded in all eight districts, the intensity of rain is likely to reduce from Thursday night. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a generally cloudy day with a light rain spell over Delhi and its adjoining areas on Tuesday. Light to moderate showers with thunderstorms and lightning are likely over the national capital for 2-3 days. Uttarakhand is also witnessing incessant rainfall and the Met Department has predicted further heavy downpours during the next 7 days. IMD has issued an orange alert for the Himalayan state forecasting heavy to very heavy rainfall in the next 24 hours. Heavy Rains To Lash Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan Heavy showers are likely over Uttar Pradesh from August 23 to August 26 and over Rajasthan from August 27 to August 27. Isolated very heavy rainfall also very likely over Uttarakhand on 22nd and 23rd; East Rajasthan on 25th August, stated IMD. The IMD has also predicted fairly widespread to widespread light/moderate rainfall over central India, Konkan and Goa, Madhya Maharashtra, and Gujarat scattered to fairly widespread rainfall over Marathwada, during the week. Rains Wreak Havoc In Tripura Meanwhile, heavy rains have wreaked havoc in the Northeastern state of Tripura triggering landslides. The toll due to the current rains and floods in Tripura, which witnessed such catastrophic monsoon floods for the first time in over three decades has risen to 22. At least seven persons from two families, including three women and a child, were killed at Santirbazar in South Tripura district when their houses collapsed due to a massive landslide triggered by incessant rain late on Wednesday night, reported IANS. Very heavy rainfall is likely over Tripura during the next 6-7 days. The IMD issued a red alert for the state on August 25 forecasting extremely heavy rainfall. According to a PTI report, as many as 65,400 people have taken shelter at 450 relief camps in the state as their houses were damaged due to the downpour. Ten people were buried under the rubble after landslides hit the Ashwani Tripura Para and Debipur in Santirbazar, Chief Minister Manik Saha said in a Facebook post. I convey my deepest condolence to the families of the victims. This is an irreparable loss. The state government has announced payment of Rs 4 lakh to each victims family as financial assistance, he said. Earlier, Brijesh Pandey, Secretary, Revenue Department, had said that 12 people died due to heavy rainfall in the northeastern state. Meanwhile, The Indian Air Force airlifted multiple NDRF teams and relief supplies to flood-affected areas in Agartala to aid human assistance in relief operations. VIDEO | #TripuraFloods: Indian Air Force airlifted multiple NDRF teams and relief supplies to flood-affected areas in Agartala to aid human assistance in relief operations.(Source: Third Party) (Full video available on PTI Videos https://t.co/dv5TRARJn4) pic.twitter.com/N2LEJDt77h Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 23, 2024 Around 17 lakh people have been affected in the northeastern state, the official said. Over 750 people have been evacuated all over the state, the Assam Rifles said in a release. The RG Kar Medical College is now at the center of a storm, following the horrific rape and murder of a medical student which has sparked widespread outrage across the country. The infamous incident has cast a dark shadow over the prestigious hospital that has long been associated with care and compassion. Let us find out who was the visionary behind the foundation of this famous medical institute in Kolkata. Dr. Radha Gobind Kar, a pioneering figure in the medical field, was born on August 23, 1850, in the Betar area of Howrah. After completing his schooling, he pursued medical studies at Calcutta Medical College, later moving to Scotland where he achieved the prestigious MRCP degree from the University of Edinburgh in 1887. Despite opportunities to practise medicine abroad, Dr Kar chose to return to Bengal, dedicating his life to serving the poor and marginalized. Known for his compassion, Dr Kar not only provided medical care to his patients but also financial assistance. He was known to cycle from house to house in the streets of North Kolkata, with a hat on his head and a sling bag on his shoulder, offering his services to those in need. In 1899, when plague ravaged Calcutta, Dr Kar met the renowned Sister Nivedita and worked tirelessly to combat the epidemic. At that time, Dr Kar was posted as the District Health Officer. Dr Kars deep commitment to the welfare of his people led to the establishment of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital for which he resorted to fundraising, asking for donations from the wealthy citizens of Calcutta. He personally bought 12 bighas of land in Belgachia, where the foundation of the RG Kar Medical College was laid, then known as Belgachia Medical College. On July 5, 1916, Lord Carmichael, then Governor of Bengal, inaugurated the two-storey building, following which the institution was named Carmichael Medical College. It wasnt until 1948, during a period of severe financial crisis, that the name of the institute was changed to RG Kar Medical College to honour its founder, Dr Radha Gobind Kar. This was possible due to the intervention of West Bengals then Chief Minister, Bidhan Chandra Roy. As RG Kar Hospital now grapples with the fallout from the recent tragedy, descendent of Dr Kars family have expressed their concern. Partha Kar, one of the descendants of Dr Kar, emphasized the importance of preserving the hospitals legacy amid the grueling incident. We are not seeking answers to any questions, but we do want a swift resolution to this crisis, Partha Kar stated. This hospital was established with a noble purpose. It must continue to serve the people of Bengal and avoid such tragic incidents in the future, he added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday arrived at Ukraines capital city, Kyiv, following a 10-hour train journey from Poland. During his visit, Modi met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who greeted him with a warm embrace. The meeting, which has garnered significant attention on social media, features several viral videos, one of which prominently displays a woman accompanying the two leaders. Speculation has surrounded the identity of this woman. She is, in fact, an interpreter assigned to facilitate communication between Modi and Zelensky. Interpreters are often provided to PM Modi during his international engagements to facilitate effective communication with the foreign dignitaries. Unlike translators, who handle written documents, interpreters provide oral translations during live conversations. In the recent meeting between Modi and Zelensky, the interpreter played a crucial role in ensuring that both leaders could understand each others words accurately, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of their communication. During Prime Minister Narendra Modis foreign visits, several key individuals assist him which include: After the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022, there have been only a few countries in the world whose heads of government have visited both nations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the first among the most popular leaders of the world to have visited Russia during the war and is now on a visit to Ukraine. Although there have been four heads of countries who have visited both Russia and Ukraine before PM Modi, their fame is nothing compared to that of the Indian prime minister who has been advocating for peace between the two countries. PM Modi may be present in Kyiv for only seven hours, but this will be one of the most important diplomatic developments in the world. Reached Kyiv earlier this morning. The Indian community accorded a very warm welcome. pic.twitter.com/oYEV71BTlv Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2024 Although Ukraine has been visited by leaders of many major western countries, including US President Joe Biden, the leaders have not turned to Russia, except for one or two exceptions. Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer was the first leader in the world to visit Russia during the war and had visited Kyiv just two days before going to Russia. Nehammer was on a visit to Moscow on April 11, 2022, and had visited Ukraine just two days before on April 9. Also, Indonesian President Joko Widodo reached Moscow on June 29, 2022, after visiting Ukraine a day before on June 28. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the Ukrainian city of Lviv in the year 2022 and later also reached the Russian city of Sochi on a working visit. Erdogan has also been advocating for and initiating a peace agreement for ceasefire between the two countries. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban first visited Ukraine in July 2024 and then visited Russia. PM Modi has given his message to Russian President Vladimir Putin not once but twice to end the war. Indias stand has been that the solution to the problem is possible only through dialogue and diplomacy. In such a situation, after visiting Russia just a few weeks ago, the prime minister, who has now also visited Ukraine, will be successful in giving a message of peace to the world with his presence on Ukrainian soil. The renowned culinary traditions of Lucknow, celebrated for their exquisite biryani and kebabs, may soon face a significant shift. The citys Municipal Corporation has mandated that all coal-fired restaurants and food vendors transition to gas stoves to combat rising air pollution levels. This new regulation could potentially alter the distinctive flavours that define Lucknows beloved dishes. Lucknow, often lauded for its rich cultural heritage and sophisticated taste, is grappling with worsening air quality, as revealed by a recent study conducted by the Energy and Resources Institute. The study highlighted severe deterioration in the citys air quality, prompting the local administration to take action. Local restaurateurs, who have long used coal to grill kebabs and cook biryani, argue that the unique aroma and flavour of their dishes are a direct result of using coal. They expressed concerns that switching to gas will diminish the distinctive taste that attracted food lovers to their establishments. Coal has been integral to our cooking methods for generations, said restaurant owners, adding, It imparts a special flavour and texture to our dishes that gas simply cannot replicate. While we understand the importance of addressing air pollution, we urge the administration to consider the impact on our culinary traditions and explore alternative solutions. We are also worried about air pollution and will follow whatever decision the administration takes, they further said. However, they also believe that the local administration needed to consider the various aspects of cooking. Food enthusiasts also shared their concerns, fearing that the new regulation might alter the essence of Lucknows iconic cuisine. Many believe that the traditional coal-fired methods contributed significantly to the unique taste and quality of the citys food. The local administration is aware of these concerns but maintains that the switch to gas is crucial for improving air quality. They emphasised the need for ongoing research and dialogue to balance environmental goals with preserving the citys culinary heritage. Sanya Malhotra received a handing ovation at the screening of her film, Mrs. at the 15th edition of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. But that is not the only moment that Sanya will cherish forever. The celebrated star and multi-faceted actor attended the screening wearing a vibrant, colourful kurta created by her mother, Renu Malhotra. The ensemble featured a Banarasi jacquard kurta in deep purple adorned with floral motifs. She paired the kurta designed by her mother, with a red jacket designed by Delhi Vintage Co. The contrasting vibrant shades of the ensemble accentuated Sanyas celebratory moment at the film festival. Elated and proud of representing her film on such a big platform and taking a piece from her mothers creations with her, Sanya took to Instagram to share a heartfelt note dedicating it to her mother. Sanya says, This ones for you, Mumma. From a young age, my mother was my personal stylist, designing and stitching clothes for my sister and me. She devoted herself not only to raising us but also to keeping us fashionably updated. Mumma always told me how she dreamt of studying fashion, but it wasnt financially feasible at the time. Instead, she poured all her creativity into dressing us beautifully so much so that I still seek her advice before any big event. I wanted to honour her by wearing one of her creations at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne for the screening of a film close to my heart, Mrs. Styled by celebrity fashion stylists Manisha Melwani and Bidipto Das, Sanyas makeup was done by Natasha Mathias Dsouza. Another highlight of this Indian contemporary look was the jewellery she wore with the ensemble. Embodying the rich heritage and meticulous craftsmanship of Shri Paramani Jewels, the traditional jewellery featured a sheeshpatti (decorative headband) consisting of diamond polki, pearls, jadau art and jhumkas (earrings). Sanya completed the look with a bag from Tasna. The overall vibe of Sanyas style looked straight out of Sharmila Tagores look in the film, Kashmir Ki Kali. Happy to see her daughter, Sanya express her love for her, Renu shared her thoughts, she commented below the post, which read: Sanya Thank you mere bachche for this special note. To doll, both my girls gave me immense pleasure during your growing years and also today, when you wear my creations on such big platforms, I feel proud and grateful to almighty. God bless you, I love you! Bollywood actor Vaani Kapoor has emerged as a style icon in the Indian film industry, thanks to her impeccable style and ability to effortlessly carry off diverse looks. From elegant gowns to edgy ensembles, beauty has consistently turned heads on the red carpet and beyond. Her fashion choices, reflect a blend of sophistication, modernity, and a touch of playfulness. She experiments with different styles and trends while remaining true to her aesthetic, making her a sought-after fashion muse. This time, the fashionista is raising the temperature in an asymmetrical mini dress from London-based designer David Komas Spring/Summer 2024 collection. Created with cady fabric popular for its light and easy-to-wear nature, the fitted black silhouette features a high side split, 3D orange roses, and a hidden zip at the back. The ensemble, with its strategic cut-outs, accentuated her curves, exuding glamour. Take a sneak peek at her stunning look here: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vaani Kapoor (@vaanikapoor) Vaani Kapoor complements her stunning attire with sparkly silver earrings from Mahesh Notandass, elevating her ensemble to a whole new level. To complete the ensemble, the actress opted for a pair of orange thigh-high boots that added a colour pop. In terms of makeup, the beauty opted for a minimalistic yet dewy makeup look. Assisted by makeup artist Pooja Rohira Fernandes, Vaani went for dewy foundation, rosy cheeks, shimmery eyeshadow, mascara-laden lashes, defined brows that framed her face beautifully, a luminous highlighter, and blushed cheeks. The actress perfectly sealed the deal for her with glossy lips in a light pink shade. For her hairdo, celebrity hair artist Sangeeta Hegde styled Vaanis lustrous tresses in a sleek, high-braided updo. Before this, Vaani shone in another black bodycon dress from Mugler. The outfit featured a sweetheart neckline and structured bodice. The short hemline and body-hugging fit highlighted her toned legs and figure, while the rich velvet material added a touch of luxury. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vaani Kapoor (@vaanikapoor) Vaani Kapoors new film Khel Khel Mein, alongside Akshay Kumar, Taapsee Pannu, and Ammy Virk, among others, is currently in theatres. The Malayalam film industry, which is often praised for being progressive, have recently been exposed for sexually exploiting women for long by the Justice Hema Committee report. The 233-page report by a three-member committee, headed by retired justice K Hema, provides a damning indictment of the discrimination and exploitation faced by women in the Malayalam cinema. Now, actress Sandra Thomas has also put up a Facebook post on this topic. Sandra has put up the post in Malayalam. She questioned why film unions are silent on the Justice Hema Committee report. According to her, this report is being discussed all over Kerala. Sandra Thomas wrote that the film unions should clarify their position on this report. She wrote that this implies all unions are suspected of being dominated by the 15-member power group that the committee reports. Sandra Thomas added that no one requires a week to study the findings of the report. According to her, these findings were based on the incidents that happened years ago. Sandra wrote that if the industry doesnt clarify their stand on these issues, the public will accuse them only. The 38-year-old actress wrote that based on the report, what remedial measures are being taken up by the unions should be clarified to the public. Key Takeaway From the Report The Justice Hema Committee Report identified at least 17 forms of exploitation experienced by women working in 30 different categories within the industry. These comprise the sexual demands made to women seeking entry into the industry, sexual harassment, and various forms of abuse and assault. 1. The report highlights the persistence of practices like the casting couch. In this practice, women are often pressured into offering sexual favours to secure roles or avoid being blacklisted. 2 The committee found that women face discrimination in terms of remuneration and basic workplace safeguards such as the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC), which does not exist in practice. Women fear retaliation and are often coerced into not filing complaints. 3. The report mentions that the Malayalam film industry is under the control of certain producers, directors and actors all male and dominates other persons working in cinema. A Billings man admitted Thursday to trafficking narcotics and ramming a law enforcement cruiser prior to his arrest last year. Luke Michael Dovel pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substances and to assault a federal officer. Following the 29-year-olds arrest in September 2023, police found more than 1,000 fentanyl pills in his vehicle. Dovel is facing a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison in the wake of his guilty plea. In August 2023, the agents from the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation suspected Dovel was selling fentanyl in Billings. The investigation into Dovels drug trafficking also included agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. DCI agents tracked Dovel to an SUV outside a Billings hotel on Overland Avenue. Assisting DCI in the arrest were U.S. Marshals and the Montana Highway Patrol. U.S. Marshals vehicles pinned the SUV Dovel was driving, and Dovel tried ramming a federal cruiser several times. When attempts to break through the vehicles surrounding him failed, Dovel got out of his SUV and surrendered. Law enforcement searched the SUV and found roughly 1,500 pills containing fentanyl, a synthetic opioid blamed for a massive rise in fatal overdoses in the United States. Police also seized loose fentanyl powder, a loaded handgun magazine and more than $8,000 in cash. Yellowstone County prosecutors charged Dovel with multiple felonies after the arrest, including four counts of possession with intent to distribute. Federal charges followed in which he was indicted on counts of possession with intent to distribute, possessing ammunition while prohibited from doing so and assaulting a federal officer. Earlier this month, Dovel reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. In exchange for his guilty plea, the charge of possessing ammunition was dropped. His charges in Yellowstone County District Court were still pending as of Friday afternoon. At the time of his arrest on Sept. 18, 2023, Dovel had a warrant for his arrest connected to probation violations. In 2013, when Dovel was 19 years old, he committed a litany of offences that included theft, drug possession and accepting a firearm while under indictment. Those offenses resulted in him receiving sentences in federal and Yellowstone County District Court. Leading up to his federal sentencing in 2016, Dovel wrote to the judge presiding over his case that hed earned his GED while in custody and had ambitions to attend college. I would also like to do my part to make sure the next generation of kids dont make the same mistakes I did, he wrote. I would also like to become a narcotics anonymous sponsor so I can help others stay clean, happy and sober. Last year, city and county drug task forces seized more than 80,000 fentanyl pills during the course of their investigations, according to data supplied by the Billings Police Department, along with about 14 pounds of loose fentanyl powder. From Jan. 1 through June, the City-County Specialized Investigations Unit seized 14 grams of fentanyl powder and 32,563 pills. During that same period, BPDs Street Crimes Unit recovered nearly 11 pounds of contraband drugs. In the fallout of a nationwide surge in fatal overdoses starting in 2019, many of those due to fentanyl, overdose deaths finally started to decline in the fall of 2023, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While the estimated overdose deaths in the U.S. remained at a staggering 107,000 throughout 2023, they were still down from the 111,029 deaths reported in 2022. In a shocking incident, a passenger suffered a cardiac arrest at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on August 20. The swift action of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) members who conducted life-saving CPR on a passenger, helped him survive. The video of the unexpected incident has been doing the rounds on social media with the internet praising the authorities for their immediate action. The CISF jawans quick response to the matter has grabbed the attention of Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor, who has praised the armed forces for their relentless pursuit to help civilians. Sharing a video of the incident that took place at the airport, Arjun Kapoor wrote, We take them for granted on most days when we travel but its amazing to see that they dont only protect us but can help someone in a life or death situation. He also used clap and salute emojis to praise the act. As per reports, the passenger was taken to Safdarjung Hospital for treatment and a spokesperson of the force stated that he was in stable condition. According to the spokesperson, Arshad Ayoub slumped near the hand trolley section while on his way to catch an IndiGo flight to Srinagar at IGI Airports terminal 2. A two-member quick reaction team (QRT) of the CISF noticed the passenger collapsing and one of them quickly started giving CPR to him. #WATCH | A quick CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation) to a passenger Arshid Ayoub by the Central Industrial Security Force's quick reaction team played a crucial role in establising his condition. Ayoub, bound for Srinagar flight from Terminal 2 of the IGI Airport on Tuesday pic.twitter.com/b21wZG78Oa ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2024 ANI released a video which has gained the attention of many social media users. While some praised the forces for their immediate action, many noted how CPR training is essential. One user said, Hats off to CISF Team.. really great ..they have saved one life. Nowadays these cases are happening everywhere, such CPR training to be given to all. Hats off to CISF Team.. really great ..they have saved one life, who is son of some parents who waits at home to see him. Now a days these cases are happening every where , such CPR training to be give to all . rajkamal goundi Mishra (@GoundiMishra) August 22, 2024 Arjun Kapoor has recently been vocal about many pressing issues in the country. He posted a heartfelt message on Raksha Bandhan related to the rape and murder of an RG Kar Medical College doctor. The actor addressed the ongoing statewide rallies, emphasising the importance of building a safer atmosphere for women rather than simply protecting them. The actor is looking forward to the release of Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shettys Singham Again. Arjun will portray the antagonist in the film, which also stars Akshay Kumar, Ranveer Singh, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Deepika Padukone, Jackie Shroff and Tiger Shroff. Big Boss Marathi Season 5, hosted by actor Ritesh Deshmukh, is currently streaming on the Colors Marathi channel. Deshmukh recently rocked the headlines with his OTT releases, Pill and Kakuda and has been creating a huge roar as the host of Bigg Boss Marathi 5 marking his debut in the show. The results have been nothing sort of phenomenal. The show is creating a huge buzz among fans and followers, with its episodes filled with twists and turns. This year, the craze of this show with the new season is increasing day by day. Bigg Boss Marathi has created history with record-breaking TRP ratings. On Saturday, the episode, titled Bhau Dhakka, received a 3.7 rating and on Sunday, featuring a special episode with Akshay Kumar, reached a 4.0 rating. The show has an average rating of 3.9 which indicates consistent high viewership throughout the week. The shows performance is also significant because it has set new records. It not only dominated its timeslot but also beat the ratings of other non-fiction programs on Marathi Channels, making it a leading one in this category. By breaking its record and beating the other non-fiction Marathi shows, Bigg Boss Marathi season 5 has set a new standard in viewership for Marathi television. The show constantly updates the audience about its latest episode by posting clips about its promo on a social media platform that sparks curiosity among the viewers. The constant controversies and the intense fight between the contestants are also compelling as they make the audience think who is right or wrong increasing their curiosity about what is going to happen next. Even the contestants are also creating their distinct personalities and images, leading to numerous different reactions from the audience. Some contestants are receiving positive feedback while others are facing intense criticism and trolling on social media. All together Bigg Boss Marathi Season 5 is characterized by high drama ranging from intense fights, arrival of new guests, and varied audience responses, contributing to its strong performance. Gauahar Khan and her husband Zaid Darbar are back in Mumbai after enjoying a picturesque getaway in Switzerland. The couple has been sharing glimpses of their fun-filled vacation where they were also joined by their son, Zehaan. As the duo landed in Mumbai on Thursday, the paparazzi stationed outside captured a video of them, flaunting their on-point airport fashion and cute moments with the little bundle of joy. The video showcases Gauahar Khan and Zaid Drabar making their way out of the terminal, with the actress holding her baby in her arms. Walking hand in hand, the duo dished out some major couple goals as they also indulged in a quick conversation with each other. In a precious moment, their son Zehaan bid adieu to the shutterbugs, cutely waving at them. The proud mamma, Gauahar, was surprised to see her little munchkins delightful gesture. Decoding their outfits, Gauahar Khan sported a comfy look in a white tank top and black relaxed trousers. She also layered the top with an oversized matching sweatshirt and completed the look with a black cross-body bag, sunglasses and sneakers. Zaid Darbar, on the other hand, kept it uber-cool in a black sweatshirt with brown pants and sneakers. Their son, Zehaan, looked cute in a white co-ord set paired with a red sleeveless jacket. Gauahar Khan, in Switzerland, also had her Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge moment. In a video she shared on the photo-sharing application, Gauahar can be seen dancing in a train to the song Zara Sa Jhoom Loon Main from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. Shot just before their train departure, the video perfectly captured her playful energy as she was also joined by husband Zaid Darbar for a romantic touch. In her caption, Gauahar wrote, Mandatory filmy reel in Switzerland. Even if you have 2 mins to shoot it, before the train leaves. Hahahah. Swiss trains are always on time. Gauahar Khan and Zaid Darbar got married in December 2020. In December 2022, they announced their pregnancy and welcomed their son, Zehaan in 2023. In terms of work, Gauahar is popular for her role in films like Ishaqzaade, Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year and Begum Jaan. She also emerged as the winner of Bigg Boss 7, hosted by Salman Khan. Vaani Kapoors journey in the Indian film industry has been nothing short of inspiring. Ever since debuting in 2013 with Shuddh Desi Romance, the actress has been impressing cinephiles with her incredible performances. Over the years, Vaani has starred in a variety of successful films, including Befikre and War, showcasing her ability to excel in both romantic and action-packed roles. With a blend of elegance and talent, she continues to captivate audiences and is one of the most promising actresses in the industry. Her upcoming projects and glamorous public appearances only add to her growing popularity. The stars latest film Khel Khel Mein is currently in cinemas. The movie also features Akshay Kumar, Ammy Virk, Fardeen Khan, Aditya Seal, Taapsee Pannu and Pragya Jaiswal. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vaani Kapoor (@vaanikapoor) Today on August 23, 2024, Vaani turns 35-years-old. Let us take a look at her top films, upcoming projects and glamorous pictures. Vaani Kapoors Top Films WarThe high-octane action thriller stars Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Vaani Kapoor, Anupria Goenka and Ashutosh Rana in the key roles. In the film, Tiger plays Khalid who is tasked with eliminating Major Kabir Dhaliwal (played by Hrithik Roshan). Vaani, on the other hand, portrays Naina, Kabirs girlfriend and a single mother. Though limited screen time was allocated to her character, Vaani won hearts with her on-point performance. BefikreDirected by Aditya Chopra, Befikre follows Dharam (played by Ranveer Singh), a free-spirited Delhi boy in Paris who falls in love with Shyra (played by Vaani Kapoor), a wild, French-born Indian girl. As they decide to embark on a whirlwind of carefree adventures, their contrasting personalities soon lead to clashes. The film beautifully explores the complexities of love and the courage required to keep it intact. Shuddh Desi RomanceSushant Singh Rajput played a commitment-phobic man in this romantic-drama that explores modern love. Joining him in this project are Parineeti Chopra and Vaani Kapoor. While Parineeti portrays Gayatri, his live-in partner, Vaani plays the role of Tara, a bold and outspoken woman who falls for Raghu (Sushant Singh Rajput). The film marked Vaanis entry into Bollywood. Bell BottomThe 2021 spy thriller is based on the real-life 1980s hijacking events in India. Headlined by Akshay Kumar, the film portrays him in the role of a RAW agent whereas Vaani plays his wife, Radhika. The nuance that Vaani brought on screen while playing the dedicated wife who provides emotional support to the lead actor solidified her position as a versatile actress. Chandigarh Kare AashiquiIn this 2021 release, Vaani shared the screen space with Ayushmann Khurrana, who played Manu, a gym owner. The simple yet unique love story between the duo takes an intriguing turn when Manu discovers Maanvi is a transgender woman. The film is based on the narrative of acceptance, love beyond societal norms and the courage to embrace sexuality and individuality. Vaani Kapoors Upcoming Films Badtameez Gill Vaani Kapoor will headline the film directed by Navjot Gulati. This coming of modern-age dramedy is set in Bareilly and London. Apart from Vaani, the film also stars Jubilee star Aparshakti Khurrana as Vaanis brother and veteran actor Paresh Rawal as her father. Raid 2 Ajay Devgns Raid 2 will also feature Vaani in an important role. Touted to be one of the most awaited sequels, the filming for the upcoming project has already begun. Directed by Raj Kumar Gupta, the film is jointly backed by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Kumar Mangat Pathak and Abhishek Pathak under their banners T-Series and Panorama Studios. It is scheduled to be released theatrically on November 15. Vaani Kapoors Captivating Images For one of her promotional events for her latest film Khel Khel Mein, Vaani Kapoor turned into a hot mess wearing a black dress by David Koma. The sleeveless black mini dress featured a slit adorned with two orange roses. She elevated her look with orange boots. Vaani Kapoor flaunted her fashion-forward style in a light blue single-shoulder mini dress. The playful design of the dress added a vibrant touch to her look. For a hint of fun, she paired the outfit with striking red earrings and matching heels. We all lost our hearts when Vaani Kapoor wore a chocolate brown dress from the shelves of FWRD. Priced at Rs 79,393, the dress came with a fitted silhouette, mid-length hem and thigh-high slit for added oomph. She accessorised the look with a silver ear cuff and diamond earrings. Vaani looked ethereal in this butter-yellow-hued dress that featured a sweetheart halter neckline, backless detailing and a beautiful flare at the bottom. With the help of celebrity fashion stylist Chandini Whabi, Vaani accessorised her look with just a pair of black flower-shaped stud earrings. We wish many more years of happiness and success to Vaani Kapoor. Kangana Ranaut is gearing up for her upcoming political drama Emergency, where she not only stars but also takes the directors chair. The actor, who portrays former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the film, has been receiving praise following the release of the films trailer. In an interview with Bollywood Hungama, Kangana addressed the potential for controversy when dealing with sensitive political topics in films. When asked if she was concerned about people taking offense, given the films politically charged subject matter, Kangana explained that she focuses on telling stories from her own perspective, rather than worrying about public reactions. She drew a parallel to how she handles being imitated by mimicry artists, saying, Main apni mimicry dekhti hoon. Kitne log mujhe mimic karte hain. Main to bohot zyada popular hoon mimicry ki duniya me. Bohot mere mimicry artist hain. Aisa nahi hai ki hum dekhte hain aur hum offend ho jaate hain. (I often see people imitating me. There are a lot of mimicry artists who try to imitate me. I dont get offended when I see them). Kangana further elaborated, Jab koi bohot dil se kisine mimic kiya ho, mujhe bareeki se pees ke pi liya ho, uspe hum prabhavit aur mohit ho jaate hain. Kyuki wo bhav aap tak pahuch jaata hai. Main kabhi second guess nahi karti ki ye mere baare me kya sochega, wo kya sochega. Maine ye film apne nazariye se banayi hai aur dekhte hain iska kya parinaam hoga (If someone mimics me with sincerity and captures my basic mannerisms, I am truly impressed and flattered. Its about connecting with the intent behind the act. I never second-guess what people will think about me. I made this movie from my own perspective, so lets see how it will be received). Speaking about her film Emergency, she announced it in 2021 but later clarified that even though it is a political drama, it is not Indira Gandhis biopic. The actress is not just playing the lead in the film but is also directing it. Besides Kangana, Emergency also stars Anupam Kher, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry and Shreyas Talpade among others. While Shreyas Talpade will be seen playing the role of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Anupam Kher will be seen as Jayaprakash Narayan. Late actor Satish Kaushik will also be seen as Former Deputy Prime Minister of India, Jagjivan Ram. During the trailer launch of the film earlier this month, Kangana also clarified if she will quit films since she has joined politics now. Whether I would continue to act, I think this is a question where I would like people to decide that. For example, I never said I wanted to be a leader. People should say you should be a leader. Whether a party does surveys or whatever the criteria was to give you a ticket, it is peoples choice that I should fight the elections. Now, tomorrow if Emergency works and if they want to see more of me, if I feel I can have success, I will continue, she said. Otherwise, if I feel I have more success in politics and I am needed there more We go where we feel needed, respected and value. I will let life decide for me. I have no such plans that I will go here or there. I am fine anywhere where I am needed to whatever is needed, the actress added. Emergency has been postponed multiple times and is now scheduled to hit theatres on September 6, 2024. Malayali actor Nirmal Benny, best known for his role in the film Amen, tragically passed away in the early hours of August 23, 2024, at the age of 37. The heartbreaking news was shared by his close friend and producer Sanjay Padiyoor, who took to social media to express his sorrow. In a poignant Facebook post, Sanjay revealed that Nirmal succumbed to a heart attack in Thiruvananthapuram. He wrote, Bidding adieu to my dear friend The Kochachan role of Amen and the central character he played in my Dooram. He died early this morning due to a heart attack. Praying to God that the soul of my dear friend rests in eternal peace. Nirmal Benny, a talented actor, rose to fame for his memorable portrayal of Kochachan (junior priest) in Lijo Jose Pellisserys critically acclaimed film *Amen*. His career in the film industry began in 2012 with the movie Navagatharkku Swagatham, and he went on to appear in a total of five films, including *Amen* and Dooram. Nirmal also left his mark on the digital world through his appearances in popular YouTube videos. His untimely demise has left a void in the industry and among his fans. Priyanka Chopra once again captivated everyone with her stunning appearance as she arrived at her brother Siddharth Chopras intimate wedding festivities. Dressed in a striking magenta saree, Priyanka exuded elegance and grace. The saree, crafted from a sheer fabric, was beautifully draped, accentuating her figure. It featured intricate sequin work along the borders, adding a touch of glamour to her traditional look. Complementing her saree, Priyanka wore a layered pearl choker necklace, paired with matching pearl earrings, which gave her ensemble a regal touch. Her hair was styled in a loose, elegant updo with soft curls framing her face, and her makeup was kept classic with bold red lips and a subtle smoky eye. As Priyanka arrived at the venue with her close friend Tamanna Dutt, the paparazzi eagerly started clicking pictures and calling out her name. However, the security personnel, in an attempt to control the situation, began to push the photographers back. Priyanka, who noticed the commotion, immediately turned around and gestured for the security to stop. With her signature poise, she walked back towards the paps and sweetly posed, ensuring they got the perfect shot. This event marked another special family moment for Priyanka. In April 2024, her brother Siddharth Chopra had a roka ceremony with his fiancee Neelam Upadhyaya. Siddharth was previously engaged to Ishita Kumar in 2019. The couple had even celebrated their roka ceremony, attended by Priyanka, and were set to marry in April 2019. However, the wedding was called off, and the couple eventually went their separate ways. Ishita later tied the knot in 2021. Priyankas visit to Mumbai came as a pleasant surprise, especially since it followed her appearance at the grand wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant at the Jio World Convention Centre, which she attended with her husband, Nick Jonas. Prior to this, Priyanka had been busy with multiple projects. She recently completed filming The Bluff in Australia, a highly anticipated film produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Anthony and Joe Russos AGBO, starring alongside Karl Urban and Ismael Cruz Cordova. Additionally, she wrapped up shooting for Heads Of State, a film directed by Ilya Naishuller, featuring Idris Elba and John Cena. Rishab Shetty, who received immense recognition for his blockbuster film Kantara, is soon going to be back with its prequel. Kantara: Chapter 1 is one of the most anticipated films, and the National Award winning actor has once again captivated viewers with his dedication to his craft. Rishab recently released a glimpse of his tough training session on social media which has only increased the buzz around the upcoming project. In the latest picture, Rishab Shetty can be seen performing Kalaripayattu, one of the worlds oldest advanced martial arts techniques that originated in Kerala. In the photo, Rishab is shown clutching a sword and shield flaunting his well built physique. He was clad in a black vest and a maroon dhoti. The actor posted the picture with nothing but a heart emoji. Fans soon started showering praises in the comments and also expressed how eager they were to watch the film. One of them wrote, Kantara chapter 1 create a history, while another stated, Waiting for kantara chapter 1 Earlier, a report by Pinkvilla revealed that the Kantara: Chapter 1s fourth scheduled shoot is expected to begin in the last week of August. According to sources mentioned by the publication, the upcoming shoot would contain a major action sequence shot on a grand scale. The film is said to be a precursor to the previous installment and will most likely continue the story of the Panchurli Deiva, which is set in the Kadamba era. The prequel, directed by Rishab, reintroduces Ajaneesh Loknath as the music director, who wowed everyone with his work in the first film. Further, the report mentioned that the film is anticipated to hit theatres in late 2024, and OTT platform Amazon Prime Video is expected to acquire the streaming rights post-release. The movie Kantara, which was released in 2022, gained major popularity over its narration and the exquisite graphics combined with stunning mythological tales. The film, with its folklore-based storytelling, followed a fight between villagers and powerful landowners, delving into themes of justice, faith, and the relationship between humans and environment. This action drama was shot in Keradi, a small seaside village in Karnataka, and digs deeply into the regions cultural and spiritual traditions. The films protagonist, Shiva, is a rebel who defies traditional standards and speaks out against environmental exploitation. Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal are clearly smitten with each other. After getting married in June, the couple has been enjoying the new phase. Recently, they jetted off to a dreamy destination and have been sharing glimpses of their vacation on Instagram. In her latest post, Sonakshi Sinha shared a stunning beachside photo, giving fans a peek into their romantic getaway. Soaking in the sun, Sonakshi Sinha gave a view of Zaheer Iqbal as he posed against the backdrop of the beach in blue shorts. Sharing the picture, Zaheer wrote, Beach day. Zaheer Iqbal recently posted a series of photos from their latest adventure, featuring a memorable moment with a bear. He captioned the images, A Boy his BAE and a Bear. In the pictures, Sonakshi Sinha donned a denim jacket and black sunglasses, while Zaheer looked stylish in a grey tee. The post prompted a reaction from Huma Qureshi who commented, But why is your BAE behind the glass? Sonakshi Sinhas Heeramandi co-star Richa Chadha also reacted saying, ennnnjoy. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Zaheer Iqbal (@iamzahero) Sonakshi Sinha and Zaheer Iqbal got married on June 23 in a private ceremony at her residence in Bandra, with only close friends and family present. After their wedding, they enjoyed their honeymoon trip, first to Singapore and then to the Philippines. In an interview with Hindustan Times, Sonakshi shared that their wedding had a special connection with their fans, saying, I feel everyone has attended my wedding. She recounted how, even while in Singapore, people at a coffee shop recognized them and congratulated them with pastries, reflecting how widely their wedding had been celebrated. Work-wise, Sonakshi Sinha was last seen in Kakuda alongside Riteish Deshmukh and Saqib Saleem. This ZEE5 original, directed by Aditya Sarpotdar, is set in an Uttar Pradesh town haunted by a mischievous ghost Kakuda. The film follows Riteishs character as he battles supernatural forces alongside his co-stars Sonakshi and Saqib. Malayalam actor Tovino Thomas is hurt as the Malayalam film industry is getting targeted after the shocking revelations by the Justice Hema Committee report. In a recent interview, Tovino admitted that even he was approached by the commission to talk about his films. The actor seemingly defended the Malayalam film industry saying such things happen in other film industries too. I spoke to the committee. This committee was set up only in the Malayalam industry, thats why were talking about things happening in the Malayalam film industry. If such a committee is set up in any other industry not just films, or anywhere in the world, youd know that this problem exists even there. Now, if people say this happens only in the Malayalam film industry, it is hurtful for me because Im a part of the industry, he told Indian Express. Not everyone in the industry is going through that or perpetrating that. According to the report, people are going through those terrible things, and some have done that. But not everyone, I want to clarify that, the actor added. However, Tovino also shared that perpetrators mentioned in Hema Committee report must be punished. If someone has done such a terrible thing to anyone, be it a man or a woman, they should get the deserved punishment. They shouldnt be spared, thats the basic thing to do. They should not just be punished but we must ensure that this doesnt happen again. That awareness, that education system must be there so that (the workspace is safer for women), he said. What Is Justice Hema Committee Report? Revelations by Justice Hema Committee report have left the entire nation shocked. In 2017, a Malayalam actress actress was sexually assaulted following which the government formed a three-member commission. While it was headed by Justice K Hema (retired), former bureaucrat KB Valsalakumari and veteran actress Sharada were the other two team members. The report, which was submitted to the government in 2019, was made available to the public earlier this week. The report investigates several aspects of the Malayalam film industry including sexual harassment, lack of basic facilities like womens toilets and changing rooms, pay disparity and discrimination on the basis of gender. On the tense night of September 6, 2019, as millions of Indians held their breath, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stood shoulder to shoulder with the scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), eagerly anticipating the Mangalyaan launch. The atmosphere was charged with hope and excitement, a testament to the years of hard work that had gone into making this mission a reality. But when the mission faltered, plunging the room into an eerie silence, a collective fear gripped those present. How would the prime minister react? What would be the fate of Indias space aspirations? In that moment of uncertainty, PM Modi did something that would leave an indelible mark on Indias space journey. With a calm demeanour that belied the gravity of the situation, he embraced ISROs chief, not with words of disappointment but with a message of resilience and hope. The next morning, his speech reverberated across the nation, not as a reprimand but as a beacon of encouragement, a rallying cry for perseverance in the face of setbacks. This was no ordinary response; it was a moment of leadership that would become a defining point for Indias space ambitions. PM Modis personal involvement in ISROs aspirations marked a significant turning point, igniting a new era of ambition and determination in Indias space sector. Fast forward to August 23, 2023, and that spirit of resilience bore fruit with Chandrayaan-3. The successful landing of the Vikram Lander on the Moons south pole at precisely 6:03 PM IST was not just a technological achievement; it was a moment of national pride. The Pragyan Rovers subsequent exploration of the lunar surface was a testament to the ingenuity and dedication of ISROs scientists. To commemorate this achievement, PM Modi declared August 23 as National Space Daya day dedicated to inspiring the next generation to pursue careers in science and technology. In a fitting tribute, he christened the landing site Shiv Shakti and named the point where Chandrayaan-2 had made its impact Tiranga, symbolising the indomitable spirit of a nation that refuses to be daunted by failure. Just last month, Chandrayaan-3s successwhich made India the first country to land near the lunar south polewas honoured with the prestigious World Space Award by the International Astronautical Federation. This recognition reaffirms Indias technological prowess and solidifies its position as a leader in space exploration, paving the way for future lunar endeavours, including human exploration. Under the visionary leadership of PM Modi, India has emerged as a formidable space power with significant global implications. Indias space program, known for its cost-effectiveness, has long been a leader in affordable space missions. Recognising the changing dynamics of space exploration, the Modi government has taken proactive steps to foster innovation and competition within the Indian space sector. Initiatives like the establishment of New Space India Ltd. (NSIL) and the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) underscore Indias commitment to nurturing a globally competitive commercial space industry. This forward-thinking approach ensures that India remains at the forefront of space exploration and technology. The achievements of Indias space program under PM Modis leadership are numerous and varied, encompassing indigenous launch capacity, successful missions to the Moon and Mars, satellite launches into multiple orbits, and the development of a robust national security space infrastructure. The pace and scale of these accomplishments is unparalleled. As of March 2024, the ISRO has conducted a total of 124 spacecraft missions, including 17 satellites developed by private players or students and 432 foreign satellites launched; additionally, the ISRO has also completed 96 launch missions, six re-entry missions, and projects like POEMS. A prime example of ISROs continued innovation is the Aditya-L1 mission, a state-of-the-art coronagraphy spacecraft launched on September 2, 2023. Aditya-L1, which reached its designated orbit at the L1 point1.5 million kilometres from Earthon January 6, 2024, is designed to explore the mysteries of the suns atmosphere, focussing on the corona and chromosphere. The mission aims to understand the origins and evolution of the solar corona, investigate the processes that heat the corona to millions of degrees Celsius, and develop indigenous technologies for future solar missions. The Modi governments strategic vision and steadfast commitment to space exploration have propelled India into a position of prominence on the global stage. This vision extends beyond exploration; it includes the development of advanced space technologies, such as anti-satellite technology (ASAT). Through the successful Mission Shakti test in 2019, India demonstrated its capabilities in ASAT, becoming only the fourth country in the world to do so. This strategic move underscores Indias commitment to safeguarding its space assets and participating in global dialogues on the responsible use of outer space. In alignment with Prime Minister Modis vision for technological innovation, the PSLV-C43 mission, which launched the Hyperspectral Imaging Satellite (HySIS) in November 2018, represents a significant advancement in studying Earths surface with unparalleled precision. This mission, which focuses on gathering hyperspectral data across various wavelengths, contributes to a wide range of applications including agriculture, forestry, geology, and disaster management. HySIS, along with other missions like Astrosat and KalamSAT, exemplifies Indias growing role as a key player in the international space arena. Under the Modi governments auspices, the Gaganyaan mission is progressing diligently, achieving notable milestones. The success of Gaganyaan would not only mark Indias entry as the fourth nationwith the US, Russia, and Chinapossessing human spaceflight capabilities but would also signify a monumental achievement in the nations space exploration journey. Looking ahead, India, under Modis guidance, is poised for further advancements in space exploration. India is setting its sights on the stars with an ambitious plan to establish its own space station by 2035, followed by the historic goal of landing an Indian astronaut on the Moon by 2040. As the nation gears up to achieve a $100 billion space economy by 2040, these milestones will not only cement Indias position as a global space leader but also propel the nation into a new era of space exploration and innovation. Despite challenges such as limited budgets and technological dependencies on imports, the Modi governments unwavering commitment to space exploration, coupled with increased private sector involvement, bodes well for the future. With continued focus on policy reforms, technological advancements and ambitious missions, India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modis leadership, is poised to emerge as a major force in the global space arena, solidifying its position as a frontrunner in space exploration and innovation. Indias ambitious strides in space exploration are not just limited to successful missions and technological advancements. Under Prime Minister Modis leadership, the nation has opened new frontiers for global collaboration and innovation by permitting up to 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in crucial space sectors including satellite manufacturing, operations, satellite data products, and related ground segments. This strategic move, aimed at bolstering Indias space capabilities, has been hailed by experts as a game-changer that will attract prominent international players, support homegrown startups, and stimulate high-tech research and development. This policy shift not only enables component manufacturers to harness private investments to enhance their offerings and foster access to cutting-edge technologies, but it also promotes collaboration with global players to develop next-generation space products. Furthermore, it places India at the forefront of global space exploration, driving innovation and excellence in the domain. The ISRO has an ambitious lineup of upcoming space missions, showcasing its commitment to advancing space exploration and technology, such as NISAR, Gaganyaan 1, Gaganyaan 2, Venus Orbiter Mission (Shukrayaan), Mars Orbiter Mission 2 (Mangalyaan 2), and Chandrayaan-4, amongst others. Tuhin A. Sinha is National Spokesperson, BJP, and a popular author; Sumit Kaushik is a PhD candidate at O.P. Jindal Global University. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. Yesterday, in the Supreme Court, the state machinery of West Bengal, represented by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, was repeatedly criticised for mishandling the criminal proceedings in the brutal rape and murder of the young doctor from Kolkatas RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. During the hearing, the entire nation witnessed a heated exchange between the Solicitor General of India, Tushar Mehta, and Kapil Sibal. As the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud-led bench reviewed the CBIs status report on the crime scene, it was evident that the highest court of the country was dissatisfied with the handling of the case, from the point of commission of the crime, which was recorded as having occurred in the early hours of August 9, 2024. How was it that the post-mortem was conducted at 6:10 pm on August 9, yet the unnatural death information was sent to the Tala police station at 11:30 pm on August 9? This is extremely disturbing, the bench questioned Sibal during the hearing. Justice PB Pardiwala was seen expressing utter shock and dismay at the blatant disregard for provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). In fact, Justice Pardiwala remarked that in his 30 years of professional life, he had never encountered a situation like this, commenting on the far-reaching and dangerous consequences of the gross mishandling by the state machinery of the case at hand. The bench continued to deliberate on the case, which it had taken suo motu cognisance of on August 18, and subsequently called for a status report on the crime from the CBI. By then, the Calcutta High Court had already transferred the investigation to the CBI. During the hearing, Sibal, who represented the West Bengal government, told the court that the federal agencys status report was untrue and that the proceedings leading up to the registration of the FIR were incorrect. The Solicitor General then pointed out that the records were crystal clear and only corroborated the laxity of the Kolkata Police. The bench focused on the delay in filing the Unnatural Death Report and the FIR. The bench was visibly irritated by the sequence of events and questioned the state. As Sibal asserted otherwise, the Solicitor General insisted that the case was not registered within the appropriate timeframe. At this point, Sibal sniggered. SG Tushar Mehta immediately lashed out at Sibal, asking him not to laugh as someone had been raped and lost her life. This was no laughing matter, he insisted. A girl has lost her life in the most inhuman and undignified manner. Somebody has died. Do not at least laugh. The sniggering and Mehtas reaction made headlines. Rape cases are on the rise in India. Statistics reveal that in 2022, 31,000 rape cases were registered in the country. The increase in reporting of sexual violence crimes presents a paradox when considering Indias efforts to end violence against women (EVAW). While it is true that, in the Indian context, a rise in reporting of sexual crimes against women might indicate a growing shift against stigma, one cannot ignore the sheer numbers. This paradox raises many important questions for India as a country for women. Of particular concern is the trivialisation of sexual violence and crimes, a recurring theme that pervades almost every cross-section of society. The Solicitor Generals vehement protest in the highest court was the culmination of this trivialisation that took place in the highest court of the land. It marked the breaking point for the countless silenced voices trampled beneath the stigma and backlash that a victim fears, long before she even considers coming forward. This is not the only issue to consider. Just two days before the suo motu case was taken up, the Supreme Court had to intervene and overturn a judgment by the Calcutta High Court. In that case, the judge had acquitted an accused in a sexual assault case while advising adolescent girls to control sexual urges. The Supreme Court found it shocking that such comments were made, particularly in a case involving a 14-year-old girl. How can you call the sexual assault of a 14-year-old non-exploitative? the court remarked, clearly appalled by the perversity of the order and the trivialisation of a crime as serious as this under the stringent POCSO law. In as much as it is colloquial, reporting a sexual crime and the trivialisation that accompanies it are two sides of the same coin. Often, speaking up by a survivor comes wrapped only in shrouds of hopehope that each victim and survivor of a sexual crime clings to in the name of the law and justice. The sniggering and SG Tushar Mehtas response made national headlines, not because that was the point, but because that is how it often plays out in the vertices of lesser-known towns, places, and police stations most of which are hidden from full public view. Why are you laughing? is not the first time someone has said to another in the midst of a sensitive sexual assault case. How can you laugh? No one will ever know. But, for our society, this minimalistic exchange in the highest court of the country is a reminder of the issues that surround us. It is a reminder that one can never get rid of termites without adequate, holistic treatment. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. The turbulent birth of Bangladesh was unique in being the only case of majority secessionism in the world to date, and one premised solely on linguistic identity and culture. Erstwhile East Pakistan constituted 51 per cent of the pre-1971 Pakistani population. This wrenching split squarely repudiated the hokum of the two-nation theory, which led to immense dislocation and massacres. It took millions of lives, two decades of chaos and tensions, and three major wars for this foundational myth to be tossed aside. Yet, a legion sticks to it, invoking either the chequered legacy of the founder or finding solace in alternative, revisionist histories or using it as a means to guilt-trip India. The philosophical conundrum known as the Ship of Theseus asks whether, if all the parts and components of a body are replaced, it remains the same old body or becomes an entirely new one. The aftermath of 1971 was a moment of reckoning for Pakistan, as well as for Bangladesh, as they faced the choice of defining themselves either through exclusionary terms, invoking mythical lore of past glory and vague abstractions, or through a broad, futuristic common vision. Ernst Renan said that a nation is defined as much by what it forgets as by what it remembers. From that standpoint, willful amnesia and slumber are rather strong in the Jammatis and their fellow travellers, who range from religious zealots to the fancy radical chic nihilists in India. This tendency is so pronounced that an updated version of Stockholm Syndrome might well be termed Dhaka Syndrome. The gruesome murders and mass rapes during Operation Searchlight, and the violence against Hindus, painstakingly documented by the brave journalist Anthony Mascarenhas in his 9,000-word essay in Sunday Times, compelled Indira Gandhi to intervene. The bloodletting and religious targeting blueprint and action plan bore a disturbing similarity to the Nazi genocide. And it is no secret who the overwhelming victims were and why, yet there has been no attempt to investigate this orgy of violence and frenzy of hatred without bias. The Jammatis and Razakars can be seen as equivalents of Schutzstaffel (SS) in the subcontinent, equally determined to annihilate the impure and purge the nations body politic from the other. While its often said that those who dont learn from the past are doomed to repeat it, what about those whose misreading was a projection of their own complacent make-beliefs? The Prolonged Myth It might come as a surprise today that Bangladesh became the first country in South Asia to constitutionally enshrine secularism in 1972, just a year after its tormentuous birth and amid catastrophic floods and immense poverty. The term was subsequently removed from the constitution, reinserted, then removed again, until the countrys Supreme Court finally reinstated it in 2010. Dhakas tryst with secularism carries another significant irony and a false start: its most prominent advocate had initially cut his teeth in political demonstrations, organisation, and mass mobilisation as a student activist with the Muslim League. The background of his political mentor and his early life raises questions about whether this commitment to secularism was a genuine change of heart, a pragmatic survival tactic, or mere expediency. In an interesting incident narrated in Mascarenhass A Legacy of Blood, Saudi Arabia, under King Faisal, expressed a desire for the fledgling country to become an Islamic Republic. Justice Abu Chowdhury, the countrys first High Commissioner to the UK and later President, explained the Bangladeshi brand of secularism to King Faisal with semantics that would have amazed King Solomon. Since only a very small minority does not profess the faith of Islam, Your Majesty might treat it as an Islamic country, said Justice Chowdhury. The small minority predominantly Hindu were those who were attacked and fled to India in 1971. This same minority is being systematically targeted and killed following Sheikh Hasinas deposition. The old political joke about Deng Xiaopings car at a traffic light, with him instructing his driver to Signal left, turn right, can be rephrased in the Bangladeshi context as Signal Secular, Turn Wherever. Whats characteristic about this small minorityaround 8 per cent of the countrys populationis that they found themselves on the wrong side of arbitrarily drawn borders not once, but twice. This has compounded the trauma of the Bengalis. Both times, they had to acquiesce to new political and cartographic realities as a fait accompli. The Awami League, the vanguard of the liberation movement turned political party, has been their best hope to keep the tide of Islamism in check and to secure some semblance of dignified access to state institutions. Sheikh Hasinas regime was a barrier, albeit a creaky and decrepit one, that stood between them and the Islamist thugs and hoodlums baying for blood, as the incidents since August 5, 2024, have unambiguously proved. In a 2016 article, the Dhaka Tribune quoted economist Abdul Barkat of Dhaka University, who stated, In the next 30 years, there would be no Hindus left in the country. From 1964 to 2013, around 11.3 million Hindus left Bangladesh due to religious persecution and discrimination. According to Barkats 30-year-long research, this exodus mostly took place during the military governments following independence. This is food for thought for the conveniently blind in India, who euphorically welcome street power and army custodianship as the herald of the glorious sun. Empirical facts and numbers dont lie, and unfortunately, cant be modified to suit ones whims. Founders Anxiety? Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was the political protege of the suave, Oxford-educated barrister Hussein Shaheed Suhrawardy, the former Mayor of Calcutta and orchestrator of Direct Action Day in 1946, which incited the Great Calcutta Killings. Suhrawardy went on to become the Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan. Within four years, the Brother Leader, Bangabandhu, transformed from the most beloved figurehead to one of the most reviled figures, meeting a tragic end akin to the Russian royals in a palace coup. For his acolytes, his legacy is perhaps best summarised by his own last statement, which could serve as an excellent epitaph: No one understands what I do for my country. What usually takes decadesthe disenchantment with authoritarian leaders and the irrepressible desire for changewas hyper-accelerated in Dhaka. From becoming the first head of state to speak at the UN General Assembly in Bengali and being the man of the hour, to meeting a fatal end in less than four years, the story of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman unravelled remarkably swiftly. The nexus of corruption, cartelism, and criminal impunity among party cadres, along with the bid to establish a single-party revolutionary state, was his undoing. Corruption and patronage were corroding the body politic, much like Chiang Kai-sheks China, about which Indian journalist Frank Moraes wrote, It was an oligarchy of personal power. The Daughters Return Salman Rushdies magical realist novel Shame is a comical allegory about an artificial country and its web of self-deceit, delusions, and existential dilemmas. Focusing on the intertwined lives of three sisters and two families, the novel serves as a fable about the foundation of Pakistan. It then delves into the Shakespearean dynamics between Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Zia-ul-Haq, two figures who represented the spectrum between fancily profligate left populism and austerely fanatic right mobilisation. The Hobsons choice in Islamic countries has often been along similar lines. Whats tragically real in the autumn of Sheikh Hasinas matriarchal fall is that the protests against her father were also initially led by students. The two poles of Bangladeshi democracy are perpetually suspended in the past, which makes the present dynamic: past memories, past events, past interpretations, and a desire to repaint it. The major political parties in Bangladesh, the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, each have their own versions of the past and their own retellings of the nations foundational event, liberation, and key protagonists. The two parties are led by individuals closely related to the original leaders: Mujibs daughter and General Zia-ur-Rehmans widow. The battles of the past are fought on the stages of the present, borrowing the same fervour and rhetoric. The three mothers of the imminent Omar Khayyam Shakil were using the past, their only remaining capital, as a means of purchasing the future, writes Rushdie. The Inexorable Trap Politics is a slippery slope, and one wrong move at the precipice can be fatal. Leaders who remain in power for long periods master, among other things, the art of concessions, accommodation, and approbation. The art of consensus is really the science of feigning, overlooking, defusing tensions, and balancing antagonisms. In a story laden with twists, turns, and dramatic ironies, Taslima Nasrin, the countrys dissident and exile who has received numerous death threats and survived assassination attempts from Islamists, adds another element of drama with her recent statement. Known for her outspoken views and never shying away from stirring the hornets nest, Nasrin has claimed that Sheikh Hasina has been driven out of power by the same forces she appeased decades ago. Nasrins book Lajja, which translates to Shame in English, details the anti-Hindu riots and carnage in 1990s Bangladesh. Between shame and shamelessness lies the axis upon which we turn; meteorological conditions at both these poles are of the most extreme, ferocious type. Shamelessness, shame: the roots of violence, writes Salman Rushdie in Shame. The shame springs from a prolonged identity crisis inherited from the throes of birth, the implacable conflict between the hardline religionists and the modernisers, the unresolved questions surrounding the cataclysms of 1947 and 1971, and the search for a definitive meaning, unity, and an idea of a nation that can transcend the past. The past is never dead. Its not even the past ~ William Faulkner Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. The recent case at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital is a stark reminder of the severity of the issues surrounding womens safety and the pervasive violence they face, even in environments where they should feel most secure. A young trainee doctor was raped and murdered within the supposed safety of the hospital premises while resting after long hours of duty. This horrifying crime is not an isolated incident but part of a broader epidemic of violence against women that permeates every aspect of our society. In just one week, the nation has been bombarded with reports of rape, assault, and violence against women, each story more disturbing than the last. These arent mere footnotes in the news; they are glaring indictments of a society that has systematically failed half its population. Violence against women occurs not only in dark alleys but also in workplaces, public spaces, and online. The National Crime Records Bureaus (NCRB) annual report reveals a harrowing surge in crimes against women in India. With a staggering 445,256 cases registered in 2022 aloneequivalent to nearly 51 FIRs every hourthe data exposes a grim escalation from 2021 and 2020. The rate of crimes against women per lakh population stood at 66.4, while the charge sheeting rate in such cases was logged at 75.8, according to the Crime in India 2022 report. Of the total registered cases, 18.7 per cent involved assault on women with intent to outrage modesty, and 7.1 per cent were rape cases. Yet, these alarming statistics represent only a fraction of the reality. Countless cases go unreported, silenced by fear, shame, or societal pressure. What is perhaps more troubling is that these acts of violence are not merely spontaneous outbursts but rather a reflection of the deep-seated inequalities that women face in every aspect of life. When women are reduced to commodities, violence becomes an everyday occurrence. This violence is not limited to physical assault; it extends to economic and emotional abuse, particularly in the workplace, where power dynamics are often skewed against women. Laws like the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, commonly known as the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) Act, were designed to protect women, but reality paints a different picture. While the Act mandates the formation of an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) in every workplace to address complaints of sexual harassment, the structure of these committees is inherently flawed. Comprising senior employees from the same organisation and an external member, typically from an NGO or similar body, these committees often prioritise protecting the companys interests over ensuring justice for the victim. The power dynamics at playwhere committee members may have vested interests in the companycreate an environment that discourages genuine investigation and accountability. The challenges extend beyond the workplace. The internet, initially intended as a space for connection and opportunity, has become a new battleground for women. The number of cybercrime incidents in 2021 increased by 18.4 per cent compared to 2019, but incidents targeting women rose significantly more, by 28 per cent, according to data released by the National Crime Records Bureau. Of the 52,974 cybercrime incidents reported in 2021, 10,73020.2 per cent were cases of crimes against women. From stalking and doxxing to revenge porn and online abuse, the digital realm provides new avenues to perpetuate old forms of violence. The anonymity of the internet emboldens perpetrators, while the lack of stringent cyber laws and the slow pace of legal recourse leave victims vulnerable. Where do we go from here? The current state of affairs reveals a disturbing disconnect between the laws on paper and their implementation in practice. The NCRBs 2021 report highlights a 95 per cent pendency rate in rape cases. These figures indicate a system that is not only sluggish but often indifferent to the plight of women. Delays in judicial proceedings, coupled with an unsympathetic administrative system, further discourage victims from coming forward. The PoSH Act and similar laws, while necessary, are insufficient as they stand. They address harm only after it has occurred and fail to challenge the systemic and gendered nature of work that leaves women vulnerable in the first place. Urgent reform is needed, starting with a re-evaluation of the ICCs composition to ensure impartiality and fairness. Employers must be held accountable for creating and maintaining a safe working environment, with stringent penalties for failure to do so. This is not just a legal failure but a societal one. Women are often shackled to lives of silent suffering, fighting not only for equality but for basic dignity. The fear of retaliation, job loss, and character assassination silences many, allowing a culture of impunity to thrive. It is a vicious cycle where power dynamics are exploited, and the victim is frequently left with no recourse. While legal protections and growing awareness represent progress, the numbers tell a different storya story of systemic failure, where laws exist more in theory than in practice, and a society that continues to devalue women at every turn. We cannot afford to let these stories fade into the background. They demand our attention, our outrage, and, most importantly, our action. The time for change is long overdue. The author is Rajya Sabha MP, and National General Secretary, YSR Congress Party. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, armed with overwhelming support in the Congress Legislature Party, has gone on the offensive against his arch political rival Union minister and JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy and three other BJP leaders. Siddaramaiahs aggression is backed by support from both the cabinet and the legislature party and comes in the wake of the central leadership of the Congress standing firmly behind him. Siddaramaiah will be in the national capital to once again brief Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, organising secretary KC Venugopal, and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala on the entire controversy regarding the allocation of 14 sites to his wife in exchange for the unauthorised occupation of 3.6 acres of land by Mysurus Urban Development Authority (MUDA). He had earlier made his stance clear with the central leadership when the political issue began to snowball into a major controversy. Siddaramaiah has maintained that he has no role whatsoever in the gifting of the 3.16 acres of land by his brother-in-law Mallikarjun Swamy to his wife, BM Parvathi. The chief minister did not attend three cabinet meetings held on August 1, August 8, and August 22 in which discussions revolved around the MUDA case, in which his name has surfaced. These meetings were chaired by deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar. In those meetings, the Cabinet unanimously expressed solidarity against the illegal decision of the Governor to prosecute Siddaramaiah. It was stated that apart from granting sanction, which was totally against the Constitution and completely illegal, the Governors action also violated the Standard Operating Procedure issued by the Government of India for processing cases under Section 17(A) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The meeting on Thursday confirmed the resolution passed by the state cabinet on August 1 and 8, advising the Governor to withdraw the show-cause notice issued to Siddaramaiah based on a private complaint. Shivakumar, who is known to be a contender for Siddaramaiahs chair, has gone to the extent of stating: My chief minister will not resign. He will remain the CM for the next five years. Given the level of support and the consistent attacks from Kumaraswamy and the BJP, the cabinet decided to advise Governor Thawarchand Gehlot under Article 163 to sanction the prosecution of Kumaraswamy and BJP leader Janardhan Reddy, against whom chargesheets have already been filed. The cabinet also named former BJP ministers Shashikala Jolle and Murugesh Nirani, against whom investigations into corruption charges have been completed by probe agencies. The Congress government has condemned the Governor for acting as a representative of the Central government, which is unnecessarily trying to destabilise the state government by using the Governor, said Siddaramaiah earlier. He also stated that when there were serious cases against Kumaraswamy, Jolle, Reddy, and Nirani, the Governor did not grant prosecution, but in Siddaramaiahs case, sanction was granted even before a preliminary investigation. In the case of Siddaramaiah, the Governor received complaints from private individuals and issued a showcause notice. But in these cases, chargesheets have been filed, the Governor has sought clarifications, and these clarifications have also been provided by the Lokayukta SIT in Kumaraswamys case. So, we have advised the Governor under Article 163 to provide sanction for prosecution, said Karnataka Law Minister HK Patil after the cabinet meeting. Political analyst Sandeep Shastri points out that compared to 2023, Siddaramaiah seems to look weaker as a chief minister after the MUDA case. If you remove the veneer of formality, I dont see him emerging stronger. The backing that the Congress party is giving him is being done with a sense of inheritability, said Shastri, adding that the Congress high command at this point does not have any other choice but to back him. The situation that Siddaramaiah faces within his party reminds the analyst of how former BJP chief minister BS Yediyurappa was treated when he was faced with corruption charges during his term between 2008 and 2011. The BJP high command backed him, but when the issue got hotter and began to damage the image of the party, they dropped him like a hot potato. Siddaramaiah may meet the same fate if the case, as it unfolds, puts him on the back foot, said Shastri. He added that the MUDA controversy has certainly dented Siddaramaiahs image and there are enough factions within the party to take advantage of the situation and vie for the CM chair. In the formal sense, the Congress has made it look like everybody is backing him, but one needs to see how it pans out. In the previous term, Siddaramaiah was much more than a first among equals, but in this term, he is much less a first among equals, Shastri added. Union Home Minister Amit Shah slammed the Congress party on Friday for joining hands with the National Conference ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly polls. He accused the party of risking the countrys unity and security for its greed of power. Taking to his official X account, the BJP leader said, The Congress has once again exposed its ulterior motives by allying with the Abdullah familys National Conference. He also posted 10 questions for the national party and its leader Rahul Gandhi, while listing several of the manifesto promises of the regional party. Shah asked, Does the Congress support the National Conferences promise of a separate flag for Jammu and Kashmir? Do Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party support the JKNCs decision to restore Article 370 and 35A, and thereby pushing Jammu and Kashmir back into an era of unrest and terrorism? The full name of Farooq Abdullah-led party is Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC). The Congress party, which has repeatedly risked the nations unity and security to satiate its greed for power, has once again exposed its ulterior motives by allying with the Abdullah familys National Conference in the Jammu and Kashmir elections.Given the promises made in pic.twitter.com/omxj3xOdP3 Amit Shah (@AmitShah) August 23, 2024 The Union home minister asked whether the Congress supports promoting separatism again by engaging in dialogue with Pakistan instead of Kashmirs youth and the National Conferences decision to start LoC trade with Pakistan, thereby nurturing terrorism and its ecosystem across the border. His other queries fired to the Congress and Gandhi included whether the party supports reinstating relatives of those involved in terrorism and stone-pelting into government jobs, thereby bringing back terrorism, extremism and the era of strikes. The alliance has exposed the Congress partys anti-reservation stance, he said. Does Congress support the JKNCs promise to end reservations for Dalits, Gujjars, Bakarwals and Pahadi communities, thereby inflicting injustice upon them? Does the Congress want Shankaracharya Hill to be known as Takht-e-Suleiman, and Hari Hill as Koh-e-Maran, he sought to know. Shah asked whether the Congress supports the politics of pushing Jammu and Kashmirs economy back into corruption and handing it over to selected Pakistan-supported families, and whether it endorses the National Conferences politics of discrimination between Jammu and the Valley. Do the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi support the JKNCs divisive politics of granting autonomy to Kashmir? he asked. Shah also claimed that the Modi government ended years of discrimination against Dalits, tribes, Pahadis and backward communities by granting them reservations after the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A. He further asked, Does Rahul Gandhi support the JKNC manifesto, which calls for abolishing reservations for Dalits, Gujjars, Bakerwals and Pahadis? After allying with the National Conference, he should now clarify the Congress Partys stand on reservation policy. Reacting to the Union Home Ministers questions, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Vice President Omar Abdullah took to his official X account and asked, Why do I get the feeling the BJP & its leaders dont like us very much? Why do I get the feeling the BJP & its leaders dont like us very much? https://t.co/JdHI9MdBgb Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) August 23, 2024 Among the National Conferences 12 guarantees announced in its manifesto for the upcoming polls, the prominent ones are the restoration of Article 370 and Jammu and Kashmirs statehood as well as implementation of the autonomy resolution passed by the erstwhile assembly in 2000. The 90-member assembly of the Union Territory is going to the polls in three phases on September 18 and 25 and October 1. The counting of votes is scheduled for October 4. (with PTI inputs) Days after the Karnataka governor granted sanction for the prosecution of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority case, the Congress top leadership on Friday expressed its backing for him and alleged that the Centre had unleashed a systematic assault through a puppet governor to destabilise an elected government. The Congress said it stood united, would pursue the matter in courts and not be cowed. The party made the assertion after Siddaramaiah and Karnatakas Deputy Chief Minister and Pradesh Congress Committee chief DK Shivakumar met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi at the AICC headquarters in Delhi. Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal and Congress general secretary in-charge of the state Randeep Surjewala were also present during the meeting. After the meeting, Siddaramaiah said they had explained the situation in Karnataka to the party top brass. It has been challenged in court. We believe in the law of the land. The decision taken by the governor is unconstitutional and illegal. We will get justice at the hands of the courts, he asserted. Kharge and Gandhi had a detailed interaction with the chief minister and the deputy chief minister as well as senior Karnataka ministers, Surjewala told reporters after the meeting. The current political situation in Karnataka was discussed in detail. The chief minister and the Pradesh Congress Committee president and deputy chief minister briefed the Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on how a systematic and designed assault has been unleashed through the office of a puppet governor as part of a sinister conspiracy designed to destabilise an elected government, he said. Frustrated by a decimating defeat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the entire BJP leadership are now hiding behind the governor to attack the Congress government in Karnataka. This is not an attempt to dislodge or destabilise the Congress government of Karnataka but in truth this is a sinister design to attack the five Congress guarantees by which we are transferring Rs 53,000 crore every year directly in the bank accounts of the people, he said. Surjewala alleged that the BJP had been attacking the Congress guarantees benefitting the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled tribes, backward classes and minorities for the past year. The BJP and the Janata Dal (S) are scared of the Congress guarantees and want them to be stopped, he claimed. This is not an attack on our chief minister or deputy chief minister, this is an attack on the people of Karnataka by the Modi government, drunk on power and using a puppet governor to destabilise an elected government, Surjewala said. This is also an assault on a backward class chief minister who is the senior-most chief minister in the country, he said and added that it was revenge-seeking from the people of Karnataka. The Congress government in Karnataka is committed to continuing with its guarantees, he said. We will face every assault by the Union government and their governor. We will follow all our legal remedies, we have full faith in the majesty of the law and in the system of the judiciary. We will take this battle to the court of the people, Surjewala said. He asked why the governor had not granted sanction for the prosecution of former chief minister BS Yediyurappa for the past five to six years. Surjewala also questioned why the governor had not sanctioned the prosecution against HD Kumaraswamy and half-a-dozen other BJP and JD(S) leaders, asserting that we will not be cowed down. We stand united in this fight. We stand with our chief minister. We will not accept any assault just because our chief minister comes from a backward class background, Surjewala said. Shivakumar asserted that the Congress leadership was standing with them and everyone was firmly supporting Siddaramaiah. The Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) scam has been a thorn in Siddaramaiahs side, with allegations of illegal land dealings involving the chief minister and his wife Parvathi flying thick and fast. At the heart of the controversy are claims that Parvathi received 14 plots in exchange for 3.16 acres of land, which was allegedly acquired illegally by MUDA. Adding to the political pressure, Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot recently sanctioned investigations under the Prevention of Corruption Act, intensifying scrutiny of the chief minister. Accompanying Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar to Delhi were several key state ministers, including Home Minister G Parameshwar, Social Welfare Minister HC Mahadevappa and Minority and Housing Minister BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan, MLC K Govindaraju and Power Minister KJ George. Abhishek Banerjee Unhappy With TMC Govts Handling Of Kolkata Rape-Murder Case, Wants Accountability: SourcesAbandon the laggard system, protect the doctors, and make administration efficient to arrest any anti-incumbency before the 2026 assembly elections this seems to be the stand of Abhishek Banerjee who has been conspicuous by his absence lately from the side of his aunt and West Bengal chief minister, Mamata Banerjee. Sources close to the Diamond Harbour MP say it is apparent that Abhishek is not happy with the way the administration has handled the RG Kar Hospital situation after the horrific rape and murder of a 31-year-old doctor. Abhishek seems clear that the Trinamool Congress government must break the shackles of the laggard system that is not helping the cause at a time when both the party and the state government are facing the heat, sources close to the TMC leader told News18. Abhishek broke his silence on Thursday with a post on social media where he spoke of the larger issue of crimes against women in the country, citing figures of 900 rapes in the last 10 days while the RG Kar Hospital protest has been on, and asked the Centre for a comprehensive anti-rape law. He had earlier been critical of the vandalism carried out at the hospital on August 15 and asked for action. Over the past 10 days, while the nation has been protesting against the #RGKarMedicalcollege incident and demanding justice, 900 RAPES have occurred across different parts of India DURING THE VERY TIME WHEN PEOPLE WERE ON THE STREETS PROTESTING AGAINST THIS HORRIBLE CRIME. Abhishek Banerjee (@abhishekaitc) August 22, 2024 What Abhishek wants Sources close to Abhishek told News18 that there needs to be accountability in the system, and the state administration needs to be swift and responsive. Trinamool knows it will face certain anti-incumbency in 2026 and has to be prepared to counter it. Party insiders close to Abhishek say that he has also asked the state government to ensure the safety and security of doctors. Some say Abhisheks silence is also to put pressure on the system to get better. TMC leader Kunal Ghosh had earlier asked for Abhishek to be active in the day-to-day affairs of the party. Trinamools modest performance in the urban areas in the April-June Lok Sabha elections is also a cause for worry, especially after the Kolkata rape-murder case. Strife increasing, or signs of reconciliation? Small but stark changes are also showing the signs of strife. For example, the media coordination in TMC was done by Abhisheks team so far but since the day after the vandalism at the hospital took place, that has changed. TMC has a new coordination team now and has also started a new WhatsApp group for the media. However, the events of Thursday offered signs of some reconciliation too. After Abhisheks social media post asking for a new anti-rape law, chief minister Mamata Banerjee also put out a letter she sent to Prime Minister Mamata Banerjee demanding similar legislation with exemplary punishment. Does this show the CM and Abhishek, after being distant, are now joining forces to pressurise the Centre on the issue of laws for womens safety? The RG Kar Hospital incident seems to have changed many equations inside the TMC. Starbucks Corp. has faced enough criticism since it was revealed that the newly appointed CEO, Brian Niccol, would use a corporate jet to travel to the companys headquarters in Seattle. Niccol, who resides in California, has yet to take over the reins. His offer letter came to light via an SEC filing last week. As per the agreement, Niccol has not been asked to relocate to Seattle as he will commute 1,000 miles (1,600 km) to reach the Starbucks head office three days a week. The news created a stir among many social media buffs who pointed out the environmental impact of his frequent jet travel. Starbucks garnered appreciation when it introduced an eco-friendly green paper straw policy. A few years ago, the American coffee brand stopped the usage of plastic products in its outlets across the world. When people got to learn about the travel arrangements of Brian Niccole, several sarcastic posts and memes started surfacing, with users highlighting the topic of corporate hypocrisy. A person shared on X, Starbucks incoming CEO, Brian Niccol, will embark on an extraordinary daily commute of 1,600 kilometres. Hes a 50-year-old, who resides in California and will travel daily to the companys headquarters in Seattle. Is this corporate hypocrisy at its peakStarbucks introducing paper straws and cups while pushing towards sustainability? Starbucks incoming CEO, Brian Niccol, will embark on an extraordinary daily commute of 1,600 kilometers. Hes 50-year-old, who resides in California, will travel daily to the companys headquarters in SeattleIs this corporate hypocrisy at its peakStarbucks introducing paper pic.twitter.com/jNaj5dvs1Y Fenil Kothari (@fenilkothari) August 21, 2024 Referring to the irony of Starbucks, another X user noted, Starbucks new CEO will fly 1600 km daily in a private jet for work. Meanwhile Starbucks employees to customers: Paper straw lijiye. Thak gaye honge environment kharaab kar kar ke (Take paper straws. You must have been tired of affecting the environment). Starbucks' new CEO will fly 1600 kms daily in a private jet for workMeanwhile starbucks employees to customers: pic.twitter.com/EEigNwjitY Sagar (@sagarcasm) August 21, 2024 Another disappointed user slammed Starbucks, saying, Theyll convince you that its essential you switch to paper straws (it is) meanwhile their CEOs take enough pvt fights to eclipse your carbon footprint for centuries. Theyll convince you that its essential you switch to paper straws (it is) meanwhile their CEOs take enough pvt fights to eclipse your carbon footprint for centuries. https://t.co/WpyIR1FM0r @fivexfive.bsky.social (@FiveXFive_ca) August 23, 2024 A person echoed the same sentiment and posted, Starbucks: We will use paper straws because of climate change. Also, Starbucks: Our CEO can use a company jet to travel 1600 km to the office 3x a week because he doesnt need to relocate. Starbucks: We will use paper straws because climate change Also, Starbucks: Our CEO can use company jet to travel 1600 km to the office 3x a week because he don't need to relocate #starbucks Jasmin (@Jasminlochav) August 21, 2024 An Indian man feels Starbucks should stop worrying about the straws, ICE and Electric. He also mentioned that the distance between California and Seattle is the same as that between Delhi and Hyderabad. Starbucks CEO will commute daily between California and Seattle for work in a private jet, it's the same distance between Delhi and Hyderabad.YOU worry about the straws, ICE and Electric! #Starbucks #Savetheplanet pic.twitter.com/J2uLz0Su3w . (@dr_sammd) August 22, 2024 Brian Niccol has succeeded Laxman Narasimhan to become the CEO of Starbucks. In his offer letter, it was also mentioned that the company would provide him with a personal remote office in Newport Beach near his California home. Niccol has also received a joining bonus of 10 million dollars and his annual salary is roughly 1.6 million dollars. Sri Venkateswara Temple in Tirupati is considered one of the most revered Hindu pilgrimage sites in India. The holy temple witnesses thousands of devotees from across the world arriving at the site seeking blessings from the lord. On Friday, an unusual scene caught the internets attention as a family from Pune was clicked arriving at the temple for a dazzling spectacle. How, you may ask? They were wearing an extraordinary 25 kg of gold jewellery for their spiritual visit to the temple. In a video that surfaced on the internet, the devotees can be seen embracing traditional trends as they wore ethnic clothes, perfect for the temple visit. However, what left many intrigued was the choice of the jewellery they accessorised the outfit with. Donning layers of glittering gold, the family comprised two men, a woman and a boy. Their several gold chains, gold sunglasses, bangles, necklaces, a 7 number gold chain and other ornaments were worth Rs 180 crore, as reported by PTI. Further, the family was guarded by two men in navy blue khaki suits along with a cop as they sought blessings at the temple. VIDEO | Andhra Pradesh: Devotees from Pune wearing 25 kg of gold visited Tirumala's Venkateswara Temple earlier today. (Full video available on PTI Videos https://t.co/n147TvqRQz) pic.twitter.com/k38FCr30zE Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 23, 2024 Upon being shared, the video immediately garnered reactions from many, with some of them even flaunting their wealth during a temple visit. One of the users wrote, Would have come to show who is richer. Are these guys mad to show off the gold. By the looks of it, they came for a photoshoot rather than darshanam. You are supposed to keep your ego(aham) outside before you enter a temple, added another. An individual also made a sarcastic comment that read, These devotees came to pray that the government shouldnt further reduce the import duty on gold. Day before the display of gold, actor Chiranjeevi also visited the Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirumala on the occasion of his birthday. He was accompanied by wife Surekha Konidala and a granddaughter for his trip to the sacred site. Acknowledging the paparazzi stationed at the venue, he greeted them with a bright smile and folded hands. After offering prayers to Balaji, the actor was snapped exiting the temple premises with his family. #WATCH | Andhra Pradesh: Actor Konidela Chiranjeevi offered prayers at Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirumala, on his 69th birthday. pic.twitter.com/umhjQlNcl2 ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2024 ANI shared the south superstars video on X with the caption, Andhra Pradesh: Actor Konidela Chiranjeevi offered prayers at Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirumala, on his 69th birthday. Since ancient times, maps have been created to provide geographical information about the world. But there is a unique map in the city of Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, that is considered one of a kind in the world. Historians claim that there are only two such maps in the world. One is in India while the other one is kept in the United Kingdom. The special feature of these maps is that they have been made using natural colours. The map depicts rivers, mountains and other natural landmarks, all illustrated with natural colours. Historian Amit Rai Jain explained that Jainism possesses a world map which is known as the Adhai Dvip. It was created around the 12th and 13th century. This map was reportedly drawn on a cloth. The colours used were extracted from the plants, fruits, and vegetables available at that time, making the map a unique example of Indias traditional art style. The historian further mentioned that on the map you can see a unique depiction of geographical and astronomical phenomena. It finely shows the positions of rivers, mountains, seas, and other geographical landmarks. Historians and researchers who specialise in Indian history are continuously studying this map, aiming to uncover its hidden secrets and bring them to the attention of the world. Researchers from foreign nationals are also trying to uncover the secrets hidden in these maps. Historians from around the globe believe that this map offers a unique opportunity to showcase Indias ancient knowledge and culture to the world. This map is one of a kind and holds information from that time. While there are other such maps in existence, they are slightly more recent and were created a few years after this map was made. Another map from this time is presently placed in the British Museum. According to reports, a professor from London University is conducting a comparative study of it alongside the map from India to unveil the secrets hidden. In a world of cutting-edge technology with cameras and lenses costing lakhs, a simple picture of a Himachali boy holding his goat on a lush green mountain has won an award. The photo, titled The Gaddi Boy and His Goat, was clicked using an iPhone SE. The picture has secured 3rd place in the Best Portrait category under the Best of the iPhone Photography Awards 2024. It was taken by Indian photographer Manush Kalwari in Burwa, Himachal Pradesh. The frame highlights the strong bond between a Gaddi boy and his companion goat. The beautiful landscape added an extra dimension to the frame. Reportedly, Kalwanis simple yet heartwarming photograph stood out among 14,000 entries from over 140 countries competing in the 17th Annual iPhone Photography Awards (Ippawards) under the portrait category. The competition featured 15 total categories. Talking about the portrait category, first place was secured by Artem Koleganov from Germany with Grace, captured on an iPhone X in St. Petersburg, Russia. Enhua Ni of China earned the 2nd place for Pilgrim, taken with an iPhone X in Varanasi, India. The annual iPhone Photography Awards (IPPAWARDS) have recognised some of the best images shot by people across the world from their iPhones for the last 17 years. Kalwanis victory is a proud moment for the country and also a message for budding photographers that more important than advanced gadgets is a perspective that moves the heart. In a shocking revelation, a man caught his wife cheating on him red-handed. However, what drew significant public attention was that instead of his wife facing consequences for her actions, he was the one sent to prison for three months by the court. According to reports, this incident occurred in Taiwan in February 2022 and has now made headlines. The man, named Phan, lived with his wife and two children. Suspecting his wife of having an affair, he decided to install hidden CCTV cameras in the living room and bedroom of their home to catch her in the act. His suspicions were confirmed when the footage revealed his wife with another man. Based on this evidence, he approached the court to request a divorce. Initially, he attempted to resolve the matter amicably, but when his wife refused to agree, he filed a divorce petition in court. However, his wife countered by filing a complaint with the police, accusing him of violating her privacy by installing hidden cameras. Phan argued that his children were distressed by their mothers behaviour, as she spent most of her time in the bedroom, which prompted him to install the cameras. Despite his explanation, the court dismissed his argument and instead sentenced him to three months in jail for recording private footage of his wife. This case has caused a stir on social media, with many people expressing surprise at how the husband ended up in jail. The case stands out due to its unusual legal outcome, as Phan, rather than being acknowledged as a victim, was found guilty and faced legal repercussions. The court charged him with harassment and invasion of privacy, deeming his use of hidden cameras illegal. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, leading a prominent delegation, visited India from August 19 to 21. During his stay, he and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi agreed to boost their countries relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership. However, it wasnt just diplomatic talks that grabbed attention. Ibrahim, who was on his inaugural visit to India as Malaysias Prime Minister, won hearts online when a video of him singing a classic Bollywood song surfaced. In a delightful moment captured at the Taj Hotels in Delhi, Ibrahim is seen passionately singing the classic Bollywood song, Dost Dost Na Raha, from the 1964 romantic drama, Sangam. Ibrahim crooned the song at his farewell event held at the hotel, where he stayed. Sharing the clip on Instagram, the Taj Mahal Hotel wrote, It was a pleasure to witness Honorable Prime Minister Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim showcasing his love for Bollywood music during his farewell ceremony at the iconic Taj Mahal, New Delhi. According to a report by The Times of India, the hotel arranged a Bollywood-themed farewell after Ibrahim expressed his admiration for the Hindi film industry and Shammi Kapoor. Ibrahims heartwarming performance captured the hearts of many, racking up over 15,000 views. The comment section buzzed with enthusiastic reactions from the social media users. One user remarked, Beautiful Music is the true universal language that unites people beyond caste, creed, gender and borders. Another shared, I have seen Malaysias love for Bollywood very closely since I stayed in the country for a decade. The praise kept rolling with remarks like Just fabulous and Kya baat hai!!! (Thats amazing). A user, reacting to the same video shared on X, wrote, Woww!! The depth in his voice Truly amazing!!! Woww!!The depth in his voiceTruly amazing!!! Kavit Shah (@KavitShah6) August 23, 2024 During their talks, Prime Ministers Modi and Ibrahim signed several agreements, including one focused on the employment and repatriation of workers and another aimed at enhancing digital technology cooperation. PM Modi emphasised the agreement on employment of workers will promote the recruitment of Indians while safeguarding their interests. He also noted that bilateral trade between India and Malaysia is now being conducted in Indian Rupees and Malaysian currency Ringgit. The larger focus of the Modi-Ibrahim talks centered on expanding trade and investments, exploring cooperation in new and emerging areas. PM Modi also described Malaysia as an important partner of India in the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and Indo-Pacific region. The prime minister announced plans to connect Indias UPI payment system with Malaysias PayNet. A shocking incident occurred at the Cohanzick Zoo in New Jersey when a US woman climbed over the fence into the Bengal tiger enclosure on Sunday, August 18. The woman came perilously close to being bitten by the wild cat when she inserted her fingers through the inner fencing as the tiger approached her within inches. The Bridgeton Police Department confirmed the incident on their Facebook page, including a video showing the woman in a dangerous proximity to the tiger. According to a report by People, the police later removed the video from their social media page. However, Fox reporter Steve Keeley shared the clip of the incident on his X account. The video shows the woman, dressed in a dark top and white shorts, standing dangerously close to the tiger, attempting to touch it. The tiger retaliated by swatting and nearly biting her hand before the woman managed to climb back over the wooden barrier, escaping the enclosure. As per the outlet, police authorities are currently searching for the woman who trespassed into the tigers enclosure. LOOK: Bridgeton Police want to identify this woman, who climbed over the tiger enclosures wooden fence at the Cohanzick Zoo and began enticing the tiger, almost getting bit by putting her hand through the wire enclosure. 1/4 pic.twitter.com/DPRFi5xFg1 Steve Keeley (@KeeleyFox29) August 21, 2024 In his post, Keeley noted, Despite the signs that clearly state Do Not Climb Over The Fence at Fence at the Cohanzick Zoo in Cumberland County, Bridgeton Police hope the public can help them identify the woman who nearly got bit by one of the two 7-year-old, 500-pound tigers who live there. 2/4 Despite the signs the clearly state Do Not Climb Over The Fenceat the Cohanzick Zoo in Cumberland County, Bridgeton Police hope the public can help them identify the woman is who nearly got bit by one of the two 7 year old, 500 pound tigers who live there. pic.twitter.com/IqWJDL6W04 Steve Keeley (@KeeleyFox29) August 21, 2024 John Medica, Director of Recreation and Public Affairs for the City of Bridgeton, expressed in a statement that the safety of their animals, guests and visitors is their top priority. Any visitor behaviour that places the animals, staff and members of the public in a potentially dangerous situation is unacceptable and will be addressed accordingly, Medica added. Since being shared online, the video has amassed over 40,000 views, drawing a range of reactions from social media users who condemned the woman for her reckless behaviour. One commenter remarked, Shame she didnt get eaten. Natural selection. My next guess would be that shell be calling a lawyer to sue the zoo. Shame she didnt get eaten. Natural selection. My next guess would be shell be calling a lawyer to sue the zoo. Holly (@yofox02) August 21, 2024 Another expressed, Id love to say I wish this idiot got mauled, however, unfortunately, the tiger wouldve been the one to get put down. Id love to say I wish this idiot got mauled, however, unfortunately, the tiger wouldve been the one to get put down. Blonde Penn (@ErMcPhillyNj) August 22, 2024 A person hilariously stated, Brain surgery. Someone in frustration, wrote, Dumb people like her are the reason that these animals sometimes have to be shot because idiots like her may have been killed by it. Dumb people like her are the reason that these animals sometimes have to be shot because idiots like her may have been killed by it. MichelleJane (@MichelleJarw) August 21, 2024 Police are looking for this IDIOT who ignored all warnings and nearly got a tiger killed, another added. Police are looking for this IDIOT who ignored all warnings and nearly got a tiger killed. #CohanzickZoo #AssholeOftheDay https://t.co/NST76NKY04 Misty (@Itsraining2) August 22, 2024 According to the zoos website, the Bengal tiger involved in the incident is one of two born in 2016. These tigers were later donated to the Cohanzick Zoo by a zoo in North Carolina. A 2,492-carat raw diamond, discovered in Botswana, is believed to be the worlds second-largest gem-quality sample to be ever found. Its second only to the 3,106 carat Cullinan diamond from South Africa, according to the BBC. The giant gemstone was found in Botswanas Karowe diamond mine, about 500km north of Botswanas capital, Gaborone. The mine is owned by Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond Corp. Although Lucara Diamond Corp has not made any comments on the diamonds quality or value, Financial Times, in a report quoted unnamed sources, to estimate that it could fetch a price of over $40 million. Lucara Diamonds president, William Lamb, said in a statement. We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492-carat diamond. The ability to recover such a massive, high-quality stone intact demonstrates the effectiveness of our approach to diamond recovery. BBC further noted that Botswana was one of the worlds biggest producers of diamonds accounting for 20 percent of the global diamond production. The Botswana government said that the huge stone was the biggest discovery since the Cullinan diamond. It stated that the diamond, yet to be named, was also the largest ever discovered in the southern African state. Reportedly, Karowe mine is known for unearthing several large precious metals in the last decade. A 1,758-carat diamond found in the mine was purchased by luxury fashion brand Louis Vuitton in 2019. Before that, Graff Diamonds had bought the 1,109-carat diamond found in Karowe in 2016 for a whopping $53 million in 2010. Talking about the technology used in recovering the diamond, it was detected by Lucaras Mega Diamond Recovery (MDR) X-ray Transmission (XRT) technology, installed in 2017 to identify and preserve large, high-value diamonds. Meanwhile, 3,106-carat Cullinan diamond, found in South Africa in 190, remains the largest diamond to be discovered. It is cut into nine separate stones, many of which are in the British Crown Jewels. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that India is a big country with big influence while answering media queries on what role he thinks the country of 1.4 billion could play in the ongoing 2022 Russo-Ukrainian conflict. India will play its role. I think that India has begun to recognise that this is not just a conflict. This is a real war, of one man and his name is Putin, against a whole country, whose name is Ukraine. You are a big country. You have a big influence, Zelensky said, while speaking to news agency ANI. PM Modi wants peace more than Putin. The problem is that Putin doesnt want it, he said. He also signalled that India can help end the war by reducing its energy dependency on Russia. You can stop Putin and halt his economy, and put him really in his place. I suggested PM Modi to host a global peace summit in India, he further added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Zelensky earlier met as the former embraced Zelensky and the pair held a minute of silence at a memorial commemorating children killed in Russias invasion. We were not neutral from day one, we have taken a side, and we stand firmly for peace, he told Zelensky. He earlier said that no problem should be solved on the battlefield. His visit comes as Kyivs forces are mounting a major incursion into Russias Kursk region, while Moscows army is advancing in eastern Ukraine. Zelensky also said he would be happy to visit India. External affairs minister S Jaishankar in a press conference said that India has extended an invitation to the Ukrainian President. Yes (I have plans to visit India) because when you begin a partnership, strategic partnership, and you begin some dialogue. And if our meeting will be in India, Ill be happy to, he said. Maybe your country can be the key to this diplomatic influence. Thats why Ill be happy to come to India, he further added. India Has Influenced Over Russias Economy We had a concrete and productive meeting and it is a historic moment for both countries. India has influence over the Russian economy. If India stops importing oil, he (Vladimir Putin) will face a huge challenge, the Ukrainian President said. He also said that Ukraine remains ready to engage with India in the fields of trade, commerce and business. We are ready. We are ready to buy. We are ready to produce. We are ready to open your companies here or we are ready to open our companies in India, he said. PM Modi emphasised strengthening ties in trade, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, defence, education, science, and culture. He also explored deeper collaboration in digital infrastructure, manufacturing, green energy, and increased business engagement between both nations, as per a press release by the external affairs ministry. Indians Duped Into Fighting War Zelensky promised that if Indians are found in custody of Ukrainian forces, they will be freed. With regards to the citizens of India that were tricked to participate in the combat operations PM Modi started with that, he said that he condemns it and he will make everything possible for the citizens of India not to be fighting in the lines of the Russian Army. If Indians are in Ukrainian custody we will immediately release them, he said. Cant Compare Ukraine, Gaza The Ukrainian President urged not to draw parallels between the Ukraine and Russia conflict to the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. We cannot compare our war, the war of Russia against Ukraine, with a crisis in the Middle East, he said. He also said that Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for the upcoming US elections and the former US president who has been critical of the Zelensky regime, assured his support for his nation. We will see in November, but I didnt get any signal from him or his team.I have only got a message that he will support Ukraine, he said, according to news agency ANI. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Ukraines leader Volodymyr Zelensky on a historic visit to Kyiv on Friday. Both leaders embraced each other when they met at the Mariinsky palace in Kyiv. PM Modi and President Zelensky were visibly emotional as an Ukrainian official was seen guiding both leaders through the museum which was built and set up in memory of children who have lost their lives in the ongoing 2022 Russo-Ukrainian conflict. He was greeted by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky at the multimedia Martyrologist Exposition on children at the National Museum of History of Ukraine here. After a handshake, Modi gave a warm hug to Zelensky and as the two leaders walked towards the multimedia Exposition, slid a hand on his shoulder symbolising support for the leader of the war-torn nation. After watching the multimedia presentations that gave information about scores of children who died during the conflict as part of the Exposition, Modi and Zelensky both stood silently in front of a wall-like structure which already had a lot of toys placed in memory of the children. With folded hands, Modi offered a silent prayer before placing a small toy (a doll) at the memorial as the Ukrainian President placed a teddy bear. Both leaders, on their social media accounts, posted pictures of the visit and highlighted how war adversely impacts children in conflict zones and poses a threat to their well-being and safety. Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief, PM Modi wrote in a post on X. India and Ukraine also signed four memorandums of understanding (MoUs) under which both nations will work together in the food and agriculture and medicine sector. Both nation will also collaborate with each other in cultural forums and extend humanitarian assistance in times of crisis, as per the memorandums signed. Today in Kyiv, Prime Minister @NarendraModi and I honored the memory of the children whose lives were taken by Russian aggression.Children in every country deserve to live in safety. We must make this possible. pic.twitter.com/gKdjqcL5iz Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) August 23, 2024 He also underscored the relevance of Mahatma Gandhis eternal message of peace in building a harmonious society, as he paid floral tribute to the statue of the freedom fighter in Kyivs Oasis of Peace park. The Prime Minister arrived on Friday to the Ukrainian capital after a nearly seven-hour journey and is set to engage in discussions with Zelensky in both one-on-one and delegation-level. The visit comes at a time when Kyivs forces mount a major incursion into Russias Kursk region while Moscows army is advancing in eastern Ukraine, claiming to have seized a swathe of towns and villages in recent weeks. The prime minister arrived in Kyiv from Poland onboard a Rail Force One train that took around 10 hours, in the second and final leg of his two-nation trip. This visit comes nearly six weeks after his high-profile trip to Moscow during which he held extensive talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin largely with a focus on ending the conflict. (With inputs from agencies) Highlighted Indias growing global influence and defence export successes, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday underlined the remarkable increase in defence exports, which have surged from Rs 600 crore to Rs 23,000 crore over the past decade. The defence ministers remarks came as he arrived in Washington as part of a four-day visit to further boost the comprehensive global strategic partnership between the United States and India. He is scheduled to meet Defense Secretary Austin Lloyd at the Pentagon on Friday. Global perception of India During a speech to the Indian diaspora in Washington on Thursday, he said, The people of the Indian community who live outside India are concerned about the global perception of their country. I can confidently say that Indias stature has risen in the international community. Had a lively interaction with the Indian community at Washington DC. Its heartwarming to see how the Indian community continues to cherish and uphold their cultural values and maintain their connection to their roots. pic.twitter.com/4qPFfzNwmX Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) August 23, 2024 Earlier, Indias opinions were not taken with the seriousness they deserved. But today, when India speaks on the global forum, the world listens carefully, he was quoted as saying news agency ANI. Underscoring Indias economic progress and rise in its defence exports, Singh said, Previously, we used to import all our defence equipment. When our government came into power, defence exports were Rs 600 crore. Now, after 10 years, they have reached Rs 23,000 crores. The military-to-military relationship between India and the United States is strong, the Pentagon said Thursday on the eve of the meeting between Rajnath Singh and Lloyd. The mil-to-mil relationships between the United States and India are strong, Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters at a news conference here. Youve seen that cooperation deepen, and not just from a DOD perspective, but from an administration perspective. Our close coordination and working together remains strong. The (Defense) secretary when he visited India, you know, announced some of those deliverables, Sabrina Singh said in response to a question. Im not going to go through all of what he announced then, but it remains strong, she said. Before Singhs departure, several reports said that Indias plan to procure 31 MQ-9B Predator drones, the proposed joint manufacturing of Stryker infantry combat vehicles and co-production of GE F414 engines in India are likely to figure prominently in Singhs talks with Austin, officials said in New Delhi this week. The visit is expected to further deepen and broaden the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, the defence ministry said announcing Singhs trip to the US from August 23 to 26. The visit comes in the backdrop of the growing momentum in India-US relations and defence engagements at multiple levels, it said. Singh will also chair a high-level roundtable meeting with the US defence industry on the ongoing and future defence collaborations. He will also interact with the Indian community during the visit. (With agency inputs) Kamala Harris pledged Thursday to get a Gaza ceasefire and said as US president she would stand with Ukraine and not cozy up to dictators like her Republican opponent Donald Trump. Now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done, the vice president told supporters at the Democratic National Convention as she accepted the partys presidential nomination. Harris said that she and President Joe Biden are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination. US support for its ally Israel in the conflict against Hamas in Gaza has become one of the most divisive issues in the Democratic Party, and at times has threatened to overshadow the partys attempt to unite against Trump. Harris said Hamas had caused unspeakable violence in its surprise attack on Israel on October 7, triggering the Israeli offensive. At the same time, she said the devastation in Gaza was heartbreaking. I will always stand up for Israels right to defend itself, and I will always ensure that Israel has the ability to defend itself, she said. Attacking Trump for his frequent denigration of NATO and Ukraine, she said that as president I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies. And she called out Trumps public praise for Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Koreas Kim Jong Un, saying I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators. Tyrants are rooting for Trump, because you know, they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. They know Trump wont hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself. External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday said that embracing people as a form of greeting is a culture in our part of the world while answering the media queries on Prime Minister Narendra Modis historic visit to Ukraine. Sections of the western media and Ukrainian news media outlets had expressed their displeasure with PM Modi embracing Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, on his visit to Moscow for the Russia-India bilateral summit earlier this year. PM Modis embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Moscow for the India-Russia annual summit had also left Ukraine and its western allies unimpressed with the gesture. Zelensky at the time was disappointed to see the leader of the worlds largest democracy hug the worlds most bloody criminal in Moscow. The US reacted through envoy Eric Garcetti who said there is no such thing as strategic autonomy in times of conflict and said that the India-US ties should not be taken for granted. In our part of the world when people meet people they are given to embracing each other. It may not be part of your culture, it is part of our culture, Jaishankar told a reporter when asked about PM Modi embracing the Ukrainian President during a visit to a memorial built to honour children killed in war. #WATCH | Kyiv: On PM Modi's hug to President Putin in Moscow, EAM Dr S Jaishankar says, "In our part of the world when people meet people they are given to embracing each other. It may not be part of your culture, it is part of our culture" pic.twitter.com/PJOwrJIFIo ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 Soon after reaching the Ukrainian capital here from Poland, Modi was greeted by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the multimedia Martyrologist Exposition on children at the National Museum of History of Ukraine here. After a handshake, Modi gave a warm hug to Zelenskyy and as the two leaders walked towards the multimedia Exposition, slid a hand on his shoulder symbolising support for the leader of the war-torn nation. After watching the multimedia presentations that gave information about scores of children who died during the conflict as part of the Exposition, Modi and Zelenskyy both stood silently in front of a wall-like structure which already had a lot of toys placed in memory of the children. With folded hands, Modi offered a silent prayer before placing a small toy (a doll) at the memorial as the Ukrainian President placed a teddy bear. Today I think I saw PM Modi embracing Zelensky. I have seen him do it with a number of other leaders at a number of other places. I think we have cultural gaps here, in terms of what these curtsies mean, he further added. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting at the Mariinsky palace in Kyiv as India attempts to position itself as a peacemaker by urging an end to the ongoing 2022 Russo-Ukrainian War through dialogue and diplomacy. India Has Actively Planned Peace Efforts: PM Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that India has actively planned peace efforts. Our approach has been people-centric. I want to assure you and the entire world that this is Indias commitment and we believe that respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity is of utmost importance to us and we support it, the prime minister said. I told President Putin This Is Not The Time Of War: PM Modi PM Modi also mentioned his visit to Russia and his meeting with President Vladimir Putin. Some time back, when I met President Putin in support of this, I had told him that this was not the time for war. Recently, when I went to Russia for a meeting, I said there too in clear words that the solution to any problem is never found on the battlefield. The solution comes only through talks, dialogue, and diplomacy and we should move ahead in that direction without wasting time, he said. Both Sides Should Sit Together And Find Ways To Come Out Of This Crisis: PM Modi Both sides should sit together and find ways to come out of this crisis Today I would like to discuss with you specifically the path to peace and progress. I want to assure you that India is ready to play an active role in every effort for peace. If I can personally contribute to this, I would like to do so. As a friend, I can assure you the prime minister added. India was Never Neutral: PM Modi Reiterating Indias stance on the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, PM Modi said, India was never neutral, we have always been on the side of peace #WATCH | Kyiv: Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, India was never neutral, we have always been on the side of peace https://t.co/HvUgzAiRx4 pic.twitter.com/VnkW6aheyy ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 India Will Always Stand With You: PM Modi PM Modi expressed gratitude to President Zelensky for helping in the evacuation of Indian nationals and students in the initial days of the war. When there were initial days of war you helped in the evacuation of Indian nationals and students. I express my gratitude to you for your help during this time of crisisThe world knows very well that during the war we played two rolesThe first role was the humanitarian approachI assure you that whatever the need may be from a humanitarian point of view, India will always stand with you and will be two steps ahead the prime minister said. #WATCH | Kyiv: Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, When there were initial days of war you helped in the evacuation of Indian nationals and students. I express my gratitude to you for your help during this time of crisisThe world knows very well that during the war we played pic.twitter.com/9YXo5qbYzE ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 India Will Play Its Role: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Speaking to ANI in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, India will play its role. I think that India began to recognise that this is not just conflict, this is real war of one man and his name is Putin against whole country whose name is Ukraine. You are a big country. You have a big influence and you can stop Putin and halt his economy, and put him really in his place #WATCH | Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks to ANI, in Kyiv.He says, India will play its role. I think that India began to recognise that this is not just conflict, this is real war of one man and his name is Putin against whole country whose name is Ukraine. You pic.twitter.com/f6J4n7ztE5 ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 The leaders visited the countrys Martyrologist Exposition to honour the memory of the fallen children along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The meeting between the leaders lasted for three hours and four MoUs were signed between New Delhi and Kyiv, CNN-News18 has learned. India-Ukraine Joint Statement PM Modi and President Zelenskyy reiterated their readiness for cooperation in upholding principles of international law, including the United Nations (UN) Charter, such as respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of states. The two leaders also agreed on the desirability of closer bilateral dialogue in this regard. India Reiterates Its Position On Peaceful Resolution The Indian side reiterated its principled position and focus on peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomacy, as a part of which, India attended the Summit on Peace in Ukraine held in Burgenstock, Switzerland, in June 2024. Tributes at the Martyrologist Exposition Shortly after he arrived in Kyiv, PM Modi met with President Zelenskyy, and the two leaders shared a hug at the Martyrologist Exposition in Kyiv. PM Modi and his Ukrainian counterpart honoured the memory of children at the National Museum of the History of Ukraine. View this post on Instagram A post shared by (@zelenskyy_official) Later, the Ukrainian President Zelensky also shared a post on X after the visit where he said children in every country deserve to live in safety. Today in Kyiv, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and I honoured the memory of the children whose lives were taken by Russian aggression. Children in every country deserve to live in safety. We must make this possible, Zelensky said. Prime Minister Modi said in a post that he shares the grief of those who lost their children to the war. President @ZelenskyyUa and I paid homage at the Martyrologist Exposition in Kyiv.Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief. pic.twitter.com/VQH1tun5ok Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2024 Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief, he said, after visiting the memorial with Zelensky. MoUs Signed India and Ukraine also signed four memorandums of understanding (MoUs) under which both nations will work together in the food and agriculture and medicine sector. Both nations will also collaborate with each other in cultural forums and extend humanitarian assistance in times of crisis, as per the memorandums signed. The leaders will hold one-on-one and delegation-level meetings as well. Gandhi Statue in Kyiv Besides this, the Prime Minister also paid homage to the Gandhi statue at the Botanical Garden. Paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Kyiv. The ideals of Bapu are universal and give hope to millions. May we all follow the path he showed to humanity, PM Modi said in a social media post on X. Paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Kyiv. The ideals of Bapu are universal and give hope to millions. May we all follow the path he showed to humanity. pic.twitter.com/vdqiUQcjJV Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2024 PM @narendramodi offered prayers at the Gandhi statue in Kyiv on his Ukraine visit#PMModiInUkraine | @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/rHthdHHeTM DD India (@DDIndialive) August 23, 2024 Rail Force One train PM Modi arrived in the Ukrainian capital after concluding his two-day trip to Poland during which he held wide-ranging talks with the Polish leadership. The prime minister travelled to Kyiv from Poland in a Rail Force One train that took around 10 hours. Indian PM Modi arrived in Kyiv for the first time in the history of Ukraine-India bilateral relations.: Ukrzaliznytsia / Instagram pic.twitter.com/N1lBzOy06P UNITED24 Media (@United24media) August 23, 2024 Excited to meet PM Modi Upon arrival, Modi was greeted by members of the Indian diaspora who traveled from across the country for an opportunity to meet him. In one of the videos released by Ukrainian media, Modi was seen warmly greeting the Indian community. Indian Prime Minister Modi has arrived in Ukraine, marking the first visit by an Indian PM since Ukraine gained independence in 1991. He is scheduled to meet President Zelensky. Officially, the visit aims to strengthen economic ties. pic.twitter.com/N3PVoSFG5D KyivPost (@KyivPost) August 23, 2024 We are excited about PM Modis arrival here. The government of India has been helping Indian students here since the time of Operation Ganga, said one Indian student. We are very excited to meet PM Modi. We have the opportunity to see him and, if possible, talk to him, said another student. #WATCH | Indian students await the arrival of PM Narendra Modis arrival in Kyiv, Ukraine An Indian student says, We are excited about PM Modis arrival here. The government of India has been helping Indian students here since the time of Operation Ganga.We are very excited pic.twitter.com/fhQClOZ6cX ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 From Poland To Ukraine Modi arrived here after a productive Poland visit. This high-level Prime Ministerial visit after four decades will widen and deepen India-Poland relations, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X. PM @narendramodi concludes a productive visit to Poland, setting a new milestone in bilateral relations.This high-level Prime Ministerial visit after four decades will widen and deepen India-Poland relations. pic.twitter.com/393HDe4nYp Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) August 22, 2024 Talks With Zelenskyy Modi, who is visiting Ukraine at the invitation of Zelenskyy, has said that he will share with the Ukrainian leader perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict. I look forward to the opportunity to share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict, Modi said before the trip. As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region. READ MORE: India Ready To Be Peacemaker, Not Picking A Side: Modis Big Message In Historic Ukraine Visit After Russia Trip After Russia Visit The visit, which follows a trip by Modi to Moscow in July, is important for Western-backed Kyiv, which has been trying to nurture diplomatic relations in the Global South in its efforts to secure a fair settlement to end the war. Modis visit to Moscow last month coincided with a heavy Russian missile strike on Ukraine that hit a childrens hospital. India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine but has been consistently calling for resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. READ MORE: Why PM Modis 7-Hour Kyiv Visit After Russia Stop is A Diplomatic Coup for India Kursk Offensive Prime Minister Modis visit comes at a volatile juncture in the war in Ukraine, with Ukrainian forces still in Russias western Kursk region following their incursion on Aug. 6 and Russian troops grinding out slow but steady advances in Ukraines east. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that India was never neutral in its stance on the ongoing war between Russia-Ukraine and had chosen the side of peace since the onset of the conflict. India was never neutral, we have always been on the side of peace, PM Modi said during his meeting with Zelensky. He reiterated to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Indias willingness to facilitate early return to peace during his three-hour meeting with the latter and also urged the warring parties to engage with one another through dialogue and diplomacy as tools to resolve the conflict. I assure you that whatever the need may be from a humanitarian point of view, India will always stand with you and will be two steps ahead, PM Modi said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine seeks Indias continued cooperation in the process to restore peace in the region through the Ukrainian Peace Summit. He said that it is important that nations respect the UN charter. India supports Ukraines national sovereignty and territorial integrity. And this is critical because everyone in the world must equally respect the UN Charter, Zelensky said at the end of the meeting with the leader of the worlds largest democracy. Speaking to the media on Prime Minister @narendramodis visit to Ukraine. https://t.co/GA8GPft72F Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) August 23, 2024 The meeting between PM Modi and Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, the first visit by an Indian leader to the country since its birth, comes at a time when Kyiv has launched an incursion in Russias Kursk region while Moscows army advances in eastern Ukraine, claiming to have seized a swathe of towns and villages in recent weeks. Today, history was made. The Prime Minister of India @narendramodi made his first visit to Ukraine since our country's independence, on the eve of our Independence Day.Today, we reached an agreement on four documents between Ukraine and India, covering the medical field, pic.twitter.com/I65cVWkbw7 Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) August 23, 2024 Later, external affairs minister S Jaishankar held a press conference where he said the Ukrainian President updated PM Modi on the recent developments in the conflict and the deaths of children and civilians was also discussed during the meeting. Ukraine, Russia Urged To Engage With Each Other Jaishankar said that the incursion was also discussed, along with deaths of children in the conflict. He (Zelensky) knows we mean well by Ukraine. We are very, very keen that the conflict comes to an end. If there is anything India can do, in any way It is the objective we are interested in, rather than the process. We are willing to do whatever we can. The continuation of this conflict is terrible for Ukraine and the world, Jaishankar said while addressing reporters. He said that PM Modi told Zelensky that when he was in Russia recently in July, he told the leadership there that it was not an era of war. The Prime Minister had visited Moscow to hold a bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Jaishankar also said that PM Modi told Zelensky that Ukraine and Russia need to engage with each other to find a solution to the ongoing conflict between them. He said there was also a discussion on what could be effective ways of taking the discussions forward. It is Indias view that the two sides (Ukraine and Russia) need to engage with each other to find a solution, he said. The meeting comes as India tries to emerge as a peacemaker in the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian conflict which has been going on for the last two and half years. During the meeting, Prime Minister Modi shared many of the thoughts that were discussed during the meeting he had with Russian President Vladimir Putin with Zelensky, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said. Putin and PM Modi met earlier this year in Moscow to hold a bilateral meeting. When asked about Indias oil imports from Russia, Jaishankar said: We did explain the current market scenario (to Ukraine), and why it is in the interest of the international economy for oil prices to remain stable. India is a big oil consumer and importer because we do not have oil. It is not like there is a political strategy to buy oil but an oil strategy to buy oil. The market is tight and suppliers like Venezuela and Iran, who supplied oil to India are facing constraints. These factors need to be taken into account, Jaishankar said. Honouring Memories Of Children Killed In War Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday honoured the memories of children who have lost their lives in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. He visited the multimedia Martyrologist Exposition on children at the National Museum of History of Ukraine here. He and Zelensky were visibly emotional as an Ukrainian official guided them through the museum. He offered a silent prayer with folded hands and placed a small toy before watching the multimedia presentations that gave information about scores of children who died during the conflict as part of the Exposition. He also gave a warm hug to Zelenskyy and as the two leaders walked towards the multimedia Exposition, slid a hand on his shoulder symbolising support for the leader of the war-torn nation. The Prime Minister also interacted with Ukrainian students who are learning the Hindi language at the School of Oriental Studies in Kyiv and appreciated their contribution to promoting mutual understanding between the people of the two countries. MoUs Signed, BHISHM Cubes Gifted The external affairs ministry shared the joint statement released by the leadership of both nations after their meeting. They expressed their desire to elevate bilateral relations from a comprehensive partnership to a strategic partnership in the future. They reaffirmed their commitment to further developing bilateral ties for the benefit of the peoples of both countries based on mutual trust, respect, and openness, the joint statement said. It was also revealed that India decided to gift 4 BHISHM Cubes to Ukraine prior to PM Modis visit. The BHISHM cube is a compact, 15-inch box containing essential medicines and equipment for emergency medical care, designed for easy transport and rapid deployment in disaster or war scenarios. Jaishankar also said that the Indian-Ukrainian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical, Industrial and Cultural Cooperation (IGC) has been set up with him and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba as co-chairs. The leaders have urged the co-chairs to explore all possible ways to not only restore bilateral trade and economic relations to pre-conflict levels but expand and deepen them further. There seems to be an unsettling calm on the streets of Bangladesh. In Dhaka, young students could be seen painting the walls white outside college, to rub off the slogans of the revolution and write new slogans of victory. But inside the premises, what cannot be wiped off is the grimness and the disheveled hostel rooms. The hostel which housed Hindu students are empty and the manner in which belongings and clothes are thrown on the floor, shows that the students left in a hurry and panic. A broken Ma Saraswati statue, the goddess of learning, lay on the floor, as News18 visited the college premises. A dirty white cloth was hurriedly wrapped on it so that there is no proof of what the small college temple went through. News18 spotted a small, dimly lit room, with three young students. They said, We are Muslims and we never looked upon ourselves as one. Our Hindu friends ran away in panic. We could not stop them. Not too far away from this college is the Jagannath Hall, a hostel of Dhaka University which houses students from the minority communities. Nestling between the hostel buildings is a small temple and Vivekananda statue. Students sat eating in the small canteen. Not many wanted to speak as they felt its time to move on or go underground. But three students who spoke to News18 said that they wanted to concentrate on their studies as the mission had been accomplished with the end of the corrupt Hasina regime. One of the students, Swagatan Bhowmick, told News18, We are students, we are meant to study. Its time we realise that our work is over. We need to move on. Yes, there have been attacks on Hindus and temples, which, I agree, should not have happened. But when such a magnitude of protest takes place, there is bound to be spilling of anger. And this is what we saw. It was not against Hindus as such, it was more against those who were perceived to be close to the Sheikh Hasina government, said another student Deepak Chandrabarun. Suman Kumar Mahato, another student, agreed to this, saying, It was not an organised attack on Hindus. Some took advantage of the situation and this was not correct. This is where the challenge lies. The big questions are how to convince those who watched the horrific scenes of vandalism that this was not what the protesters wanted? How to ensure that the cause is not compromised with rabid and conservative elements taking charge? The students said their fight was apolitical and they didnt do it for power. They said they only wanted to take the message to the politicians that people power is supreme. The question then is Will the new netas of Bangladesh understand this and when will the hostels see light again? The Taliban has enacted a series of stringent new laws that further restrict womens rights in Afghanistan, marking some of the most severe measures since they regained power in 2021. Approved by Taliban leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, these laws were announced on Wednesday and are part of a comprehensive 114-page document from the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice. Under the new regulations, women are required to cover their faces and bodies completely in public, with the rationale that this prevents temptation. Article 13 of the document explicitly states that women must not only wear a full-body veil but also refrain from singing, reciting, or speaking loudly in public, as their voices are deemed too intimate and should not be heard by others. Women are also prohibited from looking at men who are not their close relatives, and vice versa. The laws extend to public transport, where music is banned, and women cannot travel alone unless accompanied by a male guardian. Moreover, the publication of images of living beings is forbidden, further constraining Afghanistans media landscape. The Talibans Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue has been empowered to enforce these laws, with the authority to detain individuals for violations. Several international organisations, including the United Nations, have expressed grave concerns about the implications of these laws, highlighting a growing climate of fear in the country, particularly for women and girls. The UN has warned that such restrictions could exacerbate the already dire situation for human rights in the country. US Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday came down heavily on Donald Trump at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), describing the Republican presidential nominee as an unserious man and accusing him of empowering extremist elements in the country. This election is one of the most important in the life of our nation. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails, and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United Statesnot to improve your life, but to serve the only client he has ever had himself, Harris said. Capitol riot During the historic DNC speech in Chicago, Harris stressed the gravity of GOP rival Trumps actions since his previous election loss, including his alleged role in inciting the January 6th Capitol riot in 2021 and his subsequent legal troubles. Harris referred several times to Trumps explicit intent to free those who assaulted law enforcement officers at the Capitol, jail political opponents, and use the military against American citizens. Consider what he intends to do if we give him power again, she added. Vice President Harris: This election is one of the most important in the life of our nation. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails. How he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States, not to improve your life, but to serve the only client he has pic.twitter.com/bOr5AN7pLR Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 23, 2024 Project 2025 agenda The US vice president also warned Americans about the controversial Project 2025 agenda even though former President Trump doesnt claim the conservative presidential transition document. As a part of his Project 2025 agenda, Trump and his allies would limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion, and enact a nationwide abortion ban. Simply put, they are out of their minds, Harris said. We know what a second Trump term would look like. Its all laid out in Project 2025. But America, we are not going back, she added. As Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday, she pledged a new way forward if she defeats Trump in Novembers blockbuster election. Vice President Harris: We know what a second Trump term would look like. Its all laid out in Project 2025. But America, we are not going back pic.twitter.com/xpxUInEJQm Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 23, 2024 I accept your nomination On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America, the 59-year-old said to huge cheers. I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations, she said. Harris pledged to be a president for all Americans as she reached out to undecided American voters after one of the most stunning upheavals in US political history. With the November election, Americans have a fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past a chance to chart a new way forward, she promised. She laid out her personal story as a child of a single working mother, and her career as a prosecutor, saying she has the background and experience to serve the country in contrast to Trump who she said only works for himself and his billionaire friends. The Democrats are riding on a huge wave of energy and enthusiasm after Harris took on the mantle from President Joe Biden amid concerns over his health at 81 years old. The first Black woman nominee for a major party, Harris has wiped out former president Trumps lead in the polls, drawn enormous crowds and raised record funds. The United States said Friday progress had been made at the latest round of Gaza truce talks, after the presence of Israeli troops on the Egyptian border emerged as a major sticking point. The White House said CIA chief William Burns was among US officials taking part in the discussions in Cairo, joining the heads of Israels spy agency and security service. There has been progress made. We need now for both sides to come together and work towards implementation, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. Preliminary talks which began on Thursday evening were constructive in nature, he said, adding that reports that the diplomacy was near collapse were inaccurate. Representatives of Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel triggered the war, were not taking part in the Cairo talks. An official from the Islamist movement, Hossam Badran, told AFP Friday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus insistence that his troops remain on a strip of land along the Gaza-Egypt border called the Philadelphi Corridor reflects his refusal to reach a final agreement. Egypt with fellow mediators Qatar and the United States have for months tried to reach a deal to end more than 10 months of war between Israel and Hamas. Previous optimism during months of on-off truce talks has proven unfounded. Fighting raged on in Gaza, where witnesses reported combat in the north of the territory, heavy shelling in the centre, and tank fire in the far south near Rafah city. The United Nations said tens of thousands of civilians have been on the move again this week from Deir el-Balah and the southern city of Khan Yunis after Israeli evacuation orders, which precede military operations. The war has displaced virtually all of Gazas population, often multiple times, leaving them deprived of shelter, clean water and other essentials as disease spreads, the UN says. This cannot continue Civilians are exhausted and terrified, running from one destroyed place to another, with no end in sight, Muhannad Hadi, the UN humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories, said late Thursday. This cannot continue, he said. The Israeli military said that over the previous 24 hours troops had eliminated dozens of militants around Khan Yunis and Deir el-Balah. Hamass October 7 attack on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,199 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures. Israels retaliatory military campaign has killed 40,265 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territorys health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths. The UN rights office says most dead are women and children. Palestinian militants also seized 251 hostages, of whom 105 remain in Gaza including 34 the military says are dead. The Israeli military recovered the remains of six hostages from a tunnel in the Khan Yunis area this week. Netanyahu faces regular protests by hostage supporters demanding a deal to bring home the captives. Ella Ben Ami, whose father is among those held in Gaza, said after meeting Netanyahu on Friday that she left with a heavy and difficult feeling that this (ceasefire deal) isnt going to happen soon. I fear for my fathers life, for the girls who are there, and for everyone, she said in a statement released by campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. Now is the time Diplomatic efforts to reach a Gaza truce and avert a wider war intensified following the killings of two senior Iran-backed militants last month that sparked threats of reprisals from Tehran and its allies, who blamed Israel. Lebanons Iran-backed Hezbollah movement and Israeli forces have exchanged near-daily cross-border fire since the Gaza war began. Accepting her Democratic partys presidential nomination in Chicago, US Vice President Kamala Harris said now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done. The basis of talks has been a framework which US President Joe Biden outlined in late May, and which he described as an Israeli proposal. The three-phase plan would initially see hostages exchanged for Palestinians in Israeli jails during what Biden called a full and complete ceasefire lasting six weeks. Israeli forces would withdraw from all populated areas of Gaza, under the plan. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the Middle East this week and said that Netanyahu was onboard with a US proposal to bridge gaps and reach a ceasefire. Kirby said that the United States continued to believe that Netanyahu accepted the proposal and appealed again to Hamas to do the same. Badran, the Hamas official, on Friday reiterated that Hamas accepted the Biden plan as originally outlined and said Washington must pressure Netanyahu for a ceasefire. He said Hamas will accept nothing less than the withdrawal of occupation forces, Philadelphi included. The office of Netanyahu, whose hard-right coalition relies on the support of members opposed to a truce, rejected as incorrect media reports that Netanyahu has agreed that Israel will withdraw from the Philadelphi Corridor. Netanyahu sees control of the strip along the Egyptian border as necessary to prevent Hamas rearming. US Vice President Kamala Harris paid heartfelt tribute to her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, during her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Thursday night. Harris, who formally accepted the Democratic Partys presidential nomination to challenge Republican rival Donald Trump in the November election, became the second woman to do so for the party. In her speech, Harris described her mother, saying, My mother was a brilliant 5-foot-tall brown woman with an accent. As the eldest child, I saw how the world would sometimes treat her. But my mother never lost her cool. Harris frequently references her South Asian heritage through the lens of her mother and has often shared the close bond they shared, describing Gopalan as a source of inspiration. She was tough, courageous, a trailblazer in the fight for womens health, and she taught Maya (Kamalas sister) and me to never complain about injustice, but do something about it. She also taught us to never do anything half-assed, Harris remarked. She further added: Well, my mother had another lesson she used to teach: Never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are. Who Was Shyamala Gopalan? Shyamala Gopalan, a breast cancer specialist, was originally from Chennai, Tamil Nadu. She emigrated from India at the age of 19 to pursue a doctorate in nutrition and endocrinology. Gopalan was among the early waves of Indian immigrants to the United States. Anybody with a South Asian background, youll know that this was early, early, early, Harris noted at an event with the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies in May. Gopalan met Afro-Jamaican Donald Harris, who was studying economics at the University of California, Berkeley, during the civil rights movement. They married in 1963 and had two daughters: Kamala and her younger sister, Maya. Donald Harris is now a professor emeritus at Stanford University, while Gopalan, who made significant contributions to breast cancer research, passed away in 2009. Though she never witnessed her daughters rise to Californias attorney general, US senator, and vice president, Kamala Harris credits her mother as the driving force behind her journey. Gopalan was, however, a strong supporter during Harriss first political campaign for San Francisco District Attorney, spending every weekend at the campaign headquarters, per US-based daily NPR. After their divorce, Gopalan raised Kamala and Maya, nurturing their pride in their South Asian heritage. She frequently took them on trips to India and expressed her emotions in Tamil, as Kamala detailed in her 2019 book, The Truths We Hold. Morning Anchor A south Dakota girl through and through; Miranda O'Bryan grew up in Martin, attended college at South Dakota State University, and resides in Rapid City. Miranda has a deep passion for her community, taking pride in providing them with the facts and information they deserve to make their own opinions of the world. If familiar to you, you may recognize Miranda from her year of service to the state as Miss South Dakota, where she represented our great faces and great places on the Miss America stage. Germany's Navy has clarified there was "no deeper message" in its decision to play the Imperial March from the "Star Wars" films as one of its warships navigated the River Thames. A bystander captured the event Monday, and the video quickly gained traction on social media. The warship, which is on a training mission, anchored in London for a routine supply stop, according to the German Navy. The Germany Embassy in London mentioned on social media platform X that this was Braunschweig's second visit to the British capital. The commander, the embassy noted, is an avid "Star Wars" fan and consistently chooses a different John Williams song for each foreign harbor visit. An Arizona sheriff's department announced Thursday it has taken a man into custody after a search prompted by online threats to Donald Trump. Ronald Syvrud, 66, was found and taken into custody Thursday afternoon, KSAZ reports. Cochise County officials said Ronald Syvrud posted the threats on social media in the past few weeks, CNN reports. Trump gave a speech in the US-Mexico border area Thursday, and law enforcement officials briefed his staff about the search before the candidate arrived. Trump told reporters he hadn't been aware of the threats, which the Secret Service is investigating. The Supreme Court on Thursday effectively came down on both sides of an Arizona law that requires proof of citizenship to register to vote, in a partial victory for Republicans who had filed an emergency appeal in the case. The 5-4 ruling lets Arizona enforce measures passed in 2022 requiring prospective voters to produce proof of US citizenship when they attempt to register, the Washington Post reports. More than 40,000 people are registered to vote in federal elections in Arizona without providing such proof, per NBC News , though officials say most of those voters are inactive. In the 2020 election, Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the state by just over 10,000 votes. But for now, at least, the court's mixed decision means newly registered Arizonans will have to bring copies of one of several documents with them in November, including a birth certificate or a passport, per the New York Times. At the same time, the justices kept other parts of the Arizona law on hold. Those provisions could have disqualified voters who register with separate federal forms from casting presidential election ballots in person or by mail. "My concern is that changes to the process should not occur this close to an election," said Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes in a statement. "It creates confusion for voters." Research shows noncitizen voting to be rare to nonexistent. Still, the Republican National Committee praised the Supreme Court's decision, which it did not explain, as a victory for election integrity. An expert on election law said it will make voting "moderately more difficult" for some voters. And it's "for no good reason, because noncitizens are not voting in large numbers," said Richard Hasen, a UCLA law professor. (More US Supreme Court stories.) A Virginia man who pleaded for the safe return of his missing wife has reportedly been charged with moving her body. Naresh Bhatt was taken by police in handcuffs Thursday morning from the Manassas Park home he shares with 28-year-old Mamta Kafle, who's been missing since late July. The 37-year-old faces a felony charge of prohibition against concealment of a body which relates to the transport, concealment, or alteration of a body, police say, per WTOP . Manassas Park Police searched the couple's home on Wednesday evening. Chief Mario Lugo said officers had executed "in excess of 10 search warrants" and conducted "hundreds of hours of interviews related to this case." Kafle, who is 5 feet, 132 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair, has yet to be found. The pediatric nurse failed to show up for a work shift on Aug. 1, per People. Her husband claimed to have last seen her at home on July 31; Kafle last spoke with a friend on July 28. Police say they spoke with Bhatt on Aug. 2 but he declined to report his wife missing. He finally did so three days later, police say. A Facebook page chronicling the search, run by Kafle's former roommate, claimed Kafle wanted to separate from her husband and had joined a support group for single mothers, per WUSA and People. The couple share an infant, who is now with a caregiver, per CNN. "We need her back," Bhatt told reporters, per WUSA. Last week, Bhatt said his wife, who moved to the US from Nepal in 2021, had gone missing at least three times before but that she had never been gone so long and he was concerned about her whereabouts. "I'm the one who is suffering," he told WUSA. "She is my baby's mom. She is my wife." At the time, police said Kafle's "husband, friends and co-workers have all been cooperative throughout the investigation." On Wednesday, however, Logo said Bhatt had been "a point of interest" and had not been cooperative with police. Anyone with knowledge of Kafle's whereabouts is asked to contact police or Manassas Park Crime Solvers. (More missing person stories.) A Lyft driver in Texas is safe after police say a customer forced him at gunpoint to drive more than 1,300 miles to Florida, reports WFAA. The ordeal took place Friday night when a suspect identified as 23-year-old Miguel Hernandez pulled out a gun instead of exiting the vehicle and told the driver to head to Florida without speeding, per a Department of Justice release. At one point the following morning, police say he ordered the driver to phone his children and say he was on a long work trip and wouldn't be home for a while, per NBC News. Germany's navy clarified this week that there was "no deeper message" behind the choice to play Darth Vader's theme, the Imperial March, from one of its warships as it sailed down the River Thames in London. This spectacle, caught on video by a bystander, swiftly went viral on social media. The German warship was in the region for training exercises and made a routine supply stop in London, as confirmed by the navy. The commanding officer of the Braunschweig, the warship in question, has free rein over musical selections, per the navy. Upon the ship's arrival in London, it played "London Calling," a 1979 track by The Clash. The Braunschweig, named after a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, is part of the newest class of ocean-going corvettes. This marked the ship's second trip to London, as mentioned by the German Embassy on the social media platform X. The embassy also noted that the commander "is a big 'Star Wars' fan and an admirer of the legendary musical scores of John Williams," and he selects a different Williams composition for each visit to a foreign port. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP) An accident at a Massachusetts quarry claimed the life of a worker Thursday morning when a rock ledge collapsed, engulfing an excavator in rocks and boulders. Firefighters and rescue crews arrived swiftly but found no signs of life after assessing the scene with cameras. The victim was pronounced dead at 8:39am, but their identity has yet to be disclosed. The US Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration is currently examining the scene to ensure safe conditions for retrieving the victim. Sterling Fire Department announced on its Facebook page that multiple agencies are involved in the recovery efforts at the Chocksett Road site. "Please avoid the area. There is no safety threat to the public," the department stated. Onyx Corporation, the company operating the quarry, has shut down all its locations from Thursday through the weekend, with plans to resume operations on Monday. When contacted for further comment, a representative had "nothing at this time" to add. The quarry, launched in February 2018, specializes in transforming rock into materials for infrastructure projects. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP) Nicaragua's government shut down 151 nongovernmental organizations on Thursday, including major trade bodies like the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM). This move follows the closure of approximately 1,500 mostly religious NGOs earlier this week. The Interior Ministry also revoked the legal standing of the umbrella organization for European chambers of commerce in the country. AMCHAM, which has been operating in the country for 47 years, focused on fostering investment and trade with the US, Nicaragua's key trading partner. Despite longstanding tensions between the US and Nicaragua, particularly since President Daniel Ortega's crackdown on 2018 protests, economic exchanges had persisted. Also terminated were the National Union of Farmers and Ranchers and chambers of commerce from Mexico, Panama, and Uruguay. Ortega's government maintains that NGOs funded from abroad were part of efforts to dislodge him. Since 2018, over 5,000 organizations have been shut down. Economist Enrique Saenz criticized the closures as "absolutely irrational," arguing they harm job creation and send a "disturbing message" to international business interests. He emphasized that many organizations offer critical aid to vulnerable Nicaraguans, highlighting wider socio-economic repercussions. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP) Prosecutors can retry Karen Read for the murder of her police officer boyfriend, a Massachusetts judge said in a ruling issued Friday, setting the stage for a new trial to begin Jan. 27. Read is accused of drunkenly hitting Boston police officer John O'Keefe with her SUV outside a Canton home in the early hours of Jan. 29, 2022, and fleeing the scene. She claimed she only dropped off O'Keefe at the home of a fellow police officer, where he was beaten during a fight, then tossed out into the cold. A mistrial resulted . Prosecutors had promised to retry the case , while Read's lawyers asked a judge to dismiss two of the three charges against Read, including second-degree murder, per Boston.com . Defense lawyers cited four jurors as saying all jurors internally agreed that Read was not guilty of murder and leaving the scene of a fatal accident but were deadlocked on a count of manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle under the influence. Read's lawyers argued that because the jurors had reached consensus on the two charges, Read couldn't be tried on those charges again. Prosecutors countered that the jury was given clear instructions on reaching and reporting a verdict, and that no verdict ever came. Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannone ruled that "where there was no verdict announced in open court here, retrial of the defendant does not violate the principle of double jeopardy," per the AP. Read's lawyers also argued Cannone was too quick in declaring a mistrial and should have first questioned the jurors. But "the Court finds it hard to believe that when counsel heard that the jury was at an impasse for a third time and a mistrial was inevitable, at perhaps the most crucial point in the trial, counsel would sit silently if they did not consent to a mistrial," Cannone wrote, per Boston.com. "In a remarkable turnaround, defense counsel now argues that the result they twice advocated for was 'sudden' and 'unexpected.'" The Norfolk County District Attorney's Office said the decision was in keeping "with almost 200 years of case law." Read's lawyers said they "fully intend a vigorous appeal." (More murder trial stories.) The new Dutch prime minister has prohibited the use of cell phones and other mobile devices during Cabinet meetings to mitigate the risk of digital espionage. "The threat of espionage is timeless. Electronic devices, a telephone, iPad, are all little microphones," stated Dick Schoof, a former head of the national intelligence agency. Under Schoof's predecessor, Mark Rutte, mobile devices were allowed. Schoof, whose technocratic government took office in July, emphasized his experience in the intelligence community as the reason behind the new policy. "Maybe I have a bit more experience with that sort of thing," he said, adding that cabinet members immediately agreed to the measure. Erik Akerboom, the current chief of the General Intelligence and Security Service, cautioned last year about espionage efforts, particularly from China, targeting the Netherland's high-tech sector. "We see that every day they try to steal that from the Netherlands," Akerboom reported. The government is currently drafting a comprehensive policy blueprint, set to be unveiled next month, to fortify its defenses against such threats. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP) MONTREAL, Aug. 23, 2024 /CNW/ - Hydro-Quebec's net income totalled $1,845 million for the first six months of 2024, lower than the $2,687 million recorded for the same period the previous year, when average prices obtained on export markets had reached unprecedented levels. "These results are in line with what we had anticipated under our prudent energy reserves management, necessary due to the cycle of low runoff. This led to a decrease in electricity sales on external markets compared to the same period in 2023," said Maxime Aucoin, Executive Vice President Strategy and Finance. "In the first six months of 2024, runoff was close to historical averages throughout the power system. We will monitor the situation closely and continue to exercise caution." Financial highlights of the first six months Action Plan 2035 : strong growth in investments and financing activities Increase of nearly 30% in investments in property, plant and equipment and intangible assets compared to the previous year Over $2 .6 billion invested in six months More than half of the funds allocated to generation, transmission and distribution asset sustainment to ensure service quality Financing activities raised $2 .9 billion in the first six months Low runoff in 2023: prudent management of energy reserves in 2024 Decrease of $919 million in sales outside Quebec, due in particular to a 50% decline in volume compared to the previous year Positive impact of the electricity price hedging strategy, but less significant than in 2023 Average price obtained (including hedging effect): 9.4/kWh, compared to the average market price of 6.4/kWh Higher revenue from sales in Quebec Continued growth in electricity demand, due partly to an increase in the number of customer accounts, primarily in the residential and commercial segments Lower electricity consumption due to mild temperatures in the first quarter of 2024, which was the mildest in 10 years Increased revenue resulting from rate indexations that came into effect on April 1, 2023 and 2024 Action Plan 2035: Highlights of the first six months Improvement of service quality with a 65% decrease in the average number of minutes of service interruption for customers: 318 minutes in 2024 compared to 898 minutes in 2023 (as at July 31 ) ) Increase of more than 30% in energy saved as part of our energy efficiency initiatives, from 320 GWh to 430 GWh (as at July 31 ) ) Signature of 4 agreements with Indigenous communities, based on the principle of reconciliation; Launch of the Wind Power Development Strategy : Hydro-Quebec will play a key role in partnership with First Nations and municipalities : Hydro-Quebec will play a key role in partnership with First Nations and municipalities Announcement of a partnership for the development of the Chamouchouane region in SaguenayLac-Saint-Jean, which could accommodate up to 3,000 MW of wind capacity For more information on Hydro-Quebec's results for the first six months of 2024, visit www.hydroquebec.com/about/publications-reports/quarterly-bulletin.html. SOURCE Hydro-Quebec Information: Caroline Des Rosiers, Hydro-Quebec, [email protected], Tel.: 514 289-5005 MONTREAL, Aug. 22, 2024 /CNW/ - Today, the three school service centers on the Island of Montreal (SSC) the Centre de services scolaire de Montreal, the Centre de services scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys, and the Centre de services scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Ile along with the two school boards (SB) the English Montreal School Board and the Lester B. Pearson School Board held a joint press conference to provide an update on the upcoming school year as they actively prepare to welcome students. They emphasized that all teams are working tirelessly as part of this annual operation. Thoroughly Prepared For several months, the administrations and staff of Montreal's school service centers and school boards have been meticulously planning and organizing the start of the school year. All teams are implementing the necessary actions to ensure that students have a good start to the school year. Planning for the start of the school year requires complex coordination, including the recruitment and assignment of staff, management of student registrations, class composition, organization of school transportation, building improvements, and the adaptation of educational services to meet the specific needs of students. Every aspect of the school year is handled with care to ensure that students, teachers, professional staff, and support staff have the appropriate resources from day one. Concrete Action to Address Back-to-School Challenges A few days before the school year begins, Montreal's school service centers and school boards have filled 94.9% of teaching positions. In this context, the SSC and SB emphasize the sustained efforts made to meet this challenge. Human resources teams are working intensively to recruit new teachers and ensure efficient staff assignments. Additionally, current staff, including those with bachelor's degrees who have not yet obtained a teaching license, are receiving the necessary support and training to ensure that the quality of education meets the high standards of Quebec's public school system. A Strong Commitment to Educational Success Montreal's school service centers and school boards reaffirm their commitment to developing the full potential of each student and ensuring their success. The combined efforts of school, school boards, and administrative service teams throughout the year demonstrate their dedication to providing the best possible experience for Montreal students. The infrastructure work carried out this summer, with over 250 active construction projects, also illustrates this commitment. These projects, primarily focused on maintaining and improving facilities, are essential to ensuring safe and adequate learning environments. Montreal's SSC and SB are ready to welcome their students for this new school year, with a firm intention to continue their educational mission despite the challenges ahead. Each new school year is a renewed promise to offer the best to students, building a brighter collective future. This year is no exception. The passion and experience of the staff ensure a successful start to the school year. Quotes: "Our teams have worked with passion and rigour all summer to ensure that every student and staff member can experience a positive and inspiring start to the school year despite the significant challenges our organizations face. We are ready and eager to welcome our students into an environment conducive to their development and success." Joe Ortona, Chair of the English Montreal School Board, and Judy Kelley, Chair of the Board of Commissioners of the Lester B. Pearson School Board "Dedicated to the well-being and success of our students, teams are making every effort to ensure a smooth school year. This joint press conference marks an important step in the collaboration between Montreal's various educational organizations. By joining forces, we demonstrate our ability to meet the challenges in education while remaining focused on our primary mission." Isabelle Gelinas, Director General of the Centre de services scolaire de Montreal, Paul St-Onge, Acting Director General of the Centre de services scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys, and Martin Duquette, Acting Director General of the Centre de services scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Ile Highlights: The administrations and staff of Montreal's SSC and SB have been working tirelessly for months to plan, organize, and ensure an optimal start to the school year for students and staff, despite numerous challenges. SSC and SB have been working tirelessly for months to plan, organize, and ensure an optimal start to the school year for students and staff, despite numerous challenges. The reality in Montreal is complex, but thanks to the concerted efforts of the five organizations in the territory, they fulfill their educational mission and contribute to the full potential of more than 280,000 young people and adult students. is complex, but thanks to the concerted efforts of the five organizations in the territory, they fulfill their educational mission and contribute to the full potential of more than 280,000 young people and adult students. The average graduation and qualification rate for schools and centers on the Island of Montreal is 87.1%, nearly 3% higher than the overall Quebec network. is 87.1%, nearly 3% higher than the overall network. Montreal SSC and SB by the numbers: Over 280,000 students enrolled, representing about 20% of Quebec's students 486 educational institutions 94.9% of teaching positions filled as of August 21, 2024 Nearly 4,000 resumes processed in the summer of 2024 More than 250 active construction projects in the summer of 2024 Over $420 million estimated in investment for asset maintenance for the 2024-2025 school year Over 10,000 secondary students enrolled in summer courses in 2024 SOURCE Centre de services scolaire de Montreal (CSSDM) Sources: Michael Cohen, Manager, Marketing and Communications, Commission scolaire English-Montreal, [email protected], 514-826-0383; Darren Becker, Director, Communications, Commission scolaire Lester B. Pearson, [email protected], 514 772-0122; Alain Perron, Press Relations Manager, Centre de services scolaire de Montreal, [email protected]; 514 573-9923, Melanie Simard, Communications Bureau, Centre de services scolaire Marguerite-Bourgeoys, [email protected]; 514 294-5292; Valerie Biron, Director, Corporate Services, Communications and General Secretariat, Centre de services scolaire de la Pointe-de-l'Ile, [email protected], 514 776-7437 MONTREAL, Aug. 23, 2024 /CNW/ - After nearly a year of unfruitful negotiations, the 600 members of Concordia University Professional Employees Union (CUPEUCSN) will be on strike at the beginning of the school term scheduled for September 3rd, impacting the start of the academic year for nearly 50 000 students. In winter, CUPEU began conciliation with the University due to the lack of movement regarding hybrid work. Earlier this spring, the union adopted a two-week strike mandate in the hopes that they could come to an agreement with Concordia University regarding the framing of hybrid work. Until now, the employer has not budged on its position, refusing even to broach the subject at negotiation meetings. The union's members hold a variety of essential positions that ensure smooth operations during the back-to-school season: advisors, financial analysts information technologists and communications, as well as coordinators, psychologists, nurses, etc. "At the moment, access to hybrid work is inequitable across the University. What we are requesting is to agree on a framework that avoids any inequity, and to include a guarantee that professional employees can do part of their work from home," explains Shoshana Kalfon, president of the Concordia University Professional Employees UnionCSN (CUPEUCSN). "A solution that takes into account the needs of the students, the University, and the professional employees must be found. Nowadays, hybrid work is the standard for many professionals," explains Kathrin Peter, vice-president of the Federation des professionnelesCSN (FPCSN). "We hope that the employer hears the union loud and clear. Its members want to negotiate so they can avoid any negative consequences on the student population, but they will be ready to strike if it comes down to it," concludes Dominique Daigneault, president of the Conseil central du Montreal metropolitainCSN (CCMMCSN). Interestingly, in its 2024 climate action plan, the University states that it encourages its employees to work remotely to reduce its carbon footprint linked to commuting. The union is at a loss to explain how the University reconciles this stance with its negotiating position. About the CSN Comprising more than 1,600 unions, the CSN represents nearly 330,000 workers in eight federations and thirteen regional central councils, mainly in Quebec. The Federation des professionneles (FPCSN) has some 8,000 members across Quebec, working in a wide range of sectors. The Conseil central du Montreal metropolitainCSN brings together all CSN members in the Greater Montreal region, Laval, Nunavik and Eeyou Istchee Baie-James. SOURCE CSN - Confederation des syndicats nationaux Media contact : Camila Rodriguez-Cea, union adviser, 438-882-1275 or [email protected] In the world of search engine marketing (SEM), Im seeing a growing number of marketers turn to PPC campaigns. Thats how Google has significantly grown its advertising revenue every year. In 2023, 77.8% of Googles revenue came from advertising on Google properties and YouTube. Why? Well-run pay-per-click or PPC campaigns help you generate leads by nearly guaranteeing ad placement in search engine result pages. And if your ads tool is tightly integrated with your CRM, you can use insights from your ad data to nurture leads across their buying journey. In this post, Ill walk you through what makes a successful campaign and the best practices for optimizing your PPC campaigns. Table of Contents The Ultimate Google Ads PPC Kit A free guide and template to help run Google Ads campaigns. Set your budget. Set your budget. Research your keywords. Research your keywords. Plan your ROI. Plan your ROI. Grow your business. Get Your Free Kit Learn more Download Free All fields are required. You're all set! Click this link to access this resource at any time. Download Now What is a PPC campaign? A PPC campaign is a search engine marketing strategy where you create an ad that targets certain keywords and pay for it by the click. Marketers often build these campaigns using platforms like Google Ads and Microsoft Ads. So, how can you win a PPC campaign? Success starts by using research, data, and insights to create an effective strategy. How to Build a PPC Campaign Strategy Determine your PPC campaign structure. Identify, build, and refine your campaign's landing pages. Create a keyword strategy based on your research. Create ads based on insights from the steps above. Share your campaign plan with stakeholders. If you jump into a PPC campaign without an effective strategy, its easy to waste money, attract the wrong leads, and set yourself up for frustration without much to show for it. Here are a few ways Ive seen marketers go wrong with PPC campaign management: Building one basic campaign without using Google Ads Ad Groups tool. Coming up with keywords by relying on gut feeling instead of doing research. Not adding negative keywords or monitoring campaigns to avoid wasting budget. Using unengaging landing pages or a homepage that generates no leads for the campaign. Creating campaigns, setting budget caps, and going live without informing internal or external stakeholders. Building an excellent campaign structure can help you avoid these obstacles. Luckily, building an excellent PPC campaign structure can help you avoid these obstacles. What is PPC management? Pay-per-click or PPC management is managing and monitoring of a companys pay-per-click ad spend and campaigns. Typically handled by marketing teams or a marketing agency, PPC management strategies entail using keywords to optimize results. PPC Campaign Management Template To help you succeed with your next campaign, weve created a free PPC campaign management template. What I love about this template is that it allows you and your clients to set up a full-funnel campaign structure that follows PPC best practices. Once you do that, youll be better positioned to maximize the return on your PPC investment. The template is broken into two sections: Ads Planner and Ads Results. Ads Planner Template In this section of the PPC template, youll record your ad campaign information. The first three columns contain your campaign name, keywords, and negative keywords (keywords you dont want ads shown for). Enter your ad variations in the next section. Theres room for multiple headlines, descriptions, and URL paths to help you keep track of your running ads. Download this Template Ads Results Template This part of the PPC template allows you to track relevant campaign metrics. Use it to record your total ad cost and analyze the performance of impressions, conversions, cost-per-click information, and more. Image Source Now that youre familiar with the templates components, lets look at managing your PPC campaign. How to Manage a PPC Campaign Image Source Im going to show you how to use the PPC template in this blog post so download it now and follow along with me.This template acts like a checklist that can help you manage the steps along the way. Pro tip: Heres what you need to know to make using this template easy: Youll want to clear out the example data in the template. That includes placeholder keywords, campaign and ad group names, ads, and final URLs. Be careful not to alter the variables in columns F, J, and N of the ads planner. They contain the number of characters required by Google Ads for headlines, descriptions, URL paths, and Final URLs. Now, lets dive into PPC campaign management. Step 1: Choose your PPC campaign management tools and software. There are several platforms for managing your PPC campaign. I recommend starting with one platform and mastering it to keep your costs low in the initial stages of PPC planning. To simplify managing your campaign, you can natively manage it in the platform youre already using for running the ads, rather than paying for an external campaign management tool. However, as you expand your strategy to include more sites, Ive found that Ive needed the features of a more robust PPC campaign management software. These more advanced tools allow you to keep track of each platform, budget, and set of ad creatives in one place. Pro tip: Here are some of my favorite tools for the job: Marin Software: AI-powered management and analytics to monitor and optimize cross-channel campaigns. WordStream Advisor: Analyzes Google and Facebook ad performance to improve reach, results, and ROI. SpyFu: Analyzes your competitors campaigns to help you build a well-rounded strategy. Optmyzr: Offers one-click optimizations, custom reporting, and rule-based automations for managing PPC campaigns across multiple platforms. Step 2: Understand PPC campaign structure. Dont fall into the trap of setting up an account, creating an ad, directing the ad to a websites home page, picking some keywords, and hitting go. Running a successful PPC campaign is all about organizing your campaigns and ad groups effectively, choosing the right keywords, and targeting your audience with precision. Youll want to manage your budget wisely, craft relevant ad copy, and continuously optimize based on performance data. And remember, PPC isnt a one-time setup; its an ongoing process where staying updated and making tweaks will keep your campaigns driving results. Chances are, the account youre managing will have more than one PPC campaign. Your campaigns may contain several ad groups, each based on a set of related keyword groupings. Each ad group may contain multiple ads with similar targeted keywords. Managing multiple campaigns allows you to set daily budget caps, ad schedules, and select geo-targeted regions at the campaign level. If you're bidding on generic and branded keywords, youll want to put these in separate campaigns. The parameters around these two types of keywords will likely be different. As youll see below, your template reflects these best practices, providing cells for several campaigns, ad groups, and ad variations within those ad groups. Download this Template Free Step 3: Identify your landing pages. A landing page is the web page where your PPC traffic goes after they click on your paid ad. Dont drive PPC visitors to your home page or blog, hoping theyll see and fill out a lead generation form. Thats the role of organic search. Instead, drive your audience to a landing page with messaging tailored to your campaign goal. It should contain a form that collects their contact information in exchange for an offer or asset. Be sure to add a tracking token or UTM parameter to the page so you can identify your lead sources. Pro tip: Keep in mind that the final URL within an ad group will be the same regardless of the keyword or ad. You can create another ad group if you want to drive a keyword to a different landing page. If you want to get even more specific, create another campaign for that keyword. The Ultimate Google Ads PPC Kit A free guide and template to help run Google Ads campaigns. Set your budget. Set your budget. Research your keywords. Research your keywords. Plan your ROI. Plan your ROI. Grow your business. Get Your Free Kit Learn more Download Free All fields are required. You're all set! Click this link to access this resource at any time. Download Now Step 4: Build your keyword strategy. Always select keywords that are relevant to your landing page and offer. Relevant keywords are important because they increase the chance of the right prospect seeing your ad, clicking on it, and visiting the landing page. Its tempting to want to rank for multiple keywords, but you shouldnt try to do this using a single landing page. Why? An effective landing page has focused messaging that addresses only a few targeted keywords. If a keyword is irrelevant to your landing page messaging, youll end up wasting your ad budget, as visitors are much less likely to convert. Its better to create another offer and landing page that specifically addresses those additional keywords with relevant messaging. Pro tip: To understand search volumes and costs around keywords you want, use tools like the Google AdWords Tool or the HubSpot keywords tool. If its your first time managing a PPC campaign, I recommend checking out this article on how to design a keyword strategy. For Google Ads, youll want to learn more about keyword quality scores, too. Step 5: Create your ads. This is the fun part. Most PPC campaign management software allows you to create one or more ads for each ad group (hence the group terminology). After creating multiple ads, these platforms display the ad variations to your audience to test which version leads to a higher clickthrough rate (CTR). This is called A/B testing. While running A/B tests is optional, I highly recommend taking advantage of it. Ive seen time and again that A/B testing insights significantly improve campaign performance and ROI. Pro tip: One of the most effective A/B tests is testing variations of your ads call to action (CTA), the phrase that encourages your prospect to take a specific action, like downloading a resource or signing up for more information. If you need more detail, read how the HubSpot team A/B tests our own CTAs. Writing Your Headline When writing your ad, give special attention to your headline. The headline has the greatest influence on an ads CTR. Be sure to include a keyword in your headline to draw a user's attention. An even better practice is using dynamic keyword insertion to make your ads even more relevant to people searching for what you offer. Keep in mind that you have 30 characters for each ad headline, 30 characters for the display URL (the URL that's displayed in the ad, not to be confused with the final URL), and 90 characters for each line of copy. If you're using this template, you can easily keep track of these values. Download this Template Free Choosing Your Display URL Finally, theres the tricky matter of the display URL. Youre only allowed 30 characters here, but its unlikely that your final URL, the actual URL for your landing page, will be that short, especially after adding UTM parameters. For this reason, search engines like Google allow you to create a display URL, which may not be an actual URL on your website. However, the domain in your display URL must be the same as the domain in your final URL. This allows users to know theyre in the right place when they click your ad and visit your landing page. Step 6: Share the completed template with stakeholders. Your completed template needs to align with stakeholders expectations and the elements of a productive PPC campaign. If youre a PPC campaign stakeholder, this template will help you with two things. First, the ads planner template gives you a birds-eye view of what the person running the ads is doing. Second, the ad results template shows how much youre spending on PPC. With this, you can reallocate and swiftly modify your budget as you respond to changes in the marketplace. Effective PPC Campaign Management Strategies When I first started managing PPC campaigns, I quickly realized that theres a lot more to it than just setting up ads and hoping for the best. You need to fine-tune every element to get the best results. Over the years, Ive honed my approach, and Im excited to share my top recommendations for effective PPC campaign management strategies that can drive serious revenue, results, and ROI. Set Clear Campaign Objectives and Goals Clear, measurable objectives ensure every dollar you spend is working toward driving tangible business outcomes, like boosting sales or generating qualified leads. When your goals are laser-focused, youre setting yourself up to maximize ROI by putting your efforts into what truly matters for revenue growth. Nail Your Audience Targeting By honing in on precise audience segments, you can run hyper-targeted ads that minimize wasted spend and maximize conversions. When you reach the right people at the right time, your traffic quality improves, leading to more conversions and better ROI. Master Keyword Research and Selection Keywords are the backbone of any PPC campaign. Choosing high-intent keywords ensures your ads appear when people are actively searching for your products or services. This not only increases your chances of conversions but also helps drive more sales or leads, giving you the best bang for your PPC buck. If you need help, check out our video on using ChatSpot AI for keyword research. Write Ad Copy That Converts Developing compelling copy that speaks directly to your audiences needs can skyrocket your clickthrough rates and conversions. Effective messaging doesnt just attract clicks it persuades potential customers to take action, which means more revenue and better ROI. Optimize Your Landing Pages When your landing pages are relevant and persuasive, they guide visitors smoothly toward conversion, lowering bounce rates and increasing sales or leads ultimately giving you a bigger return on your ad spend. Manage Your Budget Wisely Allocating your spend to the highest-performing campaigns minimizes waste and maximizes ROI. When you manage your budget efficiently, you can scale successful campaigns, driving more revenue over time. Continuous Optimization PPC isnt a set-it-and-forget-it game. Ongoing optimization is the secret to getting better results over time. Regularly testing and tweaking your targeting, bids, and ad creatives help you refine your campaigns, driving more results and revenue as your efforts compound. Analyze Competitors Regularly By keeping tabs on what others in your industry are doing, you can spot gaps in the market and seize opportunities theyre missing. This intel helps you outperform competitors, capture more market share, and drive higher revenue and ROI. Scale Your Campaigns Strategically Once youve found a winning formula, its time to scale. Expanding your reach and increasing ad spend on high-performing campaigns can amplify your results without compromising performance. Strategic scaling leads to substantial revenue growth and maximizes ROI. The Ultimate Google Ads PPC Kit A free guide and template to help run Google Ads campaigns. Set your budget. Set your budget. Research your keywords. Research your keywords. Plan your ROI. Plan your ROI. Grow your business. Get Your Free Kit Learn more Download Free All fields are required. You're all set! Click this link to access this resource at any time. Download Now How to Optimize Your PPC Campaign PPC campaign management isnt a one-time thing. Youll need to adjust your methods continually for optimized results. Keep these factors in mind to maximize the performance of your PPC campaigns. Location Geographic targeting, or geotargeting, allows you to focus your ads on specific locations. This can be as broad as an entire country or as specific as a single city or even a particular ZIP code. Track the performance of your ads by location to identify the most high-performing areas where you may need to adjust your strategy. You might reallocate the budget to more profitable locations or test new geotargeted ad copy to improve performance. For example, if you own a bike shop, the ad performance data may show that targeting urban and densely populated areas may be better than targeting rural areas where most folks residents rely on a car to get around. Performance by Device In my experience, conversion rates can vary significantly by device. Campaigns that are effective for desktop users may not perform so well with mobile users. Consider targeting each group separately and note any differences in conversion rates, cost per click, or return on ad spend (ROAS) for each device type. If a campaign works better on mobile versus desktop, allocate funds towards your mobile efforts while you try a different campaign for desktop users. This way, you ensure youre spending on campaigns that guarantee the highest ROI. Evaluating Keywords When running campaigns, every keyword you choose wont prove useful. Youll need to evaluate and remove the low performers. These could be keywords that: Are not converting. Are converting at a very high cost. Have a "below average" quality score rating. Remove these keywords and stick with those that are performing well. This allows you to get maximum value from your ad budget. Examine Keyword Bids When bidding for keywords, youll want to determine how much you can pay for each conversion and still make a profit. To do this, I recommend using Google Ads tools to optimize your bids, like: Bid simulator: This allows you to see how higher or lower bids can affect your ads performance. First-page bid estimates: This shows how much you likely need to bid to get your ads on the first page of Google search results. After determining the maximum you can pay for a keyword, these tools will help you make the most of your budget. Performance by Day and Time Campaign performance will fluctuate depending on the time of day or day of the week. So, observe your campaigns to see when they perform well. If they arent performing during a specific timeframe, adjust your campaign so that you are only bidding on the most profitable times. Now, lets explore the platforms available to run your PPC campaigns. PPC Campaign Management by Platform Besides figuring out the ads that work best for your business, understanding where your audience spends most of their time online is key. Thats why you need to familiarize yourself with the different platforms available for running your PPC campaigns. Lets look at some of the most popular ad platforms, like Google, Microsoft (Bing), Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and YouTube. Google PPC Campaign Management Google has been the dominant player in the search engine space for over 20 years, and it still produces some of the most innovative ad experiences in the market. Google PPC management offers several key advantages compared to other platforms, like larger reach and audience, advanced targeting options like intent-based targeting and remarketing, and native integration with other Google tools. Here's a look at two of the most popular ways to serve ads on Google. Image Source Google Search Ads One of the most popular types of Google Ads is the search ad. These ads appear at the top and bottom of the search results for specific keywords you bid on. The typical goal for running Google search ad campaigns is to drive traffic to a specific webpage like a landing or product page. Google Display Ads If youve ever visited a website that advertised on the banner, sidebar, or footer of a web page, you've probably seen a Google display ad. These ads are typically visual, featuring colorful graphics, videos, and occasionally audio. Google display ads are helpful for retargeting customers who visit your website without taking your desired action. Microsoft Ads (Formerly Bing Ads) PPC Campaign Management Overall, Microsoft Ads works almost like Google Ads. Both offer similar ad formats, like text ads, responsive ads, and dynamic search ads. However, Microsoft PPC management can be considered easier to use than Google PPC management for digital marketers starting out, with fewer field requirements and lower thresholds to get to advanced features. There are a few more distinctions thatll help you get the most out of your PPC campaign. Image Source Microsoft Ads Keyword Planner The bulk of your PPC efforts will likely live in Google Ads. When you decide to bid on Microsoft Ads, avoid using your Google Ads keywords for your Microsoft Ads. Google and Bing are different search engines, meaning the search volume for your Google keywords may not be the same in Bing. Microsoft Bings keyword research and suggestion tool provides more accurate search volumes for your keywords. So, while you can use your keyword list from Google, use this tool to verify whether you should bid on the same keywords versus other variants with more traffic. Lower CPC One upside of Microsoft Ads is the possibility of having lower CPC, which decreases your ad spend. A WordStream test of both Google and Microsoft found that the average CPC of running ads on Microsoft was 33% lower. The implication? Bidding on Microsoft Ads is less competitive than Google, meaning you may likely spend less when paying for Microsoft Ads keywords. This may be especially true for specific industries, as youll see in this table: Image Source For a deeper dive into Microsoft Ads, check out this resource portal. Facebook PPC Campaign Management Facebook Ads Manager is a platform that connects 1.6 billion people to businesses on Facebook. Where Facebook PPC management differs from Google PPC management is in its ability to target specific demographics and interests, which is great for brand awareness campaigns. Image Source Some of the most popular ads you can use for Facebook campaigns are: Story Ads With more users spending time on social media platforms story features, these ads are one way to reach your audience. Like personal stories, you can share story ads as a video with a link. You can also use a series of photos to explain your ad and entice your audience to take a specific action. Keep in mind: You can only post stories for 24 hours. These ads are best used for promotions like time-limited offers. Playable Ads Gamification is an innovative way to catch a leads attention. Facebooks playable ads allow you to create a brief interactive version of a game or app so users can get a feel for your product. Youll want to keep the functionality simple, so you dont deter potential customers. And, of course, make it fun. Messenger Ads If youve ever used Facebooks messenger tool, youve probably seen an ad in your conversations. Messenger ads are useful because potential customers can decide to connect with your business directly from their messages. If you have a customer service team that connects with people via chat, this is a great way to establish an instant connection. You can also send a lead to your site or a specific landing page from the ad. To get a comprehensive deep dive into building Facebook ad campaigns, check out HubSpots Facebook Ads Training Course. X (Formerly Twitter) PPC Campaign Management X / Twitter Ads Manager makes it easy to plan your X ad while providing reporting on campaign performance. Image Source EMarketer reports that X is still a supportive environment for native brand content, with its ability to connect directly to consumers and interact in real time. But while you may have an excellent chance of success with X, your ads need to be catchy enough to stop someone mid-scroll. Some ads you can include in your X ad campaigns are: Promoted Ads Xs Promoted Ads can display your message as a single Image Ad, a Video Ad, a Carousel Ad with up to six horizontally swipeable images or videos, or Text Ads for native advertising content. This approach allows your business to convert users, or gain new followers. That can help build your brands awareness. Vertical Video Ads Grab the attention of your prospect with Xs full-screen vertical video Ads. Vertical video is the fastest-growing segment of X, capturing roughly 20% of viewers total time spent on the platform. X reports that users are up to seven times more likely to follow, repost, like, and click the URLs of vertical video ads, as compared to the same ads on their home feed. X Amplify/X Takeovers/X Live For even more ways to align ads with premium video content, X offers ways to target ad display based on content categories, feed placement on Timelines or the Explore tab, or even livestream content. Learn more about X Advertising for your business, and get to posting! YouTube PPC Campaign Management Consider adding YouTube PPC to your campaign, especially if youre already using Google PPC management. YouTube is one part of the Google Display Network with over 2.4 billion monthly users. This high number of users suggests that including YouTube in your ad campaign strategy makes sense. If your business can create ads thatll interest your audience and keep them from hitting skip youre already winning. Lets look at some of the different YouTube ads. Skippable In-Stream Ads These are likely the ads you are most familiar with. These ads have a little button that says skip. Clicking the button allows you to start or continue viewing a video on YouTube. Often, users have to wait five seconds before they can skip. Five seconds isnt much time to convince someone to stick around, so ensure your ads hook can capture your audiences attention. However, you shouldn't worry if users skip your ad within the first five seconds. When a user skips your ad in the first 5 seconds, you wont have to pay for such views or clicks. Non-Skippable In-Stream Ads (Including Bumper Ads) Since many people opt to skip ads on YouTube, advertisers have the option of creating non-skippable ads. If you think your creative is captivating enough to resonate with your target audience, this option may work. Ensure you measure the results from your non-skippable ads to make the best use of your budget. If the results arent in your favor, revert to a skippable ad. Video Discovery Ads (Formerly Known as In-display Ads) Discovery ads are what users see in the search results. As the second largest search engine, people watch over 1 billion hours of YouTube videos daily. Youll want those ads appearing in search results too. These ads will include a thumbnail and a few lines of text as a description. Since many people prefer visuals over text, this is an opportunity to get your audience to view your video instead of reading a competitors text resource. Start Your PPC Campaign Today PPC campaign management is all about researching, budgeting, testing, reporting, building on what works, and optimizing for the best ROI. You dont have to do it alone. With the right tools and instructions Ive outlined in this guide, youll be able to implement a PPC campaign that yields results for your business. Keep in mind that there are a few things that will help you make the most of your efforts: Clearly defined goals , so you can focus your efforts on reaching them. , so you can focus your efforts on reaching them. Focus on your audience, so you can reach the right people with the right message at the right time. Write good ad copy by testing your message and iterating on it to lockdown your conversions. by testing your message and iterating on it to lockdown your conversions. Make data-informed decisions, so that youre adapting your strategy based on numbers and not a gut check. so that youre adapting your strategy based on numbers and not a gut check. Always be optimizing to meet a changing market. By keeping these tips in mind, youll be well on your way to running PPC campaigns that dont just drive traffic they drive meaningful growth for your business. Editor's note: This post was originally published in May 2019 and has been updated for comprehensiveness. Jeffrey Sachs https://www.amazon.ca/End-Poverty-Economic-Possibilities-Time/dp/0143036580/ref=sr_1 2030 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_Poverty 2005 2025 [1] 2005 (MDG) 11 2002 2005 2015 2002 650 1350 1950 [2] 0.7% [3] The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_Poverty A 2005 book by American economist Jeffrey Sachs. It was a New York Times bestseller. In the book, Sachs argues that extreme povertydefined by the World Bank as incomes of less than one dollar per daycan be eliminated globally by the year 2025, through carefully planned development aid. He presents the problem as an inability of very poor countries to reach the "bottom rung" of the ladder of economic development; once the bottom rung is reached, a country can pull itself up into the global market economy, and the need for outside aid will be greatly diminished or eliminated. Clinical economics In order to address and remedy the specific economic stumbling blocks of various countries, Sachs espouses the use of what he terms "clinical economics", by analogy to medicine. Sachs explains that countries, like patients, are complex systems, requiring differential diagnosis, an understanding of context, monitoring and evaluation, and professional standards of ethics.[1] Clinical economics requires a methodic analysis and "differential diagnosis" of a country's economic problems, followed by a specifically tailored prescription. Many factors can affect a country's ability to enter the world market, including government corruption; legal and social disparities based on gender, ethnicity, or caste; diseases such as AIDS and malaria; lack of infrastructure (including transportation, communications, health, and trade); unstable political landscapes; protectionism; and geographic barriers. Sachs discusses each factor, and its potential remedies, in turn. In order to illustrate the use of clinical economics, Sachs presents case studies on Bolivia, Poland, and Russia, and discusses the solutions he presented to those countries, and their effects. The book also discusses the economies of Malawi, India, China, and Bangladesh as representative of various stages of economic development. Jeffrey Sachs in Brazil in 2005 The Millennium Development Goals Sachs places a great deal of emphasis on the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as a first step towards eliminating extreme poverty, which affected approximately 1.1 billion people worldwide at the time of publication. Sachs headed the United Nations Millennium Project, which worked from 2002 to 2005 to establish the organizational means to achieve the MDGs. He also offers some specific, immediate solutions, such as increasing the availability of anti-malarial bed nets in sub-Saharan Africa, and encourages debt cancellation for the world's poorest countries. Sachs states that in order to achieve the goal of eliminating global poverty, clinical economics must be backed by greater funding; he argues that development aid must be raised from $65 billion globally as of 2002 to between $135 and $195 billion a year by 2015.[2] Sachs argues that the developed world can afford to raise the poorest countries out of extreme poverty; he agrees with the MDG's calculation that 0.7 percent of the combined gross national product of first-world countries would be sufficient to achieve that goal.[3] The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time https://web.archive.org/web/20060927153107/http://www.cceia.org/resources/transcripts/5132.html Jeffrey Sachs , Joanne J. Myers March 30, 2005 Introduction JOANNE MYERS: Good morning. I am Joanne Myers. On behalf of the Carnegie Council, I would like to thank you for joining us this morning. Today it is with great pleasure that we welcome once again Jeffrey Sachs to our breakfast program. Our speaker, as many of you know, is legendary for his work around the globe as an economic adviser to governments and for his work with international agencies on poverty reduction. Yet, for those of you who missed his earlier presentation at the Carnegie Council when he first arrived in New York to become the director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, let me just preface my remarks by saying that you are in store for a very stimulating morning. Jeffrey Sachs is not your average economist, nor is his thinking about poverty and the way the world should approach its eradication conventional. In addressing some of the world's most challenging problems, some economists are content to simply ask the question, "Why?" But Professor Sachs presents solutions and answers with, "What if?" and, "Why not?" Today, in discussing his new book, The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time, he will explore the roots of economic prosperity and offer suggestions for finding the path out of extreme poverty for the world's poorest citizens. For more than twenty-five years, his research has led him to more than 100 countries, representing 90 percent of the world's population. The result is this book, which combines practical experience with acute professional analysis and a belief that ideas, if well thought through and based on sound thinking and historical experience, can play a role in eradicating poverty in our time. For his vision, vast experience, and leadership capability, Jeffrey Sachs was the one to whom Kofi Annan turned to address the challenges of our deeply divided world. He is a Special Adviser on the Millennium Development Goals and Director of the Millennium Development Project. In this latter capacity, he has led a team of over 250 experts in developing a strategy for decreasing extreme poverty, disease, and hunger in the world's poorest countries by the year 2015. For those of you who say that poverty is a global shame, but there is no way to fix it, I say just listen to our guest today, whose experience and wisdom will tell us something very different. For even if you do not agree with all of Professor Sachs' prescriptions, it is impossible to deny that the needless deaths of so many people every year from extreme poverty does call for action on a global scale. Please join me in welcoming a man who was cited by The New York Times Magazine as probably the most important economist in the world today, and hailed by Time magazine as one of the world's 100 most influential people, our speaker, Jeffrey Sachs. Remarks JEFFREY SACHS: Wow. What a lovely and over-generous introduction. How wonderful to see everybody. I already felt on the walk over here this morning that this was indeed a propitious day. This is, I think, truly our first day of spring; it is magnificent outside and a fitting day for thinking about rebirth of the year and rebirth of many of our hopes. We had high hopes entering this new millennium, you will remember, which are the hopes that gave birth to the Millennium Development Goals. Those were the brainchild of Kofi Annan, our finest secretary-general in history, I am absolutely convinced. Despite whatever nastiness is said, this is a man of astounding clarity of vision and impeccable integrity. He has helped hold the world together in very difficult times. At the beginning of the new millennium, he put forward to the world a remarkable document called We the Peoples, where he challenged the world to do better in the new millennium. Out of that document came the Millennium Declaration, which was adopted by the world's leaders in September 2000, at what was at the time the largest gathering in the history of the world of political leaders, and will be surpassed only by the summit that will take place in September of this year to reconsider the state of affairs five years on from that declaration. That declaration contains some bold ideas maybe not bold enough, but bold ideas that we could actually cut by half the extreme poverty, in all its dimensions, in the world by the year 2015. I am proposing we can do even a little bit better than that: that we can make those targets, and that we can see our way through a decade beyond, and actually end extreme poverty on the planet within the coming twenty years. My proposition is that we are the first generation in history that can honestly make that claim. The fact that we can make it, in my view, also makes it unavoidable that we try. It is one thing for millions of people to be dying every year because they are too poor to stay alive; it is another thing for millions to be dying every year because they are too poor to be staying alive and for us to know it and not to act. That, I think, is the real existential situation of our planet, that there is no excuse. The deaths are on our watch. The deaths are in our name. The deaths can stop. So the book and the Millennium Development Goals and the U.N. Millennium Project, which released 2,700 pages in fourteen volumes on January 17 you don't have to read them all at once; there is a nice seventy-four-page overview which summarizes the main thoughts of that compendious output of more than 250 specialists around the world tells us what we can accomplish. The reason people die of extreme poverty is that they have nothing. They don't need a lot to stay alive, and they don't even need a lot to start the process of economic development. It would not require heroism on our part in order to help save those lives and help to promote economic development where it is not occurring now on the planet. It would just take having our eyes opened. It would take some attention. It would take a breakthrough in our country from doing nothing to doing something, because we really are, essentially, doing nothing right now. That is the sad, hard fact. In the last few weeks, the President has spoken a thousand times about freedom without speaking once about poverty. That is what we have to change if we are going to address this challenge. It can be changed. Americans will want to change it. Americans don't know what we aren't doing and don't know what we could be doing. It is not that there is evil or uncaring in the land; it is a lack of understanding of the basic realities. Why is that? I will speak for myself. There is no way in the world I would have understood anything without the chance to see it, because there is no way in the world I would have read in the news or media, or even in the professional journals that I read, the basic facts and contours of the situation. When one is lucky enough to see it or to have one's eyes opened and directed towards the problems, I think there is a lot of clarity that can result. That clarity can lead to action, and the action can lead to some stupendous results, not only in saving those lives, but, I daresay, in saving our own as well. Until we take up this challenge, the world is going to be awfully insecure and unstable and unhappy. The thought that somehow a half-a-trillion dollars of military spending each year is going to protect us from the unhappiness of the world should have been an idea that was abandoned long ago. The book tries to describe what I have seen and what I have learned. I have to say that, without seeing it, I guessed none of it, and each step for me has been amazingly eye-opening. Maybe it is sad to say that even after twenty years, every day is still shocking for me sometimes shocking in the enormity of the crisis, sometimes shocking in the simplicity of the solutions. One has to work at it. What was nice in having more than 250 world-leading scientists agronomists, hydrologists, food specialists of all sorts, doctors, public health specialists, water and sanitation engineers, and so on alongside is that they, too, have seen a lot. Even more exciting, whatever poor village you go to, the people know a tremendous amount about what they need and the realities of their lives, contrary to what we think. It is just that they need some help. So let me describe for a few minutes why this paradoxical situation in the world exists, where, in the twenty-first century, the United States is a $40,000 per capita economy, we have a billion people living in a degree of affluence that was unimaginable even a quarter-century ago, we have much of the world achieving development, and yet we have a significant part of the world dying of poverty. That is the first question that needs to be addressed. We need a diagnosis. We need an understanding of what the challenge is. Then we need some practical ways ahead. The good news is that economic development is a reality. It works. Most of the world has escaped from extreme poverty. When I talk about extreme poverty, I am talking about poverty that is so severe that basic needs cannot be fulfilled. What are basic needs? Adequate daily nutritional intake, safe drinking water, basic sanitation, a livelihood that can support survival, that can give a chance for a child to make his or her way through school, access to essential health services in a health emergency, a disease spell. When those conditions are not met, that is extreme poverty. There are about a billion people in the world that don't have their basic needs met, that live in chronic under-nutrition without reliable access to any kind of health care. I am not talking about health insurance and regular preventive care and so forth; I am talking about access to a doctor in the middle of an emergency of malaria, where a $1.00 dose would cure the person, but where 2 million or 3 million people will die because they don't have access to the pill or to the IV line. About 1 billion people are in that condition, but about 5 billion people have escaped from it about five-sixths of the planet, more accurately. Two hundred years ago, everybody was in extreme poverty, aside from the few kings and queens and dukes and princes that we read of in the books and plays and histories. Everybody was in extreme poverty. Life was short. Public health didn't exist. Medicine was putting leeches on patients. Under-nutrition was chronic. Famines were regular. That was true in Europe, as well as anywhere else in the world. That has all changed over the last two centuries since the Industrial Revolution. We really did figure out a lot in this world about how to grow food more reliably, about how to harness energy, about how to make water and sanitation safe and available and reliable. The result has spread through almost all of the world. In fact, even with the poorest parts of the world, there has been some economic improvement compared to two centuries ago. So economic development is real. About a sixth of the planet came to arrive at our circumstances not quite the Upper East Side, but the circumstances of the United States of being in the high-income world. That is the United States, Europe, Japan, Singapore; plus South Korea at this point and a few other places. It is about a billion people. Life expectancy is nearly eighty years. Health spending each year is above $2,500 per person. Nutrition is, let us say, more than adequate. All basic needs are absolutely reliably met, even for the poor. The poor are not dying of starvation, nor, even in our very peculiar society, of lack of access to emergency health care. There is lack of access to normal health care, to preventive medicine, but the emergency rooms, thank goodness, remain open. Extreme poverty was already ended in the high-income world two generations ago, for all intents and purposes. Another two-thirds of the planet, 4 billion people, are what is called middle-income not middle-income by our standards, not American middle class, mind you, but above extreme poverty, some newly arrived out of extreme poverty, like China. But what that large middle of the world's distribution of material condition shows is that development is possible on a broad basis, and not only is it possible, it is possible to see results within a few years that are simply mind-boggling. That is the lesson of Asia. Almost all of Asia now, except for the places in the middle of the Eurasian continent the Afghanistans and the other "Stans" of the former Soviet Union, or Mongolia or the landlocked countries, like Laos most of coastal Asia is booming right now, sometimes from extremely low levels of income. The rate of change is phenomenal, and the hundreds of millions coming out of extreme poverty is certainly the greatest economic development in modern history. China has a doubling of its living standards in less than ten-year intervals. That has been happening for the last quarter-century, and it will continue to happen for quite a while. India is now on the same course. This is the most heartening and wonderful demonstration that development really can work, that the poor can escape from the condition of extreme deprivation, that a country like India, that was ridden with famine, that was viewed as a hopeless case of suffering ,that was synonymous with poverty, is now synonymous with competitive threat in the IT sector. This is a change that has happened before our eyes, in just a few years. Of course, it hasn't really happened in just a few years, but the rate of change is astounding. But there is that last sixth of the world. That is where, I think, our attention needs to turn. That is the world of extreme poverty that remains. A lot of it is still in Asia, though the numbers will go down given the current course. The epicenter of the challenge is Africa. In Africa, you have several hundred million extremely impoverished people, without the dynamism to lift them out of poverty, but instead, a continuing downward spiral of impoverishment, disease, hunger, and instability. The intellectual or analytical question, the diagnostic question, is why you have pockets of extreme poverty indeed, a whole sub-continent, sub-Saharan Africa caught in a trap of poverty, while other parts of the world have either escaped from extreme poverty or have begun to escape. Unfortunately, in Washington and maybe it is our Calvinist roots; I am not sure we have had a too-ready answer and a wrongheaded answer in the last quarter-century, and that is, "The poor must have themselves to blame. Something is wrong with those societies." Corrupt leadership is number one, two, three, four, five on everybody's list. This became the one-sentence not merely the one-page, but the one-sentence explanation that has guided our policy, if you can call it that. It has been a policy of neglect for quite a long time, the resignation or the sense that, "Well, we've done what we can. It's not really our problem. It's their problem," that has led to an almost immovable and unshakable sense of disregard that our country has had now for many years on these issues. But it is not a good diagnosis. It is not serious, and it is not right. What I have learned in visiting more than 100 countries in the world is, first, take a look from their perspective; second, try to understand, in a comparative way, the relative challenges; and third, don't listen to economists or, I should say, more precisely, don't listen only to economists. They are, perhaps, the least likely to know. Listen to the entomologists, the hydrologists, the soil scientists, the others who grapple with the ground realities of staying alive and producing food and fighting disease and helping people to have safe drinking water. Listen to what their message is. If you take the visit and you bring some clever colleagues along with you who can help to interpret, and you meet the people in the villages of Africa or other impoverished regions, what you find is quite amazing. The first thing that you find and this won't surprise anyone in this room; I am sorry to say it, but it is important to say first you find real human beings that are really keen to stay alive and to see their children grow up. You don't find corrupt, listless societies out to grab our bucks. Somehow, we have made the malaria-ridden populations of the world our enemy, the most corrupt people in the world. No. They just happen to get the most malaria-transmitting mosquito bites in the world. They know it, and they are looking for help and solutions. So the first thing you find is that, anywhere in the world, people are thinking about their children. They are wondering if their children can get enough food, can go to school, and can become productive members of their society. The second thing you learn is that people are grappling with practical, tough problems. The poorest people in the world, to a very large extent, are farmers and their families. They are smallholder farmers working on small plots of land, whether in Africa or in Asia or in the Andes Mountains, not producing enough food to feed themselves, much less to bring the food to market. This is the dominant condition of the world's poor: rural, agrarian, poverty, smallholder farmers that lack the basic productivity to earn a livelihood and even to feed their families. When you look at why that is in the twenty-first century, you see that there is a difference between the Iowa farms or the farmers along the Yangtze and the farmers in the highlands of Ethiopia or in the lowlands of western Kenya. What you find are some biophysical realities, to use a term of jargon. There are three biophysical realities that, for me, help us to understand some pretty fundamental and basic points, such as why Asia developed and Africa did not. First, Asia had a Green Revolution about forty years ago. It is in the past, but it was the great event of the 1960s and 1970s, the thing that allowed India and China to escape from poverty, doubling or tripling crop yields. Why? Because you had irrigated agriculture, improved seeds, and fertilizer. That combination was championed by the Rockefeller Foundation, by the technologies that we helped to produce, that Norman Borlaug and others helped to bring to Asia forty years ago. That helped to set in motion food security and self-sufficiency, and subsequent industrialization and massive education and service-sector development. Africa did not have a Green Revolution. Ninety-six percent of Africa's food production is rain-fed rather than irrigated, in highly unstable climates. There is not enough nitrogen in the soil right now and African farmers can't afford fertilizer. They used to do rotation of crops when the population density was low, but now they farm soils year after year, without fertilizer, on soils that are so depleted that it is biologically impossible to grow a proper crop. With no fertilizer and no water management, you can't afford to use improved seed. So the result is that Africans are farming on soils depleted of nutrients, suffering from chronic drought, without the benefit of improved seed varieties, and getting yields that are a third or fourth of the yields that farmers in other parts of the world get. And we think this is somehow normal. This is not corruption. This is extreme poverty. With no Green Revolution, the result is an economy of subsistence or sub-subsistence results: challenge number one. Challenge number two: Those farmers and their children are suffering and dying of malaria and other tropical diseases, and chronic helminthic infections. The water that they drink is not safe. The children don't sleep under insecticide-treated bed nets. There aren't clinics to treat a case of malaria, even though it is a 100 percent treatable disease. 2 or 3 million African children will die this year of malaria a 100 percent treatable disease. This ought to count for something. That is not corruption. That is the Anopheles gambiae mosquito, the most intense transmitter of malaria in the world, unique to Africa, with an ecology that has made Africa the home of falciparum malaria from time immemorial, but with such poverty that there is no way to fight the disease, even though the technologies now exist to fight the disease. That is even before AIDS. Now add on the AIDS pandemic and the interaction of AIDS with all the other diseases because there are biological interactions as well and the result is a health catastrophe, which we have essentially ignored until very, very recently. The third is that these communities are living far from the ports. African impoverished households, Andean impoverished farmers, Laotian and Cambodian impoverished fisher people and farmers, Mongolian herdsmen they are all living very far from international trade. Africans moved a long time ago up into the highlands, away from the coasts, because the coasts are dry and hot, and the highlands are cooler and wetter and a better place to grow food. So the highest population densities in Africa are the Ethiopian highlands, Rwanda, and Burundi 1,000 miles to the interior of the continent. It is a place to survive, barely not so much anymore but it is a lousy place to do international trade, I will tell you, because the next time Lord & Taylor or J.C. Penney wants to do some outsourcing, they will not go 1,000 miles to the interior of the African continent to place their apparel factories. They will go to a port or they will go to Monterrey, Mexico, or San Pedro Sula, Honduras, or Tunis or Mauritius, where they can load the ship, unload the ship, and get the goods moving. So Africans and other poor people face geographical isolation as well. It is not necessarily killing if you actually have a road, if you have a telephone, or if you have the Internet. There are all sorts of things that can be done. But if you start so poor that you don't have those things, the market is not going to come to rescue you. The market is trained to ignore you. We could do some rescuing, but not the market. So there are three biophysical realities of impoverishment: insufficient food production, insufficient disease control, and economic isolation. The beauty is, this is the opposite of determinism. How easy to address those not to turn Burundi into the Upper East Side overnight, not even to imagine a middle-income country in this twenty-five-year horizon, that's probably not possible but it's also not the goal, not even the goal of the people living in Burundi. They want to stay alive. They want their children to have a chance. They want their children to get an education. They want their children not to be stunted, not to be permanently disabled by a bout of cerebral malaria, too late in treatment. They want their children not to drop out after one year of school. They just want to have a chance. When you start thinking about the chance, then you find how amazingly modest the needs are to make that chance possible. Malaria could be decisively controlled if each person in the rich world would give $3.00 per year. There are 1 billion people in the rich world. The cost of malaria control is reliably estimated at $3 billion a year in sub-Saharan Africa. That is for bed nets, effective medicines, community health workers, and village-based diagnostics $3 billion a year. The cost of helping farmers to grow enough food rather than shipping American food aid in the midst of famine is another a basic point. We preach the fishing rod instead of giving the fish, but we invariably give the fish and deny the fishing rod. Helping African farmers grow enough food I have seen it now with my own eyes all over Africa, what individual extension projects can accomplish. Some fertilizer input, some rainwater harvesting, some farm ponds, some check dams, some treadle pumps, some drip irrigation it is absolutely phenomenal. You can double or triple crops within a season. The farmers can't afford this. We can afford it. It is a tiny cost. Then there is VSAT [satellite communications systems], and there are roads, and there are fiber-optic cables that could easily carry the Internet needs of Africa for generations to come. It is not expensive, and it gets rid of isolation of a kind because, remember, the isolation I am talking about is not true isolation from the world. Afghanistan was isolated, but, boy, it sure found its way to Manhattan. So no place is truly isolated. But in terms of economic development, you can be isolated. That kind of isolation can be overcome. I have spent many years trying to understand what the costs of actually doing this would be and how it could be organized. The fact of the matter is, the villages, for example, are wonderful organizing principles. A village has 1,000 people. They meet regularly. About three weeks ago I was in about the poorest place in the world, in an impoverished, drought-ridden village in Ethiopia. When I got to the village, I was presented with an organogram of the village governing structure. The committees were there, and we met with the board. We talked to them about some of their resource needs. Within two weeks, they had gotten fifty hectares cleared for drip-irrigated orchards, because we have offered to help them put in some of the basic equipment. They knew what to do. They knew how to get organized. They knew how to move. They just couldn't afford it. It is very basic. It is called poverty. These needs can not only be met financially, but actually put in place on the ground. In a village in western Kenya where the Earth Institute is working, we said to the villagers, "We want to help you. We'll hire a doctor for you." Fifteen thousand dollars a year for the doctor, in a village that has no money. They couldn't do it, but for 5,000 villagers that is $3.00 per person a pretty cost-effective investment for a disease-ridden village that needs help in treating malaria, AIDS, and other diseases. So we offered to do it. I said to the villagers and their health committee, "Can you find a building?" There was an old clinic there. They said, "No, no, that doesn't work. We'll build a clinic." I said, "Oh, no, here we go. This is going to be years." They said, "Please, help us with the following few things. We'll build a clinic." I was against it, but I have learned over time to listen. In five weeks, they put up a building. We provided the wiring. We provided the brick. They did the design, the labor, got the district ministry of health design. There is a waiting room; there is a diagnostics room; there is the examination room; there is the dispensary. In five weeks, the whole village pitched in, the women carrying water on their heads from the waterhole for mixing with the cement. The building went up. These are people that want to stay alive. They are not fooling around. Our image is that they are just out for our money you know, those grubby, corrupt, malaria-ridden communities. It is the most bizarre thing in the world, what has happened in our society, that we have come to view the poorest of the poor as our enemy, so that we need to be constantly on guard lest they take away our money. They just want a little bit of help. So you add up the bill, ladies and gentlemen, which is what the Millennium Project did in the greatest detail that has ever been carried out, and we found, in a nutshell, that if we just did what we said we would do, this could be afforded on a massive scale. What have we said we would do? The rich world has said for thirty-five years that it would provide 0.7 percent of its gross national product as official development assistance. Zero point seven percent means $0.70 out of every $100 of income. That would be, in the United States, about $80 billion a year. To give you a metric, we spend $500 billion a year on the military right now. We spend $80 billion a year in Iraq. I always thought that the development assistance goal was first set in the Pearson Commission report in 1969 and then in a vote of the General Assembly in 1970, but it was actually set in 1961, with the launching of the UN Decade of Development. It called for 1 percent of GNP in income transfer, which got defined as 0.7 from government and 0.3 from the public sector. The United States right now is giving 0.15 percent that is, 0.15 out of every $100 in development assistance, one-thirtieth of what we spend on the military one thirtieth. The private sector is giving about $5 billion right now, for a combined contribution of about 0.20 percent. We are actually the lowest givers in the world though, happily, we feel that we are the highest givers in the world, according to all the opinion surveys. Americans think we give several percent of GNP, and think that about 20 percent of our budget is foreign aid, when much less than 1 percent of our federal budget is foreign aid. The other thing that the government says is, "We never signed on to anything." In fact, the government says, "The only thing we ever signed on to was the Monterrey Consensus," which U.S. officials refer to often and think is a call for private sector-led development. President Bush was there in 2002, to sign the Monterrey Consensus. If you read the Monterrey Consensus, it is quite a wonderful document. I hope President Bush read it. He signed it in our name. It says, in paragraph 42, "We [the signatories] urge developed countries that have not done so to make concrete efforts towards the target of 0.7 percent of gross national product as official development assistance." That is us. We promised. You have never heard of it again. Finally, ladies and gentlemen, here we are on this glorious spring day, 2005. I believe our country has a great choice in front of it, but first it has to understand the choice. We have an opportunity unique in history. We can end extreme suffering on a massive scale, at such a low cost, it is almost unimaginable. By doing so, we can secure the future for our own children as well. It is an opportunity that is breathtaking in its implications. It is an opportunity so wondrous that I am confident that we are going to choose it. Thanks very much. JOANNE MYERS: I would like to say that your discussion was on global poverty, but it was very rich in ideas. With that, I would like to invite you to ask questions. Questions and Answers QUESTION: I'm from Australia, which, in addition to Singapore, is a successful economy, too. JEFFREY SACHS: Absolutely. Good point. QUESTIONER: Thank you for truly inspiring words, as always, Professor Sachs. I, by comparison, am a miserable civil servant, and in my miserable bureaucratic way, my focus at the moment is on the outcomes document from the summit in September of this year. You have given us a very rich description of the Millennium Project, for outcomes from that on the development side. They are four, in short: better governance in developing countries; greater ODA [Official Development Assistance]; something on debt; and and something on trade far too little, if I may say, on trade, just in passing. But that is another story. I wonder if you can say to us today how you would rank those. You are going to say, I am sure, immediately, that significant progress on all four is going to be necessary. But in the world in which I am living, the miserable bureaucratic life that I have to inhabit, what should we most be seeking to achieve this year, and what is most important? JEFFREY SACHS: Thank you. Sorry for that geographical slip. I love Australia and have visited many times, and I am coming back this fall. I can verify that it is part of that high-income world, and has a very high quality of life. What the rich countries should do is say, we will not let finance stand in the way of fighting and eliminating extreme poverty. We are good all the way to 0.7 percent. Professor Sachs has told us that that is enough; we don't have to go beyond that. But we are good up to that point. We are not writing any blank checks. We are not giving it to thuggish regimes. We are only giving it against plans that are real, "monitorable," subject to audit, quantified. I want to explain, I am the last to say, "Just hand over the money." It is the opposite. I am not even interested in handing over money. I am interested in handing over bed nets. Bed nets don't end up in Swiss bank accounts. So I think there are ways to do this that can really keep the corruption way down. What we ought to say is that we are good for that 0.7. Australia, like the United States, hasn't reached the pledge. It signed up to it, but hasn't honored it, in the sense of saying, "Here is our timetable." As the secretary-general said last week, every rich country should honor that commitment. That, to me, is really the number one thing. Trade is very important. It is very important for Australia. If we liberalize agriculture, Australia is a great winner, Brazil is a great winner, Argentina is a great winner. But the impoverished households in Africa are not great winners or losers, necessarily. They are disconnected from the market. So from the point of view of extreme poverty, we have to address the real situation that they face help them achieve higher productivity by enabling them to grow more food. That is a supply-side problem. I don't want to diminish trade. Trade is hugely important for the world economy. But we need to address the physical realities of the poorest people in the world if we are going to help them escape from poverty. QUESTION: Thank you for a great speech. I wish you had made this speech two weeks ago to the Economic and Social Council. You were appealing to their compassion only, but today you talked about solid ways to implement matters. You talked about trade, and not aid. But it has to go together. At Rotary International we believe in ODA and FDI [Foreign Direct Investment], but we also believe in trickle-up. We believe in small doses at the village level. You know about what we are doing on border resources around the world. I just hope that you could emphasize that aid is the way to trade. It is in the self-interest of the developed countries to create new markets by doing exactly that, by helping them become viable. JEFFREY SACHS: Amen. And thanks to Rotary International for not waiting around for governments to do these things, but for just doing them and actually provoking action, as with the polio eradication campaign. The governments do follow afterwards, once private individuals show the way. Rotary has proven that. QUESTION: I am from Nairobi, in Kenya. I have followed you since the 1980s, and I admire you a lot. I would like to put myself amongst the echelon of upper-income people, but I think I am not, because everything I earn goes back into lending money to people in Africa, who can't get a head start because they can't access credit. They may want to buy a car or do up their car to run a taxi service. They may want to buy seeds. They may want to buy fertilizer all sorts of things. This is something that you didn't mention that is, agricultural credit and other credit. Would you like to comment on that? JEFFREY SACHS: Microfinance is a very important tool. That is, I think, what you are referring to. I don't think it is a sufficient tool, though. In the communities where I am working, microfinance schemes have been tried and broken down, because the first rain fails and then you can't repay the loan, because farmers are so afraid of going into endless debt that they don't even join the scheme. So microfinance for me should be for those a step above the poorest of the poor. This isn't always true. It depends on the conditions. In Bangladesh, it has worked in extremely impoverished places. But in a lot of African settings, it is a little bit above mere survival. I want to make sure that we have, of course, the microfinance available, but I don't want to start by lending money to the poorest people. I want to start by giving them some tools and giving them a few years to get to a level where they are healthy enough and their soils are replenished with nitrogen and there is some water harvesting available. Then some credit can start, as they diversify into cash crops, as they start growing a mango grove rather than only maize, and so forth. So a lot of what I am saying to the World Bank also is, don't push too hard on credit for the poorest of the poor, because they need some help even to get up to the point where credit is advisable. QUESTION: A recent German Marshall Fund survey on trade and poverty reduction noted that 21 percent no more of Americans would strongly support greater development assistance. Given your diagnosis, how do we get larger support from the United States, or do you think it is just a matter of changing the administration's mind? JEFFREY SACHS: What Americans actually say is, "Let's cut aid from being 25 percent of the budget to being only 10 percent." It is all a matter of how you frame the question. When you tell Americans, "By the way, it is not 25 percent, it is less than 1 percent," they say, "oh, no, no, no, that's not true." There is a tremendous resistance to the real numbers. They don't believe it. There is the sense that we are giving this money away. What do they think of aid right now? They think you give aid to Iraq. Half of it goes unaccounted for and the rest gets blown up. That is why aid has a bad name, because that is what aid has been for a long time. Aid has been to our Cold War thug allies or aid has been for anything but development. That is almost the point. What they don't really know is that when it goes to immunizing children or fighting African river blindness and other specific purposes, aid actually works. So I think what we need is some calm education: Here is what we are really doing. It ain't very much. For Africa, it is $.03 out of every $100 of our income. They won't believe it, but it is true. Is that enough? That is not enough. It is not even a high-quality $.03, but that is another matter. Then we should go on to say, here are the things that we should do tough-minded, tough in delivery, no-nonsense. But let's really do it. Americans won't fight against meals for children using locally produced foods. They won't fight malaria bed nets. They will like this, if it is explained. The President is extremely proud of his AIDS initiative. That tends, in my view, to mean that not only is it a good thing which it is but also that the White House sees it as good politics, which it is. I think these other things are good politics as well. They don't. I have argued with both the Clinton Administration and with this administration about what is good politics. The Clinton Administration said, "No, we don't want to cancel aid." The religious right took up the cause, and it turned out to be very good politics. I went to the Bush Administration in its first weeks in 2001, and said, how about a $3 billion per year program to fight AIDS? I also said some other things. They laughed me out of the White House well, not quite. They asked me to come back a few times, we talked about it, and then they laughed me out of the White House. Then, two years later, they adopted a program of that scale, and found out that it was good politics. So I think there is a misunderstanding about what American politicians think. I think the American people absolutely do not know what we are not doing and what we could be doing. QUESTION: I am from Portugal. I couldn't agree more with your diagnosis and analysis on what is happening, mostly in Africa. I can tell that out of experience. Out of thirty-six years of service, I have lived eighteen of them in different parts of Africa. I recognize the symptoms and remedies that you suggested. They have been suggested for a number of decades, as has the equation between peace and development: I recognize the value of having regular, periodic benchmarks on good governance and performance of the governments, as well as practices of ODA directed to teaching giving people the fishing rod, as you said. It is not only giving the fishing rod, but teaching them how to use the fishing rod, and directly assisting them in the basic needs of health, education, agriculture, and communications, very important nowadays. And of course, as you have in your study, it is important to deregulate trade and alleviate debt. But there is one subject prior to that or at the same time as development, which is conflict. We must tackle both at the same time. That is not such a inexpensive item. To contain conflict at the moment under the UN system is going to cost us $4.5 billion a year. In Africa alone, we have roughly 58,000 U.S. troops in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire, and now that includes 10,000 in Sudan and I am just talking about the major ones. That is roughly $4.5 billion a year. So conflict is is simultaneous with development, or even reciprocal in a vicious circle. It has proven very difficult to cut that vicious circle between conflict and development. We still have not found a clue for that. JEFFREY SACHS: It is a good point, but let me offer a suggestion. The conflicts you refer to are conflicts of poverty. They are not just causes of poverty; they are caused by poverty. It is a big mistake, I think, that a lot of these conflicts are viewed mainly, and sometimes only, in peacekeeping terms, not in development terms. You take Darfur, the worst crisis right now on the planet. Darfur, at its core, is a conflict of insufficient rainfall. It is fundamentally an ecological conflict. As you know, it is pitting againsts each other pastoralists (camel herdsmen) of one ethnicity against sedentary farmers of another ethnicity. This is a human ecology that used to get along, but doesn't get along anymore because the shared space doesn't provide for their mutual survival. There is what is called transhumance, movement of the pastoralists between Chad and Sudan, depending on rainfall. There used to be shared space in Sudan, in this region, Darfur, between that transhumant population and the sedentary population. Two things have happened. First, the population has doubled in the last generation, and second, the rainfall has gone down sharply. These are very hungry, crowded people, and now they are killing each other. Sudan actually needs a development strategy. I don't think that we talk enough about that, actually, as part of the peacekeeping. We view this as a case for sanctions, and the International Criminal Court, for understandable reasons to some extent. But I would never go to Darfur without a development agenda in the other hand. I have tried to make this point to lots of people within the UN system, without result, I have to say. There is not a practical development plan in hand for the negotiators, for the UN itself, for the positions put to el-Bashir [Refugee Camp] and others. I think this is a mistake, because we end up spending a lot of money, and peacekeepers can't keep peace among hungry people. So my answer is that we spend these billions because we don't do development in the first place. The statistics are very clear. Poor people are vastly more likely to go to war than people that have enough to eat. This is the most predictable thing. In fact, Africa is living so much on the edge that a recent paper, published last year, proved statistically that when the rains fail, the probability of war soars. This is the twenty-first century. Can you imagine going to war because the rains have failed? But that is how fragile society is right now. So my answer would be, if we did more development, we would save a lot of the $4.5 billion. But even to make the $4.5 billion work properly, we should have a development plan always in the other pocket. JOANNE MYERS: Thank you very, very much for telling us about the possibilities. A former mixed martial arts fights who killed another man in an Atlantic City hotel room two years ago has been sentenced to 25 years in state prison. Andrew J. Osborne, 35, of Philadelphia, must serve at least 21 years and three months before he is eligible for parole, the Atlantic County Prosecutors Office said Friday. Osborne was convicted in April of aggravated manslaughter for stabbing Brian Wilkinson, 47, of Egg Harbor Township in the head and neck inside a hotel room at the Ocean Casino Resort on Sept. 23, 2022. The accused leader of a drug ring that stretched from Jersey City to Union County was sentenced to 15 years in prison for crimes that ranged from dealing narcotics to aggravated assault, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said. Dwight Drew, 35, of Jersey City, had pled guilty to possession with the intent to distribute drugs, certain persons not to possess a firearm and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault. He was sentenced Wednesday by Hudson County Superior Court Judge John Young to 15 years in prison related to the narcotics offense, eight years for the firearm offense and seven years for the conspiracy offense. The sentences will run concurrently. Drew was among 23 arrested in March 2020 as the result of a lengthy investigation that also resulted in the seizure of $360,000 in cash, seven handguns and a total of half a kilogram of heroin and a quarter kilogram of cocaine. Drew was identified at the time as one of the leaders of the drug network. He was initially charged with 13 felonies, including conspiracy to commit murder. The majority of the charges were dismissed as part of the plea agreement. As evidenced by the sheer volume of drugs, money and weapons recovered, this network brought violence and fear throughout the neighborhoods in which it operated, Suarez said at the time of Drews arrest. Knowing how deadly these drugs and guns are and the severely negative impact they place on the safety and quality of life for those living near these locations, we are pleased to have stopped their operations. Just six months earlier, Drew and two others were charged with using a Wade Street apartment as the headquarters for their drug-dealing enterprise, authorities said at the time. While the end of summer is less than a month away, were still more than 10 weeks from the end of Daylight Saving Time and turning our clocks back an hour. Daylight Saving Time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, when the clock will fall back one hour and we get one extra hour of sleep. The amount of daylight has continued to decrease slightly each day since summer began on June 20. The amount of daylight continues to diminish each day until Dec. 21, when the winter solstice arrives at 4:19 a.m. Then the length of days will begin to increase until the summer solstice on June 20, 2025. On Nov. 2, sunrise in New Jersey will be at approximately 7:29 a.m. and sunset is at about 5:53 p.m. After Daylight Saving Time ends the next day, the sun comes up at 6:30 a.m., but sets at 4:52 p.m. So, while millions of people will travel home from work mostly or entirely in the dark in November, their morning commute will include more daylight. Clocks officially fall back at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November to 1 a.m. Daylight Saving Time 2024: When does Daylight Savings start and end this year?Canva for NJ.com Daylight Saving Time started on Sunday, March 10, 2024, and will end on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024 a run of 238 days. It has lasted from the second Sunday in March until the first Sunday in November since 2007. We next turn the clocks ahead on March 9, 2025 126 days after turning them back. Daylight Saving Time in 2025 will end on Nov. 2, 2025. The concept dates back more than a century when English architect William Willett proposed the idea to change the clocks in 1907 in The Waste of Daylight. The suggestion of using daylight more efficiently can be traced to Benjamin Franklin. While visiting in Paris in 1784, he wrote a letter to the editors of the Journal of Paris calling for a tax on every Parisian whose windows were shuttered after sunrise to encourage the economy of using sunshine instead of candles, according to Michael Downing, author of Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time. Daylight Saving became widespread in the U.S. when the Uniform Time Act of 1966 was passed. Back then, Daylight Saving ran from the last Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October and states were allowed to opt out. In 1986, Daylight Saving was changed to run from the first Sunday in April until the final Sunday in October. The most recent revision took effect in 2006 when the Energy Policy Act of 2005 revised Daylight Saving from the second Sunday in March until the first Sunday in November. Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe Daylight Saving Time. The time change is also not observed in the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands. All of Indiana didnt begin observing Daylight Saving until 2006. Eighteen states have enacted legislation to make Daylight Saving Time permanent. Voters in California have voted to authorize year-round Daylight Saving Time. Those changes, however, require federal approval. In March 2022, the U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would end changing the clocks twice a year. The U.S. House of Representatives didnt take a vote on it, though. A handful of provinces in Canada most of Saskatchewan and Yukon have adopted permanent daylight saving as have parts of British Columbia and two communities in northwest Ontario. About 70 countries observe Daylight Saving Time. Most of North America, Europe and parts of South America and New Zealand adhere to it, while China, Japan, India and most other countries do not. It starts on different dates elsewhere. In Europe for example, Daylight Saving Time starts the last Sunday in March and ends the final Sunday in October. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com A Paterson police officer was arrested Thursday on accusations he shoplifted clothing from a local Marshalls while on duty, investigators said. Jeury DeJesus-Rodriguez, 25, of Paterson, was charged with third-degree official misconduct and shoplifting, which is a disorderly persons offense, according to a statement from the Passaic County Prosecutors Office. The incident allegedly happened while DeJesus-Rodriguez was working an overtime shift providing security for the Marshalls in Paterson. While working, he shoplifted several items of clothing by taking them to an employee bathroom and removing the packaging and/or price tags, the office said. He then left the store without paying for the clothing which was valued at $66.97, authorities said. DeJesus-Rodriguezs current status with the department was unclear. A spokesman for the office could not immediately be reached for comment. The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General took over control of the Paterson Police Department in 2023 following years of problems. At least a dozen officers have been charged with corruption in recent years, some as part of an FBI probe into a group of officers known as the robbery squad who would shake down suspects and residents for money. This year, in March, three Paterson officers were charged with trying to cover up a domestic violence incident with an NYPD captain in the city. And earlier this month, another officer was indicted on terroristic threats, cyber harassment and stalking for an incident that occurred in late 2023. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Vice President Kamala Harris is expanding her lead against former President Donald Trump, according to a new poll. Harris has a seven-point advantage over Trump 50% to 43% nationally, per the latest Fairleigh Dickinson University survey. The poll showed Harris lead grows substantially over questions of race and gender. From the FDU poll: Among voters who were not primed to think about the race or sex of the candidates, Harris and Trump are tied (47 to 48). When the list of issues mentions the sex of the candidates, Harris pulls ahead, 52 to 42. And when the race of the candidates is mentioned, Harris holds a 14-point lead, 53 to 39, a 15-point shift from the baseline condition. When voters are thinking about race or sex, Trumps support just plummets, Dan Cassino, a professor of government and politics at Fairleigh Dickinson and the executive director of the poll, said. All the time, we hear strategists and pundits saying that Democratic candidates shouldnt talk about identity, but these results show that making race and sex salient to voters is bad for Trump and boosts Harris. Other key takeaways from the survey: Harris leads Trump 50 to 43 among likely voters. Both Trump and Harris have the support of 95% of their respective political parties. Harris leads Trump 38 to 33 among independents who do not lean toward either party Seven percent said they will support someone else. Trump has built his political career around a very specific performance of whiteness and masculinity, In the past, thats been seen as a strength, but its no longer clear that its working. Harris has replaced President Joe Biden atop the presidential ticket, but his finish the job campaign mantra can still largely apply to her top policy goals. Shes promising to continue a lot of what Biden was doing during the past four years if shes elected to four of her own. Trump, for his part, is itching to get back to the White House and accomplish what he didnt during his first term. Since Biden bowed out of the race month, the vice president has announced few major policy proposals beyond a new push to prevent price gouging by food producers and grocers and plans to cut taxes for families, attempt to bring down homebuying and rental prices and reduce medical debt. 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. Roselle Police Chief Stacey Williams lost his job in July, when the borough fired him after an investigation concluded he had made graphic homophobic remarks to his officers. Now, an internal affairs report shows just what those alleged slurs were. One was made to a friend in the presence of an officer who is gay. Another was aimed at Williams boss, Mayor Donald Shaw. A third was directed at officers who complained at a crime scene, witnesses said. In a three-page summary report released Wednesday by the Union County Prosecutors Office, investigators documented claims from officers in Williams department that hed dropped a slur against gay men, called other officers the shortened term f--- and said Shaw could suck my d---. The internal affairs document, provided to NJ Advance Media following a public records request, offered new details into the allegations of crass workplace behavior that cost Williams his $210,800-a-year job. Though the Feb. 2 report said Williams denied making some of the offensive comments and claimed he could not recall others, a county investigator concluded he had used the homophobic slur f----- at least once, and may also have used derogatory language on other occasions. One cop told investigators he confronted Williams over what hed said around their gay colleague, only to have the chief crudely dismiss the concerns, according to the report. If the gay officer was upset, Williams allegedly replied, he would tell everyone about all of the times that the officer talked about sucking d----, according to the report, which redacted names and other identifying details. Williams has appealed his firing to the Civil Service Commission, with his attorney, Patrick Toscano, calling his comments harmless and jocular. In May, Williams threatened to sue the borough, claiming he was targeted by Shaw and other officials because he rebuffed their attempts to interfere in the department. The subject remarks made by the chief were entirely jovial in nature, [and] never meant to be harassing, discriminatory or insulting in any fashion, Toscano said in a statement. To be sure, no offense was taken by anyone, at any time, regarding same, and the chief does not have a discriminatory bone in his body. But an attorney for the local Policemens Benevolent Association, the union that represents Roselles rank-and-file officers, said the investigations findings demonstrate Williams deserved to be fired. It wasnt just locker room talk. It was an expression of how he treats other people, Peter Paris said. I cant imagine any municipality tolerating that bigoted speech. Paris said the gay officer is barred from speaking publicly by departmental rules. But the officer was seriously affected by Williams comments, which made him feel singled out and demeaned, Paris said. Hes an excellent police officer, the PBA lawyer said. Hes a leader in the department, so for the chief to denigrate him like that so publicly, its hurtful. By deriding the gay officers sexuality in front of him, Paris said Williams signaled, Thats your identity as far as Im concerned, and its worth making fun of. The remark was made in October 2022 while Williams and several officers were in a basement hallway at police headquarters, according to the internal affairs report. Witnesses said Williams used the slur in reference to a friend, and that it was not directed at the gay officer, the report said. To investigators, Williams said he did not recall using the term, saying he was aware of the officers sexuality and is careful not to say anything which might offend him. Williams also denied responding crassly when he was later confronted about the language. The report offered minimal details of the other remarks Williams purportedly made. In one, witnesses said Williams referred to several retired officers as f--- when they complained about the smell coming from a decomposed body at a crime scene, the report said. His lewd comment toward Shaw allegedly came during a conversation with another officer, the circumstances of which were redacted by the county prosecutors office. Roselle Mayor Donald Shaw was accused of meddling in the police department's work by embattled Chief Stacey Williams. The borough fired Williams after accusations that he used homophobic slurs toward his officers. Courtesy of Roselle Borough On Wednesday, Roselle spokesman Artie Smallwood said Shaw was aware of Williams alleged remark toward him. He has no comments or reply to that kind of information, Smallwood said. Williams, a 31-year veteran of the force, was relieved of duty in August 2023 amid the investigation. His ouster followed a series of disputes last year between the chief and the police union, which complained of abusive, retaliatory, and bizarre behavior. The boroughs disciplinary charges also upheld other allegations raised by the union, finding Williams forced officers to work unnecessary overtime while also abruptly canceling off-duty road details a lucrative way for cops to earn extra money by working for contractors at construction projects or special events. The sustained charges included conduct unbecoming a public employee, neglect of duty, discrimination, insubordination and other policy violations. Williams successor as chief is Helder Freire, a captain who covered Williams duties during his suspension. On July 24, the borough council appointed Freire chief at a $184,000 salary at a ceremony packed with his family and well-wishers. Freire did not address the controversy during brief remarks to borough leaders and the audience. I am deeply grateful for the trust and confidence that has been placed with me, Freire said. Your faith in me is a responsibility I do not take lightly. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Riley Yates may be reached at ryates@njadvancemedia.com. Hoosiers still will have the opportunity to vote for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the Nov. 5 general election despite Kennedy's decision Friday to suspend his campaign. Indiana law sets a July 15 deadline for any candidate to voluntarily withdraw from the ballot, according to the Indiana Election Division. Since Kennedy missed that deadline by nearly six weeks, his name must still appear on Indiana's general election ballot because Kennedy submitted a sufficient number of valid ballot petition signatures to qualify to run in the Hoosier State. Votes for Kennedy will be tabulated the same as any other candidate. Kennedy votes will not be reallocated to Donald Trump, despite Kennedy breaking with his family's Democratic legacy, and their support for Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, and endorsing the Republican former president. In any case, Trump likely won't need support from Kennedy backers to win Indiana's 11 electoral votes. Hoosiers came out overwhelmingly for Trump at the 2016 and 2020 elections, thanks in part to his running mate, former Indiana Gov. Mike Pence. While Pence is no longer backing Trump after a mob of Trump supporters invaded the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6, 2021, when Pence declined to exceed his constitutional authority and instead helped certify Trump's 2020 electoral defeat, Trump still is favored to win Indiana. In fact, records show a Democratic presidential candidate only has won Indiana eight times since the Civil War, most recently in 2008 when Barack Obama, a U.S. senator from neighboring Illinois, won the Hoosier State by just 28,391 votes out of more than 2.7 million cast. Photos: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. through the years Jerry Davich Metro columnist Follow Jerry Davich 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 Carl Summerhill needs a healthy kidney from a living donor. Or I will die much sooner than I would otherwise, he told me before undergoing dialysis treatment this week. The 32-year-old father of three young children from Valparaiso spoke with a tired voice but a hopeful tone. He didnt ask for pity. He didnt ask for condolences. He asked only for help to find a match to receive a new kidney. (Watch a video of Summerhill in his own words at NWI.com.) Organ donation saved my life once and Im hoping it can do it again, Summerhill said. In 2018, he successfully underwent a pancreas transplant after years of health problems as a very, very brittle type 1 diabetic. He hasnt needed a drop of insulin since the day of his transplant surgery. But for the past few months, his kidneys have been failing him. It all started last October with powerful medications that began killing my kidneys, Summerhill said while adjusting an IV port implanted in his chest. I was just diagnosed with dialysis disequilibrium syndrome. DDS refers to an array of neurological manifestations that are seen during or following dialysis, ranging from headaches, nausea, or blurred vision to confusion, restlessness and seizures. Ive felt pretty much normal most of my life. Not these days, he said. Summerhill, who was diagnosed with diabetes at 10 years old, received a life-changing pancreas transplant in 2018. He endured six surgeries over four days due to blood clots, internal bleeding and plummeting blood pressure. One of those surgeries was to make sure his new pancreas functioned properly. By the grace of God it was still perfect, his wife, Sidney, said. The first year after surgery, Summerhill suffered from a rare infection in his esophagus with only 25 known cases in the world and the first case in Indiana, he said. It took doctors a few months to correctly diagnose it, causing his health to further decline and his gallbladder to be removed. Summerhill was later diagnosed with cytomegalovirus, or CMV, a common virus which most people dont know they have because it rarely causes health problems. Its different for people like me with a weakened immune system, Summerhill said. He was administered very potent intravenous anti-viral medication that began damaging his kidneys. For five years, Summerhill struggled with kidneys functioning at half of their healthy capacity. Five months ago, everything worsened, he said. My levels are dangerously abnormal. Summerhills initial health decline occurred in 2012 when he was involved in a traffic crash, shattering his pelvis and breaking his back. It led to a series of related medical issues, injections and procedures. I havent been normal since then, Summerhill said matter-of-factly. My numbers are going further and further down. Due to his debilitating illness, Summerhill is currently not working as a manager at Texas Roadhouse steakhouse in Crown Point, where I first met him last year. Soon after that day, he contracted COVID-19. His health fluctuated for weeks. Pneumonia attacked his helpless immune system three times in two months. Doctors prescribed more antibiotics, steroids and eventually a bronchoscopy to see what exactly was in his lungs. A central IV line was inserted into his chest to administer more meds but his frail body couldnt handle the doses. Toxicity seeped into his blood. His kidney function dropped to just 30%. Summerhill was told he needs a kidney transplant and hes now on a waiting list from a deceased donor. Im not sure how long I can wait, though, he said. Im still trying to process this fact of my life. We are looking for living kidney donors because the wait is three to five years for the United Network for Organ Sharing, his wife said. The couple is doing what they can to find a living donor and to educate people about organ donation. They shared with me a list of myths versus facts, such as this one. Myth: I'd like to donate one of my kidneys. Can I do that if it's not going to a family member? Fact: Yes. Most living donations are between family members and friends. But you can choose to donate a kidney to a stranger so long as you're a match. You also can donate other organs and tissues, such as a lung or part of a lung or liver. Potential donors can be tested, at no cost. The process starts by making an appointment to be evaluated with blood work and other tests, Summerhill said. Then meet with the transplant team to see if they feel you are a good fit for a transplant. (For more info, visit https://iuhealth.org/find-medical-services/kidney-transplant.) On Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. a fundraiser titled Kidney for Carl is planned at Wanatah Christian Church, 11978 S. County Road 1100 West. Tickets can be purchased at eventsDCT@outlook.com. Even just the thought of possibly saving my life means everything to me, Summerhill said. All I can do is put my faith in God and hope someone has it in their heart to help keep me alive for my wife, kids and family. I asked Summerhill what hes facing if he doesnt receive a new kidney. His immediate response cut to the bone of his situation. Death, he said. GALLERY: The Times Photos of the Week The most important part of any convention is the acceptance speech. It wins the highest ratings and usually determines the size of the post-convention bounce in the polls. Donald Trump blew his speech at the Republican convention by rambling interminably. Kamala Harris isnt likely to do that at the Democratic convention on Thursday. But to win the election she must successfully introduce herself to millions of Americans and stress themes that resonate. Here are four possibilities: Opportunity: Harris will tell her life story the child of a single mother, worked at McDonalds in the context of her offer to the American people of the same opportunities that she received. The slogan for this, which she road-tested in a speech last week, will be The Opportunity Economy, or perhaps some slight last-minute variation. This is a good frame for her policy ideas because it is self-explanatory and with enough repetition will signal to voters that she has a plan to help them get ahead in a challenging economy. By confronting the Democrats greatest vulnerability head-on, she can stay positive and forward-looking. Responsibility: Americans like freebies for themselves but not for other people, a point that Democrats often fail to understand. The party remains vulnerable to the charge that it believes in equality of results as well as of opportunity. So if shes smart, Harris will talk about the responsibilities of citizenship for service and community-building that come along with opportunities. This also would let her segue into a stinging critique of irresponsible Republicans. Accountability: One of Harriss biggest assets is her history as a prosecutor, which she will stress, with details of how she took down drug gangs, fraudsters and other bad guys. Holding Trump accountable for his crimes, his cruelty and his incompetence will be a memorable part of the speech, even if subordinate to more positive and visionary appeals. To appeal to the moderates and independents that she needs, Harris should also say that even the most well-intentioned government programs sometimes fail. By all accounts, her governing style is to ask hard questions and demand better performance. She should tell the voters about that. Toughness: Americans need to know that their leaders can stand up to bullies and aggressors abroad as well as at home. Harris has a threshold of presidential toughness to cross before she will be trusted with the management of national security. She should stress the dangers posed by Russia, China and Iran, and match her humanitarian concerns in Gaza with stalwart support for NATO and our other allies, including Israel. After decades in public life, at the age of 59, Kamala Harris is doing something that many younger, greener professionals lack the humility and discipline for. Shes growing, right before our eyes. Shes learning, in the nick of time. And her acceptance speech on Thursday night was a hopeful, heartening tribute to that education, the speed and thoroughness of which could determine whether this country is spared a second, ruinous dance with Donald Trump. I used to get the sense that nerves flattened Harriss effervescence and doubts obscured her luminescence. She has the gift of radiance, but she hasnt always embraced it. She embraces it now. She walked to the microphone at center stage in Chicago with a smile as uncontainable as it was undeniable. That megawatt mien has become her superpower. And she has wised up enough to know and take full advantage of it. Not long after the rape and beating of a white female jogger in Central Park in 1989, Donald J. Trump took out full-page newspaper ads about the case, calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty. The five Black and Latino teenagers accused in the attack Korey Wise, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson and Antron McCray, known as the Central Park Five served years in prison before being cleared in 2002 by DNA evidence and the confession of another man. But Mr. Trump has refused to apologize. At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Thursday night, four of the five men who now prefer to be called the Exonerated Five said that what Mr. Trump did to them was devastating and proves that he is too callous and dangerous to serve a second term as president. The men, excluding Mr. McCray, who was not present, offered vigorous endorsements of Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, the governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz. At least, thats what the designers Tyson Strang and Tatiana Baibabaeva wanted to do when they moved to Sencelles, Majorca, in 2020. The pair, who met in Kyrgyzstan two decades ago, had previously lived for 15 years in New York City, where in 2017 they founded the ceramics line Terra Coll Home. Before turning to pottery, Baibabaeva, 38, had worked in fashion and Strang, 45, had been a teacher; when they relocated to Spain, they fully merged their creative, personal and professional lives, raising two children together, developing a rustic-minded interiors business and even sharing an email address, from which they explain, For us, rustic design means unifying the interior of a space with its landscape by using the raw materials from the surrounding land as the primary construction and design elements. The new prime minister of Nepal, K.P. Sharma Oli, on Thursday overturned a ban on TikTok that his predecessor imposed in November, an apparent sign that the veteran politician intended to strengthen the countrys relations with China, its northern neighbor. The popular social media app, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, was banned for its refusal to curb what the previous Nepalese government had described as hate speech that disturbed social harmony. At the time, Nepali officials said that they had resorted to the ban after TikTok declined to address concerns about troubling content. A spokesman for TikTok expressed satisfaction with the move, saying, Were excited to be able to continue enabling Nepali voices and creativity. The decision to reinstate TikTok signaled Mr. Olis belief that, amid the geopolitical bickering between China and India, Nepals neighbor to the south that also banned the app, the Himalayan country was better off aligning with China. Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous nights highlights that lets you sleep and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now. Kamala FTW Vice President Kamala Harris accepted her partys presidential nomination on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention on Thursday. Jon Stewart called it Kamalas Night on The Daily Show, saying, How funny would it have been if at the end she was like, But seriously, though: not for me. This has all been great, but Ive been thinking it over. The biggest speech of Kamala Harriss life Vice President Kamala Harris ceremonially accepted the Democratic Partys nomination for president last night, issuing a call for unity and a warning that Donald Trump is an unserious man whose return to the White House could have devastating consequences for the U.S. Heres the latest. With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past, she said. And she warned, of Trump: Consider the power he will have especially after the United States Supreme Court just ruled he would be immune from criminal prosecution. Harris also devoted time to her personal biography, explaining that she was driven to be a prosecutor to protect people like a high school friend who had confided to her that she was being sexually assaulted by her stepfather. When Nepals new international airport opened last year in one of the countrys biggest cities, it was the type of landmark project expected to elevate the fortunes of one of Asias poorest countries while deepening its ties with China, which built and financed the project. But the Pokhara airport has become a symbol of another sort: the pitfalls of Chinas international infrastructure projects, which face criticism for sometimes costly and poor-quality construction that leaves borrower countries awash in debt. On Thursday, Nepals one-month-old government, led by the countrys largest communist party, which has close ties to Beijing, formally asked China to convert a $216 million loan for the airport into a grant, wiping away the debt. It made the request during a visit by a Chinese delegation including Sun Weidong, Chinas vice foreign minister. The airport has been beset by problems. A few weeks after it opened in January 2023, a domestic flight headed for the city crashed into a river gorge, killing 72 people. The airport has not attracted any regular international flights, dimming the financial outlook for the project. Over the last year, Nepals anti-corruption agency and a parliamentary committee started investigations into the airports construction. Donors weigh in on the D.N.C. Vice President Kamala Harriss acceptance speech may have been short on the details policy watchers were seeking, but she presented a sweeping vision for how she plans to grow an economy thats showing signs of slowing. I will bring together labor and workers and small-business owners and entrepreneurs and American companies to create jobs, she told the Democratic National Convention last night. The nod to corporate America comes as Democrats try to firm up relations with big business. DealBook has been hitting the phones all week to hear what donors thought of the four-day convention. Chicago was a hot ticket. A flood of donors decided to go only after Harris became the presumptive nominee. These donors ended up making a big impact on the convention: The events host committee said it raised a record $95 million for the event, mostly from sponsorship packages that guaranteed prime seats and other perks if donors gave between $100,000 and $5 million. Many of the partys largest Wall Street donors were there, including Brad Karp, the chairman of the law firm Paul, Weiss; Raymond McGuire, the president of Lazard; Blair Effron, a founder of Centerview Partners; and John Rogers Jr., the founder of Ariel Investments. Anyone who has flipped through newspapers or business television channels this week might have noticed two words on repeat: Jackson Hole. They refer to the premier central banking conference of the year, which is held late each August at the Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. This years conference kicked off Thursday and runs through Saturday. To the uninitiated, it might seem weird that what is arguably the most important economic event in the world is held in remote Wyoming, two time zones away from the Federal Reserves Washington-based Board of Governors and 1,047 miles from its host, the Kansas City Fed. And the symposium itself is hardly your average conference. Loafers cede to cowboy boots. Attendees snack on huckleberry pastries (or swill huckleberry drinks) while discussing the latest economic papers. But if Jackson Hole is a little bit incongruous, it is also unquestionably important, an invite-only gathering where paradigm-shaping research is presented and momentous policy shifts are announced. The event has long been an obsession on Wall Street. The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit on Friday against the real estate software company RealPage, saying its software enabled landlords to collude to raise rents across the United States. The suit, joined by North Carolina, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington, accuses RealPage of facilitating a price-fixing conspiracy that boosted rents beyond market forces for millions of people. Its the first major civil antitrust lawsuit where the role of an algorithm in pricing manipulation is central to the case, Justice Department officials said. Americans should not have to pay more in rent because a company has found a new way to scheme with landlords to break the law, Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. A RealPage spokeswoman, Jennifer Bowcock, said the company would vigorously defend itself against the suit and that its revenue management software was purposely built to be legally compliant. John Lansing, who as chief executive from 2019 until earlier this year guided NPR through a global pandemic, an imploding media landscape and widening political polarization that called into question some of its journalistic principles, died on Aug. 14 at his home in Eagle River, Wis. He was 67. An NPR representative confirmed the death but did not cite a cause. Mr. Lansing, who had been in the news business since he graduated from high school, arrived at NPR with a mission to broaden its reach beyond traditional radio into media like podcasts and newsletters. He also announced what he considered his North Star: a commitment to expand NPRs audience to include a younger and more diverse demographic, and a parallel commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in the organizations coverage, sources and staff. His changes included documenting the diversity of sources, introducing unconscious bias training, and hiring people of color for both on- and off-air positions. The supply of drinking water for parts of Long Island is under threat, according to a new federal report. The report found that the groundwater in some coastal areas of Nassau County, a major suburb of New York City, is increasingly turning salty. That shift, called saltwater intrusion, is the result of decades of pumping fresh water out of wells for homes and irrigation, creating space for saltwater from the ocean to seep into the underground aquifers once filled with freshwater. The change could take generations to reverse, even if pumping stopped altogether, according to the report. And it could force coastal areas including Long Beach, Great Neck and Oyster Bay to look for new supplies of drinking water, possibly by digging wells further inland, which could put new pressure on those places as well. Those places are at that point of the spear, said Frederick Stumm, a research hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey and the reports lead author. Theyre the most vulnerable communities right now to intrusion. Vice President Kamala Harris mentioned climate change just once in her speech before the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, wrapping it into her larger campaign theme of freedom. After attacking her Republican opponent, former President Donald J. Trump, on abortion, Ms. Harris declared that along with reproductive choice many other fundamental freedoms are at stake in the November election. Those include the freedom to breathe clean air, and drink clean water and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis, she said. It was a novel way of framing climate change for a campaign that has sought to reclaim patriotism after decades of Republicans seeming to own the messaging around freedom. And it was a message echoed by others throughout the night, including Representative Maxwell Frost of Florida, the youngest member of Congress, who declared in a speech earlier in the evening that fighting the climate crisis is patriotic. When George Helmy is sworn in next month as Robert Menendezs temporary replacement in the Senate, he will be joining a chamber where Democrats hold a razor-thin majority, outnumbering Republicans by a single seat, 50 to 49. Mr. Helmy was selected last week by Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey, a Democrat, to fill a seat held for three terms by Mr. Menendez, who, before being convicted of trading his political influence for bribes of cash, gold and a Mercedes, was widely viewed as one of the countrys most powerful Democrats. Mr. Helmy, however, is new to the Democratic Party. He registered as a Democrat in March, six days before the candidate he was supporting in the Democratic Senate primary, Tammy Murphy, New Jerseys first lady, dropped out of the race, according to Board of Elections records in Morris County, N.J. Before then, he was registered as an independent or unaffiliated voter. Mr. Helmy will serve in Washington only through November. He said that he will caucus with the Democratic Party after he is sworn in the week of Sept. 9, and will be a reliable vote for legislation supported by Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, and President Biden. His appointment will return the Democratic majority to 51 members, as it was before Mr. Menendez resigned on Tuesday. That includes four independents who caucus with the Democrats. In the science fiction disaster film Moonfall, a disgraced astronaut, played by Patrick Wilson, tries to save Earth from the threat of a collision with the moon. Now imagine watching that quest on the flight deck of a decommissioned aircraft carrier floating in the Hudson River, at sunset, near a NASA prototype orbiter that paved the way for the space shuttle program, surrounded by 27 planes and helicopters that flew in conflicts including World War II and the Vietnam War. Its definitely an experience, said Elysia Segal, the producer of public programs at the Intrepid Museum, which since 1982 has been inviting people to get up close and personal with vehicles like the worlds first space shuttle, a supersonic spy plane and a nuclear submarine. Until about a week ago, a big question in Democratic politics was whether a potential President Kamala Harris would keep Lina Khan the pathbreaking young lawyer loved by progressives and loathed by some of Harriss billionaire donors as chair of the Federal Trade Commission, the agency that enforces antimonopoly law. Some wealthy Harris backers have called for Khans replacement, including the LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, who donated $10 million to a Democratic super PAC this year. On the financial news network CNBC, Barry Diller, chair of IAC and Expedia Group, said hed lobby Harris to get rid of Khan, whom he called a dope. He later apologized for the insult, but not the promise to use his influence against her. Because Harriss economic views seemed fuzzy and her ties to Silicon Valley are strong, some on the left worried she might give in to the pressure. Those fears were heightened when Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland, a close ally of the vice president, was asked on CNBC about jettisoning Khan, and suggested that Harris might break from President Bidens aggressive approach to antitrust. There are going to be different dynamics that are going to require different philosophies, said Moore. But it increasingly looks as if anti-Khan forces might be disappointed. As the broad outlines of Harriss economic approach have emerged over the last week, it seems at least as populist as Bidens. In purely military terms, Ukraines surprise incursion of Russia earlier this month is a dubious gamble. Moscow has not diverted forces from its grinding advances on the Donetsk front, a main focus of the current fighting, and the physical cost in dead or captured troops and evacuated citizens does not concern Russias president, Vladimir Putin. The more significant potential of the invasion lies on the other front that of information, propaganda, morale, image and competing narratives. That is where the fight is being fought to keep the West involved, to keep Ukrainians hopeful and to get Russians worried about the toll of the war in lives and treasure. And this is where Ukraine may see an advantage. The very invocation of Kursk, the region where Ukraine made its advance, is familiar to every Russian not only as the site of a great World War II Soviet triumph but also as the name of the Soviet nuclear-powered submarine that sank in a catastrophic accident in 2000. By moving into Kursk, Ukraines military has loudly advertised its boldness just when it looked like its troops might never regain the initiative. The surprise and speed of the Ukrainian attack and the flaccid Russian response have given new strength to calls by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, for the United States and his other Western supporters to abandon their insistence that he not use their weapons to attack Russian territory. Mr. Zelensky calls this the naive illusion of so-called red lines, and so far, his allies have not complained about the Kursk invasion. They may see little value in scolding Ukraine, the plucky David in this war, right after he has landed an audacious strike against a plodding Goliath. This transcript was created using speech recognition software. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email transcripts@nytimes.com with any questions. [MUSIC PLAYING] astead herndon Last night was the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. archived recording (kamala harris) On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America. astead herndon And at the end of the night, Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage to end the week and formally accept her partys nomination. And after it was all over, my colleagues and I set up in our booth outside the arena to talk through what stood out to us. From The New York Times and from the United Center, for the last time. Im Astead Herndon. This is The Run-Up. Im so excited to be here with my pals in the very noisy tent that weve been recording in all week, with helicopters swirling around us in the parking lot of the United Center. Can you just introduce yourselves and tell us what you typically cover? jenny medina Im Jenny Medina. I cover politics for The Times. And I mostly cover voters, talking to them about what they think and what they feel is the most important. maya king I am Maya King. I cover politics in the Southeast. Im based in Georgia, so I also cover that state as a battleground state and Black voters nationally. astead herndon Yeah, and part of the reason I thought that yall would be a great conversation for this is because we all kind of focus on different parts of the electorate, kind of what voters are saying across the country. And I think it really speaks to what Democrats have been trying to do this week, in terms of building a coalition that can be as big as possible to beat Donald Trump in November. So I want to go through one moment that mattered to each of you all that really sticks out to how Harris is trying to build that coalition. But before we do that, I would be just curious to say, like, how would you describe this week overall? If you could pick a word that describes how Democrats were or what you think encapsulates the week, what would you say? maya king Relief. I think a lot of what you see from Democrats this week, obviously, this excitement, exuberance, this is the pep rally that theyve been wanting to have. But as much as they were celebrating Harris and her political rise, they were also expressing what I found to be real relief that they had a candidate in her who was an effective speaker and who had a better chance of taking on Donald Trump. People told me that they were excited to see a prosecutor prosecuting the case against Trump. So I feel like as much as we were hearing from folks who were really excited about their candidate, they were also feeling like they actually had a shot, where they didnt just a month ago. astead herndon Yeah, I mean, weve said this 100 times, but this is not where they obviously were two months ago. And Democrats have, frankly, found an exit route thats appeared out of nowhere. And youre saying the sense of excitement that was here this week and palpable this week is not just because of their excitement about their actual candidate, but also the fact that they have found a refuge where it didnt seem like one would appear. maya king Yes, exactly. You said exit ramp, and the ramp is sort of pointing upward, instead of off this road. astead herndon Yeah, a ditch. maya king Yes. [LAUGHS] astead herndon An actual exit ramp, rather than a side of the road. jenny medina Totally, exactly. Exactly. astead herndon Jenny, do you have a word that you would describe this week as? jenny medina I mean, the thing that keeps coming to mind and its a little what the Democrats would want us to say, but its optimism. I mean, there are so many people that I have talked to in the last year Im sure the both of you have, too who feel this sense of dread and fear and anxiety. And Democrats, for so long, and Biden specifically, made their whole case as we are not Trump. Trump is going to come after you. Were not Trump. Its all about fearing Trump. And I think what Democrats tried to do this week is add to that message. Portray weve got something else. Weve got some hope. astead herndon Yeah, I think that makes a lot of sense. I think my word would be diversity. I mean, its kind of obvious, but also being at the RNC last month, Im reminded that when Democrats can unleash the full version of themselves, that includes so many different types of people, when they can tell a different story of America and when they really can have that be reflected in the type of people on the stage or the type of people who are in the audience. It just is palpably different. But I think I want us to all pick a moment that really stuck out to us from the night that speaks to how Harris and this campaign is trying to build a coalition that can beat Donald Trump and the Republicans. Maya, I want to start with you. Is there any moment from this night that really, for you, spoke to something that may represent the Kamala Harris promise of this campaign? maya king What comes to mind for me is this moment of all these folks who were impacted by gun violence, led by Lucy McBath, the representative from Georgia, who has been a longtime advocate and activist against gun violence. archived recording (lucy mcbath) I saw firsthand the power of telling our stories. Youve just heard mine. But there are many more to tell. maya king All of them sharing these really, really just jarring personal stories. archived recording 1 On December 14, 2012, I walked into Sandy Hook school. I stopped archived recording 2 I was in high school when my classmate got shot. It changed my story. archived recording 3 My phone rang. Shooting on the beach. No one can find Sandy. I stayed calm. archived recording 4 Uvalde is national news. Parents everywhere reach for their children. I reach out for the daughter I will never hold again. maya king I mean, it was really an incredible scene. On this stage, sort of blacked out, you have, I think, five spotlights with all of these people standing and all being given quite a bit of time to tell these really heart wrenching personal stories. And so I felt like that was a really effective use of stage production. And Harris herself has also been a really outspoken person on this topic. We saw the footage later on before her speech, looking at this crowd of very young people, saying, raise your hand if youve ever had to go through a gun drill, if youve had to hide under your desk, and the whole room basically raising their hands. So here we have, in Harris, this person who, of course, is a prosecutor has a lot of legal experience. I think this is something that really appeals to people who have been deeply impacted and who have lost family members to gun violence. astead herndon And this is also a thing that shes focused on in the office of vice president. She created the Office of Gun Violence Prevention, something she talks about a lot as a signature policy issue from her time in office. Can you tell a little more about the personal story of Lucy McBath and how that relates to, you think, the coalition Harris is trying to build? maya king So McBath is a congresswoman from Georgia. Her son Jordan was killed several years ago. He was shot and killed by a gunman several years ago. And after that, she became this real national figure in advocating for an end to gun violence. She then sort of rose in the ranks of that movement and later was elected to Congress, is obviously a very, very popular Democrat in Georgia, and has been floated as a possible governor candidate in 2026. I think that in McBath, especially someone who represents a suburban Atlanta district that has a lot of different groups that Harris is going to need to win, so not only Black voters and folks who are largely a part of the Democratic coalition, but white moms who care about gun violence and who care about their kids being safe in school. McBath is able to talk to a lot of those voters. And these are the kinds of validators, I think, that Harris is going to need to also be able to make this case. astead herndon Yeah, and I mean, McBath also represents some of the new bench of Democrats who have been elected to office since the 2016 election. It was noticeable this week just how many people you had on the stage who represent kind of the next version of the Democratic Party. It kind of felt like they werent just passing a torch from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris, but passing a torch from basically one Democratic bench to the next that looks and sounds differently than the last one. Do yall think thats fair? maya king I think thats right. And I feel like thats been a theme of the week as well, is Democrats not only underlining how happy they are to have Harris in this position as their nominee, but showing off their deep bench of candidates and people who can also make these arguments. astead herndon Yeah. jenny medina I think, too, what really strikes me about the image that Maya was describing with all these victims of gun violence, survivors of gun violence, as they put it, who stood up there, they were all different shades. They all came from different socioeconomic backgrounds. I think a lot of times, we think, oh, youre Black, you care about criminal justice. Youre Latino, you care about immigration reform. And the campaign really, this week, tried to make a very concerted effort, I think, of cutting across what are typically thought of as being Black issues, Latino issues, Asian issues. After, I want to just add, if I can, to what Maya said right after that group came on, Gabby Giffords came on, Gabby Giffords was shot in the head in 2011, January of 2011, while she was at a grocery store, doing an event with constituents. I covered that shooting, and I remember so vividly we all thought that was such a crazy aberration. And now theres been God knows how many mass shootings since then. And for Harris to acknowledge that, especially as they are so focused on joy, was pretty interesting, pretty extraordinary. astead herndon Definitely one of the most powerful moments of the evening. Jenny, do you have a moment from this night that really stuck out to you and speaks to the type of coalition Harris is trying to build? jenny medina Yeah, I am never one to think about predicting what people are going to say, but I was really taken aback when Harris started to speak about the war in Gaza. That has, of course, been a huge undercurrent of whats been going on this week and in the Democratic Party, people who are furious at what they see in Gaza and had really threatened to upend the DNC. And I expected, knowing what I know of Harris and just sort of perhaps having a low bar, expected her to ignore that. And she is not somebody who has major foreign policy credentials. And she sort of took a turn in this speech and went really hard by acknowledging what was happening in Gaza. astead herndon What specifically about what she said most stuck out to you? jenny medina She came out of talking about Putin and Ukraine and Russia and then said, kind of all of a sudden archived recording (kamala harris) Now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done. jenny medina And when she said get a ceasefire deal done, the room really exploded, really gave her enormous applause. And it was hard to tell, actually, in that moment, what are people applauding for. Are they applauding for getting a hostage deal? A ceasefire? What does that really mean? And she went on, and it wasnt very long. It was about four more five more sentences, but tried to walk this line archived recording (kamala harris) I will always stand up for Israels right to defend itself. And I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself. jenny medina She said let me be clear Israel needs to be protected from Hamas. And archived recording (kamala harris) At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost, desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. jenny medina Whats happened in Gaza has been devastating. Theres been too many innocent lives lost. And Palestinians have rights as well. And she really tried to walk this line of giving something to both sides. astead herndon Of course, this comes in the backdrop of a week in which the tensions around Israel and Gaza were certainly a pressure point for the DNC. We talked to some uncommitted delegates this week who are asking the DNC to have a Palestinian speaker on the stage. That request was denied. And there was some protest action around it today. People held a sit-in that I saw. I was wondering for you all, what was the reaction to what she said in the hall? jenny medina Well, as she was saying this, there were a few not anything disruptive or not all massive, but there were shouts a few times. I was sitting up in the very top section, and I could hear a Free Palestine more than once. But the reaction of the room seemed to me to be one of relief or of shock. I think what she seemed to successfully do, in that moment, is give something to lots of different people. On the one hand, there are a bunch of Jewish voters who lean to the right on Israel, who have made it very clear that they are skeptical of her and her administration. And then on the other hand, there are a bunch of voters uncommitted voters, people who were talking about abandoning Biden, who have made it very clear that they want to see more from her. They appreciate how she has talked about Palestinians so far, but they want to see some kind of policy change. And I think she appeased people in her language, but didnt promise anything in terms of policy. She gave sort of this really broad scope and didnt give in to the idea that its a zero sum game. And I think thats what you saw a positive reaction for. maya king Ill just add, too, I mean, this is a topic that has really divided the Democratic Party over the last year. And she is really trying to walk a very thin line with that and speak to both sides of this issue. And Biden, when he was on the campaign trail, you couldnt go anywhere without him being heckled or having to stop his remarks because someone was protesting, immediately calling for a ceasefire. Harris has not really had that experience yet. I think it remains to be seen after tonight, now that she has fully waded into this, if we can expect to see more protesters at her events. But I was really struck to see her give this full-throated explanation of where she stands on this now, which is right in the middle, and she cant be there forever. Its interesting. You mentioned there was not any Palestinian-American speaker at the convention, but there were two things that Im thinking of in the last week. One was the parents of one of the hostages whos in Gaza, and another is a rabbi from Los Angeles, who both spoke really explicitly of wanting there to be dignity for both sides, both groups, for Palestinians and for Israeli Jews. And thats what I think Harris was trying to do. astead herndon Yeah, I mean, thats kind of one thing I wanted to ask, linking both of these issues that you all mentioned. It seems like a continuation of a political philosophy that Harris has exhibited for a long time, which is that you dont have to choose. You dont have to pick one side or the other, that you can reflect values in a way that chooses the best decision in front of you. It seems like a very core value to what makes up the Kamala Harris worldview. We spend a lot of time among the electorate and we specifically spend a lot of time among the groups in which the Democratic Party has struggled the most with over the last year, being young voters, Black voters, Latino voters. Do you all think that message of being everything to everyone is one that can work until November? I mean, what do you think the standard will be, Maya, for young voters, for Black voters, for people in Georgia, the place in which you live? Does she have to speak to the specifics to motivate people? Or can it be something where, by embodying the large-scale Democratic or liberal values or by invalidating Donald Trump on the other side, that that may be enough? maya king Theres going to be, I think, a critical mass of voters who are going to support her regardless. But the folks that Ive talked to have said that they are kind of waiting for a bit more definition from her. And I think that was one of the goals of this week, was to actually define her not only in personal terms as an individual, but to try to put a little bit more of a frame around who she is and what she stands for. astead herndon I guess thats what Im asking. Do we think that she has been defined this week? Did we learn more? maya king The radio silence. Were like, uh jenny medina [LAUGHS]: Yeah, I think shes been defined as a person. Do I think shes been defined as policy? When I was sitting there up in the arena just now, I said to somebody like, oh, were getting some policy here and there. And now, as I take a breath and leave the excitement of a Giants Stadium, I realize, oh, theres not much policy. Theres sort of notional ideas. Theyre sort of gauzy kumbaya notions. And how you translate that, I dont know. maya king I agree. And Im thinking about how this plays in a state like Georgia. I mean, one of the delegates, this convention, who is from the Middle East and was not given a speaking slot after really lobbying for it, I think, is really disappointed. And I want to know what she does in actually talking to Asian-American voters or folks who were really waiting to hear a little bit more from Harris this week. jenny medina Both of these issues that were talking about, both gun control and foreign policy, essentially, we know, again and again and again, from research, are not things that people usually vote on. And if its a binary choice, as we think its going to be, there are going to be people who say, what choice do I have? And I think the question is always its going to be the same question we had with Biden, which is, do you vote at all? Is the choice between voting for Harris and Trump, or is the choice between voting for Harris and just not voting? maya king Thats such a good point, Jenny, because were really not in an election year that is so policy heavy that were trying to split hairs between these two candidates. These are two starkly different candidates. And I think that the Harris campaign actually knows that. And so they can really ride this wave of good feeling and of speaking to these general broad themes that are widely supported by Democratic voters, while not actually getting into the weeds of anything that would really define a policy portfolio for her. astead herndon Yeah, that really leads to one of my moments that really stuck out to me, which is that at the beginning of Harriss speech, it really reminded me of her initial speech that she gave when she was running for president back in Oakland and a specific part, because she talked about her father. She doesnt really do that all that often. archived recording (kamala harris) At the park, my mother would say, stay close, but my father would say, as he smiled, run, Kamala, run. Dont be afraid. Dont let anything stop you. astead herndon And then she eventually mentions how her parents split up and all of that type of stuff. But it reminded me of just how much this is a first-time introduction for her to a lot of different voters, and how much the campaign saw the task of this speech as one that was introducing her to people for the first time. So to your point, yeah, there may not have been a white paper in the speech, but they clearly were trying to accomplish a different task, which is to say, who is this person and what are their values. jenny medina I mean, I think the philosophy that we all know, that memes, knowing the Venn diagram, the idea of being both and, I think she did introduce that to people tonight in her speech and over the course of the week. And is that a white paper? No, but its a governing philosophy. I mean, I thought it was fascinating to see Elizabeth Warren come out with tears in her eyes and give Kamala Harris the most enthusiastic endorsement. Heres a woman who, when she was a candidate, was putting out, better than I did astead herndon [INAUDIBLE] policy after policy. jenny medina Yeah, the finest details. And shes like, pipe down, get in line and vote. Im thinking about this conversation I had in Vegas right after Harris took the campaign. I went to a training where they were telling volunteers less facts, more stories. And Kamala Harris told her story this week. astead herndon Interesting. This brings me to my real moment of this night. [laughs] Im glad we talked about serious stuff, so I can talk about the thing that actually, I feel like, was in the air, which is that Beyonce didnt show up. There were big rumors all week that that big moment could be a special guest, that there was going to be people, that Beyonce, Taylor Swift, all of those types of names were thrown out here. And those rumors were really persistent today. I dont know about you all, but all around the United Center today, even more than Kamala Harris, I feel like I was talking about Beyonce over and over and over because there was such expectation that she might be in the room. TMZ reported that she was going to be here. There was actually a sense of expectation that there might be some big and special guests that would be pop star galore. I mean, Im not crazy, right? Yall heard that, too? jenny medina I took a bet on it, actually, with a friend. astead herndon A friend to be not named? jenny medina No, Ill name the friend. Just waiting for permission. Yes, there was an enormous amount of buzz about whether or not Beyonce was going to show up. I was skeptical. astead herndon Yeah, I owe you one whole dollar. I mean, I would say, if I can make a dramatic political point from the lack of Beyonce showing up, is that I do think that the Harris campaign is raising expectations by the day. And I even had a Harris person tell me that one of the things that makes them nervous about the debate on September 10 is the fact that her expectations might be too high, going into that. The last month has fueled this sense of possibility, and Democrats have fueled this sense of possibility, saying that this is 2008 and things are coming back. And it does feel as if, if theres any kind of way that maybe this Thursday of the convention didnt live up to expectations, its because, frankly, the expectations have grown so ridiculously high. Is that too much? jenny medina Im going to take the role of scold here. astead herndon Go ahead. jenny medina Boring scold, earnest scold I think its too much. I mean, we didnt come here for a concert. And all right, fine. astead herndon Go ahead. Go ahead. Go ahead. Honestly, I came here for a concert. jenny medina Im really uncool. astead herndon No. [LAUGHS] jenny medina Im really uncool. I came to my first political convention for politics. I am not online. I have not been consuming all the memes and all the TikToks and all the things. So maybe I had lower expectations. But when she walked into that room with her giant smile, she sort of looks like, I cant believe this is happening, but damn, its fun, when she drops the little cuss words here and there, when shes just showing up and having a ball, and then accepts the nomination. A Black woman, a South Asian woman, accepting the nomination is a massive, historic moment. And I dont think we should allow musical disappointments to overshadow that. maya king And I think, for all intents and purposes, this was a very successful speech, right? She defined herself. She was able to get across all these points that were very widely popular with Democrats. Weve talked extensively about where she might have fallen short. But for the folks in the room, this was a very, very successful speech. And for the folks at home, I think well see. But yes, we were certainly in the room, I think, waiting for some sort of a celebrity. But thats also because so much star power has really been a feature of this campaign. astead herndon Right, I mean, Oprah, [INAUDIBLE]. Yeah, like jenny medina And its only been a month. astead herndon Mm-hmm. Thats a fair point to make. And I also think its worth remembering what Donald Trump didnt do at the RNC. There was so much expectation of Donald Trumps RNC speech to show a disciplined version of himself, to show something that really capitalized on, I think, what was a lot of interest coming after the assassination attempt in Pennsylvania. And what we got was a rally version of Trumps speech that didnt live up to any sense of expectation or discipline or focus or issue or the like. And so I do think that no matter what happened earlier, the lack of Beyonce or Taylor Swift or whoever, what Kamala Harris definitely did is execute on the vision and rhetoric that Democrats want her to show. And I think that definitely puts them in a position to make the contrast that they want to make in this race. And it really, I think, sets up a candidate who will probably be on the ascendancy heading into the debate, which will be the next huge moment of this campaign. Thank you all for chatting with me. I had a blast. jenny medina Thanks. maya king Thanks, Astead. [MUSIC PLAYING] astead herndon In the end, she did not wear a white suit. For the biggest, most consequential speech of her life, for the headline appearance in four days of high pageantry, Kamala Harris accepted her nomination as the Democratic candidate for president in navy blue. Thats a bigger symbolic statement than it may at first appear. Many women in the United Center in Chicago wore white. Many of the other speakers had worn it, too. (A call had gone out from the D.N.C. Womens Caucus requesting the shade.) Ashley Biden, for her speech introducing her father; Stephanie Grisham, for her speech explaining why she had abandoned Donald Trump, her former employer; Deb Haaland, the secretary of the interior; Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan. But not Ms. Harris. Instead, she used the regalia of the moment to bring to a close a chapter that began with the nomination of the first Democratic woman candidate for president, Hillary Clinton, in 2016, and to start a new one. Thats what she offered in her speech a chance to chart a new way forward and thats what her suit represented. In its monochrome substance, the point was impossible to miss. My cousin and I were standing on the balcony of her house in Lahore, smoking cigarettes in the breezeless night. It was my second trip to Pakistan that year. The first time, I hadnt visited home in four years and needed to buy wedding clothes. The second time, just two months later, I bought my ticket on impulse. Relatives needled me, shocked at the expense of flying twice from Toronto. The heat in Lahore was wet and smothering. I spent hours in an airless room in my fathers house, sweat sliding down my back. My cousin and I were talking about our first marriages, hers broken when her husband left, mine ending eight years after I married at 20. After telling her that I had gone ahead with the marriage even though it felt wrong, she said, Your mother once called you stupid. I hadnt been thinking about my mother, who had been gone for 23 years. I was 7 when she died, but she was gone long before, more in the hospital than with my sister and me. As I stood on the threshold of another marriage, unable to trust myself, my cousins words opened a path through my tangled thoughts. Ts monthly travel series, Flocking To, highlights places you might already have on your wish list, sharing tips from frequent visitors and locals alike. Sign up here to find us in your inbox once a month, and to receive our weekly T List newsletter. Have a question? You can always reach us at tlist@nytimes.com. Arguably Greeces most iconic island group, the Cyclades got their name because, if you squint, the 30-odd main islands form a circle, or kyklos, around the sacred island of Delos, birthplace of the twin gods Artemis and Apollo. In the southwestern curve of that circle sit Milos, Sifnos and Serifos, three Aegean islands that share a stark, wild beauty owing in part to the minerals that made them mining hubs well into the last century. (Mining continues on Milos, where it vies with tourism as one of the islands main industries.) All three also offer a number of excellent beaches, hiking paths, seafront tavernas and whitewashed hilltop villages dating to medieval times. But each island has its own flavor. Sifnos tends to attract food-focused visitors, who are drawn by the islands culinary traditions and history. The birthplace of Nikos Tselementes, who wrote the first commercial Greek cookbooks in the early 20th century, Sifnos is home to Omega 3, the renowned seafood-focused restaurant founded by the chef Giorgos Samoilis, who has a Ph.D. in molecular biology. Serifos is beloved by hikers and bikers, while Milos, the largest of the three (with 5,000 year-round inhabitants), draws those who crave a livelier scene and are eager to pose on the moonscape of Sarakiniko beach. Only Milos has an airport (the flight from Athens is just 40 minutes), but each island is accessible from Athens, and from the others, by high-speed Seajet and other ferries. (The Seajet trip from Milos to Serifos takes a little over an hour; to Sifnos from Milos its a little over half an hour; and between Sifnos and Serifos about 20 minutes.) If you say Edinburgh Festival to most people, theyll probably think of the Fringe. But the Fringe primarily a showcase of up-and-coming acts from English-speaking countries is actually an offshoot of the more global, highbrow and judiciously curated Edinburgh International Festival, and the two events run side-by-side. The theater offerings in this years International Festival showcase the brightest Scottish talent alongside shows from around the world and fall into two categories: While the international plays are overtly political, encompassing disability rights, antiracism and ecology, the homegrown works explored the more personal terrain of addiction, recovery and self-care. One of the most eye-catching items on the bill was a metafictional spin on Hamlet by the Peruvian company Teatro La Plaza, which ran at the Royal Lyceum Theater Edinburgh earlier this month. This production, performed by eight young actors with Down syndrome, charts the journey of a similar, but fictional, group as it prepares to put on a production of Shakespeares famous tragedy. The actors perform snatches of Hamlet theres a murdered father, a ghost, a play within a play and try to connect its story line to disability: Poloniuss protectiveness toward Ophelia, we are told, echoes societys tendency to infantilize people with Down syndrome. A train derailed in Boulder, Colo., on Thursday night, injuring two crew members, damaging a rail bridge and causing a small fuel leak from one of the cars, the authorities said on Friday. BNSF Railway, which operates freight railroad networks in North America, said the train derailed at about 11:13 p.m. on Thursday near Boulder Creek, spilling a small amount of fuel that did not affect the creek. The injured workers were treated at a hospital and released, it said, and crews were working on Friday to clear the area. There was no threat to the public, the railway said. There was no further information about the freight on the train and its destination. The Boulder Police Department said that roads were shut down for several hours but had reopened on Friday morning as crews worked to clean up and move the derailed cars. The train was about a mile long, it said. It wasnt 1968. It wasnt even close. After months of anticipation, planning and vows of mass protest in Chicago that called to mind the tumult of the 1968 Democratic National Convention, the demonstrators who challenged the Democratic Party over the conflict in Gaza remained largely in the background. While thousands of people joined enthusiastic daily protests in parks and on the streets of Chicago, a city with a deep history of protests, their numbers were fewer than organizers had hoped. All week, demonstrators chanted and marched near the convention site, angrily calling for a cease-fire and an end to U.S. aid for Israel, but failed to seriously disrupt the convention and its celebration of Vice President Kamala Harris, the partys presidential nominee. Though many demonstrators hoped that the convention organizers would grant a speaker of Palestinian descent a chance to address the crowd, that request was ultimately denied. And after four days of protesters pushing to make the war in Gaza a focus of the convention, its final evening on Thursday ended with Ms. Harris directly acknowledging the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza and repeating calls for a cease-fire, but also centering her speech on discussions of abortion access, immigration and the record of her opponent. On Thursday night, it was up to Kamala Harris to make the closing argument for why Democrats deserved another four years in the White House. In her headlining speech of the Democratic National Convention, which had been as festive, and at times as frivolous, as a giant block party, Ms. Harris spoke of standing up to global tyranny, and of lessons she learned from her single mother. She blasted the former President Donald J. Trump as an unserious man and spoke of the awesome responsibility that comes with the privilege of being an American. It all left Democrats on the convention floor feeling euphoric and focused, confident that her speech would spur the Democratic base to turn out in November. But outside the arena, and outside the bubble of ride-or-die Democratic voters, some voters, particularly Republicans, said they did not even bother to watch the speech. And among some still on the fence those who could make a difference in a tight contest Ms. Harriss words did not make immediate converts. They said they needed more specifics. Bob and Sharon Reed watched Ms. Harriss speech on their farm in the hills of central Pennsylvania. Both of them voted for Mr. Trump in past elections and both of them liked some of his policies, if not his personality. They came away from Ms. Harriss speech feeling a little conflicted. A former sheriffs deputy in Florida was charged with manslaughter on Friday, more than three months after he fatally shot a U.S. Air Force senior airman who answered the door to his apartment holding a gun that was pointed to the ground, prosecutors said. A warrant was issued charging Eddie Duran, a former deputy with the Okaloosa County Sheriffs Office, with one count of manslaughter with a firearm, State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden said in a news release. He had not been arrested as of Friday afternoon. The charge against Mr. Duran, 38, who was fired in late May after the sheriffs office conducted an internal investigation into the fatal shooting of the senior airman, Roger Fortson, 23, marked an unusual instance in which a law enforcement officer in Floridas panhandle faced a felony charge in connection with a shooting, a local prosecutor said. If convicted of the charge, Mr. Duran could face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. Efforts to reach Mr. Duran on Friday were unsuccessful, and phone and email messages to a lawyer for Mr. Duran were not immediately returned. Every convention has its highlights and low points, and the hastily revised Democratic convention was no exception. More than 100 speakers took the stage at the United Center in Chicago over four nights, and their speaking abilities ranged from excellent to, well, kind of bumbling. Here are some of the moments we will remember, and others we are hoping to forget. Least relatable remark. Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois, heir to the Hyatt hotel fortune, poking fun at Donald J. Trumps business career: Take it from an actual billionaire, Trump is rich in only one thing: stupidity. Toughest presidential talk. Vice President Kamala Harris, assuring that shes no pushover: As commander in chief, I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world. Least convincing denial. President Biden: All this talk about how I am angry at the people who said I should step down, it is not true. Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser at the White House, will travel to China next week to meet with Wang Yi, the countrys foreign minister, in their latest high-level meeting aimed at defusing tensions. These meetings are consistent with efforts to maintain this strategic channel of communication to responsibly manage the relationship, said Sean Savett, a spokesman for the National Security Council. Mr. Sullivans visit will be his fifth face-to-face meeting with Mr. Wang but his only trip to Beijing since the start of the Biden administration. It will also be the first by a U.S. national security adviser since Susan Rice traveled to China on behalf of President Barack Obama in 2016. A senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to comment on diplomatic discussions, said Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Wang would discuss potential issues of cooperation, such as efforts to limit the spread of fentanyl, as well as areas where the two countries are locked in disputes, including the future of Taiwan. Democrats were giddy. After months of hand-wringing and pessimism before President Biden stepped aside, they were finally excited again. Among the delegates inside the United Center, there was one overriding thought. We cant lose. Shes going to win in a landslide, said Aleksy Federov, 36, a delegate from Washington State who recently became a citizen. Wearing a white blinking cowboy hat, Mr. Federov cited the energy in the air, adding, Its generational change in politics. And there is Kamala Harris, he said Thursday afternoon, hours before the vice president formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president at the convention in Chicago. She brings the joy to the people. But in a series of high-profile admonitions during the four-day convention, several Democratic Party elders issued stern warnings for anyone believing the happy talk that Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota are on a glide path to the White House. They were on the prowl all week. The lobbyists, job seekers, influence peddlers, donors and all manner of ultrarich hangers-on at the Democratic National Convention. To roam the luxury hotels of Chicago on any given morning or afternoon was to get a peek into the maneuvering of the well-to-do. There was casual talk of ambassadorships alongside the fried pizza bites and afternoon rose. At the Ritz-Carlton, there was Jeffrey Katzenberg, the campaigns co-chair and campaign finance impresario, enjoying lunch. At the Four Seasons, there was Terry McAuliffe, the famous backslapping Virginia politician, working the hotel bar and reminiscing about conventions of yore. Others spotted making the rounds were Blair W. Effron, a well-connected financier; John W. Rogers Jr., a top donor and the founder of the countrys largest minority-run mutual fund firm; and Ken Chenault, the former American Express chief executive who landed a speaking slot earlier in the week. Among the targets of their attention: Minyon Moore, one of Vice President Kamala Harriss key advisers, who was seen winding her way through the crowded lobby. When Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday finally addressed the most divisive issue of the Democratic convention the war in Gaza she signaled she would pick up almost exactly where President Biden left off. At the end of her acceptance speech, a hall of supporters who had cheered her calls for reproductive rights and her denunciations of Donald Trump suddenly quieted as she uttered the words: With respect to the war in Gaza Let me be clear, she said, twice, knowing that just beyond the convention hall hundreds of protesters had been calling for the United States to cut off weapons to Israel, as a way of forcing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cease bombing densely packed neighborhoods in his effort to kill Hamas leaders. American-led talks to halt Sudans war, convened at an exclusive Swiss ski resort, ended after 10 days on Friday with agreements to deliver food and medicine to millions of starving Sudanese in the countrys most famine-stricken areas. But the mediators failed to broker a cease-fire, or even to get both sides around the table, after Sudans military refused to show up. Frustrated American and Arab diplomats said the breakdown exposed the disarray and internal divisions in Sudans weakened military, which are a major obstacle to ending Africas biggest war. The United States hoped the talks in Villars-sur-Ollon, a picturesque village 80 miles by road from Geneva, could break an eight-month diplomatic deadlock. The military and its foe, the Rapid Support Forces, or R.S.F., have not held direct talks since January. Since then, war has spread, bringing a widespread humanitarian crisis that this month led to a rare declaration of famine. A decade ago, the world had a brief fascination with Jose Mujica. He was the folksy president of Uruguay who had shunned his nations presidential palace to live in a tiny tin-roof home with his wife and three-legged dog. In speeches to world leaders, interviews with foreign journalists and documentaries on Netflix, Pepe Mujica, as he is universally known, shared countless tales from a life story fit for film. He had robbed banks as a leftist urban guerrilla; survived 15 years as a prisoner, including by befriending a frog while kept in a hole in the ground; and helped lead the transformation of his small South American nation into one of the worlds healthiest and most socially liberal democracies. But Mr. Mujicas legacy will be more than his colorful history and commitment to austerity. He became one of Latin Americas most influential and important figures in large part for his plain-spoken philosophy on the path to a better society and happier life. Floods in Bangladesh have killed at least 13 people and affected millions of others in the countrys northeast, adding to the challenges of an interim government struggling to return order to a country plunged into anarchy after mass protests forced out its autocratic leader. The regions of Feni and Cumilla were worst hit, the countrys ministry of disaster management and relief said. Communication lines have been affected, with almost all cellphone towers losing electricity. Rail service has been suspended and roads have been damaged, hampering delivery of emergency aid. Bangladeshs army and navy have been deployed for rescue operations. Residents described water levels beyond any they had seen in recent years. I can recall a flood in 2004, but as I remember the water level wasnt this high, said Ahmed Farabee, 27, a resident of Noakhali, one of the worst-affected areas, where he estimated that 90 percent of homes were flooded with knee-high water. This time, the rainwater couldnt drain properly because the canals and wetlands are full, he said. The floods hit the country just weeks after its long-serving prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, was toppled by a student-led protest movement. Her crackdown, before she relinquished power and fled the country, left hundreds dead. The Hong Kong Museum of History was the place to go to understand the citys transformation from fishing village to a glittering metropolis. It housed a life-size replica of a traditional fishing boat and a recreation of a 19th-century street lined with shops. That exhibit, known as The Hong Kong Story, is being revamped. People have instead been lining up for a splashy new permanent gallery in the museum that tells a different, more ominous story about the city that Hong Kong is constantly at risk of being subverted by hostile foreign forces. The exhibit features displays about spies being everywhere and footage of antigovernment street protests in the city that were described as instigated by the West. As he kicked off the exhibition this month, John Lee, the Beijing-backed leader of Hong Kong, made clear that its overarching purpose was to be a warning to the city. Safeguarding national security is always a continuous effort. There is no completion, he said. The gallery, which is managed by Hong Kongs top national security body, opened to the public on Aug. 7. The exhibit points to a new aspect of the Hong Kong governments crackdown on the city after antigovernment protests in 2019 posed the greatest challenge to Beijings rule in decades. The authorities have introduced security laws to quash dissent in the years since. They are now pushing to control how people will remember the recent political turmoil. The fire at a lithium battery plant in South Korea that killed 23 workers in June broke out after the factorys operator rushed production, ignored signs of danger and provided no safety training to employees, investigators said on Friday. The fire in Hwaseong, south of Seoul, was one of the countrys worst industrial disasters in recent years and claimed the lives of mostly migrant workers. Nine people were injured. The company, Aricell, was rushing to fulfill a contract with South Koreas military at the time of the fire, a police official said at a news conference on Friday. The police said they had opened investigations into 18 people on charges including involuntary manslaughter, and filed for arrest warrants for two officials at Aricell. The Ministry of Employment and Labor said it had applied for arrest warrants for three executives, one of whom the police are also seeking an arrest warrant for, at Aricell and a related company for labor violations. A person who picked up the phone at the Aricell factory in Hwaseong on Friday afternoon declined to comment. In the immediate aftermath of the fire, the companys head, Park Sun-gwan, apologized for the disaster but said the factory had adequate safety measures and training. The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australia bureau. This weeks issue is written by Yan Zhuang, an Australian reporter in the Seoul bureau (who is very excited about the metro). They arrived well before dawn, some from across the city or even from other states. Hundreds of people, some with signs or handmade shirts, others with hair dyed or nails painted for the occasion, waited in line, hoping to be among the first to glimpse the new arrival in Sydney. They were joined by just about every news media outlet in the city. When the train pulled into the station, the crowd burst into claps and cheers. A key segment of Sydneys new metro train line opened early on Monday with a level of fanfare usually associated with celebrity appearances or pop concerts. In a mostly car-dependent country where public transportation in major cities can be best described as decent, the expansion, which featured expansive, cathedral-like stations and spacious, driverless trains, felt momentous. The new section, which connects Sydenham, an inner-west neighborhood of Sydney, to Chatswood, in the north, runs under the citys business district and crosses under the Harbor Bridge. It is the second part of the metro project to open, after a northern section that started operating in 2019. Several more segments are under construction, expected to open over the next decade. They all form part of a new rail system that updates and integrates with Sydneys existing rail network, which was mostly built between the 1850s and early 1900s, said David Levinson, a transportation professor at the University of Sydney. The news media covered the opening in breathless terms. The national broadcaster ABC described a ride on the metro as a bit like something from a science fiction movie. One journalist marveled at just how much space there is for commuters. Broadcasting live from inside a moving train, another reporter said, I am hanging on for dear life here. (The trains can travel up to speeds of 100 kilometers, or 62 miles, per hour, according to the transportation agency for New South Wales, of which Sydney is the capital.) The first thing Lucie Castets intends to do as Frances next prime minister is to peel back the age of retirement to 62. Then, she will pour more money into the creaking health care and education systems. To pay for at least some of that, she will introduce a tax on the countrys ultrarich. There is just one hitch. Ms. Castets, the candidate of choice of the left-wing coalition that won the most seats in Frances snap legislative elections that ended in July, has not been tapped for the job. And the one person with the power to offer it to her, President Emmanuel Macron, has shown no sign he plans to do so. We are in a somewhat Kafkaesque, surreal situation, where a candidate for the post of prime minister is campaigning for a job that she cannot exercise, Remi Lefebvre, a professor of political science at the University of Lille, said. Almost seven weeks since those elections ended in deadlock, with neither left, right nor center winning a majority, France remains intractably stuck. Russian commandos quashed a mutiny at a southern Russian prison on Friday, killing the attackers and freeing their hostages, according to the local governor. Inmates claiming to be motivated by radical Islam and armed with makeshift knives and an explosive vest briefly took control of Penal Colony No. 19 in the southern Volgograd region, according to videos posted on social media and verified by The New York Times. The Russian prison service said four guards had been killed and three injured in the attack. Four of the attackers were killed by snipers as the Russian commandos stormed the prison late Friday afternoon, ending the mutiny. It was unclear how many inmates had joined the revolt. Criminals were liquidated during a special operation to free hostages in IK-19, Volgograds governor, Andrei Bocharov, said in a Telegram post, referring to the facility by its Russian initials. Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India visited Kyiv on Friday, furthering a diplomatic effort by Ukraine to engage non-Western nations in potential settlement talks with Russia, even as Ukraines military pressed ahead with an offensive into Russian territory. Ukraine has been pursuing parallel tracks of seeking international backing for its plans for peace talks while capturing Russian territory that Ukrainian officials say could provide leverage in negotiations, if the ground can be held long enough (a notion that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has tried to dispel). The diplomacy has focused on outreach to India and China, exploring possible roles for the countries in settlement talks. Mr. Modis visit is a first by an Indian leader since Ukraine gained independence in 1991. It is the highest-profile wartime visit of a leader of a nation with a neutral stance on the conflict, and leaders in Kyiv have been trumpeting it as a show of diplomatic support for Ukraine and a potentially positive sign for advancing settlement negotiations. The bodies returned for the final time to the villages that, in life, they had called home. Months of anguished waiting at an end, mourners embraced, wept, read tributes and lowered into the soil the remains of Israeli hostages recovered this week from the Gaza Strip. But grief had to share space with fury at Israels leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for not agreeing to a cease-fire with Hamas that might have saved the captives lives. You were abandoned, again and again, by the prime minister and his ministers, to Hamass tunnels, Keren Munder herself a former hostage said as she buried her father, Abraham Munder, on Wednesday in his hometown, Nir Oz. Distant explosions and crackles of gunfire occasionally interrupted her eulogy, reminders of the war between Israel and Hamas, now in its 11th month. Israeli forces this week recovered the bodies of six of the people taken hostage in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 assault on Israel: Mr. Munder, 79; Haim Peri, 80; Yoram Metzger, 80; and Alexander Dancyg, 75, all from Nir Oz; and Nadav Popplewell, 51; and Yagev Buchshtab, 35, both from a nearby community, Nirim. A Kenmore woman was sentenced to prison for 1 1/3 to four years Thursday morning for selling fentanyl-laced cocaine to a Buffalo man who overdosed and died. Ashley M. Holmes, 36, who pleaded guilty in June to criminally negligent homicide in the death of Robert R. Chimera, 47, got the maximum punishment allowed, the Erie County District Attorney's Office said. Holmes was arrested Aug. 19, 2023 following an investigation into Chimera's fatal overdose on Linden Avenue in Buffalo. The defendant sold Chimera drugs that resulted in his death, the DA's Office said. During the investigation, fentanyl-laced cocaine was found in Holmes' bedroom. Holmes was sentenced by Erie County Court Judge Sheila A. DiTullio. Far too many people in Erie County have died from an opioid overdose," Acting Erie County DA Mike Keane said. "This defendant knowingly sold cocaine mixed with a deadly amount of fentanyl to her friend, which resulted in his tragic death." He said the case highlights the need for the passage of the proposed Chelseys Law, which would have allowed prosecutors to charge Holmes with manslaughter, a more serious felony that can result in a 15-year prison sentence. "I will continue to urge our state legislators to pass Chelseys Law, which will help New York State prosecutors hold drug dealers who sell lethal drugs like fentanyl accountable for these deaths," he said. Mediators plan to move ahead with a summit next week pursuing a cease-fire agreement in Gaza, Israeli officials said on Friday, after Israeli security chiefs sought to obtain Egyptian consent for a postwar Israeli presence along Gazas border with Egypt. The issue of Israeli troops on the border has emerged as a particularly contentious dispute in the overall negotiations for a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas, talks that mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United States have struggled for months to keep alive. Hamas has repeatedly rejected the idea of an Israeli presence in the border area, saying that any deal to stop the war must involve Israels complete withdrawal from Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has argued that the tunnels in the area, known as the Philadelphi Corridor, have served as a major conduit for smuggling weapons into Gaza, and that abandoning them would allow Hamas to quickly rearm. Egypt, as a neighboring country and a mediator in the truce talks with a significant stake in the wars outcome, is also key to reaching a truce agreement. The government has said that keeping Israeli troops at its Gaza border could raise national security concerns and potentially threaten Egyptian-Israeli relations. Egypt also says it has already taken aggressive action to destroy tunnels and stop smuggling. Relatives of hostages being held in Gaza and some communities on Israels southern border that were targeted in the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7 say they will not participate in an Israeli government memorial ceremony for the first anniversary of the attacks, leaving officials scrambling to propose alternatives. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group representing the relatives of the abducted, said in a post on social media on Wednesday that its members would boycott an official Oct. 7 ceremony. The group says a ceremony is premature because the Israeli government has not secured the return of everyone held captive. The group joined several southern border communities Beeri, Nir Oz, Kfar Aza, Yad Mordechai and Nirim that said this week that they intended to boycott the ceremony being planned by Miri Regev, Israels transportation minister and a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus Likud party. Many Israelis blame the government for failing to prevent the Oct. 7 attack. Jonathan Dekel-Chen the father of Sagui Dekel-Chen, a hostage in Gaza and a member of Kibbutz Nir Oz said on Thursday that members of his kibbutz were appalled by the idea of this government creating a ceremony that would distract from their culpability. He accused the government of paying lip service to the demands of hostage families for a cease-fire deal to bring their relatives home, and he noted that 30 members of his community remained in captivity and that four others were among the six bodies of hostages the Israeli military said it had recovered this week. Of the roughly 250 people the Israeli authorities say were taken hostage on Oct. 7, more than 100 remain in Gaza. Roughly a third of the remaining captives are believed to be dead. Democrats Say the Joy Is Back. Heres What the Data Says. We asked voters to describe their feelings about the election using one word. See how the mood has swung. Kamala Harriss campaign has been trying to get voters to feel the joy. Speakers at the Democratic National Convention used the word joy dozens of times, including when Bill Clinton hailed Ms. Harris as the president of joy. But how do voters really feel? Does the data back up the vibes? Polls have registered a jolt of newfound happiness about the election. In July, in the week after President Bidens decision to forgo the nomination, a New York Times/Siena College survey found that anger and resignation had been subsiding among voters of both parties, while joy had jumped. Since then, that happiness has apparently deepened, among Democrats in particular. Times/Siena swing state polls in August found that nearly 80 percent of Democrats said they were satisfied with their choice of candidates, a stark shift from May, when just 55 percent said they were. In general, how satisfied are you with your choice of candidates in this falls presidential election? Among registered voters across six swing states Based on New York Times/Siena College polls of registered voters in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Note: Satisfied includes the responses somewhat satisfied and very satisfied, and not satisfied includes the responses not too satisfied and not at all satisfied. But the post-dropout Times/Siena national poll also found that voters primary emotion surrounding the election was anxiety, which was reported by nearly half of Democrats. There are many reasons anxiety might persist. Though Ms. Harriss poll numbers are better than Mr. Bidens, the race still sits on a knifes edge. Whether her upswing can continue beyond the probable post-convention bump is still to be seen. Examining the words voters most frequently used to describe their emotions about the election provides us with a window into just how much the mood has swung, and how it could continue to shift. Words Democrats most frequently used to describe their feelings about the election Circle sizes are based on the share of Democrats who responded with each word Words expressing joy, excitement or hope FEB. JULY Interested Excited Excited Hopeful Hopeful Good Optimistic Words expressing anger or disappointment FEB. JULY Disastrous Messy Messy Disappointed Unenthused Frustrated Words expressing anxiety or fear FEB. JULY Nervous Nervous Terrified Scared Anxious Important Terrified Stressed Anxious Scared Concerned Worried Worried Apprehensive Words expressing joy, excitement or hope FEB. JULY Optimistic Interested Excited Hopeful Good Excited Hopeful Words expressing anger or disappointment FEB. JULY Disastrous Messy Messy Frustrated Disappointed Unenthused Words expressing anxiety or fear FEB. JULY Terrified Worried Nervous Scared Nervous Important Concerned Worried Terrified Scared Anxious Anxious Apprehensive Stressed Certain corners of social media are now awash in coconut tree emojis and shaded green squares declaring this Ms. Harriss Brat summer. Democrats joy doubled between February and July, with 20 percent of the partys voters using words indicating happiness, hope or excitement to describe their feelings about the election after Mr. Biden had dropped out, while Democratic despair more than halved. Ms. Harris has referred to herself and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, as joyful warriors, and Mr. Walz, in his first speech as the vice-presidential pick, thanked her for bringing back the joy. The vibe is very high, no doubt about it, said Nancy Rohr, 68, a retired piano teacher from Orange County, Calif., who used the word excited to describe her feelings about November. I would say its her energy; shes a joyful, energetic person. It just feels really exciting to turn the corner, she added. In February, Democrats feelings had been dominated by fear and sadness. Over this whirlwind summer, they have grappled with the duality of joy and fear. The July poll was taken the week after Mr. Biden dropped out of the race; though support quickly coalesced around Ms. Harris, she had not yet officially clinched the nomination. Not only did Democrats use more words indicating joy and hope about the election, they also used words indicating feelings of anxiety and apprehension. Over the past few weeks, the Harris campaign has tried to put those fears to rest. Still, anxiety persists. Im just more concerned that if one party loses, were not even going to have a peaceful transition of power, said Jeff Fitzsimmons, 42, a manager of a livestock operation from Norman County, Minn., who described his election-related feelings as nervous. Words Republicans most frequently used to describe their feelings about the election Circle sizes are based on the share of Republicans who responded with each word Words expressing joy, excitement or hope FEB. JULY Excited Hopeful Good Optimistic Good Hopeful Excited Interested Words expressing anger or disappointment FEB. JULY Apprehensive Frustrated Chaotic Disappointed Disappointed Rigged Words expressing anxiety or fear FEB. JULY Worried Worried Concerned Anxious Concerned Scared Anxious Nervous Nervous Uneasy Scared Important Words expressing joy, excitement or hope FEB. JULY Excited Hopeful Good Optimistic Good Hopeful Excited Interested Words expressing anger or disappointment FEB. JULY Apprehensive Frustrated Chaotic Disappointed Disappointed Rigged Words expressing anxiety or fear FEB. JULY Worried Worried Concerned Concerned Anxious Scared Anxious Nervous Nervous Uneasy Scared Important Democrats hardly have a monopoly on joy, even as former President Donald J. Trump has adopted a darker tone during recent weeks, warning of bad things to come if Ms. Harris wins. From February to July, feelings of anger and confusion subsided among Republicans. By summer, nearly three in 10 Republican voters used words indicating happiness, hope or excitement to describe their feelings about the election, rivaling the share who expressed fear or apprehension, which had remained virtually unchanged since February. The Grand Old Party partied with its own set of stars this summer. Lets make America rock again, Mr. Trump said in a video shown at a summer music festival headlined by Kid Rock. Im excited to have a change, said Stephanie Rhodes, 61, a Trump supporter from Silverhill, Ala., who runs a small cafe, who used the word excited to express her feelings about November. Im a small business owner, and the Biden administration has really hurt my business. The poll was conducted soon after the attempted Trump assassination and the Republican National Convention, accounting perhaps for some of the increased exuberance among Republicans. Trump supporters saw their candidate emerge from the attempt on his life with a raised fist, a mark of defiance reminiscent of heroes in ancient art. Still, more than 25 percent of Republicans in July used words like scared or nervous to describe their feelings about the election. Joel Daria, 43, an insurance agent from Dublin, Ohio, used the word nervous, saying he worried about the future for his daughters under a Harris administration. I dont want them to think that if they get married, theyre a weak woman, said Mr. Daria. I dont want them to be in a world where they cant own guns if they want to. I dont want them to be in a world where they have to go to the bathroom with other people that identify as women. In the frantic months between now and November, its quite likely that voters emotions will continue to fluctuate, particularly as the contest gears up after Labor Day. There is such a heightened level of attention to this race it really raises the stakes, said Carroll Doherty, director of political research at Pew Research Center. Any slip-ups or hiccups are more magnified and can lead to bigger magnitude changes in public mood. Mapping Ukraines Surprise Invasion of Russia After two and a half years of fighting a war on their own soil, Ukrainian forces are continuing to advance within Russia, as their surprise invasion of the Kursk region enters its third week. Beginning early on Aug. 6, Ukraine quickly broke through thinly manned border defenses and has now captured dozens of Russian towns and villages, adding a new twist to a war that had largely settled into grueling, block-by-block fighting in towns in eastern Ukraine. RUSSIA Ukraine has continued to advance in recent days, although the pace of its territorial gains has slowed. Seym River Korenevo AUG. 21 Glushkovo UKRAINIAN ADVANCES AUG. 7 Sudzha Ukraine took control of a town of about 5,000 people within two days. UKRAINIAN TROOPS Guyevo UKRAINE Sumy 5 miles RUSSIA Ukraine has continued to advance in recent days, although the pace of its territorial gains has slowed. Korenevo AUG. 21 UKRAINIAN ADVANCES AUG. 7 Sudzha Ukraine took control of a town of about 5,000 people within two days. UKRAINIAN TROOPS Guyevo UKRAINE Sumy 5 miles RUSSIA Ukraine has continued to advance in recent days, although the pace of its territorial gains has slowed. Korenevo AUG. 21 UKRAINIAN ADVANCES AUG. 7 Sudzha Ukraine took control of a town of about 5,000 people within two days. UKRAINIAN TROOPS Guyevo UKRAINE Sumy 5 miles RUSSIA Ukraine has continued to advance in recent days, although the pace of its territorial gains has slowed. Korenevo AUG. 21 UKRAINIAN ADVANCES AUG. 7 Ukraine took control of a town of about 5,000 people within two days. Sudzha UKRAINIAN TROOPS Guyevo UKRAINE Sumy 5 miles Source: Institute for the Study of War with American Enterprise Institutes Critical Threats Project Ukraines incursion into Kursk brought about one of the largest territorial changes since the first month of the war, when Russia rapidly advanced toward major Ukrainian cities. The head of Ukraines armed forces, Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, has claimed that Ukraine is in control of about 490 square miles of Russian territory. If confirmed, that would represent roughly the same amount of land that Russian forces seized in Ukraine from January through July of this year, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has said that the aim is to create a buffer zone inside Russia alongside the border. He has given no specifics about the size of the area his military is aiming to seize. This week, Ukraine struck bridges across the Seym River, a move that military analysts say could trap Russian troops between the river and the border with Ukraine. RUSSIA Seym River Korenevo Damaged bridges Glushkovo UKRAINIAN ADVANCE AS OF AUG. 21 UKRAINE RUSSIA Seym River Damaged bridges Glushkovo UKRAINIAN ADVANCE AS OF AUG. 21 UKRAINE RUSSIA Seym River Damaged bridges Glushkovo UKRAINIAN ADVANCE AS OF AUG. 21 UKRAINE Source: Institute for the Study of War with American Enterprise Institutes Critical Threats Project (claimed extent of Ukrainian advance) At least three bridges have been damaged, which The Times was able to independently verify through satellite imagery and videos posted to social media. It is unclear how many Russian troops are in the area, but satellite imagery from Planet Labs, a commercial satellite company, shows that Russia has built temporary pontoon bridges to allow its vehicles to continue to cross the river. One could be seen east of the town of Glushkovo on Aug. 17, with vehicle tracks visible nearby. Another was visible further along the river, just north of Glushkovo, on Aug. 21. On Wednesday, Ukraine released videos of its forces striking these Russian pontoon bridges in Kursk with U.S.-supplied weapons. Road bridge destroyed by Ukraine on Aug. 16. Russia later built a pontoon bridge farther east. Vehicle tracks can be seen near the bridge. Glushkovo Road bridge destroyed by Ukraine on Aug. 16. Russia later built a pontoon bridge farther east. Vehicle tracks can be seen near the bridge. Glushkovo N Glushkovo Road bridge destroyed by Ukraine on Aug. 16. Russia later built a pontoon bridge farther east. Vehicle tracks can be seen near the bridge. N Glushkovo Road bridge destroyed by Ukraine on Aug. 16. Russia later built a pontoon bridge farther east. Vehicle tracks can be seen near the bridge. Source: Planet Labs Although Ukraines advances have slowed since the first days of its incursion, it continues to push forward, according to imagery verified by the Institute for the Study of War. Satellite imagery from Planet Labs shows that Russia has built new defensive fortifications around 20 miles from Ukrainian positions in Kursk, near the E38 highway. The fortifications include trenches for troops to fire from, and anti-tank ditches, such as the one shown below. Eight days before incursion Nine days after the incursion began New anti-tank ditch built by Russia 2.6 miles Eight days before incursion Nine days after the incursion began N New anti-tank ditch built by Russia Eight days before incursion Nine days after the incursion began New anti-tank ditch built by Russia 2.6 miles Eight days before incursion Nine days after the incursion began N New anti-tank ditch built by Russia Source: Planet Labs While the Ukrainian military is gaining ground in Russia, it is losing it back home. The Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine is building momentum. Russian troops are less than 10 miles from Pokrovsk, putting them in artillery range of the city, which had a population of about 40,000 before the war began and is a key transport hub. To the northeast, Russian troops are on the doorstep of Toretsk, and control most of Niu-York, footage verified by the Institute for the Study of War shows. Military analysts say that one of Ukraines likely objectives in invading Kursk was to force Russia to divert troops away from eastern Ukraine to fight in Kursk, but so far the Kremlin has resisted. Instead, it has brought in reinforcements mainly from elsewhere in Russia, prioritizing its military objectives in Ukraine over a rapid response to the foreign incursion. Miami Dade College, which enrolls over 120,000 students across eight campuses in Floridas Miami-Dade County, is seeking a firm to help it promote the 100th anniversary of its Freedom Tower. Originally completed in 1925 as the headquarters and printing facility for the Miami News, the building was used in the 1960s to process and document refugees from the Cuban Revolution and to provide medical and dental services for them. The Freedom Tower Campaign and Celebration is focused on both celebrating its centennial and supporting its renovation. The selected firm will be tasked with increasing public awareness of the project, as well as boosting visitor numbers and enhancing donor contributions. The scope of work will include public relations (media relations, press materials and crisis management); communications (providing a strategic communications plan, content creation and social media support); and event planning. The contract is expected to run from October 2024 through June 30, 2025, though the college may extend the service dates as required to ensure the successful completion of the project. The current RFP process is intended to generate a pool of prequalified firms for the work and does not guarantee any specific award of services. Proposals must be downloaded to the Miami Dade College BidNet site by September 20 at 3 p.m. Questions should be directed to purchasing manager Roman Martinez at [email protected] by September 12. Read the RFP (PDF). Hannah Wong Open AI promotes Hannah Wong to chief communications officer. Wong has been with the company since 2021, most recently serving as VP, communications and before that as head of public relations. She was previously at Apple as senior PR manager for Apple Pay, Apple Card and iCloud and spent five years at Edelman, working with the Xbox LIVE, Charles Schwab and Twitter accounts. According to a report in Axios, Wong will continue to report to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, overseeing media relations, internal communications, strategic messaging, events, brand design, social media, community and talent partnerships. Ashley Gordon Mower hires Ashley Gordon as SVP, connections planning. Gordon most recently worked as a freelance consultant, partnering with both startups and large corporations. She has also held leadership positions at gyro, Mindshare and Dagger. Overseeing Mowers connections planning department for integrated media, she will lead the agencys media and performance marketing teams. Shell also work to elevate its paid media capabilities for clients across areas including energy & sustainability, B2B, healthcare, financial services, travel & tourism, building & construction, and transportation & logistics. Her career exemplifies our shared value to always raise the bar, and her expertise aligns perfectly with Mower's commitment to meeting our clients evolving needs, said Mower presient and CEO Stephanie Crockett. Meagen Eisenberg Samsara, developer of the Connected Operations Cloud, which lets businesses harness Internet of Things data to develop actionable insights and improve their operations, names Meagen Eisenberg as CMO, effective Aug. 28. Eisenberg was most recently CMO at cloud security company Lacework, and she has also held the CMO spot at MongoDB and TripActions. "Meagens deep industry expertise and understanding of our customers and market dynamics will be invaluable as we continue to push the boundaries of innovation, said Samsara CEO and co-founder Sanjit Biswas. Im confident that her vision will help us forge even stronger connections with our customers and expand our presence in the market. The Empire State is looking for an agency that can design and implement a marketing and advertising campaign to promote the state's 50-plus annual county and local fairs. THE award-winning Kneecap has been announced as the finale for the Moonlit Movies series in Offaly. In August and September, film lovers have the chance to watch a mini season of classic Irish films on the big screen under the open sky (weather permitting) at some of the countys most unique venues. Screenings in August include; Handsome Devil in association with Offaly Local Development Company in support of Offaly Pride at Kinnitty Castle on Saturday August 24th, a double header at Birr Castle with The Commitments on Friday August 30th and Sing Street on Saturday August 31st and finishing with Kneecap on Saturday September 7th at the Courthouse Yard in Birr. Kneecap is one of the most-talked about Irish films of the year. The fascinating Irish-language biopic sees the hip-hop trio, Moglai Bap, Mo Chara and DJ Provai, playing themselves with Academy Award Nominee Michael Fassbender in tow laying down a global rallying cry for the defence of native cultures. Kneecap won the Audience Prize: NEXT at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival last year after being the first-ever Irish language film to screen at the American film festival. Gary Hoctor, co-ordinator of Moonlit Movies said: We are so excited to give film lovers in Offaly a unique opportunity to see one of the most exciting Irish films in recent years as part of Moonlit Movies. We couldnt think of a better finale to our innovative series of outdoor screenings than Kneecap. The aim of Moonlit Movies is to reignite the love for classic Irish films and also to give people the chance to see these great films on the big screen. Maybe youre young enough never to have seen some of these films the first time around, so why not come along and discover these films with us? Outdoor film screenings on this scale are rare in the county, so Moonlit Movies is definitely not to be missed. Along with showcasing the best of cult Irish cinema, the Moonlit Movies experience also includes food by local vendors at the different screenings and is included in the ticket price. Visit offlinefilmfestival.com for more info and to book your tickets. Pre-booking is strongly advised. Moonlit Movies is thanks to funding from the Screen Ireland Audience Development Fund. INDEPENDENT Ireland councillor for the Edenderry Municipal District, Fergus McDonnell, has serious concerns regarding an Active Travel plan currently being formulated by the Offaly County Council Active Travel team for Daingean town. Cllr McDonnell said he has engaged with local business and motorists and members of the public in Daingean and also with Offaly County Council Active Travel staff over the last number of weeks on the implications for local business in Daingean. The councillor said the Active Travel plan for Daingean includes new and improved footpaths from Daingean GAA towards Main Street, continued roadside across the Grand Canal bridge, joining up at Daingean playground. The plans also include double yellow lines outside Scullys Centra for a distance along Main Street with a vertical deflection around the junction at Scullys Centra, as well as relocating a disabled car parking space. An immediate impact of double yellow lines outside the local convenience store and post office will primarily affect our older citizens and people with disabilities, he stated. Cllr McDonnell emphasised his commitment to improving road safety for all throughout the Edenderry Municipal District, including Daingean. He said he had specifically mentioned traffic calming in and towards Daingean as an issue for the Municipal District. I have consulted widely with interested parties in Daingean including store owners, Enda and Mary Scully, their customers and with local people generally and the consensus is clearly, widespread concern, he said. If the proposed active travel plans I saw sight of are implemented, I believe local businesses and the public will suffer economically and socially with 35% to 40% of customers generated from passing traffic. My understanding from my discussions with Enda and Mary Scully, owners of Scullys Centra, a combined 36 people are employed between both outlets and my concern is to protect these critical jobs and to safeguard the future of Daingean post office. Concluding, Cllr McDonnell said he will again recommend that speed ramps on the Edenderry road approach to Daingean Main Street be at least trialled as a method of slowing traffic into Daingean. THE Lemanaghan Bog Heritage and Conservation Group held a peaceful protest on the evening of Tuesday August 13th last at the Bord na Mona Information Clinic about Lemanaghan Windfarm. The protest took place at Ballycumber Community Centre. The group, along with several local councillors and Deputy Carol Nolan, expressed their deep concerns about the lack of what they called genuine consultation with the community regarding the future of their beloved bog. During the protest the group handed in a formal letter of opposition addressed to Bord na Mona and SSE Renewables. The letter, signed by Chairman Seamus Corcoran and Secretary Ciara Egan, outlined the group's firm opposition to the wind farm proposal while also stressing the importance of early public consultation on alternative uses for the bog. The letter pointed out that under the Aarhus Convention, public participation should occur at the earliest stage of environmental decision-making. The group emphasised their willingness to engage in discussions about alternative proposals but insisted that these consultations be inclusive and transparent. A copy of the letter was also sent to the CEO of Bord na Mona, Tom Donnellan. It was pointed out during the protest that the group firmly believes that the public should be genuinely consulted on the future of Lemanaghan Bog, with a focus on exploring a range of options that reflect the community's desires and needs. Instead of being presented with information on a fully prepared plan to construct a wind farm of 15 giant wind turbines, the public should have been given the opportunity to participate in shaping the bog's future from the outset. What Bord na Mona has offered is not true consultation. It's merely the dissemination of information, which falls short of engaging the community in meaningful dialogue. During the evening, Cllr Hughie Egan criticised Bord na Mona's approach, stating, "The community are outside, and you are in here; that is not consultation." Cllr Sean OBrien, Cllr John Clendennen and Cllr Frank Moran were all in attendance during the evening. Martin Buckley, who ran as a candidate during the recent local elections, also showed his support for the group's cause. The group praised Deputy Carol Nolan for standing in solidarity with us during the protest. Deputy Nolan has consistently supported the people of Lemanaghan and is committed to working closely with the community to ensure their voices are heard in any decisions regarding the future of the bog. Cllr Sean OBrien reaffirmed his commitment to raising the issue with Offaly County Council. James Scully, another speaker at the protest, spoke about the historical significance of Lemanaghan, referencing its unique archaeological importance, which has been documented in books such as "The Archaeology of Lemanaghan: The Story of an Irish Bog" by Ellen O'Carroll and Caimin OBriens "Stories from a Sacred Landscape: Croghan Hill to Clonmacnoise." The protest also featured a passionate speech from Kieran Keenaghan, who warned of the environmental consequences of building wind farms on peatlands. He showed images of Clongowney Bog, in South Offaly, where roads were constructed on the wetlands to facilitate wind turbine installation, leading to significant damage. Kieran urged the community to prevent similar destruction at Lemanaghan, stating, "Building wind farms on peatlands needs to be stopped in the Faithful County." The Lemanaghan Bog Heritage and Conservation Group told The Midland Tribune that they hope that their peaceful protest, along with the letter of opposition and the strong backing from local representatives, will prompt Bord na Mona to reconsider its plans and engage in a more inclusive consultation process and open a dialogue on alternative uses of the bog with the local community. This is the group's letter which was delivered to the company: Dear Bord na Mona and SSE Renewables, We are writing to express our opposition to the proposed Wind Farm Development at Lemanaghan Bog. While we strongly oppose the construction of a wind farm in this area, we remain open to engaging in consultations regarding alternative uses for the bog. Under the Aarhus Convention, it is essential that public participation occurs at the earliest possible stage in decision-making processes related to the environment. We believe that the consultation on the future use of Lemanaghan Bog should be expanded to consider all possible alternatives, and the public should be fully involved in these discussions. We have made it clear that we do not support the development of a wind farm in Lemanaghan Bog. However, we are committed to actively participating in any consultations that explore alternative proposals for the site. We are prepared to engage constructively in discussions that consider a range of options for the bog's future, ensuring that the community's voice is heard and respected. We are requesting that the consultation on the future of Lemanaghan Bog be as inclusive as possible, allowing for full community participation. We believe this should take place in our local community centre, where the public can gather and engage as a group in an open, public meeting. This approach ensures that everyone has the opportunity to ask questions and express their concerns collectively, rather than in a drop-in clinic format, which we believe could lead to misunderstandings and a lack of transparency. We are fully prepared to provide the necessary facilities and equipment to support this important community dialogue. We look forward to your response and hope that Bord Na Mona will take our concerns seriously by initiating a comprehensive and inclusive consultation process. Following the protest Deputy Nolan told the media that she will continue to strongly advocate for the Lemanaghan community and its supporters "following confirmation from Bord na Mona that it means to proceed with the development of a highly controversial planning application that will result in the construction of up to 15, 220 metres high wind turbines on the archaeologically important bog in north-west Offaly. The proposed wind farm is tantamount to archaeological vandalism of the worst kind. Despite thousands of written objections; despite clear opposition by the local community and despite abundant evidence of the potential for long term and irreversible archaeological damage, Bord na Mona and its partners SSE Renewables have decided to proceed with this project. I find this deeply alarming and indeed symptomatic of a wider general contempt for communities that is taking root across the country, irrespective of the issues involved. I found it absurd and almost laughable when Bord na Mona and SSE Renewables informed me earlier this month that 'the joint venture partnership is fully committed to continuing to inform and engage with you and the local community through an active communication programme'. This kind of meaningless verbiage appears deliberately designed to conceal complete industrial indifference to local communities and I for one will not stand back and tolerate that. I will continue to do all that I can to shine a light on this unwanted and unloved planning application and I will certainly work to ensure that the voices of local communities, such as Lemanaghan are heard, Deputy Nolan said. A wholesome clip of a disguised son's last-minute 6,000-mile trip to Ireland to celebrate his dad's 80th birthday has taken off online. Cormac O'Brien travelled from California to Ireland to join his family's trip to mark his dad Tim's 80th birthday. A proud Corkman living in America for over 60 years, Tim O'Brien and his family planned a trip home to the West Cork town to mark his milestone birthday. Cormac, however, originally wasn't able to make the trip before deciding to "come at all costs" with his young daughter and surprise his father. "My dad moved from Bantry in 1963 to join the US Navy. Then New York, Arizona and now he lives in California - where I live," Cormac told Iconic Media. "He is the oldest of seven OBriens that are all still in Ireland. "We always come back to Bantry for a visit. He chose to come here to spend his 80th and I couldnt make it until last minute. "I decided to come at all costs with my three-year-old to surprise him," Cormac explained before saying it "feels great to be back". Disguised with a fake moustache, a wig, sunglasses and a cap in the viral clip, Cormac hides in plain sight before delivering a pint of Guinness and whiskey chaser to the table and whipping off his disguise to surprise his dad. Jimmy Crowley's pub erupts in laughter as the camera pans to a delighted Tim and the pair hug in a touching moment that has received over 23,000 upvotes on the popular Ireland thread on Reddit. On Aug. 15, the Appellate Division, Third Department heard an appeal of a challenge to a 2021 law that radically altered the process and manner by which local Boards of Elections process and canvass absentee ballots. The 2021 law in question compromised the integrity of New York elections. The Appellate Division should invalidate it in its entirety. In 2021, the state Legislature passed and the governor signed into law a bill that radically altered how absentee ballots are handled. Under the new absentee canvassing process, watchers working on behalf of candidates or party committees could no longer object to ballots they believed were invalid. More importantly, candidates and party leaders were no longer able to seek judicial review of absentee ballots they believed were invalid. The 2021 amendment to the Election Law swept away these commonsense election integrity safeguards. Given the recent history of election shenanigans in New York, the measures eliminated by the 2021 amendments were necessary to maintaining election integrity in New York. In 2021, a Republican primary for a New York City Council seat from Staten Island was at the center of an absentee ballot fraud scandal. While no one including the candidates and their staff was ever charged with a crime, the Staten Island district attorney convened a grand jury to investigate the fraud allegations. At the conclusion of the investigation, the grand jury issued a report calling for additional absentee ballot safeguards, including requiring absentee voters to provide identification along with their absentee ballots and mandating that absentee ballots only be returned by the voter, their family members, or their caregiver. Earlier this year, another absentee ballot scandal erupted in New York City when six individuals were charged with being part of an absentee ballot fraud scheme to steal a 2023 City Council primary. The individuals allegedly submitted almost two dozen fraudulent absentee ballots. While the candidate they were attempting to help won the primary, he went on to lose the general election. The 2021 absentee canvassing law makes it more difficult to uncover and prevent these types of hijinks. Candidates and their poll watchers are shut out of the absentee ballot verification process. Whats even more troubling is that the law eliminates the states independent, nonpartisan judiciary from being able to order a Board of Elections to not count an obviously invalid absentee ballot. Thats just wrong. All New Yorkers want an electoral system thats honest and fair. Election integrity isnt and shouldnt be a partisan issue. The Third Department must take a stand for election honesty and fairness and invalidate the 2021 absentee canvassing law. Joseph T. Burns is a Western New York-based election lawyer and a partner in the law firm of Holtzman Vogel. After hearing about Donald Trumps idiotic statement regarding Medal of Honor recipients, I was reminded of the phrase less is more. This famous architectural phrase means good things and quality often comes from simplicity rather than excess. However, with Donald Trump, the man who disparages war heroes, ridicules the disabled, suggests ingesting bleach to cure Covid-19, and praises insurrectionists who attacked the United States Capitol, the word less always means less. Soulless, shameless, heartless, and brainless. If the voters again put Trump in the White House, our Constitution is worthless. News / National by Gideon Madzikatidze The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) acting Secretary General and leader of the opposition in Parliament, Senator Sengezo Tshabangu, has encouraged politicians across the divide to embrace tolerance and show maturity especially during national events regardless of diversity in ideologies.Senator Tshabangu hailed recent participation by the opposition during national Defence Forces Day celebrations held at Rufaro Stadium as a sign of political maturity, tolerance and co-existence in Zimbabwe."It is quite noble to realise that ZANU PF does not hold exclusive rights over government programs, hence our presence at this moment during the national programme is an ideal expression of commitment to national interest and pride," Tshabangu said."Our attendance here reflects a new era of mature politics in Zimbabwe premised on tolerance and co-existence, where it once seemed the ruling party had a monopoly on government initiatives. We will continue to participate in all future government programmes and this marks the beginning of politics focused on progress rather than ego," Tshabangu added.Tshabangu highlighted further the importance of opposition's involvement in such gatherings to address issues that benefit all Zimbabweans, regardless of race or ethnicity."As you can see, we are representing various opposition political parties in the country," Tshabangu said.The event also saw the attendance of Harare Mayor Councillor Jacob Mafume and opposition chief whip in the Senate, Nonhlanhla Mlotshwa. A Kazatomprom worker checks the radiation level of uranium oxide at the East Mynkuduk PV-19 uranium mine in southern Kazakhstan May 11, 2006. (REUTERS/Vladimir Pirogov) (REUTERS / Reuters) Shares of Canadian uranium miners rallied on Friday after the worlds largest producer of nuclear fuel slashed its production target for 2025, adding to long-standing concerns about short supply. Kazatomprom says it produced about 20 per cent of the global uranium supply in 2023. On Friday, the Kazakhstan state-owned miner cut its target for next year by about 17 per cent. The company blames uncertainty around sulphuric acid supplies for 2025, and construction delays at its newly developed deposits, for the expected shortfall. In January, Kazatomprom warned its 2024 production is expected to be impacted by similar issues. Canadian uranium producers Cameco (CCO.TO)(CCJ), Denison Mines (DML.TO)(DNN), and NexGen Energy (NXE.TO)(NXE) saw their stocks rise in Fridays session as investors bet on upward pressure on the price of uranium. Toronto-listed Cameco shares closed 4.75 per cent higher on Friday at $57.58. Denison and NexGen shares finished the trading session up 12.81 per cent and 8.96 per cent, respectively. Data firm UxC lists a weekly price of US$81 per pound as of Aug. 19. Earlier this year, Toronto-based Sprott Asset Management predicted short supply could support prices above US$100. Sprott CEO John Ciampaglia says while Kazatomprom's acid shortage is legitimate, the company is also interested in prolonging the current bull market for uranium. "We know that the sulfuric acid shortages are real, and are not going to be addressed any time soon," he told Yahoo Finance Canada on Friday. "We also think there is an element of them being unwilling to increase production materially. Their message is very clear. They're focusing on value over volume." Demand for cleaner forms of energy has prompted a series of policy "U-turns" in recent years, with governments from Japan to Germany revising plans to phase out nuclear power. The World Nuclear Association says demand from reactors is expected to climb 28 per cent by 2030, and nearly double by 2040. Story continues Ciampaglia says the typical supply response to high prices is playing out slower than many nuclear utilities had thought, pointing to the weakened state of the industry after the 2011 Fukushima accident in Japan. "The mining sector was basically on life support from 2011 to 2020. You have a lot of atrophy that builds in the sector and its supply chains. Irrespective of whether the price is US$200 a pound, the industry can't immediately press a few buttons and get going again," he said. "It should be a real wake-up call that security of supply for these utilities should be paramount." The TSX-listed Sprott Physical Uranium Fund (U-UN.TO) closed 4.81 per cent higher on Friday. New York-based commodity research firm Goehring & Rozencwajg anticipated Friday's announcement of lower production guidance from Kazatomprom. In a blog post published on Wednesday, the researchers predict the situation will exacerbate a "structural supply deficit" for uranium. "If Kazatomprom reduces its guidance as we anticipate, the uranium market could very well turn chaotic as buyers are forced to acknowledge the extent of the deficit," they wrote. "We believe the uranium bull market is far from over. Production shortfalls will fuel the next phase." Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jefflagerquist. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. Duluth, Minnesota (OpEdNews) August 21, 2024: In the fall of 1964, I transferred as a junior planning to major in English to Saint Louis University, the Jesuit university in the City of St. Louis, Missouri. Consequently, I was told to see the head of the Department of English, the American Jesuit priest Father Maurice B. McNamee, S.J. (1909-2007), for academic advising. Father McNamee advised me to take Father Walter J. Ong's course Practical Criticism: Poetry. Over the years, I took five courses from Father Ong (1912-2003). Over the years, I also took one course from Father McNamee. In any event, many years later, I read McNamee's concise book Honor and the Epic Hero: A Study of the Shifting Concept of Magnanimity in Philosophy and Epic Poetry (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1960). In his characteristically concise way, McNamee (pp. 170 and 178n.14) discusses how the spirituality of St. Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556), the founder of the Jesuit order (known formally as the Society of Jesus) and the author of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola, and of The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus, and of thousands of letters giving spiritual advice. To this day, I admire the concision of McNamee's compendious 1960 survey book Honor and the Epic Hero. Unfortunately, the American Jesuit theologian Barton T. Geger in his new 2024 critical edition of The Constitutions of the Society of Jesus (Institute of Jesuit Sources) is not familiar with McNamee's 1960 book. However, in the "Index of Topics" in Geger's 2024 critical edition (pp. 577-621), we find the following entries that are related to themes McNamee discusses in his 1960 book: Ambition/ambitioning (p. 578), Honor(s) divine and worldly (p. 597), and Magnanimity (p. 602). For a study related to McNamee's 1960 study, see Robert Faulkner's 2008 book The Case for Greatness: Honorable Ambition and Its Critics (Yale University Press). Unfortunately, Faulkner is not familiar with McNamee's 1960 book. Recently I thought about McNamee's 1960 book when I read about the British-American classicist Emily Wilson's 2023 translation of the Homeric epic The Iliad (Norton) - one of the epic poems discussed by McNamee at length (for specific pages references, see the entries on Achilles and on The Iliad in the "Index" [p. 183 and 187, respectively]). In 2018, Emily Wilson (born in 1971; Ph.D. in classical studies, Yale University, 2001) of the University of Pennsylvania published her translation of The Odyssey - another epic poem discussed by McNamee at length (for specific pages references, see the entries on Odysseus and on Odyssey in the "Index" [p. 188]). Emily Wilson was the first woman to translate The Odyssey into English. Consequently, her translation was widely publicized at the time. But she is not the first woman to translate The Iliad into English, and her 2023 translation has not been as widely publicized as her 2018 translation was. Even so, I would call your attention to Judith Thurman's wide-ranging interview with Emily Wilson titled "Mother Tongue: Emily Wilson makes Homer modern" (dated September 11, 2023) in The New Yorker: Click Here In it, among other things, Emily Wilson says, "'Any woman who has lived with male rage at close range has a better chance of understanding the vulnerability that fuels it than your average bro. She learns firsthand how the ways in which men are damaged determine their need to wreak damage on others. "This insight, and the lucidity Wilson brings to it, may be the greatest revelation of her Iliad. The poem's machismo has often bored or estranged me, and, in more grandiloquent translations, its heroes' mindless bloodlust obscured the pathos of boys and men who are shamed literally to death by weaknesses that they've been bred to suppress. Her plainsong conveys the tragedy of their bravado, and, listening to her voice, I felt it for the first time." Judith Thurman's reflection here calls to mind the bravado of former President Donald Trump. For an insightful profile of Trump, see the American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Justin A. Frank's book Trump on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President (Avery/ Penguin Random House, 2018). For critique of Emily Wilson's 2023 translation of The Iliad, see Graeme Wood's article "What Emily Wilson's Iliad Misses: Her new translation is inviting to modern readers, but it doesn't capture the barbaric world of the original" (dated October 2, 2023) in The Atlantic: 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). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Either this nation shall kill racism, or racism shall kill this nation." (S. Jonas, August, 2018) "A Vote for 'ABBH' (Any Body But Harris) is a Vote for Trump and Republo-Fascism" (S. Jonas, August, 2024) Jill Stein. Let's hope that in the end, to help prevent the onslaught of TrumpRepubloFascism, she does the right thing. (Image by cornstalker) Details DMCA ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I published a column on "The Jill Stein Vote" just a few months ago. Except on the "Israel Disaster" I usually don't return to deal with a topic so soon. But "The Jill Stein Vote" is becoming an ever-more serious problem for the future of Constitutional Democracy in the United Sates, especially in the light of whom she has chosen as her Vice-Presidential candidate (a subject that I will be commenting on further, below. Please note that in this column, I am using some of the text from the earlier one. ) "Voting for Jill Stein" has once again become a topic of conversation among various elements of the "Left" in the United Sates. Some leftists, including myself, think that in the upcoming election voting for a "left" third party candidate is not a good idea --- that it is, in the "swing states," actually a horrible idea. It is now well-known that one of the two major party candidates has in the past made it very clear that if elected he will rip up the bourgeois-democratic Constitution adopted in 1789 and amended 27 times since and replace it with an off-a-very-long-off-the-cuff fascist version of designed by colleagues and former members of his staff (that of course is Project2025). Once back in power they would do this without the benefit either of the amendment process as laid out in the current Constitution or a Constitutional Convention (the requirements for which are also described in the current document). As is well-known, publicly Trump is now trying to run away from P2025 as fast as his bone-spurred heels can carry him. And of course, to accept that supposed retreat we would have to believe that he would leave behind a plan developed by many former members of his staff, and one that has many key elements that he has widely and loudly promoted before, like overturning the Civil Service Act of 1883-as-amended, just like that. Of course we have to believe him, because he is such a famous truth-teller. Trump's own version of P2025, provided for us at length, in the vernacular rather than in a semi-formal, almost academic document (Trump, a man of very limited education/reading, couldn't do "academic" even if he wanted to), is openly revealed in a lengthy recent interview with TIME Magazine. So why is the "Jill Stein vote" such an issue this time around? Because (to repeat the well-known argument), in certain swing states she might just draw away enough votes that would otherwise go to Harris-Walz, thus giving the election to Trump. Again, as is well-known (but in my mind worth repeating), in Florida in the 2000 election Ralph Nader got about 90,000 votes. With a margin of 535 votes in Florida, and a HUGE boost from a Republican-dominated Supreme Court, G.W. Bush won Florida's electoral vote and thus won the Presidency. Our nation then went on to "9/11," the expansion of the "Afghanistan War," and "Iraq." In the past, Nader and his defenders/acolytes have not placed any responsibility for the Bush victory and any of the subsequent events at his feet. Last year, I saw that Mr. Nader, fearing Trump fascism, was urging people to vote for Biden. However, I cannot find any recent statements to that effect. For those who want to prevent the advent of TrumpRepubloFascism, let's hope that between now and election day, she does come out with one or more statements urging a vote for Harris. Jill Stein ran on the Green Party ticket in both 2012 and 2016. In the five "swing states" that gave Trump his 2016 victory, Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, Pennsylvania and Minnesota, his total winning margin was about 75,000 votes. That happened to be just about the same number of votes that Dr. Stein got in those states. What does that show? Absolutely nothing definitive. But hey. IF they had gone to Clinton instead, they MIGHT have delivered the election to her. We will never know for sure, of course. Which brings us down to 2024. This time around, Dr. Stein has once again secured the Green Party nomination. As it happens, I like Jill Stein. How could I not? We graduated from the same medical school, about 17 years apart. (I'm the older one. Just a note on the "candidates'-age-issue," Dr. Stein, at age 73, is now the second oldest candidate in this election.) But as my readers already know, as summarized above, along with many other observers I think that, were Trump to be elected once again, along with the Party that he has totally taken over (with the full cooperation of most of its leading lights in and financial supporters) from the perspective of maintaining some form of bourgeois Constitutional democracy the country would be headed for disaster. As it happens, this picture of TrumpRepubloFascism represents reality for most observers. Nevertheless, Dr. Stein is persisting in running again. (In terms of RFK Jr., the latest news as of this writing [8-22-24] is that he is planning to endorse Trump. There is an interesting historical connection between Jr.'s father and Trump: both were proteges of Roy Cohn. However, politically RFK left Cohn way behind, whereas Trump has been quoted on more than one occasion as saying: "Where's my Roy Cohn?" Interestingly enough, it is being said in return for his endorsement that Jr. has asked Trump, should he win, for a guarantee of appointment as Sec. of HHS. Now, we know just how good Trump is at keeping promises, BUT If Trump wins and does makes RFK his Sec. HHS [which seems to be the deal no matter what the Trump people would be saying about it now], and RFK were able to exert full control of the infectious disease functions of the Department [from which most of the career civil servants would have be fired], being the Anti-Vaxxer [not just for COVID-19] that he is, death rates from all the infectious diseases susceptible to vaccination would rise exponentially.) But getting back to Jill Stein. One major policy that draws strong support for her is her position on Israel and the Gaza Crisis. My position on that horror is clear. I have been a strong critic, in writing, of what I now call The Israeli Nationalists, for many years. I just don't see how doing anything that would further Trump's chances of winning would bring about any solution to the Crisis that would benefit the people of Gaza. After all, Trump has said words to the effect of that he "would let Netanyahu finish the job" (whatever that means --- one can just imagine). But that possibility doesn't seem to have affected Dr. Stein's thinking on the matter. In fact, she has just chosen as her Vice-Presidential Candidate a Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Rudolph 'Butch' Ware . He holds to a very strong position against the policies of the Israeli government (as, to repeat, do I). And so, in those states in which the now "Stein-Ware" ticket is running which are swing states, especially those of that group which have significant Arab-American populations very strongly opposed to the policies of the Biden-Harris Administration, with the subtraction of the votes which, given Trump's well-known and long-standing Muslim/Islamo-phobia, might otherwise go to Harris-Walz, they certainly could swing the election to Trump. To summarize then, at the center of my concern about the Stein candidacy (and at the center of concern of many others, especially in the leadership of the Democratic Party, as well as other anti-fascists who are not connected with the Democratic Party) is that this time around, especially with her new running-mate, in one or more swing states she might well pull the election to Trump, just as she may (or may not) have done the last time. As to just what is the thinking of this very intelligent woman who graduated from the Harvard Medical School, I have to say that it is completely beyond me. North Captiva Massage & Yoga would like to inform our clients and prospective customers that we have an offer for email subscribers. We are currently giving a 15% discount on all services for those who join the mailing list of any one of us. This is our way of rewarding you for your ongoing support and loyalty which has seen us become your best choice for massages in Fort Myers. At A prominent Boeing whistleblower released new documents Thursday that point to confusion and chaos in the companys Renton, Washington, factory as it built two 737 Max planes that later crashed, killing 346 people on board in 2018 and 2019. Production issues back then still affect Max planes flying today, alleged Ed Pierson, a former Boeing manager. The released documents include an internal Boeing record that shows a slew of electrical issues were discovered as Boeing assembled the Ethiopian Airlines jet that crashed in 2019. A report from the Federal Aviation Administration in 2018 found employees in another Boeing facility in Everett, Washington, where workers prepare electrical parts that are later put on the planes, were pushed to move too fast and produced defective pieces. Communications between Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines show the plane that later crashed experienced an in-flight safety incident months before the fatal accident. Boeing told the airline that the December 2018 incident was likely the result of an electrical error, the records show. The whistleblower, Pierson, said the records and the earlier safety incident bolster his view that the deadly crash of the Ethiopian jet may have been initiated by an electrical problem. That problem traces back to production issues with electrical wire bundles that Pierson has highlighted. The Foundation for Aviation Safety, an advocacy group that Pierson formed after the crashes to investigate commercial aviation, released the documents on Thursday. Pierson said Boeing should have shared the documents with regulatory investigators looking into the two deadly Max crashes, but did not. Boeing knew the manufacturing was an absolute disaster, he said. Pierson worked at Boeing for more than 10 years and served as a senior manager coordinating fixes for assembly problems on the 737 program. Before he left the company in 2018, he had complained of safety risks from the frantic production pace that summer, months before the first of the fatal crashes. Boeing leadership ignored his concerns, he said. After the crashes, he repeatedly alleged manufacturing defects played a role in the incidents and maintained Thursday that such defects in the current fleet make the Max still unsafe. The FAA, the National Transportation Safety Board and international regulators have not agreed. In both crashes, an error with then-new software the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System or MCAS caused the plane to nosedive. Boeing recently pleaded guilty to misleading safety regulators about MCAS and how much training pilots would need to fly safely. In the case of the Ethiopian crash, the NTSB and its French counterpart concluded that it wasnt an electrical error but a bird strike damaging a sensor that likely triggered the MCAS software. The U.S. agency disputed a report from Ethiopian authorities that said the sensor was triggered by production quality defects. Pierson sent the newly disclosed records to the NTSB, the FAA and the Department of Justice in July, he said. On Thursday, in response to questions about the now-public documents, the FAA said it reviews safety concerns, reports and records it receives and that questions related to the Ethiopian Airlines crash should be directed to the NTSB. The NTSB said questions should be directed to Ethiopian authorities. Boeing said in a statement that it fully cooperated and provided relevant information to the investigation after the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 accident. We defer to the investigative agencies for further information. History of electrical issues Pierson insists the newly released documents point to a history of electrical issues at Boeings facilities that could have contributed to both fatal crashes and may affect other Maxes still flying. The communications between Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines show in December 2018, the plane experienced an uncommanded roll, or an incident when the plane rolls on its own, which can startle the pilot and lead to loss of control of the plane. The December 2018 incident occurred just weeks after Ethiopian Airlines received the aircraft and a few months before the jet crashed. The communication record shows Boeing told the airline it suspected the roll was caused by an electrical fault and instructed the airline to check the planes wiring. The Foundation for Aviation Safety also released a copy of the Shipside Action Tracker an internal database Boeing uses to document, track and resolve issues when building a plane from 2018 production of the Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed. That database shows electric parts were misinstalled and mislabeled, and that there was miscommunication between employees about the work that was done. A 2018 FAA investigation of Boeings Electrical Systems Responsibility Center in Everett, where Boeing produces electrical components for its planes, similarly found issues with the facility. In a copy of the report released Thursday by the foundation, the FAA said Boeing management forced employees to work within time limits that could lead to defective parts leaving the electrical center. It said workers had one minute to preinspect some parts. It also found that rework, the process of taking pieces apart to fix an earlier error before putting it all back together, was not verified by quality assurance. Ongoing production problems The allegations of confusion and chaos in Boeings Renton factory mirror much of what has become public after the panel blowout on another Boeing 737 Max jet in January. In that case, Boeing workers had to remove a panel, known as a door plug, to repair rivets. But, when reinstalling the panel, four bolts meant to secure it in place were missing, leading the piece to blow off the jet at 16,000 feet in the air. Boeing has said it does not have a paper trail of work and rework on the panel. Since the January incident, Boeing has said it will no longer allow planes to move through its factories with missing or defective parts and incomplete jobs. But, on Thursday, Pierson called the steps Boeing has taken so far woefully inadequate. -- Lauren Rosenblatt, The Seattle Times Dominic Gates contributed to this report. 2024 The Seattle Times. Visit seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Canadian National railroad is ending its lockout immediately and moving forward with a plan to get its trains moving again following a government order Thursday to enter forced arbitration with its labor union, according to a rail official. The Canadian government ordered CN and CPKC railroads into arbitration Thursday to end the lockout that began overnight. The rail official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share the news ahead of the announcement. Its still not immediately clear how quickly the trains will resume operating, but ending the lockout is the first step. CPKC hasnt yet said when it will end its lockout. The governments decision helped to avert potentially dire economic consequences for businesses and consumers across the country and in the U.S. Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon announced the decision to order the arbitration at a news conference Thursday moments after The Associated Press broke the news, citing an official familiar with the situation who was not allowed to speak publicly before the official statement. The dispute involves the countrys two major freight railroads Canadian National and CPKC and Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, the union representing nearly 10,000 engineers, conductors and dispatchers. Both CN and CPKC have said that once the dispute enters arbitration the trains will be able to move again, but it wasnt immediately clear how quickly that would happen. MacKinnon said he expects it will be within days. The railroads locked out their employees after a 12:01 a.m. EDT deadline to resolve the dispute with the union passed without agreements. Talks resumed later in the day as workers picketed outside and business groups urged the government to force the arbitration. MacKinnon said the government wanted to give negotiations every chance to succeed, but ultimately the economic risk was too great to allow the lockouts to continue. He had declined to order arbitration a week ago. Canadas economy cannot wait for an agreement that has been delayed for a very long time and when there is a fundamental disagreement between the parties, he said. All of Canadas freight handled by rail worth more than $1 billion Canadian (US$730 million) a day and adding up to more than 375 million tons of freight last year stopped Thursday along with rail shipments crossing the U.S. border. About 30,000 commuters in Canada were also affected because their trains use CPKCs lines. CPKC and CNs trains continued operating in the U.S. and Mexico during the lockout. Many companies in both countries and across all industries rely on railroads to deliver their raw materials and finished products, so they were concerned about a crisis without regular rail service. Billions of dollars of goods move between Canada and the U.S. via rail each month, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Paul Boucher, president of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, said Thursday morning that he believed the railroads were holding the Canadian economy hostage to try and pressure the Liberal government to impose final binding arbitration and take your rights away to free collective bargaining. Trudeau decided not to force the parties into binding arbitration before the deadline passed for fear of offending unions and the leftist NDP party that his government relies on for support to remain in power. In anticipation of the work stoppage, the White House convened a multi-agency Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force to assess the potential impact on U.S. consumers, businesses and workers, according to a Biden administration official. The official was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. Most businesses probably have enough supplies on hand and room to store finished products to withstand a brief disruption. But ports and other railroads would have quickly become clogged with stranded shipments that Canadian National and CPKC wont pick up. Edward Jones analyst Jeff Windau said many companies made supply chain changes after the COVID-19 pandemic that can help them withstand a short disruption. The real trouble starts if it drags on. Most previous Canadian rail stoppages have only lasted a day or two and usually involved only one of the big railroads, but some have stretched as long as eight or nine days. The impact was magnified this time because both railroads had stopped. They are so integrated and tied into the economy, Windau said. Just the breadth of products that they haul. ... Ultimately, I think we need the rails to continue to be running. Chemical businesses and food distributors would have been the first to be affected. The railroads stopped accepting new shipments of hazardous materials and perishable goods as they began gradually shutting down last week, but most chemical plants had said they would be OK for about a week. The auto industry also may have seen problems quickly because it relies on just-in-time shipments, with significant cross-border deliveries of engines, parts and finished vehicles. Flavio Volpe, President of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association, posted on X that about four of every five cars made in Canada are exported to the U.S. almost exclusively by rail. He said a prolonged lockout could cause temporary work stoppages similar to the impact of the five-day 2022 Ambassador Bridge blockade. Union Pacific, one of the U.S. railroads that regularly hands off shipments to and from the Canadians, said the stoppage meant that thousands of cars per day will not move across the border. Everything from grain and fertilizer during the critical summer season, and lumber for building homes could be impacted, Union Pacific said in a statement Thursday. More than 30,000 commuters in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal were the first to feel the pain of the lockouts. They had to scramble Thursday morning to find a new way to work because their commuter trains arent able to operate while CPKC is shut down. CN had been negotiating with the Teamsters for nine months while CPKC had been trying to reach an agreement for a year, the union said. The Canadian negotiations are stuck on issues related to the way rail workers are scheduled and concerns about rules designed to prevent fatigue and provide adequate rest to train crews. Both railroads had proposed shifting away from the existing system, which pays workers based on the miles in a trip, to an hourly system that they said would make it easier to provide predictable time off. The union said it doesnt want to lose hard-fought fatigue protections. The railroads said their contract offers have included raises consistent with recent deals in the industry. Engineers already make about $150,000 a year on Canadian National while conductors earn $120,000, and CPKC says its wages are comparable. When you buy a house after Aug. 17, youll do things differently than before. Rules changed on that date, due to the settlement of an antitrust lawsuit. Unlike before, you will decide how much your real estate agent will be paid for representing you when you buy a home. And your agent wont be paid by the sellers agent. Instead, youll probably ask the homes seller to pay your agent a request that will be subject to negotiation. In short: It wont be the same purchasing process that your parents, siblings and friends went through when they bought their homes before the legal settlement with the National Association of Realtors. Heres how the new process will work. Youll sign an agreement before touring homes Youre browsing real estate websites and youve spotted a house that you want to visit so you can see inside this is known as a home tour. Before a real estate agent escorts you inside, you will be required to sign an agreement that defines what the agent will do for you. The agreement can outline a lightweight and short-term relationship with the agent or it can be a longer-term contract whatever you negotiate. On the lightweight end of the spectrum, you could sign a touring agreement that lasts a day or a week or gives you access to just one or two houses. Think of it as giving the agent an unpaid audition. I give them options. Option one is we could just sign the agreement just for today, says Danielle Rownin, real estate agent with Keller Williams Realty in Connecticut. If the agent and client arent a good fit, she adds, the agreement expires at midnight and were free to move on. Youll sign an agreement even if the agent gives you a virtual tour, which is typically done by walking around the house with a cell phone camera. But you wont have to sign a touring agreement to visit an open house. Likewise, you wont have to sign an agreement for the sellers agent to give you a tour of the home, because that agent is working for the seller and not for you. Youll sign an agreement when the search gets serious At some point, youll officially hire a buyers agent. Youll sign a wordier and longer-term contract that not only describes the agents responsibilities, but also how much the agent will be paid. It might be called a buyer agency agreement, a buyer-broker agreement or a buyer representation agreement. These agreements arent new; in fact, theyve been required in some states. But now theyll be required just about everywhere. This could be the first contract you sign; you dont have to use touring agreements. Or you might build a rapport with an agent during a touring agreement and convert it into a buyer agency contract. Its still possible to buy a house without hiring your own agent to represent you, but its discouraged. Youll negotiate the agents pay The contract will spell out how much you will pay the agent for representing you. It could be a flat fee small or large or it could be a percentage of the purchase price, says Leo Pareja, CEO of eXp Realty. Real estate brokerages will experiment with flat fees and other pay structures such as hourly rates. But for now, most buyers agents will charge commissions that are a percentage of the homes price. Experienced agents might request higher percentages, and newbie agents might ask for less. Youll have to put on your negotiating shoes and push for a commission that works for you. If a buyers agent requests a 3% commission, You should definitely say, That seems high to me. Would you be willing to lower that figure? Thats all you have to say, says Stephen Brobeck, senior fellow for the Consumer Federation of America. Some agents might respond with a lower commission. Others might hold firm, telling you that you get what you pay for. This unyielding approach might impress you if you believe it means theyll advocate zealously for you. Just keep in mind that there are plenty of agents who will compete for your business, and some might charge less. You dont have to sign a contract with the first agent you negotiate with. Percentages are abstract numbers, so doing the math to calculate the cost of the commission in dollars can help you understand what youre committing yourself to. Take a $400,000 home, for example. A 3% commission would amount to $12,000, while a 2.5% commission would cost $10,000. Youll deal with contract elements besides pay The duration of the contract is another thing youll negotiate. The agent might want to lock you in for 90 days, explaining that were in a sellers market and it might take a while to make a successful offer. However, Brobeck says 90 days is too long. You should not accept anything more than 60, and you should ask for 30, he says, explaining that you can renew the contract when it expires (if youre satisfied with your agent). Read the contract thoroughly and ask the agent to explain anything thats unclear. If you still feel confused, seek a lawyers advice it might be worth the price. Watch out for fees on top of the commission, said Wendy Gilch, deputy director of Consumer Advocates In American Real Estate. Admin fees, brokerage fees, transaction fees, regulatory compliance fees are junk fees and buyers should negotiate them out, she said in an email. Theyve become rampant, with some brokerages charging $800 to buyers on top of commission collected. The contract can specify the geographic area it applies to. It can be one address, one or more ZIP codes, a city, a county whatever you negotiate. Gilch recommends against letting the agreement cover the whole state because thats asking too much. You can ask the seller to pay your agents commission When you make an offer on a house, you can ask the seller to pay your agent in what is called a sellers concession. Having the seller pay your agent will be a relief if youre already stressing about how youre going to afford the earnest money deposit, the down payment and the closing costs. Your agents commission will be thousands of dollars, and many buyers dont have that kind of money lying around. The seller has the ability to pay the buyers agent, says Courtney Johnson Rose, president of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers, an industry group for Black agents. Thats the sellers prerogative. Heres an example of how it can work: You offer $400,000 for the house on the condition that the seller pays your agent 2.5%, or $10,000. That means the seller nets $390,000 before paying the listing agent, taxes and closing costs. You might find that the seller already has indicated a willingness to pay a concession of, say, up to 3% of the purchase price to pay the buyers agent or contribute to closing costs. In such a case, the seller wont object to your request for money to pay your agent. Even if the seller hasnt signaled a willingness to pay your agent, you can still ask. It might be in the sellers interest to pay. Sellers who choose to offer said compensation will attract more buyers, get the best price and sell more quickly, Rownin said in an email. In a welcome change in policy, VA borrowers home buyers with loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs will be allowed to pay their agents directly or via seller concession. How negotiating a better deal can land you a home Finally, a word on the value of negotiating a lower commission with your agent. Look again at the example in which you offer $400,000 and ask the seller to pass along 2.5% of it, or $10,000, to your agent. Now imagine a competing buyer who also offers $400,000 but asks for 3%, or $12,000, to pay their agent. Your offer lets the seller collect $2,000 more. The difference could tip the offer in your favor because you negotiated a better deal with your agent. More From NerdWallet Holden Lewis writes for NerdWallet. Email: hlewis@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @HoldenL. Portland police and federal Homeland Security agents descended on the home of a Portland Public Schools teacher on Friday morning. They arrested him after agents with a search warrant and a Milwaukie police dog searched his home. The suspected crime: luring a minor. The arrest of Craig Douglas-Meyers, who also goes by the last name Meyers, is the culmination of a monthlong investigation of the Hosford Middle School math teacher. Portland police said they are concerned that Hosford Middle School teacher Craig Douglas-Meyers, pictured here, may have had inappropriate contact with minors and urge anyone with information to contact police.Courtesy of Portland Police Bureau On July 18, the Yuba City, Calif., police department alerted the Portland Police Bureau that a Portland man was a subject in an undercover investigation that included a police officer posing online as a 13-year-old child, the Police Bureau said in a statement. The online conversations were initiated by Douglas-Meyers, police say, and were sexual in nature and involved discussions on how to meet. These conversations between Douglas-Meyers, 38, and the Yuba City detective led Portland police and Homeland Security to serve a search warrant on Douglas-Meyers home and arrest him, police said. Portland Public Schools spokesperson Sydney Kelly said Douglas-Meyers will be placed on paid administrative leave. There is no information that we are aware of that any PPS students were impacted, Kelly said in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive. In an about me page on Google Classroom, Douglas-Meyers said he has been teaching since 2008, and has taught middle-school math, science and writing, as well as advanced calculus to high schoolers. I have worked in the Beaverton, Evergreen and Portland Public School districts, he wrote, adding that hed worked at Roseway Heights Middle School and Irvington K-8 before going to Hosford. He grew up near Sandy and attended Portland State, where he earned a dual degree in math and science, Douglas-Meyers wrote. He received a teaching degree from the University of Portland. At Hosford, Douglas-Meyers was the advisor to the schools math club and a fan of self-paced learning, in which students watched instructional videos he had created for them, then used class time for hands-on work and teacher feedback. Douglas-Meyers wrote that he was a proponent of the Portland Public School Districts move to proficiency grading, which eschews factors outside of classwork like turning in assignments on time and behaving well in class in favor of zeroing in on how well students master specific academic skills. Mary Tyler, the president of the Hosford Parent-Teachers Association, declined to comment on the news of Douglas-Meyers arrest on Friday, but word was spreading quickly via social media, with parents urging each other to check in with their children, to see if they had anything untoward to report. Police said they are concerned that Douglas-Meyers may have victimized children in the past and urge anyone with information about him to contact Officer Aaron Rizzo at aaron.rizzo@police.portlandoregon.gov . Tatum Todd covers crime and public safety. Reach them at ttodd@oregonian.com , or 503-221-4313. Julia Silverman covers education policy and schools for The Oregonian/OregonLive. She can be reached via email at jsilverman@oregonian.com. Follow her on X.com at @jrlsilverman. Note: this article has been updated with additional material. Lithuania opens first counter-mobility equipment park as part of new Baltic Defence Line Lithuania has unveiled what it calls its first counter-mobility park in the country's east, part of the Baltic Defence Line slowly taking shape on NATO's eastern frontier. The area features roadblocks, various barriers and 'dragon's teeth' anti-tank obstacles. "If we want to defend ourselves efficiently we have to set up this system. So we are doing this and the entire plan of the Lithuanian defence line that we presented three weeks ago is based on such a systemic approach where physical barriers are integrated with artillery fire coverage," said defence minister, Laurynas Kasciunas. The zone in Pabrade, near the border with Belarus, also includes traditional obstacles like 'hedgehogs' and 'Spanish horses' which can be deployed quickly elsewhere in the case of an attack. "The war in Ukraine laid bare the staying power of classics. One can talk about air superiority, naval superiority, land superiority and joint warfare - but obstacles, they do their job, they slow down or stop the enemy which allows us to destroy it or channel it somewhere where we will destroy it," chief of defence Raimundas Vaiksnoras told reporters. In late July, the Lithuanian government green lit plans to implement increased counter-mobility measures, including setting up roadblocks and installing structures for explosives under bridges. Plans call for setting up counter-mobility equipment parks at locations designated by the army along the border with Belarus in the east and to the west, Russia's Kaliningrad region by April 2025. While the immediate measures will cost around 17.5 million, the cost of the entire defence system is estimated to require some 600 million over the next decade. The Lithuanian defence line will form a part of the system of fortifications agreed by Baltic defence ministers in January. Poland is also set to fortify its eastern border under its own East Shield initiative and construction on Latvias first phase of the Baltic Defence Line in the easternmost region of Latgale is under way. Equipment at Lithuania's counter-mobility defence park in Pabrade, August 22, 2024 - SCREENSHOT FROM EBU VIDEO 2024_10252785 Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian and Polish leaders signed a letter in June urging the EU to fund an estimated 2.5 billion defence line against military and hybrid threats from the East. The Baltic States signed an agreement in January to create a common defence line to reinforce NATO's eastern border with both Russia and its close ally Belarus. Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia were once all part of the Soviet Union but are now part of the EU and NATO and are allies of Ukraine, where Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022. In 2020, 60,000 birds died of botulism caused by low water conditions in the Klamath National Wildlife Refuge. On Aug. 6, it was discovered that Tule Lake is again infected and, at a minimum, hundreds of waterbirds have already died, according to the Bird Alliance of Oregon. The trajectory looks likely to be a repeat of 2020 if water levels arent raised immediately. Birds have used these lakes for thousands of years as a rest and feeding stop during migration. Now the refuge may have nothing to offer but a gruesome death. We cant have both agriculture and a healthy refuge. Its time to cash out the farmers fairly and give the water to the refuge where it belongs. Watering a desert has never been sustainable, nor has it been natures plan. End the fight once and for all. Give the birds the water. Mary Hayden, Oregon City To read more letters to the editor, go to oregonlive.com/opinion. The Democratic National Convention was a destination for party members across the country to join and discuss their plan to win the election. As delegates, speakers, and politicians walked the halls McCormick Place in Chicago this week it was evident: Pro-Palestinian wear was all the rave. Uncommitted Delegate Jonathan Simonds told Reckon that seeing the movements buttons and stoles worn around the convention, and having people walk to him to ask where they can get one, brought visibility to the popularity of the issue. I was inspired to see that, Simonds said. When the top leaders of the party walk into the convention hall at the United Center and look around, they see us. They see our movement, and they know that were not going away. Keffiyehs, the traditional Arab headdress that has become a symbol of Palestinian solidarity, were draped over shoulders and wrapped around necks. Democrats for Palestinian Rights stoles adorned formal attire, while pro-Palestinian bags and buttons punctuated the sea of blue and red typical of such gatherings. Daniel Denvir, an alternate Undocumented delegate for Rhode Island said he wore his Democrats for Palestinian Rights gear to support his fellow Uncommitted delegates, the Palestinian people, and to send a message to the administration. For me, its absolutely of the greatest moral urgency that the U.S. stop sending bombs to Israel, that Israel is using to commit a genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, he said. And [were here] to make it clear that supporting Palestinian Liberation and an end to the genocide is a mainstream democratic issue that the party needs to urgently make a shift. I was charging my phone in the DNC hallway (Im the alternate uncommitted delegate from RI), Jimmy Carters grandson Jason Carter spotted my keffiyeh-pattern stole, thanked me, and gave me a fist bump https://t.co/bvGksAwHoK pic.twitter.com/q3LcVRGko0 Daniel Denvir (@DanielDenvir) August 21, 2024 The fashion trend at the DNC is more than skin-deep. It reflects a growing movement within the Democratic Party pushing for a shift in U.S. policy towards Israel and Palestine. This movement gained significant traction during the primary season, with more than 700,000 Democratic voters casting uncommitted ballots. This unprecedented show of protest voiced concern over President Bidens support of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus military campaign in the Gaza Strip and the resulting humanitarian crisis. The presence of these Uncommitted delegates at the DNC underscores the depth of this issue within the party. Layla Elabed, co-chair of the Uncommitted National Movement, emphasized the urgency of the situation during Mondays Voices for Justice panel at the convention: All of us being here in this room, being on this panel, is not going to save lives, she said. A policy change, a policy shift, a change in course, is the only thing right now that will accomplish a ceasefire and save lives and end the occupation of Palestinians. Packed house for the Palestine panel at the DNC. This feels like a defining moment in so many ways. I saw so many wearing ceasefire pins, shirts, flags, and kuffiyehs in the halls too. pic.twitter.com/uaXxFYO8Hu Rep. Ruwa Romman (@Ruwa4Georgia) August 19, 2024 Just hours later, a banner that read Stop Arming Israel, was ripped from the hands of protesters seated at the United Center. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned the DNC audience member for assaulting the Muslim delegate who was holding the Stop Arming Israel sign. In a strong statement, CAIR called for criminal charges to be filed against the individual responsible for the assault. Im at the DNC. Palestinian protestors quietly held up a cloth banner, I assume calling for a ceasefire, and two white men violently snatched it out of their hands. Prior to this people were told to hold up their signs to cover the banner as Biden spoke about democracy. #DNC2024 pic.twitter.com/oZrxgYLg92 Renee Bracey Sherman (@RBraceySherman) August 20, 2024 After DNC proceedings wrapped, I spoke with Babar Khan a delegate wearing a keffiyeh from MN. He called himself Committed to the party & understanding of Kamala Harris limited influence over current Gaza policy but keen to see a statement shell move in a different direction pic.twitter.com/avEdb1MfzV Akbar Shahid Ahmed (@AkbarSAhmed) August 21, 2024 You dont have to be uncommitted to support human rights, Minnesota Delegate Babar Khan told HuffPost senior diplomatic correspondent Akbar Shahid Ahmed. As the week progressed, tensions flared Wednesday night when the Uncommitted movements request to have a Palestinian-American speaker on stage was denied by the Harris administration. Delegates staged a sit-in, which is currently ongoing at the time of publication. The decision also led to the disbanding of Muslim Women for Harris-Walz, a pro-Harris group, who stated they could not in good conscience continue their support in light of this development. By Thursday morning, the number of keffiyehs in the DNC halls had dwindled from the first day of the convention, presumably in support of Pro-Palestinian events that occurred in other areas of the city, or in support of the sit-in. As the convention progresses, the question remains: Will this visible show of solidarity translate into concrete policy changes? The Democratic Partys approach to the Israel-Palestine conflict could prove to be a defining issue in the upcoming election, potentially influencing voter turnout and support among key demographics. Recent polling data underscores the political significance of this issue. A survey conducted by YouGov for the Institute for Middle Eastern Understanding (IMEU) Policy Project in key swing states revealed that a substantial portion of Democratic and Independent voters would be more likely to support Vice President Kamala Harris if she backed cutting off weapons to Israeli forces. The poll found that across Arizona, Georgia, and Pennsylvania, 80% or more of Democrats and Independents support a permanent cease-fire, while 60% or more disapprove of sending more weapons to Israel. Metro area residents will wake to wet street early Friday as rain that fell overnight continues into the morning. The National Weather Service says the Portland/Vancouver area, as of 3 a.m. Friday, has observed 24-hour rain totals from 0.05-0.25 inches. Portland will see showers most of the day Friday with possible thunderstorms in the afternoon. The high may only reach about 64 degrees. This would almost tie the record low high temp of the date of 63 that was set in 1960. Shower chances continue overnight and into Saturday. Portland has a 50% chances of rain during the day, but showers should be less widespread than they were on Friday. The high will be about 68 degrees. All of northwest Oregon and southwest Washington should be dry on Sunday. High temps are expected to warm into the 70s in most locations due to the building of a high pressure ridge. Portlands high on Sunday should hit about 76 degrees. With all the rain weve had over the past few days its hard to believe weve still got about a month of summer left. But next weeks weather will remind us. Sunny and warm conditions will move back in by Monday with highs reaching back into the 80s (except along the coast). Temps may be slightly cooler Tuesday with more cloud cover, but Portland could see temperatures move back into the upper 80s or low 90s by Thursday of next week. "When I was in high school, I started to notice something about my best friend Wanda. She was sad at school. And there were times she didnt want to go home. "So, one day, I asked if everything was alright. And she confided in me that she was being sexually abused by her step-father. And I immediately told her she had to come stay with us. And she did. "That is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor. To protect people like Wanda. ... "With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a New Way Forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans. "I know there are people of various political views watching tonight. And I want you to know: I promise to be a President for all Americans. ... "I will be a President who unites us around our highest aspirations. A President who leads and listens. Who is realistic. Practical. And has common sense. And always fights for the American people. From the courthouse to the White House, that has been my lifes work. ... "We know what a second Trump term would look like. Its all laid out in 'Project 2025.' ... In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious Consider the power he will haveespecially after the United States Supreme Court just ruled he would be immune from criminal prosecution. ... "We know a strong middle class has always been critical to Americas success. And building that middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency. This is personal for me. The middle class is where I come from. ... "Fellow Americans, I love our country with all my heart. Everywhere I go in everyone I meetI see a nation ready to move forward. Ready for the next step, in the incredible journey that is America. Drinking water with fluoride levels at twice the recommended limit could significantly impact the IQ levels in children, according to a US government report. The US National Toxicology Program found that drinking water with fluoride levels exceeding 1.5 milligrams per liter has been associated with lower IQ in children, the report noted. That is well above the 0.7 milligrams per liter of water limit set by federal health officials in 2015. That being said, it is within the safe limit (0.15) set by the World Health Organization (WHO), per the Associated Press. It was not immediately clear how many IQ points children could lose when exposed to varying levels of fluoride. However, some of the studies noted in the report suggested a loss of between two to five IQ points in children who had been exposed to high levels of fluoride. Low IQ in Children Linked to High Levels of Flouride in Drinking Water Apart from lower IQ in children, the report also found that approximately 0.6% of the US population, or roughly 1.9 million individuals, are currently being exposed to drinking water with fluoride levels of 1.5 milligrams per liter or more. The water comes from systems with naturally occurring fluoride levels exceeding the recommended limit. The report did not include the potential risks of exposure to lower levels of fluoride, saying that further study is required. It is also unclear how high levels of fluoride affect adults. The report analyzed information from studies on the effect of fluoride on children conducted in Canada, China, India, Iran, Mexico, and Pakistan. Other Studies on the Effects of Flouride in Children The National Toxicology Program is not the first institution to analyze the effects of fluoride in children. In May, a study published in JAMA Network Open linked greater fluoride intake by pregnant mothers to behavioral problems in toddlers. Specifically, the study found that children who were exposed to high fluoride levels while inside the womb were 83% more likely to experience temper tantrums, headaches, stomachaches, and symptoms related to autism. The study did not find any correlation between fluoride exposure and "externalizing behaviors" in toddlers such as aggression and attention problems. RELATED ARTICLES: What Parents Need to Know About Fluoride for Children I notice that there are some (including the lamentable Salt Lake Tribune which, Im told, is the only newspaper in America to have succeeded in a campaign to deprive women of the vote and this) who are ginning up controversy about the fact that Tina Descovich, a co-founder of the conservative organization Moms for Liberty and, it appears, a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is speaking (or has spoken) this year at Brigham Young Universitys annual Education Week. Some are mocking the organizations name, saying that its not for liberty but, rather, for book banning and an assault on intellectual freedom. Several cite the Southern Poverty Law Centers labeling of Moms for Liberty as an extremist hate group. They demand that BYU rescind her right to speak on its campus. (Remember, this is about intellectual freedom.) A few vow never to donate any money to the University I wonder if they ever actually have donated and others announce that allowing such a speaker justifies their decisions to renounce the Church. Well, I think that I want to respond to this matter. First of all, I wish to observe that judgments issued by the Southern Poverty Law Center are not the final word on whether or not something is a hate group, and that they should not be taken as such. Consider, for example, this trio of articles, which offer a somewhat less than full-throated endorsement of the SPLC: For the rest, Ill use a passage in this 11 October 2023 article from USA Today, which is more general and which does not refer either to Brigham Young University or BYU Education Week or Tina Descovich, as a jumping-off point for what I want to say: Whats behind the national surge in book bans? A low-tech website tied to Moms for Liberty Im triggered, as the expression goes, by the passing comment that Requests for Reconsideration or Review of Instructional Materials are commonly known as book ban requests. And perhaps, of course, they commonly are so known. But, very plainly, they shouldnt be. They are very different from actual book bans. (Please, for purposes of comparison, examine carefully the historical photos of real book bans above and below.) School curricula for elementary, junior high, and high school classrooms allow for relatively little reading. Very few books can be included in the curriculum. Books that are not included which inescapably includes the vast majority of published books havent been banned. They simply havent been chosen for inclusion in the required classroom reading. Or they havent been approved for purchase by a school library. And, once again, even the largest school library has only a finite budget for buying books and only finite space on its shelves for displaying them, and even the largest school library will lack far more books than it houses. My home library is quite extensive. (In self-defense, I sometimes remind my wife that my habit might have been cocaine, rather than books. In response, she observes that cocaine would occupy less space.) But I dont have a single novel by 2023s bestselling author, Sarah J. Maas, on my bookshelves, or my floors, or my kitchen table). Why not? Have I banned her? Hardly. When I was in high school, I was required to read Thomas Hardys Tess of the dUrbervilles and Alfred Lord Tennysons Idylls of the King. And Im glad that I did. I have loved those books ever since. But we didnt read Hardys Jude the Obscure or Far from the Madding Crowd or The Mayor of Casterbridge. I read those later. Nor did we read anything else by Tennyson, so far as I can recall. Not because those other works had been banned, but simply because the reading list was relatively short and other things had been included in their stead. Many years ago, I read and thoroughly enjoyed Ivanhoe, by Sir Walter Scott. Currently, at bedtime, Im slowly reading his much less famous novel Quentin Durward. Neither had been banned. We read John Steinbecks Grapes of Wrath but, unless Im misremembering, nothing by William Faulkner. If we had read a Faulkner novel, something would presumably have had to go. Should we have jettisoned The Grapes of Wrath? Tess of the dUrbervilles? My high school library in Southern California contained not a single work by Hugh Nibley. Had he been banned? No, but including his books in that public school library would, pretty obviously, have been quite inappropriate. On the other hand, it contained The Voyage of the Beagle and The Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin. Perfectly fine with me. I have not followed the efforts of Moms for Liberty and I had never before heard of Tina Descovich. From what I can tell, though, they are simply exercising their right as parents to exercise input on the curricular choices and the library purchases of the schools that their children attend. Do I necessarily agree with their book recommendations or their opposition to certain books? No. I know nothing of what they specifically favor or disfavor. But it doesnt really matter, because I fully support their right to try to influence school and library administrators. And if anybody wants to seriously argue that parents shouldnt have such a right then I say, in that case, let the public school system collapse. I dont believe in tyranny. If I oppose a particular attempt to bar a book from the curriculum or from the school library, I have the right as a citizen to take my opposition to the educational authorities and make my case. A few years ago, there were calls in certain areas to drop Mark Twains Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn from the curriculum because the racial attitudes recorded in those books grate on our delicate modern sensibilities. Had that occurred in my area, I would have mounted the barricades for a fight within minutes, not only because I regard them as great novels and view Twain as one of the greatest of our writers, but because condemning them as racist is, in my view, mind-numbingly stupid: They are brilliantly anti-racist books. And they provide a wonderful opportunity to discuss racism and other deeply important matters.) Failure to include a book in a school curriculum or in a library is absolutely not banning the book. So long as publishing the book isnt forbidden, it hasnt been banned. This shouldnt be hard to grasp. Obscuring the difference between banning a book and merely failing to include it in a public school is sloppy, at a minimum, and arguably dishonest. This article was posted today on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: Hugh Nibley Observed: A Mighty Kauri Has Fallen: Hugh Winder Nibley (19102005), written by Louis Midgley: Even though what I offer is a personal remembrance, I hope that what I have to say will in some measure speak both for and to others whose lives have or should have been influenced by him. Obviously, others have their own stories of how and why they came to know (or know of) Nibley and thus how they were influenced by his example and scholarship. Even though they may never have known him directly, many came to appreciate him through what he wrote, the talks he gave, or the classes he taught. It may be that some who did not know him personally will discover that, without even being aware of what was happening, they were influenced by Hugh Nibley. I have discovered that each person who knew him, even through his talks or writings, found or fashioned a different personaone often suited to his or her own biases, needs, and longings. Part of our book chapter reprint series, this article originally appeared in Hugh Nibley Observed, edited by Jeffrey M. Bradshaw, Shirley S. Ricks, and Stephen T. Whitlock. For more information, go to https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/hugh-nibley-observed/. And, finally, I close with some material from the Christopher Hitchens Memorial How Religion Poisons Everything File: Church Works With Nonprofit iDE to Increase Self-Reliance for Women Farmers in Ghana: Church of Jesus Christ funds project providing agricultural training, seed and other support to 1,000 farmers But there is hope in Nicaragua! Imagine! as John Lennon would have put it: Nicaragua forces 1,500 churches, nonprofits to close Its Late Development / Two 4th Century Witnesses / Protestant Commentators on Revelation 12 / Biblical Arguments Dr. Gavin Ortlund is a Reformed Baptist author, speaker, pastor, scholar, and apologist for the Christian faith. He has a Ph.D. from Fuller Theological Seminary in historical theology, and an M.Div from Covenant Theological Seminary. Gavin is the author of seven books as well as numerous academic and popular articles. For a list of publications, see his CV. He runs the very popular YouTube channel Truth Unites, which seeks to provide an irenic voice on theology, apologetics, and the Christian life. See also his website, Truth Unites and his blog. In my opinion, he is currently the best and most influential popular-level Protestant apologist (see my high praise ), who (especially) interacts with and offers thoughtful critiques of Catholic positions, from a refreshing ecumenical (not anti-Catholic), but nevertheless solidly Protestant perspective. Thats what I want to interact with, so I have issued many replies to Gavin and will continue to do so. I use RSV for all Bible passages unless otherwise specified. * Dave, thanks for engaging my stuff. People often ask to dialogue or engage and then are disappointed when I decline. Unfortunately I have to say no to most things. . . . if you are expecting regular responses, Im afraid that is not realistic right now. Again, thanks for your engagement here. [Im] grateful you give my work so much attention, and I only apologize [that] Im not able to respond more. I think in the past Ive explained a little bit about why. This is my 31st reply to his material. He has made just one lengthy and substantial reply to my critiques thus far. Why is that? His own explanation is simply lack of time. He wrote on my Facebook page on 17 April 2024 : Again, on 23 August 2024 he commented on my Facebook page: * blue . All of my replies to Gavin are collected on the top of my Calvinism & General Protestantism web page in the section, Replies to Reformed Baptist Gavin Ortlund. Gavins words will be in ***** This is my response to Gavins video, Why Marys Assumption Is Indefensible (8-17-23), which at the time of this writing has garnered 59,182 views and 3,069 comments. I think it deserves a solid reply from a Catholic apologist. Glad to do it! * 1:12 I think Trent [Horn] is a good apologist and I enjoy engaging his work. . . . Im happy to dialogue with him on this too if he wants * He is a good apologist. I hope that one day Gavin will enjoy engaging my work as well. I dont think its that bad, if I do say so myself. At the very least, I think I offer significant food for thought, if nothing else, and agree or disagree. As the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to water, but you cant make it drink. * 1:18 now Ive done other videos on this topic, but this one will be the most updated the most thorough. I put a lot of work into it. Some of this information Im not aware is out there available elsewhere so I hope this will really be helpful . . . I think this will be one of my more important videos * Thats what I like to interact with: his best shot at this topic. * 1:54 I know that hearing your beliefs criticized can be uncomfortable and even painful I know what thats like * Indeed. Maybe Im weird, but I find it fun because its challenging, thought-provoking, and keeps us honest. As an apologist, it almost always stimulates new arguments in me, if I dont concede the point (as I have many times). Dialogue helps us respect and understand each other a lot better, even if no one is dissuaded from their position, and thats a good thing. * 2:19 this is not a game; this is not just an intellectual exercise, and when we treat it like that it becomes ugly and cruel and it can destroy people. Weve all seen people destroyed by the ugliness of apologetics and how that can go * Very true. I agree 100%. But I am quick to add that we also see millions of souls destroyed because they didnt care about apologetics at all, or about how to integrate faith and reason, or about knowing why they believe what they say they already believe or want to believe or better understand, as the case may be. We must do apologetics with gentleness and love (1 Pet 3:15) or its worthless. Gavin is an excellent role model in that respect, and I always strive to do the same. Im sure I dont always succeed, but its my constant goal and vision, and has been since I began serious apologetics in 1981. * 2:37 you should never cause any more pain than is necessary. Some pain and discomfort is inevitable when two different ideologies clash. Its uncomfortable, its awkward, its hard, its frustrating at times, its jarring. So thats just inevitable to some extent. * Indeed it is. It can also be fun and stimulating if we maintain an open mind and the proper humility. But in my experience, unfortunately most people dont like to be disagreed with or challenged in any way, and very few have any interest in true dialogue. * 4:04 I do I feel that love for these other traditions for the people in them but we should not hold back from contending for truth and seeking the truth with all of our heart * Amen; I do, too, and I agree. Seek the truth. My old Protestant campus ministry was called True Truth Ministries: from a phrase in Francis Schaeffer, whom Gavin mentioned and cited. I have immense respect for Protestants (many dear friends) and Protestantism, as I have stated and written about many times. And I have honest disagreements with them. The two are not mutually exclusive at all. In this seeking of truth, folks will continue to honestly disagree in good faith, and we mustnt demonize them when they do. * 4:17 I think the evidence against the Assumption of Mary is overwhelming. It gives every indication of being a post-apostolic accretion that seems to originate in heterodox groups and only slowly worms its way into the doctrine and piety and liturgy of the church over the course of many centuries, as we shall see. And yet it has been made by several churches into an obligatory irreformable part of the Christian faith * We say in reply that it can be grounded in the Bible not explicitly proven, but shown to be harmonious with it, and even indicated in some ways. Protestants always seem to demand explicit proof of any doctrine, yet there is none at all for the canon of New Testament Scripture, and even historically it was only known in its complete form no earlier than 367 (in St. Athanasius). There is no explicit proof for sola Scriptura, as some Protestants are willing to admit (notably, recently, Gavins friend, the Lutheran apologist Jordan Cooper). It must be deduced from Scripture, just as the Assumption is. Lastly, Scripture never states that all doctrines must be explicitly proven from the Bible, and it does indicate an authoritative, doctrine-affirming Church and tradition. * an obligatory irreformable part of the Christian faith in my last article: a reply to Gavins I went through this business of doctrines being in my last article: a reply to Gavins video on Marys Immaculate Conception , and noted several instances of Protestants making these demands, just as Catholics do (reading people out of Christianity if they disagree). So lets have no more double standards. It gets very wearisome. I will point them out as I run across them, every time. That doesnt help me be more popular or loved by one and all (Jesus said we inevitably wouldnt be, anyway, if we truly follow Him), but it does keep me honest and truthful. * 6:27 Ive said this several times: it represents an area where our traditions (Protestant and Roman Catholic) are drifting further apart, and the same is true for the Immaculate Conception. * * 7:54 if something is declared as an infallible dogma, then that sets the stakes pretty high and its totally appropriate to give it some critical reflection * Absolutely, Bring it on. And we will defend Catholic dogmas (and return the favor and criticize what we believe to be false and unbiblical Protestant doctrines). Unfortunately, after we apologists and theologians do that, the dialogue usually ends and our critics disappear or discover that they have many more important things to do instead. To me, thats when serious, constructive should begin: after both sides go one round. The second round and further rounds are what are most interesting and fun. But sadly, very very few are ever willing to pursue anything that far. * 8:18 anathemas are not wrong in principle; anathemas are biblical (Galatians 1 or 1 Corinthians 16:22). * I made this point in my last article , too. Glad to see that Gavin agrees and notes this. I dont see how he or any Christians who believes in biblical inspiration could disagree. Paul is very clear about it. * 9:54 it appears to be something close to a scholarly consensus that the Assumption of Mary only comes into the church in the late 5th Century between 450 and 500. * In terms of being widespread or mentioned very much, I agree. And why was that? I would say that the slow development of Mariology was no different than many other doctrines where both sides agree (such as the creed and the canon and trinitarianism), per St. John Henry Newmans historical analysis: It is a less difficulty that the Papal supremacy was not formally acknowledged in the second century, than that there was no formal acknowledgment on the part of the Church of the doctrine of the Holy Trinity till the fourth. No doctrine is defined till it is violated. . . . If the Imperial Power checked the development of Councils, it availed also for keeping back the power of the Papacy. The Creed, the Canon, in like manner, both remained undefined. The Creed, the Canon, the Papacy, Ecumenical Councils, all began to form, as soon as the Empire relaxed its tyrannous oppression of the Church. ( Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine , 1845; revised 1878; Part I: ch. 4, sec. 3 Newman in this same classic work gave the analogous example of original sin (accepted by Protestants and Catholics alike) as another slow-developing doctrine: (2.) Original Sin I have already remarked upon the historical fact, that the recognition of Original Sin, considered as the consequence of Adams fall, was, both as regards general acceptance and accurate understanding, a gradual process, not completed till the time of Augustine and Pelagius. St. Chrysostom lived close up to that date, but there are passages in his works, often quoted, which we should not expect to find worded as they stand, if they had been written fifty years later. It is commonly, and reasonably, said in explanation, that the fatalism, so prevalent in various shapes pagan and heretical, in the first centuries, was an obstacle to an accurate apprehension of the consequences of the fall, as the presence of the existing {127} idolatry was to the use of images. If this be so, we have here an instance of a doctrine held back for a time by circumstances, yet in the event forcing its way into its normal shape, and at length authoritatively fixed in it, that is, of a doctrine held implicitly, then asserting itself, and at length fully developed. (Ibid., I have already remarked upon the historical fact, that the recognition of Original Sin, considered as the consequence of Adams fall, was, both as regards general acceptance and accurate understanding, a gradual process, not completed till the time of Augustine and Pelagius. St. Chrysostom lived close up to that date, but there are passages in his works, often quoted, which we should not expect to find worded as they stand, if they had been written fifty years later. It is commonly, and reasonably, said in explanation, that the fatalism, so prevalent in various shapes pagan and heretical, in the first centuries, was an obstacle to an accurate apprehension of the consequences of the fall, as the presence of the existing {127} idolatry was to the use of images. If this be so, we have here an instance of a doctrine held back for a time by circumstances, yet in the event forcing its way into its normal shape, and at length authoritatively fixed in it, that is, of a doctrine held implicitly, then asserting itself, and at length fully developed. (Ibid., Part I: ch. 4, sec. 1, 2 Then he gave his opinion as to why Marian doctrines developed relatively late: I have said that there was in the first ages no public and ecclesiastical recognition of the place which St. Mary holds in the Economy of grace; this was reserved for the fifth century, as the definition of our Lords proper Divinity had been the work of the fourth. There was a controversy contemporary with those already mentioned, I mean the Nestorian, which brought out the complement of the development, to which they had been subservient; and which, if I may so speak, supplied the subject of that august proposition of which Arianism had provided the predicate. In order to do honour to Christ, in order to defend the true doctrine of the Incarnation, in order to secure a right faith in the manhood of the Eternal Son, the Council of Ephesus determined the Blessed Virgin to be the Mother of God. Thus all heresies of that day, though opposite to each other, tended in a most wonderful way to her exaltation; and the School of Antioch, the fountain of primitive rationalism, led the Church to determine first the conceivable greatness of a creature, and then the incommunicable dignity of the Blessed Virgin. (Ibid., Part I: ch. 4, sec. 2, 10 The title of theotokos, or Mother of God, which Gavin agrees with and doesnt make an issue of was declared in 431 at the Council of Ephesus. So that was only 19 years before he says the doctrine of the Assumption started coming more into focus. The Two Natures of Christ, of course, were formulated also at this time, at the Council of Chalcedon in 451. 11:37 I reference scholars who say that, to invite people to see, because I dont think people understand how big of a problem this dogma is. I dont think they get how serious the problems are so Im quoting these scholars to try to encourage people to look at what theyre willing to concede Its no more of a problem than are all the other doctrines (where we agree) like the canon, the creed, original sin, trinitarianism, Two Natures of Christ, the personhood and Deity of the Holy Spirit, the dogma of theotokos , that started rapidly developing in roughly the same time frame. Its a non-issue, as Newman amply and ably explained. *** Please Hit Subscribe! If you have received benefit from this or any of my other 4,800+ articles, please follow my blog by signing up (with your email address) on the sidebar to the right (you may have to scroll down a bit), above where there is an icon bar, Sign Me Up!: to receive notice when I post a new blog article. This is the equivalent of subscribing to a YouTube channel. My blog was rated #1 for Christian sites by leading AI tool, ChatGPT: endorsed by influential Protestant blogger Adrian Warnock. Please also consider following me on Twitter / X and purchasing one or more of my 55 books. All of this helps me get more exposure, and (however little!) more income for my full-time apologetics work. Thanks so much and happy reading! *** 13:34 Epiphanius [c. 310320 403] says nothing about a bodily assumption to heaven. That has to be read into the text. Not at all. I just wrote about this topic about five weeks ago on my Facebook page. He wrote: And if I should say anything more in her praise, [she is] like Elijah, who was virgin from his mothers womb, always remained so, and was taken up and has not seen death. (Panarion, c. 378; Against Collyridians: from section 79 of The Panarion of Epiphanius of Salamis Books II and III. De Fide, second revised version, translated by Frank Williams, Boston: Brill, 2013, p. 641; my italics) Taken up pretty obviously refers to her Assumption. And this was written about 72 years before Gavin claimed the Assumption of Mary. . . comes into the church (i.e., after 450). Even the canon of the New Testament had not yet been defined at that time. St. Athanasius was the first to name all 27 books in one place only about eleven years earlier. So, the Assumption is a late doctrine? Yes, provided we also say the same about many other far less controversial doctrines. But here, Gavin was unaware that Epiphanius expressly asserted Marys Assumption. Tim Staples (whose book on Mary Gavin mentioned), observed: St. Epiphanius clearly indicates his personal agreement with the idea that Mary was assumed into heaven without ever having died. He will elsewhere clarify the fact that he is not certain, and no one is, at least not definitively so, about whether or not she died. But he never says the same about the Assumption itself. That did not seem to be in doubt. By comparing her to Elijah he indicates that she was taken up bodily just as the Church continues to teach 1,600 years later. Looks pretty straightforward to me. I dont know why Gavin has such a hard time seeing that he affirmed the Assumption of Mary. Taken up can only mean so many things, and if it is directly compared to Elijah, its definitely an Assumption up into heaven. Elijah did so in his body as well. He comes back to the topic later in his video, so well see what he says (I am answering as I read the transcript, per my usual custom). * Tim Staples brings up another fourth-century reference: According to Fr. [Michael] OCarroll (in his [2000] book, Theotokos: A Theological Encyclopedia of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 388), we now have what some believe to be a fourth-century homily on the prophet Simeon and the Blessed Virgin Mary by Timothy, a priest of Jerusalem, which asserts Mary is immortal to the present time through him who had his abode in her and who assumed and raised her above the higher regions. Gavin then claims (15:39) that Isidore of Seville (c. 560 636) is the next patristic witness to the Assumption. He overlooked Gregory of Tours, who wrote a little earlier: The Apostles took up her body on a bier and placed it in a tomb; and they guarded it, expecting the Lord to come. And behold, again the Lord stood by them; and the holy body having been received, He commanded that it be taken in a cloud into paradise: where now, rejoined to the soul, [Mary] rejoices with the Lords chosen ones . . . (Eight Books of Miracles, 1:4; between 575-593; see others from after that time) 21:06 the Assumption gets traction within the church in the late 5th century. The book of Marys Repose is a Gnostic legend. This is the first text where you ever have a bodily assumption[of] Mary. I have shown that this occurred about a hundred years earlier with Epiphanius and Timothy, a priest of Jerusalem (orthodox sources: not heretics). Gavin gets back to Epiphanius (41:13) and attempts to make contextual arguments against his assertion that she was bodily assumed. I just dont see it. Maybe Im dense (who knows?). Readers may consult the text, that I link to (go to p. 641 and read all the context you like). I dont see how the portion I cited doesnt mean her Assumption. 44:35 the woman in Revelation 12 is not Mary I have contended that the text has a dual application: to Mary and to the Church; most obviously referring to Mary in verse 5: she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne. Its pretty difficult not to apply that to Mary, since her Son is so obviously the Messiah, Jesus. See, for example: Revelation 19:11-16 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. [12] His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed which no one knows but himself. [13] He is clad in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. [14] And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, followed him on white horses. [15] From his mouth issues a sharp sword with which to smite the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. [16] On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords. (cf. Ps 2:7-9) So who is Jesus mother? Obviously, Mary of Nazareth. It cant be, figuratively the Church, because Jesus established the Church (Matthew 16). It didnt give birth to Him. The Bible never uses a terminology of Jesus being a child (Rev 12:5) of the Church. He is the child of God the Father (His Divine Nature) and of Mary (as a person with both a Divine and human nature). The Church is of Christ; Christ is not of the Church; let alone its child. Those categories are biblically ludicrous and indeed almost blasphemous. Only Jesus is connected directly with that, because He is God. Revelation 7:17 refers to the Lamb in the midst of the throne. Revelation 21: 1 and 3 reference the throne of God and of the Lamb. Compare Matthew 19:28; 25:31; Hebrews 1:8. But Gavin says no; so how would he overcome this evidence? St. Cardinal Newman wrote: What I would maintain is this, that the Holy Apostle would not have spoken of the Church under this particular image, unless there had existed a blessed Virgin Mary, who was exalted on high and the object of veneration to all the faithful. No one doubts that the man-child spoken of is an allusion to our Lord; why then is not the Woman an allusion to his mother? (Letter to Pusey, in Difficulties of Anglicans, Vol. 2, 1875) And if it is Mary in this passage (as well as the Church), then we have an indication of both her veneration and glorification in heaven, akin to the Assumption. Many classic Protestant commentators agree regarding Revelation 12:5, too. Baptist A. T. Robertson (Word Pictures in the New Testament six volumes), says of Rev. 12:5: There is here, of course, direct reference to the birth of Jesus from Mary. Eerdmans Bible Commentary likewise states: the catching up is sufficiently similar to the victorious ascension of Jesus to make plain its real meaning in this context. Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary states: rod of iron . . . ch. 2:27; Psalm 2:9, which passages prove the Lord Jesus to be meant. Any interpretation which ignores this must be wrong. It also notes the reference to the ascension. * Meyers NT Commentary : These words taken from Psalm 2:9 (LXX.), which are referred also to Christ in Revelation 19:15 , make it indubitable that the child born of the woman is the Messiah; but the designation of Christ by these words of the Messianic Psalm is in this passage the most appropriate and significant, since the fact is made prominent that this child just born is the one who with irresistible power will visit in judgment the antichristian heathen. * * And her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. The sentence seems plainly to refer to the ascension of Christ and his subsequent abiding in heaven, from whence he rules all nations. Pulpit Commentary : This reference and Psalm 2:9 leave no doubt as to the identification of the man child. It is Christ who is intended. The same expression is used of him in Revelation 19 , where he is definitely called the Word of God.The sentence seems plainly to refer to the ascension of Christ and his subsequent abiding in heaven, from whence he rules all nations. Coffmans Commentaries on the Bible: These two clauses open and close this verse; and the whole biography of the earthy life, ministry, death, burial, and resurrection of the Son of God is here compressed into nineteen words! The critics have really had a fit about this. Some have even denied that the birth of Christ is mentioned here. . . . Despite such views, the pregnant woman, the travailing in birth, and the delivery of a man child in this passage can mean nothing else except the birth of Christ; and the compression of Jesus whole biography into such a short space is perfectly in harmony with what the author did by presenting the entire Old Testament history in a single verse (Revelation 12:4). To suppose that the birth is not included here would make the passage mean that the woman brought forth his death and resurrection; because the emphatic statements of her pregnancy and her being delivered clearly makes her the achiever of whatever happened in Revelation 12:5. This therefore has to be a reference to Jesus physical birth in Bethlehem. Richard Lenski also agrees. 47:21 even if Revelation 12 was about Mary it simply says nothing about a bodily assumption Were not claiming that it is an explicit description of the Assumption; only that it is consistent with an assumed Mary exalted in terms of veneration, in heaven. Gavin flat-out denied that Mary was referred to, and I submit that that is impossible to do in light of verse 5. 47:28 the woman is seen in heaven in verse 1 prior to all of the events of the chapter; prior to the birth of the Messiah in verse 5 prior to her flight . . . Verse 2 states: she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth. This is referring back to the woman in verse 1: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Then verse 5 clearly is talking about the same person: she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne. Therefore, Mary is the woman of Revelation 12, at least in these passages (most relevant to our topic). Other parts apply to the Church. 47:45 all of that is subsequent to the initial vision of her in heaven, so the idea that Mary was bodily assumed to Heaven at the end of her life after these events happened is completely foreign to the passage As I just showed, the person in verses 1, 2, and 5 must be the same person, if words and grammar and logic mean anything at all. As Gavin mostly did in his video on the Immaculate Conception (which I also critiqued), he completely ignored Catholic biblical argumentation regarding the Assumption. Now, maybe he intended for this to simply address historical questions. Thats fine. But his title was, Why Marys Assumption Is Indefensible, and its certainly defensible from the Bible. I will present the main lines of that argument now, in conclusion, since Gavin ignored it. Christians already believed in extraordinary non-death departures from this life in the case of Enoch (Heb 11:5; cf. Gen 5:24), Elijah (2 Ki 2:1,11), and many during the Second Coming (1 Thess 4:15-17), and also similar dramatic going-up-to-heaven events after having died, in the case of the two witnesses of Revelation (11:7-12) and our Lord Jesus Himself. And we have St. Paul reporting that he went up to heaven before he died (2 Cor 12:1-4): possibly in his body; possibly not (12:3), and St. John also seems to be in heaven witnessing many things (the entire book of Revelation). Thats seven biblical analogies to Marys Assumption, to one degree or another! The Church hasnt declared whether Mary died or not. All of these events occur by virtue of the power of God, not the intrinsic ability of the persons. Jesus ascended by His own power, but the Blessed Virgin Mary was assumed by the power of her Son Jesus victory over death. Hers was an immediate resurrection. One day all who are saved will be bodily resurrected. Mary was the first after the Resurrection: quite appropriately (and even, I submit, expected), since she was Jesus own Mother. Catholics believe that all Catholic and Christian doctrines must be in harmony with Scripture; must not contradict it; also, that some doctrines are able to be supported only indirectly, implicitly, or by deduction from other related Bible passages. All Catholic doctrines have scriptural support in some sense (this is my main specialty as an apologist). We also believe in Sacred Tradition: itself always in harmony with Scripture. Sometimes (as in the present case), a doctrine is stronger in Tradition. I agree that there is no direct proof of Marys Assumption in Scripture. But there is strong deductive and analogical evidence (the analogous examples of going directly up to heaven events, shown above). The deductive argument has to do with the consequences of Marys Immaculate Conception: a doctrine more directly indicated in Scripture (e.g., Lk 1:28). Bodily death and decay are the result of sin and the fall of man (Gen 3:16-19; Ps 16:10). An absence of actual and original sin would allow for instant bodily resurrection. Its as if Mary goes back to before the fall (for this reason the Church fathers call her the New Eve). Scripture tells us the consequences of original sin; these would then be reversed by Mary not being subject to either original sin or the results. If one is completely without sin, this arguably includes original sin, and without original sin, there is no decay; ergo, the Assumption follows as a matter of course. Biblically speaking (if not according to strict logic), I dont think there is anything that could cause death + bodily corruption other than original sin. In other words, we are in a supernatural / spiritual realm in the Bible that is only taught to us through revelation. In that world of thinking, it seems to me that there is a one-to-one relation: 1) Original sin > bodily corruption + spiritual death. 2) Removal of original sin, or a case where original sin never occurred > no spiritual death and no bodily corruption. Jesus Resurrection makes possible universal resurrection (1 Cor 15:13, 16), and redemption of our bodies as well as souls (1 Cor 15:20-23). Marys Assumption is the first fruits, sign, and type of the general resurrection of all (created) mankind; she exemplifies the age in which death and sin are conquered once and for all (1 Cor 15:26). 1 Corinthians 15:17-26 (RSV) If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. What better person to follow Jesus in resurrection than His own mother, who made the way of salvation possible at the Annunciation? Though this is no ironclad proof, on the other hand, it is a very plausible scenario, and contradicts nothing in the Bible. Protestant apologist Norman Geisler admits: [T]he Bible does teach implicitly and logically, if not formally and explicitly, that the Bible alone is the only infallible basis for faith and practice. (Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences, co-author, Ralph E. Mackenzie, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1995, 184; emphases added) He denies that there is either formal or explicit biblical proof for this foundation of Protestant theology and its very rule of faith. So if even sola Scriptura lacks this sort of biblical proof (and I would also deny that one can find even implicit or logical proof for it in Scripture), why is it required of Catholics to provide more for a doctrine like the Assumption? There are such things as implicit and deductive proofs from Scripture or at least indications. Nothing in Scripture contradicts the possibility of Mary being assumed into heaven (and many parallels show it to be entirely possible and plausible). As with Marys Immaculate Conception, Catholics believe that this event was fitting and proper, as opposed to being intrinsically necessary. The word fitting is used seven times in the proclamation of her Assumption as a dogma in 1950. St. Cardinal Newman makes an extended argument for Marys Assumption from fittingness: It was surely fitting then, it was becoming, that she should be taken up into heaven and not lie in the grave till Christs second coming, who had passed a life of sanctity and of miracle such as hers. . . . Who can conceive, my brethren, that God should so repay the debt, which He condescended to owe to His Mother, for the elements of His human body, as to allow the flesh and blood from which it was taken to moulder in the grave? . . . Why should she share the curse of Adam, who had no share in his fall? Dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return, was the sentence upon sin; she then, who was not a sinner, fitly never saw corruption. She died, then, as we hold, because even our Lord and Saviour died . . . by the grace of Christ which in her had anticipated sin, which had filled her with light, which had purified her flesh from all defilement, she was also saved from disease and malady, and all that weakens and decays the bodily frame. Original sin had not been found in her . . . If the Mother of Emmanuel ought to be the first of creatures in sanctity and in beauty; if it became her to be free from all sin from the very first, and from the moment she received her first grace to begin to merit more; and if such as was her beginning, such was her end, her conception immaculate and her death an assumption . . . (Discourses Addressed to Mixed Congregations [1849; London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1906), Discourse 18: On the Fitness of the Glories of Mary) Protestant anti-Catholic apologist Jason Engwer, who runs the Triablogue site, took some potshots against the Assumption of Mary in his article, Luke Against Roman Catholic Mariology (10-24-21). I counter with similar arguments, using his incessantly skeptical, cynical methodology (two can play at this game). Jason wrote: Similarly, shes mentioned in Acts 1:14, but not in the three decades of church history narrated afterward. No assumption of Mary is mentioned either. . . . if she died within the history covered by the document, especially if she died earlier rather than later, why is there no mention of an assumption? . . . Lukes writings can be an important part of a cumulative argument when considering an issue like the assumption of Mary. The more sources we have that show interest in relevant subjects, yet dont mention an assumption of Mary, the less likely it is that she was assumed (e.g., Lukes failure to mention an assumption despite multiple references to Jesus ascension, . . .) . . . Luke is the sort of author who would have been in an unusually good position to have referred to an assumption if one had occurred. Applying the technique of analogical argument, I countered this, bringing about what is known in logic as a reductio ad absurdum (reduction to absurdity): Matthews and Johns Gospels can be an important part of a cumulative argument when considering an issue like the ascension of Jesus. The more sources we have that show interest in relevant subjects, yet dont mention an ascension of Jesus, the less likely it is that He ascended to heaven (e.g., Matthews and Johns failure to mention His ascension . . .) . . . Matthew and John are the sorts of authors who would have been in an unusually good position to have referred to His ascension if it had occurred. They wrote a lot in relevant contexts, including a substantial amount about Jesus, . . . By the way, the book of Acts is usually dated to around 8090 AD, although some scholars suggest 90110: according to Wikipedia. St. Pauls death, according to the Wikipedia article about him, is believed to have occurred after the Great Fire of Rome in July 64, but before the last year of Neros reign, in 68. St. Peters death, in the article devoted to him according to Early Church tradition was at the time of the Great Fire of Rome in the year 64. Yet neither event is mentioned in the book of Acts. No martyrdoms of St. Paul or St. Peter are mentioned [in Acts] either. . . . if they died within the history covered by the document, especially if they died earlier rather than later, why is there no mention of their martyrdoms? . . . Lukes writings can be an important part of a cumulative argument when considering an issue like the martyrdoms of St. Paul and St. Peter. The more sources we have that show interest in relevant subjects, yet dont mention martyrdoms of St. Paul and St. Peter, the less likely it is that they were martyred (e.g., Lukes failure to mention martyrdoms of St. Paul and St. Peter . . .) . . . Luke is the sort of author who would have been in an unusually good position to have referred to the martyrdoms of St. Paul and St. Peter if they had occurred. He wrote a lot in relevant contexts, including a substantial amount about St. Paul and St. Peter, . . . Marks and Johns Gospels can be an important part of a cumulative argument when considering an issue like the virgin birth in Bethlehem of Jesus. The more sources we have that show interest in relevant subjects, yet dont mention the virgin birth in Bethlehem of Jesus, the less likely it is that He was born of a virgin in Bethlehem (e.g., Marks and Johns failure to mention His virgin birth in Bethlehem, and Marks failure to mention Bethlehem at all in his entire Gospel . . .) . . . Mark and John are the sorts of author who would have been in an unusually good position to have referred to the virgin birth in Bethlehem of Jesus if it had occurred. They wrote a lot in relevant contexts, including a substantial amount about Jesus, . . . Matthews and Marks and Lukes Gospels can be an important part of a cumulative argument when considering an issue like the raising of Lazarus from the dead by Jesus. The more sources we have that show interest in relevant subjects, yet dont mention the raising of Lazarus, the less likely it is that Lazarus was raised by Jesus (e.g., Matthews and Marks and Lukes failure to mention His being raised from the dead by Jesus . . .) . . . Matthew, Mark, and Luke are the sorts of authors who would have been in an unusually good position to have referred to the raising of Lazarus from the dead by Jesus if it had occurred. They wrote a lot in relevant contexts, including a substantial amount about Jesus, . . . Etc., etc. One gets the analogical / satirical point by now . . . Folks dont always mention every particular thing. * Photo credit: Madonna in Glory (c. 1670), by Carlo Dolci (1616-1686) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] Summary: I respond to a video by Reformed Baptist apologist Gavin Ortlund, explaining why Protestants reject the Assumption of Mary. Unlike him, I discuss relevant Scripture, too. 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Dr. McKorley's unwavering dedication to excellence and his vision to transform the logistics landscape in West Africa have been instrumental in the company's success. Aviacargo Personality of the Year for West Africa 2023 The Aviacargo Personality of the Year award is a highly respected accolade presented to individuals who have significantly impacted the aviation and cargo industry in West Africa. The selection process involves rigorous evaluation by a panel of industry experts, who assess various aspects of the nominees' contributions, such as leadership, innovation, and overall impact on the sector. Dr. Daniel McKorley's achievements in the aviation and cargo sector, particularly his strategic initiatives to expand and modernize the McDan Aviation division, made him a standout candidate for this prestigious award. McDan Aviation McDan Aviation is a subsidiary of the McDan Group that offers domestic and Regional passenger and cargo services. Under Dr. McKorley's leadership, McDan Aviation has undergone significant expansion and modernization efforts, enhancing its operational efficiency and service delivery. 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 Chartered Institute of Realtors (CIR) and the Chamber of Real Estate (CRE) have recently concluded their joint lecture series on Land Law in Ghana. The series, which took place in June, July and August at the Africa Trade House was massively attended and covered a range of topics related to land law, including property rights, land registration, zoning, and land transactions. The lectures were delivered by several experts in the field of law, including Tsatsu Tsikata, a prominent Ghanaian law luminary, Lawyer Kwame Gyan, and Lawyer Kwame Oppong-Ntim to mention a few. Some legal professionals, government agency representatives, students, individuals, and players in the real estate industry were present throughout the course. This series commenced with one of Ghanas finest legal experts, Lawyer Tsatsu Tsikata, opening with the lecture The Real Estate Industry in Ghana and National Development. Lawyer Tsikatas coverage of the subject matter was indeed an excellent ice breaker to the series in depth having touched on the key roles and responsibilities of the players and stakeholders in the real estate industry, the shortfalls within, the need for a standardised system check of the sector, the interconnection of real estate to other key industries and its overall contribution to our national development. Day 2 saw the involvement of Mr Frank Oppong Yeboah and Mrs Evelyn Addo both of the Republic Bank speak to the participants about Real Estate financing and legal issues; a follow-up to unfinished discussions from Lawyer Tsikatas piece. Lawyer Kwakye-Serbeh was present with the team on the day to lecture on Introduction to Land Law, kickstarting an extensive three solid days of lectures on Land Use Planning and Zoning and Land Transactions. Following up on the brilliant execution of the first two days of lectures, Lawyer Kwame Gyan, an astute legal tutor and practitioner with over 20 years of industry experience was at the helm of affairs to steer the participants through the issues surrounding property rights and ownership and also Land registration and documentation procedures. Lawyer Gyans practical experience and knowledge aided in answering the questions of attendees on both days. The final day saw Lawyer Kwame Oppong-Ntim deliver professionally on the legal aspects of development projects with some assistance on the subject of disputes and resolutions by his able colleague Lawyer Eugene Danso Cobbold. The online community was not left out with several participants who couldnt be present in person for the lecture participating through the Zoom platform. The CIR and CRE have said that they plan to hold another land law lecture series in the future. They hope that the series will continue to raise awareness about the importance of land law in Ghana and provide a forum for discussion and debate on the issues facing the real estate sector. Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) has taken note of the press release issued by the Minority in Parliament on 21st August 2024, which contains several falsehoods, inaccuracies, and misrepresentations regarding the current state of the cocoa sector and COCOBODs decision to wean itself of syndicated external borrowing to create more value for farmers. A Complete Lie about the Paradigm Shift The assertion by the Minority Caucus that the International Banks have rejected the Ghana Cocoa Boards request and that COCOBOD was chased away from the market is false. This is so because syndicated banks submitted term sheets in response to COCOBODs earlier Request for Proposals (RFP) for consideration. Indeed, notwithstanding our intentions to wean off syndicated transactions, we still have committed contracts that need to be fulfilled through the syndicated process. These transactions have necessitated a discussion with financial institutions, and nothing in this process indicates, to us, a lack of confidence in COCOBODs creditworthiness from these financial institutions. Source of Funding for Cocoa Purchases For the avoidance of doubt, the proposed decision to explore non-syndicated funding is part of a broader strategy to diversify our sources of funding, making the Board more self-financing and sustainable in the medium to long term, deriving more value for farmers and retaining more value within the Ghanaian economy. Profitability in the 2022/2023 Crop Season The Minoritys claim that the Board has made continuous losses is highly uninformed, and to say that COCOBOD made a loss of GHS4.2 billion in 2023 is false. In fact, COCOBODs 2023 accounts audited by Ernst & Young (EY) show a profit of GHS2.3 billion during the 2022/2023 Crop Season, marking a significant turnaround from the previous years performance. This financial success is a demonstration of the effectiveness of the strategic initiatives undertaken by COCOBOD, including cost-cutting measures, improved operational efficiency, and targeted investments in key areas of the cocoa sector. Financial Performance and Sustainability The Minoritys claim that COCOBODs decision to source funding domestically is a face-saving measure to hide its financial difficulties is categorically untrue. As a matter of fact, whereas world market prices from 2017 to 2022 were record low (down 30 percent), producer prices were sustained to safeguard and sustain the industry. The Minority cannot deny that the same period of financial challenges has witnessed massive investments in key innovations, interventions, and productivity enhancement programmes including digitization of cocoa farmer households and farms into a comprehensive cocoa farmer data base, national cocoa traceability system, pruning of cocoa farms, hand pollination, the introduction and use of motorized pruner-slasher machines, and rehabilitation of cocoa swollen shoot virus diseased (CSSVD) farms, a fundamental debilitating condition for which the NDC government under former President John Mahama failed to achieve. Historic Cocoa Production Volumes The assertion by the Minority about consistent reduction in production under the current management of COCOBOD is false. It is important to note that Ghana recorded its highest-ever cocoa production volume of 1.045 million metric tonnes during the 2020/2021 crop season. This historic achievement was a direct result of effective management practices and targeted interventions by the Board, including improved agronomic practices, enhanced farmer support, and strategic investments in the cocoa sector. While recent production levels have faced structural challenges, including adverse weather conditions (i.e., last years devastating El Nino force majeure) and the impact of the CSSVD, it must be reiterated that COCOBOD has implemented significant interventions and mitigation measures. The Minority is fully aware that the future of Ghanas cocoa has been secured with the successful rehabilitation of 74,813 farms spanning 67,385.43 hectares, owned by 56,105 farmers. These farms now thrive with hybrid, disease-tolerant cocoa varieties that have started bearing fruits, and the volume of cocoa from these farms will continue to increase in the years ahead. Out of the 74,813 farms rehabilitated and now at various stages of growth, 44,480 farms covering 40,150.40 hectares, belonging to 28,510 farmers, are yielding as of August 2024 and will soon be handed back to their owners. Because of the positive measures and programmes currently being infused into the sector, cocoa farms in the transition belt that were converted into cashew cultivation when the Minority were in power with former President John Mahama are being turned back to cocoa under the present government. Commitment to the Cocoa Sector Contrary to the Minoritys claims, the NPP government remains fully committed to the cocoa sector. The government has invested heavily in the sector, including the construction of roads in cocoa-growing areas, the provision of subsidized fertilizers and pesticides to farmers, and the implementation of the cocoa rehabilitation programme. The claim that the Government has destroyed the cocoa sector is false, and fails to recognize the complexities of the global cocoa industry and the proactive steps being taken by COCOBOD and the Government to ensure the long-term sustainability of Ghanas cocoa industry. Conclusion COCOBOD urges the public to disregard the Minoritys press release, which seeks to politicize a strategic and forward-thinking policy decision. The Board remains focused on its mandate to sustain and grow the cocoa industry, ensuring that it continues to contribute meaningfully to Ghanas economy and the livelihoods of cocoa farmers across the country. COCOBOD invites all stakeholders, including members of the Minority, to engage in constructive dialogue and collaboration to support the continued growth and development of Ghanas cocoa sector. SIGNED: CHIEF EXECUTIVE Source: Ghana Cocoa Board 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 Founder and leader of Destiny Home Chapel International, El Prophet Nicholas Duncan Williams has accused politicians of being responsible for too many sins in the country. According to him, the countrys political leaders are doing everything possible both spiritually and physically to secure power going into the December 7 general elections. There is so much sin in this country, and theres a lot of incantations going on. The political leaders of this country are responsible for this. These politicians are in charge of the countrys destiny, and most of them have their hearts far away from God. You can know this from how they talk and they are doing everything for power. So who will they sacrifice? It is the youth. You realize that this year -2024, lots of people have died because we are in an election year. Some people dont take election year serious. Election is power being transferred, the destinies of about 32million Ghanaians are going to be entrusted in the hands of a single person. Do you think it is easy, he quizzed in an interview with Akua Sonto on Accra FM mid-morning show. Touching on prophecy, the man of God stated that every prophecy comes with a direction to be followed for the prophecy to come to pass, but it does not always require one to give an offering before it comes to pass. Every prophecy comes with a direction. The other day Mary asked the Angel how the prophecy will come to pass. And the Angel said the direction is that youll be possessed by the Holy Spirit. So Angel Gabriel did not just give the prophecy to Mary, she asked a question on how it will come to pass. The is always a direction to a prophecy. There were certain things that were missing in Marys conversation with the Angel. The time that the angel will come, where you should be for the angel to come. All of that was delivered to her. Indeed, the prophecy came to pass as was prophesied by Prophet Isaiah. Prophet Isaiah gave a direction to that prophecy. He said a virgin will give birth to the Messiah. So a lot of young girls gave birth but not to the messiah. That virgin was also to come from the family of David. So every prophecy comes with a direction for it to come to pass. Source: kasapafmonline.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 Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) on Wednesday pushed back against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walzs (D) dig at him for going to Yale University, saying he is proud of what he has accomplished. As you guys know, I grew up in a very poor family. I was raised by a grandmother who didnt graduate from high school, much less from college, and Im proud of the fact that she really worked her tail off, that she, you know, went to her grave fighting to give me opportunities, Vance said Wednesday on Fox News. Im not ashamed of the fact that my grandmother scarified for me and I was able to live the American dream. Vance, the Republican vice presidential candidate, was responding to Walzs speech accepting the vice presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention, during which the governor brought up Yale, the Ivy League school where Vance studied law. The speech leaned heavily into Walzs small-town and Midwestern roots. I had 24 kids in my high school class and none of them went to Yale, Walz said Wednesday night. But Ill tell you what, growing up in a small town like that, you learn to take care of each other. Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum, speaking with Vance shortly after the speech, suggested Walz was basically calling [Vance] Mr. Fancy Pants Ivy league.' Im proud of what I accomplished, and more importantly, Im proud of all the people who scarified in order to give me a better life, Vance responded. I would think Tim Walz would want to praise people who scarified to give their children and grandchildren a better life. Not put me down, but I guess this is the political order of the day. Hes going to attack me. Thats fine, but Im proud of my family. Walz grew up in a small town in Nebraska, enlisted in the Army National Guard after high school graduation and attended Chadron State College in Nebraska to study social sciences. Vance also frequently touts his own upbringing in Middletown, Ohio, and his decision to join the Marines out of high school. Walzs comments gained attention on other networks as well. NBC Newss Tom Llamas said to Vance, He made fun of the fact you went to Yale. What a nasty personal attack, Vance responded. Why isnt Governor Walz talking about Kamala Harriss record and how shes made the lives of the American people better? The answer is: because he cant say that. The Yale dig also came up during a CNN panel, during which Republican strategist Scott Jennings said the constant attacks on JD Vance for going to Yale are so weird. I dont understand this. Ive heard Walz proclaim to be a small-town guy who wants everybody to get an education and succeed, but spends a fair amount of time attacking JD Vance, who grew up poor and got an education, worked hard to get an education and rise above his station in life, Jennings said. And he has used it as a punchline on the campaign trail. I dont understand what hes trying to communicate to every small-town poor kid out there saying, If you choose to work hard and go to an Ivy League school, you somehow abandoned your hometown,' he continued. Democratic strategist Van Jones, who also sat on the panel and graduated from Yale Law School, said he agreed with the point. As one of those small-town kids who actually went to Yale, I do take exception to that. I think you are correct on that, he 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. Executive Director, of Alliance for Christian Advocacy Africa, Rev. Dr Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, has appealed to Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, the National Chairman of the largest opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to rescind on his decision not to partake in the signing of the Peace pact. According to Dr. Opuni Frimpong, the NDCs National Chairmans commitment to the peace Ghana seeks ahead of the December 7 2024 elections is embedded in the signing of the Peace document, hence, the plea to have him rescind on his earlier decision of not appending his signature to the Peace document. In an interview with Citi FM, Dr. Opuni Frimpong said, We plead with the Chairman of the NDC, our big father Asiedu Nketia that we need democrats to practice democracy. We as a country we are saying as part of our democratic culture we commit to acceptance of election results, and we commit to using legal and acceptable processes in making correction." We will not mobilise people to the streets, that is the essence of the peace pact, and we must all commit to it. The call from Dr. Opuni Frimpong comes on the wheel of demands made by the National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, that the party insists must be met before considering signing the Peace Pact advocated by the National Peace Council in anticipation of the December 7 elections. Mr. Asiedu Nketiah is skeptical about the effectiveness of past Peace Pacts, highlighting that they had not achieved their intended outcomes, particularly referencing the 2020 elections, during which eight NDC members were allegedly killed by National Security operatives without accountability. During an August 20 meeting with the National Peace Council at the NDC headquarters, Mr. Asiedu Nketia detailed certain conditions for the NDCs participation in the Peace Pact, demanding among others that the recommendations from the investigation into the violence during the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election be fully implemented. 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 Greater Accra Association of Assembly Members (GAAM) held a well-attended press conference on Thursday, August 22, 2024, at the GNAT Hall, focusing on the transformative agenda: the Electoral Area Share of the Common Fund (EASCF) as captured in 2024 NPP MANIFESTO launched over the weekend in Takoradi. The main focus of the press conference was to welcome and garner support for Dr. Bawumias vision to financially empower Assembly Members to ensure that every electoral area receives a fair share of the Common Fund to enable sustainable development initiatives. The event, brought together key stakeholders, including Assembly Members, community development advocates, and influential figures within the local governance space. Advocating for Local Empowerment and Sustainable Development GAAM passionately emphasized that this initiative would give Assembly Members direct access to funds, thereby empowering them to address pressing issues within their communities more effectively. Speaking at the event Alfred Asiedu Adjei A.k.a Paa Joe 4th Time Presiding Officer of AMA and General Secretary of GAAM underscored the importance of strengthening local governance structures by providing the necessary resources for development. "We gather here today as the Greater Accra Association of Assembly Members (GAAM), representing the collective voice and interests of Assembly Members across the Greater Accra Region. Our mission is clear: to advocate for policies that empower local governance, enhance community development, and ensure that the needs of our people are met effectively and efficiently. We are here to unambiguously express our support for the proposal put forward by His Excellency Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, during the recent manifesto launch. The proposal to institute an Electoral Area Share of the Common Fund (EASCF) dedicated to Assembly Members is not just timelyit is essential for the accelerated development of our communities," he stated. He further called on all Assembly Members across Greater Accra and the rest of the 16 regions of Ghana to rally behind this initiative. "Fellow Assembly Members, we cannot afford to stand on the sidelines as this visionary proposal is brought to life. The Electoral Area Share of the Common Fund is our chance to make a lasting impact in our communities. Let us work together to ensure that this policy becomes a reality, for it is not just about politicsit is about the future of our communities and the well-being of our people. As GAAM, we are fully committed to supporting the government in this endeavor. We believe that with the right resources, we can transform our Electoral Areas into hubs of development, progress, and prosperity," he emphasized. Touching on the Workload on Assembly Members, who he observed also tackle all kinds of issues at the Grassroots level, he was optimistic that Dr. Bawumias vision in line with Electoral Area Share Common Fund is coming at a very timely and critical moment to bridge development gaps. According to him, the Greater Accra Association of Assembly Members remains committed to championing this cause, and they encouraged all stakeholders to stay engaged as they continue their advocacy efforts. As it stands, the call for an equitable share of resources is one that resonates deeply within the hearts of communities across the region, and GAAMs leadership in this initiative could potentially set the stage for nationwide reform. "Assembly Members are the cornerstone of local governance. We are on the ground, directly engaging with the communities we serve. We listen to the concerns of our constituents, mediate conflicts, mobilize resources, and initiate development projects. The demands on our time, energy, and resources are immense, yet the resources allocated to us are not enough. The reality is that national development begins at the district level. For Ghana to progress, our local areas must be empowered with the necessary tools to drive that progress. However, the limited resources currently available to Assembly Members significantly constrain our ability to effectively execute our mandates. We often find ourselves stretched thin, juggling multiple responsibilities without the requisite funding to implement meaningful projects that address the pressing needs of our communities," Paa Joe clearly explained. He pointed out that the current distribution of the Common Fund often leaves some communities underserved, affecting the ability of Assembly Members to fulfill their developmental mandates. The association stressed that the EASCF is a game-changing policy that could drastically improve the living conditions in communities across the Greater Accra Region and beyond. He also highlighted the potential of the EASCF to promote transparency and accountability, as Assembly Members would be held directly responsible for the judicious use of the funds allocated to their electoral areas. The association noted that by decentralizing financial resources, communities would benefit from projects tailored to their unique needs. Participation and Engagement The press conference saw a vibrant turnout from Unit Committee Members, key traditional rulers, media personnel, local government officials, and members of the public. Attendees expressed optimism about the prospects of the EASCF, with many noting that it aligns with the broader goals of participatory governance and inclusive development. GAAM reiterated that this initiative is not just about finances; its about giving a voice to every community and ensuring that no area is left behind in the quest for development. The association urged all attendees to advocate for the swift adoption of the EASCF at the national level. Alfred Adjei Paa Joe 4th Time Presiding Officer of AMA Conclusion: A Step Toward Progress The event concluded with a resounding call for unity and collaboration in driving the EASCF agenda forward. GAAM expressed confidence that with the necessary backing, this initiative would serve as a catalyst for more equitable and impactful local governance. In the words of one of the key speakers, "It is time we take control of our development at the grassroots level. The Electoral Area Share of the Common Fund is a critical step in that direction. Lets work together to make it a reality." Below is the Full Press Statement By GAAM: PRESS STATEMENT BY THE GREATER ACCRA ASSOCIATION OF ASSEMBLY MEMBERS (GAAM) ON SUPPORTING THE VISION OF INSTITUTING AN ELECTORAL AREA SHARE OF THE COMMON FUND (EASCF) Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press, Honorable Assembly Members, Distinguished Citizens of Ghana, We gather here today as the Greater Accra Association of Assembly Members (GAAM), representing the collective voice and interests of Assembly Members across the Greater Accra Region. Our mission is clear: to advocate for policies that empower local governance, enhance community development, and ensure that the needs of our people are met effectively and efficiently. We are here to unambiguously express our support for the proposal put forward by His Excellency Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice President of the Republic of Ghana, during the recent manifesto launch. The proposal to institute an Electoral Area Share of the Common Fund (EASCF) dedicated to Assembly Members is not just timelyit is essential for the accelerated development of our communities. The Workload on Assembly Members Assembly Members are the cornerstone of local governance. We are on the ground, directly engaging with the communities we serve. We listen to the concerns of our constituents, mediate conflicts, mobilize resources, and initiate development projects. The demands on our time, energy, and resources are immense, yet the resources allocated to us are not enough. The reality is that national development begins at the district level. For Ghana to progress, our local areas must be empowered with the necessary tools to drive that progress. However, the limited resources currently available to Assembly Members significantly constrain our ability to effectively execute our mandates. We often find ourselves stretched thin, juggling multiple responsibilities without the requisite funding to implement meaningful projects that address the pressing needs of our communities. Why the EASCF is Crucial The proposed Electoral Area Share of the Common Fund (EASCF) is a game-changer. Here are ten specific benefits of the EASCF for Assembly Members and the community: Benefits to Assembly Members: 1. Increased Autonomy in Project Implementation: Assembly Members will have greater control over the allocation and utilization of funds, enabling them to prioritize and execute projects that directly address the specific needs of their electoral areas. 2. Enhanced Accountability and Transparency: With a dedicated fund, Assembly Members will be more accountable to their constituents, as the direct management of resources will require regular reporting and transparency in expenditures. 3. Strengthened Leadership and Influence: Access to the EASCF will elevate the role of Assembly Members in local governance, enhancing their leadership influence and making them key players in the development process at the grassroots level. 4. Reduction in Bureaucratic Delays: Assembly Members will no longer have to wait for lengthy approval processes to access funds for local projects. This will allow for faster implementation of initiatives, addressing urgent community needs in a timely manner. 5. Capacity for Long-Term Planning: The consistent and predictable flow of funds will enable Assembly Members to plan and execute long-term projects, contributing to sustained development rather than relying on ad-hoc funding. Benefits to the Community: 6. Improved Infrastructure and Services: Communities will benefit from better roads, schools, healthcare facilities, and other critical infrastructure as Assembly Members can more easily direct funds to areas most in need of improvement. 7. Localized Development Priorities: The EASCF will allow for development projects that reflect the unique needs and priorities of each community, leading to more relevant and impactful outcomes. 8. Greater Community Engagement and Participation: With Assembly Members having the resources to address local issues directly, communities are likely to be more engaged in governance, fostering a stronger sense of ownership and participation in local development. 9. Economic Empowerment: The targeted use of funds for local economic projectssuch as markets, small businesses, and agricultural supportwill stimulate local economies, create jobs, and reduce poverty within communities. 10. Increased Trust in Local Governance: As communities witness tangible improvements resulting from the effective use of the EASCF, trust in local governance structures will be strengthened, leading to better cooperation between citizens and their local representatives. ACHIEVEMENTS OF NANA ADDO/BAWUMIA IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE Since 2017, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration has made significant strides in strengthening local governance and empowering local authorities. Some of the key achievements include: 1. Decentralization and Devolution of Powers: The governments efforts to decentralize power have been evident in initiatives like the creation of six new regions in 2018, bringing governance closer to the people. 2. Local Economic Development: The One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative has been instrumental in stimulating local economies, creating jobs, and reducing rural-urban migration. This has had a direct impact on the livelihoods of people at the grassroots level. 3. Infrastructure Development: The governments investment in road infrastructure and the construction of district hospitals under the Agenda 111 project have significantly improved public service delivery at the local level. 4. Financial Empowerment: The increase in allocations to the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) has provided local authorities with more resources to implement development projects. Additionally, the introduction of the District Assembly Performance Assessment Tool (DPAT) has enhanced the accountability and transparency of local governance. ACHIEVEMENTS OF NANA ADDO/BAWUMIA IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE Since 2017, the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia administration has made significant strides in strengthening local governance and empowering local authorities. Some of the key achievements include: 1. Decentralization and Devolution of Powers: The governments efforts to decentralize power have been evident in initiatives such as the creation of six new regions in 2018, bringing governance closer to the people. 2. Local Economic Development: The One District, One Factory (1D1F) initiative has stimulated local economies, created jobs, and reduced rural-urban migration. This has had a direct impact on the livelihoods of people at the grassroots level. Additionally, the provision of farm implements and fertilizers to farmers has empowered the local economy and enhanced agricultural productivity across the districts. 3. Infrastructure Development: Major investments have been made in road infrastructure, district hospitals under the Agenda 111 project, and the construction of Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) office complexes in Accra, North East, Savanna, Western North, and others. Office complexes have been constructed for District Assemblies, including Ablekuma West, Okaikwei North, Ada, and nearly 50 other assemblies. Moreover, over 100 district court houses and judges bungalows have been constructed across the country. 4. Financial Empowerment and Support for PWDs: The increment of the Disability Fund to 3% of the District Assembly Common Fund allocation, coupled with the provision of working tools for persons living with disabilities, demonstrates the administrations commitment to inclusivity. Vehicles have been provided to all 261 Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs), including Nissan Patrol SUVs, Nissan Hardbody pickups, and, more recently, Toyota Hilux vehicles, ensuring better mobility and operational efficiency. 5. Institutional Expansion and Capacity Building: Expansion works at the Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS) in both Accra and Tamale, as well as the establishment of the University of Local Government Studies at Akomadan with state-of-the-art facilities, are further testament to the governments commitment to capacity building at the local level. The construction of the office complex for the Head of Local Government Services has also been a significant development for enhancing the administration of local governance. 6. District Road Improvement Programs (DRIP): The launch of the District Road Improvement Programs (DRIP) is a timely and much-needed intervention that will significantly improve road infrastructure across districts, enhancing connectivity and facilitating economic activities. Acknowledging the Contributions of Hon. Irene Naa Torshie Addo and the MLGRD: We cannot speak of these giant strides in local governance and decentralization without acknowledging the tireless efforts of Hon. Irene Naa Torshie Addo, the Administrator of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF). Her dedication and leadership have been instrumental in driving many of the initiatives mentioned above, particularly in the allocation and utilization of the DACF to ensure that MMDAs have the resources they need to fulfill their mandates effectively. In the same vein, we extend our profound gratitude to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) for its critical role in spearheading these transformational reforms. Under the leadership of the Ministry, local governance structures have been strengthened, and rural development has received much-needed attention through projects that have significantly improved infrastructure, social services, and the well-being of our citizens. The Ministrys collaboration with the DACF and local authorities has been pivotal in the implementation of policies that are transforming the lives of Ghanaians across the country. A Call to Action Fellow Assembly Members, we cannot afford to stand on the sidelines as this visionary proposal is brought to life. The Electoral Area Share of the Common Fund is our chance to make a lasting impact in our communities. We call on all Assembly Members across Greater Accra and the rest of the 16 regions of Ghana to rally behind this initiative. Let us work together to ensure that this policy becomes a reality, for it is not just about politicsit is about the future of our communities and the well-being of our people. As GAAM, we are fully committed to supporting the government in this endeavor. We believe that with the right resources, we can transform our Electoral Areas into hubs of development, progress, and prosperity. Thank you. GAAM EXECUTIVES 1. HON. YAKUBU ABANE ASOKE ----- CHAIRMAN 2. ALFRED ASIEDU ADJEI ------ SECRETARY 3. HUMU DILLEY SAEED ------ WOMEN ORGANISER 4. RASHID BONSU ------ COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER 5. DORIS A. FRIMPOMG --------- TREASURY 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 Executive Director of Alliance for Christian Advocacy Africa, Rev Dr Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong has expressed worry over the inaction in dealing with electoral violence and associated deaths in the country. The former General Secretary of the Christian Council said the hands of the citizenry are bloody, considering the violence that mars every election. Rev Opuni-Frimpong raised these concerns in an interview on Accra-based Citi FM as he called for expedited investigations and prosecution into the 2020 election violence that claimed eight lives. Sometimes you ask yourself, why are our leaders not worried about these electoral violence and electoral deaths? Our hands are so bloody and we must be worried as a country. It is not only in the 2020 general elections, almost all the elections, there is a record of death, he bemoaned. According to him, the citizens should have been updated on the progress of investigations and actions been taken against the perpetrators. But again, the recent one is the eight that we recorded in 2020. For me, going into the 2024 election, if the government and the Ghana Police Service can give Ghanaians evidence that at least even if we have not come to completion of investigations, the process is ongoing and we know those people we are prosecuting, they will add to the peace process. We must find those people who killed the eight people and prosecute them, and if need be, even find compensation for those they have left behind, he stated. He further asserted that, there must also be a political will to tackle the issue head on, guarding against indecent language that incite violence. The parties themselves, they have mature men and women in those parties who must, you know, behind the scenes, close door meetings, heal the wounds among themselves, and who must talk to their own people. We must have people in NPP who will just talk to people that this is not the NPP we want. We need people in NDC who are behind the scenes, even if they must come public and condemn their own, he urged. Rev Opuni-Frimpong continued, It is very worrying that when their people come out, you cant get a single person in the NPP going public that, 'yes, you are part of us, but this comment is unacceptable'. You dont get somebody from NDC either. Source: adomonline.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 Carlisle Events, which hosts a number of car shows each year, has received a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture to fund a solar project. The USDA announced earlier this year that Carlisle Productions Inc./Carlisle Events is receiving a Rural Energy for America Program grant of $656,977 to purchase and install a 749-kilowatt solar photovoltaic system at the Carlisle Expo Center at 100 K. St. in Carlisle. The total cost of the project was $1,323,954 and Carlisle Events spent $666,977. The solar panels have been installed on the roof of the Expo Center and are in operation to power the facility. Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, USDA rural development administrator for the Rural Business-Cooperative Service toured the project on Thursday. This project is expected to save the business approximately $41,000 per year and will replace 822,230 kilowatt hours per year, which is enough energy to power 75 homes, according to the USDA. The United States Department of Agriculture announced this week that it has awarded an $85,000 grant to the United Way of the Capital Region through its Rural Business Development Grants Program. The grant will be used to help United Way of the Capital Region enact job training programs to support local small businesses in acquiring skilled employees. Grant funds will be used primarily to support the the organizations Road to Success workforce development initiative, which benefits local businesses by providing a pool of quality, prepared and dependable employees. United Way of the Capital Region also received a $50,000 grant last year to be used to support the Road to Success workforce development initiative. United Way of the Capital Region has provided $228,500 of its own funding for the program. Road to Success helps participants by assessing skill levels, connecting participants to additional education and training support and providing budget counseling to help individuals become financially independent. United Way of the Capital Region can also connect participants with language support, transportation assistance, child care programs, clothing/uniform providers and health care. United Way of the Capital Region says more than 200 people have graduated from the program. United Way of the Capital Region serves residents in Cumberland, Dauphin and Perry counties. By Meg Kinnard, The Associated Press CHICAGO If you think youre seeing a lot of women wearing white during the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, you dont need to adjust your television set. There appeared to be a coordinated effort among female delegates and Democratic supporters as they arrived at the United Center on Thursday afternoon, with security lines and convention floor seats filling up with women clad in white suits, dresses and other attire. So when Vice President Kamala Harris takes the stage for to accept the Democratic presidential nomination becoming the first Black woman, and only the second woman overall, to do so she will be looking out across a sea filled with the color of womens suffrage, the movement that culminated with American women securing the right to vote in 1920. The homage is a couture callback to other momentous political events in which women wearing white has played a role, particularly for other glass ceiling moments. Hillary Clinton donned a white suit when she accepted the Democratic Partys 2016 presidential nomination. And Geraldine Ferraro the first female candidate for vice president wore white when she accepted that nomination at Democrats 1984 convention. There have been other moments, too. In 2019, the women of the U.S. House put on a visual display of solidarity during the State of the Union, joined by some of their male colleagues clad in white jackets or ribbons in support. A year later, on the 100-year anniversary of womens suffrage, congressional women yet again donned white, as a commitment to defending womens rights overall. And again, earlier this year, the Democratic Womens Caucus announced that many of its members would wear white to the State of the Union, intended as a message in support of reproductive rights. People wear white during the Pleadge of Alliegence during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)AP Kate Gallego, mayor of Phoenix, said party officials had asked delegates to wear white Thursday night in honor of Harris nomination. A lot of women fought for us to get where we are tonight, and we wanted to be part of the celebration, Gallego said. So its a forward-looking gesture, but also remembering a lot of people fought hard for today. Meg Kinnard can be reached at x.com/MegKinnardAP Jack Auresto and Mike Householder contributed to this report. By JONATHAN J. COOPER, ALI SWENSON and GABRIEL SANDOVAL Associated Press PHOENIX (AP) Robert F. Kennedy said Friday he is suspending his independent presidential bid and is backing Donald Trump. Kennedy said his internal polls had showed that his presence in the race would hurt Trump and help Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. He cited free speech, the war in Ukraine and a war on our children as among the reasons to try to remove his name from the ballot in battleground states. These are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent and now to throw my support to President Trump, Kennedy said. However, he made clear that he wasnt formally ending his bid and said his supporters could continue to back him in the majority of states where they are unlikely to sway the outcome. Kennedy took steps to withdraw his candidacy in at least two states late this week, Arizona and Pennsylvania. Kennedy said the move followed conversations with Trump over the past few weeks. Before the speech, his campaign had said in a Pennsylvania court filing Friday that he would be endorsing Trump for president. A spokesperson for Kennedy said the court filing had been made in error and would be updated, though Kennedy himself reiterated his support for Trump shortly afterward. A year ago, some would have thought it inconceivable that a member of arguably the most storied family in Democratic politics would work with Trump to keep a Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris out of the White House. Even in recent months, Kennedy has accused Trump of betraying his followers, while Trump has criticized Kennedy as the most radical left candidate in the race. The Pennsylvania filing came Friday in a case in which Kennedy was defending his paperwork to get on the ballot in the battleground state against a challenge by two Democratic activists. The filing said that, as a result of todays endorsement of Donald Trump he was requesting the dismissal of his campaigns nomination papers so that he would not appear on Pennsylvanias ballot. Kennedy already has secured ballot access in several states, including battlegrounds like Michigan and Nevada. Some secretaries of state said its too late for him to remove himself even if he wants to do so. Cheri Hardmon, a spokesperson for Michigans Department of State, said its law requires presidential electors be selected at the fall state convention, and that already happened, which means his name will remain on the states ballot. And in Wisconsin, where Kennedy has filed for ballot access and is awaiting approval, there is no mechanism for him to take back the filing, according to Wisconsin Elections Commission spokesperson Joel DeSpain. The Kennedy and Trump campaigns have ramped up their compliments to each other and engaged in behind-the-scenes discussions in recent weeks, according to those familiar with the efforts. Both campaigns have spent months accusing Democrats of weaponizing the legal system for their own benefit. And both have hinted publicly that they could be open to joining forces, with the shared goal of limiting Harris chances. Last month, during the Republican National Convention, Kennedys son posted and then quickly deleted a video showing a phone call between Kennedy and Trump, in which the former president appeared to try to talk Kennedy into siding with him. Talks between the two camps continued, with close Trump allies quietly lobbying Kennedy to drop out of the race and support the Republican nominee, according to a person familiar with the efforts who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Trump told CNN on Tuesday that he would love an endorsement from Kennedy, whom he called a brilliant guy. He also said he would certainly be open to Kennedy playing a role in his administration if Kennedy drops out and endorses him. Kennedys running mate, Nicole Shanahan, also openly suggested on a podcast this week that his campaign might walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump. While she clarified that she is not personally in talks with Trump, she entertained the idea that Kennedy could join Trumps administration as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. I think that Bobby in a role like that would be excellent, Shanahan said. I fully support it. I have high hopes. Earlier Friday, Shanahan posted on X that she isnt a Kamala Democrat or a Trump Republican. Im an INDEPENDENT American who is endorsing ideas, not a person or a party, she wrote. I will continue working to give a voice to the voiceless and bring power back to the people. At Kennedys Phoenix event, 38-year-old Casey Westerman, a Chandler, Arizona, resident who works in software sales, said she trusted Kennedys judgment and had planned to vote for him, but would support Trump if Kennedy said that was who he was endorsing. My decision would really be based on who he thinks is best suited to run this country, said Westerman, who wore a Kennedy 2024 trucker hat and voted for Trump in the last two presidential elections. The scheduled remarks by Kennedy, a son of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and a nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, come as his campaigns momentum has slipped. Kennedy Jr. first entered the 2024 presidential race as a Democrat but left the party last fall to run as an independent. He built an unusually strong base for a third-party bid, fueled in part by anti-establishment voters and vaccine skeptics who have followed his anti-vaccine work since the COVID-19 pandemic. But he has since faced strained campaign finances and mounting legal challenges, including a recent ruling from a New York judge that he should not appear on the ballot in the state because he listed a sham address on nominating petitions. Many members of Kennedys extended family have been vocal that they dont see eye to eye politically with Kennedy Jr., and some came out publicly to endorse Biden before he dropped out of the race. Recent polls put his support in the mid-single digits. And its unclear if hed get even that in a general election, since third-party candidates frequently dont live up to their early poll numbers when voters actually cast their ballots. Theres some evidence that Kennedys staying in the race would hurt Trump more than Harris. According to a July AP-NORC poll, Republicans were significantly more likely than Democrats to have a favorable view of Kennedy. And those with a positive impression of Kennedy were significantly more likely to also have a favorable view of Trump (52%) than Harris (37%). In an interview with MSNBC at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Thursday, Harris communications director Michael Tyler said her campaign welcomes Kennedy voters should the independent candidate drop out. For voters who see Trump as a threat, who are looking for a new way forward, or who want government to get the hell out of the way of their own personal decisions, theres a home for you in Kamala Harris campaign, Tyler said. For Trump, Friday will mark the end of a weeks worth of battleground state visits in which he has sought to draw attention away from Democrats celebration of Harris presidential nomination in Chicago. He traveled to Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina and Arizonas U.S.-Mexico border for events focused on his policy proposals on the economy, crime and safety, national security and the border. He will close out the week Friday with stops in Las Vegas and Glendale. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York, Michelle L. Price in Phoenix, Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pa., Meg Kinnard in Chicago and Linley Sanders in Washington contributed to this report. By Jonathan J. Cooper and Adriana Gomez Licon, The Associated Press SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. On a dirt road below the shrub-dotted hills of Arizona, Donald Trump used a stretch of wall and a pile of steel beams to draw a visual contrast between his approach to securing the border and that of his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump brought along grieving mothers, the sheriff of Cochise County and the head of the Border Patrol union to echo his tough-on-border security message at Thursdays visit, which was themed Make America Safe Again. To my right is what we call Trump wall. This was wall that was built under President Trump, said Paul Perez, the president of the Border Patrol union. To my left, we have what we call Kamala wall. Its just sitting there doing nothing, lying down. The visit was the fourth in a series of events held in battleground states this week to try to draw the focus away from Democrats celebration of Harris presidential nomination in Chicago. Speakers at the convention on Wednesday night accused Trump of using the border to stir up his base by demonizing immigrants. Joining Thursdays border visit were the mothers of children who were killed during the Biden administration in cases where the suspects are immigrants in the country illegally. Trump frequently highlights attacks involving immigrants to fuel concerns about the Biden administration policies, though some studies have found that people living in the U.S. illegally are less likely than native-born Americans to have been arrested for violent, drug and property crimes. I just really, really, really want everybody to please take into consideration how important border control is because were losing very innocent people to heinous crimes, said Alexis Nungaray, the mother of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, who was strangled to death in Houston in June. At the Arizona event, snipers stood nearby at an elevated position, their eyes and weapons pointed toward Mexico, a day after Trump held his first outdoor rally since an assassination attempt last month. Security forces were also visible on the Mexican side of the border, including several men with rifles and tactical gear. Others wore uniforms identifying them as members of the Mexican state police. What Biden and Kamala have done to the families here with me and so many others, thousands and thousands of others, not only killed, but also really badly hurt, badly hurt to a point where theyll never lead a normal life again. Its shameful, and its evil, Trump said. The Biden administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the wall materials that were lying there at the site during the visit. In his tour of battleground states this week, Trump has traveled to Pennsylvania, Michigan and North Carolina and will hold events in Las Vegas and the Phoenix suburb of Glendale on Friday. His running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, spoke at the same location near the border a few weeks ago. Elected Democratic officials argued Wednesday night at the convention that their party is the one offering real leadership on border issues. When it comes to the border, hear me when I say, You know nothing, Donald Trump, said U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, who represents the border city of El Paso, Texas. He and his Republican imitators see the border and immigration as a political opportunity to exploit instead of an issue to address. Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump talks as Paul Perez, president of the National Border Patrol Council, listens as he tours the southern border with Mexico, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Sierra Vista, Ariz. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)AP U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, spoke after a video played showing Republican opposition to a bipartisan border deal earlier this year. Murphy was the top Democrat negotiating the proposal with conservative senators and said the bill would have had unanimous support if it werent for Trump. Trump was asked about the deal, and he called it weak and ineffective, adding a bill was not needed for President Joe Biden to take action. He didnt need a bill. He knows that, he said. You know I didnt have a bill. I said close the border. Gomez Licon reported from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report from Chicago. Corrections officers and police officers are calling on Gov. Josh Shapiros administration to expand the list of medications they are provided to treat and reverse opioid overdoses. They are part of a coalition of 18 organizations and individuals asking the administration to update the state directive to allow access to all FDA-approved opioid overdose reversal agents. The group includes treatment advocates, county elected officials, hospitals among others. Currently, naloxone is the only overdose reversal medication allowed under the state directive and is provided at no cost to emergency personnel to reverse the effects of such drugs as fentanyl, heroin, oxycodone, hydrocodone (Vicodin) and morphine. With the increased potency of opioids and creative ways people are finding to get them into state prisons, John Eckenrode, president of the Pennsylvania State Corrections Officers Association said, We feel we should have access to as many resources as are available,. We cannot delay because new challenges are emerging every day, said Joe Regan, president of the Pennsylvania Fraternal Order of Police. With the prevalence of fentanyl in our drug supply, we need a state policy that allows for new tools to be accessible to Pennsylvanians. But their plea has encountered resistance from state health officials. Neil Ruhland, a spokesman for the Department of Health said the standing orders provide access only to naloxone medications, commonly known by the brand name NARCAN. Still, he added the department will continue to review opioid reversal products as they become available. Eckenrode said the problem with Narcan is it can require several doses to treat an overdose when other medications can be more effective in those life-saving moments. Nalmefene, another FDA-approved opioid reversal drug, is promoted as reducing the number of doses required to wake up someone from an overdose. However, two leading professional medical organizations continue to recommend naloxone over nalmefene until more robust clinical and cost data is available to support its routine use. The American College of Medical Toxicology and the American Academy of Clinical Toxicologys position paper states the physical effects nalmefene causes from opioid withdrawal which can range from nausea and vomiting to life-threatening conditions may last as long as eight hours whereas with Narcan, its more like 90 minutes. The shorter duration that Narcan lasts for can actually be beneficial in some ways because we want to know if somebody is going to require a repeat dose, said Dr. Joshua Knapp, associate medical director of Penn State Health Life Lion LLC. If we watch them for that 90-minute period and they start getting drowsy and sedated again then we know were dealing with something else. With nalmefene, a patient would need to be monitored in the emergency department hours longer to know that they are safe, he said. Additionally, he pointed out it is more expensive, at least twice the cost of naloxone. The way, Deb Beck, president of the statewide Drug & Alcohol Service Providers, sees it the more tools available to treat an overdose the better so a patient can move on to adequate treatment for their addiction. As for the concern about nalmefene causing a longer period of possibly severe withdrawal symptoms, Beck said, if the choice is between that and being dead, come on. Since the start of 2012, the state Department of Health data indicates more than 94,300 Pennsylvanians have died through accidental and undetermined drug overdoses, averaging more than 7,862 deaths a year over that time period. In 2023 alone, 13 Pennsylvanians, on average, died each day from an overdose. Pennsylvanias standing order for naloxone was first issued in 2015 allowing pharmacists to dispense naloxone without requiring an individual prescription. The directive was issued to help reduce the staggering number of drug-related overdose deaths the commonwealth was experiencing. Naloxone, which has proven to be effective in preventing deaths in patients treated for an opioid overdose, has been administered by EMS personnel more than 96,300 times since 2018, according to the health department statistics. For Eckenrode, the concern primarily centers around instances where corrections officers are accidentally exposed when doing cell searches or rummaging through inmates legal mail which is opened at the prison in the presence of the inmate. Personal mail is sent to a company in Florida where it is scanned and a copy of the letter is sent to the inmate. He pointed to an incident where a federal prison employee died after coming in contact in the mail room with a piece of drug-saturated piece of legal mail at U.S. Penitentiary Atwater in California. Closer to home, a corrections officer at the State Correctional Institution-Dallas was processing inmate legal mail on Aug. 8 and began to feel ill. Department of Corrections spokeswoman Maria Bivens confirmed the incident and said the officer was sent to a nearby hospital for observation before being released. She said that matter remains under review. Knapp said research has shown there is not good medical evidence to support that casual exposure such as occurred in those prisons would cause opioid toxicity. But he acknowledged this is an area where law enforcement and physicians do not agree. You can pour fentanyl all over your hand and its not going to cause any problem to you, Knapp said. Some of of these events that have happened, especially on video dont look to a physician like an opioid overdose either. Still, Eckenrode said if other opioid reversal agents are available to help in those situations, why not make it accessible to public servants like the corrections officers he represents. Its frustrating, he said. We work in a dangerous place and want to make sure we have the tools to make it less dangerous. Jan Murphy may be reached at jmurphy@pennlive.com. Follow her on X at @JanMurphy. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form Enthusiasm is turning into action in Pennsylvania, as over 12,000 Keystone Staters have volunteered for Kamala Harris over the past week. Sean Kitchen of The Keystone posted: Over 12,000 Pennsylvanians have signed up to volunteer for the Kamala Harris campaign within the past week according to the campaign. https://t.co/iuGbW1v8wc Sean Kitchen (@pennslinger) August 23, 2024 That is a mindboggling number of volunteers for a campaign to get in a week, especially in a key battleground state like Pennsylvania. Trump won Pennsylvania by a little more than 44,000 votes in 2016. Harris has picked up more than 25% of Trumps margin of victory in the state in volunteers within the past week. The Kamala Harris surge isnt just donations and rally crowds. It is also volunteers. People who are going to be stuffing envelopes, going door to door, making phone calls, and contacting critical voters to make sure that they vote in 2024. The best way for a campaign to make sure that a voter becomes a supporter is face to face contact. In Pennsylvania, that contact will be happening. While Trump is being warned that he doesnt have a ground game in the battleground states , Kamala Harris is deploying an army of volunteers because in an election this close, every vote counts. In a poll conducted before the Democratic convention, Kamala Harris had already opened up a 50%-43% lead over Donald Trump. The Fairleigh Dickinson University Poll was released today, but the data was collected before the Democratic convention, and it found: In the overall sample, Harris leads Trump 50 to 43 among likely voters, with 7 percent saying that they will support someone else in Novembers election (with undecided voters included, that lead is 47 to 40). Both Trump and Harris have the support of 95 percent of their partisans, and Harris leads Trump 38 to 33 among independents who do not lean towards either party. Similarly, Harris has a strong lead among self-identified liberals (87 to 10), progressives (93 to 5) and moderates (62 to 30). Trump leads among conservatives (76 to 19), and MAGA voters (95 to 4). The FDU poll did something very unique. The poll measured the impact of race and gender on the election, and what they found was important: Trump are tied (47 to 48). When the list of issues mentions the sex of the candidates, Harris pulls ahead, 52 to 42. And when the race of the candidates is mentioned, Harris holds a 14-point lead, 53 to 39, a 15-point shift from the baseline condition. The movement in the race priming condition is largely due to changes in support among non-white voters. Fifty-five percent of non-white voters in the unprimed condition say that theyll support Harris, with 39 percent supporting Trump. But in the race primed condition, Trumps support among non-white voters drops by 10 points to 29 percent, while Harriss support rises by 10, from 55 to 65 percent. All told, mentioning the race of the candidates moves Harriss lead among non-white voters from 16 points (55 to 39) to 36 points (65 to 29). This size of the effect is supplemented by a shift away from Trump among white voters in the race primed condition. In the unprimed condition, Trump leads Harris among white voters by 11 points, 53 to 42. In the race primed condition, the two are tied, with Harris marginally ahead among white voters, 47 to 44. When Trump and the Republicans talk about the election in terms of race and gender, the support for Trump plummets. The data suggests that instead of minimizing race and gender, Democrats should be embracing it. While it is important not to overstate the meaning of one poll, voters are showing signs of not wanting a white male president. The poll suggests that Trumps strategy against Harris is completely wrong. The personal attacks are costing him support, and Trumps refusal to not use the same strategy that he used against Hillary Clinton is backfiring on him. Trump has no strength in policy, and it is a good rule of thumb that when a campaign starts being told that they need to talk about policy, it is a sure sign that their messaging isnt working and they are losing. Again, it is just one poll, but it suggests that America has changed since Trump ran in 2016. A wave could be building that isnt fueled by policy or personality but by a desire for change and diversity. The news that Trump is going virtually station JD Vance in Pennsylvania for the rest of the campaign shows that his path to the presidency is becoming PA or nothing. NOTUS with the scoop: Former President Donald Trump and JD Vance are in the middle of an all-out blitz in Pennsylvania, putting more emphasis on campaigning in the commonwealth than perhaps any other state. While Trump is looking to eat into Kamala Harris numbers all over the state, his campaigns visits have predominantly centered on the rural and working-class stretches of Pennsylvania he won in 2016 and 2020. Just this week, Trump visited York, in the central part of the state, and Wilkes-Barre, in the northeast. And GOP sources told NOTUS to expect much more campaigning in those sorts of areas, from both Trump and particularly Vance. The strategy is baffling because JD Vance isnt playing well in Pennsylvania. Just like anywhere else that he has been deployed, the Ohio senator is the least popular candidate in the race and is not drawing big crowds. Plus, thinking that an Ohio senator is will play well in Pennsylvania displays a fundamental misunderstanding of the culture of the Keystone State that typically haunts Republicans. The Trump campaign can try to spin this, but the truth is Vance has no value to the ticket, so they are hoping that he can activate rural white voters in the state for Trump. Trump is using the same strategy in Pennsylvania that he failed with in 2020. Trump has to hope that he can get all of the rural white voters in the state to run up the score and negate the Democratic advantage in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The strategy worked in 2016 because Hillary Clinton didnt get Democratic African-American turnout to the level that she needed in the state, while the Clinton campaign also ignored rural white Democrats. Since 2016, Republicans in the state have tried to use Trumps strategy and failed in every statewide election in part because the population is declining in the rural red parts of the state. There are fewer Republican votes in these places that Trump needs. When that is combined with the states population growth happening in Democratic areas and the suburbs becoming more blue in Pennsylvania, the end result is that the state is more difficult for Republicans to win than it was eight years ago. Trump likely cant win the White House without Pennsylvania, and if turnout is high, it will signal that Democrats will have sealed off his only path to the presidency. COLUMBIA Cosmic Flower, a popular vendor at Soda City Market that sells quirky earrings and cutesy pins, will open a pop-up in a vacant retail building along Main Street. The Lexington-based shop is set to occupy 1219 Taylor St. beginning Aug. 24 and will sell handmade earrings there until Sept. 16, according to a press release. The pop-up will be open Wednesdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. The shop plans to host events through mid-September including a craft night and a speed-friending event. Cosmic Flower's temporary shop is one of many retail pop-ups that've made waves in Columbia in the last year, in large part due to the efforts of Made with Cola Love. The group, which was handed $100,000 from the city of Columbia in January, connects smaller businesses with vacant storefronts and gives out $3,000 grants to those businesses to help them host pop-up events. "This collaboration ... gives a long-time Soda City Market vendor the exciting opportunity to test their first brick-and-mortar location," Nell Fuller, a co-founder of the organization, said in a statement. The group models itself after a San Francisco program called "Vacant to Vibrant," in which the nonprofit convinces landlords to give up empty real estate to host small businesses for three months. Made with Cola Love has hosted a handful of pop-up events around the city in recent years, from a one-weekend-only Pakistani restaurant to a pop-up shop for a small bookseller called "Liberation is Lit." It's a growing trend in Columbia, with groups like Made with Cola Love and events like the weekly Soda City Market becoming incubators for small business growth. A handful of spots, like Arepa South and Rambo's Fat Cat Biscuits, have grown from the Saturday morning market to brick-and-mortar locations. And other independent pop-ups like Godspeed, a temporary coffee shop in the old Starbucks space in Five Points from former Drip barista-duo Roger Caughman and Kailey Cunningham, have found success in the Capital City. Michael Toscano of Le Farfalle and Porchetta Shop in Charleston has launched something new in Greenville, taking over culinary operations at the 3's Golf and Grill. Read moreCharleston chef bringing his culinary touch to Upstate with new Greenville venture All registered voters in South Carolina will soon have the opportunity to exercise the right to engage in one of the pillars of American democracy when they cast their vote early or on Election Day, Nov. 5. If you're eligible but not yet registered, time is running out. Act now to ensure you Read moreCommentary: South Carolinians can confidently exercise their right to vote PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-23 03:15:22 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 523 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2024 / The African Fashion Council (AFC) Showcase atNew York Fashion Weekon September 11th will feature the 2024 Jaguar South Africa x GiveHerACrown designers. Five exceptional South African designers have an opportunity to highlight their unique artistry to an international audience. As South Africa commemorates 30 years of freedom, this year's partnership carries profound significance. The initiative also has the support of the South African Consulate-General, who will graciously host a welcome mixer for the press on September 6th, marking this milestone with a celebration of unity and collaboration.The GiveHerACrown initiative, led by Change Collective Africa, is a female empowerment platform that amplifies the voices of women by harnessing the power of the arts to make a difference in the lives of individuals and society. Since its inception in 2020, Jaguar South Africa has proudly supported the GiveHerACrown initiative. To date, the luxury vehicle brand has empowered 20 female creatives, contributing to their professional development and championing their growth in the industry.The 2024 campaign themed, "Shifting Perspectives", nudges the observer into new realms of thought and acts as a catalyst to redefine boundaries.The AFC Showcase, of the Jaguar South Africa x GiveHerACrown designers, presents a dynamic display of talent. Guests will be treated to the visionary work of five outstanding designers: Gugu Peten, founder of Gugubygugu, a progressive streetwear brand known for pushing creative boundaries; Tsakani Mashaba, whose brand HAMETHOP celebrates the rich diversity of African art; and Thando Ntuli, whose label MUNKUS embodies her commitment to empowering women. The showcase also highlights Manthe Ribane, a multi-dimensional artist who blends music, performance, and design through her brand, and Keneilwe Mothoa, the innovative interior and fashion designer behind Neimil, celebrated for her pioneering visual concepts.Curated by multidisciplinary artist and fashion designer Chuks Collins, Co-Founder of the African Fashion Council, this event seeks to amplify the voices of African creatives through a meaningful philanthropic partnership. Part of the mission of the non-profit organization is to open doors for other African designers, providing them with educational exposure and fostering economic prosperity through fashion. Participating designers will also benefit from design Masterclasses at Berkeley College, where Chuks Collins (AFC member), currently serves as a designer-in-residence.The GiveHerACrown initiative is dedicated to amplifying the stories of the next generation of artists while supporting female creatives to foster positive change. The organization shares values with the African Fashion Council's directive and the luxury car company known for pioneering technologies and visionary design. The platform was officially launched in August 2020 to inspire and celebrate the strength and resilience of women across Africa and to create real societal change.About the African Fashion Council: The African Fashion Council is a non-profit organization dedicated to transforming Africa's fashion industry into a global leader through innovation, talent development, and sustainability. By facilitating economic growth across the continent, the AFC empowers designers to thrive internationally while preserving and celebrating Africa's rich cultural heritage.To arrange interviews with show curator and AFC member Chuks Collins or individual designers contact Playbook MG by emailing Marie Driven Theodore directly.###Press Inquiries: Marie Driven TheodorePlaybook MG marie@ playbookmg.com SOURCE: African Fashion Council PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-23 22:16:24 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 517 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VICTORIA, BC / ACCESSWIRE / August 23, 2024 / AI/ML Innovations Inc. ("AIML" or the "Company") (CSE:AIML)(OTCQB:AIMLF)(FWB:42FB), a leading company committed to acquiring and advancing Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning technologies that address urgent societal needs, is pleased to announce that it has closed its previously announced acquisition of technology from Naiad Lab Inc. The Company issued a total of 6,700,000 at a deemed price of $0.05 per share to Naiad Lab Inc.As per the Agreement, the Common Shares issued are subject to a twelve-month voluntary hold period.###About AI/ML Innovations Inc. https://aiml-innovations.com/ AI/ML Innovations Inc. has realigned its business operations to capitalize on the burgeoning fields of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), with an initial investment focus on emerging digital health and wellbeing companies that leverage AI, ML, cloud computing and digital platforms to drive transformative healthcare management solutions and precision support delivery across the health continuum. Through strategic partnerships with Health Gauge Inc. (95.2% owned by AIML), Tech2Heal (up to 22% ownership rights, with 12.44% currently owned by AIML), AI Rx Inc. (70% owned by AIML), NeuralCloud Solutions Inc. (100% owned by AIML), and other planned accretive investments, the Company continues to capitalize on expanding growth areas, to the benefit of all the Company's stakeholders. AI/ML's shares are traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol "AIML", the OTCQB Venture Market under "AIMLF", and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under "42FB".On behalf of the Board of DirectorsTim Daniels, Executive ChairmanFor more information about AI/ML Innovations :For detailed information please see AI/ML's website or the Company's filed documents at www.sedarplus.ca For further information, contact: Blake Fallis at (778) 405-0882 or info@ aiml-innovations.com Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.For AI/ML Innovations InvestorsCertain statements made in this press release that are not based on historical information are forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. This press release contains express or implied forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, AI/ML Innovations' expectations concerning management's plans, objectives, and strategies, including strategies for defending the Company's intellectual property. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. Existing and prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. AI/ML Innovations Inc. undertakes no obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events, or circumstances or otherwise except as expressly required by applicable securities law. Further information regarding the uncertainties and risks can be found in the disclosure documents filed by AI/ML with the securities regulatory authorities, available at www.sedarplus.ca SOURCE: AI/ML Innovations, Inc. PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-23 03:00:27 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 690 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 First case in the nation that holds Airbnb responsibleSAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2024 / On August 22, 2024, a San Francisco Superior Court judge (Hon. Charles F. Haines) overruled Airbnb's demurrer to dismiss a case brought by the parents of an 18-year-old boy Elias Elhania for his death after he was shot at a party at a home rented on Airbnb on August 7, 2021. The case name is Elhania v. Airbnb, Inc., with case number CGC-23-605312. This ruling allows the case to go forward in court against Airbnb and the property owner.On August 7, 2021, roughly 150-200 people flocked to a house at 1447 Navarro Dr., Sunnyvale, CA for a wild party, which was advertised on social media. There was a cover charge for some guests, alcohol was being served, and most people who attended were under the age of 21. Neighbors called the police making a noise complaint and stated that they were afraid for their safety. The police arrived at the house, but was unable to enter the house, because the owner was nowhere to be found to give consent. Approximately an hour and a half later, the police heard gunshots from the house, which gave them probable cause to enter. But by then, it was too late, 18-year-old Elias had died.Today's ruling is the first case in the country where a court holds Airbnb legally responsible for a victim's death from a shooting at an Airbnb party. Before today, Airbnb has been successful in dismissing these cases, arguing that it can not be legally held responsible for any victim of shooting at Airbnb parties, because it was not foreseeable that people would get injured at wild parties. Airbnb also argues that Section 230 of the Communication Decency Act shields Airbnb from any liability, because Airbnb is merely a platform that connects renters with property owners and nothing else.However in this case, Teresa Li, a lawyer whose office is in San Francisco, representing the victim's parents in the case, argued that Airbnb violated the local city ordinance regulating short-term rentals, which were specifically designed to protect the type of harm Elias suffered--the rental is an illegal short-term rental; the owner was not on site throughout the stay; and Airbnb rented the unit to an unaccompanied minor, all violations of the short-term rental law. Li also alleges that it was foreseeable, because there have been over 250 victims shot, many fatally, in short-term rentals, mostly in Airbnb, in the two years before Elias' death.Airbnb, in the oral argument, argued that because it conducts business in many cities, counties, and countries, all of which has different laws, it is impossible for Airbnb to determine what the law is or comply with it. Airbnb also argued that the local law regulating short-term rentals does not apply to Airbnb, only to the property owners.The judge rejected Airbnb's argument, ruling that Airbnb can be legally responsible for victim of shooting at Airbnb parties, if the short-term rental violates a local ordinance that is designed to protect the public's health, safety, or welfare from disorderly conduct."No one is above the law, especially a global company like Airbnb. The Court, in its wisdom, saw to it that this is the case. I hope this ruling will change the way Airbnb conducts its business and short-term rentals will be safer for everyone, so that Elias did not die in vain." said Teresa Li.About Teresa Li, Law Offices of Teresa Li, PCTeresa Li has recovered over $30 million on behalf of injured clients. She specializes in Airbnb cases, car accident cases, and cases involving traumatic brain injury/concussion, wrongful death, and other injuries. Li has been repeatedly selected by Super Lawyers Magazine as a Super Lawyer and Super Lawyers Rising Star since 2014. She is the President-Elect of Alameda-Contra Costa Trial Lawyers' Association, and is on the board of Consumer Attorneys Of California. Please call (888) 635-3259, or visit http://www.lawofficesofteresali.com . The law office is located at 315 Montgomery Street, 9th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104. To read more about Teresa Li in the news, please visitLaw Offices of Teresa Li, PC .SOURCE: Law Offices of Teresa Li, PC PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-23 19:30:32 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 449 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 The lawsuit, which was prominently featured in the August 16th edition of The Turks and Caicos Sun, the largest newspaper in the region, highlights the challenges faced by foreign investors in the Turks and Caicos Islands under the current administration.PROVIDENCIALES, TURKS AND CAICOS / ACCESSWIRE / August 23, 2024 / Rick Langley, a prominent American entrepreneur and philanthropist, has filed a $16 million lawsuit against the Turks and Caicos Islands Government (TCIG), alleging that broken promises and bureaucratic hurdles have caused significant financial harm to his business ventures in the islands.TCI Sun Cover Page American Investor Files $16 Million Lawsuit Against Turks and Caicos GovernmentThe lawsuit, which was prominently featured in the August 16th edition of The Turks and Caicos Sun, the largest newspaper in the region, highlights the challenges faced by foreign investors in the Turks and Caicos Islands under the current administration. According to Langley, previous commitments made by the People's Democratic Movement (PDM) administration, which facilitated his business activities, were subsequently disregarded by the new government, leading to severe financial losses.Langley, widely known for his venture in the health and beauty industry, specifically targeted the bureaucratic roadblocks that have prevented him from importing his key product-scorpions used in a unique Blue Scorpion Peptide product. Despite initial assurances, Langley claims that the new government has failed to provide the necessary permits and has delayed responses over three years, effectively stalling his business operations.In an exclusive interview with The Turks and Caicos Sun, Langley expressed his deep disappointment, stating, "The government destroyed my dreams, my career, and my finances." He emphasized the significant impact of the government's actions, not only on his business but also on the local economy, which had expected job creation and revenue generation from his ventures.Langley's legal action seeks to recover the $16 million in damages he claims to have incurred due to the government's failure to honor previous commitments. He also raised concerns about the broader implications for foreign investment in the Turks and Caicos Islands, warning that the current climate could deter future investors.The full article detailing Langley's claims and the ongoing legal battle can be found in the latest edition of The Turks and Caicos Sun. A high-resolution image of the article is available upon request.For further information please contact:Oliver JonesJones Media, Ltd. ojonesmedialtd@ gmail.com310.433.8289 About Rick LangleyRick Langley is an entrepreneur and philanthropist known for his innovative approach in the health and beauty sector. He has made significant contributions to the industry through the development of unique products and has a history of successful business ventures in various regions.Contact InformationOliver JonesPresidentojonesmedialtd@ gmail.com 3104338289SOURCE: Rick LangleyView the original press release on newswire.com PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-23 13:27:20 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 594 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 ABR Investors with Losses Encouraged to Contact the FirmSAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 23, 2024 / Hagens Berman urges Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:ABR) investors who suffered substantial losses to submit your losses now.Class Period: May 7, 2021 - July 11, 2024Lead Plaintiff Deadline: Sept. 30, 2024Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/ABR Contact the Firm Now: ABR@ hbsslaw.com 844-916-0895Securities Class Action Against Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. (ABR):Arbor Realty Trust is facing intensifying scrutiny as a series of damning reports and legal actions cast doubt on the company's financial health and business practices. The latest salvo came from analyst Bashar Issa, who on August 17 predicted the multifamily lender will be unable to cover its dividend by year-end.Issa, in a report published on Seeking Alpha, cited a ballooning payout ratio, shrinking balance sheet, and the potential impact of a Federal Reserve rate cut as key factors behind his bearish outlook. The analyst warned risk-averse investors to stay clear of Arbor.The new concerns follow closely on the heels of a series of blistering reports from activist short seller Viceroy Research, which accused Arbor of misleading investors about the quality of its loan book and engaging in "window-dressing" to obscure financial troubles. The most recent report, released earlier in August, pointed to a 10% surge in delinquent loans to $1 billion as evidence of the company's deteriorating financial condition.Arbor is also battling a class-action lawsuit alleging securities fraud. The suit, filed in late July, accuses the company of painting a misleadingly rosy picture of its business performance.Investor concerns about Arbor's financial health first emerged in Mar. 2023 when NINGI Research questioned the value of the company's real estate holdings, particularly its mobile home portfolio.Then, in Dec. 2023, Viceroy Research released a report alleging widespread issues with the company's loan book.Finally, on July 12, 2024, reports of a federal investigation into the company's lending practices broke.Each of these revelations caused the price of Arbor shares to decline sharply.These allegations have prompted prominent shareholder rights firm Hagens Berman to commence an investigation into potential securities fraud."We are investigating whether Arbor Realty may have misled investors about its financial health and the quality of its loan book," said Reed Kathrein, a partner at Hagens Berman. "Investors deserve to know the truth about their investments, and we are committed to holding companies accountable." If you invested in Arbor and have substantial losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firm's investigation, submit your losses now If you'd like more information and answers to frequently asked questions about the Arbor case and our investigation, read more Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Arbor should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email ABR@ hbsslaw.com # # #About Hagens Berman Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs' rights complex litigation firm focusing on corporate accountability. The firm is home to a robust practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and other wrongdoings. Hagens Berman's team has secured more than $2.9 billion in this area of law. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com . Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.Contact: Reed Kathrein, 844-916-0895SOURCE: Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-23 04:50:28 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 453 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW ORLEANS, LA / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2024 / Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have untilSeptember 30, 2024to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. ("ABR" or the "Company") (NYSE:ABR), if they purchased the Company's securities between May 7, 2021 and July 11, 2024, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.What You May DoIf you purchased securities of ABR and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ( lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com) , or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-abr/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court bySeptember 30, 2024 .About the LawsuitArbor Realty and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.On March 14, 2023, NINGI Research reported that "ABR has been hiding a toxic real estate portfolio of mobile homes with a complex web of real and fake holdings companies for more than a decade." On this news, the price of ABR shares fell from $12.99 per share on March 13, 2023, to $12.12 per share on March 14, 2023, and then $11.53 per share on March 15, 2023. Then, on July 12, 2024, Bloomberg reported that the Company was the subject of a probe by federal prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New York that were "inquiring about lending practices and the company's claims about the performance of their loan book." On this news, the price of ABR shares fell from $15.53 per share on July 11, 2024, to $12.89 per share on July 12, 2024.The case is Martin v. Arbor Realty Trust, Inc., No. 24-cv-05347.About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCKSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, Delaware, California, Louisiana and New Jersey.To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com Contact:Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCLewis Kahn, Managing Partner1-877-515-18501100 Poydras St., Suite 960New Orleans, LA 70163SOURCE: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-23 21:46:09 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 522 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 23, 2024 / Leading securities law firmBleichmar Fonti & Auld LLPannounces an investigation into Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) for potential violations of the federal securities laws.If you invested in Franklin Resources, you are encouraged to obtain additional information by visiting https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/franklin-resources-inc Why Did Franklin Resources's Stock Drop?Franklin Resources is a $1.7 trillion asset management company better known as Franklin Templeton. One of its key divisions is Western Asset Management ("WAM"), which is a fixed income manager.On July 26, 2024, Franklin Resources revealed that "following the launch of an internal investigation focusing on certain past trade allocations of treasury derivatives in select" WAM accounts, "WAM received notification of parallel investigations by the SEC and U.S. Department of Justice." Then, on August 21, 2024, Franklin Resources disclosed that WAM co-Chief Investment Officer Ken Leech had been placed on leave "effective immediately" after he "received a Wells Notice from the Staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission." The company further stated that, "[i]n light of Mr. Leech's leave of absence, the Company has determined that closing its Macro Opportunities strategy (approximately $2.0 billion in AUM as of 7/31/2024) is in clients' best interests." On the same day, Bloomberg reported that federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York are investigating whether Leech allocated winning trades to favored accounts, as part of a criminal probe into a practice known as " cherry-picking." The news caused a precipitous decline in the price of Franklin Resources stock. On July 26, 2024, the price of the company's stock fell 2.4%, from a closing price of $23.64 per share on July 25, 2024, to $23.08 per share on July 26, 2024. Then, on August 21, 2024, the price of Franklin Resources stock fell 12.5%, from a closing price of $22.62 per share on August 20, 2024, to $19.78 per share on August 21, 2024.Click here for more information: https://www.bfalaw.com/cases-investigations/franklin-resources-inc What Can You Do?If you invested in Franklin Resources, Inc. you may have legal options and are encouraged to submit your information to the firm. All representation is on a contingency fee basis, there is no cost to you. Shareholders are not responsible for any court costs or expenses of litigation. The firm will seek court approval for any potential fees and expenses.Submit your information by visiting:Or contact:Ross Shikowitz ross@ bfalaw.com 212-789-3619Why Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP?Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP is a leading international law firm representing plaintiffs in securities class actions and shareholder litigation. It was named among the Top 5 plaintiff law firms by ISS SCAS in 2023 and its attorneys have been named Titans of the Plaintiffs' Bar by Law360 and SuperLawyers by Thompson Reuters. Among its recent notable successes, BFA recovered over $900 million in value from Tesla, Inc.'s Board of Directors (pending court approval), as well as $420 million from Teva Pharmaceutical Ind. Ltd.For more information about BFA and its attorneys, please visit https://www.bfalaw.com Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.SOURCE: Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-23 16:05:45 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 579 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Securities Litigation Partner James (Josh) Wilson Encourages Investors Who Suffered Losses Exceeding $100,000 In Toyota To Contact Him Directly To Discuss Their OptionsNEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 23, 2024 /If you purchased or acquired securities in Toyota between June 25, 2022 and June 2, 2024 and would like to discuss your legal rights, call Faruqi & Faruqi partner Josh Wilson directly at 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310).[You may also click here for additional information]Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential claims against Toyota Motor Corporation ("Toyota" or the "Company") (NYSE:TM) and reminds investors of the August 23, 2024 deadline to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities class action that has been filed against the Company.Faruqi & Faruqi is a leading national securities law firm with offices in New York, Pennsylvania, California and Georgia. The firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors since its founding in 1995. See www.faruqilaw.com As detailed below, this Complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts, about the Company's business and operations. Specifically, Defendants misrepresented and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Toyota understated its malfeasance relating to certification of its cars and issues relating to overall legal compliance; and (2) as a result, defendants' statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.On June 3, 2024, The New York Times published an article entitled "Toyota and Other Japanese Carmakers Say They Mishandled Safety Tests." This article stated, in pertinent part, that "Toyota [. . .] and other top Japanese automakers said on Monday that internal investigations found they had mishandled vehicle testing on dozens of models over the past decade." Further, "Toyota said it had failed to gather proper data when doing pedestrian and occupant safety tests for three models, including its popular Yaris Cross sport utility vehicle." On this news, Toyota's American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") fell $5.34 per ADS, or 2.45%, to close at $212.17 per ADS on June 3, 2024.The court-appointed lead plaintiff is the investor with the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class who is adequate and typical of class members who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of the putative class. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision to serve as a lead plaintiff or not.Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding Toyota's conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others.To learn more about the Toyota class action, go towww.faruqilaw.com/TMor call Faruqi & Faruqi partner Josh Wilson directly at 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310).Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, on X, or on Facebook.Attorney Advertising. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP ( www.faruqilaw.com) . Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter. We welcome the opportunity to discuss your particular case. All communications will be treated in a confidential manner.SOURCE: Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-23 15:15:39 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 327 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 23, 2024 / Levi & Korsinsky notifies investors that it has commenced an investigation of Globus Medical, Inc. ("Globus Medical, Inc.") (NYSE:GMED) concerning possible violations of federal securities laws.In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on August 13, 2024, Globus disclosed that "[o]n July 16, 2024, Globus Medical, Inc. received a warning letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the FDA') following an inspection of our facilities in Audubon, Pennsylvania. In the warning letter, the FDA cited deficiencies in the response letters sent by the Company to the FDA following the Form 483, List of Investigational Observations, which was delivered to the Company in connection with the inspection that occurred from February 15, 2024 until March 7, 2024. The letter describes observed non-conformities in establishing and maintaining product complaint procedures, including complaint investigations, trending, risk reconciliation, and Medical Device Report (MDR) procedures including timely reporting, pertaining to the ExcelsiusGPS robotic system."Following this news, Globus's stock price fell over 7% the same day. 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: 2024-08-23 15:00:17 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 429 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 23, 2024 / The Kiwi Ears KE4 represents a completely redesigned in-ear monitor that delivers an unparalleled level of audio clarity and comfort. It starts fresh from the ground up, featuring a 2 Dynamic Driver (2DD) isobaric sub-woofer system, combined with 2 Balanced Armature (2BA) full-range and tweeter speakers. The two Kiwi Ears custom 10mm dynamic drivers focus on sub-bass impact and slam, highlighting kick drum and bass guitar presence. A RAD 33518 BA driver, customized with enhanced ventilation, ensures a seamless integration of the bass with the midrange while providing lush and textured vocals and instruments. An American-made Knowles RAD 33518 tweeter delivers pristine and natural-sounding treble with excellent upper frequency extension for an airy sound.Tonal SuperiorityThe KE4 embodies Kiwi Ears' commitment to excellent tonal balance. It follows a new target tuning that emphasizes precise sub-bass impact, a warm yet natural midrange, and accurate treble. This sound signature has been refined over the years and is considered to be the most natural and engaging. It is suitable for every purpose - from music enjoyment and gaming to professional on-stage monitoring and audio engineering.Precisely EngineeredThe Kiwi Ears KE4 has been engineered by hand from start to finish. Featuring a three-way passive crossover system and three independent sound tubes, every miniscule detail of acoustic engineering has been undertaken to achieve its tuning. The shells are made from medical-grade resin and are adorned with hand-finished faceplates.Product InformationDriver: 2 Balanced Armatures and 2 Dynamic Drivers Sensitivity: 102dB (1dB)Details: 3 sound tubes, 3-way crossover: 1 ultra-high frequency, 1 mid-high frequency, 2 low frequenciesDrivers: 1xKnowles RAD-33518, 1xCustomized RAB-32257, 2 x10mm dynamic driversWho is Kiwi Ears?Kiwi Ears is a brand with a single goal of producing the best-sounding audio solutions for musicians and audiophiles. We focus on developing the latest technological driver innovations with refined tuning strategies that reveal every nuance in your music and performance. An international team of dedicated engineers handcraft each unit so that you can worry less about what's in your ears and focus more on the sounds you are making.With the release of the KE4, Kiwi Ears invites audiophiles and casual listeners alike to experience the unparalleled sound quality and innovative design. The KE4 is more than just a product; it's a testament to the pursuit of exceptional audio experiences. Discover the difference with Kiwi Ears KE4 and elevate the listening experience to new heights.For more information and details, visit: Kiwi Ears WebsiteLinsoul WebsiteContact InformationAgnes DuMarketing Managermarketing@ linsoul.com Evelyn ZhouMarketing Assistantmarketing@ kiwiears.com SOURCE: Linsoul Inc.View the original press release on newswire.com PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-23 16:16:32 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 305 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 23, 2024 / Levi & Korsinsky notifies investors that it has commenced an investigation of The Chemours Company ("The Chemours Company") (NYSE:CC) concerning possible violations of federal securities laws.Chemours issued a press release on August 1, 2024, reporting its financial results for the second quarter of 2024. Among other items, Chemours reported non-GAAP earnings per share of $0.38, missing consensus estimates by $0.20. The Company advised that it "anticipates a low to mid-single digit sequential decline in Net Sales for the third quarter," citing "[r]esidual impacts from Q2 unplanned downtime at our Altamira, Mexico manufacturing site" in its Titanium Technologies segment; "[r]efrigerant seasonality paired with weaker Freon Refrigerants pricing in its Thermal & Specialized Solutions segment; and "[a] continued modest recovery in" its Advanced Performance Materials segment.Following this news, Chemours's stock price dropped over 11% on August 2, 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: 2024-08-23 18:15:34 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 415 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 23, 2024 / Kootenai Health, including its subsidiaries Kootenai Clinic, Kootenai Outpatient Surgery, and Kootenai Outpatient Imaging, recently disclosed a data breach that compromised the sensitive personal information of over 480,000 employees, employees' dependents, and patients. This breach has led to concerns over the security of private information entrusted to the healthcare provider.WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?On March 2, 2024, Kootenai Health detected unusual activity that disrupted access to certain IT systems. Kootenai Health conducted an investigation which revealed an unauthorized party may have gained access to certain data in its network on or around February 22, 2024. The investigation determined that the following sensitive personal information were compromised in the data breach: full name, Social Security number, driver's license, government-issued ID, medical records number, medical information, health insurance information, and medical diagnoses.On August 12, 2024, Kootenai Health began issuing notice letters to individuals impacted by the data breach. Compensation may be available for Kootenai Health patients, employees, and their dependents who received notice that their personal information had been compromised.WHY AM I ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION?Data breaches are serious matters that can cause long-term damage. Hackers may use stolen information to commit identity theft, financial fraud, or other crimes. Companies that fail to secure your personal data may be held liable for the resulting harm.HOW DO I KNOW IF I WAS AFFECTED?If you received a data breach notification letter from Kootenai Health, you are likely affected. Follow the link below to find out if you may be eligible for compensation.Levi Korsinsky, LLP is investigating whether affected customers are entitled to compensation. If you have received a notice about the data breach, you may be entitled to compensation. There is no cost or obligation to participate. Follow the link below to find out:Levi & Korsinsky is a nationally recognized consumer advocacy law firm that has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars against large corporations. The firm's team of over 70 extraordinary attorneys and professionals have a winning track record going against the most powerful defense attorneys in the world and know how to maximize your compensation. The firm is a 100% contingency firm - we don't get paid unless you get paid! Please visit us at www.zlk.com for more information. 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) 363-7500Fax: (212) 363-7171 https://zlk.com/ SOURCE: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-23 03:00:47 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 705 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 An Enchanting Fusion of Culture and Dance Captivates Spectators Against the Majestic Backdrop of Nature's WonderNIAGARA FALLS, ON / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2024 / The captivating performances of "My Mulan Fantasy Dance Drama" produced by Mulan Culture Company and Lindance Dance Academy, enthralled audiences at the Fallsview Theatre, Niagara Falls Convention Center, over two weekends from August 9-18. This marks a significant milestone as the production, produced by Xu Hu and directed by Lin Li, ventured beyond the Greater Toronto Area after five successful rounds of 12 performances.The event received enthusiastic support from prominent figures, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, MP Tony Baldinelli, MPP Wayne Gates, Mayor Jim Diodati, City Councilor Mona Patel, Deputy Lord Mayor Erwin Wiens, and Doug Birrell, President of the Niagara Falls Canada Hotel Association. The attendance of China's Acting Consul General in Toronto, Cheng Hongbo, and Deputy Consul General Guo Jian at the premiere highlighted the show's international importance."My Mulan" follows the journey of modern-day Michelle, who, despite her self-doubt, draws strength from the legendary tale of Hua Mulan. Disguised as a man to take her ailing father's place in the army, Mulan leads her troops to victory, empowering Michelle to reclaim her confidence and return to the stage.Featuring innovative choreography, stunning visual effects, and a diverse cast of approximately 100 performers-including local talents like Molly Levay-"My Mulan" sets a new standard for multicultural narratives in dance theatre. Co-presented by the Canadian Mulan Cultural Association and the Canadian International Dance Culture Association, this original dance drama is the first of its kind in North America.Prime Minister Trudeau praised the team's dedication to showcasing Chinese culture on Canada's multicultural stage, while Acting Consul General Cheng expressed pride in the production's ability to reach an international audience and share Mulan's spirit with the world.Mayor Jim Diodati lauded the performance as a perfect fit for Niagara Falls, highlighting its "magnificent choreography, exquisite costumes, and professional displays of dance, martial arts, and gymnastics." He expressed hopes that "My Mulan" could become a cultural landmark for the city.Doug Birrell emphasized the emotional depth and modern dialogue of "My Mulan," noting its resonance with audiences and its potential to enhance the cultural impact of the Niagara Falls region. The production collaborated with major hotels in the area, with support from Ms. Anna DiCienzo, VP of Sales from Niagara Falls Hotels, in promoting tourism in Niagara Falls.Following the performances, "My Mulan" received overwhelmingly positive feedback from attendees who traveled from New York, Buffalo, Ottawa, Montreal, and the Greater Toronto Area, many of whom came specifically for the show.Continuously refined since its premiere in 2019, "My Mulan" aspires to become a classic cultural hallmark. This summer, the all-star cast features American dancer Xinyi Zhang as the heroic Mulan and renowned Canadian dance troupe leader Kealan McLaughlin as the loyal general. The production masterfully blends dance and martial arts, capturing the essence of Mulan's spirit and motivational power.The stage design, enhanced by dynamic backdrops and multimedia elements, further enriched the experience. Special performances by Toronto's rap newcomer Forever Chen and Christina Li, along with a live choir in the lotus-picking scene, added a three-dimensional narrative depth."My Mulan" not only mesmerized audiences with its outstanding performances but also continued its charitable mission, promoting the theme of "Walking with Love." A portion of the proceeds from this performance will be donated to the Niagara Health Foundation to support the construction of the new South Niagara Hospital, which will benefit local residents' health and well-being.Audience members praised the choreography, exquisite costumes, original storyline, and diverse dance styles, expressing hopes for the production to have a permanent presence in the Falls and become a cultural landmark in the stunning Niagara Falls region. The show is poised to significantly enhance local tourism and enrich the cultural landscape of Niagara Falls.For more information about "My Mulan," please visit our website at https://mymulan.ca and follow us on Instagram @ mymulan.ca Contact InformationXu HuProducermymulan.ca@gmail.com 6478383268Related FilesFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-My Mulan (1)SOURCE: Mulan Culture CompanyView the original press release on newswire.com PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-23 19:15:27 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 374 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Pures College is proud to announce its feature in a comprehensive online article titled "Cross-Disciplinary Programs at Pures College: Bridging Technology and Creative Arts." TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / August 23, 2024 / Pures College is proud to announce its feature in a comprehensive online article titled "Cross-Disciplinary Programs at Pures College: Bridging Technology and Creative Arts." This feature highlights the college's innovative approach to integrating technology and creative arts within its curriculum, offering students a unique educational pathway that prepares them for the complexities of the modern workforce.The article elaborates on how Pures College embraces the convergence of diverse disciplines, enabling students to develop both technical skills and creative thinking. Through programs such as Interactive Media and Game Development and Digital Marketing and Web Design, students are equipped with the knowledge to excel in both creating and implementing digital content and technological solutions.Key aspects covered in the article include:The Role of Technology in Creative Fields: Students at Pures College learn to use advanced technological tools and software to enhance their creative projects, making them competitive in fields like digital media and graphic design.Fostering Creativity in Technology: The curriculum encourages technology students to explore their creative sides through design thinking and digital storytelling, ensuring a well-rounded skill set.Real-World Applications and Collaborative Projects: Pures College emphasizes practical experience through industry partnerships that provide students with real-world challenges and projects.Career Preparation: The cross-disciplinary programs prepare students for diverse career paths, enhancing employability and entrepreneurial opportunities by equipping them with skills that bridge technical expertise and creative innovation.The integration of technology and creative arts at Pures College not only enhances the educational experience for students but also prepares them to be leaders and innovators in their respective fields. As technology continues to evolve, the college's commitment to cross-disciplinary programs will undoubtedly play a crucial role in shaping the future of education and the workforce.About Pures CollegePures College is dedicated to providing an innovative and inclusive educational environment that prepares students for successful careers in a rapidly changing world. By fostering a blend of technology and creative arts, Pures College remains at the forefront of educational excellence.To read the full article, clickhere .Contact: ask@ pures.ca SOURCE: Pures College PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-23 21:30:14 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 470 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Roti to Reorganize Under Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Aims to Secure New Investors and Continue Operations Across All LocationsCHICAGO, IL / ACCESSWIRE / August 23, 2024 / Roti, a fast-casual restaurant group known for its vibrant Mediterranean flavors and commitment to quality, today announced that it has taken a significant step in its ongoing efforts to strengthen its business by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company intends to use Chapter 11 to seek new investors or purchasers on an accelerated time frame while reorganizing its finances and ensuring that Roti locations across Chicago, Minneapolis, and the Washington, D.C. metro areas continue to operate. It plans to continue to offer its entire menu, catering, loyalty programs, and distinctive make-line experience across its locations.An Original VisionFounded in 2006 in Chicago, Roti pioneered a new category by bringing the rich, diverse flavors of the eastern Mediterranean to the fast-casual dining scene. "Our vision to create happier, healthier and more flavorful lives comes to life by providing our guests with exceptional food experiences - even in the face of current headwinds," said Justin Seamonds, CEO and Prime Minister of Fun at Roti. "After careful consideration, filing for bankruptcy protection was the best way to address our challenges - including financial performance, higher costs, mixed location performance and tough market conditions - while staying open and focused on delivering Food For A Full Life to each and every guest." Continuing to Serve Our Customers and CommunitiesAs Roti navigates this restructuring process, the plan is to collaborate with landlords and suppliers to keep locations open and the team employed and engaged in serving our unique inspired and healthful bowls, salads and pitas. The COVID pandemic disproportionately affected Roti, as 50% of its restaurants were based in downtown business districts - but Roti made it through with the support of investors and consumers only to find itself in a current restaurant climate mired in a consumer spending downturn."With the restaurant industry in turmoil, we are proud of our transparency with our team, and the goodwill we've earned over time with our vendor and landlord communities during a tough four years. Bankruptcy is a process designed to provide companies like us with the tools to stay open, keep our exceptional team members employed and explore future prospects for Roti. We expect our loyal, flavor-seeking guests to continue to enjoy us while we tackle this necessary next step in our journey," said Seamonds.Looking Toward the FutureThis process will accelerate the process of attracting a transformational event to Roti and address the demands of a challenging consumer environment for smaller restaurant chains.For media inquiries, please contact:Roti Public Relationspublicrelations@ roti.com Contact InformationChristopher GumprechtVice President, Technologychristopher@ roti.com 3126059079Justin SeamondsCEOjustin@ roti.com 3126059079SOURCE: RotiView the original press release on newswire.com PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-23 04:51:16 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 479 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW ORLEANS, LA / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2024 / Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have untilAugust 30, 2024to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Seritage Growth Properties ("Seritage" or the "Company") (NYSE:SRG), if they purchased the Company's securities between July 7, 2022 and May 10, 2024, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.What You May DoIf you purchased securities of Seritage and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ( lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com) , or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-srg/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court byAugust 30, 2024 .About the LawsuitSeritage and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.On August 14, 2023, the Company disclosed a "material weakness" in its internal control over financial reporting "due to a deficiency in the design of our control over the identification of impairment indicators for investments in real estate and documentation of evidence of review" related "to the failure to identify potential indicators of impairment related to development projects in a timely manner." On this news, the price of Seritage's shares fell $0.86, or 9.67%, to close at $8.03 per share on August 15, 2023, on unusually heavy trading volume.Then, on May 10, 2024, the Company released its 1Q2024 financial results, disclosing that it was "adjusting [its] pricing projections for some of [its] assets" resulting in the gross value of the Company's portfolio of assets being reduced by at least $325 million. On this news, the price of Seritage's shares fell $2.54, or 27.3%, to close at $6.78 per share on May 13, 2024, on unusually heavy trading volume.The case is He v. Seritage Growth Properties, et al., No. 1:24-cv-05007.About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCKSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, Delaware, California, Louisiana and New Jersey.To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com Contact:Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCLewis Kahn, Managing Partner lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com 1-877-515-18501100 Poydras St., Suite 960New Orleans, LA 70163SOURCE: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-23 15:30:33 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 434 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / August 23, 2024 / Bernstein Liebhard LLP:Do you, or did you, own shares of Spire Global, Inc. (NYSE:SPIR)?Did you purchase your shares between March 6, 2024 and August 14, 2024, inclusive?Did you lose money in your investment in Spire Global, Inc.?Do you want to discuss your rights?Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationally acclaimed investor rights law firm, reminds investors of the deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in a securities class action lawsuit that has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired the securities of Spire Global, Inc. ("Spire Global" or the "Company") (NYSE: SPIR) between March 6, 2024 and August 14, 2024, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia and alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 against the Company and certain of its officers (the "Complaint").If you purchased or acquired Spire Global securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Spire Global, Inc. Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Investor Relations Manager Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@ bernlieb.com According to the lawsuit, Spire Global made misrepresentations concerning its accounting practices and procedures with respect to revenue recognition regarding certain contracts.If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff for the Class, you must file papers byOctober 21, 2024 . A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on other class members' behalf in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff. If you choose to take no action, you may remain an absent class member.All representation is on a contingency fee basis. Shareholders pay no fees or expenses.Since 1993, Bernstein Liebhard LLP has recovered over $3.5 billion for its clients. In addition to representing individual investors, the Firm has been retained by some of the largest public and private pension funds in the country to monitor their assets and pursue litigation on their behalf. As a result of its success litigating hundreds of class actions, the Firm has been named to The National Law Journal's "Plaintiffs' Hot List" thirteen times and listed in The Legal 500 for sixteen consecutive years.ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. 2024 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, (212) 779-1414. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.Contact Information:Peter AlloccoInvestor Relations ManagerBernstein Liebhard LLP https://www.bernlieb.com (212) 951-2030 pallocco@ bernlieb.com SOURCE: Bernstein Liebhard LLP PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-23 04:50:17 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 416 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW ORLEANS, LA / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2024 / Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF") and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have untilOctober 15, 2024to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Stellantis N.V. (NYSE:STLA), if they purchased the Company's securities between February 15, 2024 to July 24, 2024, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.What You May DoIf you purchased securities of Stellantis and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email ( lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com) , or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-stla/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court byOctober 15, 2024 .About the LawsuitStellantis and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.On July 25, 2024, the Company announced its first half 2024 financial results, disclosing disappointing news, including "[n]et revenues of 85.0 billion, down 14% compared to H1 2023, primarily due to the decline in volume and mix; net profit of 5.6 billion, down 48% compared to H1 2023, primarily due to lower volume and mix, headwinds from foreign exchange and restructuring costs; adjusted operating income of 8.5 billion, down 5.7 billion compared to H1 2023, primarily due to decreases in North America." On this news, the price of Stellantis' shares fell from a closing price of $19.60 per share on July 24, 2024 to $17.66 per share on July 26, 2024.The case is Long v. Stellantis N.V., et al., No. 24-cv-06196.About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCKSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nation's premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients - including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors - in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, Delaware, California, Louisiana and New Jersey.To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com Contact:Kahn Swick & Foti, LLCLewis Kahn, Managing Partner1-877-515-18501100 Poydras St., Suite 960New Orleans, LA 70163SOURCE: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-23 17:01:55 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 316 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 23, 2024 / The Schall Law Firm, a national shareholder rights litigation firm, announces that it is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Dril-Quip, Inc. ("Dril-Quip" or "the Company") (NYSE:DRQ) for violations of the securities laws.The investigation focuses on whether the Company issued false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose information pertinent to investors. Dril-Quip filed a current report on Form 8-K with the SEC on July 8, 2024. The Company's filing disclosed it had "became aware of an error in the classification of certain inventory write-downs from 2021." The Company added, "after considering the recommendations of management and discussion with the Company's independent registered public accounting firm[,] the Audit Committee of our board of directors ("Audit Committee") concluded that the consolidated financial statements for the Affected Period should no longer be relied upon due to the error described above. Any previously issued or filed reports, press releases, earnings releases and investor presentations or other communications describing the Company's consolidated financial statements and other related financial information covering the Affected Period also should no longer be relied upon." If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate.We also encourage you to contact Brian Schall of the Schall Law Firm, 2049 Century Park East, Suite 2460, Los Angeles, CA 90067, at 310-301-3335, to discuss your rights free of charge. You can also reach us through the firm's website at www.schallfirm.com , or by email at bschall@ schallfirm.com The Schall Law Firm represents investors around the world and specializes in securities class action lawsuits and shareholder rights litigation.This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and rules of ethics.CONTACT: The Schall Law FirmBrian Schall, Esq. www.schallfirm.com Office: 310-301-3335 info@ schallfirm.com SOURCE: The Schall Law Firm PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-23 17:01:45 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 332 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / August 23, 2024 / The Schall Law Firm, a national shareholder rights litigation firm, announces that it is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. ("Arbor" or "the Company") (NYSE:ABR) for violations of the securities laws.The investigation focuses on whether the Company issued false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose information pertinent to investors. Arbor is the subject of a report issued by Viceroy Research November 17, 2023, titled, "Arbor Realty Trust - Slumlord Millionaires." According to the report, "Arbor's high-risk multifamily bridge loans, which comprise substantially all of its asset book, are going bad fast The end is near." Viceroy Research then issued a follow up report on December 5, 2023, titled "Arbor - Jacksonville Case Study." In the second report, Viceroy Research claims that the Company's "entire loan book is distressed and underlying collateral is vastly overstated." Based on this news, shares of Arbor fell by more than 5% over the next two trading sessions.If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate.We also encourage you to contact Brian Schall of the Schall Law Firm, 2049 Century Park East, Suite 2460, Los Angeles, CA 90067, at 310-301-3335, to discuss your rights free of charge. You can also reach us through the firm's website at www.schallfirm.com , or by email at bschall@ schallfirm.com The class in this case has not yet been certified, and until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. If you choose to take no action, you can remain an absent class member.The Schall Law Firm represents investors around the world and specializes in securities class action lawsuits and shareholder rights litigation.This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and rules of ethics.CONTACT: The Schall Law FirmBrian Schall, Esq. www.schallfirm.com Office: 310-301-3335 info@ schallfirm.com SOURCE: The Schall Law Firm PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-23 13:30:20 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 468 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 MOUNT LAUREL, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / August 23, 2024 / Trichome Analytical, a leading provider of cannabis testing and compliance services, today announced a strategic partnership with Sarah Ahrens, who joins the company as President. Ahrens, a highly respected cannabis industry leader, brings a wealth of experience to Trichome Analytical, having founded and led True Labs for Cannabis, Inc. and spearheaded the formation of New Jersey's first scientific cannabis group, the Laboratory Testing Committee within the New Jersey CannaBusiness Association.Trichome Analytical logoAs the founder and CEO of True Labs, Ahrens established a stellar reputation for her expertise in cannabis testing services and driving industry standards. Notably, she built the first certified woman-owned cannabis testing lab on the East Coast.Leveraging her proven track record in sales leadership and global customer experience transformation, coupled with her deep understanding of the cannabis market, Ahrens brings an innovative approach to cannabis testing in New Jersey.Leading Trichome Analytical to New HeightsIn her role as President, Ahrens will be instrumental in propelling Trichome Analytical's growth and expansion, all while maintaining the company's unwavering commitment to quality, professionalism, customer satisfaction, and consumer safety. Her focus will be on increasing market share and forging even stronger partnerships within the cannabis industry."We are incredibly excited to welcome Sarah Ahrens to the Trichome Analytical team," said Kristen Goedde, Partner and Founder of Trichome Analytical. "Her proven leadership and extensive industry knowledge make her an invaluable asset. We have no doubt that Sarah will be instrumental in propelling Trichome Analytical to even greater heights." "I am thrilled to join Trichome Analytical and contribute to the company's continued success," said Sarah Ahrens."Trichome Analytical shares my passion for advancing the cannabis industry through quality testing and transparency, ensuring the safety of consumers and patients. I look forward to collaborating with the team to expand our services and solidify our position as a leading force in the market." About Trichome AnalyticalTrichome Analytical, the first accredited and licensed cannabis testing laboratory in New Jersey, is headquartered in Mount Laurel Township. The company delivers the highest standard in professional, quality, compliant, and comprehensive testing services for cannabis and industrial hemp, serving cultivators, processors, retailers, and regulatory agencies. Now the only woman-led/WBE cannabis testing lab in the state, Trichome Analytical holds ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation, federal DEA registration for USDA-compliant hemp testing, and boasts a collective 115 years of laboratory experience, with an impressive 45 years dedicated specifically to cannabis. The Trichome Analytical team is passionate about partnering with and empowering cannabis stakeholders through detailed, reliable, and rapid analytical results, offering unique services that deliver significant value to operators.Trichome Analytical:LinkedIn Instagram Facebook XSarah Ahrens:LinkedIn Contact InformationKristen GoeddeFounderkg@ trichomeanalytical.com (856) 316-0600SOURCE: Trichome Analytical LLCView the original press release on newswire.com PR-Inside.com: 2024-08-23 15:14:54 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 794 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 Company Focused on Top-Line Growth and Business EfficienciesTORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / August 22, 2024 /Wi2Wi Corporation (Wi2Wi) today announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2024. The company reported revenues of $1.685 million, delivering a revenue increase of 8% vs Quarter 2 2023 and a 12% increase vs Quarter 1 2024.Key Financial HighlightsWi2Wi is committed to accelerating revenue growth by strategically expanding its network of manufacturing representatives and distribution partners in the frequency control business. As part of this initiative, Wi2Wi successfully expanded its presence in key U.S. territories during Quarter 2 and is planning to strengthen its direct sales team further to capitalize on new market opportunities.Ted Clark, Wi2Wi CEO, emphasized, "In Quarter 2 2024, we made significant strides in broadening our sales footprint, setting the stage for sustained top-line growth in the latter half of 2024 and beyond. Our ongoing focus on cost optimization, manufacturing efficiencies, and flawless execution across all business operations strongly positions us for continued success." With an unwavering commitment to quality and customer satisfaction, Wi2Wi remains dedicated to delivering exceptional products and services. The company's clear strategic vision and proactive approach to growth continue to drive substantial business improvement, making Wi2Wi well-positioned for future success.3 Months ending June 30, 2024 Overview (Unaudited)(In thousands of U.S. dollars)Quarter 2 2024Quarter 2 2023Revenue1,6851,560Net income (loss)(286(425Net cash provided by (used in) operations190(137Total assets6,5318,287Cash on hand712973Total current liabilities1,2791,524Shareholders' equity3,3494,622Detailed and historical financial information is available here.Investor & Media ContactTed Clark, Chief Executive Office+1-469-545-3423 ted_c@ wi2wi.com About Wi2Wi CorporationWi2Wi is a specialized electronic component supplier with expertise in all aspects of frequency control devices as well as in wireless technologies. Wi2Wi's Precision Devices brand of products has earned a premier spot in numerous key markets including avionics, aerospace, industrial equipment, government, and the US military. Wi2Wi's frequency control products are best-in-class and of the highest quality.Founded in 2005, Wi2Wi's headquarters, design center and state-of-the-art manufacturing facility are located in the heart of America's industrial belt in Middleton, WI. Wi2Wi can deliver specific solutions using its in-house design and manufacturing expertise, as well as leveraging many tier-1 global partnerships with numerous industry leading silicon and wireless technology suppliers.Wi2Wi has partnered with best-in-class sales leaders. The company uses a global network of manufacturer's representatives to promote its products and services, and has partnered with world class distributors for the fulfillment of orders all of which augment a US-based direct sales team.Wi2Wi is extremely proud to serve hundreds of the world's top companies with its made-in-America products.Forward-Looking Statements: This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, including management's assessment of future plans and operations, and the timing thereof, that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the Company's control. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks associated with the ability to access sufficient capital, the impact of general economic conditions in Canada, the United States and overseas, industry conditions, stock market volatility. The Company's actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements and, accordingly, no assurances can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits, including the amount of proceeds, that the Company will derive there from. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Additional information on these and other factors that could affect the Company's operations and financial results are included in reports on file with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and may be accessed through the SEDAR website ( www.sedar.com) . Forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, estimates and opinions on the date the statements are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements and if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as required by applicable law. All subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these cautionary statements. Furthermore, the forward- looking statements contained in this news release are made as at the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.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.SOURCE: Wi2Wi Corporation The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) on Thursday said President Bola Tinubu is not involved in the OVH Energy Marketing Limited acquisition deal. However, NNPC Ltds statement by its chief corporate communications officer, Olufemi Soneye, on Thursday failed to address the key issues raised about the OVH controversy. On Tuesday, PREMIUM TIMES reported how a court ruling had effectively dissolved NNPC Retail and transferred its ownership to OVH Energy Marketing Limited. The downstream arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Retail) officially no longer exists after it asked a court to transfer its ownership and properties to a firm it claimed to have bought. PREMIUM TIMES reported NNPC Ltds controversial purchase of OVH Energy Marketing Limited and how the purchased company essentially took over the management of the buyer, which an NNPC insider described as the most ridiculous business acquisition in the world. NNPC Ltd bought OVH from Nueoil Energy Limited a month after Nueoil Energy acquired OVH in September 2022. However, in June, the three firms NNPC Retail, OVH and Nueoil jointly filed a petition at the Federal High Court in Lagos. In it, they asked the court to grant eight orders, including an order that NNPC Retail be dissolved without being wound up and that the resultant company from the scheme shall be OVH. 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 petitioners further asked that all tax attributes, unutilised capital allowances, tax losses, withholding tax credits and other refunds available, but excluding the Nueoil Energy shares in the OVH Energy Marketing Limited, liabilities and business undertakings, including real property and intellectual property rights of the NNPC Retail and Nueoil Energy Limited be transferred to the OVH Energy Marketing Limited subject to the terms and conditions set out in the scheme without any further act or deed. The court granted all eight orders, ordering that the merger be effective from 1 January. The court also mandated that all necessary incidental, consequential, and supplemental orders be made to ensure the full and effective implementation of the merger. On Wednesday, in his reaction to PREMIUM TIMES report, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election and former vice president of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, expressed astonishment at the operations of the NNPC Ltd and how the government-owned oil company had put its retail arm under the control of OVH, a company he claims is owned by Oando, led by Wale Tinubu, a relative of the president. Atiku regretted that his intention to privatise the NNPC and increase its transparency has been overshadowed by what he describes as the criminal hijack of the NNPC by corporate cabals around the current president, according to the statement signed by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, said. Following this controversial deal, Atiku said, Mele Kyari, the NNPC boss, was controversially retained as NNPC group managing director despite his incompetence. Atiku said Nigeria paid Wale Tinubu a significant sum to facilitate the Tinubu familys acquisition of the national oil company, noting that this represents a clear case of illogical business transactions and abuse of office by Mr Tinubu, who has prevented NNPC from becoming a public liability company as stipulated by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). NNPC reacts However, the NNPC, in its response to Atiku on Thursday, said at the time it acquired OVH in 2022, Oando (in which Wale Tinubu has equity interest) had fully divested its equity in OVH to the two other partners, Vitol and Helios. The NNPC explained that Oando began its divestment in 2016, with Vitol and Helios coming in as equity partners, leading to the change of name from Oando to OVH. In 2019, according to NNPC Ltd, Oando fully divested its equity interest in OVH resulting in Vitol and Helios holding 50 per cent equity interests respectively. PREMIUM TIMES reported the divestment by Vitol and Helios from OVH which they sold to Nueoil in 2022. NNPC then bought OVH from Nueoil. The national oil company said while the merger is still ongoing, NNPC decided to rename the new company as NNPC Retails Ltd. Upon acquisition of OVH by NNPC Ltd, both NNPC Retail Ltd and OVH effectively became subsidiaries of NNPC Ltd. However, based on professional advice and sound commercial considerations, NNPC Ltd opted to merge NNPC Retail Limited into OVH, and thereafter retain NNPC Retail Limited as the company name post-merger. The first step of merging NNPC Retail Ltd into OVH has been completed and the post-merger renaming as NNPC Retail Ltd is ongoing. Contrary to the false alarm raised, neither Wale Tinubu nor the President has any interest in the OVH acquisition, the statement said. The NNPC said it is a commercially focused and profit-driven company managed by professionals who are committed to adding value to the nation, noting that investment decisions by its management are strictly determined on the basis of commercial viability and national interest. As a businessman, the former Vice President should know that effectiveness in business leadership is best measured by balance sheets and bottom lines rather than pedestrian considerations. The management of NNPC Ltd, under the leadership of Mele Kyari, has done very well in growing the companys fortunes as shown in the 2023 Audited Financial Statement (AFS), where it reported N3.3 trillion as profit after tax. NNPC Ltd as a commercial entity is devoid of political interest and shall continue to conduct its business full of commitment to national interest and value creation for the benefit of all stakeholders, Mr Soneye said. NNPC Ltd said it would resist any attempt to draw its board and management into partisan politics. Issues not yet addressed However, a PREMIUM TIMES review of the NNPC response shows that the state-owned oil firm failed to address the crux of PREMIUM TIMES stories. Firstly, the companys statement indicated that it has failed to comply with the court order that it requested. It requested that NNPC Retail be dissolved without being wound up and that the resultant company from the scheme shall be OVH. If NNPC Ltd now claims it created a new entity separate from what the court granted, this shows that the company is not complying with the court order that it requested and the court granted it. Also, when NNPC announced the acquisition of OVH from Nueoil, it did not announce that it was a partial acquisition deal. But the court order gives exemption of the Nueoil Energy shares in the OVH Energy Marketing Limited. NNPC failed to tell Nigerians the condition under which Nueoil is still co-owning OVH when NNPC had said it acquired OVH? What percentage of OVH did NNPC acquire from Nueoil? Also, if the NNPC acquired OVH as it claimed to have done, how come the management of NNPC Retail is now in the hands of OVH as reflected in the fact that the managing director of OVH is now the managing director of NNPC Retail? In addition to this, the headquarters of NNPC Retail has since been moved from Abuja to the OVH headquarters in Lagos. These are some of the key missing details the national oil company failed to address. Background NNPC Ltd. announced in October 2022 the acquisition of OVH Energy Marketing Limiteds downstream assets. This acquisition would merge OVH Energy with NNPC Retail, a subsidiary of NNPC Ltd. The assets acquired from the company, which operates Oando filling stations, also include a reception jetty with 240,000 metric tonnes monthly capacity and eight liquefied petroleum gas plants, three lube blending plants, three aviation depots, and 12 warehouses. But in June 2023, PREMIUM TIMES investigation on the acquisition exposed the secret deals and the complicated ownership structure that left managerial control of NNPC Retail in the hands of OVH Energy Marketing. The report also exposed that OVH Energy Marketing may not have owned as many filling stations as it claimed during the merger talks. In addition, the report highlighted how Huub Stokman, an expatriate and former Chief Executive Officer of OVH Energy, emerged as the new Managing Director of NNPC Retail, a development that further compounded the structure of NNPC Retail. This newspaper also found out that the acquisition of OVH Energy had turned NNPC Retail into a toxic workspace, with officials of the former taking over the latters running. Did we acquire them, or did they acquire us? How come they are now the ones in the management, one NNPC Retail staff told this newspaper. In July 2023, the House of Representatives, following the adoption of a motion moved by Miriam Onuoha (APC, Imo), directed NNPC Ltd to suspend the acquisition pending an investigation by its committee. Consequently, the House set up an ad-hoc committee with Hassan Nalabraba (APC, Nasarawa) as the chairman and commenced an investigation into the controversial deal in September 2023. The ad-hoc committee requested the NNPC Ltd to furnish it with information about registration documents/history from CAC for OVH, Nueoil, and NNPC Retail Limited (NRL), Board Resolution of NNPC Ltd on purchase of OVH, Audited Financial Statement and Management Accounts from 2015 to Date OVH, Nueoil, NRL and NNPC Ltd and the payroll from 2015 to date for NRL and OVH, Board Resolution of NRL/CHQ for movement of head office to Lagos and evidence of Tax Payments for NRL and OVH from 2015 to date. The committee also requested documents on all financial transactions associated with the acquisition, including payment records and fund transfers. In September 2023, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari, while appearing before the committee investigating the acquisition, said NNPC Ltd now operates like a private limited liability company and entered the commercial relationship with OVH to take over market shares in the downstream petroleum market shares. He said NNPC Ltd did nothing wrong in the acquisition. Meanwhile, some NNPC Retail concerned staff, in a letter dated 25 September 2023, addressed to the chairman of the House Committee, and signed on their behalf by Mohammed Muazuo, noted that the request by the committee was not met. In October 2023, Mr Nalabraba presented a report on the investigation. In February, the House of Representatives dissolved the committee investigating the controversial acquisition after the panel presented a report many lawmakers described as suspicious and shabby. The task was subsequently transferred to the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) for a fresh investigation. In January, NNPC Ltd announced that it was unable to complete the OVH acquisition. It said it intends to apply for operating licenses for the facilities under OVH Energy Marketing Limited. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has confirmed receiving N50 billion from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). NELFUNDs Managing Director, Akintunde Sawyerr, expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for his commitment to education and the youths in a statement released on Thursday by the agencys Head of Corporate Communications, Oseyemi Oluwatuyi. This significant injection of funds represents a major milestone in the Administrations efforts to bolster access to education by providing financial support to students across Nigeria, the statement quoted Mr Sawyerr as saying. The release of the money from the EFCC followed the directive President Bola Tinubu gave in his 4 August speech in reaction to the nationwide anti-government #EndBadGovernance protests, which began on 1 August. President Tinubu directed the anti-corruption agency to take the money from the proceeds of crime recovered by the EFCC to further boost the student loan programme. According to him, as of the time of his speech, a total of N45.6 billion has already been processed for payment to students and their respective institutions. NELFUND said the money would enhance the NELFunds ability to support students to pursue their academic aspirations without financial hindrance. 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 NELFUND thanked Mr Tinubu for his unwavering dedication to the education sector and continued efforts to support the most vulnerable population segments. By deciding to allocate these funds to the student loan scheme, President Tinubu has once again demonstrated his visionary leadership and commitment to fostering a brighter future for Nigerian students and to the socioeconomic advancement of Nigeria, the NELFUNDs statement added. It also thanked the EFCC management, headed by the Chairman, Olanipekun Olukoyede, for its prompt compliance with the presidents directive. EFCC to monitor released fund EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede, has said the commission would monitor the use of the money to ensure accountability and the realisation of the objectives of the Scheme. EFCCs Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, said Mr Olukoyede gave the assurance at his office during a visit by NELFUNDs Managing Director, Mr Sawyerr, on 13 August, about nine days after the president ordered the release of the N50 billion. Mr Olukoyede also clarified during the meeting that the money was not a donation from EFCC. The said fund was not a donation by the Commission but part of the recovered proceeds of crime remitted to the government. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in furtherance of his social intervention policy for the most vulnerable segments of the population, decided in his wisdom, to plough the money into funding the critically acclaimed students loan scheme, read a statement released on 14 August by EFCCs Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale. The statement said that the EFCC has no power to determine where the government commits recovered proceeds of crime. But the students loan scheme is a salutary innovation which has the potential to reduce youth involvement in criminality, it added. About scheme The implementation of the student loan scheme is President Bola Tinubus flagship project in the education sector. Barely a month after his inauguration as president, Mr Tinubu signed the Access to Higher Education Act, which creates a legal framework for granting loans to indigent or low-income Nigerians to facilitate the payment of their fees in Nigerian tertiary institutions. READ ALSO: NELFUND warns of fraudulent website offering fake visa sponsorship The law, reenacted earlier this year, created the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND). NELFUND is responsible for handling all loan requests, grants, disbursements, and recovery. According to the Act, the Fund will be funded from multiple streams and engage in other productive activities. The Act also stipulates that the scheme will be funded through donations, gifts, grants, endowments, and revenue accruing to the fund from any other source. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Zainab, daughter of the late Emir of Kano Ado Bayero, has sought Governor Abba Yusufs help for a house and financial support. PREMIUM TIMES reported that 83-year-old Bayero died on 6 June 2014 and was buried according to Islamic rites in Kano. He ruled from 1963 to 2014 and became the longest-serving emir in Kanos history. In an interview with this newspaper on Friday, Zainab shared the challenges she, her mother, and her brother have been facing since her fathers death. The first-time filmmaker said: I know a lot of people will be very surprised that the daughter of an Emir is in this kind of situation. Being born into a polygamous home, there are a lot of intrigues and divisions. The whole thing started when my daddy died; his death left a void within the family. Everyone was alone, especially me, my mother and my younger brother. We were not given a part of his (my fathers) estate, so we were left in a terrible situation, which has been going on for ten years. Weve been trying to survive and find ways to get back on our feet and return to a proper environmentto have a home, not renting or moving from hotel to hotel. We would love the governor to help us buy or give us money to get a house here in Lagos. Since our fathers death, we believe it would be better to relocate to Lagos and start a new life for safety and freedom and to live our lives the way we want. However, with the current skyrocketing prices, were looking at around N150 million for a house in Lagos. Previous help Additionally, Zainab acknowledged that Mr Yusuf had assisted them in June but stated that it was insufficient to address their ongoing struggles. 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 She said the financial support for housing and other expenses was insufficient to alleviate their financial burdens, and they have returned to the same situation. She also appealed to President Bola Tinubu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and compassionate Nigerians for support. I reached out to the governor in a publication on 23 June when my mother, brother, and I were staying at a hotel in VI. We havent had an apartment since last year and were behind on hotel bills. The next day, he sent someone to settle the bills and asked, What do we need? We told him we wanted a home, for my brother to return to school, and something to do. He (the governor through his representative) gave us some money, but we didnt meet the governor in person; it was all through an intermediary. We dont know the governors plans, but he mentioned wanting to buy us a house in Kano. I told him, no, we want a house in Lagos. What he gave us wasnt enough to rent a house for a year. So, weve been trying to find a place, but the funds arent sufficient. Were in the same situation again, said Zainab. More so, she said their hotel booking has expired, and theyll have to check out on Saturday with no place to stay. Documentary The late Emirs daughter also requested the governors support for her filmmaking career and a biopic documentary (My Father, the Emir: A Portrait of Ado Bayero). She stated that the documentary narrates the journey of a daughter retracing her fathers legacy, significant achievements, and the experiences he had in Nigeria. Zainab added, I was thinking he (Mr Yusuf) could launch it (the documentary) as a project about the longest-reigning monarch in Kanos history. My father made history as the most powerful and influential monarch during a pivotal time in both Kano and Nigerias history. For nearly five decades, he was synonymous with Kano, earning immense respect from the people of Kano and Nigeria. So, since this is a Kano State project about the Emir of Kano, the Kano State government should officially launch it. The documentary portrays a great monarch and serves as a piece of tourism for Kano that could be showcased on the world stage and preserved in the archives and museums. I was hoping the governor would call me so we could arrange for him to officially unveil it at the government house or another suitable location. Zainab last made headlines in 2023 when she revealed to this newspaper the opposition from Northern elite and emirs toward her fathers biopic. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Nigeria Centre for Disease and Control (NCDC) on Friday said that the country has recorded a new case of Mpox. The new case brings the total number of confirmed Mpox cases to 40 out of the 830 suspected cases. The Director-General of NCDC, Jide Idris, disclosed this during a Joint NCDC/World Health Organisation National Mpox briefing in Abuja. Governments action plan The World Health Organisation (WHO) Nigeria Country Office also announced that Nigeria is set to receive a donation of Mpox vaccines from the United States Government. This donation will enable the country to enhance its response to the ongoing Mpox outbreak and improve public health outcomes. According to Mr Idris, Nigeria has taken proactive measures since Mpox was designated a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, including the establishment of an Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) and the implementation of an Incident Management System (IMS). These structures are designed to enhance the countrys response to the outbreak and facilitate effective coordination of public health efforts. 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 DG said: Currently, we have 40 confirmed cases out of 830 suspected cases. We have not recorded any deaths, which is remarkable. We have developed an incident action plan to address each area, using various pillars. We have met with state governments and state Commissioners of Health to advise them on establishing their emergency preparedness and response teams, capabilities, and action plans. They will coordinate this with their respective Local Government Areas. Another key area is surveillance. Of the 40 cases reported in the country, they are distributed across about 12 or 13 states. Many cases are in the South-south and South-east, with some in Lagos, Ogun, and other northern areas. Our plans are to target these states to reduce the number of cases and conduct active surveillance to detect more cases. Mr Idris also explained that the agency needs to enhance our laboratory services. All confirmed cases so far were validated using genomic sequencing in two labs the National Research Lab in Abuja and Lagos. Due to the spread, we need to increase the number of laboratories for testing, including Lagos University Teaching Hospital and the African Centre for Genomics. He emphasised the necessity of enhancing laboratory capacities, particularly in the South-south and South-east regions, to strengthen the response to the outbreak. He also highlighted the centres intensified efforts to raise public awareness and educate individuals on the disease, its symptoms, and preventive measures. Additionally, he acknowledged challenges in data collection and assured that the centre is actively addressing these issues to improve data quality and inform response strategies. WHOs Country Representative, Walter Mulombo, stressed the crucial need for continued vigilance and enhanced surveillance of zoonotic pathogens in natural environments, which have the potential to cause disease outbreaks. He emphasised the importance of monitoring microbial activity to enable early detection and rapid response to potential public health threats. About MPox Mpox is a rare viral zoonotic infectious disease, occuring in several African countries, including the tropical rainforests of Central and West Africa. The exact reservoir of the virus remains unknown, although rodents, squirrels, and monkeys are suspected to play a role in transmission. The Mpox virus can spread from animal to human and from human to human. Animal-to-human transmission may occur through direct contact with the blood, body fluids, skin, or mucosal lesions of infected animals, such as monkeys, squirrels, and rodents, potentially via a bite, scratch, handling, or consuming inadequately cooked or other products of infected bushmeat. Human-to-human transmission occurs when an individual comes into contact with the virus from an infected person or materials contaminated with the virus, such as clothing or bedding. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Delta State Governor Sherriff Oborevwori said Thursday that he reduced the fees of state-owned universities and other tertiary institutions in recognition of the important role of education. Here in Delta State, we recognise the important role that education plays in shaping the youth to make an enduring impact in the world, Mr Oborevwori said. This is why as soon as I took office as Governor of Delta State, I ordered state-owned universities and other tertiary institutions to lower the fees that they charge students. Mr Oborevwori, represented by the Commissioner for Youth Development, Harry Trakiriowei, spoke on Thursday in Agbor, Delta State, at the 18th edition of the Nigerian Red Cross Societys International Youth Camp programme. The event took place at the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Training School in Agbor, according to a statement by the Coordinator, Communication and Advocacy, Nigerian Red Cross, Chima Nwankwo. The event brought young Nigerians and international delegates, highlighting the significance of youth empowerment in shaping the future of humanitarian efforts. The National President of the Nigerian Red Cross Society, Prince Adeaga, commended the dedication of the youth participants and emphasised the organisations commitment to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Unified Plan 2024. Focusing on four key pillarsempowerment, collaboration, sustainability, and inclusivityhe encouraged the youth to take an active role in their communities and ensure that their efforts were sustainable and inclusive. 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 Adeaga expressed gratitude to the National Youth Adviser, Sidney Osawaru, for his exemplary dedication and unwavering commitment to ensuring the successful organisation of the camp, which has been elevated to international standards through his relentless efforts. He also expressed his gratitude for the nationwide support from NRCS branches, with participants travelling from far-flung states such as Zamfara, Borno, Rivers, Lagos, and Kano. Highlighting the importance of the event, Mr Adeaga stressed that the young people in attendance were not merely participants but vital members of a global humanitarian movement. The Commandant of the FRSC Training School Agbor, Oludare Ogunjobi, observed that the Nigerian Red Cross Society and the FRSC have a longstanding and cordial relationship built on a foundation of cooperation and collaboration that spans several years. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The police in Enugu State, South-east Nigeria, have arrested 123 suspected criminals for various offences in the state. The Commissioner of Police in the state, Kanayo Uzuegbu, disclosed this during a press briefing and parade of the suspects at the police headquarters in the state on Thursday. He said offences committed by the suspects include murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, rape, vandalism, cultism and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition. Mr Uzuegbu said the suspects were arrested in separate operations between July and August. He said some suspects had been arraigned and remanded in correctional centres across the state. Recovery of arms, ammunition The police chief said a total of 972 arms and ammunition were recovered from the suspects during the separate operations. 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 36 vehicles used by some of the suspects were also recovered. The vehicles were 17 vehicles, 11 tricycles and eight motorcycles. Abductors of college students The commissioner said among those arrested were suspected abductors of students of the Enugu State College of Health Technology in the Oji River Council Area of the state. PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported how armed persons invaded the college on 14 August and abducted the students. The police later rescued two of the victims, with three others missing at the time of the incident. During the Thursday briefing, Mr Uzuegbu announced that the remaining three abducted victims have been rescued and reunited with their families. The commissioner said apart from the college students, 16 other abducted victims were also rescued by the operatives. Killing of a police officer Mr Uzuegbu refuted a report that gunmen, on Monday, killed four police officers along the Enugu-Port-Harcourt Expressway. The commissioner said gunmen suspected to be members of the Indigenous People of Biafra opened fire on the operatives during the attack but that the operatives repelled the attack, forcing the attackers to flee with gunshot wounds. Unfortunately, a special constabulary performing traffic control duty on the said road undergoing reconstruction paid the supreme price while the teams patrol vehicle was hit by bullets and engulfed in flames, he said. Demolition of kidnappers hideouts Mr Uzuegbu lauded Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State for taking bold and pragmatic steps to demolish buildings and other properties used to aid kidnapping in the state. The exercise will serve as a morale booster to us, especially as we execute our security operations and frantically work towards making Enugu State uninhabitable for kidnappers and other criminals, he said. We will continue to fish out these criminals and ensure that places serving as their haven are demolished accordingly, the commissioner stated. The commissioner urged residents of the state, particularly hoteliers, landlords and owners of uncompleted buildings, to be mindful of who they accommodate in their properties to avoid harbouring criminals. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print A combined team of security operatives have arrested a fake pastor accused of preparing charms for a gang of criminals in Anambra State, Nigerias South-east. The police spokesperson in Anambra State, Tochukwu Ikenga, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday. Mr Ikenga, a superintendent of police, said the fake pastor was arrested alongside a suspected member of an unnamed separatist group. He did not, however, provide the identities of the suspects. The police spokesperson said the two suspects were arrested on Thursday by the security team comprising personnel of the Nigerian military, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other security forces. He said the arrest of the suspects was a follow-up to an investigation of a kidnap incident in Aguata Council Area which was earlier reported to the police in the state in 2023. Mr Ikenga said the two arrested suspects, notorious for terrorising the state, had been involved in kidnapping, car snatching and armed robbery in the 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 He said the suspects had been operating in Uga, Ekwulobia, Umuchu, Nkpologwu, Ezinifite all communities in Aguata Local Government Area of the state. The spokesperson said arrested suspects have confessed to the crime and were also helping the police with information that will aid arrest of other suspects. The suspects have also provided information on the location of the shrine where they prepare the charms and some snatched vehicles, he said. The Commissioner of Police in Anambra State, Nnaghe Obono, has assured residents of the state that the police were working on all reported cases of kidnap and armed robbery, Mr Ikenga said. Mr Obono stressed that the police in the state will continue to work hard to repay the confidence reposed on them by residents of the state by protecting their lives and properties. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print President Bola Tinubu has vowed to invoke his constitutional powers to continue to equip, arm and empower the Nigerian military. He acknowledged the importance of strategic leadership in addressing the complex security and development challenges confronting Nigeria. President Tinubu made the vow on Friday during the graduation ceremony of the Course 32 participants at the National Defence College, Abuja. Represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the event, the president decried the state of infrastructure at the National Defence Colleges permanent site at Piwoyi, Abuja, noting that, while his administration has made substantial progress, there is still more work to be done in the school. Accordingly, he restated his administrations commitment to ensuring ongoing work and upgrading of the facilities at the permanent site are completed. Vowing to arm and equip the nations armed forces, the president said, Under my watch, members of the Armed Forces of Nigeria have made remarkable sacrifices and recorded significant achievements in protecting Nigerias territorial integrity and securing the lives and properties of our citizens. I will continue to do everything within my constitutional powers to ensure that the Nigerian military is well-resourced and fit for purpose. 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 President Tinubu thanked the graduates of Course 32 for their input and contributions to his research aimed at providing strategic options for harnessing the mining industry in Nigeria to enhance national security and development. We are already working with the fundamentals of your recommendations as we look forward to actualising our golden era scenario with substantial security assets supported by robust collaboration and institutional reforms, he added. The president praised the unique style of the National Defence College in consolidating knowledge through what he described as a broad thematic area, saying it has helped in finding sustainable solutions to national security and development problems in Nigeria, Africa, and beyond. The president highlighted some of the significant progress made by his administration in addressing some of the challenges confronting the nation, including the implementation of the new national minimum wage which, according to him, will not only benefit civilian workers but also personnel of the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security agencies. He continued: We are also working tirelessly to curb the menace of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta. I have also tasked the Defence Headquarters and other security agencies with curbing the menace of crude oil theft as soon as possible. This will boost oil and gas production and achieve our desired economic stability We are committed to creating an enabling business environment that encourages value addition in our mining sector. We are working with international partners to develop strategies that will harness this sectors potential for national security and development. President Tinubu further charged the graduates of Course 32 to continue upholding the values of excellence, courage, patriotism and integrity, even as he implored them to use their newly acquired knowledge and skills to address the multifarious challenges facing Nigeria. Earlier, the Commandant of the National Defence College, Olumuyiwa Olotu, a rear Admiral, disclosed that the 111 graduates will contribute to Nigerias efforts to bolster its strategic leadership across various sectors. He said, Our mission is to develop future strategic leaders sufficiently equipped with the requisite knowledge and analytical skills necessary to harness the instruments of national power in a dynamic defence and security environment. For participants of Course 32, this mission is achieved through a 9-module curriculum comprising subject areas such as research methodology, science and technology, conflict and war studies, policy formulation analysis, and strategic leadership among others. The Course 32 graduates were drawn from national agencies and institutions, including the Nigerian armed forces, Nigeria Police Force, State Security Service and several ministries. Notably, the class also included 19 international participants from countries including India, Brazil, South Africa, and Ghana, as part of Nigerias commitment to fostering global cooperation in defense and security matters. Those present at the graduation ceremony included Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru; Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun; Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle; Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Christopher Musa; Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Taoreed Lagbaja; Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Hassan Abubakar; Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Emmanuel Ogalla; the Ooni of Ife, Enitan Ogunwusi, and former Delta State Governor, James Ibori, among many others. Stanley Nkwocha Senior Special Assistant to The President on Media & Communications (Office of The Vice President) 23rd August, 2024 Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Ukpor Community, the headquarters of Nnewi South Local Government Area of Anambra State, embarked on a protest on Friday over the towns more than six-year power outage. The protesters, who trooped out to the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) office in the area, chanted solidarity songs and displayed placards with varying inscriptions. Some of the inscriptions read: EEDC gives us prepared metres, Small-scale businesses in Ukpor have all closed, EEDC helps our students, give them light to read at night, and No to EEDC darkness in Ukpor. The people accused the electricity company of carting away their transformers on the pretext of refurbishing them and demanded their immediate return. The Chairperson of the Ukpor Electricity Consumers Committee, Nkwadochukwu Onwughalu, accused EEDC of deliberately blacklisting the community for over six years. He said that EEDC disconnected the community from the industrial line, took five transformers away from the community, and later returned two. Mr Onwughalu also accused EEDC of bulk billing electricity consumers in Ukpor and vandalism of their transformers. 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 administration of Willie Obiano intervened in the power crisis in Ukpor and put us in the industrial line but immediately he left office, EEDC disconnected us. We have five transformers that got bad, EEDC claimed they were taking them away to refurbish. They returned only two and took the remaining three and installed them in another community, leaving us in darkness. Another protester, Valentine Ifechigha, said it was unacceptable that the community would pay for services it did not enjoy. Mr Ifechigha, the leader of Ukpor Zone 3, said they were asking for the return of the transformers taken from the community. Return the community to 33kVA line, installed in 2017, and issue prepaid metres to individual consumers. He said they would no longer pay electricity bills since they were not getting supply. Pius Onyeanusi, an entrepreneur, said he had shut down his water factory due to the prolonged power outage. Mr Onyeanusi said, I had 25 workers, but they have stopped working because we are no longer producing. The EEDC Business District Manager, Evaristus Obeta, who received the protesters, said he would inform the companys management of their grievances. He declined to comment on the issues raised by the protesters, especially the alleged removal of their transformers. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print China's humanoid robots race ahead in global industry Xinhua) 08:23, August 23, 2024 A humanoid robot winks at the World Robot Conference 2024 in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 21, 2024. (Xinhua/Chen Zhonghao) BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Showing off all kinds of human-like interactions and skills, such as making heart gestures and winking at the audience, as well as cooking meals and performing calligraphy, 27 different humanoid robots have become the most buzz-worthy exhibits at the ongoing 2024 World Robot Conference in Beijing. Over the years, global powerhouses of technology and innovation have competed fiercely to roll out human-like robot products and accelerated their iteration. The global market for humanoid robots is expected to hit 154 billion U.S. dollars by 2035, investment bank Goldman Sachs predicts. Leveraging the advantages in its industry chain, consumption scenarios, databases and policy support, China is growing into an active force that cannot be ignored in the global industry of humanoid robots. For a long time before 2022, China's humanoid robot industry remained at the stage of basic research and technology accumulation, and the leading products were mostly small robots for education, along with a modest number of full-size humanoid robots for experiments, exhibitions or performances. However, starting in 2023, the industry entered its breakout period, with the industrial scale surging to 3.91 billion yuan (about 549 million U.S. dollars), up 85.7 percent year on year, according to research on the ecological development of the Chinese humanoid robot industry issued this year by the China Center for Information Industry Development (CCID) under China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Early last month, the 5G smart factory of Chinese electric vehicle brand Zeekr welcomed its new "employees" -- the industrial humanoid robot Walker S Lite developed by UBTECH Robotics Corp., Ltd., a leading robotics firm based in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. With a maximum load of 15 kg, Walker S Lite can assist workers in carrying work bins. The 5G smart factory is the fourth automobile plant that UBTECH has cooperated with this year. Previously, the company's humanoid robot Walker S had been integrated into industrial operations at the factories of Chinese electric carmaker NIO, Dongfeng Liuzhou Motor and FAW-Volkswagen. Industry insiders said that 2024 is expected to become a key year for humanoid robots to venture out of labs into workshops. "China boasts a large enough market and the world's best industrial supply chain, which is very conducive to the large-scale production of cost-effective products," said Jiao Jichao, vice president of UBTECH. Data from Qichacha, a business data platform in China, shows that the country is now home to nearly 720,000 robot-related businesses. Among them, more than 20 enterprises are now producing complete humanoid robot products. China has gained a first-mover advantage in the humanoid robot market that is basically consistent with developed countries, said Zhong Xinlong, an AI expert at CCID Consulting, a think tank under the MIIT. A humanoid robot is pictured during the World Robot Conference 2024 in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 21, 2024. (Xinhua/Ren Chao) As of July, China had more than 190,000 effective robot-related patents, accounting for about two-thirds of the world's total, Xin Guobin, vice minister of the MIIT, said at the 2024 World Robot Conference. A report released by a research institute under People.cn last year showed that China has taken a lead in humanoid robot technology worldwide, ranking first in the number of patent applications and valid patents. As enterprises forge ahead on the new track of humanoid robots, the country has beefed up policy support for industrial development. China aims to establish a preliminary innovation system for humanoid robots by 2025, according to a guideline from the MIIT. By 2027, the country will see a secure and reliable industrial and supply chain system, and related products will be deeply integrated into the real economy. Under policy guidance, various regions across the country are accelerating their efforts in the humanoid robot industry. At the end of last year, China's first innovation center focused on core technologies, product development and application ecosystems for humanoid robots -- the Beijing Embodied Artificial Intelligence Robotics Innovation Center, or HUMANOID -- was established in the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area. Platforms like HUMANOID will share common breakthrough achievements with the whole industry, so that more enterprises can "stand on the shoulders of giants," which is conducive to the rapid development of the industry as a whole, said Xiong Youjun, the center's general manager. Since the beginning of this year, manufacturing provinces such as Zhejiang, Shandong, Anhui and Sichuan have caught up by establishing innovation centers featuring industry-university-research-application integration. "With the collaborative innovation of all parties, as well as the accelerated gathering of policy, capital and other factors, China's humanoid robot industry will also enter a period of active innovation," said Wang Jianing, a tech investment expert. "On the one hand, breakthroughs in core technologies are being made constantly, and on the other hand, the industry is also actively exploring a commercialization path suited to national conditions." Experts forecast that the humanoid robot industry may usher in explosive growth in the next decade. According to a report released at the First Chinese Humanoid Robot Industry Conference in April, the market scale of the humanoid robot industry in China is predicted to reach 75 billion yuan by 2029, accounting for 32.7 percent of the world's total. "With continuous accumulation, iteration and optimization, we are confident that we can accelerate alongside the global humanoid robot industry and excel in the sector," said Jiao. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Dragon TV: Over the past few years, Chinas wind and solar power generation has been on the rise. Foreign media noted that China added as much new clean energy generation in the first half of this year as the UK produced from all sources in the same period last year, and the rapid growth of Chinas renewable energy could be the worlds best hope yet of staving off climate catastrophe. Whats your comment? Mao Ning: The burgeoning new energy sector has made China one of the countries with the fastest energy intensity reduction in the world. China has built the worlds largest and full-fledged industrial chain of the new energy sector, and provided the worlds 70 percent of PV components and 60 percent of wind power equipment. This gives a strong boost to global energy transition and green, low-carbon and sustainable development. In particular, Chinas new energy products effectively boosted the green transition in countries of the Global South and enabled significantly better life for the local people. The many clean energy projects undertaken by China in Africa are helping more and more African countries get on course to green and low-carbon development. Kenyas Garissa PV power plant undertaken by a Chinese company reduces CO2 emissions by 64,000 tonnes every year, and Guineas Kaleta hydropower plant has greatly eased the electricity shortage there. The third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China stressed the need to ramp up the green transition in all areas of economic and social development, prioritize ecological protection, conserve resources and use them efficiently, and pursue green and low-carbon development. When pursuing green development at home, China will also continue to contribute to addressing climate change and improving global environmental governance. It needs to be pointed out that some countries use overcapacity as a pretext to go after Chinas green industry. This is not conducive to the global response to climate change. The world needs no green barrier but joint effort for global green transition. Reuters: An analyst at an institute overseen by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has said the Philippines is showing the distinctive characteristics of what it commonly does before stirring up trouble in the South China Sea in expanding military infrastructure on the disputed Zhongye or Thitu Island. Would the Foreign Ministry like to comment on this? Mao Ning: Im not familiar with the specific comment you mentioned. On the disputes between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, weve made clear Chinas position on multiple occasions. Id refer you to those previous statements. Global Times: Chinas economy has grown continuously over the years, and become an important engine for the global economy and a source of development opportunities for the world. However, we noted that recently some say that as the Chinese economy is set to stagnate, countries that benefit by riding Chinas rise may now be facing risks. Whats your comment? Mao Ning: China has for many years been among the fastest-growing major economies in the world and accounted for around 30 percent of global growth. It has become a major trading partner of over 140 countries and regions. This year, Chinas economy continues to be on a generally steady, sound and upward trajectory. The third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China put forward over 300 reform measures, which charted the course for the sustained and sound growth of Chinas economy and sent a clear message of expanding high-standard opening up and advancing high-quality development. China will further ease market access, take proactive steps to further open up, and open our doors wider to the least developed countries, so as to make the pie of opening up bigger and the list of cooperation longer, and promote an open world economy through our own opening up. We will continue making active effort to support other developing countries capacity-building through international development cooperation. By teaching others how to fish, so to speak, we will help fellow developing countries foster the capability for self-driven development, and contribute to the common development of the world through our own development. With a mega-size market, full-fledged industrial system and a sound business environment, China will provide greater dynamism for the world economy. We stand ready to work with all parties to jointly build a modernized world that enjoys peaceful development, mutually beneficial cooperation and common prosperity. Reuters: Are you able to tell us whether China has invited Eswatini which maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan to the upcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation? Mao Ning: On the FOCAC Summit, there will be more details that we can share in due course. Please stay tuned. Let me stress that the one-China principle is a prevailing consensus in the international community. Around the world, 183 countries have established diplomatic relations with China on the basis of the one-China principle. We hope the very few countries who still maintain so-called diplomatic ties with Taiwan will see clearly the trend of history and make a right decision that truly serves their own interests at an early date. Bloomberg: I will just follow up on the FOCAC summit. My question is about mpox which has become a topic at least on the global health scene. How might that impact FOCAC and are there any plans to introduce sort of restrictions or guidelines or safety measures? Mao Ning: Preparations for the FOCAC Summit are well underway. We will closely follow relevant developments and make sure the Summit will be a full success. TV Tokyo: Tomorrow is one year since Japan began releasing treated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant. Japan continues to call for the immediate lifting of the ban on seafood import. Are talks between the Japanese and Chinese governments progressing toward resolving the issue? Is there any concrete progress? Mao Ning: Without full consultation with neighboring countries, Japan unilaterally started the discharge of the Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water into the sea, spilling the risk of contamination worldwide. This highly irresponsible move is a breach of Japans commitments, of international law and of the right way for neighboring countries to get along with each other. China firmly opposes the discharge and has expressed grave concerns to Japan more than once. The precautionary measures taken by China and some other countries in response to Japans move are aimed at protecting food safety and peoples health. These measures are entirely legitimate, reasonable and necessary. China and Japan maintain consultations on the issue of the discharge. Let me stress that the more transparent and open Japan is on the issue, the easier it will be for Japan to alleviate international concerns. China once again calls on Japan to seriously respond to international and domestic concerns, fulfill its responsibilities and obligations, and offer full cooperation in setting up an independent international monitoring arrangement that remains effective in the long haul and has the substantive participation of Japans neighboring countries and other stakeholders. Kyodo News: The head of Taiwans office of external affairs Lin Chia-lung and secretary-general of Taiwans security council Wu Jaushieh will arrive in Washington this week for talks with senior US government officials. This is Taiwans senior officials first visit to the US since Lai Ching-te took office as president in May. Whats Chinas comments? Mao Ning: First of all, there is no such thing as president of Taiwan. As for your question, China firmly opposes any form of official exchange between the US and Taiwan. This position is consistent and clear. We urge the US to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, deliver on the commitments made by the US leaders on the issues related to Taiwan, handle the Taiwan-related issues with utmost prudence, stop any official exchanges with Taiwan, stop upgrading its substantive relations with the region, and stop conniving at and supporting Taiwan independence separatist activities in any form. AFP: A Philippine media outlet released a video of what they said was the Chinese side shooting a flare at a Philippine plane near Subi Reef in the South China Sea. Can you confirm that this incident took place and what comment does China have on this incident? Mao Ning: Im not aware of what you mentioned. News 1 Korea: August 24 marks the 32nd anniversary of ROK-China diplomatic relations. How does China view its relations with the ROK? Is there any plan between the two governments to hold any commemorative event? Mao Ning: China and the ROK are close neighbors and each others important cooperation partners. Since diplomatic ties were established more than 30 years ago, the two countries have, under our joint efforts, enjoyed close and fruitful exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and established the strategic cooperative partnership. Maintaining and growing the friendly and cooperative ties serves the interests of both countries, and contributes to regional development and prosperity. China is ready to work with the ROK to deliver on the important common understandings between the leaders of our two countries, cherish the commitment that brought our two countries together 32 years ago, keep to the friendly ties and deepen mutually-beneficial cooperation for the sustained, sound and steady development of our bilateral relations. AFP: Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic US presidential nomination on Thursday. Whats the Foreign Ministrys comment on it? Mao Ning: The presidential elections are the United States own affairs. We have no comment on that. AFP: Thailand yesterday confirmed what seems to be Asias first case of the new mpox strain. Can you tell us what measures China has taken so far, and if China will take any new measures to stop the spread of mpox? Mao Ning: Id refer you to the competent authorities on that question. The Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, has said the federal government is committed to reducing hunger in the country, but some individuals are frustrating the efforts. Mr Jibirin said President Bola Tinubu has approved several palliative measures for poor households and vulnerable Nigerians, but the people assigned for the distribution are diverting them. The DSP disclosed this on Thursday while addressing journalists in Abuja on the distribution of palliatives from the federal government to residents of Kano State. The mandate Mr. President has given to us is to make the items to be distributed get to the people. He (Tinubu) has given a lot of palliatives, but they are not being distributed evenly, they have not gone to those at the grassroots who should have them, Mr Jibrin said. He did not mention the names of the people diverting the palliatives. Rice for distribution Mr Jibrin, who represents Kano North Senatorial District, also said the federal government has inaugurated a committee, chaired by himself, to distribute palliatives to the people of Kano State. He said it would distribute 25kg of rice as palliative to 23,644 people in the state, with an estimated population of 15,462,200. 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 assured that with the modalities the committee had identified, the rice palliative will be distributed to identified beneficiaries across the 44 local government areas of the state. Mr Jibrin said part of the modality is that each beneficiary will be identified through a valid means such as a National Identity Card, Drivers license, Voter card, or International passport. Beneficiaries shall be listed on a sheet of paper, and each shall be given a bag of rice (25kg) after such a person is identified through a valid means of identification such as a National Identity Card, Drivers license, Voters card, or international passport, he said. Mr Jibrin assured of fairness in the distribution of the palliatives. The list of all beneficiaries with their signatures shall be submitted to the local government committee for onward submission to the state committee., he added. Committee members Aside from Mr Jibrin, other members of the committee are the Kano South senator, Kawu Sumaila; Kano Central senator, Rufai Hanga; Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Abdullahi Gwarzo; Minister of State (FCT), Mariya Mahmud and the Deputy Governor of Kano State, Aminu Gwarzo. Others are the Kano State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Abdullahi Abbas, al member in the APC House of Representatives members from Kano State and Kabir Alhassan Rurum of the NNPP, Kano State Governorship Candidate of the APC in the 2023 election, Nasir Gawuna, Director General of the National Productivity Centre (NPC), Baffa Agundi, Members of the Kano State House of Assembly, Maryam Shettima and the Chairman of NNPP in Kano State, Hashimu Dungurawa. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Protesters from Ringim Local Government Area of Jigawa State on Thursday marched to the Government House in Dutse to demand the sacking of the states agriculture commissioner, Muttaka Namadi. Mr Namadi is from Ringim LGA. However, the protesters alleged that he has not represented the area well in the state executive council. They blocked the main entrance of the Government House chanting abusive slogans in expressing their disappointment with his performance and demanding his removal. One of the organisers of the protest, Abdullahi Muhammad, said the protesters are members of the states ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) drawn from the 10 political wards and 220 polling units of the Ringim LGA. We have come here to formally lodge our complaints against the Commissioner for Agriculture, Muttaka Namadi because of his poor representation of our community. We have spoken to him several times to carry everybody along in the area, but he turned deaf ear to our demand. Our position is in compliance with the governors instructions to his political appointees to carry along members of their constituents and assist them. However, since our commissioner, who is from our local government area, has refused to heed the governors instructions, we have no option than to demand his removal from the cabinet as our representative and another person appointed. 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 Apart from the fact that he does not assist the people of his constituency, his actions have dampened our morale as party faithful in the area. As a party leader from our local government area, he has not inspired us, Mr Muhammad said. The Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mustapha Makama, and the state APC chairperson, Aminu Sani, received the protesters and promised to deliver their message to Governor Umar Namadi. Mr Sani acknowledged the complaints of the protesters, but appealed to them to be patient and allow the party and the governor to handle the situation. He commended them for their peaceful conduct and assured them that their complaints would be addressed to their satisfaction. PREMIUM TIMES tried to get Mr Namadi to speak on the allegations against him but his known phone number didnt connect Thursday evening. Governor Namadi had in January made his appointees to sign a bond to perform or get sacked. The governor said the performance bond was meant to commit officials to be dedicated in their assignments upon which they would be assessed quarterly and yearly. He added that he had signed an executive order establishing a results delivery and performance management coordination unit under his office. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The federal government has put measures in place to revamp abandoned water projects across the country to ensure the availability of potable water for citizens. The Minister of State for Water Resources and Sanitation, Joseph Utsev, said this at the end of a two-day inspection of water projects in Osun. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the minister was at the Ilesa water dam in Kajola and the Ife water dam in Ogudu. The minister, who was accompanied by the Osun State Commissioner for Water Resources, Sunday Oroniyi, also said that ongoing water projects would be completed. Speaking with journalists at the Ilesa dam, Mr Utsev said he was on a three-day inspection tour of water project sites across the southwest states. Weve been going around the country, and now, we are touring the South West Zone of the country which brought us to these dam sites which is being constructed here in Osun. And the aim of this dam is to supply water to the treatment plant for onward supply to the inhabitants of this particular area. But visiting this particular dam, Ive noticed that the quantum of water that was needed for treatment to supply to the inhabitants is not enough. 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 Having spoken with the consultant, the stakeholders will deliberate on the reports they submitted and look at different options to arrive at an environmentally friendly and cost-effective way of making sure that adequate water is available for the citizens, the minister said. After completing his tour of various water and other project sites across the country, he said, he will also devise a means to ensure that Nigerians get value for money on all the projects under the ministry. In his remarks, Mr Oroniyi described the ministers visit as a positive development for both the Ilesa and Ile-Ife water projects. I want to believe that the visit of the minister will bring a lot of positive change. READ ALSO: Lagos lawmakers express concern over unavailability of water in Lagos This is because Ilesa dam has been on for long and it has even stopped. But we want to see the reason the project stopped, and that is the reason behind this fact-finding mission by the minister. So once we collate the problems, definitely, we will get the solution, he said. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the re-election of Douye Diri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the Governor of Bayelsa State. The court dismissed the appeal brought by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timipre Sylvia, and his party. In the lead judgment delivered by Garba Lawal, the court held that the appeal by Mr Sylvia and APC was not only lacking merit but also amounted to a gross abuse of court process. The unanimous decision of the courts panel upheld the earlier decisions of the Court of Appeal and the Bayelsa State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Court of Appeal in Abuja had, on 18 July, affirmed the re-election victory of Governor Diri of Bayelsa State in the 11 November 2023 governorship poll. The three-member panel of Justices led by James Abundaga, held in its unanimous judgement that the appeal filed by the appellants; Mr Sylva and the APC lacked merit. It also held that the tribunal was not in error when it struck out several paragraphs of the petitioners reply against the governors election. 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 the election tribunal had, on 27 May, dismissed the petition filed by Mr Sylva and APC. The three-member tribunal, led by Adekunle Adeleye-led, dismissed the petition for lacking in merit. In a unanimous decision, the tribunal held that the petitioners failed to adduce credible evidence to substantiate their allegations against the outcome of the states governorship poll. It struck out all the additional proof of evidence and statements on oath of some of the witnesses who testified for the petitioners as incompetent. According to the tribunal, the law expressly provided that an election petition must be filed no later than 21 days after the election result was declared. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print President Bola Tinubu inaugurated on Friday Kudirat Kekere-Ekun as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). Ms Kekere-Ekuns inauguration as the acting CJN followed the retirement of her predecessor, Olukayode Ariwoola, who reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 on Thursday. Her substantive appointment is subject to Senate confirmation to become Nigerias 23rd chief justice, the 18th indigenous CJN, and the second female CJN after Alooma Mukhtar. During her inauguration at the State House on Friday, President Tinubu tasked her with defending the independence of the judiciary and promoting the cause of justice, a statement by Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity. The president emphasised the importance of strengthening mechanisms that will uphold and enhance integrity, discipline, and transparency in the judiciary. Undoubtedly, the position of the Chief Justice of Nigeria comes with enormous responsibilities as the head of all judicial institutions in the country. It is a position of considerable influence that demands temperance and sobriety. The occupant of the office must exude the highest level of integrity in the discharge of their duties. This is more so because of the finality of the Supreme Courts judgments. 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, therefore, urge your Lordship to be faithful and loyal to the Constitution when discharging your duty as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria. I also encourage you to defend the judiciarys independence and always promote the cause of justice. It is vital that you strengthen all mechanisms for integrity, discipline, and transparency in the judicial sector, and pursue other reforms or initiatives to sustain and build public confidence in the judiciary, the president stated. Read the full State House statement here. STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE PRESIDENT TINUBU SWEARS IN JUSTICE KEKERE-EKUN AS ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE OF NIGERIA, SAYS INDEPENDENCE OF JUDICIARY CRITICAL FOR PRESERVING SOCIAL ORDER, PEACE AND SECURITY President Bola Tinubu on Friday administered oath of office on Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), pending her confirmation by the Senate. The swearing-in of the 23rd Chief Justice of Nigeria and the second female justice to hold the office took place at the Council Chamber of the State House, Abuja. In his remarks, President Tinubu urged the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria to defend the independence of the judiciary and promote the cause of justice. The President emphasized the importance of strengthening mechanisms that will uphold and enhance integrity, discipline, and transparency in the judiciary. Undoubtedly, the position of the Chief Justice of Nigeria comes with enormous responsibilities as the head of all judicial institutions in the country. It is a position of considerable influence that demands temperance and sobriety. The occupant of the office must exude the highest level of integrity in the discharge of their duties. This is more so because of the finality of the Supreme Courts judgments. I, therefore, urge your Lordship to be faithful and loyal to the Constitution when discharging your duty as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria. I also encourage you to defend the judiciarys independence and always promote the cause of justice. It is vital that you strengthen all mechanisms for integrity, discipline, and transparency in the judicial sector, and pursue other reforms or initiatives to sustain and build public confidence in the judiciary, the President stated. President Tinubu also lauded the contributions of Justice Kekere-Ekun to the judiciary, noting that she is coming to the position with an admirable family and professional pedigree. Over the years, she has established a respectable and incorruptible reputation within the bar and the bench, which asserts the cause of justice. Her meritorious rise from a magistrate to justice of the Supreme Court is a testament to her exceptional talent, hard work, unblemished record, strong work ethic, and dedication to her calling as a priest in the temple of justice. Her sterling contribution to the growth of the Nigerian judiciary has been remarkable. We are inspired by her unwavering commitment to a higher ideal of upholding the principles of fairness and a strong commitment to humanity. Justice Kekere-Ekun is a brilliant lawyer who was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1981. Shes now a trailblazer becoming the second woman to hold this esteemed position after Honourable Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, GCON, the President said. President Tinubu noted that the appointment of the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria is an inspiration and a beacon of hope to young women who aspire to break glass ceilings across sectors and seek to make meaningful impact on society. Reflecting on the roles and evolution of the Nigerian Supreme Court since it was empowered by the 1963 Constitution to take over from the then Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the highest court, the President noted that the court has played a critical role in resolving complex legal conflicts, even under the military. He acknowledged the role of the Supreme Court in shaping public policies that impact all segments of society, citing the recent interpretation of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) regarding the financial autonomy of local councils in Nigeria. Highlighting the expedited passage of the Judicial Autonomy Act of 2024, which increased the remuneration of judicial officers by 300 percent, President Tinubu assured the judiciary of continued support from his administration in the expeditious improvement of its welfare and capacity. He cited the appointment of 11 new justices of the Supreme Court in December 2023, which is enabling the court to work efficiently as it attained its full complement of 21 justices for the first time in decades. Let me also reassure you that the judiciary under this administration will continue to receive prompt and adequate attention, recognizing its status as a driver of social order, rule of law, peace, security and economic development, the President said. President Tinubu also expressed gratitude to the immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, commending him for his 32 years of service to the judiciary and the nation. Speaking to the media after the swearing-in, the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria pledged to elevate the judiciary to new heights, improve its reputation, and sustain public confidence in the judicial system. We will make sure that people have more confidence in the judiciary, and I believe that it is not a one-man job. We all have to be on board because we all see the areas that are in need of improvement. I believe that there will be maximum cooperation because we all want to see a better judiciary. A better judiciary is for the benefit of the entire nation. Whatever the shortcomings that we see today are, we are all members of the society so, if we want to see a better society, if we want to see improvement, let the improvement start with each and every one of us and our approach to justice. Let us all have faith in the system and then also be particular about the process of appointment, I know it is a source of a lot of concern; the issue of discipline on the bench and at the bar as well. All of these things are aspects that we will look into and I believe that by the grace of God, at the end of my tenure, we should be able to have a judiciary that we will all be proud of, the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria said. The event was witnessed by Senate President Godswill Akpabio; the immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola; former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed; justices of the Supreme Court, senior judicial officers, and some members of the Federal Executive Council. The family of the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, led by her spouse, Mr. Akin Kekere-Ekun was also present at the State House Council Chamber. As part of measures to ensure the welfare of the judiciary, the federal budgetary allocation to the institution was increased by 100 percent during President Tinubus first year in office. Chief Ajuri Ngelale Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity) August 23, 2024 Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Students Union of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, has reacted to the death of a final year student of the university who was on Thursday knocked down to death by a reckless car driver. PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported that the student, identified as Esu Ema of the Department of Foreign Languages, was reportedly on her way to submit her final year project to her supervisor when the tragic incident occurred. In an open letter to the federal government and the Osun State Government the Students Union emphasised the critical need to put in place key infrastructure and safety measures to protect the lives of the students in the institutions. The letter nointly signed by the Students Union president and secretary general, Omoboriowo Damilola and Babatimehin Kinfeosi Joy, respectively, demanded the establishment of a designated motor parks for buses shuttling Lagos-Ibadan. The letter said this would create a specific area for bus routes and parking to reduce congestion and ensuring clear visibility at the highway intersection for the students. Another major request of the union is functioning pedestrian bridges outside the campus gate on Ife-Ibadan road. The union stressed that the integrity of the present one is in doubt. These bridges will provide safe crossing points for our students and other pedestrians, significantly reducing the chances of accidents involving vehicles. The safety of our students should never be compromised, and ensuring safe pathways is a fundamental step toward achieving this, the union stated. The Students Union also called for stricter enforcement of traffic regulations around the campus, noting that reckless driving and non-compliance with traffic rules pose serious threats to lives, and this must be addressed immediately. 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 Furthermore, the union highlighted the importance of regulating speed limits on the federal roads within and around the campus, therefore urging that speed bumps be installed on the expressway. In addition to speed limits, it is important that speed bumps are installed on the expressway. These speed bumps will effectively slow down vehicles, ensuring the safety of our students using the federal road. The union added that the construction of these bumps should be a top priority and should be in place as soon as possible. Safety on this road must be guaranteed for all our students. The letter also called on the school management to take proactive measures, including the construction of speed bumps at strategic locations and the installation of traffic signs and rules to guide both drivers and pedestrians. We implore the federal and state governments, as well as the school authorities, to respond swiftly and decisively, the Union added. The Students Union further reiterated its demand for immediate action, stating that the safety of our students is a top priority, and we expect immediate action to prevent such occurrences from ever happening again. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Proshares Economic and Market Intelligence Unit (EMI) represents that Oando completed its acquisition of 100 per cent of the shareholding interest in the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) from the Italian energy company, Eni. That may go unheralded for many reasons, but the news is making the rounds. Shareholders of Oando Plc are genuinely unhappy with the company for many reasons, none the least the promise sold to them, which did not materialise and for which the company has to engage on a different premise. There is no equivalence with evidence in the financial, business, and economic space, as it is done in the political space. Records exist for a reason in the former, and players seeking to push self-interested agendas must come with evidence and not innuendos in this space. Despite misgivings about an entity, I, as a member of the governance community, understand that it is unhelpful if we allow misrepresentations to replace objectivity and accountability. On this note, I offer my thoughts on the NNPC-OVH issue without holding a fort for any party. Public and analyst records available to our economic and market intelligence (EMI) unit affirm that @Oando_PLC was out of OVH three three years before @nnpclimited RETAIL chose to buy it out (by the way, OVH stands for Oando, Vitol, and Helios). A review of Oandos financial statements shows that it divested its downstream business (OVH) in three tranches: 60 per cent, 35 per cent, and 5 per cent. At that time, it was seeking to raise funds to invest in the ConocoPhillips transaction, for which it later got entangled with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), where a key investor (who also happens to be a business associate of a former Vice President) sought to exit its investment in the company. This dragged on for years, and investors are still making their peace with it. Interestingly, Oando achieved a significant milestone today in its long-term upstream strategy. Proshares Economic and Market Intelligence Unit (EMI) represents that Oando completed its acquisition of 100 per cent of the shareholding interest in the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) from the Italian energy company, Eni. That may go unheralded for many reasons, but the news is making the rounds. Shareholders of Oando Plc are genuinely unhappy with the company for many reasons, none the least the promise sold to them, which did not materialise and for which the company has to engage on a different premise. 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 a separate report, it was stated that Oandos divestment from the downstream business was a key part of its strategic representation to the market to move out of the lower-margin downstream and midstream businesses to focus on the more lucrative Upstream ventures. Some of these includes 1. OVH Initial Divestment 30th June 2016; and 2. Final Divestment 29th November 2019. It would appear that either by design or default, when Oando exited entirely in 2019, OVH continued to use the Oando brand under a Trademark Licence Agreement (TLA) because of the goodwill associated with the brand name. This is why the filling stations continued to bear the name Oando (some still do till today). We understand that the TLA was terminated effective 24 March 2023, but NNPC has 18 months to rebrand fully as part of the TLA. This means that the use of the name would legally cease by the end of September 2024. From Proshares records, OVH sold to NNPC retail before the expiration of this window, and the investing and general public should appreciate the business/political nuance at play. If this has changed, it is news to us. The @nnpclimited should consider issuing a clarifying statement as a matter of sovereign integrity. There are good times to hide behind obscurity, but this is not one of them. Femi Awoyemi is chief executive of Proshare Limited. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print I worry for this country because for years we have had successive leaderships that have basically abdicated their responsibilities to govern and work for the security and welfare of citizens. When the governing class has utter disregard for the people, their brutality to the people is deeper than that of the bandit-terrorists we are all complaining about. The Tinubu administration is clearly worse than the bad Buhari administration. This week has been yet another terrible one marked by the circulation of a video showing the blood-soaked image of the kidnapped Emir of Sabon Birni in Sokoto State, Isa Bawa, begging for his rescue. The message from the bandit-terrorists was clear, they will continue to kidnap, torture and kill as they please because the Nigerian state cannot or maybe, will not stop them. The most chilling part of the message is that no one is safe; they can pick any one they want. To prove their point, they killed the Emir and insisted on a ransom as a precondition to release his son. We have all been living in terror for a long time, given our knowledge that no one will rescue us when the bandit-terrorists pick us up. It is little comfort that our president will always say he will deal with them but do nothing. Meanwhile, his people in Sabon Birni performed a funeral prayer, known as Salat al-Ghaib, yesterday, for the murdered Emir. The prayer is usually performed in absentia for a Muslim who died where there are no Muslims to pray for him or her. The prayer was performed after a report that the Emir had been killed and buried by his abductors in the bush. The state government has neither confirmed nor denied the report that the Emir was killed on Wednesday afternoon by the bandits. As Premium Times reported, the states commissioner for Information, Sambo Danchadi, did not respond to multiple phone calls and text messages on Wednesday and Thursday morning for comment on the incident. No statement has been issued by government. The police spokesperson in the state, Ahmad Rufai, said he was yet to be briefed about the incident and declined further comments. As there is no state to protect us, I guess we will have to continue to suffer as it pleases those terrifying us, while those who run our governments will continue to enjoy our resources until the bandits catch up with them. Meanwhile, the bandits continue to commit atrocities all over the country, with concentrated actions in Zamfara, Katsina, Niger and Kaduna states. As more reports appear, it is clear that this is just the tip of the iceberg, as the President and his family are laser focused on privatising Nigerias assets. His friends need to draw his attention to the dangers of this pathway at a difficult moment when the majority of Nigerians are hungry and angry at the misery that has befallen them due to bad governance. I worry for this country because for years we have had successive leaderships that have basically abdicated their responsibilities to govern and work for the security and welfare of citizens. When the governing class has utter disregard for the people, their brutality to the people is deeper than that of the bandit-terrorists we are all complaining about. The Tinubu administration is clearly worse than the bad Buhari administration. It is difficult to disagree with the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election and former vice president of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar, when he said this week that the future of Nigerians is being mortgaged by President Bola Tinubu, his family, and associates. Atiku compares Mr Tinubus integration of his business interests into Lagos public enterprises to his efforts at the federal level: Just as Alpha Beta, Primero, and others act as Tinubus proxies in Lagos, managing critical sectors and generating revenue for him and his family, he has begun to replicate this at the federal level, he said. He expressed astonishment at the operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and how the government-owned oil company had put its retail arm under the control of OVH, a company in which Oando, led by Wale Tinubu, a relative of the president, owns 49 per cent. As more reports appear, it is clear that this is just the tip of the iceberg, as the President and his family are laser focused on privatising Nigerias assets. His friends need to draw his attention to the dangers of this pathway at a difficult moment when the majority of Nigerians are hungry and angry at the misery that has befallen them due to bad governance. There is a deep belief within Nigerias political class that the acquisition of massive fortunes is a guarantee of remaining in power because everybody is supposed to a have a price at which they could be bought. What is not known is that the proceeds of corruption reach only a tiny fraction of Nigerians and that most people are in deep penury and misery. Commenting on the recent revelation that the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project is under litigation, Atiku explained that the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), a global network of investigative journalists, reported that the coastal highway project has been taken to court and revealed a close relationship between Tinubus son, Seyi, and Gilbert Chagoury, who was awarded the contract without competitive bidding. The welfare and security of the population, and not one family, should be the primary focus of government. There is a deep belief within Nigerias political class that the acquisition of massive fortunes is a guarantee of remaining in power because everybody is supposed to a have a price at which they could be bought. What is not known is that the proceeds of corruption reach only a tiny fraction of Nigerians and that most people are in deep penury and misery. The masses cannot be bought because the political class has never sought to reach them and because the majority is not in the circuit, they have nothing to lose if they revolt. I believe this element of political risk should be a major consideration for Nigerias political class. 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 A professor of Political Science and development consultant/expert, Jibrin Ibrahim is a Senior Fellow of the Centre for Democracy and Development, and Chair of the Editorial Board of PREMIUM TIMES. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Know that Islam may tolerate anything, but it teaches zero tolerance for injustice, oppression, and violation of the rights of Our One and only Creator (Allah) and that of other human beings. Tolerance is a basic principle of Islam. It is a religious moral duty. It does not mean concession, condescension or indulgence. It does not mean lack of principles, or lack of seriousness about ones principles. Sometimes it is said, people are tolerant of things that they do not care about. In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Ever Merciful All praises and thanks be to Allah, and peace and salutations be upon the Messenger of Allah, his noble household, his companions and all those who follow him with excellence till the Day of Judgement. Dear brothers and sisters! Tolerance in Islam, is not a mere fairytale phrase, but true and sincere Muslims live it in reality. Islam urges us to be tolerant and forgive others. This is indicated in both the Quran and the Sunnah. One of the features of Islam indeed is that it is the religion of mercy. By the same token the Muslim should be easy going, not one who puts others off; he should forgive when he is able to take revenge and be tolerant when people make mistakes. Tolerance and patience are traits of the soul of every Muslim, a part of his belief in the religion of Islam, acknowledging the unparallel sovereignty of our one and only true creator, Allah. Once when the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was asked, What is Iman? he (Peace be upon him) replied: Iman (faith) is patience and tolerance. [See Al-Silsilah Al-Sahihah, Hadith no. 554] 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 Respected brothers and sisters! Know that Islam may tolerate anything, but it teaches zero tolerance for injustice, oppression, and violation of the rights of Our One and only Creator (Allah) and that of other human beings. Tolerance is a basic principle of Islam. It is a religious moral duty. It does not mean concession, condescension or indulgence. It does not mean lack of principles, or lack of seriousness about ones principles. Sometimes it is said, people are tolerant of things that they do not care about. But this is not the case in Islam. Tolerance according to Islam does not mean that we believe that all religions are the same. It does not mean that we do not believe in the supremacy of Islam over other faiths and ideologies. It does not mean that we do not convey the message of Islam to others and do not wish them to become Muslims. Remember, Tolerance toward falsehood is Intolerance. Islam teaches tolerance on all levels: Individual, groups and states. It should be a political and legal requirement. Tolerance is the mechanism that upholds human rights, pluralism (including cultural pluralism), and the rule of law. There are many levels of tolerance: 1. Among family members: husband and wife, parents and children, siblings etc. 2. Tolerance among members of the community: Tolerance in views and opinions, tolerance among different schools of thought. 3. Tolerance between Muslims and the people of other faiths (interfaith relations, dialogue and cooperation). When one looks into the life of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), one may draw on many examples to portray the high level of tolerance shown to people of other faiths. Allah bestowed upon him the best attitude and conduct, and the best way of dealing with people and situations, even though he was not literate and could neither read nor write. He grew up poor in an ignorant desert land, tending sheep, an orphan with neither father nor mother. But Allah taught him all good characteristics and good ways, and taught him the stories of earlier and later generations, and that which brings success and salvation in the Hereafter and happiness in this world, and showed him the way to focus on ones duties and keep away from inessentials. The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) never repaid evil with evil; rather he would pardon and forgive. He got angry for the sake of his Lord but he did not get angry for his own sake. He would adhere to the truth even if that resulted in harm for himself or his companions. It was narrated that Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), the wife of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) said: The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) was never given the choice between two things but he chose the easier of them, so long as it was not a sin. But if it was a sin he would be the furthest of the people from it. And the Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) never took revenge for himself, unless the sacred limits of Allah were transgressed, then he would take revenge for the sake of Allah. [Bukhari and Muslim] The Prophets (Peace be upon him) tolerance, proves beyond doubt, the place of tolerance in Islam, for surely, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) did not do things which was not part of Islam. The stories, examples and proofs of the magnificent tolerant nature of final Prophet (Peace be upon him) are too numerous to mention in detail here. Let us take just one example in this sermon: The tribe of Quraish were archenemies of Islam and, for a period of 13 years while he was still in Makkah, they would rebuke the Prophet (Peace be upon him), taunt and mock him, beat him and abuse him, both physically and mentally. They placed the afterbirth of a camel on his back while he prayed, and they boycotted him and his tribe until the social sanctions became unbearable. They plotted and attempted to kill him on more than one occasion, and when the Prophet (Peace be upon him) escaped to Madinah, they rallied the majority of the Arab tribes and waged many wars against him. What was the reaction of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) toward his Makkan enemies when he entered Makkah and liberated it from idolatry and paganism? In the wake of the Prophets (Peace be upon him) and the Muslims great victory and in the climax of their joy, rapture and happiness at coming back home to the Sacred City of Makkah Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) gathered together the Makkans, who were afraid that he would harm or kill them in revenge for their past abuse and killing of Muslims. Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) asked them: O, you people of Quraish! What do you think of the treatment that I am about to do with you? They answered, You are a generous brother and the son of an honourable brother of ours. Then, the kind, tolerant, generous and merciful Prophet (Peace be upon him) forgave them, announcing: No harm will come to you. You may go. You are free. [Baihaqi, and also in Ar-Rahiq Al-Makhtum (The Sealed Nectar) page 467] It has been narrated on the authority of Abdullah Bin Muti, who heard from his father and said: I heard the Prophet (Peace be upon him) say on the day of the Conquest of Makkah: No Quraishite will be killed hound hand and foot from this day until the Day of Judgment. [Muslim] The Prophet (Peace be upon him) issued a general pardon to all its inhabitants, who were not only pagans but also those that had fought him for the longest time, and regarding whom many of those verses of fighting like (Quran, 9:5) had been revealed. Dear servants of Allah! Rarely in the annals of history can we read such an instance of tolerance and forgiveness? This shows the real tolerant nature of Islam. Even after being tortured for years by those same Makkans and the Quraishite, the Prophet (Peace be upon him) forgave them. In contrast, we have seen throughout history what atrocities various super-power nations committed when they have unjustly attacked, invaded, and tortured others, throughout human history; And that too, just for the sake of this temporary world. And this continues, even today! All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. May the peace, blessings and salutations of Allah be upon our noble Messenger, Muhammad (Peace be upon him), and upon his family, his Companions and his true followers. Murtadha Muhammad Gusau is the Chief Imam of: Nagazi-Uvete Jumuah Mosque; and Late Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Okene Mosque, Okene, Kogi State, Nigeria. He can be reached via: gusauimam@gmail.com; or +2348038289761. This Friday sermon (Jumuah Khutbah) was prepared for delivery today Friday, 18 Safar, 1446 AH (August 23, 2024). Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Those behind the attempt to remove Umar by hook or crook should realise that the 1999 Constitution (as amended) stipulates that the President appoints the CCT Chairman and Members upon the recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC), which must have received advice from the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC). The recent announcement of Dr Mainasara Umar Kogo by a Presidential Spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, as the new CCT Chairman did not follow this due process. The recent attempts to forcibly remove the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Justice Danladi Yakubu Umar, are profoundly troubling and they raise serious concerns about the independence of our key democratic institutions. According to a highly placed source, there is an apparent plot to force Justice Umar to resign or invade his official residence to install a successor. This would be a blatant violation of the constitutional provisions governing the appointment and removal of the CCT chairman. One may easily nurse the fear that the raiding of official residences of some judges during the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, could be replayed under the President Bola Tinubu government. It would be recalled that in October 2016, Nigerias judiciary was plunged into crisis as operatives of the Department of State Security Services (DSS) raided the homes of senior judges in Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Gombe, intimidating them and their families. At least two targeted judges had previously ruled against the DSS, condemning its disobedience to court orders and lawless actions. The situation drew comparisons to the military era and widespread outrage, with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) declaring a state of emergency and calling for the release of detained judges. Those behind the attempt to remove Umar by hook or crook should realise that the 1999 Constitution (as amended) stipulates that the President appoints the CCT Chairman and Members upon the recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC), which must have received advice from the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC). The recent announcement of Dr Mainasara Umar Kogo by a Presidential Spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, as the new CCT Chairman did not follow this due process. 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 Furthermore, the Constitution states that the President can only remove the CCT Chairman and Members upon an address supported by a two-thirds majority of each House of the National Assembly (Senate and House of Representatives) and only on the grounds of the inability to discharge functions. The incumbent Chairman, Justice Umar, is in his 50s and does not meet the age requirement for mandatory retirement. Renowned legal experts, such as Professor Mamman Lawan Yusufari, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), have strongly criticised the governments actions as a clear breach of the Constitution. Yusufari, a former Dean of Faculty Law at Bayero University Kano (BUK), emphasised that the legislature must approve the removal of the CCT Chairman, citing acceptable constitutional grounds, such as the inability to perform functions or misconduct. Justice Umar has a reputation for being a courageous and impartial jurist. He has presided over several high-profile cases involving the leadership of the National Assembly, governors, top judicial officers, and other public officials. Notably, he discharged and acquitted the then-opposition leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, of the false declaration of assets and operation of foreign accounts in 2012, after listening to both sides of the lawyers arguments and despite facing external pressure to convict him. It was suspected that Tinubus prosecution at the tribunal was a bid to block his presidential ambition because Section 137(1)(e) of the Constitution states that A person shall not be qualified for election to the office of President if, within a period of less than ten years before the date of the election, he has been convicted and sentenced for an offence involving dishonesty or has been found guilty of contravening the Code of Conduct. After the acquittal, Umar publicly admitted that he faced external pressure to convict the former Lagos State Governor during the trial. He said: I was under immense influence to convict Tinubu, but I defied the pressure and upheld justice. I swear by the Almighty Allah to do justice. External forces did not sway us, and our judgment was based on the law. Furthermore, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) cleared Umar of corruption allegations in separate letters dated 5 March, 2015, and 20 April, 2016. The then Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde, signed the first letter during the Jonathan administration, while the then Secretary, Emmanuel Adegboyega, signed the second letter during the Buhari administration, when Ibrahim Magu was the acting chairman. Resorting to underhanded tactics to forcibly sack Justice Umar would not only be undemocratic, but it could also set a dangerous precedent that would undermine the independence of our key institutions. Unless there is compelling evidence of serious wrongdoing, following established rules or allowing the CCT chair to serve out his term is the proper thing to do. President Tinubu must resist the pressure from any cabal and uphold the rule of law. The citizenry deserve to have confidence in the integrity of our institutions, which can only be achieved through a steadfast commitment to due process and the Constitution. The President and the Attorney General, Lateef Fagbemi, should ensure that Justice Umar is not forced out through undemocratic means. The Secretary to the Government, George Akume, and the Presidents Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, must ensure that all appointments are thoroughly scrutinised and follow due process before announcements are made. This is crucial to prevent appointments that may breach the constitution or violate the law, thereby upholding the principles of transparency, accountability, and good governance. The newly sworn-in Acting Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, hailing from Lagos State, bears a significant responsibility to safeguard the independence of the CCT and uphold the integrity of the judiciary as a whole. It is imperative that she prioritises the protection of these institutions at all costs, ensuring that they remain free from undue influence and operate in accordance with the principles of justice, fairness, and the rule of law. Any compromise on this front would be a profound disservice to the Nigerian people and a betrayal of our democratic ideals, thereby undermining the very foundations of our nation. Yushau A. Shuaib is the publisher of PRNigeria; yashuaib@yashuaib.com Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Leading the light for anti-corruption agencies of ECOWAS countries which congregate under the aegis of Network of Anti-corruption Institutions in West Africa (NACIWA) is an additional test on Ola Olukoyedes practical know-how and leadership depth. As the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), he is not just any other anti-corruption war marshal within the context of the West African region. He is primus inter pares being at the commanding height of the most illustrious and preeminent anti-corruption agency in the continent. The sixth Annual General Assembly of NACIWA, which he hosted as its President from August 19 to 21, 2024 at the ECOWAS Secretariat, Abuja, left the delegates of the participating nations, including Nigerian with no illusions of the verve the EFCC chairman has primed himself to inject in the war against corruption and financial crimes within the sub-region, through amplified knowledge sharing, peer review and unwavering commitment to the ECOWAS Protocol on the fight against corruption and other relevant international and regional instruments. The ECOWAS Protocol on the Fight Against Corruption is a comprehensive range of strategies that have nearly the answers to all the issues hobbling efficient anti-corruption fight within the regions individual nation states and as a geo-cluster. The weak factor has resided in the implementation, which the Olukoyede leadership is galvanizing his peers to give a shot in the arm. Necessitated by the urgent need for concerted, collaborative and sustained cooperation among member states towards addressing the transnational corruption activities and the laundering of the proceeds of corruption in the region, the Protocol was adopted by the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government on December 21, 2001 and operationalized in 2016, as a mechanism for preventing, suppressing, and eradicating corruption in member states. Its 27 Articles aims to promote and strengthen the development in each of the State Partys effective mechanisms to prevent, suppress and eradicate corruption; intensify and revitalise cooperation between State Parties, with a view to making anti-corruption measures more effective and promote the harmonisation and coordination of national anticorruption laws and policies. Presenting the theme: Implementing the ECOWAS Protocol on the Fight Against Corruption Towards Strengthening Institutions for Regional Security, Ebenezer Asiedu, NACIWAs Head, Democracy and Good Governance noted that the Protocol is one of such major critical instruments deserving of the adherence and comprehensive domestication by all the ECOWAS Member States, and called for NACIWA to be strengthened to promote the popularisation and comprehensive domestication of the Protocol. Speaking at the occasion, Olukoyede made clarion calls that spoke to his desire for a recalibration of the anti-corruption fight within individual nations of ECOWAS. We are at a critical juncture in our collective fight against corruption in our sub-region. There is no gainsaying that corruption continues to undermine our economies, security, erode public trust, and hinder the sustainable development of our nations. This requires some introspection and strategizing to forge ahead. 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 implementation of the ECOWAS Protocol Against Corruption is not a mere technical exercise; it is a moral imperative that demands utmost dedication and innovative thinking. Our presence here today underscores the importance of collaborative and coordinated efforts in fostering transparency, accountability, and good governance across West Africa. I am confident that through our collective expertise, shared experiences, and unwavering commitment, we can forge a path towards a more transparent and prosperous West Africa. I urge all delegates to approach discussions over the next few days with renewed vigour and determination, he said. He drew special attention to the need for ECOWAS countries to strengthen their legal and institutional frameworks; enhancing cross-border cooperation in investigations and asset recovery; promoting public awareness, ethical standards and other corruption prevention measures; leveraging technology in the fight against corruption; and developing capacity-building programmes for anti-corruption practitioners. Let us be mindful of the trust placed in us by our citizens. Every policy we recommend, every strategy we develop, and every partnership we forge must be geared towards tangible improvements in the lives of the people we serve, he said. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chairman, ECOWAS who spoke through Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima described corruption as one of the most formidable obstacles to the progress and prosperity of ECOWAS countries and lauded NACIWAs initiatives with the protocol and other strategies directed at suppressing the scourge. It undermines the very fabric of our societies, erodes public trust, and impedes the equitable distribution of resources. As leaders, we are responsible for confronting this challenge head-on with unwavering resolve and concerted action, he said. The establishment of NACIWA by ECOWAS in 2010, was a visionary step towards creating a united front against the affliction of corruption in the region. NACIWA, President Tinubu noted has provided a platform for law enforcement collaboration in confronting corruption, the economic ills, insecurity, and developmental setbacks it wreaks on countries of the region. To a good measure, the constructive collaboration between NACIWA and ECOWAS has fostered greater cooperation and information sharing among anti-corruption agencies of the member states. A fundamental development in the 6th Annual General Assembly was President Tinubus announcement of a donation of a headquarter complex for NACIWA in Abuja, which he did in recognition of NACIWAs pivotal role in regional anti-corruption efforts. I am proud to announce that the Nigerian government has donated a property to serve as NACIWAs permanent headquarters. This gesture underscores our commitment to strengthening NACIWAs institutional capacity and providing a solid operational foundation, the president said. On his part, Olukoyede said that the gesture apart from having provided the Network with a physical home symbolizes the solidifications of the regional anti-corruption frameworks. The president enjoined all member states to renew their commitment to cause of the ECOWAS Protocol against corruption, urged them to move beyond rhetorics and embrace concrete actions that will harmonise legal frameworks within the region, plug the loopholes exploited by corrupt individuals; enhance cross-border cooperation in investigations and asset recovery; invest in innovative technologies to detect and prevent corrupt practices; promote transparency in public procurement and resource management; engage civil society and the media as partners in anti-corruption efforts and strengthen the independence and capacity of anti-corruption institutions of member states. Above all, for all member states to ratify and fully implement the Protocol. While reaffirming Nigerias commitment to the success of NACIWA and the broader anti-corruption agenda within ECOWAS, the president stated that the future of the region depended on member states ability to create transparent, accountable, and efficient governance structures that serve the interests of our people, adding that together, we will build more vital institutions, foster regional unity, and pave the way for a prosperous and corruption-free West Africa. Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, noted that At the regional level, West African countries suffer from weak or even failed local governance, particularly in border areas. Criminal gangs engaging in smuggling, gun running, and other illicit activities take advantage of this to provide a semblance of order and relative stability, undermining and sometimes replacing the authority of local governments. The emergence of Boko Haram in the North East (which thankfully has now been completely degraded), banditry in the North West of Nigeria and methamphetamine drug cartels in the South East is instructive. Boko Haram relied on the complex cross-border area between Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon for survival. Banditry relies on gold smuggling in Nigeria, Niger, Mali and the Benin axis. Similarly, the meth labs and drug trade in the South East are tied to complex routes that go all the way to South Africa. Every other speaker including Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, Chairman, ICPC, Senator Udende Emmanuel, Chairman, Senate Committee on Anti-corruption and Financial Crimes, Ambassador Addel-Fatau Musah, Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, ECOWAS Commission, Danilo Campisi, UNODC Deputy Country Representative, represented by Princess Chifiero, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, (SAN), Attorney General and Minister of Justice, all identified corruption as existential threat in the sub-region and pointed to the need to deploy the ECOWAS Protocol as launch pad for counter-offensive. A 21-point resolution was reached by the Assembly at the end of the three-day deliberations towards fostering a corruption-free West Africa among which are: an emphasis on the urgent need for the development of comprehensive guidelines for the full implementation of the ECOWAS Protocol on the fight against corruption, to bring it in line with other international instruments such as UNCAC and the AU Convention against Corruption; strong advocacy for better funding and resourcing of anti-corruption agencies in the sub-region, recognizing that adequate human and material resources are essential for the effective discharge of their mandates; a call on the ECOWAS Commission to expedite the establishment of a Technical Commission for the effective implementation of the ECOWAS Protocol on the fight against corruption, offering NACIWAs expertise and support in the endeavour; resolve to pursue the harmonization of legal and regulatory frameworks across the region to prevent safe havens for corrupt individuals and facilitate more effective cross-border anti-corruption efforts; call on member states yet to domesticate the ECOWAS Protocol on the fight against corruption into their national laws and policies to do so, towards ensuring a unified regional approach to fighting corruption and commitment to leveraging technology to enhance transparency, accountability, and efficiency in anti-corruption efforts across the region. Others are: a decision to improve monitoring, reporting, and enforcement mechanisms within NACIWA and its member institutions to ensure the effective implementation of anti-corruption measures; a pledge to deepen public awareness on the negative effects of corruption through comprehensive education and outreach programmes, encouraging active citizen participation in anti-corruption initiatives; encouragement of member institutions to embrace peer learning and knowledge sharing, particularly to support less experienced agencies in developing effective anti-corruption strategies; acceptance of the development of the draft ECOWAS Guidelines on Asset Recovery and Borderless Investigation which was presented at the Assembly; recommendation of the widespread adoption and utilisation of Corruption Risk Assessment (CRA) tools among member institutions to proactively identify and mitigate corruption vulnerabilities; commitment to strengthening regional collaboration and cooperation to effectively address the transnational nature of corruption, including improved information sharing and joint operations where appropriate. And finally, an expression of gratitude to President Tinubu and ECOWAS for their unwavering support. Hats off to Olukoyede for manifest commitment to pilot NACIWA to an altitude it has not attained since inception with brio that comes from a desire to be an agent of change in both the local and international anti-corruption circles. Tony Egbulefu, is of the Public Affairs Department of the EFCC. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Jigawa State and Local Government Contributory Pension Scheme Board, says it has commenced payment of over N3.4 billion to 1,331 retirees who exited active service upon attainment of 35 years in service between January to July this year and those who died while in active service. This was contained in a statement signed by the Director Administration and Finance of the Scheme, Nasiru Haruna who is equally acting as the Executive Secretary of the Scheme. The statement disclosed that, the payment was categorised into four batches. It explained that the first batch of 1,001 retired staff consists of those who retired either by reaching the mandatory retirement age of 35 years in service or sixty years by birth. Those in this group were paid N2,579,605,965.12 billion. The second category of 241 staff are those who died while in active service. Their next of kins would be paid the sum of N730,367,087.60 million. The third batch consists of 84 retirees who retired from service and started receiving monthly pension but died before reaching their minimum period of five years after retirement. Those people would be paid N109, 561, 313. 67 million. The last batch is made up of beneficiaries who did not contribute up to a period of five years, and the law states that for any staff to qualify to be paid from the scheme, he would to contribute for a minimum period of five years. He said: Under this category, we have paid one person, the sum of N2,705,459.02 million including 15% interest. Today we are going to pay the sum of N3,422,239,826.32 to 1,331 workers that retired/died from various State MDAs, LGCs and LGEAs. 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 payment included retirement benefit, death benefit, death pension balance and refund of eight per cent contribution. The acting Executive Secretary warned the retirees to desist from involving a third party in processing their retirement benefits. He cautioned: The Pension Board did not, in whatever way, ask a third party to facilitate and or receive any amount from retiree before their payments are done; our services are free; never bribe any of our staff for your terminal benefits, as we worked under guidelines establishing our Board in line with Pension regulations. If any person asks for money within and outside the pension house to process your payment, it is a fraud and should be reported to the Board for a necessary penalty, Mr Haruna told the retirees. The pension Board process payment of retirees immediately after the Directorate of Salary and Pension Administration forwards the particulars of the retiring workers to the pension Board he added. Mr Haruna commended Governor Namadi for releasing the sum of N3.422billion to Jigawa State and Local Governments Contributory Pension Scheme Board to settle outstanding gratuities and death benefits to 1,331 retirees in the State. He said with the recent approval, the state government has now released over N5.4 billion to the Jigawa State and Local Governments Contributory Pension Scheme Board as bailout while the Scheme has cleared all the outstanding payment of gratuities. Mr Haruna called on citizens of the state to continue to support the present administration with prayers in order to achieve a better Jigawa where everyone will be comfortable in the shared prosperity agenda of Governor Namadi. Some of the beneficiaries, thanked the Governor for prioritizing issues concerning pensioners welfare. One of the retirees from Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Ado Garba said he retired in January 2024 as a messenger. Now that I have received my gratuity and pension arrears from February, I will invest more in farming to make life better for myself and my family Mr Garba said. Another retiree, Uwani Bako said she has received her gratuity and pension arrears, adding that she would invest in Agriculture. She commended the governor for the timely payment of their gratuity. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Thirteen persons have been confirmed killed in the latest deadly attacks by bandits in Niger State. Habibu Wushishi, the spokesperson for the states Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, disclosed this in a statement issued on Thursday. The fresh attack in Bassa and Anguwan Mai-giro in Rafi and Shiroro local government area of the state came on the same day that bandits demanded 130 motorcycles as ransom for the release of dozens of women they had earlier kidnapped in Allawa, a community in the Shiroro Local Government Area of the state, in February. According to reports on the latest incidents in the state, the bandits laid siege to Bassa and Angwan Mai-giro villages for hours on Wednesday and Thursday. Mr Wushishi said the bandits looted three shops in the villages and also sacked some neighbouring farming villages. Over 12 neighbouring villages are currently in Erena IDPs camp with their number (of displaced persons) yet to be ascertained, he said. Visiting the areas on Thursday, the acting governor, Yakubu Garba, condemned the attacks and loss of lives. 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 According to a statement by his spokesperson, Bologi Ibrahim, Mr Garba describes the attack as satanic, insensible, atrocious and callous. He vowed that the government would restore security in the affected areas. 26 kidnapped women On Thursday, a video emerged featuring two of the 26 women kidnapped five months earlier in Allawa. In the video, the two women pleaded with their families to provide 130 motorcycles, which the bandits demanded as ransom for their release. The 30-second video shows one of the women tied to a tree. Speaking in Hausa, she calls a relative named Abdulrahman to help provide the items. Umar, please talk to Abdulrahman. They have brought me to a service area now. They said they could not release me until the demanded items were delivered. They said I should talk so that you will hear my voice. I have injuries to my legs. For the sake of Allah and His Prophet, help bring the items. They said if you bring the items, they will release me along with Hajiya. I am here with Hajiya, she says in the video. Abba Usman, a resident of Allawa, confirmed that the women featured in the video are among the 26 kidnapped in February. He said the bandits demanded five motorcycles for each of the 26 women, with each motorcycle valued at N2 million. Mr Usman said the families of the two women had already provided six motorcycles, but the kidnappers were demanding four more to release them. He added that the families of the remaining 24 women could not raise money to buy the motorcycles. My mother and my sister are among those kidnapped seven months ago on Allawa-Pandogari Road. On that day, eight men were killed before the other women were taken away. The bandits have asked us to provide five motorcycles for each of the 26 women. We couldnt raise the money, which is why they are still in captivity. They sent the video to confirm that the women are still alive and would be released once the additional motorcycles were provided. For now, we dont even have anything left to sell to raise money for these motorcycles, Mr Usman explained. Group demands commissioners sack Meanwhile, Gbenu Boknu Yakwo, a Gbagyi socio-cultural group, has urged Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago to sack his Commissioner for Homeland Security, Bello Abdullahi, over the worsening security cisis in Allawa and other communities in Shiroro Local Government Area (LGA) of the state. Bako Bosso, the president of Gbenu Boknu Yakwo Association, criticised in a statement the commissioner for denying reports that bandits and terrorists have taken over Allawa. He said the commissioners statements during an interview with an international media outlet showed that he was out of touch with the reality on the ground. We, the Gbenu Boknu Yakwo Association, are deeply disappointed in Brigadier General Bello Abdullahi (RTD) for his recent false claims that our people in Allawa and surrounding communities, who have been terrorised by bandits and kidnappers, have resumed their normal farming activities. The commissioners assertion during a BBC Hausa service interview that normalcy has returned to Allawa in Shiroro LGA mockingly disregards the suffering of residents who have been displaced from their ancestral lands due to banditry and terrorism. Niger citizens know that our people fled Allawa and surrounding areas on April 25, 2024, after soldiers stationed there were withdrawn. Despite five months since this exodus, the commissioner has failed to explain why the soldiers have not returned. Instead, he engaged in media misdirection, denying the reality of the ongoing crisis. We condemn the commissioners attempts to manipulate public perception and trivialise the plight of those displaced and traumatised by banditry and insurgency. His actions demonstrate gross inefficiency and incompetence in addressing the security challenges in Allawa and neighbouring villages. We, therefore, call on Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago to urgently remove the incompetent Commissioner of Homeland Security to prevent further frustration and anger from the farming communities. We also urge both the state and federal governments to take decisive action to eliminate the terrorists and enable the displaced residents to return to their homes and resume their farming activities. It will be recalled that hundreds of residents fled Allawa and adjourning villages in Shiroro Local Government Area of the state after the Nigerian Army withdrew its soldiers stationed in the area. Since the withdrawal of the soldiers, bandits have routinely attacked the area, killing and kidnapping for ransom. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the election of Governor Usman Ododo of Kogi State. Mr Ododo was the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the 11 November 2023 governorship election in the state. A five-member panel of the court unanimously held that the appeal by the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and its candidate, Muritala Ajaka, to challenge Mr Ododos victory lacked merit. Sadiq Umar, who read the lead judgement, dismissed the appeal after resolving all the three issues identified for determination in the appeal against the appellants. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal had affirmed Mr Ododos election in a unanimous judgement delivered on 11 July. Onyekachi Otisi, who delivered the lead judgement, upheld the decision of the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which had equally affirmed the governors election. The appellate court held that the SDP and its governorship candidate, Mr Ajaka, failed to prove the allegations contained in their appeal beyond reasonable doubt as required by 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 The court equally dismissed the appeals filed by Action Alliance (AA) and its governorship candidate, Olayinka Braimoh; and that of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and its governorship candidate, Abdullahi Bayawo, challenging Mr Ododos victory. In its judgement on SDP and Mr Ajakas appeal, the Court of Appeal agreed that the tribunal was right to have expunged the evidence of the 1st petitioners witness (PW-1) on the grounds that the evidence tendered by the witness was a documentary hearsay. She said witnesses, whether subpoenaed or normal, are supposed to front-load their witness statements on oath as required by law. The judge held that the petitioners witnesses were incompetent because their statements did not accompany the petition in line with the electoral laws. She agreed with the tribunal that there were inconsistencies in the case of the appellants. According to her, the allegation of forgery of documents that Ododo submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is a pre-election matter which is handled by the Federal High Court and not the tribunal. The court held that the issue happened before the conduct of the2023 governorship election in the state and as such, cannot be legislated upon by the lower tribunal. The judge also held that the allegation of forgery of documents ought to be proven beyond reasonable doubt. The court resolved all the issues raised in the appeal against the appellants. NAN reports that on 27 May, the tribunal affirmed the victory of Gov. Ododo of APC in the 11 November 2023 Kogi State governorship poll. The three-member panel of judges led by Ado Birnin-Kudu held that the petition was bereft of substance and accordingly dismissed it. The tribunal held that SDP and Mr Ajaka failed to prove the allegations of over-voting and non-compliance with the Electoral Act, 2022 in the petition. The panel, in a unanimous decision, held that all the witness evidence filed before it were incompetent and full of inconsistencies. READ ALSO: Ododo presents 11 cars to Kogi judges It also agreed with the submissions of the respondents that the allegations of forgery raised in the petition were pre-election matter, which ought to have been raised 14 days after the documents were submitted to INEC. Kogi State had, on 11 November 2023, held its off-cycle election won by Mr Ododo, beating his closest rival, Mr Ajaka of the SDP with a wide margin. Unsatisfied with INECs declaration of Mr Ododo as winner of the poll, Mr Ajaka and his party sued the electoral umpire, Mr Ododo and APC to the tribunal. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed Governor Hope Uzodimmas re-election in the 11 November 2023 governorship election in Imo State. A five-member panel of the court, in a lead judgment delivered by Justice Mohammed Idris, dismissed the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate in the Imo election, Samuel Anyanwu, for lacking in merit. Justice Idris resolved all the issues raised for determination in the appeal against the appellants. Justice Idris equally dismissed the appeal by the Labour Party (LP) and its candidate, Athan Achonu, for being unmeritorious. The judge, who authored and read the lead judgment, resolved the three issues identified for determination against the appellants. He found that the appellants, as petitioners at the election tribunal, failed to prove their case as required. He proceeded to affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeal, which upheld the decision of the Imo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which dismissed the appellants petition. 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 News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Court of Appeal, Abuja, had, on 16 July, dismissed the appeal filed by the PDP and Mr Anyanwu, challenging the decision of the Imo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which affirmed the election of Governor Uzodinma. The three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Bitrus Sanga, held that the appeal lacked merit, having resolved all issues formulated against the appellants in the suit. The Court of Appeal also dismissed the appeal by the LP and its candidate, Mr Achonu, and that of the Allied Peoples Movement for also lacking in merit. NAN reports that the appellants, who were dissatisfied with the election tribunal judgment, had approached the Court of Appeal on grounds that the 11 November 2023 election, was invalid because of non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act. ALSO READ: Imo assembly asks Uzodinma to sack chief judge The appellants also challenged Mr Uzodimmas qualification with an allegation that his West African Examination Certificate result was forged. While delivering that judgment, the Court of Appeal held that the appellants failed to prove the allegation of non-compliance as alleged. The panel also held that the appellants failed to prove that the governor submitted a forged certificate. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Tragedy struck on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway in the early hours of Friday when a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) bus overturned, leaving 11 people injured. The accident occurred at about 7:45 am within the dedicated BRT lane. According to the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), emergency responders quickly arrived at the scene to provide medical assistance and transport the victims to nearby healthcare facilities. A fully loaded high-capacity bus fell on its side inside the dedicated lane (BRT lane) with a record of 10 casualties (victims), who have been taken care of, LASTMA stated on its official X handle. In a separate incident, a loaded truck fell at Durbar junction on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, blocking the road inward Alakija. READ ALSO: NAFDAC intercepts petrol tankers carrying edible oil in Lagos LASTMA personnel swiftly diverted traffic through the service lane from Orile heading towards Durbar to ease movement. The agency advised motorists to follow the diversion and exercise patience as efforts were underway to clear the obstruction and restore normal traffic flow. 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 Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun on Friday, assured that the ongoing reconstruction of Abeokuta-Ifo-Ota highway would be completed in 18 months. Mr Abiodun stated this at the turning of sod/official flag-off of the highway in Itori, Ewekoro area of the highway. The governor said that the importance of the road prompted his administration to seek Federal Governments approval for total rehabilitation. He explained that the Abeokuta-Ifo-Ota highway, being the second-busiest highway in the country, on completion, would not only boost the economic well being of the people of the state but the entire country. The governor said the road which was first awarded for construction in 2003, was not completed due to insufficient funds. He added that his administrations commitment towards inclusive governance to the people, made the state government to apply for transfer of responsibility from the Federal Government to ameliorate the sufferings of motorists plying the highway. Mr Abiodun said the reconstruction would cover a length of about 70km and would be divided into five team gangs of Ota, Ifo, Papalanto, Ewekoro and Abeokuta. 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 This road is of great significance not only to Ogun and Lagos States, but to Nigeria and the neighbouring West African country, Benin Republic. Our people have suffered too much on this road, but, today, our hope is renewed. To expedite the completion of this project, there are five team gangs put in place. Each gang will cover about 15 kilometres and will be completed in 18 months, the governor said. Mr Abiodun appreciated President Bola Tinubu for handing over the Abeokuta-Ifo-Ota project to the state government. Kehinde Olugbenle, the Olu of Ilaro and Paramount Ruler of Yewaland, appreciated the governor for taking over the reconstruction of the road. Oba Olugbenle pleaded with the contractor handling the project to ensure that a quality job was done. The traditional ruler called for the construction of a flyover at Papalanto junction in Ewekoro Local Government area of the state to reduce accidents and enhancing free flow of traffic. Yemi Sanusi, the State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), noted that the reconstruction of the Abeokuta-Ifo-Ota highway was a major dividend of democracy in the state and the nation. Present at the event were House of Representatives members, traditional rulers, some members of the State Executive Council, members of the transport unions and students among others. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print LONDON, Aug. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Fresha, the leading marketplace platform for beauty and wellness, today announced it has secured a $31 million venture debt facility from J.P. Morgan. This funding will accelerate Fresha's expansion into new markets and drive the growth of its machine learning capabilities and AI-powered robotics, further advancing its innovative all-in-one platform. Fresha the world's leading marketplace for beauty and wellness investing in Machine Learning and AI Powered Robotics. Fresha's platform empowers beauty businesses, such as salons, barbershops, spas, and aesthetics clinics, to operate efficiently and independently. By offering a subscription-free business software with embedded payment processing and a consumer marketplace, Fresha helps businesses streamline their entire operations and connect with more customers, levelling the playing field for businesses of all sizes. To date, Fresha has raised over $185 million in venture capital funding, including a $150 million Series C round in 2021 led by General Atlantic. As Fresha approaches profitability, this new relationship with J.P. Morgan will further fuel its ambitions to revolutionise the beauty and wellness space. Fresha's platform allows consumers to discover, book, and pay for beauty and wellness appointments with local businesses through its marketplace. Beauty and wellness professionals' benefit from an all-in-one platform that includes free business software and financial technology solutions to manage their operations seamlessly. This approach aligns with Fresha's vision of fostering innovation and accessibility across the industry, enabling every business to thrive in a competitive landscape. The Fresha ecosystem offers merchants everything they need to run their businesses effectively, including appointment bookings, point-of-sale, customer records management, marketing automation, loyalty programs, beauty product inventory, and team management. The consumer marketplace leverages online bookings and automated marketing through mobile apps and advanced integrations with major tech platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and Google, unlocking significant revenue potential for partner businesses. By removing barriers to advanced technology, Fresha ensures that all beauty professionals can enhance their services and expand their reach. Fresha boasts a network of over 110,000 merchants, with a strong presence in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. The platform's reach extends across 120 countries, where customers book tens of millions of appointments monthly. To date, Fresha has facilitated transactions worth over $35 billion in gross merchandise volume, showcasing its significant impact on the global beauty and wellness industry. In 2023, the company grew revenues by 67% year-over-year, with a similar level of performance expected in 2024. "We're delighted to support Fresha on their continued growth journey," said Alexandra Wyatt, U.K. Innovation Economy banking at J.P. Morgan. "Fresha is steering the rapidly expanding beauty and wellness space with its innovative technology and strong unit economics. Their unique business model is transforming the industry landscape, and it's precisely the type of innovation we want to help drive globally." J.P. Morgan serves venture-backed and high-growth companies, founders and venture capital firms across the globe in industries like technology, fintech, disruptive commerce and internet, life sciences, climate tech and healthtech. The firm provides deep industry expertise, local support, global products and services and a robust network of investors and partners to meet clients' commercial, investment and private banking needs. "We are thrilled to be working with J.P. Morgan," said William Zeqiri, Founder and CEO of Fresha. "The beauty and wellness industry is a dynamic world, buzzing with creativity, innovation, and an endless quest for service enhancement. Today, there is so much potential to be unlocked. Beauty service providers need a 360-degree view of each client, including booking behaviour, preferences, payment methods, and lifetime value. Extracting insights from every transaction has become a key competitive advantage, allowing our users to offer highly tailored and personalized services." Zeqiri continued, "The next exciting frontier for Fresha is expanding our research and development in machine learning and integrating AI into daily business operations. By embracing cutting-edge technology, we are not just enhancing our services; we are creating opportunities and redefining what's possible. Our vision is a world where innovation and creativity flourish together, driving progress and enabling everyone to reach their full potential. In the not-so-distant future, we envision AI-powered robots working alongside humans in the beauty and wellness space. Robots can handle repetitive tasks, such as managing bookings, mixing colours, welcoming customers, or managing inventory, freeing up valuable time for stylists to focus on personalizing their services and honing their craft." About Fresha Fresha is the world's #1 beauty and wellness marketplace powered by all-in-one free business software with integrated payments. With over 100,000 partner venues in more than 120 countries, Fresha simplifies business operations and enhances customer experiences. To learn more, visit fresha.com, download Fresha on the App Store and Google Play, or follow Fresha on Facebook and Instagram. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2486639/Fresha.jpg Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=791 Browse in-depth TOC on "Ablation Technology Market" 226 - Tables 64 - Figures 290 - Pages Johnson & Johnson: Innovator in Ablation Technology Johnson & Johnson (US) is a prominent player in the ablation technology market through its subsidiaries, Ethicon Inc. and Biosense Webster, Inc. The company specializes in pulsed field ablation platforms and therapeutic catheters. To expand its portfolio, Johnson & Johnson acquired Laminar, Inc. (US), enhancing its capabilities in this field. Committed to advancing patient outcomes, the company invests significantly in research and development. With 89 manufacturing facilities, primarily in the US, Johnson & Johnson offers its products globally through direct presence and various distribution channels. Medtronic Plc: Global Leader in Ablation Solutions Medtronic Plc (US) is a major force in the ablation technology market, operating in over 150 countries across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. The company provides cardiac ablation solutions through its cardiac rhythm & heart failure segment and offers gastrointestinal and endoscopy ablation systems under its Medical Surgical Portfolio. Additionally, Medtronic's neuromodulation division supplies tumor ablation systems. Its global presence and extensive reach support its robust position in the market. Boston Scientific Corporation: Strategic Innovator in Ablation Technology Boston Scientific Corporation (US) is a key player in the ablation technology market, focusing on innovation and strategic acquisitions. The company acquired Lumenis LTD (Israel), known for its laser systems, and strengthened its electrophysiology portfolio by purchasing Farapulse, Inc. (US) and Relievant Medsystems, Inc. (US). With 15 manufacturing facilities worldwide, including eight in the US and Puerto Rico, and distribution centers across major regions, Boston Scientific continues to drive growth through strategic investments and global presence. Abbott: Expanding Its Ablation Technology Portfolio Abbott (US) provides ablation devices and catheters under its electrophysiology subsegment. Operating through 291 international and 100 domestic subsidiaries, including Abbott GmbH & Co., KG (Germany) and Abbott Cardiovascular, Inc. (US), Abbott offers a wide range of products globally. The company's acquisition of Cardiovascular Systems Inc. (US) has enhanced its portfolio with alternative solutions for vascular disease treatment. Abbott's global reach and strategic acquisitions underline its commitment to expanding its ablation technology offerings. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=791 Product Segment: Consumables Dominate Ablation Technology Market The ablation technology market is divided into two primary segments: ablation systems and consumables. In 2023, the consumables segment held the largest market share. This dominance is driven by a growing patient population, increasing awareness of early detection, and advancements in consumable technologies. These factors have significantly boosted demand for consumables in the market. Application Segment: Cardiovascular Disease Treatment Leads Market The market is segmented by application into cardiovascular disease treatment, cancer treatment, orthopedic treatment, cosmetic/aesthetic treatment, urological treatment, gynecological treatment, pain management, ophthalmological treatment, and other applications. In 2023, cardiovascular disease treatment was the largest segment. The segment's growth is fueled by a rise in global cardiovascular disease cases, new product launches and approvals for cardiac ablation solutions, and supportive reimbursement policies. End User Segment: Hospitals and Surgical Centers Lead Market End users of ablation technology include hospitals, surgical centers, ablation centers, ambulatory surgical centers, medical spas, aesthetic clinics, dermatology clinics, and other facilities. In 2023, hospitals, surgical centers, and ablation centers held the largest market share. The increase in hospital numbers and partnerships with insurance companies allows for investment in advanced ablation technologies, leading to broader adoption and improved patient care. Regional Insights: North America Holds Largest Market Share The ablation technology market is segmented by region into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. In 2023, North America accounted for the largest market share, followed by Europe and Asia Pacific. Asia Pacific is anticipated to exhibit the highest growth rate from 2024 to 2029. North America's market dominance is attributed to the presence of major players, high incidence of relevant diseases, and robust research activities. For more information, inquire now! Inquire Now Related Reports: Electrosurgery Market Tumor Ablation Market Neuromodulation Market Pain Management Devices Market Interventional Oncology Market Get access to the latest updates on Ablation Technology Companies and Ablation Technology 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: [email protected] Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1951202/4609423/MarketsandMarkets.jpg SOURCE MarketsandMarkets DULUTH, Ga., Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- AGCO Corporation (NYSE: AGCO), a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of agricultural machinery and precision ag technology, will launch new products and highlight its many farmer-focused solutions at the 2024 Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, on August 27-29. Alongside new tractors from its Fendt and Massey Ferguson brands, AGCO's exhibit will feature displays from PTx Trimble, Precision Planting, FarmerCore and a host of entertaining events throughout the show. AGCO will introduce North American audiences to the Fendt 600 Vario Series tractor and the Massey Ferguson 9S Series tractor at its expansive 2024 Farm Progress Show exhibit. Many other new farmer-focused products, solutions, services and experiences will be displayed in the AGCO booth (#1002) and PTx booth (#1234). Pre-Show Media Sneak Peek on Tuesday Morning AGCO and its brands will kick off the 2024 Farm Progress Show with an exclusive preview for the media on Tuesday, August 27, from 7 8 a.m. in booth 1002. Journalists will have the opportunity to get the early scoop on new solutions from AGCO's brands, interview product experts and leaders, climb aboard machinery and get photos and video before attendees enter the show. All media representatives are invited to join the AGCO team for interviews, coffee and breakfast. Fendt Introduces the 600 Vario Series Tractor, ErgoSteer and Fendt Lodge Fendt's exhibit will highlight the most recent addition to its family of tractors, the Fendt 600 Vario. A 2024 AE50 Award winner, the 600 Vario is an uncompromising all-arounder, perfect for any task on the farm, from 140 to 240 hp. Fendt's exhibit will also showcase new Farmer-First technology such as ErgoSteer, a joystick steering retrofit solution for the Fendt 500 through 1000 Vario wheel tractors; AutoDock, the first automatic system for connecting and disconnecting headers from the IDEAL combine; Fendt's agronomically-advanced Momentum planter and the revolutionary Rogator 900 Series sprayer. Attendees will also learn more about the Fendt Lodge, the brand's new home in North America, and gain firsthand experience with simulators in the fully updated Fendt Mobile Experience Center. Massey Ferguson Launches the 9S Series Tractor Massey Ferguson will introduce attendees to the 9S Series tractor, which allows farmers to achieve a better cost per hour for a lower total cost of ownership. The MF 9S Series delivers industry-leading fluid efficiencies and high-level cab comfort. It boasts intuitive, field-proven technology that reduces labor costs and provides superior dependability that allows farmers to complete fieldwork in the optimum window. FarmerCore Exhibits Mobile Service Truck AGCO's FarmerCore exhibit will highlight how this transformative initiative delivers a next-generation farmer and dealer experience. The end-to-end distribution model consists of three pillars that help create a seamless ownership experience for farmers to become more profitable, productive and sustainable: the on-farm mindset, smart network coverage and digital engagement. Attendees will learn about the tools and approaches that put dealers in closer proximity onsite and online to farmers and how FarmerCore is implemented in close collaboration with AGCO's global dealer network. A fully equipped, mobile on-farm service truck will be onsite to showcase the many tools and resources that can benefit farmers. Precision Planting Displays Retrofit Solutions and Radicle Agronomics in Booth 1234 Precision Planting is a leading source of agriculture technologies for every season, creating retrofit products that upgrade a farmer's existing planter, air seeder, drill, sprayer, liquid fertilizer applicator, dry fertilizer applicator and combine to maximize the performance of their equipment. Featured in booth #1234 will be Radicle Agronomics, a suite of soil sampling and analysis tools that are the first industry upgrades to this process in nearly a century; SymphonyNozzle, a sprayer upgrade that offers independent control of rate and pressure; and the CornerStone Planting System, a complete planter upgrade to an existing planter bar. See a selection of products across the growing seasons under one roof. PTx Trimble: Meet AGCO's Newest Brand in Booth 1234 Farm Progress 2024 is the first North American trade show for PTx Trimble, the joint venture launched earlier this year by AGCO and Trimble Agriculture. Attendees can visit booth #1234 to learn more about the company's vision and to hear the latest about PTx Trimble's commitment to mixed fleet, retrofit precision ag and autonomous technologies. Attendees can also see and demo the company's new OutRun autonomous grain cart solution at the PTx Trimble Ride and Drive site. While at the demo, growers can learn about beta testing opportunities for the OutRun retrofit kit, prior to wider availability in 2025. GSI Showcases Smart Grain Management and New Dryer GSI's exhibit will feature Smart Grain Management tools GrainVue and GSI Connect, VersaLoop, and the brand's conditioning portfolio - including the new mixed flow dryer. GrainVue allows farmers to eliminate the guesswork and leverage the latest digital cable technology to easily monitor and manage their stored grain. The GSI Connect app allows farmers to remotely monitor and manage their dryer from anywhere. GSI's newest product, the mixed flow dryer, completes the brand's dryer lineup and provides for a full array of dryers to accommodate any operation's needs. (Note: On July 25, AGCO announced a definitive agreement to sell its Grain & Protein business, which will include GSI.) Additional Events throughout the Booth AGCO's booth will be filled with activities, as special events and displays will entertain and interest attendees of all ages. Scheduled appearances with personalities from Acres TV, AgPhD, Brian's Farming Videos, Chronicles of Kayla and Xtreme Ag will take place on the booth's center stages throughout FPS (see Scheduled Events on AGCO's FPS page for details). Anthony Troyer's NHRA drag car will be on display for race enthusiasts. The Fendt Lodge will host a fire pit and marshmallow roast daily at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. for youngsters. And future ag technicians aged 14-21 can complete head-to-head for prizes in the Pit Stop Challenge! To learn more about AGCO's innovative brands, visit AGCOcorp.com or stop by the booths at the 2024 Farm Progress Show on August 27-29: AGCO in Booth 1002 and PTx / Precision Planting / PTx Trimble in Booth 1234. Fendt, Massey Ferguson, Momentum, Rogator and Vario are registered trademarks of AGCO. AutoDock, FarmerCore, Fendt Lodge, and PTx Trimble are trademarks of AGCO. Precision Planting is a registered trademark of Precision Planting LLC. Cornerstone, Radicle Agronomics and SymphonyNozzle are trademarks of Precision Planting LLC. About AGCO AGCO (NYSE: AGCO) is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of agricultural machinery and precision ag technology. AGCO delivers value to farmers and OEM customers through its differentiated brand portfolio including core brands like Fendt, GSI, Massey Ferguson, PTx and Valtra. AGCO's full line of equipment, smart farming solutions and services helps farmers sustainably feed our world. Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, USA, AGCO had net sales of approximately $14.4 billion in 2023. For more information, visit www.agcocorp.com. For company news, information, and events, please follow us on X: @AGCOCorp. For financial news on X, please follow the hashtag #AGCOIR. SOURCE AGCO Corporation Under the agreement, Amigo LNG will supply 3.6 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) of LNG to E&H for the Malaysian market over 20 years, beginning in Q3 2027. This agreement marks a significant milestone for E&H in the evolution of Malaysia's Gas Market Liberalisation, regulated by the Energy Commission of Malaysia. The future outlook of the Malaysian gas market is positive, driven by increasing demand for gas, particularly in the Malaysian power sector. Amigo LNG is a large-scale 7.8 MTPA liquefaction and export facility, and the only project in the region with both FTA and non-FTA permits from the US Department of Energy, valid until December 2027. The project is being developed in close cooperation with the State of Sonora and is located adjacent to the Port of Guaymas in Sonora, Mexico. Amigo LNG is a cornerstone of Sonora's strategy to position itself as a hub for near-shoring, maritime decarbonization, and connectivity to Asian markets via Pacific shipping routes. At the signing event in Kuala Lumpur, Dato' Wan Adlil , Executive Director of E&H, stated, "This agreement is timely and aligns with the country's direction towards gas market parity by 2027. E&H Energy aims to be a significant contributor in providing energy solutions to the country, particularly in the LNG and gas sectors in Peninsular Malaysia." "We are pleased to enter into this long-term agreement with E&H Energy. This partnership supports our strategy to focus on supplying the growing Southeast Asian LNG market and capitalizes on the unique logistics solutions that Amigo provides, optimizing shipping routes to the region," said Muthu Chezhian, CEO of LNG Alliance Pte Ltd. The implementation of Amigo LNG underscores Mexico's national commitment to a sustainable future. One of the initiatives includes using biomethane produced locally from organic waste-based feedstock in Sonora, which will be processed and blended with imported US natural gas. This approach reduces the project's carbon footprint through waste reduction and promotes a closed-loop circular economy. As the first of its kind in the region, Amigo LNG effectively leverages the country's commitment to ESG principles. About LNG Alliance LNG Alliance, established in 2013, is a project development, operations, and asset platform focused on LNG export and import terminal infrastructure. LNG Alliance leverages partnerships with key energy sector players, technology developers, and investment partners to structure and deliver reliable, affordable, and secure energy solutions to core operational markets in Mexico, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Europe. About E&H Energy E&H Energy Group, established in Malaysia in 1993, has been active in the gas business since 2010. E&H Energy Group currently operates CNG and LNG facilities in Johor, with an expanding footprint in Peninsular Malaysia. In May 2018, E&H Energy Group became one of the first private companies in Malaysia to be awarded an LNG Import License under the Third-Party Access initiative of Malaysia's Energy Commission. SOURCE LNG Alliance Pte Ltd Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=38718363 Browse in-depth TOC on " Animal Disinfectants Market" 70 Tables 70 Figures 300 Pages The Iodine type is projected to dominate within the type sector of the animal disinfectants market. The share of the iodine segment in the animal disinfectants market is the highest due to its significant efficacy in killing most microorganisms, from bacteria to viruses and even fungi. Iodine-based disinfectants have shown a great antimicrobial effect, so they are applied as one of the most preferred solutions in the sphere of animal healthcare and biosecurity. Furthermore, such iodine-based products are positioned and perceived as relatively safe and less toxic compared with other disinfectant choices, hence helping to drive further projected growth in the market. Zagro's article on farm biosecurity in January 2021 talks about the exclusion of infectious agents, namely viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites, from entering the animal. In this context of reducing risk and protecting animal health toward the sustainability of livestock production, properly designed biosecurity measures play an important role. Of these, iodophors are more effective, because they have a broad spectrum germicidal action with low toxicity and stability. Zagro's product launch in 2021, IOGUARD 300, is a strong iodophor-based disinfectant containing 3.4% iodine. This may be used in livestock housing and equipment and hatcheries with excellent activity against bacteria, viruses, and fungi. The benefits associated with Iodine & companies launching new innovative products with Iodine will have a dominating share within the market. Dairy cleaning is estimated to be the dominating application segment in the animal disinfectants market during the forecasted period 2024-2029. Disinfectants are designed to destroy the vast majority of the harmful pathogens that contaminate dairy equipment, surfaces, and the entire facility. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, there were more than 1 billion cows globally in 2022. This will increase the demand for the usage of animal disinfectant products. All surfaces should be cleaned well to avoid the growth of any type of pathogenic microorganisms. The farmer can do more in reducing the risk of transmitting the disease from one animal to the other, through reduced spread of the pathogen, continuing to assure the production of safe and quality milk. Milking machines, teat dips, and milk tongs are the major sources of infection that produce bad health effects on livestock. The acid or alkaline solutions are to be used for cleaning the milking machines to prevent infections. Additionally, hydrogen peroxide plus peracetic acid is an important treatment intended to clean the milking system by washing off pipelines and storage tanks. The disinfectants can be applied to various surfaces, like the milking parlor, holding pens, and feeding areas, as well as on the milking machines themselves for sanitizing and eliminating possible sources of contamination. The application of animal disinfectants regularly in dairy cleaning achieves a cleaner and healthier work environment for both animals and workers on dairies. It tends to set a better and more productive routine for dairy farming, in general. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=38718363 North America is expected to hold a substantial portion of the animal disinfectants market. The key regions in the North American animal disinfectants market are the US, Canada, and Mexico. The export of poultry meat products in North America has climbed, according to USDA particularly in Mexico, where production jumped from 983.43 million to 1.25 billion during 2020-2022, and in Canada, production rose from 350.26 million to 563.94 million within the period being reviewed. Such an increase in poultry production could mirror increased demand in the regional market. In the growing poultry sector, an increased requirement for effective animal disinfectant products is necessary to continue maintaining biosecurity and livestock health. Their demand is based on preventing diseases within larger, more intensively populated farming environments for animals, thereby supporting the sustainability of poultry. Neogen Corporation's (US) recent launch in April 2024, in Great Britain of Neogen Farm Fluid MAX. This disinfectant was developed for serious farm conditions by Neogen's leading Pathogen Programme, targeting a range of pathogens, including Eimeria oocysts. It will be upon such innovative products that the animal health sector shall rely on to ensure the continuous growth and productivity of this industry while the North American poultry industry continues to grow. Key Market Players in this include Neogen Corporation (US), GEA Group Aktiengesellschaftv (Germany), Lanxess (Germany), Zoetis (US), Solvay (Belgium), Stockmeier Group (Germany), Kersia Group (France), Ecolab (US), Albert Kerbl GmbH (Germany), PCC Group (Germany), DeLaval Inc. (Sweden), Diversey Holdings Ltd. (US), Virbac (France), Kemin Industries Inc. (US) and Fink Tec GmbH (Germany). Get 10% Free Customization on this Report: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestCustomizationNew.asp?id=356 Browse Adjacent Reports @ Agriculture Industry Market Research Reports & Consulting Related Reports: Food Disinfection Market by Chemical Type (Chlorine, Hydrogen Peroxide & Peracetic Acid, and Quaternary Ammonium Compounds), End Use (Food Processing and Beverage Processing), Application Area, and Region - Global Industry Forecast to 2025 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] Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/animal-disinfectant-market.asp Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/animal-disinfectant.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1951202/4609423/MarketsandMarkets.jpg SOURCE MarketsandMarkets Legacy Brand Known for Dynamic, Affordable Watches Introduces Whimsical Butterflies, Cool Cars, Playful Unicorns, and Colorful Floral Designs to Spark Every Child's Imagination NEW YORK, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Armitron (https://www.armitron.com/), the iconic American watch brand celebrated for its stylish and affordable timepieces, is announcing the launch of its dynamic new Kids Collection. The nearly fifty-year-old, family-owned timepiece maker, known for their distinct watches for men and women, has expanded to cater to young watch enthusiasts with four new styles. The Kids Collection embodies this new direction, offering playful and adventurous designs that inspire children and delight their families. Priced at $20 and $25, Armitron's Kids watches can now be found on Armitron.com. Armitron's Kids Collection Photographed by Paul Gordon Armitron's Kids Collection Photographed by Paul Gordon From the active kid who loves secure velcro straps to the child in awe of whimsical butterflies and cool car designs, every child will find something perfect for them in this latest collection. Armitron's Kids Collection ensures that every moment is not just about telling time but about loving every second of a magical childhood. Many long-time Armitron wearers can relate to this sentiment, having cherished one of the brand's iconic children's watches including Buggs Bunny, Tweety, Daffy Duck, Barney, Superman, Batman, as well as beloved brands like Crayola, Monopoly, and Slinky, among many other licensed watches during their childhood. The Armitron Kids Collection debut features four dynamic watch styles designed to turn every moment into an adventure: Strap N' Go ($25): These watches have vibrant patches and easy-to-read numbers. Available in sleek black and blue or bright pink and yellow, they feature comfy velcro straps perfect for active kids. The adjustable velcro ensures a secure fit for all-day wear. Petal Pop ($20): With flower-inspired designs, vibrant hands, and a movable top ring, these watches add a magical touch to any outfit. Available in playful purple and pink, they combine style and comfort. The floral motifs and vibrant colors are perfect for kids who love a touch of whimsy in their accessories. Playtime ($20): Transform time-telling into fun with designs featuring purple butterflies, blue whales, pink ice cream, and cool cars and trucks. Each watch is crafted with comfy straps and easy-to-read numbers, ensuring that kids enjoy their favorite themes while learning to tell time. Whether they're fascinated by animals, sweet treats, or vehicles, there's a design for every playful personality. DreamBig ($20): Encouraging kids to soar high, these watches feature colorful unicorn and airplane designs, making learning to tell time an exciting journey. The fantastical unicorns and adventurous airplanes inspire imagination and dreams, perfect for kids who aspire to reach for the stars. "With the release of our new Kids collection, we aimed to create a range that not only captivates our younger audience but also fosters lasting memories, continuing the legacy of our memorable collection of licensed children's watches," says Barbara Weichselbaum, Chief Executive Officer at E. Gluck Corp. "We want today's children to experience the same heartfelt memories with Armitron that their parents did. By introducing these imaginative and vibrant designs, we hope to inspire children to savor life's small moments, which often become cherished, larger-than-life memories. In an era where children are reaching for the stars in both fashion and fashion technology, Armitron is committed to meeting them there, blending innovation with our timeless tradition of quality and creativity." Armitron unveiled its new tagline, "Love Every Second," and a comprehensive visual branding overhaul at a rebranding event this summer, where they gave a preview of the Kids Collection. The impressive corporate transformation included updated brand logos, a refreshed website, enhanced lifestyle photography, a brand video, and more, all designed with true warmth and connection. The main theme of Armitron's rebranding campaign drives home the messaging of Armitron's dedication to creating watches that help you take notice of life and the precious moments in between busy days. These moments, of course, must include kids. For more information about Armitron and its new Kids Collection, please reach out to BPM-PR Firm at [email protected] or call 1.877.841.7244. ABOUT ARMITRON Since 1975, Armitron has been devoted to nurturing the spirit of individuality with high-quality, high-style watches at accessible price points, driven by the understanding that a timepiece is both a common thread and a distinguishing factor. As a brand underneath the E. Gluck Corporation umbrella, Armitron connects prestige and curation with unprecedented value and convenience. E. Gluck Corporation manufactures watches under its flagship proprietary brand, Armitron. The company also manufactures watches for major fashion brands, including Anne Klein, Nine West, Joseph Abboud, Vince Camuto, and Steve Madden. Proudly headquartered in New York, Armitron is an Official Timepiece of the New York Yankees. For more information, visit www.Armitron.com. Media Contact: Alexa Morales BPM-PR Firm [email protected] 877.841.7244 SOURCE Armitron SHENZHEN, China, Aug. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The transformation of the automotive industry accelerated in the first half of 2024 with the steady rise in production and sales of new energy vehicles. By the end of June, the cumulative production and sales of domestically produced new energy vehicles in China exceeded 30 million, with the market share of Chinese brand passenger cars surpassing 60%. Looking ahead to the second half of 2024, as reported by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), steady growth is anticipated throughout the year with continued implementation of favorable policies such as "old-for-new" and "promoting new energy vehicles in rural areas." Automotive World China 2024 (AWC), a complete ecosystem exchange platform for the total supply chain of new energy and intelligent connected vehicles, will be held at the Shenzhen International Convention and Exhibition Center (Bao'an) from November 6 to 8, 2024. AWC 2024 will feature a 50,000 square meter exhibition space, bringing together manufacturers and solution providers from more than 50 countries and regions. The exhibition will be divided into seven major sections: automotive electronic components, automotive new materials, software defined vehicles, intelligent vehicles and internet of vehicles, new energy vehicle core components, electronic and electrical technology, new energy vehicle and battery technology, and automotive engineering and assembly technology. This comprehensive display will showcase the latest achievements and innovative technologies in the industry, fostering a more open, complete, and collaborative automotive ecosystem, and creating more market-competitive products. In the current context of the automotive industry's rapid transition towards electrification, intelligence, networking, and green development, AWC will focus on core topics, such as smart cockpits, electronic and electrical architecture innovation, and ESG. Nearly 20 forum activities will gather prominent representatives from domestic and international OEMs, supply chain companies, first-tier suppliers, government departments, and business associations to seek developments and breakthroughs together via deep analysis of industrial upgrading trends and technological innovations. Driven by globalization, the organizers of AWC have meticulously planned a series of activities including International Exchange Day, factory visits, and international trade matchmaking throughout the show period. These activities aim to provide overseas visitors with a comprehensive understanding of China's automotive industry and technologies, promoting international automotive trade and interaction via face-to-face exchange with Chinese OEMs, parts and components suppliers, and solution providers. AWC visitor pre-registration is officially open. Register today to save USD15 for onsite ticket on the official AWC website: https://ali2.infosalons.com.cn/reg/AWC24/registeren/login?type=31O69L. For more information, visit: https://www.automotiveworld.cn/en-gb.html . AWC is one of the 70+ leading exhibitions run by RX Greater China. SOURCE RX Greater China Total revenue of RMB 254.2 million for 2024 H1; achieving first-time profitability with cash reserve at RMB 814 million as of June 30, 2024 . for 2024 H1; achieving first-time profitability with cash reserve at as of . NDA approval of sugemalimab (PD-L1) for Stage IV NSCLC in EU, marking the first successful international approval of a China domestic anti-PD-L1 mAb. domestic anti-PD-L1 mAb. Partnered with Ewopharma for sugemalimab commercialization in Central and Eastern Europe , expecting more global partnerships for sugemalimab in the rest of 2024. To launch sugemalimab in Europe and other ex- China markets in early 2025 and to support the company to achieve sustained profitability. , expecting more global partnerships for sugemalimab in the rest of 2024. To launch sugemalimab in and other ex- markets in early 2025 and to support the company to achieve sustained profitability. Key Pipeline 2.0 asset CS5001, the first ROR1 ADC with clinical anti-tumor activity in both solid tumors and lymphomas; initiation of a phase 1b study in lymphomas with registrational potential expected in 2024. study in lymphomas with registrational potential expected in 2024. Key Pipeline 2.0 asset CS2009, a trispecific antibody targeting PD-1, CTLA4, and VEGFa; aiming for IND submissions in 2024 / 2025. Partnered with Hengrui Pharmaceuticals to commercialize AYVAKIT (avapritinib) in mainland China . (avapritinib) in mainland . AYVAKIT 's manufacturing localization application approved by China NMPA; GAVRETO 's (pralsetinib) application under review. Domestic manufacturing of both precision medicines will significantly reduce costs and improve long-term profitability. 's manufacturing localization application approved by China NMPA; GAVRETO 's (pralsetinib) application under review. Domestic manufacturing of both precision medicines will significantly reduce costs and improve long-term profitability. New NDA approval of sugemalimab (PD-L1) for first-line gastric cancer in China ; NDA for Stage IV NSCLC currently under review by UK MHRA. ; NDA for Stage IV NSCLC currently under review by UK MHRA. The Company to host an interim results investor conference call in Chinese on August 26 th at 10:00-11:00 am HKT. SUZHOU, China, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- CStone Pharmaceuticals (HKEX: 2616), an innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of anti-cancer therapies, today reported interim financial results for 2024 and recent business highlights. Dr. Jason Yang, CEO, President of R&D, and Executive Director of Board at CStone, said, "The first half of 2024 marks an important turning point for CStone's growth, achieving several critical milestones and outstanding financial performance. With diversified revenue streams and ongoing cost control, we achieved profitability for the first time and laid a solid foundation for company's future growth. The EU approval of sugemalimab for first-line Stage IV NSCLC represents a significant breakthrough in our global strategy. In addition to the commercial agreement reached this year with Ewopharma for Central and Eastern Europe, we anticipate expanding sugemalimab partnerships across Western Europe and other regions in the rest of 2024, with global sales to commence from early 2025. We are confident that sugemalimab a potential best-in-class anti-PD-L1 antibody will deliver significant revenue to support the company to achieve sustained profitability. Pipeline 2.0 is the "new growth engine" for CStone. We will initiate a phase 1b study of CS5001 (ROR1 ADC) with registrational potential for lymphoma in 2024, and plan to present updated clinical data at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting later this year. CS2009 (a trispecific antibody targeting PD-1, CTLA4, and VEGFa) is expected to enter an FIH clinical trial in 2024/2025. Meanwhile, we are advancing more innovative assets for oncology and autoimmune diseases with global rights towards clinical stage. Following the commercialization agreement with and successful transition to Allist to commercialize GAVRETO (pralsetinib) in China last year, we entered a partnership with Hengrui Pharmaceuticals to commercialize AYVAKIT (avapritinib) in China to leverage its large and strong sale force. Earlier this year, we received the approval for AYVAKIT's manufacturing localization application and filed an application for GAVRETO. With reduced costs of goods from local supply and the strong commercial capability from our partners, we expect rapid sales growth for these two precision medicines to contribute sustainable profit to the Company in coming years. In terms of regulatory progress, sugemalimab received approval in mainland China for first-line gastric cancer, further broadening its coverage in the domestic market. In ex-China market, the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is currently reviewing sugemalimab marketing authorization application (MAA) for first-line Stage IV NSCLC that has recently been approved by the European Commission (EC). We plan to submit additional MAAs to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for other indications of sugemalimab, including Stage III NSCLC, first-line gastric cancer, first-line esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and relapsed/refractory extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma. Looking ahead, CStone will work closely with our commercial partners to drive the commercial performance of AYVAKIT and GAVRETO in China and sugemalimab globally, continue to advance the innovative assets in Pipeline 2.0 to the clinic, and expand our global business to achieve sustained profitability." Financial Highlights International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Measures: Revenue was RMB254.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 , composed of RMB118.3 million in sales of pharmaceutical products (avapritinib and pralsetinib), RMB122.6 million in license fee income and RMB13.3 million in royalty income of sugemalimab, representing an increase of RMB122.6 million in license fee income which largely offset a decrease of RMB128.6 million in revenue from sales of pharmaceutical products, such that total revenue decreased by RMB7.3 million , or 2.8%, period-on-period. was for the six months ended , composed of in sales of pharmaceutical products (avapritinib and pralsetinib), in license fee income and in royalty income of sugemalimab, representing an increase of in license fee income which largely offset a decrease of in revenue from sales of pharmaceutical products, such that total revenue decreased by , or 2.8%, period-on-period. Research and development expenses were RMB66.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 , representing a decrease of RMB120.6 million from RMB186.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 , primarily due to a decrease in milestone fee and third party contracting costs and a decrease in employee costs. were for the six months ended , representing a decrease of from for the six months ended , primarily due to a decrease in milestone fee and third party contracting costs and a decrease in employee costs. Administrative expenses were RMB46.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 , representing a decrease of RMB42.5 million from RMB89.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 , primarily due to a decrease in employee costs. were for the six months ended , representing a decrease of from for the six months ended , primarily due to a decrease in employee costs. Selling and marketing expenses were RMB62.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 , representing a decrease of RMB68.6 million from RMB131.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 , primarily attributable to a decrease in employee costs. were for the six months ended , representing a decrease of from for the six months ended , primarily attributable to a decrease in employee costs. Profit for the period was RMB15.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 , representing a turnaround from a loss of RMB209.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 , primarily attributable to a substantial decrease in operating expenses and an increase in gross profit. Non-International Financial Reporting Standards (Non-IFRS) Measures: Research and development expenses excluding the share-based payment expenses were RMB71.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 , representing a decrease of RMB127.1 million from RMB198.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 , primarily due to a decrease in milestone fee and third party contracting costs and a decrease in employee costs. excluding the share-based payment expenses were for the six months ended , representing a decrease of from for the six months ended , primarily due to a decrease in milestone fee and third party contracting costs and a decrease in employee costs. Administrative and selling and marketing expenses excluding the share-based payment expenses were RMB109.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 , representing a decrease of RMB73.5 million from RMB183.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 , primarily attributable to a decrease in employee costs. excluding the share-based payment expenses were for the six months ended , representing a decrease of from for the six months ended , primarily attributable to a decrease in employee costs. Profit for the period excluding the share-based payment expenses was RMB10.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024 , representing a turnaround from the loss of RMB183.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 , primarily attributable to a substantial decrease in operating expenses and an increase in gross profit. Business Highlights For the six months ended June 30, 2024 and as of the date of this announcement, tremendous progress has been made with respect to our product pipeline and business operations. Key achievements over this period include: Key Pipeline Highlights: Immunotherapy Sugemalimab (anti-PD-L1 antibody) EU Approval: In July 2024 , the European Commission (EC) approved sugemalimab (Brand name: Cejemly ) in combination with platinum-based chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of adults with metastatic NSCLC with no sensitizing EGFR mutations, or ALK, ROS1 or RET genomic tumor aberrations. This marks the first successful international approval of a China domestic anti-PD-L1 monoclonal antibody. Sugemalimab's MAA for first-line Stage IV NSCLC is currently under review by the UK MHRA. Strategic Partnership: In May 2024 , we entered a strategic collaboration with Ewopharma to commercialize sugemalimab in Switzerland and 18 CEE countries. CStone will receive up to $51.3 million consisting of an upfront payment and additional payables upon regulatory and sales milestones. Fifth Indication Approved in China : In March 2024 , sugemalimab was approved in China for its fifth indication sugemalimab in combination with fluoropyrimidine- and platinum-containing chemotherapy as a first-line treatment for unresectable locally advanced or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction (G/GEJ) adenocarcinoma with a PD-L1 expression (Combined Positive Score [CPS] 5). Publication in Nature Medicine : In February 2024 , the progression-free survival (PFS) final analysis and overall survival (OS) interim analysis of the GEMSTONE-304 study (first-line ESCC) were published in a top-tier medical journal Nature Medicine . Long-Term OS Data at ESMO: In July 2024 , the long-term OS analysis of the GEMSTONE-302 study (first-line Stage IV NSCLC) was accepted for poster presentation at the 2024 Congress of European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO). Guideline Inclusion: In 2024, Cejemly (sugemalimab) is recommended as a Tier-1 treatment based on Class-1A evidence in multiple Chinese clinical guidelines, including the CSCO guidelines for gastric cancer, esophageal cancer, and immune checkpoint inhibitors, and included in the Chinese Expert Consensus on Immunotherapy for Lymphoma. Nofazinlimab (PD-1) Global Phase III Study: In March 2024 , we completed a prespecified interim analysis for the global phase III trial of nofazinlimab in combination with LENVIMA (lenvatinib) for the first-line treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). No new or unexpected safety signals were observed, and the independent Data Monitoring Committee (iDMC) recommended continuing the trial without protocol modifications until the final OS analysis. Pipeline 2.0 CS5001, a receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1 (ROR1) antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) First-in-Human Study: The global first-in-human (FIH) is ongoing in the US, Australia and China . As of the date of this announcement, the dose has been escalated to the 10 th level without observing any dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) or reaching the maximum tolerated dose (MTD). Promising Antitumor Activity: CS5001 has been well tolerated and safe and has exhibited encouraging anti-tumor activities in various solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. CS5001 is so far the first ROR1 ADC known to demonstrate clinical anti-tumor activity in both solid tumors and lymphomas. ASCO 2024 Presentation: On June 1, 2024 , we presented the latest FIH data at the 2024 ASCO annual meeting in a poster session. We also plan to disclose more lymphoma data at the 2024 ASH annual meeting. Phase 1b with Registrational Potential: We plan to initiate phase Ib dose-expansion studies with registrational potential in multiple indications for dose optimization by the end of 2024. ROR1 Antibody Development: We have identified a promising candidate ROR1 antibody clone for immunohistochemistry (IHC) and plan to evaluate the relationship between ROR1 expression and efficacy in phase 1b . CS2009 (PD-1, CTLA4 and VEGFa Trispecific Antibody) Potential FIC/BIC: CS2009 is potentially FIC/BIC next-generation I/O backbone that targets three critical immune suppressive pathways in tumor microenvironment and has the potential to enhance the efficacy of PD-(L)1 therapies in high-prevalence cancers, including NSCLC and HCC. IND Submission: Currently under IND-enabling process; IND submissions expected in 2024/2025. FIC/BIC ADCs CS5006 (Novel Target) & CS5005 (SSTR2): Two FIC ADC programs are advancing toward PCC nomination. CS5006, targeting high-prevalence tumors with a novel tumor-associated antigen identified using in-house machine-learning bioinformatic algorithm, is expected to submit IND in 2025. CS5005 (SSTR2 ADC) has demonstrated encouraging in vitro and in vivo efficacy with its conjugated lead molecules; IND submission expected in 2025. CS5007 (EGFRxHER3 Bispecific ADC) & CS2011 (EGFRxHER3 Bispecific Antibody) are progressing towards PCC nomination. CS5007 (CS2011) targets EGFR and HER3, and both are well-validated targets with proven syngeneic antitumor activity. IND submissions are expected in 2025. Autoimmune Multispecific Antibody CS2013 , which is a bispecific molecule targeting two key pathways critical for B-cell development, is in discovery stage, with selection of lead molecule expected by the end of 2024. CS2013 is designed to address unmet needs in treating systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), IgA nephropathy (IgAN), and other B-cell mediated autoimmune diseases. Precision Medicine GAVRETO (pralsetinib) Manufacturing Localization in Process: In April 2024 , the application of manufacturing localization for GAVRETO has been accepted by CDE of China NMPA and is currently under review. Commercial Transition: Following the exclusive commercialization agreement for GAVRETO in November 2023 , we transitioned commercial activities to Allist in 2024 H1 and are in close collaboration. (pralsetinib) AYVAKIT (avapritinib) Manufacturing Localization Approved: The manufacturing localization applications of AYVAKIT (300mg and 100mg) were approved by China NMPA in June and August 2024 . Partnership with Hengrui Medicine: In July 2024 , we entered an exclusive partnership with Hengrui to commercialize AYVAKIT in mainland China . CStone received an upfront payment of RMB 35 million and will continue to book sales revenue from AYVAKIT in mainland China in our financial reports, with service fees payable to Hengrui. Inclusion in National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL): AYVAKIT was included to the 2023 NRDL in China for the treatment of adults with unresectable or metastatic GIST harboring the PDGFRA exon 18 mutation, including PDGFRA D842V mutations. The updated NRDL has been implemented since January 1, 2024 . (avapritinib) Guideline Inclusions: GAVRETO and AYVAKIT were included in 15 national guidelines in China , covering multiple therapeutic areas such as NSCLC, thyroid cancer (TC), GIST, systemic mastocytosis (SM), etc. Future and Outlook Looking forward, we remain committed to advancing our innovative pipeline and maximizing commercial value of our marketed products. Anticipated near-term catalysts include Sugemalimab: MAA approval for the first-line treatment of Stage IV NSCLC in the U.K. expected in 2024 H2, and more global partnerships expected in 2024. MAA approval for the first-line treatment of Stage IV NSCLC in the U.K. expected in 2024 H2, and more global partnerships expected in 2024. CS5001: Presentation of the latest clinical safety and efficacy data at international academic conferences (e.g. ASH in 2024 H2), initiation of phase 1b trial with registrational potential in 2024, and global business development (BD) partnerships expected in 2024 or 2025. Presentation of the latest clinical safety and efficacy data at international academic conferences (e.g. ASH in 2024 H2), initiation of phase trial with registrational potential in 2024, and global business development (BD) partnerships expected in 2024 or 2025. CS2009: IND submissions expected in 2024/2025. IND submissions expected in 2024/2025. CS5006: IND submission expected in 2025. IND submission expected in 2025. CS5005: IND submission expected in 2025. IND submission expected in 2025. CS2011/CS5007: IND submission expected in 2025. IND submission expected in 2025. GAVRETO (pralsetinib): Approval for manufacturing localization expected in 2025 H1. Approval for manufacturing localization expected in 2025 H1. Nofazinlimab: Final OS analysis expected in 2025 H1; seeking ex- China partnership opportunities. Interim Results Investor Call The Company will host a 2024 interim results conference call at 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. (Hong Kong time) on Monday, August 26, 2024. Please attend the conference call through the link: https://s.comein.cn/AHDiL (Password:564723). About CStone CStone (HKEX: 2616), established in late 2015, is an innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of anti-cancer therapies. Dedicated to addressing patients' unmet medical needs in China and globally, the Company has made significant strides since its inception. To date, the Company has successfully launched 4 innovative drugs and secured approvals for 14 new drug applications (NDAs) covering 9 indications. The company's pipeline is balanced by 16 promising candidates, featuring potentially first-in-class or best-in-class antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), multispecific antibodies, immunotherapies and precision medicines. CStone also prides itself on a management team with comprehensive experiences and capabilities that span the entire drug development spectrum, from preclinical and translational research to clinical development, drug manufacturing, business development, and commercialization. For more information about CStone, please visit www.cstonepharma.com. IR contact: [email protected] PR contact: [email protected] Forward-looking statements The forward-looking statements made in this article only relate to events or information as of the date when the statements are made in this article. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or publicly revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. You should read this article completely and with the understanding that our actual future results or performance may be materially different from what we expect. All statements in this article are made on the date of publication of this article and may change due to future developments. SOURCE CStone JACKSON, Miss., Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- EastGroup Properties (NYSE: EGP) (the "Company", "EastGroup") announced today that its Board of Directors approved a 10.2% increase in its quarterly dividend, raising it to $1.40 per share from $1.27 per share. The dividend is payable on October 15, 2024, to shareholders of record of Common Stock on September 30, 2024. This dividend is the 179th consecutive quarterly cash distribution to EastGroup's shareholders and represents an annualized dividend rate of $5.60 per share. EastGroup has increased or maintained its dividend for 32 consecutive years. The Company has increased it 29 years over that period, including increases in each of the last 13 years. EastGroup, a member of the S&P Mid-Cap 400 and Russell 1000 Indexes, is a self-administered equity real estate investment trust focused on the development, acquisition and operation of industrial properties in major Sunbelt markets throughout the United States with an emphasis in the states of Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and North Carolina. The Company's goal is to maximize shareholder value by being a leading provider in its markets of functional, flexible and quality business distribution space for location sensitive customers (primarily in the 20,000 to 100,000 square foot range). The Company's strategy for growth is based on ownership of premier distribution facilities generally clustered near major transportation features in supply-constrained submarkets. EastGroup's portfolio, including development projects and value-add acquisitions in lease-up and under construction, currently includes approximately 60.2 million square feet. EastGroup Properties, Inc. press releases are available at www.eastgroup.net. SOURCE EastGroup Properties WASHINGTON, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Used An ATM Card And Were Assessed A Surcharge? You Could Get Money From a $197.5 Million Class Action Settlement. A new class action Settlement has been reached in a lawsuit claiming Defendants violated federal antitrust laws by adopting restraints that inflated the automated teller machine ("ATM") surcharges (also called ATM access fees) that some people and businesses paid. The Defendants deny these allegations. The Court has not decided who is right. Previously, settlements with JPMorgan & Chase Co. ("JP Morgan"); Wells Fargo & Co. and Wells Fargo Bank ("Wells Fargo"); and Bank of America, N.A., NB Holdings Corp., and Bank of America Corp. ("Bank of America") resulted in payments of approximately $67 million to eligible class members in June 2023. Now, the remaining Defendants in this case, Visa Inc., Visa U.S.A. Inc., Visa International Service Association, Plus System, Inc. ("Visa") and Mastercard Incorporated and Mastercard International Incorporated ("Mastercard") have agreed to a Settlement to resolve the claims against them. What are the related lawsuits? This notice is about the case known as Mackmin v. Visa Inc., No. 1:11-cv-01831 in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. There are two related (or parallel) lawsuits in the same court called Burke v. Visa Inc., No. 1:11-cv-01882 and National ATM Council v. Visa Inc., No. 1:11-cv-01803 that are proceeding at the same time. Each case involves different groups with similar claims against the Defendants. Potential Settlement Class Members may receive other notices if they are included in more than one lawsuit. The choices Potential Settlement Class Members make in this case will not affect their rights in the other related lawsuits. Who is included? Generally, an individual is a Potential Settlement Class Member if, at any time between October 1, 2007, and July 26, 2024, they paid a surcharge to withdraw cash from a bank ATM in the United States. They are not included if all of their surcharged ATM transactions were (a) reimbursed or (b) conducted on cards issued by financial institutions located outside of the United States. Visit the website, www.ATMClassAction.com , for more information and the exact Settlement Class definition. What does the Settlement provide? The new Settlements provide for a total of $197.5 million to resolve the claims. Visa will pay $104,675,000 and Mastercard will pay $92,825,000 into a Settlement Fund. After deductions for attorneys' fees, litigation costs, and other expenses, the Settlement Fund will be distributed proportionally (or pro rata) to each valid claimant. Any money remaining in the Settlement Fund after all claims are paid will be directed to a court-approved "next best" recipient. How can one get payment? Potential Settlement Class Members who filed a claim and received a payment in the previous settlements will automatically be eligible to get a payment from these Settlements with Visa and Mastercard and should not submit another claim unless Potential Settlement Class Members paid, and wish to claim, additional ATM surcharges that were paid after submitting their prior approved claim. If a valid claim was not previously filed, then a Claim Form must be submitted to receive money from this Settlement. The Claim Form asks Potential Settlement Class Members to state under oath that ATM surcharges were assessed. It is not required to provide documentation with the Claim Form, but the Settlement Administrator has the right to ask claimants to provide bank statements or other documents to support a claim. Visit www.ATMClassAction.com/claims to fill out a Claim Form online or download one that can be mailed. To be eligible for payment, Claim Forms must be submitted electronically or postmarked no later than January 22, 2025. What are one's rights? If someone is a Settlement Class Member, even if they do nothing, they will be bound by the Court's decisions and judgments concerning this Settlement. If they want to keep their right to sue Visa or Mastercard regarding the claims in this lawsuit, then they must exclude themselves from the Settlement Class in writing by November 22, 2024. If someone previously submitted a request to be excluded from the prior settlements in 2022, and do not want to stay in the Settlement with Visa and Mastercard, then they need to separately exclude themselves from this Settlement Class. If staying in the Settlement Class, there is the right to object to the Settlement in writing by November 22, 2024. The Settlement Agreement and more details about how to be excluded or object are available at www.ATMClassAction.com. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia is scheduled to hold a hearing on January 23, 2025, at 4:00 p.m., at 333 Constitution Avenue N.W., Courtroom 18, Washington, D.C. 20001, to consider whether to approve the Settlement with Visa and Mastercard. Class Lead Counsel will also ask the Court at the hearing, or at a later date, for attorneys' fees of up to 33% of the Settlement Fund, plus reimbursement of costs and expenses, for investigating the facts, litigating the case, and negotiating the Settlement and service award payments up to $10,000 for each of the individual Class Representatives. You or your own lawyer may appear and speak at the hearing at your own expense, but you don't have to. The hearing may be conducted electronically or moved to a different date or time without additional notice, so it is a good idea to check www.ATMClassAction.com for additional information. Please do not contact the Court about this case. For more information: 1-877-311-3724 www.ATMClassAction.com Para recibir una notificacion en espanol, llama al o visita nuestro sitio web. SOURCE Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Quinn Emanuel Urqhart & Sullivan, LLP and Mehri & Skalet, PLLC SINGAPORE, Aug. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- HIX.AI is thrilled to announce its inclusion in the prestigious list of the Top 100 Gen AI Consumer Apps of A16z (Andreessen Horowitz) , ranking 38th among the Top 50 Gen AI Web Products by unique monthly visits. This recognition highlights HIX.AI's commitment to innovation and excellence in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. "We are honored to be recognized by Andreessen Horowitz," said Camille Sawyer, CEO of HIX.AI. "This achievement reflects our team's dedication to leveraging AI to create solutions that truly meet the needs of our users. We have worked tirelessly to develop products that enhance productivity and enrich the user experience. Our journey is just beginning, and we are excited about the innovations ahead." Originally launched as an AI writing tool, HIX.AI has successfully pivoted to its cutting-edge AI search engine , designed to provide users with accurate and efficient AI-powered search capabilities. Our AI search engine rivals leading competitors like Perplexity, delivering concise, real-time answers that empower users to find the information they need quickly and effectively. In addition to our search engine, HIX.AI offers a suite of AI-powered products designed to streamline various aspects of daily life and work. They include: HIX Writer: The child brand HIX.AI's original AI writer was relaunched as. Offering access to 120 AI writing tools to elevate your writing experience. HIX Writer helps users with writing, paraphrasing, grammar checking, plagiarism checking, and creative writing prompts, catering to diverse content creation needs. The child brand HIX.AI's original AI writer was relaunched as. Offering access to 120 AI writing tools to elevate your writing experience. HIX Writer helps users with writing, paraphrasing, grammar checking, plagiarism checking, and creative writing prompts, catering to diverse content creation needs. HIX Chat: A comprehensive AI chatbot platform that offers access to a wide range of language models and specialized chatbots. It also comes with features such as ChatPDF and Chat with Webpages, which allows you to provide a document or webpage and chat about them with HIX Chat. A comprehensive AI chatbot platform that offers access to a wide range of language models and specialized chatbots. It also comes with features such as ChatPDF and Chat with Webpages, which allows you to provide a document or webpage and chat about them with HIX Chat. HIX Tutor: Designed for students, HIX Tutor provides accurate, step-by-step explanations for homework questions, enabling learners to grasp complex concepts quickly and efficiently. Designed for students, HIX Tutor provides accurate, step-by-step explanations for homework questions, enabling learners to grasp complex concepts quickly and efficiently. HIX Bypas s: This tool helps users create content that effectively bypasses AI detectors, producing undetectable, natural text while retaining the intended meaning. It's perfect for creators looking to enhance their content authenticity. This tool helps users create content that effectively bypasses AI detectors, producing undetectable, natural text while retaining the intended meaning. It's perfect for creators looking to enhance their content authenticity. HIX.AI is committed to using AI to transform the way people search for information, create content and handle tasks of their life and work. Our products are designed with the user in mind, focusing on functionality and ease of use. As we move forward, we aim to enhance our product offerings and explore new avenues for growth in the AI consumer market. "Our mission is to harness the power of AI to empower individuals and businesses alike," added Sawyer. "Whether through enhancing creativity or providing instant and accurate answers with our search engine, we are dedicated to making AI an integral part of our users' everyday lives." For more information about HIX.AI and our products, please visit https://hix.ai/. MEDIA CONTACT: Camille Sawyer CEO, HIX.AI [email protected] SOURCE HIX.AI A Lebanon resident and two animals were saved from a structure fire the morning of Thursday, Aug. 22. Lebanon firefighters and police responded to the house fire around 9:30 a.m. in the 200 block of West Olive Street, according to a news release from the Lebanon Fire District. A Lebanon police officer was first on the scene and was told by a neighbor that someone was still in the house, the release states. The officer kicked in the front door, found the resident and helped him to safety. The single-family residence reportedly had thick, black smoke pushing out the front and side doors, according to the release. Fire units arrived and treated both the officer and the resident, who were taken to Lebanon Community Hospital, according to the release, which did not disclose their conditions. Firefighters quickly entered the home and extinguished the fire, isolating most of the damage to the kitchen area, the release states, noting crews worked on scene for the next two hours for overhaul and fire investigation. A dog and a cat were also rescued from the fire, according to the release. The Lebanon Fire District responded with 20 personnel on 11 apparatus. The Fire District issued a reminder on the importance of working smoke alarms. For assistance with smoke alarms in your home, contact the Fire & Life Safety Division at 541-451-1901. ATLANTA, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- JAS is thrilled to welcome Setoa S.p.A., which officially joined the group on July 10. With the acquisition of Setoa S.p.A., JAS further expands its business into new markets, adding West Africa in particular among the territories now covered directly by its services. Thanks to Setoa's entry into the group, JAS's offer now expands to Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana, Gabon, Congo, Mali and Burkina Faso. "This acquisition represents an important step in our growth strategy and I am confident that it will create new synergies that will better meet the needs of our customers with an advanced range of logistics solutions expanding our global footprint with these new markets," said Leonardo Baldi, Regional Vice President and CEO of JAS Italy. Since 1997, Setoa has boasted considerable experience in a complex market such as the African one and can offer a highly customized service to customers. Its expertise gained over almost thirty years in this niche market, combined with JAS's experience and vast worldwide network, will contribute to enriching the offer to customers with complete and innovative solutions. "The acquisition of Setoa Italia S.p.A. by the JAS Group marks an important evolution in the expansion and strengthening of our global capabilities," said Massimo Boccadelli, CEO of Setoa Italia S.p.A. "This combination will allow us to offer our customers an even wider range of innovative services and solutions, consolidating our leadership in the international shipping sector in West Africa. The collaboration between Setoa and JAS will redefine the market standards in Africa, opening up new prospects for growth and success worldwide." About JAS Worldwide JAS Worldwide, a global leader in logistics and supply chain solutions, was founded in Milan, Italy in 1978. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and supported by 7,000+ team members in more than 100 countries, it focuses on creating solutions that are innovative, sustainable, and unique to each customer's needs. At the heart of its success is its people, who are committed to delivering customer value. As a privately owned company, JAS maintains a steadfast commitment to creating opportunities for our communities, customers, and colleagues to thrive. Together. SOURCE JAS Forwarding Inc. JURUPA VALLEY, Calif., Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Representatives from Jurupa Community Services District (JCSD) took part in a critical roundtable discussion at the California State Capitol yesterday, focusing on the pervasive challenges posed by Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). Representing JCSD were General Manager Chris Berch and Manager of Government & Public Affairs Arman Tarzi. The roundtable of state leaders, invited by Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia, Chair of the California Assembly Committee on Environment and Toxic Materials, aimed to address the impacts of PFAS contamination across California. State leaders gathered around committee room to discuss PFAS. JCSD has been at the forefront of addressing PFAS contamination, having proactively tested for the chemicals well before state mandates were established. PFAS led to significant operational challenges, with JCSD taking an unprecedented 60% of its water production capacity offline. In response, JCSD implemented innovative new treatment processes, engaged in strategic water blending, and formed collaborative agreements with neighboring agencies. While JCSD is unable to recover all of the production lost due to PFAS, it has been able to safeguard public health and ensure the continuation of safe water services through these actions. General Manager Chris Berch stated, "Our proactive measures against PFAS have made JCSD an industry leader in responding to environmental challenges while continuing to provide reliable water services. I appreciate Assemblymember Garcia's leadership in Sacramento on a number of key issues and for inviting JCSD to this roundtable. It is a vital platform for sharing our insights and strategies with other leaders and developing statewide solutions to protect our communities from these harmful contaminants." "Today's roundtable brings to light the critical need for comprehensive state action on PFAS," stated Assemblymember Garcia. "I thank all the leaders who attended today's discussion for their insights. I also want to commend JCSD for their leadership in the water community and tackling challenges head-on, demonstrating the kind of proactive approach that can guide policy and ensure the well-being of all Californians." The roundtable facilitated a robust exchange of ideas and experiences with stakeholders from various sectors, including the State Water Resources Control Board, contributing to a deeper understanding of the PFAS issue and exploring effective mitigation strategies. As one of only two water agencies at the discussion, JCSD's participation underscores its role as a key player in addressing PFAS and shaping the policies that will govern statewide responses to such challenges. Founded in 1956, the Jurupa Community Services District is a public agency providing services and programs to Jurupa Valley and Eastvale. It is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of five elected representatives from both cities. Serving over 130,000 people in a 40-square-mile area, JCSD provides a variety of community services and programs, including water, sewer, streetlights, frontage landscape maintenance, graffiti abatement, and parks and recreation services. Contact Info - Arman Tarzi Manager of Government & Public Affairs 951-685-7434 [email protected] SOURCE Jurupa Community Services District Brush Pediatric Dentistry Opens Second Practice to Serve More Growing Smiles DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Brush Pediatric Dentistry, a leading family-owned practice known for its state-of-the-art care and child-friendly environment, has expanded with a second office in Downers Grove. Board-certified pediatric dentist Dr. Maggie Rizzo is leading the new location in partnership with founder Dr. Mira Albert, ensuring that more young patients in the area will benefit from Brush's expertise. Founded in 2011 by Dr. Albert, a nationally recognized leader in pediatric dentistry, Brush Pediatric Dentistry has set a high standard for excellence. Dr. Albert has instilled a passion for utilizing the latest technology and maintaining a personal, child-centered approach in the entire team. "The standards for excellence at Brush are high," says Dr. Albert. "After treating patients in Hinsdale for over a decade, we're expanding thoughtfully to ensure children receive the same level of care." Dr. Rizzo, who joined Brush in 2012, has worked closely with Dr. Albert and the four other pediatric dentists at the practice, learning from her vast experience and contributing to the practice's success. Dr. Albert, a Fellow and National Spokesperson of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and Trustee of its Foundation, is also an examiner for the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. Dr. Rizzo earned her dental degree at the University of Illinois-Chicago and completed a two-year pediatric residency at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital. As a Diplomate of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry, she has also been appointed to the Department of Surgery Division of Dentistry at Lurie Children's to train new pediatric dentists. With all her experience, Dr. Rizzo is ready to carry on the Brush legacy in Downers Grove. "As both a dentist and a mother, I understand parents' concerns," says Dr. Rizzo. "I focus on teaching children healthy habits in a fun and engaging way." Dr. Rizzo is thrilled to bring Brush's renowned expertise to Downers Grove, where she will also be raising her own family nearby in Naperville. "We're excited to help more children have healthy, confident smiles." Contact information: Dr. Mira Albert Dr. Maggie Rizzo Brush Pediatric Dentistry 2001 Butterfield Road Suite 240, Downers Grove, IL 60515 https://www.brushforkids.com/ 630-782-7874 Media Contact: Jordon Baker Email: [email protected] Phone: 877-868-4232 SOURCE Brush Pediatric Dentistry SINGAPORE, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- MoneySmart Group, Southeast Asia's leading personal finance group comprising two dynamic brands, MoneySmart and Bubblegum, today announced that it has rejected an unsolicited, non-binding offer from MoneyHero Group to acquire 100% of the shares of MoneySmart Group. The MoneySmart board has unanimously determined that this approach is neither serious nor credible and that it will not be entertained. The manner in which the offer was made public, with no prior discussions with MoneySmart management, is highly unusual and has not engendered MoneySmart's confidence in, or openness to, such discussions. The proposed merger does not align with MoneySmart's strategic objectives and would fail to deliver value to our shareholders. In addition, the adjoining press release from MoneyHero makes reference to a recent private share transaction which was driven by specific circumstances and not representative of MoneySmart's market value or future prospects. "Our decision was a clear and definitive No," said Vinod Nair, Founder and CEO, MoneySmart Group. "The two businesses currently operate in a similar space but are on diverging paths in terms of strategy, financial sustainability and outlook. Our focus remains on advancing our products, services and innovation, being a trusted partner to customers and executing our growth strategy. We believe that our current plans set up MoneySmart to succeed in the long term." In 2023, MoneySmart achieved profitability in a sustainable manner, whilst generating positive free cash flow, reflecting the company's robust financial health. MoneySmart continues to invest in innovation and remains committed to pushing the boundaries of how financial products, knowledge and advice converge, to empower and guide consumers in their individual financial journeys. About MoneySmart Group MoneySmart Group is a leading personal finance group in Southeast Asia, encompassing two dynamic brands: MoneySmart and Bubblegum. Bringing together these brands to offer a comprehensive range of financial products, knowledge and advice, MoneySmart Group is dedicated to empowering consumers with clarity, confidence and control over their financial future. MoneySmart provides a financial marketplace, comparison and content platform for consumers to make informed product choices across various banking, insurance and investment products. We do the hard work of compiling the information and facts to make it easy for you to compare and choose what's best for you. Under our Bubblegum brand, we create desirable insurance products and experiences and aim to become the winning digital insurance brand of the future. For more information, please visit www.moneysmart.com . SOURCE MoneySmart Group NEW YORK, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Neuberger Berman Municipal Fund Inc. (NYSE American: NBH) and Neuberger Berman Next Generation Connectivity Fund Inc. (NYSE: NBXG) announced today the final certified voting results of both funds' 2024 Annual Meetings of Stockholders (the "Annual Meetings") where a dissident stockholder had proposed a nominee. For NBH, the holders of preferred stock re-elected Michael M. Knetter. The certified final results of the Annual Meetings confirm that the incumbent Board members of both funds will remain in place. The Annual Meetings reached quorum and were held on August 16, 2024. The final voting results have been certified by First Coast Results, Inc., the independent Inspector of Election and will be included in the funds' next annual report to stockholders. About Neuberger Berman Neuberger Berman is an employee-owned, private, independent investment manager founded in 1939 with over 2,800 employees in 26 countries. The firm manages $481 billion of equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate and hedge fund portfolios for global institutions, advisors and individuals. Neuberger Berman's investment philosophy is founded on active management, fundamental research and engaged ownership. The PRI identified the firm as part of the Leader's Group, a designation awarded to fewer than 1% of investment firms for excellence in environmental, social and governance practices. Neuberger Berman has been named by Pensions & Investments as the #1 or #2 Best Place to Work in Money Management for each of the last ten years (firms with more than 1,000 employees). Visit www.nb.com for more information. Data as of June 30, 2024. Statements made in this release that look forward in time involve risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the adverse effect from a decline in the securities markets or a decline in the Fund's performance, a general downturn in the economy, competition from other closed end investment companies, changes in government policy or regulation, inability of the Fund's investment adviser to attract or retain key employees, inability of the Fund to implement its investment strategy, inability of the Fund to manage rapid expansion and unforeseen costs and other effects related to legal proceedings or investigations of governmental and self-regulatory organizations. Contact: Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC Investor Information (877) 461-1899 SOURCE Neuberger Berman Statement provided by John Christman, Chairman of the VIEJAS Band of Kumeyaay Indians, and Tracey Hopkins, Chairwoman of the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians FRESNO, Calif., Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Twenty-four years ago, California voters approved Proposition 1A, granting federally recognized Native American tribes the exclusive right to operate specific gaming operations, including slot machines and banked card games. This was more than a business opportunityit marked a turning point for California Tribes, creating economic lifelines, job prospects, and funds for essential services like healthcare and education. It was also a public acknowledgment of the centuries of brutality and violence inflicted upon California's Tribes, and an attempt to offer some measure of restitution via meaningful opportunity for self-reliance. For generations, our Tribes endured systemic genocide, forced land dispossession, and cultural erasure. Once California's electorate permitted this path for a stable economic future, Tribes organized businesses that have made us self-sustaining and high-functioning financial partners in communities across the State. Now, two decades later, our tribal nations find themselves fighting to defend our financial sovereignty once againthis time to ensure that California's promise of exclusive gaming rights has its day in court. California Senate Bill 549 (SB 549) allows Tribes to seek a court decision on whether certain controlled games operated by California card clubs violate state law and infringe upon exclusive Tribal gaming rights. For more than a decade, Tribes have sought legal recourse to hold card clubs accountable for hosting games that are legally exclusive to Tribes. But the lawsuits have been consistently dismissed on procedural grounds a technicality without addressing the core issue of whether card clubs are breaking the law. SB 549 would finally allow the courts to examine whether card rooms are infringing on the rights of California tribes. To be clear, there is no rational argument for denying Tribes equal access to the court system. SB 549 is a remedy to a legal technicality that cardrooms and their high-paid lawyers want in place to keep them from being accountable to the people of California and to our Tribes. California's history is filled with deliberate efforts to at best marginalized at worst eradicate Native peoples. In 1851, California's first governor, Peter Burnett, declared that "a war of extermination will continue to be waged... until the Indian race becomes extinct." This wasn't empty rhetoric. Government-sanctioned violence led to the slaughter of 16,000 Native Americans, and California's Native population plummeted from 150,000 to 30,000 within a few short decades. Our ancestors were forced onto remote and undesirable lands, leaving them without economic opportunities and destabilizing our communities., Gaming has provided a chance to rebuild what was stolen from us. Through gaming, we are able to create new jobs and invest in critical services for our people. Gaming has allowed us to rediscover the economic sovereignty that had been systematically undermined for generations. We urge lawmakers in Sacramento to vote in favor of SB 549, ensuring that California's Tribes have our rightful access to the courts and the justice we are entitled to. For over a century, Native American Tribes have faced countless broken promises. SB 549 is about California lawmakers keeping their promises. John Christman is chairman of the VIEJAS Band of Kumeyaay Indians, and Tracey Hopkins is chairwoman of the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians. Danielle Cirelli, chairwoman of the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake, and Erica Schenk, chairwoman of the Cahuilla Tribe, also contributed to this piece. Media Contact: Doug Elmets 916-329-9180 SOURCE Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians Agreements come months before next collective bargaining round, giving covered employees early assurances on significant future improvements to pay, health care, and vacation ATLANTA, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE: NSC), in partnership with BNSF Railway, has reached tentative, five-year collective bargaining agreements with the Brotherhood of Railway Carmen Division/TCU (BRC), the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers - Mechanical Department (SMART-MD), and the Transportation Communications Union/IAM (TCU). Norfolk Southern also has reached tentative agreements with multiple General Committees for the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers - Transportation Division (SMART-TD). The agreements, which are subject to ratification, cover approximately 30% of Norfolk Southern's union workforce and come four months before the opening of the next collective bargaining round, giving covered employees unprecedented certainty about upcoming enhancements to their pay, health care, and vacation. "Our craft railroaders are the heart and soul of Norfolk Southern, and we are committed to supporting our colleagues who power our network every day," said Alan H. Shaw, Norfolk Southern president and CEO. "I want to thank the labor leaders who share our commitment to our craft colleagues and helped us reach this deal early, ensuring peace of mind with clear knowledge about upcoming pay, healthcare and vacation improvements. We look forward to reaching similar agreements with the rest of the unions at Norfolk Southern." The tentative agreements provide a 3.5-percent average wage increase per year over the next five years. They also offer railroaders more vacation earlier in their career and make meaningful enhancements to an already robust suite of health care benefits. "I appreciate Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw stepping up to the plate and doing the right thing," said Artie Maratea, National President TCU. "Ensuring our members and Norfolk Southern front line employees have solid agreements in a timely manner is a huge step in the right direction and we look forward to continuing to work together in the future." "BRC is proud to reach this agreement with Norfolk Southern," said Don Grissom, General President BRC. "Alan and his team worked hard and we appreciate their commitment to make this a reality. This agreement proves that we can make great progress working together for our members." "The tentative agreements provide real wage increases, substantial improvements to paid time off that the railroads have historically fought us on, improvements to health and welfare benefits with an added benefit option for those that want it," said SMART Directing General Chairperson, John McCloskey. "These tentative agreements, if ratified, take away the uncertainty of when the next round of national negotiations will be completed, and if and when annual pay increases will be implemented." "I am so proud of the progress we continue to make with Alan Shaw and the Norfolk Southern team as we partner to improve the lives of our members," said Jeremy Ferguson, National President SMART-TD. "Our members told us they wanted to be recognized for the value of their contributions without going through another long and protracted bargaining round. With these tentative agreements, together we have honored that request, removing the delay and rewarding Norfolk Southern employees with the pay and benefits they deserve." 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 SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP is investigating a data breach impacting the private personal and health information of 104,234 patient records of Jewish Home Lifecare, which does business as The New Jewish Home, a New York-based healthcare provider. On August 16, 2024, The New Jewish Home notified patients that an unknown threat actor had accessed certain files on its network, which contained the personally identifiable information and private health information of its patients. On or around February 8, 2024, the notorious ransomware group ALPHV/BlackCat claimed responsibility for the breach, listing The New Jewish Home on the dark web. The ransomware group said it had stolen clinical research databases, financial documents, and more than 2,000 employee and client documents, including Social Security numbers, driver's licenses, and passports. The New Jewish Home has refused to comment on whether ALPHV/BlackCat is responsible for the attack, whether its claims are accurate, and whether it paid the ransom. The New Jewish Home recently informed patients that the following private information may have been stolen in the breach: names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, payment card information, financial account information, passport numbers, medical record information, and medical treatment information. If your personal information was impacted by this incident, you may be at risk of identity theft, healthcare fraud, and other serious violations of your privacy. As a result, you may be entitled to money damages and an injunction requiring changes to the company's cybersecurity practices. If you received notification of this data breach or are a patient of The New Jewish Home and wish to obtain additional information about your legal rights, please contact us today or visit our website at https://www.classactionlawyers.com/newjewishhome. About Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe represents shareholders, employees, and consumers in class actions against corporate defendants, as well as shareholders in derivative actions against their officers and directors. The firm is based in San Francisco, and with the help of co-counsel, litigates cases nationwide. Contact Amber L. Schubert Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP [email protected] Tel: 415-788-4220 SOURCE Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP Four-Person Team Chooses Sanctuary's Partnered Independence to Launch Firm, Supported by a Multi-Custodial Integrated Platform, Hands-on Support and Best-in-Class Infrastructure to Accelerate Growth INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Sanctuary Wealth (Sanctuary), providing elite financial advisors the freedom, flexibility, control and choice to thrive in an evolving industry, welcomes TOVA Wealth (TOVA), a Wilmington, North Carolina, practice with over $400 million in client assets. The firm is led by its Founder and Managing Partner, Katie Medina, CFP, CRPC. Also on the team are advisors Michael Tunney and Eric Starkey, CFP, CRPC, and client associate Amy Kepler. "After spending their entire careers at a wirehouse, Katie and her team wanted the autonomy to run their business and serve clients as they felt best," said Vince Fertitta, President, Wealth Management, Sanctuary Wealth. "They believed that remaining employees of a large bank was no longer the best environment, which is why they sought a platform that provides everything they used at their prior firm and much more. After thorough reflection and due diligence, they chose Sanctuary Wealth's hybrid, multi-custodial and shared ADV model, where they are not only empowered to enhance the value of service they deliver to clients but also are joining a culture of like-minded former wirehouse advisors who have also decided to unlock the asset they have worked so hard to build." As an independent firm, TOVA is not beholden to any financial institution. It offers flexibility to its clients and is committed to making personalized financial planning accessible to everyone. The team's allegiance lies solely with its clients, not shareholders or managers. They are singularly focused on the financial well-being of those they serve and on empowering their success. "After enjoying years of hard work building our practice at our former firm, I hardly recognize the institution it has become, and we needed to make a change for our team and clients," Katie said. "Deciding to move forward with our own firm is a consequential decision and is not something we take lightly. Sanctuary speaks our language and comes highly recommended by others who have left Merrill to start their own business within the network. We only want to make this type of transition once, so we had to find the right partner to ensure success." Before starting her career at Merril Lynch in 2008, Katie was a Peace Corps volunteer. Her passion for helping and educating others led her to the wealth management field, where she looks to simplify the financial planning process and make it easy for her clients to understand. Since 2019, Katie has volunteered with the CFP Board and is currently on its Council on Examinations, where she serves as a primary subject matter expert. In this capacity, she helps provide recommendations on the certification exam and process. "Sanctuary's experience, tools, resources and support made this complicated decision to start fresh easy," Katie added. "The network is multi-custodial, which was essential to us, and they have the experience of supporting the transition of practices like ours to independence without missing a beat. Our multi-generational business has a long runway, and we are extremely pleased Sanctuary will be with us for our entire journey." Adam Malamed, CEO of Sanctuary Wealth, said, "We are excited to welcome Katie and the TOVA Wealth team to our platform. Over the past several years, we have been diligently building the infrastructure and services that provide groups like theirs with the freedom, flexibility, control and choice to build on their previous success and thrive in the evolving wealth management landscape. We are honored that they have chosen Sanctuary as their partner." About Sanctuary Wealth Sanctuary Wealth (sanctuarywealth.com) is the advanced platform for elite advisors with the entrepreneurial spirit to build, own and create lasting equity in their practices while delivering to clients the tailored service they deserve. It is committed to providing partner firms with unequaled freedom, flexibility, control and choice through an ecosystem of partnered independence that offers a complete technology and operations platform, support from a community of like-minded advisors and the resources of invaluable affiliated businesses. Sanctuary Wealth offers a Hybrid, Multi-Custodian, Shared ADV platform through its Sanctuary brand and a Multi-Custodian, Own ADV model through its tru Independence brand. Currently, the Sanctuary Wealth network includes more than 120 partner firms in 30 states nationwide, with approximately $42 billion in assets on platform. Sanctuary Wealth consists of the wholly owned subsidiaries: tru Independence and Sanctuary Advisors LLC, SEC-registered investment advisers, Sanctuary Securities, Inc., a FINRA member broker-dealer, as well as Sanctuary Alternative Holdings, Sanctuary Asset Management, Sanctuary Insurance Solutions, Sanctuary Global, and Sanctuary Global Family Office. Media Contacts for Sanctuary Wealth: Donald Cutler or Joseph Kuo Haven Tower Group 424-317-4864 or 424 317 4851 [email protected] or [email protected] SOURCE Sanctuary Wealth NEW YORK, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The global silk market size is estimated to grow by USD 5.00 billion from 2024-2028, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of almost 9.24% during the forecast period. Increasing requirement for silk in textile industry is driving market growth, with a trend towards increasing r and d on spider silk. However, health hazards during silkworm rearing poses a challenge. Key market players include AMSilk GmbH, Anhui Silk, Bolt Threads, Camenzind and Co. AG, Eastern Silk Industries Ltd., Eris Global, Jinchengjiang Xinxing Cocoon Silk Co. Ltd., Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc., Libas Ltd., Ongetta srl, Qingdao Textiles Group Fiber Technology Co. Ltd., WENSLI, Wujiang First Textile Co. Ltd., Xuzhou Shengkun Silk Manufacturing Co. Ltd., and Zhejiang Jiaxin Silk Corp. Ltd.. Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global silk market 2024-2028 Get a detailed analysis on regions, market segments, customer landscape, and companies- View the snapshot of this report Silk Market Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2023 Historic period 2018 - 2022 Forecast period 2024-2028 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 9.24% Market growth 2024-2028 USD 5001.8 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 8.25 Regional analysis APAC, Europe, North America, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution APAC at 64% Key countries China, India, US, Italy, and France Key companies profiled AMSilk GmbH, Anhui Silk, Bolt Threads, Camenzind and Co. AG, Eastern Silk Industries Ltd., Eris Global, Jinchengjiang Xinxing Cocoon Silk Co. Ltd., Kraig Biocraft Laboratories Inc., Libas Ltd., Ongetta srl, Qingdao Textiles Group Fiber Technology Co. Ltd., WENSLI, Wujiang First Textile Co. Ltd., Xuzhou Shengkun Silk Manufacturing Co. Ltd., and Zhejiang Jiaxin Silk Corp. Ltd. Market Driver Spider silk, a natural fiber with exceptional strength, resilience, and flexibility, is the focus of intensive research and development due to its remarkable toughness. Kraig Biocraft Laboratories has made strides in this field, acquiring exclusive rights to patented genetic sequences for silk proteins. This advancement holds great potential for producing ballistics-resistant materials that are lighter, thinner, and more flexible than steel. The global silk market is expected to grow significantly as a result of increased research activities in this area. Spider silk's unique properties make it an ideal candidate for creating life-saving materials in various industries. The silk sector is experiencing a surge in trends, with Sundresses being a popular choice for fashion-forward consumers. Silk production continues to grow, driven by demand for seri-by-products like Dipeptides and Tripeptides used in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and cosmetics industries. The silk protein market is expanding, with applications in textiles, surgical sutures, and personal care. Sericulture, the process of raising Silk Worms, is key to cocoon production. Reeling, throwing, weaving, and dyeing transform raw silk into textile. Silk material prices vary based on type, including Mulberry silk, Tussar silk, Eri silk, and Spider silk. Transportation options are crucial for efficient distribution, from Silk comforters to Parachutes. The silk industry also includes seri-waste products and amino acids, contributing to the bloodstream and dermis skin layer. Overall, the silk sector offers diverse opportunities in textiles, medicine, and beyond. Explore a 360 Analysis of the Market: Unveil the Impact of AI. For complete insights- Request Sample! Market Challenges The sericulture industry, a labor-intensive sector, faces significant health risks for its workforce. Reproductive and menstrual factors linked to endometrial cancer have been identified in women workers. Occupational hazards include handling diseased silkworms and their excreta, as well as exposure to formalin, bleaching powder, and chromium for disinfection and dye fixation. These factors can lead to skin irritation, ulcers, sensitization, and allergies. Consequently, these health risks may hinder the growth of the global silk market during the forecast period. The Silk Market encompasses various types of silk, including Mulberry, Tussar, Eri, and Spider silk. Challenges in this industry include the cultivation of Silk Worms for Sericulture, which relies on the Mulberry leaf for food. The production of Cocoons is crucial, followed by Reeling, Throwing, Weaving, and Dyeing to create Textiles. Silk fibroin and silk polypeptide are valuable proteins used in Cosmetics and Medicine. Silk's natural properties, like its absorbent nature, conductive properties, comfort, softness, and elegance, make it an expensive material for Textile Application. However, it requires careful handling as Dry Cleaning is recommended, and Sun Exposure and Water Exposure can damage it. Silk's versatility extends to various applications, such as Summer clothing, Bicycle Tires, and Household items like Pillows, Upholstery, and Draperies. Silk's luxurious appeal is showcased in Gowns, Wedding gowns, Neckties, Scarves, and Haute couture garments, including Formal dress suits, Robes, and Kimonos. For more insights on driver and challenges - Request a sample report! Segment Overview This silk market report extensively covers market segmentation by Type 1.1 Mulberry 1.2 Tussar 1.3 Eri Application 2.1 Textile 2.2 Cosmetics 2.3 Medicine Geography 3.1 APAC 3.2 Europe 3.3 North America 3.4 South America 3.5 Middle East and Africa 1.1 Mulberry- The Silk Market in Beijing is a renowned shopping destination, famous for its authentic Chinese goods. Here, you can find a vast array of items, from traditional clothing and accessories to souvenirs and local delicacies. Merchants sell high-quality silk products at competitive prices. The market's central location and convenient hours make it an attractive destination for both locals and tourists. Visitors can haggle for the best deals, ensuring a satisfying shopping experience. For more information on market segmentation with geographical analysis including forecast (2024-2028) and historic data (2017-2021) - Download a Sample Report Research Analysis Silk is a natural fiber derived from the cocoons of silkworms, spiders, and other insects. The most commonly produced silk is obtained from the silkworm, which goes through the process of sericulture. Different types of silk include Mulberry silk, Tussar silk, and Eri silk, each with unique characteristics. Silk fibroin and silk polypeptide are the main proteins found in silk. Cocoon production begins with the reeling process, where the silk threads are extracted from the cocoons. The threads are then thrown, or unwound, and prepared for weaving and dyeing. Silk is used in various industries, from cosmetics and fashion to medicine. Natural fiber is used to create elegant gowns, wedding gowns, neckties, scarves, and household items such as wall hangings, pillows, upholstery, draperies, ties, shirts, and more. Silk-based biomaterials have also gained popularity in recent years, with applications in protein fiber and advanced medical uses. Silk's unique properties, including its strength, flexibility, and luster, make it a highly sought-after material for various industries and applications. Market Research Overview Silk Market: A Global Overview The silk market is a thriving industry that encompasses the production and utilization of various types of silk, including Mulberry silk, Tussar silk, Eri silk, and Spider silk. This natural fiber, derived from the cocoons of Silkworms, is renowned for its absorbent nature, conductive properties, comfort, softness, elegance, and textile application. Silk fibroin and silk polypeptide are the primary components of silk, making it a valuable protein fiber. Cocoon production involves the reeling, throwing, weaving, and dyeing process to create textiles. Silk's expensive material status is attributed to its limited production, with demand coming from various sectors like cosmetics, medicine, and textiles. Applications of silk extend beyond textiles, including bicycle tires, summer clothing, and household items like pillows, upholstery, and wall hangings. In the medical field, silk is used for surgical sutures and in nutraceuticals. Silk's absorbent nature and conductive properties make it suitable for use in personal care and pharmaceutical industries. Silk's versatility is evident in its diverse applications, from gowns and wedding gowns to neckties, scarves, and haute couture garments. The silk sector also generates seri-by-products and seri-waste products, contributing to the silk protein market and the production of dipeptides and tripeptides. Silk material prices are influenced by various factors, including transportation options, seasonal demand, and production costs. Proper handling is crucial to prevent damage from sun exposure, water exposure, and dry cleaning. The silk industry continues to evolve, with ongoing research and development in the field of sericulture and silk production. Table of Contents: 1 Executive Summary 2 Market Landscape 3 Market Sizing 4 Historic Market Size 5 Five Forces Analysis 6 Market Segmentation Type Mulberry Tussar Eri Application Textile Cosmetics Medicine Geography APAC Europe North America 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 NEW ORLEANS, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until October 15, 2024 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Sprinklr, Inc. (NYSE: CXM), if they purchased the Company's securities between March 29, 2023 and June 5, 2024, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Get Help Sprinklr investors should visit us at https://claimsfiler.com/cases/nyse-cxm/ or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options. About the Lawsuit Sprinklr and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws. On June 5, 2024, the Company disclosed disappointing financial news including significantly reduced growth expectations, cutting fiscal year 2025 projections an additional three percent, down to 7% annual growth, due to reduced customer retention in the Company's core business and macro headwinds. On this news, the price of Sprinklr's shares fell from a closing price of $10.84 per share on June 5, 2024 to $9.20 per share on June 6, 2024, a decline of more than 15% in the span of one day. The case is Boshart v. Sprinklr, Inc., No. 24-cv-06132. About ClaimsFiler ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations. To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com. SOURCE ClaimsFiler ROSEVILLE, Minn., Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Tareen Dermatology is proud to announce its partnership with CLINUVEL, a renowned pharmaceutical company, to conduct advanced-stage clinical trials for a revolutionary investigational treatment for vitiligo. The collaboration aims to bring hope to patients suffering from this challenging skin condition by developing an innovative therapy that could potentially change the landscape of vitiligo treatment. Vitiligo is a chronic skin disorder that causes the loss of skin color in patches, affecting individuals of all ages and backgrounds. Despite affecting around 1 in 100 people, vitiligo treatment options have been limited and often ineffective. Through the partnership with CLINUVEL, Tareen Dermatology is committed to advancing research and exploring new avenues for vitiligo treatment. "We are excited to join forces with CLINUVEL in the pursuit of a breakthrough treatment for vitiligo," said Dr. Mohiba Tareen, founder of Tareen Dermatology. "Our team is dedicated to providing cutting-edge care to our patients, and participating in these clinical trials is a testament to our commitment to improving the lives of those affected by vitiligo." CLINUVEL is a leading pharmaceutical company known for its expertise in developing innovative therapies for conditions affecting the skin and brain. The clinical trials conducted in collaboration with Tareen Dermatology will evaluate the safety and efficacy of the new treatment for vitiligo, with the ultimate goal of obtaining approval from regulatory authorities. "We are thrilled to partner with Tareen Dermatology in this important research endeavor," said Dr. Linda Teng, Director of North American Operations at CLINUVEL. "Tareen Dermatology possesses the expertise on pigmentation disorders and has access to populations affected by vitiligo. We continue to expand our efforts to bring a groundbreaking treatment to individuals with generalized vitiligo, offering them a renewed sense of confidence and well-being." Tareen Dermatology and CLINUVEL invite individuals with vitiligo to participate in the clinical trials and contribute to the advancement of vitiligo treatment. For more information about the trials and eligibility criteria, please contact Tareen Dermatology at [email protected]. About Tareen Dermatology: Tareen Dermatology is a leading dermatology practice dedicated to providing comprehensive and compassionate care to patients with various skin conditions. Led by Dr. Tareen, a board-certified dermatologist with a passion for dermatological research, the practice offers a range of services tailored to meet the individual needs of each patient. About CLINUVEL: CLINUVEL is a global specialty pharmaceutical group focused on developing and commercializing treatments for patients with genetic, metabolic, systemic, and life-threatening, acute disorders, as well as healthcare solutions for specialized populations. As pioneers in photomedicine and the family of melanocortin peptides, CLINUVEL's research and development has led to innovative treatments for patient populations with a clinical need for systemic photoprotection, assisted DNA repair, repigmentation and acute or life-threatening conditions who lack alternatives. CLINUVEL's lead therapy, SCENESSE (afamelanotide 16mg), is approved for commercial distribution in Europe, the USA, Israel, and Australia as the world's first systemic photoprotective drug for the prevention of phototoxicity (anaphylactoid reactions and burns) in adult patients with erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP). Headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, CLINUVEL has operations in Europe, Singapore, and the USA. For more information, please go to https://www.clinuvel.com. For media inquiries, please contact: Natalie Borer Director of Marketing, Tareen Dermatology [email protected] SOURCE Tareen Dermatology 800 First Student Teamsters Escalate Demands for Fair Contract, Prepare to Strike MANCHESTER, N.H., Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Members of Teamsters Local 633 working in several New Hampshire communities are demanding that First Student provide them collective bargaining agreements that include access to the New England Teamsters Pension Fund. These Teamsters work under collective bargaining agreements associated with school districts in Derry, Nashua, North Hampton, Plaistow, Rochester, and Swanzey. After several months of contract negotiations for the six open agreements, First Student has repeatedly refused to offer Teamsters a contract that includes a pension out of a matter of "principal," even though Teamsters' pension proposals would not increase First Student costs nor expose it to additional liability. "First Student Teamsters play a vital role in school districts across New Hampshire and ensure students have reliable and safe transportation to and from school every day," said Jeff Padellaro, Secretary-Treasurer at Local 633. "In denying bus workers a contract that includes access to the New England Teamsters Pension Fund, First Student is not only doing their workers a disservice, but New Hampshire communities, students, and school districts. With the start of school right around the corner, now is the time for First Student to get serious and offer workers the contract they deserveor else we will have no other choice but to strike for it." "It's disheartening to see our employer deny us access to the Teamsters Pension Fund, which we know several of our counterparts at other bus yards have access to," said Kelly Placard, an 18-year veteran bus driver at First Student and Local 633 shop steward. "We love our jobs and our students, but we deserve access to a dignified retirement and to be able to care for our families. We do not want to strike, but First Student has given us no other option." All Teamsters that work for First Student nationwide, including in all locations in New Hampshire, are covered by a national master agreement that allows them to honor a picket line and withhold their services even when they have an in-force collective bargaining agreement. "First Student Teamsters across New England are gearing up to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in New Hampshire if and when the time comes," said Tom Mari, Secretary-Treasurer at Teamsters Joint Council 10. "The national master contract includes protection of rights for a reason, and we stand ready to utilize those protections if picket lines are extended. First Student Teamsters deserve better, and we will use every tool at our disposal to ensure that they get just that." Chartered in 1934, Teamsters Local 633 represents more than 4,700 workers in New Hampshire in several different sectors. For more information, visit teamsters633.com. Contact: Matt McQuaid, (202) 624-6877 [email protected] SOURCE Teamsters Local 633 ioVista, a pioneering digital commerce transformation company, celebrates its 20th anniversary, marking two decades of innovation and excellence in the industry. DALLAS, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- ioVista, a pioneering digital commerce transformation company, marks a significant milestone today its 20th anniversary. Founded on August 19, 2004, in a basement in Sterling Heights, MI, ioVista has established itself as a leading authority in digital commerce transformation. Two Decades of Achievements "ioVista celebrates 20th anniversary, marking two decades of innovation and excellence." Post this Source: ioVista, Inc. Over the past 20 years, ioVista has: Mastered proprietary languages like RTML and forged strong relationships with leading eCommerce platforms, including Yahoo Stores, Adobe-Magento, BigCommerce, Shopify, and WooCommerce. Witnessed and adapted to significant shifts in digital marketing, from simple keyword matching techniques to complex ranking systems powered by sophisticated AI-driven algorithms and Core Web Vitals. Become a Google partner and established partnerships with Avalara, ShipperHQ, DotDigital, Sparklayer, Jitterbit, PlatformSH, iPaaS, Klevu, and more. Earned specialized badges and certifications, including Adobe Specialized Solutions partner, BigCommerce B2B Specialized Partner, and ShopifyPlus Partner focused on B2B. A Message from the Founder Founder Mike Patel reflects on the journey: "I am deeply humbled, emotional, and incredibly proud of what we have achieved together. Despite our progress, I believe we are just getting started, especially as B2B manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and distributors realize they can no longer rely on outdated technologies and legacy systems to maintain market share and grow. With ioVista's agnostic approach, client-first philosophy, and commitment to utilizing human expertise and AI together to offer our clients data-driven solutions, we are excited and determined to become the leading Digital Commerce Transformation Agency in the decade ahead. A Heartfelt Thank You ioVista extends its sincere appreciation to its family, clients, partners, friends, and dedicated team for their unwavering support. "We are grateful for the trust that has been placed in us and for the opportunity to work with such a talented and dedicated group of individuals," adds Mike Patel. About ioVista ioVista is a digital commerce transformation agency that has been at the forefront of digital commerce excellence for 20 years. With a proven track record of partnering with manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and distributors, we help businesses thrive in the ever-changing B2B landscape. ioVista continues to innovate and push boundaries in the industry. To learn more about ioVista's comprehensive digital commerce solutions and expertise, please visit our website at ioVista.com Media Contact Albert Wood e-Commerce Analyst ioVista (214) 960-0189 [email protected] SOURCE ioVista, Inc. As part of the Vortex Family, Premier Pipe to offer expanded product and service offerings to its licensees HOUSTON, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Vortex Companies (Vortex) announced that it has recently acquired Troy, Ohio based, Premier Pipe USA (Premier Pipe), a long-time provider of high-performance cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) products manufactured by United Felts, also a Vortex Company, to its network of licensed installers. "We're excited to have Premier Pipe on board. They have an excellent reputation and are known for the high level of support they deliver to their licensees," stated Mike Vellano, CEO of the Vortex Companies. "Being backed by Vortex, Premier Pipe can now significantly expand its service and product offerings, putting its customers in a position to be even more competitive in the market." Premier Pipe USA was recently acquired by the Vortex Companies, a leading provider of trenchless infrastructure rehabilitation products and services. In 1997 Premier Pipe founder James "Jim" Mortell, saw a void in the way CIPP pipe was being delivered to installation contractors, and developed a system to support them by offering a turnkey solution that not only included products, but also design, technical, and field support. To date, more than 30 million feet of liner has been installed through Premier Pipe. "This is such a competitive business, and we want our installers to always be in the best position to succeed, so strategically we can't be more pleased with this acquisition," added Jim. This combination of talent and resources is a direct result of a high-performance culture within The Vortex Companies. "Together this positions Premier Pipe licensees to offer the most innovative lining technology, trenchless products, technical expertise and project design support," stated Ram Vela, SVP, Corporate Development & Analytics at Vortex. About Vortex The Vortex Companies is a leading provider of advanced trenchless water and sewer technologies and provides turnkey services to cost effectively renew municipal, industrial, and commercial infrastructure. Vortex, along with its partners, offers the most diverse technology platforms in the industry. This includes manhole and pipe rehabilitation materials, polymeric coatings and resins, sewer robot systems and high-speed drain cleaning tools and allows customers the opportunity to select the best fit for their system. Operating globally, Vortex remains focused on its vision of expanding and providing a broad range of industry leading, cost-effective trenchless infrastructure renewal solutions, supported by experienced and trained personnel. For more information, go to vortexcompanies.com. About Premier Pipe USA Premier Pipe USA CIPP liner has been installed in most every major city across the United States. With more than 30 years of experience and having overseen over 30 million feet of CIPP liner installed worldwide, Premier Pipe has built a reputation of excellence supporting its installers through its exceptional products, service and technical expertise. Premier Pipe USA products are developed and manufactured by United Felts, the industry's oldest and most respected manufacturer of cured-in-place pipe liner. Working closely with our suppliers, all Premier Pipe products are custom developed to the highest standards and industry specifications, so that we can remain a leading provider of total CIPP lining solutions. For more information, please go to premierpipeusa.com SOURCE Vortex Companies 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 New Delhi, Aug 23 : US Vice President Kamala Harris has formally accepted the Democratic Party's 2024 presidential nomination to fight against her Republican rival Donald Trump pledging to be the "president who unites" Americans. "On behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination for President of the United States of America," she said during her address at Chicago's United Center on the last day of the four-day Democratic National Convention. During her speech, she pledged to be the "president who unites" Americans and "fight for America's future". "With this election, our nation has a precious and fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a New Way Forward, not as members of any one party or faction but as Americans," Kamala Harris said. Harris, who is of Indian origin, became the Democratic candidate after President Joe Biden, 81, was forced to quit the race for the White House. If successful Harris, 59, will become the first woman US president. During her address, she slammed Donald Trump, saying, "This election is one of the most important in the life of our nation. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails. How he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States, not to improve your life, but to serve the only client he has ever hada himself," Harris said. "I love our country with all my heart. Everywhere I go and everyone I meet, I see a nation that is ready to move forward, ready for the next step and the incredible journey that is America," she said. "None of us has to fail for all of us to succeed," she said. Harris called out to the voters to be "guided by optimism" as the election approached. "Let's fight for it," she said, before ending the speech. Moscow, Aug 23 : Seventeen people were rescued after Ukraine attacked a ferry docked at Russia's Black Sea port of Kavkaz, local authorities said. "The naval detachment of the Russian Guard took part in the rescue operation after the Ukrainian Armed Forces struck the ferry in the port of Kavkaz," the Southern District of the Russian National Guard said in a statement released via its official Telegram channel. The attack on Thursday targeted a rail ferry carrying 30 fuel tanks. The Kavkaz port is located in the Krasnodar region on the eastern side of Kerch Strait, reports Xinhua news agency. Governor of Krasnodar region Veniamin Kondratyev confirmed that the ferry had sunk due to the damage sustained in the attack, though no fires were reported within the port itself. To prevent the spread of fuel, containment booms were deployed, and the water's surface was treated with absorbent material. Earlier on Thursday, a Ukrainian drone attack sparked a fire at a military facility in Russia's Volgograd region. Russian air defence forces repelled the assault, destroying most of the Ukrainian drones, Volgograd Governor Andrei Bocharov was quoted by the regional administration's Telegram channel. The attack occurred near the village of Marinovka, where the Ukrainian drones targeted a Russian military site, however, no casualties were reported. Washington, Aug 23 : Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh praised the growing strength of India-US relations while addressing the Indian diaspora in Washington DC during his four-day visit to the United States at the invitation of US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin. He said that both countries are long-standing allies capable of working together to promote global peace and prosperity. Rajnath Singh emphasised the importance of maintaining cultural values and loyalty to both India and the United States and also hailed the country's message of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (The entire world is a family). In his address on Thursday (US time), the Union Minister urged Indians working in the US to remain dedicated to their work and uphold their commitment to both nations. "You should always be dedicated to India, but your commitment to America should also not be doubted," he stated, highlighting the integrity and honesty inherent in Indian culture. He further stressed the Indian philosophy of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,' noting that India views all global communities as one family, a belief rooted in its spiritual heritage. He pointed out the rapid transformation India has undergone over the past decade, which has significantly enhanced its global stature. Additionally, two significant defence agreements -- the Security of Supplies Arrangement (SOSA) and a Memorandum of Agreement regarding the Assignment of Liaison Officers -- were also signed between the US Department of Defense and the Indian Ministry of Defence amid Rajnath Singh's visit. The SOSA ensures reciprocal priority support for national defence goods and services between the two nations, aimed at mitigating supply chain disruptions. Both countries also pledged to prioritise each other's critical defence procurement needs. The four-day visit of the Defence Minister also includes a high-level roundtable with the US defence industry to discuss ongoing and future defence collaborations. He is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with Secretary Austin and meet with Jake Sullivan, the US Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs. This visit comes in the wake of progress made during the fifth annual India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in November 2023, where Washington reaffirmed its support for India's military modernisation and the strengthening of maritime domain awareness in the Indian Ocean Region. The India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) continues to facilitate joint defence technology innovation and co-production between the two countries. Both nations have also been engaged in ongoing discussions under the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET), which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden in January 2023. The iCET is seen as a pivotal element in deepening the strategic partnership between India and the United States. Mexico City, Aug 23 : Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador dismissed criticism by some global financial firms of his administration's proposed judicial reforms, saying their warnings of impending risk to the economy were "pure lies." At his daily press conference on Thursday, Lopez Obrador said the firms were involved in "politicking" when they attributed a recent slide in the Mexican peso to the proposed constitutional amendments, which Congress is set to debate soon. The reason behind the peso's slide is not internal but rather a "global adjustment," especially due to the economy and finances of the United States, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting the Mexican President. In recent days, several global investment banks and rating agencies have warned of potential risks from the judicial reforms, which, among other things, propose that ministers of the Supreme Court be voted into office. Mexico's peso entered a period of volatility against the US dollar following its presidential elections on June 2, though other factors also came into play, including global investors' concerns about the direction of the US economy and Japan's monetary policy, according to experts. Mumbai, Aug 23 : Actress Somy Ali took a trip down memory lane and recalled how veteran star Rekha was supposed to play her role in the 1994 action thriller film "Yaar Gaddar." Mumbai, Aug 23 (IANS) Actress Somy Ali took a trip down memory lane and recalled how veteran star Rekha was supposed to play her role in the 1994 action thriller film "Yaar Gaddar." Somy took to Instagram, where she shared a movie scene from the Umesh Mehra film featuring her, Mithun Chakraborty and Gulshan Grover. Talking about the film, she said: "So this throwback is personal for many reasons which I will not share in this forum, but the movie's director, Mr. Umesh Mehra was one of the most decent men I have worked with and of course a brilliant director." She heaped praise on her co-stars Mithun, Saif Ali Khan, Gulshan and others saying that they "were all wonderful to be on set with". She then recalled how yesteryear diva Rekha was supposed to play her role in the film, which told the story of an honest Inspector Shankar Verma, who finds himself in a dilemma when his brother Jai is framed for robbing a bank and killing a person. "One thing that still sticks with me is that Rekha ji was supposed to play my role. I was over the moon once I learned that and ecstatic doesn't cut it in how I felt. She's the real queen and the most beautiful woman for me in the whole world," she said. She added that her "giddiness is totally justified". Talking about working with Mithun, she said: "As for Mithunda, whom I worked with a great deal was a mentor and always kind. The strangest part is that all the actors who played villains I worked with were the nicest people in real life. Be it Prem uncle or Gulshan. All extremely decent gentlemen." Earlier this month, Somy shared a throwback moment from her 1994 film "Aao Pyaar Karen" and shared that it was only late legendary choreographer Saroj Khan, who could make her dance. New Delhi, Aug 23 : Just ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's historic first visit to Kyiv, V. Muraleedharan, the former Minister of State for External Affairs, on Friday recalled the Indian PM's "decisive leadership during the 2022 evacuation of Indian students from war-torn areas of Ukraine. In an interview given to ''Modi Story', Muraleedharan remembered that elections in Uttar Pradesh were underway when the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began in February 2022. "Despite his heavy political engagements, Prime Minister Modi took time out to address the crisis. He held meetings twice a day, in the morning and after returning from campaign events. Throughout the day, he was actively involved in campaigning, and in the evening he conducted late-night meetings. Despite his busy schedule, he led from the front in solving the problems," said the former minister. "One remarkable instance of his exceptional leadership was when he personally negotiated to secure safe passage for students, who travelled for more than 18 hours through the conflict zone to reach the border," he added. Hundreds of Indian students were stuck in Kharkiv as full-scale military offensive began in the region during the last stages of the evacuation exercise. "We were unable to get them out, as the roads were damaged. The nearest border was Russia's eastern border, but taking them there was a problem. Our mission officials were waiting at the borders. If we had to take them to the western border, it would have been an 18-20 hour journey. We felt this was going to be a big issue, but the PM did not lose hope; he negotiated and discussed with the Russians," he said. The former minister at the Ministry of External Affairs further informed, that as the Russia stopped shelling for a limited period of time, an officer from the ministry travelled to the warzone and a large group of Indian students were taken out in 8-9 buses. They reached the country's eastern border after an arduous 18-20 hour bus journey. "We were not expecting that. We thought that the PM will find a way to bring them to the western border". The tense situation between Russia and Ukraine escalated into full conflict on February 24, 2022. The evacuation of Indian nationals, especially from the heavily-shelled areas like Kharkiv and Sumy, was a significant challenge. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told the parliament in March 2022 that the evacuation of Indians finally materialised because of PM Modi's "personal intervention" with the Presidents of Ukraine and Russia. Operation Ganga was one of the most challenging evacuation exercises during an ongoing conflict situation. It posed massive logistical challenges and was undertaken at a time when military actions including air strikes and shelling were underway. The exercise involved movement in a war-torn situation in a large country, at times over a 1000 km. It also required exiting border check points that were clogged by an estimated 26 lakh refugees. Prime Minister Modi will reach Kyiv on Friday where he will hold discussions with President Volodymyr Zelensky, including on the ongoing conflict. As New Delhi continues to encourage peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy, PM Modi had met the Ukrainian President on the sidelines of the 50th G7 Summit in Italy's Apulia on June 14, terming the discussions as "very productive". During the meeting, PM Modi reiterated that India would continue to do everything within its means to support a peaceful solution to the conflict. "Had a very productive meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky. India is eager to further cement bilateral relations with Ukraine. Regarding the ongoing hostilities, reiterated that India believes in a human-centric approach and believes that the way to peace is through dialogue and diplomacy," PM Modi posted on X after meeting Zelensky. Zelensky had also dialled PM Modi, congratulating him on his election victory and hoping that the Indian PM will visit Ukraine soon. "Everyone in the world recognises the significance and weight of India's role in global affairs. It is critical that we all work together to ensure a just peace for all nations," the Ukrainian President had posted on X before calling PM Modi following the announcement of results of the Lok Sabha elections. Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, India has maintained its consistent position that allows it to reach out to both sides to find a solution to the conflict through diplomacy and dialogue. At the same time, New Delhi has dispatched tonnes of humanitarian assistance to Kyiv, including essential medicines and medical equipment. Los Angeles, Aug 23 : Hollywood star Hugh Jackman, whose character of Wolverine came back from the dead for the recently released box-office juggernaut 'Deadpool & Wolverine', has shared a word of appreciation for his team. The actor recently took to his Instagram, and shared 2 videos of himself getting ready in his hair and make-up trailer for the film. The videos show the actor going through the process of visually getting into the character like the trimming of hair. He penned a long note in the caption, as he expressed his gratitude to his team for keeping him cool and in check. He wrote, "This is a peek inside the HMU trailer on #deadpoolandwolverine. @wljames and @sean105 you are two of the most talented and patient people I have ever known". He further mentioned, "Even when the days are long and we are running on fumes, when we are chasing light, or catching lightning in a bottle, when I'm cranky and usually hungry you both know before I say a word and have the playlist ready for all of it. I'm grateful beyond words". Meanwhile, 'Deadpool & Wolverine' which sees the actor joining forces with his BFF Ryan Reynolds, has breached the $1 billion mark at the global box-office. The film has so far earned $1.15 billion globally. The superhero film has also managed to revive Marvel Studios after a disastrous run of phase 4 of the MCU which bled up to a certain extent in phase 5 as well. In the film, Deadpool, played by Ryan, learns that the Time Variance Authority is set to destroy his universe and works with a reluctant Wolverine from another universe to stop them. Recently, Hugh Jackman shared a monochromatic picture of his Kevin Feige with the director Shawn Levy. Suva, Aug 23 : Head teachers in Fiji have been urged to step up efforts to effectively address cyberbullying incidents. The guidance aims to ensure such matters are managed appropriately and comprehensively within educational institutions, said Josua Naisele, chief executive of the Education Ministry Substance Abuse Advisory Council, on Friday, during the 41st Fiji Head Teachers Association Annual Conference. He said victims of cyberbullying will be provided with counselling services facilitated by their schools according to the guidelines, Xinhua news agency reported quoting Fiji Broadcasting Corporation. Parents have the option to report incidents to the police if necessary, Naisele said, adding that in such cases, the authorities will investigate and take further action as required. He said the Online Safety Commission is available to assist in the removal of harmful posts from social media platforms, ensuring the digital environment remains safe for students. Schools will be responsible for monitoring the situation and ensuring compliance with corrective measures, Naisele said. However, he states that in such cases, the authorities will investigate and take further action as required. Naisele further emphasises that perpetrators of cyberbullying will also need to undergo counselling. He added that schools will be responsible for monitoring the situation and ensuring compliance with corrective measures. In severe cases, warning letters may be issued to the parents of the offenders to underscore the seriousness of the behaviour. Bangkok, Aug 23 : All nine people aboard a small plane are feared dead after rescuers found no survivors at the crash site in Chachoengsao, Thailand, local media reported on Friday. The Thai Flying Service Cessna Caravan C208 (HS-SKR) crashed on Thursday, shortly after taking off from Suvarnabhumi Airport, reports Bangkok Post. The aircraft, which had nine people onboard, lost contact with the Suvarnabhumi control tower around 3:00 P.M. local time. The crash occurred at 3:18 P.M. near Wat Khao Din in the Bang Pakong district of Chachoengsao. Following an 11-hour search operation, the plane's wreckage was discovered in a mangrove forest submerged in mud. Rescuers employed pumps to drain water and excavated mud approximately 10 meters deep and eight meters wide to reach the wreckage. Several human body parts were also recovered during the search. Chachoengsao Governor Chonlatee Yangtrong confirmed early on Friday that all nine individuals on board are believed to have perished in the crash. "All aboard the plane are presumed dead," Governor Chonlatee Yangtrong said, adding that the authorities were investigating the cause of the crash. Earlier, talking to the media on Thursday, he said that the authorities found many human remains, and the muddy terrain complicated the task of the rescuers. The Governor also added that the charter plane tumbled vertically, so the authorities had to dig 10 meters into the ground. The victims include five Chinese passengers, Zhang Jingjing, 12; Zhang Jing, 43; Tang Yu, 42; Yin Jinfeng, 45; and Yin Hang, 13. The Thai crew members were identified as flight attendants Napak Jirasiri, 35, and Siriyupa Arunatid, 26. The pilot was Flt Lt Anucha Dechapirakchon, 61, and the co-pilot was Pornsak Totab, 30. The investigation into the cause of the crash is underway. Further details are awaited. Bengaluru, Aug 23 : Contradicting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's stand that the acquisition of 3.16 acres of land belonging to his family in Kesare village on the outskirts of Mysuru city was not known to them, fresh documents have surfaced allegedly showing that the CM's family not only knew about it but also his wife, Parvathi had rejected the proposed compensation by the MUDA. Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy shared the document on social media X on Friday and lashed out at CM Siddaramaiah for maintaining that his family had no idea about the acquisition of their land by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA). "Respected Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, you falsely claim that neither you nor your family had any role in the land allocation by the MUDA. I think that you know Kannada and understand the language. Aren't you a self-proclaimed lawyer? Please take a moment to carefully read the records that are available," he stated. "The wife of CM Siddaramaiah had insisted that MUDA shall allot the land to her on a 50:50 ratio. The record in this regard says, 'It was informed to the applicant, Smt. Parvathamma, that compensation would be provided at market value or land would be allocated on a 40:60 ratio. However, she did not agree to this suggestion by the authority and insisted on getting alternate land.' Now what does CM Siddaramaiah have to say about it?" Kumaraswamy questioned. "This is what MUDA records say. What do you (CM Siddaramaiah) have to say about this? According to you, is this just a note? An insistence? Or an order? Mr. 'super' CM, what else could the MUDA officials have done when they were 'insisted' upon? At that time, where were you? You were sitting in the Chief Minister's chair on the 3rd floor of Vidhana Soudha. Now tell us, who has the skeletons in their closet?" Kumaraswamy lashed out. Meanwhile, Snehamayi Krishna, one of the petitioners who filed cases over the MUDA case with Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot and also lodged a private complaint in the court against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has released the document in this regard. Snehamayi Krishna stated that CM Siddaramaiah was claiming that the MUDA itself had agreed that it was wrong to acquire his family's land and decided to allot parallel land. According to the documents, the decisions of MUDA agreeing to its mistake, deciding to allot parallel land were made when CM Siddaramaiah was the CM. The meeting was chaired by the senior Congress leader and his close associate, the late D. Dhruvakumar, who was the MUDA Chairman then. When one closely observes the decision by MUDA saying it was wrong to acquire the land and to allot compensation, it is evident that CM Siddaramaiah had influenced his close associate Dhruvakumar who was MUDA Chairman then, said Krishna. This comes ahead of CM Siddaramaiah's meeting with Rahul Gandhi and other top leaders of the party. Sources said he is likely to brief them about the MUDA case and situation in the state. Patna, Aug 23 : The Meteorological Department of Patna issued a warning for 'moderate' to 'heavy' rainfall in 17 districts of Bihar on Friday even as many rivers are in spate in the state with the water levels flowing above the danger mark. Residents in these areas, especially in Patna, Bhojpur, Arwal, Jehanabad, Gaya, Nalanda, West Champaran, East Champaran, Gopalganj, Siwan, Saran, Aurangabad, Khagaria, Jamui, Banka, Bhagalpur, and Munger, have been advised to avoid agricultural fields due to the risk of lightning strikes predicted during the rain. In addition, heavy rainfall in Nepal's catchment areas has led to a rise in the water level of the Gandak River, which is now flowing above the danger mark at Dumaria Ghat in Gopalganj District. The current water level there is 62.77 meters, 55 centimeters above the danger level. Residents in the affected districts have been urged to remain vigilant and follow safety precautions. The Kosi River is flowing 1.11 cm above the danger level at Baltara in Khagaria District, where the danger level is 33.85 meters. At Kursela in Katihar District, the Kosi River is 76 cm above the danger mark, with the danger level there set at 30.00 meters. Bagmati River is flowing above the danger level at several locations, including Sonakhan in Sitamarhi District, Dubbadhar in Sheohar District, and Kataunjha and Benibad in Muzaffarpur District. In Khagaria, the Burhi Gandak River is currently 71 cm above the danger level. In Siwan District, the Ghaghra River is flowing 6 cm above the danger level at Gangpur block. The Ganga River is currently flowing above the danger level at multiple points in Bihar. At Gandhi Ghat in Patna, it is 44 cm above the danger mark, 41 cm above at Hathidah, and 52 cm above the danger level at Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur. The situation in Bhagalpur District is particularly concerning, with several blocks facing critical conditions as floodwaters from the Ganga have entered multiple villages. In Budhuchak Panchayat, the river broke through an embankment, submerging numerous houses. Nawak Kishore Chaudhary, the District Magistrate of Bhagalpur, stated, "We have conducted rescue operations with teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). We are operating with 12 teams from NDRF and SDRF, rescuing villagers and taking them to higher ground. "Public kitchens have been set up to provide food to the affected residents. We are closely monitoring the water levels in the region." Additionally, the situation in Sitamarhi District is also alarming. The district administration has issued a warning to villagers to stay away from the banks of the Bagmati River. Any activities such as swimming or taking selfies near the river are currently prohibited to prevent accidents. Residents in both Bhagalpur and Sitamarhi districts are advised to exercise caution and follow the instructions of local authorities. Mumbai, Aug 23 : Union Minister for Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal on Friday called for desilting the two fresh water lakes inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) to augment the drinking water supply for the people of Mumbai. Visiting the lush green SGNP this morning along with forest officials, Goyal, 60, who is also the local Mumbai North MP, held discussions on a series of measures with the park authorities. "The problem of drinking water has been plaguing Mumbai for many years. There are the Tulsi Lake and Vihar Lakes inside the SGNP which satisfy substantial drinking water requirements of the city. We need to augment their carrying capacity," said Minister Goyal while talking to mediapersons. He directed the Forest Department and the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials to sit together and jointly analyse how this can be done, to take up desilting the two lakes to increase their storing capacity and thus solve the water woes of Mumbaikars on a long-term basis. Additionally, the Union Minister said that a large amount of rainwater flows out of the SGNP -- spread across 106 sq km in north Mumbai and parts of Thane -- which goes waste as it goes into the rivers or the sea. For this, he suggested the need to create 'amrut sarovars' inside the park which can capture and retain the excess water going out for various needs, including the two million plus tourists who visit SGNP annually. Goyal also discussed ways and means for the development of SGNP with more tourist-oriented projects and attractions, even as the region will soon see two deep tunnels for the upcoming mega-road infrastructure projects linking the eastern-western suburbs of Mumbai. Among these are to restart the popular 'Van Rani' (Jungle Queen) toy train, and other big draws are the Lion Safari and Tiger Safari, around four dozen leopards roaming inside the SGNP, varieties of deers, plus other wild animals, birds, insects, reptiles, and species of plants and vegetation, the 2000-year-old Kanheri Caves, the source of Mumbai's sole Mithi River, and a sprinkling of tribal population dotting several hamlets there. Incidentally, SGNP -- managed by the Union Ministry of Environment -- is among a handful of wildlife parks in the world located right in the middle of a teeming metropolitan region housing a population of more than two crore people. PM Modi arrives in Kyiv on landmark visit, to discuss Russia-Ukraine conflict with Zelensky. Image Source: IANS Kyiv, Aug 23 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in war-torn Ukraine on Friday at the invitation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to push for a peaceful resolution to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. The visit is significant as it marks the first time an Indian Prime Minister has visited Ukraine since the establishment of bilateral relations in 1992. Upon his arrival in Kyiv after a 10-hour train journey on Rail Force One from Poland, PM Modi was warmly welcomed at the station. He then proceeded to the Hyatt Hotel for initial meetings, where members of the Indian diaspora greeted him enthusiastically. The primary focus of PM Modi's visit is to discuss a peaceful resolution to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. India is viewed as playing a potentially constructive role in mediating between the two nations. "I look forward to the opportunity to build upon earlier conversations with President Zelenskyy on strengthening bilateral cooperation and share perspectives on the peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict," PM Modi stated before departing from Delhi. PM Modi's visit also comes nearly six weeks after his trip to Moscow and meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which triggered objections from the West. Earlier in a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) highlighted that the Prime Minister's engagements in Kyiv will encompass a broad range of bilateral ties, including political, trade, economic, investments, education, cultural exchanges, and humanitarian assistance, among others. The Ukrainian President's office also emphasised the importance of this visit, noting that the talks between PM Modi and President Zelensky will cover bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Additionally, a number of documents between Ukraine and India are expected to be signed during this visit. PM Modi had previously met with President Zelensky on the sidelines of the 50th G7 Summit in Italy's Apulia on June 14, where they discussed the ongoing conflict and bilateral relations. PM Modi reiterated India's commitment to supporting a peaceful solution through dialogue and diplomacy. India has maintained a consistent position on the Russia-Ukraine war, allowing it to engage with both sides to encourage a resolution through peaceful means. Additionally, New Delhi has provided significant humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, including essential medicines and medical equipment. Prior to his visit to Ukraine, PM Modi made a historic visit to Poland, also marking the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to the country in 45 years. During his stay, he met with Polish President Andrzej Sebastian Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who expressed his confidence that PM Modi will push for a peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. New Delhi, Aug 23 : With apt support from government and private investments, India will emerge as a global space leader, said experts on Friday on the first National Space Day. India is celebrating its maiden National Space Day [NSpD-2024] on August 23 with the theme "Touching Lives while Touching the Moon: India's Space Saga." The day aims to honour the landmark achievement of the Chandrayaan 3 spacecraft, which made India the fourth country to land on the Moon and the first to reach its southern polar region on August 23, 2023. Led by ISRO, India has in the previous decade pushed the boundaries leading to a string of groundbreaking achievements, including the Mangalyaan mission, the record-breaking launch of 104 satellites, Chandrayaan 3, and Aditya L-1. The country's private space sector has also seen significant growth in the last decade. Experts attribute this to progressive policies by the government, including the India Space policy, and the formation of NewSpace India (NSIL). "While challenges like funding and infrastructure exist, the overall outlook is optimistic. With sustained government support and private investments, India has the potential to emerge as a global space leader," Dr. Subba Rao Pavuluri, CMD, Ananth Technologies and President SIA-India, told IANS "India's space sector has undergone a transformative journey, evolving from modest beginnings to a global leader in space exploration and innovation," added Vishesh Rajaram, Managing Partner at Speciale Invest. In 2020, the government pushed open the sector to public-private partnership, with the 'India Space Policy 2023', and the launch of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe). IN-SPACe is the regulator for the private sector space players Pavuluri said the government's measures "have actively encouraged Indian private companies and created a conducive environment". From just one digital startup in the Space sector in 2021, India presently has about 300. From building launch vehicles or rockets to designing advanced satellites, the startups also cater to working on space situational awareness (SSA) solutions to constructing applications based on space technology, among others. "India has now truly become an enabler of everyone's space tech dreams and is already well on its way to becoming a global leader in all aspects of space technology," Srinath Ravichandran, Co-founder and CEO of Agnikul Cosmos, told IANS. AgniKul Cosmos recently launched the world's 1st rocket with a fully 3D-printed engine. The startup also set up a private launchpad on the ISRO premises. Rajaram told IANS that the space sector is further poised for exponential growth -- fuelled by a liberalised FDI policy, a dedicated Rs 1000 Crore space fund, and the India Space Policy framework, which empowers private space startups with the support from ISRO and IN-SPACe. "With these catalysts in place, the Indian space sector is projected to reach $45 billion by 2034, increasing India's share of the global space economy fivefold from 2 to 10 per cent over the next decade, cementing its position as a major player in the global space industry," he added. Pavuluri noted that satellite manufacturing, launch services, components, and space-based services, such as communication, Earth observation, and space tourism are potential areas for increased private players' involvement. Dr. Sachin Bahmba (Founder, SPACE Group), told IANS that National Space Day is not just a celebration of the country's space achievements "but a testament to our commitment to advancing space education and exploration". "It's an invitation for every Indian to be part of this exciting journey," he said. Hanoi, Aug 23 : Vietnam's Health Ministry has launched a campaign to provide measles vaccines for children in 100 districts and towns of 18 localities at a high risk of outbreaks, local media reported. Based on the World Health Organisation's assessment toolkit, the Ministry has assessed the risk of measles outbreaks in 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam and decided to deploy the vaccination campaign, Xinhua news agency reported. Vaccines are provided free of charge for children aged one to ten, along with medical staff at risk at medical examination and treatment facilities and those who have not had the required number of vaccinations as prescribed, Vietnam News Agency reported. According to the Ministry's Department of Preventive Medicine, Vietnam has reported more than 2,000 measles cases since early this year. The southern hub Ho Chi Minh City logged more than 500 cases and three fatalities. The Health Ministry reported that since the beginning of the year, Vietnam has recorded a total of 1,695 cases of rashes suspected of measles, nearly seven times higher than the same period last year. In addition, 676 cases tested positive for the measles virus, marking an increase of 22.5 times compared to last year. The disease is showing signs of spreading on a large scale in 18 localities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Tinh, Dong Nai, Long An, Soc Trang, Binh Phuoc, Kien Giang, Quang Nam, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, and Tay Ninh. Ho Chi Minh City alone has logged more than 500 cases so far this year, including three fatalities. Ho Chi Minh City has now met the conditions to declare a measles epidemic as cases there have already exceeded the average number recorded in the previous three years in the same period, said Hoang Minh Duc, director of the General Department of Preventive Medicine under the Health Ministry. The health professional warned that the number of infections may continue to rise as millions of schoolchildren will begin a new school year over the next couple of days. Kochi, Aug 23 : The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has asked eight officials attached to the Kochi-headquartered mining firm CMRL to appear at their Chennai office next week in connection with a case involving the IT Firm Exalogic, which is owned by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter, Veena Vijayan. Kochi, Aug 23 (IANS) The Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) has asked eight officials attached to the Kochi-headquartered mining firm CMRL to appear at their Chennai office next week in connection with a case involving the IT Firm Exalogic, which is owned by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter, Veena Vijayan. These top officials have been asked to report to the agency with all documents pertaining to the Rs 1.72 crore transactions that CMRL had with Exalogic, sources on Friday. Apart from the SFIO, the Enforcement Directorate is also probing the CMRL, Exalogic and about a dozen companies in Kerala which had done business with Veena Vijayanas IT firm. The case proceedings had gone slow after April 26 in view of the Lok Sabha polls. Before the elections, the SFIO had completed a few rounds of questioning and had taken statements from CMRL, officials of the other firms and also from the officials of the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), which has around 13 per cent stake in CMRL. The SFIO is acting on the findings of the preliminary probe into the company conducted by the Registrar of Companies (ROC), early this year. Prior to the ROC investigation, this issue was first raised by Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan on the basis of a media report, quoting an Income Tax Settlement Board saying that Exalogic had received Rs 1.72 crore from the mining company CMRL. Attempts to put a brake on the probe suffered a setback with both the Karnataka and Kerala High Courts dismissing pleas from Veena Vijayan and KSIDC to quash the probe. But, now with the SFIO asking for appearances, the CMRL has approached the Delhi High Court with a plea to prevent any arrest of its officials who will appear before the agency next week. CMRL officials have been asked to appear with the business contracts, invoices and all documentary evidence of the business done with Exalogic. The case came up after an Income Tax Department probe allegedly found that a private company called Cochin Minerals And Rutile Ltd (CMRL) made an illegal payment of Rs 1.72 crore to Veena Vijayan's company -- Bengaluru-based Exalogic. The payment was made to the IT firm even though the company didn't provide any service to her firm, it was alleged. Mumbai, Aug 23 : From dahi handi to listening to Lord Krishna bhajans, television stars such as Akshay Kharodia, Naman Shaw, Neha Rana and Shruti Bhist among others have talked about how they celebrate Janmashtami. Akshay Kharodia from 'Suhaagan' said: "Janmashtami has always held a special place in my heart. It takes me back to my childhood, when my friends and I would bring the idol of Lord Krishna to our society, and the whole community would come together for the pooja." He said he can still feel the excitement of being at the top of the human pyramid and cracking open the handi. "Now, our celebrations are more intimate a small pooja at home and a special celebration with my Suhaagan family on set. Yet, the joy and spirit of the festival are still the same. Wishing you all the blessings of Lord Krishna on this beautiful day. May he fill your lives with peace and prosperity." Actor Naman Shaw of 'Mangal Lakshmi' fame said: "In Kolkata, my home city, my family has a tradition where the elders fast until midnight, celebrating the auspicious day with a maha aarti and swinging Lord Krishna's idol on the jhula. "In Mumbai, I treasure our ritual of visiting the ISKCON temple here with my family for performing a pooja . This year, I'm excited to celebrate Janmashtami on the set of Mangal Lakshmi, as we will be shooting on that day. It's a special time that connects me to my roots. One day, I dream of celebrating Janmashtami in Mathura with my son, experiencing the festival in its most sacred place." 'Megha Barsenge' actress Neha Rana said that this year, she is excited to celebrate Janmashtami in Mumbai. "Listening to Lord Krishna bhajans always brings me peace and clarity. I'm looking forward to stepping out with my friends to witness the famous dahi-handi festivities in the city." "We will also have a beautiful celebration on the sets of 'Megha Barsenge' with my co-actors and relish prasad like panjiri, kheer, and maakhan mishri. May Lord Krishna bless us all!" Actress Anchal Sahu, who essayed the role of Parvati in 'Parineetii', said: "I will start my day by going to the temple and thanking Lord Krishna this Janmashtami! The Parineetii team has planned to extend the celebrations beyond the screen and I'm excited to bring it in with all its fanfare." "The entire cast and crew will come together for performing the puja to honour Lord Krishna, and we will follow tradition by swinging his idol on the jhula. I shall also distribute Balakrishna's favourite maakhan mishri to the entire crew." Shruti Bhist from 'Mishri' shared: "Janmashtami has always been special to me. I start each day with a prayer at a nearby Krishna temple and love involving friends in the festivities, especially during dahi handi. Our show is set in Mathura, the birthplace of Krishna, and we're planning a grand Janmashtami celebration as part of our storyline. It's the biggest event in Mathura-Vrindavan, after all!" "Portraying a character so close to Krishna's homeland has made me feel even more in tune with the festival's spirit. The show truly celebrates the glory of Lord Krishna, and being part of it during this auspicious time feels magical. I hope everyone experiences the divine blessings of Krishna this Janmashtami." The shows air on Colors. Bandar Seri Begawan, Aug 23 : A 39-year-old Bangladeshi man was fined 1,000 Brunei dollars ($763) for participating in gambling activities in Brunei, local media reported on Friday. The Bangladeshi man, along with others, was arrested during a raid conducted by authorities at a common gaming house, Xinhua news agency reported. During the investigation, all individuals involved admitted to engaging in a gambling activity known as katam-katam in Malay, according to local daily Borneo Bulletin. Brunei is located in the northern part of Borneo Island and has about 340,000 citizens with a high level of social welfare. The Sultanate strictly prohibits illegal activities such as gambling. The penalty carries a default sentence of one month of imprisonment for failure to pay. Prosecutor Abdul Musawwir bin Haji Mahli revealed that the offence occurred on the evening of June 25 at a residence located at a house in Jalan Tutong, Kampong Kilanas. Kazi Delowar, along with others, was apprehended during a raid conducted by authorities. During the investigation, all individuals involved admitted to playing katam-katam at the location. In his statement, Kazi Delowar said that he was aware the premises were being used as a common gaming house, organised by an unidentified Chinese individual -- Fadley Faisal. Mumbai, Aug 23 : Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana gave a glimpse of what his meal looked like and described it as "thermocol". Mumbai, Aug 23 (IANS) Bollywood actor Ayushmann Khurrana gave a glimpse of what his meal looked like and described it as "thermocol". Ayushmaan took to his Instagram stories, where he posted a picture of his lunchbox featuring sabudana khichadi, which according to the actor looked like "thermocol." He wrote on the picture: "Sabudana khichadi = tharmocol." In other news, Ayushmann on the occasion of August 15 said that he considers himself deeply patriotic and added that Viksit Bharat resonates with him as he has witnessed how the country has soared globally. "I consider myself deeply patriotic. I grew up in an environment where my parents told me about the pride we should feel about being Indian because there is no other country like ours." "At this impressionable age, I was deeply moved by the lives of our national heroes who fought for our freedom." He added: "I was in awe of their resilience, grit, and unconditional love for the motherland! My school used to remember such heroes on Independence Day. We celebrated our freedom with a gentle reminder that independence was earned with a lot of sacrifice." "We were taught that maintaining our freedom requires active contribution, and we should each play our part in nation-building in our own little way." Ayushmann recently released his new single titled 'Reh Ja' and shared that he loves all the shades of romance and has always wanted to write more about heartbreaks. On the big screen, Ayushmann is set to work alongside Kareena Kapoor Khan in the upcoming crime thriller film directed by Meghna Gulzar. The film is reportedly based on the Hyderabad rape case. Dhaka, Aug 23 : The floods in parts of Bangladesh have left 13 people dead, affected millions of people and displaced many families. According to the latest daily disaster situation report by the country's National Disaster Response Coordination Centre under the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, nearly 4.4 million people were affected due to floods in 11 out of the country's total 64 districts, Xinhua news agency reported. The report said 13 people have died due to flooding in the South Asian country while tens of thousands of families have been affected. Floods and landslides triggered by heavy seasonal rains and an onrush of water from hills across the Indian borders have also caused widespread damage to houses, crops, roads and highways across vast swathes of the country. Authorities have rushed teams of disaster response forces to carry out rescue operations, distribute relief materials and supervise centres where around 200,000 people have taken shelter. Rain stopped in many parts of Bangladesh on Friday and weather officials in Dhaka said the waters had started receding in some areas, but said the flooding would not be over for days. In Bangladesh, seven more people died in the last 24 hours, Dhaka-based Ekhon TV reported on Friday. Earlier, four deaths were reported in raging waters flooding downstream from India, and amid incessant rains in the country's eastern region. Bangladeshi non-government organisation BRAC said in a statement that up to three million people remained stranded as fast-moving water inundated vast areas of farmland, destroying livelihoods, homes, and crops. It said many remained without electricity, food or water. Other media reports said up to 4.5 million people have been affected in the delta nation of 170 million people. Several charity groups have called for help, with a student group collecting dry food, cash, water and medicines at Dhaka University in the nation's capital. Liakath Ali, BRAC's director of Climate Change, Urban Development and Disaster Risk Management, said that these were the worst floods Bangladesh has seen in three decades. "Entire villages, all of the families who lived in them, and everything they owned -- homes, livestock, farmlands, fisheries -- have been washed away. People had no time to save anything. There are people stranded across the country, and we are expecting the situation to worsen in many places as rains continue," he said. New breaches on a flood protection embankment in the Gomti River in the eastern district of Cumilla inundated about 100 low-lying villages from Thursday midnight, Dhaka-based The Business Standard newspaper reported on Friday. Other districts including Noakhali, Feni and Chattogram were also hard hit. Volunteers at the scene at Cumilla attempted to alert people to move to safety after the breaches on Thursday midnight, while residents used loudspeakers at neighbourhood mosques to relay warnings. Some victims in the area told television stations that they had left their belongings behind and rushed to higher ground for safety. The military used helicopters to ferry relief materials and dry food to affected people on Friday, according to posts on its Facebook page. In Bangladesh, rumours spread online that the flooding was caused by India opening the Dumbur dam in Tripura, causing several anti-India protests. India's External Affairs Ministry denied the connection, pointing out that the dam is far from the border and that heavy rains had caused major flooding over a wide area in both countries. Liberia is the latest African country to be hit with internet service disruptions, which the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) has attributed to a cut in the ACE (Africa Coast to Europe) subsea cable. In a Facebook post, the LTA said that service disruptions began around 1:00am local time on Wednesday, with local ISPs being seriously affected, particularly Lonestar Cell MTN. The LTA said engineers were working to fix the damage, and service providers were pursuing alternative routes to deliver services to customers. The LTA said a preliminary investigation indicated the root cause was a cut on Segment 3 of the ACE cable. That segment serves Liberia, Cote dIvoire, Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe, and South Africa. However, all except Liberia have multiple subsea cable links to fall back on Liberia has none. In September 2023, the LTA said that it hoped to gain a second subsea cable connection via the West Africa Regional Digital Integration Project Project Series 2 (WARDIP-SOP2) funded by World Bank. That was after a World Bank delegation visited Liberia on a technical assessment mission of Liberias telecoms sector and overall digital environment. However, the LTAs statement didnt specify which cable was involved, and no further announcements on that front have been made. Liberias only other prospect for a second subsea cable is the Amilcar Cabral submarine telecoms cable project spearheaded by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The Amilcar subsea cable which aims to connect Cabo Verde, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, and Sierra Leone has been in the works since 2018. However, despite reported progress in June in arranging financing and setting up Special Purpose Companies (SPCs) in each country to execute the project, the cable still looks to be at least a couple of years from completion. Kathmandu, Aug 23 : At least 14 people were killed and 16 others injured after a passenger bus from India plunged into a river in Nepal on Friday, local media reported. The Indian Embassy in Nepal said that an Indian tourist bus travelling from Pokhara to Kathmandu with around 43 Indians fell 150 metres into Marshyangdi River. In a post on social media platform X, the Indian Embassy said that it is coordinating with local authorities undertaking relief and rescue operations. It also issued an emergency relief number +977-9851107021 for immediate assistance. The Kathmandu Post reported that the accident took place in Anbu Khaireni of Central Nepal's Tanahun district as the bus was moving towards Kathmandu from Pokhara. After a preliminary inquiry, police estimated that the bus, bearing a UP number, was carrying 40 passengers. As many as 14 bodies have been recovered from the accident spot and 16 injured were rushed to the local hospital, stated the Armed Police Force (APF) DSP Shailendra Thapa, who is also the assistant spokesperson of the APF. Relief and rescue operations are underway and further details are awaited even as initial images and videos of the accident posted on social media showed that the ill-fated bus has been severely damaged. An eyewitness said that occupants of the Keserwani Pariwahan bus were travelling to Kathmandu after staying in Pokhara for two days. The bus from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh was carrying pilgrims from Maharashtra, he said. Another eyewitness said that helicopters were unable to spot the bus, but Nepali authorities and the Army were carrying out the rescue operations. Last month, five Indians were killed in a landslide in the Simatal area in Nepal's Chitwan district. In the tragedy that took place on July 12, two buses carrying 65 passengers were swept away after heavy rainfall. Nepal is in the midst of the monsoon season and has seen heavy rainfall in recent weeks, triggering floods and landslides. Visakhapatnam, Aug 23 : Two industrial accidents in Anakapalli District in Visakhapatnam within 48 hours have brought the focus on the need for stringent safety measures to prevent disasters in the industrial hub of Andhra Pradesh. A series of industrial accidents in and around Visakhapatnam in the last few years have sparked fear among thousands of workers in the units, especially those dealing with chemicals. The recent mishaps have also led to panic among people in villages near the industrial hubs. In the first accident on August 21 as many as 17 people were killed and 36 injured in a reactor blast at a pharma unit in Atchutapuram Special Economic Zone (SEZ), about 25 km from Visakhapatnam. In the wee hours of August 23, four workers were injured in another accident in a pharma unit at Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City in Parwada, about 35 km from this port city. Inadequate preventive measures, lack of regular maintenance by industries and the failure of the authorities concerned to conduct safety audits are leading to such disasters, say the workers. Lack of infrastructure to manage emergencies is compounding the problem. Employment of unqualified personnel is said to be another reason for the failure to prevent accidents or deal with emergencies. According to Andhra Pradesh Home Minister, V Anitha the leak of solvent MTBE (Methy Tertiary Butyl Ether) led to the reactor blast at Escientia Advanced Sciences Private Limited at Atchuthapuram SEZ. The workers tried to plug the leak but failed and gas formed and spread from the third floor to the lower floors of the building. "Before the leak could be plugged the solvent fell on an electrical panel and a fire broke out leading to a blast," Anitha said after a visit to the accident site. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said Escientia, a red category industry, failed to follow Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), which led to the mishap. Within 24 hours of CM Naidu warning the industries against negligence, another accident was reported from Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City in Parwada. Four workers of Synergies Active Ingredients were injured in the accident that occurred when they were mixing chemicals. About 40,000 people work in more than 138 industrial units at Atchutapuram SEZ and Parwada Pharma City together. Chief Minister Naidu revealed that since 2019, the combined Visakhapatnam district reported 119 industrial accidents in which 120 people died. Most of the industrial accidents in recent years were caused by reactor blasts. Failure to take adequate safety precautions to control pressure and temperature is said to be leading to reactor blasts. Reactors play a crucial role in chemical industries. Each industry has multiple reactors, each with a capacity of 1-8 KL. Employees handling the process have to be always careful to ensure that there is no leakage from chemical pipeline joints, valves and solvent tanks. The staff working at the reactors also need to be provided safety gear like firecoats to protect themselves in case of any mishap. Leaders of workers' unions alleged that due to the high cost of firecoats and other safety gear, the management are not making the same available to employees. There are allegations that the chemical industries are not storing foam and dry chemicals to deal with any leakage or fire. Visakhapatnam and surroundings have seen several industrial accidents in recent years. After every accident, the government pays compensation to the families of the dead, and everyone emphasises the need to improve the industrial safety mechanism but after a few days everything is forgotten. Following a series of industrial accidents, the state government in 2022 introduced new safety guidelines aimed at preventing accidental leaks of toxic gases and hazardous chemicals in factories. However, workers' unions and people's organisations say this did not result in any change on the ground as more industrial accidents were reported. Following the latest disaster, the authorities are now contemplating to make third party safety audit compulsory for all 300 units which come under red category. Currently, this regulation applies to only 41 units. Visakhapatnam has seen several industrial disasters in recent years. In April 2022, six people were killed and 12 injured in a huge fire in the pharmaceutical intermediate manufacturing unit of Porus Laboratories at Akkireddygudem. In February 2022, one person was killed and four workers were injured in a blast in the Hetero Drugs plant near Nakkapalli. Activist and former IAS officer EAS Sarma had slammed the authorities for allowing the unit to continue. He recalled that in the past, there were two major accidents at the unit, one in 2012-13 and another in 2016, in which 5 workers had lost their lives. In May 2021, a major fire broke out at one of the crude processing unit of the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited. Luckily, there were no casualties. On May 7, 2020, twelve people died and over 580 were hospitalised due Styrene gas leak from LG Polymers in Visakhapatnam. One the worst industrial accidents in the city, it had raised many questions on the safety of people living around the industrial units. The monitoring committee of the National Green Tribunal found that maintenance staff fled the plant after witnessing the leak. The management also allegedly neglected the styrene storage tank, leading to the autopolymerisation of styrene, which resulted in excessive heating and release of vapour through the gooseneck and dip hatch of the storage tank. A month later, two persons died and four were injured due to a leak of hydrogen sulphide at Sainor Life Science at Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City and on July 14, one employee died and one was injured in Visakha Solvents in the same cluster due to a fire in the reactor. In May, 2017, two workers died and three more sustained burns in a reactor blast at the Azico Biophore India Private Ltd on the outskirts of Visakhapatma. The accident occurred when the workers were cleaning a new reactor with a highly inflammable cleaning solvent. In 2016, a worker died and 15 others were wounded due to a leakage of ammonia gas at Srikar Laboratories Private Ltd at Pharma City. Some of the other major incidents that occurred include an oxygen pressure reduction station blast at Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, killing 19 people on June 13, 2012. The HPCL Visakha Refinery fire claimed 27 lives on August 23, 2013. The massive fire at Biomax Fuels Ltd at Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone in 2016 was also a major disaster, though there were no casualties. The fire had to be combated by over 200 men and 40 fire-tenders. More than 30,000 tonne of foam was airdropped using naval helicopters. Guwahati, Aug 23 : A 14-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped when she was returning home from tuition centre in the Dhing area in Assam's Nagaon district. According to police, the crime took place on Thursday night when the victim riding on a bicycle was attacked and gang-raped by three men. The passers-by spotted the girl near a pond in the area and rushed her to a nearby hospital. After committing the crime, the accused dropped the girl at the spot who was semi-conscious for more than an hour before being rescued by the locals. The victim is undergoing treatment at a hospital and her condition is stable as of now, doctors attending to her said. The police jumped into action and arrested two individuals on suspicion of having links with the incident. However, the police did not reveal the details of the arrested persons. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma warned of stern action against the culprits involved in the heinous crime. He has also instructed the Director General of Police to rush to the crime scene for a quick investigation. The Chief Minister took to social media platform X and wrote, "The horrific incident at Dhing, involving a minor, is a crime against humanity and has struck our collective conscience. We will NOT SPARE anyone & BRING the perpetrators to JUSTICE. I've directed @DGPAssamPolice to visit the site and ensure swift action against such monsters." Assam DGP Gyanendra Pratap Singh cancelled his scheduled meetings and rushed to the crime scene. The police have stated that an investigation is underway. Meanwhile, anger erupted among locals over the incident and they kept the shops and other business establishments closed for the day in Dhing locality as a mark of protest. The All Assam Students Union (AASU) has criticised the government for the incident and demanded the arrest of the accused within the next 12 hours. Jharkhand, Aug 23 : Union Minister and Jharkhand BJP's election incharge, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, on Friday targeted Chief Minister Hemant Soren and said that the JMM government would not last for more than two months. "He has pushed Jharkhand into the depths of anarchy. Youth are demanding justice and saying that they had promised unemployment allowance of Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000, but did not give it," he said. The Union Minister criticised the JMM government for stopping BJP workers from holding the protest and said, "Barbed and pointed wires have been installed in many places. Buses were stopped and our men were made to get down. Is this how you welcome the youth of Jharkhand who are trying to fight for their rights. I want to tell you that even Ravan lost his ego in the end." "The youth of Jharkhand will fight and win their battle for justice and rights. The Hemant Soren government will not last for more than two months," he stated further. Chouhan condemned CM Soren for stopping BJP workers from coming to attend the rally at various places and called it the height of injustice. "Only a scared CM can do this. He is neither able to handle the government nor the party," he asserted. Earlier on Friday, Section 144 was imposed in parts of Ranchi ahead of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha's (BJYM) 'Yuva Aakrosh Rally' in the city. The local administration banned any demonstration and public meetings near Morabadi Ground from 11 A.M. to 11 P.M. The rally was planned by the BJYM to protest against the government for allegedly failing to fulfill promises made during the last Assembly elections. On Thursday, the Jharkhand CM slammed the BJP saying that they "lack leaders in the state and hire them for other states like Madhya Pradesh and Assam." Elections will be held for the 81 Assembly seats in Jharkhand at the end of the year. However, the dates have not been announced yet by the Election Commission of India. Russia-Ukraine war in focus as PM Modi and Zelensky begin discussions in Kyiv. Image Source: IANS Kyiv, Aug 23 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday as he began his visit to Ukraine, the first-ever by an Indian Prime Minister to the country in the history of bilateral relations. The two leaders met at the Martyrologist Exposition in Kyiv, where they shared a warm hug and a handshake. In a significant gesture symbolising India's solidarity with Ukraine, PM Modi kept his hand firmly on Zelensky's shoulder, emphasising India's support amid the ongoing conflict. The two leaders are set to engage in both one-on-one and delegation-level talks, with the primary focus on exploring pathways to a negotiated settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. August 23 is also the National Flag Day of Ukraine. It is also expected that a number of documents between Ukraine and India will be signed. Earlier in the day, PM Modi arrived in Kyiv after a 10-hour train journey from Poland on Rail Force One. He received a warm welcome at the station, followed by enthusiastic greetings from members of the Indian diaspora at the Hyatt Hotel, where his initial meetings were held. He also paid floral tributes at the Gandhi statue in Kyiv, underscoring the importance of peace and non-violence as guiding principles in India's approach to global conflicts. PM Modi's historic visit is seen as an effort by India to play a constructive role in facilitating dialogue between the warring nations. The Kyiv visit follows Prime Minister Modi's trip to Russia last month, where he discussed the Ukraine situation with President Vladimir Putin. India has maintained a consistent position on the Russia-Ukraine war, advocating for a peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomacy. PM Modi had previously discussed the conflict with President Zelensky on the sidelines of the 50th G7 Summit in Italy's Apulia on June 14, reaffirming India's commitment to a peaceful solution. In addition to diplomatic efforts, New Delhi has extended significant humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, including essential medicines and medical equipment, further showcasing its support for the Ukrainian people. On Thursday, PM Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Poland in the last 45 years. During his stay, he held discussions with Polish President Andrzej Sebastian Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who expressed confidence in India's ability to advocate for peace in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. August 23 : The highly anticipated sequel to the iconic war film Border is set to make waves with its latest casting announcement. Varun Dhawan has been confirmed to star alongside Sunny Deol in Border 2, which is scheduled for release on 23rd January 2026, marking the Republic Day weekend. Sharing a special video on his social media, Varun Dhawan wrote a long note, it read, I was just a kid in class four when I went to Chandan cinema and saw Border. And it made such a big impact. I still remember the sense of national pride we all felt in the hall. I began looking up to our armed forces and to this day, I salute how they protect us and keep us safe be it on our borders or during natural calamities. J P Dutta sirs war epic remains one of my most favourite movies to this day.To play a part in Border 2 produced by J P sir and Bhushan Kumar is a very, very special moment in my career. And I get to work with Sunny Paaji my hero makes it all the more special. I look forward to bring a valiant jawaans story to screen in what promises to be Indias biggest war film. I seek your good wishes Jai Hind. @iamsunnydeol @tseriesfilms @tseries.official @jp.films.official #BhushanKumar #JPDutta @nidhiduttaofficial #KrishanKumar @anurag_singh_films @binnoykgandhi @shivchanana @neerajkalyan24 @sumitaroraa @sonunigamofficial @mithoon11 @jaduakhtar @anumalikmusic added Varun. Border 2 promises to be Indias grandest war film, continuing the legacy of its predecessor with a powerful narrative and star-studded cast. Sunny Deol, who was the leading force in the original film, will headline the project, while Varun Dhawan will play a pivotal role, adding a fresh dimension to the saga. The film is directed by Anurag Singh, known for his adept storytelling in the genre, and produced by a formidable team including Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, JP Dutta, and Nidhi Dutta. Their collective vision aims to deliver a compelling and patriotic cinematic experience. With its Republic Day release date, Border 2 is poised to be a major highlight in Indian cinema, celebrating the nation's valor and history through a gripping narrative and high-octane action. Fans can look forward to an epic portrayal of historical events, brought to life by a stellar cast and a creative team dedicated to honoring Indias military heritage. Kyiv, Aug 23 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accompanied by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, visited the Martyrologist Exposition at the National Museum of History of Ukraine in Kyiv on Friday to honour the memory of children who have lost their lives during the country's ongoing conflict with Russia. The Prime Minister took to his X handle and posted, "President Zelensky and I paid homage at the Martyrologist Exposition in Kyiv. Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief." "PM was deeply touched by the poignant exposition set up in memory of children who have lost their lives in the conflict. He expressed his sorrow at the tragic loss of young lives and, as a mark of respect, placed a toy in their memory," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a post on X. The leaders placed toys at the multimedia martyrology 'Children' and observed a moment of silence to honour the fallen young Ukrainians. "Today in Kyiv, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and I honoured the memory of the children whose lives were taken by Russian aggression. Children in every country deserve to live in safety. We must make this possible," Zelensky stated. Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin briefed both leaders on the history of the exposition and the tragic July 8 rocket attack on Okhmatdyt, the largest children's hospital in Ukraine. The Ukrainian president's office mentioned that, since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war, 570 Ukrainian children have lost their lives, a figure that it said "continues to rise". The 'Children' multimedia project was inaugurated in June 2022 to commemorate the 'Day of Remembrance' for Children who died during the conflict, which began in February 2022. It displays the names and photos of young Ukrainians who were killed during the conflict. In a moment that underscored India's solidarity with Ukraine, PM Modi, after his arrival at the venue, shared a warm hug and handshake with President Zelensky, keeping his hand firmly on Zelensky's shoulder a" a gesture emphasising India's support amid the ongoing war. Before meeting the Ukrainian President, PM Modi also paid floral tribute at the Gandhi statue in Kyiv. Stressing the teachings of the Father of the Nation, PM Modi posted on X, "Paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Kyiv. The ideals of Bapu are universal and give hope to millions. May we all follow the path he showed to humanity." The two leaders then engaged in one-on-one and delegation-level talks, with the primary focus on exploring pathways to a peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. PM Modi's visit to Kyiv also coincides with Ukraine's National Flag Day, which is observed on August 23. It is expected that, during their extensive discussions, a number of bilateral documents will also be signed, strengthening ties between the two nations. Earlier in the day, PM Modi arrived in Kyiv following a 10-hour train journey from Poland on Rail Force One. He was warmly welcomed at the station and later greeted by the Indian diaspora at the Hyatt Hotel, where his initial meetings took place. This historic visit is seen as a pivotal effort by India to facilitate dialogue and contribute to finding a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict. Bengaluru, Aug 23 : Karnataka Large and Medium Industries Minister, MB Patil, on Friday strongly defended the government's decision to execute lease cum sale deed of 3,677 acres of land to Jindal Steel Company, asserting that the transaction was in full compliance with the law. Bengaluru, Aug 23 (IANS) Karnataka Large and Medium Industries Minister, MB Patil, on Friday strongly defended the governmentas decision to execute lease cum sale deed of 3,677 acres of land to Jindal Steel Company, asserting that the transaction was in full compliance with the law. Speaking on Friday, he emphasised that the sale followed a government order issued after a court directive and a subsequent Cabinet resolution, leaving no room for any wrongdoing. Addressing the press, Patil clarified, "We have not provided any concessions to Jindal. The company paid the market price, and all government regulations were strictly followed. aThe same rules that apply to over one lakh industries in the state have been applied in Jindalas case as well." He added that the issue had unnecessarily dragged on for nearly nine years. Looking ahead, Patil mentioned that a global investor conference would be held in Bengaluru in six months. He highlighted that Jindal has invested Rs 90,000 crore in the state and created 50,000 jobs. "In such a scenario, it is crucial that no wrong message is sent to potential investors by the government," he asserted. Patil further explained that, as per the industrial policy, entrepreneurs provided land by the government were required to utilise at least 51 per cent of it within ten years while keeping their operations running. The sale contract is then executed as per policy, and Jindal has fully complied with these requirements. aWe face stiff competition in the industrial sector from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. Many states are offering free land to industries," Patil stated. He also expressed confusion over why some people in the past opposed the lease-cum-sale of land to Jindal. Patil clarified that there had been no protests against Jindal by the Congress in the past, noting that earlier objections were raised only against former minister and mining baron Janardhana Reddy. In response to a query, he confirmed that no mining activities were taking place on the land that has been decided for sale to Jindal. Commenting on the issue, Home Minister G. Parameshwara clarified, "We had previously opposed the allotment of land to Jindal and raised questions regarding it. However, we have since received answers to all those questions. The court has given its directions, and after the matter was re-examined, the price of the land was fixed according to the rules. Following this, the government is convinced." "We are preparing for the Global Investors' Meet, where we will invite industrialists from around the world and offer them concessions on power tariffs, water, and land allotments. These concessions should also apply to industries that are already operating here, right?" he questioned. "We need to retain the industries that are already established here and also attract new ones. The Jindal or JSW group has invested thousands of crores. I believe they are the largest investors in Karnataka compared to any other industry, and they employ around one lakh people. aIf we discourage such industries or fail to offer those concessions and encouragement, they may relocate to other states. To prevent this, we need to provide them with incentives," he stated. "In Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu, land allotments are often made at no cost. If we don't provide similar incentives, those states will. They will offer land for free. aPreviously, when there was a small incident in Bengaluru, many industries hinted through the CII that they might move out of the state. Tamil Nadu and Telangana openly invited companies to shift to their states, promising better facilities," he pointed out. "In this competitive world, we must provide concessions. That is why we have given them these incentives," he emphasised. "The BJP at that time did not brief us adequately on the matter, which is why the Congress party initially opposed the proposal. Had they convinced us, we would have agreed to it. aIt seemed that the BJP lacked the intention of developing industries back then," he concluded. The Karnataka government approved the allotment of 3,667 acres of land to Sajjan Jindal led JSW Steel Ltd on Thursday. The decision raised eyebrows as the Congress opposed this allotment during the tenure of the BJP government. Bengaluru, Aug 23 : In response to growing concerns over the spread of the Monkeypox (Mpox) virus in several countries, Karnataka's Medical Education Minister, Dr Sharan Prakash Patil, chaired a high level meeting on Friday. The meeting at Vikasa Soudha in Bengaluru was held to evaluate the situation and implement precautionary measures to manage the spread of the virus in the state. Reassuring the public, Minister Patil emphasised that the state government has proactively taken steps to prevent the spread of Mpox. "Today, I met with officials from the medical education department to discuss strategies to contain the Mpox virus. There's no need for alarm; we have implemented necessary measures. The Union Health Department has already issued guidelines, and the Centre has provided advisories regarding Mpox," he informed. "We have organised testing and screening facilities at the Victoria Hospital and set up isolation beds. Tests will be conducted free of charge," Dr. Patil stated. He also mentioned that similar arrangements would be extended to other hospitals as the situation evolves. The government has reserved 50 isolation beds in five ICU units in Victoria Hospital's H Block for suspected Mpox cases, Dr. Patil said. Additionally, the hospital's VRDL lab and Microbiology Department are fully equipped to conduct the necessary tests. "Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits are also in place to manage potential cases," Dr. Patil stated. Although India has not reported any Monkeypox cases yet, hospitals affiliated with BMCRI are on high alert and prepared to handle any developments, he stated. "The necessary precautionary measures have been taken in accordance with the government's guidelines. Given the widespread discussion about monkeypox, a meeting with officials has been held to take precautionary steps and appropriate instructions have been issued. "However, no cases of monkeypox have been reported in our state. Therefore, the people of the state should not panic. This is a viral infection. All necessary preparations have been made as a precautionary measure to ensure there are no issues if a case suddenly arises," Dr Patil explained. "A discussion has also been held with the Health Department regarding this issue. The Union government will provide instructions to the Health Department on conducting screenings at international airports," the minister added. Jaipur, Aug 23 : Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday inaugurated the new GST Bhavan in Udaipur located in the Hiran Magri area of the city. The Finance Minister performed an Aarti amid Vedic chanting before unveiling the plaque to throw open the GST Bhawan. "The work for this complex started in 2020, but it got delayed a little because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Today we are happy to see the office complex ready. This new office will serve as many as 13 districts," Sitharaman said, as she urged the officials to concentrate on information sharing to reduce grievances with regard to GST. The new GST Bhawan has a conference hall, meeting hall, data analytics cell, library, interrogation cell, and a guest house, officials said. The Finance Minister said that small businesses have grown after Covid as "we offer quick resolutions to their problems". "We want to ensure that there are no problems due to any issue related to GST," she said. Urging the traders to frequently visit this premises and get friendly with the officials, the Finance Minister said, "The officials will ensure that your problems are resolved. This area has huge zinc and lead stocks. Zinc gives 27 per cent revenue while cement also generates a large share in GST. The other units are tyres, and calcium phosphate industry, etc. These are units which generate good GST revenues. Besides, we also have other small businesses which are contributing to GST." Udaipur MP Mannalal Rawat, Rajya Sabha MP Chunnilal Garasiya, Udaipur Rural MLA Phool Singh Meena, Maharana Mewar Foundation Trustee Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Udaipur Collector Arvind Kumar Poswal, and other dignitaries and entrepreneurs from the city were also present at the inauguration ceremony. Speaking on the occasion, Mannalal Rawat said, "We need to work 24x7 to ensure a developed India. As the Mewar region has a lot of tourism opportunities, we can plan out a new satellite town with focus on tourism. The Finance Minister's visit to Udaipur resolved many challenges as she held detailed discussions with the local traders. "The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has sanctioned about Rs 100 crore for the Udaipur-Pindwara highway, information of which was received on Friday." Amazon Web Services announced the launch of its AWS Asia Pacific (Malaysia) Region on Thursday, along with a pledge to invest an estimated US$6.2 billion (around MYR 29.2 billion) in Malaysia from now to 2038. The new Malaysia region consists of three Availability Zones, which AWS says are located far enough from each other to support business continuity, but near enough to provide low latency for high availability applications that use multiple Availability Zones. Each Availability Zone has independent power, cooling, and physical security, and is connected through redundant, ultra-low-latency networks. The new AWS Region in Malaysia enables organizations across Asia Pacific to unlock the full potential of the worlds most extensive and reliable cloud, helping customers deploy advanced applications with a broad set of AWS technologies like AI and ML, said Prasad Kalyanaraman, vice president of Infrastructure Services at AWS in a statement. AWS added that in addition to serving Malaysias increasing appetite for cloud and AI, the new region will also add an estimated US$12.1 billion to the country GDP and support an average of more than 3,500 full-time equivalent jobs at external businesses annually through 2038. These jobs, including construction, facility maintenance, engineering, telecommunications, and others within the countrys broader economy, will be part of the AWS supply chain in Malaysia, AWS said. AWS first announced plans for the Asia Pacific (Malaysia) Region in March 2023. At the time, it pledged to invest US$6 billion in Malaysia through to 2037. Malaysia has become a hotbed of cloud and data centre investment from big-name hyperscalers. In May, Microsoft pledged to invest US$2.2 billion over the next four years in new cloud and AI infrastructure in the country, as part of a chain of similar investments across Southeast Asia. A few weeks later, Google announced plans to invest US$2 billion in Malaysia and develop its first data centre in the country, along with a Google Cloud hub. The data-centre gold rush has raised concerns about energy consumption and sustainability. The Malaysian Ministry of Energy Transition and Water Transformation (Petra) and The Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry said earlier this month they will introduce initiatives to encourage data centre investors to meet sustainable development goals. AWS says it is already ahead of the curve on the sustainability front, citing a report by Accenture (that AWS commissioned) which said AWSs infrastructure is up to 4.1 times more efficient than on-premises, while workloads optimized on AWS can reduce the associated carbon footprint by up to 99%. With the new AWS Asia Pacific (Malaysia) Region, customers will also benefit from AWSs sustainability efforts across its infrastructure, AWS said. With the launch of the AWS Asia Pacific (Malaysia) Region, AWS now has 108 Availability Zones across 34 geographic regions. Another 18 Availability Zones and six more AWS Regions are in the works for the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, Mexico, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and Thailand. AWS recently said that the AWS Asia Pacific (Bangkok) Region will go live in early 2025. Bengaluru, Aug 23 : BJP's Karnataka unit on Friday questioned the silence of Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi over alleged Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) and Tribal Welfare Board scams. Addressing a press conference, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, said, "Where is Rahul Gandhi, who spoke about zero tolerance for corruption? Why hasn't he spoken out about the situation in Karnataka? Is he approving of the corruption, or is he unaware of what's happening here?" Even when the BJP "exposed" Dalit issues and "scams" in the state, why did Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, who is also from this state mum? he said. Slamming the Congress, the BJP leader said, "The Dalit community had reposed faith in the grand-old party and chosen it. Is it right to betray the Dalit community that trusted and voted it to power?" "On Thursday, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said that he will not stop the water rate hike, but people on the outskirts of Bengaluru are reeling through water issues," he said. "They have to pay tax for no facilities," he questioned. "There are rumours of a transfer scam (doing frequent transfers after taking money). Is this the only scam left for you?" he said. "If yesterday's orders have no value today, what kind of government is this? The Chief Minister must answer this," he demanded. "When we asked for answers, you postponed the Assembly session and ran away. You held a press conference the next day after postponing the session; why didn't you speak then?" he wondered. The BJP leader accused the Congress of trying to engage Union Minister H. D. Kumaraswamy, who is doing excellent work, to divert attention from "scams" in the state. "By doing so, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar are trying to evade the questions," he said. JD(S) MLAs and BJP have informed the Union Minister about the Congress leaders' "ulterior" motive, he said. New Delhi, Aug 23 : Even as food, culture, and climate are extremely linked, governments must take into account the inextricable connections when making decisions about the environment, scientists suggested on Friday. In the study conducted by the University of Plymouth, UK, a multidisciplinary team of specialists in deep-sea ecology, environmental governance, ecosystem services, and law called for a reevaluation of the procedures used to make decisions that impact biodiversity. The researchers urge a change in strategy to one of prudence, whereby any possible harm to human health should trigger preventive actions, even in the lack of measurable assurance. "Regardless of how unclear the evidence may be, human rights law mandates its consideration in decision-making processes. We know very little about some significant parts of our planet, like the deep ocean. However, these areas are vital to global human well-being. Uncertainty in these relationships should not hinder decision-making." said Dr. Holly Niner, Global Challenge Research Fellow at the University of Plymouth. In the study, published in the journal NPJ Ocean Sustainability, the team emphasised that biodiversity loss is not solely about measurable declines in habitats and species. "To protect biodiversity for future generations, we need to challenge the current context of environmental decision-making. Biodiversity loss should be viewed as a human rights issue, aligning decision-making with advancements in international human rights law," said Dr. Sian Rees, Associate Professor of Social-Ecological Systems at the varsity. The challenges of environmental governance are particularly pronounced in the deep ocean, which covers around 60 per cent of Earth's surface but remains largely unexplored. Despite this, deep-sea habitats and biodiversity are crucial to the planet's health and humanity. The researchers argue that sufficient evidence exists to foresee harm and integrate these values into decisions that could risk biodiversity and human well-being. Bengaluru, Aug 23 : In response to the widespread protests following the rape and murder of a woman junior doctor in Kolkata, the Karnataka government has initiated proactive measures to ensure the safety and security of medical professionals, particularly women doctors in the state. The Karnataka government has decided to frame guidelines on the safety of women medical professionals by seeking inputs from all stakeholders, particularly women doctors. During a meeting held on Friday at Vikasa Soudha, Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil asked the Director of Medical Education (DME), Dr. Sujatha Rathod, to consult with all stakeholders and formulate comprehensive guidelines for the safety of doctors. Dr. Sujatha Rathod has been instructed to engage with directors of government medical colleges, super speciality hospitals, and doctor associations. Additionally, the minister emphasised the importance of gathering inputs from private medical college managements, female doctors, and other key stakeholders to ensure robust safety measures for medical professionals, especially women, in both colleges and hospitals. "The state government will soon release guidelines and advisories to enhance the safety and security of doctors across Karnataka, based on the feedback and suggestions from the medical community. These guidelines will be applicable to both government and private medical institutions," Dr. Patil informed the media. Condemning the heinous crime against the 31-year-old doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Dr. Patil asserted that the government will not tolerate violence against medical professionals and is committed to implementing all necessary measures to protect them, with a particular focus on the safety of women. The medical fraternity had staged agitations across the state following which health services were hit. The doctors called off the agitation following the assurance by the Supreme Court in this regard. Mumbai, Aug 23 : Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) said on Friday that the party will contest the upcoming Assembly election in Jammu and Kashmir independently without any pre- and post-alliance with any political party. NCP is expected to contest about 12 seats there. NCP's move is crucial as it wants to increase its presence across the country, especially after Ajit Pawar deserted Sharad Pawar in July 2023 and thereafter became the party's National President, with the Election Commission granting the party name and symbol to him. NCP is currently sharing power with the BJP and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. Apart from this, NCP has a presence in Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala and Jharkhand with the elected representatives. "NCP will go solo in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election without any pre- or post-alliance with any political party," said the party secretary in-charge Brijmohan Shrivastav, who is currently in Srinagar to plan the party's poll campaign and shortlist the aspirants for the party nomination. "In Jammu and Kashmir, the common voters strongly feel that the regional parties have exploited them for the last 70 years by giving various assurances and selling dreams. Now people have realised that the future of Jammu and Kashmir is confined to the hands of national parties. They also think that BJP and Congress always support the regional leaders and thereby do not take into account their issues prominently which affects their development," Shrivastav added. The party has declared a list of 26 star campaigners for the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir Assembly election which will take place in three phases on September 18, September 25 and October 1. Shrivastav said the list includes NCP President and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Working President Praful Patel, state unit chief Sunil Tatkare, senior Minister Chhagan Bhujbal and party's Jammu and Kashmir President Tariq Rasool. "The party plans to conduct a strong and effective poll campaign in Jammu and Kashmir under the guidance of experienced leaders. NCP will make efforts for the resolution of a slew of burning issues faced by the citizens there," he added. He said that the poll campaign will revolve around a slew of issues, including the economic development and upgradation of infrastructure, job creation, and promotion of investments across sectors especially in the tourism sector. Apart from this, safety and social security are major concerns but with the new government in place, the people hope that they will get a more secure life. He pointed out that during his meetings with several people, it was realised that the scrapping of Article 370 would not be exploited during the poll campaign. "However, people feel that if the Centre will not give the statehood then it will be difficult to push the development process," said the NCP secretary-in-charge. Commenting on the pre-poll alliance between the National Conference and Congress, Shrivastav said it is an old alliance which has failed previously and this time again it will not have much impact. --IANs sj/khz Baghdad, Aug 23 : A Turkish drone strike on Friday killed a senior official of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and two others in Sulaymaniyah province in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of Iraq, the region's Counter-Terrorism Service said in a statement. The incident occurred at 11 a.m. local time when a Turkish drone attacked a vehicle on a road near the town of Said Sadiq, southeast of the namesake provincial capital Sulaymaniyah, Xinhua news agency reported. The airstrike resulted in the killing of the senior PKK official, as well as his driver and companion, and destroyed the vehicle, according to the statement. Turkish forces frequently carry out cross-border operations targeting PKK militants in northern Iraq, especially in the Qandil Mountains, the main base of the group. The PKK, designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades. Chandigarh, Aug 23 : The Greater Chandigarh Region (GCR) is rapidly positioning itself as a premier startup destination in India, driven by a unique blend of strategic location, world-class infrastructure, and an exceptional talent pool from leading universities. As the region gains momentum, collaborative efforts among government bodies, educational institutions, and industry leaders are paving the way for innovation and growth. The CII Chandigarh Startup Conclave 2024, organised on Friday at the CII Northern Region headquarters, showcased these strengths, emphasising the need for continued support through financial incentives and robust infrastructure to realise GCR's vision as a startup powerhouse. The Chandigarh Startup Conclave 2024, an event in the region's entrepreneurial calendar, brought together key stakeholders, including industry leaders, government representatives, and startup founders, to discuss and deliberate on the future of the GCR as a leading startup hub in India. The event highlighted the region's emerging status, and the collective efforts required to sustain and accelerate this growth. During the inaugural session, Hargunjit Kaur, Secretary, Industries, Chandigarh Administration, said, "Chandigarh has a very interesting demographic, and keeping this in view, the administration is deeply committed to creating an all-inclusive startup-enabling ecosystem. "We understand that for entrepreneurship to flourish, it needs a nurturing ecosystem that provides access to resources, mentorship, and networks. I am excited to share that Chandigarh Startup Policy is at a very advanced stage, and we have done comprehensive stakeholder consultations and expert opinions have been incorporated. "So as and when the startup policy sees the light of day, I hope it will be a game changer for Chandigarh." Anurag Gupta, Chairman, CII Chandigarh, said, "In the Greater Chandigarh Region, a combination of government initiatives, educational institutions, and a growing network of incubators fosters a thriving environment for innovation. "Despite challenges such as limited access to venture capital and intense market competition, the region's dynamic community and robust support systems are driving sustained growth. "By offering financial incentives, developing infrastructure, and promoting skill development, we can encourage innovation and entrepreneurship, lowering barriers for new startups and aiding the growth of established ones. "This approach positions the Greater Chandigarh Region as a significant player in India's startup landscape." In his closing remarks, Taranjeet Bhamra, Vice chairman, CII, said, "The Union Territory' startup ecosystem primarily focusses on information technology and will be nurtured through strategic investments, policy interventions, strong educational infrastructure and by leveraging the city's entrepreneurial spirit." New Delhi, Aug 23 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday hurled 10 questions at the Congress over the grand old party's pre-poll alliance with the National Conference for next month's three-phase Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the Rahul Gandhi-led party has exposed its ulterior motives by allying with the Abdullah family. In a post on X, the Home Minister said, "The Congress party, which has repeatedly risked the nationas unity and security to satiate its greed for power, has once again exposed its ulterior motives by allying with the Abdullah family's 'National Conference' for the Jammu and Kashmir elections." Following his meeting with Rahul Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in Srinagar on Thursday, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah had confirmed a pre-poll alliance between the two parties. "An alliance on all 90 Assembly seats between the two parties has been formed. Paperwork to be finalised by tonight," Abdullah had said. In his post, Amit Shah fired the following 10 questions at Rahul Gandhi and the Congress: Does the Congress support the National Conference's promise of a separate flag for Jammu and Kashmir? Do Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party support the JKNC's decision to restore Article 370 and 35A, and thereby push Jammu and Kashmir back into an era of unrest and terrorism? Does the Congress support promoting separatism again by engaging in dialogue with Pakistan instead of Kashmir's youth? Do the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi support the National Conference's decision to start 'LoC Trade' with Pakistan, thereby nurturing terrorism and its ecosystem across the border? Does Congress support reinstating relatives of those involved in terrorism and stone-pelting into government jobs, thereby bringing back terrorism, extremism, and the era of strikes? The alliance has exposed the Congress party's anti-reservation stance. Does Congress support the JKNC's promise to end reservations for Dalits, Gujjars, Bakarwals, and Pahadi communities, thereby inflicting injustice upon them? Does the Congress want 'Shankaracharya Hill,' to be known as 'Takht-e-Suleiman,' and 'Hari Hill' as 'Koh-e-Maran'? Does the Congress support the politics of pushing Jammu and Kashmir's economy back into corruption and handing it over to selected Pakistan-supported families? Does the Congress party support the JKNC's politics of discrimination between Jammu and the Valley? Do the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi support the JKNC's divisive politics of granting autonomy to Kashmir? After his meeting with the two senior Congress leaders on Thursday, Farooq Abdullah had said, "Congress, NC and CPI(M) are together. We will work together and fight the elections. We are hopeful that statehood will be returned. No doors are closed for anyone. The National Conference, which released its manifesto for the upcoming elections on Monday, has pledged to push for an India-Pakistan dialogue on Kashmir, introduce laws to protect jobs and land, seek the release of political prisoners, and review the cases of employees terminated over the past five years. Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases - on September 18, September 25, and on October 1. The results will be announced on October 4. New Delhi, Aug 23 : Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday hurled 10 questions at the Congress over the grand old party's pre-poll alliance with the National Conference for next month's three-phase Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the Rahul Gandhi-led party has exposed its ulterior motives by allying with the Abdullah family. In a post on X, the Home Minister said, "The Congress party, which has repeatedly risked the nationas unity and security to satiate its greed for power, has once again exposed its ulterior motives by allying with the Abdullah family's 'National Conference' for the Jammu and Kashmir elections." Following his meeting with Rahul Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in Srinagar on Thursday, National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah had confirmed a pre-poll alliance between the two parties. "An alliance on all 90 Assembly seats between the two parties has been formed. Paperwork to be finalised by tonight," Abdullah had said. In his post, Amit Shah said given the promises made in the National Conference's manifesto, he has 10 questions for the Congress and Rahul Gandhi. Here are the 10 questions: Does the Congress support the National Conference's promise of a separate flag for Jammu and Kashmir? Do Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party support the JKNC's decision to restore Article 370 and 35A, and thereby push Jammu and Kashmir back into an era of unrest and terrorism? Does the Congress support promoting separatism again by engaging in dialogue with Pakistan instead of Kashmir's youth? Do the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi support the National Conference's decision to start 'LoC Trade' with Pakistan, thereby nurturing terrorism and its ecosystem across the border? Does Congress support reinstating relatives of those involved in terrorism and stone-pelting into government jobs, thereby bringing back terrorism, extremism, and the era of strikes? The alliance has exposed the Congress party's anti-reservation stance. Does Congress support the JKNC's promise to end reservations for Dalits, Gujjars, Bakarwals, and Pahadi communities, thereby inflicting injustice upon them? Does the Congress want 'Shankaracharya Hill,' to be known as 'Takht-e-Suleiman,' and 'Hari Hill' as 'Koh-e-Maran'? Does the Congress support the politics of pushing Jammu and Kashmir's economy back into corruption and handing it over to selected Pakistan-supported families? Does the Congress party support the JKNC's politics of discrimination between Jammu and the Valley? Do the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi support the JKNC's divisive politics of granting autonomy to Kashmir? The National Conference, which released its manifesto for the upcoming elections on Monday, has pledged to push for an India-Pakistan dialogue on Kashmir, introduce laws to protect jobs and land, seek the release of political prisoners, and review the cases of employees terminated over the past five years. Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases - on September 18, September 25, and on October 1. The results will be announced on October 4. Kolkata, Aug 23 : The Calcutta High Court on Friday rejected a West Bengal government plea seeking a ban on the proposed march to the Secretariat to protest against the RG Kar Medical College & Hospital rape and murder case. The aNabanna Avijana call for the march on August 27 has been given on social media by students who have invited everyone to join but without any political banner. This is similar to the call given by women for a midnight march on Independence Day. However, the West Bengal government approached the Calcutta High Court and after a detailed hearing on Friday afternoon the Division Bench of Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Bhattacharyya refused to entertain the stateas plea seeking a ban on the march. The state governmentas argument was that since there was a possibility of political parties participating in the march, tension and law and order trouble could not be ruled out. Refusing to entertain the argument of the state government, the Bench clearly said that at this point of time the court would not intervene in the matter. Legal circles say that the Calcutta High Courtas decision is in line with the observation of the Supreme Court, where it directed the West Bengal Police not to disrupt peaceful protests over the rape and murder. In fact, during the hearing on the rape and murder case on Thursday, the state governmentas counsel raised the issues of this proposed march on August 27. The Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud then clearly observed that while the law would take its course, peaceful protests cannot be stopped forcefully. To recall, when scores of people led by women took to the streets of Kolkata following the call of aMeyera, Rat Dakhal Karo (girls, reclaim the night)a demanding justice for the junior doctor on the midnight of Independence Day, there was massive vandalism at the emergency department of RG Kar by outsiders, which led the entire attention being shifted from the march to the ransacking. At that time there were accusations that the ransacking was done deliberately to divert attention from the protest. Kyiv, Aug 23 : In an effort to help Ukraine deliver quick emergency medical care, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday presented four BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita and Maitri) Cubes to the government during his historic visit. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked PM Modi for the humanitarian assistance. The Cube is a unique 'Made in India' mobile hospital for disaster management which can be airlifted. A team of experts from India has been deployed to provide initial training to the Ukrainian side to operate the Cube, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). "BHISHM is a unique effort which will ensure medical facilities in a rapidly deployable manner. It consists of cubes which contain medicines and equipment for medical care. Today, presented BHISHM cubes to President Zelensky," PM Modi posted on X. Each BHISHM Cube consists of medicines and equipment for the first line of care for all kinds of injuries and medical situations. It also includes surgical equipment for a basic operation room that can manage 10-15 basic surgeries per day, according to the MEA. The Cube has the capacity to handle about 200 cases of diverse nature in emergency situations such as trauma, bleeding, burns, and fractures, etc. "It can also generate its own power and oxygen in limited amounts," said the MEA, adding that the gesture underscores India's continued commitment to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. Last week, the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army conducted the first-of-its-kind paradrop of the indigenously-made world's first portable hospital at 15,000 feet elevation with the help from 'Aarogya Maitri Health Cube,' which is part of BHISHM initiative. Under the broad umbrella of Project Aarogya Maitri, the government created the BHISHM initiative. This offers packing all the relevant medicines and equipment in cubical boxes (of 15 inches) in a well-organised manner, and arranged according to the various types of injuries and medical issues that could be encountered in a war or natural disaster. These mini cubes are then positioned on a framework that is adjustable, strong and permits multi-mode transport (by air, sea, land, and drone). In fact, the mini cubes can be carried by a person (max weight of 20 kg). About 36 of these mini cubes form a mother cube and two such mother cubes combine to form a BHISHM Cube. One mother cube has the medicines and equipment for first-line care of all kinds of injuries and emergency medical situations apart from shelter and food for a crew of five for 48 hours. The other mother cube has surgical equipment and can establish a basic operating room that can manage 10-15 basic surgeries per day. The BHISHM app and a digital tablet provide access to the required know-how including through instructional videos. The tablet currently supports about 180 languages. Ambassador Wang congratulated the 189 scholarship recipients on their upcoming study in China, reviewed the fruitful cooperation results in education and human capital building achieved by the two sides in the past 53 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Sierra Leone. Amb. Wang said that the two sides reached an important consensus on deepening the cooperation in education and other fields during the successful state visit of H.E. President Julius Maada Bio to China in February this year, and that Chinese side is willing to implement the results of the visit with the Sierra Leonean side, and to continue to deepen the cooperation in education and people-to -people exchanges to better benefit the two peoples. It is hoped that the international students will cherish the opportunity and achieve success in their studies, and in the future become the backbone of Sierra Leonean national construction and the inheritors of Sino-Sierra Leonean friendship. When Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories found itself with a backlog of manufacturing work, leadership decided to turn the challenge into an opportunity. The company is finishing up its second year of hosting the Summer Assembler Program, an initiative that offers seasonal jobs to high school students and the region. Senior Manufacturing Director Jake Schlosser said the program began with around 85 workers to tackle the tremendous amount of work needed to be done. While the engineering firm didnt have the same amount of demand this year, he said the company received positive feedback from the experience and chose to take on about 45 assemblers. Schlosser said one focus of the initiative is to provide jobs for the community. The local opportunity has drawn in participation as north as Steptoe and as far south as Lewiston, as well as a couple seniors from Pullman High School. Program participants and Pullman High School seniors Anina Swanson and Reed Newell said they both plan to become engineers and thought the experience would lend a sneak peek into the field. Its Swansons second summer at the program and Newells first. They anticipate coming back for another year before heading to college. Newell said theyre responsible for assembling circuit boards. The two work in automation insertion, which Swanson said involves hand-placing parts onto the boards and routing them to machines before theyre processed later in the factory. Mogadishu, Aug 23 : The UN Children's Fund (Unicef) has expressed concern over the execution of four juveniles in Somalia allegedly associated with the al-Shabab extremist group. Unicef said on Thursday evening in a statement that the four children under the age of 18 were executed on August 17 in Puntland State by a military court lacking specialised child justice procedures, which was unsuitable for handling cases involving minors. The UN body called on Puntland authorities to prevent the imposition of death sentences and ensure due process for all young adults arrested for their association with armed groups when they were minors, in line with the Juvenile Law. "The authorities are urged to take advantage of pathways for reintegrating children associated with armed groups, which already exist and have proven to be effective in upholding the rights of the child," Unicef said. According to Unicef, the age verification committee, including representatives from Puntland authorities, met with the young people and concluded that they were minors at the time of arrest and that they should not face the death penalty. It urged Puntland authorities to treat children associated with armed groups as victims. It also called for a review of current judicial procedures to ensure that military courts do not try children. Children have access to appropriate judicial procedures and meet Puntland law's definitions of a child. The four minors, however, were among 10 al-Shabab fighters who were executed by firing squad in Puntland after being sentenced to death for involvement in the killings in the city of Galkayo. Kyiv, Aug 23 : With Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sitting next to him in Kyiv, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday made it clear that India, often labelled as neutral in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, has always taken a side by firmly batting for peace. "We chose the path to stay away from the war and with a great deal of conviction. That does not mean that we were neutral. Right from the very first day, we have taken a side and stood firmly for peace," said PM Modi in his remarks during the much-awaited discussion with Zelensky in the Ukrainian capital. Reaffirming India's principled position and commitment to a peaceful settlement through dialogue and diplomacy, Prime Minister Modi reiterated India's readiness to contribute in "all possible ways" to facilitate the speedy return of peace in the region. "I come from the land of Lord Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi where there is no space for war. I come here with the message of peace," he said. The Prime Minister also mentioned that he was "deeply touched" by the poignant exposition which he visited along with the Ukrainian President before the start of the bilateral discussions. The Martyrologist Exposition at the National Museum of History of Ukraine has been set up to honour the memory of children who had lost their lives during the tragic July 8 rocket attack on Okhmatdyt, the largest children's hospital in Ukraine. He thanked Zelensky and the Ukrainian authorities for the help and support they provided in the safe evacuation of Indian students from the warzone a few weeks after the conflict began in February 2022. The Joint statement issued after the one-on-one and delegation-level talks mentioned that Prime Minister Modi emphasised the need for "sincere and practical engagement" between all parties to develop innovative solutions that would be widely accepted and contribute to the speedy restoration of peace. It also stated that both leaders have expressed mutual interest in working on upgrading bilateral relations from a comprehensive partnership to a strategic partnership in the future. The two sides recognised pharmaceutical cooperation as one of the strongest pillars of the partnership with the two leaders reaffirming the desirability of greater access to markets and the promotion of investment and joint ventures, including through testing, inspection and registration procedures. "Both parties expressed their desire to expand cooperation in the field of medicines and pharmaceuticals, in particular in the field of education and exchange of best practices. They welcomed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the State Service of Medicines and Drug Control of Ukraine and the Central Organization for the Control of Medicines Standards of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India," the Joint Statement detailed. As the two leaders shared perspectives on enhancing India-Ukraine cooperation in sectors such as economy, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and technology, PM Modi handed over indigenously developed BHISHM Cubes that contain essential medicines and equipment designed to provide medical care for emergency situations, to President Zelensky. "My visit to Ukraine was historic. I came to this great nation with the aim of deepening India-Ukraine friendship. I had productive talks with President Zelensky. India firmly believes that peace must always prevail. I thank the Government and people of Ukraine for their hospitality," said PM Modi after the conclusion of his diplomatic engagements in Kyiv. The two countries, revealed External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar later, signed four agreements on Friday, including on community development projects in Ukraine, drug control standards and harmonization, cultural exchange, and agriculture. "I would say that, in terms of the time the Prime Minister and President Zelensky spent together, most of it was focused on the conflict... Dialogue and diplomacy are key to the solution which will not come from the battlefield. He shared the widespread sentiment in the Global South about the repercussions of this conflict for them. He also spoke about his recent discussions with President Putin in Moscow. You may remember that the Prime Minister was there in July. He sought President Zelensky's assessment of both the ground situation and the diplomatic scenario," said EAM Jaishankar. Earlier in the day, PM Modi arrived in Kyiv following a 10-hour train journey from Poland on Rail Force One. He was warmly welcomed at the station and later greeted by the Indian diaspora at the hotel, where his initial meetings took place. PM Modi also paid floral tributes at the Gandhi statue in Kyiv, reinforcing the principles of peace and non-violence as central to India's approach to global conflicts. The historic visit, first by an Indian PM to the country, is being seen as a pivotal effort by New Delhi to facilitate dialogue and contribute to finding a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Kolkata, Aug 23 : In a crucial development in the R.G. Kar rape and murder case, a special court on Kolkata on Friday allowed the CBI to conduct polygraph test on Sanjay Roy, the main accused in the brutal rape and murder of a junior doctor on the hospital premises earlier this month. The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate's (ACJM) court in Sealdah had on Thursday approved the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) plea to conduct the lie detector test on the controversial former principal of R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, Sandip Ghosh, and five others in connection with the case. Of these total seven persons, one is a close associate of Roy, a civic volunteer, while the remaining four are post-graduate medical students of R.G. Kar who were on duty at the hospital on the intervening night of August 8-9. Earlier in the day, a lower court in Kolkata remanded Roy to 14-days judicial custody. On Monday, the CBI had approached the court seeking permission to conduct a polygraph test on Roy, a civic volunteer and the only person arrested in the case so far. Sources said Roy's lie detector test became crucial since there have been a lot of inconsistencies in the statements made by him during his interrogation by the CBI. Roy, a civic volunteer posted at the police outpost of the hospital, was arrested on the basis of CCTV footage and a bluetooth device found near the junior doctor's body. He was reportedly seen entering the seminar hall where the victim's body was found. While the local media reported that Roy has admitted to the crime, many people are saying the rape and murder couldnat have been the handiwork of a single person. Roy, who was initially arrested by the Kolkata Police, was handed over to the CBI after the Calcutta High Court directed the central agency to take over the investigation from the city police. The procedure for getting court permission for a polygraph test is not simple. The court gives its nod in such cases only after the persons on whom the test will be conducted give their consent for the same. Also, it is primarily a method adopted by investigating agencies to reach the truth, and its findings cannot be presented as evidence in the court of law. Mumbai, Aug 23 : As the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) barred Anil Ambani and 24 other entities from the capital markets for five years, the forensic audit of Reliance Home Finance Ltd found the company still had loans worth Rs 8,884.5 crore to "Potentially Indirectly Linked Entities" outstanding at the time of review. The audit found various lapses in the company's lending practices. Some of them included anomalies in the loan approval processes and the reclassification of loans to related parties as non-related parties just before the disbursal. Auditors also found that the repayment patterns of borrower entities indicated certain trends, like circular transactions and the evergreening of loans in a number of transactions. The markets regulator barred Anil Ambani and 24 other entities from the capital markets for the diversion of funds from Reliance Home Finance Ltd. RHFL was barred for six months only. The SEBI took into account two reports by PWC - the statutory auditor of RHFL - and by Grant Thornton, the forensic auditor appointed by Bank of Baroda, which was the lead bank of the consortium of lenders of the company. RHFL disbursed loans to 'Potentially Indirectly Linked Entities' between April 1, 2016, and June 30, 2019, according to two reports released by Grant Thorton, the forensic auditor the Bank of Baroda appointed. The reports were dated January 2, 2020 and May 6, 2020. The first report revealed that the company disbursed general-purpose corporate loans worth Rs 14,577.7 crore to numerous entities over the review period. Of this, Rs 12,487.6 crore was disbursed to 47 PILEs. Furthermore, it discovered instances in which Reliance Power Ltd and Reliance Infrastructure Ltd had previously listed eight borrower entities as related parties. However, they reclassified these entities as non-related parties just before the disbursal of such loans. To these reclassified entities, a total loan amount of Rs 1,323.4 crore was disbursed. The first report also noted 15 instances of potential evergreening of loans worth Rs 785.8 crore and three instances of potential circular transactions worth Rs 412.9 crore. The second report related to 'fund tracing activity' indicated that Rs 12,573.1 crore was disbursed under 150 loan cases, falling under the category of PILEs during the review period. Of these, 100 loan cases amounting to Rs 8,884.5 crore were still open, or, in other words, such loan cases were still outstanding in the books. "A scrutiny of such 100 open loan cases indicated that some amount of funds advanced by RHFL have returned back to RHFL through circular transactions and also substantial amounts of such loans have been used by the borrowing entities for repayment of existing loans availed by them earlier from RHFL, which means such huge amounts of loans have been used by the borrowing entities for ever-greening of earlier loans," the report said. PwC said it was compelled to withdraw from the audit engagement in compliance with the code of ethics. It highlighted that the amount disbursed by RHFL under general-purpose working capital loans had increased exponentially from around Rs 900 crore as of March 31, 2018, to around Rs 7,900 crore as of March 31, 2019. Like Grant Thorton, PwC also found that in some cases, the loan sanction dates were found to be on the same date as the date of application for a loan, or even before the dates of applications made by these borrowers. RHFL denied giving loans to group companies in a letter on May 9, 2019. Tehran, Aug 23 : Iran's Intelligence Ministry said on Friday that its anti-terror forces have arrested 14 Islamic State (IS) "terrorists" in four provinces of the country. "The terrorists illegally entered Iran over the past few days in an attempt to carry out terrorist operations," the ministry said in a statement published on its website, adding those "terrorists" were led by "the US-Israeli IS-Khorasan group." It noted that the "terrorists" were arrested in Tehran, Alborz, Fars, and Khuzestan provinces, with half of them detained in Fars alone, Xinhua news agency reported. The results of investigations and interrogations would be announced later, said the ministry. The IS-Khorasan group is a regional branch of the IS, active in South-Central Asia, primarily Afghanistan and Pakistan. Mumbai, Aug 23 : The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) called off its proposed Maharashtra shutdown (bandh) call and would hold silent sit-in protests with black flags and black bands on their faces, all over the state on Saturday, top party leaders said here on Friday. The development came hours after the Bombay High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar 'restrained' the MVA from implementing the state 'bandh' on Saturday to protest against the series of atrocities against women, including the recent Badlapur incident. The court order came in a PIL filed by activist-lawyers Gunratan Sadavarte and Subhash Jha, who had challenged the MVA planned action tomorrow terming it as 'illegal', while the ruling MahaYuti leaders had slammed the MVA's proposed 'bandh'. MVA allies a" Congress state President Nana Patole, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) President Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray a" late this evening announced their decision to call off the shutdown. However, Thackeray said that though the order was not acceptable to them, they would respect the court verdict and refrain from carrying out the bandh on Saturday. All the three parties have replaced the bandh with silent sit-in protests in all districts of Maharashtra where leaders and activists will sport black flags and black face bands. "The torture meted to those two innocent girls was very disgusting. As a result, strong public sentiments emerged in this regard from all levels of society. This was an attempt to draw the government's attention to this matter. This bandh was within the purview of the Fundamental Rights of the Constitution of India," said Sharad Pawar. However, though the Bombay HC has ruled that the bandh is unconstitutional, approaching the Supreme Court against it was not possible owing to the time constraints, Pawar said that the MVA would withdraw the bandh respecting the court and the Constitution. "Respecting the decision of the Bombay HC, tomorrow from 11 a.m. - 12 p.m., all leaders and workers of the Congress party will protest against the anti-women grand alliance government by tying black bands on their faces and holding black flags in all the districts of the state. I myself will participate in this protest tomorrow at 11 a.m. in Thane," said Patole. "I shall be sitting near Shiv Sena Bhavan from 11 a.m. tomorrow along with others. The court has ordered no shutdown, we shall even shut our mouths with black masks," said Thackeray. Thackeray also expressed his displeasure at the activists who had challenged the MVA action, saying "that the cause has been ignoreda and who will take responsibility for the atrocities on our mothers, sisters and daughters". The SS-UBT chief questioned "whether the people of India have lost the right to carry out protests" when the country's Independence was won with such public agitations. Earlier on Friday morning, the MVA had announced plans for the state-level 8-hour log shutdown while exempting all essential services to protest against the spate of incidents in which women, girls and even tiny tots were targeted in the past several days. Mumbai, Aug 23 : Actor Rithvikk Dhanjani shared a special wish for his ex-girlfriend Asha Negi on the latter's birthday on Friday. Sharing a picture of the actress on the Stories section of his Instagram handle, Rithvikk wrote on it: aBappa tujhe jeevan ki har khushi de negi... jeevan sirf aur sirf khushiyon se bhara rahe. May you always have the power to stay in the moment and make the most of it. Happy Birthday @ashanegi." Rithvikk and Asha met on the sets of the popular television show aPavitra Rishtaa, in which Asha played Archana's (Ankita Lokhande) daughter Purvi, while Rithvik essayed the role of business tycoon Arjun. Their onscreen chemistry was appreciated by the fans. The show also starred late actor Sushant Singh Rajput and was his claim to fame before he made a move to the Hindi film industry. Rithvikk and Asha dated each other for a couple of years before they parted ways, breaking the hearts of their fans. They announced their break-up in 2020 during the Covid pandemic, a period which tested many relationships of varied nature. Both the actors mentioned that dealing with the breakup was a difficult phase in their lives. However, Rithvikk and Asha continue to remain on good terms with each other. They refrain from speaking anything negative about each other and respect their personal lives and decisions. Rithvikk is currently rumoured to be dating Krystle D'Souza. The two are often seen together on holidays or making public appearances in Mumbai. Recently, Asha had expressed her deep affection for coffee, declaring that alove is in the air". She took to Instagram where she dropped several pictures from a coffee shop in which she could be seen posing with her cup dressed in a white top paired with blue jeans. Washington, Aug 23 : President Vladimir Putin has decided on how to respond to the Ukrainian incursion into Russia's Kursk Region and the country will not let Ukraine gain its objective of securing a "buffer zone" or strengthen its position in any future peace deal, as per Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov. In his comments on Moscow's future steps in response to the invasion, the Ambassador told media persons that President Putin has already "made a decision", RT reported. He also said that he is "firmly convinced that everyone will be severely punished for what happened in Kursk Region". Earlier in August, Ukraine launched its largest cross-border attack on Russia's Kursk, sending in some of its best-equipped and experienced soldiers in an attempt to seize Russian territory. The Ukrainian government has expressed hope that the operation would relieve pressure on its forces elsewhere on the front line, and strengthen its position at eventual peace talks with Moscow. However, Russia's Defense Ministry has reported that the incursion has effectively been halted and, while Kiev's troops still hold a number of territories in the region, they have been experiencing heavy casualties throughout the fighting. It has estimated Ukrainian losses at some 4,700 servicemen as well as hundreds of pieces of heavy weaponry, including 68 tanks, since the start of the incursion. With Ukraine having stated that it intends to create a "buffer zone" through its incursion into Russian territory, Antonov, however, asserted that the Ukrainian operation will fail in its desired objective. "This is impossible. There will be no buffer zone on the territory of Russia," he stressed, RT reported. He also claimed that Washington could put an end to Kiev's incursion into the Kursk Region with "a snap of the fingers" but that it apparently doesn't deem such a move "expedient or necessary". Kyiv, Aug 23 : Declaring that history was made on Friday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that India supports his country's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. "Today, history was made. The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi made his first visit to Ukraine since our country's independence, on the eve of our Independence Day. Today, we reached an agreement on four documents between Ukraine and India, covering the medical field, agricultural cooperation, humanitarian relations, and culture," said Zelensky after the end of diplomatic engagements with PM Modi. "Following the visit, we also agreed on a joint statement focusing on the development of a strategic partnership, bilateral trade, and continued military-technical cooperation. India supports Ukraine's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. And this is critical because everyone in the world must equally respect the UN Charter," Zelensky added in a post on X. During his talks with Zelensky, PM Modi reaffirmed India's principled position and commitment to a peaceful settlement to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. He also reiterated India's readiness to contribute in "all possible ways" to facilitate the speedy return of peace in the region. "My visit to Ukraine was historic. I came to this great nation with the aim of deepening India-Ukraine friendship. I had productive talks with President Zelensky. India firmly believes that peace must always prevail. I thank the Government and people of Ukraine for their hospitality," said PM Modi after the bilateral discussions in Kyiv. Prime Minister Modi also thanked Zelensky and the Ukrainian authorities for the help and support they provided in the safe evacuation of Indian students from the warzone a few weeks after the conflict began in February 2022. The Joint statement issued after the one-on-one and delegation-level talks mentioned that both leaders emphasised the need for "sincere and practical engagement" between all parties to develop innovative solutions that would be widely accepted and contribute to the speedy restoration of peace. It also stated that both leaders have expressed mutual interest in working on upgrading bilateral relations from a comprehensive partnership to a strategic partnership in the future. The two sides recognised pharmaceutical cooperation as one of the strongest pillars of the partnership with the two leaders reaffirming the desirability of greater access to markets and the promotion of investment and joint ventures, including through testing, inspection and registration procedures. "Both parties expressed their desire to expand cooperation in the field of medicines and pharmaceuticals, in particular in the field of education and exchange of best practices. They welcomed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the State Service of Medicines and Drug Control of Ukraine and the Central Organization for the Control of Medicines Standards of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India," the Joint Statement detailed. As the two leaders shared perspectives on enhancing India-Ukraine cooperation in sectors such as economy, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and technology, PM Modi handed over indigenously developed BHISHM Cubes that contain essential medicines and equipment designed to provide medical care for emergency situations, to President Zelensky. New Delhi, Aug 23 : Wrestler Vinesh Phogat, who missed out on an Olympic medal in Paris after she was disqualified for being overweight hours before her final bout in the 50 kg category, on Friday met Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda and his father and two-time Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda along with her wrestler husband Somvir Rathee at the Congress leaders' residence here. The meeting took place amid the call given by Bhupinder Hooda to nominate Vinesh Phogat to the Rajya Sabha for her contributions to wrestling. There were also speculation that the Congress is mulling to field Phogat for the Assembly elections scheduled in Haryana on October 1. However, when asked the same during an exclusive conversation with IANS on Thursday, Bhupinder Hooda said, "That is a hypothetical question. No discussions or talks have taken place with me on this matter. She should be nominated to the Rajya Sabha as a mark of respect." "Athletes do not belong to any party; they belong to the nation. That's why I suggested Vinesh Phogat should be nominated to the Rajya Sabha, as her feelings have been hurt. Both the state and Central governments should bestow upon her the honours typically given to an Olympic gold medallist," the veteran Congress leader added. On August 17, Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda and other Congress were seen at Delhi's IGI Airport receiving Vinesh Phogat on her return from Paris. Meanwhile, the Congress screening committee will meet in the national capital on August 26 to deliberate on the list of candidates for the Haryana polls over the next four days. The first list of 45 potential candidates is expected to be released in early September. With as many as 2,556 leaders expressing their interest in getting tickets for the polls, the Congress is actively finalising on the names, sources said. On Friday, the Congress got a boost in the Ahirwal region with about 100 Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) functionaries joining the grand old party. Along with them, 25 retired principals and 27 retired professors also joined the party, an official statement said. Local school districts are making sure they are complying with a new Idaho law requiring parent permission for a broader array of health care services, including Band-Aids. The language in Senate Bill 1329, which went into effect in July, states that it favors a broad protection of parents fundamental right to make decisions concerning the furnishing of health care services to minor children. Moscow School District and other school districts believe this law applies to all health treatments, including ones for non-life-threatening injuries like scrapes or bumps. Really the way the law reads is any medical treatment requires parental consent and that can be interpreted as a Band-Aid, or just an ice pack on a bump, said Moscow School District Superintendent Shawn Tiegs. After consulting with the Idaho School Board Association, the Moscow School District is sending parents a universal consent to treat form, Tiegs said. If a parent does not sign it, the school district will have to call them if their child has a bloody nose or scraped knee. We dont want to be put into a situation where were tracking down a parent, and if we cant get a hold of a parent, we cant apply a Band-Aid, he said. Hyderabad/New Delhi, Aug 23 : Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Friday urged the Centre to provide a Rs 1,778 crore interest-free loan for the T-Fiber project aimed at providing internet connectivity to households for Rs 300 per month. The Chief Minister met Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia in New Delhi and informed that the state government targets to provide fibre connections to 63 lakh households in rural areas and 30 lakh households in urban areas at a cost of Rs 300 per month. The state government has already mobilised Rs 530 crore through various financial institutions for the T-Fiber project which is being taken up at the cost of Rs 1,779 crore, the CM said requesting the Union Minister to sanction Rs 1,779 crore interest-free long-term loan through the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USFO) to the state government. The Chief Minister, who was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, told Scindia that the state government is committed to providing connectivity to all gram panchayats, mandals, and districts through optical fibre under the T-Fiber project. He apprised the Union Minister of the state governmentas plan to provide internet services, cable TV and e-education services to 93 lakh households, apart from extending G2G (Government to Government) and G2C (Government to Citizen) connectivity to 65,500 government institutions. According to the Chief Ministeras office, the CM also informed Scindia that the state government already provided a Rythu Nestham programme to 300 Rythu Vedikas through T- Fiber and an internet facility is made available to social welfare schools. He urged the Union Minister to provide the first phase of the National Optical Fiber Network (NOFN) infrastructure to the state government in time, telling him that while the first phase of NOFN is running on the basis of linear architecture in some districts, T-Fiber is functioning on ring architecture in the remaining areas. Revanth Reddy said that the state government already sent the DPR to the Union government in October last year requesting to convert the first phase of NOFN to Bharat Net-3 architecture and appealed to Scindia to approve the DPR quickly. The Chief Minister asserted that e-governance services will be provided to the citizens of 33 districts through Bharat Net-3 in the state. He also requested the union Communications minister to apply the Bharat Net Movement scheme, which is aimed at providing high-speed internet facilities to rural areas, for the T-Fiber project. Mumbai, Aug 23 : In a mammoth tragedy, at least 26 tourists hailing from Maharashtra were killed and another 14 injured, some seriously, when a bus plunged into a gorge of the Marsyangdi river in Ambukhereni area of Tanahun district of Nepal on Friday, state government officials here said. The bus with 40 Indian passengers, mostly from Maharashtra's Jalgaon district, was plying from the mountainous tourist resort of Pokhara to the Nepal capital Kathmandu when it fell 150-feet into a river valley. Maharashtra State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) Director Lahu Mali said that the bodies of the victims and the injured persons will enter India from Maharajganj district of the Uttar Pradesh-Nepal border on Saturday afternoon. From there they will be taken to Gorakhpur Airport by road, a distance of around 4 hours, and arrangements are being made for the onward journey to Nashik Airport, and then by road to Jalgaon. Since it is not possible to transport so many bodies and injured persons in a commercial flight, the Maharashtra government has written to the Indian Air Force (IAF) to arrange for a special flight. The special flight is likely to fly from Gorakhpur to Nashik a" the nearest airport to Jalgaon a" and the state government will bear all the expenses for the same. Earlier on Friday, Deputy Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that "some devotees from Maharashtra" were killed in the bus tragedy and several others were injured. There were around 41 passengers, all hailing from Bhusaval, Talvel and Varangaon towns in Jalgaon, in the ill-fated bus, of which 26 have been confirmed as killed in the accident and around 14 others injured. The major rescue and relief operations were carried out by the local police, district and Nepal Army authorities which was completed by this evening, said officials here. As the details of the gruesome disaster trickled this afternoon, the state government maintained constant contact with the Nepal Embassy in Delhi while the Jalgaon Collector was in touch with the Collector of Maharajganj (Uttar Pradesh). Some government officials from the Maharajganj Collectorate had proceeded to the India-Nepal border to render help, as the bus had a Uttar Pradesh registration number, though exact details were not available. Fadnavis added that the Maharashtra government was in touch with the Uttar Pradesh government and the Nepal authorities to bring back the bodies of the deceased victims and the injured persons back home. This is the second major calamity that befell people from Jalgaon in a foreign land in the past three months. On June 4, four medical students from Jalgaon and one from Thane had drowned in the Volkhov River in Russia when they had gone to save a female student who was stuck in the water. They were -- Jishan Pinjari and Jia Pinjari (20), Harshal Desale (19) -- and Malik Yakub (21) of Mira Road town in Thane. In the Nepal tragedy, the SDMA, state Ministers Girish Mahajan and Anil Patil are also coordinating the operations to bring back the survivors and bodies. (Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in) Bengaluru, Aug 23 : Karnataka Home Minister G. Parameshwara said on Friday that if submissions are made in connection with allegations of concealing documents by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) case, the government will look into the matter, and the concerned persons will be questioned. Parameshwara was responding to a media queries about the alleged tampering and concealing of documents related to the MUDA scam. "Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot has asked for clarification from the Karnataka Lokayukta regarding tampering of documents. This charge is also part of the clarifications sought. Allegations like tampering of signatures and other charges will be verified by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL)," Parameshwara said. "When a file reaches the Chief Minister's table, it is signed by several officials, including secretaries. We need to examine the recommendations made by the secretaries and whether the CM made decisions against those recommendations or followed them," he said, adding, "It has also been questioned as to why out of 26 applicants, land was allotted to only one person. Clarifications will be provided to the Governor in this regard," he added. When asked about the Chief Minister allegedly concealing a page of a letter from his wife in his writ petition to the Karnataka High Court, Parameshwara said, "The matter is under investigation, and a commission has been formed to look into the MUDA case. Let them make their submissions before the commission. The concerned persons will be questioned." Speaking about his visit to Delhi, Parameshwara said, "Our party leadership has called CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar, who are reaching Delhi. I am also joining them. I don't know what is going to be discussed; it will be known once I reach there." "I have some personal work in Delhi related to my department and I want to follow up some matters with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. We are not providing clarifications on the MUDA case. I don't know the agenda of CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM Shivakumar," he added. "The MUDA case has been briefed to the Congress General Secretary and the headquarters. They have been briefed about what has transpired," he said. When asked about a possible national-level agitation against Governor Gehlot, Parameshwara said he does not know anything about it. "In various opposition-ruled states, questions are being raised about the conduct of the Governors. In Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Kerala, questions have been raised about the conduct of Governors. I don't know whether it will be discussed," he said. Mumbai, Aug 23 : Breaking silence over reports of two party leaders deserting the party, Maharashtra unit BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Friday said that both should keep patience before taking any extreme decision, adding the party wants them to stay in the camp. Bawankule said this while reacting to reports that former Maharashtra Minister Harshvardhan Patil, who had joined the BJP after quitting Congress in the run-up to the assembly election in 2019, is mulling joining the Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction. Samarjit Singh Ghatge, another leader from Kagal in Kolhapur district, is also said to be thinking of switching to the NCP-SP. "If they have made up their minds, we cannot stop them. However, if they keep some patience, the party will take a decision,aa Bawankule told reporters. "In the Grand Alliance, there are seats which will go to the NCP where the BJP leaders contested the last Assembly election. However, it seems these leaders do not want to remain with the party. We want them not to desert the party but remain with it. However, after all, if they have decided, we cannot stop them," said Bawankule. "There are many leaders of Maha Vikas Aghadi... they will now come to the BJP fold. That does not mean they will get the ticket," he said, reiterating that Patil and Ghatge should keep patience before taking any extreme decision. Bawankule's call also came at a time when the BJP's Kolhapur Rural District President Rahul Desai quit the post and is expected to desert the party. It must be mentioned here that Harshvardhan Patil, who was the minister in the Congress-NCP (undivided) government, was expecting "rehabilitation" after his defeat in the 2019 Assembly election as a BJP nominee. However, due to his proximity with Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, he remained in the BJP. Patil is quite keen to contest from his home turf -- Indapur constituency -- in Pune district, but the seat is currently held by NCP legislator Datta Bharne. During the seat sharing, NCP may not agree to leave the seat for Patil and therefore, he is mulling joining the NCP-SP. In the case of Ghatge, who has been preparing for the last five years from the Kagal constituency, is firm to contest the upcoming Assembly election. The Kagal seat is represented by NCP veteran leader and medical education minister Hasan Mushrif, who is going to contest again from the same seat. Ghatge, though, held talks with the BJP leadership, he stuck to his guns. He has already held talks with state NCP-SP chief Jayant Patil and is expected to switch sides soon. Amaravati, Aug 23 : More than 13,000 gram panchayats across Andhra Pradesh on Friday sanctioned 87 types of works with an outlay of nearly Rs 4,500 crore under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). Gram sabhas, held in all 13,326 gram panchayats across the state, passed resolutions approving various works. Officials of Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Department finalised the works under the aegis of the sarpanches and with the direct involvement of people. Officials claimed that sanctioning works worth Rs.4,500 crore in one day is a world record. They said 87 types of works under MGNREGS will create nine crore person-days that would benefit 54 lakh families. Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, who holds the portfolio of Panchayat Raj and Rural Development, launched the programme at Mysooravaripalli village in Railway Kuduru mandal of Annamayya district. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu later participated in the gram sabha at Vanapalli in Kothapeta mandal of Dr B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema district. Addressing gram sabha titled 'Swarna Grama Panchayat' in Mysooravaripalli, Pawan Kalyan said the state's development and 'golden villages' are his goal. The gram sabha passed a resolution for taking up 43 works at a cost of Rs 38.46 lakh. The actor-politician said gram panchayats should hold four gram sabhas every year to discuss what should be done for the development of the villages. He claimed that the state government has undertaken the programme by rising above politics. He pointed out that 70 per cent of the panchayats are ruled by YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) but the government was taking up works in all panchayats. "We are working for the development of villages by rising above politics. We will make sure that every panchayat gets funds," he said. Declaring that the government will strengthen the panchayat raj system, he said that if 13,326 gram panchayats become strong, the state can repay all the loans of the state. "We will not run away from our responsibility. We will work tirelessly. There is no magic wand to create miracles but we have firm a determination in our hearts," he said. The Jana Sena party leader also reiterated that the state needs the experience of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. Asserting that the state is neck deep in loans, he said Chandrababu Naidu alone can put the state back on track. He mentioned that lakhs of beneficiaries are receiving pensions on the first of every month. "I don't hesitate to walk with those who think for the good of the people. I want to learn from Chandrababu who has vast administrative experience," he said. The actor-politician said he was ready to strive like a worker for people. "I will stand by them in their difficulties. A position of power is not an honor for me. I will act with responsibility," he said. The Deputy Chief Minister alleged that the previous government destroyed the panchayat raj system. He claimed that the previous government undertook works worth Rs 41,000 crore under MGNREGS. However, there is no account as works worth only Rs 15,000 crore are seen on the ground. "It is not known what happened to the remaining funds and how they were spent. Since works were taken up at will without conducting gram sabhas, even sarpanches do not know about the works taken up in their villages," he said. He said the present state government received Rs 991 crore for panchayats under 15th Finance Commission and the entire money was credited to the accounts of panchayats without any cuts or diversion. The government is also considering proposal to install citizen information boards with details of the works including names of contractors. This will people know the quality of the works and the details of the expenditure, he said. Pawan Kalyan stated that every panchayat should have its land and assets. He mentioned that there are no playgrounds in villages and offered to mobilise funds for developing playgrounds if donors come forward for the same. Pawan Kalyan said the government would solve the problem of migration from Rayalaseema by creating employment opportunities. He said Skill Development University will be established to stop migration. Imphal, Aug 23 : The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Upendra Dwivedi, on Friday began his two-day visit to Manipur to review the security situation in the ethnic strife-torn northeastern state, officials said. This is General Dwivedi's first visit to Manipur after taking over as the COAS on June 30. Soon after his arrival in Imphal, the COAS accompanied by senior Army officers met Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh. The Chief Minister later said in a post on X: "Had a productive meeting with General Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of Army Staff, along with Lieutenant General RC Tiwari, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Lieutenant General Abhijit S Pendharkar, General Officer Commanding 3 Corps, and Major General Ravroop Singh, Inspector General of Assam Rifles (South), at my Secretariat." "I deeply appreciate General Dwivedi's visit to Manipur. Deliberated on critical issues concerning the current situation of our state. We reaffirmed the cooperation between the state government and the security forces in effectively responding to the challenges we face, maintaining peace and harmony in the state," Singh, who also holds the Home portfolio, added. A defence spokesman said that upon his arrival in Imphal, the COAS was briefed on the operational preparedness of the commanders on ground. General Dwivedi also held a discussion with the heads of various security agencies in the state, wherein he expressed his appreciation for the insights shared by them, the spokesman said. He also said during his meeting with the Chief Minister, the Army Chief discussed the internal security situation and the role of the Army and Assam Rifles in ensuring early return of peace and stability in Manipur. The COAS reaffirmed Indian Army's commitment to ensuring a secure environment for the people of Manipur. General Dwivedi also interacted with the troops and complimented the soldiers for their professionalism, operational readiness, and dedication to duty. The COAS also met with the Army veterans and praised their selfless service and invaluable contributions towards nation building, the defence PRO said. Ever since the ethnic violence broke out in Manipur on May 3 last year, a large number of Army troops along with Assam Rifles, various Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) have been deployed to deal with the hostilities between the Meitei and Kuki-Zo communities. Kudiep Singh, former Director General of CRPF, is serving as a security advisor to the Manipur government. At least 226 people have been killed, 1,500 injured and over 60,000 displaced since violence broke out in the state more than 15 months ago. The riots began after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe status. Ten Kuki-Zo tribal MLAs along with all the leading organisations of the community have been demanding a separate administration or a Union Territory for the tribals in Manipur. The Central and the state governments have been strongly opposing the demand. Mumbai, Aug 23 : As much as 57 per cent of the first phase of the National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) at Lothal in Gujarat has been completed to pave the way for the world-class facility to become an international tourist destination, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways on Friday. The project aims to showcase Indiaas maritime heritage from ancient to modern times through an edutainment approach utilising the latest technology. A project progress review meeting, chaired by Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal was held on Friday at the Mumbai Port Office. Representatives from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Ministry of Defence (MoD) including the Navy & Coast Guard, the governments of Gujarat and Maharashtra, Prasar Bharati, and Architect Hafeez Contractor were present. The Union Minister has endorsed the integrated project development approach for NMHC, emphasising its role in preserving and celebrating India's maritime heritage. This endorsement aligns with regional sentiments, underscoring the project's importance in harmonizing development efforts with the cultural and historical significance of the region, the ministry said. "The National Maritime Heritage Complex is not merely a construction project; it is a tribute to our maritime legacy and a reflection of our commitment to preserving our historical roots. By recommending an integrated approach, we are ensuring that this project will respect regional sentiments and enhance our understanding of maritime history," Sonowal said. Set to feature an array of exhibits, interactive displays, and educational programmes, NMHC is expected to become a major tourist destination, attracting visitors globally and fostering a greater appreciation for Indiaas maritime heritage. The physical progress for Phase 1A of the project has reached 57 per cent, marking a significant milestone in its development, according to the ministryas statement. The facility is being developed under the countryas Sagarmala Programme which aims to develop projects on India's extensive coastline, navigable waterways, and strategic maritime trade routes. Sagarmala aims to unlock the untapped potential of these resources for port-led development and uplift of coastal communities. Amaravati, Aug 23 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Friday appealed to people to have more children saying population should be seen as an asset and not a burden. "At one time, I had called for observing family planning but I am now making an appeal to people to increase the population by producing more children," he said. Voicing concern over the fertility rate in the state declining to 1.5-1.7 per cent, he called for increasing the same to 2.1 per cent at par with the national fertility rate. "Population in north India is growing but it's declining in south India. You should keep this in mind," he said while addressing a grama sabha at Vanapalli village in Dr B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district. "If we don't think with foresight, the population will decrease. The ageing population will increase. If children are not born, who will we serve," the Chief Minister asked. He warned that the state may face a situation like some countries where there are more older people as childbirth has stopped. "These countries have more ageing population. If they die, villages will become ghost villages," he said. Naidu said that because of the ageing population, European countries, China and Japan are not in a position to compete in today's competitive world. He said his government earlier this month scrapped the two-child norm for contesting the Panchayat elections. "I can't say what will happen tomorrow or the day after. If one has no child or has just one child, he may be declared ineligible to contest," he added in a lighter vein. He said he believed that people should be seen as an asset, adding that there was a time when people were seen as a burden. The state Cabinet on August 7 decided to scrap the two-child norm for local body elections given the declining fertility rate in the state. It noted that while the national fertility rate is 2.1 per cent, the same in Andhra Pradesh is only 1.5 per cent. It was also noted currently the average male reproductive age in the state is 32.5 years which is likely to go up to 40 by 2047. Similarly, the female reproductive age in the state is now 29 years and this is expected to go up to 38 by 2047. It was felt that the number of people who could contribute to the economic development will come down drastically. It was also revealed that currently 11 per cent of the state's population is aged above 60 years. This is likely to go up to 19 per cent by 2047. --IANS ms/vd Hyderabad, Aug 23 : The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) on Friday demanded action against the Congress cadres for the alleged attack on its works during a protest in Telangana's Suryapet district. BRS Working President K.T. Rama Rao and other senior leaders met Director General of Police Jitender to lodge a complaint against Congress cadre allegedly involved in political violence and police negligence. The complaints highlight a series of adisturbinga events that have raised serious concerns about law and order in the state. The BRS leaders alleged that Congress agoonsa attacked the BRS party's protest camp in Tirumalagiri, Suryapet district on Thursday. They said under the leadership of student leader and former MLA, Gadari Kishore, BRS organised a peaceful farmers' protest, but it was violently disrupted by 50 Congress cadres, reportedly under the influence of alcohol, who launched an unprovoked assault using stones, eggs, and crude bombs. "Had our people retaliated, not a single one of those 50 Congress goons would have survived. But we chose to maintain peace and refrained from any counteractions," said KTR and expressed shock and dismay at the role of the police in this matter. He alleged that the police dismantled the protest camp rather than protecting the protesters. The BRS leaders also complained about the attack on two female journalists and other reporters who visited the Chief Minister's hometown, Kondareddypally, to investigate the status of farm loan waivers. KTR further criticised Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's silence on the issue and demanded his apology. He also referred to the malicious social media campaigns against journalists, allegedly orchestrated by Congress supporters. Criticising the Chief Minister, KTR labeled him a 'coward' who cannot face the public. "When we challenged him to discuss loan waivers anywhere, he didn't show up. Instead, he has traveled to Delhi 20 times," KTR remarked, questioning the CM's commitment to state issues while spending significant time in Delhi. The BRS delegation expressed deep concern over the recent trend of police officers acting with what they described as "over-enthusiasm". The complaint emphasised that such behaviour, driven by political interference, has led to the filing of false cases and acts of violence against opposition leaders. KTR highlighted instances where police officers were involved in non-official activities, such as participating in birthday celebrations of certain ministers, which he termed inappropriate. Jaipur, August 23 : In a major crackdown on terror, an Al-Qaeda-inspired module was busted in a joint operation carried out on Thursday by the Delhi Police Special Cell and state police forces in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand, leading to the arrest of 11 persons while six others were detained. Of those held, six were arrested from the jungles near Bhiwadi in Rajasthan's Khairthal-Tijara district adjacent to Alwar. They were reportedly undergoing weapons training there. The accused have been identified as Hasan Ansari, Enamul Ansari, Altaf Ansari, Arshad Khan, Umar Farooq, and Shahbaz Ansari, all residents of Jharkhand who were staying in Rajasthan for the past few days, police sources said. "The module, as per the current state of operations, was being led by Ishtiyaq from Ranchi. It was aspiring to declare 'khilafat' and execute serious terrorist activities within the country," a Delhi Police statement said. "Rajasthan ATS team is investigating the matter further to find out the plans of the module, if they had more associates in Rajasthan, who provided them help, for how many days this was going on, etc.," said Rajasthan DGP Utkal Ranjan Sahu. Now the question that is doing the rounds in the Desert State is why did they choose the jungles of Bhiwadi? The six suspected terrorists were arrested from the jungles near the Sare Kalan village under the Chopanki police station area. The police said Sare Kalan happens to be the last village on the Rajasthan-Haryana border. The terror module might have selected this area for weapons training as it is surrounded by dense forests and hilly areas, which makes it difficult to locate intruders, officials said. While the neighbouring Alwar district is infamous for cyber fraud, as well cases of cow slaughter, criminals in this area can escape taking advantage of the Rajasthan-Haryana border. However, this time, after getting information about the terror module in Bhiwadi, a joint team of Delhi Police and Rajasthan Police carried out a secret operation and nabbed the six accused along with a cache of arms and ammunition. According to sources, a training centre of the Al-Qaeda module was running in the Sare Kalan village for some time now where suspected terrorists were reportedly brought from other states for weapons training. Surprisingly, the Bhiwadi Police were clueless about this nexus. In July 2021, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had busted a sleeper cell in the same region with the arrest of a person named Asruddin, who was linked to an Al-Qaeda module and was involved in anti-national activities. Eight SIM cards were recovered from the possession of Asruddin who also reportedly had links with handlers in Pakistan and ran social media accounts using different names. OZARK- Ozark City Schools Superintendent Reeivice Girtman has been named to the Alabama School of Healthcare Sciences Board of Trustees by Gov. Kay Ivey. Girtman is one of eight board of trustee members appointed by the governor this week for the new residential school in Demopolis that is expected to open in 2026 with approximately 400 ninth and 10th graders in the first year. The initial legislative appropriation for ASHS is $15 million. Additional grade levels are expected to be added each year. Girtman will represent District 1 on the board of the high school that will prepare students to enter an in-demand medical career post-graduation or be better prepared for continuing education. Girtman, the only educator on the new board, said he is humbled and honored by his selection. I dont feel worthy, he said. But at the same time, I want to be a voice for District 1, a voice for students attending ASHS, and I will strive to represent our district well. I am honored to serve. Girtman said that currently he meets regularly with Ozark Mayor Mark Blankenship and Dale Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Vernon Johnson to collaborate and keep abreast of real-time employer needs in the city to determine how the schools can best assist. Carroll High School s Career Technical Education program, which gives students an opportunity to explore six career academies, is expanding to the middle school this year. The academies are all staffed with former industry-experienced personnel who now educate students and provide expertise, development, and explicit skills in several career areas. We currently have two health care pathways for students to graduate from high school with certification as a patient care technician and/or certified nursing assistant, he said. Those are some of the options on the table right now. What I hope is through learning more about this school and the needs of the state of Alabama, we could potentially provide more options to kids to get them certified in the field they choose. With CTE coming to the middle school, a whole other avenue of exposure to the health care industry is opened up, Girtman said. Careers in the health care industry are not limited to being a physician. We want to make sure that we are exposing our kids to what those opportunities are as soon as possible. OCS Board of Education President Theresa Locke said that the board is proud of Girtman not only for this appointment but for all he has brought to the school system since coming on board. A Dothan native, Girtman was named OCS Superintendent in 2021 after serving Eufaula City Schools for some two decades. With OCSs focus on career technical education expanding to the middle school this year, Girtmans appointment by the governor is an honor to the superintendent and to the school system, as a whole, she said. I cant see anything but good things coming from this appointment. The new high school will be a residential school, like the Alabama School of Cyber Technology and Engineering in Huntsville, Alabama School of Math and Science in Mobile, and Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham. The Alabama School of Healthcare Sciences will help more Alabama students open the door to their futures, and it will change the trajectory of rural health care in our state. I am proud to partner with so many capable individuals from around the state in bringing this school to fruition, said Ivey. I am confident that, working together, we will be well on our way to getting this school opened for the Fall of 2026. I know it will help change Alabama for the better. The establishing legislation for the ASHS also creates the Alabama School of Healthcare Sciences Board of Trustees. Other board appointees are: From District 2: Katrina Keefer, DCH Health Systems CEO; From District 3: Laura Grill, East Alabama Health President and CEO; From District 4: Jill Stork, Alabama Power Western Division Vice President; From District 5: Jeff Samz, Huntsville Hospital Health System CEO; From District 6: Dr. Will Ferniany, Former CEO of UAB Health System, Retired; From District 7: Mike Warren, Former President and CEO of Childrens of Alabama, Retired and, Marengo County Resident Member at large: Dr. Brittney Anderson, Anderson Family Care Physician and Owner. Los Angeles, Aug 23 : As the divorce proceedings between Hollywood royalties Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck gain momentum, there's a little something that could provide a momentary respite to the fans of the couple. A set of throwback pictures from 2000, which has surfaced on the Internet shows the two enjoying their holiday in Vancouver, Canada. In the pictures, JLo can be seen dressed in athleisure clothing while Ben is dressed in a green shirt and beige pants. The 'Air' actor can be seen keeping his hand on JLo's shoulder. Meanwhile, the couple tied the knot in a large ceremony in Georgia on August 20, 2022, rekindling their relationship for two decades. However, they are now headed for Splitsville. JLo reportedly filed for divorce this week in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The official separation date is listed as April 26. JLo and Affleck worked in two films together: Martin Brest's largely reviled romantic caper "Gigli" in 2003 and Kevin Smith's comedy "Jersey Girl" in 2004. By the time the latter feature arrived in theatres, Lopez and Affleck had called off their engagement and gone their separate ways. Both got married and divorced in the intervening years, JLo to Marc Anthony, and Affleck to Jennifer Garner. Then the two began a public relationship once again roughly three years ago. JLo provided frequent updates on her engagement, and eventual marriage, to her fans through her social media presence and newsletter. The two have been spending their time alone for the past three months, and JLo even celebrated her birthday away from Ben. In June, it was reported that the two were focused on their separate lives amid tensions in their marriage. A source close to JLo said that the actress moved all of his things out of the couple's Beverly Hills mansion before she returned from her trip to Europe. Gurugram, August 23 : District Election Officer and Deputy Commissioner of Gurugram, Nishant Kumar Yadav, said on Friday that as the Model Code of Conduct has been implemented across the district in view of the Assembly elections scheduled in Haryana on October 1, representatives, workers, and candidates of all the political parties must strictly follow the poll code. Yadav said that hoardings, banners, and wall paintings related to election campaign should be put up only at the designated places in the Assembly constituency, and legal action will be taken against the violators. Despite repeatedly removing banners and hoardings, some people are putting them up again at the prohibited places which is against the norms, he added. "In view of the elections, permission will have to be obtained from the Returning Officer-cum-SDM of the respective Assembly constituency for public meetings, roadshows, campaign vehicles, and loudspeakers. Public meetings can be held only at the place designated by the district administration," Yadav said. He also said that candidates will have to apply for permission for roadshows and rallies four to five days in advance. No indecent comments should be made on religion, caste, sect or personal matters during campaigning, while special care should be taken while posting on social media, or making speeches, the official said. Apart from this, in view of the Assembly elections, Yadav has also issued orders to all licensed weapon holders to deposit their weapons with the nearest police station. The DC also issued orders to implement Section 163 of the Indian Civil Security Code in the district to conduct the Assembly elections peacefully and fairly. "If any person is found with weapon during the election process or in the run-up to the polls, strict legal action will be taken against him," he said. The 90-member Haryana Assembly will go to polls on October 1, while the results will be announced on October 4. New Delhi, Aug 23 : Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar announced on Friday that the entire Congress leadership stands with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the fight against the Governor's decision to sanction his prosecution in the alleged MUDA scam. Addressing reporters following the meeting of high command leadership over the matter, Shivakumar said: "The entire Congress leadership under tAICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi discussed in length the recent political developments. They stand by us. They are supporting us, they know that we are being tortured and how they (the BJP) want to destabilise the (state) government." The entire cadres of the party and the leadership, both at the state and central levels, stand unitedly with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in efforts to contribute to the development of the economically backward and downtrodden classes, he announced. "He (Siddaramaiah) is the seniormost leader of the country in the biggest and strongest state. They (the BJP) want to destabilise it. The Congress will not allow this," he underlined. Shivakumar said that the meeting with the top leadership was "fruitful" and they had conveyed every development in the state. "The attempt to destabilise our government through Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot... it is not only against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah but against the Congress government which has efficiently implemented guarantees," he maintained. He reiterated that the entire party under the leadership of party President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi unitedly stood behind the Chief Minister and "they have asked us to fight with courage and continue the struggle to aid the poor". "They have given us the succour and also given programmes to be implemented in the state," he stated, adding that the entire party at the state and national level is standing behind Siddaramaiah. Asked about what if the ruling of the court goes against CM Siddaramaiah on August 29, Shivakumar stated they have trust in the judiciary and the law. "There will be a situation where the Governor will be compelled to take back his decision to consent to the probe," he opined. Siddaramaiah said that he would like to thank the high command, particularly party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, General Secretaries K.C. Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala who had participated in the discussion. "We have explained the development and situation in Karnataka and the partisan stand taken by the Governor of the state in giving sanction to prosecute me, which is being challenged in the court," he stated. "The matter is coming up on August 29 before the court. We believe in courts and the law of the land. We hope that the law will be on our side as the decision taken by the Governor is unconstitutional and illegal, therefore we can get justice at the hands of the court," Siddaramaiah asserted. Surjewala, who is the Karnataka in-charge, said: "The order by the Governor is constitutionally wrong and legally untenable and we will fight it both in the court and also in the court of the people. The court of the people has already decided. We have full faith in the Constitution. We believe the law is on our side and the High Court and higher court will decide appropriately. Let the truth prevail." "All options are open including meeting the President," he added. Patna, Aug 23 : After the police on Friday resorted to lathi charge and use of water canons in Ranchi to disperse Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) workers protesting against the Hemant Soren government, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan termed the Jharkhand government's action "unimaginable". Speaking to mediapersons during one-day visit to Patna on Friday, Chouhan claimed that the harsh measures taken by the Hemant Soren administration could spell the end of its tenure. Notably, Jharkhand will go to the polls later this year. Chouhan, who is also BJP's in-charge for Jharkhand, said, "The atrocities committed by Hemant Soren will prove to be the final nail in the coffin of the government led by JMM. His government is a mere guest for a few months now." Condemning the use of force by the police on BJYM workers in Ranchi, Chouhan said the JMM-led government cannot not handle the wrath of the youth. "This anarchic government is unable to face the anger of the youth. They have not fulfilled a single promise made before the elections, like 5 lakh jobs or unemployment allowance," Chouhan said. "When the BJYM supporters were expressing their displeasure with the Hemant Soren government, they were stopped and detained at many places. Barbed wires were installed to halt their movement. Is this how a democratic movement is stopped? Hemant Soren is scared," Chouhan said. The protest, dubbed the 'Yuva Aakrosh Rally', saw thousands of BJYM and BJP workers moving from the Morhabadi ground towards the Chief Minister's residence. However, the police used tear gas shells, water cannons, besides resorting to lathi charge to disperse the crowd. Meanwhile, during his single-day visit to Patna, Chouhan also praised the farmers of Bihar and highlighted the state's agricultural progress. "I salute the farmers of Bihar. Today, we interacted with some of the farmers here, discussing both their achievements and challenges. I am pleased to see that Bihar is setting new records in various areas. Makhana, a nutritious product, is being produced in increasing quantities, thanks to the hard work of our farmers," he said. The Union Agriculture Minister also announced plans to introduce the 'Lakhpati Didi Yojana', a scheme aimed at empowering women financially, in Bihar in the future. "The Lakhpati Didi Yojana will be launched in Bihar. Under this scheme, the sisters of Bihar will receive Rs 1 lakh per year. Certificates will be given to 11 lakh sisters, including those from Bihar," Chouhan said. New Delhi, Aug 23 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday condoled the loss of lives of Indian tourists -- mostly from Maharashtra -- in a bus accident in Nepal's Tanahun district. PM Modi, who is on a visit to Ukraine, posted X: "Saddened by the loss of lives due to a road mishap in Tanahun district, Nepal. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover at the earliest. The Indian Embassy is providing all possible assistance to those affected." At least 26 tourists hailing from Maharashtra were killed and another 14 injured, some seriously, when a bus plunged into a gorge of the Marsyangdi river in Ambukhereni area of Tanahun district of Nepal. The bus with 40 Indian passengers, mostly from Maharashtra's Jalgaon district, was plying from the mountainous tourist resort of Pokhara to the Nepal capital Kathmandu when it fell 150-feet into a river gorge. Maharashtra State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) Director Lahu Mali said that the bodies of the victims and the injured persons will enter India from Maharajganj district of the Uttar Pradesh-Nepal border on Saturday afternoon. From there they will be taken to Gorakhpur Airport by road, a distance of around 4 hours, and arrangements are being made for the onward journey to Nashik Airport, and then by road to Jalgaon. Since it is not possible to transport so many bodies and injured persons in a commercial flight, the Maharashtra government has written to the Indian Air Force (IAF) to arrange for a special flight. The special flight is likely to fly from Gorakhpur to Nashik a" the nearest airport to Jalgaon a" and the state government will bear all the expenses for the same. The major rescue and relief operations were carried out by the local police, district and Nepal Army authorities, which were completed by Friday evening, officials in Maharashtra said. As the details of the gruesome disaster trickled earlier on Friday afternoon, the state government maintained constant contact with the Nepal Embassy in Delhi while the Jalgaon Collector was in touch with the Collector of Maharajganj (Uttar Pradesh). Some government officials from the Maharajganj Collectorate had proceeded to the India-Nepal border to render help, as the bus had a Uttar Pradesh registration number, though exact details were not available. Shillong/Agartala, Aug 23 : The proposed 2-day meeting of the North Eastern Council (NEC), a regional planning body for the 8 states of the region, in Agartala has been postponed due to the devastating floods in Tripura, officials said on Friday. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, other Union ministers concerned and top officials were scheduled to attend the plenary meeting of the NEC in Agartala on August 31 and September 1. A senior NEC official in Shillong said that the new dates would be announced in due course of time. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha had earlier said that the progress of various ongoing and proposed development projects, the India-Bangladesh border-related issues and other important matters were scheduled to be discussed in the two-day NEC meeting, attended by the Governors and Chief Ministers of all the eight northeastern states and senior officials of NEC and DoNER Ministry. The Union Home Minister, in the previous NEC meeting in Shillong, had said that in the 50 years of its establishment, the NEC has increased the pace of development of the region by providing a policy-related platform to all the states and simplifying the solutions to their problems. He had said that in these 50 years, more than 12,000 km of roads have been constructed in this region, 700 MW power plants have been established and many institutes of national excellence have also been established under the guidance of NEC. Highlighting the role and scope of NEC under the Act East Policy, the Home Minister had said that in the last few years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has achieved significant success in solving the problems of law and order, insurgency and borders in this region. The devastating floods in Tripura have left at least 24 people, including women and children, dead, and several others injured in landslides and drowning in six districts since Monday while two persons were reportedly missing. A state government official said that around 1.28 lakh people have taken shelter in 558 relief camps in all eight districts. He said that 17 lakh people were affected in the entire state, which has witnessed unprecedented rain and devastating floods since August 19. With its headquarters in Meghalaya's capital Shillong, the NEC, a regional planning and statutory advisory body for the eight northeastern states including Sikkim, was constituted under the North Eastern Council Act, 1971, and came into being on November 7, 1972. Mumbai, Aug 24 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde consoled the death of 26 people from Jalgaon district in a bus accident in Nepal and spoke to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah on bringing back the bodies. The Chief Minister's office in a statement said that the Home Minister responded quickly to the CM's request and accordingly, the bodies will be brought back to Nashik on Saturday in an Indian Air Force (IAF) plane. Shinde remained in constant communication with the officials of the state relief and rehabilitation department and the central authorities to get information about the relief work. "Home Minister Amit Shah responded to my request immediately for transporting the bodies of the people who died in the accident, and he had assured to provide all the necessary assistance to the state. The Home Minister has told me that a special officer has been appointed for the coordination," said Shinde. He added that the bodies will be brought from Nepal to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and from there to Nashik in an Air Force aircraft. According to the state government sources, a group of 104 devotees from Rangaon, Pimpalgaon and Talvel villages in Bhusawal taluka of Jalgaon district were on pilgrimage from August 16 up to August 28 in three luxury buses of which one plunged into Marsyangdi river in Nepal's Tanahun district on Friday. Earlier, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said: "The state government has immediately contacted the Nepal Embassy, and the Collector of Jalgaon is in constant contact with the Collector of Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh on the Nepal border. "A sub divisional officer along with the deputy superintendent of police will go to the Nepal border. Our officials are in constant touch to provide immediate medical facilities to the injured. We are in touch with the Uttar Pradesh government to bring the bodies of the deceased to Maharashtra in coordination with the Nepal government. The Maharashtra Disaster Management Unit has also been instructed to coordinate and Ministers Girish Mahajan and Anil Patil are also in constant contact," he added. Washington, Aug 24 : Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said he had an "excellent" meeting with his American counterpart Lloyd Austin and hailed the signing of two defence agreements with the United States during his ongoing visit as "pathbreaking". Rajnath Singh met Austin at the Pentagon after a ceremonial welcome. "Excellent meeting with my dear friend @SecDef Lloyd Austin," he said in a post on X. "We reviewed the existing defence cooperation activities and discussed ways to deepen it further." "The signing of Security of Supply Arrangements and the agreement for positioning of Indian officers at key US commands are pathbreaking developments." Officials from the two sides signed the agreements on Thursday, according to an X post by the Defence Ministry, which said: "Senior defence officials from both sides concluded the Security of Supplies Arrangement (SOSA), and Memorandum of Agreement regarding the Assignment of Liaison Officers." No further details of the documents were available immediately. Rajnath Singh also visited the Arlington National Cemetery and paid his respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. The US had said on Thursday that the two officials were expected to discuss a wide range of issues including "close coordination and partnership" and "shared goals of maintaining and keeping a free and open Indo-Pacific". A readout of their meetings is expected later in the day. The US readout of the Friday meeting was awaited. Defence ties between India and the US have been strengthening steadily in recent years with increased bilateral and multilateral military-to-military ties and defence trade, which has grown from near zero in 2008 to more than $20 billion in 2020 and growing. Co-production and co-development are increasingly a central feature of India-US defence trade. The two sides announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modias state visit in June 2023 that General Electrics will co-produce F-414 fighter jet engines with Indiaas Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. Srinagar, Aug 24 : Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Tariq Hameed Karra has said that the party will respond at the right time to questions raised by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on its pre-poll alliance with the National Conference. He made the remarks on Friday when asked to respond to BJP leader Shah's 10 questions on Congress' electoral alliance with the National Conference in the upcoming Assembly election. Further sharing the details of the party meeting held earlier in the day, Karra said that names of probable candidates for 24 seats where polls are slated in the first phase were discussed in the meeting. He said that the party will soon announce the names. When asked about the Congress' opinion on the National Conference's stand on Article 370, Karra said that the party will reveal its opinion at the right time. He said that Congress has its own agenda on Article 370, while the National Conference has its own. The Congress leader said that the BJP's policies are "anti-people, so we have decided to contest the elections along with like-minded parties opposing these policies". Earlier in a post on X, the Home Minister said, "The Congress party, which has repeatedly risked the nationas unity and security to satiate its greed for power, has once again exposed its ulterior motives by allying with the Abdullah family's 'National Conference' for the Jammu and Kashmir elections." In his post, Home Minister Amit Shah said that given the promises made in the National Conference's manifesto, he has 10 questions for the Congress and Rahul Gandhi. Here are the 10 questions: Does the Congress support the National Conference's promise of a separate flag for Jammu and Kashmir? Do Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party support the JKNC's decision to restore Article 370 and 35A, and thereby push Jammu and Kashmir back into an era of unrest and terrorism? Does the Congress support promoting separatism again by engaging in dialogue with Pakistan instead of Kashmir's youth? Do the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi support the National Conference's decision to start 'LoC Trade' with Pakistan, thereby nurturing terrorism and its ecosystem across the border? Does Congress support reinstating relatives of those involved in terrorism and stone-pelting into government jobs, thereby bringing back terrorism, extremism, and the era of strikes? The alliance has exposed the Congress party's anti-reservation stance. Does Congress support the JKNC's promise to end reservations for Dalits, Gujjars, Bakarwals, and Pahadi communities, thereby inflicting injustice upon them? Does the Congress want 'Shankaracharya Hill,' to be known as 'Takht-e-Suleiman,' and 'Hari Hill' as 'Koh-e-Maran'? Does the Congress support the politics of pushing Jammu and Kashmir's economy back into corruption and handing it over to selected Pakistan-supported families? Does the Congress party support the JKNC's politics of discrimination between Jammu and the Valley? Do the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi support the JKNC's divisive politics of granting autonomy to Kashmir? The National Conference, which released its manifesto for the upcoming elections on Monday, has pledged to push for an India-Pakistan dialogue on Kashmir, introduce laws to protect jobs and land, seek the release of political prisoners, and review the cases of employees terminated over the past five years. The Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases -- on September 18, September 25, and October 1. The results will be announced on October 4. Washington, Aug 24 : Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his American counterpart Lloyd Austin on Friday discussed "ongoing efforts to deepen the Major Defense Partnership between the United States and India in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region", according to a statement from the US Department of Defense. Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a readout of the meeting on Friday that the two officials "celebrated progress across several bilateral defence initiatives, including efforts to increase supply chain security, enhance maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region, and leverage a new agreement to strengthen operational coordination through Indian liaison officers at US commands". The phrase "free and open Indo-Pacific" was defined by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar in his 2022 speech as "one which is built on a rules-based international order, sustainable and transparent infrastructure investment, freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded lawful commerce, mutual respect for sovereignty, peaceful resolution of disputes, as well as equality of all nations". Earlier in a post on social media platform X, Defence Minister Singh described the meeting as "excellent" and hailed the signing of two defence agreements with the US during his ongoing visit as "pathbreaking". "We reviewed the existing defence cooperation activities and discussed ways to deepen it further," he said in the post. "The signing of Security of Supply Arrangements and the agreement for positioning of Indian officers at key US commands are path-breaking developments," the Defence Minister added. Defence ties between India and the US have been strengthening steadily in recent years with increased bilateral and multilateral military-to-military ties and defence trade, which has grown from near zero in 2008 to more than $20 billion in 2020 and it's growing. Co-production and co-development are increasingly a central feature of India-US defence trade. The two sides announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modias state visit in June 2023 that General Electrics will co-produce F-414 fighter jet engines with India's Hindustan Aeronautics. The Pentagon Press Secretary said in the readout that the two officials "agreed to advance priority co-production projects, including jet engines, unmanned platforms, munitions, and ground mobility systems, under the U.S.-India Roadmap for Defense Industrial Cooperation. They further advanced discussions to expand cooperation in the undersea and space domains and welcomed ongoing implementation of the India-US Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X), which will convene its third summit in Silicon Valley this September". The two officials also lauded the Indian Navy's robust contributions to upholding freedom of navigation and regional security through its participation in the Combined Maritime Forces and welcomed India assuming a leadership role in Combined Task Force 150 in 2025, the Pentagon press secretary said further. They also reviewed mutual efforts through the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative to provide Indian Ocean Region partners with unclassified, commercial satellite data to enhance their maritime security and ability to detect illicit activity Defence Minister Singh also visited the Arlington National Cemetery and paid his respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers. "We believe in the power of education and the importance of supporting our local community," says Stephanie Delibertis, Owner & Executive Director of Outreach and Development at American Crane & Equipment Corporation Post this "We believe in the power of education and the importance of supporting our local community," says Stephanie Delibertis, Owner & Executive Director of Outreach and Development at American Crane & Equipment Corporation. "Through our partnership with the United Way of Berks County, we hope to alleviate some of the financial burdens on families and ensure that students have what they need to thrive academically." The United Way of Berks County plays a vital role in the community by bringing together the right mix of people and organizations to identify community needs and support programming to address those needs. Each year, over 190,000 people in Berks County are helped through the work of United Way and their partners. Their unique approach and partnerships create brighter futures and make a significant impact in the areas of education, financial stability, health and safety net services. American Crane & Equipment Corporation is proud to contribute to this mission and strengthen the educational foundation for the youth of Berks County. Their commitment to community service is reflected in their Hoist Up! Outreach Committee, which actively seeks opportunities to give back and support their local community. For more information about American Crane & Equipment Corporation, visit the website at https://www.americancrane.com/ For more information about the United Way of Berks County and their initiatives, visit the website at https://www.uwberks.org/ Media Contact Lauren Longo, American Crane & Equipment Corporation, 6107418812, [email protected] https://www.americancrane.com/ SOURCE American Crane & Equipment Corporation Set in 2017 Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Bessie Flores Zaldivars debut YA novel Libertad follows 18-year-old gay poet Libi and her mother, grandmother, and brothers Maynor and Alberto as they navigate the months before a highly anticipatedand historically controversialpresidential election. As Libi struggles to understand her queer identity and how it could affect her relationships with her friends and politically divided yet loving family living in a conservative culture, she also wrestles with her fears over Maynors dangerous political activism. In a conversation with PW, Zaldivar reflected on immigrating to the U.S., the relationship between poetry and prose, and the way in which cycles of violence and oppression appear across time, cultures, and continents. Much of Libertad is based on your own experiences growing up in Honduras. Why did you decide to write a young adult fiction novel as opposed to a memoir? Part of it is because some of the big points of the book are fiction. But I think more than that, I didnt want to write a book that would be used to answer the question of, What was it like growing up queer in Honduras? because that is such a complex and varied experience. My experience of growing up queer in Honduras is so different from other people and I didnt want to create something that would then just be used as an anthropologic device. Im a writer. I love writing fiction. I love the craft of it and the work that comes with imagining stuff and making a story work. And while so much of it is heavily based on my life, its a novel and I wanted it to be treated as a novel. Sure, its making commentary about real-life events and conditions, but its still a story that uses the sort of craft and imagination that other fiction writers use to write their own works, too. What, if anything, did you draw from the current political landscape to tell this story? As I was working on Libertad, I kept thinking, How am I gonna write this? The 2017 Honduran election was such a big deal. The reality of the book has shifted in ways that I dont think the characters could ever imagine being possible. I grew up in Tegus, and when I was 12 years old, Juan Orlando Hernandez and his right-wing government took control. As a queer person, that was a really big demarcation in my life. Thats when the place I knew completely changed. Now its election year here in the U.S.; Hernandez was convicted of drug trafficking in June and there was just an attempted assassination on a U.S. presidential candidate. When I left Honduras in 2017, I was trying to leave all the political violence behind and now Im here in the United States seeing it happen in a different way. How did your experience emigrating from Honduras to the U.S. inform your approach to Libis own internal conflict about whether to remain in Tegucigalpa? People who have not dealt with immigration sometimes treat the question of immigrating as if its a simple thing. And it isnt. Two or three months after I graduated from high school in 2016, I came to the U.S. as a university student. It was an election year, and the Pulse shooting happened right before I immigrated. It was something I was thinking about a lot when I was writing Libertad because I moved at a really weird time as a queer Latin person. People who have not dealt with immigration sometimes treat the question of immigrating as if its a simple thing. And it isnt. Its so deeply personal. When I first started drafting, I often thought that I was writing Libertad from the perspective of, If I could go back in time and know what I know now, would I make the same choices? Would I immigrate again? And that is an unanswerable question; the answer changes every day. Sometimes I feel pretty confident about the choices I made, and sometimes I wonder if I made a mistake. I like to ask people who have read Libertad if they think Libi emigrated or not, because it is never explicitly stated in the book. When I first submitted the story to my agent, Beth Phelan, she said, Im really glad she makes the choice to stay. And when my editor, Rosie Ahmed, read it, she said, Im really glad she makes the choice to leave. I change my mind all the time about what that decision is. The reader gets to make that choice with her. In addition to Libis first-person-present POV, you also include third-person chapters from other characters during different time periods. What did you want to convey by adding these perspectives? I wanted the reader to get to experience the grief and sadness that comes with what our main character doesnt get to know. As an 18-year-old, it feels like you know so much, it feels like you know almost everything. But then we have these complex characters like Libis grandmother. I think its hard to understand where elders are coming from when their politics differ from ours, and so I really wanted that character to get to tell a little bit of her own story. And there are things that Maynor knows that Libi doesnt ever get to find out. But I wanted the reader to get a sense of the things in between, the stuff that we cant possibly know, because I think a lot of things, like forgiveness, only come when we approach them in a way where we remind ourselves, I only know what I know. What is your relationship to prose and poetry and how do these two mediums intersect in Libertad? Poetry often feels like a window into a moment in time. We can make beautiful connections and comparisons in that little window, but its ultimately still a poem. Almost as soon as you start reading it, its over. In the book, Libis poetry is doing exactly what she wants it to do because shes speaking to an audience that already knows the things shes talking about, people who are in the context of the events. But a foreign audience would need more specifics; Libis art would need to reframe everything thats going on. A novel feels like a really good place to answer questions, especially questions you dont have the answers for going in. And sometimes you dont come out with an answer, but maybe you come out with a little bit more understanding. I think thats good enough. One of the questions I approached in Libertad was regarding my relationship with my grandmother. Like Libis grandmother, mine is also a seamstress. I had a lot of questions about what would have happened if my grandmother had learned about my sexuality when I was a teenager versus now that Im an adult. She only very recently learned about it, and it turned out fine, but when I was writing the book, she didnt know. I felt really scared. I think that in some ways, I was trying to play out this little simulation of what would happen if she learned, because then I got to decide how she reacted. But I still tried to stay true to what felt authentic to the character. How has your debut experience been so far? I wrote Libertad over a period of three years in my early 20s, so my relationship with the book itself has changed tremendously. I had to sit with it for so long before anyone else got to see it, so Im tired of itIm tired of reading it and I feel very different from the person who wrote it. But early copies have been reaching people who seem to be appreciating it and noticing the things that I wanted to be noticed, so Im very proud and satisfied with what came of it. I had so many fears that Ive become a little better about in the last few weeks. As were getting closer to publication, Im feeling a deep sense of calm. You have a second book contracted with PRH. What can you tell us about it? Its going to be very different from Libertad. Im really close to finishing it. Its a magical realism story that takes place in the U.S. and Honduras thats about legacy, specifically the legacy of being a Latin American person: what does it mean that you come from the incredibly violent meeting of several cultures? What does it mean to come from a lineage, a continent, a culture that was created from the process of colonization? Libertad by Bessie Flores Zaldivar. Dial, $19.99 Aug. 27, ISBN 978-0-59369-612-5 Election season is in full swing and even if young readers cant vote, they can still get involved. We spoke with three authors about how their new picture books can help children learn about civic engagement. Ani DiFranco Why was it important for you to write a book about elections and civic duty for young readers? Elections and civic duty are not things that naturally come up with kids! I wanted to make a book to help lead the conversation between parent and child in that direction. I truly believe voting is the answer. How does your book showcase the importance of voting? Show Up and Vote points to the collective experience of society and community, and the web of interconnection that extends outward beyond family and friends. It explains how voting is an important way we look out for each other, in a society, and protect the collective health of our democracy. How do you hope early exposure to stories about voting will motivate young readers? I hope it will intrigue them and that it will make them anticipate becoming voters themselves someday. I hope they will feel excited and proud when they do. I hope they actually grow up believing they can change things! Show Up and Vote by Ani DiFranco, illus. by Rachelle Baker. Rise x Penguin Workshop, $18.99 Aug. 27 ISBN 978-0-593-38377-3. Mark Shulman Why was it important for you to write a book about elections and civic duty for young readers? The short answer is for at least 100 years, more than 50% of eligible Americans wont vote. Their needs and wants arent being heard. Non-voters famously complain that they dont like their options, or that the system is broken, or its raining out, or whatever. And whatever these people are doing on Election Day, its not helping them or our country. Meanwhile, the minority of people who do vote end up with a disproportionate amount of influence over the laws and choices that are being made. And in American politics, the squeakiest wheels get greased the most. After one recent election, it became very clear that most of my fellow Americans dont seem to understand that our problemsbig and smallwont get solved until many, many more people participate. Once the real majority votes, the majority will rule. On that hopeful day, so many elected officials will stop focusing on wooing a handful of swing voters in swing states by any means necessary and they will work harder to improve thingsyou know, govern. Theres so much work to do. But how could a lone childrens author make any difference at all? I figured Id need to bypass the adults and take the case for civic participation straight to the children. Thats why I wrote I Voted. How does your book showcase the importance of voting? As youll find in I Voted, voting is actually a simple thing. At the beginning, the kids in the story are voting for a classroom pet. There are two factions: tortoise and hare. Students discover that by listening, learning, talking, and asking questions, they can participate and maybe change somebodys mind, perhaps even their own. Once the class votes, the pet youll all get is the pet that most people vote for. Because win or lose, when everyone follows the rules, voting is fair for everyone. Overall, I sense that children have a far stronger sense of fairness than adults have, and I wanted them to feel that voting is the fairest path in any community. To me, the most powerful text in the book comes next: If you dont vote, you dont get to choose. And your vote might the one that makes the difference. Thats a resonant message when a U.S. presidency has been decided by just 537 votes in Florida. Indeed, the book carries these lessons over to local and national elections, showing and telling how choosing your leaders will change the way youll live, for better or worse. By showing up and voting for your leaders, your will, and the will of the majority, will be heard. And before kids get jaded by what they keep seeing and hearing around them, I wanted to make it clear that voting isnt a chore, its a right and a privilege. And though people will disagree, were all still neighbors, not enemies. How do you hope early exposure to stories about voting will motivate young readers? When I was growing up in the 70s, we were taught civics, which teaches children how government works, as well as the ways we the people can be participating. Now civics no longer appears to be a common part of the curriculum. Unfortunately, with for-profit media dominating our childrens lives, theyve learned that government is primarily about politics, and winning. I have two ultimate hopes for I Voted. The first is for children to better understand and exercise the power and responsibility that voting gives to everyone. The second hope is that my readers will be motivated to do something now. Even if they cant read yet, theyre given an important job: to motivate their adults to vote in every election, and even to bring the child along on Election Day. Because, in addition to all that civic goodness, they might get a sticker that says I Voted. I Voted: Making a Choice Makes a Difference by Mark Shulman, illus. by Serge Bloch. Holiday House/Porter, $8.99 Jan. ISBN 978-0-8234-5104-3 Christina Soontornvat Why was it important for you to write a book about elections and civic duty for young readers? I was the same age as Leo, the protagonist in my book, when my dad got his U.S. citizenship, and I clearly remember being excited that it meant he could vote for president. Like so many immigrants, my dad always instilled in me how special America is and how precious the right to vote is. When I set out to write this book, I wanted to pass along that feeling of excitement, joy, and hope to young readers, and I thought it would be perfect to have Leo learning all about voting alongside his dad, who will be casting his vote for the very first time. How does your book showcase the importance of voting? Leo is very excited that his dad will get to vote until he overhears someone say that one persons vote wont make a difference. He gets sad and wonders if thats true. I think that so many of us adults have wondered that exact same thing! Throughout the rest of the book, Leo meets people who are all working to help get out the vote: volunteers, poll workers, and other kids in his community. They help remind him that voting is an important right that people in the past, and the present, have fought for. In one scene that is so lovingly illustrated by Isabel Roxas, Leos dad reminds him that this precious right is not guaranteed everywhere in the world. Even though its left unsaid, I imagine that Leos dad grew up in a country where the right to vote wasnt protected. When Leo finally gets to go with his dad to the polls, he remembers all the people who have helped his dad so far. In the end, even though Leo doesnt vote himself, he plays an essential role in helping the people in his community cast their votesbecause every single vote matters! How do you hope early exposure to stories about voting will motivate young readers? We hope that kids will see that even though they arent old enough to vote yet, they can still make a positive difference. They can encourage the adults in their lives to get registered, they can help locate their polling place, and they can accompany their parents when they cast their ballots on Election Day. And of course, it wont be long before the kids reading our book will be old enough to vote themselves! We hope our book stays with readers and inspires them to someday cast their own votes and make their voices heard. Leos First Vote! by Christina Soontornvat, illus. by Isabel Roxas. Knopf $18.99 Sept. 3 ISBN 978-0-593-64426-3 Whats concealed in the unknowable depths of the sea? Could this watery realm truly be a bit otherworldly? In her forthcoming novel Graciela in the Abyss, Newbery Medalist and National Ambassador for Young Peoples Literature Meg Medina explores an eerie underwater world with an evocative ghost story for middle grade readers. The cover is shown here for the first time. Designed by Pam Consolazio and illustrated by Anna and Elena Balbusso (who also contributed interior art), the cover is age-appropriately spooky, said Medina, adding that the illustrators hit it exactly right for this haunting story; kids like to be scared. While Graciela delivers on the chills with phantasmal characters and a mysterious setting, at its core, she said, its essentially about the hidden depths within each of us and the unseen forces that bind us. In 2010, Medina started a story about two girls who are sea spirits, initially completing a chapter or two. Every year, Id come back to the book and try it again. But nothing was really coalescing. I found the characters, but I couldnt quite find the story and kept abandoning it. It was relegated to a folder Medina stores on her desktop labeled The Graveyardthe place she keeps false-start stories that may still hold some promise for future work. She revisits the folder regularly, sometimes retrieving a character name, scene, setting, or even a sentence. You never know whats in there. Its like being a treasure hunter. A few factors came into play to change the fate of the story. Medinas mother died and the author became a long-time caretaker to her aunt. When the pandemic hit, it was impossible for caregivers to see loved ones who were in care facilities. Then, her aunt died as well. I felt like I was in the abyss, she said. Loss was everywhere. Her grief was compounded by the rancor that engulfed the country during the time of Covid restrictions. I went back to the Graveyard, she said, adding that she was really wrestling with big questions. What do we all owe each other as a community? Do ideas such as valor still exist? I started to write this very spooky story. Graciela in the Abyss is told through two perspectives. While playing with her sister on a cliff a century ago, Graciela has an accident and is plunged into the sea, where she sleeps for 100 years. When she awakens, her journey begins, Medina said. Her job is to make sea glass and assist her friend, Amina, who is charged with welcoming newly awakened sea ghosts from their death sleep. Twelve-old Jorge is a living boy, who helps his parents with blacksmithing at his familys forge. One day, he discovers a hand-wrought harpoon with a terrible power. When the harpoon is accidentally reunited with its vengeful creator, Graciela and Jorge join forces to prevent it from unleashing dark magic on the world. Because of its spooky nature, Graciela in the Abyss is a bit of a departure for Medina, whose other works span realistic picture books to YA to anthologies. But at its heart, the novel confronts many familiar themes such as courage and being true to oneself. Now, as the world is collectively moving on from the pandemic, Medina said, it was important to explore how we can rise up out of such difficulty through story. It wasnt a book about Covid, and yet that shift that happened under all of us is really part of the book. The story allowed her to help children consider how such events can build us and not leave us in tatters. While researching what the abyss of the ocean is really like, Medina says she read the work of many scientists, especially women. While theres an assumption that the depths of the ocean are barren, she discovered that this is far from the truth. She recalls being struck by what she learned about bioluminescent creatures, which are able to create their own light. Ultimately, I think thats what growing up is about, she said. Making your own light. While Graciela tackles difficult truths for middle grade readers, Medina also has a new picture book centering on a universal and central experience for younger readersrelationships with caregivers. No More Senora Mimi, illustrated by Brittany Cicchese, was inspired by Medinas own childhood experience with her caregiver Mimi, a Cuban woman who lived in her neighborhood and babysat her while her mother was at work. When Medina was six, her mother announced that the family would no longer need Mimi as a sitter because her grandparents were arriving from Cuba and would take over her care. Medina fired Mimi, telling her that her real grandmother was on the way. Mimi responded with a big-hearted laugh. When Medinas abuela arrived, she and Mimi became close friends. No More Senora Mimi is a celebration of caregivers, Medina said. A lot of kids spend a lot of time with caregivers. Some of these relationships are very close and loving. But there arent many picture books that explore these relationships that exist outside the bounds of family. She imagined this story filling that gap, picturing a caregiver and child reading it together. Caregivers are part of a childs life, but they can also become part of a childs literary life, she says. In the U.S., studies show that much of the caregiving to both children and the elderly is done by women of color. This book honors and acknowledges their importance in the lives of children. No More Senora Mimi is available in both English and Spanish. This fall, Medinas term as National Ambassador for Young Peoples Literature comes to an end, but her work advocating for childrens literature will continue in part through her Lets Talk Books! video series. The 18-part series, featuring Medinas chats with authors writing in a range of genres, is available on YouTube. Graciela in the Abyss by Meg Medina, cover and interior illustrations by Anna and Elena Balbusso. Candlewick, $18.99 July 2025 ISBN 978-1-5362-4496-0 No More Senora Mimi by Meg Medina, illus. by Brittany Cicchese. Candlewick, $17.99 Sept. 3 ISBN 978-1-5362-1944-9 #DRCL midnight children by Shinichi Sakamoto, based on Bram Stokers Dracula and published by VIZ Media, was named best new manga at the inaugural American Manga Awards ceremony, held on August 22 at the Japan Society in New York City. The awards, launched this year by Anime NYC and the Japan Society, honor outstanding achievements in the world of Japanese comics, and celebrated the best manga published in North America in the past year. Held on the eve of Anime NYC, the Japanese pop culture convention being held at the Javits Center in New York City August 2325, the ceremony was hosted by author Matt Alt, and included opening remarks from Japanese illustrator Acky Bright. Anime NYC and Japan Society are proud to celebrate the excellence and creativity within the manga community, Anime NYC event director MK Goodwin said in a statement. We look forward to continuing this tradition in future years. VIZ saw a particularly successful night, taking home three winners; Kodansha had two winners and Yen Press one. The full list of winners are as follows: Best New Manga: #DRCL midnight children by Shinichi Sakamoto (VIZ Media) #DRCL midnight children by Shinichi Sakamoto (VIZ Media) Best Continuing Manga Series: Delicious in Dungeon by Ryoko Kui (Yen Press) Delicious in Dungeon by Ryoko Kui (Yen Press) Best New Edition of Classic Manga: Neighborhood Story by Ai Yazawa (VIZ Media) Neighborhood Story by Ai Yazawa (VIZ Media) Best Translation: Stephen Kohler for Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama, (Kodansha) Stephen Kohler for Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama, (Kodansha) Best Lettering: Lys Blakeslee for Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama (Kodansha) Lys Blakeslee for Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama (Kodansha) Best Publication Design: Adam Grano for My Name Is Shingo by Kazuo Umezz (VIZ Media) The new awards slate comes following years of skyrocketing manga sales worldwide and persistent demand for the medium in the U.S. market. Sales of the category have consistently buoyed overall comics sales over the past few years, due to a dramatic increase in consumption of both anime and the manga from which many are adapted as streaming surged during the pandemic. In the Middle East, much of the worlds attention is on the conflict in Gaza and appropriately so. But other challenges remain. In Iraq, where American military forces liberated the country from the evil clutches of Saddam Hussein just a few years ago, the independence of an American ally is increasingly in doubt. Iranian sympathizers exist at all levels of Iraqis government bureaucracy and legal system. Iraqi governmental decisions are made not in the best interests of the Iraqi people, but in the best interests of Irans mullahs. This perverse Iranian influence threatens American interests and undermines two decades of U.S. effort in blood and treasure to bring democracy and prosperity to Iraq. The Iranian influence affects national policy and the daily lives of Iraqis. One legal case is particularly revealing. Sara Saleem, a dual Iraqi-American citizen, is a leading businesswoman in Iraq. Her company competes for and regularly wins the biggest construction contracts in Iraq. She has developed housing and commercial projects in every region of Iraq. Today, however, she must live in Virginia because Iranian interests threaten her life. Ten years ago, Saleem entered a business partnership with three brothers. Saleems partners Nizar, Namir, and Ramez Hanna Nasri used what she believes were deceptive tactics to persuade her to secure a $100 million loan from the Trade Bank of Iraq. They convinced her to transfer these funds to them and to relinquish half of her real estate companys shares without compensation and with the promise of significantly expanding the Safah project in the Basra Governorate. Shortly after that, an Iran-backed militia working with the Nasri brothers - kidnapped Saleem. With courage and tenacity, Sara escaped captivity and returned to a relatively normal, everyday suburban life. Since then, the Nasri brothers have been convicted of criminal fraud in Iraq and are under house arrest. Unfortunately, Saleem must continuously look over her shoulder, and the Nasri brothers still own half of Saras construction company, worth tens of millions of dollars. Saleems civil case is pending appeal before Iraqs Supreme Judicial Council. Lower courts have ruled both for her and against her. The president of the Supreme Judicial Council is Faeq Zaidan. The U.S. House of Representatives has labeled Zaidan a tool of Iranian influence in legislation. Zaidan will make the final decision on Saleems case, and she fears Irans influence in Iraqs court system will cause an unjust decision to be meted out by the Iraqi judiciary. An article recently published in Iraq hints that Prime Minister Sudani, who relies on Iran-backed militias for security, might have intervened on behalf of the Nasri brothers. Here is the key paragraph in English: The story begins with heavy steps, about the director of the Iraqi Trade Bank, who was informed of a semi-mandatory order from government decision-making agencies, and delivered to him a decree that does not violate, a decree covered with poison, but pretending to be honey, in a proposed settlement for the file of Hanna's children by paying half the amount looted by them, while the other half, paid by Sara Hamid, owner of the company "Falcon Al-Jareh Real Estate Investments", to be this woman victim of this deal. Freedom of the press is limited in Iraq. Only the most veiled reference to the highest level of power is advisable. Thus, an order from government decision-making agencies really means the prime minister. Prime Minister Sudani and President Zaidan have a chance to show that Iraq is not a tool of Iran and that it will stand against corruption and malign foreign influence by giving Sara Saleem control of her company. Saleems case might appear to be a small, isolated dispute in the global scheme of international relations, but it will be highly indicative of Iraqs future. While much of the worlds attention is on Gaza, the Biden administration would be well advised to use its good offices to ensure justice for Sara Saleem in Baghdad. Greg Tosi is a former senior staff member in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Arguably, however, the Commissions most infuriating conclusion was this: The global pandemic was totally preventable, in the words of Commissioner Dr. Robert Redfield, an experienced virologist who headed the CDC during the outbreak. Had the Chinese government been more transparent and cooperative at the outset of the pandemic, millions of lives and trillions of dollars could have been spared. The pandemics proximal origin, the Commission found, was the Chinese governments aggressive opposition to honesty, transparency, and accountability along with its systemic cover up. The Cover-Up The Commissiona blue-ribbon team of experts led by former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe and supported by data scientists, economists, and lawyersconcluded that the SARS-CoV-2 virus began circulating months before Beijing warned the world, likely in August-September 2019. The Chinese government then not only withheld key details, it engaged in an elaborate and deadly coverup. Dr. Jamie Metzlone of the Commissions Democrats who served at the National Security Council, U.S. Senate, and State Departmentcondemned Beijing for having destroyed samples, hidden records, imprisoned Chinese citizen journalists, gagged Chinese scientists, blocked any meaningful international investigations, and cynically sandbagged the World Health Organization. Ratcliffe described Chinas behavior during this period as frankly inexcusable. Added Metzl: "There can be, in our view, little doubt that China's government is primarily responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. But for the unique pathologies of the Chinese state, there very likely would have been no pandemic at all. The Cost Worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic is considered one of the seven deadliest plagues in human history, with excess deaths topping 28 million, according to some estimates. The World Bank has characterized the economic upheaval caused by the pandemic as the largest global economic crisis in more than a century, with low-income countries hit the hardest. The Commissions assessment that the pandemic cost the U.S. alone $18 trillion includes $8.6 trillion in excess deaths, $1.8 trillion in income lost, $6 trillion in chronic conditions like long COVID, $1.1 trillion in mental health costs, and $400 million in education losses. The Origin While the origin of the pandemic wasnt the focus of the Commission, notably all nine Commissioners concluded, without dissent, that the pandemic "very likely stemmed from a research-related incident in Wuhan. evidence continues to emerge Indeed,further strengthening the lab leak theory and casting greater doubt on the natural spillover theory. The Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) was at the time conducting dangerous gain of function experiments to make coronaviruses more transmissible to humans, and it was doing so in alarmingly unsafe conditions. The WIV experienced an unspecified incident in 2019, when several lab workers fell sick, the Chinese military abruptly assumed control of the lab, the lab mysteriously deleted its online database of over 10,000 bat virus samples at 2:00am, and ordered an expensive new air incinerator. A Chinese military scientist then produced a vaccine with logic-defying speed before suddenly going missing and being scrubbed from government records. In recent months, new details have emerged about a 2018 grant proposal that sought funding to manipulate coronaviruses at the WIV in very specific waysways that exactly match the highly unusual features of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that have never been seen in nature. At the event unveiling the Heritage report, Dr. Redfield contended SARS-CoV-2 shows clear signs of engineering and its origin had nothing to do with a natural spillover event at a Wuhan animal market. The full Commission report concludes that despite four years of extensive hypothesis testing, today there is no evidentiary basis for the theory of natural spillover. The handful of early pandemic academic papers advancing the natural spillover theory have since been hollowed out by fatal challenges to their underlying methods and conclusions. Rather than a viral leap from animal to humans, Dr. Redfield contended that the pandemic was a direct consequence of scientific arrogance, with the scientists that were intentionally teaching this virus how to infect humans never recognizing something would ever go wrong. And, in fact, unfortunately this virus did escape. Preventing Another Pandemic To avoid a future pandemic and hold the Chinese government accountable, the Commission report concluded with several practical recommendations for the U.S. government: Establish a bipartisan national COVID commission to conduct "a review of China's negligence and cover-up as well as an evaluation of domestic policies that were implemented" in response to the pandemic; Create a bipartisan reparations or compensation task force to cover claims against the Chinese government; Facilitate the filing of civil claims against China to allow civilians harmed by COVID to receive compensation by amending the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act; Decouple U.S. government and commercial supply chains from Chinese state-backed companies; Audit all U.S. government funding for biomedical research and related research activities in China; Impose economic sanctions on Chinese officials and entities who were complicit in or supported the "distortion and concealment" of information related to the COVID pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic was almost certainly the deadliest and costliest event of the 21st century. Beijings ability to escape virtually any accountabilityand the global medias relative disinterest in the pandemics origins, cost, and Chinas culpabilityare equal parts confounding and infuriating. Chinas response to SARS1 20 years ago was abysmal, Dr. Metzl argued at the Heritage event. Chinas response to SARS2, 20 years later despite all these international processes, was even worse. And the reasonis there was no accountability for all the obfuscation in the first case. With 28 million people dead as a result of COVID-19 and tens of trillions of dollars in damages it simply unacceptable, and frankly unimaginable, that every stone should not be overturned examining what went wrong." Jeff M. Smith is director of the Asian Studies Center at the Heritage Foundation. The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute (SAAMI) announced that the 5.728 FN has been accepted! If youre unfamiliar, SAAMI is the firearm industry organization that standardizes cartridges. In a nutshell, SAAMI specs are the most official standards for how a cartridge should be made. Exact dimensions, pressure averages, pressure max, etc. If a manufacturer wants to make a standard cartridge, they follow the SAAMI specs. This is how we get 919 Parabellum which is standard across dozens of manufacturers. What may surprise you is that until now 5.7x28mm developed by FN wasnt a SAAMI cartridge, even though multiple brands like FN, AAC, Federal, and Hornady manufacture it. Normally, major manufacturers dont dive into non-standardized calibers. But 5.728 was an exception since it gained NATO standardization in 2021 and has been around since the early 1990s. Developed by FN in 89-90 after a NATO request for a new and improved pistol and carbine cartridge, the 5.7x28mm was designed with the intent of defending Europe from invading Soviets if the Cold War ever turned hot. With the fall of the USSR in late 1991, the Cold War ended and the dream of mass adoption of the little cartridge faded. Over the decades, many police and even some special forces units have adopted the 5.7x28mm cartridge along with the FN P90 SMG and FN Five-seveN pistol. It wasnt until 2021 that NATO finally officially adopted the 5.728 FN cartridge. Does SAAMI acceptance mean anything to you? Probably not. While 5.728 has gained a lot of popularity in the past few years, and there are a lot more options for pistols and carbines, and the price of ammo has never been lower, SAAMI acceptance isnt likely to trigger a mass of manufacturers to produce more than they already do now. But we can hope. If youre interested in more 5.728 content, stay tuned because we have some fun stuff coming soon Every August, Milledge Avenue fills up with thousands of potential new members seeking a spot in one of the 20 Panhellenic sororities at the University of Georgia. Even in the midst of the chaos, there is a sense of uniformity between the PNMs all dressed in a particular rush fashion with bits and pieces of their own style sprinkled in. The prime minister and his Cabinet will be compelled to do what governments in other democracies must: Listen to criticism from citizens and tolerate it and even learn from it. In doing so, perhaps they can also get a laugh out of the material, as many of us so often do, notes Aakar Patel. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra D Modi interacts with farmers after he released 109 high-yielding, climate-resilient and biofortified varieties of crops at the India Agricultural Research Institute in New Delhi, August 11, 2024. Photograph: ANI Photo The dictionary defines the word 'propaganda' as being 'information, especially of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote a political cause or point of view.' In Old India, propaganda was managed by controlling Doordarshan. Or at least that is what political parties assumed. The news segments in the evenings reported on the government and its agenda. The Opposition was given no space. This was accepted as being natural. During elections, however, the Opposition would demand to be given as much screen time as the ruling party, especially in delivering their manifestos. Party leaders would read them out in front of the camera, and smaller parties would then ask to be given as much time as the larger ones. With the coming of private news channels a quarter century ago, this changed and instead of Doordarshan, or perhaps along with it at least in the initial years, senior party leaders would come to panels in studios. It seemed that this was the dawn of independence and some of the senior journalists around today are the product of that time, particularly those who were in the old Star News segment which became NDTV. The phenomenon of Godi media beginning in the months before 2014 took us back considerably to propaganda. This time it was worse than in Old India and more damaging. On Doordarshan, the Opposition was merely ignored; it was not daily vilified and attacked and called anti-national. On Doordarshan, even when it was in the hands of hypocrites, minorities were not the constant target and distraction was not the only game. In New India this became the daily fare of the channels and remained so for a decade. But a third shift has now come and while it is relatively recent it is so fully established that the government is moving to gain control over it. That shift is the rise of independent journalists using social media to reach large audiences. This includes the set of people known as content creators, who might not necessarily be journalists by background but engage with current affairs through humour, particularly satire. How large are their audiences? Have a look at the numbers. On YouTube, independent journalists have as much reach as news channels. Punya Prasun Bajpai (47 lakh subscribers), Ajit Anjum (61 lakh), Abhisar Sharma (67 lakh) and Ravish Kumar (1.1 crore) can rival entire news networks. Times Now (53 lakh subscribers), Republic (62 lakh) and India Today (93 lakh) are in the same region. Dhruv Rathee (2.3 crore subscribers) has as much reach as Zee News (3.6 crore). Indeed in many ways the reach of the independent voices is more because of the concentration of their content on one specific daily issue. The average Ravish Kumar video gets over 10 lakh views while the average one from Zee gets a few thousand, because there are so many of them. Distribution of these clips through WhatsApp further amplifies the independent voice's reach. The sharing of advertising revenue by social media networks like YouTube afford these individuals the opportunity to be able to do their work outside of a corporate space. In addition to the journalists, a set of humourists has risen to comment on our times. They are the product of the stranglehold of Godi media and the suffocation people have felt of having propaganda inflicted on them. A few names are worthy of mention, like Bhagat Ram, Ms Medusa, Meghnad, Garima, Ranting Gola, Shyam Rangeela and Urvish Kothari, all of whom I follow and greatly admire and whose work I enjoy. Unfortunately for the government there are few quality creators on the other side. This is because propaganda and sycophancy are not good ingredients for humour. Godi creators tend to produce content that is sullen and angry and for this reason generally ignored. It will take an academic paper or a book to examine the effect of the independent voices on our democracy. There is to my mind little doubt that they have managed to loosen the monopoly of the Modi government on narrative. It is for this reason that the government has moved to throttle the voices of the creators and independent journalists. This is being done through the broadcast bill a draft of which is being circulated (this column was written before the bill was withdrawn). Essentially it seeks to regulate everyone who is on social media because that is the only way in which the government can interfere, block and ban content it doesn't want seen. The government is also trying to go after independent Web sites like Wire, Scroll, Newslaundry and Newsminute. Because these creators are independent individuals on social media, they cannot be licensed or regulated in the way that news channels can. This is why the government is attempting to do this with the broadest of definitions that will affect every single person using social media. The intent might be to use the law in targeted fashion but that will not be how it will turn out. Bad laws produce bad outcomes. Will the Modi government be successful in pushing the regulation through? It will not. This is not the same place we were last year. There are too many obstacles for it and too many points of resistance. Even if it had been passed in the previous parliament through brute force it would have been a total mess in implementation. The prime minister and his Cabinet will be compelled to do what governments in other democracies must: Listen to criticism from citizens and tolerate it and even learn from it. In doing so, perhaps they can also get a laugh out of the material, as many of us so often do. Aakar Patel is a columnist and writer and you can read Aakar's earlier columns here. Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com 'Even if we have laws in place, which we must, we need a societal change.' 'Rather than telling our daughters that, "Listen, leave your house at so and so time, come back by so and so time," we must tell the men and boys that "Whatever point of time you encounter a woman in public space or wherever, you treat her with respect, dignity".' IMAGE: Students of the Carmel High School in Patna demand justice for the victim of Kolkata's R G Kar hospital tragedy, August 22, 2024. Photographs: ANI Photo Priyanka Chaturvedi, the Rajya Sabha MP from the Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray party, outlines in this interview with Prasnna D Zore/Rediff.com how societal change can best serve the interest of women's safety and security. Chaturvedi, on August 19, wrote to President Droupadi Murmu asking her to give her assent to the Shakti Bill [Shakti Criminal Laws (Maharashtra Amendment) Bill, 2020 and the Special Court & Machinery for Implementation of Maharashtra Shakti Criminal Law, 2020], which has been pending with Rashtrapati Bhavan since its enactment by both Houses of the Maharashtra legislature. A day later, on August 20, Badlapur, a rapidly urbanising town in Maharashtra's Thane district, witnessed a day-long rail roko by angry women from the town in protest against the sexual molestation of two school girls, aged 4, against the insensitivity of the local police in registering an FIR against the accused and charges of political patronage to those running the school where the molestation took place. Part 1 of the interview: 'It's Time Women Said Enough Is Enough' Questions are being raised about the timing of your letter to the President. You write a letter to the President asking her to expedite her assent to the Shakti Bill not from June 2022 till now, but write only when something like the R G Kar rape case has happened in Kolkata. How would you respond to such allegations? I would say people have welcomed it. I want the Shakti Bill to come into effect because it's just pending a presidential nod. It's just a Constitutional nitty-gritty that needs to be done. And if we bring in such a law, it would probably become a model law which other state governments would follow -- probably a West Bengal will follow. How does it become political? As a woman who says, 'Ma'am, all you need to do is say, yes, this is a good bill. It will empower the women of Maharashtra. Ensure that their safety and security is addressed. Ensure that children, girls who step out of their schools, homes, or wherever are safeguarded with women's law.' How is it called even political? No part of my letter makes it political. It just says, 'It is Raksha Bandhan. We have a commitment to safeguard interest, safeguard security, safeguard everything related to women. This will be the best gesture you can put out there by giving them a law.' It's not a policy which is in the making. It's not a policy which is being debated, discussed. It's not a policy which has seen controversy. It's a law which has been cleared by the Maharashtra legislature which includes the Bharatiya Janata Party, which includes that faction (Eknath Shinde led Shiv Sena) also which has split away from us who were on our side and have given agreement to it. It includes the Congress, the then undivided NCP, the Samajwadi Party. It includes all the other smaller parties which have independently discussed and debated and then legislated Shakti. IMAGE: Junior doctors in Kolkata watch the live telecast of the Supreme Court hearing on Kolkata's R G Kar hospital tragedy, August 22, 2024. Has there been any change in how safe women feel in India ever since we witnessed huge outrage against the Nirbhaya rape case in 2012? Would Shakti bring about that change? Shakti would come into effect only after an incident of rape or molestation has happened. It will lead only to fast tracking of the case and a speedy trial at best. The important question is: What should be done to stop sexual molestation and rapes of women? Can I tell you the basic difference? When Nirbhaya happened, the entire country outraged. Based on the Verma Commission report, a strict law was brought into place. A fast track court was set up and Nirbhaya case was tried in that fast-track court. How many years did it take for her case to reach its logical conclusion? Seven years. Seven years is too long a time to wait for justice. The difference in Shakti is this: Within 15 days, investigation is over. Within 30 days, the trial begins. Where does the trial begin? Trial begins in a specially mandated court which only addresses women and child crimes. Who is investigating this case within 15 days? It is a special police investigating team focused only on women and child crimes. That is where the difference lies. By the virtue of a strict law, which is time bound, which is leading to definite prosecution in the shortest amount possible, a commitment coming from the government will also instill a sense of fear that if we (rapists and molesters) do this, we will have exacting consequences to face and those would be heaped on us much sooner than later. What has happened is there's no fear of law. The crime scene is manipulated. A crime scene is totally damaged. A crime scene is totally ill researched or ill investigated because of lack of resources. We were committing all of that. IMAGE: Calcutta high court staff demand justice for the victim of Kolkata's R G Kar hospital tragedy, August 22, 2024. Women can only live in hope. And this (the Shakti Bill) brought in a sense of hope. After several rounds of discussions, several rounds of debates, when this policy was drafted by people from across political parties, after hearing all sides, hearing women activists, hearing NGOs, we live in hope and ability to be able to instill a sense of fear (in the rapists). But more than that, even if we have laws in place, which we must, we need a societal change. Rather than telling our daughters that, 'Listen, leave your house at so and so time, come back by so and so time,' we must tell the men and boys that 'Whatever point of time you encounter a woman in public space or wherever, you treat her with respect, dignity, and as an equal participant in these public spaces.' This societal change needs to come as an active focus point from civil society, from families, from various sections of society, from various religious groupings, from the temples, from the mosques, from the churches, from the gurdwaras. It's a message that needs to be told and repeatedly told so that it becomes a norm. That is the only way we can stop rapes and molestation of women and small children. If we involve large followers of religion, sects and engage them to ask their followers to consciously work towards putting an end to male domination in our society and the patriarchy that is so deeply ingrained in our society then we would have done a big service to women's safety and security. But then you have a prime minister talking from the Red Fort, speaking about safety of women in the context of the rape and murder of the young doctor in Kolkata even though he did not quite name West Bengal, but the same prime minister stays quiet on Manipur, Hathras and Brijbhushan Sharan Singh. On Manipur, he spoke for all of 34 seconds. 34 seconds! Photographs curated by Anant Salvi/Rediff.com Following the Supreme Court order, Central Industrial Security Force personnel arrived on Thursday, August 22, 2024, to take over the security at Kolkata's R G Kar Hospital. The action was initiated following the rape and murder of a junior doctor and vandalism by a mob. The force is expected to secure the resident doctors' hostel and other facilities. IMAGE: CISF personnel arrive here and below. Photographs: ANI Photo IMAGE: CISF personnel in discussion at the hospital. IMAGE: CISF personnel assemble at the hospital, here and below. Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hugging of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a gesture that had drawn much criticism from the West. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Deputy PM Yulia Svyrydenko, during their visit to Kyiv on Friday. Photograph: Kind courtesy @MEAIndia/X Modi met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv with a warm hug that came barely six weeks after Modi had similarly hugged the leader of Ukraine's arch-enemy, President Putin. After Modi met with Putin in July, the Western media was full of news with headlines such as 'Modi's Embrace of Putin Irks Biden Team Pushing Support for Kyiv' while the BBC in one of its reports said, 'Photos from Moscow showed a beaming Mr Modi hugging the Russian president'. Zelenskyy himself had posted on X then without naming names: 'It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world's largest democracy hug the world's most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day.' On Friday, during a media briefing after the Modi-Zelenskyy talks, Jaishankar was asked about the 'embrace' in a question meant to seek comments on apparent linkages with Modi's meetings with Putin earlier and Zelenskyy now. "In our part of the world, when people meet people, they are given to embracing each other, it may not be part of your culture but I can assure you it is part of ours. In fact, today, I think, I saw, Prime Minister (Modi) also embrace President Zelenskyy," Jaishankar replied to a specific question by a Western reporter which mentioned as many words about Modi's embrace of Putin a few weeks ago. "And I have seen him do it with a number of other leaders in a number of other places. So, I think, we have a slight ... cultural gap here in terms of what these courtesies mean," Jaishankar added. Much to the chagrin of the Western powers that be, Modi met Putin in July and spoke about how a solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and how peace efforts do not succeed in the midst of bombs and bullets. On Friday, India maintained that Ukraine and Russia need to engage with each other to find a solution to the ongoing conflict between them as Modi held wide-ranging talks with Zelenskyy under the shadow of the raging war. The Great Resignation may be over, but its effects linger: Australian employees are feeling increasingly disengaged and underappreciated. A new report from a global leader in employee engagement and HR technology, Reward Gateway, reveals a surprising paradox Australian employees are choosing to stay in their roles for longer, yet their engagement at work is rapidly declining. The Engagement Paradox Report, based on a survey of over 2,300 Australian employees and HR and business decision makers, found that while 45% of employees are not looking to change roles in the next two years, nearly three quarters (74%) would leave their jobs when the economic climate improves. This suggests high retention rates are more a reflection of market conditions than genuine employee satisfaction. Perceptions differ as engagement dips Despite the ABS recently recording a decrease in job mobility for the first time in three years, over a quarter (27%) of Australian employees said they feel less engaged now than they did 12 months ago. This decline is a major concern for business and HR leaders, with 87% acknowledging the negative impact of poor engagement on employee and business performance, and over half (52%) estimating that low employee engagement costs them $20-100k each month. The report also highlights a disconnect between leadership and middle management, with around half as many (33%) middle managers perceiving an increase in engagement, compared to their senior counterparts (63%). The findings raise major concerns around how differently employee engagement is perceived by middle and senior management, says Kylie Green, Managing Director APAC at Reward Gateway. The further from the front lines the manager is, the more insulated they are from the problem. This lulls them into a false sense of security that employees are happy and engaged, while the opposite is in fact true. Further perpetuating the gap between these two cohorts, the majority of middle managers feel burnt out (60%), stressed (57%) and overwhelmed (53%), while only around half as many (33%) senior managers report feeling burnt out, and a staggering 67% say they actually feel energised by the increased pressure. Performance declines while colleagues pick up the slack Todays pressure cooker environment is taking a toll on productivity, with 80% of business and HR decision makers expressing concerns about the impact of underperforming team members. Additionally, a shocking 50% of employees admit to picking up the slack for underperforming colleagues. Shouldering this burden while juggling the responsibility of mentoring junior team members and driving results to senior leadership, the middle manager is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Consequently, the vast majority (80%) of this cohort reports feeling pressured to improve business performance, while nearly three quarters (73%) feel the strain of improving employee performance. This research is a wake-up call for Australian businesses, says Kylie Green. Its clear that current strategies are not effectively addressing the root causes of disengagement and underperformance. Leaders need to bridge the gap between management and employees, prioritise employee wellbeing, and foster a culture of appreciation and support. Failure to act fast will mean organisations risk losing valuable talent once the market stabilises. The report also offers actionable insights for business and HR leaders, including: Prioritise transparency and communication: Be open with employees about the economic climate and the companys plans for the future. Provide channels for feedback and support: Create opportunities for employees to share their concerns and suggestions. Focus on learning and growth: Invest in training and development opportunities to demonstrate commitment to employees long-term success. Encourage frequent recognition and micro-rewards: Celebrate employee achievements and contributions regularly. To learn more about the trends Australian business and HR leaders are facing in 2024, read Reward Gateways new The Engagement Paradox Report. Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Kamala Harris fondly remembered her trailblazer mother Shyamala Gopalan and the values that she instilled in her and said that she misses her every day, especially when she is on the verge of breaking the highest glass ceiling of the United States. IMAGE: Democratic presidential nominee and US Vice President Kamala Harris takes the stage on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois on August 22, 2024. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters Vice President Harris, who is of Indian and African heritage, on Thursday night accepted her party's nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, becoming the second woman to do so for the Democratic Party after former first lady Hillary Clinton. In describing her unexpected ascent to the top of the Democratic ticket after President Joe Biden decided to leave the race in July, Vice President Harris said that she is no stranger to unlikely journeys. America, the path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected. But I'm no stranger to unlikely journeys, Harris, 59, said. She shared what it was like being raised by her mother, whom she described as a brilliant 5-foot tall brown woman with an accent. My mother Shyamala Harris had one of her own. I miss her every day -- especially now. And I know she's looking down tonight, and smiling, she said. Harris said her mother was 19 when she crossed the world alone, travelling from India to California with an unshakeable dream to be the scientist who would cure breast cancer. She was tough, a trailblazer. She taught us to never complain about injustice, but to do something about it! Do something about it. That was our mother, Harris said. And she also taught us to never do anything half-assed. And that is a direct quote. A direct quote. The vice president added that her mother was set to return home to have an arranged marriage but met her father, Donald Harris, a student from Jamaica, and fell in love. That act of self-determination made my sister Maya and me, Harris said. Well, my mother had another lesson she used to teach. Never let anyone tell you who you are, you show them who you are, Harris said. America, let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for: freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness, and endless possibilities. But following the couple's divorce when Harris was in elementary school, she was raised by a single mother in the flatlands of the Bay, Harris recalled and highlighted the community spirit that helped shape her. "... It was mostly my mother who raised us. Before she could finally afford to buy a home, she rented a small apartment in the East Bay. In the Bay, you either live in the hills or the flatlands. We lived in the flats -- a beautiful working-class neighbourhood of firefighters, nurses, and construction workers, all of whom tended their lawns with pride," said Harris. My mother worked long hours, and like many working parents, she leaned on a trusted circle to help raise us, Harris said, naming those who helped take care of her. She described them as none of them family by blood and all of them family by love," she said. IMAGE: Doug Emhoff, second gentleman of the US, Kamala's siter Maya Harris and her daughter Meena Harris at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Photograph: Brendan McDermid/Reuters Harris argued that the country is not as divided as her Republican opponent Donald Trump says it is, pitching for its unity in her speech. She said Americans have so much more in common than what separates us and that none of us has to fail for all of us to succeed. She said former president Trump and his running mate JD Vance are denigrating America and talking about how terrible everything is on the campaign trail. She also wished her husband, Doug Emhoff, a happy anniversary at the top of her remarks. Thursday was the couple's 10th wedding anniversary. Let me start by thanking my most incredible husband, Doug, for being an incredible partner to me, an incredible father to Cole and Ella. And happy anniversary, Dougie. I love you so very much, Harris said. If elected, Harris would break one of the highest glass ceilings left for women in the United States -- that of occupying the country's top office. On the final night of the Democratic National Convention, her sister Maya also recounted the story of their mother, whom she described as a civil rights activist, a scientist, a devoted mother to her little girls and a trailblazer who defied the odds and defined herself. She raised us to believe that we could be and do anything. And we believed her. You see, mommy understood the power and the possibility that come with knowing and showing who you truly are, Maya Harris, a lawyer, said. Mommy's journey and the opportunity she wanted for Kamala and me, is a distinctly American story, she said. Maya, 57, said her sister has devoted her life to fighting for people. She said Harris has created so much electricity, so much optimism, so much joy throughout the nation and it is why we need her leadership in this historic moment. She urged voters to elect a leader who sees the potential in each of us, a leader who cares for all of us, a leader who fights for every one of us our Democratic nominee, my big sister, the next president of the United States, Kamala Harris! A 14-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped by three persons in Assam's Nagaon district, triggering massive protests by people on the streets. IMAGE: Students of Carmel High School in Patna stage a protest demanding justice for the victim of Kolkata's RG Kar hospital tragedy. Photograph: ANI Photo Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma promised that stern action would be taken against the perpetrators. The girl was allegedly assaulted and raped by three persons while she was returning home from her tuition on her bicycle in Dhing area around 8 pm on Thursday, police said. Three persons came on a motorcycle and surrounded the girl, who was then allegedly raped by them and left in an injured and unconscious state on the roadside near a pond. The class 10 student was later rescued by locals, who informed the police. She was initially taken to a health centre in Dhing and later shifted to a hospital in Nagaon for treatment and medical examination. "The criminals who dared to commit such a heinous crime against a minor Hindu girl of Dhing will not be spared by the law. I have directed the DGP and Water Resources Minister Pijush Hazarika to rush to Dhing and take the toughest action," Sarma told reporters in Hailakandi. Sarma alleged that after Lok Sabha elections, 'a section of members of a particular community have become very active and have been encouraged to commit such crimes. We will, however, come down heavily on the perpetrators and nobody will be spared.' In the last two months, 22 such crimes against women have taken place and this is the 23rd such incident in the state, he added. "In Lower and central Assam and Barak Valley districts, where indigenous people have become a numeric minority, they are living in constant fear. People outside these regions cannot gauge this harsh reality," he said. The chief minister urged all to be sensitive about these issues of the indigenous people. "We should identify the real perpetrators behind these heinous crimes and not be stuck in blaming communities within the Hindu society," Sarma said. The police said that one person had been already arrested and another detained while a search was on to nab the others. DGP G P Singh reached Dhing and visited the crime scene along with district police officials. He also visited the survivor's house and talked to her parents and other family members. "I have reviewed the incident site and the progress of the investigation which is moving in the right direction. A case has been registered under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and other relevant acts," the DGP told reporters in Dhing. The police have gathered sufficient evidence and the additional director general of police (special branch) has been requested to provide the technical support regarding the mobile data details which will be made available soon, he said. The DGP reviewed the situation with IGP (central range) and the district commissioner and also discussed the recurrence of such incidents in some parts of the district. "Such incidents have earlier occurred in Samaguri, Rupohihat, Dhing, Juria and Lahorighat and I have directed that geo-tagging be done in areas where inter-community interface exists," he said. "If geo-tagging can be done in the next few days, then we can prepare an area security plan to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future," Singh said. Besides, the Nagaon superintendent of police has been directed to increase patrolling in the evenings, particularly in areas around girls educational institutions and tuition centres, the DGP said. A senior doctor of the hospital where the survivor has been admitted said that she is being treated by a multi-speciality team of doctors from the medicine, surgery and gynaecology departments. "After she was admitted, the sexual offences investigation team conducted all the formalities and the girl was treated by a team of doctors. The necessary tests were conducted and as per the law, some of the reports were handed over to the police," the doctor said. A team of psychiatrists have also been alerted to provide necessary mental support and counselling to the survivor to help her deal with the trauma, he added. Meanwhile, people from all the communities hit the streets on Friday morning demanding the arrest of the culprits. Shopkeepers downed the shutters of their business establishments and social and political organisations demanded stringent action against the culprits and security for women and girls. Congress MLA from Batadrava, Sibamoni Bora, also joined the protests while Dhing's All India United Democratic Front MLA Aminul Islam also condemned the incident and demanded the arrest of the culprits. Tension prevailed in the area and police patrolling and vigil have been intensified. Protests were also held in neighbouring Morigaon district. In Guwahati, Congress workers also staged a protest at the party headquarters against alleged failure of the BJP government in the state to provide security to women and girls. Earlier, Sarma had said that 'the horrific incident at Dhing, involving a minor, is a crime against humanity and has struck our collective conscience'. 'We will NOT SPARE anyone & BRING the perpetrators to JUSTICE. I've directed @DGPAssamPolice to visit the site and ensure swift action against such monsters,' Sarma posted on X. A warm hug, a silent prayer with folded hands and a small toy. That was how Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday honoured the memories of children who have lost their lives in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the multimedia Martyrologist exposition on children at the National Museum of History in Kyiv. Photographs: @narendramodi/X Soon after reaching the Ukrainian capital Kyiv from Poland, Modi was greeted by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the multimedia Martyrologist Exposition on children at the National Museum of History of Ukraine. After a handshake, Modi gave a warm hug to Zelenskyy and as the two leaders walked towards the multimedia Exposition, slid a hand on his shoulder symbolising support for the leader of the war-torn nation. After watching the multimedia presentations -- that gave information about scores of children who died during the conflict -- as part of the Exposition, Modi and Zelenskyy both stood silently in front of a wall-like structure which already had a lot of toys placed in memory of the children. With folded hands, Modi offered a silent prayer before placing a small toy (a doll) at the memorial as the Ukrainian President placed a teddy bear. 'President @ZelenskyyUa and I paid homage at the Martyrologist Exposition in Kyiv. Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief,' Modi posted on X after the visit. Zelenskyy posted a video showing Modi hugging him on his Telegram channel. 'Prime Minister was deeply touched by the poignant exposition set up in memory of children who have lost their lives in the conflict. He expressed his sorrow at the tragic loss of young lives and as a mark of respect placed a toy in their memory,' said a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs later. In May 2024, UNICEF said that nearly 2,000 children have been killed since the beginning of the Ukraine-Russia war. The visit to the Exposition comes weeks after Modi had, in July, told Russian President Vladimir Putin that the killing of innocent children 'is heart-wrenching and very painful'. Modi had met Putin on July 9, a day after the Ohmatdyt Children's Hospital in Kyiv was hit after Russia unleashed a barrage of missiles on cities across Ukraine. Delivering an unambiguous message, Modi had told the Russian President that a solution to the Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and peace efforts do not succeed in the midst of bombs and bullets. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday presented four BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita and Maitri) Cubes to the Ukrainian government during his visit to the war-torn country where he met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy under the shadow of the raging war with Russia. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi hands over the BHISHM cube of medical assistance to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Kyiv on Friday. Photograph: ANI Photo The prime minister arrived in Kyiv on a special train from Poland on Friday morning and was received by Ukraine's first deputy prime minister. Modi presented four BHISHM Cubes to the Government of Ukraine, a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs said, adding that Zelenskyy thanked the Prime Minister for the humanitarian assistance of the Cubes which will help expedite the treatment of the injured and save precious lives. The statement said each BHISHM Cube consists of medicines and equipment for the first line of care for all kinds of injuries and medical situations. 'It also includes surgical equipment for a basic operation room that can manage 10-15 basic surgeries per day. The Cube can handle about 200 cases of diverse nature in emergencies such as trauma, bleeding, burns, fractures, etc. It can also generate power and oxygen in limited amounts. A team of experts from India has been deployed to provide initial training to the Ukrainian side to operate the cube,' the statement said. The statement said the gesture underscored India's continued commitment to provide humanitarian assistance to war-ravaged Ukraine. The Prime Minister also interacted with Ukrainian students who are learning the Hindi language at the School of Oriental Studies in Kyiv and appreciated their contribution to promoting mutual understanding between the people of the two countries. 'He also commended their efforts to bring Indian culture and history closer to the Ukrainian people,' another statement from the Ministry of External Affairs said. It is the first-ever visit to Ukraine by an Indian prime minister after the country became independent in 1991, and his trip comes amid Kyiv's fresh military offensive in Russia's western Kursk region. Days after the Karnataka governor granted sanction for the prosecution of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Mysuru Urban Development Authority case, the Congress' top leadership on Friday expressed its backing for him and alleged that the Centre had unleashed a systematic assault through a 'puppet governor' to destabilise an elected government. IMAGE: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar meet with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, party general secretary in-charge (Organisation) K C Venugopal and party general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, in New Delhi on Friday. Photograph: ANI Photo The Congress said it stood united, would pursue the matter in courts and not be 'cowed'. The party made the assertion after Siddaramaiah and Karnataka's Deputy Chief Minister and Pradesh Congress Committee chief D K Shivakumar met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi at the All India Congress Committee headquarters in New Delhi. Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal and Congress general secretary in-charge of the state Randeep Surjewala were also present during the meeting. After the meeting, Siddaramaih said they had explained the situation in Karnataka to the party top brass. "It has been challenged in court. We believe in the law of the land. The decision taken by the governor is unconstitutional and illegal. We will get justice at the hands of the courts," he asserted. Kharge and Gandhi had a detailed interaction with the chief minister and the deputy chief minister as well as senior Karnataka ministers, Surjewala told reporters after the meeting. "The current political situation in Karnataka was discussed in detail. The chief minister and the Pradesh Congress Committee president and deputy chief minister briefed the Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on how a systematic and designed assault has been unleashed through the office of a puppet governor as part of a sinister conspiracy designed to destabilise an elected government," he said. "Frustrated by a decimating defeat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and the entire BJP leadership are now hiding behind the governor to attack the Congress government in Karnataka. This is not an attempt to dislodge or destabilise the Congress government of Karnataka but in truth this is a sinister design to attack the five Congress guarantees by which we are transferring Rs 53,000 crore every year directly in the bank accounts of the people," he said. Surjewala alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party had been attacking the Congress guarantees benefitting the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled tribes, backward classes and minorities for the past year. The BJP and the Janata Dal-Secular are scared of the Congress' guarantees and want them to be stopped, he claimed. "This is not an attack on our chief minister or deputy chief minister, this is an attack on the people of Karnataka by the Modi government, drunk on power and using a puppet governor to destabilise an elected government," Surjewala said. This is also an 'assault on a backward class chief minister' who is the senior-most chief minister in the country, he said and added that it was 'revenge-seeking' from the people of Karnataka. The Congress government in Karnataka is committed to continuing with its guarantees, he said. "We will face every assault by the Union government and their governor. We will follow all our legal remedies, we have full faith in the majesty of the law and in the system of the judiciary. We will take this battle to the court of the people," Surjewala said. He asked why the governor had not granted sanction for the prosecution of former chief minister B S Yediyurappa for the past five to six years. Surjewala also questioned why the governor had not sanctioned the prosecution against H D Kumaraswamy and half-a-dozen other BJP and JD-S leaders, asserting that 'we will not be cowed down'. "We stand united in this fight. We stand with our chief minister. We will not accept any assault just because our chief minister comes from a backward class background," Surjewala said. Shivakumar asserted that the Congress leadership was standing with them and everyone was firmly supporting Siddaramaiah. The Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) 'scam' has been a thorn in Siddaramaiah's side, with allegations of illegal land dealings involving the chief minister and his wife Parvathi flying thick and fast. At the heart of the controversy are claims that Parvathi received 14 plots in exchange for 3.16 acres of land, which was allegedly acquired illegally by MUDA. Adding to the political pressure, Karnataka Governor Thawar Chand Gehlot recently sanctioned investigations under the Prevention of Corruption Act, intensifying scrutiny of the chief minister. Accompanying Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar to Delhi were several key state ministers, including Home Minister G Parameshwara, Social Welfare Minister H C Mahadevappa and Minority and Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, MLC K Govindaraju and Power Minister K J George. Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said the passengers onboard the bus that fell 150 metres into a river in central Nepal were from Jalgaon district in the state as per preliminary information, and efforts are on to bring them back. IMAGE: Security force personnel work to rescue injured passengers after a bus carrying Indian passengers traveling to Kathmandu from Pokhara plunged into a river in Tanahun District, Gandaki Province, Nepal on August 23, 2024. Photograph: Stringer/Reuters In a post on X, Fadnavis condoled the deaths of 14 passengers and said the state government has communicated with the Indian embassy in Nepal. 'The passengers are from Jalgaon. The district collector is in touch with the Maharajganj collector in Uttar Pradesh to bring back the victims and survivors,' he said. At least 14 people were killed and 16 others injured after an Indian tourist bus veered off a highway and fell 150 metres into the Marsyangdi river in central Nepal, authorities said. The bus from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh was heading towards Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, from the resort town of Pokhara when it drove off the highway in Aaina Pahara in the Tanahun district. There were 43 people, including the driver and the co-driver, in the bus with the registration number UP 53 FT 7623. Maharashtra Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Anil Patil said the state government is in touch with the relief commissioner of Uttar Pradesh and the Indian embassy in Kathmandu to bring back the victims and survivors of the accident. Talking to PTI, Patil said, "It is reported that most passengers are from Jalgaon district. We are trying to confirm. We are in touch with the relief commissioner of Uttar Pradesh and the Indian embassy in Nepal and have told them that the district collector will ensure the return of the victims and survivors." Senior Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar leader Eknath Khadse said the passengers were part of a group of 80 people from Varangaon in Jalgaon who had travelled to Ayodhya four days ago. Talking to PTI, Khadse, who hails from the district, said he visited the families of the victims and survivors. He said his daughter-in-law, Union Minister Raksha Khadse, will be travelling to Kathmandu as she has received permission from the PMO to oversee the return of the victims and survivors. Khadse said the toll in the accident may rise to 30 as per information he received from authorities in Nepal. Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner GS Naveen Kumar, in a press statement, said, "As per media reports and further confirmed from the MEA Nepal Division, today at about 11.30 am, a bus with registration number - UP 53 FD 7623 carrying approx 41 passengers from Maharashtra, including the driver and one assistant, fell around 150 metres into river Marshyandi in Ambukhereni region in the Tanahu District of Nepal." The statement added, "The UP government has sent SDM Maharajganj to the incident site. The MEA is coordinating the search and rescue operations with local authorities." As per MyRepublica, a news portal, the passengers were part of a group of 104 Indian pilgrims who arrived in Nepal from Maharashtra in three buses two days ago for a 10-day tour. The Bombay high court on Friday restrained political parties or individuals from proceeding with a Maharashtra bandh on August 24 or any future date, forcing the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to withdraw its proposed state-wide shutdown to protest sexual assault on two minor girls in a school and push the government for swift action. IMAGE: Shiv Sena-UBT workers stage a protest against the alleged sexual assault of two minors in Thane's Badlapur, at Lalbaug, in Mumbai on Wednesday. Photograph: ANI Photo The court said such a protest will paralyse normal life and relied on a 2004 high court ruling which held the enforcement of bandhs or general strikes unconstitutional. The MVA, which consists of the Congress, the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and the Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar, had given a call for a state-wide bandh on August 24 (Saturday) to protest against the Mahayuti government over the sexual abuse of two kindergarten girls in Badlapur in adjoining Thane district earlier this month and 'rising' incidents of crime against women in Maharashtra. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said his government will implement the court order, which he termed as a 'slap on the face of the opposition'. Reacting to the HC ruling, the MVA said it has called off the bandh, but it will go ahead with peaceful demonstration across the state with black bands tied on the mouth of its leaders and workers. Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray said he did not agree with the HC order, while his ally, NCP-SP president Sharad Pawar, said the bandh call was given in exercise of fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution, but the judiciary also needs to be respected. A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar said if political parties and individuals were not restrained from proceeding with the call for bandh on Saturday, huge losses, not only in terms of economy and business but also essential services and basic amenities including health services will occur, which needs to be prevented. The HC passed the order on two petitions filed on Friday through advocates Subhash Jha and Gunaratna Sadavarte challenging the MVA's shutdown call and seeking the court to restrain political parties from proceeding with it. 'Until further orders all concerned are restrained from proceeding with the call for bandh on August 24 and also on any other further date,' the HC noted. 'We are, prima facie, convinced the call given by political parties is a call to observe bandh tomorrow in the entire state of Maharashtra, which means a call for cessation of all kinds of activities which will result in the life of the state coming to a halt, that may entail heavy loss to industrial activities, business activities, economic activities and other such activities,' it observed. The bandh call was likely to affect not only the studies of children and other students but will also adversely impact emergency services such as those related to health and other public conveniences like supply of electricity, water and running of local trains in Mumbai, the bench added. 'The bandh may lead to crippling the life of entire Maharashtra,' the HC said, adding in the past, citizens have suffered due to state-wide shutdowns. The bench relied on a July 2004 judgment of the HC which held that enforcing a bandh or hartal (stoppage of work, businesses) would amount to an unconstitutional act. In case of such a bandh being enforced, the political party which gave the call would face legal action and compensate for any loss of life, property or livelihood, as per the 2004 judgement. Police separately issued notices to leaders and activists of the MVA in connection with the bandh call. Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole said peaceful demonstrations will take place between 11 and noon at different locations in the state. Patole said he will be in Thane to take part in one such demonstration. Expressing displeasure over the HC order, Shiv Sena-UBT leader Thackeray said courts should show similar promptness in punishing the accused in heinous crimes. "We don't agree with the court's order but its decision has to be respected. We will keep our mouths shut. The reason behind the bandh was different," the former CM said. "Is there freedom of expression in a country that believes in democracy," Thackeray asked. He added that he will protest near the Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar. The opposition should not take people for granted, Chief Minister Shinde said and took a veiled swipe at Thackeray by adding some people were so eager to get the CM's post that they were indulging in politics over serious crimes. This was 'perverse', Shinde added. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis also slammed the opposition for calling for a bandh. "This is for politics. You did not take a stand against the Mamata Banerjee government over the rape and murder of a woman doctor in Kolkata. But here you are calling for a bandh for your selfish interests," said Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio. 'New Delhi has to make up its mind whether it wants to be a friend of the Bangladeshi people or they want to be a friend of a section of people, or one party or one leader' IMAGE: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's over two-week-long presence in India has given rise to speculation in Dhaka. Photograph: ANI Photo A top Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader said Bangladeshis are "not angry but hurt" over deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina's stay in India, even as he urged politicians and security strategists in New Delhi to "rethink" their policy given the ground reality here. In an exclusive interview with PTI at his residence in Dhaka, Abdul Moyeen Khan, a former Cabinet minister of Bangladesh, also said his country shares a border with India on three sides and it is a big neighbour, so there is "no reason why India should not be our best friend". After unprecedented anti-government protests which reached a crescendo on August 5, Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled the country, even as protesters had termed the fall of the government and her departure a "day of victory". She landed in India on August 5 and is currently staying there, even as her over two-week-long presence in India has given rise to speculation in Dhaka. Khan said the current situation is of "consolidation" and coming back to normalcy. The interim government led by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus is trying to stabilise the country and electoral reforms are their "top priority". Asked if elections are held in Bangladesh what are the prospects for the Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by former prime minister Khalida Zia, he said: "If there is a free and fair elections, our prospects will be decided by the people, and if they want us to be the majority or not, we will respect that, the will of the people is supreme in a democratic system." The 77-year-old veteran leader is also a member of the National Standing Committee of the BNP, a party that was established in 1978. He served as a Cabinet minister under the tenure of the then-prime minister Zia. "The current situation is quite clear. It is amazing how the country is settling back after such a big upheaval. People are trying to get back to their normal day-to-day life, the (interim) government is trying to normalise everything, and they are up to their main mandate which is the transition from autocracy to democracy," Khan said. Asked how he saw the trajectory of the Dhaka-New Delhi ties because of the presence of Hasina in India, he said it "depends entirely on how India decides". On Hasina's stay in India after fleeing Bangladesh, he said "Bangladeshi are not angry, but hurt, wounded..as they never expected this". The former Cabinet minister claimed that New Delhi's behaviour towards Awami League and Hasina has "transformed into anti-Indian feeling in a real sense of the term". "There is no reason for us to be unfriendly with India unless India behaves in a way that forces the people of Bangladesh to doubt their intentions," he added. There are reports in newspapers that the United States and United Kingdom governments had "refused" to take Hasina in and under these circumstances, she has found "refuge" in India and this is "public information", the BNP leader claimed. The Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi had earlier said the approval for former Prime Minister Hasina to come to India was "granted at short notice". "The situation is still evolving. At this stage, we have nothing new to share about her plans," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters on August 16 when asked exactly under what condition she was in India. Khan in Dhaka said: "It is up to policy planners, politicians and security strategists in India to decide how long can they house her, and on what ground they can house her, and on what policies they can house her. It is not us to decide. What we have said is what the foreign advisor has said on it." New Delhi has to make up its mind whether it wants to be a "friend of the Bangladeshi people" or they want to be a "friend of a section of people, or one party or one leader". The senior BNP leader alleged that policy planners, politicians and security strategists in New Delhi "somehow put their stake in one person and one party, Sheikh Hasina and Awami League" and claimed that it was the "biggest tragedy on the part of India". "I can't believe such a great nation failed to understand the basic instinct, psychology of the people of Bangladeshi... I sincerely hope India comes out of this mindset," he said. It is "high time" the policy planners, politicians, and security strategists in New Delhi "rethink their policy and reformulate it in the light of the reality on the ground in Bangladesh. The important thing for the Indian policymakers is to realise the psychology of the people of Bangladesh," Khan said. The veteran politician said India should "address the people of Bangladesh and not a particular party or person". Khan described the happenings on August 4-5 as a "spark" in an already "explosive environment" that existed in Bangladesh as a "consequence of activities of the autocratic government". He said the BNP being the major opposition political party in Bangladesh, played a "dominant role in the process, either by omission or commission". The majority of the protesting students one saw in the streets belonged to the party, but they "revolted as general students, not as BNP members," Khan claimed. The senior BNP leader underlined the role of "Gen Z" in leading the recent movement that led to the fall of the Hasina government. "Old guards will have to make way for the Gen Z. And, Gen Z has shown it," he said. At least 27 Indian pilgrims, all from Maharashtra, who arrived in Nepal for a 10-day tour were killed and 16 others injured after their bus veered off the highway and fell into a fast-flowing river in central Nepal on Friday. IMAGE: Security personnel rescue injured passengers after a bus carrying Indian pilgrims traveling to Kathmandu from Pokhara plunged into a river in Tanahun District, Gandaki Province, Nepal on August 23, 2024. Photograph: Stringer/Reuters Police said the bus from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh carrying 43 passengers, including the driver and two helpers, was heading towards Kathmandu from Pokhara when it met with the accident at Aanboo Khaireni area along the Marsyangdi River in Tanahu district around noon. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is coordinating the search and rescue operations with local authorities. '@IndiainNepal is grieved to confirm the death of 27 Indians in the unfortunate road accident in Tanahun. Remaining 16 passengers have been airlifted to Kathmandu for further treatment at TU Teaching Hospital. Embassy mourns the loss of lives & prays for early recovery of the injured,' the Indian Embassy at Kathmandu posted on X later in the evening. '@IndiainNepal continues to be in constant touch with local authorities and the hospital staff for treatment of the injured and earliest repatriation of the mortal remains of the deceased to India,' the Mission said and provided three numbers that it said would be available 24X7 for emergency response. The reason for the accident is not yet known. The accident site lies on the national highway, some 90 km west of Kathmandu. While 16 people died on the spot, 11 succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment, Deputy Spokesperson of Armed Police Force (APF) Shailendra Thapa told PTI. The 16 people who sustained injuries have been airlifted to Kathmandu and admitted at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, he added. The dead bodies will be handed over to their family members after post-mortem, Thapa said, adding it will be conducted on Saturday at Western Regional Health Science Academy in Pokhara. The bus, with an Uttar Pradesh number plate that fell around 150 metre down the hilly road, is still lying along the bank of Marsyangdi river and will be lifted with the help of a crane on Saturday, he said. Thapa said 250 security personnel, including from Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police, were mobilised for rescue works. Twin rope was used to conduct the rescue operation as the accident site lies in a deep and narrow gorge near the Marsyangdi River, he said. According to a report in MyRepublica news portal, the passengers onboard the bus were part of a group of 104 Indian pilgrims, who arrived in Nepal from Maharashtra in three buses two days ago for a 10-day tour of the Himalayan nation. The victims were from Varangaon, Daryapur, Talvel and Bhusaval in Jalgaon district, 470 km from Mumbai. After visiting Pokhara for two days, all three buses left for the capital Kathmandu on Friday morning. Madhav Pad Paudel, chief of the Armed Police Force (APF), Kurintar, said that most of the passengers travelling in these three buses were families and relatives. The Nepal government has released a list of names of the 43 deceased passengers. The Indian mission is coordinating with local authorities undertaking relief and rescue. Earlier, an MI 17 helicopter of the Nepal Army was deployed to transport injured passengers from the accident site with a medical team for the rescue operation, MyRepublica reported. Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government has written to the Centre, requesting that a special flight of the Indian Air Force be arranged to bring back the injured as well as the mortal remains of the deceased. Earlier in the day, the Uttar Pradesh government deployed a Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) to the incident site and appointed an assistant DM (ADM) to coordinate the relief work. Nepal's rivers are generally fast-flowing due to the mountainous terrain and monsoon months from June to September also often trigger landslides. Heavy monsoon downpours in the past few days have swollen the waterways and turned them murky brown, making it even more difficult for any kind of rescue work. Last month, two buses carrying 65 passengers were washed away by a landslide into the swollen Trishuli River in Nepal. The bodies from the two buses were washed away as far as 100 kilometres. Bodies of five Indians have been recovered while two are still missing. Nationalist Congress Part-SP chief Sharad Pawar has said that the Z plus security cover accorded to him could be an arrangement to get authentic information about him as Maharashtra assembly polls are around the corner. IMAGE: NCP-SP chief Sharad Pawar. Photograph: @PawarSpeaks/X The Centre on Wednesday accorded Z plus -- the highest category of armed VIP security cover -- to Pawar, official sources had said. Asked about the security upgrade for him, the 83-year-old politician told the media in Navi Mumbai on Thursday that he wasn't aware of the reason behind the move. A home ministry official told me that the government has decided to give three persons Z plus security and I was one of them. I asked who the other two were. I was told RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and Union home minister Amit Shah, said Pawar. Maybe since elections are approaching, this can be an arrangement to get authentic information (about me), he quipped. A team of 55 armed personnel from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has been earmarked as part of Pawar's Z plus security cover. A threat assessment review by central agencies had recommended a strong security cover for Pawar, official sources had said earlier. The VIP security cover categorisations begin from the highest Z+ followed by Z, Y+, Y and X. Sharad Pawar's NCP-SP is a part of the opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), also comprising the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena-UBT and the Congress, that performed impressively in the held Lok Sabha polls winning 30 of the 48 seats in the state. The ruling Mahayuti coalition of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the NCP headed by Ajit Pawar had to contend with only 17 seats. Elections to the 288-member Maharashtra assembly are likely to be held in October-November. China Vietnams $100B trading partner, top investor Not only has annual trade with China surpassed US$100 billion, that country has also become one of Vietnams top investors in the last five years. Ngo Tuong Vy, CEO of Chanh Thu, one of Vietnams largest fruit exporters, says her company has received large orders from China recently for high-quality durian. In the first half of this year, China bought more than $1.2 billion worth of Vietnamese durians, a 46% increase from the same period in 2023. A durian packaging factory of exporter Vina T&T. Photo by VnExpress/Linh an Vietnam has only been shipping fresh durians to China since 2022 when they got the green light for official import. But on Monday the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Chinas General Administration of Customs signed several protocols allowing shipments of frozen durian and fresh coconut. With the new protocols signed, frozen durian exports are expected to reach $400-500 million this year, while fresh coconut exports are set to increase by $200-300 million. Some other agricultural exports to China include swallow nest, sweet potato, dragon fruit, longan, rambutan, mango, jackfruit, watermelon, banana, mangosteen, grass jelly, lychee, and passion fruit. Vietnam sold nearly $2.2 billion worth of vegetables and fruits to the country in the first half, up 33% year-on-year, making it Chinas second largest source of agricultural products after Thailand. Dang Phuc Nguyen, general secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association, says China, which has a population of 1.4 billion, is a highly lucrative market that even distant countries like the U.S. and Chile seek access to. Vietnams top trading partner A decade ago Chinas imports of Vietnamese goods were around $15 billion annually, a figure that quadrupled to $61.2 billion in 2023. Coffee giant Trung Nguyen Legend, which has been exporting the bean to that country for over 15 years, is a prime beneficiary of this growth. It said it now has 15 importers, 300 secondary distributors, 30,000 retail locations and thousands of online stores in China, the fastest-growing coffee market in the world. It estimates that out of every 18 cups of coffee sold in China one is Trung Nguyen Legends. It has also opened 14 "Coffee World" stores, its global coffee shop chain, in China in less than two years since its launch. Trung Nguyen Legend's Coffee World store in Shanghai, China, in 2022. Photo courtesy of Trung Nguyen Legend As the world's second largest economy, China's consumption and production have facilitated growth in bilateral trade with Vietnam, especially after the two countries established a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2008. Trade between the two neighbors surged from $20.8 billion that year to nearly $172 billion in 2023. The figure is estimated to have surpassed $112 billion so far this year, with Vietnams exports accounting for $32.56 billion and imports for $79.61 billion. Key exports include electronics, rubber, fruits and vegetables, agricultural and aquatic products, and footwear. Machinery, equipment, chemicals, plastics, feedstock for textile and footwear, steel, and construction materials are the main imports. China is the biggest source of Vietnam's imports and the second largest export market after the U.S. Vietnam is China's top trading partner in ASEAN and fifth largest market and ninth largest source of imports globally. According to HSBC statistics, Vietnam-China trade is among the 20 largest in the world. Ahmed Yeganeh, head of wholesale banking at HSBC Vietnam, tells VnExpress: "Geopolitical factors and regional free trade agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will continue to support and strengthen the economic relationship between China and Vietnam." One of Vietnams leading investors Tran Thi Hoan, associate director for the north at headhunter Navigos Search, says the demand for workers with Chinese proficiency has risen sharply this year and supply is inadequate. Recruitment and payroll services provider Adecco concurs, says more Chinese companies are relocating due to the China Plus One strategy that involves diversifying production chains. There used to be concern that foreign direct investment from China had not reached its full potential given the two countries long trading partnership and proximity, but this situation has changed noticeably in recent years. According to the Foreign Investment Agency, China invested $4.47 billion in Vietnam last year, up 77.6% from 2022 and a 255% jump from 2018. China also has the largest number of new projects of any foreign country this year, 540, accounting for 29.7%, as it invested $1.22 billion. As of July 20 China had 4,754 projects with $28.5 billion registered capital, making it the sixth biggest investor. While Chinese enterprises used to mostly invest in food processing and manufacture of garments, footwear and household goods, they have now turned to sectors like technology, electronics, renewable energy, electric vehicles, and e-commerce. Some of their notable ventures include auto giant Cherys joint project with Vietnamese conglomerate Geleximco, a $800 million plant that produces Omoda & Jaecoo cars. Beijing-based electronics components producer BOE Group recently announced it would invest $277.5 million to build a smart terminal equipment factory in the Phu My 3 Specialized Industrial Park in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province. Roger Luo, director of Alibaba for the Asia-Pacific, said last week that Vietnam would be the first country in the region where the firm plans to introduce comprehensive logistics services. "Since deciding to invest [in the country], we have identified Vietnam as a very important market. By 2025, in addition to completing previous services, we will also continue to expand our team in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and other localities to enhance support for Vietnamese exporters." HSBCs Yeganeh says Vietnam stands to benefit from the supply chain shifts occurring in the region. Vietnam's trade surplus with other regions has surged due to increased investment from China, he says. Boosting quality key to enhancing partnership Experts believe investment and trade between Vietnam and China will grow stronger, driven by bilateral cooperation and multilateral agreements they are part of such as the RCEP and the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement. However, China is becoming increasingly strict with both trade and investment, requiring Vietnam to improve quality in all aspects. Nguyen Dinh Tung, CEO of Vina T&T Group, one of the top fruit exporters, says his company's exports to China decreased in the first half of the year due to stricter control on cadmium residues in products. "Wary of the stricter norms, my company did not want to rush into exporting large quantities." Durian packaged in boxes to be shipped to China. Photo by VnExpress/Linh Dan With the signing of several protocols during the Communist Party General Secretary and State President To Lams visit to China, Vietnam is now allowed to export frozen durian and fresh coconut to that market. Tung expects this to provide a big fillip to exports. Concurring, Vy says businesses need to be thorough in all stages from sourcing to packaging and storage to meet Chinas stricter requirements. Vietnam must also enhance the quality of its labor, infrastructure and policies to attract more investment from Chinese companies. Yeganeh says to attract more investment from China it is crucial for Vietnam to implement regulatory and legal changes to make business operations easier and more transparent, and provide more support to key services. The finance industry, for example, must be prepared to provide sufficient capital to businesses, he says. "Vietnam needs to improve its core infrastructure, as well as upgrade its energy sources and transition to greener alternatives." He points out that the potential for economic cooperation is abundant in some sectors such as tourism, education and technology. Vietnam should aim to become an attractive destination for Chinese visitors, he says. "Consideration should be given to how education and technology cooperation programs can be utilized to drive innovation and support the growth of the digital economy and new economy in each country." Along with trade, Vietnam's trade deficit has also increased from $10 billion in 2008 to $50 billion last year, the Vietnam Institute of Strategy and Policy for Industry and Trade says. It says for Vietnam to enhance exports to China it should frame regulations on plant and animal quarantine and ensure its key products meet these standards to avoid exports getting rejected. Besides, it should strengthen control measures to prevent imports of low-quality and unsafe goods, the institute says. Authorities need to maintain a balance between boosting trade with China and protecting domestic businesses as products from that country, with their diverse and attractive designs and cheap prices, can pose fierce competition to local goods, it warns. Tightening quality control for raw material imports is vital also because Vietnam aims to develop into a high-value and sustainable economy, it points out. Other experts also recommend that Vietnam should develop its capability to supply feedstock as many Chinese firms in Vietnam still import raw materials from their home country. Story by Vien Thong - Thi Ha Graphics by Tat Dat Virtually throwing her hat in the ring for the Haryana chief minister's post in case the Congress gets a majority, senior party leader Kumari Selja on Friday said people do have ambitions 'individually and community-wise' and went on to ask 'why not'. IMAGE: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi with Congress MP Kumari Selja at the Parliament House complex, in New Delhi. Photograph: Jitender Gupta/ANI Photo Months after winning the Lok Sabha polls from Sirsa, the former Union minister and the Congress' prominent Dalit face also indicated her desire to contest the upcoming assembly elections and said she wishes to work in the state but the high command will take a final call on the matter. In an interaction with PTI editors at the news agency's headquarters in New Delhi, Selja brushed aside talk of factionalism hampering the party's chances in the polls, saying everyone gets down to groundwork together as 'one Congress camp' when elections come. "I am very practical and I will answer you very frankly. In any organisation, there will always be push, pull and going for your space. That is part of any organisation and that will always be there. It is ambition, working, jostling for your space, all this is there. But having said that, (it's there) till tickets (are announced). I would also say that when elections come...everyone gets down to groundwork," Selja, who turns 62 next month, said. On being asked if the various camps in Haryana Congress would come together, she said, "Everyone has his or her ambition...It is the Congress camp, ultimately all are working for the party." She also dismissed talk of factionalism with senior leaders undertaking separate campaign programmes in the run up to the polls, saying they are all doing it for the Congress. Discussing the possibility of a post-poll tie-up, Selja asserted that there will be no hung assembly and the Congress will get an 'excellent majority'. "We are in touch with the people on the ground. They are totally against the BJP," she said. "The Lok Sabha results came and in assembly polls also very good results will come and we will form the government." Asked if the Congress would declare a chief ministerial face ahead of the polls, Selja said the party has certain ways of doing things. "When you are in government, obviously the person who has been CM leads the party. But when you are in the opposition, the party hardly ever projects a chief ministerial face." To a pointed question on whether she is in the running for chief minister in case the Congress gets a majority, Selja said, "Individually and community-wise, people do have their ambitions. Why not?" On being seen as a future chief minister of Haryana, she said, "That is for my party and high command to decide." Asked if she had any unfinished tasks or unfulfilled goals, she said, "Definitely, my role in the state. I make no bones about it." She also said she had worked at the Centre for long and would now like to move to the state level. "I have done a lot of politics at the Centre, I wish to work at the state level. Peoples' works are more related to the state. So I wish to work in the state, rest the high command has to decide finally but yes I definitely wish so," she said in response to a question on whether she would contest assembly polls. With the Congress talking about a 'caste census', does she feel it should also have a CM from the Dalit community in the upcoming polls? Caste, she replied, is a reality in the country and everyone has expectations, be it individually or community-wise. "There are no two ways about it that SCs have voted in a large majority for the Congress and have been the backbone of the Congress, so there are expectations also. If other people or other sections project themselves for the CM post, then awareness has increased a lot and so the question arises, why not from the SC community?" "We should also have the confidence to stand up and say, why not us," she asked. The Election Commission last week Friday announced that polls to the 90-member Haryana assembly will be held on October 1 and the results declared on October 4. With the announcement of polls, the Model Code of Conduct has come into force in the state. Haryana is currently ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Congress is looking to unseat the BJP and return to power after 10 years in the opposition. After the last assembly elections, the BJP formed a coalition government with the Jannayak Janta Party. However, the coalition broke after disagreements over seat sharing in the Lok Sabha elections. Later, the BJP saved its government with the support of Independent MLAs. In the Lok Sabha elections, held a few months ago, the BJP and the Congress won five seats each of the 10 seats in Haryana. Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday demanded the withdrawal of cases against those who had protested in Badlapur against the alleged sexual abuse of two kindergarten girls, warning that the opposition would have to hit the streets if it is not done. IMAGE: Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray addresses a press conference in Mumbai. Photograph: ANI on X Addressing a news conference, Thackeray said the August 24 Maharashtra Bandh' called by the opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is not political but against perversion and urged people cutting across caste and religion to participate in it. He claimed the bandh would be observed on behalf of the people of the state. Slamming the Eknath Shinde government's action over the Badlapur protest, Thackeray said, Arrests are still taking place in Badlapur. The cases against the protesters must be withdrawn or else we have to hit the streets. A massive protest rocked Badlapur town in Thane district on Tuesday after thousands of people hit the streets and spilled onto railway tracks to protest the alleged sexual assault of two four-year-old girls by a male attendant at a local school. At least 25 police personnel were injured in the incidents of stone-pelting at the railway station and other parts of Badlapur during the protest. Police have arrested 72 persons in connection with the violence during the stir. The accused was arrested on August 17. He has been sent to police custody till August 26. Thackeray said the bandh should be strictly followed till 2 pm, ensuring that emergency services remain operational. He said people are entitled to express their anger not just during elections. When all roads are shut, justice is sought in the court of people, he said. The bandh is to make the government realise that the system should discharge its duties diligently. The former chief minister said even the Bombay high court, which has taken suo motu cognisance of the alleged sexual assault of the young girls in Badlapur, has slammed the government. During a hearing on the matter on Thursday, the HC said, Unless there is a strong public outburst, the machinery won't move. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday conveyed to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that both Ukraine and Russia should sit together without wasting time to end the ongoing war and that India was ready to play an 'active role' to restore peace in the region. IMAGE: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend a meeting, in Kyiv, on August 23, 2024. Photograph: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters In his talks with Zelenskyy in Kyiv that came a day ahead of Ukraine's Independence Day, the prime minister said India was on the side of peace since the beginning of the conflict and he would even like to contribute personally for a peaceful resolution of the crisis. Modi's nearly nine-hour visit to Ukraine, the first by an Indian prime minister since its independence in 1991, came six weeks after he held summit talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin that triggered anguish in some Western countries. The prime minister reiterated the need for 'sincere and practical' engagement between all stakeholders to develop innovative solutions that will have 'broad acceptability' and contribute towards early restoration of peace in Ukraine, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said. "I have come with a message of peace... I want to assure you and the entire global community that India is committed to respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity (of states) and it is of utmost importance to us," Modi told Zelenskyy at the talks. The prime minister also asserted India's strong commitment towards respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states. "I want to assure you and the entire global community that India is committed towards respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity (of states) and it is of utmost importance to us," he said. Modi arrived in Kyiv following a nearly 10-hour train journey from Poland in the second leg of his two-nation trip. Modi's wide-ranging talks with Zelenskyy primarily focused on ways to end the war and boost bilateral cooperation in areas of trade, defence, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, agriculture and education. "We (India) are not neutral. From the very beginning, we have taken sides. And we have chosen the side of peace. We have come from the land of Buddha where there is no place for war; we have come from the land of Mahatma Gandhi who had given a message of peace to the entire world," Modi said. The prime minister also apprised Zelenskyy of his message to Putin in Samarkand in September 2022 as well as in Moscow last month. "Some time back, when I met President Putin in Samarkand, I had told him that this was not the era of war. Last month when I went to Russia, I said in clear words that the solution to any problem is never found on the battlefield," Modi said. "The solution comes through talks, dialogue and diplomacy and we should move ahead in that direction without wasting time. Both sides should sit together and find ways to come out of this crisis," Modi said. Following the talks, Zelenskyy said India supports Ukraine's national sovereignty and territorial integrity and it is 'critical because everyone in the world must equally respect the UN Charter'. "Following the visit, we also agreed on a joint statement focusing on the development of a strategic partnership, bilateral trade, and continued military-technical cooperation," he said. Zelenskyy said 'history was made' today as the Indian prime minister made the first visit to Ukraine since 'our independence, on the eve of our Independence Day'. In a post on 'X', Modi described his talks with Zelenskyy as 'productive' and said India 'firmly' believes that peace must always prevail. At a media briefing, Jaishankar said Modi conveyed to Zelenskyy India's willingness to contribute in 'all possible ways' to facilitate an early return of peace to Ukraine, he said. "We are very, very keen that this conflict should come to an end," the external affairs minister said. It was a 'very detailed, open and in many ways constructive discussion', he said. The talks revolved around to some extent on the military situation, on concerns like food and energy security, and on 'conceivable pathways to peace', Jaishankar said. "It is India's view that the two sides (Ukraine and Russia) need to engage with each other to find a solution," he said, adding the talks revolved around the military situation, on concerns like food and energy security, and on 'conceivable pathways to peace'. The external affairs minister also defended India's procurement of crude oil from Russia. "India is a big oil consumer, it is a big oil importer... It is not like there is a political strategy to buy oil, there is an oil strategy to buy oil, there is a market strategy to buy oil," Jaishankar said. A joint statement released after the talks said Modi and Zelenskyy reiterated their readiness for further cooperation in upholding principles of international law, including the UN Charter, such as respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of states. It said the Indian side reiterated its principled position and focus on peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomacy, as a part of which, India has attended the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, held in Switzerland in June. The Ukrainian side welcomed such participation by India and highlighted the importance of high-level Indian participation in the next peace summit, it said. In the talks the Ukrainian side conveyed that the joint communique on a peace framework, adopted at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, could serve as a basis for further efforts to promote just peace based on dialogue, diplomacy, and international law, the statement said. The two leaders appreciated various efforts to ensure global food security, including the Ukrainian humanitarian grain initiative. The importance of an uninterrupted and unhindered supply of agricultural products to global markets, especially in Asia and Africa, was emphasised in the talks. In his remarks at the meeting, the prime minister conveyed to Zelenskyy that he has come to Kyiv also with a message of peace from the Global South. The Ukrainian side wanted continued involvement of India with the Global Peace summit, he said. "It is India's view that the two sides (Ukraine and Russia) need to engage with each other to find a solution," he said. The external affairs minister said the two leaders reiterated their readiness to continue cooperation to uphold principles of international law such as respect for territorial integrity and protect the sovereignty of states. Jaishankar said the prime minister sought the president's assessment of both the ground situation as well as the diplomatic scenario and Zelenskyy spoke on both issues. The external affairs minister described Modi's visit to Kyiv as a 'landmark'. Jaishankar said a significant part of discussions between PM Modi and President Zelenskyy was devoted to the bilateral relations. There were discussions on trade, economic issues, defence, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, education, he said. Modi and Zelenskyy also tasked the India-Ukraine inter-governmental commission to specifically focus on rebuilding trade and economic relations. The United States and its allies and partners are concerned with growing reports of arbitrary detentions of Venezuelans without due process. Authorities have detained over 2,400 people for protesting the false claims that Nicolas Maduro won the recent presidential election. In a joint statement, the United States, along with twenty countries and the European Union called for the respect of democratic principles, as well as the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all Venezuelans, particularly the freedom of peaceful assembly and the freedom of expression. We express deep condemnation of the repression of protesters and the violence that has claimed the lives of many Venezuelans in the post-election context, said the Joint Statement. We urgently call on Venezuelan authorities to end the violence and release all those who have been detained, including opposition representatives. The Joint Statement also called for Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to Venezuela to be reinstated immediately. In early February, Venezuelan government forced the office to close and all staff to leave the country. On August 2, Venezuelas National Election Council (CNE) declared Nicolas Maduro as the winner of the July 28 presidential election. The Election Council and the Maduro regime have not presented any proof of this result, and the Joint Statement notes that an online version of more than 80% of the electoral records have been published and show a different outcome than that reported by the CNE. We request the immediate publication of all original records and the impartial and independent verification of those results, preferably by an international entity, to ensure respect for the will of the Venezuelan people as expressed at the polls, said the Joint Statement. The United States, along with allies and partners, are committed to supporting all efforts in this direction, and always advocating for a genuinely Venezuelan solution in which democracy and justice, and peace and security will prevail. Today, roughly two billion people live in conflict-affected areas. Our charge, declared U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, must be to stop even one more person from experiencing the hell that is war. The good news, said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield, is that we know how to create conditions that foster peace. The first step is to move beyond words and invest in prevention: Prevention requires long-term, comprehensive, and inclusive approaches; it requires political will, effective partnerships, sustainable resources, and national ownership. The development of national prevention strategies has been shown to help tackle drivers of conflict and strengthen national infrastructures for peace. With broad input and support, prevention strategies can reinforce state institutions, promote the rule of law, strengthen civil society, and build greater tolerance and social cohesion. Peace, development, and humanitarian efforts are mutually dependent and reinforcing, said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield. She also urged member states to continue learning from each other regarding conflict prevention. Sierra Leone is a case in point, noted Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield: Sierra Leone has made significant progress in rebuilding and strengthening post-war institutions and in addressing some of the immediate needs of its people and war victims, including through the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The Peacebuilding Funds support to Sierra Leone has included a strong focus on land conflict, cross-border and borderland communities vulnerabilities, and women and youth empowerment and participation. In order to be effective, conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts must be inclusive, said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield: When women, youth, and other underrepresented voices can participate fully, equally, and meaningfully in political and public life, policies and implementation are more likely to reflect the needs of all of society, and there are lasting and sustainable outcomes for all. Next months Summit of the Future and the subsequent 2025 Peacebuilding Architecture Review are important means to strengthen peacebuilding efforts, including in conflict prevention and mediation. The United States remains committed to the UNs conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts through its 10-year plans in four priority countries, namely Haiti, Libya, Mozambique, and Papua New Guinea, as well as the Coastal West Africa region. The United States will continue to stand behind UN initiatives to further inclusive conflict prevention, mediation, and peace efforts. And urges every single member state to do the same. Spark New Zealand chair Justine Smyth reported a sharp drop in profits today with declines in ICT services revenue contributing to a disappointing result for the year to 30 June. Total revenue from continuing operations fell 14% to $3.86 billion while net profit was down 72% to $316 million. Total IT revenue declined 1.6% to $692 million, driven by a $29 million (14.9%) decline in IT services revenues as economic conditions impacted demand and masked 3.5% growth in IT products revenues, driven by continued business migration to the cloud. Data centre revenue grew 54.2% to $37 million, with Sparks Takanini campus expansion completed on time and on budget and new revenue streams coming online. High-tech revenue grew 21.5% to $79 million, with IoT revenues up 53.3% and over two million devices now connected to Sparks IoT networks. It has been a challenging year for Spark and for many businesses across Aotearoa, with recessionary economic conditions creating a tough operating environment, Smyth told shareholders today. On the last night of EDGE 2024, delegates were welcomed to the Poolside Dinner sponsored by Aussie Broadband at the RACV Royal Pines Resort. During the evening, attendees enjoyed a buffet spread and bar. Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry Foundry 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 WASHINGTON In a historic speech at the Democratic National Convention, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris promised to continue military support for Ukraine and strengthen NATO as she accepted the partys nomination for the 2024 presidential race. The 59-year-old Harris, the first woman of color to top the presidential ticket of a major U.S. party, sharply criticized her Republican challenger Donald Trump for cozying up to authoritarian leaders. Speaking to thousands of cheering supporters on the fourth and last day of the convention inside the United Center in Chicago, Harris, just a month after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid and endorsed her to replace him atop the Democratic ticket, accused Trump of disowning Ukraine and allies and of denigrating the United States. As President, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies, Harris, said on August 22 during the 40-minute speech. "I will never waver in defense of America's security and ideals, because in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand," she added, contrasting her position with Trump and running mate JD Vance, who have repeatedly questioned U.S. backing for Ukraine. Harris, the first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to accept a major party's presidential nomination, delivered an upbeat view of the United States and its standing in the world, a sharp contrast to the doom-and-gloom picture Trump painted at the Republican convention last month. I see a nation that is ready to move forward, ready for the next step in the incredible journey that is America, she said. Craig Allen, a communications professor and political commentator at Arizona State University, told RFE/RL after the speech that while Harris was inspiring, especially when she spoke about family and her personal journey, her comments on Ukraine werent anything that Biden hadn't already said. She did not elaborate on what she was going to do for Ukraine, he added. Turning to the war between Israel and Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, Harris vowed to work toward ending the conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people in the Gaza Strip. The vice president said that as president she would "always stand up for Israel" and would "never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists." The address, watched by millions of Americans around the country, is the first time many voters have gotten to see the new Democratic candidate up close. Harris emerged as the partys frontrunner on July 21 when Biden took the unprecedented step of bowing out of the race after winning the primaries. The 81-year-old president faced intense pressure from senior party officials to withdraw after he appeared frail and confused during a June 27 debate against Trump, deepening widespread concern he was too old to serve another four years. While Harris oversaw key issues such as illegal immigration and abortion rights, like most vice presidents, she had been largely out of the public eye during her more than three years in office. In a recent poll, more than a third of Americans said they don't know Harris or her positions well. Wearing a blue suit, Harris talked about growing up in a middle class family of immigrants and going on to become a prosecutor to protect people. She laid out some of her priorities as president, including increasing the supply of affordable housing and protecting abortion rights. They are out of their mind, Harris said about the Trump's campaign stance on abortion. The former president took to social media and then called into Fox News to comment further, to criticize the speech for not talking about China, oil fracking, or crime, issues that Trump has pushed consistently. It was a lot of complaining," he said. Why didnt she do the things that shes complaining about? Independent polls taken days before the August 19-22 Democratic National Convention showed Harris, who if elected would become the first female president in the history of the United States, slightly edging out Trump in a hypothetical national vote. Analysts say even 100,000 votes across a few swing states could determine the outcome of the November 5 election. Harris' campaign has enjoyed a momentum not seen by a Democratic candidate since former President Barack Obamas first bid in 2008, party members say. Even though Trump and Biden easily won their respective primaries earlier this year, a significant number of American voters said they wanted new candidates on the ballot. The two men faced off in 2020. Harris's entry into the race has energized some voters especially younger women who had shown little enthusiasm for either Biden or Trump, experts said. 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. Iran is striking out left and right in an attempt to interfere with the U.S. presidential election in November with the help of slick-looking websites, hackers, and phishing attacks. The objective of the sophisticated campaign, U.S. intelligence and cyberthreat experts say, is to fuel distrust in the U.S. democratic system and to exploit and heighten social divisions. As the November 5 election nears, Iranian hackers have been accused of targeting the e-mail accounts of both the Republican candidate, former President Donald Trump, and his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris. U.S. intelligence assessments and researchers say both political campaigns have been targeted by phishing attacks carried out by a group with suspected ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), the elite branch of the armed forces. And experts say an Iranian network dubbed "Storm-2035" operates multiple inauthentic news sites on the web and social media that use AI-generated content to agitate conservative and liberal dissidence. "Irans main goal in this space is to sow discord and chaos and to undermine the integrity of the United States' electoral system," said Simin Kargar, a senior nonresident fellow at the Washington-based Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab). "If they can pull this off, even at a very small scale, it would be a testament to Irans long-held rhetoric that democracy is a 'flawed Western concept' and even the U.S., which has often accused Iran of rigged elections, is susceptible to election-related controversies," she added in written comments. At least four "Iran-run covert news sites masquerading as news outlets" operated by Storm-2035 have been identified by the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center (MTAC) as "actively engaging U.S. voter groups on opposing ends of the political spectrum with polarizing messaging on issues such as the U.S. presidential candidates, LGBTQ rights, and the Israel-Hamas conflict." In an August 9 report, the MTAC singled out three of the sites by name-- Even Politics (evenpolitics.com), Nio Thinker (niothinker.com), and Savannah Time (savannahtime.com). With Trump and Harris in a tight race 11 weeks before the vote, Even Politics was publishing content focused on the ongoing war in Gaza, alleged threats against democracy, and the influence of religious groups. Much of the content on the site appeared to be steered against Trump. Nio Thinker, which emerged shortly after the beginning of the Gaza war in October, has since shifted its focus from that conflict to the U.S. election. Its content caters to "liberal audiences" with "sarcastic, long-winded articles insulting Trump," according to the MTAC, including one calling him an "opioid-pilled elephant in the MAGA china shop." Hot-Button Topics The site also goes after Harris's alleged unwavering support for Israel, the vice-presidential nominees for both parties, and stokes the flames on hot-button topics like corporate influence and immigration. One article presented as an op-ed lays out "Why Harris's Stance On Palestine Cost Her My Vote." A story titled "J.D. Vance And The Rise Of The Sperm Cups" mocks Trump's running mate over his "family values" positioning, which it described as a "one-way ticket back to the 1950s." And another written from "an FBI agent's perspective" alleged that Harris's running mate, Tim Walz, has a "'longstanding connection' to China and its government." The third site, Savannah Time, presents itself as originating from the city of Savannah in the key swing state of Georgia. That site, according to Darren Linvill, co-director of the Watt Family Innovation Center Media Forensics Hub, is clearly intended to appeal to the right, with stories bashing Harris and her supporters. Harris's economic policies are often in the crosshairs of Savannah Time, with one article describing them as "fiscally reckless crayon economics that would make even a drunken sailor blush." Another accuses her of "a dangerous flirtation with communist-style price controls." Most of the articles published by the three sites are written by "staff," and the Open AI artificial intelligence research company said in an August 16 report that Storm-2035 relied heavily on ChatGPT to generate its content. Experts suggest that in many ways Iran's approach to influencing the U.S. electoral system mirrors that of Russia, which employed troll farms to flood social media with disinformation and divisive content during the 2016 presidential election, broadly favoring Trump over Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. "What we've seen from these websites suggests a sort of Russian-style [campaign], where they have set up websites that are targeting communities on both the left and the right," Linvill said. "[They want] to potentially use those websites to target these communities to spread disinformation and perhaps make our politics more extreme than they would have been otherwise and facilitate the process of us fighting amongst ourselves," he added. 'Remarkably Well Done' Linvill also said the Iranian websites in some ways surpass their Russian counterparts, and have improved over the years. "They're really remarkably well done. They clearly use AI in really interesting ways to create their content, but they're really well put together," Linvill said. Iranian efforts to influence the U.S. electoral process have been observed since as early as 2018, when inauthentic personas were used to impersonate candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives and to pose as journalists, according to the cyberthreat intelligence specialists Mandiant. Analysts suggest that the campaign increased in scope following the assassination of IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani in a U.S. air strike in Iraq in January 2020 under then-President Trump. Two Iranian nationals, for example, were charged by the United States for their involvement in a cyberenabled campaign to influence U.S. voters in the 2020 election, which Trump lost to President Joe Biden. Mandiant noted that Iranian actors sent threatening e-mails to voters in the United States during the 2020 campaign. Mandiant and other cyberexperts also said that Iran used media sites like Even Politics to attempt to influence the 2022 midterm elections. Aside from the use of media platforms, U.S. intelligence agencies and cyberthreat experts say that Iran is currently making use of hacking and phishing attacks in an attempt to disrupt the November presidential vote. The Trump campaign on August 10 blamed the Iranian government for a hack of some of its internal communications, prompting a federal investigation. A joint assessment by three U.S. intelligence bodies released on August 19 confirmed "increasingly aggressive Iranian activity during this election cycle," including the "recently reported activities to compromise former President Trumps campaign." This came after the U.S. director of national intelligence in July suggested that Tehran's efforts to influence the election was "probably because Iranian leaders want to avoid an outcome they perceive would increase tensions with the United States." Considering the assassination of Soleimeni, the unilateral U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear accord with Iran, and the souring of relations under the Trump administration, many experts suggest that Tehran would not favor another Trump presidency. The Trump campaign, following the hacking it blamed on Iran, suggested that it was due to past hostilities with Tehran. 'Hyper-Polarized Climate' Kargar of DFRLab said in written comments that she had not "seen enough evidence on favoring one candidate over another." But Kargar said that given Trumps first term policies vis-a-vis Iran, it would only make sense that Iran would want to avoid a second Trump term at any cost." But Harris's campaign has also been targeted. The joint U.S. intelligence report this month also said that it was confident that "the Iranians have through social engineering and other efforts sought access to individuals with direct access to the presidential campaigns of both political parties." And a Google threat analysis group on August 14 said that APT42 had used phishing campaigns in an attempt to compromise "the personal [e-mail] accounts of individuals affiliated with President Biden, Vice President Harris, and former President Trump, including current and former government officials and individuals associated with the campaigns." Tehran is going after both the Republican and the Democratic camps because "Iran is looking for ways to sow discord and drive wedges between different communities of voters in a hyper-polarized climate," Kargar said. Russia, Kargar added, did the same in 2016. The bigger question is whether Iran's campaign has had any impact in an election that is already divisive on its own. Little is known about the hacking attacks confirmed by U.S. intelligence, although Trump wrote on social media that the hackers were "only able to get publicly available information" and U.S. media did not publish documents purportedly from within Trump's campaign that were sent anonymously. In the case of the inauthentic websites operated by Iran's Storm-2035 campaign, Linvill said that "nobody's talking about them." "It seems likely that they had been set up for some future purpose to help some future narrative laundering campaign that hasn't been undertaken yet," Linvill said. Such campaigns usually have a very specific goal in mind or a specific story that the actor wants to spread, Livill said, but "we just can't say what that might be." Linvill said he expects that to be cleared up as the election gets closer. Millions of Pakistanis have for weeks experienced slow Internet connections and problems with accessing social media platforms. Activists say the authorities are installing a China-style national Internet firewall aimed at exerting more control over the online space and crushing dissent. Islamabad has denied allegations that it is behind the Internet slowdown, which has disrupted businesses and triggered widespread complaints in the South Asian country of some 240 million. Pakistanis have been unable to promptly send emails or use the messaging application WhatsApp, which is used by tens of millions of people. Businesses and entrepreneurs say the Internet slowdown has disrupted their daily work. Among them is Omeed Khan, a freelance video editor from the capital, Islamabad. The 21-year-old said he has been unable to download or upload lengthy videos for weeks. Unable to meet the deadlines set by his mostly international customers, his livelihood has suffered. This Internet slowdown is detrimental to our work, said Khan, who used to earn several thousand dollars per month. Our clients will quickly move to freelancers in neighboring India and Bangladesh. Financial experts have warned that the Internet disruptions could exacerbate the severe economic crisis in Pakistan. The government estimates that the country earns more than $2.5 billion annually from digital exports of products and services. Pakistan Software Houses Association, which represents IT companies, said in a statement on August 15 that the disruptions could cost the already fragile economy around $300 million. This is not going to invite investment into the country or business, said Farieha Aziz, co-founder of the nongovernmental digital rights group Bolo Bhi. Stricter Controls For weeks, Islamabad refused to comment on the slowdown. In recent days, officials have provided contradictory remarks about the reason behind the disruptions. Information Technology and Telecommunication Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja admitted on August 15 that the government was tinkering with the Internet, revealing that it was upgrading a web-management system it had previously installed. Khawaja had previously blamed the Internet disruptions on more Pakistanis using virtual private networks (VPNs) to circumvent government controls. On August 21, Hafeezur Rehman, the chairman of the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), claimed that a faulty undersea Internet cable was to blame for the disruptions. Activists say there is no doubt that the governments alleged implementation of a national firewall to monitor and regulate content and social media platforms is to blame. They say the building of a China-style firewall and filtering system is designed to increase surveillance and stifle dissent, especially criticism of the countrys all-powerful military. The civilian government is backed by the military and the PTA is overseen by a retired general. The alleged implementation of the firewall comes as Pakistan's military, which has an oversized role in the countrys domestic and foreign affairs, says it is battling "digital terrorism." Military officials in recent months have alluded to the threat posed by the opposition Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaf political party led by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan as well as civil and political organizations in the restive provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that have been critical of the army. Aziz of the digital rights group Bolo Bhi said the alleged building of the firewall has raised questions about its impact on Pakistanis fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, the right to privacy, and access to information. There has to be disclosure, transparency, due process, none of that weve seen, she said. Ramsha Jahangir, a senior policy and communications associate with Global Network Initiative, a Washington-based global digital rights watchdog, said that placing stricter controls will now add significant privacy concerns with increasing surveillance of Internet activity. 'Web-Management System' In recent years, Pakistan has built what officials have called a web-management system, which the authorities have used to block websites, including foreign news websites. But activists say the alleged firewall is likely to be more sophisticated and capable of identifying individuals who upload or share content on social media platforms. The PTA is reportedly seeking mandatory local registration and licensing for Skype, WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Netflix. These companies must comply with removing and blocking content Islamabad declares unlawful under its controversial cyberlaws and regulations. According to Freedom House, a U.S. global rights watchdog, Pakistan is already one of the countries where the Internet is not free. Authorities routinely use Internet shutdowns, platform blocking, and arrests and harsh convictions to suppress unwanted online speech, the organization said in its 2023 report. The report noted that "online activists, dissidents, and journalists are often subjected to harassment" and in some cases "physical assault and enforced disappearances." The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, a rights watchdog, on August 20 called on Islamabad to immediately scrap the alleged firewall. The right to connectivity is a fundamental right -- not a privilege, it said in a statement. HRCP said that, lacking job security or alternative incomes, the slowdown of the Internet is proving detrimental for freelancers. The watchdog said it was unacceptable amid a cost-of-living crisis in a tottering economy. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Ukraine on August 23 in a trip seen as a diplomatic balancing act following Modis meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow last month, which raised eyebrows in Kyiv and in the West. Modis visit is the first trip by an Indian leader to Kyiv since the countries established bilateral relations more than 30 years ago. The United States was particularly concerned with Modis two-day visit to Russia as it sees New Delhi as an important pillar in its strategy to contain an ascendant China. Indian analysts say a primary reason for Modi's visit is to offset the damage from the July 8-9 Moscow trip, which coincided with a deadly Russian missile attack on a childrens hospital in Kyiv that elicited harsh international condemnation. In a rebuke to the Kremlin, Modi said the death of innocent children is painful, reiterating India's stated stance that political problems cannot be resolved "on the battlefield." More importantly, Modi's visit to Ukraine should be viewed as part of Indias multifaceted foreign policy of "strategic autonomy." In pursuing that goal, New Delhi treads a fine line courting a closer security partnership with the West -- such as its Quad security grouping with Australia, Japan, and the United States -- as a bulwark against leading foe China. At the same time, India maintains historically warm relations with Russia, relying on weapons and oil from Moscow at a discounted price. For that reason India has taken a neutral stance and neither condemned nor condoned Russias war in Ukraine, stating that the conflict should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. New Delhi fears that if it condemned Russia and joined Western sanctions against Moscow it would alienate the Kremlin and push it closer to China and Pakistan, Indias archrivals. By the same token, India doesnt want to alienate Ukraine but rather position itself as an impartial stakeholder. In its carefully crafted balancing act, Modi has ruled out the role of India as a mediator aimed at ending the war, Bloomberg reported, citing an inside source. New Delhi has agreed to relay messages between Putin and Zelenskiy, it said. From Ukraine's vantage point, India has been instrumental in luring some states from the so-called Global South to either remain neutral toward the war or show support for Ukraine, according to Bloomberg. Expanding Economic Cooperation Modi and Zelenskiy last met in June on the sidelines of the Group of Seven meeting in Italy. They have also spoken several times by phone since the start of the war. Apart from talks on geopolitics, which is set against the backdrop of Ukraines recent incursion into the Kursk region of Russia, the leaders are due to focus on expanding economic cooperation. Bilateral trade between India and Ukraine reached $3.3 billion in the 2021-2022 financial year, according to the Indian Foreign Ministry, a fraction of the $65 billion annual trade turnover between India and Russia. Ukraine wants to strengthen economic ties with India, particularly in the agriculture, aviation, pharmaceutical, and industrial spheres, Zelenskiy said earlier this year. In turn, India needs defense products from Ukraine, especially aircraft and marine engines. Modis visit to Ukraine could evoke a negative reaction from Russia in a manner similar to how his visit to Moscow drew Washingtons ire. The challenge for Indian diplomacy is to calibrate its private messaging to assuage concerns from both countries, while also portraying the trip as a bold new initiative, wrote Shashi Tharoor, a former Indian minister and diplomat. "Pulling this off would be a geopolitical triumph. But if the visit goes awry, it could cause incalculable damage to Indias global standing," Tharoor said in an August 13 commentary for Project Syndicate. Before Ukraine, Modi visited Poland, a strong ally of Kyiv, on August 22, the first trip by an Indian leader to Warsaw in more than 40 years. Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan holds discussions with farmers in Patna today Union Minister further said that we do not have large pieces of land, 91 percent are marginal farmers but still farmers are doing wonders. New Delhi: Union Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Rural Development Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan today held a discussion with farmers in Patna, Bihar. Chouhan said that Agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy and farmers are its soul and expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who has given him the task of serving farmers and serving farmers is like worshipping God for Chouhan. We will try our best to ensure the welfare of the farmers of the country. Union Minister said that Prime Minister Modi has said from the Red Fort that he will work three times faster and he will try his best to do the welfare of the farmers of the country. Chouhan congratulated the Government of Bihar, the Chief Minister, the Deputy Chief Minister, and the Agriculture Department as they are constantly engaged in the work of the welfare of farming. Advertisement Chouhan said that today he had seen the stalls, makhana, rice, honey, maize, and tea and everything was amazing. He saluted the farmers of Bihar. The Union Minister further said that we do not have large pieces of land, 91 percent are marginal farmers but still farmers are doing wonders. Union Minister said that the Prime Minister has started a campaign to double the income in farming and he have 6 formulas for the farmers on which he is working are increasing production, for which good seeds are necessary. Production is good but there is more possibility. Good seeds of fruits, vegetables, cereals, pulses, and oilseeds are essential. He is happy that the Prime Minister has dedicated 109 species of 65 crop seeds to the farmers. He informed there is a variety of rice that requires 30% less water, there is a variety of millet whose crop is ready in 70 days. There are seeds which are climate-friendly, they give good production even in rising temperatures. He will talk to ICAR so that seeds are available to the farmers here.Shri Chouhan informed that reducing the cost of production is his second resolution, farmers get a lot of help from the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, cheap loans for fertilizers are available from KCC. Advertisement The third resolution is to get the right price for the produce. The Union Minister said that the makhana of Bihar is making a splash and Makhana of export quality is being produced and when these are exported, the farmer benefited more. Union Minister assured that he will try to get an office related to this to come to Bihar. Supreme Court Adjourns Arvind Kejriwal's Bail Plea Till September 5 SC bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan posted the matter on September 5 for hearing. Supreme Court on Arvind Kejriwal Latest News: In a major development, the Supreme Court on Friday adjourned the hearing of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's pleas challenging his arrest and seeking bail in the case registered by the CBI over the alleged Delhi Liquor Policy scam. According to information, the CBI sought time to file a counter affidavit in the matter after which the bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan posted the matter on September 5 for hearing. Advertisement Additional Solicitor General SV Raju sought time to file a counter-affidavit in one of the petitions as he submitted that CBI's counter-affidavit had been filed in the other petition. To this, Senior Advocate Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi submitted that the counter-affidavit was filed yesterday night at 8 PM with a deliberate design that the same won't reach the bench. Granting time to the CBI for filing a counter-affidavit and to the petitioner to file a rejoinder, if any, to it, the bench adjourned the matter to September 5. Advertisement Kejriwal's latest petition before the Supreme Court was filed through Advocate-on-Record Vivek Jain. It challenged the Delhi High Court's order of August 5, whereby his plea against CBI arrest was dismissed by a Single Judge bench with liberty to approach the trial Court for bail. It may be recalled that the AAP chief was formally arrested by CBI on June 26, 2024, while he was in custody of the Enforcement Directorate in the money laundering case arising out of the alleged liquor policy scam. On July 12, the Supreme Court granted Kejriwal interim bail in the money laundering case. However, he continued to remain in custody due to his arrest by the CBI. Advertisement (For more news apart from Supreme Court on Arvind Kejriwal Latest News, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Zirakpur Rape Case: School bus driver, who raped Class 12 student, arrested Police registered an FIR by taking immediate action. Zirakpur Rape Case of Chandigarh Class 12 student latest news: On Thursday, a shocking case was reported from Zirakpur wherein a Chandigarh Class 12 student was raped by the school bus driver. In the meanwhile, the driver has been arrested and police have been granted his 2-day remand, the Station House Officer Jaskanwal Singh Sekhon said. A case has been registered against the school bus driver for editing the photo of a Class 12 student of a private school in Chandigarh and threatening her to make it viral and even threatening to kill her younger sister. The accused has been identified as a Manimajra resident. Advertisement Zirakpur police station in-charge Jaskanwal Singh Sekhon said that he had received a complaint from the victim, on which the police has registered an FIR by taking immediate action. The victim who complained to the police said that she was a student at a private school in Chandigarh. The School bus driver often chased her and one day the accused forcibly stopped her in the school parking lot and asked her to be friends. The student protested and refused after which the driver started blackmailing her by editing her photo. The police said that the accused did not stop stalking her and edited a photo of her from a function to make her naked and threatened to make it viral on social media. On May 18, when the family was not at home, he forced his way in. He threatened to kill her younger sister if she did not have sexual relations. Advertisement The victim got scared and the accused forced sexual relations with her. The accused forced her to have physical relations with her several times by threatening to make her morphed pictures go viral and to kill her sister. One day when her health deteriorated, her family asked the reason and she told the whole story. (For more news apart from Zirakpur Rape Case School bus driver rapes Class 12 student Latest News, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) ELKO World War II-era dynamite was discovered and destroyed near the Elko Hot Hole on Thursday. The Elko Bomb Squad responded to a call to a residence on Bullion Road to remove dynamite underneath a shed that was placed there in the 1940s. Two boxes of blasting caps were also discovered on the property. The bomb squad, supported by the Elko County Fire Protection District, the Elko County Sheriffs Office and the Elko County Ambulance, disposed of the dynamite and blasting caps. Authorities closed Bullion Road for about an hour during the disposal out of an abundance of caution to the motoring public, Elko police said in a statement. Its the second time this month the bomb squad was called to a property outside of Elko City limits to dispose of old explosives. On Aug. 12, South Fork property owners discovered a backpack that contained explosives described as a modified pineapple style grenade and dynamite. A Vietnam War-era smoke grenade and one electric blasting cap were also found. Both sets of explosives were safely detonated on the property. Authorities said the owner of the explosives had died, and no charges would be sought. Anyone who suspects explosives may be stored improperly on a property is asked to contact law enforcement. 24 Severe Rape Cases In India In 13 Days! When will law take its course? Tarikh par tarikh, tarikh par tarikh, tarikh par tarikh, tarikh par tarikh milti rahi hai. Recent Rape cases in India: There's an iconic dialogue from the Bollywood film 'Damini' wherein Sunny Deol, a frustrated lawyer, gets frustrated from yet another adjournment of the case and screams, "Tarikh par tarikh, tarikh par tarikh, tarikh par tarikh, tarikh par tarikh milti rahi hai ... lekin insaaf nahi mila my lord, insaaf nahi mila ... mili hai toh sirf yeh tarikh." This is what all Indians feel every time a rape case is reported wherein, sometimes, the delay goes beyond the extent. India recently reported over 23 rape cases in India within 13 days. 23 cases! 13 days! What is happening in this country? Advertisement Recent Rape Cases in India: August 9 | Kolkata Doctor Rape and Murder Case: A trainee doctor was raped and murdered inside the premises of a medical institution. The accused was arrested but there has been no verdict yet. A trainee doctor was raped and murdered inside the premises of a medical institution. The accused was arrested but there has been no verdict yet. August 9 | Uttarakhand Nurse Rape and Murder Case: A nurse in Uttarakhand was brutally raped and murdered, with her body mutilated. The accused was arrested, but no verdict yet. A nurse in Uttarakhand was brutally raped and murdered, with her body mutilated. The accused was arrested, but no verdict yet. August 9 | Uttar Pradesh's Amethi Rape Case: A 13-year-old girl in Amethi was raped by her father. The girl's mother died two days later. Justice, pending! A 13-year-old girl in Amethi was raped by her father. The girl's mother died two days later. Justice, pending! August 11 | Punjab Rape Case: A man who eloped with his girlfriend had his sister gang-raped by the family of his girlfriend. Justice, Excuse me. A man who eloped with his girlfriend had his sister gang-raped by the family of his girlfriend. Justice, Excuse me. August 12 | Maharashtra Rape Case: A male attendant allegedly assaulted two four-year-old girls in the school's washroom in Badlapur. Justice? A male attendant allegedly assaulted two four-year-old girls in the school's washroom in Badlapur. Justice? August 12 | Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr Rape Case: A government employee raped a 6-year-old Dalit girl. The accused was suspended, but is this the justice? A government employee raped a 6-year-old Dalit girl. The accused was suspended, but is this the justice? August 12 | Uttarakhand Rape Case: A 16-year-old girl was gang-raped by a bus driver, conductor, and others. Justice? Not yet. A 16-year-old girl was gang-raped by a bus driver, conductor, and others. Justice? Not yet. August 12 | Bihar Rape Case: A 14-year-old girl in Muzaffarpur was gang-raped and murdered after refusing to marry one of the accused. She died but still no sign of justice. A 14-year-old girl in Muzaffarpur was gang-raped and murdered after refusing to marry one of the accused. She died but still no sign of justice. August 14 | Tamil Nadu Rape Case: A 14-year-old girl was gang-raped by her friends near her home in Thanjavur. No justice has been served yet. A 14-year-old girl was gang-raped by her friends near her home in Thanjavur. No justice has been served yet. August 14 | Mumbai Rape Case: A 9th-grade student raped a 3-year-old girl in the Saki Naka area. Juvenile. Still, what justice? A 9th-grade student raped a 3-year-old girl in the Saki Naka area. Juvenile. Still, what justice? August 14 | Odisha Rape Case: A resident doctor accused of raping two patients at SCB Medical College and Hospital. Justice pending. A resident doctor accused of raping two patients at SCB Medical College and Hospital. Justice pending. August 14 | Sirohi Rape Case: In Sirohi, a 63-year-old widow was gang-raped. Justice pending. In Sirohi, a 63-year-old widow was gang-raped. Justice pending. August 15 | West Bengal Rape Case: Three minors raped a young girl on Independence Day in Siliguri. Freedom? Three minors raped a young girl on Independence Day in Siliguri. Freedom? August 16 | Uttar Pradesh Rape Case: An 11-year-old girl in Ballia was raped. Justice pending. An 11-year-old girl in Ballia was raped. Justice pending. August 16 | Bhopal Rape Case: A minor girl was raped at her home by a blackmailer. Minor girl. Justice? Please someone answer. A minor girl was raped at her home by a blackmailer. Minor girl. Justice? Please someone answer. August 17 | Uttar Pradesh Rape Case: A 14-year-old rape victim in Sonbhadra assaulted by her teacher in December of the previous year, dies. Justice? A 14-year-old rape victim in Sonbhadra assaulted by her teacher in December of the previous year, dies. Justice? August 17 | Madhya Pradesh Rape Case: A 69-year-old man raped a minor girl in Beohari. Man of her grandfather's age. Justice? Keep waiting. A 69-year-old man raped a minor girl in Beohari. Man of her grandfather's age. Justice? Keep waiting. August 18 | Rajasthan Rape Case: A 3-year-old girl was abducted and raped by a garbage collector in Jodhpur. For god sake. Please give justice. A 3-year-old girl was abducted and raped by a garbage collector in Jodhpur. For god sake. Please give justice. August 18 | Bengaluru Rape Case: A 22-year-old woman was raped by a biker who offered her a lift. Justice is still pending. A 22-year-old woman was raped by a biker who offered her a lift. Justice is still pending. August 18: Uttar Pradesh Rape Case: A Dalit nurse was raped by a doctor in Moradabad. Three individuals were arrested, including another nurse and a ward boy. Where's Justice? A Dalit nurse was raped by a doctor in Moradabad. Three individuals were arrested, including another nurse and a ward boy. Where's Justice? August 18 | Punjab Rape Case: Three minor girls were raped in Ludhiana. Justice? Three minor girls were raped in Ludhiana. Justice? August 18 | Delhi Rape Case: A 22-year-old man raped an 11-year-old girl, luring her from watching TV. Justice? A 22-year-old man raped an 11-year-old girl, luring her from watching TV. Justice? August 18 | Andhra Pradesh Rape Case: A minor girl was raped by someone who deceived her under the pretense of love. Justice? A minor girl was raped by someone who deceived her under the pretense of love. Justice? August 22 | Punjab Rape Case: Chandigarh Class 12 student, a resident of Zirakpur, was raped at her residence by her school bus driver. Accused arrested but what about justice? Merely arresting the accused justified the atrocity that women go through? Not just women but also innocent girls. What kind of law is this? People in India find the law a bit weak which is why they have been asking for laws like that of Saudi Arabia. The rapist Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Singh, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment in the rape and murder cases, is still allowed for furlough. What kind of justice is this? The actual justice in the 2012 Nirbhaya case was given after 8 years in 2020. 8 years. 'Justice delayed is justice denied', that's what we've been hearing for a long time but what's changing? Do you call life imprisonment to the rapists like Ram Rahim, justice? All these things bring us to the only question, When will law take its course? Advertisement (The views expressed are those of the author Rajan Nath, Senior Sub Editor, Rozana Spokesman) Sikh separatist leader escapes alleged assassination attempt in California Satinder Pal Singh Raju is also said to be an associate of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. California Latest News: In a shocking incident, a Sikh separatist leader was allegedly attacked on a California highway, earlier this month. His organization has described the shooting as an alleged assassination attempt. According to information, Satinder Pal Singh Raju, was traveling on the Interstate 505 near Sacramento on 11 August when the truck, he was travelling in, was sprayed with bullets. Reportedly, he survived the shooting. Advertisement Satinder Pal Singh Raju is also said to be an associate of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh separatist leader who was assassinated in Vancouver in 2023. Back then, the Canadian government has said there were credible allegations that agents of the Indian government were behind Nijjars death. As per The Guardian, the California highway patrol confirmed that a shooting took place after 11.30pm on 11 August in Yolo county. The agency is currently investigating the matter and no arrests have been made yet. Romanias Prime Minister in Brussels In Brussels Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu held talks on Romanias budget deficit, its recovery and resilience plan and about the future Romanian commissioner of the EU Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu meets the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen (photo: gov.ro) Daniela Budu, 23.08.2024, 14:00 The Prime Minister of Romania, Marcel Ciolacu, held talks with the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels on Thursday. High on the agenda were the renegotiation of the countrys National Plan of Recovery and Resilience, known as PNRR, the future agreement on curbing the countrys budget deficit and the Romanian proposal for the future European Commissioner. Marcel Ciolacu mentioned Bucharests request to renegotiate the PNRR, to reduce by 10 percent the loan component and the payment request number 3. Out of the total 76 landmarks only four remained under discussion and one of them was about the ceiling at which a company could be considered a micro-enterprise. According to the Prime Minister, the ruling coalition in Bucharest must decide whether to lower the ceiling or leave it to the present level, but in this case they have to give up a sum of money from the payment request number 3. Marcel Ciolacu says that he forwarded during the talks a new agreement regarding Romanias deficit that should expand over 7 years because, as the Prime Minister says, the biggest investment is expected to take place in the next two years. Prime Minister Ciolacu also briefed the EU official on investments in the countrys road and rail infrastructures. The first Romanian proposal regarding the road infrastructure was to have a sum of 13.7 billion Euros earmarked. The sum eventually approved stood somewhere around 7 billion though. The difference is co-funded by Romanian state, Ciolacu explained. The Prime Minister reconfirmed in Brussels the proposal that Victor Negrescu, the incumbent vice-president of the European Parliament, become the new Romanian EU commissioner adding that he wishes a relevant economic portfolio for Romania. However, the formal proposal will be submitted to the Commission in the following days, the Prime Minister says. We recall that several EU countries, including Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg and Portugal have not submitted their proposals for the EU commissioners yet. Every EU member has been designated a commissioner seat and once sworn in these candidates will be responsible for various portfolios within the Commission. Governments present their nominees, who are approved by the president of the EU Executive. The nominees are to be heard in mid-September and get European Parliament endorsement in October. Prime Minister Ciolacu and Ursula von der Leyen also tackled Romanias accession to Schengen with its ground borders. Marcel Ciolacu described the European Commission president as the biggest supporter of Romanias fully-fledged Schengen accession and voiced his conviction that this accession would happen in the next period. (bill) Uber Technologies, Inc. and Cruise LLC, the autonomous vehicle company owned by General Motors Co., are joining to offer Cruise autonomous vehicles through the Uber platform. The companies, which are revolutionizing transportation, agreed on a multiyear strategic partnership that will be launched next year. Under the deal, a number of Chevy Bolt-based autonomous vehicles will be offered for Uber users. Once launched, when an Uber rider requests a qualifying ride on the Uber app, they may be presented with the option to have that trip fulfilled by a Cruise autonomous vehicle. Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber CEO, said, "As the largest mobility and delivery platform, we believe Uber can play an important role in helping to safely and reliably introduce autonomous to consumers and cities around the world." Further, Marc Whitten, CEO of Cruise, added that the company is on a mission to leverage driverless technology to create safer streets and redefine urban life, and that it expects to offer the benefits of safe, reliable, autonomous driving to Uber users. Uber, which started in 2010, so far has completed more than 52 billion trips. By changing how people, food, and things move through cities, Uber is a platform that opens up the world to new possibilities, it noted. In late July, Uber signed a multi-year strategic partnership with Chinese EV maker BYD Co. Ltd. that would bring 100,000 new BYD electric vehicles onto the Uber platform across key global . Beginning first in Europe and Latin America, the partnership will be expanded to include markets across the Middle East, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Cruise, which was founded in 2013, and majority owned by General Motors since 2016, had paused all its driverless operations in the United States since October last year, following an accident in which a pedestrian was struck and dragged by a Cruise vehicle in San Francisco. Following the accident, the state of California had suspended the firm's license to operate driverless cars, and the company faced a probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Amid the safety review of its U.S. fleet, Kyle Vogt, CEO and Co-Founder of Cruise, and co-founder Dan Kan resigned from the firm, which also dismissed nine key executives. However, Cruise in April this year announced its plan to resume manual driving, after making significant progress, as the next step in return to fully driverless operations. Prior to the pause in operations, Cruise had provided hundreds of thousands of driverless trips to riders on complex city streets in San Francisco, Phoenix, Austin, Houston and elsewhere. As of June 2024, Cruise has resumed supervised autonomous driving in Phoenix, AZ, Houston and Dallas, TX, in addition to its ongoing testing in Dubai. Along with GM, Cruise has received funding from other major companies and investors, including Honda, Microsoft, T. Rowe Price, and Walmart. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Kamala Harris has formally accepted the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, and promised to lead the country "for all Americans" and create an "opportunity ." On the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, she spoke for protecting the right to abortion, unity and working-class aspiration. She called for a pathway beyond the "bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles" of modern American . Recalling her childhood in Oakland as the daughter of a middle class immigrant from India, the 58-year-old Vice President vowed to work for "building" the middle class, lowering the costs of "everyday needs" such as healthcare, housing and groceries. As protests taking place outside the United Center over US support of Israel in the Gaza war, Harris said that she and President Joe Biden were working round the clock to find ways to reach a deal on ceasefire and release of hostages. Describing Republican candidate Donald Trump as an "unserious man," Harris warned that electing him as president would be "extremely serious." Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper also spoke in support of Harris on Thursday, the fourth and final night of DNC. Meanwhile, a Gallup poll conducted mostly before the Democratic National Convention shows Americans' views of Harris have improved significantly. Americans' favorable rating of Harris has increased 13 percentage points since June, while her job approval rating is up seven points from the previous reading in December 2023. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News A study supported by the National Institutes of Health, which has not yet undergone peer review, has discovered microplastics in brain tissue. The analysis revealed that 24 brain samples contained an average of 0.5% plastic by weight. Study author Matthew Campen expressed concern about these findings, noting that the presence of plastic in the brain was higher than he anticipated and could potentially lead to issues. The research examined autopsy samples from human livers, kidneys, and frontal cortex tissues collected in Albuquerque, New Mexico, from 2016 to 2024. Over this period, the levels of plastics found in all examined organs increased, with the brain showing the most significant rise; the average amount of plastic detected in 2024 was 50% greater than in 2016. Polyethylene, the common plastic used for bags and bottles, was the most frequently identified type in the organs. The researchers indicated that micro and nanoplastics are accumulating in the human brain and their concentrations increase over time. Campen noted that while there is currently no direct evidence linking microplastics in the body to specific health problems, these substances may be contributing to various health issues, including dementia, autism, ALS, and Parkinson's disease, warranting immediate research. Microplastics are pervasive in the environment and originate from a multitude of sources. These include the breakdown of larger plastic items, such as bottles and food containers, as well as airborne particles resulting from road tire wear, synthetic fibers shed from clothing, blankets, and carpets. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News The Teamsters union has threatened Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO), one of the country's two major freight railroads, with a 72-hour strike just hours after the company resumed operations. "Please find this letter as official notice to the company of our intention to withdraw the services of our combined membership of approximately 6,500 members," said the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference in the notice. "We do not believe that any of the matters we have been discussing over the last several days are insurmountable and we remain available for discussion in order to resolve this matter without a further work stoppage." The notice follows the union's decision to challenge a government order that forced it into arbitration with both CN and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. railroads to end a lockout. Both the companies had locked out their thousands of workers after failing to reach deals with the union, leading to a shutdown of rail operations across the country. The unprecedented stoppage disrupted shipments of grain, potash, and coal, and slowed the transport of petroleum products, chemicals, and autos, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to refer the matter to the Canada Industrial Relations Board. "This is not about disobeying the minister's order. It's about exercising our right," Teamsters Canada President Francois Laporte said. "We will our exercise our right within the legal framework." For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News [L-R] Interim Deputy Dean of Science, Associate Professor Shelley Edwards; Professor Julie Coetzee; Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sizwe Mabizela By Siviwe Mxuma Earlier this month, Rhodes University hosted the 2023 Vice-Chancellors Distinguished Senior Research Award Lecture, which recognises exceptional research contributions within the University. This award was presented to Professor Julie Coetzee from the Faculty of Science, a distinguished scholar who has made significant strides in the field of biological control, particularly in understanding the interactions between freshwater aquatic plants and insects. The evenings proceedings were opened by Rhodes Universitys Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sizwe Mabizela, who praised Professor Coetzees remarkable contributions to both the University and the broader scientific community. He stated, Professor Julie has been an employee of Rhodes University for the past 15 years. She is currently the Deputy Director of one of our institutions flagship research entities, the Centre for Biological Control. Shes one of our countrys most prominent and respected technologists, having served as the President of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa between 2021 and 2023. Over her 15-year tenure at Rhodes University, Professor Coetzee has established herself as a leader in research that addresses some of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. Her work is not just academically significant but has also had real-world applications, influencing policy and practice in managing invasive species in aquatic environments. In her lecture, Professor Coetzee took the audience on a journey through her research career, reflecting on the evolution of her work and the collaborations that have been integral to her success. With her characteristic charm and enthusiasm, she shared anecdotes from her early days as a researcher, confessing that she never intended to become an entomologist and initially thought that people who worked with insects were weird. Yet, 30 years later, she has become a renowned expert in the field, with a research portfolio that spans continents, including significant projects in South America (Argentina) and East-Central Africa. Professor Coetzee emphasised the collaborative nature of her work, attributing her success to the collective efforts of her colleagues, students, and government officials. This talk tonight is largely a tribute, I think, to all the people that Ive worked with over the years because I did not get this research award on my own, she humbly acknowledged. Her words resonated with the audience, many of whom were her collaborators, friends, and family members, present to celebrate her achievements. Professor Coetzees lecture delved into the complex challenges posed by aquatic weed invasions and the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in addressing these issues. She illustrated how her research has integrated diverse expertise, from entomology and aquatic ecology to community engagement and citizen science, to develop effective strategies for managing invasive species. Through collaborative projects, she has harnessed the collective strengths of various disciplines, fostering innovation and enhancing the robustness of research findings. One of the key themes of her lecture was the impact of collaboration on advancing scientific knowledge and achieving practical outcomes. She highlighted how these partnerships have not only accelerated the identification and implementation of biological control methods but also facilitated the dissemination of knowledge and best practices across different regions and stakeholders. This collaborative approach has been instrumental in promoting sustainable ecological management and contributing to a more resilient and informed response to environmental challenges. Professor Coetzees lecture was more than just a recounting of her research; it was a testament to the power of collaboration in driving scientific advancements. Her work stands as a shining example of how interdisciplinary partnerships can lead to significant breakthroughs in ecological research and beyond. As she took the audience on a global journey through her collaborative projects, it became clear that the synergy created through these partnerships has been indispensable in her successful and impactful research career. While developing its own strong hybrid powertrain, Maruti will continue to use Toyota-supplied strong hybrid setup for its high-end hybrid SUVs Strong hybrid models like Maruti Grand Vitara, Toyota HyRyder, Innova HyCross and Maruti Invicto have emerged as popular options. All these have the Toyota Hybrid System (THS) and are produced by Toyota. For its smaller cars, Maruti Suzuki is developing its own new strong hybrid system. Maruti strong hybrid vs. Toyota strong hybrid Whats different? As compared to Toyotas series-parallel hybrid system, Maruti is working on a simpler series hybrid setup. Toyotas series-parallel hybrid system offers multiple advantages such as allowing the vehicle to run on hybrid mode, electric-only mode and ICE-only mode. This setup is quite complex, requiring the use of additional components such as planetary gear sets and a larger battery pack. It takes more space and is generally costly to produce. Due to these reasons, Toyotas series-parallel hybrid system may not be suitable for smaller cars. As a significant percentage of Maruti sales come from its sub-4-meter cars, a need was felt to develop a new strong hybrid powertrain. Maruti is among the companies that are not eager to place all their bets on EVs. By offering alternative options such as CNG and strong hybrid, Maruti can ride the transition period smoothly. The new strong hybrid powertrain Maruti is developing utilizes a relatively simpler setup when compared to Toyotas series-parallel hybrid system. It has a petrol engine that is used only as a generator to recharge the battery pack. The ICE engine does not directly move the vehicle. Its the battery that connects to the electric motor, which in turn drives the wheels. This setup is also referred to as the range extender. Fronx to get it first Launch 2025 Marutis strong hybrid setup will be easier to produce and relatively cheaper. It will be suitable for Marutis smaller cars. It will be paired with the new 1.2 liter 3 cylinder Z12E engine that is in use with the recently launched Swift. The first Maruti car to get the strong hybrid powertrain will be Fronx. It will be introduced with the Fronx facelift that is scheduled for launch next year. Upcoming next-gen Baleno is also expected to get the new strong hybrid powertrain. While Marutis smaller cars getting a strong hybrid powertrain will be a segment-first offering, the technology itself is not new. For example, some of the Nissan models already use this setup. It includes the Note hatchback that had received the series hybrid powertrain in 2016. Around 7 years earlier, the Nissan Note was spotted on road tests in India. But the launch did not occur. The 3rd-gen Note, as sold across international markets, is available with only series hybrid powertrain option. For its bigger SUVs, Maruti will continue using the Toyota strong hybrid system. Marutis new strong hybrid powertrain can be a game changer for its smaller cars. Especially when viewed in the context of brands like Tata Motors and Hyundai that also focus on the sub-4-meter segment. Maruti already offers a wide range of powertrain options such as petrol mild hybrid, CNG, pure petrol and Toyota-supplied petrol strong hybrid. Electric powertrain will also be added soon with the eVX SUV planned for launch by end of this year. Source Question 3 on the ballot in November would change the Nevada Constitution and the states election system in two fundamental ways. First, Nevada would be adopting a jungle primary, allowing all voters to participate in primary elections regardless of party affiliation. The top five vote-getters in each race (regardless of their political party) would advance to the general election. Second, voters at the general election would rank candidates by order of preference. Voters could mark as many as five preferences but could choose to rank only one candidate or any number less than five. Under this ranked-choice voting system, any candidate who receives a majority of the votes (more than 50 percent) would be declared the winner. If no candidate wins a majority, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes would be eliminated and their votes would be redistributed to the candidates listed as voters second preference. This shuffling and vote reallocation process would continue until one candidate reaches a majority. Its the second time Question 3 will be on the ballot after narrowly passing in the 2022 general election with 53% approval. As a Nevada constitutional amendment, it requires approval at two consecutive general elections in both 2022 and now again in 2024. Question 3 would require most partisan elections in Nevada to move to the ranked-choice system, including contests for U.S. Senate and congressional races, state legislative elections and statewide office positions. Maine and Alaska are the only states that have adopted this format. Maine voters approved it in 2016 (52%-48%) and conducted the first election using the system in 2020. In 2020, Alaska voters narrowly approved (50.5%-49.5%) an initiative establishing an open primary for state offices and congressional elections. The initiative also established top-four ranked voting for general elections. Ranked-choice voting for local elections is used in over 20 U.S. cities, including progressive enclaves like Cambridge, Massachusetts; San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley, California; Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota; as well as in metropolitan New York City. But it has met strong criticism and resistance. Massachusetts voters decisively rejected the system (54.8%-45.2%) in 2020, with GOP Gov. Charlie Baker making a convincing argument that it was too confusing and complicated for voters. In Alaskas 2022 special election, the system didnt work as intended. A loser became the winner because voters were unfamiliar with the system. Alaska has a ballot measure for 2024 to repeal ranked-choice voting. Problems with it in Arlington County, Virginia, in 2022 caused county election officials to return to ordinary, plurality voting. In Oakland, California, election officials botched using ranked choices in 2022 by systematically counting the ballots incorrectly. Almost all the money supporting Question 3 comes from out-of-state sources, led by Chicago-based businesswoman/philanthropist, Katherine Gehl, a champion of the concept. Gehl donated over $6 million in 2022. Other major contributors include billionaire Kenneth Griffin ($3 million), a Florida-based GOP mega donor; and Kathryn Murdoch ($2.5 million), the New York-based daughter-in-law of billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch. Nevadas two Democratic senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen have been sharp critics of Question 3 as confusing for voters, warning the process could lead to votes being thrown out. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., is another opponent. Ranked-choice voting is coercive, forcing voters to play its complex game or risk their votes not being counted. Both the Nevada GOP and Nevada Democratic Party oppose Question 3. The conservative Nevada Policy Research Institute argues the system leads to delays in ballot tabulation and the liberal Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada has denounced the measure. The main objective of having an open primary is a worthy goal. That can be accomplished simply by submitting an initiative that would do just that adopt open primaries. Question 3s fatal flaw is attempting to lock a confusing, untested general election top-five ranked-choice system into the Nevada Constitution. Its a bridge too far. Vote No on Question 3. A man works at the SAIC Motor-CP manufacturing plant in Chonburi, Thailand, Sept. 7, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Teng) BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission's latest draft decision to slap hefty import duties on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) will definitely hurt European businesses, as the decision ignores a bare truth: the shared weal and woe along industrial chains. Some politicians are busy stoking fears over the supposed risk of relying too much on China-made products while trumpeting the de-risking narrative, but they have lost sight of the fact that China's EVs are increasingly manufactured globally, which means that erecting a tariff barrier will not benefit local industries in Europe. China's EV industry has a long industrial chain and involves extensive participation from the United States and Europe. From assembly robots and car chips to tires and stereos, the auto parts and components of a China-made EV demonstrate the close cooperation among global companies across various industries. As with an iPhone, one can hardly say with complete certainty that it is made or not made in the United States, as every product coming off the production lines has taken a global journey that involves multiple suppliers in multiple countries. This reality check echoes well the response of the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) on Wednesday, which warned that the commission's move could "severely impact the EU's automotive industry, employment, and efforts toward green and sustainable development." CAAM urged the European side to uphold dialogue and cooperation to foster a "fair, non-discriminatory and predictable market environment" conducive to the automotive industry's development. The automotive industries of China and Europe are highly complementary, a fact that has been proved repeatedly by BMW, Volkswagen, Faurecia and other EU companies with their expanding new energy vehicle (NEV) business in China. Foreign brands, in fact, hold an important position in China's EV exports. One example is Tesla, which ranked a steady first in China's export volume of NEVs in 2023. In the meantime, Chinese companies such as CATL, NIO and BYD have built factories in European countries including Germany and Hungary, contributing to the competitiveness of the EU electric vehicle industry. The draft decision to impose definitive countervailing duties, however, has heightened the concerns of Chinese EV manufacturers over the possible risks of investing in Europe. Industrial analysts have criticized using "overcapacity" as a pretext to pan-politicize economic and trade issues to restrict China's EV industry. Such actions not only fail to address relevant countries' own industrial challenges, but will further drag down the growth of global trade and the recovery of the world economy. As the commission's investigation advances, it is worth noting that the probe on Chinese EVs that started last October was not initiated by the EU's industries, but was an ex-officio action, meaning it was initiated by the commission grounded on the threat of damage. The China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products responded on Wednesday that there was a serious lack of procedural transparency in the commission's probe, which failed to provide objective analysis of the indicators of damage to the EU industry. Standing in sharp contrast to the repulsion of some EU politicians over China's EV industry is the welcome from the broader market. For instance, Chinese EV manufacturers have tapped into the Southeast Asian markets, including Thailand and Indonesia, forming partnerships with local companies and establishing production facilities. The New York Times described Thailand's ambitious goal to have EVs account for 30 percent of its automobile production by 2030 as an objective "that seems unattainable without Chinese companies." So far, at least 12 Chinese car companies have entered the Mexican market, a move expected to facilitate local transition to clean energy and strengthen the latter's competitive position in the global EV industry. All of these suffice to illustrate what may be overlooked by misconceptions about industrial chains. It is not just about the already globalized EV industry. From chips to semiconductors, industrial chain cooperation is a vivid demonstration of a community with a shared future for humanity in the industrial age. Some politicians love to play the "China threat" card for political gain, fueling fear of the so-called China-centric industrial chains. The truth is that there has never been a global supply chain that centers around a single country, nor will there ever be in the future. The dynamism and sustainability of value chains, including crucial aspects like research and development, must rely on multi-centered cooperation across the globe. That being said, what political headwinds cannot change is the trend that businesses are ever more interdependent, comprising integrated communities with shared interests. Thus, openness, inclusiveness and mutually beneficial cooperation are the only right choice. by Xinhua Writers Cao Bin and Zuo Wei Editor: ZAD Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, delivers an important speech during a meeting to mark the 120th birth anniversary of late leader Deng Xiaoping, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 22, 2024. (Xinhua/Ju Peng) BEIJING, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping lauded the "outstanding contributions" of late leader Deng Xiaoping and urged advancing socialism with Chinese characteristics initiated by Deng, as the country marked Deng's 120th birth anniversary on Thursday. Addressing a meeting held to mark the anniversary, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said the country must continue to thoroughly study and apply Deng Xiaoping Theory. "Deng made outstanding contributions to the Party, the people, the country, the nation and the world," Xi said, adding that Deng's achievements have been immortalized in history and will always inspire future generations. Deng was the core of the second generation of the Party's central collective leadership, the chief architect of China's socialist reform, opening up and modernization, and the trailblazer of socialism with Chinese characteristics, Xi said, adding that Deng was also a great internationalist who made major contributions to world peace and development. "Comrade Deng Xiaoping had lived a glorious, fighting and extraordinary life," he said. Xi noted that, after the Cultural Revolution, a decade-long turmoil that ended in 1976, Deng had led the Party and the people in achieving China's historic transformation. Deng pushed China to achieve a new breakthrough in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context, break new ground in socialist modernization, and set a correct path for the country's complete reunification, Xi said. Deng's historical achievements are comprehensive and groundbreaking, with profound and lasting impacts on both China and the world, Xi said. "We will forever remember his great historical achievements and forever revere his noble revolutionary conduct," Xi said. The most important intellectual legacy left by Deng is Deng Xiaoping Theory, Xi said, calling for thoroughly studying and applying the theory to address real-world problems. "The best way to honor Deng is to continue advancing the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics that he initiated," Xi said. Xi called for further comprehensively deepening reform to continuously provide strong momentum and institutional safeguards for Chinese modernization. He urged moving faster to build a modernized economy, working toward greater self-reliance in the science and technology sector, and developing advanced socialist culture. Xi also urged efforts to achieve more notable and substantive progress in promoting common prosperity for all. Realizing China's complete reunification has long been the aspiration of Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping and other members of the older generation of revolutionaries, Xi said. He urged resolute efforts to promote the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait, and demanded firm opposition to "Taiwan independence" to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Stressing that China has always been a staunch force for world peace, Xi called for unremitting efforts to uphold peace, development, cooperation and mutual benefit. Xi said China will take an active role in the reform and development of the global governance system, and create new opportunities for the world with new progress in Chinese modernization. Senior leaders Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng attended the meeting, which was presided over by Cai Qi. Zhao, Wang, Ding, Li and Cai are all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Han is the country's vice president. A meeting marking the 120th birth anniversary of late leader Deng Xiaoping is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 22, 2024. Xi Jinping and other senior leaders of the Communist Party of China and the state including Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng attended the meeting here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) A meeting marking the 120th birth anniversary of late leader Deng Xiaoping is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 22, 2024. Xi Jinping and other senior leaders of the Communist Party of China and the state including Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng attended the meeting here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi) A meeting marking the 120th birth anniversary of late leader Deng Xiaoping is held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 22, 2024. Xi Jinping and other senior leaders of the Communist Party of China and the state including Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng attended the meeting here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Yan Yan) Editor: ZAD Greg Locke, Pastor of 'Global Vision Bible Church,' Explores the Extraordinary Rewards Gained When You Live a Life of Generosity in God NEWS PROVIDED BYCharisma HouseAug. 23, 2024LAKE MARY, Fla., Aug. 23, 2024 / Standard Newswire / -- Pastor Greg Locke urges the Body of Christ to stop playing games and start obeying God. Where generosity is concerned, God wants people who lay down their selfish, lukewarm, casual approach to the Bible and simply obey in spirit and in truth.In The Generosity Journey, Pastor Greg Locke delves into the eternal heaven-or-hell impact of obedience to the Word as well as the overwhelming supernatural blessings of God that overflow from such obedience (ISBN-13: 978-1-63641-404-1)."When God can trust you to walk in biblical generosity, He will bless you beyond your generosity," Locke said.The Generosity Journey is not only about Pastor Greg Locke's personal peaks and valleys but also about the Christian church's historical highs and lows. From a pulpit full of "influential pastors who couldn't cast a demon out of a poodle" to a "church back in balance," this book will guide readers to enacting selfless generosity and growing closer with God.Additionally, Pastor Greg Locke shares his personal experience with Baptist Christianity and Charismatic Christianity. While Baptist Christianity served as his foundation of Biblical knowledge, Charismatic Christianity ignited his soul with the Holy Spirit. More than simply recounting his past, Pastor Greg Locke seeks to gap what both are missing."He [God] took me out of a movement that was all truth and no Spirit and thrust me into a movement that was all Spirit and very little truth."is the founding and lead pastor of Global Vision Bible Church in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, just outside Nashville. The social media firebrand is the producer of the film, Come Out in Jesus' Name and host of the toprated podcast, On Point With Pastor Greg Locke. He has a bachelor's degree in biblical studies and a master's degree in revival history, and is a revivalist and popular speaker in churches and political circles alike. He has achieved one of the largest social media platforms in the nation, and Global Vision has one of the broadest reaching live stream ministries in the world. Locke and his wife, Taisha, share six children and work hand in hand in the ministry, seeking to reach those who are broken and have been forgotten by the church.X: @pastorlockeFacebook: @PastorGregLockeYouTube: Pastorlocke.comInstagram: @pastorlockeTitle: The Generosity Journey: When God Can Trust You He Will Bless You | Release Date: September 3, 2024 | Retail: $21.99 | ISBN-13: 9781636414041 | E-Book ISBN: 9781636414058 | Binding: Trade Paper | Size: 6" x 9" | Page Count: 224 | Hometown: Mount Juliet, TN | BISAC Category: RELIGION / Christian Living / Stewardship & Giving, RELIGION / Christianity / Pentecostal & Charismatic, RELIGION / Christian Living / Spiritual GrowthTo interview Locke or for a review copy, please contact media@charismamedia.com SOURCE Charisma House Nestle slumped on Friday as it announced the departure of chief executive Mark Schneider, who will be replaced by Laurent Freixe. The Swiss food and drink conglomerate said Schneider had "decided to relinquish his roles as CEO and member of the board of directors" after eight years with the company. Freixe, who is currently executive vice president and chief executive of the Latin American business, will take on the role on 1 September. Freixe joined Nestle in France in 1986. Since then, "he has continuously progressed within the company, assuming various positions of increasing responsibility across different businesses, markets and zones," the company said. Paul Bulcke, chairman of the board of directors, said: "I have known Laurent for a long time and highly regard him as a talented leader with strategic acumen, extensive in-market experience and expertise as well as a deep understanding of markets and consumers. He has demonstrated his ability to deliver results in challenging market conditions. "Laurent's curiosity fuels his passion for innovation and positive change. Laurent is the perfect fit for Nestle at this time. Under his leadership, Nestle will further strengthen its position as a dependable, reliable company through consistent and sustainable value creation." At 0935 BST, the shares were down 1.5% at CHF88.02. Jefferies said in a note: "After an increasingly difficult year, it's not a total surprise to see a CEO change at Nestle. "The new CEO and current Latam head Laurent Freixe will be a familiar face to investors, not only with former experience running Zone Europe and Americas, but also as a contender in the last CEO change. "At the time, an outsider in Schneider was preferred to shake things up; Freixe's appointment today to us feels like a sign that the board wants to rebuild Nestle culture." Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at AJ Bell, said: "Its not a huge surprise to see Schneider head out the door given the companys uneven performance in recent times. Schneiders strategy of focusing on core areas like pet food, coffee and nutritional products had largely been successful during the first part of his tenure but over the last year the situation has deteriorated - partly thanks to an uncertain backdrop but also as a result of problems of Nestles own making. "The botched integration of a new IT system was never going to reflect well on Schneider and the company also faces a probe by the French authorities over the potential use of illegal purification methods on bottled mineral water. "The immediate share price reaction might suggest the market would have preferred an outsider to come in and shake up Nestle rather than someone who has held senior positions at the company for years. "Freixe will face the same challenges as his predecessor and counterparts at rival consumer goods firms - how to persuade shoppers, particularly in the West, back to premium brands after a period when households have been tightening their belts and trading down to cheaper alternatives." Households will begin the run-up to winter with a sharp increase in their energy bills after the industry regulator increased its cap on energy prices by 9.5% from October. Under the new price cap, the average annual energy bill will rise to 1,717 a year for gas and electricity, up 149 from its current level of 1,568, which has been in place since July. The price cap is set every quarter by Ofgem, the energy regulator for Great Britain, and imposes a maximum on how much suppliers can charge their 29 million household customers per unit of gas and electricity. Guardian Travellers are being told to expect widespread disruption this bank holiday as delays and congestion are predicted across key roads and rail routes, and airports are expecting more than 2 million people through their doors. On what is expected to be the busiest weekend for travel this year, the transport analytics company Inrix said the heaviest road traffic was likely on Friday between 10am and 6pm, and Saturday between 10am and 1pm. Guardian Junior lawyers are being offered bonuses of $50,000 (38,000) for referring their friends for jobs amid a war for talent. US law firms Paul Weiss and Kirkland & Ellis are paying tens of thousands of pounds to London-based workers as part of the firms global policies. The bonuses are on top of six-figure salaries paid to junior lawyers, which start at 180,000 at Paul Weiss and 164,000 at Kirkland & Ellis upon qualification. Telegraph Britains wide-ranging overhaul of the listing rules has made it more attractive to join the London stock market, a senior executive at the first company to take advantage of the reforms has said. Andy Hunter, deputy managing director of CK Infrastructure, which is based in Hong Kong and has a market capitalisation of almost 14 billion, told The Times that the new rules were very welcome and had made it more straightforward for the company to have its shares traded in London. The Times Aircraft deliveries took off in July this year in a boost for Britain, with 120 passenger jets delivered by the manufacturers Boeing and Airbus despite wider difficulties in the supply chain. According to ADS Group, the trade association for the aerospace, defence, security and space sectors in Britain, this represents the best July for aircraft deliveries on record, as well as the best month in the year to date. The Times Diane Ehrensaft is a developmental and clinical psychologist, and author of The Gender Creative Child and Gender Born, Gender Made. At the University of California, San Francisco, she is the cofounder and director of mental health at the Child and Adolescent Gender Center and an associate professor of pediatrics. She has been featured in the Los Angeles Times online and Wired online and has appeared on Anderson Live, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and TheToday Show. Michelle Jurkiewicz is a clinical psychologist and gender specialist in Berkeley, Calif., providing therapeutic services to children, youth, and families since 2003. Jurkiewicz was an early pioneer in working with transgender, nonbinary, and gender expansive youth. In addition to providing psychotherapy for people of all ages, she trains newer clinicians in using the gender affirmative model. Ehrensaft and Jurkiewicz teamed up for Gender Explained: A New Understanding of Identity in a Gender Creative World (The Experiment; reviewed in this issue), an introduction to the concepts of gender creativity and gender-affirming care. How did you approach co-writing this book, especially as authors from two different generations? Michelle Jurkiewicz: We each took the lead on five chapters, and we had input into the other chapters too. We've had different experiences with gender and watching the gender affirmative model develop and grow, though Diane brings in more about her generation. Diane Ehrensaft: Our childhoods were very different. I was born in 1946, when girls had to wear skirts to school in Chicago, no matter what the weather. And Michelle didn't have to deal with that. But more than differences, we have beautifully discovered similarities. We've worked together for a long time, so the perspective was not a surprise. We both identify as cisgender women, but for both of us, there's no way we take shit from anybody around sexism and women not having a voice. Jurkiewicz: It was clear that even though we were born in different generations, we both see the progression throughout the last 100 years or so as contributing to where we are today. Diane Ehrensaft The intended audience for this book is adults, but you seem aware that gender-diverse kids and teens might read it, too. How did you think about those two audiences? Ehrensaft: An eight-year-old once came into my office holding my previous book, The Gender Creative Child, saying, "I'm reading it with my mommies!" So I always assume that kids might have their parents share this sort of book with them, or they might pick it up on their own. Jurkiewicz: We're speaking about children's and teens' experiences and trying to include their voices as much as possible. They were always at the forefront of our minds, which is a big part of it. Even though you are cisgender women, did you experience your own gender exploration? Ehrensaft: Definitely! I was a late bloomer and geeky teenager who loved math and did ballet. I was completely confused about my gender. I never thought, "I must be a boy." I believed in God at the time, and I came up with the theory that God forgot to give me a uterus, so I was an in-between person. Then in 2022, a close friend / colleague and I were exploring our gender histories. We asked: "If we were in high school now, would we identify as non-binary?" I've also done the experiment of "If I woke up tomorrow with a penis or with people calling me 'Mr.', how would I feel?" I liked pretending I was a little brother instead of sister when I was a kid. But how would I feel as an adult? It's helped me to do that exercise, and I ask parents to do it, too. Michelle Jurkiewicz (photo: Ben Krantz) Jurkiewicz: I grew up in a stereotypically gendered family and region. I was very girly, and I didn't question that until I took my first women's studies class in college. It opened up this whole new way of seeing the world. It also made me start to question how I presented my own gender. At that point, identifying as a woman was important to me, but what it meant to be a woman and how to express being a woman--I was grappling and experimenting with all of that. Then, because of my interest in gender as well as my gender-diverse friends and colleagues, I got more and more excited and professionally involved. I've also wondered about how I would discover or express my gender differently today than when I was growing up. Working with my clients, I hear about their experiences daily. I try to imagine myself in their shoes, what it's like walking around as a transgender or gender-diverse young person. Can you say more about this idea of exploration and learning about gender as an ongoing process? Jurkiewicz: Even if your gender identity doesn't shift, how you interact with the world and how the world interacts with you is affected by gender. And that's always shifting. The way I experienced being a woman in my 20s is very different than in my 40s. And in the work I do with children, I watch their genders unfold and grow and develop. That's a delicate balance we're always holding: affirming a child's gender while also making sure there's space for them to explore if they want or need to. Ehrensaft: The term "gender exploration" is sometimes read as "press pause and explore, because a child or teen couldn't possibly know now." That's not what we mean. We honor knowability, that a child or teenager can know their gender. They don't have to be asked to explore for five years to prove anything. What we do is a deep dive with the youth and their family to get the young person's gender in focus and develop a plan for them. And absolutely, it can change over time. It has to do with gender evolution for all of us. You introduce terms like "gender web" and "Rapid Onset Parental Discovery." What do you think is the value of coining new terms? Ehrensaft: They help us think about things in new gender-creative ways. I loved the notion of gender spectrum because it got away from gender boxes. But it was linear between two points: boy-girl, male-female. We needed something that doesn't keep those, so I made up the web. Others coined similar terms with the same intent. Rapid Onset Parental Discovery was different. I purposely meant it as a counterpoint to the erroneous idea of Rapid Onset Gender Discovery, to be provocative, because that's where the real issue is. Jurkiewicz: Terms like gender web resonate with families because you can get a feel for it before reading the definition. A lot of adults feel like they don't understand what's going on. Offering more accessible terms invites people in rather than making them feel like outsiders. Ehrensaft: I also coined "social gender dysphoria." It's not the children experiencing the primary dysphoria. It's the culture, which is then internalized by the children or parents. If we could dispel adults' confusion and treat social gender dysphoria, the kids will have a better go of it. Jurkiewicz: Yes, there's so much talk about these young people having psychological problems as though they originate inside of them. That is not what we see. What do you want readers to take away from this book, especially in regard to community responsibility? Jurkiewicz: Gender diversity is a normal human variation, and the kids are doing something exciting by opening this space up. It's good for all of us because traditional gender roles and stereotypes really limit everybody. And the distress around youths' gender identity isn't because of their gender but how society responds to them. The adults--all of us--are responsible for their distress, which means we can shift that. Ehrensaft: We hope to reduce anxiety and increase curiosity. We talk about being reflective rather than reactive about your own gender or your children's gender, and what you can do to help the country and the world. Because it isn't about a small group of children. It's about a whole society. Right now in the United States, gender is weaponized as a political ax with great harm. It's an easy target, given certain values. But these children are ascending. The notion of gender not in two boxes isn't going away. Although the White House's stance about transgender care is still unclear and they haven't taken back their statement about surgeries, the Biden administration put out a statement--based on protests and pushback from major organizations--that they support gender care for minors. So I'm optimistic. We hope we can move people toward working together, recognizing that we're in a transitional state that makes us all anxious. But there's new bedrock, and it's going to be okay. --Dainy Bernstein, freelance reviewer The American university landscape has become increasingly competitive and complex over recent years. The focus on a holistic evaluation of an applications profile requires students to demonstrate excellence in academics, extracurriculars, and essay writing for each university. Each year of application, the aspects of the application that carry the most weight for each university are somewhat different. No two top universities give the same weight to any aspect of the application in any given year since they are each seeking a distinctly different student body. A private university counsellor provides individualised guidance to help students build unique and highly competitive application profiles that meet the requirements of their top-choice universities. When the time comes, they also work intensively to support each student in crafting unique applications to dream schools. They can, therefore, significantly enhance a students chances of admission to top US universities. Additionally, a private university counsellor works with a smaller group of students than most school counsellors. Consequently, students receive considerably more focused guidance and one-on-one time. Caroline Linger, Lead Counsellor and Director at Ivy Central, said, "From as early as the 9th grade, students receive tailored advice on subject selection and areas of academic and extracurricular profile development that can get them into the Top Tier Universities. A great counsellor will guide top-achieving students toward globally renowned competitions, summer programmes, and research opportunities. Counsellors need to have an in-depth knowledge of each university's academic environment and character and of the admissions process. With years of experience dealing with highly diverse student applications and outcomes, private counsellors are well-equipped to advise students on choices and strategies for navigating the application process and beyond. Every facet of a well-compiled university application comes together to create a narrative about the candidate. As an objective party, a counsellor is well-equipped to guide students on which aspects of their profile will be considered more valuable within the admissions context. Knowing what to showcase and what not to is key in making a student stand out. Sometimes, an application essay can make or break a students chance of acceptance at their dream university. Grades are a significant determinant of a students potential to excel academically at university; however, the university supplemental essays provide a platform for students to express themselves: how they view the world and their place in it? With private counsellors, students receive intensive guidance on crafting compelling essays that best express themselves and tell their unique stories. They help students avoid common pitfalls in applications. Cliched essay topics and activity choices damage students chances of getting into their desired universities. A great private counsellor creates a structured timeline and checklist to ensure students are on track with every one of their applications. College admissions trends underscore the importance of strategic planning. Counsellors play a crucial role in aligning students strengths and interests with the right colleges and application rounds, thereby optimising multiple admission probabilities. This gives students more options and the potential to secure admissions to prestigious and competitive programs. Ghana's Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Michael Okyere Baafi, has called upon Indian businesses to invest in key sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, technology, and infrastructure in Ghana. Speaking at the ASSOCHAM Commonwealth Champions Conference in New Delhi, Baafi highlighted Indias significant role in Ghanas development and the broader Commonwealth community, which represents nearly a third of the global population. Baafi emphasized Ghanas readiness to partner with Indian investors, particularly in sectors critical for economic growth. He pointed out that reducing trade barriers within the Commonwealth is essential to facilitating smoother market access and the flow of tools and services. The Minister also underscored the importance of capacity building and technology transfer to boost the competitiveness of Ghanaian industries. We seek greater collaborations in agriculture, manufacturing, and information technology to strengthen our industrial base, Baafi said, encouraging deeper ties between India and Ghana. He also urged trade partners to support Africa in developing transport, energy, and digital infrastructure, which he identified as crucial to realizing the Commonwealths full potential. Education and skills development are also priorities for Ghana. The Minister expressed interest in expanded partnerships in education through scholarships, vocational training, and programs that empower Ghanaian youth with relevant skills. He noted that such collaborations could play a pivotal role in the nations socio-economic progress. vital trading partner for India in Africa, with bilateral trade reaching USD 2.87 billion in 2022-23. India is a leading investor in Ghana, ranking as the third-largest, with investments across sectors including pharmaceuticals, construction, manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism. Ghana remains ain Africa, with bilateral trade reaching USD 2.87 billion in 2022-23. India is a leading investor in Ghana, ranking as the third-largest, with investments across sectors including pharmaceuticals, construction, manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism. Baafis invitation and the ongoing partnership between India and Ghana reflect the strong bilateral relationship and the potential for future growth in trade and development. India is marking a momentous occasion with its inaugural National Space Day on August 23, 2024, commemorating the historic achievement of the Chandrayaan-3 mission. On this date in 2023, ISROs Vikram Lander made a historic soft landing on the moon's surface, securing India's position as the fourth country to land on the moon and the first to do so near its southern polar region. The successful deployment of the Pragyan Rover and the naming of the landing site as 'Shiv Shakti' point further solidified this milestone. The theme for this year's National Space Day, "Touching Lives while Touching the Moon: India's Space Saga", reflects on the profound impact of India's space exploration efforts. The celebrations, held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, are being streamed live on ISROs official website and YouTube channel, allowing viewers across the globe to partake in the festivities. ISRO Chairman S Somanath praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his pivotal role in advancing India's space ambitions. Speaking to ANI, Somanath acknowledged Modis instrumental contributions to space policy reforms. "PM Modi's leadership has been crucial in several key policy interventions in India's space sector. His vision has not only fostered the creation of space policies but has also ensured their effective implementation", Somanath noted. The two-day event at Bharat Mandapam features a series of high-profile sessions, interactive exhibitions, and significant announcements highlighting India's space achievements. The event also includes mobile exhibitions, dubbed 'Space on Wheels', which will travel to universities and colleges across the country. These exhibitions aim to educate students about ISRO's activities and India's space missions. National Space Day will host a quiz for students with questions such as, 'Which is the closest star to Earth?' This initiative underscores India's commitment to nurturing educational interest in space science among the younger generation. Adding a touch of engagement,will host a quiz for students with questions such as, 'Which is the closest star to Earth?' This initiative underscores India's commitment to nurturing educational interest in space science among the younger generation. National Space Day not only celebrates India's historic lunar landing but also symbolizes the nation's ongoing dedication to space exploration and technological advancement. The events and educational programs planned for this day emphasize India's role in advancing human knowledge and leveraging space technology for societal benefits. Swiss multinational Nestle S.A. has appointed Laurent Freixe as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective September 1. Freixe, a Nestle veteran with nearly four decades of experience within the company, replaces outgoing CEO Mark Schneider, who will also step down from his role on the Board of Directors. In a move reflecting Nestles commitment to continuity and strategic leadership, Freixe has also been nominated as a candidate for the companys Board of Directors at its 2025 Annual General Meeting. The leadership transition comes at a critical time as Nestle faces increasing competition from rivals such as Unilever and Danone, which have driven stronger sales volumes in recent years. Despite a solid post-pandemic performance, Nestle has encountered challenges and recently cut its full-year sales outlook, signaling a need for strategic renewal. Paul Bulcke, Chairman of Nestles Board of Directors, expressed confidence in Freixes ability to navigate these challenges, highlighting his track record of delivering results in tough market conditions. Laurents curiosity and passion for innovation make him the ideal leader for Nestle at this juncture, said Bulcke. transforming Nestles portfolio, emphasizing high-growth segments like coffee, pet care, and nutritional health products. I am proud of what we have achieved, positioning Nestle as a future-proofed and sustainable business, said Schneider in his farewell statement. Mark Schneider, who served as CEO for eight years, played a pivotal role in, emphasizing high-growth segments like coffee, pet care, and nutritional health products. I am proud of what we have achieved, positioning Nestle as a future-proofed and sustainable business, said Schneider in his farewell statement. Freixes journey with Nestle began in 1986 in France, and he has since held various key positions across different markets and zones. For the past 16 years, he has been a member of the Executive Board, contributing significantly to the companys strategic direction and portfolio management. Freixe emphasized the companys strengths, stating, Our iconic brands, global reach, and exceptional teams position us well for the future. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Barbara DAmora, a Department of Education teacher and a fierce community advocate for those with autism, reached out through a Facebook post in search of a landscape designer who could supply perennials for her familys Adopt-A-Highway in memory of her son, Nicholas. Nick, who was non-verbal and a tireless supporter for people with autism, died in May 2023 at the age of 25 after a severe epileptic seizure. Nicholas D'Amora. (Courtesy/Barbara D'Amora)Staten Island Advance Known as The Changer, both he his mom Barbara were relentless champions for those with autism. Not only did I get landscape advice from Steve Korkowski who used to own SweetBrook Nursery, but by planting the plant species milkweed at the site, but we have applied to and will be designated an official New York City monarch butterfly station, DAmora reported. And then a Boy Scout stepped up to help. A 2024 Advance Woman of Achievement, DAmora explained her Facebook post drew a slew of Staten Islanders who wanted to help with the project. Several were Eagle Scouts. We chose Christopher Barlotta, who is a senior this year at Monsignor Farrell, she continued. He jumped right in he coordinated and assembled the project (to beautify the site) with support from his Troop 5 and his amazing parents, Thomas and Danielle Barlotta ... These projects have been so therapeutic during the grieving process anything and everything we can do to honor our precious Nicholas so that he is never forgotten is very healing for us. At the Adopt-A-Highway sign in memory of Nicholas D'Amora, are from the left, Thomas Barlotta, Christopher Barlotta and Danielle Barlotta. (Courtesy/Barbara D'Amora)Staten Island Advance An Eagle Scout project within the Boy Scouts of America demonstrates leadership as the Scouts create a project for the benefit of their community and it translates into the culmination of the scouts leadership training. The endeavor requires significant effort and the project must benefit an organization other than the Boy Scouts of America. From the left are members of Troop 5, Steve Pustylnik, Thomas Carey, leader of Troop 5, Ed Halligan, leader of Troop 5, Mitchell Pustylnik, Sean Pustylnik, Matthew Carey, Christopher Barlotta, Ryan Knudsen, Barbara DAmora, Peter Nelson, Tommy Barlotta, leader of Troop 5, and Billy DAmora. (Courtesy/Barbara D'Amora)Staten Island Advance Barlotta has been in Boy Scout Troop 5 for 12 years. I was looking for a project that bore a deeper meaning, Barlotta noted. And when I saw the note on Facebook I decided to get in touch with Mrs. DAmora on Facebook. She contacted us and told us about the project, he added. I immediately started the paperwork and began the project. It was part of Adopt-A-Highway and it was in an overgrown area. And our mission was to make it look nice. We put in some mulch and plants and solar lighting. And some of the plants were donated and Mrs. DAmora contributed as well. Christopher Barlotta stands near the Adopt-A-Highway sign for Nicholas D'Amora that he helped beautify. (Courtesy/Barbara D'Amora)Staten Island Advance DAmora said there are two sites in memory of her son, Nicholas the Adopt-A-Highway at Drumgoole and Annadale roads the site of the Eagle Scout project. And the DAmora family also adopted a Blue Belt in Annadale at Edgegrove and Jefferson avenues. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Allison Pond Park in Randall Manor is now open under new operating hours, according to a post by the NYPDs 120th Precinct on X, formerly known as Twitter. The park, which offers a tranquil escape from the hustle and bustle of New York City, will now be open from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m., seven days a week, as reported by the NYPD. Allison Pond Park is nestled along Brentwood and Prospect avenues, and offers picturesque grounds for those looking to catch some fresh air. Guests are sure to come across residents casting a reel into the pond or admiring the nature which surrounds it. Be advised. Allison Pond Park has NEW operating hours. The park is now open from 6 A.M. until 9 P.M. - 7 days a week. pic.twitter.com/Y55QVTiQah NYPD 120th Precinct (@NYPD120Pct) August 22, 2024 The park is named after George Allison, a West Brighton engineer and Staten Islands public works commissioner in the 1930s. The grounds surrounding the pond were once part of Sailors Snug Harbor, the property of wealthy retired sea captain Robert Randall. The pond once provided a portion of the water supply to the Snug Harbor grounds, as noted by NYC Parks. That changed when a municipal water system was implemented in 1939 and Snug Harbor found no functional use for the pond, according to NYC Parks. It wasnt long before the trustees of the Randall estate deeded the pond as a gift to the city, which turned the parcel over to the Parks Department in 1943, as previously reported. In 1990, the park was renovated, and with it came new fencing, boulders, and an assortment of trees and flowers, NYC Parks reports. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) will close several streets on Staten Island for road work next week, including parts of major thoroughfares like Hylan Boulevard, Court Street and North Railroad Avenue. All work is subject to change due to weather or the need for emergency road repairs. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. After escaping the ongoing, violent war in Ukraine, Yuriy Sozanskyis debilitating, painful genetic disorder continued to worsen, leaving his spine dangerously curved and threatening the functions of his heart and lungs. But thanks to a groundbreaking team effort by surgeons at Northwell Staten Island University Hospital, Sozanskyi, 28, who was born with Marfan Syndrome, is now pain free, a few inches taller, and riding his bicycle again on Staten Island boardwalks. Allis is quick to give credit to Stul and Calombaris for building Yo-Chi with high standards. The foundations for it were so amazing, to be honest, he said. Now, weve revolutionised the stores in terms of making them the most welcoming spaces and very minimalistic, but funky and inviting The topping bars completely changed. The recipe for a typical Yo-Chi revolving flavours, neon lights, pop music, art murals, plenty of seating, fresh fruit, native Australian ingredients and claims to wellbeing and sustainability has made it the perfect social gathering place for youngsters. Were sort of breaking the mould for dessert you can sit in and eat it, its a really easy way to catch up with friends and family, its an easy date option, he said. A Yo-Chi store in Melbourne. Credit: Wayne Taylor I think young people are drinking less as well. In our eyes, were not part of a fad. Were part of a new way of how young people are spending their nights. But not everyone would say frozen yoghurt has made a comeback: long-time player Yogurberry has 25 stores, according to its website, and there are a handful of other smaller players, but none that could be said to rival Yo-Chis hype. Its not the fad of frozen yoghurt. Its the fad of Yo-Chi, said consulting firm Titanium Food director Suzee Brain. Theyve used beautiful design and understood food needs to be as Instagrammable as it is edible. Alpha appeal The dessert chain is a notable bright spot in Australias otherwise struggling hospitality industry and has seemingly proofed itself against the ongoing pullback in consumer spending. A DIY self-serve cup of frozen yoghurt by the weight $4 per 100 grams has emerged as an attractive alternative to more expensive options at a restaurant. Brain points out that the cost of your cup is not even factored into the process until the very end. Loading Price is left out of it. Its an entirely emotive way of purchasing, she said. Thats a game changer from a psychology point of view. Youre not being told what to eat, youre creating it. For a world of creators, for this alpha generation coming through, thats really important. Yo-Chi stores are such a hive of social activity that there have been some unexpected side effects of a romantic nature. Weve had people come up to us and say, You guys should do a singles night, Allis said. Theres guys and girls who are meeting at Yo-Chi and getting together from their first meeting On Friday and Saturday night, its literally people picking up. Could a singles night hosted by Yo-Chi ever happen? Im open to it. Again, I have to think about the brand, he said. Chi means good energy, so I guess finding love is good energy. Allis attributes much of Yo-Chis growth to organic word-of-mouth about the quality of its product and to his young, energetic team, who are adept at wielding the modern worlds most powerful word-of-mouth tool: TikTok. Its seen some graduate from store workers to content creators. A lot of that growth is because of how much trust we gave the right young people to make content for us, and rewarding them for it. Their videos perform well, we give them a cheque as well. Everyone at Yo-Chi who works for us is invited to make videos. Yo-Chi has emerged as a notable bright spot in Australias otherwise struggling hospitality industry. Credit: Joe Armao Winning over customers in some markets was tougher than others, but the commitment to serving high-quality products and providing a good customer experience has helped shake off old assumptions about frozen yoghurt. Sydney was the hardest to crack, said Allis. Sydney had this perception of frozen yoghurt, which is correct, that it was all powder, really cheap fit-outs, laminated signs, plastic chairs. Now, Surry Hills is one of the chains best-performing stores. Protecting the brand is paramount. We have heaps of companies come to us and give us samples, and were like, no, sorry. This is just cheap shit. A family affair Although Allis is the head of brand and marketing, behind the scenes, retail executive, Boost Juice co-founder, and father, Jeff Allis pulls the strings. Hes the boss, says the younger Allis. None of the stores in Yo-Chis network are franchised, nor are there plans to turn them into one; extended family members can be found in various parts of the business. Cousin Claudia is the design director, while an aunt and uncle are part owners of the stores in South Australia and Western Australia. Brain, who advises property companies on food retail placements, says the Allis familys previous experience has put them in good stead. They know how to grow stores from the Boost experience; all of that DNA, all the mistakes that were made and all the systems that needed to be put in place, has been able to fast track this expansion because of the experience from the past. Our advice to landlords is jack the rent up on these guys. They can afford it, she said. Theyve got a high price point and a low cost of goods and a low labour cost. Theyre an ideal tenant. Allis is not planning to slow the pace of Yo-Chis breathless expansion any time soon, with hopes of hitting 60 stores by the end of 2025. Is international expansion on the cards? Maybe, Allis replies. Where? Were looking in South-East Asia. Pressed again, he says: Thailand. Almost half of Australias permanent migrants are working below their skill level and the failure to better utilise that knowhow is costing the economy $9 billion a year. Despite the critical skill shortages in many sectors of the Australian economy, more than 620,000 permanent migrants are working in jobs that do not fully use qualifications obtained from their country of origin, according to Deloitte Access Economics research. If migrants were able to get jobs that matched their skills at the same rate as Australian-born workers, it would boost annual gross domestic product by 0.5 per cent, or an average of $9 billion a year over the next decade, the modelling found. Discrimination against migrant workers was identified as one barrier to greater utilisation of knowhow. About 44 per cent of permanent migrants are working below their qualification level, sapping the economic output of every state and territory. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size In a career of 50 years, Hiroshi Sugimoto, born 1948, has worked to quietly and purposefully refute the idea that photography is a second-class citizen in the world of art. Although known as a photographic artist, Sugimoto is a polymath with interests in science, history, philosophy, theatre, architecture and landscape design. He has been a dealer in high-end antiquities and a notable collector. Viewed as a conceptual artist, he sees himself primarily as a craftsman. Concept follows craftsmanship is one of his mottos. Sugimotos masterpiece is not a photograph at all but the Enoura Observatory, which opened in 2017. Set in the Hakone mountains, overlooking Sagami Bay, it is a mix of new buildings and fragments of ancient ones surrounded by citrus trees. Visitors are invited to stroll around the grounds, taking in the views and the forest. Enoura is a total work of art, a place for observing the solstice, for connecting with nature and the legacy of Japans medieval period. Its also an exercise in applied metaphysics, a meditation on life and death. Sea of Buddha 008, 1995. Credit: Hiroshi Sugimoto The show at the Museum of Contemporary Art, which claims to be the most comprehensive overview of Sugimotos oeuvre yet attempted, is aptly titled Time Machine. If there is one subject that features in each of the artists diverse series, it is time. He is prepared to take us back to the dawn of consciousness and forward to thoughts of our own mortality. Sugimoto has investigated ways of slowing down the photographic process, with images produced over a long duration. In other works, he has freeze-framed bursts of lightning or electricity, capturing a permanent record of a mere instant. In an epic series of seascapes, he conjures a sense of timelessness that cant be found in anything made by humankind. Polar Bear, 1976. Credit: Hiroshi Sugimoto Believing that photography turns every object into a model, Sugimoto blurs the line between reality and artifice. He aims to imbue inanimate forms with the spark of life or extract the essential idea from iconic works of architecture by setting the focal length of a camera to twice infinity. In his Architecture series we have no trouble recognising structures such as the Eiffel Tower, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum or the Seagram Building, but they appear as ghostly presences, cropped and fuzzy at the edges. They are monumental but insubstantial, as if we are not looking at the actual structure but an imperfect recollection within our minds. Advertisement The first room of the show contains the Dioramas, begun in 1976 when Sugimoto was living in New York. Visiting the Museum of Natural History, he noticed that by closing one eye and squinting, the stuffed animals exhibited in front of painted backdrops took on a new sense of reality. By photographing these creatures and installing them in detail-perfect landscapes, he found he could breathe life into them. When we look at his photos of a polar bear hunting a seal, vultures squabbling over a meal, or a stand-off between a group of ostriches defending their nest against a family of warthogs, we view each scenario as if it were a still from a wildlife documentary. Its only gradually that the weirdness of these images strikes home, as the precision of detail is beyond belief. What seems real is revealed as hyperreal, or simply artificial, but this doesnt diminish the power these pictures exert on our imagination. Hiroshi Sugimotos Henry VIII, 1999; Anne Boleyn, 1999; on display at Hiroshi Sugimoto: Time Machine at the MCA. Credit: Zan Wimberley A series called Portraits is made up of figures from wax museums such as Madame Tussauds of London. This enables the artist to repeat the trick of bringing inanimate figures to life in the most startling manner. Some subjects, such as Princess Diana or Fidel Castro, look as if they might start speaking at any moment. The series is also notable in that it allows Sugimoto to include characters from different historical periods, from Henry VIII to Napoleon to Oscar Wilde. Time has no power over this gallery which unites an impossible array of celebrities. Theres also a dark side, tucked away in a virtual closet, with photos of murderers taken from Madame Tussauds Chamber of Horrors. This is as close to Hollywood as Sugimoto goes. Union City Drive-in, Union City, 1993. Credit: Hiroshi Sugimoto Advertisement The movies feature prominently in another series, but only as a hidden presence in pristine images of abandoned cinema palaces or empty drive-ins. Sugimoto tracked down these once-thriving attractions in places such as Kenosha, Wisconsin, or Gary, Indiana, and projected a particular movie on their forgotten screens. By setting the camera to a long exposure time he allowed the entire film to be encompassed within the final image, where it appears as a glowing rectangle of light. Comedies, he found, were brighter than horror movies. Loading No description can do justice to these uncanny images, at once beautiful and elegiac, each theatre a memento mori for a lost era of popular culture. The golden age of the cinema was probably the 1920s, when movie houses had organs or orchestras and printed programs. Today, as audiences have retreated to their TVs and computer screens, the cinema houses barely limp along. In Sugimotos other series the Seascapes; the Lightning Fields; the Mathematical Models, which have also found expression as three-dimensional sculptures; the wall-sized Sea of Buddha taken from Sanjusangendo, a famous temple in Kyoto; and finally, the Opticks he has set and solved a succession of very specific problems. Almost invariably, these solutions have taken a long time to be realised. Opticks 195, 2018. Credit: Hiroshi Sugimoto In the Opticks, for instance, Sugimoto decided to utilise a gift of the final batch of Polaroid film made in Japan to restage Isaac Newtons famous experiments with prisms that established the colour spectrum. It required six months of early morning sessions searching for the right lighting conditions, the result being a suite of abstract squares of colour. One might imagine anyone could go and photograph a red, blue or yellow surface and get the same result, but to stand in front of these works for a few minutes is to appreciate their depth and subtlety. Its as if we can sense the time it has taken to achieve these effects, which have distinct affinities with painting. Like most people, I suspect, the Seascapes were my introduction to Sugimotos work. Beginning in 1980 with a photo of the Caribbean, he has taken images of the sea in more than 200 locations, including Bass Strait. The format of every photo is basically the same: a rectangle divided into equal proportions of sea and sky. The surface of the water is dead flat, the skies may be clear or cloudy, the conditions dark or misty, but the effect is mesmerising. In their creation, once again Sugimoto found that achieving an impression of utter simplicity can be a complicated matter. Advertisement Advertisement For the past two years, maybe more, the Good Food team has been watching Victoria Cross Station come together from our office in North Sydney. Its only slightly overstating things to say that the recent opening of the metro line was a seismic event. The 15 new outlets at Victoria Cross aim to encourage both weekday and weekend activity. Trent van der Jagt Easy access to Chatswood, Barangaroo and Sydenham is nifty, sure, but what North Sydney has also long needed is a good burger for lunch, plus more coffee, noodle and banh mi options (Destination Roll, we love you, but your lines can be very long). So its a big hello and welcome to Victoria Crosss new food vendors. Earlier this week, we made the five-second-long trek across the street to find six of the best things to eat and drink. (No doubt, part one in a series.) Pour-your-own hot and cold brews at Only Coffee. Trent van der Jagt Advertisement Batch brew, Only Coffee Project When you need a hit of caffeine, and you need it fast, Only Coffee is the go-to. Theres an ever-changing line-up of four batch brews on tap: three hot and one cold, using hard-to-find beans from the likes of Sey Coffee (a New York-based micro-roastery) and Kawa (an organic roastery in Paris). The cold brew ($4.50) is smooth, lacking any bitterness, but theres also some fancy pourovers with tasting notes of moon drop grapes and fairy floss priced between $16 and $25. While staff are up for a chat, its a small venue better suited to grab-and-go. For a leisurely coffee, head upstairs to the Two Good Coffee van. Bianca Hrovat North Sydney has become a banh mi bonanza. Trent van der Jagt Pork banh mi, Marrickville Pork Roll Pro tip: arrive before noon, otherwise youre destined for an epic wait. Theres the big guy, the crackling pork option, but the signature $11 pork banh mi not only delivers excellent value and a perfectly balanced meat-to-pickled-daikon-and-carrot ratio, its light(ish) enough that it wont put you to sleep. If you like chilli, its generously flecked with the hot stuff, too. North Sydney already had a couple of excellent banh mi options (were also big fans of Eat Fuh), and MPR just makes the area even better for Vietnamese sandwiches. Sarah Norris Advertisement Spot the gnarled and craggy nuggets at bottom-left. Trent van der Jagt Chicken nuggets with habanero mayo at Marys At peak times, the wait for a Marys Burger (juicy grass-fed beef, lettuce, cheese, tomato and that thumping house sauce) at its Circular Quay location could be too long for one lunch break. But now you can scan a QR-code at the door, place your order over an app, and grab a cold brew at Only Coffee while you wait. Technology, hooray. Pre-ordering is coming soon, so you can request that $22.50 burger-with-fries from your desk. After a week, I already have a standard order: hold the chips, order the burger by itself for $19, and add a $12 serving of chicken nuggets to the bag. The two-bite-sized pieces of fried chook have more in common with Japans craggy karaage chicken than McDonalds bells and boots, and Im a huge fan. This is a lot of food for lunch, sure, but consider how great those nuggets will taste later in the day when you remember you have half a box of leftover fried chicken in the fridge. Sorry, carrot sticks (and nutritionists). Theres a new afternoon snack in town. Callan Boys It has arrived Trent van der Jagt Advertisement Strawberry matcha, Top Impression Bakery The viral strawberry matcha trend has finally made it to North Sydney with the arrival of Top Impression. Its version (for $8) has a thick layer of vibrant pink strawberry jam and strawberry pieces on the bottom, and I can confirm its made to order and delicious. To sweeten the deal, theyre regularly bringing out freshly baked goods such as fruit cruffins and coconut rolls. Bring cash for a 10 per cent discount, or a friend to take advantage of their daily specials: free croissants or coffees when you spend more than $20. BH Dons party. Trent van der Jagt Grilled hake don, Dopa Donburi & Dessert You cant eat karaage every day, and for those times you want something healthy and filling, this generous-sized dish is the go. And while you wouldnt call it cheap, at $16.50 its a couple of bucks less than most of the other rice bowls here. To get maximum enjoyment out of your lunch, begin by busting the soft-boiled egg and stirring it through the rice topped with shredded dried seaweed. Then break off a hunk of grilled hake fillet and scoop it up with the rice . SN Advertisement TotoToros ramens: 1000 per cent when consumed at the source. Trent van der Jagt The O.G, ToroToro Ramen + Tempura Its a good thing that tiny ToroToro has a few outdoor tables, because ramen might be the least desk-friendly dish on this planet or any other. Flecks of broth on your keyboard. The cheap plastic spoon that can barely hold two noodles, let alone soup and a fermented bamboo shoot. The lukewarm temperature. Ergh. But when its a hot bowl consumed seconds of leaving the kitchen, few things are more satisfying. Torotoros $20 O.G pork broth tonkotsu is a deeply creamy beast, loaded with chashu pork, nori, garlic chips and a custard-y ajitama egg. If you could only eat one bowl of noodles in North Sydney, I would still recommend Sou Ramen Labs ultra-comforting Ritchi Ritchi chicken number, but thats a silly hypothetical. I, for one, welcome these new ramen options. CB Marys to add gritty casual vibes to North Sydneys burgeoning food scene Where to get this burger and fries for just $10 plus nine more juicy burger specials Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Sign up But something more is afoot here. Underneath the high-minded safetyism of the online-harm brigade is an instinct to punish bad ideas by labelling them as inciting, insulting or offensive. Its a habit as tired as Stalins moustache. You profess your support for free speech (who doesnt? Its like supporting kittens and rainbows) but with appropriate limits. Vladimir Putin supports free speech, too, according to Vladimir Putin. He just doesnt support hate speech against the fine men and women defending the (Russian) common good through their valiant work in Ukraine. Thats a crime, as the Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen found out in July when a Russian court convicted them in absentia to eight years in jail. Well-meaning apparatchiks in the Australian Immigration Department this week delayed Gessens Australian visa, reportedly demanding arduous dossiers to determine whether Vlad wasnt onto something in questioning Gessens fitness for gentle Australian ears. Elon Musk, no champion of free speech, shuts down his opponents. In Malaysia the worlds most enthusiastic issuer of TikTok takedown requests opposition MPs and government critics find their social media accounts limited or blocked to create a safer online ecosystem and a better user experience, especially for children and families in the words of the countrys equivalent of our eSafety Commissioner, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission. Indonesia and Singapore are considering similar laws to prevent online harm. The UK government is keen to play in this space. Bobbies show up at peoples doors to arrest them for being awful on social media. (And here I was, thinking that was the point.) The British government itself issued an almost comically Orwellian Twitter warning: Think before you post. Englands director of public prosecutions recently boasted that you can be arrested for tweeting something insulting or abusive and congratulated his dedicated police officers who are scouring social media. This must feel reassuring to the victims of the 2.3 million crimes that go unsolved in the UK each year. Fear not, Nanna can no longer complain about migrants on Facebook. Not all heroes wear capes. London police recently prevented a businessman in a yarmulke from crossing the street during a Gaza protest, under threat of arrest, because his openly Jewish appearance was considered a provocation. On Monday, the UK government announced it was reclassifying misogyny as a form of extremism, making it easier to prosecute. Whats misogynistic, though? Is it misogynistic to insist that biological males who identify as women should compete in female sporting events? Some feminists say so. Yet in Twitters pre-Musk era, such feminists were banned for tweeting things like women arent men. Who gets to decide whats offensive? We know who gets to decide, of course. Elites do. At the moment, that means the clique of university-educated, cosmopolitan social-justice types who set the tone in the arts, media, HR, public policy and mainstream politics. In other words, people like me. But we wont be in charge forever. If the populist right thats roiling Europe and Trumpland makes its way to Australia, offensive speech may no longer be defined as targeting migrants and trans people and people of colour. It could be defined as content that demeans white Australian history, contaminates cultural unity or attacks family values. Its happened in Italy. It almost just happened in France. Brexit happened. Trump happened. These movements get their mojo by posturing against the censoriousness of the puritanical left. Dont take the bait. Dont play their game. Loading If you make it hazardous for reasonable people to discuss controversial issues, then only unreasonable people will do so. If you say its racist to discuss the integration of migrants, only racists will discuss it. In decades to come, we will look back on the current moment as the fledgling, early steps of a species trying to grapple with a revolution in how it communicates with itself. Were a baby giraffe trying to stand up. All wobbly knees and placental goo. It is our generations job to figure out how to manage this informational tidal wave. To do so, we need a population that feels heard, that feels its understood. We need a public square with capacious borders. We need to accept that genuinely getting your hands dirty wrestling with ideas can sometimes sound, to the ears of noble public-minded witch-hunters, offensive. Thats the price of admission to democracy. A Herald and Good Food investigation reveals a top Sydney restaurant group allegedly ousted female staff after they reported sexual assaults and encouraged on-duty sex and drug use. The NSW government is probing claims of sexual assault, harassment and drug use at the Swillhouse Group as a former Australian Bartender of the Year alleges she was sexually assaulted while working for the company which runs six of Sydneys best-known venues. SafeWork NSW has begun investigating Swillhouses operations following days of reporting by The Sydney Morning Herald and Good Food that revealed claims Swillhouse pushed female staff out of the company after they reported sexual assaults, encouraged staff to have sex with customers and take drugs while on shift, and discriminated against women as it expanded from Shady Pines off Oxford Street to Le Foote in the Rocks. Le Foote restaurant at The Rocks on Thursday during lunch service. Credit: Dion Georgopoulos The allegations of serious work health and safety issues highlighted in recent media reports relating to Swillhouse Group are concerning, a SafeWork NSW spokesman said. SafeWork NSW is making inquiries into the allegations raised in these media reports. But she said the company has failed to change its culture or acknowledge the harm caused, giving her no choice but to personally do my part for the younger people that have been exposed to this since. While we cannot right the wrongs of the past, we acknowledge them and apologise for any hurt caused, the company said in a statement posted on Instagram on Thursday night. Hair, a career bartender who was also the first woman to win the Hot Talent Award at the 2016 Time Out Bar Awards, said the Swillhouse apology was not enough. Insincere Instagram apologies mean nothing, she said. Swillhouse have had the better part of a decade to take action and protect the people that work for them. Jenna Hemsworth is speaking up about her time working for Swillhouse. Credit: Christopher Pearce These incidents are still occurring, she alleged. I find nothing juvenile or regrettable about it. Jenna Hemsworth told this masthead on Friday she was now also willing to be identified. She issued a statement saying she had been sexually assaulted while working at Swillhouse. Hemsworth said she was told she was a square peg in a round hole after she reported the alleged assault to the company. The company said it handled sexual assault allegations with the highest level of urgency and care, but Hemsworth and Hair said that was not their experience. Le Foote during lunch service on Thursday. Credit: Dion Georgopoulos I stand by what I said in this article, Hemsworth said, referring to this mastheads investigation. My choice to remain anonymous until now has been to place the onus on the culture that allowed this to happen not on me as a victim. I can sleep well at night knowing Ive done all I can to make this industry a little bit safer than it was when I entered it. Can you [Swillhouse]? I hope you learn. And I hope you grow. And I hope to God this signals the beginning of the end of this cycle of abuse. Another bartender, who asked not to be identified, accused the company of abandoning her after she claimed she was brutally assaulted by a co-worker at home. One victim provided photos showing the injuries she says she sustained after an alleged assault by another Swillhouse employee. The bartender shared photos of bruising across her eyes and cuts down to her jaw following the incident, which she says she reported to Swillhouse management, only for her complaints to be ignored. Allegations concerning SafeWork NSW confirmed on Thursday it had launched inquiries into Swillhouses operations. The government agency is responsible for ensuring workplaces are meeting their duties on workplace sexual harassment and alcohol and drug use in the workplace. Staff can report workplace sexual assault to SafeWork NSW as well as NSW Police. The allegations of serious work health and safety issues highlighted in recent media reports relating to Swillhouse Group are concerning, a SafeWork NSW spokesman said. SafeWork NSW is making inquiries into the allegations raised in these media reports. Allegations of sexual harassment and assault within Swillhouse venues have had far-reaching impacts on the industry. Swillhouse chief executive Anton Forte stepped down from the board of the Australian Restaurant and Cafe Association on Wednesday. Loading The hospitality group also cancelled its first festival, Swillfest, on Thursday after partners, musicians and sponsors pulled out of the September event in The Rocks. Swillhouse and its six venues have been removed from the list of finalists vying for an Australian Bartender Bar Award. The prestigious industry awards night, now in its 23rd year, is scheduled for September 11, during Sydney Bar Week. In a statement on Thursday night, Australian Bartender co-owners David and Amy Spanton said they had consulted Swillhouse before making the call. The infamous North Shore Rapist collects a $1300 taxpayer funded pension, re-enacted an attack with a sex worker, and approaches women on the street where he remains a high risk of reoffending but still wants his electronic ankle monitor to come off early. However, the women who survived his attacks have warned Graham James Kay will never be rehabilitated, and in powerful statements urged the court to protect victims and not the serial rapist. Graham James Kay, the North Shore Rapist, wants his ankle monitor off after 18 months. A court has heard he remains high risk of attacking more women. The 73-year-old was publicly unmasked earlier this month after the Herald mounted a legal challenge against a suppression order on his identity since 2020. It was revealed Kay, who spent two decades in prison for a series of violent rapes in the 1990s, had returned to the community last September despite reoffending in 2018 and 2022. Tracy Considine has made countless changes at Canterbury Public in her six years as principal, but she finds it easy to pinpoint those that have helped to lift the schools maths and reading scores. The latest round of literacy and numeracy exams shows the school has gained ground in both measures: the proportion of year 3 children above baseline standard in reading is up from 59 per cent to 87 per cent. Canterbury Public School teacher Rama Matar with year 3 student Anouk Jago during a lesson on fractions. Credit: Kate Geraghty Weve targeted teacher practice with intensive professional development and making sure every teacher is trained in phonics instruction, she said. Parents have come along with us. We run workshops for families on core maths and reading concepts so they can help their kids at home. Considine said the school, which uses explicit teaching methods, had also worked hard to shift perceptions among teachers and parents that children were either good at maths or they werent. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Save articles for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Got it Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size In a series, The Age profiles Victorian suburbs and towns to reveal how theyve changed over the decades. See all 38 stories . Long before the Sun Theatre got the attention of Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino for a film screening, the art-deco gem was close to becoming a pile of rubble. After opening in 1938 to great fanfare, the single-screen cinema was forced to close its doors because it was deemed unsanitary. And for 20 years it was left to crumble, with squatters taking up residence and teens sneaking in to cause mischief. One of those teens was Matt Callander, who grew up in nearby Seaholme but has lived in Yarraville for more than 20 years. The Sun was a burnt out shell, he recalls. The Sun Theatre in Yarraville in March 1993. Credit: The Age When I was a teenager, we used to go and climb around inside there and what not. His clandestine route into the building was almost replicated by Michael Smith, who climbed through a hole in the back of the brick wall to take a glimpse at the inside of the building he was considering buying. Advertisement What he found was a roof caving in, graffiti everywhere, torn-up seats and needles strewn across the floor. It was trash, it had been closed for 20 years, he says. But I just fell in love with it. Its amazing how I managed to look past everything that was wrong and all I saw was the remnants of the old art deco past. Smith bought the theatre in 1995 and spent more than two years renovating it. It opened in 1997 with monthly screenings for a film club, and in 2003 then-premier Steve Bracks opened the expanded four-screen site to the public. Anderson Street in Yarraville. Credit: Jason South Now much of village life revolves around The Sun, the centre of Yarravilles solar system. In 2016, Hollywood director Tarantino crashed a screening of The Hateful Eight at the cinema, with actors Samuel L. Jackson and Kurt Russell in tow. When The Age visits on a drizzly Tuesday, a mum is sitting in the foyer rocking a pram back and forth before an afternoon showing. A father and his teenage son queue up and discuss which movie they should see and debate Choc Top flavours. Advertisement Outside its doors on Ballarat Street, cars have been banished and replaced with metal trees and synthetic turf of a park. The park was only meant to last for one summer and instead became permanent after locals launched a campaign to keep it. Now its like it has always been there, as kids spring off coloured blocks and parents watch on with take-away coffees clasped in hands. The street is lined with cafes, a bookshop and restaurants, with people flitting in and out of them, stopping to say hi if they bump into friends. It was just this lovely, almost perfect storm of timing and that as more and more young families started to move in, people started to think about cafes and maybe restaurants, Smith says. Im sure the movies being on gave people confidence to open their cafes and shops, but at the same time, a cinema in isolation isnt a very nice destination. Elise Hopper, owner of Village Idiom. Credit: Jason South Shop owner Elise Hopper says there is no other place like it in all of Melbourne. I dont know anywhere else like Yarraville, and Im sure everyone feels strongly about their own area but Yarraville is truly special. Advertisement The pink-haired woman extols the virtues of Yarraville from her shop Village Idiom, which is as bright as she is. Its extraordinary that this tiny, little village has so much personality, and its really close-knit. For new arrivals it can take a little bit of time to become a local in the tight community but once you start meeting people, its a place where people take care of each other, she says. Its like an English country town, everyone knows everyone ... I know peoples names, I know their kids, I watch them grow up. I talk to them as they go through things. But for all the positives, Hopper says there are some things she wishes would change, including making the village more accessible. One of the biggest problems the village faces is that its not easy to get into, and I think it needs more signage, easier ways for people to find it here, because public transport is great, but people come here and go, Oh my god, I didnt know this existed because its just that little bit tucked away. Advertisement She also wants to see the level crossing at Anderson Street dealt with, ideally with the train line put into a trench. Currently, mornings see unlucky commuters stuck on either side of the tracks, sometimes for upwards of 30 minutes. Both the council and state government acknowledge the level crossing and freight traffic heading to the nearby port as an ongoing issue. Sixth-generation inner westie, resident and Footscray MP Katie Hall wants to see the level crossing gone on Anderson Street, which she describes as a challenging street to drive down. We need to protect and preserve the built form of the village, so closing the level crossing is really the only option. You couldnt build a trench there [for the train] and you couldnt go over, she says. Local MP Katie Hall, whose family has been in the inner-west for six generations. Credit: Jason South The challenge would be to ensure better connectivity for residents and visitors, the MP explains. The crossing is set to be closed by 2030, and it is already an issue for commuters who need to cross to catch the city trains or buses with gates down for upwards of half an hour during peak times. Advertisement A national funding deal will toughen the rules on road and rail spending worth $125 billion after the federal government said Victoria would have to prove the economic case for its controversial Suburban Rail Loop. The new terms will put more onus on the states to prove the business case for mammoth construction, while the federal government also wants them to fund an equal share of regional road spending to create more incentives to keep costs down. Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said the changes would demand better planning from the states before federal money was paid, declaring the new terms can and must prevent delays and cost blowouts. Infrastructure Minister Catherine King says issues with Sydneys Rozelle Interchange could be examined to ensure they were not repeated. Credit: Kate Geraghty Days after the opening of Sydneys new Metro, King pointed to it and Melbournes Metro as leading examples of the way rail lines could support thousands of new homes around major transport hubs and therefore justify federal funding. N. Korea says US sale of military helicopters to South 'reckless' Seoul, Aug 22 (AFP) Aug 22, 2024 North Korea on Thursday criticised recent US arms sales in Asia, calling a deal to deliver Apache helicopters to South Korea a "reckless, provocative act" and adding Pyongyang would build up its own forces in response. "We strongly oppose and reject the US and its vassal forces' arms buildup," North Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, referring to the South. "This is a reckless, provocative act of deliberately increasing the security instability in the region," it added, also criticising recent US sales to Japan and other Asia-Pacific allies of Washington. The United States on Monday had announced its approval of a $3.5-billion sale to South Korea of up to 36 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and related equipment, including missiles. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said the sale would "improve the Republic of Korea's capability to meet current and future threats by providing a credible force capable of deterring adversaries and participating in regional operations", using the formal name for South Korea. The State Department approved the possible sale of the helicopters to South Korea, and the DSCA on Monday provided the required notification to the US Congress, which still needs to sign off on the transaction. Washington is Seoul's key security ally and stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea, with their role including helping to protect it from its nuclear-armed neighbour. Pyongyang also said on Friday that US arms sales in the Pacific would prompt "the DPRK's strategic deterrence" to be "further strengthened" in response. "The prevailing situation urgently calls for thoroughly ensuring the military balance in the region by increasing the defence capabilities in every way in direct proportion to security challenges and threats that may result from the US arms sales," it said. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK, is the formal name for North Korea. The helicopter sale announcement came on the same day that Washington and Seoul began major annual joint military drills, with new exercises aimed at containing the North. The Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise runs until August 29 and will involve thousands of military personnel. NATO airbase in Germany raises security level over 'potential threat' Berlin, Aug 23 (AFP) Aug 23, 2024 A NATO airbase in western Germany said Thursday it had raised its security level over a "potential threat". "We raised the security level at NATO Airbase Geilenkirchen based on intelligence information indicating potential threat," the base said in a post on social media platform X. The announcement comes just over a week after a German military base was sealed off for several hours as authorities investigated suspected sabotage. The base in Cologne-Wahn was locked down after a hole was discovered in a fence near drinking water storage facilities. But test results eventually showed that the tap water was not contaminated, according to the German army. At the same time, NATO announced an attempted trespassing incident at the Geilenkirchen base. An individual attempted to enter the base but was stopped and sent away, a spokesman said. No link between the two incidents has been established. Germany -- a key ally of Kyiv -- has been on high alert for sabotage and attacks on military facilities in the country in the wake of Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. In April, investigators arrested two German-Russian men on suspicion of spying for Russia and planning attacks in Germany -- including on US army facilities -- to undermine military support for Ukraine. ilp-mca/cwl North Korea says US military helicopter sales to South 'reckless' Seoul, Aug 23 (AFP) Aug 23, 2024 North Korea on Friday criticised recent US arms sales in Asia, calling a deal to deliver Apache helicopters to South Korea a "reckless, provocative act" and adding it would build up its own forces in response. "We strongly oppose and reject the US and its vassal forces' arms buildup," Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, referring to the South. "This is a reckless, provocative act of deliberately increasing the security instability in the region," it added, also criticising recent US sales to Japan and other Asia-Pacific allies of Washington. On Monday, the United States announced its approval of a $3.5 billion sale to South Korea of up to 36 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and related equipment, including missiles. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said the sale would "improve the Republic of Korea's capability to meet current and future threats by providing a credible force capable of deterring adversaries and participating in regional operations", using South Korea's formal name. While the State Department approved the sale, the US Congress must still sign off on the transaction. Seoul's unification ministry said Friday that North Korea was the one "threatening peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula". Pyongyang has defined inter-Korean relations as those of "two hostile nations" and is continuously "developing and advancing illegal nuclear and missiles", it added. The South Korean government is "closely monitoring and thoroughly assessing North Korea's activities through close cooperation with relevant agencies," Kim In-ae, vice spokesperson for the ministry, told reporters. - Ulchi Freedom Shield - Washington is Seoul's key security ally and stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea, with their role including helping to protect it from its nuclear-armed neighbour. Pyongyang also said Friday that US arms sales in the Pacific would prompt the North's "strategic deterrence" to be "further strengthened" in response. "The prevailing situation urgently calls for thoroughly ensuring the military balance in the region by increasing the defence capabilities in every way in direct proportion to security challenges and threats that may result from the US arms sales," it said. News of the helicopter sale came the same day that Washington and Seoul began major annual joint military drills, with new exercises aimed at containing the North. The Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise runs until August 29 and will involve thousands of military personnel. North Korea -- which attacked its neighbour in 1950, triggering the Korean War -- has always been infuriated by joint US-South Korean military exercises, decrying them as rehearsals for invasion. Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, with the North sending trash-carrying balloons across its southern border. bur-nro-cdl/ceb/cwl Taiwan leader urges unity on Chinese attack anniversary Kinmen, Taiwan, Aug 23 (AFP) Aug 23, 2024 Taiwanese must "unite as one" against the threat from China, President Lai Ching-te said Friday from an outlying island just a few kilometres from the Chinese mainland, on the anniversary of a deadly artillery attack. China claims democratic Taiwan as part of its territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under Beijing's control. Friday's 66th anniversary of the Chinese assault on the Kinmen islands -- known as the "823 bombardment" after the date on which it began -- comes as China has ramped up military and political pressure on Taiwan in recent years. Controlled by Taiwan, the islands lie just five kilometres (three miles) from the Chinese coast. Lai, who took office in May, laid a wreath to commemorate the bombardment's victims at a cemetery during his first trip to Kinmen as president. China's People's Liberation Army fired 470,000 shells at Kinmen and nearby islets in 1958, killing 618 servicemen and civilians in an attack that lasted 44 days. "We must be determined to protect Taiwan" and carry on the spirit of the soldiers who faced the 823 bombardment, he said at a banquet attended by veterans and their families. "At present, the threat Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu face from China is no less than previous years," he said, referring to other outlying island chains under Taipei's control. "If we want to resist the threat from China in the future, we must unite as one... We have only one goal -- defend national sovereignty and safeguard democracy". Lai has been labelled a "dangerous separatist" by China for his staunch defence of Taiwan's sovereignty, and Beijing conducted large-scale military drills around the island just days after his inauguration. Taiwan's military has been reporting near-daily sightings of Chinese warships around its waters, as well as sorties by fighter jets and drones around the island. On Friday, the defence ministry said 41 Chinese military aircraft and seven naval vessels were detected in a 24-hour window ending at 6:00 am (2200 GMT Thursday). A second statement said a further 27 aircraft had been spotted since as Beijing conducted a "joint combat patrol" drill. "The armed forces have monitored the situation and employed aircraft, Navy vessels and coastal missile systems in response to the detected activities," it said in the statement. Philippines urges its mariners to 'avoid' Red Sea amid Huthi attacks Manila, Aug 23 (AFP) Aug 23, 2024 The Philippines on Friday urged its mariners to "avoid" the Red Sea as Yemen-based Huthi rebels kept up their deadly missile and drone attacks on merchant shipping in the vital waterway. "Philippine nationals should avoid the area altogether unless absolutely necessary for their livelihood," the foreign ministry said, citing the "conflict escalation in the Red Sea that poses a clear and present danger to all Filipino seafarers working in the area". The ministry said Filipino seafarers should exercise "prudent" judgement as well as their right to refuse to sail through the risky area. The warning came a day after 23 Filipino and two Russian crew members were rescued from a Greek-flagged oil tanker that was hit by several projectiles off the rebel-held Yemeni port of Hodeida. The attack on the Sounion caused a fire and cut engine power. It was claimed by Yemen's Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who have waged a campaign against international shipping that they say is in support of Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war. The Red Sea, a key waterway between Europe and Asia, is one of the world's busiest cargo and oil transit points. The Philippines is a major crew supplier to the global shipping industry, with more than 400,000 mariners, according to the government. Manila said Thursday that the Sounion was the ninth ship with Filipino crew members to be attacked by the Huthis. One Filipino remains missing from a Red Sea attack on the MV Tutor in June, while 17 Filipino crew from the Galaxy Leader have remained in Huthi captivity since the ship was seized last November. The Huthis said in a statement Thursday that their operations against merchant shipping "will not stop until the aggression is stopped", referring to Israel's military operations in Gaza. NATO base in Germany raises security level over 'potential threat' Berlin, Aug 23 (AFP) Aug 23, 2024 German police said Friday they were helping bolster security at a NATO airbase in the west of the country which has raised its security level over an unspecified "potential threat". The scare follows a trespassing attempt at the same site last week, which came around the same time as a separate case of suspected sabotage at a German military base. "We raised the security level at NATO Airbase Geilenkirchen based on intelligence information indicating potential threat," the base said in a post on social media platform X late Thursday. Germany -- a key ally of Kyiv -- has been on high alert for sabotage and attacks on military facilities. A spokesman for police in Cologne, close to the NATO base, told AFP on Friday that there was an "ongoing police deployment" at the site but said "the police cannot give further details due to investigations which are currently ongoing". "We are in constant contact with the relevant security and judicial authorities as well as those at the NATO base in Geilenkirchen," he said, adding that officers from the Cologne force "have been deployed to support security measures coordinated by the international military police around the NATO air base". The Geilenkirchen base close to the Dutch border houses AWACS reconnaissance aircraft and has been in use by NATO since 1980. In last week's suspected trespassing incident, NATO said an individual attempted to enter the base but was stopped and sent away. In the second case, the Bundeswehr base in Cologne-Wahn was locked down after a hole was discovered in a fence near drinking water storage facilities. But test results eventually showed that the tap water was not contaminated, according to the German army. No link between those two incidents has been established. In April, investigators arrested two German-Russian men on suspicion of spying for Russia and planning attacks in Germany -- including on US army facilities -- to undermine military support for Ukraine. ilp-clp/jsk/sr/fg China says took 'countermeasures' against Philippine aircraft in South China Sea Beijing, Aug 23 (AFP) Aug 23, 2024 China took "countermeasures" against two Philippine military aircraft that flew into its airspace over the South China Sea, the foreign ministry said on Friday. "On August 22, two Philippine military aircraft trespassed into the airspace near the Nansha Islands, including Zhubi Jiao (Subi Reef), where China is stationed," Beijing's foreign ministry told AFP in a statement. It added that "the Chinese side took necessary countermeasures in accordance with the law, in order to protect its own sovereignty and security". The foreign ministry did not specify what types of measures China took, describing the actions as "professional, restrained, and standardised". "China will continue to firmly protect its own territorial sovereignty and maritime rights, and firmly oppose any infringing actions," it added. Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea despite an international tribunal ruling that its assertion has no legal basis. China and the Philippines have had repeated confrontations in the waters in recent months, including around a warship grounded years ago by Manila on the contested Second Thomas Shoal. This week, both countries confirmed that coast guard ships had collided in a pre-dawn incident near the disputed Sabina Shoal, located 140 kilometres (86 miles) west of the Philippine island of Palawan and about 1,200 kilometres from Hainan island, the closest Chinese landmass. That clash led the United States -- a key military ally of the Philippines -- to condemn what it called China's "dangerous actions" against "lawful Philippine maritime operations". Analysts have said Beijing's aim is to push eastwards from the Second Thomas Shoal towards the neighbouring Sabina Shoal in the Spratly Islands, encroaching on Manila's exclusive economic zone and normalising Chinese control of the area. Both sides have in recent months stationed coast guard vessels near Sabina, where the Philippines fears China is about to build an artificial island. Two journalists killed in Iraq drone strike: officials Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, Aug 23 (AFP) Aug 23, 2024 A drone strike killed two women journalists in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region on Friday, officials said, blaming Turkey whose military operates against Kurdish fighters in the area. The counter-terrorism service in regional capital Arbil said the dead were fighters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) but officials in the region's second city Sulaimaniyah said they were journalists, An Iraqi security official told AFP on condition of anonymity that a "drone likely belonging to the Turkish army struck a vehicle carrying journalists" in Sayyid Sadik, east of Sulaimaniyah. When contacted by AFP, the defence ministry in Ankara said it was "not the Turkish army" that carried out the strike. The counter-terrorism service in Arbil reported a strike by "a Turkish army drone against a vehicle of fighters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party in Sayyid Sadik district". "A PKK official, his driver and a fighter were killed" in the bombing, it added. But the head of the Sulaimaniyah journalists' union, Karouan Anwar, told reporters that the two women killed were "known to work in the world of journalism and the media". The director of Kurdish media production house CHATR, Kamal Hama Ridha, said he employed the journalists, saying one was a resident of Sulaimaniyah province while the other was a Kurd from Turkey. The Kurdish region's deputy prime minister, Qubad Talabani, described the strike as an "unjustifiable crime" and a "flagrant violation of Iraqi sovereignty". "The victims of the drone attack... were two journalists and not members of an armed force and did not represent a threat to the security and stability of any country or the region", he said. The PKK, which has fought a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state, has rear-bases in the mountains of northern Iraq. The Turkish army maintains a network of bases in the region to fight the Kurdish militant group, which is blacklisted as a "terrorist organisation" by the European Union and the United States. Following a visit to Baghdad by Turkish officials, the federal government declared the PKK a "banned organisation" in March. Earlier this month, Turkey agreed a military cooperation pact with Iraq that will see joint training and command centres to fight the Kurdish militants. NATO base in Germany briefly raises security level after 'potential threat' Berlin, Aug 23 (AFP) Aug 23, 2024 NATO said Friday it had lowered its security level at an airbase in western Germany after briefly raising it over an unspecified "potential threat". The scare follows a trespassing attempt at the same site last week, which came around the same time as a separate case of suspected sabotage at a German military base. "We raised the security level at NATO Airbase Geilenkirchen based on intelligence information indicating potential threat," the base said in a post on social media platform X late Thursday, with "non-mission essential staff... sent home as a precautionary measure". On Friday afternoon it said that the security level "has returned to Bravo+," which it had been at before. "The temporary rise... was a precautionary measure to minimise potential risk to our organisation and personnel," the base said, adding that "all scheduled operations are proceeding as planned". A spokesman for police in Cologne, close to the NATO base, told AFP on Friday that there was an "ongoing police deployment" at the site but said "the police cannot give further details due to investigations which are currently ongoing". The Geilenkirchen base, which is close to the Dutch border, houses AWACS reconnaissance aircraft and has been in use by NATO since 1980. In last week's suspected trespassing incident, NATO said an individual attempted to enter the base but was stopped and sent away. In the second case, the Bundeswehr base in Cologne-Wahn was locked down after a hole was discovered in a fence near drinking water storage facilities. Test results later showed that the tap water was not contaminated, according to the German army. No link between those two incidents has been established. Germany -- a key ally of Kyiv -- has been on high alert for sabotage and attacks on military facilities. In April, investigators arrested two German-Russian men on suspicion of spying for Russia and planning attacks in Germany -- including on US army facilities -- to undermine military support for Ukraine. ilp-clp/jsk/fec/jm Syria says seven civilians wounded in Israeli strikes Damascus, Aug 23 (AFP) Aug 23, 2024 The Syrian defence ministry said Israel carried out several air strikes in the central region on Friday, wounding seven civilians. "At approximately 7:35 pm (1635 GMT), the Israeli enemy launched an air aggression from the direction of northern Lebanon, targeting a number of sites in the central region," the ministry said. The attack "wounded seven civilians", it added. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the air strikes targeted facilities of the Syrian army and its ally, Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. "Israeli strikes hit makeshift petrol stations affiliated to Hezbollah in the Homs countryside, and struck weapons depots belonging to the group as well as two Syrian army sites in the Hama countryside," the Britain-based war monitor's director, Rami Abdel Rahman, said. Since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in the country, mainly targeting the army and its Iran-backed allies. The raids intensified after Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel sparked war in Gaza, then eased after an April 1 strike blamed on Israel hit the Iranian consular building in Damascus killing two generals of the Revolutionary Guard. Tensions have risen again since the killings of two senior Iran-backed militants last month, which sparked threats of reprisals from Tehran and its allies, who blamed Israel. Israeli authorities rarely comment on individual strikes in Syria, but have repeatedly said they will not allow arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence. Monitor says Israel Syria strikes kill three pro-Iran fighters Beirut, Lebanon, Aug 23 (AFP) Aug 23, 2024 A war monitor said Israeli air strikes on Syria targeting positions of the army and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah killed three Iran-backed fighters on Friday. "Israeli strikes have so far killed three pro-Iranian fighters and wounded about 10 others," the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. The Britain-based war monitor said the strikes targeted "makeshift petrol stations affiliated to Hezbollah in the Homs countryside, and struck weapons depots belonging to the group as well as two Syrian army sites in the Hama countryside". The Syrian defence ministry said the attacks "wounded seven civilians". "At approximately 7:35 pm (1635 GMT), the Israeli enemy launched an air aggression from the direction of northern Lebanon, targeting a number of sites in the central region," it said. Since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes in the country, mainly targeting the army and its Iran-backed allies. The raids intensified after Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel sparked war in Gaza, then eased after an April 1 strike blamed on Israel hit the Iranian consular building in Damascus killing two generals of the Revolutionary Guard. Tensions have risen again since the killings of two senior Iran-backed militants last month, which sparked threats of reprisals from Tehran and its allies, who blamed Israel. Israeli authorities rarely comment on individual strikes in Syria, but have repeatedly said they will not allow arch-enemy Iran to expand its presence. * 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. Instead, consider dressing the part: toned down, not pick me. Its quiet luxury for real people, says Harriet Elton, a stylist behind many Tatler and Harpers Bazaar covers. So poplin dress, with knitted jumper, woven sandals and croissant crumbs. Its coy, not sexy, and leaves you wanting more. No bum cheeks or low cowl neck booby tops. Big sunnies to hide the hangover. Hallmarks of the look can be found in the grown-up sections of Me+Em and Massimo Dutti, with long, monochrome dresses and ankle-length suede skirts. Giorgio Armanis Queen Elizabeth II-esque bag, La Prima, is the brands hottest product (searches are up 71% per cent week-on-week per shopping app Lyst) and bang on. Celeste is a pin-up, so too are fans of Chloe, the French brand which, under the new leadership of designer Chemena Kamali, is dressing Sienna Miller and Suki Waterhouse in floaty, cover-up boho dresses. Campaigning for the legalisation of contraceptives in Ireland in the 1970s, she famously took part in an event known as the Contraceptive Train in 1971 when activists travelled across the border to Belfast, bought a range of contraceptive products and took them to Dublin, where they staged a protest at the citys Connolly station. Nazrin Abdul The "Uztekstilprom" Association will open its representative office and exhibition hall in Baku, Azernews reports. An agreement regarding this was signed during the Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan business forum in Tashkent. The business forum took place on August 22, ahead of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyevs state visit to Uzbekistan. The opening of the representative office and exhibition hall in Baku will be an important step towards strengthening economic ties between the two countries and introducing Uzbekistan's textile products to the Azerbaijani market. Brasov joins for the third time the cities in Europe and in the country that illuminate in the colours of the Ukrainian flag buildings or known locations, on August 23 and 24, to mark State Flag Day and Ukrainian Independence Day, as a sign of solidarity and compassion, two years and six months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On Friday evening, the building of the Brasov City Hall will be illuminated in blue and yellow, and on Saturday the letters on the Tampa will light up in the same symbolic colours of the Ukrainian flag. "We highly appreciate the efforts of the City Hall, the business community and the civil society of Brasov to support the Ukrainian citizens who have found shelter in your city. (...) We are convinced that the efforts of the Brasov community will continue to strengthen the good-neighbourly relations between Ukraine and Romania, as well as contribute to a peaceful, resilient and united Europe," reads a letter addressed to Mayor Allen Coliban by Ukrainian Ambassador Ihor Prokopchuk, quoted in a briefing from the Brasov City Hall. The Ukrainian flag was officially adopted for the first time in history in 1918. Ukraine's Independence Day, celebrated annually on August 24, is also the national day marking the adoption of the Declaration of Independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. A fire broke out on Friday morning at the military dormitory of the Salaj Garrison, in one of the apartments on the fourth floor of the building, that resulted in the death of one person, informs the Ministry of national Defence (MApN). In order to extinguish the fire, which was raging violently, the staff of the accommodation unit intervened initially and the intervention of ISU Bucharest-Ilfov was requested at the 112 single emergency number. The fire was extinguished around 11:10. During the intervention a deceased man was discovered in the apartment, whose identity is yet to be established. A civilian employee of MApN was permanently housed in the apartment. According to the Ministry of Defense, the tenants of the home were evacuated safely. Three of them showed symptoms of smoke poisoning and were transported by ambulance to the nearest hospital for medical care. The case is being investigated under the coordination of the Military Prosecutor's Office, and the commander of the Bucharest Garrison Command has appointed a committee to investigate the circumstances of the incident. August 23 shows the difference that a single person can make in the face of the hatred promoted by totalitarian regimes, President Klaus Iohannis said on Friday, evoking King Mihai I in a message on the occasion of the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of all Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes. "Today marks the 80th anniversary since the crucial decision of King Mihai I, who understood the duty he owed to his people and his country and acted with responsibility and dignity, thus changing the course of the events of the Second World War and saving Romania from an imminent disaster," said the head of state. Klaus Iohannis affirms that the European Day of Remembrance for Victims of all Totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes is "an occasion to remember and honor the memory of the victims of totalitarian regimes established on the European continent and the sacrifices of all those who did not give up the fight against them, for democracy and freedom". At the same time, Iohannis recalls that 85 years ago the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was signed, "a terrible agreement that led to the sacrifice of millions of people for the interests of criminal regimes". Klaus Iohannis recalls the horrors of those times, but also the courage shown by some people in that context. "The Nazi and Soviet policies led to Holocaust and genocide, deportations, the separation of families, famine and numerous abuses. These horrors have left scars and trauma that have affected entire generations, forced to face the poverty and persecution of totalitarian regimes. Even under the threat of harsh punishments, people could not be silenced and found the strength to overcome the censorship of the times, and the example of those who resisted the oppressors remains written in history as proof of strength of character and determination," says the head of state. He believes that Europe is now a safer place and Romania has become a pillar of regional stability and security. "Our country is actively contributing to the defense of democratic values and principles and is a model in terms of promoting a world order based on rules and respect for international law," affirms president Iohannis. He talks about the current challenges and possible solutions to them. "We see how today, in various forms, populism and hate speech are once again making their presence felt and this is precisely why the vigilance of the entire society is necessary, so as not to expose ourselves to the risk that all these values to which Romania has adhered become irrelevant.In this sense, it is imperative to oppose any kind of deviations from the rule of law, fundamental rights and freedoms and to be aware of the danger posed by the rise of extremist forces that threaten democracy," Klaus Iohannis transmits. According to the president, inaction has facilitated the spread of racism, discrimination and intolerance. "Today we renew our commitment to react when democratic values are endangered. Defending and promoting the historical truth is a duty of honor to the victims of totalitarianism and to the younger generations, who need to learn about the tragic past and to grow and prosper in a peaceful and united world. We have, each of us, the power to respond and to act when values and essential principles are being jeopardized, as well as the responsibility to support those who fight to preserve freedom and democracy," Klaus Iohannis stressed. August 23, the day of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, was established by the European Parliament, through a Declaration in 2008, as the European Day of Remembrance of the Victims of all totalitarian and Authoritarian Regimes. At the same time, in 2011, the Romanian Parliament, by Law no. 198, declared August 23 the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Fascism and Communism. OLIVETTE The nonprofit Animal Protective Association of Missouri has engineered a dramatic turnaround of the St. Louis County-owned animal shelter in Olivette, described just two years ago as filthy and neglected, and will turn management back to the county by early next year. Sarah Javier, the APAs president and CEO, said in an email to donors that the turnaround at Olivette has been dramatic and the county shelter is in a strong operational and logistical state. Now the APA wants to put its efforts elsewhere, she said. While it may feel like an ending, this is in fact a new beginning for our entire team, one that will expand our capacity and our reach in this community to do our vital work, Javier wrote in the email, sent Thursday. Some, however, cautioned the county would have to be careful as it takes back shelter operations. It cannot go back to what it was, said Councilwoman Rita Heard Days, a Democrat from Bel-Nor. The county began contracting with the APA in December 2022 to operate the shelter after repeated criticism of the facility when it was run by the county itself. Residents, animal advocates and county workers had complained of poor conditions, understaffing, overpopulation and other problems. Days after the APA took over the facility that year, Javier blasted the county for leaving the shelter in shambles, dogs neglected. Her staff found layers of feces in kennels, dogs that hadnt been walked in weeks, a lack of vaccinations, and some animals so aggressive, likely from months of isolation, staff had no options but to euthanize them, she said then in a letter to the Post-Dispatch. The APA and the county agreed on a five-year, $15.8 million contract to clean up the shelter and run it. But Mack Bradley, an APA spokesman, said Friday that the deal allowed either side to end it at any time. Javier said the APAs board made the decision Tuesday after careful deliberation. APA officials said returning the shelter to county management will allow the nonprofit to focus on its next major initiative to build more pet adoption capacity in the region. Bradley said that could involve adding a new facility run by the nonprofit in addition to the organizations own longstanding shelter in Brentwood. He said the APA is looking at other parts of the county but didnt elaborate. County Executive Sam Page, in a joint release with the APA, said county officials appreciated the nonprofits work to improve the county facility. Our shelter is in much better shape, and we have the tools in place to continue the important work (the health department) does in animal control, including adoption of animals, Page said. Under the APA-county arrangement, the release said, there have been nearly 4,000 pet adoptions, more than 2,000 pets were reunited with families, nearly 1,600 were placed with foster families and more than 1,000 were transferred to rescue partners. The transitioning back to county management will occur over the next several months, the release said. Days, the councilwoman, cautioned that the county will have to take the new work seriously. To keep the shelter from returning to a dismal state, she said, the health department will have to hire experts in the field and not just anybody who needs a job. The county health director, Dr. Kanika Cunningham, said she didnt know yet how many county employees will need to be added to restaff the facility but that it would be at least 20. She also said the county isnt considering outsourcing the shelters management to another entity. She said shes aware of the past problems at the shelter but is confident that the county will do a better job in the future after its collaboration with the APA. She said the APAs decision did not come as a surprise and that definitely were parting ways on a good note. Kelsey Landis of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report. OFALLON, Mo. A controversial housing development is moving forward after OFallon city leaders agreed Thursday to annex a 160-acre property on the citys western side. The OFallon, Missouri, City Council voted 7-3 to approve the annexation request after hearing from several area residents, who shared their concerns that the large-scale development would lead to overcrowding of schools, strain city infrastructure, increase traffic congestion on area roads, and increase response times from law enforcement and other emergency services. This project is a total loser for OFallon, said Shawn Mann, a speaker at Thursdays meeting where the proposed 239-home subdivision, The Villages of Busch Wildlife, dominated discussion. He urged OFallon to complete a financial cost-benefit analysis on the proposal, something that each of the three council members who voted against the proposal echoed in their remarks. This is not a smart move for the city. We cant get streets repaired. We cant get curbs replaced. There are a lot of things that the city wants to do, but we cant do. Taking on another subdivision, another expense, just doesnt make much financial sense at all, said Fifth Ward Councilwoman Debbie Cook. She along with fellow Fifth Ward Councilwoman Linda Ragsdale and First Ward Councilwoman Deana Smith voted against the proposal. With Thursdays vote, Lombardo Homes of St. Louis can now submit their plans for the subdivision to OFallons planning and zoning department staff for review ahead of Septembers zoning commission meeting. The proposed development will be split into three distinct villages spread across large swaths of property along both sides of Highway DD near the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area in western St. Charles County, according to a preliminary map shared by zoning staff on Thursday. The potential development is similar to the 120-home development called The Highlands at Busch Wildlife, which was approved by the St. Charles County Council in June. Both the Highlands and the Villages are being built on the site of a previously proposed 556-home, 356-acre subdivision known as Tall Tree, which was ultimately rejected by the St. Charles Planning & Zoning Commission and blocked by the St. Charles County Council in August 2023. Following that decision, representatives of the developers said they would likely pursue annexation into OFallon where they hoped city officials would be more receptive to their plans for the property. Third Ward Councilman Nathan Bibb said Thursday he disagreed with those who believed the project would be a detriment to the city. He said the annexation agreement had special conditions that would limit how the property could be developed. Theres a lot of things that potentially can be adjusted, but the number of homes will be maxed out at 239 homes, Bibb said. He said the agreement also bars any multi-family housing from being built on the property. Drew Weber, an attorney hired by Lombardo Homes to oversee the projects path toward approval in OFallon, confirmed after the meeting that only single-family homes will be built on the property. He said the latest proposal also reflects some of the feedback developers heard from residents upset by the Tall Tree proposal. Lombardo is proposing building 50 fewer homes on the property. They have also taken strides to preserve 67% of the existing trees on the property and are adding 5,300 feet of walking trails to the development, Weber said. Weber said Lombardo is still determining architectural styles for the proposed single-family homes. He said additional details about the homes will be shared at the September zoning meeting. Nate De Luca, who lives near the The Villages development, has been a vocal critic of the development since it was first pitched in 2023 as Tall Tree. De Luca said he came to Thursday nights meeting in OFallon believing that OFallon City Council would likely approve the annexation request given that St. Charles County approved the Highlands project earlier this year. We are very upset that it was passed tonight, but they still have to approve the design, the plat. This isnt over, De Luca said. Residents have long threatened legal action to try and stop the development from moving forward. De Luca and more than a dozen other residents from the nearby area filled the OFallon Council Chambers to oppose the proposed annexation. Some urged the council to delay the annexation vote until Lombardo had finalized its plans for the property, while others said the city should reject the proposal because it did not comply with the priorities outlined in OFallons 2021 Comprehensive Plan that ranked in-fill housing over annexation. A sentiment that was echoed by Ragsdale, one of three council members opposing the annexation. I know I represent the northern part of OFallon, and many people are saying that this would not affect the residents of my ward. While that might be initially true, it is diverting tax dollars away from them, Ragsdale said. I have to be accountable to my residents, to my constituents, and to let them know that your street might not get repaired because we had to divert some of the tax dollars that were allotted to you toward this project. A small team of experts have found no natural causes for the apparent preservation of a Missouri nun whose body was exhumed last year around 40 miles north of Kansas City. Its conclusions found the lack of decomposition highly atypical, according to a statement published Thursday by the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster was the founder of the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, a monastery in the small town of Gower, Missouri. She died in 2019 but when monastery members exhumed her body in April 2023 to relocate it inside the chapel, they found that it had not undergone the typical stages of decay. While the fabric lining of Lancasters coffin was largely decayed, her body and religious attire appeared to be mostly intact. The discovery brought Catholics from around the Midwest to visit the body, which some thought to be incorrupt a designation marked by a lack of decomposition after death and associated with holiness in the Catholic faith. There are more than 100 Catholic saints whose bodies have been found in states of partial or total preservation with no known natural causes. Shortly after Lancasters body was exhumed, the local diocese assembled its team of experts to search for natural causes of preservation. The experts included a pathologist, two other medical doctors and a former coroner. Their investigation, which lasted more than a year, found no evidence in soil samples or interviews with those involved in the burial that explain why the body appears so well-preserved. Lancasters body is now on display in the abbey church. The monasterys website notes that there are usually no lines to see Lancasters body except at the end of Mass services around 12:30 p.m. A photo first published by Fox News Digital also shows that visitors are permitted to take a small amount of dirt from Lancasters gravesite outside the church. Monastery leader Mother Cecilia noted last year that Lancaster is thought to be the first African American woman found incorrupt after being exhumed. There are currently no officially canonized African American female saints in the Catholic faith. However, Kansas City area bishop James Johnston noted that this unusual preservation alone is not a fast pass to sainthood in the church. The Catholic Church does not have an official protocol for determining if a deceased persons body is incorrupt, and incorruptibility is not considered to be an indication of sainthood, he wrote in Thursdays statement. There is no current plan to initiate a cause for sainthood for Sister Wilhelmina. The first step toward sainthood after a person has died is being declared Venerable by the pope, meaning they have lived a heroically virtuous life or were a martyr for the Catholic faith. Then, two miracles are necessary to elevate them up the ranks to full sainthood. These miracles require the candidate to intervene on a living persons behalf meaning that incorruptibility alone is generally not considered a miracle that qualifies someone for sainthood. However, the pope is allowed to waive certain sainthood requirements if he chooses to. A photo archive of Lancasters life on the monasterys website shows her teaching schoolchildren, meeting Pope John Paul II in Rome, performing in a skit at the abbey, and enjoying cupcakes and ice cream with the other nuns. THE HAGUE, Netherlands The International Criminal Courts chief prosecutor on Friday called on judges to urgently rule on his request for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others linked to the Israel-Hamas war, saying the court has jurisdiction. It is settled law that the Court has jurisdiction in this situation, Prosecutor Karim Khan wrote in a 49-page legal brief. Khan called on a panel of ICC pretrial judges to urgently render its decisions on the requests he filed in May for warrants for Netanyahu, his defense minister, Yoav Gallant and three leaders of Hamas, two of whom have since been killed. The brief filed by Khan came in response to legal arguments filed by dozens of countries, academics, victims groups and rights groups either rejecting or supporting the courts power to issue arrest warrants in its investigation into the war in Gaza and the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel. In his May request for arrest warrants, Khan accused Netanyahu, Gallant and three Hamas leaders Yehya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel. Haniyeh and Deif have since been killed. Sinwar, Hamas top official in Gaza who masterminded the Oct. 7 attacks, was subsequently named the groups new leader. Netanyahu called the prosecutors accusations against him a disgrace, and an attack on the Israeli military and all of Israel. He vowed to press ahead with Israels war against Hamas. Hamas also denounced Khans actions, saying the request to arrest its leaders equated the victim with the executioner. Israel is not a member of the court, so even if the arrest warrants are issued, Netanyahu and Gallant do not face any immediate risk of prosecution. But the threat of arrest could make it difficult for the Israeli leaders to travel abroad. The war began on Oct. 7, when Hamas and other militants stormed Israel, killed around 1,200 people mostly civilians and abducted around 250. About 110 hostages are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead. The Israeli offensive launched in response has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the local Health Ministry, which doesnt say how many were militants or civilians. Many of the legal arguments filed to ICC judges in recent weeks focussed largely on the issue of whether the courts power to issue warrants for Israeli leaders is overruled by a provision of the 1993 Oslo Accords peace deal. As part of the deal, the Palestinians agreed that they dont have criminal jurisdiction over Israeli nationals. Khan insisted the argument that the accords could nullify the courts jurisdiction is without merit. He called the legal argument inconsistent with the proper interpretation and application of an article in the courts founding Rome Statute and misunderstands basic concepts of jurisdiction under international law, including under the law of occupation, and how these concepts relate to the interpretation and application of the Statute. It remains unclear when judges will rule on Khans request for warrants. In 2016, researchers from the Centre and partner institutions embarked on a collaborative journey with some of the largest seafood companies in the world. Today, this unique science-industry collaboration is allowing frontier research on antimicrobial use and mapping of antimicrobial resistance in aquaculture. The SeaBOS initiative, or Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship, was born from a desire to test a hypothesis: can sustainable leadership by key seafood companies, so called Keystone Actors, trigger cascading effects throughout the entire seafood industry? In October 2023, the SeaBOS initiative moved into a new phase of implementation by launching two keystone projects to deliver results on the ground. One of these looks at antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and aims to achieve transformative change in the aquaculture sector. Centre researchers Patrik Henriksson, Max Troell and Oskar Nyberg play a central role in the project. Antimicrobials, such as antibiotics, are a cornerstone of modern medicine. But they are at risk becoming ineffective as microorganisms (particularly bacteria) around the world are increasingly developing resistance towards them. This is largely due to mis- or overuse of antimicrobials both in the treatment of humans and animals. The challenge The presence of AMR in aquaculture production systems may not only pose a direct threat to human health, but could also impact production itself by lowering drug efficacy and drive selection towards more virulent strains of pathogen bacteria. More knowledge is required to understand the emergence and presence of antimicrobial resistance genes in aquaculture and its surrounding environment. An RQ-4 Global Hawk speeds down the runway for takeoff Oct. 24, 2018, at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Sicily. An RQ-4 landed in England this week for temporary deployment, following a nearly 24-hour flight from Italy. (Ramon Adelan/U.S. Air Force) A remotely piloted American military surveillance and reconnaissance airplane is making its first appearance in England on a temporary deployment. The RQ-4 Global Hawk landed at RAF Fairford on Thursday, U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa said in a statement the following day. The maiden flight to England is part of the commands efforts to expand operations alongside NATO allies, the statement said. The plane will conduct operations through international and allied airspace, USAFE-AFAFRICA said. The RQ-4 flew nearly 24 hours from Sigonella, Sicily, traversing much of Eastern Europe and Finland before flying west across Sweden and Norway and down into England, Aviation Week reported. Large crowds were gathered at the end of the runway to see it land at about 10:30 p.m. local time, according to Aviation Week. Naval Air Station Sigonella on the Italian island of Sicily hosts NATOs Alliance Ground Surveillance main operating base, which manages five RQ-4D Phoenix Global Hawks. The airplane can fly at high altitudes for more than 30 hours, gathering high-resolution imagery of large areas of land in all types of weather, day or night and nearly in real time, according to manufacturer Northrop Grumman. A NATO E-3A AWACS sits on a runway at Geilenkirchen Air Base in Germany on May 9, 2023. The base went to force protection condition Charlie on Aug. 22, 2024. (Andrew D. Sarver/U.S. Air Force) A NATO air base in western Germany with about 400 U.S. military personnel lowered its alert level Friday, a day after intelligence indicating a potential threat led to heightened security. Geilenkirchen Air Base returned to force protection condition Bravo-plus Friday afternoon, base officials said in a statement. The installation had gone to minimum manning overnight Thursday, raising its force protection condition to Charlie and sending all but mission-essential personnel home as a precaution, NATO spokesman Capt. Donny Demmers said Friday. Demmers, a member of the Dutch air force, said no personnel were evacuated from the base, which houses NATOs fleet of AWACS surveillance planes. All scheduled operations are proceeding as planned, the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force said Friday on X, formerly known as Twitter. Officials did not disclose the nature of the threat. The security alert comes a week after Germany reported that possible Russian sabotage efforts were behind attempts to contaminate the drinking water at Geilenkirchen and a German military base in the vicinity of Cologne. A person tried to get access to Geilenkirchen on Aug. 13 but security guards thwarted the attempt, Demmers told Bloomberg at the time. German media reported that a person was briefly detained and released. The base at Geilenkirchen is near the border with the Netherlands. Among its international military and civilian staff are about 400 mostly U.S. Air Force personnel, Demmers said. A handful are in the Navy. Two of the bases squadrons fall under the 52nd Fighter Wing at Spangdahlem Air Base: the 852nd Medical Squadron and 470th Air Base Squadron. Geilenkirchen is home to 14 E-3A AWACS airplanes, which are tasked with protecting NATO airspace through surveillance. Its mobile radar is designed to detect aircraft, ships, vehicles, missiles and other incoming projectiles at long ranges. Two of them deployed Thursday to Konya Air Base in Turkey and will conduct surveillance flights along NATOs eastern flank, Demmers said. The previously scheduled deployment is not linked to Thursdays security developments, he said. Singapores air force posted photographs of U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighters arriving in the city state on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. (Singaporean air force) Air Force F-22 stealth fighters arrived in Singapore on Wednesday for several days of combat and air-to-air refueling exercises over the South China Sea, according to U.S. and Singaporean officials. The Raptors have landed! Singapores air force said that day on social platforms X and Facebook. The high-tech planes were in the Southeast Asian city state to train alongside Singapores F-15SG Eagle and F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters and an A330 MRTT aerial tanker, according to the posts. F-22s are training with the Singapore Air Force, boosting our interoperability & strengthening ties, Pacific Air Forces said in its own X post that day. Interoperability for the military means the ability of one countrys military to use another countrys equipment and training methods. The training was to take place over the southern reaches of the South China Sea within international airspace and allow aircrew to glean useful tactical insights, according to the Singaporean Facebook post. PACAF did not immediately provide answers on Thursday to emailed questions about the Raptors unit and mission in Singapore. Being able to operate smoothly with Singaporean Air Force has benefits for both sides and sends a useful message about the strength of the mil-mil relationship, Ralph Cossa, a retired Air Force officer and former president of the Pacific Forum think tank in Hawaii, said by email Friday. China claims sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea, a claim disputed by surrounding countries Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Taiwan, itself subject to a territorial claim by China, also asserts territorial rights in the area. Philippine and Chinese coast guard ships collided Monday in contested South China Sea waters, with each government blaming the other for the incidents. Singapores proximity to the potential flashpoint makes it a good place for the stealth jets to fly from, and there are advantages operating from additional bases in the Pacific, retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dan Leaf said by email Friday. Its not the first time the U.S. stealth fighters have been in Singapore. Air Combat Commands F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team performed at the Singapore Airshow in February 2020. Singapore is buying its own fleet of 20 F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters. It expects delivery of the first in 2026, according to the countrys defense minister, Ng Eng Hen, quoted in a March 1 Reuters report. Raptors from the 27th Fighter Squadron at Joint Base LangleyEustis, Va., are deployed to Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. Six of them participated in the Pitch Black airpower drills in Australia, which wrapped up Aug. 2. Army Staff Sgt. Shawn McDorr, a section chief with Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, participates in his team's final exercise with the M270A1 Multiple Launch Rocket System at Grafenwoehr Training Area in Grafenwoehr, Germany, on Aug. 22, 2024. McDorr is looking forward to the impending switch to the A2 variant of the system. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes) GRAFENWOEHR, Germany Army Staff Sgt. Shawn McDorr was feeling little nostalgia this week as he waited to fire his mobile armored launcher for what was likely the last time. The M270A1 Multiple Launch Rocket System, capable of traversing battlefields on tanklike treads, is set to be replaced with an updated A2 variant by the end of September, Capt. AJ Dorantes, a 41st Field Artillery Brigade spokesman, said Friday. McDorr and his fellow artillerymen from Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, took to the Grafenwoehr Training Area on Thursday for Falcon Strike 24, an annual platoon-level live-fire qualification. The A1 can be kind of crowded at times, said McDorr, a crew chief from Bath, Maine. Part of the upgrade is that the new technology is built in better and hasnt had to be added as an afterthought, he said. Thats a big plus in my book. Army Staff Sgt. Shawn McDorr, right, and Spc. Timothy Bess, both of Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, wait to fire their M270A1 Multiple Launch Rocket System for what is likely the last time during Falcon Strike 24 at the Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, on Aug. 22, 2024. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes) U.S. soldiers with Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment operate the M270A1 Multiple Launch Rocket System at Grafenwoehr Training Area in Grafenwoehr, Germany, on Aug. 22, 2024. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes) Spc. Timothy Bess, an M270A1 driver with the Army's Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, uses an M270A1 Multiple Launch Rocket System in an exercise Aug. 22, 2024, at Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes) The M270A1, which first entered service in a previous format in 1983, is an armored launcher mounted on a stretched Bradley chassis. The system is equipped with two containers that can fire either 12 rockets or two ATACMS guided missiles with a range of up to 190 miles. They are crewed by three-man teams consisting of a driver, a gunner and a section chief that can deliver a payload in under 60 seconds, according to the Army website. Artillery has always been integral to taking and holding territory, but its importance on the modern battlefield has been reemphasized by the war in Ukraine. In March, Russia was firing about 10,000 shells per day, CNN quoted unidentified NATO officials as saying. Since then, Western allies have tried to replenish Ukraines smaller stocks while maintaining their own. Based on what has been observed in Ukraine, the brigades two MLRS battalions in Bavaria are focused on increasing survivability tactics, particularly when it comes to drones, Dorantes said. A detailed map of the Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany allows soldiers with Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment to calculate their fire during a field exercise on Aug. 22, 2024. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes) U.S. soldiers with Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment participate in their final exercise with the M270A1 Multiple Launch Rocket System at Grafenwoehr Training Area in Germany on Aug. 22, 2024. The M270A1 is due to be phased out and replaced by the A2 variant this fall. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes) Soldiers from Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment catch up on some sleep Aug. 22, 2024, while waiting to fire their M270A1 Multiple Launch Rocket System during Falcon Strike 24 at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes) The 41st beefed them up earlier this year by adding a third battery to the 1-77 and its sister unit, 1st Battalion, 6th Field Artillery. Each battalion had two batteries with eight launchers but are moving toward three with nine launchers, Dorantes said. Each battery will receive several A2s, he added. The change is part of the Armys strategy to move away from the close air support and counterfiring of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and back to large-scale combat operations, battalion commander Lt. Col. Anthony Dunkin said. Were focused in the deep area, he said. Our mission is to be able to acquire the enemy deep and shape their formations before they can affect our troops on the ground. The consensus among members of the battery was that the A2s will usher in an improved work environment. In addition to revamped engines, armor, fire control systems and increased firepower, the upgraded and rebuilt transmissions will mean less maintenance and a faster return to the battlefield. Thats why itll make us overall more lethal, gunner Sgt. Shane Stough said. The Falcon Strike exercise, which began Aug. 8 and ended Friday, started with simulated shoot-and-scoot maneuvers in Baumholder. The training included long-distance convoy operations, an opposition force and small aerial drones. On Tuesday, the battalion moved east to Grafenwoehr. While one system pulled onto the range and fired four rockets in succession, McDorr and Spc. Timothy Bess waited for their turn in a track dubbed Second Coming. Army Staff Sgt. Shawn McDorr, a section chief with Alpha Battery, 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, operates his M270A1 Multiple Launch Rocket System during Falcon Strike 24 at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, on Aug. 22, 2024. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes) An M270A1 Multiple Launch Rocket System dubbed "Second Coming" participates in Falcon Strike 24 on Aug. 22, 2024, in Grafenwoehr, Germany. (Matthew M. Burke/Stars and Stripes) Spc. Timothy Bess, right, an M270A1 Multiple Launch Rocket System driver, and Staff Sgt. Shawn McDorr, left, a section chief, participate in their team's exercise with the M270A1 at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, on Aug. 22, 2024. (Lydia Gordon/Stars and Stripes) Were very aware of how much of a target we are and how much our weapon platform matters, McDorr said. Theyre making sure that they move a lot and know how to use cover and concealment, he added. (Artillery) is usually the decisive factor in most wars that weve seen in the past, McDorr said. And I think were seeing a return to that. Marine Maj. Gen. William Mullen pictured at a ceremony at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., in 2018. (Damon Mclean/U.S. Marine Corps) A retired general who had once led a Marine Corps base in the California desert died of an embolism while he was visiting his old command, authorities said Thursday. Maj. Gen. William Mullen, 59, died June 29 in the guest quarters at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, where he served as the commanding officer from 2016 to 2017. The San Bernardino County Coroner wrote in a report that the cause of death was a pulmonary embolism. Mullen retired from the service in 2020 after a 34-year career capped with training desert warfare tactics to Marines, including those at Twentynine Palms. He previously deployed to Yugoslavia and Iraq in a career dating back to 1986. Mullen attended Marquette University in Milwaukee and was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Marines following graduation. He earned a bachelors degree and a masters degree in political science from Marquette and a second masters degree in national security and strategic studies at the Naval War College. In his service, Mullen led a rifle platoon, trained in anti-terrorism tactics, deployed in Operation Desert Shield, commanded a security team at Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California, served as president of the Marine Corps University in Quantico, Va., and was the Marine aide to former President Bill Clinton. Twentynine Palms, which is just less than 1,000 square miles near Joshua Tree National Park in the California desert, is the largest Marine base in the United States. World Food Programme food assistance being loaded on to trucks in Port Sudan bound for hunger hotspots elsewhere in the country. (Abubakar Garelnebei/WFP) U.S.-brokered talks in Switzerland aimed at ending Sudans civil war collapsed after efforts to persuade the army to attend failed, while a bid to deliver food to millions of people who are facing famine was stymied by the closure of a major border crossing. The U.S. mission to Geneva announced at the end of the 10-day talks that progress had been made in securing commitments to increase access to humanitarian aid, but lamented the absence of the Sudanese Armed Forces. Though we were in consistent communication with SAF virtually, we regret their decision not to be present, it said in a joint statement with other mediating parties on Friday. We believe that limited our ability to make more substantial progress towards key issues, particularly a national cessation of hostilities. Mediators were left frustrated by the armys demands to be recognized as Sudans official government. The Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, which has been fighting the military since April last year, did send representatives to the talks, as did the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the African Union and the United Nations. A final push for a deal was made this week when Tom Perriello, the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan, traveled to Cairo, where U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi that mainly focused on the war in Gaza. The Sudanese army sent low-ranking officials rather than senior military officers from its main headquarters in Port Sudan to parallel talks on the North African nations civil war, which also went nowhere, according to three people who were briefed on the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity because they arent authorized to speak publicly. The Egyptian government had also scheduled a meeting with a delegation from Port Sudan, but we were told that would be stood down after the delegation breached protocols, Perriello said in a posting on social media platform X on Wednesday. In a statement on Wednesday, Sudans Transitional Sovereignty Council, which is run by the army, said the fact that it had sent a delegation to Cairo confirms our seriousness and sincere desire to continue peace talks. Adding to the mediators exasperation, a major border crossing between Sudan and Chad that is a main transit point for aid was shut again on Thursday, despite the army agreeing to open it a week ago. As of today, no trucks have moved, said Eddie Rowe, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, said on Thursday. The U.N. is now in talks with the Sudanese government on clearance procedures with the hope of bolstering deliveries, he said. The World Food Programme delivered 155 tons of assistance through the Adre crossing over the past week, enough for about 13,000 people. A panel of Rome-based hunger experts has warned that half of Sudans population is confronting a food crisis, while the World Health Organization said there had been cholera outbreaks in several states. A famine was officially declared this month at the Zamzam camp in the western Darfur region. Last week, aid agency Medecins Sans Frontieres said that intense fighting in the nearby town of El-Fasher was leading to new arrivals at the camp and the Saudi Hospital in the city had been shelled 11 times since May 10. The U.N. has described the situation in Sudan, which had a population of about 46 million prior to the war, as the worlds biggest displacement crisis. The fighting has left about 150,000 dead, according to an estimate from the U.S. envoy to Sudan, and millions more displaced. Sudans military maintains that the UAE is supporting the RSF militia, a claim the UAE denies. Officials are now looking at the U.N. General Assembly, which begins on September 10, as the next opportunity to bring the warring parties together, according to the people who were briefed on the talks. With assistance from Neil Munshi. Reporters covering an airmans sexual assault and kidnapping charges stand outside Naha District Court on Okinawa, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. (Brian McElhiney/Stars and Stripes) NAHA CITY, Okinawa A U.S. airman charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a minor on Okinawa in December previously assaulted the girl at a convenience store earlier last year, the girl testified in court Friday. Senior Airman Brennon Richard Edward Washington, 25, made his second appearance in Naha District Court on charges of kidnapping and sexually assaulting the girl in December. The eight-hour session in front of a three-judge panel and a packed courtroom concluded at 6:40 p.m. Judge Tetsuro Sato presided. The case has sparked demonstrations on Okinawa, official complaints to high-ranking U.S. military commanders and made the agenda at a meeting of Cabinet members from both countries in late July. The girl, who is younger than 16, testified for more than five hours behind a partition to protect her privacy, occasionally breaking into tears. Washington, assigned to the 18th Logistics Readiness Squadron at Kadena Air Base, denied the charges at his first court appearance on July 12. He sat silently and showed no emotion Friday. He is scheduled to testify for the first time on Aug. 30. The girl testified that toward the end of July 2023, she and her younger sister were at a convenience store near their house when she noticed someone watching her. They left the store and were approached outside about two minutes later from behind by the same person in his car, she said. The man a foreigner suggested they meet on the weekend at his home while pointing to one of three white houses nearby, the girl testified. He then hugged her and touched her bottom, kissed the girls sister on the cheek and kissed the girl on the lips using his tongue, the girl said. She said the experience left her with a phobia of men. Later in her testimony, while describing being approached by Washington on Dec. 24, 2023, she said the airman drove her in his car to the same house the man who approached her in July had pointed out. Did you think that the defendant was the same individual as back in July? the prosecutor asked. Yes, she said. The girl said she was at the park looking at photos on her phone when Washington approached her from behind and started talking to her in Japanese. He asked her age, and she answered in Japanese, English and using her hands, she said. Washington responded by counting on his fingers, she testified. Washingtons attorney told the court on July 12 that the airman admitted he performed sexual actions with the girl, but that he thought she was 18 years old. The girl testified that she and Washington continued talking using a translator phone app. She said she got in Washingtons car, rode to his house and went inside because it was cold outside, and she was afraid of what he would do if she said no. The girl testified that Washington kissed her with his tongue at his home. He then penetrated her vagina with his fingers and his tongue and touched her breast underneath her shirt, she said. The girl testified that she had to repeat stop in English and Japanese several times before Washington stopped. When asked by the prosecutor how she feels about Washington, the girl responded: I want him to understand the severity of what he has done. During cross-examination, the girl told Washingtons attorney she was about 650 feet from the three houses when the man she said was Washington approached her in July. The girl testified that at that time, she understood through gestures and some words, he probably said my house. Courtroom observers at times started crying during the girls testimony; Sato reprimanded a man who called out for the defense attorney to stop his questioning. Sato moved to adjourn the hearing at 5:15 p.m. but instead allowed Washingtons attorney to question the girls mother. The mother testified that she met her daughter at the parking lot of their house later that December day, and the girl suddenly started to cry and at first couldnt speak. I was raped by a foreigner, her daughter said, the mother testified. Questioned by the prosecutor, the mother testified she didnt report the July 2023 incident to police because she thought her daughter wasnt touched. She thought the man only showed her daughter indecent photos, the mother said. Washingtons case, and that of a Marine lance corporal charged in a separate case with attempted sexual assault, outraged Okinawa government officials, who made formal complaints to the Japanese government, the U.S. Embassy and military commands in Japan. The Okinawa Prefectural Assembly also called for changes to the status of forces agreement governing the U.S. military population in Japan. A drive collected 173 pints of blood from 182 donors at Yokota Air Base, Japan, on Aug. 21-22, 2004. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes) YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan The first blood drive sponsored by the U.S. military in a decade on Japans main island took place recently at this airlift hub in western Tokyo. The drive collected 173 pints of blood from 182 donors on Wednesday and Thursday. The goal is to get access to new donors that dont always have the opportunity to donate and to get more fresh blood into the operational system so we can maintain the level of operations of our hospitals, Col. Daniel Gilardi, commander of the 374th Medical Support Squadron, told Stars and Stripes in an interview Wednesday. Senior Airman Mohamadou Ndiaye, a medical technician at Yokota was in high spirits Wednesday, the first day of the blood drive at the Samurai Fitness Center. I like to give blood. Its simple and it can make a big difference, Ndiaye told Stars and Stripes at the event. I worked in labor and delivery before, and if something happens to the mother, having blood there is pretty convenient. The blood drive also serves as a proof of concept for future blood drives on Honshu, Japans main island. The medical group at Yokota has begun talks with Naval Hospital Yokosuka, 62 miles to the southeast at Yokosuka Naval Base, with hopes to begin hosting blood drives every six months, Master Sgt. Terrence Raybon, the clinical laboratory flight chief for the 374th Medical Group, told Stars and Stripes in an interview Wednesday. The location of the biannual blood drives would alternate between the air base and the naval base if an agreement is reached. A drive collected 173 pints of blood from 182 donors at Yokota Air Base, Japan, on Aug. 21-22, 2004. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes) While blood drives occasionally occur on U.S. military installations in Japan, they are typically conducted by the Japanese Red Cross, which maintains control of the collected blood and goes toward helping the local Japanese population, Gilardi said. We have a partnership with them, but its not the traditional partnership, he said. Typically, Red Cross blood drives on U.S. military installations earn Department of Defense credits used to acquire blood from the Red Cross. Military-sponsored blood drives allow U.S military clinics to keep possession of the blood and distribute it wherever it may be needed without dipping into their accumulated credits, Gilardi explained. The U.S. military blood collection program in the Pacific is run by a team from Naval Hospital Okinawa. It primarily runs blood drives on Okinawa but has used the Yokota drive as training for the mobile collection team. This is really the DOD community supporting the DOD community because this blood will go directly into military treatment facilities, Gilardi said. Tokyo Station commuters pass video ads featuring the family of North Korean abductee Megumi Yokota on Aug. 21, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes) TOKYO A 15-second video playing every six minutes in the worlds busiest train stations reminds millions of commuters of a 13-year-old Japanese girl kidnapped from her home nearly five decades ago by North Korean agents. The video will play throughout this month on digital screens in Japan Railway stations in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area, including Tokyo, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro and Yokohama, according to Asagao-no-kai, the group responsible. The digital advertisement shows images of Megumi Yokota, along with her brothers and father, Shigeru, who died in 2020. An accompanying message states, We just want to get our happy family back. Another photo of Yokotas 88-year-old mother, Sakie Yokota, carries the message: Please let me see Megumi while Im still alive. Asagao-no-kai is a group of the Yokota familys neighbors, who have been supporting effort to get their daughter back. In order to make the reunion reality, we are running an opinion advertisement to urge Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to carry out summit talks, the group announced a news release last month. Japanese authorities believe Yokota was taken by the North while walking home from her junior high school in Niigata, a port city on the Sea of Japan, on Nov. 11, 1977. She was 13 at the time. What we want to convey is to get our family back and to make sure she is safe while Im still alive and to be able see her, even just a glance, Sakie Yokota said in a statement provided by the group by email Thursday. I would like everyone who sees this to remember that this is still a real issue and not something of the past, and that such tragedy could happen again at any time as this issue has not been resolved, she added. Yokohama Station commuters pass video ads featuring the family of North Korean abductee Megumi Yokota on Aug. 21, 2024. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes) In 2002, North Korea admitted to abducting Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 1980s, and apologized during a summit with Tokyo, according to Japans Foreign Ministry. Five abductees were returned to Japan that October; however, another dozen remain unaccounted for, including Megumi Yokota. Japan continues to investigate more than 800 people who may have been abducted, according to the Cabinet Office. Ambassador Julie Turner, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, visited Niigata in February and walked the same route from the school to the beach where Yokota vanished. Turner pledged to help resolve the Japanese abduction issue. Kishida is seeking a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to bring other abductees home as quickly as possible. However, Pyongyang says all living abductees have been returned. North Korea may have abducted Japanese citizens to teach their spies the Japanese language and to use their identities to enter South Korea, according to the National Police Agency website. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appears to point to a spot south of South Korea's capital in this image released by the state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper on April 11, 2023. (Rodong Sinmun) SEOUL, South Korea The U.S. and South Korea for the first time are developing plans for combating wartime disinformation as part of a broader military exercise underway throughout the country. U.S. Forces Korea, the National Intelligence Service, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Korea Communications Commission met at an unspecified command center Tuesday to respond to North Koreas gray zone provocations, or the spread of false information, according to a Ministry of National Defense news release Thursday. Officials discussed potential threats, including spoofed government messages and viral, manipulated videos, the release said. USFK did not immediately respond Friday to an emailed request for comment about the meeting. The disinformation conference was one element of Ulchi Freedom Shield, 11 days of air, land and sea training between the U.S. and South Korea. The exercise kicked off Aug. 19 and includes roughly 2,000 sorties by 200 aircraft, counterterrorism drills in Seoul and tests of the countrys ability to respond to a cyberattack, according to the National Defense Ministry. Tuesdays meeting was an important steppingstone for a government-wide response to disinformation, particularly in light of real-world cases from the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas wars, the ministry said. The State Department and Defense Department have long accused the Russian government and Hamas of spreading disinformation to advance their interests on their respective fronts. Russia-affiliated websites have been linked to the spread of COVID-19 misinformation and the proliferation of Kremlin talking points with detailed knowledge of military systems and ongoing conflicts, according to a State Department report in August 2020. North Korea has also tapped into cyberspace to spread its propaganda to the South, according to a U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency report in September 2021. Seouls intelligence agencies accused the North of mimicking websites to steal data and spread malware, a practice known as spoofing, last year and alleged the communist regime was behind the hacking that left North Korean propaganda on government websites in 2013. The state-run Korean Central News Agency frequently publishes statements accusing Seoul and Washington of destabilizing the region and claiming North Korean success in technological feats. Following the successful launch of a spy satellite on Nov. 21, North Korea claimed the device took high-quality photos of U.S. military assets and the White House. South Koreas military alleged in February that the satellite was indeed orbiting in space but showed no indication it was transmitting images back to the North. North Koreas Foreign Affairs Ministry described the ongoing Ulchi Freedom exercise as a beheading operation and said it was offensive in nature, according to a KCNA report Sunday. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Chinese President Xi Jinping he hopes for frank, open and honest talks on areas of disagreement including on Hong Kong, during a phone call likely to be interpreted as laying the ground for a reset between the two countries governments. Starmers office said the prime minister also referenced Russias war in Ukraine and human rights as issues the U.K. wants to address with China, according to a readout of the two leaders conversation on Friday. The leaders also agreed on the need for a stable and consistent U.K.-China relationship, including dialog between their respective foreign and domestic ministers, Starmers office said. They agreed to stay in touch. The call between Starmer and Xi comes after people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is considering making a visit to China as part of the new Labour governments efforts to recalibrate the U.K.s relationship with Beijing. In the run up to Labours landslide victory in the July general election, Starmer said an audit of U.K.-China ties would be one of the first things that we will do. If it goes ahead, Lammys visit would be the first by a British foreign secretary since James Cleverly went to China a year ago. As under previous Conservative administrations, Starmers Labour government faces a dilemma over how to balance economic and trade interests against its defense and security concerns. In its own readout, the Chinese government said Xi told Starmer that China and the U.K. should push for a stable and mutually beneficial relationship. China stands ready to engage in equal dialog with Britain on the basis of mutual respect, enhance mutual understanding and mutual trust, and make mutual benefit and win-win the main tone of China-Britain relations, Xi said, according to the readout. Xi also said China is willing to expand cooperation with the U.K. in finance, the green economy and on artificial intelligence. There have been a stream of flash points in the U.K.-China relationship in recent years, including a disagreement over security legislation in Hong Kong that Britain the former colonial power says breaches their handover agreement. China countered that the U.K.s response, including handing out visas to thousands of Hong Kongers, was a violation of the handover treaty. A Romanian air force F-16 fighter jet flies over Bucharest, May 13, 2024. The U.S. recently approved a $180 million missile sale to Romania, as the country works to meet NATO's 2% defense spending target. (Jaccob Hearn/U.S. Air Force) The United States has approved the sale of advanced aircraft missiles to NATO members Romania and Norway, military and State Department officials said this week. The $180 million purchase by Romania comes as the country remains on track this year to meet the alliances spending benchmark by outlaying 2% of gross domestic product on defense. The AIM-120 medium-range missiles are compatible with the Romanian air forces F-16 aircraft and other U.S. and NATO aircraft, including the F-35, the U.S. Embassy in Bucharest said Thursday in a statement. This acquisition demonstrates the Romanian governments strong commitment to security and defense, U.S. Ambassador to Romania Kathleen Kavalec said in the statement. Russias 2022 invasion of Ukraine has heightened security concerns in Europe, especially along NATOs eastern flank. Romania, which shares a border with Ukraine, is modernizing its military to meet ongoing and future threats. Its also carrying out a major upgrade of its Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base, where U.S. forces are regularly deployed. Thursdays announcement came after the U.S. in May agreed to sell $70 million worth of AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II short-range missiles to Romania. Purchases this year have pushed Bucharests defense spending to 2.25% of its GDP, according to NATO estimates published in June, which showed a record 23 members out of 32 were meeting the spending target. When the pledge to reach 2% of GDP in the next decade was made in 2014, only three nations were reaching that benchmark. Norway, which is meeting the target for the first time, according to NATOs estimates, also got approval from the U.S. on Thursday to buy aircraft missiles for an estimated $450 million. The proposed sale includes 100 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles-Extended Range and related equipment, the Defense Department said in a statement. Israels Mossad Director David Barnea speaks during the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) World Summit in the central coastal city of Herzliya on Sept.10, 2023. Barnea is in Egypt with Israels negotiating team. (Gil Cohen-Magen/AFP/Getty Images/TNS) (Tribune News Service) Israeli negotiators arrived in Cairo for another round of talks aimed at achieving a cease-fire in the war against Hamas in Gaza. The head of Israels Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea, is now in the Egyptian capital with his team, Israeli officials said. U.S. President Joe Bidens main envoy for Middle East, Brett McGurk, is also there, according to the American government. The talks are set to begin on Sunday, though that could change, an Israeli official said. Before then, Barnea will hold discussions with Egyptian authorities about the war and Israeli forces control of Gazas border with Egypt, the official said. Its unclear if Iran-backed Hamas will send representatives. It didnt for negotiations in Qatar last week and was instead briefed by mediators. The Cairo round will be the latest in a months-long effort to pause or end the war that followed Hamas Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, during which the group killed 1,200 people and took around 240 hostage. Israels subsequent air and ground offensive on Gaza has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the territorys Hamas-run health ministry. Biden is using his last months in office to try to end the conflict, which has caused huge political divisions globally, including in the U.S. With respect to the war in Gaza, President Biden and I are working around the clock, Vice President Kamala Harris said in a speech on Thursday, when she formally accepted the Democratic Partys nomination for Novembers U.S. election. Now is the time get a hostage deal and a cease-fire deal done. While backing Israels right to defend itself against Hamas designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. and European Union she said of Gaza that the scale of suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination, she said. In July, Israels parliament passed a resolution expressing formal opposition to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, warning that it could serve as a base for terrorist groups. On the table in Cairo is a proposal backed by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar the main mediators that provides for a phased cessation of hostilities, the release of hostages held by Hamas, the freeing of many Palestinians in Israeli jails and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from areas of Gaza. One key point of tension is over Israel wanting to keep troops stationed along the strategic Philadelphi corridor, the southern portion of Gaza that runs along the border with Egypt, to prevent arms smuggling from the Arab nation. Hamas opposes that, while Egypt is also wary of Israeli troops remaining there. Another sticking point is that Hamas wants a truce to amount to a permanent end to the war, while Israel says it needs to retain the right to restart fighting to achieve its aim of destroying the group. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to Washington this week from a whirlwind trip to Israel, Egypt and Qatar. That was intended to bring the parties closer to agreement. In Jerusalem, Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had backed the bridging proposal, leaving the onus on Hamas to accept. Time is of the essence, Blinken said. Hamas has blamed Israel for stalling the talks, saying Netanyahu keeps adding demands. Israel is still on high-alert for the possibility of an attack by Iran. The Islamic Republic vowed to retaliate for the assassination of a leading Hamas figure, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran in late July. Iran and Hamas blamed Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied being responsible. Iran says it will bide its time and does not want to scupper the Gaza cease-fire talks. 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visit bloomberg.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Kamala Harris takes the stage for her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 22, 2024. (Erin Hooley/AP) CHICAGO Kamala Harris summoned Americans on Thursday to reject political division and instead chart what she called a new way forward, as she accepted her partys nomination while blending biography with warnings about electing Donald Trump again to the White House. Taking the stage to a thunderous standing ovation as she closed out the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the vice president argued that her personal story and background as a prosecutor made her uniquely qualified to protect Americans interests against a former president she cast as only having his own interests in mind. Our nation with this election has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past, Harris said. A chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans. The daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, Harris became the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to accept a major partys presidential nomination and she would become the first female president if elected. Harris did not explicitly reference the historic firsts she would set in her 40-minute speech, and she only mentioned the words Democrat or Republican in the context of discussing a bipartisan border bill that Trump helped scuttle earlier this year, which she promised to sign into law if elected. Her address and the Democratic convention at large was intended to appeal to a broad swath of Americans, not just partisans already energized by Harris ascension after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid. She made several implicit appeals to the large swath of voters who just weeks ago were disaffected with both of their options for the White House, particularly those disaffected with Trump, underscored by the appearances of several people who have broken with the 45th president, while embracing the policies and approach of Biden, the 46th. She was joined for the traditional balloon drop by a large blended and mixed-race family. Earlier, two of her grandnieces had led the packed United Center in teaching people how to pronounce her name, which means lotus in Sanskrit. America, the path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected, Harris said. But Im no stranger to unlikely journeys. Harris reintroduces herself Raised primarily by her mother in a small apartment in San Franciscos East Bay after her parents divorce, Harris described being reared as well by friends and caregivers who were family by love. She also detailed a key part of her political origin story, when Wanda, her best friend from high school, confided in her that she was being abused by her stepfather and came to live with Harris family. That is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor. To protect people like Wanda, Harris said. Outlining her work as a prosecutor, state attorney general, senator and now vice president, Harris declared, My entire career Ive only had one client: the people. Meanwhile, she said Trump has only ever acted in the interests of the only client he has ever had: himself. As she took the stage, she saw a sea of female delegates and Democratic supporters wearing white the color of womens suffrage, the movement that culminated with American women securing the right to vote in 1920. Harris address came on her 10th wedding anniversary to her husband, Doug Emhoff, whom she called Dougie on stage and who blew her a kiss from the stands at the start of her remarks. She and other speakers directly appealed to Republicans Harris made a direct call to Republicans who dont support Trump to put aside party labels and to support her over Trump, who denied his loss to Biden in the 2020 election, which inspired the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. I know there are people of various political views watching tonight, and I want you to know I promise to be a president for all Americans, Harris said. I promise to be a president for all Americans to hold sacred Americas constitutional principles, fundamental principles, from the rule of law and fair elections to the peaceful transfer of power. The convention granted a prime speaking slot to former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, a Republican critic of Trumps who said: Whatever policies we disagree on pale in comparison with those fundamental matters of principle. Of decency. Of fidelity to this nation. To my fellow Republicans: If you still pledge allegiance to those principles, I suspect you belong here, too. Harris invoked her prosecutors background when she referred several times to Trumps explicit intent to free those who assaulted law enforcement officers at the Capitol, jail political opponents and use the military against American citizens. Consider what he intends to do if we give him power again, she added. Trump, calling into Fox News after Harris speech, responded to the speech by asking, Why didnt she do the things that shes complaining about? It was a lot of complaining. She didnt talk about China. She didnt talk about fracking. She didnt talk about crime, Trump went on, adding, Other than that it was a nice-looking room. Harris promises to defend alliances, abortion access Delivering her most in-depth remarks on national security since becoming a presidential candidate, Harris promised to strengthen U.S. relationships with NATO allies and said the country must continue to support Ukraine in its war with Russia. Trump and running mate JD Vance have repeatedly questioned U.S. backing for Ukraine. I will never waver in defense of Americas security and ideals, because in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs, she said. The vice president also vowed to work toward an end to Israels war against Hamas that can stabilize the rest of the region, while not hesitating to protect U.S. forces from aggression by Iran and other adversaries. While she pledged to always stand up for Israels right to defend itself after Hamas Oct. 7 attack and pushed for the release of the hostages and the implementation of a cease-fire deal, she highlighted the plight of Palestinian civilians as well. Pro-Palestinian protesters and members of the uncommitted movement in the arena sharply criticized convention organizers for not inviting a Palestinian American onstage. What has happened in Gaza in the last 10 months is devastating, so many innocent lives lost, Harris said. Desperate, hungry people fleeing to safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. Pledging to restore nationwide access to abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Harris lambasted Trump and Republicans who have enabled abortion bans across two dozen states and have sought to move further. They are out of their minds, Harris proclaimed. Harris has faced scrutiny in the month since she replaced Biden atop the Democratic ticket for avoiding policy specifics. She offered broad promises in a string of key policy areas, from expanding voting rights to lowering housing costs, passing middle-class tax cuts and bolstering border security. Harris also emphasized her law enforcement background, including her time as San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general. She was later elected to the U.S. Senate and sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. Her campaign imploded that year before a single primary vote was cast, but Biden chose her as his running mate, catapulting her to the national stage. Although Harris initially struggled to find her footing as vice president, her reputation grew when she became the administrations leading advocate for abortion rights after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Democrats harnessed anger over the decision to stem their losses in the last midterm elections. When Biden stumbled in his debate with Trump in June, Harris defended him until he decided to drop out of the race. With the help of his endorsement, she swiftly unified the Democratic Party behind her candidacy, resetting a presidential race that Trump had appeared on track to win. Speaking to supporters after her remarks, Harris struck a confident note, but encouraged them to keep campaigning like they were behind. Tonight get your party on, for the next 75 days we have a lot of work to do, she said. Were going to win this. Associated Press writers Chris Megerian in Washington and Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed. Vials of Ketaset, an anesthetic for animals that contains ketamine. Ketamine is approved as an injectable, short-acting anesthetic for use in humans and animals and as a nasal spray for treatment resistant depression. (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration) Matthew Perrys relationship with ketamine ended in addiction and death, allegedly fed by illicit purchases from doctors and a dealer who authorities dubbed the ketamine queen. But it began with a therapy session at a clinic - one of the paths making it easier than ever to legally obtain the powerful anesthetic. Ketamine clinics and telehealth providers have proliferated in recent years with relatively little regulatory oversight, seizing on the drugs potential to deliver rapid relief for people suffering from depression. Patients can see a provider virtually and, if they have a qualifying diagnosis, have ketamine shipped directly to their homes. That convenience has made the drug accessible to tens of thousands of people. Social media posts promoting ketamine therapy feature images of smiling people dappled by sunlight, promises of rapid, transformative experiences, and accounts of emotional trauma brought under control. Yet, as Perrys death in October showed, ketamine is a powerful and potentially dangerous drug. As the Food and Drug Administration has warned, it has not been approved for mental health treatment. Experts are increasingly concerned that its being marketed to people who may overlook the risks. Because there is so little government oversight, authorities and researchers cant answer basic questions, including how many patients are getting ketamine and whether physicians and mental health providers are following crucial guidelines to protect patients from abuse, addiction and accidental deaths. A lot of us have been saying its the Wild West because its largely unregulated and we dont truly know whats going on, said Joseph Palamar, associate professor of population health at New York University. Harrowing story of Perrys addiction Anne Milgram, administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration, said last week that Perry sought treatment for depression and anxiety and went to a local clinic where he became addicted to intravenous ketamine. When the clinic doctors refused to increase his dosage, she said, two other doctors not connected to the clinic saw a way to make money from Perry and supplied him ketamine illicitly. Federal indictments unveiled in Los Angeles this month told the harrowing story of how Perry, the Friends star, spiraled into a steady habit that ended with him dying in his hot tub after an assistant allegedly gave him a dose of the powerful anesthetic that rendered him unconscious. Ketamine can be hazardous even when not being abused. In January, emergency physicians at UMass Memorial Medical Center reported that a 35-year-old woman overdosed while taking oral ketamine tablets at home and was revived at a hospital, saying the amount she ingested was equivalent to a dose reserved for anesthesia. While acknowledging that expanded ketamine access can benefit people with severe depression, the physicians wrote, the current lack of regulation poses significant safety risks. Ketamine use is increasing There are signs recreational ketamine use is on the rise in the United States. One 2023 study reported that the number of ketamine seizures by law enforcement increased from 55 in 2017 to 247 in 2022. Americas Poison Centers logged 529 reports of ketamine exposures last year, a 40 percent increase from 2022. As with many medications, doctors can prescribe ketamine to treat conditions not approved by the FDA in what is known as off-label use, most commonly for depression and other mood disorders. In these cases, ketamine is generally not covered by insurance. Despite the promise it has shown as an antidepressant in studies, theres little incentive for a pharmaceutical company to run the expensive trials needed to win the FDAs endorsement for psychiatric treatment because ketamine isnt protected by patents. This has given ketamine providers broad latitude in how they can prescribe it. This drug appears safe and effective when used as directed, said Gerard Sanacora, director of the Yale Depression Research Program. But if research-based guidance isnt followed, I think theres good evidence that it could really exacerbate substance use issues, unfortunately as was the case with Mr. Perry, he said. Ketamine used in high doses and frequencies can also cause damage to the brain and bladder. The most rigorous studies come from a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, which patented a derivative form of ketamine, esketamine, and developed it into a nasal spray that won FDA approval for treating depression in 2019. U.S. sales of the spray, Spravato, have steadily grown to $226 million in the second quarter of this year. Still, the FDA has a strict risk protocol for Spravato, requiring it to be dispensed in health-care settings with monitoring for at least two hours. Some patients prefer at-home ketamine use Experts say many patients prefer the relative convenience of paying out of pocket to have generic ketamine delivered to their homes. Cost is another reason many patients turn to sources of ketamine other than Spravato. One nasal treatment of Spravato can cost $800 to $1,200 before insurance, not including the costs for the visit. It needs to be given twice weekly at the beginning of treatment, and the regimen may continue indefinitely for some at-risk patients. Ketamine ordered online for at-home use, often as tablets or lozenges, doesnt require medical supervision and can cost a couple hundred dollars for a months supply. This is like the weight-loss clinic, Jenni Wai, Ohios chief pharmacist, said of ketamine providers at a June workshop held by the Reagan-Udall Foundation, a congressionally created nonprofit that advises the FDA. This is like the med spas and the Botox that is popping up everywhere. With the increase in home use, she said, we have concerns when were starting to see a shift in standard of care, a shift in supervision. Telehealth companies are drawing on their own patient data to make the case that at-home ketamine is safe and effective - and not in need of rigorous regulation. A recent study backed by Mindbloom, one of the largest telehealth ketamine providers, of more than 11,000 clients found patients with depression benefited and had a low rate of bad reactions. But the research has significant limitations, such as the lack of a control group. Mindbloom promotes ketamine for burnout and getting unstuck. It is also piloting a program that sends injectable ketamine to patients who havent benefited from its typical tablet that dissolves under the tongue. Leonardo Vando, Mindblooms medical director, said the companys clinicians can only prescribe ketamine if a patient is diagnosed with anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. The company is trying out injectable ketamine, he said, for patients who may not be absorbing the medicine under the tongue, adding that the risk of reselling it is lower than with tablets. Perrys death, Vando said, was not the result of ketamine therapy but because the Hollywood star acquired ketamine illegally from people who wanted to exploit his struggles with addiction. Pharmacy-made ketamine isnt FDA approved Getting ketamine at home took off during the pandemic, with the temporary suspension of a federal law requiring doctors to meet patients in person before prescribing medications that are tightly controlled by the DEA because of their potential for abuse. The DEA has proposed a rule that would restore a requirement for in-person visits, but the waiver of that requirement remains in place through the end of 2024. Barely two weeks before Perrys death, the FDA put out a warning on pharmacy-made ketamine often used by telehealth services, noting increasing public interest in this formulation and cautioning that it is not approved by the agency. An FDA spokesperson said this week that promoting prescription drugs must be truthful, non-misleading and accurate. In a 2023 review of ketamine providers in Maryland, researchers identified numerous false or misleading claims. Maryland-based Medpsych Health Services incorrectly described ketamine on its website as approved by the FDA to treat depression. Medpsychs founder didnt respond to a request for comment, but the language on its website was corrected hours after being contacted by The Washington Post. Now is the time to consider how to thoughtfully regulate ketamine in a way that allows patient access while also providing some measure of safety, said Boris Heifets, an associate professor of anesthesiology at the Stanford School of Medicine. Retired Army Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg poses for photographs at Fort Lee in 2022. The base was renamed Fort Gregg-Adams in 2023 for Gregg and Army Lt. Col. Charity Adams. (T. Anthony Bell) Retired Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg, a trailblazing officer who became the Armys first Black three-star general in 1977 and for whom the former Fort Lee in Virginia was renamed last year, died Thursday, according to the service. He was 96. Gregg became the first living person in modern American history to have a military installation named for him, when Fort Lee became Fort Gregg-Adams on April 27, 2023, the Army said. The installation, the home of the Armys logistics training, was renamed for Gregg and another Black officer, Lt. Col. Charity Adams, as part of a Congress-led effort to strip the service of honors for Confederate soldiers, including the posts former namesake, Gen. Robert E. Lee. Gregg attended the renaming ceremony last year at the post in Prince George County, Va., and he was known to frequent the installation since the name change, according to the Army news release announcing his death. He was last at Fort Gregg-Adams on July 31 for a change-of-command ceremony. The entire Fort Gregg-Adams family is deeply saddened by the loss of a great American and our namesake, Maj. Gen. Michelle Donahue, the installations top commander, said in a statement. Lt. Gen. Gregg will continue to inspire all who knew him and those who serve at Fort Gregg-Adams now and in the future. His dedication and leadership will never be forgotten. Our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones during this difficult time. Gen. Charles Hamilton, commander for the Army Material Command, embraces retired Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Maj. Gen. Mark Simerly, commander for the Combined Arms Support Command, after speaking to the audience at a renaming ceremony for Fort Lee, Va., to Fort Gregg-Adams. (Matthew Adams/Stars and Stripes) Gregg broke several glass ceilings for Black soldiers. In 1972, he became the services first Black brigadier general in its quartermaster corps. Five years later, he became the highest-ranking Black soldier in the Armys history at that time with his promotion to lieutenant general. In 1981, he retired as the Armys deputy chief of staff for logistics, capping a 35-year career. Gregg grew up in rural Florence County, S.C., on a 100-acre farm that grew cotton and tobacco, according to an Army profile on his life. Inspired by the Black soldiers who fought in World War II, Gregg enlisted in the Army in 1946 and was quickly deployed to occupied, post-war Germany to support supply operations, according to this service biography. In 1949, one year after President Harry S. Truman ordered the military desegregated, Gregg entered officer candidate school. His first assignment as an officer, in 1950, was at Camp Lee, which would become Fort Lee later that year. His career took him to stops in Japan, several assignments in Germany and jobs at the Pentagon, including as the Joint Chiefs of Staffs logistics director. In 1966, Gregg commanded the 96th Quartermaster Direct Support Battalion in Vietnam one of the Armys largest battalions in the country boasting some 3,600 troops, according to service records. Gregg said his command experience in Vietnam was the most significant point in his storied career. It was four-times the normal battalion size, and Ill tell you, those young people worked their fannies off to build a logistical base and provide logistical support to our forces in Vietnam, Gregg said in a 2023 Army release. I was so proud of them. Gate sign at Fort Gregg-Adams, Va. Fort Lee was renamed Fort Gregg-Adams on April 27, 2023, in honor of Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams, two Black Army officers who helped pave the way for an integrated military. (Matthew Adams/Stars and Stripes) Last year, as the Army settled on renaming Fort Lee to Fort Gregg-Adams, Gregg said he was supportive of the effort to strip Fort Lee and eight other southern Army posts of the names of Confederate generals, many of whom were slave owners. However, he said, he was surprised his name would be considered to replace Lees. I was very honored that they felt I was worthy but, you know, you dont take it too seriously, Gregg said at the ceremony to rename the post. I was aware that there were a number of really outstanding people up for consideration. When the decision was made that the post would be redesignated Gregg-Adams, I was just overwhelmed. The so-called Naming Commission, which led efforts to strip honors for former Confederates from the U.S. military, wrote Gregg proved an officer of great skill, leading by example and embarking on a career of excellence in announcing its decision to name the base for him and Adams. Though Gregg and Adams served on different missions and in different conflicts, consistent themes of leadership, dedication, and problem solving united their service, the commission wrote in its August 2022 final report to Congress. Moreover, in overcoming the sustainment obstacles caused by war, they also helped overcome the social obstacles caused by segregation. Their service simultaneously supported mission success and societal progress. Peter Murray pleaded guilty to public intoxication and engaging in threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour. An out-of-work carpenter was arrested after he was found so drunk in a train station there were fears he would stumble on to the railway tracks. Peter Murray (35) shouted abuse at gardai and the public in a separate drunken episode in Dublin city centre, a court heard. Judge Michele Finan adjourned his case for a probation report. Murray, of Rackvara, Ballymore, Co Westmeath, pleaded guilty to public intoxication and engaging in threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour. Dublin District Court heard gardai were called to Broombridge train station on March 23, when it was reported Murray was highly intoxicated and it was feared he would stumble on to the railway tracks. Gardai found him asleep on a bench beside the tracks and after multiple attempts to wake him, he was completely unintelligible. Separately, gardai were called to Moore Street on May 24 where Murray was drunk and swaying from side to side with a naggin of vodka in his hand. He turned his attention to the gardai and shouted abusive language to all and sundry. Murray, who had previous public order convictions, apologised and was repentant for his behaviour, his lawyer said. Alan Bailey says Arlene's family deserve to know what happened Sex offender Robert Howard, who drove the teenagers back from the Palace Hotel that evening The PSNI conduct a search for missing teenager Arlene Arkinson who disappeared after taking a lift home from a Bundoran disco with two friends Retired Detective Sergeant Alan Bailey served on both the specialist Garda taskforce Operation Trace and the multi-jurisdictional taskforce Operation Faiche set up to target Robert Howard Thirty years on from her disappearance, the agony continues for the family of missing Arelene Arkinson (15) who was last seen in a car driven by prolific sex offender Robert Howard. Writing in the Sunday World today, retried cold-case detective Alan Bailey discusses his time investigating the man believed to have murdered her and fears that collusion between security forces and police may have hampered the truth about what really happened to the teenager. This week marked the 30-year anniversary of the disappearance of tragic teenager Arlene Arkinson. The 15-year-old native of Castlederg, Co. Tyrone, had been attending a disco in the Palace Hotel in nearby Bundoran and had taken a lift home with two teenage friends. What the young girls could not have known was that the van in which they were travelling was being driven by one of Irelands most prolific sex offenders Robert Howard, the self-styled Wolfman of Wolfhill. When Arlene was reported missing by her family, her two travelling companions on the night told police that they had dropped Arlene outside her house first and that Howard had then driven them to their home. The initial investigation, as a consequence, focused on the area in the vicinity of her home and did not consider Howard as a potential suspect in the youngsters disappearance. Widespread searches and further police inquiries failed to locate either the missing teen or her body. They were conducted on both sides of the Border and Arlenes family played a prominent role in organising and assisting both official and unplanned searches. The whereabouts of Arlenes body remains a mystery to this day. Numerous appeals to the public for assistance have been broadcast in the intervening period. In 2002, Robert Howard was charged with Arlene Arkinsons murder. His trial in Belfast Crown Court was finally heard in June 2005 and on hearing the alibi evidence offered by the two teenagers who had travelled with him and Arlene from Bundoran, the jury found him not guilty of any involvement in her abduction and murder. As a result, Howard could no longer be treated as the suspect in her disappearance and could never again be tried in a criminal court. However, what the jury could not be told at the time, was that Howard had previously been convicted of the abduction and murder of teen Hannah Williams in London. Arlene Arkinson Similarly, they never heard that on the night he drove Arlene from the disco, Howard had also been charged with the abduction, false imprisonment and rape of another teenager in the Castlederg area. He would later, unbelievably, receive a suspended sentence. Neither could the jury be told that his sex offending had started as early as 1963 with the attempted rape of a six-year-old girl. By 1968, he had been arrested again, this time for the attempted rape on a public street of a 20-year-old woman. Both of these offences were committed in the British midlands. In 1973, he would surface in a provincial town in Co. Cork, charged with the false imprisonment and rape of a 60-year-old female. After serving a lengthy sentence for this crime, Howard eventually settled in Castlederg, moving freely in the social circle in which Arlene and his other victim lived. The subsequent inquest into Arlenes death focused entirely on Howards involvement. The process was delayed time and time again by applications on behalf of the State, frustratingly so at times. In 2016, an application by the Coroner for sight of certain police records concerning Howard was refused after solicitors for the State brought a Public Interest Immunity Application, thereby denying the court access to those same records. Sex offender Robert Howard, who drove the teenagers back from the Palace Hotel that evening In a final act, Belfast City Coroner eventually ruled that on the balance of probabilities Howard had been responsible for the death of Arlene. Howard had been targeted as early as 1999 by the specialist Garda taskforce, Operation Trace, who were involved in the investigations into the disappearance of six females in the part of the South known as The Vanishing Triangle. Given his long history of serious sex crimes and his targeting of vulnerable females, he was subjected to rigorous investigation. However, it proved almost impossible to create a comprehensive timeline for his movements, adept as he was at disappearing off the radar for years at a time. Our inquiries would eventually lead to a multi-jurisdictional task force, named Operation Faiche, comprised of police from the London Metropolitan Area, the PSNI and An Garda Siochana, being set up to target Howard. I served on both this taskforce and Operation Trace for many years. What quickly became apparent to investigators was the relative ease with which Howard could move from this jurisdiction into Northern Ireland, Scotland and England. In addition, he continued to be housed in local authority accommodation. All of this was going on during a period when freedom of movement between the jurisdictions in question was strictly monitored and policed. Howards whereabouts would only become known when some infraction or other by him against some local female would lead to him being chased out of a particular community. We discovered addresses for him as far apart as Glasgow, London and Northern Ireland. Arlenes family are now calling for a public inquiry into the handling of the various crime investigations in which it was alleged Howard had attacked and seriously assaulted females of all ages. Further, they have questions that they need answering in relation to how he was dealt with by the courts. For example, they argue that had Howard been dealt with properly by the courts in relation to the abduction and rape of the youngster in Castlederg, then he would not have been free to abduct and murder their Arlene. The PSNI conduct a search for missing teenager Arlene Arkinson who disappeared after taking a lift home from a Bundoran disco with two friends The family fear that there may have been collusion between the security forces and the police that assisted with Howards nomadic lifestyle and continuing freedom. Whilst I can say with certainty that no evidence of collusion was found in the course of our investigations I would, however, join with them in their quest for the truth and for closure. The answers to their questions are out there and they deserve to be told the truth even at this late stage. For the Ards mosque, it means they now have at least three security guards on the premises 24 hours a day and are also getting beefed-up security doors and alarms The Mosque in Newtownards have security 24/7 after the failed petrol bomb attack on the building last week. The Mosque in Newtownards have security 24/7 after the failed petrol bomb attack on the building last week. Security was visable during the call to prayer on friday afternoon. Far right thugs who petrol bombed the mosque in Newtownards are costing the taxpayer thousands of pounds in ramped-up security measures. We can reveal the Bangladesh Islamic Centre, which contains the mosque, has been granted extra security through a new Home Office Rapid Response fund. For the Ards mosque, it means they now have at least three security guards on the premises 24 hours a day and are also getting beefed-up security doors and alarms. The Home Office has confirmed it is spending millions across the UK on mosque security. On Friday the guards were seen out on the street keeping a watchful eye over people who were arriving for Friday prayers. Mosque elder Abdul Shohid told the Sunday World: Everybody was scared after what happened last week with the petrol bomb attack but thankfully the police have already arrested two people. The last few days people have felt a lot safer and that has been helped by the security the Home Office has provided. We applied for security to be deployed through their scheme and thought wed have one security guard at a time but there are at least three in and around the mosque all the time. Abdul Shohid is a member of the Islamic centre in Newtownards In 2018, the mosque was visited by a number of far right thugs dressed in Ku Klux Klan outfits and carrying crosses but to date nobody has been convicted of any crime despite the police arresting nine people at the time and saying they were treating the incident as a racially motivated hate crime. Abdul Shohid revealed he and other members of the mosque first found out about the 2018 KKK attack when US news giant CNN contacted them for comment. CNN called us because they had got the video footage of the men dressed as the KKK standing outside the mosque that was the first we had any idea it had happened, he explained. We watched CNN and they were running the story. It was very distressing to see it and to think someone had done that in the middle of the night. We had had the pigs head left at the mosque the year before and there have been other incidents when the shutters were set on fire in 2007 and other occasions when petrol bombs were thrown at the building. Aside from those incidents we have been made to feel very welcome by people in this town. Newtownards is a good town, its a great place to live and we have had such great support from the community the other churches all sent flowers and cards. The Mosque in Newtownards have security 24/7 after the failed petrol bomb attack on the building last week. Shohid says while he hopes things have calmed down, the congregation have concerns about the future. We have all this security and we are also getting new doors and alarms, lots of new security measures, but people are worried about what happens in the long term. We just want to live here in peace like everyone else does and we know the majority of the community supports us being here. Last night the Home Office confirmed there was a fund of almost 30 million set aside for mosques across the UK to access for security under the new scheme. It said: The new rapid response process means mosques at risk of violent disorder can be offered additional security personnel, providing communities with vital support and reassurance. This will boost the work already being done by local police forces to protect these important places of worship. Under the new process now in place, the police, local authorities and mosques can ask for rapid security to be deployed, protecting communities and allowing for a return to worship as quickly as possible. This announcement will build on the existing Protective Security for Mosques Scheme, with up to 29.4 million already available this year to fund security at mosques and Muslim faith schools. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: Britain is a proud and tolerant country, and nobody should make any excuses for the shameful actions of the hooligans, thugs and extremist groups who have been attacking police officers, looting local shops or attacking people based on the colour of their skin. In light of the disgraceful threats and attacks that local mosques have also faced in many communities, the government is providing rapid additional support through the Protective Security for Mosques Scheme, alongside the support from local police forces and we repeat that anyone involved in this disorder and violence will face the full force of the law. As a nation we will not tolerate criminal behaviour, dangerous extremism, and racist attacks that go against everything our country stands for. Strangford DUP MP Jim Shannon visited the centre last Sunday along with some local councillors to offer support to the Islamic community and reassure them that they are welcome in the town after the most recent petrol bomb and paint attacks. He said: We are all disgusted and angered by what took place and very keen to ensure that that type of thing isnt representative of Newtownards and its not. I go to a Baptist church in Newtownards and yesterday morning the pastor was praying that the violence and despicable attack on the mosque and prayer room would be condemned and that the community would rise together. Thats the Newtownards that I know and I want to convey to them that the people are behind them and we see them as our brothers and sisters. Syeds death occurred only six days before he was due to stand trial for the murder of his wife Seema Banu (37), his daughter Asfira Riza (11) and son Faizan Syed Sameer Syed at the graveside of his murdered wife, Seema Banu, and kids, Asfira Riza and Faisan Syed A man accused of the murder of his wife and two children took his own life in his prison cell only six days before he was due to stand trial at the Central Criminal Court in 2022. A new prison watch-dog report records that just after 3.30pm on June 9th 2022, Sameer Syed (39) was found dead in his cell at the Midlands Prison. Arising from the circumstances around the death of Mr Syed of Grosvenor Lodge, Rathmines, Dublin, the report by the Office of the Inspector of Prisons (OIP) has recommended that when conducting routine checks of cells, prison officers should be especially attentive to the presence of non-standard items that could be deployed as ligatures. Mr Syeds death occurred only six days before he was due to stand trial for the murder of his wife Seema Banu (37), his daughter Asfira Riza (11) and son Faizan Syed (6) at Llewellyn Court, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16 on October 28th 2020. Seema Banu, who was from India, lived in a house in Llewellyn Court with her two children. Their bodies were found after residents in the estate became concerned when the family hadnt been seen in several days and alerted the Gardai. Seema Banu with her daughter Asfira Riza (11) and son Faizan Syed (6) Mr Syed was on remand at the Midlands Prison ahead of his expected five week long murder trial and in an investigation into the circumstances into the prison death of Mr Syed by the OIP, it records that at a Prison Service critical incident meeting the day after Mr Syeds death, a doctor stated that Mr Syed had denied having any thoughts of self-harm following his meeting with an independent psychologist on June 9th. The report also records the desperate attempts made by prison staff to revive Mr Syed after he was found unresponsive in his prison cell just after 3.30pm. Mr Syeds death was the fifth death of a prisoner from the Midlands Prison in 2022 and the 11th death in Irish Prison Service (IPS) custody that year. The report doesnt name Mr Syed or any other party and it records that on the day, at 11:45am Mr Syed received an in-person professional visit from an independent psychologist and the meeting related to his upcoming trial and was organised by his legal team. The meeting lasted for around 30 minutes and Mr Syed returned to his landing where he collected his meal and returned to and was locked back in his cell with another prisoner. At 2.30pm the prisoner sharing Mr Syeds prison cell left the cell to go to the outdoor yard and Mr Syed remained in the locked cell. At 3.32pm, the prisoner returned to the cell he discovered Mr Syed and exited the cell 10 seconds later to alert prison officers. Sameer Syed. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins A prison office cut the ligature and commenced CPR in a bid to revive Mr Syed. Nurse Officers immediately took over resuscitation attempts on arriving at the scene. A defibrillator was also used without any success and a doctor pronounced the death of Mr. Syed at 4.18pm. In an interview with the OIP the following day, Mr Syeds cellmate of four months described Mr Syed as an easy going person who enjoyed art and playing chess. On the day of Mr Syeds death, the cell mate reported watching television with Mr. Syed while locked in the cell during the meal period. He described Mr. Syed as being jovial and making a number of humorous comments in relation to the television programmes they watched together. The prisoner said that after making the grim discovery, "I was shocked. The anonymised OIP report recorded that following his transfer to the Midlands Prison on 22 December 2020 Mr. Syed was subject to ongoing review by the in-reach psychiatric team. In February 2021 a psychiatric nurse recorded that there was no evidence of symptoms or major affective or psychotic illness. On March 31st 2021 Mr Syed was seen by a consultant psychiatrist doctor who recorded that there was no overt evidence of symptoms of major affective or psychotic illness. No recommendations were recorded at the conclusion of the IPS critical incident meeting on June 10th. In one of three recommendations, the OIP has recommended that when conducting routine checks of cells, prison officers should be especially attentive to the presence of non-standard items that could be deployed as ligatures. The OIP states that "if detected, such items should be immediately confiscated and a clear written record kept of their confiscation, indicating the cell location and the name of the prisoner concerned. The report records that Mr Syeds next of kin, his father told his sons lawyer that he didnt believe Mr Syed would have harmed himself. If you have been affected by this can contact Samaritans FREE any time from any phone on 116 123 Sure, why dont they just go the whole hog like the UAE where swearing in public or even on WhatsApp is a criminal offence punishable by up to a year in prison, a 2,500 fine or deportation A new penalty for swearing in public has come into force in the UK - and would they ever go and s****. Oops, theres my first fine under Thanet District Councils ruling, which could see members of the public fined 100 for dropping the F-bomb while out and about. The PSPO (or Public Space Protection Order) was put in place in seaside towns including Margate for one year in a bid to stamp out anti-social behaviour - and youd think bosses would be more worried about the regions ranking as the third most dangerous in England than locals turning the air blue. Under the ban, also in effect in the nearby tourist town of Ramsgate, all persons are prohibited from using foul or abusive language in such a manner that is loud and can be heard by others and cause either alarm or distress to any other person in any public place, with the hefty fine being reduced to 60 if paid within 14 days. Sure, why dont they just go the whole hog like the United Arab Emirates where swearing in public or even on WhatsApp is a criminal offence punishable by up to a year in prison, a 2,500 fine or deportation - lets just say, I hope Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan never gets a glimpse of my group chat with the girls. Vowing to launch a legal challenge, activist group Free Speech Union said: The blanket ban on any behaviour that is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress is a draconian measure that is wide open to abuse. Or to put it another way, while sparing the asterisks, what a load of baloney. Apart from bordering on language fascism, the bad word embargo is bound to be impossible to police, with Kents thin blue line already stating that it wont bother trying, according to one councillor. After the US, and specifically Baltimore, a recent study of tweets found the UK to be the sweariest country in the world just ahead of Australia, with Newcastle natives leading the way. And with more than 63 Wikipedia pages devoted to English profanity, its not like theres any shortage of vulgarities to choose from. A study of 150 of them by Britains broadcasting watchdog Ofcom found f*** and its close cousin, motherf***er, to be among the most offensive, while the likes of cow and git were deemed harmless enough. But its the C-bomb, considered by the sensitive of ear to be an absolute no-no, yet practically a term of endearment in Ireland, that best exemplifies the ludicrous nature of attempting to police swearing, when entire books - from F**k It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way by John C. Parkin to Swearing Is Good For You by Emma Byrne - have been dedicated to how eff and blinding, especially the F-word, has a whole slew of health benefits ranging from reducing stress to relieving pain. Think about it - what other word runs the full gamut of human emotion in just four letters? Excited? F***, yeah! Scared? Oh, f***. Need some alone time? F*** off. In any event, if the ban ever comes here, were all f***ed after Dublin sealed its True Blue status by being named the fifth most foul-mouthed city in Europe. Until then, lets just stick to the swear jar. The mammals turned on the animal and broke his back in picturesque Clogherhead pier, County Louth, a few weeks ago. A dog has been attacked and killed following an attack by a colony of seals when he went swimming in the sea. The mammals turned on the animal and broke his back in picturesque Clogherhead pier, County Louth, a few weeks ago. The shocked owner was heartbroken and his beloved mutt had to be put down. The popular fishing harbour is home to a group of 15 to 20 harbour seals who now live there all year round. The seal colony has become a major tourist attraction with people visiting daily to get pictures of them. Now dog lovers have been warned not to let their pets swim around the seals and to keep them out of the water. The village's Independent councillor Declan Power said this is the first time he had ever heard of such an incident and he urged people to be careful and to keep their dogs on a lead when they are walking around the harbour. He said: "I will be raising it at the September meeting of Louth County Council and would like to see signs erected telling people not to let their pets swim in the sea around the harbour. "I have never heard of the seals attacking anyone before but you can never be too careful. People need to be made aware and to protect their pets." The seals feed off fish from the local fishing fleet and mackerel that comes ashore during the high tides. Rod fishermen complain that the seals are now so clever they actually nick the fish hooked on their lines. There are an estimated 5,000 harbour seals as they are called in Ireland and 10,000 grey seals. All the seals are a protected species and it is illegal to cull them unless you get a special license. Clifford Peeples (55) was lifted and quizzed for 48 hours PIpe bomb pastor Clifford Peeples says he has been wrongly accused of stirring up the race riots that have engulfed Northern Ireland after cops raided his home and arrested him last week. The controversial cleric alleged republicans were behind his arrest as he claimed he made history by being the first person in Northern Ireland detained over social media posts. Peeples (55) was lifted and quizzed for 48 hours after 27 armed PSNI officers in a fleet of seven armoured vehicles swooped on his bungalow home in the Glencairn district of west Belfast. The arrest operation went ahead as opposing factions in the immigration debate prepared to face each other in separate demos in Belfast city centre. And today, Peeples tells how just hours before those protests, cops burst into his home and surrounded him in his living room before placing him under arrest. He also claims PSNI boot boys smashed their way into his extensive library before removing computers, cameras and a mobile phone. Former loyalist terrorist Peeples was daubed the Pipe Bomb Pastor and was sent down for 10 years when anti-terror cops pounced on him in possession of a cache of home-made pipe bombs and grenades following a high-speed car chase outside Dungannon. At his trial in 2001, it emerged the Shankill Road preacher was also a suspected Brigadier in the shadowy loyalist terror group the Orange Volunteers. Now, more than two decades later, Peeples remains a divisive and contentious figure in loyalist circles. But following his release from police custody, Peeples who last year left Queens University with a Masters Degree in Law revealed that during his two-day detention, anti-terror cops even quizzed him about the possibility of him being an Israeli spy. And in an exclusive interview with the Sunday World yesterday, Peeples insisted he was taken off the streets purely because the PSNI buckled under republican pressure. He claimed: I am the first person to be arrested after the supposed crackdown on social media in Northern Ireland. But the directive to have me arrested came after two meetings with senior police officers and senior republicans. It was the worst kept secret in the entire country, because for days before the police were briefing the press that I was going to be arrested. The alleged social media offence should have been investigated by ordinary uniformed police, insisted Peeples. But instead, the arrest operation was passed to the Organised Crime Branch, which normally deals with large-scale drug dealing, people trafficking, prostitution and paramilitary activity. Clifford Peeples On the back of a complaint from senior republicans about three Facebook posts, 27 armed officers raided my home in the early morning. They forced their way in through the front and back doors simultaneously. But the former loyalist prisoner claims that just hours before, he had been tipped off to expect a visit from the PSNI. I had a good idea they were coming and when they did, 10 officers burst in, surrounding me in my living room. CID officers were there and they handed me warrants to explain my arrest. A heated verbal exchange then took place and I told the officers they were a disgrace to their oath and uniform and that they should be ashamed of themselves. I told the police it was disgraceful that they were hiding behind supposed public disorder to appease a complaint from republicans. Peeples also said he forced the PSNI raiding party to listen while he read out the names of RUC officers murdered by the IRA. Pipe Bomb Pastor Clifford Peeples spoke exclusively to the Sunday World Said Peeples: I told the PSNI the people who murdered a previous generation of police officers are the very same people who directed them to my home. He added: I was then arrested and taken to Musgrave Street Custody Suite for questioning. But Peeples claims it was when he had been removed from the property that his home was damaged. He said: I later learned neighbours had confronted the police telling them there was no need to damage anything inside my home, but as the picture shows, the door to my library was booted in. Peeples said when he arrived a Musgrave Street he was strip-searched and placed in a police cell. I was finally interviewed 13 hours after I was arrested and I told the officers I believed it was a political decision to have me arrested and that there was no evidence that I had committed any crime. And I challenged them at every opportunity to present evidence or the statement of complaint made against me, but they failed in this regard, Peeples maintained. Peeples said the investigating officers then quizzed him about his knowledge of computers and demanded to know why he appeared to have taken a computer apart. He said: They wanted to know if I was building a computer with a view to breaking into other networks. My solicitor told them their line of questioning was irrelevant as I had been arrested for allegedly publishing hate material. The detectives said they would provide evidence in that regard, but they didnt. Peeples said detectives also quizzed him about his high-end photographic equipment and pressed him to reveal if he was working for an out of state agency. He said: It was clear to me the PSNI wanted to know if I was working for the Israelis by compiling photo-files of Muslim extremists. It was nonsense and I told them that. Peeples hit the headlines last year when it emerged he had done two tours of Ukraine assisting the army in its battle with the Russians. The loyalist said the police then questioned him about his Facebook account and in particular wanted to talk about three posts. I had posted a piece about the Southport attacks expressing concern for the safety of police officers and my solicitor demanded to know how it could be construed as hateful. They then asked I was influenced by a well-known right-wing political philosopher. I refused to talk about that because my post hadnt broken any Facebook rule or regulations. And they then asked me about anti-Semitism. The police appeared to imply I actually hated everyone. It was truly bizarre. He added: It was obvious I hadnt breached any hate laws. Peeples said that on the second day of his detention the police quizzed him about Facebook posts by the so-called Protestant Coalition blamed by some of encouraging the latest race hate violence. And he revealed that shortly before he was released he was handed a bag containing items of clothing which had been removed on his arrival at the Custody Suite. Said Peeples: It was only when I got home I noticed the bag also contained prescriptive medicine for another man. I attempted to hand it in to my nearest PSNI station, but an officer on the gate refused to accept it. I eventually returned the medicine to Musgrave Street. The PSNI said last night: Officers from the Police Service of Northern Irelands Tactical Support Group conducted a search at the property. Damage was caused to a door while officers were gaining entry to a room. It added in relation to the medicine returned by Peeples: Police received a report on Thursday 15th August of misplaced property. There are strict procedures in place in relation to the protection of all property of detained persons, and enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of this incident. Giovanni Costantino, the founder and chief executive of the Italian Sea Group, which owns the Perini Navi shipyard where the Bayesian was built, has defended the boats construction and blamed human error for the disaster. Rescue personnel with a body bag containing the remains of tech tycoon Mike Lynch, who was born in Britain to Irish parents, at Porticello harbour. Photo: Reuters The crew of Mike Lynchs superyacht had 16 minutes to avoid the tragedy, the chief executive of the firm that built the boat has claimed. Giovanni Costantino, the founder and chief executive of the Italian Sea Group, which owns the Perini Navi shipyard where the Bayesian was built, has defended the boats construction and blamed human error for the disaster. Hannah Lynch, the 18-year-old daughter of tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, is the last person unaccounted for after the yacht sank almost a kilometre off the coast of Sicily in the early hours of Monday morning. Specialist cave divers will continue their hunt for the teenager today. Mr Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, and his wife Neda Morvillo were lost when the Bayesian sank at around 5am on Monday. The search was called off at around 8pm in Sicily on Thursday with divers expected to begin again at 6.30am on Friday. Five bodies have now been brought to shore in the small fishing village of Porticello, around 11 miles from the Sicilian capital of Palermo. In a statement confirming their parents deaths, the Bloomer family described the couple as incredible people and an inspiration to many. They said: We are grieving for our loved ones and all of those affected by the tragedy. Our parents were incredible people and an inspiration to many, but first and foremost they were focused on and loved their family and spending time with their new grandchildren. Together for five decades, our only comfort is that they are still together now. This is an unimaginable grief to shoulder. Italian officials said on Wednesday that they believed Hannah to be among those recovered, but she is now thought to still be inside the boat. Rescue teams have also not ruled out that the teenager could have been thrown into the sea during the sinking. Prosecutors in the town of Termini Imerese, close to Porticello, where the vessel went down, have opened an investigation into the disaster. They will seek to establish what caused the yacht to sink and whether any of the crew are criminally liable. They are expected to investigate whether the keel on the superyacht played a role in the incident after divers found it partially deployed, and also examine whether the crew failed to close access hatches into the vessel before it was hit by a tornado. Previous claims suggested that the sinking happened in 60 seconds, giving the crew little time to respond. But Mr Costantino rejected this. He told the Financial Times: The torture lasted 16 minutes. It went down, not in one minute as some scientists have said. It went down in 16 minutes. You can see it from the charts, from the AIS (Automatic Identification System) tracking chart. The captain should have prepared the boat and put it in a state of alert and of safety, just like the boat [the Sir Robert Baden Powell] anchored 350 metres away, which was built in 1957 and handled the event brilliantly. He claimed the Bayesian was one of the safest boats in the world and was virtually unsinkable, telling Corriere della Sera: The passengers reported something absurd, that the storm came unexpectedly, suddenly. That is not true. Everything was predictable. Ask yourself why were none of the Porticello fishermen out that night? A fisherman checks the conditions and a ship doesnt? The disturbance was completely readable on all the weather maps. It was impossible not to know. A Perini vessel survived Hurricane Katrina. You dont think it could survive a tornado like this? When divers searched the Bayesian 50m underwater, it was reported that the vessels retractable keel was partially raised, prompting questions about the boats stability at the time of the sinking. The fin-like structure, which sits under the hull and is nearly 10m long when fully deployed, was designed to help stabilise the yacht acting as a counterweight to the 72m mast. Experts have suggested the keel would normally be fully extended for extra stability during bad weather. It has also been reported that the space housing the boats tender was not fully closed when it went down. From photos and video images of the sinking that have been published, Mr Costantino said it was clear the boat had a blackout caused by a surge of water inside it. He said there was no doubt the aft hatch had been left open, adding: It tilted 90 degrees for only one reason because the water kept coming in. The time it started coming in to the time it went down was six minutes. Those who say it disappeared in a few seconds are speaking rubbish. Specialist cave divers will continue their hunt for Hannah today. She had joined her father, along with other guests, to celebrate the tech tycoons court victory after he was acquitted of fraud in San Francisco. Her mother, Angela Bacares (57), survived the disaster but was seen using a wheelchair after suffering cuts to her feet. Massimo Mariani, an interior ministry official, said Hannah may still be inside the ship or could have been tossed into the sea when the superyacht sank. Vincenzo Zagarola, a spokesman from the Italian coast guard, said that the working theory was still that she was inside the boat. A decision on whether to raise the sunken yacht from the seabed is not on the agenda but will be in the future, he added. Hannah was a scholar at Latymer Upper School, in west London, and a regular prize winner, receiving an award for outstanding academic achievement last year. She had just won a place at Oxford University to study English after receiving her A-level results last week. Her parents were also frequent donors to the school, contributing to the bursary fund in 2023, 2022 and 2021. Of the 22 passengers and crew on board, 15 were rescued after escaping on to a lifeboat. The body of Canadian-Antiguan citizen Mr Thomas, who was working as a chef on the superyacht, was recovered at the scene of the sinking on Monday. ( Telegraph Media Group Ltd 2024) The methamphetamine, valued at more than $5 million (3.8 million), was found on August 16 when the cargo aboard a tractor-trailer from Mexico was unloaded for a detailed inspection, the agency said in a statement. A fake watermelon, used to disguise a shipment of methamphetamines, is shown after a bust by US Customs and Border Protection (AP) A truckload of methamphetamine disguised as a shipment of watermelons was seized at a US-Mexico border crossing in San Diego, US Customs and Border Protection said. The methamphetamine, valued at more than $5 million (3.8 million), was found on August 16 when the cargo aboard a tractor-trailer from Mexico was unloaded for a detailed inspection, the agency said in a statement. Among real watermelons, officers found 1,220 packages wrapped in paper coloured to look like watermelon skins. The total weight of the packages amounted to 4,587 pounds (2,080 kilograms) and testing determined the contents were methamphetamine, the agency said. The truck driver was turned over to Homeland Security Investigations. The former Taoiseach is in Chicago to attend the Democratic Convention, where he has been feted as a VIP guest Leo Varadkar has appeared in a picture with the US politician Hakeem Jeffries who said Donald Trump was like an annoying ex-boyfriend in his stand out speech at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday. The former Taoiseach who flew into Chicago to attend the Democratic Convention, where he has been feted as a VIP guest by senior US politicians, joined Jeffries in the photo that he posted on his Instagram page. Very nice to meet you, Leo wrote. Best of luck in November. The House minority leader had the crowds laughing in the aisles as he compared Trump to an old boyfriend who you broke up with, but he just wont go away. He has spent the last four years spinning the block trying to get back into a relationship with the American people. Referring to Trumps handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, his 2020 election fraud claims, his involvement in the January 6 Capitol attack, and his appointments of three justices who decided to overturn Roe v Wade, Jeffries concluded: We broke up with you for a reason. Donald Trump can spin the block all he wants, but theres no reason for us to ever get back together, he continued. Been there, done that. Were not going back. Despite former first lady Michelle Obamas appeal in 2016 to go high when Republicans turn to low blows, she abandoned that stance as she slammed Trump as someone who failed forward through the affirmative action of generational wealth while taking on his comments about immigrants coming to steal Black jobs. Whos going to tell him the job hes currently seeking might just be one of those Black jobs? the former first lady said to huge applause. When former President Barack Obama spoke after her, he mocked Trump for his weird obsession with crowd sizes, using a cheeky hand gesture. Later in the night, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz accepted the vice presidential nomination. Thursday will be the final day of the convention, where Kamala Harris is expected to accept the presidential nomination. Earlier, Mr Vardakar had been pictured with. Democratic heavyweight and former House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the convention. They cheered on as Walz, who is the Vice Presidential nominee on the Democratic ticket with Kamala Harris, gave a colourful speech to 20,000 delegates at the United Center in the Windy City. Pelosi herself was warmly greeted by delegates when she took to the stage to endorse Walz and Harris. Varadkar also got to see Barack and Michelle Obama urge attendees at the convention to put their full weight behind the Kamala-Walz team in a bid to thwart Donald Trumps bid to become re-elected President of the U.S. Back in April 2019 Pelosi was hosted by Varadkar when he was Taoiseach and she addressed Dail Eireann, an occasion which saw Bono among others watch from the gallery. Now a plain TD for Dublin West, the 45-year-old is expected to also attend a later session of the convention, which is due to hear a rousing speech by Harris, at which the Vice President will be rubber-stamped by delegates to become the partys Presidential nomination in Novembers election. Harris was parachuted in as the partys candidate after Joe Biden was forced to pull out of the race following a number of gaffes. Biden had been urged by prominent Democratic Party members that he was trailing in the polls behind Trump and was going to lose the election. Varadkars appearance at the convention was his first time he has been photographed at a major foreign event since his shock resignation as Taoiseach earlier this year. He has close links with Chicago, as his partner Matt Barrett has spent time working and training in the city in hospitals there in the past through his profession as a cardiac doctor. The Irish politician also shares with a heritage link with Harris - as both have parents from India. Varadkars father and Harriss mother were both born in India. Leo previously posted several videos on his Stories section on Instagram of his time at the convention, including images of Walz and his family taking to the podium and his snap with Pelosi. He has still to decide whether to run in the next General Election, but observers expect he will step down from national politics and seek a top job elsewhere, possibly in Europe. "Bias" and "structural racism" within the police are partly why Maori men are more likely to be stopped, prosecuted and tasered, a two-year investigation has found. The report - Understanding Police Delivery - which has just been released - presents key results from the first phase of an inquiry into "equity and fairness" in policing. It was announced by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster in March 2021 after RNZ revealed police officers in many regions were systematically stopping and photographing rangatahi Maori on the street for a national database. One of its key findings was that physical appearance - including size, gender, age and ethnicity - often play a role in police officers' "perception of aggressive behaviour" and their decision to use force. The decision to use force could also be influenced by "time and resource constraints". "Results indicate that inequity exists in the policing system and operates at different levels: structural, institutional and interpersonal," researchers say. The police minister did not believe there was bias in the police despite the reports findings and said officers do not get to choose who they deal with. "I believe that we have a world class police service that do an outstanding job and don't think there is systemic bias in the police at all," Mark Mitchell says. Mark says Maori are over-represented in the criminal justice system, but the blame should not be on police. Racial inequities Of complaints assessed, which specifically referred to "racism", 38 per cent were from Maori followed by 22 per cent from Asian complainants. "Complaints regarding searches indicated that Maori felt unwarranted searches, in particular violated their tikanga (ways of doing things within cultural boundaries) of their home/personal space." Maori and Pacific people were disproportionally over-represented in "use of force events", including those involving tasers. Use of tasers One in five taser "events" in the six-month period was at a family harm event. Males were nearly 10 times more likely to be tasered (over 85 per cent of all tactical operations/use of force reports involved a male). 92 per cent of taser events involved men, and 90 per cent of taser discharge events. "The threshold for threat is considerably lower than that for females." "In some cases, men were tasered for non-compliance or to gain control over a situation when no physical threat or weapon was present." There were three "events" where youth were tasered. All were Maori males, two were just 14-years-old. Overall, the level of force described in the complaints tended to be more serious for Maori and Pacific peoples. One Pasifika male described a violent interaction with a police officer: "Before I even got out of the area, three police officers grabbed me, smashed me into my partner's car and knocked me so hard I felt I may have gone unconscious for a moment." However, the report also noted Maori youth were "far less likely to complain than any other group". Researchers say the over-representation of Maori in the criminal system could not be explained solely by "racism" on the part of individual police officers or even "structural racism", but had its roots in the wider failure of society. "Police operate within a much larger political eco-system that has consistently undermined the health and wellbeing of Maori communities, and as a result, Maori are more likely to be exposed to police intervention in their lives." Mental crisis callouts People with communication difficulties - either due to poor English, mental illness or disability - could sometimes be seen by police as "non compliant". That could "influence threat perception and decision-making, and increase the likelihood of force being used". Report makes 40 recommendations The independent analysis - which was led by long-term justice reform advocate Ta Kim Workman, along with academics, researchers and community leaders - includes seven separate reports (on praise and dissatisfaction, complaints, taser, prosecutions, and data) and makes 40 wide-ranging recommendations. Current chairperson of the independent panel, professor Khylee Quince, says the recommendations included creating a "systems review" learning approach to shine light on good practice, innovation and positive outcomes. "Ultimately, this is about meaningful system change through learning opportunities both in training and on the job. Our recommendations cover the gamut from police training, operations to service delivery." The Understanding Policing Delivery programme was first commissioned in 2020 as police jurisdictions around the world came under close public scrutiny following the George Floyd killing, the "Black Lives Matter" movement, and policing in New Zealand with the Waitangi Tribunal Justice System Inquiry and Abuse in Care Inquiry. Khylee says evidence confirmed that how police officers conducted themselves had an influence on public trust and confidence in the police - either to strengthen that trust or to weaken it. "There is no special treatment for anyone. If policing is not delivered in a fair and equitable way to all citizens, no matter their ethnicity, disability, sexuality or other characteristics, it requires us to investigate the root causes and make recommendations for meaningful, systemic change." The study examined recruitment and training practices, data collection methods, and the contents of the police operations manual, focusing on how officers were prepared to enforce the law equitably and fairly. The Police Association and the Police Officers Guild backed the approach. Andrew says he wanted to acknowledge all staff who took part in the research programme. "I know that many welcomed the opportunity to show how hard our staff work every day to keep our communities safe, often putting their own safety at risk to do so." Community trust was fundamental to police's ability to do the job, he says. "Having that trust encourages more people to report crime, more to provide evidence, and more to support prevention. That's especially important for those communities currently on the wrong end of most justice sector statistics from victims to offenders, and from use of force to prosecution." The research highlighted areas where police systems could be better, he admitted. Some had already been recognised by police and work was already underway to put many of the recommendations into practice. "Too often this conversation has seen police and some communities talking past each other. With this research from the independent panel, I believe we have found, possibly for the first time, a way to talk about these issues together and to find ways to lift trust in the future. There is real strength in continuing with this joint approach." Phase Two recommendations are due for release later this year. -RNZ After supporting thousands through its ranks since its inception in 2009, New Zealands largest youth innovation programme, yia! (Young Innovator Awards) is set to celebrate its 15-year anniversary this month. Yia! was first established to provide opportunities for intermediate and secondary school students to connect with businesses and develop their ideas through critical thinking, collaboration and communication. Today, it isnt just connecting current and future innovators, its also connecting whanau. Ben Cain, a business partner at yia! sponsor James & Wells, has brought his innovation experience to the programme through workshops and judging this year for the first time. Ben went home one day to tell his 13-year-old son about his experience as a judge, expressing his enthusiasm for the competition. It turned out he was involved too, working together with some of his mates to come up with a product idea that involved partnering with airlines to reserve seats on flights for overseas relatives in the event of a family member passing, says Ben. I had no idea he was getting involved, and he didnt know I was judging either. All I know is Im really proud that he signed up, especially with such a great idea. For those that might find working in a team challenging, signing up with some friends to give it a go is a great way to get involved. With 128 entries this year from seven different schools, Ben says it was a tough ask to pick finalists in his categories. Overall, 77 finalists were selected by 42 preliminary judges from innovative businesses from across the Bay of Plenty. Im so impressed by the passion and creativity shown by all the entries. Ben believes its been a hugely beneficial experience for everyone involved, including for him and his son to share and develop ideas, but also for James & Wells. yia! perfectly matches our commitment to the Bay of Plenty community, and to getting involved in the innovation scene as much as possible. One of our mantras at James & Wells is to be champions of innovation and to us, it means championing innovation internally and for our clients. But its broader than that, championing innovation out in our community for now and for future generations. yia! gives us a platform to do just that, he says. Priority Ones yia! Project Manager, Meg Davis, says the kaupapa benefits everyone involved, including businesses who play a critical role in shaping the future of local communities. Meg Davis at a yia workshop. Images supplied by Saejung Oh-Walsh, Priority One. By providing internship opportunities through the programme, businesses can pipeline talent early, inspire and influence the next generation, and gain a competitive edge in the talent market, she says. Whats special about yia! is that its inclusive - its open to any student from any background, all you need is an idea, says Meg. Youth innovation isnt just about creating something new; its about recognising the potential of new ideas, while improving or refining what already exists. Design Thinking is at the heart of this, and makes it accessible to everyone, no matter the scale of their concept. The final yia! workshop was on Wednesday 21 August, with the Awards event in Tauranga taking place on Wednesday 28 August. If youre an intermediate or secondary school student, or a business passionate about supporting local rangatahi and making a difference in our community, check out the yia! website: yia.co.nz/ Ongoing volcanic activity on Whakaari/White Island led to flight disruptions on Thursday morning. So what exactly is going on at the island, which has a deadly history, and should it worry us on the mainland? RNZ has all you need to know. Latest situation Bay of Plenty Emergency Management said Whakaari/White Island is going through an extended active period. The Volcanic Alert Level was raised to Level 3 and the Aviation Colour Code raised to orange on August 9. Lisa Glass, duty public information manager for Bay of Plenty Emergency Management, tells RNZ nothing particularly different is occurring with the volcano. What has changed is the wind direction - MetService says it changed overnight, pushing some Whakaari/White Island atmospheric ash towards the mainland. GNS Science indicated that ash fall is only occurring near the island and Glass says it's incredibly unlikely that ash would reach the mainland. MetService is responsible for issuing Volcanic Ash Advisories for the aviation sector (a collaboration with GNS Science and Airways New Zealand). Its latest advisory showed volcanic ash was drifting over eastern Bay of Plenty today, leading Air New Zealand to cancel and delay flights. Air New Zealand told RNZ it did so as a proactive safety measure. Should we be concerned? Dr Simon Barker, Rutherford discovery fellow and senior researcher at Victoria University of Wellington, thinks the biggest issue with Whakaari/White Island at the moment is the number of unknowns. There is a lack of monitoring on the island due to the 2019 eruption and restricted access preventing the repair of seismic and geodetic networks. "This makes it difficult to place the ongoing activity within the context of past eruptive episodes and to assess how the system is changing. Gas flights, drone footage and ash emissions all suggest that magma is very close to the surface and therefore this activity could continue for some time." Barker says the country should re-establish monitoring and ongoing research on the island. Photo: Supplied/ University of Canterbury. What actually is ash? Dr Adrian Pittari, senior lecturer of earth sciences at University of Waikato, explains that volcanic ash is "the fine 'dusty' volcanic glass and rock particles carried within eruption plumes, that rise into the atmosphere and then downwind by air currents". He says ash in volcanic plumes is considered a hazard to aeroplanes flying in affected airspace because it is sucked into their engines potentially clogging fuel lines, sticking onto engine surfaces and eroding parts. "It can also interfere with electrical and computer systems, infiltrate cabin space and reduce visibility." Barker agrees and says that flights had been cancelled as a standard precaution with changing wind directions and ash particles in the atmosphere around this region. Ash is only falling to the ground/sea surface close to Whakaari/White Island and has not fallen on the ground near the Bay of Plenty coast. "However it is the high airborne ash in the vicinity of flight paths that is the main concern to airlines," says Adrian. When will it all end? Dr Shane Cronin, professor of volcanology at the University of Auckland, says this level of activity is likely to remain "annoying" for a while if this magnitude of eruption continues. "By annoying, I mean that the semi-regular puffs of steam and gas cause unease as well as justified precautionary reactions by the aviation community. The ash content of the plume is generally low and this is of low hazard to people - the threat to aircraft is well known and precautions are well advised. Variations in wind will mean that sometimes the plume may reach the mainland," says Shane. Like Simon, Shane is concerned about the lack of a seismic station on the island. But Shane goes further with his criticism. "We are in this crazy situation with a community of scientists that have built up world-class volcanic science knowledge and an array of skills including machine-learning techniques for automated forecasting but no way of using them at present for this volcano, because a mess of convoluted legal red tape is stopping GNS Science from being able to re-install the seismic stations." -RNZ. State Highway 2 will reopen at 5pm tonight at Waiotahe beach, following a large slip which fell on the highway overnight Sunday, August 18, closing the road between Waiotahi Valley Back Road and Paerata Ridge Road. NZTA contractors have worked incredibly hard this week to clear the slip as fast as possible and get the road reopened today, says NZTA System Manager for the Bay of Plenty, Sandra King. The first step was getting our geotechnical engineers to assess whether the slip was still moving and what risk was posed by the remaining Pohutukawa trees at the top of the cliff. Unfortunately the trees had to be removed before contractors could safely begin work on slip clearance. Crews then worked 24/7 through the night on Wednesday and Thursday nights to get the huge amount of slip material removed and NZTA recognises their dedication and hard mahi in getting SH2 back open to the public as fast as possible. Further work will be required in areas outside the lanes next week, which may require stop/go traffic management to repair the wire rope barrier. People dancing at the San Miguel caseta on the Plaza de la Constitucion, at the heart of this years August fair. Louise Montefiore Malaga Friday, 23 August 2024, 12:32 Opciones para compartir Copiar enlace WhatsApp Facebook X (antes Twitter) LinkedIn Telegram Threads If you have been in Malaga city this week, its annual feria has been impossible to miss, with thousands of people gathering in the centre for the daytime festivities. Calle Larios hosts performances of traditional live music, and activities for children have been set up in Plaza de la Merced. Meanwhile, a San Miguel caseta has taken over the Plaza de la Constitucion this year, equipped with a bar, and using the square as a makeshift dance floor. While official events in the city centre end at 6pm, with police closing off certain areas to allow for cleaning, crowds migrate to the Feria Real at the Real Cortijo de Torres to continue the party. Here, they enjoy fairground rides and casetas where they eat, drink and dance through the night. The atmosphere is one of celebration. Women walk down the crowded streets in their flamenco dresses, flowers in their hair and, of course, with fan in hand to beat the August heat. Supermarkets, restaurants, bars, cafes - even some bakeries - sell Cartojal, the cold, sweet wine from the Axarquia region of Malaga traditionally enjoyed during the fair. Everywhere you look, people are holding bottles, with the famous pink cups to match. Zoom Ursula and Veronika, from Poland, pose with a bottle of Cartojal. Louise Montefiore Although traditional elements are central to the festivities, its not just locals taking part. Tourists flock to Malaga for the fair not only from all over Spain, but from all over the world. SUR in English spoke to non-natives on the streets of Malaga to find out how they have been getting involved in the celebrations. Ursula and Veronika, from Poland, werent aware that the fair would coincide with their holiday in Malaga. We heard music and decided to walk towards it to see what was happening. They have been joining in with the festivities in the city centre, and are pictured enjoying an iconic bottle of Cartojal. Another group of tourists, from Denmark, also planned their trip during the feria by chance, but said, as they bought flowers for their hair from one of the many stalls on Calle Larios, that they were so excited to learn that it was taking place. Zoom A group of Danish tourists celebrating the 'feria' on Calle Larios. Louise Montefiore Meanwhile, at the nighttime fair in Cortijo de Torres, Hannah and Martyna, from England and Poland, knew their weekend in Malaga would coincide with the celebrations, which was so exciting. Hannah said that, after learning about feria traditions in Spanish lessons at school, she was surprised that parts of the fair were much more of an attraction park. The night feria was not what I expected at all! But the pair enjoyed the fairground rides, seeing everyones beautiful flamenco dresses and wearing flowers bought from a stall in the centre, where elements of Malagas traditions, with live flamenco and verdiales (folk bands) performances, bullfights, and the parade of the Catholic Monarchs, are on full display. The last days of the fair - today Friday 23 and Saturday 24 August - are expected to remain busy as people make the most of the celebrations. For a full programme: www.malaga.eu/feria-de-malaga. Syracuse, N.Y. For nine days, Deron McGee was in a hospital bed fighting for his life. The 15-year-old Corcoran High School student was taken to Upstate University Hospital in critical condition after being shot in the head Aug. 12 near the Parkside Commons Apartments on East Fayette Street. Doctors declared him brain dead Aug. 15. Derons family declined to discuss his death at a vigil Thursday night. Deron will bring life to others, though, after his family made the decision to donate his organs. Around 8:20 p.m. Tuesday, Deron was wheeled into an operating room as doctors, nurses and other medical staff lined the halls of the hospital in honor. Derons heart, kidneys, liver and pancreas were saved for donation. By 10 a.m. Wednesday, his heart was already given to a recipient in a live-saving surgery, family said. We couldnt save him. The doctors tried everything possible, said Natasha Huertas, Derons mother. But he was able to go on and save others. Huertas doesnt yet know who received her sons heart. Shell know more in the coming weeks in updates from the hospital. She said she hopes to meet that person one day. Donating Derons organs to help others has provided some comfort to his family. Hes still somewhat here, his aunt Tanisha Huertas said on Thursday outside his grandmothers house in Syracuse, where more than 60 family members and friends gathered to remember him. They played music, hung gold and silver balloons that spelled DJ and told stories around an open fire. Mayra Arocho, another aunt of Derons, said her nephew was a warming presence in any room he walked in. He had an infectious smile and a way of making fast friends. He was very loving and caring, she said. Any time I needed help, he was always willing to be there. Deron had a love for bikes, cars and anything that went fast, Arocho said. He picked that up from his uncle and grandfather, who ride motorcycles and take care of classic cars, she said. Deron would watch as his grandfather worked on his cars until he could take on projects of his own, Arocho said. He could change a cars brakes on his own. He was a really special kid. When he was around, you knew it, Tanisha Huertas said. This has forever changed our lives. GoFundMe campaign for Derons funeral costs Deron McGee, 15, was shot Aug. 12 near the Parkside Commons apartment complex in Syracuse. The boy has died, Syracuse police said today, Aug. 21. Photo provided by Natasha HuertasPhoto provided by Natasha Huertas 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. Syracuse, NY A Central New Yorker with 35 years of experience in public and governmental relations has been named chief of staff at Upstate Medical University. Matthew Chadderdons long career has included numerous leadership roles at Carrier, Destiny USA and Welch Allyn. His latest stop was at Auburn Community Hospital, where he worked as a vice president of communications and governmental relations. 053107ruthDN city photo by dennis nett Ruth Colvin creator of Literacy Volunteers, is greeted by Father Joseph Almyre pastor of St. Ives Roman Catholic parish in Thibeau, Haiti. Students from the school greeted her with songs and the gift of a straw hat with her name on it. Colvin went to Hait to teach nine locals to become tutors to students who want to learn to read and write. She died this week at 107. A man took his dog on an Adirondack hike last week, but the dog couldnt keep up, requiring rescue from New York State Department of Environmental forest rangers. The pair were walking down the Algonquin trail on the evening of Aug. 17 when the four-legged companion just couldnt continue. His owner called ranger dispatch for help. Rangers are not required to rescue dogs, but they set out to locate the hiker and his tired pooch, bringing with them a special dog carrier shaped like a sling with shoulder straps. The dogs owner strapped the German shepherd to his back and walked out with rangers lighting the way, arriving at the Adirondack Loj trailhead at around 3 a.m. The rescue is similar to another recent incident in which a dog couldnt complete an Adirondack hike with its owner, requiring improvised medical treatment by forest rangers. When planning a hike with a dog, DEC suggests pet owners plan hikes that match their dogs ability. Not every dog is fit enough to go on every hike. If hikers are unable to carry their dog for the full hike, they should reconsider bringing the dog. The following reports are excerpted from DEC: A 67-year-old from Rochester who injured his leg on Gothics Mountain was airlifted to a hospital by rangers in a NYS police helicopter.NYSDEC On Aug. 13, a 20-year-old hiker from Montreal hurt their ankle at Panther Gorge. A New York State Police helicopter responded, lowering a ranger down to the injured hiker. The ranger then harnessed the hiker for hoist into the chopper and a flight to the hospital. Shortly after that rescue, a 67-year-old from Rochester injured his leg on Gothics Mountain. The Johns Brook Caretaker splinted his leg while the state police helicopter refueled and returned with rangers for another hoist operation. The injured hiker was flown to the hospital. A 51-year-old woman from Brooklyn twisted her ankle halfway up the trail on Rocky Mountain on the afternoon of Aug. 13. Three rangers and fire department personnel helped the hiker off the mountain to a waiting ambulance. On the evening of Aug. 13, a summer camp group hiking Crane Mountain called for help when they came across a 52-year-old woman from Amsterdam who seemed disoriented and unable to continue hiking. Three rangers reached the scene and determined she had an ankle injury and was in significant pain. They helped her back to the trailhead where she declined further assistance. Two hikers from Quebec got lost on the evening of Aug. 13 somewhere on Whiteface Mountain. A ranger guided them down the mountain by phone to Sunrise Notch drainage, where they were met by two rangers who had boated across Lake Placid to get them. Capping off a busy day for rangers in the Adirondacks, a lost hiker called for help from the top of Pharaoh Mountain on the night of Aug. 13. The 56-year-old from Michigan told rangers over the phone that he was out of food and exhausted. Two rangers hiked in, provided food and water, and walked the hiker to the trailhead at Crane Pond. A 30-year-old from Quebec got his leg stuck in a bridge in the Whitney Wilderness on Aug. 14. Rangers freed him by cutting away one of the rails.NYSDEC A 30-year-old from Quebec got his leg stuck in a bridge in the Whitney Wilderness on Aug. 14. Rangers found the man on the Burn Road trail bridge going to Rock Pond and cut the wood, freeing his leg, then escorted the hiker and his companion to their campsite. A couple in their early 70s from Ancramdale got lost on Aug. 15 while hiking Stissing Mountain. A ranger made phone contact with them while another ranger hiked in, provided water, and helped the couple to the parking lot. Shortly before arriving at the lot, the group were swarmed by bees and stung multiple times. The ranger provided hydrocortisone and monitored the hikers to ensure they did not experience an allergic reaction. Two hikers in their forties, lacking compass and headlamps, called for help in finding the path down Seward Mountain on the evening of Aug. 17. Rangers reached the two hikers from Horseheads and helped them to the Ward Brook lean-to. Rangers last week helped an injured hiker walk three miles down Gothics Mountain in steep and rocky terrain.NYSDEC On the afternoon of Aug. 17, a 27-year-old hiker from Vermont injured her ankle on Gothics Mountain. Rangers wrapped her ankle and provided hiking poles and crutches to help her walk three miles down the steep and rocky terrain to the trailhead. On the night of Aug. 17, a 54-year-old from Plattsburgh texted 911 after becoming ill while hiking Sawteeth Mountain with a companion. The hiker was vomiting, weak, and having trouble walking. Rangers helped them back to the AMR parking area. Two hikers and their dog got lost on the afternoon of Aug. 18 in Hoffman Notch Wilderness. A ranger found the group from New Hampshire and escorted them back to the trail. On the evening of Aug. 18, two hikers from Niagara Falls got lost on the Mount Van Hoevenberg Porter loop after descending Porter Mountain. Rangers tried to guide them back to the trail over the phone without success. Two rangers found the hikers, both in their twenties, and helped them back to the Cascade trailhead. Sign up for the CNY Outdoors Newsletter Enter your email address to get weekly updates on CNY outdoors news delivered to your inbox: READ MORE Big Manlius dog with injured paw rescued from ADK mountain - newyorkupstate.com Ohio man ticketed for threatening hikers on popular Adirondack trail - newyorkupstate.com Two injured hikers rescued one day apart on popular ADK mountain - newyorkupstate.com Rangers organized search for Upstate NY plane crash that killed five - newyorkupstate.com Rangers aid two hikers injured at same time, place in ADK high peaks - newyorkupstate.com Steve Featherstone covers the outdoors for The Post Standard, syracuse.com and NYUP.com. Contact him at sfeatherstone@syracuse.com or on Twitter @featheroutdoors. You can also follow along with all of our outdoors content at newyorkupstate.com/outdoors/ or follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/upstatenyoutdoors. Rep. Brandon Williams and John Mannion have agreed to participate in a debate hosted by syracuse.com | The Post-Standard on Oct. 1, the first of four debates before the 22nd Congressional District election. The first debate will be streamed live on syracuse.com and its Facebook page from Syracuse Universitys S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. A recording also will be available to watch on syracuse.com. Williams, a first-term Republican from Sennett in Cayuga County, and Mannion, a two-term Democratic state senator from Geddes, are attempting to win one of the most hotly contested House seats in the nation. Both parties view the 22nd District in Central New York as a key to winning a House majority in the November election. Democrats need a net gain of four seats to win the majority. Mannion and Williams also agreed to televised debates planned for Oct. 8 on WCNY-TV (Channel 24) and Oct. 22 on WSYR-TV (Channel 9) in Syracuse, spokespersons for both campaigns said today. A fourth debate will air in the last week of October on CNY Central, the combination of WSTM-TV (Channel 3) and WTVH-TV (Channel 5) in Syracuse. The exact date for that debate has not been determined. Williams separately agreed to take part in two additional debates or forums before the election on Nov. 5. Those events would be sponsored by radio station WSYR-AM in Syracuse and Cayuga Community College, said Williams spokesman Taylor Weyeneth. Mannion has not received invitations to those events, said Joe Agovino, Mannions campaign manager. Senator Mannion has agreed to these four debates based on the invites he has received and is looking forward to a robust debate schedule, Agovino said. The two major party candidates for Congress have traditionally participated in three or four televised debates in Central New York before the November election. This will be the first election using the new 22nd Congressional District map approved by state lawmakers in February. The district spans all of Onondaga and Madison counties, and parts of Cayuga, Cortland and Oneida counties. The district includes the cities of Syracuse, Auburn, Cortland and Utica. The new district is more favorable to Democratic candidates than the old 22nd District, giving Democrats an enrollment advantage of about 30,000 voters. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Mark Weiner anytime by: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751 CHICAGO As Democrats gathered in Chicago this week to officially choose their candidate for president, party representatives from New York repeatedly directed their attention to the race for the 22nd Congressional District. The district was the talk of the New York delegation, as its members stressed its importance to winning control of the House of Representatives. But its central player, John Mannion, was watching from his home turf in Central New York. Mannion is challenging Republican incumbent Brandon Williams for the seat in November. Mannion said that although it was somewhat of a tough decision not to attend the convention, he felt the need to stay with his potential constituents this week to further his campaign. Ive only got 74 days until Election Day and I need to engage as many voters as I can. And those voters are here in New York and Mohawk Valley. Theyre not in Chicago, he said in a phone interview Thursday. So although I really appreciate and have watched, you know, the energized and forward-thinking messagethe work really has to be done here in, and each one of these days is critical. The NY-22 race will be pivotal for both parties. Democrats need to net a minimum of four seats to secure a majority in the House of Representatives. Syracuse 5th District Common Councilor Jimmy Monto is a delegate at the convention representing Central New York. Monto said he has been inspired by the momentum picking up in the congressional district leading up to the convention. What were seeing in NY-22, especially over the last four to five weeks, is a tremendous amount of energy from voters and volunteers. People want to get out there and make a change. Not just at the top of the ticket with, you know, Kamala Harris, but also NY-22, Monto said. Were suddenly seeing volunteers really getting up on their feet and mobilizing. Monto said he is not concerned that Mannion did not attend the DNC this week. He believes his presence is more important in the district because his potential constituents are primarily in Central New York, not Chicago. Monto pointed out that not even Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris was at the convention for the entire schedule. The best use of John Manions time is just talking to the voters Not many of his voters are in this room or the United Center. Theyre home in New York 22, and Im happy that hes where he is doing what hes doing, Monto said. Look at Kamala Harris, our vice president. She did not sit in the United Center for all four days Shes at rallies in other states where she needs to get the vote out. Shes been in the swing states while we are here nominating her. Former Onondaga County Democratic Committee Chair and NY-22 delegate Diane Dwire said to win the Congressional races and flip the House, she and other delegates should look to target undecided voters at nonpartisan events. There is a large group of people who are on the fence. We call them the persuadables. I want to get them on our side of the fence. And thats where Ill go, Dwire said. Youve got to go to all the counties, be visible, and attend major events. One of the mistakes we tend to make is going to many democratic functions. We dont need to go to them. Williams faced criticism during his first campaign for not living in the district (district lines were redrawn and now include Williams home). At-Large delegate Lisa Sacco said she finds it disheartening to have a representative who seems so removed from the district. I think John needs to continue what hes doing Hes been all over the place, which shows the voters that hes there for them, and to that effect, I feel like we havent seen Congressman Williams at that same kind of level, she said. Peggy Chase, a delegate and former Onondaga County legislator said that although she is optimistic about Mannion being the next Congressional representative, there is still work to be done. I think hes got a decent chance, but we cant take anything for granted because thats why weve got Brandon Williams We cant stop. As Tim Walz says, We can sleep when were dead. Weve got to keep going. Anna Ginelli is a senior journalism student at Syracuse Universitys Newhouse School. She is part of a group of student journalists providing coverage of the DNC for syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. NEW YORK (AP) A one-time candidate for Congress in New York was arrested Thursday on charges that she schemed with her domestic partner, an executive at the collapsed FTX cryptocurrency exchange, to use the companys money to illegally fund her campaign. Michelle Bond, 45, of Potomac, Maryland, was released on $1 million bail after a brief court appearance in Manhattan federal court to face charges that she conspired with Ryan Salame, the ex-CEO of FTX Digital Markets, to cause unlawful campaign contributions in connection with her unsuccessful run in a Republican primary on eastern Long Island in 2022. Her lawyer did not immediately comment. A spokesperson for prosecutors did not return a request for comment. The charges constitute another twist in the story of the downfall of FTX, which was one one of the worlds most popular crytpo trading platforms before it fell apart in an avalanche of allegations against its founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. Salame pleaded guilty last year to campaign finance and illegal money-transmitting charges in connection with his work for the company and was sentenced in May to 7 1/2 years in prison. The day before Bonds arrest, Salame asked a judge to nullify his guilty plea, saying prosecutors had suggested that Bond would not be arrested if he entered the plea and concluded his case. Salame said in court papers that he has satisfied all the requirements of his plea deal, including paying $500,000 in fines, $6 million in forfeiture and $5.5 million in restitution. He described Bond as his domestic partner and the mother of his 8-month-old child. Bond was charged with conspiracy to cause unlawful campaign contributions, causing and accepting excessive campaign contributions, causing and receiving an unlawful corporate contribution and causing and receiving a conduit for contributions. Each of the charges carries a potential sentence of up to five years in prison. According to the charges, Bond and Salame created a sham consulting agreement between Bond and FTX, enabling Bond to receive $400,000, shortly after launching her congressional campaign. According to an indictment, Bond used the funds to illegally finance her campaign. It said Salame wired hundreds of thousands of dollars more to Bond between June and August of 2022. While Salame was a high-level executive at FTX, he was not a major part of the governments case against Bankman-Fried at his trial earlier this year and did not testify against him. In a bid for leniency, Salame said at his sentencing hearing that he cooperated and even provided documents that aided prosecutors in their cross-examination of Bankman-Fried, as well as in his own prosecution. Salames plea pertained to illegal campaign contributions made to politicians of both parties, but not specifically to Bonds campaign. Bond, who was once a cryptocurrency industry lobbyist, ran a well-funded campaign but ultimately lost in the 2022 Republican primary to U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota, getting 28 percent of the vote in a three-way contest. The race got attention at the time because of donations from groups associated with the cryptocurrency industry, which at the time was trying to persuade U.S. lawmakers to create a more friendly regulatory environment. Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years in prison in March after he was convicted of cheating hundreds of thousands of customers of FTX, which collapsed in November 2022. 07CR Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2020 Location: Pune Posts: 1,655 Thanked: 4,707 Times re: Which excellent mileage-oriented hatchback to buy? 1) How is the maintenance cost of a CNG vehicle? How high would the service cost go because of added maintenance of a CNG tank? 2) Are there any safety issues that he should be aware off? He has read a few articles about CNG cars catching fires and hence is afraid of the same. 3) Does adding CNG (even factory fitted) reduce the engine life? Quote: xenon0025 Originally Posted by I would suggest to check out the CNG versions of Tata Tiago and Hyundai Nios. Quote: shancz Originally Posted by Voted others, to bring these cars into consideration but I assume you've already thought about it: Quote: self_driven Originally Posted by New Swift will be a good choice. Its claimed FE is 10% more than Baleno/Fronx and at par with Maruti's smaller cars with 1.0-litre engines. While these ARAI figures cannot be taken at face value, they serve as a good reference point to draw comparisons. So in real-world conditions, the Swift's FE will certainly be closer to a WagonR 1.0 than a Baleno. Quote: Vishal.R Originally Posted by Nothing can beat diesel in mileage, Can consider Altroz XM Plus diesel. Also agree about CNG offerings from TATA and Hyundai as other options. Hyundai he is slightly apprehensive because of perceived high maintainence costs. Quote: sharmanova Originally Posted by Also if you're open to the pre-owned route, you can get a 2-3 year old low run Baleno Alpha at the price of Baleno Zeta Since your Sonet is feature loaded (assuming you've the upper variant), your dad will feel the Fronx to be bland especially the bezel surrounding the infotainment system. Meanwhile the Baleno Zeta has most of the features of your Sonet and is priced similar to the Fronx, I would recommend you to go ahead with Baleno over the Fronx.Also if you're open to the pre-owned route, you can get a 2-3 year old low run Baleno Alpha at the price of Baleno Zeta Quote: It's Magic Originally Posted by I noticed you have not mentioned anything about CNG models. If good fuel efficiency is one of the prime factors, I suggest going with a CNG variant. Maruti has CNG variants available in multiple models, so you can explore these options. Thank you all for your responses. I believe CNG is the ideal way to go. But me and dad have some apprehensions about CNG. Let me know on the following-1) How is the maintenance cost of a CNG vehicle? How high would the service cost go because of added maintenance of a CNG tank?2) Are there any safety issues that he should be aware off? He has read a few articles about CNG cars catching fires and hence is afraid of the same.3) Does adding CNG (even factory fitted) reduce the engine life?A strict no to Tata. He might checkout Nios. He is apprehensive about high maintenance cost associated with Hyundai vehicles.Thanks rejected Ignis/swift because of the cons you already mentioned. I10 nios was not being considered because of perceived high maintainence costs of Hyundai. Kia on the other hand was very affordable after sales service costs way.Swift lacks much of Baleno's equipment. Its also a smaller car. Hence not being considered.He won't touch any Tata vehicle. Just too many horror stories all around even in his circle.Hyundai he is slightly apprehensive because of perceived high maintainence costs.Yes, my sonet is a HTX variant is quite well loaded. He is tilting towards the Baleno indeed. Checked out the pre owned route, no alpha in good condition is available.There are some apprehensions about CNG mentioned above in this comment. Last edited by 07CR : 22nd August 2024 at 09:43 . What just happened? For photographers tired of lugging around multiple heavy prime lenses, Korean optics company Samyang offers a neat new solution that could seriously lighten their camera bags. Their newly announced Remaster Slim system allows users to swap out the internal optical elements, rather than entire lenses, to change focal lengths. Essentially, instead of switching between complete prime lenses, the Remaster Slim allows you to keep the outer lens barrel attached to your camera while swapping out different sets of optics to change the focal length on the fly. At launch, three different optic inserts are available: a 21mm f/2.8, a 28mm f/3.5, and a 32mm f/3.5. You might be thinking that the obvious solution is to just use a zoom lens, but it's not that simple. Prime lenses typically deliver sharper image quality and better bokeh than zoom lenses, thanks to their simpler designs. However, carrying multiple large prime lenses can be cumbersome, with some weighing around a kilo. Samyang's modular approach aims to change that. It's also worth noting that Samyang is targeting more of a nostalgic "analog sensibility," reminiscent of old 35mm point-and-shoot cameras, rather than technical perfection. As a result, you can expect slightly softened rendering. The lens also produces warmer images with a tone that is difficult to replicate digitally, making it ideal for photographers seeking a vintage vibe in their photos. Other notable features include custom focus mode switching and enhanced portability compared to previous Samyang lenses, all while packing autofocus capabilities into an incredibly compact package just 0.8 inches thick and weighing only 80g. The lenses are currently only compatible with Sony's E-mount camera system. There's also no word yet on availability outside of South Korea. The lens housing with the 32mm optics was available for pre-order in South Korea at around $230 but quickly sold out. Shipping is scheduled to start in September, with general availability expected to follow in October. Presumably, if a hit with consumers, we could see the company bring the tech to other lenses. A former bank CEO fell for a cryptocurrency scam after being promised by bad actors a chance to grow their money, and this led to the bank's collapse after losing $47 million. In the court's recent verdict, a federal judge handed a sentence of more than 24 years in prison to the bank's former top executive, after he stole a massive amount of money from the company. Former Bank CEO Fell for Crypto Scam, Gets 24 Years in Prison The District of Kansas' US Attorney's Office shared a press release detailing how a two-year crypto scam led to Heartland Tri-State Bank's (HTSB) CEO, Shan Hanes, getting a 24-year prison sentence. It was regarded that Hanes used his position as the chief executive of the bank to use funds for his "investments" which was later determined as a pig-butchering scam. It was revealed that Hanes first used his funds, and then stole from a local church, a local investor club, and his daughter's college fund to transfer into the scammer's cryptocurrency wallet. After this, he stole from HTSB's funds from May to July 2023, and later from a neighbor, Brian Mitchell, to whom he asked for $12 million. Mitchell refused to share the money and this led to Hanes asking bank employees to wire millions to the scammers. Mitchell then reported it to the bank's board and Hanes was fired afterwards. Hanes later pled guilty to one count of embezzlement and was charged with more than 24 years to serve in prison. HTSB Lost $47 Million from Pig-Butchering Scam The pig-butchering scam that Hanes fell for cost the bank as much as $47 million in losses. This led to investors and customers losing money, and eventually, HTSB's collapse. Crypto Scams and Its Proliferation The growing list of cryptocurrency scams in the world is still rising, as threat actors massively profit from these activities, with most of the cases using methods like phishing or appearing as fake executives. One of the most notorious forms is called a "pig-butchering scam" which already recorded millions of victims, rapidly jumping from thousands of people deceived into giving away their cryptocurrencies. Additionally, there are also phishing campaigns that lead to users logging into dubious websites or platforms whichwould then grant hackers access to their accounts. On the other hand, threat actors have become more elaborate in recent years, developing fake crypto apps mainly used for scamming people, and as noted by the FBI, they deceive the public into logging in. Many people are falling for scams, especially those that appear legitimate and have convincing promises regarding massive returns or growth in their investments. However, for Hanes' case, it was not as simple as falling for a scam, as he embezzled money from the bank to use for his personal gains, leading to the bank's $47 million losses and eventual collapse, and his 24-year prison sentence. The crypto future that Donald J. Trump unveiled before has now evolved, with his latest teaser revealing his plans for a new cryptocurrency project called "The DeFiant Ones." This points out to a "decentralized finance" (DeFi) platform that he will soon launch, and it was revealed that this will be a family affair, with the platform to be run by his kin. Several teasers regarding the new crypto project from the Trump family have been teased, but there are still a lot of details that remain unknown. Trump's 'The Defiant Ones' is a Family-Run Crypto Project Donald Trump shared his latest cryptocurrency project with his 7.59 million followers over at Truth Social, teasing his new and upcoming venture called "The DeFiant Ones." In his post, Trump is now calling people to "take a stand-together" and the time is now to do so against the "big banks and financial elites" that have been capitalizing against Americans. Trump said that these big entities in the financial world have been "squeezing" the American public, teasing that his new decentralized finance platform will go against it. Included in his post, Trump also shared a Telegram link to The DeFiant Ones which will lead users to a channel where announcements and more information would be shared. The DeFiant Ones Teased All Over Truth Social, X Apart from being teased on Truth Social and leading users to a Telegram channel, Trump's The DeFiant Ones have also been appearing on other platforms. The family-run crypto project that will soon be a new kind of platform was also shared by Donald Trump Jr., the business magnate's son, via X. Most of the information behind this DeFi platform remains unknown, and its release date was also not revealed. Trump and His Focus on Cryptocurrency Many reports claim that the previous Trump administration fostered cryptocurrency, and this led to significant developments in the decentralized finance industry during his term. It is worth noting that Bitcoin grew to an all-time high of $2,200 in 2017, and this was the same year that Trump first stepped into office, continuing massive growth during this time. For a long time, Trump has also held on to his NFT trading card collection since it first rose to popularity amidst the pandemic, one of the top trends in the crypto industry during this time. That being said, Trump sold his NFT collection in 2022, letting it go for a combined value of $4.45 million, and it was when the public awaited his announcement of his Presidential campaign for 2024. Recently, Trump appeared to a crowd in Nashville, Tennessee during the Bitcoin 2024 event, vowing that if he becomes president, the US will be the crypto capital of the world and BTC will also gain recognition. Now, Trump is making noise again in the crypto industry, with his teaser of an upcoming DeFi platform called The DeFiant Ones, which would be run by his family, with the details remaining unknown. A new record-breaking piece of diamond was recently found in Botswana, Africa, and was regarded to be the "largest in over a century" that was discovered in the country. The discovery was shared by Botswana President, Mokgweetsi Masisi, holding the 2,492-carat rock mineral and showing it off to the world, with experts believing that it is worth more than $100 million. The humongous gem was originally discovered by the Lucara Diamond Company, a Canadian mining company, in their Karowe Mine. A Humongous 2,492-carat Diamond Found in Botswana, Africa The New York Post reported on a massive discovery in Botswana, Africa, after a Canadian mining company unearthed a humongous 2,492-carat diamond in the country. This rough diamond is massive and was estimated to be worth around $100 million to as much as $160 million for the specific gem, and it was unveiled by the Botswana President at a recent viewing ceremony. The African country's officials have not yet disclosed how much the gem would cost, as well as how it would be soldon the market. At first, it was only estimated by Lucara, the company that found it, to be worth more than $40 million only. Largest Diamond in Over a Century Found by Lucara The latest 2,492-carat diamond remains unnamed, but it is already dubbed as the "largest diamond in over a century." The record holder from over 100 years ago was the Cullinan, best known as a massive 3,106-carat diamond that wasfound in South Africa in 1905, famously cut into gems, and is part of the British Crown jewels. Moreover, the Sewelo diamond found in 2019 was the previous largest of this century at 1,758 carats, and it was also discovered by Lucara in their Karowe Mine. Shiny Diamonds and Their Massive Values There are only a few things that hold value in this world over time, and among those are diamonds, best known to be from the carbon element, taking on a solid form after its atom forms a crystal structure. Two years ago, one of the rarest diamonds called "The Enigma" or the "outer space diamond" with a 555.55-carat measurement, was purchased by HEX.com's founder for as much as $4.3 million in crypto. Diamonds are best known for being found through mining, spending years, and significant manpower in looking for these gems under the Earth, usually by massive companies. According to scientists, there may be massive "blobs" that can be found on the Earth's mantle and are rich with elements such as iron, carbon, and water-claiming that a "Diamond Factory" may also be present. The history of diamonds is notorious, but it remains one of the most precious gems in the world after all these years, making it one of the best-known and sought-after minerals in the market. Lucara's recent discovery in Botswana presented the largest diamond of our time and in the past century, with the 2,492-carat gem estimated to fetch more than $100 million in the market. By Elvin Sakhavatoglu, Day.az After the defeat of Armenia in the Second Karabakh War, the West began to actively arm Yerevan. And we are talking about offensive, not defensive types of weapons. In this way, the West plays into the hands of the revanchists inside Armenia, who only sleep and dream about how to unleash a new war in the South Caucasus. India is not lagging behind in this direction, which is also consistently increasing the supply of lethal weapons to Armenia. There are enough facts about this in both local and foreign media. Military deal between the US and Armenia Official Washington is doing everything possible to transfer the growing global tensions against the backdrop of the Russian-Ukrainian war to the South Caucasus. For example, on August 2 and 3, two military ai rcraft flew from US military bases in Romania and the Middle East to Armenia's Zvartnots Airport. The two US military aircraft delivered weapons and personnel to the airport, provided Armenia with sniper rifles, night vision devices, communications equipment, armored vehicles, mini-drones, and mines. In addition, the US sent adapted weapons and ammunition located on Armenia's border with Iran, as well as devices for tracking the trajectories of Iranian missiles. But the United States, in its official statements, emphasizes that it wants to sign a peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia as soon as possible. Military deal between India and Armenia Official New Delhi has already sold Yerevan the Pinaka missile system. Official Yerevan wants to purchase the Akash 1S air defense system by the end of 2024. These defense systems are capable of defending against aircraft, missiles and drones. The Akash 1S has a wide range of capabilities. It can destroy air targets such as fighter jets, guided missiles and drones within a radius of 4 to 25 km. The arms trade between India and Armenia is worth about $600 million, and Armenia is New Delhi's largest arms importer. It should be noted that India is just entering the global arms market. New Delhi was the world's largest arms exporter in 2018-2022. Arms sales to Armenia could be an effective advertisement for India. The most remarkable fact is that weapons are supplied to Armenia via Iran. The weapons were delivered to the Iranian seaport of Bandar Abbas. From there they are delivered to Armenia by land from Iranian territory. Franco-Armenian military agreement Official Irevan purchased multi-purpose armored vehicles "Bastion" from France, manufactured by the company "Akmat". These weapons were brought into the country through Georgia. According to local media, France sent new weapons to Armenia within a few weeks. It is reported that French 155-mm self-propelled artillery units CAESAR and their components, as well as anti-tank missile systems and air-to-air missiles, were delivered to Armenia. Iran is involved in the French-Armenian military deal, as well as the Indian-Armenian military deal. Paris delivered weapons to Yerevan this time via Iran. The weapons are delivered from France's Orly Airport to Iran's Mehrabad Airport, and from there the Iranian airline Meraj sends the weapons directly to Armenia. The Armenian army reportedly had dozens of P511 and P530 air-to-air missiles, 30 ERYX anti-tank missiles, dozens of German-made DM32 grenade launchers, and a Panzerfaust at its disposal. It should be noted that the full list of weapons sent to Armenia by the US, India, Iran and France is unknown. It is claimed that some weapons are smuggled into Armenia outside customs control. Iran-Armenia military deal Some time ago, the website "Iran International" published information about a military agreement between Iran and Armenia. It was claimed that Iran and Armenia signed a secret deal on arms supplies worth 500 million dollars. The Iranian side did not make any official statement confirming or denying this. According to information published in the local press, this news was not fake. Indeed, the mentioned secret arms agreement was signed between Yerevan and Tehran. Of course, acting as a mediator in the supply of both Indian and French weapons to Iran to Armenia is an unfriendly move. Selling weapons is hypocritical. In its official statements, Iran claims that "interference by foreign forces in the region is unacceptable." On the other hand, it acts as an intermediary in the delivery of weapons to Armenia from countries it considers foreign forces. The processes show that the agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia does not benefit the forces that have interests in the region. Because if there is peace, there will be no tension in the region and armament will decrease. Photo: Press Service of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, August 23. An official welcome ceremony has been held for President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev at the Kuksaroy State Residence in Tashkent, Trend reports. A guard of honor was arranged for President Ilham Aliyev at a square adorned with the national flags of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and his wife, Ziroatkhon Mirziyoyeva, welcomed President Ilham Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva. Then, they posed together for photographs. The national anthems of Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan were performed. The chief of the guard of honor reported to the Azerbaijani President. President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev saluted the Uzbekistani soldiers. The Presidents reviewed the guard of honor. State and government officials of Uzbekistan were introduced to President Ilham Aliyev, while members of the Azerbaijani delegation were introduced to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The guard of honor marched in front of the Presidents to the accompaniment of a military march. The heads of state posed together for photographs. Japan postpones trial removal of nuclear debris from Fukushima reactor Tokyo, Aug 23 (AFP) Aug 23, 2024 The operator of Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant said this week's trial removal of radioactive debris from a battered reactor has been postponed due to a technical issue. Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) was aiming to remove a tiny sample of the estimated 880 tons of radioactive debris believed to sit inside reactors at the tsunami-hit nuclear plant. But after carrying out the preliminary steps of the trial retrieval on Thursday morning, a Tepco spokesperson said the operator had "decided to suspend the work". The trial removal will not resume on Friday as the operator has to "investigate the cause of the trouble," another spokesman Tatsuya Matoba told AFP on Friday. "We can't exclude the possibility that we resume this Saturday, but personally I've never experienced this kind of operation starting on Saturday or Sunday," he said. He added that it was also unclear whether the work would resume next week. "It depends on how deeply we'll investigate," he said. Three of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant's six reactors were operating when a tsunami hit on March 11, 2011, knocking down cooling systems and sending them into meltdown in what became the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. In three units of the Fukushima plant, fuel and other material melted and then solidified into highly radioactive "fuel debris". The tiny sample was to be studied for clues about the condition of the inside of the reactors and their hazardous contents, a crucial step towards decommissioning the plant. The debris has radiation levels so high that Tepco has had to develop specialised robots that can withstand them to function inside. Removing it has long been dubbed the most daunting challenge in the decades-long project to decommission the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Tepco deployed two mini-drones and a "snake-shaped robot" into one of the three nuclear reactors in February, as part of the preparations for the removal task. The latest probe, equipped with a robotic arm, is expected to take about a week to reach radioactive debris inside the reactor and should emerge again with the sample next month. Japan began almost a year ago to release wastewater from the stricken plant into the Pacific Ocean. The step has sparked a diplomatic row with China and Russia. Both countries have banned Japanese seafood imports, although Tokyo insists the discharge is safe, a view backed by the UN atomic agency. kh/ssy Pacific leaders confront 'polycrisis' of rising seas and climbing tensions Nuku'alofa, Tonga, Aug 23 (AFP) Aug 23, 2024 Pacific island leaders gather for a key summit in the Kingdom of Tonga on Monday, aiming to navigate rapidly rising seas, damaging great power rivalries and violent unrest in New Caledonia. This year's Pacific Islands Forum takes place in Nuku'alofa, a breezy coastal capital still finding its feet after a calamitous volcanic eruption and tsunami in 2022. Since they last met, the forum's 18 scattered members have been buffeted by economic headwinds and escalating competition between the United States and China. But is the encroaching peril of climate change that is expected to sit highest on the agenda. United Nations chief Antonio Guterres will make a rare appearance at the forum, throwing his weight behind Pacific leaders mounting a renewed climate call to arms. Once seen as the embodiment of palm-fringed paradise, the South Pacific now occupies one of the most climate-threatened pockets of the planet. Low-lying nations such as Tuvalu could be almost entirely swallowed by rising oceans within the next 30 years. "Climate change, as ever, remains the top-line priority for leaders," said Mihai Sora, director of Pacific research at Australia's Lowy Institute. "I think the presence of the UN secretary-general is intended to attract that international interest, to put pressure on international partners." It is potentially awkward terrain for forum member Australia, a coal-shovelling mining heavyweight belatedly trying to burnish its green credentials. Australia wants to co-host the COP31 climate conference alongside its Pacific neighbours in 2026. But first, it must convince the bloc it is serious about slashing emissions. - Pacific 'polycrisis' - It will be the first meeting under new forum boss Baron Waqa, who has warned China and the United States to take their "fight" out of "our backyard". Beijing has been determinedly courting Pacific nations, using its largesse to build government offices, sporting venues, hospitals, highways and more. Fearful that China could spin this into a permanent military presence, the United States and Australia have responded by dishing out aid, inking bilateral agreements and re-opening long-dormant embassies. "China has significantly increased its engagement efforts in the Pacific in recent years, particularly aimed at the security sector," said Kathryn Paik, a former Pacific expert on US President Joe Biden's National Security Council. "As Chinese interest in the region amplifies, however, the US, Australia and other like-minded partners are ever-more focused on ensuring that China does not obtain a military foothold." Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has described the cocktail of geopolitical tensions and pressing climate threats as a "polycrisis" in the making. - French diss - The unresolved crisis in French territory New Caledonia, a full forum member, also looms large this year. The Pacific Islands Forum has been trying to send a team of observers to take the pulse in New Caledonia's riot-crippled capital Noumea. But the fact-finding mission fell apart on the eve of the summit as squabbling officials failed to agree on terms. Much of New Caledonia's ethnically Melanesian Kanak population fears that voting reforms proposed by Paris could forever crush their dreams of independence. It is a cause that resonates widely in the Pacific bloc, which is stacked with former colonies now fiercely proud of their hard-won sovereignty. "There's a lot of concern about the way France is behaving in New Caledonia," said Tess Newton Cain from the Griffith Asia Institute. "The French rhetoric is really causing some concern among the forum's leadership." - Dog days are over - A parade of premiers, ambassadors and business moguls have been drawn to Nuku'alofa, meaning "abode of love", the seat of the Tongan king. Just finding enough beds for delegates has proved an immense logistical challenge. Many of Nuku'alofa's seaside hotels were levelled by a tsunami in 2022, triggered by the immense Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcanic eruption. To plug the gap, Tongan Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni has urged the city's 20,000 residents to throw open their doors and dust off their spare beds. The city's roaming posses of not-always-friendly stray dogs have posed another headache. A team of veterinarians has been sent from nearby Fiji to round up and neuter homeless hounds scratching around the conference venue and main hotels. Forum preparations have not escaped the gaze of jostling foreign powers either. Teams of labourers have worked around the clock to finish the summit venue, a $25 million gift from Beijing. China has also offered 20 motorcycles and "motorcade training" to help Tonga's police corral officials. Not to be outdone, Australia has offered Tonga 25 police vehicles, two mini-buses and its own squad of security advisers. Landslide caused by heavy rain kills five on Thai holiday island Bangkok, Aug 23 (AFP) Aug 23, 2024 A landslide caused by heavy rain on the popular Thai resort island of Phuket has killed five people, police said Friday. A Russian couple on vacation were among the dead, local police chief Khundech Na Nongkhai told AFP, adding that officers were working to identify the other victims. "Heavy rain which began at 2:00 am (0700 GMT) last night caused a landslide that damaged homes. Those living in the area were caught off guard," Khundech said. He said the landslide slammed into a residential area of the island, where hotels and rented apartments are located. Thailand has been struck by heavy monsoon rains over the last week, largely affecting the country's southern coast and areas in the north. The resultant flooding has killed five people over the past month and injured 32 others, according to the health ministry. In Phuket, military personnel, volunteer groups and police have been deployed to find any other victims, but forecast heavy rain could hamper the operation, Khundech said. While Thailand experiences annual monsoon rains, man-made climate change is causing more intense weather patterns that can make destructive floods more likely. Widespread flooding across Thailand in 2011 killed more than 500 people and damaged millions of homes around the country. Flood deluge worsens in Bangladesh with millions affected Feni, Bangladesh, Aug 23 (AFP) Aug 23, 2024 Flash floods wrought havoc in Bangladesh on Friday as the country recovers from weeks of political upheaval, with the death toll rising to 13 and millions more caught in the deluge. The South Asian nation of 170 million people, crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers, has seen frequent floods in recent decades. Monsoon rains cause widespread destruction every year, but climate change is shifting weather patterns and increasing the number of extreme weather events. "It's a catastrophic situation here," rescue volunteer Zahed Hossain Bhuiya, 35, told AFP from the worst-hit city of Feni. "We are trying to rescue as many people as we can." Nur Islam, a shopkeeper in Feni, said his home had been completely submerged. "Everything is underwater," the 60-year-old said. Much of Bangladesh is made up of deltas where Himalayan rivers, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, wind towards the sea after coursing through India. All major tributaries of the two transnational rivers were overflowing, according to local media reports. In India's hard-hit Tripura state, more than 23 people have died in the floods since Monday. Bangladesh's disaster management ministry said in a bulletin that its latest toll of 13 deaths included fatalities in cities along the country's southeastern coast. That included the main port city of Chittagong and Cox's Bazar, a district home to around a million Rohingya refugees from neighbouring Myanmar. Areas east of the capital Dhaka were also badly hit including the city of Comilla, near the border with Tripura state in India. Nearly 190,000 others were taken to emergency relief shelters, according to the bulletin, while altogether 4.5 million people had been affected in some way. - Diplomatic tensions - The floods come less than three weeks after the ouster of ex-premier Sheikh Hasina, who was forced to flee by helicopter to India, her government's biggest political patron, during a student-led uprising. Hasina's 15-year rule saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents. She was replaced by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who is heading an interim government facing the monumental task of charting democratic reforms ahead of expected new elections. Asif Mahmud, a leader of the student protests that ousted Hasina, and who is now in Yunus' caretaker cabinet, had earlier accused India of "creating a flood" by deliberately releasing water from dams. India's foreign ministry rejected the charge, saying its own catchment area had experienced the "heaviest rains of this year" this week, and that the flow of water downstream was due to "automatic releases". Relentless downpours have yet to abate in Tripura state, with worst-hit Bagafa village recording 494 millimetres (19.4 inches) of rain in the 24 hours to Thursday. State disaster agency official Sarat Kumad Das said most of the 23 people who have died in Tripura were killed in landslides while a few drowned in flood waters. Tripura chief minister Manik Saha said the situation was "still concerning" with relief efforts ongoing in the worst-hit parts of the state. "Food is being distributed there, and we are also exploring the possibility of airlifting supplies," he said in a statement. "We are praying for everyone's safety." Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu-nationalist government backed Hasina's rule over her rivals from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which it saw as closer to conservative Islamist groups. Modi has offered his support to the Yunus administration. Berlin zoo panda gives birth to twins for second time Berlin, Aug 23 (AFP) Aug 23, 2024 Berlin Zoo said Friday its resident panda Meng Meng had delivered twins for the second time, hailing the rare births as a boost to the endangered creatures. The cubs were born on Thursday, weighing 136 and 169 grams (around five and six ounces), and measuring just 14 centimetres (5.5 inches), the zoo said. They are both doing well and are being cared for by their mother and panda experts, although the zoo added the next few days would be "critical". "I am relieved that the two were born healthy," zoo director Andreas Knieriem said in a statement. "With fewer than 2,000 adult giant pandas in their natural habitat, every single cub is an important contribution to the conservation of this endangered species." The gender of the cubs has not yet been determined. Pandas are born naked, deaf, blind and pink, and it takes some time for the creatures' typical black and white markings to develop. Zoo visitors will not yet be able to see the new arrivals, who will spend their early days hidden from public view in the rear area of the panda enclosure. Meng Meng and male panda Jiao Qing arrived in Berlin in 2017 on loan from China. Famed for its "panda diplomacy", China has dispatched its national treasure to only about a dozen countries as a symbol of close relations. In 2019, Meng Meng delivered twins called Pit and Paule, which were the first of the animals to be born in Germany. As part of such loan agreements, pandas born overseas must be returned to China, and Pit and Paule were sent to live in Chengdu last year. China had previously given three pandas to Germany but the last one, 34-year-old Bao Bao, died in Berlin in 2012, having become the oldest male panda in the world. Environmental group WWF says about 1,860 pandas remain in the wild in China. Flood deluge worsens in Bangladesh with millions affected Feni, Bangladesh, Aug 23 (AFP) Aug 23, 2024 Flash floods wrought havoc in Bangladesh on Friday as the country recovers from weeks of political upheaval, with the death toll rising to 15 and millions more caught in the deluge. The South Asian nation of 170 million people, crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers, has seen frequent floods in recent decades. Monsoon rains cause widespread destruction every year, but climate change is shifting weather patterns and increasing the number of extreme weather events. "It's a catastrophic situation here," rescue volunteer Zahed Hossain Bhuiya, 35, told AFP from the worst-hit city of Feni. "We are trying to rescue as many people as we can." Nur Islam, a shopkeeper in Feni, said his home had been completely submerged. "Everything is underwater," the 60-year-old said. Much of Bangladesh is made up of deltas where Himalayan rivers, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra, wind towards the sea after coursing through India. All major tributaries of the two transnational rivers were overflowing, according to local media reports. In India's hard-hit Tripura state, more than 23 people have died in the floods since Monday. Bangladesh's disaster management ministry said in a bulletin that its latest toll of 15 deaths included fatalities in cities along the country's southeastern coast. That included the main port city of Chittagong and Cox's Bazar, the latter a district home to around a million Rohingya refugees from neighbouring Myanmar. Areas east of the capital Dhaka were also badly hit including the city of Comilla, near the border with Tripura state in India. Nearly 190,000 others were taken to emergency relief shelters, according to the bulletin, while altogether 4.5 million people had been affected in some way. - Diplomatic tensions - The floods come less than three weeks after the ouster of ex-premier Sheikh Hasina, who was forced to flee by helicopter to India, her government's biggest political patron, during a student-led uprising. Hasina's 15-year rule saw widespread human rights abuses, including the mass detention and extrajudicial killings of her political opponents. She was replaced by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, who is heading an interim government facing the monumental task of charting democratic reforms ahead of expected new elections. Asif Mahmud, a leader of the student protests that ousted Hasina, and who is now in Yunus' caretaker cabinet, on Wednesday accused India of "creating a flood" by deliberately releasing water from dams. India's foreign ministry rejected the charge, saying its own catchment area had experienced the "heaviest rains of this year" this week, and that the flow of water downstream was due to "automatic releases". Hundreds of people nonetheless gathered at Dhaka University on Friday to protest India's "water aggression", featuring a banner showing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi delighting at the sight of drowning people. "Water that has come from India has washed away all our euphoria," activist and poet Saikat Amin told AFP on the sidelines. Relentless downpours have yet to abate on the Indian side of the border, with worst-hit Bagafa village recording 494 millimetres (19.4 inches) of rain in the 24 hours to Thursday. State disaster agency official Sarat Kumad Das said most of the 23 people who have died in Tripura state were killed in landslides while a few drowned in flood waters. Tripura chief minister Manik Saha said the situation was "still concerning" with relief efforts ongoing in the worst-hit parts of the state. "Food is being distributed there, and we are also exploring the possibility of airlifting supplies," he said in a statement. "We are praying for everyone's safety." Modi's Hindu-nationalist government backed Hasina's rule over her rivals from the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, which it saw as closer to conservative Islamist groups. Modi has offered his support to the Yunus administration. Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 23. Smerch rocket launcher units of the Rocket and Artillery Troops of the Azerbaijan Army are conducting combat training classes, Trend reports via the Defense Ministry. The units on alert carried out tasks such as changing firing positions, identifying coordinates of imaginary enemy targets, and destroying them during the battle. The servicemen demonstrated high professionalism during the combat training classes which were conducted to increase the combat readiness of the units. Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Experts puzzled as Finland pine trees die off Helsinki, Aug 23 (AFP) Aug 23, 2024 Staggering numbers of dead pine trees have been reported in southern Finland this summer, with researchers linking the phenomenon to climate change, they told AFP on Friday. Over 1,350 patches of dead pine trees have been reported in southwestern Finland since April, when researchers started collecting observations from the public. "Every day we receive more in our mapping service," Turku University geography professor Risto Kalliola told AFP. He described the phenomenon as a "local mass-death of patches of pine trees". Most affected were rocky coastal areas with barren soil easily exposed to drought, he said. Browned groups of dead pines suddenly started to appear along Finland's southern coast a few years ago, and researchers are now trying to find out the cause of the phenomenon. "Something is happening in our nature and we have to take it seriously," Kalliola said. Similar deaths of pine trees have also occurred in other northern European countries, including neighbouring Sweden. "What is new in Finland is that this phenomenon has quite recently begun to be common," he said. He believed several factors could be causing the local die-offs, such as insect pests and fungal diseases -- all exacerbated by global warming. "During warm summers with heatwaves and weeks without rain, those trees which are growing in vulnerable places start to suffer and their ability to defend themselves against pathogens weakens," he said. Kalliola said the exceptionally warm summer in Finland this year had stressed the trees. "The less available water in the soil the trees can suck up with their roots, the less they can withstand heatwaves and drought," he said. Drought-hit Zambia to extend power cuts to 17 hours a day Lusaka, Aug 23 (AFP) Aug 23, 2024 Zambia is bracing for electricity cuts of 17 hours a day from next month as a prolonged drought dries up its hydropower dams, undermining economic activity and putting jobs at risk. Since the southern African country declared a national disaster in February because of the drought, it has been scaling back power supply and importing electricity from neighbouring countries. But now that the hydropower dams -- which provide more than 80 percent of power supply -- are near-empty, the government announced last week it would extend the 14-hour power cuts introduced in July to 17 hours a day. The measure starts on September 1, Energy minister Makozo Chikote said. He did not say how long it would last. Zambia's next rainy season would normally begin around November. The gigantic Kariba Dam, Zambia's largest source of hydroelectricity, has only 10 percent of water available for power generation, the minister said. The Kariba power station will likely shut down in September; the Itezhi-Tezhi hydropower dam already stopped one of its two turbines in July because of low water levels. The Maamba coal power plant is scheduled for maintenance in September, robbing the national power grid of even more megawatts. Already Zambians are battling, including the many who make their living in small businesses such as butcheries and hair salons, and are most vulnerable to the power cuts. A welder in Lusaka's Mtendere slum, Chris Banda, has changed his work hours to whenever there is power, which can mean at midnight. "It's tough. I do not sleep. I now work anytime that power is restored. This has made life unbearable," said Banda, 40. A 56-year-old barber, John Likumbi, said he has had to buy two rechargeable machines to keep his business operational. "So even if there is a blackout, I still manage to continue with my work," he said. Zambians are being encouraged to use solar panels and energy efficient appliances. One enterprise, SunnyMoney Zambia, says its sales of solar lighting products have increased by over 540 percent. - Recipe for unrest - The government says it will import more power from South Africa and the regional Southern African Power Pool. The state power company ZESCO sought to hike tariffs by up to 156 percent to cover the costs of imports, but was stopped by the energy board which warned it risked sparking job losses and higher living costs. Zambians stand to lose their work or see pay-cuts as employers reduce activities to cope with the power outages, Private Sector Development Association president Yosuf Dodia told AFP. "This is a recipe for civil unrest and the government should move fast and import power," he said. The International Monetary Fund in June revised its projected growth for Zambia's economy this year downward from 4.7 percent to 2.3 percent because of the drought, which is impacting food production as well as electricity generation. More than half of Zambia's 19.6 million people live below the poverty line, according to the World Food Programme, which has warned of food insecurity across southern Africa because of the region-wide drought. BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 23. The Baku Initiative Group and Bonaire have signed a cooperation agreement, Trend reports. The document was signed by Head of the Baku Initiative Group Abbas Abbasov, President of the Bonaire Human Rights Organization Davika Bissessar, and Vice President of the Bonaire Human Rights Organization James Finies. The international conference dedicated to Bonaire, which is under colonial rule by the Netherlands, was held in Baku on August 22. The event was organized by the Baku Initiative Group and the Movement for Human Rights and Change on Bonaire Island. The Bonaires Pathway from Baku through the UN General Assembly to Self-Determination conference brought together representatives from Bonaire, who are fighting against colonialism, along with officials and delegates from Belize, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, St. Lucia, the UK, Mexico, the Netherlands, the UN, and other international and regional organizations. Human rights activists, NGO leaders, experts, and researchers in the field of decolonization will also participate in the conference. Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel The ABC must correct its record on senior female leadership at the public broadcaster, according to its outgoing boss David Anderson, as he pushed back against criticism of the organisations news coverage by new chair Kim Williams. Anderson told staff on Thursday he was resigning as managing director of the ABC, with almost four years left on his contract, but will stay in the role into 2025 while the broadcaster looks for his successor. David Anderson and Kim Williams on Thursday. Credit: ABC Speaking on ABC radio on Friday morning, Anderson defended the broadcasters news coverage. I think Kims criticisms, I dont think thats inaccurate when he says what he wants to see on the news website. He wants to make sure that we are differentiating between us and commercial media. Now, I think we do, he said. In an unassuming storage unit among the industrial blocks of western Sydney, a record collection apparently too vast to be counted is about to be auctioned off. Records, CDs, books, magazines, newspaper clippings and other rock music ephemera sit haphazardly on warehouse shelves as potential buyers sift through what is estimated to be over 80,000 items. Glenn A. Baker among his 50,000 records in the Penrith warehouse. Credit: Louise Kennerley The value of each item ranges from $20 books to rare records that could fetch closer to $20,000. The entire collection will go under the hammer on August 30, when a lucky bidder will become the owner of what could be Australias largest trove of rock music memorabilia. Advertisement Eating outJust open Find classic, casual French fare with a difference in this hidden Newtown loft Odd Culture will transform into a cosy, candlelit restaurant upstairs while downstairs will become a wine and craft beer bar with a tighter menu of small signature dishes. Bianca Hrovat August 23, 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 French fare has come to King Street with the opening of Bistro Grenier, a 92-seat, burgundy-hued bistro hidden in a converted loft space above Odd Culture. This is where inner west diners will find classic French and French-Canadian dishes done differently, with dishes such as boudin-noir (blood sausage) made with smoked pork jowls, and pudding chomeur with self-saucing maple syrup and buttermilk ice-cream. 1 / 5 Bistro Grenier has opened in Newtown. Janie Barrett 2 / 5 Bistro Grenier serves bistro drinks such as Ricard Pastis. Janie Barrett 3 / 5 Salade Lyonnaise. Janie Barrett 4 / 5 The French-twist on a daiquiri and an Aviation cocktail. Janie Barrett 5 / 5 Cotelette du pork. Janie Barrett Previous Slide Next Slide It will be a casual yet elegant affair from the Odd Culture hospitality group, which operates the eponymous wine bar (once a hatted restaurant) downstairs, Spon bottle shop and bar next door, and late-night cocktail bar Pleasure Club down the road. Group beverage manager Jordan Blackman says its a dramatic change as diners walk up the Odd Culture stairs and into the cosy candlelit restaurant. Advertisement We wanted to give the upstairs space its own identity and purpose, and create something unique for Odd Culture and for the area, Blackman says. A cross-section of the two venues shows Bistro Grenier above the Odd Culture kitchen. Janie Barrett Bistro Grenier will be the only dedicated French restaurant on King Street, though Pistou on south King Street has a French-Mediterranean menu with snacky dishes such as mussels poulette and baked brie with walnuts and honey. Blackman, a self-professed fan of French wine, has created a drinks list championing forward-thinking winemakers from renowned growing regions such as the Loire Valley, Burgundy and the Jura. We have a deep cellar to play with, with rare allocation wines well be drip-feeding into the venue and about 30 wines available by the glass, Blackman says. Advertisement The interiors at Bistro Grenier. Janie Barrett The wine list has taken inspiration from European restaurants, choosing to feature a decades worth of vintages rather than focus on current release wines. But its the cocktail list where things get really fun, with French-themed versions of classic cocktails such as negronis and daiquiris, now made with bitter alpine liqueurs like chartreuse. There are also French bistro drinks such as Ricard Pastis the lesser-known cousin of absinthe, an aniseed-flavoured drink once beloved by Ernest Hemingway. Its served neat, accompanied by a glass carafe of iced water, allowing the drinker to dilute to their tastes. Group executive chef James MacDonald. Janie Barrett Advertisement Group executive chef James MacDonald, who formerly worked at Michelin-starred London restaurant St. John and Swillhouse venue Restaurant Hubert, leads the kitchen. Weve honed our skills to deliver something more refined, elegant and adventurous for our guests, MacDonald says. The Odd Culture venue downstairs will become a wine and craft beer bar, with a tighter menu focusing on small signature dishes, such as the chicken liver parfait with chips and fish sauce caramel, alongside a handful of more substantial options. Bistro Grenier opens Wed 4-11pm, Thu 4pm-midnight, Fri-Sat noon-1am and Sun noon-10pm. Mezzanine level, enter via 266 King Street, Newtown, oddculture.group/venue/bistro-grenier/ Chicken parmi cocktails and roaming puppets: Is this Sydneys weirdest late-night bar? Restaurant reviews, news and the hottest openings served to your inbox. Sign up Australian fashion designer Alice McCall has described her new collaboration with ultra-cheap Chinese fashion giant Shein as very good quality in comments that have been criticised by sustainability experts and labelled as paradoxical. The designers latest collaboration with Shein her second with the fast fashion giant is a 65-piece collection featuring bold patterns and colours, as well as the feminine, whimsical designs McCall is known for. Prices start at $8 for a mesh dress. The most expensive item is a pair of PU leather pants for $38. At a launch event in Sydney on Thursday, McCall lauded the quality of the products and said she absolutely would call the products investment pieces. Australian designer Alice McCall has launched her second collaboration with fast fashion retailer Shein. In todays economic climate, to be able to create an Alice piece because of Shein and their platform and then giving a customer the opportunity to invest in a piece [who] might not be able to afford it otherwise, is something that Im really happy about and really proud of, she told this masthead. BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 23. Elchin Mirzabeyli, deputy chairman of the Azerbaijani Justice, Law, Democracy Party and candidate for the parliamentary seat from Aghsu constituency No. 90, met with voters in Gagali village and Aghsu City Park of Culture and Recreation, Trend reports. At the Gagali village meeting, Mirzabeyli emphasized that, for the first time since gaining independence, Azerbaijan is holding the parliamentary election as a fully sovereign nation with complete territorial integrity, underscoring the moral and political significance of this milestone. He expressed deep gratitude to those who contributed to this historic victory, noting that the restoration of the country's sovereignty has created new conditions that require everyone to align their work with the spirit of this great achievement. The candidate reminded the voters that six Gagali residents once served in the Islamic Army of the Caucasus and later in the army of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 191820. He highlighted how Safar Gagali, a resident of the village, crushed Armenian gangs at the beginning of the last century, who were massively killing and robbing civilians in Azerbaijan, and how the other villagers demonstrated similar heroism in the First and Second Karabakh Wars, ultimately defeating Armenian terrorists. Mirzabeyli then informed Gagali residents about his initiatives in the economy, agriculture, science, education, culture, and social spheres, which he plans to pursue if elected. He also addressed numerous questions from the villagers, discussing solutions to their concerns. The next meeting took place at Aghsu City Park of Culture and Recreation, where Mirzabeyli presented his electoral platform and answered voter questions. To note, on June 28, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed a decree dissolving the sixth convocation of the Azerbaijani Parliament and scheduling a snap election for September 1. Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck near Muswellbrook just after midday on Friday, a few kilometres from the site where the Coalition has pledged to build a nuclear power plant, damaging some buildings in the town and sending tremors as far away as Sydney. The State Emergency Services were called to help some people who suffered damage to their homes and businesses in Muswellbrook, but there were no reports of serious injuries. A Geoscience Australia map showing the location of people who reported feeling tremors from the Muswellbrook quake. Some buildings in Muswellbrooks CBD had broken windows, fallen chimneys and stock spilling off shelves, locals said. At least two public schools were evacuated, and the local power grid was knocked until 2.30pm. It was quite alarming, we certainly felt it within the building, said Muswellbrook Shire Councils general manager Derek Finnigan. It went for about 15 seconds I suppose, but it seemed longer of course. More than 1000 people attended Queensland hospitals with e-scooter injuries last financial year, leading to government calls for riders to take responsibility for their own safety. There were 1326 reported emergency department visits between July 1 last year and the end of June by people injured in e-scooter accidents, Queensland Health data reveals. About 480 of those were treated at the Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital. A spokesperson for Beam says one in 100,000 trips ends in a reported incident. Credit: Beam Overnight, another man, in his 20s, was taken to the RBWH with facial injuries following an e-scooter incident on Kingsford Smith Drive at 3.47am. It also seeks to preserve its historic buildings and ghost signs, which are typically large painted advertisements from bygone eras. Numerous buildings of heritage character and value remain within the town centre, which adds to the general large country town character, the plan says. Bacchus Marsh and District Historical Society president John Spain and secretary Barb McMillan in Main Street. Credit: Penny Stephens But the council wants to encourage more apartments and townhouses in the centre and mid-rise development of between two and four storeys. Some of this development may be vertical in scale with suitably integrated above-shop infill development, the plan says. Sullivan said the low-rise town centre could accommodate four-storey buildings, and he expected there would be some demand for inner-city style dwellings. He said some people might be willing to live in homes without much outdoor space because scenic natural areas including the Lerderderg State Park were nearby. You dont need a big backyard if youre close to open space. Bacchus Marsh and District Historical Society president John Spain said the structure plan appeared to outline appropriate protections for the towns heritage buildings, including setbacks for new developments, to maintain the prominence of historic structures. He said it was inevitable there would be more development in the centre because of the areas rapid population growth. Its been phenomenal, he said. Loading Spain said more commercial development and higher density in Bacchus Marsh might create more local jobs and enhance the business district, rather than residents having to commute to Melbourne for work. For the past 40 or 50 years Bacchus Marsh has been a dormitory town. Professor Alan March, a planning expert at the University of Melbourne, said it made sense to have medium-density housing in regional areas, including commercial benefits that came with a bigger customer base to support businesses and more vibrant nightlife. It makes them safer, he said. There are more people around. March said living above shops in regional towns would suit some people, particularly if there were plenty of services nearby. Bacchus Marsh is surrounded by rapidly-developing urban areas. Credit: Penny Stephens Higher density living might also attract more workers to fill job shortages, including doctors, teachers and even nurses on placements. They need to go and live somewhere, March said. Often country towns can have vastly different rental offerings from the blindingly expensive to very cheap, or they just dont have anything at all. However, Moorabool Shires viability as an agricultural region is also under threat from population growth, the council warned. City dwellers chasing a rural lifestyle are putting pressure on the shire to rezone agricultural land for housing, which would build a proliferation of dwellings in the area and fragment good farmland. Bacchus Marsh has to balance the push for more housing with its fertile land for growing food. Credit: Penny Stephens The situation threatens the viability of the shires agricultural production and future food security, environment, landscape, water resources and other rural industries, the council said last month, when it released an updated rural land use strategy. According to that strategy, new residents have moved to the area seeking a rural lifestyle, only to raise complaints against noise, dust, light and fumes associated with farming activities. The council is now working on a policy that will determine how to manage development challenges on rural land. 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 Geoffrey Ferguson was just doing his job. One windy day in October 2015 he was driving his semi-trailer along the Katamatite-Shepparton Road, delivering pork in his usual, careful way. Suddenly, he had a coughing fit and lost consciousness. His truck veered into the path of an oncoming car and a man, tragically, died. It was an accident. A life-changing piece of terrible luck for two unrelated families. Thats not how the Victorian justice system saw it. Without providing any evidence that this otherwise conscientious truck driver had recklessly or negligently driven into oncoming traffic, police and prosecutors charged him with culpable driving causing death. Geoffrey Ferguson crashed in 2015 and killed a man. It was not his fault. Credit: Paul Harris The prosecution called an expert (whose expertise in this matter was questionable), who told the jury it was extremely unlikely that coughing had caused Fergusons unconsciousness. Police and prosecutors dismissed the witness evidence of Fergusons brother who had heard him coughing and passing out on the other end of the phone. And in his closing address, the prosecutor openly scoffed at the key evidence, asking the jury: Are you going to fall for that? The result? Less than two hours after being sent away to deliberate, the jury found Ferguson guilty. The judge sentenced him to seven years and nine months in prison. Advertisement When all this came before an appeal court a little over two years later, the judges immediately saw the flaws. Pausing only to rebuke the prosecutor in the strongest possible terms for his language, they set Ferguson free. But two years behind bars had changed his life forever. Its completely foreign, he says of life inside. Its like youve gone to another country, almost. Ferguson now suffers from complex PTSD. He cant work. He can barely handle being around people. He lives on the dole in a bungalow at the back of his sisters house in Queensland. He fears driving when anyone else is in the car. And I still have this ... subconscious expectation at some point, the police are going to come along and gather me up and pull me back into custody and get their claws back into me. I live with that fear, Ferguson told me. The crash scene where a man died after Ferguson, the truck driver, coughed, passed out and ran into an oncoming car in a case of cough syncope. I have seen the Office of Public Prosecutions at work, the courts of law at work, and the Victoria Police at work, and then Victorian corrections having been under their control and seen how they operate. Right now, I have no confidence in any of it. I feel that theyre as corrupt as can be. Advertisement His anger reminded me of the bitter words of Lindy Chamberlain in one TV interview after she was freed from prison after her wrongful conviction for murdering her baby, Azaria. Dont trust the police, she said. Ferguson and Chamberlain suffered one of the greatest injustices the state can impose on a citizen: the wrongful removal of their freedom. For him, the errors have been life-changing. So you might expect that the state would offer Ferguson some compensation. Youd be wrong. In 1980, Australia signed up to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It says in the case of a miscarriage of justice, people shall be compensated according to law. Forty-four years later, none of the Australian states have passed such a law. The very person who created the law that screwed me over is going to ... decide whether to give me something for my trouble. Geoffrey Ferguson, wrongfully convicted former truck driver Lawyer Jeremy King, from Robinson Gill, says he is approached regularly by people who have been damaged by one or other part of the legal system. He tells me that, in theory, they have two options to seek restitution. They can sue the state for compensation, or they can push the government for an ex gratia payment. Almost invariably, though, King has bad news for the people who approach him. He delivered that news to Ferguson a couple of weeks ago. Because just being wrongfully convicted is not enough under Australian law. You need to prove that corruption, malice, false imprisonment was involved. Advertisement Thats a pretty high bar, King says. And the Victoria Police, they weaponise that against people ... they throw it back at you and say, Well, something bad might have happened here, but youre not going to satisfy the elements ... Bad luck. In Fergusons case, even though the court of appeal said in its judgment that the prosecutors comments to the jury had been a contravention of his responsibility to the court and to the system of justice, King believes his case does not get over the bar. And prosecutors are protected by yet another layer of the law: the doctrine of prosecutorial immunity. Its no better in NSW. There, Gordon Wood, a man wrongly convicted of throwing his girlfriend, Caroline Byrne, off a cliff, tried to sue for malicious prosecution after three years behind bars. But even though the NSW Supreme Court found Wood had been prosecuted without reasonable and probable cause, and was highly critical of Woods prosecutor, the judge found this fell short of malice. Caroline Byrne and Gordon Wood. Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald The appeal court agreed and dismissed Woods appeal. It ordered him to pay the states costs in the civil case. In Victoria in the past fortnight, the state government went one step further. It proposed a new law to ban one particular group of people from even arguing their case. The High Court in 2018 said, unanimously, of the convictions involving ersatz defence lawyer Nicola Gobbo that they were corrupted in a manner which debased fundamental premises of the criminal justice system. But under Victorias State Civil Liability (Police Informants) Bill, those affected by this corruption will be prevented forever from suing the government, Victoria Police or individual officers for damages. Advertisement The gangsters who would be denied damages payouts wont get much public sympathy. But that doesnt seem a good enough reason to let the government and police off the hook for their own wrongdoing. There is, in theory, a second way for the wrongfully convicted to get compensation. Enter Kathleen Folbigg. Her lawyers are not even bothering to lodge a lawsuit to seek compensation for the 20 years Folbigg wrongfully spent in prison for the (natural) deaths of her four children. Kathleen Folbigg moments after her convictions were quashed by the Court of Criminal Appeal in 2023. Credit: Kate Geraghty Her lawyer, Rhanee Rego, has let it be known that her client expects a record payout which would put it at more than $7.2 million. The mechanism? To negotiate/sweet talk/bully/shame the NSW government into coughing up a one-off sum known as an ex gratia payment. In Folbiggs corner is the most high-powered support network ever assembled in Australia on behalf of a wrongfully convicted prisoner. Lawyers, highly connected business people and a public relations firm worked for years to raise money and overturn the public narrative of Folbiggs guilt through the tabloid media. The Australian Academy of Science successfully attacked the bodgy science that underpinned the prosecutions case. In a speech in Melbourne last week, Folbigg supporter businessman Peter Yates a former confidant of Kerry Packer and long-time Macquarie Bank executive called this group the League of Luminaries. Advertisement The Victorian government is leaving thousands of public housing dwellings empty in the midst of the housing crisis, FOI documents reveal, prompting anger and confusion from public housing residents and their advocates. The documents, obtained by housing activist Jordan van den Lamb, show that about 2600 public housing properties were empty at the start of the year. Recent Productivity Commission figures show there were 63,762 tenantable public housing properties in Victoria; the empty properties in the documents represent about 4.1 per cent of this stock. As of March this year, 58,459 households were on the public and community housing waiting list. The empty homes, some of which had been empty for more than a year, would house about 4.5 per cent of those on the waiting list. Van den Lamb said the urgency of the housing crisis meant the state government should do what it could to utilise any empty public properties, even if it were a small dent in the waiting list. In December 2012, a 23-year-old physiotherapy student boarded a bus in New Delhi a little after 9pm, expecting it would take her home. Instead, she was gang-raped and assaulted so viciously with an iron rod that her intestines were damaged. She died days later as India erupted in rage. Nearly 12 years later, the nation is convulsing with anger once again: this time, over the ghastly rape and murder of a 31-year-old trainee doctor in a Kolkata hospital, as she rested in a seminar room after a night shift. Since the August 9 killing, thousands of doctors have gone on strike to demand a safer work environment and thousands more people have taken to the streets to demand justice. For a country desperate to be seen as a global leader, repeated high-profile cases of brutal sexual assaults highlight an uncomfortable truth: India, by many measures, remains one of the worlds most unsafe places for women. Rape and domestic violence are relatively common, and conviction rates are low. Senior and resident doctors take part in a candlelight march during a protest and nationwide strike against the rape and murder of a female doctor at Kolkatas RG Kar Medical College and hospital in Allahabad, India. Credit: Getty Images This week, the Supreme Court of India took up the Kolkata case as one of fundamental rights and safety, questioning how hospital administrators and police officers had handled it and saying new protective measures were needed. The nation cannot wait for another rape and murder for real changes on the ground, Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud said. Harris, with Bidens support, began focusing less on perilous political tasks like tackling the cause of immigration and seized instead on issues such as abortion and racism, which played to her rhetorical strengths. Those steps began yielding public appearances that seemed far more confident and assured, whether it was an address on reproductive rights or a speech in Jacksonville decrying the stance of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, on black history. Loading And some Democrats cite another reason for the vice presidents markedly relaxed demeanour since her nomination. In 2020, they say, she was trying to make a splash in a party veering sharply to the left and was visibly uncomfortable doing it. This year, Harris centrism on issues like criminal justice fits much better with where most Democrats are. And she did not have to fight her way through primaries or debates, letting her bask in the adulation of crowds rather than needing to prove herself. Nearly a dozen current and former White House officials, vice-presidential aides, and confidants detailed an effort by Harris, her supporters and the administration to reshape an image of Harris that was battered in her harrowing first year. Some of the officials and supporters spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail the sprawling internal effort. In January 2021, Harris became the first black and Asian American woman to occupy a nationally elected office, but there was little time to celebrate. Biden and Harris were facing a pandemic, economic problems and a country riven by racial protest. Harris supporters say she was eager to advance the administrations aims, but folding into Bidens political universe was not always easy. Biden was surrounded by people who had worked for him through countless crises. Harris own team was largely disassembled and she started with many staffers who were loyal to Biden, the Democratic Party and the greater cause, but largely new to her. US President Joe Biden and Harris at the Democratic National Committee winter meeting last year. Credit: AP Some of Bidens supporters questioned whether Harris was more invested in advancing his goals or her own career. During the first Democratic debate of 2019, Harris criticised Biden for having been friendly with segregationist senators, and the bitterness of that moment lingered. I believe there was unease around asset versus ambition, said Bakari Sellers, a former longtime South Carolina state legislator and a longtime Harris supporter. Early on, Biden tasked Harris with taking on the root causes of migration from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, an assignment that tied her to one of the most searing issues in American politics. In an interview with NBCs Lester Holt, Harris appeared frustrated by repeated questions about why she had not yet visited the US-Mexico border, which she did not see as part of her mandate. And I havent been to Europe, Harris snapped. And I mean, I dont understand the point that youre making. As her path grew rocky, staffers began leaving. Ashley Etienne, her communications director, left in November 2021. Symone Sanders, her chief spokesperson, departed two weeks later. Chief of staff Tina Flournoy was gone by April 2022. Harris' supporters say her turnaround began around that time, as Bidens circle recognised that they had done little to help her navigate a difficult landscape with few resources. At one point, the president told senior staff that he would fire anyone discovered leaking negative stories about Harris to the media, said several aides who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations. Many in the White House saw the Holt interview as a flashing red light. What it exposed almost immediately, which was her greatest vulnerability, is that she had no infrastructure, Etienne said. Theres nobody I can call to help defend her, to help change the narrative. Ive got to do something to change what is on the television. Who am I going to call? Etiennes team started to catalogue what Harris did on a weekly basis and send notes to people they saw as allies who could defend the vice president in their in-groups or on TV networks. Harris made an effort to meet more of those allies in person, especially after pandemic restrictions eased. Her office launched a number of tours, including one that took her to college campuses across the country. She convened meetings with reproductive rights advocates in her office. Harris associates say that as she spoke to people who supported her, focusing on issues she strongly believed in, she began to find her footing. Former White House chief of staff Ron Klain said Harris was also working hard behind the scenes for example, preparing assiduously for the daily national security briefings delivered to her and Biden. Loading Of all the participants, she came the best prepared, ready with questions, having already reviewed the written intelligence and ready to help ask hard questions and helped shape the presidents ability to digest and process that intelligence, Klain said. But the most dramatic turning point came in May 2022, after word leaked that the Supreme Court was poised to overturn the constitutional right to an abortion. Democrats saw it as a galvanising issue, but Biden had long shown discomfort when it came to a full-throated embrace of abortion rights, given his Catholic faith. That created an opening and a moment for Harris. It was that summer of 2022 where everything was on the line, said Donna Brazile, a Harris confidant and the former head of the Democratic National Committee. It was not just on the line for the administration. I think it really was also on the line for her. Klain asked Harris to spearhead the administrations response, and she travelled the country warning that not just abortion rights, but also an array of other freedoms were under threat from Republicans and conservatives. Reflecting the Biden circles growing confidence in Harris, she had a green light to quickly go to places that made the most sense, even with just a few hours notice. In the White House, you can always come up with a lot of good reasons why people shouldnt be spontaneous, Dunn said. And she was at the point where she was like, This is what I want to do. And certainly, I think many of us were supportive of it. In event after event, Harris sharpened her arguments and developed resonant ways of talking about an issue central to Democrats electoral prospects. The right of every woman in every state in this country to make decisions about her own body is on the line, the vice president said during a speech in Tallahassee on the anniversary of the Roe v Wade decision. And Ive said it before, and I will say it again: How dare they? How dare they? Can we truly be free if a woman cannot make decisions about her own body? She sought to replicate that nimbleness in other areas. Loading She travelled to Florida to take on DeSantis war on woke and changes to public school curriculum that said black people benefited from slavery. And she made a surprise visit to meet three Democratic legislators in Tennessee who were kicked out of their posts by their Republican colleagues after protesting against gun laws in the statehouse. That is not a democracy, Harris said of the move to expel the legislators. You cant walk around with your lapel pin and youre not representing the values that we hold here as Americans. TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, August 23. The project on the establishment of the 'Friendship Park' project has been launched in Azerbaijan's Fuzuli, Executive Director of the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Agency (AZPROMO) Yusif Abdullayev told reporters in Tashkent, Trend reports. "In Fuzuli, the 'Friendship Park' project has officially begun. The exchange of experience is essential to us, and it's worth noting that the number of projects has significantly exceeded expectations. Today, the projects discussed by the heads of state, which are future-oriented, are valued at over $1 billion. We are confident that these figures are realistic and achievable," he said. Mirzo Ulugbek full secondary school No.1, built in cooperation between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan, was inaugurated on August 23, 2023. The construction of this school, which is a confirmation of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's words Azerbaijan is a close friend and reliable strategic partner for us, tested by time, testifies to the high level of relations between the two brotherly countries. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliye also assessed Uzbekistan's initiative to build a large school in Fuzuli district as another step of solidarity, friendship, and brotherhood between the two countries. Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 23. A delegation of Finnish public and political figures, visiting Azerbaijan at the invitation of the Finland-Azerbaijan Friendship Society, has recently toured Shusha and Lachin, Trend reports. According to the State Committee on Work with the Diaspora, the delegation included Finnish MP Mikko Polvinen, Markku Kangaspuro, Director of the Aleksanteri Institutes Center for Research on Finland, Russia, and Eastern Europe, a journalist and Deputy Editor of "Hymy" magazine, former Chairman of the Parliamentary Group (2021), former member of the Vantaa-Kerava City Council (2022), and former member of the Vantaa-Kerava Regional Government Antero Eerola, former Finnish Minister of Defense and Chairman of the Board of consulting firm "J-E Enestam AB" Jan-Erik Enestam, former Deputy Head of the Finnish Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Western European Union Jaakko Laakso, and Tarana Nazarova, Chairman of the Finland-Azerbaijan Friendship Society. During the visit, the delegation had a meeting with the Special Representative of the President of Azerbaijan in the Shusha district. They got the whole nine yards about the history of Shusha, the damage to monuments, Jydyr Duzu, Armenian vandalism against Azerbaijani historical sites in Shusha, and the ongoing restoration efforts. The delegation also paid a visit to the Shusha fortress, where they witnessed the restoration and construction work happening at lightning speed and commended the tremendous efforts being put in. They denounced the occupation-era destruction committed by Armenians against Shusha's cultural landmarks and mosques. The Finnish delegation then hit the road to Lachin. In Lachin, they visited the Special Representation of the President, where they were briefed on the conditions, job opportunities, and social support for resettled residents, as well as the ongoing reconstruction and restoration projects. They also learned about the villages of Sus and Zabukh. The delegation toured one of the first 22 restored houses in Lachin, met with the families living there, and conducted interviews. The homeowners expressed their happiness at returning to their homeland after 30 years, highlighting the high-quality living conditions provided. They thanked Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev and the Azerbaijani army. The delegation left with positive impressions. They also visited the Hakari fish farm and the villages of Zabukh and Sus, where they were warmly welcomed by local residents. The beauty of Azerbaijani nature and the hospitality of the people left a favorable impression on the delegation. BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 23. The visit of the delegation led by Colonel General Karim Valiyev, the First Deputy Minister of Defense and Chief of the General Staff of the Azerbaijan Army, continues, Trend reports. First, Colonel General Valiyev and Lieutenant General Sultan Kamaletdinov the First Deputy Minister of Defense Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan visited 28 Panfilov Guardsmen Park in Almaty and laid a wreath at the monument dedicated to the heroes. The delegation then visited the Military Historical Museum of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan, where they received a comprehensive overview of the museum's history and activities. Colonel General Valiyev signed the "Book of Honor." Later, the delegation visited the Peace Operations Center of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Azerbaijani delegation was briefed on the infrastructure and educational processes at the center. Following a briefing on the center's history, objectives, and activities, a meeting of the Chiefs of the General Staff was held. Expanding military cooperation between the two nations was one of the topics covered at the meeting, along with the present state of affairs and future prospects for military, military-technical, and military-educational cooperation. Both parties emphasized the importance of intensifying the exchange of mutual experiences and further developing cooperation. Alliance with Congress final on all90 seats for J&K polls: Farooq SRINAGAR : AN alliance with the Congress is final on all 90 Assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir, National Conference president Farooq Adbullah said on Thursday. The announcement came after Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called on the National Conference leadership at Abdullahs residence. We had a good meeting, in a cordial atmosphere. The alliance is on track and, God willing, it will run smoothly. The alliance is final. It will be signed this evening and the alliance is on all 90 seats, Abdullah told reporters. The three-phase elections to the 90-member Jammu and Kashmir Assembly will be held on September 18, September 25 and October 1. The results will be declared on October 4. Abdullah further said, CPI(M)s (MY) Tarigami is also with us. I hope our people are with us too and that we win with a huge majority to improve the lives of the people. Asked about Gandhis assurance earlier in the day that it was the priority of the Congress and the INDIA bloc to restore statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, Abdullah expressed hope that full statehood with all powers would be restored. Statehood is very important for all of us. This has been promised to us. This state has witnessed bad days and we hope it will be restored with its full powers. For that, we stand together with the INDIA bloc, he said. The British Council is launching face-to-face English courses for kids and teens in Baku starting in October 2024. These courses, Primary Plus for ages 6-10 and Secondary Plus for ages 11-17, are designed to enhance creativity, develop life skills, and build confidence in English through engaging and interactive lessons led by expert teachers. The British Council, the UK's organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, is launching face-to-face English courses for children and teenagers at the European Azerbaijan School in Baku. Starting this October, these courses will offer engaging and interactive English learning experiences for young learners. Partnering with the European Azerbaijan School, a private institution authorised by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the British Council will offer Primary Plus (6-10 years) and Secondary Plus (11-17 years) English courses. These courses aim to develop students' English language skills, creativity, and life skills essential for the global world. Interactive English classes for kids Primary Plus courses are designed to spark children's imaginations through engaging lessons led by expert teachers. The course offers a rewarding learning experience that combines personalised attention, lively group classes, and interactive activities on an easy-to-use online learning hub. Young learners will develop leadership, collaboration, and critical-thinking skills in a relaxed and supportive classroom environment, preparing them to become confident and skilled English speakers. Building English skills for success for teens The Secondary Plus course helps teenagers develop the skills needed to communicate confidently in English. These courses encourage teens to become assertive, independent, and culturally aware global citizens. Students will express their opinions, gain confidence in speaking English, tackle practical and challenging tasks, and collaborate on team projects. Expert teachers will guide students using modern learning methods, preparing them to use English effectively in real-world situations, university, and the workplace. Francesco Banchini, CEO and Director of the European Azerbaijan School states: The partnership between European Azerbaijan School and the British Council will open doors to global opportunities, enriching cultural understanding, and fostering personal and professional growth. Together, we empower learners to connect with the world in new, meaningful ways. Christopher Holmes, Cluster Director for Teaching British Council, Black Sea and Wider Europe expresses his enthusiasm: "I am incredibly excited about opening up access to our British Council English language courses in Baku once more. To be entering into this venture with European Azerbaijan School, an incredibly supportive and professional partner who shares our values and that offers world-class facilities only adds to the excitement." Nargiz Hajiyeva, Country Director British Council: I am thrilled to witness the Teaching Centre opening in partnership with EAS after almost a decade break of working with young learners in Azerbaijan. The inauguration of this teacher centre for young learners represents a vital investment into childrens future. The academic year for both Primary Plus and Secondary Plus courses starts on 10 October 2024 and ends on 28 June 2025. For more information and to register, please visit https://www.britishcouncil.az/en/english/children 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. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, August 23. Kazakhstan is prepared to boost its exports to Tajikistan by around $200 million, covering 85 different product categories, said President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Trend reports. The Tajik side also has significant potential to increase its exports to Kazakhstan, he noted during a joint press conference with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon. "We've agreed to expand the range of goods traded, systematically remove barriers that hinder trade and economic cooperation between our countries, and strengthen our partnership in the transport and logistics sectors. To further enhance economic cooperation, both governments have been tasked with fast-tracking the signing of a roadmap to increase trade turnover between our countries by 2027," the president said. President Tokayev noted that the long-term goal is to raise mutual trade volumes to $2 billion. "There's substantial potential to increase bilateral trade in the agro-industrial sector. In the first six months of this year, agricultural trade between our countries grew by 12%, reaching nearly $300 million," he added. By Alimat Aliyeva Taiwan will increase defense spending to a record amount of 647 billion Taiwanese dollars (20.2 billion U.S. dollars) next year due to the growing military threat from China, Azernews reports. It is clarified that military spending next year will be 7.7 percent more than in the previous year, and will amount to 2.45 percent of Taiwan's estimated GDP. The amount allocated for defense spending also includes a special budget of 247.2 billion Taiwanese dollars, allocated for seven years until 2026 for the purchase of new fighter jets, most of which will be supplied by the United States. As the newspaper notes, there is uncertainty about whether Taiwan's military spending will be sustainable. According to Chie Chung, associate professor at the Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies at Tamkan University in Taiwan, the growth of defense spending over the past few years has been boosted by a special budget funded by public debt, but it is unclear whether this mechanism will operate after 2026. "It may be difficult to maintain current military spending in the future," Chie said. BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 23. Azerbaijan has played an important role in the economic and strategic stability of a lot of countries, said US Ambassador to Baku Mark Libby in an interview with local TV, Trend reports. "Energy is one of the most interesting and enduring foundations of Azerbaijans prosperity and of Azerbaijans relationship with the US and with other countries. I think anyone who looks at the way Azerbaijans energy has developed over time would say that Azerbaijan has been a reliable supplier of energy, a reliable conduit of energy, and that is something that is important and it has played an important role in the economic and strategic stability of a lot of countries - a lot of countries that are friends and allies of the US, of Europe more broadly," he said. Further speaking, Ambassador Libby highlighted energy transition efforts Azerbaijan is making. "Its very exciting. You hear people talking about new experimental investments in wind and sun. Azerbaijan has a lot of wind and sun. And its position now is one where it could potentially be a source of that first for itself and then potentially for export". "So, Im of the view that Azerbaijans relationship with energy is going to last. Its relationship with fossil fuel energy may dwindle over time as the world makes a transition and as Azerbaijans own reserves become less important. But you are now seeing, motivated by COP or highlighted by COP, the idea that its time for a transition to a new pattern of energy for the world in which Azerbaijan can play a role," the ambassador added. BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 23. The US is very interested in cooperation on green technologies with Azerbaijan, said US Ambassador to Baku Mark Libby in an interview with local TV, Trend reports. He reminded that Azerbaijani Energy Minister Shahbazov was in Washington earlier this year and he had a range of conversations both with US Energy Department, and also with some of federal research laboratories. "Those conversations are ongoing. I think what the US can bring to the table, obviously, theres private industry and US investors. What brings the US investors here will be what brings them anywhere - the potential that it will be a profitable investment and a confidence that the framework of the rule of law and geostrategic stability is such that their investments will be safe. But I do think the omen is good. I think you see a lot of U.S. companies that are at the cutting edge of some of the green technologies in terms of transmission, battery storage, generation and so forth. So, its a natural match. Whether that match comes together and how it comes together will depend to a great deal on how the economic and geostrategic situation in this region develops over the next two, three, four, five, ten years," he added. Ambassador Libby added that the US has excellent cooperation with Azerbaijan on energy security. "That goes back decades and decades where the U.S. and Azerbaijan have been close partners, increasing energy security for the globe and for Europe in particular. We have excellent cooperation on counterterrorism. In the past several months as Azerbaijan has assumed the presidency of COP29 and is preparing for that summit here in November, weve had extremely close cooperation with Azerbaijan on questions of climate and on questions of working together to make sure that the COP summit is a success," the ambassador noted. Relooking Zeliangrong regionalism within Naga Nationalism | Gwangphun Gangmei (Social Research Activist) Abstract The regional political consciousness among the ethnic groups was prompted with the coming of the European and westerners in the North Eastern region during the 19th and 20th Century. Regionalism is a political ideology considering the interest of a particular region which share a common identity based on their distinct characteristics such as language, culture, history and food habits. The Indian political view of Naga Nationalism is regionalism within the parameter of Indian Nationalism. Whereas, the Naga Nationalism is not a secessionist movement but a National liberation movement to free the Nagas from the occupational politics of India. The Zeliangrong regionalism is within the parameter of Indian Union. Nevertheless, it falls within the Naga Nationalism. Introduction Ethnic consciousness amongst tribal communities of North Eastern region has its roots in the emergence of political consciousness with the coming of European and westerners. The history of existence of every ethnic group is made up of event of political assertion and determination. According to Yu Bromley a Soviet sociologist, ethnicity is defined as a historically formed community of people possessing common, relatively stable, specific features of culture as well as being aware of their unity and the difference from other similar communities. A history of a community begins with the individual account of life faced in response to events of existence as experienced or perceived. The history of a community is the collective response to the events occurring in the larger world around them. The ethnic consciousness of the Naga community could be accounted for the emergence of political and identity consciousness that has awakened Naga regional politics which culminated into the consciousness of Naga Nationalism. Naga Nationalism is born as a result of the British colonial rule in the region they named the Naga Hills of Assam during British rule in India. The emergence of Naga ethnic Nationality has its root with the coming of the British merchandises and the First and Second World War when the Naga villagers in their isolated jungles were attacked and their survival threatened. The Naga villagers in their primitive stages could not match their warfare with the invading forces. They started to find more of their identical people around them and the need to strengthen their common identity prompted them to find their root of origin and sameness. According to Cliford Geertz, ethnicity is defined as an activated primordial consciousness. Ethnicity is a feeling of belonging of an ethnic grouping to their ancient roots and their ancestral heritage. The Naga ethnic consciousness like any other ethnic group is a psycho-social phenomenon that persists in any human society. Therefore the ethnic identity consciousness is the motivating force behind the ethnic movement throughout the world leading to the rise of ethnic Nationalism. The Naga Nationalism emerged as a touch of natural evolution process with the ethnic identity consciousness culminating to form a common Naga National political movement. The concept of Zeliangrong regionalism was spirited by Jadonang and Rani Gaidinliu in the lives of Zeliangrongs which later came to be organized in the form of Zeliangrong People Convention. Analysis on Naga Nationalism The emergence of Naga ethnicity and consciousness of Naga Nationalism is the direct outcome of British colonialism. Gangmumei in his book Ethnicity and social change 2002. P-69 states, A feeling of separateness of the Nagas from the mainland Indians naturally emerged during the rule of the British who conquered and brought them under a regular administration. This created a sense of unity among the Nagas. In the course of development of Naga politics in the early 20th century, the Naga regional political assertion, a more and deeper sense of Nationality was born and Naga National Council (NNC) was formed in 1946. Thus Naga Nationalism took its shape in the face of Indian Nationalism. Regionalism is a political ideology that focuses on the interest of a particular region, group of regions or sub-national entity. In India, regionalism is a term used to describe the idea that people living in a particular region share a common identity based on their distinct characteristics such as language, culture, history and food habits. This shared identity creates a sense of togetherness among the people inhabiting a region. Regionalism is defined as the expression of a common sense of identity and purpose commonly focused and interested within a specific geographical region bound by common identity, culture and historical sameness. The root of regionalism in Indian can be traced to colonial policies. The colonial attitude and treatment towards princely States and those of the presidencies has developed regionalist tendency among them. Their exploitative economic policies have given rise to economic disparities and thus regional imbalance created. According to Indian perspective of the Naga liberation movement, it is secessionism, another form of regionalism that involves militant and fundamental groups advocating separation from India on the basis of ethnicity and racial line. Another form of regionalism is separatism that demands a separate Statehood within India. India views that the Naga National movement is a politics of parochial regionalism that poses a potential threat to the sovereignty of the Nation. Indian political view of Naga Nationalism is regionalism within the parameter of Indian Nationalism. Whereas, in the context of Naga Nationalism, their movement is not secessionist movement but a National liberation movement to free the Nagas from the occupational politics of India. It is not the subject of India either for Nagas to be with or not to be Indian. Simply the Nagas are not Indians. The Indian political concept of the creation of Nagaland State is based on Naga regionalism within Indian Nationalism. There can be no Naga Nationalism within Indian Nationalism by consent or by compulsion. Therefore, Indo-Naga issues could not come to a solution till date. Analysis on Zeliangrong Regionalism The Zeliangrong Nagas have their unique history of struggle alongside the Naga struggle for National freedom. The history of Zeliangrong regional political movement is basically defined as No tax movement of 1891-1894. Later it was defined as Naga Raj movement or Jadonang movement 1925-1931. There was no Naga Political consciousness among Zeliangrongs when the No tax movement and Naga Raj movement were launched in the Zeliangrong Region except the inherent rights to defend the land and people, Jadonang called Makam Guangdih (kingdom) and Makam (people). The Naga consciousness came in the much later part of 1950s to the Zeliangrongs. The Zeliangrong villagers by individuals have given their thumb impression as their word of honor to join the Naga Movement in the 1951 plebiscite to which the whole Zeliangrongs from Manipur and Assam subscribed to. However, the Naga movement reached Zeliangrong soil in Manipur in 1957. Namthiubui Pamei. 2001 traced the trail from Makuilongdi. p-61. However, the Zeliangrong movement emerged in a properly organized form after Rani Gaidinliu was released from jail in 1947 and after her return to her homeland from Tuensang areas where she was directed by the Govt. of India to be kept 500 miles away from her homeland. She formed a group called Heraka and went underground in 1960. The Zeliangrong movement was formerly called Heraka movement. The Herakas were for a homeland for the Zeliangrongs within India first and then the Naga independence (Ibid.p-84) The Zeliangrong people were uniting their force to fight against the outside invaders particularly the British and later the Kukis in their country. The turn of a political tide came when Naga National movement clashed with the Heraka movement. There was a two tier objective among the Zeliangrong Nationalists. Many Zeliangrongs joined the Naga Movement with the thought that the Zeliangrongs are also Nagas and their struggle was for the common Naga cause at the same time the spirit and aspiration for a secured Zeliangrong homeland was in the hearts of Zeliangrong Naga Nationalists. However, there were division of ideological differences among the Zeliangrongs on the aspect of Naga National movement and Zeliangrongs political movement called Zeliang-rong People Convention (ZPC). Nevertheless, both the movements survived the test of time without losing its history of struggle. Later, writers and scholars from Zeliangrong community and other Indian and foreign authors have defined the Zeliangrong movement to be regional oriented, demanding for a separate homeland for Zeliangrong kindred tribes in the name of Zeliangrong People Convention (ZPC) without defying or denying the Naga National movement. Therefore, a renowned scholar and Professor Gangmumei in his version of defining the two movements once stated, that the Zeliangrong political concept is Zeliangrong regionalism within Naga Nationalism. It may be defined that the Zeliangrong political aspiration for attaining Statehood is not a separation from the purview of Naga National solution. The Naga solution as anticipated could be inclusive of the present Nagaland State and parts of all the Naga inhabited areas. Hence, any form of settlement be it ENPO demand or Zeliangrong peoples demand for their statehood will encompass within the Naga territory. Reasoned that, the current Zeliangrong political talk with the GoI by Zeliangrong United Front (ZUF) and Zeliangrong Statehood Working Committee in unison for a separate Statehood will neither affect nor hamper the Indo-Naga talk, rather it may incorporate and give more substantial evidence to integrate the Nagas for an inclusive solution. To deny the fact could be equal to denying Nagas inclusive solution. Conclusion The Zeliangrong Regional politics and Naga National politics are viewed and taken to be part of the whole frame within the Naga society. The different dimension lies in the fact that one is regional and the other is National in outlook. The Zeliangrong regionalism may be put within the purview of Naga Nationalism when Indo-Naga settlement is arrived. The Zeliangrong territorial region or the Frontier Nagaland Territory and the present Nagaland state are within the Union of India. TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, August 23. Azerbaijan will build a five-star hotel in Uzbekistan, Executive Director of the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Agency (AZPROMO) Yusif Abdullayev told reporters in Tashkent, Trend reports. "Azerbaijan has significantly enhanced its investment infrastructure over the past two decades, making the country increasingly attractive to foreign investors. Uzbekistan has also paved the way for business development to flourish. During the visit, a round table was held with the presidents of both countries and leading entrepreneurs, where they discussed opportunities for mutual investment in various projects. Notably, seven major projects were initiated, including the construction of a five-star hotel in central Tashkent and a residential complex. Azerbaijani companies will also be involved in implementing textile projects in Uzbekistan's regions, drawing on the country's extensive experience in this sector," he said. According to Abdullayev, the construction of the five-star hotel is set to begin in September. The Uzbek-Azerbaijani business forum took place in Tashkent on August 22. During the forum, documents were exchanged on cooperation in various sectors, including energy, education, logistics, and construction. Additionally, agreements were made to strengthen ties between the countries and to establish twinning relations between the cities of Jizzakh (Uzbekistan) and Guba (Azerbaijan), as well as Shahrisabz (Uzbekistan) and Beylagan (Azerbaijan). Moreover, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan plan to open trade houses and showrooms in Baku, Shusha, Tashkent, and Samarkand. Stay up-to-date with more news at Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Amid the nationwide uproar over the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor at the R.G. Kar Medical College in Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking exemplary punishment against those involved in such dastardly crimes. Confirming the development, Chief Advisor to Mamata Banerjee, Alapan Bandopadhyay, read out contents of the letter before mediapersons, which said the Chief Minister has suggested the setting up of special fast-track courts for speedy trials in such cases. I wish to bring to your kind attention the regular and increasing occurrence of rape cases throughout the country and in many cases, rapes with murder are committed. Advertisement According to the available data, it is horrifying to see that almost 90 cases of rapes occurring daily throughout the country. This shakes the confidence and conscience of the society and the nation. It is bounden duty for all of us to put an end to it so that women feel safe and secure, read the letter which was also uploaded on the official X handle of the Chief Minister. Such a serious and sensitive issue needs to be addressed in a comprehensive manner through stringent central legislation prescribing exemplary punishment against the persons involved in such dastardly crimes. Setting up of fast-track special courts for speedy trial in such cases should also be considered in the proposed legislation. To ensure quick justice, trial in such cases should preferably be completed within 15 days, Banerjee wrote. The letter came days after the bruised body of the 31-year-old trainee doctor was found in the seminar hall of the R.G. Kar Medical College on the morning of August 9. The state authorities have drawn flak for the subsequent handling of the case, triggering massive protests and strikes by doctors and citizens across the country. The Supreme Court, which took suo moto cognisance of the case, has set up a National Task Force to recommend steps to improve the working conditions for healthcare professional for ensuring their safety. Earlier on Thursday, Trinamool Congress General Secretary and Mamata Banerjees nephew Abhishek Banerjee gave a call to all the state governments to put pressure on the Centre to formulate a comprehensive anti-rape law to ensure speedy trial and justice. He also claimed that the country needs stricter laws that mandate completion of trial and conviction within 50 days, followed by severe punishment and not just empty promises. The Calcutta High Court on Thursday questioned the decision of the West Bengal government to set up a special investigation team to probe the alleged financial irregularities at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata when the controversial former principal Sandip Ghosh was in charge of the institution, even as the state health department was informed about the irregularities last year. A single-judge bench of Justice Rajarshi Bhardwaj made this observation while hearing a petition by the whistle-blower in the matter former deputy medical superintendent of RG Kar Akhtar Ali, who had sought the High Courts intervention to seek protection in anticipation of security threat for being vocal against Sandip Ghosh. On Wednesday, Ali also filed a public interest litigation seeking a probe by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe into the alleged financial irregularities at RG Kar. Advertisement During the hearing, Justice Bhardwaj observed that from the inclusion of senior police officers in the special investigation team, it is evident that the matter is serious, and wondered why the team was constituted a year after the matter was brought to the notice of the state government. The state government counsel argued that the petition has been deliberately filed at this moment amid the recent incident of the rape and murder of a woman doctor in the R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital. The state government counsel also questioned why the petitioner remained silent for one year after the complaint was not acted upon as claimed by him. The Calcutta High Court also directed the state government counsel to present a detailed argument on the formation of SIT on Friday. The West Bengal government earlier this week announced the formation of a special investigation team comprising four senior IPS officers and headed by an officer of the rank of Inspector General of Police to prove the allegation of financial irregularities at RG Kar since 2021, when Sandip Ghosh was the principal there. Opposition parties have already claimed that the formation of SIT by the state government was nothing but an eyewash, and it had been created not with the intention of revealing the truth behind the financial irregularities, but rather with the motive of destroying evidence in the matter. Members of a family from Memari, with the mother in a wheelchair, started marching barefoot towards Nabanna, the states administrative headquarters, seeking justice against alleged atrocities by the local Trinamul Congress supporters. The family members had been camping within the district magistrates office since 25 July. They hailed from Hetampur village in Memari. Brothers, Jeeban Sheikh and Bazan Sheikh, as they claimed, were supporters of the Congress. They said, That was the only reason why they were victims of local Trinamul Congresss atrocities. The TMC leaders removed the entire records of our 11 bigha of farmland from the local BLLROs custody. When we demanded an inquiry, our family was attacked by TMC goons. Our Swastha Sathi health card, ration cards were snatched, cultivation destroyed, potatoes kept in cold storage were not allowed to be brought out. With no remedy from police, the family then started camping at the DM office complex. They also had sat on a dharna in front of Raj Bhawan, Kolkata, where they said, Were not allowed to continue and evicted. Advertisement As the district collectorate officials also had not taken any action on the matter, the family chose to march for Nabanna, accompanied by their elderly mother Kohinoor Sheikh on a wheelchair. The DM, East Burdwan declined to comment on the issue. The ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata resonated at the condolence meeting for former Chief Minister of West Bengal and prominent Left leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who passed away after prolonged illness on August 8 at the age of 80. The meeting held at the Netaji Indoor Stadium here even ended with the slogan Ei Sharanshobhar Ektai Shwor, Justice for RG Kar (This commemoration gathering had just one voice Justice for RG Kar). Addressing the gathering as the last speaker, CPI-M politburo member and state Secretary Md Salim said, Our late leader last addressed a public rally at the Brigade Parade Ground in Kolkata in 2015 when he emphasised that we need to fight and win the battle. Similarly, we are saying today that we will have to fight the battle and win. And what is our battle today? Advertisement In reply, hundreds of party workers who assembled for the memorial meet said in unison: Justice for RG Kar. Salim also said that Bhattacharjees dream for industrial rejuvenation of West Bengal was set in the right direction. His dream was to build a new Bengal. His dream was to make the next generation of the state self-reliant, said Salim. Speaking on the occasion, former minister in the Bhattacharjee-led Left Front Cabinet, Surjya Kanta Mishra, recalled how the late leader during his frequent hospitalisations in the last couple of years always insisted on his early release. His logic was that after all, it was his life. I used to counter him by saying his life also belonged to the party. He sometimes accepted my point, Mishra recalled. Bhattacharjees wife Meera Bhattacharjee was also present on the occasion though despite requests from the CPI-M leadership, she didnt sit on the main dais and preferred to be part of the audience. The veteran leader was unwell for a while, suffering from respiratory problems that led to frequent hospitalisations. He was put on life support last year after he contracted pneumonia. An alumnus of Presidency College, Bhattacharjee was a school teacher before he joined politics full-time. After serving as an MLA and a state minister, he was elevated to the post of Deputy Chief Minister before Jyoti Basu stepped down as the Chief Minister in 2000. As the Chief Minister, Bhattacharjee led the Left Front to Assembly poll victories in 2001 and 2006. The call for Nabanna Avijan (March to West Bengal Secretariat, Nabanna) on August 27 to protest against the R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital rape and murder case has rattled the Mamata Banerjee government, and hence the state administration is adopting ways to stop it, said Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari on Friday. He pointed out that first, the state government through its counsel raised the matter during the hearing on the rape and murder case in the Supreme Court on Thursday and thereafter approached the Calcutta High Court seeking a ban on the said protest march on August 27. The next step on this count, claimed the LoP was a notification from the state school education department barring students from participating in any programme other than those permitted by the said department. Advertisement Substantiating his point in the matter, Adhikari referred to a written instruction given by the office of the District Inspector of Schools, West Midnapore, directing the heads of all state-run schools in the same district on Thursday to take necessary action in respect of non-involvement of students in any kind of programme except School Education Department outside the school campus, a copy of which is available with IANS. Let me remind the chief minister that it is a free country and such diktats have no impact. Moreover, this is a public movement and you cannot stop people from what they are willing to do out of their free will, Adhikari said. He also pointed out that the apex court too has said that the state has no business obstructing peaceful protesters. According to him, the power of the people has rattled the chief minister, and hence, she is afraid that nobody is scared of her anymore. Try whatever you can but you wont be able to suppress the clarion call of we want justice. You have lost the moral authority to occupy the chief ministers chair and it would be better if you realize the same and resign as soon as possible, Adhikari said. The call for march has been given on social media by independent students who have invited all to join but without any political banner. This is similar to the call by women for a midnight march on Independence Day. The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the West Bengal Police not to disrupt the peaceful protests in the wake of the horrific incident at Kolkatas R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital, where a trainee doctor was raped and murdered earlier this month. We categorically reaffirm that peaceful protests shall not be disturbed and disrupted. The state shall not take any action against those who are peacefully protesting against the incident at state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, a bench presided over by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud said. Defending Water Minister Atishi against Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdevas criticism of her withdrawal of an order of a previous minister restricting funds meant for fixing waterlogging, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) justified the move saying administrative orders are changed from time to time. The ruling party said the sewerage problem stems from an artificially created financial crisis in the Delhi Jal Board, which it alleged has been orchestrated by the Lieutenant Governor Saxena and the BJP-controlled officers. It further said that despite the Delhi government allocating Rs 7,195 crore, which is 9.5 per cent of the total budget, to the DJB, the water agency remains fund starved, the AAP claimed. Advertisement According to the party, the reason for the ongoing crisis is that files endlessly shuttling between the water board, Urban Development Department, and Finance Department. AAP accused the BJP of turning Delhi into a living hell through the LG and bureaucracy. Alleging that after the chief secretary exposed the orders of the then water ministers, the predecessor had to annul their orders on August 22, 2024, Sachdeva said it clearly indicates she now knows who is responsible for the waterlogging disaster in the city, and also the deaths due to the same issue. Meanwhile, in a written communication to the chief secretary on Thursday, the Delhi water minister said the city has been plunged into a living hell by a manufactured financial crisis at the Delhi Jal Board. The minister further said it was now the CSs personal responsibility to resolve the crisis. Atishi directed the top official to ensure deployment of adequate manpower and machinery in every part of the city to ensure that there are no sewer overflows, also to make sure release of funds to the DJB from the budget that has been allocated to them within 48 hours. The Delhi Congress on Friday blamed the negligence of the Aam Aadmi Party for the death of a teenager due to drowning and a man who died of electrocution. Delhi Congress President Devender Yadav blamed the government stating that it was very disconcerting that due to the negligence of the city by the AAP government, a 15-year-old died by drowning in rain water while a 40-year-old man was electrocuted when rain water entered his house. Yadav further targeted the government allegedging that the AAP ministers and leaders are only focusing their attention to salvage the tarnished political image of the AAP by taking out without paying any attention to the difficulties faced by the citizens of Delhi. Advertisement Yadav further echoed the allegations and said that AAP won the MCD elections after giving the false hope to the people of improving the civic services, including making Delhi garbage-free, but the civic infrastructure have only further deteriorated after AAP replaced BJP at the helm in the MCD. Furthermore, he levelled allegations that neither Manish Sisodia, nor Water Minister Atishi, has bothered about water logging in the Capital. He said that when it rained on Friday, many parts of Delhi faced water logging but no minister was around to see the plight of the people who were stuck in traffic jams, water-logged streets, and to console the families of those who died due to the mistakes of the authorities. Voicing against the ruling government Yadav claimed that over 20 deaths were reported in the national capital over the past one and a half month due to electrocution but the government and power supplying companies took no steps to prevent such tragedies. TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, August 23. Uzbekistan is carrying out textile projects in several regions of Azerbaijan, Executive Director of the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Agency (AZPROMO) Yusif Abdullayev told reporters in Tashkent, Trend reports. "Textile projects are being launched in Azerbaijan, leveraging Uzbekistan's extensive experience in this industry. As a country with deep expertise in textiles and exports exceeding $4 billion in this sector, Uzbekistan's knowledge will be instrumental in implementing complex textile projects in regions like Imishli, Yevlakh, and the liberated territories, including Khankendi," he said. The Uzbekistan-Azerbaijan business forum took place in Tashkent on August 22. During the forum, documents were exchanged on cooperation in various sectors, including energy, education, logistics, and construction. Additionally, agreements were made to strengthen ties between the countries and to establish twinning relations between the cities of Jizzakh (Uzbekistan) and Guba (Azerbaijan), as well as Shahrisabz (Uzbekistan) and Beylagan (Azerbaijan). Moreover, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan plan to open trade houses and showrooms in Baku, Shusha, Tashkent, and Samarkand. Announcing the release of the pensions for one lakh elderly residents of the city, Delhi Finance Minister Atishi said here on Friday that her government ensured the resumption of the pensions withheld by the Central government for five months. Crediting the resumption of the pensions to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the minister said true to his role as Delhis son he fought tirelessly for the rights of the elderly to ensure that they get what is due to them. She said of the four lakh elderly pensioners, the payment of one lakh is shared between the Delhi government and the Central government. These one lakh senior citizens have not received their pensions for the last five months. Advertisement She said since these old-age pensioners come from economically weaker sections of society and have no means to survive, the withdrawal of the pension had caused disquiet among them. Atishi further said, These elderly people used to often visit me and our MLAs. They were very upset over the withdrawal of their pensions. They felt their son Arvind Kejriwal would have taken care of them but he is in jail, there is no one to fight for them. She said she wanted to inform these people that despite being behind bars, Kejriwal is worried about the elderly people of Delhi, who he considers like his parents. Kejriwal fought with the Central government and got pensions for these one lakh elderly people while being in jail, Atishi claimed. According to the minister, beginning Thursday, the Social Welfare Department of Delhi has started crediting this pension to the accounts of the elderly, and till yesterday, about 90,000 pensions have been transferred and the remaining 10,000 pensions will be credited into the bank accounts of the elderly of Delhi by Friday, she added. The brother-in-law of a victim, among four, was arrested in Delhi in two separate stabbing cases, the Delhi Police said on Friday. In the first case, the police received a call about a stabbing incident from the Sagarpur area. On reaching the spot, the police discovered that a man, identified as Vicky, was injured in a knife attack by his brother-in-law. During the investigation, the cops were told that it all started with an altercation between one, Vicky, and his wife. Following the altercation, his brother-in-law had a heated exchange with him on the phone in his sisters defence. Not content with this, he landed at his sisters place, whipped out a knife from his pocket, and straightaway attacked Vicky inflicting injuries on his neck and left hand. Advertisement The wounds were so sharp that the victim had to be rushed to the hospital where is under observation while the accused has been arrested with a case of attempted murder registered against him, stated cops. In another incident of stabbing in Vijay Vihar, the police arrested four accused aged between 14 and 17 years. The victim, Praveen, succumbed to multiple stab wounds in a knife attack by the four accused on Thursday in the Vijay Vihar area. Additional DCP 1 Rohini, Pankaj Singh said during the course of the investigation, dedicated teams roped in local informers and analysed 100-150 CCTV footage of the vicinity, and arrested all three involved in the case. Singh said during interrogation, they confessed to the crime. The weapon used in the offence, a knife, was also recovered from their possession. Giving details about the case, the official said the accused were roaming in the area in search of a target to rob when they spotted the victim in the street and tried to rob him. On facing resistance, they stabbed him with a knife and ran away. A neighbour was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl in the Shahbad dairy area of outer Delhi, Police said on Friday. According to DCP Outer North, Ravi Kumar, The police received a call from Shahbad dairy area that a four-year old girl was kidnapped by a neighbour and he tried to sexually assault her. Following the call, the girl was rescued and a medical exam was conducted, added Kumar. Advertisement The accused was arrested on August 21 and the police have filed a case based on the complaint from the parents. A case has been registered under kidnapping, attempt to rape and SC ST Act. During the investigation, it was found that the culprit was their neighbour Naseem Ilyas Paalak. We arrested the accused the next day, stated the DCP. Following the incident, some neighbors tried to set ablaze the accuseds residence, however, the situation was brought under control by the cops. In an exciting development for fans of Bollywood and beyond, actress Amy Jackson is gearing up for her wedding to fiance Ed Westwick. The couple has checked into their stunning wedding venue along the picturesque Amalfi Coast in Italy, and the anticipation is palpable. Jackson, known for her vibrant social media presence, shared glimpses of their journey with heartfelt posts featuring in-flight moments alongside Ed, her soon-to-be in-laws, and her son Andreas, whom she shares with ex-partner George Panayiotou. In one post, she joyfully exclaimed, Lets get married, baby! as they embarked on this new chapter of their lives. Advertisement View this post on Instagram A post shared by Amy Jackson (@iamamyjackson) In another Instagram story, Amy captured the excitement of their trip with the caption, Italy, here we come! The couples love story has captured the attention of many since their engagement was announced earlier this year. Ed Westwick, widely recognized for his iconic role as Chuck Bass in the hit series Gossip Girl, proposed to Jackson in the scenic landscapes of Gstaad, Switzerland. The engagement photos quickly went viral, showcasing the couples undeniable chemistry and love for each other. Their journey to this moment has been heartwarming. Earlier this year, Amy revealed that it was her son, Andreas, who encouraged her and Ed to take the plunge and marry. This added a touching layer to their relationship, highlighting the family-oriented bond they share. Amy Jackson and Ed Westwick first crossed paths at an Aston Martin event in 2021, marking the beginning of their romance. The couple went public with their relationship in June 2022, quickly becoming a beloved duo in the eyes of fans and the media alike. Their engagement celebration in London was filled with joy, surrounded by family and friends, and now they are ready to exchange vows in one of the worlds most romantic locations. Amy Jackson, a British actress and model, has made her mark primarily in Indian cinema. With a diverse career spanning Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, and English films, she has received numerous accolades, including the Ananda Vikatan Cinema Award, a SIIMA Award, and recognition at the London Asian Film Festival. Some of her most notable roles include Amy Wilkinson in Madrasapattinam (2010), Sarah in Singh Is Bliing (2015), and Nila in 2.0 (2018). Ed Westwick, on the other hand, is not only celebrated for his role as Chuck Bass but also for his portrayal of Vincent Swan in the TV series White Gold. He made his feature film debut in Children of Men (2006) and has since carved a niche for himself in both television and film. As Amy Jackson and Ed Westwick prepare to tie the knot, fans are eagerly awaiting updates from their fairytale wedding. In a thrilling update for movie buffs, renowned actor Anupam Kher has announced that Iain Glen, famed for his role in HBOs hit series Game of Thrones, will be joining the cast of Khers upcoming film, Tanvi The Great. Kher unveiled the news through an energetic social media post, sharing a video of himself and Glen discussing their exciting collaboration. His post, which quickly garnered attention online, highlighted their enthusiasm for the project. Ladies and Gentlemen, our picture from the sets of #TanviTheGreat went viral yesterday, and Iain Glen and I decided it was time to share the official announcement with you all, Kher wrote. He went on to express his admiration for Glen, saying, Its an honor to have Iain on board for my directorial debut. I have long admired his exceptional talent both on stage and screen, not to mention his iconic role in Game of Thrones. Advertisement Iain Glen, in turn, shared his excitement about joining the film and working with Kher. Anupam is truly a remarkable person. Spending time with him leaves you with a broader perspective on life, Glen commented. He also shared his enthusiasm about making his debut in Indian cinema, noting, Im happy to be part of Tanvi The Great. This is my first experience in India, and I am already enchanted by the country and its people. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Anupam Kher (@anupampkher) The duos collaboration is not entirely new. They previously worked together on the BBC drama Mrs Wilson, and fans highly anticipate their their reunion in Tanvi The Great. Adding to the films allure, Tanvi The Great will feature a musical score by MM Keeravani, the acclaimed composer behind the Oscar-winning soundtrack for RRR. Additionally, the films sound design is the responsibility of Resul Pookutty, an Academy Award winner renowned for his work on Slumdog Millionaire. With Anupam Kher Studio at the helm of both directing and producing, Tanvi The Great promises to be a cinematic treat, blending top-notch talent with an impressive creative team. The films intriguing premise and star-studded lineup set the stage for a significant entry into the film industry. Sonu Sood, known for his philanthropic efforts and larger-than-life on-screen presence, recently had an unforgettable meeting with a devoted fan, Sandeep, a para-athlete from Haryana. Sandeeps incredible journey, which involved walking all the way from Haryana to Mumbai, was motivated by his desire to meet the actor who has become a national hero for his charitable work. The actor shared a video of their interaction on social media, capturing a moment that was both touching and inspiring. In the video, Sandeep, who had been waiting in Mumbai for 12 days to meet Sood, proudly showed off an international medal he had won in the past. Sonu Sood, visibly moved by the athletes determination, took the medal and presented it back to Sandeep as a symbol of respect and admiration. He praised Sandeeps spirit, saying, Great work, bhai. Stay happy always and keep doing great things for the nation. Advertisement View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sonu Sood (@sonu_sood) Sandeep also opened up about the struggles he faces as a disabled athlete, detailing the daily challenges he encounters, such as the difficulty in performing basic tasks like using the restroom. Despite these obstacles, his resolve to meet Sonu Sood was unwavering. His journey from Haryana to Mumbai, spanning several hundred kilometers, stands as a testament to his determination and the impact that Sonu Sood has had on people across the country. Sonu Sood, clearly touched by Sandeeps dedication, expressed a desire to visit Sandeeps home in Haryana during his next trip to the state. The actor also posed for a photo with the para-athlete, wishing him continued success in his future endeavors. In addition to this emotional encounter, Sonu Sood is currently gearing up for the release of his upcoming film, Fateh, slated to hit theaters on January 10, 2025. The cyber-crime thriller, which will mark Soods directorial debut, promises action sequences that rival those of Hollywood blockbusters. The film, produced by Zee Studios and Shakti Sagar Productions, will feature Sood alongside stars Jacqueline Fernandez and Naseeruddin Shah. In a surprising twist, Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey have shared a jaw-dropping story about the lengths paparazzi went to in order to capture footage from the set of the upcoming film adaptation of Wicked. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actors, who star as Glinda and Fiyero, recounted an extraordinary episode where a paparazzo used a hang-glider to hover over the set. Grande, who has been enthusiastic about working with director Jon M. Chu on the film, described the experience as both thrilling and surreal. It felt like we were working on this little secret project with Jon, she said. It was this intimate, almost secretive experience. But then, out of nowhere, theres the Daily Mail with a hang-glider buzzing overhead. It was like something out of a movie itself! Advertisement View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ariana Grande (@arianagrande) Bailey, who is also set to appear in the next Jurassic World installment alongside Scarlett Johansson, elaborated on the bizarre scene. There was this guy on what looked like a giant kite, just floating around with his legs dangling and a GoPro strapped to his feet, he said. It was surreal and kind of funny, in a way. Its not something you expect to see while youre in the middle of working. Ariana Grande admitted that witnessing the hang-glider was almost unbelievable. I couldnt believe my eyes, she confessed. First, because my eyesight isnt the best, and second, because seeing a guy on a hang-glider was just so out of left field! The film, based on the beloved Broadway musical of the same name, tells the story of Elphaba (played by Cynthia Erivo), a young woman ostracized for her green skin, who forms an unexpected friendship with Glinda, a glamorous student with big dreams. Fans can look forward to the release of the first part on November 22, 2024, with the second part slated for November 26, 2025. Discussing the project, Bailey expressed admiration for the dedication and passion of both Chu and producer Marc Platt. There were so many elements of the film that genuinely impressed me, thanks to the love and care that Jon and Marc put into it, he said. Growing up, we were all enchanted by musical theater, and I worried that the magic might be lost in the making of the film. But the sets and the whole experience were just incredible. Having 4 National Awards up your alley, is not an easy feat to achieve but, Manoj Bajpayee, the icon of parallel cinema in India, has managed to bag his 4th National Award recently for his performance in the streaming movie Gulmohar. The actor, who can rightly be called a National Award veteran, has said that in times when members of the film fraternity lobby heavily for the awards, he believes to do his own work and leaves it up destiny to reward rather than push for awards from his end. Manoj spoke with IANS, and said that the concept of lobbying for awards is against his principles. Advertisement Reacting to his National Award win, the actor said, I always feel so ecstatic and great. Whenever I get an award like the National Award, its a huge thing for me in the times when everyone lobbies for every award here. The actor, who completed 3 decades in cinema, is also a recipient of a Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Sharing his opinion on lobbying for awards, he told IANS, I must tell you that no award in my house which is kept has been lobbied or has been pushed from my side. That is completely against my principles. I have always said that if I lobby for awards, how I could look at those awards every single day in my house. For Manoj, getting the National Award for the Disney+ Hotstar movie Gulmohar is huge for many reasons. He said, As an actor, I am blessed to be a part of Gulmohar along with The Sharmila Tagore. To be recognised and to be honoured for being a part of an ensemble piece, is a big thing. There are so many great performances from different film industries of India. The Special mention in the National Award is given to those who the jury feels has done a remarkable performance. I got the Special Mention Award many years ago for Pinjar and to get it 20 years later for Gulmohar, I cant define what the feeling is right now. As the curtains close on Netflixs critically acclaimed series The Crown, fans might have more to look forward to beyond its six-season run. Andy Harries, the shows executive producer, recently teased the potential for spinoffs, hinting at a future brimming with new royal tales. Speaking on a recent talk show, Harries, who co-founded Left Bank Picturesthe production company behind The Crownsuggested that there could be many more stories to tell from the British monarchy. Its an endless subject, Harries noted, hinting that the world of the royals might still hold untold narratives. The Crown, created by Peter Morgan, has earned widespread praise for its meticulous portrayal of Queen Elizabeth IIs reign. From the Queens early days of marriage in 1947 to the 2005 wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, the series has painted a rich tapestry of the royal familys history. The shows run, which concluded at the end of 2023, has featured acclaimed performances from Claire Foy, Olivia Colman, and Imelda Staunton, each bringing a distinct portrayal of the Queen. Advertisement Harries, who emphasized that the deal for The Crown allowed Left Bank Pictures to retain the rights to the series, is clearly excited about the future possibilities. He remarked, I can assure you [that deal] feels very, very good and it gives us the opportunity to think about what we can do further with The Crown at some point. We did six seasons, a very defined period of six decades, but theres plenty of potential, which at some point, I suspect well return to. While the show has wrapped, the speculation about spinoffs has been rife. Rumors are circulating about potential specials or even films. One such idea under discussion could be a project focusing on Edward VII, who ruled from 1901 to 1910. This has sparked interest in exploring different facets of royal history that were not covered in the main series. In addition, it was reported in 2022 that Netflix was in early talks with Left Bank Pictures about a prequel. Although Peter Morgan, the mastermind behind the series, has indicated he might be stepping away from royal content for the immediate future, stating that the word palace will not be appearing in anything I write for now, Harries comments suggest that the door is far from closed on future royal dramas. The Crown has not only captivated audiences with its storytelling but also achieved significant accolades. Over its run, the series has received 87 Emmy nominations, winning 21 of them. It is once again nominated for Outstanding Drama Series, with actors such as Imelda Staunton, Jonathan Pryce, Elizabeth Debicki, Lesley Manville, Dominic West, and Claire Foy also earning nominations for their stellar performances. As The Crown draws to a close, Harries hints about spinoffs and the continued fascination with the British monarchy keep the possibility of more royal dramas alive. For fans of the series, these developments offer a glimmer of hope that the saga of the British royal family may continue to unfold in new and captivating ways. Amazon Prime Videos hit drama The Family Man, created by the ace duo Raj and DK, has become a fan favorite with its gripping storyline, phenomenal performances, and the right amount of humor. Headlined by Manoj Bajpayee, the spy thriller is set to return with a third installment. However, this upcoming season will be the penultimate installment, as the creators have decided to wrap up the narrative with a fourth and final season. Manoj Bajpayee, the leading man of the show, is currently busy shooting for the upcoming season and is set to reprise his role as Srikant Tiwari, also known as James Bond in the show. As fans eagerly await to find out what new adventure awaits Srikant, a report from Mid-Day has revealed that the makers are concluding the series with the fourth season. Reportedly, the creative team has already started working on the scripts for the next season. Advertisement View this post on Instagram A post shared by Manoj Bajpayee (@bajpayee.manoj) A source revealed to Mid-Day, The third seasons shoot is underway, and everyone in the team is excited about how it is shaping up. Simultaneously, there are discussions about concluding the series with the fourth edition. Raj-DK are toying with the idea at the moment and have yet to make a final decision. The source further added that the final call on ending the show will be made after the shoot for the third installment is completed, and the idea is still being explored. The cast and crew returned to film The Family Man Season 3 in May, with plot details being tightly guarded. For the upcoming season, original cast members are set to reprise their roles, with Manoj Bajpayee returning as Srikant Tiwari, along with Priyamani as Suchitra Tiwari, Sharib Hashmi as Srikants co-worker JK Talpade, and Ashlesha Thakur and Vedant Sinha as Srikants children Dhriti and Atharv. The Family Man is one of the streaming platforms most popular Indian shows. The series first installment premiered in September 2019 and received impressive acclaim. The chapter saw Srikant and his team working to neutralize a terror threat to the country. In the second season, Samantha Ruth Prabhu joined the cast as Raji, a Tamil liberation fighter from Sri Lanka. The upcoming season is reported to involve the COVID-19 pandemic, with China attacking the Northeastern states and using the health scare as a distraction. In addition to The Family Man, Raj & DKs Indian adaptation of Citadel, titled Citadel: Honey Bunny, starring Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Kay Kay Menon in pivotal roles, is also gearing up for a grand release. The teaser for the upcoming show has already been released and well received by fans, with the show slated to premiere on November 7, 2024. TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, August 23. Azerbaijan's PASHA Holding has launched The Ritz-Carlton Residences project in Tashkent, Dincher Filiz, CEO of PASHA Development Uzbek subsidiary, told journalists, Trend reports. Filiz pointed out that the project will be carried out with a dream team of designers from all corners of the globe, as well as some local talents from Azerbaijan. "Were excited to see PASHA Holding kick off this project. Construction will be managed by a team organized by Azerbaijan. Developing high-end luxury hotels and residences in Uzbekistan is crucial because the sector is growing, and we at PASHA Holding want to be part of this expansion. This is a significant project with an estimated investment of around $200 million. The Ritz-Carlton Residences project will be a real game-changer in Uzbekistan, and PASHA Holding, hailing from Azerbaijan, will oversee its execution. We are proud to be in the thick of it," he concluded. At least 14 people were killed when a Kathmanu-bound Indian tourist bus travelling from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh via Pokhara in central Nepal fell into the Marsyangadi river on Friday morning. Officials in Nepal confirmed that there were 42 passengers from Maharashtra aboard the Kesarwani Travel bus from Gorakhpur. The deceased included tourists from Maharashtra and the bus driver, Murtaja alias Mustafa, from Pipriach in Gorakhpur. According to Gorakhpur police, a woman, named Charu, had booked two buses from Kesarwani Travels office located near Tarang Chowk in Gorakhpur. Advertisement These vehicles were sent to Prayagraj Railway Station, where a group of 110 tourists from Maharashtra embarked on a journey to Chitrakoot before travelling to Pokhara in Nepal via Ayodhya and Lumbini. The tourists were en route to Kathmandu when the accident occurred. Reports from Nepal said that after reaching Abu Khaireni on the Pokhara-Mungling road, the bus lost control and fell into the Marsyangdi river. Gorakhpur SSP Dr Gaurav Grover said that the authorities have received information about a bus falling into a river in Nepal and that further details are being gathered. According to DSP Deep Kumar Rai of the District Police Office in Tanahun, Nepal, the bus bearing registration number UP FT 7623 had departed from Pokhara for Kathmandu. Upon receiving information about the accident, Nepalese police personnel rushed to the spot. The bus involved in the crash is reported to belong to a travel agency based in Gorakhpur. Meanwhile, under the instructions of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Relief Commissioner GS Naveen held talks with Nepal government officials. In coordination with senior Indian Police Service officers posted in Nepal, immediate rescue and relief work is being conducted for the injured passengers. The Uttar Pradesh government has also dispatched the Maharajganj SDM and the Maharajganj CO to the accident site. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Thursday said that the Congress Legislative Party meeting condemned the decision of Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to permit an investigation against the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the alleged MUDA scam and all MLAs unanimously decided to stand in his support. Addressing the media after the Congress Legislative Party meeting held at Vidhana Soudha, he said: Senior MLA R.V. Deshpande proposed resolutions condemning the Governors decision to allow an investigation under Section 17(A) against the Chief Minister without any preliminary inquiry. Former Minister Tanveer Sait seconded these resolutions. All party MLAs are standing behind Siddaramaiah. The meeting was attended by all Congress MLAs, Members of the Legislative Council, and MPs. Six MLAs who had been ordered by the Speaker to attend training in Delhi were absent, but all other MLAs were present. Congress workers are protesting across the state, and we congratulate them, he added. Advertisement The people of Karnataka have given us 136 seats, bringing our government to power. The BJP and JD-S are trying to destabilise this Congress government, which has been formed with the blessings of the people. No matter what they try, they will not be able to shake this government. The entire Congress Legislative Party stands with Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar said. We have secured time on Friday (Aug 23) to meet with high command leaders. The Chief Minister and I will discuss the developments in the state. We have also filed an appeal in court against the Governors conduct. We have faith in the judiciary and expect protection from the orders that have been issued contrary to law and the Constitution. Just as they disqualified our leader Rahul Gandhi from his MP position and barred him from contesting elections for six years on the pretext of a speech, a conspiracy is now being plotted against our Chief Minister, he contended. A conspiracy is being hatched against our Chief Minister and government, but we have the support of the people and will not be shaken. We are committed to upholding the Constitution, he stated. Asked about the support of the INDIA bloc partners, he said: The INDIA alliance was born here. It was born here and won 234 seats across the country. Currently, we will fight unitedly in our state. After meeting in Delhi tomorrow and discussing, we will share further details. Asked what message the Cabinets condemnation of the Governors decision would send, he said, Our request and demand to the esteemed Governor of Karnataka is that he should withdraw his approval. By doing so, the Constitution will be upheld, and the law will be respected. We are prepared to fight this legally, and if the Governor wishes to avoid embarrassment, he should withdraw his decision immediately. Union Minister for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh Friday announced that an Indian will land on the surface of the Moon, fifteen years from now, in the year 2040. At a function to mark the first-ever National Space Day, he reflected on Indias remarkable achievements in Space exploration and its ambitious future goals. Dr Jitendra Singh highlighted the historic landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moons South Pole, a feat that astonished the world and established India as a leader in space exploration. Advertisement Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the minister recalled, had announced that August 23 would be celebrated nationwide as National Space Day, and the landing site of Chandrayaan-3 would be named Shiv Shakti Point. In the last six decades, India has not only touched the lives of its citizens but also reached the Moon, said Dr Jitendra Singh. He emphasised the significant progress made in the past decade, including the successful Mars Orbiter Mission, the launch of AstroSat, Chandrayaan-2, and Chandrayaan-3, the upcoming Aditya-L1 solar mission, and the XPoSat, an X-Ray astronomy mission. He recalled that Indias space journey began only 55 years back in 1969 when US astronaut Neil Armstrong had already set foot on the Moon. He lauded the scientific community for their unwavering dedication, which led to India becoming the first nation to land on the Moons South Pole. The minister credited the policy support and the leadership provided by PM Modi since 2014 for accelerating scientific missions and unlocking the potential of Indias scientific community. He also noted the significant increase in Space startups, now numbering nearly 300, following the opening of the Space sector to private participation. He echoed the Finance Ministers projection that Indias space economy will grow from USD 8 billion to USD 44 billion in the next decade. Looking ahead, Dr Jitendra Singh outlined the Space Vision 2047, which includes the commissioning of the Bharatiya Antariksha Station (BAS) by 2035 and Indian astronauts landing on the Moon by 2040. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath paid a courtesy visit to Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday morning at the latters residence in Delhi. During the meeting, the Vice President praised the developmental strides made by Uttar Pradesh under CM Adityanaths leadership, acknowledging the states progress across multiple sectors. Demonstrating mutual respect and cordiality, the Chief Minister enquired about Vice-President Dhankhars well-being. Advertisement Following the meeting, the CM took to his social media platform X to share his gratitude. He wrote, Paid a courtesy visit to Honorable Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar ji in New Delhi. Thank you very much for giving your valuable time. The Vice-Presidents official X handle also shared a photograph from the meeting, highlighting the cordial interaction and mutual respect between the two leaders. This is not the first time the Vice-President has commended Uttar Pradeshs governance under CM Adityanath. Last year, he notably praised the improved law and order situation in the state, describing Uttar Pradesh as a global role model in maintaining public safety and security. He also referred to CM Yogi as a Person of Action, recognising his proactive approach to governance and development. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday interacted with MSME entrepreneurs from the marble and granite industry in Udaipur, Rajasthan. She was addressing an event organized by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) at Sukher Industrial Area in Udaipur. While interacting with the entrepreneurs, the minister reiterated the governments commitment to expand the outreach of banking services for the benefit of MSMEs. Advertisement She mentioned that in the recently announced Union Budget, there are a number of key recommendations for the MSME sector including expansion of the branch network of SIDBI. As part of the budget announcements and to seek feedback from the field, the Finance Minister mentioned her intent to visit several MSME clusters with the illustrious land of Maharana Pratap, Udaipur being the first in the series. Further, an MoU was also signed in the presence of the Finance Minister, between SIDBI and the Udaipur Marble Association which outlines a comprehensive plan to enhance the Associations capabilities, including both hard and soft interventions. As per the MoU, SIDBI will facilitate marketing efforts for Association members through buyer-seller meetups to improve market access. Minister Sitharaman also visited SIDBI branch at Udaipur and held discussions with some of the existing customers of SIDBI and obtained direct feedback. She along with the Union Minister of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Jitan Ram Manjhi, handed over sanction letters to some of the MSME borrowers of SIDBI. While speaking on the occasion, MSME minister mentioned that the government was committed to bring the benefits of its schemes to the last mile with focus on micro enterprises. He highlighted the rapid progress made by the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises in the last few years and the substantial enhancement done in its corpus through budgetary allocation. The minister further mentioned that banks should pay more attention to supporting micro units and creating livelihood opportunities for the poor. M Nagaraju, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Government of India mentioned that enhancing the lending to MSMEs is one of the key action points of his department and towards this end, the performance of banks is being closely monitored. Manoj Mittal, CMD, SIDBI while delivering vote of thanks assured that SIDBI is committed for the promotion, development and financing of MSMEs and would strive that the trust reposed by the Finance Minister and MSME Minister is fulfilled. He also mentioned SIDBIs plans for the branch expansion of SIDBI as per the announcements made by the Finance Minister in the Union Budget. As yet another industrial mishap left four workers injured within 48 hours of the blast at a pharma unit in Anakapalli, former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday slammed the government for negligence alleging that the current regime was more focussed on red book governance. The red book euphemistically refers to TDP minister Nara Lokeshs claim that he had chronicled all the atrocities and political vendetta by the then ruling party leaders and bureaucracy when TDP was out of power. Opposition leader YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has been claiming that the TDP was ruling by the Red book Constitution. Today Reddy visited the injured workers of Escientia Advanced Sciences Private Limited where the blast had claimed 17 lives. Another industrial accident took place at Synergene Active Ingredients Private Limited in JN Pharma City on Thursday night injuring four workers. Asked about the repeated mishaps in industrial units the former chief minister said that after the leak at LG Polymers his government had come up with a detailed government order which asked for self compliance by industrial units followed by monitoring by the state government. Advertisement YS Jagan Mohan Reddy alleged that the current government did not take initiative to ensure proper monitoring leading to industrial accidents like the one that took place in Anakapalli. If the GO that was issued (after LG Polymers) had been exercised where someone was monitoring then these things would not happen what is happening in the past three-four months after this government has come, they have not focussed on anything. What this government has been focussing on is only the red book governance, said Reddy. He also claimed that it was his government which had introduced an ex-gratia of Rs one crore which is paid by the state government in case of deaths due to industrial accidents. In addition the YSRCP leader also accused the government of failing to respond quickly once the accident took place. He alleged that there were no ambulances and the injured were transported to the hospitals in company buses. Moreover, no government official or political leaders had rushed to the spot to handle the situation on ground. Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has taken suo moto cognizance of the blast at the industrial unit in Anakapalli while expressing concern over violation of safety norms. Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu has urged all industries, especially those companies under Red Category to immediately take up internal safety audits to prevent such mishaps. A 32-year-old man has allegedly killed his wife for frequently objecting to his regular alcohol consumption habit, the police said on Thursday. Police said that the accused has been identified as Biltu Sarkar a resident of Malda in West Bengal. He killed his wife, Shafali Sarkar (27), by strangulating her to death, using a pillow. Advertisement The couple always argued over this issue. On August 17, they entered a heated argument, and in a drunken condition, Biltu, strangulated to death his wife by using a pillow and stuffed her body in a plastic bag and dumped that in the Sector 52 area, Assistant Commissioner of Police (crime) Varun Dahiya said. On August 18, the police received information regarding a body lying stuffed inside a plastic bag in the Sector-52 area. A police team, along with a forensic team and a fingerprint print expert team, rushed to the spot to collect evidence. The body was then shifted to the mortuary for further investigation, the police said. The deceaseds body was later identified by her mother on August 21, who informed the police that the victims husband used to beat her for objecting to his drinking habits. She suspects before the police that her husband killed him and is absconding. Based on a complaint, the police started an investigation and nabbed the accused from Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh. To conceal his identity, the accused had shaved off his hair but was nabbed by the police on Wednesday from Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh, Dahiya said. Police had registered a case under the section of murder at the Sector-53 police station here in Gurugram. In just five days, the city witnessed two murder cases. On Tuesday, a man, his wife, and a friend were arrested for allegedly murdering his sisters husband at their rented accommodation in Bas Khusla village in Manesar. According to the police, the victim was killed over his illicit relationship with the accuseds wife. The body was reportedly dumped in a drain in Manesar. Amid nationwide protests over the rape and murder of a woman doctor at the state-run R.G. Kar Medical College & Hospital in Kolkata, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday directed the administration to hold a comprehensive review regarding the safety of resident medical officers in government medical colleges and hospitals across the state. Police officers should be appointed for coordination at the state level as well as for colleges in Mumbai city, CM Shinde said, adding that efforts should be made on priority to provide accommodation and hostels for the resident medical officers. He also directed the administration to do proper planning so that the medical officers get their educational stipend regularly. Advertisement Shinde gave these directives at the meeting which took place to discuss various demands of the Resident Medical Officers Association (MARD) as well as BMC-MARD, an association of Medical Colleges of BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) In response to the Chief Ministers positive stand on their demands, both the units announced their decision to withdraw the ongoing strike. The representatives of these unions said that they will call off the strike by donating blood at a blood donation camp on Friday. Shinde acknowledged the services of the resident medical officers from the government college-affiliated hospitals. Keeping in mind the importance of patient care, it is necessary to take measures regarding their safety and accommodation. We expect good work and service from them. So, they should also be given good facilities. For this, the Home Department, Public Works Department and other relevant agencies are expected to work in coordination. These agencies and departments will have to maintain coordination consistently, the CM said. For availability of hostels, Shinde asked the Public Works Department (PWD) and the BMC to provide buildings under their jurisdiction on rent. Renovation of hostels should be reviewed to provide facilities like toilets, CCTV and electricity. The security of the premises attached to the Government Medical College-Hospital in the state should be reviewed again. The police department should provide effective security training to the security guards recruited from various agencies for security. Senior police officers should be appointed as coordination officers to coordinate with PWD and BMC. The senior officers of the police stations in Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra should coordinate with the medical colleges and plan to strengthen the security arrangements, Shinde said. He directed measures like management of the crowd of relatives in the hospitals, strict adherence to appointment times, as well as putting up legal action boards in case of attacks on medical officers and health workers. The Supreme Court on Friday fixed September 5 for hearing pleas filed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking bail and challenging his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the alleged excise policy scam. A bench, headed by Justice Surya Kant decided to adjourn the proceedings after Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S.V. Raju sought a weeks time to file a reply on behalf of the CBI. ASG Raju said that the central investigative agency has already filed its response in one of the petitions filed by CM Kejriwal. Advertisement On the other hand, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the AAP supremo, claimed that the reply was filed late on Thursday by CBI with a deliberate design. Ultimately, the Bench, also comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, allowed the CBI to file its counter affidavit in the matter and granted 2-day time to petitioner to file rejoinder, if any. Last week, issuing notice on Kejriwals plea challenging his arrest in the corruption case as well as on his distinct petition seeking bail, the top court asked the CBI to file its reply by August 23. The office report prepared on Thursday by the Assistant Registrar recorded that though advocate M.K. Maroria has filed Vakalatnama/appearance on behalf of CBI, but he has not filed a counter affidavit. The office report added that notice has been issued to CBI through special messenger, in addition to dasti. In his special leave petition filed before the apex court, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor has challenged his arrest and subsequent remand orders, while also pressing for bail in the corruption case. He assailed the Delhi High Courts August 5 judgment, which ruled that his arrest was neither illegal nor without justifiable grounds because the CBI presented evidently enough evidence to warrant his detention and remand. In its impugned decision, the bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna of the Delhi High Court asked Kejriwal to approach the trial court for interim bail. On July 29, the CBI had filed its chargesheet before a special court here against the Delhi CM and other accused persons in the excise policy case. The ED has already filed its prosecution complaint in the money laundering case, naming AAP and its national convenor Kejriwal as accused. Meanwhile, a court here on Tuesday extended the judicial custody of the Delhi Chief Minister till August 27 in connection with the excise policy case. The AAP supremo was presented before Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Court through video conferencing from the Tihar Jail upon the expiry of his previously granted custody. The Supreme Court on Friday posted a hearing for September 5 on the plea by incarcerated Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking bail and questioning his arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with alleged irregularities and corruption in the 2021-2022 Delhi excise policy scam. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has approached the top court challenging the Delhi High Court order refusing him bail and upholding his arrest by the CBI. A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan posted the matter for hearing on September 5, granting an additional week for the investigating agency to file a reply in one of the pleas. Advertisement The bench allowed the extension after Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the CBI, sought more time to file an affidavit for one of the petitions, noting that the agency had already submitted its reply in another related petition. Kejriwals counsel, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, told the bench that the affidavit was filed at 8 pm on Thursday night in a deliberate move so that it did not reach the bench on time. In its reply, the Central Bureau of Investigation alleged that Kejriwal is sensationalising the case politically and has been involved in a criminal conspiracy in the formulation and implementation of the 2021-2022 Delhi excise policy. The Supreme Court on August 14 had sought response from the investigating agency on Kejriwals plea seeking bail and challenging his arrest in the 2021-2022 Delhi excise policy scam. While seeking a reply from the CBI and posting the matter for hearing on August 23, the bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan had, on August 14, refused to grant interim bail to Kejriwal. We are not granting any interim bail. we issue notice, the bench had said on August 14, when senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi urged the court to grant interim bail to the Chief Minister on health grounds. Singhvi had told the bench that Kejriwal got interim bail on three occasions in the alleged money laundering dimension arising from the Delhi excise policy case despite the stringent Section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Having pointed out that Kejriwal got interim bail in the PMLA case thrice, Singhvi had said that when the Chief Minister got bail under the stringent PMLA, how could he be denied a regular bail in the CBI case since the Prevention of Corruption Act does not have stringent conditions similar to the money laundering law. Dismissing Kejriwals plea challenging his arrest by the CBI, the Delhi High Court on August 5, 2024, upheld his arrest as legal and said that it was only after sufficient evidence was collected by the investigating agency and sanction was obtained in April 2024 that the CBI proceeded with further probe against him. The High Court had further said that there was no malice in Kejriwals arrest by the CBI and noted that as an influential person, witnesses might only muster the courage to depose against him after his arrest. The High Court highlighted that Kejriwal was not an ordinary citizen but a distinguished recipient of the Magsaysay Award and the convener of the Aam Aadmi Party. The control and the influence which he has on the witnesses is prima facie borne out from the fact that these witnesses could muster the courage to be a witness only after the arrest of the petitioner, as highlighted by the special prosecutor, the High Court had said in its order. Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21, 2024, in connection with a money laundering probe relating to alleged irregularities and corruption in the now-cancelled Delhi excise policy 2021-22. On June 26, 2024, the AAP chief was arrested by the CBI while he was in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate in the case. In her recent budget statement, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman lauded the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), celebrating it as a new-age miracle. With over 1,000 companies resolved and a whopping Rs. 3.3 trillion recovered, it seems the IBC is finally hitting its stride or at least that is the optimistic narrative. The average resolution time may have been trimmed, but it still lingers beyond the ideal 270-day mark set by the IBC. Further, while the recovery rate has seen a boost, it remains as unpredictable as a lottery draw, heavily dependent on the quirks of each individual case. The Finance Ministers enthusiasm for expanding the National Company Law Tribunals across India echoes a desire to address the more elusive elements of the IBCs journey. While the improvements are tangible, they may not fully capture the intricate and often less-visible struggles of the insolvency process. The insolvency process remains a labyrinthine journey, riddled with cumbersome procedures that seem to defy the very efficiency they were designed to address. Insolvency proceedings often become a protracted saga of bureaucratic red tape, involving a myriad of intermediaries from insolvency professionals to legal advisors each contributing to a mountain of paperwork. Cases like the Lanco Infratech insolvency highlight this complexity, where delays have stretched well beyond the prescribed timelines, largely due to protracted negotiations and voluminous documentation. Such instances underscore how the process, intended to streamline resolution, can instead morph into an endurance test of patience and pertinence. Adding to this tangled web, stakeholders frequently encounter opaque practices that obscure asset ownership and financial transactions, leaving them in the dark about critical details. The lack of transparency often results in disputes over asset concealment and fraudulent activities, which further prejudice the fairness of proceedings. Advertisement In many prominent instances, such as the VMC Systems scandal, allegations of fraudulent transactions and concealed assets have not only delayed resolution but also eroded trust in the system. These challenges highlight the need for continued reform and vigilance to ensure that the IBCs promise of fairness and efficiency in insolvency process is fulfilled. In a country where blockchain has been hailed as the magic fix for a lot of things from election tampering to land record glitches, one might ask if this tech marvel could also rescue the struggling insolvency regime. Since its introduction in India via the Digital India initiative and the National Blockchain Framework, blockchain has proven useful in enhancing transparency and tamper-proofing records. So, why not explore if its immutable ledger and decentralised nature could address the inefficiencies plaguing the insolvency proceedings? The immutable ledger that blockchain offers ensures transaction records are as tamper-proof as a digital Fort Knox. This is not just theoretical it serves as a substantial safeguard against fraud and discrepancies. Consider a scenario under Section 28 of the IBC, where the resolution professional must manage the corporate debtors assets. Currently, this process is often bogged down by inconsistencies. Now, picture blockchain stepping in as the meticulous librarian of financial records. Every transaction is recorded immutably, making it impossible to alter past entries without leaving a conspicuous trail. This would prevent disputes, such as a situation where a company claims its asset valuation was mishandled due to clerical errors blockchain would render such excuses implausible, if not outright extinct. By providing an unalterable record of all transactions, blockchain could transform asset management from a chaotic ordeal into a transparent, dispute-free process. Smart contracts could revolutionize the IBC process by automating key aspects of insolvency proceedings. Under Section 25 of the IBC, which outlines the powers and duties of the resolution professional, the introduction of smart contracts could streamline creditor verification and asset distribution by automatically enforcing rules. Imagine a scenario where a resolution professional is spared the tedious task of manually verifying claims and distributing assets. Instead, smart contracts handle these tasks, minimizing delays and reducing human error. This would ensure compliance with the IBCs procedural requirements and greatly enhance efficiency. Asset tokenisation could also alleviate the complexities associated with traditional asset transfers. Imagine a scenario where the lengthy valuation and transfer processes that bog down cases are replaced with swift, blockchain-based solutions. Instead of manual verification and cumbersome paperwork, assets will be represented as digital tokens on the blockchain. This allows for real-time tracking and instantaneous transfers, cutting through bureaucratic red tape with the efficiency of a hot knife through butter. While some might fear that blockchain could lead to job losses, history suggests otherwise. Much like how the ATM did not obliterate bank tellers but instead allowed them to focus on more complex tasks, blockchain could reduce administrative burdens while augmenting human roles in meaningful ways. With lower cost and enhanced efficiency, the future of insolvency proceedings could be as streamlined and transparent as the technology itself. In an era where digital innovation meets the courtroom, blockchain technology is making waves in the realm of insolvency, much like the allegory of Platos cave where what we perceive as shadows might soon be revealed as the real thing. Singapores pilot programmes for creditor voting, Australias exploration of asset tracking, and the European Unions cross-border harmonisation projects all hint at a future where blockchain could illuminate the dark corners of insolvency proceedings. Yet, even the brightest light can cast shadows. While blockchain promises efficiency and transparency, it is not a panacea. The IBCs achievements are arguably commendable, but technology must be tempered with the wisdom of a well-enforced legal system. We must tread carefully, balancing our enthusiasm with the knowledge that progress, like enlightenment, requires both light and reflection. (The writer is an advocate at Delhi High Court.) The RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata that has been in focus owing to the brutal rape and murder of a young doctor on 9 August this year, is named after Dr Radha Gobinda Kar. Born on 23 August 1852, in Betore, near Howrahs Ramrajatala station, Dr Kar hailed from a family of esteemed medical professionals, including his father, Dr Durgadas Kar, who established Midford Hospital in Dhaka, and his brother, Radhamadhor Kar, a distinguished physician and dramatista talent shared by Dr Radha Gobinda Kar. After beginning his education at Hare School, Dr Kar initially enrolled at Kolkata Medical College, but his studies were temporarily interrupted. He resumed in 1880, graduated in 1883, and later pursued advanced studies in England, earning his MRCP from Edinburgh University in 1887. Despite encouragement from his mentors to stay in Edinburgh, Dr Kar was determined to return to India, driven by his commitment to serving his country and establishing a National Medical Institution for the Indian public, particularly the underprivileged. On 18 October 1887, Dr Kar convened a meeting with prominent Kolkata doctors, including Dr Akshay Kumar Dutt, Dr Mahendra Nath Bannerjee, Dr Bipin Bihari Maitra, Dr ML Dey, Dr BG Bannerjee and Dr Kundal Bhattacharya. Recognising the need for a dedicated Indian hospital and educational institution, Dr Kar was entrusted with this monumental task. He chose to work directly in underserved areas like Shyambazar, Belgachia and Dumdum, often travelling by bicycle to treat patients and covering expenses for those unable to afford care. Advertisement Despite his prestigious qualifications, Dr Kar preferred to work in challenging conditions, ultimately leading to the establishment of the Kolkata Medical School, initially housed at 161, Baithakkhana Bazar Road, and later at 117, Bowbazar Street. Renamed the Calcutta Medical School in August 1887, it merged in 1904 with another institution to become the Calcutta Medical School and College of Physicians and Surgeons of Bengal. The hospital was later renamed Albert Victor Hospital following a donation from Prince Albert Victor. By 1914, it gained approval from Calcutta University and became Belgachia Medical College, later renamed Carmichael Medical College in honour of Lord Carmichael. After Indias independence in 1948, the institution was renamed RG Kar Medical College by Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy, then chief minister of West Bengal, in recognition of its founder. Dr Kar faced significant challenges in securing land and raising funds for the college. He personally took on the task, going door-to-door among Kolkatas wealthy and even resorting to begging in the streets. Through sheer determination, he raised enough money, selling all his possessions to purchase twelve bighas (four acres) of land in Belgachia for twenty-five thousand rupees, where he built a large hospital costing seventy thousand rupees. The original facility had thirty beds and is now globally recognised as R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital. Despite the comfort and opportunities his English education afforded, Dr Kars patriotism led him to risk his life during the severe epidemics that plagued Bengal. In 1899, as Kolkata faced a devastating plague epidemic, Dr Kar worked tirelessly alongside Sister Nivedita, an Irishwoman inspired by Swami Vivekananda, providing medical care to the afflicted. This partnership highlighted Dr Kars dedication to his mission. Recognising the need for medical literature in Bengali, Dr Kar began writing medical books in his native language to make education more accessible to Bengali students. His publications, including Bhishagbandhu (1871), Sankshipta Shariratantra and Kar Sanghita, among others, were widely read even by English-speaking medical students. His commitment extended to ensuring affordable access to medicine for all, contributing significantly to the development of indigenous pharmaceutical practices in India, as noted by Acharya Prafulla Chandra Ray in his autobiography. Dr Radha Gobinda Kar passed away on 19 December 1918, at the age of 66 due to influenza. At the time of his death, he had few personal possessions, having devoted much of his wealth to the medical college. Despite the lasting impact of his institution, it has faced its share of controversies and challenges over time. Nevertheless, Dr Kars legacy as a pioneering medical figure and a patriot who selflessly served his country remains indelible. Seventeen people were rescued after Ukraine attacked a ferry docked at Russias Black Sea port of Kavkaz, local authorities said. The naval detachment of the Russian Guard took part in the rescue operation after the Ukrainian Armed Forces struck the ferry in the port of Kavkaz, the Southern District of the Russian National Guard said in a statement released via its official Telegram channel. The attack on Thursday targeted a rail ferry carrying 30 fuel tanks. The Kavkaz port is located in the Krasnodar region on the eastern side of Kerch Strait, reports Xinhua news agency. Advertisement Governor of Krasnodar region Veniamin Kondratyev confirmed that the ferry had sunk due to the damage sustained in the attack, though no fires were reported within the port itself. To prevent the spread of fuel, containment booms were deployed, and the waters surface was treated with absorbent material. Earlier on Thursday, a Ukrainian drone attack sparked a fire at a military facility in Russias Volgograd region. Russian air defence forces repelled the assault, destroying most of the Ukrainian drones, Volgograd Governor Andrei Bocharov was quoted by the regional administrations Telegram channel. The attack occurred near the village of Marinovka, where the Ukrainian drones targeted a Russian military site, however, no casualties were reported. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held detailed discussion with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and reiterated the need for sincere and practical engagement among all stakeholders to work out innovative solutions, with broad acceptability for early restoration of peace. During his day-long visit to Ukraine, the prime minister had prolonged discussions with President Zelenskyy on various issues including bilateral relations and trade, but the two leaders spent most of their time together discussing the conflict situation. Mr Modi embraced Mr Zelenskyy when the two met. The two leaders expressed readiness for further cooperation in upholding principles of international law, including the UN Charter, such as respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of states, and agreed on the desirability of closer bilateral dialogue in this regard. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, briefing media on the PMs engagements in Kyiv, said this was the first visit of an Indian prime minister to Ukraine since diplomatic relations were established between the two countries in 1992. He said the two leaders had convivial and constructive discussions. Much of their talks were on the war, he said. Mr Modi has already spelt out Indias position that this was not an era of war, Mr Jaishankar said. Indias essential message was India was willing to do whatever we can to achieve the objective of ending the war, he said. Any exercise for peace to be productive will have to involve both sides, is the Indian view, he said. Advertisement The prime minister underlined dialogue and diplomacy are the key, and most recently he has said the solution will not come out of the battlefield, the External Affairs Minister said. The civilian and humanitarian toll is particularly distressing; it is Indias view that the two sides need to engage to find a solution. During his talks with President Zelenskyy, Mr Modi shared widespread sentiments in the global South about the repercussions of the conflict for them. The prime minister shared with him his talks with Russias President Putin in Moscow in July. Mr Modi also sought the Ukraine Presidents assessment of the ground situation and the diplomatic scenario. Mr Zelenskyy spoke on both issues and about taking forward the global peace summit regarding Ukraine. The two leaders had detailed discussions on various issues including military, food and energy, as well as conceivable pathways to peace and conflict resolution. Ukraine wanted Indias continued involvement in the peace summit efforts, and what could be effective ways to take the discussions forward, for which there can be multiple possibilities. The discussions were detailed open and constructive, Mr Jaishankar said. India attended the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, held in Burgenstock, Switzerland, in June 2024. The Ukrainian side welcomed such participation by India and highlighted the importance of high-level Indian participation in the next Peace Summit, a Joint Statement issued at the end of Mr Modis visit said. Mr Jaishankar said four agreements were signed during Mr Modis visit, covering community development, drug control standards, cultural exchanges and agriculture. This was the first time an Indian PM came to Ukraine and an invitation has been extended to Mr Zelenskyy to visit India and he may do it as per his convenience. He said India has in the past provided humanitarian assistance of 17 consignments of medical supplies. On Friday, the Prime Minister presented four BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri) Cubes to the Ukraine government. The Cubes with a total weight of 22 tonnes will help in expeditious treatment of the injured and contribute to saving precious lives. Each cube has the capacity to handle about 200 cases of diverse nature in emergency situations such as trauma, bleeding, burns, fractures, etc. It can also generate its own power and oxygen in limited amounts. On defence cooperation, the two leaders agreed to continue to work towards facilitating a stronger relationship between the defence entities in both countries, including through joint collaborations and partnerships for manufacturing in India and cooperation in emerging areas. The two sides agreed to hold the 2nd meeting of the Indian-Ukrainian Joint Working Group on Military-Technical Cooperation, established under the 2012 Defence Cooperation Agreement, in the near future in India. They agreed to explore the possibility of involvement of Indian companies in Ukraines reconstruction and recovery, in a suitable manner. Ukraine reiterated its support for Indias permanent membership of a reformed and expanded UN Security Council, the Joint Statement said. The prime minister visited the multimedia Martyrologist exposition on children at the National Museum of History of Ukraine in Kyiv, accompanied by Mr Zelenskyy. Mr Modi was deeply touched by the poignant exposition set up in memory of children who have lost their lives in the conflict. The Prime Minister paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at his statue in Kyiv. Kamala Harris while accepting the Democratic nomination for US president during the partys convention in Chicago on Friday spoke about her life and her Indian mother. Harris said her Jamaican father, Donald Jasper Harris, always taught her to be fearless, and her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was tough and courageous. My mother taught Maya (her sister) and me to never complain about injustice, but do something about it, she said. Advertisement My mother Shyamala Harris had one of her own. I miss her every day, especially now. And I know shes looking down tonight, and smiling, she said. Harris said her mother was just 19 and travelled alone to the US to pursue a dream of being a scientist. So my mother was 19 when she crossed the world alone, travelling from India to California with an unshakable dream to be the scientist who would cure breast cancer. When she finished school, she was supposed to return home to a traditional arranged marriage, but as fate would have it, she met my father, Donald Harris, a student from Jamaica. They fell in love and got married, and that act of self-determination made my sister Maya and I grow up, we moved a lot, said Harris. Speaking of her father, Harris said, From my earliest years, he taught me to be fearless, but the harmony between my parents did not last. When I was in elementary school, they split up.. it was mostly my mother who raised us before she could finally afford to buy a home. She rented a small apartment in the East Bay, in the bay, in the bay, you either live in the hills or the flatlands. We lived in the flats, a beautiful working-class neighbourhood of firefighters, nurses and construction workers, all of who tended their lawns with pride, my mother worked long hours, and like many working parents, she leaned on a trusted circle to help raise us, Harris said. I grew up immersed in the ideals of the civil rights movement. My parents had met at a civil rights gathering, and they made sure that we learned about civil rights leaders, including lawyers like Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley, those who battled in the courtroom to make real the promise of America. So at a young age, I decided I wanted to do that work. I wanted to be a lawyer. And when it came time to choose the type of law I would pursue, I reflected on a pivotal moment in my life. Talking about why she wanted to be a lawyer, Harris said, when I was in high school, I started to notice something about my best friend, Wanda. She was sad at school, and there were times she didnt want to go home. So one day, I asked if everything was all right, and she confided in me that she was being sexually abused by her stepfather, I immediately told her she had to come to stay with us, and she did. This is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor to protect people like Wanda because I believe everyone has a right to safety, dignity and justice. My entire career, Ive only had one client, the people, Harris said, referring to her career as a public prosecutor in California and then the states attorney general. And so on behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey, on behalf of Americans like the People I grew up with, people who work hard chase their dreams and look out for one another, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination. Later she also posted on her X handle, My mother, Dr. Shyamala Gopalan Harris, came to the United States from India alone at 19. She was a force who had two goals in life: to cure breast cancer and to raise my sister Maya and me. Her dedication, determination, and courage shaped who I am today. US Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic Partys 2024 presidential nomination to fight against her Republican rival Donald Trump pledging to be the president who unites Americans. On behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination for President of the United States of America, she said during her address at Chicagos United Center on the last day of the four-day Democratic National Convention. During her speech, she pledged to be the president who unites Americans and fight for Americas future.With this election, our nation has a precious and fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a New Way Forward, not as members of any one party or faction but as Americans, Kamala Harris said. Harris became the Democratic candidate after President Joe Biden, 81, was forced to quit the race for the White House. If successful Harris, 59, will become the first woman US president. At least 11 policemen were killed and seven others injured after dacoits ambushed police vehicles in Pakistans eastern Punjab province, police officials said. The attack occurred in the Machka area of Rahim Yar Khan district of the province on Thursday when bandits launched rockets at two police vans carrying more than 20 cops, who were returning from weekly duties at a check post in the area, reports Xinhua news agency, quoting the police in Rahim Yar Khan. The sudden rocket attack occurred when one of the vehicles developed a malfunction, and policemen stopped for automotive repair, killing 11 policemen on the spot while injuring seven others, police said. Advertisement Following the attack, rescue and police teams reached the site and shifted the injured to a nearby hospital, where at least two policemen are in critical condition. Taking notice of the incident, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the attack on a police convoy, directing immediate and effective action against the attackers. Police personnel confront criminals and terrorists without regard for their own safety. The entire nation pays tribute to the brave and dedicated officers and personnel of the police force, he added. In early 2003, my law career took an unexpected turn into the dangerous world of international kidnapping. It began with a headline: British Oil Worker May Be Dead. The man in question was my client, John Buckley, a highly skilled oil technician kidnapped in Ecuador along with his local driver, Luiz Diaz, by ruthless Colombian bandits near the treacherous border of Ecuador. The pair were dragged deep into the jungle, where every shadow concealed a threat. My team, experts in high-stakes negotiations, was called in to bring them home alive. We arranged a million-dollar ransom, discreetly passed through a middleman in Quito, believing it would secure their release. But before the money could change hands, Buckley and Diaz took matters into their own hands. Driven by fear and the flicker of hope, they managed a daring escape from their jungle compound. Navigating through the dense foliage, they evaded their captors for what must have felt like an eternity. But fate was not on their side. The bandits, furious and determined, recaptured them and, in cold blood, and shot them in the back of their heads. Their bodies were left to rot in the wild, claimed by the very jungle they had tried to flee. This tragic tale was the dark backdrop to a complex legal and emotional saga. John Buckley had first crossed my path years earlier in the late 1980s. His wife, Ellen, a sweet and attractive Irish lady, had come to me for help with rent arrears on her property in Morecambe. I successfully handled the case, and Ellen took a liking to me, eventually naming me as an executor in her will alongside her husband. After Ellens passing, John and I remained in touch, and I managed his affairs, including drafting a new will that reflected his changed circumstances. Over the years, I had come to know John as an imposing figure, both in stature and presence. Standing nearly six and a half feet tall, he was a man of few words but rich in experience, having spent his career working in some of the most challenging environments across the globe. His work often took him far from home, a fact that had strained his relationship with his daughter, Moya, and left him somewhat estranged from his family. In March 2003, I was thrust into the middle of this high-stakes drama. Moya, now the sole surviving member of her family, walked into my office, desperate for answers and seeking my help to take matters forward with Johns employer, the Argentine oil company Techint, as well as the Ecuadorian government. Bia, Johns second wife, had her own Portuguese lawyer, but Moya trusted me to navigate the murky waters ahead. Techint, concerned about the situation, invited Moya and me to Quito to discuss the case. They agreed to my condition: a kidnapping insurance policy on my life worth 10 million, to be shared between my family, my law firm, and my ex-wife Janet, should anything happen to me. It was a risk, but the opportunity for adventure and to make a difference was too significant to pass up. Flying into Quito felt like stepping into a scene from Proof of Life. The 2000 film, starring Russell Crowe and Meg Ryan, depicted a similar scenario where an American engineer is kidnapped in South America, and a negotiator is brought in to handle the situation. The parallels were striking, and as I landed, the reality of the situation hit me. I wasnt just handling a legal case; I was stepping into a world of danger and uncertainty, where the stakes were life and death. Our arrival in Quito was met with the efficiency of a well-rehearsed operation. We were fast-tracked through immigration and customs and whisked away by my team from the Control Risks Group (CRG), a London-based consultancy specialising in international security and crisis management. In the limousine, we were handed body vests and debriefed on the meticulously crafted itinerary. The tension and intensity of the situation were so palpable that even my daily jogs through the streets of Quito were conducted wearing a bulletproof vest a surreal juxtaposition of routine and extreme caution. The following morning, I awoke to a breathtaking view of the snow-capped Andes from my hotel balcony 11,000 ft above sea level, a moment of calm before an intense day of meetings. The tension between Moya and her stepmother, Bia, was palpable, a reminder of the fractured relationships left in the wake of Johns work abroad. The boardroom meeting at Techints plush office on the top floor of the hotel was a grand assembly of legal minds, diplomats and security experts. The case was complicated by conflicts of law, with Johns legal matter tied to English tort law and Portuguese inheritance law, while Luiz Diazs claim fell under Ecuadorian law. The disparities were stark, with Luizs life seemingly valued at a fraction of Johns. This inequity did not sit well with me, and I vowed to do right by Luizs family. As discussions progressed, a chilling narrative emerged. The Ecuadorian police presented evidence suggesting that John and Luiz had been killed while attempting to escape their Colombian captors. The implication was that John had ventured into a dangerous area against orders, putting both their lives at risk. The concept of Volenti non-fit injuria - that one cannot claim for the harm they willingly undertook was brought into play, potentially absolving Techint of liability. After the meeting, I found solace in the camaraderie of the CRG team. They were a polished group, ex-intelligence officers with a wealth of experience in handling situations like ours. It was clear these men lived life on the edge, and I found myself both in awe and slightly unnerved by their cool professionalism. The next day, a helicopter tour of the pipeline took us over the spot where John and Luiz had been kidnapped. The ride, meant to provide clarity, ended in an unexpected incident. As the helicopter hovered over the dense jungle, the reality of the situation overwhelmed Moya. Her composure shattered, and she suddenly turned towards me, her eyes filled with a mix of anger, grief and helplessness. Before I could react, her hand lashed out, delivering a stinging slap across my face. The shock of the moment hung in the air as she broke down, her emotions spilling over in a torrent of tears. It was a visceral reminder of the human cost of this ordeal, a pain too deep for words. Despite the setbacks and emotional toll, the process moved forward. We followed the ransom trail, connecting the dots through a network of informants and intercepted communications. Working closely with the Ecuadorian high-security police, we tracked down the kidnappers. In a coordinated operation, the CRG team stormed their hideout, capturing the killers and ensuring they faced justice. Convicted and sentenced, these criminals now remain in prison. We eventually reached a crucial point: seeking a legal presumption of death for John and Luiz, necessary to unlock compensation funds and provide closure to the families. The case was brought before a young judge in a remote jungle courthouse. The setting was surreal a modest building surrounded by thick vegetation. The judge, despite her youth, carried an air of authority that belied her inexperience. However, as the proceedings began, it became clear that the gravity of the case was weighing heavily on her. The conflicting reports and lack of concrete proof of death left her hesitant, delaying the presumption of death. This delay was particularly frustrating as Ecuadorian law often requires a shorter period before a presumption of death can be declared, unlike in England, where the legal process can be protracted. Frustrated but undeterred, I pushed forward. We needed more than legal arguments; we needed to appeal to the human aspects of the case the loss, the grief and the need for resolution. Ultimately, we managed to negotiate a settlement with Techint, including a significant compensation package for both the Buckley and Diaz families. The process was gruelling, involving legal manoeuvring, emotional confrontations, and a return trip deep into the Ecuadorian jungle. The conclusion was bittersweet. The bodies of John and Luiz were eventually found, and DNA tests confirmed their identities, rendering the earlier struggle with the presumption of death unnecessary. The final chapter played out in another jungle courthouse, where we signed the necessary documents to release the compensation funds. The task of repatriating Johns body fell to me, a responsibility I had not anticipated. The funeral, held in a small village near Dublin, was a sombre affair, marked by the presence of Johns family and the weight of the experiences we had all endured. As Van Morrisons I Will Be Your Lover Too played in my head I reflected on the journey that had brought me here. I had honoured my promise to a man who had trusted me with his most personal affairs, navigated the treacherous waters of international law, and witnessed firsthand the devastating impact of global politics on ordinary lives. This was more than just a case. It was a reminder that the law, at its core, is about people about their lives, their loves, their losses. And sometimes, its about being there when they need you the most, no matter the risks. Philip George is a former badminton player and author of the book 'Racket Boy'. He lives in Tuscany, Italy. Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra has accused popular Malayalam director and Kerala Chalachitra Academy chairman Ranjith of misbehaving with her. Due to the director's indecent behaviour, she was forced to spend an entire night in fear at her hotel room, 48-year-old Mitra said. The artist's allegations comes only days after a redacted version of the Hema Commission report narrated rampant sexual harassment and ill-treatment of women in the Malayalam film industry. Sreelekha Mitra said she had a bitter experience with Ranjith while shooting his multiple State-Award winning 'Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha' in 2009. "He played with my bangles. I felt uncomfortable but gave him the benefit of the doubt," she said. Sreelekha further alleged that the award-winning director caressed her hair and neck. Following an audition, the producer of the movie invited her to attend a party, Mitra said. At the packed venue, Ranjith invited her to his room. She went to meet him believing it was to discuss the project but was shocked by his behaviour, the actor said. ALSO READ | Kerala Chalachitra Academy chairman Ranjith refutes misbehaving with Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra As she stormed out of the director's room, she lost the part in 'Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha' and never got another chance in Mollywood. "I went back the next day, I called, I try to call the producer or the production person, I don't know, but I was not provided with the ticket. I asked for a return ticket, I was not provided with that. So I spend my own money. I bought tickets and it was difficult, finding the connecting flight. But I had to because I couldn't stay there for a day, I was hyper. I was so hyper, I was so scared. I cannot go back, so I had to get the ticket. I had to come back so that was the thing. It was not a good memory," she told Asianet News. "This was not a normal gesture. He was testing the waters -- whether complying or not allowing him to go further. The second time. I put my foot down and prevented from going further because if he was innocent, then he or somebody from his unit would have called me (to explain) that maybe you are mistaken," she said. She was cast for Ranjith's crime-mystery thriller based on her performance in 'Akale', another critically acclaimed Malayalam movie. Popular Malayalam director and Kerala Chalachitra Academy chairman Ranjith denied having misbehaved with Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra in 2009. Sreelekha Mitra auditioned for a role in 'Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha' but was refused the part as she was not an apt choice, Ranjith reportedly told Malayalam media. He reportedly denied having misbehaved with Mitra in any manner. The award-winning director was accused of misconduct at a hotel room during a party by activist-actor Mitra. According to the 48-year-old Mitra, she was cast for Ranjith's crime-mystery thriller 'Paleri Manikyam: Oru Pathirakolapathakathinte Katha' after her performance in 'Akale', another critically acclaimed Malayalam movie. However, she had to fly back home and never got another chance in Mollywood ever again after resisting Ranjith's advances. FULL REPORT | Bengali actor Sreelekha Mitra levels serious allegations against Kerala Chalachitra Academy chairman Ranjith The producer of the movie invited her to attend a party, Mitra said. At the packed venue, Ranjith invited her to his room. She went to meet him believing it was to discuss the project but was shocked by his behaviour, the actor said. "He played with my bangles. I felt uncomfortable but gave him the benefit of the doubt," she said. Sreelekha further alleged that the award-winning director caressed her hair and neck. before she stormed out of the room. As a consequence of his actions, she spent an entire night in fear in her hotel room. The artist's allegations come only days after a redacted version of the Hema Commission report narrated rampant sexual harassment and ill-treatment of women in the Malayalam film industry. As many as 14 persons got killed as a passenger bus with Indian registration plunged into Marsyangdi River in Nepal on Friday. Disaster management forces are conducting rescue operations in the river. According to reports, the bus bearing Uttar Pradesh registration was heading to Kathmandu from Pokhara on Friday when it plunged into Marsyangdi River near Aaina Pahara in central Nepal. Tanahun DSP Deepkumar Raya told ANI, The bus bearing number plate UP FT 7623 plunged into the river and is lying on the bank of the river. #WATCH | Nepal | An Indian passenger bus with 40 people onboard has plunged into the Marsyangdi river in Tanahun district, confirms Nepal Police. The bus bearing number plate UP FT 7623 plunged into the river and is lying on the bank of the river, DSP Deepkumar Raya from the pic.twitter.com/P8XwIA27qJ ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 According to officials, the Nepal Army and personnel from the Armed Police Force are engaged in relief operations. A team of 45 Armed Police Force personnel led by Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Madhav Paudel from the Armed Police Force Nepal Disaster Management Training School has already reached the accident site and is carrying out the rescue operation, PTI reported. #WATCH | Nepal: An Indian passenger bus with 40 people onboard has plunged into the Marsyangdi river in Tanahun district. The bus was en route to Kathmandu from Pokhara. Search and rescue operations underway by the Nepal Army at the incident site. (Video Source: News Agency pic.twitter.com/txxO43O4CV ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh government officials said they are trying to contact with officials in Nepal to ascertain whether any persons from the state have been affected by the accident. A court in Kolkata's Sealdah appointed Advocate Kabita Sarkar to represent Sanjoy Roy, the prime accused in the alleged rape and murder of a doctor in RG Kar Medical College Hospital on August 9. Advocate Sarkar, 52, was handed the responsibility after several lawyers refused to represent the 33-year-old Roy due to the brutal nature of the crime he allegedly committed. Advocate Kabita Sarkar, who moved to the Sealdah court in 2023, has requested her senior Sourav Banerjee to accompany her during the case. ALSO READ | Kolkata hospital rape-murder: Former principal Dr Sandip Ghosh, 4 doctors to undergo polygraph test A law graduate from Hooghly Mohsin College, Advocate Sarkar, started her career at Alipore court, reported Times Of India (TOI). She initially handled civil cases before focusing on criminal law as a SALSA lawyer since February 2023, a few months ahead of joining the Sealdah court, the report added. The senior lawyer believes every individual should get a free and fair trial and is against the notion of pre-trial judgments irrespective of the accusations. A strong backer of the slogan "innocent until proven guilty," Sarkar believes in letting offenders reflect on their crimes. Sanjay Roy, a civil volunteer of the Kolkata Police, is accused of raping and murdering a 31-year-old PG student at Kolkata's state-run RG Kar Medical College Hospital earlier this month. She was asleep inside a seminar hall on the fourth floor of a hospital building when allegedly attacked by Roy. Having trespassed into the medical college campus, his headset was reportedly damaged during the assault. Torn pieces of the device were recovered from the crime spot, which later was found paired to his mobile phone. ALSO READ | Kolkata rape-murder: Accused Sanjay Roy has 'animal-like instincts', unflustered while detailing crime CCTV footage showed Roy staring at the victim and four other doctors hours before the crime was committed. Kolkata Police had earlier said Sanjay Roy confessed to observing the victim at the chest medicine ward hours before the crime. Now, it appears that the CCTV evidence corroborated his claim. Earlier, a psychoanalytic profiling of the accused found him to have an "animal-like instinct", reports had said. BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 23. In the first half of this year, the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) transported 5.17 billion cubic meters of gas from Azerbaijan to Italy, marking a 5.5 percent increase, Trend reports. According to the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, 4.901 billion cubic meters were delivered to Italy during the same period last year. Italy imported a total of 31.072 billion cubic meters of gas from January through June 2024, a 4.6 percent decrease, with Azerbaijani gas accounting for 16.6 percent of the total. The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), part of the Southern Gas Corridor, supplies eight billion cubic meters of gas annually to Italy and one billion cubic meters each to Greece and Bulgaria. Azerbaijan began supplying gas to Europe via the Southern Gas Corridor on December 31, 2020. Through TAP, Azerbaijan exported natural gas to the European market through pipelines for the first time in history, diversifying its export opportunities by gaining direct access to the worlds largest natural gas importer. The Special Investigation Team probing the Badlapur school children sexual abuse case booked school authorities under the POCSO Act on Friday. Police have also recorded statements of the victims. The SIT said the school administration has been booked under section 19 of the POCSO Act for not complying with its provisions. FIR registered against the school authorities for not complying to the provisions of section 19 of the POCSO Act which mandates that every authority when they come to know about any such kind of sexual assault against minors are obligated to report this to police authorities for further action, the SIT probing the case told ANI. Police have also recorded the statements of victims and their parents in connection with the probe. Meanwhile, the opposition Maha Vikas Agadi has announced bandh in Maharashtra on Saturday condemning the Badlapur incident. Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray demanded the government should withdraw cases registered against those who protested at Badlapur station. Thackeray said, "Many people have started to feel that girls are not safe in schools. All citizens will take part in tomorrow's bandh, not just Mahavikas Aghadi. The bandh will continue till 2pm. Bus and train services should also be shut during Saturday's bandh. You may belong to any religion or caste, but make this bandh successful for the protection of your daughters and sisters, ANI reported. Union minister Chirag Paswan has been a vocal minister in the Modi 3.0 government, championing the cause of Dalits. From supporting the Bharat Bandh call given by the Dalit bodies against the apex court order to speaking against the government's move on filling vacancies through lateral entry to the bureaucracy, the Lok Jan Shakti (RV) chief has often spoken his mind. Even in the case of the Waqf Bill, his party pushed for wider consultations with the Muslim bodies before it was taken up in the Parliament, thus paving the way for the legislation to be sent to the joint parliamentary committee. While, his cabinet colleagues, particularly those belonging to the BJP, have been ardently supporting the government line, Paswan, as a key NDA ally, has not shied away from taking an 'independent line'. Paswan lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's move to cancel the lateral entry advertisement by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).. This is his (PMs) commitment and dedication the marginalised, he had said. He had even taken to micro-blogging site X in support of the Bharat Bhandh on Thursday. It is our duty to become the voice of the rights of the exploited and deprived of the society. The NDA government at the Center led by the Prime Minister has also been committed to the development of the exploited and deprived... READ MORE: Chirag hails Centre for seeking cancellation of lateral entry Paswan has become Union minister for the first time and even his party, Lok Jan Shakti, won five seats in Lok Sabha. This happened after his father, Ramvilas Paswans death. Chirag has been on his own since then. He undertook a huge gambit as he walked out of the NDA in 2020, opposing Nitish Kumar. His party contested alone, a move which was interpreted by many as aimed at denting Nitishs prospects, which it did as the JD(U) tally dropped by 28 seats. But he could not win a seat. After a split in his party, and spending some time in the wilderness, Chirag was back in reckoning as he returned to the NDA fold before the Lok Sabha polls. Now, with the Bihar polls a year away, Chirag has been fashioning himself as the key youth leader in the state. The churn in the state politics has already begun. With the opposition alliance RJD and Congress taking up the cause of social justice through the demand of caste census, the issue will be a key one in assembly polls. ALSO READ: Chirag Paswan solidifies status as 'real' political heir of father Ram Vilas He may be seen as vocal on some issues, but it doesnt translate into any chasm with the BJPs top leadership. Chirags vocal support of Dalit cause by opposing lateral entry post and creamy layer criteria in reservation is aimed at not letting the opposition take credit for it. The Bihar polls, next year, may lead to more voices in support of new leadership in the state. Paswans party is holding its national executive meeting in Ranchi on Sunday. The party is likely to contest polls in Jharkhand later this year. The Jammu and Kashmir government is considering a proposal to enrol the children of all government employees in state-run schools. The proposal was submitted by a local organisation to the Lieutenant Governors monitoring and grievance cell. It aims to increase accountability and participation of government officials in the public education system, to improve teaching standards and overall performance. The Lieutenant Governors (LG) office has directed the School Education Department (SED) to take the necessary actions and submit a report to his office. Following the LGs directions, the SED sought feedback on the proposal from the Directors of School Education in both the Jammu and Kashmir divisions. They, in turn, communicated the matter to Chief Education Officers (CEOs) and requested their opinions and suggestions. The proposal has also been forwarded to Zonal Education Officers (ZEOs) and heads of institutions for their responses and input. Sources say the proposal has been discussed, but the decision has not been made yet regarding the implementation of the proposal. An official of the SED mentioned that the proposal is being taken seriously, and feedback will be submitted to the concerned authorities soon. If the proposal is accepted, thousands of children of government employees will attend government schools, which will likely lead to greater scrutiny of these schools. The J&K government has taken significant steps to improve the functioning of government departments, including the education department, after the abrogation of Article 370. Increased accountability in government schools has been reflected in a higher pass percentage and improved student performance. Government school students regularly feature on merit lists and many succeed in entrance examinations for professional courses. In 2022, as part of the National Education Policy (NEP), the J&K government launched a new enrolment drive to increase school attendance, resulting in a 14.5 per cent rise in enrolment compared to 2020-21. Official figures indicate that a total of 165,000 students were enrolled in various schools across J&K last year. The SED also initiated a survey called 'Talaash,' which surveyed around 2 million children. Through this effort, 93,508 students were identified as either out of school or never enrolled. Patients across the country heaved a sigh of relief late yesterday as major doctors' associations called off their 11-day strike over the rape-murder of a trainee doctor in Kolkata after the Supreme Court appealed to them to resume work. However, the junior doctors in West Bengal refused to end their agitation, saying the Supreme Court has avoided the justice part. On August 9, the body of the postgraduate trainee doctor was found in the seminar hall of state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. A civic volunteer was arrested the next day. Later, the Calcutta High Court handed over the case to the CBI. The brutality of the crime and the alleged mismanagement of the probe by the Kolkata Police and the state administration had caused widespread protests in West Bengal and other states. The Supreme Court, while resuming the hearing in the suo motu case, had urged the protesting doctors across the country to resume their work. The bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra had assured them that no coercive action will be taken by respective state governments for the protest. In Delhi, doctors at the AIIMS, RML, LNJP and Maulana Azad Medical College, ended their strike, which began on August 12. Following the SC's appeal and directions about safety of doctors, the Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA), a major body of RDAs across the country, too, called off the strike, asking the resident doctors to resume their duty. ALSO READ: Former principal Dr Sandip Ghosh, 4 doctors to undergo polygraph test The Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), an umbrella body of doctors, also ended their protest. In Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, too, the junior doctors called off their strike. In Chandigarh too, doctors at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) ended their protest. It comes as a major relief to patients, as the outpatient department (OPD) in government hospitals was closed, even as emergency services were functioning. However, the doctors' body in West Bengal refused to follow suit, reaffirming their commitment to the fight for justice for the victim and safety of healthcare workers. "We have decided to continue our ceasework because justice is yet to be delivered. The Supreme Court has avoided the justice part. We must not forget that getting justice for our sister is our prime goal," one of the protesting doctors told PTI. The West Bengal government faced another setback on Friday as the Calcutta High Court handed over the investigation into alleged financial irregularities in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital during the tenure of former principal Dr Sandip Ghosh to the CBI. Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj directed that all pertinent documents and information be handed over to the central agency by 10 am on Saturday. Previously, the state government had established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the allegations. The court delivered the verdict while hearing a petition submitted by Dr Akhtar Ali, the former Deputy Superintendent of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. He had approached the high court on Wednesday, requesting an investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Dr Ghosh. Dr Ali claimed before the court that about two years ago, he had filed a complaint at the Anti-Corruption Branch of the state government against Dr Ghosh. The former deputy super stated that he had reported the same to the vigilance department in 2023 as well. The Calcutta High Court wanted to know why the state government had not acted on Dr Alis complaint and formed a SIT a year ago before giving CBI the charge of further investigation into the matter. Meanwhile, the central agency on Friday received the nod from the local Sealdah ACJM court for the polygraph test of Sanjoy Ray, the main accused in the alleged rape and murder case of the trainee doctor in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Ray was sent to 14-day judicial custody. #WATCH | RG Kar Medical College and Hospital rape-murder case | Former principal of the Medical College and Hospital, Dr Sandip Ghosh leaves from CBI Special Crime Branch at CGO complex, Salt Lake. pic.twitter.com/a4n1HeqCs5 ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 In the case, the CBI had produced Dr Ghosh and five others, including four staff of the hospital and one civic volunteer considered close to the accused, before the same court on Thursday, appealing for their polygraph test as well. The court granted CBI the permission on Friday. The Calcutta High Court refused to intervene in the students march to Nabana, the state secretariat, scheduled for August 27th to protest the RG Kar incident. The West Bengal government had attempted to stop the march, claiming that the organisers had not secured police permission. However, the court dismissed the governments request and instructed the state to submit an affidavit on the guidelines for the protest program. On the other hand, the students and doctors at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, who are persisting with their protest despite the Supreme Courts appeal to resume work, visited the CBI office to inquire about the investigations progress. Following their discussion with the central agency, the protesters will hold a meeting among themselves to decide their next course of action. As the CBI probe into the rape and murder of the trainee doctor at the R G Kar Medical College Hospital in Kolkata, the Seldah Court has appointed Kabita Sarkar, a lawyer with 25 years of experience, to defend the accused Sanjay Roy. Sarkar, a 52-year-old lawyer with over 25 years of experience, was appointed by the Legal Aid Council System of the state government after no lawyer came forward to defend the accused, a civil volunteer at the hospital. When asked about representing Roy, Sarkar said she believes in the importance of court trials over pre-trial judgments. "Every individual has the right to a fair trial, including the accused," Sarkar told The Times of India. She also told local media that it is a job for her. "As a lawyer for Legal Aid, I will continue to fulfil that duty in accordance with the law, as I do in other cases," Sarkar told Anandabazar Online. On whether she would fight for the accused if she wasn't assigned to do so, Kavitha said: "No. Then I wouldn't have fought.'' While the choice of a woman to represent the accused has raised brows, Sourav Banerjee, head of the Legal Aid Defense Council, said he had to select a counsel after being asked to do so by the court. "We received a request to provide a lawyer. The order came from the court as there was no lawyer to represent the accused. I was in charge of this and I chose Kavita Sarkar. She is the one who is interrogating the accused in Sealdah," Banerjee told AnandBazar Online. Meanwhile, CBI officials are investigating how the crime happened without hindrance at the hospital's seminar hall as the door's tower bolt was broken. The focus of the investigation is on whether or not someone was stationed outside the hall to ensure the crime went undisturbed, a CBI officer told PTI. The official added that the team was analysing the CCTV footage to confirm it. Why nobody heard any sound from inside the seminar hall when the victim was being tortured is also under probe. "The tower bolt was broken, which caused the door to malfunction," a CBI officer told PTI, adding that an initial probe revealed that the door had no lock and many, including doctors, interns and junior doctors, were aware of the fact. This prevented the victim from locking the door at night. The victim entered the hall between 2 AM and 3 AM on August 9. A doctor on duty reported seeing her asleep inside the hall, the officer said. "Interviews with doctors, interns, and junior doctors revealed that the door's malfunction had been a known issue, which prevented the victim from locking the door that night," he added. The Supreme Court deferred hearing on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals pleas against the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the liquor policy case to September 5. The apex court directed the CBI to file affidavits on Kejriwals pleas by then. The Aam Aadmi Party leader challenged his arrest by the central agency and also sought bail in the prevention of corruption case registered in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam. Hearing the matter, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan deferred the hearing after CBI sought further time to file counter affidavits. The Delhi CM was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court in a connected case being probed by the Enforcement Directorate on July 12, but continues to languish in Tihar prison due to the CBIs case. The ED arrested Arvind Kejriwal on March 21 in connection with an alleged scam in the scrapped Delhi liquor policy. The CBI arrested him from Tihar prison on June 26 in a prevention of corruption case registered in connection with the alleged scam. The Court recently granted bail to former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the cases. Besides the AAP leaders, BRS leader K. Kavitha is also facing charges in the case. The matter relates to alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22, which has now been scrapped. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reached Ukraine's capital Kyiv from Poland. He will be soon meeting with Ukraine President Zelenskyy. This is the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Ukraine since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The prime minister travelled in a special train for 10 hours from Poland to Ukraines capital. Modi is expected to spend over seven hours in the war-torn country. On Thursday, Modi advocated for peace in Poland. India does not believe in war and advocates for peace in this region. Indias concept is clear: this is not an era of war, and it is the time to unite to tackle the biggest challenges of humanity. Thus, India believes in dialogue and diplomacy to resolve conflict," Modi had said. The prime ministers visit to Kyiv comes nearly six weeks after his high-profile trip to the Russian capital Moscow. The visit had triggered criticism from the US and some of its Western allies. Earlier, before departing for the visit, Modi had said, I look forward to the opportunity to build upon earlier conversations with President Zelenskyy on strengthening bilateral cooperation and share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict. As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region." #WATCH | Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaches Kyiv from Poland to begin his one-day visit to Ukraine. This is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. (Visuals from Kyiv) pic.twitter.com/wmy6zdBv5Q ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 PM Modi had earlier met with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy's Apulia in June. A day after National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah announced a pre-poll alliance with Congress for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, party vice president Omar Abdullah said consensus on a few seats is still pending. Omar Abdullah made the statement while accompanying party leader Sakina Itoo in Kulgam to file her nomination papers. There are 90 seats and I can say that consensus has been reached on most of the seats, he said. On some seats, we are adamant, and on some seats the local leaders of the Congress unflinching. He said on Friday, the two sides will again meet and try to bring the remaining seats within the alliance to nominate candidates for those seats. When the last list of candidates is prepared with the consent of our president, everything will be in front of you. I cant tell right now which seat will go to which party and whether we will leave some seats for the other parties. When asked about the list of NCs candidates, he responded, Why are you concerned about that? Other parties are just now releasing the names of their constituency in-charges, while the NCs constituency in-charges have been working for the past ten years. Ask for the list from other parties, he said. Our list of candidates has to be out before August 27. If the list is out after that then what the point. Omar Abdullah said today at least their first candidate has filed her nominations and they are hoping for a big win from Noorabad. As they say in English well begun is half done. Omar Abdullah said this has been a good beginning and its impact will be felt on other constituencies. Omar Abdullah refused to answer a question on him contesting the polls. He said the NC has made public its manifesto and hoped the people will elect them to serve them. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Friday and paid tributes to children who got killed in the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Modi, who reached the Ukraine capital Kyiv on Friday, met the Ukrainian president at the Martyrologist Exposition, a memorial built in memory of children killed in the war. Modi hugged Zelenskyy and paid tributes to children killed in the war. Earlier, the prime minister paid tributes to statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Kyiv. Modi reached Ukraine's capital Kyiv from Poland on a special train on Friday. He took a 10-hour rail journey in Rail Force One from Poland to reach Kyiv. #WATCH | PM Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy honour the memory of children at the Martyrologist Exposition in Kyiv pic.twitter.com/oV8bbZ8bQh ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 This is the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Ukraine since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The prime minister travelled in a special train for 10 hours from Poland to Ukraines capital. Modi is expected to spend over seven hours in the war-torn country. The prime ministers visit to Kyiv comes nearly six weeks after his high-profile trip to the Russian capital Moscow. The visit had triggered criticism from the US and some of its Western allies. PM Modi had earlier met with Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy's Apulia in June. BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 23. A number of Pakistani companies representing the pharmaceutical industry are interested in entering the Kazakh market, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Pakistan Yerzhan Kistafin told Trend. "Today we are negotiating in the fields of agriculture and mechanical engineering. We are also currently actively negotiating in the fields of the light industry and the textile industry. There are a number of companies from Pakistan representing the pharmaceutical industry that are interested in entering the Kazakhstan market," he said. As Kistafin noted, Pakistani goods have already made their way into the Kazakh market. "Another thing is that these products enter our market through third countries. I'll give you a simple example. Surgical instruments. Pakistan is actually the number one producer in the world. These products from Pakistan are bought by European countries, the US, Japan and so on. And these surgical instruments produced in Pakistan come to Kazakhstan's market precisely through the countries that I mentioned. Our task is to build cooperation in a direct format. That is, we must connect manufacturers in Pakistan directly with potential partners in Kazakhstan. And I hope that this year we will see the first results of our joint work," the ambassador noted. Furthermore, the ambassador made it clear that Kazakhstan and Pakistan are in talks to hammer out the production of construction materials in both nations. "The construction market is actively growing in our countries. And manufacturers of building materials on both sides are interested in developing joint production in the territories of both countries," Kistafin concluded. Meanwhile, the volume of trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Pakistan amounted to $52.5 million in 2023, which is 40 percent less than in 2022 ($73.5 million). Kazakh exports to Pakistan last year amounted to $5.7 million, while imports from Pakistan amounted to $46.8 million. Amid the Russia-Ukraine war, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that India is ready to play any role as a friend to help bring peace. During an interaction with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, Modi reiterated that the conflict should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. Modi said he had come to Ukraine with a message of peace. He added that we support the respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty. ALSO READ | Modi Ukraine visit: PM meets Zelenskyy, pays tributes to children killed in Ukraine-Russia war #WATCH | Kyiv: Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, "I thank you (President Zelenskyy) for your warm welcome to me and my delegation...Today is a very historic day for India and Ukraine relations...A PM of India has come to Ukraine for the first time which is in itself a historic pic.twitter.com/XJjXkcKzus ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 India has not been an indifferent bystander during the war. Going ahead, we will always stand with you on humanitarian assistance...We were never neutral during the war...We were on the side of peace from the beginning of the war, said Modi. Modi assured that India is ready to make proactive contributions towards peace efforts. #WATCH | Kyiv: Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, "When there were initial days of war you helped in the evacuation of Indian nationals and students. I express my gratitude to you for your help during this time of crisis...The world knows very well that during the war we played pic.twitter.com/9YXo5qbYzE ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 India and Ukraine held bilateral talks on wide-ranging topics on Friday. Both nations inked four agreements following the Modi-Zelenskyy talks. Officials said the agreements would provide cooperation in areas of agriculture, the food industry, medicine, culture, and humanitarian assistance. #WATCH | Kyiv: Prime Minister Narendra Modi says, "People from other countries also know that India has actively planned peace efforts and you also know that our approach has been people-centric. I want to assure you and the entire world that this is India's commitment and we pic.twitter.com/QtUAkvuMGR ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said that Modi's visit to Ukraine was 'very friendly' and 'historic'. Zelenskyy said he planned to discuss a summit on peace in Ukraine, along with Modi, also called for strengthened trade and military cooperation with India. #WATCH | Ukraine: India hands over BHISHM cube of Medical assistance to Ukraine. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hands over the assistance to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Kyiv. pic.twitter.com/IZWmC3PM2N ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 It is the first-ever visit to Ukraine by an Indian prime minister after Ukraine became independent in 1991. Modis visit comes amid Kyiv's fresh military offensive in Russia's western Kursk region. Key takeaways from the India-Ukraine joint statement 1. Both leaders expressed mutual interest in working towards elevating bilateral relations from a comprehensive partnership to a strategic partnership in the future. 2. PM Modi and President Zelenskyy reiterated their readiness for further cooperation in upholding principles of international law, including the UN Charter, such as respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty of states. 3. The Ukrainian side welcomed India's participation in a peaceful resolution and highlighted the importance of high-level Indian participation in the next Peace Summit. 4. The Leaders discussed the enhancement of cooperation in areas such as trade and commerce, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, education, defence and culture. 5. The Leaders emphasised the importance of enhancing the ease of doing business for mutual economic activities and investments, apart from removing any impediments to greater trade and commerce between India and Ukraine. The sides also encouraged great engagement at official and business levels to explore joint projects, collaborations and ventures. 6. Both sides agreed to explore the possibility of involvement of Indian companies in Ukraine's reconstruction and recovery, in a suitable manner. 7. The Indian side looked forward to Ukraine's joining the International Solar Alliance (ISA). 8. Underling the importance of defence cooperation between India and Ukraine, the leaders agreed to continue to work towards facilitating relations between the defence entities in both countries, including through joint collaborations and partnerships for manufacturing in India and cooperation in emerging areas. 9. Both sides agreed to hold 2nd meeting of the Indian-Ukrainian Joint Working Group on Military-Technical Cooperation, established under the 2012 Defence Cooperation Agreement, in the near future in India. 10. The Leaders appreciated the contribution of the Indian diaspora in Ukraine to the development of friendly relations and people-to-people contacts between the two countries. An X (formerly Twitter) interaction between a Pakistan-based YouTuber and the video-streaming platform's support team has gone viral on the internet. Harris Sultan, a vlogger from Pakistan raised a concern with YouTube over his channel's name getting changed to an insult by a scammer. In an effort to restore his channel's original name (which got over 220K subscribers as of Friday night), Sultan narrated the ordeal publically for the world to see, attracting some unwanted attention. According to Harris Sultan, he was in search of cheap labour to assist in content creation and ended up hiring a video editor from India. However, Sultan soon realised that his new employee was up to no good and was looking to scam him. As soon as Sultan terminated his service, the alleged Indian video editor changed the name of the YouTube channel to 'Scumbag Beggar.' To the shock of Sultan, YouTube said he would have to wait for a couple of weeks before the demeaning name could be changed. Desperate, Sultan decided to call out YouTube on microblogging site X. "I made the mistake of hiring a cheap video editor from India who tried to scam me for money. When I refused, he changed my channel's name to 'Scumbag Beggar.' Now @YouTube is telling me I have to wait 14 days before I can change it back. Really @YouTube?," he jotted tagging the handle of YouTube Creators among others. .@YouTubeCreators, I made the mistake of hiring a cheap video editor from India who tried to scam me for money. When I refused, he changed my channel's name to 'Scumbag Beggar.' Now @YouTube is telling me I have to wait 14 days before I can change it back. Really @YouTube? pic.twitter.com/eMcolWJcmu Harris Sultan (@TheHarrisSultan) August 22, 2024 YouTube responded positively to the post in the form of a reply "@TheHarrisSultan totally understand your frustration, weve sent you a DM with the next steps". The Pakistani-origin man's YouTube channel's name has been restored to Harris Sultan, it said. While he managed to achieve the end he wished for, the incident went viral on the internet, inviting all sorts of reactions from netizens. While many sympathised with him and criticised the other party, whose details were not shared by Sultan, some others were unhappy with the pace at which YouTube resolved the issue. However, there were trolls who did mocked the Pak-based man for his handling of the situation and for sharing the credentials of his channel with an editor whom he knew nothing about. Thai senior politician, Prawit Wongsuwon, got into trouble recently for slapping a woman journalist while she asked about the recent appointment of Paetongtarn Shinawatra as Thailand's new prime minister. Prawit, 79, was caught on camera hitting Duangthip Yiamphop, ThaiPBS broadcaster, as he left the building. Yiamphop had asked Did you see the PM voting at the Parliament? How did you feel? He is heard asking in the video: "What are you asking? What? What?" ThaiPBS made a formal complaint and the parliament said in a statement that it would investigate the incident. Senior Thai politician Prawit Wongsuwan is under investigation after he slapped a journalist from @ThaiPBS. pic.twitter.com/IKrojs5NyC DW News (@dwnews) August 23, 2024 Prawit was Thailand's army chief in the early 2000s. He was a key figure under the military-backed government. He was also one of the architects of the 2014 coup that ousted Paetongtarn's aunt and the then prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra. Prawit served as deputy prime minister under the military-backed government. If found guilty of a serious ethical violation, Prawit could face suspension as an MP or a lifetime ban. The Thai Journalists Association also condemned Prawit for using "violence against a journalist". It said it considers his actions to be threatening and harassing toward the rights and freedom of the press. ThaiPBS alleged that Prawit's actions are threatening journalism. Meanwhile, Prawit apologised to Duangthip, saying he "did not have any bad intention". In 2018, the National Anti-Corruption Commission registered launched a graft investigation against him over his collection of luxury watches. Later it was dropped. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his Ukraine visit, made a unique gesture by gifting Ukraine four BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita and Maitri) Cubes, in his bid to showcase India's willingness to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. A statement by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said the Prime Minister presented four BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri) Cubes to Ukraine on Friday, for which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked him'. A post on Modi's X read: Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri (BHISHM) is a unique effort which will ensure medical facilities in a rapidly deployable manner. It consists of cubes which contain medicines and equipment for medical care. Today, presented BHISHM cubes to President @ZelenskyyUa" The gesture, according to the Indian government, underscored India's continued commitment to provide humanitarian assistance to war-ravaged Ukraine. But what is a BHISHM cube? A BHISHM cube is a cutting-edge, portable medical unit designed to deliver essential healthcare services in disaster-stricken areas. This will help in speedy and effective treatment of the injured and thereby save precious lives. Besides containing medicines and equipment for the first line of care for all kinds of injuries and medical situations, each BHISHM cube also contains equipment to handle over 10-15 surgeries every day. "The Cube can handle about 200 cases of diverse nature in emergencies such as trauma, bleeding, burns, fractures, etc," the statement added, Each cube is 15 inches wide and weighs 20 kg. The cubes are then positioned on a framework that makes them potable by air, sea, land and drone. Another feature of the cube is that it can generate its own power and oxygen in limited amounts and duration. According to a PIB statement, the cubes integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data analytics to facilitate effective coordination, real-time monitoring, and efficient management of medical services in the field. The BHISHM cubs were made under the umbrella of Project Aarogya Maitri, a programme to provide essential medical supplies to developing countries as humanitarian assistance, the government has created the BHISHM initiative, which provides the means to deliver all basic facilities and equipment for providing emergency medical care in an easy to use and rapidly deployable manner, they noted. After the thrill of the Paris Olympics and a relaxing Mediterranean getaway, French President Emmanuel Macron now faces the daunting task of restoring stability and effective governance to his country. Macron on Friday started crucial discussions with key political figures to select a Prime Minister who can form a government and break the political impasse resulting from the recent snap elections. The left-wing New Popular Front coalition, that won most seats had put forward Lucie Castets as their PM nominee. Castets said she was ready to govern and ready for compromise to get things done. In the snap elections that held last month, Macron's centrist alliance came in second and the far-right National Rally came in third. Faced with a hung parliament, finding a PM is challenging for Macron. Centrists and conservatives are also meeting with Macron on Friday. Meanwhile, National Rally leaders Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella are expected to join on Monday. According to Macrons office, the PM will be named based on these consultations, which are aimed at moving towards the broadest and most stable majority possible. As president, Macron has sole power to name the PM according to the French Constitution. Who is Lucie Castets? Lucie Castets is a high-ranking French civil servant and economist. Castets served as the city of Paris' Chief Financial Officer since last October. She began her career as a civil service official in 2007. Castets was an assistant to the cultural attache at the Consulate-General of France in Shanghai. In 2014, she was working at the Direction generale du Tresor within the Ministry of Economics and Finance and then became the government commissioner to the Bureau central de tarification. Castets, 37, was a member of the Socialist Party between 2008 and 2011 when she was a supporter of Martine Aubry and the Union of the Left. She was in the front of activism, leading a collective of civil servants advocating for public services. Other likely PM candidates include Centre-left politician Bernard Cazeneuve: Cazeneuve served as prime minister at the end of Francois Hollandes presidency, from December 2016 to May 2017. He also served as France's top cop during a series of bloody terror attacks in 2015. Experts opine that there is a possibility to appoint a PM from the left but outside NFP. Cazeneuve left the Socialist Party in 2022 in opposition to an alliance struck with France Unbowed, which holds the most seats of any leftist party. Xavier Bertrand: A former health and labour minister under the presidencies of Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy, Bertrand has been the head of the northern region of Hauts-de-France since 2016. He has successfully pushed back against a far-right surge there, despite its transformation into a stronghold for Marine Le Pens National Rally in recent years. Conservative politician Michel Barnier: EU's chief negotiator for post-Brexit talks is also considered a potential candidate. Barnier is a former French politician and former European Union politician. Barnier has served in several French cabinet positions, including as Minister of the Environment, Minister of State for European Affairs, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries from 2007 to 2009. In one of the most important speeches of her career so far, US Vice President Kamala Harris vowed to be the president for all Americans, as she formally accepted the party's presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Walking on to the stage to a thunderous applause and standing ovation, Harris accepted the party's nomination, becoming the second woman to do so for the Democratic Partythe first being Hillary Clinton. On behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey on behalf of Americans, like the people I grew up with, people who work hard, chase their dreams and look out for one another, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination the United States, she said. ALSO READ: Harris received support from top Democratic leaders in her bid to White House Harris's father Donald Jasper Harris is Jamaican-American, while her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, is an immigrant to the US from India. The 59-year-old urged all Americans to reject political divisions, and warned of "extremely serious" consequences of putting her Republican rival Donald Trump back in White House. She said the November 5 election is the most important in America's history. Our nation with this election has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans," Harris said. Here are the other highlights from her 40-minute speech. Calling Trump an unserious man, she reminded all of the chaos and calamity of his years in the Oval Office, including the infamous storming of the US Capitol Building by his supporters, on January 6, 2021. Harris also pointed out how Trump questioned the election results in 2020 when he lost his reelection bid. She also highlighted that the former president was convicted on 34 felony counts in a hush money case and that a federal jury in his civil defamation trial found that Trump had sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll. She also extended support to Ukraine and NATO allies. Harris said if she's elected to be the 47th president of the United States, she will aim to pass a middle class tax cut. She called for an end to the war in Gaza, while pledging to secure Israel. "Now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done. And let me be clear, I will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself, Harris said. "What has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost, desperate hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking," she said."President (Joe) Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are release, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination." Harris vowed to fight tyranny around the world, accusing Trump of cozying up to dictators like Kim Jong Un. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the historic visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kyiv as a significant moment. After an engaging Ukraine visit, Modi departed for India on Friday. Today, history was made, said Zelenskyy. The Prime Minister of India made his first visit to Ukraine since our country's independence, on the eve of our Independence Day, he added. While addressing the press briefing after meeting with PM Modi, Zelenskyy said Ukraine believes that India can play a role in resolving the war as it has an influence on Russias Putin. ALSO READ | PM Modi in Kyiv: India not neutral, ready to play role of friend to bring peace to Ukraine #WATCH | Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says, "With regards to the citizens of India that were tricked to participate in the combat operations - PM Modi started with that, he said that he condemns it and he will make everything possible for the citizens of India pic.twitter.com/og9eXOgxLV ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 India will play its role. I think that India began to recognise that this is not just conflict, this is real war of one man and his name is Putin against a whole country whose name is Ukraine. You are a big country. You have a big influence and you can stop Putin and halt his economy and put him really in his place, Zelenskyy told ANI. India emphasised resolving the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. Modi reiterated the message of peace. He assured all help as a friend to bring peace to Ukraine. #WATCH | Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says, "Yes (I have plans to visit India) because when you begin a partnership, strategic partnership, and you begin some dialogue, I think that you don't need to lose time and do big pauses and that's why I think it will be good to pic.twitter.com/JpE1s7IZm9 ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 During the Modi-Zelenskyy meet, the two leaders agreed on a joint statement emphasising the development of a strategic partnership, bilateral trade and continued military-technical cooperation. #WATCH | Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says, "Yeah, we are ready (to directly engage with India and buy products made in India in the near future). I gave these all messages to your productions. As I said, we are ready to exchange...We are ready to buy. We are ready to pic.twitter.com/lLRfyiBUJp ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 India supports Ukraine's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. And this is critical because everyone in the world must equally respect the UN Charter, Zelenskyy added. Interestingly, Zelenskky's Instagram post with pictures of PM Modi became his most-liked post on the social media platform within a few hours of being uploaded. His pictures with Modi received over 1 million likes within hours. "Our meeting is important for strengthening the dialogue and relationship between India and Ukraine," said Zelenskyy in his post. During a separate event, Modi presented four BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita and Maitri) Cubes to the Ukrainian government. The United States said PM Modi's visit to Ukraine is "potentially helpful". If PM Modi's Ukraine trip can work toward "getting us to an end to the conflict that comports with President Zelenskyy's vision for a just peace, well, then we think that would be helpful," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. ALSO READ | What is a BHISHM cube, PM Modi's life-saving gift to Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy Jaishankar defends PM Modi's hug diplomacy External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi's warm hugging of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It was a gesture that drew much criticism from the West. Modi had greeted Zelenskyy also with a warm hug. During the press briefing after the Modi-Zelenskyy talks, Jaishankar was asked about the embrace and he said, In our part of the world, when people meet people, they are given to embracing each other, it may not be part of your culture but I can assure you it is part of ours. In fact, today, I think, I saw, the Prime Minister also embrace President Zelenskyy and I have seen him do it with a number of other leaders in a number of other places. So, I think, we have a slight... cultural gap here in terms of what these courtesies mean, Jaishankar added. Kolkata, Aug 23 (PTI) Despite a challenging global environment, India's engineering goods exports continued their upward trajectory in July with a 3.6 per cent year-on-year growth, reflecting the sector's resilience, EEPC said on Friday. The Engineering Export Promotion body EEPC India chairman Arun Kumar Garodia said the engineering goods exports were USD 9.04 billion in July 2024, compared to USD 8.72 billion a year ago month. However, exports to countries like Bangladesh and Russia recorded a decline during the month under review. "The sector's cumulative exports for the April-July period also witnessed a healthy 4.18 per cent increase to USD 36.97 billion," Garodia said. Engineering exports to Bangladesh fell 11.8 per cent year-on-year to USD 153.78 million in July 2024, as against USD 174.35 million in the year-ago month, EEPC said in a statement. The value of engineering exports to Russia declined 26.8 per cent in July this year to USD 90.39 million from USD 123.55 million in the same month last year, it said. While acknowledging the headwinds such as high freight rates, protectionism, and weak demand in certain markets, Garodia expressed optimism about the industry's ability to navigate these challenges. He expressed optimism about the government's supportive measures, including the Union Budget's focus on MSMEs and exports, as well as the ongoing negotiations for free trade agreements with key partners like the UK and the EU. "These initiatives will provide significant impetus to the engineering exports sector," Garodia added. MUMBAI, India, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Small and medium businesses in India are cautiously optimistic about their business performance for Q3 2024, according to the ASSOCHAM-Dun & Bradstreet Small Business Confidence Index (SBCI). The index, which measures the level of optimism of small and medium businesses on key business parameters, such as sales, employment, prices, inventory, and investment, increased moderately by 0.2% compared to Q2 2024. "As is clear from the latest IMF World Economic Outlook, the Indian economy is projected to be the fastest growing amongst the leading economies of the world. Our survey amongst the SMEs' executives clearly points towards significant contributions from the small businesses," said ASSOCHAM Secretary General, Mr. Deepak Sood. ASSOCHAM D&B SBCI has recorded a modest uptick of 0.2% for Q3 2024, following three consecutive quarters of rising optimism. The survey indicates that the overall demand sentiments within the economy are stabilizing at current levels, after riding high for four consecutive quarters. The slight moderation in demand growth is also being echoed in most of the parameters recorded in the survey. "The ASSOCHAM D&B Small Business Optimism Survey highlights mixed signals in the Indian economy. There's strong optimism in areas like sales, liquidity, and credit flow. However, optimism about profitability and new investments is slowing down. Higher production costs and stagnant selling prices are likely impacting profitability. The steady Small Business Confidence Index (SBCI) from the previous quarter suggests businesses are consolidating past gains while waiting for new momentum. Due to geopolitical uncertainty, companies are hesitant to invest in new capacity and are instead maximizing existing resources to meet increased sales," said Mr. Avinash Gupta, Managing Director, Dun & Bradstreet India. The underlying demand sentiment has also kept businesses wary of raising selling prices, with somewhat stagnant optimism for price increases in the upcoming quarter. On the cost front, while raw material costs are expected to ease further, the overall cost is expected to remain high compared to the long-term average cost line, thus expected to squeeze profit margins, with sentiment declining by 11 percentage points on a quarterly basis. The lower optimism is also being reflected for exports orders, wherein the optimism has moderated by 8 percentage points on a quarterly basis. The moderated optimism for order book expansion has led to reluctance in capacity utilization, which in turn suppresses the optimism for new investments for the upcoming quarter. New hirings continue to remain a major concern for the past two quarters, despite firms anticipating labour shortages and difficulties in finding appropriate talent. Optimism for fresh hiring of employees decreased by 5 percentage points for Q3 2024. "After strong performances over the past four quarters, small businesses in India are now seeking new catalysts as optimism plateaus for the upcoming quarter. In Q3 2024, optimism grew by a modest 0.2% quarter-on-quarter. A sluggish demand recovery, coupled with supply chain challenges and high raw material costs, is making producers hesitant to expand. Businesses are entering the next quarter with caution, focusing on selling off inventory and maintaining capacity utilization, which has dampened enthusiasm for new investments and hiring. Despite these challenges, strong optimism for sales and liquidity provides some support," said Dr. Arun Singh, Global Chief Economist, Dun & Bradstreet Sales optimism rose 4 percentage points on a quarterly basis, despite ongoing concerns over demand outlook. Along with this, credit availability remains another pillar of strength, with 51% of firms anticipating easier access and no major concerns regarding working capital. About ASSOCHAM ASSOCHAM initiated its endeavour of value creation for Indian industry in 1920. It was established by promoter Chambers, representing all regions of India. Having in its fold over 400 Chambers and Trade Associations, and serving over 450,000 members across India. ASSOCHAM has emerged as the fountainhead of Knowledge for Indian industry, which is all set to redefine the dynamics of growth and development in the Knowledge Based Economy. More information available on www.assocham.org About Dun & Bradstreet Dun & Bradstreet, a leading global provider of business decisioning data and analytics, enables companies around the world to improve their business performance. Dun & Bradstreet's Data Cloud fuels solutions and delivers insights that empower customers to accelerate revenue, lower cost, mitigate risk and transform their businesses. Since 1841, companies of every size have relied on Dun & Bradstreet to help them manage risk and reveal opportunity. For more information on Dun & Bradstreet, please visit www.dnb.com. Dun & Bradstreet Information Services India Private Limited is headquartered in Mumbai and provides clients with data-driven products and technology-driven platforms to help them take faster and more accurate decisions across finance, risk, compliance, information technology and marketing. Working towards the Government of India's vision of creating an Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) by supporting the Make in India initiative, Dun & Bradstreet India has a special focus on helping entrepreneurs enhance their visibility, increase their credibility, expand access to global markets, and identify potential customers & suppliers, while managing risk and opportunity. India is also the home to Dun & Bradstreet Technology & Corporate Services LLP, which is the Global Capabilities Center (GCC) of Dun & Bradstreet, supporting global technology delivery using cutting-edge technology. Located at Hyderabad, the GCC has a highly skilled workforce of over 500 employees, and focuses on enhanced productivity, economies of scale, consistent delivery processes and lower operating expenses. Visit www.dnb.co.in for more information. Click here for all Dun & Bradstreet India press releases. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2314099/4617210/DB_Logo.jpg (Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with PRNewswire and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR PWR Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 23: SS Mobile, Indias 5th largest mobile retail company in Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka is excited to announce the remarkable success of its SS Mobile Big Freedom Sale 1 Pe 4 Offer which offered customers unbeatable deals and an exclusive offer that included four benefits in a Big Freedom Sale, in celebration of the 78th Independence Day. This milestone event saw SS Mobile welcome 30,000 new customers, bringing the total number of customers in the SS Family to 61 Lakhs+. The company also achieved over 50 crores sales in Big Freedom Sale offer, marking a significant achievement in its journey. SS Mobile's Big Freedom Sale 1 Pe 4 offers are unbeatable deals, with an exclusive offer where customers enjoyed four benefits on a single purchase: Paytm vouchers of 11,000, smart gifts worth 2,999, an exclusive 2-year warranty on smartphones, and cashback offers of up to 8,000 on select bank cards. IPhone buyers received additional exclusive benefits of up to 17,000, making it one of the most popular offers of the event. Commenting on the success of the Big Freedom Sale, Mr. Siddharth Shah, Founder and Chairman of SS Mobile, said, We are incredibly grateful to our customers in Maharashtra, Goa, and Karnataka for making our Big Freedom Sale 1 Pe 4 offer a resounding success. This achievement underscores the trust our customers place in us, and we are committed to continuously enhancing their experience with every interaction. Our focus has always been on delivering exceptional value and service, and we look forward to improving our customer experience as we grow and welcome more customers into the SS Mobile family. About SS Mobile: SS Mobile, Indias 5th largest mobile retail company, is a prominent brand in Maharashtra, Goa, and Karnataka, known for its extensive range of smartphones, accessories, and smart TVs, coupled with top-notch customer service. With a growing community of 61 lakh satisfied customers, SS Mobile continues to lead the market with innovative offers and unbeatable deals. (Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with PNN and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR PWR Turkish security forces have "neutralized" 16 PKK terrorists in northern Iraq, close to the Turkish border, Azernews reports citing Anadolu Agency. The operation targeted the terrorists in the Hakurk, Asos, Gara, and Metina regions, the ministry reported on X. "We will continue our unpredictable, unconventional, rapid, and sustained operations to eliminate terrorism at its source!" the ministry declared. The PKK, a terrorist organization that uses northern Iraq as a base for planning and executing attacks against Turkey and northern Syria, has been a persistent threat. The term neutralize used by Turkish authorities signifies that the terrorists were either killed, captured, or surrendered. Over its nearly 40-year campaign of terror, the PKK designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU has caused the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. Mumbai, Aug 23 (PTI) The government is in talks with state governments and industry bodies over the modernisation of 1,000 Industrial Training Institutes and five National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs), Union Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Jayant Chaudhary said on Friday. "We are in talks with state governments and are having continuous dialogues with various industry associations and on this we will take their suggestions to upgrade 1,000 ITIs and 5 NSTIs. It is required because there are around 15,000 ITIs, of which 12,000 are private sector. Therefore, we want to incorporate their valuable suggestions before upgrading," the minister said on the sidelines of a function. He said Maharashtra will play an important role in the upgradation of ITIs and NSTIs as the state has 4,100 ITIs, which is 10 per cent of the total ITIs in the country. "There is a need for making skilling aspirational so that children who choose skilling for employment can be provided with such facilities," he said. The minister further said that skilling is not only the responsibility of the government, but if the industries want to compete globally they have to focus on workforce development. to provide world-class training. "Skilling is not only the responsibility of the government, but a partnership between both the government and the private sector. If the industries want to compete globally they need to focus on skilling the workforce ... it is our responsibility to reform these ITIs with relevant curriculum so that we can train our trainers who can provide world class skill training that aligns with the industry needs," Chaudhary added. The minister was speaking at NSTI Mumbai, where multiple Memoranda of Understanding were signed. NSTI signed MoUs with Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders (MDL), Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Regional Directorate of Vocational Education and Training, Pune, among others. New Delhi, Aug 23 (PTI) Electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn has infused about Rs 1,200 crore -- approximately USD 144 million -- into its Karnataka-based Foxconn Hon Hai Technology India Mega Development Pvt Ltd, the company said in a recent regulatory filing. The iPhone contract manufacturer's Singapore-based arm Foxconn Singapore Pte has bought over 120.35 crore stocks of Foxconn Hon Hai Technology India Mega Development Pvt Ltd at Rs 10 per share on August 21. The Karnataka government in a statement last week said Foxconn is planning to invest Rs 25,000 crore to establish a massive manufacturing plant near Dodda Ballapur that will create 40,000 jobs. "The unit in Karnataka will soon become the second-largest Foxconn plant after China's unit. It will create 40,000 direct jobs, especially for middle-level educated individuals, and our investment will not stop here; in the future, we plan to explore other sectors also," Foxconn Chairman Young Liu was quoted as saying in the statement. With the fresh infusion, Foxconn Singapore has invested over Rs 13,800 crore in the Karnataka unit. The Karnataka government has allocated 300 acres to Foxconn for its upcoming mobile manufacturing unit in the state. Chicago, Aug 23 (PTI) Kamala Harris has said that, if elected the US president, she will ensure that America not China wins the "competition for the 21st century" and that Washington will not "abdicate" its global leadership. Accepting the presidential nomination of the Democratic party on Thursday, Harris said she will create an opportunity economy" where everyone has a chance to compete and a chance to succeed. "I will make sure that we lead the world into the future on space and Artificial Intelligence, and that Americanot Chinawins the competition for the 21st century. And that we strengthennot abdicateour global leadership," Harris, 59. said in her address at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Whether you live in a rural area, small town, or big city. As President, I will bring together: Labor and workers, Small business owners and entrepreneurs, And American companies, To create jobs. Grow our economy. And lower the cost of everyday needs. Like health care. Housing. And groceries, she said. She said her government would provide access to capital for small business owners, entrepreneurs, and founders. "We will end Americas housing shortage and protect social security and Medicare," she said. Harris, who will take on former president Donald Trump in the November 5 election, said her Republican rival doesnt fight for the middle class. "Instead, he fights for himself and his billionaire friends. He will give them another round of tax breaks, that will add five trillion dollars to the national debt," she said. "All while he intends to enact what, in effect, is a national sales taxcall it, a Trump tax that would raise prices on middle-class families by almost 4,000 dollars a year. Well, instead of a Trump tax hike, we will pass a middle-class tax cut that will benefit more than 100 million Americans, she said. Harris said America cannot truly be prosperous unless Americans are fully able to make their own decisions about their own lives, especially on matters of heart and home. "But tonight, too many women in America are not able to make those decisions. Lets be clear about how we got here. Donald Trump hand-picked members of the United States Supreme Court to take away reproductive freedom. And now he brags about it, she said. Over the past two years, Harris said she has travelled across the country. "Women have told me their stories. Husbands and fathers have shared theirs. Stories of: Women miscarrying in a parking lotGetting sepsisLosing the ability to ever have children againAllbecause doctors are afraid of going to jail for caring for their patients. Couples just trying to grow their familycut off in the middle of IVF treatments. Children who have survived sexual assault, potentially forced to carry the pregnancy to term, she said. She said Trump and allies would limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion and enact a nationwide abortion ban with or without Congress. In this election, many other fundamental freedoms are at stake. The freedom to live safe from gun violencein our schools, communities, and places of worship. The freedom to love who you love openly and with pride. The freedom to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis. And the freedom that unlocks all the others. The freedom to vote, Harris said. Harris also called for reforming the broken immigration system. We can create an earned pathway to citizenship And secure our border. America, we must also be steadfast in advancing our security and our values abroad, she said. Kochi, Aug 23 (PTI) The Association of Malayalam Movie Artists on Friday said it welcomes the findings and recommendations in the Justice Hema Committee report and was in favour of implementing them. While welcoming the report, Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) general secretary Sidhique also said that he and the association were disappointed with the general remarks circulating in the public domain condemning the film industry as a whole for the actions of some individuals. The actor said that the association was in favour of police investigation into the "isolated" incidents of offenses against women in the film industry and punishing the individuals responsible for the same. "We are always with the victims. We will never protect the culprits," he said at a press conference held here following severe criticism of AMMA over its silence till now regarding the report. Sidhique also explained why the association did not respond till now regarding the report. He said that many of the association members were rehearsing for some programme for the last several days and were busy with that when the report was made public. "We got free yesterday morning. Thereafter, we sought the views of all our members and executive committee and now we are here before you. This is the reason for the delay in a response from our side," he said. Sidhique said that AMMA was surprised by the contents of the report as it revealed many things which the association was unaware of. He further said that while AMMA did not have the power to bring about changes in the industry based on the findings and the recommendations in the report, it will cooperate with the government's efforts to do so. "It is the government which has to bring about the changes based on the report," he said. The actor also denied the presence of any "power group" in the industry which decides who should act in a film and who should not. "Actors who are successful get more films. That is how cinema works. It is the people who decide which film has to be successful. If some group decides on the cast of a film, the industry will not be able to function properly. It will come to a halt," he said. He was responding to reporters' queries about claims by some in the industry that there was a power group which takes decisions on who should be cast and who should be avoided. Kyiv, Aug 23 (AP) Ukraine's military says it used high-precision glide bombs provided by the United States to carry out strikes in Russia's Kursk region while also claiming to have recaptured some territory in the eastern region of Kharkiv, where Russia launched an offensive in the spring. Ukraine's Air Force Commander Lt Gen. Mykola Oleschuk issued a video Thursday night purporting to show a Russian platoon base being hit in the Kursk region. He said the attack with GBU-39 bombs resulted in Russian casualties and the destruction of equipment. The video showed multiple explosions and plumes of smoke rising at the site. Separately, Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said its forces advanced nearly two sq km (about three-quarters of a square mile) in the Kharkiv region. Details were not divulged about the timing, scale, and area of the offensive, and it's hard to predict if it will have any more impact on the battlefield. Ukraine's forces have gained new momentum this month after delayed deliveries of US weaponry were finally released. Kyiv launched a shock offensive into Russia's western Kursk region on August 6, while simultaneously intensifying a drone war against military and fuel targets that sparked blazes deep in Russia this week. On Friday some new details emerged about damage and injuries caused by some of those attacks. A Ukrainian drone attack targeting a distant Russian air base in its Volgograd region caused significant damage to an airfield that reportedly housed glide bombs used by Moscow in the war, satellite photos analysed Friday by The Associated Press showed. Meanwhile, an attack on a cargo ferry at the port of Kavkaz in Russia's Krasnodar region on Thursday injured 13 people, Russia's state news agency Tass reported Friday. Citing health officials, Tass said that four of the injured have been hospitalised and one other person remained unaccounted for. Ukraine's gains have reshaped the battlefield and buoyed the morale of Ukrainians 10 years after Russia first invaded their country, and 2 1/2 years after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion that has led to mass death and destruction and created Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. Ukraine and its Western allies hope that the regained momentum could strengthen Kyiv's hand on the diplomatic front. A visit to Kyiv by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is meeting Friday with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is being closely watched. There are Ukrainian hopes that Modi, who has maintained cordial ties and economic relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, could play a role in forging a mediated peace. The incursion into Russia has highlighted Russian vulnerabilities but also further stretched Ukrainian forces, who were already fighting on a frontline running hundreds of km (miles). It has possibly compromised Ukraine's ability to hold back Russian forces who have slowly but steadily gained ground in the Donetsk region, diverting Ukrainian forces who otherwise could bolster defence there. It's not clear how long Ukraine will be able to hold the land it has seized in Russia. The Russian Defence Ministry on Friday said that its troops turned back Ukrainian attempts to advance on the Kursk region's villages of Borki and Malaya Loknya. The ministry also reported taking out a reconnaissance and sabotage group near Kamyshevka, 20 km (12 miles) north of Sudzha, which the Ukrainians took. Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said in a statement published late Thursday that Ukrainian soldiers took control of an area that was held by a Russian battalion, and some strongholds. Brigade Commander Andrii Biletskyi said that they attacked Russian troops that had superiority and won, adding that the ratio of forces on the battlefield was 2.5:1 in Moscow's favour. The Associated Press was unable to independently verify the claims, and there was no immediate comment from Russia. Russia launched an offensive in the Kharkiv region in May that led to some gains but soon stalled. Fighting in that area has diminished as the Russian army has concentrated its efforts in Donetsk, part of the industrial Donbas region that Moscow formally annexed but does not fully control. Russia's springtime advance on Kharkiv was seen as a sign that Ukraine's position was weakening amid the delays of Western military aid. (AP) SCY SCY Chicago, Aug 23 (PTI) China wants Republican candidate Donald Trump to win the presidential election this November, Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said Thursday. Krishnamoorthi, who represents the eighth Congressional district of Illinois, is the only Indian-American Congressman to address the Democratic National Conference in Chicago. America against America is the title of a book by one of China's highest-ranking leaders, and it's how they think they'll win. They know the only way they'll beat America is if we beat ourselves, said Krishnamoorthi, who is a ranking member of the powerful China committee in the House of Representatives. In the Congress, he said, his job is to study China's economy. Mark my words, they want to see Donald Trump across the bargaining table. Because he'll start endless trade wars that raise prices for Americans. Because he'll cut programmes that train workers in America. But most of all, Trump will hit American against American. And that's what China wants, for us to fight amongst ourselves, Krishnamoorthi said. Because that's how we lose. But we're not going back. What does Kamala Harris tell us? When we fight, we win! Because Kamala Harris knows we fight best, not American against American. She knows that when we fight as one country, we win. When we fight as one team, we win. Which is why when Kamala Harris wins in November. We win, Raja Krishnamoorthi said during his address at the DNC. Mexico City, Aug 23 (AP) Mexico said on Friday it is sending a diplomatic note protesting supposed US interference after the American ambassador openly criticised a proposed Mexican judicial overhaul that would make all judges stand for election. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called the comments disrespectful of our national sovereignty and claimed it interfered in Mexico's domestic affairs, adding I hope this will not happen again. On Thursday, US Ambassador Ken Salazar said the proposed changes pose a risk to Mexico's democracy and that they threaten "the historic commercial relationship between the two countries. Critics fear the constitutional changes are an attempt by Lopez Obrador to weaken the independence of the judiciary. The diplomatic note said the ambassador's comments represent an unacceptable interference, a violation of Mexico's sovereignty. The proposal to require judges to stand for election, which has not been approved yet, has spurred criticism from investors and financial institutions in recent days, with the Mexican peso steadily dropping in currency markets. On Tuesday, Morgan Stanley downgraded its recommendation for investing in Mexico, saying the overhaul would increase risk. Others, like Citibanamex, warned that passage of the proposal could end in the cancellation of liberal democracy. Democracies can't function without a strong, independent and non-corrupt judicial branch, Salazar told reporters. Any judicial reform needs to have safeguards that the judicial branch is strengthened, and not the subject to political conditions. He said the proposed overhaul would help cartels and other bad actors take advantage of inexperienced judges with political motivations, and create turbulence both economically and politically for years to come The proposed overhaul also has triggered strikes by federal court workers and judges in many parts of Mexico this week. If approved, the measures would allow virtually anyone with a law degree with a few years experience as a lawyer to become a judge through popular vote. If too many candidates register to run for a judgeship, the final contenders would essentially be chosen by putting their names in a hat and holding a drawing. Given major electoral wins by Lopez Obrador's Morena party in June, academics, financial institutions and court employees say the changes would pave the way to stack courts with politically biased judges. That could hand the governing party control of all three branches of government and deal a blow to checks and balances, they warn. The proposal must be approved by Mexico's newly elected congress, which will take office September 1 with Morena and its allies holding a majority. The president's six-year term runs to September 30, and President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum has also defended the proposal. Lopez Obrador, a populist averse to independent regulatory agencies, has long been at odds with the judicial branch. He contends judges are part of a mafia that opposes him, and says the proposal is meant to clean up corruption. He has gone on winding rants against the judicial system, ignored court orders and publicly sparred with judges whose rulings he has disagreed with. While Salazar said rooting out corruption in Mexico's judiciary is not a bad idea, he expressed deep concern over the prospect of having judges elected. The direct election of judges represents a risk for the functioning of Mexico's democracy, and the integration of the American, Mexican and Canadian economies, Salazar said. (AP) PY PY Kathmandu, Aug 23 (PTI) At least 27 Indian pilgrims who arrived in Nepal from Maharashtra for a 10-day tour were killed and 16 others injured after a tourist bus veered off the highway and fell into fast-flowing Marsyangdi river in central Nepal on Friday, police said. The incident occurred at Anbookhaireni area in Chitawan district when the bus from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh carrying 43 passengers, including the driver and two helpers, was heading towards Kathmandu from Pokhara. While 16 people died on the spot, 11 succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment, Deputy Spokesperson of Armed Police Force (APF) Shailendra Thapa told PTI. Sixteen people who sustained injuries have been airlifted to Kathmandu and admitted at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, he said. The dead bodies will be handed over to their family members after postmortem, Thapa said, adding that the postmortem will be conducted on Saturday at Western Regional Health Science Academy in Pokhara. The bus with an Uttar Pradesh number plate that fell around 150 metre down the hilly road is still lying in the bank of Marsyangdi river and will be lifted with the help of a crane on Saturday, he said. Thapa said 250 security personnel, including from Nepal Army, Armed Police Force and Nepal Police, were mobilised for rescue works. Twin rope was used to conduct the rescue operation as the accident site lies in a deep and narrow gorge near the Marsyangdi River, he said. The reason for the accident is not yet known. The accident site lies in the national highway some 90 km west of Kathmandu. According to a report in MyRepublica news portal, the passengers onboard the bus were part of a group of 104 Indian pilgrims who arrived in Nepal from Maharashtra in three buses two days ago for a 10-day tour of the Himalayan nation. They came from Bhusal village in Jalgaon district. After visiting Pokhara for two days, all three buses left for the capital Kathmandu on Friday morning. Madhav Pad Paudel, chief of the Armed Police Force (APF), Kurintar, said that most of the passengers travelling in these three buses were families and relatives. A list of names of the 43 passengers who were in the ill-fated bus has been released. "An Indian tourist bus travelling from Pokhara to Kathmandu with around 43 Indians fell 150 metres into Marshyandi River today," the Embassy of India said in a post on X. The mission is coordinating with local authorities undertaking relief and rescue. The bus that fell on the river bank was badly damaged. An MI 17 helicopter of the Nepal Army was deployed to transport injured passengers from the accident site at Anbu Khaireni in Tanahun district with a medical team for the rescue operation, MyRepublica reported. Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government has sent a Sub Divisional Magistrate to the incident site. An ADM has also been appointed to coordinate the relief work. Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner GS Naveen Kumar in a press statement said, "As per media reports and further confirmed from the MEA Nepal Division, today at about 11:30 am, a bus with registration number - UP 53 FD 7623 carrying approx 43 passengers from Maharashtra, including the driver and one assistant, fell around 150 metres into river Marshyandi in Ambukhereni region in the Tanahu District of Nepal. The statement added, "The UP government has sent SDM Maharajganj to the incident site. The MEA is coordinating the search and rescue operations with local authorities." Nepal's rivers are generally fast-flowing due to the mountainous terrain. Heavy monsoon downpours in the past few days have swollen the waterways and turned them murky brown, making it even more difficult to see the wreckage. Monsoon season brings heavy rains to Nepal from June to September, often triggering landslides in the mountainous Himalayan country. Last month, two buses carrying 65 passengers were washed away by a landslide into the swollen Trishuli River in Nepal. The bodies from the two buses were washed away down the Trishuli River as far as 100 kilometres. Extensive search operations, including the deployment of a 12-member team from India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), have not yet located the two missing buses and many passengers swept away by the landslide. The bodies of five Indian nationals have been recovered so far while two are still missing. PTI SBP NSA GSP SCY AKJ SCY SCY Kyiv, Aug 23 (PTI) When Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy here on Friday, he first shook hands and immediately gave him a warm hug. The hug to the top leader of the war-torn country came barely six weeks after Modi had similarly hugged the leader of Ukraines arch enemy Russia, President Vladimir Putin. During a media briefing after the Modi-Zelenskyy talks, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was asked about the embrace in a question meant to seek comments on apparent linkages with Modis meetings with Putin earlier and Zelenskyy now. In our part of the world, when people meet people, they are given to embracing each other, it may not be part of your culture but I can assure you it is part of ours. In fact, today, I think, I saw, Prime Minister (Modi) also embrace President Zelenskyy, Jaishankar replied to a specific question by a Western reporter which mentioned in as many words about Modis embrace of Putin a few weeks ago. And I have seen him do it with a number of other leaders in a number of other places. So, I think, we have a slight ... cultural gap here in terms of what these courtesies mean, Jaishankar added. Much to the chagrin of the Western powers that be, Modi met Putin in July and spoke about how a solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and how peace efforts do not succeed in the midst of bombs and bullets. On Friday, India maintained that Ukraine and Russia need to engage with each other to find a solution to the ongoing conflict between them as Modi held wide-ranging talks with Zelenskyy under the shadow of the raging war. After Modi met with Putin, the Western media was full of news with headlines such as Modis Embrace of Putin Irks Biden Team Pushing Support for Kyiv while the BBC in one of its reports said, Photos from Moscow showed a beaming Mr Modi hugging the Russian president. Incidentally, Zelenskyy had criticised Modi for meeting Putin -- coincided with the NATO summit in Washington -- describing it as a huge disappointment. Earlier, Modi had met Zelenskyy on the margins of the G7 Summit in June in Italy. Irbil (Iraq), Aug 23 (AP) Two female journalists were killed in a Turkish airstrike that hit their car in northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region, local officials and media said on Friday. The journalists, Hero Baha'uddin and Golestan Tara, worked for a local Kurdish media company, according to local media outlet Roj News and an official in Sulaimaniyah province who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to comment publicly. Qubad Talabani, deputy prime minister of the regional government in northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region, condemned the strike. They were two women journalists, not members of an armed force to be a threat to the security and stability of any country or region, he said in a statement. Roj News reported that six other journalists were injured with varying degrees of severity". An earlier statement by the Kurdish region's counter-terrorism service based in Irbil said a strike near the village of Teperash had targeted a car carrying members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, a Kurdish separatist group that has waged an insurgency against Turkey since the 1980s and is banned there and in Iraq. It said the strike had killed a PKK official along with a guard and their driver. It was not immediately clear if the two accounts were referencing the same strike and whether there were one or two cars hit. There was no immediate statement from Turkish officials. Earlier Friday the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement that its forces had neutralized 16 PKK members in other parts of northern Iraq. We will continue unpredictable, unconventional, rapid and continuous operations to destroy terrorism at its source, the statement said. The PKK has maintained bases in northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region. In recent months, Turkiye has built up its troops in northern Iraq and has threatened an offensive to clear PKK forces from the border area. Turkiye often launches strikes against targets in Syria and Iraq that it believes to be affiliated with the PKK. Baghdad has complained that the strikes are a breach of its sovereignty, but has also taken a tougher stance against the PKK in recent months. (AP) PY PY BAKU. Azerbaijan. August 23. The US military has shot down three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) belonging to the Houthi rebels of the Ansar Allah movement in Yemen, Trend reports. The US Central Command published information about this on the social network "X". "Over the past 24 hours, Central Command forces have successfully destroyed two drones over the Red Sea and one UAV in Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen," the statement said. Chicago, Aug 23 (PTI) Kamala Harris has remembered her mother Shyamala Gopalan and said that she misses her every day, especially when she is on the verge of breaking the highest glass ceiling of the United States. Vice President Harris, who is of Indian and African heritage, on Thursday night accepted the nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, becoming the second woman to do so for the Democratic Party. America, the path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected. But Im no stranger to unlikely journeys, Harris, 59, said. My mother Shyamala Harris had one of her own. I miss her every day--especially now. And I know shes looking down tonight, and smiling, she said. Harris said her mother was 19 when she crossed the world alone, travelling from India to California with an unshakeable dream to be the scientist who would cure breast cancer. "... It was mostly my mother who raised us. Before she could finally afford to buy a home, she rented a small apartment in the East Bay. In the Bay, you either live in the hills or the flatlands. We lived in the flats -- a beautiful working-class neighbourhood of firefighters, nurses, and construction workers, all of whom tended their lawns with pride," said Harris. Shyamala Gopalan migrated to the US at the age of 19 to pursue higher studies. Chicago, Aug 23 (PTI) Kamala Harris has formally accepted the Democratic Party's presidential nomination to take on Republican rival Donald Trump in the November election. Vice President Harris, who is of Indian and African heritage, on Thursday night accepted the nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, becoming the second woman to do so for the Democratic Party. "On behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey on behalf of Americans, like the people I grew up with, people who work hard, chase their dreams and look out for one another, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination the United States," she said. Harris, 59, is the first-ever Indian-American and the first-ever Black woman nominated on a major presidential ticket in the US. Harris also became the first-ever woman of colour to be on the top of a presidential ticket of a major American political party. She is also the first ever Indian-American to be nominated as presidential candidate of either the Republican or the Democratic party. Taking the stage at the United Center in Chicago to accept her nomination, she said she is no stranger to unlikely journeys. Harris mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was Indian and her father, Donald Jasper Harris, is Jamaican. If elected, Harris would break one of the highest glass ceilings left for women in the United States -- that of occupying the country's top office. Chicago, Aug 23 (PTI) Kamala Harris has vowed to be president for all Americans" and asked them to reject political divisions, warning of "extremely serious" consequences of putting her Republican rival Donald Trump back in White House. Vice President Harris, who is of Indian and African heritage, on Thursday night accepted her party's nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, becoming the second woman to do so for the Democratic Party. The 59-year-old leader walked on stage to thunderous applause and a standing ovation from the audience. Chants of Yes You Can! erupted before her remarks. Taking the stage at the United Center in Chicago to accept her nomination, Harris said she is no stranger to unlikely journeys. "On behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey on behalf of Americans, like the people I grew up with, people who work hard, chase their dreams and look out for one another, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination the United States," she said. She remembered her mother Shyamala Gopalan and said that she misses her every day, especially when she is on the verge of breaking the highest glass ceiling of the United States. She said the November 5 election is the most important in America's history. Our nation with this election has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans," she said in her 40-minute speech. Vice President Harris outlined her plans for a new way forward if shes elected to be the 47th president of the United States. She laid out the consequences of electing former President Donald Trump to a second term. In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man, but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious, she warned. She spoke about the chaos and calamity of his years in the Oval Office and also pointed to him questioning election results in 2020 when he lost his reelection bid. Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes. When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol where they assaulted law enforcement officers. When politicians in his own party begged him to call off the mob and send help, he did the opposite. He fanned the flames, she said. Harris also highlighted that Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts in a hush money case and that a federal jury in his civil defamation trial found that the former president had sexually abused writer E Jean Carroll. He was found guilty of fraud by a jury of everyday Americans, and separately found liable for committing sexual abuse, she said. She said she would ensure America strengthens and not abdicate its global leadership. She also said she would ensure "America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century". She also extended support to Ukraine and NATO allies. Trump reacted to Harris speech in real-time on Truth Social. IS SHE TALKING ABOUT ME? Trump posted. The former president posted in rapid succession, criticizing Harris speech, saying A lot of talk about childhood, and Too many Thank yous, too rapidly said. Trump repeatedly questioned why Harris hadnt already accomplished the policy proposals she has put forward as part of her reelection campaign while serving as vice president. She said, Chart a new way forward, but shes had three and a half years, and has done nothing but HARM! Trump wrote. Ciudad Hidalgo, Aug 23 (AP) As soon as she stepped onto Mexican soil this week, Venezuelan migrant Yuri Carolina Melendez downloaded the US government's app to apply for asylum appointments. The CBP One app has been around, but as of Friday migrants in Mexico's southernmost states bordering Guatemala will be able to apply for appointments. Previously, they had to be in central or northern Mexico. I have to wait to see if it really works, the woman said while resting under a tree with her 16- and 18-year-old daughters along a border highway leading to the city of Tapachula this week. Mexico has been asking the US to expand the app's access to the south in an attempt to relieve the pressure migrants feel to continue north to at least Mexico City. In recent years, the Mexican government has tried to contain migrants in the south farther from the US border, but the lack of work opportunities and housing in southern cities like Tapachula have pushed migrants north. Mexico hopes that if migrants can wait for their appointments in the south they might not risk getting snagged by authorities without papers or by organised crime groups that prey on migrants travelling north. With an appointment, they could, in theory, move without interference. Germin Aleman, a 31-year-old from Honduras travelling with his wife and three children, planned to register as soon as they reached Tapachula. We're going to apply here, we're going to wait for the appointment, he said as they walked from the border toward Tapachula. Others, however, still felt the pressure to get farther north. Many migrants often carry big debts and need to start paying them off as soon as possible. Melendez, for instance, said she planned to keep moving to improve her chances of finding work. CBP One has been one of the measures of greatest impact in US efforts to bring order to the growing demand for US asylum along its southwestern border. In the 2023 fiscal year, US Customs and Border Protection reported more than 2.4 million encounters with migrants along the US Southwest border. Since the app was launched in January 2023, more than 765,000 people have scheduled appointments to request asylum. Immigration has become a central issue in the US presidential election. When the Biden administration temporarily suspended the asylum process for those who crossed illegally in June, the app became one of the only ways to request asylum. The US handles 1,500 appointments daily. The number of migrants crossing the US border illegally has fallen significantly since peaking in December 2023. Washington attributes much of that decline to Mexico's enforcement efforts, which include nabbing migrants in the north and sending them south again. Still, Mexico welcomes CBP One's expansion. That is going to help us a lot, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alicia Barcena said earlier this month when she announced the expansion was coming. Immigration is a key issue in the two countries' relationship. But for dozens of nongovernmental groups that advocate for migrants and human rights, there is little to celebrate. In an open letter to the Mexican government Thursday, they called CBP One a violation of international law because it allows the US to limit access to its territory for people in need of protection. The groups argued that many migrants wind up stuck in Mexico for months waiting in full shelters or camping in unsanitary conditions. While they wait they are vulnerable to kidnapping, sexual assaults, torture and extortion by criminals and authorities, they said. In theory, Mexico's National Immigration Institute allows migrants with CBP One appointments to travel freely to the US border, but the organisations said authorities still sometimes detain migrants and send them south again to keep them from the border. The institute did not respond to a request for comment about those allegations. In southern Mexico, migrants have always been targets of smugglers and criminals but the region was quite peaceful for the rest of its inhabitants. Now the situation has changed. The southern border region is locked in a territorial struggle between Mexico's most powerful drug cartels, which want to control routes for smuggling drugs, weapons and migrants. Violence is part of daily life in a lot of border towns. Among migrants waiting in Ciudad Hidalgo's central plaza near the Suchiate river that divides Mexico and Guatemala, the question remains whether to wait or to keep moving north. As a group of migrants debated the answer, the factor that weighed most heavily was money. The migrants had heard the chances of finding jobs are higher in central and northern Mexico, and money is needed for what could be a monthslong wait for an appointment. If there are work opportunities we'll stay; if not, we'll keep advancing until they give us an appointment, said Yuleidi Banque, a 28-year-old Venezuelan who had just arrived in Mexico with her partner and her 7-year-old daughter. My daughter isn't well she's fed through a feeding tube. We need help, Banque said. The United Nations Refugee Agency is cautious about CBP One's expansion. Giovanni Lepri, the Mexico chief for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, said it could mean fewer risks for migrants headed north. But he added that dealing with migration requires diverse measures, those like stabilising the countries of origin, protection in the transit countries and options for regularisation and asylum in destination countries. For Noemi Ramirez, a 47-year-old from El Salvador, hearing that she could begin her asylum application from Mexico's Chiapas state led her to immediately set off with her 19-year-old daughter for Tapachula. We're going to wait until we get an appointment. I'm not thinking of going any farther, she said as they walked, worrying about the violence they could face along the way. I'm not going to risk it with my daughter. We're alone. (AP) GSP Washington, Aug 23 (PTI) India and the US have signed two key agreements as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh began his official visit to Washington to further boost the comprehensive global strategic partnership between the two countries. The agreements signed on Thursday pertain to the Security of Supplies Arrangement (SOSA) and a Memorandum of Agreement regarding the Assignment of Liaison Officers. "Two important documents have been signed in Washington DC as Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsinghs visit to the United States begins. Senior defence officials from both sides concluded the Security of Supplies Arrangement (SOSA), and Memorandum of Agreement regarding the Assignment of Liaison Officers," the Ministry of Defence (MoD) shared in a post on X on Friday, along with some photographs of the event. Singh arrived here on Thursday on a four-day visit to the US. The US and India entered into a "bilateral, non-binding Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA)", the US Department of Defence (DoD) said in a press release on Thursday. Through this SOSA, the US and India agree to provide reciprocal priority support for goods and services that promote national defence. The Arrangement will enable both countries to acquire the industrial resources they need from one another to resolve unanticipated supply chain disruptions to meet national security needs, it said. The SOSA was signed by Dr Vic Ramdass, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for Industrial Base Policy, on behalf of the US, and Samir Kumar Sinha, Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisitions), on behalf of the Ministry of Defence (MoD). "This Security of Supply Arrangement represents a pivotal moment in the US-India Major Defence Partner relationship and will be a key factor in strengthening the US-India Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI)," said Ramdass. "I look forward to OUSD(A&S) hosting the next DTTI meeting this fall to deepen cooperation between our respective defence industrial bases and pursue bilateral co-development, co-production, and co-sustainment initiatives," he said. In the Arrangement, the US and India commit to support one another's priority delivery requests for procurement of critical national defence resources. The US will provide India assurances under the US Defence Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS), with programme determinations by DoD and rating authorisation by the Department of Commerce (DOC). India will in turn establish a government-industry Code of Conduct with its industrial base, where Indian firms will voluntarily agree to make every reasonable effort to provide the US priority support, the release said. With an expanding global supply chain for DOD, SOSAs are an important mechanism for DoD to strengthen interoperability with US defence trade partners. The Arrangements institute working groups, establish communication mechanisms, streamline DoD processes, and proactively act to allay anticipated supply chain issues in peacetime, emergency, and armed conflict. They are also a useful tool in developing investment strategies to ensure redundancy and security, it said. India is the 18th SOSA partner of the US. Other SOSA partners include Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and the UK. Washington, Aug 23 (PTI) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has highlighted India's rapid development and progress and urged the diaspora to serve as ambassadors for the country and help enhance its global perception. Rajnath Singh, who is here on a four-day visit to the US, made this remark when a delegation of Overseas Friends of BJP, led by its president Dr Adapa Prasad called on him on Thursday. The delegation comprises prominent community leaders, including Sikhs of America Chairman Jesse Singh and President Kanwaljit Singh Soni. Addressing the gathering, Rajnath Singh quoted the US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, saying, "If you want to see the future, come to India; if you want to feel the future, come to India; and if you want to work for the future, come to India." He highlighted India's rapid development and progress, urging the diaspora to serve as ambassadors for India and help enhance its global perception. After he met with Rajnath Singh, Prasad praised him as a leader who values grassroots workers. He said they discussed "the role of the diaspora in strengthening US-India relations and people-to-people contacts between the two nations". Jesse Singh expressed gratitude to the defence minister for his assistance in resolving several issues affecting the Sikh community, while Kanwaljit Soni also thanked him for his support. Later that evening, the Embassy of India hosted a community event in honour of Rajnath Singh, attended by leaders from various ethnic and national organisations. Chicago, Aug 23 (PTI) US Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday accepted her nomination as the Democratic Party's candidate for the November 5 presidential election. Harris, who is of Indian and African heritage, delivered a 40-minute acceptance speech on the final day of the Democratic National Convention during which the 59-year-old attacked her Republican rival and former president Donald Trump. The daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, Harris became the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to accept a major American political party's presidential nomination. Harris would also become the first female president if elected. Following are some of the quotable quotes from Harris' address: -- America, the path that led me here in recent weeks, was no doubt unexpected. But Im no stranger to unlikely journeys. -- I grew up immersed in the ideals of the Civil Rights Movement. -- I believe everyone has a right: To safety. To dignity. And to justice. As a prosecutor, when I had a case, I charged it not in the name of the victim. But in the name of. The People. -- I would often explain this, to console survivors of crime. To remind them: No one should be made to fight alone. We are all in this together. Every day in the courtroom, I stood proudly before a judge and said five words: Kamala Harris, for the People. -- And to be clear: My entire career, I have only had one client. The People. -- On behalf of The People, On behalf of every American. Regardless of party. Race. Gender. Or the language your grandmother speaks. On behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey. On behalf of Americans like the people I grew up with. People who work hard. Chase their dreams. And look out for one another. On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth. I accept your nomination for President of the United States of America. -- With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a New Way Forward. Not as members of any one party or faction. But as Americans. -- I promise to be a President for all Americans. -- You can always trust me to put country above party and self. To hold sacred Americas fundamental principles. From the rule of law. To free and fair elections. To the peaceful transfer of power. -- I will be a President who unites us around our highest aspirations. A President who leads. And listens. Who is realistic. Practical. And has common sense. And always fights for the American people. -- The future is always worth fighting for. And thats the fight we are in right now. A fight for Americas future. -- In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious. -- Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails. How he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States. Not to improve your life. Not to strengthen our national security. But to serve the only client he has ever had: Himself. -- America, we are not going back. We are charting. A. New. Way. Forward. Forward to a future with a strong and growing middle class. Because we know a strong middle class has always been critical to Americas success. And building that middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency. -- Instead of a Trump tax hike, we will pass a middle-class tax cut that will benefit more than 100 million Americans. -- And when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, as President of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law. -- Let me be clear: I will always stand up for Israels right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself. Because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that the terrorist organisation Hamas caused on October 7th. -- America, let us show each otherand the worldwho we are. And what we stand for. Freedom. Opportunity. Compassion. Dignity. Fairness. And endless possibilities. -- We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world. And on behalf of our children and grandchildren, and all those who sacrificed so dearly for our freedom and liberty, we must be worthy of this moment. It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done. Guided by optimism and faith, to fight for this country we love. To fight for the ideals we cherish. And to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth. The privilege and pride of being an American. -- And together, let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told. Dhaka, Aug 23 (PTI) Bangladeshs interim government has revoked ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina's diplomatic passport along with all members of the former Cabinet, over two weeks after she resigned and fled to India following a student-led uprising against her government. A statement by the Security Services Division of the Home Affairs Ministry on Thursday said diplomatic passports received by the former prime minister, ex-PMs advisors, ex-cabinet members and all members of the recently dissolved Jatiya Sangsad (Parliament) and their spouses would be revoked immediately, the official BSS news agency reported. President Mohammed Shahabuddin in August dissolved the 12th Parliament after Hasina, 76, fled the country. Currently, an interim government led by Nobel Peace laureate Muhammad Yunus is running the country. Diplomatic passports of the officials would also be revoked immediately upon termination of their tenure or appointment, it said. The release said ordinary passports may be issued in their favour based on the reports of at least two investigating agencies, it added. Hasina fled to India after being forced to resign in the face of a student-led mass uprising on August 5. According to the Indian visa policy, Bangladeshi citizens holding diplomatic or official passports are eligible for visa-free entry and a stay of up to 45 days, The Daily Star newspaper said. As of Thursday, Hasina has already spent 18 days in India. Hasina does not hold any passport other than the diplomatic passport issued in her name, the paper said quoting government sources. The cancellation of her diplomatic passport and its associated visa privileges may put her at risk of extradition. The extradition of Hasina, who is facing 51 cases, including 42 for murder, falls within the legal framework of the extradition treaty signed between Bangladesh and India, the BSS report said. According to the treaty signed in 2013 and amended in 2016, "extradition may be refused if the offence for which it is requested is an offence of a political character." It also says that certain offences -- like murder -- "shall not be regarded as offences of a political character" for the purposes of the treaty. However, one of the grounds for refusal of extradition is if the charges being pressed have not been "made in good faith, in the interest of justice", the report said. Dhaka, Aug 23 (PTI) Meera Menon, an Indian expat living with her family in Bangladesh for 16 years says her mother in Kerala is constantly urging them to leave the country due to safety concerns, but for her young daughter "Dhaka feels like home" and separation is not easy. A large number of Indians have left the violence-torn country since the mass anti-quota protests began in July which took a turn into an unprecedented resistance against the Sheikh Hasina government and led to her ouster on August 5. Menon, 45, a native of Thrissur district of Kerala lives in the heart of Dhaka, along with her husband, who works here as a senior manager in a company, and their 14-year-old daughter Avantika. "We were in Kerala on a holiday and landed back in Dhaka on August 4. It was a curfew day, but we had no idea the situation would turn so dramatically in a day. The area where we live wasn't disturbed during the protests, but there is patrolling by security personnel at night and the sound of whistles, etc. My sleep also has been affected," Menon told PTI at her home. Dhaka has a vibrant Indian community belonging to different regions of India and Menon, a homemaker, is also the current president of the Dhaka Malayalee Association (DMA). "Every year, we celebrate our festivals here. This September too, we had planned to celebrate Onam on September 27, but we already cancelled our reservation at the Boat Club, because of the unfavourable situation right now," she said. Also, many members have left for Kerala or other parts of India. Some are taking short breaks, and some are in a dilemma, deciding whether to come back. Few of them have decided to keep their families back in India, said the Thrissur native, who first came to Bangladesh in late 2008 after her wedding. "People who are here in Dhaka or who are in India, are in utter confusion or dilemma whether to stay here or move back, relocate. There is a sense of uncertainty. My mother in Kerala, calls me every day to check on me and tell us to move back to India. Even when we were returning from our long holidays in India, she kept urging us to move back," she added. Menon admits she feels torn between safety concerns for her and her family and the bonding they feel, especially their daughter, with the city of Dhaka. "My daughter was barely 10 months old when we first arrived in Bangladesh. She literally grew up here and feels a bonding with the place and so do we as Dhaka has been our home for the last good 16 years," she said. In this decade and a half, the Menons have integrated well into the life and cultural ethos of Dhaka, while being rooted to their culture. Image of Goddess Durga mounted on a miniature 'sup' (flat wicker basket) flank the entrance of her home in Dhaka, a dangling chain with a Lord Ganesha pendant hung on a wall while 'Shubh Labh' -- auspicious Hindu symbol -- stickers embossed on the front door. Her husband Suresh, also a Malayalee who grew up in Mumbai, and her daughter, a trained Bharatnatyam dancer, speak fluent Bengali. "I learned it while listening to our domestic help and car driver, both of whom are Bangladeshi," quips Avantika when asked how she learned to speak Bengali. Menon said her husband tries to keep away from the news and social media updates to keep himself composed and the idea of moving back to India or relocating at times comes up in their discussion. Avantika, a class 9 student, said when she was in Kerala recently, her maternal grandmother urged her to come back to India too. Asked what Dhaka, where she grew up, means to her, the 14-year-old, "Dhaka, feels like home. Going to Kerala feels like visiting a place". Menon says the DMA was set up in 2006 with 60 members, and she became its president, the first woman to hold the post, in 2023. As per their last estimate, about 200 Malayalees live in Bangladesh. She said the "current situation looks normal" on the surface. But, one never knows what the real situation is going to happen in a few weeks or months. "But, things appear normal and ok, schools have resumed, offices are functioning and streets also seem fine." "The very next day (August 5) after we arrived, there was vandalism and then the exit of (Bangladesh) Prime Minister. We were here only, and, followed by an absence of law and order, and everything we witnessed," the Kerala native recalled. Schools were supposed to open from August 4, but physical classes started there on August 18, the homemaker added. "We have been living in Dhaka for the past 16 years, there is a kind of attachment, we just can't leave everything and relocate. It can't be a hasty decision, so we are observing the situation," said Menon, also a classical dancer. "This country has given many opportunities for me and my daughter, and we achieved so many things by staying here. So, Bangladesh is close to our hearts," she said. The head of Bangladeshs interim government, Mohammad Yunus on August 16 had conveyed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a phone conversation that Dhaka would prioritise the protection and safety of Hindus and all other minority groups. Menon and her family members, as many other people of the minority community here, feel reassured by such words being conveyed by the Chief Advisor. "I have seen the transition of this country from 2008 to 2024, deeply saddened to see what happened, but I hope and pray that resilient people will bring back the glory of Bangladesh," she said. The Indian national said she and her husband do their morning and evening 'puja' prayers, and that is the "only relief", as it "gives us strength to go through all adverse situations in life". Dhaka, Aug 23 (PTI) Monsoon rainfall-triggered floods in deltaic Bangladesh and upstream Indian regions killed at least 13 people and marooned or affected nearly three million others in this country, posing a huge administrative challenge to the newly installed interim government amid a political transition. Bangladesh is crisscrossed by more than 200 rivers, 54 of them being transboundary rivers with upper riparian India, in four major basins. A depression (a system that brings in copious rainfall) in the Bay of Bengal has led to the current deluge with rivers in two basins the north-eastern Meghna Basin and south-western Chattrogram Hills Basin flowing above the danger mark. Apart from the torrential rains, the overflowing rivers, El Nino and climate change phenomenon were the factors responsible for widespread flooding in the country, weather experts said on Friday. A Disaster Management Ministry spokesperson said: We are monitoring the flood situation and relief activities from our control room in Dhaka. Communications with the central Feni district, which is located almost midway between the capital Dhaka and the port city of Chattogram, was virtually cut off while flood waters largely submerged the district headquarters and the collapsed electricity supply system disrupted the telecommunication lines. The cross border Khowai in (northeastern) Habiganj now flows 199 centimetres or nearly 2 metres above the danger marks at places, the Gumti (in eastern Bangladesh) flow at 118 centimetres above danger mark and Halda in (southeastern) Chattagram 1 metre at places, a spokesman of the Flood Warning and Forecasting Centre (FFWC) said about the situation on Friday afternoon. The FFWC, however, said heavy downpour was not observed in the past 24 hours and they are expecting the water level to recede gradually. The FFWC office came under criticism for failure to predict the situation even as the officials attributed the situation to a lack of information from counterparts in the upstream Indian region. According to local media reports, the situation became bizarre as local government representatives were unavailable or on the run because of their political affiliation after the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasinas Awami League regime in a student-people upsurge earlier in the month. That made it difficult for relief coordination, the media reports said. The floods have hit the country as interim leader Muhammad Yunus is overhauling the bureaucracy by changing their heads. The new government has also sacked more than 1,800 elected local government representatives across the country since Yunus assumed charge on August 8. Hasina, 76, stepped down on August 5 and fled to India amidst a mass uprising that followed attacks, vandalism and killings of many people loyal to her. Hundreds of vehicles, including passenger bus services and lorries, plying from the Chattogram port city to Dhaka and elsewhere were stranded due to the sudden rush of water blocking the two major highways, which in turn not just isolated people but hampered the rescue efforts. Several rivers surpassed their bank lines, particularly in north-eastern eastern and south-eastern Bangladesh inundating many cities and towns alongside several hundred villages killing the people, damaging the infrastructures and disrupting communication lines. I have never seen or heard of any such flood in (central) Feni district in my life, 93-year-old income tax lawyer Kazi Golam Manuddin told PTI from Feni about 130 km southeast of Dhaka, near Bangladesh-India border with Tripura on the other side - on phone as he was forced to move out of his home to take refuge in a relatively dry area. Disaster management officials said most of the deaths were caused by drowning while electrocution and felling of trees were other reasons for the casualties but the sudden deluge caused by gushing waters split many families while many people were forced to take refuge on highways or rooftops. Firefighters with the help of local residents, Red Crescent volunteers, police and army troops rescued many stranded people in their rubber crafts. At one place a minor child was seen standing in chest-deep water and at another spot a young mother was seen sitting on a pile of bricks with her infant child on her lap being isolated from the rest of their families before being rescued. Even when several experts attributed the sudden flooding to climate change, a 2015 World Bank study estimated that 3.5 million people in tropical Bangladesh are vulnerable (to floods) because of its geophysical topography. According to FFWC, the most affected districts in Bangladesh included eastern or centre-east Cumilla, Feni, north-eastern Moulvibazar, Habiganj and south-eastern Chattrogram, where five major rivers were flowing above danger levels. BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 24. The US will transfer a new weapons package to Ukraine, which will include air defense missiles, anti-drone and anti-tank weapons, and other ammunition, US President Joe Biden said in a statement released by the White House press service, Trend reports. Biden said he had a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday in connection with the country's Independence Day on August 24. According to him, the United States will soon "announce a new package of military assistance to Ukraine." "This package will include air defense missiles <...>, anti-drone equipment, and anti-tank missiles <...>," Biden noted. In addition, the American leader emphasized that the next arms package will include other ammunition and "mobile missile systems," without explaining what kind of weapons he was talking about. (This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI) Lahore, Aug 23 (PTI) The death toll in a rocket attack on police vans by dacoits in Pakistan's Punjab province rose to 12 on Friday after one of the wounded officers died in a hospital, as police pursued suspects in Punjab province, officials said. Two vehicles carrying around 22 policemen were on their way back from a police camp in riverine area Rahim Yar Khan district, some 400 km from Lahore, when the vans stuck in a muddy roadway at Machah point on Thursday evening. A group of dacoits reached there and attacked them with rockets and also opened fire on the police team. At least 11 cops were killed in the attack on the spot, while some of them were taken hostage and the remaining were injured, police said. "On Friday one more policeman succumbed to his injuries, reaching the death toll to 12," a Punjab police spokesperson said. He said a heavy contingent of police has launched an operation in Rahim Yar Khan pockets where the outlaws have been hiding. "Police today eliminated prime suspect, Bashir Shar, who was behind the killing of 12 cops. Five outlaws have also been injured," he said. Punjab police retaliated in response to the attack by terrorists in the kutcha (riverine) areas. The main suspect who attacked policemen yesterday, Bashir Shar, has reached his logical end, the Punjab police said on X. Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said the police operation in riverine areas of the province will continue till the elimination of the last outlaw. Organised criminal gangs have been active in the riverine border areas of southern Sindh and central Punjab for decades, often making money through kidnap-for-ransom assaults. Kathmandu, Aug 23 (PTI) At least 18 Indian pilgrims who arrived in Nepal from Maharashtra for a 10-day tour were killed after a tourist bus veered off the highway and fell 150 metres into the fast-flowing Marsyangdi River in central Nepal approximately 120 kilometres from the capital on Friday, according to media reports. The bus from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh was heading towards Nepal's capital Kathmandu from the resort town of Pokhara when it drove off the highway in Aaina Pahara in the Tanahun district. There were 43 people, including the driver and the co-driver, on the bus with an Indian registration number. The passengers onboard the bus were part of a group of 104 Indian pilgrims who arrived in Nepal from Maharashtra in three buses two days ago for a 10-day tour of the Himalayan nation, MyRepublica news portal reported. They came from Bhusal village in Jalgaon district. After visiting Pokhara for two days, all three buses left for the capital Kathmandu on Friday morning. Madhav Prasad Paudel, chief of the Armed Police Force (APF), Kurintar, said that most of the passengers travelling in the three buses were families and relatives. A list of names of the 43 passengers who were in the ill-fated bus has been released. "An Indian tourist bus travelling from Pokhara to Kathmandu with around 43 Indians fell 150 metres into Marshyandi River today," the Embassy of India said in a post on X. The mission is coordinating with local authorities undertaking relief and rescue. According to Deputy Superintendent of Police of the APF Shailendra Thapa, 14 bodies were retrieved from the crash site and 16 injured were rushed to a local hospital. The bus that fell on the river bank has been badly damaged. An MI 17 helicopter of the Nepal Army has left for the accident site at Anbu Khaireni in Tanahun district with a medical team for the rescue operation, MyRepublica reported. The Gandaki Province Police Office, Pokhara, said 15 of those rescued can speak. Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government has sent a Sub Divisional Magistrate to the incident site. An ADM has also been appointed to coordinate the relief work. Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner GS Naveen Kumar in a press statement said, "As per media reports and further confirmed from the MEA Nepal Division, today at about 11:30 am, a bus with registration number - UP 53 FD 7623 carrying approx 43 passengers from Maharashtra, including the driver and one assistant, fell around 150 metres into river Marshyandi in Ambukhereni region in the Tanahu District of Nepal. The statement added, "The UP government has sent SDM Maharajganj to the incident site. The MEA is coordinating the search and rescue operations with local authorities." Nepal's rivers are generally fast-flowing due to the mountainous terrain. Heavy monsoon downpours in the past few days have swollen the waterways and turned them murky brown, making it even more difficult to see the wreckage. Monsoon season brings heavy rains to Nepal from June to September, often triggering landslides in the mountainous Himalayan country. Last month, two buses carrying 65 passengers were washed away by a landslide into the swollen Trishuli River in Nepal. The bodies from the two buses were washed away down the Trishuli River as far as 100 kilometres. Extensive search operations, including the deployment of a 12-member team from India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), have not yet located the two missing buses and many passengers swept away by the landslide. The bodies of five Indian nationals have been recovered so far while two are still missing. Nashik, Aug 23 (PTI) Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said the Bombay High Court's order restraining any person or party from calling for a Maharashtra bandh over the Badlapur incident was a "slap" for the Opposition, and the government will implement the directive. The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance of the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP) and Congress has called for a bandh on Saturday. But the high court, in a directive in response to petitions challenging the call for a general strike, restrained any person or political party from issuing such a call, and asked the state government to take preventive steps. Speaking at a gathering here to launch the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin' scheme, Shinde said the Badlapur incident --where two kindergarten girls were allegedly sexually assaulted in the school washroom -- was a "blot on humanity."
"It also impacted the happiness we derived from transferring Rs 1500 in accounts of beneficiary women under the Laadki Bahin scheme. But, the Opposition has been politicising the incident and maligning this scheme," he said.
The high court's order was "a slap across the Opposition's face", Shinde said, adding that his government will implement the directive.
The accused in the Badlapur case was booked under stringent provisions of law, and the government will seek capital punishment for him, the CM said.
The Opposition is doing politics but the government is committed to keep bahin' (sisters/women) in the state safe, he said. The Opposition should not take people for granted, the chief minister said, and took a veiled swipe at Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray by adding that some people were so eager to get the CM's post that they were indulging in such politics. This was perverse, Shinde said. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, in his speech at the function, also slammed the Opposition for calling for a bandh. "This is for politics. You did not take a stand against the Mamata Banerjee government over the rape and murder of a woman doctor in Kolkata. But here you are calling for a bandh for your selfish interests," said Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio. Mhow (MP), Aug 23 (PTI) Five labourers were killed after the roof slab of an under-construction cottage of a resort collapsed in Madhya Pradeshs Indore district, an official said on Friday. The incident occurred at Choral village in Mhow tehsil, about 40 km from the district headquarters, on Thursday night when the labourers were sleeping under it, the police official said. The bodies have been sent to the hospital, Indore (Rural) Superintendent of Police Hitika Wasal told PTI over the phone from the spot. She said that the police were informed about the incident around 6.30 am. Police rushed to the spot and started a rescue operation immediately. The operation has ended with the recovery of five bodies. We have launched an investigation into the incident, she said. The accident came to light in the morning when other labourers turned up for work at the site, said inspector Amit Kumar of Simrol police station. Earlier, an official had said that one worker was killed and five others were trapped under the debris. Imphal, Aug 23 (PTI) Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh on Friday met Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi at the CM secretariat to discuss critical issues related to the states current situation. Expressing appreciation for the Army Chiefs visit, Singh posted on X, "I deeply appreciate General Dwivedi's visit to Manipur. Deliberated on critical issues concerning the current situation of our state. We reaffirmed the cooperation between the state government and the security forces in effectively responding to the challenges we face, maintain peace and harmony in the state." Dwivedi was accompanied by Lieutenant General RC Tiwari, General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, Lieutenant General Abhijit S Pendharkar, General Officer Commanding 3 Corps, and Major General Ravroop Singh, Inspector General Assam Rifles (South). General Dwivedi, who arrived for a two-day visit, will meet top officials and review the security situation in the violence-hit state. Ranchi, Aug 22 (PTI) Junior doctors at the state-run Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi on Thursday evening decided to withdraw their ongoing 'pen down' agitation over the alleged rape and murder of a woman medic in Kolkata. "We are resuming duties and calling off our pen down agitation following an appeal by the Supreme Court and a meeting with the state health minister," Ankit Kumar, president of the Junior Doctor's Association (JDA), RIMS, told PTI. Earlier in the day, making an impassioned appeal to the agitating doctors across the country, the apex court urged them to get back to work, saying "justice and medicine" cannot be stopped. It also directed no coercive action against them. The junior doctors have been on strike since August 13, boycotting work at the outpatient department (OPD) and elective surgeries. "We had a meeting with the Jharkhand health minister on Wednesday and the RIMS administration on Thursday. They addressed several of our issues such as providing adequate security and proper rest rooms, installation of street lights across all medical colleges and hospitals in the state," Kumar stated. The doctors will, however, sport black ribbons on their arms while on duty till the culprits are brought to book, he added. The body of the trainee doctor was found with injury marks in a seminar room of the RG Kar hospital in Kolkata on August 9. The incident has triggered nationwide protests. Shillong, Aug 23 (PTI) Six persons, including four Bangladeshi nationals, were arrested in Meghalayas East Jaintia Hills after they crossed into India from the neighbouring country, officials said on Friday. The arrests were made in Ratacherra area, they said. Acting on a tip-off, BSF troops stationed in the area apprehended the four Bangladeshi immigrants along with two local accomplices who assisted in their illegal entry. The detainees were subsequently handed over to local police, officials added. The arrests come amid heightened security measures by the BSF following the violent unrest in Bangladesh earlier this month. Since the outbreak of violence on August 5, the BSF has been on high alert and several attempts by Bangladeshi nationals to enter India through the unfenced borders have been successfully thwarted. Imphal, Aug 23 (PTI) Three Manipur MLAs from the Paite and Hmar tribes have expressed concerns about the use of the term 'Kuki Zo' in press statements and social media, arguing that it does not adequately represent their tribes and fails to honour their distinct identities. In a statement on Friday, Tipaimukh MLA N Sanate said, "I remain committed to upholding the aspirations and dreams of my people. I would like to make a solemn clarification that I have never endorsed, nor will endorse, any platform, organisation, or statement that excludes the Hmar nomenclature." Thanlon MLA Vungzagin Valte said, "The recent usage of the term 'Kuki Zo' is perceived by many within my community as non-inclusive and assimilative. I cannot accept or endorse any term that does not respect the individuality and dignity of all groups that form the fabric of my constituency." Valte emphasised that he is a "Paite scheduled tribe belonging to the Zomi community" and urged stakeholders to promote a term that unites and honours their shared history and future aspirations. Kuki and Zomi are terms used to describe various sub-tribes sharing related customs and identities. The term 'Kuki' became popular during the 19th and 20th centuries under British rule, while 'Zomi' is a collective identity adopted by some Kuki-Chin language speakers in India, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. Zomis generally reject the labels 'Kuki' and 'Chin.' Churachandpur MLA LM Khaute commented, "It has always been my endeavour to ensure the usage of suitable and appropriate terminology, and I cannot accept any term that excludes Zomi or misrepresents our identity in press statements." Khaute suggested that the most "suitable and inclusive term" would be 'Kuki-Zomi-Hmar.' New Delhi, Aug 23 (PTI) The NIA conducted searches in houses of alleged overground workers and sympathisers of the banned CPI (Maoist) in Jharkhand, officials said Friday. The searches were conducted in connection with the recovery of allegedly incriminating letters addressed to top leaders of the CPI (Maoist) in July 2022 in the Anandpur area of Jharkhand's Chaibasa district, they said. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had registered the case against nine accused in August 2023, a statement from the NIA said. "The searches today were conducted at three locations in Chaibasa, Jharkhand. The houses of the suspects, located in Pusalata, Buru Rengra, and Lipunga, all of West Singhbhum district in Jharkhand," an NIA spokesperson said. She said these suspects had been assisting the senior leadership of the proscribed outfit in carrying out Naxal activities, according to the NIA investigations, which were continuing. GMT Watch Safari (day 3). In the serene Swiss town of Le Locle lies the historic headquarters of Zenith, a brand synonymous with precision, innovation, and timeless craftsmanship. For over a century and a half, Zenith has been a beacon of excellence in the world of horology, producing some of the most celebrated timepieces in history. A visit to Zeniths manufacture is not just a tour; it is an immersive journey into the very soul of Swiss watchmaking And thats where the GMT is heading on the morning of Day 3 of the GMT Watch Safari, a week of total immersion at the heart of Switzerland's finest watchmakers from 27 October to 1 November 2024. Join us on the Watch Safari! To celebrate its 24th anniversary, GMT Magazine is organizing a week-long adventure for 24 watch enthusiasts, spanning from Geneva to Schaffhausen, with stops in Neuchatel and the Vallee de Joux. The itinerary includes an exclusive exploration of the workshops and manufactures where exceptional timepieces are born. Here's a sneak preview of the programme for Day 3, which begins with a morning dive into Zeniths Manufacture. Founded in 1865 by the visionary Georges Favre-Jacot, Zenith quickly established itself as a pioneer in the watchmaking industry. Historically, the watchmaking culture of canton Neuchatel, where Le Locle is found, was characterised by its practical and progressive embrace of industrial processes, a large factor in the undisputed status and hegemony of Swiss watchmaking in the modern age. Zenith was one of the pioneering watch companies to bring all the watchmaking crafts under one roof, a revolutionary concept at the time that allowed for greater control over quality and the seamless integration of various watchmaking skills and technologies. Zenith Manufacture Zenith A Legacy Shared As a testament to the brand's commitment towards sharing its heritage with longtime watch lovers and horological novices alike, Zenith was the first Swiss watchmaking manufacture to officially open itself to public visits a few years ago, partnering with the tourism board of canton Neuchatel to offer guided tours of their facilities. Seeing the historic parts of the Zenith headquarters opens the eyes to how watchmaking was an integral and foundational element of Le Locle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2009. The brick chimney that towers over the rest of the city is a key feature of the Zenith manufacture, marking the location of the steam-powered generators that supplied electricity over a century ago not only to the factory, but also to Le Locle itself. The attic is famous among enthusiasts of watchmaking history, holding a precious story from the 1970s, of courage in times of crisis and the fierce guardianship of priceless patrimony a story that is best told (and heard) under the aged wooden beams holding up the roof of the Zenith manufacture. An Intimate Glimpse into Horological Mastery A tour of the Zenith manufacture offers an unparalleled opportunity to witness the art of watchmaking in its purest form. As you walk through the workshops, youll observe skilled artisans at work, crafting each component with high levels of attention to detail. From the delicate assembly of movements to the intricate decoration of dials, every step of the process is executed with a level of craftsmanship that can only be achieved through decades of experience and dedication. Even in the more industrially focused workshops where modern machining and milling equipment carry out the heavy work of cutting metal plates into watch components, the pursuit of refined precision persists, delivering components with fine mechanical tolerances to the rest of the assembly workshops. One of the highlights of the Zenith experience is the chance to see the legendary El Primero movement in the making. Introduced in 1969, the El Primero was the worlds first high-frequency automatic chronograph movement, and it remains one of the most precise and celebrated movements in the history of watchmaking. To witness it come to life in the hands of Zeniths expert watchmakers is a moment that every horology enthusiast will cherish. Zenith Manufacture Boutique Zenith An Experience Beyond Time Beyond its remarkable watches, Zenith offers an experience that transcends time itself. The manufacture is surrounded by the breathtaking landscapes of the Jura Mountains, providing a serene backdrop for a journey into the heart of Swiss watchmaking. The tranquil setting, combined with the warmth and hospitality of the Zenith team, creates an atmosphere where visitors can truly connect with the brands legacy and passion. For those fortunate enough to visit, the Zenith manufacture is more than just a destination; it is a pilgrimage. It is a place where the past, present, and future of watchmaking converge, where the relentless pursuit of excellence continues to drive innovation, and where the art of horology is celebrated in its purest form. To register for the GMT Watch Safari, from 27 October to 1 November 2024, click here. New Delhi, Aug 23 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday questioned the Lieutenant Governor over the alleged delay in action against the officers responsible for the death of mother-son pair in a waterlogged drain in east Delhi's Ghazipur last month. Addressing a press conference, AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar said the Delhi High Court has now said that the drain where the two drowned belonged to the DDA. "The High Court has taken a great initiative, which will be beneficial for the family of the deceased and the people of Delhi. This will also open the eyes of the LG and DDA officials. "Now that the truth has been revealed, how long will it take for the LG to take action against the DDA officials responsible for this incident," Kumar said. There was no immediate reaction from LG office. Tanuja, 22, and her son Priyansh drowned in the half-open under-construction drain in a waterlogged street in Ghazipur area as heavy rain lashed the city on July 31 evening. The high court had on Thursday pulled up the Delhi Development Authority over the incident and noted that officials did not "supervise" the work done there by the contractor, who allegedly left certain portions of the drain uncovered. "We were saying right from the first day that the drain belongs to the DDA that comes under LG, and before completing the construction work, they submitted the completion certificate (CC) without any inspection. "I am thankful to the High Court for taking note of the incident," Kumar said. The Aam Aadmi Party party leader also accused the BJP of trying to "protect" the LG instead of taking corrective measures. "BJP leaders, including the east Delhi MP, neither visited the incident site nor went to the victims' house to meet the family. Instead, they released a statement saying that the drain was under the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) and that the responsibility lies with the Delhi government," he said. A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan asked the DDA's counsel to seek instructions on payment of compensation to the victim's family before the next hearing on September 5. "I respect what the court has said and hope it will serve as a deterrent. A small ray of light can dispel darkness, and that's what the court's observations have done," said AAP MLA Dilip Pandey. The party's chief whip in Delhi Assembly also demanded strict action against the responsible officers. "This will send a message that such incidents will not be tolerated in the future," he added. Jammu, Aug 23 (PTI) A criminal was arrested in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district and an illegal pistol and five live cartridges were recovered from his possession on Friday, officials here said. The accused, Mohd Latief alias Latief Punjabi of Hoshiarpur in Punjab, was arrested during checking at Chak Dayala near Basantar bridge, the officials said. According to the officials, Latief is named in multiple criminal cases of attempt to murder, theft, rioting, abetment and under Arms Act in Samba and Punjab. "Team intercepted a man moving near Basantar bridge in a suspicious circumstance. He was stopped and checked. One pistol and five live cartridges were recovered from his possession," police said. A case has been registered against the accused and further investigation is underway, the police said. New Delhi, Aug 23 (PTI) The Delhi government on Friday instructed the officers concerned to expedite the ongoing development work in the city's villages, stressing the importance of adhering to the set timeframe. Development Minister Gopal Rai assessed the progress of the work and asked the officers to present detailed reports of all the schemes approved by the Delhi Gram Vikas Board during the next meeting on September 10. He said the government had allocated Rs 900 crore for development work in Delhi's villages. The meeting at the Delhi Secretariat was attended by officials from the development, and irrigation and flood control departments, and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. "The Delhi government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, has allocated a budget of Rs 900 crore to ensure the comprehensive development of the villages. The objective is to provide the same level of basic facilities in these rural areas as those available in urban parts of the city," Rai said. He added that the Kejriwal government was taking all necessary steps to improve the condition of roads, parks, drains and multipurpose community centres in the villages. The work is being done through the irrigation and flood control and other departments and the civic body. New Delhi, Aug 23 (PTI) In a major relief for patients, hundreds of resident doctors here returned to work on Friday after ending their 11-day strike over the alleged rape and murder of a medic in Kolkata, following an appeal by the Supreme Court. Healthcare professionals across the country ceased work after the body of the medic, a junior doctor, was found in a seminar room of the West Bengal government-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata on August 9. Non-emergency services, including OPD and diagnostics, were shut as medics, including resident doctors, of major central and Delhi government-run hospitals struck work on August 12 evening, causing hardships for patients and delay in treatment. Residest doctors, including those of Centre-run AIIMS, RML Hospital, Lady Hardinge Medical College and Delhi government-run LNJP, Maulana azad Medical College, GTB Hospital and Indira Gandhi Hospital, resumed duties after two national bodies announced the end of the strike on Thursday evening. The Federation of Resident Doctors Association (FORDA) and the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) took the decision after the Supreme Court issued directions about the safety of healthcare personnel. While it appealed to medics across the country to rejoin duty and assured that no coercive action will be taken against them, the top court also said judges and doctors cannot go on a strike since they deal with matters involving life and liberty. Except West Bengal, resident doctors' associations of all other states have called off their strike. In Bengal, the epicentre of the protests, healthcare services remained affected at state-run hospitals as agitating junior doctors have said they would continue their ceasework. Resident doctor at the GTB Hospital in Delhi, Aman Khanna, said, "I'm glad to return to work with the hope that our demands will be fulfilled and justice will be served. We are closely observing the decisions the government is making for us." Medics have been demanding a central law to check violence against healthcare professionals at workplace. Gurugram, Aug 22 (PTI) The BJP State Election Committee for Haryana met here on Thursday and brainstormed on possible candidates for the October 1 polls in the state. All 21 members of the committee, including Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and former CM Manohar Lal Khattar, are attending the two-day meeting at the party's district office Gurukamal in Gurugram. This meeting will continue on Friday also, a senior BJP leader said. Sources said that on day one of the meeting, the committee members agreed on some names from the applications received for some assemblies. Other names will be discussed on Friday. State BJP president Mohan Lal Baroli, state co-in-charge Surendra Nagar, state election in-charge and Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, election co-in-charge Biplab Deb, Gurugram MP and Union Minister Rao Indrajit Singh, Faridabad MP and Union Minister Krishan Pal Gurjar were also present in the meeting. After the meeting concludes, the list of three names decided for each Vidhan Sabha will be sent to the central leadership. These names will also be discussed at the central level. After this, the name of the final candidate for each Vidhan Sabha will be announced. A report on this meeting will be sent to the central leadership by August 25, a senior BJP leader said. Kota (Rajasthan), Aug 23 (PTI) A POCSO court in Rajasthan sentenced a man to 20 years imprisonment for abducting and raping a 17-year-old girl. The decision in the case was scheduled to be pronounced two months ago. The accused stayed absent from the court on the date of the hearing, following which an arrest warrant was issued against him, public prosecutor of POCSO Court I of Bundi city, Rakesh Thakur, said. The POCSO court sentenced a 26-year-old man, identified as Koushal alias Koushal Raj Meena, a resident of Bishanpura village under Bundi Sadar police station, to 20 years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1,30,000 for abducting and raping a 17-year-old girl in December 2019. The minor survivor's father lodged a missing report in Bundi Sadar police station on December 15, 2019, and named Koushal Raj of the village as the suspect in her abduction. The police rescued the minor survivor after a month and arrested Koushal. He was later granted bail. However, he was convicted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 on Friday, Thakur said. Bengaluru, Aug 23 (PTI) As the country celebrated its first ever National Space Day commemorating the soft landing of ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 on the lunar surface on Friday, Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy recalled the contributions of four Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE) in making India's lunar mission a success. The union minister said these CPSEs under his ministry had proudly contributed to achieving the milestone. "Four CPSEs under MHIInstrumentation Ltd. (IL), FCRI, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL), and Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT)supplied essential products that were integral to the success of Chandrayaan-3," Kumaraswamy said in a post on 'X'. He also said that the National Space Day celebration is a testament to the dedication and hard work of ISROs scientists and engineers, and the collaborative efforts of our nation's industries. On this day a year ago, India achieved a major feat in its Space programme when its Chandrayaan-3 made a soft landing on the south pole of the Moon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had named the landing site of Chandrayaan-3 as 'Shiv-Shakti Point' and declared August 23 as the National Space Day. Bengaluru, Aug 23 (PTI) Karnataka Medical Education Minister Sharan Prakash Patil on Friday asked people not to worry about the mpox outbreak reported in some African countries as no infection has been detected in India till now. The minister said free testing facilities have been arranged at the Victoria Hospital. Mpox infections are generally self-limiting, lasting between two and four weeks, and its patients usually recover with supportive medical care and management. It is transmitted through prolonged and close contact with an infected patient. We held a departmental meeting today on preparedness for mpox. As of now, there is nothing to worry about, as no cases have been reported here, Patil told reporters after a meeting with the officials here. The central government has issued guidelines. At Victoria Hospital, we have arranged free testing facilities, he added. The minister said the people of Karnataka need not worry as the state government has made all preparations to deal with the infection. The central government has also set up screening at international airports, Patil added. Kochi, Aug 23 (PTI) As part of celebrating the International Day of the Girl Child, the British High Commission has offered Indian women aged 18 to 23 an opportunity to be one of the United Kingdom's top diplomats for a day. The 'High Commissioner for a Day' competition invites talented young women from India to showcase their strengths and leadership potential on a global platform, the British high Commission said on Friday. "To participate, the applicants must submit a one-minute video responding to the question: How can the UK and India collaborate on technology to benefit future generations," it said in a release. It said the participants should share their video on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn tagging '@UKinIndia' and using the hashtag '#DayOfTheGirl'. The deadline for submissions is September 4, 2024 and the applicants must also complete an online form to finalise their entry. "The landmark UK-India Technology Security Initiative agreed between our countries sets out a bold new approach for how we will work together on the defining technologies of this decade," Lindy Cameron, the British High Commissioner to India, was quoted in the release. Cameron said the UK pioneered the discovery of graphene, designed the semiconductor chip found in every smartphone, and is now leading the way on the safe and responsible development of AI. "India's tech innovations are similarly changing the world - from revolutionising mobile banking solutions to its ground-breaking lunar mission. By bringing together our best minds, I am confident that we can accomplish truly fantastic things," the High Commissioner said. The High Commissioner for a Day Competition is an incredible opportunity to nurture future women leaders and to hear about the change they want to see in the world, Cameron said. "As the first female British High Commissioner to India, this is a cause that lies very close to my heart, and I encourage every young woman to put on their thinking cap and send in their best ideas," she added. A jury at the British High Commission (BHC) will select the winner, who will be announced on @UKinIndia social media channels. Only one entry per participant will be accepted. Multiple entries from the same person will be disqualified. The High Commission's decision is final and no correspondence relating to the above will be possible. When a day lasted more than 2 hours longer, that is more than 26 hours. Scientists suggest this may have triggered one of the biggest evolutionary explosions in history. ADVERTISIMENT A new study shows that the moon once moved thousands of miles farther out in its orbit during two periods. That's why days on Earth were 2.2 hours longer, LiveScience writes. The moon now orbits at an average distance of 384,400 kilometers from Earth. But scientists emphasize that our satellite was not always where it is now. Over time, the Moon pulls our planet. In doing so, it migrates away from the Earth, taking away its kinetic energy. As a consequence, our planet's rotation on its axis slows down, which according to the study extends Earth's days. In the new study, a team led by geologist He Huang from Chengdu University of Technology in China attempted to clarify the history of Earth's rotation by looking at eight datasets that recorded rock layers from marine environments dating back roughly between 700 and 200 million years ago. ADVERTISIMENT The researchers found that there was a "staircase" pattern in Earth's rotation, with two periods when the planet's rotation changed rapidly and abruptly, followed by periods of stability. During the study period, the days became 2.2 hours longer. During this period, the Moon also moved away by an average of 20000 km. One of these time periods, from about 650 to 500 million years ago, spanned the Cambrian explosion, a period when life diversified dramatically. The second "step" in Earth's rotation took place about 340 to 280 million years ago, corresponding to a period when huge glaciers covered the planet. The study suggests that due to the increased day length - and therefore the influence of the Sun - the Moon may have triggered large oxygen enrichment events that led to the diversification of life. However, the researchers note that these results "need to be interpreted with caution." ADVERTISIMENT The study also casts doubt on another theory: that a period when glaciers rapidly covered the Earth, leading to mass extinctions, had a large effect on the Earth's rotation. They suggested that most of the slowdown is caused directly by tidal forces. Only verified information we have in Telegram-channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! A Russian court has handed down prison sentences ranging from six to nine years to five individuals involved in an anti-Israel riot at Makhachkala airport in the southern region of Dagestan. The riot, which occurred on October 29, saw hundreds of protesters storm the airports runway in an attempt to encircle a plane that had arrived from Israel. The incident took place amid heightened tensions worldwide as Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamass deadly attack on October 7. The court found four men guilty of participating in mass riots and sentenced them to more than six years in prison. A fifth defendant received a nine-year sentence for the same charge, as well as using violence against law enforcement officers. According to the court, the defendants broke down the doors of the terminal and entered the tarmac, completely blocking the airports operation while searching for passengers from a Tel Aviv flight. Over 1,500 people participated in the riot, with 136 identified by authorities. Dozens of protesters had already received lighter sentences, including detention of up to 10 days, for their involvement in the riot. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) By Rabbi Yair Hoffman True, if they did wear shoes, they did not resemble anything like the sneakers depicted in the picture above. From Rashi in this weeks parsha (Dvarim 8:4) it seemed that they walked barefoot. Your clothing did not wear out: The clouds of glory would rub their [Klal Yisroels] clothing and clean them so that they looked like freshly laundered clothes. And also their children, as they grew, their clothes grew along with them, like a snails shell, which grows along with it- [Pesikta dRav Kahana 92a] nor did [your foot] swell: This means: Neither [did your foot] swell like dough as [usually happens] with those who walk barefoot, that their feet swell. But from a later pasuk in Parshas Ki Savoh (Dvarim 29:4) we see that they did have shoes! I led you through the desert for forty years [during which time] your garments did not wear out from upon you, nor did your shoes wear out from upon your feet. So how do we resolve this contradiction? Below, we present six possibilities: One possibility is that the earlier Rashi doesnt really imply that they were barefooted. It just implies that notwithstanding the sheer amount of walking that they did in the desert their feet did not swell up as generally happens when people walk barefooted. The Divrei Dovid gives a different answer. He writes that it is not pas for the Ananei HaKavod the clouds of glory which are connected with the shechina to enwrap the soles of shoes. Therefore, this part of the shoe was no longer there, and yet, nonetheless, their feet did not swell on account of the Ananei HaKavod. The Sifsei Chachomim says that the Rashi in Parshas Aikev is referring to those Jews that were born in the Midbar, who did not own shoes. The pasuk later on refers to those who left Mitzrayim themselves and did have shoes. The Aidus BYoseph explains based on the Rambam that one who walks barefoot in the desert is likened to one who commits suicide. He writes that the tribe of Dan, who lived on the edge (of the clouds of glory) did require shoes while the rest of Klal Yisroel didnt since they had the protection of the Ananei HaKavod. Another resolution can be derived from the Tiferes Yisroel commentary at the end of Moed Kotton. The Gemorah in Moed Kotton (15b) explains that the entire time Klal Yisroel was in the desert they were treated as Menudah excommunicated under the ban. Someone under the ban is not permitted to wear shoes. The exception is the tribe of Levi who were never under the ban. The pasuk in 29:4 refers to the tribe of Levi. (Even though the halacha is that when someone under the ban travels he is permitted to where shoes. It could be that here they were not permitted because they would not have been damaged on account of the Ananei HaKavod). There is also the possibility (also mentioned in the Tiferes Yisroel for a different reason) that they wore shoes made of cork which is not forbidden to someone under the ban which perhaps may have caused the swelling (edema). Cork shoes do not wrap around the foot like regular shoes do. This article was sponsored by AshoeInn.com a childrens shoe store, at 558 Central Avenue in Cedaarhurst, New York The author can be reached at [email protected] A French destroyer rescued 29 sailors from an oil tanker that was attacked by the Houthis in the Red Sea on Wednesday. The Yemeni terror group also attacked a nearby bomb-carrying drone boat. The European Union decried the fact that the tanker, which is carrying 150,000 tons of crude oil, is an environmental hazard but did not mention the Houthis, who were responsible for the attack and who pose far more than an environmental hazard. The Houthis have attacked over 80 ships since October 7 and murdered four sailors. They attacked Israel, murdering one and wounding several others. They have caused significant damage to a major trade route which normally sees $1 trillion in cargo pass through each year. And prior to October 7, they caused the death of over a half a million Yemenis, and starved and displaced tens of millions more. After bemoaning the environmental hazard posed by the destroyed tanker, the EUs Aspides Red Sea naval mission issued a statement similar to Bidens DONT!, saying that it is essential that everyone in the area exercises caution and refrains from any actions that could lead to a deterioration of the current situation. (YWN Israel Desk Jerusalem) According to a report by the Saudi newspaper Asharq al-Awsat, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror group is still holding seven Israeli hostages, who were captured on October 7. This follows an earlier statement from PIJ leader Ziyad Nakhaleh, who announced on October 8 that the group had taken more than 30 of the 251 hostages abducted during the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel a day prior. While some of the hostages were released during a temporary truce in November, it remains unclear whether any of those still in PIJ custody have died. The report also highlights growing cooperation between Hamas and PIJ, particularly after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month. This strengthened alliance is evident not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank, as demonstrated by the failed suicide bombing by a Nablus resident in Tel Aviv on Sunday, which both terror groups jointly claimed responsibility for. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced on Wednesday that the IDF has dismantled the last functioning brigade of Hamas in the Rafah area. I came here first and foremost to express my appreciation [to the soldiers]. The Rafah brigade was defeated by the IDFs Division 162, Gallant said at the Philadelphi Corridor, a key 8.7-mile-long buffer zone along the Egyptian border. Following their taking control of the corridor, the IDF has uncovered and destroyed 150 terror tunnels that were used by Hamas to smuggle weapons and materials from Egypts Sinai Peninsula into Gaza. Gallant instructed the military to complete the task of destroying any remaining tunnels. I gave an immediate directive to the IDF to destroy the remaining tunnels, he said. It is critical to remember the goals of the war and to achieve themregarding Hamas, regarding the hostages [held by Hamas], and we also understand why we are looking toward the north. Gallant also detailed the method used by Hamas to build the tunnels, noting that around 100 of the tunnels were shallow trenches, dug using engineering tools and later covered with dirt. The defeat of the Rafah brigade, which consisted of four battalions stationed in various parts of Rafah, is seen as a key milestone in the war that began on October 7 with Hamass large-scale invasion of southern Israel. This brigades elimination marks the collapse of Hamass final functioning brigade, according to Israeli military assessments. The operation to defeat the Rafah brigade was led by Brig. Gen. Itzik Cohen and his 162nd Division. In total, since the beginning of the conflict, the IDF has killed more than 17,000 terrorists in the Gaza Strip, according to IDF Spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari. IDF forces continue to fight in Gazamaneuvering in Rafah, Khan Yunis, the central Strip and are attacking everywhere, Hagari said. So far, we have eliminated more than 17,000 terrorists. The significant combat and the ensuing high accomplishments impede Hamass ability to raise its head again and rebuild itself, and we are determined to keep this up. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) The United States is calling on the U.N. Security Council to unite in pressuring Hamas to accept a proposed ceasefire deal that could bring significant benefits to Palestinians in Gaza. During a Security Council session on Thursday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, urged the council to act decisively in support of the bridging proposal, which Israel has already accepted, but Hamas has yet to agree to. As members of this council, we must speak with one voice, and we must use our leverage to press Hamas to accept the bridging proposal, which includes massive and immediate benefits for the Palestinians in Gaza and incorporates a number of Hamass earlier demands, Thomas-Greenfield told the Security Council. She described the situation as a decisive moment for ceasefire negotiations and stability in the region. Every member of this council should continue to send strong messages to other actors in the region to avoid actions that would move us away from finalizing this deal, she added, calling for unified diplomatic pressure. The U.S. envoy also highlighted the importance of humanitarian efforts in Gaza, urging the U.N. and aid organizations to ramp up preparations to deliver assistance in the event of a ceasefire. At the same time, she pushed for an increase in aid efforts currently entering Gaza, noting the urgent needs of civilians in the conflict zone. In addition to her focus on Hamas, Thomas-Greenfield called on Israel to expedite its approval of aid shipments into Gaza and to take steps to protect Palestinians in Yehuda and Shomron from what she referred to as violent settlers. She also demanded that Israel release tax funds to the Palestinian Authority. The suicide bombing in Tel Aviv on Aug. 18, which Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed, was a stark reminder of Israels very real security concerns, the U.S. envoy said. The United States unequivocally condemns this attack, as it does all acts of terrorism, and calls on the Security Council to do the same. The U.S. diplomat concluded her remarks by demanding the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Israeli authorities revealed on Thursday that a doctor at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheva has been arrested for pledging allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group. Muhammad Azzam, 34, originally from Nazareth and a resident of Beersheva, had been working as a specialist at the hospital before his arrest. Azzam was detained a month ago, and an indictment was filed against him on August 8. The details of the case were kept under a gag order until now. According to the Israel Police and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), Azzams allegiance to ISIS was confirmed following an investigation. The hospital administration takes the allegations very seriously and is shocked by them. The case is being investigated and handled by the relevant legal authorities, and we are confident in their handling of the matter, Soroka Medical Center said in a statement. According to a statement from the Justice Ministry, Azzam had shown an interest in ISIS since 2014, consuming extremist content related to the group over the years. Following the Hamas-led massacre on October 7, Azzam decided to formally join ISIS, swearing allegiance to its new leader, Abu Hafs al-Hajri al-Qurashi. The indictment also reveals that Azzam shared footage of the October 7 atrocities with friends, expressing both mockery and joy. Authorities discovered disturbing content on Azzams cellphone, including videos of executions, beheadings, and mutilated bodies. Police also found folders labeled Explosive Materials and Poison Preparation, containing information on ricin and rotten meat poisons. Given the serious nature of the charges and his position as a doctor, Azzam will remain detained for the duration of the legal proceedings. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Hamas is reportedly planning to target Israelis abroad in response to the assassination of its senior leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran last month. According to sources cited by Israels Channel 12 News, Hamas political bureau convened shortly after Haniyehs death and made a strategic decision to extend its operations beyond the Middle East. This shift marks a departure from Hamas usual tactics, as it has historically avoided carrying out attacks outside the region. The new strategy mimics groups such as Hezbollah and the former Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) which have been known for targeting Israelis and Jewish interests abroad. Whether Hamas intends to target Israeli tourists or high-ranking officials remains unclear. Haniyeh was killed in late July during a visit to Tehran, in an attack widely believed to have been orchestrated by Israel. Reports from The New York Times revealed that an explosive device planted months earlier in a facility linked to Irans Revolutionary Guards was used in the assassination. Though Israel has not officially claimed responsibility, The Washington Post reported that Israeli officials notified the U.S. government of its involvement shortly after the operation. The White House reacted with shock and outrage to the news, though no formal public condemnation has been issued. Iran has vowed to retaliate for the assassination, which came just hours after the inauguration of the countrys new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. Speaking after the incident, Pezeshkian condemned the attack, saying, Iran will defend its sovereignty and make the invading terrorists regret their cowardly actions. Irans Parliament and military leadership echoed the new president, with Mohsen Rezaee, a high-ranking Iranian official, threatening that Israel will pay a heavy price for the assassination. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Former President Donald Trump has launched a scathing attack on Vice President Kamala Harris, accusing her of being responsible for the October 7 Hamas terror assault on southern Israel. In a series of posts on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump did not hold back in his criticism. SHE HATES ISRAEL, Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, wrote in multiple posts reacting to Harriss speech at the Democratic National Convention. He further criticized her for avoiding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus session in Congress, stating, Wouldnt even show up to Congress for [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahus session! In a second post, Trump doubled down on his accusations, stating, She caused the Attack of October 7th, appearing to directly link Harriss actions to the deadly events. This comment followed Harriss DNC speech, where she said the horrors of October 7 must never be repeated. Trump also claimed, Iran was BROKE Didnt have money for Hezbollah, insinuating that his administrations policies had financially crippled Iran, whereas current leadership has failed to maintain that stance. Trump also shared a video highlighting his achievements, asserting that during his presidency from 2016 to 2020, he played hardball with Iran, destroyed ISIS, kept the Middle East at peace, kept [the US] out of wars through strength. Trump also delivered a stark warning about Harriss potential impact, claiming that her leadership could lead the country into a catastrophic conflict, declaring that she will take us into a Nuclear World War III! (YWN World Headquarters NYC) In honor of the Independence Day of Ukraine, August 24, at 20:00 on the TV channel ICTV2 will be the television premiere of the adventure-historical film "Dovbush". The plot of one of the most expensive domestic films, directed by Oles Sanin, is based on the legend of the leader of the rebels in Galicia Oleksa Dovbush. ADVERTISIMENT More than 117 specialists worked on the creation of the most large-scale blockbuster of the Ukrainian film industry, and to fully convey the atmosphere of Hutsulshchyna at least 50 different locations were involved. On the occasion of the TV premiere of the historical drama, OBOZ.UA prepared 7 interesting facts about "Dovbush", which will make you reconsider it again. The blockbuster's first screening took place despite pandemic and war Work on the creation of the historical movie began back in 2018. However, due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the outbreak of war, the filming process had to be stopped several times. The first full-scale shooting taking place outside the pavilion was scheduled for 2020, but was postponed due to the pandemic. Ukrainians were supposed to see the premiere of "Dovbush" in early 2022, but the full-scale invasion postponed the screening for an unknown time. Despite all the obstacles, the long-awaited blockbuster appeared in cinemas on August 24, 2023, the 32nd anniversary of Ukraine's independence. ADVERTISIMENT The filming process lasted more than 118 shifts and the budget amounted to a record sum In order to reproduce the time of Gutsulshchina as accurately as possible, the creative team worked 108 shooting shifts. The work process involved about 50 different locations, including famous natural places and cult buildings. The total budget of the film amounted to a record 120 million hryvnias, which makes the drama one of the most expensive in the Ukrainian film industry. ADVERTISIMENT Real historical monuments served as locations Filming of "Dovbush" took place in the most picturesque places of our country: the Carpathians, Ternopil region, Drohobych, Lviv and Kiev. For example, most of the scenes with the estate of the Polish princess Jablonowska were filmed in a real Svirzhsky castle, although in some moments appeared and Zbarazhsky. One of the significant locations was the Drohobych saltworks, and the shots with the priest were created in the authentic wooden Church of St. Jura. Fascinating mountain landscapes were filmed on the picturesque Dovbush cliffs and the Svidovets Ridge with the Hereshava Lake. ADVERTISIMENT Costumes for the characters were sewn by 117 craftsmen The most important element that helped to convey the authenticity of the historical era was the clothing of the characters. Costume designers Gala Otenko and Maria Kero reproduced the clothes of Hutsuls of the XVIII century, using domestic, Polish and Hungarian sources. During eight months 117 specialists from different parts of Ukraine made more than a thousand different images for the characters of the movie. The outfits were sewn from homespun cloth, embroidered with woolen threads and dyed with natural dyes. The most expensive costumes were the outfits of Marichka and Pani Jablonowska ADVERTISIMENT Daria Plakhtiy, who played the role of the bride of the main character Marichka, and Agata Buzek, incarnated in the Polish princess Jablonowska, had the opportunity to wear the most expensive and beautiful costumes. According to the artists, the outfits of the noblewoman reproduced from picturesque paintings of the time, because it had to fully convey her status. Carefully following the choice of fabrics and styles that corresponded to long-standing trends, the masters created a dress of 7-10 kilograms. The masters made Marichka's wedding image within two weeks, and the exquisite crown-wreath of feathers was ordered separately at the factory. ADVERTISIMENT The actors studied the Hutsul dialect In order to reproduce Oleksa Dovbush's era as accurately as possible, the actors generously embellished their lines with Hutsul words. However, the main character used the least amount of dialect in his speech, because he had to be understood by modern viewers. Immersion into the world of the Hutsuls In addition to clothing, for the filming of the blockbuster specially produced knives, bartkas and pistols, which the actors learned to use skillfully. Specialists working on the project managed to create a real universe of Hutsuls of the XVIII century. ADVERTISIMENT Only verified information from us in Telegram-channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! CEO Brian Niccol does not have to move to the coffee chain HQ in Seattle. The new Starbucks bosss 1,000-mile private jet commute has been attacked. Brian Niccol (pictured) does not have to move to the coffee chain HQ in Seattle. Instead, he can use the Starbucks plane for a two-hour, 45-minute flight from his California home. The distance would otherwise take 18 hours to drive. Niccol, announced as boss last week, is set for an 88million payday in one of the biggest US hires on record. He will visit the coffee chains office three days a week. But online critics have said this makes a mockery of the brands environmental efforts. The new chief executive will travel 1,600kms daily by private plane and then claim to save the environment with paper straws, one social media user said. Another wrote on X: How can anyone justify a 1,000-mile commute by private jet? It makes Starbucks sustainability policy look like greenwashing. A third critic said: In an age where the richest are proven primary contributors to damage to the environment? I imagine you have lost a few customers through this youve certainly lost me. Your browser does not support iframes. Private jets are between five to 14 times more polluting per passenger than commercial journeys, according to a 2021 report from the European Federation for Transport and Environment. Starbucks has pledged to slash its carbon, water and waste footprints by half by 2030. Policies include adding more plant-based products, using less single-use packaging and investing in forest conservation. Niccols package includes a 7.8m golden hello, 58m of extra share options, a salary of 1.25m plus the opportunity to make up to 18m worth of share-based bonuses a year. He could also receive a cash bonus worth nearly 2.8m. He was paid 17.5m at Chipotle last year. The shake-up at Starbucks sent shares up, while burrito chain Chipotle fell last week. Starbucks has struggled, with sales falling and a row over alleged links to Israel. Starbucks said: Were confident in his ability to deliver long-term, enduring value. 'Brians primary office and a majority of his time will be spent in Seattle or visiting partners and customers in stores, roasteries, roasting facilities and offices. Brians schedule will meet or exceed hybrid work guidelines and workplace expectations we have. He will also have a residence in Seattle.' A Danish pharma giant with the only approved mpox jab in the US and Europe has done a deal to make 440,000 vaccines. Bavarian Nordic's shares surged after stronger-than expected earnings, in another success story for a Danish drugmaker following the triumph of Novo Nordisk, maker of weightloss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic. It marks another success story for a Danish drugmaker following the triumph of Novo Nordisk The firm has been boosted by an accelerating mpox, previously known as monkeypox, outbreak in Africa amid fears the disease could spread to other continents. Mpox has been declared a global health emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The virus, which can be deadly, causes symptoms like fever and chills, followed by a rash, blisters and scabs. In London, Bavarian Nordic's shares rose 11.8pc, or 29.1p, to 274.45p as revenue in the second quarter hit 162.6m and operating profit was 47.8m. The biotech firm has agreed a deal to provide 440,000 mpox vaccines to an unnamed European country. Chief executive Paul Chaplin said the order showed a need to prepare for a new spread of mpox, following an outbreak in 2022. 'Unfortunately, mpox is again making global headlines,' he said. 'Since the last outbreak Bavarian Nordic has established a strong strategic partnership with authorities that have recognised the need to improve preparedness against smallpox and mpox.' Bavarian Nordic has the capacity to make 10m doses by the end of 2025. It is on track to supply up to 2m this year. It is expanding its production network to include Africa and is prepared to make the jab accessible to all countries. There have been 27,000 mpox cases and over 1,100 deaths in Congo since January 2023. AstraZeneca could close its Merseyside manufacturing site and move production to the US, amid a funding row with the Government, according to reports. Chancellor Rachel Reeves plans to slash state funding for the vaccine manufacturing facility in Speke to 40million, down from the 90million promised by the previous government under Rishi Sunak, the Financial Times said on Friday. The previous offer included 70million to develop the Speke site, as well 20million from the UK Health Security Agency to be spent on research and development. AstraZeneca employs 8,300 staff across its UK sites Sunak's government in March pledged to invest 450million in the FTSE 100 drugmaker to boost R&D and vaccine manufacturing. A potential cut in support to AstraZeneca mirrors similar cost-cutting efforts from Reeves, who is rumoured to be lining-up a tight-fisted budget in October. The FT reported that the Anglo-Swedish firm's top execs had warned the Government it could relocate the site to Philadelphia, where more generous support it provided for industrial projects. It could also reportedly move manufacturing to India, where AstraZeneca has previously produced vaccines. AstraZeneca also suggested manufacturing could take place in India, where the company has produced vaccines in the past, according to people briefed on the discussions. The group employs 8,300 staff across its UK sites. Its Speke site primarily operates to safeguard public health against seasonal influenza, and has the facilities to research, develop, produce and distribute over 20 million vaccine doses a year for the global market. An AztraZeneca spokesperson said: 'We are committed to pursuing the opportunity at Speke and are in constructive discussions with the UK government. 'We have no idea where the comments in some media come from and they do not seem to be based on facts. As an example, there are no discussions in the US or India.' A UK Treasury spokesperson said: 'We are in positive discussions with AstraZeneca to support the delivery of this planned investment in Speke.' Tragedy: Jonathan Bloomer died when the Bayesian was hit by a water tornado Insurance giant Hiscox has appointed a new chairman after Jonathan Bloomer died on the Bayesian superyacht. Senior independent director Colin Keogh will take the reins on an interim basis. Bloomer, 70, died when the boat belonging to British tech tycoon Mike Lynch was hit by a water tornado off Sicily. A further six people died including Bloomer's wife Judy, Lynch and his teenage daughter Hannah, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda, and yacht chef Recaldo Thomas. The trip was planned as a celebration after Lynch was acquitted of fraud allegations in the US. Bloomer, who was also chairman of Morgan Stanley, had served on the Hiscox' board for a year. He was chief executive of Prudential between 2000 and 2005, having joined as finance director in 2015. He also served as a director at investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown and Autonomy, where he became friends with Lynch. Hiscox chief executive Aki Hussain said: 'We are deeply shocked and saddened by Jonathan and Judy's deaths. 'It was a privilege to have known Jonathan and to have benefited from his generosity and wisdom over the last year in his role as chair of Hiscox.' Prudential said yesterday: 'We wouldn't be the company we are today if it wasn't for him we owe a lot to Jonathan.' Italian authorities have launched a manslaughter probe into Monday's tragedy. In total 15 people were rescued including Lynch's wife Angela. The third-largest bank in France will stop dealing on the London Metal Exchange (LME) next week in a blow for the open-outcry trading floor. Societe Generale's exit on Tuesday will leave the LME Ring, which sets global prices for metals such as aluminium, copper and nickel, with just seven members. Others who deal include Marex, Sigma Broking and GF Financial Markets (UK). The trading floor, renowned for its lively atmosphere, could shut permanently if it has fewer than six members. Something to shout about: Societe Generale's will leave the LME Ring with just seven members Societe Generale will stay on as a clearing member. Each metal is traded in five-minute sessions, which produce a daily cash-settlement price. It is then embedded into physical supply contracts. The LME, set up in 1877, is the world's oldest metal exchange. It was bought for 1.4billion by Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Limited in 2012. At the end of September, the first film in almost 15 years by the prominent American director Francis Ford Coppola, Megalopolis, is to be released. And this is an extraordinary event that both audiences and critics are looking forward to. ADVERTISIMENT However, the film company Lionsgate, which is producing the film, has severely spoiled this expectation with a scandal. According to Mashable, the company released a trailer for the fantasy film that used fake quotes attributed to real movie critics. It only took a few hours to expose this lie. And to force Lionsgate to apologize to both Coppola and the critics in question. In its apology, the company even used the expression screwed up, which can be translated as a rude "screwed up." In the video that appeared online, the idea was to present the main character, played by Adam Driver, as a contradictory personality through a parallel with the film's director. "True genius is often misunderstood," said a voiceover. After that, quotes from allegedly famous film critics began to appear on the screen, speaking negatively about Coppola's old films, which are now highly regarded. ADVERTISIMENT According to the trailer for Metropolis, Andrew Saris allegedly called The Godfather a "sloppy, selfish movie" that "doesn't know what it wants to be." Pauline Kael was credited with assessing the film as "bizarre". Vincent Canby and Rex Reed were "entrusted" to speak about Apocalypse Now. The former allegedly called it "empty at the core," and the latter called it "an epic piece of garbage." Roger Ebert's assessment of Bram Stoker's Dracula as "a triumph of style over substance" was put into the mouth of Roger Ebert, and Owen Gleiberman was "entrusted" to call it a "beautiful mess." The situation was made more dramatic by the fact that almost all of these film critics are now dead. ADVERTISIMENT Almost immediately, the press and social media responded that all of these statements were falsely attributed to critics. None of them said such things about Coppola's work. It took just a few hours of such publicity for Lionsgate, the distributor of Megalopolis, to apologize and announce that it was immediately removing the new trailer. "We sincerely apologize to the critics, as well as to Francis Ford Coppola and [Megalopolis production company] American Zoetrope for this inexcusable error in the screening process. We screwed up. We are sorry," the statement reads. It remains unclear how the fake quotes ended up in the movie trailer. And who is responsible for their appearance. Social media suggested that these harsh statements were actually generated by artificial intelligence. However, Lionsgate has not yet confirmed this theory. ADVERTISIMENT Lionsgate's marketing strategy for Megalopolis draws parallels between the director and his protagonist as unrecognized geniuses. The film tells the story of Cesar (Driver), an architect who has the ability to stop time and wants to build a utopia called New Rome. One of the key storylines is his relationship with the daughter of a corrupt mayor (Natalie Emmanuel and Giancarlo Esposito). The film also stars Shia Labeouf, Aubrey Plaza, Laurence Fishburne, and Jon Voight. Early screenings have received mixed reactions from viewers. The film worth $120 million left them rather bewildered and confused. However, Coppola has already said that he does not accept this criticism. "I really think it's inexcusable to attack a movie because it doesn't comply with current Hollywood rules, quoting unnamed sources who probably weren't at the screening and may not exist," the director said of those who didn't like his work. ADVERTISIMENT Megalopolis will be released in Ukraine simultaneously with the rest of the world. The movie will be released on September 26. Subscribe to OBOZ.UA channels on Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events. A serious emergency has occurred in a colony in the Volgograd region of the Russian Federation. As a result of this incident, there are victims. ADVERTISIMENT Russian media report this. In particular, the hostage-taking took place during a meeting of the disciplinary commission in penal colony No. 19. It is noted that the prisoners killed at least three employees of the institution. At least seven other people were injured and are in intensive care, and several people remain hostage. One of the attackers was previously convicted of terrorism. A state of emergency was declared in the colony. Among the dead, according to preliminary data, are an employee of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) and one prisoner. And among the injured is the head of the colony, Andrey Devyatov. ADVERTISIMENT Special forces arrived at the scene. 1230 prisoners are held in the colony. The attackers claim to be members of the ISIS terrorist organization. The Federal Penitentiary Service has set up a special commission to investigate the situation. The road to IP-19 is blocked, and access is restricted to the penitentiary service. In July, several prisoners took two employees of the detention center hostage in SIZO-1 in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Negotiations were held with the invaders-six convicts, some of whom were held under a "terrorist" article for their involvement with ISIS- demanding a car, weapons, and the opportunity to leave without hindrance, but Russian security forces eventually launched an assault. ADVERTISIMENT Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber . Do not fall for fakes! Austria is not the most popular summer vacation destination. However, for travelers who want to immerse themselves in history and enjoy the majestic architecture against the backdrop of high mountains, this country will bring many vivid impressions. ADVERTISIMENT In addition to traditional visits to Vienna, it is worth paying attention to another charming city which will be an ideal option for a weekend getaway. The Express publication told us what makes Salzburg unique and what sights are worth seeing in the city. Located near the border with Germany, Salzburg is an ideal destination for those who enjoy hiking and want to avoid the cost of renting a car. This stunning city, known primarily as the birthplace of Mozart, offers breathtaking views and the best examples of Baroque architecture, and the central historical part is even included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The old town is mostly pedestrianized, with cobblestone streets, elegant buildings, shops, and temples. In addition, you can climb the city's peaks to see magnificent views that are usually only accessible on foot. ADVERTISIMENT The Hohensalzburg Fortress, built in the 11th century, is a must-see as it is one of the largest medieval castles in Europe. For six centuries, the fortress was constantly expanded and rebuilt, and acquired its modern appearance during the Thirty Years' War. Salzburg is a city of small, cozy squares, such as the Waagplatz or the Old Market (Alter Markt). Stroll through the charming streets and feel like you're back in time. Nearby is University Square, where you can admire the old church and the building of the University of Salzburg, founded in 1622. It is there, in front of the University Church, that Getreidegasse No. 9 stands, where Mozart was born in 1756. The part of the house facing the square has retained its original appearance. ADVERTISIMENT The Vienna Burggarten, where Mozart worked on The Magic Flute, is also worth a visit. The center of the city's architectural ensemble is the Salzburg Cathedral (St. Rupert's Cathedral), which was built in 1614, and the Greek Catholic Church of St. Mark. The traditional Salzburg Festival takes place on the Cathedral Square. Nearby, on the Residenzplatz, you can admire the beautiful marble Residenzbrunnen, one of the largest Baroque fountains in the world. There is a mountain on each side of the river in Salzburg's old town: Monchsberg on the left bank and Kapuzinerberg on the right. You can climb the mountain to enjoy a panoramic view. And if you don't feel like climbing, you can take the MonchsbergAufzug, an elevator to the Museum of Modern Art. Try the bosna, a famous Salzburg sausage, usually served on bread with onions, curry, ketchup, and mustard. Also, be sure to taste the unique mozartkugel sweets - balls of nougat, marzipan and pistachios covered with dark chocolate. ADVERTISIMENT Subscribe to OBOZ.UA channels on Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events. A year ago, the Japanese car brand Toyota introduced the Century luxury SUV. However, it was the only copy created with the participation of the Gazoo Racing team of drivers who tested new products at the German Nurburgring racetrack. Such cars are labeled GRMN (Gazoo Racing tuned by "Meister of Nurburgring"). ADVERTISIMENT The first owner of the car was Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda. However, the company soon decided to put the model into production so that "many people from all over the world could drive it," writes Motor1. Built on the TNGA platform, the regular Century SUV is known to be offered with a 406 hp V-6 hybrid engine. It is unclear at this time whether the GRMN will get the V-8 engine that the previous-generation Century sedan offered. The previous version was the only Toyota in history to come with a V-12, but it is unlikely that this powerplant will return. At the moment, journalists expect the Century SUV GRMN to impress them with its power. After all, it belongs to the type of car that is the pinnacle of quality among all Toyotas. The brand also sells its models with the GR Sport nameplate, but they are mostly limited to cosmetic changes and minor suspension modifications. More substantial updates can be found under the GR label. But none of them reached the GRMN standards. ADVERTISIMENT Usually, these models were produced in small batches and sold mostly exclusively in the Japanese market. However, the GRMN Yaris once reached Europe, and the upcoming GRMN Supra should be even more accessible and is expected to be sold even in the United States. The regular Century SUV is currently sold only in Japan and China. However, Toyota has already hinted at creating a high-performance SUV of the GRMN class. This will not be the only version of the Century SUV, as Toyota has already built a convertible on its basis, which will be used as a ceremonial car for the Japanese Sumo Association. Subscribe to the OBOZ.UA channels on Telegram and Viber to keep up with the latest events. ADVERTISIMENT The statement by Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Mykhailo Vynnytskyi that Ukraine is ready to provide education for children in the Kursk region is his personal opinion. The Ministry of Education and Science has not made any official decisions regarding the education of Russians. ADVERTISIMENT This was said by the Ministry of Education and Science in response to Vynnytskyi's words about Ukrainian teachers teaching children in the Kursk region. The ministry emphasized that the statement "is not the official position of the Ministry of Education and Science." Vynnytskyi suggested that "if the situation (in Kursk region) continues as it is now," then in late September or early October his colleagues will have to "develop a plan to provide education for minors" in the territory of the aggressor country. However, he emphasized that "any transfer of children from the Kursk region to the territory of Ukraine is out of the question." Although the deputy minister only suggested "developing a plan to provide education" for Russians, he said that the Ministry of Education and Science had already discussed the possibility of merging the agricultural college in Suzha with Sumy National Agrarian University. ADVERTISIMENT "There is an agricultural college in Suzha. And there is an idea to merge it with Sumy National Agrarian University. This idea has been voiced, but we have not yet made any moves in this direction," said Vynnytskyi. "We note that the Ministry of Education and Science has not made any relevant official decisions. Mykhailo Vynnytskyi's statement is solely his personal opinion and assumptions and is not the official position of the Ministry of Education and Science," the ministry said. As reported, against the backdrop of the operation in the Kursk region of Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the border of Sumy region, where he held a meeting with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi and the head of the Sumy Military Administration Volodymyr Artyukh. According to the head of state, another settlement was taken under control in the Kursk region and new prisoners were captured. ADVERTISIMENT As you know, Russia is sending conscripts from almost all Russian regions to the Kursk region en masse. In an attempt to hold back the Ukrainian army's offensive, the Russian dictator has once again broken his promises - he has repeatedly claimed that conscripts will not be sent to war. Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! In the temporarily occupied Mariupol, on August 23, at about 13:07, there were reports of arrivals. It is preliminarily reported that the occupiers' air defense system was hit. ADVERTISIMENT This was reported by the Mariupol City Council and the advisor to the mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andriushchenko, on their social media channels. Residents of the city wrote about the sounds of explosions and smoke in Telegram channels. At the same time, the occupiers reported that missiles were flying to Crimea. According to Andriushchenko, there were at least 7 explosions in the city. Occupation publics immediately began to write that the sounds of explosions were the work of Russian air defense. "Preliminary damage to air defense systems in the triangle of Mariupol (Livoberezhnyi/Kalmiuskyi) Nikolske Mangush. More details to follow. The Russians will try to dispel the air defense story. They are lying. Air defense was not working. Several sources confirm the facts of arrivals on the ground simultaneously," said the advisor to the mayor of Mariupol. ADVERTISIMENT Earlier it was reported that in the Mariupol district temporarily occupied by the Russian army, a drone attacked the occupiers' military training ground. As a result, 15 Russian soldiers were injured. As a reminder, on the afternoon of August 13, "cotton" came to Russian-occupied Mariupol. Two explosions occurred in the Central district in the direction of Nikolske. Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! As a result of the fighting in the Kursk region of Russia, at least 129 Russian conscripts went missing or were captured. Z-volunteers are contacting their parents to try to silence them, explaining that they should not "play along" with the Ukrainians and confront the authorities. ADVERTISIMENT This was reported by "Important Stories". The media outlet has identified more than a hundred people 45 were captured and 84 went missing. It is also noted that there are cases of deaths of conscripts at least three of them, and one was deceived into signing a contract. In fact, according to the media, the number of 200 is much higher. In particular, on August 9, 19-year-old paratrooper Stanislav Matveev was killed. It is not yet known whether he had signed the contract. ADVERTISIMENT Most of the soldiers who were captured or went missing were 20 years old 45 people. Another nine are 18 years old. The oldest of the missing are 24 years old. "Preventive conversations" are held with the parents of soldiers who are trying to find their sons. One of these "voluntary helpers" is Z-volunteer Svitlana Zarutska. She urges the relatives of conscripts not to speak publicly about their deaths or disappearances, as this will allegedly play into the hands of Ukrainians. "The kh*khols are putting pressure on us for having conscripts. A lot of information propaganda has been carried out to turn Russians against their government and their state. But you have to understand: these kh*khols crossed our border. And we did not cross their borders," the propagandist says. As a reminder, conscripts who were "covering" the border were among the first to be captured in the Kursk region. This came as a shock to their families. Previously, mothers and fathers were glad that their children were not involved in the "SMO," but the theater of operations unfolded on the Russian border. ADVERTISIMENT According to the Russian anti-war project "Go to the forest!", 250 conscripts have been transferred from the Leningrad region to Kursk and lists are already being prepared to send a new group of soldiers. There are many comments on social media from mothers of conscripts. For example, one of them said that her son took the oath five days ago, on August 11, and in late September or early October he will be sent from the Altai Territory to the border. As reported by OBOZ.UA: "On August 21, Ukrainian soldiers managed to replenish the exchange fund with more than 10 Russian invaders. Among the prisoners are soldiers from Akhmat, the Chechen unit of Kadyrov's forces, who are for some reason considered the "military elite" in Russia. Ukraine's defense forces continue their offensive in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation, actively replenishing their exchange fund. Russian military personnel who have been captured are being held in decent conditions and have access to everything they need. ADVERTISIMENT Only verified information is available on our Telegram channel OBOZ.UA and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! Parents of children with additional needs have spoken about how they are at their wits end on how to secure school places for this academic year. SNAs (special needs assistants), activists, parents and their children marched from Clearys Clock on OConnell Street to the Department of Education in Dublin to demand action so that vital school places are available for children with special needs. Nicola ODea, from Finglas, said her 13-year-old son Sean who has been diagnosed with autism is due to start first year of secondary school this autumn. She said they had applied to 15 different schools inside and outside of their catchment area, and still have no place. She said their story has been raised before and they had meetings in the Department of Education three months ago where they were told they would not be in the situation that they are in. I work as an SNA myself, and Im not going back to work now, Im staying at home. Because my husband works, I work, somebody needs to be home with Sean, she said. The sleepless nights, the constant worry, ever since Sean was diagnosed its battle after battle. You battle for assessments of need, you battle for school places, you battle for domiciliary, everything is a fight and it shouldnt be. They deserve to go to school. Hes come on amazing from primary school and I just want him to continue that. I shouldnt have to come here today to fight for a place for him, thats his constitutional right, he deserves to go to school. Asked was she confident he would get a place in school next year, she said: If Sean is at home for a whole year, hell be a completely different child next year. As much as I can do with him, Im not a teacher. Sean needs the routine, the structure, he sleeps better when hes in school, hes calmer when hes in school. If hes at home for a year, he will regress. Addressing the Minister for Education Norma Foley, she said: Get your act together. Enough is enough. Come live in my house, come feel our pain, our stress, our worry. Karen Fowler, from Raheny, said her daughter Amber does not have a place in secondary school which means she may need to quit her job to look after her. She said she had applied to 19 different schools and was either refused because they are not in the catchment area or because they are giving priorities to siblings. She said Amber thrives when she is in a routine and comes on in leaps and bounds, but said she regresses without it. I just dont know where to turn anymore, she said. The last thing I want to do is lose my job. I find myself in this situation where she has no place. She has regressed significantly over the summer time. She has challenging behaviours, she has a diagnosis of autism, non-verbal, an intellectual disability. I have been fighting for six months, alongside her dad and my family, to secure a place for Amber to no avail. I get the same replies, robot replies, same tick-box exercises and Im just very worried. She added: I cant even tell you the immense stress we are under, the pressure, the worry, the strain, its never-ending. Its constantly fighting for the basics, its just unacceptable. Protesters chanted calls for school places to be provided immediately and criticised Ms Foley and Taoiseach Simon Harris. A letter was handed in to the Department of Education by People Before Profit councillor Conor Reddy and a group of others, with the names of children who had not yet secured a place. Powerful protest today by parents+ families of children with Special Educational Needs that came out of our Finglas meeting on Monday night We'll be back again on Sept 2nd if @NormaFoleyTD1 + @1Hildegarde fail to deliver school places + supports for all who need them by next Fri pic.twitter.com/E76q0KaCwr Cllr Conor Reddy (@ConorReddy95) August 23, 2024 The demonstration was told that if the Department does not get back with an update for each child by August 30, another protest will be held on September 2 in the city centre. Bernard Mulvany, from Marino whose 14-year-old daughter Sophia has a school place said it was exhausting for parents to have to keep advocating to secure an education for their children. Mr Mulvany, who is from Access for All Ireland and is involved in People Before Profit, said we have to fight tooth and nail every single year, year on year, for the basics in Irish society. Sinn Fein TD Dessie Ellis was praised by parents for being the only TD from the Finglas area to attend the protest. He told the crowd it was no longer acceptable in this day and age that we should have to go out and literally beg for places, its not good enough. A spokeswoman for the Department of Education said that special education and provision of an appropriate school place is a priority for the Government. She added: This is underpinned by investment of more than 2.7 billion euro in 2024, more than a quarter of the entire education budget. This will allow for, amongst other things, the opening of up to 400 new special classes in mainstream schools and 300 additional special school places. That level of provision is being delivered and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) have advised the Department of Education that 408 new special classes have been sanctioned for the coming school year 2024/2025. This includes 290 new special classes at primary level and 118 at post-primary. This is on top of almost 1,300 new special classes sanctioned over the last four years. For the coming school year, there will be over 3,300 special classes operating in primary and post-primary schools across the country. She continued: The NCSE is confident that there will be sufficient number of special classes to meet the needs of children known to them seeking a special class place for the coming school year. Where it is not possible to secure the small number of additional special classes required, the NCSE and Department will consider the use of the available legislative provisions if necessary. This includes Section 67 of the Admission to Schools Act 2018 which provides for the NCSE to direct schools to admit a student with special educational needs. There were scenes of joy, shock and squeals of happiness at a north Dublin school as dozens of Leaving Certificate students opened their results. Many of the students of Donahies Community School said they were thrilled at their results, with the majority performing better than expected. The teenagers gathered with anticipation outside the principals office well before 10am, while others accessed their results online. Clutching the white envelopes, students gathered in huddles and pulled out the results sheet. The well-wishes and congratulations soon spread as the hard work paid off for the students.Among them was 18-year-old Daniel Ewubare from north Dublin. I am over the moon and so happy, he said. I feel joyful knowing the hard work paid off. Long nights until 6am paid off so Im very happy. It was 100% better than I expected. I thought I would fail Irish but I passed it somehow and I passed maths. I am so happy. Revision was hard but I dealt with it. My parents will be so happy and hope to celebrate later. My plan is to go to college. Joel Heatley, 18, also from north Dublin said: I am very happy about my results, I wasnt expecting it to be honest. It was worth the work. The last two years was probably the biggest part of work and it definitely paid off. Covid affected our school work a lot. When we came back, it was a bit manic at first but we were just reminded that our Leaving Certs are ahead and we were starting there. If you do everything last minute, then it wont be good. Covid didnt help but we got back on track and as soon as we got back we were happy. The exams were surprising, the vibes were good as luckily we got good weather most of the days so it set us off on a happy note before the exam. Some exams were trickier than others but each exam I left happy with how I got on. I would like to go on and do an apprenticeship. Ive passed maths, which I was hoping for. We will celebrate by going out tomorrow. Rebecca McDermott, 18, hopes to go into primary school teaching. I was expecting to come in here and be upset at my results but I got what I needed in the subjects. I needed a H1 and I got that and am very much in shock. I thought paper 1 in Irish was okay but paper 2 was not my best day. She said: I came out thinking I didnt pass the paper at all but so happy I passed it. I couldnt focus revising as we had never sat an exam. I was studying for hours on end some days and taking breaks and other days could only sit down for half an hour. I am hoping to get primary school teaching in DCU so Ill calculate points and see. William Boon, 18, also from north Dublin, hopes to study journalism. I am so shocked I didnt know what I was going to get. When I went to get my results, I was still very shaky and nervous as I didnt know how the exams went, it was hard to tell. He said: I opened the page, one result at a time and thought it was good. I came out of the exams not knowing what I would get and it was so different from how I thought I would get on. It was our first time revising for exams because we never did a Junior Cert, but we just put the hard work in. Principal of Donahies Community School Peter Keoghan said it was a super day. It is a nervous time for management and teachers in the school, he added. We went through the results and were absolutely thrilled with it so we have a bunch of some very happy students. The atmosphere is great and our hope now is that students will pass this phase in their lives and be ready to move on to the next step on the ladder. For us that will be another run of education and from talking to them I am confident they will go where they want to. He added: It can be a tense atmosphere. I think in Irish society, the Leaving Cert has still maintained that fear factor and respect. The Leaving Cert is a respected exam and dispute the changes over the years, its still there and students know that the Leaving Cert is a stepping stone for them. The Pentagon said that the United States is allowing Ukraine to use the weapons it has provided to strike the Kursk region. This is how the Ukrainian army defends its country against Russian attacks from this region. ADVERTISIMENT This was stated by Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh at a briefing on Thursday, August 22. She noted that the US Department of Defense is now receiving more information about the actions of Ukrainians in the Kursk region. Singh noted that the United States has not changed its policy on the use of its weapons against targets in Russia. And this policy allows Ukraine to return fire in self-defense against Russian attacks coming from the border regions. "Our policy allows Ukraine to return fire to defend itself against Russian attacks coming from the border regions. And these border regions include Kursk. They also include Sumy. Thus, Ukrainians are defending themselves from Russian attacks in these regions," said Sabrina Singh. She also noted that the Pentagon understands Ukraine's efforts to create a buffer zone in the Kursk region. ADVERTISIMENT "When it comes to the Kursk region, we understand what President Zelenskyy said - that they want to create a buffer zone. We are still working with Ukraine on how this fits into its strategic goals on the battlefield," Singh added. She also noted that the Pentagon is looking into Ukraine's real goals in conducting an offensive in the Kursk region. "I can also inform you that Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin intends to discuss with Kyiv partners whether the Ukrainian Armed Forces plan to hold territory in the Kursk region in the near future," Singh said. As a reminder, according to an August 21 report by ISW analysts, the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to advance in the Kursk region. The day before, the Ukrainian Armed Forces had been advancing along the entire Kursk salient and achieved additional success. The forces of the Russian aggressor country, in turn, are trying to fight back and withdraw their units from the encirclement. ADVERTISIMENT High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell called on Ukraine's partners to lift restrictions on the use of Western weapons for the Ukrainian army amid the events in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation. The EU foreign policy chief noted that Ukraine's military operation in Kursk region dealt a serious blow to Putin's narrative. Denmark has allowed Ukraine to use the weapons it has been given on the territory of the aggressor country, Russia. Despite the operation of Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region, Copenhagen's support for Kyiv will remain absolutely unchanged. The Spanish Defense Ministry believes that Ukraine should determine how and when to use the military equipment provided by Madrid. And Spain will continue to support Kyiv with important defense equipment. ADVERTISIMENT The German Ministry of Defense stated that the German weapons received by the Ukrainian Defense Forces are becoming Ukrainian. It can be used as Kyiv sees fit. At the same time, long-range missiles are another political issue. This was stated by the spokesman for the German Ministry of Defense Arne Collatz. Only verified information is available on OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes! India supports a diplomatic solution to the war between Russia and Ukraine and is ready to actively contribute to peace. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stated his country's desire to help establish stability in the region. ADVERTISIMENT He said this during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, August 23. Modi noted that this meeting was historic, as it was the first time an Indian prime minister visited Ukraine. He emphasized that India is committed to peace and prosperity for Ukraine. "Today is a historic day in Ukrainian-Indian relations. Today is the first time the Prime Minister of India visits Ukraine. This in itself is a very historic event. Tomorrow is your national day. It is a very important day. On my behalf and behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India, I express my best wishes to you and hope for peace and prosperity in Ukraine," he said. ADVERTISIMENT The Prime Minister reminded that India has been committed to a peaceful resolution of the conflict since the beginning of the war. It provided humanitarian aid and avoided direct intervention in the war. According to him, India has always supported peace and was not just a bystander. "We have never been neutral. From day one, we had our own side. Our side was peace," Modi said. Modi also emphasized the importance of respecting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. He recalled his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where he clearly stated that this was not the time for war. The Prime Minister emphasized that conflicts can only be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy. "Two years ago in Samarkand, when I met with President Putin, I told him, looking him in the eye in front of the press, that this is not the era of war. And last month, when I visited Russia again to meet with President Putin, I told him clearly that problems cannot be solved on the battlefield. The only way to solve problems is through dialogue and diplomacy. And without wasting a single minute, we must move in this direction. Both sides should sit down together and look for ways out of this crisis," he emphasized. ADVERTISIMENT Modi assured Zelenskyy that India is ready to play an active role in the peace process and personally contribute to peace as a friend. He emphasized the importance of cooperation for the speedy restoration of peace and assured that India would do everything possible to support this process. As a reminder, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kyiv on August 23, Ukraine's Flag Day, for his first official visit. He has already met with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the one-on-one conversation between them lasted about 2 hours. Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber . Do not fall for fakes! Weeds and undergrowth are so thick at the archaeological site of Marroquies Bajos, they completely cover any trace of more than 5,000 years of Jaens history. The oldest settlement in the Spanish region of Andalusia, along with Los Millares, in Almeria, and one of the longest inhabited settlements in Europe, has been abandoned and all projects, whether museum or tourist related, ditched due to the inertia of the local authorities. Marroquies Bajos is an archaeological zone of exceptional value, says the archaeologist and professor of prehistory Arturo Ruiz referring to the 75-hectare site, where remains from the Chalcolithic to the Iberian, Roman, Visigoth and Islamic periods have surfaced. The perimeter fence of what became the Archaeological Park of Marroquies, in plot C of the necropolis, was the last municipal intervention, undertaken by the previous socialist government and finished by the current administration, a coalition of the conservative Popular Party and a local collective, Jaen Merece Mas (Jaen Deserves More). More than two meters of grass has grown over the various excavation sites, particularly affecting the Roman cistern and well, the area where both the first Iberian burial and one of the Chalcolithic rings were found, says Jose Manuel Higueras, former counselor of Culture of Jaen. The abandonment is clear to see. During Higueras time in the municipal government, guided tours, educational activities and even an archaeological volunteer camp were organized. The current City Council stresses that this year a meeting was called in July, but there was little public interest. The Council tends to forego mentioning the neglect suffered by the site. Work at the site of Marroquies Bajos, in a photo provided by the Jaen City Council. The last works in plot C took place in the spring of last year, involving prospecting with georadar, a non-invasive archaeological technique for the detection of buried structures at different depths. This allowed a precise radiography of what is in the subsoil of what was sold as the future archaeological park of Marroquies Bajos more than 20 years ago. The exploration yielded interesting preliminary results, such as the presence of structural elements from different periods: dwellings, wells and part of a prehistoric Chalcolithic moat, whose existence had already been suggested by some previous surveys. Archaeological remains of various depths are detected, which is evidence of the great overlapping of different remnants, accumulated over the 5,000 years of history of this archaeological area that had a large central structure, says Jesus Garcia Sanchez, from Meridas Institute of Archaeology (IAM), a leading center in this field. This method is based on a radar sensor that emits a pulse to interact with the different materials it finds in its path and allow us to know the characteristics and geometry of the elements that are buried and also to understand the sites in a three-dimensional way, adds Garcia, who is also a researcher at the Spains national research center CSIC. Archaeological work in 2023 with a geodetic excavator at the site of the Marroquies Bajos, in an image from the Jaen City Hall. In three years of excavation in an area of barely 8,000 square meters, hundreds of findings have come to light that have allowed the most important chronological stages to be established, showing that, from the Chalcolithic to the Iberian, Roman, Visigoth and Islamic periods, there has been the presence of settlers in what is now the outlying areas of the city of Jaen. Some of the remains have thrown up the first examples of Iberian burials known in the city, and also the discovery of a Roman well from the 1st century. The geophysical survey in the epicenter of Marroquies Bajos was carried out by the company Construcciones Calderon, which has a significant reputation in the preservation and recovery of historical heritage, an area in which it has developed interventions in emblematic monuments such as the Alhambra, the Abadia del Sacromonte and the Cathedral of Granada besides the restoration of the walls of Jaen located on the Santa Catalina mountain. Three years earlier, the Roman villa of Los Robles was discovered along with several sculptures that provided valuable information about a fundamental period in Western culture, such as the establishment of Christianity and the end of pagan rites, according to archaeologist Marcelo Castro. The pieces that were recovered and saved from the risk of plundering were a life-size head of a woman, as well as Venus, Priapus and Diana in a smaller format, and others in limestone, along with coins, glass and ceramics. The municipality of Jaen wants to install an olive oil tourism center next to the remains of this Roman villa. Meanwhile, the Andalusian regional government has been planning for some years to build the City of Justice on the plot which marks the epicenter of Marroquies Bajos. It is a site where an excavation carried out in 2010 located a pair of 4,500-years-old anthropomorphic idols, made of bone and reaching a height of 11 cm and 12 cm, which come to signify the social change in power structures that takes place in the middle of the third millennium before our present era, according to the director of the excavation, Vicente Barba. The project is dogged delays, and still lacks concrete deadlines. The importance of this site was also flagged up in the documentary Atlantis Rising, produced by filmmaker James Cameron. The film put Marroquies Bajos on the map by painting it as the epicenter of the myth of Atlantis. We are convinced that Marroquies Bajos is the remains of a city that is related to the legend and tradition of Atlantis. It is not a coincidence that these people built this city thinking in a concentric circular design, says Georgeos Diaz-Montexano, expert in historical-scientific atlantology, and advisor and co-scriptwriter of the documentary that is available in more than 170 countries around the world. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Update on big money deals and ongoing scrutiny by the feds . . . Check-it: "Two former presidents and five current and former employees of the Kansas City-based International Brotherhood of Boilermakers have been indicted for their alleged roles in a 15-year, $20 million embezzlement scheme, the Justice Department announced Thursday." Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Metro area residents accused of embezzlement from international trade union Two metro area residents are among seven defendants accused of embezzling millions of dollars from an international trade union. Two former presidents among 7 Boilermakers union employees indicted for embezzlement Two former presidents and five current and former employees of the Kansas City-based Boilermakers union have been indicted for embezzlement. Developing . . . There's a lot to consider in this latest crime scene update as we track EXCEPTIONAL REPORTING and follow-up on court cases, local investigation, police action and community outreach. Check TKC news gathering . . . Man accused of robbing victim, fatally shooting him before leading Kansas City police on chase A man is accused of shooting and killing another man before stealing his vehicle at a BP gas station in east Kansas City, Missouri. Neighbors on edge after teen shot in KCMO apartment Residents are on edge after a teen boy was shot in his apartment. Couple indicted by grand jury in connection to death of boy who fell from Independence apartment A couple was indicted in connection to the death of a 3-year-old boy who fell eight stories from an Independence apartment. IHOPKC says it banned youth group leader accused of abuse. He was still there years later Social media posts and archived videos show that Larry Lucky was playing in IHOPKC's 24-hour Prayer Room in south Kansas City for years beyond when it said he was dismissed over sexual misconduct allegations. Investigators seek community aid as I-70 shooting victim remains stable Investigators have asked for the community's help to find the shooter who left one victim in critical but stable condition on I-70 in Independence. West Plaza, Brookside residents react to arrests in string of break-ins Property crimes are being reported across Kansas City, Missouri, including break-ins at four businesses earlier this week in the West Plaza. Kansans warned to use caution when buying items on social media sites Kansans have been warned to exercise caution when buying items from users on social media platforms - it could be a trap. 'Don't know how else to prevent it:' Break-ins leave Kansas City, Missouri, business owners frustrated Burglars broke into Bay Boy, Chingu Coffee, The Bar and Johnny Jo's Pizzeria early Sunday morning in the West Plaza Neighborhood. Hit and Run Accident in Pendleton Heights, Friday - Northeast News Admin BREAKING: A Hit and Run traffic collision occurred at approximately 1:38 p.m., Aug. 23 in Pendleton Heights neighborhood between Maple Boulevard and E. Missouri Avenue. The Kansas City Police Department (KCPD) and Kansas City Fire Department (KCFD) were dispatched to the area. One individual involved was treated for a small laceration on the scene. Man sues, accuses Johnson County DA of malicious prosecution after 'glaring omission' Micah Smith was charged with criminal deprivation of a motor vehicle. A judge threw out the case, saying prosecutors had left out key information in an affidavit. Overland Park police officer resigns after being charged with battery against a child Adam Vendetti was charged with battery in Johnson County District Court. He resigned from the Overland Park Police Department last week. KC man faces molestation, abuse charges after caught with family member A Kansas City man faces molestation and abuse charges after he was caught inappropriately touching a young family member. 'People would die without it': Narcan available for free in Independence The Independence Health Department plans to distribute free doses of Narcan at three events this week. Marijuana expungement denial overturned by Missouri Appellate Court A judge's decision to deny expungements for Missourians who have been convicted of THC possession was overturned this week in the Missouri Court of Appeals. KCI TSA canine named finalist in cuteness contest One of the TSA canines at the Kansas City International Airport is in the running to be the 2024 TSA Cutest Canine. Developing . . . Short term rentals in Dubai are reshaping the rental market with a 30% increase in demand compared to this time last year. Industry Experts claim that the trend is revolutionising the regions real estate scene, offering remarkable returns for savvy property owners, and attractive accommodation options to visitors. Over the past year, we have seen short-term rentals in Dubai surge, with a 30% increase in bookings due to rising tourism and a demand for flexible living options, explains Myles Rothwell, Managing Director at Edwards and Towers, a leading real estate brokerage and surveying practice in Dubai. Investor returns up This has led to investor returns up to 20% higher than traditional leases. In comparison, long-term rentals offer steady income, maintaining an average annual yield of 7%. When searching for an ideal short-term rental, thorough research is crucial, says Cherif Sleiman, Chief Revenue Officer at Property Finder, a pioneering regional property portal. Our recent white paper, titled Opening Doors: Insights, Trends and Forecasts for Real Estate in the UAE, reveals that most short-term renters with families for example, prefer lifestyle-oriented communities with vibrant assets and good connectivity. While consumers seek unique experiences curated by diverse hosts, for investors, this is an opportunity to select properties that promise the best returns. Indeed, the growth of short-term rentals is a thrilling development within the real estate sector, and we look forward to its continued success, he adds. Beyond the increase in demand, there are specific areas which are becoming more well known for the short-term rental options they offer. Anthony Joseph Abou Jaoude, Founder and CEO of Primestay, one of the leading holiday home rental companies in Dubai, highlights that areas such as Business Bay, Arjan, Jumeirah Village Circle, Downtown Dubai, Palm Jumeirah, and DAMAC Hills are particularly popular. These vibrant locales offer a rich blend of world-class amenities and trendy communities, providing unique experiences and effortless access to the city's attractions. Luxury travel destination In recent years, Dubai has become a luxury travel destination, with visitors willing to pay more for high-end accommodations. A significant trend is that families and groups prefer larger holiday homes over multiple hotel rooms, driving up the demand for vacation villas and spacious apartments for short-term rentals. In early 2023 up to date 2024, Dubai's rising demand for short-term rentals presents landlords with lucrative opportunities for high occupancy rates and attractive rental yields. Dubai's vibrant tourism scene ensures strong demand for short-term rentals, offering landlords and investors a steady and profitable income stream, Abou Jaoude adds. As winter approaches, the city gears up for a surge in visitors with diverse tastes and preferences. Keeping a finger on the pulse of these needs is critical for investors looking to maximise a propertys value in this segment. "Dubai's short-term rental market is experiencing rapid growth, with new operators entering the scene. However, the market remains fragmented, with the top five companies making up less than 10% of the offerings. Over the next one-two years, I anticipate a wave of consolidation, with some operators scaling up to manage 100+ units, while others may exit the market. We can also expect tighter government regulations to ensure compliance with licensing and guidelines. Additionally, technological advancements like AI-driven tools and smart home features will enhance both guest experiences and operational efficiency. Finally, as remote work becomes more prevalent, we foresee a growing demand from digital nomads seeking flexible, short-term accommodations, says Nina Klishevich, General Manager, Blueground, operator of the largest, curated network of furnished rentals globally. Well suited With strong potential returns in mind, short-term rental offerings need to be well suited to both regulatory and consumer requirements. Key points for investors to bear in mind when catering to the segment include: *Regulatory Clarity and Compliance: Ensure one has clarity around all the regulatory processes involved, with a focus on health and safety, quality protocols and consumer protection measures. *Technology integration: Find new ways to make ones living space hyper convenient and connected for ones potential tenant by deploying smart home devices that can enhance guest experiences and help hosts optimise their operations. *Sustainability Initiatives: Promoting eco-friendly practices within the short-term rental sector, such as using energy-efficient appliances and sustainable building materials, aligns with broader environmental goals and attracts eco-conscious travellrs. *Trusted platforms: Use trusted property search platforms, such as Property Finder to showcase ones short-term rental to a global audience. Property Finder also offers advanced services, such as Data Guru, offering in-depth insights into community trends, neighbourhood specifics, and pricing, helping one make informed investment decisions. Whether one is an investor, or a traveller in search of a short-term base when in Dubai, the short-term rental market has something for everyone. Discover the best short-term rentals on the Property Finder website and stay updated with the latest community insights via Data Guru. Download the Property Finder app from Google Play or Apple Store for a seamless on the go search experience.--TradeArabia News Service If the life of Mike Lynch, 59, was a storm of business successes, enormous enrichment, and political popularity, followed by a fall from grace, humiliating extradition to the United States and a long legal battle, he managed to survive it all that is until he was surprised by a real storm that sank his yacht off the coast of Sicily. His body was recovered August 22, four days after the accident. In late July, the founder of British business software company Autonomy posed in the living room of his home in Londons affluent Chelsea neighborhood for The Sunday Times. He wore a wary smile for the camera, a month and a half after a Californian jury acquitted him of 15 counts of fraud, misrepresentation and conspiracy to commit a crime. Handed over by the British government to U.S. authorities in May last year, Lynch spent 13 months in San Francisco under house arrest with his dog Faucet, a Shetland sheepdog, with federal police officers guarding him. After spending 27 million ($30 million) on lawyers, a 12-week trial, and being grilled on the stand by prosecutors, Lynch heard the magic words Not Guilty uttered by the jury foreman on June 6. The officers who had been guarding him disconnected the electronic monitoring device strapped to his ankle and left. The judicial authorities returned the 90 million ($100 million) bail money. When you hear that answer, you jump universes, Lynch explained to the Times. If this had gone the wrong way, it would have been the end of life as I have known it in any sense. He was facing a 25-year prison sentence. The battle against HP Lynchs backstory comes in shades of light and dark. The son of Irish immigrants to England, his first job was mopping hospital floors. He then landed a scholarship to Cambridge University. Subsequently, he could be a blunt and dictatorial executive who always expected to get his way, as a High Court judge in London described him. At college, Lynch specialized in signal processing detecting specific patterns in huge amounts of electronic data. Those were the first steps towards todays sophisticated search and artificial intelligence systems. In 1996, he launched Autonomy. Fifteen years later, it was the largest publicly traded technology company in London and employed 2,000 people across 20 countries. Clients such as AT&T, BNP Paribas and the BlackRock investment fund contracted its software. The U.K. was by then a country deindustrialized and focused on the service sector, and it needed its own national technological revolution icon. Enter Lynch, who was dubbed the British Bill Gates. Then conservative prime minister David Cameron brought the popular businessman onto his Science and Technology Council, the BBC added him to its board as a non-executive director and, in 2006, he received the Order of the British Empire for his contribution to the advancement of British industry. The success of someone like Lynch is sometimes the lifeline to which a sinking company, such as Hewlett Packard, clings. In the U.S., HP which has always claimed to be the true embryo of the Silicon Valley miracle starting out of a Palo Alto garage had become a dinosaur by the end of the first decade of the 21st century with products that could not compete with Apples MacBooks, Air Books, iPhones and iPads. Its CEO, German-born Leo Apotheker, spotted salvation in Lynchs company. HP would recapture its heyday with a turnaround in the business. It would sell enterprise software. To this end, HP acquired Autonomy in 2011 for $11.7 billion, an amount that incorporated an exorbitant 64% markup on the companys actual price. Overnight, the British businessman, then father of two girls aged nine and six, became one of the richest men in the U.K. But HPs shareholders and investors flatly rejected the companys acquisition. They ousted Apotheker just five weeks after the announcement, and replaced him with Meg Whitman, a queen of the new tech economy, who had just failed to become Republican governor of California. She had spent $140 million out of her own pocket on the campaign. She was hungry for success and had few scruples. A year after the purchase, Whitman ordered HPs value to be depreciated by $8.8 billion, and launched a legal battle against Lynch, accusing him of misrepresenting the accounts and of having inflated the value of Autonomy, at the time of the sale, by $5 billion. The plant was not watered Referring to millions of documents, HPs team of lawyers and U.S. prosecutors described questionable practices in Lynchs management, such as paying for certain services to companies to which he then sold his software as a way of inflating the business and presenting a trumped-up company image. The British businessman maintained his innocence throughout and accused HP of raging about a poorly paid and poorly managed purchase. Daddy had sold someone a plant. They hadnt watered it, it had died, and they were trying to blame Daddy for this, Lynch explained to his then six-year-old daughter. That version was dismissed in 2022 by a High Court judge in the U.K., who, faced with two scenarios fraud on a grand scale or relentless witch-hunt? chose to convict Lynch and his CFO, Sushovan Hussain. Former British Home Secretary, Priti Patel, then took the extreme decision to extradite Lynch, a British citizen, to the U.S. The chances of an American jury acquitting him were less than 1%. There was even less chance that Lynch would end up dead, at the end of this long story, at the bottom of the Mediterranean, just as he was celebrating his freedom. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Afghanistans Taliban government has ratified a so-called morality law that tightens repression against women. It includes measures such as banning their voices from being heard in public spaces and their faces from being seen in the street: they will have to be covered under the mandatory full-face veil. It is the first formal declaration of laws on vice and virtue since the fundamentalist group retook power by force in August 2021 following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country. The document, which consists of over 100 pages with 35 articles, was officially promulgated and published Wednesday after being ratified by the supreme spiritual leader, Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada. The measures affect, for the most part, women: it is established as necessary that they cover their faces and bodies to avoid causing temptation, and as such they should not wear attractive, tight, or revealing clothes. Women are also forbidden from using cosmetics or perfume, with the ultimate aim of preventing them from imitating the dress styles of non-Muslim women. One of the most severe measures is to prevent women from speaking in public, including activities such as singing, reciting, or speaking into a microphone. The new law even prohibits women from looking at men who they are not related to. The implementation of Sharia [Islamic law] and the hijab is our red line. We cannot negotiate with anyone on these issues, said the Minister of Virtue and Vice, Mohammad Khalid Hanafi, according to the Afghan channel Tolo News. The United Nations considers that since 2021, when the Taliban came to power after the withdrawal of Western forces and suspended the Constitution, the situation of women in Afghanistan could be considered as a gender apartheid, in the words of special rapporteur Richard Bennett. The expert stated at the time that the situation for Afghan women is the worst of country worldwide. Many of the dress-related restrictions have been in place over the past three years, but this law provides the first legal basis for enforcing them. The law also includes rules for men: they cannot wear ties, nor trim their beards below the length of a fist under their chin. Neither can they comb their hair. As regards their role in public spaces, men cannot look at, let alone approach, women to whom they are not related. Bus drivers must refuse transport to female passengers who are not accompanied by a man. In addition, the new law requires media outlets to abide by Sharia law, prohibiting the publication of images containing living beings. Penalties for any of these violations include counseling, warnings of divine punishment, verbal threats, confiscation of property, detention from one hour to three days in public jails, and any other punishment deemed appropriate, the Justice Ministry said. If these measures fail to correct an individuals behavior, he or she would be referred to court for further action. According to the Taliban, the law is in accordance with Islamic Sharia law. The de facto authorities reported last week that more than 13,000 people had been arrested in the past year for violating morality laws, although they did not break down the alleged crimes or the genders of those arrested. Half of those detentions lasted less than 24 hours. This law is the seventh to be ratified by the Taliban, according to the Justice Ministry, with others relating to property, financial services, and the prevention of begging. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Venezuelas Supreme Court (TSJ) has, as expected, sealed its support for Nicolas Maduro. Controlled by the ruling party for two decades, Venezuelas highest judicial institution validated on Thursday the results of the National Electoral Council (CNE) another entity dominated by Chavismo which proclaimed Nicolas Maduro the winner of the July 28 presidential election, but has still not released any voting records. The courts decision came as no surprise, given nearly all of the judges have ties to Chavismo. Shortly before the decision of the Supreme Courts Electoral Chamber was announced, the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission in Venezuela warned of the courts and the CNEs lack of independence and impartiality. The ruling was rejected by the opposition, led by former presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, as well as several presidents in Latin America, such as Chiles Gabriel Boric, who pointed to the courts bias. The president of the Supreme Court and its electoral chamber, Caryslia Beatriz Rodriguez, was a member of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) founded by former president Hugo Chavez in 2008 and held public office as the councilor in the Libertador municipality (Caracas) and acting mayor of Caracas between August and November 2021. In an interview with the website Ciudad Caracas three years ago, Rodriguez said she was deeply committed to the tasks delegated by the revolution and loyal to the worker president Nicolas Maduro and to the projects for the construction of socialism. The only proof of this is a few screenshots published by the Venezuelan NGO Access to Justice, since the interview was deleted before Rodriguez was nominated as a judge. The president of the TSJ and the other two judges that make up the Electoral Chamber, Fanny Marquez the former head of Venezuelas tax agency Seniat and Inocencio Figueroa, are sanctioned by the Canadian government for usurping Venezuelas democracy. As judges, Marquez and Figueroa are linked to the persecution of opposition deputies almost a decade ago and to the dismissal of former attorney general, Luisa Ortega in 2017. Ortega had denounced cases of alleged corruption and human rights violations by the Maduro regime. Today, at least 18 of the 20 members that make up this court been linked to Chavismo in the past, according to Laura Louza, director and founder of Access to Justice. A slow-motion decline In 2017, international bodies recognized the legitimacy of the 33 magistrates 20 of them alternates appointed to the TSJ by the National Assembly, where the opposition held the majority. All of them ended up in exile due to threats from the Maduro regime. Luis Manuel Marcano who was one of these judges and now lives in Chile recalls that the problem of judicial independence in Venezuela is not new: The country came with a weakened democracy [before 1999], and what Chavez did was to generate a competitive authoritarianism and take over all powers, especially the judiciary, buying judges and carrying out impeachment processes. Maduro is completing the dismantling of the judicial system in a very savage manner, with great brutality, appointing untrained judges. For decades, Chavismo introduced legal reforms and appointments that ensured its control of the Supreme Court. According to the report The Seizure of absolute Power, by Access to Justice, the process began in August 1999. That year, the National Constituent Assembly (ANC) issued a decree reorganizing the state that paved the way for the state to intervene in institutions. A judicial emergency commission was also created, made up of several members appointed by the ANC. For months, this commission dedicated itself to suspending and firing judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys and other officials alleging corruption or judicial delays. In 2004, the National Assembly with a Chavista majority approved a law that increased the number of judges in the Supreme Court from 20 to 32, and reserved most of the positions on the Judicial Nominations Committee for lawmakers not members of civil society. This legal instrument opened the doors for the ruling party to take complete control of the TSJ, since former PSUV deputies such as Luis Velasquez Alvaray, Luis Franceschi and Calixto Ortega were named as judges; as well as former ambassadors of the Chavez government, such as Gladys Gutierrez, says Louza. In that process, the judges who were not followers or showed independence left, she explained. Louza was not surprised by the Supreme Courts ruling in favor of Maduro. She also stressed that the TSJ usurped the functions that correspond to the National Electoral Council, and pointed out that the full texts of the Supreme Court, particularly those of the Electoral Chamber, have not been published since February. Whats more, the names of the experts tasked with auditing the CNE results have not been revealed. That is clearly a sign of a lack of transparency, said Louza. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Daily chores, the weeks anecdotes, and current events are recurring themes at all family gatherings. In those of Brittanys family, which includes siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and nephews, however, there is an added issue that always reappears, filling all its members with worry: the fear that at their next meeting some of them will be missing because they have been expelled from the country. They always talk about the fear of being deported. They fear that one day they will be taken away without their children and that, when they get home after school, they will find that there is no one to take care of them. The fear of if it will happen, when it will happen, how it will happen... says Brittany, who does not want to give her last name so as not to be recognized. Among her family members there are American citizens, legal residents, and undocumented immigrants. But the concern is widespread. Brittany was born in Maryland 19 years ago and is the second of five siblings, all of whom were born in the United States. They are the first generation with American citizenship after their parents emigrated north from El Salvador, where political, economic, and social conditions made it impossible to lead a decent life. But, despite being an American citizen, family concerns and the anti-immigrant rhetoric of many politicians affect her and she even has doubts over her right to remain in what has always been her country, something common in the Latino community. The stress is greater among those who have experienced the effects of deportation firsthand. The results of a study conducted by Jama Pediatrics have revealed that Latino adolescents whose family members have been deported or detained suffer more mental disorders than adolescents who have not been deported or detained. Stress in the family environment, caused by the fear of deportation, translates into aggression, depression, and even increased drug use. The risks of suffering from these symptoms or experiencing suicidal thoughts almost triple among adolescents six months after a family member has been deported or detained. In 2021, almost half (46%) of Latino high school students across the country reported persistently feeling extreme sadness or despair. Whether a family member has been deported or detained, or their mothers behavior changes because of the anti-immigration climate, childrens mental health suffers, said Kathleen Roche, a professor at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University and co-author of the study. To reach this conclusion, researchers began interviewing high school children and their Latina migrant mothers in a middle-class neighborhood on the outskirts of Atlanta (GA) in 2018. For five years, the study, which is still ongoing, was supported by interviews conducted every six months with the adolescents, who are now 18 or 19 years old. One of the findings of the study is that mothers change their behavior when they feel threatened by avoiding going to the doctor when they need to, or going to the police, and advising their children to stay away from the authorities. And the more mothers worry and change their behavior because of the climate created around immigration, the more children experience depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems, says Roche. The study also shows how mothers, affected by stress, offer their children less affection and support after a deportation or detention in the family. As a result, relationships between parents and children worsen and family conflicts increase. Avoiding exposure to anti-immigrant rhetoric is almost impossible in a context like the current one, in which Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has announced that, if he returns to the White House, he will carry out the largest deportation in the history of the United States. My relatives hope that Trump doesnt win because they are afraid that even if some of them have papers, they will be taken away because they werent born here, Brittany admits. She shares the concern herself. Even though I was born here, I still have the fear that they will take my papers away too because my parents werent born here. Or that they will take them away and I will be left alone. Who will I go with? Brittany says that she began to become aware of the risks when Trump took office and began his campaign against immigrants, separating children from their parents. I started to worry when I began to understand all this, in 2016, when Trump was elected president and said that he wanted all immigrants out, that he was going to deport them all. My parents were afraid of being thrown out and we even moved out of the house because we didnt know what was going to happen, she recalls. When Roche began her study in 2018, 25% of the adolescents interviewed had someone in their family who had been deported or detained. In the most recent interviews, that figure had risen to a third. Latino families are characterized by having more children and by including cousins and uncles and aunts in their inner circle, so it is more likely a family member has been affected. After the 2016 presidential election nearly half of Latino teenagers, mostly of Mexican origin, acknowledged having concerns related to family separation, the result of the Trump administrations anti-immigrant measures that left children without their parents. The study has not yet taken into account the effects that the Republican campaigns deportation promises may have on teenagers, but it is expected to increase stress among young people. One of the things weve learned with many of our studies is that there is a spillover effect on young people when anti-immigrant rhetoric is directed at the population that is potentially detrimental to the next generation of leaders, Roche says. The conclusions of the study are all the more striking because the sample chosen comes from a middle-class area, not a low-income one, where it is assumed it would be easier to find people affected by deportations. In addition, 90% of the teenagers surveyed are American citizens. Our results would be much worse if we had gone to an area where there are more undocumented people. The conclusion is relevant because it is a very important segment of the population if we think about the future workforce, notes Roche. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition University of California President Michael V. Drake has directed the 10-campus system to enforce stricter protest regulations ahead of students' return to campus this week, including bans on blocking walkways, setting up protest encampments, and using masks to conceal identities. The new measures aim to prevent disruptions like those seen during last spring's protests against the Israel-Gaza war. "Freedom to express diverse viewpoints is fundamental to the mission of the University, and lawful protests play a pivotal role in that process," Drake said in a Monday statement. "While the vast majority of protests held on our campuses are peaceful and nonviolent, some of the activities we saw this past year were not." As Israel's conflict with Hamas in Gaza continues, pro-Palestine protests and encampments have emerged on college campuses across the country. Faculty and students - including dozens from the UC system - have been arrested for participating in the gatherings and some institutions canceled graduation ceremonies in response. UCLA's demonstrations garnered particular scrutiny after Jewish students filed a lawsuit against the university for discrimination. Between April and May, activists constructed a so-called "Jew Exclusion Zone," the suit claimed, preventing Jewish students from accessing campus resources like classrooms and the library. In July, the school was ordered by the courts to create a plan to support its Jewish students by August. Several weeks later, a federal judge ruled that the university cannot allow Jewish students to be blocked from accessing campus buildings, programs and services, regardless of who initiated the exclusion. Drake seemingly addressed this new ruling in a Monday directive to system and school officials, which asked that each campus provide a document of policies surrounding demonstrations before the start of the fall semester. The policies must "clarify that no person shall restrict the movement of another person or persons by, among other means, blocking or obstructing their ingress or egress of roadways, walkways, buildings, parking structures, fire lanes, windows, doors or other passageways to university property, or otherwise denying a person access to a University facility or space," the letter read. The policies must also include bans on erecting structures and wearing masks to disguise one's identity. "Our ultimate goal is for all of our community members to feel supported in their ability to express themselves, and to pursue their studies, research, patient care, and other work on our campuses," Drake said. Johns Hopkins University in Maryland will again require SAT or ACT standardized test scores for undergrad admissions starting in fall 2026. After three years of test-optional policies brought on by the pandemic, the university decided last week that standardized test scores are too important to leave out. The change affects students applying to the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences and the Whiting School of Engineering. Those applying for fall 2025 can still choose to skip the test, but Johns Hopkins is encouraging them to submit scores if possible. After a deep dive into recent admissions data and academic research, the university found that test scores, when viewed alongside other factors, are a solid predictor of student success at Johns Hopkins. The review also hinted that going test-optional might have unintentionally held back some applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds who could have benefited from submitting their scores. "Johns Hopkins has long utilized a holistic approach to its admissions process and will continue to do so. This approach is one that examines students' academic character, impact and initiative, and personal contributions through a multifaceted lens that considers the entirety of their high school career," officials said. Johns Hopkins has followed the growing trend of schools bringing back the requirement for standardized tests following years of making the test optional due to limited access during the pandemic. As of this year, more than 2,000 bachelor-degree granting institutions are not requiring standardized exams for fall 2025 admissions, according to a study by the National Center for Fair & Open Testing. However, many Ivy League schools and other top universities have begun reinstating these tests by 2025, including Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Yale, Caltech, Georgetown, MIT, Stanford, as well as Florida and Georgia's public state university systems. Texas Senator Ted Cruz's lead in the polls heading into the November elections, where he will seek to retain his seat and fend off challenger Colin Allred, is the smallest it's ever been at least in months. According to the most recent survey, conducted by the University of Houston's Hobby School of Public Affairs and the Texas Southern University Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs among 1,365 likely voters, the incumbent is leading by just two percentage points, 47% to 45%. Ted Brown, running as an independent, garners 3% of the support. It is the smallest margin Cruz has had since at least June, according to FiveThirtyEight's poll aggregator. The latest survey by YouGov, which has had the largest samples of all studies featured in the website, had the incumbent with a three-point margin over Allred, 47% to 44%. Other ones with fewer likely voters interviewed have the Republican with a larger lead. One by ActiVote, conducted between June 25 and July 18 among 400 likely voters (LV), shows Cruz with 54% of the support, compared to Allred's 46%. Another one by the Remington Research Group among 589 LV features Cruz with a 10-point lead, 53% to 43%. Allred has been keeping his campaign focused on state issues, rather than nationals, but on Thursday he was at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) to support Kamala Harris. Allred delivered remarks on the last day of the DNC in Chicago, saying "I'm so proud to be here to support our next president, Kamala Harris." He then focused mostly on his attempt to beat Cruz and the need to do the same with GOP nominee Donald Trump, who he described as "me-guys." "You know, the type to talk a big game, only care about themselves, but you don't want to get stuck with them at a barbecue. We got a message the me-guys. 'We' is more powerful than 'me,'" Allred said during a passage of his 3-minute speech. "We will restore reproductive freedom. We will secure the border. We will protect Medicare and Social Security. And we will turn the page and write a new chapter for this country and elect Kamala Harris to be the next president and beat Ted Cruz," he added to a crowd that erupted in chants of "Beat Ted Cruz." Allred took the stage along with other Democrats in competitive Senate races, among them Arizona's Ruben Gallego and Michigan's Elissa Slotkin. Allred is currently trailing Cruz in the polls, with the margins varying sharply from study to study. Cruz, on his end, boasted this week about receiving a key show of support: that of the union representing the U.S. Border Patrol. He was officially endorsed in an event in the border town of Edinburg, where he delivered a speech before hundreds of agents and their families at the National Border Patrol Council's national headquarters. Originally published by The Latin Times. Despite concerns that the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court rulings on race-conscious admissions would deter minority students from applying to college, recent data from the Common App shows that minority applications have not decreased. College applications from underrepresented minority groups, international students, and those from low and middle-income backgrounds saw a significant increase during the 2023-24 school year, according to the end-of-season report released Thursday. Applicants identifying as a minority race or ethnicity increased by 11% compared to last year. The most significant growth was observed among American Indian or Alaska Native, Latinx, and Black or African American applicants. There were also no significant changes found in the types of schools minority students chose to apply to, whether highly selective or less selective, except for a "leveling-off" of Asian applicants' applications to the most selective schools. "In general ... we do not observe any appreciable changes from ongoing historical trends," the report concluded. Applicants coming from low- and middle-income backgrounds also jumped 12% over the 2022-23 school year. Notably, international applicants continue to outpace domestic growth, rising 12% since 2022-23, with the biggest increases from Haiti (102%), Ghana (80%) and Mongolia (57%). Applicant growth was strong across rural, small-town and micropolitan areas as well, the report showed, with increases of 9% to 11%, while metropolitan areas saw a 6% rise. The Southwestern region of the country led with 23% growth, with Nebraska (81%), Oklahoma (49%), and Texas (23%) showing the highest gains. Washington, D.C., also saw a 27.1% jump in applicants. The number of first-generation applicants grew 5% between, which was slightly lower than the 7% growth among continuing-gen applicants, the report said. However, the number of first-generation applicants has more than doubled in the last decade. The report did not address admission rates this year for minority applicants, though some institutions have begun releasing those statistics. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology recently reported a significant decrease in the percentage of Black, Hispanic, Native American and Pacific Islander students in its incoming class of 2028, the institution's first undergraduate class admitted since the Supreme Court's decision to ban affirmative action. For the class of 2028, about 16% of students belong to these minority groups, the university announced, down from a baseline of approximately 25% in recent years. However, community colleges and less-selective four-year institutions where most minority students enroll are unlikely to see similar impacts from the court's decision since most did not use affirmative action before the ruling. The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has granted approval for the acquisition of management rights of certain funds of M/s. Faysal Asset Management Limited by M/s. Alfalah Asset Management Limited ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Aug, 2024) The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has granted approval for the acquisition of management rights of certain funds of M/s. Faysal Asset Management Limited by M/s. Alfalah Asset Management Limited. This approval follows the execution of a Transfer of Management Rights Agreement between the two entities, said a press release issued on Friday. Alfalah Asset Management Limited, a public unlisted company, is a prominent Asset Management Company (AMC) and investment advisor. The company operates under a license issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) in accordance with the Non-Banking Finance Companies (Establishment and Regulation) Rules, 2003. Similarly, Faysal Asset Management Limited, also a public unlisted company, functions as an AMC and investment advisor under the regulatory framework of the SECP. Under the terms of the Agreement, Alfalah Asset Management Limited will acquire the management rights of certain funds currently under the management of Faysal Asset Management Limited. The CCP, in its assessment, identified the relevant product market as 'Asset Management Services' and noted the horizontal nature of the transaction due to the overlap in operations between the two entities. Following the completion of the transaction, the market share of Alfalah Asset Management Limited is anticipated to experience a slight increase, while the market share of Faysal Asset Management Limited will correspondingly decrease. Crucially, the CCP's analysis has determined that this acquisition will not lead to market dominance by Alfalah Asset Management Limited in the relevant market. The CCPs approval underscores its commitment for maintaining a competitive landscape in the financial services sector while ensuring sustainable growth and financial innovation in the asset management industry. Kamala Harris gave the most important speech of her life in Chicago on Thursday. For the vice president of the United States, who has been in Joe Bidens shadow for the past four years, it was her big night. Accepting the Democratic presidential nomination gave her the opportunity to ride the wave of enthusiasm she has raised in just a month and present herself to Americans as the right person to lead the country. Harris called for unity and promised to be a president for all Americans in a euphoric closing of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) that for the first time puts the White House within reach of a Black and Asian woman. At the same time, Harris also warned of the risks of a second Donald Trump presidency. Kamala Harris did not have an easy task. Speakers of the caliber of Barack and Michelle Obama, Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey had appeared on the stage of the United Center, the Chicago Bulls stadium where the convention is being held. But Harris also knows how to talk to a crowd shes used to delivering closing statements from when she was a prosecutor and she gave a well-crafted speech. Whats more, she has the winds in her favor. With her infectious laugh, campaign slogans that she has popularized at lightning speed (Were not going back, When we fight, we win...) and an audience that clung on her every word from the moment she took the stage until the moment tens of thousands of balloons fell down , Harris was met with a level of support unimaginable just over a month ago, when Joe Biden was still the partys candidate. Kamala Harris prioritized her call for American unity. With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a New Way Forward. Not as members of any one party or faction. But as Americans, she said. I know there are people of various political views watching tonight. And I want you to know: I promise to be a President for all Americans, she continued. The support of independents and undecided voters who TV star Oprah Winfrey appealed to the day before will be decisive on November 5. As will the vote of women, who Harris addressed by highlighting her support for reproductive rights. Why exactly is it that they dont trust women? she asked in reference to the Republicans. We do trust women. Kamala Harris, during the Democratic convention. Mike Segar (REUTERS) In the speech, Harris spoke little about her platform. She promised a law to guarantee the right to abortion throughout the country, which since the 2022 Supreme Court ruling has been regulated by the states, and another law to protect the right to vote. Harris also pledged to cut taxes on the middle class, a move that would benefit more than 100 million Americans. Those were her most tangible proposals, which, in reality, cannot be implemented by a president but rather U.S. Congress. The rest of the speech kept to generalities and character, trying to mix firmness and optimism, toughness and joy. There were no details on her economic plans or many other items on her agenda, but she did not shy away from thorny issues, such as foreign policy and immigration. Harris pledged to secure the border, accusing Trump of undermining the law that would have helped stop illegal immigration, one that she intends to bring back. I know we can live up to our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants- And reform our broken immigration system. We can create an earned pathway to citizenship- And secure our border, she said. Cease-fire in Gaza On foreign policy, Harris emphatically guaranteed support for Ukraine and NATO allies, in stark contrast to the dwindling support of Trump and some Republicans: In the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand, and where the United States of America belongs. On the Gaza war, she called for the release of Israeli hostages and an immediate ceasefire. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity. Security. Freedom. And self-determination, she said. The call for unity did not stop Harris from repeatedly attacking Trump. This election is not only the most important of our lives. It is one of the most important in the life of our nation. In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious, she said, recalling his role in the assault on the Capitol. Throughout the DNC, Democrats presented the election as a choice between a felon and a prosecutor. Consider what he intends to do if we give him power again, she warned. Consider his explicit intent to set free the violent extremists who assaulted those law enforcement officers at the Capitol. His explicit intent to jail journalists. Political opponents. Anyone he sees as the enemy. His explicit intent to deploy our active-duty military against our own citizens. Consider the power he will have especially after the United States Supreme Court just ruled he would be immune from criminal prosecution. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails. She accused Trump of trying to ban abortion nationwide and of seeking to force states to report womens miscarriages. They are simply out of their minds, she said, further pushing the idea that the Republican candidates are weird and dangerous, two of the epithets Democrats have most often used against them. The Democrats other central argument was to present Trump as a self-centered egoist who only looks out for the rich, versus Harris who will work for the American people. She expressed this in her own way, noting that throughout her career as an attorney, senator and vice president she has had only one client, the people, while Trumps only client, both in business and politics, has been himself. We know a strong middle class has always been critical to Americas success. And building that middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency. This is personal for me. The middle class is where I come from, the candidate said. Bill Clinton joked the day before in his speech that if she wins the election she will surpass him as the president who has spent the most time in a McDonalds (where she worked and he was a regular customer). Harris herself, who was celebrating her 10th wedding anniversary, drew on her family roots. My mother was 19 when she crossed the world alone. Traveling from India to California. With an unshakeable dream to be the scientist who would cure breast cancer, she said. Harris parents met in UC Berkeley, California. She grew up in a working-class neighborhood of firefighters, nurses and construction workers, she said, explaining she decided to become a prosecutor after learning in high school that her best friends stepfather was sexually abusing her. She also spoke about her accomplishments as a prosecutor. Candidate without primaries I am no stranger to unlikely journeys, she said, including her nomination: The path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected. Kamala Harris is, in fact, the first candidate to be nominated without winning a single primary vote since 1968, when the DNC was held in Chicago, amid violent protests over the Vietnam War. There were fears of a repeat of that history, but that did not happen. Compared to the hotly contested 2020 Democratic primaries, which Joe Biden narrowly won, Harris has managed to become the nominee by walking the red carpet reluctantly laid out for her by Biden himself. The president won the primaries overwhelmingly before bowing to party pressure to withdraw after his disastrous Atlanta debate against Donald Trump. The vice president and candidate thanked him in her speech and defended his accomplishments and character. Although the joy that has gripped her campaign is also reminiscent of Barack Obamas 2008 journey, the process could not have been more different. Obama won a dog-eat-dog primary against Hillary Clinton, the party establishments favourite. Kamala, in comparison, was nominated at a virtual roll call after Biden withdrew and the delegates gave her their support. Now she has two and a half months of frenetic campaigning ahead of her. Her popularity has skyrocketed and she is leading in the polls, although that guarantees her nothing, as Hillary Clinton well knows. On the same day Trump traveled to the border in Arizona to paint an apocalyptic picture of the United States, Harris opted for optimism: I see an America where we hold fast to the fearless belief that built our nation, that inspired the world, that here in this country, anything is possible, nothing is out of reach. During the speech, Trump attacked Harris and tried to refute her accusations, first through his social network, Truth, and then with a phone call to Fox News. The candidate also outlined her governing style: I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations. A president who leads and listens; who is realistic, practical and has common sense; and always fights for the American people. From the courthouse to the White House, that has been my lifes work, she said. When you break through a glass ceiling, youre going to get cut, and its going to hurt, she wrote in her memoir The Truths We Hold. Now she is trying to break that glass ceiling with laughter. Harris is only the second woman to be nominated for the presidency by one of the two major parties and the first Black and Asian woman to do so. But where Hillary Clinton failed in the battle against Donald Trump, she hopes to win. Closing ranks Unlike Donald Trump, Kamala Harris fits squarely into the recent history of the Democratic Party. The former president broke with most of the traditional leaders of the Republican Party. George W. Bush, the only living former president of the Grand Old Party, did not attend the Republican convention in Milwaukee last month. Neither did any of the former Republican presidential or vice presidential candidates. Not even Mike Pence, who was Trumps own vice president and has made it clear that he will not vote for him. Republican unity has been somewhat shaken by the purge of dissenters. Because the Republican convention was held just after the attempted assassination on Trump, Nikki Haley agreed to give a speech of support, but was booed. In comparison, the Democrat party has more fully closed ranks behind Harris. Four Democratic presidents named her as the heir to their legacy, starting with the current one, Joe Biden. Barack Obama and Bill Clinton also gave important speeches at the convention, while Jimmy Carter, the other living president, aged 99, sent his grandson Jason as an emissary of his support. Selecting Kamala was the very first decision I made when I became our nominee and its the best decision I made my whole career, Biden said in his speech. Shes tough, shes experienced, and she has enormous integrity. America is ready for a new chapter, Obama said in his speech. America is ready for a better story. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris is the only candidate in this race with the vision, the experience, the temperament, the will, and yes the sheer joy to do that on good and bad days. To be our voice, added Clinton, who also named her as his political heir. There comes a new generation to pick up where we left off. Thats the opportunity were givennow. To pick an extraordinary woman, clearly up to the job, wholl bring us together and move us forward. My grandfather cant wait to vote for Kamala Harris, said Jason Carter, Jimmy Carters grandson. Kamala Harris carries my grandfathers legacy. She knows what is right and she fights for it. On Thursday, shortly before her speech, two of Harris nieces came on stage to explain how to pronounce their aunts name, Kamala, a Sanskrit name meaning lotus flower, an important symbol in Indian culture. Words are incredibly powerful, Harris wrote in her memoir. It remains to be seen whether her words on Thursday have the power to propell a daughter of immigrants with a name many Americans cannot pronounce to victory on November 5. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Aug, 2024) The rising prevalence of drug addiction, particularly hashish, ice, smoking, and naswar, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is increasingly affecting public health. Many individuals suffering from drug addiction attribute their plight to socioeconomic issues such as poverty and unemployment, suggesting that improved economic policies and job opportunities for youth could address these challenges effectively. One such case is Umar Khayam, a 30-year-old resident of the Nowshera district, who recently experienced severe dental pain due to his naswar addiction. Umar, in excruciating agony, was rushed to a private dental hospital, where he was quickly transferred to the Oral and Maxillofacial department at Sardar Begium Dental College in Peshawar for emergency surgery. Upon examination of his teeth, Dr. Tahir Khan, senior surgeon and principal of the hospital, found that Umar's molar was severely decayed, leading to a critical gum infection. The decay was attributed to years of naswar use. Due to the extent of the damage, the molar was extracted as root canal treatment was deemed unfeasible. Dr. Tahir Khan noted that Umar began using naswar in 2010 while in a hostel, initially as a way to cope with the stress of his MA exams. Despite numerous attempts to quit, Umar has been unable to break free from the addiction, which has caused significant dental issues, including the loss of a tooth. He expressed frustration over the negative impact of naswar on his personal and professional life, including the unpleasant habit of spitting that affects his social image. Dr Tahir Khan, said the severity of naswar addiction could result in severe gum infections, jaw complications, and the loss of multiple teeth. "Naswar's harmful effects extend beyond oral health, potentially causing bone loss, stomach disorders, and facial disfigurement. Additionally, it may contribute to increased heart rate with cardiac vascular complications, and in some cases can lead to more severe conditions like mouth and oral cancers." Referring to a report from the Global Cancer Observatory, Dr Tahir pointed out that Pakistan faces a significant burden of lip and oral cavity cancers, with about 11,000 new cases in males every year, making it the most common cancer among men. Poor dental hygiene, tobacco use, and viral infections besides fake quack doctors contribute to these alarming statistics, he informed. Approximately 10,000 people die of cancer of the lips and oral cavity annually in the country, the doctor said, adding the main reasons for such cancers were chewable and non-chewable tobacco and poor dental hygiene practices, oncogenic viral infections and genetic predispositions. Despite grave health risks, he said that naswar remains prevalent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where approximately 70 percent of the population uses it without knowing its serious consequences on their health. Besides Charsadda, Swabi and Mohmand, the super quality naswar of Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu and Mardan were mostly exported to Punjab and Sindh provinces while its demand in Karachi was high due to presence of a large number of migrants from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The history revealed that naswar was introduced to the world in 15th century in Europe when a French ambassador used it to treat her sons migraines. Initially it was used for medicinal purposes but gradually it was consumed as an alternative to tobacco and later came to Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. Zahurul Haq, who is associated with naswar business for the last 12 years said that people aging between 18-50 years prefer to consume Mardani, Charsadda and Bannus naswar. The price of smoke-free tobacco varies in the open market as Rs30 per snuff packet was being charged per 100gram, he said. Regarding its preparation, he said that first tobacco was dried in the sun, then ground into powder and later water is added to this green powder along with calcium hydroxide and artificial colour, then plant ashes, species or oils are used to give a flavor and finally the mixture was rolled into fine balls to give it a proper shape. He explained that there were two types of naswar, one is dried and other is moist, adding that people in the province mostly keep moist maswar inside the mouth under the lip and swallow the saliva as a craving while dried naswar is mainly inhaled through the nasal cavity. Dr Sirzamin Khan, principal officer of government hospital Pabbi Nowshera said that naswar was mostly made of fresh tobacco leaves, calcium oxide, and other ingredients that may cause different types of cancers including lung, oral, stomach and mouth besides causing bronchitis, kidney, heart, and other diseases. He said the smokeless tobacco contains nicotine and other chemicals, which may have caused side effects on brain and ultimately oral cancer. Syed Imran Shah, Director, Social Welfare Department said 12 detoxification and rehabilitation centres were established in different districts for the treatment and rehabilitation of drug addicts. These centers were established at Peshawar, Mardan, Charsadda, Nowsehra, Swabi, DI Khan, Karak, Kohat, Malakanad, Swat, and Dir Lower. Under drugs-free Peshawar programs, he said addicts of Niswar were also rehabilitated. Imran Shah underlined the need for mass awareness campaigns through electronic, print, and social media besides the active role of religious scholars and civil society to protect people from the hazardous effects of naswar. APP/fam/taj (APP Feature Service) (@ChaudhryMAli88) Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Friday expressed concern over the fall of 58 percent of the countrys districts in the medium category of the District Education Performance Index (DEPIx), and remaining in the under-performing ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Aug, 2024) Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Friday expressed concern over the fall of 58 percent of the countrys districts in the medium category of the District Education Performance Index (DEPIx), and remaining in the under-performing. Addressing a news conference following the release of the DEPIx 2020-23 report, Iqbal said Pakistans literacy rate of 60 percent was insufficient for progress and must be increased to 90 percent. Pakistans national average score on the index is a modest 53 out of 100, placing the country in the 'Low' performance category, according to the report Compiled by the Planning Commission in collaboration with international experts and government agencies. The report is the first of its kind to measure district-level education performance, focusing on key outcomes such as access, learning, equity, governance and inputs like infrastructure and public financing. Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan's 124 districts have scored an average of 53 percent in education, with no district falling into the high-performance category except Islamabad. The report highlighted issues such as lack of internet access and the diminishing role of technical institutions in education. The minister said the declining quality of education has led to decreased enrollment in government schools and stressed the need for revolutionary measures like providing Internet access in schools, ensuring technological education and increasing digital literacy. He also informed that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has recently established a task force to on education emergency. He said, a five-year plan would be shared with the provinces. Sharing additional findings of the report, he acknowledged the progress Pakistan has made in human capital development but noted that the pace remains slower compared to other emerging economies and regional peers. "These findings serve as a sober reminder that much more needs to be done to improve education outcomes across the country. We are in an era of knowledge revolution where the intellectual capital of the nation determines its destiny, he observed. Ahsan Iqbal stressed that Pakistans education indicators lagged behind those of peer countries and stated Unless we achieve 90 percent literacy and universal Primary enrollment, we cannot enter the development arena. He emphasized the importance of fostering creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork skills in children and vowed to bring 25 million out-of-school children into the education system. The report, which covered 134 districts including Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and all districts in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Punjab, and Sindh, classifies districts into four categories: Very High, High, Medium, and Low. According to the index, Punjab emerged as the top performer with a score of 61/100, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 55/100. Sindh and Balochistan trailed with scores of 51.5/100 and 46/100, respectively. None of the provinces reached the "High" or "Very High" performance categories, with both Punjab and KP falling into the "Medium" category. The index also highlighted significant disparities across different domains of the education system. Nationally, the highest score was achieved in the Infrastructure & Access domain (59/100), indicating progress in expanding educational opportunities. However, the report noted that actual access figures might be higher, particularly in urban centers with a strong presence of private schools, which were not fully accounted for due to data limitations. The Inclusion (Equity & Technology) domain also scored relatively well. Conversely, Public Financing recorded the lowest score among all domains, underscoring the urgent need for increased and better-targeted public spending in education. The Learning domain also performed poorly, reflecting persistently low student outcomes. The Governance & Management domain remained in the "Low" category, primarily due to teacher shortages and high bureaucratic turnover. The index revealed substantial differences not only between provinces but also within them, highlighting strengths and weaknesses in various aspects of their education systems. For instance, Punjab outperformed other provinces in Infrastructure & Access (73) and Inclusion (75) but ranked lower in Public Financing and Governance & Management during the period of 2021-23. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa led in Public Financing and Governance & Management but lagged behind in Learning outcomes. Sindh showed relative strength in Public Financing, where it ranked highest, but struggled in Infrastructure & Access and Governance & Management. Balochistan faced challenges across all domains, ranking lowest overall, with slightly better performance in Learning. Alarmingly, none of the 134 districts assessed fell within the "Very High" performance category, and only Islamabad ranked in the "High" category, making it the best-performing district nationwide. Nearly two-fifths of the districts (58) were categorized as "Medium," with Punjab contributing 32 of these districts, followed by KP with 17, and Sindh with 8. However, more than half of Pakistan's districts (76) were classified as "Low" performers. These low-performing districts were predominantly in Balochistan and Sindh, with Balochistan having 33 and Sindh 22, further highlighting significant inter-provincial disparities in education. The report also uncovered stark disparities within provinces. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa exhibited the most significant intra-provincial differences, with districts like Haripur, Chitral, and Abbottabad among the top performers, while Kolai Palas, Upper Kohistan, and Lower Kohistan were among the lowest. Punjab and Balochistan showed the least Internal variation, with Punjab's districts generally falling into the "Medium" category and all of Balochistan's districts in the "Low" category. Sindh displayed moderate variation, with most districts in the "Low" category, except for the urban districts of Karachi and Hyderabad. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Director Livestock Dr Nadeem Badar paid surprise visit to flood relief camps and veterinary hospital in different tehsils of the district Jhang on Friday FAISALABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Aug, 2024) Director Livestock Dr Nadeem Badar paid surprise visit to flood relief camps and veterinary hospital in different tehsils of the district Jhang on Friday. He went to civil veterinary hospital Tillanwala, civil veterinary hospital Maloana, veterinary dispensary Dargah Shahi tehsil 18-Hazari, office of Deputy Director Livestock 18-Hazari, Ahmadpur Sial and civil veterinary dispensary Ahmadpur Sial. He also visited flood relief camp 18-Hazari, Kot Kheera, Kot Bahadur, tehsil Ahmadpur Sial. He inspected cleanliness arrangements in hospitals, attendance of staff, outdoor record and medicine stock, etc. He also met livestock farmers and took feedback about service delivery. He directed the staff at flood relief camps to be ready to cope with any emergency situation in case of flooding in the area. (@FahadShabbir) District Police Officer (DPO) Vehari Mansoor Aman has ordered action against Elite Force Head Constable Amjad Saeed after his wife appeared before him at an open court and complained about torture by her husband BUREWALA, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Aug, 2024) District Police Officer (DPO) Vehari Mansoor Aman has ordered action against Elite Force Head Constable Amjad Saeed after his wife appeared before him at an open court and complained about torture by her husband. According to details, a woman from Ihata Shah Nawaz appeared before the DPO, along with her daughter (F), and said her daughter was married to policeman Amjad Saeed of Pakpattan seven months back. However, he was torturing her, and even he had pulled off nails of her daughter with a plier. The DPO ordered DSP Burewala and SHO Model Town to get the complainant woman medically examined and register a case against the head constable. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Aug, 2024) Chairman Senate, Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani Friday strongly condemned the attack on police vehicles in Rahim Yar Khan. Expressing his condolences to the families of the martyred officers, he said, that he was deeply saddened by the news of the attack, which resulted in the martyrdom and injury of several police personnel. "I stand with the grieving families in this difficult time," said Chairman Gilani, urging for decisive action against the criminals in the Kacha area, said a news release. He prayed for the eternal peace of the martyrs' souls, offered condolences to the bereaved families, and wished for the swift recovery of the officials injured in the attack. QUETTA, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Aug, 2024) The Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries Barkat Ali Rind informed the Balochistan Assembly Standing Committee that the government is facing significant difficulty in curbing illegal fishing trawlers in the Gwadars marine area. The number of illegal fishing trawlers is large while the number of manpower and resources with the government are limited. The Parliamentary Secretary said that the department has failed in curbing illegal fishing in the coastal waters of Balochistan due to inadequate resources such as insufficient fuel and shortage of patrol vessels and lack of human resource. He said that despite various challenges, the employees of the department have seized 11 illegal trawlers involved in illegal fishing at the marine boundaries of the province so far since January 2023. The Balochistan Assembly Standing Committee on Fisheries reaffirmed its commitment to address the challenges being faced by the local fishermen and ensure sustainable management in the fisheries sector. The meeting of the Standing Committee on Fisheries was held under the chair of Maulana Hidayat Ur Rehman while members of the committee including Abdul Majeed Badini, Zabid Ali Reki, Safia and Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries Barkat Ali Rind were participated. The Meeting was informed that the maritime area of Balochistan is spread over 17,180 square kilometers. In the meeting, the committee was briefed about the fisheries department and discussed the important issues faced by the department. Chairman Committee Maulana Hidayat Ur Rehman stressed the need for significant increase in POL for effective patrolling, highlighting the potential of billions of revenue through adequate funding for the department. The chairman committee said that the sector has huge potential to generate revenue by allocating a good budget to the department. The Chairman urged the government to allocate budget for the repairing of the department's boats to prevent illegal trawling as various species fish have become extinct due to illegal trawling. The committee stressed the urgent need for the Balochistan government to discuss the matter with the Federal government, and said that illegal trawling was costing the billions of public exchequer every year. The Committee was briefed on the alarming number of over-exploitation of fisheries resources, highlighting the need for effective mechanisms for improvement and rehabilitation. They also noted the lack of coordination between Sindh and Balochistan governments regarding the regularization of trade. PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Aug, 2024) Peshawar High Court (PHC) granted bail to an accused, who was charged by police in smuggling of narcotics and ice drugs case. A single bench of Peshawar High Court presided over by Justice Shahibzada Asadullah allowed the bail application of accused Imran Afridi resident of tehsil Jamrud Khyber tribal district after hearing arguments of the petitioners counsel. The accused was nominated in an FIR for allegedly smuggling eight kilogram ice and two kilogram heroin after police claimed to recover the said narco substances from his possession. Advocate Farhana Marwat appeared on behalf of the petitioner and prayed for the release of his client. APP/fam/1545 (@FahadShabbir) Prime Minister Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif, expressing profound sorrow and grief over recent catastrophic floods, on Friday offered assistance Bangladesh to help cope with the devastating situation ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Aug, 2024) Prime Minister Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif, expressing profound sorrow and grief over recent catastrophic floods, on Friday offered assistance Bangladesh to help cope with the devastating situation. In a letter to Chief Advisor , Bangladesh Dr. Muhammad Younis, Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif expressed Pakistan's solidarity with Bangladesh during this challenging time, stating that the country stood with those who have lost loved ones, homes, and livelihoods in the floods. This was shared in a press release by the PM's Office. He lauded the people of Bangladesh for their renowned bravery and courage, particularly in the face of adversity. The prime minister expressed confidence that Bangladesh's leadership will guide the country through this challenging period. He also affirmed Pakistan's readiness to offer any assistance, needed by Bangladesh. Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique reiterated the government's commitment to enhancing healthcare services across the province LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Aug, 2024) Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique reiterated the government's commitment to enhancing healthcare services across the province. In a meeting with Professor Javed Akram, Head of the Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine (PSIM), and other key officials at the Department of Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education, the minister emphasized the ongoing efforts to provide the best health facilities to the masses. During the discussion, he highlighted that the PSIM has been instrumental in advancing medical services globally, including within Pakistan. He further stated that, in line with Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif's vision, significant improvements are being made in the healthcare system and available facilities. "Allah Almighty has given us a rare opportunity to serve patients in government hospitals," he remarked, underlining the importance of this responsibility. Professor Javed Akram announced that the PSIM is organizing an international conference in November, aimed at furthering medical education and collaboration. "We are keen to enter into an agreement with the Department of Health regarding clinical guidelines," Akram said, indicating a move towards formalized cooperation between PSIM and the government. Punjab Health Secretary Azmat Mehmood Khan and Additional Technical Secretary Dr. Waseem were also in attendance at the meeting. ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Aug, 2024) Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Chairman, Dr. Muhammad Raghib Hussain Naeemi on Friday strongly condemned the attack on police vans by dacoits in Rahim Yar Khan, expressing profound sorrow and grief over the loss of police personnel in the incident. In a statement, Dr. Raghib extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of the martyred police officers, sharing in their grief during this difficult time. He prayed for the swift recovery of the injured officers and emphasized that the sacrifices made by police and security forces in the fight against terrorism and the maintenance of law and order in the country are unparalleled. "The tragic loss of our brave police personnel has left me deeply saddened," Dr. Raghib said adding, "I stand with the bereaved families in their moment of sorrow and pain. The blood of our martyred officers will not go in vain, and those responsible for endangering the lives of those dedicated to protecting our nation deserve no leniency." He also prayed for the elevation of the ranks of the martyred officers and for their families to be granted patience and strength to bear this irreparable loss. Si quieres compartir tu cuenta, cambia tu suscripcion a la modalidad Premium, asi podras anadir otro usuario. Cada uno accedera con su propia cuenta de email, lo que os permitira personalizar vuestra experiencia en EL PAIS. En el caso de no saber quien esta usando tu cuenta, te recomendamos cambiar tu contrasena aqui. Si decides continuar compartiendo tu cuenta, este mensaje se mostrara en tu dispositivo y en el de la otra persona que esta usando tu cuenta de forma indefinida, afectando a tu experiencia de lectura. Puedes consultar aqui los terminos y condiciones de la suscripcion digital. (@ChaudhryMAli88) Brussels, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Aug, 2024) Talks on forming a Belgian coalition government were thrown into turmoil Thursday as the chief negotiator handed his resignation to King Philippe, threatening further political limbo for the country two months after elections. With its linguistic divide between French and Dutch and a highly complex political system, Belgium has an unenviable record of painfully protracted coalition discussions -- reaching 541 days back in 2010-2011. Five groups had agreed in mid-July to formal coalition talks led by Flemish conservative Bart De Wever, in the wake of June legislative polls that boosted right-leaning parties. Usually the person forming the coalition goes on to become prime minister. But De Wever, the mayor of Antwerp and head of the N-VA party that holds sway over the Dutch-speaking Flanders region, informed the king during a meeting late Thursday that the talks had fallen apart -- largely due to a row over taxation. A palace statement said the king had accepted De Wever's resignation and would pursue negotiations with the five party leaders himself starting on Friday "with a view to forming a government". Alongside the N-VA, the other parties involved are the Reformist Movement and Les Engages (The Committed Ones) in French-speaking Wallonia, and the Christian-Democrats and the leftist Vooruit (Onward, formerly the Socialist Party) in Flanders. Together, the five hold an 81-seat majority in Belgium's 150-seat parliament. The difficult talks finally hit a wall after the Reformist Movement apparently rejected a capital gains tax proposed by De Wever as a way to plug the country's budget deficit -- 4.4 percent of gross domestic product in 2023 -- while winning over the left-wing Vooruit. In a statement, the N-VA acknowledged the failure to win agreement on a budgetary framework for the new coalition including labour market, pension and tax reforms. "Bart De Wever remains convinced of the need for a government of recovery and reforms to protect Flemish prosperity and avoid European sanctions over the excesses of the Federal budget," it said. Belgium is one of seven European Union countries facing disciplinary action for running a deficit above three percent of GDP, in violation of the bloc's fiscal rules. The country's June 9 elections -- conducted the same day as a European Parliament vote across the EU -- saw the right and centre-right triumphant. The result was the loss of a parliamentary majority for the outgoing government of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, a Flemish liberal who fronted a seven-party coalition formed after an arduous 493 days back in 2019. With centre-right parties in prime positions across the country, analysts had predicted that finding a deal could take less time than usual -- but still at least six months. For the time being, De Croo remains as a caretaker leader until his successor is named. Mexico City, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Aug, 2024) The United States warned Thursday that the direct election of judges proposed by the Mexican government "will threaten" the trade relationship between the two countries and could benefit drug cartels. The move would "threaten the historic trade relationship we have built, which relies on investors' confidence in Mexico's legal framework," said US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar in a statement to the press. Mexico is one of the United States's largest trading partners. The two share a free trade agreement that also includes Canada. Canada's Ambassador to Mexico, Graeme Clark, also emphasized the unease amongst investors during a meeting with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. "My investors are concerned, they want stability, they want a judicial system that works if there are problems," he said. Electing judges and magistrates by popular vote is part of a reform to the judiciary proposed to Congress by leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. US Ambassador Salazar said that such a move could pose "a major risk to the functioning of Mexico's democracy." He warned that the proposal could also be a boon for drug-trafficking cartels. "Direct elections would also make it easier for cartels and other bad actors to take advantage of politically motivated and inexperienced judges," the former lawyer said. The proposal will be put before the session of Mexico's legislature that begins on September 1, with the ruling party holding the required seats to achieve approval. The reform is fully supported by Mexico's incoming president, Claudia Sheinbaum, who will take office on October 1. In June, Sheinbaum promised a wide consultation on the proposed judicial reforms, which have shaken investor confidence following her landmark election win. London, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 23rd Aug, 2024) UK's Labour government has vowed to tax private schools in order to boost public education and create thousands of teaching posts, but the policy is causing concern for families already hard-pressed to meet the fees. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who took office after the general elections of July 4, has repeatedly said that he has "nothing against private schools", which educate around 600,000 children, or 6.5 percent of the country's pupils. But "every parent has aspiration for their children whether they go to private school or not", added Starmer, whose two children went to a state school in their north London neighbourhood. "For those children in state secondary school who don't have the teachers they need, that is a lifelong problem," he said. After years of tight public spending and worsening inequalities, the government confirmed in July that it would remove the value added tax exemption for tuition fees paid to private schools. It hopes the move will raise 1.6 billion ($2.1 billion), which will be used to fund 6,500 new teachers in the public sector. Private schools will have to pay 20 percent VAT on fees received from January 1, heralding hefty increases in bills for parents. Tuition fees in private schools already average 18,000 a year, according to the Independent Schools Council (ISC), which represents private schools. The move has stirred strong emotions in the UK, which boasts a raft of world-renowned, super-exclusive schools that have educated many members of the ruling class. But panicked testimony from parents of more humble means have filled newspapers in recent months. Some say they will have to postpone their retirement, change jobs, forgo holidays or call on their own parents for help to cover the bills. Others are considering moving to be closer to a good state school. Amaka Nwabueze is thinking of working a second job. "My life is already busy, so I might have to take a second job for weekends, which means I would barely see my children," the 45-year-old financial analyst, who looks after her three children on her own, told AFP. Her two eldest children already switched to selective state schools, which hold entrance exams, when they moved on to secondary school but the youngest failed. He was offered another school, which his mother called "the worst" in her London neighbourhood. "I cannot take my child from a private Primary school to a failing secondary school," she added, saying she was expecting a 4,000 hike in annual fees. "It's giving me high blood pressure," she said. "There is real anxiety," added Tony Oulton, headmaster of Hulme School in Oldham, northwest England, which has 730 pupils aged between two and 18. He criticised the policy, which he believes is wrongly based on "assumptions that they (private school parents) are all wealthy and can afford the cost of VAT". Parents at his school are "mostly working class, lower middle class, aspirational, hardworking", with "many of them working two jobs in order to pay the fees", he explained. Opponents of the reform claim that state school enrolment will explode if the private sector is lost, increasing the cost to the government. But studies contradict this. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) calculated that the number of children in state schools will actually fall by 2030 due to a projected population decline. Several research centres also point out that the disparity between private and state schools widened sharply under the 14-year Conservative rule. "Fees have increased significantly in private schools, while spending in the state has been cut until last year," explains Harry Quilter-Pinner, interim director at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) charity. "State schools over the last 10-15 years have had to be innovative about how they spend their money. And I think the Labour government is asking private schools to do the same thing," he added. Graduate school can be incredibly intimidating. As you begin thinking about applying to a program, it can quickly become overwhelming deciding where you should even begin. Although graduate programs are incredibly diverse, and application requirements will vary from one to another, Im here to provide some helpful tips and a step-by-step guide that I used to successfully apply to PhD programs myself. My goal is to break down the large process into attainable steps that you can use yourself to get into the program of your dreams! 1. Before Applying Contrary to popular belief, the graduate school application process doesnt begin with your application it actually starts much sooner. Before you begin compiling your application, take the time to research schools, programs, labs, and mentors. Its also important to take the time to explore your own interests to ensure that you enter a program that is right for you. Know what you want: Graduate programs can span years of intensive work, so its incredibly important that youre confident in your decision to begin! Explore your interests and career goals to ensure which program is right for you a masters? A PhD? Is it possible that your dream job is achievable with your current education level? Its also important to identify which program you want to enter early on. For example, a PhD in psychology is broken down into a range of specialties that each lead to distinct research areas and career paths. If youre entering a research-heavy field, start exploring what sparks your curiosity and which specific topics youd enjoy researching later on. This knowledge will come in handy once you begin crafting your application materials. Research the schools: You may be wondering where to start when searching for programs across the country its an intimidating thought! Some easy ways to narrow down your list of potential schools are by analyzing location, cost of living in the area, school/class sizes, and program funding. Inspect what feels most important to you a specific part of the country? A large program? A prestigious research history? and use this knowledge to craft a list of potential schools. Find your fit: One area in which graduate programs may differ is how closely youll be working with faculty. In some areas of study, youll apply directly into a program where youll take courses under a variety of professors. For others, youll apply to advisor or primary investigator directly, working closely with them in their lab to earn your degree. Either way, once youve identified schools that you can envision yourself at, dive into their list of faculty to learn more about advisors in the program. For research-heavy programs, how well your interests fit with those of your advisor is often the biggest predictor of success in the application process. Reach out and introduce yourself: Once youve compiled a list of potential programs and/or faculty advisors, its time to introduce yourself! Send a formal email notifying potential advisors of your interest and plans to apply in the upcoming cycle. Feel free to share information about your experiences, future interests, and what initially drew you to them. This step establishes a rapport with people in your field and can help you form a relationship before your official application is submitted. After completing these initial steps, youve set yourself up for success when transitioning to compiling your application. Application fees are expensive, and crafting materials to specific schools quickly becomes time consuming. By taking the time to analyze your standards and narrow down your list to a few top programs, youve ensured that your time and money will be well spent moving forward. 2. Completing Your Application Now its time to do the heavy lifting and complete your application. Applications can differ from program to program, so take extra care in reading through each programs requests ahead of time. Across schools, here are some common documents that you can expect to provide: A curriculum vitae (CV): Your CV is the roadmap of all the experiences youve gained before entering a graduate program. Your goal in this document is to express interest in the field while highlighting your relevant skills and knowledge. This document can vary greatly depending on the person and the area of study you are entering, but common sections of a CV are contact information, education, research/clinical experience, teaching experience, honors and awards, memberships and affiliations, publications and presentations, certifications and skills, and references. Although you want your CV to convey your depth of experience, avoid padding this document with filler and only include things that are directly relevant to your program. A personal statement/academic statement/statement of purpose: This document goes by many names, but essentially serves as a complement to your CV and a place where you can speak more in depth about the ways that your experiences have shaped your goals and interests. The requirements for this document often lie in one of two categories: a free-response, comprehensive personal statement, or a brief list of specific prompts supplied by your program requirements. In this document, its important to be both personable and professional, and not to simply restate what youve already outlined in your CV. This statement should also individually address the program and advisor it is being submitted to, as opposed to sending in an identical document for every application. Letters of recommendation: Letters of recommendation are a key aspect of graduate applications and provide an avenue for your program to learn about you through the testaments of others. Many schools will request a minimum of three, with others allowing up to five. Ensure that you choose letter writers who are relevant to your program, such as professors, research mentors, or relevant professionals, and who know you well enough to speak to your strengths as an applicant. Individualized, thoughtful letters take time to write, so request letters from your writers earlier than you think! A writing sample: Some programs will require a writing sample or may suggest it as an optional component of your application. Choose a sample that showcases your strength as a writer, and preferably is applicable to your program such as a paper related to your specific research interests. Reach out to peers, mentors, or the writing center to proof this sample for any errors before submitting. Standardized Test Scores: GRE scores are becoming increasingly less essential in graduate applications many programs have ceased requesting them at all. In my experience, those viewing your application want to get a strong sense of who you are both as a student and a person, and whether or not youre capable of being successful in their program. Often, your CV, personal statement, and letters of recommendation are more than enough to paint this picture. Regardless, take the time to study and prepare for these examinations as theres always a chance that the extra boost may help make the difference between an acceptance and a rejection. And again, emphasis on testing scores may vary widely from one program of study to another. A diversity statement: An increasing number of programs are adding diversity statements as a core piece of their application requirements. These statements are often around five hundred words, and specific prompts will vary from one program to the next. In general, many will want to know more about your lived experiences and how diversity or hardships have impacted your academic journey. Some programs may also ask you to describe how you will encourage and support diversity if you were to be admitted to their program. Once youve assembled the necessary pieces, it is time to apply. Take note of deadlines, paying careful attention to time zone differences, and ensure that your application is submitted on time. You should receive a confirmation email after your application has been received but keep an eye on your inbox in the coming days as programs will be contacting you with updates. 3. After Applying Youve submitted your application! First, take the time to decompress and congratulate yourself. Putting together an application is a long and demanding process, and you should be proud to be on the other side. Nevertheless your journey is not over yet. The next step in the application process is completing interviews with your chosen programs. Preparing for your interviews: Although its impossible to predict exactly what you will be asked in an interview, there are a few areas you can prepare in to feel confident about your future performance. Make sure you are able to articulate your previous experiences, especially in the context of their impact on you as a strong candidate. Prepare an elevator pitch consisting of basic information about yourself and your future goals. Take time to research your program/mentors history and specialties. It is often also helpful to be knowledgeable of the current research literature in your field. The interview process: The interview process is another place where programs can vary greatly from one another, but many will follow a two-step process. The first interview is often virtual, conducted over the phone or through a video call service like Zoom. The second round of interviews are more commonly conducted in-person and will require a physical trip to your programs location as a result. Some programs will only require one interview before rejecting applicants or extending offers. Other schools host visitation days in lieu of interview days, where applicants who have been extended an offer are invited to visit the campus and interact with faculty and graduate students. Managing offers and making your decision: It can be very difficult to decide between programs if youve received multiple offers, and there is no one-size-fits-all answer for every applicant. Its important to ask questions of potential mentors, faculty members, and current graduate students of the program you are considering. When making a final choice, weigh costs, benefits, location, and future potential for success in your decision-making process. Above all, trust your gut, and go wherever feels right for you! Interviews can definitely be stress-inducing, but your biggest goal at this stage should be gathering information to make an informed decision. Once youve made it this far, its all about connecting with your potential mentors and determining the best fit for you and your individual goals. At the end of this process, you should feel confident in your final choice of program. My hope is that this guide to the application process helps clarify the overwhelming thought of beginning graduate school. Setting yourself up for success is a culmination of researching programs, crafting strong application materials, and seeking information to help you feel confident in your final decision. Entering a graduate program after acceptance comes with an entirely new set of challenges to face, but you can rest easy in the knowledge that youre in the company of many other graduate students just like you. Best of luck! KYODO NEWS - Aug 23, 2024 - 09:16 | All, World, Japan Italian Navy flagship, the aircraft carrier Cavour, has made its first-ever port call in Japan, reflecting the European country's desire to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific region amid China's maritime assertiveness. The Cavour arrived at a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force base in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, on Thursday. It is planning a joint exercise with the MSDF. During a welcome ceremony, Rear Adm. Toshihiko Sawada, who leads the MSDF's Escort Flotilla 1, said he feels honored to interact with the Italian Navy with its long history and traditions, while Rear Adm. Giancarlo Ciappina, commander of the Italian Fleet Air Arm, said he is looking forward to conducting an antisubmarine drill. According to the MSDF, Cavour is 236.5 meters long and carries around 1,100 crew members. Together with frigate Alpino, which also entered the Yokosuka port, the aircraft carrier will stay through Tuesday morning. In June last year, the Italian multipurpose patrol ship the Francesco Morosini made a port call at Yokosuka base, the first such visit to the base by an Italian Navy vessel. Related coverage: South Korea, U.S. begin joint military exercise amid North Korea threat Taiwan, Japan coast guards conduct joint rescue drill Japan, Philippines sign defense pact amid growing China concern Former Haas title sponsor, Uralkali, has made a bid to Dutch courts in an attempt to seize the teams assets including car and other equipment over an outstanding payment that has been overdue for a while from the F1 team. The Russian fertilizer company, owned by Dimitry Mazepin, became the teams sponsor in 2021 with Mazepins son, Nikita, becoming a full-time driver in the team. Through the breakout of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, Haas made the decision to withdraw its agreement, as well as replacing Mazepin with Kevin Magnussen. This was because Nikita and his father, Dmitry, were sanctioned by an EU ruling for their association with Vladimir Putin. Lets Go To Court In June 2024, a Swiss arbitration court ruled that the F1 team should refund Uralkali part of its sponsorship payment made for 2022, before the title deal was cancelled in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine. Although the court stated that Haas was within its rights to terminate the deal, it said that the American team could only keep a portion of the 13 million sponsorship balance paid for the campaign. The payment that Haas has yet to give to the Russian company is believed to be around 9 million which was the remainder of the sponsorship payment that went beyond March 2022. Missed Deadline Following Uralkalis claims last month that Haas had missed the July payment deadline for the refund, it is understood that the Russian company decided to escalate the matter with courts in Holland this week. They [Uralkali] asked for Haass assets at the Dutch Grand Prix to be seized with a provisional ruling being given in its favour. As a result, bailiffs and police visited the Haas team at Zandvoort on Thursday night to push forward with the matter and evaluate the teams assets. Haas Reacts A statement issued by Haas made clear that it was now working with Uralkali to finalize the transfer of the funds, stating it had to be sure that any payments fully complied with sanctions that have been imposed on various Russian companies. Nikita Mazepin was taken off the European Union's Russia sanctioned persons list earlier this year, while Mazepin Sr remains in that status. Haas fully intends to pay to Uralkali all amounts due pursuant to the arbitration award, and there is no dispute over the amounts owed. Haas has been working with its lawyers to ensure payment will comply with all relevant US, EU, UK and Swiss sanctions and regulations. We will continue working with Uralkali in the coming days to resolve this matter definitively. Excuses Dont Work On Us Uralkali issued its own statement on Friday, welcoming the fact that Haas was working on sorting out the payment but said it did not view the sanctions issue as a justifiable reason for the delay. We are delighted to hear that, following last nights visit from Dutch authorities, Haas is finally paying attention to the arbitral ruling. Uralkali wants nothing more than to receive what it was awarded during a fair judicial process and hopes that Haas will move quickly to rectify the situation so that all sides can move on." No Monza for Haas The team has been working on getting it through on Friday and while the matter dragging on beyond Monday would risk completely jeopardizing Haas's Monza participation, Haas is confident it will not come to this. It is also understood that Uralkali is not pursuing the Haas F1 cars being impounded mid-event at Zandvoort, so the team's participation in the Dutch GP is ironclad. However, its assets including cars will not be able to leave for the Italian GP at Monza - which takes place next weekend - until payment has been made. 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. Just a month after US President Joe Biden announced he would not seek reelection, Kamala Harris accepted the nomination to be the Democratic Partys presidential nominee. She contrasted her record and vision to that of her Republican rival, former President Donald Trump. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. With Ukrainian troops advancing into Russian territory and reportedly encircling Russian troops in Kursk, the Kremlin is stepping up its disinformation war. Russias hybrid war strategies include efforts to limit independent reporting from the front line by targeting foreign journalists reporting on Ukraines counteroffensive in Kursk with criminal cases and diplomatic threats. The Kremlin also revived its nuclear scarecrow, with top state officials and media warning of Kyivs plans to attack nuclear plants and radioactive waste sites. The unfounded allegations spill over into the Western media, hijacking the news cycle. President Vladimir Putin spoke about Kyivs plans to strike nuclear facilities days after Ukrainian troops crossed the Russian border on August 6. He provided no details or evidence. Putin repeated the unfounded accusations on August 22, claiming Russia delivered evidence of Ukraines attempted strike on the nuclear plant in Kursk to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said he will visit the Kursk nuclear plant next week to assess the Russian allegations. Kyiv said last week that Ukraine is committed to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and has no plans to attack any nuclear sites. Ukraine said that Putins accusations are mere propaganda, and that Russia alone would benefit from a scenario that enables it to paint Kyiv as a nuclear terrorist and sabotage international support for its self-defense. Russian scientist, political writer and analyst Andrei Piontkovsky told VOA that Russian nuclear warning propaganda and accusations against Kyiv are absurd. Ukraine's victory, and therefore its survival as a country, very seriously depends on Western military aid. Western support would significantly weaken or even cease should any nuclear incidents occur due to Kyiv's fault, Piontkovsky said. Meanwhile in Russia, high-ranking officials, along with nearly every media outlet in the country, are intensifying talk of an alleged Ukrainian nuclear assault, including on the Kursk and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants, and preparations to strike radioactive waste sites. Below are examples of recent Russian media reports and claims from state officials. On August 10, Alexey Likhachev, general director of Rosatom, which oversees the Kursk plant, warned of a "real danger of strikes and provocations" from Ukrainian forces alleged targeting of the nuclear plant. On August 12, pro-Kremlin television channel Tsargrad, citing political scientist Vladimir Kornilov, reported that Ukrainian troops may decide to attack the Zaporizhzhia plant while all of Russias attention is focused on the Kursk region. On August 16, the Russian-appointed administration of the Ukrainian Kharkiv Oblast, a small portion of which is controlled by Moscow, claimed that Ukrainian leaders were planning to target Russian nuclear facilities, including the Zaporizhzhia and Kursk plants. They alleged that the goal is to accuse Russia of provocations such as self-shelling later. On August 17, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed to be seriously considering reports of Kyiv's alleged plans to attack the Kursk NPP. The aim of such a provocation is to accuse Russia of "self-shelling" the plant, creating a pretext for targeting Ukrainian nuclear facilities, Russia Today reported. Later, Russians added to their accusations Ukraine's alleged plans to strike radioactive waste sites. On August 16, Russian military blogger Marat Khairullin claimed in the Telegram messenger app that Ukraine is targeting spent nuclear fuel storage in Russia's Kursk region, preparing to detonate what he called a "dirty bomb. The post, although not backed with any facts, received more than half a million views. Russian state news media, including Russia Today, cited Khairullins unverified allegations in its reporting. A dirty bomb is a weapon improvised from radioactive waste and conventional explosives. RIA Novosti cited an anonymous source from an unspecified law enforcement agency saying that Ukraine targets spent nuclear fuel storage facilities at the Kursk and Zaporizhzhia nuclear plants to launch dirty bombs with radioactive substances. Russias largest media outlets reported the allegations citing RIA Novosti in the next two days. U.S. officials have consistently rejected similar claims as baseless and part of Russia's broader disinformation campaign. Armed men killed at least 13 farmers during an attack in north-central Nigeria, a local official said Thursday. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the killings, which took place Wednesday in the state of Niger. Akilu Isyaku, a local government official, told the local radio station Crystal FM that herders and kidnappers were suspected in the attack. He suggested the farmers were killed for providing information to intelligence agencies about the movements of the gunmen. North-central Nigeria has been plagued by fights for control over water and land between nomadic herders and rural farmers. The violence has killed hundreds in the region so far this year. Once armed with sticks, the two sides now fight with guns that have been smuggled into the country. Both accuse the government of injustice and marginalization, but the clashes have also taken on a religious dimension, giving rise to militias that side with the herders, who are primarily Muslim, or the farmers from Christian communities. The area is also known as a place of frequent kidnappings. Last week, gunmen abducted at least 20 students during an ambush in Benue state. Armed groups take advantage of a limited security presence to abduct people during attacks on villages and along major roads. Most victims are released only after the payment of ransoms that sometimes run into the thousands of dollars. Attacks can go on for hours, with the assailants fleeing before security forces arrive on the scene. Arrests are rare. In December, assailants killed at least 140 residents during an attack that targeted more than a dozen communities over two days. State-linked Chinese entities are using cloud services provided by Amazon or its rivals to access advanced U.S. chips and artificial intelligence capabilities that they cannot acquire otherwise, recent public tender documents showed. The U.S. government has restricted the export of high-end AI chips to China over the past two years, citing the need to limit the Chinese military's capabilities. Providing access to such chips or advanced AI models through the cloud, however, is not a violation of U.S. regulations since only exports or transfers of a commodity, software or technology are regulated. A Reuters review of more than 50 tender documents posted over the past year on publicly available Chinese databases showed that at least 11 Chinese entities have sought access to restricted U.S. technologies or cloud services. Among those, four explicitly named Amazon Web Services, or AWS, as a cloud service provider, although they accessed the services through Chinese intermediary companies rather than from AWS directly. The tender documents, which Reuters is the first to report on, show the breadth of strategies Chinese entities are employing to secure advanced computing power and access generative AI models. They also underscore how U.S. companies are capitalizing on China's growing demand for computing power. "AWS complies with all applicable U.S. laws, including trade laws, regarding the provision of AWS services inside and outside of China," a spokesperson for Amazon's cloud business said. AWS controls nearly a third of the global cloud infrastructure market, according to research firm Canalys. In China, AWS is the sixth-largest cloud service provider, according to research firm IDC. Shenzhen University spent $27,996 (200,000 yuan) on an AWS account to gain access to cloud servers powered by Nvidia A100 and H100 chips for an unspecified project, according to a March tender document. It got this service via an intermediary, Yunda Technology Ltd Co, the document showed. Exports to China of the two Nvidia chips that are used to power large-language models, or LLM, such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, are banned by the United States. Shenzhen University and Yunda Technology did not respond to requests for comment. Nvidia declined to comment on Shenzhen University's spending or on any of the other Chinese entities' deals. Zhejiang Lab, a research institute developing its own LLM, called GeoGPT, said in a tender document in April that it intended to spend 184,000 yuan to purchase AWS cloud computing services as its AI model could not get enough computing power from homegrown Alibaba. A spokesperson for Zhejiang Lab said that it did not follow through with the purchase but did not respond to questions about the reasoning behind this decision or how it met its LLM's computing power requirements. Alibaba's cloud unit, Alicloud, did not respond to a request for comment. Reuters could not establish whether the purchase went ahead. Moving to tighten access The U.S. government is now trying to tighten regulations to restrict access through the cloud. "This loophole has been a concern of mine for years, and we are long overdue to address it," Michael McCaul, chair of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, told Reuters in a statement, referring to the remote access of advanced U.S. computing through the cloud by foreign entities. Legislation was introduced in Congress in April to empower the Commerce Department to regulate remote access of U.S. technology, but it is not clear if and when it will be passed. A department spokesperson said it was working closely with Congress and "seeking additional resources to strengthen our existing controls that restrict PRC companies from accessing advanced AI chips through remote access to cloud computing capability." The Commerce Department also proposed a rule in January that would require U.S. cloud computing services to verify large AI model users and report to regulators when they use U.S. cloud computing services to train large AI models capable of "malicious cyber-enabled activity." The rule, which has not been finalized, would also enable the Commerce secretary to impose prohibitions on customers. "We are aware the Commerce Department is considering new regulations, and we comply with all applicable laws in the countries in which we operate," the AWS spokesperson said. Cloud demand in China The Chinese entities are also seeking access to Microsoft's cloud services. In April, Sichuan University said in a tender document it was building a generative AI platform and purchasing 40 million Microsoft Azure OpenAI tokens to support the delivery of this project. The university's procurement document in May showed that Sichuan Province Xuedong Technology Co Ltd supplied the tokens. Microsoft did not respond to requests for comment. Sichuan University and Sichuan Province Xuedong Technology did not respond to requests for comment on the purchase. OpenAI said in a statement that its own services are not supported in China and that Azure OpenAI operates under Microsoft's policies. It did not comment on the tenders. The University of Science and Technology of China's Suzhou Institute of Advanced Research said in a tender document in March that it wanted to rent 500 cloud servers, each powered by eight Nvidia A100 chips, for an unspecified purpose. The tender was fulfilled by Hefei Advanced Computing Center Operation Management Co Ltd, a procurement document showed in April, but the document did not name the cloud service provider. Reuters could not determine its identity. The University of Science and Technology of China, or USTC, was added to a U.S. export control list known as the Entity List in May for acquiring U.S. technology for quantum computing that could help China's military, and for involvement in its nuclear program development. USTC and Hefei Advanced Computing Center did not respond to requests for comment. Beyond restricted AI chips Amazon has offered Chinese organizations access not only to advanced AI chips but also to advanced AI models such as Anthropic's Claude, which they cannot otherwise access, according to public posts, tenders and marketing materials reviewed by Reuters. "Bedrock provides a selection of leading LLMs, including prominent closed-source models such as Anthropic's Claude 3," Chu Ruisong, president of AWS Greater China, told a generative AI-themed conference in Shanghai in May, referring to its cloud platform. In various Chinese-language posts for AWS developers and clients, Amazon highlighted the opportunity to try out "world-class AI models" and mentioned Chinese gaming firm Source Technology as one of its clients using Claude. Amazon has dedicated sales teams serving Chinese clients domestically and overseas, according to two former company executives. After Reuters contacted Amazon for comment, it updated dozens of posts on its Chinese-language channels with a note to say some of its services were not available in its China cloud regions. It also removed several promotional posts, including the one about Source Technology. Amazon did not give a reason for removing the posts and did not answer a Reuters query about that. "Amazon Bedrock customers are subject to Anthropic's end user license agreement, which prohibits access to Claude in China both via Amazon's Bedrock API [application programming interface] and via Anthropic's own API," the AWS spokesperson said. Anthropic said it does not support or allow customers or end-users within China to access Claude. "However, subsidiaries or product divisions of Chinese-headquartered companies may use Claude if the subsidiary itself is located in a supported region outside of China," an Anthropic spokesperson said. Source Technology did not respond to a request for comment. For the second consecutive year Sudan is in the grip of a cholera outbreak that has left at least 28 people dead in the last month as rains fall in areas crammed with those fleeing the country's 16-month-old war, officials said. Since July 22, when the current wave began, 658 cases of cholera have been recorded across five states, World Health Organization (WHO) country director Shible Sahbani told Reuters in Port Sudan. With much of the country's health infrastructure collapsed or destroyed and staffing thinned by displacement, 4.3% of cases have resulted in deaths, a high rate compared to other outbreaks, Sahbani said. Some 200,000 are at high risk of falling ill, he said. The war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has created one of the world's largest humanitarian crises and displaced more than 10 million people inside Sudan and beyond its borders. The country is dealing with a total of five concurrent disease outbreaks include dengue fever and measles. The RSF has advanced across swathes of Sudan, where people have been cut off from aid as the army has withheld access and RSF soldiers loot supplies and hospitals. Efforts to deliver aid to the western region of Darfur have been complicated by rains. International experts have determined that there is a famine in Darfur's Zamzam camp, an area flooded in the rains and highly susceptible to cholera. About 12,000 cases and more than 350 deaths were registered in the previous cholera wave between October 2023 and May 2024, health minister Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim said, adding that there had been no major outbreak in the nine years before the war. The current outbreak is centered in Kassala and Gedaref states, which host 1.2 million displaced people. In Gedaref, a Reuters reporter filmed pools of water attracting insects and large ponds of stagnant rain water mixing with refuse. A local official said that the vast majority of diseases were caused by insects, poor water quality, and sewage. Many people fleeing raids by the RSF shelter in crowded, makeshift displacement centers, where lavatories have overflowed as heavier-than-usual rains continue to fall. Cholera is transmitted from food and water contaminated with infected feces and thrives in such conditions. Sahbani said that states like Khartoum and Gezira, largely controlled by the RSF, had also seen cholera cases, while states in the Kordofan and Darfur regions could likely see outbreaks. "The challenge is getting supplies to the areas we need them. Due to the rainy season many roads are not usable now, but also there are security constraints and bureaucratic constraints," he said. On Friday, he told reporters in a virtual briefing that the International Coordinated Group for vaccine allocation (ICG) had approved delivery of 455,000 cholera vaccine doses to Sudan, some "good news in the middle of this horrible crisis." Ibrahim said the army-aligned government had used "unorthodox measures" including air drops to try to get vaccines and supplies into those RSF-controlled areas as well as isolated army-controlled areas. Both officials emphasized that the need in Sudan far outweighed the aid effort, particularly as the U.N.'s humanitarian appeal for Sudan is only about one-third funded. By Takuya Karube, KYODO NEWS - Aug 23, 2024 - 16:57 | All, World Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for the U.S. presidential race, urged voters on Thursday to "chart a new way forward" together while also presenting her most detailed foreign policy statements to date, including a pledge not to be friendly with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, unlike her opponent Donald Trump. Harris, the sitting U.S. vice president, capped the Democratic Party's four-day national convention in Chicago, taking the stage to ceremonially accept its nomination and reintroduce herself to a considerable swath of voters across the country. During her forceful 40-minute speech, Harris laid out a range of policies for the first time since her campaign was launched barely a month ago, following President Joe Biden's abandonment of his bid for a second term due to age concerns and diminishing chances of defeating his predecessor Trump. Harris made clear that the United States, if elected president, will continue to assert its global leadership. While articulating her positions on foreign and national security affairs, she stressed the need to strengthen alliances and ensure that the United States always has "the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world." She also pledged to make sure that the United States will "lead the world into the future on space and artificial intelligence" and that "America -- not China, wins the competition for the 21st century." "I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong Un who are rooting for Trump," she added. "They know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. They know Trump won't hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself." Harris spoke at length on the Israel-Hamas war, making the case that she and Biden are making their utmost efforts to realize a cease-fire and the release of hostages, as the prolonged conflict has divided the party and the American public. During the convention, thousands of pro-Palestinian activists, frustrated with the Biden administration's support for Israel amid its war in the Gaza Strip, staged demonstrations. Harris has framed her campaign as a fight for "freedom" and "joy," as well as an opportunity to move the country forward, drawing a stark contrast to Trump, who Democrats say has sought to take the United States backward to a politics of hate and a time before decades of progress on civil rights and racial equality. On the final night of the convention, Harris told the electrified crowd that for the future of the American people, it is vital she prevail over Trump, describing him as "an unserious man" and warning that his return to the White House would have "extremely serious" consequences. Attendees wave American flags during the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 22, 2024. (Getty/Kyodo) "With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans," she said. Harris, a daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, wove her personal history into a vision for the country. She pledged to improve the lives of the middle class and protect personal freedoms, such as abortion, while denouncing Trump's views. At the outset of her remarks, Harris touched on her mother, who traveled alone from India to California at the age of 19 with the dream of becoming a scientist, and her own roots of growing up in a working-class neighborhood. "We know a strong middle class has always been critical to America's success. And building that middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency," she said. "This is personal for me. The middle class is where I come from." With less than 75 days until the Nov. 5 election, Harris' entrance into the race has given her party and its voter base a jolt of energy. But polls show that the 59-year-old vice president and the 78-year-old former president are still in a neck-and-neck competition. If Harris wins the election, she will make history as the country's first female, first Black woman and first Asian-American president. Beyonce's "Freedom" has become the iconic song of the Harris campaign, and speculation was rife that the superstar musician would make a surprise appearance -- which could have had a significant impact on the race as it nears the final stretch. But she did not show up. Until the convention, which presented an image that the party is passing the baton to a new generation of leaders, Harris had only talked about some economic plans aimed at lowering food prices and the costs of housing and healthcare. On Thursday, Harris reiterated that as president, she will create an "opportunity economy," namely one "where everyone has the chance to compete and a chance to succeed" regardless of whether they live in a rural area or big city. Related coverage: FOCUS: Asian Americans voice excitement about Harris at Democratic confab OPINION: Kamala Harris: Southern strategy route to White House? Trump says he plans to "get along" with North Korean leader Biden vows to boost ties with Asian allies in remainder of his term A former Nevada official accused of murdering a Las Vegas journalist doubled down in court Thursday on his claims that he is being framed. "I am not the kind of person who would stab someone. I would never beat anybody up," Robert Telles, a former Clark County public administrator, told the jury. Telles is on trial in the killing of Las Vegas Review-Journal journalist Jeff German. The 69-year-old investigative reporter was found stabbed to death outside his suburban Las Vegas home on September 3, 2022. "I didn't kill Mr. German," Telles told the court. "And that's my testimony." Telles, 47, is charged with murder with a deadly weapon against a victim aged 60 or older. If convicted, he faces life in prison. Journalist killings are rare in the United States, and this case marks the first time that a current or former U.S. elected official has stood trial for such a crime. Prosecutors earlier in the trial described how Telles had been frustrated with German's coverage of him. German had portrayed Telles as a harsh boss who bullied his staff and had an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate. When Telles later lost a reelection bid in 2022, he posted a letter online in which he attacked the Review-Journal for its coverage. During his two days on the stand so far, Telles has been permitted to give testimony by narration, as opposed to the typical question-and-answer format. In that time, he maintained that he was framed for the crime by a political and social "old guard" real estate network for trying to combat corruption in his office. "All I knew was that something funny was going on," Telles said. "Somebody framed me for this," he said, without specifying who. "How Mr. German was murdered ... speaks to, I think, something or someone who knows what they're doing." Talking about the knife wounds inflicted on German, Telles added, "That's some kind of expertise. I mean, and I'm not, I'm personally not combat trained." Prosecutors have presented the evidence against as Telles "overwhelming." That evidence includes DNA from Telles that was found underneath German's fingernails. On Thursday, Telles expressed doubt about that evidence, suggesting it was part of a conspiracy to frame him. "Are you really denying that your DNA is underneath the fingernails?" chief deputy district attorney Christopher Hamner asked Telles during cross examination. "Without knowing the truth, yes, I am," Telles replied. At Telles' house, police found cut-up pieces of a straw hat and a gray sneaker that looked like those worn by a person captured on neighborhood security video wearing an oversized orange long-sleeve shirt along the side yard of German's home. "Your DNA is in those shoes that are found in your house, correct?" Hamner asked. "I don't know that to be the case," Telles replied. Telles later said, "I believe that there are officers who, when they think that a fellow officer needs help plugging holes in the case, that they're willing to do what they have to." In court earlier in the week, a detective had read out text messages that Telles sent German in which Telles said he was frustrated with German's coverage of him. Telles' internet search history showed inquiries into how to "bury" a news story, the detective testified. No family members for Telles have been called to act as character witnesses. Several of German's family and friends have attended the trial but have declined to speak to media, The Associated Press reported. The trial is scheduled to resume Friday. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved on Thursday updated COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna designed to target currently circulating COVID-19 strains and offer better protections against the virus's severe symptoms. The pharmaceutical companies are set to begin shipping millions of doses of the vaccines in a few days. A third pharmaceutical company, Novavax, said it expected to have its updated vaccine approved soon. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended the updated shots for people age 6 months and older. The approval of the new vaccines comes amid a wave of new COVID-19 infections and an increase in COVID-related hospitalizations and deaths in the U.S. However, since the height of the pandemic, demand for the shots has declined. "We strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants," said FDA vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks. "Vaccination continues to be the cornerstone of COVID-19 prevention," he said. Deciding against the new shot is "a hazardous way to go," said Dr. Robert Hopkins Jr. of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. Even if a patient's last infection was mild, without the new vaccine, the next COVID-19 infection could be harsher or even lead to the lingering symptoms of long COVID, he said. Hopkins also urged people who are at high risk of serious illness or death from the COVID-19 virus to schedule an appointment for the updated vaccine as soon as possible. High-risk groups include older adults, people with weak immune systems or underlying medical conditions, nursing home residents and pregnant women. "COVID does not kill many children, thank goodness, but it kills far more children than influenza does," Hopkins said, stressing the importance of the updated vaccines for children and their teachers. Health officials are also urging people to remember that while earlier COVID-19 infections and vaccinations offer some immunity from the virus, the immunity does not last forever. Last year's shots targeted a strain of the coronavirus that is no longer circulating. Health officials are also seeking to ease concerns about getting the COVID-19 shot and the flu shot at the same time. Taking the shots together is fine, they said, as well as more convenient. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters. A White House spokesman said Friday there has been progress made in Gaza cease-fire talks in Cairo as intensive fighting continues between the Israel Defense Forces and Hamas militants in the embattled enclave. In an off-camera briefing Friday, U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters the talks had been constructive and said all sides, including Hamas, need to come together to work toward implementing a proposed agreement. Kirby said the talks were continuing Friday, with CIA Director Bill Burns and U.S. Middle East envoy Brett McGurk representing the United States. Earlier Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus office said a delegation from the country was in Cairo to resume efforts to salvage a cease-fire deal. The talks include negotiators from Israel, the U.S., Egypt and Qatar, but not Hamas. Earlier in the week, Hamas indicated it would not take part in this weeks talks because the so-called bridge agreement reached last week by mediators contained additional demands from Israel it found unacceptable. Kirby said Friday despite their objections, Hamas should be there. "We're in Cairo. They're in Cairo. We need Hamas to participate, and we need to get down to the brass tacks of locking in these details. He indicated the talks would continue through the weekend. Kirby also said Friday the U.S. believes Iran is still prepared to retaliate against Israel for the killing of Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month, which it blames on Israel. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied the accusation. The NSC spokesman told reporters the U.S. continues to monitor Iran and Is not taking anything for granted." Earlier Friday, the U.S. Defense Department released details of a phone conversation held late Thursday between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant. In a readout of the call, the defense department said the two discussed continued exchanges of fire on the Israel-Lebanon border between Israel and Hezbollah militants, and the risk of escalation from Iran, Hezbollah and Iran-backed terrorist groups across the Middle East. In the statement, Austin reiterated that the U.S. continues to monitor attack planning from Iran and its proxies and has established a defense posture across the region to defend Israel and protect U.S. personnel and facilities. The department said Austin underscored the importance of finalizing a cease-fire deal and the release of all hostages, including eight Americans, held captive by Hamas in Gaza. The statement said the two also discussed the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the need to address the potential spread of polio. On Friday, fighting continued across central Gaza. Tank shelling and gunfire could be heard in a video recorded by The Associated Press showing deserted streets and buildings near eastern Deir al-Balah. Also Friday, Israel's military released video it said shows a strike on a Hezbollah militant cell in southern Lebanon. The military said in a statement that a Hezbollah cell was planning to fire projectiles from the area of Tayr Harfa in southern Lebanon. The army said that after the strike a projectile launch was identified from the area, indicating the presence of weapons and rockets. Israel and Hezbollah have traded near-daily strikes for more than 10 months against the backdrop of Israels war against Hezbollahs ally, Hamas, in Gaza. The war began with the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people and led to the capture of about 250 hostages. Gaza health officials say Israeli airstrikes and ground operations have killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. The Israeli military says the death toll includes thousands of Hamas fighters. Nearly three-quarters of Gaza's 2.3 million population is displaced, and nearly the entire population is at risk of famine, according to the United Nations. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters. Disappointed Pro-Palestinian activists said Kamala Harris' speech to close the Democratic convention in Chicago failed to demonstrate any break from the status quo, after a week in which the most divisive issue facing the party was mostly ignored. Under pressure to respond to critics of U.S. support for Israel's war in Gaza, the vice president used her Thursday night speech to repeat earlier calls for a cease-fire and a deal to free the last of the hostages Hamas captured on October 7. She said she supported Israel's right to defend itself while also favoring the Palestinian right to self-determination. Abbas Alawieh, co-founder of the Uncommitted National Movement that mobilized more than 750,000 voters to protest U.S. policy on Israel, said Harris missed an opportunity to win over those people, many of whom live in battleground states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Arizona. "What's needed in this moment is courageous leadership that breaks from the current approach," Alawieh told Reuters shortly after Harris formally accepted the party's nomination. Muslim delegates and their allies had pushed for a prime-time speaking slot to address the latest bloodshed in the decades old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which began on October 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing about 1,200, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's assault on Hamas-governed Gaza, with the aid of U.S. support, has since killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the territory's health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count. Nearly the entire 2.3 million population of Gaza has been displaced, causing a hunger crisis and flattening almost the entire enclave. A campaign spokesperson declined to explain the decision not to schedule a speech by a Palestinian speaker at the DNC. The decision was made by DNC organizers in close consultation with the Harris campaign, sources familiar with the discussions said. Party insiders fear the Gaza war could cost Harris needed votes in battleground states such as Michigan, which is home to cities with significant Muslim and Arab American populations and college campuses that have been the sites of Gaza protests. The convention was held in Chicago, home to the United States' largest Palestinian community, according to the Arab American Institute. The DNC faced pro-Palestinian protests each day in Chicago, including thousands of demonstrators on Thursday night ahead of Harris' speech. Dozens of arrests were made during the week. Protesters carried banners that read "No Embargo No Vote" and "No Ceasefire No Vote," while thousands chanted "cease-fire now," and "long live Palestine." About a dozen delegates from the Uncommitted National Movement spent the previous night on the sidewalk outside the convention to protest the DNC's rejection of their request for a Palestinian speaker. They welcomed a call for a cease-fire and the return of hostages by the parents of one U.S. hostage held in Gaza Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin on Wednesday night, but said they should also have been given a chance to speak. The United Auto Workers union and the Movement for Black Lives are among several groups and individuals who have issued statements of support for the demonstrators. Muslim Women for Harris-Walz said on X it would cease operations after the DNC decision. "Last night, the DNC made clear that it values Palestinian lives and voices less than others. It is unconscionable to silence Palestinian voices as they face U.S.-funded massacre, starvation and ethnic cleansing," said the Movement for Black Lives, a network of over 150 leaders and organizations. Ruwa Romman, a Georgia state legislator and delegate who spent the night outside the DNC, said Uncommitted organizers had negotiated with the Harris campaign for weeks and provided a list of possible speakers, only to be rejected. The Uncommitted delegates re-entered the convention center with locked arms on Thursday evening, shortly before Harris was about to speak. Before Harris' remarks, only a handful of references to the war were made from the DNC stage by Biden, Senators Bernie Sanders and Raphael Warnock, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. One major Harris campaign donor, who requested anonymity to be candid about their private conversations with the campaign, said they worried that without a near-term cease-fire deal and clear statements from Harris about ending the war and protecting civilians, campus protests could flare again when universities resume classes in coming days. "We need every vote," the donor said. U.S. President Joe Bidens national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, is heading to China next week for talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, according to a senior administration official. The discussions are expected to include a potential meeting between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year. This would be Sullivans first trip to China as the White House national security adviser. The planned meetings, scheduled from August 27 through August 29, would also be the latest in a series of high-level diplomatic moves aimed at stabilizing U.S.-China relations. In response to a VOA question, the senior administration official told reporters during Fridays background briefing, "The purpose of this strategic level of communication is to clear up misperceptions and avoiding this competition from veering into conflict. The senior official also said the United States will raise concerns about Chinas increased military, diplomatic, and economic pressure against Taiwan in next weeks talks. These activities are destabilizing and risk escalation, and we're going to continue to urge Beijing to engage in meaningful dialogue with Taipei. Sullivan and Wang have met previously, in Bangkok, Malta and Vienna, to discuss broad and strategic issues facing the two countries. Issues and agenda Key issues in the U.S.-China relationship, including counter-narcotics cooperation, military-to-military communication, AI safety and risk management, are expected to be on the agenda for Sullivans talks with Wang. These discussions follow Chinas suspension of talks with the U.S. on nuclear safety and security. China said in July it had halted nascent arms-control talks with Washington. The United States remains open to developing and implementing concrete risk reduction measures with the PRC. However, it requires a PRC willing to manage strategic risks, a State Department spokesperson told VOA, referring to the Peoples Republic of China. The U.S. would like to deepen discussions on strategic stability, but the Chinese are reluctant. They prefer to discuss an agreement on the no first use of nuclear weapons, but the United States is not prepared to adopt such a doctrine, former CIA China analyst Dennis Wilder, now a Georgetown University professor, told VOA. As a result, theres been a bit of an impasse, with little progress made in the few working group meetings that have occurred, he said. The militarization of space is another emerging concern shared by U.S. officials, who worry it could become the new frontier for warfare. Wilder cited a report by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency that China and Russia are moving rapidly toward space warfare. South China Sea Another area of concern is China's activities in the South China Sea. On Monday, a collision between Chinese and Philippine coast guard vessels occurred near a disputed reef in the sea. The incident left a gaping hole in a Philippine coast guard vessel near Sabina Shoal. Known as Xianbin Jiao in China, it lies within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone, or EEZ, although China claims the partially submerged reef as part of its territory. The nations have clashed over three shoals that lie within the Philippines EEZ but are claimed by China even though the claim has been rejected by an international tribunal. In Beijing, Chinese officials accused the Philippine coast guard vessels of intruding into Chinas territory without permission from the Chinese government. In Washington, the United States expressed support for its ally, the Philippines. "These actions are the latest examples of the PRC using dangerous and escalatory measures to enforce its expansive and unlawful South China Sea maritime claims," the State Department said in a statement on Monday. Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, told VOA that he doubts the U.S.-China talks will make the disputes over the South China Sea go away. But the communications could provide clarity to Chinese policymakers that pressing Manila further will not force Washington to back down. In that way, high-level interactions could decrease the chance of a conflict erupting," Cooper said. The Mideast Next weeks talks come as the U.S. works with Qatar and Egypt to mediate a cease-fire and hostage release deal between Israel and the Hamas militant group. There is an increased urgency to reach an agreement amid fears of broader regional escalation if Iran and its Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, retaliate against Israel for the assassination of a top Hezbollah operative in Beirut and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. I think there are some shared concerns about instability. But I think it's fair to say that two sides the U.S. and China approach the issue very differently, the senior administration official told reporters Friday. U.S. officials also said they want to hear directly from Chinese officials following Chinas announcement in July that it had brokered reconciliation talks among representatives of 14 Palestinian factions. Rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas are reported to have signed a declaration in Beijing to end years of discord and form a national unity government. VOA White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this story. At least three journalists were arrested in Chicago this week while covering protests during the Democratic National Convention. On Tuesday night, a small group of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the Israeli Consulate in Chicago. The demonstration intensified, with protesters and police clashing and protesters charging the police line. More than 70 people were arrested, according to the Chicago chapter of the National Lawyers Guild. At least three journalists were among those arrested. Sinna Nasseri, a freelance photographer who was arrested that night, said the situation was chaotic. "There was just pandemonium," Nasseri told VOA. "There was really nowhere to go. Everyone was really tight together, and I was just photographing and was grabbed and handcuffed." The other two journalists arrested that night were independent photojournalists Olga Fedorova and Josh Pacheco. All three journalists were held by police for about nine hours and charged with disorderly conduct. Fedorova and Pacheco did not reply to VOA's requests for comment. Press advocates condemn arrests Several press freedom groups condemned the journalists' arrests. "It's really important that law enforcement distinguishes between journalists and protesters and does not charge journalists for engaging in newsgathering activities," Katherine Jacobsen, the U.S. and Canada program coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, told VOA. Jacobsen added that she hopes police drop the charges against the three journalists. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemned the incident. "At best, this shows a lack of professional diligence on the part of the police. At worst, it's a gross disregard for the First Amendment," Clayton Weimers, executive director of RSF's Washington bureau, said in a statement. Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said three journalists were arrested for not complying with officers' orders when police began moving in to arrest protesters who had attacked police, CBS News reported. But Nasseri, who was on assignment for the German outlet Zeit, told VOA that it was impossible to hear what police were saying. "I showed them my press identification, and they didn't care," he said. "It was sort of a baffling situation." Pacheco also told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that orders from police were unclear. "The police are saying they ordered a dispersal three times and warned of a mass arrest, which did not happen, and even if it did, there was no way to hear it," Pacheco said. "They weren't using megaphones. There were just random police officers screaming different orders." Some of Pacheco and Fedorova's equipment was also damaged in the incident, according to the Tracker. 'Simply doing their jobs' Fedorova's lawyer, Steven Baron, told the Tracker that Fedorova and the other journalists were "simply doing their jobs as reporters." "We are disappointed that the City of Chicago chose to sweep the First Amendment under the rug with its heavy-handed tactics against working journalists," Baron said. The Chicago arrests are part of a broader pattern in the United States. Across the country, police have arrested reporters at protests more than 30 times in 2024 alone, according to the Tracker. "The Chicago police officers who arrested and charged the journalists covering Tuesday's protest either didn't have clear directives or didn't follow them when it comes to codified protections of the press in the First Amendment and their right to cover the news," Kirstin McCudden, vice president of editorial for Freedom of the Press Foundation, which runs the Tracker, told VOA. Nasseri, who works for outlets including The New Yorker, The New York Times and Vogue, said he has a court date scheduled in late September. "I think it'll be interesting to fight this," he said. "I'm very happy to fight this on behalf of my colleagues and myself and the First Amendment." Two female journalists were killed in a Turkish airstrike that hit their car in northern Iraqs semi-autonomous Kurdish region, local officials and media said Friday. The journalists, Hero Bahauddin and Golestan Tara, worked for a local Kurdish media company, according to local media outlet Roj News and an official in Sulaimaniyah province who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly. Qubad Talabani, deputy prime minister of the regional government in northern Iraqs semi-autonomous Kurdish region, condemned the strike. They were two women journalists, not members of an armed force to be a threat to the security and stability of any country or region, he said in a statement. Roj News reported that six other journalists were injured with varying degrees of severity. An earlier statement by the Kurdish regions counterterrorism service based in Irbil said a strike near the village of Teperash had targeted a car carrying members of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, a Kurdish separatist group that has waged an insurgency against Turkey since the 1980s and is banned there and in Iraq. It said the strike had killed a PKK official along with a guard and their driver. It was not immediately clear if the two accounts were referencing the same strike and whether there were one or two cars hit. There was no immediate statement from Turkish officials. Earlier Friday the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement that its forces had neutralized 16 PKK members in other parts of northern Iraq. We will continue unpredictable, unconventional, rapid and continuous operations to destroy terrorism at its source, the statement said. The PKK has maintained bases in northern Iraqs semi-autonomous Kurdish region. In recent months, Turkey has built up its troops in northern Iraq and has threatened an offensive to clear PKK forces from the border area. Turkey often launches strikes against targets in Syria and Iraq that it believes to be affiliated with the PKK. Baghdad has complained that the strikes are a breach of its sovereignty but has also taken a tougher stance against the PKK in recent months. Kamala Harris summoned Americans on Thursday to reject political division and instead chart what she called a "new way forward," as she accepted her partys nomination blending biography with warnings about electing Donald Trump again to the White House. Taking the stage to a thunderous standing ovation as she closed out the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the vice president argued that her personal story and background as a prosecutor made her uniquely qualified to protect Americans' interests against a former president she cast as only having his own interests in mind. "Our nation with this election has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past," Harris said. "A chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans." The daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, Harris became the first Black woman and person of South Asian descent to accept a major partys presidential nomination and she would become the first female president if elected. Harris did not explicitly reference the historic firsts she would set in her 40-minute speech, and she only mentioned the words "Democrat" or "Republican" in the context of discussing a bipartisan border bill that Trump helped scuttle earlier this year that she promised to sign into law if elected. Her address and the Democratic convention at large was intended to appeal to a broad swath of Americans, not just partisans already energized by Harris' ascension after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid. She made several implicit appeals to the large swath of voters who just weeks ago were disaffected with both of their options for the White House, particularly those disaffected with Trump, underscored by the appearances of several people who have broken with the 45th president, while embracing the policies and approach of Biden, the 46th. She was joined for the traditional balloon drop by a large blended and mixed-race family. Earlier, two of her grandnieces had led the packed United Center in teaching people how to pronounce her name, which means lotus in Sanskrit. "America, the path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected," Harris said. "But Im no stranger to unlikely journeys." Harris reintroduces herself Raised primarily by her mother in a small apartment in San Franciscos East Bay after her parents divorce, Harris described being reared as well by friends and caregivers who were "family by love." She also detailed a key part of her political origin story, when Wanda, her best friend from high school, confided in her that she was being abused by her stepfather and came to live with Harris' family. "That is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor. To protect people like Wanda," Harris said. Outlining her work as a prosecutor, state attorney general, senator and now vice president, Harris declared, "My entire career Ive only had one client: the people." Meanwhile, she said Trump has only ever acted in the interests of "the only client he has ever had: himself." As she took the stage, she saw a sea of female delegates and Democratic supporters wearing white the color of womens suffrage, the movement that culminated with American women securing the right to vote in 1920. Harris' address came on her 10th wedding anniversary to her husband, Doug Emhoff, whom she called "Dougie" on stage and who blew her a kiss from the stands at the start of her remarks. Direct appeal to Republicans Harris made a direct call to Republicans who don't support Trump to put aside party labels and to support her over Trump, who denied his loss to Biden in the 2020 election, which inspired the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. "I know there are people of various political views watching tonight, and I want you to know I promise to be a president for all Americans," Harris said. "I promise to be a president for all Americans to hold sacred Americas constitutional principles, fundamental principles, from the rule of law and fair elections to the peaceful transfer of power." The convention granted a prime speaking slot to former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, a Republican critic of Trumps who said: "Whatever policies we disagree on pale in comparison with those fundamental matters of principle. Of decency. Of fidelity to this nation. To my fellow Republicans: If you still pledge allegiance to those principles, I suspect you belong here, too." Harris invoked her prosecutor's background when she referred several times to Trump's "explicit intent" to free those who assaulted law enforcement officers at the Capitol, jail political opponents and use the military against American citizens. "Consider what he intends to do if we give him power again," she added. Trump, calling into Fox News after Harris speech, responded to the speech by asking, "Why didnt she do the things that shes complaining about?" "It was a lot of complaining. She didnt talk about China. She didnt talk about fracking. She didnt talk about crime," Trump went on, adding, "Other than that it was a nice-looking room." Harris promises to defend alliances, abortion access Delivering her most in-depth remarks on national security since becoming a presidential candidate, Harris promised to strengthen U.S. relationships with NATO allies and said the country must continue to support Ukraine in its war with Russia. Trump and running mate JD Vance have repeatedly questioned U.S. backing for Ukraine. "I will never waver in defense of Americas security and ideals, because in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs," she said. The vice president also vowed to work toward an end to Israels war against Hamas that can stabilize the rest of the region, while not hesitating to protect U.S. forces from aggression by Iran and other adversaries. While she pledged to "always stand up for Israels right to defend itself" after Hamas' October 7 attack and pushed for the release of the hostages and the implementation of a cease-fire deal, she highlighted the plight of Palestinian civilians as well. Pro-Palestinian protesters and members of the "uncommitted" movement in the arena sharply criticized convention organizers for not inviting a Palestinian American onstage. "What has happened in Gaza in the last 10 months is devastating, so many innocent lives lost," Harris said. "Desperate, hungry people fleeing to safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking." Pledging to restore nationwide access to abortion after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Harris lambasted Trump and Republicans who have enabled abortion bans across two dozen states and have sought to move further. "They are out of their minds," Harris proclaimed. Harris has faced scrutiny in the month since she replaced Biden atop the Democratic ticket for avoiding policy specifics, offered broad promises in a string of key policy areas, including expanding voting rights, lower housing costs, empower the middle class with tax cuts and incentives and secure the border. Harris emphasized her law enforcement background, including her time as San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general. She was later elected to the U.S. Senate and sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. Her campaign imploded that year before a single primary vote was cast, but Biden chose her as his running mate, catapulting her to the national stage. Although Harris initially struggled to find her footing as vice president, her reputation grew when she became the administration's leading advocate for abortion rights after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Democrats harnessed anger over the decision to stem their losses in the last midterm elections. When Biden stumbled in his debate with Trump in June, Harris defended him until he decided to drop out of the race. With the help of his endorsement, she swiftly unified the Democratic Party behind her candidacy, resetting a presidential race that Trump had appeared on track to win. Speaking to supporters after her remarks, Harris struck a confident note but encouraged them to keep campaigning like they were behind. "Tonight get your party on, for the next 75 days we have a lot of work to do," she said. "Were going to win this." Vice President Kamala Harris officially accepts the Democratic nomination for President as the Democratic Convention in Chicago wraps up. In a powerful speech, Harris made her case to the American people. The United States continues to lead the push for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war; negotiators were set to return to talks in Cairo by the end of the week, after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited the region. Iran says authorities have detained a policeman who shot and wounded a 31-year-old woman in her car last month in an incident that has provoked outrage from international rights activists. Indian President Narendra Modi is visiting Kyiv, and Turkey is playing a mediating role in the conflict between Ethiopia and Somalia. Protests continue at the Indonesian parliament and the government of Zimbabwe is working to contain an mpox outbreak. The government of Kiribati is suspending all diplomatic visits to the tiny Pacific Island nation until next year and has cancelled some already planned, because it is in the midst of an election process that could run for several more months, an official said Thursday. The official in Kiribati's foreign ministry told The Associated Press that a message announcing the pause in diplomatic trips was sent earlier this week to countries that have diplomatic relations with Kiribati a low-lying atoll of 120,000 people. It follows escalating friction between Kiribati and Western nations particularly Australia, a major aid donor over the country's deepening ties with China. Kiribati is threatened by rising sea levels and does not command the resource wealth or tourism branding of some other Pacific islands. But its proximity to Hawaii and location in a huge ocean expanse have bolstered its strategic importance and provoked an influence skirmish between Western powers and China. A national election was held for 44 of the 45 seats in Kiribatis parliament this month although the winners have yet to declare their party affiliations and it is not known which bloc will form the government. Negotiations have begun to decide the governing group, and a president will be chosen when nominees are put to a public vote, expected in October. Officials cannot accommodate diplomatic visits until a government is formed and a president elected, ministry spokesperson Turia Tekirua said in a telephone interview. Small delegations could apply for exemptions, she added. Some analysts said that while Kiribati's bureaucracy is small, the suspension could reflect a desire to avoid foreign checks on its government formation process. It does reflect a pattern of seeking to avoid international scrutiny, which we have seen under this government, said Mihai Sora, director of the Pacific islands program at the Lowy Institute, an Australia-based think tank. The suspension could also provide a degree of political cover for the intense lobbying and deal-making that will now be taking place ahead of the presidential vote, Sora added. Kiribati switched its allegiance from pro-Taiwan to pro-Beijing in 2019, citing its national interest in joining several other Pacific nations that have severed diplomatic ties with Taipei in recent years. Self-governing Taiwan is claimed by China, and since the shift, Beijing has increased aid to Kiribati. Ahead of the elections, Australians expressed concerns that the lack of information filtering out of Kiribati as well as delayed or refused visas for foreign officials and judges in recent years suggest Beijings sway is growing. The suspension of visits will not eject diplomats from Kiribati and many countries in the region already have a presence there, including Australian and China. The U.S. announced plans for an embassy in Kiribati in 2022, although it is still awaiting government approval. George Carter, an expert on Kiribati at the Australian National University in Canberra, said the ban appears to be an attempt to safeguard politicians from foreign interference as they negotiate to form a government. This is a way for the current government to say we want to be just among Kiribati, no foreign interference, he said. A senior New Zealand government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was not yet clear how widely diplomatic visits would be defined. New Zealands foreign ministry said in a written statement only that it was aware that the Republic of Kiribati has asked to suspend incoming visits. Australias department of foreign affairs said it did not share official correspondence from other governments. Officials in South Korea and Japan two other countries with which Kiribati has close ties did not immediately comment. Winston Peters, New Zealands foreign minister, told the AP it was not unusual for countries to request that visiting delegations avoid scheduling trips close to an election. He said he would wait to see what develops straight after" the presidential vote. Kiribati's president since 2016, Taneti Maamau, won his parliament seat easily and will seek a third presidential term. The opposition leader, Tessie Lambourne, also handily won her post. Those elected are now working to form voting blocs. Lawmakers for the outgoing governing bloc hold 22 seats in the new parliament, which is one short of a majority, but it is not unusual for lawmakers in Kiribati to switch parties, and first-time members have yet to declare their party affiliation. Kiribati is one of the most aid-dependent nations in the world and is rated at high risk of external debt distress by the International Monetary Fund. It is also threatened by coastal erosion and rising seas that have contaminated drinking water and driven much of the population onto South Tarawa, the most populous island. Ruth Cross Kwansing, one of the new lawmakers who is one of the record five women to win parliament seats, has yet to choose her party affiliation. Our country needs more women in decision-making positions and entrepreneurial areas, she told the AP on Friday. Health, peace, reconciliation and economic progress will flood every aspect of life as long as women and men are working alongside each other. By Takuya Karube, KYODO NEWS - Aug 23, 2024 - 11:10 | All, World Kamala Harris has injected new energy into the U.S. presidential race, with Democrats, including those of Asian descent and other people of color, excited about having a better chance of defeating Republican nominee Donald Trump than when Joe Biden was on the ticket. The growing enthusiasm behind Harris' campaign for the White House was evident among participants at the Democratic Party's four-day convention in Chicago through Thursday, initially planned as part of Biden's bid for a second term. Among the tens of thousands of Democratic delegates, supporters and volunteers involved in the political fanfare, there was far more ethnic diversity than seen at the Republican Party's national convention last month in Milwaukee, which formally crowned Trump as its nominee for the third consecutive presidential election. "It's an exciting time," said Keith Umemoto, a California delegate and a senior member of the party's Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus, adding that he expects Harris and her administration will embody the America of now, unlike Trump. Umemoto, a 68-year-old third-generation Japanese American, said he believes the United States will be able to have more "empathy" toward people with different values if Harris prevails over Trump and becomes the first female, first Black woman and first Asian American president of the country. Asia is the world's biggest and most diverse continent, and Asian American communities across the United States are not uniform by any means, but overall they have been the country's fastest-growing bloc of eligible voters. Although Asian Americans are not yet a very large minority group, compared with the Black and Latino electorates, their votes could determine the outcome of the Nov. 5 presidential contest. The number of Asian Americans who voted in the 2020 election in swing states such as Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania surpassed the presidential margin of victory, according to AAPI Data, a research organization focused on Asian American and Pacific Islanders. Arvind Venkat, a Democrat elected to serve his first term in Pennsylvania's House of Representatives in 2022, said he knows from experience that reaching out to Asian American voters will be important. Venkat, whose parents -- like Harris' mother -- immigrated to the United States from southern India, thinks the presidential race will ultimately "come down to who can articulate a vision for the country and, frankly, for the world." He said women, young people and minority communities have been especially reinvigorated by her candidacy. It remains to be seen whether Harris can build on her current momentum. But officials around the world are already looking for clues to indicate if or how Harris would be any different from Biden on major foreign policy issues. Biden administration officials and foreign policy scholars have suggested that, should Harris win the election, U.S. policies concerning Asia would be less likely to change than those involving other regions. "She is a faithful steward of our alliances and partnerships," Mira Rapp-Hooper, White House senior director for East Asia and Oceania, said at a think tank event last week in Washington, when asked about Harris' future Indo-Pacific policy. Biden's July 21 exit from the race changed the dynamics of the election. Many recent polls have shown that Harris is starting to pick up the support of voters called "double haters," who held strongly negative views of both Biden and Trump. Such voters are believed to have helped the 59-year-old vice president open a lead over Trump nationally and in some swing states, although she is still virtually tied with the 78-year-old former president. Biden's sudden withdrawal from the race and endorsement of Harris initially created a great deal of uncertainty, but the rise of Harris has brought a sense of reassurance for anyone fretting over a likely second term for the unpredictable Trump. Judy Chu, who became the first Chinese American woman elected to Congress in 2009, said she believes Harris will carry on the efforts of the Biden administration to build even stronger relationships with U.S. allies in Asia. Chu, a House Democrat from California, told Kyodo News in Chicago during the convention that such moves are essential due to the growing tensions between the United States and China. But she expressed hope that Harris will continue to take a measured approach. "There are many Republicans who want to turn it into conflict, and that can only hurt all of us. We do not want to get into conflict," she said. "Competition is something that occurs between many countries." Biden took office as arguably one of the best-prepared U.S. presidents on foreign policy. As Harris lacks the depth of experience of the 81-year-old incumbent, it seems inevitable that she would continue on his trajectory, at least until she felt more comfortable handling world affairs, said See Seng Tan, an expert on Asian affairs who is currently a research adviser at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. For the Indo-Pacific, Tan said a Harris presidency would be better than a second-term Trump, considering the "rude shock" he gave the region while in office, with his attacks on multilateralism and accusations of countries cheating the United States on trade. As to what a potential Harris policy on the region may look like, he said it would be possible for her to "push harder on human rights than Biden has done," noting that as a prosecutor-turned-senator, for example, she backed bills promoting human rights in Hong Kong and for Uyghurs in China's Xinjiang region. He also said Harris would likely further strengthen ties with some Southeast Asian countries such as Singapore and Vietnam as part of efforts to "balance and counter" China's rising power, and that they may receive "near-equal attention" to Washington's formal allies in the region, including Japan, the Philippines and South Korea. Related coverage: OPINION: Kamala Harris: Southern strategy route to White House? Harris kicks off campaign for president with energized Democrats Biden exits presidential race, endorses Harris as Democratic nominee North Korea's foreign ministry denounced a U.S. planned sale of Apache helicopters to South Korea, state media KCNA said on Friday, vowing to take additional steps to bolster its self-defense. The Pentagon said on Monday that the U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of Apache helicopters and related logistics and support to South Korea for an estimated $3.5 billion. An unnamed senior official in charge of foreign news at North Korea's foreign ministry issued a press statement on Thursday criticizing the sale plan as a move to aggravate tension, alongside ongoing annual military drills by the allies. "This is a reckless provocative act of deliberately increasing the security instability in the region," the official said, according to KCNA. The official accused Washington of escalating military confrontation, "disturbing the military balance and thus increasing the danger of a new conflict" in the region by supplying lethal weapons to its allies and friends. Pyongyang's "strategic deterrence will be further strengthened to protect the national security and interests and the regional peace," the statement said, pledging to steadily conduct military activities to boost self-defense. Fires broke out Friday on a Greek-flagged oil tanker that was attacked by Yemen's Houthi rebels this week, with the vessel now appearing to be adrift in the Red Sea, authorities said. It wasn't immediately clear what happened to the oil tanker Sounion, which was abandoned by its crew Thursday and reportedly anchored in place. The Houthis didn't immediately acknowledge the fire. The rebels are suspected to have gone back and attacked at least one other vessel that later sank as part of their monthslong campaign against shipping in the Red Sea over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip. The attacks have disrupted a trade route that typically sees $1 trillion in goods pass through it annually. The British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center reported the fires in a note to mariners Friday night. UKMTO have received a report that three fires have been observed on vessel, the center said. The vessel appears to be drifting. A U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters, said American officials were aware of the fires and continued to monitor the situation. The vessel had been staffed by a crew of 25 Filipinos and Russians, as well as four private security personnel, who were taken by a French destroyer to nearby Djibouti, the EU's Aspides naval mission in the Red Sea said Thursday. The Sounion has 150,000 tons of crude oil aboard and represents a navigational and environmental hazard, the mission warned. It is essential that everyone in the area exercises caution and refrains from any actions that could lead to a deterioration of the current situation. The Houthis have targeted more than 80 vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that also killed four sailors. Other missiles and drones have either been intercepted by a U.S.-led coalition in the Red Sea or failed to reach their targets. The rebels maintain that they target ships linked to Israel, the United States or Britain to force an end to Israel's campaign against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran. As Iran threatens to retaliate against Israel over the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, the U.S. military told the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group to sail more quickly to the area. Early Thursday, the U.S. militarys Central Command said that the Lincoln had reached the waters of the Middle East, without elaborating. Washington also has ordered the USS Georgia guided missile submarine to the region, while the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier strike group was in the Gulf of Oman. Additional F-22 fighter jets have flown into the region, and the USS Wasp, a large amphibious assault ship carrying F-35 fighter jets, is in the Mediterranean Sea. Mystery surrounds the abduction and release three days later of a popular YouTuber who created a satirical song making fun of high electricity bills in Pakistan. Family members say Aun Ali Khosa was abducted August 14 after his song went viral. Based on a famous patriotic song "Dil Dil Pakistan," which means "Heart Heart Pakistan," the satirical version changed the lyric to "Bill Bill Pakistan." According to Aun Ali Khosa's wife, Benish Iqbal, eight or nine masked men arrived at their home in a large car and a pickup truck. She said they entered the house by breaking a window and door and took Khosa with them. He returned home at midnight three days later and is in fine health, according to the family, but his face shows signs of fatigue, and he is not speaking to anyone. In a conversation with VOA, Khosa said, "I'm absolutely fine. I do not want to talk about where I was, who took me, or why." When VOA asked Khosa if he was fed during his disappearance, he replied, "I don't want to talk about that." Iqbal filed a petition in the Lahore High Court, alleging Khosa was unlawfully detained by law enforcement officers. Authorities so far have not responded to the accusation. This is not the first incident of apparent disappearance over satirical writing. Earlier this year, Ahmed Farhad, a poet and journalist from Pakistan-administered Kashmir, also went missing. After several days, the police announced his arrest. Enforced disappearance rising According to human rights activists, cases of short-term allegedly enforced disappearances across the country have increased in recent years, with a spike since May 9. Most of the "disappeared" do not speak openly about their experiences. Human rights activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari observes that while enforced disappearances used to be for longer durations, since 2022, there has been an uptick in cases where people are taken for just a few days and then released marking a troubling new pattern. "The purpose of making someone disappear for a short period of time is to silence them by intimidation," Mazari told VOA. "For example, a journalist could be arrested for a week so he is intimidated and does not publish a story. Or an officer can be kidnapped for allegedly disobeying an 'illegal' order," Mazari added. Legal expert Khadija Siddiqui believes that Pakistan's law is clear that if a person commits a crime, he or she is arrested and brought to court within 24 hours. But, she says, some people are picked up even if there is no case against them. "There is no law in the country for forced disappearance or abduction of people by force," Siddiqui told VOA. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, a nongovernmental human rights organization in Pakistan, has expressed its concern about enforced disappearances and demanded that such persons be recovered as soon as possible. While talking to VOA, HRCP Chairman Asad Butt said, "Incidents like Aun Ali Khosa show the weakness of the state." Legal expert Siddiqui suggests that stricter judicial measures against enforced disappearances could significantly cut down on future incidents. This story originated in VOA's Urdu Service. The Berlin Zoo announced Friday that longtime resident giant panda Meng Meng has given birth to twins for a second time. The cubs were born on Thursday, the zoo said in a statement. They were born only 11 days after ultrasound scans showed that Meng Meng, 11, was pregnant. Their sex has not yet been determined "with certainty." "Now it's time to keep your fingers crossed for the critical first few days," the zoo said. The cubs are tiny, weighing just 169 grams and 136 grams respectively, and are about 14 centimeters long. As with other large bears, giant pandas are born deaf, blind and pink. Their black-and-white panda markings only develop later. "I am relieved that the two were born healthy," zoo director Andreas Knieriem said. "The little ones make a lively impression and mom Meng Meng takes great care of her offspring." The zoo said that giant pandas usually only raise one cub when they give birth to twins, so it will "actively support" Meng Meng's cub care in cooperation with two experts from China's Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding who are in the German capital. "With around 20 births a year, they have much more experience and are better able to assess development," panda curator Florian Sicks said. The cubs will alternate being with their mother every two to three hours to drink milk and are otherwise being cared for in an incubator donated by a Berlin hospital. Meng Meng and male panda Jiao Qing arrived in Berlin in 2017. In August 2019, Meng Meng gave birth to male twins Pit and Paule, also known by the Chinese names Meng Xiang and Meng Yuan, the first giant pandas born in Germany. The twins were a star attraction in Berlin, but they were flown to China in December a trip that was contractually agreed from the start but delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. China gifted friendly nations with its unofficial mascot for decades as part of a "panda diplomacy" policy. The country now loans pandas to zoos on commercial terms. Giant pandas have difficulty breeding and births are particularly welcomed. There are about 1,800 pandas living in the wild in China and a few hundred in captivity worldwide. Meng Meng was artificially inseminated on March 26. Female pandas are fertile only for a few days per year at the most. The new arrivals and their mother won't be on show to the public for the time being but visitors can still see Jiao Qing, 14, as male pandas don't get involved in rearing cubs. Somalia Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre said Thursday that Ethiopian forces would not be part of the upcoming African Union Support Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) unless Ethiopia withdraws from a controversial memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with Somaliland earlier this year. "If Ethiopia does not withdraw from its MoU agreement with Somaliland, its forces will not be part of the upcoming operation. If they remain, it will not be under the African Union mandate," Barre said Thursday during a town hall meeting in Mogadishu. Answering questions from a town hall audience in Mogadishu, Barre said that the Somali government has effectively outmaneuvered Ethiopia concerning its intentions to implement the agreement with Somaliland. "Ethiopia is now in a precarious position regarding the MoU agreement. When we rejected it, they turned to Kenya, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and eventually to our Turkish brothers. We accepted these agreements on the condition that if someone attempts to impose something on us, we will resist, he said. You are all aware that Somalis across the country, from Berbera to Hargeisa, Burao, and Borama, rejected the agreement. This (MoU) is not something Somalis anywhere can accept," the prime minister emphasized. The MoU which triggered the ongoing dispute between the two neighboring countries grants Ethiopia access to 20 kilometers of the Red Sea coastline in exchange for the potential recognition of Somaliland's independence, which Somalia views as a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Due to its tensions with Ethiopia, Somalia postponed the next phase of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) troop withdrawal originally planned for July to September, citing security concerns stemming from Ethiopia's actions as the main reason for the delay. Last week, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 2748, which allows ATMIS troops to stay in Somalia through December 2024. Somalia says all Ethiopian troops should be out of the country by the end of 2024, especially after the expiration of ATMIS. In response to Somali accusations, Ethiopia's foreign ministry asserted its right to self-defense. There is no power that can stop Ethiopia from taking necessary action without asking permission from anyone, stated Nebiyu Tedla, Ethiopias foreign ministry spokesperson, during a news briefing last week. Ethiopia has been contributing troops to Somalia for over a decade. Ethiopia has security concerns arising from al-Shabab; therefore, Ethiopia is following the issue closely, Nebiyu added. Despite ongoing efforts to resolve the conflict, including two rounds of negotiations facilitated by Turkey this summer, no resolution has been achieved. The core issue remains Ethiopia's refusal to annul the MoU with Somaliland, with a third round of talks scheduled for September in Turkey. The international community, including the United Nations, the African Union, and the Arab League, has expressed support for Somalia's sovereignty and called for a peaceful resolution to the dispute. In the meantime, Somalia is coordinating with allies, including Egypt and Djibouti, to ensure that the new peacekeeping mission, AUSSOM, effectively addresses the nation's security needs without Ethiopian involvement. At a news conference in Mogadishu on Thursday, Somalias minister of foreign affairs and international cooperation, Ahmed Moallim Fiqi, accused Ethiopia of derailing Turkish mediation efforts to solve the dispute. Ethiopian leaders recent remarks could exacerbate the existing situation and hinder progress towards Turkish diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue at stake, Fiqi said. "I want to clarify that Somalia is only open to beneficial agreements with Ethiopia. We will not tolerate any military incursions or attempts to establish control over our waters or land, whether temporary or permanent," he warned. Ethiopian military presence Ethiopia and Somalia have a long history of territorial and political disputes, which stem from the Ethiopian Empire's expansions into the Somali-inhabited Ogaden region during the late 19th century. The Ogaden War, also known as the Ethio-Somali War, was a military conflict fought between Somalia and Ethiopia from July 1977 to March 1978. Somalia collapsed into anarchy following the overthrow of the military regime of President Siad Barre in 1991, creating fiefdoms controlled by clan militias and Islamic fundamentalist groups. Ethiopias first military border crossing into Somalia began in 1997, to support Somali militia allies in the countrys Gedo region to drive out Islamic fundamentalist group Al-Ittihad Al-Islamiya. They again invaded Somalia in 2006 during the rise of Union of Islamic Courts, which ruled large swathes of south and central Somalia for six months. Several thousand Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) troops, with tanks and heavy military hardware, went into Baidoa city located in the Bay region, southwest of Somalia, citing national security concerns aimed at preventing the creation of a hard-line Islamist state on its borders after Islamist insurgents had won control of most of the country. The troops then spread across the country and engaged in a deadly battle with Islamists and nationalist groups in the countrys capital, Mogadishu, before leaving the country on Jan. 2, 2009. Speaking in Addis Ababa at the time, then Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said that there would be no turning back. "There is no need to rush, and I suspect our troops would want to pull out without rushing," said Zenawi. "That said, the withdrawal process has begun and there is no turning back." The Ethiopian troops re-entered Somalia in January 2012 and became part of the AU mission, ATMIS. Under the mission, at least 3,000 Ethiopian soldiers officially operate as part of an African Union peacekeeping mission fighting al-Shabab, but another 5,000 to 7,000 Ethiopian soldiers are stationed in several regions under a bilateral agreement. South Koreans are keeping a close eye on the upcoming U.S. presidential election, scrambling to determine the implications its outcome would have for the security of their country. A recent poll by South Korea's Institute of National Unification showed that about 66% of respondents supported the country having its own nuclear weapons. This has spurred heated debate among the South Korean public. Earlier this month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the delivery of 250 new tactical ballistic missile launchers to frontline troops, according to the country's official Korean Central News Agency. The missile launchers appear to be transporter erector launcher vehicles for a type of short-range ballistic missile that North Korea claimed could be fitted with nuclear warheads. If confirmed, analysts say, the deployment would overwhelm South Korea's missile defenses. Growing concern "In order to cope with the threat from the North, South Korea needs to be nuclear-armed," Kim Tae-woo, head researcher of nuclear security at the Korea Institute for Military Affairs (KIMA), told VOA Korean on Tuesday. "There is no other way to guarantee the survival of the country." Cheong Seong-chang, director of the Department of Reunification Strategy Studies at the Seoul-based Sejong Institute, said the North Korean threat is too close to home for South Koreans. "There is no other country in the world that makes frequent nuclear threats against a neighboring country in the way North Korea does against South Korea," Cheong told VOA Korean on Wednesday. Kim of the KIMA said that a strengthening of the U.S. nuclear deterrent through the bilateral Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) would not be sufficient to protect South Korea against a North Korean nuclear attack. "First, it won't be able to keep up with North Korea's nuclear threat in terms of the pace and the extent of evolution and growth," Kim said. "Second, there is a growing risk that political changes in South Korea and the United States may halt the arrangement or make it less binding." Extended deterrence In April 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol adopted the Washington Declaration, which outlines a series of measures, including the establishment of the NCG, to deter North Korea's nuclear weapons use. At its core, the declaration expanded Washington's promise to defend South Korea with nuclear weapons if necessary a policy known as "extended deterrence." The Biden administration appears firmly opposed to South Korea building its own nuclear weapons. "We believe that the only effective way to reduce nuclear threats on the peninsula is by curbing the proliferation of nuclear weapons," a State Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement on July 10 in response to a VOA Korean inquiry. "President Yoon has reaffirmed the ROK's long-standing commitment to its obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty as the cornerstone of the global nonproliferation regime," the email continued. ROK stands for Republic of Korea, the official name of South Korea. "The Yoon administration has made clear that it is not pursuing a nuclear weapons program and that it is working closely with the United States through existing extended deterrence mechanisms," the spokesperson said. Vipin Narang, who recently served as the U.S. acting assistant secretary of defense for space policy, said that the NCG would play an important role in strengthening the U.S.-South Korea extended nuclear deterrence relationship. "We have signed a guidelines document charting a path ahead, begun work to facilitate integration across the alliance, and now stand as equal partners strengthening deterrence against nuclear and other forms of strategic attack from North Korea," Narang said August 1 in a seminar at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Narang added that the United States "may reach a point where a change in the size or posture of our current deployed forces is necessary" if there is no change in the nuclear trajectories of North Korea. In an interview with VOA Korean in July, Narang emphasized that the NCG would "evolve in accordance with the threats faced by the U.S.-South Korea alliance." Seoul's nuclear desire Some experts say the possible reelection in November of former U.S. President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, could reshape Washington's alliance with Seoul and open the possibility of South Korea having its own nuclear weapons. John Bolton, former White House national security adviser during the Trump administration, told VOA Korean in an August 16 interview that "Trump doesn't understand collective defense alliances." "He looks at alliances as America defending South Korea and not getting paid for it," said Bolton, who also served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to 2006. "He didn't, in his first four years, grasp what the meaning of the alliance, the benefits it had for the United States as well as for South Korea," he said. "I don't think he's learned in the four years he's been out of the office either." Cheong of the Sejong Institute said, "President Trump had previously held that South Korea and Japan should now be nuclear armed rather than relying on foreign countries to respond to the threat of North Korea and China." Separate from Seoul's desire for its own nuclear weapons, Trump might consider redeploying U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea, said Robert Peters, research fellow for nuclear deterrence and missile defense at the Heritage Foundation. "I think it is possible that a Trump administration could see the current environment as one where they would return American nuclear weapons to the Korean Peninsula, to be stored in nuclear weapons vaults on joint U.S.-ROK bases," Peters told VOA Korean via email on Wednesday. In 1991, the U.S. withdrew all its nuclear weapons from South Korea. The weapons had been stationed there since the late 1950s. Victor Cha, senior vice president for Asia and Korea chair at CSIS, told VOA Korean on Wednesday via email that it was too early to determine what position Trump would take on South Korea's nuclear armament. "I think it's way too premature to talk about whether Trump would support or oppose a nuclear South Korea," said Cha, who was the U.S. National Security Council's director for Asian affairs in the George W. Bush White House. "The nonproliferation community, both Democrats and Republicans, would be strongly against adding more nuclear weapons states in either a Harris or Trump administration," said Cha. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, is widely expected to inherit Biden's Asia policies should she win the election. VOA Korean contacted both the Trump campaign and the Harris campaign and asked each whether its candidate would allow South Korea to have its own nuclear weapons, but did not receive a reply from either side. Kim Hyungjin contributed to this report. Sixteen Republican-led states are suing to end a federal program that could potentially give nearly half a million immigrants who do not have legal status but are married to U.S. citizens a path to citizenship. The coalition filed suit Friday to halt the program launched by President Joe Biden in June, saying in court filings that the administration bypassed Congress to create a pathway to citizenship for "blatant political purposes." "This action incentivizes illegal immigration and will irreparably harm the Plaintiff states," the suit filed in federal court in Tyler, Texas, says. Under the policy, which started taking applications on Monday, many spouses without legal status can apply for something called "parole in place" that offers permission to stay in the U.S., apply for a green card and eventually get on a path to citizenship. But the program has been particularly contentious in an election year where immigration is one of the biggest issues, with many Republicans attacking the policy and contending it is essentially a form of amnesty for people who broke the law. 'Immigration disaster' Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement Friday that the plan "violates the Constitution and actively worsens the illegal immigration disaster that is hurting Texas and our country." The suit filed against the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other Biden administration officials accuses the agency of attempting to parole spouses "en masse," which the states contend is an abuse of power. The states also filed a motion asking for the program to be put on hold while the lawsuit proceeds. In a post on X, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said her state is challenging the parole-in-place policy because she believes the Biden administration "is illegally using 'parole' in a systematic way to advance their open-borders agenda." The conservative nonprofit America First Legal, which is headed by Stephen Miller, a former adviser to former President Donald Trump, is serving as co-counsel in the lawsuit. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Mayra Alejandra said the agency will defend the Keeping Families Together program in court and continues to process the submitted applications as well as accept new applications. "Keeping Families Together is grounded in well-established legal authority, and its purpose enabling the families of U.S. citizens to live without fear of separation is consistent with fundamental American values," Alejandra said. White House spokesperson Angelo Fernandez Hernandez said Republicans are "playing politics" and characterized the lawsuit as another form of family separation. The bipartisan immigration and criminal justice organization FWD.us said the program is in compliance with the law and noted the timing of the lawsuit as Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for president. "The only motivation behind this lawsuit is the cruelty of tearing families apart and the crass politics of hoping a judge might do the bidding of the anti-immigrant movement," the organization said in a statement. The lawsuit contends that states will bear the burden of additional immigrants staying in the country. Texas, the suit says, spends tens of millions of dollars each year on a program that provides health insurance for children, including those in the country illegally. It says that the state also spends millions each year "for increased law enforcement as its citizens suffer increased crime, unemployment, environmental harm and social disorder due to illegal immigration." Concern about wages Because the program beneficiaries will be entitled to work authorization, those additional workers "will drive down the wages of Texas residents, directly harming the State and its citizens," the lawsuit says. Evelyn Wiese, an immigration attorney at American Immigrant Justice, described the lawsuit as an attack on mixed-status families who have spent years contributing to their communities in the United States. "Trying to rip apart these families and prevent them from accessing a lawful pathway to status in the U.S. is cruel and reflective of anti-immigrant extremism," she said. U.S.-brokered peace talks on Sudan have failed to end the country's 16-month conflict but have succeeded in gaining greater humanitarian access to millions of people who have been deprived of food, medicine and other essential relief for many months, according to a senior U.S. official. In wrapping up a first round of peace negotiations Friday in Geneva, Tom Perriello, U.S. special envoy for Sudan, told journalists "it is extremely important that we have found breakthroughs on humanitarian access for millions and millions of people in Sudan. "But this is just the beginning," he said. "We need to see the results from the parties, whether that is on protection of civilians or humanitarian access and we need to continue to build where we can." Search for humanitarian corridors Over the past two weeks, representatives from the United States, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, the United Nations, African Union, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates have focused on reopening three humanitarian corridors the Western border crossing in Darfur at Adre, the northern Dabar Road from Port Sudan, and the southern access route through Sennar. Perriello said the three routes combined "would open up food, medicine and lifesaving services for 20 million people in Sudan," adding that negotiators got commitments from the two warring parties, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) to send aid through both the Adre and Dabar routes. "We are in active negotiations with the parties on multiple potential routes for Sennar, which would open up another 11 million with access," he said. Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told journalists that United Nations and humanitarian partners continue to engage with the Sudanese authorities to ensure the sustained and scaled-up delivery of supplies into Sudan. "This is crucial to meet people's most urgent needs at the height of the rainy and lean seasons in Darfur," he said, adding that the 15 trucks that crossed into Sudan from Chad via the Adre crossing this week "were a step in the right direction." "But the fighting and deepening hunger crisis in Sudan means there has to be a steady flow of food, nutrition, water, sanitation, hygiene and medical supplies for people at risk of famine in more than a dozen areas," he said. Hundreds of thousands on brink of famine The World Food Program reports more than half of Sudan's population, some 25.6 million people, face acute hunger, including more than 755,000 people on the brink of famine. The RSF sent a delegation to the talks. However, Sudan's military has stayed away because of the participation of the United Arab Emirates, which it accuses of supporting the RSF and of fueling war by sending arms to the paramilitary group. While not responding to these accusations, Lana Nusseibeh, head of the UAE delegation, said that the position of her country has been clear. "We see the future of Sudan as one that requires a peaceful civilian transition of power. We are dedicated and committed to engage in these talks and use all our efforts to bring about the cease-fire that the Sudanese people so desperately need and so desperately deserve," she said. While acknowledging the difficulties of negotiating a cease-fire with only one of the warring parties present, U.S. mediator Perriello said it has been possible to make progress in other areas because "we were able to engage with the SAF many, many times a day virtually by phone." The Geneva talks also have focused on implementing the Jeddah declaration, which calls for the protection of civilians and respect for international humanitarian law even in wartime. Both warring parties signed the agreement on May 11, 2023, but a week later they breached a subsequent agreement which called for a seven-day cease-fire. Underscoring the importance of complying with the Jeddah declaration, Perriello said, "We have all seen the horrific atrocities of rape, sexual slavery, starvation used as a weapon of war, shelling, bombing and daily terrors that are realities of the Sudanese people." He said the delegations have been working hard to achieve a compliance mechanism that can work for the existing Jeddah declaration and have presented that to the parties for consideration. In the meantime, he said, "We got agreement from the Rapid Support Forces for a code of conduct that will be issued to their soldiers. "It will have many of the basics of international humanitarian law, including protections of women and protections related to farming and the harvest so we can look at the issues not only of the current famine, but how we begin to help the Sudanese grow out of this." The U.S. envoy said no formal date has been set for the next round of peace talks because "the urgency of this crisis is one in which we do not want to [be] constrained by the formal dates of when we can get on airplanes." "We know that there are decisions today that are going to be the difference between whether we start to see hundreds of trucks go across Adre or whether the brakes are thrown on. That is a today thing and that is a tomorrow thing," he said. "We are very committed to seeing this as a 24/7 operation in the face of a famine that the world has largely ignored." Press freedom in Hong Kong is at its lowest level in at least 11 years, according to the latest survey of its members and the public by the Hong Kong Journalists Association. One of the biggest factors in that decline is the introduction this year of Article 23, which penalizes anything deemed as sedition or external interference, the association, known as the HKJA, found. The law has more severe restrictions on media than previously existed, Selina Cheng, chair of the HKJA, told VOA. It includes substantially tougher penalties for sedition, which Cheng described as the main legislation that's been used against speech and media work since the implementation of a new National Security Law in 2020. The findings are part of an annual survey by the HKJA in conjunction with the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute. The journalists association sent surveys to 979 members, and the research institute collected opinions from 1,000 phone interviews, selected at random. Both groups surveyed were asked to rank press freedom in Hong Kong. The 250 journalists who responded to the survey ranked it at 25 out of 100, with 100 being a perfect score. It is the lowest ranking since the annual survey was started 11 years ago. The public score came in at 42. The survey findings came the same week that Hong Kong denied a work visa to journalist Haze Fan. The reporter for Bloomberg News was detained in Beijing on alleged national security violations in December 2020 and held for about 13 months. Bloomberg has said Fan will be transferred to its London office. In the HKJA survey, 92% of the journalists who responded to the survey indicated press freedom had significantly been impacted by the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, known as Article 23. Passed in March, it prohibits acts of treason, secession, sedition, subversion and theft of state secrets, and prevents foreign political organizations from conducting activities or establishing ties with local political bodies in Hong Kong. Penalties for sedition under the new law increased from two to seven years, or 10 years if a foreign force is involved. Authorities have insisted that journalists are safe to carry out what they call legitimate reporting activities. But critics say the vaguely worded legislation creates uncertainty for journalists. Cheng said the laws reference to state secrets is wide, too, which could be a concern. The law is using Beijings definition of state secrets, according to Human Rights Watch. Under Article 23, what is deemed a state secret encompasses [a] pretty wide spectrum of things, including information about economy, technology, society, so on, Cheng said. It could be that the government considers the findings of a think tank or an academic institution a state secret, then that would become a crime of national security, she said. Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the HKJA findings, saying Hong Kongs national security laws are not meant to target journalists who do not break the law. Cheng noted that only about a quarter of HKJA members responded to the survey this year, which could be a sign of how the media environment is declining. The response rate is not great and is a reflection of the sort of self-censorship even when it comes to discussing or reflecting reporters views on press freedom, she told VOA. At some organizations that might be seen as more pro-Beijing or pro-government reporters, the contact people we have at those organizations will worry if they might face retaliation if they send out [the] HKJA questionnaire. I think people are scared to do it, because they're afraid of retaliation, she said. Cheng believes she personally was retaliated against for her association with the HKJA. Her contract at The Wall Street Journal, where she covered the auto and electric vehicle industry, was terminated in July, in a move she said is connected to her being elected chair of the HKJA. In a statement issued at the time, Cheng said she had been told by her supervisor that having Journal employees advocate for media freedoms would create conflicts of interest because the newspaper reports on related topics, including the ongoing trials of Hong Kong journalists and media organizations. The Journal confirmed to VOA at the time that personnel changes had been made but said it could not comment on specific individuals. Journalists also highlighted overt calls for journalists to use caution in their reporting. In a note to columnists at the pro-Beijing Ming Pao newspaper, chief editor Lau Chung-yung urged people to be prudent and law abiding in their writing. His note was posted on social media on August 15 by one of the papers columnists. Eric Wishart, the standards and ethics editor at Agence France-Presse in Hong Kong, says such comments concern journalists. The Ming Pao note, he said, is another example of the chilling effect that recent developments have had on journalism in Hong Kong. Johan Nylander, a Swedish journalist in Hong Kong, said it is no surprise that press freedom is at a new low. The national security law and Article 23 have created an atmosphere of uncertainty and self-censorship among many reporters and media companies, he told VOA. Its quite clear where the trend is going. The situation regarding press freedom is very depressing in Hong Kong, and nothing indicates that it will get better anytime soon. Media groups such as the HKJA have been criticized by authorities and Chinese state media for allegedly having links to activist organizations. But Wishart said it was important for the HKJA to continue. Its important that the HKJA and other organizations continue to monitor the state of press freedom in Hong Kong and that media professionals continue to respond to these surveys, he said. Hong Kongs ranking on the World Press Freedom Index has declined rapidly since the national security law was enacted in 2020. It currently ranks 135 out of 180 on the Reporters Without Borders index, where number 1 represents the best environment. In 2019, the year before the national security law took effect, Hong Kong ranked 73. The Taiwan High Court on Thursday sentenced eight Taiwanese military officers to prison for spying for China in exchange for financial gain. Experts say the case shows a shift in China's espionage tactics in Taiwan. The sentences range from 18 months to 13 years in prison, making it one of Taiwan's largest espionage cases in years. The court said in a statement that the defendants were "willing to collect intelligence for China that caused the leak of important secrets" and that "they were seduced by money." An individual named Chen Yuxin was found to have contacted and recruited the defendants at key military sites to form a spy network for China. Chen was believed to have fled to China and remained there. The defendants were also accused of planning to fly a CH-47 Chinook military helicopter to a Chinese aircraft carrier in the Taiwan Strait and of shooting a video indicating they would surrender to Beijing in the event of war, according to Taiwan's official Central News Agency. Beijing used virtual currency to make payments to the defendants, according to Bloomberg. Timothy Heath, a senior international defense researcher with the RAND Corporation, told VOA in an email, "The impact could have been severe if Taiwan's authorities did not stop the espionage and defection of military assets like a helicopter in time. "It is demoralizing to read of Taiwan soldiers voluntarily making videos that advertise their willingness to surrender to China," he said. Other cases of spying The sentencing of the eight military officers is the latest in a growing number of espionage cases authorities say were carried out by China on the democratically ruled island. Russell Hsiao, executive director of the Global Taiwan Institute and senior fellow at the Jamestown Foundation, said the sentences on Thursday reflect a shift in tactics by Chinese intelligence. "This group of convicted agents involves relatively younger persons than in prior cases that have often targeted older retirees from the military," he said in an email to VOA. He said that while the older targets in previous cases were more driven by a mix of ideology reinforced by financial gains, "the motivation of these recent cases appears to be primarily financial." He also noted that while the sentences handed down by the court are arguably more severe than in prior cases, given the relatively limited value of the intelligence collected and passed on by these agents, this may be intended to send a deterrent signal to would-be spies. China claims democratic Taiwan as its territory and has ramped up military and political pressure in the Taiwan Strait in recent years. The two sides have been spying on each other for decades. Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said, "This is not a foreign policy issue, but a question concerning the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, which belong to the one and same China." Hsiao said there has been an upward trend in espionage cases involving Taiwan military personnel over the past decade. Taiwan's Control Yuan, the governments oversight branch, confirmed this on Thursday. In a statement, it said that in recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of espionage-related cases uncovered by Taiwan's military security units, and the targets and forms of infiltration are different from those in the past. The Control Yuan statement said that from 2011 to 2023, there were 40 espionage cases, three times the number from 2001 to 2010. Those cases involved a total of 113 military and civilian personnel, and many "top secrets" were leaked. "This certainly shows that Beijing is intent on penetrating Taiwan's military and security services, so Taipei will have to stay vigilant against these efforts in the years ahead," Zack Cooper, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told VOA in an email. A Taiwanese sergeant who worked at a navy training center was indicted last month for allegedly photographing and leaking confidential defense information to Beijing. In June, the court upheld the sentences given to two retired Taiwanese Air Force officers for helping or attempting to help China recruit intelligence assets in Taiwan. "The cases show that Chinese-directed subversion and espionage remain major threats to Taiwan," Heath said. "The biggest impact is the continued erosion of the public's trust and even U.S. trust in Taiwan's government and military to control the threat of Chinese subversion and espionage." In its statement, the Control Yuan urged Taiwan's government to increase its defense budget to help prevent China's espionage activities. Taiwan's Cabinet announced Thursday that defense spending for 2025 would increase by 7.7% to $20.25 billion. KYODO NEWS - Aug 23, 2024 - 15:51 | All, Japan A male under 20 who left for China earlier this week has emerged as the suspect in a graffiti incident at the war-linked Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, investigative sources said Friday. The suspect was caught on a security camera on Sunday evening climbing onto the pedestal of a stone pillar, where the graffiti was found the next day. He is believed to have posted an image of the graffiti on Chinese social media, according to the sources. The graffiti, likely drawn with a black felt-tip pen, consisted of Chinese characters and the Western alphabet, and included Chinese words meaning "toilet," police said. The suspect, who faces a charge of property damage, came to Japan with several people a few days before the incident but headed to the shrine in Chiyoda Ward alone. He later went to Shinjuku Ward, where his hotel was located, according to the sources. In May, the same pillar, engraved with the shrine's name, was defaced with the English word "toilet," spray-painted in red. A Chinese man living in Japan was indicted in July for property damage and desecration of a place of worship over the case. Two other Chinese men have been put on wanted lists for their alleged involvement in the May incident, which drew public attention due largely to a video posted on Chinese social media showing a man appearing to urinate on the pillar. Yasukuni Shrine has been a source of diplomatic friction with China and other Asian countries as Japanese wartime leaders who were convicted as war criminals in a post-World War II international tribunal are among the more than 2.4 million war dead honored at the shrine. Related coverage: Tokyo's Yasukuni shrine hit by another graffiti attack A court in Buddhist-majority Thailand decided Friday to try seven former military and police officials for their roles in the deaths of 85 Muslim men at a protest that took place 20 years ago. The seven are charged with murder, attempted murder and unlawful detention. The statute of limitations on the charges expires in late October, exactly two decades after the events of the so-called Tak Bai Massacre. I feel relieved that the duty of the lawyers and the duty of the plaintiffs is accomplished, Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, a human rights activist and lawyer representing one of the plaintiffs in the case, told VOA after the court announced its decision. We [were] hugging each other and I think they are very happy, she said of the other plaintiffs as well. Lawyers for the accused could not be reached for comment. The case concerns the events of October 25, 2004, in Tak Bai district, Narathiwat province, in Thailands predominantly Muslim and ethnic Malay deep south. Soldiers and police shot and killed seven people while responding to a protest demanding the release of suspected Islamic militants. Human rights groups say the officers forced many more protesters into police trucks destined for a military camp some 140 kilometers away, leaving them packed inside and forced to lie on top of one another for hours. Seventy-eight of them died. A state inquest later determined that they had suffocated. It also concluded that security forces used inappropriate measures to disperse the protesters and that commanding officers failed to adequately supervise the movement of the detainees. But authorities did not pursue charges and police claimed force majeure, a legal term referring to events beyond their control. No one was ever previously charged over the deaths or injuries. Hoping to change that, 48 survivors and relatives of the dead filed a lawsuit with the Narathiwat provincial court in April against nine officers, all since retired, involved in the security forces response to the protest. Pornpen said the court on Friday decided against taking two of the nine to trial on the grounds they were not responsible for use of force. Even so, she said the courts decision to put the other seven on trial was a welcome surprise in a country where senior police, military and government officials are widely seen to act with impunity. We had so many times in history that the call for democracy, call for change, anything like [a] protest always ends up with violence and no one is [held] responsible, she said. So, to bring the perpetrator to justice according to Thai law is not easy, and I think we did it. In a statement, Amnesty International called Fridays decision an overdue but crucial first step towards justice for those who suffered what it called the excessive use of force at the 2004 protest. The victims and their loved ones have spent almost two decades waiting for justice and accountability for the heinous crimes committed, the rights group said. Thai authorities must immediately enforce the court decision and take necessary measures to ensure the cases statute of limitations does not expire. Amnesty International said at least one of the defendants must be brought to court to hear the charges by October 25 for the case to proceed to trial. Pornpen confirmed that the defendants must still appear in court before the statute of limitations runs out for the trial to proceed. She said the court would issue subpoenas ordering the accused to appear on September 12, but was concerned they may try to stall and avoid an appearance until the statute of limitations runs out. Anchana Heemmina, director of the Duay Jai Group, a non-profit that monitors human rights abuses in Thailands deep south, said she also worried the accused may yet avoid a trial. But she welcomed Fridays decision nonetheless and said it could begin to restore some faith in the courts among southern Thailands Muslims. They feel like the Thai government, or the military dont want to protect Malay Muslims who are civilians in the country and feel like we are the second class, said Anchana. Now, for today, for the Tak Bai case, its a little bit first step that makes the people believe or trust the justice system, she added. Once the seat of a Muslim sultanate, the southern provinces of modern-day Thailand were deeded by the British to the then-kingdom of Siam in 1909. Rejecting the transfer, several armed ethnic Malay Muslim groups have waged a long-running guerrilla war against the Thai state in hopes of winning independence for the provinces. More than 7,000 people have died in related violence since fighting intensified in 2004. While bombings, assassinations and shootouts across the south continue to occur alongside police raids and arrests, the pace of the violence has waned over the years, and the government is in talks with some of the rebel groups over terms of a possible cease-fire. A group of independent experts from the United Nations raised concerns Friday about Pakistans large-scale deportations of undocumented Afghan migrants and called for measures to minimize the dangers faced by vulnerable people among them. The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination issued findings of its review of Pakistan at an online news conference in Geneva, saying it was alarmed by the mass exodus under the countrys Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan. Michal Balcerzak, the chair of the committee, said that a staggering 700,000 people, including 101,000 between April and June, were deported or returned to Afghanistan as part of the plan. Pakistani authorities launched the deportation campaign late last year, attributing a surge in nationwide militant attacks to elements residing among undocumented foreigners, primarily Afghans. The committee highlighted reports of harassment, forced evictions and the detention of 28,500 Afghans from September to December 2023, which have driven many to return to Afghanistan out of fear, said Balcerzak. He emphasized that Pakistan should assess refoulement risks and take measures to reduce dangers faced by vulnerable groups, such as the risk of unaccompanied children being trafficked or exploited. VOA contacted but could not immediately receive a response from the Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson regarding the U.N. findings. Islamabad rejects criticism of its deportations of foreigners lacking proper paperwork, stating that the campaign is not aimed at a specific nationality and asserting that most of the Afghan returnees departed voluntarily. However, the returnees and Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have questioned those claims. Balcerzak stated that the U.N. committee "expressed regret for the lack of a legislative and institutional framework in line with international law" and recommended that Pakistan ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Optional Protocol. According to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Pakistan is not a party to the global convention and has not enacted any national legislation to protect refugees nor has it established procedures to determine the refugee status of people seeking international protection within its territory. Pakistan also hosts about 1.4 million official Afghan refugees fleeing years of war, persecution and economic hardship in poverty-stricken Afghanistan. Moreover, nearly 900,000 Afghan citizenship card holders also live in the country. The migrant community received the identity documents several years ago after undergoing a registration process backed by the Pakistani and Afghan governments and financed by the International Organization for Migration. Last month, Pakistan extended until June 2025 the stay of the 1.4 million Afghan refugees in the country legally. The United Nations said Friday it fears a repeat of the 2017 atrocities committed against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar, warning a human tragedy was unfolding in Rakhine state. U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk voiced grave alarm about the sharply deteriorating situation across Myanmar, particularly in Rakhine where, he said, hundreds of civilians have reportedly been killed while trying to flee fighting. Clashes have rocked Rakhine since the rebel Arakan Army attacked forces of Myanmar's ruling junta in November, ending a cease-fire that had largely held since a military coup in 2021. The Arakan Army says it is fighting for more autonomy for the ethnic Rakhine population in the state, which is also home to around 600,000 members of the Rohingya Muslim minority. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled Rakhine in 2017 during a crackdown by the military that is now the subject of a United Nations genocide court case. "Thousands of Rohingya have been forced to flee on foot, with the Arakan Army herding them repeatedly into locations that offer scant safe haven," Turk said in a statement. "As the border crossings to Bangladesh remain closed, members of the Rohingya community are finding themselves trapped between the military and its allies and the Arakan Army, with no path to safety." Bangladesh is now home to around one million Rohingya refugees. "This month marks seven years since the military operations which drove 700,000 across the border into Bangladesh. Despite the world saying 'never again,' we are once more witnessing killings, destruction and displacement in Rakhine," said Turk. The U.N. high commissioner for human rights said parties to the armed conflict were denying responsibility for attacks against the Rohingya, which "stretches the bounds of credulity," he said. The U.N. Human Rights Office said that according to its information, the military and the Arakan Army have both committed serious human rights violations and abuses against the Rohingya. These include extrajudicial killings some involving beheadings abductions, forced recruitment, indiscriminate bombardments of towns and villages, and arson attacks. "Both the military and the Arakan Army bear direct responsibility for the human tragedy that is unfolding in Rakhine," said Turk. "These atrocities demand an unequivocal response: those responsible must be held accountable, and justice must be pursued relentlessly. "Recurrence of the crimes and horrors of the past must be prevented as a moral duty and a legal necessity." Turk called on both parties to cease attacks on civilians and urged ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, to take all necessary measures to protect the Rohingya. The proposed reform of Mexico's judiciary threatens the country's democracy and its vital trade relationship with the United States, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar said Thursday. The controversial reform, set for a congressional vote in September, proposes that judges, including all Supreme Court justices, be elected by popular vote. "Based on my lifelong experience supporting the rule of law, I believe popular direct election of judges is a major risk to the functioning of Mexico's democracy," Salazar said in a statement. The comments are by far the strongest made to date by Mexico's largest trading partner and represent a significant ratcheting up of tensions between the two countries over the issue. Incoming President Claudia Sheinbaum, who takes office in October, has defended outgoing President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's judicial proposal, saying she agrees judges should be elected. Salazar said the debate around the reform, and the politics of the process, were it to be approved, would threaten the U.S.-Mexico trade relationship, "which relies on investors' confidence in Mexico's legal framework." "Any judicial reform should have the right kinds of safeguards that will ensure the judicial branch will be strengthened and not subject to the corruption of politics," he added. Salazar said the reform could make Mexico's judiciary more vulnerable to influence from organized crime. "Direct elections would also make it easier for cartels and other bad actors to take advantage of politically motivated and inexperienced judges," he said. Mexico's presidency and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Lopez Obrador argues the reform, which proposes that judges be elected via votes in 2025 and 2027, will help combat impunity and corruption. But markets have been on edge since Lopez Obrador's Morena party won an even greater chunk of congressional seats than forecast in a June national election, effectively guaranteeing it the ability to pass constitutional reforms when the new Congress takes office next month. Mexico's stock market and peso currency were both down about 1% on Thursday. A trial got underway this week in Oakland, California, to decide the ownership of diaries written by Li Rui, a former secretary to communist China's founder Mao Zedong, who became a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist Party. The trial will decide if Stanford University gets to keep the diaries donated by Li's daughter or if they should go to Li's widow, Zhang Yuzhen, his second wife, who is suing for the documents to be returned. The university's legal team and U.S.-based China scholars suspect Zhang's lawsuit is bankrolled by Chinese authorities who aim to control the sensitive historic narrative on Mao and the Communist party. "Li Rui is a living encyclopedia of the 80-year history of the Chinese Communist Party," Cai Xia, a former professor at Beijing's Central Party School who lives in the U.S., said in emailed replies to VOA Mandarin. "The Chinese Communist Party knows that the diaries contain history that cannot be exposed to the sunlight. Beijing will fight [to get] the diaries back at all costs." 10 million words Li wrote about 10 million words in scores of diaries, letters and notes during his lifetime, including criticism of Mao, the party and the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. On June 4, 1989, when Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping ordered the military to clear pro-democracy protesters from Tiananmen Square, killing hundreds if not thousands, Li wrote, "I am restless all day long, and I always want to cry." On January 9, 2010, he wrote, "Mao's actions are totally contrary to the universal values of freedom, democracy, scientific progress, and the rule of law." Li also criticized China's current leader, President Xi Jinping. In 2018, when China began removing term limits for Xi, he quoted in his diary a foreign media report, "Democracy Is Dead." In an interview with VOA Mandarin from his hospital bed that year, Li expressed disappointment with what he called Xi's "low education." Li's daughter Li Nanyang, a U.S. citizen, says before he died in 2019, she gave about 40 boxes of his documents to Stanford's Hoover Institution, citing his wishes that they be preserved there, and she became a visiting fellow. Zhang, Li's widow, claims Li Nanyang exercised "undue influence" over her father and has denied any plan to suppress information in the documents other than "personal" information. She has also said Stanford can make copies of the documents. But Hoover Institute scholars argue that copies would lack the authenticity of the originals. Zhang sued Stanford and Li Nanyang in 2019 in Beijing's Xicheng District Court, which awarded the ownership of the documents to Zhang and ordered the university to return them within 30 days. Li Nanyang did not attend that trial. Stanford that same year brought a "quiet title claim" against Zhang in the U.S., asking a federal court to step in and affirm its right to Li Rui's archive. Zhang hired an American lawyer and filed a counterclaim against Stanford and Li Nanyang in 2020, saying Li Nanyang "stole" personal information and "national treasures." She accused Li Rui's daughter and the university of "copyright infringement," "public disclosure of private facts" and "intentional infliction of emotional distress." Zhang's lawyer in 2021 denied any involvement by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in supporting Zhang, despite lingering suspicions. "I believed that from the beginning," said Perry Link, a well-known sinologist and distinguished professor at the University of California, Riverside, to reporters outside the court Tuesday, a day before giving his testimony. "I am also prepared to present this argument in my testimony [that] the CCP is behind it." Link added that the party's role is "so clear now that I don't think I'd have to make that argument. I mean [Zhang] herself said that she doesn't have the money or the will" to pursue a lawsuit. Suspicions On the second day of trial, Li Nanyang reiterated that her father had handed the diaries to Stanford University of his own free will. Li Nanyang expressed her own suspicions about the case, first in a group email to friends, but her comments were then picked up by several Chinese media in May. She said she believes the CCP and the Chinese government are interested only in "covering up the truth" in order to "ensure that the image of the Communist Party will always be 'great, glorious, and correct,' and that it will always be able to govern." VOA Mandarin contacted the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco for a response but didn't receive one by the time of publication. Kicked out of party Born in 1917, Li Rui enthusiastically threw himself into the revolution that saw China's Communist Party seize power in 1949. In the mid-1950s, he briefly served as Mao's secretary before a falling out that led to his being kicked out of the party and sentenced to eight years in prison. When Li Rui was released in 1979, three years after Mao's death, he was rehabilitated back into the party and promoted to executive deputy director of the Organization Department of the CCP Central Committee, responsible for selecting senior CCP officials. In his later years, he became an outspoken critic of the CCP, calling for political reform and democratic constitutionalism, and was recognized as a liberal figure within the CCP, despite his often sharp criticism. The Oakland trial will run through the end of the month. Adrianna Zhang contributed to this report. Venezuela's government said Friday that it would order former opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez to provide sworn testimony in an investigation into what it considers attempts to spread panic in the South American country by contesting the results of last month's presidential election. It's the latest attempt by Nicolas Maduro's government to crack down on opponents who contend they handily defeated the self-declared socialist leader. Maduro has refused to recognize defeat and says he won the July 28 election by more than 1 million votes, even though tally sheets by Gonzalez's campaign show the president lost by a more than 2-to-1 margin. The U.S., United Nations and others said the vote lacked credibility, and even some of Maduro's leftist allies in Latin America have called on him to publish the voting records. Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab at a news conference Friday accused the former candidate of trying to illegally usurp responsibilities that belong exclusively to the National Electoral Council. Gonzalez went into hiding after the July 28 vote as security forces have rounded up more than 2,000 demonstrators and political activists for challenging the official results. He's been joined underground by opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who picked Gonzalez as a last minute stand-in after her own candidacy was disqualified. Ruling-party stalwarts have called for Gonzalez and Machado to be arrested, but so far authorities have held off. The Biden administration condemned a ruling Friday by Venezuela's Supreme Court certifying Maduro's win. The high court said Thursday that it had performed an audit of the results and found they matched the results announced by electoral authorities, adding that tally sheets published online by the opposition were forged. This ruling lacks all credibility, given the overwhelming evidence that Gonzalez received the most votes on July 28, U.S. State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said. "Continued attempts to fraudulently claim victory for Maduro will only exacerbate the ongoing crisis." Thanks to a superb ground game on election day, opposition volunteers collected copies of voting tallies from 80% of the 30,000 polling booths nationwide. The tally sheets printed by each voting machine carry a QR code that makes it easy for anyone to verify the results and are almost impossible to replicate. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Friday for Venezuela to act in a transparent manner and expressed concern about human rights violations. Meanwhile, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, whose government is leading an attempt with Brazil and Colombia to resolve the dispute, said Friday that he would withhold recognizing Maduro as the winner until a breakdown of results was published. On July 23, in the presence of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, representatives of Hamas and Fatah signed the Joint Beijing Declaration, marking their reconciliation. However, a few days later, Israel assassinated Hamas negotiator in Tehran Ismail Haniyeh. Wang then called his Iranian counterpart, Ali Bagheri. He offered his support and recognized Irans right to defend its sovereignty. The last diplomatic contacts between China and Israel date back to the phone conversation of the two foreign ministers ten months ago, on October 23. Chinas Middle East negotiator Zhai Jun has toured the region, except Israel. On the other hand, China has accused the Jewish state of provoking a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Ties between China and Israel have developed rapidly after establishing diplomatic relations in 1991. The family of Jerusalem mayor and future prime minister Ehud Olmert was originally from China. Trade volumes doubled from 2013 to 2022, catapulting China to second place behind the United States, Israels largest trading partner. Beijing planned to run the New Silk Road through Haifa and had invested heavily in upgrading the port. But when rivalries between China and the United States intensified under former President Donald Trump, Chinese control of Haifa was challenged and Israeli cooperation with China steadily declined. Today, Beijing is planning to run the Silk Road through its ancient route, via Iran, Iraq, Palmyra and Tartus (Syria). A large majority of Israeli Jews now perceive China as a hostile power. The rapprochement between Fatah and Hamas was followed by a speech by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. He announced that he would visit Gaza for the first time since 2006 and take action to reunify the Palestinian territories. "Victory or death!" he declared. Egypt, which is taking part in the Doha talks, has asked the two factions to agree on specific issues, including the management of Gaza, border crossings and how to deliver humanitarian aid. In response, Israel assassinated Khalil Maqdah, a Fatah official in Lebanon and brother of the commander of the Al-Aqsa Brigades in Lebanon. He was directing the transfer of Iranian weapons to the West Bank. Tel Aviv is convinced that if Chinese efforts are successful, it is because Iran is secretly associated with them. BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese law enforcement agencies extradited a suspect from Thailand on Tuesday in connection with a major financial criminal case involving more than 100 billion yuan (14 billion U.S. dollars), China's Ministry of Public Security announced Friday. The man surnamed Zhang is the first financial criminal suspect extradited to China from Thailand since the two countries' extradition treaty took effect in 1999, according to the ministry. Zhang was discovered to have led a pyramid scam operation under the guise of issuing virtual currency since 2012. The public security organ of Chongqing Municipality launched an investigation into Zhang in 2020, and an Interpol Red Notice was issued in March 2021. Zhang was captured by Thai police in 2022, and was ordered to be extradited to China following a sentence made by Thailand's Appeals Court in May of this year, a decision later supported by the Thai government. Photo: Darren Michaels/SHOWTIME/Everett Collection When it comes to spinoffs, modern TV networks seem to have an endless appetite. Weve gotten expansions of the mythology of Game of Thrones, an endless onslaught of side quests for The Walking Dead, and even recently waved good-bye to the enigma that was Young Sheldon. So its no surprise that Dexter, a crowning achievement for Showtime, is getting two more series in the franchise: Dexter: Original Sin, which looks at Dexters killin days as a 20-something whos also just getting used to his day job as blood-spatter analyst, and Dexter: Resurrection, which is a continuation of a story line that has already ended twice (the latest ending seemed to pretty conclusively kill him off, too!). As the Dexter empire sets itself to conquering new blood-stained shores, its time to look back at the installments that have made the franchise worth returning to over the years. Even the shows most dedicated fans will likely admit that its been a fairly bumpy ride. But just as the series had the capability to devolve into utter cartoonishness, when all of its elements came together, it could deliver some outstanding results. Dexter is far from a relic of the aughts it bore consistently solid performances, a bevy of intensely memorable story lines, and relished in its own grisly vibes. Its a kind of efficacy that was very clear during the time that most of its audience recalls with fondness: the very beginning. Dexter (Season 1, Episode 1) As Showtime muscled in on the Prestige TV wave that HBO had all but created, Dexter would soon become their golden child. And its apparent from the beginning what ripe material they were working with. The show is atmospheric, the casting is excellent, the writing is occasionally inspired (this would be the shows most wildly fluctuating aspect) and the hook is a once-in-a-lifetime elevator pitch: What if there was a serial killer, but he only killed bad guys? With an effortlessly watchable Michael C. Hall at the forefront, it unsurprisingly became one of the defining shows of the era. What is most surprising about watching the debut episode, though, is how many tones the series is playing with. Its both extremely dark (Look or Ill cut your eyelids right off your face, Dexter tells a soon-to-be victim in what looks like a basement from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and oddly campy (Just like me empty inside, his constant internal narration states as he gazes at an empty box of donuts). And though these two aspects will shift in prominence back and forth as the show goes on, they will be present for its entire run. Seeing Red (Season 1, Episode 10) Though it would never approach the level of, for example, Hannibal, Dexter would often try to find beauty in its parade of grotesqueries. Seeing Red, in which Dexter is led to (and promptly faints in) a room that contains a veritable pool of blood, is one of those moments. Its a great set piece, one that the series would rarely match again. Season 1s main arc concerned finding the Ice Truck Killer, a man that also turned out to be Dexters brother. As such, the first season also revolved around Dexter trying to figure out where he came from. Collapsing in all of that red provides the trigger for his repressed memories he watched his mother get slaughtered in a shipping container and he sat in her blood for days. In combining a memorable scene of gore with an adeptly revealed backstory, Dexter proved that it could be both a cartoonishly violent exercise in antiheroism and a gripping personal drama. Sadly, it wouldnt always be working with material of this caliber. Born Free (Season 1, Episode 12) The finale of the first season, in which Dexter kills his own brother and thus saves his adopted sister Debra (whom his brother had dated and planned to murder) couldve been the end of the show itself. In fact, the concluding moment shows Dexter in a dream sequence where hes surrounded by people cheering for him and his actions as he mulls over whether his deeds have made him a good person. Of course, in retrospect, that audience is obviously the viewers of the show itself. Whoo, Dexter! You kill people but, like, in a cool way! Though the show would go on for eight seasons, its emotional themes never really evolved past the ending of the first season. Sure, the chess pieces get moved around and new characters question him and how he can relate to others, but in the first season, where Dexter is forced to confront his feelings about himself, his origins, his blood family and his found family, you get a pretty good treatise on what the show has to offer. There would be better seasons (with more explosively entertaining episodes) but Dexter would never tell as cohesive a story as this again. Resistance Is Futile (Season 2, Episode 9) If there is one major difference between seasons one and two, its that two mostly finds Dexter playing defense. The dumping ground at the bottom of the ocean where he deposited most of his victims has been uncovered, and expert FBI agent Frank Lundy (played by the charming Keith Carradine) is set to find this Bay Harbor Butcher. Meanwhile, Dexters own co-worker in the Miami Police Department, the surly James Doakes, is tightening the screws in his grudge against Dexter. And thats not even counting Dexters new love interest, Lila, who has a prying fascination with Dexters dark side and his previous girlfriend/eventual wife, Rita, who mainly just wants Dexter to stop being such a secretive weirdo. This episode is the best example of these elements all coming together. And its finish, in which Doakes finally discovers that his self-made workplace nemesis Dexter is the killer that hes expected all along, makes for a satisfying payoff to a subplot thats been in the works since the first episode. Common fan wisdom says that Dexter peaked in its first half, and by seeing how well it juggles all of its different throughlines here, its hard to disagree. The British Invasion (Season 2, Episode 12) One interesting thing about Dexter is that season finales often feel like concrete ways to end the show entirely, especially in the first half. Dexter rarely rushed to get to the finish line during these glory days rather, it would actively begin to tie things up with a few episodes to spare, allowing the true emotional climax some breathing room. Here, the slate is wiped clean so that we get time to say goodbye to Doakes, Lundy and Dexters glorious deranged ex, Lila, who absconds to Europe (only to be pursued by Dexter in the closing moments of the episode). If theres another reason that the end of season two provided another legitimate reason to roll credits on the whole Dexter thing, its the fact that by the end, hes affirmed a new code for himself. Forever haunted by the specter of his Dad, a former cop who discovered Dexters burgeoning psychopathy and trained him to use it for good, Dexter decides to go his own way here and try to live by his own rules. Does he deliver on his promise in the third season and beyond? Noooooot quite. New Dexter is a lot like the old Dexter. But at least, at the time, it felt like it was working toward something special here. Hungry Man (Season 4, Episode 9) The third season of Dexter is serviceable but unremarkable, as it mostly plays with a redux of the major themes of season two: What if Dexter became close to someone who accepted him, but this time its an unstable dude rather than a girlfriend? Season four, though, despite its abundance of plot lines that dont really go anywhere interesting, is remembered as perhaps the highlight of the entire franchise. And thats predominantly due to John Lithgows Emmy-winning performance as Arthur Mitchell aka the Trinity Killer, who is essentially the Dexter version of the BTK killer. Taking advantage of something rarely seen outside of his roles in Brian De Palma films, Dexter turns Lithgows aw-shucks persona into a mask for something truly terrifying. And in Hungry Man, we get to see his home life, one where he keeps his entire family in a state of paranoid despair. Dexter, so focused as it was on the titular killers relationships, rarely allowed such an in-depth glance at what it was like for the other families of the many, many monsters that inhabited Miami. But the tense Thanksgiving dinner in Hungry Man gives us a peek and makes the audience glad that were stuck with goofy, milquetoast Dexter Morgan. Hello, Dexter Morgan (Season 4, Episode 11) Though many would likely opt to put the fourth season finale The Getaway on a list of the most essential episodes, its actually not that well-constructed (though it features a parade of big moments like Trinitys death, the reveal that Trinity murdered Dexters wife Rita, and the discovery of Dexters son sitting in a pool of his own mothers blood, thus continuing the family cycle). In comparison, the cat and mouse antics of the previous episode, Hello, Dexter Morgan are much more gripping. It also grants one of the rare moments that we ever really, truly fear for Dexter. Dexters main advantage is that hes cautious and plays things carefully, avoiding the emotional pitfalls and irrational patterns of his rival murderers. But hes never been toe-to-toe with someone like Trinity, who has been concealing himself for decades. Trinity stalks Dexter to his office in the police headquarters and (in a sequence that makes John Lithgow look roughly 19-feet-tall) cuts Dexter down to size. Its an iconic moment in the show, as, for the first and perhaps only time in the series, Dexter meets his match. Nebraska (Season 6, Episode 7) After Ritas death at the end of Season Four, Season Five was a solid effort that did little more than rearrange the furniture of the show (though it does feature an absolutely fantastic guest role with Robocop star Peter Weller playing a crooked cop). However, its a masterpiece in comparison to the sixth season, which is one misguided plot (the twist involving its main antagonist can be seen from a mile away) after another (Deb falling in love with her adopted brother Dexter is an infamously bizarre tangent that thankfully gets dropped within a few episodes). Its only real peak is when it literally drives away from the main storyline entirely, as Dexter (and his deceased, serial killer brother playing the Devil on his shoulder) take a brotherly road trip to check in on the remnants of Trinitys family. Despite the sheer number of killers in the show and the countless families that were undoubtedly ruined, we rarely get to see the personal impact left behind. And if Nebraska is any indication, things arent going well for anyone. Here, we see a family thats been torn apart, as Trinitys son is forced to kill his own angrily obsessed mother (who recently drove her daughter to suicide). A rightfully poignant episode in a season that fell drastically out of step with itself. Are You ? (Season 7, Episode 1) After a haphazard sixth season, the course correction of season seven is deeply refreshing. It manages to stay focused on what is obviously the most pressing narrative of the series to date Deb discovering that Dexter is the Bay Harbor Butcher. And though there are a few hiccups along the way (the writers introduce the late, great Ray Stevenson as a threatening Ukrainian mobster but never quite manage to make the plot feel worthy of the performance), season seven feels like an appropriately driven follow-up to the early years of the show. Are You ? also represents another of season sevens best aspects: The characters, most of whom are apparently noteworthy detectives, are actually smart. Yes, the show is called Dexter, and so everyone gets to slip on the requisite banana peels in order to continue being blind to the fact that hes a serial killer. But in the span of one episode, Deb goes from unwittingly helping Dexter clean up one of his own crime scenes to confronting him about a lifetime of his work. In Dexter time, thats essentially pressing fast forward. But its wonderful to see someone like Deb not be treated like a total buffoon. Surprise, Motherfucker (Season 7, Episode 12) In terms of providing closure for the series, season seven is more satisfying than the real final season. Though it would kill off Deb, send Dexters son off to live with Dexters latest weird girlfriend, and end with Dexter living alone and working at a lumber company, as a whole, season eight makes no reliable efforts to wrap up Dexters story. It kills time until its allowed to hit the aforementioned bullet points and calls it a day. Meanwhile, season sevens Surprise Motherfucker, which shows Dexters previously devoted police boss Maria LaGuerta finally turning on him and Deb being forced to choose between Dexter and LaGuerta (who stands for the normal life she could have) brings the show to a proper head. Featuring a few flashbacks with the deceased James Doakes (whose season-one line Surprise, Motherfucker had been embraced as a meme by this point), season seven is a season finale that joins the long line of Dexter finales that couldve ended the entire show. And though it doesnt punish Dexter for his crimes or kill him off, its the last time the original series felt like it had a grip on its own thematic potency. Everything after would be a fall from grace. The Family Business(New Blood Episode 9) Well, not everything. If the sequel series, New Blood, was any indication, Dexter had a little bit left in the tank. But to access that fuel, it needed a complete change of scenery, an overhaul in the cast, and an entirely new dynamic to work with. New Blood is a fun time, one that balances the macabre and the camp that was so evident in the first episode of the original series. And rather than simply be Dexter with sweaters, it forces him to try to wrangle in his own sons murderous urges, a job that causes him to reflect on the morality of his own. The final two episodes provide a sort of capsule story, even as they build on the show as a whole. Dexter introduces his son, Harrison, to his code and the son, who idolizes Dexter, becomes a pseudo-protege for a bit. The Family Business feels like a pilot in a way, one where Dexter and his brood seem bound to go off on a Batman & Robin-style adventure to administer twisted justice to the world. But of course, this is Dexter, meaning that its only a matter of time before it all comes crashing down. Sins Of The Father (New Blood Episode 10) What do you do with Dexter? Does he get to go free? Rot in jail? Perish? And if its the last thing, who gets to do him in? These are questions that the show feels like it wrestled with from the beginning and, until the end of New Blood, could never really settle on. But Sins of the Father is likely the best conclusion that the franchise could have at this point he learns that what hes done is flawed and that he likely deserves death, one provided by his own son Harrison. Harrison shooting Dexter, an act that Dexter actively supports as both atonement for his kid and a lifetime of questionable decisions, doesnt come out of nowhere. Sins Of The Father provides little hope that the two will ride off into the sunset. But it is a bit shocking in its sense of finality. Dexter always seemed intent on providing wiggle room for its star to escape and loopholes for him to prove to himself that he wasnt as big of a monster as the killers without their names in the title. New Blood allows all of that to evaporate, meaning that regardless of what the upcoming spinoffs provide, there is a concrete point in history when Showtime made its peace with the end of Dexter Morgan. Photo: Mike Segar-Pool/Getty Images White House political director Emmy Ruiz put the Beyhive on alert on Thursday afternoon by tweeting a single bee emoji. With multiple outlets suggesting that there were rumors a surprise guest had been booked for the final night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, people immediately began speculating that Beyonce would perform before Kamala Harris officially accepted the presidential nomination. It made sense: Bey has approved the use of her song Freedom on Harriss campaign trail (in contrast, her team reportedly threatened to send a cease-and-desist letter after a Donald Trump spokesperson used a clip of Freedom in a now-deleted social-media post). Mitt Romney, who emerged as another popular prediction, denied on social media that he was the surprise guest, tweeting, My guess is that it will be Beyonce or Taylor Swift. Some stans started dreaming even bigger, hoping Bey and Tay would perform a duet. But the primary suspect still seemed to be Beyonce, with TMZ even reporting that she was in Chicago to perform. However, not long before Harris took the stage, Beyonces publicist, Yvette Noel-Schure, took to Instagram to share a screenshot of a Hollywood Reporter piece in a later-deleted post. The THR report cited a rep who confirmed that Beyonce was never scheduled to attend and would not take the stage. And it soon became apparent that there was in fact no surprise guest at all. TMZ later tweeted, To quote the great Beyonce: We gotta lay our cards down, down, down we got this one wrong. Be honest, Democrats, was this a plot to get stans to tune in all night? Because it worked. Below, the best memes and predictions from throughout the night. Beyonce walks in, a capella. Taylor Swift brings in harmony. After a verse, a quiet guitar joins in and Dolly Parton arrives. As the live band brings it to a peak, Simone Biles flips across the stage. A lone eagle soars across the audience, screeching. Fayelle Ewuakye (@FayelleEwuakye) August 22, 2024 Truthfully, I want the DNC surprise to be Beyonce AND Taylor. If there was ever a time to unite the country, unite the stans, and save democracy, this is it. Astro (@astro_kianna) August 22, 2024 Ok what if the special guest is Jordan Chiles and she swallows her bronze medal in front of everyone Jill Twiss (@jilltwiss) August 23, 2024 My expectations are so high that I will be impressed by nothing less than Beyonce singing Crazy in Love with George W Bush doing the Jay-Z parts Tony (@realtonysm1th) August 22, 2024 The surprise guest is George R.R. Martin and he's finished writing "The Winds of Winter." Daily Trix (@DailyTrix) August 23, 2024 The funniest possible special guest at the DNC tonight would be to tease Beyonce and then have James Taylor walk out on the stage flipping the double bird. "You thought you could just skip me? You thought you could just NOT have James Taylor?" Sonny Bunch (@SonnyBunch) August 23, 2024 the dnc surprise guest is beloved character actor richard kind David Mack (@davidmackau) August 22, 2024 DNC special guest but it's just kendrick lamar performing not like us 6 times consecutively Joey Politano (@JosephPolitano) August 23, 2024 BREAKING: Second surprise DNC guest announced pic.twitter.com/a53qYb5qtW Eric Champnella (@champnella) August 23, 2024 just put down $15,000 on weird al being the surprise DNC guest at 85,000:1 odds, please pray for me Rob DenBleyker (@RobDenBleyker) August 22, 2024 oh wow they got the couch pic.twitter.com/CDzrowpP4W Ben Rosen (@ben_rosen) August 23, 2024 BREAKING: I have gotten word from a source about tonight's surprise DNC performance. They didn't get Beyonce or Taylor but locked down something bigger: 1990s ska sensations Reel Big Fish will play Vice President Harris onto the stage to accept the nomination. https://t.co/kWaTOcfvkN Robert Evans (The Only Robert Evans) (@IwriteOK) August 22, 2024 DNC surprise guest: Yevgeny Prigozhin, back from the dead and ready to drop some truth bombs. pic.twitter.com/KaELjSLicU Sir Humphrey (@bdquinn) August 22, 2024 When everybody is expecting Taylor Swift or Beyonce, but youre about to rap about the Declaration of Independence or some shit for 12 minutes instead. pic.twitter.com/71pjQVsAoj Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) August 23, 2024 The lady who sings fight song backstage finding out people think Beyonce is performing: pic.twitter.com/w8e8bMRmAL gjork (@mixedfruit_) August 23, 2024 george bush, taylor swift, and beyonce finding out theyre performing at the DNC together pic.twitter.com/WG6swiCzVS Guilty as Slade? (@Jesse_bslade) August 22, 2024 omg KAMALA & BEYONCE on the DNC stage!!! pic.twitter.com/kn5ZrGcyT1 Frank Costa (@feistyfrank) August 23, 2024 the dncs social media manger watching the taylor swift/beyonce surprise appearance speculation tweets pour in while lin-manuel miranda warms up pic.twitter.com/CUo3l49LGk one dozen rats at a keyboard (@PanasonicDX4500) August 22, 2024 kamala after tricking yall to watch the dnc for a beyonce performance pic.twitter.com/O16SKqliAH shayla (@bornysterday) August 23, 2024 jokes on you all, the surprise guest was Leon Panetta Grace Panetta (@grace_panetta) August 23, 2024 Do you guys think there is someone at the DNC who made a joke about a surprise guest to a reporter today and has now sweated through like 7 shirts maris crane (@earlsofrisk) August 23, 2024 Maybe the surprise guest was the friends we made along the way B.W. Carlin (@BaileyCarlin) August 23, 2024 and when the DNC surprise guest is Tom Holland and he repeats the best performance of our lifetime then what pic.twitter.com/lBR2vCiGsH pamela (@tisthepamseason) August 23, 2024 Beyonce & Taylor Swift at home laughing at us like pic.twitter.com/CKFpj66sgc (@heyjaeee) August 23, 2024 Good Evening, DNC surprise Beyonce was a 7 hour sociological study conducted by the Democratic Party. We are now complete with our study. Thank you for your attention. Joshua Rush (@JoshuaRush) August 23, 2024 Say melodrama, and what comes to most peoples minds is excess, campiness, or maybe a soap opera featuring an evil twin. The genre is unjustly derided I love melodramas and these days, when I think of the term, the faces of women suffocated and repressed by American suburbia dont come to mind. Instead, I think of Minha Kims tortured, freckled face as Pachinkos Sunja. Throughout the eight episodes in the first season of the Apple TV+ show, adapted from Min Jin Lees 2017 novel of the same name, Kims face hardened from tender youth to steely determination in the face of loss and hardship. Last we saw Sunja, shed been smiling maybe the most shed ever done since her life fell apart after getting pregnant with the fish broker Koh Hansus child. To be completely clear, melodrama is a compliment in my book, and Im suggesting we place Pachinko in the genre to emphasize how it works within a narrative tradition that has consistently aimed to represent the scope of womens lives. But its not just Sunjas life on the line. Pachinko spans four generations, and in last seasons finale, several family members still had pending matters. Foremost amongst them: What is Solomon thinking, at literally any point? What will be of his involvement with Yoshii? Where and how did Sunja get the pocket watch back from Koh Hansu? What ended up happening to Isak, and to Noa? (This last one worries me the most. I almost couldnt sit through the sequence in Chapter Eight when little Noa had to simultaneously interpret for his mother at the police station as Japanese officers held Isak under arrest.) The episodes in the second season, like in the first, jump back and forth between what are now the 1940s and the late 1980s. In an effort to keep track of all events across timelines, Ill divide them up into sections each week. 1945 Chapter Nine opens on a snowy train station in Osaka. In a hat and scarf, Hansu checks on a cargo shipment of dark-colored minerals. Its 1945, and the war is nearing a breaking point: Looking concerned, the Japanese man whom Hansu tasks with keeping an eye on the shipment asks, Who will it be, then? The Soviets or the Americans? Since we left Sunja in the market, seven years have gone by, and her business seems now to be thriving. Shes selling confidently and loudly; she even has regulars now, among them a certain Mr. Kim, who, to my eyes, appears to be flirting. I mightve gotten a nice feeling that everything was going well if it werent 1945, Sunja werent on her last batch of kimchee, and cabbage supplies werent running low. The boys, Noa and Mozasu, seem to pick up on Kims friendliness; they exchange knowing looks before a fleet of American planes drop flyers written in Japanese all over the market, threatening Japan to surrender before things get worse. One of Pachinkos main melodramatic strains is its focus on the question of how and if a person can escape the ties that bind them to their familys destiny. In the shows very first episode, Yangjin went to visit a shaman shortly before Sunjas birth, hoping to lift a family curse that had already seen the death of a number of infants. Though theyre still kids, the differences in Noa and Mozasus personalities already clue us into the fact that they might approach this question in opposite ways. In a rare lighthearted sequence, Japanese colleagues at school make fun of Mozasus Korean lunch, but he wont have any of it. Instead of retreating, he shuts down the haters by quite literally standing up to them. He explains the different items in his lunch box from the top of his desk. This is beoseot gangjeong, he says. Its usually spicier, but theres no more chile peppers. Even lacking heat, its still a triumphant bite. Elsewhere in the school, confronted with the same mockery as his brother, Noa reads to block out his classmates cruelty. He later vents to the pastor at church that his teacher just turns the other cheek to these displays of hostility. The pastor encourages him to endure, and later in the episode we learn why the teacher might have reinforced Noas quiet defiance. A Korean man passing as Japanese himself, he suggests that Noa use his fierce intelligence to go to university and make a new life for himself. Noas focus on letters, an inclination inherited from his father whom he still believes will come back from imprisonment emphasizes another question that haunts every member of this sweeping cast: the difference between survival and enrichment. Koh Hansu might say that while survival is imperative, a person should never let themselves be played for a fool. We see him having dinner with his Japanese father-in-law and a roomful of suited men, who, it becomes clear, are involved in the mineral trading we saw in the episodes opening sequence. Though Hansu is indispensable to the deal, which supplies the military with this resource for arms, he is still an outcast. His Korean identity as well as his violent reputation are brought up and mocked; he clenches his jaw through the disrespect, and to his credit, his father-in-law steps in to vouch for his generosity and urge him to take a few breaths away from the table. When he does, he overhears a couple of guests saying theyve already evacuated their families out of the city in preparation for the arrival of the Americans. Not afforded the same luxury of foresight, meanwhile, the Korean community prepares to fight. Mozasu puts on a formidable display of temerity against a dummy fashioned out of straw. He is reprimanded by Sunja for being too good at stabbing them with a wooden stick; they need to remain intact in order to be used again. Thats the point, Mozasu quips, take the enemy down so they wont be able to get up again. My favorite thing about kid-Mozasu, besides his ingrained sense of mischief, is how often and easily he can make Sunja laugh. When she briefly takes her eyes off her son, she spots a poor-looking family. Through her conversation with the young mother, a Korean immigrant with bruises up her forearms, we learn that Yoseb has been away working at a munitions factory in Nagasaki, a revelation that made me literally clutch my chest. Though life is difficult, this young mom is upbeat; she wants to smile for her children. Naively optimistic, she proposes they sell bootleg rice wine at the black market together. Sunja is on her last batch of kimchee, but shes cautious. I was convinced she wasnt going to go through with it until, by the kitchen sink, she argues to Kyunghee that they have no other option. She can hear her sons stomach grumbling in the night, and for her own part, Kyunghee is no stranger to the urgency of their circumstances: Finding worms in their rice rations, she wondered if she shouldnt just leave the bugs there, to better fill the kids stomachs. Its inarguable rice wine it is. The camera pays close attention to Sunjas hands as she washes and handles the rice in a callback to the touching sequence last season when Yangjin prepared a bowl of white rice each for her and her new husband, Isak. Here, as then, Sunja is taking her destiny into her own hands, refusing to concede passively to the oppression of her circumstance. Im good at selling, she tells Kyunghee, and its in moments like these that Sunja is most herself. Of course, because this is Pachinko, its not long until something goes awry: Sunja is arrested in a black-market raid. She spends the night in jail, but the next day, when the judge sentences each of the prisoners, he lets her go with just a warning. The mystery of why she was so swiftly pardoned while other first offenders were sentenced to three weeks in jail is solved by the mysterious Mr. Kim, who is waiting for her outside the station. He drives her to a beautiful, big house. At this point in the episode, the letters in my handwritten notes start getting progressively bigger. Eloquently, they announce, itS GOING TO BE KOH HANSU. Sunja holds her breath as he tells her that hes been watching her; Mr. Kim is not a flirty regular but an employee tasked with keeping an eye on her and the children. Its Hansus curse that, no matter how generously he might be acting or intending to act, he is incapable of doing something for Sunja without coming across as scary, dangerous, sometimes just plain wrong. He knows the Americans are coming, and he wants Sunja and Kyunghee to take the kids to a house in the countryside which he has set up for them. To no ones surprise, Sunja wont go. She doesnt want to abandon Isak on the chance that hell be released from jail. Its not frustration at the fact that she is refusing safety that gets to Hansu, or even that she is indifferent to his secret devotion: Its that he can see, maybe for the first time, that Sunja has really come to love Isak, despite the fact that he cant guarantee her safety. Id feel bad for him if he werent so infuriating. 1989 In late-80s Tokyo, Solomon is scheming away. When we first see him in Chapter Nine, hes pitching to a couple of investors, asking them to put money in his new independently run fund. When the investors question how his sympathies might have played a role in why the deal with the Korean landowner fell apart, he argues that everyone involved was too emotional. However, its not only his neutrality that the investors are worried about; they want to know more about his relationship with Yoshii. With a confidence bordering on the psychotic, he assures them: I have nothing to do with that man. Solomon wont be easily deterred. He tries a college acquaintance on the phone its a no-go and later goes to lunch with his old friend, Tetsuya, who breaks the news that, while he has managed to raise the extraordinary sum of zero yen for his fund, Abe-san is receiving the lavish Japans Businessman of the Year Award that very same night. Not only that, hes on a warpath, determined to intercept Solomons efforts. Luckily for him, though, Tetsuya is feeling smug. Whereas once he mightve been jealous of Solomons success, now he is able to contribute a pity investment to his fund: 200 million, out of pettiness and loyalty. Solomon was the only kid who was nice to him when Tetsuya was new in school, which is the kind of thing you never forget, not even while eating kajillion-dollar omakase. Golden leaf showers over their abalone sushi piece, an annoyingly heavy-handed touch to an otherwise subtly performed scene. In Osaka, Mozasu is opening a brand-new pachinko parlor, and Solomon comes for the opening. Sunja is looking cute and chic in a white tweed skirt suit, and she beams when Solomon gives them the good news of Tetsuyas investment. Mozasu takes the chance to tell Solomon that he and Sunja have also decided to throw their hats in the ring: They hand him a check for 100 million yen, raised from a loan with the new parlor as collateral. Solomon knows Japans economic bubble is on the brink of bursting, and the check makes him nervous. But this is only the start of what will turn out to be an eventful night. Tetsuya reaches him on the phone in the parlor. Hearing news of his investment in Solomons fund, Abe-san has threatened to destroy [them] both, a vague insinuation that is still powerful enough to make Tetsuya pull his money. Solomon nods in understanding while his eyes take on the crazed look of someone about to actually lose his shit. It happens a bit later, in the grocery store with Sunja. They go there to pick up a cake and some plastic cups, and the man behind the cake counter, who got Sunjas order totally wrong, is vile. Amongst other offenses, he tells her to learn how to speak proper Japanese and that they should take their business to stores for people like [them]. Its the last straw for Solomon, who, in a true Ivy League moment, screams at him: Who the hell do you think you are? I went to Yale University! Of course, Solomon isnt unjustified, but Sunja isnt happy about his outburst. You scared me tonight, she tells him, and the sight of his grandmothers disapproval is too much for him to bear. He looks wounded as he tells her that while he is sorry he scared her, he cant live always feeling sorry for [her]. He rips up the check shed given him along with Mozasu and throws it in the trash. Next, we see him locking eyes with Abe-san at the award ceremony. Its so satisfying to see that just his presence there is enough to throw Abe off his balance. Its game on! Pinball Thoughts I really love Pachinkos opening sequence. Im so happy to see it back for season two, with a new song, new dancing, and new outfits! I never skip it. 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. BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Long Fei, a former member of the Leading Party Members' Group of China Southern Power Grid Company Ltd. (CSG), has been arrested on suspicion of bribery, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) said on Friday. Upon the designation of the SPP, the Shandong Provincial People's Procuratorate ordered the arrest of Long, who also served as the former leader of CSG's discipline inspection and supervision team. The case was handed over to the prosecutors for examination and prosecution following the conclusion of an investigation carried out by the National Commission of Supervision, the SPP said. Long has been expelled from the Party and removed from public office, according to an official statement released earlier this month. Mike Lynch's daughter Hannah was last person missing after Bayesian sank on Monday. Divers have found the body of the sixth and final person missing after a superyacht sank off Sicily on Monday, believed to be 18-year-old Hannah Lynch, Italian media reported on Friday. The body of Hannah's father, UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, was brought ashore on Thursday, while her mother Angela Bacares was among the 15 survivors of the disaster. The final death toll from the tragedy is seven, including Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy, and Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda, whose bodies were recovered on Thursday. The body of the yacht's chef, Recaldo Thomas, was recovered on Monday, hours after the luxury Bayesian yacht sank during a violent storm near Palermo. #Porticello #Palermo, recuperato dai #sommozzatori dei #vigilidelfuoco il corpo senza vita dellultimo disperso nel naufragio del #Bayesian. Il bilancio e di 7 vittime, recuperate con una complessa operazione alla profondita di 50 metri dagli speleosub del Corpo #23agosto pic.twitter.com/z9GFMT6KTM Vigili del Fuoco (@vigilidelfuoco) August 23, 2024 There were 10 crew members and 12 passengers onboard the British-flagged yacht when it was hit by a waterspout, similar to a tornado, as it lay anchored just off Porticello. Over the last five days divers have been carrying out a complex operation on the wreck of the Bayesian which plunged to a depth of 50 metres. As prosecutors investigate whether the captain and crew took all the necessary safety measures to prevent the disaster, questions remain over whether human error might be to blame. Known as the "British Bill Gates", Lynch was reportedly celebrating his recent acquittal in a high-profile US court case when the Bayesian sank. Lynch, 59, had been accused by Hewlett-Packard (HP) of inflating the value of his software company Autonomy which he sold to the tech giant for $11 billion in 2011. The entrepreneur, who always denied any wrongdoing, was acquitted in the US in June on multiple fraud charges, over which he had faced two decades in jail. In a strange coincidence, Stephen Chamberlain, Autonomy's former vice-president and Lynch's co-defendant in the US fraud case, died after being hit by a car while out running on Saturday. Rome wildfire may have been caused by arson. The head of Rome's civil protection department has urged residents to donate blood after four emergency responders were seriously injured in a vast wildfire in the city's suburbs. The four men - one firefighter and three civil protection volunteers - suffered severe burns while battling the blaze between the Torre Spaccata and Cinecitta districts on Wednesday. Rome citizens are being urged to donate blood to the Sant'Eugenio hospital where the four emergency responders are in critical, life-threatening condition, doctors said on Thursday. The firefighter suffered burns to 54 per cent of his body, while the three civil protection voluteers were also very seriously injured after becoming encircled by flames when the winds changed suddenly. An investigation is underway into the cause of the fire, with arson not being ruled out. In an interview with Corriere della Sera, Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri said: "I ask citizens for help in reporting suspicious behaviour. Arsonists must be stopped by all means." Photo Vigili del Fuoco With the release of the 2024 Leaving Certificate results, the Chat to SETU teams in Waterford and Carlow are ready to support students when they receive their Round 1 CAO offers next week. A spokesperson for the Technological University told Waterford News & Star that a dedicated team will be available from today, Friday, August 23, until Friday, September 11, to address any student queries or concerns during this critical period. Commenting on the initiative, Jess Lawton, Marketing & Outreach Officer at SETU, said: "The release of Leaving Certificate results, followed just five days later by Round 1 CAO offers, can be an incredibly challenging period for students. If you don't receive your first-choice offer, it can be especially stressful." "Its completely normal to feel overwhelmed but remember, youre not alone," said Jess, who went on to comment: "The Chat to SETU team is here to answer all your questions." Students with questions about their CAO offers can reach out to SETUs experienced support team through the university's telephone helplines: Waterford Helpline (051 845653); Carlow and Wexford Helplines (059 9175088, 059 9175173 and 059 9175174). A web chat facility is also available at SETU.ie. "The SETU team will also connect with students via Instagram Live, hosting Q&A sessions on Instagram stories from 2pm on Wednesday, August 28 to 9pm on Thursday, August 29," said the university's spokesperson. "This is a great opportunity for students to ask questions about their course offers, accommodation, student life, and everything they need to know about starting college at SETU this September," she added. Exploring the campus is an important part of choosing a university and SETU is offering guided campus tours from Friday, August 23 to Friday, September 13. The will take place daily from 10am to 3pm at the Cork Road Campus in Waterford, the Kilkenny Road Campus in Carlow and the Summerhill Campus in Wexford. Pre-booking is required, with tours starting at the main entrance of each campus. For more information and updates visit SETU.ie or follow SETU on social media. Jayson Gillham, the pianist cancelled by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra after his on-stage remarks about the death of journalists in Gaza, has hired lawyers in preparation for legal action against the organisation. Gillham has retained Marque Lawyers and Sheryn Omeri, KC, to act for him. The lawyers have already written to the MSO, laying out potential legal implications of Gillhams cancellation. Pianist Jayson Gillham Credit: Simon Schluter Earlier this month, Gillham was dropped from the MSOs line-up after he introduced a piece , saying it was dedicated to journalists killed in Gaza. The piece, Witness, was written by Australian composer Connor DNetto, specifically commemorating the 100-plus journalists killed in Gaza. The MSO, which later cancelled the multi-artist show altogether, citing safety reasons, later said its decision was an error and that it was in contact with the pianists management. Those conversations appear to have broken down, with Gillham pursuing legal avenues. After consideration, I felt that instructing lawyers was the right thing to do because I feel strongly about artists right to freedom of expression, he said. Former communist and long-time academics union boss Grahame McCulloch will take over the Victorian CFMEU branch once controlled by John Setka after the government tipped the scandal-plagued organisation into administration, while the Coalition demands to know why national secretary Zach Smith has kept his job. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus on Friday installed barrister Mark Irving, KC, to run the CFMEU nationally, pushing out almost 300 of the unions leaders, including its powerful NSW secretary Darren Greenfield and Setka protege Derek Christopher. CFMEU national secretary Zach Smith (right) will keep his job. Credit: Eamon Gallagher Smith, who fronted the unions efforts to stave off administration and praised Setka after his resignation last month, will stay on. The administration follows a joint investigation by this masthead, The Australian Financial Review and 60 Minutes that aired allegations of corruption, coercion and bikie infiltration within the union, which in effect sets the rules for Australias construction sector. TEHRAN, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Intelligence Ministry said on Friday that its anti-terror forces have arrested 14 Islamic State (IS) "terrorists" in four provinces of the country. "The terrorists illegally entered Iran over the past few days in an attempt to carry out terrorist operations," the ministry said in a statement published on its website, adding those "terrorists" were led by "the U.S.-Israeli IS-Khorasan group." It noted that the "terrorists" were arrested in Tehran, Alborz, Fars, and Khuzestan provinces, with half of them detained in Fars alone. The results of investigations and interrogations would be announced later, said the ministry. The IS-Khorasan group is a regional branch of the IS, active in South-Central Asia, primarily Afghanistan and Pakistan. GAZA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Hamas on Friday said its fighters killed and wounded some Israeli soldiers during clashes in the south of the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City. "Our fighters clashed intensely with the Israeli army forces that had advanced south of Zeitoun in Gaza City," causing casualties among the soldiers, Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, said in a press statement. It noted that the Israeli casualties were evacuated by a military aircraft, without providing further details. The Israeli army has not commented on the incident yet. Meanwhile, the Israeli army reported that its 98th Division had killed dozens of militants over the past 24 hours and destroyed numerous infrastructures in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip and the outskirts of Deir al-Balah in the central region. The army's statement said its drone detected a militant posing threats to its forces, which led to an Israeli Air Force helicopter attacking to neutralize him. In addition, the 162nd Division continued operations in the Tel al-Sultan area of Rafah, south of Gaza, killing dozens of militants in coordination with the Air Force over the past 24 hours. According to the statement, the Israel Defense Forces operating in the central sector killed a militant carrying explosive materials and targeted a rocket-launching site. The statement also noted that the Israeli Air Force had struck around 30 sites in the strip over the past 24 hours, including military sites, weapon storage facilities, and rocket-launching sites, in coordination with the Southern Command. Israel has been waging a large-scale offensive against Hamas in Gaza to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 others were taken hostage. The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks has risen to 40,265, the Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Thursday. Chinese embassy holds ceremony to celebrate 53rd anniversary of China-Iran ties Xinhua) 08:26, August 23, 2024 TEHRAN, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Embassy in Tehran celebrated the 53rd anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Iran with a ceremony on Thursday. Chinese Ambassador to Tehran Cong Peiwu, Alaeddin Boroujerdi -- chairman of the Iran-China Friendship Association and a senior Iranian lawmaker -- and other association members attended the event. Diplomatic relations between China and Iran were formally established on Aug. 16, 1971. In his address, Cong noted that the friendship between China and Iran has strengthened over the years, highlighting a relationship that dates back more than 2,000 years. He stated that since the establishment of diplomatic ties, bilateral relations have made significant progress and sustained strong development momentum. Cong also mentioned that mutual political trust has deepened, practical cooperation has yielded new results, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges have increased. He expressed satisfaction with the expansion of bilateral relations, pointing out that China has been Iran's largest trade partner for several years. Boroujerdi commended the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two nations and emphasized that Iran's new administration would be committed to enhancing bilateral ties. He also expressed hope that Iran's role in the Belt and Road Initiative would be clearly defined and anticipated significant practical steps forward. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) JAKARTA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia is tightening security on its resort island of Bali in preparation for the second Indonesia-Africa Forum (IAF) slated for early next month, local police said. Bali police's operational bureau chief Soelistijono informed the local media on Friday that the security personnel have been coordinating their efforts since Monday for the upcoming second IAF and the High-Level Forum on Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships. The two international events are scheduled to take place concurrently on the island from Sept. 1 to 3. According to Soelistijono, the national police has deployed more than 4,000 personnel and will collaborate with other security institutions, such as the Indonesian military and the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT). The second IAF will gather 28 heads of state and 800 representatives of governments, international and regional organizations, and businesses from Indonesia and Africa. KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's economy is anticipated to continue expanding in the upcoming months, with the leading index registering a 3.5-percent positive growth in June, official data showed Friday. The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that the Bursa Malaysia Industrial Index demonstrated robust growth with 42.2 percent, positioning it as the primary contributor to the increase. However, the monthly performance of the leading index decreased marginally by 0.7 percent due to declines in five out of the seven components except for the Bursa Malaysia Industrial Index (0.4 percent) and real money supply, M1 (0.2 percent). "Looking at the smoothed long-term trend in June 2024, the leading index remained above 100 points. This positive trajectory reflects Malaysia's sustainable and resilient economic growth. As Malaysia is a consumer driven economy, an implementation of salary revision initiative is poised to boost domestic spending," the DOSM said. Regarding the current economic performance, the coincident index maintained its positive growth since September 2021 with a growth of 2.6 percent. The real contributions, the Employees Provident Fund (8.5 percent increase) was the main driver of this increase. This was followed by a 6.4-percent rise in the volume index of retail trade. Correspondingly, the monthly performance of the coincident index showed a similar pattern, increasing 0.2 percent contributed by all components except for capacity utilization in manufacturing (-0.3 percent). Skodas new generation Superb has finally arrived in Irish showrooms. The highly anticipated Hatch and Combi estate are available to test drive with a familiar engine line up including a 1.5 TSI mild-hybrid and a HVO compatible 2.0 TDI diesel. Both engine options are paired to 7-speed DSG automatic transmissions. The addition of a plug-in hybrid Superb, with a WLTP battery range of 124 kilometres, is certain to attract fleet and retail customers to a segment Skoda has dominated for the last seven years. There has been a 22.3% increase in Irish sales for plug-in-hybrid vehicles year-on-year, with this trend likely to continue. At the heart of the Superb PHEV is a 25.7 kWh battery that benefits from DC fast-charging speeds of up to 50 kW, enabling 10 to 80% state of charge to be achieved in just 26 minutes. An 85 kW electric motor works in tandem with a 1.5 TSI petrol engine and 6-speed DSG transmission to provide a combined system output of 150 kW (202 bhp) with maximum torque of 350 Nm. Acceleration from 0-100 km/h is completed in just 8.1 seconds. Without the assistance of the petrol engine, the new Superb PHEV can travel up to 124 kilometres on pure electric drive (according to the WLTP cycle). Annual road tax is just 120 per annum. The Superb PHEV is available to order now in Combi estate guise with the Hatch version arriving in Spring 2025. Ray Leddy, Head of Marketing and Product at Skoda Ireland, says: The Superb has been the standard-bearer of Skodas range for more than 20 years. Many competitors have abandoned the large saloon and estate segment, leaving retail and fleet customers with only premium brand options. We are confident the new Superb can compete toe to toe with the best premium German cars on quality and refinement while surpassing them in terms of spaciousness and value. We are particularly excited with the introduction of the new Superb PHEV with a 124 km WLTP fully electric range. The Superb Combi PHEV can provide a fully electric daily commute for the vast majority of Irish drivers, without any range anxiety for those who arent ready to make the change to a fully electric vehicle." There are three Superb Combi PHEV versions to choose from, with finance offers from 0% HP or 1.9% PCP. The entry-level 'Selection' (from 54,385) features keyless entry with an alarm and an electrically operated boot door. The 'Selection Plus' model (from 56,885) adds interior ambient lighting as well as ventilated leather seats with massage function. A luxurious and heavily specified 'Laurin & Klement' model (from 63,545) is also available. Early ordering is advised to secure a Superb PHEV for early 2025. There are fears that a significant farmed salmon escape could have a devastating impact on wild salmon stocks in Mayo waterways. There was a substantial release of farmed salmon earlier this month from a cage in Killary Harbour on the Galway/Mayo border. Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) said it believed the escaped farmed salmon pose a significant risk to wild Atlantic salmon populations as wild salmon in the nearby Erriff and Bundorragha rivers are currently returning to their river of origin to spawn. A very significant number of farmed salmon are now in the marine environment and could travel up these rivers. The wild salmon of each river are unique genetically. IFI is concerned that interbreeding with farmed salmon could compromise the genetic integrity of the local salmon population, which could impact their resilience in the long term, it added. An estimated 10,000 to 30,000 farmed salmon escaped from the facility operated by Mannin Bay Salmon Company on August 11th. The company confirmed that divers discovered a tear on one of their nets on a routine dive. By last Wednesday, 10 escapees had been caught on the Erriff River, four on the Kylemore and two on the Delphi. IFI said it continues to monitor for any escaped fish at local rivers, as well as at its research trapping facilities in the National Salmonid Index Catchment at River Erriff in Mayo. The nearby Erriff and Delphi (Bundorragha) wild salmon and sea trout stocks, in particular, have been negatively impacted over a long period by sea lice associated with salmon farming. If local anglers catch farmed salmon, a blue salmon gill tag must be placed in the fish and this can be replaced by IFI when surrendered to staff, stated IFI Galway Bay Against Salon Cages (GBASC). It warned the escape could have a devastating impact on the Erriff and Delphi rivers flowing into Killary Harbour and other nearby rivers, such as Kylemore River, Clifden River, Culfin River and Ballynahinch River, if these escapees are not recaptured. GBASC said some of the farmed salmon have entered local rivers and that a number have been caught by tourists fishing for mackerel. The organisation voiced concern that no public statement was issued by the Department of Agriculture or IFI until this week, and labelled the incident an environmental disaster. When on the water op'd the lily buds, And fine long purples shadow'd in the lake, When purple bugles peeped in the woods 'Neath darkest shades that boughs and leaves could make. - John Clare (1793-1864) In the heart of Castlebar, where the Atlantic's breeze stirs the lake waters under the watchful gaze of Croagh Patrick, there lies a place of unexpected beauty. Lough Lannagh, nestled between the gentle hills of the town's outskirts, is not merely a lake; it's a canvas upon which nature paints her most exquisite summer dreams. As locals stroll along its shores on these late summer days, the air is thick with the perfume of wildflowers and the hum of honeybees. As the day wanes, Lough Lannagh transforms into a liquid mirror, its surface a canvas for our capricious Mayo sky. The light here is mercurial, reflecting across the water in a myriad of shimmering fragments, each ripple splitting the sun's rays into a dazzling dance. But the distant silhouette of Croagh Patrick serenely commands the eye, its distinctive cone rising above the western horizon like a sentinel of the ancient world. As the sun dips lower, it gilds the peak in a fleeting corona of pink and gold, a weather-dependent ritual that feels both familiar and miraculous. At the height of summer, the lake's pathways are bordered by a riotous profusion of colour and life, starkly contrasting the often-brooding sky above. Here, purple loosestrife and meadowsweet dance together in a riotous and colourful harmony in the scented air. Their delicate yet resilient blooms are a metaphor for Mayo itself a land of wild beauty and fierce determination. Purple loosestrife has proven itself a master of survival, with deep roots that allow it to tolerate fluctuating water levels. Purple loosestrife, or Lythrum salicaria to those who prefer Latin, stands tall and proud along the water's edge. Its vibrant spikes of purple flowers reach skyward like the spires of so many miniature cathedrals. With its regal bearing, this plant seems almost out of place in the wild, rustic landscape of Mayo. Yet here it thrives, a testament to nature's penchant for opportunism. Purple loosestrife has proven itself a master of survival, with deep roots that allow it to tolerate fluctuating water levels. It flourishes in the damp, waterlogged margins of bogs, lakes, and riverbanks, though it shuns the acidic soils of true bogs, preferring the lime-rich environments of fens and marshy places. The plant's success is due in part to its extraordinary reproductive strategy. Each plant bears one of three different types of flowers, each with a unique arrangement of stamens. This clever adaptation ensures cross-pollination, preserving the species' vigour and genetic diversity. In Ireland, however, purple loosestrife remains in check thanks to a cadre of specialised insect predators. Two species of beetle, two of weevil, and one moth species feed almost exclusively on the plant, controlling its spread and maintaining the delicate balance of the ecosystem. This natural control has made purple loosestrife a poster child for successful biological pest management in its adopted homes abroad. The name 'loosestrife' itself is a curiosity, seemingly referring to the plant's reputed ability to reduce stress and conflict. Ancient herbalists prized it for various medicinal properties, including the treatment of dysentery and diarrhoea, particularly in children. Its very name in English speaks to this legacy "loose" from the Old English "los", meaning to unbind, and "strife", referring to its ability to settle quarrels in the body's humours. In a land where the boundary between reality and superstition has always been blurred, it's not hard to imagine why loosestrife found such ready popularity. In the fading light, watching the purple spikes nodding in the breeze, there's a sense of mysterious power, of secrets whispered on the summer breeze. But loosestrife does not reign alone over the shores of Lough Lannagh. Sharing its domain and perhaps tempering its still expansive imperial ambitions is the altogether more humble meadowsweet. Filipendula ulmaria, to give it its grandiose name, is also a native child of Ireland, as much a part of the landscape as the rolling hills and our rain-washed skies. Meadowsweet's frothy white flowers billow like fuzzy clouds along the lakeshore; their sweet almond scent heavy on the warm air. On such a day, the scent is almost intoxicating. This plant is deeply woven into the fabric of Irish culture and history. Known in Irish as airgead luachra, or 'silver rush', it was one of the three most sacred herbs to the ancient Druids, along with watermint and vervain. The plant's importance in Irish tradition cannot be overstated. It was sprinkled on floors to freshen the fetid air of rustic dwellings and repel insects, used to flavour mead (earning it the alternative name 'meadwort'), and employed medicinally to treat a host of ailments. Its pain-relieving properties were so renowned that it became one of the sources from which aspirin was eventually derived. But meadowsweet holds a special place in Irish mythology beyond its practical uses and it is said to be one of the flowers that formed the bed of Nuada, the first king of the Tuatha De Danann. On a warm afternoon, the scent is soothing and with the flowers swaying gently, it's tempting to imagine Nuada himself resting by the shores of Lough Lannagh, cushioned on a bed of fragrant meadowsweet. Yet, for all their differences, loosestrife and meadowsweet share a common purpose in the ecosystem of Lough Lannagh. Both provide vital nectar for bees and other pollinators, their flowers humming with life on warm summer days. In a world where insect populations are in alarming decline, these wild meadows are more than just a feast for human eyes they are vital sanctuaries for the tiny creatures upon which our survival ultimately depends. The abundance of wildflowers around Lough Lannagh is not merely a quirk of nature but a testament to Ireland's changing attitudes towards land management. Many local authorities, including Mayo County Council, have adopted a policy of reduced mowing, allowing wildflowers to flourish in public spaces. Once derided as lazy or unkempt, this approach is now recognised as a critical strategy in supporting pollinator populations and enhancing urban biodiversity. As I meander on the shores of Lough Lannagh, surrounded by this riot of purple and white, I reflect on how our perception of beauty in the urbanised landscape has evolved. The manicured lawns and rigidly ordered flowerbeds that were once the height of horticultural fashion now seem sterile and lifeless compared to the wild abundance that provides a feast for the senses. As the summer sun begins to dip towards the horizon, casting a golden glow over the lake and its floral guardians, I am struck by the timeless quality of this scene. Despite the encroachment of the modern world the distant hum of traffic from Castlebar, the occasional ping of a smartphone, the quiet conversations of visitors there is a sense of continuity, of connection to something ancient and enduring. As walkers turn away from the lake, heading back towards Castlebar's bustle, they carry a piece of this serenity with them. In a world that often seems chaotic and uncertain, these wildflowers' simple, seasonal beauty offers a remedy to the stresses of daily living. The wildflowers of Lough Lannagh are a brief delight, marking the height of summer's abundance before the still and chill mists of autumn. When the last visitor leaves, the flowers continue their silent vigil by the lakeshore, waiting to enchant tomorrow's passers-by with their ephemeral beauty. In the gathering dusk, one can almost hear the whisper of ancient druidic voices on the breeze, reminding us that even on the outskirts of Castlebar, the line between the mundane and the magical is always delightfully, deliciously thin. Chinese instructor Jiang Liping (R) and apprentice Horace Owiti walk past a train carriage on the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway in Nairobi, Kenya, May 23, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Guansen) BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- As leaders from China and African nations are scheduled to gather in Beijing for a summit in early September, expectations are high that the event will chart the course for enhancing bilateral cooperation and advancing Africa's independent and sustainable development. Through joint efforts under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) as well as the Belt and Road Initiative, continuous and solid progress has been made in cooperation in such fields as industry, agriculture and health, epitomizing the unique resilience and dynamism of China-Africa relations. Such cooperation has helped improve the well-being of the people and promote the industrialization of the continent that is home to the world's largest number of developing countries. Recent data highlight the vigorous momentum of China-Africa relations. China has been Africa's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years, with bilateral trade reaching a record 282.1 billion U.S. dollars last year. African exports of agricultural products to China have increased for seven straight years. In the first half of this year alone, China imported goods worth 60.1 billion dollars from Africa, up 14 percent year on year. China is one of the major sources of foreign investment in Africa. By the end of 2023, China's stock of direct investment in Africa had exceeded 40 billion U.S. dollars. Chinese companies have created 1.1 million jobs in Africa over the past three years, according to the Ministry of Commerce. China has also promoted the development and transformation of Africa's industrial chains through capacity cooperation, technology transfer and talent cultivation. China has trained more than 220,000 personnel of various types for African countries, taking into account their actual needs. This also enhances African countries' capacity for independent development. Furthermore, China-Africa agricultural cooperation has flourished, producing fruitful results in terms of technical assistance and training of agricultural experts, transfer of advanced agricultural technologies, and the building of agricultural parks, thereby helping modernize agriculture in Africa. Local farmers harvest rice at a high-yield hybrid rice demonstration field in Mahitsy, Madagascar, on May 8, 2024. To help more African countries reduce food shortages, the China National Hybrid Rice Research and Development Center inaugurated its Africa sub-center in Madagascar in May 2019. The average yield of hybrid rice produced in Madagascar with Chinese technologies is two to three times more than that of local ones. (Photo by Sitraka Rajaonarison/Xinhua) Chinese hybrid rice technology, for example, has assisted countries such as Madagascar and Liberia in increasing their rice output. China's Juncao, also known as "magic grass," has been successfully planted and promoted in countries including the Central African Republic, Rwanda and South Africa, increasing the income of local people and contributing to their green development. China advocates for win-win cooperation, striving to integrate its own development with that of Africa and align the interests of the Chinese and African peoples. Relying on its strengths in industry, investment and infrastructure construction as the world's second-largest economy, China has cooperated with a number of African countries to build railways, ports, roads, industrial zones and energy projects, driving the industrialization of the continent. Developing solidarity and cooperation with African countries has been the cornerstone of China's foreign policy. The phrase "a friend in need is a friend indeed" aptly describes China-Africa cooperation, as it is a partnership founded on mutual respect and support, targeting shared development and win-win outcomes and creating tangible benefits for people in China and Africa. With its solid foundation of unbreakable friendship, China-Africa cooperation will surely reach new heights in the course of building a high-level community with a shared future. Through such cooperation, African countries will secure even greater progress in their independent and sustainable development. WARREN CO., N.J. - The New Jersey Attorney Generals Office has identified the motorcycle driver who died, the driver who allegedly struck his motorcycle, and the New Jersey State Police (NJSP) Trooper involved in a police pursuit and fatal crash on August 13 in Hope Township. Michael Ceddia Jr., 76, of Hackettstown, was killed when his motorcycle was struck by an SUV which was being followed by NJSP, the AG's office said. NJSP Trooper Christopher Bird began following an SUV on Route 80 eastbound in the area of milepost 11 at approximately 10:19 a.m., the investigation shows. The SUV driver, 33-year-old Sean Mamakas of Kempton, Pennsylvania, continued driving eastbound and left the interstate at Exit 12, exiting onto County Road 521 southbound, in Hope Township, the AG's office said. Mamakas SUV then passed another motor vehicle on the left in the area of Dogwood Road before merging back into the southbound lane, and hitting Ceddias motorcycle, which was traveling south on County Road 521 at approximately 10:20 a.m., authorities said. The impact caused Ceddia to be thrown from his bike. After the crash, Mr. Mamakas SUV went off the road to the right and stopped in a wooded area, officials said. Medical aid was administered to Ceddia, who ultimately died from his injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. Mamakas was transported for a medical evaluation to Hackettstown Medical Center and later released into police custody. The Warren County Prosecutors Office has charged MMamakas with two counts of aggravated manslaughter, death by auto, and aggravated assault. New Jersey law requires the Attorney Generals Office to conduct investigations of a persons death that occurs during an encounter with a law enforcement officer acting in the officers official capacity or while the decedent is in custody. It requires that all such investigations be presented to a grand jury to determine if the evidence supports the return of an indictment against the officer or officers involved, officials said. The investigation is ongoing and no further information is being released at this time. Previous Coverage BAGHDAD, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- A Turkish drone strike on Friday killed a senior official of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and two others in Sulaymaniyah province in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, the region's Counter-Terrorism Service said in a statement. The incident occurred at 11:00 a.m. local time (0800 GMT) when a Turkish drone attacked a vehicle on a road near the town of Said Sadiq, southeast of the namesake provincial capital Sulaymaniyah, the statement said. The airstrike resulted in the killing of the senior PKK official, as well as his driver and companion, and destroyed the vehicle, according to the statement. Turkish forces frequently carry out cross-border operations targeting PKK militants in northern Iraq, especially in the Qandil Mountains, the main base of the group. The PKK, designated as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States, and the European Union, has rebelled against the Turkish government for more than three decades. KATHMANDU, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Twenty people were killed and 16 others injured after an Indian passenger bus with 43 aboard skidded off the road in central Nepal on Friday, a Nepali official said. Twelve of the injured have been airlifted to the capital Kathmandu for treatment and four others shall be sent as well in a while, said Janardan Gautam, chief district officer of Tanahun district where the accident happened. The remaining seven have also been found, but their conditions are yet to be confirmed, he told Xinhua. "All the 43 passengers have been retrieved, among them 20 have been killed," he said. The bus fell into the bank of the Marsyangdi river at Tanahun's Aanbookhaireni as a huge stone stopped it from falling further, said Deepak Kumar Raya, spokesperson for the district police. He told Xinhua that the accident occurred when the bus was heading to Kathmandu from Pokhara, a popular tourist attraction in Nepal. Driving becomes more difficult and dangerous in mountainous Nepal during the monsoon season. This photo taken on June 19, 2024 shows a view of the Cape Coast Castle, a former slave holding facility, in Cape Coast, Ghana. "Slave Coast" refers to a historic region along the West African coast. The name is derived from the trans-Atlantic slave trade on the continent. August 23 marks the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. (Xinhua/Li Yahui) This photo taken on June 19, 2024 shows a view of the Cape Coast Castle, a former slave holding facility, in Cape Coast, Ghana. "Slave Coast" refers to a historic region along the West African coast. The name is derived from the trans-Atlantic slave trade on the continent. August 23 marks the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. (Xinhua/Li Yahui) This photo taken on June 19, 2024 shows wreaths in the dungeon of Cape Coast Castle, a former slave holding facility, in Cape Coast, Ghana. "Slave Coast" refers to a historic region along the West African coast. The name is derived from the trans-Atlantic slave trade on the continent. August 23 marks the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. (Xinhua/Li Yahui) This photo taken on June 19, 2024 shows exhibits of slave trade displayed at the Elmina Castle, a former post for the slave trade by the Europeans in Cape Coast, Ghana. "Slave Coast" refers to a historic region along the West African coast. The name is derived from the trans-Atlantic slave trade on the continent. August 23 marks the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. (Xinhua/Li Yahui) This photo taken on June 19, 2024 shows the Elmina Castle, a former post for the slave trade by the Europeans in Cape Coast, Ghana. "Slave Coast" refers to a historic region along the West African coast. The name is derived from the trans-Atlantic slave trade on the continent. August 23 marks the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. (Xinhua/Li Yahui) An aerial drone photo taken on June 19, 2024 shows the Elmina Castle and its surrounding views in Cape Coast, Ghana. "Slave Coast" refers to a historic region along the West African coast. The name is derived from the trans-Atlantic slave trade on the continent. August 23 marks the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. (Photo by Seth/Xinhua) People visit the Door of No Return in Ouidah, Benin on May 27, 2024. "Slave Coast" refers to a historic region along the West African coast. The name is derived from the trans-Atlantic slave trade on the continent. August 23 marks the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. (Xinhua/Li Yahui) This photo taken on May 27, 2024 shows the "Tree of Return" in Ouidah, Benin. "Slave Coast" refers to a historic region along the West African coast. The name is derived from the trans-Atlantic slave trade on the continent. August 23 marks the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. (Xinhua/Li Yahui) A woman walks through Place Chacha in Ouidah, Benin on May 27, 2024. The spherical decorations on the ground represent the slaves who were sold here. "Slave Coast" refers to a historic region along the West African coast. The name is derived from the trans-Atlantic slave trade on the continent. August 23 marks the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. (Xinhua/Li Yahui) This photo taken on May 27, 2024 shows statues representing the fight against slavery and oppression in Ouidah, Benin. "Slave Coast" refers to a historic region along the West African coast. The name is derived from the trans-Atlantic slave trade on the continent. August 23 marks the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. (Xinhua/Li Yahui) GENEVA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- United Nations (UN) Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has urged the United Kingdom (UK) to implement comprehensive measures to curb racist hate speech and xenophobic rhetoric, including from political and public figures. After a session reviewing the country's implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the UN committee released its findings on Friday, expressing its concern about the persistence of hate crimes, hate speech, and xenophobic incidents on various platforms and by politicians and public figures in the UK. Referring to the violent acts committed in late July and early August in the country, CERD stated it was "particularly concerned" about the recurring racist acts and violence against ethnic and ethno-religious minorities, migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers by extremist far-right and white supremacist individuals and groups. The committee emphasized the need for thorough investigations, and strict penalties for racist hate crimes, and effective remedies for the victims and their families. CERD also stressed the disproportionate impact of police stop-and-search practices, including strip searches, on ethnic minorities, with a particular emphasis on children. The committee further highlighted issues related to the excessive and deadly use of force by law enforcement, noting the lack of accountability and insufficient support for victims' families. It pointed out that these problems "disproportionately affect people of African descent and other ethnic minorities." The committee called on the UK to establish an independent complaint mechanism to address allegations of racial profiling, stop-and-search procedures, strip searches, and the excessive use of force by law enforcement. It emphasized the importance of prosecuting and penalizing those responsible and underscored the necessity for victims and their families to have access to effective remedies. CERD is the body of independent experts that monitors the implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination by its state parties. SUVA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Head teachers in Fiji have been urged to step up efforts to effectively address cyberbullying incidents. The guidance aims to ensure such matters are managed appropriately and comprehensively within educational institutions, said Josua Naisele, chief executive of Education Ministry Substance Abuse Advisory Council, on Friday during the 41st Fiji Head Teachers Association Annual Conference. He said victims of cyberbullying will be provided with counseling services facilitated by their schools according to the guidelines, reported Fiji Broadcasting Corporation. Parents have the option to report incidents to the police if necessary, Naisele said, adding that in such cases, the authorities will investigate and take further action as required. He said the Online Safety Commission is available to assist in the removal of harmful posts from social media platforms, ensuring the digital environment remains safe for students. Schools will be responsible for monitoring the situation and ensuring compliance with corrective measures, Naisele said. Over 30 foreign envoys, diplomats, and representatives from 23 countries and international organizations visited Hebei Province, northern China, to explore the region's booming new EV industry. ISLAMABAD, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) conducted four operations in different areas of the country, recovering over 234 kg of drugs and arresting five smugglers, the ANF said on Friday. During the operations, the ANF recovered drugs including opium, hashish, heroin and others, the ANF said in a statement. In two separate operations in the federal capital Islamabad, the ANF seized over 230 kg of narcotics, including opium and hashish, the ANF statement said, adding that the drugs were recovered when the ANF personnel intercepted two vehicles on a motorway. Two smugglers were also arrested during the operations in Islamabad, said the ANF. In the country's southern port city of Karachi of Sindh province, 400 grams of methamphetamine and 200 grams of hashish were seized from two accused nabbed in two separate operations, said the statement. Separately, over 1.5 kg of heroin was recovered from a woman arrested from Faisalabad district of eastern Punjab province, the ANF said. The ANF said that separate cases have been registered against the accused while further investigations are under process. MOSCOW, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Seventeen people were rescued after Ukraine attacked a ferry docked at Russia's Black Sea port of Kavkaz on Thursday, local authorities said. "The naval detachment of the Russian Guard took part in the rescue operation after the Ukrainian Armed Forces struck the ferry in the port of Kavkaz," the Southern District of the Russian National Guard said in a statement released via its official Telegram channel. The attack targeted a rail ferry carrying 30 fuel tanks. The Kavkaz port is located in the Krasnodar region on the eastern side of Kerch Strait. Governor of Krasnodar region Veniamin Kondratyev confirmed that the ferry had sunk due to the damage sustained in the attack, though no fires were reported within the port itself. To prevent the spread of fuel, containment booms were deployed, and the water's surface was treated with absorbent material. BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) on Sept. 5 in Beijing and deliver a keynote speech, foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced on Friday. During the summit, Xi will host a welcome banquet and bilateral events for the leaders of FOCAC's African members and representatives of relevant African regional organizations and international organizations invited to the summit, Hua said. Themed "Joining Hands to Advance Modernization and Build a High-Level China-Africa Community with a Shared Future," the 2024 Summit of the FOCAC will be held from Sept. 4 to 6. "Following the 2006 FOCAC Beijing Summit, the 2015 FOCAC Johannesburg Summit and the 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit, the upcoming summit is another happy reunion of the friendly family of China and Africa. It is also the largest diplomatic event hosted by China in recent years and attended by the most foreign leaders," Vice Foreign Minister Chen Xiaodong told a news briefing on Friday. Many African leaders, along with chairman of the African Union Commission, will lead delegations to the summit, Chen added, noting that the UN secretary-general will be a special guest, and relevant international and regional organizations will also participate as observers. According to Chen, this year's summit will feature a welcome banquet, an opening ceremony, and four high-level meetings on state governance, industrialization and agricultural modernization, peace and security, as well as high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. The summit agenda also includes the eighth China-Africa entrepreneurs' conference and other related activities. In his keynote speech, President Xi will elaborate on new ideas and proposals for building a high-level community with a shared future between China and Africa and announce new actions and measures for practical cooperation with Africa, Chen said. He added that the summit will also adopt two outcome documents, including a declaration and an action plan, to build major consensus between the two sides and chart a path for implementing high-quality China-Africa cooperation in the next three years. Chen noted that since the establishment of FOCAC 24 years ago, especially in the new era, FOCAC has always adhered to the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. FOCAC has witnessed remarkable achievements, and become a salient hallmark of China-Africa cooperation and a fine example for boosting international cooperation with Africa and deepening Global South cooperation, he added. Chen noted that this year's summit will forge a broad consensus between the two sides to tackle challenges and create a platform for sharing development opportunities. According to him, China will take this summit as an important opportunity to join hands with Africa on a new journey of modernization, elevate the China-Africa community with a shared future, and write a new chapter for the friendship between Chinese and African people, while generating strong momentum for advancing global modernization. (Source: Xinhua) Editors: Lei Yang and Ye Shan BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- The finance department of the Ministry of Commerce on Friday convened a meeting to hear opinions and suggestions from industry and academic experts on increasing tariffs on the import of fuel-powered cars with large-displacement engines. Representatives from relevant industry organizations, research institutions and automotive companies attended the meeting. Leading light in animal welfare shares insight with students and zookeepers A leading light in animal therapy held a workshop for students and zookeepers at a popular wildlife park. Matthew Shackleton, a Chester-based veterinary physio, zoo consultant and animal care practitioner at Coleg Cambria Northop, discussed and demonstrated lameness and enrichment devices at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Branton, near Doncaster. Joined by Cambrias Animal Care Coordinator Richard Morrilly, they conducted a morning of theory on physiology and how to spot locomotive illnesses which restrict quality of life and movement and solutions on how to prevent them. Also in attendance were learners from Lincoln Colleges Animal Management programmes. It was a really good day, we covered a lot and were able to come up with bespoke, practical solutions for the animals while there on-site, said Matthew, who owns Shackleton Veterinary Physiotherapy in Upton. After discussing locomotive illnesses and diseases focused on four species, including lionesses and giraffes we began designing enrichment devices that would encourage certain movements or exercises as animals can face a series of issues, notably arthritis. Evidence suggests if practices are detrimental to the animal, it can accelerate deterioration, so encouraging other behaviours can keep that at bay. He added: Cambria was a great support in providing tools and resources for us to do this, and all in all it was a very useful and informative day, hopefully the first of many at zoos and wildlife parks nationwide. Matthew is one of the UKs leading animal physios having worked with zoos in Chester, London, Paignton and more over the last decade. Richard said having him work with Cambria is a USP for its suite of Animal Management and Animal Care courses, and in turn for wildlife settings across the country. Matthew is one of just a small group of people in the UK doing this, so its a privilege for us to have him on board, he said. Being a part of the day and helping to create devices in the animals own environments was fantastic and will play a big role in enriching their day to day lives. Weve had great feedback already and hope to visit other zoos and wildlife parks in the near future, for the educational value it brings and importantly because it has such a positive effect on the health, happiness and wellbeing of the animals. NHS waiting lists in Wales continue to worsen NHS waiting lists across Wales continue to worsen with more than 615,000 patients now waiting to start treatment. New figures released by the Welsh government on Thursday (23 August) also show another record high for open patient pathways. In June the number increased from just over 787,900 to just over 791,500 the highest figure on record. The number of patient pathways is not the same as the number of individual patients, because some people have multiple open pathways. However a record high of 615,300 individual patients are waiting to start treatment. The length of time many patients are waiting to start treatment also rose in June. As part of the Welsh Governments own Planned Care Recovery Plan two year waits in most specialities should have been eliminated by March 2023. However this target has never been met. Just over 23,400 pathways were waiting more than two years. Whilst this is two thirds (66.7%) lower than the peak this is the third increase from the previous month after falling for twenty-four consecutive months. Meanwhile the number of pathways waiting longer than 36 weeks increased in June, to just under 271,900, the highest figure on record. Calls to the ambulance service Just under 35,800 emergency calls were made to the ambulance service in July. Of these 14.5 per cent were classed as category red / immediately life-threatening. An average of 167 red calls were made per day in July. In terms of response times, just 48.2 per cent of red calls were attended within eight minutes. This is below the Welsh Government target of 65 per cent of immediately threatening calls receiving a response. At a Local Health Board level, the highest proportion of red calls responded to within eight minutes was seen in Cardiff and Vale (56.0%), and the lowest in Cwm Taf Morgannwg (40.4%). In north Wales around 45 per cent of immediately life-threatening calls received a response within the target time. According to the Welsh government the number of red calls responded to within eight minutes has fallen from a peak of 80 per cent in 2017. This fall has been put down to a rise in life-threatening calls, changes in how calls are handled and delayed handover times. Emergency departments Across Wales there was an average of 3,128 daily attendances to emergency departments last month. Just under 15,200 patients were admitted to the same or a different hospital following attendance at major emergency departments. This was 5.1 per cent higher than the previous month but 1.5 per cent lower than the same month in 2023. The Welsh government has a target of 95 per cent of patients at an emergency department being seen within four hours. However in July just 69.3 per cent off patients in all NHS emergency departments spent less than four hours in the department from arrival until admission, transfer or discharge. In Wrexham 52.5 per cent of patients spent less than four hours in the Maelors emergency department. 71.1 per cent of attendees spent less than eight hours in the department and 80.8 per cent less than 12 hours. Ysbyty Glan Clwyd was the worst performing emergency department against the four hour target, with just 41.9 per cent of attendees seen within four hours. Cancer At least 75 per cent of patients should start treatment within 62 days (without suspensions) of first being suspected of cancer. In June just 1,786 people started their first definitive treatment in June this was 14 fewer than the previous month. 56.7 per cent of pathways started their first definitive treatment within 62 days of first being suspected of cancer. This was 1.3 percentage points higher than the previous month, and 1.9 percentage points higher than June 2023. However this is still far below the Welsh governments own target. 14,600 pathways were closed following the patient being informed they did not have cancer. This is an increase of 2.4% compared to the previous month. Kate Seymour, Head of Advocacy at Macmillan Cancer Support, said it was unacceptable that patients were waiting for treatment. New figures from NHS Wales show despite the best efforts of hardworking healthcare professionals too many people are waiting too long for the diagnosis and treatment that they need. This is unacceptable, said Kate Seymour. As former health secretary, our new First Minister, Eluned Morgan, is no stranger to the challenges facing cancer care in Wales. We sincerely hope she will now work closely with the new Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Mark Drakeford, to deliver on the commitments the Welsh Government made over two years ago to transform cancer care. Chief among these are improvements to cancer services and a clear focus to tackle long cancer waiting times ensuring everyone affected by cancer, no matter who they are or where they live, will be able to access support that meets their needs. Opposition response Todays figures are the first to be released under Eluned Morgans tenure as first minister. However the worsening waiting times had been overseen by Ms Morgan during her time as health secretary, Plaid Cymru have called for a radical rethink in approach to dealing with the problems facing the NHS. The partys spokesperson on Health and Social Care, Mabon ap Gwynfor MS, said: There is a disappointing inevitability of failing to get to grips with NHS waiting times month after month, and this set of results published today is no different, with waiting times at their highest ever. While Labour in Wales has been too focused on internal fighting, the new First Minister has left a legacy of at least 615,300 individual patients on treatment waiting lists. She promised to eliminate waiting lists but failed. A damning record for the new First Minister of Wales. A radical rethink in approach is needed. Plaid Cymru has been consistent in our calls we need a clear strategy from Welsh Government that starts with admitting there is a problem in the first place. Sam Rowlands MS, Welsh Conservative Shadow Health Minister said: These woeful statistics show the NHS is in crisis as waits have increased to new records for five months in a row. The Labour Welsh Government have failed yet again to bear down on these excessive lists, which begs the question: Since Eluned Morgan was Labours health minister, how can she be trusted to turn this situation around as First Minister? The Welsh Conservatives believe it is past due for Labour to spend every penny they receive for health on the Welsh NHS, as opposed to prioritising the creation of 36 more politicians. Welsh government response Former first minister and newly appointed health secretary Mark Drakeford MS said it was disappointing that the number of people waiting more than two years for treatment has increased. Mr Drakeford said: High-quality, life-saving and life-changing care is provided every day by hard-working NHS staff all over Wales in the face of continued and unrelenting demand on services. I am pleased to see the number of people who received the good news they do not have cancer increased in June, and performance against the 62-day target improved to 56.7%. However, there is still more health boards need to do to meet the national cancer target. In emergency care, demand remains very high. The number of immediately life-threatening (red) 999 calls to the ambulance service made each day was the fourth highest on record in July, and attendances at emergency departments continue to be above the long-term average. Performance against the four-hour A&E target improved, and the average time people spent in emergency departments before being discharged, admitted to hospital or transferred also fell in July. However, it is disappointing that the number of people waiting more than two years for treatment has increased and theres been further growth in the overall waiting list just as there has been in other parts of the UK. We have been very clear with health boards that we expect to see a focus on reducing long waiting times. We will continue to support the NHS to improve the timeliness of planned and emergency care. Police warn of strict drug crackdown at Creamfields 2024 Creamfields 2024, the UKs largest dance music festival, returns to Daresbury in Cheshire this Bank Holiday Weekend, with an estimated 80,000 fans set to attend. Cheshire Constabulary has said that policing the festival which runs until Monday 26 August, is a considerable undertaking for the force. Pre-event searches by specialist officers have already uncovered substantial amounts of nitrous oxide and Class A and B drugs. During the festival, officers will be supporting Creamfields event and security staff and providing a visible presence to prevent incidents of crime and disorder from occurring. A police spokesperson said. Superintendent Sarah Heath warned that anyone found with illegal substances will face serious consequences: If you are caught trying to smuggle drugs into the festival, you will be prosecutedand the impact of that is long-lasting. Supt Sarah Heath, who is overseeing the policing operation for the event, said: As with previous years, a great deal of time and effort has gone into planning for this event to ensure that we are as prepared as possible for what is the biggest event that we help to police in Cheshire. Our main aim is to ensure the safety of festival goers and support the local community. I know that most people who will attend will enjoy the event responsibly. The event organisers have a range of security measures in place such as searches before being granted entry and drug dogs are in attendance. Amnesty bins are also in place at entrance points of the site for prohibited items and anyone who does not use these bins but is found to be in possession of drugs or weapons will be dealt with. We would also like to remind anyone attending that nitrous oxide is now a class C drug, making possession and sale for recreational purposes a criminal offence. If you are caught trying to smuggle any drugs into the festival, you will be prosecuted and the impact of that is long lasting. As demonstrated by the substantial quantity of drugs we have already found by carrying out searches of the site, we are committed to staying one step ahead of those who choose to commit these types of offences. Our disruption work is not just focused on the event itself, but continues both before and after the festival, so there really is nowhere to hide. We will also not accept any criminal behaviour which poses a risk to event attendees, staff, or the wider community during or after the event. We will be working hard, alongside Creamfields, to make sure everyone can enjoy the festival safely and respectfully. Traffic management is another key focus, National Highways is advising drivers traffic is likely to be busy around the M56 and M6, Anyone thinking of driving to the annual bank holiday festival is advised to plan their journey and leave plenty of time to get to the festival site on Daresbury Estate near Runcorn, just off junction 11 of the M56. Drivers are also being urged to follow dedicated signs to the site and not rely on sat nav information which could put vehicles on unsuitable, narrow roads. Extra police and National Highways traffic officers will be deployed around junction 11 of the M56 at Daresbury to deter festival goers from walking on the motorway an issue in previous festivals particularly at the end of the event. Drivers are being reminded that anyone stopping on the motorway hard shoulder or live lanes to drop off or pick up concert-goers risks an on-the-spot fine. Anyone caught walking anywhere along the motorway carriageway also risks being fined. Gary Farrell, National Highways senior network planner (resilience) said: We will be doing all we can to manage traffic around the event and keep drivers on the move festival goers and other drivers can help themselves by planning their journeys and keeping themselves up to date with traffic information. We would like to remind everyone that the motorway is no place for pedestrians it is dangerous and illegal and having pedestrians on the network can cause delays for legitimate motorway users. Drivers wanting to pick people up should use the dedicated collection points off the motorway network which will be clearly signed. Car parks to the site will close at 2pm on bank holiday Monday 26 August. Event-goers travelling from the north, south and east of the venue will be directed to use junction 11 of the M56. Traffic from the west will be directed to use junction 12. National Highways traffic officers at the North West regional operations centre at Newton-le-Willows will use their electronic motorway signs across the local network to guide festival goers to the site and give information on any incidents or congestion. Meanwhile, other road users are being advised that the M56 around junctions 10, 11 and 12 around Runcorn is likely to be busy at key times of the weekend. The M56 interchange with the M6 is also likely to experience higher volumes of traffic. Electronic signs along the M6, M56 and M62 are being used to give advance warning about the event. National Highways is advising motorway users to check the latest travel information before setting out as well as listening for radio traffic alerts and heeding electronic signs once they are on the move. Drivers can get up-to-the-minute traffic information by calling National Highways customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000 or by checking http://www.trafficengland.com Live information on incidents or congestion will also be available from dedicated feeds on X with the M56 and M6 routes covered by @HighwaysNWEST. KUNMING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Six people have been confirmed dead after a crane malfunctioned while carrying a girder for a railway bridge project in southwest China's Yunnan Province, according to the railway company on Friday. The accident occurred at around 7:30 a.m. on Sunday at the construction site of a super-large bridge, that is part of the upcoming Chongqing-Kunming High-Speed Railway, in Xundian County, Kunming, the capital of Yunnan. Following the accident, the construction project's undertaker China Railway 16th Bureau Group Co., Ltd. and the local government immediately launched the contingency plan, and dispatched an emergency rescue team which included local fire, public security, health and railway departments. The cause of the accident is still being investigated. A CN train crossing the Second Narrows bridge over Burrard Inlet in Vancouver, BC CC BY-NC 2.0] [Photo by cmh2315fl Canadas Liberal government, working hand in glove with the Biden administration in Washington, has banned strike action by 9,300 rail workers at Canadian National (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC). After the two railroads locked out the workers at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, the government announced later in the day it would impose binding arbitration, robbing workers of their rights to bargain the terms of their contract and take strike action. Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon ordered the railroads to resume service and invoked Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code, which allows the government to order the unelected Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to dictate the terms of new collective agreements. The CIRB was also authorized to arbitrarily extend the previous agreements until new contracts are finalized. This amounts to a government-sanctioned dictatorship of the rail bosses, who will get everything they want from the CIRB. It is in keeping with the systematic suppression of workers struggles over recent years by the Canadian capitalist state, whose defenders lyingly present it as a gentler, more progressive alternative to the United States. Major interventions by the state have included the banning of the postal workers strike in 2018, the Montreal dockers strike in 2021 and the strike by West Coast dockers last year. In 2022, the Ontario provincial government invoked the anti-democratic notwithstanding clause, which permits governments to violate constitutionally protected rights at will, to outlaw a strike by education support workers. The Trudeau government is also following in the footsteps of the Biden administration, which banned a rail strike in late 2022 to ram managements dictates down the workers throats. The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), the bargaining agent for the rail workers, was instrumental in preventing a strike. It sat on massive strike votes for months. Only when the official lockout announcements were issued by CN and CPKC did the TCRC file a token strike notice at CPKC. The TCRC acted in this way because the bureaucrats were all too aware of the immense social power the rail workers possess to bring the economy to a grinding halt and wanted to prevent them from using it. In banning the strike, Ottawa is defending the profits of the railroads and Canadian big business. Canadas two freight railroads transport 70 percent of intercity ground freight and half of the countrys exports on their networks. In 2023, CN and Canadian Pacific accounted for more than US$25 billion in operating revenue. These profits are made through intolerable levels of exploitation, expressed in frequent tragic accidents and massive levels of overwork. The criminalization of the rail workers struggle was coordinated between Ottawa and Washington, with the Biden administration apparently forcing the issue at the decisive moment. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg posted on X Wednesday that the administration was engaging with Ottawa over the impending lockout, which would have significantly disrupted trade with the US, as well as freight shipments within Canada. In other words, Washington was demanding a resolution. Twenty-four hours later, MacKinnon duly obliged by announcing the Liberal governments strike ban. American imperialism and its Canadian partner wanted a swift end to the struggle first and foremost for economic and geostrategic reasons. CPKC, formed out of a merger last year between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern, operates a transnational system stretching from Canadas Arctic Circle through the United States and to the south of Mexico. Canadian National Railway Companys (CN) network is similarly expansive, reaching American ports on the Gulf Coast. They both play key roles in US-dominated North American supply chains, which Washington is using as a base of operations for conflict with its main rivals, especially China. Ottawa, as it has for decades, serves as Washingtons junior imperialist partner. In calling the strike a threat to national security, Canadian big business acknowledged the fact that it was a threat to this strategy. The strike ban is part of worldwide attack on the democratic rights of the working class. Global society is riven by social inequality and dominated by mounting popular anger towards the discredited political establishment in each country. The attack on democratic rights is also bound up with criminal wars abroad backed by the US and its Canadian ally, including the genocide in Gaza and the proxy war against Russia. A key instrument in this policy is the trade union bureaucracy, which is acting to block or sabotage resistance in the working class. Last month, Biden called the AFL-CIO in America my domestic NATO. Trudeau could say the same about his allies in the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), which is in an alliance with the Liberal government and the social democrats of the New Democratic Party (NDP). While the NDP guarantees the Liberals a majority in parliament, the unions ensure labour peace outside by confining all workers struggles to the suffocating framework of collective bargaining. The strike ban is fresh proof that the working class is not just in a fight against corporate management but also against a political system controlled by the corporate oligarchy. The key question, therefore, is the fight for the independence of the working class from the whole framework of labor control. While government ministers, corporate executives and their union lackeys claim that workers must accept state-dictated contracts to enrich the corporate elite and fund imperialist wars, rail workers and their colleagues throughout the working class must fight for the social rights of all workers to a decent-paying and safe job, and well-funded social programs. Rail workers can turn to a powerful movement among the international working class that is already well underway. Over 17,000 workers are currently on strike at AT&T across the Southeastern US, while opposition is brewing internationally at Stellantis plants to the jobs bloodbath in the auto industry. And the contract for US railroaders once again comes up for renegotiation at the end of the year. Unifying these struggles requires the development of new forms of organizationrank-and-file committees, under the control of workers themselves and opposed to the nationalist, pro-capitalist union bureaucracies. The building of the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC), with strong contingents of rail workers and workers from throughout key industries, will create the conditions for the political mobilization of the working class against corporatism and war and for workers control over production and distribution. Above all, a political party must be constructed capable of providing the revolutionary socialist leadership necessary to prevail in the direct confrontation with the ruling elites program of capitalist austerity and war. That party is the Socialist Equality Parties in Canada and the US, which fight to arm the growing upsurge of the working class around the world with a socialist and internationalist perspective for workers power. It is nearly four months since the fascistic regime of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrested and imprisoned Comrade Bogdan Syrotiuk, the founding leader of the Young Guard of Bolshevik-Leninists (YGBL), on bogus charges of high treason and abetting the Russian government. The YGBL is aligned with the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) and active in the former Soviet Union, including Russia and Ukraine. Twenty-five-year-old Syrotiuk has courageously fought among Ukrainian workers and youth for the anti-war policies of the ICFI. Bogdan has been framed up and imprisoned because he opposes the US-NATO war in Ukraine against Russia and fights for the unification of Russian and Ukrainian workers against the capitalist oligarchs in both countries. Bogdan Syrotiuk, founder and leader of the Young Guard of Bolshevik-Leninists We publish below statements from two Sri Lankan political partiesthe United Socialist Party and Socialist Peoples Forumand Youth for Change, the youth organisation of the Frontline Socialist Party. The Youth for Change statement has been published in Sinhala and English and is on its Facebook page. The position of Youth for Change on the US-NATO war against Russia is theirs. ***** The United Socialist Party Campaign to free Bogdan Syrotiuk of the Ukraine Socialist Organisation Bogdan Syrotiuk is a young leader of the Young Guard of Bolshevik-Leninists, a Trotskyist organisation active in Russia and the former Soviet Union. Ukrainian authorities have charged Bogdan with treason, accusing him of being an agent of the Putin regime. It is very clear that he has been charged because of his principled opposition to the war against Russia by Ukraine, backed by NATO. It is clear that he has been arrested because the ruling Ukraine regime is engaged in suppressing his leftist and anti-war voice and oppressing the anti-war voices of workers and youths. Accordingly, our organisation urges Ukrainian authorities to immediately release Bogdan Syrotiuk and that they respect his democratic right to advocate for his anti-war views. Yours faithfully, Siritunga Jayasuriya, General Secretary of the United Socialist Party *** Socialist Peoples Forum Lets join hands for the freedom of Comrade Bogdan Syrotiuk! The Socialist Peoples Forum in Sri Lanka strongly condemns the arrest and detention of Bogdan Syrotiuk, a leader of the Young Guard of Bolshevik-Leninists which is an active Trotskyist organisation in the former Soviet Union including, in Ukraine and Russia. On April 25, the SBUthe state security service of the Ukrainian governmentarrested Bogdan Syrotiuk on treason charges. It is reported that preparations are underway to impose a death sentence or a lifetime prison term [on Syrotiuk]. He is being held at the Mykolaiv maximum security prison accused of serious charges. Further the Socialist Peoples Forum believes that the reason for his arrest is that Syrotiuk was fighting for a global perspective against Zelenskys and Putins capitalist ruling regimes and the complicity of the US and NATO in the brutal war which is being carried out and is destroying tens of thousands of lives of Ukrainian and Russian people. We consider that the imprisonment of the 25-year-old Comrade Bogdan on bogus accusations is not merely an anti-democratic attack on an individual but an attack on the international working class as a whole. Therefore, the Socialist Peoples Forum of Sri Lanka, while joining the global campaign for the freedom of Syrotiuk, strongly demands that the Ukrainian rulers withdraw all the bogus accusations against him and release him immediately. Free immediately Bogdan Syrotiuk! Dharmasiri Lankapeli Political Committee *** Youth for Change Ukrainian socialist leader Bogdan Syrotiuk imprisoned on false charges must be released immediately! The United States has orchestrated the military intervention of the NATO imperialist coalition along with their puppet Volodymyr Zelensky using the Russian armys invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, as a reason for this aggression. The ongoing war, which has lasted over two years since that day, has claimed the lives of millions, including countless soldiers, and caused immeasurable property damage in both countries. Furthermore, it has enriched a handful of wealthy elites in both the US-NATO camp and the Russian camp to an unimaginable extent. Day by day, both sides are experimenting with increasingly horrific weapons of mass destruction within this devastating wartime scenario. What is truly happening is a clash of the US-NATO military coalition and the Russian army on Ukrainian soil. The escalating war is paving the way for a third world war. The destructive nature of capitalism, which is collapsing on a global scale, exposes the devastation in Ukraine and the Palestinian genocide carried out in the name of saving [us] from annihilation. Crumbling capitalism secures its survival through the coercive apparatus called the state. Therefore, history teaches us that the power of the ruling elite must be overturned through revolutionary uprisings led by the working class on a global scale and that state power must be seized by the oppressed class to ensure the future existence of humanity as a whole. The invading Russian army must be immediately withdrawn from Ukraine. The only sustainable solution to the Ukraine-Russia war is the unification of the oppressed classes of Ukraine and Russia based on a socialist program and against the imperialist US-NATO-Zelensky coalition and Putins nationalist oligarchs. To this end, we demand the immediate release of Bogdan Syrotiuk, the 25-year-old leader of the Young Bolshvik-Leninists (YGBL), who has been tirelessly conducting revolutionary politics in Ukraine. [Syrotiuk] was arrested on April 25 by the state security service under the Zelensky regime on false charges. He is accused of being involved in serious acts of treason, which allegedly include engaging in the preparation of publications for the World Socialist Web Site [which Ukraine authorities claim] is Russian propaganda and information to support Russias aggressive war on Ukraine, and to act to legitimise it over the past two years. These charges are entirely false. Both the World Socialist Web Site and Bogdan Syrotiuk have clearly articulated their opposition to the Russian invasion since the onset of the war. Zelenskys repressive actions reveal nothing but a murderous hostility towards the revolutionary ideology that nourishes the Ukrainian oppressed class. We, Youth for Change, the youth organisation of the Frontline Socialist Party in Sri Lanka, condemn the above-mentioned repressive actions of the Zelensky regime and demand the immediate release of our brother Bogdan Syrotiuk, who is facing hateful false charges! Moreover, we call upon youth around the world, revolutionary and progressive youth movements, and leftist parties to unite in the establishment of a revolutionary struggle and movement against the imperialist capitalist forces that are the architects of the Ukraine-Russia war! International Committee Youth for Change Work at Dakkota, Ford or in the auto industry? Fill out the form below to get involved with the Autoworkers Rank-and-File Committee Network at your plant. The International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC) is holding a meeting this Sunday, August 25, at 3:00 p.m. US Eastern Time, For global action to defend jobs at Warren Truck and around the world! We encourage Dakkota workers to attend. To register, click here. Brothers and sisters, After Dakkota auto parts workers in Chicago shot down a second sellout contract pushed by the United Auto Workers bureaucracy Wednesday night, the UAW is forcing us to vote a third time, a little over 24 hours later, on a last, best and final offer from the company. Lets call this what it is: The UAW bureaucracy is trying to blackmail and threaten workers on behalf of the company. There is not a shred of transparency, democracy or legitimacy to a vote held under these circumstances. They are demanding we ratify a contract we havent even seen, in an attempt to shut down the strike by any means possible. To prevent a betrayal of our struggle by the UAW, it is urgently necessary for rank-and-file Dakkota workers to take control of the situation and enforce their will. We cannot win this fight with a leadership controlled by the other side. Thursday evening, UAW Local 3212 announced there would be a Q&A and third contract vote from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Friday. According to the limited information currently available to workers, the deal would include a pathetic $2 an hour wage increase for current workers with 48 months at the company. We all know what the UAWs answers at the Q&A tomorrow will consist of: lies and scare tactics, including threats that this is managements last offer, and that they will bring in a mediator or our jobs will be jeopardized if we reject it. But the fact that the UAW is holding another vote so quickly must mean that Dakkota, Ford and the union bureaucracy are all increasingly desperate to shut down the strike and ramp production back up to full capacity. In particular, the UAW apparatus wants to end this strike in order to clear the path to blocking a strike at Stellantis, where the company is carrying out thousands of job cuts and reneging on its plan to begin reopening Belvidere Assembly this year. Dakkota workers have not been on strike for over three weeks, sacrificing our meager paychecks, only to receive crumbs! We call on our brothers and sisters: Vote NO on the contract and reject UAW-corporate blackmail! To ensure there is no tampering with the vote, rank-and-file Dakkota workers should organize delegations tomorrow to oversee the voting process, including the ballot count. The entire contract bargaining process has been illegitimate. Both management and the UAW officials are operating on behalf of the companys interests, with workers thus far denied real representation. Workers must reject any claims of a yes vote or other illicit outcome imposed by the UAW, which is acting as a bureaucratic dictatorship and denying workers their democratic rights. The UAW apparatus has a well-known reputation for corruption, ballot rigging and vote fraud. The current UAW President Shawn Fain, as well as several other top UAW officers, is currently under investigation by a court-appointed monitor over allegations of misconduct. Fain himself was elected in a national election fundamentally marred by mass disenfranchisement of workers and deliberate suppression of the vote, with hundreds of thousands of eligible UAW members never receiving a ballot. There is a saying among veteran autoworkers: The UAW makes you vote until you get it right. For the past three years, workers at a series of companiesVolvo Trucks and Mack Trucks, John Deere, CNH, Dana, Learhave repeatedly voted by overwhelming margins, often over 90 percent, to reject UAW sellout deals. But the apparatus has not responded to these rejections by negotiating better contracts. Instead, they force workers to keep voting on essentially the same agreements, while starving them on inadequate strike pay and wearing them down on the picket lines. The issue is not that Fain and other top UAW officials are too focused on the Big Three and have somehow forgotten about Dakkota and auto parts workers. At every workplace, the UAW bureaucracy is laser-focused on enforcing the demands of the employers and suppressing the struggles of workers. Contrary to all the claims of historic contracts at the Big Three last year, they were sellout agreements, forced through with the UAWs bogus stand-up strikes, which kept the majority of workers on the job. Since the contracts were passed, thousands of Stellantis, Ford and GM workers have been laid off or fired. Stellantis announced last week that it would be permanently laying off 2,450 workers at the Warren Truck Assembly Plant near Detroit. These are part of a global assault on autoworkers jobs, with layoffs also being carried out by Stellantis in Italy, GM in China and Ford in Europe. Fain and UAW executives have responded to these cuts by seeking to blame foreigners, using once again nationalist, divide-and-conquer tactics. The reality is that workers all over the world are in a struggle against the same companies and for their common class interests. Workers are connected in a vast network of international production, a source of immense power if it is effectively leveraged. On Sunday, the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees will be holding a meeting of workers in the US and internationally to discuss a global strategy to fight job cuts and low wages. Dakkota workers can both win this fight and make it the rallying point for a long overdue counteroffensive against the corporations. But for that to happen, we need a new strategy and workers control of our struggle. The UAWs latest sellout Friday must be voted down. But the UAW officials who negotiated these deals no longer have any authority to speak for workers, and must be kicked out and replaced with workers elected from the shop floor, the most trusted and militant, organized in rank-and-file committees. These bodies of workers self-determination will lay out demands based on our nonnegotiable needs, including a 50 percent wage increase. We call on our brothers and sisters at Ford Chicago to take matters into their own hands and take collective action to stop handling scab parts, and urge our fellow workers at Dakkota to send delegations to Ford Chicago to appeal for support. This fight is not just about wages at Dakkotaworkers at Flex-N-Gate, Tower, Lear, as well as CAP are all suffering under UAW-imposed low wages, brutally long hours, and miserable working conditions. The passage of this deal will be used by the companies at Dakkota and elsewhere to step up their attacks on jobs and speed up production. But a rejection of the deal will send a signal that workers will not bow to corporate threats and will encourage workers to take a stand for their interests. We therefore appeal to our fellow workers at Dakkota to join the rank-and-file committee and for autoworkers throughout the region and beyond to stand with us and expand this fight. The latest annual government Closing the Gap report, produced by the pro-business Productivity Commission, shows a further deterioration in the economic and social conditions affecting indigenous workers and youth under Prime Minister Anthony Albaneses Labor government. Aboriginal children playing at an out-station settlement, north of Alice Springs in central Australia [Photo by WSWS/John Hulme] This follows a scathing report by the Commission in February which warned that the Closing the Gap agreement, which is meant to improve these conditions, was on the verge of failure. It criticised the government for weak actions and unfulfilled promises in critical areas. The most recent data evaluates 15 of the agreements 19 socio-economic targets, covering areas such as life expectancy, health and wellbeing, employment, education and training, land and sea rights, housing, incarceration, family safety and internet access. Of the 19 indices monitored, only five are on target, even by the limited and narrow goals set. Regardless of successive governments token official apologies for injustices against Aboriginal people, and the Labor governments posturing of concern during its failed indigenous Voice referendum campaign, four key areas are not only stagnating but worsening. Adult indigenous incarceration rates continued to rise significantly in 2023, reaching 2,265.8 per 100,000, up by 114.7 per 100,000 from the previous year. This data alone indicates the real federal and state Labor governments response to the social crisis, which is to adopt more punitive law and order measures. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander suicide rates continue to rise, with the latest data showing a rate of 29.9 per 100,000 people. This is a substantial increase over the past two years under the Albanese government. Suicide was the leading cause of death for indigenous people aged 1539 in 2022. Those aged 35-44 years had the highest rate of suicide52.3 per 100,000. That was almost five times the rate of 10.8 per 100,000 for non-indigenous people. Despite the 2008 parliamentary apology by the Rudd Labor government to the Stolen Generations of Aboriginal children removed from their families, the over representation of indigenous children in out-of-home care is increasing. In 2023, the rate was 57.2 per 1,000 children, up from the 2019 baseline of 54.2. The involvement of child protection agencies was reported as worsening. Last years rate was 12.1 times higher than for non-indigenous children. In Victoria, the rate was even more extreme at 102.9 per 1,000, or 22.5 times the rate for non-Indigenous children. Recently, a South Australian report revealed that Aboriginal newborns are increasingly taken from their mothers immediately after birth. These removals, planned by child protection agencies during the mothers pregnancies, have been carried out without the mothers prior knowledge. Last year, the states Department for Child Protection removed 105 babies under one month old, with about a third being Aboriginal and most removed before they were a week old. This inhumane practice is creating further inter-generational trauma for Aboriginal communities. Overall, the life expectancy gap between indigenous and non-indigenous people will not meet the target of zero by 2031. In 20202022, non-indigenous males were expected to live 8.8 years longer than indigenous males. Non-indigenous females had an 8.1-year advantage over indigenous females. Life expectancy for indigenous males was just 71.9 years and 75.6 years for females. Over the past 15 years since the Closing the Gap program was launched, only small improvements have been made, with indigenous male life expectancy increasing by 4.4 years and female life expectancy by 2.5 years. This is not just an issue of indigenous disadvantage. The dire situation for the Aboriginal population, the most marginalised and disadvantaged section of the working class, is occurring amid the Labor governments austerity measures against all working people. This government is presiding over the steepest decline in living standards for the working class in decades, advancing a corporate agenda, further cutting real wages and social services, while lowering taxes for the wealthy and spending billions on war preparations. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) research has found a significant correlation between poverty and suicide across the population as a whole. From 2001 to 2022, suicide rates were notably higher in the most disadvantaged areas. In the poorest areas, the suicide rate was more than double that of wealthier areas. The Closing the Gap report understates the impact of this broader inequality. The devastating issue of Aboriginal children taking their own lives goes unreported in the data. Earlier this year, a coronial inquest investigated the suicides of 13 Aboriginal youth, aged 10 to 23. Tragically, this included a 10-year-old girl, her 13-year-old sister, a 12-year-old, a 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old. These deaths occurred over a four-year span in the remote Kimberley region of northern Western Australia (WA), which has one of the highest suicide rates globally. In April, the media reported the suicide of another 10-year-old WA Aboriginal boy, who was in foster care. Alongside the worsening rates of incarceration for adults, the target to reduce the rate of Aboriginal young people in detention by at least 30 percent by 2031 is not on track. According to a AIHW report, on an average day in the Northern Territory (NT), 1.75 percent of indigenous children aged 1017 are in youth detention or under community-based supervision. This is 44 times the rate at which non-indigenous children are incarcerated. This year the NT Labor government, with the full support of the Albanese government, initiated two police-state style curfews in the town of Alice Springs after a handful of violent incidents fuelled by the acute social crisis. This underlines Labors attitude to Aboriginal youth in particular who are subjected to aggressive over-policing. The NT has almost three times as many police per capita as the country as a whole. Human Rights Commission reports this year raised grave concern at the treatment of children in adult watch houses. One recent media report showed footage of an intellectually disabled, 13-year-old indigenous female handcuffed, naked, covered in her own urine in an isolation cell in a Queensland adult watch house. Such brutalising and criminalising of indigenous children is commonplace. Some children have been held in isolation for up to 30 days. Social indicators from the latest Closing the Gap report show that the most significant disadvantages are in remote Aboriginal communities. These areas, isolated from major regional centres, often hundreds of kilometres away, suffer from a lack of employment, inadequate education and healthcare services, overcrowded housing, and deprivation of even the most basic necessities, like proper sanitation and clean drinking water. For years, governments and right-wing think tanks, such as the Centre for Independent Studies, have argued that unless these communities are economically viablemeaning profitablethey should be shut down. As a result, these communities have been deprived of resources and infrastructure, effectively pushing them toward closure. Across the country, nearly 500 remote communities lack clean drinking water, a basic human right. This is despite repeated reports, with governments largely ignoring the issue. Some communities suffer from contaminated water with harmful substances like microbes, bacteria, nitrates, arsenic and uranium. This has led to poor health outcomes, low life expectancy and the highest rate of suicides. In 202022, life expectancy of Aboriginal people in remote areas was five years shorter than in major cities and regional centres. By contrast, significant advances made were in indigenous land and sea acquisition. Data showed a 7.8 percent increase in the area of land subject to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples legal rights. The target of 15 percent increase by 2030 on the sea covered by indigenous rights had been met six years ahead of time, involving 113,461 square kilometres as of June 2023. Land and sea rights acquisitions have been promoted by the Labor government as part of programs to empower indigenous business and drive an entrepreneurial spirit, as Albanese touted in his speech at the annual Garma Festival in the NT this month. The Indigenous Procurement Policy, first introduced by the Liberal-National Coalition government in 2015, established annual targets for all government departments to award contracts to indigenous enterprises as preferred service providers. This has led to state and territory governments fast-tracking Native Title acquisitions. In 2022, according to the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, about 84 percent of the NTs coastline has been recognised as owned by Aboriginal communities through Native Title. As throughout capitalist society, there is a vast gulf between the Aboriginal financial elite, which includes CEOs of land and sea councils, academics, politicians and business operators, and the vast majority of the Aboriginal population, who are among the most impoverished sections of the working class. The governments agenda of prioritising indigenous capitalist enterprises was behind Labors attempt to insert an indigenous Voice advisory body in the Constitution. The Voice would have been a means of integrating even further the indigenous elite into the state apparatus to further the pro-business program of the Albanese government, as well as its war plans. Already the 2022 Closing the Gap report disclosed a growing relationship between Aboriginal businesses and the military, with the Department of Defence underlined as one of the largest procurers of indigenous goods and services. The claim that the Closing the Gap program, launched in 2008 by the Rudd Labor government, would address the injustices of the Stolen Generations and overcome the atrocious conditions of most Aboriginal people has proven to be an utter fraud. The future of indigenous youth and workers is connected to the struggle of the entire working class, indigenous and non-indigenous alike. That requires a unified political fight against the source of the disaster, the capitalist profit system, and for a socialist society. BEIRUT, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Two Hezbollah members were killed and a third was injured on Friday in an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon, Lebanese military sources told Xinhua. The military sources, who spoke anonymously, said an Israeli warplane launched a raid on the village of Tayr Harfa, killing two Hezbollah members and wounding a third one. The sources added that the airstrike completely destroyed two houses and damaged ten neighboring houses, noting that the casualties were transferred to a hospital in the city of Tyre in southern Lebanon. They said that Israeli warplanes and drones carried out 12 air raids during the dawn and morning hours on Friday, targeting 10 towns and villages in the border area in southern Lebanon, destroying about 20 homes and damaging more than 60 others. In the same context, military sources said that Lebanese army centers monitored the launch of several drones and about 40 surface-to-surface missiles from southern Lebanon towards northern Israel this morning. For its part, Hezbollah said in a statement that the Islamic Resistance fighters hit the espionage equipment at the headquarters of the Air Control Unit and Air Operations Management at the Meron base in northern Israel and destroyed them. Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on Oct. 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas's attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon. The situation escalated further after Israel's attack on Dahieh in Beirut's southern suburbs, killing a Hezbollah senior military commander, Fouad Shokor, and seven civilians. Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah threatened a definite and painful response to the Israeli raid. Palestinian women mourn a relative killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, at a hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, August 22, 2024. [AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana] Some 47 Palestinians were murdered in Gaza, most by US-supplied bombs, on the eve of the final day of the Democratic National Convention, culminating in Vice President Kamala Harris accepting the Democratic presidential nomination. The official death toll from 321 days of Israels assault with bombs, missiles, artillery and tank fire has passed 40,000, with more than 90,000 injured. This is likely a great underestimation, as last month the British medical journal The Lancet estimated the real death toll at 186,000or approximately 8 percent of the Gaza Strips pre-genocide population. Socialist Equality Party presidential candidate Joseph Kishore cited the death toll in Gaza and condemned the Democrats endorsement of genocide in a statement posted on X. Kishore continued: During the anti-Vietnam War protests, a popular chant was Hey, Hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today? In the case of Biden-Harris and the genocide in Gaza, a definitive answer can be given: 17,000 (total since the genocide began), including 2,100 infants and toddlers. This is according to a report earlier this month by the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor17,000 children. This is equal to more than 50 children every single day, for more than 10 months. While the fascist Israeli government is directly perpetrating the genocide, its military forces could not function for even a week without supplies and financing from the United States and other imperialist powers, including Britain, France and Germany. In this context, Kishore wrote, There is something unfathomably obscene and degrading about the Democratic Party hailing their candidate of joy Kamala Harris amidst the carnage in Gaza. It expresses the unbridled ruthlessness of imperialism and its representatives, singing and dancing as Gaza burns. The last day of the convention leading up to the speech by Harris was the most pro-war and militarist of the four-day event. Speakers, including Senator Mark Kelly and former Secretary of Defense and CIA Director Leon Panetta, touted Harriss willingness to escalate the war against Russia in Ukraine and defend the interests of American imperialism. The WSWS will post further analysis of Harris concluding speech and the convention as a whole. However, the most significant statements she made were: I will always ensure America has the strongest most lethal fighting force in the world and I will always ensure that Israel has the ability to defend itself. The central priority of the Democratic Party is the escalation of war. The Democrats made every possible effort to block any public display of opposition to the Gaza genocide at the convention. Nearly 70 demonstrators protesting the mass murder in the streets of Chicago were arrested this week, at the orders of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson. An African American former staffer at the Chicago Teachers Union, Johnsons election was promoted by Bernie Sanders and backed by the pseudo-left groups, which are now hailing the Harris nomination as a historic step forward. The Harris-Walz campaign rebuffed pleas by some Democrats to allow a Palestinian American to address the convention, concerned that this would be taken as a signal of possible objection to the policies of the fascist Netanyahu government in Israel, which is working closely with the US military to prepare for war against Iran and its allies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon. There were 30 convention delegates elected as uncommitted, mainly in Michigan and Minnesota, in a protest supported by the most prominent Palestinian American Democrat, Representative Rashida Tlaib. These delegates asked for a Palestinian American state legislator, Ruwa Romman of Georgia, to be given a speaking slot to deliver a brief message, barely 100 words, that would include support for Harris and a call for a ceasefire in Gaza. The so-called left in the Democratic Party was represented among the speakers by the inevitable Bernie Sanders, who made no mention of the genocide, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who hailed Harris, portraying her as supporting a ceasefire. Outside the convention, several dozen delegates staged a sit-in Wednesday night to protest the genocide. They were ignored. Not a single second of the convention was disrupted. One Michigan delegate smuggled in a banner calling for a halt to the arming of Israel, but as soon as he unfurled it, security guards snatched it away and removed him quickly from the floor of the convention, despite his credentials. The National Lawyers Guild issued a statement following the arrests Tuesday: In response to protesters rallying and marching, police provoked confrontations, rushed the crowd, indiscriminately arrested people on the sidewalk, and entrapped groups in order to carry out mass arrests. Assurances that the City would respect peoples First Amendment rights during the convention rings hollow next to this brazenly aggressive approach to free expression. Chicago Police Department (CPD) Chief Larry Snelling made a provocative statement attacking demonstrators and journalists at a Wednesday morning press conference: These officers did one hell of a job tonight keeping the city safe and keeping violent individuals from inflicting violence. He continued, This was unpermitted, and therefore we cant guarantee the safety of people if we dont know the route, if we dont know where theyre going. It is clear that the main threat to non-permitted protests is the CPD. The Biden administrations Department of Justice granted more than $75 million to the city of Chicago for policing during the DNC, with the lions share going to pay Chicago cops, including hefty overtime premiums. The CPD and the Secret Service are coordinating the efforts of 12 different agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Addressing the politics of the demonstrations, SEP presidential candidate Kishore commented: The protests outside of the convention have been organized by various middle-class groups that seek to pressure the Democratic Party, including the ANSWER Coalition, Code Pink, the DSA and others. Among their demands is that elected officials from the Democratic Party follow through on progressive campaign promises. As Trotsky remarked, one might as well pray for rain. Not surprisingly, the protests have been significantly smaller than organizers expected. The entire perspective of pressuring the Democratic Party and the political establishment has proven to be thoroughly bankrupt, and more and more people know it. Working people and youth opposed to the US-backed genocide in Gaza gain nothing by appealing to the Democrats or the Republicans. They would be pleading with the war criminals to cease their crimes. Rather, the road forward is to mobilize the working class, connecting the fight against the genocide with the fight against imperialist war, and the fight against war with the fight against inequality and the capitalist profit system. The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig has provisionally lifted the ban on the right-wing extremist magazine Compact and its affiliated media, which the Interior Ministry (BMI) under Nancy Faeser (Social Democrat, SPD) imposed in mid-July. The courts decision is aimed less at preserving press freedom than at legitimising racist agitation. Compact editor-in-chief Jurgen Elsasser, Stephanie Elsasser and Identitarian-Chef Martin Sellner (left) on 27 July 2024 in Gera [Photo by Dirk Bindmann / wikimedia / CC BY-SA 4.0 With the Compact ban, Faeser had created a precedent for the removal of fundamental democratic rights that can also be used against left-wing organisations. She used the law on voluntary associations to suspend the constitutionally protected freedom of the press. The Federal Administrative Court did not object to this but expressly confirmed it. Instead, it lifted the ban because it doubted whether right-wing extremist agitation was actually characteristic of the fascist magazine. COMPACT-Magazin GmbH, the publisher of the magazine, against which the ban was formally directed, had filed a lawsuit against and applied for a temporary injunction to restore the suspensory effect of its lawsuit against the BMIs ban order. The BMI had justified its ban by stating that the association [the publishing company] rejected the constitutional order and had an anti-constitutional attitude. This was expressed, among other things, it said, in numerous articles in the monthly COMPACTmagazine for sovereignty. Freedom of opinion and of the press and protection from censorship are guaranteed in Germany by Article 5 of the constitution. According to the same article, this right is only restricted by general laws. According to Supreme Court case law, the word general is usually understood to mean that certain opinions may not be sanctioned on the grounds of their undesirable content but only on the grounds of a violation of laws that apply equally to opinions of any contentfor example, violations of personal rights, incitement of the people, calls for or approval of serious crimes, etc. There is no legal provision for banning media products. The various press laws of the federal states, for example, regulate the right of reply. In most cases, they state that the responsibility for criminal acts committed by means of a printed work is determined by the general criminal laws. In addition, there may be criminal sanctions against responsible editors or publishers. Otherwise, the most severe measures available are regulations for the confiscation of certain individual media products. There is no legal basis for a total ban on media outlets, especially because of their political orientation, either in the media state treaty of the federal states, which regulates the accessibility of broadcasting and telemedia, or in the Telemedia Act (TMG). The only time a legal basis was created to ban anti-constitutional newspapers was at the beginning of the 1950s, during the height of the Cold War. However, this draft law was never realised. A ban on the basis of political orientation would probably have little chance of being upheld, at the latest before the European Court of Human Rights, which rejected Turkeys ban on pro-Kurdish newspapers on the grounds of PKK propaganda years ago. Since the main purpose of Compact GmbH was to publish Compact magazine, many lawyers had argued that its ban by the BMI on the basis of the law on associations was not tenable, since it was not the law on associations that applied here, but the law on the press. The Federal Administrative Court was, however, unequivocal on this point: There are no concerns regarding the applicability of the law on associations to the applicant, which is organised in the legal form of a limited liability company and operates as a press and media company, the court stated in its press release. It is not really surprising that the Federal Administrative Court is helping to use the law on associations to undermine freedom of expression and the press. This had already been hinted at when it approved the ban on the linksunten.indymedia website without even examining the merits of the case against it. The significance of this is extremely far-reaching: not only does the law on associationswhich is practically its most important regulationexplicitly provide for the prohibition of all possible associations. Prohibitions can simply be decreed by the government and can only be challenged by those affected in court afterwards. The reasons for a ban do not even have to be criminal offences; purely political reasons, such as acting against the constitutional order or the idea of international understanding are sufficient. It is also noteworthy that, according to the press release of the Federal Administrative Court, the BMI did not accuse Compact of violating the idea of international understanding despite its notorious racist agitation. Shortly before, Palestine Solidarity Duisburg had been banned on this ground because it opposed the illegal occupation of Palestine by Israel. The fight against racist oppression is banned in Germany but not the fight for it. The Federal Administrative Court explicitly saw in Compact a violation of human dignity and in many contributions a militant and aggressive attitude towards fundamental constitutional principlesa polite way of describing its unbridled agitation against refugees, Jews, Muslims, people of colour and LGBT people. Nevertheless, it was doubtful whether a ban was proportionate, given the largely unobjectionable contributions with regard to freedom of opinion and freedom of the press, despite the magazines violation of human dignity. In addition, the violation of human dignity was possibly notaccording to the Federal Administrative Court press releasecharacterising enough for the orientation of the association. This was the case with a leading medium of the ultra-right scene, which in many articles takes a combative and aggressive stance towards fundamental constitutional principles! This gobbledygook means nothing other than that racism, racist and anti-Semitic agitation may be anti-democratic and violate the human dignity of those affected, but the court still considers it a legitimate contribution to the debate that is protected by fundamental rights. In view of the states actions against refugees, its support for the genocide in Gaza, the rearmament of the Bundeswehr (Armed Forces) and the escalation of the NATO war against Russia, this fits the picture. Contrary to what journalists who consider themselves liberal might think, the Federal Administrative Courts rapid decision has little to do with defending democratic rights. If that were the case, the court would have had to reject the BMIs construct of circumventing the fundamental right to freedom of the press by means of the law on associationsbut rather with defending right-wing extremist propaganda. The way in which German courts deal with those who fight against racism rather than for it is demonstrated by the constitutional complaint filed by the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party) with the Supreme Court against its surveillance and defamation by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, as Germanys domestic secret service is called. Although the complaint was filed over two years ago, the highest German court has still not responded to it. The contrast is even more obvious in the case of Palestine Solidarity Duisburg (PSDU), which was banned by the state Interior Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Herbert Reul (Christian Democrat, CDU) in May of this year. Although the ban was issued on the basis of the German Law on Associations in both cases, legal action was taken against it and an application for interim relief was filed, the summary proceedings in the case of PSDU were dragged out for several months with the active assistance of the Higher Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia. The Committee for the Defence of Palestine Solidarity Duisburg draws a bitter conclusion. A right-wing extremist magazine that has been spreading racism against Muslims and refugees for at least ten years, openly campaigning for the AfD [Alternative for Germany] and having links to neo-Nazis was getting a quick trial in its own interest. For the PSDU, which has always opposed antisemitism and Nazi fascism and has always stood up against occupation and genocide, against German complicity in war crimes, against racism and fascism in Palestine and in Germany, there was obviously no place in Germany at the moment. Ukraines parliament moved forward on Tuesday with long-standing plans to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). A lopsided 265 votes to 29 were cast in favor of a bill that will shut down religious groups supposedly linked to Moscow. President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to quickly sign the bill into law. In language commonly used by the fascist right, he praised the vote as a means to strengthen the spiritual independence of the country. Under the law, each individual Orthodox parish accused of ties to Moscow will be given nine months to leave the UOC and join another Orthodox church such as the government-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) or risk being banned in Ukrainian courts. As Ukrainian-Canadian political science Professor Ivan Katchanovski noted on X, despite government persecution, the UOC still owns the largest number of parishes with 9,107 compared to 5,194 among other Orthodox churches. A complete ban on the UOC would entail a potentially huge transfer of buildings and property to the government-favored OCU. The move comes as Ukraine continues its NATO-backed adventurist invasion of Russias Kursk region, while Ukrainian troops keep losing territory in the Donbass to Russia. The situation for Ukrainian forces in the region has been described as catastrophic by military analyst Julian Repke in the German tabloid Bild. On Monday, Ukrainian authorities ordered the evacuation of the eastern city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk, which was previously home to over 65,000 residents. About 53,000 people, including approximately 4,000 children, now remain in the city with Ukrainian authorities warning that Russia will likely take both Pokrovsk and its surrounding villages within the next two weeks. According to Strana.ua, three companies of a battalion of the Ukrainian National Guard, including their commanders, refused to execute the orders of the military high command because of a huge personnel shortage. Ukrainian troops are outnumbered by Russian troops by a ratio of one to three. Ukrainian soldiers are reportedly also deserting in large numbers, in what are growing indications of the unfolding disintegration of the Ukrainian armed forces. This is not the first time that the Ukrainian government has escalated its attack on democratic rights and efforts to whip up ethnic tensions amid a severe military crisis. In March of last year, Zelensky announced the impending eviction of UOC monks from the 980-year-old Pechersk Lavra monastery complex, a well known historical and religious site in Kiev, just as the Ukrainian government made public plans to continue pouring its troops into the meat grinder of Bakhmut where Russian and Ukrainian soldiers died in the tens of thousands. At the time, Zelensky indicated that the eviction was just the start of a broader campaign to whip up religious and ethnic xenophobia stating, We will continue this movement. We will not allow the terrorist state any opportunity to manipulate the spiritual life of our people, to destroy Ukrainian shrinesour Lavrasor to steal any valuables from them. While the UOC has had a long-standing affiliation with the Russian Orthodox Church, it declared its independence from Moscow in May 2022, in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine. The Russian Orthodox Church still includes UOC-affiliated clergy in its work, however. In 1991, only 39 percent of Ukrainians identified as Orthodox Christian. As a result of the disorientation caused by decades of Stalinism and the devastating socio-economic consequences of capitalist restoration, in the years following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, religious sentiments and obscurantism grew. Various rival branches of the Orthodox Church emerged, each with their own geopolitical orientation and political allegiances. By 2015, a Pew Research Center study found that approximately 78 percent of Ukraines adult population identified as Orthodox Christian. Following the 2014 Western-backed coup in Kiev, the right-wing nationalist government of Petro Poroshenko intervened strongly in the creation and promotion of a single Kiev-aligned Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) in opposition to the Moscow-aligned Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Both antecedent separate Orthodox churches of the OCU had supported the 2014 Maidan coup and would become a central part of the NATO-aligned Poroshenko governments push to promote nationalism, militarism and anti-Russian sentiment. The government-backed Orthodox Church of Ukraine was formed in 2018, out of these two smaller rival pro-Maidan Orthodox churches. In 2019, the OCU was granted independence or autocephaly from the Moscow-based Patriarchate under Patriarch Kirill, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Since the 2019 split from Moscow, the two separate churches have been engaged in an embittered rivalry over property, parishioners and religious sites. In this conflict, the Kiev-aligned OCU has received the full backing of the right-wing Ukrainian government, of which it has become an integral part. The invasion by Russia in February 2022, marked a new stage in the religious and political war between the two churches with Kiev moving quickly to denounce the UOC as collaborators. In October of 2022, Ukraines Security Service (SBU), which maintains close ties to the far-right, began to regularly carry out raids in search of anti-Ukrainian materials at UOC churches, impose sanctions on its bishops and supporters, and open criminal cases against dozens of its clergymen. For centuries, the Orthodox Church in both Russia and Ukraine has promoted obscurantism, nationalism and anti-Semitism. Its clergy members have been guilty of participating in some of the worst anti-Jewish pogroms of the past, and continue to maintain close relations with the far-right in both countries. However, there is clearly nothing progressive in Zelenskys crackdown on one religious organization while supporting its equally reactionary rival. It is part of the systematic efforts to place far-right Ukrainian nationalism and anti-Russian chauvinism at the center of the ideology and politics of the Ukrainian state. The Ukrainian far-right has endorsed the governments escalating attacks on the Church, while egging Zelensky on to take even more drastic measures. The Chief of Staff of the neo-Nazi Azov brigade Bohdan Krotevuxh wrote on X, According to the UOC, this is not yet a ban, it is only the first step. So continue to fight the Russian FSB agent networkthe UOC. Meanwhile social media accounts of the neo-fascist Right Sector organization complained that It took almost a year for the Verkhovna Rada to pass a law in the second reading prohibiting the activities of religious organizations associated with the Russian Federation. But here, too, the law is not without tolerance. According to the law, the UOC is given nine months to sever ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. As if ten years of war were not enough. These same fascist forces have also praised Zelenskys high-risk invasion of Russias Kursk region which they have labeled historically Ukrainian. The Ukrainian far-right has long laid claims to the Kursk region and several other Russian regions which it seeks to integrate into a Greater Ukraine. With calls from Republican candidate and ex-president Donald Trump for the domestic deployment of the Army against both migrants and antiwar protesters and appeals by Democrats for top Pentagon officials to pledge they will disobey unconstitutional orders from the White House, the US military is being drawn into the maelstrom of the November elections in an unprecedented fashion. National Guard walk near the Capitol, Thursday, March 4, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington [AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin] That this is provoking deep concern within the American high command finds explicit expression in a report issued late last month by the US Army. Titled 2024 Annual Estimate of the Strategic Security Environment, the document deals with US preparations for wars and interventions from Europe to Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. While warning of Chinas growing power, ambitions, and assertiveness in the US Indo-Pacific Commands area of operations, along with troubling signs of stronger resilience and faster-than-expected reconstitution of the Russian military in Ukraines US-NATO-backed war, the most worried segment of the strategy document deals with the status of the US military within the United States itself. The US civil-military environment is one of the most challenging the military has seen since the advent of the all-volunteer force in 1973, the document, drafted by the US Army War Colleges Strategic Studies Institute, reads. Public confidence in the military has been steadily declining, the US Army is facing a years long recruiting crisis, and the trust between senior military and political leaders has been eroding for over a decade. Indeed, while the American military retains an approval rating higher than the abysmal levels to which those for the US Congress, the media and major capitalist politicians have sunk, it has nonetheless plummeted at an alarming rate, reaching its lowest level in over a quarter of a century. This has been driven to no small measure by the debacles suffered in the US wars of aggression in Afghanistan and Iraq. The report attributes the waning popularity of the military and its increasing alienation from civilian society in part to the steep decline in the share of the American population with direct contact to the 1.3 million-strong active duty armed forces. When the draft was ended and an all-volunteer force was created in face of surging popular opposition to the Vietnam War in 1973, more than 20 percent of American adults had previously served in the military, according to the report. By contrast, only 6 percent of people today call themselves veterans, and only 1520 percent of Americans report knowing someone who has served in the military. Moreover, dwindling recruitment has increasingly been drawn disproportionately from a few southern states and from rural and small-town America. The increasing disconnect between the military and the vast majority of the US population risks the emergence of a warrior caste, the report warns. That this caste is riven by a yawning divide between rank-and-file soldiers drawn from more impoverished sections of country and a top echelon of generals who retire to make millions by joining the boards of major arms corporations is nowhere suggested by the Armys study. Declining civilian connections to the military may jeopardize civilian control in the United States, the Army report warns. It adds: Evidence shows some veterans and service members see themselves as having superior values to the rest of American society and see themselves as superior in love of country and honor. If such service members do not respect the values or beliefs of the people they are supposed to put their lives on the line to defend, the democratic ethos is in jeopardy. Finally, in a gross understatement, the report concludes that it is strategically vital to understand that North America faces political unrest ... The hardening of ideological positions in the United States has led to deep political and cultural divides that the election will likely not heal, presenting a danger as significant as any external threat. Far from healing any divide, the current election has seen Trump predicting a bloodbath if he is not returned to the Oval Office, and Biden warning in his speech to the Democratic National Convention, Anybody else said that in the past, youd think he was crazy, youd think it was an exaggeration, but he means it. The involvement of the US military, or elements of it, in a coup attempt to resolve a disputed election result in November is a real and present danger. In this regard, the siege of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 must be seen not as an aberration, but rather as prologue to 2024. Retired military officers, who unquestionably maintained close ties to senior active duty commanders, played a key role in organizing and politically inciting the January 6 coup. Moreover, top civilian Pentagon officials appointed by Trump and senior uniformed commanders worked to block the deployment of National Guard troops to the Capitol, even as its police force was being assaulted and overrun by thousands of demonstrators and organized paramilitary squads deployed by the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers and other fascist militia. Among the generals who deliberately slow-rolled any troop deployment, giving these fascist elements time to pursue their goal of seizing the Capitol and taking hostage members of the House and Senate, was Gen. Charles Flynn, who initially lied about being on a call with the head of the Washington, DC National Guard in which troops were held back. Far from punishing Flynn, whose brother Gen. Michael Flynn (ret.) was one of the most vociferous proponents of the stolen election lie and of the January 6 coup itself, the Pentagon has promoted him to the prestigious position of commander of Army forces in the Indo-Pacific Command, while continuing to cover up his role in the Capitol coup attempt. As for the concerns expressed in the report about the escalating politicization of the military and a beleaguered democratic ethos, these are belied by the patently political and anti-democratic calculations expressed throughout the document relating to US militarys operations across the globe. Nowhere is this more true than in Latin America, where the US Army has over a century-long record of participating in invasions, interventions and coups to overthrow governments deemed insufficiently subservient to US imperialist interests and install military dictatorships in their place. In addition to warning against China, which has supplanted the US as the principal trading partner of most countries in Latin America and which the report accuses of building and operating dual-use port, digital, and space infrastructures it could use against the United States during times of war, the report dwells at some length upon purely domestic political developments within the countries in what it describes as the United States Southern Command Area of Operations. Thus, it warns that groups both in and out of power, particularly on the left, are weaponizing discontent, leveraging social media tools to destabilize, take power, and consolidate control In addition to the Maduro government in Venezuela and the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, it indicts the Libre government in Honduras, the Gustavo Petro government in Colombia, and the Luis Arce government in Bolivia for raising concerns about antidemocratic behaviors and divergence from the United States in criminal and security cooperation and other policies. It likewise cites the Workers Party government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brazil for adopting regional and global policies in the spirit of an independent foreign policy that are detrimental to the United States, while accusing the Morena regime of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in Mexico of having a troublingly mixed record of cooperation with the United States No doubt in each of these offending countries the US military is continuously reworking plans for direct military intervention in pursuit of regime change. In countries like Colombia and Brazil, the US Southern Command is pursuing close ties with its military counterparts independent of government-to-government relations with the aim of preparing direct collaboration in the preparation of military coups when they are deemed necessary. The report specifically hails Argentinas new fascistic President Javier Milei for having come to power with a strongly pro-market agenda and a notably proUnited States/China-skeptical orientation, adding that the success or failure of his far-right government will send important signals to the rest of the region regarding the reliability of the United States as a partner and the benefits of pursuing the path of market economies, transparency, and Western-style democracy. A US military apparatus that celebrates the rise of the most extreme right-wing elements in Latin America while denigrating and seeking to undermine even the most tame elements of the Latin American bourgeoisies waning Pink Tide can hardly be described as apolitical. How could it not be applying such calculations within the US itself? On War, the treatise on military strategy written by the early 19th century Prussian general and military theorist Carl von Clausewitz is mandatory reading at the US military service academies and advanced training schools. Its most famous statement is that war is the continuation of policy with other means. In the case of the US military, with its vast global footprint and its gargantuan $886 billion budget, accounting for nearly 56 percent of total US discretionary spending, this aphorism may well be stood on its head, with intervention in domestic politics becoming the pursuit of war by other means. The two major capitalist parties have set the stage for such an intervention, both through their massive buildup of the American military apparatus and their pursuit of militarism and war internationally. In the case of the Republicans, Trump has encouraged the direct use of US military force in the US itself, while hatching coup plots from within the Pentagon. For their part, the Democrats have appealed to the same military brass to serve as the ultimate arbiters of the US Constitution. The very real threat of a military coup and dictatorship in the US, like the growing drive toward World War III, can be successfully countered only through the mobilization of the working class in opposition to the corporate and financial oligarchy. This requires a complete political break with the Democratic Party and an irreconcilable struggle against both major parties and the capitalist profit system they defend. In the meantime, no one should take their eyes off of the machinations within the Pentagon. In a series of chilling attacks against free speech rights, the California Democratic Party, in collusion with compliant university administrations, big business and the Biden administration, has moved to effectively outlaw mass student protests against not only the Palestinian genocide but mass student protests in general. The states two public university systems, the California State University system and the University of California (UC) system, the first of which is the largest in the country, have both issued harsh restrictions on where and how students are allowed to protest in the coming academic year. Immediately preceding the university announcements was a press release from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), which represents university alumni and donors, i.e., very deeply pocketed representatives of the ruling elite seeking to maintain the institutions of higher education as intellectual bulwarks for the defense of American imperialism. The release which advocates for the new repressive measures read, in part, Once an encampment has occupied the campus, the institution has very few options to avoid an ugly spectacle that at best will make the administration look ineffectual and even make the board appear derelict. The statement continued, Negotiating and making concessions are invitations to more and increasing demands. They embolden others to employ similar coercive tactics in the future and further undermine the universitys mission. Section of the students and other anti-genocide protesters at UCLA, May 23, 2024. Cal State, which has 23 campuses statewide enrolling 457,992 students, issued a bundle of restrictions last week banning tent encampments and all overnight demonstrations. Erecting unauthorized barricades, fencing and furniture is also prohibited under the new policy. In a written statement released to EdSource, CSU spokesperson Hazel Kelly promised that campus presidents and their designated officials will enforce this prohibition and take appropriate steps to stop encampments, including giving clear notice to those in violation that they must discontinue their encampment activities immediately. The new Cal State rules apply to all 23 campuses and supersede any individual campus free speech rules already in place. However, each campus is allowed to institute its own policies that go above and beyond the systemwide mandates. For example, Cal State Dominguez Hills already released its own addenda outlawing any handheld signs attached to sticks or poles. Additionally, signs are not allowed to be taped to any campus buildings, directory signs, fences, railings or exterior light poles. On Monday, UC President Michael Drake directed administrators at the 10 campus system to put in place measures effectively banning any spontaneous protests on campuses, especially those addressing the nearly year-long genocide of the Palestinian population in Gaza by Israel, supported by the United States. Specifically, Drake directed the chancellors to stop protests that block pathways and to outlaw the wearing of masks on campus, not only barring the right of protesters to remain anonymous but also putting the health of students at severe risk in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and renewed dangers of an emergence of H1N1 bird flu or mpox. The UC president claimed this was necessary to maintain the consistent application of policies and laws key to achieving the delicate but essential balance between free speech rights and the need to protect the safety of our community and maintain critical University operations. The UC system itself is facing a $25 million loss in state funding should it fail to crack down on student protests. The funding will only be released if the chancellor provides a systemwide framework for imposing the draconian new rules by October 1. This includes notifications to all students about free speech activities on campus prior to the start of the fall term. Students are to be notified of university codes of conduct, nondiscrimination policies, campus processes to resolve violations and potential consequences. Of particular concern for the state Democratic Party and for the Biden administration at the national level was the encampment at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), which became one of the national epicenters of the student anti-genocide movement. This was particularly the case after an organized group of Zionist thugs and provocateurs assembled on campus to viciously assault the student protesters there. Many of the students suffered severe injuries with the provocateurs also mirroring the actions of the Israel Defense Force by attacking journalists at the encampment. The students were assaulted for three consecutive hours with metal pipes, fireworks and pepper spray along with the previous deployment of loudspeakers and bright lights to prevent them from sleeping at the encampment. Police and security forces present during the melee did nothing to stop the attackers and, months later, have made no arrests of the counter-protesters despite many of their identities being revealed by independent media outlets. The university, at the behest of the Los Angeles mayorDemocrat and Kamala Harris ally Karen Bassresponded by ordering police to attack, not the provocateurs, but the student protesters still reeling from the Zionist assault. Last week, an obscene ruling by a federal judge declared that the anti-genocide protests were antisemitic. US District Judge Mark Scarsi ruled that three Jewish students experienced discrimination on campus during the course of the demonstrations. In the year 2024, he wrote, in the United States of America, in the State of California, in the City of Los Angeles, Jewish students were excluded from portions of campus because they refused to denounce their faith. Scarsis ruling orders the university to instruct university police, security and student affairs organizations that they are not to aid or participate in any obstruction of access for Jewish students to ordinarily available programs, activities, and campus areas. The ruling makes clear that this is not a question of excluding students from classes, housing and other essential services but also campus areas, which according to the ruling were cordoned off by bike racks and other obstacles when it became clear that student protesters were facing assaults from the Zionist counter-protesters. The ruling, in fact, is also based on a completely false premise, as many of the protesters in the encampments were Jewish themselves. This was demonstrated by the large contingent of protesters from Jewish Voices for Peace and other Jewish groups. In the face of a combined onslaught, not only by the university administration but also from the bourgeois courts and the governments at the local, state and federal level, student protesters must turn to the working class to defend their right to oppose the US war machine. The turn to the working class does not mean a turn to the unions, which do not represent the workers, but rather serve as a police agency for management. At the UC system itself, the unions have worked to isolate and sabotage struggles. Only two months ago, the United Auto Workers (UAW) called off its phony stand-up strike at the UC system, in which only a fraction of workers at UC campuses were called onto the picket line. Almost as soon as it began, the strike was ignominiously called off by the UAW after a court injunction. Students and rank-and-file workers at the universities and beyond must take the struggle against genocide and war into their own hands. There will be no respite under either a Trump or a Harris administration. The two are equally committed to the perpetuation of mass slaughter in the Middle East and beyond, as the US ruling elite accelerates a drive towards a third world war fought with nuclear weapons. The alternative is to form rank-and-file committees mobilizing the collective power of the working class and student youth to permanently end the drive to war and fascism. BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- China's Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) on Friday said it had been working with the Ministry of Public Security and other authorities to intensify the crackdown on fraudulent claims for export tax refunds. The SPP released several typical cases involving false export tax rebate claims, fraudulent issuance of VAT invoices, and fabrication of government documents and seals. The top procuratorate said it had established a regular mechanism with related authorities to strike offenses of falsely issuing tax invoices and fraudulently obtaining export tax refunds. China recorded approximately 1.8 trillion yuan (about 252 billion U.S. dollars) of export tax refunds in 2023. CARACAS, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice (TSJ) on Thursday validated the results of the presidential elections held last month, which declared that Nicolas Maduro was re-elected as president of Venezuela. The National Electoral Council announced that the Electoral Chamber of the court validated the results of the presidential election on July 28, the president of the court Caryslia Beatriz Rodriguez read the ruling. The ruling was "verified in an unrestricted and unequivocal manner" by national and international electoral experts who participated in the auditing process, she said. The electoral experts said that the results "are supported by the tally sheets" generated by the voting machines, the court's president added. All the electoral material consigned by the National Electoral Council and the political parties remained in the custody of the Electoral Chamber of the TSJ, she said. Royal experts questioned the motives behind their "quasi-royal tour." Getty Images While it was all smiles, sweet kisses, and salsa dances for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry during their recent trip to Colombia, some royal onlookers weren't happy with the couple. Their international visit specifically ruffled the feathers of royal expert and author Robert Jobson, who had some choice words for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's "quasi-royal tour." "It wasn't just fast and loose with the truth, a lot of it was complete baloney," Jobson told the The Sun. "They tried to give it an impression of a quasi-royal tour. They had elements of politics and elements of caring for young kids." Getty Images "At the end of the day, what I don't understand is, if Meghan and Harry wanted to do 'quasi-royal tours,' why not stick around and do it properly?" he said, calling into question the Sussex's motives behind the trip. Jobson argued that Meghan and Harry should have stayed senior royal family members. Fans will know the couple stepped down as working royals in January 2020. "Then, they would have been doing it for the king and the country, which is what Harry always bangs on about," Jobson continued. Jobson went on to note their journey was inauthentic, saying, "Just do things that are real, rather than staged with loads of outfit changes...I think they could just do some real work in America, maybe, and people will start to believe you." Getty Images Meghan and Harry's trip saw them participate in activities aligned with their nonprofit, the Archewell Foundation, make school visits, host an Invictus Games training session, speak on a panel at the Afro Women and Power forum, and immerse themselves in Colombian culture. They were welcomed by Vice President Francia Marquez. This isn't the first time Meghan and Harry's travels abroad have been met with criticism. King Charles was reportedly "angrier than anyone has ever seen him" over the couple's trip to Nigeria. The basis of his irritation was seemingly because the visit resembled an official royal tour. For more InStyle news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on InStyle. DeAnna Madsen and her husband, actor Michael Madsen, were involved in a domestic disturbance at their Malibu home earlier this month. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press) Update: 1:15 p.m. Aug. 26, 2024: This story has been updated with comments from DeAnna Madsen and from a representative for Michael Madsen. Michael Madsen's wife has broken her silence about an incident that resulted in the actor's arrest on suspicion of domestic violence earlier this month. DeAnna Madsen on Sunday rebutted statements made by an attorney contacted by The Times who spoke out Friday on behalf of the "Reservoir Dogs" actor. She said the lawyer no longer represents her husband and does not speak for him, her or the family. "He is not involved in this incident at all," she said. She also said she did not break into the family's Malibu home, as alleged last week by attorney Perry Wander, who identified himself as Michael Madsen's longtime attorney. She said she and Madsen share the Malibu home and are not separated. "While Perry Wander has represented Michael in the past, he is not the attorney of record in this situation," Michael Madsen's talent manager Ron Smith confirmed Monday in an e-mail to The Times. When reached Monday by The Times, Wander said he has been Madsen's lawyer since 2008 and has been retained to represent him on other matters. Madsen confirmed those details in a voice recording on Monday. Read more: Michael Madsen arrested after alleged domestic violence incident in Malibu The attorney had alleged Friday in a statement to The Times that DeAnna Madsen broke into the actor's Malibu home. "This has been an ongoing problem," he said. Wander said that Michael Madsen had asked him to obtain a restraining order against DeAnna and to file for divorce, but noted that the actor had "been delaying it" because he still had one minor child. "Michael has shown immense compassion and restraint during this period towards his estranged wife. Hes definitely not guilty of domestic violence," Wander said. Read more: Michael Madsen opens up about son's suicide, claims he was shamed for seeking help In a statement to the Hollywood Reporter on Friday, Deanna Madsen said: "Michael is struggling with his own personal issues. Myself and our children have been supporting him to the best of our ability. We would request privacy at this time." She hadn't responded Friday to an initial request for comment from The Times. The Quentin Tarantino film star, 66, and his wife, 63, wed in 1996 and, according to THR, separated after the 2022 suicide death of their eldest son, 26-year-old Hudson, a former U.S. Army sergeant and Tarantino's godson. (DeAnna told The Times that they were not legally separated.) The former couple share two other children, sons Calvin and Luke. Michael Madsen also has a son, Christian, from a previous relationship. According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, deputies responded to a domestic disturbance call at Madsen's Malibu home about 12:15 a.m. July 17. "The informant stated that a female adult alleged her husband pushed her and locked her out of their residence," a public information officer told The Times. Read more: Is your community unsafe or are you just watching the news? Based on their initial investigation, deputies determined that the Madsens were involved in a domestic incident and he was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor spousal battery. He was transported and booked at the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriffs Station and released from custody at 9:12 a.m after posting $20,000 bail, according to online jail records. Last week, the public information officer said that the investigation was ongoing and would be forwarded to the Van Nuys Superior Courthouse for filing. No new details were made available when the sheriff's information bureau was contacted again Friday. As of Monday morning, no charges had been filed. However, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office confirmed Friday that "a case is under review." Sign up for Indie Focus, a weekly newsletter about movies and whats going on in the wild world of cinema. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. PETA took aim at a posh British paint company over color names like 'au lait' because they 'normalize exploiting cows' PETA urged British paint company Farrow & Ball to rename paint colors like "Au Lait." The nonprofit singled out several paint color names saying they "normalize animal exploitation." Farrow & Ball's paints aren't tested on animals, and are mostly vegan. Animal rights nonprofit People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, has urged a British paint company to rename some of its colors to be more "vegan-friendly." The provocative organization sent an open letter to Farrow & Ball objecting to paint names like "Dead Salmon" and "Smoked Trout," which they said "normalize exploiting animals." PETA's vice president of corporate projects, Yvonne Taylor, wrote that "renaming animal product-monikered paints would be a fun way to appeal to more conscious consumers." Founded in 1946, Farrow & Ball is known for its upscale and largely sustainable paint colors and wallpapers. Costing up to about $160 a gallon, it's been lampooned by SNL for its aspirational status, and was profiled by The New Yorker in 2019 as "creating a new kind of decorating anxiety." It's also known for its evocative and sometimes unusual paint names. These include "Arsenic" and "Churlish Green" as well as a handful of names referencing animals and animal products. Those are the ones that PETA has taken offense to. "Au Lait" and "Skimmed Milk White," the organization said, "normalize exploiting cows." Meanwhile, it suggested that "Dead Salmon" a pinkish taupe could be renamed "Magic Mushroom." PETA is notorious for seizing headlines with outlandish stunts and often takes aim at much more boisterous figures than a sedate British paint company. In 2023, its cofounder, Ingrid Newkirk, said she was considering sending Elon Musk part of her heart after her death, "because I don't think he has one," she told Rolling Stone. A year earlier, the NGO called on Gordon Ramsay's kids to disown him following a video in which he picked out a goat for slaughter. Farrow & Ball did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. According to its website, the company's paints are environmentally sustainable and "cruelty-free," with none tested on animals. Eight of its most commonly-used finishes are completely vegan, it says, while two specialist finishes use animal products such as leather offcuts and a milk derivative. Read the original article on Business Insider Many families have their favorite hand-me-down recipes, perhaps written on cardstock and shoved into an old cookbook. For 76-year-old Jack Williams, that beloved recipe is his great-grandmother Angeline Morrellis pasta sauce. Not too garlic-y, not too bland, its always been a staple at functions. So much so that the father and grandfather from Lenexa is coming out of retirement to put the product on store shelves. A little over a week ago, Grandma Morrellis Homestyle Pasta Sauce began rolling out in local grocery stores. Soon, itll be at all 26 of the Balls Foods Stores in the Kansas City metro, as well as several Hy-Vee locations and McKeevers Markets. I thought it was time to share it with everybody, Williams said. Taste-wise, its rich and tomato-y, with a hint of sweetness. Plus, theres a secret spice he adds to put its flavor profile over the top. The 125-year-old recipe came from Morrelli, an Italian farm wife who immigrated to the States in the late 1800s. She lived in Cassville, Missouri, and was known as Great Gran to everyone, non-great-grandkids included. Williams remembers visiting the family farm often, carrying old kerosene lamps to venture down into her basement. Morrelli died when Williams was 11, but he wishes she was around to see the company. She would just be honored and flabbergasted by it, he said. Cousins just go on and on about how great it is to honor her, the Italian heritage we have. Perhaps equally as notable as Morrellis sauce was her pickles. Using her recipe, Williams created Great Grans Pickles in 2010. At its height, the pickles were in 45 stores in the Kansas City area. But after Williams sold it in 2015, the pickle company floundered. Williams said he still gets requests to make the pickles from friends and family members. Like his pasta sauce label, the pickle jars were adorned with a photo of Morrelli. Theres tens of thousands of people in Kansas City who know my great-grandmother by her picture, Williams said. By the way, Williams is looking to revive the pickle company, too. Stay tuned for that news. Ultimately, it was Williams desire to carry on his familys legacy that made him want to start another venture. He has big plans: jars in every store in the United States. Id like to leave a legacy for my kids and my grandkids. My kids can carry on with it when Im gone, he said. Im a very, very sentimental person when it comes to my family. Adrian Morris The rapidly brightening sky was painted with swaths of orange, pink, and yellow. The early-morning light revealed a city that seemed to be little more than a patchwork of haphazardly planned mid-rise buildings in varying states of repair, punctuated with sprawling bushes, trees quivering in the morning breeze, and lawns sloping toward the nearby sea. The nocturnal beep-beep of tree frogs gave way to the insistent chirp of morning birds that rose from the trees to swoop across the sky like animated chevrons. As I watched the Senegalese sunrise on my first day in Africa, I was vibrating with anticipation. Dakar was waking up, and I was here to witness it. In 2018 I was gifted a DNA testing kit. Although I was born in the UK, I am also Caribbeanmy mother is Barbadian and my father is Jamaican. But it had never occurred to me to consider what had happened before the islands. The results showed that 29 percent of my DNA came from Nigeria, 29 percent from Scotland, and the remaining 42 percent from the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, Togo, Mali, and Cameroon. These clues to my ancestry ignited my desire to finally visit the continent. Would Africa feel like home? The opportunity arose last fall, courtesy of HX Hurtigruten Expeditions, the sister brand to Norway's Hurtigruten cruise line, which sails to places like the Galapagos Islands. The company had debuted its West Africa route as part of an effort to offer more warm-weather destinations that spotlight rich ecosystems and cultures. (This route is currently on hold per instability in the region.) We were to sail round trip from Dakar to Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau's Bissagos Islands, and the Gambia. My first morning in Dakar, I sipped my coffee and watched guestsmore than half of them Blackcircle the buffet at my hotel, the Pullman Dakar Teranga. This could have been the Jamaica Pegasus, a classic Kingston business hotel where sharp-suited men and perfectly coiffed women take morning meetings. But rather than Jamaican cornmeal porridge, they were spooning lakh, a Senegalese version made with millet. And replacing ackee and saltfish was thieboudienne, a one-pot concoction of seasoned rice, fish, and vegetables that is Senegal's own national dish. Later that night I boarded MS Spitsbergen and settled into the stateroom on the 220-passenger expedition ship that would be my home for the next 14 days. We'd have excursions in each port that focused on the area's wildlife, history, and more. After a day at sea, I was eager to explore Santiago, our first port of call about 400 miles from Dakar, one of three Cape Verde islands we'd visit. As I strolled Santiago's ficus-shaded streets, bordered with buildings erected by the Portuguese in the 17th century, observing residents whose skin color ranged from milky coffee to espresso, that sense of familiarity returned. These were faces I was used to seeing all across the Caribbean, from Havana to Trinidad; the style of buildings was common in Caribbean capitals from San Juan to Bridgetown. Later we visited Santo Antao, where the mountainous landscape crisscrossed with winding roads, foamy waves crashing against black-sand beaches, and stalks of sugarcane swaying in warm breezes all looked so Caribbean to me. From my conversations with our guides, it became clear that island people share a vibe, no matter which side of the Atlantic their islands are on. Whatever our station in life, we have an innate confidence that comes from being big fish in small ponds, our sense of agency inversely proportionate to the size of our homes. And although I don't speak Portuguese, I recognized the animated way people here spoke to one another, with enthusiastic hand gestures and voices so loud that outsiders might mistake conversation for argument. The next day, on the island of Fogo, a hiking excursion across jet-black lava fields to the crater of Pico de Fogo, its still-active volcano, was novel as well as challenging. But as the Spitsbergen pulled away from Fogo, the sharp outline of its mountains blurring with every mile, I couldn't shake the feeling that nothing in Cape Verde had delivered the Africa I'd imagined. The islands felt familiar, yes, but disappointingly so. Although I didn't see the Africa I expected, some of what I saw affected me deeply. Just off Senegal's coast on Goree Island, once the world's largest trading post of enslaved Africans, I was moved to tears at the Door of No Return, the final site through which an estimated 20 million of my ancestors were forced before boarding ships to the New World. It was a sobering place to begin our cruise, but an essential one, I felt, to put the rest of our journey into appropriate context. I left not just with sadness about what I'd seen but also with a huge sense of pride that I'm part of a race that not only survived such unspeakable brutality but thrived despite it. Ending my trip, I realized that I too had unconsciously bought into common stereotypes. I hadn't been expecting landscapes and vegetation and city scenes that felt so much like what I knew from back home. I'd hoped to have at least one person remark on how much I resembled the people from a particular town or regionto be claimed. I'm always championing the Caribbean's diversity, cautioning visitors not to assume all 30 or so islands on the tourist map are the same. Similarly, the 54 African countries share a land mass, but their cultures, religions, topographies, and cuisines are diverse. For me to expect to feel an ancestral pull in places where my ancestors may never have set foot was, I realized, entirely too much to ask of a continent. This article appeared in the September/October 2024 issue of Conde Nast Traveler. Subscribe to the magazine here. Originally Appeared on Conde Nast Traveler BUCHAREST, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Romania is set to bolster its fleet of F-16 fighter jets with 186 AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) bought from the United States, according to local media reports. Romania will also receive four AIM-120 AMRAAM guidance sections and other essential equipment. The initial sale was valued at approximately 180 million U.S. dollars, with the option for additional purchases in the future. This deal, announced on Thursday, would enhance the Romanian Air Force's modernization efforts, according to local media. The AIM-120 AMRAAM is a versatile, beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile used by 40 countries. "Parts Of It Literally Turn To Bone": Here's The Area Of Your Body You Must Stretch As You Age Wisdom comes with age. But flexibility? It feels like we lose a little limberness every year and that can come with some (*ahem*) stiff consequences. Its not just that you cant do the splits or touch your toes like you used to. Having tighter muscles can affect your ability to navigate day-to-day life, something you may have already started to feel if you have a job that requires a lot of sitting. Luckily, theres one easy thing you can do to combat this: stretch your hip flexors. While all types of stretches are good for your body, focusing on your hip flexors is especially important to maintain mobility as you get older. Tight hip flexors can cause lower back pain and muscle fatigue and stretching them can improve balance and resolve other issues, according to a 2021 meta-analysis. Gavin Hamer, a physical therapist and the national director of clinical education at Fyzical Therapy & Balance Centers, told HuffPost that stretching will positively affect the joints, ligaments, and muscles around the hip. Flexible muscles are less likely to become strained, and mobile joints are kept healthy by improving circulation and lubrication, Hamer added. Not to mention, flexible hips lead to greater stride length and more effective reactions to balance challenges, according to Hamer. Why Do We Lose Flexibility? Jacob Wackerhausen / Getty Images Dr. Georgiy Brusovanik, an orthopedic surgeon and spine and bone specialist at Miami Back & Neck Specialists, said that we lose disc height in our spines when we age, leading to a loss of lumbar lordosis, which is the natural inward curve of your spine. Think of it as we get more and more pitched forward, he explained. An extreme example of this is our elderly who may have a difficult time even looking up at the horizon. This is a slow process that happens over time. Loss of hip cartilage is inevitable just like loss of knee cartilage and loss of disc height, he said, adding that doing hip extensions (i.e., stretching your hips) will help slow this down. As the joint capsule ages, it gets inflamed and ossifies parts of it literally turn to bone, he said. Stretching may counter that process and maintain a more natural range of motion. The Best Stretch To Help With Your Hip Flexors SrdjanPav via Getty Images To directly balance out the normal hip flexion position (think: curling in a ball at night or sitting rounded forward during the day), Brusovanik suggested doing hip extensions. To do a hip extension, lie flat on your back with your knees bent in front of you. Place your hands on the floor under your lower back, then lift your hips as high as you can in a bridge pose. Doing this stretch is paramount to counter loss of disc height that is due to disc degeneration, according to Brusovanik. He added that its key to both maintaining upright posture as well as having the ability to keep a long, healthy stride during walking and running. In addition to the bridge, Hamer suggested incorporating stretching routines or exercises, like yoga or Pilates, into daily life, as they can significantly help maintain joint mobility by stimulating circulation and lubrication. While aging inevitably changes our bodies, taking proactive steps to preserve hip flexibility can significantly improve the quality of life, he explained. By embracing regular exercise routines that prioritize joint mobility and health, individuals can potentially mitigate the effects of aging on hip stiffness and maintain an active lifestyle for years to come. Fatcamera / Getty Images Hamer recommended six additional stretches to try if you want to work on your hip flexibility even more: Forward crouch: Stand in front of a sturdy chair with your feet hip-width apart. Hold the back of the chair and squat down, bending your knees and keeping your back straight. Breathe out as you go down until you feel your butt and thighs working, then breathe in as you come back up, repeating 10 times. Wide crouch: Stand with your feet wider than hip-width apart and your knees and feet turned out. Hold the back of a sturdy chair and squat, making sure to keep your butt out and your back straight. Do the same breathing as before, repeating 10 times. Side lunge: In a wide stance, place the chair to your side. Bend your knees, shifting your pelvis away from the chair and leaning your shoulders toward the chair. You should feel the stretch on the inside leg closest to the chair. Breathe out and add a little more stretch, continuing for 30 seconds and repeating twice on each leg. Forward lunge: With the chair still at your side, position your feet in a lunge position with your front foot farther away from the chair. Bend your forward knee 30 degrees and angle your back foot toward the chair. Raise the arm not holding onto the chair up toward the ceiling, then draw the hip on your forward leg back. Hold for 30 seconds, repeating twice on each leg. Seated figure-four: Sit at the edge of a sturdy chair, putting one leg straight out in front of you and crossing the opposite ankle over the straight legs shin. Use your hands to pull the ankle up toward your hip as much as you can. Then, with your hands behind your back, lean forward at the hips, breathing in and out and leaning forward a little bit more. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat twice on each side. Butterfly: Sit on the floor with the soles of your feet facing each other and touching. Your knees should be out wide to your sides and your back should be tall. Lean forward at the hips, placing your hands on your back for support, and stretch as much as you can with each breath in and out. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat twice. Always consult with your doctor before starting any new exercise routine. And if you are experiencing pain when rotating your hips (or if you have to hold your pants to help lift your leg in and out of the car), then you should make a consultation with an orthopedic surgeon. Youll need to make sure a larger problem, like injury or hip arthritis, isnt to blame. For everyone else, taking a few minutes a day to stretch out your hips can make a huge difference in your ability to walk and tackle each day. Everyone will lose flexibility eventually, but taking steps to slow down the process can have a lasting impact on your quality of life. This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Planning my bachelorette party was complicated. Id envisioned Palm Springs, California, for a girls weekend, and had all the activities in mind. Although its typical for friends to plan the bachelorette party, I quickly realized that most of the girls were busy and preoccupied with their own lives, and unless I took charge, it wouldnt get done. But the unraveling of the vision began when I put my 10 girlfriends in a group chat to coordinate. At first, everyone was on board, but things slowly became more chaotic. One by one, friends started dropping out, and I wasnt feeling happy or joyful about planning all of it. I felt stressed and overwhelmed. Eventually I got to a breaking point and said, You know what, Im going to take myself on a weekend getaway because I feel like I need it. Planning a wedding is stressful enough on its own and the added pressure of wrangling 10 girls to go on a trip seemed pointless. I became more of an angsty travel agent than a carefree bride-to-be and decided to make my bachelorette party a self-care moment that was all about me. Putting yourself first can feel selfish, but I realized taking time for myself was important for my mental health. I wanted to reflect on my next chapter. Bachelorette parties have turned into an its my last moment of being single kind of thing, but I wanted to celebrate becoming a wife, not mourn my single life while dealing with a hangover. Instead of flying across the country, I chose a stunning hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, only a 1 -hour drive from my home in Miami, which was perfect. It was quaint and peaceful, with a wellness retreat vibe. I might not have had a crew with me, but I still managed to get plenty of shots of my all-white bachelorette looks by the pool. I was a little nervous because it was my first solo trip. The first dinner was the hardest. I felt like I was going to be judged for sitting alone at a nice restaurant just me solo at the table. But I quickly talked myself out of that mindset with a little pep talk. This is what you chose, what you wanted and what is peaceful to you, I said over and over to myself. Once I got over the hill of that first night at dinner, the rest was a breeze. Saturday was a full beach day where I hung out by the ocean under an umbrella, where I had drinks and lunch. I swam, journaled, reflected and of course, took a whole bunch of pictures for TikTok. Sunday was all about the pool starting with brunch in the morning and a cool DJ into the afternoon. It built up my confidence to be in my own company and to enjoy my own company. I think its important to like hanging out with yourself so you dont always have to rely on others to satisfy you. It made me understand how important solo trips can be to revive and rejuvenate. Before meeting my fiance and getting engaged, I was single for three years because I wanted to take those years to focus on my personal and career growth. I hoped to become a better version of me. On my solo bachelorette, I wanted to honor how far Id come and how much Id grown. It wasnt a weekend to commemorate the end of being single. I was ready to get married really ready! At first, my fiance was unsure about my decision to go solo. He asked a lot of questions: Are other women doing the same thing? Was I sure? Is this really what I wanted to do? He thought it was a little weird. But once he understood my thought process, he came around and was totally supportive. He was just looking out for me and wanted to be sure that my experience was memorable and something that I would actually enjoy. He didnt want me to have any regrets. That said, hes taking the traditional bachelor party route and celebrating with seven of his friends on a trip to Scottsdale, Arizona. My friends, on the other hand, werent surprised or upset at my decision to celebrate solo. In fact, they encouraged and loved the idea. They know that once I make a decision, I stick to it, so they didnt try to change my mind. Its funny how it aligns with my decision to not to have any bridesmaids either. So luckily, there were no grudges or bad blood. I wanted a wellness-retreat vibe for my solo trip, and that's exactly what I got. If any other brides-to-be are in the same predicament, I would tell them: Listen to your gut. And if a solo vibe is what you want, go for it. I documented my experience on TikTok because I wanted to give permission to any brides-to-be who might be feeling the same way I felt to choose themselves first. I dont want anyone else to feel pressure to have a wild bachelorette weekend if its not what they want. My videos definitely resonated because they started to go viral and people left comments about similar personal stories and what theyve been through. I loved reading through these comments because I realized I made the right choice, and that Im potentially helping other women feel less alone. With wedding planning, there can be a lot of cooks in the kitchen with different opinions about how you should do things, but ultimately you have to do what makes you happy. My chill bachelorette is what did it for me. There is nothing I would have done differently except to skip the group planning and opt for a solo adventure from day one. This article was originally published on TODAY.com "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." For long, rosemary was simply an ingredient used to enhance meals in the kitchen. However, it has some pretty impressive benefits for the hair, too. Rosemary oil is a stimulating ingredient that promotes hair growth while stimulating blood flow, ultimately strengthening the hair follicle, says Helen Reavey, a trichologist and founder of Act + Acre. In other words: It creates a healthy environment for strands to thrive in by improving blood circulation to the scalp, moisturizing the skin, as well as soothing dandruff and inflammation. Preview the best rosemary oil hair products: TikTok and Instagram have certainly hyped up its greatness (particularly since theres little evidence to support the efficacy of hair growth vitamins). There is no shortage of engaging content on #HairTok dedicated to providing solutions for all of our hair woes, whether the topic is addressing thinning strands and promoting growth or miracle ingredients needed to make nourishing Ayurvedic concoctions. But whats actually the truth and whats fiction? Well, we turned to the experts for the facts on using rosemary oil for hair growth and learned theres so much more to this essential oil other than its great taste. Keep reading to find out, plus shop some of the best rosemary oil hair productsincluding top hair growth shampoos and scalp treatments approved by experts. What is rosemary oil? First things first, native to the Mediterranean region, rosemary oil is a pale liquid from the rosemary plant, which has an herbaceous aroma, says cosmetic chemist Ginger King . Its often used in perfumes, skincare, and haircare as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial ingredient. How can rosemary oil benefit the hair? Improves hair growth: So, can rosemary oil really help with hair growth? Experts say yes. The rosemary plant contains carnosic acid, which is known to heal nerve damage, tissue damage, and improve cellular turnover, says Marnie Nussbaum , MD, FAAD, a board-certified dermatologist. Therefore, it encourages nerve growth and improves blood circulation. The reason blood circulation is so important to hair growth is that without a proper blood supply, the follicles do not get the nutrients they need to grow the hair, and they can die off. There is one study that compared [rosemary oil] specifically to minoxidil (aka Rogaine off the shelf) and the finding is that the results appeared similar after six months, says King. In another study performed on mice, the ingredient has also been shown to inhibit DHT, the male sex hormone that plays a major role in contributing to hair loss in both men and women. If you desire fuller, thicker, and more luscious strands, experts agree rosemary oil is one of the most potent hair growth oils on the market. Rosemary Mint Purifying Shampoo It smells amazing and is a personal favorite of mine, says Dr. Nussbaum. It is great for fine hair as it contains white vinegar as well which decreases product build-up that can cause stress on the follicle. Shop Now Rosemary Mint Purifying Shampoo amazon.com $21.94 HG Shampoo Bergamy recommends this vegan-friendly shampoo with rosemary oil for hair growth. She says, It works great for fine or thinning hair and is packed with vitamins and minerals that revitalize the hair shaft, plus gentle cleansers to help whisk away scalp build-up. Shop Now HG Shampoo ulta.com $16.80 Courtesy Magic Elixir Hair Restructuring Concentrate Use this ultra-lightweight scalp and hair oil treatment before shampooing to boost your hairs manageability and shine factor. It combines rosemary oil and avocado oil to encourage hair growth while delivering moisture, says Dr. Nussbaum. Shop Now Magic Elixir Hair Restructuring Concentrate 18.75 Courtesy Scalp & Hair Strengthening Oil Not only is this oil dermatologist-formulated (Dr. Camille Howard-Verovic is the founder), but the blend is a minty delight. Rosemary takes the lead to reduce hair thinning, as spearmint oil stimulates the scalp and pumpkin seed oil strengthens and adds shine. Shop Now Scalp & Hair Strengthening Oil amazon.com $19.99 Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Strengthening Oil Both Newman and Dr. Longsworth are fans of this product. Its great because it can be used as a scalp treatment to precisely deliver the hair follicle benefits, says Newman. The oil can be used as a leave-in/styler for natural, textured hair. Shop Now Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Strengthening Oil amazon.com $9.46 Amazon Shine Revitalizing Conditioner After thoroughly cleansing your strands, restore moisture, luster, and softness with this deeply nourishing conditioner. Strands are revitalized using chia seeds and mongongo oil for healthy hair you can see and feel. Shop Now Shine Revitalizing Conditioner better-notyounger.com $29.00 EverStrong Thickening Sulfate Free Conditioner The key ingredient rosemary leaf in this duo was formulated to create thicker-looking hair. Dr. Nussbaum notes it encourages hair growth without sulfates, dyes, and parabens. Shop Now EverStrong Thickening Sulfate Free Conditioner amazon.com $8.97 Amazon SahaScalp Amla Soothing Scalp Serum Made with rosemary, amla, and soothing aloe, this serum calms an irritated scalp, boosts overall shine, and stimulates hair growth. Shop Now SahaScalp Amla Soothing Scalp Serum amazon.com $37.99 Scalp Revival Rosemary Pre-Wash Oil This pre-wash oil soothes with tea tree and rosemary to stimulate the scalp, perfect for protective style takedowns or whenever your hair needs extra nourishment before shampooing. Shop Now Scalp Revival Rosemary Pre-Wash Oil sephora.com $32.00 Reduces scalp irritation: From that same minoxidil study, the majority of those who used rosemary oil also had less itchy scalps. The rosemary plant in essential oil form is known to boast anti-inflammatory properties, says Ope Ofodile , MD, MPH, a board-certified cosmetic and medical dermatologist at Dermatology and Surgery Specialists of North Atlanta . This would be especially beneficial to help soothe distressed scalps. Can prevent hair loss: Rosemary oil is a potent antioxidant that can fight against free radicals, says Dr. Gaby Longsworth, Ph.D. scientist, certified hair practitioner, and owner of the blog Absolutely Everything Curly. These molecules destroy cells over time and can ultimately lead to hair loss by damaging the hair follicle. Prevents dandruff: In addition to improving blood circulation to the scalp, rosemary oil eliminates bacteria that clogs hair follicles, explains Dr. Longworth. This can potentially reduce the occurrence of flakes on the scalp, adds King. May help reduce gray hair: When cells are damaged from environmental aggressors, they can oxide, which research has shown can play a major role in accelerating aging processes, like hair graying. By actively fighting against those free radicals, rosemary oil may also be able to slow down the graying process. Trichologist Penny James adds that rosemary oils aromatherapy benefits can also be very helpful to reduce stress thats known to cause graying. How long should you keep rosemary oil in your hair? Reavey suggests leaving the oil in your hair for at least 30 minutes, and you can absolutely leave it in longer. I recommend a good amount of time as it can be used as a leave-in treatment, she says. Rosemary oil can be applied to the scalp and massaged in or even applied to the hair and covered with a shower or heating cap for a soothing treatment. Although rosemary oil is not harmful, James warns against leaving it in hair overnight. Leaving any kind of oil on the scalp for a prolonged period of time will upset the microflora of the scalp, she says. This can cause itchiness and redness, and it applies to all oilsnot just rosemary oil. What should you know before using? Rosemary is the ingredient du jour, but you should consider a few things before adding it to your routine. Rosemary extract/oil is extremely concentrated, so its generally recommended to dilute it with a carrier oil (such as argan oil, or jojoba oil) before applying it directly to the hair and scalp, says Reavey. To maximize rosemary oils effects on hair, Reavey suggests coupling the ingredient with other powerhouses. I also recommend products that contain peptides, stem cells, and ginseng to support hair health from the root and optimize the hair follicles function. Our Stem Cell Peptide Treatment contains clinically vetted Grape Stem Cells that create an environment for optimized hair follicle function, leading to thicker-looking hair in just 12 weeks, she adds. How long after using rosemary oil should someone expect to see results in hair growth? Not all hair will magically transform into Rapunzel-length strands upon using rosemary oil, as it depends on the persons reaction to it. Also, be prepared to play the waiting game if longer hair is your goal. King says, There is limited study to prove its effectiveness, but it takes more than six months [of use] to see results. Who can use rosemary oil? Rosemary essential oil can be used on any hair type because the benefits target the hair follicle, not the hair strand, says hairstylist Matt Newman . It is safe to use on color-treated hair, especially because its main use should be directly on the scalp. If you have sensitive skin and are unsure how your scalp skin may react, first talk to your dermatologist about integrating the oil into your routine. Newman recommends doing a small patch test first and waiting 24 hours to see if any irritation occurs. Also, when applying to the scalp, tilt your head backward to avoid any oils dripping into your eyes. Also, There is no data regarding use in pregnancy or breastfeeding; therefore, I would avoid it if possible, advises Dr. Nussbaum. How does rosemary oil compare, if at all, to other oils? Newman notes that rosemary essential oil differs from most carrier oils used in hair care because of its hair follicle health benefits. Hairstylist Cheryl Bergamy agrees, Unlike other oils (like tea tree and peppermint), rosemary oil strengthens and promotes circulation for thirsty hair follicles that are starving of its blood supply and leading to hair loss. One caveat: It must be used more sparingly than carrier oils because overexposure can be irritating to the skin, says Newman. What are the side effects of using rosemary oil for hair? The physical weight of the oil could interfere with your style. Newman says that for people with thin or fine hair or a sparse density of hair, the oils can make the hair look greasy and weighed down. If this is the case for you, try using the product as a pre-shampoo treatment reserved for days when you will be using a clarifying shampoo on your hair. How often should I put rosemary oil in my hair? If youre trying to suppress itching due to dandruff, use the oil mixed with compounds three to four times a week, suggests James. Massage it directly into the scalp, leave it on for 20 minutes, then shampoo the oils out of the hair and scalp. If you have very fine hair and/or an oily scalp, James advises using rosemary oil once a week as a scalp treatment and washing it out of hair immediately to avoid any greasiness. How can I use rosemary oil for hair? Mix it with a carrier oil. You can start by using rosemary essential oil one to two times per week and titrate use upwards to daily as tolerated, says Dr. Nussbaum. Only use five drops of it, add it to a carrier oil like coconut or jojoba oil and massage into the scalp for five to ten minutes, and rinse. Diluting pure rosemary oil helps reduce potency and, therefore, decreases irritation on the skin. According to James, rosemary oil can safely be combined with most other essential oils. Blend into shampoo or conditioner. Bergamy suggests adding it to your shampoo or conditioner to get the benefits while washing your hair. Just be sure to thoroughly wash your hair to get the product out well. Use rosemary oil products. Alternatively, instead of playing scientist and adding rosemary essential oil to other products, you can use ones that already include the ingredient. Meet the experts Ginger King is a New Jersey-based cosmetic chemist. Dr. Marnie B. Nussbaum is a board-certified dermatologist specializing in non-invasive aesthetic rejuvenation. Dr. Ope Ofodile is a board-certified cosmetic and medical dermatologist at Dermatology and Surgery Specialists of North Atlanta . Dr. Gaby Longsworth, Ph.D. scientist, certified hair practitioner, and owner of the blog Absolutely Everything Curly. Penny James is a trichologist and founder of the Penny James Salon Trichology Center. Helen Reavey is a trichologist and founder of Act + Acre. Matt Newman is a hairstylist and social media star. Why trust ELLE Beauty? Sam Peters is a seasoned commerce writer and editor with over five years of experience covering beauty, fashion, and lifestyle topics. For this piece, she consulted dermatologists and hair experts about the benefits of rosemary oil. Nerisha Penrose is the Beauty Commerce Editor at ELLE.com. Since joining ELLE.com in 2017, she has interviewed countless skincare professionals and has personally tested the latest and greatest products across makeup, skincare, and hair care. Shop More ELLE Beauty Essentials The Best Collagen Supplements for Hair Growth The Best Hair Growth Oils That Will Completely Transform Your Tresses The Best Hair Masks for Growth and Retention The Best Tea Tree Shampoos for a Healthy, Flake-Free Scalp Rosemary oil has quite a rep for its versatility. Besides its use for aromatherapy, seasoning food, and beyond, rosemary oil for hair restoration has been renowned for decades. And as of late, its hyped up even more via social media. But are the benefits claimed (like hair growth) really true? We turned to the experts for the facts on everything you need to know about rosemary oil for hair.What is rosemary oil?First things first. Native to the Mediterranean region, rosemary oil is a pale liquid oil from the rosemary plant which has an herbaceous aroma, says cosmetic chemist Ginger King. It's often used in perfumery, skincare, and haircare as an antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial ingredient.How can rosemary oil benefit the hair?So, can rosemary oil help with hair growth? Experts say yes. The rosemary plant contains carnosic acid which is known to heal nerve damage, tissue damage, and improve cellular turnover, says Marnie Nussbaum, MD, FAAD, a board-certified dermatologist. Therefore, it encourages nerve growth and improves blood circulation. The reason blood circulation is so important to hair growth is that without a proper blood supply, the follicles do not get the nutrients they need to grow the hair and they can die off. There is one study that compared [rosemary oil] specifically to minoxidil (aka Rogaine off the shelf) and the finding is that the results appeared similar after six months, says King. The majority of those who used rosemary oil also had less itchy scalps.Dr. Nussbaum adds that while rosemary oil helps strengthen follicular health and hair growth, there is evidence it may also prevent premature graying, although thats more anecdotal. The rosemary plant in essential oil form is known to boast anti-inflammatory properties, says Ope Ofodile, MD, MPH, a cosmetic and medical dermatologist at Dermatology and Surgery Specialists of North Atlanta. This would be especially beneficial to help soothe distressed scalps.Another perk: Because it's antimicrobial, it potentially can reduce the occurrence of flakes on the scalp, says King. But not everyones hair will magically transform into Rapunzel-length upon using rosemary oil as it depends on the persons reaction to it. Also, be prepared to play the waiting game if longer locks are your goal. King says, There is limited study to prove its effect but it takes more than six months [of use] to see results.Who can use rosemary oil?Rosemary essential oil can be used on any hair type because the benefits target the hair follicle, not the hair strand, says hairstylist Matt Newman. It is safe to use on color-treated hair, especially because its main use should be directly on the scalp. On the flip side, who should not use rosemary oil? If you know you have a sensitivity to it, then skip it. Also, There is no data regarding use in pregnancy or breastfeeding, therefore I would avoid it if possible, advises Dr. Nussbaum. How does rosemary oil compare, if at all, to other oils?What makes rosemary essential oil different from most carrier oils used in hair care is its hair follicle health benefits, notes Newman. Hairstylist Cheryl Bergamy agrees, Unlike other oils (like tea tree and peppermint) that produce hair growth, rosemary oil strengthens and promotes circulation for thirsty hair follicles that are starving of its blood supply and leading to hair loss.One caveat: But it must be used more sparingly than carrier oils because overexposure can be irritating to the skin, says Newman. What are the downsides to using rosemary oil for hair?Dr. Ofodile says, Rosemary oil is not a known allergen. However, each individuals skin reacts to things differently. As with any new product in your skincare routine, there is a chance for irritation to occur. Be sure to check with your board-certified dermatologist before adding any new products into your routine.Newman recommends doing a small patch test first and waiting 24 hours to see if any irritation occurs. Also, when applying to the scalp, tilt your head backward to avoid any oils dripping into your eyes.Another possible downside to using a rosemary essential oil product, as Newman points out, is the physical weight of the oil mixtures. He says, For many people with thin or fine hair or a sparse density of hair, the oils can make the hair look greasy and weighed down. If this is the case for you, try using the product as a pre-shampoo treatment reserved for days when you will be doing a clarifying wash to your hair. How can I use rosemary oil for hair?Mix it with a carrier oilYou can start by using rosemary essential oil one to two times per week and titrate use upwards to daily as tolerated, says Dr. Nussbaum. Only use five drops of it, add it to a carrier oil like coconut or jojoba oil and massage into the scalp for five to ten minutes, and rinse. Diluting pure rosemary oil helps reduce the potency and, therefore, decreases irritation on the skin.Mix it with your shampoo or conditionerBergamy suggests adding it to your shampoo or conditioner to get the benefits while washing your hair. Just be sure to thoroughly wash your hair to get the product out well.Use rosemary oil productsAlternatively, instead of playing scientist and adding rosemary essential oil to other products, you can use ones that already include the ingredient. In that case, read on for the best rosemary products for hair. You Might Also Like She got back in touch with a vacation fling from over 15 years ago. What happened next was unexpected Alex Nelke and Ola Forsmark never forgot that evening together in Thailand. Eyes meeting across the dancefloor. Drinking on the beach side by side. Attempting to climb a mountain in the middle of the night. Swimming in the dark. Laughing together as they ran across the sandy beaches. I remember thinking, hes a really special person, from the second I met him, Alex tells CNN Travel today. You know when you meet someone and youre just on one level? It was so easy to talk to Ola. It just felt super right. When I saw Alex, I was stunned, Ola tells CNN Travel. I had a crush on her the moment we met. She was always such a special person to me, ever since that first evening. Then, for more than 15 years, Alex and Ola were out of touch, living separate lives, happily in relationships with other people. They rarely thought of each other. When they did, it was with a fond nostalgia for a night theyd never forget, but had consigned firmly to the past. Cut to 2020 and Alex and Ola both found themselves single. And an unexpected message out of the blue resurrected feelings and kickstarted a surprise second chapter. An unforgettable evening Alex and Olas paths first crossed when they were in their mid-20s, both visiting on the island of Ko Phi Phi, Thailand known for its white sand beaches and striking limestone cliffs, all bordered by crystal clear blue water. It was 2004. Alex, originally from Germany, had just quit her London-based fashion PR job to travel the world with her best friend. Meanwhile Ola was a Swedish engineering student spontaneously exploring southeast Asia. Alex and Ola met in a crowded bar and stayed up all night together on the island. We were only supposed to have that one evening together, because I was supposed to leave Ko Phi Phi the next morning, recalls Alex. They didnt even swap contact details. But then Alex and her friend missed their morning ferry. Realizing the next boat didnt depart until the following day, the two women made their way back to their hostel. They were walking down the street when they bumped into Ola. Alex remembers Olas wide smile when he unexpectedly saw her again. It was really lucky that Alex missed that ferry, says Ola today. Alex and Ola made plans to hang out again that evening, hitting up a few bars and beaches before Alex and her friend successfully made their ferry the next day. This time round, Alex made sure to give Ola her email address. The two travelers promised to keep in touch. There was even talk of Ola and Alex reconnecting later down the line in Bali. But that didnt happen, says Alex. We ran out of money. So we never made it to Bali, explains Ola. Instead, Alex and Ola kept in touch over the next few months via email and instant messenger, updating one another on their respective adventures. We were pretty much emailing every day, recalls Alex. We were in touch a lot throughout our Southeast Asia travels. Then I went traveling to America for another three months, and Ola went home to Sweden, but we just kept emailing and stayed in touch. Ola and Alex on the evening they first met in 2004, in Thailand. - Alexandra Nelke When Alex returned to London in the winter of 2004, Ola immediately booked a plane ticket to visit her. He came for a long weekend with one of his best mates, Alex recalls. But nothing really came from it. Both Alex and Ola came away from their London reunion a little disappointed. Their connection in Thailand had felt like something special and theyd both looked forward to one anothers emails. The idea that they didnt have a future felt bittersweet. I guess its just not the right time, was Alexs conclusion. As for Ola, he felt like a relationship with Alex was out of reach despite his feelings for her. As I said, I had a crush on Alex from the moment I first saw her, and I thought she was an amazing person and beautiful woman, says Ola. But I also felt she was so cool, so beautiful, living in another city far away from me it was a bit unreachable for me. Despite the bittersweet London visit, Alex and Ola remained on good terms and they kept up their emails. When Facebook took off, they connected there. But then, life happened, says Ola. We were in contact less and less, talked less and less Eventually, the emails dwindled. Alex started dating a guy in London. Then Ola met and had children with someone else. They remained connected on social media, but never interacted online. Alex didnt even know Ola was a father he didnt post much, and he wasnt on her radar anymore. For well over a decade, Alex and Ola placed one another firmly in the past a happy memory of their twentysomething travels, but nothing more. Then one day, Alex sent Ola a message out of the blue. Reconnecting on social media Alex and Ola reconnected in 2020 and hit it off right away. - Alexandra Nelke It was July 2020. London was just coming out of its first Covid lockdown. There still wasnt much to do beyond scrolling social media, so when Alex spotted on Facebook that it was Olas birthday, she decided to send him a friendly message. Shed been single for the previous couple of years, but she didnt know Olas relationship status. She didnt have romance on her mind when she contacted him. What prompted me: no idea, says Alex of the moment she sent the message. I think it must have been the Facebook gods. I think what happened is that I was on Facebook the evening of his birthday or one day after his birthday and saw that people wrote congratulations messages on his profile. So I sent him a message to say happy birthday. When the message popped up on Olas phone, he couldnt believe it. As it happened, he was recently separated and just beginning to consider dating again. I got super nervous, he recalls. I didnt know how or even if I should respond. I was like, Why is Alex messaging me? I was so nervous and so excited at the same time, because I had so many feelings about the meeting in Thailand. Ola told himself not to overthink it, and he wrote back a friendly response. And then we started chatting, he recalls. To their mutual surprise, the connection Alex and Ola felt that night on the beach in Ko Phi Phi returned right away. It was simultaneously like no time had passed, and like the timing was finally right. Alex and Ola started talking early on about how they could reunite in person. Four weeks later, we met in Berlin, recalls Alex. Reuniting in Berlin Ola and Alex found an instant ease with one another when they crossed paths again. - Alexandra Nelke Alex and Ola reunited in a Berlin hotel lobby. I arrived, saw him, and didnt quite know whether I should check in first, or go and run into his arms. As a German, I decided I should check in fast, says Alex, laughing. Reuniting felt so natural super exciting, but so natural. It was so weird, and so exciting, says Ola, of the moment he saw Alex again after almost two decades apart. The two spent the weekend wandering the citys parks, eating al fresco and catching each other up on their time apart. We just hit it off straight away and we had the most amazing weekend, says Alex. After years apart, experiencing heartbreak and failed relationships, Alex and Ola decided they didnt want to procrastinate on happiness. We decided really quickly that we wanted to be together, says Alex. We thought, Lifes too short. And so, over the rest of summer 2020, Alex and Ola met up every four or five weeks, visiting one another in London and Sweden as Covid rules allowed. In the fall, Alex met Olas children, who she immediately loved. Within six months of reconnecting with Ola, Alex was packing up her London apartment and moving her life including her beloved dog, Wolfgang to Sweden, permanently. It moved super fast, but it felt right, Alex says. Ive always thought Ola is such a special person. And Ive always had this really special feeling about him. And I just thought, If not now, then when? I was so in love, says Ola, of the decision to invite Alex to move in with him. Im quite a romantic person, I didnt even think about what would happen if it didnt work out. I just wanted to be with Alex as soon as possible. While Ola and Alex were caught up in the excitement of their rekindled romance, Ola also wanted to ensure his children and ex-partner were comfortable. I thought over everything carefully, with the kids, Ola says. I tried to organize everything in a good way for everyone. Alex quickly came to think of Olas kids as her lovely bonus children. The blended family get on very well. Seeing him with his kids, hes so loving and sweet, adds Alex. Life today Ola and Alex are happily settled in Malmo, Sweden. - Alexandra Nelke A year after she moved to Sweden, Alex and Ola bought a house together in Malmo, Sweden. Three years on, the couple still live happily there. Alex runs a dog training business and Ola is a teacher. For Alex, moving to Sweden to be with Ola was an easy decision and one shes never regretted although she has moments when she misses her old life in London. But when I get a bit gloomy about it, I just think about how we met, and how lucky we are that we ended up together. And how amazing and random and romantic all of this and then it makes me feel really good, she says. This past July, Alex and Ola celebrated four years since they reconnected. When I think about us first meeting, I get a bit scared, almost, because it was so lucky, says Ola. We saw each other on the dance floor, then we had a fun evening together. But we didnt exchange contact info or anything. It was lucky Alex missed her ferry, and then everything else happened from there. The universe definitely wanted us to meet, adds Alex. I mean, the universe gave us two very good opportunities. Its funny to think we kind of have a 20 year history but also dont. In Alex and Olas Malmo home, theyve got a photo frame one of those see-through frames where you can put two photos in, as Alex puts it. On one side is their first photo together the only one from their 2004 Thailand meeting: a slightly drunken, smiling photo of the two of them in their 20s a photo they long thought would be their only one together. On the other side, is a photo taken recently in which the fortysomething version of Alex and Ola grin to the camera with their arms around each other. One is from 20 years ago, and one is from now. So we swap them around every now and then, which is fun, says Alex. Our relationship still feels pretty much the same as it did in 2004, but better because now we really know each other. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Peter Adams/Getty Between Sri Lankas eight UNESCO world heritage sites, its thriving wildlife, and pristine white sand beaches, the Pearl of the Indian Ocean has enough glimmer for everyoneand now, visiting the South Asia island nation, located off the coast of India, is about to get easier (and cheaper) for travelers from 35 countries. On August 22, 2024, Sri Lanka Transport Minister Bandula Gunawardana announced a new six-month pilot program launching October 1 of this year, which will give eligible visitors free 30-day tourist visas. This will temporarily eliminate the $50 visa fee tourists are typically required to pay until April 2025. Tourists from the approved countries, including the US and the UK, will be issued free tourist visas upon arrival, Reuters reports. The program coincides with Sri Lanka's peak travel season (which generally has the best weather), lasting from December to mid-April. The aim of the government is to transform Sri Lanka into a free visa country, much like Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam to tap into the benefits of a rapidly growing tourism industry, Gunawardana said after announcing the program at an August cabinet briefing. Here's everything travelers need to know about the new Sri Lanka visa program, according to tourism and immigration experts. Why is Sri Lanka loosening travel requirements? International travel to Sri Lanka has boomed in recent years, with nearly 1.2 million visitors from the beginning of this year to July alone (compared to just under 720,000 yearly visitors in all of 2022). Data from the Central Bank of Sri Lanka reports that tourism from the first half of 2024 generated over $1.5 billion in revenue for the country, around $625 million more than what the industry generated over the same period last year. The bulk of this years visitors have come from India, with over 300,000 travelers, followed by Russia and the UKs nearly 250,000 combined travelers (the second and third largest sources of arrivals this year, respectively), per data from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority. All three nations are included in the free visa program. The country piloted a similar six-month program in 2019 when it released free tourist visas in August of that year for US travelers, as an incentive to rebuild its travel economy following the April 2019 terrorist attacks in Colombo. The move to expand Sri Lankas embrace of travelers this year could play a similarly vital role in pushing past the economic and political hurdles that have persisted in the country since the pandemic and the 2022 financial crisis. The new visa program is just one initiative Sri Lanka is taking to bolster its tourism industry, like the recent opening of the Pekoe Trail and the establishment of new boutique stays like Kayaam House and wellness hotel Taprana. Sri Lankas previously under-the-radar south coast has recently bloomed into a hub for luxury resorts, surf clubs, and scene-y cocktail bars attracting adventure-seekers and lifestyle travelers alike. Anything that makes travel cheaper and easier has a positive impact, especially as it shows visitors are welcome, says Michael Pullman, a travel advisor at Wild Frontiers Travel. Travelers are rediscovering [Sri Lanka as] a country that offers one of the best vacation experiences in Asia the rock fortress of Sigiriya offers stunning views of the surrounding countryside; for world-class beaches, head to Bentota on the west coast or Tangalle beah on the southern coast; and wildlife lovers can seek leopards, elephants, sloth bears, and more in Yala National Park. Countries around the world are loosening travel restrictions to take advantage of the post-pandemic tourism boom: Japan, Italy, Turkey, and Thailand have launched new visa programs for digital nomads; Kenya has dropped of all visa requirements for visitors regardless of nationality; China has reduced visa requirements for US visitors; and six Gulf countries are pursuing a multi-national visa agreement. This initiative could give Sri Lanka an edge over its neighbors in an incredibly competitive market, Armand Arton, Chairman of the Global Citizen Forum and CEO of Arton Capital, a financial advisory firm that facilitates secondary residence and citizenship programs, tells Traveler. Sri Lanka may be able to become one of the most popular tourist hubs in Asia and reap the benefits that will follow. Which 35 countries are approved for free visas? Travelers from the following countries will be approved for free 30-day tourist visas to Sri Lanka starting on October 1, 2024 until April 2025: Australia Austria Bahrain Belarus Belgium Canada China Czech Republic Denmark France Germany India Indonesia Iran Israel Italy Japan Kazakhstan Malaysia Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Oman Poland Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Thailand United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Originally Appeared on Conde Nast Traveler The Latest Travel News and Advice I was teased by multiple kids throughout my childhood. David was my peak nemesis, a never-ending source of pain, who repeatedly shoved me and randomly punched me in the stomach at will. The physical pain wasnt the only problem. It was the constant feeling of powerlessness and isolation that hurt more. The trouble was often preceded by taunts from behind. Hey, wimp. Hey, wimpy boy. Im talking to you. Turn around. Sadly, he only picked fights when onlookers were available. Humiliation was a huge part of the appeal, which feels fairly sadistic in hindsight. I was always afraid to fight back and was completely embarrassed by my cowardice. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement In my defense, David was huge for an 11-year-old. Was it worse to fight back and lose worse? Or cut your losses and just take it? I always chose the latter. I dont know that Id describe the experiences as traumatic. But indulging those memories, even as I am now, doesnt put me in a good mood. They are a far throw from my happy place. Yes, David occasionally got in trouble. But never enough to alter his behavior. Teachers have a long a spotted history of policing bullying on the playground. Where does it all start? If anything was apparent, it was that David always looked angry. He carried an aura of agitation at the world, moving about like a small brooding volcano, ready to spew his wrath upon the locals. Oddly enough, Id been to Davids house for a group sleepover once before. His background did fit the trope of many bullies. He was from a broken home, and didnt know much about his biological mother. Per David's own words, his father had an anger problem, and wasnt around very often, spending his time partying with women, leaving David alone at home. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement It does lend some credence to the old literature about children being exposed to abuse and violence at home and being more likely to bully other kids. Either way, his circumstances clearly played a role in my own misery and that of others. But this is painfully common with many boys. Physical conflict on the playground is a near inevitability. It seems that each of us is eventually tested. Youre confronted about something or nothing, and your mere appearance can be the grounds for a beating. The societal norms of masculinity condition boys to act tough, and show no weakness. Were expected to have pride, stick our chests out, and not be weak. We are supposed to beat up the bad guy, no questions asked. This societal influence not only empowers bullies but also insulates them from authority figures. In one attempt to tell a male teacher about the bullying, I was literally told, Dont be such a tattletale. What was the teacher expecting me to do? Go out and fight? And then turn around and put me in detention? It made no sense. The withering gaze of hypermasculinity takes no prisoners. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement We are put in precarious positions on the playground. Larger boys stand over us. They challenge our immediate space, giving us a list of bad options, with people looking on to assess how we react. Our self-respect is put on a collision course with our safety. And it is opportune for an oversized 11-year-old like David, who loved testing boys spaces but only if they were smaller than him. Typical. I once saw him hold a boy down face-first into the sand while putting sand down the back of his pants. I saw him grab another boy by the hair, yanking them around as he cried out in pain, while futilely grabbing his wrists to stop it. On a given day, he checked off every racial and homophobic slur in the book. He was the kid who taught your kids new bad words, and how to find pornography. David was bad, bad juju and a symbol of the failings of our education system. Fortunately, we moved away from Virginia Beach for my dads military career. One decade later I was 21 years old. My family had moved back to Virginia Beach a few years prior and I was in town from college. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement It was summer. Raucous parties abounded in the 757 as we called it the area code for Virginia Beach. Id just arrived at a house party near the beachfront. We were in a three-storied townhouse, and it was early in the evening. The sun was setting, casting a warm and golden glow over the ocean. The party was fairly crowded, with a few dozen people at most. The room was dimly lit, with early-2000s rap and rock echoing across the room. There was a steady hum of conversation. I was in the kitchen. We were near a keg, drinking cheap beer, and talking amongst ourselves. Although my memory fails me, our conversation probably involved infantile humor or the lack of girls present. We were a bit basic, and happily so. As we talked, suddenly, I heard in an obnoxiously loud voice, SEANSEAN KERNAN?! I turned to see a man pushing through the crowd with a huge beaming smile pointed right at me. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Holy cow, is that David? I thought. He held his hands wide in greeting as he paced over like we were long-lost buddies. He shook my hand and gave me this over-the-top dude-bro hug. I suspect many of you have had those moments where you reminisce and think of ways you could have owned someone in an argument. Or when you wish youd just hauled off and punched the person in front of you. Ive certainly had those moments and a few of them definitely involved David. My boyhood self surely envisioned my fist sailing across his chin, with me getting a bunch of high-fives and being carried on everyones shoulders like a hero. And here he was delivered: My childhood bully. Fate had plopped him down on a platter, standing right in front of me. And man, had things changed in the intervening years. Although David had been larger than all of us on the playground, he was now much shorter than me. He was among the gilded chosen who peaked early. Meanwhile, I continued growing through my freshman year of college. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Im not a small guy. I was a Division 1 athlete and, a bit more equipped to deal with a bully at this junction of life. Id also had time to reconsider my view on bullies in those years. But I never felt anything close to the urge to brawl with David. Candidly, it would have been easy. Im not naturally the violent type, though Ive had a few minor scuffles over the years. Sure, if hed tried to do more of the same from childhood, we could have figured things out in an older and more primitive language between men. But, given his pandering behavior, it didnt seem the likely scenario. I would stay bully-free that night. As I had been for many nights before. Candidly, I felt bad for David. He was in a pathetic drunken stupor. With a cringe and painful lack of subtlety, he bragged to everyone in the kitchen about how many girls he was banging. He was only 21 but badly out of shape, and looking pale in the face, probably from his excessive partying. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement While David was overly friendly with me, I cant say for certain that David had changed. After all, I no longer fit the criteria for his ideal target. How could I possibly know? However, in the years since Id moved away as a kid, Id heard stories about David. Hed been kicked out of the local school and sent to a much bigger public school. He had, allegedly, made the mistake of trying to bully kids from the other side of the track Kids from rougher upbringings who werent afraid of a fight. Apparently, David had been given an education. Perhaps David had gotten his. Perhaps hed been reformed out of bullying. Or maybe hed just learned on his own. Or maybe he was still a bully, hidden under the thinly veiled guise of a long-lost friend that night. And while I have a fairly unpleasant past with David, I avoided picking a fight. it would be little more than dated, petty revenge. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement It reminds me of that old Confucius saying, Before embarking on a journey of revenge, dig two graves. Meaning you dig a grave for your intended and a grave for yourself. Had I picked a fight with David, Id have become the very thing I despised. David was now the easy target. We had an oddly pleasant conversation. We caught up on how our respective lives were going. Then we left and went our separate ways. I dont think Im better than David. I have a long list of mistakes from over the years, and a menu of things I wish I could take back. Ive been discourteous, selfish, and impulsive at times. Ive let my emotions get the better of me. Ive said many things I regret. I suspect weve all been authors of chapters wed like to forget. And so I hope David goes on and does well. I hope he does not inflict any more pain on the people around him. Life is short. Too short for me to be carrying around anger towards him, and too short for him to be carrying anger towards the world. If youre the type of traveler who plans their itinerary around whats on the menu, buckle up for a delicious journey across the U.S. Dive fork-first into some of the most obscure food offerings from coast to coast. From spicy wings in Buffalo to the worlds sweetest onions in Vidalia, heres where your taste buds will have the time of their lives. 1. Buffalo, New York Home of the Original Buffalo Wing Lets kick things off with a fiery favorite. Buffalo, New York, is the birthplace of the iconic Buffalo wing. This spicy delight was first whipped up at the Anchor Bar in 1964, and the rest, as they say, is finger-lickin' history. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement These wings arent just bar food; theyre a culinary phenomenon. Whether you like them mild or tongue-scorching hot, Buffalo is the place to savor them in all their saucy glory. 2. Wisconsin Horseradish Haven Sanny11 via Getty Images Wisconsin isnt just about cheese; its also the worlds largest producer of horseradish, thanks to Silver Spring Foods. Located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Silver Spring Foods is known for producing high-quality horseradish since 1929, might I add that adds a spicy kick to everything from roast beef to bloody marys. If youre a fan of bold flavors, a visit to Wisconsin to sample their horseradish products is a must. 3. Napa Valley, California The Wine Lovers Wonderland California's stunning Napa region is synonymous with world-class wineries and vineyards. Napa isnt just about wine; its about the experience of pairing world-class varietals with farm-to-table cuisine. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Whether youre a seasoned sommelier or just enjoy a good glass of vino, Napas vineyards offer the perfect blend of flavor, scenery, and sophistication. 4. Boulder, Colorado Craft Beer Capital If beer is your beverage of choice, Boulder, Colorado, should be on your radar. With more craft breweries per capita than almost anywhere else in the country, Boulder is a haven for hops lovers. From IPAs to stouts, Boulders breweries serve up unique concoctions that will make any beer enthusiasts heart skip a beat. Sip your way through this mountain towns vibrant beer scene and discover why its a top spot for craft brews. 5. San Francisco, California Sourdough Heaven Jon Kempner via Getty Images San Franciscos famous fog isnt just for ambiance; its a key ingredient in the citys renowned sourdough bread. The natural yeast in the air gives the bread its signature tangy flavor, making it a must-try for carb lovers. Swing by one of the citys historic bakeries and grab a loaf of sourdough to go, whether you eat it plain, buttered, or as the base for a clam chowder bowl. 6. Vermont Maple Syrup Madness Vermonts maple syrup is the stuff of legends. As the top maple syrup producer in the U.S., Vermont offers more than just pancakes; it offers a syrup experience. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Visit a sugar shack in the spring to see how this liquid gold is made, then drizzle it over everything from breakfast classics to artisanal ice cream. 7. Hatch, New Mexico Chile Pepper Paradise Welcome to Hatch, New Mexico, the Chile Capital of the World. This small town is famous for its green and red chile peppers, which pack a flavorful punch thats beloved by chefs and foodies alike. Hatch chiles are a staple in Southwestern cuisine, adding a smoky, spicy kick to dishes. If you visit during harvest season, you can even witness the peppers roasting. 8. Gilroy, California Garlic Galore Yana Tatevosian via Getty Images If you love garlic, Gilroy, California, is your dream destination. Known as the Garlic Capital of the World, Gilroy hosts an annual Garlic Festival that celebrates this pungent bulb in all its forms. From garlic ice cream to garlic fries, youll find innovative and delicious ways to enjoy this kitchen staple. 9. Chicago, Illinois Deep-Dish Delights Chicagos deep-dish pizza is a culinary marvel. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement With a thick, buttery crust, gooey cheese, and chunky tomato sauce, this isnt your average slice of pizza its a meal. Digging into a deep-dish pie is an experience in itself. 10. Louisville, Kentucky Bourbon and Mint Juleps Louisville, Kentucky, isnt just about horse races; its also a bourbon lovers paradise. The city is at the heart of bourbon country, offering tours and tastings at some of the most famous distilleries in the world. And lets not forget the Mint Julep, the official drink of the Kentucky Derby. Sip one of these refreshing cocktails as you soak in the Southern charm and rich history of Louisville. 11. Kona, Hawaii Coffee with a View Photo by James Keith via Getty Images If youre a coffee connoisseur, Kona, Hawaii, should be on your must-visit list. The rich volcanic soil and ideal climate make Kona coffee some of the best in the world. ADVERTISEMENT Advertisement Take a tour of a coffee plantation and learn how these premium beans are grown, harvested, and roasted to perfection. The best part? Sipping a freshly brewed cup while overlooking the lush Hawaiian landscape. 12. Hershey, Pennsylvania Chocolate Lovers Dream Dubbed The Sweetest Place on Earth, Hershey, Pennsylvania, is the ultimate destination for chocolate enthusiasts. Home to the Hershey Company, this town offers everything from chocolate factory tours to a theme park dedicated to the sweet treat. Indulge in all things chocolate, from bars and kisses to cakes and drinks. 13. Vidalia, Georgia Sweet Onion Sensation Vidalia, Georgia, is famous for its namesake sweet onions. These onions are so mild and sweet, you can eat them raw like an apple. Grown in a specific region of Georgia, Vidalia onions have a unique flavor thats prized by chefs and home cooks alike. Visit during the Vidalia Onion Festival to celebrate this humble vegetable with food, fun, and Southern hospitality. We went searching for the most uniquely-decorated tents at Grange Fair. Heres what we found In our Uniquely stories, CDT journalists celebrate what we love most about Centre County, its history & culture. Read more. Story idea? cdtnewstips@centredaily.com. The Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair has a lot to offer an abundance of food options, farm animals, carnival games and rides await every visitor. But the most unique thing about the Grange Fair may be its tents, and the decorations that adorn them. Now celebrating its 150-year anniversary, the Grange Fair is not just the only tenting fair in Pennsylvania, but it markets itself as the only remaining tenting fair in the nation. For nine days every summer, 1,000 tents are pitched on the fairgrounds, with some families holding onto their tenting spots for decades. The tents come in a plain, forest-green color, but each year a theme is announced by the fair committee that families can try to match when decorating their tents, if they choose to do so. Fittingly, this years theme is a celebration of the fairs 150th anniversary. On Monday, we took a trip to this years Grange Fair on the hunt for some of the most uniquely-decorated tents, whether they followed the theme or not. Below are the six most unique tents that we found. To check them out for yourself, or the many other activities and events at the fair, visit the fairgrounds through Saturday. Sandy Mansfield decorated her family tent to honor the 150th anniversary of the Grange Fair with a timeline, a harvest monument, photos, and in the evening a video featuring fireworks. Rolling back the years The first tent can be found at N10-23 and embraces the 150-year anniversary theme with open arms. It was decorated by Sandy Mansfield of Rhode Island, whose family has been coming to the Grange Fair for decades. So she thought it would be appropriate to decorate her familys tent with history from fairs of the past. Weve done a lot here to commemorate the big anniversary year and I, personally, think it looks really good, Mansfield said. Weve got a harvest memorial and so many little tidbits of history scattered all over the tent. Sandy Mansfield decorated her family tent to honor the 150th anniversary of the Grange Fair. One decoration that Mansfield is particularly proud of is a timeline made of wooden slats laid out in the grass in front of the tent. Every other slat is decorated with an important Grange Fair-related event and the year that it occurred, including the canceled fair year during the COVID-19 pandemic, the year that updated restrooms were installed and the years where the fairgrounds were expanded. Mansfield also repurposed two used window shutters to display photos of her family, as well as her relatives that originally started going to the fair. To top it all off, in the evenings Mansfield sets out a television for passing visitors to watch. It plays the Grange Fair committees documentary that honors the 150 years that the fair has been taking place. Patty Bird enjoys the porch of her familys tent that was decorated with sunflowers and butterflies. Family butterflies Sisters Patty Bird and Mary Johnston decorated their tent a little differently than Mansfield, as their tent has butterflies, flowers and fall leaves strewn tastefully across the entryway. These decorations arent just for looks though theres a significance to them, the sisters say. Twenty-five years ago we had a dear family member pass away, and right before she left this world, she told us that shed come back to visit us in the form of a butterfly, Bird said. Ever since that day, whenever either of us have been having a bad day, lo and behold theres always a butterfly somewhere. Shes always with us, and this is just another great way for us to honor her. Sunflowers and monarch butterflies decorate a tent at the Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair. Bird and Johnston are joined at the fair this year by their families, and their tent can be found on D Street, L5. An out-of-place outhouse The next tent on the list belongs to the Rogers family, a family that decided to honor the Grange Fairs 150th anniversary in an unorthodox way by stationing a wooden outhouse outside of their tent. Dont worry though there are no smells coming from this latrine, as its only a prop that was once used in the familys decorations in previous years. Helen Rogers-Koon, a key decorator for her familys tent this year, said that to her surprise, the outhouse has been a big hit. She said shes received many positive comments on the wooden throne. Weve used (the outhouse) as a prop before and the first time that we did it, it got a lot of attention, so we figured that wed bring it back for another round at the fair, Rogers-Koon said. People have been walking by and asking about it every single day this year weve even had some people ask if they could use it. An outhouse outside of the Rogers family tent honors their decoration themes over the years at the Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair. While the outhouse could technically be used as a bathroom, the Rogers family has nailed the door to the latrine shut so that no passersby get any funny ideas. In addition to the outhouse, the family also has memorabilia that was collected from Grange Fairs in years past, and the tent can be found at N1-13. Wooden family cutouts When walking up to the Sharer familys tent, expect to be greeted by the smiling faces of eight wooden cutouts, representative of Rod and Melissa Steins eight great-grandchildren. Each cutout is lined up in front of a white fence with a gate, and each one was decorated by either the great-grandchild themselves or their parents. The Sharers family tent features wooden cutouts of the great grandchildren at the Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. The idea for these cutouts started a few years ago, but as scarecrows. The family decided to transition to wooden cutouts for more sturdiness. Its a unique tradition that we have here, Melissa Stein said. I dont think anyone else in the fair has tent decorations like ours and the great-grandchildren just love it. For those wishing to see the Sharer family tent, it can be found at N1-26. A flamingo fiesta With bright pink flamingo decorations displayed at every corner of the tent, Michelle Lanes familys tent is a hard one to miss. While it isnt the most traditional, theme-adhering tent, it is without a doubt a cant-miss for those who enjoy seeing unique tents. Lanes flamingo tent decorations started years ago when, on a whim, she decided to give her familys tent a bit more color. The Lane family tent decorated with flamingos at the Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Each year since the idea was hatched, more and more flamingo decorations were added, and Lane doesnt see an end in sight. Oh its unique all right, isnt it? Lane said. I love flamingos and really wanted to bring some of their pop and color to our once-bland tent, and here we are. I hope to continue decorating the tent like this in years to come, but well see. Im always looking to add new decorations. Each year, Lane and her family try to bring pink or flamingo-themed gifts to give out to passersby that stop to look at the flamboyant tent, with this years gift being pink, flamingo-adorned pinwheels. Those looking to stop in and get a pinwheel, or those just looking to see a unique tent, can find Lanes along row N2. An entire tent decorated The final tent, which can be found at N5-3, belongs to Marsha Tate and the Tate family, and its decked to the nines with Grange Fair memories and memorabilia. The Tates a family that has been in attendance at all 150 Grange Fairs have collected a lot of fair artifacts over the years, and Tate has put them on full display this year for the milestone anniversary. Dozens of historical photographs, antiques and even a portable toilet from one of the earliest Grange Fairs in the 1800s can be found both inside and outside of the tent. The Tate family tent decorated to honor the 150th anniversary of the Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair. While we dont decorate for every fairs theme every single year, this years theme was a bit more special, so we decided to go all out, Tate said. My family has collected a lot of history at the fair over the years and Im proud to have gotten the chance to put it all on display here. Some of the other things that can be found at Tates tent site is several Christmas trees, decorated with farm animal plushies and livestock ribbons won in past years, a chest-high Snoopy inflatable and light strands lining the edges of the tent. The Tate family tent is decorated to honor the 150th anniversary of the Centre County Grange Encampment and Fair. What Is Suffragette White? Symbolic Dressing for Womens Right to Vote, From 19th Century Protest Movement to 2024 Democratic National Convention It took decades of protest, organized demonstrations and more for the U.S. to enshrine in its constitution that a citizen could not be prevented to vote based on sex. The decision, passed in June 1919 and ratified in August 1920, changed history, and continued to ripple throughout the U.S., creating new waves of the feminist movement. Looking back more than 100 years, women who advocated for the right to vote, called suffragettes, used sartorial statements to magnify their message. The color white became symbolic of the womens suffrage moment. More from WWD Ahead, learn more about the history behind suffragette-white and its incarnations throughout history to today. Suffragette White at the 2024 DNC The most recent incarnation of the use of suffragette white came during the 2024 Democratic National Convention, which began Aug. 19 and concluded on Aug. 22, 2024. The historic occasion marked Vice President Kamala Harris officially accepting the partys nomination for President of the United States. A delegate wears white at the 2024 Democratic National Convention on Aug. 22 in Chicago. On Aug. 22, the final night of the convention, several attendees like Kerry Washington and delegates wore white as a sartorial statement and homage to the suffragette movement. Some delegates also wore sashes with the phrase Votes for Women embossed in bold, black font with purple and yellow hues framing the phrase. Why White? Before white became the unifying color that brought the suffrage movement together, many women dating back to the mid-19th century who were active in womens suffrage organizations used the color yellow to symbolize the movement. In 1869, the suffragettes went to Kansas, and the Kansas state flower is the sunflower, Einav Rabinovitch-Fox, a lecturer at Case Western Reserve Universitys Department of History, said. Yellow became the suffragette color and by the 1890s it would be their official color. View of women participating in a suffrage parade in New York city, 1912. They are waving flags, wearing Votes for Women sashes, and the woman in the center pushes her baby in a stroller forward. At the time, suffragettes were rallying to ratify state constitutions one by one, traveling to each state to make their case for womens right to vote. Simultaneously, women in England were organizing under the colors green, purple and white. Rabinovitch-Fox notes there were several trans-Atlantic conversations between the movements and its representatives, including Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, leaders of the American movement. When Paul and Burns came back to the U.S., they start looking for those color schemes. Suffragettes, Rabinovitch-Fox says, were very savvy when it came to the media; they knew the power of dressing for the movement. White is one of the colors but it didnt become so prevalent until very late, partly because suffrage parades were very colorful, Rabinovitch-Fox explained. Because they were so savvy and understood the media, they themselves sent photographs to newspapers. Alice Paul was very good at saying, We need to create this visual contrast. White was useful for them to do that. Streets were very dark, so if you see a bunch of women in white dresses or light dresses, the contrast [in photos] will be great. They understood that. White is just a more practical color. The argument to make the suffragette movement more egalitarian was wear a white dress and a yellow bow and youre a suffragist, Rabinovitch-Fox said. In the United States, the color was seen often when women marched for the right to vote in the latter stages of the movement. Its also important to note that the color white and whiteness played a key role in the womens suffrage movement. The 19th amendment doesnt guarantee the right to vote, it does say you cannot prevent someone from voting on account of sex. But you can prevent them from voting on account of other reasons, Rabinovitch-Fox said. While prominent Black activists like Ida B. Wells voted in the North following the 19th amendment, Black women, Indigenous women and more waited for years to become active participants in the United States democratic process. We tend to think of the 19th amendment as the end of the story, but its really not. Other Colors of Note A woman holds up a flag made up of the colors of the suffragette movement as marchers gather on Piccadilly for Processions 2018 to mark 100 years since women won the right to vote in the U.K. on June 10, 2018 in London. Other colors incorporated into the womens suffrage movement were yellow gold, purple and green. Each color, like white, symbolized a particular quality. White was often associated with purity, green with hope and purple with royalty. To this day, green and purple are still seen during suffragette celebrations. To commemorate the 100-year anniversary since women won the right to vote in the United Kingdom in June 2018, women gathered and waved flags with the purple, white and green colors. Many also wore the tricolor scheme. In Todays Politics Kamala D. Harris speaks on the second night of the 2012 Democratic National Convention at Time Warner Cable Arena, Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2012 in Charlotte, N.C. Suffragette white still appears as a powerful sartorial statement in contemporary politics, but this is a recent phenomenon. Rabinovitch-Fox credits the 2016 election as a time when white dressing surged, especially among female politicians. Once Clinton adopted it, Rabinovitch-Fox says, it became a way of connecting past struggles with current struggles. Vice President Kamala Harris has worn suffragette white on several pivotal occasions during her political career. During the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., the future vice president of the United States wore suffragette-white as a symbol, evoking the power of women in politics. For her historic victory speech after President Joe Biden won the presidency, and Harris won the vice presidency, she wore suffragette white again. She thanked all the women who have worked to secure and protect the right to vote for over a century 100 years ago with the 19th Amendment, 55 years ago with the voting rights act, and now in 2020 with a new generation of women in our country who cast their ballots and continued the right for their fundamental right to vote and be heard. Members of congress wear white as a symbol of Womens Rights during U.S. President Joe Bidens State of the Union address during a joint meeting of congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol on March 7, 2024 in Washington, D.C. Vice President Harris further reflected on the occasion, saying, while I might be the first woman in this office, I will not be the last. During other political occasions, such as the State of the Union address, women who are members of the Democratic Party wore suffragette white as a sartorial statement to address womens reproductive rights. White makes you stand out. As a woman you stand out in congress, for sure. But a group of women wearing white in congress, thats a statement of power. Women dressed as suffragettes celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment of the U.S. Constitution granting women the right to vote participate in the 131st Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif., Jan. 1, 2020. Away from Capitol Hill, women still wear suffragette white on historic occasions and celebrations. During the 131st Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif., women fashioned white pieces of clothing inspired by the early 20th century to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment. The color purple was also featured on sashes, hats and more. Suffs the Broadway Musical Hillary Clinton attends the Suffs Broadway Opening Night at Music Box Theatre on April 18, 2024 in New York City. The musical Suffs is nominated for six Tony Awards at the 2024 awards show on June 16. The musical relays the historic events of the early 20th century, leading up to the ratification of the 19th amendment to the constitution in 1920. The show celebrated its opening night on April 18 in New York City. Hillary Clinton, who is a producer of the show, attended the event wearing a symbolic sartorial statement. The former first lady and secretary of state chose to wear suffragette white to the show, as a symbol of the work women did, and continue to do, for womens rights. Although the movement began more than 100 years ago, womens suffrage and the colors that symbolism the political and social goals of women still carry weight. They are a sartorial symbol of progress, hope and the eternal desire for equality the medium is the message. View Gallery Launch Gallery: Getting Ready with Hannah Cruz for the 'Suffs' Broadway Opening Night Best of WWD The most special day deserves the most special look. And anyone who has planned a wedding knows that the day itself is the culmination of an incredible amount of planning and creativity that can take months. Marlena Sigman has built her business, Redbud Lane Studio, by harnessing her strengths to help couples showcase their style in a way that is all their own, with invitations, stationery and other paper goods that mark the start of their future together. No detail is too small to personalize and make memorable. Marlena Sigman, founder of Redbud Lane Studio I grew up on Redbud Lane in Mississippi, and Im the daughter of an artist and an engineer, so blending creativity and precision has always been part of my DNA. I developed an appreciation for thoughtful and creative design, whether it was making Barbie furniture or creating fine art pieces in high school, Sigman says. Since earning a degree in graphic design at Auburn University, she has continued to nurture her passion for creativity over the past 15 years. I started in marketing and advertising and kind of slowly moved into where I'm at now, she says. I guess I've always done wedding invitations, even for college roommates, because I just loved it so much. I enjoy imbuing everything that I do for these couples with a unique touch that captures their love story. In the grand plan of a wedding, choosing an invitation might not seem so complicated, but couples must consider timing, postage, and the theme and look of their celebration. Sigmans engineer/artist tendencies have always been a perfect match for bringing those together. But becoming an entrepreneur was a new and exciting step. In 2020, I was working for an events company who brought me on to do this kind of thing for them, and they ended up closing their doors for a time, she says. After that, I just noticed that there's kind of a hole in the local market for really creating something that's custom and walking through the whole process with couples, because it can be a little bit overwhelming. Wedding stationery and invitations from Marlena Sigman's Redbud Lane Studio More than a decade in marketing helps Sigman approach a wedding a lot like a brand and she means that in the most romantic way possible carrying personalized, cohesive elements from the save the date through the wedding and the getaway. Sigman also works with companies to help them create a look that is straightforward and appealing to their audience. I really believe in creating some form that makes sense, thats thoughtful, but also local, so trying to kind of combine all of that to really support the mission and vision of a company, just like the mission and vision of Redbud Lane, she says. In addition to events and business design, Sigman leans into her artist side in her love of illustrating, which she is currently putting to work in a childrens Bible project. Though she does have calligraphers who work with her, Sigman has been able to keep her hands quite literally in every bit of what she produces. That has been an especially fulfilling part of being an entrepreneur. In an agency or similar environment, Sigman says her role would focus on an element of a project, supporting a brand, rather than building it. I'm really getting to handle every little piece of projects that I work on, even children's books, and being able to just do these things that I love that are creative, she says. For others who are looking for their own path, Sigman says they might learn from something that it took her a while to grasp. Some years ago, I would have said, I can't do this, but my friends would have said I could, she says. Just believe in yourself and embrace your creativity. Let your passion guide you. And also surround yourself with supportive people who really encourage you as a person, as a business owner and as a creative. Learn more at redbudlanestudio.com. This article originally appeared on Upstate Parent: Women in Business: Marlena Sigman, Redbud Lane Studio BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- As leaders from China and African nations are scheduled to gather in Beijing for a summit in early September, expectations are high that the event will chart the course for enhancing bilateral cooperation and advancing Africa's independent and sustainable development. Through joint efforts under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) as well as the Belt and Road Initiative, continuous and solid progress has been made in cooperation in such fields as industry, agriculture and health, epitomizing the unique resilience and dynamism of China-Africa relations. Such cooperation has helped improve the well-being of the people and promote the industrialization of the continent that is home to the world's largest number of developing countries. Recent data highlight the vigorous momentum of China-Africa relations. China has been Africa's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years, with bilateral trade reaching a record 282.1 billion U.S. dollars last year. African exports of agricultural products to China have increased for seven straight years. In the first half of this year alone, China imported goods worth 60.1 billion dollars from Africa, up 14 percent year on year. China is one of the major sources of foreign investment in Africa. By the end of 2023, China's stock of direct investment in Africa had exceeded 40 billion U.S. dollars. Chinese companies have created 1.1 million jobs in Africa over the past three years, according to the Ministry of Commerce. China has also promoted the development and transformation of Africa's industrial chains through capacity cooperation, technology transfer and talent cultivation. China has trained more than 220,000 personnel of various types for African countries, taking into account their actual needs. This also enhances African countries' capacity for independent development. Furthermore, China-Africa agricultural cooperation has flourished, producing fruitful results in terms of technical assistance and training of agricultural experts, transfer of advanced agricultural technologies, and the building of agricultural parks, thereby helping modernize agriculture in Africa. Chinese hybrid rice technology, for example, has assisted countries such as Madagascar and Liberia in increasing their rice output. China's Juncao, also known as "magic grass," has been successfully planted and promoted in countries including the Central African Republic, Rwanda and South Africa, increasing the income of local people and contributing to their green development. China advocates for win-win cooperation, striving to integrate its own development with that of Africa and align the interests of the Chinese and African peoples. Relying on its strengths in industry, investment and infrastructure construction as the world's second-largest economy, China has cooperated with a number of African countries to build railways, ports, roads, industrial zones and energy projects, driving the industrialization of the continent. Developing solidarity and cooperation with African countries has been the cornerstone of China's foreign policy. The phrase "a friend in need is a friend indeed" aptly describes China-Africa cooperation, as it is a partnership founded on mutual respect and support, targeting shared development and win-win outcomes and creating tangible benefits for people in China and Africa. With its solid foundation of unbreakable friendship, China-Africa cooperation will surely reach new heights in the course of building a high-level community with a shared future. Through such cooperation, African countries will secure even greater progress in their independent and sustainable development. As jollof rice makes its mark in the U.S. culinary scene, chefs talk appropriation, appreciation, and what makes it West Africas most revered and hotly debated dish. Since its inception, diasporic debates have been held about who makes the best jollof, a West African dish traditionally comprised of spiced rice and vegetables. Thanks in large part to social media, in recent decades, these discussions have also reached across the Atlantic, as diasporans and their descendants from throughout the Western part of the continent continue to assert that their respective countrys version of the culinary specialty is superior. Though many West African countries put their unique spin on the dish, the origin of jollof, also known as Thieboudienne, can be traced back to the Wolof Empire of Senegal (c. 1200 1600), giving the dish its name. Each country currently dominating the debate has long since adapted the dish to its local preferences, with Ghana using jasmine rice, Nigeria using parboiled rice, and Senegalese using short-grain or broken jasmine rice. However, the debate has also entered mainstream conversations in the United States. This spring, Chase Sapphire Reserve presented a promotional campaign called Taste of West Africa featuring Emmy Award-winning actor Michael B. Jordan. Seated at a dinner table amongst West Africans, Jordan posed the commonly asked and eternally loaded question: So, what jollof rice is the best? Predictably, a man representing Ghana claimed his country as the best as did a woman from Senegal, and a Nigerian male guest. Wherever the dish is served, Renny Vonne, a Nigerian chef, says making good jollof entails a great combination of rice and the tomato pepper base, adding, The tomato pepper base includes bell peppers and scotch bonnets, but in the diaspora, we tend to use habanero peppers because we cant get a hold of scotch bonnets often, and [we use] onions. And then for additional flavor, people might add ginger and garlic. A historic delicacy entering the mainstream has its risks However, as jollof has now entered culinary scenes outside of the diaspora, Vonne warns that while recreating such dishes might be viewed as appreciation, it is equally dicey because there isnt mainstream education on West African dishes. We havent had a chance to tell our stories regarding food, and it can be very controversial when another chef, like a white chef or a European chef, decides to educate people about how its done, and they dont even do it properly, she shared. Many have tried to recreate the jollof dish, with varying degrees of success. Stateside, recipes can be found in outlets like the New York Times (crafted by Nigerian food writer Yewande Komolafe). However, in 2014, English celebrity chef Jamie Oliver made up ingredients for a jollof dish, which was met with swift backlash on the internet from Africans, calling his concoction #JollofGate and saying, Our plates will not be colonized. Vonne explained that Oliver put lemon and the wrong type of tomato in the Jollof, noting, Its very terrifying when he takes a completely different spin on the dish. She said the right way to interpret the dish without appropriating it is to not misrepresent it because it can be very difficult to accept, and oftentimes thats how it ends up being controversial. Recommended Stories Not only are European chefs taking a stab at the dish, but many chefs in the United States have as well. Danielle Harris, a Michelin Guide-recognized Black chef who serves a jollof-inspired dish at her Washington, D.C.-based Afro-fusion restaurant, Almeda, shared what inspired her to try her hand at it and ultimately add it to her menu. Harris explained that her jollof journey began when culinary entrepreneur Michael Sparks commissioned her to create a menu based on the Netflix series, High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America. The documentary series is an adaptation of culinary historian Jessica B. Harris 2011 book High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America. That research led Harris to the episode Food for the Journey, which discusses the origin of jollof rice. In that episode, Senegalese-American chef Serigne Mbaye from the New Orleans restaurant Dakar Nola argues that many countries in West Africa dont get credit for their dishes due to French colonization. Many folks believe that gumbo is aspired by bouillabaisse [a French dish]. Its not. When you look at any known dish in New Orleans, the obvious thing is rice; when you look at Senegal, most of our dishes are rice-based you can see the roots from between the two countries, Mbaye notes. The episode not only inspired Harris, but when it comes to her Afro-fusion dishes, the chef leads with honesty about what they are and what they arent and doesnt take credit for their flavor profiles or origins. I always tell people that its not jollof; its a fusion of the two. And when we present this to our tables, we say its a jollof-inspired risotto, she says. I dont claim it to be the original jollof. Im not in the jollof wars about who has the best one. While Harris doesnt engage in the ongoing jollof debate, she is using her knowledge and cultural sensitivity to expand Almeda, hopefully enabling a larger clientele to experience and appreciate her tribute to jollof in the nations capital. When asked if it is appropriate for African Americans to play a role in creating and promoting jollof rice, Nina Oduro, a Ghanaian who is CEO and co-founder of Dine Diaspora, a company that educates people about African cuisine, responded: I think having ancestral lineage that is tied to a particular cuisine is something to be proud of, but not something to gatekeep or something to hold away from anyone. I think African Americans have a premier, important connection to Africa as they are akin. They are akin to Africans. Will the great jollof debate ever end? The jollof wars [are] not even a war to end, Oduro said. It is really about pride in your heritage and your culture and the connections and the diaspora. This delicious aspect of shared culture is now officially in the zeitgeist. Netflixs hit series Supacell recently joined the Jollof debate to promote their series, with castmates playfully arguing which country has the best jollof on Instagram. Vonne argues: It is now 2024. No ones jollof is better than the other because everyone has their preference. Of course, you are going to think your country makes it best because thats what you like. Eden Harris is an award-winning journalist from DC who enjoys writing about Africa and its many cultures. She worked as a national politics producer for Spectrum News and is a rising leader in foreign affairs and at the National Press Club. More must-reads: Editors Note: The full live-stream is available at the bottom of this page. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) One man is dead, and three teenagers were taken to the hospital seriously injured Thursday evening after a crash in Brighton involving a stolen car, Rochester police said. According to RPD, officers responded to reports of gunfire and a crash at the intersection of Clifford Avenue and Maria Street in Rochester. They said the initial crash involved a Kia that was reported stolen in Irondequoit, and that it was found with bullet holes in it. Officers found a 19-year-old suspect at the scene, who ran to Friederich Park until he was picked up in another stolen Kia. The driver of this car then went in reverse, backing up toward an officer before driving away. Police said they tried to stop the car again on Barons Street in the city, but the vehicle did not stop, which led to a chase. After about eight minutes, the car crashed in the area of East Avenue and Elmwood Avenue in Brighton. The investigation revealed the suspects were driving south on East Avenue before hitting a vehicle turning west on Elmwood Avenue, killing the driver of that car. The victim killed in the crash, 92-year-old Thomas Chase, was described by RPD Chief David Smith as a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and an active volunteer in the community. RPD said there were three teenagers in the stolen car the 19-year-old man, an 18-year-old passenger, and the 17-year-old driver. All three were taken to the hospital with serious, but not life-threatening injuries. Chief Smith said the 17-year-old was a career criminal, adding he was on parole for burglary. He was accused of 12 smash-and-grabs across the city back in 2023. Officers also said he lied about his identity at the scene to hide his criminal history, telling officers he was his 13-year-old brother. Despite our best efforts to hold those that bring this evil to our community and bring destruction to our community accountable, some people continue to wreak havoc again and again until someone dies and we find ourselves here, Chief Smith said. Chief Smith added, the 18-year-old passenger was previously arrested in connection to a stolen vehicle. Police have not released the names of any suspects. Police are working with the Monroe County District Attorneys Office regarding charges. Full Press Conference The incident remains under investigation. Anyone who has information is asked to call the Major Crimes Unit at (585)-428-7157 or by emailing MajorCrimes@CityofRochester.gov. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) An argument between couples led to one person recovering in the hospital and two others arrested under police custody. The Dayton Police Department reports that officers were dispatched to the 2600 block of Ashton Lane just before midnight on report of a disorderly subject. At the scene, officers located multiple individuals involved and, after investigating the incident, determined that an argument between the two couples led to one pair attacking the other. In an attempt to hide, one of the individuals being attacked got into a vehicle and backed into a suspects vehicle, sending it into a garage. Child shot and killed while sleeping in Dayton home A male individual, who was attacked, was taken to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The couple alleged of attacking the other was arrested and are being held in police custody on charges of felonious assault and assault. The case is being investigated further by the DPDs Violent Offender Unit. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. 12-year-old girl shot, killed while sleeping in her bed; Police say we must solve this UPDATE: Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims issued a statement about the shooting he called tragic and sickening. We are fully committed to ensuring that those responsible for this heinous act are held accountable. This tragedy is a piercing reminder of the imperative and urgent need to address violence in our city, Mims said in part. The full statement can be read here. INITIAL REPORT: Police are investigating after a 12-year-old girl was shot and killed while she was asleep in her bed. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Dayton Police Major Brian Johns confirmed the girl was shot in the homes upstairs bedroom around 1 a.m. in the first block of W. Fairview Avenue. The Montgomery County Coroners Office has identified Isabellas Amor-Carlos, 12, as the victim. >> RELATED: 12-year-old girl shot, killed while sleeping in her bed; her father cant fathom how this happened Amor-Carlos family previously identified her as the victim to News Center 7s Mike Campbell. Amor-Carlos, a Charity Adams Earley Girls Academy student, was found by her younger sister. The home, as well as at least one other neighboring house, were hit by gunfire. Police found over 30 rifle shell casings at the scene and said the shots came from the direction of the street. Johns said it appeared that there were two shooters. It is crucial we solve this crime, Johns said. A 12-year-old girl asleep in her bed and she was murdered in front of her family. >> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 7th grader girl shot, killed while sleeping in her bed; Superintendent issues statement on her death The killing of Amor-Carlos is part of a terrible trend. There have been 28 homicide investigations in Dayton so far this year. As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, eight of those victims have been juveniles under the age of 18, and, in all, 10 of the victims, more than a third, have been young people ages 18 or younger. Police are asking that anyone with information on the shooting contact Miami Valley Crime Stoppers at either (937) 222-7867 or https://www.miamivalleycrimestoppers.com/. We must solve this, Johns said. TRENDING STORIES: [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] CHICAGO A 13-year-old boy was critically wounded while walking on a sidewalk Thursday night in Chicagos Grand Crossing neighborhood. Police said the shooting occurred in the 700 block of E. 79th Street around 7:30 p.m. The 13-year-old shooting victim suffered gunshot wounds to the left inner thigh and right upper thigh. Paramedics rushed the teen to Comer Childrens Hospital in critical condition. No one is in custody. Anyone with additional information may leave an anonymous tip at cpdtip.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 WGN-TV. Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting on the situation in the Kursk border region, where Ukrainian troops launched a counteroffensive about two weeks ago. -/Kremlin/dpa Approximately 133,000 people have left their homes so far due to the Ukrainian offensive in the Russian region of Kursk, the acting governor of the region, Alexei Smirnov, said during a videoconference with President Vladimir Putin on Thursday. Nearly 20,000 people still remain in the eight districts for which evacuation had been ordered, the state news agency TASS reported, citing Smirnov. "I urge you to pay particular attention to preparations for the new school year," Putin, who was holding a meeting on the Kursk situation in Moscow, ordered. Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov said that pupils from 114 schools in the border area should be taught online from September 2. Others would be educated at their evacuation locations or in children's holiday camps. Putin's reaction to incursion After the Ukrainian advance that started on August 6, Putin ordered his security forces to expel the Ukrainians from Russia. However, the Russian counteraction is only slowly getting under way. The plans for schools starting in September can be seen as evidence that the Russian leadership does not expect a quick victory over the Ukrainian troops, observers have said. The online Russian-exile news site Meduza reported, citing sources close to the Kremlin, that Moscow is less concerned about a rapid recapture: After the initial shock, it was important to get the Russian population accustomed to what officials called a "new normal," the presence of attacking foreign troops, who would inevitably be driven out once again, Meduza said. Russian officials reported on Thursday that reinforced concrete structures are being installed at bus stops in the Kursk region to provide citizens with better protection from the shelling. Governor Smirnov said on his Telegram channel that there are plans to reinforce 60 bus-stop shelters in the city of Kursk. Similar structures will also be installed in two other towns within the region. Previously, bus stops in nearby border areas had been fortified with sandbags and concrete blocks, officials said. For the first time in almost two and a half years of the full-scale Russian war, Ukraine is conducting ground battles on enemy territory. Recently, the Ukrainian army's commander-in-chief, Olexander Syrskyi, stated that more than 1,260 square kilometres and 93 villages had been captured, but military observers consider the area actually controlled by Ukraine to be somewhat smaller. Putin accuses Ukraine of attempted nuclear attack without evidence Putin accused Ukraine on Thursday of attempting an attack on the Kursk nuclear power plant, without providing evidence. "The enemy attempted to carry out strikes at the nuclear power plant today," Putin said in Moscow, according to TASS. The nuclear power plant in the town of Kurchatov is around 30 kilometres away from the furthest Ukrainian advance. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had been informed, director general Rafael Grossi said in a statement. He would be visiting the site next week to assess the situation, he said. "Military activity in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant is a serious risk to nuclear safety and security," he added. After the Ukrainian advance began, the IAEA warned that the safety of nuclear power plants must not be jeopardized. The same applies to Kursk as to the Russian-occupied Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhya, it said. Ferry catches fire in Russia's Krasnodar A ferry loaded with fuel tanks has caught fire in a harbour in the southern Russian region of Krasnodar as a result of Ukrainian shelling, the Russian-state controlled Interfax news agency reported on Thursday. According to the district administration, a total of 30 fuel tanks were on board the railway ferry. "At this stage, 17 crew members have already been rescued," the governor of the Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratyev, wrote on his Telegram channel. The search for two people missing is continuing, he added. The port of Kavkaz in the Krasnodar region is located on the opposite side of the Crimea Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. There was a simultaneous missile alert in Crimea. Russian forces press toward Toretsk The Ukrainian military appeared to acknowledge on Thursday that the small town of Niu-York has fallen to Russia's advance in the east, as the embattled town of Toretsk now comes under greater threat. Niu-York's status changed in the Thursday situation report issued by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The town was no longer referred to as contested, an apparent acknowledgement that it has fallen to Russia's advance in Ukraine's Donetsk region. Ukrainian war bloggers and Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov said on Wednesday that Russian forces were in complete control of Niu-York. The industrial town of Toretsk, which has long been the target of fierce Russian attacks, is now at even greater risk. The Ukrainian general staff said that fighting was continuing in Pivnichne and Zalizne, two towns to the east of Toretsk, and also in the town itself. Drone attack causes fire at Russian military base An overnight Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire to erupt at a military base in southern Russia, the regional governor said on Thursday. Andrey Bocharov, the governor of the Volgograd region, said air defences had repelled most of the unmanned aircraft but that a downed drone had crashed and sparked the blaze. In Moscow, the Russian Defence Ministry said that 28 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted overnight, 13 of which were over the Volgograd region alone. YORK COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) A judge on Friday granted bail to the 14-year-old boy who is accused of shooting and killing his 12-year-old friend last year in York County. The York County District Attorneys Office said that Nolan Grove, of Red Lion, had a $50,000 bail set by President Judge Maria Musti Cook and he was given multiple conditions, like house arrest, if he were to post it. It was confirmed by officials with the York County Prison that Grove did not post bail. Grove is charged in the shooting death of Kain Heiland. He faces charges of murder in the third degree, involuntary manslaughter, firearms not to be carried without a license, possession of a firearm by a minor, and four counts of recklessly endangering another person. Dover man accused of fatally shooting neighbors dog in January is now charged Previously in August, Judge Cook ruled during a hearing that Grove would remain charged as an adult in the case. The ruling came on a motion to move the case to juvenile court. According to charging documents, Heilands body and a casing was found by State Police in the 1st Avenue of Red Lion April 1. During the investigation that was led by Pennsylvania State Police, it was discovered that Grove was playing with a gun, pointed it at Heiland, and was also making comments about Heilands mom. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now WHTM Daily Digest Investigators say that a similar exchange happened around 8:30 p.m. and that is allegedly when Grove fatally shot Heiland in the back. The gun that was used belonged to Groves father and was taken out of a safe by Grove. The caliber of the casing that was found by Heilands body was linked to the gun. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A 14-year-old Methuen boy has been found safe after a morning search. Devin Kopf was reunited with his family after he was reported missing around 5 a.m. on Maple Ridge Road in Methuen. Methuen Police droned the area and Massachusetts State Police air wing and K9 assisted on the scene. There was a large police search in the area for multiple hours. Police are thanking everyone who shared posts and information on Devin. 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 144 clashes across war zone over past 24 hours, over third of them on Pokrovsk front Ukraine's General Staff The Russians are continuing to conduct airstrikes and assaults throughout the entire war zone, with the most challenging situation being observed on the Pokrovsk front. A total of 144 combat engagements have taken place over the past 24 hours. Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, information as of 08:00 on 23 August Quote: "Yesterday [22 August], the enemy launched one missile attack on the positions of Ukrainian units and populated areas using one missile and carried out 67 airstrikes, dropping 79 guided aerial bombs. In addition, they mounted 4,483 attacks, including 176 from multiple-launch rocket systems." Details: In particular, the Russians carried out airstrikes near the settlements of Druzhba, Tovstodubove, Sopych, Vilna Sloboda, Myropillia, Pavlivka, Velyka Pysarivka, Kozacha Lopan, Pokrovka, Kruhliakivka, Chasiv Yar, Toretsk, Pleshchiivka, Oleksandropil, Kostiantynivka, Maksymivka and Makarivka. Meanwhile, Ukrainian aircraft and Rocket Forces and Artillery units conducted 16 strikes on clusters of Russian military personnel and equipment, five facilities belonging to Russia's Rocket Forces and Artillery, a command post and another key Russian asset. On the Kharkiv front, the Russians mounted two attacks near the town of Vovchansk. On the Kupiansk front, Russian forces launched 15 attacks, with Ukrainian troops repelling assaults near the settlements of Synkivka, Hlushkivka, Stelmakhivka and Andriivka. The Russians also launched five attacks, seeking to advance towards the village of Lozova. On the Lyman front, Russian troops carried out 11 assaults in the vicinity of eight different populated areas. Two combat engagements took place near Makiivka and three near Novosadove. On the Siversk front, Ukrainian defenders repelled seven Russian assaults near the settlements of Bilohorivka, Spirne and Vyimka. On the Kramatorsk front, Russian forces mounted 12 attacks. They concentrated their efforts near the settlements of Ivanivske and Chasiv Yar. The Russians acted with support from attack aircraft near Chasiv Yar, launching 22 rockets in the area. On the Toretsk front, Russian troops, supported by aircraft, carried out 15 attacks near the settlements of Nelipivka, New-York, Druzhba and Toretsk. On the Pokrovsk front, Ukrainian defenders thwarted 53 Russian attacks in the vicinity of 11 different populated areas. The Russians were most active near the settlements of Novohrodivka, Mykolaivka, and Ptyche and in the direction of Zelene Pole. On the Kurakhove front, Ukrainian forces repelled 20 Russian attempts to advance near the settlements of Krasnohorivka, Kostiantynivka and Karlivka. On the Vremivka front, the Russians launched six attacks attempting to advance towards Vuhledar, Rozdolne and Urozhaine. They also stormed Ukrainian positions from the direction of the settlement of Volodymyrivka. The situation on the Huliaipole, Orikhove and Prydniprovske fronts remained unchanged. The Russians conducted no assault or offensive operations, though they launched airstrikes near the settlements of Novoandriivka, Novodanylivka, Novodarivka and Piatykhatky. No signs of Russian offensive groups being formed on the Volyn and Polissia front have been detected. "The enemy is maintaining their military presence on the border with Chernihiv Oblast. The operation of the defence forces in [Russia's] Kursk Oblast continues. Ukrainian defenders are inflicting significant losses in military personnel and equipment on Russian forces throughout the entire war zone, exhausting their combat potential, striking deep into their deep rear and disrupting their logistics systems," the General Staff summed up. Support UP or become our patron! The Arcadia Police Department arrested 19 people for charges included pimping and prostitution and seized drugs and $250,000 in cash when they raided eight locations on Wednesday. The investigation, which focused on prostitution and brothels, resulted in the raid of residential locations, seven of which are in Arcadia and one of which is in Rosemead, police said in a news release. The individuals were not identified, but charges include prostitution, pimping, possession of narcotics and possession of narcotics for sale, police said. Evidence recovered included ecstasy, marijuana, cocaine, $250,000.00 in cash, and other items consistent with the activities of prostitution, the release added. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 626-574-5151 and reference case number 2470937. To report information anonymously, call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS (8477) or visit 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. BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday that China is willing to maintain exchanges at all levels with the British side and push for stable and far-reaching bilateral relations. The Chinese side attaches great importance to the British side's desire to enhance contact and dialogue, said Xi during his phone talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Xi says China, Britain should remain firm as partners, strengthen dialogue and cooperation Xi says China ready to engage in equal dialogue with Britain, make mutual benefit main tone of bilateral relations 2,492-Carat Diamond in Botswana Is Second-Largest to Ever Be Found and the Biggest in Over a Century I am lucky to have seen it in my time," Botswana's president Mokgweetsi Masisi said Monirul Bhuiyan/AFP/Getty Botswana's President Mokgweetsi Masisi holds a large diamond The largest diamond to be unearthed in more than a century has been found in Botswana, a country in Southern Africa. Botswana's president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, and William Lamb, President and CEO of Lucara Diamond Corp. the Canadian mining company that found the precious stone announced the discovery on Thursday, Aug. 22. In a press release, Lucara called the find remarkable, adding that the 2,492-carat diamond is one of the largest rough diamonds ever unearthed. The company found the jewel in Botswanas Karowe Diamond Mine by using X-ray Transmission (XRT) technology, installed in 2017 to identify and preserve large, high-value diamonds. Monirul Bhuiyan/AFP/Getty large diamond discovered in Botswana, August 2024 Related: The Real Story Behind How the World's Largest Rough Diamond Was Cut for the Queen's Crown Jewels The diamond, which has yet to be named, is the second-largest to be discovered since the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond was found 119 years ago in South Africa in 1905, CNN reported. It is overwhelming, Masisi said, per the Associated Press. I am lucky to have seen it in my time. Monirul Bhuiyan/AFP/Getty Botswana's President Mokgweetsi Masisi looks at a large diamond discovered in Botswana at his office in Gaborone on August 22, 2024 As senior government officials got a chance to marvel at the sight, Masisi couldnt help but to add, Wow. The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! According to CNN and the AP, no price point has been set for the recent find. However, a significantly smaller diamond found in the same Botswana mine was sold in 2016 for $63 million, an unprecedented price. This is history in the making, Naseem Lahri, Botswanas managing director for Lucara Diamond Corp., said. I am very proud. It is a product of Botswana. Monirul Bhuiyan/AFP/Getty Botswana's President Mokgweetsi Masisi holds a large diamond 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. While it remains too early to tell the fate of Botswanas second-largest diamond, the Cullinan Diamond was cut into gems, with some becoming parts of the British Crown Jewels. Diamonds are formed when carbon atoms are squeezed together under high pressure deep underground, notes the AP. Scientists say most diamonds are at least a billion years old and some of them are more than 3 billion years old. In the late 1800s, a notable diamond discovery was also a larger, but less pure black diamond found in Brazil. Per the AP, the gem was found above ground and was believed to have been part of a meteorite. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. ELYRIA, Ohio (WJW) Two people were killed and two others were injured in a two-vehicle crash on Thursday afternoon on state Route 57 in Elyria. It happened just before 3:30 p.m. near the Griswold Road intersection, according to a news release from the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Police: Dad left 3 kids unattended while riding roller coasters at Cedar Point This embedded content is not available in your region. Investigators learned a Nissan Altima being driven by a 40-year-old Amherst man was headed north on state Route 57 and went through a red light, hitting another Toyota Corolla being driven by a 48-year-old Lorain man, that was turning east onto Griswold Road, according to the release. Just before the crash, an Elyria police officer had been trying to stop the Nissan Altima, according to the release. Two passengers in the Altima, Tanner Smith of Cleveland and Meghan Incorvaia of Wakeman, both 36, died of their injuries at the scene. The driver was flown to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland with life-threatening injuries. None of the occupants of the Altima were wearing seatbelts, according to the patrol. 1 dead, 2 detained after Valley View shooting The driver of the Corolla was transported by ambulance to an Elyria hospital with serious injuries. The crash remains under investigation. Charges have not been filed. State Route 57 holds the highest number of crashes among all the highways in Lorain County, with more than 1,800 crashes in the past five years, 11 of them fatal, according to state patrol crash statistics. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HENDERSON COUNTY, Texas (KETK) Two men were arrested on Thursday after the Henderson County Sheriffs Office conducted search warrants at Athens residences where they located a large stash of drugs and a stolen firearm. Former Yantis ISD coach gets 10 years probation for improper relationship with student According to the sheriffs office, at around 4:45 p.m. investigators conducted two narcotic search warrants and a manufacturing or delivery of a controlled substance arrest warrant at 419 Stoneleigh Street and 421 Stoneleigh Street in Athens. When officials arrived at the scene they reportedly saw two men run from the back side of the residence and toward a wooded area. After a chase, both men were detained. Officials identified one of the men as Anthony Dewayne Chilton Jr. who had been wanted for the manufacturing or delivery of a controlled substance arrest warrant. The other man was identified as Antwon Devonte Chilton. Mugshot of Antwon Chilton, courtesy of the Henderson County Jail. Mugshot of Anthony Chilton, courtesy of the Henderson County Jail. During the search warrant, officials allegedly found a large quantity of suspected cocaine, a large amount of cash, suspected narcotics baggies and scales at one of the locations. The Henderson County Sheriffs Office said these items were used for packaging and distribution of narcotics. Intoxicated Tyler man sets wifes vehicle on fire, authorities say Officials also found a large amount of marijuana, mushrooms and firearms at the residences. During the investigation, officials determined that one of the weapons was reported stolen from Ohio. Both men were arrested and taken to the Henderson County Jail. Anthony was booked for manufacturing or delivery of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana and evading arrest. Antwon was booked in for two counts of manufacturing or delivery of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana, theft of firearm, evading arrest, and resisting arrest. Anthony and Antwon remain in jail pending arraignment. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KETK.com | FOX51.com. The Norfolk County District Attorneys Office sent 25 Investigates receipts and invoices showing it spent $43,985.05 prosecuting Karen Read but that figure does not include salaries, overtime, nor records of expenditures that disclose confidential investigative strategies and techniques. On July 17th, 25 Investigates filed a public records request for, all costs associated with the prosecution of Karen Read from her initial arrest on February 1, 2022, to July 2nd, 2024, broken down by type of expense. The period begins with Reads arrest in connection with the death of her then Boston Police Officer boyfriend John OKeefe in Canton and ends one day after a mistrial was declared in her 2nd-degree murder trial. Read is accused of striking OKeefe with her SUV in January 2022 with her Lexus SUV. Her lawyers argue shes been framed by law enforcement. The Norfolk DAs office responded to the records request Friday morning with documentation of payments made to four vendors and a court reporter. Bode Technology, a DNA lab in Virginia was paid $16,734.06 for testing that found OKeefes DNA on taillight pieces from the crime scene and for testing that determined a single strand of hair found on Reads SUV matched OKeefes. The total payment Bode Labs received includes $2,300 for the testimony of 2 scientists who were witnesses for the prosecution at Reads trial, and their travel expenses. Other expenses include: Hexordia, LLC (digital forensics / testimony) $11,914.82 Venture Too, Inc. (analysis of Reads Lexus) $10,877.52 U.C. Davis Veterinary Medicine Lab (tested for dog DNA) $4,430.15 The Norfolk DAs Office said it withheld records of expenditures that disclose confidential investigative strategies and techniques. According to their records access officer, these materials pertain to an active and ongoing criminal investigation disclosure of these records would likely prejudice the effectiveness of law enforcement and is therefore not in the public interest. Its unclear what confidential investigative strategies and techniques, have been used to prosecute Read or what costs may have been incurred. As for employee hours, The DAs office said it does not allocate indirect costs, such as employee salaries, to individual cases. 25 Investigates also wanted to know how much Reads trial cost the Massachusetts Court System. A spokesperson said jurors are entitled to $50 a day after day 4 of a trial but the Court does not have any other figures from the trial. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW 28-year-old with schizophrenia to get treatment, not prison time, for Belleville murder A St. Clair County Circuit Court judge has found a 28-year-old man not guilty by reason of insanity for killing his mothers friend at her home in unincorporated Belleville two years ago. Instead of going to prison, Bailey Hamor, formerly of Belleville and East Alton, will likely be hospitalized and treated for mental illness under a plea agreement negotiated by his attorney, Chief Public Defender Cathy MacElroy, and Assistant States Attorney Erica Mazzotti. I feel like justice has been done, said Robert Hamor, of East Alton, Bailey Hamors father. They did the right thing. Bailey dont need to be in prison. He needs help. Save prison for the bad people. Hes not a bad person. Bailey Hamor had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and spent time in psychiatric wards of area hospitals and drug-treatment centers before he was arrested, charged with murder and jailed in 2022. Circuit Judge Zina Cruse accepted Hamors plea on Thursday. She remanded him to the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services, which will conduct its own evaluation to determine whether hes subject to involuntary admission or in need of mental-health services. Doctors could prescribe outpatient or inpatient treatment. But due to Hamors history and the seriousness of a murder charge, MacElroy said hes sure to be sent to one of several state-operated hospitals that treat mentally ill people who have committed crimes. Hes going to go to a hospital, and hes going to go to a hospital for a substantial period of time, she said. James Goodwin, 33, of Belleville, was stabbed to death in the early morning of July 20, 2022, at the home of Cheri and Loek Koene, Hamors mother and former step-father, at 1034 Golfview Court in an unincorporated Belleville subdivision, near Elmwood Golf Course. Cruses order contains a stipulation agreement of undisputed facts, including what investigators would testify about the crime scene and Hamors capture in nearby woods if the case went to trial. The agreement also references a report submitted earlier this month by Dr. Daniel Cuneo, a court-appointed forensic psychologist who examined Hamor and his medical records. Cuneo would testify (at trial) that Bailey Hamor was delusional when he stabbed James Goodwin, the agreement states. Further, he was actively psychotic when he was arrested. His insight and judgment were grossly impaired the time of the offense due to his mental illness. Victims family understands plea Goodwins family hasnt spoken publicly about the murder and couldnt be reached for comment on Hamors plea. Goodwin was survived by two brothers, identified as Joe and Ian Bohannon in his obituary. One brother filed a civil lawsuit for wrongful death in December 2022 against Hamor and Loek Koene, who is now divorced from Cheri Koene. (The brother is identified as Joseph Goodwin in those court records.) His attorney, Thomas Maag, of Wood River, didnt return calls for comment. The lawsuit alleges that Loek Koene was partly responsible for James Goodwins death because he allowed Hamor to stay at the home, where knives were accessible in the kitchen. First Assistant States Attorney Dan Lewis on Wednesday said the states attorneys office has been in contact with a representative of Goodwins family about the murder case. The information I have from the attorney involved is that (the family representative) understands why a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity was under consideration, Lewis said. And thats very different from an outright acquittal. Its not like Bailey Hamor is going to be out on the streets. Hamor underwent treatment for paranoid schizophrenia off and on for years, suffered hallucinations, told doctors and others that he was going to kill someone and at times begged for help with his mental illness, according to family members and police reports. Hamor also spoke to friends and family of being pursued by Russian and German soldiers he believed were trying to assassinate him and a demon that was ordering him to kill. In a phone interview from jail in April, Hamor told the BND that his mental health had improved since he was put on ziprasidone (brand name Geodon), a drug used to treat conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. I hope that I get my freedom again someday and continue on this medication, Hamor said. I understand that theyre not just going to let me go because Im mentally ill, but I hope I get a merciful, favorable sentence to a hospital. James Goodwin was stabbed to death on July 20, 2022, at 1034 Golfview Court in unincorporated Belleville. The homeowners son, Bailey Hamor, was charged with his murder. Laughing causes disturbance On Thursday, a bearded Bailey Hamor was led into the courtroom wearing an orange jumpsuit and Crocs, handcuffs and leg irons. He smiled and waved at his father, the only outside person who attended the hearing. While standing in front of Judge Cruse, Bailey Hamor began laughing for no apparent reason, prompting her to instruct the bailiff to remove him before discussing it with his attorney and allowing him to re-enter. (Cruse) was concerned that he wasnt fit to enter the plea, but I have no doubt about his fitness, MacElroy said after the hearing. Do I think hes having some break-through symptoms? Yes. But the best place for him is a hospital where he can get treatment. Robert Hamor attributed his sons laughing to anxiety, happiness over seeing a family member for the first time in months and relief that hes going to be getting help with his mental illness. After the hearing, Bailey Hamor started walking toward his father in the spectator section, but the bailiff stopped him. He then yelled, I love you, Dad, before turning and exiting through a back door. Under Illinois law, not guilty by reason of insanity is a plea in which a defendant admits committing a criminal act but maintains he was mentally disturbed at the time and lacked the mental capacity to have intended to commit it. Thats different than fitness to stand trial, which refers to a defendants ability to understand the nature and purpose of court proceedings and assist in his or her defense. Judge Cruse found Hamor fit to stand trial last year. He has been held in St. Clair County Jail in Belleville on a $2 million bond since his arrest. Hes now isolated due to problems getting along with other inmates, particularly child abusers, according to his father. Hell be a different person if he gets some fresh air and sun on him, Robert Hamor said. That means everything. Could you imagine being in a room, having no sun on your skin, the lack of vitamins, for two years? He hasnt been outside since he got locked up. Robert Hamor said he hopes his son will be sent to Alton Mental Health Center, which is near his home. Long waiting list for beds MacElroys office began representing Bailey Hamor last fall, when Joseph Reames, a private Wood River attorney retained by his family, withdrew from the case and became a Madison County assistant states attorney. Under an insanity plea, an Illinois defendants period of treatment by the Illinois Department of Human Services cant exceed the maximum prison sentence for someone found guilty. In the Hamor case, thats 60 years. Its unknown when he will leave jail. The wait list for (beds in mental hospitals) right now is 200 people deep statewide, MacElroy said. Its a four- to six-month wait. DHS would tell you its 60 days, but its not. Patients in such hospitals start with no privileges, MacElroy said. As they become more stable, they can get supervised grounds passes, unsupervised grounds passes, supervised off-grounds passes and unsupervised off-grounds passes. If and when patients are considered ready to re-enter society, they often go from the hospital to a group home. They base it on risk to the public, and DHS is going to take the most conservative approach possible, MacElroy said. The more serious the felony, they tend to recommend inpatient treatment for longer periods of time. Bailey Hamor lived with his mother and stepfather in Belleville and his father in East Alton. He worked for his fathers landscaping business, studied welding at Southwestern Illinois College for a time and played guitar in a rock band. St. Clair County sheriffs deputies responded to a 911 call from the home of Cheri and Loek Koene about 10 p.m. on July 19, 2022. The Koenes expressed concern about Hamors behavior, but Millstadt EMS personnel determined that he wasnt a danger to himself or others, and authorities left the scene. The Koenes made a second call to 911 about three hours later to report that Goodwin had been killed. Police found him lying on his stomach in a pool of blood in front of the three-car garage. Officers received information that the homeowners adult son (Bailey Hamor) grabbed James Goodwin by his neck, stabbed him and ran, according to the stipulation agreement filed Thursday. Bailey Hamor posted this photo of himself wearing a gas mask and other combat gear on his Facebook page on June 16, 2022, about a month before he was arrested on murder charges. Hamor captured without incident Several law-enforcement agencies helped with the search for Hamor. Officers found him in a thicket of woods near the Koene home, wearing fatigue camouflage clothing, body armor and a ballistic helmet with light. Hamor complied with commands to surrender without incident, according to the stipulation agreement. Searchers found a butterfly knife in the vicinity and a multi-tool in his pocket. Investigator Christopher Hoernis conducted an interview with Hamor and asked him about Goodwins death. The defendant explained that he comes from a military lineage, that it was his coming of age and right of passage, that it was his civic duty, and that he was fulfilling his obligation to society, the stipulation agreement states. A grand jury later indicted Hamor on one count of first-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty. Judge Cruse issued an order in January 2023 finding that Hamor was fit to stand trial. She referenced her own observations of him, as well as an October 2022 report from Cuneo, who recommended that he be found fit. (The psychologist) opines that Defendant understands the nature and purpose of the proceedings against him and has the ability to assist in his own defense, Cruse stated in that order. In the April phone interview, with Hamor, he told the BND that he remembered some, but not all, of what happened on July 20, 2022. He declined to speak further about the murder. Robert Hamor said his son often mentions being responsible for a mans death but gives no details. Bailey was interviewed three times by detectives that night and into the next day, and he was all over the place, his father said. We may never know the whole story. Im not sure if hell want to talk about it. Im not going to ask. But Ive got so many questions. A second former Memphis police officer federally charged in connection with the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols has pleaded guilty, weeks before the trial is set to begin, court filings show. Emmitt Martin III is one of five former officers indicted last year on federal civil rights, conspiracy and obstruction offenses in connection with Nichols' death. PHOTO: In this photo released by the Memphis Police Department, Emmitt Martin, III, is shown. (Memphis Police Department) After initially pleading not guilty to the charges following the indictment, Martin pleaded guilty to two of them during a change of plea hearing in federal court in Memphis Friday afternoon, online court records show. Martin pleaded guilty to excessive force and failure to intervene, as well as conspiracy to witness tamper, according to the court records. The other two charges will be dropped at sentencing, which has been scheduled for Dec. 5, according to the online records. The government said it will recommend a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, according to the plea agreement. In the plea agreement, Martin admitted that, along with the other defendants, he "unlawfully assaulted" Nichols, and then attempted to "corruptly persuade" his supervisor to make "false and misleading statements" on the incident report to "cover up their use of unreasonable force on Nichols." In a statement to ABC News, Martin's attorney, Stephen Ross Johnson, said: "Driven by anger, Emmitt Martin used excessive force on Tyre Nichols on January 7, 2023. Driven by fear, he tried to cover it up. Today, in open court, he accepted responsibility for what he did." MORE: Former officer pleads guilty to federal charges in Tyre Nichols' death Martin is the second former officer to plead guilty in the case ahead of the federal trial, which is scheduled to start next month. In November 2023, Desmond Mills Jr. pleaded guilty to two of the four counts in the indictment -- excessive force and failing to intervene, as well as conspiring to cover up his use of unlawful force -- as part of a plea deal with prosecutors. The government said at the time that it will recommend a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, based on the terms of Mills' plea agreement. PHOTO: The screen at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans honors Tyre Nichols before an NBA basketball game, Jan. 28, 2023. (Matthew Hinton/AP, FILE) Nichols' mother, RowVaughn Wells, called Friday's change of plea "bittersweet." "This is very difficult," she said during a press briefing following the hearing. "I have four children. One of my kids is gone now because of the Memphis Police Department." Wells said she wanted to see the other three defendants plead guilty to avoid a trial. "I don't want to put my kids through all of that, but if we have to, we will," she said. Nichols, 29, died on Jan. 10, 2023, three days after a violent confrontation with police following a traffic stop. The medical examiner's official autopsy report showed he died of brain injuries from blunt force trauma. The federal indictment alleges that Martin and Mills -- along with Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith -- deprived Nichols of his constitutional rights during the confrontation. Each of the defendants, according to the indictment, was involved in beating Nichols during the Jan. 7 traffic stop and none relayed information about their assault to the Memphis police dispatcher, their supervisor or the emergency medical technicians and paramedics who were coming to the scene. The officers allegedly spoke at the scene about how they had struck Nichols, but they also did not relay that information to first responders or their supervisors even as his condition "deteriorated and he became unresponsive," the indictment alleges. MORE: Tyre Nichols: Timeline of investigation into his death As part of his plea agreement, Mills admitted to "repeatedly and unjustifiably striking Nichols with a baton and to failing to intervene in other officers' use of force against Nichols," the Department of Justice said in a press release following his change of plea hearing. He also admitted to not providing any medical aid to Nichols afterward, despite knowing he "had a serious medical need," and not alerting police or EMTs that Nichols had been struck in the head and body, the DOJ stated. He further admitted to making false statements and accounts about Nichols' arrest and the use of force to a supervisor and in a Memphis Police Department report, according to the DOJ. The other three defendants pleaded not guilty to the federal charges. Their trial is scheduled to start on Sept. 9 and is expected to last three weeks. If convicted, two of the counts in the indictment carry a maximum penalty of life in prison, while the other two each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, according to the DOJ. All five former officers also face state felony charges, including second-degree murder, aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping, in connection with Nichols' death. They pleaded not guilty. The Memphis Police Department fired the five officers -- who were on the department's now-disbanded SCORPION unit -- following an investigation into Nichols' death. ABC News' Sabina Ghebremedhin and Tesfaye Negussie contributed to this report. 2nd former officer charged in Tyre Nichols' death pleads guilty in federal plea deal originally appeared on abcnews.go.com CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) A 3-year-old was seriously injured after being attacked by a dog in northeast Charlotte Monday, officers say. According to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Animal Care and Control officers responded to an attack call around 8:50 a.m. Aug. 19 in the 5400 block of Cameron Commons Parkway, off N.C. Hwy. 49. Charlotte ATM murder suspect pleads guilty CMPDs University City Division officers and Medic were already on scene. Officers say their investigation indicates that a group of children were in the front yard playing when three dogs owned by the victims family were let out of the garage. Two of the dogs playfully knocked the victim to the ground when the third dog approached and began to bite the victim and dragged them down the driveway. Several adult witnesses ran toward the child and attempted to stop the attack. Two of them fired gunshots near the dog. As a result, the canine retreated into the garage. Medic transported the victim to Atrium Health CMC with serious injuries. The dog was surrendered to Animal Care and Control by its owner. The canine will be held for a 10-day rabies quarantine, after which it will be euthanized. To ensure the safety of young children around dogs, police encourage parents and guardians to closely supervise their children. The investigation into this case is active and 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 Queen City News. A Chinese blockade of Taiwan would be risky, but it is a possibility. China experts at CSIS assessed three possible blockade scenarios and how they'd play out. One of the biggest challenges China faces is the threat of intervention from the US and its allies. A Chinese blockade of Taiwan aimed at cutting the island off from the rest of the world and forcing Beijing's control onto its people would be a significant undertaking, one that would be risky and far from a guaranteed success. Experts at the Center for Strategic and International Studies published a paper this week on three scenarios in which China could blockade Taiwan, potential options designed to isolate it and break the willingness to resist among the people without risking an amphibious assault operation. The paper also assessed the potential for that situation to escalate into an invasion or a broader conflict in which the US and its allies get involved. The CSIS report relies on Chinese military doctrine, tabletop exercises, and expert assessments to support its findings and notes that the three blockade scenarios presented aren't the only options for China to take control of Taiwan. The Taiwan M109 speed boats maneuver on the sea during a military drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Annabelle Chih/Getty Images A quarantine or, taking things a step further, blockade of Taiwan has long been discussed by Chinese military planners and various officials and experts as an option for China to achieve unification with Taiwan. A blockade is a high-risk operation, though, raising the chance of a broader, longer conflict, as it is an act of war. In recent years, there has been growing concern that China will pursue non-peaceful means to achieve unification as Beijing engages in aggression at sea and in the air around Taiwan. This trend has been well documented by the US Department of Defense, which noted in its 2023 report on China's military that the year prior saw "amplified" pressure from China against Taiwan, including what it identified as "increased provocative and destabilizing actions in and around the Taiwan Strait," as well as significant acts of political, economic, and military coercion. Cross-strait tensions spiked, though, in January 2024 when Taiwan elected its new president, Lai Ching-te, much to Beijing's disapproval. Lai's win prompted China to brand him a separatist and pursue a series of actions aimed at punishing Taiwan, including military actions around its most vulnerable islands near mainland China and more massive drills that showed how easily China could surround Taiwan and potentially pull off something like a blockade. A screen grab captured from a video shows the Chinese People's Liberation Army's Eastern Theater Command launching large-scale joint military exercises around Taiwan with naval vessels and military aircraft in China. Feng Hao/PLA/China Military/Anadolu via Getty Images The new CSIS report presents three potential blockade scenarios. The first, an all-out kinetic blockade, is the harshest option and is very closely aligned with Chinese military doctrine. A complex operation, it could begin with China announcing live-fire exercises around Taiwan, which would quickly become large-scale military operations against it. Per the CSIS paper, China could opt to conduct strikes against hundreds of military, government, and infrastructure targets on Taiwan while also cutting off its internet and communication access. It would covertly lay mines at Taiwan's major ports, implement a no-fly zone over it, and close the entire Taiwan Strait off. There's a risk of escalation as kinetic strikes risk a kinetic response that could ignite a conflict. The second scenario presented, a mining blockade, has similar foundations but focuses on laying sea mines around Taiwan's ports to intimidate Taiwan's military and commercial shipping. In this scenario, experts noted China could launch cyberattacks that shut down military and civilian communication systems, as well as internet access, instead of coordinated kinetic strikes. Some of Taiwan's defenses would still be active, though, preserving its ability to fight back, potentially by targeting China's air force with its air defenses. As with the first scenario, there's a risk of further escalation. The second situation, however, puts the US and its allies in much more of a gray area than the first one, as a controlled, partial blockade is less likely to prompt the same kind of international outrage and military involvement, the experts wrote. An outdoor screen shows a news coverage of China's military drills around Taiwan, in Beijing. JADE GAO/AFP via Getty Images And the third scenario, a limited blockade, is a variation of the second but excludes sea mining. By avoiding laying mines and kinetic attacks, Beijing would likely be in control of how the conflict escalates and would be able to maintain a more restrained narrative on the global stage, possibly raising questions about whether intervention from the US is warranted at all. In this situation, China would potentially be relying primarily on the force presence provided by its navy and air force. This option carries less risk, but the potential for escalation is there regardless. For Taiwan, all three scenarios represent serious challenges. Its economy is heavily reliant on trade, with the new CSIS report noting that its imports and exports were 61 and 69 percent, respectively, of its GDP in 2022. It is believed to have only a few months of energy and food stockpiles to sustain itself. A screen grab captured from a video shows the Taiwan army conduct military exercise following China's large-scale joint military drill around Taiwan. TAIWAN Military News Agency, Ministry of National Defense, R. O. C. / HANDOUT It's unclear if Taiwan's military could stand against major Chinese military operations, especially if the US and its allies don't come to its aid. And in that situation, it is also unclear how long Taiwan would hold out, how long it would resist. For China, there are plenty of unknowns, too, though. Per the CSIS report, "the success or failure of a Chinese blockade depends on many factors," including "Taiwan's resilience and willingness to defend itself and the extent to which Washington and its allies intervene." It says these are "critical." Other considerations are how well-prepared the People's Liberation Army is, how Beijing controls its front-line forces, and how it manages escalation. The CSIS experts say these "are important not only to a successful blockade but also to ensure that a blockade does not unintentionally escalate into an invasion or war." Read the original article on Business Insider CHENGDU, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- A symposium was held on Friday in the city of Guang'an, southwest China's Sichuan Province, to mark the 120th birth anniversary of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. Representatives from all walks of life attended the symposium and cherished the memories of Comrade Deng Xiaoping's great historic feats and revolutionary demeanor. Sichuan is the hometown of Deng. Attendees of the symposium said they will carry forward the revolutionary traditions and heritage of Comrade Deng Xiaoping and other veteran revolutionaries. Deng Xiaoping set out on his revolutionary journey from Sichuan and always held deep affection for his hometown, said Wang Xiaohui, secretary of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China. PORT ROYAL, S.C. (WSAV)This week, the town of Port Royal, a historic Beaufort County community dating back 462 years, celebrated a major milestone with the opening of its very first public library. The library, which had its soft opening on Wednesday, is already attracting many residents who are eager to explore the new facility. Port Royal is surpassing over 16,000 residents and is embracing the library as a hub for learning and community engagement. What makes it special is that its in the heart of a thriving community, and it is going to be a place where people feel safe and heard and seen and valued, Beaufort County Library Director, Amanda Dickman said. Inside, visitors can find a wide selection of books and movies, along with free Wi-Fi, public computers, a fax and scan machine, a meeting room and a study room. These amenities are designed to cater to the diverse needs of the growing community. To me, what makes this library special is that its a place for community, Dickman said. Its a place for kids. Its a place for adults. Its a place where you just get to be, to find your interest, to find your next adventure, whether it be reading or on the web or otherwise. The library will officially celebrate its grand opening tomorrow, Saturday, Aug. 24 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, followed by a story-time event and refreshments. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) A Siouxland elementary school got some extra help with their back-to-school shopping list. For the third year in a row, Jensen Subaru has gifted funds to Riverside Elementary. The $5,000 was given to teachers to purchase supplies for their classrooms. A teacher at Riverside told KCAU 9 that past donations have made a big difference for teachers. Serving Siouxland: Ronald McDonald House of Siouxland helps families while their children receive medical care Last year, we used the money, a lot of teachers, for bigger things that we cant afford on our own, special education teacher Kris McCarthy said. Every teacher was able to give something extra to their students last year that we wouldnt have been able to. So to be able to do that again this year is just an amazing gift and were very overwhelmed. Additionally, Scheels joined in and donated 80 backpacks with supplies to help students, many of whom were impacted by recent flooding. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. 5 arrested, 1 sought in Davis assaults that injured homeless people and others, police say Police are searching for a man involved in what investigators called a series of unprovoked attacks, some mounted upon homeless people, by a group of men and juvenile suspects in Davis. The Davis Police Department has arrested another man and four juveniles in connection to the reported assaults. Authorities said previously they were alerted to the group of attackers when five to six people approached two victims in downtown Davis and began to assault them March 29. One victim suffered serious injuries during the attack, which was reported about 11:40 p.m. at the intersection of Second and F streets, police said on social media. Investigators combed through surveillance footage provided by area businesses, as well as city-owned cameras, and found a license plate attached to a vehicle that a suspect used to leave the city, police said. For several months, Davis police investigators investigated the case and arrested five people who were involved in these incidents. Those arrested were a 21-year-old Dixon man and four juveniles, police said in a Thursday news release posted to social media. Police named 18-year-old Jailen Marsean Samuel Lankford of Dixon as an additional suspect and said he remains at large. His whereabouts are unknown, the Police Department said. Some of the same people involved in the March 29 attack were also linked to assaults that happened in January and March, according to police. Police said at least one person in the group attacked a man Jan. 4 near an elevator in a city-owned parking garage at 101 F St. It was unclear whether police have identified a suspect in this attack. On March 23, the 21-year-old Dixon man and two juveniles attacked a man in the 500 block of L Street, police said. Later that night, the trio are accused of attacking two more men near the same elevator at the Jan. 4 attack. Neither the attack in January nor the two reported March 23 led to serious injuries, but all the victims were homeless, police said. A 15-year-old juvenile was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, assault resulting in great bodily injury, conspiracy and battery, police said. He was booked at the Yolo County Juvenile Detention Facility. Three juveniles were arrested on suspicion of assault- and conspiracy-related charges, Davis police said. The 21-year-old Dixon man was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, grand theft, battery and conspiracy. He was booked at the Yolo County Jail on Aug. 15 and was released on bond the following day, online jail records show. Anyone with information about Lankford may contact the Davis Police Department anonymous at 530-758-3600, by email at policeweb@cityofdavis.org or by calling 911 if in Davis. Four nights of celebration in Chicago produced plenty of highlights for the Democratic Party faithful. Enthusiasm for Vice President Harris was palpable even before she took the stage Thursday night. Her party is desperate to propel her forward after the crisis that culminated in President Bidens decision to step aside from his reelection bid. The biggest names in the Democratic establishment came to Chicago to give their backing to Harris, including Biden, former Presidents Obama and Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former first lady Michelle Obama. Voices of dissent, centered around the conflict in Gaza, made only a modest impression. Here are the five people who enjoyed the biggest successes at the convention Kamala Harris Harris gave one of the more stirring convention addresses of recent years, helped along by a wildly enthusiastic crowd. Interest in her speech and in the convention writ large was heightened because of the sheer human drama by which she became the nominee. The address was notable for an ostentatious patriotism that seemed designed in part to inure Harris from Republican attacks on her as outside of the American mainstream. I see a nation that is ready to move forward, ready for the next step in the incredible journey that is America, she said at one point. She also spoke movingly about her modest upbringing and paid tribute to her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, as a brilliant, 5-foot-tall brown woman with an accent. Harriss mother died from cancer in 2009. I miss her every day, and especially right now, the vice president said in the opening moments of her speech. The address also blasted former President Trump as an unserious man while suggesting that the consequences of electing him to a second term would be catastrophic on everything from abortion to authoritarianism. Harriss reputation took a hit back in 2020, when her campaign for the Democratic nomination proved underwhelming. She later got off to a very unsure start as Bidens vice president. But her address capped an extraordinary period of transformation. She leaves Chicago as the narrow front-runner in national polls of the presidential race. Michelle Obama Obama gave perhaps the weeks most outstanding speech eclipsing even her husband, who immediately followed her. The former first lady has long displayed her ability as a powerful orator. Speaking Tuesday night, she drew a comparison between Harris and former President Obama, saying at the outset of her remarks, Hope is making a comeback. Former President Obamas 2008 campaign famously had hope as its clarion call. But Michelle Obama also drew a common thread between herself and Harris, speaking of the unpretentious backgrounds they share. She framed the point in a way that also hammered Trump, without naming him. Harris understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward. We will never benefit from the affirmative action of generational wealth, Obama said. If things dont go our way, we dont have the luxury of whining or cheating others to get further ahead. The speech had another parallel with Harriss, too. The former first lady paid tribute to her mother Marian Robinson, who died earlier this year. The twin speeches from the Obamas were Harris aside the high point of the week for many delegates. Gus Walz Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), Harriss running mate, delivered a strong speech on the penultimate night of the convention. But it was Walzs 17-year-old son Gus who stole the show. Gus Walz grew emotional as did his sister, Hope as their father spoke about the fertility problems he and his wife Gwen had experienced. When Tim Walz talked about how much he loved his wife and children, Gus stood up and appeared to say though tears, I love you, Dad! and, Thats my Dad! The spontaneous moment went viral on social media, drawing overwhelmingly favorable comments from people expressing how moved they were by Gus Walzs reaction. Tim and Gwen Walz had told People magazine that Gus has a nonverbal learning disorder, anxiety and ADHD. In a statement to People, the couple said that their sons condition is not a setback its his secret power. Oprah Winfrey Winfrey was the big surprise guest Wednesday night. The TV legend got a huge welcome in the adopted hometown where she lived during her hit talk shows long run. Winfrey called on voters to rally around a vision of the best of America. In her own jab at Trump, she argued that we are beyond ridiculous tweets and lies and foolery. These are complicated times, people, and they require adult conversation. Winfrey also made a direct reference to the battle for reproductive rights, gesturing to her own body as she said, if you do not have autonomy over this there is no American dream. But more than any sound bite, the speech mainly showcased Winfreys extraordinary abilities as a communicator who can connect with a mass audience with ease. Convention organizers The convention opened with feelings of foreboding about a historical echo. The 1968 Democratic convention, also held in Chicago, was disastrous for the party as protesters primarily motived by opposition to the Vietnam War clashed violently with police. But fears that similar scenes could erupt this year over Gaza proved overblown. There were two main marches for people outraged about the Biden administrations policies. But the crowds were smaller than expected, and disorder minimal. There was some tension over the organizers refusal to let any Palestinian American speak from the main stage. Activists from the Uncommitted movement which sprang up as a way to register a protest vote over Gaza during the Democratic primary process held a sit-in at the United Center. But their effort to change the organizers decision did not succeed. More broadly, the convention overall went smoothly and avoided embarrassing mishaps. The organizers would have happily accepted that outcome if they were offered it at the outset. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Harriss acceptance of the Democratic Partys nomination for president marked the biggest moment of the partys nominating convention this week, but there were also several highlights leading up to the historic moment Thursday. From Harris pitching a big-tent party vision to gun rights advocates sharing their stories to a Scandal reunion on stage, the last night of programming at the Democratic National Convention was eventful. Here are five notable moments from the final night of the convention in Chicago: Kamala Harris puts up big tent in calling for unity While Harris hit policy points that tacked progressive or centrist, she made a point to try to appeal to people outside the convention hall, and outside the party. She said she was accepting the nomination on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks. Within her own party, she worked to find common ground. While Democrats have rallied around Harris as their nominee, there are still major disagreements on some issues. The Israel-Hamas war is perhaps the largest. That divide was present at the convention, with pro-Palestinian protesters holding demonstrations outside the United Center and calling out the convention organizers for denying the request for a Palestinian American speaker. Harris made a point to address the conflict during her speech, walking the fine line between touting U.S. support for Israel and advocating for the rights of Palestinians. Let me be clear: I will always stand up for Israels right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, Harris said to cheers from the crowd. At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking, she said, to applause. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination, she said to roaring applause and cheers. Gun rights advocates speak One of the most stirring moments of the evening was when five gun control advocates affected by gun violence took the stage to share their stories and call for reform. The issue has been a galvanizing one for Democrats, who have continuously knocked Republicans on the issue of gun access. Before the advocates took to the stage, the convention aired a video criticizing former President Trumps remarks and past stances on guns. Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), who lost her son to gun violence; Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting survivor Abbey Clements; Kim Rubio, who lost her daughter in the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting; and gun violence survivors Melody McFadden and Edgar Vilchez appeared on stage together. I carry that horrific day with me, Clements said, holding back tears. She said the colleagues and the first-graders killed at Sandy Hook Elementary should still be here. Rubio described the day leading up to the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, beginning with her daughter Lexi receiving a good citizen award. Thirty minutes later a gunman murders her, 18 classmates and two teachers, she said. Uvalde is national news, Rubio said. Parents reach out for their children. I reach out for the child I will never hold again. McBath then called for Americans to take action against violence through advocacy and running for elected office. Our losses do not weaken us. They strengthen our resolve, McBath said to applause. We will secure safer futures that we all deserve. We will organize. We will advocate. We will run for office. Central Park Five members taking stage The focus on gun reform was preceded by another emotional moment: Members of the Central Park Five, who were wrongfully convicted of rape and assault, slammed Trump while addressing the convention. In 1989, Trump bought full-page ads in New York newspapers calling for the death penalty against the then-boys, who were aged 14-16. The five were convicted of raping and assaulting a young woman jogging in Central Park. More than 30 years later, Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise, Raymond Santana and Kevin Richardson appeared on stage with civil rights leader the Rev. Al Sharpton. Forty-five wanted us unalive. He wanted us dead. Today, we are exonerated, Salaam, who is now a New York City Council member, said, referring to Trump. He has never changed, and he never will. That man thinks that hate is the animating force in America. It is not, he said. Elizabeth Warren gets choked up Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) became visibly touched as the convention floor erupted into a long standing ovation when she took the stage to address Democrats. The applause, which went on for more than a minute, overwhelmed Warren, who put her hand to her heart, then covered her mouth and rubbed her eyes, taking in the sea of conventiongoers. The welcome was symbolic of Warrens importance as a leader within the party, particularly for progressives, more than four years after Warren and Harris competed in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary. Warren began her speech Thursday talking about what she loves best about Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris cant be bought, and she cant be bossed around, Warren said. Harriss former Senate colleague went on to recount how she first met the now-vice president after the 2008 financial crisis. Donald was scamming students at Trump University and trying to make money off people losing their homes. Kamala Harris stepped up, Warren said. Scandal reunion at the Democratic National Convention Scandal fans rejoiced when the stars of ABC show, Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn, reunited on stage in another display of star power at the convention. I am standing on this stage, but I am not the lead character in this story, Washington said, calling Democrats and Harris supporters the superheroes in this story. You are the fixers. Dare I say it, you are the Olivia Popes, she said, referencing her character, who is a political fixer. Washington then asked for someone to bring her phone over, when Goldwyn, who plays Popes love interest, President Fitzgerald Grant, appeared with her phone, prompting the crowd to erupt in cheers. The two then chanted with the crowd, when we fight, we win. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CHICAGO Vice President Harris accepted the Democratic nomination here Thursday with a speech wrapped in an intense tone of patriotism. But she also took the fight to former President Trump in pugnacious style. Harris has arrived at this point after an extraordinary sequence of events ignited by President Bidens disastrous June 27 debate with Trump. Since Biden announced on July 21 that he would abandon his bid for a second term, Harris has been transformed from a vice president with tepid approval ratings and an uncertain future to the narrow front-runner in a race that could make her the first female president. The vice president delivered a speech just short of 40 minutes duration to a United Center packed to the rafters with cheering Democrats. Here are the main takeaways: A fervent embrace of patriotism Its no surprise that a nominees acceptance speech would sound some ritualized patriotic notes. But Harris went far further than that. She cast her bid for the presidency as an effort to spark new hope and unity within the nation, and to bring increased respect for the U.S. in the wider world. I see a nation that is ready to move forward, ready for the next step in the incredible journey that is America, she said toward the conclusion of her speech. I see an America where we hold fast to the fearless belief that built our nation and inspired the world. Harris critics would argue theres a narcissism in casting ones own quest for election in such sweeping terms. But the vice president is plainly trying to build a campaign that leans on inspiration something that was in rather short supply with Biden. Harris at the same time cast Trump and his allies as fundamentally unpatriotic because of their propensity to focus on what they see as the nations flaws. Her opponents, Harris said, were constantly denigrating America, talking about how terrible everything is. Between the lines of the speech, the appeal to patriotism also looked like an attempt to defend Harris against attempts to other her a Black woman of South Asian descent. Time will tell whether she succeeds in driving back those attacks. But she made a strong effort. Harris leans on the power of biography The election will likely be decided by a small sliver of undecided voters and it seems fair to assume that many of them have not yet developed a fixed opinion of Harris. Despite her serving as vice president for almost four years and in the Senate before that many Americans went into Thursday unfamiliar with the granular details of her background. Harris sought to assuage that curiosity in some of the speechs most vivid passages, which dealt with her family and upbringing. She recalled a home filled with laughter and music Aretha, Coltrane and Miles. She talked fondly of her early life in a beautiful, working-class neighborhood of firefighters, nurses and construction workers. Most movingly of all, perhaps, she recalled her mother as a brilliant, 5-foot-tall brown woman with an accent and immediately added that as a child, I saw how the world would sometimes treat her. Harris also cast her early career as a prosecutor as stemming from a troubling moment in adolescence when a friend, Wanda, said she was being sexually abused by her stepfather. Harris said she would later go into law to protect people like Wanda. Everyone has a right to safety, to dignity and to justice. Throwing hard punches at Trump When we fight, we win has become one of the slogans of Harriss campaign and of this convention. The vice president threw some sharp punches Thursday night. In one of the strongest sound bites, Harris called Trump an unserious man but warned that the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious. She spoke starkly about Trumps behavior in and around Jan. 6, 2021. She characterized his false claims of election fraud as an effort to throw away your votes. She added that, as the riot was going on, when politicians in his own party begged him to call off the mob and send help, he did the opposite. There were also more implicit, but clear, jabs at Trump, such as when she promised, of veterans, to never disparage their service and their sacrifice, or when she pledged to put country above party and self and to abide by the peaceful transfer of power. Just as saliently, Harris alleged Trump would go even further if elected to a second term. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails, she warned. Passion but no change of policy on Gaza The question of Israel and the Palestinians is by far the most divisive within a Democratic Party that is otherwise ardent about uniting behind Harris. The protests here did not reach either the scale or level of disorder that some had anticipated. Harris addressed the issue in her speech with passion but no notable change in policy. She said it was time to get a hostage deal and launched into a vigorous defense of Israels right to defend itself. She insisted that the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on Oct. 7. She then segued into an acknowledgement that what has happened in Gaza the killing of more than 40,000 people, according to local health authorities is devastating. She called the suffering heartbreaking and said she hoped for a day when the Palestinian people would be able to recognize their right to self-determination. It will be a dissatisfying response for the activists who are most outraged about the Biden administrations support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But Harris is betting she will lose few votes in that regard in the end and that any failure to defend Israel could carry worse electoral consequences. Pressing the point on abortion, playing defense on immigration Many Democrats expect abortion to be their single strongest issue in this years campaign. Republicans counter that immigration is the Democrats biggest vulnerability. It was no surprise, then, that Harris leaned in hard on the former, and sought to ameliorate the political danger on the latter. Noting some of the effects of the striking down of Roe v. Wade, she went on to insist that a second Trump term would enable the former president and his allies to limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion and enact a nationwide abortion ban. When it came to immigration, she noted Trumps central role in thwarting a bipartisan border deal that had been proposed earlier this year. She insisted she recognized the importance of securing the border and suggested there was a need to reform our broken immigration system. Critics will say such promises are platitudinous. And Republicans believe the political vulnerably to Harris will remain. But she at least made her case with vigor and tried to drive Trump back. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. 6 Thunderous Trump Takedowns That Got Some Serious Love From DNC Crowd Vice President Kamala Harris brought a historic Democratic National Convention to a close with a speech outlining her vision for Americas future on Thursday. And a number of DNC speakers used the hours leading up to Harris to scorch former President Donald Trump. The Rev. Al Sharpton told the Chicago crowd that the GOP nominee has been consistently making himself richer and sowing division to get that done. This man sat right here in Chicago a few weeks ago refusing to apologize for claims that migrants were taking Black jobs, said Sharpton of Trump, who was asked about his Black jobs remarks during his chaotic appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists convention last month. Well, in November, were gonna show him when Blacks do their jobs, Sharpton added. Sharpton: Trump sat right here in Chicago a few weeks ago refusing to apologize for claims that migrants were taking Black jobs. Well in November, we're gonna show him when Blacks do their jobs. pic.twitter.com/rRvV3GATpg Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 23, 2024 Sharptons speech was followed by remarks by Yusef Salaam, a member of the exonerated Central Park Five who was wrongly accused of an assault in 1989. Prior to the groups trial, Trump paid $85,000 for a full-page newspaper ad calling for New York to bring back the death penalty. Salaam, now a New York City councilmember, declared that America will finally say goodbye to that hateful man when they see us. Salaam added, We will say what I have said after seven long years of wrongful incarceration: Free at last, free at last, free at last, thank God almighty, we are free at last. Salaam: ..America will say goodbye to that hateful man. We will say what I have said after seven long years of wrongful incarceration, free at last, free at last, free at last pic.twitter.com/pkAKKJlpcp Acyn (@Acyn) August 23, 2024 Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), Generation Zs first congressman, later took the DNC stage, emphasizing that its patriotic to fight climate change before turning to the GOP nominee. Unlike Donald Trump, our patriotism is more than some damn slogan on a hat. Its about giving a damn about the people who live in this country, said Frost as the crowd erupted in applause over the jab. Frost: Fighting the climate crisis is patriotic and unlike Donald Trump our patriotism is more than some damn slogan on a hat. It's about giving a damn about the people who live in this country. pic.twitter.com/9tJrM93n9a Acyn (@Acyn) August 23, 2024 Aside from lawmakers, celebrities also challenged Trump, including actor and comedian D.L. Hughley, who ripped the former president over his racist claim that Harris happened to turn Black. Now, of course, Trump is saying that Kamala isnt Black. I guarantee you this: Kamalas been Black a lot longer than Trumps been a Republican, joked Hughley in reference to the former president changing political parties several times. Hughley: And, if Trump he keeps sliding in the polls the way he is, the only way he is going to keep Kamala out of The White House is if he buys it and refuses to rent to her. pic.twitter.com/N2PyxkMkUE Acyn (@Acyn) August 23, 2024 Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), meanwhile, used her DNC speech to slip in a response to Trumps attacks on her, where he referred to her as that woman from Michigan. Gretchen has previously worn a T-shirt with Trumps attack written on it and told CBS Sunday Morning last year that the best way to disarm a bully is to take their weapon and make it your shield. And that she aimed to do after she brushed dirt off her shoulders over the insult on Thursday. Being a woman from Michigan is a badge of honor, Whitmer told the Chicago crowd. Whitmer: Donald Trump called me that woman from Michigan as an insult. Being a woman from Michigan is a badge of honor pic.twitter.com/bUFVizWZjL Acyn (@Acyn) August 23, 2024 Harris, in her speech that wrapped up the DNC, broke down how Trumps picks for the U.S. Supreme Court led to the overturning of Roe v. Wade and warned that the former president, along with his allies, could limit access to birth control and enact a nationwide abortion ban, with or without Congress. And get this get this, he plans to create a national anti-abortion coordinator and force states to report on womens miscarriages and abortions. Simply put - they are out of their minds, Harris said. And one must ask, one must ask why, exactly, is it that they dont trust women? Well, we trust women. Kamala Harris: Simply put, they are out of their minds pic.twitter.com/Yh8EJmkers Acyn (@Acyn) August 23, 2024 Related... EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) A 63-year-old man was arrested for illegally dumping tires into a desert area in Socorro and damaging a third persons property after he was confronted for the dumping on Saturday, Aug. 17, according to the El Paso County Sheriffs Office (EPCSO). EPCSO said deputies were dispatched to 1300 Horizon Blvd. in Aug. 17 in reference to illegal dumping. Deputies received information that a male subject was dumping several tires in the desert area approximately 500 feet southeast from the 11700 block of Michael Dr., according to EPCSO. EPCSO said further investigation revealed Richard Eugene Mitchell, 63, illegally dumped tires into the desert area and damaged a third persons property after he was confronted for the dumping. Deputies were able to find the location of occurrence and observed approximately 25 tires ranging from different models, brands and sizes, according to EPCSO. Mitchell was booked into the Downtown Jail Facility for illegal dumping under a $1,000 bond and criminal mischief under a $4,000 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 KTSM 9 News. FLINT, Mich. (WLNS) A scandal at the Michigan State Police Flint Post may have civil rights implications for state troopers and people they arrested in Shiawassee County. Seven current Michigan State Police troopers have filed a total of 14 state and federal lawsuits against the states top law enforcement agency and its former leaders. They allege they were retaliated against for participating in multiple internal affairs investigations stemming from a promotions scandal that became public in November 2023. That scandal resulted in resignations, retirements and firings. The MSP is named as a defendant alongside former Flint Post Commander Yvonne Brantley and former Flint Post Sgt. Jared Chiros. Jared Chiros (left) and Yvonne Brantley (right) (Michigan State Police) The first lawsuits were filed in April by Evan Neilson. That was followed by Nicholas Salskis suits filed on July 15, Merik Whipples suits filed on Aug. 9, David Minchellas on Aug. 13, Brandee Harts on Aug. 14, and Nason Haenlien and Casey McLaughlin-Smiths suits on Aug. 21. Kevin Kelly of the Saginaw-based Mastromarco represents all the troopers in the lawsuits. He says there may be more cases filed shortly by troopers who were passed over for promotions because they did not receive the answers to the tests in advance and did not come in second for the promotions. The lawsuits allege violations of the First Amendment and due process protections. Some also allege Brantleys decision to accuse troopers of lying during the internal investigations was defamatory and placed the troopers in a false light. One trooper is also alleging the retaliation he experienced for reporting sexual assault and sexual harassment was a violation of Michigans Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which prohibits retaliation against any person who files a complaint or participates in an investigation related to sexual harassment or assault under the law. Together, the troopers are seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages for the actions taken by the MSP. Cases for each trooper have been filed in the Michigan Court of Claims and the Federal Eastern District Court of Michigan alleging Brantley and Chiros participated in an orchestrated campaign of retaliation against them for filing complaints over Chiros activities. Jared Chiros (Michigan State Police) Among the allegations against Chiros: He participated in a high-speed chase without activating his lights in violation of department policy He lied in a police report He sexually assaulted a female trooper by patting her on her buttocks He sexually harassed that same female trooper He sexually harassed a male deputy at another department by sending him photographs of Chiros genitalia He assaulted another trooper for participating in a departmental investigation into allegations against him He called a trooper who was participating in an internal investigation a snitch He falsely accused two troopers of committing insurance fraud, a felony A law enforcement source confirmed the male deputy who received the photos of Chiros genitalia was an employee of the Genesee County Sheriffs Department at the time of the incident. The photos, the source says, were taken in Chiros MSP vehicle during scheduled work hours. Chiros was in uniform, the source confirmed. The lawsuits allege Chiros behavior was covered up and supported by Brantley who took the additional step of recruiting the Chief Deputy Prosecutor of Genesee County into the retaliation scheme by accusing the seven troopers of lying during internal investigations. That allegation resulted in the seven troopers being placed, improperly, on a list of police officers prohibited from testifying in court. That list is called a Brady-Giglio list, in reference to two U.S. Supreme Court rulings requiring prosecutors to notify defense attorneys when a law enforcement officer has been credibly accused of dishonesty or other issues. This can be used to challenge the presumption an officer is honest and trustworthy when testifying before a court. The troopers were allowed to perform law enforcement duties in other counties, including Shiawassee County. Shiawassee County Courthouse. (WLNS) Despite being on the Brady-Giglio list in Genesee County, the Shiawassee County Prosecutor says he was never told of the issues. My office was not aware of the transfer of the officers, Prosecutor Scott Koerner wrote in an email to 6 News. My office was not aware that Genesee County placed the Officers on their Brady-Giglo list. Not telling Shiawassee and other county prosecutors of the alleged dishonesty in Genesee County, Kevin Kelly the attorney representing all seven troopers says is a concern. It tells me first and foremost that the reason why my clients were on the list in Genesee County is false, because if there was a real legitimate concern, they would have had an obligation to tell all the prosecutors, he tells 6 News. They would have had those cases because they would have to disclose that to the criminal defendants. Not disclosing honesty concerns about a law enforcement officer to the defense could cause constitutional concerns for people who were prosecuted, Kelly says. The internal investigation of wrongdoing by Chiros resulted in Brantleys retirement and Chiros losing his position at MSP. During the investigation, it was found Brantley had played favorites in the post and provided answers to the sergeants exam questions for those she wanted to see advanced. That provided those troopers with an unfair advantage in the promotions process, it was determined. Chiros was among those who received the answers in advance, the lawsuits allege. The two troopers accused by Chiros of insurance fraud were cleared of criminal wrongdoing by an internal investigation, but were recommended for 10-day suspensions for failing to report an off-duty traffic accident. 6 News Investigates began looking into former Sgt. Chiros after receiving two pages of a six-page internal memo notifying State Police troopers of the findings of an internal investigation of Chiros. The memo did not identify Chiros by name, but multiple sources inside MSP and other law enforcement agencies confirmed the sergeant referred to in the report was Chiros. An attorney representing Chiros in one of the lawsuits did not respond to a 6 News inquiry. MSP Spokeswoman Shanon Banner tells 6 News in an email that MSP officials are aware of just four of the lawsuits filed. She provided the following statement about the scandal and the lawsuits. The conduct of the former leadership of the MSP Flint Post, as revealed through several internal MSP investigations, was deeply concerning and not in line with the standards and values of the Michigan State Police, Banner wrote in an email. Upon learning of this conduct, Col. James F. Grady II, director of the MSP, took swift action to remove the commanders of the post. With new Flint Post leadership now in place, were focused on moving forward and providing the highest quality law enforcement and public safety services to the residents of Genesee and Shiawassee counties. NEILSON STATE FILINGDownload NEILSON FEDERAL FILINGDownload SALSKI STATE FILINGDownload SALSKI FEDERAL FILINGDownload WHIPPLE STATE FILINGDownload WHIPPLE FEDERAL FILINGDownload HART STATE FILINGDownload HART FEDERAL FILINGDownload MINCHELLA STATE FILINGDownload MINCHELLA FEDERAL FILINGDownload HAENLIEN STATE FILINGDownload HAENLEIN FEDERAL FILINGDownload Casey McLaughlin-Smith FILING 1Download Casey McLaughlin-Smith FILING 2Download Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. MEXICO CITY, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Thursday dismissed criticism by some global financial firms of his administration's proposed judicial reforms, saying their warnings of impending risk to the economy were "pure lies." At his daily press conference, Lopez Obrador said the firms were involved in "politicking" when they attributed a recent slide in the Mexican peso to the proposed constitutional amendments, which Congress is set to debate soon. The reason behind the peso's slide is not internal, but rather a "global adjustment," especially due to the economy and finances of the United States, said the president. In recent days, several global investment banks and rating agencies have warned of potential risks from the judicial reforms, which among other things propose that ministers of the Supreme Court be voted into office. Mexico's peso entered a period of volatility against the U.S. dollar following its presidential elections on June 2, though other factors also came into play, including global investors' concerns about the direction of the U.S. economy and Japan's monetary policy, according to experts. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Friday he was suspending his presidential campaign bringing to a close one of the strangest campaigns in recent memory. The independent candidate, a son of former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, ran a conspiracy-filled, long-shot campaign. But despite consistently low polling, Kennedy still managed to frequently grab hold of the news cycle often for bizarre reasons. Here are seven of the weirdest moments of Kennedys campaign. He said a worm ate his brain The New York Times revealed in May that what Kennedy originally thought was a brain tumor might have been the work of a hungry parasite at least, according to him. During a 2012 deposition made during a contentious divorce from his second wife, Kennedy told attorneys that a doctor believed an abnormality in his brain scans was caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died, per the Times. He said he had been experiencing severe memory loss and mental fogginess, which he claimed had diminished his earning power. The revelation captivated the internet, and even Kennedy himself had no choice but to lean into it. I offer to eat 5 more brain worms and still beat President Trump and President Biden in a debate, Kennedy wrote in a post on X. He admitted to dumping a dead bear in Central Park In an attempt to get ahead of a New Yorker article on the subject, Kennedy posted a video on social media earlier this month admitting to comedian Roseanne Barr that he left a dead bear in New York Citys Central Park a decade ago. Kennedy says in the video that another driver had killed the bear, and he pulled over and put it in his car with plans to skin it and put the meat in my refrigerator. Long story short, his explanation ends with the fact that he wasnt going home and couldnt leave the bear in his car, so naturally, he placed the carcass in Central Park and staged it to look like a bike accident. The circumstances surrounding the bears death had remained a mystery for years (and, coincidentally, Kennedys cousin Tatiana Schlossberg wrote a 2014 report about it for The New York Times). The New Yorker published an article featuring the story alongside a photograph from 2014 of Kennedy putting his fingers in the bears bloody mouth with a comical expression on his face. His response to the New Yorkers report? Maybe thats where I got my brain worm, he told the publication. He denied eating a dog Vanity Fair published a startling 2010 photo in July of Kennedy holding what appeared to be a whole barbequed animal and not a pig. Kennedy had sent the image to a friend who was traveling to Asia and suggested he go to a restaurant in Korea that served dog on its menu, implying the pictured animal was a dog, according to Vanity Fair. In an interview with NewsNation, he denied the report and said the animal was a goat in Patagonia. Im a very adventurous eater, Kennedy said. Ill eat virtually anything. Theres two things I wouldnt eat well, three. I wouldnt eat a human, I wouldnt eat a monkey, and I wouldnt eat a dog. I think Id eat anything else. He said he wont take sides on 9/11 Nobody asked, but Kennedy wrote in a post on X last month to assure the public that he wont take sides on 9/11 or any of the other debates, a move he said would usher in a new era of transparency. Kennedy said the statement was motivated by a 60 Minutes report looking into a long-held theory that the Saudi government had advance knowledge of the plot. The candidate, who has floated other conspiracy theories about vaccines, AIDS and the assassination of his uncle, added: Its hard to tell what is a conspiracy theory and what isnt. He apologized to his family for a Super Bowl ad comparing him to JFK The Super PAC supporting Kennedy's candidacy aired a $7 million Super Bowl ad drawing direct parallels between him and the beloved former president. It used the same template as an ad John F. Kennedy had run in the 1960s and used the same jingle: Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy. Members of the Kennedy clan some of whom have denounced Kennedys candidacy were furious. My cousins Super Bowl ad used our uncles faces- and my Mothers. She would be appalled by his deadly health care views, Bobby Shriver, Kennedys cousin, wrote on X. Other family members piled on. Late the same night, Kennedy blamed the Super PAC, writing on X it had aired the ad without any involvement or approval from my campaign, per election finance laws. Kennedy added that he was sorry if the Super Bowl advertisement caused anyone in my family pain. He blamed a campaign staffer for commenting on an OnlyFans creators post A social media user posted a screenshot to X showing that Kennedys TikTok account had commented Wow on an OnlyFans creators post. Kennedy, who has been married to actor Cheryl Hines for a decade, threw the blame on one of the campaigns young social media managers who he said operated the account before him. He debated himself As the world watched the live CNN debate between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden in June that would ultimately doom Bidens campaign, Kennedy whom CNN said did not qualify livestreamed a real debate on YouTube. Standing alone in front of a moderator and live studio audience, Kennedy projected the Trump and Biden debate on a screen, then paused the CNN debate and gave his own responses. It ran nearly two-and-a-half hours. These 8 Republicans Took The Stage At The DNC To Warn America About Trump Before Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage for her big moment at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, the lineup was peppered with some unlikely speakers: a bevy of Republicans, including some who worked in former President Donald Trumps administration. Many said they dont agree with Harris on everything, but that theyre choosing a candidate who at least knows right from wrong. Several shared their journey from diehard Trump supporter to DNC speaker, pleading with Americans not to vote for him. Heres what they all had to say. Stephanie Grisham Former Trump White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham speaks Tuesday at the DNC. Andrew Harnik via Getty Images Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, who never held a press conference while working for Trump, told the DNC crowd that unlike her boss, she never wanted to stand at that podium and lie. Now here I am behind a podium advocating for a Democrat, and thats because I love my country more than my party, she continued, saying she once was a true believer in Trumps politics who spent major holidays with him and his family. She went on to describe Trump as someone who has no empathy, no morals, and no fidelity to the truth. When the cameras are off, she continued, he mocks his supporters. He calls them basement-dwellers. Grisham also shared a text conversation shed had with former first lady Melania Trump. When Grisham asked the first lady if shed like to say something to help quell the violence on Jan. 6, 2021, Melania Trump simply replied, No, according to Grisham. Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill) speaks during the final night of the DNC. Bill Clark via Getty Images Former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger had a primetime slot on the DNC schedule, and he came out strongly for Harris. Ive learned something about the Democratic Party, and I want to let my fellow Republicans in on the secret: The Democrats are as patriotic as us. They love this country just as much as we do, the former Illinois congressman said. The Republican Party is no longer conservative, he continued. It has switched its allegiance from the principles that gave it purpose to a man whose only purpose is himself. Harris, he emphasized, shares my allegiance to the rule of law, the Constitution and democracy. Mayor John Giles Mesa, Arizona, Mayor John Giles speaks on day two of the DNC. Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images John Giles, the Republican mayor of Mesa, Ariz., told GOP voters they shouldnt feel any loyalty to Trump. I have an urgent message for the majority of Americans who, like me, are in the political middle: John McCains Republican party is gone and we dont owe a damn thing to whats been left behind, he said, referencing the late Arizona senator who was also a fierce critic of Trump. Mesa is a city of more than half a million people that reliably votes Republican, and Arizona is a key battleground state in the presidential election. Olivia Troye Olivia Troye, former National Security advisor to former Vice President Mike Pence, speaks Wednesday at the DNC. Andrew Harnik via Getty Images Olivia Troye, once a counterterrorism advisor to former Vice President Mike Pence, said that being inside Trumps White House was terrifying. But what keeps me up at night is whatll happen if he gets back there, she said. The guardrails are gone, the adults that were in the room the first time resigned or were fired. I saw how Donald Trump undermined our intelligence community, our military leaders and ultimately our democratic process, she continued, adding that the United States foreign adversaries are rooting for a Trump victory. She said shes supporting Harris not because we agree on every issue, but because we agree on the most important issue: protecting our freedom. Former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan Geoff Duncan, former lieutenant governor of Georgia, speaks Wednesday at the DNC. Robert Gauthier via Getty Images Former Georgia Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan said he realized Trump was a direct threat to democracy, and his actions disqualified him from ever, ever, ever stepping foot into the Oval Office again. His message was for Republicans and independents at home, he said, who are sick and tired of making excuses for Donald Trump. Our party is not civil and conservative. Its chaotic and crazy, he said to massive applause. And the only thing left to do is dump Trump. These days our party acts more like a cult a cult worshipping a felonious thug. Rich Logis Rich Logis, a Republican who supported Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020, sits for an Aug. 12 interview. CHANDAN KHANNA via Getty Images Rich Logis, the Florida co-chair for Republicans for Harris, said in a video appearance that he made a grave mistake when he became a diehard Trump supporter. But its never too late to change your mind, he continued. I finally stepped outside the MAGA echo chamber, I stopped listening to what Trump said and looked around with my own eyes, he said. And I realized he had been lying about pretty much everything. Kyle Sweetser Former Trump voter Kyle Sweetser speaks on day two of the DNC. Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images Kyle Sweetser, a former Trump voter from Mobile, Alabama, said he held his nose when he voted for Trump again in 2016, even though his administrations tariffs had hurt his job as a construction worker and raised business costs. When Trump tried to thwart the 2020 election results, Sweetser said he made a vow to himself. I decided from that point, if this guy runs again, Im going to vote Democrat for the first time in my life. So thats when I started speaking out against Trump. Ana Navarro Political commentator Ana Navarro hosts day two of the DNC. MANDEL NGAN via Getty Images Television commentator Ana Navarro, a Republican whos long criticized Trump, hosted the primetime portion of Tuesdays nights DNC event. Harris is legitimately a joyful, optimistic leader. She cares about policy, yes, but she also cares about people an about how that policy affects real people, not just the members of Mar-a-Lago. She also spoke about how much her Instagram-famous dog, ChaCha, likes Harris and vice versa, and reminded the audience about how Trump broke a longstanding tradition by not bringing any pets to the White House. We cannot elect a president who does not like dogs or hangs around with people who shoot them, she said, referencing Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who admitted to intentionally shooting one of her dogs in a memoir published earlier this year. Related... 9 more school bus routes to resume on Big Island and Maui HONOLULU (KHON2) Starting Monday, nine additional school bus routes on the Big Island and Maui will be reinstated, benefiting nearly 200 students across nine schools. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You These routes will be serviced by buses from contract ground transport, as well as subcontractors Roberts Hawaii and Polynesian Adventure. Oahu to see 20 school bus routes reinstated starting Monday Efforts are still underway to restore the remaining 84 suspended bus routes. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Around 90 percent of residents in the Gaza Strip have been displaced by successive evacuation orders from Israel following the start of its war with Hamas last year, according to the United Nations. Mass evacuations in Gaza choke survival and severely constrain aid operations, Muhannad Hadi, a top U.N. official, was quoted saying in a Thursday post on X from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The U.N. official warned that evacuation orders are endangering civilians in the enclave. They are forcing families to flee again, often under fire and with the few belongings they can carry with them, into an ever-shrinking area, Hadi said on Thursday, according to The Associated Press. The way forward is as clear as it is urgent: Protect civilians, release the hostages, facilitate humanitarian access, agree on a cease-fire, Hadi said in a statement, according to the AP. The frequent evacuations, 12 of which occurred in August, are a threat to U.N. humanitarian workers in Gaza, Stephane Dujarric, the U.N. spokesperson, said, according to the AP. Dujarric stated the World Food Program (WFP) does not have access to a warehouse in Deir al-Balah. Israel ordered evacuation orders in Deir al-Balah, along with parts of Khan Younis, a city in the southern part of the strip and the Al-Maghazi refugee camp. The cease-fire talks have resumed this week. They are being mediated by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar. One major point of disagreement is long-term control of the Philadelphi corridor in southern Gaza, which Israel currently controls. The war in the region began on Oct. 7 after the Palestinian militant group Hamas killed around 1,200 people, most of them civilians, in Israel. They also took around 250 hostages, a third of them are believed to be dead. In response, the Israeli military started their offensive that, so far, has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities that do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia launched an online tool for parents and students to file complaints about teacher attempts to push religion in science classes. (Getty Images) Parents and students of West Virginia schools can file complaints about teacher attempts to push religion in science classes with an online tool the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia launched Friday. Earlier this year, the state Legislature passed Senate Bill 280, which allows school teachers to answer student questions on scientific theories about how the universe and life began. Supporters of the bill said it would allow teachers to discuss intelligent design which a federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled is not legitimate science with students who ask questions about it. Some lawmakers raised concerns about the bills broad language that could allow anything to be taught to children. The bill became law effective June 7. Its entirely unclear what exactly the final version of this bill seeks to permit, because it was already lawful for teachers to answer questions about scientific theories, ACLU-WV Legal Director Aubrey Sparks said in a release. What is clear, however, is the constitutional right to freedom of religion; the state may not push specific religious viewpoints onto students, period. Sparks said theres concern the law may lead to teachers asserting their own religious views as science. The ACLU will monitor the complaints submitted for use in possible litigation, the organization said. The tool can be accessed here. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Cole County Courthouse in downtown Jefferson City (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent). A pair of administrative law judges are suing the Parson administration claiming wrongful termination and illegal withholding of salary. Ryan Asbridge, who has served as an administrative law judge since 2019, and Gina Mitten, who has served since 2021, filed a lawsuit last week in Cole Circuit Court. They allege the administration of Gov. Mike Parson declared them at-will employees without any authority to do so, thus allowing Mitten to be dismissed and Asbridges pay to be withheld while he was on active military duty. Administrative law judges are appointed by the governor and handle cases involving things such as workers compensation. They receive a roughly $120,000 salary. In May, Mitten says she was contacted by Parsons director of the division of workers compensation dismissing her from her position. In the lawsuit, plaintiffs argue that state law is clear that administrative law judges can only be discharged or removed after receiving three or more votes of no confidence two years in a row from a five-member review committee that audits their performance. Administrative law judges are also subject to retention votes every 12 years by the review committee. Lawmakers have tried unsuccessfully to change this process over the years, and the lawsuit notes that during legislative hearings the Parson administration admitted that there is no other process for removing administrative law judges other than the review committee. Judges can also be removed if the legislature doesnt allocate enough money to cover all salaries. But the lawsuit says the Department of Labor budget has funding for 28 administrative law judges, including Mitten and Asbridge. Asbridge is still listed as an administrative law judge, though the lawsuit says he has been on a military leave of absence for the last three years. A major in the United States Air Force Reserves, Asbridges deployment on active duty began in November 2021 and had previously been extended through at least August. He continued to receive his salary from the state while deployed with the Air Force. According to the lawsuit, Missouri law requires the state to pay salaries of administrative law judges regardless of the hours they work. There is no provision in state law, the lawsuit says, that authorizes the department to withhold Asbridges salary. Asbridges three years of military leave was an expense beyond what the citizen of Missouri should be responsible for supporting, the workers compensation division director wrote in a letter included with the lawsuit. Mitten is asking to be reinstated and provided back pay, and Asbridge is asking for back pay withheld since June. Spokesmen for the governor and the office of administration, which handles payroll for the state, did not respond to a request for comment. In addition to Parson and Office of Administration Commissioner Ken Zellers, named defendants in the lawsuit include Attorney General Andrew Bailey and the director of the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Anna Hui. DENVER (KDVR) An arrest affidavit obtained by FOX31 reveals what led up to a deadly shooting that happened at a cemetery in Jefferson County over the weekend. Saturday night just before 11 p.m., deputies with the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office were dispatched to Crown Hill Cemetery on a report of a gunshot wound. Deputies found a man, identified as Geano Eugene Chavez, 20, with a gunshot wound to the right side of his chest, according to the affidavit. Victim identified, new details revealed in Jefferson County cemetery shooting Chavez was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead just before midnight. Less than 15 minutes later, the suspect, identified as Ryan Mike Trujillo Falcon, 22, was arrested at the cemetery. Suspect waives Miranda, tells deputies his story The 911 caller told dispatchers that Ryan Trujillo was the shooter, and a search began at the cemetery. According to the affidavit, Falcon was found near gravesites and was taken into custody around 12:11 a.m. Law enforcement officers read Falcon his Miranda Warning and he waived his legal right and spoke with investigators, according to the affidavit. Falcon told investigators that the gun he used was a tan FN 45 tactical handgun and said he hid it near a large tree. Deputies found the gun, and Falcon was taken to the sheriffs office to be interviewed. According to the affidavit, Falcon once again read and signed a Miranda Warning before speaking with investigators in the sheriffs offices Criminal Investigations Division. Denver police see concerning increase in domestic violence cases Group was paying respects to shooting victim Falcon said he arrived at the cemetery around 8 p.m. via an Uber ride, and said he was there to pay respects to his friend who was shot and killed two years ago, according to the affidavit. Falcon said he has carried a firearm ever since his friend was shot, but said that he did not have a legal concealed carry permit. While he, along with family members and friends were gathered around, Geano, was starting to feel sick and needed to vomit, the affidavit states. Falcon told him to go to the street if he was going to get sick, but Geano declined to do so and was going to vomit on the grave next to him. Falcon told investigators that thats when Geano and a woman began to argue with him. According to the affidavit, Falcon said the woman confronted him and punched him in the mouth, and a fight broke out between Falcon, Geano and the woman. According to the affidavit, Falcon said the woman pulled him by the hair and while he was on the ground, he pulled the gun out from his waistband and hit the woman in the head with the butt of the gun. Falcon got up on his feet and told Geano to stop, and told investigators that he did not see any weapon in Geanos hand. The affidavit states that Falcon said Geano came towards him, and he pointed the gun and fired one shot at Geano. He then ran from the scene, took off his jacket and hid the gun by a tree. According to the affidavit, Falcon said he was hiding and stood up to turn himself over to the officers who were on the scene. Falcon faces charges including 1st-degree murder, 2nd-degree assault and unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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) Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser is keeping a close eye on the Aurora Police Department, which just announced a new chief. The department is subject to a 2022 consent decree and associated oversight after an investigation by the Colorado Department of Law, which Weiser oversees, found that the department had a pattern and practice of violating state and federal law through racially biased policing, using excessive force, and failing to record legally required information when interacting with the community. Aurora residents concerned about lack of transparency in police chief hiring Todd Chamberlain was named the new chief of the Aurora Police Department on Wednesday, although his appointment must be confirmed by a city council vote. The body will next meet on Monday, Aug. 26. Hes the fifth chief to take on the role in so many years, and will follow in the footsteps of Interim Aurora Police Chief Heather Morris. Its not an easy role to take on: The Aurora Police Department has been heavily criticized in recent years, with many critiques focusing on the 2019 death of Elijah McClain when the department was under different administrators, and no consent decree. In 2027, a consent decree that the Aurora Police Department has been operating under since 2022 will expire, and with it, the departments direct, third-party oversight will come to a close. Officials were asked Thursday what they were planning as they move toward the end of the consent decree. Batchelor said the city will include funding in 2026 to reestablish an independent monitor, similar to Denvers Office of the Independent Monitor. Chamberlain also voiced his support of a third-party monitor and oversight. I think its an important aspect. Its something that we should not ever shy away from, Chamberlain said. I think if you have an organization or a department that is running properly, running ethically, doing all the correct steps, I think that should be applauded. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, whose office enforces the consent decree, began an investigation into the Aurora Police Department in August 2020, following the death of Elijah McClain. He said Thursday that he is concerned there would not be oversight of the department once the consent decree expires in 2027, and said the rapid turnover of chiefs at the department increases the need for department oversight. Thats why Im calling for Aurora to establish a full-time permanent independent monitor, just like Denver has, Weiser told FOX31. My concern is the need for continuous improvement doesnt end at the termination of the consent decree. the need for building community trust and ensuring theres trusted oversight doesnt end. With the sixth police chief in six years, we need stability. We need ongoing oversight: An independent monitor would provide that. Polis speaks against Project 2025 agenda at DNC night 3 Chamberlain was also asked about McClain, as well as his ideas surrounding the use of force by officers. For me, the use of force aspect is an incredibly important one. Its not only about the incident of the force itself, its about how did the officers get to that force? What got them there? What was the steps they took from the first time they got that call for service until that force happened? Chamberlain said. He said that use-of-force incidents will happen, but the goal is to ensure there is not a disproportionate amount of such incidents. He argued that one of Auroras biggest issues is the community component of policing, as there is a question of whether the community feels it can trust the department. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Ukrainian air defense shot down 14 of 16 Shahed combat drones launched by Russia overnight on Aug. 23, Ukraine's Air Force reported. Two Iskander ballistic missiles were not intercepted but the report did not include further information. Mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Air Force were involved in repelling the air attacks. Throughout the night, the Air Force warned of the threat of drone attacks in multiple regions across the country. No damage or casualties were reported as a result of the downed drones at the time of publication. Throughout 2024, Russian attacks on critical infrastructure have increasingly targeted Ukrainian energy facilities. Ukraine began implementing rolling blackouts on May 15. Read also: Ukraine war latest: Kyiv launches counterattack in Kharkiv Oblast, reportedly advancing 2 square km Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Extensive investments by Chinese enterprises in Africa are driving the continent's industrialization, according to a report released Friday by the China-Africa Business Council (CABC) "Through market-oriented investment, infrastructure investment and investment in new fields, Chinese enterprises are improving Africa's industrial system, promoting the progress of Africa's industrialization and upgrading its quality," stated the report titled "China-Africa Investment Cooperation: A New Impetus to Africa's Industrialization." The report, an outcome of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Dakar Action Plan (2022-2024), has been released annually since its inaugural edition in 2021. The 2024 report was published ahead of the upcoming FOCAC summit, scheduled to take place in Beijing from Sept. 4 to 6. According to the CABC, the report aims to promote pragmatic China-Africa economic and trade cooperation by focusing on Africa's realities and economic diversification, and serve as a platform to highlight the fruitful outcomes and potential of China-Africa cooperation. In his opening remarks at Friday's report launch, Wang Xiaoyong, executive chairman of the CABC, described FOCAC as a "valuable asset" for both China and Africa. "We believe that over the next three years, driven by policies from both Chinese and African governments and supported by diplomatic, commercial and financial sectors, China-Africa economic, trade and investment cooperation will contribute to Africa's modernization," Wang said. DIVERSIFIED CHINESE INVESTMENT IN AFRICA "China is the largest developing country investing in Africa, and China-Africa investment cooperation has been growing steadily," the report stated. China is investing in increasingly diverse projects in Africa, gradually expanding from traditional sectors such as construction, mining, electrical power and engineering into a wider range of areas. These include not only traditional areas such as manufacturing, technology, wholesale and retail, agriculture and real estate, but also emerging fields such as the digital economy, green development, aerospace and aviation, and financial services, according to the report. "This diversified investment pattern has helped Africa to achieve economic diversification and improve the resilience and competitiveness of its economies and has also provided Chinese enterprises with more investment options and opportunities," the report added. Chinese investment in Africa is also becoming increasingly diversified in terms of investor profiles. At present, more than 70 percent of the enterprises investing in Africa are private enterprises, and private enterprises have become the new driving force of China's investment in Africa, the report noted, citing data from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC). "The participation of private enterprises not only brings more capital and technical support but also more flexible and efficient business models and management experience, which helps to enhance the competitiveness of Chinese enterprises in the African market and promote the extensive development of China-Africa economic and trade cooperation," the report stated. MOC data show that as of the end of 2023, China's direct investment stock in Africa exceeded 40 billion U.S. dollars, making it one of Africa's major sources of foreign investment. Over the past three years, Chinese firms have invested in and developed economic and trade cooperation zones in Africa, spanning sectors such as agriculture, processing and manufacturing, trade logistics and other industries. These zones have attracted over 1,000 companies and boosted Africa's tax revenues and foreign exchange earnings from exports, China's assistant Minister of Commerce Tang Wenhong, said earlier this week, noting that Chinese companies have also created more than 1.1 million local jobs during the period. CHINA'S EXPERTISE DRIVES AFRICA'S INDUSTRIAL UPGRADES China's experience in cutting-edge industrial development can meet the urgent needs of African countries for industrial development and upgrading their industrial structures, the report stated, noting that the overall industrial structure has not changed significantly in Africa after many years of development. At the early stage of the industrialization process, some countries in Africa relied on the abundance of their natural resources to achieve initial industrial development and had certain advantages in the upstream of the industrial chain. However, this type of economic model can lead to the formation of a monolithic economic structure in a country that has a high degree of economic vulnerability, the report noted. "As a result, there is significant room for development and upgrading in the downstream links of the industrial chain and an extremely urgent need for upgrading the industrial structure at the macro level," the report stated. It added that China's strong competitive industries offer African countries opportunities for technological advancement and industrial upgrading, and this support can help cultivate independent productive capacities and elevate their position in the global industrial chain. An example is the industrial park model that China has successfully introduced to Africa. Since the 1990s, Chinese enterprises have actively invested in, developed and operated numerous industrial parks across the continent, according to the report. It noted that Chinese investment in infrastructure strengthens Africa's foundations for industrialization and development, the market-oriented investment improves local industrialization systems, while investing in new fields promotes Africa's industrial transformation, upgrading and efficiency. A PROMISING FUTURE OF CHINA-AFRICA COOPERATION According to Mwangi Wachira, former economist at the World Bank and advisor to the Government of Kenya, China has had a stellar record supporting the creation of the nodes and links of an integrated African market through the various ports, railways and roads it built in Africa as well as the Chinese-aided Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the African Union (AU) headquarters. Chinese manufacturers catering to African consumers are thriving, producing a range of goods from cement, plastics and pharmaceuticals to cosmetics, cell phones and electric cars for an expanding African middle class, Wachira wrote in the CABC report. "This effort needs to be expanded to meet AU's Agenda 2063 call for industrial development, especially in manufacturing, to increase the value-added of Africa's resources, improve levels of employment, and raise people's income," Wachira added. The economist also highlighted China's initiatives to host Africa-focused expos, which spotlight trade and opportunities for both Chinese and African producers and traders. He noted that the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo (CAETE), held biennially in Hunan Province since 2019, is yielding positive results and is a tangible outcome of the 2018 FOCAC Beijing Summit. The report concluded that the CABC will encourage more Chinese enterprises across various sectors to continue investing in Africa's infrastructure development and strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation in areas such as industry, agriculture, healthcare, transportation and logistics, new energy and e-commerce. The CABC has also called on the governments of China and Africa to support cooperation in the financial sector by encouraging local currency settlements in trade and investment, creating a favorable policy environment for local currency settlements, and supporting RMB clearing business in Africa. SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) A man from Alabama was arrested in connection with kidnapping a teenager in Springfield. According to the Springfield Police Department, police received a missing persons report on July 28th for a 13-year-old girl who ran away from home. A video obtained showed the girl leave her home and get into a vehicle at around 1:40 a.m. Chicopee man arrested after search warrant uncovers illegal narcotics During the investigation, detectives working with her family identified 31-year-old Raul Arellano from Huntsville, Alabama as the suspect. The investigation revealed that Arellano left his home in Alabama and drove to Springfield after talking with the girl online. Springfield police say that it is believed that they had previously met in Alabama where the girls primary residence is. Massachusetts State Police were able to locate Arellanos vehicle traveling south in Virginia. The state police in Virginia conducted a traffic stop in New Market, Virginia, located the girl, and arrested Arellano. On Tuesday, Springfield Police Detectives traveled to the RSW Regional Jail in Virginia and took custody of Arellano on an arrest warrant in connection with the kidnapping in Springfield. He was brought back to the Springfield Police Headquarters awaiting arraignment. 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. MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) Changes are coming to childrens books sections across Alabama as public library officials remove certain reading materials from shelves. The Alabama Public Library Service requires books containing obscene content to be removed from aisles geared for young readers. Under new code changes adopted last year, public libraries that do not cooperate with the removals risk losing state funding. It told us that we werent trusted, Craig Scott, president of the Alabama Library Association, said. Library patrons are able to challenge books they find on shelves, which can cause them to be removed. However, Scott says local library boards ultimately have the final say. Alabama community colleges report record enrollment One example involves the childrens book Johns Turn, which was deemed appropriate for its age demographic after a complaint in Gadsden. Its a book about a young boy who wants to become a ballet dancer, and there is nothing objectionable, Scott said. While the APLS has received pushback regarding this decision, Becky Gerritson with the Eagle Forum of Alabama said the move is ultimately about protecting young children. I think the fact that we have found books in the childrens section that have these graphic materials has caused some distrust, Gerritson said. Hokes Bluff Public Library director Alexandria Williams says her location has received no challenges since the changes. Weve had some staff members that Ive just asked personally, say Hey, can you go through and see if you think we have anything that you personally would consider inappropriate? Williams said. So far, so good. Dr. Nancy Pack with APLS said they will begin reviewing the updated policies of libraries statewide starting Sept. 1. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Albanian criminal wanted in France arrested after staying in Britain undetected for six years Ismalaj's arrest comes six years after he illegally entered the UK in 2018 - IAN BOTTLE/ALAMY An Albanian criminal wanted in France stayed in Britain undetected for six years trying to obtain leave to remain. Nando Ismalaj, 42, has been arrested by the Metropolitan Police as a fugitive wanted in France for stealing six cars, and now faces extradition from the UK from custody. His arrest comes six years after he illegally entered the UK in 2018. He has lived in Britain ever since without any status or legal right to remain. He tried twice to secure settled status under the post-Brexit scheme for EU citizens, after marrying a Romanian woman who had the right to stay in the UK. She had successfully claimed settled status but his claim was rejected, leaving him at risk of being deported to Albania. Ismalaj then launched a legal appeal against the refusal to grant him settled status on the basis that it was a breach of his human rights under article eight of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the right to respect for your family and private life. He claimed that he and his wifes right to family life would be undermined by his removal to his native Albania as she had never been to the country and would struggle because of her inability to speak the language. A judge in the upper immigration tribunal rejected his claims that the couple would face serious hardship if he was deported to Albania. I am not persuaded that the difficulties that the couple will face in carrying on family life together in Albania are ones which would entail very serious hardship for the appellant or the sponsor, said Hugo Benedict Norton-Taylor, the judge. In the alternative, they are not difficulties which cannot be overcome. However, the judge allowed the appeal and referred the case back to the lower tribunal for it to be reheard on the basis that there had not been a full fact-finding exercise and there had been an error in law. It was following this verdict that Ismalaj was arrested by the Metropolitan Police and was remanded in custody by Westminster magistrates to face extradition to France on the six-car theft charges. 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. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) Volunteers came out to the Albuquerque Public Schools clothing bank to celebrate the donation of thousands of dollars of school supplies. Along with school supplies and clothes, the City of Albuquerque and the Corporate Volunteer Council raised more than $20,000 to help kids start the school year off right. Rio Rancho holding community clean up event APS Superintendent Dr. Gabriella Duran Blakey spoke about what it means for families. They subtract at least one worry from the equation. These supplies make certain that kids are ready to learn. One step closer to fitting in. One step closer to being the productive adults, we at APS are determined to help them become, said Dr. Blakey. At last years event, more than 1,500 students received school supplies. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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, New Mexico, Police Chief Harold Medina operated his department-issued pickup truck "in an unsafe manner" on February 17, when he ran a red light and broadsided a car, severely injuring the driver. So concludes a recent report from internal investigators who looked into that shocking incident. Duh, you might say if you have seen surveillance camera footage of the crash, which shows Medina crossing Central Avenue, a busy, four-lane street, against the light. He crosses the westbound lanes through a gap between two cars, forcing one of the drivers to brake abruptly, before barreling across the eastbound lanes, where he rams into the side of a gold 1966 Mustang driven by 55-year-old Todd Perchert. Although Medina's recklessness seems obvious, the Albuquerque Police Department's Fleet Crash Review Board (CRB) earlier this year concluded that the crash was "non-preventable." How so? Medina, who was on his way to a Saturday press conference with his wife when he took a detour to have a look at a homeless encampment, said he ran the light to escape an altercation between two homeless men that had escalated into gunfire at the intersection of Central and Alvarado Drive. While "the initial decision to enter the intersection is not in question," Lt. James Ortiz says in the Internal Affairs report, "the facts and circumstances do not relieve department personnel of driving safely to ensure no additional harm is done to personnel or to citizens." Medina, Ortiz says, clearly failed to do that: "By definition, driving into a crosswalk, darting between two vehicles driving on a busy street, and crossing through an intersection with vehicles traveling eastbound were unsafe driving practices." In this case, he notes, those unsafe practices "resulted in a vehicle collision with serious physical injuries to the victim, including a broken collarbone and shoulder blade, 8 broken ribs (reconstructed with titanium plates after surgery), collapsed lung, lacerations to left ear and head, multiple gashes to his face, a seven-hour surgery, and hospitalization requiring epidural painkiller and a chest tube for nearly a week." Ortiz not only disagrees with the CRB's conclusion about Medina's crash; he says the board never should have reviewed the incident to begin with, since its mission is limited to accidents "not resulting in a fatality or serious injury." Ortiz says Commander Benito Martinez, who chairs the CRB, violated department policy when he decided the board should pass judgment on Medina's accident. Martinez acknowledged that department policy "prohibited the CRB from hearing serious injury crashes" and that "allowing such a case to be heard would be a policy violation." Why did he allow it anyway? "He explained that his reasoning for permitting the Chief's crash to be reviewed by the CRB was based on his belief that someone wanted the crash to be heard," Ortiz writes. "Cmdr. Martinez clarified that he believed someone from Internal Affairs wanted the case to be heard by the CRB to ensure full transparency. However, he did not consult with anyone in Internal Affairs to verify the accuracy of this assumption." Both the CRB's decision to review the crash and its implicit exoneration of Medina are hard to fathom. But Medina's explanations for the third policy violation identified by Ortizthe chief's failure to activate his body camera after the crashare even weirder. "After the collision occurred, the shooting victim approached," Ortiz writes. "The victim informed the Chief that he was okay and had not been shot. Chief Medina asked the victim to remain at the scene, but the victim refused and fled southbound on Alvarado. Another citizen approached the Chief and reported having seen individuals leaving a black truck and fleeing away from the scene. Chief clarified with the witness that no one was outstanding. It is important to note that these interactions were not recorded and are contacts that require mandatory recording." That mandate is not just a matter of police department policy. State law requires that on-duty police officers wear body cameras and that they activate them when "responding to a call for service or at the initiation of any other law enforcement or investigative encounter between a peace officer and a member of the public." The statute adds that "peace officers who fail to comply" with such requirements "may be presumed to have acted in bad faith and may be deemed liable for the independent tort of negligent spoliation of evidence or the independent tort of intentional spoliation of evidence." Medina offered two puzzling excuses for leaving his camera off. He "cited intermittent conversations with his wife, who was a passenger in his unmarked patrol vehicle at the time of the collision," Ortiz says. "He claimed there was a right to privileged communication between spouses, which specifically exempted him from mandatory recording requirements." But the relevant policy "does not provide for nonrecording based on spousal privilege." Even more troubling, Medina said he "purposefully did not record because he was invoking his 5th Amendment right not to self-incriminate." Since "he was involved in a traffic collision," he reasoned, he was "subject to 5th Amendment protections." Think about the implications of that argument. Body cameras are supposed to help document (and perhaps deter) police misconduct. But Medina is suggesting that cops have a constitutional right to refrain from recording their interactions with the public whenever that evidence could be used against them. By turning on their cameras in those situations, he argues, police could be incriminating themselves. That is the whole point. Medina received two official reprimands for the camera violation and the reckless driving that injured Perchert, a casualty of the police chief's desperation to save his own skin. In similar situations, other Albuquerque police officers have been fired. But after the crash, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller hailed Medina as a hero who is "out on the front linedoing what he can to make our city safe." [This post has been updated with information about New Mexico's statutory requirements regarding body cameras.] The post Albuquerque's Police Chief Says Cops Have a 5th Amendment Right To Leave Their Body Cameras Off appeared first on Reason.com. ALCOA, Tenn. (WATE) The City of Alcoa is asking residents for help to keep their community clean. With illegal dumping on the rise, the public works department is asking citizens to report sightings of trash to the city. Some of those items shouldnt be there. Some of them come from outside the city, and ultimately, were trying to limit what those things are because all of it goes to the landfill and the city ends up paying the bill for that, said the City of Alcoa Director of public works and engineering, Shane Snoderly. Assault caught on video spurs Alcoa Police to urge people to lock their cars Snoderly said illegal dumping is when non-residents dump trash either on someones property or on the side of the road, and while residents arent the problem theyre footing the bill. The city residents pay the tipping fee when it goes to the landfill, and so its costing our citizens money when people bring those things in, he said. He said typically people dump either large brush items like roots or tree limbs, or bulky waste like tires. Since they have recently acquired new sanitation trucks, he says they are trying to reinforce their policy. Knoxville tennis star and Vietnam veteran shares what his service taught him Weve been putting signs out. Weve actually been knocking on doors; weve put some notification fliers out on garbage bins about things that cant be accepted on the side of the road. But its just been across the board, a community kind of communication that weve been trying to do to educate our folks, said Snoderly. In educating the public, he hopes this helps people in the community identify illegal dumping and report it. The residents see where some of these things get left for us to pick up. And if they see those things, then, you know, please call us, call the police to try to stop limit what is being put out there, he said. See more top stories on WATE.com Snoderly also said this has been an ordinance for a while now. They have started to see an increase in illegal dumping as more people move to East Tennessee, which is why they want to raise awareness about what is legal and work together with the community. They say to call the City at (865) 380-4800 to report a sighting, or email them photos at publicworks@cityofalcoa-tn.gov. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Alex Murdaugh doesnt seem to be having all too bad of a time in prison after he was convicted of murdering his wife and sonstate records show he is playing chess and working in the prison, according to a new report from NBC. Murdaughs attorney Jim Griffin told NBC that Murdaugh is at the chessboard all the time, adding he said there are really good chess players in there. Murdaugh is also working as a ward keepers assistant, which earns him work credits that go towards reducing his sentence, according to the South Carolina Department of Corrections. Alex is an affable guy. I am sure he has made friends, Griffin added, although Murdaugh is totally locked in his cell with no freedom of movement, from Friday to Monday. Attorney Aimee Zmroczek who is representing Murdaughs long-time friend Curtis Eddie Smith who he allegedly paid to try and kill him, told the Surviving the Survivor podcast on Wednesday that Murdaugh is living it up in prison. I was actually in prison yesterday Let me tell you, he is running that place, she told the podcast. Zmroczek claimed that Murdaugh is running a side gambling system. Griffin responded to Zmroczeks comments saying, she doesnt know what the hell she is talking about, adding the Murdaugh economy rolls on. Its just noise, it doesnt matter. The newest report of Murdaughs life behind bars come after his former dorm-mate spoke to the media last year, telling 11Alive News, This guy, man, you would not believe the way they treat this guy. Murdaugh reportedly was gifted a tablet on his first day on the recreational yard despite other inmates taking 60 days to get theirs, which the dorm-mate recounted, dont come new, unlike Murdaughs. The guy (Murdaugh) gets up in the morning and plays chess for a couple hours with an inmate, then he has a guy who does his laundry. I mean everyone caters to him, the dorm-mate added. Murdaugh also spends big in the commissary, buying others whatever they wanted, maxing out the $150 weekly limit. Last week, the South Carolina Supreme Court agreed to hold an appeal hearing for Murduagh. His attorneys argue Colleton County Clerk of Court Becky Hill tampered with the jury after she told them not to trust Murdaughs testimony, according to the Associated Press. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. A 34-year-old woman from the harbor region of Los Angeles has been arrested and charged with four felonies after allegations she was stealing from elderly clients whom she worked for as a caregiver, officials announced earlier this week. In a news release, detectives with the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department say Isela Izzy Ruiz, a resident of Wilmington, forged checks stolen from elderly victims, cashed them and stole jewelry from their homes. An investigation into the 34-year-old led to her arrest on Aug. 18 in the city of Carson, police said. Isela "Izzy" Ruiz The following day, authorities at the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office charged Ruiz with four felony counts in connection with the investigation. Woman in Southern California goes on violent rampage against firefighter, police Investigators believe there are likely more victims and ask anyone with information about this case to contact PVEPD Det. Joe Marino at 310-378-4211 by email at jmarino@pvestates.org. Ruiz was booked at the Palos Verdes Estates PD jail where shes being held on $195,000 bail. Authorities added that a probation hold was placed on the 34-year-old by the L.A. County Probation Department. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. An Alton police officer is recovering at home from injuries he suffered early Thursday in a shooting that left a suspect and the officers police dog dead. Police Officer First Class Allen Averbeck is the officer who was injured, according to the city of Alton. K-9 Odin also was injured in the shooting and died after being taken to an animal hospital. The name of the suspect has not been released. Alton Mayor David Goins gave an update on Averbecks condition in a late afternoon news conference. He is resting well at home and thanks everyone for their concern, Goins said. Alton Police Department K-9 Odin died Thursday from injuries suffered in a shootout between police and a suspect. Goins said Odins death is a very tough loss. They develop a bond that is unbreakable and unshakeable, Goins said of the relationship between officers such as Averbeck and the dogs they oversee. They also develop a bond with the family because this canine goes home with this officer every day and really becomes part of that officers family, he said. K-9 Odin served our community with exceptional bravery, and his sacrifice will always be remembered, the city said in a Facebook posting. Illinois State Police said in a news release earlier Thursday that state officers are investigating the use of force portion of the shooting. Alton police officers engaged in gunfire with a suspect in the 700 block of East Sixth Street, according to the news release. A police officer, later identified as Averbeck, was taken to a hospital while Odin was taken to an animal hospital with critical injuries, according the the Illinois State Police statement early Thursday. The news release doesnt describe what happened prior to the shootout. Alton requested assistance from state police at about 6:05 a.m. BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping will attend the opening ceremony of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) and deliver a keynote speech on Sept. 5, foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced here on Friday. During the Summit, Xi will host a welcoming banquet and relevant bilateral events for the leaders of FOCAC's African members and representatives of relevant African regional organizations and international organizations invited to the summit, Hua said. AMLO Warns Disrespectful US Ambassador Not to Meddle in Mexico (Bloomberg) -- Washingtons ambassador to Mexico behaved disrespectfully by criticizing the nations plans to reform its judiciary, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said. Most Read from Bloomberg Mexico doesnt accept foreign interference in its affairs, Lopez Obrador said, after Ambassador Ken Salazar warned that governments proposal for judges to be elected is a threat to its democracy. Lately, there have been acts of disrespect, such as this unfortunate and imprudent statement made by Ambassador Ken Salazar yesterday, and a diplomatic note of condemnation has already been issued, Lopez Obrador said Friday during his daily press conference. On Thursday, Salazar said drug cartels will find it easier to infiltrate Mexicos judiciary if a plan to have all judges elected by popular vote is approved, the core objective of Lopez Obradors judicial reform proposal being discussed in congress. Salazar also said the reform might undermine confidence in Mexicos legal system and threaten trade relations. AMLO, as the Mexican president is known, rejected these arguments and said that the reform will prevent organized crime from dominating the judiciary. If judges are elected, which is what we are proposing, we can cleanse the judiciary of corruption, and these judges will know that they represent the people, the nation, and that their function is to impart justice, Lopez Obrador said. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. By Jarrett Renshaw CHICAGO (Reuters) - In a roundtable discussion at this week's Democratic National Convention, presidential candidate Kamala Harris' senior policy adviser Brian Nelson was peppered with questions about the policies at the heart of her campaign. Will Harris try to revive the Iran nuclear deal? How will she pay for expanded child tax credits and her plans to help first-time home buyers? Again and again, he gave the same answer. I am not going to get ahead of the vice president," Nelson said eight times during the 45-minute event. When Harris accepted her party's nomination on Thursday night, she laid out a series of muscular foreign policy principles - stand up to Russia and North Korea, and defend Israel's right to self defense while also backing Palestinians' right to self-determination. She also promised a middle-class tax cut at home, an end to America's housing shortage and a secure southern border. The speech delighted her Democratic supporters and was tougher than most observers had expected, but still more focused on broad principles than details. Harris, 59, has not had much time to formulate detailed plans - she only became the Democratic candidate a month ago after President Joe Biden abandoned his failing reelection campaign under pressure from his own party. Part of it is by design, too. The vice president and her aides have avoided offering up clear examples of where she may depart from Biden's policies. Buoyed by a wave of enthusiasm, donations and much better polling numbers since Harris entered the race, her team is wary of providing enough detail that Republican candidate Donald Trump and his campaign find new ways to attack her. With particularly thorny issues like energy policy, Harris' aides describe their deliberately vague approach as "strategically ambiguous." One campaign aide told Reuters that Harris will lay out more value statements than granular policy and let voters connect the dots. Harris will face mounting pressure to flesh out her policies in the last 75 days of the campaign. Chauncey McLean, founder of the super PAC known as Future Forward, the largest outside group backing Harris, said earlier this week that voters are already asking questions: "What's her plan? What's she going to do? And specifically, what is she going to do to make my life better? HAVE 'FAITH' A former California attorney general and U.S. senator, Harris launched a White House bid four years ago but quickly fell out of contention for her party's nomination. An uneven campaigner then, she changed her message and tactics on the fly with little effect. This time, she has sought to portray herself as both an extension of the Biden administration and the face of a new generation. It has so far been successful and she has made clear gains against Trump in polls, turning it back into a tight race. When Harris rolled out an economic plan to fight grocery store price-gouging, Trump branded the effort as socialism despite similar efforts in 37 states. He called Harris "Comrade Kamala." On Thursday night, he attacked her speech at the Democratic convention. "No specific policies, ALL TALK, NO ACTION," he said in a social media post. The Harris campaign has said she no longer supports a ban on hydraulic fracking and a single-payer health system, or Medicare for all, two positions she supported in her unsuccessful 2020 bid for president. The final sprint to Election Day on Nov. 5 includes at least one televised debate against Trump in September. She is expected also to sit for one-one-one national interviews where she will be pressed for more policy details. Campaign aides say she will cross the country with an emphasis on battleground states like Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania that will decide the election. At the convention in Chicago this week, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer summed up the sentiment of a party eager to put off policy discussions and focus more on defeating Trump. Minutes before he addressed climate activists, Schumer was asked whether Harris needed to provide a more detailed climate agenda in the upcoming weeks. People should have a lot of faith. Shes going to be a great environmental president," he said. Some of the party faithful in Chicago, asked about Harris sparse policy platform, shrugged their shoulders. Others asked why the media was not holding Trump to the same standard. None of the two dozen attendees interviewed expressed any concern. Compared to the other guy, give me a break. He's talking about electric boats and sharks and how he's better looking. Give me a break, said U.S. Representative Jim Costa after attending an event at Chicagos famed Second City comedy club hosted by moderate Democrats. Tom Malinowski, a former New Jersey congressman, said voters on the fence were not going to be wondering which candidate had the more carefully nuanced position on such matters as carbon adjustment fees. "What they do know, or should know, is that you've got one candidate who believes climate change is real and a threat, and that America can and should be leading the world to clean energy and another candidate who doesn't give a damn," he said. (Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw; Additional reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt, Stephanie Kelly and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Kieran Murray and Howard Goller) Internet personality Andrew Tate has been put on house arrest by a judge in Romania, according to his representative. The former professional kickboxer was among six people taken into custody regarding a probe into sexual exploitation and human trafficking. He and his brother, Tristan Tate, were detained Wednesday following the police raid of their home related to the allegations. Romanias anti-organized crime agency, the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), asked the court to detain both of the Tate brothers for 30 days. The judge placed Tristan under judiciary control while Andrew was put under house arrest, Andrew Tates spokesperson Mateea Petrescu said Thursday, Reuters reported. The Tates salute the decision and firmly deny all allegations levelled against them, emphasising that the accusations are baseless and unsupported by substantial evidence, Petrescu said in a statement, according to Reuters. Andrew Tate slammed the case. This is a setup. It is absolutely disgusting, he said, according to BBC. Thirty of those girls say we have done nothing wrong. Two are the mothers of our children, two have never even been here to Romania. Both brothers were previously indicted last year on allegations of forming a criminal gang to sexually exploit women, rape and human trafficking. Theyve denied the allegations. Prior to the house arrest, they were under a travel ban, unable to leave the country, but were able to travel within it. DIICOT said it has launched four home search warrants, looking into allegations of human trafficking, sexual intercourse with a minor and organizing a criminal gang, according to Reuters. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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) Conservative commentator Ann Coulter was roundly criticized on social media over a now-deleted post where she mocked the behavior of the son of vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at the Democratic National Convention (DNC). Talk about weird Coulter posted on X alongside a link to an article about Walzs son, Gus, getting emotional during his fathers Wednesday speech in Chicago. Gus Walz became most emotional when his father addressed the family directly during his remarks about the familys fertility struggles. Gus, Hope and Gwen, you are my entire world and I love you, the governor said. Thats my dad! the younger Walz shouted through tears. The Walz family has been open about Guss neurodiversity. He has a nonverbal learning disorder and ADHD. The reaction went viral online, and Guss new fame is focusing attention on learning disabilities. Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.) posted a screenshot of Coulters post on X saying he may not agree with Walz on the issues, but he believes in shielding our children from attack. His son Gus, our kids neurodivergent and of all abilities ought to be celebrated and supported, Molinaro said. Ive done it my whole career and will continue to push for everyone to #ThinkDIFFERENTLY. ThinkDIFFERENTLY is an organization created by Molinaro that helps communities support people with special needs. Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, said in her own post that she is neurodivergent. She was diagnosed at 14 with ADHD, OCD and several learning disorders. Were not weird, were wonderful, her post online said. And were your family, friends and fellow Americans. Coulters post suggesting Gus Walz was weird is a nod to the governor calling former President Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) that. The phrase caught on, and many high-profile Democrats have used the messaging since Vice President Harris announced her campaign. Coulter previously said she will be voting for Trump despite thinking he is an awful, awful person because he chose Vance as his running mate. In another post on X, reported by RawStory, Coulter said she deleted her post about Gus Walz because someone told me hes autistic. But its Democrats who go around calling everyone weird thinking its hilariously funny, 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 Queen City News. Conservative political pundit Ann Coulter posted then deleted a social media post referring to the neurodivergent teenage son of Democratic Party vice presidential candidate Tim Walz as weird. Gus Walz crying and proudly exclaiming Thats my dad! at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night was celebrated by many TV viewers as an endearing emotional display from a 17-year-old boy who has ADHD, an anxiety disorder and a nonverbal learning disorder. But others, including Coulter, saw an opportunity for ridicule. Talk about weird she wrote, along with a clip of the high school students excited reaction. Coulter removed the post after being bombarded with criticism online, including fellow pundit and former Barack Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor. I can see why a child loving their parents would feel foreign to you, he posted to the famously callous 62-year-old provocateur. Its not clear if Coulter was aware of Gus challenges before she wrote her tweet. Tim Walz made weird the buzzword of the 2024 presidential campaign by effectively using it to describe Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance. The 60-year-old Minnesota governor used his Wednesday night speech in part to thank his family for their support. You are my entire world and I love you, Walz said to his son, daughter and wife. That was the line that sent the candidates son to his feet applauding and crying. While there was no shortage of nastiness over Gus Walzs emotional moment, there was also a lot of support. The people attacking or making fun of 17-year-old Gus Walz just dont understand what JOY and LOVE are all about, liberal X poster Brian Krassenstein wrote to his 859,000 followers. They wish they had someone who cared as much about them as Gus does his dad. Countless social media users, including Star Wars star Mark Hamill, posted that they too cried when they saw Tim Walzs family becoming emotional. Another right-wing pundit, Wisconsin radio host Jay Weber, called Gus Walz a blabbering bh boy in a social media post he apologized for and took down after learning the kid was disabled. Veteran conservative commentator Ann Coulter explained her reasoning for deleting a tweet calling Minnesota Gov. Tim Walzs neurodiverse son weirdbut didnt apologize for the brazen comments. Her remark notably prompted backlash from across the aisle as both prominent liberals and conservatives defended the proud son, who openly sobbed as his father accepted the Democrats vice presidential nomination in a speech Wednesday. Videos of Gus Walz, the 17-year-old son of Kamala Harris running mate, went viral after he was seen sobbing and exclaiming Thats my dad! during Walzs address. He was diagnosed with a nonverbal learning disorder, ADHD, and an anxiety disorder, his mother Gwen Walz told People magazine, but the Walz family has long embraced his condition as his secret power. Despite what most saw as a touching moment, some used the opportunity to mock the Minnesota governors son. Talk about weird, wrote Coulter in a since-deleted tweet. On Thursday night, Coulter offered an explanationbut not an apologyfor deleting the tweet. I took it down as soon as someone told me hes austistc [sic], but its Democrats who go around calling everyone weird thinking its hilariously funny, Coulter wrote in another post. She also said she was on vacation and did not feel public pressure to do so. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz stands onstage with his wife Gwen, his son Gus and his daughter Hope on Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention. REUTERS/Mike Segar But dozens of smaller accounts, as well as a few veteran talking heads, joined a minor pile-on. Dinesh DSouza, another conservative stalwart who was pardoned by the former president after a conviction for campaign finance violations, reposted a video of Walzs son crying during the governors speech. This kid might have mental problems, but hes acting just like Tim Walz! So whats Walzs excuse? When another user asked DSouza to refrain from attacking Walzs kids, he insisted Im not. DSouzas posts remain up as of Wednesday night. Jay Weber, a conservative radio host from Milwaukee, called the moment embarrassing for both father and son, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported. Weber later said he took the tweet down after learning Walz was disabled. But many conservatives praised the moment and spoke out against the crass comments. This is actually really sweet, wrote Ben Shapiro, a founding editor of conservative news site The Daily Wire. Matt Walsh, another Daily Wire commentator, likewise defended the governors son. Attacking a kid for loving his dad is the dumbest move Ive seen by right wingers on this site in a while, he wrote in response to a video of the moment. Ana Navarro, another veteran centrist Republican commentator currently covering the DNC for CNN, said she had brunch with Gwen Walz, the governors wife and Guss mother, the morning after the footage of her son went viral. You could see the emotion she has of the attacks that are going on against her teen son, whos got special needs, Navarro told a CNN panel. There are many Republicans, many Trump Republicans out on social media taking horrible attacks on a kid who had a beautiful moment of authentic pride and love for his father yesterday and got emotional. 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. Another body retrieved from under rubble in Kozacha Lopan photo On Friday, 23 August, Ukrainian rescue workers retrieved another womans body from under the rubble of Kozacha Lopan village council in Kharkiv Oblast. Source: Viacheslav Zadorenko, Head of Derhachi District Military Administration, on social media Details: This is the second body discovered at the site on 23 August, this time of a 61-year-old woman who lived in Kozacha Lopan. Her body will be delivered to her family for burial. According to Zadorenko, on the third day of the village council's clearance of the rubble, the Russians used artillery and FPV drones to assault the police, rescue workers, and local citizens working at the site. Three police officers suffered concussions and were taken to hospital. The State Emergency Service's equipment as well as a Derhachi city funeral services company were both damaged. According to Zadorenko, the search and rescue operation in Kozacha Lopan has been concluded. Quote: "The invaders cynically hit a car of the funeral services company with drones during the evacuation of the bodies of the dead." Previously: Earlier on Friday, it was reported that during the third day of the search and rescue operation in Kozacha Lopan, the body of a 43-year-old woman was recovered. Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration then stated that another person may be underneath the rubble. One person was saved during the search and rescue operation in Kozacha Lopan, and the bodies of two deceased women were retrieved. Support UP or become our patron! Biden to dispatch adviser to China as he looks to manage complex US-China relations in final months White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks about the prisoner swap with Russia during a briefing at the White House, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) BUELLTON, Calif. (AP) President Joe Biden will dispatch his national security adviser Jake Sullivan to China next week as the White House aims to manage the complicated U.S.-China relationship in the Democrats final months in office, according to the White House. Sullivans three-day visit with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi thats set to begin Tuesday is expected to raise U.S. concerns about Chinas support for Russias military industrial complex as Moscows war in Ukraine grinds on, Chinese military assertiveness in the South China Sea, provocative action by North Korea, the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, and Beijings tensions with Taiwan. The Chinese are likely to raise concerns about American tariffs as Beijing continues to repair its economy in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Biden in May slapped major new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, advanced batteries, solar cells, steel, aluminum and medical equipment. Sullivan and Wang are also expected to discuss cooperation between the two countries on stemming the flow of pre-cursor chemicals used to make fentanyl, maintaining communication between the two countries, and artificial intelligence. These meetings are consistent with efforts to maintain this strategic channel of communication to responsibly manage the relationship and are a product of the November 2023 Woodside Summit between President Biden and President Xi (Jinping), said White House National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett, referring to the leaders face-to-face talks on the sidelines of last year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco. This will be Sullivan's ninth meeting with Wang and his predecessors over the course of the administration to discuss the two economic rivals complicated relationship, but his first visit to China as national security adviser. The last U.S. national security adviser to visit China was Susan Rice in 2016. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the two sides discussed a visit by Sullivan at last year's Biden-Xi summit and it comes after months of planning by the two sides. The announcement was made as Biden is vacationing in California's Santa Ynez Valley, where he has spent some time meeting with aides charting out policy priorities for the final months of his presidency. The summit is not expected to lead to any major announcements by the two countries, according to a senior administration official. The official, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said the focus of the meeting is to maintain communications on the host of difficult issues and demonstrate that even amidst competition that we can find constructive ways to work with each other. The high-level visit by Sullivan to China could potentially set the ground for another face-to-face meeting for Biden with Xi. The two leaders last November spent four hours together at a bucolic Northern California estate in meetings, a working lunch and a garden stroll as they looked to steady a relationship that has been fraught for much of Bidens time in office. Their meeting led to modest agreements to combat illegal fentanyl and reestablish military communications. But there were still deep differences on economic competition and global security threats. The Sullivan visit comes as both candidates looking to succeed Biden, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump, are vowing to carry out tough China policies. A temple burial discovered in Peru from roughly 3,800 years ago pre-dates the rise of the Incan Empire. Archaeologists found four skeletal remains, all laid facing the mountains, the source of water for the region. Finding burial remains from pre-Incan times casts a new light on the history of South America. In the pre-Incan region of northwest Peru, the worship of water isnt hard to understand considering that, while located in the Andes, the area also features high desert, meaning water coming from the mountains offered a vital source of life. The dependence on that source of life was enough to inspire a cult roughly 3,800 years ago. And archaeologists now know just a tad more about that time, thanks to the discovery of four skeletal remainstwo children, a teenager, and an adultin a temple associated with water worship. Each of the bodies uncovered in the Temple Queneto 2 in the Queneto archaeological site in Peru was placed on its side facing the mountains, according to a translated statement from the National University of Trujillo. The temple is known for its association with the water-centric cult, and that they would place the bodies of their dead in some form of prostration towards their primary water source adds a lot of credence towards the idea that they believed the nourishment they got from some good old-fashioned H2O was not just physical. The burial area included funerary goods of stone pendants and snail shells, decorum that was previously associated with the group, and pottery shards were found across the temple site Located in Perus Viru Valley, the temple site is likely from sometime between 1800 to 900 BC, known as the Early Formative period, predating the powerful Incan Empire. The people living in the region were known for helping start the craze of constructing large buildings, including some of the earliest pyramids of the area. They also featured ceramics in their construction. The temple in particular was built with cobblestone and clay plaster walls that featured curved corners. These environments, Castillo Lujan, professor in the universitys Professional School of Archaeology, said in a statement, characterized by curved corners, show unique architecture from the Early Formative periodt. Furthermore, fragments of early ceramics found at the site are similar to those observed in other important settlements such as Gramalote, in the Moche Valley, and Huaca Negra, near the coast in the Viru Valley. The Viru Valley is known for a richness in archaeological evidence of the ancient civilizations of the region, but locating such a find from upwards of 3,800 years agothe research team says that this excavation covered just 1 percent of the total area of the massive archaeological siteimproves the knowledge base from a time there is still relatively little burial information to draw from. The research team hopes the government will take these recent discoveriesand others in the archaeological areaas a call to transform the Viru Valley into a benchmark for cultural tourism and a bastion of Peruvian identity. You Might Also Like KATHMANDU, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-nine people have been rescued after an Indian passenger bus with 40 on board fell into a river in Nepal on Friday, local police said. Among the rescued, 15 were unconscious at the time, said Deepak Kumar Raya, the police spokesperson in Tanahun District of the central province of Gandaki, where the incident took place. Efforts are ongoing to search for the others, he told Xinhua, noting that the bus was heading to the capital city of Kathmandu from Pokhara, a popular tourist attraction in Nepal. A 66-year-old Arizona man, who allegedly threatened to kill former President Trump during his stop in the Grand Canyon State, was arrested Thursday, according to local authorities. Ronald Syvrud was arrested and taken into custody in Cochise County without incident, the county sheriffs office shared on Facebook. A spokesperson for the Cochise County sheriffs office, Carol Capas, told NewsNation that Syvrud made threats on social media. Syvruds arrest came just a few hours after law enforcement launched a manhunt, with law enforcement stating earlier Thursday that he was sought as an investigative lead for threats to kill a presidential candidate. The sheriffs office said the 66-year-old has an outstanding warrant in Wisconsin for driving under the influence. Additionally, he was also wanted for failing to register as a sex offender and for a hit-and-run in Arizona. During the campaign event in Cochise County, Trump went after Vice President Harris on immigration, one of the top issues this election cycle. The former president told stories of individuals who were killed by migrants. He pledged to complete the construction of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and advocated for tougher sentences for drug traffickers. She will never build the wall. She doesnt want to build the wall, Trump said. If she changes her mind its only because she wants to get elected, because who wouldnt want to have a strong border. The threats against Trump come just a month after the former president survived an assassination attempt, where a 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire at a Pennsylvania campaign rally. Matthew Crooks hit Trumps right ear while also killing one attendee. In an interview earlier Thursday with NewsNation, Trump alluded to the dangers he faced. Can I tell you something? Were in danger standing here talking, Trump said during an interview with NewsNations Ali Bradley at the U.S. southern border. So lets not talk any longer. [Security] doesnt want me standing here. They dont want you standing here either. The Hill is owned by Nexstar, which also owns NewsNation. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Arkansas joins Texas, other GOP-led states in suit over program to give immigrant spouses of US citizens legal status (ASSOCIATED PRESS) Opponents are suing to end a federal program that could potentially give nearly half a million immigrants without legal status who are married to U.S. citizens a path to citizenship. Arkansas is one of 16 Republican-led states that filed suit Friday to halt the program launched by President Joe Biden in June, saying in court filings that the Biden administration bypassed Congress to create a pathway to citizenship for blatant political purposes. Under the policy, which started taking applications Monday, many spouses without legal status can apply for something called parole in place, offering permission to stay in the U.S., apply for a green card and eventually get on a path to citizenship. Biden issues massive immigration relief, seeking balance after border crackdown But the program has been particularly contentious in an election year where immigration is one of the biggest issues, with many Republicans attacking the policy and contending it is essentially a form of amnesty for people who broke the law. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement Friday that the plan violates the Constitution and actively worsens the illegal immigration disaster that is hurting Texas and our country. Arkansas Attorney General Timm Griffin added that he believes the plan is an attempt by the White House to circumvent congressional authority. The Biden-Harris administration is attempting to unilaterally rewrite federal law concerning who is eligible for a green card and eventual citizenship, Griffin said. Congress has already spoken on this issue, and Biden must enforce the law as written. To be eligible, immigrants must have lived continuously in the U.S. for at least 10 years, not pose a security threat or have a disqualifying criminal history and have been married to a citizen by June 17 the day before the program was announced. Biden is offering some migrants a pathway to citizenship. Heres how the plan will work They must pay a $580 fee to apply and fill out a lengthy application, including an explanation of why they deserve humanitarian parole and a long list of supporting documents proving how long they have been in the country. They apply to the Department of Homeland Security, and if approved, have three years to seek permanent residency. During that period, they can get work authorization. The administration estimates about 500,000 people could be eligible, plus about 50,000 of their children. Half a million immigrants could eventually get US citizenship under a sweeping new plan from Biden Before this program, it was complicated for people who were in the U.S. illegally to get a green card after marrying an American citizen. They can be required to return to their home country often for years and they always face the risk they may not be allowed back 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 KARK. Courtney Salas-Ford, Arkansas Department of Education chief of staff, answers questions from the Arkansas Legislative Council on Aug. 23, 2024 as her colleagues (l-r) Greg Rogers and David Branscum listen. (Screenshot from livestream) State lawmakers on Friday approved a request from the Arkansas Department of Education to seek proposals from vendors to provide professional development programs to school districts. State law requires $16.5 million be provided for professional development activities and the implementation of professional learning communities. Education department staff told the Arkansas Legislative Council Friday morning that the request is needed after Solution Tree, an Indiana-based education company, rescinded its proposed contract with the state earlier this year. ADE Chief of Staff Courtney Salas-Ford said the education department is pursuing a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) in order to develop a list of qualified vendors so school districts have the option to select which vendor, if any, theyd like to provide those services. Districts would have greater input and greater flexibility in how they chose to implement their requirement for professional learning communities, she said. This would enable them to choose the vendor that they felt best fit their needs or if they so decided, to use the funding to implement it themselves. Sen. Mark Johnson, R-Little Rock, said hes not against professional learning communities, but he questioned who the vendors would be and mused whether this would provide a way for people for whom this work should already be part of their job to siphon some more money out. There are those that are truly outside consultants that are bringing some new perspective and hopefully some value to the process, and they deserve to be paid if theyre bringing value to the process, Johnson said. Theres also folks that this is their job anyway, and Im hoping that your formula will reflect that fact. The RFQ addresses the types of services ADE is looking for, and a committee of experts will determine if a vendor meets that criteria, Salas-Ford said. Additionally, ADE will make the funding available to districts based on a yet-to-be-determined formula to ensure that each district gets a per-student amount instead of the funding being distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, she said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Rep. Fred Allen, D-Little Rock, asked if Solution Tree would be eligible to participate through this new process and whether ADE would push districts to use the Indiana company as their service provider. Salas-Ford said she wasnt aware of anything that would prohibit Solution Tree from applying and said there would be no legal reason to keep them off the approved vendor list if they meet the requirements. However, she noted ADE no longer has a contractual relationship with Solution Tree and the department wants the vendor selection to be completely at school districts discretion. Thats why we are only making available a list of qualified vendors, Salas-Ford said. School districts will be free to choose the vendor, if any, that they want to contract with, and I assure you they will not be swayed or influenced in any way by department staff to choose any particular vendor. Arkansas Education Secretary Jacob Oliva on May 31 withdrew from legislative review a $99.4 million contract with Solution Tree following pushback from lawmakers on the high cost of the seven-year proposal and the vendors effectiveness. According to a report from the University of Arkansas Office for Education Policy, participation in Solution Trees PLC at Work program yielded no statistically significant effect on weighted student achievement or student value-added growth. A few days later, Solution Tree CEO Jeffrey Jones asked Oliva to withdraw the contract, but promised his company would continue to work with and support the hard-working educators throughout the State of Arkansas as we have done for over a decade. The state first awarded a $4 million no-bid contract to Solution Tree in 2017. In February, lawmakers requested an audit of the companys contract after learning Solution Tree has received more than $140 million from the state, school districts and education cooperatives, according to the Arkansas Times. The audit has not yet been completed. Arkansas lawmakers took up the education departments RFQ proposal Friday morning as a supplemental agenda item. Salas-Ford sent an email Thursday afternoon requesting review Friday instead of waiting until Septembers meeting to avoid further delays in selecting vendors. ADE missed the August meeting agenda deadline because the department was unaware legislative approval was required until earlier this week, she said. ALC co-chair Rep. Jeff Wardlaw, R-Hermitage, chastised ADE for the late request. He said the education department knows they need legislative approval and as an attorney, its Salas-Fords job to understand the laws for the agency. We need you to be efficient so that we can work efficiently, and its very strenuous on the staff of our department, the Bureau [of Legislative Research] to have to put together agendas at the last minute on a Thursday afternoon, Wardlaw said. Thats just ridiculous in my opinion. For the life of me I cant understand why we wait to the last minute. Salas-Ford apologized for the inconvenience and said that while the Office of State Procurement did share information about the new law that implemented this requirement, it just unfortunately got overlooked. I agree with you that we have full responsibility to be aware of the laws, she said. We make every effort to do that, and it was just an oversight on this occasion. ALC ultimately approved the education departments request, and ADE staff said they will meet the deadline for items needing legislative approval in September. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Arkansas Public Defender Commission Executive Director Gregg Parrish asks the Arkansas Legislative Council for $1.25 million in state funds on Friday, August 23, 2024. (Screenshot/Arkansas Legislature) Arkansas lawmakers directed $1.25 million Friday to the state Public Defender Commission to support processing a backlog of more than 5,000 cases due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The commission would have had to lay off attorneys immediately without the money, executive director Gregg Parrish told a panel of the Arkansas Legislative Council on Monday. The full council greenlit the funding on the condition that Parrish report to the committee monthly how many employees the commission has, how much it costs to pay them and how much progress the public defenders have made on the backlogged cases. ALC co-chair Rep. Jeff Wardlaw, R-Hermitage, expressed frustration with the funding request Monday and suggested the monthly reports Friday. On Monday, the Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review subcommittee declined to take action on the request after members expressed concerns that the commission might not have done enough with the $4.5 million in federal funds it received two years ago to address the case backlog. Thousands of cases piled up between March 2020 and June 2021 because there were no in-person court proceedings, Parrish told the American Rescue Plan Act Steering Committee in August 2022. The committee has since been dissolved, and the money granted Friday will come from the State Central Services Fund. The $4.5 million from the American Rescue Plan Act was meant to fund up to 45 part-time public defender positions. The commission capped the hiring at 37 positions so as not to run out of money sooner, Parrish said, and it has 32 public defenders at present with one about to resign. Parrish also said he would not replace any attorneys who resign. If were granted these funds, whatever [employees] I lose, that money will be used to at least extend, as much as possible, those who remain on the payroll, he said. A federal court ruling issued Wednesday is set to increase public defenders workloads, Parrish added. public defender commission federal court ruling In 2022, two Benton County Jail inmates sued Parrish and Benton County District Judge A.J. Anglin, alleging they were denied their constitutional right to counsel at bail hearings. U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and ordered that public defenders must represent defendants in Anglins court who cannot afford their own attorneys. Not only will public defenders have to fit Anglins bail hearings into their busy schedules, Parrish said, but judges in other areas of the state now expect public defenders to show up at their bail hearings. Narrowly applying Brooks order to only one judges court could lead to another lawsuit, he said. Youre going to run into a quagmire that someone cant be there, he said. I know we cant cover all these. Its basically impossible. The Legislative Council approved the $1.25 million with no dissent. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A former Army financial counselor was sentenced this week to more than 12 years in prison for using his position to defraud Gold Star families out of millions, the Justice Department announced this week. Caz Craffy, also known as Carz Craffey, 42, pleaded guilty in April after officials charged him with multiple charges, including six counts of wire fraud. As a result of the scheme, the Gold Star families relatives of service members who gave the ultimate sacrifice lost more than $3.7 million, while Craffy earned more than $1.4 million in commissions. In addition to the prison term, a federal judge sentenced Craffy to three years of supervised release and ordered forfeiture of $1.4 million, according to a department release, which added that restitution will be determined at a later date. Craffy made a conscious decision to defraud Gold Star families suffering from losing their loved one who paid the ultimate sacrifice serving this country, FBI Special Agent in Charge James Dennehy said in the announcement. They believed Craffy was acting in their best interest, but instead, he was using their money as a method to make his own, he said. Heartless and despicable dont even begin to sum up his crimes. House moves to strengthen vetting for military financial counselors From November 2017 to January 2023, Craffy was a civilian Army employee, working as a financial counselor with the Casualty Assistance Office, responsible for providing advice to the surviving beneficiaries of deceased troops who can be eligible for hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation. From May 2018 to November 2022, he obtained more than $9.9 million from Gold Star families to invest in accounts he managed on his own and outside the system, repeatedly executing trades often without the families authorization, earning himself high commissions in the process, the release states. He let the vast majority of them mistakenly believe his management of their money was done on behalf of and with the Armys authorization. Authorities pursued Craffy who is also a major in the U.S. Army Reserve, where he has served since 2003 following an investigation by The Washington Post. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has a pending civil complaint against Craffy based on the same and additional conduct, according to the feds, and Craffy has been permanently prohibited from association with any member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. The Army Reserve acknowledged Craffy received his federal sentence, but declined to say whether he is expected to face additional punishment by the military. The U.S. Army Reserve remains committed to holding personnel accountable for conduct that does not align with DoD and Army policies, Army Reserve spokesperson Lt. Col. Addie Leonhardt told Military Times in a statement. However, the Army Reserve generally cannot comment on pending military personnel matters. Craffys attorney declined a request for comment. People wade through a flooded street in Chittagong after a heavy monsoon rainlfall caused floods across Bangladesh. Mohammed Shajahan/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa At least 13 people have been killed in extensive flooding that also stranded nearly 4.5 million people in eastern Bangladesh, the government said on Friday, as army troops try to reach areas cut off by the water. Days of heavy rains and a surge of water flowing down from upstream hilly areas caused local rivers to burst their banks, leading to widespread devastation. Kamrul Hasan, a senior official at the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, said 12 out of a total of 64 administrative districts are affected by the flooding that left 13 people dead as of Friday. He said nearly 4.5 million people have been hit hard by the high waters. The situation is gradually improving, Hasan said, referring to the forecast by the Dhaka met office that predicted a let up in rain. The floodwaters have submerged homes, public and private establishments, croplands and roads across vast areas in the east of the country. The rescue and relief operations are being conducted in many places by army troops, members of the navy and coastguard, as well as the fire service and volunteers from the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society. Private broadcaster Jamuna reported many people were stranded in cut off villages, where food and drinking water are scarce. Inter Service Public Relations Department of the armed forces division said that army troops were deployed in the five worst-affected districts. It added the Rapid Action Battalion was using helicopters to rescue people and distribute relief goods among them in the isolated areas. Fresh areas were inundated after a flood protection embankment along the river Gumti collapsed in Cumilla, some 80 kilometres north-east of the capital Dhaka, on Thursday night. People wade through a flooded street in Chittagong after a heavy monsoon rainlfall caused floods across Bangladesh. Mohammed Shajahan/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa The Democratic National Convention is meeting in Chicago through Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (Shaun Griswold/Source New Mexico) CHICAGO Actor B.D. Wong told the AAPI caucus at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday what he said to his multiracial son at his bar mitzvah. I told him, in front of everybody, you are not half of anything. You are all of everything, Wong said. And with the first-ever Asian American nominee of a major political party set to accept her partys nomination on Thursday, Wong said AAPI people should be proud of that part of Kamala Harris identity. It is astonishing to me that we characterize her easily as the first Black woman president. A lot of times, the South Asian part, the Asian American part, gets left off the list, Wong said. And we really need to own it, and we need to be really proud of it, and we need to perpetuate it and remind people that that is an incredible thing. And I think in our kind of non-confrontational Asian Americanness, we kind of like let it slide a little bit, but lets really lean into it. Angela Alsobrooks, candidate for U.S. Senate in Maryland, U.S. Reps. Ro Khanna of California and Andy Kim of New Jersey also a candidate for U.S. Senate were among the elected Democrats who spoke to the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) caucus on Wednesday, as they celebrated Harris and what her ascension to the top of the Democratic ticket means for their communities. We are in a joyous time where Kamala Harris is bringing us together, reintroducing joy into our country, Alsobrooks said. I love what was just said a moment ago about being half of anything, but all of everything. Isnt that true of all of us? But they also spoke about the challenges facing Asian American politicians, describing how they are still stereotyped in their attempts to have a seat at the table. Kim (D-NJ), the Democrats candidate to replace Bob Menendez in the U.S. Senate, told the gathering that Asian Americans are the fastest-growing demographic in New Jersey, but when he started running for Congress six years ago he was told an Asian American candidate could not win in his district. My congressional district was 85% white, less than 3% Asian, that voted for Trump, Kim said. They said, look, if you want to win a seat in Congress, why dont you move up to North Jersey, where there are a lot more people that look like you. Thats what they said to me. But I said, I want to run in my district because its my home. Im not just shopping for a district I can win. Kim said he told people who were telling him that some of whom were Democrats, he added not to define him by his name and the color of his skin. I am as American as anybody is. My story is not just an Asian American story, a Korean American story, it is fundamentally an American story, he told the gathering, to applause. And Im proud that this 85% white district, less than 3% Asian that voted for Trump twice, has now three times elected a Korean American Democrat to be their voice. He hears the same naysayers as he runs his campaign for Senate, Kim added. And I said, `Look again, dont think that I am only a voice for Asian Americans. Dont just think that I can only speak to those issues, he said. Hes tired of only being called on for help when there are instances of Asian American hate, he added. Yes, thats important. Yes, its important about affirmative action and other issues that are out there, but what Ill say is: We have something to say about everything, not just about Asian American issues. We deserve a seat at the table for every single decision being made about this country. Khanna (D-California) spoke about Harris, whom he has worked with since her time in California government. Shes had to break the barriers, and so she knows that we need to break barriers to have other people have a shot, Khanna said. He said that the politics of authenticity that Kim spoke about have been used by the Republican candidate for vice president, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), in speaking about his own wife, Usha. In his speech at the Republican National Convention, Vance described how his family had held a cemetery plot of land in eastern Kentucky for seven generations, Khanna said, suggesting that Usha Vance would also be buried there. And Im thinking, you know, Usha Vance is Hindu American like me. Is she going to have a choice in the matter? Khanna mused. What upset me about that speech is that Vance was basically implying that the longer you could trace your heritage back, the amount of generations you could trace your heritage that somehow defined what it means to be an American. When we elect Kamala Harris as president of the United States, were going to show that this country is a multiracial democracy where it doesnt matter how long your lineage is, you can be American. Everyone can be American. Pennsylvania Capital-Star is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kim Lyons for questions: info@penncapital-star.com. Follow Pennsylvania Capital-Star on Facebook and X. KC-46 and F-15E had an incident resulting in the loss of the tanker's boom A U.S. Air Force KC-46A Pegasus tanker that was involved in a refueling mishap off the coast of California on Wednesday was helping to enforce a temporary flight restriction related to a presidential visit, it has emerged. Also involved were a pair of F-15E Strike Eagles, armed with live missiles. The tanker and one of the fighters were forced to make emergency landings the F-15E twice having to abort those recoveries before finally touching down at an alternative location. The incident comes as problems still dog the KC-46s troubled path to full operational capability. You can listen to the relevant communications between some of the crew aboard the aircraft and air traffic control in the files embedded in the tweet below, posted to X by our friend @thenewarea51. Wild ATC audio, a lost tail boom and live missiles turns into quite the story NOBLE42 (F-15E Mountain Home AFB) had a incident with WIDE12 (Boeing KC-46 17-46028) yesterday near Santa Barbara, California while refueling during a CAP (Combat Air Patrol) which was enforcing a pic.twitter.com/VkIJJZ1OIT Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) August 23, 2024 The KC-46 involved in the mishap was from the 931st Air Refueling Wing at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, but was operating out of Travis Air Force Base, California, and was using the callsign WIDE12. It was refueling two F-15Es from Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, and reportedly assigned to the 391st Fighter Squadron. The fighters were callsigns NOBLE41 and NOBLE42. On this occasion, the F-15Es were reportedly helping enforce temporary flight restrictions related to a presidential visit. As we have discussed before, homeland defense during presidential visits is very resource intensive, with different assets being pulled from around the country to fulfill the high-stakes vital mission. As of August 21, when the mishap occurred, President Joe Biden was reportedly vacationing in Santa Ynez, California. U.S. President Joe Biden arrives at Santa Barbara Airport on August 20, 2024, ahead of his vacation in Santa Ynez, California. Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI Based on the mission profile, the F-15Es would have been carrying AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-9 Sidewinder series air-to-air weapons, as well as 20mm cannon rounds. WIDE12 and NOBLE42 both sustained damage while the fighter was taking on fuel from the tanker, although the exact nature of how that incident unfolded is unclear at this stage. However, thanks to the audio, we do know that NOBLE41s crew communicated via radio to air traffic control informing them that NOBLE42 had suffered some kind of issue with its hydraulic system. The radio communications also include WIDE12 confirming hydraulic problems of its own and declaring an inflight emergency. At one point in the communications, a reference is made to the boom on the KC-46 having fallen off. A pilot assigned to the 905th Air Refueling Squadron from McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas, conducts a pre-flight check on a KC-46 assigned to the 931st Air Refueling Wing, prior to takeoff from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, on May 11, 2021, in support of exercise Northern Edge 2021. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Adriana Barrientos Senior Airman Adriana Barrientos As a result of the incident, the KC-46 returned to Travis Air Force Base for an emergency landing, having requested a firefighting capability and probably a towtruck. The 931st Air Refueling Wing subsequently confirmed that the aircraft had lost a portion of its boom close to the base and then landed with what was left of the boom still lowered. The wing added that no one was injured during the incident. That would appear to be supported by unofficial photos that appeared on Facebook purportedly show damage to the KC-46. In these photos, the boom itself is seen sheared off, the remaining part dragging on the runway, while there are also signs of impacts on the tip of the tail cone. So far, the authenticity of these photos has not been confirmed by the Air Force. In a statement, the 60th Air Mobility Wing confirmed that the Travis runway had been temporarily closed as a result of the incident. As for the F-15E, NOBLE42, the air traffic control communications indicate that it diverted to Fresno, California, where it, too, made an emergency landing. The crew of the Strike Eagle confirm that, while armed with live missiles, these are not hung meaning that no attempt had been made to launch them. The problems didnt end there, however, since the arresting cable reportedly broke during the Strike Eagles first attempt at landing. A second attempt, made on the opposite of the runway, also ended in failure, with the arrester hook failing to catch the cable. Another diversion was then made to Naval Air Station Lemoore, where a safe recovery was achieved. An F-15E Strike Eagle takes off in support of Operation Noble Eagle, September 25, 2015, at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Brittain Crolley An investigation is now underway to understand the cause of the mishap and to fully assess the damage to the KC-46 and the F-15E. Notably, this is not the first time in recent months that a KC-46 has had a mishap involving its refueling boom. In June this year, another KC-46 from the 931st Air Refueling Wing was damaged while refueling a U.S. Air Force F-16 in Dutch airspace. On that occasion, air traffic control communications described damage to the refueling door on the fighter after a too-close breakaway incident. The crew aboard the KC-46 said that the tanker was damaged and unable to refuel. An investigation into this mishap is also ongoing. USAF Boeing KC-46A Pegasus 15-46009 as flight #KANZA91 USAF SP F16A as flight #WARHAWK3 (2 ship with WARHAWK2) Issue during AAR : to close break away incident -> damage #WARHAWK3 & boom #KANZA91#NLspot#USAFpic.twitter.com/0kTRQrHnhP ''The Lazy Garden '' Eindhoven Spotter (@EHEH_Spotter) June 27, 2024 Back in October 2022, there was another refueling accident involving a KC-46 and an F-15. Unconfirmed photos posted on social media showed the tankers damaged boom and tail cone. In another incident the same year, a KC-46 conducting a flight with a congressional delegation on board made an emergency landing with the boom dangling below the aircraft, as you can read about here. Before that, in 2020, The War Zone examined a video showing an apparent close-call incident involving a KC-46 and a test F-15E. In this footage, the boom appears to slip off the Strike Eagles refueling receptacle, with its control surfaces nearly banging into the fighters canopy. Exactly when this incident happened is not clear, but Boeing confirmed that the boom did not make contact with the canopy of the Strike Eagle. Fast forward to 2024 and Boeing and the Air Force are still working through various issues on the KC-46, some of which relate to the refueling system. Notably, efforts are still ongoing to fix long-standing and serious problems with not only the KC-46s boom but also the Remote Vision System that boom operators use to guide it into receiving aircraft. Boeing is currently under contract to address issues with stiffness in the boom on the KC-46, a fix that involves hardware and software changes. As for the Remote Vision System, or RVS, the contractor is integrating an entirely new version of this into the tanker. The decision was taken after multiple problems with the original RVS, which was found to be potentially dangerous to use as well as potentially risking making boom operators physically ill. The view from the flight deck of a C-17 Globemaster III as it takes on fuel from a KC-46 over the Eastern seaboard, March 9, 2023. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Joseph Morales A C-17 Globemaster to be refueled by a KC-46 Pegasus over the Eastern seaboard, Mar. 9, 2023. The aerial refueling of the C-17 occurred during Exercise White Stag. U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Joseph Morales In previous Air Force tankers, the boom operator occupied a position from at the rear of the aircraft, while the KC-46 does away with this and instead has them work from the main cabin. Using the RVS, the boom operator steers the boom into the receiving aircraft aided by video feeds from an array of video cameras at the rear of the aircraft. Special glasses provide the boom operator with feeds presented in a hybrid 2D/3D format at least, in theory. However, with the original RVS not working as intended, notably in direct sunlight, KC-46 boom operators have had to use a variety of workarounds to ensure that receiver aircraft can be gassed up. The RVS 2.0 is not now expected to be delivered until April 2026. Despite this, the Air Force has continued to introduce the KC-46 to service, in the process of phasing out the KC-10A Extender, the last remaining examples of which are planned to be decommissioned next month. The new tanker has also chalked up some significant achievements, including conducting operations from austere airstrips, while the Air Force is also examining options for operating the KC-46 with just two individuals on board a pilot and a boom operator in certain high-end wartime scenarios. Regardless, the KC-46s complicated development and many and varied teething troubles mean that an incident like that which occurred off the California coast earlier this week whatever the reason for it isnt a good optics for the USAFs new newest tanker. We have reached out to the Air Force for more details about exactly what happened. Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com An attack at a festival in a German city kills 3 people and wounds at least 5 seriously An attacker with a knife killed three people and seriously wounded at least five late on Friday at a festival in the western German city of Solingen, authorities said. Witnesses alerted police shortly after 9.30 p.m. to an unknown perpetrator having wounded several people indiscriminately with a knife on a central square, the Fronhof. Police said the attacker was on the run, and that they so far had only very little information on the man. They said they believe the stabbings were carried out by a lone attacker. Police and ambulances near the scene where people were killed and injured in an attack at a festival in Solingen, western Germany, the German dpa news agency reported, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. (Gianni Gattus/dpa via AP) Police and ambulances near the scene where people were killed and injured in an attack at a festival in Solingen, western Germany, the German dpa news agency reported, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. (Gianni Gattus/dpa via AP) Police and ambulances near the scene where people were killed and injured in an attack at a festival in Solingen, western Germany, the German dpa news agency reported, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. (Gianni Gattus/dpa via AP) Emergency vehicles near the scene where people were killed and injured in an attack at a festival in Solingen, western Germany, the German dpa news agency reported, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. (Gianni Gattus/dpa via AP) Emergency services near the scene where people were killed and injured in an attack at a festival in Solingen, western Germany, the German dpa news agency reported, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. (Gianni Gattus/dpa via AP) Police forces are deployed near the scene where people were killed and injured in an attack at a festival in Solingen, western Germany, the German dpa news agency reported, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. (Gianni Gattus/dpa via AP) Emergency services and police are deployed near the scene where people were killed and injured in an attack at a festival in Solingen, western Germany, the German dpa news agency reported, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. (Gianni Gattus/dpa via AP) Police and deployed near the scene where people were killed and injured in an attack at a festival in Solingen, western Germany, the German dpa news agency reported, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. (Gianni Gattus/dpa via AP) One of the festival organizers, Philipp Muller, appeared on stage and asked festivalgoers to go calmly; please keep your eyes open, because unfortunately the perpetrator hasnt been caught. He said many people had been wounded by a knifeman. At least one helicopter was seen in the air, while many police and emergency vehicles with flashing blue lights were on the road and several streets were closed off. Police put the number of seriously injured at five. The regions top security official, Herbert Reul, gave a figure of six as he visited the scene in the early hours of Saturday. Police and deployed near the scene where people were killed and injured in an attack at a festival in Solingen, western Germany, the German dpa news agency reported, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. (Gianni Gattus/dpa via AP) None of us knows why the attack took place, said Reul, who is the interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia state. I cant say anything about the motive now and it isnt clear who the assailant was, he also said and added that the attacker had left the scene relatively quickly. Mayor Tim Kurzbach said in a Facebook post that this evening, we in Solingen are all in shock. We all wanted to celebrate our citys anniversary together and now have dead and wounded to lament. It breaks my heart that an attack on our city happened, he added. The local newspaper Solinger Tageblatt quoted Celine Derikartz, its reporter covering the festival, as saying that the atmosphere is spooky. She said a party atmosphere had turned to shock within minutes and she saw festivalgoers weeping. The Festival of Diversity, marking the citys 650th anniversary, began on Friday and was supposed to run through Sunday, with several stages in central streets offering attractions such as live music, cabaret and acrobatics. The city canceled the rest of the festival after the attack. Solingen has about 160,000 residents and is located near the bigger cities of Cologne and Duesseldorf. There has been concern about an increase in knife violence in Germany recently. In May, a knife attack by an Afghan immigrant on members of a group that describes itself as opposing political Islam left a police officer dead. Germanys top security official, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, this month proposed toughening weapons laws to allow only knives with a blade measuring up to 6 centimeters (nearly 2.4 inches) to be carried in public, rather than the length of 12 centimeters (4.7 inches) which is allowed now. ___ Moulson reported from Berlin. 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 DENVER (KDVR) Aurora City Council members have four days to decide if they will accept the man named by City Manager Jason Batchelor to take the reins of the Aurora Police Department. The newly announced chief spoke at the Aurora Police Department on Thursday, stating he has a passion for law enforcement done properly and ethically. He spoke at length about establishing relationships among the community to ensure trust. AG concerned about ongoing turnover, oversight in Aurora Police Department Todd Chamberlain boasts over 35 years in law enforcement, including time as the chief of police for the Los Angeles Unified School District. His appointment will be brought before the Aurora City Council on Monday, Aug. 26, for official approval. For some community members, the short notice on Chamberlains appointment before his official approval is concerning. Colorado state Sens. Rhonda Fields and Janet Buckner, both Democrats who represent Aurora, released a statement regarding the oversight and transparency of the new chief selection process. The selection of a police chief is a critical process that must be grounded in open, honest dialogue with the entire community. Unfortunately, weve seen a disappointing pattern of city leaders sidelining community voices during the selection process for Auroras Police Chief, leading to a revolving door of leadership, the senators wrote. This lack of transparency and trust not only undermines the process but also signals an unwillingness to learn from past mistakes and prioritize the needs of the Aurora community. Fort Collins installing speed cameras around the city this fall Batchelor was asked why there wasnt more transparency in the hiring process during a press conference held Thursday. He said the process underway is what were moving forward with, but did not give details on why final candidates were not shared with the community, nor why there wasnt much advance notice given before the city councils vote. Chamberlain said he thinks the department must connect with the community to best succeed. The partnerships that I think that we can build as an agency, as an organization, the relationships that we can collaborate on and build within the community I think we can set a new standard, Chamberlain said before thanking city officials for expressing their faith in him as the new chief. (B)ut, none of it happens in a vacuum. All of it has to be done at a level that we collaborate with others, we collaborate with community groups, where we collaborate with other government entities, where we collaborate with you on the other side of this camera. Chamberlain said his metric of success is seeing citizens in Aurora reporting that they feel they have a legitimate police agency that is there to serve them and their best interests. I hope Im measured by the results, Chamberlain said. And those results are going to come in (the form of) how people feel living in the city of Aurora, how the community feels. Do they feel that their law enforcement agency- do they feel the practitioners that are involved in the law enforcement arena, do they feel that they are respected? Do they feel that they are serving? Do they feel that they are giving the community, what the community needs and what the community deserves? Chamberlain was asked about the migrant crisis in Denver and Aurora, as well as the threat of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang that has been under scrutiny in the city. He said the gangs in Aurora are nothing he hasnt experienced in Los Angeles. Aurora police, Colorado agencies create gang violence task force Chamberlain said he believes in using an evidence-based approach to find the problem makers in the migrant population. He said once problem-makers are identified, the department will conduct intervention, prevention and hotspot policing. To me, gangs are nothing new. I look forward to learning about the gangs here, and more importantly too, the relationships that you had with that community that articulated out to you those specifics, those fears, those ideas. I want 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 FOX31 Denver. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, co-chairs the fifth meeting of the China-Indonesia Governmental Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 23, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Tao) BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- The fifth meeting of the China-Indonesia Governmental Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation was held in Beijing on Friday, with the two sides reaching wide consensus on deepening bilateral and multilateral cooperation. The meeting was co-chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said that China is willing to work together with Indonesia to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries and continuously elevate the building of a China-Indonesia community with a shared future to a new level. Wang said the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC has made arrangements for further deepening reforms comprehensively and promoting Chinese modernization, which will bring new opportunities for China-Indonesia cooperation and regional development. He said both sides need to persist with four things continuously. The first is deepening high-level exchanges, strengthening strategic communication, and preparing for the celebration of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries next year. The second is consolidating strategic mutual trust, firmly supporting each other in safeguarding core interests. The third is expanding mutually beneficial cooperation, deepening strategic alignment, and using the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative to lead practical cooperation and upgrade its quality. The fourth is enhancing mutual understanding and friendship, improving the facilitation of personnel exchanges, and encouraging exchanges between the youth, think tanks and media. Noting that China has become one of Indonesia's most important strategic partners, Retno Marsudi said Indonesia greatly appreciates the solid mutual trust and profound friendship established with China. Taking the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations as an opportunity, Indonesia will closely cooperate with China on multilateral affairs, practice multilateralism, and strengthen South-South cooperation, she said. The two sides agreed to tap the potential for cooperation on new-energy vehicles, lithium batteries, photovoltaic and the digital economy, expand two-way investment, agricultural and food cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, and work together to improve global governance and safeguard the common interests of the Global South countries. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, co-chairs the fifth meeting of the China-Indonesia Governmental Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 23, 2024. (Xinhua/Li Tao) Austin Energy working to repair transformer that went went offline Thursday, causing outage for thousands AUSTIN (KXAN) Thousands of people lost power Thursday night after a transformer at a southwest Austin substation went offline around 8:20 p.m., according to Austin Energy. The utility said Friday morning it is working on a repair. Austin Energy said about 6,400 customers lost power when the transformer went offline Thursday night, and crews immediately responded and rerouted power to other equipment, restoring power to all those affected. Summer heat causes power outages; why this season has felt more brutal That fix, however, was temporary, an Austin Energy spokesperson said. Crews have been working through the night to investigate the issue and find a permanent solution, according to Austin Energy. During a news conference Friday at Austin City Hall, utility leaders said the problem is not heat-related, and tests are ongoing to determine the root cause. Were not going to stop working on this until we find a permanent solution for this, Bob Kahn, Austin Energys general manager, said Friday. Austin Energy said the hot temperatures expected Friday could overload the equipment used for the temporary fix because of the additional power demand, which may cause more outages for the customers in the area. Long-term fix Austin Energy said it is testing the existing transformer to see if it can be put back into service, and if test results are favorable, that equipment could be back in service Friday afternoon to lower the risk of outages. While testing is going on, Austin Energy is positioning a temporary transformer to serve customers. That work could take 24 hours, and those customers may experience outages Friday. Heat-related outages Similar outages happened in east Austin Wednesday, which was the hottest day of the year so far. East Austin power outage caused by sensor which prevented catastrophic damage, AE says Austin Energy estimated the outage Wednesday impacted roughly 7,000 people. It started around 5 p.m. and lasted until around 9 p.m. Austin Energy said a sensor caused the outage, likely because of a high load due to high heat and people working to cool their homes. Each substation is equipped with protective systems and they work similar to how you would have one in your house, a fuse, a breaker box, something along those lines when too much current is being pulled into a piece of equipment, those sensors are designed to take that offline so that it doesnt cause catastrophic damage and thats what happened in this substation, Matt Mitchell with Austin Energy explained. Mitchell said Austin Energys substation team and engineers worked to reset the sensors to accommodate a higher energy load while still operating safely, and the utility doesnt anticipate the issue happening again at that substation. Be ready and conserve Austin Energy said customers in the southwest Austin area should be prepared for potential power outages. The utility recommended that people in the area review emergency plans and check emergency kits. Customers who experience outages can minimize power surges by turning off appliances, lights and other equipment. Cooling center locations and hours of operation can be found online. Austin Energy is also asking customers to conserve energy. People should aim to use as little energy as safely possible, specially between 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., Austin Energy said. Energy conservation tips: Raise thermostats by a few degrees. For central air, do not close vents in unused rooms. This could increase pressure and cause duct leaks. For window units, close off unused rooms. Close shades and curtains on windows hit by direct sunlight to prevent heat from getting indoors. Avoid turning on the oven during the hottest time of the day. Unplug appliances, chargers and electronic devices when not in use. They use energy even when they are turned off. Find more conservation tips are available on Austin Energys website. Austin Energy said it will work to keep affected customers updated as new information is available. Utility leaders will also hold a press conference at 10 a.m. Friday to provide more information about the outages. That will be livestreamed at the top of this article and on the KXAN 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 KXAN Austin. Autopsy reported cause and manner of the death of an Oklahoma teenager unknown KANSAS, Okla. An autopsy report released Thursday on the cause of death of Oklahoma teenager Trey Glass failed to provide any answers for the family or for law enforcement officials. Trey Glass, 19, of Kansas, Oklahoma, was last seen on December 17 at Wilkersons Ranch in southern Delaware County. His body was recovered in April by the Cherokee Nation Marshals Dive Team from a well on the ranch. Authorities confirm teens body found in well is Trey Glass According to the seven-page autopsy report, the cause and manner of Glasss death are listed as unknown. I personally dont agree with the results. Emma Sanders, Treys cousin Glasss body was found submerged in water near the bottom of a well, the autopsy report states. He was located approximately 17 feet below the top of the well, in an approximate water depth of seven feet. The Glass family, the Kansas police department, and Cherokee Nation Marshals searched a spring, pond, and a hand-dug well on former Kansas, Okla. Police Chief Mike Wilkersons property in the weeks following the teens disappearance. Authorities reported that when he disappeared, Trey was finishing his senior year at Kansas Public Schools. Wilkerson told authorities he saw Glass near the well and that Glass appeared to be intoxicated. Authorities found Glasss cell phone on December 23 on the side of Road 550 near Wilkersons Ranch. Glass AutopsyDownload The autopsy report says advance decomposition was present, leaving some skeletal remains and not enough tissue for a complete toxicology report. No injuries or fractures were present, the autopsy report states. Law enforcement confirmed Trey was last seen with two friends a juvenile and a 23-year-old man. Emma Sanders said Glass and the two friends had argued in the days preceding his disappearance. Sanders said she had met with the FBI and that the two friends and Wilkerson were interviewed. I just have so many questions, Sanders said. We are just praying for the family, Wilkerson said after learning the autopsy report was released. Trey lived on the other side of the Cherokee Turnpike from Wilkersons ranch at an apartment complex on Cherokee Street. Wilkerson said he offered Glass a ride home, but the teen rejected the offer and asked if he could cut through Wilkersons field. The spring-fed, hand-dug well was located 40 feet beyond Wilkersons backyard fence. As a safety precaution, Wilkerson said he installed 100-pound cattle guards around the well, which limited access. Authorities say Wilkersons wife noticed that one of the cattle guards surrounding the well was opened, allowing calves to enter the area near the wells rim. Wilkerson told officials as he was relocating the calves and shutting one of the cattle guard panels, he looked inside the well to make sure a calf had not fallen in and noticed the body. Persons with information on what might have happened to Glass are encouraged to call the Delaware County Sheriffs Office at (918) 253-4531 or Cherokee Nation Marshal Service investigator Bronson McNiel at (918) 207-3800. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A baby evacuated from Gaza lost an eye and most of his family in the war In this Aug. 14, 2024 photo, ten-month-old Palestinian infant Mostafa Qadoura, who has already lost his eye and his immediate family to the horrors of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, poses at the New Administrative Capital Hospital, just outside Cairo, Egypt. Mostafa was among the 28 babies, most of whom were born premature, who were evacuated from the then-besieged Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and transported to Egypt late last year. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil) CAIRO (AP) When Mostafa Qadoura was a week old, an Israeli strike on his home in the Gaza Strip last October launched him and his crib into the air, sent shrapnel into his right eye that damaged it beyond repair and killed one of his brothers. Mostafa was evacuated to Egypt weeks later when the hospital treating him came under siege by the Israeli army, and he has grown into a smiling and active 10-month-old with chubby cheeks. But he still faces huge challenges. His mother and other brother were killed in a separate Israeli strike just days after he was evacuated. He will need a series of surgeries to adjust his artificial eye as his body grows. And its unclear whether he will return to Gaza before the war is over. I dont know what to tell him when he grows up, said his grandmother and guardian, 40-year-old Amna Abd Rabou, who was allowed in April to travel to Egypt to care for him. She and Mostafa flew to Malaysia last week for a surgery that is scheduled for Monday. In a war that has claimed the lives of thousands of Palestinian children and injured more, Mostafas story is both uniquely gut-wrenching and, in many ways, familiar to countless families in Gaza devastated and displaced by the fighting between Israel and Hamas. Mostafa is one of the roughly 3,500 Palestinians, mostly children, who have been evacuated from the Gaza Strip for medical treatment. Families there have submitted requests to have at least twice that number of injured children evacuated, according to the World Health Organization. More than 12,000 children have been injured in the war, according to Palestinian health officials, and aid groups say many who have not been allowed to leave Gaza face health outcomes far less hopeful than Mostafa's. We meet children whose lives are hanging by a thread because of the injuries of war or their inability to receive medical care for conditions like cancer, said Tess Ingram, a spokesperson for UNICEF, the U.N.s agency for children. More medical evacuations would save lives and improve the futures of wounded children, Ingram said, but above anything else, we need a cease-fire. It is the only way to stop the killing and maiming of children. The war began on Oct. 7, when Hamas fighters attacked southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking roughly 250 hostages into Gaza. More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting since then, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which does not distinguish in its count between civilians and militants. At least a quarter were children, according to the ministry. At the Administrative Capital Hospital in Cairo, Mostafa recently sat on his grandmother's lap, playing with a rattle and grinning at the nurse who escorted him on his journey from Gaza to Egypt. His grandmother also smiled, saying she would take care of him as a promise to her deceased daughter. After the late October strike that killed his 4-year-old brother, Ayes, and badly wounded his then 22-year-old mother, Halimah, Mostafa was found meters away from the destroyed home in Jabaliya in northern Gaza and still inside his crib, according to his grandmother. What followed was a familiar story of separation amid the chaos of the war, which has displaced close to 2 million Palestinians from their homes. While Mostafa was receiving treatment for his injured eye and forehead at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, his mother was having a leg amputated at a different hospital in northern Gaza, where she was also being treated for severe injuries to her neck, chest, and eyes. Relatives around me would tell me to pray and ask God to take her life to relieve her from pain, but I would tell them that shes my daughter and Ill take care of her and keep her the way she is regardless of her condition," said Abd Rabou, who left two teenage children back in Gaza in the care of her husband. While still recovering from her injuries, Mostafa's mother moved to a large family home in Jabaliya, where a Nov. 22 strike killed her, her 6-year-old son, Bassam, and 50 other family members. Abd Rabou said she doesn't know what happened to Mostafa's father, but she remembers what his mother said the day before she died. She grabbed my hand and told me she wanted to see Mostafa. She said she was afraid that she would never see him again, Abd Rabou recalled. The Qadoura family is not the only one in Gaza to have been nearly wiped out by the war. The Israeli military, which rarely comments on individual strikes, has said it tries to avoid harming Palestinian civilians and blames their injuries and deaths on Hamas for operating in dense residential areas and sometimes sheltering in and launching attacks from homes, schools and mosques. This month, the Israeli military acknowledged it struck a school-turned-shelter in central Gaza City, saying it hit a Hamas command center in the area without providing evidence. In response to a query about the two strikes that hit the Qadoura family, a spokesman for the Israeli military said, In stark contrast to Hamas intentional attacks on Israeli men, women and children, the (army) follows international law and takes feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm. Mostafa's family was unaware of his whereabouts after he and more than two dozen other babies were evacuated in November from Shifa Hospital. They thought he might have died until an uncle came across a local news story that mentioned an orphaned baby he suspected was Mostafa. The uncle learned that Mostafa was first transferred to a hospital in Rafah, and that he was to be evacuated to Egypt along with 30 other sick and weak babies. Bilal Tabasi, a nurse who traveled with Mostafa and the other evacuees, said they wrapped the premature babies who should have been in incubators in blankets to try to keep them warm. Three died before reaching the Egyptian border. Mostafa was malnourished and dehydrated when he arrived at the border. He had also survived antibiotic-resistant bacteria that had infected his shrapnel wounds, Tabasi said. Mostafa was the most critical case I came across," said Ramzy Mounir, director of the Administrative Capital Hospital in Cairo. It's unclear where Mostafa and his grandmother will go after his surgery in Malaysia, but she is hoping they can return to Egypt and stay there until the war ends. Wherever they land, Abd Rabou said she would never leave Mostafa's side as she recalled some of his mother's last words. She told me, 'If anything happened to him, Ill never forgive you,'" Abd Rabou said. Panda father Jiao Qing roams through his enclosure at Berlin Zoo, while female panda Meng Meng looks after her two babies inside, which were born on Thursday. "Both cubs are doing well and are being lovingly cared for around the clock by their mother and the experienced panda team." Paul Zinken/dpa A pair of panda bear cubs are doing well after being born at the Berlin Zoo on Thursday afternoon, zookeepers said on Friday. On Thursday morning, the zoo's 11-year-old pregnant female panda, Meng Meng, was already acting slightly restless and then her water broke around 10 am (0800 GMT), zookeeper Ann-Katrin Hubner said on Friday as she recounted the birth. "We were still talking and then you could actually hear the cub's cry and we realized that it was there," Hubner said. The first cub arrived at 1:03 pm, with the second arriving at 2:09 pm. Meng Meng immediately took both of the cubs into her big arms, Hubner said. According to the zoo, the gestation period was 149 days. Meng Meng and the cubs will spend the first period in the back of the panda stable. It will be some time before visitors can see the animals. Berlin Zoo Director Andreas Knieriem said he hopes it will be sometime before Christmas. He described himself as absolutely delighted about the birth. "Mother Meng Meng shows us all what the word 'bear love' means - she takes great care of her offspring," he added. Hubner described the small panda cubs as the size of "a small guinea pig with longer arms and legs, and as agile and slippery as a fish in the hand." "They are almost naked. They only have a very light white coat. They are completely pink. There are no black spots yet," Hubner said. "They are quite strong and squirm in your hand, so you have to be very careful not to break anything." Zoo and Tierpark Director Andreas Knieriem explains to journalists how the birth of the panda twins went, while female panda Meng Meng looks after her two babies, who were born on Thursday. "Both cubs are doing well and are being lovingly cared for around the clock by their mother and the experienced panda team." Paul Zinken/dpa Panda father Jiao Qing roams through his enclosure at Berlin Zoo, while female panda Meng Meng looks after her two babies inside, which were born on Thursday. "Both cubs are doing well and are being lovingly cared for around the clock by their mother and the experienced panda team." Paul Zinken/dpa A pair of panda bear cubs are doing well after being born at the Berlin Zoo on Thursday afternoon, zookeepers said on Friday. On Thursday morning, the zoo's 11-year-old pregnant female panda, Meng Meng, was already acting slightly restless and then her water broke around 10 am (0800 GMT), zookeeper Ann-Katrin Hubner said on Friday as she recounted the birth. "We were still talking and then you could actually hear the cub's cry and we realized that it was there," Hubner said. The first cub arrived at 1:03 pm, with the second arriving at 2:09 pm. Meng Meng immediately took both of the cubs into her big arms, Hubner said. According to the zoo, the gestation period was 149 days. Meng Meng and the cubs will spend the first period in the back of the panda stable. It will be some time before visitors can see the animals. Berlin Zoo Director Andreas Knieriem said he hopes it will be sometime before Christmas. He described himself as absolutely delighted about the birth. "Mother Meng Meng shows us all what the word 'bear love' means - she takes great care of her offspring," he added. Hubner described the small panda cubs as the size of "a small guinea pig with longer arms and legs, and as agile and slippery as a fish in the hand." "They are almost naked. They only have a very light white coat. They are completely pink. There are no black spots yet," Hubner said. "They are quite strong and squirm in your hand, so you have to be very careful not to break anything." The birth has caused a sensation as the Berlin Zoo, and is only the second time ever that two pandas have been born in Germany. In 2019, Meng Meng gave birth to twins, Pit and Paule, who are now back in China. Like their parents, the giant pandas also belong to the Chinese state, which only lends pandas to selected countries as part of a practice that's become known as panda diplomacy. Biologist and panda curator Florian Sicks said the cubs weigh 169 grams and 136 grams, respectively, and are around 14 centimetres long, which Sicks said is quite normal for pandas. The cubs are deaf, blind and completely helpless - they even need help from their mother to poop and urinate, Sicks explained. After just 10 days they will have doubled their weight, and at two months they will be able to walk, he said. The milk of panda bears is extremely rich in energy, and they only begin to eat bamboo at six months. After giving birth yesterday, Meng Meng was exhausted and did not eat anything, which Sicks said is also nothing unusual. "Even in their natural habitat, giant pandas don't eat for the first 14 days because the cubs are so underdeveloped that they need round-the-clock care from their mother," he said. As is usual in the wild, panda father Jiao Qing is not involved in the rearing of the cubs. He has been sitting in the zoo's giant panda enclosure as usual and eating bamboo. According to the zoo, there are fewer than 2,000 adult giant pandas in their natural habitat. Every single cub is therefore an important contribution to the conservation of this endangered species, according to the zoo. Zoo and Tierpark Director Andreas Knieriem explains to journalists how the birth of the panda twins went, while female panda Meng Meng looks after her two babies, who were born on Thursday. "Both cubs are doing well and are being lovingly cared for around the clock by their mother and the experienced panda team." Paul Zinken/dpa We have a battle on our hands: Cruz kicks off Texas tour, Allred rallies DNC in fight for Senate GEORGETOWN, Texas (Nexstar) More than 400 people joined Senator Ted Cruz for an early morning rally in Georgetown on Friday, waving Keep Texas Texas and donning the red Make America Great Again hats as the two-term senator kicks off a six-stop tour he hopes will engage his conservative base in a competitive reelection. Texas is a battleground, theres no doubt Texas is a battleground, Cruz said, wary of what he expects to be a $100 million investment from national Democrats. Its not going to work. Take a look at a morning like this, 9 a.m. in Williamson County. The folks that are coming out, they are energized, they are empowered, they defend Texas, they want to keep Texas TexasIm confident thats how Texas is going to vote in November. Cruz is a well-funded, longtime Texas official with a national profile in a reliably red state but hes not taking anything for granted. After Democratic all-star Beto ORourke pushed Cruz within three points of his political life in 2018, Cruz is taking Colin Allreds challenge seriously. We have a battle on our hands, Cruz warned the crowd. Chuck Schumer has made explicit Im his number one target in the country. They are coming after the State of Texas. My last reelect, we won by less than 2.6 percent. And the Democrats intend to spend more than $100 million trying to win this state. Meanwhile, Allred has been dominating the airwaves in Texas blue cities, outspending and outraising the incumbent. Thursday night, he introduced himself to the nation on his biggest stage yet at the Democratic National Convention. Im the guy whos going to turn Texas Senate seat blue, Allred said. We will protect and restore reproductive freedom, we will secure the border, we will protect Medicare and Social Security, and well turn the page and write a new chapter for this country elect Kamala Harris to be the next president and beat Ted Cruz. Chants of beat Ted Cruz rang through the crowd as he walked off stage. The latest polling from the University of Houstons Hobby School of Public Affairs shows a razor-thin race within the margin of error, with Cruz up by two points at 46.6% to Allreds 44.5%. Cruz is hosting rallies in Waco and Fort Worth Friday, then heading to Tyler and Beaumont on Saturday and ending the tour in Houston. Allred is hosting a major Women for Allred event in Dallas on Saturday, focusing on Texas abortion ban alongside some of the women who have made national headlines for near-fatal pregnancy complications post-Roe. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Taliban security personnel ride a vehicle in front of the former US Embassy - WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP In this episode of Battle Lines we speak to Tony Diver about his conversation with families of the Israeli hostages who are desperate for a ceasefire deal. Then we speak to Akhtar Makoii who reports on the Taliban soldiers longing for a battle. Across the world, from Europe to Asia, from the Americas to the Middle East, tensions are rising between nation states as the traditional alliances and alignments evolve in the 21st century. This year sees war in Europe and the Middle East, and elections in major economies, from the US and the UK to Taiwan. Insurgencies flare in Yemen and Burma, tensions escalate in East Africa, and all around the world the international security architecture buckles under increasing pressure. Battle Lines, a new podcast from The Telegraph, combines on-the-ground reporting with analytical expertise to help the listener to better understand the course of world politics, wars and tensions, as fault lines grind and slip in an increasingly dangerous and confusing multipolar world. Listen to Battle Lines using the audio player in this article or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or your favourite podcast app. 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. Relatives of Palestinians, who killed after an Israeli attack targeting a house in the Maghzi refugee camp, mourn after their bodies were brought to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital for burial in Deir El-Balah. Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa Dozens of militants have been killed by Israeli forces in close combat in the Gaza Strip since Thursday, the Israeli army said on Friday. The military destroyed what it called terrorist infrastructure during battles in the city of Khan Younis in the south of the coastal territory and in the area of Deir al-Balah further north. Israel's air force also fired on positions from which rockets were fired at Israel. The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that several civilians had been killed as a result of Israeli attacks. In northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, there were also renewed exchanges of fire between the army and the Islamist Hezbollah militia. None of the information could be independently verified. The war in Gaza, which began after the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, has displaced some 90% of the population of Gaza, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Some 2.2 million people live in the coastal strip. Many have been displaced multiple times, according to the UN. Meanwhile, mediation efforts for a ceasefire are set to continue in Cairo. According to media reports, the main point of contention is Hamas' demand for a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects this. UN representatives have called for a ceasefire at least to allow health workers to issue polio vaccinations for the hundreds of thousands of children in the war zone. Charity Save the Children warned on Thursday that if left unchecked, the polio outbreak in Gaza would set back global eradication efforts. Relatives of Palestinians, who killed after an Israeli attack targeting a house in the Maghzi refugee camp, mourn after their bodies were brought to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital for burial in Deir El-Balah. Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa Relatives of Palestinians, who killed after an Israeli attack targeting a house in the Maghzi refugee camp, mourn after their bodies were brought to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital for burial in Deir El-Balah. Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa Relatives of Palestinians, who killed after an Israeli attack targeting a house in the Maghzi refugee camp, mourn after their bodies were brought to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital for burial in Deir El-Balah. Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa BAY COUNTY, FL. (WMBB) The Bay County Sheriffs Office arrested a convicted felon on multiple drug charges including trafficking fentanyl into the Bay County area. On August 21, a traffic stop was conducted on 40-year-old Matthew Keith of South Berthe Avenue, Callaway on 23rd Street in Panama City. According to a news release, a K9 was utilized and gave a positive alert to the presence of narcotics in Keiths vehicle. BCSO officials raise awareness for National Fentanyl Prevention Day During the search of the vehicle, approximately 60 grams of fentanyl, 7.2 grams of pressed fentanyl pills, 2 grams of cocaine, 3.2 grams of methamphetamine, suboxone, and alprazolam. A firearm with an altered serial number in the vehicle was also found, investigators said. As a result, all illegal narcotics were seized by the BSCO Special Investigations Division, according to officials. Keith was charged with trafficking in fentanyl more than 28 grams, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, and possession of a weapon with an altered serial number. Keith also had a warrant for a parole violation. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com. DALIAN, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- A large multipurpose pulp-transportation ship named Green Munguba, with a deadweight tonnage of 77,000 tonnes, has been delivered to its customer in the city of Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning Province. Measuring 225 meters long, 32.26 meters wide and 21 meters deep, the vessel can travel at a speed of 15 knots, according to Dalian COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. It will be deployed on the shipping route connecting China and South America, and its cargo hold has good sealing and dryness, ensuring the quality and safety of pulp transportation, said the shipbuilder. Additionally, the vessel's cargo hold is highly adaptable, allowing it to transport not only pulp but also various other types of cargo, such as high-speed trains, wind-power equipment and large machinery. The Green Munguba is also equipped with a temperature monitoring and warning system specifically for new-energy vehicles (NEVs), ensuring the safe transport of these vehicles and supporting trade in NEVs between China and South America. BB gun fired at driver in southern Wisconsin road rage incident, suspect in custody PLEASANT PRAIRIE, Wis. (WFRV) The Pleasant Prairie Police Department (PPPD) provided steps to take to deal with potential road rage incidents following one that resulted in shots fired at a driver. Around 12:40 p.m. on Wednesday, a report went out about a driver being shot at on the 10500 block of Highway 50. The incident reportedly stemmed from a prior road rage event. Little Chute FD investigating fire at Doyle Park bathrooms, Village points to vandalism Three hours later, the Kenosha County Sheriffs Department found the suspect and their vehicle and took them into custody, before they were transferred to the PPPD. Initial findings say that the suspect fired a BB gun at the callers vehicle and ultimately broke a window. The suspect was charged with second-degree reckless endangerment, criminal property damage and disorderly conduct. Judge sentences Oshkosh man who crashed into cruise boat on the Fox River in 2022 In the post, officials listed some steps to manage possible road rage incidents. Do not make eye contact with angry drivers Do not respond with aggression Drive to a public place if at risk Allow room when you park and lock your vehicle Stay calm and courteous as much as possible Call 911 if necessary. For more information, visit AAAs website about aggressive driving. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Members of a U.S. Senate committee on Thursday detailed a complicated patchwork of issues that contribute to youth mental health challenges, including violence and trauma within schools and communities, the damaging effects of social media, worry about what a changing climate will look like when theyre adults and hate speech against LGBTQ people. (Getty Images) (Getty Images) Six Arkansas organizations that focus on supporting people who have substance abuse disorders, mental illness or intellectual disabilities will receive a total of $15 million in grant funding for infrastructure improvements and developments. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders office on Friday announced the grants via a press release. The Department of Human Services will distribute the funding because the recipients provide Medicaid. We are excited to see these investments turn into services that fill gaps in coverage and ultimately make a positive difference in the lives of Arkansans who need this support, DHS Secretary Kristi Putnam said in a statement. The announcement from the governors office did not detail the funding source, though a DHS spokesperson clarified afterward that the money was from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package aimed at helping the United States recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Arkansas received an initial pot of $1.5 billion that has been used for a variety of public purposes. Two grants to fund building projects that will serve as community reintegration spaces for children were awarded to Western Arkansas Counseling and Guidance Center in Fort Smith and United Methodist Childrens Home in Little Rock. Western Arkansas Counseling and Guidance Center received a $4 million grant. The nonprofit behavioral healthcare provider serves residents in Crawford, Franklin, Logan, Polk, Sebastian and Scott counties. It opened in 1972 and has worked since then to provide treatment programs and recovery services for mental illness and substance use disorders. Existing services include counseling, psychological testing, addiction services and group therapy, according to the nonprofits website. United Methodist Childrens Home in Little Rock, which received a $1 million grant, is managed by Methodist Family Health. The organization offers a complete continuum of care for Arkansas children who are abandoned, abused, neglected and struggling with psychiatric, behavioral, emotional and spiritual issues, according to its website. A variety of treatment options are available, including addiction research and grief counseling. Vulnerable Arkansans need help and they deserve to receive that help in modern, well-functioning facilities, Sanders said in a statement. As my administration supports our most at-risk citizens, these grants will build a continuity of care that helps Arkansans through every step of their lives. Rainbow of Challenges, Inc. in Hope will use $3 million in grant funding for the construction of an apartment complex to house young people with behavioral health issues who have aged out of other available services. We are committed to implementing a safer, healthier, happier, more independent lifestyle for individuals having special needs, the organizations website states. A 16-bed therapeutic community center for adults with intellectual disabilities will be the result of a $3 million grant awarded to Arisa Health in Jonesboro, which prioritizes behavioral health care. Two other grants will fund improvements for treatment facilities that offer 30-to-60-day programs for adults with substance abuse disorders. The recipients include Harbor House in Fort Smith with $1.8 million in grant funds and Arkansas River Valley Area Council (ARVAC) Lake Point Recovery and Wellness in Russellville with $2.1 million. Harbor House, a treatment center, currently offers gender specific and co-ed residential recovery services that combine a traditional 12-step program with cognitive behavioral therapy. Potential improvements to the residential facilities were not included in the press release. ARVAC Lake Point Recovery and Wellness offers a similar program, and its potential improvements were also not listed. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST In an interview with Russian state TV, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko claims he deployed a third of his army to Ukraine's border earlier this year. Lukashenko pardons 30 Belarusian political prisoners, while another 1,400 remain behind bars on politically motivated charges. Lithuania builds a military base for 4,000 German troops near Belarusian border, holds joint drills. Subscribe to the Newsletter Belarus Weekly Join us Ukrainian parliament passes bill easing the process of obtaining documents for foreign volunteers defending Ukraine, potentially giving Belarusian fighters a way out of a legal limbo. Swiss authorities sanction 27 Belarusians involved in repression and propaganda. Lukashenko claims he deployed a third of Belarus army next to Ukraines border Belarus moved a third of its army to the border with Ukraine earlier in the summer, Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview on Aug. 15. Speaking to the Rossiya TV channel, Lukashenko claimed it was in response to a build-up of Ukrainian troops that had been prompted by a misinterpretation of preparations for Belarus's Independence Day celebrations on July 3. Lukashenko claims that in the lead-up to the event, large numbers of men and materiel were moved from positions both inside Belarus and Russia in order to take part in the event. The Belarusian dictator claims Kyiv and its Western allies interpreted this as a possible redeployment for a repeated Russian invasion similar to the one Moscow's forces launched in February 2022 from Belarus. He claimed that Ukraine moved 120,000 troops on the border with Belarus which were then "boosted" with even more troops. In response, I had to redeploy almost a third of the army to reinforce the border, Lukashenko. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko holds a candle as he visits Valaam Monastery with the Russian President, in nothern Russia on July 25, 2024 (Alexander Kazakov/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) Belarus has approximately 48,000 troops, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies Military Balance 2022 report. The number rises to 63,000 if civilians involved in providing support services for the army are included, according to the Global Firepower Ranking of world militaries. Depending on the number used, a third would constitute 14,000 to 20,000 troops, which would be a significant buildup, resulting in a force comparable in size to the Russian attack group that attempted to seize Kyiv in February 2022. Lukashenko said he later managed to speak to Ukrainian officials through special channels, and the situation was resolved diplomatically. As a result, the additional troops that were allegedly deployed during the escalation were pulled back from both sides. However, Ukrainian State Border Guard Service spokesperson Andriy Demchenko dismissed Lukashenkos claims as aggressive statements that do not correspond to reality. Demchenko told Ukrainian news website Ukrainska Pravda on Aug. 18 that no increase in equipment or personnel had been observed. The rest of the interview was even more hostile in tone, with Lukashenko once again fully backing Russia and Putins aggression against Ukraine, accusing high ranking people of American origin of stoking the war with the aim of destroying all three countries. Lukashenko's interview aired after Ukraine launched a cross-border incursion into Russias Kursk Oblast. After crossing into the Russian oblast on Aug. 6, by Aug. 19, Ukraine said it controlled 92 settlements in the region. As the Ukrainian army operation unfolded in Kursk, Lukashenko said on Aug. 10 that Belarusian forces had downed several aerial targets from Ukraine the previous night and called the incident a Ukrainian provocation. However, Belarusian Hajun, an open-source intelligence project, described Lukashenkos statement as nonsense. The Belarusian military also reported deploying additional air defense troops and aircraft to its border with Ukraine. Read also: Belarus sends more troops, aircraft to border with Ukraine Lukashenko pardons 30 political prisoners, another 1,400 still behind bars Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has signed pardons for 30 prisoners convicted of protest offenses, his press office reported on Aug. 16. The report states, without providing the names of the prisoners, that 14 women and 16 men had been pardoned. The list reportedly includes some elderly people and individuals with serious diseases. According to the press office, all of the released individuals pleaded guilty and repented in exchange for their pardons. Belarusian democratic opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhankouskaya welcomed the freeing of the 30 prisoners, but promised to keep fighting for the release of the 1,400 people that the Lukashenko regime has jailed on politically motivated grounds. The Viasna Human Rights Center confirmed on Aug. 20 the release of seven of the political prisoners, but did not name them for security reasons. State-owned Belarusian TV broadcaster aired interviews with five of the released prisoners. One of them, Kseniya Lutskina, a former journalist of the broadcaster who joined the protests against the rigged Belarusian presidential election in 2020, resigned, and joined the opposition, was sentenced to eight years for allegedly plotting to seize power. She was included in the oppositions humanitarian list due to having a brain tumor. Two of the other released prisoners have been named as Iryna Sankouskaya, sentenced to one-and-a-half years for insulting Lukashenko, and Volha Novikava, convicted of participating in the protests against the rigged presidential election and branded an extremist by the Lukashenko regime. Without naming them, Belarusian state television footage also showed two more of the released prisoners, who had been charged with insulting the dictator Lukashenko. They were Ala Zuyeva, who had been sentenced to two-and-a-half years, and Volha Stabrouskaya, whose sentence was just over a year. Early in July, the Viasna Human Rights Center reported the release of 18 political prisoners, including Ryhor Kastusiou, the leader of the pro-democracy Belarusian Popular Front party, and Darya Losik, the wife of blogger and RFE/RL correspondent Ihar Losik, also in prison. Following the prisoner releases, human rights advocates and Belarusian media independently recorded cases of political prisoners in Belarusian penal colonies being coerced into writing pleas for pardons. Human rights activists from one Viasna regional branch said on Aug. 13 that they had received information about 12 more prisoners being released in early August, but also said they needed further confirmation. It remains unclear whether the count of 30 prisoners provided by Lukashenkos press office referred to the combined number of those released in July with the latest releases. Strategically, the situation with political prisoners in Belarus remains unchanged, Andrei Stryzhak, the head of the Bysol charity, which assists Belarusian political prisoners and their families, wrote on X in response to the news. Stryzhak said more people were still being imprisoned on political grounds than released every month. Read also: Lukashenkos derisive remarks on Armenia spark protests, condemnation Lithuania begins construction of military base for 4,000 German troops next to its border with Belarus, holds joint drills Lithuania on Aug. 19 launched the construction of a military base next to its border with Belarus that is to house up to 4,000 combat-ready German troops. The new base, which has an estimated cost of over 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion), will cover 170 hectares near Rudninkai, a town near Vilnius, 20 kilometers from the border with Belarus, Russias closest ally. Lithuania also has a 227-kilometer (141-mile) border with Russia, on the northern and eastern sides of the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which is approximately 180 kilometers from the new base. The base will house 4,000 troops most of the contingent of German forces in Lithuania. A thousand other German troops will be stationed elsewhere in Lithuania. Lithuanias Army Chief General Raimundas Vaiksnoras described the base as one of the biggest projects in the history of modern Lithuania, and said that the basing of the German troops close to the border would serve as a major deterrence factor. On Aug. 19, the Lithuanian Army announced that the 21st Bundeswehr High Vigilance Brigade had transferred 650 units of equipment to Lithuania for the Grand Eagle-2/24 military drills, which will practice the rapid transfer of German military units to Lithuania to protect NATOs eastern flank. The drills are scheduled to start on Sept. 8. Germany committed to permanently deploying 5,000 troops to Lithuania on Dec. 18, 2023, in a historic agreement with Vilnius that envisaged the first permanent deployment of German troops abroad since the end of World War II. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius likened the decision to the deployment of allied forces in West Germany during the Cold War with the aim of defending Western Europe against a potential Soviet attack. In an interview with Russian state-owned TV channel Rossiya, Lukashenko continued his hostile rhetoric against neighboring EU member states. When asked about NATO troops being stationed close to Belarus western border, Lukashenko said his countrys borders with Lithuania and Poland are protected by Belarusian defensive positions. We (together with Vladimir Putin) have defensive plans in place, and if we need to, well switch them to offensive plans as well, Lukashenko added. Belarus, a staunch ally of the Kremlin, has not committed its troops to the battlefield but provided Russia with extensive support for its war against Ukraine: Russian troops used Belarusian territory as a jumping-off point for their attempted assault on Kyiv in February 2022. Belarus has also provided Russia with weapons and aids Russia in circumventing Western sanctions. Ukraines parliament approves bill simplifying legalization of foreign volunteer fighters in Ukraine A bill simplifying the process for granting residence permits and Ukrainian citizenship to foreign volunteer fighters defending Ukraines territorial integrity has passed its second reading in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraines parliament, European Solidarity Party MP Iryna Herashchenko reported on Aug. 20. The bill, passed with 315 votes in favor out of 423 sitting MPs, allows foreign and stateless volunteers within the ranks of the Ukrainian army to acquire residence permits or citizenship even if their documents have expired. Their family members would also be entitled to temporary residence permits. The clause allowing fighters with expired passports to apply is especially significant for Belarusians. In November 2023, Lukashenko banned Belarusian embassies from issuing new passports abroad. Belarusian and Russian citizens receiving Ukrainian citizenship for defending Ukraine against Russian aggression will be required to renounce their foreign citizenship within a year after the lifting of martial law. New Ukrainian citizens will be allowed to take citizenship exams within two years of martial law being lifted. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky introduced the bill to simplify the legalization procedures on July 16. Hundreds of Belarusians have joined the Ukrainian army since 2014. According to Andrei Kushnerov, the co-founder of the Association of Belarusian Volunteers, approximately 1,300 Belarusians have joined since 2014. Sixty of them have been killed in action. In Belarus, volunteer fighters risk imprisonment, and the regime of Lukashenko harasses their families. Moreover, in Ukraine, they also find themselves in a legal limbo as soon as they are discharged from service. Unable to obtain residence permits under the current legislation, Belarusians have to seek refuge elsewhere. However, EU member states are reluctant to provide asylum to former combatants, according to the Association of Belarusian Volunteers. Switzerland sanctions 27 Belarusians involved in human rights abuses Switzerland has sanctioned 27 individuals involved in the repression of civil society in Belarus and working for Lukashenkos propaganda machine, the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs reported on Aug. 14. The sanctions largely mirror those introduced earlier by the European Union. The list of persons sanctioned includes 13 judges responsible for handing down politically motivated sentences, and five prison chiefs. Also sanctioned are law enforcement officials, including the head of the Main Department for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption (GUBOPiK) Andrei Ananenka, his deputies, and the head of the Department of Public Prosecution, Mikhail Kavaliou. Belarusian propagandists were sanctioned as well. They included state news agency BelTA Director Iryna Akulovich, the editor-in-chief of Belarus Today and former head of the press service of Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko Dzmitry Zhuk, ONT television channel correspondent Aliaksei Kryakvin, and chairman of the Youth Council of the National Assembly Mikita Rachilousky. Western states including the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom on Aug. 9 introduced fresh sanctions against the Lukashenko regime and Belarusian military-related companies. The announcement of the new sanctions coincided with the fourth anniversary of the rigged 2020 Belarusian presidential elections that sparked the ongoing political crisis in the country. Over the past four years, more than 3,000 Belarusians have been designated as political prisoners by human rights activists. Over 1,700 non-profit organizations in the civil sector, and nearly all independent media had to shut down. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Viktor Tumar, Deputy Chief of the Belarusian General Staff, has claimed that if Ukrainian troops were to attack Belarusian territory, as seen in Russia's Kursk Oblast, Belarusian citizens would be armed and would defend themselves. Source: Colonel Viktor Tumar, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of Belarus for Scientific Work, in an interview with local media agencies, as reported by the Nasha Niva news outlet Quote: "People would be given the opportunity to defend their homes with weapons. And sabotage and reconnaissance groups would no longer be able to move freely, and the Ukrainians would not be able to shoot civilian cars for no reason." Details: According to Tumar, this is the idea of the Belarusian military command: "the defence is the people". Support UP or become our patron! A parent stood up for the First Amendment after a Bible distribution at an elementary school, writes our columnist. (Eric Thomas for Kansas Reflector) Today, I offer a story for you to read to your children and grandchildren: Once upon a time, there was a small town. And in that small town, there was a small school. And in that small school, there was a single person. And, while that single person might not know it, they made a big difference. We know the name of this small town. Its Belleville, a small town in Kansas. But its barely in Kansas. If you drove 15 minutes north from Belleville, you wouldnt be in Kansas at all. You would be in an even smaller town, named Chester, Nebraska. We know the name of the small school. Its East Elementary, a school that is probably just like the school where you attend classes. The school has slides on its playground, tornado drills during the school day and drivers for its school buses. What we dont know is this: the name of one brave parent. Even though we dont know this parents name, we do know their story. Last school year, the principal of East Elementary invited a person to the school to visit with students and hand out Bibles. The principal visited classrooms, telling students that the visitor was a nice man who would be handing out Bibles. In case you dont know, the Bible is the sacred story of the Christian religion. Some people in East Elementary and Belleville and Kansas and all over the world believe deeply in the message of the Bible. In fact, some people believe so strongly in it that they hand out Bibles in unusual places. Maybe you have been to a hotel with your parents and found the drawers empty, except for a Bible in the bedside table. Or, maybe you were in the waiting room for the doctor and saw a Bible sitting on a table. Or maybe you were on the street and someone walked up to you with a Bible. Many of those Bibles are from the same group that was handing out Bibles at East Elementary School on this day in May. During recess on that day, many students received Bibles. The principal also stayed near the man who was handing out Bibles. The adults working at the school must have also been OK with it. No one stepped in to stop it. So, a nice man who believes deeply in the Bible handed the book to kids, fifth graders and younger. To many people, having this man and his Bibles in school is confusing. Why are some people uncomfortable with Bibles in school? They are thinking about our American freedoms. Short history lesson: Many of these freedoms come from the words in the Constitution. If you ask me, the most important ones of all come from one specific part called the First Amendment. This part of the Constitution gives us the freedom to say how we feel. The freedom to tell stories like this one. The freedom to choose our own friends. The freedom to protest. Those Bibles in school make people think about another First Amendment right. The freedom to choose our religion or no religion at all. Our countrys laws say students, while they are at school, must be free from pressure to be religious. People who work for the government, like the principal, must avoid using schools as a place to pressure those students about religion. Also, very young students, like the elementary school in Belleville, must be even more distant from religious pressure. Lets get back to that nameless parent. What was the small thing that the parent did? And why was it such a big deal? What that parent did was simple and enormous at the same time. They spoke up. The parent was at East Elementary and saw the Bibles being handed out that day. Because they understood all of those American freedoms, they reported the mistake to a famous group of lawyers, and that group of lawyers made sure people all around Kansas heard about the mistake. The school district completed an investigation. Kansas Reflector reporter Anna Kaminski and others wrote stories that thousands of people will read. That single voice made a big difference. Through this situation, thousands of people will get a reminder about what is OK and not OK. Many people will have talks about what is legal and illegal. And many adults will get a reminder about what they can and cannot do. A big difference indeed. When one group of adults isnt looking out for your American rights, another group might be close by, poised to protect you. After all, sometimes adults make mistakes. And sometimes the only person watching is another adult. We, as adults, should be there with our brave voices. After all, we constantly tell you to listen to adults. And trust adults. And obey adults. We find lots of ways to say it. We say, Respect your elders, or, Listen to your teachers, or, You need to learn to obey. Should we expect 10-year-old children to know and protect their First Amendment rights? Nope, that is a job for adults like this heroic parent. (Or perhaps the teachers should have stepped in.) Sure, in some situations, students especially students in high school and college speak up on their own. They see mistakes that adults make in schools and they speak up. Maybe someday, you will be the strong voice when you see an adult do something wrong in your school. I love stories starring students with brave voices. I think they are so great that I have a whole list of them. A student who heard about kids being beaten up and wrote a story about it. A group of students who spoke up about the lies told by their newly hired principal. A student who found the embarrassing truth of the person her school was named for. A student who sued her school for not allowing her to cover an important story. These students acted as boldly as adults when they spoke up. Some people might say its OK to speak up when you see something wrong. Me? I say its heroic to speak up. A brave voice makes a big difference. All of this, because one parent spoke up. Note: Gideons International did not respond to a request for comment. Eric Thomas teaches visual journalism and photojournalism at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Kansas in Lawrence. 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. (The Hill) The Biden administration next month will relaunch a program for every American to order free COVID-19 tests through the mail, officials said. Administration officials said during a briefing Friday that households will be able to order four free tests through the Covidtests.gov website once it launches again in late September. The tests will be mailed directly to peoples homes. These tests will help families and their loved ones stay safe this fall and winter season, said Dawn OConnell, the assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). RFK Jr. suspends campaign OConnell said this is the seventh time over the past three years the administration has made free tests available for all Americans. The announcement comes the day after the administration approved updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, as the U.S. deals with a summer surge of infections tied to different variants. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends everyone 6 months and older get an updated COVID-19 vaccine and the updated flu vaccine. In addition to free tests, OConnell said the antiviral Paxlovid will be available for free for people on Medicare and Medicaid, and for those who are uninsured, through the end of 2024. From 2025-28, manufacturer Pfizer will continue to run a patient assistance program for individuals who are uninsured or underinsured with HHS-procured Paxlovid. In parallel, Pfizer will operate a copay assistance program for individuals with commercial insurance through 2028. Merck will also run a patient assistance program for its anti-viral drug Lagevrio for the uninsured. Both drugs are used to treat COVID-19 infections in people at risk of severe infection and hospitalization. The virus typically spreads at higher levels in the winter, but this summer has seen a spike in infections much larger than in recent years. Still, CDC Director Mandy Cohen told reporters the increased viral activity is not translating into similar increases in emergency visits and hospitalizations or deaths, due to peoples immunity from prior vaccinations, infections or both. So while the COVID virus continues to mutate and change and change faster than the flu virus, our underlying immunity from prior vaccines and prior infections provides some protection, Cohen said. But we know that protection decreases over time, and certain groups continue to be at higher risk from COVID and other viruses, and we need to continue to protect ourselves and our loved ones. Trump dismisses Harriss poll gains, cites own popularity Cohen said the severity of COVID-19 is looking similar to flu, but COVID-19 is still more dangerous. Officials said they are recommending annual COVID-19 shots to align with flu shots because they want to make sure people are getting vaccinated. If you have someone in the office, and you can get them to get a COVID-19 vaccine while theyre getting their flu vaccine, and we get that immunity into them, that is probably better, even than what we have now, which is people who havent had a COVID-19 vaccine for one or two years, said Peter Marks, director of the Food and Drug Administrations Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. Even though COVID is not the flu, being able to get that shot in the arm is what we really need to have happen, Marks 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. Biden announces new US aid package in conversation with Zelenskyy US President Joe Biden called Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to offer his greetings on the occasion of Ukraine's Independence Day (24 August), announce the allocation of a new military aid package, and reaffirm his steadfast support for the Ukrainian people. Source: White House, as reported by European Pravda Details: Biden expressed the unwavering support of the people of Ukraine from America during the conversation with Zelenskyy, and reiterated his belief that Ukraine will remain a "free, sovereign and independent country". He also stated that by the end of the day, the United States will announce a new package of military support to Ukraine. "The package includes air defence missiles to protect Ukraines critical infrastructure; counter-drone equipment and anti-armor missiles to defend against Russias evolving tactics on the battlefield; and ammunition for frontline soldiers and the mobile rocket systems that protect them," Biden listed. The American president also mentioned the sanctions imposed against almost 400 legal entities and individuals that contribute to Russia's illegal war. Previously, AP reported that the new package of US military assistance will contain equipment worth up to US$125 million, which will be delivered from the warehouses of the US Armed Forces. Updated: Zelenskyy has also commented on the conversation with Biden, during which he thanked him for the warm greetings and the unwavering American support. Quote: "I also thanked the United States for approving another round of sanctions today, this time targeting Russia's fuel and energy sectors, metallurgy, finance, and military-industrial complex. I emphasised the need for a continued sanctions pressure on Russia." Details: Zelenskyy also mentioned the allocation of a new Us defence support package. According to him, Ukraine urgently requires the delivery of weaponry from the promised packages, particularly additional air defence systems, to ensure the safety of Ukrainian towns, villages, and critical infrastructure. Background: The last package of military assistance worth US$200 million was announced at the end of July. Support UP or become our patron! The homeowner said the man with the chainsaw is a volunteer who just showed up to help after the windstorm in Missoula blew down trees and power lines. (Keila Szpaller/The Daily Montanan) President Joe Biden on Friday approved Montana Gov. Greg Gianfortes request for a major disaster declaration that followed the straight-line wind event on July 24 that caused damage across Missoula and left many without power for several days. The presidents major disaster declaration for Missoula and Powell counties allows the state, tribes, local government and some nonprofits to access federal cost-share Public Assistance funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to repair or replace buildings damaged in the storm that evening. The feds would foot 75% of the cleanup and repair costs for damaged buildings, trees and infrastructure, while the local governments would cover the remaining 25%. We will continue to come alongside our communities as they respond and recover from the major windstorm, Gianforte said in a statement. Thunderstorms and near-hurricane-force winds blew through the two counties, causing damage and downed trees and power lines across the city of Missoula and both counties. Gusts of 81 miles per hour were measured at the Missoula Airport and a gust of 109 miles per hour was measured atop Mount Sentinel. More than 70,000 people were without power in the immediate aftermath. Emergency crews spent most of the next day urging Missoulians not to drive around town because trees and power lines were down across the city, and they spent several more days cleaning up. Downed power lines across the Clark Fork and Blackfoot rivers closed portions of both. Some residents were without power for a week. Gianforte declared a disaster on July 26 allowing Montana to use General Fund money to help the cleanup and recovery, then visited Missoula on Aug. 1 for a briefing at the Emergency Operations Center. The incredible amount of support and people coming together in order to be at a point where we are is really exceptional from the professionals to the community members who have stepped up in amazing ways, Missoula Mayor Andrea Davis said at the time. Adriane Beck, the director of the Missoula County Office of Emergency Management, said in an interview Friday afternoon that FEMA officials came to Missoula to meet with city and county officials and to verify damage assessments ahead of a disaster request that would be forthcoming from the governor. Gianforte on Aug. 14, within 24 hours of that meeting in Missoula, wrote to Biden asking him to declare a major disaster for the two counties in the wake of the storm, telling the president that the initial damage assessment totaled $3.7 million in estimated damages. Beck said Friday that estimate remains accurate but could grow. The damages this event incurred to trees and electrical systems are extensive, putting a financial burden on the communities and electrical co-ops, Gianforte wrote at the time. We fully expect this damage estimate to increase as the recovery process moves forward due to unquantified damages incurred to the University of Montanas research facilities and fluctuations in debris estimates as drop off piles continue to grow daily. Beck said Friday that typically those requests are not processed for at least 30 days, so she said the quick turnaround was a welcome timeline. A month after the storm, Beck said the cleanup efforts were moving well overall, but officials want to be methodical in assessing all of the damage, including some trees that could still fall because they were damaged in the storm. Debris-wise, the city and county are largely done clearing rights-of-way and sidewalks and has it at staging areas that contractors will start processing in the next week or two, Beck said. Were grateful to have the federal assistance so that the cost of this recovery and the cost of dealing with the aftermath of this storm is not borne solely by Missoula city and county residents, and we do have that federal assistance, she said. This is the second major disaster declaration Biden has agreed to for Montana this year. The first was granted mid-July for 10 counties and two reservations in central Montana affected by a winter storm and flooding in early May. SUMMARY 4813-DR TEHRAN, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Iran's new Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi on Thursday exchanged views on bilateral ties with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell during two separate phone calls. In a phone call with his German counterpart, Araghchi highlighted the necessity to continue bilateral political consultations and the role of mutual respect and concentration on the common interests in maintaining and strengthening relations between Tehran and Berlin in different areas. In talks with the EU foreign policy chief, Araghchi pointed to the "diverse and numerous" areas for interaction between Iran and the bloc and mutual respect on which the growth of bilateral ties is based. By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday and announced a new military aid package ahead of Ukraine's Independence Day on Saturday, their offices said. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who also spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov on Friday, said on social media the package was worth $125 million. In the call with Zelenskiy, Biden reaffirmed Washington's support, which the White House called "unwavering", for Ukraine in its war with Russia. The aid package includes air-defense missiles, counter-drone equipment, anti-armor missiles and ammunition, the White House said in its statement. The calls came ahead of Ukraine's independence day. "Ukraine critically needs the supply of weapons from the announced packages, particularly additional air defence systems for the reliable protection of cities, communities, and critical infrastructure," Zelenskiy said in a statement after call released by his office. After seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022. The United States has since provided military assistance and aid to Ukraine while also imposing sanctions on Moscow over the invasion. Washington has provided Ukraine with more than $50 billion worth of military aid since 2022. The war escalated on Aug. 6 when Ukraine sent thousands of soldiers over the border into Russia's western Kursk region. Kyiv has since announced a string of battlefield successes, but Russian forces continue to steadily inch forward in eastern Ukraine. Separately on Friday, the United States imposed sanctions on more than 400 entities and individuals for supporting Russia's war effort in Ukraine, including Chinese companies that U.S. officials believe are helping Moscow skirt Western sanctions and build up its military. (Reporting by Steve Holland in Buellton, California, and Kanishka Singh and Eric Beech in Washington; Editing by Rod Nickel, Sandra Maler and Cynthia Osterman) Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump listens as Montana GOP Senate candidate Tim Sheehy speaks at a campaign rally in Bozeman, Montana, earlier this month. via Associated Press Montana GOP Senate hopeful Tim Sheehy has spent the last several months defending himself against accusations that he poses a threat to Americas federal public lands a mess that the multimillionaire businessman and former Navy SEAL created when, shortly after launching his campaign, he explicitly called for federal lands to be turned over to state agencies, or even counties. Around 640 million acres, or 28% of all land in the nation, are managed by the federal government and owned collectively by all U.S. citizens. Republicans across Western states, where the vast majority of federal lands are located, have long sought to wrest control of them from the federal government a move that conservationists and public land experts warn would ultimately lead to them being sold and privatized. If that happens, that really means were going to lose those federal lands, said Chris Marchion, a Montana public lands advocate and inductee in the Montana Outdoor Hall of Fame. The state of Montana does not have the resources to manage those lands, and the first thing theyre going to do is sell it. Democratic and conservation-focused political action committees have aired numerous public land-focused attack ads against Sheehy, most of which cite HuffPosts reporting that first revealed Sheehys comments in support of transferring land and his failure to disclose his position on the board of a nonprofit with a history of advocating for privatizing Americas federal lands. Sheehy meanwhile has accused his opponent, incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, of politicizing public lands and lying about Sheehys agenda for Americas natural heritage. Sometime last month, Sheehy even added a section to his campaign website titled Public Lands, in which he declared his belief that public lands belong in public hands and vowed to oppose any federal transfer or sale of our public lands. The new section sits at the very top of his issues page. In Sheehys first public lands TV ad, released in early August, Stryker Anderson, an avid Montana hunter and hunting guide, says hes sick and tired of Jon Tester lying about Tim Sheehy. Heres the truth: Tim Sheehy knows public lands are important to our way of life, Anderson tells viewers. Thats why Sheehy opposes the sale or transfer of our public lands. Montana hunters are speaking the TRUTH. As Senator, Ill make sure public lands stay in public hands. pic.twitter.com/Xu2sHQkjXg Tim Sheehy (@SheehyforMT) August 1, 2024 But when reached via email this week, Anderson one of two key people Sheehy turned to in hopes of restoring his image as a champion of public lands effectively poured gasoline on the fire that Sheehy and his team have been trying to put out. Anderson plainly stated that he wants to see federal lands transferred to states, a view he understood Sheehy to share but later said the two did not discuss in detail. He condemned the federal government as a poor steward of the federal estate and said Sheehys past comment in favor of states taking control of federal lands shows his understanding of proper management. The goal would be to turn them over to the states, Anderson told HuffPost. The state of Montana understands our public lands better than the federal government. Just like we dont understand California, Wyoming, Washington, Arizona, etc. Let the people in their own state decide what is best for them. Our public lands suck almost everywhere because they have no management. Turning over ownership to the states will allow for much better management. Aaron Weiss, deputy director at the Colorado-based conservation group Center for Western Priorities, called Andersons comments to HuffPost old Sagebrush Rebellion nonsense, referring to the movement of the 1970s and 80s that sought to wrest control of shared public lands from the federal government. States cant afford to fight wildfires or clean up abandoned mines, Weiss said. The inevitable result is privatization. Asked how turning over ownership to the states is any different than a full-fledged public land transfer, Anderson said the TV advertisements anti-sale and transfer message was specific to the sale or transfer to private ownership, not state ownership. You are correct that turning it over would be a transfer, he said. But who it is transferred to is what is important. Again, Sheehys updated website states that he opposes any federal transfer or sale of our public lands. Andersons unfiltered endorsement of pawning off federal lands to states a position he clearly expected Sheehy to advance in Congress threatens to effectively upend nearly a year of damage control within Sheehys camp. When reached on Thursday, Sheehys campaign dissociated itself from its own public lands surrogate. Campaign spokesperson Katie Martin said Sheehy does not share Andersons support for transferring federal lands to states, but did not respond when asked why Sheehy chose to feature someone he does not see eye-to-eye with particularly on the very subject of the advertisement. Your answer shopping wont change Tims position on this issue, which is crystal clear and has been stated to you repeatedly, Martin said in an email. Tim opposes any federal transfer or sale or turning over of our public lands. Montana Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy speaks during a rally for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse at Montana State University on Aug. 9 in Bozeman, Montana. Michael Ciaglo via Getty Images While that may be Sheehys purported position now, he sang a very different tune shortly after launching his campaign. As HuffPost first reported in October, Sheehy told the Working Ranch Radio Show that local control has to be returned, whether that means, you know, some of these public lands get turned over to state agencies, or even counties, or whether those decisions are made by a local landlord instead of by, you know, federal fiat a few thousand miles away. Contacted about his comments at the time, Sheehys campaign tried to walk a splintering tightrope, telling HuffPost that calling for better management and more local control is not the same as transferring them. Pressed about the conflicting and misleading messaging, Anderson said it is hard to explain someones stance on a 30-second ad or even on someones website, adding that public lands are a complex issue that takes time to discuss the entire scope. As for the language Sheehy recently added to his website, Anderson said he might be saying that because he knows reporters will twist it and make it sound like he is transferring or selling off public lands to private entities. If only we had honest journalism where the reporters cared about truth and the betterment of our lands, wildlife, environment and people, he said. The truth is that Sheehy said what he said early in his campaign, flipped his script and spent months working to repair his image, only to then dispatch someone who supports a state takeover of federal lands in hopes of convincing voters that federal lands would be safe in Sheehys hands if they elect him to the Senate. In an email to HuffPost after publication, Anderson said he and Sheehy never discussed the nuances of each others position on land transfer. Tim and I dont have to agree on everything but we do agree on way more than we disagree on, he said. And I disagree with Tester on way more than I agree with him. People are worried that if the lands were transferred to the states, they would be sold to private individuals or entities. Montanans including myself would never agree to that. A second surrogate HuffPost also first reported that Sheehy failed to include his post on the board of the nonprofit Property and Environment Research Center, or PERC, in his Senate financial disclosure a violation of Senate rules that further complicated his already muddled messaging on public lands. Sheehys campaign called it an oversight and later amended his financial disclosure. For his second public lands ad, released last week, Sheehy tapped K.C. Walsh, with whom he served on PERCs board for about a year before launching his campaign for Senate. Walsh is the longtime former president and executive chairman of Simms Fishing Products, the Bozeman, Montana-based manufacturer of high-end fishing gear. In the ad, Walsh introduces himself as a longtime advocate for conservation and public lands in Montana. I voted for Jon Tester twice, but this time Im supporting Tim Sheehy, Walsh says. As an aerial firefighter, Tim Sheehys been on the front lines, fighting wildfires to protect our forests in rural communities. Tim knows public lands belong in public hands, and I trust Tim Sheehy to protect and preserve access to Montanas public lands. Proud to be entrusted by Montanans like K.C. to complete our mission: Keep public lands in public hands and protect and preserve access to Montanas public lands! pic.twitter.com/Z6Fnpm8JFo Tim Sheehy (@SheehyforMT) August 20, 2024 Founded in 1980 and based in Bozeman, PERC advocates for free market environmentalism the idea that private property rights and market incentives achieve better environmental and conservation outcomes than government regulation. Over its history, PERC has called for privatizing federal lands, including national parks, and increasing fees for visiting parks and other federal lands. It has also been a staunch opponent of Montanas unique stream access laws, which provide anglers and recreationists virtually unlimited access to the states rivers and streams, including those that flow through private property. Montana has led the way in the erosions of private property rights via such laws, PERCs Reed Watson wrote in 2009. Bradley Jones, a Helena, Montana-based conservation advocate, told HuffPost it is disingenuous of both Mr. Sheehy and Mr. Walsh to crow about Sheehys support for public lands when both of them come from PERC. This is an organization that has made attacking public ownership of federal lands and support for the giveaway of public waters to the wealthy and landowners blessed enough to own prime real estate a cornerstone of their gospel; though they try to disguise it as academic musings on the economy, he said. By association with this group, Sheehy seems to be endorsing PERCs ideology. Selling Montanans publicly owned lands and stream access, which are the only riches most Montanans will inherit, is an extremely unpopular idea here. Along with serving on PERCs board since 2020, Walsh is on the board of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and is a past board member of Trout Unlimited. In 2021, Montana GOP Gov. Greg Gianforte, who supports transferring control of federal lands to states and famously sued the state of Montana in 2009 to block river access on his property near Bozeman, appointed Walsh to serve on Montanas Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission a state regulatory advisory committee that Gianforte stacked with rich industry executives. Walsh did not respond to HuffPosts requests for comment. PERC has distanced itself from some of its own history, previously telling HuffPost that its past support for privatizing federal lands is not representative of PERCs current thinking and that it firmly believes that public lands should stay in public hands. Still, Sheehys time at the think tank has become fodder for his political opponents. In a TV ad earlier this month, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee argued that pay-to-play hunting and fishing access is Montanas future if Sheehy has his way. He was on the board of an outfit that wanted to privatize public lands, even our national parks, sold off to the highest bidder, the ad states. Sheehys loaded, hell take that deal. What about you? AD ALERT: Tim Sheehy is a threat to Montanas public lands and Montanans way of life. In fact, he only allows hunting access on his property to those who can dole out thousands of dollars to him. Watch our new ad against Tim Sheehy: pic.twitter.com/0dkoZU9N3F Senate Democrats (@dscc) August 8, 2024 A familiar quagmire As in previous Montana elections, public lands have emerged as a key issue in this years contested Senate race in no small part because Sheehy stepped on the same third rail as Republicans before him. Take outgoing Montana congressman and unsuccessful Senate candidate Matt Rosendale. While running for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2014, Rosendale called for a state takeover of all Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands within Montanas borders. By the time Rosendale took aim at Testers seat in 2018, Montana voters had forced him to turn tail. During a candidate debate that year, Rosendale acknowledged that there was a time when I thought they could be better managed by the state, but said he talked to people all over the state, and theyve made it exceedingly clear that they do not want those lands transferred. And I not only understand that, I agree with that. Nevertheless, Sheehy waded into the same political quagmire. And in recent months, Montana voters have been bombarded with ads that paint Sheehy as a rich outsider who threatens Montanas prized federal lands and the Montana way of life. A native of Minnesota, Sheehy moved to Montana in 2014 after retiring from the Navy and founded Bridger Aerospace, a Bozeman-based aerial firefighting company. As Sheehy works to walk back, or camouflage, his anti-federal land views, the Montana Republican Party a party hes seeking a leadership role in is unabashedly clear. The Montana GOP party platform, adopted in June, calls for the granting of federally managed public lands to the state, and development of a transition plan for the timely and orderly transfer. Its a position that poll after poll after poll shows a majority of residents in Montana and other states in the Mountain West oppose, as Sheehy is now learning the hard way. As he campaigns for a fourth term in the Senate, Tester has touted his record of working to safeguard and expand protections for federal lands while casting Sheehy as part of the wealthy class that is buying up big ranches and locking the public out of surrounding public lands. Despite his best efforts to hide his position, transplant Tim Sheehy cant run away from the fact that he publicly called to transfer Montanas public lands, which would make it much easier for that land to be sold to out-of-state multimillionaires like him, said Hannah Rehm, senior communications adviser for the Montana Democratic Party. My opponent wants to end protections for public lands. Well, heres my message to him: pic.twitter.com/vBlKKA3Wuy Jon Tester (@jontester) June 7, 2024 Sheehys troubles in the public lands arena dont end with his ties to PERC and his pro-transfer comments. His cattle ranch, the Little Belt Cattle Company, has offered the sort of pay-to-play hunting that Tester says is turning Montana into a playground for the rich. As NBC News reported, Sheehys ranch contracted with a private outfitter which one is unclear to sell paid hunting excursions and touted itself as a premier destination for hunters with private access to over 500,000 acres of National Forest. In 2022, the ranch offered a five-day, five-person archery hunt costing $12,500, which the Montana Free Press at the time identified as the most spendy package currently available in Montana. Anderson, the outfitter featured in Sheehys ad, did not respond to HuffPosts question about whether hes ever guided hunts on Sheehys property but told HuffPost that Sheehy allows hunters to come on his place where the previous owners did not. Sheehys view of the federal estate aligns with many Republicans in red Western states where the federal government controls large swaths of land: simply, that federal agencies are crappy landlords and local residents know best. When you get asked by your fellow hunters and fly fishermen, Oh, I hear Tims gonna sell public lands?, you tell them, Hey, thats bullshit. Hes not selling any public lands, but what he is saying is us, as the Montanans who live here, when I share a fence line with a [Bureau of Land Management] lease, I should have more say over what happens on the other side of that fence than some guy in New York City who comes and visits to fly fish for a week, Sheehy said at a meet-and-greet with voters in Twin Bridges, Montana, last month. When I have a Forest Service road that goes through my property, and I use that, and I have a lease on that Forest Service, I should have more say of what happens there than some, you know, environmental student in Seattle. Its a way of thinking that casts aside the fact that federal public lands are held in trust for all Americans, not just those most adjacent to them or who have enough money to buy thousands of acres next door. Every American, whether they live 1,000 feet or 1,000 miles from a swath of federal land, has an equal stake. At the end of the day, Marchion says, Republicans like Sheehy dont want to tell you exactly what they want to do when it comes to public lands. What Sheehy is telling voters now, that he will protect and preserve federal public lands, is devious and deceptive, he said. Hes learned that when hes attacked for a vulnerability, then he just changes, Marchion said. He makes a statement, like, Im for public lands! Bullshit he is. To say Im for public lands, its easy to say that, he added. How do you prove it? This story has been updated with additional comments from Stryker Anderson. Related... Big night for her: All 78 Oregon delegates unanimously nominate Kamala Harris for president at DNC in Chicago PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) The Oregon delegation is unanimously backing Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee even as she is clarifying her policy platform for the first time in concrete terms. Harris has officially accepted the partys nominee for president during the Democratic National Convention on Thursday, making history as the first Black woman and first person of Indian descent to do so. Harris is President Joe Bidens current VP and part of her momentum comes from his endorsement of her as the presidential nominee after he dropped out of the race earlier this summer. All 78 delegates from Oregon cast their votes for Harris at the convention. Portland woman says Tinder match scammed her Critics have slammed the Harris campaign for not explaining her policy agenda in great detail before the convention. On Thursday, she explained how she plans to tackle big issues like abortion rights, the southern border and the economy. The Oregon delegation is spotlighted during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. August 22, 2024 (KOIN). U.S. Senator Ron Wyden for Oregon who has been in the senate since 1996 said the night was all about energizing her supporters and presenting her vision. Tonight is part of the introduction of the vice president to the country, saying, I know you dont know all the details about what Im gonna do but let me tell you some of them,' Wyden said. Wyden praised the partys focus on tax breaks for families. He is hopeful that Harris keynote will boost the tickets appeal. 1 dead, 1 seriously injured in 4-car crash on I-5 Its a sentiment shared by Oregon State Representative Travis Nelson (Portland), another Oregon delegate in Chicago. The energy is electric, Nelson said. Nelson spoke with KOIN 6 News just as U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren for Massachusettes took the stage. But Nelsons focus isnt just on the national stage. He and other Democratic leaders from Oregon said theyre committed to tackling problems at home, like homelessness, crime and drug use. Were definitely talking about the issues, Nelson said. I personally told the legislature were making progress in our state and in our city. Sick of summer? PNW fall weather predictions released Wyden said Harris in the White House could help ease some of the most pressing issues Oregonians are currently facing. This is a big, big night for her, Wyden said. Among the Oregon delegates is the youngest one, 18-year-old Portland resident Jeffrey Teh. He told KOIN 6 News he hopes to inspire other young people to get involved in politics as Chicago serves as a pit stop for him in the transition from high school to 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 KOIN.com. Blame Game The builder of the sunken superyacht owned by British billionaire Mike Lynch, who died with six others after the vessel went down earlier this week, is blaming an "endless chain of errors" for the maritime disaster. Flying under a British flag, the 184 foot Bayesian was built in 2008 by Italian builders Perini Navi and should've been "unsinkable" had proper procedures been followed, argues Giovanni Costantino, CEO of the Italian Sea Group, which owns the yacht manufacturer. "Everything that has been done reveals a very long sum of errors," Costantino told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera in an interview, as translated by People. "The people should not have been in the cabins, the boat should not have been at anchor. And then why didn't the crew know about the incoming disturbance?" Red Sky at Morning An investigation into the sinking is ongoing. It's believed that a small waterspout, or a waterborne tornado, struck the vessel as it was anchored off the coast of Porticello, Sicily, around 5 am local time on Monday, according to CNN. At some point after encountering the fierce winds, the ship's towering mast the second tallest aluminum mast in the world snapped, before the vessel appears to have capsized and sank with 22 people on board. Costantino argues pretty bluntly, we have to say that the crew and passengers should've anticipated the stormy conditions. "The passengers reported an absurd thing, namely that the storm came unexpected, suddenly," he said in the interview, per People. "It's not true. Everything was predictable. I have the weather charts in front of me here. Nothing came suddenly." "Ask yourself, why was no fisherman from Porticello out that night?" he added. "A fisherman reads the weather conditions and a ship doesn't? The disturbance was fully readable in all the weather charts." Batten Down Their errors didn't end there, according to Costantino, who said in the interview that there would've been "zero risk" had the right maneuvers been made. The captain and crew, he further explained to the New York Times, should've turned on the engine, lifted anchor, steered the boat into the wind, and lowered the keel for extra stability, while the passengers should've been gathered in the deck's main hall. Another precaution would be shutting all the doors and hatches on the ship's side and stern. Costantino claimed that the Bayesian could list, or tilt to one side, to 75 degrees without capsizing, and shouldn't have sunk. But if some of those doors and hatches were left open, he told NYT, the ship could've taken on water too quickly. As it stands, it's unclear how many of these procedures were executed. The ship's captain, James Cutfield, survived the ordeal and was questioned by authorities, but has not spoken to the media. It's worth noting that Costantino's arguments could be seen as trying to exonerate his company of any wrongdoing. That being said, the speed at which a vessel of Bayesian's size and reputation sank has stunned sailors and investigators, who are trying to understand why most of the crew survived while six passengers perished. More on nautical terrors: Orcas Strike Again, Sinking Yacht as Oil Tanker Called for Rescue BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) Birmingham Police Department is holding a press conference at 5 p.m. Friday to discuss a homicide investigation at the Monarch Ridge Apartments. On Tuesday, officers were dispatched after 10:30 p.m. and found Asia Alyce Poole, 21, shot to death in the 2900 block of Gallant Drive. A second victim was also located on the scene and transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Birmingham city leaders alarmed by shooting that left young woman dead Investigators believe the shooting stemmed from a physical altercation between several people, including the victims. No arrests have been made at this time. This story will be updated with a live stream once the press conference begins. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. An adult American black bear. Credit: (U.S. Forest Service) An angler was injured in a black bear attack on the Stillwater River near Beehive on the afternoon of Wednesday, Aug. 21, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said this week. The angler, an adult male, sustained non-life-threatening injuries, FWP said. FWP described the incident in a news release: The angler, an adult male, was fishing alone on the bank of the Stillwater River when he encountered a black bear. The bear swatted the mans face and immediately left. The man sustained non-life-threatening injuries and did not seek medical attention. The bears behavior was likely defensive in the surprise, close encounter, FWP said. Due to the nature of this defensive encounter, there are no efforts to capture the bear at this time. Recreationists, including anglers, should be aware while in bear country, especially in areas with abundant natural foods such as fruit and berries and where hearing may be limited along rivers and streams. Serginio Pique and his friends were ordered out of their car and forced to kneel on the ground A black radio DJ was arrested at gunpoint after inadvertently driving behind a car transporting a Dutch princess. Serginio Pique and his three friends claimed that ethnic profiling was to blame after being stopped by armed police in the Belgian city of Antwerp, ordered out of their car and forced to kneel on the ground. So many things go through your mind. You start to wonder if there was perhaps ethnic profiling involved. That is a feeling that every person of colour experiences when they are wrongfully stopped, he said. He had driven from Amsterdam to Antwerp in a rented car on the exact route taken by a car carrying Princess Amalia, the heir to the throne. Dutch security services became suspicious after Mr Pique appeared to be following the princess, who was reportedly the target of a recent kidnap plot by drug-running cartels, and alerted the Belgian police. Left to right, Queen Maxima, Princess Amalia and King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands - Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images The men, who are all from Amsterdam, received an explanation for their arrest on Aug 2 after being interrogated for an hour at the police station. They were told they had taken the same exits as the crown princess on the route to Antwerp, which had aroused suspicion. The DJs lawyer said that there were only a limited number of routes from Amsterdam to Antwerp and that he had taken the most logical direction suggested by the satellite navigation system. When it became clear the men were innocent, they were released. They said: Go and enjoy Antwerp, you have a good story to tell at Christmas, said Mr Pique, who works for the digital radio station NPO Blend. Serginio Pique (left) works for the digital radio station NPO Blend - Instagram The government information service called Mr Pique to offer an apology on behalf of the Dutch royal family. They made clear it was understood how dramatic and upsetting the arrest had been, Mr Pique told the NOS broadcaster. The apologies have been made, and thats what I wanted, he said, as he ruled out taking legal action. He added that it would be nice if his friends were to receive the same apology after revealing that he would not be asking for further compensation from the royals. It was a situation in which the crown princess was involved, something that we must take seriously. We therefore had well-founded reasons to carry out the check in such a way, a spokesman for the Belgian police said. At the time of the arrest, which was filmed and published on social media, the Dutch service responsible for royal security refused to confirm it was behind the tip-off. We never say anything about security and measures, a spokesman said. Princess Amalia's name was mentioned in intercepted communications between members of Dutch-Moroccan drug cartels - Patrick van Katwijk/Getty Images It was revealed earlier this year that Princess Amalia fled to Spain for her own safety after reports she had become a kidnapping target for criminal gangs. The 20-year-old lived and studied in Madrid for more than a year after being forced to ditch plans to live in student digs in Amsterdam in October 2022. Her name and that of Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister at the time, were mentioned in intercepted communications between members of Dutch-Moroccan drug cartels. Ridouan Taghi, reportedly Europes most powerful drug lord, denied any plot against the princess before he was sentenced to life in prison for five murders in February. Princess Amalia now lives in Amsterdam, where she is continuing her studies. In February, she spoke publicly about the threats for the first time. I miss normal life, the life of a student. Walking the streets, going to a store, she said. 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. CHICAGO: The Root spoke to Black attendees at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to ask which part of Vice President Kamala Harris historic nomination acceptance speech stood out to them the mostand they had a lot to say. Geno Jones, who hails from South Carolina , is a radio host in his late 50s who believed Harris impressed supporters and critics alike. She hit every right note and I love her emotional intelligence. [Harris] talked about national security and policy and when it got to Trump...she looked and sounded like she was in a courtroom prosecuting a case but then she kind of switched back to smiling, [being] empathetic and compassionate. Her speech was a masterpiece. Martine St-victor, who is from Canada and works in communications, was also awed by Harris, but for different reasons. I thought the messaging tonight was clear, direct...to millions of Americans she had to introduce herselfand she was absolutely hard enough on Trump, St-victor, who is in her 40s, told The Root. St-victor also believed that the Vice President had to be critical when talking about dictators and democracy, but still maintained a certain level of perceived softness. However, men rarely have this problem. I dont know if men have to find this balance...they can be tough their entire speech and people will love itwomen dont have that luxury. If they are tough, people will ask Why is she so angry? But I think Harris met that moment, St-victor stated. Younger attendees at the convention also picked up on this same sentiment. Miami native Cristian Rice, 28, echoed that Harris needed to strike the right balance for people who dont look like me and that he understood her coming across as tough as she could [on Trump] considering the national audience she has to appeal to. Margerie Martin, who is from Chicago by way of Alabama, attended all four days of the Democratic National Convention and felt reinvigorated by the Democratic nominee. The 53-year-old told The Root that after hearing Harris speech, Democrats will stomp a mud hole in evil and press our way forward. Martin said Harris took Trump to task but that the former president receives way too much attention from Americans on both sides of the political spectrum. I think she was [hard enough] in her speech on Trump, but I dont want everything to be about Trump. We already got enough of that, Martin explained. We gotta hear that 24/7 and [Harris] did it just enough for me. I dont need to hear anymore bashing of Trumphes stupid enough all by himself. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Glynda Carr, president and CEO of Higher Heights for America, brought together multiple Black women to share their thoughts on Kamala Harris presidential candidacy. Illustration: HuffPost; Photos: Higher Heights, Getty This column is part of HuffPosts She the People series, stories by Black women exploring Kamala Harris historic candidacy. To read more, visit our hub. As the president and CEO of Higher Heights for America, an organization that brings together powerful Black women in politics, Kamala Harris presidential candidacy is not only a historic moment; its the culmination of decades of grassroots work. Its the realization of dreams that stretch back to Shirley Chisholms groundbreaking run in 1972. This moment is about more than symbolism. Its about power, representation and the future of American democracy. As soon as the news became clear that she was likely the Democratic presidential nominee, I wanted to ask the many women in our coalition from Alexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, to Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action how they felt about this momentous occasion. Here are their responses: DeNora Getachew, board chair of Higher Heights for America, emphasized the historical significance: Black women have always been the backbone of our democracy, pushing for the wants and needs of our society and humanity. This moment feels validating as a recognition of our role and impact, and it feels incredibly fraught that we will have to openly carry the weight of democracy on our shoulders. This candidacy doesnt just break the ultimate glass ceiling it redefines what leadership looks like in America. Dr. Khalilah L. Brown-Dean, Wesleyan University Professor, put it powerfully: This is a moment to make real the promises of democracy by advocating for protections of voting rights, reproductive autonomy, economic security and access to education. Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said Harris "brings the experience needed to meet this moment but also breaks barriers" in regard to her presidential candidacy. Errich Petersen via Getty Images This moment is also a testament to the power of representation. Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, emphasized, As the first Black woman and first South Asian American poised to become president, VP Harris not only brings the experience needed to meet this moment but also breaks barriers, inspiring generations to come and reflecting the true diversity of our nation. Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action, added to this sentiment: This is not just about making history with the first Black woman president of the United States. This is about choosing the future we deserve and that future is one where we live free from the threat of gun violence. Our gun violence crisis impacts everyone, but it disproportionately devastates Black and brown communities. Vice President Harris understands this intersection and has been a vocal champion for holistic gun safety solutions throughout her public service career. Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women's Law Center Action Fund, said Harris "is the right person to beat Donald Trump, and she will inspire the next generation of leaders while doing it." Drew Angerer via Getty Images For many, this candidacy resonates on a deeply personal level. Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Womens Law Center Action Fund, shared, When I sat my kids down on Sunday night to give them this news, I was overwhelmed, excited and dare I say hopeful. Kamala Harris is the right person to beat Donald Trump, and she will inspire the next generation of leaders while doing it. Ashanti F. Gholar, president of Emerge, reflected on the personal impact of Harris candidacy: As a young Black girl growing up in Nevada, one who preferred to watch C-SPAN over Sesame Street, I didnt see people who looked like me in politics which is why I am so honored to support Kamala Harris. She fights for people like me people like us. Her presidency wouldnt just mean four more years of fighting for the everyday American. It would mean a lifetime of young Black girls and women knowing that the highest office in the land is within their reach. April Verrett, international president of the Service Employees International Union, said Harris' candidacy "shows that theres nothing out of reach when it comes to fighting for the world that we believe in." Paul Morigi via Getty Images April Verrett, international president of the Service Employees International Union, said she sees Harris run as part of a broader movement: Regardless of how proud I am that VP Harris and I will be the first Black women leaders in our roles, the real flex will be making sure we arent the last. Kamala Harris candidacy shows that theres nothing out of reach when it comes to fighting for the world that we believe in. Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, highlighted Harris commitment to reproductive rights: As a lawyer, an attorney general, a senator, a vice president and as a Black woman, Vice President Harris understands whats ahead of us. She knows what it means for Black women to have less reproductive freedom in a country where we are more vulnerable to everything from maternal mortality to criminalization, and she fights like it. Adrianne Shropshire, executive director of BlackPAC and the affiliated nonpartisan Black Progressive Action Coalition, reflected on the historical context: Over 50 years after the historic candidacy of congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, we are on the precipice of electing our first woman president that shes a Black woman makes this moment even more special. From her advocacy on voting rights and abortion rights to her commitment to supporting other Black women leaders, Vice President Kamala Harris continues to show that her leadership was meant for such a time as this. As we move forward, its crucial to remember that this moment is both a culmination and a beginning. For decades, weve been the determining factor in many races: 16 million of us are eligible to vote, and we turn out at higher rates than most other groups. Now, we have the opportunity to elect one of our own to the highest office in the land. Democratic presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, speaks at a campaign rally at the Fiserv Forum on Aug. 20, 2024, in Milwaukee. On Thursday, she will formally accept her party's presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images But this isnt just about one election. Its about building lasting power and representation for Black women at every level of government. Its about ensuring that our voices are heard, our issues are addressed and our leadership is recognized. To my fellow Black women this is our moment. Lets seize it, not just for ourselves but for generations to come. Our work continues, our voices rise and our power grows. We were built for this. As Shropshire concluded with a powerful message of hope and determination: The energy and excitement demonstrated by the spontaneous mobilization of 44,000 Black women and over 50,000 Black men on Zoom calls is proof positive of the impact of our focus and determination. Investing in Black women is always a sure thing. Despite the enduring presence of misogyny and racism, I am motivated by the promise and possibility of a future where President Kamala Harris presides over a new era of equity and justice. Related... RAPID CITY, S.D. (KELO) Black Hills Power has notified South Dakota government officials that the company intends to build another electricity production facility in Rapid City. The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission plans to discuss the project during a meeting on Tuesday, August 27. South Dakota businesses might face UI fee increase Black Hills Power filed a notice of intent regarding the project on August 2. South Dakota law requires that the state commission within 30 days of receiving notice must designate the area that could be affected and designate a local review committee representing that area. The review committee looks at the potential social and economic effect from the proposed facility. The committee is required to file a final report, including recommendations, for the state commission within seven months. The new plant would be located on property that Black Hills Power owns in northeastern Rapid City along Deadwood Avenue adjacent to the companys existing Lange plant. The new plant, known as Lange 2, would have six combustion engines, fueled by natural gas and diesel, with a capability of generating 100 megawatts, according to the companys notification to the commission. Black Hills Power estimates that the project would cost $250 million to $270 million and plans to formally apply to the state commission for a construction and operation permit on or about February 1, 2025. Based on that timetable, the company estimates that construction would take 12 to 15 months, with a targeted commercial operation date of July 1, 2026. Based on a $250 million project cost, the company estimates that state government would receive $10.5 million from sales and use tax and contractor excise tax, while Rapid City would collect 2% tax on materials and supplies. The company estimates that local governments would receive $1.5 million in additional property tax revenue, based on 2023 levies. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. SYDNEY, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in the Australian state of Queensland have issued an urgent health warning over a rise in whooping cough cases. Queensland Health on Thursday urged all pregnant people to protect themselves and their unborn baby from pertussis - commonly known as whooping cough - by having a free vaccination. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported there have been 21,336 confirmed cases of whooping cough in Australia in 2024 - up from 2,451 in 2023 and the highest number since 2015 when 22,571 cases were recorded across the whole year. Shannon Fentiman, Queensland's minister for health, said there were 7,010 whooping cough cases reported in the state from January 1 to August 11 compared to 104 cases in the same period 2023. Whooping cough is a highly contagious respiratory tract infection that is particularly dangerous for infants and can be deadly in rare cases. "Whooping cases are soaring across the country, posing a serious threat to our youngest and most vulnerable Queenslanders," Fentiman said in a statement. She said immunization between weeks 20 and 32 of every pregnancy offers crucial protection to newborn babies before they can be vaccinated themselves. Under the federal government's national immunization program, the whooping cough vaccine is free for all pregnant women, adolescents aged 12-13 and children aged two months, four months, six months, 18 months and four years. According to Queensland Health data, the whooping cough vaccination rate for pregnant women in the state has fallen from 77.2 percent in 2020 to 70.7 percent in 2023. John Gerrard, Queensland's chief health officer, said vaccinating pregnant women reduces the risk of a baby contracting whooping cough by 75 percent. As the Democratic National Convention closed with balloons blanketing Chicagos United Center, the mood was triumphant, with a newly minted presidential nominee and her running mate alongside their families, smiling and waving to the crowd of party delegates. But the celebratory atmosphere wasnt universal: Those who had hoped that the party would offer the smallest bit of acknowledgment about the suffering and genocide Palestinians have endured since Israel began its brutal war on Gaza more than 10 months ago have been left alienated thanks to the remarkable cowardice of the party. Long before Harris took the stage, it became clear that theyd be left on the outside, looking in. Where these constituents go from here is anyones guess, but their trajectory seems to be anything but enthusiastically backing Kamala Harris. There are balloons raining down on the Democrats in our party, and there are bombs raining down on children and families and people I love, said Uncommitted delegate Asma Mohammed to Al Jazeera Thursday night, with tears streaming down her cheeks. Thats what I was thinking. That seemed to be the theme for much of the week: positive vibes and celebration, with anything threatening to dampen the mood kept out of sight and mind. Around the city of Chicago, protestors chanted and marched to call attention to Palestinians and the war in Gaza, but they were safely kept blocks away from the convention. When the two sides did intersect, some of the Harris delegates made it clear they werent interested in listening; in one eye-catching instance, attendees leaving the third night of the lovefest were spotted covering their ears as protesters read from the names of Gazans killed by Israel. DNC attendees cover their ears as the names of dead Palestinian children are read as they leave the convention pic.twitter.com/9bueCbFeEr BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) August 22, 2024 It didnt have to be this way. In fact, the four-day affair kicked off with some optimism, as Democrats devoted time and space on Monday for an unprecedented panel on Palestinian human rights with Dr. Tanya Haj-Hassan, who worked in Gaza during the war; James Zogby, an Arab American and former DNC committee member; and Layla Elabed, co-chair of the Uncommitted National Movement. The optimism would be short-lived. That night, the party would send a different message. During Joe Bidens speech, three delegates tried to unfurl a Stop Arming Israel banner. Delegates snatched the banner away, and covered the banner with Joe Biden signs. One of them, a visible Muslim woman in a headscarf named Nadia Ahmad, was hit on the head with those signs. Theres been no word from party officials about that incident, although Ahmad has filed a complaint with Chicago police. Theyre up there talking about fascism and like hitting me on the head with I love Joe signs. Thats not a good look, Ahmad told The Miami Herald. Biden did give a nod to the pro-Palestine protests, saying they have a point. A lot of innocent people are being killed on both sides. Were working around the clock, my secretary of state and I, to prevent a wider war, reunite hostages with their families, and surge humanitarian aid, health services, and food assistance into Gaza now. To end the civilian suffering of the Palestinian people, and finally, finally, finally deliver a cease-fire in this war, Biden said in one of his louder applause lines Monday night. But, each day of the convention went by with mostly passing mentions of the war in Gaza, with greater emphasis given to the hostages held by Hamas. Meanwhile, far from the convention, at a rally in Milwaukee Tuesday, a mere T-shirt with the words Free Gaza on it was a bridge too far for Democrats. Leah Fessler, a Yale law school graduate, came out to show her support for the nominee and her running mate, Tim Walz, at an event at which they would be speaking.* She also wanted to show her support for Palestine, not by protesting, but with her T-shirt. Shed end up being forcibly removed for the anodyne statement her clothing was making. I just dont understand how theyre publicly saying that they want people who support Palestine to be part of their movement, Fessler told me over the phone Friday morning. She didnt shout or interrupt the rally, and even at one point covered up her shirt with a Wisconsin Dems sweatshirt she brought with her. One of the few Muslim speakers in Chicago, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, told the crowd Wednesday night, Theyre listening, friends. They agree with us regarding the need for a cease-fire, an end to the loss of innocent lives in Gaza, and to bring hostages home. It stood out that the greatest acknowledgment of the toll on Palestinian lives would come from the parents of a captive in Gaza, Jon Polin and his wife, Rachel Goldberg-Polin. Polin told the delegates that, In an inflamed Middle East, we know the one thing that can most immediately release pressure and bring hope to the entire region, a deal that brings this diverse group of 109 hostages home and ends the suffering of the innocent civilians in Gaza. The time is now. That night, the delegates from the Uncommitted movement, who had been asking for months for a speaker to represent them during one of the convention nights, heard that their request had been denied. They had put forth the names of many speakers, including doctors who had been to Gaza and Palestinian Americans who had fully endorsed Harris. One speaker, Palestinian American Georgia legislator Ruwa Romman, even had a vetted speech that was ready to gowhich included a noncontroversial call for party unity and commitment to keep Trump from the White House in November. The group would hold a sit-in overnight outside of the United Center, hoping in vain that organizers would make room for just a few minutes for a Palestinian American speaker to give a voice to the conflict. Support would come from the Squad, the progressives in Congress who have been the most vocal in their pro-Palestine advocacy. Other elected Democrats emerged, calling on the party to add a Palestinian speakerthese included Ellison, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and even Senator Elizabeth Warren, who personally made a call herself. They would be ignored. A Harris campaign adviser, Ian Sams, offered CNN some doublespeak: Well, I think weve given them a lot of opportunities to engage in this process at the convention. Romman would deliver her short, two-minute speech on the street. Rep. Ruwa Romman reads the speech she would have given at the DNC had she and other Palestinian Americans not been denied a speaking slot. pic.twitter.com/FCoJTMEF7u Noah Lanard (@nlanard) August 23, 2024 In the end, between the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, only one would have an Arab American speaker: the GOP, which featured Trumps lawyer Alina Habba, an Iraqi American, who made no mention of the Palestinians. All that the Uncommitted movements membersas well as a wider constellation of Muslims, Arab Americans, and other people of consciencewere asking of Democrats was a small recognition of Palestinian humanity and suffering, from the party that doesnt use Palestinian as an epithet, by putting one on stage at their supposed big tent event. It would hardly have been as alien to the partys rank and file as the appearance made by the Teamsters Sean OBrien at the Republican National Convention. Support for Palestine actually exists in the Democratic Partys rank and file, said Fessler. My respect is with Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar, and others who say its possible to support our country and oppose a genocide, I feel like Democrats are about to lose a ton of votes, and Im not happy about that, she told me. In the end, Harriss speech called for an end to this war, such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination. While this stance might sound revolutionary, the rhetoric is stale: President Barack Obama made stronger remarks, in Israel, more than a decade ago. Decades ago, Democrats used to ignore the Palestinian cause. This very publication, once the standard-bearer of Democratic orthodoxy, had a staunch pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian stance under its longtime owner Martin Peretz. But those days are long gone, with Palestinian voices such as Yusuf Munayyer, Laila El-Haddad, and Omar Shaban being given space to advocate for their homeland. This magazine even published a rare editorial calling for an end to arms shipments to Israel in April. In the U.S., public opinion has shifted in the same directionrather rapidly, in fact. The New Republic has come to a new conclusion about Palestine after many years. But the Democratic Party as an institution, despite the fact that many of its elected officials have followed suit, remains adrift from public sentiment and moral authorityand with Kamala Harris as its presidential nominee, hopes that this might change are substantially diminished. Ultimately, this was a call she should have been capable of making: It would have only taken a few minutes of acknowledgment to shore up support and bring everyone at the convention into the fold, faith renewed, looking ahead to November. A big theme of this years convention was a phrase repeated by many of the speakers: Were not going back. Arab Americans, Muslims, and other supporters of the Palestinians want the Democratic Party to assert that it wont go back on Palestine, either. Its not a good sign that they could not clear this lowest of bars. * This post originally misidentified the Harris/Walz speech as Fesslers first political event. At the age of 17, Arthur Gregg enlisted in the Army in 1946. His Army biography cites frustration with segregation and the service of Black soldiers during WWII as the inspiration for Gregg to join up. Gregg spent the next 35 years in uniform serving his country. When he retired in 1981 as a Lieutenant General, Gregg was the highest-ranking Black officer in the U.S. military. On April 27, 2023, Fort Lee, Virginia was renamed Fort Gregg-Adams for Lt. Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams Earley. Then-Maj. Earley commanded the all-Black, all-female 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only battalion of its kind to go overseas during WWII. On August 22, 2024, Gregg passed away at the age of 96. Gregg poses with pictures of himself and Maj. Charity Adams Earley (U.S. Army) Shortly after enlisting, Gregg was deployed to occupied Germany in support of supply operations there. In 1949, one year after President Harry Truman desegregated the military, Gregg attended Officer Candidate School. After commissioning as a 2nd Lieutenant, Gregg was assigned to Camp Lee, later redesignated Fort Lee and eventually Fort Gregg-Adams. Greggs Army biography highlights his running of a supply depot in Japan, command of a supply and support battalion in Vietnam, and several assignments in Germany throughout the Cold War. From left: Gen. Gustave F. Perna, commanding general, U.S. Army Materiel Command; Lt. Gen. (ret.) Arthur J. Gregg; Gen. (ret.) Johnnie E. Wilson; and Lt. Gen. Aundre F. Piggee, Department of Army G-4 after the presentation of the Gregg Award for Leadership (U.S. Army) Greggs performance in the logistics field resulted in him leading the Army and Air Force Exchange System. The pinnacle of his career was when he served as the logistics director for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics for the Army. Still, Gregg looked most fondly on his time as a battalion commander. Ive had big jobs, but I still look upon the command of that battalion in Vietnam as the most significant point in my career, Gregg said, according to the Army. In recognition of his service and mentorship within the Quartermaster Corps, the Army established the LTG Arthur J. Gregg award for logistics innovation and excellence; Gregg was its first recipient. Retired Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg shares his gratitude with all those present following a sign unveiling April 19 at the newly named Gregg-Adams Club. Formerly the Lee Club, the facility was off limits to Gregg and his fellow Black Soldiers when he became an officer in 1950 (U.S. Army) At the rededication ceremony of Fort Gregg-Adams, Gregg delivered remarks. I hope that this community will look with pride on the name Fort Gregg-Adams, and that the name will instill pride in every soldier entering our mighty gates, he said. When the installation was renamed, Gregg was the only living person in modern Army history to have a post named for him. According to the Army, Gregg attended events on-post until his death. Most recently, he attended the garrison change-of-command ceremony on July 31, 2024, at the Gregg-Adams Club. Gen. Charles R. Hamilton; commanding general, Army Materiel Command; retired Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Gregg; and Maj. Gen. Mark T. Simerly, commanding general, CASCOM and Fort Lee, stand at the position of attention as the national anthem plays during the Fort Gregg-Adams Redesignation Ceremony April 27 at the Gregg-Adams Club (U.S. Army) The entire Fort Gregg-Adams family is deeply saddened by the loss of a great American and our namesake, said Maj. Gen. Michelle Donahue, commanding general of the Combined Arms Support Command and the installation, in a statement. Lt. Gen. Gregg will continue to inspire all who knew him and those who serve at Fort Gregg-Adams now and in the future. His dedication and leadership will never be forgotten. Our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones during this difficult time. Black women are the backbone of the Democratic Party. Kamala Harris moved them to the foreground In 1964, Fannie Lou Hamer, the head of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, spoke in stark detail about how she was brutally beaten in a police cell for seeking the right to vote. All of this is on account of we want to register, to become first-class citizens, she said. Hamer and other Black people in heart of the Deep South had lived under a cruel racial apartheid regime in the United States for years. Her goal was to speak at the convention and offer an alternative to the segregationist delegation of Dixiecrats from her state. And if the Freedom Democratic Party is not seated now, I question America, she said. Is this America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, where we have to sleep with our telephones off the hooks because our lives be threatened daily, because we want to live as decent human beings, in America? In the 60 years since Hamers speech, the Democratic Party has relied on Black women as the most consistent organizing force and a reliable voting bloc. But at the same time, they would often be relegated to the background, while white politicians and then later Black male politicians ascended to the highest ranks. On Thursday night in Chicago, Vice President Kamala Harris gave a very different speech at 2024s Democratic National Convention. Her speech marks an important moment: Black women have finally reached a point where they are at the forefront of the party. Fannie Lou Hamer, a leader of the Freedom Democratic party, spoke before the credentialing committee of the Democratic National Committee. (Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Harris has borrowed the slogan For the People from Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress and the first Black woman to run for president. And she is only one of three Black women to have served as a United States Senator. Its for a long time been stated that Black women were characterized as the backbone of the Democratic Party like that is true, not just in folks who have been volunteering on the ground, volunteering as poll workers, Senator Laphonza Butler of California told The Independent last month. What I believe we are seeing is a manifestation of decades of commitment to a party where Black women have been more than happy in the past to work behind the scenes. The convention has highlighted two other Black women who won their primaries. On Wednesday, Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware delivered a primetime address; and on Tuesday evening, Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland did the same. Alsobrooks had beaten a self-funded Democratic congressman named David Trone earlier this year, but had the backing of almost the entire Maryland Democratic political establishment, underscoring how much money and political capital Black women need to get to the top. Some Black Democratic consultants are putting muscle behind it. Ashanti Gholar, president of Emerge, has promoted fundraisers for Harris such as White Dudes for Harris. We know the issues in our community like the back of our hand, she told The Independent. So of course, we're going to be putting our name on the ballot, and with so much going on in the world, we know that we need those diverse lived experiences if we really want to have an inclusive democracy, to have a representative democracy. No Black woman in the US has ever won a governorship. During the convention, Democrats applauded Stacey Abrams as she roamed around the Hyatt Regency. Her historic campaign for governor of Georgia in 2018 led to a narrow loss to Brian Kemp, during which she refused to concede, attributing her loss to voter disenfranchisement. Abrams would go on to lay the groundwork for Georgia voting for Biden, but would lose by a larger margin in 2022 in a rematch against Kemp. Similarly, in 2021, two Black women ran for the Democratic nomination for governor, but both lost to Terry McAuliffe, a white former governor, who would go on to lose to Republican Glenn Youngkin. It blows my mind [that] we're still having firsts but we have worked very hard to get to this place, and I'm very excited to see it, Representative Jennifer McClellan told The Independent. McClellan became the first Black woman elected to Congress from Virginia in a special election. I think the biggest hurdle that I saw was imagination people just could not see it, she said, while discussing her campaign and the hurdles in getting elected. We need people to do more than just say yes, they support candidates, but to actually put their money where their mouth is, put their footwork where their mouth is, she continued. So if you see a woman who's doing the work, who has the qualifications, who's exciting, then get behind it the same way you would any other candidate. And there are signs Harris will need plenty of infrastructure once she leaves Chicago. Earlier this week, former president Donald Trump went on conservative talk host Hugh Hewitts show and blasted her membership in Alpha Kappa Alpha, a Black sorority. She went actually to a [sorority] party, and you know that, he said. And a very unimportant one. They have them numerous times during the year. Its a shame. Considering the organizing strength of Black women now, Trump might be about to find out how supposedly unimportant such parties can be. Throughout the weekend, Harris and Hamers names seemed to rhyme. On Thursday evening, as Harris was about to walk in, Nancy Rotering, the mayor of Highland Park, Illinois, filed in and wore a sticker commemorating Hamer. A sixth grader from Bellevue is about to embark on an out of this world experience. An 11-year-old named Noelle is one of eight students from across the U.S. selected to travel to Florida for a two-day space extravaganza and join the 2024 SpaceKids Press Squad. According to a release from SpaceKids, the students will visit Blue Origins Rocket Park, NASAs Kennedy Space Center, receive press training from a professional journalist, and possibly witness the launch of Blue Origins New Shepard rocket. SpaceKids Global is a national nonprofit, whose mission is mission to educate and actively engage elementary students in STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts & Mathematics) activities, ensuring girls are equally represented while inspiring all to pursue careers in space exploration and technology. The Bureau of Land Management lifted seasonal fire restrictions Thursday for portions of central and southern Arizona under the federal agency's jurisdiction after increased rainfall limited the risk of wildfires, according to the BLM in a news release. Starting Thursday, seasonal fire restrictions would be lifted for areas under the control of the BLM's Phoenix District Office, which governed BLM land in Maricopa and Yavapai counties, along with portions of northern Pinal and western Pima counties. An increase in rainfall throughout the region left typical wildfire fuel damp and hard to start a wildfire, which led the BLM to make the decision to recall the restrictions, the agency noted in the news release. Shooting sites to reopen under restriction lift Recreational shooting sites within the Phoenix district would reopen on Friday, Aug. 23, and included sites at Baldy Mountain, Church Camp Road and Saddleback Mountain. The shooting site at Box Canyon will remain closed until Sept. 2 for planned maintenance, according to the BLM, who would share further updates on shooting sites on the agency's website. Here's how to make sure you follow fire restrictions on BLM land The BLM reminded Arizonans to verify fire regulations, restrictions and area closures by using their website. The agency provided the following rules and tips for anyone using public land: Use metal fire rings or grills where present. Wood placed on a fire should never exceed the size of the grill or fire ring. If building a fire on the ground (where permitted), choose a location away from adjoining or overhanging flammable material, and ensure the ground beneath and around the fire is clear of all flammable materials. Avoid fires on windy days if possible. If you have a campfire, make sure it is fully extinguished before leaving the area. Fires should be doused with water and dirt and stirred with a shovel until completely cold to the touch. If you are using a portable stove, make sure the area is clear of grasses and other fine fuels. Prevent stoves from tipping and starting a fire. Never throw cigarettes out of the window of a vehicle. Use an ashtray instead. Practice Leave No Trace principles pack out cigarette butts and burned materials from your camping area. Never park over dead grass; a vehicles catalytic converter can ignite the vegetation. Use caution while discharging a firearm, operating an internal combustion engine, welding, or operating acetylene or other torches with an open flame, or using explosives (where permitted). Fireworks and exploding targets are always prohibited on BLM-managed lands in Arizona. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: BLM fire restrictions in 4 AZ counties lifted after increased rain BLUFF CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) A U.S. Army soldier from Bluff City who was killed during the Korean War was accounted for earlier this year, nearly 74 years after he was reported missing in action. According to a release from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), Pvt. 1st Class Arlie P. Barrett, 19, was accounted for on June 7 and his family was recently briefed on his identification. Barrett was a member of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Aug. 10, 1950, after his unit was tasked with engaging the North Korean Peoples Army along the Naktong River west of Yongsan, South Korea. Local church helps pay off $8 million in medical debt According to the DPAA, his body could not be recovered at the time due to intense fighting in the area. The exact circumstances surrounding Barretts death were unknown. On Dec. 29, 1950, unknown remains were recovered near the village of Chirhyon-ni, about eight miles from where Barrett was reported missing in action. The remains, which could not be identified at the time, were buried as an unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, known as the Punchbowl. (Photo courtesy of the DPAA) The remains were disinterred by the DPAA in June 2021 and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis. Scientists with the DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis along with chest radiograph and other circumstantial evidence to identify Barretts remains. Scientists with the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System also used mitochondrial DNA and mitochondrial genome analysis. Barretts name is recorded on the Court of the Missing at the Punchbowl along with others who remain missing after the war. Next to his name, a rosette will be placed to indicate that he has been accounted for. Barrett will be buried at Mountain Home National Cemetery on Sept. 27. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. Italian rescuers on Friday recovered the final missing victim from the wreckage of a superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily earlier this week. The body of Hannah Lynch, the 18-year-old daughter of the British billionaire Mike Lynch, was located on Friday, according to the Italian news agency ANSA. The Bayesian, a luxury 184-foot sailing yacht was carrying Lynch, his daughter and 20 other people when it was struck by a powerful waterspout, a tornado-like phenomenon associated with severe thunderstorms, in the early hours of Monday. Officials say the British-flagged vessel went down off the northern coast of Sicily in a matter of minutes, sinking to a depth of more than 160 feet. The body of the ships chef, Recaldo Thomas, was recovered just hours after the sinking, while 15 people were rescued by a nearby sailboat. The remaining six victims were declared missing, sparking a massive rescue and recovery operation, with divers and search crews scouring the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea for the past five days. On Thursday, the recovered bodies of five victims were officially identified by Italian authorities: They were New York City-based lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo; Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy Bloomer; and 59-year-old Mike Lynch, who was reportedly celebrating his acquittal on fraud charges at a trial in the U.S. The body of the billionaires teenage daughter was pulled from the wreckage on Friday just before 1 p.m., local time, according to local reports. Later on Friday, a spokesperson for the Lynch family thanked the Italian Coast Guard and those who assisted in the rescue while requesting privacy in this time of unspeakable grief. The family is devastated, in shock and is being comforted and supported by family and friends. Their thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy, the statement said in part, according to the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Serra. _____ A body bag is brought ashore at the harbour in Porticello by rescue workers - Jonathan Brady/PA The body of Mike Lynchs daughter Hannah has been recovered from the superyacht Bayesian after it sank on Monday. The Italian coastguard confirmed the sixth and final missing person had been discovered on the vessel today. At around 1pm local time search and rescue teams then transferred a green body bag from a boat onto land. Several boats carrying divers had left Porticello an hour earlier to go to the site of the wreckage following the discovery. Mr Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo were lost when the yacht sank at around 5am on Monday. Fifteen of the 22 passengers and crew on board, including Mr Lynchs wife, Angela Bacares, were rescued by emergency crews after the yacht suffered catastrophic damage owing to the waterspout. The group had been invited onboard to celebrate Mr Lynchs court victory, after he was acquitted of fraud in San Francisco. 02:35 PM BST Recap of what has happened The body of Hannah Lynch was recovered from the sunken superyacht Bayesian today. It concluded the five-day search for missing passengers after the luxury yacht sank on Monday. Here is a recap of the days events: Divers resumed their search for the final missing body in the sunken Bayesian The Italian coastguard said it believed there would be progress in its operation It was estimated that raising the Bayesian will cost 15 million euros A body believed to be that of Hannah Lynch was discovered in the wreckage Hannah Lynchs body was brought ashore by rescue teams Tributes poured in for the 18-year-old who died in the sunken ship. That is all for today. Thanks for following our live coverage. Check the website for the latest updates. 02:04 PM BST Pictured: Hannah Lynch and the family dog Faucet Hannah Lynch and the family dog 'Faucet' 01:34 PM BST Taken on the precipice of her life: Family and friends pay tribute to Hannah Lynch The first picture of Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah has been released by their family after her body was recovered from the superyacht Bayesian. Specialist cave divers recovered the body of Miss Lynch from the wreck of the 30 million superyacht on the fifth day of searching. Mr Lynchs body was recovered earlier in the week. One friend of the family paid an emotional tribute to the 18-year-old, adding: We have known Hannah since her birth, and for her to be taken on the precipice of her life is cruel beyond belief. Read the full story here. 01:10 PM BST Friends pay tribute to Hannah Lynch Friends have paid tribute to Hannah Lynch after her body was recovered from the sunken superyacht Bayesian. Patrick Jacob, a family friend, said: Hannah was charming and ferociously intelligent with an insatiable thirst for life and knowledge. She was also warm, loving and deeply considerate; remarkably for her age. I am 50 years older than her and in my life I have never met anybody like Hannah. We have lost one of our brightest stars whose future held so much promise. Her loss is unbearable. Katya Lewis, Hannahs friend, said: The love Hannah had for everything she held dear was passionate and pure. She had a warm and beautiful soul. Being with Hannah made me feel whole and happy. She is the most special friend anyone could ask for and I will always love Hannah. Hannah and Mike Lynch who died in the sinking of the Bayesian share an embrace 01:05 PM BST Hannah Lynch loved learning, literature and life, says former teacher Hannah Lynchs former teacher has paid tribute to his student who loved learning, literature and life. Jon Mitropoulos-Monk said: Ive never taught someone who combined sky-high intellectual ability with warmth and enthusiasm in the way Hannah did. She lit up the classroom with her energy, passion for learning and sheer intelligence (though never with a hint of arrogance). He added: She loved literature, learning and life. She was so excited to start studying English at Oxford, a goal she had worked so hard towards. I taught Hannah for four years. I will remember her for what she taught me: kindness, compassion and commitment. Tributes pour in for Hannah Lynch 12:44 PM BST Pictured: Rescue workers transport body of Hannah Lynch Rescue personnel transport what is believed to be the body of Hannah Lynch - Louiza Vradi/REUTERS 12:38 PM BST Manslaughter investigation launched into superyacht sinking A manslaughter investigation is being considered by Italian authorities into the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian, according to reports. The Prosecutors Office of Termini Imerese is making inquiries into why the luxury yacht capsized off the coast of Porticello at around 5am on Monday, a source close to the prosecution team said. The team led by Ambrogio Cartosio, is looking into offences of shipwreck and multiple counts of culpable homicide against an unknown person, similar to that of manslaughter charges in the UK, according to Palermo Today. Read the full story here. 12:16 PM BST Body of Hannah Lynch brought ashore The body of Hannah Lynch has been brought back to shore by search and rescue teams. A green body bag was transferred from a boat onto land just before 1pm local time. It is the final body that has been recovered from the sunken Bayesian. 12:06 PM BST Watch: Rescue boats return to Porticello as final body is recovered from Bayesian Click here to view this content. 12:04 PM BST Maritime trade union hits out at criticism of the Bayesians crew claiming it undermines due process A maritime trade union has hit out at criticism of the Bayesians crew, saying it undermines due process. Nautilus Internationals general secretary Mark Dickinson said: We have no doubt that the crew and master of the Bayesian are experienced maritime professionals. Any attempt to question their conduct without the full facts is not only unfair but also harmful to the process of uncovering the truth and learning any lessons from this tragedy. It undermines due process and denies the master and crew their right to fair treatment under the recognised IMO/ILO guidelines. Mr Dickinsons remarks will be interpreted as a snub to Giovanni Costantino, founder and chief executive of the company which built the Bayesian. On Thursday Mr Costantino claimed the Bayesian was one of the safest boats in the world and was virtually unsinkable, telling Corriere della Sera: The passengers reported something absurd, that the storm came unexpectedly, suddenly. That is not true. Everything was predictable. Ask yourself why were none of the Porticello fishermen out that night? A fisherman checks the conditions and a ship doesnt? The disturbance was completely readable on all the weather maps. It was impossible not to know. James Cutfield, captain of the Bayesian, was questioned by the Termini Imerese Public Prosecutors Office for two hours earlier this week. 11:47 AM BST Recovery of Hannah Lynchs body in progress Efforts to recover Hannah Lynchs body are in progress, the head of Sicilys civil protection agency Salvatore Cocina said. A few boats carrying divers left Porticello shortly after 12pm local time to go to the site of the sinking. Rescue teams operate off Porticello harbor near Palermo - ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP 11:27 AM BST Italian fire service dive team return to port on the fifth day of the search and recovery operation Italian fire service dive team return to port on the fifth day of the search and recovery operation - Jonathan Brady/PA 11:23 AM BST Manslaughter investigation launched by Italian authorities A manslaughter investigation has been launched by Italian authorities into the sinking of the superyacht Bayesian, according to reports. The Prosecutors Office of Termini Imerese is making inquiries into why the luxury yacht capsized off the coast of Porticello at around 5am on Monday, a source close to the prosecution team said. The team led by Ambrogio Cartosio, is looking into offences of shipwreck and multiple counts of culpable homicide against an unknown person, similar to that of manslaughter charges in the UK, according to Palermo Today. A press conference has been announced for tomorrow morning by the prosecutors office, with more details expected to emerge. The Prosecutors Office would not confirm the investigation to The Telegraph. 11:22 AM BST Body believed to be Hannah Lynch found, says coastguard A body believed to be that of Mike Lynchs daughter Hannah, the sixth and final person missing after a luxury yacht sank in a storm off the coast of Sicily, has been found, the Italian coastguard said. 10:59 AM BST Bayesian like an 18-storey building full of water, says expert The sunken Bayesian has been compared to an 18-storey building full of water by a marine expert. A spokesman for the Italian coastguard likened the superyacht to a tower block as he described the difficulties of the underwater search. Vincenzo Zagarola said: From the first moment it has not been easy or quick to inspect the boat. Think of an 18-storey building full of water. 10:36 AM BST Divers require up to 24 hours to search one metre of Bayesian Specialist divers need up to 24 hours to search just one metre of the sunken superyacht Bayesian, an expert has revealed. The search of the vessel, which sank on Monday after being hit by a tornado, has entered its fifth day with the Italian fire service saying that moving within the luxury yacht is very difficult. Luca Cari, a spokesman for the fire rescue service, told Sky News: Its very difficult to move inside the wreckage. He added: Moving just one metre can take up to 24 hours. Hannah Lynch, the 18-year-old daughter of the technology tycoon Mike Lynch, is the last remaining person unaccounted for. It has been suggested she may not be inside the yacht. The Italian coastguard confirmed that the sixth and final person yet to be found is a woman. Divers have previously spoken about the challenges of dealing with narrow corridors and floating debris obstructing their progress. 10:29 AM BST Pictured: Italian fire service conducts searches by sea and air A helicopter of the Vigili del Fuoco, the Italian Corps. of Firefighters flies above Porticello Divers of the Vigili del Fuoco leave Porticello harbor - ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP Boats carrying divers head out to sea during search operation - Antonio Cascio/Bloomberg 10:26 AM BST Search for Mike Lynchs teenage daughter on sunken superyacht continues Specialist cave divers continue their search for 18-year-old Hannah Lynch, the last person remaining unaccounted for after the superyacht Bayesian sank on Monday. The body of technology tycoon Mike Lynch was recovered from the vessel on Thursday, but his daughter is yet to be found. Mr Lynch, his daughter Hannah, Morgan Stanley International bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, and his wife Neda Morvillo went missing when the Bayesian sank at around 5am on Monday after being hit by a tornado. The search was called off at around 8pm last night with divers expected to resume operations this morning as the search enters its fifth day. Five bodies have now been brought to shore in the small fishing village of Porticello, around 11 miles from the Sicilian capital of Palermo. 09:55 AM BST Raising the sunken superyacht Bayesian must be done very slowly, says expert Raising the sunken superyacht Bayesian must be done very slowly, a leading maritime salvage expert has said. Nick Sloane, the South African salvage engineer, said the sea must be calm when the yacht reaches the surface. Mr Sloane, who led the operation to recover the Costa Concordia cruise ship after it capsized off Tuscany in 2012, said: You need to go very slowly. The important thing is that when the yacht reaches the surface, the sea must be calm. So theyll have to carefully check the weather forecasts. He said he has been talking to divers involved in the Concordia operation and they have been discussing how the operation could be carried out. 09:27 AM BST Raising Bayesian will cost 15 million euros and take up to eight weeks, says expert Raising the Bayesian superyacht from the seabed off Sicily will cost around 15 million euros and take six to eight weeks, a leading maritime salvage expert said. Nick Sloane, the South African salvage engineer who led the operation to recover the Costa Concordia cruise ship after it capsized off Tuscany in 2012, said around 40 highly trained divers would be required. A large platform would have to be towed out to sea. From there, a giant crane would lift the yacht - but very slowly. If the yacht is pulled up too quickly it could buckle and break up under the huge pressure of seawater inside it, Mr Sloane said. The 75 metre high mast would be cut off and removed prior to the Bayesian being lifted. I would say it would cost up to 15 million euros but possibly you could do it for a bit less, Mr Sloane told La Repubblica newspaper. The recovery operation would take six to eight weeks. It could be completed before the second half of October. 09:13 AM BST Moving a metre within wreckage can take a day, says fire service Moving within the sunken superyacht Bayesian is very difficult with specialist teams able to make just one metre progress a day, a spokesman for the fire service said. Luca Cari, a spokesman for the fire rescue service, told Sky News: Its very difficult to move inside the wreckage. He added: Moving just one metre can take up to 24 hours. 09:05 AM BST Long and delicate search continues, says Italian fire service Divers from the Italian fire service have resumed the search for Hannah Lynch. In a post on X, Vigili del Fuoco wrote: In the early hours of the morning today, the divers of the fire brigade resumed the search. Two photos of their team at work were also shared on the social media site. The long and delicate search operations for the last missing person continue, they added. #Porticello #Palermo, alle prime ore del mattino di #oggi sono riprese le immersioni in mare degli speleo #sommozzatori dei #vigilidelfuoco: proseguono le lunghe e delicate operazioni di ricerca dell'ultimo disperso#23agosto pic.twitter.com/L56yoUmpA0 Vigili del Fuoco (@vigilidelfuoco) August 23, 2024 08:46 AM BST The Daily T: Why did Mike Lynchs yacht sink? British businessman Mike Lynch has been confirmed dead after his yacht sank off the Sicily coast during a freak storm earlier this week. Kamal and Tim Stanley speak to the Telegraphs Albert Tait on the ground in Sicily and maritime salvage expert Bertrand Sciboz about what happens to the wreck now. Plus Kamal reflects on Mr Lynch and his interviews with him over the years. Listen to the podcast here. 08:35 AM BST Pictured: Dive teams resume search for missing Hannah Lynch Rescue operation for missing Hannah Lynch resumes - Louiza Vradi/REUTERS 08:30 AM BST Bayesian superyacht was virtually unsinkable, says shipbuilder The Bayesian superyacht was virtually unsinkable, the chief executive of the firm that built it has claimed. Prosecutors in the town of Termini Imerese, close to Porticello, where the vessel went down in the early hours of Monday, have opened an investigation into the disaster. They will seek to establish what caused the yacht to sink and whether any of the crew are criminally liable. Read the full story here. 08:18 AM BST Pictured: Search resumes for Hannah Lynch A rescue boat with rescue personnel on board resumes search operations for Hannah Lynch - Louiza Vradi/REUTERS 08:16 AM BST Mike Lynchs missing daughter may not be inside sunken superyacht Divers are searching for the missing daughter of Mike Lynch after it was suggested that she may not be inside the sunken superyacht. Specialist cave divers are continuing their search for 18-year-old Hannah Lynch, the last person remaining unaccounted for after the Bayesian sank on Monday. Read the full story here. 08:05 AM BST Coastguard trust there will be progress today The Italian coast guard trust that on Friday there will be progress in the search, a spokesman said. Asked if any developments are expected, Vincenzo Zagarola replied: We trust. 07:40 AM BST Recap: What happened yesterday As the search operation into the sunken Bayesian enters its fifth day, here is a recap of what happened yesterday: Divers in Sicily recovered the fifth body from the wreckage, bringing the number of confirmed dead to six The Bayesians shipbuilder claimed the superyacht was virtually unsinkable David Davis vowed to scrap the US-UK extradition treaty in memory of Mike Lynch Mike Lynch considered selling Bayesian before the trip, The Telegraph revealed The family of Jonathan and Judy Bloomer said their only comfort is they are still together Tributes poured in for the victims The family of Chris and Neda Morvillo said the couple lived their lives as devoted, loving parents to their daughters Hannah Lynch remained missing, according to reports from the Italian coastguard 07:31 AM BST Superyacht crew had 16-minute window to avoid tragedy The crew of Mike Lynchs superyacht had 16 minutes to avoid the tragedy, the chief executive of the firm that built the boat has claimed. Giovanni Costantino, the founder and chief executive of the Italian Sea Group, which owns the Perini Navi shipyard where the Bayesian was built, has defended the boats construction and blamed human error for the disaster. Read the full story here. 07:17 AM BST Search for Hannah Lynch continues The search has continued for Hannah Lynch, the final person missing from the wreck of Bayesian superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily. The body of British technology entrepreneur, Mike Lynch, was recovered from the vessel on Thursday, but his 18-year-old daughter remains missing. Of the 22 passengers and crew on board, 15 - including Mr Lynchs wife, Angela Bacares - were rescued after escaping on to a lifeboat. The body of Recaldo Thomas, who was working as a chef on the superyacht Bayesian, was recovered at the scene of the sinking on Monday. The group had gathered on the yacht to celebrate Mr Lynchs acquittal in a long-running US fraud case. 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. Body of woman recovered from under rubble of village council in Kozacha Lopan photo Search and rescue operations in the village of Kozacha Lopan. Photo: State Emergency Service The body of a woman has been recovered during a search and rescue operation, which has been going on for three days in Kozacha Lopan, Kharkiv Oblast. Source: Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram; Kharkiv Oblast State Emergency Service; press service of Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office in a comment to UP Quote from Sinehubov: "Unfortunately, a woman, 43, was killed as a result of Russian strikes on Kozacha Lopan. Rescue workers retrieved the body from under the rubble." Details: Syniehubov said that one more person may be trapped under the rubble. The search and rescue operation is ongoing. On 22 August, Viacheslav Zadorenko, Head of Derhachi City Military Administration, said that the bodies of two women had been found under the rubble (they had not been retrieved at the time). Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office told Ukrainska Pravda that as of now, as a result of the search and rescue operation in Kozacha Lopan, one person has been rescued alive, one body has been retrieved, and another person is still trapped under the rubble, presumably dead. Search and rescue operations in the village of Kozacha Lopan. Photo: State Emergency Service Background: On 21 August, Russian troops attacked Kozacha Lopan in Kharkiv Oblast. The Russians carried out two attacks on the Kozacha Lopan district administration building between 12:30 and 13:00. As a result, the building partially collapsed, including the basement, which at the time sheltered the chief of the administration, Liudmyla Vakulenko, her staff, and local people. Later, a woman, 56, was rescued from under the rubble. She sustained minor injuries. Support UP or become our patron! by Joseph Matthews The Philippine coast guard's actions in Xianbin Jiao waters in the South China Sea have not only seriously violated China's territorial sovereignty, but also posed a threat to regional peace. Since mid-April, the Philippines has anchored its coast guard's BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701) in the lagoon of the Xianbin Jiao and is reportedly planning to send a second vessel to anchor in the lagoon. These moves are part of a broader strategy of the country to challenge China's sovereignty in the South China Sea, alongside the long-disputed Ren'ai Jiao and Huangyan Dao. I strongly believe that the Philippines is planning to ground a ship on the Xianbin Jiao as it did back in 1999 when the country intentionally grounded a retired warship on Ren'ai Jiao to use it as an outpost. Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos's administration is portraying itself as a victim, while at the same time, inviting wolves into the house and willingly acting as their pawns. In April, the United States moved a mid-range missile system that can fire Standard Missile-6 and Tomahawk missiles to the northern Philippines, on the pretext that the system would be used for military drills. In my view, the system was brought to challenge China's sovereignty in the South China Sea, which threatened and endangered regional stability. Ever since taking office, Marcos and his administration have been more assertive and aggressive in its dispute with China. Apart from the deployment of the missile system, Marcos has also allowed the United States to use nine military bases to store military hardware and equipment, alongside arranging military drills with the United States, Japan, and Australia in the disputed waters. These moves are indications that the administration is looking for a confrontation over consultation, and conflict instead of dialogue. The path Marcos's administration has chosen will lead to economic, political, and social instability and high tension not only in the South China Sea, but also in the ASEAN region. I remember that during Rodrigo Duterte's presidency, the Philippines improved its relations and cooperation with China on various issues, developing stronger and stable ties with the country, as well as a successful code of conduct with China and the rest of ASEAN. However, relations deteriorated during the presidency of Marcos due to increasing tensions over the South China Sea. Marcos's administration's provocations in Xianbin Jiao waters have infringed on China's sovereignty and integrity, violated the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and threatened peace in the South China Sea and the entire region. Therefore, China, which has indisputable sovereignty over the islands and reefs in the area and adjacent waters, is entitled to take resolute action. Enditem Editor's note: Joseph Matthews is a senior professor at the BELTEI International University in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Xinhua News Agency. ADAMS COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) A boil water notice was issued for Natchez State Park in Adams County. According to the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH), the notice affects all connections in the Natchez State Park-B. Mississippi sees increase of wildfires due to dry conditions Officials said the notice was the result of repair work performed on the water system following a booster pump malfunction. Residents will be notified immediately when the advisory is lifted. Health officials strongly recommend that all water be boiled vigorously for one minute before it is consumed. 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. Amid a year of legal woes that added up to roughly half a billion dollars, Donald Trump has been leeching cash from an eyebrow-raising source: his campaign. According to a CNN analysis of federal campaign finance data, Trump and associated political groups have funneled more than $28 million in campaign donations into his businesses since he first ran for office in 2015. Other Republicans are reportedly also using their campaign budgets on Trumps businesses in order to earn favor with the conservative populist. Republican candidates and conservative investors, including Bernie Moreno, former Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker, and Arizona Senate hopeful Kari Lake, have spent more on Trumps businesses this year than at any point since 2016, reported CNN. Those expenses added up by way of Mar-a-Lago fundraisers, stays at Trumps hotels, and flights on the former presidents private jet, the outlet reported. Federal campaigns and PACs spent nearly $3.2 million on Trump properties in the first half of 2024 alone, though 80 percent of that came from Trumps own campaign funds as well as political groups aligned with the Republican presidential nominee, reported CNN. Karoline Leavitt, a spokesperson for Trumps campaign, told CNN that committees are paying the fair market rate for all venues and services offered by Trump businesses. But campaign finance experts see the trend as yet another signal that the Republican Party has completely bent the knee to the former reality TV star. Hes clearly now in complete control of the Republican Party, Daniel Weiner, director of the Brennan Centers Elections and Government Program, told CNN. Patronizing his businesses has become one of the accepted ways that candidates and public officials express their loyalty to the partys leader. GENEVA (Reuters) - The head of the World Health Organization called for global concerted action to control a new mpox outbreak, announcing a response plan that will require at least $135 million over the next six months. "Let me be clear: this new mpox outbreak can be controlled and can be stopped," Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a speech to WHO member states on Friday, later posted on social media platform X. "Responding to this complex outbreak requires a comprehensive and coordinated international response," he said. (Reporting by Emma Farge) BOSSIER PARISH, La. (KTAL/KMSS)Bossier Parish Community College (BPCC) will offer American Sign Language (ASL) classes beginning in September. The classes are open to the public. According to BPCCs social media post, interested individuals will have the option to learn: Basic ASL vocabulary Grammar essentials Conversational skills Cultural insights BPCC details that admission is $200 per person, and the classes are non-credit workforce courses. The community college notes classes begin on September 3 to October 29, every Tuesday from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. According to the Fall 2024 schedule, the ASL instructor is Rhonda Harden. They encourage interested individuals to register online under the register for courses tab or call (318) 678-6015. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Boston City Councilor looking for increased security as city buzzes with festivals this weekend Boston will be buzzing with festivals and feasts this weekend, but one City Councilor says more resources are needed to keep the city safe during these events. The Caribbean Festival will have two separate parades that both end on Blue Hill Ave on Saturday, but there is a heightened concern from some after a shooting at the Carribean Festival last year and multiple people were shot in Franklin Park after a different festival this past weekend. Last Sunday as Boston Police officers were in the process of clearing people from the Dominican Festival on Circuit Drive, they said they heard multiple gunshots coming from the crowd. Five people had gunshot wounds and were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The Carribean American Carnival Association of Boston denounced the violence writing on Facebook, We deserve fun activities and events in our neighborhoods and we deserve to feel safe. It must stop!!!! As we head into another weekend of events in Boston, City Councilor Ed Flynn said hes asked the Boston Police Commissioner to invite officers from cities and towns throughout greater Boston to join Boston to share resources. He said that it could provide a level of public safety that residents expect and deserve. I know the police commissioner is aware of it. And now its up to the police commissioner to decide whether its appropriate or not but I do think we need more resources in Boston not just for the festival but theres other event in the north end, theres an event here in the Boston Common and a parade. Lets work together and support each other in challenging times, said Flynn. He continued, Some of my colleagues reached out to me and agree with me. Some also expressed hesitation on inviting other cities and towns to join Boston. They didnt necessarily think it was a good idea. They didnt think we need more police presence and I respect their opinion. But my job is to advocate for as much resources for my district and the city as I can. Other events in Boston include the Saint Anthonys feast in the North End which kicked off on Thursday night. The Lafayette Bicentennial Celebration will also happen tomorrow at Boston Common. 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 A four-year-old boy died of sepsis after he had to wait four hours to be properly checked by busy A&E staff, a coroner has ruled. Daniel Klosis anxious parents repeatedly took the boy to the emergency department in the week of his death, including twice on the day he died in April last year. Despite repeatedly raising concerns, the boys parents were told that he had a viral infection and was sent home, including one time being told to take Calpol. Tests that were taken on his fourth admission showed the septic process had already begun. Mary Hassell, the senior coroner of Inner North London, said Daniel who was autistic was distressed in the busy ER department so obtaining observations from him was difficult for the nurses. In light of his death, the coroner has issued a warning to different medical organisations urging them to regard no observations in the same light as worrying observations. The coroner said an inquest into Daniels death commenced in April 2023. She said the boy died shortly after midnight on April 2 last year from sepsis that developed after a chest infection at the Royal Free Hospital in Camden, London. Daniel was taken to the hospital four times in a week, including twice in a day - MYLONDON The inquest heard Lindita Alushi and Kastriot Klosi, Daniels parents, had taken him to the hospital on four separate occasions before his death. The first was on March 26, then again on March 31, and twice on April 1. It was heard that on the fourth attendance, at approximately 4.45pm, Daniels septic process had begun. But this was not recognised until after 9pm, the coroner said. A variety of factors contributed to the non-recognition were outlined by Ms Hassell. These include a delay in medical assessment caused by an extremely busy department, an inability to obtain observations not being recognised as requiring escalation and presenting features which were atypical of sepsis. The coroner also said there was a lack of recognition at a profound level of the different way in which a septic neurodivergent child in this case, with autism can present. Kastriot Klosi, Daniel's father, described him as a 'lively' boy with autism, but no other health issues - PA Ms Hassell said Daniel appeared to healthcare professionals as alert when in reality he was agitated. She highlighted how the third consultant to see Daniel failed to read his medical records and failed to elicit a full parental history so did not know it was his third presentation in a week. She knew about the second presentation but did not read the record of that presentation, the coroner told the inquest. Crucially, this meant that the consultant failed to appreciate that Daniels current illness had been ongoing for a week. As a consequence, she failed to order blood tests. The coroner said had the blood tests been ordered, they would have shown that Daniel was presenting with high levels of protein and antibiotics would have been administered. Daniels life would have been saved, the coroner said. Antibiotics could have been administered and it would have saved Daniel's life - PA Now, the coroner has issued a Prevention of Future Deaths Report in light of his death. She said it was difficult for the nursing staff at the Royal Free Hospital to obtain observations from the four-year-old because he was so distressed. She added: That was understandable, but because of the long wait in a busy department, it meant that on the fourth attendance, Daniel did not have a full set of observations for over four hours and shortly afterwards suffered a catastrophic cardiovascular compromise. The trust emergency department electronic patient records do not show how many times a patient has presented to hospital with the same signs and symptoms during their current illness and of course, this may be the case in other emergency departments. Ms Hassell said she heard evidence from the Royal Free NHS Trust during the inquest into the boys death regarding several changes that have been introduced. This included how more training has been given and reflection has been undertaken. A child reattending the emergency department will now be seen by the next available doctor, rather than waiting for a paediatrician to become available, she said. The trust is trying to gain a more sophisticated understanding of the ways in which neurodiverse patients can present and how best to interpret their presentation. There is now to be a national change to allow 111 services to contact emergency departments directly. However, it seemed that some areas would benefit from further consideration by the trust. And all of the issues are likely to be just as applicable nationally. The report was sent to the Royal Free Hospital, Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and Royal College of Emergency Medicine. They each have 56 days to respond. 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. Regular police bicycle patrols will be returning next year, as part of Bellingham Mayor Kim Lunds new Downtown Forward initiative to make the city center feel safe and welcoming. In an emailed statement Thursday to announce the Downtown Forward program, Lund said that her administration will also be supporting downtown businesses and taking a close look at empty commercial storefronts. Downtowns define great cities. They are the social, economic and cultural heart of any community, and when a downtown thrives, the rest of the city benefits too, Lund said at the citys website. Lund said she plans a comprehensive commercial and retail industry trends study that will drive strategies to eliminate vacancies and encourage redevelopment of underutilized properties downtown. Kicking off the Downtown Forward program is a new web page and a special event to solicit community input. Its planned for 5-8 p.m. Sept. 19 at Chuckanut Bay Distillery, 1311 Cornwall Ave. Lund, who was elected in November 2023 and took office in January, issued an executive order in February that focused on addressing the fentanyl crisis and revitalizing the citys commercial core. Since then, the city has increased cleaning of streets, alleys and sidewalks, and the Police Department has been conducting regular foot patrols to that are focused on building relationships and disrupting the sale and distribution of illegal drugs, the citys statement said. Our officers being visible, accessible, and present fosters relationships with downtown businesses, residents and visitors. We are sending a strong message that downtown is not a place for disruptive activity. Public safety is important to all of us, Police Chief Rebecca Mertzig said in the citys statement. Energizing downtown and making it more inviting has been one of Lunds primary messages in her first months on the job. Bellingham is a great city and we have a great downtown worth investing in, she said in a video produced to introduce Downtown Forward. This is just the first step in our efforts to reinvigorate and reinvest in our downtown. Building on a foundation of safety, we are moving downtown forward with a vision for the great neighborhood we want it to be, Lund said. Brain damage: 'We don't know much about what happens inside the head' In people with severe brain damage, even experts often do not know what is really going on in the brain. New research indicates that many patients do still think and understand some things. Fabian Strauch/dpa Little is known about the brain and states of consciousness - but recent studies may give grounds for hope. If a person suffers a severe brain injury, then lands in intensive care in a coma, doctors and relatives will ask whether the patient has regained consciousness yet. They often ask the injured person to move their hand, say, and if the patient fails to do so, they often assume the patient is still in such a deep coma that they are not aware of anything. But this may not necessarily be true, studies show. Some 15% to 20% of patients are thinking cognitively even if they make no outward response when addressed, research centre studies have showed. But the latest study, by the renowned New England Journal of Medicine, says actually, this applies to around 25% of patients. "Some patients with severe brain injuries do not appear to process their outside world," says first author Yelena Bodien from the Centre for Neurotechnology and Neurorehabilitation at Massachusetts General Hospital. "However, when they are examined using advanced techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG), we can detect brain activity that suggests otherwise." Accidents, strokes, cardiac arrests The scientists examined patients with severe brain injuries from the US and Europe who were involved in road accidents with traumatic brain injury, or had a stroke or were resuscitated after cardiac arrest, often months before. While their brains were scanned in tests, they were given instructions, such as "imagine opening and closing your hand." Or they were asked to imagine they were performing a sport. Of the 241 patients studied who were lying in bed and showed no externally visible reaction, tests showed 60 of them still followed the instructions internally for several minutes. That means the group was attentive, understood language and had a short-term memory, the authors say. Study raises ethical questions The international study, conducted over a period of several years, is very important, says Julian Bosel, spokesman for the Neurological Intensive Care Medicine Commission of the German Society of Neurology (DGN), as it includes the largest patient group to date, was carried out at six medical centres and has recorded the phenomenon more systematically than usual. But it raises a central ethical question, namely whether or not therapy should be continued, he says. Severe brain injuries often cause an impairment of consciousness. A coma is a state of complete unconsciousness, where patients do not open their eyes, even in response to pain stimuli. There are other degrees and levels of partial consciousness, such as a minimally conscious state, or when patients occasionally open their eyes and have distinct sleep-wake phases, even if they are unresponsive. More examinations, more time advisable Such disorders of consciousness can last for days, weeks, months or even years. "In certain constellations, studies such as the present one could provide an opportunity to examine more of these patients with EEG and observe them over a longer period of time," says Bosel. We can deduce from this that, when in doubt, certain patients should be given more time, he says. However, it is unclear whether special therapies help such people. For some time now, attempts have been made to achieve something with behavioural therapies, medication or other procedures, but mostly without resounding or lasting success. A Massachusetts General Hospital team is also using modern technology to probe these questions, testing brain-computer interfaces to connect the brains of patients with computers so that they can communicate with each other. Brain activity is not necessarily consciousness But the latest study doesn't tell us anything wholly new, in the view of Frank Erbguth, President of the German Brain Foundation. "It is clear that the phenomenon exists." However, just because electrical patterns or active regions in the brain are measured does not mean that these people really have a higher form of consciousness, he says, adding the fMRI or EEG of anaesthetized people shows similar levels of consciousness. Both scientists however agree on the way patients should be handled. "People in intensive care units and rehabilitation wards should always be treated as if they are aware of something. You talk to them and treat them with respect, as they already are today," says Erbguth. Number of people affected uncertain So how high is the rate of people who show cognitive abilities but lack behavioural signs? The study authors and the German scientists agree it is difficult to make definitive statements on this. In the new study, the tests were not standardized, and the patients were selected. "Also the causes of brain damage that were summarized here were completely different," says Erbguth. But the percentage figures from studies like this one show: "We should be aware that perhaps even more patients with impaired consciousness are aware of what is going on around them than we thought," says Bosel. It is still common in many places for comatose patients to be spoken to at the bedside as if they were not there, he says. "But many carers do a really good job, greeting the patient, introducing themselves and telling them what they are doing with them." That is an approach that everyone should take this to heart, including doctors on ward rounds and visitors, he says. Do not address frightening or upsetting topics while beside the patient. "We stand at the bedside and don't know that much about what's really going on in the patient's head." The bronze statue of Deng Xiaoping is pictured on the hilltop of the Lianhua Hill Park in Futian District of Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Aug. 20, 2024. Xinhua/Hong Zehua) CHENGDU/SHENZHEN, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Lan Zongguo remembers Deng Xiaoping for one thing: Reforms led by the late Chinese leader put bowls of rice in the hands of his four sisters. On Thursday, China marked Deng's 120th birth anniversary. Lan, a 58-year-old peasant, is the only son in his family in Huaqiao Town of Guang'an City, Deng's hometown in southwest China's Sichuan Province. The town is famous for rice production, but in the 1970s when the countryside was still in the grip of patriarchal norms and scarcity, Lan was the only one in the family allowed to eat their modest ration of rice. "At dinner time, I was the only kid to get a bowl of rice. My two elder sisters would silently eat their share of corn paste, while my younger sisters would surround me hoping to get a spoonful of rice," he said. Lan's parents worked in a production team under a "people's commune." This collective system pooled manpower to improve irrigation and road facilities in rural China, but its egalitarian distribution dented farmers' enthusiasm for work and resulted in reduced output. In the early 1980s, under Deng's leadership, China actively promoted the "household contract responsibility system," a reform that allocated collective land to individual households, allowing farmers to manage their own production and keep most of their harvest. As with many Chinese reforms, it began as a local experiment by a group of farmers in Anhui Province before being promoted nationwide by the central leadership. Guang'an embraced the reform in 1983, and Lan's family was allocated 5 mu (about 0.3 hectares) of land. The increase in output was enormous: Their paddy yielded 1,750 kg of rice annually, of which the family kept 1,600 kg, compared with the 150-200 kg they used to receive in rations. "Every member of my family could enjoy a bowl of rice, and there was even excess rice that we could sell in the market," Lan said, recalling the situation after the reform. An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 7, 2024 shows the paddy fields at Zhulin Village in Huaqiao Town of Guang'an City, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Photo by Wang Yining/Xinhua) With improved productivity among farmers, China's grain output jumped to over 407 million tonnes in 1984, up 33.7 percent from the 1978 figure. In 1990, the output further went up to 435 million tonnes. The household responsibility reform is deemed a hallmark of Deng's early stage of reform. In China, Deng is venerated as the "chief architect of China's economic reform, opening up and modernization." The reform and opening-up drive led by Deng started China's historic transformation from a planned economy with a per capita GDP of around 200 U.S. dollars into the world's second-largest economy. In Shenzhen, the symbolic hub of China's reform and opening-up drive, Deng's bronze statue is consistently adorned with flowers from entrepreneurs and local residents. "Shenzhen has become a paradise for innovation and entrepreneurship. Many people who have realized their dreams here believe it would not be possible without Deng and the reform and opening-up," said Zhang Xi, a director with the Lianhuashan Park, where the statue is located. In 1980, Shenzhen established one of China's earliest special economic zones (SEZs) to allow foreign companies to set up factories. The SEZ model injected much-needed capital, technology and management expertise into China's manufacturing sector and was later introduced in many other parts of the country. In 1992, in his famous southern China tour, Deng expressed support for Shenzhen's bold reforms and encouraged the fast-developing city to keep on its way. China is now a hotspot for foreign investment. In 2023, the number of newly established foreign-invested enterprises in the country reached 53,766, representing a growth of 39.7 percent year on year. Television giant Konka, established in 1980 in the Shenzhen SEZ, was an early beneficiary of Deng's reforms. The company started by producing black-and-white TVs to cater to a burgeoning domestic market for consumer electronics, unlocked by a set of market-oriented reforms. The SEZ allowed for the import of foreign equipment and technologies, which greatly raised the company's efficiency and product quality, said Zhou Bin, president of Konka Group Co., Ltd. "By allowing companies to access foreign resources, the reform and opening-up drive has created a better environment for innovation, which in turn accelerated China's social and economic development," he said. This photo shows an exterior view of "Minghua" steamship, also known as "A World on the Sea" with the name written by Deng Xiaoping in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Aug. 19, 2024. Xinhua/Hong Zehua) REFORMS CONTINUE Over 40 years after the SEZ took off, Shenzhen still lies at the forefront of China's reform and opening up. In 2019, the city was tasked with building a "pilot demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics" and developing replicable reforms for other regions. The metropolis is now home to over 23,000 hi-tech firms, including tech heavyweights like Huawei, Tencent and BYD. "The reform and opening up revitalized China's then economic and social development. As the country faces a changing domestic and international environment, deepening reform is an inevitable choice," Zhou said. Reforms have continued in the countryside as well. In 2004, China allowed farmers to transfer management rights of their allotted lands, meaning they could lease farmland to others. Ten years later, the central government issued policies to promote nationwide land transfer to encourage large-scale farming and agricultural modernization. In Huaqiao Town, over a third of the farmland is now leased out. By consolidating fragmented fields, local farmers have created 2,600 hectares of "high-standard farmland" featuring mechanization and modern management practices. "Unmanned machines manage the entire farming process from sowing to harvesting, which farmers can monitor and control through their smartphones," said Qin Qigui, an official of Huaqiao's Chongfeng Village. For Lan's family, rural reforms since the 1980s have not only unshackled them from hunger but also empowered them to embrace prosperity in diverse ways. Lan has leased out most of the contracted farmland and switched to other jobs like minibus driver and farm machinery operator. He and his wife earn about 160,000 yuan (about 22,500 U.S. dollars) per year and own a three-story house and two cars. All his four sisters now live in Guangdong Province. After working for years as migrant workers, his two younger sisters used their savings to open a factory producing garments for export. "Now we all live a 'Xiaokang' life," Lan said. In 1979, Deng proposed "Xiaokang," meaning moderately prosperous, as a goal of the country's modernization. In 2021, China announced the completion of building a Xiaokang society in all respects, before it embarks on the new journey of building a great modern socialist country in all respects. An aerial drone photo taken on Aug. 7, 2024 shows the paddy fields at Chongfeng Village in Huaqiao Town of Guang'an City, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Photo by Wang Yining/Xinhua) (Bloomberg) -- Brazil Finance Minister Fernando Haddad said the federal government will include a plan to increase two taxes rates within its budget law proposal by the end of this month. Most Read from Bloomberg President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvas administration wants to raise levies on interest on equity and also the rate of social contribution on net income, known locally as CSLL, for companies. Haddad considers that the two levies are the most appropriate measures to compensate for the payroll tax relief approved by the Senate if more resources are needed, he told journalists in Brasilia late on Thursday. The economic team is awaiting the Senates calculations in order to confirm whether additional proposals will be necessary to increase revenue. Central Bank Haddad also said that Lula asked him for nominations to fill the future vacancies on the board of directors of Brazils central bank. According to the minister, the public hearing for the new bank leadership is being discussed between the Presidential Palace and the Senate, and that there is a possibility that the process will take place before Octobers local elections. Current Monetary Policy Director Gabriel Galipolo remains the favorite to assume the central bank presidency after the end of Roberto Campos Netos term, newspapers state. Other Highlights Pablo Marcal (21%) grows and ties with Guilherme Boulos (23%) and Ricardo Nunes (19%) in the lead for the race for mayor of Sao Paulo, a Datafolha poll reported --With assistance from Martha Beck. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) The Terre Haute Police Department posted a release on Facebook Friday morning about arrests made in a murder on May 7. The incident happened on May 7 and occurred in the 1800 block of South Center Street. According to the post, officers had responded to a call of shots fired and when they arrived one of the two victims was already deceased, Antonio M. Jones. The other victim was a woman who was taken to the hospital but has since been treated and released. THPD Public Information Officer Justin Sears said they got to work on case as soon as possible. Immediately, detectives and patrolmen began an investigation, Sears said. Going into an investigation like that there is a lot of things to do. A lot of witnesses, a lot of evidence collecting, and they initially work endlessly until they can basically work no longer as far as gathering that evidence and information. Officials wrote that they worked with the U.S. Marshals Task Force and the Vigo County Prosecutors Office and were able to arrest two suspects within a week, a third suspect two weeks later. Investigators just recently located the fourth suspect in Chicago and got them transported and jailed late last week. Sears said the fourth suspect did everything in his power not to be found. The fourth suspect we were looking for was believed to be bouncing around different cities and basically off the grid, Sears said. We partnered with the U.S. Marshals Task Force, which we have one of our own officers assigned to which benefited us greatly. A little over two weeks ago we located him in Chicago. THPD still searching for 4th suspect in murder case The suspects, Nick O. Rogan (19), Levon J. Warrington (19), DeRion M. Wilcox (21), and Jamir Jordan (21), are all Terre Haute natives. Jamir Jordan was the remaining last suspect recently found in Chicago. They were charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, battery, and burglary. Jordan is set to appear in court in November. Sears said that detectives and prosecutors are now reviewing the evidence together to make the best case possible at trial. All of that stuff gets tested and moved around to the state police lab, and then we begin the process of trial and any other issues that may come up that we need to clarify or work on with the prosecutors office to make sure that we have air-tight cases for these individuals when they go through the system, said Sears. The post finishes by saying they will continue the hard work going into the trial and that their condolences go out to the victims 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 MyWabashValley.com. A federal judge has dropped some felony charges against two former Louisville, Kentucky officers charged in Breonna Taylors death. Western Kentucky Circuit Court Judge Charles Simpson Simpson dismissed charges of aiding and abetting a violation of Taylors Fourth Amendment right to be free from an unreasonable search on Thursday. The charges were brought against officers Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany by the DOJ in 2022. Additionally, Simpson further ruled that Taylors boyfriend was the cause of her death because he fired a shot at police officers upon their no-knock entry. There is no direct link between the warrantless entry and Taylors death, wrote Simpson. He added, [Kenneth Walkers] decision to open fire, as alleged and argued, was the natural and probable consequence of executing the warrant at 12:45 a.m. on an unsuspecting household. That decision prompted the return fire which hit and killed Taylor. A DOJ spokesperson told the Daily Beast in an emailed statement: The department is reviewing the judges decision and assessing next steps. Walker said in court testimony that he and Taylor asked police to identify themselves. Walker then fired one shot and was met with a volley of fire, and he called 911 during the exchange. When an officer came over to him as the dust settled, Walker recalled that the officer asking him whether he was shotto which Walker replied that he wasnt. The officer allegedly responded, Well, thats unfortunate. Simpson ruled, Even if the warrantless entry were the actual and proximate cause of Taylors death, Jaynes and Meany may be exonerated still if the law deems that an intervening act is the legal cause. Meanys attorney, Brian Butler, told CNN in a statement that they were pleased by the Courts ruling, adding alleged facts do not fit the felony offenses as written. Former LMPD Detective, Kelly Goodlett, who was charged with deprivation of rights under color of law resulting in death and conspiracy, plead guilty in 2022. Former LMPD detective Brett Hankison, similarly charged with deprivation of rights under color of law resulting in death but had a hung jury at trial and then a mistrial at the federal level, but will now go to a new trial in October. Walker previously received a $2 million settlement from the city of Louisville in 2022 over lawsuits stemming from the incident, according to Louisville Public Media. The Daily Beast reached out to attorney Ben Crump, who previously represented Walker, for comment. 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. What happens when a society decides that its no longer worth confronting or challenging criminals? In some of our towns and cities, we seem to be well on the way to finding out. In London this week, within sight of New Scotland Yard, an off-duty volunteer police officer bravely intervened to apprehend a pickpocket on Westminster Bridge. He soon found himself set upon by a pack of thugs who punched, beat, kicked and bit him until he released his grip on the pickpocket. Despite being violently assaulted, nobody came to his aid. In a statement, the Met described being shocked that one of their officers had been assaulted while challenging a thief. They declared that there is no place in London for violence. With police officers being assaulted every fifteen minutes in England and Wales, Im not sure why the Met is shocked. For many people visiting or living in London, the idea that there is no place in London for violence will seem like a sick joke amid the violence, aggression and incivility that is so readily visible in the public realm. As any police officer will tell you, Britain has been developing a walk-on-by or stop-and-watch culture for years. The smartphone and social media are adding rocket boosters to the trend. In the minds of many, getting involved risks serious injury or even death. They arent always wrong. Just last year, Max Richardson, a young father, confronted a cannabis-smoking teenager for scaring children in a park. He was stabbed to death for daring to care. In the words of Essex Police, he was killed for simply caring about the safety of his neighbourhood. His name ought to ring out across our media and politics, but like so many other victims of criminals and thugs, our elites appear to have little interest. Devastatingly, others are put off getting involved for fear of the police. Using force, as the law allows, to prevent crime or protect the life runs the risk of facing a stressful investigation and theres obviously no guarantee you wont be arrested rather than commended. The recent and repeated dismissal of public concerns about politicised policing do little to reassure an increasingly sceptical public. High-profile cases, like that of Tony Martin a Norfolk farmer who was convicted of shooting and killing a burglar in 1999, continue to cast a long shadow. Throw in unsustainable mass uncontrolled immigration and low levels of social trust, and its a perfect environment for criminals to go about their predatory behaviour safe in the knowledge that few would dare to take them on. The Peelian Principles the bedrock upon which British policing was largely built are clear that the police require the co-operation of the public to secure observance of the laws and that the police and public both have duties in this regard. Yet these principles seem to be on the wane in much of Britain, if not at risk of being lost completely. Today, its not just the public who fear getting stuck in. Many police officers increasingly feel the same. Do their bosses support them to fight crime? Does the accountability regime work? Isnt it simply safer and easier to, like the public, take a step back from the duties that were once described as incumbent on every citizen. Its a morale-sapping poison. Even for members of the public its psychologically damaging. Sitting on a bus and witnessing low-grade anti-social behaviour without feeling the backing to challenge and intervene isnt good for ones soul, public safety or the future of the nation. Its an alienating feeling that only adds to the sense that Britain is broken and that nobody cares. We need to turn the situation around. That means developing and implementing policies that rebuild the trust in society, the effectiveness of our institutions and our confidence in each other and the nation as a whole. As a first step, our politicians must decide whether they want to be on the side of the law-abiding or the law-breaking. It should be obvious, but talk is cheap and the government will need to have serious and credible plans to ensure criminals, rather than the law-abiding public, are the ones in fear. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks to the media during a visit to Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) training college at Garnerville, following the recent far-right riots in Belfast. Charles Mcquillan/PA Wire/dpa After seven weeks in office, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will make his inaugural visit to Berlin on Wednesday. Social Democratic Chancellor Olaf Scholz will receive the Labour Party leader with military honours in front of the Chancellery in the capital, according to government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit. The two centre-left leaders met previously at a NATO summit in Washington and at a European Political Community summit in England, which took place soon after Starmer took office on July 5. Starmer's Conservative predecessor Rishi Sunak was in power for 18 months before making a first visit to Berlin, in April this year. At the time, the two sides agreed to deepen cooperation in the areas of security and defence. The United Kingdom left the European Union in 2020 but, like Germany, is a member of other key global bodies, such as defence alliance NATO, the G7 of large Western democracies and the G20. This month, the U.S. Air Force made a surprise announcement that it is refusing to comply with an order to clean up drinking water that it contaminated with PFAS forever chemicalssubstances that have been linked to hormone disruption, liver damage, and a range of other health problems. The rationale for halting the cleanup was this years U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the Chevron doctrine, in which courts typically deferred to the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies authority to interpret and enforce environmental and consumer safety rules. Overturning Chevron was one of the most consequential moves that former President Donald Trumps three Supreme Court appointees have made to date. But theres now strong evidence that the former president would go further than his own justices in a second term, giving industry a freer hand to pollute with PFAS, pesticides, microplastics, and other toxic substances that have been shown to have, among other severe health effects, significant negative impacts on male fertility. Trump is positioning himself as the candidate of unbridled masculinity. Hes depending on strong electoral support from young men. The former president sauntered into the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee to the tune of Its a Mans Mans Mans World and accepted the nomination following a speech in which Hulk Hogan ripped off his shirt and declared him a gladiator. J.D. Vance, Trumps running mate, has cited falling fertility rates as an existential threat to the nations future. Yetin the name of reducing bureaucratic red tapeTrump is proposing to deregulate substances that could make it harder to conceive children and could cause Americans testosterone levels to plummet. In seeking to shrink the administrative state, Trump could also shrink the testicles of American men. While the former president has tried to distance himself from the Heritage Foundations Project 2025 blueprints, environmental policies in the document were written by his current and former appointees and align directly with his own promises to gut environmental agencies in order to unleash industry from costly rules and regulations. The dismantling of the Chevron doctrine would have never been possible without Trumps appointments to the high courtand hes promising to appoint more judges with similar views and commitments. The conservatives 2025 playbook would remove the hazardous substances classification of human-made PFAS chemicalsperfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl, among other forever chemicals. Federal regulators just finalized the classification of these chemicals in April, owing to conclusive research that such chemicals present a danger to human healthincluding cancer, immune dysfunction, cardiovascular disease, liver problems, and fetus development issues. A growing range of research shows how such chemicals undermine the functioning of the endocrine system and undercut testosterone and sperm health. The plans from Trump advisers also seek to eliminate the governments authority to track Americans cumulative exposure to toxic chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Actan essential tool for managing endocrine disrupters. Project 2025s Mandate for Leadership document also explicitly encourages the next administration to approve pesticides more quickly, give industry the benefit of the doubt in terms of how the pesticides will be applied, and consider the beneficial effects of pesticides. Animal studies have found that some pesticides, for example, atrazine, can demasculinize male gonads. Another recent study suggested such chemicals may be contributing to a dramatic decline in sperm count among men globally. Rolling back environmental and food safety regulation would likely boost profits for some industrial companies. It could arguably promote some short-term job creation. But these decisions could have serious long-term consequences for human health and for the lives of future generations. And, notably, these moves would go directly against the core interests and priorities of some important members of Trumps new electoral coalition. Today, male online influencersmany of whom obsess over the maximization of testosteroneare a source of high-octane support for Trump. Following Covid-19 lockdowns, scores of famous wellness influencers and members of now-sizable health-focused demographic subsetsorganic moms, natural parenting advocates, fitness brosturned away from Democrats, supporting third-party candidates, and, in many cases, supporting Trump. When the former president makes claims, as he did at the first presidential debate, that he had achieved immaculate clean water and absolutely clean air during his term in office, hes signaling to a subset of supporters that he stands up for personal health and wellness, even if he rejects action on bigger-scale environmental issues like climate change. But this is misleading. As president, Trump appointed chemical and plastics industry lobbyists to key roles in the oversight of food and water safetygiving Big Ag and other corporate profiteers a wish list of policy concessions at the expense of human health. And Project 2025s plans to liberate forever chemicals like PFAS, cut staff at the EPA, and even defund and eliminate the Integrated Risk Information System that the U.S. government uses to assess risks from pesticides and other dangerous substances would take this even further. These planswhich are based on the agendas of industry lobbyistswould likely prevent federal authorities from taking precautionary actions against a variety of threats to the safety of food and water. Its understandable to see health and wellness as matters of personal responsibility. But government safeguards are essential, too. Even if you buy exclusively organic food and use the best possible water filtration, its impossible to fully defend yourself against a mass proliferation of microplastics and other chemicals that would come with widespread deregulation. Male health and wellness influencers erupted in a collective freak-out earlier this year when academic research emerged showing the near-omnipresence of microplastics in human testiclesa situation that may be contributing to low sperm counts around the world. People are right to be concerned. But that concern should translate into political momentum against microplastics and toxic chemicals. While Trump panders to a base that wants men to be manly, hes bowing to industry profiteers who have different interests. Brush Fire in Anahola under control, no structures threatened HONOLULU (KHON2) Kauai Fire Department firefighters are currently battling a brush fire in Anahola, mauka of Kuhio Highway, across from the post office. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You Crews from the Kaiakea Fire Station, including Tender 1, Air 1, and the on-duty Battalion Chief, are on the scene. Air 2 is also en route to assist. Derelict Oahu property demolished, City negotiating payment to owner The Kauai Emergency Management Agency is actively monitoring the situation. At this time, there are no road closures and no structures are at risk. The fire is estimated at 6 to 10 acres. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news Further updates will be provided 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 KHON2. ST. LOUIS Bud Select has been a staple in the St. Louis region for nearly two decades, sporting the St. Louis Arch in the background of its beer. Initially launched in 2005, Bud Select is a beer that has a total of 99 calories but has the same full lager taste as a Budweiser. While many may think that Bud Select is sold exclusively in the St. Louis region, youll be surprised to find it during a trip to the bar in other cities. Search for 1981 cop killer continues as police uphold legacy According to an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson, Bud Select is available nationally, with its largest fanbases being in the states of Missouri, Texas, and Illinois. Bud Select is part of Anheuser-Buschs family of brands, which includes other beers like Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, Stella Artois, and more. Anheuser-Busch was founded in 1857 and has a total of 12 breweries throughout the United States, with its headquarters being stationed in St. Louis. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. On Wednesday night, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz addressed the Democratic National Convention as the vice-presidential candidate. In his speech, he spoke directly to his family. Gus, Hope and Gwen, you are my entire world and I love you. His 17-year-old son, Gus, gave his dad a standing ovation and, while crying, said, Thats my dad! The heart-warming moment went viral. Then the bullying began. Ann Coulter mocked the teens tears by posting a picture of him crying and captioning it Talk about weird. Mike Crispi, a Trump supporter and podcaster from New Jersey, mocked Walzs stupid crying son on X and added, You raised your kid to be a puffy beta male. Congrats. (Both have since deleted the tweets, after fierce backlash.) There was so much more. Gus Walz is neurodivergent, and as a teenager, was diagnosed with a non-verbal learning disorder, ADHD and anxiety all of which Tim and Gwen called his secret power in an exclusive August 2024 statement to People magazine. We love our Gus, Tim and Gwen told People. We are proud of the man hes growing into, and we are so excited to have him with us on this journey. When our youngest, Gus, was growing up, it became increasingly clear that he was different from his classmates, the couple told People. Gus preferred video games and spending more time by himself. A non-verbal learning disorder does not mean that a person cannot talk, but rather that they have difficulty picking up concepts and patterns, something that affects kids visually, socially and academically according to Child Mind Institute. Two things: first, I am neurodivergent, as a person with ADHD (its my superpower too), and I am also the mother of children with a variety of different abilities. Second, crying is not the weakness some might wish to portray it as. First the mama bear part: Why on earth would anyone be OK with mocking or bullying those with disabilities? Its enraging. I was outraged when then-candidate Donald Trump mocked a disabled reporter in 2015 and Im outraged that mocking continues today, this time with a child. Of course, there have been numerous other instances in the last nine years. I dont understand the cruelty, which too often seems to be the point, or the lack of compassion for those who are different. As a mama whose children have been bullied for being different, I promise you that I see it when my neighbors, friends and family pile on someone else, like a Gus Walz. My children see it too. I also see the people standing up for Gus, and by extension, my family too. Thank you for that. Second, tears are good! The idea that crying is somehow a sign of weakness is misguided at best and incredibly damaging at worse. My husband cries more easily and more often than I do, and I am grateful to be married to someone who is not afraid to share emotions. Crying tears of joy is just as masculine as tears of sorrow or even anger. In March, Mens Health published an article they titled Real Men Cry. Just Ask Jason Kelce. In it, the author wrote that: In his retirement speech, Jason demonstrated his trademark lack of self-consciousness in a way that all too few famous men do. He wasnt embarrassed to cry in public because the emotions he was conveying were genuine. Why would he try to pretend not to care? This is the part of those old-fashioned boys dont cry ideas that is so confusing: who, exactly, benefits? The answer, of course, is no one. Even if Gus were neurotypical, and even if he were an adult instead of a minor child, mocking him for being jubilantly proud of his dad would still be wrong. Jamlick Mwangi Kariuki, who is currently studying at Beijing Jiaotong University, speaks during an interview with Xinhua in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 10, 2024. (Xinhua/Wang Xiaopeng) BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- When Jamlick Mwangi Kariuki came to China to study transportation seven years ago, his home country, Kenya, had only one narrow-gauge railroad, built nearly a century ago by the British. On the old railroad, it took about nine hours to reach Nairobi from Mombasa, said Kariuki, referring to the country's capital and major port city. In May 2017, a Chinese-built modern railway linking the two cities opened to traffic. The 480-km standard gauge railway (SGR) cuts rail travel time between the two cities by half, and is hailed as a flagship project and a successful example of China-Kenya Belt and Road cooperation. Just as the modern, efficient railway facilitates travel and promotes economic development for Kenya, Kariuki's own life has hit the fast track of development with the expansion of China-Africa cooperation. Months before the modern railway was launched, Kariuki applied for and was enrolled in a special bachelor's degree program initiated jointly by Beijing Jiaotong University and the China Road & Bridge Corporation, which was contracted to build the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR. The four years of undergraduate study in China equipped Kariuki and his fellow Kenyan students with much-needed knowledge about the development and maintenance of railways. Over the years, a total of 100 Kenyan students benefitted from this undergraduate program aimed at boosting the ranks of talent in railway transportation and management. According to Kariuki, after graduation, many of them actively engaged themselves in the development of the railway system in their home country. After completing undergraduate studies in 2021, Kariuki returned to Kenya and began working for the Kenya Railways Corporation as an assistant engineer. Although his first job that entailed inspecting tracks on the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway may not have sounded glamorous, it was essential. "My job was to find if there are any defects that need to be repaired and things that need to be maintained," Kariuki said. He also took part in the planning of railroad management at the headquarters of the corporation, where engineers determine the tasks at hand, the allocation of resources and other factors affecting the railway's operation. During the job stint, Kariuki gained first-hand knowledge of how the railway has promoted Kenya's economic development. "It has been almost seven years since the railway was launched, and over time, we can see the railway contributing to the growth of the economy and creating job opportunities," he said. "There are a good number of people who were unemployed but are now working there." Data shows that the development of Mombasa-Nairobi SGR has created over 50,000 jobs and cultivated more than 2,800 high-quality railroad technology and management specialists for Kenya. In addition, it was estimated to have contributed to about 2 percent of the country's gross domestic product. After working with the corporation for two years, Kariuki realized he needed to acquire more expertise. In his words: "If we want to continue our development, we must advance our knowledge." To achieve this, Kariuki decided to come back to Beijing Jiaotong University and began pursuing a Master's degree in civil engineering there in 2023. The same year, China celebrated both the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties with Kenya. In addition to the Mombasa-Nairobi SGR, large-scale projects such as an oil terminal at the port of Mombasa had also been carried out. Following years of studying in China, the 26-year-old can now speak in fluent Chinese, and enjoys drinking Chinese green tea as much as the tea bags produced in Kenya. He has traveled to many places across China by high-speed trains and hoped that his parents and siblings will one day come to join him in his discovery of this country. Currently, Kariuki is focused on gaining in-depth knowledge in railway engineering, studying subjects such as solid mechanics, steel structures and advanced concrete materials. Upon completing his postgraduate studies, he plans to return to work with Kenya Railway. Kariuki noted that as he is in the engineering field, he also has opportunities to work on developing highways and other similar infrastructure projects needed in Kenya. "When I go back, I will put into use all the skills I have learned to ensure Kenya emerges as a regional powerhouse in the railway sector." When leaving for China seven years ago, young Kariuki spoke of his aspirations. Today, as BRI cooperation bears more fruit, the young African railway engineer is closer than ever to realizing his dream. Buncombe Co. woman arrested for killing mother, deputies say BUNCOMBE COUNTY, N.C. (WSPA) Officials with the Buncombe County Sheriffs Office said a woman was arrested Thursday for allegedly killing her mother. Deputies said 39-year-old Danya Kathryn Dewey was charged with first-degree murder in relation to the death of her mother 63-year-old Lori Pallinger. According to the sheriffs office, the homicide occurred at Clarks Crossing Way in Black Mountain. Deputies found a Pallinger deceased after being called to complete a welfare check. Details of what may have led to Pallingers death or a motive have not been released at this time. Law enforcement located Dewey later in the day and apprehended her. She remains in custody in the Buncombe County Detention Facility with no bond according to deputies. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Georgia delegates to the Democratic National Convention cheer on a speech from Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder) CHICAGO Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party wrapped up their convention late Thursday night with an acceptance speech outlining her biography and seeking to cast former President Donald Trump as dangerous and unhinged. Georgia played a prominent role on the big blue stage over the four-day convention, bookended with major speeches from U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock on Monday and Congresswoman Lucy McBath on Thursday, as well as a scathing condemnation of Trump from Republican former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan on Wednesday. Georgia stole the show during Tuesdays roll call vote to nominate Harris, when Atlanta rapper Lil Jon delivered a surprise performance of 2013s Turn Down for What, leaving even most of the Georgia delegation gobsmacked. Tolulope Kevin Olasanoye said Congresswoman Nikema Williams, the chair of the state party, deserves the credit for the impromptu concert, which became one of the conventions most viral moments. I think at the end of the day, what you saw was a sort of intersection between politics and culture, having folks who are engaged in politics and who care about policies, Olasanoye said. But at the same time, having folks who are engaged in culture and marrying the two, that is the sweet spot, I think, of how wed be able to communicate our message to folks who are young, who are old, who are Black, who are white, who are gay, who are straight, who are a part of all the diaspora, of all the people that we are trying to make the case to in terms of the electorate in November. President Joe Biden narrowly won Georgia in 2020 after years of slowly shifting leftward, but polling for the 81-year-old president became increasingly distressing to Democrats around the country after a poor debate performance against Trump in late June. Harris elevation to the top of the ticket relieved some of that Democratic agitation. Harris has narrowed the polling gap that Biden faced, but the race remains close. In speeches, meetings and private conversations, Georgia Democrats praised Biden effusively, but none denied that having Harris as nominee had greatly lifted their spirits and their prospects. Since this shift to the top of the ticket, theres that same commitment thats there, but the energy level has gone up through the roof, said Mableton Mayor Michael Owens. Theres people Ive talked to that said they werent sure if they were even going to vote, and now theyre like, Im getting off the couch and let me know what I can do, let me know how I can get engaged, Im going to be involved. Georgia Democratic Party First Vice Chair Matthew Wilson said delegates from other states offered well wishes and offers of help throughout the convention. This week made clear that every other state in the country has their eyes on Georgia and Georgia on their minds, and are committed to helping Georgia Democrats push it over the top, he said. Few Georgians are more familiar with Democratic National Conventions than former state Rep. Calvin Smyre. This year marks his 12th DNC, and for him, the buzz that comes with the big event is nothing new. What we have here is a lot of energy, and I think theres so much excitement and the wind is at our back, he said. But its a lot of work ahead. Its always good to have some euphoria and excitement, but at some point in time, there has to be engagement and real work in the community. We got a lot of new young people here, and they have to understand that you kind of have to come down off of that euphoria and that high pitch and get down into the valley where the voters are and engage, fast. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE The Bureau of Land Management released the first group of 14 wild horses to the Hardtrigger Herd Management Area. The entire Hardtrigger Herd Management Area was burned by the 280,000-acre Soda Fire in 2015. The BLM gathered the wild horses following the fire, and cared for those destined to return to the range at both the Boise and Bruneau Off-Range Wild Horse Corral facilities. (Courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management) Staff from the Bureau of Land Management Owyhee and Four Rivers field offices will perform an emergency gathering of wild horses from the Sands Basin and Four Mile Wild Horse Herd Management Areas next week. The areas were nearly completely burned by the Jump Fire, which resulted in 25,720 acres burned, and the Paddock Fire which resulted in 187,185 acres burned. There is no known loss of wild horses from the fires, but there is not enough vegetation to sustain the horses into the winter months, according to a BLM press release. The Sands Basin Herd Management Area is near Marsing, and there are about 40 wild horses that will be gathered, while the Four Mile Herd Management Area has about 52 wild horses that will be gathered, the BLM said in the press release. The wild horses will first be transported to the BLM Boise Wild Horse Off-Range Corrals. Then, the horses will be cared for at the Bruneau Wild Horse Off-Range Corrals until they can be returned to the range. There are no public viewing opportunities for the emergency gathering of horses, but daily updates will be posted on the BLM website here. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Bushwick has evolved into a popular tourist destination due in part to its emerging street art scene. Meet the street artists who are preserving the culture and community even as the Brooklyn neighborhood continues to gentrify. Photograph By Benjamin PETIT/HAYTHAM-REA/Redux In the past three decades, Brooklyn specifically Bushwick and the surrounding areas has transformed into a popular tourist area beyond the bustling crowds found in Manhattan. But as the southern borough has continued to reinvent itself, there are reminders that the people and rich cultural legacy remain in Bushwickwith street art playing an integral part in preserving the local culture, encouraging creative expression, and building community even as gentrification continues. The evolution Bushwick over the past 50 years Fifty years ago, this part of Brooklyn contained a diverse mix of immigrant families. In the 50s through the 70s, Bushwick was home to Italian, German, and Polish communities, says Celestina Leon, district manager with Brooklyn Community Board 4. She added that Black Americans from the south and families from the Caribbean also came to the neighborhood in search of industrial labor opportunities. I was born in Bushwick in the 1970s when the neighborhood was much different and it didnt escape the effects of New York Citys financial decline in the 70s. The Bushwick of my childhood was known for gangs, crime, poverty, and vacant buildings many of them burnt and crumbling (photographer Meryl Meisler is known for capturing these scenes in her Bushwick collections). But in the early 2000s, Leon says, artists and young professionals began arriving in Bushwick, drawn by lower rents and more spacious housing. Gradual waves of gentrification followed, triggered in part by the redevelopment of the Williamsburg waterfront, which pushed people there to seek more affordable alternatives. (For a taste of the Caribbean just go to Brooklyn.) A thriving street art scene thrives despite gentrification Today, Bushwick has a much different look and feel. One change is impossible to miss: the eye-catching street art that adorns buildings throughout the neighborhood. Bushwick has developed a reputation as a global hub for street art, attracting artists (and fans) from around the world. Out-of-town visitors participate in daily street art tours, where they take selfies in front of impressive murals that in some cases span half a block. David Chino Villorente, a Brooklyn-born artist with strong Bushwick family ties, says underdeveloped, industrial areas (like the Bushwick of the past) offer expansive exterior spaces that can serve as the perfect blank canvas for street artists. He notes that when an area becomes a hotspot for street art, thats often a sign of impending gentrification. Usually most of the murals are going up while the green construction boards are up, and there are cranes in the background, says Villorente. So that seems to be a very calculated way of moving young people in. The construction is happening, and it does a phenomenal job of drawing in young people with all of these amazing murals for the backdrops in their social media posts and TikTok videos. More often than not, when I see street art exploding somewhere, they're in communities that are about to experience gentrification. In Bushwick, gentrification brought coffee shops and young professionals and higher rents. Jason Maas is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who was a street artist in Bushwick in the mid-2000's. He says he and other creatives were inspired by the work of street artists like Banksy and Shepard Fairey the artist behind the Obama Hope poster campaign fostered the belief that street art could change the world. (The best dishes to eat in Brooklyn right now) Maas says the commercial success of Banksy and other high-profile artists led street art to become mainstreamwelcomed by businesses and property owners. What was daring and counterculture for a time slowly became an aesthetic sought after and commissioned, a visual attraction which elevated the cool factor of neighborhoods and contributed to their increase in popularity, and ultimately, the rental price of Bushwick. Those soaring rents pushed out many longtime residents including some of the artists whose work made the neighborhood so popular. While graffiti and street art have many similarities and often overlap, graffiti is more of a language the artists use to leave their mark or exchange messages, whereas street art tends to be more of a visual, creative expression meant for a wider audience. Villorente says the presence of street art may deter some random tagging, but doesnt eliminate it and in some cases, graffiti artists who dont appreciate murals will deliberately tag them. Brooklyn native and founder of Bushwick Collective, Joe Ficalora works with artists from all over the world to create the creatively colorful street murals found on the walls of buildings located throughout the neighborhood. Photograph By Benjamin Petit /Benjamin Petit/Haytham-REA/Redux Bushwick Collective nurtures the street art scene Much of the credit for the street art scene goes to the Bushwick Collective, a nonprofit organization and outdoor gallery that coordinates many of the artistic projects in the neighborhood. Founder of The Bushwick Collective, Joseph Ficalora was born in and still lives in Bushwick, helping to run the steel manufacturing business his family started there in the 1960s. Although new street art pops up throughout the neighborhood constantly, the biggest flurry of activity happens when the Bushwick Collective hosts their annual Block Party. Every year, the event draws thousands of people including artists and enthusiasts from all over the world. This year, 57 new mural installations were created during the three-day Block Party in June. It has brought the community together, Ficalora says of the Collective and the street art scene, noting that people from around the globe now flock to the neighborhood few wanted to visit a few decades ago. Everyone has been grateful and created a culture, sense of family and inspiration, says Ficalora. People want to live in Bushwick because its such an inspiring place to live. (Here are the 7 cities to see powerful street art.) The Collective and other local groups host events periodically, but visitors can check out the impressive street art displays in Bushwick anytime. You can stroll through the neighborhood and see the murals for free or reserve a spot on one of the street art tours, where knowledgeable guides share stories about the artists and the evolution of the local street art scene. Lisa Levy is an artist and performer who has lived in Bushwick since 2011 and hosted the Bushwick Open Studios benefit from 2013 to 2016. A lot of artists in the neighborhood knew each other and we all ran into each other at the local bars and galleries. Since that time rents have gone up and a lot of the studios and galleries cleared out. The street art scene has remained vibrant though. The neighborhoods outdoor art displays provided welcome comfort when COVID caused the city and country to shut down, Levy says. During the pandemic when I couldnt go to museums and galleries, I would walk outside, and I felt so grateful to be surrounded by art right outside my door. Bobbi Dempsey is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Parade, Harper's, AARP, and other outlets. Butler University to renovate former dorm into boutique hotel, the first on campus The oldest residence hall at Butler University will be transformed into a boutique hotel after developers stepped in to protect the building from demolition. The hotel, part of the Curio Collection by Hilton, will be the first hotel on Butler's campus, housing 105 luxury rooms, a signature restaurant and meeting spaces in the 70-year-old former dormitory. University President James Danko said the hotel design will play into the existing structure of Ross Hall, including the building's facade and interior details such as ceiling beams. Set to open by the 2026-2027 academic year, the hotel will help address the lack of accommodations close to campus and provide a new experience of visiting the university, Danko said. Many visitors during commencement and move-in weekends wind up staying miles away from campus, Danko said. A rendering shows a boutique Curio Collection by Hilton hotel coming to Butler University's campus. Butler and Hilton announced Friday the hotel would open through a renovation of Ross Hall, a former dormitory. "There's no hotel that's really close to us," Danko said. "So this is going to be a really nice hotel that also happens to be on Butler's campus." The signature restaurant will offer fine dining, Danko said; designers want to create a space that can double as a coffee shop in the morning and luxury restaurant in the evening. Developers hope to break ground in the spring. Before construction can begin, the city must approve the rezoning of the land. The North side: What renovations are in store for The Fashion Mall at Keystone after Saks closure Ross Hall, once home to Butler first-year students, closed as a residence hall in 2019, when the university built a series of new residence halls and opted not to renovate the aging building. The building was briefly resurrected as a living space during the pandemic, serving as an isolation building for students. From demolition to a new hotel In the summer of 2023, Butler leaders sent out a message to alumni, saying that Ross Hall was set for demolition. Passionate Ross Hall alumni quickly reacted, lamenting on the impending loss of what many students called their first home on campus. Hotel development firm Purpose Lodging also took notice and approached Butler to tour Ross Hall and envision what the building could become. The company identifies unused historic buildings to repurpose into boutique hotels. "I think they were seeing beyond what we saw, which was an old classic dorm that wasn't air conditioned," Danko said. "The more and more we talked with the group, the more that they were enamored with the idea of going to Hilton for their Curio Collection, which is focused on unique properties usually in some type of a community." Three months later, the firm helped the university make a connection with Hilton, Danko said. Purpose Lodging, headquartered in Alabama, will serve as the developer and operator of the hotel, the first Curio Collection hotel in Indiana and the first on a college campus. Travel: Southwest adds new nonstop flight from Indianapolis to start just before spring break travel Butler will lease Ross Hall and the surrounding area to Purpose Lodging under the agreement. Gettys Group, a Chicago-based hospitality firm, will design the project. A deal with a construction firm has not been finalized. The total price of the hotel project is unclear, but Danko estimated the renovations alone will cost $45 to $50 million dollars. Butler, Hilton and Purpose Lodging will pay for the development through money from investors, Danko said. Ross Hall renovations are part of Butler's larger Gateway Project, a plan to connect the campus to the Indianapolis community, particularly the Midtown area and Butler-Tarkington neighborhood, Danko said. Earlier this month, Butler received a $22.5 million Lilly endowment grant for the project, which includes money earmarked for a safety and transit hub in the surrounding area. However, no endowment funds will be used for the cost of the hotel, Danko said, which will come from private investment. Alysa Guffey covers growth and development for Indy Star. Contact her at amguffey@gannett.com or on X: @AlysaGuffeyNews. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Butler University to renovate Ross Hall into a boutique hotel IRON MOUNTAIN, Mich. (WJMN) A woman has been arrested after stealing a cab and leading police on a high-speed chase, according to the owner of the cab company. The chase started before 6 p.m. CST Thursday evening at the Family Dollar in Norway, according to Edward Kacalo, owner of Kacalo City Cab. Thats when Kacalo said one of his drivers picked up a regular customer, who then asked the driver to run into the Family Dollar on US-2 in Norway and grab her a bottle of water. This embedded content is not available in your region. When the driver obliged, he returned to the parking lot to find his vehicle and the woman nowhere to be seen. Then the driver called Kacalo to alert him and law enforcement became involved soon after, leading to a high-speed chase. Kacalo, who said he had been in touch with law enforcement, said the chase went from Norway to Iron Mountain and back to Norway. He also told us another one of his drivers encountered the speeding cab at some point and tried briefly to pursue, reporting that he thought the woman was driving over 90 mph. One eyewitness told Local 3 she witnessed four law enforcement vehicles speeding down West A Street in Iron Mountain, with one quickly turning around in her yard. She took a photo of the skid marks from the police cruiser shortly after, which is timestamped 5:50 p.m. CST. The chase then ended before 6:30 p.m. with the use of spike strips about three blocks from where he said the chase began, near 4th Avenue and Stephenson Street in Norway, according to Kacalo. He told us that the woman was arrested by police and that his cab had sustained some damage. We have not found any reports of bystanders or other drivers being hurt during the course of the chase. Case docs reveal details of rekindled search for Nancy Renkas in Iron Mountain Mugshot of Stephanie Vogel On Monday, a spokesperson with the City of Norway Police Department confirmed 35-year-old Stephanie Vogel of Norway was the woman arrested at the scene. She has been charged with several crimes, including Larceny of a Motor Vehicle, Fleeing from a Police Officer, Reckless Driving, and Operating Under the Influence of Alcohol. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CADDO PARISH, La. (KTAL/KMSS)The 2024-2025 school year has begun, and Louisiana students are facing a new cell phone policy implemented by Governor Jeff Landry. In May 2024, Governor Jeff Landry signed Senate Bill 207 into law, prohibiting using electronic telecommunication devices at school. Entrepreneurs challenge will reward local high schools monthly One local High School, Green Oaks Performing Arts Academy, allowed students to use cell phones with headphones during breakfast and lunch. One 11th grader, Kimyah Harrison, at Green Oaks, said, Before we had the change, we could make TikToks and create memories with our classmates, and I feel like that has been taken away from us because, like, after school or when school is out in the summer, we can reminisce on those times and be ready to see each other again, so it kind of makes it hard when remembering people you went to school with. Principal Steven Grant says the school has been doing all they can to comply with the new law. Actually, the very first five days of school, Im on the school bus before they get off the bus, reminding them to turn power phones. We have in our drop off lanes, our staff is out front reminding the parents about this, and when students walk up so its been that kind of effort, said Principal Grant of Green Oaks Performing Arts Academy. Grant says the school has posted signs on the front office and stairwells, they have had minimal issues. Preseason Blitz: Green Oaks looking to build off of last seasons success I think the challenges now on teachers is that theres no excuse about you know students not being engaged because they have nothing to distract them, said Grant. Red River United, a union representing teachers and school employees in Bossier, Caddo, De Soto, and Red River parishes, says the policy has been great so far. Executive Vice President of Red River United, Jordan Thomas, said, now that its consistent across the board, its clearly communicated, then everybody kind of knows how to play. And I think thats you know a huge component of what we always say is you know people cant meet expectations if they dont know them. These expectations have been clearly outlined to students and to parents and so because of that I just think that everybodys kind of like okay this is- this is this is the best thing for us. Green Oaks students say it is early in the school year and it will take adjusting, but they see the benefits to the policy. 12th grader Isaiah Washington said, a pro that come out of this new law is you cant really cheat that much, people cant share answers, you cant send it back and forth and thats been good to have. 11th grader Harrison echoed the sentiment and added that this is an opportunity to be more social. Its a lot of people at the school that dont know everybody, so not being able to be on your phone all the time, you have to interact more with your classmates and get to know everybody around you. Principal Grant says that almost 99% of parents in the few phone incidents they have had have been supportive and upset with their own child who breaks the law by using their cell phone. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Twenty-four years ago, California voters approved Proposition 1A, granting federally recognized Native American tribes the exclusive right to operate specific gaming operations, including slot machines and banked card games. This was more than a business opportunity it marked a turning point for California tribes, creating economic lifelines, job prospects and funds for essential services like healthcare and education. It was also a public acknowledgment of the centuries of brutality and violence inflicted upon Californias tribes, and an attempt to offer some measure of restitution via meaningful opportunity for self-reliance. For generations, our tribes endured systemic genocide, forced land dispossession and cultural erasure. Once Californias electorate permitted this path for a stable economic future, tribes organized businesses that have made us self-sustaining and high-functioning financial partners in communities across the state. Opinion Now, two decades later, our tribal nations find themselves fighting to defend our financial sovereignty once again this time, to ensure that Californias promise of exclusive gaming rights has its day in court. California Senate Bill 549, authored by Sen. Josh Newsom, D-Fullerton, allows tribes to seek a court decision on whether certain controlled games operated by California card clubs violate state law and infringe upon exclusive tribal gaming rights. For more than a decade, tribes have sought legal recourse to hold card clubs accountable for hosting games that are legally exclusive to tribes. But these lawsuits have consistently been dismissed on the technicality of procedural grounds without actually addressing the core issue of whether card clubs are breaking the law. SB 549 would finally allow the courts to examine whether card rooms are infringing on the rights of California tribes. To be clear, there is no rational argument for denying tribes equal access to the court system. SB 549 is a remedy to a legal technicality that card rooms and their high-paid lawyers want in place to keep them from being accountable to the people of California and to our tribes. Gaming has provided a chance to rebuild what was stolen from us. Through gaming, we are able to create new jobs and invest in critical services for our people. Gaming has allowed us to rediscover the economic sovereignty that had been systematically undermined for generations. We urge lawmakers in Sacramento to vote in favor of SB 549, ensuring that Californias tribes have our rightful access to the courts and the justice we are entitled to. For over a century, Native American tribes have faced countless broken promises. SB 549 is about California lawmakers keeping their promises. John Christman is chariman of the VIEJAS Band of Kumeyaay Indians and Tracey Hopkins is chairwoman of the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians. Danielle Cirelli, chairwoman of the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake, and Erica Schenk, chairwoman of the Cahuilla Tribe, also contributed to this piece. SANAA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Central Command on Friday said its naval forces in the Red Sea had intercepted three bomb-laden drones launched by the Houthi group in Yemen. "In the past 24 hours, U.S. Central Command forces successfully destroyed two Iranian-backed Houthi unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) over the Red Sea and one UAV in a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen," it said in a post on the social media platform X. "It was determined these UAVs presented a clear and imminent threat to the U.S. and coalition forces, and merchant vessels in the region," it added. Early on Friday, the Houthi group claimed responsibility for attacking a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden and the Greek-flagged MV SOUNION oil tanker in the Red Sea, using missiles, boats and drones. Since November last year, the Houthis have been targeting Israeli-linked ships to show solidarity with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. In response, the U.S.-British naval coalition stationed in the waters has conducted regular air raids and missile strikes against Houthi targets since January to deter the group. A high school principal in Central California is in hot water because of his antics with the school's mascot. Yes, the school's mascot. Robert Nunes, principal of Buhach Colony High School (Atwater, Calif.), was on administrative leave effective Aug. 19 because of events that took place at a back-to-school rally three days earlier. Ryan Attebery, father of a 14-year-old son at the school, shared his son's video to his own Facebook profile on Sunday, Aug. 18. "Am I a square or was this weird af for a principal to do," he captioned the video, which was sent to People Magazine. The video went viral, of course. In the nearly 40-second post, Nunes is seen sitting in an office chair in the middle of the gym floor, pushing himself backward, and the school's mascot is seductively approaching him as the song "Pony" by Ginuwine plays. Nunes then fires off a cannon full of gold confetti and swaps places with the mascot. Nunes is seen placing his hands on the mascot's chest. When students get involved, it gets more tawdry because of the lack of a better description. "What happens at Buhach stays at Buhach," Nunes shouts to the crowd before wheeling the mascot off the floor.The district isn't on the same page with Nunes, to say the least. "This decision comes as part of our commitment to maintaining a safe and respectful environment," MUHSD district spokesperson Viviana Fuentes said in a statement. "The District is conducting a comprehensive review of the situation. While the investigation is ongoing, Mr. Nunes will not participate in any school-related responsibilities or activities." Not a great start to Nunes' first years as principal of Buhach Colony. Attlebery was surprised at the school's response, according to People. "For all I know, he's a great guy, but at the same time, it doesn't make it any less weird," he said to People. "Everybody's saying he is [a good guy]. He probably is, and it's probably just a bad joke. "They're like, 'Oh, the students, that was all the students idea.' And I'm like, 'I know, but the fact that there wasn't a red flag, is a red flag in itself.'" "I'd rather just make sure these kids are cool," he adds. "It was all weird, nonetheless." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY High School Sports Wire: High school principal placed on leave after incident with mascot California principal on leave after parent posts video of administrators weird dance with mascot A principal in Atwater, California, is on leave after a parent posted video of him dancing with a mascot at a rally, leading some to question whether it was inappropriate and unprofessional. Video of the back-to-school event last week at Buhach Colony High School showed Principal Robert Nunes running his hands down the mascots chest while the mascot sat in a chair. It appeared to be a Las Vegas themed rally, with decorations of playing cards on the walls and someone saying, what happens at Buhach stays at Buhach. The Merced Union High School District placed Nunes on administrative leave following the video, according to NBC News affiliate KSEE in Fresno. Ryan Attebery saw the video on his sons Instagram and reposted it to Facebook on Saturday, captioning it: Am I a square or was this weird af for a principal to do? The reaction was mixed, with many community members defending Nunes while others said it was inappropriate for an educator. Attebery told KSEE that he felt that there were some red flags in the video and that while others might not agree, whats weird is weird to me. A lot of former students commented and were like Well I kind of liked him, what happened? Im not into cancel culture, Attebery said. Im just like hey parents, you have the right to know. Neither Nunes nor the district immediately responded to an NBC News request for comment on the matter. People have been commenting for days on Atteberys Facebook page debating whether it was acceptable behavior from a school principal. Other commenters came to Nunes' defense, with one person writing that he was loved in the local community. The person, identified as Justin Rogers, urged Attebery to stop implying Nunes had bad intentions. This man is so widely respected and loved by everyone in his community, Rogers wrote. Teachers love him, students love him and co workers love him. One person suggested that maybe a private conversation with Nunes would have been more impactful. Attebery wrote back on Thursday that he agreed. The original intention was asking my friends and family if I was being a Karen it was a mistake not expecting this, Attebery wrote. Could have done it so differently. Lesson learned. That was my mistake. This story first appeared on NBCNews.com. This article was originally published on TODAY.com Calls from Missouri to new 988 crisis hotline up 136% since 2022 A crisis counselor answers a 988 call at the Ozark Center, which covers four southwestern counties (Photo courtesy of Freeman marketing). Missouri has seen one of the nations largest increases in calls to the revamped national hotline that aids people facing mental health crises. The number of calls to 988 from Missouri jumped 136% in May 2024 compared to May 2022, according to recent data from the health policy nonprofit KFF. Thats a greater increase than the national average and ninth highest in the country. State officials have celebrated Missouris volume increase as a product of significant efforts to ensure the public knows about 988. We are really proud of what were doing here, said Jeanette Simmons, deputy division director of the Missouri Department of Mental Healths Division of Behavioral Health, during a mental health commission meeting earlier this month. In national meetings, lots of people ask us questions about our 988 efforts, and how we have had so much success, and how were doing it. She said they tell others theyre just handing it out everywhere, referring to outreach materials. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline transitioned nationwide two years ago to the new three-digit 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which aims to be a comprehensive resource for people facing mental health, substance use and suicide crises. Its part of a national effort to streamline access to services for mental health emergencies and craft a number thats as easy and ubiquitous to remember as 911. Last month, Department of Mental Health spokesperson Debra Walker said, Missouris 988 call centers answered more than 8,000 calls, 2,800 text messages and 600 chats. The state answered 92% of calls at in-state call centers, which is above the national standard of 90%. The hotline directs calls based on callers area code to their nearest crisis center. When the in-state call centers are busy, the call is routed to the national phone line. In July of 2022, around 12% of calls were abandoned before reaching someone on the other line. That fell to 6% in 2024 despite the number of calls more than doubling in volume. The average speed to answer has decreased from 37 seconds in July 2022 to 19 seconds in July 2024, Walker added. Walker said through the states training, strengthening partnership with community service providers and other partners, and prioritizing timely service, Missouri has built an equitable and accessible crisis system. Going forward, the state will focus on continuing to educate people about 988 with the goal of reaching individuals most at risk for suicide and other negative mental health and substance use outcomes, Walker said. The federal government invested money for 988s launch and rollout but requires states to establish long-term funding strategies. Missouri hasnt passed legislation authorized by Congress to add a monthly fee to phone bills to help permanently fund the hotline and crisis services, similar to how 911 call centers are funded. So far, 10 states have added telecom fees. And a report released in June by the national mental health nonprofit Inseparable found that although Missouri scores well in call center capacity, the availability of crisis mental health services is itself limited. The organization estimated the state would need 286 new short-term crisis residential beds to meet crisis stabilization needs, as well as 49 mobile response teams. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST On the campaign trail in New Jersey with Curtis Bashaw On the campaign trail in New Jersey with Curtis Bashaw NEW YORK (PIX11) Curtis Bashaw is a businessman from Cape May, New Jersey. He is a lifelong Republican and fiscal conservative who has thrown his hat into the ring for the U.S. Senate seat left vacant by the resignation of Sen. Bob Menendez after he was convicted on bribery charges. Bashaw is also openly gay and has been married to his husband for three years. Nexstars Jennifer Lewis-Hall met up with the Republican candidate to discuss his plan, if elected, and why he should get your vote. More PIX on Politics Tune in to PIX11 News on Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. for the PIX11 Special, New Voice for NJ: Race for U.S. Senate, featuring Bashaw and his rival candidate Congressman Andy 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 PIX11. Canadas freight trains set to roll again but looming port strikes could impact Arkansas Canadas freight trains set to roll again but looming port strikes could impact Arkansas LITTLE ROCK, Ark Though Canadas freight trains are set to roll again, possible port strikes on the horizon could impact the Natural State. The Canadian government ordered the countrys two major freight railroads to enter binding arbitration on Thursday. Canadas freight trains will roll again after labor lockouts. Heres what to know The order helps avert what couldve been a major economic impact on businesses and consumers across Canada and the United States. Union negotiations were stuck on issues relating to the schedules of rail workers and the concerns involving fatigue, according to the Associated Press. Hunter Biram, an economist with the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, said that if supply slows down with remaining demand for fertilizer it would have directly impacted farmers in Arkansas. 90% of Canadian fertilizer that is destined for the U.S. is moved by rail, Biram explained. We have a lot of farmers in Arkansas and its a big issue we have the increased cost for production for family farms. Canada forces arbitration in freight train labor dispute, averting economic crisis Another labor dispute, however, has yet to be resolved. Negotiations are also tense between the International Longshoremens Association representing union workers at the East Coast and Gulf Coast ports and their employers, which are represented by United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) over automation disputes. ILA President Harold Daggett said earlier this month there could be a possible strike in October. Bryan Day, the executive director of the Little Rock Port Authority, said they only have a couple of companies that ship east. The impact on us directly will not be significant but a couple of other industries will have to re-design their logistic model, Day said. Port of Little Rock holds groundbreaking event for new facility Day says the biggest impact will be felt by the consumers. If this strike happens, costs will go up, people will lose jobs, Day said, adding, Not just on the docks but truck drivers and the average American will have a difficult time finding products. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WBOY) Current Huntington mayor and Democratic nominee for West Virginia Governor Steve Williams Thursday called for Attorney General Patrick Morrisey to launch an investigation into current West Virginia Gov. Jim Justices (R) companys finances. Williams said in a press release that he was asking Morrisey to investigate the $3.5 million in sales taxes collected at The Greenbrier resort, $2.4 million in healthcare premiums for Greenbrier workers that was reportedly withheld from their checks and a $35 million CARES Act loan issued during the COVID pandemic. The Governors business is in essence, using funds that should go to the state and their employees [sic] health insurance plan, as well as taxpayers [sic] dollars made available through the CARES Act, and thats wrong, Williams said in a press release. The people of West Virginia deserve better. Williams called on Morrisey to demonstrate his commitment to holding public officials accountable. If fighting corruption is truly a priority for our Attorney General, then he must act swiftly to investigate these claims, Williams said in the release. West Virginians deserve transparency and accountability from those who hold the highest offices in our state. This comes after Justice Companies announced that it had reached a deal with one of its lenders that, when completed, would prevent The Greenbriers assets from being auctioned off. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com. BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) A Canisius University student was arrested and charged Thursday following a post made on Snapchat that was threatening in nature, according to Buffalo police. The post was made around 11 a.m. Thursday morning, police said. It was sent to the Buffalo Police Department and an investigation began immediately. The 18-year-old suspect, Wyatt Losi, was quickly identified as the alleged creator of the post and located. He was apprehended without incident. A temporary extreme risk protection order was granted. Losi was charged with one count of making a terroristic threat. The Buffalo Police Department encourages anyone to report suspicious activity by calling or texting 716-847-2255. Latest Local News Kayleigh Hunter-Gasperini joined the News 4 team in 2024 as a Digital Video Producer. She is a graduate of Chatham University. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) Cell phone bans in classrooms are starting to pop up in more public school systems. In San Diego County, the Carlsbad Unified School District implemented a cell phone ban at the start of their school year Wednesday. At the elementary and middle school levels, no mobile communication device during the school day from the time they get to school until the time they leave. At the high school level, its no devices being used during instructional time, so they are able to use them during breaks and lunch but not during class time, Carlsbad Unified School District Superintendent Ben Churchill said. The district went back to class Wednesday, and Churchill said teachers are already noticing a big difference with the new policy in place. He said the discretion of how the policy will be implemented is left up to the principals and teachers at each school site, but the general rules above must be followed. Some teachers have implemented little cubby systems where they can drop them off at the door. Others are saying put the in your backpack I dont want to see it, and so far its been awesome, he said. Its nothing new for the 350 students at Urban Discovery Academy, a public charter school near downtown San Diego. You come in in the morning, put your phone in the pouch, Ronnie Dyste, principal of Urban Discovery Academy showed FOX 5/KUSI Thursday. Dyste implemented the cell phone ban and locking pouches last school year. Students get to keep the locked pouches during the day, and they are unlocked as they leave school. He said if there is an emergency, or a student needs to call a parent, they are able to unlock it throughout the day, but they encourage parents to call the schools front desk, to not disrupt class time. At a concert about three years ago where Dyste had to place his cell phone in a locking pouch, he said he had the realization a similar process could be the answer to the issues facing his school. This light went on in my head and I was like oh my goodness this is what we need in schools, he said. He said in their first year of implementing the policy, they have seen an increase in student productivity, and a decrease in behavior issues by an estimated 80%. During lunch, people started to talk to one another, like they did when I was a kid, so it really had an impact on culture, Dyste said. They are learning how to navigate that conflict in a way that requires you to look someone in the eye, rather than texting them and saying things that youre going to regret later, so it completely eliminates the possibility for that to happen while theyre in the building. Churchill and Dyste both said parents were on board with the idea right away, but students were a little hesitant. If students at the Carlsbad Unified School District violate the new policy, below is an example of how it would be handled, but school sites may have more stringent protocols. First Offense: Student warning Second Offense: Student warning, teacher contact to parent recommended, teacher/staff may take device Third Offense: Teacher/staff takes device to be returned to student at the end of day/class period, teachers contact parent, referral to office for documentation in student information system Fourth Offense: Device delivered by teacher/staff to office for pick up after school, contact parent, referral to office for documentation in student information system Additional information from the Carlsbad School District on its new policy can be found on the districts website. The nations second largest school district, Los Angeles Unified, implemented a ban at the beginning of this school year. It caught the attention of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who issued a letter to school districts Aug. 13: As we strive to create the best learning environment for all students this new academic year, I write today to raise an urgent issue that affects their well-being: the pervasive use of smartphones in schools, the letter reads. Excessive smartphone use among youth is linked to increased anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that 72% of high school and 33% of middle school teachers report cell phone distractions as a major problem. Common Sense Media found that 97% of students use their phones during the school day for a median of 43 minutes. Leveraging the tools of this law, I urge every school district to act now to restrict smartphone use on campus as we begin the new academic year. The evidence is clear: reducing phone use in class leads to improved concentration, better academic outcomes, and enhanced social interactions, the letter continued. The San Diego Unified School District said in an email to FOX 5/KUSI Thursday, In response to growing concerns about cell phone use in schools, and in anticipation of new state guidance, San Diego Unified looks forward to engaging with students, families, and educators on this issue. The email from the communications staff went on to say the district is preparing to launch a new initiative this school year to raise awareness about the risks associated with excessive social media use among children and teens, under a resolution recently approved by the Board of Education. The district will issue regular notifications to students, families and educators, offering resources and information about responsible social media practices, strategies to help curb screen time, and research on the effects of social media use among children and teens. The Poway Unified School District confirmed they are not considering a cell phone usage ban. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Carol Vorderman criticised the BBC as she gave the Alternative MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Friday - Shutterstock for Edinburgh TV Festival/James Veysey Carol Vorderman has claimed that people no longer trust the BBC following the organisations management of the Huw Edwards scandal. The former Countdown star, 63, received a standing ovation after using her delivery of the Alternative MacTaggart lecture at the Edinburgh TV Festival on Friday to take aim at snobbery within the industry. Ms Vorderman, who joked about having been fired twice by the broadcaster in her speech, said that it would be remiss of me not to mention that trust in the BBC is declining. Citing a 2022 Reuters Institute Digital News Report, which found distrust in the organisation had grown from 11 per cent to 26 per cent, she said that the various scandals plaguing the BBC in recent years had contributed. However, the Reuters Institute Trust in News report has found that the publics trust in BBC News has risen from 55 per cent in 2022 to 62 per cent this year. Is it any wonder that is how people feel after so many controversial decisions by BBC management, she asked the festival audience, before listing the handling of the Huw Edwards affair as one of the controversies. In July, the broadcasters former leading presenter pleaded guilty to possession of 41 indecent images of children, seven of which are the most serious category A images, having initially been suspended from frontline duties last summer. An internal inquiry had been launched following reports that Edwards paid 35,000 to a man, who was 17 when the alleged relationship began, in exchange for sexually explicit images. The corporation has since asked Edwards to return the 200,000 of salary he received in the month following his arrest last November, saying he behaved in bad faith by continuing to take the money. Ms Vorderman also cited the Match Of The Day host Gary Linekers tweets about the previous governments immigration policy, which led to him briefly being suspended from the programme, something that she branded as ludicrous and catastrophic. Huw Edwards pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images of children 'as young as seven' last month - Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Finally, the presenter took aim at the departure of the BBC chairman Richard Sharp over questions about the former Goldman Sachs bankers role in Boris Johnson, the prime minister at the time, obtaining an 800,000 loan guarantee. She also claimed that she was sacked by the corporation with no conversation to be had after it introduced new social media guidelines with which she did not agree. Speaking about the state of the TV industry at the media event, Ms Vorderman said it was a mess and cited Ofcom figures that she said showed the current decimation of broadcast television. Viewers aged between 45 and 54 have also begun to turn away from linear television, with viewing rates in the age group falling from 89 per cent to 84 per cent in a single year. Vorderman, who now hosts a Sunday show on LBC radio, added: Politics, arrogance, snobbery, leads to disillusionment. They are all inextricably linked. The rich and powerful corrupting politics, the upper-middles taking broadcast for themselves, the increasingly absurd Right-wing newspaper headlines being promoted by political programmes. What has this got to do with class? Everything, literally everything. After 14 years of austerity and lying by the privileged political class, this country is in an absolute mess and the TV industry must accept part of the responsibility for that too, including the riots. The engineering graduate, who grew up in poverty in Wales, said working-class people feel they are not represented, their situation is not represented, the lack of opportunities and lack of money and jobs is not represented. She added: Our industry is an industry of snobbery: regional snobbery, class snobbery and educational snobbery, and dont even get me started on the political issues. Im not beholden to anybody Speaking after her standing ovation after delivering the Alternative MacTaggart lecture, Ms Vorderman explained that she has felt emboldened to be outspoken on political issues in recent years because she is not beholden to any corporation anymore. Asked how she was not afraid of backfire from her opinions, she said: I think its about feeling that freedom, but I would say Im knocking on 64 now, so Ive had my career in that sense, Im not beholden to anybody. The presenter also criticised the Reform UK leader Nigel Farages appearance on ITVs Im A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, claiming it contributed towards normalising his views. Nigel Farage on Im A Celebrity, oh Nigel is just Nigel, nothing to do with me what planet is that person on who thinks that? she asked. Earlier in the festival, ITVs managing director Kevin Lygo defended Mr Farages time on the show. The audience is smart enough to make up their own mind. Honestly, it wasnt meant to offend anyone, he said. Ms Vorderman added that bad actors are manipulating the fact that mainstream media may not speak the language of the working class. She said: I hope the whole of this years TV festival has really made you consider your own perceptions and that you ask yourself questions about class and opportunity, and the responsibility you hold in the future of this country. She has increasingly turned to political activism, including criticising the previous Conservative government, and is due to publish her book Out of Order: Whats Gone Wrong with Britain and One Womans Mission to Fix It, in September. VIENTIANE, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Laos continues to strengthen its commitment to improving the lives of its disabled citizens with an agreement on driving licenses and the driving test specifically designed for people with disabilities. The Lao government recognizes the right of persons with disabilities to income security and the responsibility of the state to provide adequate living conditions, Lao national TV reported on Friday. Laos has appointed the national commission for disabled people, which established a cross-ministerial body to act as the national focal point on matters of the disabled and to advise on national policy, programs, and services for people with disabilities. Various ministries and organizations are represented in a coordinating committee to promote the right of people with disabilities and ensure they are upheld, said the report. Ongoing efforts in this regard support persons with disabilities, addressing the rehabilitation needs of the growing number of people who experience mobility difficulties due to disease, unexploded ordnance incidents, or other accidents. TOWN OF PRESTON, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) A butterfly waystation in Chenango County is giving the public the chance to help catch, tag, document and release the extraordinary insects during an event this weekend. Solitude Farmz in the Town of Preston is welcoming people on Saturday from 10 until noon. For the second year, Nancy and Taylor Zimmer of Solitude Farmz have cultivated monarch butterflies on their 125-acre retreat. The butterflies lay their eggs on the underside of milkweed leaves which are plentiful on the property. Nancy collects them and nurtures them in enclosed habitats as they progress through their five stages of molting. Its very exciting to watch the process of them emerge and go through their 5 molts, and instars, theyre called. And how rapidly they get from a millimeter to almost two inches long and very chubby. They can consume a leaf in an hour, said Nancy. In the final stage, the caterpillars form an emerald green chrysalis, which looks similar to a cocoon. From there they emerge as a butterfly. To attract more monarchs, the Zimmers planted liatris and daisies whose nectar the adult butterflies feed on. They also installed butterfly sippers. Nancy says the delicate beauty of the monarchs enhance the peaceful tranquility of Solitude Farmz. Its good to spend a good 15 to 20 minutes in beauty every day for your wellbeing. You watch a few butterflies fly by and fluttering around and you can easily get lost in the day, said Nancy. Solitude Framz is one of 1600 waystations in New York State registered with Monarch Watch. On Saturday, guests will be able to view the insects in their various stages of development inside the farms screened-in gazebo. Theyll also be able to use butterfly nets to capture the monarchs, document them, tag them with a small sticker and then release them for their trip to Mexico. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WIVT - News 34. The North Carolina State Board of Elections strongly rejected allegations in a lawsuit filed by state and national Republicans about the boards process for removing noncitizens from the voting rolls. The lawsuit, filed Thursday by the NC GOP and the Republican National Committee, accuses the board of failing to comply with a new state law requiring the use of jury questionnaire responses in removing noncitizens from the rolls. The responses show who claimed to be noncitizens to be excused from jury duty. Pat Gannon, a spokesperson for the board, said this accusation was categorically false and that the agency has already worked with superior courts across the state to implement the new law. The elections board asked the NC GOP and the RNC to rescind their press releases on the lawsuit as they will undermine voter confidence on an entirely false premise. In the RNCs press release Thursday afternoon, Chair Michael Whatley said Only Americans should vote in American elections. If someone claims non-citizenship, they must be taken off the voter rolls thats the law. The NCSBE has chosen to blatantly ignore the law, undermine basic election safeguards, and neglect a fundamental principle of our election integrity. Gannon said the board has already identified nine individuals who appear on the states voter rolls and were excused from jury duty for claiming to be noncitizens. If the board confirms they are not citizens, they will be sent letters asking them to cancel their voter registration. The board is prohibited by federal law from outright removing the registrants from the rolls if the process cannot be completed within 90 days of the election a deadline which already passed earlier this month. But if they are found to not be citizens, they could face prosecution. It is already a federal crime for noncitizens to vote, and state law requires residents to be citizens to register to vote. North Carolina voters also have to present a photo ID to vote. In their lawsuit, Republicans note that the jury selection law went into effect on July 1. Matt Mercer, communications director for the NC GOP, said that if the board had begun implementing the law earlier, the 90-day deadline would not have been an issue. Republican legislative leaders were briefed on the boards plans to comply with the new law as early as last November, Gannon said. All of the states election officials, both Republican and Democrat, were also informed of this process at a statewide elections conference at the beginning of the month. North Carolina Republicans passed the law in question, Senate Bill 747, last year, overriding Democratic Gov. Roy Coopers veto to do so. The provision dealing with removing noncitizens from the voting rolls is just one of many sweeping changes to election law included in the legislation. The law has been challenged in federal court as part of several lawsuits, one of which led to a judge blocking a portion of the law that dealt with same-day registration. Noncitizen voting has became a major talking point for Republicans nationally and in North Carolina, though the actual crime is rare. A 2016 national study conducted by the Brennan Center found that in 42 jurisdictions accounting for 23.5 million votes, there were only 30 estimated incidents of suspected noncitizen voting. Earlier this year, state Republicans passed a proposed constitutional amendment that, if approved by voters, would explicitly state that only citizens can vote in North Carolina although this is already the law. 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. SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) Missouri River Historical Development has awarded a $1 million grant to Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Sioux City. The grant was announced Thursday at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. The money will go towards a $3.2 million project, Angelines Wing for Children and Families, that will expand Catholic Charities existing facility by 7,200 square feet. $5,000 donated to Riverside Elementary for back-to-school supplies This project promises to foster economic growth by uplifting and rehabilitating youth in our community who need help, MRHD Board President Sarah Kleber said in part in a statement. We believe in the vision of this plan and its potential to create a lasting impact. By supporting projects such as this, we can build a brighter, more prosperous future for the people of Woodbury County. The expansion also involves updated facilities, equipment, technology, and more. According to a release, the new wing would allow Catholic Charities to provide youth mental health and substance use disorders outpatient services to 100 more children annually. Catholic Charities existing facility is located on 1601 Military Road. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CBP One app expands its reach, no longer requiring asylum-seekers to be at border SAN DIEGO (Border Report) Migrants looking to set up interviews to start their asylum cases at the border can do so via the CBP One mobile app even if theyre not physically in northern Mexico. Before Friday, asylum-seekers who are not Mexican had to be in Mexican states along the border or in Mexico City to get an online appointment. As of Aug. 23, 2024, they can also get those while in the southern Mexican states of Chiapas and Tabasco close to the Guatemala border. This is expected to keep migrants from having to travel to schedule appointments in northern Mexican border cities, where most asylum-seekers end up in shelters until their date comes up, migrant advocates say. Legal border crossings up 3.3% at California ports of entry As for Mexican nationals, they can set up appointments from anywhere in their country. There are eight border crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border where migrants with a scheduled CBP One session are given access to the U.S. One of those points is through Ped West, a pedestrian crossing at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Diego. Christopher Teal, U.S. Consul General in Tijuana, said 400 people daily are crossing the border every day through Ped West with CBP One appointments. We have a limit in terms of capacity, theres a lot of demand, but its working well, Teal said. Its important to those waiting for appointments to keep waiting patiently, its better to wait for an appointment and then cross lawfully. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, about 1,450 appointments are available every day. CBP One appointments difficult to get, migrant who waited 8 months says Unlawful crossings have diminished a lot, were talking about the lowest numbers in the last four years, Teal said. Were seeing that people are listening and following the rules not falling into a trap, crossing the border with smugglers who will mislead them. CBP also said the updated CBP One app will start allocating appointments to those who have waited the longest. Visit the BorderReport.com homepage for the latest exclusive stories and breaking news about issues along the U.S.-Mexico border Until now, securing an appointment was considered a luck of the draw, something many migrants and advocates have complained about since the mobile application was launched last 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 FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. The apparent collapse of a Gaza cease-fire and hostage release deal is spurring fears that a major escalation of conflict in the Middle East is around the corner. Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to the Middle East this week to push a deal over the finish line, but he left without any major agreement in place and with Israel and Hamas still at odds on major issues. The cease-fire negotiations were among the factors apparently holding Iran back from retaliating against Israel for the bombing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last month, along with economic troubles at home and the recent election of a more moderate Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, who wants to make his country more palatable abroad. But with a cease-fire agreement now appearing to be in tatters, Irans leaders may feel more urgency to strike at Israel, while the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group could also launch an attack from Lebanon after the July assassination of its top military commander. John Hannah, a senior fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), said Iran has used the cease-fire negotiations as a cover, assessing that Tehran has received the message from the U.S. and Israel that any retaliation that goes too far will be met with a harsh response. If cease-fire hopes continue to evaporate, Iran will face calls from its allies to respond, though it is likely to calibrate any response, Hannah said. Theres tremendous pressure on them to have to do something. And yet theres real hesitation and concern and uncertainty about what that something is, he said. Israel seems ready if they miscalculate here, if they are not really, really careful in what they do to thread this needle of having to somehow save face, try and restore deterrence and inflict some pain on Israel, but [at the same time] dont go too far. Iran has said publicly that it does not want to disrupt high-stakes cease-fire talks, but that it would eventually retaliate against Israel regardless of the outcome. Irans permanent mission to the United Nations said in a statement shared by Iranian state media this week that a response must be carefully calibrated to avoid any possible adverse impact that could potentially influence a prospective cease-fire, but they still insisted Israel must be punished. The timing of Irans response will be meticulously orchestrated to ensure that it occurs at a moment of maximum surprise, officials wrote. The expected attack could be more deadly than in April, when Iran sent some 300 drones and missiles toward Israel in retaliation for the death of a top officer in Syria. That attack was thwarted by defenses from the U.S., Israel and regional allies, though Iran has claimed it warned allies ahead of time and tried to minimize damage. This time, Iran may seek to send more than just a message and could try to inflict serious damage on Israel. If so, Iran would likely activate its network of regional proxies in the Middle East, from Hezbollah in Lebanon to the Houthis in Yemen and allied groups in Iraq and Syria, to attack and overwhelm Israeli defenses. The U.S. has an array of defenses in the Middle East, recently sending the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group that joins another contingent deployed in the region. The Pentagon has also deployed an additional guided-missile submarine and F-22 fighter jets. Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said Thursday that those U.S. military assets send a very powerful message of deterrence and suggested it may have worked in preventing an attack so far. I think that gets into the headspace of Iran, she told reporters. Im sure that gets to their calculation. But Hannah, from JINSA, said if Iran decides to attack along with its network of proxies, that could pose a major problem for Israel, even with those U.S. assets in the region. Theres not much the coalition that thwarted Iran on April 13 would be able to do if Hezbollah decides to go in a big way at Israel and to overwhelm Iron Dome and some of the other defenses, he said. Theres just not enough depth and not enough time. Instead of an all-out attack, Iran may decide to respond to Israel with a covert operation, such as an assassination or bombing that would target Israeli officials. Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied its role in Haniyehs death, has shown it can penetrate Iranian intelligence networks and target leaders, but Tehran has not demonstrated the same depth of penetration. Still, Iran could target Israeli officials abroad or at embassies. Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center, questioned if Iran has the capabilities to succeed with a covert operation. By and large, no, Iran doesnt appear to have that same capacity to locate and assassinate Israelis in the same way that Israel has regularly done, she said, but added Im sure they are scouring the world for vulnerabilities on the part of Israelis that they might go after. Hezbollah remains another threat in the region. Israel assassinated Fuad Shukr, the Lebanese militant groups top military official and a right-hand man to their leader, around the same time as Haniyeh, prompting a vow of revenge. While Hezbollah has carried out its regular cross-border attacks against Israel, it has yet to retaliate for Shukrs death, which Israel carried out after a rocket from the militant group killed 12 children in the Golan Heights. Mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the U.S. have tried to reach a deal for a cease-fire in Gaza to not only ease the suffering in the coastal strip where more than 40,000 people have been killed in 10 months of war, but also to defuse tensions in the north at the border with Lebanon. Israel has warned that it may attack Hezbollah unless an agreement is reached that will enable the return of some 80,000 evacuated citizens to the north. But an agreement is unlikely while the Gaza war rages, since Hezbollah is firing daily across the border in support of Hamas. The cease-fire deal collapse also threatens those simmering tensions in the north, raising the risk that a wider war is going to break out, said Slavin. Everything hinges on a Gaza cease-fire. Without a Gaza cease-fire, you cant do anything else, she said. Were lucky if [the conflicts] dont expand. It is approaching a year since Hamas initiated the Gaza war by invading southern Israel and killing more than 1,100 people and taking about 250 hostages, 109 of whom are still being held. Around 100 were freed in a brief November truce. The cease-fire and hostage release deal had offered a ray of hope for both sides, with a phased plan outlining the return of vulnerable hostages, a temporary cease-fire in Gaza and negotiations for a permanent end to the fighting and the release of all the abducted. The U.S. had said in recent weeks that a deal was closer than ever, and only gaps remained on the details of an agreement. But that has failed to materialize multiple times, and Blinken warned this week that a bridging proposal offered the last best chance to reach a deal, citing the possibility of the death of more hostages and Middle East conflict to derail further progress. Now, with the threat of Iranian retaliation looming over the region, and then another potential escalatory response from Israel, the chance of a deal anytime soon has considerably dimmed. If a cease-fire deal had been reached, Iran could have argued that its threats of retaliation spurred all sides to reach an agreement and defuse tensions, possibly allowing Tehran to walk away with a victory without launching an attack, said Trita Parsi, the executive director of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft. To a certain extent, the Iranians were using the talks as a pretext, because they truly do not seem to want to take action, he said. The options in front of them right now are very, very bad and complicated. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. On Monday, August 19th, the New York surf community and beyond was struck with sadness upon news of the passing of celebrated photographer Andrew Blauschild. He died from a heart attack; he was 53 years old. News of the tragedy broke from the Long Island Surfers Facebook page: You'll be hearing about my friend Andrew in the coming days. A phenomenal surf photog, he surfed in Montauk yesterday, got out of the water, and apparently suffered a heart attack, and that was his last session on this earth. The surf community at large is in shock. Andrew, by his own admission, started out as a greenhorn kook, and wound up being quite the opposite, like we all hope to do. I've rarely seen anyone with a greater amount of pure STOKE. He leaves behind a monumental body of artistic work that visually documents just about everything you can imagine regarding area surfing. Following the news, tributes from surfers who knew Blauschild poured in. Like from fellow Montauk, New York surfer Pat Schmidt, who wrote: The connection I got to form with Andrew since moving to the east end is unexplainable. We always felt in sync. I felt like if he was on the beach, I could surf a certain way that worked well with the way he wanted to capture images of surfing. I could see where he was moving on the rocks, know right away the shot he was trying to get and adjust my position accordingly. Ive never had that before. Ive never even wanted that before, but with Andrew it was different. Im such a fan of his work that I wanted to do whatever I could to be a part of it. We had 5 days in a row earlier this summer that we passed each other on nappegue meadow in the same exact spot, both with middle fingers held high followed by a phone call cracking up about it that would end up lasting hours. I will miss those times but am so grateful to experience them. Love you Andrew, thanks for taking me under your wing. Speaking to SURFER directly, Schmidt added: "How much can I fit in about this legend and how he brought together such a divided community. There are not enough words to describe Andrew Blauschild in a way that gives him the justice he deserves. Andrew was a pivotal member of our community. More so than most can comprehend. Im not from this town, I moved here later in life. I moved here after having a pretty good understanding of how surfers work. How different groups can be territorial about their spots and how seeing a camera at those spots can trigger some tension. "Andrew was well-aware of this and walked a fine line of capturing such an important era of surfing and this community while also preserving and embodying what makes this place so special. If somebody was upset with him being somewhere with a camera, he really took it to heart. More than the guys giving him shit knew. He really cared about keeping things the way they were while also documenting it all in the most beautiful way possible. "I have only been really close friends with Andrew for the last 6 years. I feel so fortunate to have that time with him but going to his service really put it into perspective for me how important he was to so many different communities. To hit on a local Level, Drews passing even made @mikeydetemple and @nickboyatnight reconnect. Two people that personally told me they would never speak to each other again. Thank you drew." And now, a paddleout/celebration of life will be held for Blauschild on Sunday, August 25th at 4pm at Ditch Plains Beach in Montauk, New York. Rest in peach, Andrew. Related: Acclaimed New York Photographer Andrew Blauschild Pronounced Dead in Montauk *** Don't miss another headline from SURFER! Subscribe to our newsletter, follow us on Instagram, and stay connected with the latest happenings in the world of surfing. We're always on the lookout for amusing, interesting and engaging surf-related videos to feature on our channels. Whether you're a professional surfer or just an amateur, we want to see your best footage and help you share it with the world. Submit your video for a chance to be featured on SURFER and our social channels. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch high-quality surf videos. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) The fire that displaced 20 residents and damaged eight apartment units this week was determined to be the act of one or multiple individuals, according to the El Paso Fire Department. 16 adults, 4 children displaced after apartment complex fire in East El Paso The Fire Department says after a thorough investigation conducted by the Fire Marshals Office investigators, it was determined that the cause of the fire was the act of one or multiple people. However, it is still being determined if the incident was intentional or accidental. As we have previously reported, the Celina Plaza Apartments, located at 8500 Viscount Blvd. in East El Paso, caught fire on Monday, Aug. 19, displacing 20 residents including several children, and damaged eight apartments. The fire was quickly contained and no injuries were reported. The Fire Marshals Office is requesting the publics assistance in the investigation. Anyone with information about the incident can call (915) 212-5600 and ask for the investigations division. The El Paso Fire Department wants to remind the community of the importance of working smoke alarms in their homes. A functioning smoke alarm can provide an early warning that can be lifesaving in an emergency. Residents interested in learning more about the EPFDs free smoke alarm program are encouraged to visit ElPasoFire.org or dial 3-1-1 to learn more and apply, the Fire 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 KTSM 9 News. Center of Hope: Back to school looking different for some with help from The Salvation Army AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) August means back-to-school season, but returning to school looks different for some children in the area. The Salvation Armys Center of Hope wants the community to know that the face of homelessness has changed from what it once was. Once dominated by men, local shelter leaders say Mothers and children now are some of the most common residents. Children staying here and their school-aged, we would then communicate through caseworkers that we have here and would communicate with that with the Richmond County schools, and they would then work out being able to be picked up here, said Major Jonathan Raymer, Salvation Army CSRA. We also have tutoring that happens here. So, theres a number of different things in order to support those who are going through school from the Center of Hope. Richmond County Schools also has a designated school bus that picks up the children staying there and takes them to their appropriate schools. Because of the federal MckinneyVento Act, the school system provides transportation so children can stay in the same school they were in and provides tutoring services if needed after school. The ministry of dignity and being able to provide that dignity of a new backpack to go to school. As well, as the real practical, you need to be going to school, but the other side of that is you need to be doing that so that maybe your mom or dad or both will be able to go and maybe get employment or different appointments. Maybe do some of their casework so that they arent staying in our Center of Hope very long, said Raymer. A long-time volunteer and previous client with The Salvation Army enjoys being able to help families during this time. For me, its a blessing because when my kids were growing up, and Im 72, so you can kind of do the kid. I didnt have this. So, I feel like thats a blessing, said Pearline Harris, a volunteer. Shelter leaders say that being able to support these families and kids has helped many change their futures with the help of the Center of Hope. Now got a full ride scholarship to a university up in Chicago, and so he came through several years ago, but thats one of our success stories. We continue to see those kind of things, said Raymer. If you want to help volunteer or donate to the shelter you can find that on 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 WJBF. A Sacramento toddler was killed Thursday in a crash after the California Highway Patrol said a motorist failed to steer alongside a curve on an off-ramp near Interstate 5 in Central California, hitting a tree. The crash also left the female driver and a 3-year-old male passenger hospitalized with injuries. A 28-year-old Sacramento woman was driving south on Interstate 5, approaching the Coalinga Avenal rest area in a 2022 Kia Forte, the CHP said in a news release. She exited the highway but CHP investigators said she failed to negotiate the curve, careering into dirt and grass before the small SUV struck a tree. Officers, who were alerted to the crash about 5:15 a.m., said a witness began to render CPR on a 1-year-old boy also in the vehicle. He was pronounced dead before reaching the hospital, the release said. The Fresno County Coroners Office identified the boy as Amante Williams. He was three days short of turning 2, said Tony Botti, a spokesman for the Fresno County Sheriffs Office. The driver suffered major injuries while the 3-year-old boy, also from Sacramento, suffered minor injuries, the release said. Drugs and alcohol were ruled out as factors in the crash, the CHP said. The investigation behind the crashs cause was ongoing. PHNOM PENH, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia is so grateful to China for providing annual university-level scholarships to students, a senior official here said, adding that the assistance is crucial to help develop human capital in the Southeast Asian country. Speaking during a farewell ceremony for students winning the Chinese government scholarship on Friday, Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Youth and Sport Hang Chuon Naron said they will become valuable assets for Cambodia and messengers of friendship between Cambodia and China. For 2024, the Chinese government has granted full scholarships to about 200 Cambodian students to pursue their bachelor's, master's and doctor's degrees in China. "I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Chinese embassy to Cambodia and the Chinese government and people for their strong support for Cambodia's human resources development, which is a catalyst for socio-economic development," he said, noting that human capital development is essential to help the kingdom achieve its ambitious goals of becoming an upper-middle-income country by 2030 and a high-income nation by 2050. The deputy prime minister also advised them to behave well and to strictly abide by Chinese laws and school regulations during their studies. "I believe that studying in China will be the most valuable experience in your lives," Chuon Naron told the students. "You will not only learn professional skills, but also gain insights into Chinese traditional culture and daily lives in the new era." Um Vuty, founder and chairman of the Association of Cambodian Students in China (ACSC), said the scholarship winners will study at various universities in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Tianjin, and Kunming, among others. "Excellent Cambodia-China relations have created favorable conditions for Cambodian students to win scholarships for studying in China," he told Xinhua. Vuty, who is also an assistant to Cambodian Senate President Samdech Techo Hun Sen, said most of the scholarship recipients have chosen to study in the majors of economy and trade, engineering, public administration, law, and Chinese literature, among others. "I hope that the students will not only broaden their horizons, but also become key contributors to the promotion of Cambodia-China friendship," he said. Ly Sivfong, a 28-year-old scholarship winner for a master's degree study at the Kunming Medical University in Kunming City, southwest China's Yunnan Province, said the scholarships have offered hope for him and other students to realize their dreams. "When I graduate my study in China, I aspire to become a nephrologist, hoping to help further develop the health sector in Cambodia," he told Xinhua. As 2024 is the people-to-people exchange year between Cambodia and China, he believes that the exchange year will help promote cultural ties, people-to-people contact, tourism, trade and investment between the two countries. "As a young generation, I will help boost Cambodia-China relations through promoting mutual cultures and people-to-people exchange," Sivfong said. Tang Muyly, a 19-year-old scholarship winner for a bachelor's degree study at the Beijing Technology and Business University, said the scholarship has motivated her to excel in her studies and pursue her dream of becoming an economist. "China's quality of education is high and technology is also modern. This is why I want to pursue my study in China, so I can bring knowledge to help develop Cambodia," she told Xinhua. "I would like to thank the Chinese government for having provided a lot of scholarships to Cambodian students for studying in China and for taking good care of them during their studies in China," Muyly said. At the event, artists also performed various traditional dances and songs to celebrate the Cambodia-China people-to-people exchange year 2024. Central Park 5 Members Reunite at DNC, Recall How Trump Called for Their Execution Over False Assault Allegations: '45 Wanted Us Unalive' Vice President Harris has also worked to make things fairer. I know she will do the same as president, Korey Wise said Chip Somodevilla/Getty Korey Wise (C), (L-R) Kevin Richardson, Dr. Yusef Salaam, Rev. Al Sharpton and Raymond Santana at the United Center on August 22, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Members of the Central Park Five" now referred to as the "Exonerated 5" addressed the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Thursday, Aug. 22, in support of Vice President Kamala Harris presidential run. Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson and Antron McCray were wrongly convicted of rape and assault as teenagers in 1989. Salaam, 50, Wise, 52, Santana, 49, and Richardson, 49, appeared onstage alongside civil rights leader Rev. Al Sharpton during the fourth and final night of the DNC. McCray, 50, was not in attendance. During their trial, Trump took out full-page ads in New York newspapers calling for the death penalty. "Thirty-five years ago, my friends and I were in prison for a crime we did not commit. Our youth was stolen from us," Wise said on the stage. "Every day as we walked into courtrooms, people screamed at us, threatened us, because of Donald Trump." Vice President Harris has also worked to make things fairer. I know she will do the same as president, Wise added. Forty-five wanted us unalive. He wanted us dead. Today, we are exonerated, Salaam, who is now a New York City Council member, said of former president Donald Trump who was the 45th president and is now Harris Republican White House challenger. He has never changed, and he never will. That man thinks that hate is the animating force in America. It is not, Salaam added. Related: The Central Park 5: Where Are They Now? EVA HAMBACH/AFP via Getty Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise, and Raymond Santana at Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 22, 2024. On April 19, 1989, around 1:30 a.m. in New York Citys Central Park, Patricia "Trisha" Meili was found barely alive after being beaten unconscious and sexually assaulted. The five teens were then arrested in the days after. Santana and Richardson were 14 years old, McCray and Salaam were 15 and Wise was 16 years old when they were taken into custody for Meili's attack. After hours of interrogation at the Central Park Precinct on April 21, the boys, under duress, confessed to assaulting her. However, they recanted their admissions, stating they only confessed under the premise that they could go home afterward, and this ultimately led to one of the most famous miscarriages of justice in modern American history. From April 2728, 1989, all five teens were indicted on counts including rape, assault, attempted murder and rioting. Each served five to 13 years in prison until convicted murderer Matias Reyes confessed, and DNA evidence set them free in 2002. Related: Donald Trump Says Kamala Harris 'Happened to Turn Black' as He Questions Her Race at Black Journalists' Convention Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg/Getty US Vice President Kamala Harris during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, US, on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. 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. Since the five men have been exonerated, Trump has refused to apologize to the group for calling for their executions. During his first presidential run in October 2016, Trump reinforced his earlier position. Even while president, in June 2019, he was asked about the exonerated men and he repeated his stance that They admitted their guilt. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. In centrist shift, Democrats deploy anti-Trump Republicans to help Kamala Harris broaden her appeal Mesa Mayor John Giles, co-chair of the Arizona chapter of Republicans for Harris, addresses the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on Aug. 20, 2024. Photo by Kelechukwu Iruoma | Cronkite News CHICAGO Former President Donald Trump has driven some Republicans out of his party. Democrats have spent the week offering them a new home. They have toned down progressive language in their platform. At the Democratic National Convention, they have framed Trump as an extremist and deployed disaffected Republicans to encourage others to defect to Vice President Kamala Harris. John McCains Republican Party is gone, Mesa Mayor John Giles, who co-chairs the Arizona chapter of Republicans for Harris, said from the convention stage, invoking the late senator known for working across party lines. Lets turn the page. Lets put country first. Giles described Harris and the Democratic Party as a refuge for the politically homeless. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Like many Republicans, he said before his speech, he disagrees with the vice president on abortion, border policy and lots of other issues, but shes far more likely than Trump to stay focused on the needs of the nations center. And Democrats have sought to broaden their appeal in a number of ways this summer. Theyve walked back some of the progressive policies they championed four years ago, pivoting in their updated platform to moderate language that is more palatable for independents. In 2020, the Democratic platform devoted eight pages to health care, outlining a plan for Universal, Affordable, Quality Health Care, with a public coverage option. The plan calls for pressuring private insurers to broaden access and lower costs, and for automatic coverage for low-income Americans even in states that refuse to participate. Unlike the 2020 platform, the version the party adopted this week in Chicago makes no mention of universal health care an idea that invites allegations of radicalism and wealth redistribution. With the priority of Reducing Costs, it does echo previous calls to reduce the costs of prescription drugs, boost access to Medicaid, the program for lower-income Americans, and protect the Affordable Care Act Obamacare from GOP efforts to dismantle it. The 2020 platform called for police reform and a top to bottom overhaul of the criminal justice system, asserting that Black and Latino communities are overpoliced and underserved by a system that has effectively criminalized poverty. After years of GOP accusations that they want to defund the police, Democrats retooled to refute that line of attack. We need to fund the police, not defund the police, the newest platform says, lauding President Joe Biden for reducing crime by sending billions of dollars to local law enforcement. This is not about Democrats or Republicans or independents, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, co-chair of the Democratic platform committee, said on a call with reporters. Its about everyday, working class folk. Republicans who have stuck with their party deem the shift to the center insincere. Trump has called Democrats radical left lunatics and communists. On Thursday, ahead of a visit to the Arizona-Mexico border, he took to social media and accused Comrade Kamala of unleashing a plague of migrant crime and migrant rape on Americans. Democrats have jabbed at Trump throughout the convention, painting him as an autocrat. Theyve used a comically large copy of Project 2025 crafted by veterans of his administration to stoke concerns about a second Trump term. Trump has disavowed the blueprint, although his former White House budget director, Russell Vought, is a co-author and has said the former president is supportive of what we do. Trumps running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, wrote the foreword to a recent book by Kevin Roberts, president of the conservative Heritage Foundation, which has overseen Project 2025. This is the Republican blueprint for a second Trump term, Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow said, slamming the book on the lectern. In one of the many convention segments focused on Project 2025, Saturday Night Live star Kenan Thompson emceed a comedy sketch Wednesday night in which he deflated the hopes of five Americans by citing passages that threatened their livelihoods or freedoms. The document, which tops 900 pages, spells out plans to raise taxes on the middle class while cutting taxes on the ultra-wealthy, fire thousands of civil servants who arent MAGA loyalists and vastly expand executive power. Trumps official campaign platform, dubbed Agenda 47, tracks Project 2025 in many ways, including calls to eliminate the Department of Education and roll back environmental protections. The Democrats platform committee approved its updated party platform on July 16 five days before Biden dropped out. Harris quickly emerged as the consensus successor and, according to Romero, the platform did not undergo any significant changes after that. So, passages still extol Bidens record and contrast his views with Trumps. But for Democratic activists, the central point remains: their nominee will promote everyones interests, and Trump will not. Said Tempe delegate Dhruv Rebba, She stands for what the majority of Americans want. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Selling more than 125,000 copies, the 1970 album Songs of the Humpback Whale is the bestselling nature recording of all time. Including tracks such as Distant Whale and Three Whale Trip, the 35-minute series of recordings produced by bioacoustician Roger Payne was a historical landmark during the beginning of the Save The Whales campaign. In an article published five days before Paynes death last year, the lifelong activist asked readers to imagine what it might be like to talk to whales, writing, If we could communicate with animals, ask them questions and receive answers no matter how simple those questions and answers might turn out to be the world might soon be moved enough to at least start the process of halting our runaway destruction of life. Now organizations like the Cetacean Translation Initiative, better known as Project CETI, are working to crack the whale code. The nonprofit organization is applying machine learning to understand communication between sperm whales, and received an initial $33 million in funding from the Audacious Project, an organization housed by TED conferences and funded by billionaires like Richard Branson and Ray Dalio. Scientists working for CETI include marine biologists, cryptographers, linguists, artificial intelligence experts and others. By observing sperm whales and matching the sounds they make with their behavior, researchers hope to discover common patterns and identify specific words. Instead of the more commonly known melodies popularized by Songs of the Humpback Whale, sperm whales communicate with sequences of clicks called codas. For example, a sperm whale might click three times during a coda, with a longer gap between the second and third click than the first and second, such as the first coda listed by Project CETIs recent article published in Nature Communications last May. There are 21 known codas used by whales in the Caribbean, but the paper found certain codas may be repeated at remarkably different tempos and rhythms, as well as with occasional extra clicks that appear in 4% of all audio recordings. The paper concludes that the variations in whale codas may imply that they are being combined into complex phrases, making it possible to create thousands of individual words similar to the way human diphthongs bring individual vowel sounds like o and u together to make a word like cloud. Researchers claim to have discovered two separate patterns they refer to as coda vowels, which are actively exchanged between whales as they communicate. Although human and whale communication share some similarities in that sense, we still cant talk to whales. But we may soon have a way around that, using artificial intelligence (AI). By using AI to analyze and interpret the largest database of sperm whale recordings ever created, research teams at Project CETI plan to recreate coda sequences and then transmit them back into the wild. But like the way autofill on a cell phone can predict what you might be about to type next without actually understanding the context of your conversation, learning algorithms designed to predict sperm whale codas are only capable of completing patterns of information. Without understanding what these codas signify, researchers cant actually know what they might be saying, if anything meaningful at all. AI-generated codas might only confuse whales, and could potentially spread false information between cetacean species. Aza Raskin, president and co-founder of the Earth Species Project, another nonprofit that researches animal communication, has shared fears of accidentally creating the equivalent of "whale QAnon" due to AI unknowingly stringing the wrong pattern of codas together. There are also concerns that AI mimicry could be used by unscrupulous humans to hunt and lure whales and other species to their doom. But thats assuming this technology can even work. Not all scientists are convinced the data shows whales communicate using actual language. Luke Rendell, lecturer in biology at the Sea Mammal Research Unit for the University of St. Andrews, questions the ability to translate the sounds made by sperm whales into human language. Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter Lab Notes. The really critical thing about the way that humans use phonemes and sequences of phonemes is that it's very hard to predict what the next one's going to be, Rendell told Salon during a video interview he conducted onboard a research vessel near the Scottish Isle of Eigg in the North Sea. While researchers at Project CETI may be identifying whale codas, Rendell doesnt believe they are being combined together like human phonics. According to Rendell, the evidence shows whales are mainly repeating the same phoneme over and over again instead of actually combining varieties of phonemes into complex words. We don't go, puh puh puh, Rendell said, comparing the potential whale phonemes identified by Project CETI to the way humans speak. We go, Pyrex or pirate. Whether or not whales are actually speaking with one another, the fossil record shows that their ancestors evolved the ability to make sounds underwater tens of millions of years ago long before human beings existed, let alone human language. The subjects being communicated by animals may be unlike anything humans might expect or comprehend, which the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein once summed up by arguing, If a lion could speak, we would not understand him. Although killer whales (which are not technically whales, but dolphins) have been taught to mimic basic words in English, scientists can lose track of the significance of animal behaviors by expecting them to share human points of view. According to Hal Whitehead, who has pioneered research on social organization and cultural transmission in deep-water whales since the 1970s, researchers began studying sperm whale codas by comparing them to Morse code. That was our initial thought here we've got a Morse code-like system. So we started to look and see if we could relate specific codas to specific behaviors, Whitehead told Salon. The more we did that, we realized that wasn't actually a very good model for what was going on. Sperm Whales Whitehead and his colleagues investigated the hypothesis that whales use language throughout decades of research, but never came up with clear results. It didn't turn out to look like a conversation. When you look at how it's made, it looks like something very different. It looks more like a musical duet, Whitehead said. Cetacean species like whales and dolphins have been described musically throughout history. The Delphinus constellation is named for a Greek legend about a musician who played their instrument to summon a dolphin that saved them from pirates. A Dutch guide to marine life from the late 1500s claims that some whale species like to hear music played on the lute, harp, flute and similar instruments. An 1889 whaling travelogue recounts the sounds made by right whales and humpbacks note by note. Beginning on F, the tone may rise to G, A, B and sometimes to C, before slanting back to F again. With the humpbacked whale the tone is much finer, often sounding like the E string of a violin. Jim Nollman is a conceptual artist and environmental activist passionate about playing music for animals, and claims the most notable reaction hes ever received from orcas was in response to creating loops of guitar tracks inspired by James Brown songs. Nollman mainly plays slide guitar for whale species, but has worked with a wide range of other musicians, including a grammy-winning oboe player, violinists, percussionists, a chanting Tibetian lama and more. I always made it clear from the start that everyone listening got to decide for themselves whether the whales were in sync with us, Nollman said, stoic on whether animals actually interact with his music, instead focusing on how playing with whales impacts the musician. The Tibetan lama said the main thing the orcas can teach us is how to breathe. They do this special kind of breathing that takes years to learn in the monasteries, but they just do it naturally, he continued. No AI guy is going to know that unless hes from Tibet. David Rothenberg is one of the musicians who has performed for whales alongside Nollman, and believes making interspecies music is more of an exercise in empathy than an attempt to find specific definitions of sounds. We can learn what it's like to be all kinds of other animals by really sharing in their world of communication. That's why I play music with them to get a sense of what it might be like to be them, Rothenberg explained. Musicians like Rothenberg are interested in understanding how differences in animal perception create their own unique forms of communication. Umwelt is a German term describing the perspective of an organism based on its sensory abilities, environment and anything else that contributes to its overall consciousness the way fish must perceive water much differently than birds or how a bumblebee can see ultraviolet light but we cant. Sperm whales rely on echolocation to sense their surroundings, and can only see around 35 feet (10.7 meters) ahead of themselves in most water. To get around this, when communicating between members of their own species they sometimes use extremely loud omnidirectional blasts of sound, emitting noise in all directions at once. Sometimes called a sperm whales gunshot, these sounds are the loudest made by any animal over 200 decibels, or roughly the equivalent of a Saturn IV rocket blasting off, and loud enough to burst human eardrums and potentially kill someone, though neither deafening or death has been documented. This technique allows sperm whales to sense each other from over one thousand miles away. These codas were more about bonding, Whitehead said, when asked what kinds of messages sperm whales might be sending to one another. The basic information was, we are really good buddies, and, you can depend on me, and I can depend on you. Artificial intelligence may be perfect for analyzing every aspect of codas except for the emotional bonds they signify between individuals. AI can find correlations between audio, video, chemical analysis, or any other kind of measurements that may create a sperm whales umwelt, which Whitehead agreed can be expected to lead to exciting new discoveries. But using AI as a specific translation tool between whales and humans remains a questionable goal for many marine biologists. Even if sperm whale codas cant be decoded, however, that doesnt mean they cant be better understood. Sperm whales derive their name from the waxy, liquid substance produced in their skulls by a massive biological structure called the spermaceti organ. This melon-like organ takes up most of the animals head, making communication possible by acting like a form of sonar. But the spermaceti is full of goo resembling the pearly hue of human sperm, and possesses oily properties that once led humans to hunt them to the brink of extinction. Whale oil was legally sold in the U.S. until 1972, and could be used for anything from gun lubricant to transmission fluid. Considering centuries of whaling, suffocating amounts of plastic garbage, and sound pollution from shipping traffic, what would be most surprising is if whales felt like speaking with humans at all. Whale populations have dramatically rebounded since the 1986 global moratorium on whaling, despite the many hazards that remain for cetacean species. In the time since the beginning of the Save the Whales campaign, the number of humpbacks in the Indian Ocean has grown from 600 to over 36,000. Maybe humpbacks have helped themselves by making music catchy enough for humans to sell on records. Though such an influence isnt quantifiable, activists agree whale songs have been a major inspiration for the campaigns and legislation that led to international legal protections for whales today. Although this increase in whale populations is encouraging for conservationists, laws alone arent enough to protect the species long-term. From where he continues research in the North Sea, Luke Rendell stated the obvious: There's nothing that they could tell us about what they need that we don't really already know, which is to stop hunting them, stop catching them in our nets, stop polluting their environments, and try and just leave them alone for a little bit, Rendell said. I don't think we need an AI translation tool to know that's what the animals would probably ask for if they could. A popular Mexican food chain restaurant closed its Elk Grove location earlier this month. Chandos Tacos, at 8235 Laguna Blvd., closed the doors to its brick-and-mortar site in Elk Grove for good on Aug. 1. Chandos founder and CEO Lisandro Chando Madrigal said that closing was a difficult decision but he wanted to focus on quality, consistency and customer service. It wasnt performing the way that we expected it to. It started off a little flat and so we were kind of hoping for it to pick up and it just never really turned around the way that it should have. Just given the way business is right now I just wanted to focus on the existing locations that we have right now that are performing. Last year, Madrigal closed his Citrus Heights location that was open for three years about a month after he shut down his Chandos Cantina in midtown Sacramento. Madrigal still maintains multiple locations throughout the Sacramento region: on J Street, Arden Way, Power Inn Road, Pleasant Grove Boulevard in Roseville, Sunrise Boulevard in Fair Oaks, Boatman Avenue in West Sacramento and on campus at Sacramento State. Possible reasons for slow business Madrigal said he isnt sure exactly what went wrong at the Elk Grove location. We seem to do well in other locations, Madrigal said. Madrigal said they did everything they could to keep the Elk Grove restaurant open. Ultimately, there were many things that he could have pointed toward that led to its downfall. The Elk Grove location first opened in December 2020, according to a Chandos Tacos Facebook post right in the midst of a global pandemic that had many people staying home defending themselves from COVID-19. It didnt start off as strong as it should have in the beginning, Madrigal said. Obviously there were post-pandemic challenges; that could very well be the case. He pointed out that there many businesses that were in the same Laguna Gateway II shopping plaza located on Laguna near Big Horn Boulevard have often opened and closed as well. It could be that we didnt really have an anchor in that particular space. Madrigal said. I know for the longest time the main anchor, the main store (Dicks) was a sporting goods store. That was gone for a while. The plaza includes businesses such as Sprouts, PetSmart, Red Robin, Sizzling Fresh Mongolian BBQ and Club Pilates. There are several restaurants that have been kind of going in and out of that particular location for a while, Madrigal said referring to eateries such as Blaze Pizza which closed in 2020 and Chicken-N-Waffles, which closed earlier this year. So its kind of hard to gauge and tell what exactly the challenges are or were. I mean, it could be a host of different things. He said the location is a little more on the hidden side, which makes it difficult to spot, and there are few ways to access the plaza. Theres only one way in, one way out of that place, Madrigal said. The arrival of The Ridge shopping center on Elk Grove Boulevard and Bruceville Road, he said, has attracted the majority of foot traffic in the city. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law in September 2022 that made it easier for taco stand and fruit cart owners to sell food as Senate Bill 972 simplified the rules for street vendors to obtain health permits and other barriers. A flux of taco stands have appeared across Elk Grove street corridors, and Madrigal said it is directly competing with his business which provides the same type of food. The guys that just post up on any corner. That has affected not only myself but other restaurateurs that I speak to in the area, Madrigal said. Theres people that post up, just find a place on the corner. Its busy and theyre smart about it. They just go up, they cook and then they pack their stuff and show up the next weekend or the next day. Madrigal added: Theres a lot more choices and theyre priced at the same price that we areNot taking anything away from them, more power to them. We hope that they do things, everybodys got a right to do their business but it does affect us who are paying $12,000 a month in rent, taxes and other things. Elk Grove return not ruled out Although the Elk Grove spot closed, Madrigal prided himself in retaining employees that wanted to keep their positions with Chandos Tacos, placing them at the other locations. As he moves forward focusing on his operating locations throughout the Sacramento area, Madrigal wants people to know that his model is built on quality, consistency, customer service and guest experience. It was a tough decision, he said, to close the Elk Grove location. I just wanted to thank the Elk Grove community, he said. I want to make sure that we scale down so we can just focus and make sure that we give our best to the existing locations that we have open right now. Although the brick and mortar doors have closed, Chandos isnt closing the door on Elk Grove. Madrigal said that he still runs his food trucks and is looking into places in Elk Grove to set up shop. Were definitely open to suggestions, Madrigal said. We have three food trucks moving around Sacramento and I want to allocate one specifically to Elk Grove. Bunky Echo-Hawk paints a mural at the Frybread House in Phoenix in this 2020 file photo. A Pawnee County judge dismissed the criminal case against well-known Oklahoma artist Bunky Echo-Hawk Friday, more than two years after he was accused of molesting a child. Echo-Hawk was set to go on trial in October for lewd or indecent acts to a child under the age of 16. Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler asked the judge to dismiss the charge Friday. Kunzweiler wrote in a court filing that the case required further investigation. The charge was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it could later be refiled. Echo-Hawks lawyers, Tommy Adler and Dan Good, said in a statement that they were grateful the prosecutor requested the charge to be dropped and decided not to force an unnecessary jury trial upon a wrongfully accused man. For more than two and a half years, Bunky has maintained his complete innocence against every single charge and allegation ever made against him, the attorneys said. What to know about the case The case began in January 2022 after a child told police Echo-Hawk had touched them under their clothing. Kunzweiler, whose office took over the case earlier this year, said in an email that the investigation was ongoing. He said more witnesses need to be interviewed. Rather than force a case of this significance where a child is the alleged victim of years of lewd molestation we determined that a dismissal was appropriate at this time to enable us to more fully develop the evidence, he said. Before his arrest, Echo-Hawk had been known nationwide as a painter and performer whose work depicted contemporary Native American life. Echo-Hawk, who is Pawnee and Yakama, also had a large following on social media. Many museums and galleries took down his artwork in light of the accusation, and some organizations cut ties with him. His attorneys said they hoped the dismissal would allow Echo-Hawk to reengage in the many creative arts he contributed to the world. If you are experiencing domestic violence or sexual violence, help is available: StrongHearts Native Helpline, strongheartshelpline.org or 844-762-8483. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma court drops case against Native artist Bunky Echo-Hawk The Florida deputy who shot and killed Roger Fortson, a 23-year-old Black airman, has been charged with manslaughter, authorities said Friday. Eddie Duran was fired from the Okaloosa County Sheriffs Office after he shot Fortson, a senior airman in the U.S. Air Force, on May 3. Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille said manslaughter with a firearm is a felony charge that carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. Marcille added that a warrant has been issued for Durans arrest, but the former deputy is not in custody. This decision marks the first step towards justice for the family of Roger Fortson, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Fortsons family, said Friday. Duran was responding to a call of a domestic dispute May 3 when he arrived at the apartment complex Fortson lived in. The airman was alone in his apartment the night of the shooting. When Fortson heard someone knocking on his door, he asked who was at the door but didnt get a response. When Duran knocked again, Crump said, the airman was unable to see anyone when he looked out the peephole, so he retained his legally owned gun and opened the door. Body camera footage released in May showed Duran shooting Fortson six times, just seconds after he opened the door holding his gun. According to a witness who Crump said was on FaceTime with Fortson during the shooting, the airman fell to the ground after he was shot, saying, I cant breathe. He was transported to a hospital, where he later died. Fridays announcement follows Fortsons family demanding transparency for months and just this week calling for Duran to face charges. Nothing can ever bring Roger back, and our fight is far from over, but we are hopeful that this arrest and these charges will result in real justice for the Fortson family, Crump said Friday. Let this be a reminder to law enforcement officers everywhere that they swore a solemn oath to protect and defend, and their actions have consequences, especially when it results in the loss of life. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CHARLESTON, S.C (WCBD) The November election is only three months away and the Charleston branch of the NAACP is focusing on their strategy for increasing voter turnout. Our aim is to make sure policies are in place for our people. We need persons who are going to listen and be sensitive to the issues that are important to us. And thats why we have to make sure we lend our voices and make sure theyre heard. We will fight back thats for sure, said Dorothy Jenkins, President of the Charleston Branch of the NAACP. South Carolina particularly the Black vote was critical in getting President Joe Biden elected as the nominee, and eventually president during the last election. The palmetto state is expected to play a significant role in this years election as well. Charleston NAACP branch President Dorothy Jenkins says the stakes are high this election When I think of Project 2025 and I think of the types of policies that they have in mind for us particularly those who are Black and brown I say shame on you. We need to make our voices heard and we are not turning back, said Jenkins. The organization is partnering with different groups in hopes of increasing voter turnout. Their next event will be on the College of Charleston campus to register young voters. We need to make sure we inform our community. Everyone who is able and willing and even those not so willing needs to be out here to the polls, said Jenkins. You can register to vote 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 WCBD News 2. Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty for Benjamin Joseph Taylor, the man accused of murdering Markayla Johnson and her two children, according to a court record filed Thursday. Police and court records say Taylor killed Johnson and the young children then camped out in Slab City an off-the-grid desert community near Californias Salton Sea. California sheriffs deputies and the FBI arrested him. He faces a slew of charges that include three counts of first-degree murder, and now a maximum sentence of life in prison. Court documents dont make clear why the state chose not to seek the death penalty. Mike Stolp, a spokesperson for the district attorneys office, declined to comment because the case is pending. The last time local prosecutors sought the death penalty was in 2014, when Justin Hurd was on trial, also for a triple homicide. Jurors gave him life in prison instead. Deaths from fentanyl poisoning Charlotte-Mecklenburg police began their investigation in March. They found Johnson and her children in the trunk of a car and in a storage container after a wellness check at her apartment, according to search warrants. All three died from fentanyl poisoning, a medical examiner concluded recently. Johnson and Taylor met online in 2023, an autopsy report said. She then moved with her kids from South Carolina to Charlotte. Taylor is next scheduled for an administrative hearing on Nov. 7. BOSTON (WWLP) The Dropkick Murphys Im Shipping up to Boston rang out through the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Wednesday, as all 116 Massachusetts delegates voted to make Vice President Kamala Harris the partys presidential nominee. Governor Healey, who served as attorney general of Massachusetts while Vice President Harris was attorney general, spoke about the mood and the goals of Massachusetts delegates at the convention. 5 big winners from the DNC This convention has a lot of joy, a lot of celebration about the party and about who it is were fighting for, said Governor Healey. Were about delivering for the middle class, cutting taxes, moving our economy forward, protecting access to abortion and reproductive healthcare, all of the things that Kamala Harris is also going to do. While the governor is in Chicago, Massachusetts chief executive is the acting governorcurrently Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin. The chain of command in Massachusetts after Governor Healey is Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, then Secretary Galvin, then-Attorney General Campbellall of whom are delegates at the DNC. If all of these state officials are out of state, the acting governor goes to the Treasurer, then the State Auditor. Governor Healey is slated to speak at the Democratic National Convention shortly before Vice President Harris on Thursday night before returning to Massachusetts to resume her duties on Friday afternoon. 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. GARY, Ind. A Chicago man has been charged with murder in the 1999 deadly stabbing of a Gary woman due to DNA evidence. Orvall McMoore, 57, of Chicago, was taken into custody in Chicago earlier in the month after a warrant was issued for his arrest. On the morning of Jan. 12, 1999, Gary police was dispatched to the 500 block of Madison Street on the report of a female down. The mother and brother of Lisa Anderson told 911 they found her body after not seeing or hearing from her in three days. They were let up into the apartment by a maintenance worker, according to court records. The apartment was ransacked and Anderson was found laying in her bed with a knife in her neck. Her vehicle, television, a microwave and two lamps were missing following the murder. Detectives stated there were no signs of forced entry but there was signs of a struggle. Anderson had defensive wounds, suggesting she fought back during the murder. Fingernail clippings and her blood were stored by authorities. Foster mom accused of killing 10-year-old Northwest Indiana boy by laying on him In May 2020, authorities transferred the evidence to the Indiana State Polices lab in Lowell for DNA analysis. It was completed in July and DNA from an unknown male was found under her fingernails. The following month, a match was made from a convicted Illinois man, later identified as McMoore. Detectives learned he was on parole at the time and resided in Chicago. A search warrant was conducted in Sept. 2020 for a DNA swab from McMoore. Detectives interviewed him that month while at his parole office in Chicago and advised he was not being taken into custody and could leave at any time. McMoore said he was born and raised in Chicago but lived in Gary between 1993 or 1994 and 2001. He told police his wife was shot to death in 1996 and another girlfriend was killed in a car crash in 1999, according to court documents. McMoore told police he knew Anderson as his friends on again-off again girlfriend. He denied being involved in her murder and the DNA swap was done because of the warrant. McMoore stated he did not go to Andersons funeral because he had to work but gave condolences to her mother. During the interview, documents state that he was perspiring to the point where it went through the front of his t-shirt. The DNA results allege McMoores DNA was found under Andersons fingernails. The ex-boyfriend of Anderson was interviewed by police in Dec. 2020 and he described how he knew McMoore. Documents do not shed light on why he was arrested recently after the final interview in 2020. McMoore had his initial hearing on Monday after being extradited from Cook County to Lake County. His next hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HELSINKI, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- A new volcano eruption occurred Thursday on the Reykjanes Peninsula in southwest Iceland. The eruption began at 09:26 p.m. local time (2126 GMT), follows a series of small yet intense earthquakes that started at 08:48 p.m. (2048 GMT) in the Sundhnuks crater series. Lava continues to spew from the crater close to the town of Grindavik in the south of the peninsula, according to RUV, Iceland's national public-service broadcasting organization, citing the Icelandic Meteorological Office. Grindavik, the Blue Lagoon resort and a nearby power station in Svartsengi were evacuated due to the eruption. Vidir Reynisson, a senior Icelandic police officer, told RUV that the evacuation had been successful. CHICOPEE, Mass. (WWLP) A Chicopee man is facing several drug charges after police allegedly found a large quantity of illegal narcotics inside his home. According to the Chicopee Police Department, an investigation was being conducted by the Narcotics Unit into an individual known as 39-year-old Jose Rivera who was believed to be involved with the sale of narcotics. At around 3:55 p.m. Thursday, detectives placed Rivera into custody when he was seen leaving his home and getting into a vehicle. Chicopee Police arrested 95 people last month During a search of Rivera, officers seized 10 small white glassine bags with a brown powdery substance in them which is believed to be heroin. A search warrant was then conducted inside Riveras home where detectives uncovered a large quantity of narcotics. Rivera was arrested and charged with the following: Possess to Distribute Class B Drug Possession to Distribute Class B Drug Possess to Distribute Class A Drug Members of the Chicopee Police Department along with the Hampden County District Attorneys Narcotics Task Force assisted in the investigation 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. Shein found two cases last year where suppliers were employing children under 16 - Jade Gao/AFP Chinese fast fashion giant Shein said it had discovered incidents of child labour in its supply chain as it prepares a blockbuster stock market listing in the UK. The online retailer said it had found two cases last year where its suppliers were employing children under 16 and had suspended orders from those companies. Both cases were resolved quickly, Shein said, adding that it had only started sourcing from the suppliers again once they had tackled the issue. The revelations, which came in Sheins latest sustainability report, will spark fresh questions over whether the company should be allowed to list in London. In June, Shein filed paperwork with the Financial Conduct Authority, laying the groundwork for its 50bn stock market flotation to take place in London. Shein is understood to still be considering a London listing. The Telegraph revealed this week that Shein is in the early stages of examining a possible sale to retail investors alongside City institutions, in what would be an unusual move that could allow it to tap into its popularity among Gen Z shoppers. However, it has yet to make a final decision on where it will list. It previously had been looking at New York for the flotation. Shein is thought to have cooled on those plans after facing fierce opposition from US politicians. Marco Rubio, the Republican US senator, has been leading criticism of the company. Earlier this year, he wrote to Jeremy Hunt, the then-chancellor, to urge him to scrutinise the companys listing plans. He claimed: Slave labour, sweatshops and trade tricks are the dirty secrets behind Sheins success. Mr Rubio said he felt a duty of friendship to warn Britain over the risks associated with allowing Shein to join the London Stock Exchange. Bosses from Shein met with the Labour party earlier this year, with a spokesman for the party saying at the time that: Raising investment, productivity and growth is one of Labours missions for government. The brand has previously drawn criticism for allegedly poor working conditions in its factories - Jade Gao/AFP It follows years of questions over Sheins Chinese supplier-base. Most Chinese cotton comes from Xinjiang, where there is alleged forced labour of Uyghurs. Mr Rubio, a former Republican presidential candidate, said earlier this year that there was a high probability these companies have facilitated the importation of goods made with forced labour. Undercover filming in China by Channel 4 found sweatshop workers earning as little as 19 for an 18-hour shift with just one day off a month. However, Shein has pushed back on the claims, saying it has zero tolerance for forced labour and is committed to providing a safe and fair work environment to all our suppliers employers. It told Channel 4 that it conduct[s] regular audits of suppliers facilities to ensure compliance and promptly addresses the situation if legitimate complaints are raised. 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. BAYONNE, N.J. (PIX11) A juvenile was taken into police custody on Thursday evening for allegedly shooting another minor at a house party in Bayonne, police said. The two kids briefly argued at the house party near West 9th Street a few minutes before 8 p.m., police said. The victim was then shot in the hip, police said. More Crime News The suspect fled the scene on a bicycle, according to police. The victim was taken to a hospital and was expected to recover. The suspect was taken into police custody an hour after the shooting. Police believe the suspect and victim knew each other prior to the fight. The suspect was charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault with a weapon, possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a handgun. Due to their ages, the juveniles have not been identified by police. 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. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) A local child is dead after being hit and killed by gunfire while sleeping. Around 1 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 23, gunfire occurred outside of the 30 block of W. Fairview Avenue in Dayton, according to the Dayton Police Department. While sleeping in her bed, a 12-year-old girl was reportedly struck by gunfire and died. The Montgomery County Coroners Office identified the girl as Isabellas Amor-Carlos. Community meeting being held for Turner Road redevelopment Dayton Public Schools Superintendent Dr. David Lawrence has released information that the child was a student at Charity Adams Earley Girls Academy. The Dayton Public School District is saddened by the death of a 7th grade student at Charity Adams Earley Girls Academy, who has attended the school since preschool, said Lawrence. This student was an important member of the Charity Adams community and will be greatly missed by both staff and students. Although no one else reported any injuries, additional homes were also hit by gunfire. Officials reportedly located over 30 shell casings on the roadway, as well as at two residences. A nearby neighbor told 2 NEWS the incident is devastating. Their loved one, its so sad. Im so sad that happened in our community. Its just devastating, said the neighbor. In a press conference, Dayton Police Major Brian Johns said the department believes two individuals could have been involved. At this time, no suspects have been taken into custody. Investigators are continuing to attempt to identify the individuals. You can watch the full press conference below: The Dayton school had counselors at the building on Friday, but friends needing additional support are asked to call 1-833-580-2255. In 2024 alone, Dayton Police Amor-Carlos is the eighth juvenile to die as a result of gun violence in the city. If you believe you have information that could help investigators in the case, you can remain anonymous by calling Miami Valley Crime Stoppers at 937-222-7867. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Children are drinking from puddles and wading through sewage pools, as Israel pummels water systems in Gaza Guns swinging from their hips, two soldiers in black combat boots and green tactical clothing appear to wire explosives to pumps at the Canada Water reservoir in Rafah, southern Gaza. Moments later, an orange blaze tears through the critical facility in the Tal al-Sultan neighborhood, as ribbons of grey smoke erupt into the sky. The blast was captured in a now deleted video, which was reportedly shared by an Israeli soldier on Instagram and geolocated by CNN. Satellite imagery shows that the reservoir was damaged between July 26 and July 27. Destroyed buildings are visible in the surrounding area. The reservoir could hold 3 million liters of water and was central to the treatment and distribution of water in the Rafah Governate, according to the UNs Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), providing water for 150,000 people prior to October 7, when the war began. When asked about the incident captured on camera, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told CNN that its troops had been operating in the Tal al-Sultan area for several weeks to dismantle terrorist infrastructures and eliminate terrorists, whilst taking feasible measures in order to mitigate damage to civilian structures. It added that it examines reports of videos posted to social media and handles them with disciplinary measures. The IDF said the incident was under review by the Fact Finding and Assessment Mechanism, an independent investigative mechanism outside the chain of command entrusted with investigating exceptional events in warfare. There have been many water facilities damaged or destroyed by Israels 10-month-long assault in Gaza, according to the UN and various other international bodies, compounding the civilian populations suffering, risking the spread of disease and leading human rights experts to accuse Israel of using water supply as a weapon. The destruction of the Canada Water reservoir is certainly a breach of international humanitarian law (IHL), Mark Zeitoun, director general of the Geneva Water Hub, a Swiss institute specializing in hydro-diplomacy, told CNN. IHL is meant to protect against indiscriminate attacks on the civilian population or the objects they depend upon (for) survival, he said. Even before the controlled explosion in late July, the Israeli siege drained fuel and electricity supplies needed to power the Canada Water reservoir and other water systems in the city, according to Rafahs mayor, Ahmed Al-Sofi, causing severe shortages. Rafah was already suffering from water shortages, Al-Sofi told CNN in July. The city of Rafah is a city struck by destruction, hunger and thirst. The amount of water available in Gaza works out at 4.74 liters of water (1 gallon) per person per day, Oxfam reported in July, adding that this is just under a third of the recommended minimum in emergencies and less than a single toilet flush. The international nonprofit has accused Israel of using water as a weapon of war, saying Palestinians in Gaza have almost no water to drink, let alone to bathe, cook, or clean. Extreme summer heat in Gaza is making a desperate shortage of water even worse for Palestinians already stalked by famine and struggling with repeated displacement. This June was the hottest on record in Israel, according to the Israel Meteorological Service. Temperatures in Negba, a few miles north of Gaza, reached 39.4 C (103F) in the middle of the month, according to CNN meteorologists. Israels war in Gaza has reduced supplies of fuel, chlorine and spare parts, stifling water production, purification and sewage pumping, according to the UN. Around 70% of all water and sanitation facilities in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged, the WASH Cluster, a United Nations-led group that coordinates humanitarian efforts for water, sanitation and hygiene, said on July 24, citing satellite analysis from the UN Satellite Centre. Palestinian children cool off and fill up water jugs in the Nuseirat refugee camp, in central Gaza, amid a heatwave on June 9, a day after a deadly operation by Israeli forces to rescue hostages. - Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto/Getty Images COGAT, the Israeli agency responsible for approving aid into Gaza, told CNN in a statement that Israel allows and facilitates the unlimited entry of water tanks and fuel supplies into Gaza. It added that there has been a continual effort since the start of the war to facilitate the repair and extension of water wells, desalination facilities and water mains. But several Palestinians told CNN they are forced to make hazardous journeys in search of water, risking exposure to Israeli attacks. Two people told CNN they had witnessed physical violence and even killing at public distribution points as people fight for scant resources. Those displaced to makeshift camps described scenes of sewage spilling into the streets and children drinking from puddles. More than 1.7 million cases of infectious diseases have been recorded in Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health there. Traces of the highly infectious polio virus transmitted through faeces, and contaminated water or food were found in a 10-month-old child in the central Gazan city of Deir al-Balah earlier this month. The child was later paralyzed due to the disease, the UN said on August 23. World Health Organization (WHO) testing discovered the virus in sewage samples in Gaza in July, putting thousands of Palestinians at risk of contracting a disease that can cause paralysis. After the Gaza Ministry of Health declared a polio epidemic last month, the WHO warned that ongoing Israeli bombardment had stifled vaccination efforts in Gaza. They are now calling for a halt to the fighting to allow for an effective vaccination drive. Widower Alaa Riyad says he treks many miles every day under the glare of the sun to collect water for his family, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza. The 42-year-old told CNN that he became father and mother to his children after his wife and 18 other relatives were killed by Israeli bombardment several months ago. We have found worms in the water more than once, he told CNN. What can we do? There is no life for us. Israeli attacks in the strip have killed more than 40,200 Palestinians and injured about 93,000 since the war started, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. The Israeli military launched its aerial and ground assault in Gaza after the militant group Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and abducting more than 250, according to Israeli authorities. Near complete destruction of all water infrastructure Gazas water crisis has been building for decades. In 2017, the UNs childrens agency, UNICEF, said that 95% of water from Gazas sole aquifer was unfit for human consumption, due to over-extraction, seawater infiltration and sewage contamination. In 2021, about 90% of Gazas water came from groundwater wells drawing water from that aquifer, according to the Palestinian Water Authority. The remaining 10% came mostly from desalination plants and Israels national water company, Mekorot, via three pipelines. But since early summer, Gazas municipal wells and desalination plants (two out of three of which are functioning) have operated at an average of around 15% and 22% capacity, respectively, according to CNN analysis of WASH Cluster data. Wim Zwijnenburg, who investigates the environmental impact of conflicts for the Dutch peace organization PAX, told CNN the level of damage done to Gazas water systems is the most severe weve seen so far in any conflict in the last 10 years, probably even longer. What were seeing so far is the near-complete destruction of all water infrastructure, which includes water pumping stations, water wells, the whole piping system in Gaza, Zwijnenburg said. The few functioning pumps that are still operating, the quality of the water is so bad (But) people have no choice but to drink it. Within the first week of the war, Saaed Al-Madhoun, an emergency response manager for the humanitarian agency CARE International, was forced to flee an Israeli incursion with his family near their home in Gaza City, which was later flattened by bombardment. The aid worker is haunted by constant fear and uncertainty, as the threat of Israeli attacks loom over his wife and five children, aged between 1 and 13 years old. They are displaced in miserable conditions in Deir al-Balah, where the entire family survives on just 20 liters of water per day less than the minimum of 3 liters per person needed for survival, according to UNICEF. Most of the water we access is not potable it often has a salty or metallic taste, he said in testimony relayed to CNN by CARE International. I have seen children drinking from puddles. Completely miserable conditions in tent camps Barbed wire and concrete slabs sink into huge pools of green, sewage-contaminated water in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. Footage filmed by a journalist working for CNN shows residents tiptoeing through streams of muddy water pouring through the once-vibrant neighborhood. The Israeli offensive has displaced up to 1.9 million people nearly the entire population in Gaza, according to the UN. People in sprawling tent camps say they can barely access potable water or sanitation facilities in areas polluted by raw sewage and teeming with bugs. Women endure several menstrual cycles without washing, according to the UN. Others queue in the heat to use toilets at overwhelmed hospitals or risk being chased by dogs to use washrooms in the middle of the night. The UN previously recorded one improvised shelter with only 25 toilets for 14,000 people inside and 59,000 outside. Palestinians told CNN they must prioritize scarce water supplies for consumption instead of bathing, washing clothes or cleaning dishes. Parents told CNN they struggle to find enough gas or fuel to boil and sterilize water, increasing the risk of illness. Some give their children food that requires minimal water for preparation but offers poor nutritional value. Others describe water contaminated during transportation in unclean tanks. Mohammed Hamouda, a health worker displaced in Deir al-Balah, told CNN he and his family, including his three young children, have suffered from diarrhea and abdominal cramps due to consumption of dirty water. We get the water supposedly clean and drinkable, he said. But gastrointestinal diseases and intestinal diseases occur We do not know that it is unclean until after we use it, he said. Obtaining clean water is difficult. Getting water for bathing is more difficult. Finding a toilet to relieve oneself is also very difficult. Muslims cannot find enough water to make ablution before prayer, a necessity for those seeking moments of relief through faith. Children suffer from skin rashes, expectant mothers face stillbirth risk Asma struggles to distract her children from the stinging pain of blisters and itchiness of head lice. The Palestinian mother is staying with seven relatives in Deir al-Balah, where insects crawl between the folds of their tent. In the tents we have an unimaginable quantity of insects, pincher bugs and cockroaches, she said, in an account relayed to CNN by CARE International. We get tired trying to cool and fan ourselves. Asmas last name has been withheld by CARE International to protect her identity. My children are sick, and we cant even find medical treatment, she added. We have no shampoo, or detergent to wash our clothes What are we supposed to do? A Palestinian girl is diagnosed with a skin infection in Gaza, on July 26. Health workers say children are catching skin infections due to contaminated water and a lack of access to sanitation facilities. - Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu/Getty Images Chronic water shortages will compound all the existing fragility among the population, according to Tanya Haj-Hassan, a pediatric intensive care doctor working with Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, especially for the most vulnerable. The stress of war paired with water shortages increases the risk of stillbirth, pre-term delivery and blood clots for pregnant women in Gaza, Haj-Hassan said. Breastfeeding women are less likely to produce enough milk for newborns, potentially causing malnourishment. Those who can access sparse supplies of powdered infant formula may not find clean water to make up bottles, compounding the risk of illness, Haj-Hassan added. Sustained restrictions on aid Israels COGAT told CNN they have facilitated the entry of 48,670 tons of water aid into Gaza since the war began, adding that they have provided 14 forklift trucks to assist with aid collection at the Kerem Shalom border crossing between Gaza and Israel, as well as broadening supply routes and increasing operating hours for aid collection. But relief workers say whats coming in is not nearly enough to respond to soaring needs, blaming Israel for sustained aid restrictions, blocked access to parts of the north, destruction of roads and attacks on relief convoys. Humanitarian workers and government officials told CNN in March that Israeli officials were repeatedly rejecting much needed aid, including water purification tablets and filtration systems, at entry points to Gaza. COGAT described the testimony given to CNN at the time as false accusations. Liz Allcock, head of protection at the UK-based NGO Medical Aid for Palestinians, told CNN she saw thousands and thousands of bottles of water sitting at the Kerem Shalom border crossing on July 3. Several Palestinians told CNN that scarcity, the risks involved in transporting water, and fuel shortages had driven up the cost of water to unaffordable levels. Some say the absence of regulation means water supplied by aid agencies is sold on the black market for an inflated cost. In some areas, water has risen from $7 for 1,000 liters (about 264 gallons) to $45 to $50, Haj-Hassan said. Hamouda, the father-of-three displaced in Deir al-Balah, said the daily cost of water for him and his family has risen from one-third of a dollar in October to $2. Raed Radwan, a father displaced to a tent in Deir al-Balah told CNN that he was constantly worried about keeping his family cool and hydrated. His five-month-old daughter recently suffered heatstroke, and he had no cold water to give her. For nine months, we have been enduring the ongoing water crisis I hope there will be a solution to the water problem because I can no longer handle it. I am mentally and physically exhausted, he said in July. CNNs Gianluca Mezzofiore, Abeer Salman, Tareq El Helou, Ibrahim Dahman and Lauren Izso contributed reporting. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com BEIJING (Reuters) - China and Belarus have agreed to strengthen cooperation in a range of sectors including trade, security, energy and finance, according to a joint statement, after Chinese Premier Li Qiang met Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko in Minsk. The statement released on Friday, a day after the Minsk meeting, said both countries would also strengthen cooperation in industrial supply chains and continue to enhance trade facilitation to reduce costs for both ends. Belarus also intends to deepen cooperation with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area, a megalopolis which covers nine cities including Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai, said the statement published by China's foreign ministry. According to the China Daily, Belarus was among the first group of countries that responded to China's Belt and Road Initiative and Li said during his visit to Minsk that China-Belarus relations had remained vibrant for the past 32 years despite the changing international landscape. China is the second-largest trading partner of Belarus and its largest trading partner in Asia, with bilateral trade exceeding $8.4 billion last year, said the China Daily. Li arrived in Belarus on Thursday after wrapping up his first visit to Russia as Chinese premier. (Reporting by Liz Lee and Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Michael Perry) LOUISVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) One of two box turtles that went missing from the Louisville Nature Center (LNC) over the weekend was returned to his home Thursday night. The nature reserve posted on Facebook that Chocolate the turtle was returned Thursday night by a good Samaritan. He realized Chocolate would not be able to survive on his own and brought him home to care for him, LNC said. RELATED: Louisville nature reserve asks for return of missing turtles Chocolate, one of two turtles missing from the Louisville Nature Center, was reunited with volunteers and other animals Thursday night, according to staff. (Louisville Nature Center) Since his return, Chocolate has made himself at home with LNC staff. Chocolate has eaten SIX worms today and had a bath and a nap, and is so happy to be with his turtle friends again. LNC staff are still reportedly searching for Jack, the other turtle who was allegedly stolen when the turtle enclosure was broken into over the weekend. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: The nature reserve posted on Facebook that it is raising funds to rebuild our turtle habitat so this never happens again! According to LNC staff, a portion of the money gained from the fundraiser will also go to creating an animal care fund for all our animal ambassadors. To find more information about the Louisville Nature Center and to donate to the fundraiser, 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 FOX 56 News. A garbage dump is seen in a neighborhood in the city of Gedaref in eastern Sudan By El Tayeb Siddig PORT SUDAN, Sudan (Reuters) - For the second consecutive year Sudan is in the grip of a cholera outbreak that has left at least 28 people dead in the last month as rains fall in areas crammed with those fleeing the country's 16-month-old war, officials said. Since July 22, when the current wave began, 658 cases of cholera have been recorded across five states, World Health Organization (WHO) country director Shible Sahbani told Reuters in Port Sudan. With much of the country's health infrastructure collapsed or destroyed and staffing thinned by displacement, 4.3% of cases have resulted in deaths, a high rate compared to other outbreaks, Sahbani said. Some 200,000 are at high risk of falling ill, he said. The war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has created one of the world's largest humanitarian crises and displaced more than 10 million people inside Sudan and beyond its borders. The country is dealing with a total of five concurrent disease outbreaks include dengue fever and measles. The RSF has advanced across swathes of Sudan, where people have been cut off from aid as the army has withheld access and RSF soldiers loot supplies and hospitals. Efforts to deliver aid to the western region of Darfur have been complicated by rains. International experts have determined that there is a famine in Darfur's Zamzam camp, an area flooded in the rains and highly susceptible to cholera. About 12,000 cases and more than 350 deaths were registered in the previous cholera wave between October 2023 and May 2024, health minister Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim said, adding that there had been no major outbreak in the nine years before the war. The current outbreak is centred in Kassala and Gedaref states, which host 1.2 million displaced people. In Gedaref, a Reuters reporter filmed pools of water attracting insects and large ponds of stagnant rain water mixing with refuse. A local official said that the vast majority of diseases were caused by insects, poor water quality, and sewage. Many people fleeing raids by the RSF shelter in crowded, makeshift displacement centres, where lavatories have overflowed as heavier-than-usual rains continue to fall. Cholera is transmitted from food and water contaminated with infected faeces and thrives in such conditions. Sahbani said that states like Khartoum and Gezira, largely controlled by the RSF, had also seen cholera cases, while states in the Kordofan and Darfur regions could likely see outbreaks. "The challenge is getting supplies to the areas we need them. Due to the rainy season many roads are not usable now, but also there are security constraints and bureaucratic constraints," he said. On Friday, he told reporters in a virtual briefing that the International Coordinated Group for vaccine allocation (ICG) had approved delivery of 455,000 cholera vaccine doses to Sudan, some "good news in the middle of this horrible crisis". Ibrahim said the army-aligned government had used "unorthodox measures" including air drops to try to get vaccines and supplies into those RSF-controlled areas as well as isolated army-controlled areas. Both officials emphasized that the need in Sudan far outweighed the aid effort, particularly as the U.N.'s humanitarian appeal for Sudan is only about one-third funded. (Reporting by Eltayeb Siddig in Port Sudan, Omar Araki in Gedaref and Emma Farge in Geneva; Writing by Nafisa Eltahir; Editing by Aidan Lewis, William Maclean) Church Rock man pleads guilty to charges for shooting at police in New Mexico MCKINLEY COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) A Church Rock man has pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related to an attack on law enforcement officers on the Navajo Nation. Elijah Touchine, 24, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, shot at officers from the Navajo Police Department and New Mexico State Police in July 2023. Law enforcement attempted to find Touchine in a canyon but had to end the search after twelve hours due to dark conditions. New Mexico grandma speaks out after CYFD attempts to reunite child with parents facing abuse charges Later that day, the FBI, with assistance from the Gallup Police Department, located Touchine at a gun store in Gallup, and he was taken into custody without incident. During the investigation, it was determined that Touchine had forced his grandmother to purchase ammunition and an AR-15 firearm for him through threats of violence. When asked why he was buying a gun, Touchine replied, I dont know, shoot up any cop I see, according to the news release from the United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico. During an interview with the FBI, Touchine referred to himself as the devil, said God told him to do it, and that he wanted to kill every [expletive] police, according to court documents. He also identified himself as a fentanyl user. Law enforcement recovered a .40 caliber Taurus handgun and ammunition in a black bag from the trunk of his grandmothers vehicle. At sentencing, Touchine faces 12 to 17 years in prison. Upon his release from prison, he will be subject to up to five years of supervised release. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CHICAGO, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday night officially accepted the Democratic Party's presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) held at the United Center in Chicago. "I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America," said Harris, the first woman of color to lead a major party ticket in the country, in a speech on the fourth and the final day of the DNC. "With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past, a chance to chart a New Way Forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans," she said. Harris reflected on her upbringing as a person of Indian and African descent, and her experience working as a prosecutor in the Bay Area and as California's attorney general. In her speech, Harris said that building middle class will be a defining goal of her presidency, and that middle class is where she comes from. She elaborated on abortion rights, immigration policy, foreign policy, among other topics. The Democratic presidential nominee also blasted former President Donald Trump's actions and policies, describing that the consequences of putting Trump back in the White House as "extremely serious." In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, lashed out at Harris' speech, saying that she stands for "incompetence" and "weakness." Earlier on Thursday, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched near the DNC venue to express their dissatisfaction with the Biden administration's Israel policy. In her acceptance speech, Harris attempted to address the Israel-Palestine conflict. "President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination," said the Democratic nominee. On Aug. 6, the DNC announced that Harris had been officially certified as the party's presidential nominee following a five-day online balloting process. On Aug. 20, she was once again confirmed as the party's presidential nominee during the DNC. Some cinnamon products have elevated lead levels and should be thrown away, state warns The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is reminding residents to throw away numerous ground cinnamon products due to elevated lead levels and to double-check their homes due to the items long shelf life. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has asked various cinnamon product vendors for voluntary recalls several times this year due to concerns with lead. The majority of companies, though not all, appear to have complied, according to updates on the FDAs website. The latest list of cinnamon products to toss was issued July 30 and sent in the state reminder Thursday. Photos of each product can be found on the FDA website. The brand and lot details are: El Chilar: D181EX0624 and E054EX0225 Marcum: Best by 12/05/25 12 D8 and Best by 12/05/25 12 D11 SWAD: Best by 10/2026 Batch No.KX28223 Supreme Tradition: Best by 10/06/25 10A11 Compania Indillor Orientale: Exp and Lot: 08 2024 L1803231 ALB Flavor: Best by 8/30/2025 - LA02 Shahzada: No lot code available Spice Class: Best by 12/2026 La Frontera: No lot code available The prior lists of cinnamon products to toss were issued in March and earlier in July, also with photos included on the FDA website. The brand and lot details for those products were: La Fiesta: 25033 Marcum: Best By 10/16/25 10DB and 04/06/25 0400B1 MK: No lot codes available SWAD: Best Before July 2026 KX21223 Supreme Tradition: Best By 09/29/25 09E8; 04/17/25 04E11; 12/19/25 12C2; 04/12/25 04ECB12; 08/24/25 08A_ _; 04/21/25 04E5; 04/21/25 04E5; and 2025-09-22 09E20 El Chilar: F275EX1026 and D300EX1024 El Servidor: No lot code available There is no safe level of lead in the blood for anyone, said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, the state's chief medical executive in a statement in a news release. It's also "particularly harmful to young children, infants and fetuses." Most people have no obvious, immediate signs of lead exposure but high levels of exposure in utero, infancy, and early childhood can lead to effects including learning disabilities, behavior difficulties, and lowered IQ, according to the FDA. More: Ground cinnamon sold at discount retailers contaminated with lead, FDA urges recall If you are concerned about your childs exposure to lead, please talk to your healthcare provider about blood lead testing," Bagdasarian said. A blood lead test is the only way to know if a person has been exposed to lead. Information on testing can be found at the MI Lead Safe webpage, or michigan.gov/mileadsafe. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ground cinnamon products have high lead levels, should be thrown away AUSTIN (KXAN) The City of Austin is facing a lawsuit over a budget item that allocates hundreds of thousands of dollars to help women accessing abortion care. Austin City Council approves record budget, here are the changes they made Last week, the Austin City Council approved its budget for Fiscal Year 2024-2025. In it, theres a budget item that allocates $400,000 to the citys Reproductive Health Grant, which provides financial support for people in Austin traveling to access abortion care. The money can be used for things like travel, lodging, childcare stipends and food. Former Austin City Council Member Don Zimmerman filed the lawsuit that asks for a temporary injunction. The city of Austin sent a statement to KXAN in response to the litigation. The City is aware of Mr. Zimmermans amended lawsuit in response to the recent budget allocation for logistical support services. We have successfully litigated this issue in the past and will respond to the recent allegations through the appropriate court channels. Meghan Riley, City of Austin Litigation Division Chief What does it argue? The lawsuit argued it is against state law to spend taxpayer dollars on abortion-assistance activities. University of Houston Assistant Professor of Law Laura Portuondo said the biggest allegation is that the budget item is inconsistent with Texas statewide laws. The lawsuit argued any use of taxpayer money inside Texas to acquire an abortion violates state law even if the abortion is being procured outside the state. Thats sort of a stretch, a pretty significant stretch of the laws text, to suggest that simply giving someone money is furnishing that abortion, right? However, we do have that civil law that says that you cant really aid and abet somebody in getting an abortion at all, Portuondo said. That one, its less of a stretch of the statutory text to say giving someone money is potentially conduct that would make you liable. The lawsuit alleged this budget item violates the gift clause, which says cities cant give money to private individuals unless theres a public purpose. The idea is if youre giving somebody money for an abortion that cant really be a public purpose, Portuondo said. Although what we see here is clearly a conflict between an understanding of what a public purpose is in sort of the state governments mind and the localities mind. Looking at the wider context, Executive and Scientific Director at Resound Research for Reproductive Health Kari White, said Texas law does not regulate abortions that take place in other states. There is not a way for Texas to prohibit people from traveling to another state to get an abortion. People travel out of state to do things like gamble in Nevada or get medical care, more sophisticated medical care at a health center that is going to provide them with the treatment that they need. Kari White, Resound Research for Reproductive Health When it comes to this Austin initiative, Zimmerman wants a temporary injunction so it cant be enforced. In order to get that, Portuondo said the lawsuit would have to win one of its constitutional arguments. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BELEN, N.M. (KRQE) Belen city councilors approved procedures for the baby box the city unveiled last year. Those rules are aimed at ensuring that whoever surrenders the baby, is left completely anonymous. This is about providing a safe, anonymous surrender of a child, said City of Belen Mayor, Robert Noblin. Child dropped off at Belen baby box Back in October, the City of Belen announced the opening of the states fourth baby box; and last week, city council approved new procedures for mothers surrendering their babies. My concern is the baby, said City of Belen Fire Chief, Charles Cox. As long as the baby is fine, thats what were worrying about. The other opponents, if they want to argue back in forth, thats up to them. Thats not the job of the fire department. When asked if the new guidelines will require Belens Fire Department to disclose any information about who dropped the child off, city officials said no- and that they have no obligation to give that information. Baby boxes have been a controversy in the state. Local governments claim they only have a duty to keep the child safe, but the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD), said they are required by law to investigate the drop-off. Theres a disconnect between the Safe Haven laws and the CYFD policies and procedures, Noblin explained. I think thats something that will really need to be looked at and addressed as these boxes become more prevalent. Chief Cox said when the baby box is opened, and a child is surrendered, an alarm will notify local fire dispatch, and emergency medical services (EMS). The door has been opened; the beam has been broken, saying that there is a baby in there, Chief Cox said. It is then up to the fire department to check if the child is healthy and provide any immediate medical attention if needed. If the child is in good health, they deliver them to a nearby hospital- no questions are asked. We will not know who dropped the baby off, Chief Cox added. City of Belen officials said an Albuquerque city councilor is interested in bringing those baby boxes to the metro. Its unclear if and when that could happen. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) Nonprofit organization City Care is hosting their annual Odyssey Project event to fund their work supporting marginalized communities in Oklahoma City. The Odyssey Project event will be held at P. Alice, 200 N. Broadway Ave in Oklahoma City on Thursday, August 29 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Proceeds from the event will fund City Cares homeless services, affordable housing access and tutoring for underserved students. For more information about the Odyssey Project and to purchase tickets to the event, visit citycareokc.org/theodysseyproject. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SHINNSTON, W.Va. (WBOY) While in office, State Treasurer Riley Moore has encouraged West Virginians to check and see if theyre the owners of unclaimed property in the state. The City of Shinnston is one of those owners and received a check from Treasurer Moore on Thursday. Unclaimed property are financial assets that have gone dormant and have been turned over to the state. The West Virginia State Treasurers Office then does its best to return that unclaimed property to its rightful owner. Davis and Elkins College breaks fundraising record During this fiscal year, the State Treasurers office has returned $28 million in unclaimed property, and the City of Shinnston received a check for $18,009.25 of that on Thursday. In an interview with 12 News, Moore credited the online database that his office set up as well as digital advertising for the growth in returned unclaimed property. City of Shinnston City Manager Tori Drainer said she found out the city had unclaimed property by looking through the State Treasurers Offices website. She said that the city plans to discuss how to use the $18,000 to further develop the city in a future city council meeting. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com. The four members of the Polaris Dawn crew will have to wait at least an extra 24 hours before opening a new chapter on commercial space travel. The SpaceX mission to carry an all-civilian crew to heights higher than any astronaut has reached in decades was initially scheduled for launch early Monday. But now the mission slated to be the first ever to feature a spacewalk conducted by nongovernment astronauts won't be happening until Tuesday at the earliest, SpaceX said. When the SpaceX Dragon carrying the crew does liftoff atop a Falcon 9 rocket, the spacecraft will ascend to 870 miles above Earth's surface before descending to a cruising orbit about 435 miles above Earth. On board the craft will be a pilot and two mission specialists under the command of billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman. Targeting Tuesday, August 27 for launch of Polaris Dawn, the first of the @PolarisPrograms three human spaceflight missions designed to advance the future of spaceflight pic.twitter.com/w6QF3jBLqt SpaceX (@SpaceX) August 21, 2024 Isaacman, who was also behind Inspiration4 another historic commercial mission in 2021 that marked the first time an all-civilian crew went to space helped to fund the mission along with SpaceX. Elon Musk's aerospace company also designed spacesuits specially for the Polaris Dawn crew. The ambitious spacewalk and the slew of scientific tests Isaacman and his crew intend to make during their five days in orbit could set the stage for future deep space exploration. Polaris Dawn delayed 24 hours, SpaceX says News of the 24-hour delay, which SpaceX announced Wednesday on X, came two days after the Polaris Dawn crew arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to prepare for the imminent launch. SpaceX said on X, formerly Twitter, that the delay was needed to give teams time to complete preflight checkouts. SpaceX is now targeting a 3:38 a.m. liftoff Tuesday though the launch window lasts until 7 a.m. If needed, backup launch times are available at the same times on Wednesday. The four Polaris Dawn crew members are seen inside their spacesuits. During the crew's first day in orbit, they will reach altitudes higher than any human has traveled since NASAs Apollo lunar program came to an end in the 1970s. Climbing to a height of 870 miles above the surface or more than three times higher than the International Space Station will take the crew through the treacherous inner regions of Earth's Van Allen radiation belts. The Van Allen belts pose one of the largest hazards to future spacefarers venturing deep into the cosmos. But for future expeditions to the moon and Mars to be possible, astronauts will have to be able to safely fly through them. When the Polaris Dawn crew travels through the radiation belts, their SpaceX crafts nose will be oriented to minimize the astronauts exposure to harmful radiation. The crew will spend five days in orbit testing space technology on behalf of SpaceX that could prove crucial as NASA and other space agencies set their sights on destinations like Mars. On the sixth day of the mission, the SpaceX vehicle will reenter Earth's atmosphere and splash down at one of seven sites off the Florida coast. Conducting a risky spacewalk Isaacman, himself an experienced aviator, will serve as mission commander leading a crew that includes pilot Scott Kidd Poteet as well as mission specialists Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon, who is also the medical officer. Menon, of Houston, plans to read a children's book she co-authored, "Kisses from Space" inspired by her experience preparing for the Polaris Dawn mission to her two young children while in orbit. While in orbit, the crew will complete some 40 scientific experiments many of which are to understand the human body's reaction to long spaceflights and test a new laser-based satellite communication system using Starlink. The crew will also attempt to become the first-ever private citizens to conduct a spacewalk. Until now, spacewalks have only ever been conducted by government astronauts. And because most spacecraft have airlocks, conducting one does not typically require depressurizing the entire capsule. But because the Dragon does not have an airlock, the entire spacecraft will have to be depressurized before the hatch is opened, exposing all four crew members to the vacuum of space. For this reason, all four astronauts will be wearing Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA) suits designed by SpaceX to receive oxygen through tethers. What's next for the Polaris Program? Polaris Dawn is the first of three human spaceflights under the Polaris Program, all of which are intended to test SpaceX technologies needed to carry humans deep into the cosmos. Billionaire Jared Isaacman self-funded Project Dawn, a mission to orbit Earth. He will serve as mission commander when the four-member crew launches Aug. 26. The second mission "will continue to expand the boundaries of future human spaceflight missions, in-space communications, and scientific research," according to the program's website. Additional details, including a launch date, have not yet been announced. When the day comes that the third and final Polaris Program mission launches, it's intended to be the first human spaceflight on the SpaceX Starship rocket. The gargantuan rocket, which has so far only undergone uncrewed tests, will one day ferry NASA astronauts from lunar orbit to the moon's surface as part of the space agency's Artemis program. Eric Lagatta covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at elagatta@gannett.com This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SpaceX delays commercial Polaris Dawn orbital mission by 24 hours Claim of link between mpox and COVID-19 vaccines is nonsense | Fact check The claim: Mpox is a reaction to COVID-19 vaccines An Aug. 17 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) includes a video of a woman making an assertion about the real nature of mpox. Everyone needs to detox now!! the post reads in part. This is NOT a virus!! This is a side effect of the Covid Vaccines. The post was liked more than 200 times in five days. More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page Our rating: False COVID-19 vaccines have nothing to do with mpox, which is caused by a virus identified more than 60 years ago. The mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were first administered in late 2020. Testing, rash, pattern of mpox spread prove no link to COVID-19 vaccines The World Health Organization has declared mpox a public health emergency for the second time since 2022, but some social media users still doubt the disease's existence or if it is even caused by a virus. Claims that mpox is not caused by a virus are patently false, public health officials told USA TODAY. And linking the outbreak to the administering of COVID-19 vaccines is ridiculous. Mpox virus absolutely exists, said Dr. Daniel Pastula, a professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Colorado School of Public Health with expertise in infectious diseases. The virus causing the disease, known as monkeypox before the WHO recommended renaming it in 2022, was first discovered in 1958. The first human case was identified in 1970 in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, according to the CDC. That timeline shows the disease is not a symptom of an adverse reaction to the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, as they were first administered in late 2020, said Dr. Christopher Sanford, an expert in travel and tropical medicine at the University of Washington. Further, mpox is diagnosed through PCR testing, meaning it is confirmed by identifying the viruss genetic material. Youre looking at the DNA, he said. If you get a positive, it is mpox. Fact check: Video shows line for Tim Walz rally, not mpox tests There is no mpox DNA in the COVID-19 vaccines, the ingredients of which are publicly reported, Sanford noted. Sanford note the concept of a link between COVID-19 vaccines and mpox is further refuted by looking at the patterns of where mpox is appearing and where COVID-19 vaccines were distributed. Wealthier nations, particularly in the Americas and Europe, were quicker to get and adopt COVID-19 vaccines when they became available. Mpox is most prominently appearing in Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the slow uptake of COVID-19 vaccines was well documented. Sanford also noted that mpox rashes should not look like the rashes people sometimes report after getting a vaccine. Mpox rashes can look like bumps, blisters or open sores, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. The skin reactions reported after vaccines are usually flatter, similar to hives, Sanford said. USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram user who shared the video for comment but did not immediately receive a response. DW and Full Fact also debunked the claim. Our fact-check sources: Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here. USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mpox has no link to COVID-19 vaccines | Fact check Classmates of 7-year-old Amir Prewitt, killed in hit-and-run, prepare to start school without him Classmates of 7-year-old Amir Prewitt, killed in hit-and-run, prepare to start school without him CLEVELAND (WJW) A heartfelt plea to the public was released Thursday to help find the person who killed a 7-year-old, while students and staff at his school prepare to start classes without him. Amir Prewitt should be entering the second grade at St. Thomas Aquinas School in Cleveland, but tragically, he was killed by a hit-and-run driver on Friday, Aug. 16. I-Team: Alleged killer of Cleveland officer Jamieson Ritter has violent incident in jail The pictures that we have of him are so precious now, said Rachael Dengler, principal at St. Thomas Aquinas. His smile is one you could feel, you could feel it in your soul, you could feel it in your body, because he smiled with his whole body. Prewitt was well-known and liked at the school for his kind heart and loving demeanor by all students from kindergarten up through the eighth grade. On Instagram, they posted, When our joy is so big it radiates through us, when we catch ourselves being silly without inhibition, when we smile so hard it hurts, itll be because Amir showed us how. Well miss you so much but will never forget you. It will be very difficult, especially with our younger students, said Dengler. Theyve all been in shock since learning of Prewitts passing, she said. Immediately upon learning about his death, she said they gathered together to talk, cry and pray. It was obviously very jarring to learn about something you could not imagine ever happening, she said. Grief counselors will be on-hand when students return to school on Monday. Police: Dad left 3 kids unattended while riding roller coasters at Cedar Point Also on Thursday, councilman Mike Polensek, Ward 8, issued an impassioned plea to catch the driver. Its outrageous! he said. People know who did it and people have to stand up. Far too often people dont want to say anything this code of silence, no-snitch crap. Im sick of it. A black Mercedes SUV struck and dragged Prewitt in the parking lot at the Lakeshore Beach Apartments, 16024 Lakeshore Blvd., during daylight hours. Prewitt was there with his family at the time, visiting family and skateboarding in the parking lot. The vehicle was recovered and pictures of a person of interest were released by Cleveland police to the public, but still there have been no arrests. Ive talked to his mother every day. She is just distraught. Can you blame her? She wants closure. She wants justice, said Polensek, Its Amir on Friday, it could be your child tomorrow or your grandchild. Is that how people want to live? Polensek said if people are afraid to contact officers, they can call him directly. Im not gonna rest until the person who did that is caught and brought to justice, he said. 1 dead, 2 detained after Valley View shooting Anyone with information is asked to call Cleveland police at 216-623-5295 or 216-621-1234. Those who are unwilling to speak with officers and want to remain anonymous can contact Polensek by calling 216-664-4236. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CLEARFIELD COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) A Houtzdale woman plead guilty in federal court to trafficking methamphetamine, according to United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan. Joanna Shylock, 36, was arrested for her role in an 18-month-long investigation into methamphetamine trafficking. As part of a federal wiretap, multiple kilos of meth were trafficked from Atlanta up into Central Pennsylvania, according to the US Attorney. On Friday, Aug. 23 Shylock pleaded guilty to violating federal narcotic laws. According to a release from the Department of Justice, in March and April of 2020, Shylock conspired to distribute a substance that contained methamphetamine. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: 38 arrested in massive meth bust crossing multiple counties Senior United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson scheduled Shylocks sentencing for Jan. 22, 2025. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $1 million, or both. The Drug Enforcement Administration and Pennsylvania State Police conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Shylock. Additional agencies participating in this investigation include: The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation United States Postal Inspection Service Homeland Security Investigations Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General Clearfield County District Attorneys Office Erie County District Attorneys Office Millcreek Police Department Erie Bureau of Police Other local law enforcement agencies. Get the latest news, weather forecasts and sports stories delivered straight to your inbox! Sign up for our newsletters. Assistant United States Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. FILE PHOTO: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres gives a special address on climate action in New York By Kirsty Needham (Reuters) - Climate change and security will dominate discussions at next week's meeting of Pacific Islands leaders in Tonga as China and the United States jostle for influence in the region. The chairman of the Pacific Islands Forum, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, told foreign ministers from the 18 member nations this month "regional solidarity amidst the ever-increasing geostrategic interest, navigating the ongoing climate crisis and managing emerging challenges" are top priorities. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres will also travel to Tonga, which has a population of 100,000 spread across 36 islands and is reliant on overseas aid, to highlight the need for greater climate change assistance. Slow economic growth, rising costs for imported basic goods and the severe impact of climate-induced disasters were raised by economic ministers in the lead up to the meeting. The decline of international banking services across the region will also be discussed. Civil unrest between indigenous Kanaks and French loyalists in the French territory of New Caledonia, a forum member, is among several challenging security issues for leaders. They will also consider a proposal to boost training of Pacific Islands police to enable forum members to assist each other with security in a crisis, reducing the need to turn to help from countries outside the region such as China. Australia, the largest member of the forum, has backed the proposal and will fund a regional police training centre in Papua New Guinea. "It is politically sensitive because everyone is well aware of the strategic implications," said Mihai Sora, director of the Pacific Islands Program at the Lowy Institute think tank in Australia. It will be important the policing programme is seen as responding to Pacific Islands priorities and not just cementing top aid donor Australia's role as the major security partner, he added. Until recently, China has been a major infrastructure lender in the region and is now seeking a greater role in the military, policing, digital connectivity and media. Chinese police operate in Solomon Islands and Kiribati, and Beijing hosted visits by the leaders of Fiji, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands in the weeks before the forum meeting, highlighting its ability to provide development assistance, and its security goals. U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell will travel to Tonga to meet with the forum leaders, the U.S. State Department said on Friday. The U.S. is not a forum member, but leaders will decide on an application by the U.S. Pacific territories of Guam and American Samoa to join as associate members, without voting rights. "These are American territories, so that will increase the U.S. access, and potentially its ability to influence or shape regional discussions," Sora said. Highlighting the challenges to adopting a unified approach, forum member Kiribati announced in a Facebook statement on Friday it was closing its door to foreign diplomatic visits until 2025. The remote nation's pro-China president Taneti Maamau regained his parliament seat in a national election this month, but still faces a direct vote for president later in the year. Three forum members have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, after Nauru switched its allegiance to Beijing this year. (Reporting by Kirsty Needham in Sydney; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) HANOI, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's Ministry of Health has launched a campaign to provide measles vaccines for children in 100 districts and towns of 18 localities at a high risk of outbreaks, local media reported Friday. Based on the World Health Organization's assessment toolkit, the ministry has assessed the risk of measles outbreaks in 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam and decided to deploy the vaccination campaign. Vaccines are provided free of charge for children aged one to ten, along with medical staff at risk at medical examination and treatment facilities and those who have not had the required number of vaccinations as prescribed, Vietnam News Agency reported. According to the ministry's Department of Preventive Medicine, Vietnam has reported over 2,000 measles cases since early this year. The southern hub Ho Chi Minh City logged more than 500 cases and three fatalities. More than three decades after a mother of two tragically died in a hit-and-run in Uptown Charlotte, her killer has been arrested, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said. Ruth Buchanan was shopping in Uptown Charlotte four days after Christmas in 1989 when she was hit and killed while walking in a crosswalk. The driver never stopped. ALSO READ: COLD CASE: DNA evidence points to possible suspect in Charlotte womans 1990 killing For decades, the case went cold. Nearly 35 years later, her killer has been caught and confessed to the crime. Dec. 29, 1989 Buchanan loved her kids, her husband, and square dancing. She also loved to give back to her community. On Dec. 29, 1989 the Forest City woman went with a friend to Uptown Charlotte, then known as downtown, to take advantage of post-Christmas sales. Police said she had an upcoming trip to Florida to ring in the new year. Ruth and her friend were walking down the sidewalk there, said CMPD Sgt. Gavin Jackson, as he pointed to the exact spot. More than three decades after a mother of two tragically died in a hit-and-run in Uptown Charlotte, her killer has been arrested, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said. Jackson is with CMPDs Major Crash Investigations Unit. He said that shopping trip came to a tragic end where Fifth and North Tryon streets meet. ALSO READ: Police in Catawba County reopen 13-year-old girls 1992 murder case As they cross Fifth, witnesses indicate that a driver ran a red light and struck Mrs. Buchanan, who was in the crosswalk, Jackson said. According to Charlotte Observer reports at the time, Buchanan was hurled about 10 feet into the air... and left dying on busy North Tryon Street battered by a driver who ran a red light at 45 mph and never stopped. More than three decades after a mother of two tragically died in a hit-and-run in Uptown Charlotte, her killer has been arrested, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said. The 52-year-old mother died the next day in the hospital. Detectives soon tracked down the suspects car which had been dumped at a Charlotte hotel. The busted windshield, front bumper, and hood were where detectives found Buchanans hair fibers and skin fragments. More than three decades after a mother of two tragically died in a hit-and-run in Uptown Charlotte, her killer has been arrested, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said. The tag that was displayed in the vehicle matched the tag that was seen fleeing from the scene, Jackson said. It turns out that car was stolen. Cracking the case Days turned into weeks. Local newspapers kept the case alive, and so did local police who continued working the case. But for years, there were no updates. That is, until 2022. I received the Crime Stoppers tip, and it gave information about this case, Jackson said. The tip wasnt credible, but Channel 9s Hunter Saenz learned it opened detectives eyes to the case. ALSO READ: Deadly shooting of Charlotte inn worker remains unsolved after 16 years It did because our electronic reporting system doesnt go back three and a half decades, Jackson said. Sgt. Jackson had a detective reopen the case file, and a set of new and fresh eyes took a look at the evidence. What the detective found ended up cracking the case. In 1989, inside that damaged car, investigators found a cigarette butt left inside a canister. The detective who had taken a fresh look at the case saw it in the evidence room and knew it could be crucial with new DNA technology. It was item 19. They do the DNA analysis on the cigarette/possible marijuana joint, and within a couple of months, they end up giving us a hit back from that DNA, Jackson said. It led them to Herbert Stanback, a career criminal who was in prison for another crime. Sgt. Jackson and his detective went to interview Stanback twice. More than three decades after a mother of two tragically died in a hit-and-run in Uptown Charlotte, her killer has been arrested, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said. The first time, Stanback asked for time to reflect before talking about much of anything, according to Sgt. Jackson. But the second trip to interview him would lead to charges. One thing led to another, and he was able to provide us a 26-minute confession, Jackson said. Confessed right to you! Saenz said. Yeah, yeah, Jackson said. [We] recorded it, [he] waived his rights, and confessed. ALSO READ: Its so devastating: Mystery behind womans death haunts family During that confession, Jackson said Stanback stated he was too scared to stop after hitting Buchanan on that fateful day in 1989. He did tell us, it was within a few days of Ruth dying that he had read in the paper that she had passed, and at that point felt that police were imminent, Jackson said. He always knew one day this would catch up to him. For 35 years, a police department, a community, and a family were bewildered by who did it. But finally, they have closure with a cold case killer caught. For us, certainly is a once-in-a-career type thing, Jackson said. Herbert Stanback, who is now 68, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison for Ruth Buchanans death. According to Department of Corrections records he was already serving a six-year sentence for a habitual felon conviction. The two sentences will be served at the same time. (WATCH BELOW: Im not going away: Woman still hopeful as sons killing remains unsolved 1 year later) Editors note: This article has been corrected to include the proper website for Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. (COLORADO SPRINGS) Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is warning visitors to beware of a new scam that is targeting the community. CMZoo announced on Thursday, Aug. 22 that a new scam is aiming to steal financial information from those who are trying to buy discounted tickets. Fake accounts and scammers are claiming to offer deeply discounted admission tickets in graphics, one even offered four tickets for the price of $6.95, like the one shown below. CMZoo said scammers use graphics like this one to steal different types of information from an individual. Courtesy: CMZoo These scams aim to steal credit cards and other information, and the zoo said they are not affiliated with CMZoo. We work really hard behind the scenes to protect our social media fans from this kind of thing, said CMZoo on Facebook. But our options to have these scams removed are limited. The zoo is advising people to follow the following guidelines to protect themselves from scammers: Valid CMZoo tickets are only available at cmzoo.org. Do not purchase tickets from any other website, through a social media platform or otherwise. The only discounts CMZoo honors are those listed on their website and available at checkout. CMZoo said if anyone sees a post offering discounted admission to the zoo, you should send it to the zoo and the zoo will do their best to help. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BARNEGAT LIGHT, N.J. (PIX11) The ocean is beautiful and a beast. Earlier this week, two fishermen on the edge of a jetty in Barnegat Light were trying to walk back to the beach when an ocean swell suddenly swallowed their path. From above, the Coast Guard came to their rescue, and from below, volunteer first responders kept them safe. More New Jersey News They were pretty calm, clearly wanted to get off the rocks, said Hugh Shields of the Barnegat Light First Aid Squad. Shields and Capt. Bob Selfridge went out on jet skis to rescue the fishermen who had climbed onto a tower. I give Bob the sign that Im going and I jumped in, swam over, said Sheilds. On my personal setup, I have goggles, helmet, life vest, flippers, so we were fully able to get in there. Shields was in the water as a helicopter from the Coast Guards Air Station in Atlantic City was dispatched to rescue the fishermen. It was a pretty incredible experience, said Shields. Couldnt have asked for a better guy swimming as a rescuer, said Selfridge, who mentioned they train with the Coast Guard for situations like this. Its really our style not to let them sit and wait. Our style is to go get them. Surfer arrested, put in chokehold by NJ police for not showing beach badge: video Many love to fish from the jetty just a stones throw from Barnegat Lighthouse, but Selfridge says the rescue underscores the risks involved with fishing on rocks. Youre talking about slippery moss-covered, algae-covered rocks, seaweed, sharp barnacles, said Selfridge, then youre talking about wave actions and youre talking about the tide changing. First responders say this is a perfect example of how conditions can change in a minutesomething to keep in mind as we get deeper into hurricane season. The waters warm, theres usually tropical activity in the ocean, so theres a lot of wave action, said Selfridge, and you are dealing with a lot less lifeguards, if any lifeguards. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) The U.S. Coast Guard rescued two boaters Friday morning after their boat took on water near St. Petersburg, authorities said. The boaters 30-foot boat partially sank in Bayboro Harbor, according to the Coast Guard. The owners of the boat are working to help recover the vessel. No injuries were 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 WFLA. TULARE COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) While the Coffee Pot Fire threatens to burn down historic sequoia groves, there may be a glimmer of hope within the flames. Per the California Interagency Incident Management Team (CIIMT), the Coffee Pot Fire was burning 2,231 acres and was 0% contained as of Thursday afternoon. The Bureau of Land Management reported on Tuesday that flames reached the groves of giant sequoias, but according to the National Park Service (NPS), this might be a good thing. NPS says giant sequoias need fire to survive for three crucial reasons. For one: As the fire spreads through the forest, it clears the underbrush, creating the bare, mineral soil that sequoias need to germinate. For two: Sequoia seeds are hidden away in closed cones, sometimes for upwards of 20 years. When wildfires rush over the land, these cones dry out, pop open, and release seeds. For three: Fires that grow intense enough will burn up the tree canopy that shades the forest floor. This allows the small sequoia saplings to receive sunlight and grow. For these reasons, although destructive, the Coffee Pot Fire may also be beneficial. However, it is only low-intensity fires that produce the conditions needed for giant sequoias to grow; hotter and more intense wildfires can be catastrophic to the trees. CIIMT says the overall fire effect in the impacted sequoia groves has been minimal so far with low-intensity fire on the ground. The team adds that they also currently have crews dedicated to prepping the groves along the northern perimeter ahead of the fire. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Prosecutors said Deka Simmons, 40, killed Daxcimo Ceja after learning he allegedly had a sexual relationship with a minor when he was an adult Colorado Springs Police Department Daxcimo Ceja A Colorado woman who killed a man she alleged was a sex offender will spend the rest of her life behind bars, authorities said. On Wednesday, Aug. 21, Deka Simmons, 40, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after being found guilty of the 2022 murder of Daxcimo Ceja, according to a press release from the 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office. Cejas remains were found on Oct. 5, 2023 inside a bag in a drainage culvert in Colorado Springs after local police responded to an anonymous tip, they previously said. According to police, an investigation into Cejas homicide began on March 30, 2022 and Simmons was arrested on a first-degree murder charge in relation to the case that April. Prosecutors said Simmons killed Ceja, 48, in a garage after learning he allegedly had a relationship with a 17-year-old girl when he was 25 in California, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette. The outlet reports that prosecutors described Simmons as someone who has an unrestrained hatred for anyone who would molest a child, further noting Simmons fear of her daughter being a victim of sex trafficking. Colorado Springs Police Department Daxcimo Ceja Cejas mother, Karen Fancher, spoke in court at the sentencing, saying, [Ceja] was killed for something he did 24 years ago, per the Gazette. [Simmons] wont be on the street to hurt anyone elses families like she has done her whole entire life. Ceja was not listed as a convicted sex offender in the state of California, where the alleged relationship took place, according to online Megan's Law records. PEOPLE's call for clarification to the Office of the District Attorney, Fourth Judicial District of Colorado was not immediately returned. 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 outlet reports that Simmons has been suspected in three other homicides but hasn't been charged in connection with any killings aside from Ceja's. Simmons was also ordered to serve an additional 24 years for tampering with a dead body and another three years for tampering with physical evidence. Her sentences will be served consecutively, per the judges order, prosecutors said. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. People gathered at the Colorado Capitol for the "Bans off our Bodies" rally in support of abortion rights on May 14, 2022. (Andrew Fraieli for Colorado Newsline) As abortion funds around the country make changes to their operations and funding models to meet the ever-growing need for patient support, Colorados abortion funds are stretched thin. The Cobalt Abortion Fund said last week that it implemented a monthly spending cap starting in July as the need for financial assistance to access abortion care continues to grow. An affiliate of Cobalt Advocates, a Colorado-based nonprofit that advances reproductive rights, the fund provides direct financial assistance for people seeking abortion care. In addition to helping patients cover the costs of procedures, Cobalts Abortion Fund assists with travel and lodging expenses, including for an increasing number of people traveling to Colorado from states that have limited or banned access to abortion after the Supreme Courts 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson. Karen Middleton, president of Cobalt, said the funds board originally committed to meeting every request weve received without limits in fall 2021. In 2023, the abortion fund spent $1.25 million, and in the first quarter of 2024, it spent $502,591. Cobalt predicted the fund was on track to spend $2.5 million by the end of this year. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX We just cant maintain that high level of spending without having an upper limit, Middleton said. We hit a point where we just didnt think we could raise that much more money, particularly in an election year, particularly with a whole organization to maintain. Middleton said 100% of the money people donate to procedure and practical support funds go to patients, not towards the organizations administrative costs. The Cobalt Abortion Fund was initially founded in 1984 to help make up for shortfalls in Colorado when the state banned the use of public funding for access to abortion care, Middleton said. This abortion fund was designed to help tide people over. It was not designed to compensate for half the states banning abortion after (former President Donald) Trumps Supreme Court overturned Roe, Middleton said in reference to the Dobbs decision. This care and help was needed before these draconian policies ever went into effect, and the structure was not designed to go beyond that. Declining donations nationwide Two other Colorado-based organizations say they are seeing the same trend, as abortion fund directors nationwide raise the alarm about declining donation revenue. Up until now, national organizations, their function when it comes to abortion funding has been to shoulder a lot of the burden for procedure funding, said Holly Ballard, development director for the Colorado Doula Project, a volunteer organization that provides support to people seeking abortion care. Now, when the funding cuts have happened, were looking at something like 30% funding of a procedure instead of 80%, Ballard added. All of a sudden, those numbers are astronomically higher for that client, and theyre coming to us needing help and we are not able to help them to the degree that they need. As a trusted nonprofit health care provider, we remain committed to removing financial barriers for our patients so they can access the quality reproductive health care they need, but that is becoming more difficult without the increased financial resources to match our growing patient volume and need. Sarah Taylor-Nanista, of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains Ballard said while her organization served about 100 people in 2021, its on track to serve about 1,200 by the end of 2024. But the projects funding, which comes primarily from individual donations, has also faltered since the initial spike in donations abortion funds saw immediately after the Dobbs decision. When we talk to our partner funds across the country, were hearing the same thing that were seeing, which is that individual donations are declining, Ballard said. Weve really been able to get creative with how we help folks and the resources that were able to help them access, and have done that with basically a pretty static budget. As the client numbers have gone up, the budget has stayed relatively the same. Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains is feeling the pressure too, as more patients need help and abortion care and practical support funds have less to work with. Since the Dobbs decision, PPRM has provided more than $12.5 million in patient assistance funding. Prior to Dobbs, the organization spent about $1.4 million a year. As a trusted nonprofit health care provider, we remain committed to removing financial barriers for our patients so they can access the quality reproductive health care they need, but that is becoming more difficult without the increased financial resources to match our growing patient volume and need, Sarah Taylor-Nanista, chief external affairs officer at PPRM, said in a statement. More expensive care Ballard and Middleton both said Colorado has seen a high influx of patients seeking abortion later into pregnancy. Because we are a state that does not have gestational limits, were able to provide later abortion care, Middleton said. That kind of care is more expensive, and the need has become more acute because people are pushed later into pregnancy (from) other states needing to travel here. In an attempt to better meet the increased demand, Cobalt has staggered its funding calendar to to start on the 15th of each month, Middleton said, aiming to ensure that they dont exhaust their monthly budget at the same time as other funds. Ballard said the Doula Projects intake team will assess what a patients needs are and determine resources available to them or if there are more affordable options. She said how they can help people also comes down to where the organizations budget is that month. Middleton said Cobalt hasnt had any hard turnaways yet, as the organization has tried to help each person it interacts with however it can. While the Doula Project also has yet to turn anyone away outright, Ballard said if support doesnt increase to meet the need, theres going to be a time where were not going to be able to help everyone. Despite the national landscape working against them, Middleton and Ballard said their teams show up every day with a positive attitude and intentions to help people. I think we are all in really good spirits, all things considered, and really optimistic about the willingness of people to step up and help when that time is needed, and that time is now, Ballard said. I think we all believe that people will show up for us. The community that we have become a part of and cultivated has, time and again, shown up in ways that we could have imagined and we fully believe and expect that theyll continue to do that. Cobalt is also part of a coalition raising money for a reproductive rights ballot measure this year, so Middleton said she hopes many of the people donating to support the measure this year will come back to support the abortion fund next year. Initiative 89 would solidify the right to access abortion in Colorados constitution and allow the procedure to be covered by health insurance plans for state and local government employees, repealing a 40-year old constitutional ban that prohibits state dollars from being used to pay for abortions. In my mind, if we can really double down on raising the money we need this year, we can then turn to some of those supporters and say, weve secured the constitutional right to access abortion. Now, will you join us in helping to really grow this fund, to continue to meet every need. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Rafters float down the Colorado River in Horsethief Canyon near the Colorado-Utah border on May 15, 2023. (Chase Woodruff/Colorado Newsline) Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials have launched an extensive monitoring and public outreach plan following the detection of invasive zebra mussel larvae in several locations along the Colorado River near Grand Junction last month. But their next steps will depend on what they learn about the extent and the source of the invasive population, which could pose an extreme risk to local ecosystems and water utilities. If they are in a small pond, as an example, there is a completely different arsenal of tools that we may have in our tool belt to try to address that situation than if they are in an open water system like the Colorado River, Robert Walters, Colorado Parks and Wildlifes invasive species program manager, told a committee of state lawmakers on Wednesday. Until we identify the source of the population, its really difficult to say what those control options might be. Zebra mussels are dangerous to water ecosystems because they strip plankton, an essential food source, from the water. Additionally, they can threaten water supplies and irrigation systems by impeding or stopping water flows and attaching to infrastructure, causing millions of dollars in damages and increased maintenance costs. The fingernail-sized mussels, which are native to the Black and Caspian seas, are almost impossible to eradicate once a population is established, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials say. The species has impacted ecosystems in the Great Lakes region since the late 1980s, and has subsequently spread throughout many parts of the United States by attaching to boats and other aquatic equipment. Walters said that after additional sampling in the last few weeks, the agency now considers the Colorado River to be positive for zebra mussels. Colorado Parks and Wildlife previously deemed the river and the Government Highline Canal, a 55-mile-long irrigation project that diverts some of the rivers water to farms in the Grand Valley, suspect after initial testing detected zebra mussel DNA in early July. The total number of locations where the species has been detected is now seven. Our focus now is really on the monitoring, Walters said. We want to know where these are coming from and how far they have spread here in the state, as that is going to influence our long-term planning. Colorado Parks and Wildlife map shows the locations where zebra mussel DNA has been detected along the Colorado River The agency is coordinating its response with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which owns the Highline Canal, along with the Army Corps of Engineers, which is conducting a west-wide boater movement study to identify how and where contaminated boats may have entered Colorado waterways. Public awareness campaigns and a network of inspection and decontamination stations at popular boating sites are key prevention strategies, Walters said. A 10-second high-pressure spray of hot water is enough to kill and remove zebra mussels that have attached to a boat. Colorado Parks and Wildlife urges anyone using the Colorado River to clean, drain, and dry their vessels and equipment including boats, rafts, kayaks, paddle boards and fishing equipment after they leave the water. So far, no adult zebra mussels have been found in the Colorado River, Walters said only so-called veligers, the species larval form. Public education and awareness will be critical to minimizing the impacts of what for now is a very low density of veligers that we are detecting, he said. We have had zero positive detection since those last ones in the middle of July, Walters added. That doesnt mean we arent continuing to look. We are out there every single week collecting additional samples, trying to identify where these are coming from. Colorado Newsline, like the Idaho Capital Sun, is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com. Follow Colorado Newsline on Facebook and X. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST While many in Columbus may not know about it, a city government program has provided help to thousands of people locally with millions of dollars in funding supporting local businesses and helping locals keep their homes in good shape. The Community Reinvestment Department secured significant money to help local business after the COVID-19 pandemic and rehabilitate local homes. While the department is less than 20 years old, it was developed off the back of an initiative started 50 years ago. On Aug. 22, 1974, President Gerald Ford signed the Housing and Community Development Act into law, creating a program that the Community Reinvestment Department in Columbus regularly uses today to help fund projects across the city. The Community Reinvestment Department, created in 2005, aims to listen to the needs of people in Columbus and works to secure funding to support projects that address those needs, director Robert Scott told the Ledger-Enquirer. Oftentimes it doesnt seem like the city has your best interest at heart or you cant trust (the city), Scott said. But this department exists because we care. Many of the projects are paid for by the federally-funded Community Development Block Grant program, through the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. Between 2015 and 2019, the departments projects served over 26,500 beneficiaries through CDBG funding. After Scott was hired in 2020, the Community Reinvestment Department served over 140,000 beneficiaries through CDBG funding. Im basically a grant manager who manages a team who works to make impacts for low-income communities (as defined by the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department), as well as supporting housing, Scott said. The Community Reinvestment Department hosted a birthday celebration Thursday for the 50th anniversary of the CDBG program to spotlight some of the pivotal projects achieved by the department using this funding. Investing in more Columbus streetlights During Evelyn Mimi Woodsons last Columbus Council meeting in 2022, Scott listened to residents complain about how poor the street lights were in South Columbus. They couldnt see at night, Scott said. And (a resident) almost hit somebody and barely avoided an accident. The Community Reinvestment Department helped secure Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to increase street lights in Columbus, Georgia. His team at the Community Reinvestment Department saw an opportunity to utilize CDBG funding to help increase the lighting in this area of the city. The department, in partnership with the Columbus Department of Engineering and Georgia Power, used $611,000 in CDBG funding to upgrade residential lighting and increase road visibility and pedestrian safety at night for the area. The Community Reinvestment Department helped secure Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding to increase street lights in Columbus, Georgia. Over 1,200 existing pole-mounted street light fixtures in 17 neighborhoods were replaced with a fixture design similar to the existing fixtures. The project was completed in February 2024. That project not only helped to increase the visibility and all of those things, Scott said. But it helped to create and shape a residential lighting standard. Helping Columbus businesses during COVID When COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the nations economy, Scott said, the city of Columbus initially promised to help provide relief for local small businesses with the help of state funding. But the state rescinded the money, leaving local business owners whod applied for relief feeling betrayed. They felt entitled to promises, he said. This was just horrible. As a way to try to offset the negative feelings, the Community Reinvestment Department created small program that could help about 30 small businesses using $120,000 in CDBG funding for COVID-19. Columbus Consolidated Government Director of Community Reinvestment Robert Scott at his office in Columbus, Ga. on Feb. 09, 2022. The pilot program served 27 businesses, creating and retaining 61 jobs. But after the success of the initial program, the city offered the department about $5 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. They asked the Community Reinvestment Department to triplicate what the first program was able to do. I got greedy, Scott said. And asked the state for $4 million more for the program. In the end, the program was able to assist an additional 127 small businesses and 27 nonprofits. The Small Business Economic Relief Grant Program was recognized as a Best Practice from the National Community Development Association and inspired similar programs nationwide, Scott said. Rehabbing local homes One of the most impactful programs the department helps oversee is the CDBG-Rehabilitation program. The key objectives of the program are to improve living conditions of households by repairing and upgrading existing homes and revitalize the neighborhood by stimulating economic development and improving the overall quality of life. In Columbus, housing rehabilitation significantly impacted low and moderate-income residents, who are primarily elderly. The Community Reinvestment Department, created in 2005, aims to listen to the needs of people in Columbus and works to secure funding to support projects that address those needs, director Robert Scott told the Ledger-Enquirer. Many of the projects are funded by the federally-funded Community Development Block Grant program, through the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. Homes needed repairs to fix structural issues, update electrical and plumbing systems and address health hazards like lead paint and mold. Over the past 10 years, Columbus expended more than $1.4 million and served around 171 households, averaging about $8,500 per household. Scott often visits the homes and homeowners before rehabilitation begins, and he views the elderly residents he helps as his own family. The positive responses he sees after residents are helped gives him a confidence in the work the Community Reinvestment Department is doing. Its almost like my living ancestors are proud of the work we are doing, Scott said. Other ongoing projects the Community Reinvestment Department is helping with including the facility expansion of Feeding The Valley, building a bike/pedestrian trail along 1st Avenue across from the Banks at Mill Village, the Shared Kitchen Project and The Salvation Armys Center of Hope. This is not a job for us, Scott said. This is our ministry. DAMASCUS, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Powerful explosions rattled the western countryside of Syria's Homs province on Friday evening as Israeli airstrikes targeted fuel depots linked to Hezbollah, according to a war monitor group. The strikes reportedly hit fuel depots near the village of Khirbet al-Tin in the Safita-Homs corridor, west of the Homs refinery, as well as warehouses near the city of Hama, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Syrian air defenses failed to intercept the incoming missiles, which struck their intended targets, the observatory added. Meanwhile, Iyad Muhammad, commander of the Homs Fire Brigade, confirmed to the pro-government Syrian newspaper Al-Watan that two people were injured in attacks on the village of Umm Harateen, west of Homs, and the village of al-Doury, north of the city. The injured individuals were transported to the hospital in Homs for treatment. The attack occurred amid ongoing regional tensions, with Israel frequently targeting sites in Syria linked to Hezbollah. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) The Columbus Division of Fire is investigating a fire that caused heavy damage to a recreation center on the east side of the city Thursday night. According to Chief Jeffrey Geitter, a fire broke out at the 200 block of North Ohio Avenue at the Beatty Community Recreation Center in Beatty Park, next to Champion Middle School. Crews arrived in response to a fire alarm at 10:41 p.m. and the building was not occupied at that hour. Police searching for woman implicated in central Ohio yoga studio robberies A Columbus Division of Fire engine. (NBC4 Photo/Eric Halperin) Fire crews respond to a blaze at an east Columbus recreation center, Aug. 23, 2024 (NBC4/Ronald Clark) A Columbus Division of Fire engine. (NBC4 Photo/Eric Halperin) A Columbus Division of Fire engine. (NBC4 Photo/Eric Halperin) Geitter said there was significant damage to the north side of the building, and burn marks on the bleachers could be seen inside the rec room. The cause of the fire has yet to be determined and crews were checking for hot spots in the roof line. Officials did not offer information about specific damages, but confirmed there are no injuries from the blaze, which remains under investigation. This embedded content is not available in your region. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. On the fourth and final night of the Democratic National Convention, Scandal actor Kerry Washington and the grandnieces of Kamala Harris had a job to do: teach folks how to say the vice presidents name. "It's come to my attention that there are some folks who struggle or pretend to struggle with the proper pronunciation of our future president's name," said Washington in front of the roaring crowd at Chicagos United Center. "So hear me out, confusion is understandable. Disrespect is not. So tonight, we are going to help everyone get it right." First you say 'comma,' like a comma in a sentence, said Amara Ajagu. Then you say La," like [singing] la,la,la,la,la said Leela Ajagu. Then all three said, "Put it together and its ... Kamala!" Adorable and instructive? Absolutely. And also fearless (pronounced "feer-less"). How could something so sweet pack such a punch? Because the moment was anchored in a first-of-its-kind major party convention where the candidates mixed race and immigrant experience was presented as a superpower rather than an obstacle. Read more: The Obamas, Clinton and DNC go hard, not high, targeting Trump Actor Kerry Washington with Vice President Kamala Harris' grandnieces Leela Ajagu, left, and Amara Ajagu at the Democratic National Convention. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times) The DNC capitalized on Harris experience growing up the biracial daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican father, both immigrants, taking every chance it could to highlight her exceptional trajectory to the top of the Democratic ticket. Leaning into the nation's changing demographics was a bold and necessary campaign step and runs counter to the negative immigrant themes of 21st century politics. Now, her background is a point of connectivity for many Americans. Having one or two parents with accents, from continents and countries outside Europe, is not a unique experience in 2024. But it is unique to hear about it in such detail from a presidential hopeful. Her campaign wisely seized the narrative, playing offense against the predictably xenophobic rhetoric from the right. With only a month to organize after President Biden stepped out of the race, the DNC found a way to package Harris' otherness as a selling point rather than a drawback, gambling that the majority of the electorate will find her story appealing and, for some, familiar, even comforting. Harris' kicked off her acceptance speech Thursday night by telling the country who she is through the journey of her parents: My mother was 19 when she crossed the world alone, traveling from India to California with an unshakable dream to be the scientist who would cure breast cancer. When she finished school," Harris added, "she was supposed to return home to a traditional arranged marriage. But as fate would have it, she met my father, Donald Harris, a student from Jamaica. They fell in love and got married, and that act of self-determination made my sister, Maya, and me. Read more: Column: Pro-Palestinian Democrats face conundrum at DNC: Joy over Harris, but despair over Gaza Actor Mindy Kaling hosts a portion of the the Democratic National Convention. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times) The DNCs celebration of her immigrant background was in sharp contrast to the RNC last month, where the crowd held up signs reading "MASS DEPORTATION NOW!" and speaker after speaker warned that immigrants were a scourge. The divisive tactic has been a successful rallying point for Trump, who rose from reality TV host to head of the Republican Party thanks in large part to the lure of his bigoted bluster. In 2008, Trump and others weaponized Barack Obamas otherness against him, using the young Illinois senator's background to sow doubt about his character, faith and citizenship status. Obama's father was Black and from Kenya and mother was a white Midwestern girl. Obama went high and rarely addressed the nonsense, but he also rarely spoke of his father. The childhood he spoke of was being raised by his single mother and grandmother, both of whom were from Kansas, an unimpeachable locale for those who wished to paint him as an interloper. Trump has tried the same tactic with Harris, purposely mispronouncing her name "Ka-MAH-la." He posted a photo of her wearing an Indian sari as part of his ongoing attack on her biracial identity. Last month during an appearance at the National Assn. of Black Journalists annual convention he said, 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?" But if news polls are any indication, Trump's old playbook isnt as effective as it once was. Or maybe its because his rhetoric is becoming more and more obsolete each year. According to the Census Bureau, 42 million Americans, or 13% of the country, identify as multiracial. And the foreign-born population in the United States is around 46.2 million, or 13.9% of the total population. Now add the second-generation kids of those immigrants, who make up about 10% of the adult population (we're not even counting the large numbers of first-gen kids under 18) and you have, well, a lot of folks who have more in common with Harris than her opponent. Even before Harris hit the stage for her speech, DNC viewers were primed. They had heard South Asian actor Mindy Kaling (The Office) about her experience cooking Indian cuisine with Kamala, heard multiple speakers recount the bravery and resolve of immigrants like Harris parents and witnessed firsthand the diversity of the vice president's blended family, many of whom attended the convention. My mother was a brilliant, 5-foot-tall brown woman with an accent, said Harris in her speech. And as the eldest child, I saw how the world would sometimes treat her. But my mother never lost her cool . She taught us to never complain about injustice, but do something about it. She continued, My mother had another lesson she used to teach: Never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are. And someday they may even learn how to pronounce your name. 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. Kamala Harris is one step from becoming Americas first female president because she has always had the drive and guts to risk seeking a higher office. That is not a common trait among politicians. Too many at all levels get cold feet and opt to wait for the right time to run. And it never comes. Harris philosophy: If theres an open window no matter how narrow attempt to jump through it before it closes. And get a head start on anyone else who might acquire the same idea. Regardless of your view of Vice President Harris whether you think shes qualified to lead the nation or not it's indisputable that she has boldly taken advantage of every opportunity to move up the political ladder. That was true when the little-known prosecutor first ran for San Francisco district attorney against an establishment incumbent in 2003 and won. And when she leaped into the race for California attorney general as an underdog and barely won in 2010. Also when a Senate seat suddenly opened up and she immediately jumped in and coasted to victory in 2016. Read more: Column: Kamala Harris faced a high bar for her DNC acceptance speech. She soared past it She didnt hesitate to run for president in 2020. That turned into a disaster. Or did it? She was tapped to be vice president. You cant advance upward without taking the next step cant win a race without running. Its like the citizen too rare who doesnt just gripe about the government, but tries to do something about it. Shows up to speak out at city council meetings or helps a favored political candidate. Maybe even runs. It requires a tough hide because there are lots of body blows in politics. Its not for the timid or soft. She has a reputation for being cautious as a policymaker when in office, says longtime Democratic political strategist Darry Sragow. By contrast, when she has an opportunity to seek higher office, she moves very boldly. That willingness to charge forward has served her very well. Harris never shied away from a race for fear of losing or the hard work required for victory or hoping for better odds in the future. Political graveyards are full of people who wait, says Ace Smith, chief strategist for Harris successful campaigns for attorney general and the Senate. Opportunities are hard to come by. People always waiting for the right opportunity never succeed. A classic example: New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, widely considered a potential front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988 and 1992. He teased us with the prospect, but never ran. Finally, he was defeated in a fourth-term reelection bid. Then-Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley debates then-San Francisco Dist. Atty. Kamala Harris when they were running against each other for California attorney general in 2010. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) I tip my hat to people who run people who wade into the unknown without any assurances, Smith says. Sometimes you never know how things are going to break. For example: In Harris race for attorney general, she was the underdog against Republican frontrunner Steve Cooley, a three-term Los Angeles County district attorney. But during the campaigns lone debate, Times reporter Jack Leonard asked Cooley whether he planned to double-dip by taking both his district attorneys pension and attorney general salary a total of $425,000 annually. Yes, I do, Cooley answered without hesitation. I earned it. The Harris campaign used all its scarce money to run TV ads depicting Cooley as a greedy politician supping at the public trough. It also helped Harris that Cooley was a Republican in a Democratic state. She eked out a narrow win. Harris always announced her candidacy early. Rather than playing coy, she shouted commitment. Fundamentally, the best place to be in politics is having people reacting to you, Smith says. Get into a race early. Scoop up endorsements. Scoop up the money. Build a big support base. Other people who are thinking about running may let it go by. It compounds their difficulty. When Sen. Barbara Boxer announced in January 2015 that she would not seek reelection the next year, Harris announced within days that shed run for the office. She had wanted to run for governor when Gov. Jerry Brown was termed out in 2018. But the Senate seat was available now. Meanwhile, then-Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom called Harris to say he planned to run for governor. Read more: Trump is either delusional or confused. He's unfit for the White House either way That wasnt a backroom deal, insists Smith, who was also Newsoms chief strategist. Both San Franciscans decided on their own what office they wanted to seek. But being bold and leaping into campaigns is a double-edged sword, Sragow points out. Candidates sometimes get into races that really dont work well for them. They dont have enough money or an effective message. Harris was a textbook example in 2020 when she jumped into the presidential race. She had an unsteady message and was overmatched. But she was smart enough to bow out before any primary contests were held. And she avoided losing in her own state. Ultimately, she was chosen by Joe Biden as his running mate. Harris already is a historic figure. The daughter of immigrant parents a father from Jamaica and a mother from India shes several ethnic and gender firsts to hold her various offices. Soon she could be the first woman to occupy the Oval Office. Shes run as an underdog before and shes used to being underestimated, says Dan Morain, a former Times reporter who wrote a very readable 2020 Harris biography, Kamalas Way: An American Life. She runs harder and runs faster than her opponents. Nobodys going to outwork her. Right now Id bet on Harris. Donald Trump shows signs of harboring a political death wish. And shell take full advantage of it. 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. Column: Kamala Harris doesn't need to say her presidency would be historic. She shows it Show, dont tell. Three words that every journalist hears, with infuriating regularity, from professors, editors and readers. The dictate is not exclusive to journalism; its shared by prosecutors, politicians and anyone whos ever given a PowerPoint presentation about anything. This week, Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, vice presidential nominee Tim Walz and many other luminaries at the Democratic National Convention proved just how important, and effective, that simple rule can be. In accepting her nomination, Vice President Harris did not mention, much less lean into, the historic nature of her potential presidency: first woman; first Black woman; first person of Indian, and Jamaican, descent. (As long as we're counting, she'd also be the first Democratic president from California.) She didnt point out the perils of the glass ceiling, or tell voters how important representation and an array of voices are to a nation as diverse as the United States. She showed them. Over four days, a powerful lineup of speakers, known and unknown, proved that despite Harris being demographically unique as a presidential candidate, she is more interested in pointing out that she is one among many. Many extraordinary women, Black and brown people and children of immigrants. Many extraordinary people who see diversity as the definition of what it means to be an American rather than a threat to our countrys identity. And many voters who are tired of the Republicans claiming to be the party of family values, faith and patriotism. Harris and her party did not preach about the importance of family, they illuminated it. Families were celebrated at every turn. Harris, like Michelle and Barack Obama, spoke movingly about being shaped by the love and influence of their mothers, fathers, in-laws and chosen families. Doug Emhoff spoke of Harris role as Momala in their blended family; his ex-wife produced the video, narrated by his son Cole, that introduced him. Walz's wife Gwen laughed knowingly at a joke about her husbands well-worn flannel shirts. Read more: As the DNC's (wrongly) rumored 'special guest,' Beyonce, and pop fandom, stole the show Parents, and survivors, spoke passionately about the tragic impact that gun violence and diminished reproductive rights have on families; no less than Oprah Winfrey pushed back against JD Vances absurd attacks on childless cat ladies. Children played a key role in the convention and not just as talking points or photo ops. Harris nieces offered instruction in how to pronounce her first name, and no vice presidential candidate in history has received a more thorough family values vetting than Walz did when his son Gus leapt from his seat to yell, through tears, Thats my dad! Neither did Harris and her party bellow about their patriotism; they underscored it. Most obviously with a sea of flags that made Chicagos United Center look like a Fourth of July parade, and a procession of veterans, including Walz, who spoke of the importance of honoring those who serve. More important, Harris and her party wrested love of country away from those who would define it by nationalism, isolationism and divisive definition of real Americans. There was no talk of inclusion, just a sea of faces, on and offstage, that illustrated the unlimited possibility offered by the word American. Speech after speech evoked this country as a magnet, drawing those who seek freedom, opportunity and safety. Harris oft-repeated story of how, as a prosecutor, she always identified herself as for the people provided a constant, intentional invocation of the Declaration of Independence. And she, like many other of the conventions speakers, reminded voters that a true patriots allegiance must be to the Constitution. Anyone who has bought into the Republican condemnation of Democrats as the godless left was no doubt surprised by the welter of references to many faiths. Emhoff spoke of how he and Harris celebrated both Christian and Jewish traditions. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), who is also the pastor of Atlantas historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, referred to voting as a kind of prayer"; Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) quoted Corinthians; the golden rule found in many religions was referenced often. But so was the right not to worship; the separation of church and state is as key to our democracy as the notion that all people are created equal. The vice president did vow, as every presidential candidate inevitably vows, to work across the aisle and fight for all Americans, regardless of their party affiliation. But she also showed it. Never before have so many registered Republicans spoken at a Democratic National Convention, never before have so many self-identified conservatives called on their peers to support a candidate whose opponent has unfailingly denigrated her as liberal. The words and actions of the Republican candidate, former President Trump, were certainly a catalyst for such high-profile conversions, and some Democrats were dubious about the decision to showcase proud conservative former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) or former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham, who considered herself a member of the Trump family until Trump refused to call off the mob attacking the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. But Kamala Harris understands that you cant just tell people that you want to unite all Americans. You have to show them it can be done. As she has said before, its not enough to talk the talk, you have to walk the walk, and in the aptly named United Center, Harris did both. Get notified when the biggest stories in Hollywood, culture and entertainment go live. Sign up for L.A. Times entertainment alerts. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. On the final night of the Democratic National Convention, expectations were high and rumors were rampant. Speculation of a surprise guest Taylor Swift? Beyonce? turned out to be nothing but wishful thinking. No matter. Kamala Harris crushed it. The vice president was always the main attraction of the four-day event and her Thursday night acceptance speech was always intended as its grand finale. From the moment she strode out flashing her high-wattage smile, Harris commanded the stage with a purpose and passion that eluded her the last time she ran, aimlessly and unsuccessfully, for the White House. Read more: Photos: DNC underway in Chicago with an energized Harris-Walz ticket In just over 37 minutes, Harris capped what's been a remarkable monthlong run of luck and political success with a powerful address that strongly positions her for the last stretch of this fiercely fought presidential campaign. Our columnists Mark Z. Barabak and Anita Chabria who, combined, have attended precisely zero Swift or Beyonce concerts overcame their disappointment at the no-show and collected themselves to share these thoughts. Barabak: Previewing this convention, I'd made fun of the breathless most-important-speech-of-her-career hype that anticipated Harris' Thursday night closer. Not because it wasn't true, but because it was so predictable and trite. That said, it was a hugely consequential political moment, and Harris delivered flawlessly. I've followed her career going back to her days as San Francisco district attorney and never saw her give a better speech. She was tough. She was authoritative. She was substantive. And, yes, she was joyful. Your thoughts? Chabria: There was little to criticize with this speech. To put it simply, she looked presidential which was the whole point. Throughout the week, we've seen dozens of loud, yelling speeches the kind that are a staple of rallies and meant to inspire with their energy. But on this arena stage, with its made-for-television sound system, many of those have seemed over-the-top theatrical and just plain loud to at-home viewers. Harris took a different approach. This was a speech meant to inspire with content as much as delivery. She was confident. She was cool and most of all, she was in control. This was her moment to sell herself to undecided voters, and she gave a flawless pitch. Barabak: The Democrats' indulgent and sloppy scheduling pushed other speakers way past TV's prime time when, crucially, the most people are watching. That wasn't a problem Thursday night. Harris, a former courtroom prosecutor, knows how to hone an argument. She had much ground to cover she is that odd combination of famous and largely unknown and she did so crisply and with forensic precision. She offered her life story, starting as a little girl, outlined her career as politician and prosecutor leaning heavily into her role as California attorney general, fighting crime and protecting consumers and outlined a vision of what a Harris presidency would look like. Buttressing and broadening the middle class would be, Harris vowed, "the defining goal of my presidency." She promised a middle-class tax cut, to fight to restore a nationwide right to abortion, to "end America's housing shortage" the presidency comes with no magic wand, so good luck with that one and to fix the nation's broken immigration system by signing bipartisan legislation that Donald Trump tanked for political purposes. Chabria: But she also didn't shy away from the tough stuff. Gaza and the U.S. response to the Israel-Palestine conflict has been a subtext of this convention. While the huge, disruptive protests that many either feared or expected didn't materialize, there were protests. And there was a hard but unsuccessful push to include a Palestinian speaker on the agenda. Harris hit the issue head-on, with clear position statements. "I will always stand up for Israels right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself. Because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that the terrorist organization Hamas caused on Oct. 7," she said. Then she turned to Gaza. "At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating," Harris said. "President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination." This part of the speech garnered some of the loudest and longest applause. One speech doesn't make this issue go away for her, of course, and it shouldn't Biden and Harris both need to deliver on those promises. But hitting it directly and with clarity shows the kind of accountability we look for in leaders. She also went directly after Trump. What did you think of that part of her remarks, Mark? Barabak: She lacerated Trump, citing his role inciting the Jan. 6 riot, his felony conviction for election interference and a jury's finding he was liable for sexual abuse. "Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails," she said, citing the get-out-of-jail-free card handed him by a pliant Supreme Court. But Harris didn't leave it to the imagination, outlining a litany of barbarities that await should Trump slink back into the Oval Office: Journalists and his political opponents jailed. Jan. 6 insurrectionists turned loose. The military sicced on the country's citizens to clamp down on dissent. Strong stuff. Chabria: She certainly gave us a sense of what she must have been like in a courtroom. And it drove Trump nuts. He was over on his Truth Social platform posting like a madman. What struck me was how stale Trump's comebacks were labeling her a communist, blaming her for the border compared with what Harris was saying on stage. For those all-important undecided voters, she really is offering something fresh, something that wasn't on the ticket with Biden. Undecided voters are always a mystery because you don't know if they are just not paying attention, have already made up their minds and don't want to say or are just working off their own idiosyncratic criteria. But if there are voters out there searching for a candidate with a new feel, she's it. Beyond Harris, the convention did a good job last night with the speakers who led up to her. Her grand-nieces did a cute bit on how to pronounce her name (which even Bill Clinton flubbed). Comma-la. Not hard. Four of the Central Park Five, now known as the Exonerated Five, also gave a powerful speech reminding us how Trump continues to believe in their guilt decades after DNA and identifying the real rapist cleared them. I was struck by how much of Trump's language around that case, and those Black teens, now mirrors his language around immigrants. But the one that got me was sexual abuse survivor and advocate Courtney Baldwin, a Californian who was "bought and sold" via the website Backpage.com while she was a teen, she said. It was the attorney general's office under Harris (and Assistant Atty. Gen. Maggy Krell, who is now running for California Assembly) that shut down that site with a novel legal strategy and a lot of relentlessness. Harris is a champion of sexual abuse victims, and it's a part of her background that she's mentioned but is still little understood for all the trafficking panic on the right, Harris has actually put a lot of pimps behind bars. "She protected people like me her whole life," Baldwin said. "I know she will fight for us all as president." Was there anything else that stood out to you, Mark? Barabak: Lets be real. As a woman, Harris faces doubts about her toughness, especially when it comes to defense and foreign policy. But Trump, with his weird suck-up approach to authoritarianism, made it easy for the vice president to draw a pointed contrast. She vowed never to be a pushover to flattery, like a certain vain ex-president, and said she would always make sure America has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world. Take that, Putin! One of the most interesting things to watch in recent years has been the political role reversal under Trumps Russia-loving, isolationist Republican Party. Now its Democrats who are the Cold Warriors. Look at all the American flags filling the convention hall and hear those recurrent chants of USA! USA! and youd have thought you were at one of Ronald Reagans GOP conventions. Chabria: Republicans love to demonize women, individually and collectively. Remember how they treated Hillary? They literally accused her of staying artificially young by sacrificing children in a secret lair beneath a pizza parlor. No doubt, Harris will see the pressure to label her as something beyond just a bad politician something evil increase. But that kind of individual attack can't be separated from the collective attack anymore. Women in general now feel under assault with the abortion issue, and that makes aggression toward Harris' gender feel different than with Clinton. As Harris put it, "One must ask why exactly is it that they dont trust women. Well, we trust women. We trust women." Any final thoughts, Mark? Barabak: Harris has always prepared herself to within an inch of her life. So her boffo performance it is, after all, a performance was not surprising. The vice presidents forte is the big set piece a major speech, a congressional hearing where the climate is controlled. When she leaves Chicago, its back to the messy and unpredictable campaign trail and at least one debate with the feral, unpredictable Trump. Who knows what crisis may present itself in the next 70odd days or what gaffes Harris might commit. Can her luck continue? The path from here to November is unclear. But shes certainly stepping off from the convention on the right foot. And in a brief programming note, thats it from Chicago. Thanks for joining us and we hope youll stick around for more to come. 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. The Kansas City Crossroads District recently announced it is in the final stretch of creating a community improvement district or CID. The district, which would stretch from Broadway Boulevard to Troost Avenue and Truman Road south to the railroad lines near 22nd Street, is the latest CID in a rapidly growing trend throughout Missouri and the metropolitan area. At best, CIDs are an admission by local governments that they cant provide basic services such as security and cleanup. At worst, they hand significant taxing powers to opaque, poorly regulated organizations prone to self-dealing. Kansas Citys auditor reported in 2021 that CIDs often fail to file required reports with the city and state, submit budgets or provide annual reports, while the city does a poor job monitoring them. State audits from auditors of both parties criticize CIDs for burdening taxpayers with billions in costs without meaningful oversight, often long after the projects for which they were formed are completed. And yet, CIDs in Missouri have exploded in number. A 2019 analysis for Show-Me Institute, a free market think tank where I am a senior fellow, found that over the previous decade, CID sales and use tax collections grew by more than 1,100%, with the number of CIDs rising from zero before 1999 to more than 400 by 2017. Kansas Citians may remember when the Intercontinental Hotel on the Country Club Plaza sought a blight designation in 2016 to form a CID and to collect an additional 1% sales tax for cosmetic updates. Similarly, in 2019, a CID was approved for the Romanelli Shopping Center in Waldo. Both were designed solely to benefit the developer, not the community. They were greenlighted by a small number of property owners, allowing developers to secure favorable terms easily. The problem with CIDs isnt just self-dealing or potential corruption. In 2013, the Independence Avenue CID was formed to enhance security, beautification and trash collection, funded by a 1% sales tax. As a result, residents in this low-income community faced a higher sales tax on food a regressive tax than wealthier areas of the city paid. This isnt necessarily an indictment of the people running the Independence or Crossroads CIDs. They might be providing services competently. But the fact they feel the need to tax themselves for basic services services that existing taxes should cover highlights City Halls failure to fulfill core functions. Worse, this often shifts the burden of paying for these services onto those least able to afford it. When misused, CIDs and similar special taxing districts erode public trust and distort markets. Local governments are easily lured into approving these districts and why not? The city doesnt lose tax revenue in these arrangements. It simply lets others pick up the slack. The original idea behind CIDs might have been rooted in enabling neighborhoods and business districts to take control of their own needs. But instead of empowering communities, they are increasingly exploited by developers to enrich themselves and by city officials eager to offload responsibilities. Reforming CIDs requires tightening eligibility, ensuring only districts that demonstrate clear public benefits are approved, and imposing stricter limits on revenue use. Transparency and accountability must be enforced, with significant penalties for noncompliance. Community approval processes should be expanded, with districts given a five-year limit and required renewal votes. Perhaps most crucial, local governments should be required to forfeit a percentage of taxes collected within the district. If the city cant provide all the services, it shouldnt be collecting all the taxes. These reforms wont eliminate all the problems, but they would restore some balance and ensure that community improvement districts serve the community, not just business owners. And if the reforms only disincentivize these districts in the first place and force people and businesses to demand more of their local governments? All the better. Patrick Tuohey is co-founder of Better Cities Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on municipal policy solutions, and a senior fellow at the Show-Me Institute, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to Missouri state policy work. Lawyers for Comstock Resources, a company that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is the majority shareholder of, are asking a court to bar any use of his name during the upcoming trial in a lawsuit. The lawsuit is brought by Mississippi residents Deidra and Marlan Baucum, who allege Jones company has caused them medical issues including from toxins that seeped into their property. The Baucums filed the lawsuit in 2014, alleging contamination in the soil, groundwater and air from a well site, and also believe the contamination caused Deidra to develop esophageal cancer. The Baucums are asking for more than $27 million in the lawsuit as well as current and future medical costs for Deidra, WDAM-TV reported. Comstock Resources is an independent natural gas producer that is focused on development mainly in East Texas and North Louisiana. Jones was given $620 million worth of stock in Comstock in 2018 in exchange for oil fields in North Dakota and invested $475 million into the company in the following year, according to Forbes. The Comstock Resources lawyer asked for the name of Jones, who owns 70% of the company, to be stricken to avoid influencing jurors who might not be fans of the Dallas Cowboys, the team which Jones has owned for the past 35 years, Forbes reported. The number of conflicts worldwide involving access to water reached an all-time high in 2023, a new report finds. The Pacific Institute, a think tank, tallied 347 entanglements over water last year, up from 231 the year prior, part of a disturbing trend, the report said, where access to water is regularly becoming a factor in armed conflicts around the world. Authors said that, increasingly, droughts and floods are straining water systems around the globe, fueling greater conflict. The report looked at skirmishes over water, as when a mob in Uttar Pradesh, India, killed a man for drinking from a public tap, as well as violent demonstrations, including one in Gauteng, South Africa, where locals blocked roads with burning tires to protest water shortages. Analysts also examined conflicts where combatants cut off access to water. In January, a Russian attack on the Ukrainian city of Odesa left residents without water. In October, Israel cut off fuel supplies to Gaza, forcing the shutdown of its last desalination plant. Major areas of concern, the report said, include the persistent attacks by Israel on water systems in the West Bank and Gaza, as well as growing conflicts over access to water in Africa, India, and Latin America, particularly in drought-afflicted areas. Drought and water scarcity is a major factor in the violence that were seeing over water resources, Peter Gleick, cofounder of the Pacific Institute, told the Los Angeles Times. And we know that climate change is going to continue to accelerate and that droughts are going to become increasingly severe and widespread. ALSO ON YALE E360 How an El Nino-Driven Drought Brought Hunger to Southern Africa Congressman tells new citizens that America should thank them U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, speaks to a gathering of newly naturalized citizens in the Sioux Falls Washington Pavilion on Aug. 23, 2024. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight) U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, speaks to a gathering of newly naturalized citizens in the Sioux Falls Washington Pavilion on Aug. 23, 2024. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight) SIOUX FALLS U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, told a gathering of grateful new American citizens Friday that Americans should be grateful to them. Im not just here to say congratulations and welcome, Im also here to say thank you, he said. During Johnsons short speech at a naturalization ceremony for about 200 new citizens in the Sioux Falls Washington Pavilion, he compared the impact of immigration to the impact of salt. Johnson said one of his sons loves to salt his green beans. He says, Oh, dad, salt is magic. It turns quality green beans into something even better.' Salt is essential for life, Johnson added, and has been prized by civilizations throughout history. Its been the inspiration for trade routes, considered sacred by some religions, and caused wars. People have viewed it as valuable, powerful and sacred, he said. Johnson told the new citizens, Your hard work, your ingenuity, your decency is taking a quality American dish, and you are making it even better. The new Americans came from nations including China, Russia, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Mexico, Canada and others. Johnsons words of gratitude were meaningful for Belinda Ponce, who was born in Honduras and came to the United States in 2009 as a 12-year-old. It means a lot because it shows that we are being seen, she said. They are grateful for immigrants and the work that we have done. Ponce said the privilege of citizenship shes most looking forward to is voting in November. It means I get to have a voice in the United States, she said. Participate in something big. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST BEIJING, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Friday called on compatriots from both sides of the Taiwan Strait to unite and take actions to firmly oppose the "Taiwan independence" provocations and reckless moves of Taiwan authorities led by Lai Ching-te. Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the remarks in response to a media inquiry about a recent speech by Lai hyping up the so-called "threat" from the mainland and inciting cross-Strait confrontation. Zhu said the obstinate adherence to "Taiwan independence" by Lai's authorities poses the greatest threat to peace and stability across the Strait, and is the root cause of the risk of war across the Strait, the deepening divisions within the society in Taiwan and the harm to the interests of the people on the island. The authorities led by Lai, by fanning up the so-called "threat" from the mainland, are hijacking Taiwan onto their "Taiwan independence" chariot, Zhu said. This once again exposes their hypocritical and sinister nature of seeking "Taiwan independence" by force and by relying on external forces under a peaceful disguise, Zhu said. Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton; Sen. Kirk Cullimore, R-Draper; and Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, talk with media following a special session of the Utah Legislature to consider an initiative constitutional amendment at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News If Utah voters this November pass a constitutional amendment giving the Utah Legislature the ability to amend or repeal initiatives, will state lawmakers be able to just toss out laws that started out as citizen initiatives? Not exactly. A bill passed on Wednesday night, contingent on Utah voters approving the amendment, essentially says lawmakers will not repeal initiatives when making changes, said Derek Monson, chief growth officer at the Sutherland Institute. I think what the Legislature wanted to do is just clarify that intent, said Monson. And that going forward, this is the policy of the state or the way of the state, when it comes to ballot initiatives, that were going to respect the will of the people and try to forward the underlying goals of the ballot initiatives. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed the bill Thursday that statutorily requires lawmakers to amend initiatives in a way that leaves intact the general purpose of the initiative. The bill has broader language about amendments to offset financial impacts of initiatives, which Monson said was likely due to another constitutional responsibility lawmakers have. Theyre constitutionally required to keep a balanced budget, said Monson. He referred back to changes made to the Medicaid expansion initiative. After analysis of this initiative, lawmakers amended it because the cost would rise without revenue being able to keep it. Monson suggested looking back at the history of amendments made to initiatives. There should not be any concern based on actual evidence that wholesale repeal about initiatives will happen because its never happened in the recent history, he said, adding the bill passed alongside the resolution to put the amendment on the ballot shows they intend to leave initiatives intact. So, why is the word repeal still in the amendment if the Utah Legislature does not plan on overriding initiatives? Amend vs. repeal The language of the law has to be more technical than we use everyday. Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, addressed this very issue on the Utah House floor on Wednesday. He pointed to footnote 3 in the Utah Supreme Court decision which said, When we use the terms amend or repeal in this opinion, we do not necessarily describe the extent to which the initiative was substantively changed. Rather, we often use these terms merely to describe actions taken during the legislative process. Essentially, they say that you can use these words interchangeably, said Teuscher, explaining amendments that do not add to the text of a law essentially are repealing some portion of the law. Rep. Jordan Teuscher, R-South Jordan, speaks in the House as the Utah Legislature holds a special session to consider an initiative constitutional amendment at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News What we dont want to do is set up more loopholes where the court could come in and find some other part thats going to cause more litigation, he said. Here is a hypothetical example. Say citizens led an effort to pass an initiative aimed at requiring all state parks to supply visitors with bottles of water upon request and ensure there are drinking fountains every three miles. But the initiative also had one line about how state parks need to also supply peppermints upon request. The general intent of the initiative is to ensure visitors at state parks have access to water. The part about peppermints does not necessarily meet the threshold of general intent. If the Legislature were to remove the line in the initiative about supplying peppermints while keeping intact the provisions about providing water to park attendees, then they would be repealing a line from a bill. In this hypothetical example, an amendment could also be considered a repeal of a provision of law. Is there ever a need to amend initiatives? Like other laws, there may be circumstances where initiatives need to be amended for a variety of reasons. When the Utah Legislature rejected the maps of the independent redistricting commission, many were upset and felt like they hadnt listened to voters. But there was a time when the Utah Legislature and Better Boundaries were able to compromise in a way that both parties felt was productive at the time. Utah Senate President Stuart J. Adams said in the case of Proposition 4, the initiative creating an independent redistricting commission, there was a need to amend it so it could be considered constitutional. They came to us and asked us to change it, said Adams, R-Layton, who explained the group Better Boundaries worked with members of the Legislature to address changes to preserve what is already in the Utah Constitution and to keep the spirit of the initiative. Better Boundaries had a vision and a goal they wanted to accomplish, Sen. Curtis Bramble, R-Provo, the bills sponsor, said in a press conference when the changes were made. The Legislature had a constitutional prerogative that we wanted to protect. How we came together is really what America is about. The executive director for Better Boundaries at the time, Rebecca Chavez-Houck, reportedly told media the compromise protected the core concept of the initiative and the results were much more rigorous and accountable on the commission than anything shed hoped for. Weve tried to be prudent because we have to go back to the people the elect us and we have to represent them, said Adams, adding he believed changes to initiatives have made them better. They havent completely repealed any ballot initiative, said Monson. Theyve amended a number of them, and most of the time, the legislators have worked with the creators of the initiative on reforms. Monson said this does not mean the creators of the initiatives have always agreed with every change that has been made, but he thinks the Legislature has shown it will try to forward the goals of ballot initiatives. Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan, said he has been in the Legislature since 2010 and does not know one time a bill came through the process exactly the same as when it started because most of what we spend our time doing here is altering and amending and refining and changing legislation. Ivory said initiatives do not go through the same process as the legislators bills which are heard in committee meetings. Opponents of the amendment are asking us to suppose an initiative that didnt go through the process fits perfectly with the code, fits perfectly with the Constitution, fits perfectly with the budget, he said. The Utah Senate convenes in a special session to consider a constitutional amendment at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Do the amendment and accompanying bills impact peoples ability to pass initiatives? No. The amendment primarily deals with legislative powers. The process for citizen initiatives was unchanged by both the resolution to put the amendment on the ballot and the accompanying legislation. If Utah voters approve the amendment, then the Utah Constitution would say laws that started as initiatives can be amended by state lawmakers, as happens with other laws on the books. There was a change to the referenda process, which is contingent on the amendment being passed by Utah voters. Referenda are designed to appeal laws. Initiatives create laws. For citizens to repeal laws through passing a referenda, they need to collect signatures. The Legislature increased the time period to gather signatures from 40 days to 60 days. Without the amendment, can legislators make changes to initiatives? Yes, but there is uncertainty about what changes could be made. In some ways, this is at the core of the disagreement between those in favor of the amendment and those opposed to the amendment. The Utah Supreme Court said government-reform initiatives are protected from unfettered legislative amendment, repeal, or replacement. But lawmakers said there is not clarity about what qualifies as a government-reform initiative. Sen. Kirk A. Cullimore, R-Draper, said on Wednesday that a case could be made that any initiative qualifies as altering or reforming government, and so, there is potential for litigation to arise over changes to any initiative. Sen. Kirk Cullimore, R-Draper, speaks in the Senate as Utahs legislature holds a special session to consider an initiative constitutional amendment at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News The ruling from the states highest court also said if the Legislature can show changes it made to a law are narrowly tailored to address a compelling government interest, then it could survive a constitutional challenge. This legal test is known as strict scrutiny. Cullimore said there are questions around what it means to alter or reform the government as well as what sorts of defenses the Legislature could make to meet the strict scrutiny standard. He said these would likely have to become questions for the court. The question Teuscher said lawmakers are asking with the amendment and accompanying bills is what ought the Utah Constitution say about initiatives. The Supreme Courts job isnt to decide what policy should be, their job is to interpret the law, said Teuscher. We disagree with their interpretation and we have a constitutional amendment now that allows the people to decide what they want that power to be. Those opposed to the amendment, like Better Boundaries, think the Utah Supreme Court got it right with the ruling. Rather than rushing to amend our constitution, we call on you to embrace this ruling as an opportunity to strengthen our democratic processes, and encourage you to work collaboratively with citizens and grassroots organizations through existing channels, and to focus on improving governmental transparency and accountability, which will reduce the need for citizen initiatives, said the group in an open letter. RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) When he goes to fill up his truck, Rashaun Brown said hes hoping he gets what he paid for. When you think about getting your gas, you think about getting your gas and riding to its fullest potential, Brown said. Greenways in Raleigh experience flooding as water is released from Falls Lake in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Debby Brown, who said he depends on a working vehicle for his job, stopped at a gas station in Raleigh with his work partner Thursday morning. He and other drivers have questioned why several stations have recently bagged pumps. They may not have a problem with the fuel, said Melissa Spencer, supervisor with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Fuel Quality Lab. It might be with the pump itself. But for whatever reason, its being bagged off and theres signage on there. Spencer said her department had a record spike this month in complaints ranging from slow pumps to contaminated fuel. Of about 50 reports, about half noted issues with water in fuel. How [water] gets in there is hard to say, she said. Each place is different. It could be theres a crack in the tank or lines that the water gets into. If the water table goes up, it can get in that way. Wilson County middle school rebuilds, prepares for new year after tornado hits Parts of North Carolina recently saw several inches of rain and flooding from Tropical Storm Debby this August. Spencer said the state continues to investigate each report, but there may be a correlation with the spike in complaints. Spencer said the last spike in complaints was back in January at 36 total. Altogether, there have been about 236 complaints so far this year. Since 2021, Spencer said the highest monthly numbers hovered anywhere from 24-27 complaints. We take every complaint that comes in seriously, she said. We go out and investigate it. Even people who call 2-3 months after the sale, we go out and check the product. Spencer said complaints came from 37 gas stations across the state. Some had multiple reports. If we find any phase separation in the tank, we stop sales on that product and the station has to get it remediated, she said. Once the problem is fixed, we go back and check it before they can resume sales. Worms, tiny fish wash into Fayetteville home amid tropical storm flooding Spencer said their staff try to respond to complaints within 24 hours after theyve been received, but not every driver will file a report. The sooner we get those complaints, the sooner we can check the product and have a better answer for them, Spencer said. Vincent Belmonte, the General Manager at Epic Auto Center in Raleigh, said water and fuel is simply a bad combination for your vehicle. It depends how much water is in the fuel, he said. If the ratio of fuel to water in the tank is greater than 50%, its sucking straight water into the intake and into the fuel system. Thats not going to combust. It degrades the quality of fuel. Belmonte said water strips the ethanol from gasoline. The cost for repairs can be expensive and can depend on how much water is in the tank and how long the car was driven. He said, You can lock up your engine, you can damage your fuel system, you can damage your fuel pump, you can be talking about thousands of dollars in repairs very quickly. If customers have concerns, Belmonte said the best option is to have your car towed and checked by a mechanic. Of course, theyre furious, Belmonte said. Theyre buying gas at the gas station and expect it to be gasoline, not water. A lot of the time, the customer ends up footing the bill. Water levels at some central NC lakes still high after Debby Spencer said while lawsuits and insurance are sometimes involved, theyve also seen issues resolved between the gas station and the customer. She said there are about 7,000 gas stations across North Carolina, the number of complaints is often low, and they want to make sure drivers are getting what they pay for. Spencer said bagged and slow gas pumps can often be a sign of an issue. She also said to avoid purchasing gas if the station is in the process of getting a delivery because the force of the fuel delivery can push dirt and particles of sediment through the dispenser, even if a filter is in place. If you suspect that there is a problem with the quality of the fuel you have purchased, you can contact the NC Fuel Quality Laboratory at 984-236-4770. Complaints can also be shared online at this link. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (KRON) A convicted murderer from Santa Clara County is accused of killing another inmate in a California prison on Wednesday, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CCDR) said. Luis Alvarez, 30, is one of two men that CCDR said attacked and killed 29-year-old Anthony Alvarez at High Desert State Prison in Susanville. The other suspect is 41-year-old Vincent Martinez from Kings County. Homeless man arrested for homicide in Pittsburg Officers responded to a dayroom in the prison at 5:45 p.m. to find Luis Alvarez and Martinez attacking Anthony Alvarez, CCDR said. Staffers stopped the attack and provided medical aid to Anthony Alvarez. He was pronounced dead at 6:23 p.m. Luis Alvarez and Martinez were placed in restricted housing as jail officials and the Lassen County District Attorneys Office investigate. Officers recovered two homemade weapons. Image of Luis Alvarez from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Image of Vincent Martinez from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Anthony Alvarez, the victim, came to the High Desert Prison from Fresno County, where he was serving a 10-year sentence for attempted second-degree murder. Martinez was serving a 22-year sentence for crimes including attempted second-degree murder. Luis Alvarez was serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole for first-degree murder. The Mercury News reported that a San Jose man named Luis Alvarez with a matching neck tattoo to the man suspected of committing the prison murder was convicted of a brutal murder in San Jose in 2014. Alvarez was one of a group of people who killed 33-year-old Oakland man Michael Maynard near Plaza de Cesar Chavez 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 KRON4. A Kentucky man previously pardoned in 2019 by former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin after killing his infant son was charged Thursday with attacking a woman with a knife in Lexington. Kurt Smith, 40, is accused of assaulting the woman while she was cleaning his Georgetown Street home on Aug. 16. She was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury, required surgery on her arm and has lacerations to her head and wrist. Smith attacked the woman after she found a large amount of blood in the bathroom of Smiths home and told him to call someone for help, court documents show. The records do not indicate whose blood was in the bathroom. Smith eventually dropped the woman off at Saint Joseph hospital, and she identified him as the attacker through photos. Smith was one of hundreds of prisoners to receive controversial pardons just before Bevin left office in 2019. At the time, Smith was serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole after 20 years for killing his 6-week-old son in 2001, when he was 17. In his final hours in office after his narrow loss in November 2019 to Democrat Andy Beshear, Bevin issued roughly 425 pardons and commutations before leaving office. The beneficiaries, according to the Courier Journal, include one offender convicted of raping a child, another who hired a hit man to kill his business partner and a third who killed his parents. Bevins pardon allowed Smith to be released from prison. Bevin said at the time he had been duly punished for his criminal actions. I am confident that he will become a productive member of society and encourage him to use his life experience to educate and help others, Bevin said in the Dec. 6, 2019, order. While in prison, Smith participated in a prison riot at Northpoint Training Center near Danville in 2009. Inmates set fires that destroyed six buildings and damaged others. Several inmates and correctional officers were injured in the melee. It reportedly cost more than $18 million to rebuild the prison. Smith pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree assault and one count of taking part in the riot as part of a deal for a five-year sentence to be served at the same time as the life sentence from the murder conviction. Smith is being held at the Fayette County Detention Center on a $25,000 bond, according to jail records. A photo of Breonna Taylor at the 2nd Annual Defend Black Women March in Washington D.C. in 2022. - Credit: Leigh Vogel/Getty Images A federal judge in Kentucky ruled that two police officers accused of falsifying a warrant ahead of the deadly raid that killed Breonna Taylor were not responsible for her death, The Associated Press reports. And rather than the phony warrant, U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson said Taylors boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, was responsible for her death because he fired upon the police officers first even though he had no idea they were police officers. The ruling was handed down earlier this week in the civil rights violation case against former Louisville Police Detective Joshua Jaynes and former Sgt. Kyle Meany. The two were not present at the March 2020 raid when Taylor was killed. Instead, in 2022, Attorney General Merrick Garland accused the pair (along with another detective, Kelly Goodlett) of submitting a false affidavit to search Taylors home before the raid and then conspiring to create a false cover story to escape responsibility for preparing the phony warrant. More from Rolling Stone Prosecutors had argued that this phony warrant put Taylor in danger. But Simpson dismissed the claim that armed officers conducting a middle-of-the-night raid on a no-knock warrant based on made-up intel that a suspected drug dealer was receiving packages at Taylors apartment had anything to do with her eventually being shot and killed. There is no direct link between the warrantless entry and Taylors death, Simpson wrote. Instead, he argued that Walker was far more responsible. When the police barged into Taylors apartment, Walker fired a shot, thinking the police were intruders and hit a cop in the leg. In response, the police fired over 30 shots inside the apartment, with five or six striking Taylor. Simpson decided that Walkers conduct became the proximate, or legal, cause of Taylors death. (Walker was briefly arrested and charged with attempted murder of a police officer, but that charge was dropped. In 2022, he settled a $2 million civil suit with the city, accusing the cops of violating his civil rights by not announcing themselves upon executing the raid.) While the indictment alleges that Jaynes and Meany set off a series of events that ended in Taylors death, it also alleges that Walker disrupted those events when he decided to open fire, Simpson said. In a statement, Taylors family told The AP they were devastated by the ruling and were still trying to process the decision. The only thing we can do at this point is continue to be patient we will continue to fight until we get full justice for Breonna Taylor, they said. Taylors family also said prosecutors told them they planned to appeal the decision. The Justice Department said it is reviewing the judges decision and assessing next steps. For now, Simpsons ruling has hobbled the DOJs civil rights violation case against Jaynes and Meany, reducing the charges to misdemeanors. Jaynes is still facing a conspiracy charge, while Meany is accused of making false statements to investigators. Goodlett previously pleaded guilty to the charges against him and is expected to testify against the others. Best of Rolling Stone Progressive activist Cornel West speaks at a demonstration in Union Park outside the Democratic National Convention Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) Independent presidential candidate Cornel West lost a legal challenge Friday in his bid to get on the ballot in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. Commonwealth Court Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer, in a 15-page opinion, sided with the Secretary of States office under Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro in rejecting Wests candidacy paperwork. The Secretary of States office said West's campaign lacked the required affidavits for 14 of West's 19 presidential electors. Jubelirer, a Republican, agreed with the Secretary of States office that minor-party presidential electors are to be considered candidates for office who must file affidavits, even if major-party presidential electors are not. The court case is among a raft of partisan legal maneuvering around third-party candidates, as backers of Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris aim to derail third-party candidates who might siphon away support or to help others who might hurt their opponent. The Nov. 5 election is expected to be close in Pennsylvania, whose 19 electoral votes are tied with Illinois for fifth-most, and arguably are the most awarded by any battleground state. West's lawyer who has longstanding ties to Republican candidates and causes did not immediately say whether he would appeal to the state Supreme Court. Also Friday, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told the court in a filing that he will withdraw from Pennsylvanias ballot. In a speech in Phoenix, Kennedy said he is suspending his presidential bid, backing Trump and planning to remain on ballots in states where he is unlikely to sway the outcome. The Green Partys Jill Stein and the Libertarian Partys Chase Oliver submitted petitions to get on Pennsylvanias presidential ballot without being challenged, while the Party for Socialism and Liberation has said it will appeal a judge's decision to order its presidential candidate, Claudia De la Cruz, off Pennsylvanias ballot. ___ Follow Marc Levy at https://x.com/timelywriter. Cortez Masto calls Trump No Taxes on Tips a bluff, lays out reasons Harris is right for Nevada LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Kamala Harris understands Nevada and supports the policies that matter most to the states voters. That was the message from Nevadas senior senator as Democrats gathered in Chicago to nominate Harris to represent their party in November. U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) spoke before DNC Night 4 events began, explaining why Harris is the right candidate and why Nevadans shouldnt trust former President Donald Trump. Cortez Masto was interviewed in Chicago by Chip Brewster of WGN-TV and Nikki Laurenzo, host of Inside Californa Politics for Sacramentos FOX40, both Nexstar sister stations of 8 News Now. See the full interview in the video at the top of this story. Harris and Cortez Masto both used their backgrounds as their states attorney general to launch national political careers, and that common ground helps them work together, Cortez Masto said. The economy is the biggest issue for Nevada voters, and Cortez Masto said Harris understands the issues in the Silver State. I think at the end of the day, most people it is about the economy, right? Can I put food on the table? Can I put a roof over my head? Right. Can I get my kids to school? Can I pay for my, pharmaceutical bills? My health care? Cortez Masto said. But she also emphasized that Trump has manipulated Republicans for political gain, killing a bipartisan border deal because chaos at the border is good for his campaign. Cortez Masto characterized Trumps No Taxes on Tips push as a bluff to curry political favor in Nevada. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Cortland County Sheriffs Office K9s get body armor thanks to a donation CORTLAND COUNTY, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) Two Cortland County Sheriffs Office K9s will be getting bullet and stab protective vests thanks to a charitable donation from Vested Interest in K9s, Inc. One of the K9s, Dex, will have a vest embroidered with In memory of Sgt. Meagan Burke. Burke was a sergeant with the Oklahoma City Police Department who was killed in a crash in September 2022. The other K9, Rhett, will have a vest embroidered with In memory of Sgt. Keith Conway. The vest is sponsored by the Conway family in Linden, New Jersey. Delivery of the vest is expected within 10 weeks, the Cortland Co. Sheriffs Office said. Vested in K9s, Inc. is a charity established in 2009 that looks to provide protective vests and other assistance to law enforcement dogs. You can learn more about the organization on their website. Photos courtesy of the Cortland 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 WSYR. Could there be a loophole in selling recreational marijuana in Mississippi? We explain how In July, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in North Carolina started selling recreational marijuana on a limited basis, despite the fact that state legislators have not legalized the drug for medical or recreational purposes. Why? Because they can. The Asheville Citizen Times reported the marijuana market has been touted as a huge economic boon for the EBCI, even as the drug remains illegal in North Carolina. President Joe Biden in May moved to reclassify marijuana from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug, meaning it could eventually become federally legal to prescribe marijuana as medication. For Mississippi, that leads one to ask, if the Cherokee in North Carolina can begin to sell recreational marijuana in a state that doesn't have any regulations backing cannabis sales, could the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians do the same thing in the Magnolia State? The short answer is yes. Why? Because they can. The Clarion Ledger spoke with multiple attorneys with experience in the medical and recreation marijuana industry, and all said the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians could begin selling cannabis for recreational use if they had gone through the regulatory process. "What I can say that the MS Band of Choctaw Indians could open a cannabis grow and distribution facility," said Rod Kight, a cannabis lawyer and advocate from North Carolina, who focuses on legal support to all sectors of the industry. "(MCBI can) because, as a sovereign body, they can choose to legalize within their borders, despite federal or state law. There are many ramifications and issues that this raises, but generally speaking, they can do it. In fact, it will be much like a state legalizing and setting up a grow and distribution program." A cannabis plant grow room in the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians' Great Smoky Cannabis Co. dispensary in Cherokee, North Carolina. April 20, 2024. In North Carolina, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians viewed the introduction of recreational cannabis as a revenue stream much like the introduction of gaming, which has proven to be a huge money maker throughout the years. Here, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians has been at the forefront in the gaming industry, having opened its first casino, Silver Star, in 1994. The MBCI makes sure to bill itself as "a federally recognized, self-governing tribe with over 10,000 members living on or near reservation land." It is those words that make recreational marijuana possible as well. Amazon in MS: Amazon at it again in MS. See what and where Marijuana in MS: What would Biden administration proposal mean for marijuana in Mississippi? Details here The key, according to multiple attorneys in the cannabis industry, is that MBCI would have to grow, sell and test on tribal grounds. The product could not be transported off tribal lands, because Mississippi does not allow for recreational cannabis. The start of recreational sales in North Carolina comes after the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council passed an official resolution in June to allow the sale of recreational marijuana on Cherokee territory. In Mississippi, the same thing would have to happen. However, Misty Brescia, the director of public information for MCBI says that is not on the radar for Mississippi's tribal lands. "Yes, I think so. I think we could. The federal government changed the rules so that Tribes could grow, sell, etc. marijuana," Brescia said. "However, our code (laws) still says marijuana is illegal on Mississippi Choctaw Tribal Lands. Until that is changed, which is a Tribal Council decision, this isnt even a possibility for us." However, she did say if the Tribal Council wanted to take it up, the voting process likely would not take long. Cannabis industry lawyer Rod Kight of Asheville, North Carolina. Slates Veazey, an attorney with Bradley Arant in Jackson, represents clients with a specific understanding of the cannabis industry. He also says, it's not a matter of if MBCI can sell, it's a matter of wanting to sell. "Yes, I believe they (could produce and sell), but that does not come without concerns and challenges," Veazy said. "If the Choctaw tribe would change their code or constitution to allow for recreational cannabis, all of those activities would have to remain on tribal land." So, if MBCI decided to produce, test and sell on the site of their hotels and casinos for guests who travel on site, they could, according to all attorneys the Clarion Ledger talked with. The caveat is any recreational product could not be taken off of tribal lands, because Mississippi law prohibits recreational cannabis. The point, at least for now, is moot until the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians chooses to change its code in reference to all cannabis. Ross Reily can be reached by email at rreily@gannett.com or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on Twitter @GreenOkra1. This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Could Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians sell recreational marijuana? EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) El Paso County Public Works is hosting a free community clean-up event this weekend. The event will be held from 8 a.m. to noon (or until capacity) on Saturday, Aug. 24. The drop-off location is the El Rocio Yard, 15311 El Rocio. These cleanup events allow El Paso County residents to dispose of unwanted items, while making a difference in their community, according to a news release. Passenger tires, bulk trash, and electronic waste will be accepted as follows: Tires Each resident may bring up to five tires. There will be a maximum collection of 1,500 tires for the event. Accepted tires must measure 17 inches or smaller. Tires from retailers, semi-trucks, equipment trucks, or those with rims will not be accepted. Bulk Trash and Electronic Waste Residents may bring one pick-up truck load of bulk trash, including furniture, chairs, carpet, etc. Accepted electronics include computers, tablets, scanners, video games, cameras, radios, cellphones, VCRs, and DVD players. CRT monitors and televisions will not be accepted. Some items may not be accepted, so residents are encouraged to sort their bulk waste prior to arrival. Questions, information: (915) 273-3330. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. People wait to receive food relief at Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, on Aug. 21, 2024. Water, food and fuel supplies in Gaza are critically low, while diseases like Hepatitis A continue to spread across the strip, according to the UN Human Rights Office. (Photo by Abdul Rahman Salama/Xinhua) GAZA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Hundreds of thousands of Gazans continue to endure long waits each day for limited food aid. More than 10 months after the Israeli-Palestinian conflict began on October 7, 2023, food remains increasingly scarce in the Gaza Strip, leaving Palestinians heavily dependent on aid. The World Food Programme (WFP) reports that 96 percent of Gaza's population is now experiencing acute food insecurity, with 2.15 million people facing "Crisis" levels of hunger or worse. Nearly half a million are in "Catastrophic" conditions. The WFP also notes that ongoing hostilities, damaged roads, and a breakdown in public order are severely disrupting food transport operations, resulting in reduced rations. People wait to receive food relief at Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, on Aug. 21, 2024. Water, food and fuel supplies in Gaza are critically low, while diseases like Hepatitis A continue to spread across the strip, according to the UN Human Rights Office. (Photo by Abdul Rahman Salama/Xinhua) A boy receives food relief at Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, on Aug. 21, 2024. Water, food and fuel supplies in Gaza are critically low, while diseases like Hepatitis A continue to spread across the strip, according to the UN Human Rights Office. (Photo by Abdul Rahman Salama/Xinhua) A man receives food relief at Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, on Aug. 21, 2024. Water, food and fuel supplies in Gaza are critically low, while diseases like Hepatitis A continue to spread across the strip, according to the UN Human Rights Office. (Photo by Abdul Rahman Salama/Xinhua) Related video: Who is Travis Posey? Look into the Fordyce mass shooting suspects background LITTLE ROCK, Ark. A couple filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the man accused in a mass shooting that took place at a Fordyce grocery store in June. Brittney and Jeromy Sullivent are suing Travis Eugene Posey for $75,000 in compensatory damages tied to the shooting, in addition to punitive damages. Fordyce mass shooting suspect Travis Posey pleads not guilty in first court appearance The lawsuit alleges that Posey shot at Brittney with a 12-gauge shotgun, hitting her in the arm and head as well as damaging the car she was driving. The suit continues that Brittney was treated locally before being airlifted to UAMS in Little Rock for multiple procedures that the lawsuit noted are still ongoing. As a result of the shooting, the lawsuit claims that Brittney experienced, pain and suffering, mental anguish, past and future medical procedures and expenses, hearing loss, permanent disfigurement, loss of consortium and other damages. First funeral service held for Fordyce mass shooting victim; Roy Sturgis remembered as having a servants heart, selfless It also notes that Jeromy, Brittneys husband, experienced, a loss of consortium as a proximate cause of the Defendants intentional actions. Posey, a resident of New Edinburg, is accused in the June 21 shooting at the Mad Butcher grocery store that left four people dead and eight others injured from gunfire. Among the people killed in the shooting were 23-year-old Callie Weems, 50-year-old Roy Sturgis, 52-year-old Shirley Taylor and 81-year-old Ellen Shrum. Authorities confirm several people shot, 4 dead and two officers injured in Fordyce grocery store shooting; suspect in custody Two members of the Fordyce Police Department were also injured by gunfire, while a Stuttgart police officer at the scene was injured but not by gunfire. Posey was shot during an exchange with the responding police officers. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) A decision has finally been made in the 2019 lawsuit against the Binghamton City School District that accused staff members of illegally strip searching four students at East Middle School. After five years of litigation, a federal judge has ruled in favor of the school district, Board of Education, and staff members despite the over 100 total claims that were made against them in the case, the district says. The courts decision determined that the searches that took place were justified and reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. According to the district, it was also determined that the students involved were not discriminated against due to their race or gender. Additionally, it was concluded that the district properly opened an investigation into the allegations and attempted to engage the students as well as their families in a restorative process which was then denied by the students attorneys. Binghamton City School District has responds to the strip-search lawsuit DAs Office determines that no criminal charges should be filed in strip search The district has maintained their claim that there was no strip search but rather a medical evaluation. Binghamton says that throughout the duration of the case, the district and staff endured significant harm, including threats and harassment, as a result of the claims that were made. In a press release, the district claimed the situation was taken seriously from the very beginning, and it will continue to build toward its goal of providing each and every student with a safe, supportive, and equitable learning environment. On January 15, 2019, four girls alleged that they were forced to remove articles of clothing in the nurses office after lunch at East Middle School. They claimed they were subjected to demeaning comments after school officials suspected them of giddy and inappropriate behavior. The strip search allegations made national news, sparking outrage from organizations such as the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund which filed a suit against the district on the students behalf. Former Governer Andrew Cuomo also called for an investigation into the allegations. The district says it will not be making any further comments on the matter. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WIVT - News 34. Longtime News 5 (WLWT-TV) anchor Courtis Fuller is stepping down from his weekend anchor role, the station announced Friday. The move is effective Sunday, Aug. 25. Fuller, who has spent nearly 40 years at WLWT, will remain with the station and focus on its "Let's Talk Cincy" community affairs program starting in September. He has hosted it since its debut in 2019. I felt it was time to reduce my daily workload, to take a step back, Fuller said in a press release. I also wanted to devote more time to our 'Lets Talk Cincy' program. This new role gives me more of a work/life balance, and still allows me to share the stories about all the good folks and organizations in our area. It has been a blessing to anchor the news for many decades at WLWT. Fuller has won multiple Emmys across his career and was part of the inaugural WLWT Hall of Fame class in 2023, according to his bio. Courtis is literally a living legend in Cincinnati and in the broadcast industry, said WLWT President and General Manager Branden Frantz in a statement. While we will miss his presence on the weekend behind the anchor desk, we cant wait to see what the future holds for his continued contributions on 'Lets Talk Cincy,' a program that touches so many lives through his impactful storytelling. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Courtis Fuller stepping down as weekend anchor at Cincinnati's WLWT When will COVID-19 vaccines be available for fall-winter season? What to know amid surge Millions of updated COVID-19 vaccines will soon be available ahead of the flu and fall-winter season. On Thursday, Aug. 22, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved and granted emergency use authorization for updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. The updated vaccines will more closely target circulating variants and provide better protection against serious consequences of COVID-19, including hospitalization and death, said the FDA. The KP.3.1.1 variant is currently the most prevalent variant in Tennessee and the rest of the United States. Latest CDC data shows that in the two week period between Aug. 4 and Aug. 17, KP.3.1.1 accounted between 31% to 43% of COVID-19 clinical specimens. In Region 4 which includes Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina the KP.3.1.1 variant accounted for 31% to 42% of of COVID-19 clinical specimens. According to the Tennessee Department of Health, there were 499 new COVID-19 cases in Davidson County for the week of Aug. 4. COVID-19 cases in Davidson County have been steadily rising since May. The most recent data from the Tennessee Department of Health shows that in May, COVID-19 cases were the lowest they've been since February. During the week of May 5, Davidson County reported just 36 cases. During the week of June 30, cases more than tripled, soaring to 213. Then in July, cases reached 428. Vaccination continues to be the cornerstone of COVID-19 prevention, said Director of the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research Peter Marks in a statement. These updated vaccines meet the agencys rigorous, scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality." More: Patty Flanagan talks about brother's COVID-19 death in Tennessee at DNC. How many have died in the state? "Given waning immunity of the population from previous exposure to the virus and from prior vaccination, we strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants," Marks added. The updated vaccines include the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, both of which are authorized for people 6 months through 11 years of age. Also included, are Comirnaty and Spikevax, both of which are approved for people 12 and older. Here's what else to know about about the updated vaccine. When will the updated COVID-19 vaccines be available? Walgreens and CVS previously told USA TODAY shipments of the vaccines could arrive a few days after FDA approval. According to a news release, people can schedule appointments with Walgreens now, with available appointments starting nationwide on Sept. 6. Additional appointments will be added daily as inventory arrives at stores. Appointments can be scheduled by visiting Walgreens.com/ScheduleVaccine, using the Walgreens app or calling 1-800-WALGREENS Who should receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine? Everyone ages 6 months and older should get a 20242025 COVID-19 vaccine, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC especially recommends the vaccine for people who are 65 and older, are at high risk for severe COVID-19 or have never received a COVID-19 vaccine. Since vaccine protection decreases over time, it is important to stay up to date with the COVID-19 vaccine, said the CDC. Furthermore, receiving the updated vaccine can provide increased protection against currently circulating strains of the virus. How many doses of the updated COVID-19 vaccine are required? According to the FDA, unvaccinated individuals 6 months through 4 years of age are eligible to receive three doses of the updated, authorized Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine or two doses of the updated, authorized Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine. Individuals 6 months through 4 years of age who have previously been vaccinated against COVID-19 are eligible to receive one or two doses of the updated, authorized Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines. The timing and number of doses will depend on the previous COVID-19 vaccine received. Individuals 5-11, regardless of previous vaccinations, are eligible to receive a single dose of the updated, authorized Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. If previously vaccinated, the dose is administered at least 2 months after the last dose of any COVID-19 vaccine. Individuals 12 and older are eligible to receive a single dose of the updated, approved Comirnaty or the updated, approved Spikevax. If previously vaccinated, the dose is administered at least 2 months since the last dose of any COVID-19 vaccine. How to get free COVID-19 tests? No-cost COVID-19 testing continues to be available for uninsured people or people who believe they have been exposed to the virus. A list of free COVID-19 testing sites can be found on the COVID-19 Testing Locator website. People are able to use the website to find their nearest, most convenient location and can then contact the provider to schedule an appointment. USA TODAY 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: COVID surge: When will COVID-19 vaccines be available in Tennessee Do You Need The New COVID Booster? Here's What Doctors Say Do You Need The New COVID Booster? Here's What Doctors Say "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Big news in health: The Food and Drug Administration has approved new COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. The updated vaccines are targeted toward the KP.2 strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This is the third time the vaccines have been updated. Vaccination continues to be the cornerstone of COVID-19 prevention, Peter Marks, MD, PhD, director of the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a statement. These updated vaccines meet the agencys rigorous, scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality. Given waning immunity of the population...we strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants. So, when can you expect to have the updated vaccine available at a pharmacy near youand who should get it? Heres what doctors say. Meet the expert: Thomas Russo, MD, professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York. What is the most current COVID vaccine? Should I get it? The most current COVID-19 vaccines are made by Pfizer and Moderna. These mRNA vaccines have been updated to more closely target the currently-circulating strains to give you better protection against serious infection, explains Thomas Russo, MD, professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo in New York. This is just for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, Russo said. The Novavax vaccine isnt ready yet. The FDA currently recommends that everyone aged 6 months and up get the new vaccine. When will pharmacies get the new COVID vaccine? Right now, it's not entirely clear. On its website, CVS says that the chain is currently removing the 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine from the companys inventory and are waiting for the new vaccine to arrive. However, you can currently book a vaccine appointment for the near future. Meanwhile, Walgreens hasnt updated its website yet to address the new vaccine, and appears to still be offering the previous vaccine. Pfizer and Moderna have the green light to get the shots to pharmacies, but its still probably going to take a week or so to be available, Russo says. As for timing on when to get the vaccine, Russo says its a good idea to get vaccinated ASAP if you fall into a high-risk category. But if youre considered low risk for serious complications of COVID-19, he just recommends getting the new vaccine by Halloween. If you were infected during the summer COVID wave, Russo says you can probably wait three months from the time you were infected to get vaccinated. How much will the new COVID vaccine cost? It depends. Cost is a bit of a problem, Russo says. While most health insurance companies will cover the vaccine, if you dont have Medicaid or insurance, you may need to pay out of pocket. The money is gone for programs that were available for adults to get the vaccine through public health, Russo says. Children are usually covered through a variety of pediatric vaccination programs, but uninsured adults may need to pay. This is another barrier to receiving care, Russo adds. What are the latest COVID symptoms? For many people who are otherwise healthy, COVID-19 is causing cold-like symptoms right now, Russo says. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), those can include: Fever or chills Cough Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing Sore throat Congestion or runny nose New loss of taste or smell Fatigue Muscle or body aches Headache Nausea or vomiting But if you fall into a high-risk category, your symptoms may be more severe, Russo says. Overall, Russo recommends getting vaccinated when you can. There is still a lot of COVID going around, he says. You Might Also Like New Covid shots are coming available. Heres what experts say about when to get yours Newly updated vaccines against Covid-19 will be in pharmacies soon, just as the US is experiencing a surge of infections. But is it a good idea to get in line for a new shot pronto, or should you wait a few weeks to get optimal protection against a possible winter wave? Experts say it depends on your health, whether youve recently had Covid-19, which vaccine you plan to get and when its convenient for you. Its not a straight answer, quite frankly, said Dr. Carlos del Rio, a distinguished professor of medicine at Emory University and expert on infectious disease. Were in the midst of a of a huge wave. Many people, including yours truly, have recently had Covid, he said. For that reason, hes going to hold off on getting the updated shot. If you had it in the last three months, I would wait. Theres no need to get a vaccine, because you have, in a way. Youve been vaccinated by the by the current strain, he said. On the other hand, if you havent recently had Covid, and especially if youre 65 or older, I would get it as soon as possible, Del Rio said. The same is true for people with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk for serious outcomes of a Covid infection. Just who are the people at highest risk of hospitalization or death? Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia and a member of the US Food and Drug Administrations vaccine advisory committee, says people who are getting really sick with Covid mostly fall into four groups. One is people who are immune-compromised; two, people who are who have medical conditions that put them at high risk, like obesity, diabetes and chronic liver, lung or heart disease. I think three are pregnant people, and four are what I now reluctantly describe as the elderly, whom Offit categorizes as people over 75. Offit and other experts say that otherwise younger and healthier adults are fine to bide their time. In fact, it may be smart to do that, since the boost to frontline immunity that the vaccine provides fades within a few months. Waiting until the fall ensures that youll be better protected during respiratory virus season, which tends to peak in December and January. If you havent been recently infected, the new boosters matter a lot, said Dr. Megan Ranney, dean of the Yale School of Public Health. The current variants of Covid differ substantially from last winters variants, and this years boosters are matched to the new variants. She agrees that older adults and people with underlying health conditions who havent recently been infected should get in line for their shots now, but shes going to delay hers a bit. I am planning to wait until the same time as I get my flu shot, sometime in October, she said. Ranney noted that the updated mRNA shots from Pfizer and Moderna will probably be available first, with Novavaxs vaccine coming in a few weeks. If you are nervous about mRNA for some reason although these vaccines are very safe the Novavax booster, which is protein-based, will soon be available, too, she said. Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at the University of California at San Francisco, is also waiting a few weeks. Im definitely not going to run out and get a shot. Im more worried about winter than the summer, he said. But a golden rule of vaccination is know thyself, he said. If youre somebody who is likely to get distracted and busy and forget to get a shot, any time that works for you is the best time. This is a general principle: If its convenient for people and they may not get a shot later in the year, any shot is better than no shot, Chin-Hong said. I think for me, I kind of like to get everything in at the same time. So I get flu and Covid at the same time. It kind of minimizes trips. Ideally, people wouldnt have to try to figure out the best timing for a single shot when there are multiple waves of Covid each year, said Dr. Peter Hotez, an infectious disease expert and director of vaccine development at Texas Childrens Hospital. The reality is that weve had waves of Covid every summer for the last few years, and so I think we have to kind of do a reset or rethink about how were doing Covid vaccine delivery, Hotez said. Given the fact that the mRNA vaccines are not very durable not as durable as wed like we should be doing twice-a-year vaccination, he said. And then the question is, do the companies have the bandwidth to make more than one vaccine every year? And so thats going to be the next set of questions. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com TOPEKA (KSNT) Working for you, 27 News reached out to the Kansas Farm Bureau (KFB) and the Kansas Livestock Association to see if cow tipping is just an urban legend. Greg Doering said the KFB didnt have any cow tipping experts in the office today but added that if you mess with the bull, youll get the horns. Manager of Communications & Advertising at the Kansas Livestock Association Rachel Waggie provided a witty quip regarding cow tipping. Sadly, very few cows are tipped, despite the care and effort they put forth for us, Waggie said. I suspect it has something to do with their lack of access to credit card readers combined with their inability to use a tablet and say now its just going to ask you a few questions after you swipe. Jokes aside, Waggie said cow tipping isnt a real concern. Biologists track invasive species reaching impressive sizes in Neosho River If a cow were to be tipped over (a feat of physics and udder strength), and the guilty tipper was not trampled by others in the herd, the animal would just stand back up and play it cool, Waggie said. In 2005, Tracy Boechler with the University of British Columbia published an article on whether cow tipping was possible. According to her findings, a 1.45-meter-tall cow would need the equivalent of 4.43 people to be tipped over. The static physics of the issue say two people might be able to tip a cow, Doctor of Zoology Margo Lillie said. But the cow would have to be tipped quickly the cows centre of mass would have to be pushed over its hoof before the cow could react. Modern Farmer added proof to the implausibility of cow tipping. Modern Farmer compared cow tipping to cow casting. According to Modern Farmer, cow casting is when a farm needs a cow on its side, typically for veterinarian purposes. Farmers will use a series of ropes and people pulling from different directions to carefully get a cow onto its side. Modern Farmer said when cattle casting goes badly, it can go very bad indeed. Machine gun ban found unconstitutional in part by KS Court In a book by Professor Emeritus of Biology at Duke University, Steven Vogel, Glimpses of Creatures in Their Physical Worlds, Vogel contested the number of humans needed to tip a cow. Vogel said that if a cow moderately widens its stance about 4,000 newtons of force or 14 people would be needed to tip the cow. Quite a challenge to deploy without angering the cow, Vogel wrote. For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) Cranston Mayor Ken Hopkins is receiving criticism from both of his mayoral rivals for issuing an executive order that gives police the power to break up homeless encampments. Hopkins told 12 News on Wednesday the decision was in the interest of public safety. Its a terrible quality of life for the neighbors that live around there, he said. And these encampments, especially if theyre doing illegal activities like drugs and prostitution, Im not going to allow it. BACKGROUND: New executive order gives Cranston police power to break up homeless encampments But at a news conference Thursday, Republican candidate Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung criticized Hopkins approach. I would have been much more aggressive months ago in trying to find these people find permanent housing, she said. Democratic mayoral candidate Robert Ferri, a member of the City Council, expressed his own surprise about the executive order, since Hopkins and the council have been in talks about a possible ordinance on the encampments. Everybody agreed that we needed a longer-term solution, Ferri said. So we continued the ordinance so we could get the experts to the table and figure out what it is were going to do to solve the problem, rather than just if we take them and move them from one place to another. Originally, Hopkins had proposed an ordinance giving police the authority to remove people from their encampments after 24 hours, with a $50 fine. The new executive order, which took effect immediately on Wednesday, did not include the fine and required police to reach out to social services first. In a joint statement Thursday, the Cranston City Council condemned the decision. It is unfortunate that rather than choosing to work with the City Council the Mayor has chosen to act on his own accord, the council wrote. We all need to rest assured that if crimes are committed by persons, homeless or housed, the police are sworn to protect our community and enforce the laws. WHERE THEY STAND: Candidates for Cranston mayor and other local races Hopkins issued the executive order after the principal of Stone Hill Elementary emailed parents Tuesday there were reports of an encampment next to the school. Hopkins initially told 12 News Wednesday afternoon there were no signs of an encampment there, but Thursday morning a spokesperson for the mayors office said they have since found evidence of one. Well make sure that well have police details there, Hopkins said Wednesday. Theyre going to go in and put a new fence up to enclose the open area. In the meantime, Fenton-Fung announced a cease and desist against Hopkins for what she called an inaccurate attack mailer. Holding a press conference outside City Hall on Thursday, she called the move desperate. This piece of trash mailer is so bad, the mayor has started to distance himself from it, she said. In a statement to 12 News, Hopkins called the mailer fair game. She has run a relentlessly negative campaign from the moment she divided the Cranston Republican Party by entering this race, he said. Hopkins then accused Fenton-Fung of having a liberal voting record as a state representative. The winner of the Sept. 10 primary between Hopkins and Fenton-Fung will go on to face Ferri in the November election. Early voting for the primary is already being held at the Pastore Youth Center in Cranston. VOTER GUIDE: Key dates and how to find your polling place Kate Wilkinson (kwilkinson@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter for 12 News. Connect with her 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. NEW BERN, N.C. (WNCT) Back-to-School week continues as WNCT is giving you an inside look at how counties across Eastern N.C. are approaching the new school year. Empty school buildings across Eastern North Carolina are about to be filled with students once again as a new school year begins. In Craven County, a new strategic plan was unveiled that will provide the foundation for the districts next five years. I think Im most excited about the new strategic plan. Its a five-year plan. We really are focusing on the community as our partners, and we call it the Craven commitment on student success supporting our teachers, because teacher recruitment and retention is really difficult nationwide right now, Superintendent of Craven County Schools Dr. Wendy Miller said. So we need to make sure that we focus on the areas that are important to our teachers and students. Success is really important to someone whos working in the teaching field. Craven Early College High School has already welcomed students back. Their main focus is on the students mental health. This year, we have a couple of initiatives that are really going to raise the bar for us and we have some wellness days where were going to really prioritize wellness activities for our students, Dr. Marlow Artis of Craven Early College High School said. So on Fridays here at our school, we have abbreviated Fridays, so our students are dismissed at 12. And so thats another way for us to be able to meet their specific needs with those wellness days we have planned. The strategic plan addresses a specific need for each school. I am really looking forward to what the strategic plan looks like in each of our buildings, Dr. Miller said. And the unique thing is its not going to look the same at Havelock High School as it is at Craven Early College. And thats what I think makes public school so wonderful is we mirror the community we serve. The 2024-25 school year has already been one with promise. A lot of folks ask me when we start planning the last day of school, the next day is our planning. For the following year, weve had summer leadership with all our leaders across the district, planning what were going to do for the new strategic plan, Dr. Miller said. Weve had guest speakers in, weve had staff development across the state. Learning never stops for our teachers. And thats so important because were models for our students that learning is a lifelong endeavor. Craven County Schools are looking forward to unveiling the new strategic plan which took more than eight months of planning to gather 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 WNCT. TEHRAN, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- A senior policeman was assassinated by "terrorists" on Friday in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. Hossein Piri, deputy public security police chief of Khash County, was killed by "terrorists" near his house at noon as Piri just ended his duty at the Friday prayers, the report said. Further details about the incident will be announced later, according to Tasnim. Bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, Sistan and Baluchestan province has witnessed several terrorist attacks on both civilians and security forces over the past years. LAWRENCEBURG, Tenn. (WKRN) Multiple crews responded to an industrial fire in Lawrenceburg Thursday evening, according to the Lawrenceburg Fire Department. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com Lawrenceburg Fire Chief Jay Moore told News 2 that units received the call at 6:54 p.m. from a pull station inside TPR Federal Mogul on Hefton Drive. Crews arrived to find fire near a furnace containing iron ore. The fire was contained to one pit at 7:40 p.m., though not completely extinguished. The Lawrenceburg Fire Department received assistance from Lawrence County Fire & Rescue as well as other units, Moore said. Crews utilized sand to help put out the fire. Damage was sustained to the furnace and smoke damage was sustained on other parts of the building as well, Moore added. Nobody was injured. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com The cause of the fire is still 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 WKRN News 2. LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) Multiple fire crews responded to reports of people potentially trapped inside a fire at an apartment building in Lancaster early Friday morning. According to the Elizabethtown Fire Department Station 74, firefighters were called to the scene around 1:00 a.m. to find smoke protruding from a three-story apartment building on West High Street in Elizabethtown. Flames quickly spread to the attic, forcing the command to call a second alarm, said the fire department. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now This Week in Pennsylvania Multiple fire crews searched the building and reported that nobody was trapped inside. The Elizabethtown Fire Department said it took crews two hours to tackle the fire. An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway by the Pennsylvania State Fire Marshal. There are no confirmed injuries at this time. 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. New York City Council Member Yusef Salaam speaks as, from left, members of the Central Park Five Kevin Richardson, Korey Wise and Raymond Santana stand with Rev. Al Sharpton during Day Four of the 2024 Democratic National Convention held at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois on August 22, 2024. | Nathan Howard/Sipa USA/Newscom Criminal justice reform and police accountability were once center-stage in Democratic politics, but four years after the massive protests of 2020, they've been replaced by more law enforcementfriendly rhetoric and quietly cut from the party platform. At the 2024 Democratic National Convention, which wrapped up in Chicago last night, one of the only major acknowledgments of criminal justice issues was an appearance by four of the five members of the Central Park Fivea group of black and Hispanic teenagers who were convicted of raping a jogger in Central Park in 1989 but who were cleared in 2002 by DNA evidence and the confession of another man. Following the crime, Donald Trump took out full-page advertisements in four New York City newspapers calling for the Central Park Five to be executed, and the former president has refused to apologize for it in the years since they were exonerated. "He called us animals. He spent $85,000 on a full-page ad in The New York Times calling for our execution," one of the men, Korey Wise, said at the DNC. "We were innocent kids, but we served a total of 41 years in prison." That was the exception, though. Tonally, the DNC was an embrace of law enforcement and Kamala Harris' prosecutor background, complete with a parody video of the intro to the Law and Order TV series. This is part of Democrats' "prosecutor vs. felon" messaging, which attempts to contrast Trump's criminal record with Harris' law-and-order bona fides. (For a more full accounting of Harris' record as a district attorney and California attorney general, read Elizabeth Nolan Brown's definitive 2019 piece for Reason, "Kamala Harris Is a Cop Who Wants To Be President.") The DNC even brought out a real police officer, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson of Michigan, to show that Democrats can back the blue and vice versa. "As a prosecutor, Kamala Harris protected us by putting violent criminals and sex offenders behind bars," Swanson said. "If I was in the courtroom, she's exactly the tough prosecutor that I'd want to see." Swanson's inclusion was indicative of how much, or how little, thought the DNC organizers gave to criminal justice issues. Swanson was one of two Michigan sheriffs named in a class-action lawsuit filed earlier this year accusing county officials of colluding with large prison telecom companies to end face-to-face jail visitations and then price-gouge families who are forced to rely on phone calls and video chat services, in return for major kickbacks. Other speakers emphasized how Harris worked as a prosecutor to protect not only victims but also defendants unjustly swept up into the system. The differences between 2020 and 2024 were hard to ignore. In her 2020 DNC speech accepting the nomination for vice president, Harris noted "the excessive use of force by police" and broader inequities in the criminal justice system. She name-dropped George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Harris' speech last night didn't mention the police, except in passing references to the January 6 riot. The 2024 Democratic Party platform has several conspicuous absences as well: It doesn't call for abolishing the federal death penalty like it did in 2016 and 2020, doesn't promise to decriminalize marijuana, and doesn't mention mandatory minimum sentences at all. While the 2020 platform called police brutality a "stain on the soul of our nation," the 2024 platform merely notes that "there are places in America today where the bonds of trust [between police and communities] are frayed or broken." Republicans, meanwhile, completely abandoned criminal justice reform at their national convention in July. The Republican Party's 2012 and 2016 platforms praised red states for creating diversion and reentry programs, and the 2020 RNC featured a speech by Alice Johnson, a federal drug offender who Trump freed from a life sentence. But there was no place for that kind of thing amid the claims at this year's RNC that a plague of crime and lawlessness is sweeping the country. The problem with Republicans' attempts to tie Democrats to rising crime, though, is that crime isn't rising anymore. The crime spike was four years ago, and now crime rates are falling fasthistorically fast, if the preliminary data holds up. As Reason's Jacob Sullum recently wrote, Trump's claims that "homicides are skyrocketing in American cities under Kamala Harris" is simply not supported by the numbers. In a race to beat each other, Democrats and Republicans are turning their backs on one of the few laudable things they worked together on over the past decade, for reasons that are either opportunistic or imaginary. The post Criminal Justice Reform Took a Back Seat at the 2024 DNC appeared first on Reason.com. In the weeks leading up to Vice President Kamala Harris speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention, questions swirled about how she would introduce herself as the person at the top of the ticket. These congregations are an opportunity for party nominees to pitch their vision for the future and audition for the role of president. It is a performance of confidence and, in effect, a ceremony of promise. Who did Harris, whose eleventh-hour entrance into the race energized the slumbering Democratic base, want to be? Standing at the podium on Thursday evening in Chicago, Harris accepted her partys nomination while fervently embracing her role as prosecutor in chief. She wore a navy blue suit and a pleated bow tie blouse, both by Chloe. Affixed to her left lapel was a pin of the American flag. Her hair, silk pressed, brushed against her shoulders with its signature effortlessness as she gesticulated, occasionally revealing another Harris staple: a delicate pair of pearl earrings. More from The Hollywood Reporter The ensemble relayed the gravity of this historical moment and the vice presidents command of the stage. She, the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, represented the future of America a nation, per the oft-repeated phrase, that is not going back. If you listen closely to the details of her stories, youll notice that Harris seems to have prepared for this role her whole life. She opened her DNC speech with the usual family history: Her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, moved to the Bay Area when she was 19 years old with the dream of finding a cure for breast cancer. There, she met Harris father, Donald, a Marxist economist. The two married and raised Harris and her sister, Maya, to be fair, forthright and fearless. Those traits became useful when Harris was a teenager and learned that her friend, Wanda, was being sexually abused. A young Harris, as the nominee likes to tell it, jumped into action and encouraged Wanda to move in with Harris and her family. This is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor, Harris said in her speech. To protect people like Wanda, because I believe everyone has a right to safety, to dignity and to justice. When Harris delivers this line, the crowd, amped by her presence, explodes into cheers and applause. The vice presidents public performance has come a long way since her first presidential campaign in 2019. Harris looks more comfortable onstage these days a reflection, perhaps, of the number of crowds shes had to work. Rarely did her eyes rest on the teleprompter for more than a beat during tonights speech. Instead, she surveyed the arena with a quiet intensity, as if trying to make eye contact with every person in the room. Her storytelling had grown less studied, too, adopting the lithe cadences of executive candidates past and present. Tonight, Harris channeled the agility and forcefulness of her days as attorney general and senator. Plainly put, she appeared presidential. Its eerie how the past, present and future can echo one another so loudly. Harris vision for America is one of continuity rather than dramatic change. Throughout the evening, an odd procession of speakers graced the stage members of the Exonerated Five were followed by prosecutors; speeches by survivors of mass shootings came right before those by police sheriffs boasting of larger budgets and safer cities. One might wonder, with the din of USA chants in the background, if this was indeed the Democratic National Convention and not a Republican one from a different, less right-wing-extremist era. As current vice president, Harris is tied to the incumbent. Where another candidate might counter Joe Bidens decisions and challenge his track record, Harris is unwilling to agitate. The few policy plans she put forward mostly offer a prolongation of the current status quo a bipartisan border control bill, for example in order to save America from the threat of a new one. Its striking the number of times former president and current Republican nominee Donald Trumps name came up in Harris speech and the remarks given throughout the evening. The specter has become an obsession. When Harris talked about Trump, her speech gained an energy only rivaled by the zeal with which she talked about Americas military prowess. On the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza which has become, for many voters, one of the defining issues of this race Harris offered very little of the kind of imagination and future-forward thinking that had been touted all evening. While repeating the party line about a tireless attempt to reach a ceasefire, she reiterated a commitment to arming Israel while simultaneously gesturing toward a vague Palestinian self-determination. It was a disappointing moment, considering no Palestinians spoke on the main stage during the four-day gathering, and given that Cook County is home to the largest Palestinian American population in the United States. Earlier on Thursday, as a result of the DNCs decision not to let a Palestinian speak, Muslim Women for Harris disbanded and withdrew their support for the candidate. Harris and her running mate Tim Walz have built their campaign as a kind of anti-Trump rainbow coalition of representation. And the vice president completed the assignment tonight, with no shortage of flair. But watching her repeatedly invoke Trump and make overtures toward his more wavering supporters, one might wonder who, as the nation propels forward, gets left behind. Best of The Hollywood Reporter WARSAW, Poland The Croatian Ministry of Defence has announced plans to acquire High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, for the countrys armed forces. Modernization, as well as the introduction of new weapons and equipment into operational use, directly enhance the existing [capacities] and develop new capabilities of the Croatian Armed Forces, a defense spokesperson told Defense News. The priorities for [the] modernization are defined during the defense planning process. The Croatian ministry is planning to equip and modernize the Croatian Armed Forces with M142 HIMARS for which the signing of a government-to-government agreement with the government of the United States of America is expected by the end of 2024, according to the spokesperson. The official did not disclose the number of systems that are to be delivered to the Croatian military. Should the order materialize, Croatia will join a rapidly growing number of central and eastern European allies who have ordered HIMARS for their armed forces in the aftermath of Russias invasion of Ukraine. These include Poland, which, under a contract signed in February 2019, purchased 20 HIMARS launchers for some $414 million. In September 2023, then-Defence Minister Mariusz Baszczak inked a framework deal to acquire up to 486 HIMARS units. Throughout the region, HIMARS has also been ordered by Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania. The Ukrainian military has used the artillery system to combat Russias attack. Headlining speaker Vice President Kamala Harris entered the packed arena Thursday night to deafening applause and cheers of Kamala. The chants and cheers of jubilance were so loud that Harris was not able to start her speech for several minutes. On the fourth and final night of the Democratic National Convention, the vice president officially accepted her nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate for the 2024 election and delivered her much anticipated remarks not just to Democratic voters in the room and at home, but to Republicans, Independents and the undecideds. I know there are people of various political views watching tonight. And I want you to know: I promise to be a president for all Americans, Harris said. You can always trust me to put country above party and self. To hold sacred Americas fundamental principles from the rule of law, to free and fair elections, to the peaceful transfer of power. Harris makes a point of articulating her commitment to the "peaceful transfer of power" after officially accepting the nomination Thursday night. pic.twitter.com/X1stH7JlJ6 Talking Points Memo (@TPM) August 23, 2024 Harris began her address talking about her family and those who helped raise her, as well as her career and accomplishments as a district attorney, the attorney general of California and her time as a United States senator. With a punchy, passionate delivery, Harris homed in on the theme of the night and the driving force behind her acceptance speech: the future. Not just the future she wants to deliver for all Americans but the future of the country if Trump were to get back into the Oval Office. This election is not only the most important of our lives, it is one of the most important in the life of our nation, Harris said. In many ways Donald Trump is an unserious man, but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious. Consider not only the chaos and calamity when he was in office, but also the gravity of what has happened since he lost the last election. Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes. When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol where they assaulted law enforcement officers. Harris: In many ways Donald Trump is an unserious man, but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serioushe tried to throw away your votes. When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the Capitol where they assaulted law enforcement officers pic.twitter.com/muKQlUGMfe Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 23, 2024 In unity there is strength. Our opponents are out there every day denigrating America, talking about how terrible everything is. Well my mother had another lesson she used to teach: never let anyone tell you who you are, you show them who you are, Harris said as she wrapped up her speech. America let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for. Freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness and endless possibilities Together let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told. Here are some of the other standout themes from the final night of the convention: The Climate Crisis This is a topic that has not been raised much over the past three days. But the DNC made a concerted effort to focus on the climate crisis and Harris record on the issue Thursday night. We have a responsibility to take care of our planet. Donald Trump never learned that lesson. He called the climate crisis a hoax, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said. An American president must lead the world in tackling climate change. We need a president who understands that assignment. Thats Kamala Harris, she added. I know her record. She held polluters accountable for spilling oil into the San Francisco Bay. She defended President Obamas Clean Power Plan in court. And as Vice President she cast the tie breaking vote for the most ambitious climate action plan in our nations history. Polling has shown that addressing climate change is a top issue for young voters. Following Haalands speech, the first Gen Z candidate to be elected to Congress, Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL), took the stage to articulate just how pressing the threat is and to knock Trump for downplaying it. As a Florida man, Im here to tell you that the climate crisis isnt some far off threat. It is here. Trump and Vance think they can divide us by saying this crisis is some type of hoax, Frost said. But Ive walked the streets of communities that have been forced to rebuild after hurricane flooding destroyed their homes And Ive felt the scorching, record heat. Fighting the climate crisis is patriotic, Frost later added. Maxwell Frost: As a Florida man, I'm here to tell you that the climate crisis isn't some far off threat. It is here. Trump and Vance think they can divide us by saying this crisis is some kind of hoax. But I've walked the streets of communities that have been forced to rebuild. pic.twitter.com/TnsmhSfYyA Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 23, 2024 Gun Violence Similar to the abortion portion we watched earlier this week, the segment on gun violence was built around horrific, gut wrenching first person accounts from survivors and friends and families of victims of gun violence. A teacher who lost her colleagues and students during the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. A mom who lost her daughter in the Uvalde school shooting. An aunt who lost her niece to a random bullet during a shooting that broke out at Myrtle Beach. A student who witnessed a classmate get shot in a drive by shooting near his school in Chicago. It was a powerful moment that also stood to counter Republicans vehement, long standing record fighting against any form of common sense gun control that victims of mass shootings have long advocated for. absolutely gut wrenching the DNC features testimonials from women who lost students and children during mass shootings pic.twitter.com/wMpRvCwUOo Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 23, 2024 Former congresswoman and gun violence survivor Gabby Giffords (D-AZ) also took the stage with her husband Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) to speak to Harris record on rejecting the gun lobby. Kamala can beat the gun lobby. She can fight gun trafficking, Giffords said. The DNC also put together a video highlighting moments of Trumps indifference to gun violence and showcasing Harriss record on the issue. The Troops As soon as Harris announced Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, Trump, his running mate Sen. JD Vance and other Trump allies went out of their way to attack Walzs military record, surfacing lies that Walz ran for Congress in order to avoid being deployed. Its a myth thats been debunked repeatedly in recent weeks. Its also rich coming from Trump who evaded the draft. Democrats made a point of bringing in a large contingent of speakers on Thursday evening, many of them veterans, who not only spoke to Harris record of supporting the troops and fighting for veteran services, but also highlighted the sharp contrast between Harris and Trumps incessant disrespect for the military throughout his time in the White House. One of those speakers was former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Harris understands what our military is for. The role of our military is to defend us from foreign enemies. It is not to threaten Americans and it sure as hell isnt to put immigrants in camps, Panetta said. We face a critical choice, he added. To vote for someone who stands with our military and stands up for democracy or someone who will disrespect our heroes and undermine our democracy. My fellow Americans there is only one choice. One choice. And let me tell you something when she takes her oath of office our allies will cheer, our enemies will fear and we will have a commander in chief that we can trust. Leon Panetta: Harris understands what our military is for. The role of our military is to defend us from foreign enemies. It is not to threaten Americans and it sure as hell isn't to put immigrants in camps when she takes her oath of office, our allies will cheer. pic.twitter.com/vNPCqPWNVP Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 23, 2024 Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) also made an appearance, bringing out a large group of veterans out onto the stage with him. We put country over politics. We were proud to wear the uniform and were proud serving our country in city halls, state capitals, the U.S. House and the Senate. But politicians like Donald Trump, they dont stand with us, Gallego added. They call patriots like Sen. McCain losers. John McCain was an American hero. Show some respect. Ruben Gallego brings out fellow Democrats who have served in the military and then says, "Politicians like Donald Trump don't stand with us. They call patriots like Sen. McCain 'losers.' John McCain was an American history. Show some respect." pic.twitter.com/PMuwfTtJNd Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 23, 2024 BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) The University of Colorado Boulder is holding its Freshman Kickoff Rally on Friday at 7 p.m., when 6,000 incoming freshmen will eagerly await the beginning of their collegiate careers as they cram into Folsom Field. Students from all walks of life will meet and mingle and celebrate the new stage in their journey. One student partaking in the festivities has had to overcome many challenges to join this group of students. This mountain town spa is the second-best in the US Luca, an incoming 18-year-old freshman, has had to battle cancer. Through perseverance, heart, and hard work, Luca is now cancer-free. His efforts in his battle against cancer have not gone unrecognized and Make-A-Wish Colorado is ready to help him embark on this major step in his life. Working with the foundation, Luca said his wish was to see if he could get tuition assistance to attend CU Boulder. His wish was granted and he is in the exposition of his four years of college, but with his collegiate goals, he may be in school for quite some time after that. Luca plans to major in astronomy during his time at the school, with an emphasis on astrophysics/physics. After graduating, he plans to receive his doctorate in the field so he can contribute to research. Man behind the money: Instagrammer hides cash around Colorado for followers to find With such an interest in the stars, Luca must become comfortable with temporarily being a star himself. During the Freshman Kickoff Rally Luca will be introduced and honored by all 6,000 of his new classmates. Quite the extravagant celebration will surely give him all the motivation he needs as he begins this milestone experience in his life. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. DA identifies man killed after rock ledge collapses on excavator at industrial site in Sterling DA identifies man killed after rock ledge collapses on excavator at industrial site in Sterling Authorities on Friday identified the man killed after a rock ledge collapsed on an excavator at an industrial site in Sterling on Thursday morning. Emergency crews responding to an Onyx Corporation quarry at 17 Stone Crest Way near Chocksett Road just before 8 a.m. learned an excavator operator was trapped beneath a pile of rubble after a portion of a rock ledge crumbled down on top of the heavy machinery. The worker, who the Worcester District Attorneys Office identified as 67-year-old Townsend native Brian Curtis Derby, was recovered from the rubble Friday morning. Crews with the District 8 Technical Rescue Team, which included assets from Barre, Clinton, Leominster, Fitchburg, Gardner, Holden, Sterling, and West Boylston worked through the night to recover Derbys body. Crews used camera equipment to assess the scene of the collapse and determined there were no signs of life, a spokesperson for the DAs office said in a statement. Onyx Corporation operates a demolition and excavation company, providing sand, gravel, and other aggregate needs. Brian was a dedicated 11-year employee of the company and was respected and loved by many. We will continue to provide support to Brians friends and family, Onyx Corporation. Professional counseling is being provided to everyone at the company while we mourn this tragic loss, they added. Large emergency response in Sterling after ledge at rock quarry collapses on worker Large emergency response in Sterling after ledge at rock quarry collapses on worker Large emergency response in Sterling after ledge at rock quarry collapses on worker Large emergency response in Sterling after ledge at rock quarry collapses on worker Large emergency response in Sterling after ledge at rock quarry collapses on worker Large emergency response in Sterling after ledge at rock quarry collapses on worker Large emergency response in Sterling after ledge at rock quarry collapses on worker Large emergency response in Sterling after ledge at rock quarry collapses on worker Large emergency response in Sterling after ledge at rock quarry collapses on worker Large emergency response in Sterling after ledge at rock quarry collapses on worker Large emergency response in Sterling after ledge at rock quarry collapses on worker Large emergency response in Sterling after ledge at rock quarry collapses on worker Large emergency response in Sterling after ledge at rock quarry collapses on worker After the ledge collapsed, the Sterling Select Board held an emergency meeting and sent a cease-and-desist order to Onyx, calling on them to suspend earth removal until after an investigation is conducted at the site, Town Administrator William Caldwell confirmed in a statement. In a Facebook post, Onyx announced the closure of their locations in Acton, Leominster, Westford, and Sterling through the weekend. It will resume business on Monday. In a statement, Onyx said: Our hearts go out to the family of our longtime employee and friend who was killed in a tragic accident this morning at our Sterling Sand and Gravel pit. He was operating an excavator within the safety zone of a 100-foot ledge face when the wall collapsed; we are not releasing his name pending notification of next of kin. Leading the investigation onsite is the Mining Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) who had been at the facility as recently as Tuesday for a company-requested inspection due to expanded operations. Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the DAs office are assisting Sterling police and fire officials with the investigation. 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 DANVILLE, Ill. (WCIA) The Board of Trustees at Danville Area Community College is conducting an investigation into its president following a complaint filed by the Mayor of Danville regarding a recent series of conversations the two of them had. Mayor Rickey Williams took to social media on Thursday to share images of the texting exchange between him and Dr. Stephen Nacco, as well as an open letter he sent to the Board regarding these exchanges. In his letter, Williams called Naccos behavior aggressively disrespectful, dishonest, and threatening and asked that the Board take action to prevent it from happening again. The dispute between Williams and Nacco started when Williams said in his open letter that he received an email from Nacco on Aug. 2, which Williams provided in his social media post. In that email, Nacco said the Immigration Project, a Chicago-based program, is seeking Illinois grant money to recruit undocumented people as workers in downstate Illinois. Nacco added that he believed Danville and DACC to be a good fit for 20 or so people and that he would be signing a letter of support for the grant. He asked Williams if the City of Danville would like to send a similar letter of support. Williams declined, calling the idea a terrible idea for a host of reasons. He offered to call Nacco to explain. Parkland Board of Trustees approves faculty, support staff bargaining agreements Williams said in his letter that during that call, he reiterated his disapproval of the idea and asked if the Board of Trustees was aware and supportive of his efforts. He rather emphatically stated, I dont have to ask them, I RUN THE COLLEGE, IM IN CHARGE! Williams alleged. Williams further alleged that their dispute continued days later at a Vermilion Advantage Executive Committee meeting, which both of them attended. He said that while discussing the Immigration Project and explaining why the City of Danville could not support it, without mentioning Nacco by name, Nacco interrupted him by calling him a liar and a political hack. Williams alleged that the two of them came face-to-face, just inches apart, and that Nacco called him boy during that exchange. Williams explained in his letter to the Board of Trustees that boy has been historically used as a racial slur. Williams alleged that Nacco denied his use of the word when immediately confronted but admitted and apologized for it in a text message to Williams, a text Williams provided in his social media post. Danville Village Mall building sold with more entertainment, dining on the way Despite asking him not to contact me via text, he then texted me again on Friday, August 9th asking if we could meet so he could offer me a proper apology, Williams said in his letter. Respectfully, after the continuous deluge of disrespect, dishonesty, and nearly violent behavior, I do not feel comfortable or safe around him. As such, I have also taken action to protect myself to the fullest extent of the law. Williams also added in his social media post that because of his refusal to write a letter of support for the Immigration Project, they rescinded their application for grant money. The DACC Board of Trustees confirmed to WCIA that following their receipt of Williams letter, they are conducting a review into his allegations. Once the investigation is completed, the Board will take appropriate action, the Board said in a statement. Dr. Nacco trusts the process and the board implicitly to resolve the issue. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) Friday on the Daily 8, were looking at an initiative to end homelessness in Grand Rapids, restoration efforts for the Grand River, your Weekend Planner and more. You can watch the full Daily 8 for Aug. 23, 2024, in the video player above or check out any of the stories mentioned below: Each weekday, the Daily 8 brings you the top eight stories we are keeping an eye on in and around West Michigan. Join us again Monday for the Daily 8. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. TASHKENT, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- A meeting took place in Tashkent Friday between the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev who is on a state visit to Uzbekistan. According to the press service of the President of Uzbekistan, the two parties discussed issues of further deepening and expanding the strategic partnership and multifaceted cooperation between Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. "The head of our state expressed deep satisfaction, noting that the state visit of the President of Azerbaijan to Uzbekistan has become a historic event in the development of the centuries-old friendly relations between the two countries," the statement said. Mirziyoyev emphasized that one of the key outcomes of the visit was the signing of a treaty on allied relations. According to the leader of Uzbekistan, this marks the beginning of a new chapter in strengthening interstate cooperation and confirms the firm commitment of both sides to the comprehensive development of multifaceted partnership. It was reported that during the visit, the first meeting of the High Interstate Council also took place, which is intended to become an effective mechanism for developing and implementing new proposals to deepen allied relations. It is noted that at the invitation of Mirziyoyev, Aliyev is visiting Uzbekistan on a state visit on Aug. 22-23. NewsNation Donald Trump abruptly ended an interview near the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona on Thursday, claiming were in danger in light of how authorities in that state have been unable to find a man who threatened to kill him. NewsNation reporter Ali Bradley, citing the situation in southern Arizona, couldnt get her full question out before Trump cut things short. Can I tell you something, he said. Were in danger standing here talking, so lets not talk any longer. No, I know about it, but they dont want me standing here. They dont want you standing here either. Trump then got into his vehicle surrounded by Secret Service agents. The majority of Bradleys interview concerned Trumps relationship with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who will reportedly drop out of the race and endorse the former president. Kennedy also seems to be seeking the promise of a Cabinet position if Trump were to be elected. In the brief interview, Trump claimed he and Kennedy havent talked about that yet, but didnt rule it out. Well see. I have a lot of respect for him, and I think hes a lot of respect for me. I just heard this as news flashes, and you know, weve had a good relationship for a long period of time. If he endorses, that would be an honor for me, Trump said. I have good respect for him. Smart guy. A little different, but very smart. And we will take his endorsement. Kennedy and Trump are both scheduled to hold campaign events in Arizona on Friday, about 30 minutes apart. When asked if they would meet up on the same stage, Trump didnt reveal much at all. Well see what happens, he said. 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. EMERY COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) Search and rescue crews are planning another big push for this weekend to find a 64-year-old Utah County man who went missing near Goblin Valley nearly two weeks ago, according to family members. Howard Stone traveled to Emery County to hike Little Wild Horse Slot Canyon on Aug. 10. When his family did not hear from him the next day, authorities immediately began a search operation during on and off monsoonal storms. PREVIOUS STORY: Search continues for Utah County hiker missing in slot canyon Since the initial response, crews have used an airplane, helicopters, ATVs, dirt bikes, and K-9s to look for Stone. Search crews from several agencies as well as family and friends have searched the slot canyon and surrounding areas by foot. Stones daughter, Jessica Church, spoke to the immense effort that has gone into searching for her father. Howard Stone, center, stands by his daughter Jessica Church, center right, and other family members. (Credit: Jessica Church) Everywhere youd go, even in the most random places that were so far off the path, youd see footprints of other people that had already searched there, which was just so good for our hearts but also disappointing that they hadnt found him, she said. When the search efforts began, Church said she stayed in her home in Illinois with her children expecting that he would be found within the first couple of days. When he was not found, she flew out to join the crews on the ground. Once I got out there and you see how vast it is and how big of an area it is, it makes a lot more sense even with helicopters and planes and everything why they havent been able to find him, Church said. She said the Emery County Sheriffs Office is planning another search this weekend. She believes they may focus on searching near the riverbed, however, she said the area has been so thoroughly searched she does not know where else to look. I just feel like every path, everywhere in the vicinity of Little Wild Horse has been explored so many times, she said. I think were all stumped. Stones car was found at the Little Wild Horse trailhead on Sunday morning, Aug. 11. Several days after Stones disappearance, the family offered a $10,000 reward for anyone who could lead authorities to him in hopes of motivating people to join the search efforts. While the reward is still out there, Church said the family is less hopeful than they were when they first offered it. Howard Stone, 64, is missing in Emery County. His vehicle was found near Little Wild Horse canyon. He has not been heard from since Saturday, Aug. 10. (Credit: Trevor Dahl) Now, Church says they are hoping for answers as to what might have happened to her father. It just kind of kills you to think of him out there somewhere, Church said. Youd hope for a miracle, but at this point, we just want to find him no matter what. Stone shared her immense gratitude for the Emery County Sheriffs Office, Goblin Valley park rangers, search and rescue teams, and friends and family who volunteered their time to participate in the search efforts. Our hearts are broken but somehow full, because people have just shown up in the most thoughtful ways, 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 ABC4 Utah. On August 23, 1927, despite worldwide demonstrations on their behalf, the state of Massachusetts executed Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco (R) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, pictured here in 1923 at Massachusetts Superior Court in Dedham. File Photo courtesy of the Boston Public Library/Wikimedia Aug. 23 (UPI) -- On this date in history: In 1914, the British Expeditionary Force fought on European soil for the first time since the 1815 Battle of Waterloo in a confrontation with the German army in the Battle of Mons in Belgium. In 1927, despite worldwide demonstrations on their behalf, the state of Massachusetts executed Italian-born anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti for murder. In 1939, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact. Less than two years later, Germany launched a blitzkrieg attack on Russia. In 1945, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Marcario Garcia became the first Mexican national to receive the U.S. Medal of Honor. He sustained multiple injuries while single-handedly eliminating a machine gun position, allowing his company to advance in Germany during World War II. A worker installs rigging as inspection begins to check the Washington Monument for additional damage following the August 23, 2011, earthquake in Washington, D.C., on September 27, 2011. File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI In 1982, Beirut Christian leader Beshir Gemayel was elected president of Lebanon. He was assassinated less than one month later and was succeeded by his brother Amin. In 1990, East and West Germany announced they would reunite on Oct. 3. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin (L) and German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop shake hands after signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact on August 23, 1939. File Photo courtesy of the German Federal Archive File Photo by Roger L. Wollenberg/UPI In 2008, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois confirmed he chose fellow Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware as his vice presidential running mate at the top of the Democratic Party ticket. Then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., (L) and then-Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., greet the crowd during a rally at which Obama announced Biden as his running mate at the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., on August 23, 2008. File Photo by Darrell Hoemann/UPI In 2010, rescue workers at a caved-in gold and copper mine in northern Chile made radio contact with 33 men trapped nearly 2,300 feet underground for 17 days who had found refuge in a small emergency shelter that had water and ventilation. In an unrelenting effort, all hands were rescued two months later. In 2011, a 5.8-magnitude earthquake, unusually strong for the eastern United States, rattled Washington and Virginia with shockwaves as far north as Canada. The quake was the strongest to hit Virginia in more than a century, briefly causing a power shutdown at a nuclear plant. The Washington Monument and National Cathedral in Washington were damaged by the quake. Rudolph Valentino, famed silent film actor known for his breakout role in "The Sheik," died August 23, 1926. File Photo by Library of Congress/UPI File Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI In 2017, after two major warship collisions that killed several sailors, the U.S. Navy removed Vice Adm. Joseph Aucion as the Pacific Fleet's commander. Chile's President Sebastian Pinera holds a note from miners trapped in a collapsed mine in Copiapo, Chile, on August 22, 2010. The note says the miners, 33 of them, are OK in a refuge. On August 23, 2010, rescuers made their first radio contact with the trapped miners. UPI File Photo In 2023, Wagner Mercenary Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the passenger list of a private jet that crashed in Russia, killing all 10 people on board. The crash came two months after Prigozhin led his forces in a mutiny against the Russian military amid the invasion of Ukraine. File Photo by Gray_Zone/UPI FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) Police said they arrested a woman who used tape to restrain children in her at-home day care in Baileys Crossroads. The Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) said officers went to the business, located in the 3600 block of Paul St. on Aug. 1 after they received a report about an assault. Child abuse detectives said they determined that Sumy Shah, 47, of Alexandria restrained two children with tape at the county-licensed business on a number of occasions. The Fairfax County website shows that Shahs day care offers service to children who are 3 months old to 13 years old. The business operates Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. FCPD said Shah, who faces charges of Misdemeanor Assault and Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor, turned herself in on Aug. 20. She was held on an unsecured bond before her release. PHOTOS: Vehicle overturns, catches fire on I-66 West in Fairfax County Detectives encouraged any potential witnesses or families who experienced similar encounters to those described to call the Fairfax County Police Departments Major Crimes Bureau at 703-246-7800, Option 3. People also can provide anonymous tips by calling Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (866-411-8477) or by going 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 DC News Now | Washington, DC. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) Friday marks the anniversary of a scientific concept that has dominated and will play a role in countless discussions this century: the greenhouse effect. While its impacts here are more apparent and more deeply understood in the 21st century, the concept was first broached more than 150 years ago. Ceiling shattered: Anna Bissell broke barriers as Americas first female CEO On Aug. 23, 1856, Eunice Footes research on what we now know as the greenhouse effect was presented to the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Albany, New York. Footes paper, titled Circumstances affecting the heat of the suns rays, is a historic piece for several reasons. Not only is it the first known published study on the greenhouse effect, but it was written by a woman and features some bizarre twists. While her study predates the term greenhouse gas, the concept was spelled out bluntly: More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would result in a warmer planet. Foote used some rudimentary tools to show the effect: two glass cylinders, one filled with carbon dioxide and one filled with regular air. The cylinder with carbon dioxide rose to much higher temperatures. Long struggle: How Michigan women promoted suffrage At the meeting, because a woman had never presented findings to the AAAS, Foote did not present her research. Instead, Foote asked family friend Joseph Henry to do it. Henry was a local physicist and the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the leading scientific organization in the U.S. at the time, who had previously studied with Footes husband. However, three years later, Irish scientist John Tyndall published a similar study and became known as the person who discovered the greenhouse effect. But why? According to Scientific Americans Zoe Kurland, Footes work didnt make much of a splash. Irish physicist John Tyndall was widely considered the scientist who first discovered and detailed the greenhouse effect. However, research from Eunice Foote has been found to predate his by three years. (Public Domain/New York Public Library Archives) Eunices paper didnt make it into the official conference proceedings, but she formally published it a few months later, Kurland wrote. She got a write-up in the Annual of Scientific Discovery, where Ray Sorenson first came across her, and she made it into a German publication where they mistook her for a man. Another factor working against her? By the time John Tyndall had published his paper, Eunice had moved on, Kurland continued She was looking at other scientific questions. To Tyndalls credit, his experiments were more thorough and were able to draw more conclusions, including findings on what is now known as infrared radiation. Also, there is no evidence that Tyndall had ever seen or heard of Footes research. Regardless, she deserves her place in history one that was only recently discovered. Amateur historian Ray Sorenson discovered Footes research in 2011 while digging through the 1857 Annual of Scientific Discovery. With his findings, more experts explored Footes history and learned more about her story. A clipping of Eunice Footes study titled Circumstances affecting the Heat of the Suns Rays published in 1856. (Internet Archive/The American Journal of Science) For example, Foote wasnt simply a scientist. She was also a wife and mother and a champion for womens rights. Foote was neighbors with Elizabeth Cady Stanton and attended the famous Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. She also worked on and patented several inventions alongside her husband, including a paper-making machine, a rubber shoe insert and a prototype of an ice skate. One of their inventions eventually made them rich: a rudimentary thermostat for stoves. It used a metallic piece and would expand or contract and tell you whether the stove was too hot or too cold. Pioneers paved the way for female students at the University of Michigan According to SA, several businesses infringed on their thermostat design. Lawsuits were brought all the way to the Supreme Court, which ordered the businesses to return all of their profits earned from the thermostats. The Footes received more than $60,000, which is well over $2 million in value today. Foote is now celebrated as a female pioneer of science. The American Geophysical Union launched the Eunice Newton Foote Medal for Earth-Life Science in 2022, used to recognize outstanding creative achievements in research that substantially advanced understanding of the past, present or future of key facets of the Earth 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 WOODTV.com. WASHINGTON (DC News Now) The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said it arrested a man for a shooting that happened in June in Northwest D.C. At about 12:30 p.m. on June 13, MPD responded to the sound of gunshots in the 1500 block of Benning Road NE. There, they found a man suffering from gunshot wounds. 5 displaced; 2 cats missing after Stafford County fire He was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. On Aug. 21, over two months after the shooting, MPD said they arrested 27-year-old Renard Levenberry of Northeast D.C. He was charged with Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (gun). Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Death toll from bandit attack on police in Pakistan rises to 12 People place wreath on the caskets of police officers, who were killed in the gunmen ambushed on a police convoy in a deserted area, during a funeral prayer, in Rahim Yar Khan, Pakistan, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Saddique Baloch) LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) The death toll from Pakistan's deadliest bandit attack on police rose to 12 after one of the wounded officers died in a hospital, as police pursued suspects in the eastern province of Punjab, officials said Friday. Thursdays attack with guns and rocket-propelled grenades also wounded eight officers. It took place in the Kacha area in Rahim Yar Khan district, which is known for hideouts along the Indus River where hundreds of heavily armed bandits evade police. Punjab police chief Usman Anwar said police killed a bandit leader named Bashir Shar believed to have been behind the attack and wounded five others as they pursued the gang. In a statement, Anwar said operations against the bandits will continue until all are eliminated in the province. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Anwar and other officials attended the funerals of slain officers on Friday. The Interior Ministry said Naqvi told the injured officers at a hospital that those who attacked them will have a terrible end. Bandits often rob people traveling on highways in Punjab and elsewhere in the country. Some areas in Punjab are so dangerous that people avoid traveling after sunset to avoid getting robbed, though police have cleared most no-go areas. Bandits also kidnap people for ransom in various parts of Pakistan. Abdullah Khan, a senior defense analyst and managing director of the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, said the bandits are armed with guns, rocket-propelled grenades, hand grenades and pistols. These weapons were smuggled to Pakistan from Afghanistan in recent years, and are available to the robbers too, he said. Police said the bandits ambushed a vehicle carrying officers when it broke down while passing through flooded farm fields. Pakistan has been lashed by monsoon rains since July. They said the bandits took advantage of darkness to conduct the attack. The attack was denounced by President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, who described the slain officers as martyrs. Pakistan has witnessed a surge in violence, mostly blamed on militants, in recent years, but the death of so many police officers in one attack in unprecedented. ___ Associated Press writer Asim Tanveer in Multan, Pakistan, contributed to this report. Interior Department Secretary Deb Haaland is shown on a screen speaking before an audience of thousands at the Democratic National Convention. Interior Department Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) addresses the Democratic National Convention crowd on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (Photo by Andi Murphy / Native America Calling) CHICAGO Deb Haaland brought Indigeneity front and center at the Democratic National Convention on its final night in a speech that presented an argument for environmental protections. Guwhatzi, Haaland said in the Keres language spoken by tribes in New Mexico, including Laguna Pueblo where she is from. After the traditional introduction that asked the DNC delegation how it is doing, she introduced herself by her Keres name that she translated in English to Crushed Turquoise, and announced her Turquoise Clan, the direct lineage to her family in Laguna. Then she went to a family story that explained the origin of her passion for the environment. My ancestors built lives in the high deserts of New Mexico, Haaland said. I am on this stage tonight because of them. While fishing with my dad and running through the desert, I learned that we have a responsibility to take care of our planet. Haaland is the first Native American Secretary of the Interior. The federal department is responsible for overseeing the Bureau of Indian Affairs and National Parks system. The Bureau of Indian Affairs handles federal health care, education and the foundational support for the sovereignty of Native American people under the Indian Trusts Act passed in 1882. Four years ago, President Joe Biden appointed Haaland, who at the time served as New Mexicos congressional representative for a district covering Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. Let me go back to a lesson I learned in the deserts of the Southwest, she said Thursday night. We all have a role in protecting our future generations. Haaland said Vice President Kamala Harris will fight for a future where we all have clean air, clean water and healthy communities. Her speech came in the 7 p.m. CST hour during the last night of the convention, where Harris is slated to give her nomination speech to the Democratic delegation in-person and millions of people watching on television. This story was published as part of the 2024 Native Vote Desk collaboration between ICT, Source New Mexico, States Newsroom, Native News Online, Native America Calling, National Native News, and Koahnic Broadcast Corporation. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Interior Department Secretary Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) addresses the Democratic National Convention crowd on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (Photo by Andi Murphy / Native America Calling) CHICAGO Deb Haaland brought Indigeneity front and center at the Democratic National Convention on its final night in a speech that presented an argument for environmental protections. Guwhatzi, Haaland said in the Keres language spoken by tribes in New Mexico, including Laguna Pueblo where she is from. After the traditional introduction that asked the DNC delegation how it is doing, she introduced herself by her Keres name that she translated in English to Crushed Turquoise, and announced her Turquoise Clan, the direct lineage to her family in Laguna. Then she went to a family story that explained the origin of her passion for the environment. My ancestors built lives in the high deserts of New Mexico, Haaland said. I am on this stage tonight because of them. While fishing with my dad and running through the desert, I learned that we have a responsibility to take care of our planet. Haaland is the first Native American Secretary of the Interior. The federal department is responsible for overseeing the Bureau of Indian Affairs and National Parks system. The Bureau of Indian Affairs handles federal health care, education and the foundational support for the sovereignty of Native American people under the Indian Trusts Act passed in 1882. Four years ago, President Joe Biden appointed Haaland, who at the time served as New Mexicos congressional representative for a district covering Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. Let me go back to a lesson I learned in the deserts of the Southwest, she said Thursday night. We all have a role in protecting our future generations. Haaland said Vice President Kamala Harris will fight for a future where we all have clean air, clean water and healthy communities. Her speech came in the 7 p.m. CST hour during the last night of the convention, where Harris is slated to give her nomination speech to the Democratic delegation in-person and millions of people watching on television. This story was published as part of the 2024 Native Vote Desk collaboration between ICT, Source New Mexico, States Newsroom, Native News Online, Native America Calling, National Native News, and Koahnic Broadcast Corporation. On Friday (23 August), the US Department of the Treasury announced new sanctions against certain sectors of the Russian economy, particularly the defence industry and financial institutions. The latest US sanctions target over 60 Russian technology and defence companies that play an essential role in supporting and developing the Russian defence industry, the US Department of the Treasury noted. Source: European Pravda, citing a press release from the US Treasury Department Details: The latest US sanctions list includes organisations involved in the development and modernisation of weapons, automation and robotics, development and acquisition of dual-use electronics, digital surveillance, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence. The US Treasury Department has also imposed sanctions on numerous companies in Russia's metals and mining sector, such as steel, iron, and coal mining companies and companies that service them. In addition, the US blacklist includes new Russian financial companies that provide Moscow with access to the international financial system. These sanctions include Russian developers of payment services software, such as Atol and the Financial Technology Centre group, and Diasoft, a major Russian provider of IT solutions for the financial sector. The new US sanctions list includes over 400 individuals and entities, with over 100 linked to Russia's sanctions evasion networks operating across 16 jurisdictions. Background: The last major sanctions package against Russia, announced by the US Treasury in June, targeted over 100 Russian defence companies and more than 90 foreign individuals and entities that aided Moscow in evading sanctions. Support UP or become our patron! MOSCOW, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Four staff members at a maximum-security prison (IK-19) in the Volgograd region died and four others were injured after four inmates took the employees hostage, the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) said in a statement Friday. The four prisoners took eight prison employees and four convicts hostage. All of the four convicts were injured, according to the Federal Penitentiary Service. "The criminals inflicted stab wounds of varying severity on four employees, three of whom died. Another four who resisted were hospitalized, one of whom died in the hospital," it said. The four perpetrators were eliminated in a special operation carried out by federal prison staff and the Russian National Guard. The Russian Investigative committee has initiated a criminal case into the incident. Mickey Lechwar hands a paper with his signature back to volunteer Joe Satterwhite in July as a group tries to gather signatures for a petition for a grand jury investigation into Oklahoma County Commissioner Myles Davidson in Del City. Del City officials turned in last week what they thought would be enough signatures to have an Oklahoma County commissioner investigated by a grand jury. Now, however, uncertainty over how many verified signatures were needed on their petition has one side declaring victory and the other confused about what's next. Del City organizers said they had gathered more than 5,000 signatures when they submitted the petition on Aug. 12, but the Oklahoma County Election Board validated only 4,180 of them. The group, headed by Rep. Andy Fugate, D-Del City; Mayor Floyd Eason; and local school board member Gina Standridge, have alleged that Oklahoma County Commissioner Myles Davidson should be investigated for "corruption in office and willful maladministration." Judge Kory Kirkland's June 28 order gave the group 45 days to gather "a sufficient number of signatures" to empanel a grand jury. Eason admitted uncertainty as to how many signatures were actually required, but the group, by their own unofficial count, submitted about 5,700. More: Del City opponents want detailed look at Oklahoma County's jail plans Signatures submitted by the group to Oklahoma County Court Clerk Rick Warren were turned over to the election board Aug. 13, and officials had seven days to verify that the signatures were from valid Oklahoma County voters. Julie Glisson makes a sign as a group tries to gather signatures for a petition for a grand jury investigation into Oklahoma County Commissioner Myles Davidson. Although the election board said the verified count fell short of the threshold Eason had hoped to reach, officials also said they did not have the authority to determine if the petition attempt had actually failed. "The only authority the election board has is to announce the number of certified signatures," said Oklahoma County Election Board Secretary Doug Sanderson. Judge Kirkland of Caddo and Grady counties will make the final decision. He was assigned the case in late June after Oklahoma County District Court Judge Richard Ogden recused. Kirkland's order in June cited Oklahoma Statute 38, Sections 102 and 103, which says only that petitioners have 45 days "to obtain a sufficient number of signatures," and that failure to do so within that timespan would render the petition null and void. Article 2, Section 18 of the Oklahoma Constitution also gives a numbered range of needed signatures for a petition in any county, "with the minimum number of required signatures being five hundred (500) and the maximum being five thousand (5000)," according to the statute. Eason said Wednesday he suspects that his group's submitted signature total might have been insufficient, but added that the vagueness of the language in the judge's order had left too much room for interpretation about the required number. "I've never gotten a solid answer on how many we needed," Eason said. "The judge that wrote the opinion said we needed a 'sufficient amount.' Well, what's sufficient? The minimum is 500 and the maximum is 5,000. But I haven't gotten a final absolute word from anybody yet. And if you ask five different people, you'll get five different answers." "Until the judge says, 'You didn't make it. It's over,' then I don't know," the mayor said. But comments from Commissioner Davidson sounded triumphant, as if the matter was indeed settled. Shantel Johnson signs her name during a July event to gather signatures for a petition for a grand jury investigation into Oklahoma County Commissioner Myles Davidson. "Once again we see failure as the result of a frivolous lawsuit attempt," Davidson said in a statement shared Wednesday with The Oklahoman. "It is wrong to put ego before service at the expense of the tax payer. Voters have spoken not once, but twice about the importance of public safety. I am happy to move on from this distraction and continue serving the people of Oklahoma County." Davidson has fallen under intense criticism for his actions during recent negotiations for a proposed jail site at 1901 E Grand Blvd. near the boundary between Oklahoma City and Del City. Many residents called for Davidson to recuse himself after it was discovered hed held a decades-long friendship with the property's owner, Patrick Garrett, and that he had accepted donations from Garrett during his successful 2022 campaign for the commissioner seat. Davidson denied, however, that the donation swayed his support for the potential jail site. Broken Trust: One of America's deadliest jails is in Oklahoma County What is going on with the proposed site for the new Oklahoma County jail? A legal dispute is ongoing between Oklahoma City and Oklahoma County after a city council majority earlier this May denied the county's special use permit to rezone the East Grand Boulevard site. Attorneys for Oklahoma County argue the county should be allowed to declare sovereignty over the property, adding that that the humanitarian need for a new and improved jail to replace the current aging and troubled facility was in the best interests of county residents. Eason said that calls to investigate Davidson were separate from that dispute, and that future attempts to see the county commissioner investigated were likely to still gain traction in the near future. "I don't think Myles Davidson is out of hot water, so to speak, by any means," Eason said. "I think that's going to continue until there is a resolution here through an investigation that shows the truth of what's going on, and I think that's what it's going to take to solve this. This may have been a battle that we lost today, but it's not the war." Standridge whose public records request regarding Davidson's communications furthered accusations of "backroom deals" involving the commissioner said the issue boiled down to one of transparency. "We're hopeful that we're shedding light on things that are happening maybe behind closed doors that shouldn't be happening, and should be happening in front of the people and voted on by the people as witness," Standridge said. Scott Tatom gets a sign out of his car in July as a group tries to gather signatures for a petition for a grand jury investigation into Oklahoma County Commissioner Myles Davidson. Fugate agreed, adding that, for him, the point of the petition was not about a possible new county jail location near Del City, but rather the ethical behavior of government officials. "There are a number of us who remain very concerned about the lack of transparency associated with the commissioner's relationship with the owner of that property," Fugate said. "Whether we got enough signatures or not, we're still concerned about that entire process. And, for me in particular, I don't know that this does anything to change the trajectory on where the jail goes. This was all about how we have better government through transparency." This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Confusion surrounds attempt to investigate Oklahoma County commissioner DELPHI, Ind. Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen's closed-door hearing concluded at 1:37 p.m. Friday, and the anticipated public hearing that was to follow was canceled. "There is no public hearing," Carroll County Sheriff Tony Liggett said as he stepped from the courtroom at 1:37 p.m. "That's the best I can tell you. That's all." With that, the crowd of befuddled reporters, along with podcasters, the public and the victims' families, began to leave. Indiana State Police officials and others stepped into a room with victim Libby German's family. It is not known what was said behind those closed doors. Allen is charged with two counts of murder and two counts of murder in the commission of kidnapping. Prosecutors alleged Allen killed German and Abby Williams the afternoon of Feb. 13, 2017, east of the Monon High Bridge. The case went unsolved for nearly six years until Oct. 26, 2022, when state police arrested Allen, who lived and worked in Delphi. Since his arrest, Allen and his case have received national and international attention at every hearing and with every legal filing. Friday was no exception. Even before noon, members of the media began waiting outside the Carroll Circuit Courtroom on the courthouse's third floor. While reporters waited, Allen's attorneys, Brad Rozzi and Andrew Baldwin, filed subpoenas for Department of Correction therapist Dr. Monica Walla's work records, including performance evaluations, attendance records, internal investigations regarding employment matters, and conflict of interest statements. Because of the looming Oct. 14 trial, Allen's attorneys asked Special Judge Frances Gull to order the records be turned over in 15 days, rather than the typical 30 days. In the July 31 pretrial hearings, Allen's attorneys questioned Walla's professional ethics, indicating that she "ran afoul of various best practices in her industry." Their cited reasons for these allegations are that Walla is a fan of true crime shows and podcasts, and she personally followed Allen's case. Allen's attorneys allege that Walla listened to Delphi murder podcasts while she was treating Allen as her patient. Allen's attorneys also alleged that Walla used her access to Department of Correction records and databases to find information about Kegan Kline because she was personally curious. Podcasts alleged Kline might be tied to the Delphi killings, but he has not been charged. He has, however, been convicted of child exploitation and child porn charges. He is appealing his case, according to online court records. Meanwhile, Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland was busy Friday morning filing his own motions. He asked Gull to quash a deposition subpoena for David Schilling, who is an expert in Odinism. Allen's attorneys presented a theory in September 2023 that a group of worshipers of the pre-Christian Norse religion sacrificed Libby and Abby. McLeland opposed the subpoena and deposition at this time because Gull has not yet ruled whether the defense's ritual killing theories will be allowed to be presented to jurors. For the same reason, McLeland also opposed subpoenas to two men whom Allen's attorney accuse of being Odinists and knowing details about the teenagers' killings. McLeland claimed the men "are not relevant to any issues in the case." Gull has not ruled on that motion. McLeland also opposed a subpoena and deposition for Carroll County Chief Deputy Tobe Leazenby, who was sheriff at the time of the killings and the investigations. Leazenby sat for a deposition in August 2023, and McLeland called a second deposition "cumulative and oppressive" and the request for a subpoena one made in "bad faith." Friday's hearing was conducted completely outside of the public's eye. Although those waiting did not see Allen ushered into the courtroom's back door, they did hear the unmistakable sounds of a prisoner shuffling in the hallway with shackle chains clinking in rhythm to the person's steps. About 20 minutes after the hearing was called off, security bristled on the west side of the courthouse, and a caravan of police cars drove away. Indianapolis Star reporter Kristine Phillips contributed to this report. Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2. This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen's public hearing canceled CHICAGO The biggest X-factor for any presidential candidate is a simple question consultants like to ask: Can you picture this person as president the kind of person with the dignity and seriousness needed to run the largest military on earth and handle difficult conversations with foreign leaders while sitting at the Resolute Desk? Call it the 3 a.m. phone call test, as Hillary Clinton put it in a 2008 campaign ad, describing the qualities needed to have confidence in a leaders ability to handle a crisis under pressure. On Thursday night, political leaders, military veterans and law enforcement officials came together to portray Vice President Kamala Harris as a proven leader capable of serving as commander in chief on day one. Vice President Kamala Harris greets delegates as she formally accepts the presidential nomination Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Getty Images Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer laid out something like the 3 a.m. call scenario explicitly in her remarks. The state executive affectionately known as Big Gretch conjured a situation where a busy parent gets a news alert about a terrible incident that has occurred in the country. The person would stop everything to check on family members safety and then their mind might drift to thinking about who is in the White House. What if its him? What if its that man from Mar-a-Lago? Whitmer asked. I know in a crisis we need someone strong enough to come up with a plan, to tell the truth and to bring people together, she added. Why dont we choose the leader whos tough, tested and a total badass! Of course, the evenings speakers had to balance raising weighty concerns about former President Donald Trumps fitness for high office with a consistent theme of mocking him as a lightweight and laughingstock. In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man, Harris said. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious. Here are five other takeaways: Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), right, and other Democratic veterans at the DNC on Thursday night hailed Vice President Kamala Harris as a bigger supporter of the military than Donald Trump has been. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images Democrats fully co-opted patriotism and the troops. A number of military veterans who spoke characterized Trump as a troop basher, bringing up his private description of fallen service members as suckers and losers and his mockery of the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for getting shot down during the Vietnam War. We, veterans, represent the best of our country. We stand united as veterans, Democrats and patriots to fight for everyone who served, said Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona, a Marine veteran and Democratic Senate nominee, as he was flanked by dozens of elected Democrats who served in the military. But politicians like Donald Trump, they dont stand with us. They call patriots like Sen. McCain losers. Sen. McCain was a hero. Show some respect. Leon Panetta, a former secretary of defense and CIA director, also emphasized Trumps lack of interest in promoting democracy as part of the United States foreign policy. We face a critical choice: to vote for someone who stands with our military and stands up for democracy or someone who will disrespect our heroes and undermine our democracy, Panetta said. My fellow Americans, there is only one choice. And let me tell you something, when she takes her oath of office, as she will this January, our allies will cheer, our enemies will fear and we will have a commander in chief that we can trust. Convention-goers waved American flags that had been distributed, making camera shots of the crowd look like a sea of patriotic fervor. Harris added a third argument still about Democrats superior commitment to the country, faulting Republicans for being down on the United States and continuing her campaigns embrace of patriotic liberalism. Our opponents in this race are out there every day denigrating America talking about how terrible everything is, Harris said. Well, my mother had another lesson she used to teach: Never let anyone tell you who you are; show them who you are! Filling out Harris image. Strategists in both political parties have said their primary job in recent months has been to define Harris and have backed up their statements by spending tens of millions of dollars on television advertising to do just that. Though elements of each of the prior three nights of the convention focused on telling the American people about just who Kamala Harris is, the focus was even more pronounced on Thursday, with a particular emphasis on her prosecutorial career. Two governors with prosecutorial experience North Carolinas Roy Cooper and Massachusetts Maura Healy testified about working with Harris, as did a woman who worked with her in the San Francisco district attorneys office at the start of Harris career. Multiple speakers, including Cooper and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), testified about Harris work on a lawsuit against big banks in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. She never stopped listening to me, and shes never going to stop listening to all of us.Ella Emhoff, Kamala Harris' stepdaughter Kamala Harris stepped up, Warren said. She enforced the law, fought the giant banks and delivered billions of dollars of help for families. And thats the difference between a criminal and a prosecutor. And Harris relatives filled in more of the image for swing voters who know relatively little about the vice president. Ella Emhoff, Harris stepdaughter, talked about how Harris entered her life at age 14, which she joked was famously a very easy time for a teenager. She was patient and caring and always took me seriously, Emhoff, now 25, said. She never stopped listening to me, and shes never going to stop listening to all of us. Harris speech seemed directly aimed at swing voters and moderate Republicans, seeking to alleviate concerns they might have about her ideology. I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations, Harris said. A president who leads and listens, who is realistic, practical and has common sense. And always fights for the American people. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), the first Gen Z member of Congress, spoke on Thursday night. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images The youths! Of the four nights of the Democratic National Convention, Thursday seemed most clearly aimed at the nations younger voters, with speeches focused on three of the favorite causes of millennials and Generation Z: climate change, gun violence and student loan forgiveness. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), the first Gen Z member of Congress, delivered a speech largely centered on climate change. Fighting the climate crisis is patriotic, Frost said. Unlike Trump, our patriotism is more than some slogan on a hat. Its about actually giving a damn about the people who live in this country because when you love someone, you want them to have clean air. The convention also aired a video featuring a family who benefited when President Joe Bidens administration finally fixed the public service loan-forgiveness program. It also highlighted a student who helped start a debt strike against Corinthian College, a predatory for-profit college. The Biden administration eliminated those students debt. As for gun violence, well Gun violence and the suburbs. There are clear attempts going on to moderate Harris image, with polling showing voters see her as more liberal than Biden. The campaign and allied outside groups are airing ads boasting shell crack down on a U.S.-Mexico border that voters see as porous and are playing up her work as a prosecutor who put criminals behind bars. But the heavy focus on gun control Thursday, including emotional speeches from multiple relatives of mass shooting victims and a speech from former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.), who was severely wounded in a mass shooting, shows the campaign is not considering backing down on gun violence as part of its move to the center. Parents everywhere reach out for their children, said Kimberly Mata-Rubio, whose daughter died in the mass shooting at a Uvalde, Texas, school in 2022. I reach out for the daughter I will never hold again. This does show a strategic choice by the Harris campaign, likely indicating they are at least marginally more focused on winning the votes of Latino voters, Black voters, women and suburban voters whom polls show support stricter gun laws more than other groups than on keeping down Trumps margins of support among men and voters in rural areas. Abbas Alawieh (right), co-founder of the "uncommitted" movement, walks the halls Tuesday at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The Washington Post/Getty Images Gaza? What Gaza? Although Democratic Party unity was on strong display throughout the convention, the one issue bitterly dividing the Democratic camp the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza reared its head in fits and starts. Pro-Palestinian activists held demonstrations and news conferences every day with convention delegates from the uncommitted movement, which withheld votes from Biden in primaries, leading an increasingly desperate last-minute effort to secure a speaking spot for a single Palestinian-American Democrat. But although convention organizers on Wednesday featured Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, dual U.S. and Israeli citizens whose son Hersh is held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, they refused to accede to the uncommitted movements request for a Palestinian-American speaker. That impasse prompted a sit-in outside the United Center arena on Wednesday night and a lot of media attention that top Democrats would have sooner avoided. Whats more, convention speakers rarely mentioned the carnage in Gaza and U.S. policy in the region more than in passing. When they did speak about it, they tended to stay broad, emphasizing the need for a negotiated cease-fire without clarifying if they would like to see a change from Bidens current policy. Biden has voiced his disagreements with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in private and in public but has been reluctant to impose material consequences to get Israel to comport itself differently. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination.Vice President Kamala Harris In her speech, Harris spoke with eloquent compassion about the death and violence on both sides that many have found lacking from Biden. Let me be clear: I will always stand up for Israels right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on Oct. 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival, Harris said. At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. Pro-Palestinian activists have understandably warmed to Harris rhetoric, which can feel more sensitive than Bidens on this topic. But she did not indicate on Thursday night whether or how she would depart from Biden on policy in the Middle East, and observers noted she switched from the active to passive voice when describing the destruction Israel has wrought on Gaza. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination, she concluded. Sure enough, the Institute for Middle East Understanding Policy Project, a pro-Palestinian group, characterized the speech as inadequate. Tonight from the DNC stage Harris called for a ceasefire in Gaza, but she failed to commit to the change in policy that would secure a ceasefire: ending weapons transfers to Israel, the group said in a statement. To be clear: there is no way to end this bloodshed while supplying Israel with billions of dollars in weapons as it indiscriminately bombs Palestinian families, schools, hospitals, refugee shelters, and places of worship. Related... Democrats Feared Another 1968 Convention. They Got Something Very Different. CHICAGO In addition to crowning Vice President Kamala Harris as their presidential standard-bearer and unifying the party ahead of the general election, Democrats had one other goal for their convention: to exorcise the ghost of 1968. The 1968 convention, with its images of anti-Vietnam War protesters being attacked by Chicago police and fistfights in the convention hall that filled Americans televisions, has become a shorthand for chaos and disarray. Fifty-six years later, with another president stepping aside instead of running for reelection and Democrats sharply divided over the issue of Israels war in Gaza, there were concerns of a repeat. Journalist Bill Kurtis, who was 28 when he covered the 1968 convention, told CBS News, It is eerily similar. As Democrats gather in Chicago, the spirit of 68 is a painful memory, the Washington Post declared. And Fox News blared: DNC host Chicago, haunted by 1968 convention rioting, braces for bloodshed. But it didnt happen. Neera Tanden, director of the White Houses Domestic Policy Council, channeled some Democratic relief and self-congratulation in a social media post early Friday morning. If we had accountability, everyone who claimed mass chaos would ensue from gigantic protests would be apologizing today, she said. The overwhelming majority of protests against Gaza have been peaceful and the protesters who planned to come to Chicago made it very clear in advance they planned to be peaceful, said Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. So no one should be surprised that the protests were largely calm and peaceful and that there wasnt the chaos you might have expected to see in the worst case scenario, he said. I was surprised anyone thought it was possible to foment something like 1968, said Evan Roth Smith, a pollster with Blueprint, a survey initiative aimed at improving the effectiveness of Democratic messaging. Its an absolutely absurd comparison. Another factor was the number of protesters. Organizers said they had expected at least 20,000 protesters to descend on Chicago, including college students who have been participating in campus protests in the spring. About 3,500 protesters showed up on Monday, the first night of the convention, and only about 2,000 protesters on Wednesday night, with the latter resulting in no arrests. Did we have a couple dustups? Sure, but those things were quickly rectified, Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said, according to the Associated Press. CAIRs Mitchell also gave some credit to the police. In contrast to 1968, which introduced the phrase police riot to the American lexicon, Mitchell said police gave protesters their space. Part of the problem you had in 1968 was this violent police crackdown on protesters, and when youve seen violence break out on college campuses in recent months, its been because law enforcement engaged with protesters in a violent way, he said. Instead, the unsuccessful attempts by antiwar protesters to get a Palestinian speaker onto the 2024 convention stage may make the 1964 convention a better analogy. That year, in Atlantic City, a group of civil rights advocates called the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, including movement icon Fannie Lou Hamer, tried to be seated as the states party delegation instead of the all-white delegation, which refused to support Lyndon Johnson. While that effort ultimately failed, it brought changes to the Democratic Partys rules and marked a new chapter in the civil rights movement. Hassan Martini, executive director of rural Democratic get-out-the-vote group No Dem Left Behind, lamented the DNCs choice not to give Palestinian advocates a podium speaker while giving a timeslot to parents of Israeli hostages held by Hamas. I felt sympathy for the parents yesterday of the hostages, and I felt like they were very well-spoken, eloquent, heartfelt, Martini said. But, he said, I felt it was a missed opportunity by not putting up a Palestinian perspective to coincide with it at the same time, to show that unity is possible, peace is possible. A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPMs Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. Thats A Wrap What remains most striking about this weeks Democratic convention is that they pulled it off despite switching presumptive nominees four weeks before it started. By any measure, it was a competent and well-run convention that kept the focus on the nominee and the election ahead while catalyzing the energy and enthusiasm of the party base. But by the measure of what they were up against with a last-minute candidate change, it was an extraordinary tableau, one without any real historical parallel. Nothing remotely like this has happened before in the modern TV-era of politics. Lyndon Johnsons withdrawal in 1968 was months before the (cataclysmic) Democratic convention. But theres another level of finesse and derring-do here by convention organizers, the Harris campaign, and the party itself. Theres a cost to being a coalition party. Decision making is often collaborative and diffuse and therefore slow. The party is structured to disperse power and influence, in marked contrast to the very top-down GOP. If the Republican Party is run like a military unit or a corporation, the Democratic Party is run like a church bake sale committee. That makes any change of direction, unexpected difficulties, or even basic logistical problems hard to address quickly and decisively. There are no quick turns in Democratic politics. But despite all of those structural, cultural, and temperamental obstacles, they defied the odds and pulled it off. Must Watch If you watch only one portion of Kamala Harris acceptance speech, make it this one: Harris: In many ways Donald Trump is an unserious man, but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serioushe tried to throw away your votes. When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the Capitol where they assaulted law enforcement officers pic.twitter.com/muKQlUGMfe Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 23, 2024 In another section, she explicitly affirmed Americas fundamental principles, from the rule of law to free and fair elections to the peaceful transfer of power. Best Line Of The Night Kamala Harris: Trump wont hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself. The Full Speech You can read the transcript here. Reaction To The Speech Josh Marshall: I doubt her advisors and press people thought it could have gone much better. The most telling comments were those from Republican commentators who couldnt find their way around saying that it was a strong speech before, of course, reassuring listeners that Harris is obviously terrible and they agree with her about nothing. Susan Glasser: In a speech that ran close to forty minutes, Harris more than met the moment, offering her rejuvenated party a vision for winning in 2024 that was pragmatic enough to sound possible and inspiring enough to mark the address as the most consequential of her career. John Harwood: Trump has taken Republicans so far off the deep end as to leave the American mainstream wide open Harris and Democrats spent this effective convention claiming it on broadly-shared values, on decency, on love of country. Just The Cutest This portion on how to pronounce Kamala is worth watching pic.twitter.com/ZNbDGrxotD Acyn (@Acyn) August 23, 2024 So Much For That Whole Special Guest Thing The rampant rumor that a special guest was scheduled for a supposedly empty 15-minute block on the last night of the Democratic convention took on a life of its own. In the end, there was no special guest. No Beyonce. No Taylor Swift. No George W. Bush. No Melania Trump. (Okay, I made up that last one.) Heres one effort to find the origin of the rumor, but its not really clear where it came from or why TMZ thought it had confirmation. Chicago 2024 Was Not Chicago 1968 Despite considerable handwringing internally among Democrats and anticipatory media coverage for months ahead of time, Chicago did not collapse into the chaos of violent protests and civil unrest during the Democratic convention. The pro-Palestinian protestors who did show up came in fewer numbers than they had hoped for and remained mostly peaceful. Trump Tries To Counter-Program Harris Speech A very agitated Donald Trump spent Harris acceptance speech furiously posting random outbursts to social media then called into friendly TV networks to give his own meandering reviews of his opponents performance. On The Trail Good Riddance : RFK Jr. is expected to end his presidential campaign in Arizona today, with the expectation that he will endorse Trump. In related news, Trump will have a special guest at his Friday rally in Glendale. Like A Buddy Comedy : Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump Jr. lobbied RFK Jr. to drop out and endorse Trump Georgia On His Mind: Groveling Trump crawls back to Gov. Brian Kemp (R). 2024 Ephemera Fun Fact : More people donated to the Harris campaign in its first 10 days than in the entire 15 months of the Biden campaign. Lessons Learned? Democratic pollsters have a warning about Kamala Harris lead. SCOTUS Muddies Voting Requiements In Arizona In a mixed-bag ruling, a divided Supreme Court allowed some parts of Arizonas proof-of-citizenship requirements in the voting realm to remain and blocked others: The Supreme Court left in place a lower courts ruling that barred enforcement of the law that required voters to document their US citizenship to vote in this years presidential election, but it allowed the state to enforce a requirement that would-be voters document their citizenship before registering to vote using a state registration form. In a partial win for Republicans, in other words, proof of citizenship will be required for new voters in some circumstances. Voters who cannot document their citizenship status will still be allowed to register using a federal form. Abortion Watch The Arkansas Supreme Court has ruled 4-3 that an abortion-rights ballot initiative failed to follow the required procedures to make it on the November ballot, leading to some preening by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R). A special TPM addendum: The case was brought by state Attorney General Tim Griffin, whose name should ring a bell. Way back when, Griffin was among the first of the Bush II loyalists hed been a White House aide to Karl Rove to be installed as a U.S. attorney in the 2006-07 U.S. attorney scandal that led to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez. Iceland Is At It Again REYKJANES, ICELAND AUGUST 22: (-EDITORIAL USE ONLY MANDATORY CREDIT ALMANNAVARNADEILD (ICELAND CIVIL DEFENSE) / HANDOUT NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS-) An aerial view of Icelands Reykjanes Peninsula volcanic eruption as it has seen its sixth eruption since December 2023, with lava spewing from a new fissure as seismic activity continues, according to press reports, at Sundhnukur in Reykjanes peninsula, Iceland on August 22, 2024. Reykjanes Peninsula experienced the eruption late Thursday night, following a series of earthquakes, the largest recorded at a magnitude of 4.The eruption began at 9:26 p.m. local time, with lava bursting from a fissure that initially measured 1.4 kilometers (nearly 0.9 miles) but quickly extended to 3.9 kilometers (over 2.42 miles) within 40 minutes, according to the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO). (Photo by Almannavarnadeild/Anadolu via Getty Images) A new four-kilometer long fissure unzipped Thursday on Icelands Reykjanes Peninsula, unleashing effusive lava flows in the same general area as the series of eruptions that have occurred since December. The bulk of the lava is flowing away from the evacuated town of Grindavik. Do you like Morning Memo? Let us know! Kamala Harris made history on Thursday, 22 August, as she became the first Black woman and first Indian American to accept a major party presidential nomination. Warning that the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House "are extremely serious," the vice president delivered a rallying call to Democrats and promised a "new way forward." Ms Harris's speech has been praised by voters and prominent Democrats alike - with Michelle Obama describing the address as "a true representation of what it means to be an American." The Independent spoke to Democratic National Convention attendees to hear their reactions to the address. CHICAGO (WSYR-TV) For the Democratic party, the road back to power in the House lies in the hands of New York State. Party leaders pushed New York delegates and representatives to mobilize congressional campaigns across the state during this weeks Democratic National Convention. In this election, there will be no margin for error. In 2022, the Democrats lost crucial seats, which led to the Republicans gaining control of the House. During Tuesdays panel with Axios, New York Governor Kathy Hochul openly admitted the party is under pressure. We lost some seats we should have never lost in 2022, Hochul said. Every election is unique. Hochul went on to say one of the reasons for the shift was crime, but as she said, The Republicans successfully weaponized crime against us. Former Director of Fiscal Affairs at Rockland County Legislature and NY Congressional District 17 delegate Nicole Doliner is adamant that the lack of campaigning and the low voter turnout gave the Republicans their power. Its hard to believe what happened, said Doliner. New York has always been a progressive state. For the Democrats to regain power, they will need to pick up at least 4 seats in New York on a net basis to win the House majority, according to Chris Wall. 16 Republicans are running for re-elections in areas that voted for Joe Biden in 2022. Five of these districts are in New York. Democrats hope to score at least four to win back the house. The most obvious pickup is NY-22, which encompasses Syracuse. This race is between incumbent republican Brandon Williams and democrat John Mannion. NewsChannel 9 to host debate in NYs 22nd Congressional District Delegates at the convention from all districts, especially upstate NY, spoke on the steps that they needed to take to win their races on November 5. Jimmy Monto, NY-22 delegate, has a plan for the fall. We plan to have a very large door-to-door effortwe plan on putting in the effort, Monto said. Through the week, leaders in the democratic party came to visit the delegates of New York. One of the most current and powerful voices from New York in the House is Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez. She emphasized the importance of districts pulling together to get their votes out. All eyes are gonna be on New York State, our efforts, and organizing apparatuses, 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 WSYR. U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., center, speaks on stage during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 22, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Joe Raedle / Getty Images) CHICAGO The final night of the Democratic National Convention Thursday included a lineup of lawmakers and others who have long advocated for gun safety and have dealt with the aftermath of gun violence in their communities. Our losses do not weaken us they strengthen our resolve, Georgia U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, a longtime gun safety advocate, told delegates. McBath became an advocate for gun safety after her 17-year-old son, Jordan Davis, was murdered at a Florida gas station in 2012. Her son was shot and killed by a white man who was angry about the loud music being played by the Black teenager and his friends. McBaths remarks on gun violence were a leadup to the keynote address by Vice President Kamala Harris, as she not only aims to energize her Democratic base, but make her case to the American people to elect the first woman president come November. As gun violence remains a top concern for Americans, Harris is uniquely positioned to campaign on the issue. Last year, she was tasked with overseeing the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, is an avid hunter but believes in banning assault weapons. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Harris is also able to campaign on a major accomplishment of the Biden administration in passing and signing into law the most comprehensive gun safety legislation in decades. That measure, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, provided millions for states to enact so-called red flag laws and allocated billions for mental health services for youth. McBath has been an advocate for passing the red flag laws, which allow federal courts to temporarily remove a firearm from an individual who is adjudged to pose a threat to themselves or others. She was able to get the legislation passed in the House, when Democrats controlled that chamber. It followed mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas. In Buffalo, a white supremacist targeted a Black neighborhood and killed 10 Black people in a grocery store. And in Uvalde, 19 children and two teachers were murdered, making it the second-deadliest mass shooting since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in 2012. There have been 353 mass shootings this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which tracks gun violence in the U.S. McBath on the DNC stage was joined by Kimberly Mata-Rubio, whose 10-year-old daughter was killed in the Uvalde mass shooting, and a former teacher from Sandy Hook Elementary School, Abbey Clements. They should still be here, Clements said of her students. Former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt when she was shot while meeting with constituents, received a standing ovation from the crowd at the United Center. She now runs a gun safety advocacy group the Giffords Law Center. Giffords spoke of her life growing up in Arizona, and how it gave her grit. I fell for an astronaut, she said of her husband, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, a former astronaut, before planting a kiss on his forehead. She said she sees that same grit in Harris, who is tough and will fight against gun lobbyists. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST It will be no tremendously deep insight to point out that Democrats have made "freedom" a central theme of this week's convention in Chicago. What's been less carefully examined is the question of why Democrats are so eager to talk about freedom. The answer says more about the American electorate and the current state of the Republican Party than it does about Vice President Kamala Harris, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, or any of the other Democratic dignitaries who have graced the stage at this week's Democratic National Convention (DNC). In part, that's because the Democrats' attempt to present themselves as the "party of freedom" is such incoherent bunk, as Reason's Matt Welch and Liz Wolfe have already detailed (with an assist from New York Times columnist Jane Coaston on this week's edition of Just Asking Questions). Take your pick of examples: COVID-19 lockdowns (including Walz's creepy lockdown hotline) and school closures, banning gas stoves, hiking taxes, price controls, and so on. We don't need to belabor this point; it's pretty obvious. But political conventions are more about show business than policy seriousness, and Democrats clearly feel as if there is hay to be made by embracing freedom, even if only rhetorically. That's why it's interesting to ask, well, why? The obvious reason: Voters like freedom! This is not a subtle or complicated point. Freedom polls really well. Check out the list of items in this Cato Institute poll that score "extremely well" with a majority of Americans: freedom of speech (74 percent), freedom of religion (68 percent), freedom of assembly (67 percent), freedom of the press (62 percent), and so on. The pro-freedom numbers are even stronger in this Associated Press poll from April. On the flip side, majorities of Americans are also worried about losing those freedoms. "Across most groups, at least 60% indicate that there will be a net loss of liberties, freedom and rights over the next decade," the APM Research Lab found in a survey a few years ago. In the Cato poll, released in July, 74 percent of the respondents said a similar thing. Again, this isn't rocket science! Freedom sells, baby. And at a time when support for both major parties is waning (and was never all that high to begin with), it makes perfect sense for one of the two major parties to try to claim the banner of protecting freedoma thing that lots of people enjoy and are worried about losing. Is it honest? Heck no! But it's absolutely an opportunity to shift a few of the double-haters to their side of the ledger. That opportunity exists, in part, because Republicans have abdicated this high ground. For as long as I can remember, Republicans have been better at talking about freedom. A lot of that was empty rhetoric too, but some of it was translated into policy. The right to bear arms. School choice. Freedom of religion. All that good stuff. If you'd told me there would be a political convention where one of the nights was themed around "a fight for our freedoms" and featured nearly 100 mentions of the word freedom, I'd have bet a sizable sum that it was the Republican one. That wasn't the message on display at the Republican National Convention (RNC) last month. Not even close. When Donald Trump's campaign isn't focused on the former president's personal grievances, it's been soggy with the populist right's promises to use the power of the state to control larger swaths of American life. Cutting off immigration. Raising tariffs. Some leading intellectuals in the New Right are even trying to convince Republicans of the merits of hiking taxes. It's not that most Republicans don't still believe in gun rights and school choice, but rhetorically the focus is obviously on other things. In short, you might say that the GOP has traded its focus on "freedom" for a primary message that's built on "security"indeed, one of the four nights at the RNC was themed around making America "safe" again. "Freedom" was not explicitly on the menu. There are still some conservatives who want to maintain the movement's longtime connection to freedom, of course. But they are well outside of the movement's power structure at the moment, in no small part because they've been skeptical of Trump's ascendency and the will-to-power politics it has ushered in on the political right. And if Republicans are going to abandon freedom as a concept, why wouldn't Democrats try to grab it? Here's the thing about those majorities of Americans who value freedom: A lot of them would disagree about many other things. Most of them wouldn't identify as libertarians, for that matter. One of the cool things about America is that those labels don't matter, as long as big majorities believe that it's important to protect the freedom to speak, act, worship, and so on. It would be great to have a major political party sincerely interested in maximizing freedom. We don't, but there's some consolation in realizing that Democrats are so eager to talk about freedom because it remains more popular than any political party. The post Democrats Are Talking About 'Freedom' Because Voters Really Like Freedom appeared first on Reason.com. JUBA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Chinese firm Shengli Oilfield Keer Engineering and Construction Company (SOKEC) on Friday signed an agreement with South Sudan's state-owned Nile Petroleum Corporation (NILEPET) to construct modern oil refinery and storage facilities in South Sudan. President of SOKEC Wu Song and Managing Director of NILEPET Muhammad Lino Benjamin signed a Memorandum of Understanding which will see the Chinese firm immediately begin investing in South Sudan. Benjamin hailed SOKEC for its contribution to the development of the youngest nation in Africa. "With this Memorandum of Understanding, we hope you will be able to translate it into agreements and projects that we will do together," he said at the signing ceremony in Juba, the capital of South Sudan. Wu said SOKEC will embark on investment without hesitation, aiming to enhance production capabilities and operational efficiency. "We will start our preparation work as soon as possible on the refinery and storage facilities," he said. The high-level delegation from the Chinese firm began a two-day visit on Monday to the oil fields in Tharjiath, Unity State, to inspect the facilities and assess the current state of the refinery operations. Kuol Deng Maleith, director general of Midstream in NILEPET, said that the visit by representatives of the Chinese firm represents a significant step toward modernizing and expanding South Sudan's oil industry. He emphasized the critical role of international investors in the continued development of the country's oil sector and its broader economic growth. Former President Clinton had trouble recalling the year of his first Democratic convention either 1972 or 1976 but wondered how many more hed be around for. All these young leaders coming up after me, he said in a wistful prime-time address Wednesday night. They look better. They sound better. And they'll be exciting. This weeks Democratic National Convention was about generational change for a party whose leaders are in their 70s and 80s, including an 81-year-old president who was nudged out of the race last month by an 84-year-old former House speaker. The Beyonce music, the coconut social media influencer booths and the roster of new convention speakers all contributed to the fresh, upbeat tone. But in other ways, it felt like a return to the Clinton era with big and bold ideas for structural change that have energized the party in recent years replaced by incremental appeals to middle-class anxiety. There was no Green New Deal, no Medicare for All or comprehensive vision for immigration reform that have motivated Democrats in recent years. Calls to expand or restructure the Supreme Court were kept at bay. Instead, Democrats, when they discussed policy, talked about providing stipends for first-time home buyers, expanding child tax credits, protecting the Affordable Care Act, passing a bipartisan border security bill that was killed under pressure by former President Trump, and adding more price caps on prescription drugs, a project started under President Biden. The most prominent item on the agenda, a national right to abortion, may be the least likely to pass a Congress where neither party is expected to hold a wide margin. Read more: Kamala Harris may rise or fall on whether voters are ready to embrace America's changing face Vice President Kamala Harris capped it off with a Thursday night promise to be a president who leads and listens, who is realistic, practical and has common sense. Not exactly a moon shot. The spending plans are more liberal than they were under Clinton, a reflection of the countrys diminished concern for budget deficits and increased skepticism of corporations. But the combination of centrist and aspirational rhetoric with kitchen table economics sounds about as familiar as Clinton's Fleetwood Mac walk-on music. The real glue that now binds the party together, and arouses the most passion, has been around for nearly a decade: a deep loathing of Trump. Ever since Donald Trump rode down that ridiculous escalator, we as a nation have felt trapped, Maryland Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks said Wednesday night. Every national decision has been made in reaction to this one man and his extremist MAGA movement. Speakers used giant props to trash his ideas. Activists wore T-shirts highlighting his felonies. And Republicans who denounced the former president got as much applause as progressive heroes. Let me be clear to my Republican friends at home watching: If you vote for Kamala Harris in 2024, you're not a Democrat you're a patriot, Geoff Duncan, a Republican former Georgia lieutenant governor, said in prime time Wednesday, prompting loud U-S-A! cheers from the arena full of Democrats. The cheers were an outgrowth of the partys efforts to reclaim the rhetoric of patriotism, couching its mix of economic and reproductive rights promises as a freedom agenda. We've got a golden rule: Mind your own damn business, said Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris running mate, adopting former President Reagan's libertarian language, if not his stance, on abortion rights, among other issues. The elixir of abortion access sprinkled with jokes about the weird opposition has proved potent, helping Harris draw even with Trump in polls after Biden dropped out of the race. Chicago resident Sherrie Travis, a 77-year-old retired attorney, was so fearful of a second Trump term in 2020 that she volunteered as a poll watcher in nearby Milwaukee. Her anxiety returned as Biden began campaigning for a second term. But since Harris has come on, the vibe is so much different, said Travis, who carried a Cat ladies for Kamala tote bag as she walked out of the convention hall. It really does my heart good to see so many young people very engaged and working hard. The desire to win has helped the party conceal ideological differences that have consumed prior conventions and flummoxed Harris when she ran for president four years ago. Times were decidedly different the 2020 primary season, with more than two dozen candidates hawking plans on healthcare, taxes, court reform, immigration and policing each trying to capture slices of moderate voters or progressive activists who were often at odds with one another. Harris appeared to shift her positions to win them over but wound up looking unsure of herself. She withdrew before the first primary contest. That set Harris' reputation back, this time prompting many party leaders to call for an open process to select a nominee once Biden dropped out last month. But Harris acted quickly to show her strength once Biden endorsed her, making a rapid round of calls to consolidate support from party grandees. Read more: Column: Kamala Harris faced a high bar for her DNC acceptance speech. She soared past it Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the New York Democrat who is the face of young progressives, gave Harris a hearty endorsement during her convention speech in which she recounted her own struggles to pay bills and acquire healthcare coverage when she worked as a waitress. She made no mention of her sharp criticism of comments Harris made three years ago telling migrants in Guatemala to go home. Nor did she knock her on the war between Israel and Hamas that drew thousands of protesters outside the United Center who were angry at the Biden administration's support for Israel. Instead, she praised Harris for working on a cease-fire. I am here tonight because America has before us a rare and precious opportunity, she said Monday. In Kamala Harris, we have a chance to elect a president who is for the middle class, because she is from the middle class. Faiz Shakir, a senior advisor to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), credits Biden with building consensus over the partys direction, taking it about as far left as he could to balance competing factions. Harris is the beneficiary. It's just the presentation and the way she's going to say it, he said. Its new. Its fresh. But the party has changed in the Trump years. It is now more educated, more female and more dependent on winning big margins with young people and people of color, some of whom have been defecting to Trump or threatening to stay home. The pressure to hold it together could become even more difficult once Trump leaves the scene. Seeds of ideological division were even visible during the convention, with the protests and when former American Express Chief Executive Kenneth Chenault appeared to challenge the partys populist wing in a speech praising Harris for understanding its necessary for a president to be both pro-business and pro-worker. The array of competing interests was evident inside the convention hall's DemPalooza expo, where booths pushing voting rights, gun control and infrastructure investment sat alongside Catholic Democrats and Atheists & Humanists in Elected Office, while a youth climate group funded by California billionaire Tom Steyer helped people craft friendship bracelets and a pair of pioneering transgender lawmakers held court on gray couches in "The Power Lounge." Roslyn Bacon, a retired teacher who traveled to the convention from Memphis, said outside the convention hall that she expects fellow activists to settle their differences later, after Trump is defeated. You know, there's a saying: No permanent friends, no permanent enemies permanent interests. Right now, we all have the same interest, said Bacon, who wore a Harris shirt and a set of white pearls in homage to the nominee. When the dust settles, it's OK for people to go back into their respective corners and metaphorically slug it out. 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. CHICAGO Stymied in their demand that a Palestinian-American be allowed to speak to the Democratic National Convention about the war in Gaza, a group of uncommitted delegates ended a protest outside the United Center on Thursday with a new demand: that Vice President Kamala Harris meet Arab-American and Muslims in Michigan and elsewhere. They also set a deadline for such a meeting or meetings to take place of Sept. 15. While not saying what they would or would not do if a meeting did not take place to discuss their insistence that the U.S. stop shipping weapons to Israel and demand a cease-fire in Gaza, the organizers suggested there would be ramifications. Those could potentially involve holding back in terms of organizing on Harris' behalf in the fall campaign or arguing her case to voters. In some swing states, like Michigan, with its large Arab-American and Muslim communities based in and around Dearborn, the effect could damage Harris' chances of beating Republican former President Donald Trump, even though the organizers made it clear that they don't want Trump to win. "I think that would be disastrous to her campaign," said Layla Elabed, who lives in Dearborn and was one of the founders of the movement to get primary voters in Michigan and across the country to vote uncommitted rather than for President Joe Biden as a way to protest Biden's support of Israel in its counterattack in Gaza against Hamas. The organizers held a news conference Thursday evening, just a couple of hours before Harris was set to give her speech accepting the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, making her the first Black woman and first woman of South Asian descent to become a major party's nominee in the U.S. Harris secured enough delegates to become the nominee late last month after Biden stepped aside and endorsed her. For months, the organizers of the uncommitted movement, which originated in Michigan, and the 30 uncommitted delegates elected nationwide, had been agitating for a pro-Palestinian speaker to be part of the main stage programming at the convention and that effort intensified after it began in Chicago this week. But on Wednesday evening, the organizers said Democratic officials had finally told them no. The blow was especially crushing as the convention on Wednesday included speeches by Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son Sagui is a hostage in Gaza, and the parents of the Israeli American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, even though, in their speech, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg said they agreed there should be a cease-fire and an end to the suffering of the innocent people in Gaza. It was cold comfort for the uncommitted movement organizers, however, who said it was only right that a Palestinian or someone on their behalf be allowed to speak to the carnage and deaths in Gaza caused by Israel as it has lashed out at Hamas following that group's attacks on Israel on Oct. 7. A Gaza war protester activist holds a doll while walking past police during a protest at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, on August 22, 2024. The U.S. and other nations have so far been unable to broker a cease-fire between the parties that involves the release of Hamas prisoners in Israel and hostages held in Gaza. Waleed Shahid, one of the founders, said earlier Thursday that the Democratic Party had made several offers to the group, including meetings with senior campaign officials, but not a speaking slot. He told reporters that the Harris campaign had said the group could not "define the biggest moment of the vice president's political life." The Harris campaign has not returned requests for comment about the decision. The rejection led several delegates to hold a sit-in outside the United Center beginning at about 8:30 Wednesday night and lasting until about 6:30 p.m. Thursday, when they broke and announced the new demand. Delegates were planning to reenter the convention hall ahead of Harris' speech but did not plan any disruption, organizers said. The organizers said they did not consider the result a loss to their movement, given that they did have some successes, including a panel discussion at another site, held earlier in the week and recognized as an official party function albeit at a different site, about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where tens of thousands have died. And following news that they had been denied a speaker, other groups chimed in. The group, Muslim Women for Harris-Walz announced it was disbanding, saying it could not "continue in good conscience" with the denial of such a demand. The powerful United Auto Workers union, which has endorsed Harris, said it was a mistake not to allow a Palestinian speaker, as did other politicians. "If we want to win this election, the Democratic Party must allow a Palestinian American speaker to be heard from the DNC stage tonight," the UAW said in a statement. What's unclear politically at this moment is whether Harris, whose poll numbers are far better versus Trump's were compared to Biden's, has seen a surge in support from other voters, including Black voters and younger voters, that can mitigate any reluctance in Arab-American and Muslim communities to support her. She has also already made moves to open discussions with organizers, having met briefly with Elabed and another of the movement's founders, Abbas Alawieh, also of Dearborn, before a rally a few weeks ago in metro Detroit. Harris has also sent campaign officials to metro Detroit to talk to leaders in the communities as well as Jewish leaders. At the time of their earlier meeting, Elabed said Harris promised future discussions, though a policy adviser of the vice president's later said an arms embargo on Israel was out of the question. Elabed, who is the sister of U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, who is the only Palestinian-American woman in Congress, said the movement to draw attention to Palestinian rights isn't going anywhere, calling this week "just four days of what our movement has planned for the next four years and beyond" and adding, "We're not going anywhere." Tlaib was among those who contacted organizers of the movement on Thursday, expressing her support, as other speakers at a news conference earlier in the day, and again in the evening, spoke of Harris being out of step with public opinion in the Democratic Party, saying most of its members want a cease-fire. Jim Zogby, founder of the Arab American Institute in Washington, said every main stage speaker so far who has mentioned Gaza this week including Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont got an ovation. "It was an unforced error," he said of the decision not to have a Palestinian speaker. "It was stupid." Abbas Alawieh, of Dearborn, who is one of the movement's founders along with Elabed and a delegate who slept outside the United Center Wednesday night as part of the sit-in, said he was proud of his companions and the hundreds of Harris delegates who also signed a letter supporting a cease-fire. "Our movement is popular," he said. "Our movement is winning." Contact Todd Spangler: tspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Denied a speaker, pro-Palestinian Democrats make new demand on Harris DENVER (KDVR) Police are seeing a concerning increase in domestic violence crimes in Denver so far this year. From the beginning of the year to Aug. 17, the Denver Police Department said domestic violence cases, which police also refer to as intimate partner abuse cases, have increased by 4% compared to the same period last year. Former Los Angeles police commander announced as next Aurora police chief That increase amounts to nearly 200 additional cases this year, from 4,350 reported offenses during that period in 2023 to 4,549 this year. Any form of violence is unacceptable, Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said in a press release. However, when it is at the hands of a loved one, it increases the complexity of the situation and creates challenges which members of the Denver Police Department and our partners are committed to help overcome. By reaching out for help, you may just save your life. Recognizing signs of abuse The Denver Police Department notes that domestic violence and intimate partner abuse occur across all demographics. Police encourage the community to know the signs of abuse DPD listed the following: The person appears fearful of their romantic partner Has unexplained and/or frequent bruising, cuts or other injuries Their partner is extremely jealous, controlling, belittling and/or isolating of their partner Cannot access their money and/or has little to no power in the relationship Has to constantly check in with their partner What to do if you suspect someone is being abused Police said that reporting intimate partner violence can save someones life. If you suspect that someone you know is being abused, DPD said you can talk to them and let them know you are there to support them as needed. You can also help them find resources. Watch: Domestic violence shelter gives opportunity to keep pets If the person is in immediate danger, police said to report the abuse by calling 911. If it is not an emergent situation, police said you can contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline for guidance. If someone hears screaming and/or what sounds like a struggle next door, DPD encourages them to immediately call 911, where they can remain anonymous. Also, victims are strongly encouraged to report abuse to police, DPD said in a release. The police department added that it does not check immigration status and has accessibility options for those who do not speak English. Resources for domestic violence victims DPD said the Rose Andom Center is a family justice center that provides victims with a wide range of community partners and resources for domestic violence help, including counseling, support and protection. Mental health resources available in Colorado The rise in domestic violence incidents is deeply concerning, but it also underscores the urgent need for accessible, comprehensive support for victims, said Margaret Abrams, Executive Director of the Rose Andom Center. Domestic violence impacts individuals across all walks of life, and the consequences can be devastating. Our goal at the Rose Andom Center is to ensure that every victim has the support and resources necessary to escape abuse and find safety. No one should have to face this alone. Victims can create a plan to leave their abuser, get help with a protection order, get medical care, and find resources for themselves and their children at the Rose Andom Center. The Rose Andom Center lists these resources for domestic violence help on the website: There is also a list of shelter resources on the Rose Andom Center website. The police department said victims can meet with DPDs Domestic Violence Unit and the Denver District Attorneys Office to learn how they can report abuse, and noted that there are services and information available whether or not a person chooses to report abuse to law enforcement. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7 to help victims. The hotline can be reached by calling 800-799-7233 or texting BEGIN to 88788. There is also a live online chat option. Colorados Domestic Violence Program has resources for community members and service providers on the 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 FOX31 Denver. MONROE, Wis. (WFRV) A 35-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene of a rollover crash in central Wisconsin early Thursday morning and deputies point to alcohol and speed as contributing factors. According to the Adams County Sheriffs Office, deputies were called to reports of a single-vehicle crash in the 700 block of CTH Z in the Town of Monroe around 4:40 a.m. on August 22. This embedded content is not available in your region. When deputies arrived at the scene, they discovered a vehicle in the ditch and the driver, and only occupant, inside the car. Traffic stop on motorcycle with fake license plate leads to drug bust in Wisconsin Deputies identified the driver as 35-year-old Joseph D. Artuso of Arkdale. Artuso was pronounced dead at the scene. The release states that an initial investigation showed Artuso heading south on CTH Z when he reportedly left the road, went into a ditch, hit a culvert, and overturned. Authorities attributed alcohol, speed, and failure to maintain control of the vehicle as contributing factors in the crash. Deputies noted that Artuso was also reportedly not wearing a seat belt. The crash remains under investigation and no other details have 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 WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton. MAKIKI, Hawaii (KHON2) A health and safety problem along with a whole lot of garbage is how Makiki residents described a property on Pensacola Street for decades, but it is finally being taken care of. Get news on the go with KHON 2GO, KHONs morning podcast, every morning at 8 Officials said violations issued to the property owner of two homes on Pensacola Street date back to 2001 and total over $1 million in fines. Area residents are happy that it is finally being demolished. Well, a huge relief for one, because weve been complaining about it for so long, Makiki Neighborhood Board chair Nathaniel Char said. Neighbors could see in and theyre like, Yeah the rubbish is stacked like to within a foot of the ceiling.' The City hired a contractor to clean up the property in 2018 but said it quickly fell back into a similar state. After a fire in 2020 and ongoing health concerns over rodents, unsanitary conditions and squatters, the City began the condemnation process in 2023. In April of this year, the City took possession and control and since then we have hired this contractor, R.H.S. Lee, Department of Planning and Permitting director Dawn Takeuchi Apuna said. to demolish and remove all of the junks on the property. HFD responds to abandoned home fire for a second time this year There is literally tons and tons of trash that needs to be removed at a cost of around $60,000. Were working on that to determine if were able to recoup that cost from the owner, Apuna said. Folks on either side complained about rats, mosquitoes, that sort of thing, Char said. The smell! Officials expect demolition to take about five days if the weather allows and plan to build affordable housing units after all of the garbage is out. Work started on Thursday, Aug. 22 but the City does not own the property quite yet. Roland Yee, hes still the owner technically, but we do have possession and control and are kind of midway in the complete condemnation process, Apuna said. I think theyre negotiating around $1.2 million, around there right now to pay the owner. Check out more news from around Hawaii Officials said negotiations are pending and it is premature to conclude how the owners outstanding fines will affect the payment he receives. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. DES MOINES, Iowa A Des Moines man accused of sexual abuse in Polk and Story County was sentenced on Friday. Matthew Akeem Butts, 36, entered an Alford plea of guilty to third-degree sexual abuse and extortion on Friday. Butts was sentenced to 10 years in prison by District Judge David Nelmark. Story County sentenced Butts to 45 years in prison on August 12 for two counts of third-degree sexual abuse and distributing drugs to a minor. Butts will serve a mandatory-minimum sentence of 5 years in prison. This will run consecutive to the Story County sentence. Polk and Story County worked together to construct the plea deal. Butts met both of his victims online through Snapchat. One of the victims and her mother spoke on the effects of the crime. Pleasant Hill man identified as victim of deadly Highway 65 crash We all warn our children about bad people, and in todays day and age, we warn our kids about the dangers of social media, but we never really believe that our kids are going to be victims of online predators, the victims mother told the court. Butts will be placed on the sex offender registry and serve a special sentence of probation for the rest of his life. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. Then-School Board member Daniel P. Foganholi, District 5 (center), is accompanied by his wife, young son and father as he is sworn into office by Broward County Commissioner Torey Alston, Tuesday, May 3, 2022. Daniel Foganholi lost his race to stay on the Broward County School Board on Tuesday, but received a spot on the Florida Board of Education as a consolation prize. Gov. Ron DeSantis, who appointed Foganholi to the Broward board two times, on Friday named him to the state board. Hell take the position officially on Nov. 20. Foganholi, 37, of Coral Springs, was first appointed by DeSantis to the Broward board in April 2022, replacing Rosalind Osgood, who won a special election to the state Senate. But because he didnt live in the District 5 seat he held and couldnt run for the seat, he opted to run for a Coral Springs City Commission seat in 2022, which he lost. Then Rod Velez, the winner of another Broward school board seat that year, couldnt take office because state law bars convicted felons whose rights have not been restored from holding elected office. Velez was convicted of aggravated battery in 1995. DeSantis later appointed Foganholi to the school board's District 1 seat. In the three-way race to retain his seat, Foganholi finished third, with 20% of the vote. Maura Bulman won outright with 51% avoiding a runoff, while Chris Canter finished second with 29%. Foganholi worked for furniture company Arhaus, according his most recent financial disclosure form. A release from DeSantis office states he is now the director of legislative affairs for New Generations Childrens Ministry and the director of strategic partnerships for the Brazilian American Coalition. Foganholi is a first-generation American whose parents are from Brazil. He's a member of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission, and has an associates degree from Palm Beach State College and attended Florida Atlantic University, but doesnt appear to have earned a degree. The position on the state board is subject to confirmation by the Senate, but an appointee can stay on the board for up to two years before the confirmation is required. Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Ron DeSantis appoints Daniel Foganholi to state Board of Education Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday appointed to the states top education board a political ally who badly lost his campaign to remain on the Broward County School Board earlier this week. Daniel Foganholi, who was twice appointed to the Broward School Board by the governor last year, lost his seat by more than 20 points during Floridas primary election Tuesday night. On Friday, the governor appointed him to the State Board of Education, a rare promotion that will now give Foganholi oversight over K-12 education policies across the state. The governors office made the announcement in a press release that says the appointment will be effective Nov. 20. DeSantis did not comment on the decision and his office did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment. DeSantis first appointed Foganholi to the Broward School Board last April to fill the seat vacated by Rosalind Osgood, who stepped down to run for the Florida Senate. He represented District 5, which extends from northwest Fort Lauderdale to east Sunrise, and from southwest Oakland Park to northwest Plantation. Foganholi could not run in last years school board election to keep his seat because he didnt live in the district. Instead, he ran for the Coral Springs City Commission and lost. DeSantis then re-apppointed Foganholi to the Broward School board to replace Rodney Rod Velez, whom voters had picked in the November election to represent District 1, which covers Hollywood, west Pembroke Pines, Miramar, north Hallandale Beach and south Dania Beach. Velez was was unable to hold office because of his former criminal conviction. To be an elected official, a convicted felon has to have his or her civil rights restored, and Velez hasnt done that. Read more: Five things to know about the man DeSantis appointed twice to the Broward School Board While serving on the school board, Foganholi led an effort to fire the district superintendent. Deseret News archives: 1970 Salad Bowl strike helped improve plight of farm workers in the U.S. United Farm Workers leader Cesar Chavez pauses during his 1,000 mile march through the agricultural valley of California on behalf of the UFW union, Aug. 14, 1975. Chavez and his followers are approaching a climax in their long battle with the Teamsters for the right to represent the state's farm workers. | Walter Zebowski A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives. On Aug. 23, 1970, the Salad Bowl strike began in California. Organized by farm labor leader Cesar Chavez, between 5,000-10,000 laborers walked off the job, leading to the largest farm worker strike in U.S. history. According to reporting at the time, as the days went by, more workers went on strike. The price of lettuce doubled and lettuce growers lost an estimated $500,000 a day. In September, the United Farm Workers asked Americans to boycott lettuce not picked by the group. Soon violence broke out, including a bombing at a UFW regional office. In December, Chavez was arrested for ignoring a court order to stop boycotting the lettuce industry. When he was released after two weeks incarceration, Chavez called for strikes against six more lettuce growers. The strike continued until March 26, 1971, when the UFW and Teamsters signed a new agreement giving the UFW the right to organize field workers. However, the two forces would continue to clash for several years before reaching a long-lasting agreement in 1977. Chavez continued to advocate for the health and safety of migrant farm workers for the rest of his life. He reportedly visited Utah in 1986, chiefly concerned about how pesticides affected the health of farm workers and consumers alike. After a lifetime of working for social justice, Chavez died in 1963 of natural causes at age 66. In 1994, Chavez was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously. Farmworker Adan Ramirez stands next to a statue of the late labor activist Cesar Chavez after the unveilling of the work on Monday, April 23, 2001, at Cesar Chavez Park in Sacramento, Calif. | LEZLIE STERLING Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about Chavez, his movement and how people honor him today: Chavez, 61, fasting to protest the scourge of pesticides Cesar Chavez to get Navy funeral honors 22 years after death A fine way to praise Cesar Feds seeking ideas on sites tied to Cesar Chavez Cesar Chavez on stamp Chavezs brother says his union work lives on Navy names new ship for labor leader Cesar Chavez One of the subversives FBI tailed in the 60s and 70s: Cesar Chavez The Triumph Gulf Coast Board of Directors rejected a Thursday call to withhold a $12.3 million grant award for a Pensacola State College Airframe and Powerplant program until such time as ST Engineering reimburses and covers travel costs for 300 Chilean workers the company had brought to this country. Grace Resendez McCaffrey, founder of the Hispanic Resource Center of Northwest Florida and South Alabama, has become an advocate for Chilean workers. She alleges the workers were recruited to Mobile and Pensacola by ST Engineering with promises of long-term, high-paying jobs and the possibility of obtaining citizenship. She told the board the 300 people brought to this country were educated and trained aerospace professionals who received lower wages than promised, were ordered to make inadequate repairs to the planes they worked on and then were laid off and left to fend for themselves. "While we should all applaud creating new jobs in the aerospace industry, I implore you to listen to the people who accepted these jobs and understand the inhuman treatment they have endured under this employer," Resendez McCaffery said. ST Engineering worker controversy: Pensacola demands answers from ST Engineering on hiring after Chilean workers laid off The Chillean workers' visas won't allow them to work anywhere other that ST Engineering, she told the board, and many of those who arrived to work for ST Engineering purchased homes in the area and find themselves saddled with debt. She asked that funding be withheld until ST Engineering provides a three-month severance package to all 300 workers and enough financial assistance to cover transportation back to their home country. "I would like to ask you to wait to approve this funding until they make things right with every one of these employees," said Resendez McCaffrey. Despite the objections, the board voted 6-1 to move forward with grant approval. Board Chairman David Bear argued that ST Engineering would not be the only company in Northwest Florida to benefit from the airframe and powerplant certification program, which it is hoped will produce qualified aircraft manufacturing workers. The grant will allow the college to match it with funds received from other sources to embark on a $23 million plan to create an educational space for 420 students who will be working toward one of three certifications: general mechanical, airframe and powerplant. The Triumph funds will go towards the purchase of equipment, salaries, supplies, certificate and student fee waivers, recruiting, and technology, grant documents said. The program has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. After Resendez McCaffrey spoke, PSC President Ed Meadows also stood up in favor of the Triumph grant being awarded Thursday. He argued that the college has a long-term vision and the aviation industry will be a valuable Northwest Florida industry for many years to come. He said ST Engineering's future could be less certain. "For all we know, in five or 10 years ST Engineering might not be here. Some other major company might have come in," he said. He said that while it is true ST Engineering, on whose Pensacola International Airport campus the 25,000 foot facility housing the PSC training program will be housed, "will be hiring a very large portion" of students attaining certification, "if its corporate culture remains as it is" its recruitment efforts could suffer. "If they go away we'll be fine," Meadows said. "This is a multi-use facility." Triumph Gulf Coast is a nonprofit created by Florida to distribute $1.5 billion in BP oil spill settlement funds to economic development projects in the eight Northwest Florida counties adversely impacted by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster. Millions provided for Santa Rosa County land purchase The Triumph Board also voted Thursday to finalize a $7 million contract that will allow Santa Rosa County to spend $4.3 million to buy 40 acres on Garcon Point Road. The additional funding will go toward wetland mitigation and installing infrastructure on the site. The construction-ready land, suitable to build a warehouse of 400,000 square feet, will be leased to the highest bidder, and Santa Rosa County Economic Development Director Shannon Ogletree believes the property can be rented for between $400,000 and $500,000 annually. The lease payments will be put back into economic development to be used for purposes such as matching funds for grants or as incentives for new businesses looking for a place to settle. Ogletree said Thursday the county's next step will be purchasing the land from owners Buddy and Vicki Smith. The property is located next to a Stuckey's store and close to Interstate 10. A conservative estimate put the number of jobs that could be created by a potential new business that would fit that size location at 175. Tate High School gets auto body building bucks The board also voted to provide $617,000 to renovate a former Auto Body building at Tate High School. "This program has been closed for decades, and the building has become a storage area," pre-application documents said. "Much of the existing facility can be used with a bit of renovation and maintenance." The funding will be used to remove outdated existing automotive lifts and bring in more modern equipment. Work will also be needed to bring some systems back to operational status and spruce up the building itself, where classrooms, offices and restrooms need renovation. At full implementation, the Automotive Maintenance Academy will serve approximately 150 students per year, according to the application. Students in grades 9-12 will be allowed to participate in automotive classes, while students in grades 11-12 will have opportunities for work-based learning. Tate students will also have the option of attending George Stone Technical College as a dual-enrolled student in the school's Automotive Service program, and all high school students will be prepared to earn Florida certifications offered by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence. This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Triumph Gulf Coast approves millions for economic development projects GAZA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Delaying a humanitarian pause in the Gaza Strip increases the risk of polio spreading among children, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) warned on Friday. Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of UNRWA, emphasized on social media platform X that simply bringing vaccines into Gaza and maintaining the cold chain is insufficient. "To have an impact, the vaccines must end up in the mouths of every child under the age of 10," Lazzarini said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced in mid-August that the UN plans to launch a two-phase vaccination campaign at the end of the month to immunize more than 640,000 children in Gaza under the age of 10. "I am appealing to all parties to provide concrete assurances right away guaranteeing humanitarian pauses for the campaign," Guterres said. Hamas has agreed to the UN's call for a truce to enable the vaccination effort. On Aug. 16, the Palestinian health ministry reported that a 10-month-old child in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, tested positive for a vaccine-derived poliovirus strain. The World Health Organization (WHO) noted that Gaza had been polio-free for 25 years before the conflict began in October 2023. Polio is a highly infectious viral disease that primarily affects children under five. According to the WHO, it spreads person-to-person, mainly through the fecal-oral route or, less commonly, through contaminated water or food. A prominent pro-Israel group backing U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Detroit, supported a super PAC that launched a last-minute campaign attacking his lead challenger in the primary without disclosing its donors as voters cast their ballots, according to federal campaign filings made public Tuesday. Thanedar won his primary and is all but guaranteed to win the Nov. 5 general election to continue representing Michigan's heavily Democratic 13th Congressional District that includes parts of Detroit and Dearborn Heights along with Hamtramck, Harper Woods, Highland Park, the Grosse Pointes and several Downriver communities. Blue Wave Action the super PAC that emerged in the final weeks of the primary campaign spent about $2.3 million attacking At-Large Detroit City Council Member Mary Waters as she fought to unseat Thanedar. Voters in the 13th Congressional District opened their mailboxes and turned on their TVs to see mailers and ads opposing Waters without any information about the funders behind them. U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Detroit, holds a re-election sign as he stands on the sidewalk in the rain near a polling place at Maire Elementary School in Grosse Pointe on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. Campaign finance watchdogs call groups like Blue Wave Action that form close to an election "Pop-up" super PACs. They can spend heavily in the final days of a campaign without filing any information about their donors because the deadline to disclose them falls after Election Day. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) received $10,000 for personnel and administrative support from Blue Wave Action, and AIPAC-affiliated super PAC United Democracy Project gave $950,000 to the anti-Waters group, according to federal campaign finance filings. A super PAC that has previously received funding from AIPAC Voters for Responsive Government also gave $561,000 to Blue Wave Action. AIPAC endorsed Thanedar ahead of Michigan's Aug. 6 primary election. The group did not respond to an email seeking comment. Asked whether the law should be amended to prevent super PACs from launching right before an election to influence a race without disclosing their donors before voters weigh in, Thanedar said in a text message he supports campaign finance changes without elaborating further on specifics that might apply to pop-up super PACs. In addition to ads and mailers attacking Waters, Blue Wave Action spent over $52,500 on mailers supporting Shakira Lynn Hawkins, Thanedar's other challenger in the 13th District's Democratic primary. Thanedar received about 55% of the vote in the primary followed by Waters who received about 34% of the vote and Hawkins who received about 11%. Foreign policy emerged as one of the key dividing lines in Thanedar's reelection campaign. Last fall, Thanedar voiced strong support for Israel as it waged a counteroffensive in Gaza in response to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. When Waters launched her campaign, she emphasized her support for a cease-fire. At-Large Detroit City Councilmember Mary Waters speaks during a press conference about the launch of Round 2 of Detroit's Down Payment Assistance Program at Three Mile-Munich Park in Detroit's Morningside neighborhood on Thursday, June 27, 2024. The program provides up to $25,000 in down payment assistance for low-to-moderate income residents who currently pay as much in rent as they would on a mortgage. But despite its ties to AIPAC, Blue Wave Action did not focus on the war. Mailers against Waters claimed she indicated her opposition to same-sex marriage on a candidate questionnaire without providing more specific information. In response, Waters' campaign noted her support for same-sex marriage and denied any knowledge of the alleged questionnaire cited by Blue Wave Action. At the time, the super PAC did not respond to an email from the Free Press seeking the source of the information. Blue Wave Action in its attacks against Waters also highlighted her 2010 guilty pleas for filing a fraudulent tax return stemming from an investigation into a suspected conspiracy to bribe a Southfield City Councilmember. Waters' campaign consultant Sam Riddle said in a text message the lack of transparency around the spending underscores the need for changes to campaign finance law and public campaign financing "to ensure democracy is not choked to death by dollars." 2024 Democratic National Convention: Uncommitted delegates hold sit-in after Dem convention blocks Palestinian speakers Prior to Blue Wave Action's post-primary financial disclosures, Waters' campaign alleged Thanedar was behind the super PAC. Thanedar denied the accusation and called it inappropriate. While AIPAC endorsed Thanedar this cycle, in 2022, the pro-Israel lobby buoyed the campaign of his main opponent then-state Sen. Adam Hollier, D-Detroit. Before Hollier was knocked off the primary ballot this year, AIPAC had already begun supporting Thanedar's reelection bid. Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen. Looking for more on Michigans elections this year? Check out our voter guide, subscribe to our elections newsletter and always feel free to share your thoughts in a letter to the editor. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pro-Israel group tied to super PAC in 13th Dem primary BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) A $40 million project at Canalside is currently at a standstill. WIVB News 4 has confirmed there are now penalties coming for the developer. Construction for Heritage Point began in March 2021, yet the two multi-use buildings, intended for retail, restaurants and office space, are nowhere near finished. Now New York State is stepping in, demanding answers and money. Sources have confirmed to WIVB that the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation is now requiring the developer, Sinatra & Company, to pay damages since it has failed to meet a substantial completion date. The developer must now pay $100 each day for the first 60 calendar days, and then $500 per day until the work is substantially complete, according to sources. Nick Sinatra, the founder and CEO of Sinatra & Company Real Estate said the reason for the delays is because of a big jump in both labor and materials costs following the pandemic. He added the rising costs have impacted developers nationwide. In Buffalo, it has caused the project cost for Heritage Point to nearly double from the time it was awarded by the state pre-covid, Sinatra said in a statement. Despite adhering to all New York State guidelines, these rising costs have created financial challenges that require additional support from all partners. Sinatra said his company has invested over $12 million in equity and the project has already spent $18.8 million. However, he believes an additional $4 million from a loan from New York State is critical to complete the project in a timely manner. WIVB heard from Buffalo Common Council Member Mitch Nowakowski in late July. He said he filed a letter with the council looking for an update from Sinatra. Nowakowski requested that update from Sinatra by 2 p.m. on Sep. 10, to be presented during the citys Community Development Committee meeting. Sinatra said there has never been a point where his company has considered not completing the Canalside project. As a major employer in the region, we are fully committed to Heritage Point and stand ready to resume construction immediately upon receiving the needed support, Sinatra said. If the work does not get completed within the next six months, ECHDC says it has the right to terminate the agreement and seek the return of the property. Latest Local News Trina Catterson joined the News 4 team in 2024. She previously worked at WETM-TV in Elmira, a sister station of WIVB. See 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. After several days of silence about the situation, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt's office addressed Thursday the ongoing drama surrounding the abrupt resignation of Dr. Deborah Shropshire as executive director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. In an email to The Oklahoman, Stitt's spokesperson Abegail Cave wrote that Shropshire's resignation "is not at all related to the Woolley case or any other case pending at DHS." "The Governor is thankful for Dr. Shropshires service and knows shell bring that expertise to her next endeavor," Cave wrote. "He is looking forward to getting a fresh set of eyes at DHS and working to build on the success weve seen in getting disability services to those who need it, working to keep kids safe, and ensuring the Oklahoma Standard is on full display across our state." The governor on Thursday said, "Shropshire has been a relentless fighter for Oklahoma families throughout her decade long career at Human Services." "Dr. Shropshire wants government to work better for the people and she delivered. During her tenure, Oklahomans benefited from simplified and modernized programs, and weve become a national leader in providing developmental disability services," an email from the governor's office said. "Im grateful for Dr. Shropshires leadership and I wish her best in her next chapter. Cave, however, offered no explanation for why Shropshire resigned. Who is Clayton Woolley? What to know about press conference involving Gov. Stitt's father On Monday, just days after the governor's father and supporters of 12-year-old Clayton Woolley held a news conference in Tulsa to criticize the agency, Stitt called Shropshire into a meeting. The Tulsa protest included the family and friends of Woolley, the Rev. John Stitt the governor's father and two state lawmakers. The gathering was highlighted by calls by the elder Stitt to reform DHS and remove Woolley from the family he is currently living with. On Tuesday, Shropshire abruptly resigned her post. She has remained silent about the reasons surrounding her departure. Shropshire's announcement caught many state and DHS officials off guard. In a brief resignation letter, she gave no indication of why she was leaving but, instead, praised the agency. "I'm writing this letter to let you know that I'm resigning from my position as Agency Director Oklahoma Human Services effective 9/12/2024," Shropshire wrote. "It has been an incredible honor to serve in this capacity. I fell in love with the team at Oklahoma Human Services more than two decades ago, and having the opportunity to lead them over the last couple of years has been a great pleasure." In January 2023, Stitt praised Shropshire, calling her "a stand up Oklahoman with a heart for servant leadership and a proven track record of success at Oklahoma Human Services." Shropshire previously had served as the agency's director of Child Welfare Services. She was the first woman in state history to serve as DHS director when appointed to the post on Jan. 10, 2023. Shropshire will leave her post on Sept. 13. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma DHS resignation not tied to Clayton Woolley case, governor says Tammy Buchholz, associate director of education for the North Dakota Board of Nursing, speaks during a board meeting on Aug. 22, 2024. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) Nursing program administrators for Dickinson State University are looking at transitioning away from a four-year bachelors degree program to two-year degree programs. The North Dakota Board of Nursing received an update Thursday on the status of the Dickinson State University program that saw a mass resignation of faculty this summer. Carey Haugen, one of the Mayville State University administrators who is helping to lead the Dickinson State program, said the plan is to look at transitioning to a licensed practical nurse program with a diploma and an associate degree in nursing. Dickinson State currently offers two licensure-based programs: an associate in applied science for practical nursing, licensed practical nurse, or LPN, and a bachelors degree in nursing. Third- and fourth-year students in the bachelors of nursing program will be able to finish that degree. Haugen said full-time and adjunct faculty have been hired to allow the Dickinson State nursing program to start as scheduled next week. While most of the classes will be taught in person, a few classes will be online. Tuesday, at a Board of Nursing education committee meeting, Haugen and Collette Christoffers, another Mayville State nursing administrator, said there were 88 students enrolled in the DSU nursing program, though they said the number for first year students, 48, could be higher. The enrollment figure is down from the 111 students the Board of Nursing said were affected when Dickinson State nursing faculty and the program administrator refused to sign the contracts they were offered for the upcoming academic year. Haugen said some students transferred to other nursing programs but there were no students on waiting lists at other colleges. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Haugen said some issues have been identified with how the Dickinson State program had been structured. One issue was having the nursing administrator also be a full-time instructor. There was no work time release to manage the programs. That was one issue that has been rectified, Haugen said Thursday. The Dickinson State nursing faculty resigned their positions in July. That was quickly followed by the resignation of Dickinson State President Stephen Easton. In his resignation letter, Easton said he had tried to push faculty to make nursing a two-year program at the school. Despite my efforts to support Nursing faculty to motivate them to convert to a two-year RN program that could compete effectively with those at other schools and therefore keep DSU Nursing alive and well financially, I have failed miserably, he wrote. The North Dakota University System turned to Haugen and Christoffers to quickly rebuild the nursing faculty and keep the program alive. It also named Ty Olson, executive director of the Dickinson State University Heritage Foundation, to serve as acting president until an interim president is named. Tammy Buchholz, associate director for education, said Tuesday the Dickinson State program is maintaining accreditation status. Nothing has changed, she said. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST DICKSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) One Dickson County corrections deputy was taken into custody on Thursday and charged with multiple counts of sexual contact with inmates. According to a release from the Dickson County Sheriffs Office, authorities were made aware of allegations of possible inappropriate conduct by a corrections deputy, Calvin Lewis, involving multiple female inmates at the Dickson County jail. Dickson County family wants to keep killer behind bars 30 years after murder Dickson County Sheriff Tim Eads said the allegations prompted an internal affairs investigation, as well as a criminal investigation with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), and placed Lewis on administrative leave. That internal investigation resulted in Lewis termination, while the TBIs investigation resulted in Lewis being charged with three counts of sexual contact with inmates. He was taken into custody at his residence and is being held in the Dickson County Jail on a $25,000 bond. Man indicted for alleged dating scheme to rob, rape Clarksville women at motels Our office does not condone, nor will we tolerate, any such behavior. The safety and security of inmates in our custody is of the highest importance, the release reads, in part. We have protocols in place that ensure allegations such as these are investigated properly and prosecuted when necessary. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HOWELL The Livingston County Sheriffs Office and Sheriff Mike Murphy are the subject of two campaign finance law complaints after hosting a press conference for former president Donald Trump on Tuesday, Aug. 20. According to reporting from Bridge Michigan, the Michigan Bureau of Elections is investigating allegations LCSO and Murphy used public resources to host the political event. The Daily has submitted questions to Murphy about the cost of the event, as well as the cost to the department from a previous visit in 2021 by President Joe Biden. That visit was not hosted by LCSO. More: Trump avoids question on white supremacists, rails against undocumented immigrants in Howell According to Bridge, the complaints against Murphy and his office were confirmed by Angela Benander, a spokesperson for the Department of State, who decline to share any details. The Michigan Campaign Finance Act, under section 169.257, makes the use of public resources to support a political candidate a crime, including funds, personnel, office space, computer hardware or software, property, stationery, postage, vehicles, equipment and supplies. A person who knowingly violates section 169.257, as an individual, is guilty of a misdemeanor and can be punished by imprisonment for not more than a year or a fine of not more than $1,000. A group who violates the section can face a fine of up to $20,000 or a fine equal to the amount of the improper contribution or expenditure, whichever is greater. Former president Donald Trump addresses invited guests and media during a press conference on Tuesday, Aug. 20, at the Livingston County Sheriff's Office in Howell. The event was held in a garage at LCSO, with sheriff vehicles in the background and officers lined up behind Trump. The courthouse was closed to accommodate guest and press parking. A nearby dog park was also closed. Reporters from The Daily observed significant presence from LCSO, secret service and military both inside and outside the venue. Drones, dogs, a helicopter and rooftop snipers were used for additional security. I dont believe I violated the campaign finance act, Murphy wrote to The Daily via text. I welcome the investigation. Benander confirmed the complaints to The Daily on Friday, adding: "I wont be able to provide any additional information until they have completed their investigation and make a determination in this case." She said, once a determination is made, it will be available at michigan.gov/sos/elections/disclosure/cfr/complaints/campaign-finance-disclosure-resolved-complaints. This is nothing more than a weak attempt by Democrats to throw mud and hope it sticks," Livingston County Republican Party Chair Rob Rodriguez-Pelizzari wrote in an emailed statement to The Daily. "They are threatened by the overwhelming popularity of President Trump, compared to their own weak candidate whom the public did not vote for. At best, it's a desperate attempt to mitigate damages. Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy speaks ahead of former president Donald Trump's remarks on Tuesday, Aug. 20, at the Livingston County Sheriff's Office in Howell. President Trump made a request of our county sheriff to come talk about safety, and the sheriff accommodated him. Trump has always been a strong advocate for law enforcement, so this seemed a reasonable request. It wasn't as though they were giving away Trump 2024 signs or bumper stickers. People weren't charged to get in, and donations to his campaign were not solicited." Subscribe: Get all your breaking news and unlimited access to our local coverage According to Bridge, the Trump campaign deferred comment on the campaign finance complaints to LCSO. Murphy also faced campaign finance complaints in 2018, when the state determined he broke the law by appearing in uniform with a department vehicle in a campaign video for Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Schuette. Murphy paid $100 to the state and $100 to the county as reimbursement in 2019. Former president Donald Trump addresses the Howell community about crime and safety on Aug. 20 at the Livingston County Sheriff's Office. That complaint was filed by Livingston County Democratic Party Chair Judith Daubenmier, who also recently filed a complaint against Jay Drick, chairman of the Livingston County Board of Commissioners, for criticizing a primary opponent and highlighting his strengths during a public board meeting in July. An update on the complaint against Drick was not immediately available Friday, but a previous complaint filed against him in 2022 was resolved with a formal warning, after Drick failed to include required disclaimers on campaign signage. In a message to The Daily on Friday, Daubenmier said she hasn't yet filed a complaint about Tuesday's press conference, but plans to file one after returning to Michigan from the DNC. Contact reporter Tess Ware at tware@livingstondaily.com. This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Livingston Sheriff's Office under investigation after Trump visit In our Reality Check stories, Tri-City Herald journalists seek to hold the powerful accountable and find answers to critical questions in our community. Read more. Story idea? News@tricityherald.com. A Pierce County Republican has alleged that a former gubernatorial candidate from the Tri-Cities made threats against his life at a weekend meeting of the state party. But Semi Bird, the candidate in question, denied he made the threats, calling the allegations Bird Derangement Syndrome and saying he conducted himself with kindness and professional decorum at the meeting. David Prutzman, a state committeeman, did not return phone calls or text messages this week requesting an interview about what happened. He and another party member called the police Friday, Aug. 16, after Bird allegedly made the threats at a meeting of the Washington State Republican Party at the Wenatchee Convention Center. A gentleman just approached another gentleman. He was mad at him, and he called him a fat f***er and said he was going to bury him, and hes lucky his wifes here so he didnt, a Chelan County party member told an 911 emergency dispatcher. A copy of the call was obtained by the Tri-City Herald under the Washington Public Records Act. The Herald also requested the Wenatchee Police Department investigation and witness statement but they had not been released by Thursday evening. Its unclear if anyone else overheard the interaction between the men. State Republican Party Chairman Jim Walsh did not respond to a request for comment about the incident. If true, the remarks appear to be a concerning escalation in the bad blood thats simmered between Bird, an outsider candidate for Washington governor who earned the state partys endorsement earlier this year, and moderates from his own party, who backed another candidate in the Aug. 6 primary election. Bird claims party leaders ruined him and and his family after media reports surfaced that he allegedly defrauded the military to further his military career and engaged in stolen valor. Hes denied them. Bird placed third in the election, earning just 11% of the open-primary vote. Democrat Bob Ferguson and Republican Dave Reichert will face off in the Nov. 5 general election. Even though I am no longer a candidate, nor will I ever be one again, they feel as though they must continue to discredit and destroy me, Bird said in a statement to the Herald. He has declined to endorse Reichert in the general election and says hes planning a citizens initiative to restore same-day, in-person voting. Visibly shaken The Jason Rantz Show, on 770 KTTH in Seattle, was first to report on the threat allegations. The shows Sunday report included a photo of a witness statement reportedly written by Prutzman. The statement says Prutzman ran into Bird after the meeting at the convention. On his way to the reception area, he passed Bird but turned around to speak to him. Prutzman had made a motion at the meeting to prohibit the state party from funding attack ads against fellow Republicans, according to the Rantz report, and Bird had called the move hypocritical, suggesting he had spoken ill of him. I approached Semi and told him, I am not sure what you have heard but I have never publically (sic) attacked you on social media or in public settings, the police statement read. He (Semi) started out calling me a fat motherf***er, said several other things that I cant remember then, as his wife walked [redacted] of the restroom, he stated I better be f***ing glad his wife [redacted] with him or he would bury me fat motherf***er. He was very angry, said it multiple times and I walked away. He then yells to be (sic) that I better walk away, it continued. A Chelan Party member found Prutzman really visibly shaken up, according to the Rantz report, and helped call the sheriff and then 911. Aaron Young, chairman of the Chelan County Republican Party, told Rantz that the incident was really reminiscent of a conversation he and Bird had previously had where Bird made veiled threats against him if he crossed him again. Bird suggested in a Thursday episode of his podcast that Republican leaders in Pierce and Chelan counties teamed up to fabricate the threats story. ALGONA, Iowa (KCAU) An Iowa priest affiliated with the Catholic Diocese of Sioux City has been accused of misappropriating nearly $70,000 in funds. Steven McLoud (Courtesy: Lumen Media) The Kossuth County Sheriffs Office announced Wednesday that Father Steven McLoud, 65, of Fort Dodge, has been charged with first-degree theft and first-degree fraudulent practices, both felonies. McLoud is accused of knowingly falsifying expense documents such as receipts and reimbursements of nearly $70,000 while serving as a priest in the Bancroft and Algona parishes. Earlier this year, the Catholic Diocese of Sioux City requested that the Kossuth County Sheriffs Office investigate allegations of misappropriated funds within the two parishes. Man convicted after 33 pounds of meth found in Spencer home The Diocese of Sioux City has turned over this matter to the Kossuth County Attorney, the dioceses communications office stated. Father Steven McLoud is assigned to limited ministry in Webster County, Iowa. Due to pending legal action, the diocese cannot comment further. McLoud is set to appear in court on Wednesday, Aug. 28 at 9 a.m. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A disability rights group on Thursday filed a class action lawsuit against Nassau County, New York, alleging that its new ban on wearing masks in public is unconstitutional and discriminatory. Last week, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman signed a law making it illegal to wear masks for the purposes of concealing an individuals identity in public places. Those who violate the law could face a fine of $1,000 and up to a year in jail. The ban, which took effect immediately in the Long Island county, was a means of addressing antisemitic incidents, often perpetrated by those in masks in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, according to local legislator Howard Kopel. But Thursdays lawsuit, filed by Disability Rights New York on behalf of people with disabilities, alleges that the mask ban violates the United States Constitution, the New York State Constitution, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act requires state and local governments to provide disabled people with equal access to public services, programs or activities. The suit claims that people with disabilities will experience the deprivation of equal access to or the lack of a benefit from programs and services as a result of the mask ban, and it calls for the prohibition to be rescinded. HuffPost reached out to Nassau Countys press office for comment but did not receive an immediate response. The mask ban has a few exceptions, including facial coverings worn to protect the health and safety of the wearer, for religious or cultural purposes, or for the peaceful celebration of a holiday or similar religious or cultural event. But plaintiffs in the lawsuit said that they fear discrimination and harassment for wearing a mask due to their disabilities. One plaintiff identified as G.B. is a resident of Nassau County who wears a medical-grade mask outside because they are at a higher risk of contracting airborne illnesses, the suit said. The mask ban law in Nassau County causes G.B. great stress and fear when they go out into the community, it said. G.B. fears that they will be arrested just for wearing a facemask for their health because there is no standard for the police to follow to decide if they meet the health exception or not. Another plaintiff identified as S.S. is an immunocompromised Nassau County resident who is terrified to go into public wearing a mask since the Mask Ban was signed into law. Earlier this month, S.S. received an email from a legislator about the ban, which contained an alarming image of a person wearing a medical mask and referred to him as a faceless thug, the suit said. The email and the image made S.S. afraid to contact their legislator with their concerns about the Mask Ban. The email made S.S. afraid to go into public wearing a medical mask. S.S. is afraid to contact police if they are harassed for wearing a medical mask in public. Face masks became the norm in the U.S. after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, though states across the country have since scaled back their precautions and lifted mask mandates. But the coronavirus is still present, with recent wastewater surveillance data showing COVID-19 at its highest levels since January. Related... Cal/OSHA has fined Disney $36,000 in connection with the death of Juan "Spike" Osorio, a lighting technician who fell through a faulty catwalk on the Studio City set of a Marvel TV series. The workplace safety agency issued the citations several months after Osorio plummeted 41 feet to his death behind the scenes of "Wonder Man" at Radford Studio Center, a spokesperson for Hollywood crew members union IATSE confirmed to The Times. Variety was first to report the news. Cal/OSHA also fined Radford Studio Center $45,000. Representatives for Disney and Radford Studio Center did not immediately respond Friday to requests for comment. Read more: Family remembers crew member who died on 'Wonder Man' set: 'A stickler for safety at work' According to Cal/OSHA's investigation summary, Osorio and other crew members were handling lighting cable equipment that was hanging from suspended wooden platforms when a section of a catwalk collapsed underneath him. The report notes that a ledger supporting the catwalk was improperly installed, deteriorated and weakened "likely due to age, environmental conditions and repeated stress loads over many decades." Osorio "forcefully impacted" the ground below and was pronounced dead by emergency responders shortly after the accident. The cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma to the head, neck and legs. The loss of Spike was and is needless as everyone should go home safely after a days work," IATSE Local 728, the lighting technicians guild, said in a statement. "While we recognize and appreciate the work that all the major studios have done in retrofitting their soundstages since this tragedy, there are many non-Union facilities that lack the resources and oversight to make this possible. We remain steadfast in our commitment to the safety of our members, and holding our employers to their federally mandated duty of a workplace that is safe and free from hazards." Read more: Crew member dies after fall on the set of Marvel TV series 'Wonder Man' In May, Osorio's wife, Joanne Osorio-Wu, and mother, Zoila Osorio, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Los Angeles against Radford Studio Center, alleging that the production facility "carelessly, negligently, and recklessly failed to construct, maintain, inspect, place, repair, design, modify and supervise work on the [catwalk] to ensure it was in a reasonably safe condition so as not to expose persons ... to an unreasonable risk of injury or death." The family is seeking a jury trial, as well as damages to cover "past and future loss of love," medical fees, funeral and burial costs and other expenses. "The OSHA investigation corroborates that Radford Studio Center failed to properly maintain, repair and inspect its premises," Erika Contreras, attorney for the Osorio family, said in a statement. "The citations issued against Radford Studio Center reflect that Mr. Osorios death was a preventable tragedy. Unfortunately, Mr. Osorios wife and mother paid a very heavy price for Radford Studio Centers failures." Radford's lawyers have disputed the claims and said the accident could have been caused by negligence on the part of Osorio or others. 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. TEHRAN, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi said Friday that the country's newly formed government will continue its support for Syria, Lebanon, and their resistance against Israel's "aggression." In separate phone calls with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, Araghchi affirmed that Iran's new administration will uphold its support for Syria and other states backing "resistance against Israel," according to a statement from the Iranian foreign ministry. Mekdad responded by affirming Syria's commitment to strengthening its strategic ties with Iran. Both ministers emphasized the importance of ongoing consultations and coordination to enhance bilateral relations, resist Israeli "aggressions and crimes," and support Palestinians. In his call with Bou Habib, Araghchi reiterated Iran's commitment to supporting the Lebanese government, people, and "resistance against Israel." Bou Habib expressed hope for the continued development of bilateral relations and cooperation. The two sides also discussed regional developments in light of Israeli actions against Palestinians and Lebanon and expressed readiness to continue consultations on shared issues. Araghchi, 61, who previously served as deputy foreign minister and chief nuclear negotiator, was appointed Iran's foreign minister on Wednesday, receiving 247 votes from parliament members. Disney has been slapped with a $36,000 fine after a worker on the Marvel series Wonder Man fell to his death in February. J.C. Spike Osorio, a lighting technician, died on Feb. 6 after falling through a rotten catwalk at Stage 3 at the Radford Studio Center in Studio City. More from Variety A Cal/OSHA investigation concluded that the catwalk had a deteriorated section of wood, which was improperly nailed to a roof support. The deteriorated ledger was weakened likely due to age, environmental conditions and repeated stress loads over many decades, the investigative summary states. As the crew walked along the catwalks, the employee stood on the weakened section of catwalk. Suddenly, and without warning, the ledger supporting the floorboard broke apart and collapsed as the employee was standing on this section of catwalk. The employee fell 41 feet and forcefully impacted the ground below. The investigation confirmed the account that a witness and two IATSE officials told Variety in February. The death prompted many studio facilities to upgrade their catwalks. The workplace safety agency issued two serious citations to Disney, through its production entity, Ionic Productions, on Aug. 6. Each citation carries a proposed penalty of $18,000. The maximum penalty the agency can issue for a serious citation is $25,000. Cal/OSHA also issued two citations to Radford Studio Center, both in the amount of $22,500, bringing the total penalties for both companies to $81,000. The companies have 15 business days to appeal to the Occupational Safety and Health Appeals Board. Disney declined to comment, but is expected to appeal. Osorios widow, Joanne Osorio-Wu, and mother, Zoila Osorio, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Radford Studio Center in May, seeking unspecified damages. The suit alleges that the facility knew, or should have known, that the catwalks were in a dilapidated condition and in desperate need of repair. The familys lawyer, Erika Contreras, said the investigation confirms the allegations in the civil suit. The citations issued by OSHA against Radford Studio Center confirm that Mr. Osorios death was 100% preventable, Contreras said. It also confirms Radford Studio Center failed in its non-delegable duty to properly maintain, repair and inspect its premises. Unfortunately, Mr. Osorio paid the ultimate price for Radfords failure. Radfords lawyers filed an answer to the suit in July, asserting boilerplate defenses including that the accident could have been caused by Osorios negligence, or by the negligence of others. Hackman Capital Partners bought the facility from ViacomCBS in 2021 for $1.85 billion. The company has proposed a $1 billion expansion and modernization plan, and stated in its proposal that the facility was aging and outdated and had suffered from decades of under-investment. Hackman also declined to comment. We are deeply saddened by the death of Juan Spike Osorio and offer our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends, the company said in February. We continue to fully cooperate with the ongoing investigations. Osorio was a member of IATSE Local 728. IATSE Local 728 is grateful to Cal/OSHA for their commitment to making our workplaces safer, the union said in a statement. The loss of Spike was and is needless as everyone should go home safely after a days work. While we recognize and appreciate the work that all the major studios have done in retrofitting their soundstages since this tragedy, there are many non-Union facilities that lack the resources and oversight to make this possible. We remain steadfast in our commitment to the safety of our members, and holding our employers to their federally mandated duty of a workplace that is safe and free from hazards. We continue to provide support to Spikes family as well as his crew. The loss is felt deeply. Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Divers need up to 24 hours to move one metre in Bayesian superyacht Specialist divers have been searching 'centimetre by centimetre' within the sunken Bayesian - Alberto Pizzoli/AFP Specialist divers need up to 24 hours to search one metre of the sunken Bayesian superyacht, an expert has revealed. The search of the vessel, which sank on Monday after being hit by a tornado, entered its fifth day on Friday, with the Italian fire service saying moving within the sunken yacht is very difficult. Luca Cari, a spokesman for the fire rescue service, told Sky News: Its very difficult to move inside the wreckage. Moving just one metre can take up to 24 hours. The Italian coastguard confirmed that the body of the sixth and final person had been found on the vessel and recovered, and is believed to be Hannah Lynch, the 18-year-old daughter of Mike Lynch, the UK technology tycoon. Divers have spoken about the challenges of dealing with narrow corridors and floating debris obstructing their progress. Marco Tilotta, a firefighter diver from Palermo, said divers had been going centimetre by centimetre inside the vessel, adding that the hull being tilted 90 degrees made access difficult. He said: If you can get into the hull, you can see that there is a world of objects inside. We will not stop. We have the resources, the men and the equipment. The operation has been likened to the search of the Costa Concordia cruise ship, which ran aground off the Italian island of Giglio in January 2012, claiming the lives of 32 crew and passengers. Then, divers had to navigate inverted corridors, leaking fuel and floating debris and furnishings in their search for the victims. Mr Tilotta said: It looked like a scenario similar to the Costa Concordia on a smaller scale. Unfortunately, these are very complicated searches. The Italian coastguard confirmed that the body of the sixth and final person had been found on the vessel and recovered, and is believed to be Hannah Lynch - Antonio Cascio/Bloomberg Fifteen of the 22 passengers and crew on board the Bayesian, including Mr Lynchs wife, Angela Bacares, were rescued. The group had been invited on board to celebrate Mr Lynchs court victory after he was acquitted of fraud in San Francisco. 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. Divers uncover the 6th missing body after luxury superyacht sank in freak storm off Sicily. Here's what we know about the incident. A firefighter cave diver prepares to dive to the luxury superyacht in southern Italy on Aug. 23. (Vigili del Fuoco via AP, HO) Rescue crews recovered the sixth and final missing body off the coast of Sicily, the Italian coast guard said Friday. It's been five days since the Bayesian, a luxury superyacht, sank after it was caught in the middle of an unexpected and violent storm. Six passengers were reported missing at the time. British tech magnate Mike Lynch, who seemed to have been hosting a celebration on the yacht after being acquitted of fraud charges in June, was one of those missing. His body was recovered on Thursday. While Italian officials did not identify the last body, Lynch's 18-year-old daughter was the only person unaccounted for. An investigation has been launched looking into the sinking. Naval marine experts said a boat like the Bayesian should have withstood the storm. Giovanni Costantino, the CEO of the Italian Sea Group, which owns the company that made the Bayesian, alleged to Reuters that the shipwreck was caused by "indescribable, unreasonable errors" made by the crew and not any design or construction issues. What happened? The Bayesian capsized about half a mile off the coast of Porticello, a small fishing village. There were 22 people on board 12 passengers and 10 crew members. The City Council of Bagheria said in a statement that seven adults were taken to the emergency room following the rescue, but it seems that none are in serious conditions. While crews searched for the remaining bodies, others are trying to confirm why the boat sank in the first place. According to a BBC report, a heavy storm hit the coast of Sicily and created waterspouts, which are tornadoes that form over water. The waterspout winds were so powerful that they broke the boats mast in half, causing the ship, which was anchored, to lose its balance and sink. The U.K.s Marine Accident Investigation Branch plans to send a team of four investigators to make a preliminary assessment of why the Bayesian sank and why people were still on board. As the ship was going down, 15 people were able to make it to safety and were rescued by a nearby boat. The crew on a Dutch-flagged vessel nearby noticed the yacht had disappeared and saw flares being set off in the sea. They went to help survivors before the Italian coast guard could arrive. One British passenger, Charlotte Golunski, told reporters she kept her 1-year-old daughter alive by holding her up above the water until they got on a lifeboat. The wreck was found around 164 feet beneath the water's surface. More than 400 people, including 28 specialist divers, were involved in the rescue efforts. What to know about the Bayesian Charter sites list the yachts weekly rent as $215,000, the Associated Press reported. Boat International, a superyacht and luxury yacht guide, reported that the Bayesian had the tallest aluminum mast in the world at over 240 feet, making it one of the 50 largest sailing yachts in the world. Who is Mike Lynch? Lynch, 59, founded the software firm Autonomy and recently faced a legal battle with U.S.-based Hewlett-Packard after the tech company accused him of inflating Autonomys value in an $11 billion sale in 2011. Lynch was acquitted of multiple fraud charges in June after a three-month trial, avoiding a potential 20-year jail sentence. One month after announcing her candidacy, Vice President Kamala Harris delivers the most important speech of her life. This is Yahoo News' succinct wrap up of day four of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Heres what you need to know: Big picture What a difference a month can make. When President Biden abruptly announced on July 21 that he was ending his reelection campaign, the D.C. chattering class and no small number of Democrats were skeptical about Kamala Harriss chances of beating Donald Trump. And with good reason. For years, polls had shown that the vice presidents favorable rating was almost as bad as her bosss, with about 54% of Americans viewing her unfavorably and just 36% viewing her favorably. One reason Biden reportedly hung on so long is that he was worried Harris would lose. But Harriss numbers have skyrocketed since she kicked off her candidacy. Her favorability has shot up almost 10 percentage points and her unfavorability is falling fast. The vice president now leads Trump by more than 3 points nationally a gap that might widen more after the convention. Pundits seeking to explain this sudden shift have mostly credited changing conditions: the sense of relief among Democrats of having a new, not-81-year-old candidate to vote for. Irrational exuberance, said David Axelrod, Barack Obamas former strategist. Yet with her acceptance speech Thursday, Harris showed that she has changed too. Gone is the confusion and calculation of her failed 2020 primary bid; clarity and confidence have taken their place. Effort has given way to ease. And that, as much as anything, is what Democrats are responding to. "I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations, Harris vowed on stage in Chicago. A president who leads and listens. Who is realistic. Practical. And has common sense. And always fights for the American people. From the courthouse to the White House, that has been my lifes work. Key takeaways Harris finds her voice. During the 2020 Democratic primary, Harris struggled to pick a lane. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren was attracting progressives with promises of big, structural change. Biden was cornering the Black vote. Harris contorted her campaign to squeeze between them somehow. She wound up sounding inauthentic. But running against Trump instead of other Democrats has liberated Harris to be herself or rather, the best political version of herself. The contrasts almost write themselves. Younger woman of color vs. older white man. Middle class vs. silver spoon. Immigrant family vs. family separation. Future vs. past. Service vs. self. Care vs. cruelty. Prosecutor vs. criminal. Those are the contrasts Democrats have been pushing all week in Chicago, and they culminated Thursday in Harriss speech. To be clear, my whole career, Ive only had one client: the people, Harris said. But just imagine [how] Donald Trump would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States. Not to improve your life. Not to strengthen our national security. But to serve the only client hes ever had: himself. Telling her story on her terms. Harris has never given a major convention speech. (Her 2020 vice-presidential acceptance speech was cramped by the COVID-19 pandemic.) So Thursday was the candidates chance to tell her life story and to tell it in the most politically advantageous terms possible. The framework she selected was revealing. Im no stranger to unlikely journeys, Harris said at the start and indeed, her mothers journey from India, and the biracial family it eventually formed, were far from typical. But Harris presented her childhood in a small East Bay apartment surrounded by firefighters, nurses and construction workers and a trusted circle of family friends as something most Americans can identify with. The middle class is where I come from, Harris said. And building that middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency. From there, Harris could have focused on her time in the Senate or the White House. But she and most of the rest of the nights speakers chose instead to emphasize her career in California as a prosecutor, standing up for women and children against predators who abused them; for homeowners facing foreclosure against big banks; for veterans and students being scammed by big, for profit colleges; for workers being cheated out of wages; and against cartels that traffic in drugs and guns and human beings. The point? That Harris isnt a politician so much as a protector and that shell be the same as president. These fights were not easy, she said. We were underestimated at practically every turn. But we never gave up, because the future is always worth fighting for. And that is the fight we are in now a fight for Americas future. Kamala in chief. Anyone paying even a little attention to this weeks DNC would be familiar, by now, with Harriss favorite theme: that she wants to move America forward while Trump wants to take us back. Predictably, Harris reprised that message in her acceptance speech, warning that her rival would cut taxes for the wealthy, gut the social safety net and restrict reproductive rights if reelected just like he did in his first term, according to Harris. But the most interesting part came when the vice president followed a lesson her mother used to teach: Never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are. Playing on biases about women in power, Trump likes to claim that people wouldnt respect Harris as president; that she wouldnt be strong enough on the world stage; that shes weak. On Thursday, Harris used her acceptance speech to show (and not just tell) voters what shed be like as president by directly addressing her own partys most contentious debate, the war in Gaza and acknowledging both Israels right to defend itself and Palestinian suffering. What has happened in Gaza over the past ten months is devastating, Harris said. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking." President Biden and I are working to end this war," Harris said as the delegates cheered, "such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination. On foreign policy in general from Ukraine to China to NATO Harris argued that, contrary to his claims, its Trump whos weak, not her. I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong Un, who are rooting for Trump, Harris said. Because they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. They know Trump wont hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat. Tough, tested and a total badass. Thats how Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer described Harris in her remarks, and it was a sentiment that echoed throughout the evenings speeches. If earlier nights were about freedom and joy, Thursday was mostly about turning Trumps greatest perceived strength, his toughness, on its head. We dont know what the next four years will bring, but what we do know is this, Whitmer said. Through it all, your life wont stop. Youre going to have to get to work, pick up the kids and pay your bills. And then one day, when youre just trying to get everyone out the door, a news alert goes off. Something happened. Something hit the fan. Youll ask, Is my family gonna be OK? And then youll ask, Who the hell is in charge? What if its him? What if its that man from Mar-a-Lago? she continued. I know in a crisis well need someone strong enough to come up with a plan. [And] I know who I want as our commander-in-chief. Chris Swanson, the sheriff of Genesee County, Mich., vouched for Harris on crime. Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona vouched for her on veterans issues. Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta vouched for her on foreign affairs. The list goes on. But perhaps the most convincing testimony came from former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who detailed his post-Jan. 6 disillusionment with Trumps GOP a party led by a weak man pretending to be strong. As a conservative and a veteran, I believe true strength lies in defending the vulnerable. Its in protecting your family. Its in standing up for our Constitution and our democracy, Kinzinger said. Whatever policies we disagree on pale in comparison with those fundamental matters of principle, of decency and of fidelity to this nation. Swing state candidates show up. One quick and dirty way to gauge how a party is feeling about its November prospects and the potential coattail effects of its presidential ticket is to see how many battleground Senate candidates show up to speak at the convention. The more the merrier. This years tally was about 50/50. Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, Montana Sen. Jon Tester, Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen and New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich sat Chicago out likely because they were more worried about losing votes in the middle than gaining votes on the left. But if a flagging Biden were still the nominee, that list probably would have been a lot bigger. With Harris topping the ticket, Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Reps. Gallego of Arizona, Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Colin Allred of Texas the Democratic Senate nominees in their respective states all came, saw and spoke on Thursday night. Keeping control of the Senate will be a heavy lift for Democrats in November. Yet Slotkins remarks suggested that Harriss focus on freedom and patriotism is making things easier, not harder for swing state candidates like her and that Harriss momentum could boost Democratic turnout even in more middle-of-the-road places. Proudly claim your patriotism, said Slotkin, a former Central Intelligence Agency analyst. Do not give an inch to pretenders who wrap themselves in the flag but spit in the face of freedoms it represents. Thursdays notable speakers Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly Former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords Former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren The Rev. Al Sharpton Actress Kerry Washington Actor and comedian D.L. Hughley Singer Pink Actress Eva Longoria Musical group the Chicks Public policy advocate Maya Harris, Kamala Harriss sister Lawyer Meena Harris, Kamala Harriss niece California Sen. Alex Padilla Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey Interior Secretary Deb Haaland Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin Arizona Rep. Ruben Gallego Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath Colorado Rep. Jason Crow New York Rep. Pat Ryan Texas Rep. Colin Allred Florida Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost Political terms you should know Read more How Kamala Harris prepared for the biggest speech of her life. "Soon after she became a presidential candidate one month ago, she told advisers that she saw this speech and any fall debates as the most pivotal moments of the abbreviated race, according to three people familiar with her thinking." [New York Times] Excited to show up for her: mixed-race voters finally feel seen with Harriss nomination. "Today, about one in 10 Americans 33.8 million people identify as mixed race. The rapid rise of multiracial people could not only affect the 2024 election, but reshape American electoral politics since mixed-race people tend to be young and the countrys white population is aging." [The Guardian] Democratic convention denies speaking spot to Gaza War critics. "The 'uncommitted' campaign had sought speaking time on the DNCs main stage for a representative of their group, which had won support from hundreds of thousands of voters. They initially requested two slots the other for a doctor who had served in Gaza, to address the humanitarian crisis there but later in the week said they sought only one: a Palestinian American speaker." [HuffPost] The next primary is already brewing. "The story of the convention and the current presidential nominee is far more important and interesting than any hypothetical campaign that now, with a new nominee, may not start until as late as 2032 (if Harris wins a couple of terms). Having said that, I cant let the convention week go by without at least acknowledging those who are doing the 'just in case Kamala doesnt win' preparation for a 2028 run." [NBC News] As one of only two Republicans who served on the Jan. 6 Committee, Adam Kinzinger gave credibility to the congressional investigation of the insurrectionist riot. Now the former Illinois congressman is brandishing his Republican roots to elevate Kamala Harris campaign for President. In a short speech at the Democratic National Convention Thursday night, Kinzinger offered a full-fledged endorsement of the Harris-Walz ticket. I am proud to be in the trenches with you as part of this sometimes awkward alliance, he said, to defend truth, defend democracy and decency. Read More: The Full Speech Republican Adam Kinzinger Gave at the Democratic National Convention But much of Kinzingers remarks were aimed at his longtime adversary: former President Donald Trump, whom he excoriated as a toxic force in American politics. Donald Trump has suffocated the soul of the Republican Party, he said. His fundamental weakness has coursed through my party like an illness, sapping our strength, softening our spine, whipping us into a fever that has untethered us from our values. After a violent mob attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Kinzinger became one of Trumps most vocal and vociferous GOP critics. He was one of 10 Republican House members to vote to impeach Trump after the assault. He and former Wyoming congresswoman Liz Cheney were the only Republicans to serve on the panel that ultimately recommended criminal charges against Trump. Not coincidentally, neither of the two are still in Congress. Kinzinger chose not to seek reelection, and Cheney lost to a Trump-backed primary challenger. A former lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, Kinzinger invoked his national security bona fides to lambaste Trump for abandoning the muscular internationalism that has defined decades of U.S. foreign policy. How can a party claim to be patriotic if it idolizes a man who tried to overthrow a free and fair election? he said. How can a party claim to stand for liberty if it sees a fight for freedom in Ukrainean attack pitting tyranny against democracy, a challenge to everything our nation claims to beand it retreats, it equivocates? Last February, Trump petrified Americas traditional allies by saying at a campaign rally that Russia could do whatever the hell they want to a NATO country he believes doesnt spend enough on collective defense. Hes also suggested he might not maintain aid to Ukraines defense against Russia. I wouldnt give unless Europe starts equalizing, Trump told TIME in April. If Europe is not going to pay, why should we pay? Kinzinger portrayed Trumps behavior and policies as a disqualifier, whereas Harris would uphold the ideals of liberal democracy, he said. I know Kamala Harris shares my allegiance to the rule of law, the Constitution, and democracy, Kinzinger said. Whatever policies we disagree on pale in comparison with those fundamental matters of principle, of decency, and of fidelity to this nation. To that end, Kinzinger encouraged his fellow Republicans to reject the party to which he devoted much of his adult life. I urge you: Make the right choice, he said. Vote for our bedrock values. And vote for Kamala Harris. Contact us at letters@time.com. The numbers are in, and the viewership of the Democratic National Convention blew last months Republican National Convention out of the water. Early numbers by Nielsen Fast Nationals indicate that the final night of the DNC garnered 26.20 million viewers across 15 networks, compared to night four of the 2024 RNC Night 4 at 25.4 million viewers. The DNC drew in more viewers across 12 different cable and broadcasting news networks all four nights of the convention. 20 million on Monday, 20.6 million viewers on Tuesday, 20.2 million on Wednesday, and the estimated 26.20 on Thursday. By contrast, the RNC drew in 18.1 million, 14.8 million, 18 million, and 25.4 million viewers on each of its respective four nights. DNC v. RNC ratings (Nielsen) DAY ONE DNC: 20 million RNC: 18 million DAY TWO DNC: 20.8 million RNC: 14.8 million DAY THREE DNC: 20.2 million RNC: 18 million Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) August 22, 2024 These numbers dont even factor in the hundreds of thousands who viewed the convention on independent streaming services like YouTube, Twitch, and other social media platforms. During Vice President Kamala Harriss nomination speech on Thursday her opponent, former President Donald Trump, spiraled into a multi-platform meltdown that continued into Friday. One factor driving the former presidents unraveling might be his concerns that more people are paying more attention to Harris than to him. As previously reported by Rolling Stone, days before the convention even began, Trump was badgering his media and political allies for reassurance that the DNC would have fewer viewers than his own convention. From ratings to crowd sizes, the former reality TV star has harbored a longtime obsession with quantifying how much people like him a fixation that Democrats made a point to poke fun of during the convention. On Tuesday, Former President Barack Obama who Trump famously, and falsely, claimed had a smaller inauguration crowd than him mocked his successors obsession with size as a sign he was that he was compensating for other deficiencies. The viewership of the DNC isnt the only metric through which Harris is trouncing Trump. According to Julys fundraising numbers, the Harris campaign more than quadrupled the former presidents cash haul last month a staggering $204 million compared to Trumps $48 million. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone Vice President Kamala Harris strode onto the DNC stage at 10:30 p.m. on the conventions closing night, just after her beloved sister laid a firm foundation for her reintroduction to America something dozens of the most powerful people in the Democratic party also spent the past four nights doing. Harris presented herself to the party and U.S. electorate as the nominee to banish former President Donald Trump from politics for good in November. Our nation with this election has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past, Harris told her party in the speech, where the former senator and California attorney general formally accepted the partys nomination. A chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans. More from The Hollywood Reporter In the first section of Harris roughly 45-minute speech, she shared some details with the 25,000 inside Chicagos United Center and millions at home about her background. Harris explained how she was raised mostly by her mother following a divorce but also by a family by love in San Franciscos East Bay. The vice president included a brief career origin story, revealing why she was determined to become a prosecutor Wanda, her best friend, moved in with Harris family after she revealed that she was being abused by her stepfather. On behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey, on behalf of Americans like the people I grew up with, people who work, chase their dreams and look out for one another, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination, she said to the partys gathered members. For the remainder of Harriss speech, the VP neglected to mention the history being made even with her nomination, let alone a win. Instead, she spoke of her stance on issues on the economy, abortion rights, border security and foreign policy all of which are entirely in line with the Democratic partys platform. A mention of the mass killings and carnage in Gaza was made to a roar from the crowd but not before a statement confirming unilateral support for Israel, which is unlikely to assuage any protesting against the Israel-Hamas war at events surrounding her candidacy. And yes, Harris can attack. She spent a good amount of time going after her opponent, and Trump was handed the blame for the death of the bipartisan congressional border bill. She said that as president, she would sign it. The notion of Harris as a former attorney general prosecuting Trump was felt in moments, as she spoke of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and used the legalese term, his explicit intent, to describe the GOP candidates actions that day. The GOP at large also did not escape her derision: Simply put, they are out of their minds, she told the stadium. Themes that were repeated throughout all four nights of the 2024 DNC were not going back and the notion that the Democrats are the forward-looking party for voters to choose this year were embedded into Harris closing remarks as she ended her biggest pitch to Americans. Let us write the next great chapter in the greatest story ever told, Harris said. The Chicago crowd returned with chants of, USA! USA! A few hours into the final night, after maybe two dozen speeches from prominent Democrats like Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Texas Rep. Colin Allred, who is campaigning to unseat GOP Sen. Ted Cruz, the United Centers stage was commanded by celebrity host Kerry Washington, one of Hollywoods more politically minded actor-producers (its not just a role she played on TV, after all). Look, I know that I am the one standing on this stage, but I am not the lead character in this story, Washington said to growing applause. I am here as a mother, as a daughter, as a proud union member. I am here as the granddaughter of immigrants, as a Black woman descended from enslaved people. I am here tonight because I am an American and because I am a voter, and because we the people are stronger when all our voices are heard. I am not the lead character in this story. You are, all of you. You are the messengers. You are the fixers. Dare I say, you are the Olivia Pope, she added, referring to her Scandal political operative character. Washington later led Harris great-nieces in a lesson for the crowd and those watching at home: Kamala is pronounced comma, then lah. Get it right, folks, its not hard! Afterward, Meena Harris, Ella Emhoff and Helena Hudlin the VPs niece, step-daughter and goddaughter, respectively, spoke of Harris influence on their lives over the years. Gun control, a key issue for many Democrats, took center stage when Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath, whose son was killed by a gunman, was joined by the families of children slain in Uvalde, Texas; Newtown, Connecticut; Charleston, South Carolina; and Chicago. The words that came from the mothers discussing their grief were some of the most gutting moments of the convention. Former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head in 2010 at an event in her district, took to the stage with her husband, former astronaut and current Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, who was on the shortlist to join Harris on the ticket. He spoke a bit later on foreign policy issues and the multiple wars and geopolitical conflicts in which the U.S. is entangled. We all need a team. Ive flown into space four times. Ive flown into combat nearly 40 times. Not once did I do that by myself. It took a team to accomplish a mission, Kelly said. Vladimir Putin is testing whether were still strong Iran, North Korea and especially China. Watch closely. Trump invited Russia to do, and these are his words, not mine, Whatever the hell they want. He continued, Vice President Harris has always championed Americas support for NATO, for Ukraine and for the Ukrainian people. She defends free, fair elections everywhere. You already know how Trump feels about those. Trump skipped his intelligence briefings. He was too busy sucking up to dictators and dreaming of being one himself. Before Kellys speech, enduring singer-songwriter Pink took the DNC stage following Giffords moment, singing What About Us from her seventh studio album, Beautiful Trauma. Alecia Beth Hart Moore, aka Pink, wrote the track as a protest song directed at the U.S. government, asking why it has failed so many people. Its accompanying music video, released in 2017, shows members of minority groups dancing and chased by searchlights helicopters above them. She performed the song on Thursday with her daughter, 13-year-old Willow, by her side harmonizing. Democratic Party rising star and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer perhaps shes risen to party star status at this point hit on kitchen-table economic issues, angling on making herself and Harris relatable to the electorate on this front. I have known [Harris] more than a decade, and she comes from a family a lot like mine, and Im sure a lot like yours, Whitmer said. We were both raised knowing that no one was going to hand us anything, especially as women. As night four of the Democratic National Convention opened, guests who had poured in to fill the 25,000 seats in the United Center found an unexpected object on the seats a wristband light with the DNC 2024 logo on its face. With one wristband for everyone, minds ran wild about the ultimate purpose of the object. Whispers began to be exchanged about a gap left in the programming toward the end of the night, and with Oprah Winfreys surprise appearance at the podium in the rearview, which woman would be worthy of such a slot? Many turned their focus to rumors that Beyonce would perform, but the singers rep told The Hollywood Reporter that Queen Bey was never scheduled, and would not attend. And, indeed, Beyonce didnt make an appearance at the convention on Thursday night. The women delegates present wore white to honor womens suffrage on the night of Harris acceptance of the Democrats nomination. It was a triumphant group, and they danced to Chicago native DJ Metro several times throughout the evenings breaks. The DJ also played Taylor Swifts Shake It Off and Beyonces Texas Hold Em at times. Celebrities peppered the roster, with Eva Longoria, D.L. Hughley and others taking the stage, but the first Hollywood celebrity to appear was Morgan Freeman, who joined actor Jeffrey Wright as a narrator of one of Harris new ads that have run this week. The 87-year-old Oscar winner, whose narration skills have been used in movies so frequently its almost a cliche, spoke over a montage of moments from Harris life that may look familiar to savvy viewers who watched the DNC broadcast last night. And then came a moment that changed Kamala Harris destiny and lit the fire within, Freeman told viewers in his trademark air of omniscience. The speakers at the United Center in the first hours included California Sen. Alex Padilla, who was appointed to Harris seat when she ascended to the vice presidency. Sharing her seat isnt all Padilla has in common with Harris theyre both the children of migrant families who rose to the top in their states political arena. My question to you is this: This November, who is ready to defend the dream? Padilla asked the crowd. Tim Walz is ready to defend the dream. Kamala Harris is ready to defend the dream. Next, Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin shared details of her upbringing that closely mirrored GOP VP candidate J.D. Vance. Like the junior senator from Ohio, Baldwin had a mother who struggled with addiction and was raised by her grandparents. Social Security and Medicare were means of survival for her childhood, and Baldwin pointed out that Trump has suggested both programs could be cut. We wont let that happen, she said. We Democrats, we honor our elders and ask the wealthy to pay their fair share, she added. Al Sharpton then appeared on stage to introduce the Exonerated 5 the new name of the five men who, as teenagers, were falsely accused in a New York rape case and then railroaded by the justice system. Donald Trump took it upon himself at the time to pay a reported $89,000 to take out full-page ads in four newspapers calling for the young men to be executed by the state. All five were exonerated via DNA evidence analysis; collectively, they served 41 years in prison. Korey Wise, the only one of the five to serve all his time in the adult prison system, spoke to the crowd about his experience in 1989, saying, as we walked into the courtroom every day, people screamed at us, threatened us because of Donald Trump. We were innocent kids. Yusef Salaam, who now serves as a New York City Councilman representing a section of Harlem, spoke next about electing Harris to finally say goodbye to that hateful man. That man thinks that hate is the animating force in America; it is not. We have the constitutional right to vote in fact, it is a human right, so let us use it, Salaam said. I want you to walk with us. I want you to march with us. I want you to vote with us. And let me tell you, this is going to be so beautiful. And together on November 5, we will usher in Kamala Harris and Tim Walz into the White House. This story was first published on Aug. 22 at 5:32 p.m. Best of The Hollywood Reporter CHICAGO As delegates from all across the nation embrace the excitement of this weeks historic Democratic National Convention in Chicago, some were reportedly victims of a recent string of crimes targeting the citys downtown and surrounding neighborhoods. Chicago police issued a community alert Thursday morning, warning residents about several armed robberies amid DNC week. Police said the incidents occurred Monday through Wednesday between 10:30 p.m. and 2 a.m. READ MORE: Democratic National Convention to close with Harris accepting nomination According to a source familiar with the situation, two victims are Texas delegates. Police said two robberies occurred in Chicagos Loop in the 100 and 200 blocks of Randolph Street. Two other incidents allegedly happened in the citys Fulton Market and Armour Square neighborhoods. It was really unfortunate, a Texas delegate, Angel Carroll, said. It doesnt change my views of Chicago. [Its] just as a reminder to stay vigilant and aware of your surroundings. Police say the male offenders pulled up to their victims in a dark-colored Range Rover Discovery with a gun, threatening deadly harm while demanding their cell phones and wallets. Texas delegate Madeline Gibson told WGN News that the attack against her peers comes as a surprise, in part, because police presence throughout the city has remained visible. Ive just seen cops everywhere, whether on foot, in a vehicle, or on a bicycle, Gibson said. Texas delegate Maudie Peters told WGN News that she feels safe despite the unfortunate crimes their fellow delegates faced. Im grateful for the police department here and the other officers that are in charge here, Peters said. Its been pretty safe and secure. Anyone with additional information may leave an anonymous tip at cpdtip.com. The Democratic National Convention in Chicago concluded Thursday night with Vice President Kamala Harris accepting the partys nomination to the lands highest office. DNC Highlights: Walz accepts Democratic nomination for vice president: Its the honor of my life Thats my dad! Gus Walz wins over social media with emotion for father Police and FBI investigate maggot incident at DNC breakfast in Chicago Chicago authors book inspired by Kamala Harris vice-presidential speech gains new relevance Sketch artist captures scenes from Democratic National Convention Why are so many people wearing camo at the DNC? Illinois student journalists get firsthand experience at the DNC Blue Carpet: DNC delegates make fashion statements to stand out in the crowd Photos: Celebs spotted at the DNC Dozens arrested after protestors clash with Chicago police near Israel Consulate Chicago has hosted Democrats 12 times, the last being nearly 30 years ago when President Bill Clinton was nominated for a second term. WGN Cover Story: Why Chicago has hosted more presidential conventions than any other city. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. LIBREVILLE, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Gabon recorded its first case of Mpox, according to a statement by its health minister on Thursday. The case involves a 30-year-old Gabonese man who recently arrived from Uganda and is currently in isolation, Gabonese Minister of Health and Social Affairs Adrien Mougougou said in the statement. The patient, who tested positive for Mpox, exhibited symptoms including fever, fatigue and a generalized skin rash a few days after arriving in Gabon. On Wednesday, he went to the hospital, where he was isolated and treated due to the clinical suspicion, according to the statement. "The patient is in good condition, and contact tracing is ongoing," the statement said. The government urged the population to remain calm and vigilant. Jim Vondruska/Getty Images On the final night of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the partys nomination for the presidential election. But in spite of weeks worth of lobbying by the Uncommitted national movement for a Palestinian to take the DNC stage, the DNC and Harris campaign ultimately refused. Harriss speech signified a continuation of the Biden administrations approach to Gaza and Israel: continued military and diplomatic support for Israel, and sympathies for Gaza, where the estimated death toll ranges from over 40,000 to over 186,000 killed since October 7. Protesters went to Chicago in droves in advance of the DNC to call for a ceasefire and an arms embargo on Israel. (Last week, the US State Department approved the sale of $20 billion in arms to Israel.) On Wednesday night, the Uncommitted movement announced it had been told the DNC would not offer the group's speaker a slot, leading to widespread disappointment among those who were hoping to see a concession on the DNC's final day in response to months of pro-Palestine outcries. Part of the controversy is in the broad range of speakers who were given slots, including Republicans and controversial former Democrat electeds like the Clintons. The parents of an Israeli hostage, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, spoke Wednesday night on the DNC stage; Uncommitted representatives told Mother Jones they supported the choice to platform them. Overnight on Wednesday, organizers with Uncommitted launched a sit-in outside the convention space to pressure Democrats on their policy on Gaza and Israel and the requested speaker slot. Among the speakers organizers floated was Georgia State Rep. Ruwa Romman (D), who spoke to Teen Vogue in May 2023 about being the first Muslim woman and first Palestinian American elected to the Georgia House. As noted by Jezebels Kylie Cheung, Romman has simultaneously condemned the Biden-Harris administration's role in Gaza while encouraging participation in the electoral process. Rommans potential speech, which backed Harris, was published on Thursday after the speaker request was denied; it reads in part: For 320 days, weve stood together, demanding to enforce our laws on friend and foe alike to reach a ceasefire, end the killing of Palestinians, free all the Israeli and Palestinian hostages, and to begin the difficult work of building a path to collective peace and safety. Thats why we are here members of this Democratic Party committed to equal rights and dignity for all. Teen Vogue was at the sit-in with Uncommitted organizers just before the DNCs final night, and spoke to delegate Ahmad Awad about what they wanted to say onstage: Palestinian-American speaker is not allowed to speak at Democratic National Convention Anadolu/Getty Images In the days leading up to the end of the convention, groups like IfNotNow and letters from progressive and Black leaders nationwide flooded in to back the call for a Palestinian speaker, including signatures from multiple DNC delegates, US Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and filmmaker Ava DuVernay. Electeds such as Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MI) and Cori Bush (D-MO) joined the overnight-into-Thursday sit-in. But when Thursday night came, there was no celebrity surprise guest, nor any new offer for a Palestinian speaker; the last word of the night on Palestine was from newly minted Democratic nominee VP Harris. Harriss remarks on Israel and Gaza opened with a stated commitment to a ceasefire and hostage deal, stating, I will always stand up for Israels right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself. Harris then referenced the scale of suffering in Gaza as heartbreaking and devastating, concluding the portion by saying: President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity. Security. Freedom. And self-determination, to huge applause from the crowd. Harris used the speech to say that she and Biden were working to end the war, but critics responded that without an arms embargo, that promise rings hollow. Uncommitted cofounder Abbas Alawieh told Reuters that Harris had missed an opportunity in her speech to win over some of the more than 750,000 voters that had withheld their vote in the primaries due to Gaza, many of whom reside in battleground states like Michigan. One Michigan Uncommitted delegate, Rina Mohammad, told Reuters of the speech (and that it followed the denial of a Palestinian speaker), I'm actually more concerned now. This is just a bad look. You're going to lose Michigan. 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? Kamala Harris looks and sounds like a president so much so that you almost forget that if she wins she will be the first woman to hold the office. From her impeccably tailored suits to the authority in her voice to her confidence and ease in the spotlight, this is a person who is clearly ready to take on the most powerful job in the world. Harris' acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention Thursday night was pitch perfect, filled with warm biographical details in the beginning before becoming deeper and more serious as she talked about the issues facing the country, the threat from Donald Trump and America's place in the world. She is a mature, confident, leader who sounds optimistic, patriotic and strong. The convention was, for the most part, a big, fun love fest with the party celebrating in relief that it has a good chance to beat Donald Trump with the new Harris-Walz ticket and enjoying the more positive, hopeful feelings it offers after years of dealing with the darkness of Trump, pandemics and economic stress. There was lots of humor and lighthearted banter as well as some sentimental, respectful send-offs to the old guard as the new generation took over. It was, to quote the overused word this week, joyful. With some serious turns about women's experiences with the new abortion laws and gun violence, it was mostly upbeat, as best exemplified by Gov. Tim Walz's stirring pep talk and the open love of his family when he accepted his nomination on Wednesday night. It was heartwarming and sweet. Many of the other speakers, notably the Obamas and the vast number of rising stars in the party, were entertaining and inspiring. And the convention program itself, although it ran long, was extremely well-produced with innovative multimedia strategies designed to go viral online and plenty of made-for-TV moments. The ratings outstripped last month's drab Republican National Convention substantially over the first three nights. But it was up to the vice president to present herself as the president and pull together all the strands of the big conversation of the past three days under the Democrats' expansive Big Tent. She did that. The big party stopped for a while and everyone listened raptly. It was the reason they were there. She held the room, which looked on at her with a mixture of awe and respect. There's been a lot of talk about Harris bringing the fractious Democratic Party together, but for all her charisma and talent, I don't think that's quite right. This didn't happen because she became the nominee. I've been astonished at how unified (with the obvious exception of the war in Gaza) the Democrats have been for quite some time. I believe the reason the party is so united, surprisingly enough, is because of Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the two old geezers everyone is determined to finally put out to pasture. The threat of Donald Trump cannot be overstated. As long as he and his authoritarian MAGA movement hang over the American political scene it is incumbent on the Democrats to present a united front to oppose him. There is no margin for error. The fact is that from the moment he was inaugurated in 2017, Democrats have been pragmatically working together in ways thought impossible just a few years ago. And to the extent that they have attracted independents and disaffected Republicans, some of whom were featured prominently at the convention this week, Trump gets credit for that, too. He may have divided the country, but he brought the Democrats together and inspired a popular front that's held fast for the last four years. Joe Biden really deserves a lot of credit as well. The president came from the mainstream of the party but was surprisingly open to the progressive wing in ways that Obama was not. He never tried to "Sister Souljah" them (in '90s parlance) by beating them up in order to remain credible to the moderates in the party. (Yes, it helped that there are fewer of those centrist types these days, although the few remaining caused plenty of trouble.) And because of Trump, the progressive wing was ready to grab their seat at the table and take their wins when they got them. And there were a lot of them, showing that progressives can leverage their power within the coalition in a cooperative way. The party is more populist than it's been in decades and pretty much defines itself across the board as unapologetically pro-union, anti-monopoly and pro-family. Biden built enough loyalty on the left that when pundits and some Democrats began publicly calling for his withdrawal from the race, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez openly supported him as did Bernie Sanders. In the end, once he accepted the inevitable, Sanders' hard work to bring the previously warring factions together paid off. The party was able to come together very quickly behind his endorsement of Harris and embrace the new ticket with little angst or resentment. Trump reshaped his party too, of course. It is now more of a cult devoted to his whims and needs, made that way through mafia-style strong-arming and threats. His purges of "RINOs" and apostates and the elevation of flunkies and sycophants made the Republican Party into a dysfunctional party of weirdos and cranks. When Trump finally does exit the stage, the transition to the next chapter will not be quite as smooth. In fact, it's going to be an epic mess. Whether this new harmonious Democratic coalition will last is unknown but nothing could be more important in this moment than to present a united front to stop Trump. If Harris wins, we'll have to see if she can navigate the inevitable jockeying for power as well as Biden did. She did have the advantage of seeing him operate, so hopefully that will guide her judgment. The Democrats have collected over $100 million in small donations through Act Blue during the convention week. They brought in almost $36 million yesterday. During the hour after Harris' speech alone, they collected $7 million. These are very big numbers and they continue to suggest that the enthusiasm is on their side. If the polling trends continue, the election could be a little less daunting than we thought. As long as nobody takes that for granted, the Democrats might just pull it off. Want a daily wrap-up of all the news and commentary Salon has to offer? Subscribe to our morning newsletter, Crash Course. At DNC, Gabrielle Giffords joins survivors of gun violence and families of those killed in shootings Survivors and family members of victims of gun violence attested at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday to the ways shootings impacted their lives and spurred them to advocacy. One of the most potent speeches came from Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was wounded in a 2011 shooting in her Arizona district. Giffords, who was shot in the head while out greeting constituents, spoke Thursday about her long road to recovery. I learned to walk again, one step at a time. I learned to talk again, one word at a time, said Giffords, who appeared with her husband, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly. I almost died, but I fought for life and I survived, Giffords said, thrusting her arm into the air and drawing cheers from the crowd. She praised Vice President Kamala Harris and endorsed her. Kamala can beat the gun lobby and can beat gun trafficking, said Giffords, who opened the Giffords Law Center to track and analyze firearm legislation in all 50 states. Harris, a former prosecutor, has advocated for more laws to stop gun violence, including reinstating a ban on assault weapons. President Joe Biden in 2023 tapped Harris to lead the first-ever federal office of gun violence prevention. Republican nominee Donald Trump has positioned himself directly against gun-control measures and downplayed a ban he instituted on bump stocks, the attachments that allow semi-automatic weapons to fire like machine guns and were used during the October 2017 shooting massacre in Las Vegas. Harris has changed her position on some gun issues. Since becoming vice president, she has backed away from her previous support for mandatory gun buy-back programs. The policies, which she backed in 2019 while running in the Democratic presidential primary, would force millions of gun owners to sell their AR-15s and similar firearms to the government. Harris now supports more moderate proposals such as universal background checks on gun sales. The other survivors and family members turned advocates each told their stories Thursday, at times becoming emotional. Democrats in the arena could be seen wiping their eyes at one point as a screen behind the speakers projected the words, Freedom From Gun Violence. The advocates were led by Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath, who became an activist against gun violence after her 17-year-old son was shot in 2012 by a white man who was angry over the loud music the Black teenager and his friends were playing. McBath said she was moved to run for office after the 2018 shooting massacre at Parkland, Floridas Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where 17 were killed. The Georgia Democrat won her election, flipping a House seat long held by Republicans. Our losses do not weaken us, McBath said. They strengthen our resolve. Abbey Clements, who was teaching second grade at the Sandy Hook school in Newtown, Connecticut when a gunman in 2012 killed 26 people, 20 of them first grade children, described the day and the sounds of more than 150 gunshots ringing out. Hiding in the coats, trying to sing with my students, trying to read to them, trying to drown out the sounds. Terror. Crying. Running. I carry that horrific day with me, Clements said. As she spoke about the children and her coworkers who were killed, Clements' voice caught as she said, They should still be here. Kimberly Rubio, whose 10-year-old daughter Lexi was among the 19 children killed in the 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, became emotional as she described her daughter, right before she was killed, with her smile that lights up the room. Other speakers included Melody McFadden of Charleston, South Carolina, whose mother and niece were both killed by gun violence, and Edgar Vilchez of Chicago, Illinois, who as a high school student in 2022, witnessed the drive-by shooting of a classmate. The classmate survived. ___ Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri in Chicago contributed to this report. The DNC is more than the Kamala Harris nomination. It's a Gen Z coronation. Content creators. A Hotties for Harris party. Plenty of Kamala is brat merch. These are all signs that Gen Z took over the Democratic National Convention, whether you like it or not. In 2020, Gen Z voters helped deliver the presidency to Joe Biden. This week, the Democrats have been courting our generations progressives in hopes of once again earning our votes in November, this time for Vice President Kamala Harris. As the Democratic presidential nominee gives her speech Thursday night, she has to remember that Gen Z is watching and ready to follow her lead so long as she addresses the issues we care about. From my conversations with people at the convention, it seems like shes listening to the young leaders in the room. "The vice president wants a lot of our voices to be heard, whether it's on the stage, at the big caucus events or at a lot of events across the DNC," Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., the first Gen Z member of Congress, told me. Democrats in my age group are cautiously optimistic about what this means for the presidential election. It is abundantly clear that the Democratic Party needs the Gen Z vote to win, to the point that their fervor can come off as a little overwhelming. Gen Z is officially part of the conversation Harris may be a baby boomer, but her campaign has worked tirelessly to win back disaffected Gen Z voters who were unenthusiastic about Biden. A big part of that has been influencers. Multiple Zoomers have spoken throughout the week. Among them are activists like Deja Foxx, a content creator who gave a short, enthusiastic speech at the DNC on Monday night. Influencers pose near the social media area of the venue ahead of Day 2 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 20, 2024. People my age are making big decisions about our lives, and we deserve a president who has our back, Foxx said. These content creators are one of the smartest moves the Democratic Party has made in a while. Thanks to TikTok, any sounds and videos recorded at the convention can go viral. The GOP and women: You're not imagining it. Republicans have been weird about women for years. Generation Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, may not be watching the DNC on cable, but they are watching on social media. A third of social media users under 30 get their news from TikTok, according to an Axios analysis last fall, and there are more following along on Instagram and X, formerly Twitter. Powerful DNC moments young voters can connect to The theme of this years convention is For the People, For our Future. It feels like Democrats are finally realizing we arent just the future were the present. I love seeing all these young leaders, Bill Clinton said at the top of his speech Wednesday night. A bunch of them are coming up after me. They look better, they sound better and theyll be exciting. It seems like Harris already knows this. She has been championing issues young voters care about for years, like overseeing the Office of Gun Violence Prevention and being a fierce advocate for reproductive rights. Julianna Boye, a Harris staffer, says the energy shift is notable. Former first lady Michelle Obamas speech stood out because it was so different from the when they go low, we go high motto she espoused in 2016. Youve seen a shift in the ideology because of the times that were in, and I think they did a beautiful job of really describing whats at stake, she says. That shift serves the Democrats well and marks the beginning of a new era in the lefts politics. It also underscores how much of a threat Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is to Gen Z, in particular. MAGA candidate: She 'sarcastically' said Obama should be killed. Now she wants to control kids' education. This election is everything to Gen Z, Jack Lobel, the press secretary of the nonprofit Voters of Tomorrow, told me. The group has a booth where theyre giving out friendship bracelets and condoms with an anti-Project 2025 message. Our entire future rests on this election, and we need to act like it. And young people are increasingly acting like it." There has been a huge surge in youth involvement. Vote.org, a nonpartisan voter registration platform, saw more than 38,500 new registrants, mostly voters under 35, in the two days after Biden dropped out and Harris jumped in the race. Its a good sign for the party. Eyes are on Gen Z this election. We have to vote. At times, the pressure seems high. I worry about us failing to meet the moment, even though it will affect us through early adulthood. I worry that we will be blamed if Harris loses, despite the effort my generation is putting into Harris campaign. Its consequential that Zoomers actually vote something that their peers in the United Center in Chicago are fully aware of. 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. Were not going to win on vibes alone, Natalie Fall, the executive director of March For Our Lives, told me. If we were going to, wed have a good chance. But weve really just got to have those important conversations with youth voters. To be fair, both parties seem to be focused on curating their image and riling up the base. At the Republican National Convention, this meant going full-on MAGA. For the Democrats, this means speaking to young, hopeful voters directly. We'll see how this plays out in November. Fall is right: Winning over Zoomers on social media is not the same as earning their votes. If Harris intends to do that, her speech Thursday night will be consequential for ushering in a new era of Democratic politics. Follow USA TODAY elections columnist Sara Pequeno on X, formerly Twitter: @sara__pequeno 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: What time is Kamala Harris giving her speech? Gen Z waits Gov. Wes Moore (D) and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) enjoy a Chicago-style hot dog Thursday as Illinois first lady Mary Kathryn Muenster looks on. Photo by Josh Kurtz. CHICAGO Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) heard Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) on the radio recently, boasting about Pips Dock Street Dogs in Annapolis. So naturally, with Moore coming to his hometown for the Democratic National Convention, Pritzker invited the Marylander to one of Chicagos most renowned hot dog establishments, to prove a point. On Thursday, hours before they were both slated to be in the United Center to watch Vice President Kamala Harris claim the Democratic presidential nomination, the two governors, who are widely assumed to be White House aspirants themselves, met at The Wieners Circle in this citys Lincoln Park neighborhood. The Wieners Circle isnt just a fine purveyor of the Chicago-style char dog, as Pritzker called it. The small restaurant also prides itself on its attitude. Go to the website and the first message is WHAT THE F*CK DO YOU WANT? And this week, during the Democratic convention, a sign in front of The Wieners Circle is advertising a footlong hotdog for sale in former President Donald Trumps honor thats actually just 3 inches long. Were here 42 years, serving dogs and talkin s***, said Toni Morris, who was working the counter, to Moore Thursday as he waited for his order. Moore asked Morris how long she had been working there. Twenty years, she replied. Twenty years? an incredulous Moore exclaimed, turning to Pritzker. What kind of child labor laws do you have in this state, man? When their dogs arrived, Moore asked Pritzker whether he should put mustard on it. Pritzker insisted. With that, Moore handed Pritzker a jar of Jamies Strong and Sweet Democracy Mustard, which U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-8th) has been handing out during his appearances around town this week. Put a little Maryland kick on it, Moore said. The two governors then clinked their hot dog buns and toasted to a great convention. Moore took several bites and seemed genuinely impressed. I was coming ready to hate, Moore conceded. Id call it second to Pips. Its pretty great. Later he called it definitely second best in the country, and said he really liked The Wieners Circle. Whats good about this is you get a really good dog, and they talk s***, he said. I basically hear you say Chicago has the best dog, Pritzker said. Moore thought for a moment and then came up with this zinger: I know this is Chicago, but you cant vote twice. By that point, the two governors, accompanied by Illinois first lady Mary Kathryn Muenster, had moved to a patio in back of the restaurant, where Pritzker had laid out a six-pack of beer and two mini bottles of Malort, described on its website as a wormwood-based digestif that was created in Chicago 90 years ago. If you want to show your mettle to the people of Chicago and Illinois, you have to try some, Pritzker advised. Moore was game. I already spoke [on the convention floor] yesterday, he said. The two governors toasted to democracy, downed their shots, then opened two cans of beer and drank a bit more. Thats actually not bad, Moore exclaimed, though I dont know if not bad is a selling point. It is for Malorts, Pritzker laughed. The whole encounter took all of 15 minutes or so, but it was a decent break from the hurly-burly of the convention. I feel like Ive had an actual Chicago afternoon here, Moore said. When a reporter asked the governors if it would be hard to maintain this level of chumminess if they ran for president against each other, Pritzker basically spun a scenario where Moore is the nominee. How many Malorts did you drink? Moore wondered. I wanted him to have a good solid buzz for the afternoon, Pritzker explained. Mission accomplished, Moore agreed. Preaching from experience State delegations at political conventions are used to having dignitaries from different states visiting their breakfasts. But the speakers often dont know a lot about the states whose delegates theyre speaking to, beyond a few scripted talking points. On Thursday morning, Maryland Democrats heard first from Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II (D). He seemed like a pleasant young man and was a pretty good speaker, and he professed to having a kinship with Maryland Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller (D) because they are both engineers professionally. Otherwise, his most noteworthy attribute is that he is 6-foot-8. But he was followed by U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), who doubles as the senior pastor at the legendary Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta a congregation that Martin Luther King Jr. once led. Not only is Warnock a rock star orator, but he actually knows a thing or two about Maryland. Early in his career, from 2001 to 2005, he was pastor at Douglas Memorial Church in Baltimore where, he said, he was amazed by some of the geographic divisions in the city. In Baltimore, they talk about East Side! And West Side! he said, evidently still puzzled. Dont you know youre on the same side? The crowd roared. U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) addresses the Maryland delegation to the Democratic National Convention on Thursday. Photo by Josh Kurtz. Warnock, who grew up in Savannah, Ga., where the Low Country Boil way of preparing seafood is considered a delicacy, recalled that whenever he mentioned this in Maryland, hed invariably get this response: That aint no real crab cake. Now that Ive lived in Maryland, I know what a real crab cake tastes like, he said. We boil our crabs, you steam yours. Dont tell the people in Georgia but I think I like yours a little better. The crowd roared again. Warnock also recalled that when he was at Douglas Memorial, a college student named Wes Moore would occasionally drop in. And didnt he make us proud last night? Warnock said, referring to the governors convention speech. Warnock kept the crowd roaring, talking about the low-grade spiritual malaise that has infected the country since the pandemic, but also calling the crowd to action. His colleague, U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), had the unenviable task of following Warnock on the program. Now you know, Van Hollen said, why we have a rule in the United States Senate never speak after the Reverend Pastor Doctor Senator Rafael Warnock. The Democratic Party has put combating gun violence at the forefront of its campaign, with the issue given primetime exposure on the final night of the party convention in Chicago on Thursday, as survivors and relatives of victims took to the stage to tell their stories. Former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.), who was one of 13 people wounded (another six were killed) in a 2011 shooting while meeting with constituents outside a supermarket in Tucson and has since become an advocate for gun control, recalled how Joe Biden checked in on her consistently as she recovered. Joe is a great President, she said. Kamala will be a great President. She is tough. She has grit. Kamala can beat the gun lobby. She can fight gun trafficking. Preceding Giffords at the convention stage was Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), another gun safety advocate with a personal connection to the issue: her 17-year-old son was shot dead in 2012. Our losses do not weaken us, McBath said on stage, surrounded by a group of survivors and relatives of other victims. They strengthen our resolve. We will secure safer futures that we all deserve. We will organize, we will advocate. We will run for office, and we will join with Americans from small towns and big cities to keep our communities safe, and we will elect leaders like Kamala Harris who won't just empathize, but will act. Abbey Clements of Newton, Conn., spoke on surviving the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting. I carry that horrific day with me: 20 beautiful first-grade children and six of my beautiful colleagues were killed, Clements said. They should still be here. Kim Rubio of Uvalde, Texas, whose 10-year-old daughter died in the shooting at Robb Elementary School in 2022, said: Parents everywhere reach for their children. I reach out for the daughter I will never hold again. Melody McFadden of Charleston, S.C., whose mother Patricia Ann Geddis was shot and killed by her abusive partner, and whose niece Sandy PaTrice was killed in a 2014 shooting in Myrtle Beach, said: Ten years of waiting, and Sandy's murder is still unsolved. Ill keep calling and I'll keep fighting. Edgar Vilchez of Chicago, Ill. who witnessed his classmate get shot in a drive-by shooting in 2022, said: They say schools are for learning, and I did learn a lot that day. I learned how to run, how to hide and drop. That what happens in the news can happen to me. But I learned something else too, that we can write and must write a new story if we choose to. Wrapping up the segment on gun violence was a video that reasserted the campaigns theme of freedom, in this case the freedom to live without the fear of gun violence. The clip featured Harris supporters touting how the Vice President will be a gun safety champion: I have full confidence in Vice President Harris, one said, that shes dedicated to and committed to finding a solution to end gun violence. The Biden-Harris Administration signed the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most significant gun safety law in decades, created in 2023 a first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Preventionwhich Harris was tapped to leadand has implemented a number of executive actions, including to crack down on so-called ghost guns. Meanwhile, protecting communities and tackling the scourge of gun violence is one of nine chapters in the DNCs 2024 platform passed this week, which pledges that Democrats will establish universal background checks, ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require safe storage for guns, end the gun industrys immunity from liability, pass a national red flag law, and increase funding for law enforcement and health research into the crisis of gun violence and the potential for community interventions. Correction, Aug. 23 The original version of this story misstated what happened to Edgar Vilchezs classmate. He was shot, but not killed. Contact us at letters@time.com. Former President Donald Trump could not escape his past and his very recent comments about veterans and service members during the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Speaker after speaker referenced how Trump had reportedly called Americans who died in war losers and suckers in 2020, while others pointed to his claim this month that the nations highest civilian honor was much better than its military equivalent. Donald Trump does not understand the world, and he does not understand the service and sacrifice of our military, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Thursday. Our fallen veterans are not suckers, they are not losers they are our heroes. Every president since World War II has shared the belief that America must protect democracy in the world, he went on. Every president has honored our veterans and their sacrifices. Every president but one. Leon Panetta: Harris understands what our military is for. The role of our military is to defend us from foreign enemies. It is not to threaten Americans and it sure as hell isn't to put immigrants in camps ... when she takes her oath of office, our allies will cheer. pic.twitter.com/vNPCqPWNVP Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 23, 2024 Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.) recounted how Vice President Kamala Harris had visited West Point last year for the military academys graduation, proceeding to shake hands with every one of the 4,400 cadets. Trump, Ryan added, did not meet the merits required to be commander in chief. At West Point you learn the honor code: A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal or tolerate those who do, he said in Chicago. Well, theres a candidate who has violated every word in that code. A serial liar, cheater, thief, who looked soldiers in the eye, then turned around and called fallen heroes suckers and losers, who insulted Medal of Honor recipients just last week. Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., flanked by members of Congress who served in the military, speaks during the final night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Thursday, August 22, 2024. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) Bill Clark via Getty Images Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), a former Marine, said Americans have a duty to take care of our patriots who serve our nation before asking lawmakers whove served to join him onstage. The group included Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), who spoke earlier in the week. She lost both legs when the Black Hawk helicopter she was in was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq in 2004. Vice President Harris has stood up for us and our families, always, Gallego said. Tim Walz served for 24 years. Gallego: Let me introduce you to some of many Democrats who understand what service means.. These veterans represent the best of our country Politicians like Trump dont stand with us. They call patriots like Senator McCain losers. John McCain was an American hero pic.twitter.com/C0G58V2kry Acyn (@Acyn) August 23, 2024 Gallego went on to criticize Trumps disdain for the late Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who was a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Trump has long been dogged by his remark that he liked people who werent captured. John McCain was an American hero, show some respect, Gallego said Thursday night. Related... Democrats are rolling out a set of billboards describing former President Trump, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy and Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (Ohio) as weird ahead of a possible endorsement of Trump by Kennedy on Friday. The billboards will be seen in Arizona near Trumps rally in Glendale, where his campaign says hell be joined by an unnamed special guest, and in Phoenix, where Kennedy is holding an event earlier in the day to address the present historical moment and his path forward. The Democratic National Committee is responsible for the billboards. Its widely expected the Trump and Kennedy events are linked that Kennedy is ending his long-shot presidential bid and will join Trump for his rally to endorse the Republican candidate. Trump told Fox News its possible the two men will meet while both are in the Grand Canyon State. The two events in Arizona are 10 miles apart. The billboard also is being displayed near the Trump Tower in Chicago, where the DNC already has spread its message earlier this week during the Democratic National Convention. The latest billboards feature images of Vance and Kennedy on each side. Between the two is an image of Trump pointing his index finger toward his head, as if making the cuckoo hand gesture. WEIRD AS HELL, it reads in large capital letters, with the standard disclaimer that its paid for by the DNC and authorized by Harris for President. Democrats have sought to paint Trump and Vance as weird a taunt that has stuck and been adopted by the former presidents critics to Trumps apparent annoyance. Kennedys campaign has also taken some strange turns, including revelations about a brain worm and a Central Park stunt a decade back that involved a dead bear cub. In a memo released Friday morning, Democratic leaders dismissed the potential of a Trump-Kennedy alliance. Kennedys polling has sagged since his entry as an independent candidate. MAGA Republicans elevated RFK Jr.s sham candidacy as a tool to mislead voters and hurt Democrats, and RFK Jr.s exit is an admission their gambit failed, the memo stated. Heres what RFK Jr.s endorsement of Donald Trump would change: nothing. The Democrats acknowledged in the memo that Kennedy started the year being viewed in a generally positive light, largely gifted from his famous last name. The Hill/Decision Desk HQs latest polling analysis has Kennedy averaging a 50 percent unfavorable rating to 37 percent favorable a reversal from Jan. 7, when he averaged 49.6 percent favorable to 39 percent unfavorable. Kennedys campaign, with a last name famously linked to Democratic politics, presented a shift from how Democrats treated the 2016 race, when third-party candidates like Jill Stein were largely ignored. Democrats worked to challenge Kennedys candidacy and highlight that other Kennedy family members had called their relatives campaign dangerous. Like RFK Jr., Donald Trump is at a low point and acting out of desperation, the Democrats memo stated. Embracing RFK Jr. now when he has nothing to offer but months of disqualifying revelations is not a decision a campaign makes when theyre acting from a position of strength. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. When does fall start in 2024? See autumn dates and when leaves will change in Oklahoma It's almost time for pumpkin spices, hayrides and colorful foliage as the fall season approaches in Oklahoma and across the country. However, those in the Sooner State may need to hold off on heavy coats and warm layers for a littler longer than anticipated. Here's what to know about the first day of fall and what weather to expect in autumn. When is the first day of fall? The first day of fall this year, also known as the autumnal equinox is Sunday, Sept. 22. According to the Farmer's Almanac, the exact time of the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere is 7:44 a.m. CDT. There are technically two days that you could consider as the start of the fall season. There's astronomical fall, which begins Sept. 22, with the autumnal equinox. Some meteorologists also consider Sunday, Sept. 1, as the start of meteorological fall, which is based on the annual temperature cycle. What is the autumnal equinox? Equinoxes happen twice a year, and occur when the Earth's axis is tilted neither toward or away from the sun, creating a nearly equal amount of daylight and darkness, according to the National Weather Service. The autumnal equinox is in the fall and the other equinox, which occurs in the spring, is called the vernal equinox. The two equinoxes happen between the winter and summer solstices, when the Earth's tilt toward and away from the sun is at its maximum. What will fall weather in Oklahoma look like in 2024? The Old Farmer's Almanac is predicting a warmer-than-average fall this year for Oklahoma. The publication also says the Sooner State will see below-average amounts of rain. The Old Farmer's Almanac predicts a cooler fall for Ohio. The Oklahoma fall forecast matches the majority of the country, with the "Old Farmer's Almanac" predicting warmer fall weather elsewhere. "Your trek to the pumpkin patch may be a bit steamy this year," Almanac meteorologists Bob Smerbeck and Brian Thompson wrote in their long-range forecast. "In fact, it should be quite warm for the western half of the United States!" When will leaves start to change in Oklahoma? The leaf-changing time will vary, based on the weather and where you live in the U.S. According to the 2024 fall foliage prediction map from SmokeyMountains.com, the first leaves will begin to change along the Canadian borders of some northern states as well as in Colorado and Utah by early September. The website predicts that Oklahomans will begin to see change around mid-October. Nearly all of the contiguous U.S. states will have leaves changing by Oct. 30, the map predicts, with fall colors ranging from minimal to past peak. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: When does fall start? See Oklahoma weather, when leaves will change In a major transnational operation, which included coordination and collaboration with the U.S. Justice Department, law enforcement authorities in Guatemala arrested seven people and dismantled a human smuggling ring connected to 53 migrants deaths in San Antonio two years ago. In June 2022, the ring smuggled dozens of migrants into the U.S., with 53 dying after suffering heat-related injuries when they were left stranded in an abandoned tractor-trailer along a rural road in San Antonio. Calling it a major domestic and international operation in response to what local officials called a "horrible human tragedy," the arrests made Wednesday are part of a transnational effort to dismantle human smuggling operations in Guatemala and in Central America, the U.S. Justice Department said in its announcement Thursday. "Over the past two years, the Justice Department has worked methodically to hold accountable those responsible for the horrific tragedy in San Antonio that killed 53 people who had been preyed on by human smugglers, said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement Thursday. With these arrests, the Justice Department and our partners in Guatemala have now arrested a total of 14 people for their alleged involvement in this tragedy." Catholic monks speak to San Antonio Police officers and ask to pray for about 50 immigrants that died in an abandoned trailer in San Antonio, Texas on June 27, 2022. While six of those arrested Wednesday face charges in Guatemala, Rigoberto Ramon Miranda-Orozco, 47, has been indicted in U.S. federal court in the Western District of Texas on six counts of human smuggling that resulted in bodily injury or death. Miranda-Orozco is accused of having facilitated the transportation of four migrants, charging them $12,000 to $15,000 for the trip, from Guatemala through Mexico to the United States, and he now faces "maximum penalties of life in prison." Three of the migrants died in the trailer, while a fourth suffered serious bodily injury, according to Miranda-Orozco's indictment. More: 26 migrants found, 7 arrested in human smuggling operation near San Antonio This was a complex operation and a major success for the progression of this case apprehending a key orchestrator of the horrendous smuggling operations in which families were charged thousands of dollars for trusted transport across the U.S. border from Guatemala and other countries, said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas in the joint statement Thursday. This significant development in the case demonstrates the commitment of this office, the Department of Justice, and our partners at all necessary levels, to ensure all 53 migrants who died in the 2022 tractor-trailer tragedy get their justice. According to court documents, the trailer was loaded with 65 migrants, and during transportation along "a Texas interstate" there was no functioning air conditioner and by the time the trailer arrived in San Antonio, 48 migrants had died, including six children and a pregnant woman. A woman kneels in front of a cross at a memorial site in San Antonio, Texas on June 29, 2022. The site is dedicated to 53 migrants that died of heat-related illness in an abandoned semitrailer in Southwest San Antonio on June 27, 2022. On the evening of June 27, 2022, a San Antonio city worker heard a cry for help, and then discovered a trailer parked along a rural backroad in southwest San Antonio, which was filled with dozens of people dying or dead due to heat-related injuries. We are not supposed to open up a truck and see stacks of bodies in there, San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood told media as the scene unfolded. At the time, 46 people were declared dead initially as officials arrived to the scene. Sixteen others, including four children, were taken to area hospitals for treatment. Suffering from heat stroke and heat exhaustion, the migrants were "hot to the touch." Smugglers prey on migrants and seek profits with complete disregard for human life, as we saw in this tragic incident that killed 53 people, said U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. The men and women at Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection work every day to disrupt these sophisticated smuggling networks, and we will continue to work alongside our federal and international partners to dismantle them at every level of operation. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Seven arrested for smuggling operation that killed 53 in San Antonio This photo taken on Aug. 22, 2024 shows a large container terminal under construction at Dekheila Port in Alexandria, Egypt. A new large container terminal at Egypt's Dekheila Port on the Mediterranean Sea will be handed over to an international consortium led by China's Hutchison Ports for operation by the end of the year, according to an Egyptian official. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) ALEXANDRIA, Egypt, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- A new large container terminal at Egypt's Dekheila Port on the Mediterranean Sea will be handed over to an international consortium led by China's Hutchison Ports for operation by the end of the year, according to an Egyptian official. "1,200 meters of the 1,680-meter-long terminal will be operated by the international consortium led by China's Hutchison Ports," Ahmed Hawash, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Alexandria Port Authority, told Xinhua on Thursday. The backyard used at this terminal is 1 million square meters, with a container capacity of 1.5 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit), he said. "The aim of establishing the terminal is to increase the capacity for handling goods, whether general goods or containers," Hawash added. He noted that they have gained experience in terminal operations through cooperation with the international consortium. "We have succeeded in operating many terminals completely because we have gained experience through partnerships with experienced foreign partners," the Egyptian official said. The Alexandria Port Authority, in charge of Alexandria Port and Dekheila Port, provides all operational and logistical services related to maritime transport activities. Workers are pictured at the construction site of a large container terminal at Dekheila Port in Alexandria, Egypt, Aug. 22, 2024. A new large container terminal at Egypt's Dekheila Port on the Mediterranean Sea will be handed over to an international consortium led by China's Hutchison Ports for operation by the end of the year, according to an Egyptian official. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) This photo taken on Aug. 22, 2024 shows a large container terminal under construction at Dekheila Port in Alexandria, Egypt. A new large container terminal at Egypt's Dekheila Port on the Mediterranean Sea will be handed over to an international consortium led by China's Hutchison Ports for operation by the end of the year, according to an Egyptian official. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) This photo taken on Aug. 22, 2024 shows a large container terminal under construction at Dekheila Port in Alexandria, Egypt. A new large container terminal at Egypt's Dekheila Port on the Mediterranean Sea will be handed over to an international consortium led by China's Hutchison Ports for operation by the end of the year, according to an Egyptian official. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa) Dont give up the ship: Wayfinder hotel in Newport reopens after 2022 fire NEWPORT, R.I. (WPRI) The Wayfinder hotel in Newport is officially reopening two years after a massive fire devastated the building. You would have no idea it was engulfed in flames a little more than two years ago, owner Phil Hospod told 12 News. On May 23, 2022, heavy flames tore through four floors of the historic hotel on Admiral Kalbfus Road, forcing a complete rebuild. The timing was exceptionally unfortunate, right? To have to close your hotel in Newport in May, just before Memorial Day, is not ideal, Hospod added. BACKGROUND: Newport hotel goes up in flames; 3 firefighters injured Discover Newport CEO Evan Smith described it as the citys largest commercial fire since 1998. Photo: Sky Drone 12 MORE | Sky Drone 12: See the aftermath of Newport hotel fire Hospod revealed to 12 News that a cigarette butt was the cause of the fire. You cant plan all these things, and you get knocked down, you got to get back up, he said. Now, the Wayfinder has risen from the ashes. Hospod emphasized that Rhode Islands characteristics of grit and perseverance were crucial for the hotels revival. Since the fire, it has undergone extensive renovations in preparation for its grand reopening. Without a doubt, the last two years have been extremely trying to get to where we are, Hospod recalled. Last summer, the hotel partially reopened the less-damaged areas for reservations. In the meantime, the company unveiled two new Wayfinder locations in Hawaii and California. The lobby reopened in July. There, a tapestry hangs bearing the words, Dont Give Up the Ship, which Hospod said has served as the hotels motto. In this years Best of Rhode Island, Wayfinder Newport was honored as Rhode Island Monthlys Comeback Kid, recognizing the hotels significant recovery efforts. Its been coming back very quickly, Hospod said. Were in a better place than we had expected, and now were going to keep building. The final step in the hotels full recovery is the reopening of its full-service restaurant, Nomi Park, which is set for next spring. Wayfinder Newport | Dovetail & Co. 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. HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) Officials say Libertarian candidate for Indiana Governor Donald Rainwater will attend the Farm Bureau of Posey Countys Cream the Candidate event on August 25 from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. In addition, he will also attend the Evansville Small Business Night Out from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central Time as a speaker. Officials with Rainwaters campaign say the Cream the Candidates event will host several candidates, and ice cream can be purchased from the host business, The Granary. The Small Business Night Out will feature music from 2012 Battle of the Blues winner Boscoe France, a nacho eating competition and door prizes. Landmark merger for Nix Industrial and Huncilman in Indiana According to a spokesperson for the campaign, at both of these events, Hoosiers will hear directly from Donald Rainwater on his solutions for the issues surrounding Indiana property taxes, gasoline taxes and education reform, as well as his plans to bring Better Government, not Bigger Government back to Indiana. The Granary is located at 413 Granary Street in New Harmony. Main Street Food and Beverage is located at 900 Main Street in Evansville. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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). SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. Former President Donald Trump, if hes elected to a second term, would work with local law enforcement to apprehend migrants who entered the country illegally as part of his plan to implement the largest mass deportation in U.S. history, he said at a press conference in Arizona on Thursday. Standing at the countrys southern border in Cochise County, Arizona, Trump said migrants living illegally in the U.S. will be deported by the millions and returned to their countries of origin. If foreign nations do not cooperate with this relocation, the United States will employ economic penalties, he said. Well work with locals and theyre going to bring them (migrants) to us and well get them over the border, and well make arrangements with the countries, and the countries will accept them back, and if they dont accept them back, we do no trade with those countries, and we charge them big tariffs, Trump said in response to a question from the Deseret News during a question and answer period following prepared remarks. The Republican nominee for president in 2024 framed his candidacy as a return to order and safety, hours before Vice President Kamala Harris accepted her partys nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Trump tallied off a list of crimes allegedly committed by migrants who entered the country illegally during President Joe Bidens administration. Trump was joined at his press conference by relatives of victims who had been killed. The choice is simple, Kamalas mass amnesty of criminals, or President Trumps mass deportation of criminals, Trump said. I think thats pretty easy. Trump suggested allowing migrants to stay in the country under Bidens asylum policies is tantamount to amnesty. Trump spoke for nearly an hour, framed on one side by an unfinished portion of the 30-foot border wall constructed during his first administration, and on the other side by the ragged peaks of Montezuma Pass. Following the press conference, Trump reportedly cut an interview short when he was informed by his security detail that his safety may have been compromised. A day earlier, Arizona law enforcement agencies announced they were searching for a man who allegedly threatened in an online post that he would kill Trump. The 66-year-old Arizona man was arrested on Thursday, according to the Cochise County Sheriffs Office. What did Trump say about deportation? Trump said local law enforcement would be partners in his proposed deportation program. Police have boots-on-the-ground experience with which migrants represent a danger to the community, he said. They know the really bad ones. Theyre a great help. We have to get the criminals out of our country immediately, Trump said. When asked whether families and children would be included in his proposed forcible federal removal of migrants as they were in the mass deportations of Mexican immigrants in the 1950s Trump did not provide a clear answer, saying Well work on that. At other rallies, Trump has said he would follow the Eisenhower model, referring to Operation Wetback, which resulted in the expulsion of up to one million Mexican workers. At Julys Republican National Convention, where delegates were seen holding Mass deportation now! signs, Trump said his initiative would be even larger than that of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The former presidents policy advisers, including Stephen Miller, who was at Thursdays border visit, have said Trumps approach would include expedited deportation proceedings that skip due process hearings. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would reportedly receive assistance from deputized local law enforcement and National Guardsmen to carry out deportation raids across the country. Large detention facilities would be constructed to hold migrants awaiting deportation. These proposals would require a massive increase in resources and personnel for ICE and the immigration court system, experts have told media outlets. But former acting director of ICE under Trump, Tom Homan, recently said in a second Trump administration there would be a previously unseen level of deportations. Trump made similar promises during his 2016 campaign, saying at one time he would deport probably two million, it could be even three million migrants with criminal records, and saying he would deport every immigrant in the country who was living there illegally, at least 11 million. While Trump deported at least several hundred thousand migrants not including Title 42 expulsions much more than the number that have taken place under Biden, he appears to have deported fewer migrants than his predecessors. Former President Donald Trump speaks on the U.S. Mexico border in Cochise County, Arizona, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. | Brigham Tomco, Deseret News Border law enforcement weigh in on deportation Brandon Judd, the former president of the National Border Patrol Council, said that increased deportations is an important part of border security because it creates an additional disincentive for individuals who are considering migrating to the United States. Anytime that people think they can cross our borders illegally and make it into the United States and theyre able to stay, theyre going to continue to come, Judd told the Deseret News at the border. So if you start deporting people, and people recognize that, Hey, even if I evade apprehension on the border once I get to the interior Im subject to deportation, the likelihood of them coming is going to be a lot slimmer. In an interview with the Deseret News, Cochise County Sheriff Mark Dannels, who serves as the chair of the National Sheriffs Association border security committee, said voters have to detach their emotions from the reality of enforcing the rule of law. The problem of immigration in America cannot be fixed, Dannels said, until the law is enforced for those who are not following proper immigration procedures, even if they have been in the country for years. If they dont have an asylum claim thats justified, theres got to be consequences and deportation is a process that needs to be addressed, Dannels said. This should never be politics. This should be about whats the rule say, if you dont like the rule, Congress, change it, and quit playing political parties. The border-town mayor of Douglas, Arizona, Donald Huish said he prizes the unity his town feels with their Mexican brothers and sisters on the other side of the wall. If the wall wasnt there, I dont think wed notice anything different, he told the Deseret News, referring to the blending of Mexican and American culture in his home town of roughly 16,500. But that does not mean border policy doesnt matter, he said. Huishs community has been racked by a steady stream of border-related crime, leaving the streets unsafe because of human smugglers driving at high speeds through the town, and straining city resources to help Border Patrol agents. He said he longs for the Trump-era policies that restricted asylum claims and freed up Border Agents to keep bad actors out. But he worries Trumps regime of mass deportations would lead to large groups of migrants being dropped across the border from Douglas with nowhere to go but back over the wall. So what does that do to me?, Huish asked. I would hope that border patrol gets additional personnel. During the DNC, Harris who previously campaigned on the phrase an undocumented immigrant is not a criminal shifted her tone on immigration, trying to strike a balance between migrants rights and greater border security. Harris and Biden touted a recent decline in border crossings as evidence that a new executive order restricting asylum claims is having an impact. At Thursdays press conference, Trump rejected Harris advances on an issue that he has long owned in public opinion. Kamala says she wants to talk about the future. No, these people want to go back to the safe past, Trump said. We will make America safe again. Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump talks with Patty Morin, mother of Rachel Morin, along the southern border with Mexico, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Sierra Vista, Ariz. | Evan Vucci The Donald Trump/RFK Jr. alliance is weird, but heres how it might work | Opinion In an election cycle that can only be described as stranger than fiction, things have just gotten impossibly weirder. Longtime Democrat-turned-independent candidate for president Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is dropping out of the race and endorsing none other than Donald Trump. The move wasnt totally unexpected; both campaigns have been hinting at it for days, and a certain sect of Trump supporters have been angling for an alliance for months. Trumps running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance, said this week that communication between the campaigns has been ongoing, and on Friday, it apparently culminated in one of the strangest political marriages weve seen in some time. In a weird way, though, its a very American-looking union. Aside from being a member of one of the most famous political dynasties in American history a relationship upon which he has capitalized Kennedy is far from a nere-do-well or grifter. He made a name for himself as a prominent environmental activist and attorney, working as a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, an organization known for being a thorn in the side of the Environmental Protection Agency during Republican administrations. He was even named one of Time magazines Heroes for the Planet not a credential that would render him a GOP darling. But his assertions that common childhood vaccines are dangerous, his skepticism of government in general and his outspoken opinions on the COVID vaccine in particular attracted support from government cynics on the right, growing a base of supporters as motley as one could imagine. Indeed, his campaign platform is an amalgam of both left- and right-leaning policies: strength on the border, dovish foreign policy, populist economics, and support for the Second Amendment, abortion rights and legalizing marijuana. Its almost as if he threw conservative and progressive policy positions into the air and picked up the ones that landed at his feet. While Kennedy and his running mate, Silicon Valley attorney and entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan, have deep roots in the Democratic Party (Shanahan donated $25,000 to the Biden campaign in 2020), it seems things have changed. Kennedys platform is predicated on challenging what he deems a corrupted two-party system; he intended for his ticket to attract the growing number of voters who find themselves politically homeless. Early polling showed that his candidacy would siphon away enough support from Joe Biden to give Trump the edge in the election. Now that Kamala Harris is the new joyful Democratic nominee, that edge may be less certain. But its probably not non-existent. Homeless voters will need to go somewhere, and if the two divergent campaigns pool their resources and work together they could build enough voter support over the next three months to secure a Trump-Kennedy conservative-populist-progressive victory, if you will. In a weird way, you could say Kennedys endorsement of Trump is how politics should be done. Parliamentary democracies (of which America is not one, but arguably should be) rely on alliances between otherwise divergent parties to secure victories. At least on issues that send voters to the polls, the Venn diagram of Trump and Kennedy supporters is promising. And while political parties like to talk about unity and compromise when it suits them (consider Harris nomination acceptance speech), its rarely done in reality because politicians once in office tend to primarily serve their bases. In this way, we could be entering new territory in modern American politics. Do you have an opinion on this topic? Tell us! We love to hear from Texans with opinions on the news and to publish those views in the Opinion section. Letters should be no more than 150 words. Writers should submit letters only once every 30 days. Include your name, address (including city of residence), phone number and email address, so we can contact you if we have questions. You can submit a letter to the editor two ways: Email letters@star-telegram.com (preferred). Fill out this online form. Please note: Letters will be edited for style and clarity. Publication is not guaranteed. The best letters are focused on one topic. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) Leticia Perez has been endorsed by the one of the top law enforcement officers in Kern County in her 2024 campaign for the District 5 supervisor seat, Perezs campaign said Thursday. Kern County Sheriff-Coroner Donny Youngblood announced his endorsement of Leticia Perez in her quest for re-election as District 5 supervisor. The announcement adds to the list of elected officials and community leaders who have already endorsed Perez. Mother alleges highchair was used as form of discipline at Southwest Bakersfield daycare Statement from Donny Youngblood: Supervisor Leticia Perez has been a great partner and neighbor. With her help, we have prioritized public safety by putting more law enforcement officers on our streets and giving our deputies the much needed raises they deserve. Leticia supports our men and women in uniform, and I am proud to support her for Supervisor Youngblood recently endorsed CD-20 candidate Mike Boudreaux in his campaign for the seat for Californias 20th Congressional District. Youngblood has served as Sheriff of Kern County since 2006. Perez has also been endorsed by Bakersfield City Councilmember Manpreet Kaur, Vice Mayor Andrae Gonzales and Dolores Huerta, according to the campaign. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) The Mahoning County Democratic Party is hosting its annual picnic and family fun night Friday. Special guests include Doctor Amy Acton, Justices Michael Donnelly and Melody Stewart, and Judge Lisa Forbes. Dr. Acton helped lead Ohios early COVID-19 response and is weighing a 2026 run for governor. Acton shared her deliberations with reporters during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Tuesday. The local picnic will include a hot pepper contest, face painting, food and more. The event is at the Maronite Centers Recreation Pavilion in Youngstown starting at 5 p.m. Tickets are available on the Mahoning County Democratic Partys Facebook page. They are $15 per person or $25 for a couple. Kids are free. Patty Coller 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 WKBN.com. EMORY, Utah (ABC4) A driver was hospitalized following a rollover crash on I-80 near Emory in Summit County early Friday morning, Aug. 23. Details on the crash are still extremely limited, however, officials told ABC4.com the crash happened between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. near mile marker 179. Authorities said the crash happened in the eastbound lanes, but the car ended up landing in the westbound lanes on the left shoulder of I-80. The driver, who has not been identified by officials, was airlifted from the scene and taken to a hospital for treatment. The driver suffered significant injuries, likely including broken legs, according to authorities. Police say they were conscious and alert while being taken to the hospital. The cause of the crash is currently under investigation. This is a developing story. ABC4 will update this post as new 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 ABC4 Utah. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A North Las Vegas Police Department patrol vehicle was sideswiped by an alleged DUI driver on the freeway Thursday night while its officer was assisting another collision, police said. On Thursday, Aug. 22 at around 8:45 p.m., an officer with the North Las Vegas Police Department was on patrol when he came across a two-vehicle collision on southbound I-15 near Cheyenne Avenue. A North Las Vegas Police Department patrol vehicle was sideswiped by an alleged DUI driver while an officer was assisting another collision. (NLVPD) The officer had both vehicles moved onto the shoulder of the freeway and was waiting for Nevada State Police to respond when a gray Volkswagen sedan approached the collision scene. According to police, the driver of the sedan, Yamila Perdomo-Hernandez, 52, failed to maintain her lane of travel and sideswiped the patrol vehicle. The officer was not in his vehicle at the time of the collision was not injured. Yamila Perdomo-Hernandez, 52, charges of DUI and failure to maintain a lane of travel. (NLVPD) Perdomo-Hernandez remained on scene and showed signs of impairment. Police arrested her and booked her into the North Las Vegas Community Correctional Center on charges of DUI and failure to maintain a lane of travel. We want to remind the community to dont drink and drive, find a sober driver, and to slow down and move over as you approach stopped emergency vehicles, the department wrote in a release. As we are approaching Labor Day weekend (here soon), NLVPD will be joining forces with other law enforcement agencies in the valley to look for impaired drivers, reckless driving, and distracted drivers. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. TEXAS (KXAN) The ride-hailing service Uber is collaborating with autonomous vehicle company Cruise to bring driverless services to the app, Uber announced Thursday. The partnership will formally launch next year with a dedicated number of Chevy Bolt-based autonomous vehicles in Uber services, the release said. Once operational, Uber customers seeking a ride might have the option of taking a driverless Uber for their trip. Cruise is on a mission to leverage driverless technology to create safer streets and redefine urban life, said Marc Whitten, CEO of Cruise, in the release. We are excited to partner with Uber to bring the benefits of safe, reliable, autonomous driving to even more people, unlocking a new era of urban mobility. Its the second of a marked return for Cruise operations, after the company announced last October it would pause all driverless operations will taking steps to rebuild public trust. Back in June, the company confirmed it had resumed manual driving test operations in Phoenix, Houston and Dallas. Prior to its pause last fall, Cruise had been testing vehicles in Austin. It was a testing period marked by some residential and public safety concerns, including vehicles malfunctioning and stopping in the middle of Austin streets, inundating various neighborhoods and veering into bike lanes while operating. The City of Austin launched an AV Safety Task Force to include assistance and perspective from Austin-Travis County EMS, the Austin Police Department and the Austin Fire Department on how to navigate situations involving AVs. However, AVs are ultimately regulated at the state level, as opposed to by local jurisdictions. State law preempts local authority of self-driving vehicles, an Austin Transportation and Public Works Department spokesperson previously told KXAN. [Senate Bill] 2205 made rules uniform for AVs across the state, putting regulation and oversight in the hands of the state government rather than local municipalities. In an email to KXAN Friday, a spokesperson for the Austin Transportation and Public Works Department said they arent aware of any plans for Cruise to resume operations in Austin 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 KXAN Austin. MONSON, Mass. (WWLP) A police departments drone assisted in finding a man reportedly lying on the train tracks in Monson. Springfield Police brings back community policing by establishing walking patrols in Indian Orchard According to the Monson Police Department, a railroad worker called 911 Thursday to report a man who was passed out on the tracks near the Maple St overpass. The worker told police that he believed the person was extremely intoxicated. When the worker approached the man on the tracks, he woke up and ran away into the woods. Monson officers were assisted by the East Longmeadow Police Departments Drone Unit to search for the area. The Monson Police said that the person they were looking for was known to the police and believed that he only posed a danger to himself. The man the police were looking for was found safe and the police thanked the worker for reporting the incident. 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. TOKYO, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks rose slightly on Friday as concerns about the yen's appreciation eased after the Bank of Japan (BOJ) chief indicated the central bank would continue normalizing monetary policy. Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average, ended up 153.26 points, or 0.40 percent, from Thursday at 38,364.27. The broader Topix index, meanwhile, finished 13.32 points, or 0.50 percent, higher at 2,684.72. The U.S. dollar briefly weakened to the lower 145 yen range after the BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda vowed to closely monitor the financial markets after recent turmoil while stating that "there is no change in our basic stance to adjust the degree of monetary easing." Stocks ended the morning slightly lower, weighed down by export-oriented issues on a stronger yen. But losses were erased in the afternoon as investor caution was eased by Ueda's remarks coming in largely within expectations, analysts said. Market watchers here noted that Ueda's latest comments eased concerns of near-term volatility on the currency market and created space for some buying of heavyweight Japanese companies and exporters. Friday we bring in winds from the west-southwest as our high pressure dome pushes east. This helps push out the cooler air for something closer to seasonal averages. For our western counties the low 80s by the afternoon while our eastern mountains make a run for the mid to upper 70s. A nice improvement from the 60s we started the week with. As for the rain, Friday delivers none as drought conditions continue to get worse. Friday night is looking comfortable no matter what you have planned. Well keep the 60s just past midnight before dropping back into the upper 50s. Southwest winds and a touch of humidity will keep us from falling back too far with the exception of the high terrain in the low 50s. #CommunityCalendar: Take advantage of the summer-like weekend with a local event! Saturday we bring the humidity and thermometers up as a nice warm up unfolds across the two-Virginias. Highs in the low to mid 80s under mostly sunny skies really give us that summer feel weve missed out on so often this year. A few extra clouds in the afternoon as an upper level system pushes across the northern Great Lakes. Too far away to see rain from, but a few puffy white clouds to dot the otherwise blue skies. Saturday evening with the few wispy clouds well have left, a beautiful sunset for us to watch. Temps remain in the 60s well past midnight with many only just flirting with the upper 50s by the predawn hours. Overall, a cool and comfortable overnight. Sunday a few more clouds in the mix but nothing that will hurt temps or bring any relief to the drought as rain is not expected. Highs push into the mid 80s with a few spots west of Beckley making a solid run at the upper 80s. What a change from the beginning of the week! The touch more humidity with dew points rising into the 50s and low 60s will certainly give us that summer feel. Into the night temps drop back into the low 60s. Monday the warm up continues with many reaching the 70s by mid-morning. With mostly sunny skies, well reach for the mid and upper 80s with our mountains trying for the low 80s. Still no rain to speak off but a few extra clouds heading into the afternoon than previous days. Our next system tries to get its act together for a Tuesday arrival. Tuesday starts with sun & clouds with temps warming up steadily into the mid and upper 80s by the afternoon. An upper level system is expected to cross the region so expect clouds to thicken as the afternoon marches on into our evening hours. Highly scattered showers with imbedded thunderstorms will bring much needed rain but not in an amount that will help. With our compacted dry grounds, heavy downpours will need to be monitored for runoff issues leading to flash flooding. Of course, itll be a day most stay dry so dont expect much out of this system. A better chance unfolds for Wednesday. Wednesday a cold front is expected to bring a few scattered showers from time to time. Not enough rain to help ease the last weeks dry spell but something to add to the rain gauge. A rumble of thunder in the afternoon is possible with isolated heavy downpours. Highs push the 90 degree mark for many west of the turnpike (I-77). With our ground compact and dry, rushing runoff leading to pooling on roads can happen quickly which will be something to watch while traveling for the evening commute. Thursday partly sunny skies gives us a few hours of sunshine helping temps warm up into the mid and upper 80s. A few afternoon pop-up showers likely, but again, several counties remain dry most of the day. In your extended forecast, despite the rain chances climbing, rivers, water tables, and ground surfaces are still going to be dry. The impacts of the drought will certainly begin to be felt by a wider audience until beneficial rain totals start moving through. With September, October, and November typically our driest months of the year by average, itll be a rough fall season ahead. FRIDAY Sunshine & warmer! Highs in the low 80s. SATURDAY Feeling like August, Sun & Clouds. Highs in the low to mid 80s. SUNDAY Mild & humid. Sun & clouds. Highs in the mid 80s. MONDAY Dry start, increasing clouds. Iso. shower PM. Highs in the mid to upper 80s. TUESDAY Sct. showers PM, mostly cloudy. Highs in the mid to upper 80s. WEDNESDAY AM Showers, sun & clouds PM. Highs in the upper 80s / near 90 west. THURSDAY Mostly sunny, Iso. PM Shower. Highs in the upper 80s. FRIDAY AM sprinkles fade, sunshine returns slowly. Highs in the 80s. SATURDAY Sct. Showers, some dry time. Highs in the mid 80s SUNDAY Sct. Showers, PM rumbles. Highs in the 80s. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) A 29-year-old man was arrested on drug distribution charges along Salt Lake Citys Jordan River Trail on Thursday, according to Salt Lake City Police. Shortly after 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, an SLCPD officer working the Jordan River Trail spotted a man later identified as Kyaw Poe throw something into river, a press release from SLCPD states. Woman missing after flash flood at Grand Canyons Havasu Creek The officer stopped Poe to begin an investigation, but Poe reportedly ran, refusing to stop at police command. A Utah Dept. of Public Safety helicopter responded and helped officers find Poe. Upon taking Poe into custody, officers seized methamphetamine, over 150 blue M-30 fentanyl pills, cash, and drug paraphernalia. Poe was booked into Salt Lake County Jail on two felony charges of distribution of a controlled substance, failure to stop at the command of a police officer, and providing false information to a police officer. 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. Dueling measures to expand or limit abortion will be on the ballot in Nebraska Nebraska voters will see two competing questions about abortion on the ballot in November after activists on both sides of the issue met the signature requirements needed, the states top election official said Friday. Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen (R) said this year is the first time rival initiatives will appear on the same ballot. Barring any legal challenges, this November general election ballot will host two ballot measures that appear in direct conflict with each other, which could be the first time this has happened in Nebraskas history, Evnen said. One initiative would protect abortion up to fetal viability, and the other would enshrine the states current 12-week ban. In addition to needing a majority to pass, the total votes for each initiative must represent at least 35 percent of those casting ballots. If both measures receive enough votes to pass, the ballot measure with the highest number of votes in favor will prevail. Evnen said his office validated more than 136,000 signatures for both proposals. Most Republican-controlled states have implemented abortion bans or restrictions since Roe vs. Wade was overturned more than two years ago. In that time, every state that has put abortion on the ballot voted in favor of protecting access to the procedure in some way. Nebraska is the last of 10 states to certify an abortion measure for the November ballot, including swing states of Arizona and Nevada, as well as Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana and South Dakota. Abortion rights activists were thwarted for the first time this week when a long-shot ballot initiative in Arkansas was blocked by the state Supreme Court, which said the initiatives backers failed to submit proper paperwork. The growing number of ballot initiatives is fueling hope among Democrats that voter turnout will be turbocharged this cycle. Nebraska is home to a tightly contested House race this year, where Rep. Don Bacon (R) is facing Democratic state Sen. Tony Vargas in a rematch of 2022. The race is widely regarded as a toss-up. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. EYEWITNESS NEWS (WBRE/WYOU) State police announced DUI checkpoints will be placed across various roadways in Pennsylvania. According to Pennsylvania State Police, sobriety checkpoints and roving patrols aim to deter drinking and driving. Police say they are operating with a zero-tolerance enforcement policy. Police say checkpoints and roving patrols will be placed starting at the end of August through September on roadways experiencing high rates of DUI-related traffic violations and DUI-related crashes. The counties participating in the DUI checkpoints are as follows: Bradford County Vandalism suspect damages 13 vehicles in Luzerne County PSP did not give details on the areas where the patrols will be conducted and did not say when the checkpoints will be placed. State police encourage those who are out during the weekend and choose to consume alcohol to not drive a car. Officials warn drivers Pennsylvanias DUI laws issue a legal limit of .08% blood alcohol concentration (BAC). DUI offenses can range from a $300 fine with six months of probation, all the way up to fines of $5,000 with prison sentences of up to 5 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 PAhomepage.com. WILLIMANTIC, CT Eastern Connecticut State University this weekend will be welcoming its largest class of first-year students since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 700 students are expected to move into campus residence halls on Saturday. Overall, the Class of 2028 is 812 strong, and many of them will be greeted on move-in day by Eastern's new president, Karim Ismaili, and Terrence Cheng, the chancellor of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system. They will mingle with students and families from 12 to 2 p.m. The first-year, full-time students will move into residence halls that include Mead, Crandall, Burnap, Winthrop, Constitution and Burr halls. Burr, built in 1921, is being reopened after several years due to the surge in enrollment. First-year enrollment grew 32 percent this year from the 2023 incoming class, school officials said. At 4 p.m., the Class of 2028 will gather for the University's annual "E" photo in the Fine Arts Instructional Center amphitheater, where the students will arrange in a giant group photo alongside Ismaili to commemorate the start of their Eastern careers. The remaining campus population, consisting of more than 1,400 residents who are either returning or transfer students, will move into residence halls on Monday. . Eastern's 'Largest Incoming Class In Years' Moving In This Weekend originally appeared on the Mansfield-Storrs Patch An Erie County college unveiled a new facility Thursday with a goal to help a group of students with barriers to education. Erie County Community College hosted a tour of their new facility at the North Coast Plaza on West Ridge Road which is geared to help the colleges uniquely abled academy. Its heartbreaking Erie woman raising concern over state of Erie cemetery The new facility features around 10 industrial machines, and students will learn how to operate these machines to get a certificate in industrial maintenance or CNC operations. The support coordinator for the uniquely abled academy says the new facility will help students prepare for the workforce by providing them with college credits and machine certifications. City of Erie officials highlight economic accomplishments from recent years We have an 85% unemployed rate for adults with autism, who would be able to be employed, and so we want to decrease that and help them to feel like they can be a contributing member of our society and take pride in what theyre able to bring to the table, said Tacie Thomas, the Uniquely Abled Academy support coordinator for EC3. For more information on how to get involved with the Uniquely Abled Academy contact Tacie Thomas by phone at 814-373-9382 or email at TThomas@EC3Pa.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 WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com. Kamala Harris' proposal to stop price gouging has sparked cheers and warnings from commentators. The Democratic presidential candidate plans to pursue a federal ban, make rules, and punish defiers. Dave Ramsey and Kevin O'Leary slammed her plan, while Paul Krugman said it might not be a bad idea. Vice President Kamala Harris' plan to stop price gouging in the food and grocery industries has divided commentators, with some cheering her proposal and others labeling her a communist. The Democratic presidential nominee intends to pursue the first federal ban on excessive overpricing of food and groceries, introduce rules to stop big industry players from exploiting consumers to rake in exorbitant profits, and empower regulators and prosecutors to root out and punish bad behavior. Harris has framed her proposal as a response to painful inflation in recent years, which has made it far more expensive for families to afford basics such as food, fuel, and rent. The Federal Reserve responded to surging prices by hiking interest rates from nearly zero to north of 5%, which resulted in many people paying more toward their credit cards, car loans, and mortgages each month. In short, consumers have been dealt a one-two punch of steeper prices and borrowing costs. Several experts and other commentators have reacted strongly to Harris' plan. Here's what they said: 1. Lindsay Owens of Groundwork, a progressive think tank and advocacy group Harris is "laser-focused on lowering costs for American families, particularly the costs that matter most the cost of a roof over your head and food on the table," she said, later adding: "This is not price controls; 40 states have price-gouging laws on the books." She then said, "Donald Trump did price-gouging laws," adding: "The reason that she's proposing something like this is because it works." (CNBC) 2. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics "Aggressive or unfair pricing practices are at bottom of list of reasons" for the high inflation we've suffered over the past recent years, "if they're on the list at all," he said, adding: "Today, it's hard to point to any significant, meaningful examples of price gouging." He later said: "Things can and should be done to make sure there is competition in the markets and businesses are following good pricing policies. And prices need to be transparent so people can shop for a good deal." (CBS MoneyWatch) 3. Donald Trump, Republican presidential nominee and former president "After causing catastrophic inflation, Comrade Kamala announced that she wants to institute socialist price controls," Trump said, adding: "What they are doing is a communist takeover of our country." (New York Post) 4. Dave Ramsey, personal finance guru and host of 'The Ramsey Show' "It's been tried; it does not work. What works is to flood the market with supply: Lots of oil means lower oil prices. Lots of labor means lower labor prices. Lots of whatever means lower prices it's a simple supply-and-demand curve," he said. Ramsey added: "When you insert government and try to artificially cramp it down, it simply does not work because you can only hold that hose for so long until the pressure builds up and then it blows on you." (Fox News) 5. Kevin O'Leary, 'Shark Tank' investor nicknamed 'Mr. Wonderful' "Price fixing, we tried that in the '70s that's beyond crazy. Can you imagine an America where there's a ministry of pricing for groceries that tells a farmer what an apple can be sold for and what you can buy it for? I mean, that is a horror film on Netflix no one's even written the script for. That's not America. There's no chance in hell that's going to happen." O'Leary added that price fixing had strong links to communism, saying it's been tried in Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, and the Soviet Union. "It just reduces supply like crazy. It's a really bad idea," he said. (Fox News) Kevin O'Leary is not a fan of Harris' price-control ideas. REUTERS/ Gus Ruelas 6. Paul Krugman, Nobel Memorial Prize laureate and Princeton economist "I've been amazed at how many credulous commentators, and not just on the right, have asserted that Harris is calling for price controls, making her out to be the second coming of Richard Nixon if not the next Nicolas Maduro. "What she has actually called for is legislation banning price gouging on groceries. Obviously, this is a populist political gesture a way to offer something to voters upset about high food prices. But just because something is popular doesn't mean that it's a bad idea." Krugman added that many states, including Texas, had laws banning businesses from overcharging for essentials like food and fuel during disasters. (New York Times column) 7. Target CEO Brian Cornell The retail giant's boss said that offering value to customers is core to Target's business, adding that its operating margin was only about 6% and shoppers could easily compare prices across different stores to find the best deal. "We're in a penny business. It's a very competitive space," Cornell said. (CNBC) Read the original article on Business Insider GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) There have been some students concerned with parking at East Carolina University as the school year has begun. Theyre saying there is limited parking, and that the passes are expensive and hard to obtain. Officials with East Carolina University Parking said that permits are a first come, first serve basis, and that it is mostly freshmen who are waitlisted. They said those spots will open up to those waiting, depending on the amount of permits they sell to returning students. They also recommend parking in further lots and taking the shuttle to campus. Its a battle. It is. And a lot of kids were very unfortunate, didnt get a spot and have tried to find alternate places like the parking decks and everything, ECU student Sierra Askew said. But again, you have to pay for that parking as well. And its $1 an hour, but most kids are coming here paying for theirselves, so its really difficult. Click the video above 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 WNCT. Parents want to give their kids every chance to live a good and happy life. Is it possible that college could make that more difficult? (Getty Images) Like a lot of New Hampshire parents, well be dropping off a kid at college in the coming days. The not-a-kid-anymore is a little stressed, but very excited. The still-your-parents are a little excited, but very stressed. Theres so much to remember. There are so many things to worry about. There are so many lectures to give and give again. And again. Dont get into a car with somebody who has been drinking. Dont walk on campus alone at night. We are paying for a meal plan. Please use your meal plan. Just because you dont have to go to class does not mean you dont have to go to class. There are a thousand of these and a thousand more will likely occur to us on the quiet drive home but sometimes what we really want to say is: Please stop growing up. Worrying is what parents do, and never stop doing. But as much as we stress about all of those day-to-day decisions and possible pitfalls, were also dealing with a lot of anxiety about what awaits our kid, not just in this first semester but throughout the post-college years. Like a lot of New Hampshire families, were worried about the debt. Were not the first generation of parents to face the hard facts of a college investment. To varying degrees, those of us who landed on campus in the 80s and 90s were aware of our own economic sacrifice and that of our parents. Often, there was a lot of saving and scraping involved. Typically, there was new debt for the student, parent, or both. The late great 80s movie scribe John Hughes even made college affordability a subplot of 1987s (but timeless) Some Kind of Wonderful. For a Gen Xer, one of lifes most jarring moments comes when you rewatch it and realize you are no longer young Keith (or equally young Watts or Amanda Jones) trying to figure it all out but rather Keiths dad, Cliff, who is singularly fixated on getting Keith to care about his future as much as he does. If you dont get with the program, Cliff says to Keith early in the film, youll be selling tires, too. But I wonder if the college guidance we give our kids is more challenging now than it was then. Here are a few findings from a recent Pew survey published in May: Only 1-in-4 U.S. adults say its extremely or very important to have a four-year college degree in order to get a well-paying job in todays economy. Roughly half (49 percent) say its less important to have a four-year college degree today in order to get a well-paying job than it was 20 years ago. Only 22 percent say the cost of getting a four-year college degree today is worth it even if someone has to take out loans. Cliff was darn sure that the only way to break the cycle of selling tires was for Keith to get a college education. Many of todays parents are less sure, it seems, even as labor statistics continue to make a compelling case, wage-wise, for staying in school. The main issue is that if what we really want for our kids is opportunity both financial and in terms of personal fulfillment it seems fair to wonder whether a college degree is still one of the best avenues. In New Hampshire especially, its not difficult to imagine how things could go sideways for a new college grad. For example, the lack of affordable housing is well established here. Imagine what lugging around a hefty monthly college loan payment does to your already limited housing options. Imagine how that kind of debt affects a new familys ability to start building a life. And, imagine how hefty college loans might make a young person feel forever trapped by a decision they made at 18 and, like Keith, were still trying to figure it all out. The average annual cost of in-state tuition and fees in New Hampshire is $16,749, according to the Education Data Initiative, which puts the state behind only Vermont when it comes to the highest average annual cost for in-state students. For young people itching to experience new parts of the country or the world, it used to be that the relatively low cost of in-state tuition was incentive enough to put those dreams on hold for four years. That incentive has largely evaporated in New Hampshire, in large part due to anemic state investments in post-secondary education. As Gene Martin of the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute wrote for the Bulletin last fall, that lack of state vision creates a heavy burden on those just starting out: The impact of low state funding for post-secondary education can be passed on to students in higher tuition costs and greater debt loads as low levels of state support mean institutions are more tuition dependent. If we truly want our kids to stick around and join the New Hampshire workforce after earning their degree, we sure do a poor job of showing it. There is no easy fix for any of this, I know. Like a teenager trying to choose what will be best for their future self, its complicated. It all comes down to what we value as a society and what we dont. But this is why we as voters need, at every turn, to make sure those we elect as public servants keep their eyes on the ball. There are a million policy distractions in our noisy world, and its easy for our public square conversations to get hijacked. To elect leaders who fail to demonstrate real policy vision is to invite political expediency, and that doesnt typically end well for the people. Call me a Cliff if you will, but what I want to hear most from a candidate right now is how they plan to help make things easier if only a little bit for all of our Keiths. In her speech accepting the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris offered a withering indictment of her opponent that could constitute a case for her candidacy. Donald J. Trump, she rightly observed, is in many ways an unserious man, but the consequences of returning him to the White House are extremely serious. She asked her audience to consider the power he will have, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court just ruled that he would be immune from criminal prosecution. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails, and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States. Not to improve your life, not to strengthen our national security, but to serve the only client he has ever had: himself. Read more: Column: Kamala Harris faced a high bar for her DNC acceptance speech. She soared past it She introduced herself to voters who might not know her personal history and spoke of a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans. Harris did not focus on the fact that her election would mean elevating to the highest office in the land a woman of Black and Indian descent, a milestone for a country with a long history of excluding women and racial minorities from political power. But now that the Democratic National Convention is over, the hard work for Harris begins. She must do more than repeat that Trump is unfit. She needs to make the complete case to the American people that she would do more to improve their lives and livelihoods. She must demonstrate her vision for the country and convince voters that she is prepared to be a president for all Americans. Read more: Editorial: Harris' nomination marks an extraordinary moment in American history She showed she is capable of this task with her commanding performance that gave the lie to Trumps childish denunciation of Harris as a low IQ individual and conveyed a seriousness that Americans expect in their president. Harris was especially forceful in promising that as commander in chief she would ensure that America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world. In a deserved dig at Trump, she added that I will fulfill our sacred obligation to care for our troops and their families, and I will always honor and never disparage their sacrifice. On the war in Gaza, Harris said that I will always stand up for Israels right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, and she noted that she and President Biden are working around the clock to secure a cease-fire and the return of hostages. But she also said that what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. Significantly, she added that she and Biden sought an outcome that would allow the Palestinian people to realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination. Her remarks may have fallen short of what some antiwar activists would have liked, but they signaled a sensitivity to Palestinian lives that is too rare in Washington. Harris also promised to revive a bipartisan border security bill that Trump sabotaged and to sign a bill to restore reproductive freedom and reverse the effect of the Supreme Courts overruling of Roe vs. Wade. Trump, of course, has boasted that because of his three appointments to the court I was able to kill Roe vs. Wade. Finally, Harris promised that building that middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency. As this compressed campaign continues, Harris will be pressed to provide additional details about her policies. She also must and were confident she will hold news conferences and sit down for interviews that will allow her to limn out her agenda. A televised debate with Trump on Sept. 10 will also offer her the opportunity to use her prosecutorial persuasion skills to contrast her vision for the country with that of the former president (such as it is). But the challenge posed by Harris acceptance speech was to present herself to a national audience as a competent and committed leader who unlike her unsavory opponent can be trusted with the presidency. By that standard the speech was a resounding success. 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. VIENTIANE, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Representatives from member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) attended the third ASEAN Women Leaders' Summit on Friday to enhance cooperation and promote the role, potential, and strength of women leaders and all women in the region. The summit, under the theme of "Strengthening Care Economy and Resilience towards ASEAN Community Post-2025," was held in Lao capital Vientiane, the local Pasaxon newspaper reported. The promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women as well as strengthening the care economy are among the priorities for Laos' ASEAN chairmanship in 2024. The women leaders' summit reaffirmed ASEAN's commitment to supporting women and girls in the paid and unpaid caregiving economy as a key regional agenda. Five people were criminally charged for their alleged roles in providing actor Matthew Perry with ketamine, which the Los Angeles County medical examiner said caused his death on Oct. 28, 2023. (Matt Sayles / Associated Press) Its impossible to say with confidence that Matthew Perry would be alive today had he not gotten into his hot tub on Oct. 28 last year. But its hard not to wonder. The medical examiners report named acute effects of ketamine as the cause of Perrys death, with contributing factors including coronary artery disease, an opioid known as buprenorphine and drowning. The actors body was found face down in the water. The report was released in December, but the question came up again last week after the arrests of five people criminally charged with supplying Perry with ketamine. Federal prosecutors charged two dealers, two doctors and Perrys personal assistant with obtaining and administering thousands of dollars worth of ketamine. Read more: Editorial: L.A., we've got to talk about your meth problem The harm is not in ketamine itself, nor even in its rising popularity among the rich and famous. Its in using it to prey on the ill and vulnerable for personal gain. Crackdowns on a drug are generally counterproductive. Crackdowns on unconscionable exploitation of vulnerable people for personal gain are generally in order. Ketamine can have great therapeutic value when administered responsibly under controlled conditions, but it can be dangerous as can any powerful medication or substance including alcohol, cannabis and opioids when used carelessly or in the wrong setting. Too much of any of those substances can so affect the users judgment or consciousness that otherwise safe tasks such as driving or getting into a pool can turn deadly. In the case of potent opioids such as fentanyl, an overdose can kill outright. Thats seldom the case with ketamine, but responsible doctors and therapists dont leave patients unattended with access to dangerous quantities of the drug. Read more: Editorial: Haven't we learned yet? Harsher penalties won't save us from fentanyl Yet ketamine, legally approved in human and veterinary care as anesthesia and sedation, has long been popular as a club drug and is increasingly marketed through clinics to the wealthy to treat depression and other psychiatric ailments. Our society continues to struggle with the proper regulatory and criminal justice approach to mind- and mood-altering substances. Our grandparents and great-grandparents briefly lived under Prohibition, when a ban on most alcohol made social drinking a crime, made mobsters and rum-runners rich and increased deadly violence. Cannabis prohibition exacerbated racial discrimination in law enforcement and prosecution, and it corrupted the criminal justice system by allowing police departments to keep cash and other property allegedly involved in drug crimes. The opioid crisis turned pharmaceutical companies into pushers and physicians into dealers, and sapped the spirit of hundreds of cities ravaged by addiction and already struggling with a changing economy. Criminal justice reforms that seek solutions other than prosecution and prison too often lead police to simply not bother responding to drug-related antisocial behavior. Read more: The legal psychedelic: Ketamine is a fast-acting treatment for depression (if you have the money) We tend to reel between criminal prohibition and reckless mass marketing. Too often missing from the binary outlook are sufficient doses of public education and public health: education to warn of the dangers of various drugs without "Reefer Madness"-type hysteria and criminalization, and public health to provide care and treatment to those tragically ensnared by the addiction. When used with guidance and care, ketamine is a remarkable if controversial medication, touted by some for its off-label use helping patients overcome debilitating emotional trauma. Read more: Editorial: Reclassifying marijuana is not decriminalization, but is a welcome step in that direction It has also been used, shockingly, as a cruel law enforcement tool, as in the horrific case of 23-year-old Elijah McClain, who died in 2019 several days after two Aurora, Colo., paramedics injected him as he was being held down by police officers trying to take him into custody. He had not been accused of any crime. There is no clearer sign that we are in over our heads in the drug war than this: Police keep arresting people for drug possession yet inject drugs into suspects to help them make arrests. Read more: Editorial: The 1980s crack epidemic was a fork in the road. America chose racism and prisons over public health Fortunately, ketamine injection has not caught on as a law enforcement technique, and the paramedics and officers were held to account for McClain's death, losing their jobs and, in some cases, being prosecuted and convicted. In Perrys case, if the prosecutors allegations are correct, more wrongdoers may face justice. There will always be pushers, whether they are big pharmaceutical companies trying to increase sales of addictive painkillers, or high schoolers slinging fentanyl-tainted methamphetamine, or doctors trying to squeeze a few more dollars out of addicted patients. The key is to stop their cruelty without banning useful medications. 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. With five legislators watching, members of the Oklahoma State Board of Education lamented confusion that has been created by the communication from the attorney generals office during their meeting Thursday, but chose to take no action on filing a lawsuit over a clause in the Open Meeting Act that allows legislators to attend executive sessions of state boards. The board, led by state schools Superintendent Ryan Walters, for the first time in recent memory conducted a meeting without an executive session after having turned away legislators from their executive sessions during each of the past two meetings despite being advised by the attorney generals office not to do so. Thursdays meeting drew Sen. Adam Pugh, R-Edmond, the chair of the Senate Education Committee; Rep. Mike Osburn, R-Edmond; Rep. Dick Lowe, R-Amber; Rep. John Talley, R-Stillwater; and Rep. Jacob Rosecrants, D-Norman. Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued an official opinion which has the force of law, unless overturned by a court on Wednesday that stated unequivocally that legislators had the right to attend the executive session of any state board. For good measure, Drummond withdrew a 1978 attorney generals opinion upon which the education boards attorney, Cara Nicklas, had relied in denying legislators access to executive sessions the last two months. That opinion referenced local board meetings, not state board meetings, Drummond said. The Open Meeting Act reads, in part: Any member of the Legislature appointed as a member of a committee of either house of the Legislature or joint committee thereof shall be permitted to attend any executive session authorized by the Oklahoma Open Meeting Act of any state agency, board or commission whenever the jurisdiction of such committee includes the actions of the public body involved. State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters speaks Thursday during the Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting. Board member Sarah Lepak hinted at a chilling effect that Drummonds opinion could have on other state boards, although Drummond said no other state board has had an issue with allowing legislators into executive session. I would encourage anybody who is a member of a board or a commission in this state to take a look at their opinion and think about the implications for your board, and about whether or not you think that that is the direction that you need to go, or if it will have an impact on your meeting, Lepak said. She said the board takes very seriously the reasons to be in executive session, such as protecting the identity of minors, protecting their private information and making sure things that are personnel matters all of us have jobs and if your job was on the line, would you want that discussed in an open session or not? Would you want it discussed in an executive session that is not actually a confidential session, which is unfortunately, probably, the situation with the current opinion out there? From left, Sen. Adam Pugh, Rep. Jacob Rosecrants, Rep. John Talley and Rep. Dick Lowe sit Thursday during an Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting. Legislators say they would be bound by law not to discuss confidential matters Legislators who attend executive sessions are bound by the same privacy laws that bind board members, something noted by both Osburn and Pugh. It begs the questions what are you talking about in executive session that you dont want people to hear? Osburn said. Its also flawed to say that youre concerned about confidentiality in that situation. Whomever is in the executive session would be bound by the exact same rules everybody else is. Thats a stretch to say that you cant have a legislator in there because youre afraid of confidentiality. If that was the case, nobody could be in there. Rosecrants said the Oklahoma State Department of Education needs legislators watching how the agency is run. If there was just some transparency, real transparency, where we could actually see whats going on, how many employees are working there, what theyre doing, all that kind of stuff ... then we can have some conversation about what needs to be done better, he said. "Nobody wants to lord over an agency. We want to be able to trust the people we put in charge of these things, right? At one point, Lepak suggested that lawmakers read their laws and make sure a statute says what they want it to say. I think the actual statue is quite clear and that provision in the Open Meetings Act hasnt changed since it was enacted in 1977, Osburn said. Its the exact same thing. The whole (meeting) did seem a bit unusual and some of the arguments that I heard were really interesting and didnt seem congruent to what happened yesterday (with the attorney generals opinion). Pugh praised Walters for how he ran the meeting and how he sought input from his board members and had no issue with the lack of an executive session. If he felt it was fine, it was fine, if they were still seeking clarity (about the law), but the clarity has been provided, Pugh said. I was concerned with where the discussion went. He was looking for guidance from the board with how they wanted to proceed. What concerned me wasnt the superintendent, but the boards discussion that seemed very flippant toward what now is law, and what is the AGs opinion that stands in absence of law. I walked away very concerned that the board did not show deference to open-meeting requirements. State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters hands a note to board-contracted attorney Cara Nicklas on Thursday during an Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting. Walters said board didn't have enough time before meeting to digest Drummond's opinion On multiple occasions during the meeting, and again when speaking with reporters afterward, Walters said Drummonds opinion was issued late in the afternoon Wednesday, not allowing board members enough time to absorb what was in it. I spent a lot of my night and the morning on the phone with them, just to see kind of where they were, Walters said. You heard them discuss it there out in the open. I think the board wants more time. They want to look at it. They want to be able to talk to their board counsel. They want to be able to talk to others to try to get their head around it. Its a lot for a board to take in, so were just going to continue those conversations. Our legal counsel will continue to provide the board with any legal counsel support they need. Asked why the board is opposed to having legislators in executive sessions, Walters said he wasnt opposed to it. What I want is legal clarity, Walters said. You guys are hearing a board thats expressing this very clearly on, when you act on advice of legal counsel, what you are doing there is youve got a legal opinion from a person who legally represents you that says, I do not think that these lawmakers legally should be in this room. At that point, look at the position youre put in. I think we are moving much closer to clarity but, look, its not a policy position as it is a, legally, Are these representatives and senators supposed to be in this executive session or not? But I dont have a problem with the policy of it. Im just trying to ensure that were above-board legally. Legislators, and Drummond, both say that should no longer be a concern, given the formal opinion. The State Board of Education may not like the law, but its members still must follow it, Drummond said. This provision has been in effect for more than 45 years, and Im not aware of a single other state entity that has a problem allowing legislators into executive session. State schools Superintendent Ryan Walters supporter Linda Russell prays Thursday before the Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting in Oklahoma City. Erica Watkins, left, and Candice Hoyt, second from left, argue with Carl Stevens on Thursday before the Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State Board of Education takes no action on open-meeting suit PETERSBURG, Ind. (WEHT)- More than $34,000 in federal grant money will be going towards technology upgrades and signage at voting sights in Pike County. Road closure planned for State Road 68 in Gibson Co. The County applied for the grant, which is part of approximately $1 million in Federal Grant Funding across the state, through the Indiana Secretary of States Office. Secretary of State, Diego Morales was at the County Clerks Office in Petersburg on Thursday to hand deliver the money. Election Officials say that a website where voters can sign up for text message updates about where and when to vote in Pike County is in the works and will be usable by the end of the 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 Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW). Elizabeth Warren Burns Trump And Vance With Couch Joke As The DNC Roars Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) couldnt resist referencing a dirty internet joke to poke fun at Donald Trump and his running mate JD Vance at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night. The Massachusetts senator began her DNC speech by lauding Vice President Kamala Harris and comparing her dedication to supporting families to that of Trump. We need to make life more affordable for working people. Donald Trump, the felon, has no plans to lower costs for families. He doesnt know how, and basically, he doesnt really care, she said. When did he ever fill up a gas tank or worry about a grocery bill? The only bills he worries about are from his criminal defense lawyers. She went on, referencing a bizarre joke that began circulating online last month, suggesting that Vance had admitted to having sex with couches. Trust Donald Trump and JD Vance to look out for your family? Shoot, I wouldnt trust them to move my couch, she said. Vance has leaned into the jokes, referencing couches in one of his speeches at a rally in Nevada last month. Related... Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts delivered a powerful endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris during her speech on the final day of the Democratic National Convention. She appeared emotional when taking the stage on Thursday, as the crowd at the United Center welcomed her with an uproarious applause. The senator quickly got down to business, however, and drew a sharp contrast between the Democratic nominee and convicted former President Donald Trump. Kamala Harris cant be bought and she cant be bossed around, Warren said, sharing that she first met Harris in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash, when banks had broken laws, cheated people and stolen homes. During this time, Warren detailed how Harris, while serving as Californias attorney general, protected families while Trump was scamming students at Trump University and trying to make money off people losing their homes. Kamala Harris stepped up. She enforced the law, she fought the giant banks, and she delivered billions of dollars of help for families, said Warren. And that is the difference between a criminal and a prosecutor. The Massachusetts also appeared to troll Trump and Vance over an unfounded viral rumor that Vance once had sex with a couch. Trust Donald Trump and J.D. Vance to look out for your family? Shoot, I wouldnt trust them to move my couch, she said. Elizabeth Warren: Trust Donald Trump and J.D. Vance to look out for your family? Shoot, I wouldn't trust them to move my couch. pic.twitter.com/nWiw14kiJu nikki mccann ramirez (@NikkiMcR) August 22, 2024 Both Warren and Harris campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, but Harris dropped out the year prior while Warren stepped down after a lackluster Super Tuesday finish. The senator was one of Harris early supporters after the vice president announced her run for this years presidency. Ive known her for 14 years, first as Californias attorney general, then as a US senator and now as vice president. Ive seen firsthand her toughness, her smarts, and her compassion, said Warren in an op-ed for Glamour in July. Im endorsing her for president of the United States because she will unite our party, prosecute the case against Donald Trump, and win. Warren wasnt the only one to make a couch jab on Thursday at the DNC. While MSNBCs cameras were live during the event, an attendee managed to hold up a phone behind a guest speaking to broadcaster Katy Tur that read: JD VANCE FUCKS COUCHES. Found the video of an attendee sharing a message about JD Vance with his cell phone pic.twitter.com/rL0TUYmmdz Acyn (@Acyn) August 22, 2024 Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) appeared to allude to the couch rumor while discussing veteran issues in the U.S. and taking aim at the Trump ticket. Crow: I know a couch commando when I see one pic.twitter.com/NOVVJB0CTa Acyn (@Acyn) August 22, 2024 I know a couch commando when I see one, he said. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone Elizabeth Warren Wraps DNC Speech with Trump-Vance Zinger: 'I Wouldn't Trust Those Guys to Move My Couch!' The former presidential candidate's tearful speech ended on a lighter note, as she poked fun at the Republican VP candidate's "couch controversy" Chip Somodevilla/Getty Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks at the 2024 Democratic National Convention Elizabeth Warren doesnt want J.D. Vance near her couch. While speaking at the Democratic National Convention in support of presidential candidate Kamala Harris on Thursday, Aug. 22, Warren, 75, seemingly played into a viral joke about Vance and couches. Warren, who placed third in the 2020 Democratic primaries and still has a strong fan base, paused before speaking to take in the standing ovation she received from the convention attendees. She became visibly emotional by the response. And there it is groceries, gas, housing, healthcare, taxes, abortion, Warren said at the podium, making mention of policies that Harris, 59, has been campaigning for. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Elizabeth Warren gets emotional from the thunderous welcome as she walked onto the DNC stage on Aug. 22, 2024 "Trust Donald Trump and J. D. Vance to look out for your family? Shoot, I wouldnt let those guys I wouldnt trust them to move my couch, she quipped. Returning to the topic at hand after her not-so-subtle joke at the DNC, Warren said, We need Kamala Harris. This election is about your family and your future. Related: Michelle Obama Shares Grief, Hope and a New Democratic Tagline in Powerful DNC Speech After Vance was named Trump's running mate, false rumors circulated online that there was an entry in Vance's memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, about him being intimate with a couch. The Associated Press ran a fact-check on the book and found multiple instances of the word "couch," but none connected to a sexual act. The AP later retracted their fact-check, saying that the piece "didn't go through our standard editing process," per media website Mediaite. Jim WATSON/getty Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance at the RNC on July 16, 2024 Former President Bill Clinton was also present at the DNC the day prior in support of Harris. During his Wednesday, Aug. 21, speech he briefly focused in on Trump's age. "The only personal vanity that I want to assert is that I'm still younger than Donald Trump," Clinton joked. Though both former presidents are 78 years old, Clinton turned 78 on Aug. 19, while Trump was born in June. 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. Before finishing, Clinton brought up Trump's tendency to analyze his crowd sizes, saying, "So, we've got to ask ourselves the question: Do you want to build a strong economy from the bottom, up, and the middle, out or do you want to spend the next four years talking about crowd size?" For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. [Source] Elon Musk posted on his platform X a clip of former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's critique of wokeness, praising it as wisdom. The post, which garnered millions of views in hours, reflects the worlds richest mans long-standing opposition to the so-called woke culture, which he has labeled a mind virus. Reactions: The clip featured Lee Hsien Loong discussing the extreme attitudes and social norms brought by wokeness in an interview with CNA. Lee, who resigned as prime minister in April, warned that the movement purportedly prevalent in the West burdens society instead of fostering cohesion. Musks post has since racked up 30.8 million views, drawing mixed reactions. One Singaporean user urged those in the U.S. to lighten up a little bit and avoid being constantly outraged. Meanwhile, another wrote in part, Youre ending up on the wrong side of history. Lees prominence: Lee Hsien Loong, who served two decades as prime minister, is respected in Singapore for his pragmatic leadership. Musks admiration extends to his father, Lee Kuan Yew Singapores founding father whom he previously called brilliant and a genius for policies that shaped modern Singapore. Musks praises underscore his appreciation for the Lee family's impact on Singapores development, particularly in areas like immigration and infrastructure. Trending on NextShark: Emma Raducanu in tears after US Open first-round exit Download the NextShark App: Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today! FILE - The Marathon Petroleum Refinery is visible in Reserve, La., Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. Environmental advocates and residents of the Louisiana chemical corridor known as Cancer Alley have spent decades calling for change in the way industrial activity is regulated there. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File) NEW ORLEANS (AP) A federal judge has weakened the Biden administrations effort to use a historic civil rights law to fight industrial pollution alleged to have taken a heavier toll on minority communities in Louisiana. U.S. District Judge James David Cain of Lake Charles handed down the ruling Thursday, permanently blocking the Environmental Protection Agency from imposing what are known as disparate impact requirements on the state. Cain had already issued a temporary blocking order in January. His ruling was a victory for Louisiana officials who challenged the EPA policy, which was based on possible violations of Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964. The act forbids anyone who receives federal funds from discriminating based on race or national origin. Its been used in housing and transportation, but rarely on environmental matters. The EPA under President Joe Biden, however, tried to use it more aggressively. The state sued in May 2023, a move that may have played a role in the EPA dropping an investigation into whether Louisiana officials put Black residents living in an industrial stretch of the state at increased cancer risk. The area, often referred to as cancer alley because of the amount of suspected cancer-causing pollution emitted there, stretches along the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. In its lawsuit, the state argued that the Biden administration's plans went beyond the scope of Title VI. The state said the EPA wrongfully targeted pollution policies that unintentionally hurt minorities communities most when the law applies only to intentional discrimination. The state also said the policy is discriminatory because it would allow regulation of pollutants based on the race of those affected. Cain agreed the EPA went too far. While Cain's ruling was a victory for Republican state officials Gov. Jeff Landry, who was attorney general when the suit was filed, and his successor in that office, Elizabeth Murrill environmental groups decried it. Louisiana has given industrial polluters open license to poison Black and brown communities for generations, only to now have one court give it a permanent free pass to abandon its responsibilities, Patrice Simms of the Earthjustice organization, said in a news release. The ruling applies only to Louisiana and can be appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. To step foot inside the Dolmen of Menga is to enter, awed, almost into another world. The ancient building was constructed nearly 6,000 years ago, and stands to this day, perfectly intact, built of stones weighing up to 150 metric tons each. If you're thinking that such a feat of construction would have required a sophisticated, multidisciplinary understanding of the principles of engineering, you are not wrong. A new study has found that the Neolithic humans who built Menga were highly skilled, highly knowledgeable, and adept at solving complex engineering problems. "Initially, what sparked my interest in the Menga dolmen was undoubtedly its monumentality. Entering its interior and contemplating such a colossal monument from the Neolithic period, attracted my curiosity to learn more about this dolmen," geoarchaeologist Jose Antonio Lozano Rodriguez of the Canary Islands Oceanographic Center in Spain told ScienceAlert. "They were people with very important knowledge of early science, which indicates how evolved the intellectual, practical and technical capacities of these societies in the south of the Iberian Peninsula were almost 6,000 years ago." Interior view of the Dolmen of Menga. (Smartshots International/Moment/Getty Images) The Dolmen of Menga is, truly, a marvel of the ancient world. Built into the side of an earth mound between around 3800 and 3600 BCE, the large chamber extends 27.5 meters (90 feet), lined walls and roof with huge stones. It's one of the largest megaliths in ancient Europe, and the capstone, weighing an estimated 150 metric tons, one of the largest stones ever moved in Neolithic Europe. The site's use appears to have been funerary, with grave goods reportedly discovered inside. And it must have been deeply important. Previous analyses have revealed that a great deal of labor was expended to construct it. Lozano Rodriguez has led previous efforts that determined that not only was the asymmetry of the dolmen's walls intentional, and designed around the solstices, but that the soft rock that went into its construction was sourced from a distance of around 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) from the building site, revealing that the builders knew how to quarry and transport huge chunks of rock. Exterior and interior views of the Dolmen of Menga. (Lozano Rodriguez et al., Sci. Adv., 2024) The Dolmen of Menga's construction consists of a chamber lined and roofed with large stones, with three stone pillars placed along the length of the chamber to support the weight of the roof. The 32 giant stones have a collective weight of around 1,140 metric tons. To determine how these rocks were placed, and the monument built, Lozano Rodriguez and his colleagues conducted an analysis that encompassed sedimentology, archaeology, paleontology, and petrology. One of the biggest challenges would be the transportation of the large stones, which, the researchers found, would have required a firm understanding of friction. The easiest transport method would have been sledges that ran along a pre-built wooden trackway; since the quarry was uphill from the construction site, this would also have required knowledge of acceleration and braking. The rocks, they observe, are all classified as "soft" sedimentary, mostly limestone, which would have required careful handling to avoid damage. Nevertheless they have been placed with millimeter precision. They also interlock and lean slightly against each other, which is a clue to the manner and order in which they were placed. Diagram illustrating how the dolmen was constructed, and the engineering principles thereof. (Lozano Rodriguez et al., Sci. Adv., 2024) And they are wedged tightly into the bedrock. This is the first time this feature has been observed at Menga in 200 years of study: the foundations of the stones are deep sockets, which would have required careful emplacement that implies the use of counterweights and descending ramps, to carefully slide the stones into position and lever them upright. This deep foundation would also alleviate the need to elevate the roof stones. The pillar stones were placed in a similar fashion, with deep foundations, but were likely installed after the wall stones. And the wall stones are placed in such a way that their tops lean slightly inwards, resulting in a trapezoidal shape to the chamber, narrower at the top than the bottom. This, the researchers believe, is a stroke of genius, allowing for smaller capstones than would be needed for a wider roof. "Almost 6,000 years ago they used a relieving arch to solve complex problems of stress distribution, thus solving problems related to weight, which would be one of the biggest structural problems they would encounter in the design of this great monument. This is also solved by using pillars inside," Lozano Rodriguez marvels. "I was also surprised to see that the monument was designed to be partially buried so that the capstones could be placed without the aid of ascending ramps." There is no doubt that this ancient, mysterious building has a lot to teach us not just about building techniques, but also about the ingenuity of Neolithic humans, and the value of an open-minded approach to the abilities of our ancestors. "The incorporation of advanced knowledge in the fields of geology, physics, geometry, and astronomy shows that Menga represents not only a feat of early engineering but also a substantial step in the advancement of human science, reflecting the accumulation of advanced knowledge," the researchers write in their paper. "Menga demonstrates the successful attempt to make a colossal monument lasting over thousands of years." The research has been published in Science Advances. Related News MANILA, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- The Asia-Pacific region is crafting measures to reduce the risk of disasters, which are projected to increase by 40 percent by 2030, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) has warned. "This stark projection indicates that we are going off course from the goal we set in the global blueprint for disaster risk reduction, the Sendai Framework in 2015. We are building risk rather than decreasing it," Marco Toscano-Rivalta, UNDRR chief of the regional office for Asia and the Pacific, said at the media launch of the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) in Manila on Thursday. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction is a global agreement created to help countries plan, respond, and build back from disasters. Rivalta stressed the need for more and better regional disaster preparedness and response, saying that "most fundamentally, we need to double down on prevention and risk reduction." The urgency of accelerating collective action on disaster risk reduction is the highlight of the APMCDRR 2024, a biennial multi-stakeholder event convened by the UNDRR. The Philippines will host the meeting in October. The conference will focus on securing sustainable and predictable financing to reduce disaster risk and resilience, ensuring inclusive risk reduction and participation in decision-making and implementation, integrating disaster risk reduction at the local level, and strengthening early warning systems. "The 2024 APMCDRR offers us the chance to come together, share what we have learned, and strengthen the partnerships necessary to move forward," Philippines' Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga, also chair of the APMCDRR 2024, told a news conference. She said the meeting is "an opportunity to continue our progress, build on our successes, and reinforce our commitment to protecting our communities and ecosystems." Erica Lee Carter, daughter of the late US Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, will seek to finish her term HOUSTON (AP) The daughter of the late U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who died last month after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, will seek to finish her mothers term in office. Erica Lee Carter submitted paperwork by Thursdays deadline to be a candidate in a special election in which voters will choose who will complete Jackson Lees two-year term representing the Houston congressional district. Carter, like her mother, is running as a Democrat. Paperwork filed with the Texas Secretary of States Office shows that besides Carter, two Republican candidates are also vying to finish out Jackson Lees term. The district is solidly Democratic. The special election is set for Nov. 5, the same day voters will also decide who will succeed Jackson Lee and serve the district for the next two years. Earlier this month, former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner was chosen by local Democratic precinct chairs as the partys nominee. Jackson Lee had already won the Democratic nomination for what would have been a 16th term before her death on July 19. If Carter wins the special election, she would serve until the next Congress begins its work in January. I will fight with her passion and ferocity for the people of the 18th to regain their representation in the fight for justice, equality, healthcare, human rights and economic opportunity for all. We will do this, together! Carter said in a statement this month announcing her candidacy. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Bill Clinton were among those who paid tribute to Jackson Lee at her funeral earlier this month. She was 74. Tax Commissioner Brian Kroshus presents updated data on the estimated cost of a November ballot measure to eliminate property tax based on assessed value to lawmakers at an Aug. 23, 2024 meeting. Legislative Management voted to ballpark the figure at $3.15 billion for the 2025-2027 budget cycle. Previously, a Legislative Council memo had approximated that number at around $2.6 billion. (Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor) State lawmakers now estimate a ballot measure to eliminate property taxes based on assessed value could cost the state $500 million more than originally expected. The updated price tag estimated at $3.15 billion for the 2025-2027 biennium will appear with the proposal on the November primary ballot. Its only a rough approximation. If the ballot measure passes, the state will be required to reimburse local governments annually by an amount no less than the revenue they collect from property taxes for the 2024 tax year. Since local governments wont collect property taxes for tax year 2024 until 2025, the state doesnt yet know what that amount would be. Tax Commissioner Brian Kroshus at a Friday meeting presented Legislative Management with three different estimates ranging from $3.04 billion to $3.15 billion for the 2025-2027 biennium. Legislative Management voted to use the most expensive estimate. A previous estimate provided by Legislative Council approximated the cost of the measure to be about $2.6 billion per biennium, not including money saved by cutting property tax relief programs. Weve been working off of a figure of $2.6 billion, and so this is approximately another half a billion dollars that we need to come up with, realistically, Senate Majority Leader David Hogue, R-Minot, said during the meeting. Were not in a good position to wait around until after November, after the election, to figure out if this passes. We have to start planning now. Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, noted that the measure comes at a time when many North Dakotans are simultaneously urging their governments to spend more on public health, policing and other community services. She noted lawmakers will have a difficult time managing the expectations of constituents who want to expand public programs at the same time others are calling for significant tax breaks. This just is a sledgehammer of a measure, she said. I think we have a lot of work cut out for us in the next 60 days. Rick Becker, chair of the committee sponsoring the property tax measure, has said previously that the cost to the state is inflated and that the state has enough in its coffers to pay for the proposal. Proponents of the measure estimate the cost to be $2.32 billion per two-year budget cycle. Lawmakers on Friday also approved a cost estimate for the ballot proposal to legalize the adult use of recreational marijuana. State officials told Legislative Management that they expected roughly $2.9 million in revenue and about $8.3 million in expenses for the 2025-2027 biennium. Those numbers were based on information reported by the Department of Health and Human Services, Highway Patrol and the Department of Transportation. Legislative Management added another approximately $7.3 million on top of that total as a loose estimate of possible sales tax revenue for the upcoming two-year budget cycle. That brought the total estimated revenue to $10.3 million. Kroshus said in an interview that figure is likely a conservative estimate. Steve Bakken, chair of the ballot measures sponsoring committee, had presented some higher sales tax projections. The number the committee adopted came from the Tax Department. The worst case, the program will generate enough revenue to cover its cost, ensuring it pays for itself, Bakken told lawmakers. Best case, the revenue could help fund other critical areas. Lawmakers also included language in the fiscal impact statement clarifying the estimate does not factor in any behavioral health or social costs that the state could incur due to the legalization of recreational marijuana. MILAN The Estonian Centre for Defense Investments has launched a competition for picking a munitions producer to set up shop at a military base in 2025, a move meant to jump-start a domestic shell production industry. The ECDI, the procurement arm for the Estonian Defense Forces, announced the bid on Aug. 21, calling on companies to submit their proposal by early October. The winner will be granted a space of approximately 8,900 square meters at the Amari military base, located southwest of the Estonian capital Tallinn, for up to five years. The site will include a maximum of seven ammunition storage facilities, protective embankments and communication equipment, according to an ECDI statement. The governments goal is to launch the production of ammunition for combat use in the first half of next year. We currently do not have any ammunition production within the country, [hence] we are heavily dependent on other European countries for this, Tuuli Duneton, undersecretary for defense policy, told Defense News in an interview last year. At the time, the Estonian official had said that two options were being assessed to set up domestic manufacturing. The first, would involve an Estonian defense company establishing a dedicated facility for producing shells, and the second, would entail the creation of a manufacturing plant in Estonia by a European company, preferably a privately owned one. Officials did not name desired projectile types in the new ECDI tender, saying only the deal would cover ammunition or combat ammunition containing explosives. Fellow Baltic nation Lithuania launched a similar industry initiative earlier this year. The government signing a memorandum of intent with Rheinmetall to build a 155mm ammunition plant locally. The proposal was part of a series of amendments made by Lithuanian economic authorities to existing regulations, with the goal of attracting major arms maker to a open production sites amid the promise of lowered bureaucratic hurdles. The push to turn the Baltic states into munitions producers comes amid an explosion in the demand for artillery shells across the European market, as countries seek to strike a balance between sending rounds to Ukraine while simultaneously boosting their own stocks. A Nasa earth picture shows smoke from forest fires drifting over Madeira Island on 17 August. The natural colour scenes of the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8 are overlaid with an infrared signal in order to better recognize the heat signature of active fires. Nasa Earth/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa With wildfires raging in multiple European countries this summer, the European Union has stepped in with vital, coordinated assistance. Over the course of July and August, wildfires struck in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, North Macedonia and Portugal. In response, the EU activated its Civil Protection Mechanism (EUCPM) to organize help. According to the European Commission, 556 firefighters from 12 countries are strategically prepositioned across key locations in Europe in France, Greece, Portugal, and Spain ready to support local fire brigades if forest fires break out. What is the EU Civil Protection Mechanism? The European Commission established the EUCPM in 2001 to strengthen cooperation between European countries on preventing, preparing for and responding to disasters. Any country can request assistance via the EUCPM when hit by an emergency. The aid given by other individual countries is then coordinated via the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) in Brussels. In addition to all EU countries, Albania, Bosnia, Iceland, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine also participate in the EUCPM even though they are not currently members of the bloc. Bosnia and Herzegovina, for example, officially joined the EUCPM in 2022 a milestone on the country's path to being granted EU candidate status later that year. Fires near Athens: EU solidarity in action A massive wildfire in Athens north eastern suburbs this month forced thousands of residents to flee their homes. The Greek government appealed for international help. According to experts, this was the first time that a major fire had come so close to the Greek capital. Greece asked for EUCPM assistance on August 12. A European Commission spokesman said the support to Greece included two planes from Italy, two helicopters from France and Serbia, and ground firefighting crews from the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Romania and Serbia. Romanian, Maltese and Moldovan firefighters were already in Greece, the spokesman said. Romania has deployed dozens of firefighters and special equipment to be ready to put out fires in Greece between August 1 and September 15. This is the fourth consecutive year that it has responded to such requests. Romanian firefighters have also carried out similar missions in previous years in France, Slovenia and North Macedonia. EU mobilizes further support across the continent Over the summer, the EU has also mobilized support to help fight fires in Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Portugal after they activated the disaster response mechanism. For example, on Wednesday, Portugal asked for EUCPM help to fight fires on the island of Madeira. Data from the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) showed more than 4,930 hectares burnt. Two Canadair aircraft from Spain arrived on Madeira on Thursday. Two Romanian planes arrived in Albania in August to help isolate and extinguish fires in some areas of the country. The Albanian Ministry of Defence announced that on August 14 and 16 the Romanian planes Spartan and Hercules intervened to extinguish fires in the cities of Pogradec and Berat. In mid-July, planes from Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, and Turkey were sent to North Macedonia to help contain a string of blazes across the country amid a heatwave. Hundreds of hectares of forest had been burnt and authorities identified twelve active wildfires at the time. More than firefighting: EUCPM provides in medical and humanitarian emergencies too While the EUCPM is most prominently triggered by natural disasters, assistance can also be requested for other emergencies, such as health crises and humanitarian disasters in warzones. On July 24, EU coordinated the rescue of 16 Palestinian children and their family members, were in need of medical attention. They were brought from Egypt to Spain with financial and operational support from the EUCPM, in coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Palestine Childrens Relief Fund (PCRF) and the Palestinian authorities. Since early January, the EU has also been supporting the WHO Gaza Emergency Medical Teams Coordination Cell in Cairo, with 22 experts deployed from the EU and EUCPM participating countries. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the EU coordinated the deployment of medical teams to the most affected areas, facilitated the procurement of additional protective equipment and activated the ERCC to coordinate support. The European Commission is coordinating a large operation under the EUCPM in Ukraine. The 27 EU countries - plus Iceland, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia and Turkey - have offered assistance including medical supplies, vehicles and energy equipment. The EU has also established logistics centres in Poland, Romania and Slovakia to channel aid to Ukraine more efficiently. The content of this article is based on reporting by AFP, Agerpres, ANSA, ATA, BTA, dpa, EFE, FENA, Lusa and STA as part of the European Newsroom (enr) project. Several aerial troops act during a forest fire in Trabazos. The Consejeria de Medio Ambiente, Vivienda y Ordenacion del Territorio has raised to level 2 of danger the fire declared in the term of Trabazos. Emilio Fraile/EUROPA PRESS/dpa European Commission sees 'no reason to be concerned' about ban on Lukoil's oil supplies to Hungary, Slovakia European Commission has examined the situation with Russian Lukoil's oil supplies to Hungary and Slovakia and found "no reason for concern," Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported on Aug. 23. In June, Kyiv imposed sanctions blocking Lukoil, one of the largest oil companies in Russia, from transiting crude oil through the Druzhba pipeline running through Ukrainian territory. The move aims to cut off one of the Kremlin's sources of income used to finance its war against Ukraine. Kyiv's ban does not apply to other Russian oil exporters who still use the pipeline. Hungary and Slovakia were among the countries that criticized Kyiv's decision, as they receive Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline. EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told RFE/RL that the European Commission had examined information from all sides, including Hungary, Slovakia, Ukraine, and Croatia, which offered to transport oil through its territory when Kyiv blocked Lukoil's transit. "Crude oil deliveries through the Druzhba pipeline continue, and there is currently no problem with their safety," Dombrovskis said. The Ukrainian authorities confirmed to the European Commission that oil transit from Russia to Hungary and Slovakia was not affected, as Lukoil is not its owner, according to Dombrovskis. "We continue to monitor the situation closely and are actively working with interested member states on alternative solutions, including through the Janaf Adriatic Pipeline (in Croatia)," he said. "On a broader scale, we renewed our calls on member states to accelerate their efforts to reduce their dependence on Russian fossil fuels," Dombrovskis added. In July, Slovakia and Hungary announced that Ukraine had stopped transit of Lukoil oil because of sanctions imposed by Kyiv against the Russian company. Budapest argued that Ukraine's decision violated the Association Agreement, but the European Union disagreed. Brussels also saw no signs that the suspension of Lukoil's oil transit undermined Hungary and Slovakia's energy security. Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal denied on Aug. 1 that the ban on the transit of 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, Shmyhal called it "extremely politicized and manipulative." Read also: Hungary close to finalizing talks on balanced oil supply amid Ukraines sanctions against Lukoil Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Custer County Sheriff Ethan Kelly on Friday issued evacuation orders for residents near Stanley Lake and urged others nearby, including in the town of Stanley, to be ready to leave as the dangerous Wapiti Fire grew to more than 35,000 acres. The Wapiti Fire at Stanley Lake on Thursday. On Friday, Custer County Sheriff Ethan Kelly issued a first wave of evacuation orders, and urged residents in Stanley to be ready to go. Kellys office announced that residents closest to the fire should evacuate immediately. It posted on its Facebook page that these residents were in GO STATUS, which a separate photograph of a poster described as an indicator of extreme danger in the area. Leave without delay, the poster read. It is unsafe to stay and threatens the safety of you, your family and emergency responders. Emergency responders may not be able to help you if you choose to stay. Custer County Sheriff Ethan Kelly issued evacuation orders Friday for Zone 1 on this map after the Wapiti Fire reached Stanley Lake on Tuesday. The orders came as the Wapiti Fire, which started in the Boise National Forest, continued to rage and spread through portions of the Sawtooths. As of Friday morning, it was only 10% contained. Idaho Highway 21 was now closed from Stanley all the way to Lowman, the Sheriffs Office announced. The Wapiti Fire is now spreading through the Sawtooths and near the town of Stanley. It already has burned by Stanley Lake. On Tuesday, the Sheriffs Office announced the closure of the Stanley Lake recreation complex after the fire jumped the ridge of the Sawtooths and established in Elk Creek and Stanley Lake Creek drainage areas, the Idaho Statesman previously reported. The Wapiti Fire was sparked by a lighting strike near Grandjean in late July. It forced the closure of the historic Sawtooth Lodge, which has lost three structures and has been closed for three weeks with no reopening day in sight, according to a GoFundMe started for the lodge. The Wapiti Fire was started by lightning on July 24, about two miles southwest of Grandjean. The lodge and cabins are in danger but still standing, the GoFundMe reads. If youve been to Grandjean, you know what is at stake. Residents in the Stanley area can find updates on the Custer County Sheriffs Facebook page. Idaho sees spike in loss of homes to wildfires. Protecting yours may take a mind shift Idaho drivers, beware: Part of Banks-Lowman Highway closed for wildfire operations Bench Lake wildfire in Idaho Sawtooths cost millions. Who will pay the bill? Boise National Forest wildfire near Stanley wreaks havoc with recreation, transportation Even if a Gaza ceasefire is agreed, Israel has made clear it reserves the right to resume the war with Hamas Months of feverish negotiations, in different cities and at multiple levels, have gotten Israel and Hamas closer to striking a ceasefire deal. But even if an agreement is reached still far from certain it could end up lasting only weeks before it collapses and the war in Gaza resumes. As senior negotiators prepare to meet this weekend in Cairo, there are still several sticking points in the talks over the potential three-phase agreement. But Israel has made it clear that following the initial six-week phase, a break in the fighting may be just that and it is not ready to agree to a permanent ceasefire. I am ready to do a partial deal, it is no secret, that will bring back some of the people, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Israels Channel 14 in late June. But we are committed to continue the war after the pause in order to achieve the goal of destroying Hamas. I will not give up on this. Theres no indication that Israels position has changed and the fact this stance doesnt violate the agreement being discussed represents a breakthrough for Israel in the negotiations. It essentially allows Israel and Hamas to abandon discussions after the six-week first phase and resume the war. That breakthrough was a concession by the Palestinian militant group, which has been pushing for the temporary pause to seamlessly transition to a permanent ceasefire and the war to end. The sister-in-law of a deceased Israeli hostage who met with Netanyahu this week, Riki Baruch, told CNN her takeaway from the meeting was the prime ministers promise to defeat Hamas, and to continue fighting until the last of the hostages returns. The sister-in-law of a deceased Israeli hostage who met with Netanyahu this week, Riki Baruch, told CNN her takeaway from the meeting was the Prime Ministers promise to defeat Hamas, and to continue fighting until the last of the hostages returns. Knowing that the long-sought-after agreement wouldnt guarantee an end to the war, US officials have lowered their expectations and focused on getting first to a period of calm, even if its technically just temporary, hoping that enough pressure would build on multiple fronts during the pause to prevent the reignition of violence. What were focused on right now is getting a ceasefire deal in place, getting those hostages home, getting six weeks of calm, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said last week. Thats really what our goal is right now. A ceasefire deal that leads to a pause in fighting would be welcomed by countless people on both sides. Palestinians in Gaza, almost all of whom have been displaced, would get a respite after almost a year of continuous Israeli bombing, along with desperately needed aid. Israeli families would get hostages or their remains home after 10 painful months of waiting. Huge challenges remain if initial deal is reached But as complicated as the hurdles are to reaching this first stage of an agreement, even tougher challenges loom before Israel will agree to end the war. The way the agreement is laid out, that permanent end to the fighting is set to begin in the second phase, at which point Hamas would release all remaining hostages and all Israeli troops would withdraw from Gaza. In the third phase, reconstruction in the enclave would begin and the final remains of hostages would be returned. In announcing the framework on May 31 which both Hamas and Israel agreed to President Joe Biden admitted there would be considerable issues left to negotiate after the temporary pause started. Hamas had hoped the only remaining discussion would be about how many Palestinian prisoners would be released for the Israeli hostages, but Israel pushed for that topic known as the keys to just be one of the topics the sides could discuss during the transition from the first phase to secure the second. As long as those discussions continue, Biden had said, the ceasefire from the first phase would also continue, past the six-week mark. As hard as the mediators the US, Egypt and Qatar could try to keep those conversations on track to prevent a return to fighting, they could simply fall apart and both sides could once again take up arms. Hours after Biden laid out the May 31 framework, Netanyahus office posted on X that Israels conditions for ending the war have not changed. The destruction of Hamas military and governing capabilities, the freeing of all hostages and ensuring that Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel, he said. Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, is believed to still be alive despite fierce Israeli efforts to hunt him down. Thousands of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters also remain on the battlefield. Only around 30 of the more than 100 remaining Israeli hostages would be expected to be released by Hamas in the first part of a truce and its still unclear how many of those would be alive, sources familiar the talks say. Negotiators are still discussing how many and which Palestinian prisoners would be released in exchange, how many vetoes Israel would have over the names Hamas would put forward of those serving longer sentences for more violent crimes, and where they would be released to. New Philadelphi Corridor proposal Much attention recently has been focused on the question of Israeli troop presence along the Egypt-Gaza border, known as the Philadelphi corridor. In the agreement being discussed, IDF forces are supposed to withdraw from densely populated areas, but Israel has argued that the border isnt one and is vital to preventing weapons smuggling into Gaza. On Wednesday Netanyahus office denied an Israeli report that he had agreed to withdraw from the corridor. Achievement of all of [Israels] objectives for the war, a statement said, requires securing the southern border. Holding onto Philadelphi during the six-week first phase, even if were in a more limited way with fewer forces, would give Israel flexibility and more options militarily for later scenarios. CNN reported on Friday that Israel has come up with a new proposal on the corridor, which Egypt is set to deliver to Hamas. Israel submitted the revised plan on Thursday diplomat and an Israeli source familiar with the talks said. The new Israeli proposal, which includes a map of where Israeli troops would be deployed, reduces the number of troops and military posts along the strategic corridor bordering Egypt from Israels previous position, the Israeli source said. Egyptian negotiators had rejected the previous Israeli map days earlier and declined to transfer it to Hamas, calling it a non-starter. CNN reported on Friday that Israel has come up with a new proposal on the corridor which Egypt is set to deliver to Hamas. Israel submitted the revised plan on Thursday diplomat and an Israeli source familiar with the talks said. The new Israeli proposal, which includes a map of where Israeli troops would be deployed, reduces the number of troops and military posts along the strategic corridor bordering Egypt from Israels previous position, the Israeli source said. Egyptian negotiators had rejected the previous Israeli map days earlier and declined to transfer it to Hamas, calling it a non-starter. Hamas response to the new proposal will be critical to determining whether it sends negotiators to an expected negotiating summit in Cairo on Sunday. If they attend, the two sides could hold true negotiations with each sides delegation occupying a room, and Egyptian and Qatari mediators going back-and-forth between the two. The new proposal was the product of an hours-long meeting between Netanyahu and his negotiating team on Thursday at which Netanyahu agreed to reduce troop levels. That meeting came a day after Netanyahu spoke with President Joe Biden, who pushed Netanyahu to show more flexibility on the Philadelphi corridor. Deep divisions among Israeli leadership There are deep divisions and differences of opinion among the Israeli security officials and the Netanyahu government. Far-right members of his cabinet have blasted any ceasefire agreement while Israeli reports cite security officials who accuse Netanyahu of sabotaging the negotiations. The (Israeli) military would like a ceasefire now, a ceasefire that achieves objectives of getting hostages out, a senior American official said. All issues outstanding are manageable. Not perfect but manageable. The lead negotiator for the Biden administration, CIA Director Bill Burns, has landed in Cairo for the latest round of talks on Friday. To try to finalize an agreement, the US, along with co-mediators Qatar and Egypt, put forward a proposal to bridge the final disagreements. Earlier this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was visiting Israel, said Netanyahu had agreed to the proposal while Hamas had not yet. Hamas has accused Israel in recent days of changing the terms, while reports have said that Netanyahu has changed and reneged on a number of positions. A senior Biden administration official recently called Israels changes clarifications, while US officials have publicly and persistently maintained that a deal is close and that mere implementation issues remain to be discussed. But many involved are not as optimistic. One source familiar with all the discussions since the last temporary truce fell apart almost nine months ago called the situation near hopeless, adding that that this weeks negotiations following last weeks round in Doha have failed to produce positive developments. One major unknown is what Hamas leader Sinwar wants: a break for his fighters and the Palestinians suffering immensely or a larger regional conflict driven by Iran and Hezbollah that would further engulf Israel. Some observers believe Sinwar is waiting to see how Hezbollah in Lebanon and Iran retaliate against Israel for recent assassinations of a top Hezbollah commander in Beirut and Hamas political leader in Tehran. Whatever the outcome of the weekends talks, all signs suggest that the most Israel is willing to consider right now is 42 days of quiet. After that, all bets are off. Its easy to be pessimistic because its gone on a long time, the senior American official conceded. They could have closed this many times but didnt. CNNs Jeremy Diamond and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The War Zone has learned new details about the Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle in an interview with Dr. Shane Arnott, Senior Vice President for Engineering at Anduril and the company's maritime lead. Anduril says it has received active interest in integrating more than a dozen new military and commercial payloads onto its Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle (XL-AUV). Payload testing and otherwise demonstrating the Ghost Sharks highly modular design are core focuses of new work on the underwater drone that is now set to occur in the United States. The War Zone learned these and other new details about Ghost Shark in an interview earlier this week with Dr. Shane Arnott, Senior Vice President for Engineering at Anduril and the companys maritime lead. The Ghost Sharks U.S. debut, which Anduril announced this week, came at the biennial U.S. Navy-led Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise in Hawaii, where the uncrewed undersea vehicle (UUV) was displayed to attendees. RIMPAC 2024 wrapped up on August 1. Development of Ghost Shark began in Australia in 2022 for that countrys navy, which is looking to acquire at least three of the UUVs by 2025. The Ghost Shark now in the United States is an additional example that Anduril built using its own funds. The first Ghost Shrak for the Royal Australian Navy. Australian Defense Force Ghost Shark, which also leverages previous work on another large-displacement UUV called the Dive-LD, only first broke cover in April. The Dive-LD, which you can read more about here, was originally designed by Dive Technologies, a company Anduril acquired in 2022. Details about Ghost Sharks performance specifications, such as maximum range, speed, and endurance, as well as its intended roles and missions, remain limited. Australian authorities have said in the past that they plan to use Ghost Sharks to conduct persistent intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance [ISR] and strike missions, but without any real elaboration. How the Royal Australian Navy, or any other operator, might launch and recover the UUVs during actual operations is also unclear. The example that went to Hawaii around RIMPAC got there in a standard shipping container with the help of a Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster III transport plane, as seen below, highlighting one option for at least moving it rapidly to a forward location. Anduril Its the nature of the beast with subsea [warfare systems], Andurils Arnott said, referring to the historical secrecy surrounding submarines, crewed and uncrewed, and other underwater military capabilities. He did say that these are very, very long-range assets. What we do know is that Ghost Shark was designed to be extremely modular, flexible, and readily reconfigurable. Arnott explained that the overall payload portion of Ghost Shark can be readily configured in different ways using modular hull sections. Each of the sections has integrated data and power buses and can then be filled with whatever might fit inside. So the nose and the tail are different pieces, and then the payload in the middle is expandable, he said. We make it pretty clean and our idea is to get the maximum mix of effects possible onto this system. If you look at the [payload] sections alone, they are much bigger than a lot of UUVs by themselves, just each section, he added. The nice thing about being in water is the extensibility of how many of those sections you can add. [It] is pretty forgiving in that space in the water domain. So we cannot say how big this thing can grow, but its a lot. A rendering of a Ghost Shark in Royal Australian Navy service. Australian Defense Force Arnott further highlighted how Ghost Shark is designed to provide additional flexibility in terms of how payloads, including very large ones, can been oriented inside the modular hull sections. We dont have big masts running down the backbone of our vehicle that a lot of other designs do that then preclude the ability for the payloads to come out in different directions of the payload module itself, he said. So we have in effect, unlimited flexibility in this design, just the way that weve configured the vehicle and the payload bay itself could be almost anything within a size configuration that you can dream up. We havent encountered crazy idea yet from a customer that we cant fit. When Ghost Shark emerged in April, The War Zone pointed out its lack of large, extendable masts found on many other comparable designs, such as the Orca that Boeing is developing for the U.S. Navy. On other UUVs, masts like these are generally used to support sensors, communications, and propulsion systems. Ghost Shark does have a lower-profile swept-back sail on top of its nose section. An Orca UUV sits on a pier with its top-mounted mast deployed and a payload module installed with a top-opening bay. USN On the military side, in addition to the capabilities being developed for Australias Ghost Sharks, weve had requests for over a dozen new payloads, which weve got some level of conceptual design on, and there are active discussions on, according to Arnott. The company is also exploring commercial applications for the UUVs. Specific details about any of these payloads remain scant. A suite of sonars and other sensors would be needed to meet the Royal Australian Navys persistent ISR requirements. What the strike capabilities for the RAN might entail remains unclear, but Ghost Shark could well be configured to launch torpedoes or missiles, as well as loitering munitions, or lay mines. Systems capable of launching non-kinetic attacks, such as electronic warfare jammers, are another possibility. Andurils Arnott regularly describes Ghost Shark as a mothership, as well, and has alluded to it being capable of serving as a launch platform for other uncrewed systems, including ones designed to operate in highly autonomous networked swarms, in the past. Swarms inherently offer flexibility in how their individual components can be configured and, by extension, in what missions they can be tasked to perform. An old, but still relevant U.S. Navy graphic showing possible payloads for large underwater drones, including weapons and smaller uncrewed systems. USN An old, but nonetheless interesting U.S. Navy graphic showing possible payloads for underwater drones, including weapons. U.S. Navy A big part of why you have an extra large vehicle is as a mothership, Arnott told The War Zone and other outlets at a media roundtable after Ghost Sharks public unveiling in April. So you know, having autonomy controlling autonomy. This is actually a masterclass in use of Lattice. Lattice is Andurils proprietary artificial intelligence-enabled autonomy software package, which it has been developing in parallel with its still-growing portfolio of uncrewed systems across all domains. I think the mind can run wild with what you can do with a very large payload bay. But having having a brain that can be all the way on the edge of smaller things, plus a bigger thing, plus working with crewed assets this is kind of the vision of what Lattice is about, Arnott also said in April, speaking generally, in response to a specific question about whether Ghost Shark might act as a mothership for smaller uncrewed platforms. Ill let you connect some dots there. In his more recent interview with The War Zone, Arnott also said that interest Anduril has been seeing in Ghost Shark on the commercial side has had to do with employing the UUV as an alternative to tethered remotely operated vehicles and larger vessels on the surface primarily around seabed survey [work] and seeing how to interact with things on the seafloor. Though Arnott did not explicitly make this link, new and improved ways of surveying the seafloor and manipulating objects on the seabed are things that would also be of clear interest to armed forces, as well as intelligence agencies. As already noted, proving out new payloads and demonstrating Ghost Sharks readily reconfigurable architecture are key aspects of the work Anduril now expects to do on the design in the United States. The company also says it wants to showcase its ability to manufacture and otherwise support the platform outside of Australia for future customers, possibly including the U.S. Navy. So, our intent here is to have this vehicle be able to take U.S. payloads, and for those payloads to be 100% built here in the United States. So, with U.S. steel, U.S. engineers, U.S. guts for these payloads, and add it to the vehicle, Arnott said. The intent is to start to work with the U.S. customer community, of which, you know, theres a number of parties, including the US Navy, etc, to start to prove that out and show that we can build our mission capability at the edge [and not] always have to go back to the OEM [original equipment manufacturer] location. Were very much thinking about manufacturability, so the ability to kind of push these things out at scale, Arnott added. Weve announced two different factories, one in Australia, one in the U.S. Both of those will be set up in order to build both [Ghost Shark] vehicles and payloads. Scaling has been kind of a central tenant to the program. some of the mistakes in the past of similar subsea capabilities [is that they] are kind of created with quite exotic designs, and typically, subsea and submarine capabilities are built in small numbers, Arnott also said at the roundtable back in April. Were expecting this to be built in very large numbers. So proving out that supply chain, proving out the production system, has been actually part of this program. Weve been very deliberate in the design of the vehicle no exotic materials [and] approaches that are easily scaled. You can read more about Andurils planned hyperscale factory in the United States, where it expects to produce an array of other products unrelated to Ghost Shark, and its broader vision for manufacturing here. With the U.S. military especially, there is growing interest in not only being able to accelerate the development of new capabilities, but also the ability to quickly start producing them in useful quantities, a broader trend The War Zone has been tracking closely. An artists conception of Andurils planned hyperscale factory in the United States. Anduril Having a Ghost Shark in the United States will offer other testing opportunities, including when it comes to work to expand the UUVs performance envelope and autonomous capabilities. Arnott stressed the continued need to build trust in the UUVs ability to perform tasks autonomously, which is an increasingly common theme in such developments more generally. This, in turn, requires massive amounts of repetitive testing to help refine underlying software algorithms. Uncrewed undersea platforms add additional challenges given that they can more easily find themselves operating alone and out of contact with a human operator than drones in the air or on the ground. Theres just a lot of test points for us to hit. So, having the ability to have multiple Ghost Sharks, and particularly in different waters around the world, such that we can burn down those test points and just grow our trust and the customers trust by testing and show me, dont tell me, is kind of a really big part of why weve done this and brought the UUV to the United States, Arnott explained. While much remains to be learned about Ghost Shark and its capabilities, a picture is emerging of a highly adaptable design that could find itself tasked with a wide variety of missions in the future. With what happens beneath the waves emerging as an especially critical area of future warfare, this is also an arena where Anduril may face increasing competition. Contact the author: joe@twz.com Ex-Alaska Airlines Pilot Speaks Out Months After Allegedly Trying to Shut Off Planes Engines While on Mushrooms Joseph Emerson recalled the Oct. 22, 2023 incident in an interview with ABC's 'Good Morning America' ABC/Youtube Joseph Emerson A former Alaska Airlines pilot is speaking out after allegedly trying to shut off a planes engines during a flight last year. In an interview that aired on Friday, Aug. 23, on ABC's Good Morning America, Joseph Emerson recalled the Oct. 22, 2023 incident: Emerson, who was off-duty at the time, was sitting in the cockpits jump seat during a flight from Seattle to San Francisco and allegedly attempted to shut off the planes engines by pulling the engine fire handles. (The flight was operated by Horizon Air, a subsidiary of Alaska Airlines.) Emerson was restrained and the two pilots on duty were able to take control of the plane, which was rerouted to Portland, where it landed safely. He had allegedly taken psychedelic mushrooms about 48 hours prior, he later told investigators, according to county and federal charging documents previously reviewed by PEOPLE. Related: Inside Harrowing Moments on Alaska Airlines Flight as Off-Duty Pilot Allegedly Tried to Kill Passengers: Police Emerson explained in the interview that he had trouble deciphering what reality was while on the drug, which he says he took after a weekend of remembering his best friend Scott, who died a few years back. What I thought is, This is going to wake me up, Emerson said, per ABC. I know what those levers do in a real airplane and I need to wake up from this. You know, it's 30 seconds of my life that I wish I could change, and I can't. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, taking psychedelic mushrooms causes people to experience distorted sights and sounds, as well as intense emotions. "There was a feeling of being trapped, like, 'Am I trapped in this airplane and now I'll never go home? Emerson added. When the plane landed, Emerson was taken into custody by Port of Portland police. He allegedly told them that he hadnt slept in 40 hours and was going through a mental health crisis, according to an affidavit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Related: Off-Duty Pilot Who Allegedly Tried to Shut Off Plane's Engine Told Investigators He'd Taken Mushrooms: Complaint AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images Alaska Airlines He also allegedly told investigators at the time that it was his first time taking psychedelic mushrooms, according to a federal complaint, adding that six months prior to the incident, he had become depressed. After the incident, in which no injuries were reported, Emerson was charged with 83 counts of attempted murder, 83 misdemeanor counts of reckless endangerment and one felony count of endangering an aircraft, PEOPLE previously reported. He was also charged with endangering a flight crew by federal prosecutors but its unclear if he still faces that charge. 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 attempted murder charges, however, have since been reduced to reckless endangerment, ABC reports. Emerson, who was released from custody last December, has reportedly pleaded not guilty to the charges. Its unclear if he will go to trial. What I hope through the judicial processes is that the entirety of not just 30 seconds of the event, but the entirety of my experience is accounted for as society judges me on what happened, Emerson told ABC. And I will accept what the debt that society says I owe." If you or someone you know needs mental health help, 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. SEOUL, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- An arrest warrant was sought for those responsible for South Korea's battery plant fire in June that claimed 23 lives, Yonhap news agency reported on Friday, citing the police and the labor ministry. The police and the labor ministry held a joint press conference after investigating the cause of the deadly accident that occurred at a plant of the local lithium battery producer Aricell in Hwaseong, about 45 km south of the capital Seoul, on June 24. The investigation found that Aricell continued to manipulate test samples since it began to supply battery products to the military in 2021 in a bid to illegally pass quality inspections. The arrest warrant was requested for the Aricell chief executive and three others on charges of violating the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act and other laws. After failing to pass the quality inspection in April this year, Aricell began to excessively manufacture battery products and make twice as much as its daily average production volume. For the excessive manufacturing production, the company mobilized unskilled workers who were not properly trained, leading to a higher defect rate. The battery factory fire killed 23 workers, including 17 Chinese nationals. FORT WALTON BEACH The former Okaloosa County Sheriff's deputy who shot and killed U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson is being charged with manslaughter with a firearm. According to a news release from the State Attorney's Office, an arrest warrant has been issued for former Deputy Eddie Duran. State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden's office said Duran could face a 30-year prison term if convicted as charged. The shooting occurred on May 3. Duran responded to an apparent disturbance call at Fortson's apartment complex. Duran arrived on the scene and knocked on Fortson's apartment door. Fortson opened the door while holding a gun in his right hand and pointed at the ground. Duran opened fire. In a statement, the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office continued to wish the Fortson family comfort and peace as the criminal case begins. "The Okaloosa County Sheriffs Office (OCSO) has been fully accountable and transparent in its compliance with statutory requirements, providing numerous public statements, making accessible the available body-worn camera footage and other related records, meeting with Mr. Forstons family and legal counsel, and communicating openly with the U.S. Air Force and our community at-large," the statement says. "We stand by our decision to terminate Mr. Duran as a result of the administrative internal affairs investigation that found his use of force was not objectively reasonable." Related coverage: Former deputy Eddie Duran charged in death of airman Roger Fortson. Here's what we know. The attorney for the Fortson family, Ben Crump, also commented, saying that this decision is the first step toward justice for the Fortson family. "Nothing can ever bring Roger back, and our fight is far from over, but we are hopeful that this arrest and these charges will result in real justice for the Fortson family," Crump said in a release. "Let this be a reminder to law enforcement officers everywhere that they swore a solemn oath to protect and defend, and their actions have consequences, especially when it results in the loss of life. This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Manslaughter charge for ex-deputy in shooting of Roger Fortson Ronda Rousey, a former professional mixed martial artist, apologized for amplifying a Sandy Hook conspiracy theory 11 years ago, after the incident resurfaced in a Reddit Ask Me Anything session earlier this week. In a lengthy statement she posted on social media Thursday night, Rousey recounted watching a conspiracy video about the mass shooting, in which 20 children and six adults were killed at a Connecticut elementary school, and then reposting the video on Twitter (now X) in early 2013. I didnt even believe it, but was so horrified at the truth that I was grasping for an alternative fiction to cling to instead, she wrote. I quickly realized my mistake and took it down, but the damage was done. Rousey said her post went largely unnoticed by the media and she never spoke of it again. (It did spark some backlash at the time, and Rousey responded that she never meant to hurt or insult anyone.) She also said that she had redrafted this apology multiple times over the past 11 years. Rousey added: But honestly I deserve to be hated, labeled, detested, resented and worse for it. I deserve to lose out on every opportunity, I should have been canceled, I would have deserved it. I still do. I apologize that this came 11 years too late, but to those affected by the Sandy Hook massacre, from the bottom of my heart and depth of my soul I am so so sorry for the hurt I caused. I cant even begin to imagine the pain youve endured and words cannot describe how thoroughly remorseful and ashamed I am of myself for contributing it. The Sandy Hook shooting is one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern U.S. history. Conspiracy theories about the massacre, often promoted by right-wing figures, have been rampant and are deeply damaging. Families of the victims and survivors have experienced death threats and harassment for years as a result. Infowars host Alex Jones was a major proponent of the Sandy Hook conspiracy theories. After a prolonged legal battle with the victims families, Jones was ordered in 2022 to pay them a total of $1.5 billion in damages. In June this year, a judge granted his request to liquidate his personal assets to pay some of what he owed the families. Apologies from celebrities for public missteps can often come across as perfunctory exercises in damage control. Rouseys statement comes more than a decade after her post and only after she was recently called out for it online. But, as far as such apologies go, her acknowledgement of the harm she caused and the repercussions she should have faced for it lend her apology a credibility others have lacked. Rousey also had some words of advice to those who have been taken in by conspiracy theories: To anyone else thats fallen down the black hole of bulls---, it doesnt make you edgy or an independent thinker, youre not doing your due diligence entertaining every possibility by digesting these conspiracies. They will only make you feel powerless, afraid, miserable and isolated. Youre doing nothing but hurting others and yourself. Regardless of how many bridges youve burned over it, stop digging yourself a deeper hole, dont get wrapped up in the sunk cost fallacy, no matter how long youve gone down the wrong road, you should still turn back. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com A Kansas City man charged with murder in a fatal shooting near a Northland Walmart Supercenter this week is involved in an ongoing federal lawsuit against the Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners and a former officer with the Kansas City Police Department, according to court documents. Taquiza V. Johnson, 47, was charged Thursday with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of 71-year-old Ronald Barnett. Johnson allegedly shot Barnett outside his car shortly after leaving the Walmart Supercenter. Police think the shooting stemmed from an interaction between the two while Barnett was entering the parking lot, according to court documents. In a civil rights lawsuit filed in 2023 in U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, Johnson accuses former Kansas City police officer Jonathan Lenz of excessive force, unlawful detention and other civil rights violations. According to the lawsuit, Lenz was off duty and not in uniform when he encountered Johnson on Oct. 19, 2020, in the 300 block of Northwest 110th Terrace in Kansas City, according to the lawsuit. Johnson, working as a self-employed repair person, was in the area to do work at a customers home on Northwest 110th Terrace, court records indicate. He performed repairs based out of Leawood, operating under the company name of Getit2gether Repair. Johnson initially knocked on the door of the wrong house, according to the lawsuit. The owner of the correct house then came outside and informed Johnson that he was at the wrong residence, according to the lawsuit. After Johnson performed the repair and left, he was approached by Lenz, who lived on the same block, according to court documents. At the time, Lenz was off duty and in plain clothes, Johnson alleges in the lawsuit. Lenz, who was in a police vehicle, got out of the cruiser with his service weapon drawn and a commemorative police badge around his neck, the lawsuit alleges. According to the lawsuit, Lenz told Johnson that he had been responding to a 911 call reporting a prowler or burglar in the area. Johnson was then detained by Lenz and other on-duty police officers, with Lenz keeping his gun drawn for more than 10 minutes, the lawsuit alleges. Johnson alleges that Lenz explicitly threatened him with deadly force. There was no probable cause or exigent circumstances for Johnsons detention, the lawsuit reads. Reached Thursday, Edward Stump, one of the attorneys representing Johnson in the civil lawsuit, declined to comment on Thursdays criminal charges against Johnson. These charges have no effect on our civil lawsuit, Stump said. The Kansas City Office of Community Complaints investigated the allegations against Lenz after Johnson filed a complaint. In June 2021, the office determined that Johnsons complaints held merit, writing that disciplinary action would be taken against Lenz. Last week, mediation was held in Johnsons lawsuit, according to Stump. Johnson is seeking $1 million in damages and has demanded a jury trial, according to the lawsuit. A spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department confirmed Thursday that Lenz was no longer employed by the agency. Ex-politician accused of killing Vegas reporter says he would have won re-election if victim hadnt published damaging pieces The former Nevada politician accused of fatally stabbing a Las Vegas investigative reporter testified Thursday that he would have won a reelection in the primary race for Clark County Public Administrator had the victim not published damaging articles about him. Robert Telles, 47, has pleaded not guilty to murder with use of a deadly weapon in the September 2022 death of Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Jeff German. The defense has said Telles was framed for the death because he was trying to make changes in his political office that upset the Old Guard. Prosecutors have alleged Telles, angry about Germans articles exposing turmoil in his political office, wore a disguise and hid outside the reporters home before fatally stabbing him. You believe if Mr. German had not written these four articles, you would have won the race, correct? prosecutor Christopher Hamner asked during Telles second day of testimony. I do believe that, yes, Telles responded. Telles said while he was hopeful he would win the primary race, he wasnt sure he was going to, and was ready to resume work in probate law in the event of a loss. He eventually came in third place. In response, Hamner showed text messages between Telles and a coworker where the defendant said he was worried the articles would follow him for years to come and would jeopardize his career and his future. Though the prosecution questioned Telles on the evidence presented against him by witnesses, he maintained there was a conspiracy to frame him for the killing, testifying a professional assassin killed German, DNA found underneath the victims fingernails that matched Telles was planted and his phone was hacked to show Google images of Germans house. During the second day of his sprawling narrative testimony, Telles said he did not destroy a shoe and hat matching those worn by the assailant, but he did not have an answer as to how that was done. I did not cut up a shoe and hide it under my couch. I did not cut up a hat and put it in an open door of my toolbox, Telles said. After several objections from the prosecution that were sustained by the judge, Telles again proclaimed his innocence. Ive never beat anybody up, Ive never killed anybody. I didnt kill Mr. German. Thats my testimony, Telles said. Telles said on the day of Germans killing, he was at home watching TV before going for a walk and heading to the gym. He showed a phone log of his activities that day, saying there was nothing suspicious about it. But the day ended with Hamner showing an inconsistency between Telles phone records and text exchanges on his wifes Apple Watch, which included a message from his wife asking, Where are you? The trial will resume Friday at 9:30 a.m. Telles lost reelection bid in 2022 German, 69, wrote about the underbelly of Sin City and had covered mobsters, crooked officials and corrupt government agencies in an ink-stained life. Yet prosecutors said it was his coverage of a little-known office run by an elected Clark County official that led to his killing. German had written about allegations of wrongdoing in the Clark County Public Administrators office, reporting that Telles created a hostile work environment and carried on an inappropriate relationship with a staffer. In response to the articles, Telles published posts on his campaigns website and wrote a letter to German in which he called the allegations false and insisted German was trying to drag me through the mud. In June 2022, Telles lost his bid for reelection in the Democratic primary. The reporter was found dead with multiple stab wounds outside his home on September 2, 2022. Just 15 hours before German was killed, Telles had received an email related to a public records request, according to prosecutors. The indictment alleges the killing was willful, deliberate and premeditated, and/or perpetrated by lying in wait for him. CNNs Eric Levenson contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) A former Stallion Springs police officer who pleaded no contest three years ago to stealing from the departments Police Activities League is now accused of sexually abusing a child. James Best Jr. faces seven felony counts in a case filed last month by Kern prosecutors, court records show. Best was arrested Aug. 19 in Maine, according to the Penobscot County Sheriffs Office website. A hearing date is not yet scheduled in Kern County. RELATED: Ex-Stallion Springs officer, wife sentenced in Police Activities League theft The alleged victim, now an adult, came forward last year and told authorities Best sexually abused her from the ages of 9 to 16, according to reports filed by sheriffs investigators in Superior Court. In a pretext phone call made by the alleged victim and recorded by detectives, Best admitted to sexual misconduct but said some things he doesnt remember, according to the reports. I remember things when you were older, Best said according to the reports. I dont remember things when you were about 9 or 10. Search for possible burglary suspects prompts large police response at Home Depot In 2021, Best and his wife were sentenced to felony probation after pleading no contest to stealing from Stallion Springs PAL, which Best was in charge of from 2017 to 2019. He resigned from the department in 2019. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Exonerated 'Central Park Five' members speak out against Trump at Democratic convention The Exonerated Five, previously known as the Central Park Five, described during the Democratic National Convention how former President Donald Trump has not apologized for calling for the return of the death penalty when the then-teenagers were falsely accused of raping a jogger. Yusef Salaam, now a member of New York's City Council, said that Trump never changed, and he never will. "45 wanted us unalived," he said, referring to Trump as the 45th president. "He wanted us dead. Today, we are exonerated because the actual perpetrator confessed and DNA proved it. That guy says he still stands by the original guilty verdict," Salaam said, referring to Trump. The men were wrongly accused as teenagers of raping and beating a white woman jogging in Central Park in 1989. The four Black men and one Latino man spent years behind bars before their convictions were vacated. Their convictions were based on confessions that they said were coerced. Ultimately, DNA evidence linked a serial rapist to the crime, and the five convictions were vacated in 2002. New York City later paid them $41 million in a legal settlement. When reached for comment, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said, As President Trump has said previously, they admitted their guilt. The Rev. Al Sharpton welcomed the Exonerated Five on stage to speak at the convention. After the five teenagers were arrested, Trump bought a full page advertisement in local newspapers calling for the return of the death penalty. In the decades since the Exonerated Fives convictions were overturned, Trump has refused to walk back his comments, arguing that they had admitted guilt. Salaam said that Trump falsely thinks that hate is the "animating force in America." Korey Wise, another of the exonerated, recalled having time stolen," describing people screaming at and threatening them in the courtroom because of Donald Trump. Wise highlighted Kamala Harris as someone who has "worked to make things fairer." "I know she will do the same as president," he said. "Now prove that message." Two other members of the group stood at their sides: Raymond Santana and Kevin Richardson. Antron McCray was not present. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com If it were up to former President Donald Trump 35 years ago, five Black and brown teenagers from New York City would have been put to death after a jury convicted them in 1990 of the rape and assault of a white woman jogging in Central Park. The charges against the five young men would not have legally warranted the death penalty but that didnt matter to Trump. The advertisements, which cost thousands of dollars, were published weeks after the April 1989 attack that left the woman in a coma for weeks. Our youth was stolen from us, Korey Wise recalled on the final night of the Democratic National Convention. Every day as we walked into the courtroom, people scream at us, threaten us, because of Donald Trump. Wise was 16, the oldest of the wrongfully convicted who were infamously dubbed the Central Park Five and the first of two to give a speech Thursday. Having Wise and the now New York City Council member Yusef Salaam at the event reminded America who Trump has always been. Trump paid for advertisements in four major New York City newspapers, including The New York Times, despite state executions not being in effect at the time. The crimes against that young woman wouldnt have resulted in that level of punishment anyway. Rev. Al Sharpton stood with us. Now, Im proud to stand with him. Vice President Kamala Harris has also worked to make things fairer. I know she will do the same as president and I approve that message, Wise said. Sharpton introduced Wise, Salaam, Kevin Richardson and Raymond Santana to the stage after giving his own remarks where he compared his experiences with Harris and Trump during his decades-long career as a civil rights leader. I see a candidate who has sought to reform and uphold the law and a man who wrongly assumes his mugshot appeals to Black Americans, Sharpton said. I work with Kamala Harris in every job shes had. She has consistently committed to making government work for those of us whove been disadvantaged. All Donald Trump has been consistent about is making himself richer and sowing division to get that done. Decades after DNA evidence, and a confession from the actual perpetrator, proved the five were innocent, Trump never apologized. The Manhattan District Attorneys Office recommended in December 2002 to overturn all of their convictions that were based on coerced confessions from the teens. The National Registry of Exonerations reports that since 1989, of the 3,582 exonerations it has recorded, 452 had false confessions and 601 had DNA evidence that proved the person was wrongly convicted. In both of those categories, more than half were Black exonerees. That guy says he still stands by the original guilty verdict. He dismisses the scientific evidence rather than admit he was wrong, Salaam said. At 15, Salaam was wrongfully incarcerated for seven years in an upstate New York prison. He has never changed, and he never will, Salaam warned before leading the crowd in a call and response to get them hype about voting for Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz into the White House. Over 30 years later, the publics perception about the death penalty has significantly shifted, and yet Trump has campaigned to finish what he started with federal executions during his last six months in office. If Trump were to return to the White House, conservative authors of Project 2025 have called to restart executions to kill the 40 remaining people on federal death row, and to enforce the practice for other violent offenses, including crimes against children. The Harris-Walz ticket reportedly has not campaigned on abolishing the federal death penalty. Salaam ended the chant by saying: When they see us, America will finally say goodbye to that hateful man a play on the title of Ava DuVernays Netflix limited series, When They See Us thats based on their case. We will say what I have said after seven long years of wrongful incarceration, free at last, free at last, free your last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last, Salaam said, adding, God bless you and God bless the United States of America. The post Exonerated Central Park Five Members Remind America About Who Donald Trump Has Always Been appeared first on Capital B News. 3 Detroit-area mall guards not guilty of involuntary manslaughter in mans death in 2014 THIS CORRECTS TO PONTIAC, MICH., NOT DETROIT AS ORGINALLY SENT - Three security guards hug after a jury found them not guilty of involuntary manslaughter in a man's death at a Pontiac, Mich. mall more than 10 years ago, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Pontiac, Mich. (AP Photo/EJ White) PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) A jury swiftly acquitted three security guards of involuntary manslaughter Friday in the death of a man who was held to the floor at a Detroit-area mall in 2014, a case that was closed without charges years ago but reopened by state prosecutors. The jury of eight women and four men heard closing arguments in the weeklong trial and returned with a verdict after approximately an hour. McKenzie Cochran, a Black man with an enlarged heart, repeatedly said, I cant breathe, while five guards restrained him at Northland Center. The confrontation followed a call from a jewelry shop owner who said Cochran told him that he wanted to kill someone. The 10-minute struggle was recorded on dark, grainy mall video, as well as by onlookers. Cochran, 25, was eventually handcuffed and placed against a pillar while guards waited for police and paramedics. The cause of death was asphyxiation. Defense attorneys argued that the guards were protecting themselves and mall patrons by trying to bring Cochran under control so they could handcuff him. The encounter grew from two guards to five and initially involved pepper spray. If someone found a gun in that mans pocket, theyd be hailing these men as heroes, defense attorney Jamil Khuja told the jury. Instead, 10 years later not a Monday morning quarterback, a 10-years-later quarterback come and turn their lives upside down. John Seiberling, Gaven King and Aaron Maree embraced one another and their attorneys after the verdicts were read. They declined to comment about the acquittals. Their family and friends applauded, gasped and cheered in the courtroom. No one from Cochran's family attended the trial; his mother and sister are deceased. During closing arguments, a prosecutor urged jurors to apply common sense and convict the guards, arguing that their gross negligence led to the tragedy. This death did not have to happen, Assistant Attorney General LaDonna Logan said. When a man says several times, I cant breathe, common sense says that these defendants should have repositioned him. They did nothing, Logan said. Cochrans death was classified by the medical examiner as an accident in 2014, and the Oakland County prosecutor did not pursue charges. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel reversed course in 2021 and filed charges amid national outrage over the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was pinned to the ground by Minneapolis police. In a written statement, Nessel, a Democrat, said the acquittals were not what we had hoped for. Defense lawyers repeatedly reminded the jury of the decade that has passed since Cochrans death. They had all this information 10 years ago. No charges. There was no negligence, Wright Blake said. So what changed between 2014 and 2021? ... Is it her own political gains? Blake noted there was no new evidence, except for the opinion of a forensic pathologist, Dr. Carl Schmidt, who looked at records and testified that the death was not an accident and might be considered a homicide. He had no role in the 2014 autopsy. "When you allow politics and personal advancement to drive whether or not to charge the case, thats not the right way to do things, King's attorney, Doraid Elder, told The Associated Press. He said Jessica Cooper, the local prosecutor who declined charges 10 years ago, should feel vindicated. She was defeated for reelection in 2020. The last trial witness was Charles Key, a former Baltimore police supervisor who is considered an expert in the use of force. He said Cochran's struggle to breathe didn't change his opinion that the guards' efforts to restrain him while trying to handcuff him were reasonable. If hes talking it means hes breathing. He may not be breathing well, Key testified. "Resisting aggressively that also cant be done without taking oxygen. Key said Cochran could have been handcuffed in just 30 seconds without resistance. Another guard, Lucius Hamilton, pleaded guilty last week in anticipation of only 90 days in jail. The guard who led the encounter with Cochran died in 2017. ___ Follow Ed White at https://twitter.com/edwritez Experts are cautiously optimistic about new global trends when it comes to greening up iron and steel production, Canary Media reports. Global Energy Monitor recently released a report that found that low-carbon technologies such as the electric arc furnace, which replaces a higher-carbon alternative, account for a rising percentage of capacity in this sector. However, Canary Media cautions that "traditional coal-based capacity is also expanding." A push toward greener production methods will help reduce the amount of health-harming pollution affecting nearby communities. For instance, residents living near the Edgar Thomson Plant in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania which operates blast and basic oxygen furnaces along with a facility that produces purified coal, or "coke" experience some of the worst air quality in the nation and face elevated cancer risks and higher childhood asthma rates, according to Canary Media. Plus, it will help us in the fight against rising global temperatures traditional steel making methods use coal during the production process and release carbon into the atmosphere, and the industry contributes up to 9% of global carbon pollution, Canary Media reports. Across the world, governments and communities are pushing for alternatives to coal. For instance, some rural Virginia towns are adding over 1 million new jobs by focusing on solar technologies instead of coal. (Sign up for community solar.) Plus, Germany has closed over a dozen coal plants as part of its effort to phase out this fuel source by 2030. Of course, the transition to cleaner steel production doesn't come without its challenges. GEM's report also noted a concerning trend: Over 300 million metric tons per year of blast furnace capacity is planned in 16 countries. "In the last few years, we were really driving the point that we are so far behind [on decarbonization], we are not on track, there's so much work to do," Caitlin Swalec, one of the authors and GEM's heavy industry program director, told Canary Media. "This report is a bit more like cautious optimism." Many older plants that are in need of updates have difficult decisions to make in the coming years: Do they simply spruce up their old dirty technologies or spend much more for greener options to carry them into the future? But "if any new [steel] investment is to take place, it should not be in yesterday's technologies," Matthew Mehalik, executive director of the Breathe Project, warned, per Canary Media. "That's a continuation of a business model that produces steel at the expense of the health of vulnerable community members, which is the way that it's been happening for generations." Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. HANOI, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam remains resilient and attractive to foreign investors thanks to its strong fundamentals despite global uncertainties, Vietnam News cited the property research firm CBRE on Friday. According to CBRE, Vietnam's hotel market demonstrated positive signs, with both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City recording higher revenue per available room compared to the same period in 2023. Henry Chin, global head of Investor Thought Leadership and head of Research, Asia Pacific for CBRE, said "For investors, the key lies in strategizing according to the current stage of each key sector in the north, central, and southern regions of Vietnam, while adapting to the broader structural shifts unfolding worldwide." "We continue to see a strong appetite among foreign investors to enter the market, with a focus in particular on the industrial and logistics space, the hospitality market as the world re-opens post-pandemic, and the core asset classes driven by the country's unique supply and demand dynamics," he said. Claim: Kamala Harris' running mate in the 2024 presidential election, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, signed a law requiring schools to stock tampons in boys' bathrooms. Rating: Rating: Mostly False Context: Tim Walz signed a law in 2023 that required Minnesota schools to stock free menstrual for students in grades four through 12. The language of the statute was gender neutral and therefore compelled schools to make menstrual products available to all "menstruating students," including transmasculine (trans boys and male-presenting) students, although they may be able to obtain them in places other than boys' bathrooms. After Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz spoke at the Democratic National Convention that nominated him as presidential candidate Kamala Harris' running mate in August 2024, a rumor that Walz had signed a law requiring Minnesotan schools to stock tampons in boys' bathrooms took on new life (archived): Walz put tampons in 10 year old boys bathrooms. Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) August 22, 2024 The claim has appeared multiple times on X, Reddit, and Facebook since Harris picked him as her would-be vice president. The posts had accumulated tens of thousands of views as of this writing and earned Walz the sarcastic moniker "Tampon Tim" (archived): Menstrual Products for 'Menstruating Students' In 2023, Walz signed a school funding bill into law containing a provision that guaranteed access to free menstrual protection to Minnesota students from the fourth through the 12th grade. This legislation required all school districts and charter schools to stock menstrual products, and the language of the law was gender neutral. It read (emphasis ours): A school district or charter school must provide students with access to menstrual products at no charge. The products must be available to all menstruating students in restrooms regularly used by students in grades 4 to 12 according to a plan developed by the school district. For purposes of this section, "menstrual products" means pads, tampons, or other similar products used in connection with the menstrual cycle. While the law did not specifically mention boys' bathrooms, it also did not restrict the rule to female or girls' bathrooms. Paired with the laws protecting children's access to gender-affirming care, this would require schools that do not provide gender-neutral restrooms to ensure such products to are available transmasculine students that is, students who are either trans boys or students born female whose gender expression is masculine to access them. In theory, this could require the stocking of menstrual products in boys' bathrooms in some cases, though the editorial board of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune argued that is not the case: Critics contend, wrongly, that it mandates menstrual products in boys' bathrooms. This has unfortunately been used to stoke ongoing culture wars over transgender individuals. But the law's actual language provides considerable flexibility for school districts to implement it, according to Deb Henton, the executive director of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators. That might mean making these products available for free in various locations for all who need them, such as unisex bathrooms, girls' bathrooms, the school nurse or the front office, but not necessarily in boys' bathrooms. Henton, in an interview, lauded the "local control" the law provides for implementation, and said she's fielded no concerns about its rollout. At Anoka-Hennepin, the state's largest school district, the free products are not found in traditional male-only bathrooms, a spokesman said. But they are provided for free to all in "nongendered bathrooms," girls' bathrooms or from health staffers. 'Tampon Tim' Goes Viral Megyn Kelly, the conservative television show and podcast host whom former U.S. President Donald Trump once attacked for having "blood coming out of her wherever," embraced the monicker "Tampon Tim" as criticism of this and other of Walz's policies (archived): Tampon Tim is the name. Thats it. https://t.co/TpCFhDTE5X Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) August 7, 2024 But in 2024, talk of menstruation was no longer taboo in the public and political sphere. Far from putting people off, the fact that Walz supported such a law was, to many, a demonstration of empathy and good judgment, including from former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton (archived): How nice of the Trump camp to help publicize Gov. Tim Walz's compassionate and common-sense policy of providing free menstrual products to students in Minnesota public schools! Let's do this everywhere. pic.twitter.com/hk6v8cs8p4 Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 7, 2024 Sources: Treisman, Rachel. 'Why Republicans Are Calling Walz "Tampon Tim" and Why Democrats Embrace It'. NPR, 7 Aug. 2024. NPR, https://www.npr.org/2024/08/07/nx-s1-5066878/tim-walz-tampon-law-minnesota. Chapter 55 - MN Laws. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/laws/2023/0/55/#laws.1.1.0. Accessed 8 Aug. 2024. Sec. 121A.212 MN Statutes. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/121A.212. Accessed 8 Aug. 2024. 'Transmasculine: What Does Having This Identity Mean?' Health, https://www.health.com/mind-body/transmasculine. Accessed 8 Aug. 2024. Claim: Russian President Vladimir Putin took his pet black Labrador to a 2007 meeting with then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, even though she fears dogs. Rating: Rating: True Context: Numerous news stories have reported Merkels phobia of dogs stemming from a decades-old incident in which she was bitten, and Merkel herself appeared to criticize Putin for bringing the dog to the meeting. A former U.S. intelligence officer on Russia claimed that this was Putins intimidation tactic, though Putin denied he was trying to frighten Merkel. In 2024, a viral X post shared a 2007 incident in which Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly took his pet black Labrador to a meeting with then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who fears dogs. The year is 2007. On the left is Angela Merkel, on the right - Vladimir Putin. In the foreground is Putins Labrador. The catch? Merkel has a phobia of dogs. I dont care whatcha think of Putin - That is about as thug life as it gets. pic.twitter.com/7uIwf1zDF8 17AbsoluteRedux76 (@RealAbs1776) May 4, 2024 The same story about Putin and his dog was shared in a Reddit post earlier in the year. The incident with Merkel did take place. In January 2007, while meeting in Sochi, Russia, Putin took his female black Labrador, Koni (sometimes spelled Kuni), into the room where he and Merkel were meeting. Numerous news reports, including a profile of Merkel in The New Yorker, said she had a fear of dogs. As such, we rate this claim as "True." Photographs from Getty Images and video of the meeting show the black Lab roaming around the room as Merkel and Putin sit across from each other. Merkel appears to be seated stiffly, not touching the dog, while Putin moves Koni away from her at first. Koni eventually returns to sniff Merkel, who smiles but does not pet the dog. Putin watches as the dog remains at Merkel's feet. A Getty Images caption stated, "The labrador sauntered into the meeting room in front of reporters and sat at Merkel's feet, causing the German chancellor apparent discomfort." The 2014 New Yorker profile of Merkel detailed the incident, including her biting response to Putin's decision to bring the dog to their meeting: Putin's brand of macho elicits in Merkel a kind of scientific empathy. In 2007, during discussions about energy supplies at the Russian President's residence in Sochi, Putin summoned his black Lab, Koni, into the room where he and Merkel were seated. As the dog approached and sniffed her, Merkel froze, visibly frightened. She'd been bitten once, in 1995, and her fear of dogs couldn't have escaped Putin, who sat back and enjoyed the moment, legs spread wide. "I'm sure it will behave itself," he said. Merkel had the presence of mind to reply, in Russian, "It doesn't eat journalists, after all." The German press corps was furious on her behalf "ready to hit Putin," according to a reporter who was present. Later, Merkel interpreted Putin's behavior. "I understand why he has to do this to prove he's a man," she told a group of reporters. "He's afraid of his own weakness. Russia has nothing, no successful politics or economy. All they have is this." Fiona Hill, a U.S. intelligence official considered one of the world's foremost experts on Putin, gave an analysis on his intentions during that meeting with Merkel. In a 2020 interview with CBS News correspondent Lesley Stahl, she said Putin got his training from Russian intelligence and tries to gauge other's vulnerabilities: Fiona Hill: He wasn't a professional politician. He came out of the KGB. He had learned certain skills there. You're basically figuring out how to size someone up and then to figure out what makes them tick, what their vulnerabilities in particular might be so how can you hone in on those to get people to do what it is you want them to do. Lesley Stahl: Do you think that he studied President Trump and did find some vulnerabilities and honed in on them with our president? Fiona Hill: He does this with absolutely everybody that he interacts with. For example with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at one of their first meetings. Putin knew from all of his research on her that she was very scared of dogs. Putin has a very big black Labrador called Konni. And has the black Labrador come into the room and the black lab immediately comes and starts sniffing around the chair of the chancellor. The whole purpose of that was intimidation. Lesley Stahl: Sure. Fiona Hill: The chancellor is, of course, a professional. And she's a woman who is used to having people try to intimidate her and she kept it together. In 2016, Putin told a German newspaper that he had no intention of intimidating Merkel. "I wanted to do something nice for her," he said. "When I found out that she doesn't like dogs, of course I apologized." In the same interview, he denied ever having said he admired Merkel, but added, "I value her as very professional and open." Putin expressed his affection for Koni. According to CNN, he once said, "As far as bad moods go, of course I have them like any other person, but in those cases I try to consult with my dog Koni she gives me good advice." Sources: Hume, Tim. "Vladimir Putin: I Didn't Mean to Scare Angela Merkel with My Dog." CNN, 12 Jan. 2016, https://www.cnn.com/2016/01/12/europe/putin-merkel-scared-dog/index.html. Accessed 22 March 2024. Lister, Tim. "Pup-Lover Putin Gifted New Dog for Birthday." CNN, 11 Oct. 2017, https://www.cnn.com/2017/10/11/world/russia-putin-birthday-puppy-trnd/index.html. Accessed 22 March 2024. Packer, George. "The Astonishing Rise of Angela Merkel." The New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2014. www.newyorker.com, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/01/quiet-german. Accessed 22 March 2024. "Russian President Vladimir Putin Looks on as His Dog Kuni Approaches..." Getty Images, 21 Jan. 2007, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/sochi-russian-federation-russian-president-vladimir-putin-news-photo/73058057. Accessed 22 March 2024. "Russian President Vladimir Putin's Dog Koni Makes an Unusual..." Getty Images, 19 Dec. 2019, https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/russian-president-vladimir-putins-dog-koni-makes-an-unusual-news-photo/1189623093. Accessed 22 March 2024. Stahl, Lesley. "Fiona Hill Warns about Russian Political Meddling in 60 Minutes Interview." CBS News. March 8, 2020, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fiona-hill-russia-advisor-president-trump-impeachment-lesley-stahl-60-minutes-2020-03-08/. Accessed 22 March 2024. ABC News has compiled fact checks from PolitiFact that took place during the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Vice President Kamala Harris closed out the four-day convention by formally accepting the partys presidential nominee. A multitude of speakers took the stage before her on Thursday, ranging from family members, politicians and veterans. PHOTO: Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris takes the stage on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 22, 2024 in Chicago. (Brendan Mcdermid/Reuters) Fact-checking Harris' claim Trump killed the border bill Harris is correct that Trump helped kill a bipartisan border security bill endorsed by the Border Patrol union. In February, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a border security bill that would have given immigration officials more funding and changed how asylum is decided for people arriving at the United States southwest border. Sens. Chris Murphy, D-CT., James Lankford, R-OK. and Kyrsten Sinema, I-AZ co-sponsored the bill. The National Border Patrol Council the U.S. Border Patrol's union endorsed the bill. The bill failed to pass the Senate twice. Trump urged its demise. "Only a fool, or a Radical Left Democrat, would vote for this horrendous Border Bill," Trump posted Feb. 5, the day after the bill was introduced, on Truth Social. He said the bill was a "great gift to the Democrats," and that it absolved them from the "HORRIBLE JOB" they had done on immigration. In each vote, a few Democrats and Republicans broke from party lines to vote against and for the bill, respectively. Fact-checking Harris' claim Trump would deploy the military against US citizens In a litany of attacks against Trump, Harris cited the former president's "explicit intent to deploy our active duty military against our own citizens." In 2023, Trump told voters at a campaign rally in Iowa that he wouldn't wait for governors or mayors to "get crime out of our cities" by calling in the military. Calling New York City and Chicago "crime dens," Trump said, "And one of the other things I'll do because you're supposed to not be involved in that, you just have to be asked by the governor or the mayor to come in the next time, I'm not waiting. One of the things I did was let them run it, and we're going to show how bad a job they do ... We don't have to wait any longer." Fact-checking Harris abortion attacks on Trump Harris said, As a part of his agenda, [Trump] and his allies would limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion, and enact a nationwide abortion ban, with or without Congress. And get this He plans to create a national anti-abortion coordinator and force states to report on women's miscarriages and abortions. Most of the language in Harris claim stems from the policies in Project 2025. But its not all accurate. Project 2025 doesnt call to ban abortion nationwide, though its recommendations could curtail some contraceptives and limit abortion access. In addition, whats known about Trumps abortion agenda doesn't line up with either Harris description or Project 2025s wish list. Project 2025 suggests that the Department of Health and Human Services Department should "return to being known as the Department of Life by explicitly rejecting the notion that abortion is health care." The manual recommends that the Food and Drug Administration reverse its 2000 approval of mifepristone, the first pill taken in a two-drug regimen for a medication abortion, which is the most common form of abortion in the U.S. accounting for around 63% of abortions in 2023. (In June, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a legal challenge to mifepristones FDA approval over procedural grounds.) If mifepristone were to remain approved, Project 2025 recommends new rules, such as cutting limits on its use from 10 weeks into pregnancy to seven and requiring that it be provided to patients in person part of the groups efforts to limit access to the drug by mail. It also calls for the Justice Department to enforce the 1873 Comstock Act, which bans the mailing of "obscene" materials, with respect to mifepristone. Abortion access supporters fear that a strict interpretation of the law could go further to ban mailing the materials used in procedural abortions, such as surgical instruments and equipment. The plan proposes withholding federal money from states that dont report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention how many abortions take place within their borders; would prohibit abortion providers, such as Planned Parenthood, from receiving Medicaid funds; and calls for the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that the training of medical professionals, including doctors and nurses, omits abortion training. The document says some forms of emergency contraception particularly Ella, a pill that can be taken within five days of unprotected sex to prevent pregnancy should be excluded from no-cost coverage. The Affordable Care Act requires most private health insurers to cover recommended preventive services, which involve a range of birth control methods, including emergency contraception. As for how this all aligns with Trump's views, the former president recently said states should decide abortion regulations and that he wouldnt block access to contraceptives. He said during his June 27 debate with Biden that he wouldnt ban mifepristone after the Supreme Court "approved" it. But the court rejected the lawsuit based on standing, not the cases merits. He has not weighed in on the Comstock Act or said whether he supports it being used to block abortion medication or other kinds of abortions. Fact-checking Mark Kelly: 'Trump skipped his intelligence briefings' Trump was not known to look through the Presidential Daily Brief regularly or read it to completion. He relied instead on oral briefings that he received from intelligence officials every few days. Former National Security Adviser John Bolton wrote in his memoir that "Trump generally had only two intelligence briefings per week, and in most of those, he spoke at greater length than the briefers, often on matters completely unrelated to the subjects at hand." Fact-checking Kinzinger's jab on Vance and Ukraine Former Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger criticized the foreign policy positions of Trump and Vance, saying at one point that Vance said, "I don't care what happens in Ukraine." "And he wants to be vice president?" Kinzinger asked. Vance did say something close to that, days before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In an interview with former Trump administration official Steve Bannon in February 2022, Vance said, "I gotta be honest with you, I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other." Fact-checking Ruben Gallego's claim about veteran unemployment Arizona Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Ruben Gallego talked about veterans issues in his remarks, claiming "Kamala Harris has delivered more benefits to more veterans than ever before, and has achieved the lowest veterans unemployment rate in history." Leaving aside what Harris did specifically to lower unemployment for veterans, the numbers show that the unemployment rate for veterans in 2023 dropped to 3%, the lowest average the Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded since it began tracking the veterans data in 2020. Fact-checking Mark Kelly's claim Trump invited Russia to do 'whatever the hell they want' Trump made the comment Feb. 10 at a Conway, South Carolina, rally as he described a conversation with an unnamed NATO country leader during his presidency. Trump said he'd let Russia "do whatever the hell they want" to NATO nations that didn't pay for collective defense. "I got them to pay up," Trump said. "NATO was busted until I came along. I said, 'Everybody's gonna pay.' They said, 'Well, if we don't pay, are you still going to protect us?' I said, 'Absolutely not.' They couldn't believe the answer, and you never saw more money pour in." We can't fact-check whether that conversation happened, but we can examine how and why European defense spending changed under Trump (and other leaders). Experts said Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions in 2014 and 2022 in Ukraine spurred the defense spending increases. Fact-checking Day 4 of the DNC: Roundup from PolitiFact originally appeared on abcnews.go.com By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris laid out part of her agenda during her Democratic National Convention speech, promising to pass a middle class tax cut, support Ukraine and NATO and push for a ceasefire in Israel's war in Gaza. Here are some policy proposals that she laid out: ISRAEL DEFENSE, GAZA CEASEFIRE Harris urged an immediate ceasefire and hostage release deal in Gaza, saying she supported Israel's right to defend itself as well as the Palestinians' right to self-determination. "I will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself," Harris said. She added: "What has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost, desperate hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking." Israel's war in the enclave followed an attack by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent assault on Gaza has killed over 40,000, according to Gaza health officials and displaced nearly its entire 2.3 million population. It has also caused a hunger crisis and led to genocide allegations at the World Court, that Israel denies. "President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are release, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination," Harris said. SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE AND NATO Harris said she would continue to stand with Ukraine in its war with Russia and support the NATO alliance. "As President, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies," Harris said. Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The United States has provided military assistance and aid to Ukraine. Harris drew a contrast with Trump, who has pushed NATO countries to contribute more to the alliance. "Trump on the other hand threatened to abandon NATO," Harris said. Harris also accused Trump of wanting to be a dictator and failing to hold autocratic leaders accountable. "I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators, like Kim Jong Un who are rooting for Trump," Harris said, referring to North Korea's leader. "They know Trump won't hold autocrats accountable, because he wants to be an autocrat himself." Trump said in December that he would not become a dictator if he becomes U.S. president again except on "day one." MIDDLE CLASS TAX CUT Harris said she planned to pass a middle class tax cut if elected. "Instead of the Trump tax hike we will pass a middle class tax cut that will benefit more than 100 million Americans," Harris said in her speech, without giving details. Harris argued that the Republican former president's plan for tariffs would serve as a price hike. Trump has threatened to use tariffs to achieve what he terms as fair trade relations and deals with other countries. Last week, Harris outlined proposals to cut taxes for most Americans, ban "price gouging" by grocers and build more affordable housing. Her agenda may run into resistance from both corporations and the U.S. Congress, which rejected similar proposals when they came from Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Heather Timmons and Deepa Babington) JOPLIN, Mo. For the second year in a row, the U.S. Department of Education announces a delay to financial assistance for students. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, also known as FAFSA, for the 2025-26 school year wont be ready until December 1. Usually, students can begin applying for assistance in October. MSSU Financial Aid Executive Director Becca Diskin said its due to updates and changes to the application process, which affects students and their families by not knowing how much assistance they will get when enrolling in classes. More on MSSU Currently, Diskin said roughly 90 percent of the students at MSSU are using some sort of assistance like FAFSA or scholarships. So the changes are good, but the programming and the details of how the FAFSA got changed was very technical and took a lot more manpower than probably what they anticipated. And so were still working through some of those kinks and the application process has been delayed as a result of some of those technical changes, said Diskin. You just have to learn how to navigate through that, sacrifices what you need, what you need, which you dont need. But I mean, it is a little difficult. Its a little stressful, but its a process and everyone has to go through it. But thats why the resources here at Missouri Southern, said freshman Kyra Kick. For more information, contact your schools financial aid 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 KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. If you know a teenager, you may have been sucked into the inevitable conversation around college. If you have asked them where they applied in the last two or three years, then you may have been taken aback by a look of helplessness in your family members or neighbors eyes. And despite this teen always being slightly prone to overreaction, I am here to tell you they are, in fact, responding appropriately. Unless you are a parent of a high school student or an educator, you may not know that the last few years have upended the status quo: Rising costs of attendance at all universities, increasing complications around standardized testing requirements, the U.S. Supreme Court decision on race-conscious admissions, and the cherry on this abomination cake massive delays with the FAFSA last year during an update. All of these colliding uncertainties have created a perfect storm for those of us who work in postsecondary access. More: Four Tennessee schools make 2024 best value colleges list by Princeton Review Here are some brief words of wisdom for the upcoming year. Be optimistic and pragmatic. The FAFSA should be published on Oct.1, but any financial aid professional will tell you the odds of it being ready in time are the same as Broadway not having any bachelorette parties in October. While students should feel empowered to apply to universities that fit their priorities, they should understand those realities and their chances of being admitted. University of Tennessee chancellor Donde Plowman speaks with students during the annual Cabinet Meet and Greet event at the campus in Knoxville, Tuesday, August 20, 2024. Knoxville is hip. No, seriously. The University of Tennessee, Knoxville is one of the most desirable universities in the nation. Our state flagship university received 25,423 applications in 2022, and undergraduate admissions staff reviewed over 57,000 applications last year. The overall acceptance rate dropped from 78% to 34% during that same time period. Unlike many other state flagship universities, UT has prioritized in-state students over simply increasing their overall tuition revenue by accepting more out-of-state students. More: College graduates are drowning in debt. Here how one Nashville school keeps students whole Talk about money. When it comes to college affordability, the sooner you talk to your student, the better. Associate Provost and Dean of Admissions at University of the South Alan Ramirez suggests, Discuss the cost of higher education before applications are submitted. This allows enough time to understand the potential for scholarships and financial aid. Having this conversation after an admission decision is made can be too late, as there may already be an emotional connection to the college. Use net price calculators to understand the financial aid your student might receive at different universities. There is a huge difference between the sticker price and the actual cost of attendance. Read The Price You Pay for College to better understand the highly complex landscape of university costs. Talk about you. Since last summers U.S. Supreme Court decision on affirmative action in college admissions, many high school students feel like they cannot mention their race or other aspects of their identity. If students feel that any part of their identity is critical to their story, they should absolutely mention it in their personal statement on an application. Students should think about their identity and overall wellness as an important piece of their college search and seek out support resources at universities. For students of color, that may be exploring historically Black colleges and universities. Prospective college students should feel empowered With so much change happening in university admissions, students can feel overwhelmed or even helpless. Theres good news: they should feel empowered to reach out to the professionals working in undergraduate admissions and financial aid. There are opportunities for conversation with admissions counselors at college fairs, including Nashvilles third annual HBCU Fair hosted by University School of Nashville at 2 p.m. Aug. 24 and an enormous NACAC college fair in Franklin. Aaron Fulk Aaron Fulk is director of college counseling at University School of Nashville and has assisted more than 1,200 students with the college admissions process during his 13 years in education. A regular presenter at national conferences, he also has served on the advisory board of several colleges and as a board member for the Association of College Counselors at Independent Schools and is a member of The College Board, the National Association for College Admission Counseling, and Southern Association for College Admission Counseling. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: College admission decisions are tough with FAFSA delays. What to know How can I not be here? Community turnout for Paulding County deputy killed in the line of duty The community gathered on Friday afternoon to pay their final respects to a Paulding County deputy who was shot and killed over the weekend. Deputy Brandon Cunningham, 30, was ambushed while responding to a domestic dispute on Saturday evening. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] West Ridge Church was packed with hundreds for a deputy who was a hero in the eyes of so many, especially his three brothers. I had the privilege of watching Brandon grow into the great deputy that he was, Cobb County Cpl. Jacob Martin said. Channel 2s Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell saw family, comrades and law enforcement agencies from across the country honor the life of the Paulding County deputy. To our knowledge, this is the first deputy ever killed in the line of duty at the Paulding County Sheriffs Office, so its enormously tragic, Paulding County Maj. Ashley Henson said. Cunningham graduated from Marietta High School with his eyes set on a career in law enforcement. He dedicated four years to the Paulding County Sheriffs Office. Cunningham leaves behind two children, a fiancee, and so many loved ones, but his legacy lives on. RELATED STORIES: As the funeral procession for Cunningham made its way to Kennesaw Memorial Park, people lined up along Dallas Highway to pay their respects. Many stood with hands on their hearts, others stood in salute. Some waved American flags. Everyone was quiet. Dawn Bennett, who lives in Paulding County, felt compelled to view the procession. This officer was trying to do a good thing and help someone, and he was ambushed and killed in the line of duty, and how can I not be here? she said. A couple of women, who did not want to be identified, showed up hours before the funeral to plant American flags at the intersection of Lost Mountain Road and Dallas Highway. Law enforcement officers from across Georgia formed the procession, which took about 45 minutes to pass. Don and Jill Frey parked along Dallas Highway three hours before the procession. Their son-in-law is a Paulding County deputy who knew Cunningham. I just wanted to come out here and support the police and let them know that people still do care about them, even if they dont think they do, she told Channel 2s Bryan Mims. Don Frey is an Army veteran whose father was a police chief. It tore my heart out, almost out of my chest, he said. It hit very close to home. He said he needed to be here to show support not only for Cunningham but for his son-in-law who continued to work long hours after the tragedy. He continued to serve the people of Paulding County and the state of Georgia, and continued to do his job, even though his heart was broken, he said. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Family of missing woman, Mischa, tells what they know HONOLULU (KHON2) The sister of 19-year-old Mischa Johnson, who has been missing since July, talked on Instagram about what they know of the investigation followed by a heartbreaking plea from Mischas mom to help bring her daughter home. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You Marianna, the sister of Mischa, shared information with IG page @alwaysalwayssupportlocal stating that Mischas husband, PFC Dewayne Arthur Johnson II, was in custody on Ford Island for murder, murder of an unborn child, child sex abuse charges and obstruction of justice charges. The timeline, as they know it, shows that Mischa was with her mom at Costco on July 11 and that appears to be the last time a member of her family saw her. On July 12, Mischa called DJs mom to discuss his infidelity and, according to the family, from that point on they only had contact with Mischa via text. DJ reported his wife missing on Aug. 1. Husband of missing pregnant woman in custody: Army CID The following day, Mischas family searched both north and central areas of Oahu and a number of searches were done thereafter but no leads were found during those searches. DJ was detained and put in military pretrial confinement on Aug. 7 and, according to the family, he has not been cooperative with CID. During the investigation, according to Marianna, CID obtained photos and receipts of DJ purchasing items, which were not specified, from a hardware store in the days between her familys last contact with Mischa and when she was reported missing. These charges are supported by forensics, Marianna said during her discussion. CID told the family that, based on the evidence, they believe Mischa is no longer alive. Husband of missing pregnant woman in custody: Army CID Investigators are looking for anyone who was in contact with DJ anytime between July 12 and August 1. Most people might think the smallest details arent important but thats what were looking for, Ruben Santiago, Special Agent in Charge, US Army CID told KHON2. Any and all information where we can start filling in those gaps of that timeline. If you have any information, call the Army CID Pacific Field Office at (808) 208-0059. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Taken on the precipice of her life: Family and friends pay tribute to Hannah Lynch Mike Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter Hannah. Both were confirmed dead following the sinking of the superyacht Friends and family of Mike Lynchs 18-year-old daughter Hannah have said that for her to be taken on the precipice of her life is cruel beyond belief after her body was recovered from the superyacht Bayesian. A talented student, Miss Lynch scored 100 per cent in her English Literature GCSE and was a scholar at Latymer Upper School, West London, where she was a regular prize winner. She had just won a place at the University of Oxford to read English and joined friends and family on the Bayesian to celebrate her success after receiving her A-level results last week. Tributes to the teenager have been paid by colleagues, friends and business leaders, who described her as charming and ferociously intelligent. She lit up the classroom Jon Mitropoulos-Monk, the head of English at Latymer Upper School, said Miss Lynch scored 100 per cent in her English literature GCSE. He said: Ive never taught someone who combined sky-high intellectual ability with warmth and enthusiasm in the way Hannah did. She lit up the classroom with her energy, passion for learning and sheer intelligence (though never with a hint of arrogance). One of the best English students in the country, she scored 100 per cent in her English literature GCSE. By age 16, shed read Joyce, Faulkner and Nabokov. Beyond that, she devoured the writings of Angela Carter, Joseph Conrad and John Donne. She loved literature, learning and life. She was so excited to start studying English at Oxford, a goal she had worked so hard towards. He added: When she got her place, she sought out every single member of the Latymer Upper English department to thank them individually and give them a hug. She achieved everything she did with extraordinary levels of grace and fortitude that few others can say they possess. I taught Hannah for four years. I will remember her for what she taught me: kindness, compassion and commitment. Su Wijeratna, the headmistress of Latymer Upper School, also paid tribute to Miss Lynch. In a statement, she said: Hannah was a remarkable young woman and a gifted student who was deeply loved by all of us here at Latymer Upper School. She had the brightest of futures ahead of her and was so excited to be starting Oxford this year, to study her beloved English. She was driven by a profound love of words that connected her to the world and her loved ones. As a community we are shocked and heartbroken over Hannahs death and we send our thoughts and prayers to her family and all who knew her. Specialist cave divers recovered the body of Hannah Lynch on Friday Miss Lynch was one of just three pupils in her year group of more than 150 people to be awarded a prize for outstanding academic achievement last year. She also won Latymer Upper Schools public speaking and debating prize that year, and has previously won awards for poetry, English, religion and philosophy, and for short documentaries she produced. Her parents were frequent donors to the school, and contributed to Latymers bursary fund in 2023, 2022 and 2021. Ill always remember her smiling Angelica Read, Miss Lynchs best friend, said growing up with her was the greatest privilege of my life. She said: Hannah lived, loved, cared, thought and felt more deeply than anyone I have ever known. Growing up with her and being best friends has been the greatest privilege of my life. She had so much love for poetry and for the natural world, and I really believe she will live on in these things and in our hearts forever. Gracie Lea, her classmate, added: When I think of Hannah, I think of poetry, sunshine, and her beautiful eyes. She was easy to love: sincere, dedicated, fiercely intelligent and genuinely kind. Ill always remember her smiling. Katya Lewis, Miss Lynchs friend, said: The love Hannah had for everything she held dear was passionate and pure. She had a warm and beautiful soul. Being with Hannah made me feel whole and happy. She is the most special friend anyone could ask for and I will always love Hannah. Patrick Jacob, a family friend added: Hannah was charming and ferociously intelligent with an insatiable thirst for life and knowledge. She was also warm, loving and deeply considerate; remarkably for her age. I am 50 years older than her and in my life I have never met anybody like Hannah. We have lost one of our brightest stars whose future held so much promise. Her loss is unbearable. No words can express our sorrow Specialist cave divers recovered the body of Miss Lynch from the wreck of the 30 million superyacht on the fifth day of searching. She had joined her father, along with other guests, in celebrating the British tech tycoons court victory, after he was acquitted of fraud in San Francisco. Jonathan Bloomer, the chairman of Morgan Stanley International and insurance company Hiscox, and his wife Judy, a psychotherapist, died when Mr Lynchs superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily on Monday. Their deaths were confirmed on Thursday, along with those of Mr Lynch, Chris Morvillo, 59, a Clifford Chance lawyer, and his wife, Neda. Hannah Lynch was onboard the yacht with Mike Lynch and other guests to celebrate his acquittal Andrew Kanter, a close friend and colleague of Mr Lynch, said: Mike was the most brilliant mind and caring person I have ever known. Over nearly a quarter century I had the privilege of working beside someone unrivalled in their understanding of technology and business. There is simply no other UK technology entrepreneur of our generation who has had such an impact on so many people. His passion for life, knowledge and all those around him was instantly inspiring to everyone he met, and he will be sorely missed. Sushovan Hussain, also a close friend and colleague of Mr Lynch, said: My wife and I are utterly devastated by the deaths of so many of our dear friends. No words can express our sorrow. I have known Mike for over 40 years, since our school days, and for most of that time our lives have been inextricably linked. I was thrilled when he was acquitted and now his departure leaves an unfillable hole in my life. We have known Hannah since her birth, and for her to be taken on the precipice of her life is cruel beyond belief. Our hearts bleed for Angela and her remaining daughter. Steve was by my side for many years, and I had the honour of calling him, Jonathan, Judy and Chris my good friends. It is truly impossible to fathom how they can all be gone over such a short period. It is tragic beyond words. On Thursday, five of the dead were confirmed as Mr Lynch, Jonathan Bloomer, the chairman of Morgan Stanley International bank, and his wife Judy, and Chris Morvillo, a lawyer at Clifford Chance, and his wife Neda. The body of the yachts chef was recovered on Monday. Fifteen of the 22 passengers and crew on board, including Mr Lynchs wife, Angela Bacares, were rescued by emergency crews after the yacht suffered catastrophic damage following a waterspout. A spokesman for the Lynch family said: The Lynch family is devastated, in shock and is being comforted and supported by family and friends. Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy. They would like to sincerely thank the Italian coastguard, emergency services and all those who helped in the rescue. Their one request now is that their privacy be respected at this time of unspeakable grief. 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. COLOMBO, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- China's White Horse Temple donated a Buddha statue to Sri Lanka on Thursday's handover ceremony at Dharmayathanaya Temple in Colombo. The chief incumbent of Dharmayathanaya Temple Ven. Elle Gunawansha Thero, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, the head of White Horse Temple Ven. Yinle, Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong and his wife, Counselor Jin Qian, and the delegation from the Luoyang Municipal Committee attended the ceremony. At the ceremony, Gunawansha Thero stated that the Buddhist exchanges between Sri Lanka and China have a long history. The donation of the Buddha statue by the White Horse Temple to Sri Lanka marks a significant event in the history of Buddhist exchanges between the two countries. "We will place the statue at Dharmayathanaya Temple, hoping it will showcase Buddhist culture and the friendship between Sri Lanka and China to more visitors and devotees," said Gunawansha Thero. Qi said that China-Sri Lankan Buddhist exchanges have a long history and have built enduring friendships that are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people of the two countries. Since establishing diplomatic ties, interactions between China and Sri Lanka's Buddhist communities have grown closer, further reinforcing our bilateral relationship. "I am confident that Buddhist exchanges between our two countries will further strengthen the traditional friendship between our nations in supporting each other at all times and promote cultural and emotional bonds among our people. I look forward to seeing continued Buddhist cooperation between China and Sri Lanka, promoting mutual learning and prosperity, and fostering friendship and respect between our peoples," he said. During the ceremony, monks from both China and Sri Lanka held a chanting and consecration ceremony for the Buddha statue. The statue has been placed opposite the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, symbolizing the friendship between China and Sri Lanka. FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) A Fayetteville man accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend has had his trial delayed again, according to Washington County Prosecutor Matt Durrett. Kacey Jennings, 31 (Courtesy: Washington County Jail) Kacey Jennings, 31, is charged with capital murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and theft of property, court documents say. A motion to delay the trial filed by Jennings legal counsel on August 15 said they discovered potential mitigation evidence from California that needed further investigation. The filing continues by saying that if that investigation reveals new information, out-of-state may be required to be subpoenaed. That would cause the defense to have to arrange for transportation and testimony at trial. His trial was set to begin on August 26 but Durrett confirmed that it has been delayed with no new date set as of August 23. Jennings has pleaded not guilty to all charges. His trial was first set for January 17, 2023, but has been delayed multiple times. Fayetteville man accused of murder pleads not guilty, gets trial date Jennings was arrested in September 2022 after the disappearance of Allison Maria Castro, 28, his ex-girlfriend. Castro was reported missing on September 19, 2022, after her family was unable to contact her. Fayetteville police spoke with Castros family and learned that Jennings and Castro were previously in a relationship and lived together. Police responded to a residence as Jennings was experiencing an apparent drug overdose that same day. Investigators then found more information that led them to believe that the suspect in this case had possibly killed his ex-girlfriend, according to Sgt. Tony Murphy with FPD. Related video above: Castros mom, Michelle Tomas, spoke with Nexstars KHON2 in 2022 about Castro as officials searched for her body. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) The Federal Bureau of Investigation in Knoxville has offered a $10,000 reward as the search continues for three individuals reported missing in early 2018. According to the FBI, the reward is available for information resulting in the location of Brenda Carroll Bonnie Drane and William Inklebarger and the identification, arrest and conviction of the persons responsible for their disappearance or death. TBI issues Endangered Child Alert for three Knoxville children All three individuals frequented each others company, lacked permanent residence and kept the same social circle. The FBI explained that they were all also associates of Jeremy Jerome Hardison, who is also known by the alias Big County, who is serving life in prison after he was convicted of murder. Hardison is a person of interest in Drane, Inklebarger, and Carrolls disappearance. In 2021, Knox County District Attorney Charme Allen identified Hardison as a person of interest in the three disappearances. She also asked witnesses to come forward and not be afraid of repercussions. Bonnie Drane, William Inklebarger and Brenda Carroll were reported missing from Knoxville in early 2018. (Photo courtesy of the Knoxville Police Department) Drane is 57 tall and weighs around 140 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair. She was last seen at UT Medical Center on December 27, 2017, while visiting a family member. The FBI explained that she was reported missing on January 10, 2018, and her 1998 silver Honda Accord was located on January 21 at an apartment complex on Bridalwood Drive. The FBI said Inklebarger is 6 tall and weighs 150 pounds with hazel eyes and black hair. He was last seen by his father on December 29, 2017, at a Cherry Street motel. On January 5, 2018, his father went to check on him, but he was not there so his father left a note. When his father returned on January 11, he found most of his sons belongings. He was reported missing the following day. Knoxville Police, UT Police arrest suspect after overnight crime spree Carroll is around 51 tall and weighs around 140 pounds, the FBI said. She has hazel eyes and blond hair. Carroll was last heard from by her sister through Facebook Messenger on January 1, 2018. At the time, Carroll was believed to be with Drane and Inklebarger. She was reported missing on March 19, 2018. Anyone who has information on what happened to Drane, Inklebarger, or Carroll, or where they are, is asked to call to Knoxville Police Department at 865-215-7212, the FBI Knoxville Division at 865-544-0751, or East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers at 865-215-7165. The FBI added that all tipsters can remain anonymous. Since 2018, the FBI said there have been multiple attempts to locate the three with the assistance of the Knoxville Police Department, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the University of Tennessee Anthropology Department, the Roane County Search and Rescue Team, Anderson County Sheriffs Office, Rocky Top Police Department, and the FBI Evidence Response Team. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI is investigating an Aug. 11 drive-by shooting that targeted a California activist with close ties to Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was fatally shot last year in a killing that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said could be linked to India. In an interview with Reuters, Satinder Pal Singh Raju, of Woodland, California, said FBI agents on Thursday came to speak with him and a friend who was driving the truck when they and another passenger were attacked on Interstate 505 South in Yolo County on their way back from a late dinner in Vacaville. Nijjar was killed in June 2023 outside his gurdwara, a Sikh place of worship, in Surrey, British Columbia. That killing, and Trudeau's suggestion of possible Indian government involvement, triggered a diplomatic crisis between the countries. Speaking through an interpreter, Raju said a white car pulled up to the left of their truck, then fell back behind them before pulling up alongside them again. That was when the first bullet was fired. "With the first shot, I ducked down," he said. "But then I heard more gun shots fired." He said he immediately thought of Nijjar, saying "this is how Hardeep Singh Nijjar had been assassinated and the whole picture of the scene went through my mind." As they attempted to escape the gunfire, their truck skidded and veered off the road into a ditch, said Raju. He and his two friends fled into a nearby field and hid behind a haystack while they called 911. Police officers later told him they located at least five shell casings. The FBI's Sacramento office confirmed it is collaborating with the California Highway Patrol "in support of the investigation" into the shooting. A spokesman for the California Highway Patrol confirmed the shooting occurred, but declined to provide details and said the investigation is ongoing. In the same month as Nijjar's killing, the FBI foiled an alleged assassination attempt against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, another prominent Sikh separatist with dual citizenship in Canada and the United States. The U.S. Justice Department has charged Indian national Nikhil Gupta with trying to arrange Pannun's murder at the behest of an Indian intelligence official. Gupta pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial in New York. Four Indian nationals in Canada are facing charges of murder and conspiracy in the death of Nijjar. India has denied involvement in both incidents, and it was not clear if there is a connection between the drive-by shooting involving Raju and those earlier incidents. The Indian Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment on Friday about the recent shooting in California. POLICE WARNINGS TO SIKH ACTIVISTS In the days and months after Nijjar's killing, the FBI and the Canadian Royal Mounted Police privately warned at least seven Sikh activists that their lives could be in grave danger, without specifying the source of the threat. Raju told Reuters he was not among those who received such calls. Earlier this month, Reuters reported that threats and harassment against Sikh community leaders, including elected officials, has persisted in the United States and Canada since Nijjar's death. Raju is involved with the organization Sikhs for Justice, an advocacy group co-founded by Pannun that organizes non-binding referendums around the world to urge India's Punjab state to secede from India and carve out an independent state called Khalistan. The movement led to a violent insurgency in India's Punjab state in the 1980s and 1990s before it was crushed by Delhi. The Aug. 11 shooting occurred two weeks after Raju had returned from Calgary, Canada, where he helped organize a referendum that drew the participation of an estimated 55,000 members of the Sikh community, according to Pannun. In 2019, India declared Sikhs for Justice an unlawful association, citing its involvement in extremist activities. Pannun and its members deny these allegations. Raju is not as well known as Pannun internationally, but he said he is active with organizing referendums. He said he does not have enemies, and suspects the shooting was motivated by a desire to stoke fear in those supporting the Khalistan movement. "They want to stop the Khalistan referendum," he said. "But this attack on me and the death threats is not going to deter me from continuing the campaign." (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Don Durfee and Marguerita Choy) SPRINGFIELD, Mass (WWLP) The Food and Drug Administration approved a new COVID booster today and it is expected to get rolled out in the next few days. There has been a summer surge in COVID cases and it does not appear to be slowing down going into the fall. Both Moderna and Pfizer have boosters for the newest variant of the omicron strand, KP2. The vaccine may not totally prevent COVID, but it should help you from getting a severe case of COVID, keeping you out of the hospital, keep you from getting sick, said Chairman of Family Medicine at Baystate Health, Dr. Robert Baldor. Especially if you are immuno-compromised, the medications may not be as effective. The elderly, folks with immuno-compromised conditions such as diabetes or being treated for cancer, they are at risk and even the medications, sometimes arent as helpful as they could be, said Dr. Baldor. Doctors recommend you get a flu shot in the fall months and with the new COVID booster coming out, they said you can get both at the same time. Just like the flu shot is covered by most insurances, it is likely the COVID booster will be covered by most insurances, but if you have any concerns, it is recommended you contact your insurance. The flu is a winter cold, whereas COVID is a summer cold. For those that are particularly vulnerable, again, I would get this booster as soon as it is available. If you are otherwise healthy, I probably might want to wait until September or October that maximizes your immunity, said Dr. Baldor. With the surge and current variants, Baystate Health also just updated their mask policy and in certain parts of their health care centers require masks. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Nurse Lisa Bastek gives the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to 100-year-old Annie Laura Downing during an event at Richmond Raceway in Richmond, Va., February 2, 2021. (Parker Michels-Boyce/ For the Virginia Mercury) WASHINGTON The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine intended to address severe symptoms of the virus ahead of the cold and flu season. The new booster shots from Moderna and Pfizer follow a summer of increasing COVID-19 cases and are designed to better address the variants that are circulating now. Peter Marks, director of the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said in a written statement that vaccination continues to be the cornerstone of COVID-19 prevention. These updated vaccines meet the agencys rigorous, scientific standards for safety, effectiveness, and manufacturing quality, Marks said. Given waning immunity of the population from previous exposure to the virus and from prior vaccination, we strongly encourage those who are eligible to consider receiving an updated COVID-19 vaccine to provide better protection against currently circulating variants. Wastewater surveillance has been steadily increasing since early May and could rise further now that children throughout the country are returning to school. The number of emergency department visits began increasing in May as well. And while the death rate from COVID-19 steadily decreased during the first half of the year, it began ticking up slightly in June, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The FDA announcement said that three doses of the updated Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine or two doses of the updated Moderna vaccine are approved for unvaccinated children between six months and 4 years old. Children between six months and 4 years old who have already received their COVID-19 vaccine are eligible to receive one or two doses or either updated vaccine. The dosing will depend on the timing and number of doses of their previous vaccination. Children between 5 and 11 years old can receive a single dose of the updated vaccine, regardless of whether theyve been previously vaccinated or not. If a child in that age range has been vaccinated against COVID-19, they need to wait at least two months before getting the updated dose. Anyone over the age of 12 is eligible for a single dose of the updated vaccine if theyve been vaccinated previously. They also must wait at least two months after their last vaccination. Pfizer wrote in a statement that its vaccine will begin shipping immediately and be available in pharmacies, hospitals, and clinics across the U.S. beginning in the coming days. Moderna said it expects its updated vaccine to be in pharmacies and care settings in the coming days. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Prople take part in a demostration in front of House of Representative building in Jakarta, against the controversial changes to election laws. Donal Husni/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa Anger at outgoing President Joko Widodo and his supporters simmered in Indonesia on Friday, even after lawmakers cancelled a draft election bill that could have strengthened the presidents influence after he leaves office in October. Lawmakers announced late Thursday that they decided to shelve the measure after thousands hit the streets to protest the draft law they said would undermine democratic principles and competitive elections. Protests continued on Friday, with people rallying at the national elections commission in Jakarta. The controversial bill was introduced just a day after a landmark decision on Wednesday by the Constitutional Court. The top court relaxed the rules for regional elections, allowing smaller parties and more candidates greater opportunities to compete. Previously, political parties or coalitions needed to hold at least 20% of the seats in the provincial council or have received 25% of the popular vote to put forward a candidate, benefiting parties aligned with Joko, who has held office for nearly 10 years, and his successor, former general Prabowo Subianto. But on Thursday lawmakers in parliament - which is dominated by supporters of Joko - began work on a bill to reverse parts of the court's decision. That move was met with condemnation and sparked nationwide protests. A senior member of parliament said late Thursday that the bill was scrapped. "As the regional election bill has not yet become law, the Constitutional Courts ruling will apply," deputy parliamentary speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad told reporters. The courts ruling significantly altered the rules for nominating candidates in regional elections, as well as the minimum age to hold office. Prabowo and Joko's eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, are scheduled to be sworn in as president and vice president on October 20. The new regulations set lower thresholds based on the size of the electorate in each Indonesian province, opening the political field to more competition. The courts decision also effectively disqualified Jokos youngest son, Kaesang Pangarep, from running for the office of deputy governor in Central Java province, as he will only reach the required minimum age of 30 after the elections in November. This has been seen as a blow to Joko's attempts to build a political dynasty, following a similar ruling last year that enabled his other son, Gibran, to successfully run for vice president. At that the time the court was led by Joko's brother-in-law, Anwar Usman. Joko's son-in-law, Bobby Nasution, is running for governor of North Sumatra after serving as the mayor of Medan. In the hours before the parliament was scheduled to pass the bill by acclamation on Thursday, over 2,000 people gathered in protest outside the parliament building in Jakarta. The demonstration quickly turned violent, with protesters setting fire to tires and broke the gates, forcing police to fire tear gas and water cannon. Similar protests took place in other Indonesian cities. Prople take part in a demostration in front of House of Representative building in Jakarta, against the controversial changes to election laws. Donal Husni/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa Prople take part in a demostration in front of House of Representative building in Jakarta, against the controversial changes to election laws. Donal Husni/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa CONWAY, Ark. A man on the run after escaping from a federal prison in Missouri last year was captured in central Arkansas this week. A representative of the U.S. Marshalls Service said Markel Hutton was taken into custody on Monday in Conway. He had escaped from the Bureau of Prisons in St. Louis on Nov. 3, 2023. Man wanted on murder charges is apprehended at Chicago restaurant just blocks from DNC Investigators said U.S. Marshalls from the Eastern District of Missouri and the Eastern Arkansas Fugitive Task Force determined Hutton had fled to central Arkansas. They then located and arrested Hutton without incident. Hutton had been serving a 51-month sentence for brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime during an August 2019 carjacking. U.S. Marshals searching for Arkansas man considered to be armed and dangerous Officials said Hutton is awaiting return to the Eastern District of Missouri, where he will face additional charges related to his escape, plus serve the remainder of his 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 KARK. The front of Hugo L Black Courthouse in Birmingham, Alabama on August 15, 2023. (Jemma Stephenson/Alabama Reflector) A federal judge Thursday substantially narrowed a lawsuit challenging a new Alabama law limiting the ability of third parties to provide absentee ballot assistance. U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor dismissed multiple claims made by civil rights groups against the new law, known as SB 1. Proctor, appointed by former President George W. Bush, a Republican, only allowed a challenge to the laws prohibition on assistance to mailing absentee ballot applications and gift and payment prohibitions to move forward. Proctor also dismissed claims against Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A message seeking comment was left with the Alabama Attorney Generals Office, which represented the state in the case. While I am encouraged to see the several claims dismissed in this case, I am limited in my ability to comment on the pending federal court litigation, wrote Allen in a statement. I am dedicated to ensuring fair, secure, and transparent elections, and stand firm in my support of SB1. We are glad that the court recognized the rights of blind, disabled, and low-literacy voters in this order and that our claim under the Voting Rights Act will proceed, wrote the plaintiffs counsel in a Friday statement. While we are disappointed that the court dismissed some of our other important claims, we intend to do everything we can in this case (and beyond) to ensure Alabamians can participate in our democracy fully and freely. The law, sponsored by Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, makes it a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for a person to knowingly receive payment for distributing, ordering, requesting, collecting, completing, prefilling, obtaining or delivering an absentee ballot application. If a person knowingly pays or provides a gift to a third party to distribute, order, request, collect, prefill, complete, obtain or deliver they could face a Class B felony, punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Civil rights groups, some of which provide assistance that SB 1 outlaws, sued to block the law on April 4, arguing that Alabama had a long history of voter suppression and that people could be punished for providing a stamp or sticker to a neighbor. In July, a judge heard arguments from the state and plaintiffs. The state argued that Alabamians had been victimized by absentee voter fraud. Plaintiffs attorneys argued that the law would unduly burden vulnerable populations. In an August 9 filing, attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote that the law would particularly burden mobility- impaired voters, blind voters, and others who would be unable to vote without such help. The sole claim that Proctor allowed to proceed was the plaintiffs assertion that the laws restriction on individuals returning another persons ballot application violates Section 208 of the Voting Rights Act. That part of the 1965 law addresses the ability for voters who need assistance to vote due to blindness, disability or inability to read or write, according to the Department of Justice. Proctor wrote that it violates the third Section 208 preemption prong because there is no exception for blind, illiterate or disabled voters. How, then, are blind voters or disabled voters with mobility restrictions to return their absentee ballot applications? he wrote. Under SB 1s Submission Restriction, no one can assist them in this way. He referenced Carey v. Wisconsin Elections Commission in the filing, which he wrote addressed a Section 208 challenge over limitations of receiving third-party assistance to return an absentee ballot. The case involved four Wisconsin citizens who were disabled and had historically voted absentee but could not hold the ballots. Therefore, under the same logic as that of Carey, the submission restriction unduly burdens the right to assistance protected under Section 208, and thus the presumption against pre-emption is rebutted, Proctor wrote. Proctor wrote that the payment and gift provision of SB 1 also failed under the third prong and was supported by case law in other jurisdictions. Proctor wrote that the plaintiffs had sufficiently pled to this minimum standard in this portion when they argued that the plaintiffs may have been an assistor of the voters choice, absent SB 1. A blind, disabled, or illiterate voter may require assistance ordering, requesting, obtaining, completing, and returning or delivering an absentee ballot application, he wrote. Such assistance is guaranteed by Section 208, but it is now criminalized under SB 1 when done by an assistor paid or given anything of value to do so, or when the assistor provides any gift or payment to a voter. Although SB 1 repeats the text of Section 208, it does not provide an exception for blind, disabled, or illiterate voters. Proctor wrote that some of the plaintiffs organizations rely on reimbursed volunteers or staff members, so the payment and gift provisions could limit the number of people who would otherwise assist voters. Therefore, to the extent that Defendants Motion seeks to dismiss Plaintiffs claim in Count V of the Complaint based on the Prefilling Restriction of SB 1, it is due to be granted, he wrote. To the extent that it seeks to dismiss the claims that the Submission Restriction and the Payment and Gift Provisions of SB 1 violate Section 208 of the VRA, it is due to be denied. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Updated at 10:22 a.m. to add that Proctor was appointed by President George W. Bush. This story was updated at 12:09 p.m. with comment from the plaintiffs counsel received post-publication. A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from considering disparate environmental harms in Louisiana in its enforcement of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, making permanent a temporary hold he issued in January. In the ruling, Judge James Cain of the Western District of Louisiana, a former President Trump appointee, sided with the state of Louisiana in prohibiting the EPAs Office of External Civil Rights Compliance and the Justice Department from enforcing the provision against any entity in the State of Louisiana, or requiring compliance with those requirements as a condition of past, existing, or future awards of financial assistance to any entity in the State of Louisiana. Cain ruled in January that the Civil Rights Act only authorizes enforcement in cases of intentional discrimination. The ruling came shortly after the EPA announced it was ending an investigation into Cancer Alley, a predominantly Black and low-income section of Louisiana that is a hub of petrochemical production and has disproportionately high cancer rates relative to the country at large. Cain declined a request from the federal government to dismiss Louisianas case after the end of the investigation, ruling that the state still had a right to unambiguous clarity concerning Defendants power to regulate beyond the plain text of Title VI. Environmental advocacy group Earthjustice blasted the ruling in a statement Friday. Louisiana has given industrial polluters open license to poison Black and brown communities for generations, only to now have one court give it a permanent free pass to abandon its responsibilities, Earthjustice Vice President for Healthy Communities Patrice Simms said in a statement. Louisianas residents, its environmental justice communities, deserve the same Title VI protections as the rest of the nation. The Thursday ruling comes after the Supreme Court ruled this summer against the so-called Chevron deference, under which federal agencies were given broader latitude to interpret federal 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 The Hill. After the traditional red, white and blue balloons fell on the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Knox County delegates said they were energized to get Vice President Kamala Harris elected. William Mendoza-Euceda, the youngest delegate from Tennessee at 18 years old, called Knox News from the convention floor. Knoxville City Council member Debbie Helsley and local volunteer Jack Vaughan spoke to us as they walked out of the convention after 11 p.m. Chicago time. Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon called us from the airport before her early morning flight back to Knoxville. Here's what they had to say: Knox News: You just witnessed history. How are you feeling? Helsley: I think everybody's ready to get to work. Everyone's just gonna take this back home and work hard (until the election). Kincannon: I guess I would say I'm cautiously optimistic. I think it's a really positive sign that most people are talking about (Harris') qualifications as a former prosecutor and state attorney general, a vice president, and her background as a working-class daughter of a single mom, daughter of immigrants ... not the fact that she's a woman. For someone like me, the fact that she's a woman is icing on the cake. I want her to win for the future well-being of our country. Mendoza-Euceda: A lot of people are motivated, a lot of people are excited. I talked to some people that were talking about how they haven't felt like this in years. I feel patriotic. ... The Democratic Party has taken back the American flag. Vaughan: Energized and ready to get to work. We've got 75 days to get the job done here in Knox County, making the case for Kamala Harris. And everyone is just thrilled to have experienced that moment in person. You saw several Republicans take the stage this week. Do you think their message reached members of their party? Kincannon: I hope so. I thought that was a really concerted effort. One of my colleagues, Mayor (John Giles) of Mesa, Arizona ... he's a lifelong Republican and he's supporting Kamala Harris even though he doesn't agree with her 100%. He has huge, fundamental misgivings about the leadership of Donald Trump and isn't afraid to say so. Mendoza-Euceda: I think it will. There are a lot of Republicans who don't like Trump. You know, people who are struggling day-to-day, Americans who are Republican, she is going to fight for them. Vaughan: I mean, I can speak to my two parents, I grew up in a Republican household in the suburbs of West Knoxville. (My parents are) two public school teachers who voted Republican. My mom's voting for Kamala and my dad voted for a Democrat for the first time two years ago. I think those are an example of two suburban former Republicans who voted for (John) McCain, Mitt Romney, but left the Republican in the Trump era. We've talked several times this week about Tennessee taking its place on the Democratic stage. Do you feel like the delegation accomplished that? Kincannon: Absolutely. First, you know, Hillary Clinton gave a shoutout to our history. But also on a purely optical level, somehow ... we had some really good seats that happened to be on camera a lot. And so, people from home were like 'Hey I just saw you on TV.' It's good (for Knoxvillians) to know that Tennessee is represented at the convention. Mendoza-Euceda: We were the first delegates in the nation to give (Harris) all our delegates, we accomplished that. ... We did do a good job of putting our name out there. Even though Gloria Johnson and the Tennessee Three didn't get to speak, people knew about them. I think we're ready. Do you feel like Harris' acceptance speech accomplished what it needed to? Mendoza-Euceda: I think it did, I think she said everything she needed to say. She did a good job in immigration, one of the big things they were attacking about. It's good that we can secure our border, but we can also (welcome) immigrants who want to live here and make it easier for them. Vaughan: It was definitely a policy-based speech, and the convention has been, of course, a bit about personality. So it was definitely a balance of personality ... with prioritizing issues of gun violence, reproductive rights, affordable housing. Kincannon specified to Knox News that taxpayers did not pay for her or Helsley's travel to the convention. Allie Feinberg reports on politics for Knox News. Email her: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @alliefeinberg This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: DNC delegates from Knoxville ready to work for Kamala Harris HANOI, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Major real estate developers in Vietnam are looking at investing in the retirement housing market to capitalize on the country's aging population, Vietnam News reported Friday. There were significant opportunities to develop retirement real estate in Vietnam to meet the demand for nursing care and health care to improve the quality of life of older people, the newspaper cited Pham Thi Mien from the Vietnam Real Estate Brokers Association as saying. Troy Griffiths from the real estate agency Savills Vietnam said there were many levers to support the development of retirement real estate. The traditional family model is gradually evolving, providing great opportunities for developing the retirement housing segment. Vietnam is listed by the United Nations Population Fund as one of 10 countries with the fastest population aging rate in the world. People aged 60 and over are predicted to account for 25 percent of the country's population by 2050. By 2036, the Southeast Asian nation will be an aged society. The City of Jacksonville has filed a lawsuit attempting to collect more than $800,000 in fines dating back to 2015 from the owners of the Laura Street Trio. The downtown properties have faced countless hurdles in the effort to negotiate a development deal with the city over the years. Now, some city leaders fear this suit will further stagnate negotiations. In the lawsuit filed by the City of Jacksonville, the city is seeking to collect more than $800,000 in fines from the owners of the set of vacant historic properties in the downtown business district. The suit alleges the owners have failed to maintain the properties and have been accruing daily fines of $250 dating all the way back to October of 2015. RELATED: City of Jacksonville files lawsuit to force a foreclosure sale on Laura Street Trio I hate to say it, but it feels like its personal. Everyone says its not, but theres a long history between the developer and the city, Council Vice President Kevin Carrico (R-District 4) said. Carrico, who Chairs the Special Committee on the Future of Downtown, said following the recent rejection of a development deal for the Laura Street Trio by the Downtown Investment Authority, he inquired about stepping in to handle negotiations. But he said he was never informed by the city it intended to file the lawsuit. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] The fact that it happened when I personally wanted to have a negotiation continue, it doesnt look good. Doesnt look good. If Im the owner and Im getting slapped with a lawsuit, why am I going to come back to the negotiation table? Carrico said. In a statement, the mayors office defended the decision to file suit. The owner of the Laura Street Trio buildings has been obligated to maintain the buildings and not allow them to deteriorate. By their own admission in public meetings, this has not happened, and we can no longer wait to preserve these historic buildings, said a spokesperson for the mayors office. Early negotiations have begun regarding the city purchasing the buildings. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] But Carrico said he worries the suit sends a bad message and could hamper any future efforts to negotiate a deal with the owner, potentially leaving the properties vacant and deteriorating for years to come. Im just trying to present something to the full body and see if I can get the whole council to agree on it and, man, its going to be a rough trudging ahead now, Carrico said. Action News Jax has reached out to the owner of the Laura Street Trio for comment on this story but has not heard back. Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. A federal judge dismissed felony charges Thursday against two former Louisville Metro Police Department detectives who worked on the search warrant in the deadly raid on Breonna Taylors home. Motions to dismiss other charges were denied. Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room technician, was shot and killed in her apartment during a flawed forced-entry raid in the early hours of March 13, 2020. Taylor, along with Atatiana Jefferson and Sonya Massey, were among a group of Black women killed in their own homes by law enforcement in recent years a group that continues to expand. Louisville detective Joshua Jaynes and Sgt. Kyle Meany were federally charged in 2022 with submitting a false affidavit to search Taylors home ahead of the Louisville Metropolitan Police Departments raid, then working together to create a false cover story in an attempt to escape responsibility for their roles in preparing the warrant affidavit that contained false information, according to court documents. The charges carried a maximum sentence of life in prison. US District Court Judge Charles Simpson ruled Thursday that the decision by Taylors boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, to fire his gun when officers burst into the home was the legal cause of Taylors death rather than warrantless entry, according to court documents. After Walker fired the shot, thinking the officers were intruders, a volley of gunfire came from police, and Taylor was shot multiple times. There is no direct link between the warrantless entry and Taylors death, the court ruled. We are [very] pleased by the Courts ruling, Meanys attorney Brian Butler told CNN via email. The judge dropped felony charges against both men, saying the alleged facts do not fit the felony offenses as written. Taylors death was proximately caused by the manner in which the warrant was executed, court documents say. [Kenneth Walkers] decision to open fire, as alleged and argued, was the natural and probable consequence of executing the warrant at 12:45 a.m. on an unsuspecting household. That decision prompted the return fire which hit and killed Taylor. While the former officers were charged with using a dangerous weapon to deprive Taylor of her Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable search, Simpsons order said it has not been proven the Execution Team used their firearms for the purpose of subjecting Taylor to the search. With the use-of-a-dangerous-weapon language struck by the judge, the charge becomes a misdemeanor punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment for no more than one year, according to court documents. When reached for comment about the judges decision, a Department of Justice spokesperson said the agency is reviewing the decision and assessing next steps. CNN has reached out to the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department, an attorney representing Taylors family and an attorney representing Jaynes for comment. Taylor was among a series of Black people killed by law enforcement including George Floyd in Minnesota whose deaths sparked nationwide protests in the summer of 2020 calling for police reform. The tragedy of Breonna Taylors death and the gravity of her familys grief are not lost on this Court, court documents said. Meany still faces one charge of false statement to federal investigators, which carries a maximum of five years in prison. Jaynes faces charges of falsification of records in a federal investigation and conspiracy to falsify records and witness tampering. If convicted, Jaynes could be sentenced to a total of 40 years. Jaynes, who had written the search warrant for the raid on Taylors home, was fired in 2021 for failing to complete a Search Warrant Operations Plan form and being untruthful about verifying that Taylors previous boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover, had been receiving packages at Taylors home, according to a copy of his termination letter obtained by CNN. Meany was terminated from the department in 2022. Louisville Police Chief Erika Shields released a statement at the time saying, I fully respect the judicial process and realize Sergeant Meany has yet to be heard before a jury of his peers. That being said, he is facing multiple federal charges after a lengthy investigation by the DOJ. Shields, who was hired to lead the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department months after the death of Taylor, stepped down as police chief at the beginning of 2023. Brett Hankison, another former Louisville detective federally charged in connection with Taylors death, will face a new civil rights trial in October after a jury was deadlocked in his initial trial. Prosecutors alleged Hankison used unjustified force the night Taylor was killed and violated her civil rights and those of her boyfriend and next-door neighbors. He could face life in prison if found guilty. Ex-detective Kelly Hannah Goodlett pleaded guilty in federal court in 2022 to conspiring to falsify an affidavit for a warrant to search Taylors home and to covering up the false document by lying to investigators. Goodlett has yet to be sentenced. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Barre, VT- Following the devastating flooding that hit Central Vermont on the one-year anniversary of the 2023 floods, FEMA is opening a Disaster Recovery Center in Barre. The center is located at the Barre Auditorium and is there to help flood victims apply for FEMA Individual Assistance, as well as low-interest disaster loans. No appointments are needed to visit the Disaster Recovery Center. The Center will be open on Saturday, Aug. 24 from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Regular hours for the Disaster Recovery Center will be 8 a.m.-7 p.m. every day of the week. Visiting the center isnt necessary to apply for Individual Assistance. Flood victims can apply through the following: Online at DisasterAssistance.gov By phone at 1-800-621-3362 (phone lines are open 7 a.m.-10 p.m. seven days a week) On FEMAs mobile app If visiting the Disaster Recovery Center in Barre, officials ask people to use the side entrance, since the center is in the basement of the Barre Auditorium at 16 Auditorium Hill. If you need accommodation for a sign language interpreter, call 1-833-285-7448. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. FEMA going door-to-door in southeast South Dakota neighborhoods to help residents apply for disaster assistance SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KCAU) FEMA teams will be visiting affected neighborhoods in southeast South Dakota counties to help residents apply for disaster assistance. FEMA said in a release that teams will be visiting residents in Davison, Lincoln, Turner, and Union counties who were impacted by severe storms, straight-line winds, and flooding. The FEMA Disaster Survivor Assistance teams will help residents apply with FEMA to address any needs as well as to provide status updates on applications and referrals to community resources. The FEMA teams can be identified by a federal photo identification as well as FEMA clothing or vests. Anyone visited is encouraged to ask for the officials photo identification before giving any personal information. Disaster Recovery Center opening in Union County Residents do not have to meet with FEMA in person to apply for assistance. Other ways to apply for assistance with FEMA can be found below. Go online to DisasterAssistance.gov for English, or DisasterAssistance.gov/es for Spanish. Use the FEMA mobile app in English or Spanish. Call the disaster assistance helpline at 800-621-FEMA (3362) anytime from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Central Time seven days a week until further notice. Multilingual operators are available. Anyone using a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, can give FEMA the number for that service. FEMA also has a Youtube video showing how to apply for assistance. In addition, a Disaster Recovery Center will be opening in Union County on Friday afternoon and will then be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. seven days a 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 SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. 'Fighting the climate crisis is patriotic!' Maxwell Frost said in DNC speech Maxwell Alejandro Frost serves central Florida in the U.S. House of Representatives for the Democratic Party, and he took the stage on the final night of the Democratic National Convention. In his short speech about climate change, Frost offered his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris just hours before she was scheduled to take the stage. Frost represents Florida's 10th District and is notably the first Generation Z representative to serve in Congress. He spoke about the impacts of climate change, pulling from the effects storms have had on Florida like flooding damaging homes, workers enduring hot conditions and record heat. He warned the crowd about the impacts of climate change saying, "I'm here to tell you that the climate crisis isn't some far-off threat, it is here," but with the Harris, Walz administration, he believes progress can be made. Finally, Frost encouraged the crowd that "Fighting the climate crisis is patriotic!" The Democratic National Convention is in Chicago through Thursday and Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to formally accept the party's nomination for the 2024 Election on the final night. Watch Maxwell Frost's full DNC speech here: What to know about Maxwell Frost Who is he? U.S. representative for Florida since 2023 and former national organizing director for gun control legislation organization March for Our Lives. Frost has worked for gun protection legislation and renter protections since serving in Congress. What role does he play? Frost, a 27-year-old, is a part of America's young voting group, a demographic both campaigns need support from. He is advocating for climate change protections, an issue that he says can be seen all over his state. Key quote: "Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have proven that tackling this crisis creates jobs, that investing in clean energy protects our health and that investing in mass public transit builds strong communities." US Representative Maxwell Frost, Democrat from Florida, speaks on the fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 22, 2024. Sign-up for Your Vote: Text us your politics questions: Join Your Vote, our elections messaging group When and where is the DNC The Democratic National Convention will take place from August 19-22 in Chicago, Illinois. The United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks, will be the main venue for the DNC. Chicago has hosted the Democratic Convention 11 times, most recently in 1996 when the United Center saw President Bill Clinton nominated for a second time. How to watch and stream the 2024 DNC The convention will air live on its website from the United Center in Chicago between 6:15 p.m. and 11 p.m. Eastern (5:15 p.m. to 10 p.m. Central) on Monday and 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Central) the other days. USA TODAY will provide livestream coverage on YouTube each night of the DNC, Monday through Thursday. What are the themes for each night of the DNC? The DNC announced nightly themes for the convention. The title of the convention is "For the People, For Our Future." Here are the themes for each night: Monday: "For the People" Tuesday: "A Bold Vision for America's Future" Wednesday: "A Fight for our Freedoms" Thursday: "For our Future" This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Watch Maxwell Frost's speech at the 2024 DNC convention Finalists named to receive over $240,000 in grants OWENSBORO, Ky. (WEHT) A Tri-State organization has named the finalists for more than $240,000 in grants. Impact 100 Owensboro announced the finalists Thursday. Impact 100 Owensboro consists of at least 100 women who contribute donations to charities within the community. Ten non-profits were announced for consideration for a range of grants. The grants are meant to reach underserved populations and highlight unmet needs in the community. Full list of finalists NextGen Grant Finalists ($6,700): Beverlys Hearty Slice GRADSA-Green River Area Down Syndrome Association (GRADSA) Green River Asset Building Coalition Residual Grant Finalists ($34,000): Kentucky K9 Search and Rescue Foundation Western Kentucky Regional Blood Center $100,000 Grant Finalists: Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum Help Office of Owensboro H.L. Neblett Community Center Opportunity Center of Owensboro Tuckers Treehouse Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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). Elina Valtonen, Finland's foreign minister, said the law would only be used against migrants who had been 'weaponised' by Moscow - David Rose for The Telegraph Finland has defended a new law allowing migrants to be pushed back over its border with Russia. The controversial law, passed over the summer, will allow Finnish border guards to force migrants and asylum seekers back into Russia but only in limited cases where national security is at risk. It was adopted in response to attempts by Moscow to send large numbers of people over the frontier in 2023, including some who may have been ordered by Russian security services to carry out sabotage attacks. Amnesty International has warned that the new law grants a green light to violence at the Finland-Russia border, and has also argued that it is illegal under EU migration and human rights law. Experts say the wider tension between Nato and Russia is forcing Finland to confront ethical dilemmas over how it can protect its own security interests without lowering itself to Russian techniques of destabilisation. Finnish border police escort asylum seekers at the Russian frontier - Janna Kuronen/Shutterstock In an interview with The Telegraph in Helsinki, Elina Valtonen, the foreign minister, defended the law as a national security measure that would only be used against migrants who have been weaponised by Moscow. This has nothing to do with the normal asylum seeker process, she said. We as a sovereign nation cant have a country which has declared itself hostile to us, as in Russia, to decide on our behalf which people enter our country. If the law were to be used it would only be with limited scope, which means there are always border crossings open in which you can seek asylum based on international treaties. The law is only designed to tackle hostile weaponising of people or the cynical use of people against us. In many cases if we did not have such a law in place, it could be that Russia could for instance empty a prison and send everybody over to Finland. The new law also reflects a larger moral maze than Finland has been navigating since it joined Nato in response to the Russia invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Nordic state prides itself on being one of the worlds least corrupt countries, with a deep respect for a rules-based international order. But increased Russian aggression has forced Finland to seek new ways of defending itself. Finnish Border Guard officials patrol off the demilitarised Baltic archipelago of Aland - David Rose, for The Telegraph Finland is wrestling with the threat of Russian sabotage attacks in the Baltic Sea, such as the recent Balticonnector incident in October last year, when the gas pipeline was ruptured. The Finnish coast guard has also stepped up patrols around the strategically important Aland Islands, which are demilitarised under a Soviet-era security pact. Some Finnish defence and intelligence forces have suggested it may be time to rearm the islands, which would probably require Helsinki unilaterally to withdraw from the agreement with Russia. As for the new border rules, Finnish experts acknowledge that they risk creating a conflict between its national laws and overarching EU laws on migration and asylum seekers. The Russian objective here is to present this dilemma, to an extent make Finland choose between the immediate border security and the values and rules that are the basis of our state and society, said Minna Alander, one of Finlands top security experts, from the Finnish Institute of International Affairs. It can make Finland look bad and underline alleged Western hypocrisy, as well as cause costs, should Finland be sued by the EU. It would also result in a legal hassle if an EU court rules this law and the pushback procedure illegal. 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. Related video: Funeral begins for Roger Fortson, the Black US Air Force member killed in his home by Florida deputy The since-fired Florida sheriffs deputy who fatally shot an Air Force senior airman in his home in May has been charged with manslaughter, authorities said Friday. Eddie Duran, formerly of the Okaloosa County Sheriffs Office, shot Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson multiple times May 3 after Fortson opened the door of his Fort Walton Beach apartment. Fortson was holding a gun in his right hand that was pointed directly at the ground, body camera video shows. Duran was responding to a call of a domestic disturbance from a resident in the apartment complex. FILE Chantemekki Fortson, mother of slain Roger Fortson, a U.S. Air Force senior airman, holds a photo of her son during a news conference with attorney Ben Crump on Monday, June 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File) FILE Chantemekki Fortson the mother of slain airman Roger Fortson, right, along with family watch Fortsons casket as they leave for a cemetery during his funeral at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, on May 17, 2024, in Stonecrest, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File) This photo provided by the U.S. Air Force, shows Senior Airman Roger Fortson in a Dec. 24, 2019, photo. The Air Force says the airman supporting its Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field, Fla., was shot and killed on May 3, 2024, during an incident involving the Okaloosa County Sheriffs Office. (U.S. Air Force via AP) Trial lawyer Benjamin Crump speaks as the family of slain airman Roger Fortson look on during a news conference describing details of the airmans death, Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Stonecrest, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) Chantemekki Fortson, left, the mother of slain airman Roger Fortson, holds family members during a news conference describing details of the airmans death, Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Stonecrest, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) Trial lawyer Benjamin Crump speaks as the family of slain airman Roger Fortson look on during a news conference describing details of the airmans death, Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Stonecrest, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) Chantemekki Fortson, the mother of slain airman Roger Fortson, speaks during a news conference describing details of the airmans death, Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Stonecrest, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) Chantemekki Fortson, the mother of slain airman Roger Fortson, center, weeps during a news conference describing details of the airmans death, Thursday, May 16, 2024, in Stonecrest, Ga. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart) A small shrine is pictured Monday, May 13, 2024, in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. at the door of an apartment where a Florida deputy shot and killed Senior Airman Roger Fortson. The shrine includes a long wooden plank, anchored by two sets of aviator wings and a black marker to leave thoughts, a Stella Artois, and combat boots and an American Flag. As the unit takes a day to grieve and prepare for a funeral Friday, May 17, questions remain about the shooting. (AP Photo) A small shrine is pictured Monday, May 13, 2024, in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. at the door of an apartment where a Florida deputy shot and killed Senior Airman Roger Fortson. The shrine includes a long wooden plank, anchored by two sets of aviator wings and a black marker to leave thoughts, a Stella Artois, and combat boots and an American Flag. As the unit takes a day to grieve and prepare for a funeral Friday, May 17, questions remain about the shooting. (AP Photo) A small shrine is pictured Monday, May 13, 2024, in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. at the door of an apartment where a Florida deputy shot and killed Senior Airman Roger Fortson. The shrine includes a long wooden plank, anchored by two sets of aviator wings and a black marker to leave thoughts, a Stella Artois, and combat boots and an American Flag. As the unit takes a day to grieve and prepare for a funeral Friday, May 17, questions remain about the shooting. (AP Photo) A small shrine is pictured Monday, May 13, 2024, in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. at the door of an apartment where a Florida deputy shot and killed Senior Airman Roger Fortson. The shrine includes a long wooden plank, anchored by two sets of aviator wings and a black marker to leave thoughts, a Stella Artois, and combat boots and an American Flag. As the unit takes a day to grieve and prepare for a funeral Friday, May 17, questions remain about the shooting. (AP Photo) A small shrine is pictured Monday, May 13, 2024, in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. at the door of an apartment where a Florida deputy shot and killed Senior Airman Roger Fortson. The shrine includes a long wooden plank, anchored by two sets of aviator wings and a black marker to leave thoughts, a Stella Artois, and combat boots and an American Flag. As the unit takes a day to grieve and prepare for a funeral Friday, May 17, questions remain about the shooting. (AP Photo) Fortson, 23, was home alone with his dog on a video call with his girlfriend. Fortson was Black. Duran listed himself as Hispanic on his voter registration. At a news conference last week, Roger Fortsons parents called on State Attorney Ginger Bowden to charge Duran. I hope this brings about change and it teaches others that you cant just kill people, his mother Chantemekki Fortson said Friday after learning of the charges. Because he should have waited for back up. And investigated a little more. Still, she said, the news doesnt bring me any peace. It still hurts. Read the full story on nbcnews.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 WFLA. Chantemekki Fortson holds a photo of her son, Roger Fortson, at a news conference Monday in Atlanta. The since-fired Florida sheriffs deputy who fatally shot an Air Force senior airman in his home in May has been charged with manslaughter, authorities said Friday. The charge was confirmed by Gregory Anchors, the chief assistant states attorney for Okaloosa County, who said the charge of manslaughter with a firearm carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. Eddie Duran, formerly of the Okaloosa County Sheriffs Office, shot Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson multiple times on May 3, after Fortson opened the door of his Fort Walton Beach apartment. Fortson was holding a gun in his right hand that was pointed to the ground, body-camera video shows. Duran was responding to a call of a domestic disturbance from a resident in the apartment complex. Anchors said a warrant had been issued for Durans arrest but that he was unsure when the former deputy would turn himself in. Duran did not immediately reply to a request for comment. His attorney did not immediately reply to a phone call and email seeking comment. Fortson, 23, was home alone with his dog on a video call with his girlfriend when he was killed. Fortson was Black. Duran listed himself as Hispanic on his voter registration. At a news conference last week, Fortsons parents called on state attorney Ginger Bowden Madden to charge Duran. I hope this brings about change and it teaches others that you cant just kill people, his mother, Chantemekki Fortson, said Friday after learning of the charges. Because he should have waited for backup. And investigated a little more. Still, she said, the news doesnt bring me any peace. It still hurts. Her attorney, Ben Crump, said: Nothing can ever bring Roger back, and our fight is far from over, but we are hopeful that this arrest and these charges will result in real justice for the Fortson family. Duran joined the sheriffs office in 2019 and resigned in November 2021. He returned in June 2023. On May 31, nearly a month after Fortsons killing, Sheriff Eric Aden announced that Duran had been fired following an administrative internal affairs investigation. The objective facts of the administrative investigation concluded that Mr. Fortson did not make any hostile, attacking movements, and therefore, the former deputys use of deadly force was not objectively reasonable under sheriffs office policy, Aden said, adding, This tragic incident should have never occurred. In a statement Friday, the sheriffs office said it stands by its decision to terminate Duran and that it has been fully accountable and transparent. The department said it also continues to wish Mr. Fortsons family comfort and peace as Durans case proceeds. Aden said Fortson had not committed any crime. By all accounts, he was an exceptional airman and individual, Aden said. Fortson was stationed at the Air Forces Hurlburt Field in the Florida Panhandle. Chantemekki Fortson and her attorneys have said Durans termination was just a first step toward accountability. Days after the firing was announced, they implored authorities to act swiftly and charge Duran. The Fortson family has experienced two losses this year. Fortsons 16-year-old brother, Andre, was killed in a shooting in the Atlanta area in late July. The Fortson family is from DeKalb County. Andre Fortson was found shot to death in the breezeway of an apartment complex, authorities said. Two groups of people had been shooting at each other, DeKalb County police said. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com SINGAPORE, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Singaporean police recorded 26,587 scam cases in the first half of this year, up 16.3 percent from the same period last year, according to a report released by the police. The scam victims lost at least 385.6 million Singapore dollars (296 million U.S. dollars) from January to June, up 24.6 percent from the same period last year. E-commerce scams, job scams, and phishing scams were the top three scam types in the first six months. Scammers commonly reach out to victims through messaging platforms, social media, online shopping platforms, phone calls, and other websites, said the police, noting that Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram remain particularly concerning. Singaporean police conducted 13 island-wide anti-scam enforcement operations in the first half, leading to the investigation of over 4,000 money mules and scammers. The police said they also worked with banks, e-commerce platforms, and foreign law enforcement agencies to combat scams. First responders supporting each other after Oxford floods OXFORD, Conn. (WTNH) Connecticut first responders opened up on Friday about their physical and mental health following last weekends flash flooding. Long days, long nights, no sleep, Oxford Assistant Fire Chief Daniel Gramigna said. I think last night was the first night that I was able to sleep a full night. The Oxford Volunteer Fire Department is serving one of the hardest-hit areas by Sundays storm. Gramigna said firefighters faced raging water, multiple rescues and the deaths of two women swept away from flash flooding. People helping people: These groups offer support, services to flood victims Now, theyre planning to bring in peer counselors to help first responders process their traumatic experiences. You cant train for the aftermath of what the firefighters go through to get through that scenario, Gramigna said. In Beacon Falls, leaders said that firefighters responded to countless calls throughout the region, and already have a program in place to address physical and mental health. EMS Capt. Jeremy Rodorigo said that assistance includes daily check-ins and stress debriefs. Either [first responders] will be able to manage in a healthy way; or theyll turn to alcohol, or depression, or God forbid suicide, or divorce, Rodorigo said. These are all things that happen in emergency services. Leaders said that as first responders continue to check-in with their communities, its important to check-in with themselves. We try to be there for each other and make sure that everyone is aware of the mental health aspects, Rodorgio 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 WTNH.com. (COLORADO SPRINGS) Local seafood Go Fish Food Truck announced on Thursday, Aug. 22 that it will be closing permanently in two months. Go Fish Food Truck announced via Facebook it would be closing on Oct. 6; citing a multitude of factors that ultimately led the owner, Christina Voreadis, to decide to close shop. There is not one single factor but a multitude of factors that have led to make this decision, said the statement. But it really boils down to doing what is best for me. Wild Goose Meeting House announces closure In Oct. 2023, Go Fish opened a brick-and-mortar location joining the elevated food hall venue Avenue 19. However, after only five months of operations at the new locale, Voreadis decided to close. In Feb. 2024, the owner said via Facebook that the demand of operating both locations the restaurant and the food truck was robbing them of their joy. Go Fish Food Truck has been around for five years, serving the community seafood dishes such as fish and chips, shrimp tacos, and surf and turf. For the last six weeks, it will remain in business, the food truck will be running on a shortened schedule. Individuals can find the schedule for the last few days of Go Fish on their website on Monday, Aug. 26. Voreadis thanked customers, former business partners, other businesses, and the local food truck community via Facebook. Colorado Springs sees a surge of local restaurants close, heres why I want to give a huge shoutout to my former business partner for starting this adventure with me & giving me some of the best years of my life, to my incredible staff for working so hard & giving me the opportunity to do something I really loved, said the statement. To our local food truck community who has become like family & to all of the breweries, events, & other businesses we have partnered with over the years. It has been a wild ride but now its time for a new chapter. As for the truck, the owner said it is listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace and is willing to discuss selling the business as a whole. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The price cap rise comes after Rachel Reeves announced last month that she will scale back winter fuel payments for pensioners - PAUL ELLIS/AFP Households have been urged to consider fixing their energy bills after Ofgem said the price cap will rise by 149 this winter. The energy regulator said it will raise the price cap to 1,717 per year for an average household from October, up from 1,568 currently. This will add 149 to average annual energy bills, or an extra 12 per month. Jonathan Brearley, chief executive of Ofgem, called on customers to search for the cheapest deals to protect themselves from rising costs. Mr Brearley said: We know that this rise in the price cap is going to be extremely difficult for many households. Anyone who is struggling to pay their bill should make sure they have access to all the benefits they are entitled to, particularly pension credit, and contact their energy company for further help and support. Id also encourage people to shop around and consider fixing if there is a tariff thats right for you there are options available that could save you money, while also offering the security of a rate that wont change for a fixed period. The October figure is based on an average household paying by direct debit for both gas and electricity but the actual figure for any given household will vary according to usage. Energy providers with deals that offer savings on the price cap include EDF Energy, which has a deal that is kept at 50 below the price cap. It comes after Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, announced last month that she would scale back energy support for pensioners. As part of her bid to plug a 22bn blackhole in the nations finances, Ms Reeves said that winter fuel payments, which were previously paid by all pensioners, will now be means-tested and will only go to those also receiving pension credit. Winter fuel payments are currently worth 200, while pensioners over 80 receive 300. Rachael Maskell, a Labour MP and chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Ageing and Older People, said she was deeply concerned that the Government was removing help for the elderly ahead of winter. She warned the Governments current approach to protecting the vulnerable from the cold was insufficient and needed to be urgently reviewed. Asked if she was calling for the Government to reverse its winter fuel payment decision, Ms Maskell told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: I really do think the Government needs to review this and I commend them for trying to move those 880,000 pensioners on to pension credit at breakneck speed. But that is going to be insufficient for protecting those people just above the pension credit threshold and therefore I will call on the Government, first of all, to look at a social tariff. Ofgem said on Friday that household debts and arrears had hit record levels. These have risen from 1.3bn at the start of 2020 to more than 3.3bn now. Nearly 1m people are in arrears on their power bills with no arrangement to repay and 748,000 face similar problems with their gas bills. Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, blamed the previous governments energy policies for the rise and pledged wholesale reforms of Ofgem. He said: The rise in the price cap is a direct result of the failed energy policy we inherited, which has left our country at the mercy of international gas markets controlled by dictators. The only solution to get bills down and greater energy independence is the governments mission for clean, homegrown power. Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, blamed the Conservative government's energy policies for the price cap rise - Anadolu But Claire Coutinho, the shadow energy secretary, rejected the allegation and said the attack on pensioners winter fuel payments would leave many older people struggling. She added: Instead of prioritising cheap energy, the new Labour Government are pursuing Ed Milibands reckless net zero targets with no thoughts to the costs. And far from their election promise of saving families 300 off their energy bills, one of their first acts in office has been to remove up to 300 in Winter Fuel Payment from 10m pensioners this winter. That means millions of pensioners will be unprepared to cope with higher energy bills this winter. The energy regulator blamed higher international energy prices, which have been pushed up by geopolitical tensions and extreme weather events. Ofgem said these factors were behind 82pc of the increase. The issue of higher bills is sure to be raised at a government roundtable next week as Energy Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh prepares to host Britains energy suppliers on Wednesday. In a letter to the energy companies, she said it was essential that suppliers play their part this coming winter to ensure that more households do not fall into debt, and those already in arrears are adequately supported. Analysts at Cornwall Insight said the decline of the UKs North Sea supplies and growing dependence on imported energy, especially gas, makes it vulnerable to the volatile international energy market. Craig Lowrey, principal consultant at Cornwall Insight, said: A volatile wholesale market, and a country heavily reliant on imported energy has created a perfect storm for fluctuating household bills. Todays announcement, coupled with our forecasted energy price hikes in the new year, will only intensify the calls for government action to protect vulnerable households. 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 Airways has announced it will pause its service from Heathrow to Beijing in October until at least November 2025. The flag carrier has already halved the number of flights to Hong Kong to a single daily service. It is not alone. Virgin will pull out of China altogether in October, leaving India as the most easterly destination for an airline that once flew to Sydney. Qantas no longer flies from Sydney to Shanghai. Only one American airline now flies from the US to Beijing: United. Whats more, dozens of European carriers are adding hours to flight times to India by re-routing services over Saudi Arabia, rather than taking their normal route over Iran. Whats going on? War and geopolitical pressures are forcing airlines to make tough decisions. The war between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for more than two years and peace remains a distant prospect. Russia banned US and European airlines from flying over its territory in 2022, forcing European and overseas carriers departing Europe to fly longer, more southerly routes over Turkey and the Stans, or more northerly routes over the Arctic, to reach the Far East. That adds up to two hours of flight time to many destinations and increases the fuel bill (airlines largest single expense) and staff costs. Russian roundabout how flights between Europe and Asia are avoiding Russian airspace. https://t.co/DYi1FuDEPh pic.twitter.com/oRRJdRifIQ Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) March 10, 2022 European carriers might have been able to absorb the extra costs if demand was not also falling. Economic slowdown in China, tensions between Washington and Beijing, and the crackdown on political opposition in Hong Kong have sent demand for travel to the worlds second-largest economy tumbling. Passenger numbers on routes from Europe to China are struggling to reach 60 per cent of pre-pandemic levels. In the US, demand for non-stop air travel to China is down a whopping 76 per cent this year, compared with 2019, according to A4A data. It is the same story in Australia. Qantas jets from Sydney to Shanghai had been operating half-full, prompting the airline to scrap the route. The airlines only Chinese route is between Sydney and Hong Kong. Flights leaving China have been even emptier. Outbound tourism has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels. Travel to the UK has been hit particularly badly owing to the Governments decision to end VAT-free shopping for visitors. In a call with investors last month, Nicholas Cadbury, the chief financial officer of BAs parent company, IAG, complained of weak demand in China. European carriers are finally cutting their losses and transferring the Boeing 777s and 787s and Airbus A350s that they used on routes to and from China to other more lucrative destinations. The retreat is a screeching mid-air U-turn for leading airlines who had hailed China as a growth market as recently as January this year. BA described its Heathrow-to-Beijing route as one of its most important when it relaunched flights there last year after a three-year hiatus, and the airline began a recruitment drive for Mandarin-speaking crew earlier this year. BA still flies daily to Shanghai. Virgin Atlantic will pull out of China in October, 20 years after Richard Branson launched the company's route to Sydney with great fanfare in Hong Kong - DENNIS OWEN BAs move leaves British travellers heading to Beijing with three main options. Either flying directly on China Southern or Air China, which continues daily services from Heathrow to Beijing. Chinese carriers, which are still allowed to fly over Russia, have increased scheduled flights to Europe during the summer season by 16 per cent compared with 2019 to 14,835, according to analysts at OAG. We can fly via the Gulf Qatar Airways via Doha, Emirates via Dubai, or Etihad via Abu Dhabi. Or we can take BA to Hong Kong or Shanghai and connect to a domestic carrier. Conflict is behind other route changes. Many carriers are flying around the Middle East owing to the war in Gaza and wider Israeli tensions with Lebanon and Iran. Since the Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, was assassinated in Tehran in July, fears have grown of retaliatory strikes against Israel. Tehran has told international carriers to avoid Irans airspace. Update as of 07:00 UTC time based on official NOTAMs. * Iran airspace - OPEN for IFR flights * Jordan airspace - OPEN * Iraq airspace - OPEN * Lebanon airspace - OPEN * Israel airspace - OPEN pic.twitter.com/ZZI2F8TzXG Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) April 14, 2024 BA, Virgin Atlantic and other European carriers have re-routed services to the UAE and south Asia. Flights from Heathrow to India, for instance, no longer cross Germany, Austria and the Balkans before heading over to Turkey, Iraq and Dubai. Instead, they fly over France, Italy, Greece, Egypt and Saudi Arabia before heading east over the Arabian Sea. Passengers are wondering whether more routes will be axed. Airlines say they have no plans to make further schedule changes owing to conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East but travellers might find their journeys disrupted as longer journey times cause tighter connections at Heathrow and other European hubs. Some worry that fares to Asia might go up. There are no signs of that so far and even if the cost of direct services were to rise, there will be good deals via the Gulf. 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 Florida sheriffs deputy who shot and killed U.S. Air Force Airman Roger Fortson earlier this year has been charged with manslaughter, the Florida State Attorneys Office confirmed. Eddie Duran Jr. was fired in late May after an internal investigation found the deputys use of deadly force was not objectively reasonable and therefore violated agency policy. Fortons family and their attorneys released a statement on Friday afternoon that read, This decision marks the first step towards justice for the family of Roger Fortson. Nothing can ever bring Roger back, and our fight is far from over, but we are hopeful that this arrest and these charges will result in real justice for the Fortson family. Let this be a reminder to law enforcement officers everywhere that they swore a solemn oath to protect and defend, and their actions have consequences, especially when it results in the loss of life. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Fortson, 23 from DeKalb County, was shot several times and killed moments after opening the door to the now-former Okaloosa County Sheriffs Office deputy, body camera video of the incident showed. According to the sheriffs office, Duran confirmed Mr. Fortson did not physically resist him in any way, and the investigation concluded that Mr. Forston did not point the gun in the former deputys direction. RELATED STORIES: The sheriffs office was called to the apartment complex to reports of noise and fighting coming from Fortsons apartment. His family says they had the wrong apartment because he was alone and on FaceTime with his girlfriend when he heard the deputy banging on the door. Fortson went and retrieved his gun before answering the door, but never raised it toward the deputy. This tragic incident should have never occurred, Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden said. The objective facts do not support the use of deadly force as an appropriate response to Mr. Fortsons actions. Mr. Fortson did not commit any crime. By all accounts, he was an exceptional airman and individual. Its unclear if Duran has been taken into custody. If convicted, he faces a sentence of up to 30 years in prison. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) The former Okaloosa County Sheriffs deputy who shot and killed a Hurlburt Field Airman in May will face charges. The state attorneys office in Okaloosa County has charged Eddie Duran with manslaughter. Duran shot and killed Roger Fortson at Fortsons apartment. Duran was responding to a disturbance call. Body cam video shows the moment when Fortson opened the door, holding a handgun at his side, pointed at the ground. Officer who killed Hurlburt Field Airmen Roger Fortson identified and fired Duran immediately opens fire and then tells Fortson to drop the gun after he is already on the ground. Fortson later died. Duran was fired by Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden and the investigation was turned over to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The state attorneys office confirmed they have charged Duran with manslaughter with a firearm. Thats a first-degree felony, punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Okaloosa County Sheriffs Office released a statement regarding the indictment below: We continue to wish Mr. Fortsons family comfort and peace, as the former deputys criminal case proceeds. The Okaloosa County Sheriffs Office (OCSO) has been fully accountable and transparent in its compliance with statutory requirements, providing numerous public statements, making accessible the available body-worn camera footage and other related records, meeting with Mr. Forstons family and legal counsel, and communicating openly with the U.S. Air Force and our community-at-large. We stand by our decision to terminate Mr. Duran as a result of the administrative internal affairs investigation that found his use of force was not objectively reasonable. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com. PALM BAY, Fla. (WFLA) A teacher at Sunrise Elementary School is facing charges of child abuse, the Palm Bay Police Department said Friday. On Thursday, 41-year-old Beatriz Rapisarda was arrested after an investigation into allegations involving a student in an intellectually disabled class. Rapisarda allegedly pushed the student and restrained them by their wrists, according to witnesses in the classroom. Rapisarda was booked in the Brevard County Jail. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Myanmar's Union Minister of Hotels and Tourism Thet Thet Khine addresses a seminar on making tourism more sustainable in cultural heritage destinations among the Lancang-Mekong regional countries, in Bagan, Myanmar, Aug. 23, 2024. The seminar invited government officials, experts, and personnel of tourism sectors from the six Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) countries to discuss and exchange views on the protection and inheritance of cultural heritage and the development of tourism. (Xinhua/Myo Kyaw Soe) BAGAN, Myanmar, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- A seminar on making tourism more sustainable in cultural heritage destinations among the Lancang-Mekong regional countries was held in Bagan, Myanmar, on Friday. Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Ma Jia said during the seminar, a project under the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) Special Fund, that the LMC has achieved fruitful results since its launch in 2016, significantly contributing to the peace, stability, development, and prosperity of the region and turning into a "golden example" for regional cooperation. This year marks the beginning of the second LMC Five-Year Plan of Action. The just-concluded LMC Foreign Ministers' Meeting committed to continuing to build a safe, innovative, sustainable and amicable Lancang-Mekong region, which will benefit the people of the region, Ma said. This seminar is based on the realities of the region and focuses on the theme of development. It provides an excellent platform for the cultural and tourism sectors of the LMC countries to engage in dialogues and discussions for development, Ma added. Myanmar's Union Minister of Hotels and Tourism Thet Thet Khine expressed her thanks for China's contribution to the LMC initiative. The LMC has played a vital role in fostering regional development and its success is a testament to the mutual trust, close cooperation, and joint efforts of its member countries. LMC countries should work towards a future where their cultural heritage is preserved with integrity, and their tourism practices are sustainable and inclusive, Thet Thet Khine added. The seminar invited government officials, experts, and personnel of tourism sectors from the six LMC countries to discuss and exchange views on the protection and inheritance of cultural heritage and the development of tourism. Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Ma Jia addresses a seminar on making tourism more sustainable in cultural heritage destinations among the Lancang-Mekong regional countries, in Bagan, Myanmar, Aug. 23, 2024. The seminar invited government officials, experts, and personnel of tourism sectors from the six Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) countries to discuss and exchange views on the protection and inheritance of cultural heritage and the development of tourism. (Xinhua/Myo Kyaw Soe) PANAMA CITY, FL. (WMBB) The Florida Supreme Court has denied another motion to stay the execution of Loran Cole. Justices issued their ruling on Friday morning. In 1994, Cole murdered a Florida State University student named John Edwards in the Ocala National Forest. Edwards had met his sister there for a weekend camping trip. Cole and another man met the siblings. He slashed Edwards throat and hit him in the head three times, fracturing his skull. Then he raped Coles sister, tied her to two trees, and abandoned her. He was convicted and sentenced to death. Former inmate at Dozier School for Boys facing execution following 1994 murder Coles motion for a stay of execution is based on his time at the Dozier School for Boys in Marianna. He claims he was abused by Dozier guards in 1984 when he served 6-months there as a 17-year-old. Cole claims his time at Dozier created the criminal behavior that led to the murder. His lawyers have brought up the dozier claim in past appeals. But this time was different. They claimed that Governor Ron Desantis approval of the Dozier victims compensation bill earlier this year, amounted to the states admission of guilt for the abuse of Dozier boys. As new evidence, Cole was entitled to a stay of execution. However, Supreme Court justices ruled it was not new evidence and denied the motion. Coles execution is still scheduled for next Thursday, August 29. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com. Florida Supreme Court denied stay of execution for Dozier School for Boys inmate PANAMA CITY, FL. (WMBB) The Florida Supreme Court has denied another motion to stay the execution of Loran Cole. Justices issued their ruling on Friday morning. In 1994, Cole murdered a Florida State University student named John Edwards in the Ocala National Forest. Edwards had met his sister there for a weekend camping trip. Cole and another man met the siblings. He slashed Edwards throat and hit him in the head three times, fracturing his skull. Former inmate at Dozier School for Boys facing execution following 1994 murder Then he raped Coles sister, tied her to two trees, and abandoned her. He was convicted and sentenced to death. Coles motion for a stay of execution is based on his time at the Dozier School for Boys in Marianna. He claims he was abused by Dozier guards in 1984 when he served 6-months there as a 17-year-old. Cole claims his time at Dozier created the criminal behavior that led to the murder. His lawyers have brought up the dozier claim in past appeals. But this time was different. They claimed that Governor Ron Desantis approval of the Dozier victims compensation bill earlier this year, amounted to the states admission of guilt for the abuse of Dozier boys. As new evidence, Cole was entitled to a stay of execution. However, Supreme Court justices ruled it was not new evidence and denied the motion. Coles execution is still scheduled for next Thursday, August 29. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com. Florida thieves made off with $915 in Stanley cups and Bogg bags, officials say Florida thieves made off with $915 in Stanley cups and Bogg bags, officials say TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers is searching for three women who walked out of a Dicks Sporting Goods in Fort Myers with $915 worth of Stanley cups and other merchandise. Security camera footage taken Tuesday shows the trio leaving the store carrying two $90 Bogg bags stuffed with 21 of the trendy cups, according to a report from NBC affiliate WBBH. 1 dead after school bus crashes at Sarasota County Publix Theres a big market for these Stanley cups. It very well could be part of a ring that we see all the time coming from Tampa, coming from Miami, and just making their stops along the way to steal, Crime Stoppers Manager Trish Routte told WBBH. Routte said the thieves brought a child with them. Its really sad that anybody would bring a child into a store when theyre getting ready to commit a crime or be part of a crime, even if theyre not the ones that actually walked out of the store. Youre with the group. You knew what everybody going in was planning on doing. So thats just, you know, thats just a whole new level of low, Routte said. Anyone who recognizes the thieves is asked to contact Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers. Tipsters can stay anonymous and be eligible for a cash reward. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Florida's anti-LGBTQ+ policies could spread across U.S. if Trump is elected, rep says Florida could be a forerunner of Republicans anti-LGBTQ agenda across the country if Donald Trump is re-elected as president, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz warns. In a conversation with The Advocate after the Democratic National Conventions Womens Caucus meeting, Wasserman Schultz expressed grave concerns about the direction her state has taken under Gov. Ron DeSantis. She drew parallels between Floridas policies and the broader MAGA agenda, specifically pointing to the state's near-total abortion ban, the "Dont Say Gay" law, and efforts to whitewash African-American history as key indicators of the Republican Partys extreme stance. "I know firsthand whats at stake for women because I represent the state of Florida," Wasserman Schultz said. "We have seen essentially the state version of what Project 2025 will be like if, God forbid, Donald Trump ever returns to the White House." Wasserman Schultz emphasized that the election is not just about preventing Trumps return but also about protecting fundamental freedoms, including the right to make personal healthcare decisions, access accurate and inclusive education, and live without the fear of government intrusion into private lives. "We can elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz and make sure that you have the freedom to make your own healthcare decisions without government and politicians interfering," she continued, highlighting the necessity of maintaining Democratic control to counteract the extreme measures being pushed by MAGA Republicans. The contrast between parties U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel of Florida also spoke with The Advocate about the Democratic Partys embrace of diversity and the exclusionary rhetoric of the GOP. "You have a party of hope, of inclusivity, of welcoming people," Frankel said. "And then you have the party of, I think, just total invalidation." She described the environment in Florida schools as a "horror story" for LGBTQ+ youth, who are being forced into hiding due to draconian laws that mandate the use of birth-assigned pronouns, among other restrictions. "Floridas a cesspool on freedom," Frankel said bluntly. "Social workers are in fear of having their licenses taken away if they say the wrong thing. It really is a horror show." A message to LGBTQ+ people who want to visit Florida Wasserman Schultz also addressed recent news that the Florida Tourism Department had removed a website promoting LGBTQ+ tourism in the state, a move she condemned as part of the broader "granular assault" on LGBTQ+ rights in Florida. Despite this, she encouraged LGBTQ+ individuals to continue visiting Florida, highlighting the states vibrant and welcoming communities, particularly in areas like Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Orlando, and Miami. "We are the best state in the country to come if you are a member of the LGBTQ+ community," she said. "There are lots of different places, including The Advocate and other incredible publications, where the LGBTQ+ community can find the incredible opportunities there are to vacation in our state." Wasserman Schultz reassured potential visitors that Florida remains a place where LGBTQ+ individuals can enjoy their time and be themselves, despite the state government's attempts to erase their existence. "You can age gracefully in Florida and have a blast doing it," she said. David Holley (John Oligny / Los Angeles Times) For the record: 5:35 p.m. Aug. 23, 2024: A previous version of this article said Holley died at home in Nagano at 73. He died at a hospital in Tokyo and was 74. In the early hours of June 4, 1989, Chinese soldiers under orders from the country's leader, Deng Xiaoping, to clear pro-democracy protesters from Beijing's Tiananmen Square opened fire, killing hundreds. Times journalist David Holley watched from the window of a nearby hotel, using a phone in a coffee shop to report what he saw to colleagues in the Beijing bureau as gunfire crackled in the background. Three decades later, in an article reflecting on what he saw and why it remains one of the most pivotal moments in China's modern history, he wrote: "This Beijing massacre ultimately strengthened Dengs control and froze into place his formula for Chinas modernization: one-party dictatorship paired with market-oriented reforms. ... Over the last 30 years, China has grown stronger and more prosperous, but the formula remains unchanged." Holley spent two decades as a Times foreign correspondent, covering pro-democracy street protests in nearly a dozen other countries before going into teaching. He died Aug. 4 in a Tokyo hospital at age 74. His cousin Frederick Holley said the cause was complications from a chronic health condition. Former colleagues remembered Holley for his gentle personality and dedication to his reporting. Read more: I watched the 1989 Tiananmen uprising. China has never been the same "Everyone will say he was kindhearted and generous and supportive, a person of integrity, a hard worker," said Simon Li, a former editor at The Times who worked with Holley on the foreign desk. Li added that Holley's fluency in Chinese and Japanese enhanced his work: "Davids language facility was an advantage that adorned his coverage. He added a dimension to reporting from those two countries that perhaps we hadnt had before." Holley grew up in Rochester, N.Y., the youngest of three siblings. An Asian studies class during his senior year in high school piqued his interest in East Asian languages. After obtaining a bachelor's degree in Chinese from Oberlin College, he traveled around the world studying languages and working odd jobs, including at an ice cream parlor. He met his wife, Fumiyo Asahi, while learning Spanish in Mexico. They were married in Japan, where he taught English for a few years. Holley went on to earn a master's degree in communications at Stanford University with the goal of becoming a foreign correspondent. After graduation, he worked for The Times in Southern California for seven years for before moving to Beijing in 1987. "I wanted to go to all of the places where the most people lived," Holley told one of his former students, Jin Young Lim, in a 2021 podcast. "I was very consciously trying to educate myself about the places that had a lot of people, with the idea that over the course of my lifetime, the places with a lot of people were going to become very, very important geopolitically, internationally, for American foreign relations." Read more: As tensions grow, more Americans see China as an enemy After Beijing, Holley served as a Times correspondent in Tokyo, Warsaw and Moscow before leaving the newspaper in 2007 to teach journalism, history and American politics at Waseda University and Keio University in Japan. Lim, who graduated from Waseda University in 2018, said Holley has been the most influential person in his life. After retirement three years ago, Holley took up farming in the Nagano countryside but kept in frequent communication via Zoom calls with his former students, his cousin Frederick said. In the podcast, Holley said that as the relationship between the U.S. and China has turned adversarial, understanding the thinking of Chinese leaders and people is critical for American interests. Read more: Trump and Biden both say theyre tough on China. But whom would Beijing prefer to deal with? "For the United States to come out ahead in a competition with China, it's extremely important to understand why does China act the way it does," he said. "If American foreign policy can be based on, 'OK, we are going to work for what's best for America, but we're going to be smart about it, we are going to understand our rivals,' that's a big step towards making conflict less dangerous, and it's also a big step to stop thinking of them as rivals, and starting to think of them as also us." Despite the world's huge challenges, Holley said, he maintained a sense of optimism. "Whatever the tensions may be between Washington, Beijing and Moscow, at least the leaders of these three great powers get together regularly at global summits where everybody is reasonably cordial to each other," he said in a TEDx talk in 2014. 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 new forensic hospital for people whose mental illness contributed to criminal activity is slated to be built to the right of the New Hampshire Hospital in Concord. (Screenshot | Department of Health and Human Services.) The states new forensic hospital for individuals currently being held at the state prison is expected to be completed in December 2025. In the meantime, state officials are holding another virtual public information session on the project Thursday. The 24-bed secure hospital will treat patients who committed a crime but cannot stand trial because of their mental illness; people found not guilty at trial because of their illness; and people who have not broken the law but are too dangerous to be treated in a conventional setting like the state hospital. From the outside, the new facility looks like an extension of New Hampshire Hospital. But while the two hospitals will share laundry and kitchen facilities, they will be independent hospitals. The Department of Health and Human Services has said the new setting will provide patients with skilled psychiatric treatment in a safe, secure, and therapeutic environment. PC Construction was awarded a $41.9 million contract for the project in June 2023. For more information on the project timeline, design, and resources from previous information sessions, visit the Department of Health and Human Services website at dhhs.nh.gov and search forensic hospital. Members of the public can attend the Aug. 29 public information session via computer or phone and will be able to submit questions and comments during the meeting. The call-in number and computer link are on the website. The department has said it plans to schedule another public hearing in mid-2025. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Former Alaska Airlines pilot who tried to shut down engines in-flight shares his story Joseph Emerson, a former Alaska Airlines pilot, calls it the biggest mistake of his life. Emerson was inside an Alaska Airlines cockpit last October when he raised his arms and pulled two large red levers that could have shut down both engines, at 30,000 feet. He calls the incident the worst 30 seconds of his life. Ten months later, he is now grateful for those moments: They've saved his marriage, allowed him more time with his kids, and thrust him into a life of therapy, recovery, and the launch of a new non-profit designed to help other pilots struggling with mental illness. Now Emerson and his wife, Sarah, are describing that incident, and the anxious, challenging months that followed, in an interview with ABC News. "I made a big mistake." Emerson sent his wife Sarah a text message on Oct. 22, 2023, moments after he was removed from that cockpit and just before he asked a flight attendant to handcuff him. "I made a big mistake," the message read. Sarah Emerson replied: "What's up? Are you ok?" "I'm not," Joe Emerson replied. That was the last time Sarah Emerson heard from her husband for days. She immediately tracked his flight and learned it had diverted and made an emergency landing in Portland. Sarah knew little of what happened for 24 hours. It wasn't until a jail receptionist told her that she learned her husband had been charged with 83 counts of attempted murder one count for every soul on the aircraft. "I walk up to the window and say I'm looking for my husband and he kind of just looked on the computer and typed some things in and then nonchalantly tells me the charges, and I lost it," Sarah Emerson told ABC News. "I screamed and I keeled over, and I almost fell. They grabbed me and pulled me over because I know what that means. I was in a complete shock." MORE: Off-duty pilot charged with 83 counts of attempted murder for allegedly trying to shut off engines on Alaska Airlines flight What happened Joe Emerson had been struggling over the death of his best friend, Scott, a pilot who died while on a run six years earlier. Emerson had been away for the weekend with friends, celebrating and remembering Scott. On Friday night, the group took psychedelic mushrooms a drug that can make you hallucinate and typically has effects that last a few hours. Emerson said that for him, the physical side effects lasted days, and the consequences a lifetime. PHOTO: Joe and Sarah Emerson speak with ABC News. (Sam Sweeney/ABC News) Something wasn't right As a friend drove him to the airport, Emerson said all he could think about was being home with his family, but a deepening fear that he would never make it began to overtake him. It intensified as he took his jump seat inside the confined cockpit of the Alaska Airlines jet. "There was a feeling of being trapped, like, 'Am I trapped in this airplane and now I'll never go home?'" Emerson told ABC News, in an interview near his home in California. Emerson said the feeling increased and with it, a belief that "this isn't real, I'm not actually going home until I became completely convinced that none of this was real," Emerson said. As the Alaska Airlines plane headed toward San Francisco, Emerson said his condition worsened. He reached out to a friend who texted Emerson to do breathing exercises. Instead of helping, Emerson said, the moment when his phone read the text in his ear ultimately pushed him over the edge. "That's kind of where I flung off my headset, and I was fully convinced this isn't real and I'm not going home," Emerson recalled. "And then, as the pilots didn't react to my completely abnormal behavior in a way that I thought would be consistent with reality, that is when I was like, this isn't real. I need to wake up." The next 30 seconds would put 83 other lives in danger, end Joe's career, and potentially send him to prison for the rest of his life. "It's 30 seconds of my life that I wish I could change, and I can't." "There are two red handles in front of my face," Emerson recalled. "And thinking that I was going to wake up, thinking this is my way to get out of this non-real reality, I reached up and I grabbed them, and I pulled the levers." Those levers were the engine shut-off controls. "What I thought is, 'This is going to wake me up,'" Emerson said. "I know what those levers do in a real airplane and I need to wake up from this. You know, it's 30 seconds of my life that I wish I could change, and I can't." MORE: Pilot who allegedly tried to shut off engines hadn't slept in 40 hours: Authorities How did the pilots respond? Emerson said as soon as he grabbed the engine shut-off levers, the pilots pulled his hands away. He remembers the pilots' immediate confusion, trying to comprehend what just happened. Emerson also recalled what made him quickly realize his situation was very much real. "It was really the pilot's physical touch on my hand," Emerson said. "Both pilots grabbed my hands where I kind of stopped and I had that moment, which I'll just say I view this moment as a gift." Two gifts, Emerson said. The second was that the engines did not shut down but continued to operate normally. "I observe the pilots react to the difficult situation that I just handed them and watch them react in a very professional manner," Emerson said of the pilots. "I heard them converse about me and I said, 'You guys want me out of the flight deck?'" The pilots unlocked the cabin door for him, and he "opened the door to a very confused flight attendant," Emerson recalled. Emerson said he walked into the cabin, drank directly from a coffee pot and took a seat in the flight attendants' jump seat. None of the passengers knew that the man in a pilot's uniform had only moments earlier tried to turn off their plane's engines. PHOTO: An Alaska Airlines takes off from Anchorage Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage, Alaska, July 2, 2024. (Hasan Akbas/Anadolu via Getty Images) Emerson's episode wasn't over Emerson's feeling of unreality persisted, he said, and he again felt the need to wake up. "At some point I thought maybe this isn't real, and maybe I can wake myself up by just jumping out, like that freefall feeling that you have," he said. So Emerson grabbed another lever this one operating the cabin door. "I put my hand on the lever, I didn't operate the lever," he recalled, at which point a flight attendant stopped him. "She put her hand on mine again and with that human touch, I released. I think around that period is when I said, 'I don't understand what's real, I don't I don't understand what's real.'" At that point, Emerson said he asked the flight attendant to handcuff him, and she immediately did so. "I essentially asked to be restrained myself because I knew if this is real, I've already done enough damage," Emerson said. "I thought, 'Let's restrain me till I can get the help I need.' That's really kind of what I was hoping coming off this airplane that I would get, get the help I needed." Emerson was taken into custody when the plane landed in Portland. Sarah Emerson wouldn't learn what happened on board until late the next day. She wondered whether her husband had experienced a medical emergency and was in a hospital. She tracked his phone and saw it pinged from the airport. MORE: Video: Pilot indicted for attempt to shut off engines mid-flight, avoids attempted murder "I could see that his phone was at the airport. We knew the plane was diverted and so I was wondering, 'OK, is he hurt? Is he sick? What happened?'" Sarah Emerson said. It was several hours before Emerson's union representative informed Sarah Emerson that her husband was being detained. "I said, 'What does that mean?' It's just so not the world that I live in, you know. I just didn't even understand what that meant," Sarah Emerson recalled. Jail, and a way forward Emerson spent the next 45 days in jail before he was granted bond. It wasn't until Tuesday evening, four days after taking the mushrooms, that Emerson said he regained full clarity. His jail physician would later tell him that he suffered from a condition called hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD), which can cause someone who uses psychedelic mushrooms for the first time to suffer from persistent visual hallucinations or perception issues for several days afterward. Emerson also now believes that he's an alcoholic, although he said alcohol didn't play a role in October's incident. "My substance that I used was primarily alcohol, which is a depressant, to treat a depressive state," Emerson said, adding that he's now in treatment and prioritizing his mental health. He also said he accepts full responsibility for his actions actions that he said have actually changed his life for the better. PHOTO: Joe and Sarah Emerson speak with ABC News. (Sam Sweeney/ABC News) Joe and Sarah Emerson are now dedicating much of their life to building their new nonprofit: Clear Skies Ahead. Their goal is to raise funds for and awareness of pilot mental health, and to emphasize the importance of not being afraid to seek help. Because pilots who don't meet strict medical requirements can have their license to fly revoked, Emerson said, it's not unheard of for pilots to refuse to admit or seek help for mental health issues. "Right now, if you raise your hand, not in every case, but there's a perception out there that if you raise your hand and say something's not right, there's a very real possibility that you don't fly again," Emerson said. MORE: Video: Off-duty pilot charged for allegedly trying to cut engines Following Emerson's incident, pilot mental health is receiving renewed attention. "Who would you rather fly with: a pilot who is depressed, or a pilot who is depressed on medication?" said Dr. Brent Blue, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) senior aviation medical examiner, at a National Transportation Safety Board mental health summit in December. "And that's what it comes down to. We need to work together to help modernize the system and help the FAA modernize our pilot mental health evaluation program," Blue added. In May, the FAA expanded the number of drugs approved for use by pilots, including several antidepressants. The agency also says it is hiring more mental health professionals. "The FAA encourages pilots to seek help if they have a mental-health condition since most, if treated, do not disqualify someone from flying," the FAA said in a statement to ABC News, in part. "In fact, only about 0.1% of medical certificate applicants who disclose health issues are denied. Treating these conditions early is important, and that is why the FAA has approved more antidepressants for use by pilots and air traffic controllers." Joe Emerson's future Emerson remains in legal limbo. Though he's no longer facing attempted murder charges, he is still facing more than 80 state and federal charges, including 83 counts of reckless endangerment after prosecutors reduced the charges in December. It's possible prosecutors could offer a plea deal or decide to go to trial later this fall. "At the end of the day, I accept responsibility for the choices that I made. They're my choices," Emerson told ABC News. "What I hope through the judicial processes is that the entirety of not just 30 seconds of the event, but the entirety of my experience is accounted for as society judges me on what happened. And I will accept what the debt that society says I owe." What would he tell the passengers and crew? What would Emerson tell the 83 passengers and crew onboard that Alaska Airlines flight? "First and foremost, thank you," Emerson said. "I appreciate that they saw someone in crisis in the back of that plane and that they paid attention to what the flight crew was telling them to do, and they remained calm until we got on the ground." It's to the crew, however, that Emerson said he owes the biggest debt of gratitude. "What I did was, something we don't train for, and they handled it fantastic. It's really a result of their professionalism and the way they handled that situation that I'm alive today," Emerson said. As for whether he'll ever fly again, Emerson said that remains up in the air and out of his hands. "Of course I want to fly again. I'd be totally disingenuous if I said no," he said. "I don't know in what capacity I'm going to fly again and I don't know if that's an opportunity that's going to be afforded to me. It's not up to me to engineer that. What is up to me is to do what's in front of me, put myself in a position where that's a possibility, that it can happen." "But at the end of the day," Emerson conceded, "if I'm not meant to fly again, I'm not going to fly again." The New York Times Presents: "Lie to Fly," which airs at 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 23 on FX, and streams the following day on Hulu. ABC News' John Capell and Miles Cohen contributed to this report. Former Alaska Airlines pilot who tried to shut down engines in-flight shares his story originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Former deputy Eddie Duran charged in death of airman Roger Fortson. Here's what we know. State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden announced today that a direct information has been filed charging former Okaloosa County Deputy Sheriff Eddie Lee Duran, Jr., with one count of manslaughter with a Firearm. This charge arises from an incident on May 3, 2024, that resulted in the shooting death of Roger Fortson. Duran was investigating reports of an argument and possible domestic dispute at Fortson's Fort Walton Beach apartment. Fortson was armed with a handgun when he responded to the deputy's knock on his door, but in body camera video released by the Sheriff's Office Fortson appeared to point the gun only at the floor and did threaten Duran with the weapon. Duran shot Fortson almost immediately, fatally wounding him. A warrant for Durans arrest is outstanding at this time. If convicted as charged, Duran faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in state prison, according to the State Attorney's Office. Here's what you should know about the case: Who is Roger Fortson? U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Roger Fortson, 23, was based at the Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field when he was fatally shot at his home at Chez Elan Apartments. Fortson was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron as a special missions aviator, where one of his roles as a member of the squadrons AC-130J Ghostrider aircrew was to load the gunships 30mm and 105mm cannons during missions, according to the AP. "Roger enlisted in the military after graduating from high school with honors and had no criminal record," said national civil rights and personal injury attorney Ben Crump. "By all accounts, he was a stellar member of the Air Force and loved by his community." Roger Fortsons death According to the Okaloosa County Sheriffs Office, authorities were called to Fortson's apartment around 4:30 p.m. on May 3 regarding a reported disturbance. The responding deputy entered the apartment complex and made his way to Fortson's unit. The deputy knocked on Fortson's door several times before he answered. Officials say the officer "reacted in self-defense after he encountered a 23-year-old man armed with a gun." Video from the scene corroborates that Fortson had a gun in his hand when he opened the door, but he kept the gun pointed toward the ground in the brief moment before he was shot six times by the responding deputy. According to Crump, a witness who was on a Facetime call with Fortson at the time of the shooting said that Fortson was alone in his apartment when he heard a knock at his door. Eddie Duran's account of Fortson death: Fired Okaloosa deputy said he 'saw aggression' before fatally shooting Airman Roger Fortson Fortson asked, "Who is it?" and failed to get a response, the release says. A few minutes later, Fortson heard an "aggressive" knock but failed to see anyone once he looked out his peephole. Fortson, concerned for his safety, retrieved his legally owned gun, Crump said. As Fortson returned to the living room, the witness said, deputies "burst through his door." When deputies saw the gun, they fired at Fortson six times. The witness said she saw Fortson on the ground, stating, "I can't breathe," after he was shot. The witness also said police were at the wrong apartment, and there was no disturbance, according to the release. Why was Deputy Eddie Duran terminated? The sheriff's office released its 29-page internal affairs investigative report and terminated Eddie Duran in June. Capt. Robert Wagner, from the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office of Professional Standards, ultimately concluded that Duran's use of deadly force violated policy. Wagner first references OCSO General Order 04.01-Response to Resistance, which states: Deadly force shall only be used when the officer reasonably believes that the action is in defense of human life, including the officers own life, or in defense of any person in imminent danger of serious physical injury. This policy references a U.S. Supreme Court precedent established in Graham v. Connor, which notes that police officers are forced to quickly judge how much force is necessary for tense, uncertain or rapidly evolving situations. The sheriff's office also found that Duran violated the "response to resistance" order as set out in Section F.2.d of the agency's policies: Deadly force resistance is a subjects hostile, attacking movements with or without a weapon that create a reasonable perception by the officer that the subject intends to cause and has the capability of causing death or great bodily harm to the officer or others. According to a news release that accompanied the investigative report, the investigation determined that Fortson did not make any hostile or attacking moves. Who is former sheriff's Deputy Eddie Duran? According to the report, Duran received a bachelor's degree in criminal psychology and was "roughly halfway" through a master's degree in human service counseling, focusing on crisis response and trauma. Duran then served in the Army in 2003 and had one combat deployment to Iraq in 2008. Duran started his military career in military intelligence before moving to law enforcement in 2007. As a military police officer, Duran received training through the Army's Special Reaction Team. He received an honorable discharge in 2014. After leaving the Army, Duran began his civilian law enforcement career in Oklahoma and served as a police officer and K9 officer from 2015 to 2019, when he moved to Florida and began working at the OCSO. The report says that after moving away in 2021, Duran returned in 2023 and rejoined the agency. What does Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office say regarding the indictment? "We continue to wish Mr. Fortsons family comfort and peace, as the former deputys criminal case proceeds," a statement issued by the OCSO on Friday said. "The Okaloosa County Sheriffs Office (OCSO) has been fully accountable and transparent in its compliance with statutory requirements, providing numerous public statements, making accessible the available body-worn camera footage and other related records, meeting with Mr. Fortsons family and legal counsel, and communicating openly with the U.S. Air Force and our community at-large. "We stand by our decision to terminate Mr. Duran as a result of the administrative internal affairs investigation that found his use of force was not objectively reasonable," the statement concluded. This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Deputy Eddie Duran charged in Roger Fortson shooting A former deputy at the Dickson County Jail faces three counts of sexual contact with an inmate. The Dickson County Sheriff's Office said former corrections deputy Calvin Lewis was arrested at his home Thursday after a grand jury returned the three-count indictment against him. He was booked into jail but posted $25,000 bond around 3 p.m. Thursday, according to an employee at the jail reached by phone. In a news release, the sheriff's office said "allegations were made of sexual misconduct between Lewis and female inmates." When the office became aware of the possible misconduct in March, Dickson County Sheriff Tim Eads placed Lewis on administrative leave, started an internal investigation and requested a criminal investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Lewis was terminated from the sheriff's office based on the findings of the internal investigation, the sheriff's office said in the news release. "Our office does not condone, nor will we tolerate, any such behavior," the news release states. "The safety and security of inmates in our custody is of the highest importance. We have protocols in place that ensure allegations such as these are investigated properly and prosecuted when necessary." Lewis could not be reached for comment through a phone number found in an online database. Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him at emealins@gannett.com or follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EvanMealins. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Dickson County deputy accused of sexual contact with jail inmates WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) A former Wichita County volunteer firefighter has pleaded guilty to setting several fires and is sentenced to 8 years in prison. Aaron Arnold, 35, a former firefighter with the Punkin Center Volunteer Fire Department, pleaded to five counts of arson on Thursday, Aug. 22, in 89th District Court. HotterN Hell officials taking proactive approach to fire safety amid recent grass fires His arrest came after a sealed indictment listed five separate fire investigations linked to him. Investigators became suspicious in March 2023 when Arnold was at the scene of several fires before the other firefighters. Witnesses also reported seeing a green Ford pickup with no tailgate leaving the areas just before fires were reported, and the Punkin Center fire chief said he recognized it as Arnolds truck. Many of the fires also occurred shortly after 3 p.m. when Arnold got off work. The sheriffs office installed electronic surveillance on Arnolds truck. On May 13, 2023, a fire was reported on Flippin Road, with several large hay bales burning. Arnold responded to the fire call. A check of surveillance data showed Arnolds truck had driven to the scene of the fire before it was reported. Investigators said Arnold was evasive at first but later admitted to setting fires. Henrietta woman jailed on assault of officer, bond violations They said Arnold told them that after setting a fire, he would return home, wait for the fire call to go out, and then respond to the fire calls. Arnold had a prior conviction for burglary in 2009. 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 Texomashomepage.com. ROME, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- The body of the final victim from the sinking of the Bayesian superyacht was recovered on Friday, four days after the vessel sank during a flash storm off the coast of Sicily, Italy. Authorities have identified the final victim as Hannah Lynch, the 18-year-old daughter of billionaire tech tycoon Mike Lynch. Earlier this week, the bodies of four other victims-Mike Lynch, Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer, his wife Judy Bloomer, and lawyer Chris Morvillo, along with his wife, Neda Morvillo-were retrieved from the sunken yacht. The body of chef Recaldo Thomas was recovered immediately after the incident on Monday. Angela Bacares, Mike Lynch's wife and Hannah Lynch's mother, was among the 15 survivors of the tragedy, which included nine crew members and six of Lynch's guests. Italian authorities in Sicily have launched a comprehensive investigation into the tragedy, conducting interviews with eyewitnesses, the ship's captain, and the yacht's manufacturer. By Brad Brooks (Reuters) - A former Florida sheriff's deputy was charged on Friday with manslaughter in the shooting death of a Black man who responded to a knock on his apartment door, prosecutors said. Former Deputy Eddie Duran, who was previously fired by the Okaloosa County sheriff, was charged in the May 3 killing of Air Force airman Roger Fortson, 23, in Fort Walton Beach, state prosecutor Greg Marcille said by phone. Authorities issued a warrant for his arrest on Friday. Body camera video from Duran, who was responding to a domestic violence call, showed he banged on Fortson's apartment door unannounced. The deputy followed up with more loud knocks and twice said he was with the sheriff's department. The video showed Fortson opening the door and holding a handgun at his side, pointed down. He did not point the gun at the deputy. Duran immediately opened fire multiple times at close range. Fortson later died in a local hospital. Duran, who faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted, could not immediately be reached for comment, and it was not clear if an attorney was representing him. Ben Crump, a prominent civil rights attorney who is representing Fortson's family, said in a written statement that this was a first step toward justice. "Nothing can ever bring Roger back, and our fight is far from over, but we are hopeful that this arrest and these charges will result in real justice for the Fortson family," Crump said. Fortson's family insists that the sheriff's deputy mistakenly targeted Fortson's apartment. They have pointed out that he was talking on the phone with his girlfriend before the shooting and nobody else was inside of the apartment. An investigation by the Okaloosa County sheriff's department found that someone from the apartment complex called a non-emergency sheriff's department phone line to report that they heard a couple fighting in Fortson's apartment. Crump, the family's attorney, has said Fortson was on a Facetime call with his girlfriend when he heard a knock on his door. He asked, "Who is it?" but did not get a response, Crump said, relating the girlfriend's account. Fortson then retrieved a gun he owned legally and walked back through his living room toward the door, Crump said. The killing was reminiscent of an unannounced police raid in Louisville, Kentucky, in March 2020, when police burst into the apartment of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was an emergency medical technician, killing her. Police had obtained a "no knock" warrant to raid the apartment, mistaking it for the home of a suspect. On Friday, a federal judge agreed to dismiss part of the most serious charge against two former police officers who faced charges in Taylor's killing. Taylor's death, along with the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police weeks later, set off a worldwide wave of protests against racism in law enforcement in the summer of 2020. (Reporting by Brad Brooks in Colorado; Additional reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) More than five years after she left public office, former Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan appeared on the national stage Thursday, speaking on the fourth and final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to encourage voters to elect Vice President Kamala Harris the next president. Madigan, who was Illinois attorney general for 16 years, six of which while Harris was Californias attorney general, told the crowd at the United Center that she and Harris worked together on housing issues. I worked with Kamala Harris during the Great Recession to protect homeowners from foreclosure, Madigan, who spoke for under one minute, told the crowd. As attorney general of California, Kamala met thousands of people on the verge of losing their homes and their faith in the American Dream. She demanded big banks provide mortgage relief to allow families to stay in their homes. She stood her ground and together, we prevailed, Madigan continued. For as long as I have known her, Kamala Harris has always taken principled positions and never wavered. Thanks to Kamalas determination countless Americans have a home they can call their own. During her remarks on stage, Madigan stood alongside Marc Morial, the president of the National Urban League and former mayor of New Orleans. The short appearance by Madigan came on the night Harris was set to accept the Democratic presidential nomination at the United Center at the end of the night. But the decision by the national party to grant Madigan a speaking slot at the DNC was a curious one, especially for those in Illinois who know her also as the daughter of former Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan. Michael Madigan is facing a federal corruption trial that is expected to begin in October. Lisa Madigan owes much of her political career to her father, who helped orchestrate her campaign for attorney general in 2002 after she had served as a state senator from Chicago for four years. Lisa Madigan decided not to run for a fifth term in the 2018 election, four years before her father was charged in 2022 on a series of corruption charges. She has never been mentioned in any of the actions related to the charges against her father. Former Kentucky band director sentenced after meeting minor at high school ANDERSON COUNTY, Ky. (FOX 56) A former Anderson County High School band director and teacher was sentenced on Thursday for the production of child pornography. The Department of Justice said 38-year-old Patrick Howard Brady was a teacher at Anderson County High School and worked as the band director until May 15, 2023. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: According to his plea agreement, he used text messaging and other social media to develop a sexual relationship with a minor, starting in 2022. Brady eventually met in person with the victim multiple times, including at the high school. The department said Brady admitted to knowingly engaging in sexually explicit conduct to transmit live visual depictions of the conduct. LATEST KENTUCKY LISTS AND RANKINGS: Brady was sentenced to 25 years in 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 56 News. Former Kentucky band teacher gets 25 years in prison for sex crimes involving student A former high school band director in Central Kentucky has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for sex crimes involving a student. Patrick Howard Brady also was fined $5,000 and will be under court supervision for the rest of his life after being released. Brady, 38, had been band director at Anderson County High School for more than a decade when he began a sexual relationship with a female student in 2022, according to the court record. The girl was a freshman member of the band in 2021. The next school year, she broke up with her boyfriend and began hanging around Bradys office before and after school, his attorney, John C. Helmuth, said in a sentencing memorandum. Brady, who is 20 years older than the girl, admitted in his plea agreement that he communicated with her by text, FaceTime and a social-media application called VSCO to groom her for a sexual relationship. The two began to call, text and use FaceTime in the summer of 2022. They ultimately engaged in sexually explicit FaceTime calls more than 20 times, with Brady telling the victim how to pose at times, according to the plea agreement. They also had sex at the school, according to the plea. Police began investigating on May 12, 2023, after getting a complaint, and arrested Brady, who lived in Versailles, three days later. Brady had gotten wind of the investigation and deleted the VSCO app from his phone before he was arrested, according to the court record. Brady pleaded guilty to a charge of inducing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction. That is a child-pornography charge, but Bradys attorney said there is no evidence he was involved in child porn beyond his conduct involving the girl. U.S. District Judge Karen K. Caldwell sentenced Brady Thursday in federal court in Lexington. Brady will have to serve at least 85% of his sentence because there is no parole in the federal court system. Brady also pleaded guilty in state court to several charges, including unlawful transaction with a minor, promoting a sexual performance by a minor, third-degree rape, sodomy and sexual abuse. Former Maryland student testifies teacher on trial sexually abused him starting when he was 15 BALTIMORE A 23-year-old man told a federal jury Friday that he was just 15 when his teacher and mentor at Baltimores prestigious Gilman School began sexually abusing him. The man, whom The Baltimore Sun is not naming because he says he is a sexual abuse victim, described in painstaking detail how the defendant on trial, 40-year-old Christopher K. Bendann, began instructing him to take off his clothes in Bendanns car when he was a young teen. It kept getting worse and worse, the man testified. Then it turned into him touching me. The man is the central witness against Bendann as he faces trial this week on charges of sexual exploitation of a minor, possession of child pornography and cyberstalking. Bendann was present in court Friday after initially saying he wanted to skip parts of his trial. His refusal to leave the Chesapeake Detention Facility in Baltimore on Wednesday delayed jury selection by several hours. Bendanns defense lawyer, Christopher Nieto, told jurors in his opening statement that Bendann admits to having a sexual relationship with the man, but contends it began after the teen turned 18 years old. Bendann is more than 15 years older than the man and was his teacher and adviser at Gilman when the boy was in eighth grade. Nieto told jurors that when the mans girlfriend found out about the relationship with Bendann, the man panicked and misrepresented how the relationship started. The entire Gilman community turned against Bendann after that, Nieto said. The defense is not disputing that Bendann cyberstalked the teen after he left for college, but Nieto argued the relationship was between adults and was one of Bendanns first romantic partnerships. When this friendship evolved into a romantic relationship, (the man) was over the age of 18, said Nieto, who is court-appointed. Testimony at Bendanns trial Friday portrayed him as a popular, well-liked teacher who was magnetic to the middle school students he taught. It was as if he was a pied piper, said the mans mother, who was the first witness for the prosecution. She and her husband were both involved at Gilman and knew Bendann had a friendly relationship with their son. It was not until years later, when their son was in college, that they would learn about the abuse, she and her husband testified. Their son testified that Bendann often organized outings with groups of teens, which led to Bendann picking the boys up from parties where they had been drinking. Bendann sometimes suggested they run naked laps in exchange for the favor, he testified. The man was 15 at the time. Eventually, Bendann started giving the boy rides one-on-one and taking him to McDonalds. Bendann began telling the teen if they went to McDonalds, he had to be naked in Bendanns car, the man testified. From there, he said, the abuse escalated. Bendann told him to touch himself, then began touching the boy, too. Bendann took pictures and videos, some of which were shown in court Friday. Bendann also often house-sat for other families in the Gilman community. He would let teens gather at those houses and then summon the boy upstairs to join him in the bathroom, where Bendann would abuse him in the shower, according to the testimony. In one photograph shown in court, Bendanns face is visible next to the teens body. As a teen, the man did not tell anyone about the abuse, he testified. When he tried to tell Bendann to stop, Bendann threatened to make public the sexual photographs he had taken of the boy, he said. Being a kid thats being touched by a teacher, its not something to be proud of, he said. Bendann was fired from the private all-boys school in North Baltimores Roland Park neighborhood last year following reports about the naked laps. Thats also when the man finally told his parents what had happened, they testified. Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen E. McGuinn told jurors in her opening statement that the man will be forever influenced by Bendanns abuse. A teacher affects eternity, McGuinn said. He can never know where his influence ends. Testimony in the case will continue Friday afternoon. The trial is expected to last for up to two weeks. ------- Former MMA fighter and professional wrestler Ronda Rousey has issued an online apology, which she admits is 11 years too late, for reposting a conspiracy video about the deadly 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting on social media. Rousey, an Olympic bronze medalist in judo, said reposting the video was the single most regrettable decision of my life" and that she didn't even believe the video but was so horrified at the truth that I was grasping for an alternative fiction to cling to instead. Rousey said she realized her mistake and quickly took down the post, but the damage was done. She said she was never asked about the post by the media, and she was afraid to draw attention to the video over the years. Rousey said she drafted a thousandth apology for her recent memoir, but a publisher urged her to take it out. She then convinced herself that apologizing would reopen an emotional wound in order to shake the label of being a Sandy Hook truther. " But honestly I deserve to be hated, labeled, detested and worse for it. I deserve to lose out on every opportunity, I should have been canceled, I would have deserved it. I still do, Rousey wrote. I apologize that this came 11 years too late, but to those affected by the Sandy Hook massacre, from the bottom of my heart and depth of my soul I am so sorry for the hurt I caused. The issue of Rouseys posting of the video recently came up on the platform Reddit when she invited users to ask her questions about her recently launched fundraising campaign for her first graphic novel. Some asked why she didnt issue a strong apology for amplifying the conspiracy theory about the shooting. After the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, which left 20 first graders and six educators dead, falsehoods were pushed that the tragedy was a hoax. Victims' families, who were awarded $1.5 billion by a jury in 2022 for the role conspiracy theorist Alex Jones played, have said they have been subjected to years of torment, threats and abuse by people who believed such lies. A spokesperson for the lawyer who represents the families declined to comment on Rousey's apology. In her statement, Rousey said she was remorseful and ashamed for the pain she contributed to those affected by the massacre. I've regretted it every day of my life since and will continue to do so until the day I die, she wrote. Rousey warned others about falling down the black hole of conspiracy theories. It doesn't make you edgy or an independent thinker, you're not doing your due diligence entertaining every possibility by digesting these conspiracies. They will only make you feel powerless, afraid, miserable and isolated, she wrote. You're doing nothing but hurting others and yourself. Former Navy man sentenced for friends death after DUI in Norfolk NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) A former Navy sailor was sentenced on Friday to serve five years for aggravated involuntary manslaughter after driving under the influence resulted in the death of his friend. Previous Coverage: Man pleads guilty in Norfolk after friend was killed during drunk driving incident 24-year-old Joseph Medina was drinking in downtown Norfolk with Zachary Soussa on Dec. 9, 2022. Just after 2 a.m. on Dec. 10, Medina crashed the car on Virginia Beach Boulevard after losing control, driving up a median and hitting two trees. The collision with the second tree ripped the front passenger door off Medinas vehicle and caused Soussa to eject from the vehicle. Soussa died on impact. Medina was transported to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital and treated for his injuries from the crash, and Norfolk Police detained him after he was discharged. Investigators served a search warrant on the hospital to obtain Medinas medical records, and those records showed his blood alcohol content following the crash to have been 0.25. Medina entered a plea agreement on June 7 to plead guilty to aggravated involuntary manslaughter and face a maximum active sentence of seven years, and Judge Jamilah D. LeCruise accepted his plea. Continue to check WAVY.com 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 WAVY.com. MIAMI, Okla. A former Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College instructor was officially charged in Ottawa County District Court on Thursday with sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl. Former NEO instructor accused of sexually abusing teen on campus Aaron Smith, 44, of Fairland, remains in the Ottawa County jail. He is charged in Ottawa County District Court with six counts of child sexual abuse. According to court records, he remains jailed on a $150,000 bail and is expected to return to court on Friday. Smith is accused of sexually abusing the teen on NEOs campus. The teen told investigators she and Smith exchanged nude pictures of themselves, according to an arrest affidavit. Smith has since been fired, according to a statement released by NEO. Investigators say Smith was on the telephone with the teen while she took 25 muscle relaxers and stayed on the phone until the teen passed out, according to the affidavit. During her hospitalization, Smith allegedly called the hospital repeatedly, asking if medical personnel had pumped the teens stomach and what they found in her system, the affidavit states. Investigators said Smith made allegations to the Delaware County Sheriffs Office, the Delaware County Childrens Special Advocacy Network, and the Childrens Advocacy Center of Ottawa County that a 14-year-old boy had raped the teen. The teens mother denied any sexual assault by a teenage boy, the affidavit states. Parents and guardians are encouraged to contact Leslie Bissell, Childrens Advocacy Center of Ottawa County executive director at (918) 540-1621 if they suspect any child is a victim of abuse. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Former Republican US Rep. Adam Kinzinger: Trump has untethered the GOP from its values CHICAGO Former Republican Illinois U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger told Democrats on the final night of their national convention Thursday that he was proud to be in the trenches with you as part of this sometimes-awkward alliance to defend truth, democracy and decency, according to his prepared remarks. Kinzinger, who represented exurban Channahon in Congress for 12 years, has become one of the most outspoken critics of Donald Trump in the Republican Party since the failed insurrection by the former presidents supporters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Speaking in prime time just before Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democrats presidential nomination, Kinzinger said that since turning against Trump, he has been relieved to discover that the Democrats are as patriotic as Republicans. They love this country just as much as we do, said Kinzinger, one of only two Republicans to serve on the House panel that investigated Trumps role in the attempt to disrupt the electoral vote count after the 2020 election. And they are as eager to defend American values at home and abroad as we conservatives have ever been. Kinzingers prominent speaking slot on the final night of the Democratic National Convention underscored the focus the party placed on outreach to Republican and independent voters during its four days in Chicago. Kinzinger was given a more prominent time slot than Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, the conventions de facto host. The GOP is no longer conservative, Kinzinger told the Democrats. It has switched its allegiance from the principles that gave it purpose to a man whose only purpose is himself. A former Air Force pilot who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, Kinzinger said: As a conservative and a veteran, I believe true strength lies in defending the vulnerable. Its in protecting your family. Its in standing up for our Constitution and our democracy. That is the soul of being a conservative. It used to be the soul of being a conservative. But Donald Trump has suffocated the soul of the Republican Party. Kinzinger, who unseated then-Democratic U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson in 2010 to win his first term in Congress, opted not to run for reelection in 2022 after Illinois Democrats during redistricting drew him into a district that favored their party, in part out of fear of the GOP lawmakers rising political star. Kinzinger had endorsed Joe Biden for reelection the day before the presidents disastrous late June debate performance that precipitated his withdrawal from the race. When Biden backed Harris to replace him on the Democratic ticket, Kinzinger followed suit, joining a Republicans for Harris group, alongside former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar. While some might question his presence on the United Center stage at the DNC, Kinzinger declared, I do belong here. I know Kamala Harris shares my allegiance to the rule of law, the Constitution and democracy. And she is dedicated to upholding all three in service to our country, he said. Whatever policies we disagree on pale in comparison with those fundamental matters of principle, of decency, and of fidelity to this nation. Listen, to my fellow Republicans: If you still pledge allegiance to those principles, I suspect you belong here too, because democracy knows no party. Despite their differences on many political issues, before Kinzingers speech Illinois Democrats largely his welcomed presence at their quadrennial gathering. Freshman U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski of Springfield said there are many Republicans and independents in her central and southern Illinois district who know whats at stake in this election. Kinzinger is an effective messenger to those voters because hes been very clear about why hes doing something thats unusual for him, said Budzinki, who doesnt have a speaking role at the home-state convention despite being a target for Republicans in the Nov. 5 election. Hes never obviously supported a Democratic presidential candidate before, but I think hes doing that and stepping forward in a pretty brave way because he knows (there) is so much at stake in this November election, she said. Kinzinger is a good spokesman for the dangers of a second Trump term and can provide a vantage point farther from the political right, said Illinois U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley of Chicago. A guy whos a patriot, hes a veteran, people should respect the fact that he knew it was the right thing, and he certainly knew what it was going to do to him, and he did it anyway, Quigley said. Dawn Koenigsknecht, a delegate from Evanston, said the decision to have Kinzinger speak on the final night of the convention showed a commitment to the country over political parties. I really think were at a point in this election where we need to put our country before our party, and I think by inviting the Republicans into the convention and speaking to constituents and people that may be feeling the same way that they do, they know theyre welcome here, Koenigsknecht said. The praise for Kinzinger extended beyond the Illinois delegation. His bravery to come to Illinois and speak at a Democratic convention is to be applauded, and that will go down as, I think, one of the strongest points made during this convention, said Mississippi U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, who chaired the House Jan. 6 committee. Scheduled to speak earlier in prime time Thursday was U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg, who like Harris is of South Asian decent. _____ LYNCHBURG, Va. (WFXR) On August 23, the Commonwealths Attorney in Lynchburg announced a former Lieutenant with the South Boston Police Department was convicted and sentenced for Embezzlement of Public Funds. In February 2024, Tiffany Bratton was convicted in a Halifax County Circuit Court of one felony count of Embezzlement of Public Funds and one misdemeanor count of Embezzlement. On Tuesday, August 20 Bratton received a sentence of 5 years and 12 months all suspended, respectively. Bratton will serve two years of supervised probation and must maintain 5 years of good behavior. According to court records, in August 2021, money from the South Boston PDs evidence room cash safe was found to be missing. Jury Deadlocked, trial rescheduled in September for juvenile after mistrial in death of sister During an investigation, on four separate occasions in July 2021, Bratton was seen on surveillance footage entering the room, taking money from the safe while concealing her actions, and then storing the money inside her shirt. An internal affairs and criminal investigation by the Virginia State Police revealed that she entered the room using her department-issued key, pretending to make documentation and computer entries, and then leaving with the money. Bratton was responsible for the money and head of the evidence room at the time and her actions were done either before or after regular business hours to avoid being seen by others in the building. Additionally, during the same time, Brattons bank transactions show repeat overdraws and unexplained cash deposits. Bratton has been terminated from her position with the South Boston Police Department. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFXRtv. HELSINKI, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Several Finnish environmental organizations have launched a renewed legal challenge against the Finnish government over its climate policies, local media reported on Thursday. This new complaint, filed by groups including Greenpeace Finland, alleges that under Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's administration, the government is failing to meet the targets set by Finnish environmental legislation. The 2022 climate laws had established commitments for Finland to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035 and to meet EU climate objectives. In 2022, two of these organizations submitted a similar complaint during Sanna Marin's tenure, but the Finnish Supreme Administrative Court rejected the case, citing the fact that the legislation had not been in effect long enough to warrant judicial review. However, the court indicated that it could reconsider the matter if Finland was found to be falling short of its goals without taking corrective action. In June, the Finnish government and Minister of Climate and the Environment Kai Mykkanen admitted in the annual climate report that Finland is unlikely to meet its climate targets. The report highlighted a decrease in the carbon sink capacity of Finnish forests, a concern noted in the government's program in June 2023. Additionally, the Finnish Climate Change Panel's recent report criticized the government for allowing an increase in transport emissions, contrary to EU obligations which require substantial reductions. The organizations involved in the new complaint reference the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling against Switzerland from the spring, which found that Switzerland's inadequate climate action constituted a human rights violation. The Finnish groups argue that the ECHR's decision could serve as a precedent, as Finland is also bound by European human rights agreements. According to Finnish radio Yle, this case would be the first to invoke the ECHR's ruling against Switzerland as a basis for legal action in Finland. At a press conference on Thursday, Kaisa Kosonen, an expert from Greenpeace, suggested that the Finnish Supreme Administrative Court could potentially direct Finnish officials to amend their actions. If the court agrees to hear the case, the process is expected to take about a year to complete. A former Centralia middle school teacher and Lacey resident is accused of having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old male student, Centralia police announced Friday. Following an investigation, the woman, who had moved to California, was arrested by West Sacramento Police and booked into the Yolo County Jail this week. Natasha Polk appeared in a Sacramento-area court on Friday. In October 2023, Centralia police began investigating allegations about a relationship between the teacher and student. The alleged acts occurred in 2020 while the victim was in the eighth grade and continued for a time after he completed middle school, a police news release reads. The investigation revealed evidence that (the teacher allegedly) provided the victim with marijuana, alcohol, and vapes. Police also allege that she used her status as an educator to gain access to the victim while he was incarcerated at Lewis County Juvenile on unrelated issues. The teacher in 2021 also is accused of driving the student to her apartment in Lacey to engage in sex after providing him with alcohol, according to police. The same year, she is accused of traveling back to Washington state and having sex with the victim at a vacation rental in Tacoma, police say. As part of the investigation, police learned she was employed as a teacher with the Davis Joint Unified School District in California and was set to begin the school year on Aug. 26. Emmitt Martin III, a former Memphis Police Department officer, second from left, accused of killing Tyre Nichols, walks into federal court Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV) MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Federal prosecutors agreed to recommend a prison sentence of no more than 40 years for a former Memphis police officer who pleaded guilty Friday to federal civil rights violations in the 2023 fatal beating of Tyre Nichols. Emmitt Martin is the second former officer to plead guilty in the killing that sparked outrage and renewed calls for police reform. Three former officers still face trial in federal court next month, and two of their former colleagues could testify against them. Martin entered his change of plea before U.S. District Judge Mark Norris in Memphis under an agreement with prosecutors, pleading guilty to excessive force and witness tampering charges. Sentencing is set for Dec. 5. Nichols' mother, RowVaughn Wells, was in the courtroom. She nodded her head and smiled when the judge accepted Martin's change of plea. In a news conference with civil rights attorney Ben Crump after the hearing, Wells said it was very emotional and bittersweet. She said the latest plea is a step in the right direction, but that she wont be content until all of the officers are brought to justice. Tyre was just coming home. He was just minding his own business, she said. Nichols died in a hospital on Jan. 10, 2023, three days after he was kicked, punched and hit with a police baton after a traffic stop. The officers said they pulled Nichols over because he was driving recklessly, but Police Chief Cerelyn CJ Davis has said no evidence was found to support that allegation. Police video released Jan. 27 last year showed the officers beating Nichols as he yelled for his mother about a block away from the home they shared. Video also showed the officers milling about and talking with each other as Nichols struggled with his injuries. An autopsy report showed Nichols died from blows to the head, and that the manner of death was homicide. The report described brain injuries, cuts and bruises to the head and other parts of the body. I will never have my son back. I will never hear his voice again, Wells told reporters Friday. They murdered my son for nothing. And until we get justice for all of them, I wont be content. In November, former Memphis officer Desmond Mills Jr., reached a similar deal with federal prosecutors and changed his plea to guilty. Prosecutors agreed to recommend a prison sentence not to exceed 15 years for Mills. Both Mills and Martin could be called to testify against the final three Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith who remain charged with federal civil rights violations and have pleaded not guilty. The judge set a Monday deadline for any plea agreements in the case. Attorneys for the other three officers attended the hearing but left early. Haley's attorney later declined to comment, while attorneys for the two others did not immediately respond to emails requesting comment Friday afternoon. All five former officers accused in Nichols death have been charged separately in state court with second-degree murder. That trial is postponed until the federal proceedings are complete. Mills previously agreed to plead guilty in state court. Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy issued a statement on Friday saying he expects Martin to make a similar plea in state court at the appropriate time. Nichols was a 29-year-old father from Sacramento, California. He worked at FedEx with his stepfather and enjoyed skateboarding and photography in his spare time. Nichols was Black. The five accused ex-officers also are Black. They were fired after Nichols' killing for violating Memphis Police Department policies. Martin, who was the second officer to come into contact with Nichols during the Jan. 7 traffic stop, helped Haley to force Nichols from his vehicle, according to documents filed in the case to permanently ban Martin from working in law enforcement in Tennessee. Nichols ran from Martin and his two partners after they threatened and pepper-sprayed him but he was apprehended within six minutes. As other officers tried to handcuff Nichols, who was on the ground, Martin kicked him in the upper torso and punched him in the face while two other officers held Nichols arms, the documents show. Martin's defense attorney, Stephen Ross Johnson, said after the hearing that Martin was driven by anger when he violated Mr. Nichols civil rights and used excessive force, but that he was "driven by fear when he later attempted to cover that up fear of the consequences of what he had done." Today, we are all witnesses to Mr. Martin accepting responsibility for what he did, Johnson said. The criminal charges are separate from the U.S. Department of Justices patterns and practices investigation into how Memphis officers use force and conduct arrests, and whether the department in the majority-Black city engages in racially discriminatory policing. The Justice Department also has announced a separate review concerning use of force, de-escalation strategies and specialized units within Memphis police. Additionally, Nichols mother has filed a $550 million lawsuit against the city and its police chief. After the hearing, Wells said she hopes the other three officers will also plead guilty so that she and her children do not have to go through a trial. Im hoping that after today, that the other three officers will look in the mirror, and look at themselves, and say that theyre guilty, because they know they are, she said. ___ Loller reported from Nashville, Tennessee. By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon must face trial in New York on criminal-fraud charges over a push to fund the former U.S. president's signature wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, a judge ruled on Friday. Justice April Newbauer's decision to deny Bannon's motion to dismiss the charges paves the way for a trial set to start on Dec. 9, just six weeks after he is scheduled to be released from federal prison. Bannon is serving a four-month sentence for defying a congressional subpoena. Bannon, 70, was charged by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office in September 2022 with money laundering and conspiracy for allegedly deceiving donors who contributed more than $15 million to the private fundraising drive, known as "We Build the Wall." Construction of a border wall was a key element of Trump's immigration policies during his presidency, supported by his fellow Republicans but opposed by Democrats and immigrant advocacy groups. According to the indictment, Bannon promised donors that all their money would go toward building Trump's wall, but he concealed his role in diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars to the drive's chief executive Brian Kolfage, a decorated U.S. Air Force veteran who had promised to take no salary. Bannon pleaded not guilty. In his lawyers' motion to dismiss, filed on Dec. 6, 2023, they argued that Bannon transferred some funds to entities Kolfage controlled to reimburse him for reasonable expenses. They also said the organization built more than three miles (4.8 km) of the border wall in New Mexico and Texas. "Prospective donors to WeBuildTheWall did not care whether Kolfage or his entities received a small percentage of their donations," his lawyers wrote. "WeBuildTheWall donors simply wanted a border wall to be built. And, WeBuildTheWall did as it promised - it built miles of wall on the southern border." In a Jan. 5 response, Bragg's office said Bannon's text messages and emails made clear he knew money from We Build the Wall was being funneled to Kolfage despite Kolfage's statements to donors that he would "not take a penny of compensation." The 2022 indictment concerned some of the same conduct underlying a 2020 federal prosecution of Bannon, Kolfage and two other men. Bannon pleaded not guilty in that case, which ended abruptly in January 2021 when Trump pardoned him in the final hours of his presidency. Presidential pardons do not prohibit state prosecutions. Kolfage, 42, pleaded guilty in April 2023 to federal fraud and tax charges. He admitted to using more than $350,000 in donor money for expenses such as a boat, a luxury SUV, jewelry and cosmetic surgery. He is serving a 4-1/4 year prison sentence. Bannon was a key adviser to Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, then served as his chief White House strategist in 2017 before a falling-out between them that was later patched up. He also has played an instrumental role in right-wing media. In a separate federal case, Bannon was convicted at trial in 2022 of two misdemeanor counts of contempt of Congress after refusing to turn over documents or testify to a Democratic-led House of Representatives committee that probed the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol attack. Bannon has called himself a "political prisoner." (Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Rod Nickel) A Fort Worth woman who had a rollover accident in January 2023 while transporting three small children and a large quantity of illegal drugs has been given two 50-year prison sentences in Parker County, officials say. Twenty-nine-year-old Hanna Springstead pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated with a child passenger and the drug charges in July, Parker County District Attorney Jeff Swain said in a news release Friday. Springstead opted for a bench trial instead of a jury trial, and 43rd District Court Judge Craig Towson handed down her sentence Thursday. During the trial, Azle police officers described finding Springstead outside her 2008 Chevrolet Impala in the early hours of Jan. 6, 2023, the release said. The vehicle had rolled on its side on Highway 199, and three young children were still inside. The children, ranging from 8 months to 5 years of age, were in car seats that werent attached to the vehicle. The officers had to use a glass-punch device to get in through the rear window and rescue the children, according to the release. Springsteads blood alcohol concentration was found to be under the legal limit, but she also had methamphetamine and THC in her system, which added up to a pretty significant level of intoxication, Swain said in the release. This was a very serious offense involving a verified drug dealer that could have resulted in the deaths of three young children, Swain said. Miraculously, no one suffered serious injuries in the accident. More top stories from our newsroom: Gateway campus pastor let go due to moral issue Kidnapper forced Lyft driver to take him from Arlington to Miami Tex-Mex restaurant reopens in Stockyards [Get our breaking news alerts.] One of the officers who entered the vehicle to help rescue the children emerged with a bag of fentanyl pills caught on his pistol, the release said. Police investigated the vehicle further and found a backpack, glass jar, cookie tin and a bag, all containing multiple drugs. They also found a partly consumed bottle of Fireball whiskey, a notebook listing a multitude of drug transactions and $873 in cash. From what we found, it appeared that Ms. Springstead was a significant drug dealer in the Azle area, Assistant District Attorney Ryan Whyte said at the trial, according to the release. The drug charges against Springstead included possession of 125 grams of methamphetamine and 34 grams of psilocin with intent to deliver, possession of 15 fentanyl pills and less than a gram of MDMA, the release said. Springstead will be eligible for parole after 12-and-a-half years of actual time served plus good time credit, according to the release. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles will have the final say on whether or not Springstead is released at that time. Judge Towsons sentence reflects the danger posed to our community by this defendants intoxicated driving and drug dealing, Swain said in the release. That is especially true for the fentanyl, which has been causing so many fatal overdoses in our county in recent years. I Fought For My Life: Gabby Giffords, Others Share Their Gun Violence Stories At DNC Gabby Giffords, the Arizona former congresswoman who survived being shot in the head in 2011, and a handful of other people touched by gun violence recounted their stories onstage on Thursday during an emotional moment at the Democratic national convention in Chicago. I almost died, but I fought for my life and I survived. I learned to walk again, one step at a time. I learned to talk in one word at a time, said Giffords of her recovery. Giffords was helped on stage by her husband, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.). So many people held me as I worked hard to recover, including a decent man from Delaware who always checked in. He still does. Thank you. Joe Biden, Giffords said. Other survivors and victims were introduced by Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Georgia), a member of Congress who lost her son Jordan in a gas station shooting, as Democrats sought to drive home presidential candidate Kamala Harris anti-gun violence stance. Congressional Democrats were unable to get meaningful gun control legislation passed in the wake of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. But in 2022, following another mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, Congress broke its long deadlock on federal legislation with the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which allocated money for red flag laws and enhancing background checks for gun-buyers under 21. Kimberly Mata-Rubio, who lost her daughter in the 2022 school shooting at Uvalde, described the day her 10-year-old daughter was killed. She wears a St. Marys sweatshirt and a smile that lights up the room. Thirty minutes later a gunman murders her, 18 classmates and two teachers, Mata-Rubio said. Parents everywhere reach out for their children. I reach out for the daughter I will never hold again. A second grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Abbey Clements, described the chaos of the 2012 shooting there that left 26 people dead, including 20 children. Terror, crying, running. I carry that horrific day with me. Twenty beautiful first grade children and six of my beautiful colleagues were killed, she said. With her voice nearly breaking, she said, They should still be here. Edgar Vilchez, whose high school classmate was shot in another incident, said the experience taught him how to run, how to hide and drop, that what happens in the news can happen to me. Melody McFadden said her 22-year-old niece was shot after driving to Myrtle Beach, S.C. Hours later, my phone rang. Shooting on the beach. No one can find Sandy, she recounted. But McFadden remained calm, she said, because she had experienced gun violence before, when her mother was shot by an abusive partner. McFadden said her calls to find her niece were eventually routed to a coroners office. Ten years of waiting and Sandys murder is still unsolved, she said. Ill keep calling. And Ill keep fighting. Related... MEMPHIS, Tenn. Four people were injured when the driver of a stolen Lexus crashed into another vehicle in Parkway Village Thursday afternoon, police say. MPD said the driver of the Lexus was trying to run from officers when they crashed into a Lincoln Town Car at Thousand Oaks and American Way. Police investigating deadly shooting in the airport area The driver of the Lincoln was not seriously injured. Two people in the Lexus were transported to the hospital in critical condition, and a third person in the car was treated for non-critical injuries. MPD said that at around 4:32 pm, officers spotted the stolen Lexus in a parking lot in the 2700 block of Perkins and approached the vehicle on foot. Police said stop sticks were deployed, but the suspect vehicle fled the lot. They said seconds later the Lexus hit the Lincoln. No charges have been filed at this time. MPD said 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 WREG.com. Fox News unceremoniously dumped out of an interview with Donald Trump while the former president was mid-rant Thursday following the Democratic National Convention. He immediately called into the network after his rival Kamala Harris acceptance speech, and after about 10 minutes of studiously listening to his complaints and exclamations, the hosts wrapped things up rather abruptly with the former president in order to transition to live reaction elsewhere. This might be the funniest thing I've ever seen. Trump called into Fox News to rage about Kamala's speech, only to be cut off by Bret Baier so they could get to Gutfeld's show. pic.twitter.com/wCUiVYbYyw Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) August 23, 2024 Trump, after raising his voice while speaking about an invasion not only at the U.S.-Mexico border, but the border with Canada as well, neared the end of his phone-in by praising Robert F. Kennedy Jr. andin an about-faceBrian Kemp, Georgias Republican governor. Kennedy was treated very unfairly by the Democrats, said Trump, who is reportedly set to receive Kennedys endorsement Friday in Arizona. Trumps discussion of the Democratic primary was punctuated frequently by anchor Bret Baier chiming in with words of affirmationa common signal given by interviewers that time is running low. Bitter Trump Posts Up a Storm as Harris Makes Her Big DNC Speech As Trump went on about Kennedy not being welcomed by many in the Democratic Party, co-anchor Martha MacCallum interjected: Thats why we saw a different night tonight. Baier and MacCallum then gave a simultaneous thank you to Trump, with Baier adding, We appreciate that live feedback. OK, Trump replied. Thank you very much. MacCallum then kicked coverage to a live broadcast of Gutfeld!, where the namesake host began by acknowledging the quick end to the call. That wasnt my fault, Donald Trump! Gutfeld said. Hes still talking, by the way, he joked. It wasnt long before Trump found another right-wing network that would take his call. Minutes later, he continued his gripes on Newsmax. 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. Vice President Kamala Harris ended the Democratic National Convention with her acceptance speech Thursday night, one that, as Jake Tapper put it on CNN, "was a speech that four weeks and five days ago she was not preparing to make." Make it she did, and it was historic, as Harris became the first woman of color to accept the presidential nomination of a major party. The reaction to the speech was almost universally positive, even on Fox News, whose newsier side has been downright complimentary of the DNC at times. They remained so for the most part Thursday, until a certain vocal member of the audience called in and rambled. More on that in a second, as this was Harris' night, not his. Donald Trump can wait. Back to the speech. MSNBC's Jen Psaki called it "fierce and fearless," which was the general consensus. DNC replay: Giffords, Kelly, Gallego tout Harris on gun safety, veterans, foreign policy Maya Harris spoke before her sister, Kamala After several minutes of rapturous applause, Harris finally quieted the crowd at the United Center in Chicago. "Let's get to business," she said, and did. She talked a lot about her childhood, her family, her late mother in particular, who sounded like quite a force in Harris' life. (Harris' sister Maya also spoke of her in a speech earlier Thursday night.) Their mother, like Michelle Obama's, Harris noted, told her children, "Never complain about injustice. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. She also taught us never do anything half-assed and that is a direct quote." Soon enough Harris was taking the fight to Trump, calling him out on several fronts. "Many, many shots across the bow," as Tapper put it. For instance, while talking about some Republicans' efforts to stymie reproductive rights, she summed up a rather lengthy segment with eight words: "Simply put, they are out of their minds." It was here, and then especially when she talked about foreign policy, that "she really hit her stride," as Martha MacCallum put it on Fox News. Dana Perino said that "the beginning of this speech was like the winding up of an old car," but also agreed that the foreign policy portion was strong. "That speech was a call, and an invitation to American voters to put the politics of the last 10 years behind us," Terry Moran said on ABC. It was a balancing act for Harris, trying to take credit for the successes of Joe Biden's administration while forging her own path, whether economically, on the war in Gaza or other issues. Eventually she found that balance, especially in the power of her delivery, at once comfortable and, in the words of about 15 different people, forceful. Including Brit Hume on Fox News, who said, "It was a forceful speech delivered very crisply, very professionally, with emphasis. There was no stumbling, fumbling, any of that. It is on paper, however, a speech that Joe Biden could have given. "What Joe Biden could not have done at any point, in my view in his presidency was to deliver this speech with the force and effectiveness she delivered this speech tonight. It was very strong." Tapper called it "a remarkable address, one that Ive never seen her give quite like this before a very, very powerful speech." Battleground: Trump talks security at Arizonas southern border to counter Harris momentum in the state Fox News, Donald Trump is calling You know who didn't call it powerful? Trump, who, not content with the amount of attention raving on his Truth Social platform during the speech gave him, called into Fox News for an airing of grievances. Baier and MacCallum let him rant for the most part, asking questions, but once he's wound up, what can you do? Not answer the phone, for one thing. But when Trump calls Fox News, that's a hot line. MacCallum tried to get him to talk about his plans now that Harris was making inroads with women voters, Black voters, etc. Trump responded with one of his favorite tactics, the Pee-Wee Herman, "I know you are but what am I" defense. "Shes not having success," he said. "Im having success. Im doing great with Hispanic voters. Im doing great with Black men. Im doing great with women. No, its only in your eyes that theyre doing that, Martha." Whether sensing that the journalistic value of letting Trump blather about whatever on the night Harris made history was less than zero, or simply having to cut out so that Greg Gutfeld's late-night show could begin, Baier and MacCallum told Trump they had to go, and went. Again, this was Harris' night. Trump had his, and then some. As pundits on all sides have continually said, this was Harris' chance to introduce herself to people, potential voters, who don't really know her. Stepping in when Biden dropped out of the race after a disastrous debate with Trump, her time frame is compressed and her margin of error next to nothing. So far so good. "Tonight she had to execute perfectly," Chris Hayes said on MSNBC. "And she executed perfectly." Reach Goodykoontz at bill.goodykoontz@arizonarepublic.com. Facebook: facebook.com/GoodyOnFilm. X: @goodyk. Subscribe to the weekly movies newsletter. 'Forget politics': How Gus Walz floored TV news hosts This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: CNN, MSNBC call Harris' DNC speech 'fierce,' Trump whined to Fox News FILE - Parliament members convene during the vote for the lower house president in the National Assembly, July 18, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File) PARIS (AP) After the excitement of the Paris Olympics and a Mediterranean vacation, now French President Emmanuel Macron has to figure out how to make his country governable again. Faced with a hung parliament, social tensions and ballooning debt, Macron kicked off talks Friday with key political players in a bid to choose a new prime minister who would form a government and end the deadlock created by snap legislative elections last month. Members of the left-wing New Popular Front coalition that won the most seats pressured Macron for a quick decision. Their nominee for prime minister, little-known civil servant Lucie Castets, said after Friday's meetings in the Elysee Palace that she was ready to govern, and ready for compromise to get things done. But the party only has about a third of the seats in the National Assembly, France's powerful lower house of parliament, and no party has a majority. Macrons centrist alliance came in second and the far-right National Rally came in third. There's no rulebook that requires Macron to name a candidate from the party that won the most seats, or lays out a timeline for a decision. The absence of any dominant political bloc is unprecedented in Frances modern Republic. Centrists and conservatives are also meeting with Macron on Friday, while National Rally leaders Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella are expected at the Elysee on Monday. Macrons office said he will name a prime minister based these consultations, which are aimed at moving towards the broadest and most stable majority possible. Castets said that in her meeting with Macron, he recognized that a message was sent by the French during the elections but seemed reluctant to allow an opposition party to form a government. Left-wing leaders have decried Macron's decision to delay the prime minister nomination while he spent time at the Olympics and at the presidential holiday retreat in Bregancon on the French Riviera. "We need a response Tuesday," said the national secretary of the Greens party, Marine Tondelier. There are urgent issues, and leaving weeks roll by without facing them is grave, and even irresponsible. The New Popular Front, which includes the hard-left France Unbowed, the Socialists and the Greens, has insisted that the prime minister should come out of their ranks as the largest group. Macron last month appeared to dismiss Castets, saying in a televised interview the issue is not a name provided by a political group and stressing instead the need for a parliamentary majority behind the candidate. Politicians from the center, the right and the far right have suggested they would try to bring down any government that includes members from France Unbowed. Macron appears more keen to seek a coalition that could include politicians from the center-left to the traditional right. Other names that have emerged in French media as potential prime minister candidates include center-left politician Bernard Cazeneuve, who served as Frances top cop during a series of bloody terror attacks in 2015, and Xavier Bertrand, a former minister considered relatively moderate within the French right. Conservative politician Michel Barnier, EUs chief negotiator for post-Brexit talks, is also considered a potential candidate. As president, Macron has sole power to name the prime minister according to the French Constitution. The French president said last month he would keep the outgoing centrist government on a purely caretaker role to handle current affairs,'' notably during the Olympics that ended on Aug. 11. ___ Nicolas Garriga and Angela Charlton in Paris contributed. ZAGREB, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Croatia's Deputy Prime Minister Davor Bozinovic said on Friday that he was "deeply shocked" by the violence committed against two Indian workers in Zagreb this week and such an act was "completely unacceptable." The attack committed by three Croatian citizens on a pub terrace in the Croatian capital on Thursday night "is contrary to the values we must uphold as a society," Bozinovic, who is also Croatia's interior minister, underlined in a statement. "Foreign nationals have become valuable members of our community, without whose contribution, as well as that of numerous tourists, our standard of living would be significantly lower," he said, adding that the presence of foreign workers and their labor help the locals "maintain the quality of life and the level of services we enjoy today." "I want to be clear: Violence will not be tolerated. I call on all citizens to oppose intolerance and prejudice and to report any suspicion of hate crime," he stressed. His statement came after two 18-year-olds and a minor attacked two Indian workers in central Zagreb on Thursday night. According to the Zagreb Police Department, the three attackers have been arrested and are subjected to a criminal investigation. Attacks on foreign workers have recently been on the rise in Zagreb. Police figures showed that during the week of Aug. 12-18, six attacks against foreign workers, especially Indians, were reported in Zagreb. According to the Interior Ministry, an acute labor shortage has resulted in more than 130,000 foreign workers being employed in Croatia this year. Most of these workers are from neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and North Macedonia, but there are also 20,640 workers from Nepal, 12,122 from India, 8,572 from the Philippines, and 7,604 from Bangladesh. Free Covid tests, treatments will return to help the country cope over fall and winter, US officials announce As much of the US continues to experience very high levels of Covid-19 activity, government officials announced on Friday the return of programs to offer free tests, vaccines and treatments to see the nation through the winter respiratory virus season. The best plan going into this winter is for everyone to remain vigilant, to use the tools we have: vaccines, testing, treatment against the illnesses responsible for the majority of fall and winter deaths and hospitalizations, Dr. Mandy Cohen, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday. Free Covid tests wont be available right away but are coming back in time for fall and winter gatherings. Government-purchased supplies of the antiviral drug Paxlovid will also be available at no charge to people who are uninsured or who are on Medicare or Medicaid. The CDC is giving state and local health departments additional funding to provide free Covid vaccines for uninsured and underinsured adults, and free vaccines will continue to be available to children from low-income families through the governments Vaccines for Children program. We cant forget that every age group is at risk, including our young children, Cohen said. She noted that the highest numbers of emergency department visits for Covid over the summer were among children under the age of 5. Looking ahead to the winter, the CDCs forecasters are predicting that the US will see about the same number or fewer hospitalizations for respiratory diseases as it did at the same time last year. Cohen said that forecast could change if lower-than-expected numbers of people get vaccinated or if theres a variant of Covid-19 or the flu that causes more severe disease than anticipated. Vaccines for Covid, flu and RSV Updated Covid-19 vaccines that defend against currently circulating variants were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration on Thursday, amid what appears to be the peak of a summer wave of infections. Those shots are expected to be in pharmacies within weeks, along with updated flu vaccines. Its fine to get them both at the same time, Cohen said. I can tell you I already have my appointment, said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDAs Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. Marks stressed the importance of vaccinations for preventing severe outcomes from Covid, including long Covid. The only way you get long Covid is by having Covid, Marks said. And vaccines can help prevent Covid. Although the federal governments Bridge Access Program has ended, Cohen said the CDC would distribute $62 million to state and local health departments to provide free Covid-19 vaccines to adults who wouldnt otherwise be able to afford them. I would encourage folks to be reaching out to their local public health departments, their state health departments, but in addition, their federally qualified health centers as well, she said. Adults with private and public insurance like Medicare and Medicaid continue to have access to Covid vaccines with no co-pay. Vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, which hospitalizes and kills babies and seniors every year, will also be available. RSV immunizations are recommended for babies who are under 8 months of age and going into their first RSV season, for adults who are 75 or older and for those 60 or older who have underlying health condition or who live in a nursing home. Certain children who are younger than 20 months old and who are at increased risk for severe disease may also need a second shot. Unlike the flu and Covid vaccines, RSV vaccines are not expected to be needed each year. Thats because the protection from RSV shots appears to last through more than one season. If you got one of the new RSV vaccines last year, the CDC says, you dont need another this fall. How to order free Covid-19 tests Starting in late September, the government will reopen its Covidtests.gov website. Each household can order up to four free at-home tests, which will be delivered through the mail. This will be the seventh distribution of free Covid tests, a popular program that has sent out more than 900 million tests since 2021, said Dawn OConnell, the US Department of Health and Human Services assistant secretary for planning and response. Additional free tests will be available at community sites like libraries, food banks and long-term care facilities. Taking a quick test is a great way for all of us to keep our friends, family and loved ones protected as we gather to celebrate the holidays. OConnell said. Access to free Covid-19 treatment OConnell said the governments Paxcess program, which is run by drugmaker Pfizer, will continue to distribute free Paxlovid through the end of the year to people who test positive for Covid-19 and who are uninsured or who are on Medicare or Medicaid. Pfizer will take over the program starting in 2025 and continue to provide government-purchased Paxlovid to people who are uninsured or underinsured, OConnell said. Drugmaker Merck also runs a patient assistance program to help people get its Covid-19 antiviral medication, Lagevrio. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com WOODBRIDGE, N.J. (PIX11) Its fare for all, even if just for a little while. You cant complain about it being free, said Jonathan Eastburn of Jackson. More Local News Starting Monday and through Labor Day, New Jersey Transit riders will ride at no cost. No tickets needed buses or trains, get on and get off music to the ears of Sameer Bhave, who goes to New York twice a week. I was happy, said Bhave, traveling to New York from Metropark Station in Woodbridge on Friday. We can go with my kids and family to have like a fun full day in New York. I think its a great opportunity for people to take advantage of not driving into the City, dealing with the traffic and the tunnels and all that, said Sue West of Jackson. Maybe it would be nice to see that a little more often, more free weeks, said Chris Eastburn, also of Jackson. Governor Phil Murphy announced the fare holiday earlier in the month, acknowledging the many disruptions commuters have faced. I know that theres been a lot of issues with the train tracks, said train rider Mary Ellen Santiago, but our government is putting a lot of money in infrastructure, and were super excited about that. Students can get 25% off NJ Transit passes this fall Meanwhile, Republican State Assemblyman Christopher DePhillips is calling the fare holiday a gimmick. Its a PR stunt at worst, a band-aid at best, said DePhillips. He supports efforts for the Legislature to hold hearings on New Jersey Transit issues, along with Republican Assemblywoman Nancy Munoz. I agree, this is a gimmick, said Munoz. At the end of the day, were still late for work. Democratic Assemblyman and Transportation Committee Chair Clinton Calabrese said in a statement: As much as the fare holiday provides some temporary relief for commuters, it doesnt address the underlying issues facing NJ Transit. We need lasting solutions to ensure the long-term reliability and efficiency of our transportation system. Thats why Im planning to hold a hearing on transportation issues in New Jersey to explore potential improvements and discuss the challenges our transit system is currently facing. The State Legislature is set to reconvene after Labor 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 PIX11. Earlier this month, European Union Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton raised eyebrows when he publicly warned Elon Musk to respect the E.U.'s censorship laws during a then-pending interview with U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump. Even for the E.U., which has been slipping not-so-slowly towards soft totalitarianism, the attempt to extend E.U. jurisdiction to North America was a high water mark for presumption. Now a coalition of civil libertarians is calling Breton out for his disregard for freedom of speech. The EU Can Censor It if Europeans Might See It? "I am writing to you in the context of recent events in the United Kingdom and in relation to the planned broadcast on your platform X of a live conversation between a US presidential candidate and yourself, which will also be accessible to users in the EU," Breton wrote to Musk August 12 in a letter made available on X. The letter warned of the requirements of European law including the Digital Services Act (DSA), especially regarding broadly defined "harmful content," as well as pointing out that X is already undergoing proceedings over what officials in Brussels consider "illegal content" and "disinformation." "As the relevant content is accessible to EU users and being amplified also in our jurisdiction, we cannot exclude potential spillovers in the EU," Breton continued. "Therefore, we are monitoring the potential risks in the EU associated with the dissemination of content that may incite violence, hate, and racism in conjunction with major politicalor societalevents around the world, including debates and interviews in the context of elections." The letter also invoked concerns about the effects of X content on rioting in the United Kingdomwhich is another country not part of the E.U. (though it has its own creeping censorship regime). It was, quite explicitly, an attempt to extend the European Union's increasingly restrictive speech controls past its borders using the excuse that, in the digital age, content legal elsewhere, but not in the E.U., might catch the attention of a resident of that unfortunate quasi-super-state. That bothered more than a few people. You Can't Censor the World "We are particularly concerned by your attempt to use the DSA to stifle freedom of expression beyond the European Union because of what you call 'spillovers,'" a coalition of organizations and individuals responded to Breton this week. "Warning an online platform that streaming an interview with one of the two key candidates in the United States presidential election may be incompatible with an online safety law is more characteristic of an autocratic nation than a democracy." While Breton inserted a few platitudes in his threatening missive to Musk about "freedom of expression and of information," the civil libertarians weren't impressed. They dismissed his "abstract references to ensuring freedom of expression" as "not sufficient to guarantee freedom of expression" and cautioned that his "loose paraphrase of the carefully crafted language of the DSA risks casting a long shadow upon free expression and exceeding the authority given to you." The letter was signed by The Future of Free Speech, TechFreedom, Insitute H21, The Copia Institute, Justitia, Adam Smith Institute, Center for Political Studies, Istituto Bruno Leoni, and individuals including former ACLU President Nadine Strossen. The signers are based in the European Union, the U.K., and the U.S., reflecting shared concerns by people already under the rule of Brussels, and those over whom the E.U. seeks to extend its reach. The inclusion of European organizations is important, since they may get a hearing from national governments and E.U. parliamentarians who have some say in Brussels. Europe's Far Reach This isn't the first time we've seen European control-freakery slip its leash and extend across the EU's borders. The continent's ambivalent attitude towards free expression has increasingly affected online conversations as platforms that operate globally adopt rules intended to satisfy the most-restrictive major jurisdictionalmost always the E.U. These rules are then applied to everybody, since it's easier to do so than to create virtual borders with different regulations for the residents of countries with greater and lesser degrees of freedom. "The Brussels Effect refers to the EU's unilateral power to regulate global markets," Columbia University Law School's Anu Bradford, an authority on the issue, wrote in 2019. "The EU does not need to impose its standards coercively on anyonemarket forces alone are often sufficient to convert the EU standard into the global standard as multinational companies voluntarily extend the EU rule to govern their global operations." Censorship isn't the only European regulatory preference exported by the Brussels Effect. The E.U.'s tendency to intrusive regulation hobbled Microsoft's ability to secure its software, worsening the impact of the recent CrowdStrike software update fiasco. "As the issue with CrowdStrike shows, the impact of European regulation is no longer isolated to just Europe," the Cato Institute's Jennifer Huddleston wrote earlier this month. "As with many regulatory compliance requirements, it may not be technologically or economically feasible to simply offer a different product in Europe." Of course, Breton wasn't just relying on the E.U.'s market clout. He openly demanded that Musk apply European speech restrictions to a conversation with a former, and possibly future, president of the United States. He insisted "DSA obligations apply without exceptions or discrimination to the moderation of the whole user community and content of X (including yourself as a user with over 190 million followers) which is accessible to EU users." Pushback, Principled and Profane Telling a U.S. citizen based in Texas that his social media posts are subject to European content rules may have been a step too far even for Breton's E.U. colleagues. European Commission spokesperson Ariana Podesta insisted Breton acted on his own, without consulting other officials. Politico reported that Breton's "own staff were back-pedaling hard." For his part, Musk responded to Breton with a pithy meme from Tropic Thunder. It urged: "Take a big step back and literally, fuck your own face!" That's a sentiment E.U. busybodies should take to heart every bit as much as they should the free-speech coalition's demand that "the European Commission and national authorities should ensure that the DSA is not applied in a way that harms freedom of expression not only in Europe but globally." In terms both principled and profane, the control freaks of the world should be told to get lost. The post Free Speech Coalition Slaps Censorious E.U. Commissioner Who Threatened Elon Musk appeared first on Reason.com. (KRON) A California School for the Deaf teaching assistant was arrested for child molestation on Thursday, according to the Fremont Police Department. The Fremont Police Department Crimes Against Persons Investigation Unit investigated the suspect Brandon Duran. According to police, at least three California School of the Deaf students reported sexual assault incidents, supported by additional witness statements. The alleged abuse occurred in Fremont and Livermore. Brandon Duran, 25. Image provided by the Fremont Police Department According to Fremont PD, the dates of the incidents were July 4 and July 19, 2024. Duran was arrested and booked into Santa Rita Jail for the following charges: Annoying and Molesting a Child Oral Copulation with a Minor Oral Copulation with a victim too intoxicated to resist Contact with a minor with the intent to commit a sexual offense Unlawful sexual penetration. Fremont PD detectives are searching for other potential victims who may have had contact with Duran. Anyone with information regarding this case is strongly encouraged to contact Crimes Against Persons Detective Ana Santana at (510) 513-1091. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (L-R) Member of parliament for the "Les Republicains" party Annie Genevard, leader of the "Les Republicains" parliamentary group Senator Bruno Retailleau and President of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Regional Council Laurent Wauquiez arrive at the Elysee Palace to meet the French President Emmanuel Macron to pave the way for a government with a series of talks. Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/dpa French President Emmanuel Macron began a crucial round of talks with representatives from across the political spectrum, amid signs that the left-wing New Popular Front (NPF) alliance could be ready to form a government after weeks of deadlock. Macron met on Friday morning with the NPF, which has claimed a mandate to govern after topping the second round of voting for France's lower house, the National Assembly, on July 7. The NPF - consisting of the hard-left France Unbowed, the Socialists, the Communists and the Greens - has proposed civil servant Lucie Castets as its candidate for prime minister, but is almost 100 seats short of a majority in the chamber. Castets said she was ready "to build these coalitions, to talk to the other political forces, to try to find a way to ensure the country's stability." Macron, whose centrist camp finished a surprise second in the vote ahead of the far-right National Rally, has yet to formally appoint a successor to outgoing Prime Minister Gabriel Attal. Attal has continued in a caretaker capacity for more than six weeks, overseeing the Paris Olympics earlier this month, but pressure has been rising on Macron to allow the formation of a new government. Ahead of the meetings on Friday, the leader of the Greens, Marine Tondelier, had told the France Inter radio station that "there is no plan B instead of Lucie Castets." And the talks between Macron and the NPF appeared to show some progress, with Tondelier saying they had provided "good news." Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure said Macron recognized that the country's stability did not necessarily require the continuation of the president's policies. Macron did not announce a date for the nomination of a new prime minister, but stated it "would be soon," Faure said. "We need an answer on Tuesday," Faure added, after Macron concludes his round of talks with the country's political leaders. Conservatives reject coalition Later on Friday, French conservatives ruled out participating in a governing coalition, after meeting with Macron. "We will not participate in any government coalition," said Laurent Wauquiez, leader of the Droite Republicaine (Republican Right) parliamentary group. Wauquiez said the grouping - consisting mostly of the right-wing Republicans - wants to act in opposition and does not believe in coalitions between parties with contrasting viewpoints. He also said the right wing would oppose any government including France Unbowed and would not support the NPF in a vote of no confidence. On the final day of talks on Monday, Macron is scheduled to meet National Rally representatives, as well as the leaders of the two parliamentary chambers. A decision on Macron's nominee for prime minister is expected soon afterwards, although no timeline has been provided. (L-R) Leader of the "Les Republicains" parliamentary group Senator Bruno Retailleau, President of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Regional Council Laurent Wauquiez and Member of parliament for the "Les Republicains" party Annie Genevard arrive at the Elysee Palace to meet the French President Emmanuel Macron to pave the way for a government with a series of talks. Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/dpa Hannah, 18, was the last remaining person missing after a luxury super yacht sank off the coast of Sicily on Aug. 19 FAMILY HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Hannah Lynch Hannah Lynch, the daughter of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch and believed to be the last missing person found, was planning on attending the University of Oxford Su Wijeratna, the headmistress at Hannah's former school, called her a remarkable young woman and a gifted student" "The Lynch family is devastated, in shock and is being comforted and supported by family and friends," a spokesperson said in a statement As the sixth and last body, believed to be that of Hannah Lynch, was recovered on Friday, Aug. 23 after the sinking of the luxury super yacht off the coast of Sicily earlier this week, family and friends of the 18-year-old are remembering her as a warm and beautiful soul. PEOPLE previously reported that the "last person still missing in the Palermo shipwreck is identified," according to Italian coast guard sources on Aug. 23. Four bodies were recovered on Wednesday, Aug. 21, while a fifth body was found in the wreckage. Among the dead was British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, an Italian government official confirmed on Thursday, Aug. 22. Until the discovery of the sixth body on Aug. 23, Hannah, Mike's daughter, was the last missing person after the Bayesian, a 183-foot vessel, sank on Monday, Aug. 19, when it was hit by a storm. ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Rescue boats of the Vigili del Fuoco, the Italian Corps. of Firefighters, operate off Porticello near Palermo, on Aug. 21, 2024 Related: Missing Tech Tycoon Mike Lynch's Business Partner Dies After Being Hit by a Car Days Before Yacht Sinking: Police Amid Italian authorities efforts to find the six missing victims this week following the sinking, tributes have poured in for Hannah, who was planning to begin her academic year at the University of Oxford, where she recently won a place, as reported by The Telegraph. Jon Mitropoulos-Monk, the head of English at Londons Latymer Upper School where Hannah previously attended, praised her. Ive never taught someone who combined sky-high intellectual ability with warmth and enthusiasm in the way Hannah did, he said, via The Guardian. She lit up the classroom with her energy, passion for learning and sheer intelligence (though never with a hint of arrogance). 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. Mitropoulos-Monk said that Hannah was one of the best English students in the country, adding that she scored 100% in her English literature GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education). The love Hannah had for everything she held dear was passionate and pure, said Katya Lewis, a friend, per The Independent. She had a warm and beautiful soul. Being with Hannah made me feel whole and happy. She is the most special friend anyone could ask for and I will always love Hannah. In a statement shared with The Telegraph, Su Wijeratna, the headmistress at Latymer, called Hannah a remarkable young woman and a gifted student. IGOR PETYX/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Body of last victim Hannah Lynch recovered from the Bayesian wreck. Related: All About Fraud Trial that Acquitted Mike Lynch, Who Went Missing Off Sicily's Coast During Celebratory Yacht Trip She had the brightest of futures ahead of her and was so excited to be starting Oxford this year, to study her beloved English, said Wijeratna. She was driven by a profound love of words that connected her to the world and her loved ones, Wijeratna added. As a community we are shocked and heartbroken over Hannahs death and we send our thoughts and prayers to her family and all who knew her. PEOPLE reached out to Latymer Upper School for comment on Aug. 23. A spokesperson for the Lynch family released a statement, per the BBC, that read: "The Lynch family is devastated, in shock and is being comforted and supported by family and friends." "Their thoughts are with everyone affected by the tragedy, the statement continued. They would like to sincerely thank the Italian coastguard, emergency services and all those who helped in the rescue." Prior to the Bayesians sinking on Aug. 19 near Porticello, Hannah and her father Mike, the founder of software company Autonomy, were among those aboard the yacht with 20 other people, including Lynchs wife Angela Bacares. They were reportedly celebrating Mikes acquittal in June of fraud and conspiracy charges in connection to Autonomys sale to Hewlett-Packard in 2011 for $11 billion. Had he been convicted, Mike could have served up to 25 years in prison. In an interview with The Sunday Times published last month, Mike said his acquittal in the U.S. fraud trial had given him a "second life." However, he added: "The question is, what do you want to do with it? If this [the verdict] had gone the wrong way, it would have been the end of life as I have known it in any sense," Mike told the newspaper. He also said he had "various medical things that would have made it difficult to survive." FAMILY HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Hannah Lynch Related: Survivor of Yacht That Sank Off Sicily's Coast Recalls How She Used 'All My Strength' to Save Her 1-Year-Old Journalist Danny Fortson, who spoke with Mike for the Times piece, told PEOPLE that he appeared "incredibly grateful and happy," but was still "struggling to accept" his new reality. In addition to Mike and Hannah, the other four missing persons from the sinking at the time included Christopher Morvillo, a New York City attorney; his wife, jewelry designer Neda Morvillo; Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International; and his wife, Judy. Their bodies, as well as Mike's, were eventually recovered. The body of another victim, identified as Recaldo Thomas, a chef, was earlier found shortly after the Bayesian capsized. Meanwhile, Bacares was one of 15 people rescued from the sinking yacht. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Ceremony commemorating the war against Chinese forces on the frontline island in Kinmen Ceremony commemorating the war against Chinese forces on the frontline island in Kinmen By Fabian Hamacher and Ann Wang KINMEN, Taiwan (Reuters) - Taiwan wants to continue its free way of life and rejects being ruled by China's Communist Party, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said on Friday, visiting a frontline island between the two sides to mark a key battle with Chinese forces. China's military carried out another round of manoeuvres around Taiwan as Lai was making the comments, underscoring what Taiwan's government views as Beijing's ongoing efforts to undermine regional peace and stability. Taiwan has controlled the Kinmen and Matsu islands, which lay just off the Chinese coast, since the defeated Republic of China government fled to Taipei in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong's communists. No peace treaty or armistice has ever been signed. The scene of on-off fighting during the height of the Cold War, China's coast guard has since February conducted regular patrols around Kinmen following the death of two Chinese people on a speedboat which Beijing blamed on Taipei. On his first trip to Kinmen since assuming office in May, Lai laid a wreath and bowed his head in respect at a memorial park for the 66th anniversary of a clash with Chinese forces, known as the start of the second Taiwan Strait crisis. Addressing veterans at a lunch and speaking off the cuff, Lai said he grew up with stories of the battle as his uncle served in Kinmen. Taiwan must resist China's threats, Lai added. "Our aim is that we hope for peaceful development across the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan is a country that ardently loves peace. Taiwan's people are kind," he said. "We are no longer trying to retake the mainland. But we are also unwilling to be ruled by the communist party. We want to continue a life of democracy, freedom, human rights and rule of law. Right?" Lai added, to shouts of "yes!" Shortly after Lai returned to Taipei, Taiwan's defence ministry said it had detected 27 Chinese military aircraft operating around the Taiwan Strait on Friday, carrying out a "joint combat readiness patrol" with Chinese warships. It did not give an exact location. Taiwan sent its own forces to keep watch, the ministry said, using its usual wording for when China carries out such activities. The ministry reports almost daily Chinese air force and naval missions operating around Taiwan. China's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the latest combat patrol was related to Lai visiting Kinmen. TAIWAN BOOSTS DEFENCE SPENDING Lai, speaking to the veterans and their families, said the Taiwanese government continues to strengthen and spend more on the military and will defend the country's sovereignty. Taiwan's defence spending will rise 7.7% next year, outpacing expected economic growth, as it adds fighter jets and missiles to strengthen its deterrence against a rising threat from Beijing. China views democratically-governed Taiwan as its own territory and has repeatedly denounced Lai as a "separatist". He rejects Beijing's sovereignty saying only Taiwan's people can decide their future, but has also offered talks with China. Jessica Chen, Kinmen's member of parliament from Taiwan's largest opposition party, the Kuomintang, wrote on social media on Friday that her home should "not become a war zone". "The two sides of the Taiwan Strait need peace," she added, having met Song Tao, the head of China's Taiwan Affairs Office, in Beijing on Thursday to discuss re-opening the islands to Chinese tourists. Kinmen at its closest is less than two kms (1.2 miles) away from Chinese-controlled territory. The 1958 crisis was the last time Taiwanese forces battled with China on a large scale. In August of that year, Chinese forces began more than a month of bombardment of Kinmen, along with Matsu, including naval and air battles, seeking to force them into submission. Taiwan fought back with support from the United States, though the crisis ended in a stalemate. Taiwan observes Aug. 23 every year as the date it fended off the Chinese attack. Formerly called Quemoy in English, Kinmen today is a popular tourist destination, though Taiwan maintains a significant military presence. (Reporting by Fabian Hamacher and Ann Wang; Additional reporting by Ryan Woo in Beijing; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Michael Perry) The destruction of a ship carrying fuel tank cars will affect supplies to troops and the Crimean peninsula. The destruction of the ship full of fuel tank train cars at a port in the Kerch Strait yesterday will hamper Russias ability to supply troops and the Crimean peninsula with fuel and lubricants, according to the Ukrainian Navy and the popular Crimean Wind Telegram channel. As we reported yesterday, the Conro Trader, a Russian Roll On Roll Off (RORO) vessel with a reported 30 fuel tank cars aboard, erupted in a ball of flames at the Port of Kavkaz. The Ukrainian Navy on Friday took credit for that attack, which was suspected to have been carried out by a converted Neptune missile. We can confirm the information that this target was destroyed by the [Ukrainian] Navy, spokesman Captain Dmytro Pletenchuk said Friday, according to Ukrainian Pravda. This ferry is one of the most important chains of Russian military logistics for supplying the occupation forces, primarily with fuel and lubricants, but it also transported weapons, of course. Therefore, this is a legitimate target. And, accordingly, this should reduce the potential of our enemys capabilities in those locations where they are actively engaged in hostilities. The ferry sank, Plentenchuck added. The work of this part of the port is blocked. They still have one more platform to load wagons onto the ferry. But there are no ferries. This is the problem. No wonder the locals in the occupied Ukrainian Crimea immediately reacted with mass visits to petrol stations. Plentenchuks explanation of the targets value lends credence to the claims that Ukraine used one of its prized Neptune missiles to strike the ship. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have officially confirmed the destruction of a Russian ferry in the port of "Kavkaz" in the Russian Krasnodar Territory The spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, Dmitry Pletenchuk, reported that this ferry was one of the most important links in the chain pic.twitter.com/9CFB7S3BKn NEXTA (@nexta_tv) August 23, 2024 Crimean Wind said the attack on the ferry is a sign for residents to stock up on fuel or find alternative energy sources ahead of the coming winter. The Conro Trader was the last of three vessels ferrying fuel to the peninsula, Crimean Wind noted. The ferry Avangard was hit on May 30 and was seriously damaged, Crimean Wind said. The ships starboard side was practically torn apart. Now Avangard is under repair, when it will return to service is unknown. The Ukrainian Armed Forces damaged the Slavyanin on July 23. The ferry is currently awaiting repairs and is located in the Sea of Azov, Crimean Wind explained. The Conro Trader sank after an attack on August 22 in the port of Kavkaz, paralyzing the work of the Kerch ferry crossing for an indefinite period, the Telegram channel stated. Fuel is not being delivered to Crimea via the Kerch Bridge by rail, as the structures are weakened after the explosion on the bridge and the burning freight train. There are also concerns that the train carrying fuel could be hit by a missile. Therefore, our advice, Crimeans, remains the same: stock up on fuel. Or switch to electric transport. The Crimean Wind explains the situation with fuel delivery to Crimea after yesterday's strike on the Conro Trader ferry. According to their information, all three existing tankers are no longer operational, while fuel transportation across the bridge has not been carried out pic.twitter.com/zU9qzuunNZ WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) August 23, 2024 New satellite imagery shows the extent of the damage at the port, including the destroyed Conro Trader and smaller ships there that could have been damaged. Part of the rail line leading to the water was also damaged. In addition, nearby vehicles also appear to be burned. #Satellite imagery by @planet from August 23, available to Schemes (@cxemu), shows the destroyed ferry and several small vessels nearby that could also have been damaged by the strike on the #Kavkaz port in the Krasnodar Territory of the Russian Federation. pic.twitter.com/A9liA4MYe0 Kyrylo Ovsianyi (@KOvsianyi) August 23, 2024 In another Ukrainian attack on Russias energy infrastructure, a fire at a Russian oil facility in Proletarsk, Rostov Oblast continues to burn for a sixth day after being hit by Ukrainian drones on Aug. 18. There are growing concerns that it could spread to the oil depots kerosene tanks. That would make the conflagration even harder to battle. Russian media claims the facility, about 250 miles from the front lines, was again by a Ukrainian drone on Friday. The drone struck at 5 a.m. local time, the Russian SHOT news outlet said on Telegram Friday. There were no casualties, SHOT said. Presumably, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to spread the flames to the kerosene tanks, which could significantly increase the area of the fire. At the moment, the fire has not reached the kerosene tanks. There has been no official information about the incident. The War Zone cannot independently verify that claim. The fire has reached the kerosene tanks in Proletarsk, according to local channels. They are standing next to each other. If one explodes, then all the others will fly into the air and there will be a powerful explosion that can simply sweep away the entire oil depot. pic.twitter.com/5oBz4FHXNR MAKS 24 (@Maks_NAFO_FELLA) August 23, 2024 Meanwhile, the area outside the oil depot has caught fire, with local authorities saying arson is to blame. Reeds have caught fire over a decent area, the Rostov Main Telegram channel said. The fire has already reached private houses and several of them have burned down. There are 40 firefighters and 12 units of equipment on the scene. A fire in Proletarsk, Rostov Region, where residential buildings, dry grass and reeds are burning, has been assigned a higher level of complexity, the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations reported, according to TASS. There are reports that "the whole of Chepayeva Street" in Proletarsk is ablaze. One end of the street is close to the electrified main rail line. This is about 5 km from the burning fuel depot. Authorities say the two fires are not connect, and arson is suspected. pic.twitter.com/cz9ayg4vYW Euan MacDonald (@Euan_MacDonald) August 23, 2024 The fire from the Proletarsk oil depot in the Rostov region spread to the city, Russian media. A whole street with houses is on fire, it is reported that already 6 houses have burned down pic.twitter.com/2CM64KFobS MilitaryNewsUA (@front_ukrainian) August 23, 2024 A dynamic map of the 18-day-old Kursk invasion posted on Twitter shows how Ukrainian forces have advanced from an initial incursion to a full-fledged invasion now involving nearly 10,000 Ukrainian troops. It shows the fluctuations in the front lines of this fight. with Ukrainian forces spreading their footprint in larger swaths of the Kursk. However, the maps designer cautioned that it does not show who controls the territory, just where the fighting has raged. Frontline movements should be viewed as an approximation rather than an exact depiction, said the @TarmoFella Twitter handle. The numbers hovering over the map represent the approximate soldier numbers. The map does not indicate the level of control over individual zones, but the extent/limit of advances and is based on reports from soldiers and civilians in the area. An advisor to the governor of Kursk Oblast is urging residents of Rysk to evacuate. The town is about 12 miles northwest of the most current known advance of Ukrainian troops in the region. The key E38 highway runs through the middle of it. Fellow countrymen, dont wait until the last minute, like Sudzha, Korenevo Glushkovo. Your life and the lives of your relatives are more valuable than the life of a dog, Roman Alekhine urged on Telegram. By delaying the decision to leave, you are putting not only yourself at risk, but also those who will later risk their lives to evacuate you. And they also have families. I think that today it would be better to evacuate from Rylsk, while it is possible and safe to do so. So far, more than 133,000 residents of Kursk have evacuated, according to Gov. Alexei Smirnov. Russia on Friday again claimed that Ukraine tried to attack the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) with a drone and repeated its call for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to investigate, according to Russian media. The plant is located in Kurchatov, about 15 miles from the front lines. This is the second such accusation in as many days and the IAEA executive director said on Thursday that he will personally visit the site next week. A Ukrainian kamikaze drone has been discovered near the Kursk Nuclear Power Plants spent nuclear fuel storage facility, the official Russian TASS news agency said on Telegram, citing a law enforcement source. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told the news outlet that the Kyiv regimes attempt to attack the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant with a kamikaze drone is an act of nuclear terrorism. TASS posted a photo it claimed shows a downed Ukrainian drone near the KNPP. In addition to the drone, TASS posted photos of munitions it claims were found near the plant as well. Both the drone and the munitions are relatively intact. While it is possible that a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance team could have gotten close enough to the plant to launch such a drone, the motive remains unclear. A drone claimed to have been found near the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. (TASS) A munition is said to have been found near the drone. (TASS) Russian officials claim this munition was also found near the drone. (TASS) The Russian Defense Ministry did not specifically address the claim, but said on Telegram that over the past night, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack using an aircraft-type UAV against targets on the territory of the Russian Federation was thwarted. In addition, four Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed by air defense systems on duty over the territory of the Belgorod region and three over the territory of the Kursk region. The IAEA said it will investigate claims made by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday that Ukraine tried to attack KNPP. At a meeting with cabinet officials Thursday to discuss the situation in Kursk, Putin charged Ukraine with trying to strike the plant but did not say how. The IAEA said Putin later told them Ukraine tried to attack with a drone. IAEA has been informed by the Russian Federation today that the remains of a drone were found within the territory of the Kursk Nuclear Power Plan, the nuclear watchdog organization said in a statement. The drone fragments were reported to have been located roughly 100 meters from the plants spent fuel nuclear storage facility, said IAEA, adding that it was told the drone was suppressed in the early morning of 22 August. IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said he will personally assess the situation at the site during his visit next week. Military activity in the vicinity of a nuclear power plant is a serious risk to nuclear safety and security. My visit to KNPP next week will provide us with timely access to independently assess the situation, Grossi said. Meanwhile, KNPP is operating in normal mode, radiation levels are at natural levels, Rosenergoatom reported, according to the official Russian RIA Novosti news organization. A former high-ranking Ukrainian officer with direct knowledge of the operation told us it was unlikely that Kyiv would target the plant. I strongly believe that Ukrainians are not attacking KNPP, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss operational details. It is Russian propaganda and manipulation with the strategic aim to undermine and discredit international support for Ukraine. However, another source with direct knowledge suggested that Ukraine could be attempting to destroy the plants transmission lines or transformers and switching lines. Ukraine is trying to make ordinary citizens pay a price for Putins war of ambition, said the second source, also speaking on condition of anonymity. They have been generally spared thus far, but Ukraine is turning up the thermostat to erode domestic consensus on Putins ability to keep them safe and secure from Ukrainian and Western/NATO weapons. Russian President Putin: Last night the enemy(Ukraine) attempted to strike Nuclear Power Plant in Kursk. pic.twitter.com/1ap40YkmMX War Updates (@Shezich786) August 22, 2024 In addition to claiming Ukraine tried to attack the KNPP, Putin also addressed the failures that allowed Ukraine to invade Kursk. These are problems that lie in the area of responsibility of law enforcement agencies.he said during a cabinet meeting. This is a separate topic. I hope that, as was reported today, interaction between local and regional authorities, the government, and law enforcement agencies has been established, and this will also play a positive role in achieving the goals that we have here. I will not repeat them, they are absolutely obvious. Putin additionally heard from the governors of Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk oblasts, who have also been under Ukrainian attack, mostly from artillery and drones. Russian regions under attack by Ukraine are forming civilian volunteer militias called Territorial Defense Regiments (TDRs) to better cope with those attacks. Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov told Putin that so far, there are about 6,000 people in his TDR. The situation in the Belgorod region continues to be difficult, he told Putin, adding that 19 civilians have been injured over the past week. Damage to agricultural enterprises in the Belgorod region from attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces is estimated at around 3 billion rubles ($33 million), he added. Bryansk Gov. Aleksandr Bogomaz said that the TDR in his region is being led by an Airborne Forces major general. A reported Ukrainian attempt to fight into Bryansk was thwarted, he added. The situation at the site of the clash with the Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group has been stabilized, he said. Beyond the loss of territory, Russia is preparing to allocate about $30 million to deal with the border situation in Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk Oblasts. About a third of that is earmarked to directly assist residents. Putin also supported a measure to give residents leaving Kursk a $1,600 payment. JUSTIN IN Ukrainian troops having some fun in Russian administration building in Kursk region, drinking vodka with a photo of Putin on the desk. #RussiaUkraineWar#Ukraine #Russiapic.twitter.com/cJqDS3NadJ Hira Afridi (@HiraAfridi_) August 23, 2024 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Ukraine Friday as part of an ongoing diplomatic effort by Kyiv to engage non-Western nations in potential settlement talks in the war with Russia, The New York Times reported. Modis trip is the highest-profile wartime visit of a leader of a nation with a neutral stance on the conflict, the publication reported. Ukrainian officials have said that they do not see a mediating role for India, but they portrayed Mr. Modis visit as a welcome show of support for their country during the war. The visit is the first by an Indian leader since Ukraine gained independence in 1991, according to The Times. Modi also visited a memorial to Ukrainian children killed during this war. Today in Kyiv, Prime Minister @NarendraModi and I honored the memory of the children whose lives were taken by Russian aggression. Children in every country deserve to live in safety. We must make this possible. pic.twitter.com/gKdjqcL5iz Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) August 23, 2024 Indian PM Modi arrived in Kyiv for the first time in the history of Ukraine-India bilateral relations. : Ukrzaliznytsia / Instagram pic.twitter.com/N1lBzOy06P UNITED24 Media (@United24media) August 23, 2024 While the Pentagon supports Ukraines use of some U.S.-donated weapons in Kursk, U.S.-produced Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) short-range ballistic missiles are still prohibited from being fired into Russia, a Pentagon spokesperson told us. In May, we gave Ukraine permission to use U.S.-provided munitions with the exception of ATACMS, to defend themselves against Russian troops north of the border and that is what Ukraine has said they are doing, the spokesperson told us. Ukraine may only use long-range missiles provided by the United States inside its own territory. That continues to be our policy, which has not changed in the wake of Ukraines military operations in Kursk. On Thursday, Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said Ukraine can use U.S. weapons in Kursk. Our policy does allow for Ukraine to conduct counterfires to defend itself from Russian attacks coming over that border region, Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters on Thursday. And that border region does include Kursk. It does include Sumy, and so they are defending themselves from Russian attacks within that region. Singh did not specify what weapons and was not asked if the U.S. still prohibits the use of ATACMS. The Pentagon is still trying to assess the nature of the Kursk invasion, how far Ukraine will try to go and how long it may stay. So when it comes to Kursk, we have an understanding from what President Zelensky laid out that they want to create a buffer zone, Singh said. We are still working with Ukraine on how that fits into their strategic objectives on the battlefield itself. When we feel confident that we have a better understanding of how that all knits together. Ukraine has used some of its best troops and equipment in Kursk. Singh said the Pentagon is unsure how that will affect Kyivs defense of its east, which is facing tremendous pressure from advancing Russian troops. It remains to be seen how Kursk impacts the east, she said. Thats something were still trying to get a better understanding from the Ukrainians on the long-term goals in that area, and also understanding how that fits into their strategic operations. Pentagon confirms that Ukraine has been given authorization to use US weapons in Russia's Kursk region. pic.twitter.com/QSGP1tQgWa KyivPost (@KyivPost) August 23, 2024 During a visit to Sumy Oblast with his top general on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his forces captured one more town in its invasion. He also said Ukraine will bolster the defense of two key towns in Donetsk Oblast. Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi reported on the operational situation in all areas of active operations, and in particular on the most difficult areas of the front, Zelensky stated on Telegram. He informed about the steps taken to strengthen the defense in the Toretsk and Pokrovsky directions. In certain areas of the Kursk region under the control of Ukraine, there is one more settlement, and we have replenishment of the exchange fund. Zelensky did name the new town that was captured. The invasion has reduced the number of attacks Russia has launched on Sumy Oblast, the head of the Sumy Military Administration told Zelensky. There is a decrease in shelling with barrel weapons and a decrease in civilian casualties, said Volodymyr Artiukh. Sumy abuts Kursk and serves as a staging area for the invasion. Special attention was given to the coordination between the military, police, and the State Emergency Service in the border area, particularly in organizing humanitarian convoys to designated areas of the Kursk region, Zelensky added. I visited the border area of the Sumy region and held a meeting with Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi and the Head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration. The Commander-in-Chief reported on the operational situation across all active combat zones, with a particular focus on the pic.twitter.com/GvaCEAUBBj Volodymyr Zelenskyy / (@ZelenskyyUa) August 22, 2024 Russia claims it recaptured the town of Nechaev in Kursk, the Russian Vorposte Telegram channel claimed, using a photo of Russian troops holding up the tricolor flag there as proof. About 11 miles northeast of Sudzha, the town is on the eastern edge of Ukraines advance. Russian forces claim the "liberation" of the village of Nechaev in the Kursk region of the Ukrainian military. Meanwhile behind them the ENTIRE settlement of Nechaev is burning to the ground. pic.twitter.com/E95tGWd0HA Thomas van Linge (@ThomasVLinge) August 22, 2024 A prominent Russian milblogger shared his ire over the lack of shelters that were constructed near the KNPP and elsewhere in Kursk before the invasion. The Kursk region authorities have announced the start of installing reinforced concrete shelters in Kursk and Zheleznogorsk, the Kotenok Telegram channel said. They are also planning to provide them to Kurchatov. That is, the city of nuclear scientists, where the nuclear power plant is located, has not yet been provided. How is that possible? That, Kotenok said sarcastically, is the most obvious evidence of the sanity and effectiveness of not only the regional elites, but also the entire vertical of power of the Russian Federation. Military correspondent Kotenok complains about the delay in the construction of defensive structures in Kursk and Kurchatov. He is shocked by the inefficiency of local managers, and the thoroughly corrupt system in which everything has to be done at the last moment. pic.twitter.com/JyTtyozPxI WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) August 22, 2024 The Russian Air Force has dropped nearly 30 guided munitions on targets in Kursk, according to the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff. Russian troops are actively applying aviation in Kursk, it said on Facebook. At present, 17 aviation strikes are known, with the use of 27 controlled aviation bombs, on the settlements of the Russian Federation. Russian planes continue to bomb. checks notes RUSSIA. In Russia's Kursk region yesterday, Ukrainian military report 17 airstrikes on settlements using 27 guided aircraft bombs. Russian people finding out what its military does everyday in #Ukraine. https://t.co/zZKe0VRPkP Glasnost Gone (@GlasnostGone) August 22, 2024 Ukraines 95th Brigade compiled a video of drone operations against Russian forces in Kursk. I flay them on their land and they die and stink here and fertilize their lands, not ours, said one soldier. The 95th Brigade has just released this powerful video showcasing their operations in Kursk, I added English captions. Were currently working on repairing three of their vehicles, which are in the shop right now. You can directly support this unit by contributing to the pic.twitter.com/ssyvhDeLOm Tonya Levchuk (@TonyaLevchuk) August 22, 2024 Russia has issued arrest warrants for three more journalists who filed reports in Kursk. The FSB has initiated and investigated criminal casesagainst the American journalist Nick Peyton Walsh and Ukrainian correspondents Borovik Olesi Nikolaevna and Butsko Diana Vladimirovna, who illegally crossed the State border of the Russian Federation and conducted videotapes in the area of the Russian Federation. Sudzha of the Kursk region, the FSB said in a statement. The FSB previously opened a criminal case against Italian journalists Simoni Trini and Stephanie Traini and Stephanie Battistini for illegally crossing the State Border of the Russian Federation on the territory of the Kursk region, according to FSB. The journalists face up to five years in prison. In the near future, they will be put on the international wanted list, the FSB stated. Paton Walsh, CNNs chief international security correspondent, reported from the now-Ukrainian held town of Sudzha last week. CNN did not respond to a request for comment. Russia is charging CNN's @npwcnn, @dianabutsko, and Olesya Borovik with illegally crossing the border while reporting on Ukraine's incursion into Kursk region. The FSB says it will put an international warrant out for their arrest. https://t.co/IMvhCP8hG5 pic.twitter.com/CfOqgfehNe max seddon (@maxseddon) August 22, 2024 Ukraines Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR) hacked into several Russian television broadcasts, inserting video from the Kursk invasion and forcing those stations to temporarily go off the air. Several Russian TV stations were forced to temporarily close down broadcasting today as Ukraine's Military Intelligence (HUR) cyber forces injected a dose of reality into their regular stream of propaganda. pic.twitter.com/3K5PKCQqkO KyivPost (@KyivPost) August 22, 2024 So many residents of the Russian town of Irkutsk have been killed in the war that there is now a crowd-funded effort to buy body bags, according to a local Telegram channel. Money for bags to evacuate corpses from the front line is being collected in the Irkutsk region, said People of Baikal, citing a closed chat of the wives of three mobilized troops. The chat owner wrote that she was appealing for help, not for judgment. according to People of Baikal. She explained that the money for bags was being asked for by the military, who were lifting bodies. We need a large number of pathological bags for evacuations! It will take a long time to wait for them to be provided. When leaving for evacuation, they may take the norm, but in reality it will turn out that there are more than the norm, she wrote in the chat. 1/ So many Russian soldiers have been killed in the Irkutsk region that the local authorities have run out of money to transport them back to their relatives. Local people are now having to crowd-fund for body bags and the transportation of corpses. pic.twitter.com/Uzfjwsenog ChrisO_wiki (@ChrisO_wiki) August 22, 2024 Meanwhile, in Ukraine, the fighting remains fierce in the east as Russian troops continue to approach the key cities of Pokrovsk and Toretsk. The video below shows Russian first-person view (FPV) drone attacks on a Ukrainian high-ground position near Toretsk. Sparta using their FPV bomber to take apart Ukrainian positions on a slag heap hill. Wonder if this is the hill by Toretsk or a different one. I am sure the map autists will find it quick. pic.twitter.com/4AYQVwnOYe Fennec_Radar (@RadarFennec) August 21, 2024 Thats it for now. Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com An American alleged conman who faked his death in 2020 and fled to Britain to evade rape charges, only to insist he was someone else when caught, will finally stand trial in Utah, a judge ruled Thursday. The saga of 37-year-old Nicholas Rossi, whose real name is Nicholas Alahverdian, has played out over a decade across two continents amid a series of increasingly outlandish claims, a fake obituary, and a laughably poor attempt at an English accent. Rossi appeared in a Salt Lake City courthouse Thursday, where Judge Barry Lawrence ruled prosecutors put forward enough evidence to merit a jury trial. Fugitive Accused of Faking Death Somehow Still Denies His Identity After Extradition A convicted sex offender, he is accused of raping a woman in the city of Orem in 2008 and another woman in Salt Lake County later the same year. In the first case, Rossi went unidentified as a suspect for about a decade because of a backlog of DNA tests at the state crime lab. In reality, he grew up in foster homes in Rhode IslandRossi is the surname of his stepfather, who worked as an Englebert Humperdinck impersonator on Florida cruise ships. But the former fugitive has constructed an increasingly dubious maze of surreal claims in order to avoid trial. Most notably, he is accused of faking his own death in February 2020 and then fleeing the U.S. His foster family doubted claims he had late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma and dismissed an obituary that claimed the disease took his life. The notice appeared after the FBI opened a fraud investigation into Rossi and Rhode Island police issued a warrant over his failure to register as a sex offender for a previous offense. Rossi was arrested at a Glasgow, Scotland, hospital in December 2021, where he was recognized as a fugitive while undergoing treatment for COVID-19. Since his arrest, Rossi has claimed he is, in fact, a former Irish orphan called Arthur Knight, who worked his way up from selling books on the street to become an academic. In making these unverified claims, he has variously put on what can be generously described as a spotty English accent that comes and goes like the wind over the Scottish hills. Authorities identified him in the hospital by his tattoos and fingerprints, but he outlandishly claimed the tattoos were grafted onto him while he was in a medically induced coma during his treatment and that the fingerprint evidence was false. The Unbelievable Rise and Fall of a Pervert Conman Who Faked His Death I conclude that he is as dishonest and deceitful as he is evasive and manipulative, Judge Norman McFadyen of Edinburgh Sheriff Court, who ruled Rossi was indeed the fugitive he claimed not to be last year, said. These unfortunate facets of his character have undoubtedly complicated and extended what is ultimately a straightforward case. After a two-year extradition fight, Rossi was taken into U.S. custody in January, following the Edinburgh courts ruling. At a virtual hearing that month, court officials struggled to understand him because he insisted on wearing an oxygen mask. He called out objections at the presiding judge, referring to her as MLady, though she ignored him. On Thursday, Rossi could be heard much more clearly, though he continued to assert he is Arthur Knight, speaking over the judge and insisting that the court has the wrong man. Rossi is scheduled for an arraignment and bail hearing on Oct. 17. Local ABC affiliate KTVX-TV reported that court documents state Rossi is also accused of sexual assault, harassment, and a possible case of kidnapping between 2007 and 2019 in Rhode Island, Ohio, and Massachusetts. 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. BERLIN, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Several individuals were fatally wounded and numerous others sustained injuries in a knife assault in Solingen, Germany on Friday evening, according to police sources. Currently, emergency responders are attending to multiple injured individuals. Gabby Giffords, gun violence survivors and family members tell their stories at DNC Bracketed by videos on gun violence in America, survivors and family members of victims told the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night their heart-wrenching stories, one after another. A woman who lost her daughter at Uvalde. A teacher who hid kids at Sandy Hook. A boy who saw a classmate gunned down. A woman who heard over the phone that her mother had been shot. U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Georgia, whose son was killed in 2012 at a Jacksonville gas station over loud music, said, "I saw firsthand the power of telling our stories." Sandy Hook teacher Abbey Clements Abbey Clements was a second-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut in 2021. "Suddenly, a loud crash, like metal folding chairs falling," she said, her voice breaking. "One hundred, fifty-four gunshots blaring. Hiding in the coats, trying to sing with my students, trying to read to them, trying to drown out the sounds. Terror, crying, running. I carry that horrific day with me. "Twenty beautiful first-grade children and six of my beautiful colleagues were killed," she said. "They. Should. Still. Be. Here." U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA) is joined on stage by Joined by Abbey Clements of Newton, Connecticut, Kim Rubio of Uvalde, Texas, Melody McFadden of Charleston, South Carolina, and Edgar Vilchez of Chicago, Illinois, during a talk about gun violence on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 22, 2024. Uvalde parent Kimberly Mata-Rubio lost a daughter "It's 10:30 a.m. at Robb Elementary in Uvalde," said Kimberly Mata-Rubio. "The school is recognizing my 10-year-old daughter, Lexi, for receiving all A's. She receives a good citizen award, and we pose for photos. She wears a St Mary's sweatshirt and a smile that lights up the room. "Thirty minutes later, a gunman murders her 18 classmates and two teachers, we are taken to a private room where police tell us she isn't coming home," she said. "Uvalde is national news. Parents everywhere reach for their children. I reach out for the daughter I will never hold again." South Carolina's Melody McFadden lost her mother Melody McFadden, who lost her niece to gun violence in 2014, speaks on the fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 22, 2024. Vice President Kamala Harris will formally accept the party's nomination for president today at the DNC which ran from August 19-22 in Chicago. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images) Melody McFadden of Charleston, South Carolina dealt with her loss from a distance. "My niece, Sandy Patrice, was 22," she said. "She drove to Myrtle Beach for sun and fun and motorcycle parades. Hours later, my phone rang, shooting on the beach. No one can find Sandy. I stayed calm. "You see, my mother, Patricia Ann, had been shot and killed by an abusive partner. I was calm then, too," she said, describing handling details from hundreds of miles away. "Ten years of waiting, and Sandy's murder is still unsolved. I'll keep calling and I'll keep fighting." Chicago's Edgar Vilchez saw a classmate shot "I was in high school when my classmate got shot," Edgar Vilchez said. Vilchez witnessed a drive-by shooting when he was a junior at Intrinsic School in Chicago. "It changed my story. Instead about worrying about taking a test, I started worrying about living to take another test. "They say schools are for learning, and I did learn a lot that day. I learned how to run, how to hide and drop, that what happens in the news can happen to me, but I learned something else too, that we can write and must write a new story if we choose to," he said. "Make no mistake, our losses do not weaken us. They strengthen our resolve," McBath said. Former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords makes DNC appearance Former US Representative Gabby Giffords, who was severely injured during a mass shooting in 2011, speaks alongside her husband US Senator Mark Kelly, Democrat from Arizona, during the fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 22, 2024. In a triumphant appearance that brought the audience to its feet, former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords walked to the podium accompanied by her husband, U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly. "For five years. I served in Congress from a swing district, everybody called me a rising star," she said. "Then on January 8, 2011, a man tried to assassinate me. He shot 19 people. He killed six. Terrible, terrible days. I almost died, but I fought for life and I survived. I learned to walk again, one step at a time. I learned to talk again, one word at a time. So many people helped me as I worked hard to recover, including a decent man from Delaware who always checks in. "He still does," she said, smiling. Gun control came up in several speeches over the week, from President Joe Biden mentioning the first ban on assault weapons and the need for another, to Minnesota governor and vice presidential candidate Tim Walz saying freedom included "our kids freedom to go to school without worrying about being shot dead in the hall" in his acceptance speech. Gun violence in Florida Less than two weeks ago, a half-dozen people two female, four male, all in their late teens to early 20s were wounded outside a pop-up, after-hours club in Jacksonville when two to three shooters opened fire, police said. That brought the Sunshine State's total mass shootings this year to 24, according to data from the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive. Last year, there were 30 altogether, down from 31 the year before. A recent study from safety product review site SafeHomes.org showed Floridians purchased nearly half a million firearms in the first four months of 2024. Florida has led the nation all year in mass shootings but recently both Illinois and California have seen more, totalling 28 and 25 respectively. Texas comes next, with 22. The GVA defines "mass shooting" as one involving four or more people shot or killed in a single incident, not including the shooter, and does not differentiate based on circumstances. FBI reports violent crime down from 2023 The total number of mass shootings in the U.S. is down so far from 2023, with 358 as of Aug. 22 according to GVA data, compared to 462 by this time last year. In July, the FBI announced that violent crime was down so far this year, and 2023 declined from the year before. In its 2024 Quarterly Crime Report and Use-of-Force Data Update, the agency said murder decreased by 26.4%, rape was down by 25.7%, robbery dropped 17.8%, and aggravated assault decreased by 12.5% over 2023, according to preliminary reports. Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly said at rallies that crime is up in the U.S. but data does not bear that out. "Guess what?" Biden said Monday night. "On his watch, the murder rate went up 30%, the biggest increase in history. Meanwhile, we made the largest investment, Kamala and I, in public safety, ever. Now, the murder rate is falling faster than any time in history. "Violent crime has dropped to the lowest level in more than 50 years. And crime will keep coming down when we put a prosecutor in the Oval Office instead of a convicted felon," he said. How many people have died so far from gun violence in the US in 2024? According to GVA data, as of the evening of Aug. 22: 10,931 people have died, including 156 children and 762 teens. 21,095 people have been injured, including 375 children and 2,151 teens. 277 law enforcement officers have been killed or injured. Law enforcement officers have killed 950 people and injured 533 in officer-involved incidents, the only category the GVA lists where the fatalities outnumber the injured. 804 people were killed in self-defense. 875 people died from unintentional shootings. 437 people died in murder/suicide incidents. The GVA has temporarily stopped reporting total deaths from suicide "until we can get better data" from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). How many mass shootings in 2024 happened in Florida? There have been 24 mass shootings in Florida this year, by the GVA definition: How many mass shootings happened in Florida in 2023? Florida mass shootings were down slightly last year, with 30 reported in 2023 compared to 31 each year in both 2022 and 2021 and 35 in 2020. During the year, 134 people were injured and 38 were killed. The GVA (and the Congressional Research Service) defines a mass shooting only on the number of people shot in an incident: four or more, not including the shooter. USA TODAY defines a mass shooting as an incident where at least four people are hit with gunfire, even if there are no fatalities. Mass killing refers to an incident in which at least four people are killed. The FBI does not define "mass shooting" at all. The agency defines "mass killing" or "mass murder" as an incident in which four or more victims are killed by any intentional means, which may include gun violence. The GVA numbers which have been disputed by pro-firearm organizations may differ from the FBI or CDC as they collect data from 7,500 law enforcement, government and media sources, the site explains. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: DNC 2024: Gabby Giffords, gun violence victims speak of loss, hope Gaston Co. EMS one of three agencies across country to get this lifesaving technology Gaston Co. EMS one of three agencies across country to get this lifesaving technology GASTON COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) Gaston County Emergency Medical Services is one of only three agencies in the country to get a newly developed cardiac monitoring device. The technology is going to help first responders better save lives. The Lifepak 35 is a more than $50,000 heart monitor. Gaston County EMS now has 38 of them. The county is making a $2 million investment in the technology. Anytime we have the opportunity to be the first at something, we try to seize that opportunity and in this case, we are going to be the first in North Carolina to put the Lifepak 35 into service, said Deputy Chief Jamie McConnell. Unleashing hope: Burke County inmates train shelter dogs, receive new outlook on life One of the most exciting features is that the machine constantly monitors a patients heart rate. Were able to really live time track whats going on in your body so we can more quickly treat it, said Taylor Forte, public educator for Gaston County EMS. We can also look at it more in-depth on the screen rather than just looking at a printout. If theres a shockable rhythm, first responders can defibrillate the patient. Before, they would have to stop CPR every two minutes to analyze the rhythm. Having that ability to have every second count and shave off seconds in our ability to discover things going wrong and track those trending vitals to see if what were doing is helping them and if its not being able to really switch it up and go to a different way of treating them is giving us a better chance at treating our patient, said Forte. The Lifepak 35 also gives a more accurate blood pressure read and allows for continuous temperature monitoring. A new feature called LifeNet allows hospital workers to tap into the system. They can get a real-time visual of whats going on in the patients heart, so they can better prepare their surgeons and their doctors, said Forte. About 200 first responders are learning to use the machine. Some of them took part in a training Thursday night where representatives from the manufacturer Stryker demonstrated all it can do. The new technology that this offers and the promise of future developments with this technology the way theyve allowed it to adapt to new technologies, its definitely going to increase survivability for our patients, said McConnell. The plan is to roll out the technology on September 3. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Gov. Gavin Newsom stood quietly on the sidelines of the packed United Center arena, hands in his suit pockets, as he watched state after state jubilantly declare support for Kamala Harris. Intentionally away from a swarm of news cameras, Newsom waited to emerge on the floor until it was his nationally televised turn in the spotlight to announce Californias votes for his longtime friend and political ally as the Democratic presidential nominee. Ive got to say, on my lifes bingo card, you cant make this one up, Newsom said moments earlier as he made his way through the backstage of the arena down to the hall. A potent political cocktail of ambition, hard work, smarts and a little luck allowed one Californian to cement her position in the most coveted role in the Democratic party this week, replacing President Biden at the top of the ticket. The Democratic National Convention also marked the beginning of another star Golden State politician and presidential contender finding himself in an unfamiliar position in Harris' shadow. Newsom's presence in Chicago was unusually muted for the liberal leader of the most populous state in America as he tried to navigate his place behind Harris and his unclear role in supporting her campaign. He has to make sure that he conducts himself in a manner that recognizes his role and the fact that he's not the candidate, said Jennifer Horn, former chair of the New Hampshire Republican Party and now a registered independent who opposes Donald Trump. However, at the same time, if he wants to polish that image of himself as being a top-tier potential candidate in the future, then he also has to be a really enthusiastic supporter of Kamala Harris for president, and he cant try to be clever about it. Vice President Kamala Harris accepts the Democratic nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times) Helpful, not hurtful In an interview in the arena Thursday, Newsom said he's ready to jump in but described himself as "a solution in many ways in search of a problem," given the way surrogates, donors, fundraisers and volunteers have lit up for the Harris campaign in the last three weeks. He's waiting for Harris to give him an assignment, but he's also mindful of the way San Franciscans and Californians are perceived around the nation and how he could affect her campaign. "Im deeply situationally aware of that and thats why Im not asserting anything," Newsom said. "I'm happy. I dont need anything or want anything. I just want to be helpful and not hurtful." Read more: Half of Republicans say California isn't really American During the convention, Newsom appeared on Fox News and NBC and was interviewed by local news networks at the Harris campaigns request. He praised Harris in interviews with CNN and some of his home state news outlets, and joined a live Newsmax segment unplanned as he walked past the conservative station's studio in the arena, but he generally maintained a limited public schedule. The governor said he had an opportunity to deliver a speech at the convention on Monday, but his flight from California arrived too late. Newsom participated in a school orientation for his kids that morning and made it to the arena just before Biden spoke. Then he was offered the chance to declare California's delegates for Harris and close out the roll call Tuesday. "I said, 'That's amazing,'" Newsom said. "So it was the best of all worlds. To be candid with you, that's kind of a historic moment and that one will be in the scrapbook." At least five hot-shot governors from other states Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Wes Moore of Maryland and Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke on the convention stage and addressed the California delegation at its morning breakfast programs. Newsom's wife, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, also gave a speech to California's delegates. The governor did not. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi gave him a shout-out onstage at a California delegation party Wednesday night at the House of Blues, but Newsom kept a low profile and remained in the VIP area of the club. I think this is really about the national stage and everybody else, Ariel Kelley, a Healdsburg City Council member, said at one of the California delegation's breakfast programs. Its great to hear from people we dont usually see much in California because theyre busy taking care of their home turf. San Francisco roots Playing second fiddle to Harris marks a shift in the long-standing political dynamic between the two most prominent figures in their generation of California leaders. As a flashy and at times unconventional politician, Newsom has often drawn more attention than Harris since their early days in San Francisco. He also hails from elite California stock: His father, William Newsom, was a lawyer for the Getty oil family and later a state appellate court justice. A woman of color born to immigrant parents, Harris had to forge her own way into the upper echelon of San Francisco politics. Her Jamaican father, Donald Harris, was an economics professor, and her mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was an India-born cancer researcher. Harris and Newsom became friends more than two decades ago before either held elected office. They were sworn in on the same day in 2004 she as San Francisco district attorney and he as mayor. Harris described that day in her autobiography, "The Truths We Hold": "With Gavin Newsom's swearing-in as mayor the same day as mine, there was a palpable sense in the city that a new chapter was opening for San Francisco politics and what might be possible for us all." Gavin Newsom and Kamala Harris at a DNC event for up-and-coming politicians in 2008, when he was San Francisco mayor and she was the city's district attorney. (San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers via Getty Images ) Newsom quickly catapulted into the national spotlight three weeks into his first term when he issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples in defiance of federal law. Harris also married gay couples during the citys Winter of Love. But her role was eclipsed by his, a dynamic that California political insiders, friends and advisors say continued for much of their political careers as they took parallel paths to the top of state government. In her nomination acceptance speech at the convention Thursday, Harris said the elections that put her into office were never easy fights and she was "underestimated at every turn." Newsoms confidence was knocked down a peg when he challenged former Gov. Jerry Brown in the 2010 Democratic gubernatorial primary before dropping out and running for lieutenant governor. Harris won election that same year as California attorney general. Newsom famously detested waiting in the wings behind Brown in a largely ceremonial office with few official duties, but he still managed to attract national attention as a champion of a ballot measure legalizing marijuana, among other political maneuvers. Harris' and Newsom's paths diverged again when she chose to run for U.S. Senate in a 2016 contest to replace former Sen. Barbara Boxer and he announced his candidacy for governor in the 2018 election. Their decisions to seek different offices avoided a potentially bruising battle and an awkward situation for their political advisors, who represented both candidates. Newsom described a narrative that he and Harris have a "sibling rivalry" as a "stupid construct." Their careers, he said, never crossed. "Weve been sort of on this track, but it was always adjacent," Newsom said. "The tension was a sort of manifestation of punditry." Is the White House still within reach? Harris was the first to take a shot at the presidency in a failed 2020 bid. Biden's selection of Harris as his vice president made her an automatic front-runner in talks about top Democrats to succeed him. But as Biden's second in command, she was also seen as hamstrung and restricted from getting out in front of him on the campaign trail. Newsom, on the other hand, shifted to a top surrogate for the president after the 81-year-old commander in chief announced that he would run for reelection. Though the governor has denied having presidential ambitions, his debate with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, frequent interviews on Fox News, appearance at the Republican presidential debate and his own campaign against red state governors stirred speculation that he was eyeing an eventual run. Read more: A brilliant move: How the Newsom-DeSantis debate offers major upsides for the governors Biden's endorsement of Harris this summer and her rise as his successor has not only dimmed talk about Newsom's presidential prospects, it's also shifted his advocacy for the Democratic ticket. At this point, it's unclear how Harris intends to use Newsom in her campaign. The governor said he spoke with her husband, Doug Emhoff, Harris' chief of staff and Walz this week offering his help, if desired. "So, its really as needed," Newsom said. "This race is going to be geographically constrained because at the end of the day it will be swing states that will be determinative and if I can fill a void that others cant, then Ill be there." As a more moderate politician, Biden was able to tap Newsom to energize more progressive voters. The governor's red state campaign also allowed him to advocate for Biden in places that were not necessarily at the top of the president's list. Harris is politically positioned similar to Newsom. Darry Sragow, a veteran Democratic strategist, agreed with Newsom's concerns about people in other states being suspicious of Californians. "I mean, that's just the reality," Sragow said. "So it may be that this is a time for Gavin Newsom to not be overly visible in many of the other 49 states." Balloons drop around Gov. Gavin Newsom as the Democratic National Convention ended on Thursday. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Newsom's most immediate shot at the presidency largely depends on whether Harris prevails in November. If Trump wins, the governor can lead the Democratic resistance to a conservative White House until he terms out in 2026 and then launch a bid for president in 2028. If Harris wins, Newsom's timing could be less ideal for a 2032 run. Newsom said watching Harris' rise hasn't changed his perspective about his own political future. The governor, who has said he wouldn't run against her for president, has always known he "had a sell-by date." "Im mindful of that," Newsom said. "Ive tried to have many identities and purposes in my life. Public service will always be there in many forms and manifestations. Obviously, Im proud of my entrepreneurial past, present, and that I think will be a big part of my future as well." Former California Gov. Gray Davis, who supports Newsom and Harris, said politicians can take only one thing at a time and do their best each day. "You just can't say, 'I want to be president,'" Davis said. "OK, you want to be president, but the path to get there is not in your control and never will be. Fate and timing are everything." 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 medical team from the Palestinian Red Crescent administers polio vaccines to children at Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis on Aug. 22, 2024. Credit - Hani AlshaerAnadolu/Getty Images Polio has resurfaced in Gaza for the first time in 25 years, thriving in the same conditions in which people are dying. The first case was confirmed Friday in a 10-month-old unvaccinated child in Deir al-Balah, the enclaves health authorities have said; the World Health Organization announced last month that the virus had been initially detected in wastewater in the city. Now, in Gaza, the medical safety of thousands of children depends on the safe delivery of vaccines to the region. Just when it seems the situation could not get worse for Palestinians in Gaza, the suffering growsand the world watches, said U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres in a press statement Friday. In recent weeks, the poliovirus has been detected in wastewater samples in Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah, he said. The reemergence of polio in Gaza did not come as a complete shock, given the situation in the region since the Hamas attacks on Israel last October, during which roughly 1,200 people were killed. More than 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza in the ensuing conflict, according to figures from the Hamas-led Gaza health ministry, which are considered reliable by the U.S. government and the U.N.and, unsurprisingly, immunization coverage for cVDPV2, or circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2, has dropped at a staggering rate. Any disease that [can] spread that way will eventually spread, says Dr. Majed Jaber, a physician from Gaza who spoke to TIME from Al-Mawasi, a town in Khan Younis. Kind of a Murphys law. Ancient Egyptian art suggests that polio has existed for thousands of years. In 1840, a German scientist theorized the disease could be contagious. But it took more than 100 years after that for a vaccine to be introduced. After President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was diagnosed with polio at 39 and was left partially paralyzed, announced the creation of the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis in 1938named after what polio was known as at the timecomedian Eddie Cantor mused, ...Nearly everyone can send in a dime, or several dimes. However, it takes only ten dimes to make a dollar and if a million people send only one dime, the total will be $100,000. Parents sent in truckloads of dimes to the White House, spurring the rebrand of Roosevelts foundation to the March of Dimes. Palestinians walk next to sewage in the streets of Khan Younis, Gaza, July 4, 2024. Health authorities and aid agencies are racing to prevent an outbreak of polio in the Gaza Strip after the virus was detected in the territory's wastewater. Jehad AlshrafiAP When Jonas Salk, born in 1912 to Russian-Jewish immigrants, licensed the first version of the vaccine in 1955by which time the virus was killing or paralyzing more than half a million people globally per yearit was meant to be universally accessible. Salk never profited from the formulation or production. When Salk was asked about who owned the vaccine, he said Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun? After the oral poliomyelitis vaccine (OPV) was developed in the late 1950s, the ease of administration made it so that mass vaccination campaigns were more practicable; that form of the vaccine is now more commonly associated with places outside the U.S. Polio has decreased by 99% percent globally since the 1980s, a victory attributed to the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). In the past several decades, the Palestinian vaccination effort was a success story, due in large part to the ease with which parents could take their children to hospitals for scheduled doses. The occupied Palestinian territory had very high rates of vaccination coverage and thats why we were quite successful in eliminating polio, says Dr. Hamid Jafari, Director of Polio Eradication for the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region. According to the regular childhood schedule, children in Gaza were getting vaccinated at very high rates. National immunization days were carried out in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on a yearly basis from 1995 to 1999, incorporating the more commonly-used OPV. Gaza had been polio-free, according to the U.N., since 1999. Jafari says pre-war vaccination rates were as high as 99%. The reemergence of polio in Gaza is suspected to have stemmed from the same strain that affected Egypt in late 2023. The virus could have been circulating in victims in Gaza since as early as September last year. Although a vaccine now exists to stop it, the virus can still spread quickly via contact with fecal mattera problem now exacerbated by the combination of the displacement of masses of Palestinians with the fact that all five of Gazas wastewater treatment plants have shut down, according to the U.N., causing runoff to flow openly into the streets. Keep in mind, polio spreads in already dismissed areasareas without any access to the slightest aid, Jaber says. Read More: The Infants Among the War Dead Indeed, the ease of administering both the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) and OPV does not mean that vaccination efforts are necessarily easyand the situation in Gaza serves to magnify that difficulty. Of the 36 hospitals in Gaza, only 16 are partially functioning today. Of the 107 primary health care facilities, fewer than half are still operating, Jafari says. The vaccines themselves must be stored at optimal temperature to remain effective, and are linked to refrigeration equipment, which requires steady electricity that Gaza lacks. The trucks that carry the vaccines and equipment also require fuel a resource Israel has blocked from entering Gaza. Even basic hygiene practices that deter the spread of infectious diseases like polio are difficult. In Gaza, the Israelis have been strict with access to hygiene products, including soap, toilet wraps, cleaning products, and towels, says Jaber, the doctor in Khan Younis. They have turned [them] into luxury products most cannot afford. The viruss presentation is also a risk in and of itself, as it can mask the disease under common symptoms. [They] typically include symptoms of a stomach flulike nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, says Dr. Michael K. Wroten, who runs a clinic for polio survivors at Medstar National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C. Children in Gaza were already experiencing the spread of other infectious diseases. The spread of illnesses of all types makes it difficult to discern the root cause of such symptoms. It is a headache to even start thinking about polio, echoes Jaber, between working in clinics in Gaza. We doctors lack the facilities to manage a child with diarrhea. Now we have to worry about this. (The long-term effects of polio, such as paralysis, are also particularly difficult to cope with in places lacking infrastructure, which entails inaccessibility for people with disabilities, both physically and professionally. These factors can put significant emotional and financial strain on individuals with polio, their families and communities, says Wroten, especially during times of conflict where resources are already sparse.) A U.N. vaccination campaign aims to send out 708 teams to hospitals in Gazamost of which are hardly operational. But the logistics are daunting. At least two rounds of vaccinations are planned to treat all children in Gaza under the age of 10. This comes as two more cases of acute flaccid paralysis, a symptom of polio, were confirmed in the region as of Tuesday, in a 5-year-old and 10-year-old. According to Jafari, the GPEI plans to implement the use of novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2), a modified version of the vaccine used in Gaza in the past, which is more sustainable in emergency conditions. Without appropriate interventions, such as vaccination campaigns, says Wroten, there could be widespread outbreaks of polio within a matter of months. The re-emergence of the polio virus in the Gaza Strip has sparked urgent concerns among health officials and aid organizations, with fears that tens of thousands of children could be at risk due to a crippled healthcare system and ongoing hostilities. Hani AlshaerAnadolu/Getty Images But while the U.N. has requested a Polio Pause in fighting in order to conduct its campaign, several people familiar with the situation argue that combating the virus in Gaza requires a true ceasefire. In terms of implementing these polio vaccination campaigns, there should be peace, says Jafari. ...and if peace cannot be obtained, if ceasefire cannot be implemented, at least periods of tranquility should be very clear so that the program can very clearly announce to these communities when it is safe to come out and bring their children for vaccination. Read More: Britains New Government Comes Under Pressure to Pivot on Gaza We all want to be hopeful, says Dr. Susan Kullab, an infectious disease specialist who volunteered in Gaza in May with the Palestinian American Medical Association and the Jordanian American Physicians Association, who notes that health workers there dont have reliable internet access in order to communicate with one another. But the reality is that without ceasefire this is very challenging. Even if [the vaccines] do get in, how are they going to ensure that children get it? Edward Ahmed Mitchell, Deputy Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, puts the argument in stronger terms: No vaccine campaign is going to succeed while the population is actively experiencing a genocidal bombing campaign. The U.N.s plan to send out vaccinations, he notes, wont work without collaboration with both Israel and Hamas. The resurgence of polio in Gaza after 25 years highlights the dire consequences of war on public health. A ceasefire is the only way to ensure public health security in the Gaza Strip and the region, said the WHO, in a statement Friday. As history has shown, polio is a formidable adversary, and the futures of countless children in Gaza remain in peril. Contact us at letters@time.com. CHICAGO As the sun went down on Thursday and the sprawling stadium behind her filled with thousands of people gathered for the final night of the Democratic National Convention, Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman stood on a sidewalk and spoke to a few dozen supporters and journalists about her inspiration from 60 years ago. Theyll say this is how its always been, that nothing can change. But remember Fannie Lou Hamer, Roman said, referring to the civil rights activist who famously challenged the 1964 DNC. Shunned for her courage She paved the way for an integrated Democratic Party. Her legacy lives on, and its her example we follow. This historic moment is full of promise, but only if we stand together. Our partys greatest strength has always been our ability to unite, Romman continued. Lets fight for the policies long overdue from restoring access to abortions to ensuring a living wage, to demanding an end to reckless war and a cease-fire in Gaza. A coalition of antiwar DNC delegates, Democratic lawmakers and progressive groups had hoped she would deliver those words from the conventions main stage. The alliance had sought speaking time during the convention for a Palestinian American who could highlight their views on the war in Gaza. But on Wednesday, Democratic Party officials said no. And they stood by that decision, even after an all-night sit-in and even as public pressure mounted on Thursday. On its face, the DNCs denial was a defeat for the national movement that opposes President Joe Bidens policy of overwhelming support for Israels deadly offensive in Gaza and wants the partys presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, to change course. Yet many antiwar voices are citing Hamer to argue they are playing a long game that will eventually produce a more balanced U.S. approach toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Its a shout-out to a time when activists channeled popular frustration into progress within Democratic politics the stated goal of most who challenged Gaza policy at the DNC rather than other years, like 1968, which saw mass disruptions over the Vietnam war. In 1964, Hamer led a group of her fellow Mississippians in a delegation to that years Democratic convention. They tried to convince the DNCs credentials committee to replace the all-white delegation selected by Mississippis Democratic establishment, which was run by segregationists with their multiracial slate. In a televised session, Hamer told the committee how Mississippis leaders had violently blocked the Black population from registering to vote. The states official DNC delegation lacked legitimacy, she argued, and the national Democratic leadership should instead seat her group, members of the Mississippi Democratic Freedom Party. Top Democrats were stubborn. Then-President Lyndon B. Johnson scheduled a press conference to distract attention from Hamers testimony. She and her party were treated as reckless, as too angry, as overplaying their hand, Jeanne Theoharis, a civil rights historian at Brooklyn College, told the progressive outlet Truthout. Democratic leaders ultimately offered a compromise: two delegate seats for Hamers group and no racial discrimination at conventions moving forward. We didnt come all this way for no two seats, Hamer declared in response. While Hamers plea failed, she succeeded in imprinting on the American consciousness a vivid image of the viciousness of white Southern racism, Jill Watts, a professor at California State University San Marcos, wrote in The New York Times. That made Hamers activism more successful in the following years. Advocates for greater concern for Palestinians say they will emulate that example. Hamers party showed how inside/outside grassroots organizing can challenge entrenched systems, even without immediate wins, Waleed Shahid, a spokesperson for the Uncommitted coalition of Democratic primary voters who refused to support Biden over his Gaza policy, argued on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday. Fannie Lou Hamer, Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party Delegate, Democratic National Convention, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA, Warren K Leffler, August 22, 1964. Education Images via Getty Images In standing behind the demand for a Palestinian American speaking slot, we stand firmly in [Hamers] legacy, rejecting weak offers by the DNC and Harris campaign, Shahid said, claiming they had offered closed-door meetings with staff as an alternative. The DNC did permit a first-of-its-kind panel to discuss Palestinian rights and has in recent weeks held private meetings with Arab Americans, Muslim Americans and Uncommitted representatives. Uncommitted organizers have now set a Sept. 15 deadline for more meaningful outreach from Harris team, like a meeting between the candidate herself and Palestinians who have personal ties to the devastation in Gaza. They and many of their allies emphasize that the convention itself was not the focus of their advocacy. Instead, they hope to change Democratic policy by ensuring it is informed by a range of views on the war. These folks are using nonviolent civil disobedience tactics, the same tactics that Black Americans used, and theyre showing up to the political space demanding inclusion the same way Black civil rights leaders have done, Mike McBride, a Bay Area-based pastor and the co-founder of the Black Church PAC, told HuffPost Thursday afternoon. In a big tent, is the big tent not big enough for the Palestinian American voice? he asked. Though no Palestinians spoke at the DNC, the parents of an Israeli American who was captured during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas were invited to address the convention, creating a contrast antiwar groups highlighted. HuffPost spoke with multiple delegates who are committed to Harris who backed the idea of a speaker who could present another perspective on the war, and spotted dozens of attendees inside the convention wearing scarves and other symbols of solidarity with Palestinians alongside pro-Democratic swag. Addressing the press conference where Romman spoke later that day, McBride cited Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.s statement that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. What you did did work it is working, McBride told the antiwar activists. You did not lose this; you are not defeated here. Keep bending the arc with your will, with your integrity. Whatever you do, beloved, dont give up. Mohammed Khader, the policy manager for the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights and the grand-nephew of civil rights activist Izeal Bennett, sees international attention as a key parallel between the fight for Democrats to consider Palestinian Americans concerns about the war and the battle for Black Americans to be included in domestic politics. Following World War II, amid the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, some powerful Americans came to see segregation as a strategic weakness because it hurt the image of the U.S. abroad. Meanwhile, leaders and activists in a wide range of countries were tracking crackdowns against the civil rights movement and the pleas of its members for basic rights. African leaders were watching the U.S. at a time when international solidarity was very much driving the civil rights movement, Khader said. Today, the U.S. has become an outlier in its near-total backing of Israels actions. Many countries have endorsed an immediate cease-fire, and even American allies have criticized the Israeli campaign more than Washington has. People around the world are watching what the Democratic Party is doing now. And a result, if they dont get things right on Israel and Palestine right now, a lot of countries are probably not going to have confidence in the next administration to do whats right and whats needed, Khader said. He said thats a factor for Harris and her team to consider as they weigh how to respond to the antiwar movement. To Jim Zogby, the president of the Arab American Institute and a longtime figure in the Democratic Party, the clearest echo of 1964 is that the partys leadership has misunderstood the base. The points been proven that the party has to change position, said Zogby, a pollster who regularly cites surveys showing dissatisfaction over Gaza among Democratic voters conducted by his own group, as well as in others polls. The question now is why is it not? He referenced the Hamer incident and an earlier fight at the 1948 DNC by Black activists to make the party more assertive on civil rights. This is not just about a Palestinian giving a speech about Gaza: Its about recognizing the humanity of people, Zogby said, noting he was the last Arab American to address a Democratic convention a full 36 years ago. Placing blame on the consultant class among Democrats, who he argued have a pretty shallow view of the electorate, he said Harris has already opened a door to understanding concerns over Gaza. He noted that DNC attendees had cheered mentions of an end to the war repeatedly during the week. When Zogby spoke at the DNC, it was because of pressure from a leader then-Democratic presidential candidate Rev. Jesse Jackson. This year, Gaza skeptics have successfully built a movement from the bottom up that attracted hundreds of thousands of Democratic primary votes, he noted. She needs to know that the folks who guide her on this convention hurt her, hurt my community, Zogby said at Thursday evenings press conference, saying the rejection of the speaker slot could cost Harris votes. Now, he continued, weve got work to do. Related... TOWNSEND, Ga. (WSAV) The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is currently assessing the deaths of two individuals in McIntosh County. According to the bureau, the victims were Kyle Bradford Bailey, age 36, and Catherine Irene Daugherty, age 44, both of Townsend. On Monday, McIntosh County deputies responded to Bailey and Daughertys home to conduct a welfare check after family members and employers reported that they were unable to reach either. McIntosh County deputies then discovered both Bailey and Daugherty dead inside the home. Their bodies were taken to the GBI Medical Examiners Office where autopsies will be performed. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the GBI Regional Investigative Office in Kingsland at 912-729-6198. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS (8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something 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 WSAV-TV. State Board of Election Commissioners Director Chris Madison appears before a subcommittee of the Arkansas Legislative Council on Aug. 22, 2024. (Mary Hennigan/Arkansas Advocate) Arkansas lawmakers gave final approval Friday to two rules that have generated opposition and litigation: one limiting the use of electronic signatures on voter registration forms and one eliminating the gender-neutral X marker on drivers licenses. The Arkansas Legislative Councils Administrative Rules Subcommittee approved both rules Thursday. The drivers license rule prohibits the use of an X, which has been accepted since 2010, to indicate someones gender in place of M or F. It also restricts the use of a blank space as a gender marker. It was one of several rules Friday that required a vote of the full council, which separated it from the batch of rules approved Thursday at the request of House Minority Leader Andrew Collins, D-Little Rock. Collins said he would vote against a rule that goes beyond rule-making and into policymaking. Obviously theres been a way things have been done by [the finance department] for a long time, he said. To change in midstream like this with no change in the law is disruptive to people, hurtful to people, and it just seems like it oversteps what the agencys authority should be in this case. The Department of Finance and Administration initially rescinded the gender-neutral drivers license policy in March. The rule is meant to prevent threats to law enforcement officers safety, department officials said. Pulaski County Circuit Judge Patricia James blocked the emergency rule in June in response to a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, but Fridays vote from lawmakers implements the rule on a permanent basis. Nearly a dozen Arkansans, many of whom are transgender or nonbinary, urged finance department officials later in June not to reverse the policy because it was not causing any problems or harm. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Voter registration rule Roughly 200 public comments were submitted to the State Board of Election Commissioners regarding the rule requiring wet signatures for voter registration forms, with exceptions for forms completed at certain state agencies, such as the DMV. Earlier this year, the voter advocacy group Get Loud Arkansas created a popular online voter registration tool that included an electronic signature. That same tool caused the State Board of Election Commissioners to implement an emergency rule prohibiting the digital mark in April. Get Louds form has since been amended to no longer include an electronic signature, but the organization is leading a lawsuit challenging the rule, calling it a tool of voter suppression. The rule required a declaration of review from council co-chair Sen. Terry Rice, R-Waldron, rather than a vote from the council. Sen. Clarke Tucker, D-Little Rock, said he disagreed with the rule. He pointed out that electronic signatures are allowed for court documents and bank loans, among other things, and that Arkansas voter registration and turnout numbers are consistently low compared to other states. I think to prevent voter fraud is a worthy goal that I support, but it also needs to be balanced with a couple of things, he said. One of those is evidence, and the other is the goal of making sure that all citizens of Arkansas have the right to vote If we want to talk about freedom in this state, theres nothing thats more vital to freedom than the right to vote. The Legislative Council also gave final approval to PEERs Monday decisions, which included directing $250,000 to the Board of Election Commissioners to pay for representation in the lawsuit since Attorney General Tim Griffin recused himself due to a conflict of interest. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misstated the amount the State Board of Election Commissioners received to hire outside legal counsel. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST General election ballot set for Nov. 5 in Fresno. What you need to know before voting Fresno County voters face a ballot thats chock full of contests for the Nov. 5 general election. The exact candidates and races on your ballot depends on your exact address. While the presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, and Republican former President Donald Trump will dominate most of the attention through Election Day, there are significant down-ballot races for U.S. Senate, Congress, and state Senate and Assembly seats up and down the central San Joaquin Valley. The ballot also includes two hotly contested races for the Fresno County Board of Supervisors; a seat on the Fresno City Council; board seats and bond measures for the Fresno Unified, Clovis Unified and Central Unified school districts; and a proposed sales tax increase for public safety and other city services in Clovis. That doesnt even include dozens of seats that are up for election in smaller cities, school boards and special districts across Fresno County, as well as tax proposals and school bond measures. With all of that in store, heres what youll need to know before ballots are mailed out to voters on Oct. 7, based on information from the Elections Division of the Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters. When can I vote? Even though Election Day officially isnt until Nov. 5, once you receive your ballot in the mail youll be able to vote right away, starting on Oct. 7, almost a month early. Ballots will be mailed between Sept. 6 and Sept. 21 to registered Fresno County voters who are in the military or overseas. Oct. 29 will be the last day to request a vote-by-mail ballot from the Election Division of the Fresno County Clerk-Registrar of Voters. How can I vote? The Fresno County Elections Division will have secure drop-off boxes located throughout Fresno and in communities across the county where voters can return their ballots starting on Oct. 7 through Nov. 5. The Elections Office at 2221 Kern St. in downtown Fresno will also be open for voting from Oct. 7 through Nov. 5. Ballots can be returned by mail through the U.S. Postal Service, as long as they are postmarked no later than Nov. 5 and are received by the Elections Office by Nov. 12. Fresno County also is a Voters Choice Act county, where some early-voting centers will open on Oct. 26 through Nov. 5. Four-day voting centers will open on Nov. 2 through Nov. 5. Voting on Election Day at vote centers or at the county Elections Office will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. What if Im not registered to vote yet? To vote in California, you must be a at least 18 years old, a U.S. citizen and a resident of California. Oct. 21 is the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 5 general election. You can register online to vote through the California Secretary of States voter registration website at www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration. Whats on the ballot? This is where it gets a little tricky. The only contests that will appear on the ballot for every Fresno County voter are races for president and U.S. Senate. Everything else will depend on where you live, based on your congressional district, state Assembly or Senate district, or city, school district or special district. For now, lets just focus on the local stuff. Fresno County Board of Supervisors: Two seats on five-member Fresno County Board of Supervisors are being contested, both encompassing different parts of the Fresno metro area: In District 2, covering northeast and northwest Fresno, incumbent Supervisor Steve Brandau is challenged by Fresno City Councilmember Garry Bredefeld. In District 3, which covers southeast and southwest Fresno, incumbent Supervisor Sal Quintero faces a challenge by Fresno City Councilmember Luis Chavez. Fresno City Council District 6: Theres a runoff for the Fresno County District 6 seat representing northeast Fresno between the top two vote-getters in the March 5 primary: Marine reservist/pilot Nick Richardson and attorney Roger Bonakdar. Incumbent Garry Bredefeld is term-limited from seeking re-election. Fresno Unified School District board of trustees: Three seats on the Fresno Unified school board are up for election on Nov. 5, all of which are contested. In Area 2, incumbent trustee Elizabeth Rosas Jonasson is challenged by student Joseph Aquino. In Area 5, incumbent trustee Andy Levine is challenged by James Martinez, currently a member of the Fresno County Board of Education. In Area 6, incumbent trustee Claudia Cazares is challenged by retired educator Daniel Bordona. Clovis Unified School District board of trustees: Two seats on the Clovis Unified board are up for election, one of which has no incumbent in the race. Area 2: With no incumbent in the race, the candidates are mother and author Molly DeFrank, educator and executive director Wilma Tom Hashimoto, and educator Janet S. Kardashian. Area 4: Incumbent trustee Hugh Awtrey is challenged by behavior analyst Gina Vue. Central Unified School District board of trustees: Two seats on the Central Unified board are up for election, each with an incumbent trustee facing a challenger. Area 3: Incumbent Phillip Cervantes is challenged by educator Natalie Chavez. Area 5: Incumbent Richard A. Solis is challenged by Jaspreet Sidhu, a registered nurse. State Center Community College District: One seat is up for election on the governing board that oversees Fresno City College, Reedley College, Clovis Community College, Madera Community College and an Oakhurst center. Area 2: Incumbent trustee Nasreen Michelle Johnson is challenged by workforce development leader Pablo Villagrana. City of Clovis public safety tax: Voters in Clovis are being asked whether to impose a new 1% sales tax to help cover the cost of public safety and other city services. The proposal requires a simple majority of 50% plus one vote to pass. School bonds: A dozen school districts, including the State Center Community College District, are asking voters to approve general obligation bonds that would increase property tax assessments to pay for improvements for facilities and other needs. Collectively, those proposals would add up to more than $2 billion. State Center Community College District: A $698 million bond that requires a 55% majority vote to pass. Fresno Unified School District: A $500 million bond requiring a 55% majority vote to pass. Clovis Unified School District: A $400 million bond requiring a 55% majority vote to pass. Central Unified School District: A $109 million bond requiring a 55% majority vote to pass. Sanger Unified School District: a $175 million bond requiring a 55% majority vote to pass. Dinuba Unified School District (mostly in neighboring Tulare County): A $42 million bond requiring a 55% majority vote to pass. Firebaugh-Las Deltas Unified School District (includes part of neighboring Madera County): a $25 million bond requiring a 55% majority vote to pass. Sierra Unified School District: a $24.15 million bond requiring a 55% majority vote to pass. Kingsburg Joint Union High School District (includes part of neighboring Kings and Tulare counties): A $20 million bond requiring a 55% majority vote to pass. West Hills Community College District (includes part of neighboring San Benito and Monterey counties): A $19 million bond requiring a 55% majority vote to pass. Parlier Unified School District: A $14.1 million bond requiring a 55% majority vote to pass. Laton Joint Unified School District (includes part of neighboring Kings County): A $9.7 million bond requiring a 55% majority to pass. Other Fresno County cities: Among smaller cities across the county, seats for mayor are up for election in Kerman, Sanger and Selma, and city council seats are contested in Fowler, Mendota, Orange Cove, Parlier, Reedley, Sanger, San Joaquin and Selma. In other cities, there are seats that are uncontested with only one candidate appearing on the ballot. Those include Clovis, Coalinga, Firebaugh, Huron, Kerman, Reedley and Sanger. Voters in the cities of Sanger and Coalinga are being asked to extend existing sales tax supplements for public safety in Sanger and for general city purposes in Coalinga. Other Fresno County school districts: Trustee positions are up for election in the West Hills Community College District, Caruthers Unified School District, Coalinga-Huron Unified School District, Firebaugh-Las Deltas Unified School District, Golden Plains Unified School District, Kerman Unified School District, Mendota Unified School District, Parlier Unified School District, Sanger Unified School District, Selma Unified School District, Sierra Unified School District, Monson-Sultana Joint Union Elementary School District, Raisin City Elementary School District and the West Park Elementary School District. Fresno County special districts: Among special districts with races on the Nov. 5 ballot are the Biola Community Services District, Kingsburg Health Care District, Laguna Irrigation District, Orange Cove Fire District, Orange Cove Police District, Riverdale Public Utility District, and Selma Health Care District. Georgetown County investigators say they found no signs of animal cruelty after repeat reports GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) Deputies in Georgetown County say they have found no evidence of animal cruelty after receiving numerous reports over the week. Initially, a Hemingway caller said they found a decapitated dog in a ditch on Aug. 16 near County Line Road, according to the Georgetown County Sheriffs Office. The resident said that was the second time they had found a dead dog that week. Investigators said they did find a dead dog off County Line Road on the edge of a drainage pond, but it appeared to have been struck by a vehicle. Its head was intact. Georgetown County investigators did visit three other sites where other callers had reported dead dogs in Williamsburg County and found one decomposing animal that appeared to have been scavenged by other animals. The Williamsburg County Sheriffs Office is also investigating. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ADEN, Yemen, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported Friday that three fires have been observed on a Greek-flagged oil tanker adrift in the Red Sea, which is now at risk of sinking. The vessel, identified as MV SOUNION, has been the target of repeated attacks by Yemen's Houthi group over the past two days. The incident began on Wednesday when the vessel, carrying 150,000 tonnes of crude oil, was first hit by gunfire from two small boats approximately 77 nautical miles (about 143 kilometers) west of Yemen's port city of Hodeidah. In a subsequent assault, the ship was struck by three unidentified projectiles, which sparked a fire and left it without engine power. On Thursday, the UKMTO announced that all 25 crew members of the Greek-owned and flagged oil tanker had been successfully rescued by a European warship. The European Union's Red Sea naval mission "Aspides" confirmed in a statement that one of its ships had destroyed an unmanned surface vessel during the rescue operation. The crew members were subsequently transported to Djibouti. "Aspides" warned that the MV SOUNION now poses both a navigational and environmental hazard. Yemen's armed Houthi group claimed responsibility for the attacks on Thursday. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said via the group's al-Masirah TV that the operation targeted the MV SOUNION because the company operating it had dealings with Israel. Sarea claimed that the ship was "accurately and directly hit" and is at risk of sinking. The attacks are part of a series of assaults by Houthi forces on ships in the Red Sea. The group claims these actions are in solidarity with Palestinians amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. In response to the Houthi maritime attacks, the U.S.-led naval coalition operating in the region has stepped up strikes against Houthi military sites. However, this has only served to further escalate the tit-for-tat exchanges, with the Houthis vowing to continue targeting vessels they claim are linked to Israel. GEORGETOWN, S.C. (WCBD)The labor shortage for first responders continues to impact many areas across the country, even impacting places close to home. However, leaders in Georgetown County are working to fix that problem by creating a program targeted at training and hiring crews. A joint effort between Midway Fire Rescue, Georgetown County Fire-EMS, and Georgetown City Fire Department is underway to bring more first responders to the area. So, for all of us to make it work, the three small departments must come together. Now I have the size of a larger department to utilize each other s resources, use each other s training instructors, and start our joint recruit school, said Midway Fire Chief Brent McClellan. In 2021, Georgetown County began the first fire recruitment school- similar to the National Fire Academy. The 6-month program pays recruits to attend firefighter training and earn their EMS certification. The program targets those who would like to serve but may not be able to afford traditional recruitment. The fire department must be representative of the community that it serves, so through our recruit school initiatives that we implemented over the past several years, weve been able to afford opportunities to individuals who may not have had a chance or may have been aware of the opportunity, said Brandon Ellis, the director of emergency services for Georgetown County. Officials said the programs goal is the same as those who enroll to protect and serve the community. When you pick up the phone, call 911. If theres nobody to come, thats a problem, so we need to get that message out and get people the courage to go in, and we provide the training. We provide the equipment to keep you safe, said Walt Ackerman, director of administration for Georgetown County. Officials said they hope to hold the next firefighter recruitment school toward the end of the fall and will release more information closer to the 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 WCBD News 2. GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) The City of Georgetown said there would be truck-mounted spraying for mosquitoes Friday and Saturday near Edwards Park near downtown. According to city officials, the response followed a positive West Nile virus mosquito sample collected Aug. 13 from trap sites in Edwards Park, located at 704 Ash Street. Although the mosquito control product poses no significant health risk, if possible, people and pets may want to stay indoors during spraying, the city said. The spraying would be conducted in the evenings, and according to the city, the insecticide will reduce the adult mosquito population in the area. So far this year, 34 mosquito trap samples in Williamson County have tested positive for West Nile virus, and one reported human case of the virus. PAST COVERAGE | West Nile virus detected in Georgetown mosquito traps, city to spray 2 parks What you can do The most important way to prevent West Nile virus is to reduce the number of mosquitoes where people live, work, and play, the city said. Health officials strongly encourage everyone to protect themselves from mosquito bites and prevent mosquito breeding on their personal property. The city said protective and preventative measures include: Draining all sources of standing water Using an EPA-registered insect repellent Dressing in long sleeves and pants when outdoors Treating standing water with EPA-approved larvicides Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) The Biden-Harris administration has announced 17 states will receive a total of $66,000,000 in Energy Efficiency revolving loan funds, and Georgia has made the list. The Peach State will receive $2,453,810 aimed at the residential sector, with a primary focus on providing benefits to low-income residents. The grants were issued under the Energy Efficiency Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Capitalization Grant Program, which was supported by the BiPartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021. The Revolving Loan Fund program will help communities benefit from the clean energy economy, improve the comfort of homes and buildings, and support President Bidens climate goals of reducing emissions by 50 to 52 percent by 2030 and achieving a net-zero economy by 2050, the U.S. Department of Energy said in a statement. The Department continued, Successful programs will leverage private capital across commercial and residential sectors, accelerate and maximize energy savings, and create good-paying jobs. These investments also advance the Presidents Justice40 Initiative, which sets a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, and other investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Georgia lawmakers say the top solution to jail problems is for officials to work together Georgia State Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula, speaks as State Sen. John Albers, R-Roswell, looks on during a news conference about Fulton County Jail on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, at the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jeff Amy) ATLANTA (AP) A Georgia Senate committee says more cooperation among county officials would improve conditions in Fulton County's jail, but it also called on the city of Atlanta to hand over all of its former jail to the county to house prisoners. The committee was formed last year to examine conditions in the jail after an already overcrowded population soared and a string of inmate deaths drew an unwanted spotlight. The U.S. Department of Justice opened a civil rights investigation last year over longstanding problems. The Justice Department cited violence, filthy conditions and the September 2022 death of Lashawn Thompson, one of dozens of people who has died in county custody during the past few years. Thompson, 35, died in a bedbug-infested cell in the jails psychiatric wing. In August 2023, former President Donald Trump went to the Fulton County Jail to be booked and to sit for the first-ever mug shot of a former president after he was indicted on charges related to efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. The number of inmates locked in the main jail has fallen from nearly 2,600 a year ago to just over 1,600 today, although the county's overall jail population has fallen by less, as it now houses about 400 prisoners a day in part of the Atlanta City Detention Center. Such study committees typically aim to formulate legislation, but it's not clear that will happen in this case. Most of the things that you will see in this report are operational things that can be done by folks working together, and getting things done in the normal run of business," Senate Public Safety Committee Chairman John Albers, a Roswell Republican, told reporters at a news conference. "I think its a bit too early to tell how were going to come up to the 2025 legislative session. Instead, Albers and subcommittee chair Randy Robertson, a Republican senator from Cataula, called on Fulton County's sheriff, commissioners, district attorney and judges to do more to work together to take care of the jail and speed up trials. Robertson said judges were not hearing enough cases and District Attorney Fani Willis' office wasn't doing enough to speed up trials. The report also highlighted conflicts between Sheriff Pat Labat and county commissioners, saying their relationship was tenuous, unprofessional, and not the conduct citizens should expect. Conflicts between sheriffs and county commissioners are common in Georgia, with commissioners often refusing to spend as much money as a sheriff wants, while commissioners argue sheriffs resist oversight of spending. In Fulton County, that conflict has centered on Labat's push for a $1.7 billion new jail, to replace the worn-out main jail on Rice Street. On Thursday, Labat said a new building could provide more beds to treat mental and physical illness and improve conditions for all inmates, saying the county needs a new building that is structured to change the culture of how we treat people. County commissioners, though, voted 4-3 in July for a $300 million project to renovate the existing jail and build a new building to house inmates with special needs. Paying for an entirely new jail would likely require a property tax increase, and three county commissioners face reelection this year. The city voted in 2019 to close its detention center and transform it into a Center for Equity with education and reentry programs. Although the county has sought to buy the city's jail, the city has refused to allot more than the 450 beds housing county prisoners now. Albers said said conveying the jail to the county is certainly part of the right answer. Anyone that thinks thats going to become a community center one day I think is seriously on the wrong track right now," Albers said. "It was designed and built to be a jail. But Labat said he doesnt expect Atlanta to convey its 1,300-bed jail to Fulton County. Theyve said thats not for sale, Labat said. And so I believe the mayor when he says that. Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts said that in addition to the city jail, more judges and more facilities to care for people with mental illness would help. He said he's ready to work with lawmakers. On the final night of the Democratic convention, gun control advocates delivered a somber plea for change. Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), who lost her son to gun violence, joined Sandy Hook survivor Abbey Clements, Uvalde mother Kim Rubio, and other survivors on stage to share their stories of loss and grief. Clements, holding back tears, remembered the Sandy Hook shooting, saying her colleagues and first graders should still be here. Rubio recounted how her daughter Lexi received a Good Citizen award just before the Uvalde shooting claimed her life. Parents reach out for their children. I reach out for the child I will never hold again, Rubio said. Following a DNC video slamming former President Donald Trumps record on gun control and praising Vice President Kamala Harris, McBath urged voters to take action. We will join with Americans from small towns and big cities to keep our communities safe. And we will elect leaders like Kamala Harris, who wont just emphasize but will act. U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath (D-GA) takes the stage on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois on August 22, 2024. DNC Day 4: Live coverage of speaker schedule, Kamala Harris to take the stage What to know about Lucy McBath Who is she? Lucy McBath represents Georgias 7th Congressional District, slightly north and east of Atlanta, encompassing parts of Gwinnett County and Fulton County. She became an advocate for gun control after her sons murder in 2012 and was first elected to Congress in 2018. What role does she play? McBath is a Democrat from one of the most pivotal swing states in the nation and one of the most outspoken advocates for gun control in Congress. Key quote: Our losses do not weaken us. They strengthen our resolve. We will organize. We will advocate. We will run for office. Watch Lucy McBaths full speech here: How to watch and stream the 2024 DNC The convention will air live on its website from the United Center in Chicago between 6:15 p.m. and 11 p.m. Eastern (5:15 p.m. to 10 p.m. Central) on Monday and 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Central) the other days. USA TODAY will provide livestream coverage on YouTube each night of the DNC, Monday through Thursday. What are the themes for each night of the DNC? The DNC announced nightly themes for the convention. The title of the convention is For the People, For Our Future. Here are the themes for each night: Monday: For the People Tuesday: A Bold Vision for Americas Future Wednesday: A Fight for our Freedoms Thursday: For our Future This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Watch Rep. Lucy McBath's DNC speech, plea for gun violence reform The increasingly authoritarian leadership in Georgia is threatening to ban the main opposition party following the parliamentary election in October, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said on Friday. Kobakhidze stated that declaring the United National Movement unconstitutional is crucial for creating a healthy democratic system in Georgia once and for all. For this to happen, the ruling party Georgian Dream needs to achieve a constitutional majority in the election on October 26, he said, according to media reports. The United National Movement is the party of former President Mikheil Saakazhvili, jailed by Georgia's current leadership. Polls put Georgian Dream at around 60%. In the 2020 parliamentary election, the party fell just short of a two-thirds majority. Despite fierce protests, the party recently pushed through a law modelled after Russian regulations intended to curb the alleged foreign influence on civil society. The EU had originally made Georgia a candidate to join the bloc, in a decision in late 2023, but has since frozen the process due to this law. Delegates are seen in front of a party logo at the state party conference of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) Saxony. Sebastian Willnow/dpa A German court on Friday ruled that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) must grant national journalists access to an election night event in the state of Thuringia. Several prominent German media outlets took legal action against the AfD in Thuringia after the AfD denied their reporters access to the election results party. The Spiegel news magazine, the Axel Springer-owned Welt and Bild newspapers as well as the left-wing taz newspaper all argued in court that the freedom of the press was threatened by the AfD's decision. The verdict is not yet final and the AfD could lodge an appeal. Voters in Thuringia will elect a new state parliament on September 1, and opinion polls have shown the AfD with a wide lead. The AfD's state-level leader in Thuringia, Bjorn Hocke, is well-known across Germany for his radical views and highly controversial comments, including two convictions for knowingly quoting a Nazi slogan in speeches. The spokesman for the state AfD organization in Thuringia, Torben Braga, told dpa that they had not yet received the decision and would not comment until he could review the verdict. Several days ago, Braga and other AfD leaders in Thuringia told dpa that space in the party venue was limited and a decision was made to invite a small list of journalists that regularly cover Thuringia politics and the local AfD party. "The one venue we have can hold 200 people, so it will be full. We have set aside 50 seats for the press and radio," said Thuringia's AfD co-chairman Stefan Moller. "We have to draw boundaries somewhere." AfD leaders previously suggested they would cancel the event if a court ordered them to allow more journalists to attent. The actual location of the election evening party has been kept secret due to what the AfD has described as security concerns. Germany examining whether any available mpox vaccines could be donated BERLIN/BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The German government is examining whether any available national mpox vaccine doses could be donated, the health ministry said in a status report for August that was seen by Reuters on Friday. The ministry said it has given its remaining stock of the Jynneos vaccine to the defence ministry and the German army. The federal government has around 117,000 doses of Jynneos, which is being stockpiled by the German army, after Berlin procured it in 2022, a ministry spokesperson said this week. International aid measures, such as donations from the European Commission, are underway, though details need to be clarified both in Europe and locally, the ministry added. The European Union has urged its members to coordinate their donations of mpox vaccines to African countries, rather than do this individually. The European Commission has a joint procurement contract with vaccine maker Bavarian Nordic, to buy vaccines for donations. "European donations will have more immediate impact if they are coordinated," EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said in a letter dated Aug. 22 that was addressed to the health ministers of EU countries. Germany so far has no reported cases of the clade 1 strain of mpox that has triggered global concern due to the ease with which it spreads though routine close contact, it said. The ministry added that the government was closely monitoring the situation but it did not see an increased risk from clade 1 in Germany, which it assumes could also be contained effectively with the currently available mpox vaccines. (Reporting by Christian Kraemer and Kate Abnett; Writing by Miranda Murray; Editing by Andrey Sychev and Shounak Dasgupta) Germany issued a travel advisory on Aug. 23, warning that Russia may intensify attacks against Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities on Aug. 24, Ukraine's Independence Day. The United States Embassy in Kyiv issued a similar warning on Aug. 21. "Around Ukrainian Independence Day on Aug. 24, 2024, there may be increased rocket and aerial attacks on the urban centers, especially the capital Kyiv," Germany's Foreign Office said. The statement urged German nationals to avoid traveling to Ukraine, or leave Ukraine if currently residing there, due to the heightened threat. The U.S. warned of "an increased risk of both nighttime and daytime Russian drone and missile attacks" on Aug. 24 and cautioned residents to monitor local media, identify air raid shelters, and take shelter immediately in the event of an alert. Ukraine celebrates Independence Day on Aug. 24, the day the country's Declaration of Independence was issued in 1991. The holiday has gained increased popular support and significance since Russia's invasion of Donbas in 2014. Russia has been known to intensify drone and missile attacks against Ukraine during national holidays. Ukraine's 2023-2024 New Year celebrations were marked by a series of large-scale attacks against Kyiv and other cities. U.S. President Joe Biden said on Aug. 23 that the U.S. is planning to provide Ukraine with air defense missiles, counter-drone equipment, and anti-armor missiles, among other materiel, in a new military aid package on Independence Day. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. BRUSSELS, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Belgium's King Philippe has appointed Maxime Prevot, leader of the centrist Les Engages party, to mediate the ongoing federal government formation talks after previous negotiations collapsed. "This mission aims to reconcile differing perspectives among coalition partners and resume negotiations as soon as possible," the Palace said in a statement on Friday. Prevot is expected to report back to the King on September 2. The move follows the resignation of Bart De Wever, leader of the Flemish nationalist N-VA party, who resigned Thursday as the chief negotiator for Belgium's federal government formation. De Wever proposed a capital gains tax aimed at raising 500 million euros (some 555 million U.S. dollars) annually, but it was strongly opposed by the French-speaking Reformist Movement (MR), which argued it would harm investment and undermine Belgium's economic competitiveness. Belgium holds the world record for the longest government formation period, having gone 541 days without one between 2010 and 2011. Germany warns its citizens of risk of Russian missile attacks on Kyiv on 24 August Germany has warned its residents that Russia's air strikes on Ukrainian cities may intensify on 24 August, Ukraine's Independence Day. They recall that, in light of the full-scale invasion, German citizens are advised not to travel to Ukraine, and those who have are "urgently asked to leave the country." Source: German Foreign Ministry update, which was reviewed by European Pravda Details: The ministry notes that at the time of Ukraines Independence Day "there is a danger of increased missile and air assaults on metropolitan areas, particularly on the capital, Kyiv." Earlier this week, the US stated it has intelligence on Russia's growing efforts to undertake night and day attacks using drones and missiles across Ukraine. This information emerged in light of Russia's large-scale attacks on Ukrainian territories with a variety of weapons over the last few days. According to the Pentagons assessments, Ukraine and Russia lack sufficient military resources to execute large offensive operations, potentially indicating that both sides are approaching an impasse. Support UP or become our patron! Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, on August 20, 2024. (Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP/Getty Images) My favorite thing about Kamala Harrisand the list is not very longis that she never held that silliest and most un-republican of all titles in American public life: first lady. Harris seems likely, at the moment, to become our first female president. We might have done worseand almost did. At the Democrats convention this week, Hillary Clinton made the inevitable glass-ceiling speech, and the moment must have been for her at best bittersweet, leaning into the bitter. But Mrs. Bill Clinton always exemplified one of the worst ways to be a woman in politics: She was an appendage of a powerful, politically successful intern-diddler who treated her poorly and used her as a prop. Mrs. Clinton does not lack for raw brainpower, but she was never a patch on the politician her husband was, lacking his charm, his remarkable gift for extemporaneous speaking, and his skill as a practical politician. I have no doubt that she is utterly his match when it comes to totally cold and self-seeking amorality, but whereas President Clinton could fool people into thinking that he genuinely gave a rats ass about them and their petty little problems with seemingly no effort at all, Mrs. Clinton was always more of a grinder, and you could see her doing the hard work of pretending to be a morally and psychologically normal human being. For 30-odd years (some of them very odd), Mrs. Clinton has been one of the most painful people to watch on the lavishly appointed stage of our ghastly politics. She will likely go down in history as the only person ever to lose a general election to Donald Trump, that champion of evangelical Christians, serial bankrupt, game-show host, and quondam pornographer. Harris, as she will tell youand tell you, and tell youchecks some other boxes. She wouldnt be the first black president (she would be the second black president with no ancestral connection to the larger African American community composed of the descendants of slaves, which will be of interest to somebody somewhere, I am sure) but she would be the first president of Indian background and of Caribbean background. So shed be putting points on the board for two increasingly important minority constituencies simultaneously. (Colin Powell, our first black secretary of state and the man who might have been our first black president, if he had desired to be, also was of Jamaican ancestry, a child of immigrants raised in the South Bronx.) This state of affairs seems to have confused Trump, possibly because he is a rage-addled ignoramus, but if youre looking for a political class thatpardon the odious expressionlooks like America, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz together cover a lot of ground. But I wonder: Are her indelible characteristics still all that interesting? Kamala Harris does not seem to me a very interesting sort of person in general, but, if I were making a list of interesting things about her, her sex and her ethnic backgroundand the fact that she was the first person with such characteristics to hold certain officesstill wouldnt be very high on the list. (Top of the list? Her pissy authoritarianism.) In the coming years, well have a lot of first Mexican American woman to hold this position and first gay man of color to hold that position, and, unless I grievously misread the national radara distinct possibility given the work I put into insulating myself from the tsunami of raw sewage that is American popular cultureit is all starting to feel a little bit silly to a lot of people. For example, it probably mattered, or at least was of interest, when one of those big corporations founded in the late 19th century or in the early 20th century had its first chairman or CEO who wasnt a white man. But was it really a big deal at a company like Microsoft? Or at firm of more recent vintage? If your IPO was announced on Twitter, your company is really part of the world in which it was accepted as utterly ordinary that the commanding heights of business and politics would not be entirely dominated by white men. (Dont get me wrong: Were still doing pretty good!) There are culturally and economically important businesses and institutions out there that have never had a white man in charge. So, it was a very big deal when we had our first black president, a job so presumptively white and male that we built a gigantic white phallus in the capital city to honor the first guy to hold the job, but less so when it was (or will be) the first black woman to serve as deputy undersecretary of commerce for this, that, or the other. Harris never held the ridiculous title first lady, which my iPhone wants to capitalize, damn its digital eyes, though she was adjacent to the ridiculous title second gentleman, which is what people have been calling her husband while she is vice president. I know I have beat this drum until the skin is loose, but: This is a republic, and we do not have aristocratic titles or quasi-aristocratic titles, nor do we have political positions that are acquired by means of marriageat least, thats how it is supposed to be. For all of the silly Republican efforts to characterize Harris political career as founded on her long-ago relationship with San Francisco political boss Willie Brown, she is, for better and for worse, her own woman, not an Eva Peron carried to power by her husband or an Indira Gandhi whose father was the first leader of her country in independence. Female leaders have been a mixed bag, of course: Margaret Thatcher was terrific, Golda Meir heroic, Gandhi a tyrantand many of the ones who were carried to power by marriage turned out to be what their husbands were, i.e., corrupt petty criminals. Women do represent about half of the worlds population if not half of its political leaders, so we would expect them to cover the range in full. I dont like the idea that having a president from a particular demographic group puts a kind of national imprimatur on that group, and I object for two reasons: 1) I am an old-fashioned romantic individualist who believes that whats important about people is who they are rather than who they are as a member of some group into which they were born; 2) it further entrenches the position of the presidency as a kind of magical cultural totem, the national idol figure in which the demos worships itself. That being said, I wont rain on all the parades that will commence if Kamala Harris should become, as a matter of politics and the executive branch, at least, the actual first lady in the only meaningful sense of those two words. 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. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) A local company is among several being recognized by Indianas governor for 50+ years of business. Glas-Col is located in Terre Haute and manufactures products used in chemical research in over 30 different countries. Indiana State Senator Greg Goode visited the company on Friday to personally present the company with the recognition. Just a small way to acknowledge the tremendous impact that this company makes, that spurs the Wabash Valley economy, but then also helping be an integral part of things that are important to the United States of America, Goode said. Glas-Col was founded in 1939 and will celebrate 85 years this 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 MyWabashValley.com. FILE - A Google sign hangs over an entrance to the company's new building, Sept. 6, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File) SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) Google will soon give California millions of dollars to help pay for local journalism jobs in a first-in-the-nation deal, but journalists and other media industry experts are calling it a disappointing agreement that mostly benefits the tech giant. The agreement, which was hashed out behind closed doors and announced this week, will direct tens of millions of public and private dollars to keep local news organizations afloat. Critics say it's a textbook political maneuver by tech giants to avoid a fee under what could have been groundbreaking legislation. California lawmakers agreed to kill a bill requiring tech to support news outlets they profit from in exchange for Google's financial commitment. By shelving the bill, the state effectively gave up on an avenue that could have required Google and social media platforms to make ongoing payments to publishers for linking news content, said Victor Pickard, professor of media policy and political economy at the University of Pennsylvania. California also left behind a much bigger amount of funding that could have been secured under the legislation, he said. Google got off easy, Pickard said. Google said the deal will help both journalism and the artificial intelligence sector in California. This public-private partnership builds on our long history of working with journalism and the local news ecosystem in our home state, while developing a national center of excellence on AI policy, Kent Walker, president of global affairs and chief legal officer for Googles parent company Alphabet, said in a statement. State governments across the U.S. have been working to help boost struggling news organizations. The U.S. newspaper industry has been in a long decline, with traditional business models collapsing and advertising revenues drying up in the digital era. As news organizations move from primarily print to mostly digital, they have increasingly relied on Google and Facebook to distribute its content. While publishers saw their advertising revenues nosedive significantly in the last few decades, Googles search engine has become the hub of a digital advertisement empire that generates more than $200 billion annually. The Los Angeles Times was losing up to $40 million a year, the newspaper's owner said in justifying a layoff of more than 100 people earlier this year. More than 2,500 newspapers have closed since 2005, and about 200 counties across the U.S. do not have any local news outlets, according to a report from Northwestern Universitys Medill School of Journalism. California and New Mexico are funding local news fellowship programs. New York this year became the first state to offer a tax credit program for news outlets to hire and retain journalists. Illinois is considering a bill similar to the one that died in California. Here's a closer look into the deal California made with Google this week: What does the deal entail? The deal, totaling $250 million, will provide money to two efforts: funding for journalism initiatives and a new AI research program. The agreement only guarantees funding for a period of five years. Roughly $110 million will come from Google and $70 million from the state budget to boost journalism jobs. The fund will be managed by UC Berkeleys Graduate School of Journalism. Google will also kick in $70 million to fund the AI research program, which would build tools to help solve real world problems, said Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, who brokered the deal. The deal is not a tax, which is a stark departure from a bill Wicks authored that would have imposed a link tax requiring companies like Google, Facebook and Microsoft to pay a certain percentage of advertising revenue to media companies for linking to their content. The bill was modelled after a policy passed in Canada that requires Google to pay roughly $74 million per year to fund journalism. Why are tech companies agreeing to this now? Tech companies spent the last two years fighting Wicks' bill, launching expensive opposition campaigns and running ads attacking the legislation. Google threatened in April to temporarily block news websites from some California users' search results. The bill had continued to advance with bipartisan support until this week. Wicks told The Associated Press on Thursday that she saw no path forward for her bill and that the funding secured through the deal is better than zero. This represents politics is the art of the possible, she said. Industry experts see the deal as a playbook move Google has used across the world to avoid regulations. Google cannot exit from news because they need it, said Anya Schiffrin, a Columbia University professor who studies global media and co-authors a working paper on how much Google and Meta owes to news publishers. So what they are doing is using a whole lot of different tactics to kill bills that will require them to compensate publishers fairly. She estimates that Google owes $1.4 billion per year to California publishers. Google disagrees with Schiffrins findings. A spokesperson said news queries account for under 2% of all searches and that Google doesnt make money on them. Why do journalists and labor unions oppose the agreement? The Media Guild of the West, a union representing journalists in Southern California, Arizona and Texas, said journalists were locked out of the conversation. The union was a champion of Wicks' bill but wasn't included in the negotiations with Google. The future of journalism should not be decided in backroom deals, a letter by the union sent to lawmakers reads. The Legislature embarked on an effort to regulate monopolies and failed terribly. Now we question whether the state has done more harm than good. The agreement results in a much smaller amount of funding compared to what Google gives to newsrooms in Canada and goes against the goal to rebalance Googles dominance over local news organizations, according to a letter from the union to Wicks earlier this week. Others also questioned why the deal included funding to build new AI tools. They see it as another way for tech companies to eventual replace them. Wicks' original bill doesn't include AI provisions. The deal has the support of some journalism groups, including California News Publishers Association, Local Independent Online News Publishers and California Black Media. What's next? The agreement is scheduled to take effect next year, starting with $100 million to kickstart the efforts. Wicks said details of the agreement are still being ironed out. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has promised to include the journalism funding in his January budget, Wicks said, but concerns from other Democratic leaders could throw a wrench in the plan. ___ This story has been updated to correct that, as well as Southern California and Texas, the Media Guild of the West represents journalists in Arizona, not Nevada. A law banning political parties from waiting until after the primary election to place a state legislative candidate on the general election ballot wont keep any Republicans from running this November. The Illinois Supreme Court and State Board of Elections each made rulings Friday ensuring that a law rushed through by Democrats in May wouldnt throw a wrench into the filing process for the current election cycle. The decisions pertain to candidate slating, a process through which party insiders can name a candidate to the general election ballot for their party, even if no candidate ran in the partys primary. The law which is now officially on hold for 2024 still allows parties to replace withdrawals but prevents slating in cases where the party didnt run anyone in the primary. The elections board ruled Friday morning that slated Republican candidate Jay Keeven may appear on the November ballot, throwing out challenges against him and other candidates that would have been affected by the law. Hours later, the high court issued whats known as a Perlman order, affirming a lower courts decision to temporarily halt the law for the current cycle without setting a precedent in future cases. That ruling doesnt void the law in its entirety, but rather blocks it only for this years general election for the 14 plaintiffs all slated Republican candidates that sued the state after the laws passage. Democrats introduced the bill in May, then passed it and sent it to the governor for a signature within 48 hours. While Democrats billed the law as one to would weaken party bosses, Republicans decried it as a majority-party power grab to keep Republicans off the ballot in tight races. A Sangamon County judge agreed in a June ruling that Democrats were out of line in changing the rules mid-cycle. Judge Gail Noll blocked the law from taking effect against the candidates who sued the state following its passage. The Supreme Courts Friday opinion which noted two justices recused themselves and the remaining judges couldnt come to a four-vote majority upholds the order. Keeven, a candidate in whats expected to be a tight House race against incumbent Democrat Katie Stuart, of Collinsville, was not party to the lawsuit, because he filed petitions before the law took effect. Democrats challenged his candidacy, seeking to use the law to remove him from the ballot. The Illinois State Board of Elections rejected the challenge on Friday on the grounds that he filed his nomination papers in an accordance with the law in effect at the time. They accepted the recommendation of a hearing officer with one dissenting vote from Board Chair Casandra Watson. For months, Democrats in Springfield have tried every possible way to keep the voters in the Metro-East from having a choice in November, Keeven said in a statement. Today, they lost. With every attempt to kick me off of the ballot, our campaign continues to gain momentum. Keevens challengers were represented by Michael Kasper, a Democratic election lawyer who has long been a power player on issues such as redistricting and candidate challenges. He argued that the hearing officer erred by enforcing a law that was no longer on the books. The boards powers are to apply the law as it is today, he argued. But John Fogarty, the GOPs counterpart to Kasper, argued the General Assembly shouldnt be allowed to change the rules in the middle of an election cycle, particularly for candidates for the General Assembly. The role of this body is, yes, to apply the law, but you also apply the law as it was when this act was taken, he said, noting that if the General Assembly wanted the law applied retroactively, it could have specifically said so. Presidential action In other action, the board removed two third-party candidates from the presidential ballot while ruling that independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. can remain on the ballot despite objections. Libertarian candidate Scott Schluter and Green Party candidate Jill Stein were both ordered removed due to lack of signatures. The challenges to Kennedys candidacy stemmed largely on the argument that he falsified his address, among other challenges to signatures and nominating petitions. But a hearing officer recommended he be kept on the ballot and the board agreed. Kennedys lawyer didnt comment when asked about the candidates future in the race. Is your client dropping out? Watson asked. Thats beyond my pay grade. Im sorry, I dont know, Kennedys attorney Andrew Finko replied. Im here for the electoral board and thats it. Hours later, Kennedy said hes not terminating his campaign but is taking his name off the ballot in swing states as to not play spoiler. Hes endorsing former President Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris. The Illinois State Board of Elections confirmed Friday Kennedys name would appear on the ballot and he had not filed to withdraw as of Friday. Bost elections case denied A federal appeals court this week rejected a lawsuit from U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, that argued Illinois policy of accepting mail-in ballots for two weeks after election day violates federal law. In its 2-1 decision, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals panel agreed with a circuit court that Bost and other plaintiffs in the case lacked standing, because they didnt have evidence that they were tangibly harmed by the law. Illinois allows mail-in ballots to be counted up to 14 days after Election Day, as long as they are postmarked by Election Day. Bost and other plaintiffs argued their votes would be diluted, and that candidates would have to spend more money, in part by maintaining campaign offices for longer periods. Writing for the majority, Judge John Lee said Bosts claims failed to show voters were harmed by ballots being counted after Election Day. Even if we were to accept Plaintiffs premise that inclusion of these ballots would cause vote dilution, their votes would be diluted in the same way that every other vote cast in Illinois prior to Election Day would be diluted, Lee wrote. Thus, to the extent Plaintiffs would suffer any injury, it would be in a generalized manner and not personal and individual to Plaintiffs, as the Supreme Court requires. U.S. District Judge John Kness dismissed the case last year. Bost appealed, and that appeal was heard nine days after the 2024 primary he narrowly won over challenger and former state Sen. Darren Bailey, R-Xenia. Judge Michael Scudder Jr. agreed the votes would not be unfairly diluted, but he disagreed with the other two judges on Bosts standing in the suit. Rather, Scudder classified Bost as an active stakeholder. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. A project ceremony was held Thursday for Trex company, the worlds largest manufacturer of outdoor living products, as Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Mayor Frank Scott Jr. and other city and state officials looked on. The facility will produce eco-friendly composite decking and railing, and this is its flagship location. Nearly five years ago, we began a site selection process, it took us across the country and to many different communities before ultimately landing here in Little Rock, Bryan Fairbanks, CEO of Trex said. Trex to build factory at the Port of Little Rock, set to employ over 500 The site already employs 20 workers and will eventually bring 500 new jobs to the area. Trex company is making a $400 million investment into this location in the Port of Little Rock. To learn more about Trex, visit them online at Trex.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 KARK. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. A cash infusion is expected to give Arkansas a financial buffer to help respond to disasters. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed an executive order on Thursday releasing $6 million in funds for statewide hazard mitigation. Officials say Stuttgart train derailment due to straight-line winds The order said that mitigating the effects of future disasters upon local governments is essential to the efficient and orderly operation of state business and that mitigation would protect public facilities from damage. According to the order, mitigating damage would ensure Arkansas citizens welfare. According to the states Department of Emergency Management, hazard mitigation educates communities to raise awareness of hazards, build partnerships for risk reduction, develop long-term risk reduction strategies, align risk reduction with other objectives, identify the most significant risks and communicate priorities. Arkansas Emergency Operations Center opens in response to July 17 flash flooding in eight counties Additional information on hazard mitigation in Arkansas is available at DPS.Arkansas.gov/Emergency-Management. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the United States, Aug. 22, 2024. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris officially accepted the Democratic Party's presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) held at the United Center in Chicago on Thursday night. (Xinhua/Li Rui) CHICAGO, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris officially accepted the Democratic Party's presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) held at the United Center in Chicago on Thursday night. "I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America," said Harris, the first woman of color to lead a major party ticket in the country, in a speech on the DNC's fourth and final day. "With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past, a chance to chart a New Way Forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans," she said. Harris reflected on her upbringing as a person of Indian and African descent and her experience working as a prosecutor in the Bay Area and as California's attorney general. In her speech, Harris said that building the middle class would be a defining goal of her presidency, emphasizing her own middle class roots. She elaborated on abortion rights, immigration policy and foreign policy, among other topics. The Democratic presidential nominee also blasted former President Donald Trump's actions and policies, describing the consequences of putting Trump back in the White House as "extremely serious." In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, lashed out at Harris' speech, saying that she stands for "incompetence" and "weakness." Earlier on Thursday, thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters marched near the DNC venue to express their dissatisfaction with the Biden administration's Israel policy. In her acceptance speech, Harris attempted to address the Israel-Palestine conflict. "President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination," said the Democratic nominee. On Aug. 6, the DNC announced that Harris had been officially certified as the party's presidential nominee following a five-day online balloting process. On Monday, she was once again confirmed as the party's presidential nominee during the DNC. On Wednesday night, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz officially accepted the Democratic Party's vice presidential nomination at the convention. As Democrats gather for the convention, Trump has been holding campaign rallies in multiple states this week, including key swing states Michigan, North Carolina and Arizona. The race between the two remains tight in the key swing states that could decide the election results. According to the latest poll data compiled by Real Clear Politics, Harris leads Trump by 1 percentage point in Wisconsin and by 2 percentage points in Michigan. In Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Arizona, Harris trails by 0.2 percentage points, 0.9 percentage points and 0.2 percentage points, respectively. People arrive to attend the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the United States, Aug. 22, 2024. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris officially accepted the Democratic Party's presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) held at the United Center in Chicago on Thursday night. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling) U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the United States, Aug. 22, 2024. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris officially accepted the Democratic Party's presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) held at the United Center in Chicago on Thursday night. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling) U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (2nd L) greets the audience at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, the United States, Aug. 22, 2024. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris officially accepted the Democratic Party's presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) held at the United Center in Chicago on Thursday night. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaoling) WAVERLY, Tenn. (WKRN) On Aug. 21, 2021, floodwaters devastated Waverly, killing 20 people in Humphreys Country and causing widespread destruction to about 800 properties. Its a day that changed the lives of countless individuals. Three years later, a new memorial will be dedicated to the victims alongside a candlelight vigil and dedication ceremony. The events will be held Saturday, Aug. 24, at 7 p.m. on 506 East Main Street in Waverly. Governor Bill Lee will be in attendance as well as State Senator Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield). Before attending the ceremony, Senator Roberts will complete his tradition of biking 100 miles from the Robertson County Courthouse in Springfield to the Humphreys County Courthouse in Waverly. RELATED: Repairs still underway three years after deadly Waverly flooding On his bicycle handlebars will sit a notecard with the names of each flood victim and their ages, ranging from seven months to 67-years-old. Its just a time to reflect on the people whos lives have been lost, but also to just praise God for his goodness and the good things that have happened, said Roberts. Roberts said he remembers how people from near and far showed up for the victims in their greatest time of need and he hopes that that sense of support continues this weekend. Sometimes in Tennessee, we just need to let people know we love them, said Roberts. It may seem kind of an odd thing to do for somebody to come over there who has no connection, but trust me when I say, its something that will be valued by the people there and its something that they will appreciate. He added that he wants to continue calling attention to the need for rebuilding homes, businesses, bridges, and lives in the area. TN researchers work on new model to improve flood predictions When you keep calling attention to the needs, theres somebody that owns a business that says, Well, I have that, I can give that, so, the benefit comes in various ways, explained Roberts. The new memorial is located behind the former Waverly Junior High School along East Main Street. According to Roberts, its a reminder of the work that still needs to be done. When you go visit Waverly today, its very mixed emotions because you see so much new construction and you think, these are homes that have been rebuilt, and hopefully lives and livelihoods that have been rebuilt, said Roberts. But then you also see the vacant lot, you see the foundation with no house on it, you know the kids are still meeting in temporary schools. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com The recovery is long-term. There are still people whos businesses just arent what they used to be, said Roberts. If anyone is unable to attend the vigil Saturday, Roberts encourages you to visit the official Humphreys County tourism website, stop by local businesses, or donate to the Flood Resources, or mail a check to the United Way of Humphreys County (Box 212, Waverly, TN 37185). Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed three bills that came out of this weeks special legislative session, including a bill placing a constitutional amendment on the November ballot. According to the Utah State Legislature, SB4002 amends election provisions regarding a proposed constitutional amendment. The special session was called after the Utah Supreme Court upheld the lawsuit that challenged the Utah Legislatures redistricting boundaries, which were drawn in 2021. Senate Democrats called this a blatant attempt to silence Utah voters in a press release released after the vote was held last night. Along with these bills, the Legislature also passed Senate Joint Resolution 401, which proposes the following: Provide the scope of the peoples powers to alter or reform government; prohibit foreign individuals, entities, and governments from influencing, supporting, or opposing an initiative or a referendum. Senate Joint Resolution 401, Utah State Legislature This vote was not unanimous, however. Utah Senators passed the bill last night with 20 votes in favor, eight votes opposing, and one absentee. After that, the House passed the resolution with 54 in favor and 21 opposing. As the fastest-growing state and the youngest state in The Union, Utah is positioned to become a swing state in a decade, but rather than allow the voters to decide Utahs future for themselves, power-hungry politicians are dead-set on propping themselves up, Utah Democratic Party Chair Diane Lewis said earlier this week. Floor Sponsor Rep. Jordan Teuscher said, This constitutional amendment has nothing to do with redistricting. Cox also passed two other bills that made it through the state Legislature, he passed SB4001 and SB4003. SB4001 is addressing the justice courts jurisdiction and SB4003 couples with SB4002 as it was contingent on the passage of SB4002. The Legislature is now attempting to sidestep these protections by embedding its power into the Constitution, granting disproportionate authority to lawmakers over the will of the people, Senate Dems said. With the passage of the three bills and Senate Joint Resolution, these go on Novembers ballot. These only go into effect if the voters pass the amendment. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A search is underway for a 33-year-old woman missing in Grand Canyon National Park since a flash flood struck on Thursday afternoon. Chenoa Nickerson of Gilbert, Arizona, was swept into Havasu Creek about a half-mile above the confluence with the Colorado River. She was not wearing a life jacket. Nickerson is described as 5-foot-8, 190 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes, according to a notice released by the National Park Service. The flash flood struck just before 1:30 p.m. on Thursday. Several hikers were stranded in the area when the flood occurred, according to the National Park Service. Rescue efforts began at about 3 p.m. Thursday to assist hikers above and below Beaver Falls on Havasu Creek. No information was provided on the conditions of those hikers. Lake Mead is more than 100 miles downriver from where Havasu Creek meets the Colorado River. If you have information that could assist in the search for Nickerson, contact the NPS tip line at 1-888-653-0009. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Some campgrounds will be without water after a waterline break prompted officials to announce more stringent conservation measures at Grand Canyon National Park heading into the weekend. The pipeline break along the North Kaibab Trail occurred earlier this week. A photo dated Aug. 20 showed water spraying from a broken pipe. Effective immediately, the South Rim will be under greater water restrictions and the North Rim will begin preliminary conservation measures until the break is repaired and water in storage tanks reaches sustainable levels, according to a National Park Service news release. The national park is in the process of a major project to modify the pipeline, and various breaks have led to previous conservation measures this summer. At times, trails have been closed while crews worked on the pipeline. Since 2010, 85 major breaks in the Transcanyon Waterline have disrupted water delivery a critical situation for visitors and about 2,500 year-round residents. The water is also used in the event of a fire and the area has 800 buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The park service notes that repairing a break often costs $25,000 or more. These changes were put in place as of Thursday, Aug. 22: Camper Services operated by Delaware North will be closed. Water spigots in Mather Campground and at Desert View Campground will be turned off. Visitors and residents may experience additional water conservation measures while visiting the park. In addition to the new changes, all existing conservation measures remain in place for the North and South Rim. Under existing water restrictions, park staff and partners have been able to conserve water by serving water by request only, adopting low water-use methods to clean hotel rooms, and practicing basic water conservation measures at home and work. The park advised residents and visitors to help conserve water by limiting showers to five minutes or less, turning the faucet off while shaving or brushing teeth, selectively flushing the toilet, only washing laundry with full loads, and reporting leaks to appropriate offices. Backcountry hikers should carry all their water or methods to treat water. For the most updated information on water availability in the backcountry visit the parks Critical Backcountry Updates webpage here: https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/trail-closures.htm. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A capacity crowd cheers the nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris at the conclusion of the Democratic National Convention on Thursday night. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) Each night at the Democratic National Convention this week, the enthusiasm was palpable long before crowds reached the gates. You could feel it in the tone of nearby conversations, the waves of laughter rolling from every direction, the pace of the walk between the ride-share dropoff and the security checkpoint blocks away. In June, Democrats wanted to defeat Donald Trump. Now its August, and Vice President Kamala Harris has changed what this election is about. She has voters looking toward one another reminding us of our collective American values and shared humanity. In 2020, anger and fear drove many of us to the polls. Harris is using a different source of energy, a source embodied in a popular psalm often heard in the civil rights movement: Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Read more: Granderson: 'We love Joe' at Democratic convention really means 'We love American values' Democrats showered each other with joy this week. And it wasnt about their party; it was about our country. Even the heavily armed police officers and Secret Service agents, usually stoic, couldnt help but flash a smile inside the house that Jordan built. America, the path that led me here in recent weeks, was no doubt unexpected, Harris said in her acceptance speech Thursday. But Im no stranger to unlikely journeys. Starting with the tea party movement, it felt as if progressives had ceded the idea of love of country to the angry mob seething about the election of President Obama and passage of the Affordable Care Act: They were the flag wavers who loudly called themselves patriots. Read more: Granderson: Is Harris or Trump fighting for workers? The union crowd in Detroit says it all A shift began with the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021. Now Harris campaign is challenging the rights claim to patriotism, love of country and with the sonic drive of Beyonces anthem the concept of freedom itself. This whole week has felt like a dream, said Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign. Im like, Am I going to wake up at some point and realize all of this has been a fantasy? Robinson grew up not far from where the convention was held. She went to Whitney Young High, the same school as Michelle Obama. The former first lady electrified the crowd Tuesday. Robinson, the first Black woman to lead the largest LGBTQ+ rights organization in the country, took the stage Wednesday. Theres been chants of USA in the conference halls, Robinson told me. Normally I save all of my patriotism for the Olympics, but I finally felt like when people were chanting that, that it wasnt a threat to me but a story that included me. That is only possible because of whats happening right now, because of what Kamala Harris has done. In the early days after President Biden announced he was stepping out of the presidential election, there was trepidation over whether America was ready for someone who looked like Harris to be president. Yes, Obamas hope was aspirational. Yes, Hillary Clinton left 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling . But Harris? As president? For many Americans, this was asking a lot. To envision Harris as the first Black woman to be president, the first person of South Asian descent to be president and the first person in an interracial marriage to be president that required voters to let go of what has always been and embrace what may be. The answer to the question of whether Americas ready for a president who isnt white or male has since been answered by the rallying cry of Were not going back. Its very, very powerful, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) told me. I was elected as the first South Asian to the House on the same night Kamala Harris was the first South Asian to the Senate. When we are elected to these positions, we help Black and brown women and other people see themselves. Something that may not have felt possible suddenly feels possible. That feeling can change suddenly, but it took decades to change what was possible. Harris accepted the nomination 60 years to the day after Democrats refused to give Mississippi civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer who was pushing for Black voter representation a delegation seat at the national convention. The Democratic president, Lyndon Johnson, had just signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. And yet the very next month, his running mate Hubert Humphrey said of Hamer : The president has said he will not let that illiterate woman speak on the floor of the Democratic convention. This is what Sam Cooke meant by A Change Is Gonna Come. It wasnt just about the laws on the books. The Civil War brought an end to slavery, but disenfranchising remained. The change needed was one of the heart as well. Cooke wrote the iconic song not long after he was refused a room in an all-white hotel in Louisiana. He released it in 1964 a few months before Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act and the subsequent mistreatment of Hamer; months before Shirley Chisholm, who would become the first Black congresswoman, won her first election; months before Harris was born. If those events seem random and disconnected, Harris mother, Shyamala Gopalan, would tell you otherwise. You think you just fell out of a coconut tree? the vice president famously said last year , quoting her mother. You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you. When you are driven by fear and anger, seeing that connective tissue can become impossible. Its only through compassion that we can see the ties that bind us. Its only through compassion that we can find the joy that sustains. To hear Kamala speak of her Indian immigrant mother which reminds me of my own trailblazing mother who moved a half-world away from her family in search of a different life is incredibly special, Versha Sharma, editor in chief of Teen Vogue, told me. We have been told our whole lives growing up as Americans that we can be and do anything, but thats not been our reality as women of color. Slowly but surely things are starting to change. That sentiment was echoed by many in and around the weeks convention. This moment is literally hundreds of years in the making, said actress Poorna Jagannathan. Set aside if you are a Democrat, Republican or independent. Who we are as Americans is reflected in this ticket, and it surpasses politics. This story could only happen in America. @LZGranderson 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. When covering a political convention like Ive been doing this week, we spend a lot of time writing about politicians and what they say. But we hardly ever pay much attention to the people theyre talking to and sometimes those people are actually more interesting. So let me introduce you to three Florida women I met this week at the Democratic National Convention here in Chicago. A grandmother, a mother and a daughter, theyre representing three generations pitching for the blue team for the past 50-plus years. The mom, Samantha Hope Herring and her daughter Savannah Atkins, are both delegates, while the grandmother, Pat Dansky, is a party volunteer. When she (Herring) was a baby, I took her to McGovern headquarters, and thats how it all started, Dansky said. She was a kid for Carter, a college kid for Clinton, a mama for Obama. I thought (Herring) was gonna be a grandma for Biden, but it looks like its gonna be Harris. Herring is the Democratic chair in Walton County, on the Florida Panhandle adjacent to Alabama. Republicans there outnumber Democrats 66% to 13%. Her local congressman is Matt Gaetz, a Republican so joined at the hip with Donald Trumps MAGA movement that he even came to court to show his support for the former president, in the case where Trump was later convicted on 34 felony counts in connection with the cover-up of hush money payments he made to porn actress Stormy Daniels. Herring became the first woman ever elected from West Florida to serve on the Democratic National Committee. And she passed her love of Democratic politics to her daughter, taking Atkins to a Bill Clinton rally in Baton Rouge while she was still in diapers. I did campaign calls for Obama when I was an older kid, recalled Atkins. Now 26, she is a huge fan of President Joe Biden. Hes the best president of my lifetime, she said. Hes done so much for us, and hes putting everything towards progress, and thats what hes always done for our country, and its wonderful to see him do things with such decency and optimistic values and doing everything he can for the American people. I mean, it really does mean so much to me, especially being a young woman from Florida and everything were dealing with down there with (conservative Republican Gov. Ron) DeSantis. Like many, they were shocked when Biden stepped down in favor of his vice president, Kamala Harris. When he made that decision, I said, I trust you, Joe, wherever you go, Im going with you, Herring said. So 100% in for Kamala, and I absolutely love (vice presidential nominee Tim) Walz. I think hes fantastic. I think hes going to help us in a lot of our rural areas. I happen to work in a lot of the red rural areas in our state, and I believe that he could be very, very helpful. After years of being in the minority, Atkins and Herring might be poised for a win. Their convention uniform is a pink jacket with light-up lettering #4 WOMEN, and a map of Florida on the back. Its a show of support for Florida Amendment 4, which would insert the right to abortion into the states constitution. My daughter and son were born two years apart, Herring said. And when they were born, they had the same exact health care rights. But today, in state of Florida, they dont, and theres something fundamentally wrong with that. Amendment 4 has been polling well and abortion rights have won everyplace the issues been put to voters, including my home state of Kansas, land of the Summer of Mercy and Operation Rescue and a Legislature dominated by the pro-life movement. I think this is really much more serious than just that one issue, I believe its about eroding rights, Herring said. Its about turning our country back to a place thats very dark and frightening, and some of us are going to stand at the front lines and not allow that to happen, and thats what our jacket says. Atkins says the convention, her first, has been an inspiring experience. Im just so happy I can be here and share this with my mother and my grandmother, she said. Were watching history being made. I want to do this for the rest of my life. No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, you have to respect that kind of enthusiasm in the young. It bodes well for democracy, and for America. Wichita Eagle opinion editor Dion Lefler is covering the Democratic National Convention for McClatchys Opinion teams. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and his wife Barbara marked their 70th wedding anniversary Thursday at their favorite date spot. Barbara & I went to the Hickory House in Waterloo when we were 1st dating 2nite we celebrate our 70th wedding anniversary where it all started, Grassley said in a post on the social platform X. Grassley shared a photo of himself and his wife holding hands outside the restaurant. The 90-year-old senator and his wife married Aug. 22, 1954. They have five children. Grassley was first elected to the Senate in 1980, defeating Democratic incumbent Sen. John Culver. He most recently defeated Democratic challenger Michael Franken in 2022. Barbara Grassley is a longtime cancer screening advocate and breast cancer survivor. She was first diagnosed in 1987. The couple have co-chaired the Health Awareness and Screening booth at the Iowa State Fair, the Prevent Cancer Foundation said. Chuck Grassley has for years frequently posted candid messages on his social media account. In 2010, the lawmakers wife told the Iowa Gazette that she doesnt always appreciate her husbands posts, especially when he pulls out his phone at church. I had to tell him to knock it off, 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. By Bo Erickson WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The level of political donations from major food companies accepted by Democratic lawmakers has ticked higher this congressional election cycle, even as many Democrats have accused the top U.S. grocery chains and their suppliers of pushing prices higher at consumers' expense, a Reuters analysis of Federal Election Commission data shows. Democrats have reason to focus on food prices, which have risen 25% between 2019 and 2023. Reuters/Ipsos polling shows the economy is voters' top concern and they have higher confidence in Republicans to manage it. Dozens of Democrats have stepped up their calls since Kroger, the nation's biggest grocer by revenue, proposed a $24.6 billion merger with smaller rival Albertsons. The Federal Trade Commissions challenge to the deal, which it argues is bad for shoppers and workers, goes to trial in an Oregon federal court beginning Monday. Albertsons' PAC has so far contributed $291,500, more than triple its $90,000 through the full 2021-2022 election cycle. Kroger's PAC is also running ahead of its pace, having donated $141,000 so far, up from $140,500 for the entirety of the 2021-2022 cycle. At least 154 Democratic lawmakers or their fundraising organizations have accepted contributions from a handful of top food companies during the current campaign cycle. That includes 51 congressional Democrats - one in five - who have done so while publicly blasting corporate greed in the food industry. Some of the Senate's most vulnerable Democrats - Ohio's Sherrod Brown, Pennsylvania's Bob Casey and Wisconsin's Tammy Baldwin - are among those who both criticized food companies' tactics and taken their donations. Sixty-five congressional Democrats and their affiliated fundraising committees have received 94 contributions from Krogers and Albertsons political action committees totaling $185,000, according to the FEC data through June 2024. The two companies' donations are dwarfed by Walmart, whose PAC has contributed at least $441,500 to Democrats this election. Corporate PACs are legally allowed to give up to $10,000 to campaigns and typically donate to both parties. Overall, 58% of Kroger's and Albertsons' combined donations went to Republican congressional campaigns this cycle. Sixty-eight current members of Congress have sworn off accepting corporate PAC money, according to the group End Citizens United, up from 59 two years ago. Activists say lawmakers need to realize it may come with strings attached. "Large corporations like this don't just give money to elected officials for their health, they do it to expect some type of return," said Morgan Harper, policy director at Fight Corporate Monopolies. "That return can often be in trying to stop the wheels of government from moving to enforce the law against them." Vice President Kamala Harris also made cracking down on price gouging a focus of the first major economic speech of her presidential campaign. BLASTING 'GREEDFLATION' Casey, who faces a stiff reelection fight in Pennsylvania, has said Mondelez International stoked "greedflation" by shrinking its Wheat Thins crackers and Double Stuf Oreos, and criticized Procter & Gamble for its prices on toilet paper, dish soap and toothpaste. His campaign accepted $1,000 donations from PACs for both companies, which supply retailers including Kroger and Albertsons. Casey's campaign said criticizing donors demonstrated independence. "Bob Casey is an independent fighter who will always stand up for working people against corporate greed and companies ripping off Pennsylvanians," a campaign spokesperson said. A Mondelez spokesperson said the company considers "a variety of criteria including positions on public policy issues important to our business, the presence of our employees or facilities in a candidates district or state and key committee membership or leadership positions" when making campaign donations. Brown, whose Ohio reelection bid is rated one of Democrats' most challenging as they seek to defend their 51-49 Senate majority, last year received $2,500 from Cincinnati-based Kroger's PAC and $5,000 from Albertsons' PAC. Brown was also the only lawmaker to receive contributions from the CEOs of both grocery chains, both of whom contributed the maximum $6,600. He has broadly blamed corporate spending on stock buybacks and executive bonuses for pushing grocery prices higher. He supports the Kroger-Albertsons' deal because the companies are unionized. "If this merger is done correctly, and Kroger ensures that workers have a seat at the table, the company has the potential to become one of the largest union companies in an industry that is increasingly dominated by nonunion corporate giants," said Brown spokesperson Kevin Donohoe. The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, which represents workers at both chains, opposes the merger. Wisconsin's Baldwin accused General Mills of "deceptive" pricing for shrinking Cocoa Puffs cereal boxes by 1.2 ounces but charging the same price. Since then, Baldwins campaign received a total of $7,500 from General Mills PAC. Baldwin's campaign did not respond to requests for comment. Congressional Democrats have also blasted rising prices in the meatpacking industry but have still accepted at least $286,000 in campaign donations this cycle from JBS USA, Tyson Foods and Cargill. Albertsons declined to comment. The other companies mentioned did not respond to requests for comment. (Reporting by Bo Erickson, additional reporting by Allende Miglietta; Editing by Nick Zieminski) DES MOINES, Iowa As many school districts across central Iowa are welcoming students back to school on Friday, theyre referring to their countys health department for how to limit the spread of germs. The Polk County Health Department and the Wright County Health Department both said theyre following the most recent CDC Guidelines for COVID as students return to the classroom. The virus is now being treated like other respiratory illnesses, like the flu or RSV. If a student tests positive for COVID, they should stay home for 24 hours, or until their symptoms get better and they are fever-free. Iowa unveils new childcare search website Then, for the next five days, students should take precautions to help prevent spreading the illness to others. This includes good hand washing, covering coughs, or even distancing from others. Masks arent mandatory, but health officials say theyre another way to prevent spreading COVID to others. Were definitely in a different place today than we were at the beginning of the pandemic when this was a new virus wed never seen and our bodies had no ability to protect ourselves from it. So, its great to be on the other side, said Kari Lebeda Townsend, the Disease Prevention Supervisor for the Polk County Health Department. She also said that the wastewater in our area shows an increase in COVID cases during the summer, and this trend is expected to continue as students head back to school. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) In a letter posted to Cross Creek High Schools Facebook page on Aug. 22, a gun was found and confiscated today after administrators received a tip that a student potentially had a weapon. According to the school, the incident is being addressed by the Richmond County School System police in accordance to the Code of Student Conduct and Discipline. Families were asked to take the opportunity to speak with their children about the importance of school safety in the letter. ALSO ON WJBF: Reaction to the petition on the cell phone ban in Richmond County Schools People can address safety concerns at the System Tip Line at (706) 828-0177. The entire letter can be read here: Cross Creek Gun, 8-22-2024Download Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CHICAGO, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday night officially accepted the Democratic Party's presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) held at the United Center in Chicago. "I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America," Harris, the first woman of color to lead a major party ticket in the country, said in a speech on the fourth and the final day of the DNC. "With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past, a chance to chart a New Way Forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans," she said. Harris reflected on her upbringing as a person of Indian and African descent, and her experience working as a prosecutor in the Bay Area and as California's attorney general. In her speech, Harris said building the middle class will be a defining goal of her presidency, noting that the middle class is where she comes from. She also elaborated on abortion rights, immigration policy, and foreign policy, among other topics. The Democratic presidential nominee also blasted former President Donald Trump's actions and policies, warning that the consequences of putting Trump back in the White House would be "extremely serious." In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, lashed out at Harris' speech, saying that she stands for "incompetence" and "weakness." Gun control advocates and survivors struck a somber tone during the final night of the Democratic National Convention, delivering an emotional plea for gun reform. Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Ga.), who lost her son to gun violence, Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting survivor Abbey Clements, Kim Rubio, who lost her daughter in the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting, and gun violence survivors Melody McFadden and Edgar Vilchez appeared on stage together in an emotional show of unity. Each speaker shared their story and why they were advocating for gun reform. I carry that horrific day with me, Clements said, holding back tears. She said the colleagues and the first graders killed at Sandy Hook should still be here. Rubio described the day leading up to the Robb Elementary shooting in Uvalde, beginning with her daughter Lexi receiving a good citizen award. Thirty minutes later a gunman murders her, 18 classmates and two teachers, she said.; Uvalde is national news, Rubio said. Parents reach out for their children. I reach out for the child I will never hold again. Prior to the speakers appearances, the convention rolled out a video slamming former President Trump on the issue of gun control and praising Harriss work on the issue. McBath, who ran for Congress on gun reform, called on attendees and viewers to take action on the issue. Our losses do not weaken us. They strengthen our resolve, McBath said to applause. We will secure safer futures that we all deserve. We will organize. We will advocate. We will run for office. Following the onstage testimonials, gun violence survivor and former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords (D) appeared on stage with her husband Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.). Giffords recalled the terrible, terrible day when she was shot, as well as her long recovery. She went on to thank President Biden for checking in on her during her recovery and after and urged voters to support Harris in November. Kamala can beat the gun lobby. She can fight gun trafficking, Giffords said. Join me in voting for Kamala Harris. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Gus Walzs Proud Son Moment at DNC Gets Hate from Far-Right Pundits Like Ann Coulter. The World Is Siding with Gus Public figures and social media users jumped in to defend Gus, 17, after he grew emotional watching his dad, Tim Walz, accept the Democratic vice presidential nomination CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Gus Walz cheers on his father Tim Walz at the Democratic National Convention Tim Walz's teenage son, Gus, had a proud moment during the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, Aug. 21, when he was overcome with emotion while cheering on his father. But as a clip of Gus crying and giving the vice presidential nominee a standing ovation made waves on social media, some right-wing pundits began mocking the 17-year-old's support. Related: Tim Walz's Son Gus, 17, Steals the Show in Emotional Appearance at DNC: 'That's My Dad' On Aug. 22, Ann Coulter, 62, wrote Talk about weird in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that has since been deleted. Coulter's comment was seemingly in reference to Tim, 60, popularizing "weird" as a descriptor for Republican opponents Donald Trump and J.D. Vance. Conservative Wisconsin radio host Jay Weber took his judgment a step further, saying in a now-deleted X post, "Sorry, but this is embarrassing for both father and son. If the Walzs represent today's American man, this country is screwed," before going on to describe the VP candidate's son with an expletive. Amid a few extreme examples of hate, the internet overwhelmingly rallied around Gus, who is still a minor and has been diagnosed with a nonverbal learning disorder, ADHD and anxiety. Several prominent figures also joined the conversation to defend the Walzes' comfort expressing love for one another. Related: Michelle Obama Says Tim Walzs Son Gus Showed America What Real Love Looks Like After Viral DNC Moment Chip Somodevilla/Getty Hope, Gus, Tim and Gwen Walz at the Democratic National Convention Look, I may not agree with @Tim_Walz prescription for America's challenges - but I've always believed in shielding our children from attack," Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro wrote on X, with a screenshot of Coulter's post. "His son Gus, our kids neurodivergent and of all abilities ought to be celebrated and supported." Chasten Buttigieg, husband of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, wrote on X: "I hope to inspire my kids so much that when they see me speak of the dreams and passion I have for my country they are moved to tears like Gus Walz was." Chasten continued: @Tim_Walz has dedicated his life to service and has clearly exceeded in being an excellent, supportive, and loving father every step of the way. We should all be so lucky to know a love like that. 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. Michelle Obama, who spoke at the DNC on Tuesday night, also notably praised Gus. "I was touched to see Gus Walzs joy when his dad @Tim_Walz took the stage last night. Thankful for you showing us all what real love looks like, Gus," the former first lady said on X. "Lets be a nation that embraces this kind of warmth and vulnerability, instead of making fun or mocking it. We could all use some of Guss example in our own lives." Shannon Watts, who founded Moms Demand Action, came to Gus' defense as well, sharing her own diagnosis. "I am neurodivergent. When I was 14, I was diagnosed with ADHD, OCD, and several learning disorders, including dyscalculia," she posted on X. "Were not weird, were wonderful. And were your family, friends and fellow Americans." Related: Tim Walz and His Wife, Gwen, Open Up About Son's Non-Verbal Learning Disorder: 'His Secret Power' (Exclusive) Gage Skidmore/Flickr.com Conservative pundit Ann Coulter, who has earned a reputation for making offensive remarks Following the backlash Coulter faced, she attempted to walk back her comments. I took [my post] down as soon as someone told me hes austistc [sic], she said on Aug. 22, but its Democrats who go around calling everyone weird thinking its hilariously funny. Gus has not been diagnosed with autism, though nonverbal learning disorders can sometimes share the same features, as an expert explained to PEOPLE on Friday, Aug. 23. Weber also shared a follow-up statement after deleting his initial post, similarly apologizing because Gus has a learning disorder, but not because of the hateful comment itself. "I didn't realize the kid was disabled, and have taken the post down," he wrote. Related: What to Know About Nonverbal Learning Disorder After Tim Walz Reveals Son Gus' Diagnosis: An Expert Explains ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Gus and Hope Walz tear up as their father, Tim Walz, shouts them out from the DNC stage on Aug. 21, 2024 Tim and his wife, Gwen Walz, opened up to PEOPLE about Gus' diagnosis on Aug. 7, calling it his "secret power." "Like so many American families, it took us time to figure out how to make sure we did everything we could to make sure Gus would be set up for success as he was growing up," the couple said. "It took time, but what became so immediately clear to us was that Gus condition is not a setback its his secret power." For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. 'This guy did not look like a bobcat': Rare Canada lynx is captured on video in Vermont A Canada lynx was spotted in Vermont for the first time since 2018 in a video recorded on Aug. 17 in Rutland County. "Canada lynx are endangered in Vermont and threatened nationally," Brehan Furfey, wildlife biologist and furbearer project leader with Vermont Fish and Wildlife, said in a statement. "That makes any verifiable lynx sighting in our state important. This newest sighting is especially exciting because the cat was spotted in Rutland County, far south of most confirmed lynx reports in Vermont." Gary Shattuck, a retired federal prosecutor, captured the video of the lynx at about 6:30 in the evening as it walked along the edge of a dirt road leading to Shattuck's home of 50 years in Shrewsbury. A rare Canada lynx walks along a dirt road in Shrewsbury, as captured in a video by longtime Shrewsbury resident Gary Shattuck. "I wasn't too far from home when I noticed this large feline on the side of the road, walking in the same direction (I was driving)," Shattuck said. "I pulled up to it and couldn't tell if it was a bobcat. I was concerned because it looked so thin." As it happened, Shattuck, 73, did not have his iPhone with him in the car, so he drove home to get it. When he returned, the lynx was still walking along the road and Shattuck began shooting the video from inside his car. "I was curious, I have never been that close to an animal like that," Shattuck said. "I would expect it to run off actually, so its behavior was a little strange." After shooting the video, Shattuck returned home and called the local game warden, getting voicemail. The next morning, a Sunday, Shattuck sent the video to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department and heard back within a half hour via email, saying he would receive a call the next day. Furfey called Shattuck on Monday to confirm he had captured a rare Canada lynx on his video, and that the animal's behavior was not all that unusual for a young male passing through the area, nor was his appearance, which Shattuck feared was too thin. "This guy did not look like a bobcat because he's so thin," Shattuck said. "I didn't know if he was sick." Why are Canada lynx rare in Vermont Vermont is on the southernmost edge of the Canada lynx's range, Vermont Fish and Wildlife said in a news release, and most confirmed sightings in the state are from the relatively remote Northeast Kingdom, near the Canadian border. "Lynx are specially adapted to hunt snowshoe hares," Furfey said. "Both species (lynx and hare) need young forest habitats and reliable snowpack to thrive. In Vermont, the best combination of climate, habitat and enough hares to support lynx is in the Northeast Kingdom, and even that is on the low end compared to areas of New Hampshire and Maine, where lynx are more common." Michael Bancroft captured this cellphone photo of two Canada lynx on a Northeast Kingdom snowmobile trail in 2010. Rutland County, where Shattuck captured the lynx on video, is not a suitable habitat for large snowshoe hare, or by extension, lynx. Rutland County does have, however, plenty of well-connected wild landscapes that allow wildlife to move between different habitats. Furfe suspects the lynx was a male moving through the region looking to establish its own territory, a behavior called "dispersing." Dispersing lynx can cover a lot of ground quickly and it's possible the lynx is no longer in Vermont, according to Vermont Fish and Wildlife. "Although this lynx appears to be on the thinner side, its calm behavior around passing cars as reported by observers is not unusual for a dispersing individual," Furfey said. "This lynx was probably just focused on finding food in an area where hares are not abundant and on avoiding competition with bobcats and fishers while passing through southern Vermont." What should you do if you think you see a lynx Vermont Fish and Wildlife has received more than 160 reports of lynx since 2016, but only seven of those sightings were confirmed, with the most recent credible report coming from Jericho in 2018. "If you think you're looking at a lynx, the most helpful thing you can do is take a photo or video and send it to the Fish and Wildlife Department," Furfey said. "The large majority of photographs our biologists receive are bobcats, but that doesn't exclude the possibility that a Canada lynx will show up one day." Contact Dan DAmbrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT. This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Canada lynx, endangered in Vermont, spotted walking in Shrewsbury, VT FILE PHOTO: The company logo of Halliburton oilfield services corporate offices is seen in Houston (Reuters) -Top U.S. oilfield services firm Halliburton said on Friday it was working with law enforcement to determine the extent of a computer systems breach and was yet to determine if the incident would have a material impact on its business. The $23-billion company became aware of the cyber attack on Wednesday, it said in its first securities filing about the breach, adding its "ongoing investigation and response included restoration of its systems and assessment of materiality." The company also said it had taken certain systems offline to protect them. A spokesperson declined to comment on whether the company had been contacted by the people behind the breach. Reuters was the first to report about the cyber attack on Wednesday. The attack appeared to impact business operations at the company's north Houston campus as well as some global connectivity networks, a person familiar with the matter said. The company had also asked some staff not to connect to internal networks, the source said. The U.S. Department of Energy said on Thursday the Halliburton cyber incident had not impacted any energy services. (Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Shreya Biswas) A legislative commission studying the uprooting of Black communities by public universities met for the first time Tuesday in Richmond, with members outlining their goals and expectations. I am very interested in this topic simply because Norfolk historically has been the very core and center of redlining and displacement, said Del. Bonita Anthony, a Norfolk Democrat. My expectation is for us to gather as much information as we can and to look at overarching policies that the General Assembly can put in place to make sure we dont repeat history. The commission consists of state legislators and civilian members. It was formed following a project examining the issue through a partnership between ProPublica and the Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism. The investigation focused on Christopher Newport University, which was established in Newport News in the 1960s on land taken from a Black community through the use of eminent domain. Cassandra Newby-Alexander, a commission member and history professor at Norfolk State University, said she hoped the legislative panel would focus on reparative justice. The next step has to be to heal, she said. Healing doesnt just come from acknowledgement. It comes from actual steps to repair because right now we are structurally still in a racist society. Hampton Roads has the highest percentage of segregated housing in the nation, Newby-Alexander explained. We still see disparities in funding, even though our area is the second largest producing area in the commonwealth of Virginia, she said. Sen. Danny Diggs noted that CNU and Newport News are already working to study the schools past. They are making great progress and I certainly look forward to learning about our history and how we got to where we are at today, said Diggs, R-Yorktown. The city and CNU created their own joint task force earlier this year to research the decisions that led to placing the university in the Shoe Lane neighborhood. Its mission statement says it seeks to acknowledge the past, preserve the Shoe Lane neighborhoods heritage and pave the way for equitable strategies moving forward. The commission also heard from Brandi Kellam, a reporter who led the initial investigation. Kellam said there are only five homes from the Shoe Lane neighborhood remaining today. This is not just a local Newport News issue, not just a city council issue, not just a college issue, she said. This is a collective, systemic dismantling of a community by several parties in power across the state of Virginia. Kellam highlighted several other examples. She said Lamberts Point in Norfolk was leveled in the 1960s-70s to make room for a new branch of the College of William and Mary, which later turned into Old Dominion University. Lamberts Point was previously a middle class Black community. The move displaced more than 150 families. The University of Virginia, meanwhile, wiped out a Black community and business district called Vinegar Hill when the school needed more room for its growing student population in the 1960s. Kellam said residents valued their neighborhoods and tried to push back. Urban renewal is portrayed as a tool to revitalize dilapidated communities; blight was a very popular term used in the 1950s and 60s, she said. But as you can see based on (our reporting), these were actually thriving Black communities. On Friday, CNU spokesperson Jim Hanchett said in an email that the university is communicating with the commission and monitoring its work. Christopher Newport University looks forward to working with the Commission on this important initiative, he wrote. Katie King, katie.king@virginiamedia.com What happened to the TikTok ban? Walz, Buttigieg and more make their debut Several politicians have joined TikTok in recent weeks as a ban on the popular video app looms. Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, Pete Buttigieg, JD Vance and Donald Trump have all joined TikTok as the race ramps up and campaign strategists scramble to influence young voters. But their accounts come amid a contentious legal battle between the US Department of Justice and TikTok over a potential ban on the social media app. Transportation Secretary Buttigieg joined the platform earlier this week, joking in his first post that viewers might recognize him from Fox News. That came after Walz joined the app last week, quickly amassing more than 1 million followers. Vance, meanwhile, joined TikTok earlier this month and has since gained over 450,000 followers. Harris also created a personal account just days after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race. Kamala Harriss running mate Tim Walz joined TikTok last week, just days before Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined the app (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Trump jumped on the TikTok bandwagon months ago, however, joining in June and amassing millions of followers. Trump has flipped on his support for a ban, initially pushing for one during his presidency before speaking out against the legislation earlier this year. If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business, Trump said in March, referring to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. In April, Biden signed a bill that forces the Chinese company ByteDance to either sell their app or be banned from US app stores within a year meaning the app will stick around through the election. TikTok has since sued the US, arguing the bill unfairly singles it out and violates the First Amendment. Never before has Congress expressly singled out and shut down a specific speech forum, TikToks attorneys wrote in June. Never before has Congress silenced so much speech in a single act. The Justice Department responded in late July, asking the court to uphold the legislation and arguing the bill pertains to national security rather than the right to free speech. The United States has long been concerned that the Chinese government could use its robust authority to take control of these data and thus obtain access to Americans personal and proprietary information, which China may stockpile and strategically deploy to undermine the United States security, the Justice Department replied. Major presidential contenders arent the only ones joining TikTok despite the controvesy. Several lawmakers supported the ban while still using TikTok, including Democratic Representative Jeff Jackson of North Carolina and Representative Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, CNN reports. Meanwhile, Harris has made her position on the app clear. As the VP has said before, we dont want to ban TikTok, a spokesperson for Harris told NBC News. We would just like to see a change in ownership. The Independent has contacted Buttigieg, the Harris-Walz campaign and the Trump-Vance campaign for comment. WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) The Democratic convention is officially over. Late Thursday night Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage to rally supporters as she fights for the White House. On the final night of the Democratic convention Vice President Kamala Harris made a direct appeal to voters. This election is not only the most important of our lives, it is one of the most important in the life of our nation, Harris said. Over the course of the four-day convention the Harris campaign and Democratic allies worked to introduce Harris to the American people. She highlighted her personal story as a daughter of immigrants and her history as a prosecutor and senator and made the case for their new candidate. The Democrats warned against sending former president Donald Trump back to the White House and framed the election as an opportunity. To move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past, a chance to chart a new way forward, Harris said. Harris supporters say the convention was a showcase of the energy and enthusiasm in the Democratic party, but the race is expected to be very competitive as both candidates work to rally voters ahead of November. So, Lets get out there. Lets fight for it, said Harris. The presidential field could get a little narrower soon. Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr is set to give a speech today amid speculation that he might drop out of the 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 Queen City News. CHICAGO (AP) Vice President Kamala Harris is telling voters they have a chance to chart a new way forward as Americans this November, as she looks to introduce herself to voters and prosecute her case against Republican Donald Trump Thursday night as she accepts her partys nomination at the Democratic National Convention. Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris walks on stage to speak during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Delegates watch a presentation during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley) Democratic veterans serving in local, state and federal levels of government stand alongside Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) The Pack Drum Line, the official drum line of the Chicago Sky and the Chicago Bulls, perform during the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (Mike Segar/Pool via AP) Supporters wave flags during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) The Pack drum line, the official drum line of the Chicago Sky and the Chicago Bulls, performs during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has a picture taken during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Kerry Washington, left, and Tony Goldwyn appear on stage during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Helena Hudlin, from left, Meena Harris and Ella Emhoff depart after speaking during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Delegates cheer during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) Kerry Washington, center, with grand-nieces of Vice President Kamala Harris Amara Ajagu, right, and Leela Ajagu, speak during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) CORRECTS ID OF KOREY WISE Yusef Salaam, left, and Korey Wise, members of the Exonerated Five, speak during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) Kim Rubio, of Uvalde, Texas, speaks during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, of Arizona, right, and her husband Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., appear during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley) Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz claps during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) Demoratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Morry Gash) Harris walked onstage to thunderous applause and a long-standing ovation as convention-goers chanted her name. Harris address in Chicago caps a whirlwind eight weeks in American politics and manifests the stunning reversal of Democratic fortunes just 75 days until Election Day. Party leaders, who had publicly despaired over President Joe Bidens candidacy after his disastrous debate against Trump, were jubilant both at the historic nature of Harris candidacy and their buoyed hopes for this November. America, the path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected. But Im no stranger to unlikely journeys, she said. VP Harris coming to Savannah, mayor says With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past, Harris is saying in what is expected to be a 40-minute speech. A chance to chart a New Way Forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans. Harris is the first Black woman and first person of South Asian descent to accept a major partys presidential nomination, and if elected, she would be the first female U.S. president. As she took the stage, she looked out across a sea of female delegates and Democratic supporters wearing white the color of womens suffrage the movement that culminated with American women securing the right to vote in 1920. A festive mood filled the United Center all evening, with a packed audience including running mate Tim Walz dancing and singing along to a mix of pop and classic rock. Two of Harris young grandnieces were brought onstage by actress Kerry Washington to remind the convention how to correctly pronounce her first name. At the girls direction, one side of the arena shouted comma and the other la. Despite speculation about a potential surprise appearance by the music superstar Beyonce at Thursdays convention ahead of Harris speech, a source involved in the evenings planning who was not authorized to discuss it publicly said she would not be in attendance. Just a month after Biden ended his reelection bid and endorsed her to replace him atop the Democratic ticket, Harris was looking to make the most of her chance to define herself to voters on her own terms before an audience of millions. Harris shared her background rising from a middle-class family to protect others as a prosecutor, contrast her optimistic vision with Trumps dark agenda and evoke a sense of patriotism, according to a campaign official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive speech preparations. Harris spoke briefly to the convention on Monday, when she thanked Biden and celebrated his record as president, and again on Tuesday, when the beginning of her rally in Milwaukee was streamed into the convention hall after Democrats reaffirmed their nomination of her with a state-by-state roll call. Among others who spoke before Harris on Thursday were Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, Gabby Giffords, the Arizona Democrat who was nearly killed in a mass shooting in 2011, and civil rights leader Al Sharpton. Sharpton highlighted the historic nature of Harris nomination, noting that 52 years ago, he was a youth director for former Rep. Shirley Chisholms 1972 Democratic primary bid for the White House. Chisholm, who was Black, died in 2005, but Sharpton drew cheers when he declared, I know shes watching us tonight as a Black woman stands up to accept the nomination for president of the United States. Sharpton also introduced the now-exonerated members of the Central Park Five the Black teenagers who were wrongly convicted of rape in New York City in 1989. Trump took out full-page newspaper ads at the time calling for five to receive the death penalty and even today sidesteps calls to apologize. As it has all week, Thursday nights convention programing aimed to appeal to anti-Trump Republicans to put aside party labels and support Harris over Trump. Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, a Republican, was granted a prime-time spot minutes before Harris took the stage to say, Harris shares my allegiance to the rule of law, the Constitution, and democracy. Whatever policies we disagree on pale in comparison with those fundamental matters of principle. Of decency. Of fidelity to this nation. To my fellow Republicans: If you still pledge allegiance to those principles, I suspect you belong here, too, Kinzinger said. Casting Harris as the better guarantor of the nations security, former Obama administration Defense Secretary Leon Panetta evoked Ronald Reagan and Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego of Arizona slammed Trump for targeting the late Republican Sen. John McCain, the GOP nominee for president in 2008. John McCain was an American hero, Gallego said. Show some respect. Harris, the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, spoke a day after Walz, her choice for running mate, thanked the packed Chicago arena for bringing the joy to the election. Despite Harris prominence as vice president, shes spent four years in Bidens shadow, leaving some Americans unclear on her personal history and her political vision for the country. Harris talked about her mother being the one who primarily raised her, and the family renting a small apartment in San Franciscos East Bay. She will also detail a key part of her political origin story, when Wanda, her best friend from high school, confided in her that she was being abused by her stepfather and came to live with Harris. That is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor. To protect people like Wanda, Harris was saying. Republicans, meanwhile, have raced to define Harris, accusing her of being a communist and dangerously liberal. Trump has also targeted her race, while his running mate JD Vance describes her as a chameleon. Harris team has emphasized her law enforcement background, including her time as San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general. She was later elected to the U.S. Senate and sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020. Her campaign imploded that year before a single primary vote was cast, but Biden chose her as his running mate, catapulting her to the national stage. Although Harris initially struggled as vice president, her reputation grew when she became the administrations leading advocate for abortion rights after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Democrats harnessed anger over the decision to stem their losses in the last midterm elections. When Biden stumbled in his debate with Trump in June, Harris defended him until he decided to drop out of the race. With the help of his endorsement, she swiftly unified the Democratic Party behind her candidacy, resetting a presidential race that Trump had appeared on track to win. We know what were dealing with in this moment, Harris said this week in Milwaukee. And we must remember as the generations of Americans before us who led the fight for freedom the baton is now in our hands. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. If you like dividends, you'll probably love owning a company that has paid a dividend every single year since 1833. Bank of Nova Scotia (NYSE: BNS) can make that claim. Or how about a company that has trademarked the nickname "The Monthly Dividend Company"? That is exactly what Realty Income (NYSE: O) has done. Here's why these are two no-brainer, high-yield stocks to buy today if you have $1,000 (or more) to invest. Bank of Nova Scotia is working on the problem To get the bad news out first, Bank of Nova Scotia, often just called Scotiabank, has been lagging behind its banking peers on key industry metrics, like earnings-per-share growth, non-interest income growth, and return on equity. That's not good, but management is working on the problem. Specifically, it is shifting its business toward its best markets and away from weaker ones. Image source: Getty Images. This won't be a quick fix, as the overhaul will require some time to work through. But investor worries about the laggard performance have resulted in Bank of Nova Scotia's dividend yield rising to a huge 6.5%, well above the bank average of around 2.5%. You will be paid very well to wait for Scotiabank to revamp its business. But there's one more important factor here. Bank of Nova Scotia is a Canadian bank. Canadian banking regulations are very strict. The rules basically protect the country's largest players from competition. Scotiabank is one of the largest banks in the country, so it has an entrenched industry position at the foundation of its business. The real problem is the company's growth effort in South America, which hasn't worked out as well as hoped. That is where the big changes are being made, but since the bank's foundation remains strong, the risk here probably isn't as large as it may at first seem. For long-term income investors, the risk/reward trade-off seems tilted in a favorable direction. Realty Income is boring, and that is good Realty Income is the largest net lease real estate investment trust (REIT) by a wide margin. (Net leases require tenants to pay most property-level operating costs.) In fact, with a $50 billion market cap, it is roughly four times the size of its next-closest peer. This provides Realty Income with valuable advantages. For starters, Realty Income is so big that it can take on transactions that would simply be too large for smaller net lease REITs to handle. That includes acting as an industry consolidator, noting that the company has acquired two smaller REITs over the past decade. But there's more because being so large gives this investment-grade-rated REIT greater access to the capital markets. And that, in turn, generally provides it with a very low cost of capital. Thus, it can also make profitable deals where competitors with higher costs can't. All in all, Realty Income has a strong industry position to support its attractive 5.2% dividend yield. The payout been increased every year for nearly three decades. There are higher-yielding REITs you can buy, but few can match Realty Income's consistency, and none of its peers can match its scale. Simply put, if you like to own the biggest and best, Realty Income is the high-yield net lease REIT you'll want to buy. Two easy-to-love dividend stocks Although Scotiabank comes with some warts, the high-yield bank remains a very well-positioned player in the banking sector. It seems highly likely to muddle through its turnaround effort while continuing to reward investors well. 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See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of August 22, 2024 Reuben Gregg Brewer has positions in Bank Of Nova Scotia and Realty Income. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Realty Income. The Motley Fool recommends Bank Of Nova Scotia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 2 No-Brainer High-Yield Stocks to Buy With $1,000 Right Now was originally published by The Motley Fool Vice President Harris accepted her partys presidential nomination Thursday night with a speech that asked voters to write the next great chapter of American history. That language pointed to Harriss extraordinary recent history: She became the nominee after President Biden dropped his reelection bid and endorsed her a month ago. It also hinted at the history she would make, if she defeats former President Trump this fall, by becoming the first woman to hold the nations highest office. And it was heavily draped in patriotism, a prime focus in the last night of the four-day Democratic convention. It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done. Guided by optimism and faith, to fight for this country we love, to fight for the ideals we cherish and to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth: the privilege and pride of being an American, Harris told an enthralled crowed. Together, lets write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story every told, she added, putting herself firmly within her nations extraordinary history. The vice president evoked her background as a prosecutor, a theme she is expected to lean into against Trump. And to be clear, for my entire career, Ive only had one client: the people, Harris said. On behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination. Harris shared her previous fights as attorney general of California, including taking on cartels who trafficked guns and drugs and human beings, fighting for seniors, and fighting for people facing home foreclosures. We were underestimated at practically every turn. But we never gave up because the future is always worth fighting for, she said. About 15 minutes into her speech, Harris fully turned her attention to Trump, calling him an unserious man, but saying the consequences of reelecting him would be serious. Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes. When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the Capitol, where they assaulted law enforcement officers, she said. She noted Trump has been found guilty on fraud charges and was found liable for sexual abuse, and that hes talked of pardoning those charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Consider consider the power he will have, especially after the United States Supreme Court just ruled he would be immune from criminal prosecution. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails. Imagine how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States, she said. She circled back to her remarks about the people being her only client, saying Trumps only client has been himself. Harris, the daughter of an Indian mother and Jamaican father, vowed to protect the freedom to vote, saying she wants to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act. She also pledged to bring back and sign into law border legislation that a bipartisan group of senators negotiated earlier this year, and that was effectively killed by Trump and House Republicans, who argued it was too weak. On foreign policy, Harris said she would ensure America has the best fighting force in the U.S. and vowed to protect, honor, and never disparage the service of veterans, to chants of U.S.A. from the crowd. Harris also said she wants to strengthen U.S. global leadership, arguing Trump has threatened to abandon NATO and U.S. allies. She addressed the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, a hot-button issue that has caused demonstrators to gather outside of the convention and protest the Biden administrations handling of the war and pro-Israel stance. Now is the time to get a hostage deal and a cease-fire deal done, Harris said to applause from the crowd, before adding that she would always stand up for Israels right to defend itself in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating, Harris said. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. She reiterated that she and Biden are working to end the war and to ensure the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination, prompting some of the loudest yells of the night from the convention crowd. Her remarks did not show a break with Biden on the war, however, which some Democrats had hoped to hear. The vice president said dictators such as North Koreas Kim Jong Un are rooting for Trump to win in November, because they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. In the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand, and I know where the United States belongs, she said. Harris spent much of the beginning of her remarks paying homage to her late mother, Shyamala Harris. I miss her every day, especially right now. And I know shes looking down and smiling, she said. She said her mother traveled at 19 years old from India to the U.S., with the goal of finding the cure to breast cancer. Harris quoted her father, who split up with her mother while Harris was in elementary school, telling her when she was young, Run, Kamala, run. Dont be afraid. Dont let anything stop you. My mother was a brilliant, 5-foot-tall brown woman with an accent, she said. As a child, I saw how the world sometimes treated her. But my mother never lost her cool. She also taught us: Never do anything half-assed, she added. Harris first thanked her husband, second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, when she took the stage. Happy anniversary Dougie, I love you so very much, she said. The couple marked their 10th anniversary Thursday. Emhoff and his children, Ella and Cole, along with Harriss sister Maya Harris, brother-in-law Tony West and their daughter, Meena Harris, sat in the front row during the remarks. The family and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) and his family joined her on stage for the balloon drop after her speech. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Palestinain child brought to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital after an Israeli attack in Deir al-Balah. Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa Democratic US presidential candidate Kamala Harris spoke out in favour of a ceasefire in the Gaza war and the release of the hostages, as she formally accepted her party's nomination on Thursday. "With respect to the war in Gaza, President [Joe] Biden and I are working around the clock, because now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done," she said on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. She spoke out against the attacks by Hamas militants and other Palestinian extremist groups on October 7. "I will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself," Harris said. "At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost, desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, over and over again, the scale of suffering is heartbreaking." Biden and Harris were working to end the war, free the hostages and ensure Israel's security, she said. The suffering in the Gaza Strip must end "and the Palestinians must be able to realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination," Harris added. The Gaza war was triggered by the worst massacre in Israel's history. More than 1,200 were killed in attacks by Hamas militants and other Palestinian extremist groups on October 7. More than 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza during Israel's retaliatory military campaign, according to the Hamas-controlled health authority. Relatives of Palestinians, who killed in Israeli attack, mourn after their bodies were brought to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital for burial in Deir al-Balah. Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa Palestinians pray over the bodies of their relatives who were killed in an Israeli attack, after the bodies have been brought to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital for burial in Deir al-Balah. Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa A child sleeps as Palestinains start to migrate for safer areas following the Israeli army's warning for the evacuation of Abu Areef and Al-Mazra areas in Deir el-Balah. Naaman Omar/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa Relatives of Palestinians, who killed after an Israeli attack targeting a house in the Maghzi refugee camp, mourn after their bodies were brought to the al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital for burial in Deir El-Balah. Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa Vice President Kamala Harris has called on Venezuelas armed forces to protect the countrys citizens as a political crisis embroils the nation, warning that a militarized response to democratic protests there will only deepen the crisis that has unfolded ever since Nicolas Maduro refused to concede power after losing a presidential election last month. In a letter written to Venezuelas opposition leaders Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez last week, the Democratic nominee for president also called on the Venezuelan National Electoral Council to be held to the highest levels of transparency and on the international community to apply pressure to the council to publish all polling station-level results from the election. I strongly urge the security forces in Venezuela to demonstrate restraint, respect the human rights and freedom of expression of all Venezuelans, and protect the Venezuelan people from political threats and attacks, Harris wrote in the letter, obtained by McClatchy and the Miami Herald. Violation of these rights only deepen the crisis and hinder efforts toward a peaceful and democratic transition. We will continue to encourage the parties in Venezuela to begin discussions on a respectful, peaceful handover of power in accordance with Venezuelan electoral law, she added. Harris made the comments in light of the efforts of Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro to crush protests triggered by the regimes announcement that he won last months presidential election. Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro That decision has been called by the opposition as an attempt by Maduro to remain in power through another electoral fraud, and insist that Gonzalez was the real winner of the July 28th presidential election. To demonstrate that claim, the opposition, led by Machado, published the official tallies of more than 80% of the voting stations showing that the opposition candidate defeated Maduro by a margin of more than 2-1. The electoral council, which is tightly controlled by Maduro, has yet to make public the tallies showing that he was the winner on election day. His regime, meanwhile, has launched a violent crackdown on the protests that has led to the death of at least 25 people and the injuries of dozens others, while some 2,000 others have been arrested. A White House official told McClatchy that Harris has been intensely involved in the response to the crisis ever since the election. The White House, from President Biden and Vice President Harris on down, has been intensely focused on the Venezuelan elections during the weeks leading up to and since the July 28 election, the official said. Uncommitted delegates hold a press conference outside the United Center before the Democratic National Convention Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) WASHINGTON (AP) With anger over the war in Gaza simmering, Vice President Kamala Harris tried to defuse one of the most divisive issues within the Democratic Party on the biggest political stage of her life. Her remarks Thursday night in her speech accepting the party's presidential nomination hewed closely to previous statements on the conflict, which began when Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. Harris said she will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself. She's opposed restrictions on arms sales to Israel. Then Harris pivoted to the destruction that Israel has caused in Gaza, where 40,000 Palestinians have been killed. So many innocent lives lost, she said. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. Harris said she was working with President Joe Biden on a cease-fire deal that would also release hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, a step toward helping Palestinians realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination. Such a deal has been elusive despite pressure from the White House. Biden and Harris spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, while the Democratic National Convention was underway. Harris addressed the conflict in a similar way last month after meeting with Netanyahu in Washington, offering no concrete changes from Biden's strong support of Israel but increasing the rhetorical emphasis on the needs of Palestinians. Harris hopes to alleviate divisions over the war within the Democratic Party. However, she also risks disappointing activists who want her to explicitly change course and stop sending weapons to Israel that have been used to kill Palestinian civilians. Protests over the war did not derail the convention as some Democrats had feared. Organizers did not gather the tens of thousands that they wanted, and outbursts in the United Center were rare and overshadowed by the party's excitement over Harris' nomination. However, there was still no shortage of reminders of dissatisfaction with the war. Uncommitted delegates, representing Democratic primary voters who didn't back a candidate in protest over the war, held a protest outside the United Center when convention organizers declined requests to have a Palestinian American speaker on stage. They pointed out that the parents of an American hostage were given the opportunity to speak. We are Democrats. We are a part of this party. And we are just saying, Hear us because it matters, said Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri, who is nearing the end of her term in Congress after losing her primary earlier this month. With Harris, Democrats try a new tack to take down Trump: Making fun of him The Harris campaign, unlike the Biden campaign, has embraced mocking Trump as a tactic. CHICAGO A goal of every presidential campaign is to get voters to size up the opponent and, repulsed, decide, No way. President Joe Bidens approach was to persuade the electorate that Donald Trump is a national menace. Kamala Harris is instead casting him as Dennis the Menace. The Harris campaign and her Democratic allies have set out to downsize Trump, pushing the idea that hes a bumbling, cartoonish figure whos not so much fearsome as he is laughable. Or as Harris running mate, Tim Walz, might say: weird. All week, speakers at the Democratic convention in Chicago have been lampooning Trumps fixations. What is it with his focus on crowd size? (More on that later.) Why does he keep talking about Hannibal Lecter, the cannibal from a horror film that was in the theaters before millions of Americans were born? (Keep reading.) A video shown at the convention imagined Trump as an offender in the classic TV series "Law & Order," complete with an unseen narrator intoning: This is the story of Donald Trump. Before he dropped out of the race last month, Biden had depicted Trump as a tower of malevolence leader of a dark political movement bent on trashing democratic traditions. A potential downside of Bidens message is that it ascribed to Trump an outsized importance and risked demoralizing voters. If Trumps grip on the electorate is such that he could end the two-century-old American experiment, perhaps individual voters are powerless to stop him. Harris is taking a cheekier tone, making the case that Trumps personality renders him eminently beatable while having fun doing so. A news release her campaign sent out this month previewed a Trump news conference at his home in Bedminster, New Jersey, as opposed to his other home in Palm Beach, Florida. It reads like something out of the satiric website The Onion. Donald Trump to Ramble Incoherently and Spread Dangerous Lies in Public, but at Different Home, the release says. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said in an interview: Theres an old saying: Take the job seriously, not yourself. And I think thats what she [Harris] embodies. We all know this is a serious business. We all know whats on the line. But just staring voters in the eye and telling them what the stakes are feels like youre just lecturing. The handoff from Biden to Harris was bound to introduce new campaign messages and tactics. Theyre two different people, from different parts of the country and with different life experiences. Biden, 81, comes from a courtlier era in American politics. Harris, 59, belongs to a generation and a social set that tend to be more iconoclastic. Biden went to the Senate at the age of 29, said Chris Korge, national finance chairman of the Harris Victory Fund. People in that body disagreed but were respectful to each other. Its not within his character to ridicule or make fun of people. Its not how he fights. Harris, he said, is someone with rock star status who has shown shes able to communicate with younger people. While they were serving in the Senate, Harris, Schatz and other generational peers, like Cory Booker, D-N.J., would exchange sassy texts poking fun at their old school colleagues, he said. Shes irreverent and fun and not very self-serious and occasionally sarcastic, he said. In a room full of self-serious people, she is among the least. Shes disciplined, shes smart, shes prepared but she manages to be pretty aggressively normal when you sit next to her and have lunch. Presidential conventions tend to channel the person at the top of the ticket. This one is no different. One of Harris longtime allies is Barack Obama, the former president who left the United Center convulsed with laughter Tuesday night after a sight gag about Trump and crowd size? A bit of background. To Trump, the size of his crowds is important. Very important. Maybe all important. So is his anatomy. A CNN headline during the 2016 presidential campaign read: Trump defends size of his penis. In his speech, Obama used a quick hand gesture to suggest the psychological root of what he called Trumps obsession with crowd sizes. Holding his hands a few inches apart, he looked down at them for an instant and then back up. Did that mean what we think it means? We all came to that conclusion, agreed Korge, who was watching from the audience. A Trump campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, said in a statement about the convention: Kamala Harris and Democrats dont have any real solutions for all the issues this country faces, so they resort to blatantly false personal attacks. They have nothing to offer Americans. Trump has balked at the notion that hes getting too personal in his commentary on Harris, pointing to Democratic mockery of him as justification for his most scurrilous attacks, like questioning her intelligence, criticizing her looks and speculating about her ethnic makeup. Its too early to tell whether Harris disparagement of Trump is the path to victory. Still, after one month on the trail, Harris has erased Trumps edge in the polls. And she has gotten her party into the spirit. In his speech Wednesday night, former President Bill Clinton said he has been puzzled by Trump's fascination with Hannibal Lecter, or, as Trump has described him, "the late, great Hannibal Lecter." Though Obama dubbed him the "Secretary of Explaining Stuff," Clinton conceded, "I've thought and thought about it, and I don't know what to say." The crowd laughed. For those who are still wondering, Trump seems to be suggesting that Lecter-like psychotics are among the migrants entering the U.S. illegally. Hannibal Lecter, a fictional movie character, isnt and never will be available for comment. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Harris should differentiate herself from Biden, Democrats say. Is that possible? At Democrats' national convention this week, President Joe Biden was hailed as nothing short of a hero for democracy. The party faithful also made it clear it was ready to turn the page. Speaker after speaker extolled Biden's decision to end his reelection bid as a selfless act -- an act that happened only after a groundswell of internal pressure helped force his hand after a ruinous June debate. But while that praise was unavoidable on the stage or in the hallways of the United Center, it was Vice President Kamala Harris' party this week, underscoring the base's jubilation at having a new standard-bearer. The tightrope won't end with the convention -- Harris will have to run as her own candidate heading a campaign that's being built while in the air after the unprecedented circumstances that birthed it, all while serving as the president's No. 2. PHOTO: President Joe Biden holds Vice President Kamala Harris' hand up after delivering the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, August 19, 2024. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images) MORE: Harris' historic speech, patriotism and more Trump digs: Takeaways from DNC Night 4 "I think she has to run like she's leading our party at this point. She's got to articulate her vision on the Middle East, articulate her vision on the economy. President Biden has passed the torch," Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif, said when asked how she should strike that balance. "I don't think she should be afraid to set a new direction She should feel comfortable breaking on policies where she disagrees." Not every Democrat was as blunt, but several party figures gathered in Chicago urged Harris to view Biden's record as a steppingstone rather than something to be merely continued, which Harris has already been a theme as she begins laying out policy stances. MORE: Harris unveils 'opportunity economy' agenda in 1st major policy rollout of her campaign Her housing policy, which would offer some first-time homebuyers $25,000 in down payment assistance, is a clear step beyond Biden's position. Her proposal to give a $6,000 tax credit to parents of newborns is another expansion. And while echoing Biden's insistence that Israel have the tools needed to defend itself and opposing an arms embargo, Harris has voiced notably greater concern for the humanitarian toll of the war in Gaza. "I think the Biden-Harris administration has created a solid foundation, and really now it's scaffolding. She's building upon everything that they did," said Minnesota Lt. Gov, Peggy Flanagan, D, whose boss, Gov. Tim Walz, D, is Harris' running mate. "I think what you see is recognizing where she has come from and the good work that she's done, but also carving a path, which is continuing to do this good work." PHOTO: Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (Andrew Caballero-reynolds/AFP via Getty Images) MORE: Despite history made at DNC, little mention of Harris' race and gender: ANALYSIS "I wouldn't call it distance, but she must become her own true individual, because people are voting for her and her policies," former Rep. Brenda Lawrence, D-Mich., added. "The issue with housing is not different from Biden's, but it's at another level. It's her policy, and she's got to do more of that." There was also a tonal shift. Instead of the convention being the latest salvo in a fight for democracy, it was a gathering focused on "joy." And while speakers referenced Trump's 34 felony convictions and other legal troubles, many speakers focused instead on casting the former president as a selfish leader who wouldn't take to heart Americans' most serious concerns. "The next time you hear him, don't count the lies. Count the 'I's,'" former President Bill Clinton said Tuesday night. That's not to say the party is over Biden as a figure in the party. Chants of "thank you, Joe" and "we love Joe" rattled the arena throughout the week in recognition of his decision to drop out of the race, and Democrats insisted Biden will be remembered as a historic figure. "I think history will say that Joe Biden saved America twice. The first time was removing the malignancy that was the Trump presidency and healing the nation after Jan. 6. And then I think he is attempting to save America again by putting his ego aside, stepping back and doing what's best for the country by allowing Vice President Harris to take on Donald Trump," said veteran Democratic strategist Peter Giangreco. Harris herself made sure to shout Biden out at the top of her speech, specifically noting his future legacy. "To our president, Joe Biden. When I think about the path that we have traveled together, Joe, I am filled with gratitude. Your record is extraordinary, as history will show, and your character is inspiring" she said. There is also limited flexibility Harris has to get too far out ahead on Biden, particularly on foreign policy. Harris has largely continued Biden's policy supporting Ukraine as it works to fend off Russia's bloody invasion, and while she has sounded a more sympathetic tone to Palestinians in Gaza, she is limited in how far out ahead of the president she can get as active ceasefire negotiations continue. "I'm realistic, as vice president, she can't cut off the weapons supplied today, but what commitments can she make on this issue before November?" Wa'el Alzayat, the CEO of Muslim advocacy organization Emgage, said of U.S. support for Israel during the war in Gaza. Still, the convention this week marked a transition away from Biden, bittersweet as it may be for the president and his party. Instead of speaking on Thursday to accept renomination, as was envisioned just a few short months ago, Biden instead spoke on Monday, the first night of the convention, before jetting off to California and missing the rest of the confab. He came out on stage teary eyed, offering a different coda to his political career than he'd long anticipated after decades of vying for the White House, before finally clinching his first and only term in 2020. He called Harris Thursday before she delivered her own remarks, but in Chicago, he was nowhere to be found as Democrats looked to a future that appears to have a shrinking place for him. "The handoff of the baton has been just masterful, very smooth. And she's already come out with some of her own policy agenda items," said Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev. "She's going to carry on some of the things he startedbut then she is her own person, so she's going to have her own ideas that build off of that. Don't copy it, don't just continue it, but build on it." When asked if Harris is now the leader of the party, Titus responded, "oh, no question." Harris should differentiate herself from Biden, Democrats say. Is that possible? originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Newly released TV ratings for Kamala Harris speech at the Democratic National Convention will have Donald Trump seething. Thats because Harris, using metrics that combine viewership from seven networks that carried her nomination acceptance speech, earned a rating of 15 while Trumps Republican National Convention address last month was just 12.3. Thats a 22 percent difference, reported Michael Mulvihill, an analyst at Fox who first shared the figures. In the case of primetime TV, that difference means millions more tuned in to watch Harris take the stage. Kamala Harris celebrated with her husband Doug Emhoff after her big speech. Thursday was also their tenth wedding anniversary. Brendan McDermid/Reuters The final night of the DNC averaged 26.2 million viewers across 15 networks, with Harris speech bringing in 28.9 million viewers, according to industry research firm Nielsen. Night four of the convention was the most viewed, with viewership up 30 percent from the previous nights. (Exactly how many of those viewers were expecting Beyonce remains unclear.) Trump himself was among those watching. He posted a bizarre play by play of Harris speech to Truth Social, where he nitpicked the specifics of his opponents words. After she left the stage, Trump made equally unhinged calls to Fox News, who cut him off after 10 minutes, and to Newsmax. Trump has long been obsessed with ratings, going back to his days as a big name in reality TV. Ratings were even top of mind for Trump last weekend when Rolling Stone reported he told aides there was no chance the RNCs tremendous viewership numbers could be topped by the DNC. Melania Trump made the trip to Wisconsin last month to stand alongside her husband on stage at the RNC. Mike Segar/Reuters That prediction proved to be wrong, with the DNC besting the RNCs viewership totals for each day. On Wednesday, for example, Nielsens data showed the RNC attracted about 17.9 million viewers on the night that featured a primetime speech from JD Vance. Democrats pulled in 11 percent more on the third day of the DNC, which included a speech from Tim Walz. The first two nights of the conventions had similar disparities. The opening night of the DNC had 20 million viewers, while the RNC pulled in 18.1 million. For day two, 20.8 million people tuned into the DNC, while just 14.8 million flipped on the TV to watch Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis take the stage. Likely rubbing salt in the wound for Trump was the reported top market for Harris speech on day four: West Palm Beach, Floridanext door to his estate at Mar-a-Lago. 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. Vice President Harris and New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich (D) hold significant leads over their Republican opponents in the blue-leaning state that the GOP had expressed some optimism about when President Biden was still in the race, according to a new poll. The survey from Emerson College Polling/The Hill released Friday showed Harris leading former President Trump 52 percent to 42 percent, with 6 percent undecided. In a race including third-party candidates, Harriss lead expands to 51 percent to 40 percent, with 3 percent for independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In the Senate race, Heinrich has a similarly strong lead against Republican Nella Domenici of 49 percent to 37 percent, with 4 percent preferring another candidate and 9 percent undecided. The results are good news for Democrats just more than a month after Republicans were eying more traditionally Democratic-leaning states like New Mexico as Biden was reeling from his poor debate performance in late June and began slipping in the polls. New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) expressed concerns about Bidens ability to win her state during a meeting the president held with Democratic governors last month in the aftermath of the debate. But the numbers from the Emerson poll suggest New Mexico, like other ideologically similar states, is moving more comfortably back into the Democrats column. Emerson College Polling Executive Director Spencer Kimball noted in a release that Harriss lead is similar to the 10.8-point margin Biden carried the state by in 2020. She leads among independents 48 percent to 37 percent and among women 55 percent to 38 percent. Pollsters found the economy was the top-rated issue facing the state, with 29 percent saying so, followed by crime with 18 percent and immigration with 13 percent. Voters who find the economy to be the top issue break for Trump, 54% to 38%, crime, 47% to 45%, and immigration 89% to 9%. Voters who find education, healthcare, housing affordability, threats to democracy, and abortion all break for Harris significantly, an average of 82% to 15%, Kimball said in the release. Trump leads overwhelmingly among voters whose most important issue is immigration, but on the question of who voters trust more to handle immigration in the state, Harris leads 48 percent to 46 percent. The poll was conducted Tuesday through Thursday among 965 registered voters. The margin of error was 3.1 points. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 four-day gathering of Democrats in Chicago came to a historic end when Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the party's nomination for president. The final night of the Democratic National Convention focused on patriotism, featured heartrending stories on hot-button policy issues and showcased Republicans who say they are voting for Harris this November. Here's a look at some of highlights and key takeaways from Thursday's program. Harris on 'fight for America's future' In what was the biggest speech of her political career, Harris told her story to the American people and said they are all in a "fight for America's future" as she accepted the nomination. She started by paying tribute to her late mother, who passed away before she was elected California's attorney general, U.S. senator and vice president. "My mother was a brilliant five-foot-tall brown woman with an accent. And as the eldest child, I saw how the world would sometimes treat her," Harris said. "But my mother never lost her cool. She was tough, courageous, a trailblazer in the fight for women's health and she taught Maya and me a lesson ... she taught us to never complain about injustice but do something about it. Do something about it." PHOTO: Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris takes the stage on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, Aug. 22, 2024. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters) What followed was a run-through of her professional career as a prosecutor and her focus on the future, including calls to protect reproductive freedom, America's security and democracy. "You can always trust me to put country above party and self, to hold sacred America's fundamental principles, from the rule of law to free and fair elections, to the peaceful transfer of power," she said in appeal to those with different political affiliations watching her remarks. "I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations, a president who leads us and listens, who is realistic, practical and has common sense and always fights for the American people from the courthouse to the White House. That has been my life's work." Emphasis on patriotism Patriotism was an overall theme throughout the night, seen in the scores of American flags waved throughout the United Center as Democrats worked to show that they are the party of American values. Rep. Ruben Gallego, an Iraq War veteran, brought on stage Democratic veterans who are serving their county and in elected offices at every level. "These veterans represent the best of our country," he said. "We stand united as veterans, Democrats and patriots to fight for everyone who serves." PHOTO: Delegates wave US flags on the fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Aug. 22, 2024. (Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images) "But politicians like Donald Trump. They don't stand with us," he continued. "They call patriots like Sen. McCain 'losers.' John McCain was an American hero. Show some respect." In one sign of how Democrats are trying to turn Republican's long association with patriotism and national security on its head this cycle, Leon Panetta -- the secretary of defense under former President Barack Obama -- told the story about giving the order that led to the death of Osama bin Laden during a prime-time speaking slot. Americans share personal stories on hot-button political issues In two powerful moments, everyday Americans took to the stage to share how politics has had an impact on their lives. One woman, Anya Cook, recounted how she suffered a miscarriage in a bathroom that nearly killed her due to her state's strict laws on reproductive health care. Four people impacted by gun violence later shared their stories with the crowd in moving statements. PHOTO: Lucy McBath (C), Democrat from Georgia, speaks about gun violence alongside others who have been affected by gun violence, L-R, Abbey Clements, Kim Rubio, Melody McFadden and Edgar Vilchez in Chicago, Aug. 22, 2024. (Pedro Ugarte/AFP via Getty Images) Abbey Clements of Newtown, Connecticut, a teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary, said she carries that "horrific day" with her. "The should be here," she said of the 20 children and six of her colleagues shot to death. Kim Rubio of Uvalde, Texas, whose daughter was one of 19 children killed in the Robb Elementary School shooting, recounted that day through tears. "I reach out for the daughter I will never hold again," she said, as the crowd yelled out her daughter's name. Another Republican makes the case for Harris Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger also spoke in primetime in support of Harris -- rounding out a slate of Republicans who have spoken at the DNC this week, including former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, Mayor John Giles of Mesa, Arizona, former Trump White House national security official Olivia Troye and former Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham. Kinzinger sat on the House's Jan. 6 select committee that investigated the attack on the U.S. Capitol. He was also one of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump on a charge of inciting the violence. PHOTO: 2024 Democratic National Convention: Day 4 (Brandon Bell/Getty Images) He revisited the insurrection during his speech Thursday and the "profound sorrow" of that day while urging conservatives to vote blue. "Democracy knows no party. It is a living, breathing ideal that defines us as a nation. It is the bedrock that separates us from tyranny -- and when that foundation is fractured, we must stand united to strengthen it," he said, calling on people to "vote for our bedrock values" and elect Harris. Trump takedowns Like much of this week, speakers balanced pushing the Democratic Party's optimistic vision for the nation while also taking time to cast Donald Trump as a threat to those principles. Rep. Veronica Escobar, who kickstarted the program on Thursday, also pit what Democrats were trying to accomplish against the actions of Trump. "I just want to say this week our energy, hope and joy have inspired the nation," she said. "Meanwhile, Donald Trump has been a small man, speaking in small venues, talking about small ideas." Harris called him an "unserious man" who if put back in the White House would have "extremely serious" consequences. "Consider not only the chaos and calamity when he was in office, but also the gravity of what has happened since he lost the last election," she said, going on to discuss the insurrection and his fraud conviction. PHOTO: Members of the 'Central Park Five,' Kevin Richardson, New York City Council member Yusef Salaam (C) and Korey Wise (R) on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, Aug. 22, 2024. (Andrew Caballero-reynolds/AFP via Getty Images) New York City Council member Yusef Salaam, one of the five men exonerated in the "Central Park Five" case, called Trump a "hateful man" during his DNC appearance. "He wanted us dead," Salaam said alongside the other men wrongfully convicted in the case. "Today, we are exonerated because the actual perpetrator confessed. And DNA proved it." Others who took shots at Trump include prosecutor Tristan Snell, who spoke on stage about taking on Trump University fraud. "Kamala Harris fought scammers like him. And as president, she will continue to fight for you, for us, for the people," Snell said. Harris' historic speech, patriotism and more Trump digs: Takeaways from DNC Night 4 originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Prospects of Zacks Transportation - Rail industrys participants are being weighed down by challenges like inflation-induced elevated interest rates, concerns pertaining to supply-chain disruptions and the slowdown of economic growth. Most industry players are looking to drive their bottom line amid the headwinds through cost reduction. Partly due to these headwinds, the industry has declined 1.8% so far this year, underperforming the S&P 500 Indexs 17.9% appreciation. The broader Zacks Transportation sector has lost 3.9% in the said time frame. Zacks Investment Research Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Despite the challenges surrounding the industry,some railroad companies like Union Pacific Corporation UNP and Norfolk Southern Corporation NSC have consistently paid dividends to their shareholders, thus highlighting their pro-shareholder stance. 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Story continues Union Pacific Corporation Dividend Yield (TTM) Union Pacific Corporation Dividend Yield (TTM) Union Pacific Corporation dividend-yield-ttm | Union Pacific Corporation Quote Union Pacifics consistent initiatives to reward its shareholders through dividends and share repurchases look encouraging. In 2022, UNP paid dividends worth $3.16 billion and repurchased shares worth $6.28 billion. In 2023, the company returned $3.9 billion to its shareholders through dividends ($3.2 billion) and buybacks ($0.7 billion). During the first half of 2024, UNP paid $1.59 billion in dividends and repurchased shares worth $100 million. Notably, management resumed buying back shares in the second quarter of 2024. UNP expects to buyback shares worth $1.5 billion in 2024. Norfolk Southern: Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, Norfolk Southern engages in the rail transportation of raw materials, intermediate products and finished goods in the United States. Currently, NSC has a market capitalization of $54.61 billion. NSC pays out a quarterly dividend of $1.35 ($5.40 annualized) per share, which gives it a 2.24% yield at the current stock price. This companys payout ratio is 49% of its earnings at present. The five-year dividend growth rate is 10.64%. (Check Norfolk Southerns dividend history here). Norfolk Southern Corporation Dividend Yield (TTM) Norfolk Southern Corporation Dividend Yield (TTM) Norfolk Southern Corporation dividend-yield-ttm | Norfolk Southern Corporation Quote Norfolk Southern's consistent initiatives to reward its shareholders look encouraging. During the first half of 2024, NSC paid dividends worth $610 million. In 2023, the company paid dividends worth $1.23 billion and repurchased and retired common stock worth $622 million. During 2022, Norfolk Southern paid dividends worth $1.17 billion and repurchased and retired common stock worth $3.11 billion. Such shareholder-friendly moves indicate the companys commitment to creating value for shareholders and underline its confidence in its business. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Union Pacific Corporation (UNP) : Free Stock Analysis Report Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research (Bloomberg) -- Vice President Kamala Harris ceremonially accepted the Democratic nomination for president as a historic candidate who entered the race under highly unusual circumstances. Most Read from Bloomberg Listen to the Bloomberg UK Politics podcast on Apple, Spotify oranywhere you listen. Harris became the first Black and Asian American woman to become a major-party candidate. Her challenge now is to harness the energy and excitement of a party reinvigorated by her rapid ascent. A sprint to the election of less than three months now begins. Here are the five takeaways from final day of the Democratic National Convention: Outreach to Independents Harris promised to be a president for all Americans in an explicit appeal to independent voters as well as Republicans opposed to former President Donald Trump. She delivered a lengthy indictment of Trump, calling him an unserious man who presents a serious threat to democracy. Policy Details The 39-minute address was light on policy specifics as most nomination speeches are but she promised to ease the housing shortage, protect Social Security and enact a middle-class tax cut that will benefit more than 100 million Americans. She also pledged to defend abortion rights, secure the US-Mexico border and ensure that the US has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world. Party Unity Harris speech provided the pinnacle to an extraordinary candidate swap that had her pick up the mantle from President Joe Biden, who exited the race a month ago in response to growing pressure from within his party to yield to a younger candidate. Despite a smattering of protests, the Democratic Party put forward an buoyant and united face to defeat Trump, with joy being a buzzword of the convention. Viral Moments Democrats delivered a star-studded, made-for-television spectacle with an eye toward creating viral moments. The first three days of the convention attracted audiences 3- to 4 million viewers larger than the Republican event last month, with help from musical performances by generation-spanning artists like Stevie Wonder, Pink, John Legend, Sheila E. and Maren Morris. Polling Bounce Presidential candidates often get a polling bounce following their conventions, but the unusual circumstances surrounding Harris nomination meant that her surge came weeks ago, when she was legally designated as the Democratic nominee following Bidens departure from the race. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. As Kamala Harris took the stage Thursday night for the biggest speech of her political life, she addressed the nation as an African American woman, despite the fact that one of her parents isnt Black and both of them are immigrants. But while her identity has been clear since she chose a historically Black college and joined a famed Black sorority, those complexifying facts deserve some consideration because they reveal what barriers Harris will forever shatter while outlining those that will remain. If I hope when she becomes president, Harris will be only the second Black person in American history to hold the office. Neither had a Black ancestor scarred by slavery on American soil. Barack Obama, too, is biracial with an immigrant father from Kenya, while Harris parents hail from Jamaica and India. Obama was raised primarily by his white mother and Harris, as she said in her speech Thursday night, was raised primarily by her Indian mother. Obama touched on his ancestry in Tuesdays speech, joking about how he and President Joe Biden shared common Irish blood. But I wonder whether the fact that two of Americas most prominent national leaders are the children of immigrants is more than an amusing quirk of history, but might say something important about how much work Americans still must do to bury the legacy of that peculiar institution. Are there barriers that African Americans whose ancestors were enslaved here face in becoming president that Black immigrants do not? The two leaders ancestry is quite the long shot. A tiny percentage of African Americans are biracial children of immigrants. If you picked two one after another out of a crowd, the chances would be less than 1 in 1,000. To have it happen by chance with presidents is absurd. The question is whether this coincidence says something about voters or something about the two and how they were raised. For all Americans leery of dealing with the legacy of slavery, picking Black presidents without that history gives us the opportunity to avoid dealing with it, while at the same time patting ourselves on the back for getting past it. It is quite convenient to have slavery-free African American presidents. No messy genealogy to get into. No spotlight on the practice of slavery in a particular Southern state. No painful documents marking the sale of relatives. Nobody has to be uncomfortable. Indeed, both Obamas and Harris families immigrated to the United States in the civil rights era when Jim Crow was coming to an end and official school segregation was a decade in the rearview mirror. We need ask no uncomfortable questions about how their families were victimized in the decades when slavery was dead, but the Black-white color line was policed with deadly zeal. In a more positive light, the story of Black immigrants is similar to the one white and Hispanic voters tell themselves about their own families, giving Obama and Harris an intimate connection that African Americans with deeper roots in the United States often lack. The story Harris told of her mothers journey to the United States with a dream to cure breast cancer sounded like it could have been an Italian or a German story, too. Alternatively, the ascent of Obama and Harris may tell us less about voters than it tells us what is unique and valuable about immigrant families. Harris was raised by two highly educated parents who made education central in the lives of their daughters, and who were married when she was born. She was raised by an extended family, who told her she could be anything and do anything in her mothers adopted home. That is in stark contrast to the common narrative in America where children are told of victimhood, systemic racism and helplessness in families where 63% live in single-parent households and education is too often neglected or substandard even among the growing number of Black Americans who graduate from failing public schools. Harris and Obama both offer compelling stories about abounding opportunities in America for immigrants and their children, but their presence at the pinnacle of American society may have less to say about their racial peers whose families have been here far longer. Kamala Harris and Barack Obama have shattered barriers for African Americans who now know that someone who looks like them can be president of a nation that once held slaves but the barrier between the descendants of the enslaved and the highest offices in the land remains. 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 On the fourth and final night of the Democratic National Convention, Vice President Kamala Harris accepted her partys nomination for the presidency. The United Center in Chicago swelled with such boisterous applause and affirmation that one might never guess that Harris campaign came together in the space of a month. But Im no stranger to unlikely journeys, she said. More from Sourcing Journal When she took the stage, the VP broke away from the stump speech shes delivered so adeptly in recent weeks, speaking instead to her early days in Oakland, Calif. and the struggles of a mother raising a family mostly on her own. She underscored the importance of community in shaping her life, of learning to seize opportunity instead of waiting for permission or a leg up, and of fighting against injustice on behalf of those who cant do so on their own. My entire career, I have only had one client: The People, Harris said, referencing her legacy as a prosecutor and as Attorney General of California. I know there are people of various political views watching tonight, and I want you to know: I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self. Despite the ready abundance of memes and merch and the steady stream of campaign donations, before Thursday, Harris had yet to speak cogently on her plans for a new administration and how she might tackle the issues weighing heavy on the minds of Americans. But with a focus on the middle class and the kitchen-table issues dominating conversations in households across the country, Harris has begun to craft a new brand of populismand patriotism. Doubling down on her framework for an Opportunity Economy, which she unveiled last week, Harris told the DNC audience she envisions a country where everyone has a chance to compete and a chance to succeed, whether you live in a rural area, small town, or big city. As president, I will bring together labor and workers, small business owners and entrepreneurs and American companies to create jobs, grow our economy and lower the cost of everyday needs, she said. Harris said her administration would provide access to capital for small business owners and founders, end the housing shortage and safeguard Social Security and Medicare. She then contrasted those objectives with those of her opponent. He doesnt actually fight for the middle class; instead, he fights for himself and his billionaire friends, she said. He will give them another round of tax breaks, that will add $5 trillion to the national debt. Former President Donald Trump has said he plans to renew his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act if elected, and provide further tax cuts for wealthy individuals and corporations. Harris economic agenda includes a plan to raise the corporate income tax rate from 21 percent to 28 percenta proposal championed by President Joe Bidenand a pledge not to raise taxes on those earning less than $400,000. Harris also again took aim at Trumps polarizing plan to implement a universal tariff system on goods from other countries. The Republican nominee has proposed a 10-percent, across-the-board tax on all imports, as well as expanding duties on China-made goods up to 60 percent. He intends to enact what, in effect, is a national sales taxcall it a Trump Taxthat would raise prices on middle-class families by almost $4,000 a year, Harris said. The Peterson Institute for International Economics and the Center for American Progress estimate that a universal baseline tariff could cost the typical household between $1,500 and $1,700 annually on necessities sourced from across the globe. Instead of a Trump tax hike, we will pass a middle-class tax cut that will benefit more than 100 million Americans, the nominee added. Those cuts would be made in part by resurrecting and enhancing some of the elements of the 2021 American Rescue Plan, like the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit. While the speech focused heavily on issues at home, Harris also succinctly alluded to her philosophy for advancing the countrys standing abroad. I will make sure that we lead the world into the future on space and Artificial Intelligence that America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century, and that we strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership, she said. She also positioned herself staunchly opposite the Trump-Vance ticket in her desire to protect alliances and relationships that have been shaped and solidified over the course of the past four years. I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies, she said, underscoring the importance of cooperation with Europe. Harris then called forcefully for an end to the war in Gaza, saying, now is the time to get a hostage deal and ceasefire done. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination, she added. On a Wednesday call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden urged the leader to ratify a treaty swiftly. As President, I will never waver in defense of Americas security and ideals, because in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I standand where the United States of America belongs, Harris said. The presidential hopeful ended her address by positioning the Democratic party as a standard-bearer for a new kind of patriotismone rooted in optimism for the future. Our opponents in this race are out there every day denigrating America, talking about how terrible everything is, she said. Well, my mother had another lesson she used to teach: never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are. America, let us show each otherand the worldwho we are and what we stand for: freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness and endless possibilities. Kamala Harris answered one question Thursday night: she can throw the hard stuff. In 38 minutes of the Democratic convention, she set a tone of not backing down from Donald Trump, whose signature move is to try to intimidate his way through campaigns. Strategically, the vice president and onetime California attorney general started off with the traditional thank-yous and backstory about growing up in a middle-class home in California, getting an education, and becoming a lawyer and prosecutor. Then, she pivoted hard and set up the packed-to-overflowing United Center in Chicago as a virtual courtroom, with herself as prosecutor, putting Trump on trial for the chaos of his presidency and what came after, starting with the Jan. 6, 2021 raid on the U.S. Capitol by Trump loyalists. In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man, she said. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious. In the 2020 election, Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes, Harris said. When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol, where they assaulted law enforcement officers. When politicians in his own party begged him to call off the mob and send help, he did the opposite. He fanned the flames. Consider if we give him power again. Consider his explicit attempt to set free violent extremists who assaulted those law enforcement officers at the Capitol; his explicit intent to jail journalists, political opponents, an anyone he sees as the enemy; his explicit intent to deploy active-duty military against our own citizens. It was a powerful attack and a strong signal that win or lose, Trumps going to know hes been in a fight. The indictment continued, dipping back into Trumps presidency. We are not going back to when Donald Trump tried to cut Social Security and Medicare, she said. We are not going back to when he tried to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, when insurance companies could deny people with pre-existing conditions. She blasted Trump for squelching a bipartisan deal to secure the border because if immigration is better controlled, it would hurt his campaign. Ditto for hand-picking Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, creating a patchwork of abortion laws across the country and sowing chaos among doctors, who are afraid to treat womens issues in fertility and pregnancy for fear of being jailed for illegal abortions. Throughout this weeks Democratic National Convention, the keyword has been joy. It turns out that for the Democrats, the biggest joy is having a presidential candidate who isnt afraid to throw the high hard one at Trumps head. Shes a prosecutor and shes going to prosecute her case, said Michigan Congressman Dan Kildee as he exited the arena. We get our joy back in this country by ridding ourselves of this potential disaster of Donald Trump. There has to be joy in the fight. But tonight, she gave us the purpose of the fight. The way we conduct the fight is going to be joyful. It was the most important speech of Harris political career. And it will remain that way for the next 3 1/2 weeks, until Sept. 10 when shell face Donald Trump one-on-one in their first campaign debate. In the Sept. 10 debate, and another yet to be scheduled, Harris doesnt just have to be good, she has to be perfect. After the last nine years of American politics, the country has basically become numb to Trumps bizarre statements and prevarications which are generally written off as just Trump being Trump. Meanwhile, Harris got momentarily tongue-tied in a speech about her economic plan and wound up saying shed fight price gauging instead of price gouging. Talk radio and right-wing media immediately pounced, proclaimed it a campaign trail gaffe. Forbes Breaking New posted the video to its 3.4 million YouTube subscribers. Double standard? Absolutely. On Thursday, Prosecutor Harris caught the jurys attention. The verdict comes in November. CHICAGO Tonight, its her turn. All week, Democrats from Michelle Obama to Joe Biden sought to introduce Vice President Harris to the nation. On Thursday night, as the clock ticks closer to Election Day and former President Trump tries to define her, she will give the nation a glimpse of her personality, politics and potential to win in November. One prominent Democratic donor who knows Harris said her speech should be high level, exciting, and vibrant. It will not, the donor suggested, delve deeply into public policy positions, even as Republicans seek to pressure the vice president into showing more of her cards. Democrats dont think theres any reason for Harris to use the convention address to get into such specifics, especially as she rides her wave of momentum. The idea that she should talk about policy is ridiculous, the donor said. It should be forward-looking, and sticking with the theme of were not going back. This is about making Trump the incumbent, the donor added. Such arguments drive Republicans crazy. Harris has been vice president since 2021, and President Biden has cast her as a key part of his administration. As such, Trump and the GOP argue she is inheriting Bidens record over the past four years. If anyone is the incumbent in the race, it is Harris, not Trump, they say. Yet it is Harris who feels like the cup of fresh tea in the race. Biden, 81, dropped out of the contest and endorsed her a month ago, as polls found him trailing Trump, 78. At the time, polls found many Americans disliking their main choices and desiring a new option. Harris, who at 59 seems a generation removed from Trump and Biden, walked into that vacuum, and shes narrowed the polling gap with Trump. Thursday night is the key moment of the convention for the vice president, and her preparation underscores how serious she is about making the right impression. Harris has spent recent days working on her speech with former Obama speechwriter and author Adam Frankel at her hotel in Chicago. With Frankels participation, observers who know the speechwriter say it will include soaring rhetoric. Harris faces the challenging task of inspiring in a way that former President Obama and Oprah Winfrey have the nights before at the convention, while also reintroducing herself to America and proving to Democrats that she can beat Trump in November. Harris will focus on her background, emphasizing her roots in a middle-class neighborhood with a working mom, according to a campaign official. The convention programming so far this week hasnt been too focused on Harriss personal side, aside from remarks from the second gentleman Doug Emhoff and some quips from others about how she worked at McDonalds during college. Harriss family, including sister Maya Harris and niece Meena Harris, will appear for the first time on the convention stage Thursday and shine a spotlight onto her life outside of politics. While Democrats have appeared energized and united at the convention all week, Harris has the opportunity to resonate with independents and moderates in critical swing states with her story. The enthusiasm of the Democratic base is palpable here. Its energized and its real and to the extent that this is a base election, that will be a success for the vice president, Democratic strategist Al Mottur said. Mottur said Harris has to make an appeal to the small number of swing voters who voted for Obama, and then Trump, particularly if they reside in the states set to determine the elections outcome Georgia, Wisconsin, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania. Those people dont know her well and with this speech, shes going to have to give them comfort that she will be a great choice, added Mottur, a bundler at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) predicted that Harris will show off that she can be a moving but also sharp speaker during her remarks. Shes very strong. She knows the policy, she knows the strategy, she knows all of that. And shes eloquent in speaking about it, as she will see further tonight, Pelosi said in an interview at the Politico/CNN grill at the Democratic National Convention. Politically, shes very astute. When asked about the role gender plays in this election, Pelosi added, She happens to be a woman, and that is icing on the cake. People want to know, what does your presidency mean to me at my table, so I think that you will see her just as she does she talks about the kitchen table issues, Pelosi said, adding that Harris will likely talk about lowering costs of groceries, health care, child care, and housing. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. After a star-studded and extremely enthusiastic four days of action in Chicagos United Center, the Democratic National Convention ended on Thursday with an exclamation point on one of the most chaotic presidential nominating contests in generations. Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the partys 2024 nomination for president to applause that probably registered on the Richter scale and as is tradition a sea of balloons when her speech concluded. Harris began by speaking about her roots as the child of immigrants in California, and her early career as a California prosecutor. My entire career, I have only had one client: the people, she said. And so, on behalf of the people, on behalf of every American regardless of party, race, gender, or the language your grandmother speaks, Harris exclaimed. On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth. I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America. Kamala Harris accepts the 2024 Democratic nomination pic.twitter.com/kx3ykcPjjQ nikki mccann ramirez (@NikkiMcR) August 23, 2024 Harris made clear that while in many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man, the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious. Consider the power he will have especially after the United States Supreme Court just ruled that he would be immune from criminal prosecution. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails, Harris said. The vice president laid out a contrasting vision to the fire-and-brimstone image of America espoused by Trump. The freedom to live safe from gun violence in our schools, communities and places of worship, she said. The freedom to love who you love openly and with pride. The freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis. And the freedom that unlocks all the others, the freedom to vote. Harris touched on a wide range of issues, including the need to protect reproductive rights and pass bipartisan legislation to secure the border and create pathways to citizenship for immigrants, as well as the ongoing war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Amid pro-Palestinian protests over the course of the convention urging Harris to endorse a ceasefire in Gaza and an arms embargo against Israel, the vice president used her speech to affirm her support for Israels right to defend itself, but added that what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. President Biden and I are working to end this war, such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination, Harris said. Harris: Biden and I are working to end this war. Such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination. pic.twitter.com/FADMCZSUOr nikki mccann ramirez (@NikkiMcR) August 23, 2024 The road to the nomination was a short and unexpected one for Harris, but in the month since President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race, the vice president has managed to completely shift the partys outlook with less than three months to go before the November election. Harris has been campaigning on a message of unity, progress, and joy, advocating for strengthening the middle class through economic reform and protecting reproductive freedom and civil liberties. The DNCs lineup throughout the convention which included President Joe Biden, former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Michelle Obama, a host of Democratic lawmakers, and even Oprah and Stevie Wonder championed Harris forward-focused vision for the nation. While Harris and her running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz are generating enough enthusiasm among voters to put Democrats back on offense following the disastrous debate that ultimately forced Biden out of the race, the contest between her and Trump remains incredibly tight. In her speech, Harris, like many others who spoke at the DNC this week, warned of the need for voters to remain engaged throughout the next few months and cautioned against overconfidence. Harris noted that the electoral and prosecutorial battles of her career were not easy, nor were the elections that put me in those offices. We were underestimated at practically every turn, she said. But we never gave up, because the future is always worth fighting for. And that is the fight we are in right now. A fight for Americas future. Fellow Americans, this election is not only the most important of our lives. It is one of the most important in the life of our nation. The conclusion of the DNC marks the earnest beginning of the race for the White House, with Harris and Walz now officially at the top of the ticket. The fight has already taken on a different tone from the one Biden waged against Trump, with the party shelving its when they go low, we go high approach in favor of taking on Republicans at their own game. Walz regularly calls Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance weird, Harris campaign has been quick to troll the Republican ticket online, and several speakers at the DNC straight up mocked Trump speaking about the former president less like he is a domineering force set to dismantle democracy and more like he is a tired, pathetic buffoon out to enrich himself. Trump has taken notice. Did you see Barack Hussein Obama last night taking little shots? he said Wednesday after Obama took a few jabs at Trump Tuesday night. He was taking shots at your president and so was Michelle. You know, they always say, Sir, please stick to policy, dont get personal, but theyre getting personal all night, these people. The former president attacked Harris throughout the week, referring to her as Comrade while insisting she will turn America into a communist state. Its unclear if attacking Harris as a radical leftist and portending the end of the world if she wins the election will resonate with the voters, but whats true now that wasnt six weeks ago is that Trump is losing ground in the polls and very much on the defensive. Harris gave a forceful response to the attacks from Trump and Republicans on Thursday night. My mother had another lesson she used to teach, she said. Never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are. America, let us show each other and the world who we are, she added. And what we stand for. Freedom, opportunity, compassion. Dignity, fairness, and endless possibilities. More from Rolling Stone Best of Rolling Stone This article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIMEs politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox. Kamala Harris understood the assignment. At once a biography and a promise, Harris speech on Thursday accepting her Democratic Partys nomination was a measured blend of aspiration and assurance, a guide for the next 10 weeks of what is certainly going to be a grueling grind toward Election Day. While her head-to-head fight against former President Donald Trump is expected to be brutal and petty, it is clear the incumbent Vice President is ready and clear-eyed about the uphill path ahead. And judging from her pointed speech that cast herself as a responsible alternative and a serious contender for the toughest job on the planet, she clearly plans to lean on her skills as a savvy prosecutor. As Vice President, I have confronted threats to our security, negotiated with foreign leaders, strengthened our alliances and engaged with our brave troops overseas, Harris said to a raucous arena in Chicago. As Commander in Chief, I will ensure America will always have the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world. And I will fulfill our sacred obligation to care for our troops and their families. Harris remarks were the single biggest self-scripted moment she is expected to enjoy before Election Day. The well-paced telling of her personal story melted easily into her pitch to Americans about their future. From her middle-class childhood to her career as a line prosecutor, Harris used her time on stage to make the case for a candidacy that until five weeks ago seemed a fanciful alternative history. After President Joe Biden decided to step aside in favor of Harris potentially stronger candidacy, Democrats coalesced with a speed unseen before. Buoyed by unexpected enthusiasm and deep pockets, a Harris presidency seems more plausible by the day as Trump has struggled to keep the spotlight. The expected sugar-high of Harris ascent has yet to crash, leaving Republicans increasingly nervous. All the while, Harris has been unrelenting in taking the fight to Trump and his allies. He doesnt actually fight for the middle class. Instead, he fights for himself and his billionaire friends, Harris said, adding that dictators were also cheering for his return to power. Trump wont hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself. It was a capstone to four days of a national reintroduction of Harris, cast in unflinchingly positive anecdotes and memories. With remarkably more energy than the Republicans iteration last month, Democrats seemed more unified than at any point in recent memory. Part of that owed to the fall of Roe, which has helped boost Democratic support in election over election over the last two years. But part of that is also due to the prospect of Democrats losing the White House is so abhorrent. Disagreements over party priorities seem pushed aside in pursuit of a shared block of Trump. Simply put, they are out of their minds, Harris said of Trump and his allies. One must ask: why exactly is it that they dont trust women? Harris and Democrats have used much of this week in Chicago to paint Trump and his ilk as out-of-touch with Americans goals. With pitches aimed at reproductive health, environmental justice, and economic opportunity, Harris outline for her administration offered little to feed the GOP fear machine of a radical taking the reins. If Republicans were counting on Harris handing them fodder to brand her a San Francisco liberal, they made a very poor calculation. In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious, Harris said. None of us has to fail for all of us to succeed. In unity, there is strength. In contrast, Trump was cast as a divider and foe of democracy itself. Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes, Harris said of the Jan. 6, 2021, failed insurrection. When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol where they assaulted law enforcement officers. When politicians in his own party begged him to call off the mob and send help, he did the opposite. He fanned the flames. On its own, Harris speech was unlikely to change the race in a major way. In fact, it was a degree safer than many of the other remarks from the same podium this week. But the script did cement just how Democrats see the theory of the case against a second Trump termand they just happen to have a former top prosecutor of California to argue it. Make sense of what matters in Washington. Sign up for the D.C. Brief newsletter. Write to Philip Elliott at philip.elliott@time.com. CHICAGO, United States Moments after officially accepting the Democrats nomination for president of the U.S. on the last night of the Democratic National Convention, Kamala Harris reminded voters foreign policy may not be completely sidelined in the 2024 election. As president, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies, Harris firmly said with a raised voice to an erupting crowd of rowdy Democrats. The vice president's remarks late on Aug. 22, light on policy but consistent in support of Ukraines pushback against Russias full-scale invasion, came after her sprint of a campaign has received criticism for minimally addressing foreign policy concerns. Five days before Russia attacked Ukraine, I met President (Volodymyr) Zelensky to warn him about Russias plan to invade, she said. I helped mobilize a global response, over 50 countries to defend against (Russian President Vladimir) Putins aggression, added Harris, currently vice president in outgoing U.S. President Joe Bidens administration. The rapid ascent of Harriss nomination as the Democratic partys nominee after Biden stepped aside and the nature of her highly condensed and vibe-focused campaign has disappointed some of her supporters wanting to hear policy plans for Ukraine, including members of the host citys large Ukrainian population. Discussion of Ukraine was far from absent during the largely ceremonial four-day coalescing around Harris, but it remained concentrated on the conventions sidelines amongst expected advocates for Ukraine. The thousands who marched just blocks from the convention in protest of the Biden administration's support of Israel in its war in Gaza even failed to reach the spotlight of the conventions center stage. However, while both wars remained unavoidable and were mentioned in the slew of remarks from Democratic leaders carrying the metaphorical torch from Biden to Harris, the convention did not clarify how a Harris administration would treat Ukraine differently from the Biden White House, if at all. With the convention now over and nearly 70 days until election day, voters will soon hear Harriss policy plans for Ukraine, Rep. Adam Smith, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, told the Kyiv Independent. However, that is far from meaning it will suddenly become an issue driving Americans to the polls or swaying undecided voters. People vote based on local issues, Americans have never been that focused on foreign policy and national security policy, Rep. Smith said. She (Harris) is very clearly going to carry on President Bidens policy of defending and arming Ukraine. While also light on indicators of future policy toward Ukraine, the Democrats official party platform that was confirmed on the conventions first night served as a reminder that the party sees the Biden administrations support of Ukraine as an asset to the Harris campaign but not a commitment in need of a detailed policy roadmap nearly a month into the campaign. As the longest-serving woman in Congress, Rep. Marcy Kaptur said insight into Harriss policy toward Ukraine can be gleaned from her supportive record in the Senate and as Vice President. Rep. Kaptur, the co-founder and co-chair of the bipartisan Ukraine Caucus, hopes a Harris administration would mean progress toward NATO membership for Ukraine. But in the meantime, the Democratic party remains united around freedom, Rep. Kaptur said, echoing the Harris campaigns catchphrase and implying freedom equates to support for Ukraine. After three days of next to no mention of Ukraine from the primetime stage, it took three back-to-back veterans and a Republican for Ukraine to receive repeated mention. Trump plans to do Putins bidding by abandoning Ukraine and walking away from our NATO allies, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Jason Crow, who earlier in the week met with members of Chicagos Ukrainian community, said to the convention. Senator Mark Kelly, the retired Navy pilot who many Ukrainian advocates hoped would be Harriss running mate, followed Rep. Crow. Putin is testing American strength, Sen. Kelly told the crowd, resurfacing Trumps February remarks that Russia should do whatever the hell they want to NATO countries. Trump has no response to Putin and the war in Ukraine, Sen. Kelly added. The conventions loudest roar over Ukraine came on the last night when former GOP official Adam Kinzinger quoted Trumps running mate JD Vance saying I dont really care what happens to Ukraine. Then, leaning into the Harris campaigns categorization of the GOP opposition as weird, Kinzinger said Trump is weirdly obsessed with Putin. The U.S. support of Ukraine remains a dividing issue between Republicans and Democrats. Nearly two-thirds of Democrats believe the U.S. has a responsibility to help Ukraine, according to Pew Research data from July, while only about a third of Republicans and Republican leaners agree with that. The few but busy Ukrainians at the DNC While Democrats remain mostly united around U.S. support of Ukraine, the convention provided a multi-day engagement outside of Washington for various individuals and groups in support of Ukraine to gain backing from the less easily convinced progressive wing of the party. After rallying U.S. support for Ukraine in Michigan and Texas, Ukrainian lawmaker, Oleksandra Ustinova, attended the convention with the hope President Biden uses his remaining months to further cement his legacy in Ukraine. Its not enough to get the support that we have now, we need to change the policy from Ukraine stopping Putin or Ukraine fighting the war to actually Ukraine defeating Russia, Ustinova told the Kyiv Independent. Meeting with Democrats in Congress and the United Ethnic Women for Kamala Harris on the sidelines of the convention, Ustinovas message was that by lifting restrictions on American weapons striking inside Russia, Harris could inherit not only an easier conflict in Europe but a winning plan should she win in November. Along with Rep. Kaptur, Ustinova was one of many Ukrainians to speak at a United Ethnic Women for Kamala Harris gathering in Chicagos Ukrainian Village. On the sidelines of the DNC, members of Chicagos Ukrainian Village shared concern with the decline in American interest in Ukraine. This concern isnt without warrant, only a third of the American public says Russias invasion of Ukraine is a major threat to U.S. interests, a drop from nearly half shortly after the full-scale invasion, Pew Research found. Mariya Dmytriv-Kapeniak, the president of the Ukrainian Congress Committee, organized the ethnic womens gathering and the Ukrainian Americans displaying the few Ukrainian flags outside the convention. On the sidelines of the Democratic National Convention, Ukrainian MP Oleksandra Ustinova spoke at Chicagos Ukrainian Culture Center for a gathering of the United Ethnic Women for Kamala Harris. (Owen Racer/The Kyiv Independent) A resident of Chicagos Ukrainian Village since 2000 after leaving Ternopil in western Ukraine, Dmytriv-Kapeniak like many who spoke with the Kyiv Independent was disappointed with the lack of mention Ukraine received during the convention. What is the strategy? Why is the Democratic Party not saying anything? she said. A lifelong Republican, she is one of many in Chicagos Ukrainian community of nearly 300,000 who first voted for a Democrat with the onset of Donald Trump in 2016 to only be further offset by Russias full-blown invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and Trumps running mate selection of Ukraine-skeptic JD Vance. While supporting Harris and Walz, Dmytriv-Kapeniak hopes their policy platform toward Ukraine will soon become known. They have to be clear about Ukrainian victory, you cannot hide words, Dmytriv-Kapeniak said. Shes not saying enough, not doing enough. Visiting Chicago for the U.S. expansion of his humanitarian aid for Ukraine, Serhiy Prytula, the comedian turned politician and founder of Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation, who was also at the DNC, had a few messages for Democrats. Well fight with or without your support, without well just bleed more, Prytula told the Kyiv Independent. Join our community Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight. Support us Regardless of who is elected in November, staffers determine policy, Prytula said, adding that he doesnt consider whether Harris would be more supportive of Ukraine than Biden, but rather how Ukrainians can work with both parties. Scott Cullinane, the director of government affairs at Razom for Ukraine, a nonprofit advocating for Ukraine in Washington, was one of the few Democrats engaging in discussions about Ukraine throughout the convening. In addition to faster weapons delivery to Ukraine and lifting restrictions on American weapons, Cullinanes messages to Democrats included closing sanction loopholes and encouraging Western companies to exit Russia. Everyone is either a supporter of Ukraine or a supporter of Ukraine who doesnt know theyre one, Cullinane said. Thats how we have to approach it. Saints Volodymyr & Olha Ukrainian Catholic Church in Chicagos Ukrainian Village. (Owen Racer/The Kyiv Independent) Amongst the several individuals crisscrossing Chicagos convention centers to advance Democrats unification around Ukraine, a delicate balance was at play. An attempt not dissimilar to the weekslong gratification expressed for Bidens torch passing to not criticize the current administration's Ukraine policies too much to the point of harming Democrats election odds and elevating Trump, the unanimous point of unity across the convention. Read also: Opinion: Kamala Harris must correct Washingtons Ukraine policy Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. By Nandita Bose, Jeff Mason and Doina Chiacu CHICAGO (Reuters) - Vice President Kamala Harris sealed the Democratic presidential nomination with a muscular speech, laying down broad foreign policy principles and sharp contrasts with Republican rival Donald Trump with 11 weeks left in the race for the White House. On the final night of the four-day Democratic National Convention, Harris, 59, promised to be a "realistic," "practical" president for all Americans, as she battles Trump, 78, in a razor-close campaign. "In the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs," she said on Thursday, accusing Trump of bowing down to dictators. She promised to back NATO, Ukraine and "stand up to Putin's aggression," a reference to Russia's president. Harris emerged as the Democratic candidate little more than a month ago when allies of President Joe Biden, 81, forced him to quit the race. It was a forceful speech for a candidate who, during her brief campaign, had yet to articulate much of her vision for the country. Harris has faced a stream of personal attacks from Trump, who called her weak on the foreign stage. After days of protests from Palestinian supporters who were disappointed at not getting a speaking spot at the convention, Harris delivered a pledge to secure Israel, bring the hostages home from Gaza and end the war in the Palestinian enclave. "Now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done," she said to cheers. "And let me be clear, I will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself." She said she wanted to end the war in a way that provides for Israel security and allows the Palestinian people to realize their right to self-determination. Harris said she would take whatever action was necessary to defend U.S. interests against Iran and said tyrants and dictators including North Korea's Kim Jong Un, "are rooting for Trump." HARRIS WOULD BE FIRST FEMALE U.S. PRESIDENT If successful, Harris stands to make history as the first woman elected U.S. president on Nov. 5. Harris drew a series of contrasts with Trump, accusing him of not fighting for the middle class, planning to enact a tax hike through his tariff proposals, and having set in motion the end of a constitutional right to abortion with his picks for the U.S. Supreme Court. Harris noted the Supreme Court's recent ruling about presidential immunity and the risks that would pose if Trump gained power again. "Just imagine Donald Trump with no guard rails," she said. Trump, who had promised to respond to Harris' speech in real time, posted a series of messages on Truth Social as she spoke about him, including: "She stands for Incompetence and Weakness Our Country is being laughed at all over the World!" and "She will never be respected by the Tyrants of the World!" Harris also said she will pass a middle class tax cut that will benefit more than 100 million Americans, contrasting that with Trump's vow to cut the corporate tax rate. She discussed her plans to fight for abortion rights, voting rights legislation, boost the housing supply and ban what she has called "price gouging" by grocers. Her campaign has also proposed raising the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%. Chicagos United Center brimmed with energy and people. The arenas 23,500 seats were filled and arena staff briefly blocked more people from entering the facility, saying the citys fire marshal declared the building at capacity. "We did it," Harris told supporters at a post-convention reception. "Forward, forward, forward." (Reporting by Nandita Bose, Jeff Mason, Doina Chiacu, Trevor Hunnicutt, Stephanie Kelly, Andrea Shalal, Steve Holland, Jarrett Renshaw, Julio-Cesar Chavez; Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh and Nathan Layne; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Heather Timmons and Howard Goller) f11photo / Getty Images/iStockphoto As home prices and mortgage rates remain stubbornly elevated, overall home ownership in the second quarter of 2024 was down slightly from the same time in 2023. New home sales in June 2024 were lower than theyve been since 2011. Yet, for U.S. residents unwilling to give up the American dream of homeownership, there are still some cities where it is actually cheaper to buy a home than to rent. Check Out: 5 Types of Homes That Will Plummet in Value in 2024 Read Next: 7 Reasons You Must Speak To a Financial Advisor Before Spending $50,000 or More Of course, youll still need to save or acquire the money for a down payment if you intend to buy a home. Youll need to factor in additional costs such as home maintenance and repairs. But you can potentially snag a monthly mortgage payment lower than the price of rent in these five U.S. cities in the South. Methodology: To find the cheapest places to buy a home in the South, we looked up median rent prices from RentCafe.com, and then the median home price at Zillow.com. We calculated a 20% down payment and then used a mortgage calculator at 6.46% interest to find the monthly mortgage payment in these cities. Kruck20 / Getty Images Memphis, Tennessee Average rent: $1,703 Average home value: $150,672 20% down: $30,134 Average mortgage payment at 6.46%: $759 The growing tech economy in Memphis coupled with a low cost of living that is roughly 14% less than the national average makes this Tennessee city a desirable metropolis for young professionals and family. A vibrant nightlife, temperate climate, and an affordable housing market put Memphis at the top of our list of places in the South where its better (and cheaper) to buy than to rent. Trending Now: 6 Best Florida Suburbs To Buy Property in the Next 5 Years, According To Real Estate Agents For You: 7 Worst States To Buy Property in the Next 5 Years, According to Real Estate Agents Earning passive income doesn't need to be difficult. You can start this week. Sean Pavone / Getty Images/iStockphoto Baltimore, Maryland Average rent: $1,550 Average home value: $188,598 20% down: $37,720 Average mortgage payment 6.46%: $950 On the border between the mid-Atlantic states and the South, Baltimore, Maryland combines Southern hospitality with cooler weather and proximity to Northeastern big-city living in nearby Washington, D.C. Homes in Baltimore are surprisingly affordable for all the city has to offer. Learn More: Im an Economist Heres My Prediction for the Housing Market If Trump Wins the Election SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images/iStockphoto Montgomery, Alabama Average rent: $1,200 (3 BR) Average home value: $143,859 20% down: $28,772 Average mortgage payment (at 6.46%): $724 Story continues Whether youre looking to retire or seeking a starter home to raise a family, Montgomery, Alabama, has affordable home options and an overall low cost of living. The citys rich history, multitude of parks, and a solid public school system make this city appealing to many people. traveler1116 / Getty Images Fayetteville, North Carolina Average rent: $1,513 (3 BR) Average home value: $218,367 20% down: $43,673 Average mortgage payment (at 6.46%): $1,100 A military town off the convenient I-95 corridor, Fayetteville, North Carolina, offers moderate temperatures compared to other regions in the South and a cost of living 20% lower than the national average. With plenty of activities for people of all ages, a good public school system, and increasing job opportunities as companies like Amazon have moved to the area, Fayetteville is a great place to settle down in a starter home and raise a family. DenisTangneyJr / Getty Images/iStockphoto Laredo, Texas Average rent: $1,376 (3 BR) Average home value: $210,620 20% down: $42,124 Average mortgage payment (at 6.46%): $1,061 If youre looking for the advantages of Texas, including no state income tax, but feel priced out of larger cities like Austin and Dallas, consider Laredo, Texas. With a rich cultural heritage that combines Mexican and American traditions plus easy access to the Rio Grande and parks that encourage getting closer to nature Laredo can be a great city to buy a home and raise a family (or retire to a quiet life on the border). More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 5 Cities in the South Where Its Cheaper To Buy a Home Than Rent HATCH, N.M. (KRQE) A Hatch daycare worker is accused of leaving a four-year-old child in a hot van. Court records state that the mother called Little Footprints Early Childhood Development Learning Center last Friday to see if the boy could stay longer than normal. Woman charged in connection to boys death outside of Isotopes Park in 2023 The staff told her the boy was not at school but the mother said a Little Footprints driver picked him up earlier that day. Thats when police said the staff found him in the back seat awake but sweating profusely. The driver, Andrea Martinez, is now facing a child abuse charge. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The hazards and penalties of aiming lasers at flying aircraft The hazards and penalties of aiming lasers at flying aircraft (FOX40.COM) A person was arrested in Citrus Heights on Sunday after pointing a strong green laser at a California Highway Patrol helicopter, but what makes this act illegal and how can it endanger flight crews? Since 2016, the Federal Aviation Administration has kept records of flight crews reporting being hit by ground-based lasers during flight. In 2023, the FAA received over 13,000 reports from pilots or flight crew members about being struck by these bright and dangerous lights. Locally, 26 pilots during July have called in about being struck by a laser while flying over Sacramento, according to FAA data. CHP helicopter target of strong green laser in Northern California Intentionally aiming lasers at aircraft poses a safety threat to pilots and violates federal law, the FAA writes. Many high-powered lasers can incapacitate pilots flying aircraft that may be carrying hundreds of passengers. Given the risk these lasers pose to pilot safety, in February 2012, the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 was signed into law, making it a federal crime to aim a laser at an aircraft. No person may assault, threaten, intimidate, or interfere with a crewmember in the performance of the crewmembers duties aboard an aircraft being operated, the prohibition on interference with crewmembers states. Violators can expect the FAA to seek civil penalties of up to $11,000 per violation and even up to $30,000 for those with multiple laser incidents. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. What are the Health Benefits of Coffee? | Ask the Doc | Good Day Central Illinois PEORIA, Ill. (WYZZ) Having that cup of Joe in the morning might be more than just a way to wake up. It could help to reduce other health risks. Thats what Dr. Brian Curtis, the vice president of Clinical Specialty Service Line at OSF Healthcare, told us during Fridays Ask the Doc segment on Good Day Central Illinois. According to various studies, moderate coffee consumption (25 cups per day) may have several health benefits, he said. Some of these benefits include a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, liver and endometrial cancers, Parkinsons disease, Alzheimers and depression. Coffee could lower risk of death among sedentary drinkers: Study Coffee could also improve how good bacteria found in a persons digestive tract works as well as possibly helping with thyroid function in people with metabolic disorders. Dark Roast coffee, he said, could even help decrease the breakdown of DNA strands within the body that could help with reducing cancer risk. Thats not free license to go nuts and drink too much, especially for women. However, excessive intake can cause negative side effects, so it is recommended for most women to limit their consumption to three to five cups per day, with a maximum of 400 milligrams of caffeine, he said. Consuming more caffeine than the recommended can actually make you more tired as your body produces adenosine when exposed to caffeine, Curtis said. Adenosine can cause you to be more tired. Remember if you are pregnant to talk to your doctor around your caffeine intake and to also take into consideration what you add to your coffee and try to make healthier choices. OSF Healthcare, he said. Love Good Day Central Illinois? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our Daily Newsletter. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. a Black woman hugs her newborn in a bed A new report finds that reimbursing doula services for Medicaid beneficiaries can have significant benefits for maternal health. Photo: Getty Images Members of a group seeking to improve the health of pregnant North Carolina residents before and after they give birth want to continue to advocate for state support to make doula services available to people on Medicaid. Doulas are non-medical aides who provide information and support to parents before, during, and shortly after the birth of their babies. A committee of the North Carolina Child Fatality Task Force discussed the potential for having the Medicaid program pay for doula services at its meeting Thursday. About 120,000 babies were born to North Carolina residents in 2023, according to the CDC, and more than half were covered by Medicaid. National groups such as the Institute for Medicaid Innovation and the National Law Health Program promote including doula services in Medicaid plans. A 2022 study found that doula support decreases the likelihood of cesarean sections and postpartum depression among women who used Medicaid. A 2013 study found that mothers with low-incomes were more likely to have healthy babies, less likely to have birth complications and more likely to initiate breastfeeding when they had doula assistance before giving birth. North Carolina has been thinking for years about making doula services available to people who use Medicaid. In the last few years, the state Department of Health and Human Services has used grants to help support a handful of local doula programs run by county health departments. It held a doula summit in 2022 to consider what Medicaid-supported doula services would look like, NC Newsline reported. It created a Doula Action Team this year to consider best practices. Gov. Roy Cooper included Medicaid reimbursement in his recommended 2022-23 budget, but the General Assembly has not funded it. Sen. Jim Burgin, a Harnett County Republican and chairman of the Senate Health and Human Services budget committee, said hes been doing his own research on doulas and considered they may be an avenue to ensuring more women receive prenatal care. Im going to work this next year to try to fund a bunch of this stuff, said Burgin, who is also a member of the Child Fatality Task Force committee. Interest around the country in Medicaid-supported doula services is accelerating. The Child Fatality Task Forces committee on Perinatal Health decided to recommend to the full committee that it keep asking that Medicaid pay for doula services. It would cost about $1.5 million a year for the reimbursements and $550,000 a year for training, promotion, and doula engagement. One of the concerns doulas have raised is how they will be integrated into the Medicaid payment system. Reimbursement is step one, said Belinda Pettiford, a DHHS section chief. You cant do reimbursement if you dont have the support system in place for the workforce. The committee also considered a request to support licensure for Certified Professional Midwives. Certified Nurse Midwives are licensed to practice in North Carolina. License qualifications include a masters degree or higher in nurse midwifery. The bill limiting abortions that the legislature passed last year included a provision that allows experienced nurse midwives to practice without doctors supervision. Certified Professional Midwives are not licensed in the state, but families hire them for home births. Nicole Havelka, president of the state chapter of the Association of Certified Professional Midwives, said CPMs could help address the lack of maternity care in rural and underserved areas. Thirty-six states and Washington DC license Certified Professional Midwives, according to the national association. The NC Medical Society has historically opposed CPM licensure. The committee did not make a final decision whether to support CPM licensing, with members saying they needed to talk with more people interested in the issue. At hearing on southeast Cary rezoning, council members ask developers for more Developers hoping to build multifamily units in southeast Cary received a list of requests from residents and Town Council members during a Thursday night public hearing. Despite general support for the developers affordable-housing offer, some residents and the council asked for a guaranteed minimum number of affordable units, more details on road safety and housing that better blends with surrounding neighborhoods. Pre-pandemic proposal In 2019, Piney Plains 2016, LLC, and John Trevor Colvin asked to rezone 31 acres between Piney Plains Road and U.S. 1 from office and institutional to mixed use. The developers, which also include national real estate firm Alliance Residential, plan to build up to 370 multifamily units in 10 buildings on the land. The rezoning request stalled during the pandemic. The Piney Plains Road lot adjoins neighborhoods to the west and southeast. The former Crossroads Ford Service Center sits directly to the east. In the north, the N.C. Department of Transportation is preparing to add on- and off-ramps from U.S. 1. In addition to providing 31,000 square feet of community gathering space and a partial greenway in the sites northeastern corner, the developers plan to keep 5% of the multifamily rental units priced for people making 80% of the area median income for 30 years, according to town and zoning application documents. The developers also intend to donate land to Habitat for Humanity for 16 townhouses, attorney Jason Barron of Morningstar Law Group said. Those would also be priced for people at 80% of the area median income, he said. It is a tremendous opportunity to build progress in place, he said. An opportunity to build equity and an opportunity to build homeownership. Several people at the meeting supported the project because of its affordable housing, including Patricia Burch, chief executive officers of Habitat for Humanity of Wake County, and Leslie Covington, executive director of The Carying Place. Many audience members also held signs saying Yes to Affordable Housing. Skeptics want affordable housing guarantee But some were skeptical. This proposal speaks of a maximum of 16 [affordable] units, but has no commitment on a minimum, said Wynwood South resident Prad Nadakuduty. The developer could get away with building zero. Nadakuduty also said the developers application provides few details about the Habitat for Humanity area compared to the multifamily rental side. They effectively split the land into townhouse and multifamily rental halves, the latter of which would have an outrageous 24 units per acre housing density, he said. Town Council members referred to Nadakudutys comment during the rest of the hearing. Members Jennifer Bryson Robinson, Lori Bush, Michelle Craig and Sarika Bansal all said the developer should guarantee a minimum number of affordable townhouses as the rezoning continues. Some speakers from the Wellington South and Wynwood South neighborhoods said they were concerned about the multifamily units fitting in with surrounding homes. Asif Khan, who also lives in Wynwood South, said the developer should transition from single-family and town homes to multifamily apartments in the southeast half of the development. He also wants shorter height restrictions for the multifamily rentals. The developers have proposed 75-foot maximums, but Khan said 50 feet would be better for blending with surrounding neighborhoods. Proposal moves to Planning and Zoning Board Other neighbors said they were worried about environmental impacts too. Paving over existing wetlands could cause stormwater management issues, and removing trees could also increase temperatures in the area, they said. Mayor Harold Weinbrecht said the town requires developers to prepare for hundred-year storms, severe rainfall events that statistically happen 1% of the time. He agreed that the developer should consider more transitional housing types and heights. Carys Planning and Zoning Board will consider the proposal next, before it comes back to Town Council in the coming months. Weinbrecht encouraged residents to collaborate with Morningstar and the developers in the process, especially after one speaker criticized the law groups communication with neighbors. Good outcomes never come with this going on, he said. It comes with working together. In the end, you still might not like it, and thats fine. In the Spotlight designates ongoing topics of high interest that are driven by The News & Observers focus on accountability reporting. An ultrasound is performed to verify a pregnancy at the Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, La. Helping a pregnant minor travel to get a legal abortion without parental consent is now a crime in two Republican-led states, and lawmakers in other states have considered similar legislation. Gerald Herbert/The Associated Press Read more Stateline coverage on how states are either protecting or curbing access to abortions. Helping a pregnant minor travel to get a legal abortion without parental consent is now a crime in at least two Republican-led states, prompting legal action by abortion-rights advocates and copycat legislation from conservative lawmakers in a handful of other states. Last year, Idaho became the first state to outlaw abortion trafficking, which it defined as recruiting, harboring or transporting a pregnant minor to get an abortion or abortion medication without parental permission. In May, Tennessee enacted a similar law. And Republican lawmakers in Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma introduced abortion trafficking bills during their most recent legislative sessions, although those bills failed to advance before the sessions ended. Those five states are among the 14 that enacted strict abortion bans following the U.S. Supreme Courts June 2022 Dobbs decision, which dismantled the federal right to abortion. Now, conservative state lawmakers are pushing additional measures to try to restrict their residents from getting them in states where it remains legal. A lot of folks thought Dobbs was the floor and its really not, said Tennessee state Rep. Aftyn Behn, a Nashville Democrat whos challenging Tennessees trafficking law in court. [Anti-abortion lawmakers] are coming for state travel and the ability to even talk about abortion. Abortion-rights advocates have filed lawsuits in Alabama, Idaho and Tennessee, arguing the laws are vague and violate constitutional rights to free speech and travel between states. A federal judge has temporarily blocked Idahos law from being enforced while the case is ongoing. Proponents of the laws argue theyre needed to protect parental rights and to prevent other adults from persuading adolescents to get abortions. This is a parental rights piece of legislation, Idaho Republican state Rep. Barbara Ehardt told Stateline. We cant control someone getting an abortion in Oregon. But you cannot take a child to get an abortion without the parents knowledge because, at least in the past, we would have called that kidnapping. But critics warn that abortion trafficking laws could have grave implications not only for interstate travel, but also for personal speech and communication between friends, or between children and adults they trust. If courts go down this road, it could change the scope of the First Amendment, Mary Ziegler, a legal historian and law professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law, told Stateline. It could have an effect on what else qualifies as crime-facilitating speech, and that could limit the kinds of things people can say and do online and in other contexts. Opponents also question whether states should be permitted to interfere in the business of other states. Criminalizing travel within an abortion-ban state to reach another state for a legal abortion would allow prosecutors to project power across state lines, said Ziegler. We havent seen states try to interfere in whats happening in other states in quite the same way in a long time, she said. Thats why there is legal uncertainty because were not talking about something where we have a lot of legal precedent. Parental rights Tennessee state Rep. Jason Zachary, a Knoxville Republican, defended Tennessees legislation as a parental rights bill that reinforces a parents right to do whats best for their child, in remarks he made to the Tennessee General Assembly before the bill passed. Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed it into law in May. The following month, Behn joined with Nashville attorney and longtime abortion access activist Rachel Welty to file a lawsuit challenging the new law. Behn and Welty sued nearly a dozen district attorneys in Tennessee, alleging they ignored Weltys requests to define what behavior would be deemed illegal under the new law. The Tennessee law says that abortion trafficking occurs when an adult intentionally recruits, harbors, or transports a pregnant minor within the state to get an abortion or an abortion-inducing drug without parental consent, regardless of where the abortion is to be procured. A hearing to determine whether the court will grant a temporary injunction blocking the Tennessee law, which is currently in effect, is scheduled for Aug. 30. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX After Idaho passed its law in April 2023, two advocacy groups and an attorney who works with sexual assault victims sued the state attorney general. The plaintiffs claim Idahos law is vague and violates the First Amendment right to free speech, as well as the right to travel freely between states. The right to interstate travel isnt spelled out in the U.S. Constitution but its implied, legal experts say. The Idaho law directly applies to travel within the state, but it also notes that defendants are not immune from liability if the abortion provider or the abortion-inducing drug provider is located in another state. Megan Kovacs, a board member with the Northwest Abortion Access Fund, which is a plaintiff in the case along with the Indigenous Idaho Alliance, said it is so clearly unconstitutional to disallow people from accessing health care from within or outside their state. Kovacs added that her group also wants to protect its volunteers from legal liability. Neither the Idaho nor the Tennessee law exempts minors who become pregnant after being raped by a parent. If that person had to go to a parent who didnt believe them or wanted to defend that family member who was the abuser, that only impedes healing even more, said Kovacs, who has spent a decade working with survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Ehardt, who sponsored the Idaho bill, said any adult who is told by a child about an incident of incest should call authorities rather than helping the minor obtain an abortion without parental consent. You have to call the police and they will be the ones to help protect the childs safety, she said. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held a hearing in May in Seattle, and Kovacs said she expects to learn in the next few weeks whether the court will uphold the temporary injunction blocking Idahos law while the lawsuit rolls on. In July 2023, a group of health care providers sued Alabama Republican Attorney General Steve Marshall and district attorneys, asking the court to prevent the state from prosecuting people who help Alabamians travel to get abortion care in states where its legal. The providers filed the lawsuit in response to remarks that Marshall made on a radio show in 2022, when he suggested that some people who aid a pregnant person in planning or traveling to get an abortion in another state could be prosecuted under the states criminal conspiracy laws. A judge denied Marshalls motion to dismiss the lawsuit earlier this year, and the case is ongoing. A coordinated effort The Tennessee and Idaho laws mirror language in model legislation that was published in 2022 by the National Right to Life Committee, which bills itself as the nations oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. With this model law, we [are] laying out a roadmap for the right-to-life movement so that, in a post-Roe society, we can protect many mothers and their children from the tragedy of abortion, said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life Committee, in a June 2022 statement introducing the model anti-abortion law. Anti-abortion-rights organizations, like other interest groups, have long coordinated strategies to promote their preferred legislation to state and federal lawmakers. The Idaho and Tennessee laws focus specifically on minors, even though they comprise a small fraction of people who get abortions. Those under 19 accounted for 8.1% of abortions, and those under age 15 accounted for just 0.2% of abortions in 2021, the most recent year for which the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published data. Kovacs and Ziegler say the bills zero in on minors access to abortion because policies that regulate children and teens tend to be more politically acceptable than broader restrictions that affect adults. Such bills also tend to be more likely to survive legal challenges in court. A chilling effect Nobody in Tennessee or Idaho has yet been prosecuted under the abortion trafficking laws, but an Idaho woman and her son were charged with kidnapping last fall for allegedly taking the sons girlfriend, a minor, out of state to get an abortion. One main goal of a law such as Tennessees, Behn believes, is to create a chilling effect so that average people are scared to help anyone who might need an abortion, for fear of breaking the law. These bills create an environment of suspicion, fear and misinformation, said Behn. But I do think we will see more aggressive district attorneys start to prosecute these cases. [The law] widens the permission structure to start prosecuting people. Laws criminalizing abortion travel and imposing other abortion restrictions may be designed to provoke a legal challenge, Ziegler said. With a 6-3 conservative majority, the U.S. Supreme Court might be inclined to support them. Abortion-rights advocates argue that restrictive abortion laws end up harming even those people who live in states where abortion is still legal. Oregon, for example, has some of the strongest abortion protection laws in the nation. And yet the strict abortion ban next door in Idaho has made it more difficult for Oregonians to access care, said Kovacs, who lives in Oregon. These bills create an environment of suspicion, fear and misinformation. But I do think we will see more aggressive district attorneys start to prosecute these cases. Tennessee Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn Before Idahos ban, many people in Eastern Oregon traveled to Idaho for abortion care, she said, because its clinics were closer than Oregons clinics, most of which are concentrated on the western side of the state. Last year, in response to increasing abortion restrictions in other states, Oregon passed a sweeping health care omnibus bill that strengthens protections for abortion providers and explicitly allows minors to seek abortions without parental consent. It was signed into law and took effect in January. Ziegler said its not hard to imagine that if abortion trafficking laws are upheld in abortion-ban states, at some point prosecutors in those states could file charges against providers in safe states for providing abortion help, such as mailing abortion pills. I think its not intended to just stop with the people who are in the ban states, Ziegler said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Helping a pregnant minor travel to get a legal abortion without parental consent is now a crime in two Republican-led states, and lawmakers in other states have considered similar legislation (Oscar Wong/Getty Images) Helping a pregnant minor travel to get a legal abortion without parental consent is now a crime in at least two Republican-led states, prompting legal action by abortion-rights advocates and copycat legislation from conservative lawmakers in a handful of other states. Last year, Idaho became the first state to outlaw abortion trafficking, which it defined as recruiting, harboring or transporting a pregnant minor to get an abortion or abortion medication without parental permission. In May, Tennessee enacted a similar law. And Republican lawmakers in Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma introduced abortion trafficking bills during their most recent legislative sessions, although those bills failed to advance before the sessions ended. Those five states are among the 14 that enacted strict abortion bans following the U.S. Supreme Courts June 2022 Dobbs decision, which dismantled the federal right to abortion. Now, conservative state lawmakers are pushing additional measures to try to restrict their residents from getting them in states where it remains legal. A lot of folks thought Dobbs was the floor and its really not, said Tennessee state Rep. Aftyn Behn, a Nashville Democrat whos challenging Tennessees trafficking law in court. [Anti-abortion lawmakers] are coming for state travel and the ability to even talk about abortion. Abortion-rights advocates have filed lawsuits in Alabama, Idaho and Tennessee, arguing the laws are vague and violate constitutional rights to free speech and travel between states. A federal judge has temporarily blocked Idahos law from being enforced while the case is ongoing. Proponents of the laws argue theyre needed to protect parental rights and to prevent other adults from persuading adolescents to get abortions. This is a parental rights piece of legislation, Idaho Republican state Rep. Barbara Ehardt told Stateline. We cant control someone getting an abortion in Oregon. But you cannot take a child to get an abortion without the parents knowledge because, at least in the past, we would have called that kidnapping. But critics warn that abortion trafficking laws could have grave implications not only for interstate travel, but also for personal speech and communication between friends, or between children and adults they trust. If courts go down this road, it could change the scope of the First Amendment, Mary Ziegler, a legal historian and law professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law, told Stateline. It could have an effect on what else qualifies as crime-facilitating speech, and that could limit the kinds of things people can say and do online and in other contexts. Opponents also question whether states should be permitted to interfere in the business of other states. Criminalizing travel within an abortion-ban state to reach another state for a legal abortion would allow prosecutors to project power across state lines, said Ziegler. We havent seen states try to interfere in whats happening in other states in quite the same way in a long time, she said. Thats why there is legal uncertainty because were not talking about something where we have a lot of legal precedent. Parental rights Tennessee state Rep. Jason Zachary, a Knoxville Republican, defended Tennessees legislation as a parental rights bill that reinforces a parents right to do whats best for their child, in remarks he made to the Tennessee General Assembly before the bill passed. Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed it into law in May. The following month, Behn joined with Nashville attorney and longtime abortion access activist Rachel Welty to file a lawsuit challenging the new law. Behn and Welty sued nearly a dozen district attorneys in Tennessee, alleging they ignored Weltys requests to define what behavior would be deemed illegal under the new law. The Tennessee law says that abortion trafficking occurs when an adult intentionally recruits, harbors, or transports a pregnant minor within the state to get an abortion or an abortion-inducing drug without parental consent, regardless of where the abortion is to be procured. A hearing to determine whether the court will grant a temporary injunction blocking the Tennessee law, which is currently in effect, is scheduled for Aug. 30. After Idaho passed its law in April 2023, two advocacy groups and an attorney who works with sexual assault victims sued the state attorney general. The plaintiffs claim Idahos law is vague and violates the First Amendment right to free speech, as well as the right to travel freely between states. The right to interstate travel isnt spelled out in the U.S. Constitution but its implied, legal experts say. The Idaho law directly applies to travel within the state, but it also notes that defendants are not immune from liability if the abortion provider or the abortion-inducing drug provider is located in another state. Megan Kovacs, a board member with the Northwest Abortion Access Fund, which is a plaintiff in the case along with the Indigenous Idaho Alliance, said it is so clearly unconstitutional to disallow people from accessing health care from within or outside their state. Kovacs added that her group also wants to protect its volunteers from legal liability. Neither the Idaho nor the Tennessee law exempts minors who become pregnant after being raped by a parent. If that person had to go to a parent who didnt believe them or wanted to defend that family member who was the abuser, that only impedes healing even more, said Kovacs, who has spent a decade working with survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Ehardt, who sponsored the Idaho bill, said any adult who is told by a child about an incident of incest should call authorities rather than helping the minor obtain an abortion without parental consent. You have to call the police and they will be the ones to help protect the childs safety, she said. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held a hearing in May in Seattle, and Kovacs said she expects to learn in the next few weeks whether the court will uphold the temporary injunction blocking Idahos law while the lawsuit rolls on. In July 2023, a group of health care providers sued Alabama Republican Attorney General Steve Marshall and district attorneys, asking the court to prevent the state from prosecuting people who help Alabamians travel to get abortion care in states where its legal. The providers filed the lawsuit in response to remarks that Marshall made on a radio show in 2022, when he suggested that some people who aid a pregnant person in planning or traveling to get an abortion in another state could be prosecuted under the states criminal conspiracy laws. A judge denied Marshalls motion to dismiss the lawsuit earlier this year, and the case is ongoing. A coordinated effort The Tennessee and Idaho laws mirror language in model legislation that was published in 2022 by the National Right to Life Committee, which bills itself as the nations oldest and largest grassroots pro-life organization. With this model law, we [are] laying out a roadmap for the right-to-life movement so that, in a post-Roe society, we can protect many mothers and their children from the tragedy of abortion, said Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life Committee, in a June 2022 statement introducing the model anti-abortion law. Anti-abortion-rights organizations, like other interest groups, have long coordinated strategies to promote their preferred legislation to state and federal lawmakers. The Idaho and Tennessee laws focus specifically on minors, even though they comprise a small fraction of people who get abortions. Those under 19 accounted for 8.1% of abortions, and those under age 15 accounted for just 0.2% of abortions in 2021, the most recent year for which the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published data. Kovacs and Ziegler say the bills zero in on minors access to abortion because policies that regulate children and teens tend to be more politically acceptable than broader restrictions that affect adults. Such bills also tend to be more likely to survive legal challenges in court. A chilling effect Nobody in Tennessee or Idaho has yet been prosecuted under the abortion trafficking laws, but an Idaho woman and her son were charged with kidnapping last fall for allegedly taking the sons girlfriend, a minor, out of state to get an abortion. One main goal of a law such as Tennessees, Behn believes, is to create a chilling effect so that average people are scared to help anyone who might need an abortion, for fear of breaking the law. These bills create an environment of suspicion, fear and misinformation, said Behn. But I do think we will see more aggressive district attorneys start to prosecute these cases. [The law] widens the permission structure to start prosecuting people. Laws criminalizing abortion travel and imposing other abortion restrictions may be designed to provoke a legal challenge, Ziegler said. With a 6-3 conservative majority, the U.S. Supreme Court might be inclined to support them. Abortion-rights advocates argue that restrictive abortion laws end up harming even those people who live in states where abortion is still legal. Oregon, for example, has some of the strongest abortion protection laws in the nation. And yet the strict abortion ban next door in Idaho has made it more difficult for Oregonians to access care, said Kovacs, who lives in Oregon. Before Idahos ban, many people in Eastern Oregon traveled to Idaho for abortion care, she said, because its clinics were closer than Oregons clinics, most of which are concentrated on the western side of the state. Last year, in response to increasing abortion restrictions in other states, Oregon passed a sweeping health care omnibus bill that strengthens protections for abortion providers and explicitly allows minors to seek abortions without parental consent. It was signed into law and took effect in January. Ziegler said its not hard to imagine that if abortion trafficking laws are upheld in abortion-ban states, at some point prosecutors in those states could file charges against providers in safe states for providing abortion help, such as mailing abortion pills. I think its not intended to just stop with the people who are in the ban states, Ziegler said. 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. 'Heroic' Teenager Saves 7-Year-Old Boy from Drowning in California Lake: Truly Saved the Day' Drowning deaths are on the rise in the United States, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Getty A 13-year-old boy is being praised for his heroics after saving a 7-year-old from drowning in a California lake. Lazaro Perez was visiting Lake Nacimiento Resort with his family on Sunday, Aug. 18, when he saw another child fall off a tube near the shoreline, according to a statement shared on Facebook by the Monterey County Park Rangers Association. The teen, according to The Tribune, immediately jumped into action after realizing the boy did not resurface. The child was not wearing a life preserver when he fell off the tube, officials said. Related: Texas Police Officers Reunite with Child They Saved Following Near-Fatal Pool Drowning Perez quickly located the 7-year-old and brought him back to shore, according to the Rangers Association. Crews with Monterey County Park Rangers, Cal Fire Station 33 and San Luis Ambulance evaluated the patient at the scene, they added. Family eventually transported the child to a local hospital for further medical treatment. Related: Mother of 2 Drowns with Toddler in North Carolina Creek: 'Its Devastating' The Rangers Association applauded the teen in their statement, commending him for his bravery the day prior. They described him as a heroic young man. 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. Thank you, Lazaro, the Rangers Association wrote on Facebook, you truly saved the day!" Related: Dad Saves His 2-Year-Old Daughter from Drowning, Recalls Holding Her Limp Body and Praying Drowning deaths are on the rise in the United States, according to a news release published in May by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The study suggests over 4,500 people died due to drowning each year from 2020 to 2022, up 500 per year compared to 2019, health officials said. These numbers come after decades of decline, they added. Some groups that were already at a higher risk for drownings including toddlers, adults 65 years and older and Black people of all ages saw the greatest increases in drowning deaths. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Fox News anchors cut off former President Donald Trump's rant on Thursday after he called in to the network following Vice President Kamala Harris' Democratic National Convention speech. The GOP candidate immediately called the network after Harris acceptance speech for what turned into a 10-minute long, one-sided, conversation with hosts Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum. While Baier and MacCallum struggled to interject, Trump carried on talking about immigrants from prisons and jails, from mental institutions and insane asylums; his polling success over Harris with people of color, voters, or simply women who want safety; and the auto workers in Michigan who support him. MacCallum noted Harris' rise among voters of color. Shes having some success in that, at this point. What are you going to do whats your strategy to rebuild the momentum that you had with those voters? she asked. No, shes not having success. Im having success. Im doing great with the Hispanic voters. Im doing great with Black men. Im doing great with women, because women want safety," Trump replied. No, its only in your eyes that they have that, Martha, he added. Were doing very well in the polls. Towards the end of their phone-in, the former president responded to Baiers question about receiving Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s endorsement with high praise for the independent candidate. Trump claimed he was unsure whether hed received the endorsement but said that Kennedy was treated very unfairly by the Democrats. He would have beaten Joe Biden in a Democratic primary. Baier and MacCallum ultimately interjected to cut off the conversation in order to kick it over to a live edition of "Gutfeld!" We appreciate that live feedback," Baier said. This might be the funniest thing I've ever seen. Trump called into Fox News to rage about Kamala's speech, only to be cut off by Bret Baier so they could get to Gutfeld's show. pic.twitter.com/wCUiVYbYyw Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) August 23, 2024 That wasnt my fault, Donald Trump! host Greg Gutfeld said. Hes still talking, by the way, he joked. The former president then hopped on a call with Newsmax, an alternative right-wing network, shortly after to continue his monologue. Trump to Newsmax hosts: "Caracas was a very unsafe city, and now it's safe. In fact, some day the 3 of us will have to go there -- bring your husband with us also -- and we'll bring some of the other people that are with you because I like the people that are with you." pic.twitter.com/RR88mW39cp Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 23, 2024 90-year-old faces eviction from Brooklyn home after he says he unknowingly fell for a deed scam 18 years ago A 90-year-old New Yorker is facing eviction from his Brooklyn home of over 50 years after he says he fell victim to a deed scam 18 years ago. Ray Cortezs plan to live out his days in the Park Slope brownstone where he raised his three children is in peril after what he claims was a con in which he signed over the deed to his house. 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 The story begins in 2006 when Cortez, then 72, was seeking money for home renovations and he was convinced to sign over the deed of his home to another man. At the time, he thought the transaction was legitimate and the deed would be returned to him but those papers were never filed with the city. He says a line of credit worth nearly $700,000 was taken out on the house and when that HELOC went unpaid, the bank sold Cortezs home at foreclosure for $2 million. Now, hes fighting in housing court to save and stay in his home. It's heartbreaking, Cortezs son, Ray Jr., told Eyewitness News ABC7NY. It's been too long for him to have to carry this with him. It's been devastating. A common type of real estate scam Cortez bought the family home in 1969 for $20,000. In the five decades since, it has been surrounded by million-dollar condos, restaurants, bars and the Barclays Center, home to the Brooklyn Nets. Now, the old house is valued at close to $3 million, according to Eyewitness News, but Cortezs name is not on the deed. Its a travesty, Tom Harriman, who also described Cortez as the perfect neighbor, told Eyewitness News. All of us on this street are just appalled. 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) Sadly, housing scams are not uncommon in up-and-coming neighborhoods, according to Cortezs attorney, Bill Lienhard. If you go into certain neighborhoods, mostly communities of color in Brooklyn, from Prospect Heights over towards East New York and then southeast Queens, everybody on every block knows somebody who has been a victim of deed theft or real estate fraud, he told Eyewitness News. Story continues The eviction is on hold until Sept. 9, the local broadcaster reported, and the Attorney Generals office is reviewing the case. Protect yourself against deed fraud Deed fraud sometimes called home title fraud, title theft or house stealing is when thieves steal the title of a home. This type of fraud commonly starts with identity theft, where criminals forge a deed that transfers ownership of a property. In other cases, crooks might deceive a homeowner into signing over ownership, often with the promise of financial assistance. Once property ownership has been transferred, the deed holder may attempt to occupy the space, sell it or rent it out, or borrow money against the property. There are ways to protect yourself and your home from deed fraud. For instance, you should pay attention to incoming bills like mortgage bills, tax bills, utility bills and so on to ensure theyre still coming in and that all the information is correct. You can also check the status of your property deed at the local registry office. Perhaps most importantly, you can monitor your credit reports for signs of identity theft. Look out for unfamiliar accounts or debt balances that are higher than expected as those could be warning signs that someone is making money moves in your name. Finally, you can purchase a title insurance policy when you buy a house or refinance. This type of coverage can protect you against impersonation or forgery. What to read next Unlock access to 4,700+ hand-picked, single-family homes across America and the juicy rental cash they can generate. Here's how to start with as little as $10 You didnt want to risk it: 80-year-old woman from South Carolina is looking for the safest place for her familys $250,000 savings. Here's Dave Ramsey's response Rich young Americans have lost confidence in the stock market and are betting on these assets instead. Get in now for strong long-term tailwinds This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. PINE BLUFF, Ark. Hestand Stadium in Pine Bluff hosts dozens of events all year long, but future events like the Southeast Arkansas District Fair and even a circus are in jeopardy after a copper theft. They come in here and tore all the wiring, copper out of this building, which were getting ready for the fair, getting ready for the high school rodeo, getting ready for the big monster truck race, Hestand Stadium treasurer Dale Dixon said. Copper thefts costing North Little Rock thousands of dollars Dixon said the cost of wire compared to the damage done leaves him feeling defeated. Youre looking at $13,000 to $14,000 [worth of damage] and they got maybe $200 worth of copper, Dixon said. He said the thieves stole copper, fans and electrical plugs, which makes putting on a fair for the county harder than it should be. Theyre putting us in a lot of pressure when that shouldnt be that way, because we work year-round to try to get these events here, Dixon said. Man arrested, accused of stealing copper from Pine Bluff telephone poles for months Despite the damage, Dixon said that theyll be able get things in time. Well be struggling but I believe well make it, Dixon 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 KARK. Hiker finds human skull on lava field that may be man missing since 2013, WA cops say A hiker was venturing on a rocky and jagged lava field in Washington when they discovered a human skull, deputies said. Authorities believe it may belong to a 31-year-old Oregon man who has been missing since 2013, KATU reported. The hiker stumbled upon the skull Aug. 10 on the Big Lava Bed in Gifford Pinchot National Forest, the Skamania County Sheriffs Office said in an Aug. 22 news release. They reported it to authorities and returned to the area to lead a sergeant to the skull, deputies said. It was recovered Aug. 15. Additional human remains were found in the area and are believed to belong to Kristopher Zitzewitz of Portland, however, a medical examiner will officially identify the remains, according to KATU. He had been looking for caves on the lava bed with his partner on Sept. 28, 2013, when they got separated, and he vanished, deputies reported that year. Rescue teams searched for Zitzewitz but never found him. The search was suspended after a week, The Oregonian reported at the time. The Big Lava Bed formed when a cinder cone volcano erupted about 8,200 years ago. Hiker stumbled on remains in 2019, Arizona cops say. Now theyre IDd as missing man Missing mans wallet found then rescuers find human remains, Washington cops say Body of man missing for months found 2 miles from his abandoned car, Nebraska cops say TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) A Hillsborough County fire lieutenant and a former state attorneys office employee were both arrested and charged with unlawful sex with a minor, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office. Deputies said Sascha Engel, 39, and Alyssa Engel, 37, both of Riverview, forced a 16-year-old to engage in sexual acts on April 27. Should I shoot him?: Driver pulls gun in heated road rage incident in Florida The case will be prosecuted in Polk County due to West being a former employee of the State Attorneys Office in Hillsborough County. Alyssa West worked here as a member of our support staff years ago, a spokesperson told News Channel 8. The case was sent for executive assignment. That is generally what happens in a situation where a former employee or someone with close ties to our office is charged with a crime and it could cause an appearance of being unfair. Sascha was placed on administrative leave, effective May 24 after the department was notified of a criminal investigation. After his arrest, he was placed on administrative leave without pay, according to a county official. Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office Sascha was hired in January 2004 as a firefighter before being promoted in 2015 to Fire Medic I and then Lieutenant in 2020. Betrayal of the badge: Hillsborough deputy arrested for recording victims in his bathroom, sheriff says It is both disgusting and deeply disappointing to see not one, but two adults join together to take advantage of a young child, especially when one of those adults is a trusted authority in our community, Sheriff Chad Chronister said. This egregious violation of innocence is disgraceful and goes against every value we stand for in this community. This remains an active investigation. No other details were immediately 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 WFLA. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pushed back Friday against Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosis suggestion that the governors weakness at the top of the ticket in the Empire State cost Democrats the House. Ill tell you this, no governor in the history of the state of New York has worked harder to elect members of Congress than I have, Hochul told MSNBCs Morning Joe. We are going to win this on the ground because I know how to do this. I now have the chance to focus on this. In an interview with POLITICO on Thursday, Pelosi blamed Hochuls closer-than-expected victory in New Yorks 2022 gubernatorial race for Democrats inability to maintain their House majority in that years elections. New York Republicans flipped four Democratic-held seats in those midterms, races where critics have suggested that Hochul may have been a drag on down-ballot candidates. Asked about that claim by Pelosi, the governor flatly replied I dont agree with that. Hochul cited her efforts to begin raising money for New Yorks Democratic Party and pour it into local counties, as well as ongoing coordination with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and hundreds of staffers across 35 offices. Pelosi said Thursday that she hadnt spoken to Hochul about this years races but had consulted with Jeffries as recently as that morning. She emphasized the importance of the three Ms: mobilization, message, money. Hochul acknowledged Friday she can laser focus on key purple districts including Hudson Valley, Syracuse, Central New York and Long Island now that Im not a candidate this year myself. Were going to win these races and win strong, she said. LIVINGSTON PARISH, La. (KLFY) A 34-year-old Holden man is facing charges in connection with a July boat crash that killed two people, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced. Jason Chiasson Jr. was arrested on Thursday and charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, five counts of first-degree vehicular negligent injury, careless operation of a vessel and second offense of operating or driving a vessel while impaired, authorities said. Wildlife and Fisheries said Chiasson was the operator of a 25-foot Sea Fox vessel when he collided with a 25-foot pontoon boat shortly after midnight on July 28 in the Tickfaw River. Through the course of the investigation, agents have determined that Chiasson Jr. was impaired at the time of the collision, Wildlife and Fisheries said. The crash claimed the lives of Thuy Gustin, 31, of Springfield, and Chase Sharkey, 36, of Greensburg. Three other people were taken to an area hospital for treatment of injuries but have since been released. Wildlife and Fisheries said they were alerted of the incident around 12:17 a.m. on Sunday, July 28. When they arrived on scene, the pontoon boat was heavily damaged and the Sea Fox boat was capsized. Gustin, who was a passenger on the Sea Fox, was trapped under the capsized vessel, authorities said, but an agent and another individual were able to jump into the water and retrieve her body. She was taken to North Oaks Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Sharkeys body was recovered from the Tickfaw River around 12:45 p.m. that afternoon, Wildlife and Fisheries 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. PASCO COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) A Holiday man has pleaded guilty to the violent kidnapping of a rival drug trafficker, according to the State Attorneys Office. Officials said Mario Espino, 25, lured his victim to Florida, telling them he had the money to pay off a drug debt. However, he recruited two individuals Jacob Guest and Joey Young to help kidnap the victim in retaliation for cutting into his drug business. Man already booked into Hillsborough jail 74 times arrested again, HCSO says Agents intercepted the attempted kidnapping at the Tampa International Airport, warning the victim of Espinos plan. However, officials said the victim ignored them and went to Espinos home instead. At the home, Espino, Guest and Young used the butt of the firearm to strike the victim before tying his hands and feet with zip ties, according to the SAO. Officials said the suspects violently beat the victim, tortured him, and threatened to kill him several times. They also called the victims drug supplier to demand 10 kilograms of fentanyl. After driving the victim around Florida before returning to the home, agents and Pasco County deputies rescued the victim, who was zip-tied in the back of the vehicle with a pillowcase over their head. Inside the car was 22 kilograms of meth, 154 grams of fentanyl, and a Micro Drace 7.62 x 39 mm firearm. Hillsborough firefighter, ex-state attorneys office employee charged with child sex crimes Espino pleaded guilty to five counts of superseding indictment, charging him with kidnapping, possessing meth and fentanyl with an intent to distribute, and possessing a firearm in a drug trafficking crime, the SAO said. The SAO said the suspect also had previous interceptions in Arizona and Georgia for drug trafficking 55 kilograms of meth, and 79 kilograms of meth, respectively, that were on their way to Florida. Espino faces a minimum penalty of 15 years, to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 31. Guest and Young are pending trial and have been charged for co-conspiracy. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (Bloomberg) -- When Katie Lam was deciding what to study back in 2018, she thought that a Law degree would open the most doors in a future career. She was overjoyed to be accepted into her chosen subject at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Most Read from Bloomberg Almost six years on, the outlook in the city has soured with top tier firms closing, foreign lawyers leaving and, according to recruiters, fewer trainees being retained. While Lam, 23, managed to secure work as a paralegal, an increasing number of graduates appear to be dropping out of the profession altogether. A prolonged dearth of large initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions, as well as the economic downturn in China have dried up a key source of revenue for law firms in Hong Kong. In addition, unease about data privacy and Chinas tightening grip over the city have contributed to some firms shifting resources to Singapore. There are also concerns that national security legislation has undermined faith in the rule of law, further clouding the future. The legal industry in Hong Kong is growing at the slowest pace in a decade. At the Law Society, which solicitors are required to join, membership grew by only 90 in 2023, down 83% from an increase of 532 members in 2020. At least 16 law firms have left or shut down since 2020 after steady growth in the previous few years, including Philadelphia-founded Dechert LLP and Chicago-based Winston & Strawn LLP. DLA Piper LLP, one of the largest law firms in the world, has cut its office space, while Mayer Brown LLP was preparing to split off its Hong Kong operation, people familiar with the matter said earlier this year. Hong Kongs status as a legal hub has changed significantly, said Richard Cullen, an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Hong Kong. It is caught in the crosshairs of an aggressive campaign by the United States and other Western powers trying to contain China, with the National Security Law becoming a focus. The Hong Kong government said in June theres no truth that the citys courts are under any political pressure from Chinese central authorities or the hubs government in the adjudication of national security cases. Hong Kongs ability to remain as an international financial center is largely attributed to its stable environment with strong rule of law consisting of a robust legal system and a pool of diversified legal talents, the Department of Justice said in an emailed response to questions Thursday. The national security laws will not affect normal business operations and worldwide exchanges of local institutions, organizations and individuals. That said, foreign lawyers have left the city, according to data from the Law Society. Only 1,476 were registered in 2023, down 13% from a peak of 1,688 in 2019. Meanwhile, the number of junior lawyers who are being taken on as associates after their two-year training period is declining. At the junior level, there has been roughly a 25-30% contraction in retention rates, said Johnny Hui, a Hong Kong-based legal and compliance manager at recruitment company Robert Walters. To bump up these rates, some firms retain their trainees on six-month or rolling contracts, defer their commencement dates, or continue paying associates at far lower trainee rates. In-house roles have also been falling since 2021, partly due to some companies moving their Asian hubs to Singapore from Hong Kong, according to a report by Lewis Sanders, a specialist legal and compliance recruitment consultancy. Part of the reason some firms have withdrawn is due to concern they will be forced to divulge client information to the Hong Kong government after implementation of the national security law, according to a partner at a UK-based law firm who asked not to be named due to the sensitive subject matter. The Financial Times reported in February that US firm Latham & Watkins LLP was cutting off default access to its international databases for its Hong Kong-based lawyers amid growing concern of Chinas closer control of the territory. Moreover, the decision by several overseas judges to step down from the former British colonys top court has added to worries over the future of the rule of law. The decision by overseas judges to step down has an impact on Hong Kongs rule of law, in particular when being perceived by the outsiders, said Yun Zhao, a Law professor at the University of Hong Kong. Hong Kong needs to consider possible ways to dissipate possible concerns from the public. Nevertheless, industry associations say the recent decline is due to poor economic conditions rather than political fears. You cant have non-stop expansion, said Victor Dawes, chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association, adding the local decline in deal volume was part of a worldwide trend. Dispute resolution in Hong Kong, including liquidation, restructuring and insolvency, has actually increased over the last few years. Dawes said hes confident that Hong Kong will retain its legal hub status given it is a common law jurisdiction. Joanne Lau, secretary-general of the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, said arbitration and mediation in Hong Kong continue to grow. If you look at our fundamentals we continue to have sophisticated laws, a strong judiciary, experienced arbitral institutions, and a community of vibrant talent, she said. Job-Hunting Challenges The career setbacks that Lam and her cohort face are symptomatic of the industrys challenges, however. Even with academic scores that placed her well into the top half of her class and five law-related internships, she didnt secure a full-time offer. Fellow CUHK graduate Nicholas Chu, 22, said his year group had found it far harder to land jobs than previous cohorts. Out of 70 classmates, only a handful had received full-time offers from international firms, he said. Chu, who has to wait a year before he can start a training contract, estimates that around 20% of his class wont take the Postgraduate Certificate in Laws a one-year qualification thats a prerequisite for practicing as a lawyer in Hong Kong. These students may instead defer their graduation, seek opportunities overseas, or opt for careers in the civil service or in-house compliance. The number of applications for the certificate has dropped from around 1,600 10 years ago to around 1,300 in the 2023-2024 cycle, based on data compiled by Bloomberg, while the number of undergraduate law students in Hong Kong has increased slightly over the same period. This indicates that an increasing proportion of students are choosing to leave the legal profession or to qualify elsewhere. It is not surprising that, with the increasing number of law students, some are not seeking professional qualification, said Cullen. They are looking at the difficult job prospects and the cost of the degree and looking around for other employment opportunities. Lam, at least, isnt ready to drop out. She hopes to be recruited as a trainee in a few years time and will work as a paralegal in the meantime. I did consider other options such as working at regulatory bodies, she said. But I didnt want to give up on working as a lawyer after five years of study. (Adds economic backdrop in third paragraph.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Hopewell High School Principal LeDuan Pratt was suspended with pay one week before school starts Monday for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools on Friday only told parents in an email that Pratt was currently out and didnt provide other information about his absence. Mike Turner, a retired former CMS principal, will act as principal at the school until further notice. CMS responded to a records request from The Charlotte Observer and confirmed Pratt was placed on a paid suspension Aug. 19. CMS didnt give a reason for the suspension. We cannot state a reason as we cannot comment on personnel issues, CMS officials wrote to The Observer in an email Friday. Pratt was named principal of Garinger High School in 2022 prior to moving to Hopewell, which is located in northern Mecklenburg County near the Huntersville city limits. This embedded content is not available in your region. CMS previously suspended Pratt along with two other administrators in 2018 when he was principal of Carmel Middle School, the Observer previously reported. CMS did not give a reason for the 2018 suspension at the time but confirmed there was no improper behavior by CMS personnel towards any student and there is no criminal investigation of any CMS personnel related to this. A total of 7,966 deals (mergers & acquisitions (M&A), private equity and venture financing deals) were announced in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region during January-July 2024, which was a decline of 9.9% compared to the 8,840 deals announced during the same period in previous year, according to GlobalData, publishers of RBI. Aurojyoti Bose, Lead Analyst at GlobalData, comments: Subdued deal activity remained a global phenomenon with all the regions, including the APAC, witnessing a decline in deal volume. However, the decline experienced in APAC region was relatively lesser compared to other regions. While APAC was the only region to register single-digit decline in deal volume Other regions North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and South and Central America witnessed respective deal volume decline by 19.6%, 16.9%, 11.7% and 27.7% YoY during January-July 2024. Bose adds: While most of the APAC markets witnessed decline in deal volume, the impact was negated to some extent by improvements experienced in markets such as India, Japan and Thailand. China, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia saw YoY decline in deal volume by 21.1%, 2.6%, 1.3%, 23.7%, 14.5%, 17.2% and 32.2%, respectively, during January-July 2024. On the other hand, India, Japan and Thailand witnessed their respective deal volume improve by 2.4%, 5.7% and 8.5%, YoY. An analysis of GlobalDatas Deals Database revealed that all the deal types under the coverage registered decline during the review period. For instance, the number of M&A deals YoY declined by 8.3%, whereas the volume of private equity deals and venture financing deals YoY fell by 25.4% and 10.9%, respectively. "APAC deal activity down by 9.9% YoY during January-July 2024, finds GlobalData" was originally created and published by Retail Banker International, 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. HORSEHEADS, N.Y. (WETM) A Horseheads woman has been arrested after she was found with two warrants out for arrest, one being from Horseheads and another in Bradford County, Pennsylvania. According to the Chemung County Sheriffs Office, Kirstian S. Decker, 28, was arrested as a fugitive from justice out of the Bradford County Sheriffs Office for failure to appear for a petition to revoke parole/probation from a previous charge. Convicted Waverly man on the run after not reporting for sentencing Deputies say that Decker was arrested after she was found in the City of Elmira on Aug. 22 with an active warrant out of the Horseheads Town Court for failure to appear on the charge of petit larceny. At this time, Decker was also found to be a fugitive out of Pennsylvania for the above-listed reason. The Criminal Investigations Division received the warrant from Bradford County, which requested that Decker be held on the warrant. She was then arrested and processed as a fugitive from justice. Bradford County man indicted on gun, drug charges Decker had her charges read to her for both warrants in Horseheads Town Court and was then returned to the Chemung County Jail, where she awaits extradition to Pennsylvania. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HOT SPRINGS, Ark. Police in Hot Springs said they have made an arrest tied to a homicide investigation from 2019. Hot Springs Police Department officials said they have arrested Rickey Wilson Jr. in connection with the death of Kenneth Kelly Jr. Update: Reward offered in deadly Hot Springs home invasion Authorities said officers responding to the 200 block of Portland Street on June 13, 2019, in reference to a burglary found a man, later identified as Kelly, dead inside the home. Police said over the course of the investigation, detectives found DNA evidence which the Arkansas State Crime Lab said was a match for Wilson. HSPD officials said officers arrested Wilson without incident on Thursday. According to the HSPD, Wilson is facing multiple charges, including first-degree murder, aggravated residential burglary and aggravated robbery. He is being held at the Garland County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond. Federal escapee from Missouri captured in Conway Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Lieutenant Scoot Lampinen at 501-321-6789 ext. 7707 Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. House Oversight Committee requests briefing on data breach that may have exposed billions of personal information records WASHINGTON (WCBD)- A group of House lawmakers are demanding answers as to how a data breach that may have exposed billions of personal information records occurred earlier this year. In an Aug. 22 letter, the House Oversight Committee, chaired by Rep. James Comer (R-Ky), requested an immediate briefing from Jerico Pictures, Inc., also known as National Public Data, regarding a possible cyberattack. The company was named in a recent class action lawsuit filed in Florida, which claimed that a hacking group was able to access the NPD database which is said to contain 2,900,000,000 records on United States citizens, including social security numbers. That information was reportedly made public on the dark web. NPD is a background check company that provides access to data from various public record databases, court records, state and national databases and other repositories nationwide. Your Social Security number may have been leaked. Should you freeze your credit? The company recently released some details of the breach, but the committee wants more information. The lack of transparency and swift action is unacceptable, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who chairs the Subcommittee on CyberSecurity, IT, and Government Innovation, said in a Friday press release. With nearly 3 billion records compromised, Americans deserve immediate answers about the breach and its fallout. She said the committee hopes to gain answers as to how exactly the breach occured and what action the company has taken in response. Our office, alongside Chairman Comer, is determined to get to the bottom of this issue to ensure that the safety and privacy of American families are protected, Mace said. NPD representatives have been asked to appear in front of the committee by Aug. 30. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 tanker carrying 150,000 tonnes of oil has been damaged in the biggest attack on Red Sea shipping in weeks. The assault on the Greek-flagged MV Sounion comes during a monthslong campaign by the Houthis targeting ships over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip that has disrupted a trade route through which $1 trillion in cargo typically passes each year. A French destroyer rescued 29 mariners onboard, while also destroying a bomb-carrying drone boat in the area. However, the EU mission in the Red Sea warned that the Sounion has 150,000 tons of crude oil aboard and represents a navigational and environmental hazard. It is essential that everyone in the area exercises caution and refrains from any actions that could lead to a deterioration of the current situation, the mission said. The Sounion is now anchored in the Red Sea and no longer drifting, while the rescued mariners have been taken to nearby Djibouti, the mission said. The vessel had been staffed by a crew of 25 Filipinos and Russians and four private security personnel when it was hit by at least four projectiles that sparked a fire and left it without engine power. On August 21, the MV SOUNION, which had not asked for EUNAFVOR ASPIDES protection, came under an attack in the South Red Sea area and lost its engine power. Following a request from the master, the operation dispatched a ship in order to rescue the crew. While approaching pic.twitter.com/gdSbTjmzRm EUNAVFOR ASPIDES (@EUNAVFORASPIDES) August 22, 2024 A handout photo made available by EUNAVFOR ASPIDES shows an unmanned surface vehicle being neutralized by a unit of the European operation Aspides (EPA) Men in two small boats also opened fire on the vessel about 90 miles off the coast of the Yemeni port city of Hodeida, the UK Maritime Trade Operations office said. The first craft had three to five persons onboard while the second had approximately 10, the statement said. The two small craft hailed the merchant vessel, leading to a brief exchange of small-arms fire. Houthi officials in Yemen claimed to have targeted the Sounion, along with the Panama-flagged ship the SW North Wind I, which suffered minor damage in a separate attack. 20240821 INCIDENT 110 WARNING - ATTACK - UPDATE 002https://t.co/fX3hWupi7g The Master reported a further attack by an unknown projectile.#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/3oUGumvB2E United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) August 21, 2024 The ship was accurately and directly hit while sailing in the Red Sea and is at risk of sinking, thanks to God, said Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree, reported AP. Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi on Thursday said: "From this weeks operations targeting ships violating blockade on vessels heading to Israel, a ship was adrift ... after it malfunctioned because of strikes". An unmanned surface vehicle was successfully neutralized by a unit of the European operation Aspides in the southern Red Sea region (EPA) The US meanwhile destroyed three Houthi drones in strikes on Thursday, the American militarys Central Command said. Blaming the Houthis for the attack on the vessel, deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said she was "not exactly sure how [the attack] helps anyone in Gaza". The Houthis have targeted more than 80 vessels with missiles and drones since the war in Gaza started in October. They seized one vessel and sank two in the campaign that also killed four sailors. Additional reporting by agencies Harris became the first woman of color to accept the U.S. presidential nomination. Americans have increasingly drawn inspiration from Kamala Harriss historic rise as the first Black woman and the first woman of South Asian descent to accept a major political partys presidential nomination. After days of speeches this week at the Democratic National Convention built around the themes of hope, unity and inspiration, people are taking personal stock of how this moment has reflected their own aspirations. Although Harris has not drawn attention to her growing list of firsts, even when formally accepting her barrier-breaking nomination for the Democratic Party on Thursday night, she has underlined the importance of her role to be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations. I see an America where we hold fast to the fearless belief that built our nation and inspired the world, Harris said in her acceptance speech. That here in this country, anything is possible, that nothing is out of reach. DNC moments trumpet Harris as an inspiration Paul Sancya, a photographer for the Associated Press, captured an image of Harriss grandnieces sitting just a few steps away as Harris addressed the convention. The picture represents the indelible personal mark that Harris has made on inspired Americans. This image is a view into historic moments buoyed throughout the DNC by fellow barrier-breaking Americans who shared their inspirational stories and elevated the celebration of their commonalities to push for a better future for all Americans. Michelle Obama, the U.S.s first Black first lady, proclaimed that Harriss story is the embodiment of the stories of many Americans who are trying to build a better life. Hillary Clinton, the first woman to represent a major party in a U.S. presidential election, declared that the U.S. had met the moment to break through the glass ceiling, rousing the audience to affirm that when a barrier falls for one of us, it clears the way for all of us." Democratic Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett tearfully recalled how Harris had shown her light, as the vice president calmed the nerves of Crockett, who was an apprehensive new congresswoman when they first met in 2023. Angela Alsobrooks, the Democratic Senate candidate in Maryland, also praised Harris as her mentor and role model. Harris's lasting impact on everyday Americans Ashbey Beasley and her son Beau, 8, watch Kamala Harris speak during a campaign rally in Milwaukee on Tuesday. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP) Testimonies of moments in Harriss personal life as a daughter of immigrants, a former McDonalds employee, a stepmother in a blended family and a Black woman who graduated from a historically Black university have impacted people across the country who have found her rise from humble beginnings an inspiration for a world ready for change. Carly Pildis, a political organizer and a director for the Anti-Defamation League, wrote in an op-ed for the Forward published Thursday that her biracial family, including her 7-year-old Black Jewish daughter, felt connected to Harris and her family. Harriss husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, is Jewish. My daughter is deeply inspired by the idea of a Black woman president especially one with a Jewish husband who celebrates Jewish holidays like Passover and Rosh Hashanah, Pildis wrote. It has been a difficult decade for Black Americans, immigrant Americans and Jewish Americans. We share that. We fight the same fights and navigate the same waters. What could signal acceptance more fully than a family like ours in the White House? On Friday, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson shared what it meant for him to have Harris, whose mother is from India and whose father is from Jamaica, as a leader. It means my daughter, Braedyn, who is 10 years old, she gets to see a reflection of her being, as well as the full expression of her values, Johnson said after the DNC ended. I had the opportunity to travel from state to state to state to state within the convention and I can tell you whether it was North Carolina or Tennessee, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, people are excited around the country for Kamala Harris. In July, Stormy Gage-Watts, a Black female commissioner in Shreveport, La., expressed the challenges of being in spaces dominated by men, and welcomes the change Harris could bring. Were very creative, we think outside of the box, were mothers, you know were role models, were leaders by nature, and so I think it puts us in a great position it put us in a great position because I think that the world is ready for change, Gage-Watts told Louisianas KTAL News. Mary Betterson, a junior at Howard University, a historically Black college in Washington, D.C., where Harris graduated from in 1986, told one news outlet: "For me, it's very empowering to walk the same grounds that she walked and see the heights that she's achieved and knowing that I can do that as well. Kevin Seldon, a stay-at-home dad and podcast host, shared the excitement of potentially having a president who hasnt given birth to children of her own. "There are a lot more people in the parenting space than just birthing moms, and birthing moms deserve to be celebrated, but they also need more support," Seldon told Spectrum News. "So the more support we can give to non-birthing parents like Ms. Harris, [the better]." A delegate awaiting Harriss moment to step on stage to accept her nomination at the DNC expressed renewed hope, drawing inspiration from Harriss background. I relate to that, like I was on food stamps this year, the unnamed delegate told New York Times podcast The Daily. If she can do it with that background, it gives everybody hope. Human brain samples collected at autopsy in early 2024 contained more tiny shards of plastic than samples collected eight years prior, according to a preprint posted online in May. A preprint is a study which has not yet been peer-reviewed and published in a journal. The concentrations we saw in the brain tissue of normal individuals, who had an average age of around 45 or 50 years old, were 4,800 micrograms per gram, or 0.5% by weight, said lead study author Matthew Campen, a regents professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Compared to autopsy brain samples from 2016, thats about 50% higher, Campen said. That would mean that our brains today are 99.5% brain and the rest is plastic. That increase, however, only shows exposure and does not provide information about brain damage, said Phoebe Stapleton, an associate professor of pharmacology and toxicology at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, who was not involved in the preprint. It is unclear if, in life, these particles are fluid, entering and leaving the brain, or if they collect in neurological tissues and promote disease, she said in an email. Further research is needed to understand how the particles may be interacting with the cells and if this has a toxicological consequence. The brain samples contained 7 to 30 times more tiny shards of plastic than samples from the cadavers kidneys and liver, according to the preprint. Studies have found these plastics in the human heart, the great blood vessels, the lungs, the liver, the testes, the gastrointestinal tract and the placenta, said pediatrician and biology professor Dr. Philip Landrigan, director of the Program for Global Public Health and the Common Good and the Global Observatory on Planetary Health at Boston College. Its important not to scare the hell out of people, because the science in this space is still evolving, and nobody in the year 2024 is going to live without plastic, said Landrigan, who was not involved with the preprint. I say to people, Listen, there are some plastics that you cant escape. Youre not going to get a cell phone or a computer that doesnt contain plastic. But do try to minimize your exposure to the plastic that you can avoid, such as plastic bags and bottles. The American Chemistry Council, an industry association, told CNN that while some studies on microplastics have recently garnered headlines, just last month the FDA noted, Current scientific evidence does not demonstrate that levels of microplastics or nanoplastics detected in foods pose a risk to human health. Research underway not only helps address current data gaps in our understanding of exposure to microplastics but it also aims to develop improved tools to measure the toxicity of microplastics to humans, said Kimberly Wise White, the councils vice president of regulatory and scientific affairs. This work is important given the unvalidated methods often applied by researchers which can lead to unreliable or misleading outcomes, the complex nature of microplastics, and the many variables that can affect human health, she said. Nanoplastics hijack their way into the brain For the study, researchers examined brain, kidney and liver tissues from 92 people who underwent a forensic autopsy to verify cause of death in both 2016 and 2024. Brain tissue samples were gathered from the frontal cortex, the area of the brain associated with thinking and reasoning, and which is most affected by frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and later stages of Alzheimers disease. Based on our observations, we think the brain is pulling in the very smallest nanostructures, like 100 to 200 nanometers in length, whereas some of the larger particles that are a micrometer to five micrometers go into the liver and kidneys, Campen said. Microplastics are fragments that can range from less than 0.2 inch (5 millimeters) or about the size of a pencil eraser, to 1 nanometer. A strand of human hair is about 80,000 nanometers wide, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. Anything smaller is a nanoplastic that must be measured in billionths of a meter. Nanoplastics are the most worrisome plastics for human health, experts say, because the minuscule pieces can take up residence inside individual cells. Somehow these nanoplastics hijack their way through the body and get to the brain, crossing the blood-brain barrier, Campen said. Plastics love fats, or lipids, so one theory is that plastics are hijacking their way with the fats we eat which are then delivered to the organs that really like lipids the brain is top among those. The human brain is about 60% fat by weight, far more than any other organ. Essential fatty acids, such as omega 3s, are key to the strength and performance of the brains cells. Since the human body cant produce essential fatty acids on its own, they must come from food or supplements. Diet is the main route of exposure for micro- and nanoplastics, said Landrigan, who is the lead author of a March 2023 report from the Minderoo Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health, a global consortium of scientists, health-care workers and policy analysts charged with following plastics from creation to final product. In that report, the consortium determined plastics are associated with harms to human health at every single stage of the plastic lifecycle. Some microplastics are also airborne, Landrigan said. For example, when people are driving down the highway and their tires are abrading on the surface of the highway, a certain amount of microplastic particles are thrown into the air. If you live near the coast, some of the microplastic particles that are in the ocean get kicked into the air through wave action, he said. So ingestion is probably the dominant route, but inhalation is also an important route. Plastics with ties to cancer Polyethylene, which is used in plastic bags, films and bottles and is not biodegradable, was the predominant type of plastic found in tissue samples. It was found in greater quantities in the brain than in the liver or kidney, according to the preprint. Polyethylene was also the predominant type of polymer found in human and dog testicles, according to an August 2024 study by Campen and his team. The production of various forms of polyethylene, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics, are the biggest contributor to the release of the solvent 1,4-dioxane into the environment, according to industry data collected by Defend our Health, an environmental advocacy group. The US National Toxicity Program and the International Agency for Research on Cancer considers 1,4-dioxane to be possibly carcinogenic to humans. In 2023, the EPA released a draft report saying that the solvent poses an unreasonable risk of injury to health for plastics workers and community residents whose drinking water has been polluted by discharges from PET plastics factories. The biggest question is, OK, what are these particles doing to us? Honestly theres a lot we still dont know, Landrigan said. What we do know with real certainty is that these microplastic particles are like Trojan horses they carry with them all the thousands of chemicals that are in plastics and some are very bad actors. By invading individual cells and tissues in major organs, nanoplastics can potentially interrupt cellular processes and deposit endocrine-disrupting chemicals such as bisphenols, phthalates, flame retardants, heavy metals and per- and polyfluorinated substances, or PFAS. Endocrine disruptors interfere with the human reproductive system, leading to genital and reproductive malformations as well as female infertility and a decline in sperm count, according to the Endocrine Society. We have some pretty good indications that microplastics and nanoplastics cause harm, even though we are a long way from knowing the full extent of that harm, Landrigan said. I would say we have enough information here that we need to start taking protective action. Microplastics can sometimes be seen with the naked eye. Nanoplastics cannot. - Svetlozar Hristov/iStockphoto/Getty Images Learn to use less plastic There are many steps individuals can take to reduce their exposure to plastics and their plastic footprint, experts say. Its hard to avoid foods wrapped in plastic film but be sure to take the food out of the plastic wrapping before you cook it or put it in the microwave, Landrigan said. When you heat plastic, that accelerates the movement of the microplastics out of the wrapping into the food. Invest in a zippered fabric bag and ask the dry cleaner to return your clothes in that instead of those thin sheets of plastic, suggested the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group. Bring a travel mug to the local coffee store for takeout and silverware to the office to cut back on plastic cups and utensils. Dont use plastic bags when you go shopping. Use a cloth bag or a paper bag or a recycle bag. Try to avoid plastic water bottles, if you can possibly do so, Landrigan said. A March 2024 study found 1 liter of bottled water the equivalent of two standard-size bottled waters typically purchased by consumers contained an average of 240,000 plastic particles from seven types of plastics. Some 90% of those were nanoplastics. Use a metal or glass drinking cup instead of a plastic cup. Store your food in glass containers instead of in plastic ones, Landrigan said. Work in your local community to ban plastic bags, as many communities around the United States have now done. There is a lot you can do. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) In less than one week, Huntsville voters will decide municipal elections. Several seats are on the line, including District 1 City Council. The race seems to be heating up by the minute. Q&A with candidates in Huntsville City Council District 1 race Two-term councilman Devyn Keith is hoping to hold on to the seat, however, his challengers Reggie McKenzie and Michelle Watkins are hoping voters select their names at the polls. Both Watkins and McKenzie tell News 19 that they hope to bring changes to District 1. Theres a visible difference when you drive from South Huntsville to North Huntsville theres a visible difference and there shouldnt be a visible difference, Watkins said. We live in a city thats prosperous and has a lot of great things going for it, so we should have a lot of great things going for District 1 as well, I felt like I needed to offer my services during this period to make sure that we can bring back some trust back to the district and we can get some of the things that weve been needing for years and years, McKenzie told News 19. District 5 candidates make final case ahead of municipal election So I think, I know, that Im that person to bring not only the experience but the relationships and my involvement in the community, McKenzie said. I think I can bring that all together to make sure that District 1 gets what it needs and deserves. News 19 reached out to Devyn Keiths campaign multiple times over multiple days via phone and email requesting an interview for this story. His campaign spokesperson said Keith was unavailable for an interview prior to our deadline. However, they referred us to the answers provided by Keith last week, for News 19s Q&A with the District 1 Candidates. Both Watkins and McKenzie told News 19 that part of what they would like to do if elected, is to attract people from all over Huntsville to District 1. We need some economic development in North Huntsville, we need to have some nice restaurants some shopping, different eateries, Watkins said. Key SLS adapter departs Marshall Space Flight Center Places of destinations, and I talked about that over and over again, I talked about northern lights would be a place where not only District 1 residents but all of Huntsville can come to and enjoy restaurants, retail, a hotel possibly and those kinds of things, McKenzie said. In a statement to News 19, Keith spoke about his qualifications for re-election. While I do not necessarily believe incumbency in and of itself is qualifying for an individual to serve, it does indicate that I know the job well, he said. Throughout the campaign period, each of the candidates has jabbed at their rivals on trustworthiness and integrity. Exactly one year ago, on August 22nd, 2023, Keith pleaded guilty to two theft charges, after being arrested in February of that same year. He pleaded guilty to stealing items from Walmart. Court records, and News 19 reporting at the time, show that Councilman Keith was sentenced to two years probation. His campaign tells News 19 that he is no longer on probation, however, they have not shared any paperwork or court records that support that. News 19 has spoken to court and probation officials, and we could not find a record of his completion of probation. Ahead of this municipal election, Keith addressed this incident in a statement shared with News 19. That moment is not how I define myself nor is it how those who support me define me, Keith said. Furthermore, it has not stopped me from being an effective leader for my community. Michelle Watkins spoke about Keiths situation, saying, Devyn plead guilty, I never plead guilty. During the campaign, Watkins past has also been a topic of discussion. Watkins was arrested, and later acquitted in a trial in 2019 on harassment charges stemming from an incident related to her serving on the Huntsville City School Board. I was found not guilty, the judge acquitted me, Watkins told News 19. Both Watkins and Keiths campaign have also accused Reggie McKenzie of not living in District 1. Reggie lives in Bishop Farms, that is not in District 1, Watkins told News 19. Bishop Farms is a neighborhood in Madison County. According to property records, News 19 found that McKenzie does own two properties. He confirmed this in an interview with News 19. I bought a second home and been had that particular home, McKenzie said. But I am a resident of District 1, I meet all of the qualifications, of all the other candidates, so Im good, I am a District 1 resident. The property records show McKenzies Fox Trail Circle address in Huntsville City limits and within District 1. His Heatherspring Ct. address is listed in the Bishop Farms neighborhood in Madison County. However, McKenzie maintains that he resides in the district. My home was already in District 1 so I did what I needed to do to qualify to run for District 1, he said. According to the City of Huntsville, candidates must live in the district at least 90 days before the election, and must reside in city limits during their term in office. You can learn more about each of the three candidates by checking out our Candidate Q&A. Election Day is Tuesday, August 27th. Polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R), who ran an unsuccessful 2024 presidential bid, will be joining the University of Arkansas School of Law next year, the institution said Thursday. Hutchinson, 73, will join the law school faculty as an executive in residence during the spring 2025 semester, the school said in the announcement. In the position, Arkansass 46th governor will teach a class on leadership in state and federal government. He will also participate in continuing legal education and moot court programs, the school said. Its an exciting time to join our faculty as we celebrate our centennial year, said Cynthia Nance, dean of the Arkansas School of Law, in a statement. Governor Hutchinsons professional career as an accomplished attorney and his political career as a United States representative, governor and presidential candidate make him an excellent addition to the law school community. We are thrilled for him to teach and to engage with the next generation of lawyers. Hutchinson was a two-term governor of the Natural State. He was one of the fiercest critics of former President Trump among 2024 GOP primary contenders before ending his run in mid-January. The former governor was appointed by former President Reagan as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas. He represented Arkansass 3rd Congressional District in the House of Representatives from 1997 to 2001, became the director of the Drug Enforcement Administration under former President George W. Bush and later served as undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security in the administration. Following his 2024 GOP primary exit, Hutchinson joined Scripps News in late April as a political analyst. This is where it all began for me, Hutchinson said in a statement about his latest role, referring to his law degree from the University of Arkansas. To be here is an honor and exhilarating. To see the excitement of the students and their dedication to make a difference and pursue justice is inspiring. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Yantoultra Ngui and Xie Yu SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Bank of Singapore aims to grow its business in the Middle East with the region contributing up to 20% of its overall revenue and private banking assets over the next three to five years from around 10% currently, its top executive said. One of Asia's biggest private banks, Bank of Singapore has grown its assets under management (AUM) to $116 billion as at end-September 2023 from about $20 billion in 2010, as per the latest financials available for the unlisted firm. The private bank's Singapore and Hong Kong hubs currently make up the majority of its AUM. "UAE and in particular Dubai have become key destinations for global millionaires post-COVID," Ranjit Khanna, the head of private banking for Europe and the Middle East and chief executive for Dubai hub at Bank of Singapore, told Reuters. "This really has been spurred on the back of people looking for alternatives, really positive federal government strategies to attract wealthy to these parts of the world, ease of doing business, positive infrastructure, golden visa regime." A growing number of wealth managers in Asia are expanding or setting up offices in Dubai, capitalising on warming diplomatic ties between China and the Middle East and betting on a surge in demand from clients for geographical diversification. "I personally believe the next decade, in the context of wealth management, belongs to Asia and the Middle East to a great extent," Khanna said. Global net wealth, comprising financial wealth, liabilities and real assets, rose 4.3% last year from 0.2% a year ago, with the Middle East and Africa posting 7.8% jump, according to Boston Consulting Group's Global Wealth Report 2024. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) posted the biggest percentage growth as a booking centre at 8.9% in terms of cross-border wealth on inflow from Saudi Arabia and other prosperous Middle East markets, the report showed. The growth also came with UAE's increased role as a cross-border hub for Asia and Africa, partly driven by building closer ties with China and attracting significant international investment in the luxury real estate market, BCG added. Bank of Singapore would evaluate making Dubai one of its booking centres in the future, Khanna said. Its current booking centres are Singapore and Hong Kong. Bank of Singapore, part of Singapore's second-largest lender Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), is also looking to grow its presence in the Middle East by tapping on OCBC's presence in Southeast Asia, China and Britain. Story continues OCBC's wealth AUM, including that of Bank of Singapore, rose 2% to a record S$279 billion ($213.5 billion) in the second quarter. Besides tapping on the growing wealth from global South Asians, people in the oil rich Gulf states, and Europeans into Dubai, Bank of Singapore saw opportunity and rising interests from rich Chinese clients, Khanna said. "I'm certainly seeing an increasing flow of mainland Chinese clients coming into Dubai and the region broadly," he said. ($1 = 1.3070 Singapore dollars) (Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore and Xie Yu in Hong Kong; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Stephen Coates) HUTTO, Texas (KXAN) Tucked behind a neighborhood off of U.S. Highway 79 in Hutto sits one of the school districts newest schools, equipped with E-gaming arena seating and bigger classrooms with more lighting. Gus Almquist Middle School was expected to open with 963 students enrolled, but that number can always increase throughout the year. Thats to be expected from a school district that has doubled in size in the past ten years and is currently the fifth-fastest growing district in the state. It is a challenge to fill our buildings, Cara Malone, the Assistant Superintendent to Human Resources, explained. To meet the demand of a growing student body, the district is launching its new apprenticeship program this fall. Hutto ISD launches teacher apprenticeship program Earn and Learn The program promises to hire aspiring educators and pay them as instructional aides, while also paying for their schooling to become a teacher. They will have half-a-day of training every single month. They will take that training, and the strategies they learned, and theyll go into class rooms, and theyll work under the direction of a certified teacher, Malone explained. The district is partnered with certain universities to provide the higher education while still allowing the aspiring teachers to be in the classroom with certified teachers. Malone says the applicants will earn and learn. The last year of the program will be a residency where the applicant will teach the entire year under the direction of a certified teacher. Once the program is complete, the teacher will have to commit to at least three years with the district. If we can change the life of someone, then maybe they can change the life of our students, Malone said. This strategy, Malone says, removes the financial burden for aspiring teachers to get their certification, and gives applicants years of in-classroom experience with an expert before having to do things by themselves. What I learned in this whole process, is maybe the shortage is not as big as we think it is maybe we have a lot of people who just have not had the opportunity to double their income to become a teacher, Malone said. There were 96 applicants and the district interviewed 70 people for the inaugural year. The district chose 48 people to take part in the first year of the program, but that could grow in the future. Growing the program Malone said next school year the district will begin its pre-apprenticeship program that is tailored for Hutto ISD seniors. The program will give students the chance to learn about teaching and will help them get their associates degree before they graduate. That means anyone in the pre-apprenticeship program could go to college, or go straight into the apprenticeship program where they will only have to work for two years before getting their certification. Malone said these students could be full-time teachers by the age of 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 KXAN Austin. ICC prosecutor insists the court has the power to issue warrants for Israeli leaders linked to Gaza THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor on Friday called on judges to "urgently" rule on his request for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others linked to the Israel-Hamas war, saying the court has jurisdiction. It is settled law that the Court has jurisdiction in this situation, Prosecutor Karim Khan wrote in a 49-page legal brief. Khan called on a panel of ICC pretrial judges to urgently render its decisions on the requests he filed in May for warrants for Netanyahu, his defense minister, Yoav Gallant and three leaders of Hamas, two of whom have since been killed. The brief filed by Khan came in response to legal arguments filed by dozens of countries, academics, victims' groups and rights groups either rejecting or supporting the courts power to issue arrest warrants in its investigation into the war in Gaza and the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel. In his May request for arrest warrants, Khan accused Netanyahu, Gallant and three Hamas leaders Yehya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel. Haniyeh and Deif have since been killed. Sinwar, Hamas top official in Gaza who masterminded the Oct. 7 attacks, was subsequently named the groups new leader. Netanyahu called the prosecutors accusations against him a disgrace, and an attack on the Israeli military and all of Israel. He vowed to press ahead with Israels war against Hamas. Hamas also denounced Khan's actions, saying the request to arrest its leaders equated "the victim with the executioner. Israel is not a member of the court, so even if the arrest warrants are issued, Netanyahu and Gallant do not face any immediate risk of prosecution. But the threat of arrest could make it difficult for the Israeli leaders to travel abroad. The war began on Oct. 7, when Hamas and other militants stormed Israel, killed around 1,200 people mostly civilians and abducted around 250. About 110 hostages are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead. The Israeli offensive launched in response has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the local Health Ministry, which doesnt say how many were militants or civilians. Many of the legal arguments filed to ICC judges in recent weeks focussed largely on the issue of whether the courts power to issue warrants for Israeli leaders is overruled by a provision of the 1993 Oslo Accords peace deal. As part of the deal, the Palestinians agreed that they dont have criminal jurisdiction over Israeli nationals. Khan insisted the argument that the accords could nullify the court's jurisdiction is without merit. He called the legal argument inconsistent with the proper interpretation and application of an article in the court's founding Rome Statute and misunderstands basic concepts of jurisdiction under international law, including under the law of occupation, and how these concepts relate to the interpretation and application of the Statute. It remains unclear when judges will rule on Khan's request for warrants. THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court stressed the court had jurisdiction to investigate Israeli nationals and asked judges to urgently decide on arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister Yoav Gallant. In court filings made public Friday, prosecutor Karim Khan urged judges weighing the arrest warrants sought against Israeli officials and Hamas leaders to not delay. "Any unjustified delay in these proceedings detrimentally affects the rights of victims," he said. Khan stressed that the court had jurisdiction over Israeli nationals who commit atrocity crimes in the Palestinian territories and asked the judges to dismiss legal challenges filed by several dozen governments and other parties. "It is settled law that the court has jurisdiction in this situation," the filing said, dismissing legal arguments based on provisions in the Oslo accords and assertions by Israel that it is carrying out its own investigations into alleged war crimes. ICC prosecutors say there are reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant, as well as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, military chief Mohammed Al-Masri, and another Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, bear criminal responsibility for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. Haniyeh was assassinated in Iran late July. The court has since declined to comment on reports of his death. Israel has said it killed Al-Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, in another airstrike but Hamas would neither confirm or deny that news. About 1,200 people were killed in the initial Hamas attack and around 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli counts. Nearly 40,000 Palestinians have since been killed in an Israeli assault on Gaza that has caused a deadly and widespread humanitarian crisis. Israel and Palestinian leaders have dismissed allegations of war crimes, and representatives for both sides have criticised Khan's decision to seek warrants. There is no deadline for judges to decide on warrants. (Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg, Editing by Charlotte Van Campenhout; Editing by Aurora Ellis) An Iceland volcano erupts again but spares the nearby town of Grindavik for now Tourists and visitors try to get a view of the eruption from a distance from the intersection between Reykjanesbraut, Iceland, and the road to Grindavik, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Marco di Marco) GRINDAVIK, Iceland (AP) Lava continued to spew from a volcano in southwestern Iceland on Friday the sixth time since December the volcano has erupted on the Reykjanes Peninsula. The eruption from a new fissure began shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday following a series of strong earthquakes and within the hour a 4-kilometer (2.4-mile) fissure cut through the Sundhnukur crater. Iceland authorities say the eruptions effects remain localized with road closures but do not threaten the population. Halldor Bjornsson, head of weather and climate at the Norwegian Meteorological Agency, told the Icelandic news portal Visir that unlike previous eruptions, the lava flow was not heading for the town of Grindavik that was largely evacuated in December when the volcano came to life after being dormant for 800 years. If this continues like this, Grindavik is not in danger, geophysicist Magnus Tuma Gumundsson told the website after flying over the eruption. "Of course, we dont know what will happen in the near future, but it is likely that this has reached its peak and then it will start to subside like the other eruptions. As news of the eruption spread, hundreds of curious onlookers drove to nearby vantage points for a view of the stunning natural phenomenon that has become a key tourism attraction. We just thought that it was the northern lights," said Mahnoor Ali, visiting from Maryland in the U.S. "Its like the coolest thing Ive seen in my whole life, honestly. Friends Ameerul Awalludin from Malaysia and Shohei Miyamito from Japan were with an Icelandic friend when they heard the news and quickly rushed to the region of the eruption. We have like a volcano as well," said Miyamito, but we cannot see lava like this. But for people living and working on the Reykjanes Peninsula, the regular eruptions and ensuing evacuation orders cause more frustration than excitement. The repeated volcanic eruptions close to Grindavik, a town of 3,800 people about 50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of the capital, Reykjavik, have damaged infrastructure and property and forced many residents to relocate to guarantee their safety. The few who had returned were forced out once again Thursday night as strong winds blew plumes of toxic gas over the town. The nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa one of Icelands biggest tourist attractions was also evacuated with social media videos showing sirens blasting around dusk. The spa was closed Friday but staff was preparing to reopen it, Helga Arnadottir, manager of sales, operations and services, told national broadcaster RUV. Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, averages one eruption every four to five years. The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed clouds of ash into the atmosphere and disrupted trans-Atlantic air travel for months. The latest eruption is not expected to impact air travel. ___ Keyton reported from Berlin. Geysers of fiery orange lava illuminated the night sky in southwestern Iceland on Thursday as a new fissure opened in the Svartsengi volcano. Thursday's eruption was the sixth time the volcano has spewed lava since December, and people across the area flocked to the scene, including tourists hoping to see a different bucket-list phenomenon. "We just thought that it was the northern lights," said Mahnoor Ali. According to The Associated Press, Ali was visiting from Maryland. "It's like the coolest thing I've seen in my whole life, honestly." The eruption prompted road closures in the area but is not threatening any towns or cities. Grindavik is the closest town to the volcano, situated only 1.9 miles (3 km) from the eruption, but officials say the town is currently safe. "Of course, we don't know what will happen in the near future, but it is likely that this has reached its peak and then it will start to subside like the other eruptions," geophysicist Magnus Tuma Gumundsson said, according to the AP. IEDC Senior Vice President Mark Wasky speaks before the State Budget Committee in Bloomington on Thursday, August 22, 2024. (Screenshot of livestream) Indianas State Budget Committee on Thursday approved a combined $101 million for a water pipeline, land and infrastructure for a controversial industrial park. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC) also landed permission to augment its deal closing fund by a separate $101 million for a battery plant project worth $6 billion. Skeptical and supportive lawmakers sparred during the 90-minutes committee meeting, held in Bloomington. Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis, speaks at an interim committee meeting on Oct. 10, 2023. (Leslie Bonilla Muniz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Sen. Fady Qaddoura, D-Indianapolis, said he was personally uncomfortable augmenting funding at the same time Indianas low-income residents face a Medicaid crisis. He is a non-voting alternate. The most recent budget allows IEDC to augment its Deal Closing Fund for projects with proposed capital investment of $5 billion or more. Hoosiers are contacting us from corner to corner, across the state We shared some of these examples yesterday in the Medicaid Advisory Committee, and we were unable to help them because of budgetary concerns, Qaddoura added. Then we show up here today and ask for a $101 million augmentation for economic development. It really reflects values. Sen. Chris Garten, R-Charlestown, countered that the IEDC will pay the money back Medicaid is not. Shortly after, however, he encouraged IEDC representative Mark Wasky to expedite those (land sales) as fast as humanly possible and repay the states General Fund within the 2025 fiscal year. Pipeline advances The IEDC asked for permission to spend $50 million out of its Deal Closing Fund on a water pipeline stretching from the Indianapolis area to the city of Lebanon in Boone County. The quasi-public agency said it would hand the funds to the Indiana Finance Authority (IFA) for bond financing. The money would cover the first five years of debt service coverage. Lebanon hosts the Limitless Exploration/Advanced Pace (LEAP) Innovation District, envisioned as a massive advanced industrial park. Its sole confirmed tenant is homegrown pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co., with a $9 billion project. But Lilly and other tenants sought by the IEDC need lots of water for their work, and Lebanon which has hit water capacity wants to keep developing. The pipeline will deliver about 25 million gallons daily to Lebanon, per the IEDC. Citizens Energy Group, which runs Indianapolis water and stormwater system, would supply the pipeline. They have multiple well fields and multiple treatment plants that they are currently engineering to figure out the optimum way to draw water, IFA Chief Operating Officer Jim McGoff said. The pipeline would satisfy water needs in the LEAP District and in Boone County for the next 15-20 years, according to McGoff. Wasky said the pipelines long-term expenses wouldnt drive up bills for existing ratepayers. He told the committee impacts will be limited to new tenants of LEAP and new users added to the Lebanon water utility system. A larger pipeline stretching 50 miles from Tippecanoe County to the district, capable of carrying 100 million gallons daily, is on pause while IFA researches its feasibility. The expanded studies are expected to be completed by the end of the calendar year, McGoff said. The IEDC also asked to spend $36 million on property acquisition, deposits and option payments for about 1,850 acres of land. The acreage is intended for three LEAP District projects. While the deals arent finalized, Wasky said he was very confident in IEDCs ability to secure them. Finally, the IEDC requested to use $15 million for infrastructure work within LEAP: upgrading roadways, installing a roundabout and installing utilities. Other approvals The committee heard a separate request from IFA seeking $25 million to spend on housing-related infrastructure help. IFA runs a revolving loan fund providing low-interest loans for public infrastructure that supports home construction. Program Director Sherry Seiwert said the agency hopes to close the 13 loans it made in the first round of awards by the end of the year. Well have a second round of funding available, based on this appropriation, she said. The applications go live October 15. Lawmakers intended the program to help developers build housing that otherwise wouldnt have been profitable, and to pass savings on to home-buyers. However, the program doesnt require a certain number or percentage of affordable units. It really depends on what the community tells us what their need is, Seiwert told Qaddoura. And so they must submit a housing market study thats been completed in the last five years, and within that, they need to tell us what type of housing their community truly needs. Is it rental? Is it single family? What is that income cohort that they really need to direct the housing to? Qaddoura also asked if theres been evidence of cost savings passed on to homeowners and tenants. Well know that a year from now, Seiwert replied. She said communities must demonstrating cost savings as part of reporting requirements. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) The Illinois Supreme Court on Friday upheld a lower court ruling that tossed out a law barring political parties from choosing candidates for the General Assembly when they had no one run in a primary. The court's decision was not based on the merits of the case: Two justices recused themselves from deliberations, and the court was unable to get four votes needed to render a valid opinion. The law, which was approved by majority Democrats and Gov. J.B. Pritzker in May, stopped the long tradition of parties slating candidates. Designed to help Democrats in the November election, it effectively prevented Republicans from drafting candidates after no one appeared in the ballot in the March primary. Draftees were eligible as long as they collect the required number of petition signatures by a June 3 deadline. But a Sangamon County judge ruled in June that the law unconstitutionally interfered with the right to vote, which includes accessing the ballot to stand as a candidate for office. The Illinois State Board of Elections continued accepting petition signatures and ruled on the eligibility of candidates to be on the ballot. Justices P. Scott Neville and Joy V. Cunningham, both Democrats, recused themselves from the high court's deliberations but did not say why. Such decisions are a matter of judicial discretion, and justices are not required to reveal the reason, court spokesperson Christopher Bonjean said. With the remainder of the seven-member court divided, it is not possible to secure the constitutionally required concurrence of four judges for a decision, the opinion said. It added that the ruling carries the same weight as one affirming the lower court opinion but has no value as precedent for future decisions. SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) An Imperial Beach man who was charged in federal court for allegedly storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 is facing a new indictment accusing him of coordinating with others to bring weapons for use at the rally. Joshua Youngerman, 24, was originally charged with six criminal counts, including one felony, for his suspected role in the deadly riot that disrupted a joint session of Congress to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. The new indictment filed Wednesday bumps up the charges against Youngerman to nearly 20, stemming from messages he allegedly exchanged with The California Patriots-DC Brigade members that discuss bringing items like knives, brass knuckles and pepper spray to the Capitol. Using an offshoot of a The California Patriots Answer the Call chat on the encrypted messaging application Telegram, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia said the 24-year-old provided instructions for how to get the weapons through airport security. Attorney for far-right Oath Keepers extremist group pleads guilty to Capitol riot charges The chat was used to coordinate travel to Washington, D.C. for the Stop the Steal rally held by former President Donald Trump that lead up to the Capitol building breech, as well as gather able bodied individuals that are comfortable with violence if it is brought to you. The previous indictment filed against Youngerman alleged the 24-year-old was active in the conversation, introducing himself by saying he had [n]o police or military experience but has had to throw hands on multiple occasions and have a little bit of MMA training. However, the latest charging document provides new details about other messages Youngerman is accused of sending messages like: I know that in general if a blade is under 4 inches you are fine. I would definitely suggest conceal carrying it though. Im bringing mine for self defense. I work for Alaska and Delta so we have to know all this stuff Just make sure the pepper spray is under 4fl oz. and no you dont have to tell the ticket agent. The groups moderator, Ladera Ranch resident Russell Taylor, also sent several messages in the chat about potential action during the rally, prosecutors said, including a Dec. 29, 2020 text that said he wanted to be on the front steps and be one of the first ones to breach the doors! On Jan. 5, 2021, the day before the riot, prosecutors said Taylor sent a message to the group that read After Trumps event we will March up to the capital and be there to surround the capital. He also asked the group to affirm receipt of the text, to which Youngerman replied, Confirmed. Following the rally on Jan. 6, 2021, Youngerman is accused of scaling the northwest wall of the building on a rope and entering the Capitol around 2:37 p.m., an action prosecutors say could be seen on closed-circuit television. While inside of the building, Youngerman proceeded to the Rotunda before exiting through the Upper West Terrace Door a short time later due to an encounter with chemical munitions, according to the indictment. CCTV footage showing a man, identified as Joshua Youngerman, scaling the side of the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021 using a rope. (U.S. District Court Criminal Complaint) Hours later, the Imperial Beach resident messaged in the DC Brigade chat to to get an update on what was happening at the Capitol building, prosecutors said, prompting several responses from people who said they were still there. Prosecutors allege Youngerman then messaged back saying, We are going to come back and fight with you guys The difference between us and the other side is that we are taking the fight to those in charge. Shortly after, the 24-year-old added, I hope the fight continues. It started today It was an honor to be fighting on the front line will all you guys today. And I dont plan on stopping even when I return home This is the start of War, according to the indictment. Youngerman is scheduled to be arraigned on the new indictment next week, which includes several added charges for violent entry and disorderly conduct at the Capitol. He previously pleaded not guilty to the original six charges for unlawful conduct on the buildings grounds. Stephanie Grisham tells Democratic convention Trump mocks his own supporters Taylor, on the other hand, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and was sentenced earlier this year to six months of home detention. He also testified in the trial of ex-Orange County police chief Alan Hostetter, who was sentenced to 11 years behind bars for his role in the Jan. 6 riot. Since Jan. 6, 2021, nearly 1,400 individuals have been charged for crimes related to the breach of the Capitol, according to the U.S. Attorney. Of those, close to 500 people have been charged with felonies tied to assaulting or impeding law enforcement. Youngerman is one of at least nine San Diego County residents who have been arrested or charged in connection to the Jan. 6 attacks several of whom are already serving out sentences for those crimes. Another San Diego resident, Ashli Babbitt, was among the five people who died during the attack. Babbitt was fatally shot by a U.S. Capitol police officer while attempting to climb through a broken window next to a barricaded door that leads to the Speakers Lobby. The Associated Press 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. Independence police looking for suspect, vehicle in Tuesday I-70 shooting KANSAS CITY, Mo. The Independence Police Department is asking for help in identifying the owner of the vehicle involved in a shooting Tuesday night on Interstate 70. The shooting was reported around 9:15 p.m. near westbound I-70 and Little Blue Parkway. Man charged with murder in confrontation outside Northland Walmart Police said the victim from this incident was taken to the hospital and is in critical condition at this time. Police detectives are looking for information that could lead to identify the owner of the suspect vehicle, identified as a white, four-door sedan, possibly a Chrysler make, with tinted windows. Download the FOX4 News app on iPhone and Android Anyone with information can call (816) 325-6922 or the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-8477. 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 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. Sign up for CNNs Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. The historic Chandrayaan-3 mission, which made India the fourth country to land on the moon one year ago Friday, has uncovered new evidence that supports a theory about early lunar history. When the mission landed in the moons southern high-latitude regions, near the lunar south pole, it deployed a small six-wheeled rover called Pragyan, which means wisdom in Sanskrit. The rover was equipped with science instruments that allowed it to analyze particles within the moons soil and measure the elements there. Pragyan made 23 measurements as it rolled along a 338-feet (103-meter) region of the lunar surface, located within 164 feet (50 meters) of Chandrayaan-3s landing site, for about 10 days. The rovers data marks the first measurements of elements within lunar soil near the south polar region. The rover detected a relatively uniform composition largely made of a rock called ferroan anorthosite, which is similar to samples taken from the moons equatorial region during the Apollo 16 mission in 1972. The Apollo 16 mission lands in the Descartes Highlands region near the lunar equator in April 1972. - NASA Researchers reported the findings in a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. Lunar samples are helping scientists to solve mysteries that remain about how the moon has evolved over time, including how it formed during the early chaotic days of the solar system. The presence of similar rocks in different parts of the moon lends additional support to the decades-old hypothesis that the moon was once covered by an ancient ocean of magma, the study authors said. An ancient magma ocean There are many theories about how the moon formed, but scientists mostly agree that about 4.5 billion years ago, a Mars-size object or a series of objects crashed into Earth and launched enough molten debris into space to create the moon. An artist's concept shows a celestial body about the size of our moon slamming at great speed into a body the size of Mercury. Scientists think that a Mars-size body crashed into Earth and that the molten debris flung into space formed the moon. - NASA The first lunar samples collected during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 led researchers to the theory that the moon was once a molten ball of magma. The 842 pounds (382 kilograms) of lunar rocks and soil returned to Earth by the Apollo missions in the late 1960s and early 1970s disproved ideas that the moon was a celestial body caught in Earths gravity, or that the moon formed alongside Earth from the same debris. The rock samples indicated that the moon was created about 60 million years after the solar system began to form, according to NASA. The magma ocean, likely hundreds to thousands of kilometers deep, persisted for about 100 million years, the space agency says. As the magma ocean cooled, crystals formed within it. Some rocks and minerals like ferroan anorthosite rose to the top to form the lunar crust and highlands, while other, denser magnesium-rich minerals like olivine sank deep below the surface into the mantle, said Noah Petro, NASA project scientist for both the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Artemis III. Petro was not involved in the new study. While the lunar crust has an average thickness of about 31 miles (50 kilometers), the lunar mantle beneath it reaches about 838 miles (1,350 kilometers) deep. All the minerals and rocks on the moon have a story to tell about lunar history, Petro said. When the Pragyan rover carried out its chemical composition investigation of lunar soil, it found a mix of ferroan anorthosite and other rock types, including minerals like olivine. The Pragyan rover, seen on Earth before being sent to the moon on Chandrayaan-3, used analytical tools to study lunar soil. - APXSPOC, PRL The Chandrayaan-3 landing site, called Shiv Shakti Point, was about 217 miles (350 kilometers) away from the rim of the South Pole-Aitken Basin, considered the oldest crater on the moon. The research team believes an asteroid impact created the basin about 4.2 billion to 4.3 billion years ago and unearthed magnesium-rich minerals like olivine, mixing them into the lunar soil, said lead study author Santosh Vadawale, a professor at the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, India. The researchers are continuing to investigate the presence of these minerals that likely originated in the moons mantle to provide more context for the moons origins and evolution, he said. These images show the diverse terrains that the Pragyan rover encountered. - APXSPOC, PRL Persistent lunar mysteries The mission proves why it is crucial to send spacecraft to different lunar regions to understand the history of the moon, Vadawale said. All previous successful landings on the moon have been limited to equatorial to mid-latitude regions, he said. Chandrayaan-3 is the first mission to have a successful landing in the polar regions of the moon and carry out in-situ analysis. These new measurements in previously unexplored areas further enhanced the confidence in the (lunar magma ocean) hypothesis. Next, the Indian lunar exploration program wishes to explore permanently shadowed regions of the lunar poles and return samples for a detailed analysis in laboratories on Earth, Vadawale said. A polar mosaic image shows the Chandrayaan-3 landing site, including Shiv Shakti Point (left) and a zoomed-in view around the landing site revealing nearby craters (right). - APXSPOC, PRL While erosion and the movement of tectonic plates have erased evidence of how Earth formed, the moon remains largely unchanged apart from impact craters, Petro said. Every time we land on the lunar surface, it anchors that understanding to a specific spot, a specific location on the surface, which is very useful for testing all the models and hypotheses we have, he said. That hypothesis of a magma ocean drives so much of what we think about the moon, especially early in its history. The rover results from the Chandrayaan-3 mission add another surface data point. Each mission not only adds another piece to the puzzle of understanding the moon but also affords insights into how Earth and other rocky planets like Mars formed. Scientists understanding of how the moon came to be drives models of how all planets form and change, including planets beyond our solar system, Petro said. And as more missions are planned to return to the lunar surface, its like the gift that keeps on giving, especially with the prospect of collecting samples from different regions, including the far side of the moon and the poles. Every time we get a new piece of data, Petro said, its further garland on that gift. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Key Insights The projected fair value for Bystronic is CHF233 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity Bystronic is estimated to be 35% overvalued based on current share price of CHF314 The CHF394 analyst price target for BYS is 69% more than our estimate of fair value Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Bystronic AG (VTX:BYS) by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. This will be done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple! We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. For those who are keen learners of equity analysis, the Simply Wall St analysis model here may be something of interest to you. Check out our latest analysis for Bystronic The Calculation We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To start off with, we need to estimate 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. A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate: 10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 Levered FCF (CHF, Millions) CHF12.5m CHF7.86m CHF51.0m CHF35.5m CHF28.0m CHF23.9m CHF21.4m CHF19.9m CHF18.9m CHF18.3m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Analyst x1 Est @ -30.35% Est @ -21.17% Est @ -14.75% Est @ -10.25% Est @ -7.10% Est @ -4.89% Est @ -3.35% Present Value (CHF, Millions) Discounted @ 4.4% CHF12.0 CHF7.2 CHF44.9 CHF29.9 CHF22.6 CHF18.5 CHF15.9 CHF14.1 CHF12.9 CHF11.9 ("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St) Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = CHF190m We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (0.3%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 4.4%. Story continues Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2034 (1 + g) (r g) = CHF18m (1 + 0.3%) (4.4% 0.3%) = CHF446m Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= CHF446m ( 1 + 4.4%)10= CHF291m 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 CHF481m. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of CHF314, the company appears potentially overvalued at the time of writing. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent. dcf The Assumptions Now the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate, and of course, the actual cash flows. You don't have to agree with these inputs, I recommend redoing the calculations yourself and playing with them. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Bystronic 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 4.4%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.998. 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 Bystronic Strength Debt is not viewed as a risk. Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows. Weakness Earnings declined over the past year. Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Machinery market. Opportunity Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the Swiss market. Good value based on P/S ratio compared to estimated Fair P/S ratio. Threat Annual revenue is forecast to grow slower than the Swiss market. 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. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/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 Bystronic, we've compiled three additional factors you should assess: Risks: For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for Bystronic that you should be aware of before investing here. Future Earnings: How does BYS's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered! PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Swiss stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kyiv on Friday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that will be keenly watched in Russia as its assault on its neighbor grinds on. Modis visit, the first by an Indian leader since Ukrainian independence, comes just weeks after he traveled to Moscow in a symbolic first overseas trip of his new term as leader, where he held talks with President Vladimir Putin that were criticized by Kyiv. After talks concluded, Indias Minister of External Affairs, S. Jaishankar, stressed that India is committed to helping end the war. We are very, very keen that this conflict should come to an end, Jaishankar said at a press briefing. Despite repeatedly called for a ceasefire and peace in Ukraine, New Delhi has refrained from condemning Russias invasion as it seeks to maintain relations with Moscow a major supplier of its arms and a longstanding partner it sees as key to balancing its strained relationship with China. India has also acted as an economic lifeline for Russia, ramping up purchases of its crude oil after countries around the world slapped sanctions on Moscow, isolating it economically. India overtook China as the worlds biggest importer of Russian oil last month, according to Reuters, citing data from trade and industry sources. Jaishankar defended Indias purchasing of oil from Russia, saying it was not indicative of a wider political posture. India is a big oil consumer, it is a big oil importer, because we do not have oil. It is not like there is a political strategy to buy oil, there is an oil strategy to buy oil, there is a market strategy to buy oil, Jaishankar said. Ukraine, throughout the war, has sought to convince countries that maintain close relationships with Russia such as India and China to push Putin toward Kyivs terms for peace. Zelensky hailed Modis visit as historic and symbolic, thanking India for its support of our sovereignty and territorial integrity over two-and-a-half years of war. The Indian leaders arrival in Kyiv a day ahead of Ukraines independence day follows his two-day trip to Poland, where he elevated Indias ties with the NATO member. Referencing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East during a press conference in Warsaw, Modi reiterated Indias stance that no problem can be solved on the battlefield. We support dialogue and diplomacy for the early restoration of peace and stability. For this, India, along with its friendly countries, is ready to provide all possible support, Modi said Thursday alongside Polish counterpart Donald Tusk. Tusk praised Modis intention to help end the war in Ukraine in a quick, peaceful and fair manner. Zelensky welcomes Modi outside the presidential palace in Kyiv. - Ukrainian Presidential Press Service via Reuters Landmark visit Modis visit to Ukraine also comes at a key inflection point in the two-and-a-half-year war, as Ukrainian forces earlier this month launched an unprecedented offensive into Russian territory that Moscow is scrambling to counter. Zelensky and Kyiv officials are urgently working to expand global backing for their peace formula, which is predicated on the withdrawal of Russian troops from their land. The upcoming US presidential election has raised concerns that crucial American backing could be cut if Republican candidate Donald Trump, who has been critical of NATO and US support for Kyiv, is elected. Ukraine, throughout the war, has sought to convince countries that maintain close relationships with Russia such as India and China to push Putin toward Kyivs terms for peace. But while India attended a Kyiv-backed international peace summit in Switzerland in June, it stopped short of endorsing the gatherings communique, saying that resolution requires a sincere and practical engagement between the two parties to the conflict. During his visit to Ukraine, Modi is expected to discuss with Zelensky what Indias Foreign Ministry described as the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including trade, infrastructure and defense. This landmark visit, of course, takes place against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which will also form part of discussions, the ministrys secretary for the West, Tanmaya Lal, said Monday. The Ukrainian presidential office said Modi and Zelensky would discuss issues of bilateral and multilateral cooperation and that documents would be signed. Later, Jaishankar confirmed that the leaders signed four agreements, covering community development projects, drug control standards, cultural exchange and agriculture. Officials from both countries have in recent months expressed interest in restoring trade, which has dropped during the war, according to annual data from Ukraine. Modi and Zelensky have met twice on the sidelines of G7 summits since the start of the war, including in June in Italy. Putin bids farewell to Modi following a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, July 9, 2024. - Gavriil Grigorov/Sputnik/Reuters Zelensky last month condemned Modis meeting with Putin, which coincided with a Russian assault on several Ukrainian cities and a deadly strike on a childrens hospital. Then, the Ukrainian leader described Modis rapport with Putin as a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the worlds largest democracy hug the worlds most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day. Modi did not directly address the strikes at the time, but he made what appeared to be some of his most critical comments to date on the war, saying any person who believes in humanity is troubled when there are deaths, especially when innocent children die. He also called for a path to peace through dialogue. CNNs Aishwarya S Iyer, Esha Mitra, and Alex Stambaugh contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Ukraine and India have approved four cooperation agreements, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 23 during a visit to Kyiv by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Today, we have approved four documents between Ukraine and India during this historic visit by Prime Minister Modi," Zelensky said. "These are the spheres of medicine, agricultural cooperation, humanitarian relations, and culture." Zelensky also said a joint statement "on the development of strategic partnership between our countries, trade between our countries, and military and technical cooperation" had been prepared. "All this should be strengthened,"he added. Modi arrived in Kyiv on the morning of Aug. 23, the first time an Indian prime minister set foot in Ukraine since diplomatic relations were established over 30 years ago. Following the meeting, Modi and Zelensky commemorated Ukrainian children killed during Russia's full-scale war. A total of 570 children have been killed and more than 1,520 have been injured since the beginning of Moscow's all-out war against Ukraine, the Prosecutor General's Office said on Aug. 21. "Children in every country deserve to be safe. We must make it possible," Zelensky said. Modi's visit to Ukraine comes just weeks after a trip to Moscow, where he held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The visit included a widely criticized hug between the two leaders on July 8, hours after Russia bombed the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv, killing two people. A historical ally of Russia, India has maintained its close economic and diplomatic ties with Moscow since February 2022, with bilateral trade reaching a historic high in 2023. Read also: Modi to visit Kyiv after hugging it out with Putin. Can Ukraine crack their alliance? Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Narendra Modi at a meeting with members of the Indian diaspora in Kyiv. Photo: Modi on X. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Ukraine. This is his first official visit to Ukraine since it regained independence in 1991. Source: Times of India Details: Modi arrived in Kyiv on the morning of 23 August. He is expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Indian PM Modi arrived in Kyiv for the first time in the history of Ukraine-India bilateral relations. : Ukrzaliznytsia / Instagram pic.twitter.com/N1lBzOy06P UNITED24 Media (@United24media) August 23, 2024 Updated: Modi posted a photo of the meeting with members of the Indian diaspora on social media platform X. Narendra Modi at a meeting with members of the Indian diaspora in Kyiv. Photo: Modi on X. Narendra Modi at a meeting with members of the Indian diaspora in Kyiv. Photo: Modi on X. Previously: Ahead of his visit to Ukraine, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for peace to be restored and announced that he would share his prospects for ending the Russo-Ukrainian war. Background: Modi visited Russia in early July, the same day that Russian forces targeted the Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital in Kyiv. At a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Modi urged him to end the war against Ukraine and said that a resolution could not be found on the battlefield. The Ukrainian president criticised Modi's meeting with Putin, calling it a "devastating blow to peace efforts". In response, India summoned the Ukrainian ambassador to discuss Zelenskyy's remark. The United States has expressed concern about India's relations with Russia amid Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. The Ukrainian President's Office officially announced that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Ukraine on the eve of Independence Day, which is celebrated annually on 24 August. Support UP or become our patron! In Kyiv, Indian PM urges Zelenskiy to sit down for talks with Russia By Tom Balmforth and Pavel Polityuk KYIV (Reuters) -India's Narendra Modi urged President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday to sit down for talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine and offered to act as a friend to help bring peace as the two leaders met in wartime Kyiv. The first visit by an Indian prime minister in modern Ukrainian history came at a volatile juncture in the war launched by Russia in February 2022. Moscow is making slow gains in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv presses a cross-border incursion. The optics closely resembled the Indian leader's visit to Moscow last month where he called for peace and embraced Russian President Vladimir Putin, angering Ukraine, where a Russian missile strike hit a children's hospital on the same day. "The road to resolution can only be found through dialogue and diplomacy. And we should move in that direction without wasting any time. Both sides should sit together to find a way out of this crisis," Modi said in Kyiv. "I want to assure you that India is ready to play an active role in any efforts towards peace. If I can play any role in this personally, I will do that, I want to assure you as a friend," he said. It was not immediately clear what Kyiv made of his remarks and whether they were part of a diplomatic push taking place behind closed doors with a November presidential election looming in the United States, a close ally of Ukraine. Speaking later on Friday in his regular address to the nation after the visit had ended, Zelenskiy said it is "important to us that India remains committed to international law and supports our sovereignty and territorial integrity". He also said he appreciated that Modi had begun the visit by paying tribute to the children killed in the July hospital strike. India, which traditionally has close economic and defence relations with Moscow, has publicly criticised the deaths of innocent people in the war, but also strengthened its economic ties with Moscow. Both leaders described Modi's visit as "historic" in their statements during their meeting, in which Modi spoke second and Zelenskiy had no opportunity to respond to the call for dialogue. Zelenskiy said that "the matter of ending the war and a just peace are the priority for Ukraine". Ukraine has repeatedly said it wants the war to end but on Kyiv's terms, not Russia's. Ukraine has been pushing to hold a second international summit later this year to advance its vision of peace and involve representatives from Russia. The first summit, held in Switzerland in June, pointedly excluded Russia, while attracting scores of delegations, including one from India, but not from China, the world's second largest economy. Zelenskiy urged Modi to sign the summit's communique, which India has not done. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that talks were out of the question after Ukraine launched its incursion into Russia's Kursk region on Aug. 6. Kyiv's top commander has touted the capture of almost 100 settlements in the assault, part of what military analysts see as an attempt to divert Russian troops from eastern Ukraine where Moscow's forces are making gains. 'CERTAIN INFLUENCE' Modi's visit to Moscow prompted Zelenskiy to criticise the Indian prime minister when the trip coincided with the missile strike that hit a children's hospital in Kyiv. As he welcomed Modi to the Mariinskyi presidential palace in Kyiv, Zelenskiy embraced him with a frowning expression before they began talks. Modi issued renewed condolences over the missile strike on X in a post written in Ukrainian. "Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief," the post said. In the run-up to the visit, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser in Zelenskiy's office, told Reuters it was significant because New Delhi "really has a certain influence" over Moscow. "It's extremely important for us to effectively build relations with such countries, to explain to them what the correct end to the war is - and that it is also in their interests," he said. As Western nations have imposed sanctions on Russia and cut trade relations with it over the invasion, India has developed its economic ties. Indian refiners that rarely bought Russian oil in the past have emerged as Moscow's top clients for seaborne crude since Russia poured troops into Ukraine two-and-a-half years ago. Russian oil accounts for over two-fifths of India's oil imports. (Additional reporting by YP Rajesh, Shivam Patel, Krishn Kaushik and Sudipto Ganguly in New Delhi, Yuliia Dysa in Gdansk, Dmitry Zhdannikov in London; Editing by Timothy Heritage, Andrew Heavens, Philippa Fletcher and Mark Heinrich) Indian PM tells Zelenskyy that he will have to negotiate with Putin video Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, has told Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, how he met with Russian ruler Vladimir Putin a month ago and tried to convince him to stop the war. Source: Modi at a meeting with Zelenskyy in the city of Kyiv, the video of which was published on social media of the Ukrainian President Quote: "Last month, when I visited Russia, I told Putin very clearly that the problems cannot be solved on the battlefield. The only way of solving problems is through dialogue and diplomacy. And we should move in this direction, wasting no time. Both sides will have to sit down together and look for ways to overcome this crisis." Details: Modi also briefly described another meeting with Putin he had two years ago in Samarkand (Uzbekistan). "I told him [Putin ed.], looking him right in the eyes, in front of the press, that now is not the era of war," Modi said. Background: Support UP or become our patron! Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kyiv on Aug. 23, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine's Presidential Office reported. The historic visit is the first time an Indian prime minister set foot in Ukraine since diplomatic relations were established over 30 years ago. Following the meeting, Modi and Zelensky commemorated Ukrainian children killed during Russia's full-scale war. A total of 570 children have been killed and more than 1,520 have been injured since the beginning of Moscow's all-out war against Ukraine, the Prosecutor General's Office said on Aug. 21. "Children in every country deserve to be safe. We must make it possible," Zelensky said. President Volodymyr Zelensky and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Aug. 23, 2024. (Ukraine's Presidential Office) Modi's visit to Ukraine comes just weeks after a trip to Moscow, where he held talks with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. The visit included a widely criticized hug between the two leaders on July 8, hours after Russia bombed the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv, killing two people. A historical ally of Russia, India has maintained its close economic and diplomatic ties with Moscow since February 2022, with bilateral trade reaching a historic high in 2023. In June, Modi met with Zelensky in Italy during a G7 summit. They discussed the ongoing situation in Ukraine, with Modi emphasizing the importance of "dialogue and diplomacy." He reiterated that India would continue to support a peaceful resolution, according to the meeting's official handout. India has been calling for a diplomatic solution to Russia's war against Ukraine but has been simultaneously fostering close economic ties with Moscow. India became one of the chief buyers of Russian oil following Western sanctions, although pressure from U.S. sanctions increasingly threatens this trade. While India participated in Ukraine's global peace summit in June, Modi did not attend personally, and India's representative did not ultimately sign the joint communique. Modi was also one of the few democratically elected leaders to congratulate Putin on his re-election in March after a vote that was widely considered to be neither free nor fair. Read also: Modi to visit Kyiv after hugging it out with Putin. Can Ukraine crack their alliance? Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) The new Indian Pueblo Cultural Center Complex will be holding a grand opening and ribbon-cutting on Friday morning. The complex is geared towards supporting those in New Mexicos food and agriculture industries. The Public Service Company of New Mexico contributed $100,000 to the project. The funds went towards phase one of the construction of the IPEC Commercial Kitchen. The space will give entrepreneurs a place to practice in a professional setting. Story continues below The 7,500 square-foot space includes cold and dry storage, a demonstration and test kitchen for classes or community events, a fully-equipped commercial-grade kitchen with a bakery, a large-scale processing area for fresh produce. More information about the entrepreneur complex is available at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center 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 KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales sent a cease and desist letter to mega asset manager BlackRock on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, alleging fraud over ESG funds and allocations. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Indiana Secretary of State Diego Morales sent a cease and desist letter on Thursday to BlackRock the worlds largest asset manager for alleged securities fraud, accusing the company of making false and misleading statements about their environmental, social or governance (ESG) funds and allocation focus. Morales issued the letter via the Indiana Securities Division, an arm of the secretary of states office thats tasked with regulating the securities industry. The letter is nearly identical to one issued by Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson in March. The Indiana Securities Division alleges BlackRock, through its assertions relating to ESG products and offerings, has repeatedly made false and misleading statements to Hoosier investors, Morales said. The company is accused by Morales of telling clients their financial prospects and outcomes would be better in the long run through ESG-backed funds. The secretary of state emphasized in his letter that there is little to no evidence to back that up, although Morales offers no evidence of his own to substantiate the allegations. Investment companies that engage in fraudulent activities not only betray the trust of their clients but undermine the integrity of our financial markets, Morales said Thursday in a written statement. My office is committed to rigorously enforcing the law and strengthening our regulatory frameworks to ensure Hoosier investors are protected and that those who exploit the system are held accountable. Morales alleges fraud Morales said further that BlackRock, meanwhile, claims their funds that are not marketed as ESG do not follow an ESG investment strategy. However, BlackRock has issued several statements and actions in commitment of using all assets under its management to incorporate ESG considerations, including advancing the environmental goals of net zero carbon emissions, Morales continued. In a statement, a BlackRock representative told the Indiana Capital Chronicle Morales letter amounts to a politically motivated attack that completely mischaracterizes BlackRocks approach to investing. We are only focused on helping hundreds of thousands of Hoosier clients achieve their investment goals., the statement continued. We intend to defend ourselves and our clients against this arbitrary use of state power. The asset manager said in a report Wednesday that it has reduced support for shareholder proposals on environmental and social issues for a third straight year, arguing that many of the efforts lacked merit and harmed long-term financial interests while doing little to improve companies. BlackRock backed 4% of 493 such proposals from July 2023 through June 2024, according to the report. Thats down from 7% a year earlier and more than 20% in the same period through mid-2022. The firm said in January that its stewardship team was focused on the financial health of corporations and increased support for resolutions on corporate governance the G in ESG investing. The Wednesday report indicated that BlackRock supported 21% of such proposals in the period, up from 11% a year earlier. Heritage Action, a sister to conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, applauded Morales on Thursday for taking bold action and joining efforts across the country to protect consumers and combat harmful (ESG) investing practices at BlackRock. Asset managers have a duty to put investors financial interests ahead of the Lefts political agenda, Heritage Action Director of State Advocacy Catherine Gunsalus said in a news release. Heritage Action is thrilled to see Indiana join Mississippi and a growing number of states fighting to protect the savings of hardworking Americans. We commend Secretary Morales for leading the Hoosier charge to strengthen the nationwide movement against irresponsible ESG investing. Some Republicans targeting ESG Numerous efforts underway in GOP-led states target ESG principles being employed as a metric for investments. In March 2023, 21 Republican Attorneys General including Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita issued a letter to asset managers, including BlackRock, asserting breaches of their fiduciary duties and violations of antitrust law as a result of ESG investing, as well as the asset managers participation in efforts to increase public disclosure around the risks and impacts of climate change. Hoosier lawmakers approved specific legislation shortly after, banning controversial ESG investment strategies. More than two dozen other states have enacted similar legislation, according to Heritage Action. The Indiana law charges the state treasurer who is supportive with creating and publishing a list of investment managers who make ESG commitments. That includes companies who promote greenhouse gas emission reductions and corporate governmental changes including protected classes enshrined in Indianas civil rights code as well as those who divest from companies in industries like weapons manufacturing, fossil fuel production or immigration enforcement. The treasurer provides the asset managers name and evidence backing up its decision to the Indiana Public Retirement Systems board of which the treasurer is a member. If the system cant find a comparable alternative, it must make that decision and supporting evidence public. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Nearly 9,300 workers across the Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Kansas City were prevented from working after the two organisations failed to agree a deal with the Teamsters Union. Canada sends around 75% of all the goods it exports to the US, mostly over rail. Commenting on the situation, American Apparel & Footwear Association president and CEO Steve Lamar said: Rail is an essential part of the eco-system that helps you get dressed every day. AAFAs members which represent more than 1,000 global apparel, footwear, travel goods, and accessories brands manage global supply chains that contribute to more than $490bn in annual US retail sales. A work stoppage/lockout at Canadian National (CN) and a strike at Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) comes at a critical time for back-to-school and just at the start of the holiday inventory rush. Approximately 30% of clothes, shoes, and accessories move by rail. Those goods include childrens apparel, backpacks, winter coats and boots, work shoes, uniforms - including those for essential workers, and many more everyday essentials. Amid numerous supply chain disruptions by sea, companies are already diverting cargo and facing distressed trucking routes. It is imperative that all logistics stakeholders continue to work together to support modern and efficient systems, and ensure there are safe and responsible workplaces that power them. We need representatives of the unions and management to return and stay at the negotiating table to end this lockout and strike and ensure that a fair, sustainable, and long-term deal is reached. Keeping goods moving supports not only the rail jobs at issue, but also the jobs of millions of other workers up and down our supply chains." "Canada rail shutdown impact on US apparel supply chain" was originally created and published by Just Style, 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. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday in the first visit by an Indian prime minister to Ukraine since the country became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. The meeting is being closely watched after Zelensky harshly criticized Modi for his high-profile trip to Moscow six weeks ago in which he held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A video of Modi and Putin embracing raised eyebrows in Europe and Washington, especially as it came shortly after a deadly Russian strike on a paediatric hospital in Kiev. In Kiev in Friday, Modi shook Zelensky's hand and briefly embraced him, before the two leaders visited a memorial for children killed in the conflict with Russia. Modi laid a teddy bear at the site. Modi also paid tribute at a statue of Indian anti-colonialist resistance leader Mahatma Gandhi in the Ukrainian capital. Just weeks ago, Zelensky blasted Modi for his visit to Russia, writing on social media: "It is a great disappointment and a low blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world's largest democracy hugging the world's bloodiest criminal on such a day in Moscow." India engages diplomatically with both Ukraine and Russia. But Modi's government is opposed to Western sanctions on Moscow and is a major buyer of Russian oil. India is also heavily dependent on Russia for military equipment. The Indian leader has been keen to be seen as a peacemaker between the warring sides, saying often that the conflict that erupted after Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine cannot be won on the battlefield. But he has yet to offer any concrete proposals beyond stressing the need for dialogue. Modi arrived in Kiev on Friday morning by train from Poland, where he had met with Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Thursday. Poland is one of Ukraine's staunchest allies. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commemorate children killed during Russia's attack on Ukraine,. Sarakhan Vadym/Ukrainian Presidency/dpa Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky greets Narendra Modi (R) in Kyiv on Friday as the Indian prime minister arrived in Kyiv to "share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict," the first ever visit of an Indian prime minister to Ukraine. Photo courtesy Office of President of Ukraine Aug. 23 (UPI) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday to "share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict," on the first ever visit of an Indian prime minister. "Reached Kyiv earlier this morning," Modi said in a post on X accompanied by photos of him meeting Kyiv's Indian community which he said had laid on "a very warm welcome" on his arrival by train from Warsaw where he held talks with Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Before departing New Delhi for the visit, which was at Zelensky's invitation after the pair met in June on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy, Modi said he was looking "forward to the opportunity to share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict." "As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region," he wrote on social media. Modi's visit came six weeks after he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for a two-day summit which featured a widely criticized hug between the two leaders on July 8 hours after Russian missile strikes on Kyiv's Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih and other cities killing at least 37 and injuring more than 170. Zelensky decried the embrace as a massively disappointing and disastrous setback to the prospects for peace. "It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world's largest democracy hug the world's most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day," he wrote on his official account on X. However, the Indian leader also went for the hug when he was greeted by Zelensky on Friday -- who reciprocated the personal friendship gesture, according to photos posted by Modi's team on his social media channels. Under Modi, India has maintained a neutral position declining to condemn Russia's February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine and has continued to purchase Russian oil in defiance of Western sanctions on Russia -- at a discount -- leading to accusations it is helping bankroll Russian military aggression. Unlike China, Modi did dispatch a representative to Ukraine's global peace summit in June hosted by Switzerland but India did not sign the joint communique issued at the close of the summit saying that "only those options acceptable to both the parties can lead to abiding peace." Modi was also one of the few leaders of the democratic world to congratulate Putin on winning a fourth consecutive term in March in an election widely viewed as illegitimate, including by Russia's election watchdog, the Golos Movement, which said it did not meet the standards of the country's constitution. By Stanley Widianto JAKARTA (Reuters) -An Indonesian court ordered two local companies to pay up to 60 million rupiah ($3,850) to each family whose children died of an acute kidney injury or were seriously injured after consuming toxic cough syrup. More than 200 children in Indonesia died of the injury and about 120 more survived, some of whom lived with disabilities which led to financial hardships for their parents. Indonesian courts have cited lax oversight by pharmaceutical companies, including local drugmakers and some suppliers, as well as the country's food and drugs agency (BPOM), in hearings into the poisonings. In late 2022, more than 20 families launched a civil suit against the agency, the health ministry, and several companies. Judges at the Central Jakarta court found a drugmaker and a supplier, Afi Farma and CV Samudera Chemical, at fault in the poisonings, according to a ruling released late on Thursday. The health ministry and the BPOM were cleared of wrongdoing. The court ordered the companies to pay the parents who brought the suit compensation of 50 million rupiah for children who died and 60 million rupiah for children who were injured. Parents had asked for 3.4 billion rupiah for each child that died, and 2.2 billion rupiah for survivors. Indonesia's 2023 gross domestic product per capita was nearly $5,000, data from the country's Statistics Bureau shows. Siti Habiba, the lawyer for the parents, said the families were disappointed by the ruling, as the money was given "as though we were beggars." "This breaks a lot of the victims' hearts," she said, adding the court ignored the parents' government oversight concerns by not finding the health ministry and the BPOM at fault. The court document, posted on its website, did not include reasons for the decision. Afi Farma's lawyer Reza Wendra Prayogo told Reuters on Friday the firm was "disappointed" with the civil case ruling and the company was still considering its next legal step. Last year, a criminal court found East Java-based drugmaker Afi Farma guilty of negligence and jailed officials for not testing the ingredients sent by its supplier. The syrups contained ethylene glycol (EG), a commonly used chemical in products such as brake fluid and antifreeze. A court document from that criminal case said the EG concentration in the syrups reached as high as 99%, where international standards say only 0.1% of EG is safe for consumption. The company has repeatedly denied negligence. Reuters could not immediately contact CV Samudera Chemical, an Indonesian soapmaker, whose toxic ingredient made its way to Afi Farma, according to the court document of the Afi Farma criminal case in 2023. The World Health Organization said the contaminated medicines had also killed children in Gambia and Uzbekistan in 2022. ($1 = 15,595 rupiah) (Reporting by Stanley Widianto; Editing by Michael Perry and Stephen Coates) Zachary DeMoss crashed on Aug. 11 and was eventually discovered on Aug. 16 Missoula County Sheriff's Office Zachary DeMoss with his motorcycle A motorcyclist has been found alive but "in bad shape" five days after he went missing in Idaho. The Idaho County Sheriff's Office revealed last week that Zachary DeMoss a then-missing 24-year-old man was discovered on Aug. 16 around the local Lost Creek Campground, near milepost 136 on Highway 12. According to the Associated Press, DeMoss was reported missing to authorities on Aug. 12 after crashing his motorcycle along Highway 12 the day before while traveling with two others. "Upon arrival, they found Zachary to be alert and conscious. He had been drinking water out of the creek. Mr. DeMoss was transported by Life Flight to St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula," the sheriff's office wrote in a Facebook update after DeMoss was located. "Sheriff Ulmer wants to thank everyone who helped in the search for Zachary, and we wish him the best on his recovery." Finding Zachary Demoss Facebook Zachary DeMoss in the hospital Related: Woman, 53, Found Alive 4 Days After She Disappeared During 'Spiritual' Colo. Hike Without a Phone The search for DeMoss came amid a GoFundMe campaign launched for recovery efforts and a Facebook page dedicated to locating him. Per the AP, DeMoss was riding a 2000 Kawasaki Vulcan on Aug. 11 alongside two other people, who later saw his motorcycle parked on the side of the highway. The other riders waited for him further down the road and when he didn't show up they eventually went back to check on him and found that both he and his bike were not visible, the AP noted. The duo then searched the area until 4 a.m., the outlet added, citing a Facebook post from one of the other riders. The following day, the Idaho County Sheriffs Office took over the search using drones and a helicopter. The search was later scaled back, before DeMoss was discovered on Aug. 16. NBC affiliate KTVB reported that Greg Commons and his wife began searching for the motorcyclist because his son went to high school with DeMoss. He ended up spotting him near Eagle Mountain Trailhead where campers were nearby, he told the outlet. Related: Missing Dad of 7 Found Dead in Illinois River More Than 1 Week After He Disappeared, Police Say Missoula County Sheriff's Office Zachary DeMoss with his motorcycle I come around the corner and I see this F-150 sitting in this pullout and out of the corner of my eye I see a guy laying by the river, Commons said, adding, Zach rolls over and he opens his eyes, and he say Hey man I have been in a wreck.' I just thought theres no way we just found him. Commons then used a Garmin Inreach device to alert authorities, per KTVB. Zach was tough enough to hold out for five days on that mountain while he saw people walking by, Commons said. He tried to holler at them and they didnt hear. 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. "He has been found! Hes badly hurt though so we are keeping this open for anyone who is willing to help with medical bills," DeMoss' mother Ruth Rickenbacher wrote in a later GoFundMe update. The campaign has since raised over $15,300 toward his recovery. "Its going to be a long and expensive recovery for him but we are so grateful he is alive. God bless you all!" Rickenbacher wrote on Facebook that she and DeMoss' father "never stopped believing he would be found in any other way than alive. My son is just one of those men that have true grit." She also revealed that he suffered broken ribs, a collapsed lung, and may need potential surgery on his shoulder, ankle and a replacement for a hip. "It's like he was shaken like a rag doll," his mother wrote in a recent update. "Rehab is going to be long term for now. He is healing so keep praying it's working." For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. AUSTIN (KXAN) Each week the in-depth reporting from the KXAN Investigates team will get a spotlight on KXAN Live. A conversation happened Friday morning with investigative reporter Kelly Wiley and KXAN Live anchor Will DuPree to break down one of this weeks top stories. Inside the Investigations: Underwater property questions The story theyre talking about this week is: After a KXAN report into the mysterious death of a 14-year-old Austin girl found in the road, the medical examiner amended her autopsy. KXAN senior investigative producer David Barer discusses how police handled this case and where it stands today. Join Kelly Wiley and Will DuPree every Friday morning for a live recap of the latest headlines and in-depth reporting from the KXAN Investigates team. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HENRIETTA, N.Y. (WROC) Since the passage of the federal CHIPS Act, New York has seen significant investment in the semiconductor industry from a recent $40 million into the 1-90 Semiconductor Highway to Microns future mega-fab near Syracuse. But this infrastructure needs workers, and an international exchange program between the US and Japan started at the G7 Summit in 2023 called Upwards looks to address the global need. Locally, Microns mega fab plans to hire 9,000 workers, all of kinds. They need technicians, engineers, scientists, all the way from high school education, all the way up through PhD degrees, said Karl Hirschman of RIT. Hes the Department of Electrical and Microelectronic Engineering and Director of Microelectronic Engineering at RIT. Upwards is funded by Micron and the National Science Foundation. Six US universities, including RIT, and five Japanese universities are participating. In this two-week intensive, students and faculty from Kyushu and Nagoya Universities attend lectures at RIT, and get an inside look into RITs hands-on, workforce development approach. Japan is a leading country in the world in semiconductor technology, says Jing Zhang, Department of Electrical and Microelectronic Engineering. If we could get feedback from them, on how to shape our own educational program better Its a win-win situation. The faculty of the universities in Japan said the access to the companies funding this program has been vital, and its a chance for their students to grow as well. Its good for them to experience what other students are studying in another field, because now we are in a place where we need to do cross-disciplinary research, said Emanuel Leleito, a professor of architecture engineering at Nagoya University. All told, RIT, Kyushu, and Nagoya Universities believe this program will help talented people fill these spots around the globe. Were trying to target the undergraduate and graduate degree programs, get the students excited about the technology, and perhaps some of the studies in the upwards program, might end up coming to RIT, said Hirschman. The technology isnt the only part to get excited about: these are high-paying jobs. RIT says that a graduate of their semiconductor program can expect to make around $80,000 in their first job. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CRANSTON Eleven local police officers employed deadly force that was "reasonable and necessary" last year when they opened fire on an armed man whose own gunfire had slain two people and injured a teenager in Johnston, according to the office of Attorney General Peter F. Neronha. James Harrison was shot 10 times, with two of those shots hitting him in the head, says the 21-page report released by Neronha's office on Thursday. The confrontation between police and the bearded triple-shooting suspect took place on May 24 on a grassy roadside area near the Board of Elections. This was after Harrison had led police on a dangerous pursuit through local roads over a period of roughly seven minutes. State police investigators determined that 10 Cranston officers and one Providence officer fired 141 rounds toward Harrison during the encounter just off Plainfield Pike, the report says. Harrison drew the fusillade when he emerged from an SUV and aimed a silver handgun at Cranston police Officer Brendan Burke, according to the report, which is supported by body-camera video from officers at the scene and one video from a bystander. Homicide suspect's handgun was a silver Colt The gun that Harrison pointed, a Colt .45 semiautomatic, was found under his body, the report says, adding that the gun had no bullet in the chamber, but its magazine was loaded and the safety was off. Burke, who fired six shots from behind an electrical utility box, was not injured. The officer's position was 21 feet away from the SUV, which Harrison had crashed into a rock. Officers 'in no rush to engage' at scene on Plainfield Pike Quite notably, police had surrounded Harrison at a distance, and "there was no rush to engage him," and police did not immediately fire when the suspect emerged from the car, says the report. Investigators look for casings after homicide suspect James Harrison was shot by police during a confrontation just off Plainfield Pike on May 24, 2023. "The video evidence confirms that police fired only once Harrison visibly outstretched his arm and pointed his gun at officers in front of him," says the report, written by Assistant Attorney General Daniel Guglielmo and Deputy Attorney General Adi Goldstein. The legal analysis is based on an extensive review of body-camera video as well as statements provided by 27 police officers, 514 crime scene photos and other evidence. The body-camera videos are posted on the website of the Cranston police. Some officers interviewed by investigators believed, erroneously, that Harrison had fired his gun when he had not, the report says. "Considering the high-stress and chaotic scene, it is not surprising that some officers were mistaken," says the report, adding that Harrison gave no indication that he intended to surrender and his pointing of the handgun was "sufficient justification under the law" for the officers' use of deadly force. Providence police Officer Jared Stanzione, it says, told them that from his vantage point behind the driver's-side door of a police cruiser, he did not think Harrison had fired. But Stanzione told them he had seen Harrison point the gun at other officers, the report says. Medical examiners and police stand near the body of homicide suspect James Harrison and the car he'd been driving while leading police on a high-speed chase. Stanzione, it says, thought he might have been the first officer to shoot. "I don't know," he told them, "I thought I was, but you know, it happened so quick." " it was almost simultaneous," he told them in a second interview. In one body-camera video, Burke yells for other officers to turn off their sirens. There were calls for support from officers armed with rifles. Two officers would eventually fire nearly 50 rounds from high-powered rifles. "This was an extremely dangerous situation that exposed the officers and nearby civilians to imminent risk of death or serious bodily injury," the report says. None of the projectiles that hit Harrison were distinctive enough for identification, the report says. "It is impossible to conclusively determine which of the officers fired the projectiles that hit Harrison's body." After the carnage, gunman visits cemetery, leads police in high-speed chase Earlier that morning, Johnston police identified Harrison as a suspect in the shooting death of Thomas May, a neighbor who'd lived next door to Harrison's home in the Simmonsville section of Johnston. Harrison was also wanted for attempting to kill May's daughter, shooting her multiple times and inflicting what the report describes as "grievous" injury. Medical examiners and police stand near the body of homicide suspect James Harrison on May 24, 2023. His mother, Janet Harrison, had been shot to death in a home on Ligian Court. By 8:30 a.m., officers around the state were looking for a dark blue Buick SUV driven by Harris, and at 9:30 a.m. Harrison had been spotted near St. Ann Cemetery in Cranston. Soon, Cranston police were following him. The radio communications recorded in the body camera video make ominous references to crashes as Harrison tries to elude police. Driving westbound on Plainfield Pike near Interstate 295, Harrison crossed a median, traveling in the opposite direction of oncoming cars into traffic, hitting two cruisers. Just beyond the 295 overpass, he lost control of the Buick and crashed. Cranston chief not surprised by findings Cranston's police chief, Col. Michael J. Winquist, said Thursday that he isn't surprised by the report's findings. "I felt that they did what they had to do," he said. "I'm glad none of them were hurt." He emphasized that the Cranston police officers who were involved "performed at the highest level." He added that he looks forward to honoring them with an award ceremony. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Investigation clears police in 2023 shooting of homicide suspect. This article was originally published in Iowa Capital Dispatch. The Iowa Department of Education announced Wednesday that some elementary schools will use an AI reading assistant to help with literacy tutoring programs. The department made a $3 million investment into Amira (EPS Learning) for the use of a program called EPS Reading Assistant, an online literacy tutor that uses artificial intelligence technology. Iowa public and non-public elementary schools will be able to use the service at no cost through the summer of 2025, according to the department news release. Reading unlocks a lifetime of potential, and the Departments new investment in statewide personalized reading tutoring further advances our shared commitment to strengthening early literacy instruction, McKenzie Snow, the education department director said in a statement. This work builds upon our comprehensive advancements in early literacy, spanning world-class state content standards, statewide educator professional learning, evidence-based summer reading programs, and Personalized Reading Plans for students in need of support. Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter The program uses voice recognition technology to follow along as a child reads out loud, providing corrective feedback and assessments when the student struggles through a digital avatar named Amira. According to the services website, the program is designed around the Science of Reading approach to literary education a method that emphasizes the teaching of phonics and word comprehension when students are learning to read. Gov. Kim Reynolds and state education experts, including staff with the Iowa Reading Research Center, have said that this teaching strategy will help improve the states child literacy rates, pointing to reading scores increasing in states like Mississippi following the implementation of science of reading methods. In May, Reynolds signed a measure into law that set new early literacy standards for teachers, as well as adding requirements for how schools and families address when a student does not meet reading proficiency standards. These requirements include creating a personalized assistance plan for the child until they are able to reach grade-level reading proficiency and notifying parents and guardians of students in kindergarten through sixth grade that they can request their child repeats a grade if they are not meeting the literacy benchmarks. Reynolds said the law was a to make literacy a priority in every Iowa classroom and for every Iowa student. The AI-backed tutor program is being funded through the state education departments portion from the federal American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, part of a COVID-era measure providing states with additional funding for pandemic recovery efforts. The federal fund allocated more than $774 million to Iowa in 2021. In addition to the new AI-backed programming available, the fund money is also going toward Summer Reading Grants, awarded to 41 elementary schools in 29 districts for efforts to address summer learning loss and close achievement gaps. The elementary schools that won grants have all affirmed their commitment to including the personalized reading tutor as part of their evidence-based programming, according to the news release. 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. DES MOINES, Iowa (KCAU) The state of Iowa has introduced a new website designed to allow residents to more easily find available child care options. Gov. Kim Reynolds announced the website, named Iowa Child Care Connect, on Thursday. The platform, billed as the first of its kind in the United States, finds child care near Iowans homes, schools and work places. Using Iowas Child Care Connect, Iowa parents will be able to locate any open child care spots in their neighborhood or along their route to work almost in real time, Reynolds said in a statement. This new innovative solution is just one way we are meeting the critical child care needs of working families in our state. Iowa Child Care Connect is a game changer and I am so proud of all the partnership and work that has gone into its creation. The website was developed by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Iowa State University, and consulting firm Resultant. It was developed with flexibility and sustainability in mind, according to a release. $3M invested to provide Iowa schools with personalized reading tutor program As a working mom of young children, I understand firsthand and know the challenges of what working parents face in finding available and affordable child care, Iowa HHS director Kelly Garcia said in a statement. We are thrilled to provide this new, easy-to-use tool that will meet working Iowa parents right where they are and expand accessibility to open child care slots. Iowans can search by age ranges, hours of operation, rating, and more. To try out the new website, visit iachildcareconnect.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 SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. By Karl Plume (Reuters) - Canada's rail shutdown may still delay loading of some bulk grain ships at the country's west-coast ports despite the government's move to end a stoppage at the nation's two largest railroads, traders and analysts said. At risk are more than 20 bulk cargo ships at or bound for British Columbia ports as in-port grain stocks represent just a fraction of what is scheduled to load over the coming weeks, according to shipping industry and government data. Exporters in the world's top canola producer and No. 3 wheat shipper could rack up vessel demurrage penalties totaling tens of thousands of dollars a day if ships sit idle waiting for supplies, analysts said. Although workers at Canadian National Railway returned to work on Friday, their union said they will strike on Monday and challenge the constitutionality of the government's move to end the shutdown. Canadian Pacific Kansas City has yet to lift its lockout. Thursday's stoppage marked the first time both railroads had shut down simultaneously. "The rail situation in Canada remains very fluid and uncertain," Mike Steenhoek, executive director at the U.S.-based Soy Transportation Coalition said in a statement. Rail delays threaten the flow of grain from Canada's prairies to export terminals just as farmers begin to harvest their crops. If disruptions persist, sales booked for loading in the autumn are also at risk of being canceled. "(Exporters) could try to declare force majeure and go into arbitration ... or they can rack up the demurrage charges," said independent analyst Wayne Palmer. There were 20 bulk vessels anchored near or en route to Port of Vancouver as of Aug. 19, earmarked for loading with 638,900 metric tons of canola and 428,200 tons of milling wheat, according to vessel lineup data seen by Reuters. Most of the canola was due to be shipped to China, while the wheat was slated for various destinations in Asia, South America and Africa, the data showed. However, the commitments far exceeded commercial stocks in Vancouver of 217,500 tons of canola and 216,100 tons of wheat as of Aug. 11, according to the latest data available from Statistics Canada. Vessel-lineup data identified another two vessels bound for Prince Rupert, British Columbia, to be loaded with 134,200 tons of wheat. Wheat stocks there were just 11,900 tons, StatsCan data showed. (Reporting by Karl Plume in Chicago; Editing by Rod Nickel) SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) When a student misses over 10 percent of a quarter at school, theyre considered chronically absent. A new Iowa law looks to crack down on the issue. Our average daily attendance is above 95%, which is very good, Sioux City Community School District Associate Superintendent Angela Bemus said. But we have a chronic absenteeism problem, meaning we have a few amount of students missing a lot of days. $5,000 donated to Riverside Elementary for back-to-school supplies According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 26 percent, or about one in four, Iowa students were chronically absent during the 2021-22 school year. This past session, Iowa lawmakers tackled the issue with a new bill. Missing 10 percent of the days in a semester at eight days a student would be considered chronically absent, Bemus said. Then that student will have to have a meeting with the principal and their parents and they will also have to send notice to the county attorney. School officials will then create a plan with the guardian and child to improve their attendance and have weekly contact with them. If the student continues to miss more school time, the police will get involved, which has always been the case. The county attorneys office will then issue a warrant for the primary custodian or the primary parent, and that warrants for compulsory education or compulsory attendance, Sioux City police sergeant Thomas Gill said. Then that parent will be contacted by the police department and subject to being transported to the Woodbury County Jail. There are exceptions for students with severe chronic illnesses. That would not [include being sick], like needing a doctors note, Bemus said. That would be that I cant long-term go to school. But even if youre sick, like with the flu or something, those days are now going to count against those eight days. The Sioux City Community School District says they believe this new law will have a positive impact on chronic absence, but wants to emphasize to parents that they want the best for their children. Iowa launches new first-of-its-kind child care website Its not were trying to get you, its that we just want to let you know that this is the expectation, Bemus said. And we know that kids get really sick and we know that sometimes families have hardship that causes kids to miss school for an extended period of time. Still, we have to follow all of the laws in our board policy, but at the same time, you can do that and still have the empathy and the compassion and work with the family. The Sioux City Community School District kicks off their first day of school this Friday. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. COLUMBIA, Mo. An animal sanctuary in Iowa is suing Mizzou after claiming the universitys health center wrongly euthanized healthy sheep. The Iowa Farm Sanctuary filed the lawsuit on Tuesday against the University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center. The animal sanctuary said in the lawsuit that on June 25, 2023, a team of its volunteers arrived at the scene of a trailer crash alongside a Missouri highway and found several severely injured sheep. The volunteers transported the sheep to the University of Missouri-Columbia Veterinary Health Center for treatment. According to the sanctuary, the health center required a $1,000 pre-treatment deposit. The following day, the sanctuary said they received another request for payment without an update on the sheeps condition. The sanctuary said they continually requested information regarding the sheeps condition but said the health center withheld crucial details. After seeking legal counsel, the sanctuary said they learned the remaining healthy sheep had been euthanized the previous week without being informed of the procedure. FOX 2 reached out to the University of Missouri for their response to the lawsuit. We deny that the university is liable for the claims in the lawsuit, said Travis Zimpfer, Mizzous Associate Director of Public Affairs. We will provide our response to the suit in court as appropriate. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Iranian hacker group accused of targeting both presidential campaigns, and successfully breaching Donald Trumps, also tried to hack multiple Utah government sites, according to a previously nonpublic state law enforcement notice obtained by NBC News. The group tried to breach Utah-based assets including a county in Utah, geological archive data, oil and gas, and other geographical resources related to Utah, said the notice from the Utah Department of Public Safety Statewide Information and Analysis Center. The U.S. and allied governments, as well as the Western cybersecurity industry, have long said the hacker group is composed of cyberespionage specialists working for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The Utah department issued the notice July 30, but it has not been publicly disclosed until now. It said the hacking group continued a series of unsuccessful efforts from March 2023 to March 2024. The Utah department did not disclose precisely which organizations were targeted. Cybersecurity experts say the disclosure shows how wide-ranging Irans cyberespionage operations can be. Intel collection is their bread and butter, said Adam Meyers, the senior vice president of counter adversary operations at the American cybersecurity company CrowdStrike, which has tracked the group since 2013. The Trump campaign said this month that it had been hacked as part of an Iranian election interference effort, and three American news outlets said they had been emailed stolen documents from the campaign. Both Microsoft and Google have said they have disrupted efforts by the Revolutionary Guard cyberespionage group to hack both parties campaigns this year. Google went further, asserting that it was successful with the Trump campaign and that it continues to target both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. Three U.S. agencies said Monday that Iran was responsible for targeting both parties campaigns and breaching the Trump campaign. The Harris campaign has told NBC News it has not been breached. A spokesperson for Irans mission to the United Nations did not respond to an email requesting comment on the Utah hacking attempts. The mission denied it had engaged in any election interference in a statement this week. Such allegations are unsubstantiated and devoid of any standing, the statement read. As we have previously announced, the Islamic Republic of Iran harbors neither the intention nor the motive to interfere with the U.S. presidential election. Utah learned about the hacking attempts on the state in February, the report says, after a federal agency tipped it off. The Utah Department of Public Safety did not respond to an email requesting further information about the incidents. A spokesperson for the Utah Geological Survey said the organization was unaware of the hacking alert. Countries with significant cyber capabilities, including Iran, often deploy hackers to try to gather intelligence about other countries. Cybersecurity companies have long tracked this group, which is known as Irans most prolific cyberespionage team. Industry analysts told NBC News that it is common, even expected, for it to target both political figures and sources with information about natural resources. Iran has some of the biggest crude oil reserves in the world, according to the CIA World Factbook. Generally, oil and gas industries are definitely a known target of the IRGC, said Sergey Shykevich, the threat intelligence group manager at the Israeli cyber company Check Point. The Utah law enforcement notice is marked unclassified but For Official Use Only. NBC News received it from Property of the People, a nonprofit group devoted to transparency in U.S. national security, which acquired it through an open records request. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Successive Israeli evacuation orders in Gaza have displaced 90% of its 2.1 million residents since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, the top U.N. humanitarian official for the Palestinian territory says. U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris says she and President Joe Biden are working to end the war in Gaza, where the International Rescue Committee says the polio virus has been circulating for the first time in a quarter-century because of the destruction of hospitals and water infrastructure, along with overcrowded living conditions. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Friday that cease-fire talks in Cairo have been constructive and will continue over the weekend. The United States, Egypt and Qatar are mediating the talks. A crucial sticking point involves Israels demand for lasting control over two strategic corridors in Gaza. The war began on Oct. 7, when Hamas and other militants stormed Israel, killed around 1,200 people mostly civilians and abducted around 250. About 110 hostages are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead. The Israeli offensive launched in response has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the local Health Ministry, which doesn't say how many were militants or civilians. Heres the latest: U.N. seeks humanitarian pauses in fighting in Gaza for polio vaccination effort UNITED NATIONS The United Nations is stepping up its demand for humanitarian pauses in fighting in Gaza to vaccinate more than 600,000 children against polio following the World Health Organizations confirmation that a 10-month-old unvaccinated baby has polio and is partly paralyzed. It is the first internationally confirmed polio case in Gaza in 25 years. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a social media post Friday that the baby in central Deir al-Balah developed paralysis in the lower left leg. Gazas Ministry of Health previously confirmed the case. WHO and the U.N. childrens agency UNICEF are working with the Gaza ministry to implement two rounds of polio vaccination, four weeks apart, the U.N. humanitarian office said. The key is agreement for humanitarian pauses from Israel, Hamas and other militants in Gaza. U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said those discussions are continuing. He said a number of refrigerated trucks to keep the vaccines cold have arrived in Gaza, but the vaccines havent been delivered yet. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also reported that three Israeli evacuation orders on Wednesday and Thursday affected 15 neighborhoods in Deir al-Balah and southern Khan Younis and included nearly 150 sites where displaced Palestinians had sought shelter. Israel has ordered 13 evacuations in August alone, according to OCHA. Israeli strikes injure 7 in Syria, state media says DAMASCUS, Syria Seven civilians were injured in Israeli strikes in central Syria on Friday, Syrian state media said. The state-run SANA new agency, citing an unnamed military official, said the strikes targeted a number of sites without specifying what they were, and that air defense systems shot some of the missiles down. The opposition-linked war monitor Syrian Network for Human Rights said the strikes targeted sites including a weapons depot and fuel storage linked to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in Homs and Hama provinces. There was no immediate statement from Israel. U.S. says cease-fire talks have been constructive BUELLTON, Calif. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Friday that cease-fire talks in Cairo have been constructive and will continue over the weekend. Kirby pushed back against reports that negotiations are near collapse as Hamas and Israel have major differences over Israels insistence that it maintain forces in two strategic corridors in Gaza. CIA Director William Burns and Brett McGurk, a senior adviser on the Middle East to President Joe Biden, are leading the U.S. side of negotiations. There has been progress made, Kirby said, We need now for both sides to come together and work towards implementation. Kirby did not detail in which aspects of the negotiations that the U.S. has seen progress. Families of hostages meet with Netanyahu JERUSALEM The families of the Israeli hostages held in the Gaza Strip met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday and vented their anger at his failure to seal a cease-fire deal that would lead to their loved ones release from Hamas captivity. The Hostages Family Forum, a group representing relatives of hostages taken in Hamas Oct. 7 attack on Israel, said Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to do everything in his power to bring their family members back alive. The word alive limits this to a certain time frame, said Yizhar Lifshitz, son of hostage Oded Lifshitz, whose mother was kidnapped and freed by Hamas last October. More than 100 Israeli hostages remain in Gaza, including dozens who are presumed dead. Israeli troops recently recovered the bodies of six captives from an underground tunnel in southern Gaza. The revelation Thursday that the bodies were riddled with bullet wounds has increased domestic pressure on Netanyahu to agree to a cease-fire. Netanyahu blames Hamas for the deadlocked negotiations. Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon kill at least 7, including a child, state media report BEIRUT Five Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon on Friday killed at least eight people, including a child and several Hezbollah militants, state media reported. A drone strike in the town of Aita al-Jabal killed a 7-year-old child along with one other person, the Lebanese health ministry said. The Israeli military said the strike killed Mohammad Mahmoud Najem, an operative in Hezbollahs drone and rocket unit. Hezbollah later confirmed Najems death and also announced the deaths of four other members Friday. Photographs from the scene showed a burned-out small pickup truck. The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has been clashing nearly daily with Israeli forces in the border region for more than 10 months. The clashes have killed more than 500 people in Lebanon most of them militants but including more than 100 civilians and noncombatants and 23 soldiers and 26 civilians in Israel. Lufthansa extends flight suspensions to some Mideast destinations, but will resume service to Amman and Irbil BERLIN German airline Lufthansa said Friday that it has extended its suspension of flights to some destinations in the Middle East, but will resume service to Amman and Irbil on Aug. 27. The company said that the Lufthansa Group -- which also includes Austrian Airlines and Swiss -- is suspending flights to and from Tel Aviv and Tehran up to and including Sept. 2. Flights to and from Beirut will remain suspended up to and including Sept. 30. It said that a northern corridor in Iraqi airspace will be used for flights to Irbil. Previously, flights to all these destinations were suspended up to and including Aug. 26. WHO director says Palestinian infant has partial paralysis after contracting polio GENEVA The director-general of the World Health Organization says that a Palestinian infant who has contracted polio, the first case in Gaza in a quarter-century, has developed partial paralysis. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X on Friday that the 10-month-old developed paralysis in the lower left leg and is in stable condition. I am gravely concerned, he said. Samples from the infected child were tested by the WHO and confirmed to be linked to the variant found in Gazas wastewater. Given the high risk of its spread, the Geneva-based WHO is working with the Palestinian Health Ministry and UNICEF to launch two rounds of vaccinations at the end of August and September. Its calling for all parties to implement humanitarian pauses in the fighting for the vaccination rounds to be carried out. After being eradicated in Gaza 25 years ago, polio vaccinations plunged after the war began on Oct. 7, and the territory has become a breeding ground for the virus, with hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians crowded into tent camps lacking clean water or proper disposal of sewage and garbage. Gaza wakes to gunfire as mediators keep pushing for a cease-fire deal DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Fighting continued in the central Gaza Strip on Friday, even as the United States, Qatar and Egypt pushed forward to try and win an agreement on a cease-fire deal. Heavy weapons and machine guns could be heard firing at daybreak near east Deir al-Balah in a video shot by The Associated Press, with the streets nearly deserted. In the southern city of Khan Younis, four people were killed in an early Israeli strike on their vehicle, Palestinian Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal said. Bassal reported late Thursday that 24 people were killed the day before in multiple strikes across the Gaza Strip by the Israeli military, including in Gaza City in the north and Khan Younis in the south. He said that the strikes also caused multiple injuries, but didn't specify how many. Israels military said early Friday that it had killed dozens of militants during close-quarters fighting Thursday in the central and southern Gaza Strip. It said that in Khan Younis, the fighting including strikes against areas from which projectiles were launched at southern Israel over the past week. The air force also struck approximately 30 targets across the Gaza Strip, including military posts, weapons storage facilities and launch sites in the area of Khan Younis, the military said. Kamala Harris says she and Biden are working to end the war in Gaza CHICAGO U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris says she and President Joe Biden are working to end the war in Gaza as she closed out the Democratic National Convention. Harris declared Thursday that she would always stand up for Israels right to defend itself. At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating," she said. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. President Biden and I are working to end this war. She indicated that the suffering could end with a cease-fire and the release of hostages taken in the October raid. On Wednesday, the parents of one of the young men being held hostage in Gaza addressed the convention. Israel's evacuation orders have displaced 90% of Gaza residents, UN says UNITED NATIONS Successive Israeli evacuation orders in Gaza, including 12 just in August, have displaced 90% of its 2.1 million residents since the Israel-Hamas war began in October, the top United Nations humanitarian official for the Palestinian territory says. Muhannad Hadi said the evacuation orders are endangering civilians instead of protecting them. They are forcing families to flee again, often under fire and with the few belongings they can carry with them, into an ever-shrinking area" that is crowded and unsafe. Civilians are being deprived of medical care, shelter, water wells and humanitarian supplies, running from one destroyed place to another, with no end in sight," he said. Hadi said in the statement Thursday that international humanitarian law requires the protection of civilians. The way forward is as clear as it is urgent: Protect civilians, release the hostages, facilitate humanitarian access, agree on a cease-fire. The evacuations are also the latest threat to U.N. personnel working in Gaza and affect humanitarian facilities, according to U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric. He cited as an example that the U.N. World Food Program lost access to its warehouse in central Deir al-Balah. This was the third and last operational warehouse in Gazas middle area, Dujarric said. Five community kitchens operated by WFP have also been evacuated, as the agency seeks new locations for them. Egypt is set to deliver Israels latest Philadelphi corridor proposal to Hamas after Israel submitted a revised plan on Thursday as efforts to secure a ceasefire deal to halt the fighting in Gaza continue, a diplomat and an Israeli source familiar with the talks said. The new Israeli proposal, which includes a map of where Israeli troops would be deployed, reduces the number of troops and military posts along the strategic corridor bordering Egypt from Israels previous position, the Israeli source said. Egyptian negotiators had rejected the previous Israeli map days earlier and declined to transfer it to Hamas, calling it a non-starter. The Philadelphi corridor is a 14-kilometer (8.7-mile) strip of land in southern Gaza along the border with Egypt- that the IDF currently controls. The deployment of Israeli troops along the Philadelphi corridor during the first phase of a ceasefire agreement has been a major point of contention between Israel and Hamas. Israel has demanded maintaining control of the border zone, whereas Hamas has said Israeli troops must withdraw from the area. Hamas response to the new proposal will be critical to determining whether it sends negotiators to an expected negotiating summit in Cairo on Sunday. If they attend, the two sides could hold true negotiations with each sides delegation occupying a room, and Egyptian and Qatari mediators going back-and-forth between the two. The new proposal was the product of an hours-long meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his negotiating team on Thursday, in which Netanyahu agreed to reduce troop levels. That meeting came a day after Netanyahu spoke with US President Joe Biden, who pushed Netanyahu to show more flexibility on the Philadelphi corridor. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Palestinians carry their belongings as they flee Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. The Israeli military on Friday called on civilians in southern and central Gaza to flee ahead of a new military operation. Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa The Israeli army told residents of several neighbourhoods in the northern part of Gaza to flee on Friday, ahead of a new military operation following repeated rocket attacks. People should go to shelters west of the city of Gaza, according to an appeal issued by an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman in Arabic. Amid ongoing shelling from the area, the IDF plans to take action against the Palestinian Islamist Hamas and other terrorist organisations there. Aid organizations are increasingly critical of the IDF's repeated calls for civilians in the Gaza Strip to flee. "The constant evacuation orders are wearing down families in Gaza and massively hindering life-saving aid," said Martin Frick, head of the Berlin office of the UN World Food Programme. "Almost everyone in Gaza has been displaced by the successive evacuation orders since October 2023." Overall, about 86% of the embattled coastal strip is an evacuation area, he said. In August alone, numerous calls to flee affected a quarter of a million people. "Some families are fleeing for the tenth time." People are hungry and disease is spreading in the few places where people seek shelter, he said. The areas are also intensely overcrowded, the agency says. "This daily horror has become an alarming normality," said Frick. The IDF said two projectiles were fired from the northern Gaza Strip towards the Israeli border town of Sderot in the early evening. One was intercepted while the other landed in an open area. Reports of injuries were not initially available. Israel tells residents of several Gaza areas to flee ahead of attacks Palestinians carry their belongings as they flee Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. The Israeli military on Friday called on civilians in southern and central Gaza to flee ahead of a new military operation. Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa The Israeli army told residents of several neighbourhoods in the northern part of Gaza to flee on Friday, ahead of a new military operation following repeated rocket attacks. People should go to shelters west of the city of Gaza, according to an appeal issued by an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman in Arabic. Amid ongoing shelling from the area, the IDF plans to take action against the Palestinian Islamist Hamas and other terrorist organisations there. Aid organizations are increasingly critical of the IDF's repeated calls for civilians in the Gaza Strip to flee. "The constant evacuation orders are wearing down families in Gaza and massively hindering life-saving aid," said Martin Frick, head of the Berlin office of the UN World Food Programme. "Almost everyone in Gaza has been displaced by the successive evacuation orders since October 2023." Overall, about 86% of the embattled coastal strip is an evacuation area, he said. In August alone, numerous calls to flee affected a quarter of a million people. "Some families are fleeing for the tenth time." People are hungry and disease is spreading in the few places where people seek shelter, he said. The areas are also intensely overcrowded, the agency says. "This daily horror has become an alarming normality," said Frick. The IDF said two projectiles were fired from the northern Gaza Strip towards the Israeli border town of Sderot in the early evening. One was intercepted while the other landed in an open area. Reports of injuries were not initially available. Dozens of militants killed in combat in the Gaza Strip Dozens of militants have been killed by Israeli forces in close combat in the Gaza Strip since Thursday, the Israeli army said on Friday. The military destroyed what it called terrorist infrastructure during battles in the city of Khan Younis in the south of the coastal territory and in the area of Deir al-Balah further north. Israel's air force also fired on positions from which rockets were fired at Israel. The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that several civilians had been killed as a result of Israeli attacks. In northern Israel, near the border with Lebanon, there were also renewed exchanges of fire between the army and the Islamist Hezbollah militia. None of the information could be independently verified. The war in Gaza, which began after the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, has displaced some 90% of the population of Gaza, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Some 2.2 million people live in the coastal strip. Many have been displaced multiple times, according to the UN. Ceasefire efforts set to continue Meanwhile, mediation efforts for a ceasefire are set to continue in Cairo. According to media reports, the main point of contention is Hamas' demand for a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects this. UN representatives have called for a ceasefire at least to allow health workers to issue polio vaccinations for the hundreds of thousands of children in the war zone. Charity Save the Children warned on Thursday that if left unchecked, the polio outbreak in Gaza would set back global eradication efforts. 'Be at the Israeli consulate tonight': The groups behind one of the DNC's most violent protests CHICAGO The Instagram message posted by Behind Enemy Lines, a little-known anarchist group, on Tuesday afternoon was clear. If you believe that a message was sent to the DNC by the city-approved and peace-policed march, than stay home tonight, the group said, referring to the relatively peaceful first day of protests at the Democratic National Convention. If you think the people of Palestine require more, be at the Israeli consulate tonight. 7pm. A group of roughly 200 people showed up at the rally organized by Behind Enemy Lines and Samidoun, an organization that praised Hamas Oct. 7 attack on Israel and that Germany and Israel have banned over alleged ties to terrorist groups. Speeches were short in what quickly became one of the most violent protests at this week's Democratic National Convention. These are the enemy of the people and we must move on these motherf------, a masked man said over a microphone. The masked leader screamed profanity about Israel and imperialism into a megaphone, and called police officers pigs. He repeatedly ignored police orders to disperse and led demonstrators down an improvised route, flooding a street. Protesters hurled signs and water bottles at officers. At one point, they engulfed a taxi cab with passengers inside. In all, police arrested 56 people. At least four individuals suffered minor injuries, including two protesters and two police officers. Chicago police said 22 of those arrested were from outside the city many from the West Coast. Among them was a longtime anarchist hacker who had served time in federal prison named Jeremy Hammond. A 39-year-old Chicago native, Hammond has a prior federal arrest and conviction for participating in a hack that gave information from a private company to WikiLeaks. He was also associated with several high-profile hacks of federal and local law enforcement agencies, according to court filings. Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said that although officers look at the affiliations of those arrested, investigators focus more on who is committing violent acts. What were looking at are actions, because you may have people who show up here who are affiliated with particular groups, who just talk, Snelling said. We plan for those who show up here to cause destruction, chaos, criminal activity, violence, and thats what weve trained for. Former FBI officials said that some protest groups, under the guise of free speech, try to incite violence. They added that federal law restricts law enforcement from formally investigating groups who simply express support for terrorism but do not engage in or are planning violence. Samidoun appears not to be planning violence, but rather celebrating it, said Frank Figliuzzi, a former assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI and an NBC News contributor. The problem is you must have them advocating, planning, instructing, engaging in, pick one of the above, violence for a political cause. And they have yet, to my knowledge, to do it. Protesters in front of the Israeli consulate in Chicago on Tuesday. (Anadolu via Getty Images) A veteran hacker The date of birth of the Jeremy Hammond arrested in Chicago matches that of the Jeremy Hammond from Chicago who was charged and convicted in two separate cases by the Justice Department, according to three senior officials briefed on the matter. Hammond was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2015 by a federal judge in New York City after he pleaded guilty to hacking Strategic Forecasting Inc. (Stratfor) and some of the materials from that hack eventually found its way into the hands of WikiLeaks. Hammond admitted to being a part of an off-shoot of Anonymous a group of computer hackers and being involved in a coordinated effort to hack multiple companies and agencies in 2011 and 2022. Some of the aliases he went by include Anarchaos, burn, crediblethreat, sup_g, and anarchacker. Federal prosecutors said that he was also involved in the intrusions into the FBIs Virtual Academy, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the Boston Police Patrolmens Association, and the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office in Alabama. Hammonds aim was to break into victims computer systems, steal data, deface websites, destroy files and dump online the sensitive personal and financial information of thousands of individuals, federal prosecutors said in a court filing. All with the object of creating, in Hammonds own words, maximum 'mayhem.' He was released from jail in March 2021 and placed on supervised release, which ended in 2022. It was not clear what relationship, if any, Hammond had to Behind Enemy Lines. The attorney representing him could not be immediately reached for comment. Michael Boyte, one of the co-founders of the group, describes himself as focused on anti-imperialist struggles, and as a college dropout and an unemployed barista, according to an online bio. Boyle did not respond to a request for comment. In an April interview with The Progressive Magazine, Boyte explained the genesis of the organization. During the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Boyte saw that new activists werent focused on international issues including how Israel was treating Palestinians. He started Behind Enemy Lines to show that the U.S. is an oppressive, imperialist force around the world. Christopher OLeary, a former senior FBI counterterrorism official, said that extreme protest groups try to conduct high-profile demonstrations that attract national attention. Its intended to create sympathies and movements and grow attention to a cause, said OLeary, now a senior vice president at The Soufan Group, a security consultancy. Banned in Israel and Germany Of the two groups, Samidoun has the higher profile. Samidoun, the Arabic word for steadfast, says it champions the rights of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli detention facilities. But an NBC News review of Samidouns online posts and videos found several examples of its leaders praising violent attacks against Israel. The heroic Palestinian operation on the seventh of October shook the foundations of Zionism and imperialism in the region, Charlotte Kates said in a January YouTube video, speaking after representatives of Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which the U.S. government has designated terrorist organizations. A month later, Kates appeared in a video with Dr. Basem Naim, a senior official with Hamas, which the U.S. has also designated a terror organization. Kates, who is from New Jersey and attended Rutgers University, helps to run Samidoun out of Vancouver, British Columbia, where it is registered as a nonprofit organization, Canadian records show. Kates did not respond to a request for comment. In May, police in Vancouver arrested Kates and charged her with willful promotion of hatred after she praised the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel during a demonstration. Jewish groups and conservative politicians across Canada have been pushing the government to ban Samidoun. Germany shut down its chapter in November after it praised the Oct. 7 attack. Israel, in 2021, declared it a terror organization, arguing its members used to be part of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, or PFLP, which several countries including the U.S. say is a terrorist group. Biden administration officials told NBC News earlier this year that Samidouns rhetoric, videos and sponsoring of protests does not rise to the level of being designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. Federal officials said hate speech alone is not enough to trigger a designation. Investigators would need to find evidence of specific threats of violence or clear acts of terror being planned. When asked if federal law enforcement officials in Chicago were aware that some of the protest groups have ties to terror organizations, an FBI spokesperson said that the agency cant comment on specific groups, but that it has spent the last year working on a safety plan for the Democratic National Convention. Facts are analyzed and used to prevent terrorist activity, the spokesperson said. Oren Segal, vice president at the Anti-Defamation Leagues Center on Extremism, criticized Samidouns open support of terror groups and its on-campus training sessions with college students that have gone on for years. They bring terrorist propaganda and ideas into the public discussion over the conflict [in Gaza] and normalize it, Segal said in an interview. We know that speech can lead to violence. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com (Bloomberg) -- Israeli negotiators arrived in Cairo for another round of talks aimed at achieving a cease-fire in the war against Hamas in Gaza. Most Read from Bloomberg The head of Israels Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea, is now in the Egyptian capital with his team, Israeli officials said. US President Joe Bidens main envoy for Middle East, Brett McGurk, is also there, according to the American government. The talks are set to begin on Sunday, though that could change, an Israeli official said. Before then, Barnea will hold discussions with Egyptian authorities about the war and Israeli forces control of Gazas border with Egypt, the official said. Its unclear if Iran-backed Hamas will send representatives. It didnt for negotiations in Qatar last week and was instead briefed by mediators. The Cairo round will be the latest in a months-long effort to pause or end the war that followed Hamas Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, during which the group killed 1,200 people and took around 240 hostage. Israels subsequent air and ground offensive on Gaza has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, according to the territorys Hamas-run health ministry. Biden is using his last months in office to try to end the conflict, which has caused huge political divisions globally, including in the US. With respect to the war in Gaza, President Biden and I are working around the clock, Vice President Kamala Harris said in a speech on Thursday, when she formally accepted the Democratic Partys nomination for Novembers US election. Now is the time get a hostage deal and a cease-fire deal done. While backing Israels right to defend itself against Hamas designated a terrorist organization by the US and European Union she said of Gaza that the scale of suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination, she said. In July, Israels parliament passed a resolution expressing formal opposition to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, warning that it could serve as a base for terrorist groups. On the table in Cairo is a proposal backed by the US, Egypt and Qatar the main mediators that provides for a phased cessation of hostilities, the release of hostages held by Hamas, the freeing of many Palestinians in Israeli jails and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from areas of Gaza. One key point of tension is over Israel wanting to keep troops stationed along the strategic Philadelphi corridor, the southern portion of Gaza that runs along the border with Egypt, to prevent arms smuggling from the Arab nation. Hamas opposes that, while Egypt is also wary of Israeli troops remaining there. Another sticking point is that Hamas wants a truce to amount to a permanent end to the war, while Israel says it needs to retain the right to restart fighting to achieve its aim of destroying the group. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to Washington this week from a whirlwind trip to Israel, Egypt and Qatar. That was intended to bring the parties closer to agreement. In Jerusalem, Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had backed the bridging proposal, leaving the onus on Hamas to accept. Time is of the essence, Blinken said. Hamas has blamed Israel for stalling the talks, saying Netanyahu keeps adding demands. Israel is still on high-alert for the possibility of an attack by Iran. The Islamic Republic vowed to retaliate for the assassination of a leading Hamas figure, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran in late July. Iran and Hamas blamed Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied being responsible. Iran says it will bide its time and does not want to scupper the Gaza cease-fire talks. (Updates with comments from Kamala Harris, context on negotiations.) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. on Polin and Rachel Goldberg, parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin who is being held hostage in Gaza, appear on stage on Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center, in Chicago, Illinois, on Wednesday, August 21, 2024. | Mike Segar/UPI/Newscom Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin came to the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday with a message they said was "not a political issue." The Israeli-American couple's son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was at a music festival during the October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. A grenade blew his arm off, and Hamas fighters took him hostage. "In a competition of pain, there are no winners," Polin said. "In an inflamed Middle East, we know the one thing that can most immediately release pressure and bring calm to the entire region: A deal that brings this diverse group of 109 hostages home and ends the suffering of the innocent civilians in Gaza. The time is now." He added that kol adam olam umlo'o, a Hebrew saying meaning "every human being is an entire world" that is paraphrased from the Talmud. Outside the convention center that night, former congressional staffer and convention delegate Abbas Alawieh was leading a livestreamed protest. Uncommitted delegates like Alawieh, representing those who had declined to vote for President Joe Biden in the primary, were demanding that the Democratic Party also allow a Palestinian American speaker on stage to share their people's story. Alawieh himself had lived that story. As an American teenager visiting his family in southern Lebanon, he witnessed the Israeli invasion of 2006. "I thought that 100 percent I would be killed using bombs that my government was sending over there," he said. "I remember what those bombs feel like when they drop. I remember how your bones shake within your body. I remember what they smell like. I remember what the dust feels like when it fills the room after a bomb drops and I can't even see my own hand in front of my face." He added that he was "privileged" to hear the humanistic message of Polin and Goldberg at the convention, and echoed Polin's reference to the Talmud. "I was thinking about how in the Muslim tradition, we know that if you harm or if you kill any one person, it's as if you harmed or killed all of humanity," Alawieh said, paraphrasing a verse from the Quran. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is probably the most intense foreign policy issue in U.S. politics, threatening to break apart the Democratic coalition. At stake are hundreds of thousands of Muslim, Jewish, Arab Christian, and other voters in swing states, including over 100,000 people in Michigan and 88,000 people in North Carolina who voted uncommitted in the Democratic primaries. In theory, all the major Democratic factions have the same goal. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris say that they want a ceasefire. So do many of the Israeli hostage families invited to speak at Democratic events and the Palestinian-American voters protesting against the party. When a heckler chanted "Free the hostages" at Alawieh's protest, uncommitted supporters reportedly chanted back, "We agree!" "President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self determination," Harris said on Thursday night. But move from the realm of rhetoric to the realm of action, and the fault lines become clearer. While calling for diplomacy, the Biden administration has also rushed weapons to Israel at the American taxpayer's expense. (Harris also promised on Thursday that she "will always ensure that Israel has the ability to defend itself.") Some hostage families, including the Goldberg-Polin family, have asked the U.S. government to push harder on the Israeli leadership to accept a ceasefire. The Uncommitted movement believes that nothing short of a total weapons cutoff can move Israel. This questionwhether the Biden administration is seriously working towards a ceasefirehas also divided the progressive wing of the party. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) said in her Tuesday convention speech that Harris "is working tirelessly to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and bring the hostages home." Rep. Ilhan Omar (DMinn.) rebuked her in a speech outside the convention hall. "It's been unconscionable for me the last ten months to witness my colleagues in this administration refusing to recognize the genocidal war that is taking place in Gaza," Omar said. "'Working tirelessly' for a ceasefire is really not a thing, and they should be ashamed of themselves." The Uncommitted movement had publicly hoped that replacing Biden with Harris would also mean a shift in administration policy. Harris' foreign policy team includes figures like Philip Gordon, a skeptic of U.S. wars in the Middle East, and Ilan Goldenberg, an Israeli-American peace negotiator who has called for recognizing the State of Palestine. Recent polling shows that an arms embargo would win more votes than it would lose in swing states. The Democratic National Convention would put those hopes to the test. Unlike the outside protesters who threatened to disrupt the convention, the Uncommitted movement played the inside track, negotiating with Democratic leadership and playing up the movement's willingness to help elect Harris. "Michigan voters want to support you, but we need a policy that will save lives in Gaza right now," Layla Elabed, cofounder of the Uncommitted movement and sister of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (DMich.), reportedly told Harris when they met earlier this month. Meanwhile, many hostage families have grown to see Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an obstacle to saving their relatives from Hamas. Rather than negotiating for a prisoner exchange in good faith, they believe he is dragging out the war, endangering hostages' lives in the process. During hostage negotiations last month, Netanyahu added new demands for a permanent Israeli presence in Gaza that members of his own negotiating team reportedly worried would torpedo the talks. On Tuesday, a U.S. official accused Netanyahu of making "maximalist statements" that are "not constructive" to securing a deal. "There's a myth out there that there's a better deal somewhere, if Israel just delays a little longer and fights a little further. Every day, another hostage can die, including all of our loved ones, those who may still be alive," Jonathan Dekel-Chen, father of a hostage, said in a July 2024 congressional roundtable. "Any true friend of Israel today must pressure our prime minister to finish the deal." By then, more hostages had died in captivitysome of them mistakenly killed by Israeli troopsthan the Israeli army had rescued. Netanyahu spoke to Congress a day after the roundtable. Hostage families teamed up with pro-Palestinian progressives to protest him. Omar gave her seat to Zahiro Shahar Mor, the nephew of a hostage; Mor was arrested by Capitol Police for heckling Netanyahu, alongside five other hostage relatives who wore t-shirts calling on Israel to "seal the deal." That demand is easy enough to square with the old Democratic consensus on Israel. An Israeli is pushing for a change in his government's wartime policy for the sake of Israeli victims. The Uncommitted movement, however, believes that peace can only come if the U.S. stops arming the Israeli military altogether. ("You want the bombs to stop? You stop sending bombs," Alawieh said at his Wednesday protest. "It's a very simple idea, Mr. President.") And it is driven by a Palestinian perspective first and foremost. Ahmad Awad, an Uncommitted delegate for New Jersey, has Palestinian ancestry on his father's side and Polish ancestry on his mother's side. "I hold the Palestinian cause very near and dear to my heart. It's something that I have experienced firsthand when I visited family and visited Palestine. I've experienced the discrimination. I've experienced the apartheid, the occupation, the hell that my people have been put through," he says. His Polish grandfather was "forcibly removed from his town and shipped off to slave labor camps with his family" during World War II and was forced to stay in a displaced persons camp after the war, according to Awad. "It definitely impacts how I move forward. I'm going to voice concern for human rights and for human dignity, wherever it may be. It's not exclusive to the Palestinian cause," he says. Democratic leadership has been skittish about airing that kind of perspective in public. Several weeks before the convention, the Uncommitted movement publicly asked the Democratic National Committee to allow a speech by Tanya Haj-Hassan, a doctor who had served in Gazan hospitals during the war. The Harris campaign privately told the Uncommitted leadership that it would be open to a private meeting. However, as soon as news of those talks became public in early August, the Harris team stated that they were not open to discussing an arms embargo, and Harris herself made a show of talking down Palestinian protesters at a campaign rally. As negotiations with the Harris campaign dragged on, the Uncommitted movement dropped the demand to have Haj-Hassan speak and presented a list of Palestinian Americans to choose from. On Wednesday night, the campaign rejected all of the names on the list, and Alawieh immediately organized his protest in response, according to Palestinian-American writer Y.L. Al-Sheikh, who is close to Uncommitted but not an official delegate. "It seems to me like they expected us to just roll over and not make a fuss, but in reality we made a rather symbolic ask, and made it in a very conservative manner by providing them with options, and they rejected it out of hand before seeing a single speech draft," she says. "At the end of the day, in my humble opinion, even the most conciliatory speech possible by a Palestinian American would be bad in the DNC's view because her very presence on the stage forces people to some degree to reckon with what the party has supported." In a last-ditch attempt to force the Democratic Party's hand, a copy of Georgia state Rep. Ruwa Romman's draft speech was leaked to the progressive magazine Mother Jones. Democrats have "stood together, demanding to enforce our laws on friend and foe alike to reach a ceasefire, end the killing of Palestinians, free all the Israeli and Palestinian hostages, and to begin the difficult work of building a path to collective peace and safety," the draft speech says. It endorses Harris, criticizes former President Donald Trump for using "Palestinian" as a slur, and does not call for an arms embargo. A growing chorus of voices called for the Democratic National Committee to include Romman, among them several members of Congress, the United Auto Workers union, and the relative of several Israeli hostages. "Rachel and Jon deserved every second on that stage. I also believe a Palestinian American voice deserves to be heard on that stage," Alana Zeitchik, six of whose family members were taken by Hamas, wrote on social media. "I'd love to hear from [Romman] and I hope the DNC will give her the chance to be heard." Democratic leadership rejected all of those entreaties. "I think we've given them a lot of opportunities to engage in this process at the convention. People have had dedicated panels during the daytime programming," Harris campaign adviser Ian Sams told CNN. (Uncommitted was allowed to hold an off-site event with a group of doctors who had served in Gaza.) Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) brusquely told NBC that "we're not going to get any problems for lack of diversity." Romman ended up reading her speech to a gaggle of reporters on the sidewalk outside the convention center. Uncommitted and other anti-war delegates held a silent protest in the hallway of the center. So far, the Uncommitted movement is still committed (no pun intended) to the inside track. Just before Romman's sidewalk address, Alawieh issued a new demand: a meeting with Harris by September 15. But many Palestinian and anti-war voters are not Democratic partisans. For them, Harris is clear enough on where she stands, and continuing to beg the Democratic Party for concessions may not be worth the effort. "Palestinians and pro-Palestinian voters are officially checked out now," says Abdelhalim Abdelrahman, a Palestinian-American writer from Michigan who voted uncommitted in the primaries and canvassed for Justin Amash's Senate campaign. "The Democrats denying the request for a Palestinian speaker at the DNC showed a lot of Palestinians and their supporters that there's no room for Palestinians in the supposed big tent Democratic Party." The post Israelis and Palestinians Found Common Ground at the DNC. Is That Enough? appeared first on Reason.com. A Charlotte-based retailer closed five stores in the second quarter, bringing its total closures to 12 this year, SEC filings show. The womens clothing shop plans to close approximately 60 more stores by the end of the year. A Cato spokesperson was not available for comment Thursday to disclose which stores it had closed or the number of employees impacted, but its earnings report shows the closings have helped cut costs amid continued sales struggles. Its sales, general and administrative costs, which include rent, utilities, commissions and salaries, were down 5.5% from the previous year, giving the company some financial wiggle room. We continue to manage our SG&A expenses tightly in line with our current sales trend, Cato Chairman and CEO John Cato said in a Thursday press release. Cato has 1,166 stores in 31 states as of Aug. 3. Thats a 7 percent decrease from the same time a year ago. The Charlotte company pins much of its 8 percent second-quarter sales decline on the store closures. Cato also credited its sales slump to decreased consumer discretionary spending. The retailers net income is up just over 50% in the first half of this year compared with the first half of last year. Although the second quarter sales trend improved .... we believe the back half of the year will remain challenging, the Cato press release said. About Cato Founded in 1946 by the Cato family, Cato now sells womens clothing and accessories under three concepts Cato, Versona and Its Fashion. The Cato family is well-known for a commitment to supporting education in Charlotte and has played a significant role in starting the Cato School of Education at Queens University. UNC Charlottes Cato School of Education also honors the business and family. TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) A group of Indiana State Students are getting the chance to have their art displayed in the Turman Gallery on ISUs campus. The Summer Term Art Research Scholarship or STARS is an exhibition that celebrates a select a group of ISUs Art and Design students who were awarded scholarships by the Center for Student Research and Creativity. The STARS scholarship provides funding to each student to produce artwork during the summer months. During this time student got to experience what it means to be an independent artist as they work without the guidance of course assignments. Im really impressed. Its very difficult, and I think they realized this. When youre not in an academic setting, to actually have the discipline and perseverance to create a cohesive body of work. I think that each student here, in their own voice and with different materials, really succeeded to make that happen, said ISU Gallery Director Tanmaya Bingham. Rockville Police Officer recognized for compassionate act Also on display is the Faculty Show Exhibition. The exhibition is held every other year and is put on by ISU Art and Design faculty. Bingham said this is chance for faculty to show off what each member has been working on and creating during their free time. I love it because we interface with each other here on a day to day basis, but I rarely got to actually see what theyre doing behind the scenes. So, its a really nice reveal, I think for all of us, to actually reengage with each others personal research and creative process, said Bingham. The STARS Exhibition will be open to the public during a reception on September 5, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Turman Gallery in the Fine Arts building. There will also be a reception for the Faculty Exhibition on August 29, from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Yang Family University Art Gallery in the Landini Center for Fine and Performing Arts building. All exhibitions are free and open to the public. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyWabashValley.com. Iowa State University has partnered with the University of Illinois System and Western Illinois University to form the Quad Cities Manufacturing Institute. (Photo courtesy of Iowa State University) Higher education institutions involved in a collaboration crossing state lines are working to boost research and training in advanced manufacturing, utilizing the manufacturing hub of the Quad-Cities and support from the communities there. Iowa State University has partnered with the University of Illinois System and Western Illinois University to form an institute aimed at manufacturing research and development, as well as workforce development and training. The three institutions on Friday announced the launch of the Quad Cities Manufacturing Institute. Peter Collins, ISU Stanley Chair in Interdisciplinary Engineering, called the institute a catalyst for greater investment in the Midwests manufacturing sector and collaboration with defense partners like the Rock Island Arsenal, an Army installation located in the area. Researchers at ISU and the University of Illinois System already have experience working together. Collins said he started working two years ago with William King, Grainger College of Engineering Ralph A. Andersen Endowed Chair, on technical projects supported by the U.S. Department of Defense. These projects are aimed at protecting members of the military and their equipment, he said, such as developing new materials for lightweight armor and the like. Grainger is the engineering college of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX However, the idea of a larger initiative bringing in universities, community and industry partners to expand manufacturing research and work had been floating around the Quad-Cities for some time, with local people in support of the Department of Defense advocating for its creation. Collins said if a circle with a 60-mile radius was drawn around the Quad-Cities region, youd find as many as 800 manufacturers in operation. This is a fruition of a lot of investment by local folks here, as well as the universities, so this is always kind of been where we want it to be, Collins said. So with the concept of the institute, I would say the elements of that preceded the technical work that was ongoing. ISU and the University of Illinois System will take the lead on research projects for the institute while Western Illinois University will focus on workforce development, Collins said, as that area is more in their wheelhouse. The launch of the Quad Cities Manufacturing Institute marks a pivotal moment in Western Illinois Universitys commitment to innovation and workforce development, WIU Interim President Kristi Mindrup said in a news release. This collaboration between educational institutions and industry will drive technological advancements and nurture a highly skilled workforce for the Quad Cities region and beyond. Collins said the universities met with community colleges in the area Friday, including Eastern Iowa Community Colleges and Black Hawk College in Moline, to talk about possible workforce development opportunities. St. Ambrose University in Davenport and Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill. will also be tapped in the future for collaboration on programming and training. While the Rock Island Arsenal is an important and obvious first partner in this launch, Collins said other companies are also playing a part in the institute, including John Deere. Were going to be focusing on the research, but if we only do that without figuring out how to translate it into the hands of end users and industry and Rock Island Arsenal, then were kind of failing at our job, Collins said. The institute is being funded by investments by the universities as it becomes established, Collins said, but as it expands the institute will seek funding through grants and contracts with government and industry partners. University of Illinois System President Tim Killeen said in the release that the Quad Cities Manufacturing Institute is a powerful example of driving economic opportunity and growth through partnerships in the public and private sectors. Iowa State University is proud to be part of this groundbreaking partnership to establish the Quad Cities Manufacturing Institute, said Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen in the release. This initiative will bring to bear our strengths as a land-grant university fostering collaboration, conducting advanced research and developing innovations that support the local workforce and drive economic growth. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST As students return to Iowa State University's campus, the city of Ames will reinstate heightened penalties for parties and parking this weekend. The move is meant to curtail issues during the first weekend before school starts, known among students as 801 Day. Over the last few years, parties on 801 Day have grown in size, resulting in public nuisance and illegal parking. Some parties have had as many as 400-500 people at a private residence. This has also caused narrow residential streets to be flooded with cars during the weekend. When is 801 Day at Iowa State? 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. What is the City of Ames doing to limit nuisance and illegal parking for 801? Crowds of people walk around Campustown, Ames, on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020 on the final Saturday before classes started at Iowa State University. In response to complaints, the city has implemented higher fines and a stricter tow ordinance to combat public disturbances. In 2022, the Ames City Council said 801 Day weekend brought in people from outside of Ames and was no longer limited to Iowa State students. Complaints included reports of public intoxication, breach of private property, public urination and other public disturbances. The city council voted to temporarily increase fines for the weekend and has continued the practice in subsequent years. How much are nuisance fines in Ames during 801 Day weekend? Fines for parties will increase during the first weekend before Iowa State goes back to school. Fnes for nuisance parties will be $650 for first-time offenses from 5 p.m. Friday, Aug. 23 to 4 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 25. Repeat offenses will increase to $855. Outside of special enforcement windows, the fine is usually $100 for first offenses and $200 for second offenses. What parking restrictions are in place in Ames during 801 Day weekend? If your car is parked illegally from midnight to 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, the city can have it towed immediately without warning. The ordinance applies to select streets around Campustown: 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 Ames Tribune reporter Celia Brocker contributed to this report. Kate Kealey is a general assignment reporter for the Register. Reach her at kkealey@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter at @Kkealey17. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: 801 Day for Iowa State is this weekend. Ames is raising party fines Vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz celebrates with his daughter Hope, son Gus and wife Gwen at Democratic National Convention on Wednesday, Aug. 21, in Chicago. The Walzes clarified this week that they didnt use IVF but another kind of fertility treatment to grow their family. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) The broader scope of fertility treatments entered the spotlight this week after Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen shared that they had children through a less commonly known procedure. Since Vice President Kamala Harris selected Gov. Walz as her running mate, he has discussed his familys fertility journey during speeches in Pennsylvania, Nebraska and mostly recently at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. It took Gwen and I years, Walz said on Wednesday night. But we had access to fertility treatments. And when our daughter was born, we named her Hope. This week, the Walzes clarified that they conceived via intrauterine insemination, not in vitro fertilization. IUI involves injecting sperm into the uterus during or just before ovulation to increase the chances of fertilization and pregnancy. Our fertility journey was an incredibly personal and difficult experience. Like so many who have experienced these challenges, we kept it largely to ourselves at the time not even sharing the details with our wonderful and close family, Gwen Walz said in a statement provided to States Newsroom. The only person who knew in detail what we were going through was our next door neighbor. She was a nurse and helped me with the shots I needed as part of the IUI process. During IVF, eggs and sperm are combined in a lab and an embryo is inserted into the uterus. IVF has been drawn into national reproductive rights debates for much of this year, and Walz has been talking about it on the campaign trail while discussing his familys fertility journey. U.S. Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, the Republican vice presidential candidate, accused his opponent of lying about how he and his wife had children. In an Aug. 20 social media post, Vance said, Today it came out that Tim Walz had lied about having a family via IVF. Who lies about something like that? He also shared a clip of Walz talking about fertility care and families on Aug. 9. In a statement, Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg said, Governor Walz talks how normal people talk. He was using commonly understood shorthand for fertility treatments. Experts said that patients commonly get IUI and IVF confused or refer to them interchangeably, given that in vitro fertilization is more popular. Theres such a huge sort of alphabet soup that comes along with assisted reproduction, said Kimberly Mutcherson, a professor at Rutgers University-Camden who specializes in reproductive justice, bioethics, and family and health law. Dr. Kelly Acharya, a fertility physician and assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Duke University, said patients partners are more likely to mix up the two treatments or rope related procedures into IVF. A lot of times in my line of work, I see people that are referring to other things, like egg freezing, they call that IVF, even though technically its not, she said. Both Acharya and Mutcherson said the main differences between IUI and IVF are where fertilization occurs, the price and effectiveness. Intrauterine insemination or IUI is basically less invasive. Its typically less expensive, and it is often what is recommended as the first thing that somebody tries, Acharya said. When somebody has mild forms of infertility, like if there are mild differences in the semen analysis, or if somebody is young and theyre not quite sure why theyre not getting pregnant, then often a provider will recommend that they do IUI as a first step to help things along. IUI is performed during or near ovulation, and it typically takes 10 minutes and is a minor procedure, according to Acharya. The price of IUI varies, depending on insurance coverage, from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. Mutcherson noted that some people also confuse IUI with intracervical insemination, or ICI. During this method, the sperm is inserted into the cervix the passageway to the uterus, according to the Carolina Fertility Institute. Doctors often recommend ICI or IUI as a precursor to IVF, which Mutcherson said can cost $12,000 to $15,000 per cycle or more with grading and genetic testing. During IVF, fertilization happens outside of the body, Acharya said. IUI, the treatment the Walz family used to have children, is not under the same scrutiny as IVF, which has faced opposition from anti-abortion hardliners. It sometimes is listed as being less controversial than IVF, because its just helping along the natural process of getting the sperm inside the uterus and then expecting fertilization to happen inside the body, Acharya said. But Mutcherson said that could also be attributed to the fact that its a less well-known procedure. I think the really big issue when it comes to something like artificial insemination is that it allows people to create families that a lot of these folks unfortunately, in the Republican Party and folks who are evangelicals dont approve of: families with two moms, families with two dads, single women who are having children, she said. Price is a significant barrier to fertility care. Only 21 states require insurers to cover fertility procedures, Stateline reported. A successful birth via IVF can cost more than $60,000, according to a 2022 study published in Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology. It requires a lot more physically, emotionally and economically to be able to do IVF, Mutcherson, who conceived via IUI, said. IVF became a national reproductive rights issue in February after the Alabama Supreme Court likened frozen embryos to unborn children in a ruling. The plaintiffs were couples who sued for damages under an 1872 wrongful death of children law after their embryos were accidentally destroyed in a clinic four years ago, Alabama Reflector reported. Alabamas fertility clinics temporarily closed after the ruling until Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed legislation in March shielding providers from criminal and civil liabilities, the Reflector reported. But theres still uncertainty over whether embryos and fetuses in the state have legal personhood rights. Despite the new law, two fertility clinics in Alabama announced plans to close by the end of the year, though one denied the decision was related to the ruling. Since the Alabama ruling, polls have shown most Americans back IVF. A survey conducted by Pew in April found that 70% said IVF is a good thing, while 22% said theyre not sure, and 8% said its a bad thing. Awareness is growing, too: 42% of Americans said they or someone they know have had fertility treatments, according to a 2023 Pew poll. Nationally, Republicans and Democrats condemned the Alabama Supreme Courts ruling and filed bills seeking to protect IVF this spring, though all of them stalled in Congress. The Republican Partys platform featured support for both IVF and the equal protections clause of the 14th Amendment, which conservative legal scholars argue can be used to solidify fetal personhood along with effectively banning abortion. And in June, the Southern Baptist Convention the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. voted to condemn IVF, particularly the destruction or donation of embryos that are not implanted in the uterus. People who believe that life begins at conception, people who believe that an embryo is no different than a 5-year-old sitting in a kindergarten classroom, those are people who have really deep and abiding principles related to procedures like in vitro fertilization, Mutcherson said. The number of babies born in the U.S. using assisted reproductive technology has increased in recent years: 2.5% of newborns were conceived using fertility treatments in 2022, according to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine. Thats up from 2.3% in 2021, per federal data. I've been to North Korea more than 180 times. Here's how tourists can stay out of trouble. I've been to North Korea more than 180 times. Here's how tourists can stay out of trouble. Simon Cockerell, a tour operator, has visited North Korea more than 180 times. North Korea is opening partially to tourism for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. He said visiting can be full of pitfalls, like mentioning religion or South Korea. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Simon Cockerell, a manager at the travel agency Koryo Tours. It has been edited for length and clarity. The first time I went to North Korea, I thought I knew what to expect. I was living in Beijing at the time, which was near North Korea. I figured it would be a bit like China or a bit like Russia. There are definitely those elements, especially if you look for them; but the reality is that it is its own place. In the two decades since then, I've visited North Korea more than 180 times on various tours and trips perhaps the most of any Westerner. Tour operator Simon Cockerell on his first trip to North Korea in 2002. Pictured with a North Korean tour guide in front of a statue of North Korean leader Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang. Simon Cockerell North Korea has been closed to visitors for almost five years, but is partially opening up to tourists at the end of 2024. I've shown hundreds of visitors around the country over the years, and if you've ever thought of visiting, this is how to get the most out of a trip to North Korea. Careful what you talk about Interacting with the local people and tour guides in the country is not like meeting aliens it's actually one of my favorite things to do. The fact remains though, that when you're allowed to interact with them, you need to watch what you talk about. You don't have to go around praising North Korea's leaders, but openly criticizing Kim Jong Un is a definite no-no. I'm technically allowed to talk about what I want because I'm not a North Korean, but I am also aware that people there don't have that freedom. So if I go over there and say, "Oh, hey guys, I want to tell you the truth about your leaders, they're actually quite terrible," I'm putting them in a very, very dangerous position. Simon [far right] with Grammy-award winning singer Joss Stone [center] and North Korean tour guides at Pyongyang Airport at the end of a tour. Simon Cockerell Tourism is important to some people there, but nothing is more important than the perception of national security. You can find some common ground to talk about, but you have to work at it because your cultural references are all completely different. So you can't say, "Oh my gosh, did you see 'Deadpool & Wolverine?'" because they will have no idea what you're talking about. Absolutely no religious talk This is the most common reason foreigners get detained in North Korea. Most of the ways tourists get into trouble in North Korea is for acts that have been pre-meditated, like leaving a Bible behind, handing out religious material, or bringing in other contraband. Don't take in or leave behind contraband South Korean cultural products like Korean dramas or K-pop songs should definitely be left behind before coming into North Korea. Other things on the list include religious material and any material about North Korea published abroad, whether it's literature, guidebooks, or videos. Then you have the usual no weaponry, no narcotics. North Korea is actually very permissive about alcohol consumption, so that's OK. Steer clear of comparisons to South Korea A lot of tourists who come to North Korea have experience in South Korea as well (it's not true that visiting South Korea makes it difficult to enter North Korea). These people tend to think "Okay, this is where we will connect. Let me tell you about my life in South Korea!" The problem is that comparisons between North and South Korea tend to favor the South, and you can imagine people don't like to hear it. When we lead trips, we tell people "If this is your only conversation, maybe learn to have another conversation." Colorful dancers perform at North Korea's Arirang Mass Games in 2002, a mass event that happens every few years and features 100,000 performers. Simon Cockerell About 90% of the country is off-limits so don't wander off Part of my role as a tour operator has been to be a sort of guinea pig, visiting areas of the country the government is thinking of opening to tourism. I've seen beautiful seasides with basalt columns and other places tourists still haven't been allowed to visit. Something like 90% of the country is off-limits for tourists both legally and logistically. Horrific poverty means that there's not much infrastructure conducive to tourism outside approved areas. There are also military bases and operations throughout the country that are off-limits for obvious reasons. I would definitely advise that tourists stay with their guides at all times, and not wander off for some personal adventure. Simon's travel documents on his 180th trip to North Korea - boarding pass for Pyongyang, DPRK visa, and a well-used passport. Simon Cockerell Ask permission to take pictures Everybody likes to take photos, it's quite understandable. As tour operators, we've seen everything you can imagine. Sometimes someone will take a picture when they're not supposed to. People seem to think it's off to the gulag as soon as you do something wrong. The worst that I've seen is that they get asked to delete it and not do it again but it's always best not to try to sneak pictures when you think nobody is looking. At the end of the day, it's very simple all you have to do is not break the law. In general, if you don't think you can go into any country without breaking their laws, you probably shouldn't be anywhere near that country especially if the country is North Korea. It's the most difficult, complicated, thankless, and endlessly fascinating country I've been to. Read the original article on Business Insider JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) A Jackson homeowner fired a shot at a suspect who was fleeing from police, authorities said. Bailey Martin, press secretary for the Mississippi Department of Public Safety (DPS), said Capitol police stopped a vehicle near Village Apartments on Raymond Road. JPD searches for Shell gas station burglary suspects According to Martin, the passenger in the vehicle, Marquavious Harris, fled the scene when officers revealed he had felony warrants from Florida. Police said Harris attempted to enter a residence, and the homeowner discharged a weapon. Harris was arrested with no serious injury and charged with possession of a controlled substance by Capitol police. 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. TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese former environment minister Shinjiro Koizumi will announce his candidacy for the ruling party leadership race at a press conference on Aug. 30, broadcaster TBS reported on Friday. Koizumi, the 43-year-old son of former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, will become the latest contender for the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leadership election next month to replace Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Kishida will step down as LDP chief in September, effectively ending a three-year term as leader of the world's fourth-largest economy given the LDP's dominance in parliament. (Reporting by Tokyo Newsroom; Editing by Christopher Cushing) JD Vance is coming to Lexington for a Trump fundraiser hosted by Craft, Barr & Rogers GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance is holding a fundraiser for former President Donald Trump, his running mate, in Lexington next week. According to multiple copies of the updated invitation obtained by the Herald-Leader, Vance, a freshman senator from Ohio, is headlining a Monday fundraiser for Trumps campaign to retake the White House this November. The money raised will go directly toward the campaign, the Republican National Committee, the campaigns recount account, a political action committee funding Trumps legal battles and to various state Republican parties. The fundraiser will be hosted by GOP megadonors and Lexington residents Kelly and Joe Craft. Kelly Craft ran for governor in 2023 and was formerly a Trump-appointed U.S. ambassador to Canada and later to the United Nations during Trumps presidency. Joe Craft, a billionaire coal magnate, is one of the states most prominent philanthropists. The Crafts are leading a nationwide effort by the Republican National Committee to raise money for Trump. Tickets to attend start at $2,500 per person. The host committee level requires a couple to give or raise $100,000; a photo opportunity is $15,000. A copy of the updated invitation to attend a fundraiser for the Trump campaign in Lexington. This is not the first Trump campaign fundraiser hosted in Lexington. In May, the president himself attended a fundraiser in the Central Kentucky city. The Crafts also hosted that fundraiser. A similar fundraiser to be held on the same day featuring Vance had been planned for Pikeville, in Eastern Kentucky. Copies of that invitation circulated on social media earlier this week. The new invitation was sent out to notify attendees of a change of location to Lexington. A spokesperson for Craft has not commented on why the change was made. While the Crafts are the primary hosts of the fundraiser, several other notable Kentucky Republicans are listed as co-hosts. That includes Sixth Congressional District Congressman Andy Barr and his wife, Davis; Republican National Committee Treasurer K.C. Crosbie and her husband Scott; banker Terry Forcht and his wife Marion; Kathryn and Terry Green of Jackpot Farm; top Frankfort lobbyist John McCarthy and his wife Cindy; and Fifth Congressional District Congressman Hal Rogers. Like the initial Trump fundraiser, the money raised from donations made there go to several different accounts. According to copies of the invitation, the first $3,300 goes to the Trump for President general election account; the next $3,300 goes to the Trump for President recount account; the following $5,000 to Save America, a group thats spent tens of millions footing Trumps various legal and investigation-related bills; the next $289,100 to the Republican National Committee; and the remainder to various state Republican parties. Vance has ties to Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky in particular. Though born and raised in Ohio, he spent much time in his ancestral home of Breathitt County, where he owns land and plans to be buried. He wrote a bestselling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, that makes frequent mention of Kentucky, Appalachia and Trump-supporting rural voters. The Ohio Senator has been the focus of negative comments by Gov. Andy Beshear, who has criticized Vances positions on abortion, his early campaign comments and his ties to Kentucky. During the brief period when Beshear was being vetted to run for vice president alongside Democratic nominee Kamala Harris Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was the eventual pick the 46-year-old governor chided Vance, saying he aint from here, and making fun of his comments on soft drinks. Later, a criticism he had of Vances comments on pregnancies resulting from rape, he once called them inconvenient, drew intense criticism from conservatives. Inconvenience is traffic. I mean, its make him go through this, Beshear told MSNBC host Mika Brezinski. It is someone being violated, someone being harmed, and then telling them that they dont have options after that. That fails any test of decency, of humanity. But heres the thing it also shows they dont have any empathy at all. And a president and a vice president has to have empathy. A widely-circulated clip of Beshears answer on television cut off after the words make him go through this, and conservatives from all over the country called on Beshear to apologize. Many argued that Beshears comments amounted to him advocating for someone in Vances family to be raped, a claim which Beshear vehemently pushed back on. Vance himself weighed in. What the hell is this? Vance asked in a post to X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter. Why is (Beshear) wishing that a member of my family would get raped?!? What a disgusting person. JD Vance falsely claims that Harris wants to give undocumented immigrants $25k for homes Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, has said that Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign pledge to help first-time homebuyers would aid unauthorized immigrants. Statement: Kamala Harris wants to give $25,000 to illegal aliens to buy American homes. Sen. JD Vance, former President Donald Trumps vice presidential pick, attacked Vice President Kamala Harris campaign pledge to ease the burden costly down payments put on first-time homebuyers. "Kamala Harris wants to give $25,000 to illegal aliens to buy American homes," the Ohio Republican wrote Aug. 16 on X, formerly Twitter. "This will only further exacerbate the housing shortage in our country. It's a disgrace. We should be making it easier and more affordable for American citizens to buy homes." The Vance campaign pointed PolitiFact to Harris recently announced proposal that would provide up to $25,000 for first-time homebuyers to put toward a down payment on a home. Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, debuted the plan at an Aug. 16 campaign rally. She didnt discuss technicalities, so its unclear how the policy would be carried out or who could qualify for the assistance. Heres what we know: What is Harris down payment assistance proposal? Without providing much detail, Harris pledged down payment assistance. "As the Harris-Walz plan starts to expand the supply of entry-level homes, they will, during their first term, provide working families who have paid their rent on time for two years and are buying their first home up to $25,000 in down payment assistance, with more generous support for first-generation homeowners," the campaign said in an Aug. 16 news release. Harris also mentioned the proposal with less detail about who might qualify at the aforementioned campaign rally, Aug 16 in Raleigh, North Carolina. "We also know that as the cost of housing has gone up, the size of down payments have gone up as well," she said. "Even if aspiring homeowners save for years, it often still is not enough. So, in addition, while we work on the housing shortage, my administration will provide first-time homebuyers with $25,000 to help with the down payment on a new home." Harris did not provide many details on who would qualify, and its unclear what the proposed "assistance" would entail. Several news reports described it as "assistance," The Washington Post described it as "a $25,000 credit." The Harris campaign did not address our questions seeking more detail. In practice, what might Harris plan look like? Harris plan builds on a similar Biden administration proposal in March. Biden called on Congress to provide as much as $25,000 in down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers whose parents didn't own homes. That plan is mentioned in the 2024 Democratic Party Platform, which Democrats formally adopted Aug. 19 at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Under Harris plan, people whose parents owned homes would also qualify for assistance. In March, Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and six Democratic co-sponsors, introduced legislation that would provide up to $20,000 federal grants to help first-generation homebuyers with certain home purchase expenses, including their down payment and closing costs. Under the bill, a person would qualify for grant assistance if he or she were a first-time and first-generation homebuyer whose income wasnt more than 120% of the areas median income (or 140% of the median income if the home being purchased was in a high-cost area). Beyond that, the laws implementation would depend on the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the state-level agencies administering the funding, a Warnock spokesperson said. That bill was referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on March 12, where it awaits further action. The Harris campaign did not say whether Warnocks legislation aligned with her plan. Why did Vance claim an immigrant in the country illegally could qualify? The Vance campaign said that migrants who entered the U.S. illegally under the Biden-Harris administration could, over time, qualify for Harris down payment assistance proposal. For example, the Vance campaign told us that migrants awaiting a decision on their asylum claim which could take years given the immigration court backlog can be issued work permits and Social Security numbers. The Social Security Administration says that typically "only noncitizens authorized to work in the United States by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can get an SSN." A 2023 Congressional Research Service report found that "unauthorized noncitizens" meaning foreign nationals who entered the U.S. "without inspection," "with fraudulent documents" or who entered legally but overstayed "the terms of their temporary stay" are not eligible for employment authorization or a work-authorized Social Security number. The Social Security Administration can issue Social Security numbers that are "not valid for employment" to some noncitizens who are not authorized by the Homeland Security Department to work in the U.S. if a federal law requires the noncitizen have a Social Security number to receive a benefit or service. Most immigrants living without authorization in the U.S. are not eligible for benefits from federal programs, because the programs require Social Security numbers. Immigrants in the U.S. illegally are typically ineligible for federal Department of Housing and Urban Development housing programs. PolitiFact's ruling Vance said,"Harris wants to give $25,000 to illegal aliens to buy American homes." The GOP vice presidential nominee is filling in blanks about a proposal that we know little about. Harris has pledged to provide "working families who have paid their rent on time for two years" who are first-time homebuyers with $25,000 in down payment assistance. She has not detailed what the policy would entail or who would qualify. The Vance campaign argued that migrants could get Social Security numbers that might qualify them for down payment assistance. Social Security numbers are typically given only to noncitizens who are authorized to work in the U.S. At PolitiFact, the burden of proof is on the speaker. Having seen no specific details from Vances team that demonstrate Harris proposal would benefit immigrants in the country illegally, we rate his claim False. PolitiFact Staff Writer Maria Ramirez Uribe and Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Our sources This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: PolitiFact: JD Vance's false claim about Harris housing proposal (Bloomberg) -- The parent of China Mobile Ltd. has invested in Honor Device Co., a big boost for a fast-expanding smartphone brand that was spun out of Huawei Technologies Co. just four years ago. Most Read from Bloomberg China Mobile Communication Co., the parent of the nations leading mobile operator, has invested in the handset company, Honor said in a statement emailed to Bloomberg News. That marks the start of an alliance with a smartphone brand ranked fourth in China shipments in the June quarter, according to IDC. Both parties will give full play to their respective advantages and jointly provide consumers with a better and more innovative experience, an Honor spokesperson said on Friday. Shenzhen-based Honor split off from Huawei Technologies Co. in 2020, averting US trade sanctions that stifled the larger companys mobile business. Backed primarily by local government entities, the firm is making preparations for an initial public offering and also counts display maker BOE Technology Group Co. as an investor. The new investment gives China Mobile access to a smartphone maker just as the market begins to recover from a post-Covid funk. Average revenue per mobile user for Chinese carriers is slipping, subscriber growth is meager and digital services demand is slowing, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Marvin Lo and Chris Muckensturm. Honor has also made inroads internationally with its premium devices and a growing range of foldable handsets. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Jeanette Mitchell founded the African American Leadership Program, which eventually was incorporated into the African American Leadership Alliance of Milwaukee. Jeanette Mitchell, who founded the African American Leadership Alliance of Milwaukee in 2017 and served for three years as Milwaukee School Board president, died Sunday. Mitchell's eight-year stretch on the school board in the 1980s and '90s spanned three superintendents. She was known for her passion for education in the city. "She cared more about the kids than the institution that serves the kids," said Howard Fuller, professor emeritus of education at Marquette University who was superintendent of MPS when Mitchell was on the school board. Jeanette Mitchell served three terms as Milwaukee School Board president. She started her career in the corporate sector at Wisconsin Bell, which became Ameritech/SBC/AT&T. After more than 30 years in the business world, Mitchell worked at Bader Philanthropies as an education program officer for eight years, screening grants for local education initiatives. "She was just one of the most determined people I've ever met. And when she thought that something needed to get done, she just had this incredible determination to do it," said Dan Bader, founding CEO of what was then called the Helen Bader Foundation. During Mitchell's time at the foundation, education in Milwaukee was shifting as more charter schools were opening. Bader said she had a unique talent at connecting with people in a variety of settings, from the boardroom to the classroom. Mitchell then went back to school at Cardinal Stritch University, where she earned her doctorate in leadership for the advancement of learning and service and served as program director for the university's Leadership Center. In 2008, Mitchell founded the African American Leadership Program, which was later incorporated into the larger AALAM. "AALP was her brain child, her baby. It was, I think, one of the highlights of her life," Bader said. "It was sort of the bread and butter of what she did working with individuals and helping each individual become a leader, and doing that in the cohort model." AALAM came from a three-day planning exercise that tried to expand on the promise of AALP and imagine what African-American leadership could look like in Milwaukee, Bader said. The network aims to recruit and retain the number of African Americans in leadership roles in the city. Genyne Edwards, a partner and co-founder at P3 Development Group who worked with Mitchell across the years, said her drive to start these programs was based on her own experience. "Some of her own lived experiences as a Black professional working at Ameritech were very isolating for her, and she made a commitment to herself, as well as to herself in the Milwaukee community and others that if she had the ability and the power and influence to change that feeling of isolation and lack of support for other Black leaders," then she would, Edwards said. Last August, Mitchell was named the 2023 Business Champion by the African American Chamber of Commerce, and she was recently honored at an AALP graduation party in June, where she officially retired from the program. Recently, Mitchell continued to lead her consulting business Leadership by Dr. Jeanette and was helping consult for a new leadership initiative at Bader Philanthropies. "She wasn't done in her work in developing the African American leadership group in Milwaukee," Bader said. "It (her death) leaves a hole in the broader community, and it leaves a hole in the African American community." But her friends and family will remember her for her infectious laugh and relentless optimism. Reactions to her death have poured out on social media. Terron Snackz Edwards "Jeanette was the matriarch of our family, and a pillar of strength, wisdom and love for us all," a statement from the family reads. Bader said you knew when she was in the building just from the sound of her laughter. "I am a fundamental pessimist, and Jeanette is a fundamental optimist," Fuller said. "I'm trying to let her optimism get infused into my spirit, because that's the way she was." Mitchell is survived by her three daughters, Pamela Mitchell (Paco Zayas), Yvonne Mitchell and Yvette D. Murrell; grandson, Warren Ramsey Braden II; and siblings, Barbara Holt, Robert L. Reed Jr., Qurone Williams and Terrence Reed (Nobie Reed). The family will host a community celebration of life from 2 to 4 p.m. Sept. 14 at the Marcus Center. Memorials should be directed to the Dr. Jeanette Mitchell Legacy Fund at the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. Contact Kathryn Muchnick at KMuchnick@gannett.com or 812-568-4468. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Founder of African American Leadership Alliance Jeanette Mitchell died JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. (WATE) A substitute teacher at Jefferson Elementary School has been placed on leave pending the outcome of investigations into allegations involving inappropriate conduct, the director of Jefferson County Schools said on Friday. The Jefferson City Police Department said Friday it is investigating assault complaints made against the substitute teacher after allegations from parents and students. Knoxville Police, UT Police arrest suspect after overnight crime spree The incident allegedly occurred during school hours on 22 August, JCPD stated in a media release on Friday. JCPD investigators and school district authorities are working diligently to determine what happened. We have received reports of allegations involving inappropriate conduct of a substitute teacher at Jefferson Elementary School. Department of Childrens Services, police department, and the school district are investigating these allegations. The employee has been placed on leave pending the outcome of investigations. We have no further comment at this time. Jefferson County Schools director Tommy Arnold 6 News has obtained the personnel file of the substitute teacher at the center of the investigation. The substitute teacher has been with the Jefferson County School System since 2022. The file shows that the school system did a thorough background check and to date, there were no reprimands in the file. TBI issues Endangered Child Alert for three Knoxville children This is a developing story. Download the WATE 6 News app or sign up for our email alerts for updates. JCPD added that once the investigation is complete, the findings will be shared with the district attorney generals 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 WATE 6 On Your Side. A date has been set for Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James Mays final The Grand Tour road trip. The trio will head to Zimbabwe in Africa before going their separate ways, following reports that the presenters approved the dissolution of W Chump and Sons, which produces the series, with government agency Companies House, thus bringing an end to the programme. Prime Video has given fans an insight into what to expect from the one-off special, titled The Grand Tour: One for the Road, which will be released next month on 13 September. According to the synopsis, Clarkson, Hammond and May will take three cars theyve always wanted to own to southern Africa. Driving a Lancia Montecarlo, a Ford Capri 3-litre, and a Triumph Stag, the long-term friends will head off on a stunning road trip through beautiful and sometimes challenging landscapes leading to an emotional ending on a strangely familiar island. The end of The Grand Tour comes amid Clarksons huge success with his solo programme Clarksons Farm, which sees the presenter attempt to run the 1000-acre farm he purchased in 2008. Clarkson and Hammond hosted Top Gears first series in 2002 alongside Jason Dawe, with May replacing the latter in series two. James May, Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson in The Grand Tour' (Prime Video) The trios chemistry is one of the main reasons that the show became such a success, and they remained as presenters until Clarkson was dropped in 2015 following a behind-the-scenes incident. Hammond and May followed suit and also exited the programme in a show of support for Clarkson. Together, they created The Grand Tour, which premiered in 2016. Clarkson and Kaleb Cooper in Clarksons Farm' (Prime Video) Clarksons Farm has since become one of the biggest hits on Prime Video. Earlier this year, the TV star shared behind-the-scenes details of the show, revealing how the idea of free-grazing his pigs a rare breed called Sandy and Black ended in disaster. Clarkson had been warned by land agent Charlie Ireland that it wouldnt be as simple a task as he thought, stating: Pigs need round-the-clock care. He learnt this the hard way when many of the piglets died, with some fatally crushed by their mothers by accident. The Grand Tour: One for the Road will be released on Prime Video on 13 September. The city will face daily fines of $100 for each of two officers it has been ordered to rehire, with fines up to $20,000 total. (Fran Baltzer for the New Jersey Monitor) Jersey City could begin facing daily fines starting Saturday for refusing to reinstate two police officers whose terminations over their cannabis usage were overturned by the state Civil Service Commission. The state will fine the city $100 daily for each officer Norhan Mansour and Omar Polanco with a total maximum of $20,000. Saturday will mark 31 days since the Civil Service Commission gave the city one month to rehire the officers. Michael Rubas, attorney for the cops plus three others who were disciplined for their cannabis consumption, said he has inquired with the city police department four times since Aug. 2 about their jobs. Rubas said that Mansour and Polanco remained unemployed as of Friday. A Jersey City spokeswoman didnt respond when asked if the city would pay the fines or reinstate the officers. City spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said the department plans to appeal. As the liable entity, we will appeal as the Civil Service Commission continues to avoid the principal cause at the center of this legal dispute, she said in a statement. This comes on the heels of Rubas filing a wrongful termination lawsuit on behalf of Mackenzie Reilly, one of the other officers fired for using marijuana. Rubas says in the lawsuit that Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop is terminating cops to bring attention to his 2025 gubernatorial campaign. He has lost at every turn including in Federal Court. His actions have cost the taxpayers of Jersey City hundreds of thousands of dollars in needless attorneys fees with much more to come, Rubas said in a statement Friday. Now, those same taxpayers will be liable for thousands of dollars in fines because he refuses to comply with the lawful reinstatement orders. The city has already lost several battles in its crusade against cops using cannabis. The legal fight began when Fulop said he would defy a 2022 memo from Attorney General Matt Platkin that said the states marijuana legalization law allows police officers to consume legal cannabis off duty. Jersey City Public Safety Director James Shea sued the state over this, arguing federal law bans people who use cannabis from owning firearms and ammunition, including police officers. But the Civil Service Commission and administrative law judges have ruled that the federal guns statute does not preempt the states cannabis law. Theyve come to the same decision in three cases regarding Jersey City cops Mansour, Polanco, and Reilly, whose case was decided last week. The commission reversed Mansours unlawful removal on Aug. 2, 2023, and she was awarded back pay, seniority, benefits, and counsel fees. Polancos case was decided on Sept. 20, 2023, with the same outcome. The commission denied the citys request for reconsideration and granted Mansour and Polancos requests that it fine Jersey City for not rehiring them. Rubas said no enforcement action has been filed for Reilly because the city can still ask the commission to reconsider that ruling. Fulop continues to play political games, Rubas said. Mayor Fulop is the epitome of the saying absolute power corrupts absolutely, Rubas said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Job fair to be hosted at this community in Fresno FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) Those looking for a job are encouraged to drop by a community job fair in Fresno, Fresno Housing says. Officials with Fresno Housing are calling all job seekers to join them for a community job fair at Parc Grove Commons, located at 2674 E. Clinton Avenue in Fresno. It will be hosted on Sept. 6, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. According to officials, employers attending the job fair include: Fresno EOC Table Mountain Casino Workforce Connection Fresno County Department of Social Services Access Plus Capital State Center Community College District Sanger Unified Transportation Department Fresno County Public Authority Federal Bureau of Prisons Organizers say there are still spaces available for additional employers. For more information, contact Glenn Elizarde at gelizarde@fresnohousing.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 YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47. The Democratic National Convention in Chicago concluded Thursday night after four days of musical performances, galvanizing speeches and raucous crowds and not a single moment of stage time for Palestinian critics of Israels U.S.-backed war in Gaza. For Jon Stewart at The Daily Show, that dispiriting fact made for brutally honest comedy. They had Black Americans! Hispanic Americans! Asian Americans! Gay Americans! Jewish Americans! Palestinian Ame oh, Stewart said Thursday as his audience groaned in pained agreement. Well, to be fair, it was only four nights, eight hours a night. But really, its best not to think about the consequences of our actions over there, especially given the theme of the week, he continued before playing a montage of DNC speakers like former President Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey extolling the partys joy. Oh, it was joyful for a convention, quipped Stewart. I know what real joy looks like because Ive watched Oprah on her show. You thought people were happy to see her endorse Kamala Harris, you should see what they do when she gives them lipliner. Watch the segment below. The Israel-Gaza conflict is now in its 10th month after the surprise Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 that killed some 1,200 people. The death toll in Gaza has since risen above 40,000 people, half of whom are women and children, according to the local health ministry. Pro-Palestinian activists crashed President Joe Bidens speech on the first night of the DNC to bring attention to the continuing loss of life in Gaza and clashed with Chicago police outside the Israeli Consulate on Tuesday before the convention denied Gaza war critics a speaking slot. Abbas Alawieh, a DNC delegate from Michigan who lived through Israels U.S.-backed bombing campaign in Lebanon when he was young, was outraged by the decision to keep Gaza war critics from speaking at the convention. Vice President Harris, unfortunately, has made the decision that the child in me, the American child in me, who was certain my own government was going to kill me, is not going to get to be heard at this convention, Alawieh said Wednesday outside the DNC. CNN politics reporter Greg Krieg tweeted, Uncommitted organizers say the DNC told them Thursday nite did not work because it was Kamala Harris big night and they didnt want to do anything to distract from it. While U.S. officials, including Biden and Harris, have claimed to be fighting for a cease-fire, many critics remain skeptical about the administrations efforts to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into halting the military offensive in Gaza. The State Department confirmed only two weeks ago that U.S. aid will keep flowing to an Israeli military unit accused of human rights abuses. Leaked U.S. memos warned four months ago that Israel might be violating international law by blocking aid into Gaza. International mediators have since launched a new round of cease-fire talks in Doha, Qatar. Related... A federal judge tossed charges against two Louisville police officers who killed Breonna Taylor in 2020, dismissing claims that they attempted to search her home, and ultimately shot her, on a falsified warrant shifting the blame to her boyfriend instead. U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson wrote that the actions of Kenneth Walker, who shot at officers when they broke down the door to Taylors home after they failed to identify themselves leading him to believe they were intruders were the legal cause of death for Taylor. Louisville Police Detective Joshua Jaynes and Seargent Kyle Meany were charged in 2022 by the Department of Justice for submitting a false affidavit before the search, then colluding to concoct a false cover story in an attempt to escape responsibility, per court documents obtained by CNN. "While the indictment alleges that Jaynes and Meany set off a series of events that ended in Taylor's death, it also alleges that (Walker) disrupted those events when he decided to open fire," Judge Simpson wrote in the ruling. Charges in a separate case against Walker were dropped after attorneys argued he believed he was shooting at a home intruder, not law enforcement. There is no direct link between the warrantless entry and Taylors death, the judge wrote, while a separate Louisville officer involved in the shooting is set for retrial in October for endangering Taylor and others when he shot recklessly into her window. Taylors death, which occurred while she was asleep inside her home, spawned months of nationwide protests as the officers evaded accountability in the immediate aftermath. While one officer connected with the killing pleaded guilty, a $2 million settlement from the city of Louisville remains the only justice won for Taylor. A judge has declined to dismiss two charges, including murder, against Karen Read in the death of her Boston police officer boyfriend. Read is accused of ramming into John OKeefe with her SUV and leaving him for dead in a January 2022 snowstorm. Her two-month trial ended in July when jurors declared they were hopelessly deadlocked and a judge declared a mistrial on the fifth day of deliberations. Norfolk Superior Court Judge Beverly Cannones decision, released Friday, means the case can move forward to a new trial set to begin Jan. 27. The defense had presented evidence that four jurors said after the trial that the jury unanimously reached a not guilty verdict on second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a deadly accident and were deadlocked on the remaining manslaughter charge. Trying her again on those two charges would be unconstitutional double jeopardy, the lawyers argued. They had also reported that one juror told them no one thought she hit him on purpose or even thought she hit him on purpose. But the judge said the jurors didnt tell the court during their deliberations that they had reached a verdict on any of the counts. Where there was no verdict announced in open court here, retrial of the defendant does not violate the principle of double jeopardy. Earlier this month, Reads attorney Marty Weinberg requested that Cannone consider a range of options to prove the jury acquitted Read on the two charges. She could poll the jury, Weinberg said, on whether they reached a verdict on the three counts or bring in the four jurors to be questioned anonymously. If she didnt want to accept the defense declarations, he added, she could authorize the defense lawyers to ask the jurors whether or not they would execute an affidavit that could be two sentences we reached a final decision unanimously to acquit Ms. Read on counts 1 and 3. Prosecutors described the defenses request to drop charges of second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a deadly accident as an unsubstantiated but sensational post-trial claim based on hearsay, conjecture and legally inappropriate reliance as to the substance of jury deliberations. Assistant District Attorney Adam Lally, in the hearing earlier this month, urged Cannone to dismiss the defense motion. Lally argued that the jury never indicated they had reached a verdict on any of the charges, were given clear instructions on how to reach a verdict, and that the defense had ample opportunity to object to a mistrial declaration. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Comstock/Getty Images An Australian transgender woman has won a $10,000 legal judgment against the now-defunct app Giggle for Girls, after a judge found the apps founder unlawfully discriminated against her by banning her from the platform. On Friday, the Australian Federal Court ruled in favor of Roxanne Tickle, who sued Giggle in 2022 for alleged gender identity discrimination. Giggle, founded by Australian screenwriter Sall Grover, branded itself as a social app for all girls and required users to upload photographs of themselves to screen out men, relying on a machine-learning algorithm to filter out photos with male bone structure. Although Tickles photo was approved by the algorithm in early 2021, she was abruptly banned from Giggle several months later, leading her to file a human rights complaint and a lawsuit. In his ruling, Justice Robert Bromwich ordered Giggle to pay Tickle $10,000 (roughly $6,800 USD) in damages within 60 days, as well as her legal fees. Although Bromwich ruled that Tickle did not prove her case for direct discrimination under Australian law, he found that Giggle was liable for indirect discrimination, because their policies including the facial recognition process tended to exclude trans women. That placed Giggle in violation of Australias Sex Discrimination Act of 2013, which bans any unreasonable rule or policy that unfairly harms or excludes a specific group of people. Bromwich also noted that Grover herself displayed an openly hurtful and discriminatory attitude toward Tickle during the trial, laughing at a demeaning caricature of Tickle when it was displayed in court. The image was printed on a scented candle in Giggles online store, bearing the slogan Sweaty Balls Team Giggle, according to The Guardian. [Grovers] explanation, that it was funny in the context of the courtroom, was obviously disingenuous, Bromwich wrote in his ruling, noting also that Grover had refused to address Tickle as Ms. Tickle or with she/her pronouns during trial. It was offensive and belittling, and had no legitimate place in the respondents prosecuting their case. How Transvestigation Crawled Out of the Worst Corners of the Internet Into the Mainstream The most committed transvestigators believe a cabal of secretly trans celebrities controls the world. A self-described TERF, Grover has vehemently defended her case on social media, writing that Tickles womanhood is a legal lie and vowing to appeal her loss. But during Giggles launch in 2020, Grover insisted that she welcomed trans women on the app, even if they had a harder time passing the selfie test. According to The Verge, Grover tweeted and later deleted that the company had consulted with trans women, saying We worked with trans girls who decided it was best to be upfront with a flaw so there wasnt any hurtful misgendering. Its unclear at what point Grovers views on trans women changed, or whether she concealed her true beliefs at launch. One 2020 post by Grover clarified that transitioned trans women are welcome [...] but anyone who Self IDs cannot get onto the app, implying only trans women undergoing medical transition would be allowed. But that definition would also have included Tickle, who received gender-affirming surgery in 2019, as The Independent reported. Paula Gerber, a law professor at Monash University in Melbourne, called the decision a great win for transgender women in Australia in comments to Reuters on Friday. This case sends a clear message to all Australians that it is unlawful to treat transgender women differently from cisgender women, Gerber said. It is not lawful to make decisions about whether a person is a woman based on how feminine they appear. Get the best of whats queer. Sign up for Thems weekly newsletter here. Originally Appeared on them. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: GlobalFoundries Chinese companies have drastically increased their imports of chip production equipment, spending nearly $26 billion in the first seven months of the year, according to a Bloomberg report citing data from Chinas General Administration of Customs. This surge marks a new record, surpassing the previous peak set in 2021, as these companies prepare for potential further restrictions from the U.S. and its allies on advanced chipmaking tools. Chinese companies have particularly focused on acquiring lower-end semiconductor equipment used to make chips on mature process technologies from suppliers like ASML Holdings, Applied Materials, and Tokyo Electron. This shift to mature nodes allows Chinese fabs to develop and supply chips to other sectors of the Chinese economy, namely the automotive industry. Dutch exports to China, largely driven by purchases from ASML, reached over $2 billion in July, the second-highest monthly total on record, according to Bloomberg. Most of these tools are lithography systems used to make chips on trailing nodes. Supply of these tools has been particularly important for companies like Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) which recently became the world's second-largest pure-play foundry due to its ability to supply chips made on advanced nodes to companies like Huawei and vast manufacturing capacities focused on mature nodes as well as smaller and emerging players that specialize solely on mature and specialty nodes. There are several reasons why Chinese companies are accelerating their purchase of semiconductor production tools. On the one hand, 18 new fabs are expected to start operations in China in 2024 and these production facilities must be equipped. Over a dozen more fabs are coming online in China in the coming years. Another reason for the increase in equipment purchases is driven by concerns over tightening export controls from the U.S. and its allies. These controls, aimed at limiting China's access to advanced semiconductor production technology, have led Chinese firms to stock up on machinery while they still can. In terms of wafer starts, China is already the world's largest maker of chips. Industry group SEMI believes that China's semiconductor production capacity increased by 12% year-on-year, reaching 7.6 million wafers per month in 2023. With new fabs coming online in 2024, this growth is projected to continue with a 13% year-on-year rise, bringing capacity to 8.6 million wafers per month this year. Then, Chinese semiconductor production is expected to increase by 14% in 2025, potentially accounting for nearly a third of global output. Story continues With the export restrictions led by the U.S., Netherlands, Japan, and Taiwan, Chinese chip companies have to focus on mature nodes and because so many of new fabs specializing in trailing nodes are coming online, they start to fight for clients. Essentially, the plan is to flood the market with chips made on older nodes and push out rivals. Late last year SMIC, Hua Hong Semiconductor, and Nexchip reportedly lowered their tape-out service prices to attract Taiwanese chip design companies and fill new production capacity. As a result, some customers shifted orders from their usual partners like GlobalFoundries, PSMC, Samsung Foundry, and UMC to Chinese contract makers of chips. In response, Taiwan's UMC and PSMC as well as South Korea's Samsung Foundry reduced their prices by 5% to 15% to stay competitive. Cesar Espinosa, executive director of FIEL Houston, speaks during a 2021 press conference about an eviction aid fair outside of the George Thomas Mickey Leland Federal Building in Houston. Credit: Mark Felix for The Texas Tribune A Houston judge on Friday denied Attorney General Ken Paxtons effort to shut down an immigrants' rights organization that his office accused of violating nonprofit rules by making political statements criticizing prominent Republicans and Texas policy. Harris County District Judge Ravi K. Sandill rejected a request for a temporary injunction by Paxtons office and stopped the case from proceeding. Last month, Paxtons office sued FIEL a Spanish acronym for Familias Inmigrantes y Estudiantes en la Lucha, which translates to Immigrant Families and Students in the Fight and asked the judge to shut down the organization, claiming that it violated federal rules governing nonprofits political involvement when it criticized former President Donald Trump, Gov. Greg Abbott and a new state immigration law. FIEL, which is run by immigrants, offers education, social and legal services to immigrant families in the region. We hope todays ruling will let us go back to whats really important, which is serving our membership, FIEL Executive Director Cesar Espinosa said in a statement. We look forward to continuing our work with the community. Paxtons office claimed that the group violated federal rules barring nonprofit organizations from participating in political campaigns, carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempt to influence legislation. FIEL had criticized Abbott on social media and encouraged its followers to vote against Trumps immigration proposals, and it advocated against Senate Bill 4, a 2023 state law that would let Texas police arrest people suspected of having entered the country illegally the law remains tied up in court challenges. Paxtons office, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, asked the judge to halt FIELs operations and dissolve the organization. FIELs lawyers responded that the group was exercising its First Amendment rights to free speech, and in court filings pointed to nonprofits that make political statements in support of conservative ideas and policies. We hope this is permanently the end of this case, FIEL lawyer Fatima Menendez, of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, said Friday. Paxtons office has also sued a migrant shelter network in El Paso and tried to depose the leader of a migrant shelter in the Rio Grande Valley, alleging that the groups engaged in human smuggling. Judges in those cases have so far rejected Paxtons arguments. His office has also reportedly sent information-seeking letters to Angeles Sin Fronteras in Mission and Team Brownsville, which provide basic necessities to migrants such as food and water. TribFest Keynotes Announced! Be there when Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin take the keynote stage at The Texas Tribune Festival! Whitmer will talk with Texas Tribune co-founder Evan Smith about her memoir, her key victories in Michigan and the importance of every vote. Youngkin and Smith will close out TribFest with a conversation about his record, the state of his party and a conservative policy agenda for America. Explore the full program of 300+ speakers and 100+ events. Get tickets today. SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) Nicholas Rossi, the man who was extradited from Scotland to Utah to face 2008 rape allegations, appeared in court Thursday afternoon for his Salt Lake County preliminary hearing. After hearing arguments from the state, Judge Lawrence ruled that the state had fulfilled its burden of evidence, meaning there was enough evidence of the crime presented to constitute a jury trial. BACKGROUND INFO: Nicholas Rossi is in Utah, heres what to know Prosecutors interviewed Detective Derek Coats who formerly worked for the Department of Public Safety and investigated both the Salt Lake County and Utah County rape cases. He said he matched the DNA from a 2008 rape kit in Utah County to a convicted sex offender in Ohio. Coats said the offender was identified as Nicholas Rossi whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian. Rossi continues to claim he is actually Arthur Knight and not the man prosecutors say he is. Coats said he became the lead investigator on the Utah rape cases in 2020 and spoke with the Salt Lake County victim who led him to the house where she said Rossi used to live. Coats said he found records indicating that Rossi had previously lived in that residence. There was no DNA sample available for the Salt Lake County case. Rossi has been accused of faking his death to escape the Utah rape charges. In both cases, Rossi allegedly trapped the victims in his home and sexually assaulted them. According to Utah County court documents, Rossi also faces charges related to sexual assault, harassment, and possible kidnapping that took place between 2007 and 2019 in Rhode Island, Ohio and Massachusetts. Four years ago, Rossi allegedly told Rhode Island media that he had late-stage, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and had only weeks left to live. According to the Associated Press, an online obituary claimed he died on Feb. 29, 2020. The following year, Rossi was allegedly arrested in a Glasgow hospital while being treated for COVID-19 for an unrelated incident. He was then recognized as a fugitive and extradited to the United States, according to the Associated Press. Rossi claims he is an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who has never visited the U.S. and was framed by authorities. The Associated Press contributed to this 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 ABC4 Utah. The Montana State Capitol on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, a day after the legislature adjourned the 2023 session. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan) A district court judge last week struck down two more parts of law passed during the past two legislative sessions surrounding Montana ballot issues, saying that a provision that prohibits a ballot measure from being filed if a similar one was defeated within the past four years, and another that required a legislative committee to review each initiative are unconstitutional. But Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Mike Menahan upheld other parts of the ballot initiative process first passed in 2021 and tweaked by Senate Bill 93 in 2023, saying the 10 plaintiffs who sued the governor, attorney general and secretary of state had not proven they violated the constitution in their request for summary judgment. The group of plaintiffs, which includes former Constitutional Convention delegates and former elected officials, sued over SB93 in May 2023, saying the additional requirements for proponents to try to get initiatives and constitutional amendments onto the ballot violated their constitutional rights. In February, Menahan agreed that a $3,700 filing fee to propose an initiative was unconstitutional, saying it was a hindrance to Montanans ability to participate in the electoral process. He also found unconstitutional any review of an issue by the attorney general that goes beyond whether the proposal complies with statutory requirements. But the plaintiffs continued to push to have other parts of the initiative review process changed by SB93 declared unconstitutional, and asked Menahan for summary judgment on the eight remaining portions of statute they challenged. Two parts of law struck down In his Aug. 13 order, Menahan sided with the plaintiffs on two of those challenges and with the state on the remaining six. He found the plaintiffs did have standing to challenge the part of the law that prohibits proponents from filing an initiative if it is substantially the same as a measure defeated by voters within the past four years. The world of politics is a changing world in which circumstances leading to the defeat of a ballot issue may change significantly between elections and voters may approve a previously unsuccessful ballot initiative, Menahan wrote. The state had argued the prohibition was in place to keep the same rejected measures from coming up for voters every couple of years, would make voter confusion less likely and would preserve state resources. But Menahan sided with the plaintiffs, saying the portion of law violated Article III of the state Constitution that says people may enact laws by initiative on all matters except appropriations of money and local or special laws. Menahan called the prohibition an arbitrary hurdle to Montanans participating in the initiative process, said voters could reject initiatives for various reasons because legal and political landscapes change, and noted that the legislature has no similar prohibition on bringing up the same bills in consecutive sessions even if they were previously rejected. Indeed, such a restriction would place an unconstitutional imitation on legislative power vested in the legislature under Article V, Section 1 of the Montana Constitution, Menahan wrote. Menahan also declared unconstitutional the requirement that interim legislative committees consider ballot initiatives before proponents can go out to gather signatures and give them a favorable or unfavorable vote whose results go on the face of the ballot petition. Senate Republicans have fiercely defended that portion of law, now declared unconstitutional, this year. When the Montana Supreme Court found that the constitutional amendment initiative CI-128, which would put abortion protections into the state constitution, did not have to go through a legislative committee review because the attorney general never found the initiative legally sufficient the court did the Republicans on the Law and Justice Interim Committee decided to hold a hearing anyway despite the vote not going onto the petition. Republicans on the Select Committee for Judicial Oversight and Review this week discussed drafting a committee bill that would require every initiative to go through a committee review and vote in an attempt to close what they see as a loophole after the Supreme Courts decision. But Menahan said the entire legislative review amounted to an unconstitutional and unnecessary hurdle in the petition process and said the legislature was needlessly involving itself in a process it has no rights to under the constitution. The initiative and referendum process established in the Montana Constitution is intentionally separate from the legislatures lawmaking authority, Menahan wrote. By requiring ballot proponents to include the legislatures position on the face of their petitions, legislators have unlawfully inserted themselves into the peoples independent lawmaking process. Menahan said he was unconvinced by the states argument that the committee vote helps the public better exercise their political rights by expressing their opinions on a proposal through public comment. The initiative process specifically eschews the idea the people need the legislatures participation or approval to exercise their political rights, Menahan wrote. If the legislature wishes to express an opinion on the proposed initiatives, it may do so through the voter information pamphlet after the initiative proponents have collected the necessary signatures to certify an initiative for the ballot. Judge denies summary judgment on other claims Menahan sided with the state on the remaining issues. He found the secretary of state has the authority to reject proposed initiatives if the final text is substantively different than the original language submitted to legislative services or if the attorney general finds one is legally insufficient. He also found that the harm to business statement the attorney general can put on a petition if it would do significant material harm to business interests in the state is constitutional because it does not interfere with a proponents ability to advocate for or collect signatures for the initiative or their ability to participate in the process, in general. If an individual ballot proponent wishes to challenge the imposition of a harm to business statement on a specific ballot petition, the issue may be examined in context, Menahan wrote. However, based on the information currently before the court, plaintiffs have not established the harm to business statement requirement is unconstitutional in all applications. He similarly found that the attorney general may put a fiscal impact statement on a petition because it must be position neutral, cannot advocate for or against the initiative, and does not interfere with proponents ability to advocate for the initiative. He said the same happens for bills during the legislative session, which he said provides important, content neutral information to potential voters. Menahan also rejected plaintiffs contention that the constitution does not allow the attorney general to reject proposed initiative language because it is legally insufficient, saying the Montana Supreme Court has upheld that review process several times since it took effect in 1977, including during the fight earlier this year over CI-128. While the attorney general does not have the authority to make any determinations regarding the substantive legality of the proposed issue if approved by voters, it is not unconstitutional for the attorney general to review a petition for compliance with statutory and constitutional requirements governing submission of the proposed issue to the qualified electors, Menahan wrote in the order. He sided with the state on the final two issues in contention as well. The plaintiffs had argued that the additional review steps in the process caused unnecessary delays in their efforts to participate in running a ballot initiative. Menahan wrote while he appreciates the argument about the difficulties proponents face, the legislature is allowed to create law that facilitates how the peoples power of initiative and referendum is exercised. A statute may facilitate the process without being strictly necessary to the process. For instance, a fiscal note is not necessary to the process, but it does facilitate the process by providing potential ballot petition signers with relevant, position neutral data, Menahan said. And he agreed that proponents of an initiative who want to employ paid signature gatherers can be charged a fee in order to do so under the constitution. The statute says that fee cannot be more than $100 or an amount set by the secretary of state, but the secretary currently charges $0. Menahan said unlike the $3,700 fee, which he found unconstitutional, the fee for employing paid signature gatherers is not a hurdle in the participation process but rather a standard administrative fee. A reasonable filing fee in this context will not prevent initiative proponents from participating in the process because they have the option to engage volunteer signature gatherers, thus avoiding the registration requirement entirely, or seek a fee waiver by demonstrating financial hardship, he wrote. Provided the filing fee remains reasonably related to the cost of administering the registration system, the registration fee is not unconstitutional. Menahans order is not the final step in the case; the plaintiffs could try to take the issues that he has not granted summary judgment on to trial or could drop the remainder of the case. The state could also appeal the decisions that declared portions of the law unconstitutional. Attorney John Meyer, who is representing the plaintiffs, said Thursday he was considering the next steps in the case and whether to move forward with the summary judgment orders as they stand or to appeal any of the decisions that went in the defendants favor. The Governors Office and Attorney Generals Office did not respond Thursday afternoon to requests for comment on the judges order and questions about whether they planned to appeal. Order Plaintiffs Second Motion for Partial Summary Judgment Denied in Part, Granted in Part A Travis County judge has issued a court order temporarily halting Austin from having 13 local charter amendments on the Nov. 5 general election ballot with several key voting deadlines weeks away. The order halting any further action is temporary and is set to expire Sept. 5, and a full court hearing is currently scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 29, at 9 a.m. Thursday's temporary restraining order issued by state District Judge Daniella DeSeta Lyttle stemmed from a lawsuit filed against the Austin City Council by the Save Our Springs Alliance that claims the city violated the Texas Open Meetings Act when it placed the slate of proposed charter amendments on the Nov. 5 ballot. The lawsuit was filed earlier this week by attorney Bill Aleshire on behalf of the alliance, an environmental nonprofit; its executive director, Bill Bunch; and Joe Riddell, a former staff attorney in the Texas attorney general's office. Aleshire is a former Travis County judge. The suit was filed on the last day Texas municipalities could order an election. It asserts that the city's governing body violated both the public participation requirements and the public notice requirements of the act when it authorized the election at a hearing last Wednesday because all of the proposed amendments were compressed into one agenda item, rather than each one being taken up individually. This limited the amount of time a person could speak on the amendments and did not give substantial public notice on what the amendments would change, the lawsuit claims. The proposed charter amendments include raising the threshold of signatures needed for a recall election of a City Council member from 10% of registered voters in the council member's district to 15%, giving the City Council the authority to appoint and remove the city attorney, and requiring that initiative elections and citizen-initiated charter elections occur in even-year November general elections. DeSeta Lyttle, when issuing the ruling during the emergency hearing, agreed with the nonprofit that the City Council "did not provide adequate notice" of its Aug. 14 meeting "to approve the election order." "The court further finds that plaintiffs will likely suffer irreparable injury because, with the imminent deadlines to prepare ballots for a November 5, 2024 election, the ballots may be prepared and mailed before plaintiff's claims can be adjudicated in the District Court," DeSeta Lyttle said, adding that if a temporary restraining order is not issued, the Nov. 5 election on the charter amendments would be held without the City Council having "having strictly complied" with portions of the Texas Open Meetings Act. "The judge said everything that needs to be said," Aleshire told the American-Statesman after Thursday's emergency hearing. "If they proceeded with the election, it would be illegal because they violated the Open Meetings Act in calling it." A city of Austin spokesperson said the city could not immediately comment on the ruling Thursday. City spokesperson David Ochsner provided a statement to the American-Statesman on Monday in response to the initial lawsuit: Following a lengthy and robust charter amendment process that included multiple opportunities for public input, we are aware of the lawsuit that SOS filed today that challenges the August 14 charter amendment election ordinance. The city stands by the process used. Clark Richards, an attorney representing the city of Austin and the Austin City Council, said during Thursday's hearing prior to the ruling that the city did not violate the state's Open Meetings Act and that the order, even if temporary, would deprive citizens the right to vote on the charter amendments because it would affect the ability to meet key voting deadlines in September. Some of those deadlines, according to a presentation from Richards and his paralegal during the hearing, include the Travis County deadline to proof ballots on Sept. 5 and the Sept. 20 deadline for absentee and military ballots to be mailed. "If the court grants a TRO (temporary restraining order), none of these deadlines can be met," Richards said during the hearing before the order was issued. It was noted by Aleshire that the deadline to finalize ballots in Hays and Williamson counties is Friday, Aug. 30, the day after the court hearing is scheduled. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Judge temporarily halts Austin charter amendments on ballot Gov. Jim Justice said that his administration will increase its funding for state programs that provide in-home care for people with disabilities, seniors and others in hopes of addressing a workforce shortage. (The Good Brigade | Getty Images) Gov. Jim Justice announced Thursday that his administration will increase its funding for state programs that provide in-home care for people with disabilities, seniors and others in hopes of addressing a workforce shortage. The funding will go toward a 15% Medicaid reimbursement rate increase for providers that serve vulnerable adults and children in state waiver programs. The money is meant to improve pay for direct care workers, who currently earn around $11 an hour, but there is no requirement on how providers spend the money. A 2023 survey said West Virginia needed to increase its rate of reimbursement and the worker salary range to $15.50-$18.60 per hour; the new rate increase, which goes into effect Oct. 1, reflected the studys recommendations. We can get some more bucks to these great people who are absolutely doing Gods work, Justice said. Im just tickled to death to do that. Companies that employ direct care workers have said the rate increase, which was well below neighboring states, was necessary to employ and retain its workforce. Eric Hicks, board president of the West Virginias chapter of the Home Care Association of America, anticipated home care wages being increased by agencies statewide. He noted that West Virginia was one of the nations most elderly states. This investment allows West Virginia seniors and those with disabilities to age in their homes with dignity, Hicks said. Home care saves both families and the state from the enormous costs of long-term care facilities, which the Department of Human Services recently reported poses a $200-plus million annual additional taxpayer risk to the Medicaid program. Senior centers across the state, which provide in-home care to elderly residents through Medicaid, have also struggled to keep enough workers. Jennifer Brown, president of the West Virginia Directors of Senior and Community Services, said the rate increase would allow senior care providers to offer competitive salaries. This will enable our members to continue our vital mission of caring for, transporting and providing meals to seniors in West Virginia who are in the greatest need of assistance, she said. Our group of providers offers comprehensive services to seniors, prioritizing their well-being over profits. In-home care is also a cost-saving measure for the state as paying for long-term care, like nursing homes and psychiatric facilities, is much more expensive During the May special session, lawmakers gave DoHS $180 million in a reserve fund that they could use to improve Medicaid reimbursement rates. Lawmakers declined to mandate that DoHS spend the money to increase the rates after learning the department had spent money earmarked for people with disabilities on things like in-home COVID-19 tests. While the Justice administration delayed action on the rate increase, a group home in Martinsburg for people with disabilities, many without family members, announced its closure earlier this month. Companies providing in-home care to seniors laid off workers due to financial loss. A press release from Justices office did not specify how much the rate increase would cost or where the funding would come from. Spokespeople for Justice and DoHS did not respond to questions for this story by deadline. DoHS did not require providers to use a certain amount of the reimbursement amount on increasing workers salaries. Disability Rights West Virginia Legal Director Mike Folio applauded the rate increase, but said that it was still millions of dollars short of what was needed as the state has infinitely institutionalized more people with disabilities. DoHS hasnt increased rates in more than 10 years and the rate increases are not tied to a wage pass-through to guarantee that the increased revenue will be used to bolster front-line workers wages, he said. Hiring and retention are necessary to end the skyrocketing number of involuntary commitments, but the rate increase gives providers free reign to spend the new revenue on management lunches and trips and not on workers wages. The state Bureau for Medical Services plans to monitor the impact of increased rates on worker pay and member access to services to determine if the increased rates are having the desired effect on workforce availability and tenure, according to a press release. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX RealPage, which makes property management software, was sued Friday by the U.S. Justice Department and eight attorneys general for allegedly helping apartment and building managers around the country collude to drive up unit prices. The Richardson, Texas-based outfit is accused of contracting with rival landlords to absorb info about their rates and lease terms to train RealPage's recommendation algorithms, and in the process discouraging competition among property owners who defer to the company's recommendations on pricing and other terms. It's the DOJ's first big algorithmic collusion case and comes as rent in the U.S. skyrockets, climbing 33% since March 2020, according to Zillow. RealPage, which was acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo in 2021 for $10.2 billion, commands 80% of the market for commercial revenue management software for conventional multi-family housing rentals in the U.S., according to the lawsuit. The company denies any wrongdoing. It was historic. It felt historic. Kamala Harris became the presidential nominee for the Democratic Party on Thursday night, delivering a rousing and confident acceptance speech after a full week of rocket-like momentum driven by a nonstop stream of political stars in Chicagos United Center. Harris relayed her own very American story as the child of two immigrants from widely disparate cultures who came to America chasing their own dreams. The path that led me here in recent weeks was unexpected, but Im no stranger to unlikely journeys, she said as she effectively reintroduced herself to voters. She detailed her career in public service, as a prosecutor, San Francisco District Attorney, Attorney General of California, then Senator and eventually Vice President. To be clear, my entire career, Ive only had one client: the people, she said. She contrasted this to Donald Trump, who Harris reminded viewers is a felon and a billionaire who only fights for himself and his billionaire friends. And in a particularly deft moment, she expressed full throated support for Israel and for Palestinian independence, while also calling for the release of all hostages taken by Hamas and the end of the war Gaza. Ultimately, the Vice President sought to reclaim for Democrats concepts like patriotism and military support as well as issues related to the border, arguing for a vision of American based on cooperation and community and safety, and freedom. That theme of freedom in particular has resonated with supporters since Harris became the presumptive Democratic nominee a month ago. The campaign has heavily emphasized the fight for abortion rights and the multicultural nature of American culture, as well as the right to vote. Indeed, before the nights programming even began, a substantial portion of the audience filed in dressed all in white save for Harris Alpha Kappa Alpha sisters, who proudly wore their pink, green and pearls in honor of the suffragette movement that earned women the right to vote. For many women in the United Center on Thursday night, it wasnt their first convention. But they unanimously agreed that any previous ones couldnt compare to Chicagos event, as Harris campaign has energized the base and united the party. Staci Fox attended the 2008 convention as a delegate for Florida, and told TheWrap that even though you knew there was something really special that night there is no comparison. On the fourth night of the convention, and almost exactly one month after President Biden officially dropped out, Fox added that the excitement was just as palpable for Harris as the day he endorsed her as his successor. Its almost like we just found out still, were still getting used to the news, she said. And lets just hope that things hang on for 75 more days. Similarly, Donna West a current Nevada delegate attended the 2016 convention and noted that it was far less unified among the Democratic party. There were still a lot of Bernie supporters, and so there were, you know, both groups in the audience, she recalled to TheWrap on Wednesday. Here, its much more united. Theres so much more energy. She added that a lot was learned from the Trump administration, and the renewed excitement of the Harris/Walz ticket has been contagious. Trying to describe this to people at home that want to know what its like to be in the room, because I guess its amazing on TV, I said, Well, its a thousand times more exciting sitting there,' she added. Andi Ortiz for TheWrap For Sonjui Kumar, a member of the South Asians for Harris organization which a month ago was South Asians for Biden this week did mark her first convention. For her and her fellow members, Harris candidacy is extra personal. I mean, any South Asian and Im a lawyer any South Asian lawyer will give you a story about knowing Kamala Harris for the last two decades, she told TheWrap on Thursday. She has been part of the legal community, the South Asian community, and a force for Black communities for her whole career. Kumar added that there is no duplication of the energy in the room, nor of the impact Harris has had on the organization. Shes created unity even within the South Asian community, Kumar said, explaining that the group often varies in political ideologies. That unity was something Harris echoed in her acceptance speech, saying We have so much more in common than what separates us. In unity there is strength. Stella Camerlengo was also attending her first political convention at just 19 years old, preparing to vote in the presidential election for the first time in her life. In fact, she was the youngest delegate from Michigan at the event, and the communications director for the Michigan College Democrats. It has been electric, she told TheWrap as the crowd waited for the first speakers to take the stage on Thursday night. For her, it was refreshing and empowering to see a younger candidate step in particularly a female one. The past 46 presidents, weve had a man, upon a man, upon a man, upon a man. And they truly dont know what its like to experience life as a woman, she lamented. But more than that, Camerlengo was delighted at the fact that she sees a little bit of myself in Harris. It makes me so emotional even thinking about it, she said. The post Kamala Harris Accepts Historic Nomination for Presidency in Confident, Celebratory Speech Capping Week of Democratic Momentum appeared first on TheWrap. The final night of the Democratic National Convention was lively and eventful. It featured an adorable presentation by Kerry Washington and Kamala Harris great-nieces explaining how to pronounce their aunties name, a gripping appearance by the Exonerated Five to remind the country that former President Donald Trump called for them to be executed, and unfounded rumors of a celebrity surprise. But the highlight was the closing speech by Vice President Kamala Harris as she accepted the Democratic presidential nomination and shared her story and plans for the future. Harris lays out her past and an extremely serious choice for the future After greeting her family and thanking President Joe Biden for choosing her and their work together, Harris started her speech by sharing stories of her parents, who met at a civil rights gathering, and the values instilled in her through her upbringing. She accepted the nomination, promising to govern and fight for all Americans just as she has fought for the public in her roles as prosecutor and senator. Halfway through her speech, Harris turned to her opponent and the stakes of the choice to be made in November. In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man, she proclaimed, but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious. Harris: In many ways Donald Trump is an unserious man, but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serioushe tried to throw away your votes. When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the Capitol where they assaulted law enforcement officers pic.twitter.com/muKQlUGMfe Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 23, 2024 Simply put, they are out of their minds Harris recounted Trumps past wrongdoings, including attempted election interference and the January 6 insurrection, as well as his criminal convictions and losses in civil court. She also pointed toward the dangers of a second Trump term, warning of Project 2025 and policies such as cutting Social Security, eliminating the Department of Education and Head Start program and repealing the Affordable Care Act. She also talked about the impact of the repeal of Roe v. Wade and warned of the prospects of a national abortion ban and forcing states to report womens miscarriages and abortions to a national anti-abortion coordinator. Summing it up, Harris declared, Simply put, they are out of their minds. Kamala Harris: Simply put, they are out of their minds pic.twitter.com/Yh8EJmkers Acyn (@Acyn) August 23, 2024 Harris on Americas role in the world Harris also discussed her proposed foreign policy, including strengthening the American military while supporting Ukraine and NATO allies while standing up to adversaries and dictators. Most notably, she addressed the war in Gaza, which has been the source of protests from uncommitted progressive voters within the Democratic Party. Harris condemned the October 7 attack by Hamas and pledged to defend Israel from attack but also acknowledged that what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. Recognizing so many innocent lives lost in Gaza, she reiterated that she and Biden seek a ceasefire and a release of the hostages being held in Gaza. Harris endorses a Gaza ceasefire & adds that she will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself, saying "the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused." But she adds, "what has happened in Gaza is devastating" pic.twitter.com/mAStObrsNv Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 23, 2024 Overall, Harris laid out a clear set of policies she plans to implement and made plain the contrast between her and her opponent, delivering a commanding closing speech for a Democratic National Convention that has seen a variety of standout moments. And she did so while captivating and energizing the already hyped crowd of party representatives and family, including her niece Amara, whose image was captured by a New York Times photographer as she watched her Auntie Kamala speak. Vice-President Kamala Harris great-niece, Amara, watches her auntie accept the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. Photo via NYT pic.twitter.com/URB17y80Dq Yashar Ali (@yashar) August 23, 2024 Less than three months before Election Day, the Harris campaign hopes to maintain this enthusiasm and continue making the case to Americans nationwide for Harris as president. Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president Thursday, pledging her election would present to the nation a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past and create a chance to chart a new way forward. I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self, to hold sacred Americas fundamental principles, from the rule of law to free and fair elections to the peaceful transfer of power, Harris said. I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations, a president who leads and listens, who is realistic, practical and has common sense and always fights for the American people from the courthouse to the White House. That has been my lifes work, she said. Harris was greeted with a three-minute standing ovation by thousands of delegates and political activists who crowded into the United Center, prompting officials to deny entrance to hundreds of others for safety reasons. In a 36-minute address, Harris vowed she would aim to secure a middle-class tax cut, restore federal protections for abortion and that she would renew the effort for a bipartisan bill to deal with the nations porous border. At the same time, she provided a contrast with Republican rival former President Donald Trump and warned that his return to the White House would also mean a return to a chaotic presidency but with no guardrails. In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious, she said. Consider not only the chaos and calamity when he was in office, but also the gravity of what has happened since he lost the election, she said. She noted the deadly Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol and his promise to pardon those convicted in the insurrection, his vow to imprison those he views as political enemies, as well as his conviction on felony business fraud charges in New York and a finding by another New York jury that he was liable for sexual abuse. Trump, she said, would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States, not to improve your life, not strengthen our national security, but to serve the only client he has ever had: himself. America, she said, we are not going back. I see a nation that is ready to move forward, ready for the next step, Harris said. In America, where we hold fast to the fearless belief that built our nation and inspired the world, that here in this country that anything is possible, that nothing is out of reach. Harris also said she and President Joe Biden were continuing to work to find an end to Israels war on Hamas that has led to the deaths of more than 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza. Such a ceasefire plan would ensure Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self determination. Pro-Palestinian supporters protesting against U.S. military support for Israel provided the only discordant note to a convention that focused on unity and found Democrats pushing a strong flag-waving patriotic picture. Our opponents are out there every day denigrating America, talking about how terrible everything is, said Harris, 59. America, let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for: freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness and endless possibility, she said. Harris speech occurred on her 10th wedding anniversary to first gentleman Doug Emhoff, who joined he in the United Center. While Harris spoke at the United Center, several thousand people gathered three miles away at Soldier Fields southern end for a free watch party on the stadiums jumbotron. Attendees some sporting campaign buttons and holding signs immediately rose when Harris appeared on the screen. Numerous were teary eyed. Some held their hands to their hearts. And many stayed on their feet for more than 30 minutes as she spoke. Harris speech brought to a close the every-four-year political spectacle filled with energetic exuberance from thousands of delegates while calming the angst of many Chicagoans who had looked to the event with uncertainty. In the end, party officials expressed happiness with how the convention was pulled off after they had to make a rapid change in programming to reflect Harris as the nominee. And fears of much hyped, large scale violent protests went unrealized and instead were limited to smaller physical confrontations with Chicago police. Harris speech also formally launched the fall presidential campaign and a rapid sprint to the Nov. 5 general election. It also capped a quick and seemingly improbable turn of political events that propelled her into the spotlight. Her acceptance speech comes just 56 days after the 81-year-old Bidens halting and stumbling performance in a debate against the 78-year-old Trump forced the president into a defensive posture amid warnings from party leaders that both his reelection chances and those of Democrats down the ballot were in jeopardy. And it was only 32 days ago when Biden announced his surprise decision to drop out of the race and endorse Harris as his successor for the nomination. Democrats moved with alacrity to embrace her as the new candidate as well as her choice for running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Now, the former district attorney from San Francisco, attorney general of California and U.S. senator who joined Biden on the Democratic ticket four years ago is in a historic position as the first Black and South Asian American female to become a major political partys nominee offering voters a new and younger choice in a race that had been destined to become a contest between the two oldest men to ever seek the presidency. Biden and First Lady Jill Biden called Harris before she arrived at the United Center to wish her luck, the White House said. As Democratic Party delegates awaited her convention closing night acceptance address, they and party activists also tackled how to transform an enthusiastic week of speeches, parties and pep rallies in Chicago into successful sales pitches for voters at home to win in November. Vickie Vogel, 76, of Austin, Texas a capital city referred to as the blueberry in the apple pie in reference to it being a Democratic enclave in a traditionally Republican state said she knows the drill: knocking on doors and organizing phone banks as she has always done. Its very hot in Texas right now, so were going to have to suck it up, Vogel said of her voter outreach plans when she returns home. Weve just got so much rural area. Its hard to door knock in rural areas. Ive done it. Spread out on a half acre, you walk a long ways and not see many people, she said. But youve got to have that personal contact. You do what needs to be done. Speaking to the New Hampshire delegation Thursday morning in a small, tightly packed ballroom, Gov. JB Pritzker acknowledged the jubilant feelings inside the United Center but offered a caveat. This is not going to be easy. Its a lot of fun over at the United Center, and we feel the momentum of it all, but its going to take a lot of work. Seventy-five days. Seventy-five days, not too many, he said. Later, speaking to the Nevada delegation, Pritzker likened the sprint to the Nov. 5 general election to European snap elections. When we get back, I know were all going to work, but then when youve got free time at night, on the weekends, we have to pick up the phone and make phone calls. We have to knock on doors. Weve got to make sure people get out to vote, he said. We have to make sure they know that this is the most important election of our lifetime. State Rep. La Shawn Ford of Chicago compared the convention to a charging station for your vehicle. You have delegates from across the country here and they are getting charged up to go to work, Ford said. Our job isnt done when a convention is over. Our job continues until we get Kamala and Walz elected, he said. I think you just tell the truth and you tell people whats at stake and when they find out the truth and get the Democrats message out, not only will Democrats vote for a Kamala and Walz ticket, independents and Republicans will vote for the Kamala Harris-Walz ticket. Former Illinois state Sen. Jacqueline Collins of Chicago said she thinks the message for departing delegates has been clear. Even though, through all the euphoria, the enthusiasm, many of the speakers are framing the work ahead. Theyre saying that it is an uphill battle. And what that means is action. Action must follow. And lets do what is necessary. Knock on doors. When were standing in line in the grocery stores, talking to our neighbors, picking up a phone, Collins said. I think weve got the message that going forward, the work still yet needs to be done. And it is going to be an uphill battle. She is the underdog. We cant be swayed by any distractions, she said. We know that the attacks are going to come as well. We need to be prepared for that. We need to quell any rumors that we might have. And for those young adults that are on social media, they have a role to play as well. Collins said Democrats learned a lesson from Hillary Clintons loss to Trump in 2016 something former President Bill Clinton mentioned in his Wednesday night address. He said (there was) enthusiasm as well. And the polls were very good for her. But the work was not done on the ground, right? So, I think thats what needs to be done. Again, I think everybodys going to pull on that theme and challenge us to pick up the charge, she said. Dont be persuaded by the polls or the enthusiasm. Work has to be done. And the success comes from the ground troops. she said. State Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado of Chicago said sitting with her Illinois delegation colleagues on the floor of the United Center has been a very infectious thing. Im in awe of all of the people who Ive seen on the stage but also the people who Ive got a chance to meet here during this process, she said. And so, it just gives you that extra push when you go back into the neighborhoods and youre out knocking on doors or youre out talking to people. Delgado acknowledged, Im going to come out of here sleep-deprived but reinvigorated to go out there and deliver the message not only of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz but also of all of the Democrats that are running for office within the state of Illinois. U.S. Rep. Sean Casten of Downers Grove said he doesnt need to replicate the conventions enthusiasm for the newly minted ticket to his voters. He said it already exists outside the United Center. Related Articles Theres just this amazing enthusiasm and folks who have wanted to come here and folks who are leaving here energized, Casten said. Ive gotten more and more requests from constituents back home saying, Im kind of feeling some FOMO right now. Is there any way you can get me into some of (these) parties? Can I go and be a part of this? he said, using slang for fear of missing out. And theres this wonderful momentum right now where the more that Harris feels, I dont want to say inevitable, but likely and transformative and history-making, and something of joy, the more you have people saying, I want to be able to tell my kids that I was there and I played a role and I participated. Veteran U.S. Rep. Danny Davis of Chicago said that with Illinois traditional blue-state background in presidential elections, hes shifting focus to the swing state of Wisconsin as he has done in the past. Im trying to get my people to go to Milwaukee, Davis said. We go up on a Saturday morning, get there about 10, 11 oclock, knock on doors until 4 or 5, get back on the bus. Weve got at least two busloads lined up now ready to go. State Sen. Adriane Johnson of Buffalo Grove said she thinks ultimately that the convention message to sell about the Harris-Walz ticket is a simple one. Well, you know what? I feel like throughout this convention, we have resurrected hope, she said. And so just letting people know that we have incessant hope at this point, lots of joy. Tribune reporter Karina Atkins contributed. Yellow still has 46 owned and 70 leased locations to sell. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves) A Delaware bankruptcy court ruled Friday that Yellow Corp. could retain real estate broker CBRE to sell its remaining terminals, which include 46 owned and 70 leased locations. Counsel for the debtors also said submission of a final Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan to the court will happen in the coming days, ahead of the expiration of the companys exclusivity period. According to Friday testimony, the CBRE request was unopposed by stakeholders to the estate, including the official committee of unsecured creditors, which had previously voiced concerns that the liquidation of the defunct less-than-truckload carrier was too costly and taking too long. Earlier this month, some of Yellows (OTC: YELLQ) creditors accused the debtors of dragging out the process, fighting legitimate claims in attempts to garner a recovery for stockholders even though every conceivable scenario shows shareholders are out of the money. The estate has incurred more than $100 million in professional fees since the bankruptcy filing a little more than a year ago. On the eve of Fridays hearing, two law firms representing Yellow filed compensation and expense reimbursement applications with the court totaling more than $3 million for June. To the credit of Yellows handlers, $2 billion in proceeds has been generated from the sale of more than 160 terminals. The estate has also auctioned more than half of its 60,000 pieces of equipment (mostly tractors and trailers). The money has been used to repay all of Yellows funded debt and bankruptcy financing. The estate ended July with a cash balance of $352 million, according to a monthly operating report filed with the court. Yellows counsel also said Friday it would submit a Chapter 11 plan to the court before the exclusivity period ends on Sept. 2. Yellow has been able to oversee the liquidation of assets for the past year as competing plans from other financial parties have not been allowed. The court gave Yellow another 90 days to execute its strategy in early June. The unsecured creditors committee recently said it may look to block any further extensions if requested. The retention of CBRE appears to put to rest the formation of a real estate investment trust to manage the remaining properties. Yellows attorneys floated that idea at the early June hearing as a potential strategy for maximizing recovery to creditors. In addition to how much the estates remaining assets will fetch, stakeholders are interested to see how the court rules on other pending claims. Pension fund withdrawal liability claims totaling more than $7 billion, stemming from the companys early withdrawal from the plans, remain before the court. The court will also decide on up to $244 million in WARN Act claims from former employees who say they werent given a required 60-day notice ahead of mass layoffs last year. Story continues More FreightWaves articles by Todd Maiden The post Court allows CBRE to sell Yellows remaining properties appeared first on FreightWaves. The News CHICAGO Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday, capping a turnaround with no precedent in American politics. Our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past a chance to chart a new way forward, said Harris. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans. Thirty-two days after President Joe Biden ended his campaign, Harris a loyal deputy, handed some of the White Houses most thankless tasks led the ticket that could replace him. She looked out at thousands of delegates dressed in suffragette white, whod prepared for a slog against Donald Trump, and suddenly had a second chance to elect a female president. Im no stranger to unlikely journeys, said Harris, linking the crisis that transformed the race to her life story, starting in a beautiful working class neighborhood, moving from the courthouse to the White House. She moved on quickly to the partisan contrast shed drawn all month, while framing the election as a post-partisan choice between freedom and autocracy. Democrats would advance an economic agenda that included a middle class tax cut and funds to end Americas housing shortage a Trump restoration would limit abortion, cut taxes for the wealthy, and put allies at risk. America and not China will win the global competition, said Harris, promising to defend Ukraine and our allies against Russian aggression. She vowed to defend Israel and prevent another terrorist attack on Israel, but added that what is happening in Gaza is devastating and that Palestinians deserve to live freely. That dealt with a conflict inside her party, as she brought the focus back to Trump. Trump wont hold autocrats accountable, because he wants to be an autocrat himself, said Harris. Know More Since becoming the nominee, locking up the delegates who had once been committed to Biden, Harris favorability and approval ratings jumped by double digits, from the mid-30s to the high 40s. Democrats tried to build on that with their convention programming, loading Thursday night with veterans, gun violence victims, and police officers who promised that Harris would be tough on crime and foreign adversaries. A Michigan sheriff credited the Biden-Harris administration with more police funding; a group of Democratic veterans promised that Harris would keep taking care of them. I want to let my fellow Republicans in on a secret: The Democrats are just as patriotic as us, said former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican who retired from the House after voting to impeach Trump in 2021 and serving on the Jan. 6 select committee. How can a party claim to be patriotic if it would elect a man who would overturn a free and fair election? Harriss team rebuffed a group of uncommitted delegates, elected to protest the Biden administrations military support for Israel, who had staged a sit-in outside the United Center. They demanded for days that a Palestinian-American get time onstage, sharing the potential speech with reporters an endorsement of Harris, after condemnation of the way Israel had pursued its war. Instead, Harris herself spent a significant section of the speech on the war, not adopting the protesters position, but talking more about the plight of Palestinians than any nominee had in a speech from this stage. She highlighted her own support for Ukraines war against Russia, as protesters outside the DNC perimeter rowdy, but fewer than organizers had hoped for accused Democrats of enabling mass killings around the world. Like Trumps other two opponents, Biden and Hillary Clinton, Harris accused him of self-dealing and weakness; Trumps party had used their convention to describe his four years as a time of peace and strength. But Harris dealt directly with an issue that didnt exist in 2020, the end of Roe v. Wades national abortion protections. Donald Trump handpicked members of the Supreme Court to take away womens reproductive freedom, said Harris. One must ask, why exactly is it that they dont trust women? We trust women, promising to sign abortion protections into law. Davids view The last time Harris stood on the Democrats biggest stage, her role was to praise Joe Biden and promise healing after the protests and riots of 2020 and to fight racism, which no vaccine could cure easily. Harris and her party have abandoned some of the progressive talk of that campaign, and she is far more comfortable now talking about priorities that anger the partys left, like border enforcement. Early in the night, Rev. Al Sharpton was flanked by members of the Central Park Five, who Trump attacked with newspaper ads in 1989 after they were falsely accused of rape. But more time was spent portraying Harris as a steely-eyed crime-fighter, an image her campaign was nervous about four years ago. Republicans had attacked Harris all summer for flipping on some of her 2019-2020 positions, including crime, immigration, fracking, and healthcare. She elided some of those issues on Thursday, offering to protect social programs from Trump but not promising vast expansions of them. Minutes after the speech ended, the left-wing environmental group Oil Change U.S. blasted Harris for only mentioning climate change briefly; it had been left to other Democrats this week to celebrate the Biden administrations vast green energy investments. That probably wont be the last left-wing criticism of Harris. And the campaign wouldnt mind more. The premise it embraced on Thursday was that most Americans didnt want Trump back we wont go back was the conventions most-repeated slogan and giving them a Harris-led coalition of pragmatic Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans would succeed. Notable Kamala Harris could win , but painting a picture of how she might govern is difficult, The Economist wrote. Barack Obama took care to cast Harris as his heir, Semafors David Weigel noted, using his convention speech to invoke the spirit of 08. Harris favorability has jumped 13 percentage points since June, new Gallup polling shows, while Trumps favorability has declined among voters over the same period. Even if she only mentioned it a couple of times, the Supreme Court loomed large in Kamala Harris speech accepting the Democratic presidential nomination in Chicago on Thursday night. After all, she addressed two of the biggest rulings in recent years, both of which involve the Republican presidential nominee: the courts broad grant of criminal immunity for presidents and its stripping of abortion rights. On immunity, Harris cast the decision in Trump v. United States as the foundation for an even more dangerous second Trump term if he wins in November: Consider the power he will have, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court just ruled that he would be immune from criminal prosecution. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails, and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States. Harris general description of the ruling that he would be immune from criminal prosecution triggered some fact-checkers, who noted that the high courts ruling is technically more complex than her summary. But while adding context about the ruling is theoretically helpful that hes absolutely immune for core constitutional acts, presumptively immune for all official acts but not immune for unofficial ones the reality is that the extent of Trumps immunity is yet to be determined. The federal election interference case is now back in the trial court, where U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan will attempt to apply the new immunity test to Trumps Washington, D.C., indictment in the first instance, after which the Republican-appointed Supreme Court majority may have the last word on what its vague ruling means in practice. That is, unless Trump wins in November in which case the prosecution is good as gone and we may never know how criminally immune the Roberts Court believes Trump to be. At any rate, Harris statement about Trump lacking guardrails thanks to the immunity ruling may turn out to be prescient if hes re-elected. However vague the courts ruling, it could provide Trump more of a roadmap for how to use the awesome power of the presidency to his personal advantage while minimizing criminal exposure. Recall that Chief Justice John Roberts opinion in Trump v. United States didnt meaningfully address Justice Sonia Sotomayors warning in dissent that presidents can now, for example, order Seal Team 6 to assassinate a political rival or organize a military coup to hold onto power with impunity. The Democratic nominee also highlighted the high courts wreckage on abortion: But tonight, in America, too many women are not able to make those decisions. And lets be clear about how we got here: Donald Trump handpicked members of the U.S. Supreme Court to take away reproductive freedom. Indeed, Trump appointed three of the five justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022s Dobbs decision. Harris highlighting of both crucial rulings reminds us that the court is also on the ballot in November. Subscribe to the Deadline: Legal Newsletter for updates and expert analysis on the top legal stories. The newsletter will return to its regular weekly schedule when the Supreme Courts next term kicks off in October. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com In the end, it was just like watching her ride a bike. Or, better, drive a car, but drive a car really well. Watching Vice President Kamala Harris deliver her acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination for president in Chicago Thursday night, eschewing the white pantsuit and the talk of glass ceilings and the announcements of firsts, she was able to simply say the powerful words that mattered. It was like watching a thing that has always been, or, better, could have always been. It was almost ordinary, like watching a woman perform thoracic surgery, or change a tire, or drive a car. It was the beginning of the Barbie movie in which such activities as performed by women were wholly taken for granted until they were just normal. And the fact that there was no need to announce itlook at that arresting woman, shes driving a carwas precisely the way to signal that this Kamala Harris candidacy is both momentous but also a thing women do every day, in democracies around the world; it is no more or less remarkable in 2024, in Chicago, than it would and should have been in 1976. The dark pantsuit was, with all due respect, rather workaday, and her hair was just her usual superb hair and the jewelry was understated, and in every way Harris looked like she might have looked if she were trying a big case or running a Senate committee hearing. In a convention that was top-heavy with smiling husbands who fully expect their partners to wear their work outfits to the job interview, there was visceral relief that the candidate didnt look like the president of Falcon Crest and that nobody would die tonight because of a tragic stiletto-related ballooning accident. There were moments of Harris speech in which it was clear that she was leading from her gender: the sketch of her single mothers working life; being raised in a soup of loving friends and neighbors; the deliberate mention of abortion and IVF and the imperative need to trust women; and the three subtle, implicit references to sexual predators. But it was, for the most part, a speech that a Bill Clinton or a Joe Biden might have offered. The assumption, and the implicit tribute to 2016 and Hillary Clinton, was that this wasnt a night of firsts so much as a night of forever-afters. We are, finally, postglass ceiling. So much so that its about as politically interesting as a glass slipper. Indeed as my friend David Rothkopf pointed out, it was, from stem to stern, more a lawyers speech than a womans speech, shot through with the language of law as a tool that serves no one individual, but instead advances the interests of the people. Which is why the most moving section of the speech was, at least to my ever-jaundiced ear, a call and response about the failures of Me Too and of the Kavanaugh hearings and of the justice system, when it comes to protecting vulnerable women. As Harris laid it out, the legal systems we have constructed to protect women are not working if we are abandoning survivors to fight for themselves. I heard an aching awareness of what it took to be a Christine Blasey Ford, and an E. Jean Carroll, and a Stormy Daniels, in her formulation of what our legal processes do to women: As a prosecutor, when I had a case, I charged it not in the name of the victim, but in the name of the people, for a simple reason. In our system of justice, a harm against any one of us is a harm against all of us. And I would often explain this to console survivors of crime, to remind them: No one should be made to fight alone. We are all in this together. This wasnt just a speech about how the Donald Trumps of the world have managed to use the law to benefit themselves. This was also a speech about the women who have been left to fight the men like Trump all alone. It was a tribute to their courage, and a pledge to better serve them. Ultimately, it wasnt just a lawyers reflection on democracy and the rule of law, but also a woman lawyers reflection on what democracy and the rule of law can mean. Peace and security and immigration and taxes and opportunity, yes. Health care and education and Head Start and a strong middle class, yes. But alsovery starklywhat would happen if the instruments of the law were seized by the nutters who brought you Project 2025 in order to, as Harris put it, create a national anti-abortion coordinator, and force states to report on womens miscarriages and abortions. Women have the most to gain when the justice system is working and the most to lose when it is used to harm them. This was a rhetorical full circle back to where the convention speeches began on Monday. Harris speech was so strong because it was a testament to what the law can do to women (her mothers almost-arranged marriage) and what the law can do for women (Donald Trumps multiple adjudicated sex offenses). And nobody has lived in the swirling void between those two conditions more than a woman of color in America. This was a generous, bold speech that centered on the work of bringing absolutely everyone under the broad canopy of American legal protections. As such, it made perfect sense that it opened and closed with a woman lawyer of color, in an unremarkable dark suit, speaking about the law as though there is nothing exceptional about women toiling endlessly for law and democracy. Because in this one sense it was extremely ordinary: Its what they have been doing forever. Kamala Harris formally accepts Democratic nomination for president, says she will 'stand strong with Ukraine' Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president on Aug. 22 at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago. During her acceptance speech, Harris proclaimed her support for Ukraine, saying she would "stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies." Harris became the presumptive nominee after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race last month and now has a chance of becoming the first female U.S. president in history. "For my entire life, I've only ever had one client - the American people" Harris said on the final day of the DNC, speaking to her past role as a public prosecutor. "On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written on the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination for President of the United States of America." "And with this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to... chart a new way forward," Harris said. "I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self. To hold sacred America's fundamental principles, from the rule of law, to free and fair elections, to the peaceful transfer of power." A career prosecutor from California, Harris served on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence as a Senator before running in the 2020 Democratic primary. She dropped out of the race and endorsed Biden, who appointed her as his running mate. She became the first female vice president in U.S. history in January 2021. Harris will take on former President Donald Trump in the general election scheduled for Nov. 5, and will run alongside her vice presidential running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Harris' work as VP has focused heavily on immigration and reproductive rights, but she has played a role in the Biden administration's foreign affairs efforts. Despite the Biden administration's staunch support of Ukraine, ongoing support for Ukraine has been an issue that had generally been absent from the Harris campaign trail. The four day convention was the most prominent opportunity for the presidential candidate to speak to the issue of Ukraine, where Harris addressed the issue head on. "As Commander-in-chief, I will ensure that America will always have the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world," Harris proclaimed. "Five days before Russia attacked Ukraine, I met with President Zelensky to warn him about Russia's plan to invade. I helped mobilize a global response, over 50 countries, to defend against Putin's aggression," Harris said. "And as president I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies." U.S. Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, from left, US Vice President Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, governor of Minnesota and Democratic vice-presidential nominee, and his wife Gwen Walz during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, US, on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images) Earlier in the evening, a video advertisement produced by the DNC highlighted Harris' "global leadership," touting her foreign policy experience on Ukraine. "She stood shoulder-to-shoulder with our allies, and stood up to dictators, helping to unite NATO behind Ukraine - and impose punishing costs on Russia," the video's narrator, Morgan Freeman, said. Before Harris went on stage, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly also delivered remarks focusing on foreign policy. Referring to his service during the Gulf war, Kelly said: "America rallied our allies to kick out a tyrant who invaded a neighbor. Today (Russian President) Vladimir Putin is testing whether we're still that strong." "Vice President Harris has always championed America's support for NATO, for Ukraine, and for the Ukrainian people." Following Kelly, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta criticized Trump for his previous comments on Ukraine. "Trump tells tyrants like Putin, they can do 'whatever the hell they want.' Kamala Harris tells tyrants, 'the hell you can, not on my watch," Panetta said, referring to Trump comments on NATO member countries failing to meet defense spending criteria. "She's worked with President Zelensky to fight back against Russia. She knows protecting their democracy, protects our democracy as well," Panetta added. Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a member of the Republican Party, criticized his party's stance on waning support for Ukraine. "How can a party claim to stand for liberty if it sees a fight for freedom in Ukraine - an attack pitting tyranny against democracy, a challenge that everything our nation claims to be - and it retreats?" Kinzinger asked. "It nominates a man who is weirdly obsessed with Putin, and his running mate (Sen. JD Vance) who said 'I don't care' what happens in Ukraine." Balloons are dropped after a speech by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, not pictured, during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, US, on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images) At Ukraine's global peace summit in Switzerland in June, Harris represented the U.S. and announced over $1.5 billion in additional support for Ukraine. The summit also marked her sixth meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky. In February 2023, Harris accused Russia of crimes against humanity for its war in Ukraine at the Munich Security Conference, saying the aggressor must be held responsible for their "barbaric" war operations. Trump, who was formally nominated as the Republican Party's presidential candidate on July 18 at the Republican National Convention (RNC), vowed to end the war in Ukraine. The plan reportedly involves ceding territory to Russia, though Trump has provided minimal details on the specifics of his proposal. Ukrainian officials, including Zelensky, have stressed that Kyiv will continue to cooperate productively with any U.S. administration, regardless of the outcome of the November election. Read also: Democratic convention kicks off with celebrations, Biden keynote, and few details on Ukraine Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. On Thursday (Aug. 22), Kamala Harris took to the stage for the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, IL. During her speech, the vice president spoke on her mother's passing, her sudden ascent as a presidential nominee following Joe Biden's decision to step down, and much more. In addition to acknowledging the current head of state, she gave flowers to her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and her husband, Douglas Emhoff. Trending Much of her remarks were aimed at her competitor, Republican nominee Donald Trump, who she described as an "unserious man" with the potential to send the country backward via the well-documented Project 2025 initiative. "Consider not only the chaos and calamity when he was in office but also the gravity of what has happened since he lost the last election," she stated. "Trump tried to throw away your votes. When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the U.S. Capitol, where they assaulted law enforcement officers... And now, for an entirely different set of crimes, he was found guilty of fraud by a jury of everyday Americans, and separately found liable for committing sexual abuse." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61HY9atD2H4 Harris continued, "We are not going back to when [Trump] tried to cut Social Security and Medicare. We are not going back to when he tried to get rid of the Affordable Care Act when insurance companies could deny people with pre-existing conditions. We are not going to let him eliminate the Department of Education that funds our public schools. We are not going to let him end programs like Head Start that provide preschool and childcare for our children." She also addressed the ongoing crises in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, with calls to defend American allies while brokering for peace. For Democrats, the biggest takeaway of the evening was when Harris formally accepted the party's nomination for president. "Lets get out there, lets vote for it, and together, let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told," she expressed to a standing ovation. You Might Also Like Kamala Harris Great-Nieces Stole The DNC With Adorable Moment To Demonstrate How To Pronounce Their Great-Aunts Name Kamala Harris Great-Nieces Stole The DNC With Adorable Moment To Demonstrate How To Pronounce Their Great-Aunts Name | Photo by Joe Lamberti for The Washington Post via Getty Images The Democratic National Convention concluded Thursday night, and everyday citizens, political figures and celebrities gathered to support Vice President Kamala Harris presidential bid. However, her great-nieces stole the spotlight with their adorable demonstration of pronouncing their aunties name. Amara and Leela, the daughters of Vice-President Kamala Harris niece @meena, teach the crowd how to pronounce their aunties name. pic.twitter.com/bIk37t5FAr Yashar Ali (@yashar) August 23, 2024 According to NPR, actor Kerry Washington hosted the evening and highlighted how various individuals, including Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, have intentionally mispronounced Harriss name. Confusion is understandable, Washington said. Disrespect is not. So tonight, we are going to help everyone get it right. Amara and Leela, who joined Washington on stage, were perfectly suited to demonstrate the correct pronunciation of their aunties name to the packed crowd at Chicagos United Center. Without a doubt, the CUTEST moment of the night WATCH: Kamala Harris' great-nieces explain the pronunciation of her name: pic.twitter.com/jMLIMxp4lD Mother Jones (@MotherJones) August 23, 2024 First you say Kama, like a comma in a sentence, Amara said. Then you say La, like la-la-la-la-la,' Leela, the younger sister added, repeating the sound like a melodic chant. Put it together, Washington said, And its Kamala! The pair were not the only Harris family members to share inspirational stories about her and how she transformed their lives. Harris niece, Meena Harris, her stepdaughter, Ella Emhoff, and her goddaughter, Helena Hudlin, also took the stage to explain why the former California prosecutor would be the ideal candidate to lead the country as president. My mom, my grandma, and my auntie, who showed me the meaning of service, helping her sister, a 17-year-old single mother, fighting for justice for the American people, and still cooking Sunday dinner, Meena, the daughter of Harris younger sister Maya, said about the women in her family. Shes guiding me. Now, shes guiding my own children, and I know shell guide our country forward, Meena added. Harris married her husband, Doug Emhoff, in August 2014, becoming Mamala to his two children, Ella and Cole Emhoff. On Thursday night, 25-year-old Ella shared how Harris came into her life when she was 14 and supported her during her teenage years, per NPR. Like a lot of young people, I didnt always understand what I was feeling, Emhoff said. But no matter what, Kamala was there for me. Shes never stopped listening to me, and shes not going to stop listening to all of us. For Hudlin, Harris has been one of her biggest supporters, assisting her through various challenges and pursuits in her life. To me, her advice means everything. Whether it is pursuing my passions, making an impact, or finding hope when the world doesnt feel so hopeful. She taught me that making a difference means giving your whole heart and taking action, she said. From the Dispatch Politics on The Dispatch Happy Friday! Thanks for sticking with us this week as we fulfilled our mission from God here in our new sweet home-away-from-home, Chicago. (No police cruisers were harmed in the production of this newsletter, that we know of.) Up to Speed (Convention Edition) The conventions poor logistics for the press cropped up once again on the events final night. The media galleries at the United Center filled to capacity hours before Vice President Kamala Harris began to speak. Additionally, media members were unable to access the floor of the convention at all Thursday night due to capacity restrictions from the city fire marshal. Delegates representing voters who chose uncommitted in Democratic presidential primaries earlier this year ended their sit-in just outside the United Center Thursday night after unsuccessfully seeking a speaking slot for a Palestinian American. With arms linked, they walked into the United Center, but they were turned away from the floor at first because of the aforementioned capacity restrictions. After that, they linked arms again and walked around the arena concourse chanting, Ceasefire now! Then, they entered separately and were allowed to take their seats. Theyre going to go to their respective delegations and sit there, be visible on the floor, participate in the party, following our process, Dan Thomas-Commins, an uncommitted delegate from Minnesota, told Dispatch Politics . Were not here to disrupt, were not here to cause chaos. Were here to use the tools and the votes that have been given to us, the voices and the presence that has been given to us. On Thursday evening, just outside the security perimeter of the United Center, Dispatch Politics spotted Cornel West, the gadfly academic and 2024 presidential candidate. Several members of the security staff and even some convention guests waiting in line to enter the perimeter said hello to West and snapped selfies with him. When Dispatch Politics asked West if he was going to drop out of the race and endorse Harris, West said he would not. Pressed about the plans of another independent presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to withdraw on Friday, West shook his head. That brother, hes going through some conniptions, he said. Rep. Bennie Thompson, who chaired the Houses committee on the January 6 Capitol riot, defended his bill to strip Secret Service protection from ex-presidents who are sentenced to at least a year in prison for the commission of a crime. Though he filed the bill in April, Thompson faced backlash following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in July. If you are a felon and get convicted, why should the Secret Service protect you in prison? The Department of Corrections is challenged to do that. And so, it wasnt specifically directed at Donald Trump, but if the shoe fits, you have to wear it, he said Thursday during a discussion at the CNN-Politico Grill. The text of the bill stipulates that Secret Service protection would cease upon a former president being sentenced for a crime, so Trump would have had Secret Service agents with him during the July rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a gunman wounded him and killed a bystander. Up to Speed (Beyond Chicago) Former President Donald Trump seemed to back off his years-long feud with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in a Thursday Truth Social post. Thank you to #BrianKempGA for all of your help and support in Georgia, where a win is so important to the success of our Party and, most importantly, our Country, he wrote. I look forward to working with you, your team, and all of my friends in Georgia to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Trump has had bad blood with Kemp since he lost Georgia in 2020, and he attacked Kemp as recently as earlier this month, saying he would not be governor without the former presidents endorsement. When asked by Dispatch Politics if this signified a detente with Trump, a source close to Kemp responded simply: For now. Harris Makes Her Case To Be Commander in Chief Vice President Kamala Harris speaks on the fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on August 22, 2024. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images) CHICAGOKamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for president Thursday night in an arena filled to the brim with members of her party, reenergized and confident about the final months of the race. Her acceptance speech reflected the new sense Democrats have about their fortunes in the 2024 campaign: They could actually win. Harris tight, 40-minute addressdelivered to a crowd supplied with U.S. flags and Kamala signsdrew heavily on American idealism and exceptionalism. Fellow Americans, I love our country with all my heart, Harris said at one point. She spoke of the promise of America and the incredible journey that is America. That patriotic theme capped off a Democratic National Convention that leaned into positive descriptions of the nationsounding, at times, more like a Republican gathering. Each night, delegates on the floor of the United Center arena waved signs that said USA and could often be heard chanting the same three letters. Either buoyed by their newfound optimism in their electoral chances or reacting to Donald Trumps reflexively grim diagnosis of the state of America, Democrats seemed in a mood to celebrate their love of country. Our opponents in this race are out there, every day, denigrating America, talking about how terrible everything is, Harris said. Well, my mother had another lesson she used to teach. Never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are. The vice president ticked through parts of her own biography, introducing herself as the daughter of a strong and supportive immigrant mother. Shyamala Harris raised Kamala and her sister after her parents divorced while she was in grade school. The future vice president grew up immersed in the ideals of the civil rights movement and was encouraged by her father to run and dont let anything stop her. She became a lawyer, a prosecutor, and eventually attorney general of the state of California. Harris cast herself as a fighter for the people of America who are pursuing the same opportunities her mother did when she immigrated to the United States from India at age 19, setting up one of the most effective lines of her speech: On behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey, Harris said. On behalf of Americans like the people I grew up withpeople who work hard, chase their dreams, and look out for one anotheron behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination for president of the United States of America. She also connected the current political fight with those of Americas past. It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done, Harris said, guided by optimism and faith, to fight for this country we love, to fight for the ideals we cherish, and to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth: the privilege and pride of being an American. Going right at Trump. When it came to discussing her opponent, Harris dropped the mockery and crudeness that some of the conventions other speakers engaged in. Instead, she made a more straightforward case that Trump is unfit for office. In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man, she said. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious. The vice president focused on Trumps refusal to acknowledge his loss in the 2020 election and his efforts to overturn that outcome. Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes, she said. When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol, where they assaulted law enforcement officers. When politicians in his own party begged him to call off the mob and send help, he did the opposite. He fanned the flames. She also touched on Trumps felony conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records and a separate civil decision finding him liable for sexual abuse, linking this wrongdoing with what the former president could do if elected again. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails, how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States not to improve your life, not to strengthen our national security, but to serve the only client he has ever had: himself, she said. And Harris continued to focus on a topic that Democrats have been hitting throughout the week: the Heritage Foundations Project 2025, specifically the lengthy list of policy proposals that form the projects Mandate for Leadership. While liberals have promoted several false claims about what Project 2025 says, the plan has served as a rallying cry about what they view as the perils of a second Trump administration. Its also led Trump to distance himself from the project. That did not stop Harris on Thursday from saying a second Trump term is all laid out in the projects manifesto. Speaking to the center. Harris also outlined, in vague terms, her domestic policy prescriptions. She boasted she was charting a new way forward that seemed to be directed right toward the middle of the political spectrum. She promised to create an opportunity economy and help the middle class by lowering costs of essentials while preserving entitlements. She claimed Trump wanted to institute a national sales tax, referencing his call for a 10 percent tariff on all importsthough the Biden administration has kept in place many tariffs from the Trump administration. Instead of a Trump tax hike, we will pass a middle-class tax cut that will benefit more than 100 million Americans, Harris said. She hewed more tightly to the Democratic Party line on abortion, promising to codify a right to abortion in federal law. And one must ask: Why exactly is it that they dont trust women? Well, we trust women, she said. And when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law. In addition, she claimed that Trump and his allies would pass a national ban on abortion with or without Congress. But she continued to try to address her biggest domestic policy weakness, immigration, by turning the issue around on her opponent. The vice president drew a line between Trump and herself on immigration, hitting the GOP nominee for his reported efforts to kill a bipartisan immigration deal in the Senate so that he could campaign on the issue. Harris promised to sign that same bill into law as president. I know we can live up to our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants and reform our broken immigration system, she said. We can create an earned pathway to citizenship and secure our border. America, we must also be steadfast in advancing our security and our values abroad. The commander-in-chief pitch. Perhaps no element of Harris political positions had been less clear than her stance on national security and how she would manage myriad global challenges as commander in chief. Until Thursday, there had been little discussion of these crucial issues in Chicago, either by the Democratic VIPs who addressed convention delegates or her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. But Thursday evening, the Harris campaign leaned into foreign policy and national security topics, although not necessarily by laying out specific strategies. In the convention speeches leading up to her own, Harris was presented as a focused, sophisticated, and no-nonsense commander in chief who would ensure American military dominance and diplomatic influence. The Democratic nominee, combat veterans and former national security officials argued, will stand up to rogue nations like Iran and American adversaries like China, and maintain key alliances in Europe and the Asia Pacific. Our warriors need a tough, cool-headed commander in chief to defend our democracy from tyrants and terrorists, said Leon Panetta, a former Democratic congressman who served as defense secretary and Central Intelligence Agency director under President Barack Obama. We need Kamala Harris behind the Resolute Desk. Harris, whose nearly five-week old campaign has been light on details about what she would do as president, did add some foreign policy meat to the bone during her speech. Like most other portions of her address, the vice presidents remarks on the topic were broad and thematic, not hyper-specific, aimed at showing voters that she would be a strong leader who protects U.S. national security and does not back down from confrontation with authoritarians and dictators. Know this: I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists, Harris said at one point. (Harris also vowed to continue supporting Ukraine in the war instigated by Russias unprovoked invasion.) However, on one issue with major political implications for the November 5 election, Harris was more unequivocal than she has been to date, first as the presumptive, and now the official, Democratic nominee for president. And, that issue was what U.S. government policy would be in a Harris administration as it relates to Israel, and, tangentially, the Palestinians. With respect to the war in Gaza, President Biden and I are working around the clock, because now is the time to get a hostage deal, and a ceasefire deal done, the vice president said. And let me be clear, I will always stand up for Israels right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself. Because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on October 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival. At the same time, Harris added, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self determination. Notable and Quotable IS SHE TALKING ABOUT ME? Former President Donald Trump, posting on Truth Social during Vice President Kamala Harris Democratic National Convention speech, August 22, 2024. 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. "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Vice President Kamala Harris has officially accepted the Democratic nomination for president, making her the first Black woman and the first Asian-American to lead a major partys ticket. Speaking at the Democratic National Convention Thursday night, Harris said, On behalf of the people, on behalf of every American regardless of party, race, gender, or the language your grandmother speaks; on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey; on behalf of Americans like the people I grew up with, people who work hard, chase their dreams, and look out for one another; on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth. I accept your nomination for president of the United States of America. Of course, Harris is plenty used to making history: She was the first woman, the first Black woman, and the first South Asian American to ever become vice president of the United States. She broke the same barriers in California when she became attorney general of the state. And she is still only one of three Black women to serve in the United States Senate. Were Harris to become president, she would not only shatter what Hillary Clinton has often referred to as the highest, hardest glass ceiling, she would usher in an entirely new vision of what the first family can look like, as she is married to Doug Emhoff, the first Jewish spouse to a vice president, who could become the first-ever First Gentleman. Harris is also known as Momala to her step-children, Cole and Ella. Win McNamee Harris only has about three more months to make her case to the country. Just one month ago, President Joe Biden was the presumptive Democratic nominee, until he exited the race on July 21 and endorsed Harris. At the time, the president tweeted: My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my vice-president. And its been the best decision Ive made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Harris then went on to ask Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to be her VP, and this November, theyll face off against former President Donald Trump and Senator J.D. Vance. Trump formally accepted his partys nomination on July 19 during the Republican National Convention, two days before Biden dropped out and six days after a gunman shot at Trump during a Pennsylvania rally. At the convention, Trump told his supporters: Despite such a heinous attack, we unite this evening, more determined than ever. I am more determined than ever and so are you...Our resolve is unbroken, and our purpose is unchanged, to deliver a government that serves the American people better than ever before. During her speech, Harris also advocated for a unified country, saying, I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self. Chip Somodevilla Back in 2020, ELLE featured Harris on our November cover in the lead up to that years history-making election. During that interview, Harris spoke about what gives her hope, saying, Optimism is the fuel driving every fight Ive been in. She continued, The motivation comes from believing in what can be unburdened by what has been...It will often feel like [we are only] against something, but the motivation that carries us through, with any longevity, is knowing what were fighting for. Watch her whole speech, below: You Might Also Like German logistics giant DB Schenker is reportedly commanding a hefty price tag. Denmark-based freight forwarder DSV and a private equity consortium led by CVC Capital Partners put in individual bids to acquire the company from European railway Deutsche Bahn for 14 billion euros ($15.6 billion), according to separate reports from Bloomberg and Reuters. More from Sourcing Journal The CVC-led group also simultaneously submitted an offer of as much as 16 billion euros ($17.9 billion) that would include 3 billion euros ($3.4 billion) from the German government. That investment would give the government a roughly 25 percent stake in DB Schenker. Deutsche Bahn is currently evaluating both final offers and needs to discuss CVCs proposal with the government, according to both reports. A decision expected in the coming weeks, according to Reuters. The sales process for DB Schenker is confidential, a representative from Deutsche Bahn told Sourcing Journal. The most important criterion remains that a sale must be economically advantageous for Deutsche Bahn. The representative would not comment on bidders, details of discussions or the amount of the bids, but said DB would provide information of any decisions in due course. Sourcing Journal reached out to DSV. CVC would not comment on the matter. Deutsche Bahn first unveiled that DB Schenker was officially up for sale in December 2023 after spending a year considering options for the rail company. The sale is largely to help the transportation firm cut debt, the company has previously stated. Additionally, proceeds would help Deutsche Bahn focus more on the core rail business and help it modernize its domestic railroad business. Our goal is to serve the climate, people and the economy by substantially increasing the cargo and passenger volumes handled by eco-friendly rail services, Deutsche Bahn said last December amid the sale announcement. DB Schenker reported a 7 percent sales decline to 9.4 billion euros ($10.5 billion) in the first half of 2024, experiencing some similar demand problems that have befallen major logistics players during the global freight recession that has lasted since late 2022. The company generated operating profit of 520 million euros ($582 million) in the half, down 17 percent from the year prior. But despite DB Schenkers profitabilitymaking it the best forming unit for Deutsche Bahnthe parent companys wider problems make offloading the segment a priority. Story continues The first half of 2024 once again made it blatantly clear, unfortunately, that we cannot afford to put off modernizing the rail infrastructure. It is too old, too prone to failure and too congested, said Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz during the companys July earnings call. It has been stretched beyond its limits in many places. Deutsche Bahn reported a first-half EBIT loss of 677 million euros ($757 million), with after-tax losses ballooning to 1.23 billion euros ($1.38 billion). The railroad attributed the losses to structural weaknesses of Germanys rail network, on top of the countrys rail strikes in March and severe weather. DBs debt totals more than 30 billion euros ($33.6 billion), so a sale of Schenker would recoup roughly half of that. The sales process is scheduled to close formally in 2025, Reuters said. DSV, which has a market cap of $40.5 billion, is currently on stronger footing than Deutsche Bahn. DSV reported a 9 percent increase in revenue at 41.1 billion Danish krone ($6.2 billion) for the second quarter on profits of 2.7 billion Danish krone ($407 million). The freight forwarder and logistics services provider attributed its financial performance to an uptake in volumes, and market share gains across all its three divisions: air and sea; road; and solutions. In DSVs first half earnings report in July, the company alluded to possible deals on the horizon, saying M&A remains a core pillar in DSV, and we believe that the combination of organic and inorganic growth will create a stronger DSV going forward. As for CVC, this wouldnt be the first logistics acquisition for the private equity firm. The company acquired another Danish freight forwarder, Scan Global Logistics, in February 2023. That deals price reportedly went for $1.5 billion. Previous bidders for DB Schenker, including Maersk and Saudi Arabian ocean carrier Bahri, dropped out of the acquisition race in July. Other European logistics giants DHL and Kuehne + Nagel were potential suitors, but both opted not to bid on the company. Delegates wearing keffiyehs hold up signs with the names of people who died in the Gaza war on the second day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 20, 2024. ((Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)) During Vice President Kamala Harriss Thursday night speech wherein she accepted the nomination for president at the Democratic National Convention, she specifically mentioned Palestinians. What has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating, she told the crowd at the United Center in Chicago. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. It was a surprisingly human line in a speech that otherwise touted a muscular foreign policy and patriotism; one that could have easily been delivered by George W Bush at the 2004 Republican National Convention or the late John McCain in 2008. Harris then went a step further by saying that she and President Biden are working to end this war, such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination. That mirrored the words Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made on the first night of the convention. But Abbas Alawieh, one of the leaders of the Uncommitted movement, told The Independent he wasnt fully satisfied with what Harris said. I was glad that she mentioned Palestinian dignity, and it did not surprise me that there was thunderous applause, and it's part of what we've been saying: that Democrats widely support Palestinian human rights, he told The Independent. Alawieh, a former chief of staff to Representative Cori Bush of Missouri, has led the charge among delegates who represent primary participants who chose to vote uncommitted as a way to protest the Biden administrations policy toward Israel since the October 7 attack by Hamas. While the Democratic National Convention reflected the larger jubilation within the party after Biden stepped away, uncommitted delegates grappled with that happiness, given that it seemed to knock the wind out of their movement. I was honestly quite disappointed with what seemed to me like repackaged talking points that perpetuate the status quo, Alawieh continued. Because what the Vice President is saying and how she's saying it, when she was talking about Palestinians, she said, Palestinians have died and they are starving, as if Palestinians are just dropping dead for no reason, or that somehow they're going hungry and nobody knows why. There's a perpetrator here. Advocates like Alawieh and others had hoped that they could get Democrats to support a ceasefire in Gaza and support an embargo on arms to Israel. They also hoped that they could get a Palestinian to speak onstage at the convention. Instead, Ruwa Romman, one of proposed speakers, read her speech outside the convention during a press conference. Clearly they have room for anti-choice Republicans, but sadly, it doesn't seem like they have room for Palestinians, she told The Independent, noting how the convention featured Republicans like former congressman Adam Kinzinger and former Georgia lieutenant governor Geoff Duncan. To be clear, uncommitted garnered about a million votes, and they had very specific policy asks, and what they said was, at bare minimum, we would like a symbolic gesture, and we never even got the symbolic gesture, she added. Asma Mohammed, one of the delegates from Minnesota, noted at a press conference on Thursday evening that she was pushing Democrats because she loves the party. Imagine me a hijabi woman with a keffiyeh walking into the RNC right now, she told reporters. It would never happen. This is our party. That's why we are working on our own party. This is my political home. That's why we are working on the inside. This is not to say that their work was a wash. Throughout the convention, numerous delegates, including older Black and white delegates from as far flung as Texas, were spotted wearing keffiyehs in clear support of the pro-Palestinian movement. Now, uncommitted delegates are giving Harris until September 15 to meet with them. If we wait until October to start having this conversation, that would be too late, because there's a lot of harm that needs to start being repaired. And it's going to take a lot of work on our part if we're going to help Vice President Harris, Abbas Alawieh said, noting how early voting is just around the corner. But there is little sign that the Democratic Party wants to kill the vibe shift as they hope for a Harris victory. If anything, these protesters will likely face the same fate as the Chicks, who were viciously maligned by many Republicans and effectively banned from country music radio because of their opposition to the Iraq War. On Thursday, the Chicks performed the national anthem at the DNC, with many of those Republicans who likely hated them now on the same side, opposing Trump. Its funny how history can work itself out sometimes. Anadolu/Getty Images Kamala Harris' DNC speech, during which she accepted the nomination for president on Thursday, contained references to many things. She talked about affordable health care. Reproductive rights. The economy. The Middle East. Immigration. Project 2025. The insurrection. She told stories about her upbringing in Oakland, and talked at length about her special bond with her late mother, Shyamala Harris. But one thing she never mentioned? Breaking the glass ceiling to become the first woman president of the United States. It wasnt just that Harris didnt include this oft-repeated metaphor in her speech. She did not mention the potential historical significance of her win at all. And while she spoke about womens issues in her address, especially reproductive justice, she only mentioned the word woman once, when describing her mother as a brilliant, five-foot-tall brown woman with an accent. When formally accepting the nomination, she instead cast her candidacy as a sign of what all peopleof any race, color, creed, or gendercould achieve. On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America, she said, to thunderous applause. This choice, which we can assume to be intentional, is a marked contrast from the last and only other woman to be the presidential nominee for a major political party: Hillary Clinton. In Clintons 2016 campaign, she made breaking the glass ceiling a central piece of imagery, even, memorably, planning her election night rally at New York Citys Javits Center because it has, you guessed it, a glass ceiling. That glass ceiling was one that Clinton did not end up breaking when she lost the election to Donald Trump. I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceilingbut someday someone will and, hopefully, sooner than we might think right now, she said in her concession speech. The difference between the two womens approach is even more marked when examining Clintons address accepting her nomination in August 2016. Although the former senator herself did not use the exact phrase in her speech, she began by emphasizing the fact that she was the first woman to be in her position, and said she was the realization of a dream of generations of women before her. Tonight, weve reached a milestone in our nations march toward a more perfect union: the first time that a major party has nominated a woman for president, she said. Standing here as my mothers daughter, and my daughters mother, Im so happy this day has come. Happy for grandmothers and little girls and everyone in between. Happy for boys and men, toobecause when any barrier falls in America, for anyone, it clears the way for everyone. When there are no ceilings, the skys the limit. Democratic National Convention: Day Four Alex Wong/Getty Images Clinton also chose to honor the milestone in a sartorial way, wearing an all-white pantsuit to her nominating convention as a nod to the suffragists and the womens movement that paved the way for the right to vote. By contrast, Harris wore a custom Chloe pantsuit in deep navy bluelong considered the go-to shade for male politicianswith a navy pussy bow blouse. None of this is to say that Harris doesnt recognize or revere the potential history her campaign could make. Rather, she seems to be making an understated yet clear point: that a woman running for president shouldnt be treated like a novelty, because it shouldnt be one. As the New York Times reported on Thursday, many women politicians say that Clintons candidacy paved the way for women to run for higher office in myriad ways, including normalizing having a woman at the top of the ticket. Thus, the overly feminist messaging of the Clinton campaignthe glass ceiling talk, the Im With Her sloganfeels almost quaint now. She does not have to talk about being the first, because it is baked into all of the messaging, Amanda Litman, the cofounder of the group Run for Something, which supports women political candidates, told the newspaper. It is implicit in the conversation of not going back. She doesnt have to do more than that. And she also has another advantage: Even if Kamala Harris' DNC speech doesnt mention it, she has a roster of women surrogates who can do it for her. Namely, Clinton, who poignantly spoke of, yes, the glass ceiling in her own 2024 convention speech on Tuesday. Together, weve put a lot of cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling, she said. And tonight, tonights so close to breaking through once and for all. Its a ceiling she may very well crack. She just wont exactly put it that way. Originally Appeared on Glamour Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday with a sweeping, pointed speech in which she vowed to prosecute the case against Donald Trump and carry the country to a brighter and fairer future. In an address that balanced optimism with scathing criticism of her opponent, Harris acknowledged her unlikely path to the nomination and extended her hand to voters of all political ideologies who believe in Americas promise. Harris would make history if elected as the first woman, first Black woman and first Asian American woman to serve as president but she instead focused on the history that the country could change in November. Related: Kamala Harriss big moment, and a message of hope: key takeaways from the Democratic conventions final night Our nation, with this election, has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past, a chance to chart a new way forward not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans, Harris told thousands of Democrats in Chicago. She then said to roaring applause: On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination for president of the United States of America. Harriss speech came just one month after the US vice-president launched her campaign, following Joe Bidens withdrawal from the presidential race. With the presidents endorsement, Harris was able to quickly consolidate Democrats support and secure the nomination. Harris has enjoyed a wave of enthusiasm since entering the race, as most polls now show her pulling slightly ahead of Trump in the key battleground states that will determine the outcome of the election. Throughout the speech, Harris implicitly and explicitly contrasted herself with her opponent, warning that Trumps return to the White House would resurrect the chaos and calamity of his first presidential term. She condemned the former presidents efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, blaming him for the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, and reminded voters of his many legal battles since leaving office. Consider the power he will have, especially after the United States supreme court just ruled that he would be immune from criminal prosecution, Harris said. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States not to improve your life, not to strengthen our national security, but to serve the only client he has ever had: himself. Harris then led the crowd, packed to full capacity in Chicagos United Center, in a chant of, Were not going back! The chant has become a recurring feature of Harriss campaign rallies in the past month. The speech represented Harriss most significant opportunity yet to define herself in the eyes of voters. Although she served as vice-president under Biden for four years and as a US senator from California before that, polls suggest voters opinions of the new nominee are not set in stone. Trump has already tried to define Harris as a radical Democrat, mocking her as Comrade Kamala, but he has struggled to land successful attack lines against his new opponent. Addressing a national audience, Harris presented herself as a realistic and practical leader who would lean on her background as a prosecutor to govern based on common sense and equality. She credited her sense of justice to her mother, Shyamala Harris, a scientist who emigrated to the US from India when she was 19. She was tough, courageous, a trailblazer in the fight for womens health, and she taught Maya and me a lesson that Michelle [Obama] mentioned the other night, Harris said. She taught us to never complain about injustice, but do something about it. In an election that has often been characterized as personality versus policy, Harris attempted to intertwine the two. After discussing her record as a prosecutor fighting for women and children against predators who abused them, she turned her attention to the women whose lives have been jeopardized due to a lack of abortion access. She shared stories of pregnant women getting sepsis and miscarrying in parking lots, and placed the blame for their pain squarely on Trumps shoulders, as he nominated three of the justices who ruled to overturn Roe v Wade. This is whats happening in our country because of Donald Trump, Harris said. And understand he is not done as a part of his agenda. He and his allies would limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion and enact a nationwide abortion ban, with or without Congress Simply put, they are out of their minds. Harris was at times light on the details when it came to policy, as when she pledged to build an opportunity economy and end Americas housing shortage. She was arguably most forceful when it came to discussing foreign policy, as she promised to stand strong with Ukraine and accused Trump of aligning himself with autocrats. I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong-un, who are rooting for Trump because they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors, Harris said. As president, I will never waver in defense of Americas security and ideals because, in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and where the United States of America belongs. In one of the most highly anticipated portions of her speech, Harris outlined her stance on the war in Gaza. Harris condemned the Hamas attacks against Israel on 7 October and mourned the many innocent lives lost in Gaza since the start of the war, but she vowed to always stand up for Israels right to defend itself, in an apparent rejection of recent calls for an arms embargo. President Biden and I are working around the clock because now is the time to get a hostage deal and ceasefire done, Harris said. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination. The call for Palestinian self-determination was met with robust applause in the convention center, but it is unclear whether that rhetoric will appease ceasefire supporters, thousands of whom took to the streets of Chicago to protest the war this week. Harris will likely need those voters support in November, as the presidential race remains a toss-up despite her recent gains. The coming days will show if and how Harriss speech might expand her lead. Meanwhile, feverish speculation that Beyonce and perhaps Taylor Swift would perform or make appearances alongside Harris proved unfounded. In fact, the convention was light on the kind of celebrification that has characterized previous Democratic presidential campaigns doubtless a conscious decision as the party makes its pitch to independent swing voters. Rumors had circulated that the conventions band had been heard rehearsing Beyonce songs, including Cuff It, but when the hit Freedom which the star quickly gave Harris permission to use for her campaign came over the speakers just before the US vice-president spoke instead of a rapturous welcome for the singer herself, the audience in person and at home knew the disappointing truth. Beyonce was never scheduled to be there, her reps told the Hollywood Reporter. Swift, who earlier in the summer became part of another speculative rumor that she would endorse Biden the Swift strategy was also a no-show. After wrapping her European tour on Tuesday, her private jet routed to Nashville, not Chicago, according to reports. A third rumor that Trump-avoidant Republicans, including George W Bush and Mitt Romney, also proved unfounded. A Bush spokesperson said the former president was definitely not in Chicago to speak at the Democrats four-day shindig. Romney posted on X that contrary to fake news posts, I am not the surprise guest at the DNC tonight. My guess is that it will be Beyonce or Taylor Swift. So disappointing, I know! Edward Helmore contributed reporting Like some other liberal Democrats who resisted warnings in July that President Biden should end his re-election bid, I pushed back against the "It's time to go, Joe" messages that were coming from news stories and commentaries. If Biden could make it through re-election in November, I thought, he wouldnt need to barnstorm the country again; he could continue working from the Oval Office to advance the experienced, wise decision-making that hed delivered since 2021 (with a notable exception in the Middle East). Even when he stepped down and endorsed Kamala Harris to succeed him, I wondered if his vice president was seasoned and wise enough to continue his best work. Brilliant campaigning isnt the same as governing, and a disturbingly large swath of the electorate thats racially obtuse and/or misogynous wont vote for her, even though some of its members did vote for a Black man in 2008 in the wake of the Bush administrations Iraq War fiasco, emergency-management failures in Hurricane Katrina and the financial meltdown of 2008 the latter in complicity with neoliberal Democrats who thought that breaking glass ceilings excuses their breaking up the Glass-Steagall law of 1933, whose repeal Bill Clinton signed in 1999, thereby enabling the plunge into wild financing that helped bring on the meltdown. Would a President Harris really continue Joe Bidens efforts to build back better? Her initiatives as vice president have been muted, even mooted. Even now, we need to be sure of her professed commitment to strengthening the legal and economic foundations of working- and middle-class security and comity. Fortunately, though, one of Harris' first truly independent, consequential decisions about governing making Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz her running mate promises to rescue diversity at its best from elitist and progressive diversity, equity, and inclusion" measures that sometimes mire every ethno-racial group in its place with a label on its face. "We have so much more in common than what separates us," she said in her nomination acceptance speech last night. Her own family background and marriage have shown that true diversity can't be pre-scripted and bureaucratically mandated. It's a consequence of fair laws and practices that arent of color or white and that does not make your racial physiognomy or surname a signal that you're the bearer of culture which you may not actually identify with. Such cookie-cutter diversity reinforces the opposite of civic vibrancy and individual freedom. It depicts your citizenship and even your personhood ethno-racially whenever you walk for the first time into a classroom, workplace, or courtroom. That kind of diversity doesn't curb racist discrimination as often as it recapitulates it. Its torturous racial etiquette often prompts epithets as surely as hypocrisy prompts hostility. And it distorts sincere efforts to re-focus our race lenses against pious conservative pretension to color blindness that conceals monstrous injustices. Ive made such arguments in many ways, including here in Salon and more comprehensively in my book "Liberal Racism" (whose opening chapter, "Life After Diversity," I urge you to click on and read). This year, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology became the first elite university to stop requiring job applicants to submit statements indicating how they would enhance diversity. M.I.T., whose percentage of Black students enrolled in last years incoming freshman class dropped to 5 percent from 15 percent the year before the Supreme Courts decision banning affirmative action, isn't saying that diversity is bad; it's saying, in effect, that commitments to advance it can't be prescribed and imposed as they've been by "Diversity, Equity, and Exclusion" protocols. Harris own blended ethno-racial background of Jamaican and Indian ancestries was a consequence of her parents' freedom. It confounds the simplistic color coding and racial mind games that are played by people like someone I'll nickname as "Donnie 'Bone Spurs' Trumpf." Harris chose, freely, the historically Black Howard University as her college, and she honors the African American identity that Obama, whose parentage was racially mixed, too, embraced and internalized, but she rightly looks beyond racial identification as a presidential candidate. Tim Walz, far from representing the toxic white male who haunts too many progressive imaginations and pronouncements, is one of the truly countless white men whove built bridges to transracial justice. Those bridges may not be quite what Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro had in mind when he praised Walz by saying, Everybody in America knows, when you need a bridge fix, call that guy, but the metaphor carries "can-do" and social-justice commitments. White bridge-builders were key to liberating the segregationist South, as the historian David Chappel shows in his book "Inside Agitators." I wonder why people who champion maximum fluidity in sexual identity keep locking us into ethno-racial categories, admonishing deviants to stay in your lane instead of learning from and joining one another as tens of millions of Americans are doing. The growing prominence of biracial or non-racial citizens in recent U.S. Census reports suggests that the old civic-cultural norm in whiteness is fading and that no other official color-coding can tell us who we really are. In 1920, the philosopher George Santayana wrote that Americans have all been uprooted from their several soils and ancestries and plunged together into one vortex, whirling irresistible in a space otherwise quite empty. To be an American is of itself almost a moral condition, an education and a career. He may not have been thinking transracially, but that writing was on the wall: Precisely because the United States is more complex racially and ethnically than institutional color-coding comprehends, we should be working overtime to advance principles, habits and bonds that transcend racial groupism in a civic culture thats thick enough to thrive in on post-racial terms. The struggles of people of color to share fully in a larger American identity has been one of the most powerful epics of unrequited love in the history of the world. Even if every broken heart could be mended and every theft of opportunity redressed, ethno-racial communities would still rightly honor the endurance and resistance that sustained their members. Ultimately, though, Santayana was right: If America is to survive as liberal democratic republic, it will have to stop making ethno-racial distinctions a key organizing principle of its legal and educational public life. Doing so will require acknowledging what Harris and Walz and millions of biracial young Americans have been demonstrating in different but converging ways: We're not going back. True diversity will liberate us from so-called whiteness and blackness as vessels of hope. Kamala Harris Can Pull It Off If She Shows the Discipline and Grace of Her Nomination Speech It was a rush, no doubt about it. A jam-packed week of Democratic Party adrenaline capped by a pitch-perfect speech from the new consensus choice, an historic nominee, the beautiful, buoyant Kamala Harris. Can she really pull off what she seems poised to do? Its one of the unlikeliest pivots to power imaginable. Harris who most of us were lukewarm about just six weeks ago, be honest is now the Black-Asian knight with a dazzling smile sent to save democracy. Heroic images of her have saturated our media, from TikTok to Time magazine. Hollywood has embraced her and so have the labor unions. So has Mark Cuban. Kamala Harris is not falling in line with Democratic Party Policies. Kamala Harris is defining her own policies, and the Democratic Party is falling in line with her. She literally is redefining the party. Mark Cuban (@mcuban) August 23, 2024 If she doesnt blow it or if Trump doesnt try to steal the election again she stands on the precipice of American leadership, and thus world leadership. So far, Harris has played this moment with textbook discipline. Choosing her moments strategically. Seeding stories of her middle class family growing up and the blended family in her marriage to Doug Emhoff. Letting her post-college-age social team show humor, sass and swagger. Resisting the calls by Fox to give a news conference before shes ready. Letting Donald Trump spin himself into a frenzy of absurd accusations (she isnt really Black!, Shes a radical leftist!) without once taking the bait. Her speech on Thursday night had to be pretty close to perfect, and it was. In accepting the nomination, she was authoritative. She was personal. She was human scale and heroic at the same time. She talked a lot about her mother, as she always does. But she also talked policy and showed a fierceness about her commitment to American security and to defeating Trump that at least one focus group found convincing. CNN asked a panel of 8 undecided voters in Allentown, PA to grade Kamala Harriss speech A-F. The results were: A 3 B+ 3 B 1 C 1 7 of 8 are now decided: 6 for Harris and 1 for Trump. Garrett Herrin (@GarrettHerrin) August 23, 2024 In a speech that is likely to define her to much of the American public, she created the context of a life of service driven by the civil rights ideals of her Berkeley parents, to the judicial system and the move to a different sort of public service in the Senate and now the White House. She alternated between her childhood in a middle class home with two immigrant parents determined to grasp the American dream, to embracing her career as a state prosecutor and tying it back to a desire to find justice for a high school friend who was sexually abused. Great line: Every day I stood in the courtroom and said five words: Kamala Harris, for the people. In my entire career, Ive only had one client, the people. Why was the speech so strong? Her statement on Israel and Gaza is a good example. She forcefully supported Israel, and condemned the Hamas attack on October 7 as terrorism. She said that Israel must never face an attack like that again. Yet she also called out the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza and asserted their right not to a state, that would be risky but to self-determination and freedom. It threaded the needle in a thoughtful and convincing way for one of the trickiest policy issues she will face ahead of the election and beyond. Beyond that, it was not all positivity and Yes She Can. Many are aware that Harris has a thin record when it comes to foreign policy. She has convincing to do on that front, and she started to frame that argument on Thursday night. She warned of the dangers of Donald Trump, and showed unexpected grit around her own determination to keep America safe and free. Know this: I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our interests against Iran and I will not cozy up to tyrants like Kim Jong Un who are rooting for Trump, she said. Several commenters pointed out that Harris showed a fierceness in her delivery that was previously unseen. She staked a claim for her future persona with lines like this: In the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny I know where I stand, and I know where the United States belongs. And of course, she did not shy away from embracing her most obvious advantage over Trump who ended Roe v. Wade being a champion for women. She called out Trumps promises to limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion, and enact a nationwide abortion ban. Then she added a revelation which was news to many (including me) that Trump plans to create a National Anti-Abortion Coordinator and force states to report on womens miscarriages and abortions. She wrapped up that bombshell neatly in a quotable quote: Simply put, they are out of their minds. (Actually in the text of her speech handed out by her team, it reads thus: They are. Out. Of. Their. Minds.) Donald Trump and his allies would limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion, and enact a nationwide abortion ban. Simply put, they are out of their minds. pic.twitter.com/l2uxAI75of Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) August 23, 2024 Id also point out that the fact that Harris does not have biological children of her own could have been an issue had Republicans been more clever than JD Vance clumsily calling out childless cat ladies. The issue that may matter to heartland voters has been deftly sidestepped by constantly showcasing Harriss warm interactions with children of all kinds, in addition to her close relationships with her nieces and nephews, and stepchildren. This could easily have been spun differently. But a lot can happen in the next 70-some days before the election. Trump who flailed about by tweeting more than 40 times last night is giving desperate. And Trumps team is surely feeling desperate. That can lead to serious mischief. They will make their own attempt to define Harris as a Marxist, untested, inexperienced person. Who isnt really Black. Or who is. Or what did they say again? For the moment, Harris appears to be on a glide path. Wisely, though, she is not taking this triumphant moment for granted. When NBCs Kelly ODonnell lobbed a question at Harris as she and her posse exited the United Center, Harris turned and with that 1000-watt smile said: I feel good. On to tomorrow That was good. Now weve got to move on. We happened to chat with @VP Harris, Mr Emhoff, Gov and Mrs Walz briefly as they left the United Center tonight. pic.twitter.com/5S2nWsHvbE Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) August 23, 2024 The post Kamala Harris Can Pull It Off If She Shows the Discipline and Grace of Her Nomination Speech appeared first on TheWrap. Chicago, Ill. On the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Vice President Kamala Harris delivered a commanding speech at the United Center, officially accepting her partys nomination for president. Her address touched on critical issues such as gun violence, LGBTQ+ rights, the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza, and the stark contrast between her vision for America and that of former President Donald Trump. Harris began her speech by acknowledging the moments gravity, personally and politically. She shared her journey, rooted in the experiences of her immigrant mother and the challenges she faced growing up. America, the path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt, unexpected, but Im no stranger to unlikely journeys, Harris said. The vice presidents speech emphasized freedom, particularly the freedom to live without fear of gun violencea cornerstone of her campaign. Survivors and relatives of victims of gun violence took the stage earlier in the evening to share their powerful stories, underscoring the urgent need for action. Former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who survived a 2011 shooting, praised Harriss resolve, telling the audience, Kamala can beat the gun lobby. She can fight gun trafficking. Harris built on this record, asserting, In this election, many other fundamental freedoms are at stake The freedom to live safe from gun violence in our schools, communities, and places of worship. Her words echoed the sentiments of David Hogg, a gun control activist and survivor of the Parkland school shooting in Florida, who had spoken with The Advocate the day before. Hogg expressed his hopes for Harriss speech, saying, I think just boldly talking about addressing gun violence, but in a holistic way, and Harris delivered on this, addressing not just the access to guns but also the root causes of gun violence, which Hogg said includes hatred and racism. Harris did not hold back in her criticism of Trump, calling him an unserious man whose actions and ambitions pose grave dangers to the country. She painted a stark picture of what another Trump presidency could mean for the United States, warning that the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious. She cited Trumps history of chaos and calamity during his time in office and his alarming post-election behavior, including inciting the January 6 insurrection. One of the most striking parts of Harriss speech was her direct and unflinching criticism of Trump and his agenda, notably Project 2025. Harris warned the audience about the dangers of Trumps return to power. Consider what he intends to do if we give him power again, she said. Consider his explicit intent to set free violent extremists who assaulted those law enforcement officers at the Capitol. His explicit intent to jail journalists, political opponents, and anyone he sees as the enemy. She continued by highlighting the extreme nature of Project 2025, a plan crafted by Trumps allies, which she described as a blueprint for pulling the country back to a darker past. We know what a second Trump term would look like. Its all laid out in Project 2025, written by his closest advisors, Harris said. Simply put, they are out of their minds, she said. Harris also pointedly remarked on Trumps self-serving nature, saying, Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States, not to improve your life, not to strengthen our national security, but to serve the only client he has ever hadhimself. The speech also highlighted Harriss commitment to LGBTQ+ rights, a long-standing priority in her political career. The freedom to love who you love, openly and with pride, she declared, drawing enthusiastic applause. This message resonated with the LGBTQ+ people at the convention, some of whom told The Advocate they felt represented and seen. One of the more challenging topics Harris addressed was the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. After she committed to always standing by Israel, there were some shouts of Free Palestine from people in the audience. But those interjections quickly stopped as Harris continued, What has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating So many innocent lives, lost, desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. Harris made it clear that while she stands with Israel, she recognizes the profound suffering on both sides and the need for a balanced approach. She emphasized, The Palestinian people deserve to live in dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination. As Harriss speech drew to a close, she called on Americans to unite and fight for the freedoms that define the nation. We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world, she said. On behalf of our children and our grandchildren and all those who sacrificed so dearly for our freedom and liberty, we must be worthy of this moment. The reactions to Harriss speech and the overall convention were overwhelmingly positive. Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who attended the event, praised Harriss handling of the Israel-Gaza issue. She, I thought, threaded the needle on the Israel-Gaza issue very, very well, Lightfoot, who was integral in getting the convention to Chicago, told The Advocate after the speech. Thats going to continue to be a storyline until theres a ceasefire until the hostages are home, and frankly until Gazas rebuilt. The Democratic National Convention, with speakers emphasizing unity and purpose, was a stark contrast to the Republican convention held weeks earlier. Derek Kitchen, a former Utah state senator and LGBTQ+ advocate, reflected on the difference between the two events. This is the first time that I feel like we have the kind of momentum that might actually squash to get rid of Donald Trump and to take care of this blemish on American politics, Kitchen told The Advocate. He described the convention as inspiring and energizing, noting the diverse coalition of Democrats, independents, and even some Republicans who are united in their belief that America can improve itself. LGBTQ+ representation was a significant feature of the convention, and many attendees expressed their appreciation for Harriss community support. Jessie McGrath, a transgender delegate from Nebraska and the vice chair of the Stonewall Caucus of the Nebraska Democratic Party, spoke with The Advocate about her experience at the convention. I thought it was incredible, McGrath said. We had an actual record number of LGBTQ+ delegates. We had a record number of trans and nonbinary delegates, and I thought that were doing much better at getting that representation. More than 800 LGBTQ+ delegates attended the convention this year. The convention also brought forward voices like retired Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell, who defended the Capitol during the January 6th insurrection. The previous day, he delivered a powerful speech at the convention, reflecting on the harrowing events of January 6. Gonell, who immigrated to the United States from the Dominican Republic as a child and later became an American citizen, served in both the U.S. Army and the Capitol Police. I had seen violence while serving in Iraq, but nothing prepared me for January 6th, he said. He recounted how officers risked their lives to protect others, enduring brutal assaults, including being beaten and blinded. Gonell directly called Trump out, saying, President Trump summoned our attackers, incited with them. He betrayed us. After Harriss speech, Gonell spoke with The Advocate about the stark contrast between the vice presidents vision and Trumps. What I hear from Kamala Harris is that shes not going to do that, Gonell said, referencing Trumps incitement of the mob that attacked the Capitol. She has a good moral compass. Maryland state Sen. Cheryl Kagan echoed the sentiments of many attendees who spoke with The Advocate. The Vice Presidents speech was sharp. It was on point and mapped out what we stand for, Kagan said. It gives us all something to rally around. Kamala Harris says now is the time for Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said in her Democratic National Convention speech on Thursday that now was the time for a ceasefire and hostage release deal in Israel's war in Gaza. "I will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself," Harris said while adding "what has happened in Gaza is devastating", and "heartbreaking." "President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom and self-determination," Harris said. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) As Vice President Kamala Harris faces off against former President Donald Trump in their first debate ahead of the 2024 election, she knows her family will be in her corner. Since Kamala Harris secured the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, eyes are on her closest relationships, from her husband to her stepkids to her younger sister, Maya Harris. Maya Harris, who delivered a speech at the Democratic National Convention in August, shared a sweet moment with her grandchildren a day ahead of Kamala Harris' debate with Trump. Maya Harris posted a photo on Instagram on Sept. 8 in honor of National Grandparents Day. The sweet picture shows Maya Harris and husband Tony West looking dapper with their granddaughters, Amara and Leela. The girls are the children of Maya Harris' daughter, Meena Harris. "Happy grandparents day!" Maya Harris captioned the photo. Learn more about Maya Harris and her relationship with the vice president below. Maya Harris spoke at the Democratic National Convention Maya Harris took the stage during the fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 22 in Chicago. She began her speech talking about the relationship between her and her sister, Kamala Harris, and their late mother, Shyamala Gopalan Harris, and how proud she would be to see Kamala as the Democratic Party nominee. She raised us to believe that we could be and do anything, and we believed her, Maya Harris said. You see, Mommy understood the power and the possibility that come with knowing and showing who you truly are. Maya Harris, sister of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, speaks on stage during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 22, 2024 in Chicago. She knew that we could be the authors of our own story, Maya Harris said, adding that her big sister has been about fighting for each of us to have that freedom. And like so many Americans, Kamala knows what its like to be underestimated and be counted out. Maya Harris expressed that her sister is a leader who cares and fights for everyone. Maya Harris has been part of the vice president's personal life and career. She served as campaign chairperson during Kamala Harris' first presidential campaign in 2020. I think most people who know Maya will tell you shes one of the smartest people they know, Kamala Harris told Politico in 2019. She and Kamala Harris have an 'unbreakable' bond from childhood Vice President of the Ford Foundation, Maya Harris and Attorney General of California, Kamala Harris pose at Provocateur circa Oct. 2011 in New York. Kamala and Maya Harris parents, Donald Harris and Shyamala Gopalan, met as graduate students at the University of California, Berkeley. He was originally from Jamaica; she from India. They married and welcomed Kamala in 1964 and Maya in 1967. The couple split up and their daughters lived with their mom. Kamala and Maya Harris relocated to Montreal when their mother got a new job at McGill University. The sisters were 12 and 9 at the time and didn't speak French like their classmates. We leaned on each other, Kamala Harris told The Washington Post. We forged a bond that is unbreakable. When I think about it, all of the joyous moments in our lives, all of the challenging moments, all of the moments of transition, we have always been together. Like her sister, Maya Harris is a lawyer After attending Stanford Law School, Maya Harris worked as a civil litigator, then went on to become an adjunct law professor and dean of Lincoln Law School of San Jose, per her bio. Her focus has been on policy and civil rights, as well as racial and gender justice. Other career highlights include her work as a visiting scholar at Harvard Law School and her time as a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. Maya Harris also served as the executive director of the ACLU of Northern California and was the vice president of democracy, rights and justice at the Ford Foundation. She's worked on two presidential campaigns In addition to working on the 2020 presidential campaign, Maya Harris also worked as a senior policy advisor to Hillary Clinton when she ran for president in 2016. During that time, she led a group of policy experts and developed Clintons domestic policy. Among her titles? Wedding officiant When Kamala Harris married Doug Emhoff on Aug. 22, 2014, Maya Harris played an important role in the small ceremony: officiant. She welcomed her daughter, Meena, when she was a teenager Maya Harris welcomed her first and only child, a daughter named Meena, when she was a teenager. While talking with E! News in 2021, she spoke about her experience as a young single mother, saying she was always juggling work, juggling school. Describing her daughter as a kind and caring and compassionate person with a sense of duty and responsibility, Maya Harris said shes proud of Meena Harris and is impressed that she is a phenomenal, creative, trend-spotting, trendsetting entrepreneur. In the same interview, Meena Harris said shes taken quite a few parenting cues from her mother. I approach parenting in the same way (as my mom did), she said. I think Im borrowing and replicating and trying to carry on that legacy of how I was raised. Maya Harris' daughter introduced her to her future husband Tony West and Maya Harris. When she was only 4 years old, Meena Harris played matchmaker and introduced her mother to her future husband, Tony West. As the couple told Stanford Lawyer in 2010, Meena Harris played a game of hide-and-seek with West on the Stanford Law campus while he and Maya Harris were both students. A few years after graduation, the duo started dating. We waited for the most inconvenient time to actually get together he was in D.C. and I was in the Bay Area, Maya Harris said. Its a family joke that Meena knew we should be together long before we did. She has two grandchildren Maya Harris is the proud grandmother of two granddaughters named Amara and Leela. Over the years, she has posted several photos of her "grandbabies," as she calls them. While talking with E! News in 2021, Maya Harris applauded her daughter's parenting skills. I will say the only thing that rivals being Meenas mom and having been a mother and raising up a daughter, is being a grandmother, she said. It is all of the love that you feel for your own children, just like allllll the love, but without all the responsibility. Maya Harris went on to say she's "overwhelmingly proud" of her daughter. "Because you have taken ... everything certainly that I felt that I had to give and could give as a mom and youve made it your own, both in terms of your career and in terms of your own parenting and now in terms of what youre putting out into the world. And that is an extraordinary, beautiful, beautiful, wonderful thing. And that I think is literally the only thing that every mother could hope for in their children," she said. She has lupus and has written about her experiences In 2020, Maya Harris wrote an essay for The Atlantic about her experience with lupus, an autoimmune disease. The physical effects of the disease are cruel, including excruciating joint pain, organ damage, dramatic hair loss, and debilitating fatigue most of which I have experienced again and again, often for long stretches, throughout my life. And while lupus can be managed, it has no cure," she wrote. Maya Harris went on to explain that she had kept her condition private for three decades and had only told family and a handful of close friends up until that point. Mayas daughter wrote a book about mom and aunt Meena Harris published a childrens book about her mother and aunt titled Kamala and Mayas Big Idea. When asked about her inspiration for the project, Meena Harris told Glamour she grew up with these strong, brilliant women who showed me what it meant to show up in the world with purpose and intention. My grandma was a single mom, my mom was a single mom, and then Kamala didnt have kids of her own when I was young. I just idolized them these incredible women who were all around me. Seeing (them) and hearing (their) stories was formative for me, she said. This article was originally published on TODAY.com Kamala Harris, the daughter of immigrants whos seeking to become the nations first Black and South Asian woman president, told the nation Thursday that the middle class is where I come from as she vowed to be a passionate uniter as president. I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations, she told a crowd thats been eagerly waiting all week to applaud and celebrate their newly anointed hero. Harris vowed to be a president who leads and listens. Who is realistic. Practical. And has common sense. The vice president accepted the Democratic presidential nomination with a speech both rousing in part and somber in part, at times deeply personal and at times sharply political. On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written on the greatest nation on earth, I accept your nomination, she said to loud cheers as vertical Kamala signs bobbed up and down. Speaking to a country thats still not wholly familiar with her story, Harris described where she came from. America, the path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected. But Im no stranger to unlikely journeys, she said. My mother Shyamala Harris had one of her own. I miss her every day and especially right now. And I know shes looking down tonight, and smiling. She pivoted to politics, vowing to cut taxes for the middle class and lower consumer prices, and to fight hard for abortion rights. She offered a strong contrast with Republican nominee Donald Trump. In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious, Harris said. Consider not only the chaos and calamity when he was in office, but the gravity of what has happened since he lost the last election. Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes, she said. She recalled the Capitol insurrection of January 6, 2021. He fanned the flames, Harris said. Then she noted he was convicted in May of 34 felony counts involving falsifying business records. If elected, Harris said, he would serve the only client he ever had, himself. Middle class roots Harris, 59, was born in Oakland. Shes the daughter of Shyamala Gopalan, an Indian immigrant who was a cancer researcher, and Donald Harris, an economics professor at Stanford University who came to the U.S. from Jamaica. My mother was 19 when she crossed the world alone, traveling from India to California with an unshakable dream to be the scientist who would cure breast cancer, Harris said. She recalled her childhood, at first a home filled with laughter and music.at the park my mother would say stay close. My father would say with a smile, run, Kamala. Her father, she said, taught her to be fearless, but her parents divorced and her mother raised her and her sister. She rented a small apartment in the East Bay. In the Bay, you either live in the hills or the flatlands. We lived in the flats a beautiful working-class neighborhood of firefighters, nurses, and construction workers, all who tended their lawns with pride, Harris recalled. There was a warm, nurturing community there. Family who loved us, believed in us and told us we could be anything and do anything, she said. Her mother never lost her cool. She was tough, courageous, a trailblazer in the fight for womens healthshe taught us to never complain about injustice, but do something about it. She talked about when she became interested in being a lawyer, citing the moment she learned that her best friend Wanda was being sexually abused by a stepfather. I immediately told her she had to come stay with us. And she did, Harris said. That is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor, to protect people like Wanda because I believe everyone has a right to dignity, to safety, to justice. Harris vision Once she introduced herself, Harriss speech turned to her visionand some hardball politics. She was Californias attorney general and then U. S. senator, winning the vice presidency on Bidens ticket in 2020. With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a New Way Forward, she said, perhaps trying to coin a phrase that would take its place among other Democratic plans such as the New Deal and Great Society. Harris painted herself as a lifelong fighter for consumers and the middle class. As attorney general, she said, she fought big banks. She talked about fighting against cartels who traffic in guns and drugs. These fights were not easy and neither were the elections that put me in those offices. We were unestimated at practically every turn but we never gave up, she said. Harris pledged to be sensitive to middle class needs, saying building the middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency. And Ill tell you, this is personal for me. The middle class is where I come from. She insisted we are not going back to the days of Trump as the crowd chanted the phrase over and over. She vowed to lower the cost of health care, groceries and other essentials, and we will end Americas housing shortage. Trump, on the other hand, doesnt actually fight for the middle class. Hell give billionaires another round of tax breaks, she said. Trump will fight abortion rights, she said. Why is it they dont trust women? Well we trust women, Harris said. Too many freedoms are in jeopardy, she said. She listed the right to breathe clean air and water, the right to love who you want, the freedom to vote among other rights. She vowed to conduct a muscular foreign policy, standing strong with Ukraine in its war against Russia. She insisted it was time to get a ceasefire and hostage deal done to end the Israel-Hamas war, while giving Israel strong support. What has happened in Gaza over the last 10 months is devastating, she said. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are working to end this war, so that Israel is secureand the Palestinian people can recognize their right to dignity and security. That line got the biggest ovation of the night. Harris then got lofty. Everywhere I go in everyone I meetI see a nation ready to move forward. Ready for the next step, in the incredible journey that is America. She described a country where in unity there is strength. America let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for, she concluded. Endless possibilities. Kamala Harris walks a line as a change candidate, and other takeaways from the DNC On the biggest stage of her political life Thursday night, Kamala Harris presented herself as a middle-class kid who chose a career as a prosecutor to protect the vulnerable. Left unsaid was how unlikely it was only a couple months ago for her to be standing as the first woman of color to formally accept a major partys presidential nomination. Harris speech capped an overwhelmingly optimistic national convention for Democrats, who seized the exhaustive media glare to frame their nominee as the common-sense choice when compared with Donald Trump. But after riding a honeymoon since President Joe Bidens departure from the race a month ago, the Harris campaign is preparing for a harder road ahead, as scrutiny of the candidate and her positions is expected to intensify and she meets Trump for a Sept. 10th debate. Here are four takeaways from the 2024 Democratic National Convention: President Joe Biden raises Vice President Kamala Harris hand during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. READ MORE: Latino voters will be the deciding factor in 2024 election. Heres why it matters THE SHOTGUN DIVORCE FROM BIDEN IS TRICKY Michelle Obama lamented a personal lack of hope for the country until recently. Bill Clinton remarked on the breath of fresh air Harris has catalyzed. Tim Walz repeatedly pronounced, Were not going back. Their implicit collective undertone: We were in trouble with Biden. However intended, the messaging illustrates the uncomfortable task Harris has in separating herself from an unpopular administration she still serves. Through an array of surrogates and in her own remarks, the 59-year-old Harris has begun signaling she is turning the page from Biden as well, let alone Trump. In doing so, she is seeking to position Trump as the de facto incumbent, reminding voters of the instability and volatility of his White House tenure four years ago. More from the DNC: Who is the Gen Z congressman from Florida speaking at the DNC? Whether Harris can successfully part with Biden while still tying herself to the administrations accomplishments will be an important test of her skills as a politician in the weeks ahead. She was his partner, she was an integral part of that, just like Joe Biden was an integral part of what Barack Obama did, said Joe Geller, a South Florida delegate and former state representative. But she has other ideas, things that maybe couldnt have gotten done, didnt get done A lot of that is the same as Joe Biden, a lot of that aint. Is that separating? I dont think thats separating. Vice President Kamala Harris takes the stage Aug. 19, 2024 during the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. DEMS PITCH A NEW THREAT ON BODY AUTONOMY Reproductive rights were always going to be a dominant theme of Democrats 2024 campaign, given the potency of the U.S. Supreme Courts decision to eradicate Roe v. Wade. This summer, abortion rights activists began whipping up a new line of attack thats an extension of their argument on body autonomy: The GOP is a threat to in vitro fertilization, which millions of women depend on to get pregnant. There was Republican blockage of a Senate bill to protect IVF, which Trumps running mate, JD Vance, supported. There was an Alabama court ruling that called embryos unborn children, opening up fertility clinics to potential legal challenges. For Democratic strategists and speechwriters, the issue was a no-brainer to amplify. On the convention stage, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis held up the Project 2025 manifesto a conservative policy wishlist and cited the page number that threatens access to IVF. It was a refrain convention watchers heard all week, mostly from women offering personal testimony about how they struggled to get pregnant. RELATED CONTENT: How to explain the border crisis at the DNC? Blame Trump. With infertility affecting 1 in 8 couples, Democrats clearly see the issue as a salient way to portray the Republican ticket as extreme even though Trump has said he strongly supports the availability of IVF for couples who are trying to have a precious baby. Alex Castellanos, a Republican strategist, called the Democratic attack shamelessly, insultingly false. THE PROTESTS WERE NOTHING LIKE 1968 The convention held 56 years ago here in Chicago is remembered for pandemonium in the streets, police clubbing journalists with nightsticks and demonstrators hurling rocks at cops all as the daily death toll of American soldiers in Vietnam continued to mount. The protest of a war in Gaza with no U.S. troops on the ground spurred a notable number of activists on the streets. But the promise of 30,000 to 40,000 pro-Palestinian participants for a rally and march on the convention never materialized. About two dozen demonstrators formed a human chain and paced through the main floor of the arena on Thursday night chanting ceasefire now. Smaller groups of agitators heckled delegates as they entered and exited the convention center, ostensibly more interested in displaying their contempt than winning converts. RL Miller, a progressive climate activist and delegate from California, encountered some protestors but appreciated their frustration, even if she didnt see the effectiveness of their tactics. READ MORE: While in NC, Vance claims Harris wants people in US illegally to vote. Here are the facts There are people on the pro-Palestinian side who want the party to acknowledge their pain. And then there are anarchist types who would never vote for a Democrat anyway. I assume theyre having problems figuring out which is which, said Miller. While a Florida delegate successfully unfurled a banner during Bidens speech demanding an arms embargo to Israel, the movement of uncommitted delegates upset with the Biden administrations position on the war in Gaza was not able to secure a Palestinian speaker at the convention. But with students returning to college campuses and a ceasefire deal on ice, Gaza will continue to follow Harris on the trail. Miller thinks activists can make headway if they present as reasonable in private, rather than theatrical in public. For people willing to play the inside game, things do shift, said Miller. If theyre willing to play the longer game and talk to the Harris campaign they might be OK in the long run. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro poses for a selfie with an attendee on the floor during the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. The DNC program will feature President Joe Biden and Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during Mondays ceremonies. THE NEXTGEN DEMS MAY BE STUCK UNTIL 2032 Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg each is hailed as a Democrat who could be president one day, and is likely to want to run. But even as they delivered well-received speeches, the trappings around them pointed to a pesky wrinkle in their personal ambitions. If Harris is elected in November, she will almost surely seek a second term in 2028, leaving most rising Democrats boxed out of Oval Office action until at least 2032. And theres always a possibility of a Walz for White House run at that point. John Nance Garner once declared to President Franklin Roosevelt that the vice presidency isnt worth a bucket of warm spit, but Harris is a case study in its utility. The problem for the up-and-comers is that if Harris wins, it forces them to stay relevant and in the public conversation for a longer period of time ahead of a presidential run. If Shapiro and Moore win second terms, they would expire in 2030. But that means theyd still be former officeholders during their first and best shot at the presidency. (Reuters) -Delta Air's chief operating officer, Mike Spanos, will leave the airline next month to take on a role at another company, CEO Ed Bastian said in a memo to employees on Friday. Spanos had approached him earlier this summer to communicate that he was considering other opportunities, Bastian said. The exit of Delta's operations chief comes weeks after the airline canceled thousands of flights owing to a global cyber outage. Spanos joined the legacy carrier last year and had previously worked as the CEO of amusement park chain Six Flags , before stepping down in 2021. He had also spent more than 25 years in a number of leadership roles at PepsiCo and the Pepsi Bottling Group. Delta currently does not plan to appoint someone to replace Spanos, the memo showed. (Reporting by Shivansh Tiwary and Pratyush Thakur in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai) One of the most frequently mentioned people at the Democratic National Convention this week has been someone not in the room: Shyamala Gopalan, Vice President Kamala Harris's late mother. Harris has frequently cited her mother as a major influence on her life and politics. In a now-viral 2023 interview, Harris quoted Gopalan saying, "You think you just fell out of coconut tree? You exist in the context of all in which you live and what came before you." The quip grew so popular that a coconut emoji quickly became a symbol of Harris's campaign online after she launched her presidential bid last month. Other DNC speakers have also adopted Gopalan's teachings. In her address to delegates this week, former First Lady Michelle Obama drew parallels between Gopalan and her own recently deceased mother, and cited one of Gopalan's mottos when she told the crowd, "Don't sit around and complain about things. Do something." Harris is likely to touch on her mother's legacy again in her speech Thursday accepting the presidential nomination. Here's what to know about Gopalan and her role in the vice president's politics. Who was Shyamala Gopalan? Born in India, Gopalan immigrated to the United States at 19 years old to pursue a post-graduate degree in nutrition and endocrinology at the University of California, Berkeley. She eventually became a breast cancer researcher, and her work contributed to several significant advances in the field. In California, Gopalan also met economist Donald J. Harris, and the couple married and had two children, Kamala and Maya. The couple bonded over their involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, and Harris has said attending marches for racial justice as a child was formative in her upbringing. Harris's parents eventually divorced, and Gopalan got primary custody of their children. Donald continued to see Kamala and Maya during the weekends and summer, but Gopalan raised the sisters "mostly on her own," according to the vice president's 2019 memoir. Had they been a little older, a little more emotionally mature, maybe the marriage could have survived. But they were so young, Kamala wrote in "The Truths We Hold." More: Who is Kamala Harris's father, Donald J. Harris? What is Shyamala Gopalan's connection to Wisconsin? Though she lived in California for much of her life, Gopalan also spent several years in Wisconsin. The family lived in Madison from the time Kamala was three to five years old. Shyamala worked as a breast cancer researcher in the McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research at University of Wisconsin-Madison, while Donald was an associate professor of economics at the university. In her memoir, Harris cited the family's move to Madison as the reason for her parents' separation. Vice President Kamala Harris visits the house she lived in with her parents from age 3 to 5 in Madison, Wis., when her parents worked at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Harris was in Madison on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, to tout the Biden administration's efforts at expanding union jobs. Shyamala Gopalan death and legacy Gopalan died of colon cancer in 2009 at the age of 70. At the time, Harris was serving as the district attorney of San Francisco. After her mother's death, Harris traveled to Chennai, India, to scatter Gopalan's ashes. Harris used to travel there with her mother every other year to visit her grandparents, according to USA Today. Though Gopalan won't be in the audience tonight, she will almost certainly on Harris's mind as becomes the first Black and South Asian woman to accept the Democratic presidential nomination. Mommy, you are the star of this book because you are the reason for everything, Harris wrote in her 2019 memoir The Truths We Hold. There is no title or honor on earth Ill treasure more than to say I am Shyamala Gopalan Harris daugher." This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Who is Kamala Harris's mother, Shyamala Harris? Kamala Harris just showed us the promise of a post-MAGA future. Now its up to the voters to decide to take us there. In her rousing convention speech on Thursday, Harris offered many olive branches to right-leaning independents and Republican voters. She vowed toughness on immigration and crime. She promised to transcend the nations divisions. She vowed to govern for all Americans and transcend faction or party. She made numerous appeals to voters with decidedly right-leaning values. But, in mulling what Harris means by all this, its crucial to appreciate what she did not do. Harris offered all this outreach to voters outside the core Democratic coalition without making serious concessions to the ideological preoccupations we associate with MAGA-style right-wing populism. There was no real accommodation with what might be called The World According to MAGA. Instead, Harris treated Trumpism and the MAGA movement as forces that must be decisively repudiatedand unequivocally left behind. How could Harris appeal extensively to voters on the other sidewhich by definition includes tens of millions of people who voted for Donald Trumpwhile insisting on a firm national renunciation of many MAGA voters apparent aspirations and beliefs? This tension, I think, helps explain why her appeals came across as so richly complex. Harris extensively reassured swing voters on many fronts. For those struggling economically, she offered populist, broadly appealing policies to curb health care and housing costs. To those preoccupied with crime and the border, Harris recounted her history as a tough prosecutor and vowed stringent border security. Harris delivered extensive paeans to middle-class struggles and values like family, community, homeownership, and faith. As William Kristol notes, she even strongly endorsed American exceptionalism. Yet Harris was also absolutely unsparing in her takedown of Trump. And its important to appreciate this criticism for what it really was. In numerous ways, Harris portrayed the broad MAGA worldview as something in need of comprehensive repudiation. A certain pundit theory of this election goes like this. The rise of Trump revealed an authentic upsurge of right populism in this country. In this telling, many voters do not see Trumps violent insurrection as too dramatic a crime, because theyre skeptical of our institutions and dont feel liberal democracy is delivering materially or spiritually. Many think Ukraine aid reflects a corrupted liberal international order and believe globalization has unraveled local attachments. Many oppose immigration on sincere communitarian or nationalist grounds. If some of this strays into illiberalism, well, thats an understandable backlash to liberalisms own excesses and failures. In this view, these Trumpist orientations must be treated as deeply felt and important, and thus in some sense must be accommodated. Thats critical, under this theory, to any hopes for Democrats to win back blue-collar, rural, and aging white votersand even working-class non-whites supposedly drifting toward right populism. Notably, Harriss speech made no such accommodations. Harris, for instance, treated the insurrection as an unforgivable crime against the countryfull stop. Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes, Harris said, making it absolutely clear that the days only victims were those who voted for Trumps opponent. Harris sharply criticized Trumps vow to pardon the violent extremists who assaulted those law enforcement officers at the Capitol, essentially declaring that leniency toward Trump supporters who attacked democracy is unthinkable. There were no mealymouthed nods to the idea that the rioters were motivated by grievances with our institutions that maybe, just maybe had a kernel of quasi-legitimacy to them. Harris depicted Trump as an insurrectionist and a criminalperiod. She did not shrink from describing all thisand Trumps second-term plans to persecute the oppositionas a threat to the rule of law and the American experiment that is foundational and deserves zero tolerance. Harris was similarly unequivocal in denouncing Trump over Ukraine. She hammered Trump for threatening to abandon NATO, which would give Russia a free hand to do whatever the hell they want to international allies, as Trump put it. She said this would abdicate our leadership role entirely. Here again there was no concession to the idea that perhaps Trump and MAGA do kind of have a point about NATO. Theres nothing wrong with finding fault with the liberal order, of course. But the point is, Harris evinced zero tolerance for the Trumpist and MAGA populist position toward it, or for the dubious idea that this position is motivated by undercurrents of virtue. Instead, Harris sharply noted that Trump is on the side of autocrats like Putin solely because he wants to be an autocrat himselfhe aspires to run our country the way Putin and Viktor Orban and their ilk run theirs, and for no other discernible reason. This requires unequivocal rejection. On immigration, the story is admittedly more complicated. But Harris made no serious capitulation to Trumpism here, either. Harris did vow to sign the recently negotiated bipartisan border bill (the one that Trump ordered Republicans to kill), which would seriously restrict asylum-seeking, as MAGA populists do want. But importantly, that bill would also somewhat expand legal immigration through new visas. Whats more, her speech expressly reaffirmed her commitment to legalization for undocumented immigrants in the United States. The Biden-Harris administration has already granted protections to half a million undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens and implemented parole programs allowing in tens of thousands of migrants monthly who apply from abroad. As president, Harris would restrict asylum-seekingwhich may indeed be objectionable on humanitarian groundsbut shed also seek to legalize millions, and those broader pathways for entry would be protected. I do think Harris should more clearly outline her future vision of legal immigration and frontally condemn Trumps explicit white nationalist attacks on immigrants. But still, Harriss speech is at bottom a concession only to the idea that we must better manage immigration flows, and that we must shift incentives away from asylum-seeking toward broadening other legal means for immigrants to enter the country. As would be expected from the daughter of immigrantswhich her speech emotionally advertisedthis vision just isnt an ideological turn away from the ideal of encouraging legal immigration as an affirmative national good. Its not a concession to Trumpist or MAGA populist anxiety over immigration in any meaningful sense. So what is Harris really up to with all this? Its been argued that Harris is resuscitating an approach used by Barack Obama to make broad, unifying appeals to swing voters, employing what Semafors Benjy Sarlin describes as patriotic pluralism. Importantly, however, in Harriss approach, this outreach appears to coexist with sharp, overt condemnation of the illiberalism being dangled before them in the form of Trumpism. The force of the vision Harris outlined flows from this: She made genuine appeals to voters outside the Democratic coalition, including supporters of Trumpwhile simultaneously treating much of the MAGA right populist worldview as a toxically illiberal force in American life. This explains how Harriss speech could be hailed by centrist commentators for recognizing the values of right-leaning populist voters, even as she also forcefully defended reproductive rightsand the freedom to love who you love openly and with prideas fundamentally liberal freedoms. This balance was also evident when Tim Walz, in his convention speech, rhapsodized about the communitarian virtues of small-town and rural lifewhile also full-throatedly standing up for the ideal of liberal autonomy. Thats what Walz did when he defended a womans right to choose as an act of respect for our neighbors and the personal choices they make. In this, Walz denounced the illiberal impulse to take those choices away as an act of supreme disrespect for those neighbors. Barack Obamas speech powerfully framed this election as a battle between liberal and the illiberal forces in American life, as Voxs Zack Beauchamp argues. Id add that Harris and Walz are defending the liberal impulse as an act of reciprocal social support. One big knock on liberalism is that its individualism has left people isolated and lacking in communal solidarityand thus vulnerable to illiberal appeals like Trumpism. Harris and Walz seem to be saying that liberal reciprocitystanding up for the freedom and autonomy of others as an act of mutual respectcan create its own form of solidarity. You might call this good vibes, or joy. In a remarkable turn, Harris appears prepared to run precisely the aggressive, inspired campaign that combatting the rising forces of domestic authoritarianism requires. Her vision hints at a post-MAGA future that is fully faithful to liberal idealsfreedom, autonomy, open societies, free and fair electionswhile also addressing dissatisfactions with American life, from economic precarity to feelings of physical insecurity, that are leading many into the temptations of illiberalism. Getting to that future, Harris and Walz appear to be saying, will require fully consigning MAGA to the dustheap of history where it belongs. Gov. Roy Cooper stood on stage surrounded by 50,000 Democrats listening to him make the case for Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the nation. His five-minute speech came moments before Harris took the stage to formally accept Democrats nomination of her as president of the United States. And he grinned ear-to-ear as he made his case for her. Thursday night was all about Harris: who she is and what she will be like as president. But Coopers high-profile role, at the first convention he has ever attended, emphasized the importance Democrats are putting on winning North Carolina this campaign cycle. He was joined on the last night of the convention by Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams and Eric Fitts, an educator from Raleigh, and his two sons. America, we have a lot of big fights ahead of us, and weve got one hell of a fighter ready to take them on, Cooper said. I want Americans to know, even if you dont agree with her on everything, no, well fight for you to the very end. So far, that emphasis has paid off. Former President Donald Trump largely ignored the state over the past year and continued to poll ahead of President Joe Biden, the then-presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party. But once Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed Harris for president, she started polling ahead of or even with Trump in North Carolina. Trumps visits to North Carolina began to pick up, most recently Wednesday in Asheboro at a rally with his running mate, JD Vance. Tapping Cooper to give the second-to-last speech of the night made sense. Cooper and Harris have known each other since serving together as their states attorneys general. During the six years they overlapped as their states top legal advisers, they worked together in Washington trying to get money back from banks for homeowners struggling after the mortgage crisis. Cooper talked about that story in his speech Thursday night. All the AGs were close to a settlement with the big banks, and it was a pretty good deal, Cooper said. It would have meant $4 billion for California families who had been ripped off. I know that sounds like a lot, but Kamala said, Hang on a minute. Ive met these families. I know what theyve been through, and they deserve more. Cooper said it was a risk, but she succeeded and won those families $20 billion. Cooper and Harris relationship led to his being mentioned on lists of potential running mates for Harris. But Cooper took himself out of the running, saying it wasnt the right time. Instead, hes been by her side, campaigning with her and on her behalf. Kamalas ready, Cooper said, on stage. The question is, are we? Are we gonna stand up and fight for Kamala? He called on North Carolina to stand up if theyre willing to fight for her. Then he called on several other states and encouraged people to get out and vote. Throughout the week, Cooper has expressed his belief that Harris will win North Carolina. A Democrat running for president hasnt won the state since 2008: former President Barack Obama. Before Obama, it had been 32 years. But Republican candidates dont capture the Tar Heel State by a lot. Less than 4%. So a Harris win isnt out of the realm of possibility. And North Carolina Democrats are fired up to make it happen. North Carolina Democratic Party chair Anderson Clayton joins state delegates to cast their votes in the ceremonial roll call during the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 20, 2024. Milkshakes and politics Cooper wasnt the only North Carolinian to take the stage for Harris on Thursday night. Eric Fitts, an educator from Raleigh, also spoke before the crowd with his two sons, Christian and Carter, and expressed his dissatisfaction in Trumps rhetoric. I always try to set an example for my boys, Fitts told the audience. To teach them compassion, accountability and resilience. I want those values to be reflected in our leaders. Fitts and his sons got an up-close view of Biden and how he presents himself in January, when Biden came to the Fitts home with milkshakes and food from Cook Out to discuss how Bidens student loan forgiveness program helped Fitts and his sons. Video taken of the visit by Christian went viral on TikTok. Fitts and Biden would see each other again after Biden came to Raleigh immediately following his poor debate performance against Trump, that ultimately led Biden to end his campaign. Fitts stood by Bidens side on stage and supported the presidents candidacy. On Thursday, he threw his support to Harris. I dont want to turn off the TV because our president is lobbing insults or telling lies, Fitts said. Im tired of all the hate. Its time to move forward together and build a country our kids can be proud of. Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams speaks Aug. 22, 2024, during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. Mayors restaurant Durham Mayor Leonardo Williams spoke on stage about the struggles he and his wife faced during the Trump administration in trying to open a restaurant. Instead, they would cook for their community and drive around passing out samples. When Biden became president, Williams said they applied for a small business loan. It allowed them to expand their restaurant, Zwelis, the first Zimbabwean restaurant in the country, to three locations with 30 employees. Williams and his wife were not alone in wanting to open a business. Under the Biden administration, Williams said, hundreds of thousands of people filed business applications in North Carolina. Kamala Harris is fighting to create this opportunity economy that can break down barriers for entrepreneurs like us, Williams said. And as president, she will support risk-takers and problem-solvers who want to just do their part and claim their piece of the American dream. North Carolinian appearances Other North Carolinians made cameos at the convention. Charlotte native and Golden State Warriors player Steph Curry endorsed Harris in a video played during the last day of the convention. State Democratic Party Chairwoman Anderson Clayton, 26, the youngest chair in history, made the nomination of Harris on behalf of North Carolinas 131 delegates during a raucous roll call. This year, we are going to make sure that we put Democrats on the ballot and in peoples hearts and minds, Clayton said, as she nominated Harris. A video recording of basketball player Stephen Curry plays during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. Nervahna Crew, a Raleigh resident who once worked as a regional political director for Biden, called into the convention by video conference to talk to Saturday Night Live star Kenan Thompson. Thompson was leading a sketch on Project 2025, a set of controversial policies created by the Heritage Foundation for the next Republican president. As part of the sketch, Thompson told Crew and others how Project 2025 would affect them personally. He asked Crew if she was on insulin. Yes, and thanks to President Biden and Vice President Harris I only pay $35 a month for my insulin, Crew said. But then Thompson told her that Project 2025 would force Americans to pay more for prescription drugs like insulin. Crew also attended the convention in person. James Taylor bumped from schedule James Taylor grew up in Chapel Hill and wrote Carolina in My Mind as a tribute to his home state. He was set to perform Monday, but was cut from the schedule as Biden, the keynote speaker of the evening, was pushed out of prime time and into the East Coasts 11 p.m. hour. Some thought the convention organizers might make it up to him by playing his tribute to the state during North Carolinas roll call vote, but instead they played Raise Up by Petey Pablo. Taylor took to social media apologizing for disappointing his fan. He said he was excited to hear and see the speakers on opening night. But it became clear, as the evening unfolded, there wouldnt be time for our Youve Got a Friend, with cello and voices, Taylor wrote. Maybe the organizers couldnt anticipate the wild response from the floor of the United Center. Anyway, sorry to disappoint. But a great and inspirational, quintessential American moment. We were honored to be there. 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. Few people would suggest that Kamala Harris is an outstanding orator. Her acceptance speech last night got off to a guttering start, dwelling for too long on a rendition of her backstory before she got into her stride. After a bit of meandering, however, the section that roused the audience was the one that is perhaps distinguished by its divisiveness: foreign policy. Particularly the war in Gaza, the subject of rowdy and disturbing Left-wing protests outside the convention centre in downtown Chicago, which saw the immolation of an American flag. Before backing into that quagmire, she stoked the energy in the hall. As Commander-in-Chief, I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world, she said. Great stuff. Can you imagine a British leader, even one from the Right, being so bold? Much applause. Harris compounded the bombast by vowing to ensure that America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century and that we strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership. This she contrasted with Trumps threats to abandon Nato and his bizarre remark that so far as he was concerned, the Russians could do whatever the hell they want if the Europeans didnt pay their way. Everything was going swimmingly. With the stage thus set, Harris launched into the thorny matter of Israel. This is the point where it all got a little bit Alice Through The Looking Glass. Hamas seemed to get off rather lightly; and Iran the head of the octopus which has wrapped its tentacles around the region and is reaching into London and Washington almost escaped altogether. Disappointingly, her very first statement, the one that set the tone, underscored her desire for a peace agreement. Now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done, she insisted, indicating that she intended to fall into the Biden trap of telegraphing Americas desperation for a deal to a negotiating partner that is listening hard and will adjust its terms accordingly. Recovering from that misstep, she reinforced her pro-Jerusalem credentials. I will always stand up for Israels right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, she said, Because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that the terrorist organisation Hamas caused on October 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival. It is impossible to deny that this was an impressive statement. Not only did Harris defy the protesters to deliver an unequivocal message of support for the Jewish state, but she also cited the mass rape of October 7, something that has been questioned by depraved conspiracy theorists. Thereafter, however, the terrorist group strangely faded from the speech. Harris went on to decry the devastating suffering in Gaza, with so many innocent lives lost and desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. Of course, it was entirely right to show such human sympathy, and to conclude that the scale of suffering is heartbreaking. And it was impressive that any explicit criticism of Israel for which there must have been much Left-wing lobbying made no appearance here. But there was no repetition of the blame that must fall upon Hamas for the war. In fact, Hamas is not solely to blame. Even as the Islamic Republic openly plots a second major attack on the Jewish state, it was mentioned only very briefly. I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists, Harris said, suggesting a determination to continue to play defence a la Biden, rather than enforce a deterrent. Which is exactly what has been going so wrong. Could you imagine Churchill acknowledging that Germany triggered the war on September 1, 1939, but then speaking movingly of the suffering of German civilians at the expense of lambasting Hitler? Could you imagine him failing to connect Germany, Japan and Italy? To defeat an enemy you must name him. Otherwise he does not exist. With so many messages ringing in their ears, convention delegates across a wide range of the political spectrum went away happy. But the Ayatollah must have been far from dismayed. These stupid Americans, he chuckled to himself. Im systematically tightening the noose and they cant even bring themselves to name me. Whats the point of having the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world if youre not clear about its target? And with that, the last part of the Cheshire Cat to vanish was its grin. 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. Mary C. Snow Elementary School in Charleston, W.Va, will test out a new program that offers prizes for students who miss no more than eight school days. (Amelia Ferrell Knisely | West Virginia Watch) Chronic absenteeism remains a serious problem for West Virginia schools after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted learning for students. Nearly 30% of West Virginia students were chronically absent missing 18 or more days during the 2022-23 school year, according to the most recent data from the state education department. In an effort to get kids to school, a Kanawha County elementary school launched a pilot program on Friday to incentivize attendance through rewards. The program, Steal the Show, Eight or Below, asks students at Mary C. Snow West Side Elementary School on Charlestons West Side to miss no more than eight days this school year. We love you and we want you to do your best so you can achieve your goals. We know that sometimes you have to miss because maybe you might be sick, but we want you to come every day, Principal Destiny Spencer told students at an outdoor pep rally to launch the program. Students meeting the attendance goal can earn prizes like special lunches, limo rides, movies and more thanks to donations from community members, many of whom attended the kickoff event. Eight students with the best attendance records will receive $100 each at the end of the school year. Spencer said that last school year, 67 of the schools 375 students were chronically absent with both excused and unexcused absences. Sometimes they just are tired. They get in a routine that they just dont want to come, and I dont think they realize the importance of why we need to be here. Its just school to them, but school to us [is] a bigger picture for them, she said. Consistent school attendance has been linked to higher academic achievement and a better chance of graduating from high school and entering the workforce. The program could be expanded to include other schools. The West Virginia Department of Education chose Mary C. Snow to pilot the program, and Spencer explained that she and her staff were able to come up with their own details about how it would work. They kind of gave us a framework, and we took off with it, she said. Charleston Mayor Amy Goodwin encouraged students to show up for school, promising a once a month lunch with the mayor as a reward for attendance. I am going [to] show you how much I appreciate and love you for showing up to school, she told students. Lawmakers also attempted to address chronic absenteeism, and a new state law in effect this school year allows each student no more than 10 unexcused absences. Should a student exceed that limit, the legislation permits the attendance director or assistant to make a complaint against the parent or guardian before a magistrate of the county. The law also requires schools to establish meaningful contact with parents or guardians after just one unexcused absence. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Members of the Black Legislative Caucus in Kansas from left, Rep. Brad Boyd, Sen. David Haley and Rep. Marvin Robinson discuss education policy and other issues after meeting with Gov. Laura Kelly in March 2023 Rep. Marvin Robinson II, a Democrat representing northeast Kansas City, Kansas, and pictured right, died unexpectedly, his sister announced Friday on Facebook. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA Kansas City, Kansas, Rep. Marvin Robinson II died unexpectedly, his sister announced Friday. He was 67. DeLisa Fowler, Robinsons sister, announced his death in a Facebook post in the early hours of the morning Friday. The post did not disclose how Robinson died. May his memory inspire us to live with love and purpose, she wrote. Robinson, a Navy veteran, was remembered Friday as a dedicated legislator and activist. He was elected to the Kansas House in 2022, serving one term and losing a reelection bid in the Aug. 6 primary to educator Wanda Brownlee Paige. Despite being a Democrat, Robinson often sided with Republicans during his tenure. The Wyandotte County representative sponsored criminal justice bills in the 2024 session, including one that proposed abolishing the death penalty and another that would commute the sentences of people convicted of marijuana-related offenses. During the 2023 session, Robinson secured funding from GOP leadership for the Quindaro Ruins, a historically significant stop on the Underground Railroad located in his district. The funding was shrouded in politically charged controversy, but it was a cumulation of Robinsons activism. These people sacrificed everything they had, Robinson told Kansas Reflector in 2020. Quindaro is a physical representation of those who escaped slavery in addition to those that helped them, which included members of the womens suffrage movement, New England Immigrant Aid Company members and Wyandot Indians, the Reflector reported. Theres so much to learn from lessons of the past, Robinson said. We dont have to go reinvent the wheel. We need to go forward like never before. Everybody needs to roll up their sleeves. Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City Mayor Tyrone Garner wrote in a Facebook post Friday: Representative Robinson will be remembered by many for his strong support for the preservation and national recognition of the Quindaro Ruins in Kansas City Kansas. Garner said Robinsons community activism and commitment to northeast Kansas City, Kansas, will continue to hold value. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed funding for the ruins in May 2023. A month before, Robinson broke party lines and was the deciding vote to overturn Kellys veto of a transgender athlete ban for K-12 schools and colleges, which made the ban law. Lawmakers speculated at the time that Kellys rejection of the Quindaro Ruins funding was punishment, but Kelly maintained it was because the funding was a last-minute addition and hadnt gone through proper channels. She later allocated $1 million to the ruins with state Department of Commerce funds. Kelly ordered flags on state property be lowered to half-staff until sundown on the day of Robinsons burial. Representative Robinson showed a commitment to public service throughout his time in the Navy and the Kansas Legislature, Kelly said in a statement. Kansas Family Voice, an anti-abortion group that supported Robinsons recent primary bid, posted a statement on X Friday expressing shock and sadness. House Speaker Dan Hawkins reposted the statement. With heavy hearts, we pause to remember State Representative Marvin Robinson, the statement read. We will always remember his kindness and courage in adversity. He was bold and unashamed to stand up for his faith. KANSAS CITY, Mo. Democratic Kansas Rep. Marvin Robinson, a resident of Kansas City, Kansas, who long advocated to preserving the Quindaro Ruins has died at the age of 67. Governor Laura Kelly released a statement on X Friday saying Representative Robinson showed a commitment to public service throughout his time in the Navy and the Kansas Legislature. My thoughts go out to his friends and family during this difficult time. Kelly has also ordered that flags be lowered to half-staff on all state buildings, grounds and facilities in honor of Robinson. Wyandotte County/KCK Mayor Tyrone Garner said Robinson will be remembered by many for his strong support for the preservation and national recognition of the Quindaro Ruins in Kansas City, Kansas. Representative Robinson will definitely be missed by all those that loved him and valued his tireless work. His community activism and commitment to Northeast Kansas City Kansas will continue to be both valued and appreciated, Garner added. Two people found dead after home explosion in Clay County Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins also released a statement Friday saying It is with great sadness that we share our colleague, Rep. Marvin Robinson II passed away yesterday. Marvin was a beloved member of the House of Representatives and served his district with grace and integrity. He also served our nation as a member of the U.S. Navy. We are deeply saddened by this great loss. Please join me in prayer for his family, friends, and colleagues. Rest in peace, friend. Quindaro was a short-lived town and a station on the Underground Railroad that helped enslaved people escape to Canada. A proposal to build a landfill there in the 1980s led to an investigation of the site and the discovery of multiple buildings foundations. When you heard the name Marvin Robinson, the first thing you thought about is Quindaro, the Quindaro Township, Kansas City, Kansas, Democrat State Senator David Haley said. Robinson advocated for the sites restoration and development as a national historic landmark for several decades before he won an open House seat in 2022. Robinson made headlines last year after he voted to override Kellys veto of a measure banning transgender female athletes from girls and womens sports, giving Republicans the supermajority they needed. The veto came after the governor axed $250,000 in the state budget for drafting a state plan to develop the Quindaro Ruins. See the latest headlines in Kansas City and across Kansas, Missouri Kelly claimed the request for funding was made at the last minute and there hadnt been any vetting of how the money would be used. We were sometimes hot and cold, we didnt agree on some issues but we agreed on more issues than we didnt, Haley said. I do consider him to be an ally and a friend. In many ways he taught me, to be courageous. Robinson lost in the Aug. 6 Primary Election to Democrat Wanda Paige for Kansas District 35. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The state's $200 million Build Kansas Fund has worked with local units of government on infrastructure investments, including a Pittsburg request for a $1.5 million sidewalk construction project to improve pedestrian safety. So far, 11 state-local proposals have secured $31 million in federal grants for infrastructure upgrades. (Screen capture of Kansas Legislature's YouTube channel) The state's $200 million Build Kansas Fund has worked with local units of government on infrastructure investments, including a Pittsburg request for a $1.5 million sidewalk construction project to improve pedestrian safety. So far, 11 state-local proposals have secured $31 million in federal grants for infrastructure upgrades. (Screen capture of Kansas Legislature's YouTube channel) TOPEKA Officials in Dodge City secured a $14.2 million federal matching grant to improve water treatment and support releases into the Arkansas River streambed to assist with recharging wells linked to the rapidly depleting Ogallala Aquifer. The city of Ellsworth will make use of $117,000 in federal funding to build a building for airport snow removal equipment. Theres $7.6 million for Johnson County Transit to buy energy-efficient propane and compressed natural gas buses to replace diesel-powered vehicles that exceeded their useful life. Under the local, state and federal program, $16 million was promised the Prairie Band Potawatomie Nation to upgrade 14 miles of highway and to build 2.5 miles of walking trail. Matthew Volz, executive director of the Kansas Infrastructure Hub, said these projects were among 11 in Kansas earning federal approval in the past year under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law authorizing distribution to U.S. states of $1.2 billion. The Legislature and Gov. Laura Kelly established the Build Kansas Fund for the purpose of investing $200 million over four years to support infrastructure projects tied to water, transportation, energy, cybersecurity and broadband initiatives. Volz said state investment of $23.1 million in the 11 projects had secured $31.5 million in federal grants. Its all good news, he told state legislators Wednesday. A 136% return on investment. The states Build Kansas Fund, with consent of the legislative advisory committee, agreed to place a total of 63 projects in the federal grant pipeline. So far, the federal government rejected eight Kansas applications. That means $31.6 million in state financing would be folded back into the Build Kansas Fund. During the most recent legislative oversight hearing, three projects were added to the federal grant wish list from Kansas. The city of Pittsburg pledged $110,000 and requested $236,000 from the state and $1.2 million from the federal government for a sidewalk construction project to assist with pedestrian traffic. They want to have sidewalks on both sides of the roadway so that people at the hotels can access the retail and the restaurant zone, Volz said. Also forwarded to the federal government was a proposal from Arkansas City for $300,000 to develop a road and pedestrian safety plan. The city would donate $3,000 and the state would earmark $57,000 with the federal government covering the remainder of the budget. Dickinson County put together a proposal for evaluation of transportation safety corridors. The county offered $12,000 and the state set aside $36,000 in anticipation of securing $192,000 from the federal government. The state, at the Legislatures request, issued a document outlining the expectation, but not a mandate, that local units of government contribute 5% of the cost of projects associated with the local, state and federal infrastructure initiative. The funding from a city, county or other entity could be in the form of cash or in-kind contributions, Volz said. Its designed to show commitment to the project, Volz said. Rep. Troy Waymaster, the Bunker Hill Republican and chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, said the state didnt want to require all applicants to make the 5% contribution. It was likely some applicants didnt have resources to pay a share of an infrastructure project, he said. Youre a community of 400 people, Waymaster said. It may be very difficult for you to come up with a match. KC Streetcar shutting down Grand Blvd. Bridge. Heres what to know: KANSAS CITY, Mo. The Grand Boulevard Bridge in Kansas City will be closed temporarily while KC Streetcar crews continue working on the Riverfront Extension. On September 9, KC Streetcar will be closing the bridge from 2nd Street to Front Street. Theyre saying that the closure is necessary for crews to mill the bridge deck, install expansion joints and prepare the bridge for track and other activities. KCI breaks record number for second month in a row KC Streetcar says that the first phase of the closure will last about 45 days. KC Streetcar has also provided detour routes to help clear up any confusion or frustrations with Kansas City drivers. Vehicle traffic from the River Market to the Berkley Riverfront will detour to Independence Ave., north on The Paseo, north on I-29 and then any of the River Market exits. Pedestrians and bicycles will use the Town of Kansas Bridge to travel between the River Market and Berkely Riverfront. This bridge is located north of 2nd Street on Main Street. Following the Riverfront Extention prep work, the bridge will remain closed for two weeks as Brandenburg Demolition will remove a coal chute that conflicts with the extension. The coal shoot, owned by Evergy, is located just north of 2nd Street. This additional work will make the entire closure last from September 9 to November 7 if things go to plan. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Kennedy endorses Trump after asking Pa. court to take his name off the commonwealths ballot Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy (Right) with attorney Paul Rossi (Left) after a Commonwealth Court hearing on Aug. 20, 2024. (Capital-Star photo by Peter Hall) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that he would suspend his independent presidential campaign and seek to have his name removed from ballots in battleground states while endorsing former President Donald Trumps reelection. Kennedy made the announcement, saying that he was making good on his promise not to be a spoiler in the election, during a live streamed news conference Friday afternoon. It followed him filing papers in Pennsylvania court asking to have his and running mate Nicole Shanahans names removed from the commonwealths ballot. The one-page filing in Commonwealth Court said that as a result of Kennedys endorsement of former President Donald Trump for reelection, Kennedy and running mate Nicole Shanahan would no longer oppose a Democratic-backed challenge to their candidacies. In April of 2023 I launched my campaign for president of the United States. I began this journey as a Democrat, the party my father, my uncle, the party which I pledge my own allegiance to, he said, adding that he had worked hard to promote his candidacy despite skepticism and continual legal warfare challenging his candidacy. In an honest system, I believe that I would have won the election, Kennedy said, suggesting that the media, partisan primary system and courts were aligned against him. Im sorry to say that while democracy may still be alive at the grassroots, it has become a little more than a slogan for our political institutions, for our media and for our government, and most sadly of all for me, the Democratic Party, Kennedy said. Kennedy said that he will remain on the ballot in states that arent battlegrounds, and that he could conceivably still end up in the White House in a contingent election. A vaccine skeptic who has promoted numerous health-related conspiracy theories, Kennedy spent a large portion of his speech discussing the need to reduce childhood disease and obesity. He said that he would like his relationship with Trump to function like a unity party that would allow them to disagree on some issues and collaborate on others. I feel a moral obligation to use this opportunity to save millions of American children, Kennedy said about his decision to suspend his campaign and help elect Trump. He didnt mention a specific role in a potential Trump administration, but said about combating childhood diseases that President Trump told me that he wants this to be his legacy. Im choosing to believe that this time he will follow through. Kennedy said that he also reached out to Vice President Kamala Harris campaign about potentially reaching a similar agreement, but she declined to meet or even to speak with me. Following his announcement, the Harris campaign released a statement. For any American out there who is tired of Donald Trump and looking for a new way forward, ours is a campaign for you, Harris Campaign Chair Jen OMalley Dillon said in a press release. In order to deliver for working people and those who feel left behind, we need a leader who will fight for you, not just for themselves, and bring us together, not tear us apart. Vice President Harris wants to earn your support. Kennedy has widely been viewed by both parties as a potential spoiler for the 2024 race. A move to endorse either major partys nominee could tip the scales of the election in their favor. Paul Rossi, Kennedys lawyer, said earlier that there were no plans to withdraw from the ballot in Pennsylvania. Though the campaign had already filed a request to remove Kennedy from the ballot in Arizona on Thursday. Were not pulling off the ballot in Pennsylvania, Rossi told the Capital-Star. Hes endorsing whatever he does today has no impact on what were doing here. Asked if he was aware of the request to be removed from the ballot in Arizona, another key swing state, Rossi said, Im aware of everything. The Kennedy campaign did not respond to questions about Kennedys plans or Rossis statements. On Wednesday, NBC news reported that Kennedy planned to drop out of the race and endorse Republican candidate Donald Trump, according to multiple sources. On Thursday, Kennedys campaign filed paperwork in Arizona to withdraw from the presidential ballot in the state. In an interview posted Tuesday, Shanahan said on the podcast Impact Theory that she and Kennedy were considering whether to remain in the race or drop out and support Trump. Rossi is representing Kennedy in a Commonwealth Court case brought by voters in Philadelphia and Dauphin County alleging that Kennedy used a fake address to file for ballot access and did not meet signature requirements. The case is backed by a Democratic super PAC Clear Choice Action. A ruling is expected soon, though it may not be in Kennedys favor. At a hearing for the case Tuesday, Kennedy was unable to speak on his own behalf because he arrived nearly two hours late. The deadline to withdraw from the ballot in Pennsylvania passed on August 12. Kennedys campaign made no such request and would need to seek leave from the Commonwealth Court to remove him unless the ongoing case against him is successful. Kennedys campaign began with major momentum for a third party candidate, polling as high as 10% earlier this year. However, after a series of scandals and a tightening race between the two major party candidates, Kennedys polling has dropped below 5%. Kennedy has embraced many baseless conspiracy theories throughout his campaign, particularly when it comes to health. His campaign has also faced a number of scandals, including a recent report that Kennedy staged the death of a bear cub in Central Park to make it falsely appear it was hit by a bike nearly 10 years ago. This story was updated at 4:21 pm after Kennedy announced his decision to endorse former President Donald Trump By Joanna Plucinska and Lisa Barrington LONDON/SEOUL (Reuters) -Singapore Airlines, British Airways and Lufthansa have increased their flights over Afghanistan after years of largely avoiding it now the Middle East conflict has made it seem a relatively safe option. The carriers mostly stopped transiting Afghanistan, which lies on major routes between Asia and Europe, three years ago when the Taliban took over and air traffic control services stopped. Those services have yet to resume, but airlines increasingly consider the skies between Iran and Israel are riskier than Afghan airspace. Many had started routing through Iran and the Middle East after Russian skies were closed to most western carriers when the Ukraine war began in 2022. "As conflicts have evolved, the calculus of which airspace to use has changed. Airlines are seeking to mitigate risk as much as possible and they see overflying Afghanistan as the safer option given the current tensions between Iran and Israel," Ian Petchenik, a spokesperson for flight tracking organisation Flightradar24, said. There were more than seven times the number of flights over Afghanistan in the second week of August than during the same period a year ago, according to a Reuters analysis of FlightRadar24 data. The shift began in mid-April during reciprocal missile and drone attacks between Iran and Israel. Flight tracking data from the time shows Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, British Airways and others began to send a few flights a day over Afghanistan. But the main growth has been since the killing of senior members of militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah in late July raised concerns of a major escalation. Some pilots are concerned. "You're depending on the analysis of your airline. Every time I fly out there, I don't like the feeling of flying over a conflict area where you don't know, actually, what is happening," said Otjan de Bruin, a commercial pilot and head of the European Cockpit Association. "It's always safe enough, until proven otherwise." Lufthansa Group told Reuters it decided to resume overflying Afghan airspace from early July. Other carriers that have increased overflights since April include Turkish Airlines, Thai Airways and the Air France-KLM group, data shows. "Based on actual security information, KLM and other airlines currently safely overfly Afghanistan only on specific routes and only at high altitudes," KLM told Reuters. British Airways, Thai Airways, Turkish Airlines and Singapore Airlines did not respond to requests for comment. Story continues Taiwan's EVA Air began from late July, flight tracking data shows. EVA told Reuters it chooses routes based on safety, the current international situation and flight advisories. REGULATION'S ROLE The route changes have been facilitated by aviation regulators easing guidance on Afghanistan. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in early July said planes could fly at a lower altitude over a sliver of north-eastern Afghanistan, the Wakhan Corridor, which is used to cross from Tajikistan to Pakistan - opening that path to more types of flights. A year earlier, the FAA lifted its ban on overflights for the entire country, but said planes must stay above 32,000 feet (9,753.6 m) where surface-to-air weapons are considered less effective. But few started using Afghanistan until April. Although more traffic has been using the airspace without incident, there is no guarantee of crew or passenger safety if a plane has to land, flight safety group OPSGROUP said in July. In the absence of air traffic control, pilots crossing Afghanistan talk to nearby planes over radio according to a protocol drawn up by U.N. aviation body ICAO and Afghanistan's Civil Aviation Authority. European aviation safety regulator EASA said in a conflict-zone information bulletin re-issued in July that "extremist non-state actor groups remain active and might sporadically target aviation facilities in multiple ways." The industry is haunted by the memory of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, which was shot down over eastern Ukraine in 2014, as fighting raged between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces. COST AND LIMITED CHOICE Airlines are under pressure to save money after the loss since 2022 of many shorter paths through Russian airspace, and as they re-build from the pandemic. There are few international rules that dictate which areas of airspace are safe and airline safety decisions are left largely to the discretion of individual carriers. If an airline cannot fly through Russia, Ukraine or Iran, central Afghanistan offers a more direct route into southern Asia from Europe. "This route saved us a fair chunk of time and fuel," OPSGROUP reported from a pilot in July who flew from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur across central Afghanistan. (Reporting by Joanna Plucinska in London and Lisa Barrington in Seoul; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Barbara Lewis) Members of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s extended family called it a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear on Friday after the independent presidential candidate announced that he was endorsing former President Trump. We want an America filled with hope and bound together by a shared vision of a brighter future, Kerry Kennedy wrote in a statement alongside four of Kennedys siblings. We believe in Harris and Walz. Our brother Bobbys decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story, they added. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that he was suspending his independent campaign and would remove his name from the ballot in swing states like Pennsylvania and Arizona. His name will remain on the ballot in states that are solidly Democratic or Republican. He also announced that he was endorsing Trump, a move that had been expected for much of the week. On Wednesday, Kennedy announced he would address the nation Friday about the future of his candidacy. During his Friday address, Kennedy spent most of his time blasting Democrats and the media for not giving him a fair shake. In my heart, I no longer believe that I have a realistic path to electoral victory in the face of this relentless, systematic censorship and media control, he said during Fridays press conference. So I cannot in good conscience ask my staff and volunteers to keep working their long hours, or ask my donor to keep giving when I cannot honestly, tell them, that I have a real path to the White House. Trump, Harris campaigns weigh in on RFK Jr. suspending bid Since Wednesday, Kennedy has moved to remove his name from the Arizona and Pennsylvania ballots, and sources close to Kennedy indicated that he is negotiating with the Trump campaign for a spot in the potential second Trump administration. Kerry Kennedy, who leads the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization, wrote the statement alongside four siblings Courtney Kennedy, Chris Kennedy, Rory Kennedy and former Maryland Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D). RFK Jr. is the third-eldest child of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. The Kennedy family has been a mainstay of the Democratic Party since John F. Kennedy became president. The family has regularly dismissed RFK Jr.s Independent candidacy since he first launched his presidential bid last year. Before he launched his campaign for president, family members also penned a column denouncing his anti-vaccination positions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgment. Todays announcement is deeply saddening for us. We denounce his candidacy and believe it to be perilous for our country, some of Kennedys siblings wrote last year. After he dropped out, other members of the Kennedy family also weighed in. Never been less surprised in my life. Been saying it for over a year RFKjr is for sale, works for Trump. Bedfellows and loving it, Jack Schlossberg, former President Kennedys grandson who spoke at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, wrote on social platform X. Kamala Harris is for the people the easiest decision of all time just got easier. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Last week a Kentucky school districts social media posts against a proposed constitutional amendment caught legal scrutiny from the Kentucky Attorney Generals office. On Thursday, state lawmakers heard more about where schools can draw the line. Doesnt matter if youre a Republican, Democrat or Independent. It doesnt matter if you support Amendment Two or oppose it. The law is clear, Senior Counsel Wil Schroder opened. Possible bill could change when Kentucky teens can get their driving permit The proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot in November could have an impact on public school funding, and already several district superintendents have shared concerns about losing funds. Last week Pulaski County Schools posted a Kentucky Center for Economic Policy infographic and a stylized Vote No image to advocate against the amendment. Many in favor of the amendment have argued the school broke the law, while others including the districts superintendent argued it was within their First Amendment rights. Attorney General Russell Coleman issued an advisory shortly after to make clear where advocates can draw the line, which was the topic of discussion at Thursdays meeting. It creates at least in the minds of the public, a question of is this the assertion of personal opinions or is this an institutional position taken by the school? And we dont want our schools to be seen as taking partisan positions, General Counsel Christopher Thacker said. Thacker referenced a 2021 law that states local, state, and federal tax dollars shall not be used to advocate for or against any public question that appears on the ballot to make clear that using any resources from a schools printer paper to its social media on Amendment 2 would violate the law. Additionally, he referred to an AG opinion issued in 1974 outlining limits to advocacy on a busing amendment and the state constitutions language on how taxes may be used for educational purposes. Kuttawa ham wins Kentucky State Fair breakfast auction, raises record-breaking bid for charities Even if you could say, you know, that doesnt even cost pennies or we cant even tell for sure if its costing the school anything if it creates the appearance that the school, qua school, the school as an institution, is taking a position thats a nominal use of resources and thats not permitted, Thacker said. Thacker argued the law does not limit First Amendment rights to take a position, as long as its in the appropriate setting. For example, he said discussing the amendment openly at a school board meeting would be appropriate. When youre not on the clock, when youre not using school resources, when youre not using an official forum thats not open to the public, youre free to say whatever you want, Thacker said. Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong (D-Louisville) was the only lawmaker with a question who asked Thacker to clarify where the line is between public advocacy and answering general public inquiries. I heard you say that its okay to provide evidence and fact-based answers I think, Chambers-Armstrong said. Pulaski County School Districts superintendent responded to our request for a statement: The Federal Courts have long recognized the doctrine of government speech and that school districts may exercise this First Amendment right of speech. This was recently recognized in a similar fact situation in the 4th Circuit in 2008. In Kentucky, the public schools very existence is threatened by the voucher proposal in Amendment 2. The Public schools First Amendment right to speak against this voucher proposal should not be stifled by the Kentucky Attorney General. To my knowledge, the Kentucky Attorney General has never before issued an Advisory such as this. Advisory Opinions are issued and assigned a number just as other Open Records, Open Meetings or Attorney General Opinions, but this was named an Advisory (not Advisory Opinion and was not assigned a number) by the Attorney General and was issued without any contact or effort to verify anything whatsoever with anyone in the Pulaski County Schools. While the Pulaski County Schools and Superintendent could have ignored this Advisory, the Attorney Generals Advisory included a threat of legal action. The Superintendent and Board determined that education dollars are better spent on education rather than legal fight against the well staffed resources of the Kentucky Attorney General and the voucher advocates. The concept of public education began in Ancient Greece to educate those who could not afford a private education. Public education is a part of our neighborhood and Kentucky law. The Pulaski County Board members, Pat Richardson and this attorney, as individuals, will not give up on the idea of public education and will continue to fight for the education of the publics children and will not concede to the idea of public tax dollars being used as vouchers for private schools. We regret that the Kentucky Attorney General has chosen to limit the public schools First Amendment participation in this public debate. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: A spokesperson for Yes on 2 released this statement to FOX 56: Yes on 2 is about putting students first and giving a voice to parents who want a say in their childs education. Opening up more education opportunities through school choice has support from both sides of the political aisle. We think its time for Kentucky to join our surrounding states and create new ways to support our kids. A spokesperson for Protect our Schools KY told FOX 56: Amendment 2, the Voucher Amendment, which, if passed, will allow for public dollars to be sent to unaccountable private schools, will be devastating to our public schools. Our coalition of teachers, parents and community leaders, encourage everyone to advocate for others to vote no on the voucher amendment within the confines of 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 FOX 56 News. Midwife Danielle Ray, right, discusses infant safety at the Tree of Life birth center with, from left, Senators Shelley Funke Frommeyer, Lindsey Tichenor and Adrienne Southworth. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Sarah Ladd) JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. A group of Kentucky lawmakers visited a freestanding birth center in Indiana Thursday to learn about an issue that promises to come up again during the 2025 legislative session. Tree of Life, a freestanding birthing center in Jeffersonville right across the Ohio River from Louisville accepts only clients with low-risk pregnancies. It was founded by physicians and midwives with WomanCare, an obstetrician and gynecology group in Indiana. And more than half 61% of its total births last year were Kentuckians who traveled out of state for the care they cant get in Kentucky, which has no freestanding birth centers. This comes as lawmakers have considered for years whether or not Kentucky would be served by lifting or modifying its certificate of need (CON) requirements for freestanding birth centers. Advocates blame the states lack of freestanding birth centers on the certificate of need laws, which mandate a process that attempts to hold down health care costs by certifying that there is a need for a service, be that extra beds in a hospital, an extra MRI machine or a new facility altogether, like a freestanding birthing center. Sen. Shelley Funke Frommeyer, R-Alexandria, who invited her fellow lawmakers to the center for Thursdays tour and fact finding mission, said she wanted her colleagues to see firsthand what they will vote on next year. She and House Majority Whip Jason Nemes, R-Louisville, both staunch advocates for freestanding birth centers told the Lantern they intend to again sponsor bills in 2025 to reform CON in a way that allows Kentucky to open freestanding birth centers. Birth, Funke Frommeyer said, is a physiologically natural process, but when were in the committee room and youre talking about it, immediately you come up with its not safe, she said. So, I wanted people to see what safe looks like. Other lawmakers who joined her and Nemes included Republican Senators Julie Raque Adams of Louisville, Lindsey Tichenor of Smithfield, Adrienne Southworth and John Schickel of Union as well as Rep. Rachel Roarx, D-Louisville and Rep. Dan Fister, R-Versailles. Mary Kathryn DeLodder of the Kentucky Birth Coalition, said she believes the tour gave good insight to people neutral on the birth center issue and gave advocates more fuel. Nemes agreed. Some people, in their mind, they dont know what a birthing center is. And some people, when they think about it in their mind, its like, is this just like a hotel room? How safe is this? he said. So we wanted people to come here and say, Look, these people are serious about making sure that the mom and the child are healthy, not just for the moment of birth certainly that but leading up to it and after it. Tree of Life has four rooms, eight midwives and three partnering physicians. As of 2022, there were more than 400 freestanding birth centers in 40 states and Washington D.C., according to the American Association of Birth Centers. Kentucky babies. Indiana born. Tree of Life is one of the out-of-state centers thats delivered hundreds of Kentucky babies, born to mothers who travel for the care they cannot get in the commonwealth. And the number of Kentucky babies born to Tree of Life is on the rise. In 2023, 120 Kentucky residents gave birth at the center, making up for 61% of all births at Tree of Life. In 2022, 110 Kentuckians traveled to Tree of Life, an increase from 107 in 2021 and 71 in 2020. As of July 31, 69 Kentucky residents have delivered at Tree of Life in 2024, representing 57% of the births, according to center data. One of the Kentucky women who chose to deliver at Tree of Life an hour drive from her Trimble County home is Paige Thompson. She wanted midwifery care and didnt want to give birth in a hospital. She also wanted to be the first woman in her family in many years to have a vaginal birth. When she delivered in 2022, she felt very comfortable at Tree of Life, which is right across the street from Clark Memorial Hospital, making for quick transfers if necessary. If I birth here with a midwife, I can eat and drink whatever I want, she explained. I can move however I want. I can birth in whatever position feels right to me. I can birth in the tub which I didnt, but its an option and those are really big for me. Tree of Life isnt alone in delivering Kentucky babies. The Clarksville Midwifery practice in Tennessee delivers about 25-30 Kentucky babies every year. This is a sticking point for Funke Frommeyer, who acknowledged Kentuckys poor maternal health vital statistics. I want Kentucky to show that were having many wonderful, healthy births, she said. Since birth centers only work with low-risk pregnancies, their clients are often having the lowest intervention births. But if they travel to another state for that experience, she said, Kentucky doesnt get statistical credit for them, meaning the state is missing the opportunity to show its great, healthy births without all the trauma. For Jessie Powell, a doula who lives in Meade County and comes with clients to Tree of Life, giving birth in that type of environment is all about comfort of the mother and informed consent, she said. Its hard, because birth is such an emotionally-driven situation, she said. Its physically impossible when youre in such an emotionally-driven situation to really be able to break down risks and benefits on your own and be able to take the whole picture into account. Rebekah Shirrell, one of the centers midwives who previously worked as a nurse for nearly 20 years, said she understands concerns around safety at birth centers. Every birth center experience is set up to handle an emergency, she said, and transfer to the hospital is quick if necessary. Nobody wants a bad birth outcome, ever, she said. Nobody gets into (this) for that. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Sen. Shelley Funke Frommeyer wants the legislature to beomce "more diligent around proactive wellness. (LRC Public Information) Sen. Shelley Funke Frommeyer filed paperwork Wednesday to start a new legislative caucus focused on holistic wellness. The Alexandria Republican, who has often touted Kentuckys need for what she calls a wellness revolution, said she is hoping for approval by Senate President Robert Stivers and House Speaker David Osborne within a week. Funke Frommeyer wants the caucus to look at Medicaid spending, prior authorization, pharmaceutical issues and more, she told the Lantern. She also wants to look at some basics around daily activity and quality nutrition, she said, as well as focus on environmental issues that contribute to overall health. My goal with the wellness caucus is to get legislators together that see issues and maybe work more closely and collaboratively on how are those issues affecting wellness, and get more diligent around proactive wellness, she said. Kentucky can and should, she said, make radical, incremental changes to improve health outcomes. Kids with Head Lice No Longer Required To Be Sent Home from School According to New Guidelines From the CDC "Head lice is not considered a communicable disease, because lice do not carry disease," said the Director of Community Wellness, in Kent County, Mich. Getty Stock photo of a child scratching their head. The discovery of head lice on a child's body no longer means they are guaranteed a day off from school, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The health agency recently updated guidelines on when to treat the affliction once the insects are discovered on a child's head. For many years, it was recommended that kids with lice be sent home from school and receive treatment immediately. Additionally, parents were advised not to send their child back to school until the insect eggs (called nits) were no longer detectable in the child's scalp. According to the updated guidelines, while it's necessary that kids who have lice are treated, the need for immediate treatment is not quite as urgent as it was once thought to be. "You do not need to send students with head lice infestation home early from school," according to information on the CDC website. "Students with lice can go home at the end of the day, be treated, and return to class after beginning appropriate treatment." 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. The guidelines also say: "Nits may stay in hair after treatment, but successful treatment will kill crawling lice." In addition, the CDC suggested that schools discontinue "no-nit" policies that require a child be free of insect eggs before they return to school, citing the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the National Association of School Nurses (NASN). According to the CDC, many nits are more than 1/4 of an inch from the scalp, meaning they are either very unlikely to hatch live, crawling lice, or wind up being an egg casing with no insect inside. Additionally, per the CDC, "nits bond to hair shafts and are very unlikely to transfer to other people." Regarding the decision to change school policies, the CDC said, "Unnecessary days off cause a burden to the students, families, and communities, and far outweighs the risks associated with head lice." Plus, misdiagnosis of nits is common during nit checks done by non-medical professionals per the CDC. A local Fox affiliate in Michigan, Fox 17, spoke to Joann Hoganson, Director of Community Wellness, Kent County Health Department, who emphasized why the guidelines are safe. "Head lice is not considered a communicable disease, because lice do not carry disease, Hoganson said. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Rescuers look for victims in a destroyed apartment block after a guided aerial bomb attack on civilian infrastructure. Mykhaylo Palinchak/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa The Ukrainian military on Friday said its forces have repelled dozens of fresh attacks by Russian troops. A total of 79 Russian attacks, some with artillery and air support, were reported from the fronts in eastern Ukraine, the General Staff in Kiev said in its daily situation report. The focal point was once again the area around Pokrovsk on the edge of the Donbass. There, Russian units attempted to fortify and expand territorial gains made the previous day. In total, the Ukrainian defenders in this area were subjected to 20 attacks in the last day. Similar heavy fighting was also reported in the area around Toretsk. Several attacks by Russian ground troops were reportedly repulsed as Russian fighter jets attacked Ukrainian positions and settlements with missiles. The general staff did not provide any information on the current status of the Ukrainian advance in the southern Russian region of Kursk. It merely stated that the Russian air force had flown several attacks in the area, using around 20 glide bombs. The community of Killbuck was dealt a severe blow with the tragic death of Killbuck Township Fire and EMS Chief Scott Kashuba on Monday. Kashuba was killed in a traffic accident while on a cross country motorcycle trip in South Dakota. "If everybody in the village would take an ounce of Scott's love of the community and wanting to make a difference, our community could be incredible," said Killbuck Village Council President Lisa Kauffman. Scott Kashuba was a highly respected member of the Killbuck community. The fire chief of the Killbuck Township Fire & EMS died Monday in a traffic accident while vacationing in South Dakota. Kashuba dedicated 22 years to the community of Killbuck Township. He served as a volunteer firefighter, Firefighter Levels 1 and 2, EMT and then AEMT. He also served as fire inspector and instructor. Killbuck Township Fire Chief Scott Kashuba was killed in a traffic accident in South Dakota while on a cross-country motorcycle trip. "It is such a tragedy what happened," said Killbuck Mayor Rick Allison. "It's one of those unexpected things that they have to persevere through. Our prayers and support go out to his family and the fire department. "He was very passionate about the fire department and the Boy Scouts," the mayor added. Committed to the community Kashuba restarted Killbuck Boy Scout Troop 315 and was Scoutmaster for many years, leading and encouraging many young men to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout. "He was so committed to the community," Kauffman said. "The insight to see that the community needed the boys to have something in their lives that was positive, and to take on that role and turn it into something positive was a tremendous thing for the community and the youth." Erica Ash of the Killbuck Community Improvement Corporation, who heads up the Early American Days celebration over Labor Day weekend, said they are planning a moment of silence to honor Kashuba during Sunday, Sept. 1, activities. The flag flies at half-staff outside of the Killbuck Township Fire Department in Killbuck, honoring the late fire Chief Scott Kashuba, who was killed in an accident on Monday while on vacation in South Dakota. She noted some of the events the fire department was putting on over the weekend have been cancelled. The fire department will still be part of the parade. "He did so much for us. He cared a lot about Killbuck," Ash said. "He put together our gun raffle that will be held on Sunday, and he helped us find an electrician, to get things done we needed. The kids activities that the fire department was going to do on Sunday have been cancelled as well." A passionate firefighter He was passionate about this job and wanted to instill the love of firefighting in others, according to a Facebook post announcing the accident. "Scott was squad captain until 2017 when he became the fire chief," the post said. "During his time as Chief, Scott was vital in taking KTFD to a combination department being able to staff during the day when volunteers are scarce. This loss is immeasurable and the community will certainly be at a loss because of it." The KTFD also thanked his family for all of the missed birthdays, holidays and dinners so he may answer the call for others. "Thank you Chief. There will never be another like you, Sir," the post went on. "Rest easy, weve got the watch from here." Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Expo building at Harvest Ridge, 8880 State Route 39, Millersburg, with Pastor Dave Clemens officiating. Burial will take place at Killbuck Cemetery where military honors will be conducted by the Killbuck VFW and the Millersburg American Legion. Friends may call 2-8 p.m. Saturday at Harvest Ridge. This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Killbuck Fire Chief Scott Kashuba mourned by friends and neighbors After he killed his cousin, he moved into her bedroom, Charlotte murder witnesses testify Inside apartment 201, Brittini Ward and her sister shared a bedroom. Days after her murder, the man police say killed her moved in. He took Brittinis twin bed, where on May 5, 2010, she lay stiffly with bloody sheets and a bruised neck and filled her dresser and closet with his clothes. Brittinis mother and siblings, revealed new details in her murder while testifying in Derek Wards Charlotte trial Wednesday. Testimony continued through Friday and will resume next week. They told the jury that Ward, a cousin they barely knew, said he came to their home to get the demon out of Brittini. Brittini, then 23, had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia for nearly five years, family said. They believed him when he said she was possessed, they said, at least back then. Ward is accused of murdering and raping Brittini in May 2010, weeks after her family first met him. In Mecklenburg County Courthouse this week, he is representing himself in Charlottes first pro se murder trial since 2012. Despite concerns about Wards mental health from his mother and advising lawyer, Chief Superior Court Judge Carla Archie allowed the trial to continue this week. Ward has been in jail for 14 years. Judges have found him mentally unfit to stand trial several times. An article about Derek Wards arrest in his cousins murder, published in The Charlotte Observer on May 26, 2010. Details shared so far in court have established a timeline surrounding Derek Wards abrupt arrival, foreshadowing comments and behavior after Brittinis death. Im here to do something... In 2010, Brittini, her three siblings and her mother, Dawn Ward, lived in Charlotte. Derek Ward did not. One day, he messaged Fallon, Brittinis younger 16-year-old sister, on Facebook and asked for the familys home phone number. He was her cousin, he told Fallon, and he wanted to see Brittini. She gave him the number, and then he showed up in late April unannounced with Bradley, another cousin the family vaguely knew. The two left after a nice visit, family said in court, and then Ward returned alone a week later. Why is he here? Fallon texted her mom. You tell me, mini me, Dawn responded, text messages shared in court show. Im here to do something, Ward told Fallon. Youre not going to understand why Im doing it, but were gonna have a good time. Ward in court Thursday suggested Brittini had messaged him on Facebook first. In 2010, from April 29 to May 4, the family ate, played games and walked in the neighborhood with Ward, each said during their time on the witness stand. They had a good time, or at least a decent time. All said they were nervous and afraid of Ward. He hugged Fallon a little too tight and told her she could be a porn star. He said he wanted to have sex with her when she turned 18, she said in court. He could be violent, too, they said. A few days before what prosecutors say was her murder, Ward choked her three times, Brittinis sisters testified in court. He threw her on a bed once, they said, and got her water in between rounds of squeezing his hands around her neck. At one point, she foamed from the mouth. He said he was trying to get the demon out, they testified. Later that day, he dragged Brittini outside and down the stairs. He said they needed to walk around and get the demon to latch on to something else, like an animal, Carlie one of the three sisters said from the witness stand. Fallon remembered hearing Brittini get pulled down the stairs outside their unit in Providence Court apartments. Stop, stop, Fallon heard. Get your hands off of me. Leave me alone, Im not a demon. Get the demon out On May 5, 2010, Brittini died, but when exactly she died remains unknown, according to testimony. When her sisters got home that Wednesday afternoon, Carlie checked her room. Brittini was in there, she said. She was facing the wall with blankets draped up to her shoulders. Unknown to Carlie, the blankets covered the bloody sheets. Brittinis still sleeping, Carlie told her mom when she got home. They let her sleep. Nothing seemed off. At 5:30 p.m. Dawn went to check on Brittini. She said Brittinis name, then called it a second time, and then screamed it, each sister testified. After no response, the group filed in to her room and saw a pale, almost blue Brittini. She had a bruised neck and bloody underwear, photos show. Ward knew what to do, he said confidently even calmly after they discovered her, the sisters recounted. The demon had her, he said, according to their testimony, they just needed to clean her up and help it get out. Dawn and her kids followed his instruction. They got a bucket of water and towels and cleaned her legs. They dressed her in a new nightgown grabbing it from the drawers where Ward would soon fill with his own clothes. They put new underwear on her and moved her off the bed. Then they prayed. Dawn then called the elders at her Kingdom Hall where Jehovahs Witnesses congregate. She said her daughter was possessed. Later that night, they came to look at Brittini. Knowing Brittins history of mental illness, and thought she may be showing symptoms of her schizophrenia, said Richard Marshall, one of the elders. An elder and a cop During testimony, Marshall recounted when he knocked on 201s door. Dawn answered, he said. Ward wasnt far behind. He was eating in the kitchen. It was Cinco de Mayo, Marshall remembered, and it was hot inside the three bedroom apartment in southeast Charlotte. Ward inserted himself in Dawn and Marshalls conversation and again said he knew exactly what was going on. He talked about demons, again, and said inappropriate things about children having sex, Marshall said. When Ward asked him to elaborate during his cross examination, Marshall said he didnt remember specifics. Marshall did clearly remember going back to the room where Brittini lay. He took her hand. It was cold, he told the courtroom, cold to the touch. This aint good he said, he thought at the time. Prosecutors Friday morning asked if he checked for a pulse. Marshall didnt, he said, adding he didnt know how. Continuing with his testimony, Marshall told Dawn she should call 911. This seemed like a medical emergency, not something elders could address, he told her. Paramedics, then police, then investigators soon came. First it was a death investigation, then it was a homicide investigation. On Friday afternoon, prosecutors continued to call Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers, detectives and analysts to the witness stand. Their testimony is expected to detail how they eventually arrested Ward and later Dawn. Mother murder suspect Dawn was charged with murder, concealing a death after the fact and incest in 2010. Testifying in court Thursday, Dawn said at some point before Brittini passed she and Ward started having sex. In court, Dawn declined any willfully romantic or sexual relationship and said she felt she had to have sex with Ward. At one point, Ward called it a ritual, she said. The two were related, even if only by marriage. The Charlotte Observer, on June 4, 2010, published an article about Dawn Wards arrest in her daughters murder. She was once charged with murder and incest with her nephew, Derek Ward. Prosecutors dropped the incest and murder charge, and Dawn pleaded guilty to concealing a death after the fact. She served five months in prison and several years on probation. That November, she asked to have the charge expunged from her record. A judge granted the request. Family split down courtroom aisle As Dawn and her daughters sat in the courtroom behind prosecutors desk, Wards mother, siblings and niece sat a few feet away behind Wards desk. Wards standby public defender, Michael Kabakoff, sat with them, instead of next to Ward, for most of the trial. Ward asked Kabakoff to move away from him after he suggested to the judge Ward was suffering from his mental illness. Photo of Derek Ward with his niece, Briana, before police arrested him in the 2010 murder and rape of his cousin. After 14 years in jail, awaiting trials he was repeatedly found mentally unfit to participate in, Ward is representing himself. Wards mother, who asked not to be named in her sons publicized case, told the judge she had the same concerns. Archie asserted he was mentally fit to stand trial, even if he was making questionable decisions. Last October, Archie saw out the end of another murder trial with a defendant who was repeatedly found mentally ill. Devalos Perkins the 37-year-old who was the subject of The Charlotte Observers year-long investigation called Purgatory was stuck in between hospital beds and jail cells for 11 years, continuously found unfit to stand trial, until Archie accepted his case. He pleaded guilty to a 2005 murder he was arrested for in 2012. If it wasnt for Judge Archie, Ward said in his opening arguments to the jury, Id still be rotting in jail... with my innocent-until-proven-guilty chains and my innocent-until-proven-guilty uniform. Kabakoff on Thursday asked the judge to consider limiting the amount of hearsay prosecutors witnesses were using. ward did not have enough knowledge of the law to know when to object. Archie declined, saying that was the risk Ward took when he chose to represent himself. Ward also declined to wear the suit his family brought him, opting instead to stay his orange Mecklenburg County Detention Center uniform with a faded MCDC on it. North Carolina law prohibits any sheriff or jailer to force a defendant to wear such a uniform while on trial. Archie reminded the jury that the jumpsuit and chains Ward opted to remain in did not imply guilt. King Apologizes for Wrongful Arrest of DJ Who Drove Same Route as Princess Dutch King Willem-Alexander has personally apologized for a royal snafu that saw a DJ and his pals wrongfully arrested after they drove on the same route as Crown Princess Catharina-Amalia. The terrifying ordeal reportedly saw Serginio Pique, a Black man, get pulled over abruptly by armed men in balaclavas as he drove in central Antwerp on a Friday evening this month. Pique claimed he was ordered out of his car and onto the asphalt, where he and his buds were forced to keep their feet crossed and their hands on their heads until they were handcuffed, reported the NL Times. The men said they were then ushered into a van and whisked away to be interviewed for more than an hour. That revealed they werent kidnappers as authorities originally feared, so they were let go. Dutch King Willem-Alexander traveled to Paris to support his countrymen in the Olympic Games earlier this month. Arturo Holmes/Reuters The Daily Mail reported that Willem-Alexander personally apologized to the wrongfully detained group this week and acknowledged theyd become victims. Piques attorney, Vito Shukrula, told local media on Thursday that he was called by the personal spokesperson for the Dutch Royal House. She told us that the KingKing Willem Alexanderwants us to know that the Dutch Royal house understands how deeply frightening this experience must have been for my client and his friends, Shukrula said. The King wanted to let us know that he gives his sympathy on behalf of the Royal house. Shukrula added that the spokesperson said the mens detainment was an unfortunate consequence of the need to protect the royal house. The incident took place on Aug. 2 at the end of a 100-mile drive from Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, to Antwerp, in Belgium. Reports said Pique had unknowingly been driving behind Catharina-Amalia, the 20-year-old heir to the Dutch throne, the entire way. Princess Catharina-Amalia, 20, is the heir apparent to the throne in the Netherlands. Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters Belgian authorities reportedly told Pique that they were asked by Dutch authorities to pull them over because they feared the group was attempting to abduct Catharina-Amalia. Pique reportedly said Belgian officers were upset they used such force for a false alarm. He said the officer reportedly told the group as they released them, Go and enjoy Antwerp, you have a good story to tell at Christmas. In interviews about the ordeal, Pique said he initially feared his race contributed to why hed been abruptly pulled over and handcuffed. You start to wonder if there was perhaps ethnic profiling involved, he told NOS. That is a feeling that every person of color experiences when they are wrongfully stopped. Pique told the outlet hes still confused at why such an extreme reaction was needed. They could have searched our car and we would have been done in two minutes, he said. 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. FILE - A boy scavenges for useful items at Red Beach dump on Tarawa atoll, Kiribati, on March 30, 2004. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File) WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) The government of Kiribati is suspending all diplomatic visits to the tiny Pacific Island nation until next year and has cancelled some already planned, because it is in the midst of an election process that could run for several more months, an official said Thursday. The official in Kiribati's foreign ministry told The Associated Press that a message announcing the pause in diplomatic trips was sent earlier this week to countries that have diplomatic relations with Kiribati a low-lying atoll of 120,000 people. It follows escalating friction between Kiribati and Western nations particularly Australia, a major aid donor over the country's deepening ties with China. Kiribati is threatened by rising sea levels and does not command the resource wealth or tourism branding of some other Pacific islands. But its proximity to Hawaii and location in a huge ocean expanse have bolstered its strategic importance and provoked an influence skirmish between Western powers and China. A national election was held for 44 of the 45 seats in Kiribatis parliament this month although the winners have yet to declare their party affiliations and it is not known which bloc will form the government. Negotiations have begun to decide the governing group, and a president will be chosen when nominees are put to a public vote, expected in October. Officials cannot accommodate diplomatic visits until a government is formed and a president elected, ministry spokesperson Turia Tekirua said in a telephone interview. Small delegations could apply for exemptions, she added. Some analysts said that while Kiribati's bureaucracy is small, the suspension could reflect a desire to avoid foreign checks on its government formation process. It does reflect a pattern of seeking to avoid international scrutiny, which we have seen under this government, said Mihai Sora, director of the Pacific islands program at the Lowy Institute, an Australia-based think tank. The suspension could also provide a degree of political cover for the intense lobbying and deal-making that will now be taking place ahead of the presidential vote, Sora added. Kiribati switched its allegiance from pro-Taiwan to pro-Beijing in 2019, citing its national interest in joining several other Pacific nations that have severed diplomatic ties with Taipei in recent years. Self-governing Taiwan is claimed by China, and since the shift, Beijing has increased aid to Kiribati. Ahead of the elections, Australians expressed concerns that the lack of information filtering out of Kiribati as well as delayed or refused visas for foreign officials and judges in recent years suggest Beijings sway is growing. The suspension of visits will not eject diplomats from Kiribati and many countries in the region already have a presence there, including Australian and China. The U.S. announced plans for an embassy in Kiribati in 2022, although it is still awaiting government approval. George Carter, an expert on Kiribati at the Australian National University in Canberra, said the ban appears to be an attempt to safeguard politicians from foreign interference as they negotiate to form a government. This is a way for the current government to say we want to be just among Kiribati, no foreign interference, he said. A senior New Zealand government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was not yet clear how widely diplomatic visits would be defined. New Zealands foreign ministry said in a written statement only that it was aware that the Republic of Kiribati has asked to suspend incoming visits. Australias department of foreign affairs said it did not share official correspondence from other governments. Officials in South Korea and Japan two other countries with which Kiribati has close ties did not immediately comment. Winston Peters, New Zealands foreign minister, told the AP it was not unusual for countries to request that visiting delegations avoid scheduling trips close to an election. He said he would wait to see what develops straight after" the presidential vote. Kiribati's president since 2016, Taneti Maamau, won his parliament seat easily and will seek a third presidential term. The opposition leader, Tessie Lambourne, also handily won her post. Those elected are now working to form voting blocs. Lawmakers for the outgoing governing bloc hold 22 seats in the new parliament, which is one short of a majority, but it is not unusual for lawmakers in Kiribati to switch parties, and first-time members have yet to declare their party affiliation. Kiribati is one of the most aid-dependent nations in the world and is rated at high risk of external debt distress by the International Monetary Fund. It is also threatened by coastal erosion and rising seas that have contaminated drinking water and driven much of the population onto South Tarawa, the most populous island. Ruth Cross Kwansing, one of the new lawmakers who is one of the record five women to win parliament seats, has yet to choose her party affiliation. Our country needs more women in decision-making positions and entrepreneurial areas, she told the AP on Friday. Health, peace, reconciliation and economic progress will flood every aspect of life as long as women and men are working alongside each other. ___ Kageyama reported from Tokyo. Associated Press writer Rod McGuirk in Melbourne, Australia, contributed to this report. By Eduardo Baptista, Fanny Potkin and Karen Freifeld BEIJING/SINGAPORE/NEW YORK (Reuters) - State-linked Chinese entities are using cloud services provided by Amazon or its rivals to access advanced U.S. chips and artificial intelligence capabilities that they cannot acquire otherwise, recent public tender documents showed. The U.S. government has restricted the export of high-end AI chips to China over the past two years, citing the need to limit the Chinese military's capabilities. Providing access to such chips or advanced AI models through the cloud, however, is not a violation of U.S. regulations since only exports or transfers of a commodity, software or technology are regulated. A Reuters review of more than 50 tender documents posted over the past year on publicly available Chinese databases showed that at least 11 Chinese entities have sought access to restricted U.S. technologies or cloud services. Among those, four explicitly named Amazon Web Services (AWS) as a cloud service provider, though they accessed the services through Chinese intermediary companies rather than from AWS directly. The tender documents, which Reuters is the first to report on, show the breadth of strategies Chinese entities are employing to secure advanced computing power and access generative AI models. They also underscore how U.S. companies are capitalising on China's growing demand for computing power. "AWS complies with all applicable U.S. laws, including trade laws, regarding the provision of AWS services inside and outside of China," a spokesperson for Amazon's cloud business said. AWS controls nearly a third of the global cloud infrastructure market, according to research firm Canalys. In China, AWS is the sixth-largest cloud service provider, according to research firm IDC. Shenzhen University spent 200,000 yuan ($27,996) on an AWS account to gain access to cloud servers powered by Nvidia A100 and H100 chips for an unspecified project, according to a March tender document. It got this service via an intermediary, Yunda Technology Ltd Co, the document showed. Exports to China of the two Nvidia chips, which are used to power large-language models (LLM) such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, are banned by the U.S. Shenzhen University and Yunda Technology did not respond to requests for comment. Nvidia declined to comment on Shenzhen University's spending or on any of the other Chinese entities' deals. Zhejiang Lab, a research institute developing its own LLM, GeoGPT, said in a tender document in April that it intended to spend 184,000 yuan to purchase AWS cloud computing services as its AI model could not get enough computing power from homegrown Alibaba. Story continues A spokesperson for Zhejiang Lab said that it did not follow through with the purchase but did not respond to questions about the reasoning behind this decision or how it met its LLM's computing power requirements. Alibaba's cloud unit, Alicloud, did not respond to a request for comment. Reuters could not establish whether or not the purchase went ahead. The U.S. government is now trying to tighten regulations to restrict access through the cloud. "This loophole has been a concern of mine for years, and we are long overdue to address it," Michael McCaul, chair of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, told Reuters in a statement, referring to the remote access of advanced U.S. computing through the cloud by foreign entities. Legislation was introduced in Congress in April to empower the commerce department to regulate remote access of U.S. technology, but it is not clear if and when it will be passed. A department spokesperson said it was working closely with Congress and "seeking additional resources to strengthen our existing controls that restrict PRC companies from accessing advanced AI chips through remote access to cloud computing capability." The commerce department also proposed a rule in January that would require U.S. cloud computing services to verify large AI model users and report to regulators when they use U.S. cloud computing services to train large AI models capable of "malicious cyber-enabled activity". The rule, which has not been finalized, would also enable the commerce secretary to impose prohibitions on customers. "We are aware the commerce department is considering new regulations, and we comply with all applicable laws in the countries in which we operate," the AWS spokesperson said. CLOUD DEMAND IN CHINA The Chinese entities are also seeking access to Microsoft's cloud services. In April, Sichuan University said in a tender document it was building a generative AI platform and purchasing 40 million Microsoft Azure OpenAI tokens to support the delivery of this project. The university's procurement document in May showed that Sichuan Province Xuedong Technology Co Ltd supplied the tokens. Microsoft did not respond to requests for comment. Sichuan University and Sichuan Province Xuedong Technology did not respond to requests for comment on the purchase. OpenAI said in a statement its own services are not supported in China and that Azure OpenAI operates under Microsoft's policies. It did not comment on the tenders. The University of Science and Technology of China's (USTC) Suzhou Institute of Advanced Research said in a tender document in March that it wanted to rent 500 cloud servers, each powered by eight Nvidia A100 chips, for an unspecified purpose. The tender was fulfilled by Hefei Advanced Computing Center Operation Management Co Ltd, a procurement document showed in April, but the document did not name the cloud service provider and Reuters could not determine its identity. USTC was added to a U.S. export control list known as the 'Entity List' in May for acquiring U.S. technology for quantum computing that could help China's military, and involvement in its nuclear program development. USTC and Hefei Advanced Computing Center did not respond to requests for comment. BEYOND RESTRICTED AI CHIPS Amazon has offered Chinese organisations access not only to advanced AI chips but also to advanced AI models such as Anthropic's Claude which they cannot otherwise access, according to public posts, tenders and marketing materials reviewed by Reuters. "Bedrock provides a selection of leading LLMs including prominent closed-source models such as Anthropic's Claude 3," Chu Ruisong, President of AWS Greater China, told a generative AI-themed conference in Shanghai in May, referring to its cloud platform. In various Chinese-language posts for AWS developers and clients, Amazon highlighted the opportunity to try out "world-class AI models" and mentioned Chinese gaming firm Source Technology as one of its clients using Claude. Amazon has dedicated sales teams serving Chinese clients domestically and overseas, according to two former company executives. After Reuters contacted Amazon for comment, it updated dozens of posts on its Chinese-language channels with a note to say some of its services were not available in its China cloud regions. It also removed several promotional posts, including the one about Source Technology. Amazon did not give a reason for removing the posts and did not answer a Reuters query on that. "Amazon Bedrock customers are subject to Anthropic's end user license agreement, which prohibits access to Claude in China both via Amazon's Bedrock API (application programming interface) and via Anthropic's own API," the AWS spokesperson said. Anthropic said it does not support or allow customers or end-users within China to access Claude. "However, subsidiaries or product divisions of Chinese-headquartered companies may use Claude if the subsidiary itself is located in a supported region outside of China," an Anthropic spokesperson said. Source Technology did not respond to a request for comment. ($1 = 7.1440 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Eduardo Baptista, Fanny Potkin and Karen Freifeld; Additional reporting by Krystal Hu, Alexandra Alper and Beijing newsroom; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Muralikumar Anantharaman) What to know about the upcoming Trump-Harris debate (NewsNation) With the Democratic and Republican presidential tickets set, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are set to debate Sept. 10. After some political posturing by both candidates, the showdown on ABC News is moving forward as scheduled. This is the first election cycle since 1988 in which the debates are not being organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates. Instead, the campaigns are negotiating with TV networks directly. It remains to be seen if and when voters will see Trump and Harris face off again. Heres what we know. Trump vs. Harris vs. RFK Jr.: How their policies compare When is the Trump-Harris debate? The first debate between Trump and Harris is at 9 p.m. Eastern on Sept. 10. It will be held at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. The 90-minute debate will be moderated by World News Tonight anchor David Muir and ABC News Live Prime anchor Linsey Davis. ABC will broadcast the debate, but you can also stream it on ABC News Live 24/7, Disney+, or Hulu. The network hasnt announced the rules or said whether there will be an in-person audience. There was no audience during the June debate between Trump and President Joe Biden. The Trump and Biden campaigns agreed to the ABC debate back in May. Now, its moving forward as scheduled but with Harris as the Democratic nominee. Do presidential debates affect election outcomes? Will there be more debates? Its not clear at this point. Last week, the Harris campaign said it will participate in three debates this election season: two presidential debates and one vice presidential debate. In a statement, Harris campaign said the debate about debates is over, shooting down Trumps call for three presidential debates. During a press conference at Mar-a-Lago earlier this month, Trump said he had proposed three debates on three different networks. One with Fox News on Sept. 4 and another on NBC on Sept. 25 in addition to the previously scheduled ABC debate. Based on the Harris campaigns recent statement, neither of those extra debates are likely to happen as proposed. Assuming Donald Trump actually shows up on September 10 to debate Vice President Harris, then Governor Walz will see JD Vance on October 1, and the American people will have another opportunity to see the vice president and Donald Trump on the debate stage in October, the Harris campaign said in a statement, noting that the Trump campaign had agreed to those terms. The Trump campaign claims the two sides havent reached an agreement, telling the Daily Caller the former president intends to be on the debate stage for his three proposed events in addition to two VP matchups. Since 2000, three presidential debates have been the norm. When is the Vance-Walz debate? Ohio Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz will face off on Tuesday, Oct. 1, in New York City, hosted by CBS News. The debate will be moderated by CBS Evening News anchor Norah ODonnell and Margaret Brennan of Face the Nation. The network had invited both Vance and Walz to debate in New York City, presenting four possible dates Sept. 17, Sept. 24, Oct. 1 and Oct. 8 as options. Walz posted on X that he would accept the invitation: See you on October 1, JD. Vance agreed and said he also accepted a CNN debate on Sept. 18, saying, The American people deserve as many debates as possible. Last weeks statement from the Harris campaign seems to quash any chance of a second VP debate. Historically, vice presidential candidates tend to only have one debate. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (NewsNation) Family members of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, have been making headlines of their own recently. At the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night, they were front and center as Walz accepted the Democratic nomination for vice president. Gus Walz, the candidates son, received much attention online after videos of him supporting his father went viral. After his father spoke, Gus Walz stood, tears streaming down his face, and pointed to his father. Thats my dad! the 17-year-old could be seen saying. Many on social media expressed how touched they were to see the teens excitement. Heres a closer look at Gus, Hope and Gwen Walz or, as Tim Walz calls them, My entire world. Trump vs. Harris vs. RFK Jr.: How their policies compare Gwen Walz Gwen Walz, according to the governors website, was born and raised in Minnesota by her parents, Val and Linn. After receiving degrees from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter and Minnesota State University in Mankato, Gwen Walz became a teacher in western Nebraska. Thats how she and Tim Walz, also a former teacher, met. The now-couple then soon started hosting summer trips where students could travel to China. As first lady of Minnesota, Gwen Walz has been described as a passionate advocate for giving educational opportunities to incarcerated persons. Shes been a supporter of the Bard Prison Initiative in New York and has worked to bring similar ideas to her state as well. Gwen understands that corrections must be an inclusive component of our education system, and by expanding opportunity, our state can dramatically reduce recidivism rates and most importantly, transform lives, the website states. Gus and Hope Walz The Star Tribune writes that Gus Walz is going to be a senior in high school this school year. Hope Walz, 23, is a social worker in Montana, the newspaper reports. She graduated in 2023 from Montana State University. In a video from last September, Hope Walz said she is a vegetarian in response to her dad suggesting the two get a corndog at the Minnesota State Fair. Turkey, then, Tim Walz said. When Hope Walz reminded him that turkeys meat, Tim Walz jokingly said, Not in Minnesota. Turkeys special. In another viral moment, the brother and sister were seen at the DNC doing bunny ears behind Tim Walz as he did a national TV interview before bursting into laughter. Thursday protests planned at DNC as Kamala Harris set to speak My kids keep me humble, Tim Walz said on X. Last year, Tim Walz talked to the Star-Tribune about how he and Gwen went through seven years of fertility treatments before she was able to get pregnant. Its not by chance that we named our daughter Hope, Walz said. The Walz family has also been open about Gus Walzs diagnoses of ADHD, a nonverbal learning disorder, and an anxiety disorder. Calling him brilliant in a statement to People magazine, Gwen and Tim Walz said he preferred video games and spending time by himself growing up. When he was running for governor, Tim Walz promised Gus Walz that the family could get a dog and he didnt renege on that vow. A Vogue cover story on the pup named Scout detailed how Gus Walz had delivered a PowerPoint presentation on why the family should get a cat several years earlier. Along with Scout, the Walz family also has an orange and white cat named Honey, who the Star-Tribune says they adopted after their other cat, Afton, went missing last year. Scout and Honey are both rescue pets, the Star-Tribune wrote. NewsNation digital producer Devan Markham and The Associated Press 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. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) A Knoxville business and the man who operated the business have pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act by allowing a mixture of petroleum and water to flow into a culvert leading to the Holston River, the Department of Justice said on Thursday. In a release, the DOJ said Christopher Domermuth, 49, and Domermuth Environmental Services LLC, based in Knoxville pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act by discharging pollutants into a navigatable waterway without a permit. TVA approves rate increase for fall 2024 Heres how much more you may pay Domermuth is facing a maximum penalty of three years in prison, followed by a term of supervised release of up to one year. The involved parties have also recommended to the Court that Domermuth Environmental Services pay a $50,000 fine and be placed on probation for three years, the DOJ explained. Sentencing is scheduled for December 12. According to the DOJ, Domermuth operated Domermuth Environmental Services (DES), which processed petroleum-contaminated soil and water in Knoxville. On July 26, 2018, DES workers pulled over a previously exhumed underground storage tank, which spilled a mixture of petroleum and water onto a concrete pad at the facility. The DOJ explained that workers then threw absorbent pads into the spilled mixture and used a portable pump to pump the mixture that contained petroleum over a retaining wall at DES. The oily mixture then flowed over a neighboring property and into a culvert, which led into the Holston River, the DOJ said. Sevier County constable facing DUI after late-night arrest Domermuth Environmental Services and Christopher Domermuth were supposed to be cleaning up contaminated water and soil to protect the environment, but instead caused the discharge of pollutants. These felony guilty pleas demonstrate our commitment to enforcing the Clean Water Act, said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Departments Environment and Natural Resources Division. The case was investigated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, EPA Office of Inspector General (OIG), Tennessee Valley Authority-OIG, FBI and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) The Knoxville Police Department and the University of Tennessee Police Department worked together overnight Friday to bring a 21-year-old suspect into custody after what KPD described as a brief crime spree. The suspect, identified as Isaiah Shuman, 21, is facing multiple felony charges including four counts of aggravated kidnapping, three counts of leaving the scene of an accident, and one count of aggravated assault, aggravated burglary and reckless endangerment. Isaiah Shuman (Mugshot via court records) Man charged in death of woman found after Athens church fire According to a news release from KPD, at around 2:15 a.m. on Friday, August 23, Knoxville Police Department officers responded to the parking lot behind the Half Barrel at 1831 Cumberland Avenue. It was reported that Shuman was told to leave the bar and threatened to kill an employee, KPD stated. Shuman left the scene in a white Dodge Challenger, fired a gunshot in an unknown direction and speed away from the parking lot, striking two parked vehicles in the process. KPD added that a 21-year-old woman in the car said she wanted to get out, but Shuman refused to let her. Soon after, Shumans car was reportedly speeding down 17th Street in the direction of Western Avenue and was spotted by a UT Police Department officer. The responding UTPD officer then found Shumans car crashed into another vehicle as well as a retaining wall, KPD stated. Shuman ran from the scene of that crash and then reportedly forced his way into a home in the 700 block of Alfredda Delaney Street. Three people were inside the home at the time of that incident. Shuman took a phone from the home and then ran out the back door. TVA approves rate increase for fall 2024 Heres how much more you may pay UTPD officers located Shuman after he ran from the home and they took him into custody following a brief foot pursuit. This is a developing story. Download the WATE 6 News app or sign up for our email alerts for updates. KPD added that Shuman and the woman who was in the car were taken to UT Medical Center for evaluation because 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 WATE 6 On Your Side. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Oregon Governor Tina Kotek is seeking federal protections of the Owyhee Canyonlands, sending a letter to President Joe Biden and Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley in early August, urging them to take action. In the letter, sent Aug. 5, the governor voiced her support for the Malheur Community Empowerment for the Owyhee Act (S. 1890), which was introduced by Sen. Wyden. The bill would authorize a grazing management program, designate wilderness areas, and hold land in trust for the Burns Paiute Tribe. In the event legislation isnt passed to protect the land, the governor asked the president to designate the canyonlands as a national monument. Oregon is super fun despite being one of the worst places to live: WalletHub The Owyhee Canyonlands in Oregon are a national treasure, home to a rich diversity of wildlife, stunning geological features, and culturally significant sites that reflect the deep history and heritage of the area. I write to urge the federal government to permanently protect this unique and ecologically significant region in Oregon, Kotek wrote. The governor pointed to the Malheur CEO Act as a collaborative approach to protecting the land while supporting local communities that rely on the land for their livelihoods. It is notable that S. 1890 has earned the support of an uncommonly diverse coalition of allies. Tribes with ancestral lands there, environmental and conservation organizations, and a representation of ranchers, outdoor enthusiasts and business owners have negotiated in good faith to build consensus rather than allowing differences to hinder progress. It is a model of collaboration to be celebrated, Kotek said. DONT MISS: Efforts to protect Owyhee Canyonlands heats up in Malheur County The governor also highlighted the ways a national monument designation would add permanent protections for the land. Permanent safeguards will protect the Owyhee Canyonlands against the growing threats of development, extraction, and other detrimental activities and, most, importantly, will pay endless dividends for generations to come, Kotek wrote. By securing this designation, you will collectively send a powerful message that people from different perspectives and ideological persuasions can still come together to accomplish great feats. According to the Protect the Owyhee Canyonlands campaign, a majority of Oregonians across party lines support a national monument designation. Sick of summer? NOAA releases fall weather predictions for the Pacific Northwest The campaign cited a poll released in May by Expedition Strategies for the Oregon League of Conservation Voters, which found 73% of Oregonians support the national monument designation. This included 95% support from surveyed Democrats, 76% of Independents, and 40% of Republicans, according to the poll, which also found 58% support from eastern Oregon residents. Syringes on the streets: Is intravenous drug use making a comeback in Portland? The push by Kotek comes after Republican Rep. Cliff Bentz (OR-02) whose district includes Malheur County added an amendment to an Interior Department appropriations bill for the 2025 fiscal year, which seeks to prohibit the creation of any national monuments in Malheur County. So far, the appropriations bill passed the House and is moving to the Senate for consideration. PBOT begins construction on project to improve safety on 82nd Avenue The amendment is the latest in an ongoing battle between local activists calling for land protections and those defending neighboring cattle ranches and the areas gold mining potential, as reported by OPB. During a July House floor speech introducing his amendment, Bentz said Back in 2015, a small group of mostly urban activists funded by recreational sportswear companies tried to convince the Obama Administration that it should use the Antiquities Act to abruptly impose a national monument designation on 2.5 million acres of the 6.3 million acres making up Malheur County Thats about 40% of the countys entire area. He furthered Such as designation will attract tens of thousands of people to this fragile area, resulting in the destruction of the very thing a monument designation would purport to protect. As previously reported by KOIN 6 News, Bentzs efforts to prevent the designation of a national monument in Malheur County would not stop the Malheur CEO Act from establishing added protections. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Ukraines surprise incursion into Kursk Oblast in southwestern Russia helped Kyiv to once again change the narrative of Russias invincibility in the war, says retired U.S. Lieutenant General Ben Hodges. Hodges, who served as commander of the U.S. Army Europe from 2014-2017 and has helped to train Ukrainian soldiers, said the Kursk operation exposed the discord between different Russian forces commands and President Vladimir Putins personal failure to protect Russia one of the main pillars of his power grip on the country. Since Aug. 6, when Ukraine entered Kursk Oblast from its northeastern Sumy Oblast, it has gained control over the town of Sudzha and over 1,200 square kilometers (488 square miles) of Russian land. Russian authorities declared a federal-level emergency in Kursk and Belgorod Oblasts and ordered mandatory evacuation of some border settlements. With Ukraines first successful large-scale ground operation since the Kharkiv counteroffensive in the fall of 2022, Ukraine showed its army is capable of unexpected and well-coordinated attacks despite suffering from exhaustion in a third year of pushing back at Russias full-scale invasion. But building upon Ukraines success in Kursk would require decisive further commitments by Kyivs Western allies to help Ukraine win the war, both enforcing tighter sanctions against Russia and ensuring uninterrupted flow of military aid to Ukraine, Hodges told the Kyiv Independent in an interview on Aug. 22. Ukraine has enough people to fight, he said, but it is crucial for Ukraines leadership to fix the problems with the training, recruiting, and education of military personnel, especially officers and sergeants. With strong Western support, properly trained units will be the key for Ukrainian victory, Hodges added. Editors note: This is a transcript of the video interview that has been edited for clarity and brevity. The Kyiv Independent: We are in a unique moment in this war with the unexpected Ukrainian incursion in Russia. What do you think about this operation? Ben Hodges: First of all, once again, all of us in the West and Russia have underestimated Ukraine. Its ability to put together such a capable force, and to do it in a way that caught Russians by surprise. The second takeaway is that we don't know and shouldnt know the official purpose of this counteroffensive. The government in Kyiv and the General Staff have done a good job of protecting information. They don't advertise the objectives. I call it a counteroffensive more than an incursion. The goal is to create a bridgehead on the Russian side of the border that denies that area, which Russians could use to launch drones or other attacks against Ukrainian civilians or to build up forces. The third takeaway for me is the Russian response. They have been incompetent, slow, confused. Fortunately, they were surprised, but they also still have command and control problems. Who's in charge? Is it the FSB (Federal Security Service)? Is it the Russian General Staff? Is it Rosgvardiya (Russia's National Guard), border forces? This kind of confusion, and the hatred between the different parts of the Russian security forces, has contributed to their slow and uneven response. A destroyed Russian customs building on the state border near Sudzha, Kursk Oblast, Russia, in August 2024, about two weeks after the start of Ukraine's incursion. (Courtesy) The Kyiv Independent: Do you think Ukraine plans to hold the positions? Ben Hodges: We don't know the ultimate objective. The duration will depend on what the objective is. Is it to hold it indefinitely, which means that Ukraine would have to continue putting in forces, building up defenses to protect the borders, and getting enough ammunition? Because, eventually, the Russians will finally get their act together and start applying more and more pressure with different types of strikes. I think this counteroffensive in the direction of Kursk is only one part of a larger multi-domain operation that is intended to change the momentum, to change the narrative of some sort of Russian inevitability. The Kyiv Independent: All three bridges across the Seim River in Kursk Oblast had been destroyed, cutting off potential retreat ways for some Russian troops. Will they be encircled? Is Ukraine to focus its defenses on the river? Ben Hodges: I would imagine that they've done this and they've used resources to destroy those bridges in order to achieve either the isolation of Russian forces or to prevent additional reinforcements or logistics. That would be an important, effective step if that's the intention. The Kyiv Independent: Russian media are downplaying the Ukrainian incursion. Why? What does it tell us about the Russian army and President Putin's grip on power? Ben Hodges: Because this is a catastrophe for the Kremlin to be caught by surprise like this. It doesn't match the narrative that they have been pushing. And I think that they called it a Ukrainian terrorist operation and put the FSB in charge of the response to fit that narrative. I think part of the surprise was achieved because the (Russian) General Staff didn't believe what they were seeing. And because of this confused and competing command infrastructure, where the FSB and Russian Armed Forces hate each other. Rosgvardiya is pretty much independent. There's probably incredible amounts of corruption amongst the border forces. All of this is being exposed now. President Putin has always talked about how he's the only one who can protect Russia. And he's failed. Vladimir Putin (R) chairs a meeting regarding the situation in the Kursk region, in his residence in Novo-Ogaryovo outside Moscow, Russia on Aug. 12, 2024. (Gavriil Grigorov/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) The Kyiv Independent: What do you think helped Ukraine achieve what it has achieved in Kursk so far? Ben Hodges: Three things. Number one a very professional secrecy. What we call operational security where you don't share information with people that don't have to know. Number two I think they saw there was a place where they could attack, where the defenses on the Russian side were going to be very weak. And thirdly it seems to me that Ukraine has also developed capabilities that somehow counter Russian drones. Ukraine is either able to degrade (them) or conceal something, though the Russian surveillance drones should have been able to see a buildup of forces like this. Join our community Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight. Support Us The Kyiv Independent: Russia continues small but steady advances on the eastern front in Ukraine, in Donetsk and Kharkiv oblasts. It is coming close to the junction town of Pokrovsk, a critical supply line. What do you think about Ukraine's decision to send troops to fight in Russia instead of reinforcing the defenses in the east? Ben Hodges: People all over Western media are saying, My God, Pokrovsk! and The Russians are advancing. I keep a map of Ukraine with me all the time. And I was looking at it yesterday, trying to measure the distance from Avdiivka to Pokrovsk it's only about 60 kilometers. So in six months, Russia has moved only 60 kilometers, losing thousands of soldiers every week. It sucks to be the Ukrainian forces there, trying to defend Pokrovsk, especially when you know that ammunition and other things are going into this counteroffensive in the direction of Kursk. But it seems to me that the General Staff has made a calculated risk, which is very appropriate and normal in warfare. My sense is that the Ukrainian General Staff is less worried about what Russia is doing in the east. This attack in the direction of Kursk is going to eventually achieve a significant effect. It's too early to tell whether or not forces attacking in the east are going to be drawn away to go to Kursk. I spoke with a person with knowledge yesterday who said it looked like some Russian forces in the area of Zaporizhzhia were being diverted. They would have to go hundreds of kilometers around to try and reinforce once they started moving. And of course, because the Russian General Staff hates the FSB, they're not in any hurry to divert forces in the east to help the FSB in Kursk. A Ukrainian soldier from the 121st Brigade runs to the shelter after setting up an FPV (first-person view) drone loaded with explosives to strike into Russian positions in the Pokrovsk area, Ukraine on July 23, 2024 (Pablo Miranzo/Anadolu via Getty Images) The Kyiv Independent: And with Russian troops reportedly being about 10 kilometers from Pokrovsk now, how do you expect the situation will develop there? Ben Hodges: If it's 10 kilometers, then that's probably another 10,000 dead Russian soldiers. Of course, Ukraine does not have enough ammunition, and shame on us that we have not delivered everything that was needed as fast as possible. And I think there's no excuse for it. This has been a failure in the West, from my own government. I'm proud of what the U.S. has done, but we have failed the most important task of committing to helping Ukraine win. Between the U.S., Germany, the U.K., France and other allies, we're not delivering with the sense of urgency that's needed to help Ukraine win. The Kyiv Independent: ould you address why Ukraine is so focused on Crimea, continuing to strike military targets there? Ben Hodges: What's happening in the Kursk direction is part of a multi-domain operation: air, land, sea, cyber, drones, information. Special forces sabotage, attacking Russia, airfields, air defense, and the Black Sea fleet, which has almost been made irrelevant, going after Russian oil and gas infrastructure, going after Russian transportation infrastructure. All of these are parts of a campaign to eject Russia from Ukrainian territory. I believe that Crimea is the most important terrain. It is what Russia wanted. Because Crimea gives whoever owns it the ability to control the Black Sea, whether economically or militarily. While I doubt that the Russians care a whole lot about Luhansk, they absolutely care about Crimea. Ukraine has gone about this the correct way, very methodically, isolating Crimea by destroying approaches to it, destroying the ferries. One day, when they're ready, they will destroy that big Kerch Bridge, and they'll cut the railroad that the Russians have built which goes down along the Azov Sea. That would be isolation. And then Ukraine will take Crimea when it's time. The Kyiv Independent: How would you assess both Ukrainian and Russian resources to continue fighting? Is something going to change significantly in 2025? Ben Hodges: First, let's talk about Russia. Sanctions have been effective, but not as effective as they should be because there are still too many gaps. Russia is still able to export oil, using its so-called shadow fleet, and sell this oil to India and China. Even if it's below market prices, it still generates income for the Kremlin to continue its war effort. It also looks like they are in big trouble with people. They've lost so many on the front, plus probably a million young men that are military age have left the country over the past few years. And at some point, they're going to have to mobilize young men that live in the Moscow region and St. Petersburg. I think they've avoided that so far because it will be very, very politically uncomfortable and unpopular. I think they're getting close to having to do that. On the Ukrainian side fortunately, the Russian Air Force has been so incompetent, and Ukrainian air defense has been so competent that the Russians have not been able to stop equipment and ammunition coming from Poland into Ukraine. I think that will continue. It does appear to me that Ukraine is rebuilding its own defense industry, even while at war inside the country. A lot of Western companies are helping to do this as well. My biggest concern for Ukraine is that the recruiting and training base is not what it should be. Ukraine has enough people. There are probably two million women and men of military age that could be serving. But the government has not yet done a good enough job with recruiting and training. The Kyiv Independent: If Putin decides to start conscription in Russia on a big scale, do you think it will somehow change the situation and the willingness of Russians to support the war? Ben Hodges: Well, I think when they start having funerals in Moscow and St. Petersburg, then you could see a mood change. The Kyiv Independent: Looking at the front-line situation, it doesn't yet look like Russia is running out of the Soviet weapons stockpiles, but some analysts say that it could happen next year. Do you see any signs of that? And how is it going to affect Russia's decision to want to prolong the war? Ben Hodges: I've been watching, like everyone else, the tanks that are about as old as I am being pulled out of storage, repainted, refurbished, and sent to the front. So I think that Russia probably still has thousands of armored vehicles of different types. But what makes an armored vehicle effective is not just the thing, it's the crew inside. Are they properly trained? Do they have the best fire control systems, the sights, the night vision devices, the capability to engage targets and hit them at a distance? I don't think that the tanks from the 50s and 60s necessarily have that, or that Russia can add these capabilities to all their tanks. The fact that they're having to import ammunition from North Korea tells me something. The fact that they are depending on parts from China for long-range systems is telling, too. The Kyiv Independent: Reports suggest that Western military aid for Ukraine is arriving slower, and countries like Germany are cutting their defense spending. Are you worried about the shrinking Western help for Ukraine? Ben Hodges: I'm most worried about the perception that the Kremlin sees the West losing interest, or energy, or will to keep supporting Ukraine. Because if the Kremlin sees that, they clearly don't care how many of their own soldiers are killed. All they care about is outlasting the West and its support for Ukraine. The quickest way to bring this war to an end would be for the U.S., Germany and the U.K. governments to say, It's in our interest that Ukraine defeats Russia, and therefore we're going to do everything necessary to help and make sure that happens. We have not done that. That's why the Kremlin keeps thinking that it just has to wait maybe there'll be President Trump or maybe the West will lose interest, whatever. The Kyiv Independent: What should be the focus of Western allies at the next Rammstein meeting in September? Ben Hodges: I think it's the same priorities as always uninterrupted flow of air defense systems, uninterrupted flow of ammunition that's required. We have to take the handcuffs off of Ukraine, allow Ukraine to use what has already been provided, however they need it. With this Kursk counteroffensive, Ukraine has demonstrated to Russia that all these red lines are our red lines. And that we deter ourselves. I think it's extremely unlikely that Russia will do anything to escalate to use a nuclear weapon. The Kyiv Independent: What are the factors that will define the outcome of the war? What are the strategies of Ukraine and Russia to win the war? Ben Hodges: For Russia, they will keep going until Putin realizes that he's stopped that he can't win. So the principal target for influence is Vladimir Putin. It happens when the President of the United States says, We're going to help Ukraine win. Use that word win. And when the German Chancellor and the British Prime Minister say, We're going to help Ukraine win. Those would be significant, very powerful words, but of course, backed up by the delivery of what's needed to win. This war should have ended last year, but the West had not committed to it. So we are where we are now. Note from the author: Hello, this is Natalia Yermak, who recorded this interview offering expert analysis of the past weeks of the war. My colleagues who helped to orchestrate this interview are working hard with the rest of the Kyiv independent team to bring you clear facts and informed opinions, as fast as possible. Please consider supporting our reporting. Read also: Morning in Sudzha: Inside Ukrainian-occupied Russia as Kursk operation continues Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Lake Nokomis beaches remain closed after sanitary sewer spill; here are other swimming options Due to elevated levels of E. coli bacteria levels, the beaches of Lake Nokomis will remain closed through this weekend, the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board (MPRB) announced in a bulletin issued on Friday morning. There has been extra monitoring of Lake Nokomis for E. coli bacteria since Aug. 19, when a sanitary sewer line near the lake backed up and released sewage into the water. Currently, E.coli levels remain elevated beyond what is typically recorded at Lake Nokomis during MPRBs seasonal monitoring of city lakes from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the park board reported in a news release on Friday. To protect public health, both Lake Nokomis Main Beach and Lake Nokomis 50th Street Beach will remain closed through the upcoming weekend. MPRB staff will collect and test lake water samples at both beaches on Monday, August 26 and provide an update on water quality conditions the following day. However, seven beaches in Minneapolis remain open for swimming this weekend, in addition to pools and water parks. Get info on the open beaches in Minneapolis at minneapolisparks.org/activities-events/water-activities/beaches/ as well as Minneapolis water parks, pools and splash pads at minneapolisparks.org/activities-events/water-activities/wading_pools/. Here are a few other swimming options at beaches in the metro this weekend: St. Paul Phalen Beach is a free, guarded public beach within Phalen Regional Park at 1400 Phalen Drive in St. Paul. The beach will be guarded from noon to 7 p.m. through Labor Day on Monday, Sept. 2. Amenities include watercraft rentals. The parks splash pad is open daily 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. through Sept. 2. More info at stpaul.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/aquatics/phalen-regional-park-beach. Ramsey County Want to cool off after walking around the Minnesota State Fair this weekend? Head to Lake Josephine County Park in Roseville, which includes an unguarded swimming beach. Amenities include flush toilets, a picnic area, a playground and a fishing pier. There is also a Dairy Queen across the street. The beach is open for swimming through Labor Day on Sept. 2 and is located at 3027 North Lexington Ave., Roseville. Beach hours at all Ramsey County beaches are 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes past sunset. More info at ramseycounty.us/residents/parks-recreation/parks-trails/find-park/lake-josephine-county-park. Dakota County Schulze Lake Beach, an unguarded beach within Lebanon Hills Regional Park, is open for swimming during beach season through Labor Day on Sept. 2. Amenities include a bathhouse with restrooms and showers; canoe, kayak and paddleboard rentals; vending machines; hiking trails and more. The nearby visitor centers address is 860 Cliff Rd., Eagan. More info at co.dakota.mn.us/parks/parksTrails/LebanonHills/Pages/schulze-lake-beach.aspx. Related Articles Las Vegas looks to solar power to keep streetlights on, thieves away LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Solar powered streetlights installed in the Las Vegas valley could help deter copper wire theft and keep residents out of the dark. More than a million feet of copper wiring has been stolen from Clark County since early 2002, with 500,000 feet of that just in the last two years, leaving thousands of residents across the Las Vegas Valley in the dark. Now, the county is fighting back by testing out a new way to turn the lights back on. For Marion Bigas, the installation of these new light poles on the east side of the valley was a welcome sight during his Thursday morning walk. You cant walk at night, lets put it that way, Bigas said. All up and down Lamb, Boulder Highway. This is just all over. He has lived in the area for nearly 35 years, and a lot of those recently have been in the dark. And he is not alone. No matter where you are, youve been left in the dark and in Clark County, we think that is unacceptable, District A Commissioner Michael Naft explained. On Thursday, Aug. 22, Commissioner Naft, Clark County Commission Chairman Tick Segerblom, and Manager of the Traffic Division for Clark County Jimmy Benoit gathered for the installation of the very first solar-powered streetlight on East St. Louis Avenue near Fremont Street. Images below compare an older streetlight with one of the new solar streetlights. Crews installed 12 brand new solar streetlights which are powered purely by the sun and only contain solar panels, batteries, and the light itself far out of reach of thieves. These new units are cost effective and hopefully will limit the vulnerable of the circuits because now wire is involved, Benoit explained. It is the first-of-its-kind in the valley and a test to see if it works. The County has installed solar-powered streetlights in outlying areas near Bunkerville and Searchlight where limited power is available. This is the first time Clark County is installing solar-powered lights in the Las Vegas Valley. Oh yeah, it will help big time. You can see they have been doing it for a while now, so this is going to help, Bigas said. There are currently 65,000 streetlights in Clark County and this new dozen is just a test for now, with plans to expand depending on how these new lights do during this pilot program. The county is also looking at strengthening laws and stepping up enforcement to stop the ongoing copper wire thefts. You can report street light outages to the county 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 KLAS. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Three people are accused of stealing large amounts of money from Las Vegas-area bank accounts as part of a phishing scheme involving text messages, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned. Las Vegas Metro police arrested Jazzmin Dotson, 26, on Aug. 18 on a warrant for a theft charge, records said. Two other people also appear to be connected to the case and face a similar theft charge. In February 2023, Silver State Schools Credit Union began to identify several incidents of unauthorized transfers and fraud, documents said. In each case, a bad actor would access a persons account and then transfer the money to another. A person would then withdraw the money at a bank branch, ATM, or casino. Before each fraudulent transaction, victims would receive a text message saying the credit union had deactivated their account, police said. The victims would click on a link in the text, which appeared to look like the banks actual website. Police identified the scheme as a phishing scam, where criminals send fake messages to gain personal information. Las Vegas Metro police arrested Jazzmin Dotson, 26, on Aug. 18 on a warrant for a theft charge, records said. (LVMPD/KLAS) One victim lost $83,000 in an account transfer to Dotson and two others, police said. Several thousand dollars were withdrawn from two Las Vegas Strip casinos. Dotson allegedly withdrew large amounts of money from the three credit union locations over four hours, police said. A detective attempted to contact Dotson several times but she did not respond. Dotson remained in custody on $10,000 bail as of Thursday. A judge ordered a source hearing before she secured her release. A message on the credit unions website Thursday read: Remember to be cautious when providing your personal information over the phone, especially during unsolicited and unexpected calls. Silver State Schools Credit Union will never call you or email you to obtain your confidential information. The only time we may ask for your personal information is when you contact us, and we do so for security and identification purposes. If you feel uncomfortable during the call or do not trust the call that has taken place, disconnect and call Silver State Schools Credit Union directly. Police and the FBI warn consumers not to give out usernames and passwords and not to click on any suspicious links. Customers can often set up two-factor authentication to access accounts. Anyone who believes they are the victim of any online fraudulent activity can report it directly to the FBI at ic3.gov. The FBI also offers information on its website about how to spot the most common scams and cybercrimes. A recent study found Nevada ranked No. 1 for cybercrime victims. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Last Body Found from Sunken Sicily Yacht as All 6 Missing Passengers Confirmed Dead The five other missing passengers were recovered on Wednesday, Aug. 21 ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Divers of the Vigili del Fuoco, the Italian Corps. of Firefighters work in Porticello near Palermo, on August 21, 2024 The final body from the luxury yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily has been found. Italian coast guard sources told PEOPLE on Friday, Aug. 23 that the "last person still missing in the Palermo shipwreck is identified." The discovery comes after four bodies were recovered on Wednesday, Aug, 21, while a fifth body was found in the wreckage. The Bayesian, a 183-foot vessel, sank around 5 a.m. local time on Monday, Aug. 19, while moored around a half mile from the coast of Porticello, according to an Italian coast guard statement previously obtained by PEOPLE. At the time of the disaster the yacht was carrying 22 people. Immediately after it sunk, 15 people were rescued and 1 body was recovered later identified as chef Recaldo Thomas. On Thursday, Aug. 22, an Italian government official confirmed that British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch was among the dead. While the Italian authorities have not formally identified the recovered bodies, an Italian interior ministry official confirmed that Lynch was one of the bodies found, reported Reuters. His daughter Hannah remained missing at the time. ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Divers of the Vigili del Fuoco, the Italian Corps. of Firefighters work in Porticello near Palermo, on August 21, 2024 The father-daughter pair had been among six passengers missing in the aftermath of the sinking, while Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, was one of 15 people who were rescued. Others missing have previously been identified as Chairman of Morgan Stanley International Jonathan Bloomer, his wife, Judy, and New York City-based lawyer Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Neda. Simon Dawson/Bloomberg via Getty; Scott Eells/Bloomberg via Getty; Andy Shaw/Bloomberg via Getty Mike Lynch, Christopher Morvillo, Jonathan Bloomer, Sicily Bayesian Superyacht sinking Related: Survivor of Yacht That Sank Off Sicily's Coast Recalls How She Used 'All My Strength' to Save Her 1-Year-Old A source close to the investigators dealing with the incident previously told PEOPLE that authorities are focusing on the victims before looking into what happened. "Obviously the priority is being able to work out what has happened to those that are missing and recover any bodies," the source said. "At the moment, no one has been placed under investigation because until they find the bodies, they cannot evaluate any sort of accusation or charge." Related: Bodies of Children, 3 and 5 Years Old, Recovered, Dad Still Missing After Sailboat Capsizes in Wisconsin Lunch's wife, Angela Bacares, is one of the individuals who was rescued, according to a local source. The passengers were celebrating after Lynch was acquitted in June in a financial fraud trial in the U.S., a source close to the survivors told PEOPLE. That's why he took his closest friends and colleagues on the trip, the source said. ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Related: 'We Are in Shock,' Prominent N.Y.C. Attorney's Firm Says After He and His Wife Go Missing in Yacht Sinking Morvillo had represented Lynch in the fraud case and other firm employees were on the Bayesian as well, a spokesperson for Clifford Chance, his law firm, said in a statement. In story published on July 27 by The Sunday Times in a story published on July 27, Lynch said that he felt like he could have have died in prison had he been convicted. I have various medical things that would have made it difficult to survive, Lynch, a father of two children Hannah, 18, and another daughter, 21 told the paper. 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. Danny Fortson, who interviewed Lynch for the story, previously told PEOPLE that Lynch seemed "incredibly grateful and happy," but was still "struggling to accept" his new reality. Ahead of his conversation with PEOPLE, The Sunday Times correspondent shared a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) reacting to the news that Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter were missing. He wrote, "The terrible irony is that when we sat down last month, he made it clear that he felt he had won a new lease on life. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. A Walmart spokesperson tells Just Style its intention is to get rid of its stake in JD.com, emphasising the decision aligns with the company's strategy to focus on ventures that present the best opportunities for success. A Forbes article claims Walmart selling its entire 9.4% stake in JD.com could generate up to $3.74bn for the US-headquartered retailer. Walmart is keen to stress that it will continue to have a commercial relationship with JD.com, but did not provide any further details. The Walmart spokesperson did reveal that its decision will allows the business to focus on its "strong China operations for Walmart China and Sams Club and deploy capital towards other priorities". JD.com did not respond to Just Style's request for comment at the time of going to press. The decision reflects Walmart's shifting strategy in China, where it intends to focus on strengthening its operations for its stores Walmart China and Sams Club. Just Style speaks to industry experts to find out the broader implications of Walmart's new strategy in China as well as what the JD.com exit will mean for both companies and their apparel businesses moving forward. What does the sale mean for JD.com, Walmarts apparel businesses Walmarts potential divestiture offers both challenges and opportunities for JD.com with GlobalData retail analyst Neil Saunders pointing out that Walmarts decision is not exactly a vote of confidence in JD.com. In saying that, he does add that it gives the Chinese e-commerce firm more room to focus on its own ventures without the pressure of catering to a significant foreign investor. In terms of the apparel segment, Saunders indicates that Walmarts exit from JD.com may not have an immediate impact on either companys approach in this category. "I dont see any immediate impact on the apparel category, observes Saunders. Both businesses have their own strategies and propositions, and I dont think these will change because of Walmart selling down its JD stake. He says Walmart will be keen to grow apparel and other categories in China as it ramps up its own expansion efforts. Plus, Walmart could be well-positioned to capitalise on cross-category sales, including apparel. "The main focus is on essentials, but this drives traffic which can aid the sale of apparel," Saunders notes. Walmart to focus on profitable growth in China Despite an eight-year relationship, Walmarts move to cut financial ties with JD.com is seen as a strategic step to "put its house in order in China," according to Saunders. Story continues The US retail giant first acquired a 5% stake in JD.com in 2016 after selling its Yihaodian online marketplace to the Chinese e-commerce platform in a swap deal. It increased its stake to 10.8% to expand its presence in China e-commerce and provide its stores and its membership-only warehouse retail offering Sams Club with potential traffic from JD.coms online customer base. "Investment in a third-party player no longer makes as much sense," Saunders explains. "Walmart can use the capital from the sale to fuel its own ventures, which are likely to generate a better return especially as JD.coms share price has slumped in recent years." The decision to sell JD.com shares, Saunders continues, allows Walmart to refocus on its own ventures, particularly the expansion of Sam's Club, which he says has been a standout success in the region, despite the slowing Chinese economy. Saunders explains that Sams Club has seen steady growth in membership and customer numbers, reflecting strong interest in Walmart's offerings, which include essentials as well as apparel. He admits apparel is a tricky category as there are so many low-priced players in China and consumer spending is currently very sluggish," but on the plus side, he believes a "natural expansion and opening more stores should help Walmart to increase apparel sales. Can PDD Holdings surging growth threaten JD.com after Walmart's exit? Saunders believes Walmart is more likely to succeed in growing its apparel and other categories in China compared to JD.com because JD.com appears to be suffering from the growing competition of other marketplaces. One of JD.com's main competitors is PDD Holdings Inc, a multinational commerce group that operates Pinduoduo, an e-commerce platform that provides products in categories including apparel. There is a risk that Walmarts exit could create an opportunity for PDD Holdings to tighten its grip on the market and further widen the gap between itself and JD.com. Whilst PDD Holding did not respond to Just Styles request for a comment at the time of writing, Shen Meng, managing director of boutique investment bank Chanson & Co., told Forbes that although Walmart initially invested in JD.com to capitalise on Chinas booming e-commerce market, JD.com now faces "increased growth pressure" due to the rise of PDD Holdings and other platforms. For the first quarter ending 31 March 2024, the Pinduoduo owner reported a 131% increase in total revenues to 86bn ($12bn) while net income more than tripled to 28bn. JD.com, by comparison, saw its net revenue increase 7% in the same quarter as price cuts and discount coupons helped boost sales that had been hit by cautious consumers. JD.com has already been working on a low-cost strategy to attract more shoppers amid rising competition from budget-friendly platforms like PDD Holdings, which according to Forbes has surpassed JD.com in market capitalisation. All in all, despite the divestment, the apparel businesses of both Walmart and JD.com are unlikely to see immediate changes, as each company remains committed to their respective strategies. However, Walmarts renewed focus on Chinas physical retail could create new opportunities for apparel growth as the company adapts to Chinas unique market dynamics. "Explainer: Walmarts JD.com exit and what it means for apparel" was originally created and published by Just Style, 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. Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (L) and Attorney General Josh Stein (R). (Robinson photo by Getty Images/Stein photo file image) A new High Point University/SurveyUSA Poll shows Attorney General Josh Stein, the Democratic nominee for governor, leading Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson by 14 percentage points in North Carolinas closely watched governors race. The online poll of more than 1,000 North Carolina registered voters found 48% favored Stein and 34% supporting Robinson. Eighteen percent say they remain undecided. The High Point Poll comes roughly a week after a New York Times/Sienna College poll showed Stein leading Robinson 49-39 percent. While Harris entry into the presidential race has helped bring new excitement to the Democratic ticket the poll found that she has now pulled slightly ahead of former President Donald Trump among North Carolina voters 46%-45% Robinson has faced questions in recent weeks about a nonprofit led by his wife that was cited for inaccurate reimbursement claims. Robinson has said the weaponization of government is being used to steer the state investigation into his wifes now closed business. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has described the reviews of the nonprofit Balanced Nutrition as routine and federally required. The Republican gubernatorial nominee has also found himself repeatedly trying to explain comments delivered to a North Carolina church audience on Sunday, June 30 that some folks need killing. This week Robinson was asked about the comment again even as he rolled out his public safety plan. With the new school year starting, Lt. Gov. Robinson has also faced questions about remarks made during a July event that he would opt the state out of federal education funds in an effort to reduce bureaucracy. The remarks were first reported by WRAL. North Carolina receives more than $1.6 billion dollars in federal funding. Justin Parmenter, a veteran Charlotte middle school teacher, told reporters on Thursday that would cripple public schools. The majority of that money goes to support our most vulnerable students, who need our help the most, said Parmenter. More than $650 million of those dollars goes to supporting lower income students and schools in lower income areas. More than a half a billion goes towards providing nutritious food for students. Another $380 million serve students with special needs, explained Parmenter. North Carolina Rep. Lindsey Prather (D-Buncombe) also criticized Robinsons remarks, noting that without federal funds the state would struggle to find additional resources for classroom teachers, support staff, bus drivers, and school maintenance workers. You can find crosstabs for the latest High Point University Poll here. Latvia is preparing to transfer its largest batch of drones yet to Ukraine, the country's Defense Minister Andris Spruds said on Aug. 22. In a post on X, he said the latest shipment consists of 1,400 drones, and it marked the conclusion of a program between the country's defense ministry and Latvian manufacturers that had procured 2,700 drones in total. "Together with Latvian companies, we will continue to provide support until the victory of Ukraine," he added. The drones have been provided in the framework of the international drone coalition. In early July, the defense ministry announced that Riga would send more than 2,500 combat drones of different types, worth 4 million euros ($4.3 million), to Ukraine. Spruds announced back in May that the Latvian government would invest around 20 million euros ($22 million) in the drone coalition this year, and a similar sum to the development of Latvia's own drone capabilities. Along with the U.K., Latvia is the leader of the drone coalition, an allied initiative established to supply Ukrainian forces with this crucial capability. The coalition was established in January to bolster Ukraine's arsenal of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Seven countries, apart from the founding states, have joined the alliance, including Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Sweden, Estonia, and Denmark. Ukraine is also working to scale up domestic production, aiming to produce at least 1 million drones in 2024. Read also: Morning in Sudzha: Inside Ukrainian-occupied Russia as Kursk operation continues Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Latvia prepares to send largest batch of drones to Ukraine Latvia has prepared the largest batch of drones from local manufacturers so far to be sent to Ukraine. Source: Latvian Defence Minister Andris Spruds on X (Twitter) Details: Spruds noted that Latvia is preparing to transfer a batch of 1,400 drones to Ukraine. "The largest batch from Latvian manufacturers, 1,400 drones, is ready to be shipped to Ukraine. This completes the Ministry of Defence's purchase of more than 2,700 drones from Latvian companies for Ukraine", Spruds said. He added that in total, Latvia has provided Ukraine with 3,000 combat drones of various types and characteristics as part of the drone coalition. "Together with Latvian companies, we will continue to provide support until Ukraine's victory", Spruds said. Background: Last week, Spruds announced the transfer of about 500 Latvian-made drones to Ukraine. It was reported that Latvia and Germany had agreed to jointly purchase drones to support Ukraine. Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Latvia would work with Ukraine to increase the production of drones as part of the drone coalition. Support UP or become our patron! Senate President Nicholas Scutari signed the new law as acting governor. (Rich Hundley III/Governors Office) Senate President Nicholas Scutari, acting as the states chief executive while the governor and lieutenant governor are away, signed legislation Thursday that will raise pay for county prosecutors and some judges and allow prosecutors to collect judicial pensions while receiving their full salary. The bill, which passed both chambers in June in votes that fell almost entirely along party lines, will raise salaries for county prosecutors to $204,167 retroactive to the beginning of 2024. Our judges and county prosecutors work extremely hard every day to ensure justice is served at the highest level and quality here in New Jersey, Scutari (D-Union) said in a statement. The enactment of this bill allows us to maintain competitive salaries and retirement compensation for these officials. The bill will also index those salaries to increases in the Consumer Price Index for at least three years. That provision prolongs cost-of-living adjustments present in existing law through the start of 2025, but not after. The previous increases were enacted under legislation Gov. Phil Murphy signed in 2018. The salary increases are expected to cost the state $135,900 in the current and following July-to-June fiscal years, $275,193 in the two fiscal years thereafter, and $367,697 in future years, according to a fiscal note prepared by the Office of Legislative Services. This will help attract and retain qualified professionals to serve as prosecutors and judges, bill sponsor Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen) said in a statement. Prosecutors receiving pension benefits through the judicial retirement system cannot simultaneously accrue benefits through a separate state retirement system. The bill also raises the salaries of presiding New Jersey appellate judges to $218,546, up from $215,546. The legislation allows prosecutors who earned pension credits as judges to draw on their pensions while serving as county prosecutors, something barred under current law. Other provisions allow prosecutors to purchase pension credits based on past work as law clerks for a New Jersey judge or justice. This will help New Jerseys legal system attract and retain top talent who have valuable experience working in a state court, said bill sponsor Sen. Brian Stack (D-Hudson). Its not clear how many of New Jerseys 21 county prosecutors will benefit from the change to pension rules. Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez served five years as a Superior Court judge in Passaic County before being confirmed prosecutor in 2015, and Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella clerked for former Superior Court Judge Ralph Polito. Scutari is acting governor while Gov. Phil Murphy and Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way are in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention. Scutari attended the convention earlier this week but returned to take helm of the administration Thursday. Murphy and Way are expected to return Friday morning. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Lawmakers, superintendents upset with lack of communication from OSDE on changes to state test scores Lawmakers, superintendents upset with lack of communication from OSDE on changes to state test scores OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) School district superintendents across Oklahoma say the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) never communicated that there would be a change in how state tests were scored this year, resulting in the number of students deemed academically proficient appearing to skyrocket from past years. Despite lawmakers and school leaders telling News 4 OSDE never informed them the state had lowered its cut score for standardized tests this year, State Superintendent Ryan Walters claimed on Thursday he had been communicating with them about the change. Stitt: Walters, OSDE need to be held accountable in U.S. News rankings fiasco News 4 obtained data OSDE sent districts last week, indicating, on average, the share of students in Oklahoma who scored proficient on state tests increased nearly 30 percent in 2024 from 2023. Below is a breakdown of the state testing score data that officials with an Oklahoma school district told News 4 OSDE provided them within the past week: % OF STUDENTS STATEWIDE WHO SCORED PROFICIENT GRADE LEVEL TEST SUBJECT 2023 2024 3 English Language Arts 29% 51% 3 Math 34% 38% 4 English Language Arts 24% 47% 4 Math 35% 40% 5 English Language Arts 28% 46% 5 Math 27% 37% 5 Science 35% 34% 6 English Language Arts 26% 39% 6 Math 23% 34% 7 English Language Arts 21% 39% 7 Math 24% 29% 8 English Language Arts 20% 40% 8 Math 15% 25% 8 Science 35% 35% 11 Science 21% 23% 11 U.S. History 41% 43% AVERAGE PROFICIENCY 27% 38% The data indicates, in 2023, 27 percent of Oklahoma students, on average, attained a high enough score on each test to be deemed proficient. In 2024, the data indicates 38 percent of Oklahoma students, on average, attained a high enough score on each test to be deemed proficient. Gov. Stitt approves rule tying test scores to school accreditation Thats a nearly 30 percent rise in the states proficiency rate from 2023 to 2024. Ive never seen these kinds of increases in a single year, said Marianne Perie, a technical advisor on school assessment and accountability, who consults with numerous state education departments across the nation on standardized testing. Im not saying its impossible, but its just not realistic that someones going to jump that far, said State Rep. Danny Sterling (R-Tecumseh) who previously worked a 40 year career as a school teacher and principal before becoming a lawmaker. Two, three, four percent? Yes, thats normal. But that does not add up when youre talking about that big of a jump. What this all really comes down to is whats known as the states cut score. A cut score is the score used to decide what level a student is proficient, advanced proficient, below proficient, etc, Sterling said. If a student scores above the cut score, theyre deemed proficient. If they score below it, theyre considered below proficient. The state updates the cut score every six years to coincide with updated academic standards. Lawmakers tell News 4 the Oklahoma Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (OEQA) lowered the cut score this year, lowering the minimum score that students would need to be deemed proficient. I think it sounds like we cant compare them to last years scores, Perie said. Political suicide Ryan Walters calls for his own impeachment: How did it come to this? Perie served on the advisory committee which, in part, came up with recommendations for Oklahomas cut scores from 2013 until 2022. She remembers when Oklahoma increased its cut scores in 2017raising the bar for a student to get a proficient score. I was the external evaluator for the standard setting that was done back then. And it was very public, Perie said. People knew that cut scores were being reset at the time. Then-State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister held a press conference in 2017 to let the public know, with the higher cut score, proficiency rates would be expected to drop that year. Superintendent Hofmeister wanted to ensure that these cut scores were very rigorous, Perie said. I worked with the department to make sure that it was clear that these were different, and we were very transparent in how we did the process. State Rep. Mark McBride (R-Moore) said he spoke to officials with OEQA on Thursday, who told him they let Walters and other OSDE officials know around a year ago that cut scores would be lower in 2024. Despite that, several superintendents News 4 has heard from in districts across the state say OSDE never told them cut scores were being lowered in 2024. U.S. News: OSDE denied access to data, skewing Oklahoma school rankings Im not seeing the level of transparency this year that I saw in 2017, Perie said. After Thursdays state school board meeting, Walters told reporters OSDE has not released the testing data to the public yetonly with school districts. He said OSDE is still working through how to interpret and share it with the public. We have not rolled out the test scores yet, Walters said. So to be attacked on how we rolled out test scores before we roll out test scores, I found really fascinating bit of fan fiction out there, but website. Yeah, but we have not discussed them with the public to break down what has changed. He also insisted OSDE had communicated with districts about the change to the cut score before OSDE sent them their scores. We are actively working districts through that process now to say, heres how these decisions were made, Walters said. You guys havent seen us walk through it yet because again, what were trying to do is make sure the districts understand how do you use these with your teachers and training for next year. That is something Rep. Sterling, and the numerous superintendents News 4 has heard from, say just isnt true. There was nothing conveyed or communicated to the school districts that there will be changes and cut scores, Sterling said. I think transparency is the main thing. If they will address their concerns instead of pointing fingers back at those people that are asking those questions, I think that would help a lot. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 government is accusing a company named RealPage of writing software landlords use to keep rents artificially high. US Attorney General Merrick Garland filed the anti-trust lawsuit today. We allege that this software is developed, marketed, and sold to enable landlords to sidestep vigorous competition in the rental market, Garland said. Bob Ferguson is one of eight Attorneys General joining the Department of Justice in the lawsuit. He says the RealPage software-is not the smoke filled room where price fixers gathered in the old days to stick it to the little man. Whats going on is a bad. Actors sometimes find new technologies to engage in that kind of illegal activity. In other words, its not always, getting together in the boardroom and hashing it out. Nowadays, they can use technology like RealPage that takes nonpublic information, private information, proprietary information from different landlords, puts it all together and provides them suggested rate prices that actually result in higher rents and less competition for consumers. In a statement a RealPage executive says, We believe the claims brought by DOJ are devoid of merit and will do nothing to make housing more affordable. We intend to vigorously defend ourselves against these accusations. RealPage is a giant in the real estate market. Ferguson claims an estimated 800 thousand leases in Washington were determined by the companys pricing software in the past seven years. The number in just Seattle? In Seattle, where there are about 300,000, multifamily apartments in Seattle, about half of them now use RealPage, says Lee Hepner senior legal counsel for the American Economic Liberties Project. He adds, We have seen the housing crisis result in rents that are 51% higher than they were in 2016. And a good part of that may be attributable to the software algorithms recommending those high rents. King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda told us back in April-the impact RealPage had on just one Seattle community, Belltown. Mosqueda tells me, 70% of the rental units that are offered in Belltown are offered only through ten companies. Those ten companies, those corporate landlords use RealPage. We have seen the costs of rental units increase by 55%. Thats $1,200 increase in just 2021 to 2022. Credit - Getty Images A disability rights organization filed a federal class action lawsuit on Thursday against a suburban New York county, alleging that its ban on wearing face masks in public violates the U.S. Constitution and discriminates against people with disabilities. Earlier this month, Nassau County enacted whats believed to be the first face mask ban in the country since the COVID-19 pandemic. The law, called the Mask Transparency Act, makes it a misdemeanor offense for someone to wear a mask or face covering to hide their identity, with exceptions for health or religious reasons. Breaking the law is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The lawsuit challenging the ban was filed by Disability Rights New York on behalf of people with disabilities, including two anonymous plaintiffsone known as S.S., a Nassau County resident who has common variable immunodeficiency (CVID), kidney disease, post-viral syndrome, and respiratory impairments; and another known as G.B., who is a county resident with cerebral palsy and asthma. The Mask Ban discriminates against people with disabilities by depriving them of equal access to public life in Nassau County in violation of the United States Constitution, the New York State Constitution, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the complaint alleged. The complaint alleged that one of the plaintiffs, S.S., has received sneering looks from other members of the public when they are wearing a mask and is terrified to wear a mask in public since the law was enacted. The complaint alleged that the other plaintiff, G.B., fears that people, including the police, will approach them because they wear a facemask, and will make unwanted contact with them, harass them, discriminate against them, and/or abuse them. Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who signed the bill into law on Aug. 14 and was named as a defendant in the lawsuit alongside the county, said in a statement to NBC News that the county is confident that the law will be upheld as there is a presumption of constitutionality when the legislature acts, and this legislation is reasonable and responsible. All 12 Republicans in the county legislature voted in favor of the Mask Transparency Act, whereas the seven Democrats abstained from the vote. Legislators said the new law was prompted by recent protests against the Israel-Hamas war. The law came after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was considering banning face masks in June for New York City subway riders after a group donning masks took over a subway car, scaring riders and chanting things about Hitler and wiping out Jews. It was not clear what incident Hochul was referring to. The law in Nassau County sparked controversy as the New York Civil Liberties Union and some politicians condemned the ban. New York State Senator Iwen Chu said in a post on X before the law was enacted that wearing masks is a common practice in many Asian cultures and that kind of legislation may lead to anti-Asian hate and discrimination. Contact us at letters@time.com. Students hold up anti-abortion signs at the Midwest March for Life on May 1 at the Missouri State Capitol (Anna Spoerre/Missouri Independent). A pair of Republican state legislators and an anti-abortion activist filed a lawsuit Thursday asking a judge to block an abortion-rights constitutional amendment from appearing on the Nov. 5 ballot. State Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, state Rep. Hannah Kelly and Kathy Forck sued last year challenging the cost estimate for a proposed constitutional amendment rolling back Missouris ban on abortion. The campaign behind the proposal ultimately turned in enough signatures to earn a spot on the November ballot, where it is set to appear as Amendment 3. On Thursday, Coleman, Kelly, Forck and Marguerite Forrest, the operator of a shelter for homeless pregnant women in St. Louis County, filed a new lawsuit in Cole Circuit Court arguing that the decision to place the amendment on the ballot should be reversed. The amendment violates the Missouri Constitution, the lawsuit argues, because it illegally includes more than one subject. It also fails to specify the laws and constitutional provisions that would be repealed if it were approved by voters, the lawsuit argues. In a joint statement released to the media, the plaintiffs said Amendment 3 is a direct threat to the lives of Missouri women by erasing the will of voters who chose to protect the safety of women and the child by electing strong pro-life leaders. Rachel Sweet, campaign manager for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, which is supporting Amendment 3, called Thursdays lawsuit yet another baseless and desperate attempt from politicians to silence Missouri voters and prevent them from being heard. We will not let that happen. Sweet said she is confident the courts will see through this thinly veiled effort to block Missouri voters and dismiss it swiftly. Missouri was the first state to ban abortion after the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning the constitutional right to the procedure. Since then, abortion has been virtually illegal, with limited exceptions only in cases of medical emergencies. There are no exceptions for survivors of rape or incest. If approved by voters, Amendment 3 would legalize abortion up until the point of fetal viability, an undefined period of time generally seen as the point in which the fetus could survive outside the womb on its own, generally around 24 weeks, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Such an amendment would return Missouri to the standard of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which also legalized abortion up to the point of fetal viability. Missouris amendment also includes exceptions after viability to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person. Missouris amendment also states that women and those performing or assisting in abortions cannot be prosecuted. Under current Missouri law, doctors who perform abortions deemed unnecessary can be charged with a class B felony and face up to 15 years in prison. Their medical license can also be suspended or revoked. The lawsuit filed Thursday argues that Amendment 3 illegally includes more than one subject, in part because of its use of the phrase fundamental right to reproductive freedom. The lawsuit argues this phrase is unlimited in scope and is systematically neutralizing all laws, existing or future, that attempt to limit this new, limitless right to reproductive freedom. It lays out numerous restrictions on abortion and other laws that could be repealed by Amendment 3 if it were approved by voters, including restrictions on when abortions can be performed and bans on certain stem cell research. This story was updated at 2:35 p.m. with a comment from Missourians for Constitutional Freedom and at 3:11 p.m. to correct the spelling of Kathy Forcks name. Sergio Harris showed a wide smile while meandering through the London Nightclub & Lounge. He shook hands with different people as women danced around him. As the nightclub began to close, Harris left the establishment still in a jovial mood. But his demeanor changed to serious as a man wearing a puffy jacket leaned in to confide in him just before the worst mass shooting in Sacramentos history unfolded. Both of them, along with defendant Mtula Payton, in the early hours of April 3, 2022, walked toward the loom squad a rival gang, Sacramento Police Department Detective Shaun McGovern testified in Sacramento Superior Court. Prosecutors during Fridays preliminary hearing called upon McGovern to piece together the chaotic moments surrounding the mass shooting at the corner of 10th and K streets, in front of the now-closed Sharif Jewelers. The shooting left Harris and five others dead; 12 more were injured. McGovern reviewed hundreds to thousands of hours of video footage from eateries, nightclubs and hotels around 10th and K streets to document the path defendants Dandrae Martin, 29, and Payton, 30, took on April 2022. Martins brother, Smiley Martin, was also charged in the shooting that police said broke out when two rival gang members opened fire at each other. But Smiley Martin, 29, died in the downtown Sacramento County Main Jail in early June. Prosecutors formally dropped the charges against Smiley Martin last week. Payton and others weaved through a group containing the Martin brothers and Joshua Hoye-Lucchesi. At one point another man named Oshe White, with Payton, confronted the brothers, McGovern testified. This prompted a woman to interject, the detective said. Hoye-Lucchesi was killed in the shooting that happened in a crowd of around 100 to 200 bystanders. Prosecutors have not charged the defendants with the deaths of Hoye-Lucchessi, 32, Harris, 38, and Devazia Tuner, 29, because they say all three were involved in the gunfight. The Sacramento County District Attorneys Office charged Martin and Payton each with three counts of murder for the shooting deaths of innocent bystanders Yamile Martinez, 21; Johntaya Alexander, 21; and Melinda Davis, 57. Just a few minutes after the confrontation, gunfire broke out between the group containing the Martin brothers and another group containing Payton and Harris. The crowd scattered. McGovern has not testified about who fired a weapon first. But he said muzzle flashes rang out from Harris, Payton and Dandrae Martins guns in the surveillance footage as they exchanged gunfire. Payton in the video surveillance footage walked backward while pointing a gun, ultimately running away, McGovern testified. Ultimately, crime scene investigators found about 18 shell casings where Payton was standing, he said. Group posted videos on social media hours before The night of April 2, 2022, began with the Martin brothers, Brittany Denrow, Hoye-Lucchesi, Stanley Jackson and several others filming themselves in the 2500 block of Traction Avenue in Old North Sacramento and posting the videos on social media, McGovern testified. The Martin brothers and Hoye-Lucchesi pointed weapons at the cameras, McGovern testified. But the videos, depicting a fun night, ended just a few hours afterward. Denrow panicked as she and the rest of the group hurried away from the shooting. Hoye-Lucchesi had been struck at the corner of 10th and K streets, where he was ultimately found dead by first responders, McGovern testified. Hoye-Lucchesi lay on the ground as Denrow and Jackson took objects from him, he said. Smiley Martin, as he rushed away from the scene, threw a Glock-style handgun into an alley that was later recovered by police, McGovern said. It was modified to be an automatic handgun with an extended magazine, McGovern said. But Smiley Martin had been injured in the shooting and had to stop rushing away with Dandrae Martin to rest on the back steps of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament, McGovern said. The brothers began moving again, but Martin fell. A body-worn camera footage from a Sacramento police officer showed Smiley Martin prone and injured, according to video played in court. A woman began crying as Smiley Martins body flashed on screen. She rushed out of court, her sobs reverberating through the courtroom and court hallways. Testimony is scheduled to continue Sept. 11. Mtula Payton attends his preliminary hearing in Sacramento Superior Court on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. He is charged with the murders of three women killed in a 2022 K Street shootout that killed six and injured 12 others. The Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on Aug. 20, 2024. (Ariana Figueroa | States Newsroom) Parents in Milwaukees most vulnerable neighborhoods continue to worry about the danger of lead poisoning and the risks it poses to their children. For decades, mostly Black and brown residents living in one of the nations most segregated cities occupied homes and drank from water which had been thoroughly contaminated by lead. Parents from Wisconsins largest city had the opportunity to share their story with a national audience during the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago. Lead was everywhere, in our pipes, in our paint and in our soil, said Deanna Branch, whose nearly 12-year-old son Aiden has dealt with the effects of lead poisoning since he was just 2 years old. In his early years, Aiden was twice hospitalized for having high levels of lead in his blood. Even at low levels, lead exposure has been shown to damage brain development in children and is linked to difficulties with learning, impulse control and violence. Lead pipes remain prevalent in Milwaukees Black and brown neighborhoods, which historically have experienced divestment and neglect through decades-old practices like redlining. Deanna Branch (Photo | Isiah Holmes) On stage at the DNC, Branch, introduced by Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, praised the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure bill passed under the Biden-Harris administration, which accelerated the process of removing lead pipes in Milwaukee. Branch said that the level of lead measured in her sons blood at the highest was 50. Today, Branch told WPR, its down to 6.8 and he is thriving. Aiden has also illustrated a book about his experiences called Aiden: The Lead-Free Superhero. Branch also proudly reported that her 1-year-old daughter was born lead-free. Branch was joined on stage by Rashawn Spivey, a Milwaukeean and owner of Hero Plumbing. Spiveys credits the over 1,000 lead lateral pipes that his company has removed to the policies passed under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Removing lead laterals has been a contentious subject in Wisconsins Republican-controlled Legislature. In 2019, a proposal by Gov. Tony Evers to provide $40 million in funding to replace lead pipes was rejected by the Legislature, with Republicans objecting that too much of the money went to Milwaukee. Federal emergency relief during the COVID-19 pandemic gave Milwaukee a new opportunity to address its problems with lead poisoning. In early 2023, Branch and other Milwaukee residents gathered at public hearings to implore local officials to spend some of the remaining $92.7 million in federal funding on removing lead pipes from the community. Replacing lead laterals in Milwaukees most vulnerable communities has required not only funding, but advocacy. I know that the timeline has decreased significantly thanks to our efforts, Branch told WPR during the DNC. It was a 40-year plan originally, I think its now down to 10 or nine. Im just happy to see that progress is going to be made, and Ill be alive to witness the progress being made. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX (Reuters) -State-linked Chinese entities are using cloud services provided by Amazon or its rivals to access advanced U.S. chips and artificial intelligence capabilities that they cannot acquire otherwise, recent public tender documents showed. Providing access to such technologies through the cloud is not a violation of U.S. regulations. A spokesperson for Amazon's cloud business, Amazon Web Services (AWS), said: "AWS complies with all applicable U.S. laws, including trade laws, regarding the provision of AWS services inside and outside of China." Following is a list of Chinese entities that sought access to restricted U.S. technologies through the cloud, according to the documents that were reviewed by Reuters. Entities accessing or expressing interest in accessing AI models and computing power via AWS: 1. Zhejiang Lab The state-run research institute is developing its own large-language model, GeoGPT, and said in a tender document in April that it intended to spend 184,000 yuan ($25,760) to purchase AWS cloud computing services, as its AI model could not get enough computing power from homegrown Alibaba. The institute told Reuters that it did not go through with the purchase but did not say why. Alibaba's cloud unit, Alicloud, did not respond to a request for comment. Reuters could not determine if the purchase had been completed. 2. National Center of Technology Innovation for EDA The state-backed entity, which helps Chinese companies develop chip design blueprints for mass production, said in an April tender document it spent 600,000 yuan to buy an overseas AWS account for the purpose of accessing Claude 3, an AI model developed by Anthropic. Anthropic said it does not support or allow customers or end-users within China to access Claude. The center did not respond to a request for comment. Entities accessing advanced U.S. chips via AWS: 1. Shenzhen University Shenzhen University spent 200,000 yuan on an AWS account to gain access to cloud servers powered by Nvidia A100 and H100 chips for an unspecified project, according to a March tender document. Exports to China of the two Nvidia chips are banned by the U.S. Shenzhen University got this service via an intermediary, Yunda Technology Ltd Co, the document showed. The university and Yunda Technology did not respond to requests for comment. Nvidia did not respond to a request for comment on Shenzhen University's spending or on any of the other Chinese entities' deals. 2. Fujian Chuanzheng Communications College The vocational college backed by the Fujian provincial government spent 85,000 yuan in August last year on an AWS account that would give it access to clusters made up of over 4,000 Nvidia A100 chips. The supplier was Xiamen Hanwei Software Technology Ltd Co, according to the August tender document. Story continues The college said in the tender document that the purchase was designed to "keep pace with the latest developments in cloud computing technology...and enhance the quality of cloud computing talent training and professional development at educational institutions." The college and Xiamen Hanwei did not respond to requests for comment. An AWS spokesperson said "the vast majority of this small tender pertained to skills training, and the very small portion that related to cloud services did not use any of the restricted AI chips." Entities accessing or expressing interest in accessing OpenAI tools via Microsoft's Azure 1. Chongqing Changan Automobile Co The state-owned car maker said in May last year it was looking for a retailer authorised by Microsoft that could set up Azure OpenAI accounts and integrate generative AI technology into the company's systems and applications. The company did not respond to a request for comment on whether it went through with the purchase. Microsoft did not respond to a request for comment and Reuters could not determine whether the purchase went through. 2. Sichuan University In April, Sichuan University said it was building a generative AI platform and purchasing 40 million Azure OpenAI tokens in order to support the delivery of this project. The supplier was Sichuan Province Xuedong Technology Co Ltd, a May tender document showed. The Chinese entities and Microsoft did not respond to requests for comment. OpenAI said in a statement its own services are not supported in China and that Azure OpenAI operates under Microsofts policies. It did not comment on the tenders. Entities accessing or expressing interest in accessing U.S. chips via cloud services 1. Suzhou Institute of Advanced Research, University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) The USTC institute said in a March filing that it wanted to rent 500 cloud servers, each powered by eight Nvidia A100 chips for an unspecified purpose. The tender was fulfilled by Hefei Advanced Computing Center Operation Management Co Ltd, a procurement document showed in April, but the document did not name the cloud service provider and Reuters could not determine its identity. The U.S. Commerce Department added USTC to its Entity List in May 2024 for acquiring U.S. technology for quantum computing that could help Chinas military, and involvement in its nuclear program development. USTC did not respond to a request for comment on the transaction and on being put on the entity list. 2. Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) The university's Department of Computer Science bought in April four months of usage time on a server powered by eight Nvidia A100 chips by paying 196,000 yuan to Shenzhen Yunbing Technology Co Ltd for an unspecified purpose. The university's Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering was added in February 2022 to the Unverified List, which means parties that engage in business with the department must take additional compliance steps to address U.S. concerns about potential national security risks. SUSTech and Shenzhen Yunbing did not respond to requests for comment. 3. Tsinghua University One of the most frequent state-affiliated buyers of banned Nvidia chips said in November 2023 that it planned to spend almost half a million yuan to rent 10 or more servers, each powered by eight Nvidia A100 chips, to provide AI computing power for an unspecified purpose. The contract was awarded to Beijing Parallel Technology Co Ltd, a Reuters check showed. Neither entity responded to a request for comment. 4. China Coal Research Institute A major R&D hub for China's coal industry, the institute said in June it wanted to purchase four servers powered by Nvidia A100 chips. The institute did not respond to a request for comment. Reuters could not establish if the purchase went ahead. 5. China National Knowledge Infrastructure China National Knowledge Infrastructure, which operates the country's largest academic database, said it wanted to purchase a cloud computing account with a validity of three years that could give it access to Nvidia A100 computing power. The tender was awarded to Inner Mongolia Tongfang Exploration Technology Co Ltd, a Reuters check showed. Neither company responded to a request for comment. ($1 = 7.1429 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Muralikumar Anantharaman) Gov. Jim Pillen hosts a news conference at the end of the Legislature's special session to address property taxes that begin almost one month prior. Aug. 20, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) People should not be afraid to call out elected officials from their own political parties, especially when they are out of their depth. So, no matter what you think of any of the property tax plans considered by the Nebraska Legislature, it is clear that Gov. Jim Pillen mismanaged this entire special session from the start. His original plan shifted the tax burden and increased taxes on ordinary Nebraskans so wealthy landowners like Bill Gates, Ted Turner, and even himself could get out of paying as much tax as possible. Instead of the 40% reduction in property taxes promised by Gov. Pillen back in February, guaranteed, the estimate of the current plan is only a 3% cut in property taxes. Even then, it is a sleight-of-hand trick designed to make it look like property tax relief is happening when its really just making property tax credits that people are already entitled to apply automatically. Its not as if the Legislature lacked any alternative plans the Revenue Committee (led by an ally of the governor) refused to consider anything other than the governors ideas. I personally liked State Sen. Julie Slamas suggestion that we expand the homestead exemption, freeze valuations and put a hard cap on government spending increases. But whatever property tax relief happens in the future, it needs to work for Nebraskans at large. For the here and now though, this failure to deliver any meaningful tax relief to Nebraska is extremely humiliating for Governor Gov. Pillen, with wasting weeks of effort, tons of political capital and nearly $200,000 for the special session, all for a plan that State Sen. Brad von Gillern called the absolute minimum that they could do. Or, in the words of State Sen. Steve Erdman, all that has been done is a decrease of the increase. Gov. Pillens plans have not effectively addressed the root causes of rising property taxes, such as valuations and the influence of land speculators or financial firms buying properties at inflated prices which makes those exorbitant prices the new market value and boxes out young families and new farmers from even getting started on the property ownership ladder. Moreover, Gov. Pillens handling of opposition reveals a troubling lack of political maturity. His defensive and combative stance, coupled with complaints about Democratic (and Republican) resistance, highlights a failure to engage constructively on his part. From needlessly promising during the regular legislative session that he would call a special session to deal with property taxes to not building a broad consensus with senators and incorporating their input before the session to exhibiting a my way or the highway attitude towards the ideas of others, Gov. Pillen couldnt have messed more things up if he actually tried. Instead of insulting critics of his tax plan, Gov. Jim Pillen shouldve spent the last several months preparing for this disorganized mess of a special session. He shouldve spent time taking in ideas and building a coalition of not just state senators but also local businesses and civic organizations. Yet what Gov. Pillen did was to present a fait accompli at his town halls and expect that everyone would fall in line and support it. Jim Pillen didnt cause this property tax mess, but he sure isnt able to fix it. The ongoing struggle with property taxes underscores a deeper issue within our states leadership. Nebraskans deserve more than temporary fixes and half-measures. We need leaders who are not only capable of addressing the immediate challenges but also of tackling the root causes with vision and resolve. Gov. Jim Pillens tenure has been marked by missed opportunities and mismanagement, and its evident that Nebraskas needs are not being met under his current approach. Its clear to me that Nebraska needs effective and principled leadership, and our state deserves a governor who can navigate these challenges facing our state with integrity and competence. At least 5 Secret Service agents have been placed on modified duty after Trump assassination attempt U.S. Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe, testifies during a Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Senate Judiciary hearing examining the security failures leading to the assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump, Tuesday, July 30, 2024 in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.) At least five Secret Service agents have been placed on modified duty after the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in July, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. They include the special agent in charge of the Pittsburgh field office and three other agents assigned to that office, which was responsible for the security planning ahead of the July 13 rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, according to the law enforcement official who had direct knowledge of the matter. One of the five agents was assigned to Trump's protective detail, the official said. The official was not authorized to publicly disclose details of the personnel investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The agents are on administrative leave, meaning they cannot do investigative or protective work. Multiple investigations have been launched as officials probe a complicated law enforcement failure that allowed a man with an AR-style rifle to get close enough to shoot and injure Trump at the rally. Trump was struck in the ear but avoided serious injury. One spectator was killed and two others were injured. The shooting was a devastating failure of one of the agencys core duties and led to the resignation of the Secret Service's then-director, Kim Cheatle. At a congressional hearing after the assassination attempt, Cheatle acknowledged that the Secret Service was told about a suspicious person two to five times before the shooting. She also revealed that the roof from which Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire had been identified as a potential vulnerability days before the rally. Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr., who took over after Cheatle's resignation, has said he cannot defend why that roof was not better secured. __ Associated Press writer Rebecca Santana contributed to this report. At least 5 Secret Service officials placed on leave following Trump assassination attempt WASHINGTON, D.C. (WTVO) At least five Secret Service officials, who were involved in planning the security detail for the Butler, Pennsylvania rally at which an assassination attempt was made on the life of former President Donald Trump, have been placed on leave. According to the Secret Service, The U.S. Secret Service holds our personnel to the highest professional standards, and any identified and substantiated violations of policy will be investigated by the Office of Professional Responsibility for potential disciplinary action. ABC News is reporting that five officials were put on leave. Trump was hit in the ear by a bullet during a campaign rally on July 13th. A spectator was killed and two others were injured in the shooting. The FBI identified the gunman as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20. He was killed by Secret Service agents. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. At least 8 dead after migrant boat capsizes in Drina river At least 8 dead after migrant boat capsizes in Drina river At least eight people have drowned and more are missing after a boat carrying illegal migrants capsized while attempting to cross the Drina river from Serbia to Bosnia-Herzegovina. Serbias Interior Minister, Ivica Dacic, said police had received a call early Thursday morning from their counterparts in Bosnia and a citizen who had reported the accident. Unofficial estimates put the number of people on the boat when it overturned at 30, of which 18 managed to reach the shore in Bosnia. Sixteen of them are believed to be Syrian, while the other two are from Egypt. The boat was reportedly carrying 10 minors at the time it capsized. Civil defence rescue teams, Bosnian and Serbian border police, divers, and firefighters have been deployed along the forested river banks in search for survivors. Each year, thousands of migrants use the so-called Balkan land route in a bid to reach the European Union. They come to Serbia from Bulgaria or North Macedonia before moving on to Hungary, Croatia, or Bosnia. To reach wealthy European countries, people fleeing wars and poverty often turn to smugglers to take them across borders without authorisation. KANSAS CITY, Mo. One Leavenworth man was convicted this week following a rolling shootout and a police pursuit that happened nearly two years ago. The Leavenworth County Attorney says on Wednesday, Benjamin Allen McGee, 39, entered no-contest pleas to two counts of aggravated assault, one count of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer and one count of interfering with law enforcement. According to court documents, the interference with law enforcement charge stems from an incident where McGee is accused of fleeing a Leavenworth police officer on foot. Court documents also say that McGee committed aggravated assault on August 27, 2022 when he tried to burglarize an outbuilding in Leavenworth County. Man charged with murder in confrontation outside Northland Walmart When confronted by one of the victims, McGee pointed a gun at them and fired shots in their direction. Then, as McGee fled in a vehicle, a second victim pursued him and the two exchanged gunfire before a police pursuit stopped chasing him at the Missouri state line. Lastly, court documents say that the fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer charge comes after a September 2022 incident where McGee fled from police in Leavenworth County. Deputies had responded to the area looking for a stolen vehicle. While they were there, they witnessed a car driven by McGee leave a nearby driveway at a high speed. The deputies pursued McGee for almost 20 minutes before they lost sight of him. Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson said, Thank you to law enforcement for working on these multiple cases to ensure the safety of our community. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 15, 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 FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. A Lees Summit R-7 School District board member issued a public apology on Thursday for a controversial table display he constructed at a recent district event featuring the slogan Redneck Lives Matter. Along with used shotgun shells and tiny American flags, the display also featured a novelty sign reading WARNING: You are entering a REDNECK AREA. You may encounter American Flags, Armed Citizens, The Lords Prayer, & Country Music. ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK. Our table decorations were quite offensive to a number of members of our community, and for that, Im genuinely sorry, Haley said at a meeting of the Lees Summit R-7 school board on Thursday evening. There was never any intent to be provocative or to make a political statement. The elaborate REDNECK AREA appeared at an Aug. 9 trivia night fundraiser for the Lees Summit Educational Foundation, which coordinates private fundraising efforts to support district programming. Foundation director Chrissy Symes also offered an apology at Thursdays meeting. The table decorations displayed by attendees at our trivia event have caused hurt and frustration, and did not reflect the atmosphere of respect that we strive to create at our events, Symes said. For this, we are truly sorry. An online petition calling for Haleys resignation, created on August 15, collected 371 signatures in the first week. Several parents and community members also called for Haleys resignation in statements to the school board Thursday. Adriana Paez, a mother to two current LSR-7 students, is among community members calling for Haley to be taken to task under existing district policies. At Thursdays meeting, Paez questioned how similar behavior may have been received by the district if the Redneck Lives Matter display were instead created by students. Should we hold district leaders to lower standards than our students? Paez said. Mr Haleys behavior is either a gross demonstration of his ignorance, or a blatant and gross disregard for the duty he swore to uphold. At Thursdays board meeting, Haley insisted that the display did not have nefarious motives and was not intended to make light of the Black Lives Matter movement, which the slogan Redneck Lives Matter appears to parody. Anyone who accuses me of racism does not know my family, Haley said. ... I will not apologize for who I am or the way I conduct myself. To some community members, the apology came too late. Your words carry weight and have the potential to shape the educational environment and values imparted on students, district parent Emily James said on Thursday, addressing Haley directly. By using a phrase like Redneck Lives Matter, you sent a message that downplays legitimate concerns of racial injustice and equality. And instead, you contributed, to the culture of misunderstanding and intolerance. In her statement to the board, James compared the fallout of Haleys display to a 2019 incident in which Lees Summit choral students were asked to sing Pick a Bale of Cotton, a folk song glorifying slavery and containing racial epithets. Hear me clearly when I say we are not going backwards, James said. If you are tired of having these conversations, stop provoking us in your role. Lees Summit school board member must apologize for Redneck Lives Matter display | Opinion Haley, a longtime competitive shooter, is also the owner of On Target Ammunition, an ammunition manufacturing company based in Grain Valley. On Target, founded in 2007, sells bullets, firearms and ammunition loading machines to clients including the United States military and law enforcement officers. Aisha OMalley, another LSR-7 parent, slammed Haley on Thursday for using the display to promote his company. To OMalley, bringing gun paraphernalia into a school environment sent a mixed message about gun violence in schools. He said he was there to promote his business, but he had empty shell casings and holiday lights promoting his business of killing as a private citizen, OMalley said. Im asking that from the board tonight, for Mr. Haleys formal resignation. We need you all to work together, use your brains and demand that he resign. However, some community members have defended Haleys display, praising the school board member for exercising his rights to free speech. Bills the best thing that happened to this school board in the last year, Garry Hocker, a former LSR-7 parent, said Thursday. Im ashamed of everyone else in this room. Hes shown leadership. Hes shown the guts that hes not afraid to stand up and do what he knows is great. In his statement to the board on Thursday night, Haley claimed that he would have taken the display down if he had been approached by any member of the public about it on August 9. Haley also said he had made a previous apology to fellow board members and offered to meet privately with any community member still holding concerns. Meanwhile, some parents said they have had a hard time reaching school board members to discuss the display over the last two weeks. Christy Grimes, a parent of three LSR-7 students, said she received a lackluster response to emails she sent demanding an apology from Haley. No member of the school board has spoken publicly about the incident outside of Haleys apology on Thursday. Each and every one of you have the power to individually and/or collectively denounce inappropriate actions or behaviors from your fellow board members, Grimes said on Thursday, addressing the board at large. In this instance, silence speaks volumes. Haley was elected to the Lees Summit school board in April, with the backing of Abundant Life Church and We the People of Eastern Jackson County, a local political advocacy group with conservative leanings. The new board member also shared photos of the table display to his campaign Facebook page earlier this month. Previous reporting by The Stars Toriano Porter was used in this article. CADDO PARISH, La. (KTAL/KMSS)Judges, attorneys, and the former Sheriff of Caddo Parish have repeatedly told residents and engaged in finger-pointing over the issue of overcrowding in Caddo Correctional Center. After sitting through a procedural hearing, it is clear that the problem has as many layers as an onion, and solving it will require an honest examination of the system and those sworn to uphold it. Issues with investigations, witnesses, procedural delays, and heavy caseloads are among the reasons the wheels of justice seem to turn at a snails pace. This causes inmates to be housed longer in parish prisons while they await trial and victims of violent crime to wonder if or when an end will ever come. There are also issues of ethics and the general publics expectation that everyone working within the justice system is on the up and up. Still, many believe the system is so broken that it will never be fixed. Motions, filings, delays and jurys on hold Steven Davis, 47, is an inmate in CCC awaiting trial for second-degree murder, four counts of attempted second-degree murder, being a convicted felon with a firearm, and carrying a firearm /weapon near a school. He surrendered on August 7, 2023, and was booked into CCC; a Caddo Parish Grand Jury indicted him on Thursday, October 26, 2023. On Monday, August 19, 2024, Davis was set to stand trial; however, his public defender filed a motion requesting a competency review, which would delay a previous request for a speedy trial, which was filed on May 28, 2024. Because the competency review requires doctors to report and review said reporting. Judge John Mosely granted the motion. Prosecutors, in turn, filed a motion to reconsider the defense request on Tuesday morning, citing new evidence and hoping to prove the defendant understood what was happening and make the claim about the defendants competence irrelevant. On Tuesday afternoon, Davis was present along with members of the DA and PD offices. However, Daviss attorney said he fell ill and would miss the hearing that morning, forcing colleagues without knowledge of the case to try to understand what was happening. After several sidebar conversations and a brief recess, Mosely allowed prosecutors to present evidence to substantiate their desire to proceed with the trial. You have the right to a speedy trial Article 701 in the Louisiana Criminal Code provides the right to a speedy trial. Defendants being held for a felony punishable by death or life in prison, such as Davis, may request a speedy trial. This requires that the district attorney file an indictment within one hundred twenty days of arrest. Davis was indicted about ten weeks after his arrest. When this motion is filed, prosecutors can call the case to trial at any time because these filings make a trial time-sensitive, and failure to comply with the rules that govern a speedy trial could result in the defendants untimely release. Evidence presents a case for potentially scripted delays During Tuesdays hearing, both sides and Judge Mosely entered the private jury room for a discussion. When they returned after ten minutes, the judge granted the prosecutors motion to play evidence collected by the Custodian of Records at CCC. Caddo Parish Sheriffs Sargeant Parker Crockett is the Compliance Coordinator and Custodian of Records for inmate communications at CCC. Prosecutors requested that he collect phone Daviss in-custody phone records for the entire year that he has been in custody. In sworn testimony, Crockett explained how CCC inmates use the jail phone system through an assigned PIN, allowing staff to track and monitor phone callsa practice inmates are aware of. The defense raised many objections, including the fact that neither defense attorneys nor Davis knew the content of the recordings. The objections were noted on the record, but prosecutors were allowed to proceed. In one call using Daviss PIN, he could be heard telling a woman on the other end that his calls were being monitored, which prevented him from speaking freely about the case, but he would provide an update through a third party. A second call was played. However, this call did not use the PIN assigned to Davis; instead, it was assigned to an inmate identified as Jimmy Foster. Crockett testified that Davis was the only inmate inside CCC to call this number during the time frame in question and that inmates are told not to share their PIN with others; however, strict adherence to rules is not something that inmates are known for. He talked about his former and current cellmates, there was talk about snitching, and he complained about how the clothes he wore yesterday (to court) were too small and uncomfortable. He also stated his desire to leave jail and some personal housekeeping about the womans upcoming move. He even mentioned that his attorney was seeking a mental competency review, which he seemed dismissive of, calling it something he came up with out of the blue, However, he seemed open to whatever could get him home. The defense requested that the calls, about 14 minutes each, be played in their entirety. Throughout the playback, the defendant, Davis, could be seen with his head in his hands or looking at the floor. Ultimately, Judge Mosely upheld the competency review request, which the state will likely contest in the appeals court. The truth about the court system The idea of our criminal justice system is excellent. We as citizens enjoy the right to an attorney, avoid self-incrimination, be tried before a jury of our peers, face our accuser, and so on. However, proper funding, oversight, and ethical practices must be in place for that system to operate as intended. Public defender and district attorneys offices nationwide are stacked with cases. This fact alone is problematic because overworked and underpaid people typically do not stay on a job for long, leading to high turnover. This causes delays as attorneys get up to speed on a case previously reviewed and prepared by someone else. Pair that with the states sweeping crime legislation pushed for by Governor Landry, which includes overhauling state public defender offices and lowering the adult prosecution age. This means there will be more cases but not necessarily more money to resolve them expediently both offices were underfunded before the new administration took office. In Louisiana, it is estimated that more than 80 percent of cases involve an indigent defender or someone who can not afford to pay an attorney. The fund that supports these mens and womens constitutionally protected legal defense is partially made up of fines and fees collected on everything from traffic violations to felony convictionsthese funds are also used to provide crime lab funding. The COVID-19 pandemic applied even more pressure to an already stressed system. A complete stoppage of the in-person trials and hearings was traded for the technical glitches of virtual processes if a municipality was lucky enough to have the infrastructure to support it. The public defender system has been the subject of much press, whether it is cited in an ethics study or report, a 2017 class action lawsuit filed by state officials, or national media reporting on any number of issues that have burdened the system throughout the years. One definite fact is that if the state gets a handle on the crime issue that the governor and his supporters highlight regularly, it will take more than campaigning to be tough on crime. The real work will require speaking with defense attorneys and prosecutors and understanding their needs. It will also require looking at the process of criminal prosecutions to see how it can be improved for state attorneys on both sides of the case, the defendant, victims, and general public safety. An examination of how we spend state revenue and whether or not that spending is aligned with our core values and desire for a safer Louisiana would also help clear the clutter within the 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 KTALnews.com. For the third time in recent months, Attorney General Russell Coleman has intervened to challenge a decision by Fayette County Circuit Judge Julie Muth Goodman. In June, Coleman requested a murder case be reinstated against a man whose charges were dismissed by Goodman late last year because of a lack of evidence. That case is pending. In a high-profile case, he touted an extraordinary filing this month after an appeals court sided with his decision to step in and order a man recently released on bond be sent back to prison, reversing Goodmans ruling. And then, on Wednesday, Coleman announced his office had appealed Goodmans decision to grant probation to a man who pleaded guilty to dealing fentanyl, calling the sentence unlawful and lenient. The trend of repeatedly challenging decisions by a single judge is unusual, experts say. One described the method used by Coleman to intervene in the case of the man released on bond as legal warfare. But Coleman argued hes not singling out Judge Goodman. Rather, he says, he seeks out cases from across the state where he feels his office needs to intervene. We would zealously seek appellate relief from rulings of the Fayette Circuit Court or any other court, Kevin Grout, spokesperson for Colemans office, said. Goodman declined to comment on the seeming discord between her office and the attorney general, instead opting to talk only about the facts of the individual cases. As a judge, I would never allow this community to be in danger, Goodman said in an interview after the second of the three cases in which Coleman intervened. I have always followed the court of appeals instructions, and did so in this circumstance. Gregory Simpsons case At the center of the second interjection by Colemans office is the case of Gregory Simpson. Simpson, a Louisville man, had 17 felony convictions dating back to 1997, including theft, evading police, and assault. On several occasions, he was released on parole and then landed back in jail for another low-level felony. Those previous convictions meant Simpson was slapped with persistent felony offender status by the state, a statute that can double or triple the maximum sentence for a crime if a person repeatedly breaks the law throughout their lives. When factoring in the parole violations, by last year Simpson had accumulated a total prison sentence of 42 years for a litany of crimes. But last September, he filed a legal document known as a writ of habeas corpus petition a submission by a prisoner arguing they are being unlawfully detained. He argued his sentence was unlawful and he should have to serve only a maximum sentence of 20 years, based on new case law established by the state Supreme Court that determined a Kentucky man had been over-sentenced for several shoplifting incidents in Boyd County. In January, Goodman sided with Simpson and ruled his sentence was unlawful. A bond was set for Simpson, and he was placed on home incarceration with an ankle monitor for the final 21 years of his sentence. Warden Abigail Caudill, who housed Simpson at Lexingtons Blackburn Correctional Complex, appealed the decision, arguing Simpson had misinterpreted the case law. The attorney generals office joined the effort and asked for Simpsons bond to be revoked. And the court of appeals agreed partially. They ordered Simpson to be placed back in custody but denied the attorney generals request for his bond to be revoked. Goodman complied with the decision and reversed her approval of Simpsons petition. But there was yet more legal wrangling. With Simpsons bond still in place, Goodman argued he could not be placed back in custody. Goodman wrote to the appeals court seeking clarification on how to proceed. But that clarification could have taken days or even weeks. Meanwhile, Simpson was still appealing his case to the Kentucky Supreme Court. When Simpson was not immediately sent back to detention, the attorney generals office intervened again, this time more forcefully. Coleman filed an order called a writ of mandamus, from the Latin word for we command, directing Goodmans court to fulfill its legal obligations in this case, to put Simpson back in prison. Colemans office argued Simpson was a danger to the community, and allowing him to remain free could cause irreparable harm, and a severe miscarriage of justice. It is undisputed that every time Simpson has been released from custody on parole, he has committed either technical parole violations or committed new offenses. Simpsons inability to comply with the conditions of release make him a danger to society, the office wrote in court documents. In her reply, Goodman said she was not attempting to give the higher court the end runaround, as suggested by Colemans office. Nothing could be further from the truth, Goodman wrote. Rather, (Goodmans) orders were entered in good faith with the full intent of complying with the mandates of the Appellate Court while allowing the Defendant his right to remain out on bondpending his appeal. An appeals court ultimately sided agreed with the attorney generals office. It repealed Simpsons bond on July 31, Goodman ordered him back to prison two days later. A lenient sentence for a fentanyl dealer Coleman is showing no signs of slowing down his challenges of Goodmans office. On Wednesday, Colemans office announced it was appealing Goodmans decision to sentence to probation a man who pleaded guilty to felony drug charges for trafficking fentanyl. Domonick Jones was arrested last October after Kentucky State Police found 75 grams of fentanyl in his car during a traffic stop. He was charged with a Class B felony the second-most serious in Kentucky but eventually pleaded guilty to a Class C felony. Prosecutors recommended a prison sentence of five years, but Goodman instead offered Jones probation, which prosecutors did not object to at the time. But prosecutors later argued that the sentence broke state law, as it was more lenient than sentencing guidelines allowed. And on Wednesday, the states top law enforcement official announced an appeal of the sentence. The attorney generals appeal was applauded Fayette Countys top prosecutor, Kimberly Henderson Baird, who is collaborating with Coleman on the appeal. The law is clear: Those convicted of trafficking fentanyl in Kentucky and endangering the lives of its citizens by selling fentanyl to them are to be sentenced to prison, Baird said in the news release from Colemans office. Im glad to join Attorney General Coleman in seeking to uphold the law and seek the appropriate punishment for this defendant. Legal warfare Two legal experts agreed that Colemans use of a writ of mandamus in the Simpson case was unusual. Paul Salamanca, the acting dean of the University of Kentucky College of Law, said the procedure is used only when a bell is about to be rung that cant be unrung. And even more rare is for an appeals court to grant the request, he said. Courts relatively never grant it, so lawyers rarely ask for it, he said. Its used when something will or wont happen that will cause significant damage that cannot be undone. Martin Sabelli, a legal expert who has taught for more than 20 years at the National Criminal Defense College in Georgia, agreed on the rarity and severity of such a move. I would say that the use of this tool in this context borders on legal warfare by the government on a judge who has not abused her powers, he said. Sabelli, who does not practice law in Kentucky, argued that Goodman appeared to follow the proper course of action: following the guidance of the higher court, but allowing for further litigation. The State appears to have done an end-run around her rulings using this mechanism, Sabelli said. And Dan Canon, a civil rights lawyer and law professor at the University of Louisville, said the public back-and-forth between the attorney general and Goodmans court was unusual, but not unheard of. The AG is a politician, and he knows what any lawyer who isnt hopelessly naive also knows, which is: Publicity can affect the outcome of the case especially when elected judges are making the decisions, Canon said. Lemoyne man crashes into state troopers car while under the influence; PSP investigating DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) A Lemoyne man allegedly struck a Pennsylvania State Troopers vehicle Thursday night, Aug. 22, while driving under the influence. According to the Pennsylvania State Police, a trooper was providing enforcement coverage for construction workers at 11:35 p.m. in Swatara Township when a 2011 Ford Ranger pickup struck the passenger side of their vehicle. Troopers determined that the driver of the Ford pickup, age 36, was under the influence of alcohol and THC, said PSP. PSP added that the driver was found in possession of a suspected THC vape pen when he was apprehended, and he was transported to the Dauphin County Booking Center for processing. The involved trooper sustained no injuries, and the incident is being investigated, according to PSP. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Left to right, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz celebrate after Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 22, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) CHICAGO Vice President Kamala Harris accepted her partys nomination for president Thursday evening, pitching her candidacy as an opportunity for the nation to move forward, rather than accept a dark future she said would follow a second election of her Republican opponent. Harris on the last night of the Democratic National Convention took advantage of the largest television audience shes likely to have at least until her first debate with Republican nominee Donald Trump next month. The vice president told her life story to the millions of Americans watching, saying it informed her agenda meant to boost the countrys middle class. She characterized herself as a lifelong public servant and unifier, in contrast to what she described as Trumps divisive self-centeredness. My entire career, I have only had one client: the people. And so, on behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender, or the language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination for president of the United States of America. Kamala Harris She professed her patriotism several times in her roughly 40-minute address. Near the close, she urged the Democrats in the arena and viewers at home to work for her election on behalf of the country. Lets get out there and lets fight for it, she said. Let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told. Americans across the nation made their assessments. Yvette Young, a lifelong Philadelphia resident and project manager at SEPTA who attended a watch party at a Harris campaign office, said she thought it was an excellent speech and comprehensive. She touched on, I think, every issue, Young said. She wasnt afraid to call Donald Trump out on his nonsense and put into perspective how he has harmed our country. A middle-class childhood Harris has downplayed the historic nature of her candidacy she is the first Black and South Asian woman to lead a major party ticket and would be the first woman president of any race but expanded Thursday on the values her immigrant mother instilled in her. Her mother, a scientist from India, was tough, courageous, a trailblazer in the fight for womens health, she said. Harris described her upbringing as middle class, saying she was raised mainly by her mom after her parents divorced. Harris father was a Jamaican student who met her mother at a civil rights meeting, Harris said Thursday. The vice president promised to be a middle-class champion, creating what she called an opportunity economy that would unite labor, small businesses and workers. Additionally, she pledged to end Americas housing shortage, to lower the cost of everyday needs. Ahead of the convention, Harris unveiled policy details to stop price gouging, boost the child tax credit, curb rent hikes and help first-time homebuyers. We know a strong middle class has always been critical to Americas success, she said. And building that middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency. This is personal to me. The middle class is where I come from. Her remarks were applauded by another person at the watch party, Lindsay Davis, a Germantown resident and UX designer. Davis believes that theres a particular issue that Harris can talk about that can sway undecided voters. A lot of the stuff shes already said about making it easier for first-time homebuyers to buy a house that was, like, huge, she said. I think thats really big for, like, younger people that arent boomers, I guess Gen Z, Gen X, Gen whatever, all the Gens. A sense of justice Harriss mother also taught her daughters never to complain about injustice, but to do something about it, she said, repeating a line former first lady Michelle Obama used throughout a Tuesday speech. She said the same sense of justice motivated her to become a prosecutor, which she did as the district attorney of San Francisco and attorney general of California before her election to the U.S. Senate in 2016. As the top lawyer in California, Harris won a $20 billion settlement for homeowners in the state as part of a nationwide lawsuit against banks over predatory lending during the 2008 financial crisis. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who was also his states attorney general at the time, said Thursday in remarks just before Harris spoke that he saw her demand much more than what the banks initially offered. America, weve got a lot of big fights ahead of us, he said. And weve got one hell of a fighter ready to take them on. Trumps dark agenda Harris described much of her policy objectives in contrast to her opponent, the former president seeking another term, Trump. While her administration would work to expand reproductive rights, Trump would further restrict them, she said. Trump would pursue a nationwide abortion ban with or without Congress, limit access to birth control and require women to report miscarriages, she said. Why is it that they dont trust women? she asked the packed United Center crowd. Well, we trust women. She said if she is elected, and Congress passes a bill restoring the Roe v. Wade abortion decision, she will sign it into law. For that to happen, Democrats would likely need to not only control both chambers, but also have 60 votes in the Senate. On foreign policy, Harris said Trump wouldnt stand up to dictators, because he wants to be an autocrat himself. She described Novembers election as a fight for Americas future. The crowd broke out in a chant: Were not going back. She also asked the audience to imagine how dangerous Trump would be in office after a July 1 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said Trump could not be prosecuted for most actions he took in office. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Second woman candidate Harris addressed a packed crowd in which many women wore white, a nod to the womens suffrage movement. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who gave a speech Monday, was the first woman to accept the presidential nomination of a major party at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, when she gave her acceptance speech in a white pantsuit. But Harris dressed head to toe in black. She took the stage to Beyonces Freedom, a song the campaign has made its anthem. Beyonce, however, did not appear in person, despite widespread rumors she would show up. After Harris speech, what Democratic officials said were 100,000 red, white and blue balloons were released, a convention tradition. Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen Walz, held hands onstage and acknowledged the cheers of the delegates. Unexpected path to nomination Harris acknowledged her abbreviated path to the nomination, which began just 32 days ago, was highly unusual. After President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid and endorsed Harris on July 21, the party quickly coalesced around the vice president. She racked up the necessary delegates and after a short vetting period tapped Walz. They soon hit the campaign trail in the seven key battleground states Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin. Throughout the whirlwind, she has praised Biden for his leadership and accomplishments. She did again in the opening lines of her speech Thursday. Your record is extraordinary, as history will show, she said. And your character is inspiring. Republicans have criticized the process that led to Harris nomination, calling it a coup against Biden. In a written statement ahead of Harris address Thursday, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley repeated that claim and slammed Harris policy proposals as the most radical agenda ever put forward at a major party convention. After staging a coup to take the nomination from Joe Biden just weeks ago, Kamala Harris will take the stage at the DNC to share her dangerously liberal agenda with the Democrats gathered to coronate her in Chicago, he said. Convention capstone Harris acceptance marked the end of a four-day convention focused on the theme of passing the torch to the next generation that was woven through the speeches of long-established Democrats in the party, such as former President Bill Clinton, who said he loved seeing all these young leaders. On the first night, Biden, who dropped out of the race last month, delivered a farewell address to Democrats, endorsing Harris. The Obamas Tuesday made the case for Harris, saying in her candidacy, hope is making a comeback. As Harris gave her speech aimed at defining her candidacy and vision for the country as one of freedom and joy, a sit-in protest occurred outside the United Center. Dozens of Uncommitted delegates who advocated for a Palestinian American to have a speaking slot at the DNC said they had their request denied by the Harris campaign. Inside the arena, Harris said negotiating an end to the war, with a return of Israeli hostages and a lasting cease-fire, was a top administration priority. President Biden and I are working to end this war, such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, she said. At the watch party in Philadelphia, Alina Taylor, a special education teacher who lives in Upper Dublin, said as a Democratic committee person for her area, she plans to volunteer and canvass for the Harris campaign. I came down here because Im fired up and Im ready to go, she said. She said prior to Harris speech that she wants to hear her talk about the economy and what she plans on doing about reproductive rights. Thats so huge, because I want my daughters to have more rights than me, and I dont want them to have less, she said. Pennsylvania Capital-Star reporter John Cole contributed to this report. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST A whistleblower CEO who has watched his company become insolvent through an alleged scandal says an oilfield linked to a multi-billion dollar scheme was actually a chicken farm, as Germany battles allegations of a potential $5 billion fraud over carbon reduction schemes. Several biomethane suppliers who have partnered with major oil and gas companies on Upstream Emission Reduction (UER) credit schemes say dozens of overseas projects were faked, putting German regulators, auditors, and companies like Shell in the spotlight. Zoltan Elek, the CEO of Landwarme, a biomethane supplier, flagged a whistleblower concern about a supposed chicken farm posing as an oilfield to Shells internal whistleblower site in January. Emission reduction schemes like UER help large oil and gas companies meet their greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction quotas. Carbon credits obtained in the process are traded on the open market to allow businesses to offset their CO2 emissions. Semafor first reported Eleks complaint on Wednesday morning. The chicken farm was just one of several false sites Elek says a Chinese whistleblower uncovered in September. The whole documentation always looked very good and perfect, Elek told Fortune. But if you took out something like the geo-coordinates, you ended up somewhere, sometimes in a lake, sometimes in a chicken farm. Its like if somebody wants to generate some CO2 certificates with a windmill and just goes out to the countryside and takes a picture of a windmill which he doesnt own. The company auditing the dubious projects in China told the German publication Die Welt the error resulted from a typo. Every project, its on the front page, the geo-coordinates. So it was easy to just google it and see what is there, Elek said. Further, several companies didnt appear to exist, with Elek finding many created in 2022 with no address or registered in Hong Kong. Because of the alleged fake carbon credits streaming out of China, their prices have collapsed by about 80% on the open market, Elek says. Eleks company has declared itself insolvent as Germany tries to get to the bottom of an alleged fraud that, according to one German industry lobby group, could total up to $5 billion. Germanys UER push turns sour UER projects achieve carbon emissions reductions for petrol, diesel, and gas before they reach the refinery or storage stage. It is one of several methods oil and gas giants use to lower or offset their emissions. These companies, including Shell, have used Chinese territory to carry out UER projects as part of their greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction quota. They receive certificates from these projects certifying that their efforts have led to reduced upstream CO2 emissions. Story continues China commanded 90% of global UER projects in 2023, rising from an 80% share between 2020 and 2022. However, a scandal over the veracity of these schemes in the country has been circulating in German media for several months. Research by the German outlet ZDF alleged at least a quarter of UER projects were faked by overseas agents. The scandal raises serious questions about the safeguards in place for carbon reduction projects, which have grown in popularity as polluters try to offset their emissions. Elek has his own questions for Shell if the company is found to have invested in fraudulent projects. There havent been allegations of wrongdoing on Shells part, with German prosecutors investigating auditors and creditors of the project. You dont buy 10 projects with a market value of 1 billion without doing your due diligence. And Im really wondering how Shells due diligence went through a nonexistent company, Elek said. A representative for Shell told Fortune the company always acts in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations. This means that before certificates from UER projects are taken over or credited, the corresponding project activity is checked by the authorities in several steps, the spokesperson said. In addition to the statutory audits by the authorities, Shell conducts its own due diligence on a voluntary basis and fully supports any inspections by German authorities. The Federal Environment Agency is currently investigating the allegations mentioned. We are waiting for the results of these investigations. Germanys Federal Environment Agency has suspended a senior employee who was responsible for approving UER projects, ZDF reported. The country has since moved to suspend UER projects in China and has stopped accepting new projects anywhere. Elek is far from satisfied with the German authorities response, with carbon credits from allegedly faked projects still contributing to oil and gas companies quotas. Its like youre stealing at the supermarket. You can keep the good, you can continue to resell it on Amazon, and the only reaction was closing the supermarket so nobody can steal anymore next year. He fears shuttering all UER projects will cause further insolvencies for companies working on genuine oilfields. The scandal threatens the future of several sustainable fuel suppliers in Germany after Landwarme declared itself an early casualty. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com From left, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Democratic vice presidential nominee Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz celebrate after Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago, Illinois. (Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images) CHICAGO Vice President Kamala Harris accepted her partys nomination for president Thursday evening, pitching her candidacy as an opportunity for the nation to move forward, rather than accept a dark future she said would follow a second election of her Republican opponent. Harris on the last night of the Democratic National Convention took advantage of the largest television audience shes likely to have at least until her first debate with Republican nominee Donald Trump next month. The vice president told her life story to the millions of Americans watching, saying it informed her agenda meant to boost the countrys middle class. She characterized herself as a lifelong public servant and unifier, in contrast to what she described as Trumps divisive self-centeredness. My entire career, I have only had one client: the people, she said. And so, on behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender, or the language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination for president of the United States of America. She professed her patriotism several times in her roughly 40-minute address. Near the close, she urged the Democrats in the arena and viewers at home to work for her election on behalf of the country. Lets get out there and lets fight for it, she said Let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told. Americans across the nation made their assessments. Yvette Young, a lifelong Philadelphia resident and project manager at SEPTA who attended a watch party at a Harris campaign office, said she thought it was an excellent speech and comprehensive. She touched on, I think, every issue, Young said. She wasnt afraid to call Donald Trump out on his nonsense and put into perspective how he has harmed our country. A middle-class childhood Harris has downplayed the historic nature of her candidacy she is the first Black and South Asian woman to lead a major party ticket and would be the first woman president of any race but expanded Thursday on the values her immigrant mother instilled in her. Her mother, a scientist from India, was tough, courageous, a trailblazer in the fight for womens health, she said. Harris described her upbringing as middle class, saying she was raised mainly by her mom after her parents divorced. Harris father was a Jamaican student who met her mother at a civil rights meeting, Harris said Thursday. The vice president promised to be a middle-class champion, creating what she called an opportunity economy that would unite labor, small businesses and workers. Additionally, she pledged to end Americas housing shortage, to lower the cost of everyday needs. Ahead of the convention, Harris unveiled policy details to stop price gouging, boost the child tax credit, curb rent hikes and help first-time homebuyers. We know a strong middle class has always been critical to Americas success, she said. And building that middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency. This is personal to me. The middle class is where I come from. Her remarks were applauded by another person at the watch party, Lindsay Davis, a Germantown resident and UX designer. Davis believes that theres a particular issue that Harris can talk about that can sway undecided voters. A lot of the stuff shes already said about making it easier for first-time homebuyers to buy a house that was, like, huge, she said. I think thats really big for, like, younger people that arent boomers, I guess Gen Z, Gen X, Gen whatever, all the Gens. A sense of justice Harriss mother also taught her daughters never to complain about injustice, but to do something about it, she said, repeating a line former first lady Michelle Obama used throughout a Tuesday speech. She said the same sense of justice motivated her to become a prosecutor, which she did as the district attorney of San Francisco and attorney general of California before her election to the U.S. Senate in 2016. As the top lawyer in California, Harris won a $20 billion settlement for homeowners in the state as part of a nationwide lawsuit against banks over predatory lending during the 2008 financial crisis. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who was also his states attorney general at the time, said Thursday in remarks just before Harris spoke that he saw her demand much more than what the banks initially offered. America, weve got a lot of big fights ahead of us, he said. And weve got one hell of a fighter ready to take them on. Trumps dark agenda Harris described much of her policy objectives in contrast to her opponent, the former president seeking another term, Trump. While her administration would work to expand reproductive rights, Trump would further restrict them, she said. Trump would pursue a nationwide abortion ban with or without Congress, limit access to birth control and require women to report miscarriages, she said. Why is it that they dont trust women? she asked the packed United Center crowd. Well, we trust women. She said if she is elected, and Congress passes a bill restoring the Roe v. Wade abortion decision, she will sign it into law. For that to happen, Democrats would likely need to not only control both chambers, but also have 60 votes in the Senate. On foreign policy, Harris said Trump wouldnt stand up to dictators, because he wants to be an autocrat himself. She described Novembers election as a fight for Americas future. The crowd broke out in a chant: Were not going back. She also asked the audience to imagine how dangerous Trump would be in office after a July 1 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said Trump could not be prosecuted for most actions he took in office. Second woman candidate Harris addressed a packed crowd in which many women wore white, a nod to the womens suffrage movement. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who gave a speech Monday, was the first woman to accept the presidential nomination of a major party at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, when she gave her acceptance speech in a white pantsuit. But Harris dressed head to toe in black. She took the stage to Beyonces Freedom, a song the campaign has made its anthem. Beyonce, however, did not appear in person, despite widespread rumors she would show up. After Harris speech, what Democratic officials said were 100,000 red, white and blue balloons were released, a convention tradition. Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen Walz, held hands onstage and acknowledged the cheers of the delegates. Unexpected path to nomination Harris acknowledged her abbreviated path to the nomination, which began just 32 days ago, was highly unusual. After President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid and endorsed Harris on July 21, the party quickly coalesced around the vice president. She racked up the necessary delegates and after a short vetting period tapped Walz. They soon hit the campaign trail in the seven key battleground states Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin. Throughout the whirlwind, she has praised Biden for his leadership and accomplishments. She did again in the opening lines of her speech Thursday. Your record is extraordinary, as history will show, she said. And your character is inspiring. Republicans have criticized the process that led to Harris nomination, calling it a coup against Biden. In a written statement ahead of Harris address Thursday, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley repeated that claim and slammed Harris policy proposals as the most radical agenda ever put forward at a major party convention. After staging a coup to take the nomination from Joe Biden just weeks ago, Kamala Harris will take the stage at the DNC to share her dangerously liberal agenda with the Democrats gathered to coronate her in Chicago, he said. Convention capstone Harris acceptance marked the end of a four-day convention focused on the theme of passing the torch to the next generation that was woven through the speeches of long-established Democrats in the party, such as former President Bill Clinton, who said he loved seeing all these young leaders. On the first night, Biden, who dropped out of the race last month, delivered a farewell address to Democrats, endorsing Harris. The Obamas Tuesday made the case for Harris, saying in her candidacy, hope is making a comeback. As Harris gave her speech aimed at defining her candidacy and vision for the country as one of freedom and joy, a sit-in protest occurred outside the United Center. Dozens of Uncommitted delegates who advocated for a Palestinian American to have a speaking slot at the DNC said they had their request denied by the Harris campaign. Inside the arena, Harris said negotiating an end to the war, with a return of Israeli hostages and a lasting cease-fire, was a top administration priority. President Biden and I are working to end this war, such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, she said. At the watch party in Philadelphia, Alina Taylor, a special education teacher who lives in Upper Dublin, said as a Democratic committee person for her area, she plans to volunteer and canvass for the Harris campaign. I came down here because Im fired up and Im ready to go, she said. She said prior to Harris speech that she wants to hear her talk about the economy and what she plans on doing about reproductive rights. Thats so huge, because I want my daughters to have more rights than me, and I dont want them to have less, she said. Pennsylvania Capital-Star reporter John Cole contributed to this report. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX FILE - This image made with a fisheye lens shows people attending the twice-annual conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, on April 7, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has disheartened LGBTQ+ activists after issuing a slew of new policies this week that would significantly restrict the role of its transgender members. The guidelines were released Monday as part of updates to the General Handbook of the denomination known widely as the Mormon church. Its new rules, in addition to expanding on an existing rule that prevents transgender people from being baptized, also prohibit transgender people from working with children or serving as priests or teachers. The church's handbook states that those who transition away from their biological sex at birth are welcome to attend sacrament meetings and participate in "many other ways". It also encourages these individuals and their families to confer with local leaders regarding their church participation. The new guidelines, however, significantly limit such participation. The policy now states that members who have transitioned in any way whether that transition is social, medical or surgical cannot stay at youth camps overnight and may only use single-occupancy restrooms at church meetinghouses. Alternatively, a trusted person" must be stationed outside the restroom to keep others from entering when a transgender person uses a restroom that aligns with their personal gender identity. The latest edition of the General Handbook while defining and reaffirming gender as one's biological sex at birth, also states that the faith does not take a position on the causes of gender dysphoria. Previously, the interpretation of the church's policies on this matter were left open to local congregations, their bishops and lay leaders. These new guidelines clarify most of those gray areas. Church spokesperson Doug Andersen pointed to a statement released by the denomination, which says the updated guidelines were issued to help local leaders minister more effectively to individuals who identify as transgender and their families. It states that the changes, in addition clarifying guidance on baptism, confirmation, priesthood and temple ordinances, aims to ensure consistency in policies while allowing local leaders flexibility to minister based on each persons needs. Handbook updates seek to help Latter-day Saints follow Jesus Christs example of ministering with love, patience and respect, Andersen said. LGBTQ+ advocates within the faith say these stringent guidelines further marginalize transgender people who already feel like outsiders in church. Laurie Lee Hall, a transgender woman who was excommunicated in 2017 after she transitioned, said the new guidelines make it challenging for people like her to keep the faith. The door seems shut and bolted, she said Friday. Hall, who lives near Louisville, Kentucky, said she has been participating in a local Mormon church that has been welcoming and inclusive by even allowing her to participate in classes and activities with women. While I've had some separation from the church in terms of my membership and beliefs, I've enjoyed at least a social connection with the women at church, Hall said. Now, none of that is going to be possible. The new guidelines would require her to attend classes with men. I'd attend church in dress, shoes and makeup and be required to site with a bunch of men wearing suits, Hall said. It would put a target on me as someone who is severely off-script. What offends Hall more than that is the church's policy that transgender people won't be allowed to work with children or youth, or that they need chaperones to use a bathroom of their choice. It implies that a trans member is somehow a danger to others, she said. It's dehumanizing and far too toxic to handle for members who are still in the process of reconciling their gender identity with their faith. The new guidelines surfaced even as the denomination, over the past decade-plus, has tried to stake out a more compassionate approach on LGBTQ+ issues while reaffirming its doctrinal opposition to intimacy between people in same-sex relationships. The one detour from that path was in 2015 when the church issued rules that banned baptisms for children of gay parents and that labeled same-sex couples as sinners eligible for expulsion. Those were repealed in 2019. Matthew Bowman, who is the Howard W. Hunter Chair of Mormon Studies at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, California, said the new transgender guidelines are unsurprising" and have been a long time coming. This has been a real struggle for members for a long time since the 1970s and 1980s when the church took a conservative stance on homosexuality, he said. Those members are accustomed to the church being unwilling to accommodate and being reluctant to adapt. But, having it spelled out like this is painful. Hall says she still hopes the church will change direction as it did when it rescinded a ban on ordination of African Americans. She also worries that if this trajectory of exclusion continues, more people could leave the faith. It's going to be a while before a legitimate social policy change occurs in the church, she said. If that continues, there is going to be generational loss because young people are not going to accept these draconian policies. All of this is completely avoidable if only the church can simply say we love you and we'll find ways to include you. ___ 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. From 'liberal lunatic' to 'respect': How Trump's stance on RFK Jr. has evolved Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Friday that he is suspending his independent presidential bid and endorsing Republican candidate former President Donald -- but the two men haven't always gotten along, both hurling insults throughout their campaigns. When Kennedy first signaled plans to jump into the 2024 race, Trump said he felt confident that Kennedy would take votes away from President Joe Biden, labeling him a far-left liberal. "Kennedy is a Radical Left Democrat, and always will be!!! It's great for MAGA, but the Communists will make it very hard for him to get on the Ballot," Trump posted on his social media platform in March. MORE: RFK Jr. says in new court filing he will endorse Donald Trump PHOTO: Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes an announcement on the future of his campaign, Aug. 23, 2024, in Phoenix. (Thomas Machowicz/Reuters) Kennedy fired back in an April post on X, criticizing the former president and saying that Trump's rant against him "is a barely coherent barrage of wild and inaccurate claims" and challenged Trump to a debate. At a Texas rally in May, Kennedy said a vote for Trump or Biden would result in getting "the same thing," while a vote for him will lead to "something altogether different. You're going to get healing." As Kennedy ramped up his public attacks on Trump and earned spot on ballots, Trump changed his tune, urging his supporters not to "waste" time voting for him. PHOTO: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during the Libertarian National Convention at the Washington Hilton in Washington, May 24, 2024. (Jose Luis Magana/AP) "Don't waste any Republican or Conservative votes on Junior.' He's one of the most Liberal Lunatics ever to run for office," Trump posted on his social media platform in late May. While speaking at the National Rifle Association Convention on May 18 in Dallas, Trump compared Kennedy to an annoying fly that was buzzing around him. "He's radical left; RFK Jr. is radical left. Reminds me of this fly that's driving me crazy up here. This fly is brutal. I don't like flies," he said. Trump did acknowledge that Kennedy may take votes away from him. PHOTO: Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks on crime and safety during a campaign event at the Livingston County Sheriff's Office, Aug. 20, 2024, in Howell, Mich. (Evan Vucci/AP) "They say he hurts Biden, I think, I'm not sure that that's true. I think he probably hurts both," he said in an interview with Real America's Voice on April 22. "But he might hurt Biden a little bit more, you don't know." Trump has also called Kennedy the "dumbest member" of the Kennedy family -- a political dynasty. MORE: RFK Jr. says he has 'no plans to endorse' Harris after he recently tried to set up meeting with her Trump has recently softened his stance on Kennedy, saying in an interview with CNN on Tuesday, "I like him a lot, I respect him a lot." He indicated that Kennedy would likely have a role in a Trump administration, too. At a campaign event in Arizona on Thursday, Trump called Kennedy "very smart" and even said it would be a "great honor" to earn an endorsement from Kennedy. "Well, I don't want to get too much into it, because you're telling me something I don't know, other than I've always been friendly with him. If he were going to endorse me, I would consider it a great honor," Trump said. However, he did later say that an endorsement does not necessarily mean Kennedy is getting a position in his administration. "No, it doesn't mean administration, but certainly having his endorsement, because things that he agrees on, I also agree on," he said on NBC News. From 'liberal lunatic' to 'respect': How Trump's stance on RFK Jr. has evolved originally appeared on abcnews.go.com One of the constant themes in dystopian movies and novels is the idea of the ever-present "surveillance state"a terrifying world where the authorities are watching our every move via a system of cameras on every street corner. How can we freely live our lives if the State always is monitoring our conversations, ready to whisk us away for some thought crime or indiscretion? In George Orwell's "1984," Big Brother always is watching. "If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself," the novel explains. It's been 75 years since that book's publicationand only 22 years since the cinematic release of "Minority Report," which foresaw a world where the Pre-Crime Department arrested people based on its predictions of future crimes. In that relatively short time, humanity has become accustomed to a level of technological intrusion that was previously unfathomable. Most of us have mixed feelings. We've seen great advancements in medicine, food production, manufacturing, and information, but our society also has built the infrastructure for a frighteningly intrusive government. The Los Angeles Times recently reported on one city's typical use of Artificial Intelligence: "On any day in Long Beach, residents encounter dozens of technologies that collect their personal information. 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." That list is a mish-mash of good and potentially worrisome technologies. It's hard to complain about smart meters, which simply are modern versions of meters that water agencies have used for decades to assess use charges. Technology can help the government improve public services. We've all adapted to (and benefit from) the app-based world. There's no going back to an analog time. Most of us have also invited helpful technologies into our homes ("Alexa, please tell me ") and our cars. I automatically get a Google timeline email that shows me exactly where I've been over the past month and how much time I've spent walking, driving, or sitting on the couch. This is the work of private companies that (usually) have no ulterior motive other than selling us stuff. The problemwith or without high technologyrevolves around government and its access to and use of any such data. It's one thing for a parking company to scan my license plate to facilitate paymentand quite another for the city government to use such technologies to follow my movements or to use iffy face-scan technologies to arrest me. As the article noted, California has passed two ground-breaking data privacy laws. Yet they seem so typical of our state, which is run by government-expanding progressives who see private firms as the source of every problem. These laws impose significant burdens on companies that are trying to develop and market innovative products. They do nothing to restrict governments from misusing information to undermine our civil liberties. "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," the article explained. So now Long Beach has developed a "digital rights platform" that, according to its website, will "boost transparency by providing residents with detailed information about the technologies we deploy and how the City uses the data it collects." The city deserves credit for promoting transparency, but as always cities and other governments need tough restrictions on their ability to track our movements, store the information, and monitor our behavior. We've seen the results of out-of-control government monitoring in countries as diverse as China and Great Britain. Recent local examples should be enough to generate legislative efforts to constrain local and state governments. Reason's Elizabeth Nolan Brown reported this month that San Diego-area police "are putting up a creepy surveillance tower under the auspice of stopping sex sellers and sex buyers from meeting. The prostitution surveillance towerwill record video of anyone who happens to be in the area." It's silly. Anyone who wants to engage in illegal behavior will be smart enough not to do so in front of that huge structure. The real concern comes from less obvious, highly intrusive technologies. Police agencies have the habit of pushing the envelope on such matters, after all. The ACLU reports on a case in Massachusetts, where police installed a tiny video device on a utility pole to surveil a family all day. That's a better example of what might be coming. That's what's so worrisome. Technological advancements are here to stay, but the key to halting the "surveillance state" is to enforce strict limits on government rather than focusing on companies that create technological marvels. Once dystopia arrives, it's too late. This column was first published in The Orange County Register. The post Limit Government's Use of Surveillance Technology Before It's Too Late appeared first on Reason.com. TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) Several local and federal law enforcement agencies announced 12 indictments of members of a drug trafficking organization. On Friday, officials gathered at the United States Attorneys Office in Tampa for the announcement. Hillsborough firefighter, ex-state attorneys office employee arrested on child sex crime charges A grand jury in Tampa has indicted 12 people for federal charges of murder, drug trafficking, money laundering, and COVID-19 fraud, officials said. Eight of the 12 individuals were reportedly involved in the trafficking of controlled substances. Carlos Dones, the lead and supplier of the ring, was a significant drug trafficker, supplying cocaine and fentanyl. Funds, totaling around $6.5 million from the drug trafficking, were used for house renovations, a nearly $100,000 Mercedes, cosmetic surgery, and international travel. On Aug. 3, 2021, one of the suspects murdered one of its own members, with a single gunshot to the back of their head. Should I shoot him?: Driver pulls gun in heated road rage incident in Florida The attorneys office said one individual defrauded a bank by transmitting $110,000 to buy a home, while several individuals falsely reported employment and income to secure a mortgage. Within two fraudulent companies, Dones obtained more than $30,000 in loans, in which he used those funds for his personal gain. Below are the 12 individuals indicted: Carlos Limery Dones, aka Siervo, Chino (46, Puerto Rico) Santos Cruz Rivera (44, Kissimmee) Nelson Franco, aka Voltio (48, South Carolina) Rebel Rivera Carbonell (46, Dundee) Madelyn Sanchez, aka La Negra (50, Kissimmee) Roberto Rodriguez Almodovar (59, Kissimmee) Luis Torres Sanchez, aka Gordo (39, Puerto Rico) Johnson Rivera Martinez (40, Orlando) Yesenia Laracuente (35, Kissimmee) Nancy Contreras, aka La Dona (46, Dundee) Carol Flores Morales (48, South Carolina) Wilmary Sepulveda (36, Kissimmee) Nothing but greed, an official said. Some of the agencies involved include the DEA, IRS, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations Tampa and Central Florida police and sheriffs offices. WFLA is live streaming the press conference at 11 a.m., which can be viewed 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 WFLA. (NEXSTAR) After days of speculation, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pulled himself out of the 2024 presidential race on Friday at least in a few battleground election states. Speaking to supporters in Phoenix, Kennedy said he would not be terminating his campaign for the presidency, but instead would be suspending it. He said his name will remain on ballots in many states, and encouraged voters in stark blue and stark red states to cast their votes for him. He said, however, that he would be taking his name off the ballot in about 10 battleground states where my presence would be a spoiler. Ive already started that process and I urge voters not to vote for me, Kennedy said. In my heart I no longer feel I have a path to electoral victory in the face of this systematic censorship and media control. So I cannot in good conscience ask my staff and volunteers to keep working their long hours or ask my donors to keep giving when I cannot honestly tell them that I have a real path to the White House, he said. Furthermore, our polling showed that by staying on the ballot in the battleground states, I would likely hand the election over to the Democrats. He cited free speech, the war in Ukraine and a war on our children as among the reasons to try to remove his name from the ballot in battleground states. These are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent and now to throw my support to President Trump, Kennedy said. Ahead of his speech in Arizona, Kennedys campaign said in a Pennsylvania court filing Friday that he was endorsing Donald Trump for president, but a spokesperson for Kennedy said the court filing had been made in error. Mr. Kennedy has not endorsed President Trump, said spokesperson Stefanie Spear. The filing was made by an attorney and not reviewed by the campaign. She said the filing would be updated. Hours later, Trump is set to hold a rally in neighboring Glendale. Trumps campaign has teased that he will be joined by a special guest, though neither campaign responded to messages about whether Kennedy would be that guest. The two campaigns have ramped up their compliments to each other and engaged in behind-the-scenes discussions in recent weeks, according to those familiar with the efforts. Both campaigns have spent months accusing Democrats of weaponizing the legal system for their own benefit. And both have hinted publicly that they could be open to joining forces, with the shared goal of limiting the election chances of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Kennedy said Trumps campaign reached out shortly after the assassination attempt on the former president last month. Subsequent meetings led Kennedy to believe the two were in alignment on several key issues. In those meetings he suggested that we join forces as a unity party, said Kennedy, stating that the arrangement would allow the two to disagree even publicly. Trump told NewsNation in an interview Thursday it would be an honor to receive Kennedys endorsement. The Associated Press 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. Live updates: Harris calls for unity, addresses war in Gaza in DNC speech Vice President Harris on Thursday laid out her plans for the presidency in accepting the Democratic Partys nomination. Harris leaned into her backstory as the multiracial child of immigrant parents in California. She will focused on Project 2025, the conservative Heritage Foundations agenda, which has become a top target of Democrats heading into November. As the prime-time part of the evening started, Harriss nieces, stepdaughter and goddaughter kicked things off, along with the evenings host actor Kerry Washington. P!nk performed, and lawmakers many from critical swing states spoke throughout the evening, ahead of Harris. Stunning Harris rollercoaster reaches new apex at Democratic convention Growing number of Democrats call for Palestinian speaker on final night of DNC Read below for The Hills updates throughout the evening. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ANDREWS, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) Dominos located on North Main Street and the Black Cat Tattoo Company are both doing their part to help the family of Vincent Hill, the six-year-old who was killed in a hit and run accident a week ago. You know having a child we all have kids, and you know hearing that its every parents worst nightmare, said Edgar Armendariz, owner of the Black Cat Tattoo Company. Nobody wants to go through that and should go through that. You know we just wanted to help out and do our part. The communitys been helping out and weve had a good positive outcome from it. Armendariz reached out to the Hill family, telling them he would offer $20 raffle tickets where the winner receives tattoos worth up to $1,000. The drawing ended Thursday evening at 5pm and the winner will be announced on Friday. All the proceeds from the raffle will be given entirely to the family. Weve been in contact of course 100 percent. They said thank you so much, theyre really happy were doing this for them, said Armendariz. Dominos is also helping out by giving a portion of their earnings from Thursday to the Special Education Program at Clearfork Elementary, where Vincent attended school. RELATED: Andrews PD identifies second driver in deadly hit and run crash When we spoke with Vincents mother and grandmother. She told us how much he loved his school, how much he loved being in the program, said Kristi Flournoy, the local marketing and event planner for Dominos in West Texas. We thought what better way to give back to Vincent in his honor than to give money to the SPED program at Clearfork Elementary, which has helped him and other children in the community Both businesses felt the need to step up and lend a hand to help the family and show the true sense of the word 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 Yourbasin. Local colleges look to bring more nurses to Pennsylvania (WHTM) Forty-three nursing schools of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania (AICUP) are partaking in new programs and partnerships to bridge the nursing cliff in Pa. According to AICUP, the Hospital and Health System Association of Pennsylvania estimated that Pennsylvania will experience the worst nursing shortage in the nation by 2026. As a response, AICUP nursing schools are engaging with programs and partnerships to promote nursing as a profession, improve facilities and offerings, expedite graduation time, and assist students experiencing financial burdens. You cant just put a Band-Aid on this, hoping it will get better, we need to take substantive action now. Thats why our nursing teachers and students are rolling up the sleeves on their scrubs, willing to do what it takes to come up with real solutions, said Thomas P. Foley, President of AICUP, the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania. Some new innovative projects include outreach efforts at local grade schools, a program that welcomes retired nurses back into the workforce, dual-enrollment programs for high-school students, and partnerships with hospitals to accelerate academic progress. AICUP schools produce 69% of the nursing degrees in Pennsylvania and educate 76% of minority students pursuing nursing degrees in the state, according to the AICUP. Visit here to learn more about the programs offered by AICUP colleges. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. By Catarina Demony LONDON (Reuters) - London is set to have its first memorial to victims of transatlantic slavery, with the mayor's office announcing on Friday the design of a long-awaited monument seen by advocates as a step towards confronting the past and its legacies. The memorial will be located at West India Quay, in east London, where warehouses were built in the early 19th century to receive what the mayor's office has described as "products of slavery", such as sugar from plantations in the Caribbean. For over 300 years, British ships forcibly transported more than three million enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean, and the City of London was the financial centre of the trafficking. "We know so much of London's wealth has been built on the backs of enslaved people," said London's deputy mayor for communities and social justice, Debbie Weekes-Bernard, as she announced the winning design. Inspired by the shape of cowrie shells, widely used as currency across Africa to trade enslaved people, 'The Wake', by Khaleb Brooks, will be a seven-metre (23 ft) tall bronze sculpture visitors will be able to enter. Inside, the walls will list names of enslaved people. "We are our history, it tells us where we've been, where we are and the direction we could go," Brooks said. The mayor's office has pledged 500,000 pounds ($655,750.00) to fund the memorial - expected to be installed in 2026 - but it will also need private donations. The total requirement has not been set. Weekes-Bernard said she hoped the memorial, which will be supported by an educational programme about slavery, will be a "step" to help Britain have a wider conversation about its past. She said confronting history could help tackle some its legacies today, including racial discrimination. "There needs to be a conversation... (about) how history connects to the experiences that Black communities have today." There are over 900 representational public monuments, such as statues, busts and plaques, across Britain related to transatlantic slavery but the vast majority are linked to enslavers or white abolitionists, according to a survey mapping such monuments. After the U.S. police killing of George Floyd in 2020, Black Lives Matter protests swept the world, with various statues of enslavers and colonisers being toppled, including the statue of trader Edward Colston in Bristol. Critics argued that such actions amounted to the censoring of history. The idea of having a slavery memorial in London is not new. Campaign group Memorial 2007 had secured planning permission for a site in Hyde Park, and the backing of the then mayor Boris Johnson, but it did not receive government funding and has not yet been built. Memorial 2007 campaigner Oku Ekpenyon said: "We just have to keep on pushing." ($1 = 0.7625 pounds) (Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by William Maclean) Sign up for CNNs Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. An investigation of human remains from the 17th century British settlement in Jamestown, Virginia, has unearthed a long-hidden scandal in the family of the colonys first governor. Thomas West became Jamestowns leader in 1610; he was joined there by three of his brothers and several other male relatives. Recently, DNA analysis of two skeletons from unmarked graves in a Jamestown church revealed that both people were related to West. The DNA also showed that the men were linked by shared maternal lineage. That connection led researchers to documents proving that one of the men Captain William West was illegitimate, born to Thomas Wests spinster aunt, Elizabeth. Though Captain West was raised as part of the high-status West family in England, details of his scandalous birth were deliberately stricken from the familys genealogical records, and lingering whispers of the scandal may have been one of the factors that drove him to seek his fortune in the American colony, researchers reported August 13 in the journal Antiquity. A map of Jamestown Island shows the triangular palisade of James Fort and the colonial settlement's church that contains burials. - Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation (Preservation Virginia) The findings demonstrate how genetic data in combination with other historical evidence can help bring to light narratives that were forbidden or shameful in the past, said Dr. Christine Lee, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Mississippi, in an email. This in turn gives us a better understanding of how individuals circumvented societal rules, said Lee, who was not involved in the research. An X-ray scan (left) of the spangled military sash fringed in silver (right) found in the grave of Captain William West. - Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation (Preservation Virginia) Unmarked burials in colonial Jamestown Researchers found four unmarked graves at Jamestown in 2014, in an Anglican church that the colonists used from about 1608 to 1616. Superior craftsmanship of two coffins suggested that the people they held were important members of the colony. One was even buried with a spangled military sash fringed in silver. These burial details, along with age estimates for the two skeletons and historic documents, indicated that the remains in the better-made coffins were those of Captain West (the owner of the sash), who died in his early 20s, and Sir Ferdinando Wenman, who died at age 34. Jamestown records named both as the governors kin, but only Wenmans status as a first cousin to the governor was described, according to the study. The relationship between Wenman and West was also unknown. The remains of Captain William West and Sir Ferdinando Wenman were among those found in four aligned graves (left) in the chancel area of the church site, signifying the high status of the deceased, according to the study. - Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation (Preservation Virginia) The next step for the scientists was to sample and analyze ancient DNA, or aDNA, from the skeletons, which is when the investigation made a surprising turn, said study coauthor Kari Bruwelheide, a skeletal biology specialist in the department of anthropology at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC. The aDNA took us in a very unexpected direction, one we never would have gone without it, Bruwelheide said in an email. Matrilineal clues unravel a mystery Degraded over four centuries, the ancient DNA was in poor shape, so the only conclusive results were in the mitochondrial haplogroup a matrilineal part of the genome, said study coauthor Dr. Eadaoin Harney, a lecturer of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University. A portrait shows colonial administrator Thomas West circa 1610. - MPI/Archive Photos/Getty Images While there wasnt enough DNA to show immediate family ties, Wenman and Captain West both shared the haplogroup H10e. This commonality indicated that they were likely close relatives on the maternal side of their lineage, which surprised the study authors who analyzed the genetic data. They had assumed that since Captain William Wests last name was West and that West was the last name of Ferdinando Wenmans mother, that their relationship would have been on the paternal lineage, Harney said. The ancient DNA gave the anthropologists a direction to start searching in. That finding guided researchers toward documents mentioning Captain Wests female relatives, which eventually led them to a previously overlooked court case from 1616, regarding the beneficiary of Wests will. He had left his belongings (including family jewelry) to Mary Blount, another aunt of the Jamestown governor. In the legal documents, the researchers found their proof: court records stated that Mary Blount had raised Captain West on behalf of her unmarried, deceased sister, Elizabeth, the authors reported. Fabric and sequins uncovered during the excavation of the burials are shown - Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation (Preservation Virginia) The coded language and absence of formal documentary recognition of Captain West as her son supports the illegitimate nature of his birth, the researchers wrote. Even though the ancient DNA was incomplete, it did yield enough evidence to show an unexpected relationship through their female lines, Bruwelheide said. That led to a real in-depth investigation into other members of the family, which led to the court case and revelation of the illegitimacy. Their findings confirmed that Captain West, Governor Thomas West and Ferdinando Wenman were all cousins. Illuminating this family secret adds another layer to the story of Jamestown, the oldest English settlement in North America, said study coauthor Michael Lavin, director of collections and conservation at the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation. The people who came here to forge a new life for themselves had family secrets and interpersonal drama just like we do, Lavin said in an email. The fact that we can reveal those secrets more than 400 years later is an incredible feat of the historical and scientific community. Mindy Weisberger is a science writer and media producer whose work has appeared in Live Science, Scientific American and How It Works magazine. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Members of the local Palestinian diaspora hold a banner that reads "Boycott McDonald's" on Dec. 26, 2023, in Alberta, Canada. Credit - Artur WidakNurPhoto /Getty Images The bright red, 250-milliliter tin certainly looks like a can of Coke. That is, if Coca-Cola decided to swap Coca for Gaza in its name and emblazoned its classic design with a Palestinian flag, complete with Arabic calligraphy and a red keffiyeh on top. It even tastes pretty similar too, albeit more akin to the candy cola bottles than the classic soft drink itself. But Cola Gaza doesnt aspire to be Coke. Rather, it hopes to become an alternative for those who have since turned away from the iconic brand. Since Israel launched its retaliatory bombardment of Gaza in the wake of Hamass Oct. 7 attack, in a war that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and rendered much of the Strip uninhabitable, more than a dozen multinational firms perceived to be supportive of Israel have been subject to grassroots consumer boycotts. Among these are the Coca-Cola Company (which operates a factory in the Israeli-occupied West Bank), McDonalds (whose franchisee has given free and discounted meals to Israeli soldiers and rescue forces in the aftermath of Oct. 7), and Starbucks (which sued its Starbucks Workers United union for trademark infringement over a since-deleted social media post that expressed support for Palestinians).The boycotts are having a demonstrable impact, resulting in declining sales, layoffs, and untold reputational damage. But theyve also given way to new and existing brands, several of which have stepped into the void that big multinational corporations have left behind. As the Gaza-inspired boycotts of Coca-Cola and others continue, new and existing brands are emerging to fill the void. Among the ones Ive spotted recently: Jordans Matrix, Saudis Kinza, and a Sweden-based brand called Palestine Drinks. The latest, from the U.K., is Cola Gaza. pic.twitter.com/wH3zdYvfxp Yasmeen Serhan (@YasmeenSerhan) August 23, 2024 Cola Gaza, which entered the U.K. market this month, is one such alternative. Palestine Drinks, a Sweden-based brand that launched in March and supplies the E.U., the U.K., and South Africa, is another. Mohamed Kiswani, the communications director of Safad Food, the Palestinian-owned parent company of Palestine Drinks, tells TIME that the demand for the soda has been overwhelming. We had no idea that it would be this popular, he says, noting that the brand has sold roughly 16 million cans in the last five months, the proceeds of which go towards projects supporting Palestinian civil society in the West Bank and Gaza. Kiswani says that the goal of this initiative, perhaps paradoxically, isnt about soda at all. We are not selling drinks, he says. We are selling the brand Palestine, to get people to talk more about the genocide that is happening. (In a landmark decision in January, the International Court of Justice determined in an interim judgment that there is a plausible risk of Israel committing genocide in Gaza. A definitive ruling, however, could be years away.) While these boycotts are international, theyre particularly pronounced on the Arab street. In Jordan, for example, McDonalds and Starbucks locationswhich only a year ago might have been heaving with customerscan be found virtually empty. While products such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi (which has also been snubbed over its acquisition of SodaStream, an Israel-based drinks manufacturer) can still be found on the shelves of Middle Eastern supermarkets, theyre often displayed alongside signs urging customers to boycott the product. Many of the regions cafes and restaurants have largely eschewed these brands in favor of local alternatives such as Jordans Matrix Cola and Saudi Arabias Kinza, lest they face boycotts themselves. International boycott campaigns against Israel are hardly new. Indeed, the Palestinian-led grassroots movement for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions has been putting pressure on Israeli and international companies believed to be complicit in violating Palestinian rights since 2005. Nor is the emergence of new brands seeking to capitalize on such boycotts. During the Second Intifada, a deadly Palestinian uprising in the early aughts that grew out of the collapse of the Oslo peace process, brands such as Mecca Cola and Qibla Cola emerged as Coke alternatives. While the former marketed itself as part of a wider boycott of American goods over Washingtons support for Israel, the latter billed itself as an ethical alternative for Muslims who are increasingly questioning the role some major multinationals play in our societies. Consumer boycotts have typically followed most all Gaza wars, including those in 2008-09, 2012, 2014, 2018, and 2021. But unlike previous wars, which lasted days and weeks at a time, the current one is in its 11th month, with no apparent end in sight. This boycott campaign seems to be on a completely different scale to anything Ive seen before, says Will Todman, a Middle East analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who has spent time in Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Tunisia, and Qatar since Oct. 7. Thats partly because this war is on a far greater, more awful scale than anything we have seen before as well. Some of the affected companies have tried to defend themselves, though not always to great effect. An attempt by Coca-Colas Bangladeshi franchisee backfired after it rolled out an ad campaign reassuring customers that it is not an Israeli brand. Even Palestine has a Coke factory, the ad, which has since been removed from all platforms, reportedly said. The factory in question is an Israeli-owned Coca-Cola franchisee that operates in Atarot, an Israeli settlement in East Jerusalem that is considered illegal under international law. Meanwhile, the McDonalds Corporation, which is headquartered in Chicago, has sought to distance itself from the actions of its Israeli franchisee, telling TIME in February that they were made independently without McDonalds consent or approval. The burger chain has subsequently said that it will buy back all of its Israel-based restaurants following a deal with its Israeli franchisee, Alonyal. (Coca-Cola and McDonald's did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.) BDS has shown complicit companies that the price they must pay for being implicated in Israels crimes against Palestinians is steep and will get even steeper still, Omar Barghouti, a co-founder of the BDS movement, tells TIME, noting that the movements effectiveness has been a boon for local alternatives, particularly in the Middle East. These trends indicate that the boycott impact on these brands will most likely be long term. Whether these boycotts do have a long-term impact on consumer behavior remains to be seen. While they have given many of those aggrieved by the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza a sense of agency, previous iterations havent necessarily resulted in the kind of changed consumer habits that activists may be hoping for. Kiswani, who recalls the boycotts that emerged during earlier Gaza wars, says they all followed the same pattern. There was a strong boycott for a couple of months, and then it ended. But hes confident that this boycott wont end like the rest of them. This time, we can see the boycott is hundreds and hundreds of times bigger, Kiswani says. This time is different, because its never been like this. Brayden King, an expert on the impact of boycotts at Northwestern Universitys Kellogg School of Management, tells TIME that while most boycott campaigns dont have a major impact on consumer behavior in the long term, those that do are able to leverage public accountability in its favor. People hold each other accountable, he saysa task that is made a lot easier when it concerns goods that are typically enjoyed in social settings, such as food and drink. But another marker of an effective boycott is one that is able to incur sustained reputational damage on a brand. While most boycotts tend to fade after the 90-day mark, according to King, the Gaza-inspired boycotts have long surpassed that, in large part because the war has, too. The intensity of the outrage that many in the world feel about this is quite severe, and it doesnt seem to have dissipated at all, partly because the travesty continues, King says. And as long as that continues, theres going to be outrage and associated behaviors. And I expect that, therefore, the reputational damage for the brands associated with this is going to be that much greater. The longer the stigma around these brands lasts, the more time it gives consumers to develop new habitsones that may not necessarily end when the war does. A year is a long time that people may have started to develop a taste for buying other products, and that habit is not going to just go away because a ceasefire comes around. Write to Yasmeen Serhan at yasmeen.serhan@time.com. After more than 20 years in service to the Atlanta City Council, longtime member Howard Shook announced he will not be seeking reelection. He was first elected to council to serve District 7 in 2001. Quoting British writer Geoffrey Chaucer, famed for the Canterbury Tales, Shook said All good things must come to an end, and said that while his service as an elected official was one of the best things that had ever happened to him, it was time for that privilege to end. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] In a letter announcing his retirement in 2025, Shook said he will finish out the coming year as a member of the council. It was my good fortune to take office with a built-in dislike of elected officials eager to appear as all things to all people, Shook wrote, describing his time in office. In support of you, I have striven to be plain-spoken, ethical, independent, fact-driven, bottom-line-oriented, eager to work with others and, when required, ready and able to fight. TRENDING STORIES: He said by not running for reelection, hes given himself the opportunity to reflect on the notable accomplishments of the Atlanta City Council, and took a look back on his record while serving Atlantas constituents. By my calculation, I will have cast 60,000 votes by the end of this term. While Im quite sure that not everyone was pleased with all of them, I do feel that my record reflects our mainstream sentiments and desired outcomes, Shook said in his letter. He closed out the letter by thanking the city for its support and said he looked forward to serving as a citizen, rather than a council member as we hurtle into our future. Shook will remain a member of the Atlanta City Council until the final meeting of the 2025 calendar year. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: The longtime mayor of Versailles is stepping down to take a position with the Kentucky League of Cities. Brian Traugott, who has served as mayor for 11 years, announced his decision on Tuesday at a council meeting and social media. He will leave office Oct. 1. Traugott, a former councilman, was picked by the Versailles City Council to succeed former Mayor Fred Siegleman, who resigned to take a position in state government, in July 2013. The council will pick a successor for Traugott. If a consensus cant be reached by the council, Gov. Andy Beshear will appoint the mayor of the largest city in Woodford County. Versailles is a nonpartisan city government. I feel like Im leaving the city in better condition than when I took office and am proud of all that we have been able to accomplish, Traugott said in a Facebook post. With the help of so many, we have embarked on a record number of capital projects, grown our economic base, promoted a sense of community and improved our internal operations. Traugott will serve as of chief member services officer for the Kentucky League of Cities, which advocates for Kentucky cities in Frankfort and Washington D.C. Traugott said he knows as mayor not every decision he made had unanimous community support, but he tried to serve the interest of the entire community and improve the quality of life for all citizens of Versailles. Im able to leave without regrets, he said. In an interview, Traugott said he is excited to step into the new position with the Kentucky League of Cities, an organization he has long worked with and admires. Hes proud of what Versailles has been able to accomplish in his decade in office including building a new police station, a $4 million entertainment district in downtown, other downtown beautification efforts and millions of dollars in park improvements. As far as advice for the next mayor of Versailles: You need to listen, he said. Its impossible for elected officials to be knowledgeable about every issue that comes before them. Those experts are out there, listen to them, he said. Prior to his stint as a city councilman and mayor, Traugott also served on the Versailles-Midway-Woodford County Planning and Zoning Commission. He was previously a staffer in the Kentucky legislature, working for former Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo and other Democratic leaders. LORDSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) The Lordstown Teachers Association has reached an agreement with the school district on their contracts. The contract includes 3.5% raises each year, an end to a three-tier system for healthcare costs, and flexibility with some teacher work days. The agreement was reached after teachers gave notice for a strike. Lordstown Superintendent Gregory Bonamase says now, before the contract can go into effect, the board of education will need to ratify it as well. Were happy to get to the end of this and move forward so that, you know, we can move forward with the most important thing and thats educating our students here in Lordstown Local Schools, Bonamase said. Bonamase says the board of education will likely decide on the contract early next week. It took almost five months to get our district back to the bargaining table, but once they began engaging with us again we were able to reach an agreement that respects the work we do and the sacrifices weve made. Pat Barrett, 6th grade teacher at Lordstown Elementary School and LTA Interim President Classes start Sept. 3. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Members of the State Board of Education adjourn the Aug. 21, 2024, meeting in Niceville. (Screenshot via Florida Channel) A Gov. Ron DeSantis-appointed member of the Broward County School Board who was rejected this week for election to the board will become a member of the Florida Board of Education instead. The govenors press office announced the new appointment of Daniel Foganholi, director of legislative affairs for New Generations Childrens Ministry, on Friday. Appointed to the Broward board in 2022, he earned 4,341 votes, 20% of the total, in Tuesdays election. The winner, Maura McCarthy Bulman, earned 51%, or 11,145 votes. The second highest vote earner was Chris Canter, earning nearly 29% of the vote. Foganholi will join the state board in November. Foganholi was not on DeSantis list of 23 statewide school board endorsements the governor did not endorse any candidates in Broward this year. Three Florida Democratic Party-endorsed candidates won election in Broward. Foganholis campaign website lists him as a firm supporter of both school choice and the public school system and highlights his support for a National Day of Prayer and Clergy Recognition Month in the schools. His campaign website says he has experienced homeschooling, charter school, private school, public school, and graduating from an alternative school. The 38-year-old Republican is from Coral Springs, the governors office said, and holds certificates in marketing and business management from Florida Atlantic University, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. In running for his Broward seat, Foganholi participated in a Moms for Liberty candidate forum, during which he seemed to endorse culling material. As a parent, it scares me when people attending school board meetings read uncomfortable excerpts from books that are in school libraries, the Miami New Times reported. We have to keep an eye on the process, especially as a board member, to make sure it is a fair process, equitable process, and were following it, Foganholi said. Foganholi, a first-generation American born to parents who came to the United States from Brazil, is a member of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission, to which DeSantis appointed him. His appointment to the Board of Education is subject to Florida Senate approval. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The entrance road to Arches National Park outside Moab begins to back up with visitors on Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News Talk about government waste. Literally waste in this case. Visits to public lands in Utah have doubled the past two years. And it only follows that visits to Bureau of Land Management restrooms before, during or after a hike or mountain bike ride have gone up, too. In the Moab area, the BLM pumped more than 177,000 gallons of septic tank sewage left behind by its more than 3 million annual visitors, according to the agencys Moab field office. The BLM spent $130,000 on dumpster operations, $175,000 on toilet pumping and $16,000 on 25,000 rolls of toilet paper. Thats roughly 64 cents per roll. Thats a lot of toilet paper! Visits to your #publiclands in Utah have doubled over the last 20 years. The BLM strives to ensure your visit is enjoyable, with constant improvements to recreation infrastructure, the agency posted Thursday on X. That's a lot of toilet paper! Visits to your #publiclands in Utah have doubled over the last 20 years. The BLM strives to ensure your visit is enjoyable, with constant improvements to recreation infrastructure. Here's a look at the stats from last year in the Moab Field Office. pic.twitter.com/TkTR37Zcth Bureau of Land Management Utah (@BLMUtah) August 22, 2024 In all, visits to BLM land in Utah reached more than 11 million. BLM Utah didnt just waste its tweet on waste. It also highlighted other statistics from the Moab field office, which covers 1.8 million acres in scenic Canyon Country carved out by the Colorado and Green rivers that include a variety of arches, natural bridges, mesas and spires. The area is a recreation mecca for off-highway vehicles, mountain biking, climbing, base jumping, hiking, horseback riding and river rafting. BLM campsites can accommodate more than 10,000 people a night, and the campsites are full most nights in the spring and fall, according to the field office. In 2023, the office improved seven campgrounds; built two new campsites; installed five new bike maintenance stands; completed three accessibility improvement projects; improved seven trailheads and boat ramps, and built six steel kiosks and 10 steel shade shelters. I was in love with him: Portland woman says Tinder match scammed her out of more than $40K PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) A Portland woman is ringing the alarm bells after she says she was scammed out of tens of thousands of dollars from a Tinder match. After the person teased her heartstrings and asked for money with promises of eventually meeting in person, the woman says she now believes she was the victim of a romance scam, a type of internet scam that the FBI says has been growing in popularity in recent years. Is intravenous drug use making a comeback? Even still, the FBI says these types of scams often go significantly underreported due to shame and embarrassment. There were more than 64,000 reports of romance scams in 2023, according to the Federal Trade Commission, reported losses totaling $1.14 billion. Scams pulled off via social media platforms like Facebook are nothing new. And the FBI says older Americans are at particular risk for scams. However, its important to remember people from all walks of life right here in Oregon can also be targeted. Romance scams pose a particular threat because they result in the highest amount of financial losses, on average, when compared to other online crimes. Such scams have been surging in recent years with the proliferation of dating sites. Katie Powell told KOIN 6 News that it took her months to realize the relationship she was in was a lie. Now shes determined to save others from this fate by sharing her story. We were soulmates, Powell said. I was in love with him. She swiped right on the popular dating app Tinder, with her match introducing himself as Barton Nathan. They hit it off. I was ready to start my life with this man, you know? I thought it was legitimately true, Powell said. Sick of summer? PNW fall weather predictions released Less than two weeks after meeting him, her would-be love started asking her for money. First it was $5,000 to pay for his expired visa so he could fly home. And he just kept making me feel bad for him. Like, how why would I do anything to hurt you? Powell said. The online relationship continued as he claimed he was working abroad, sending constant messages of love and affection. But yet again, tragedy would strike, over and over. At one point, he shared a picture of himself in the hospital supposedly after a car accident, he claimed to need money for lawyers, or cash to finish up a contracting job. His requests for money would always escalate. When shed question it, hed send proof of documents and photos to back up his claims. If shed tell him to ask his friends and family for help, hed say, I only have you. Youre the only one. He had told her in the beginning both his parents had died. And you know, which made me feel like responsible to get him home, Powell said. And so I just continued to believe it. All in all, she gave him upwards of $40,000, in her efforts to help get him on a plane to the U.S. I was so emotionally invested that I wanted to believe him. I wanted him to come home, and thats all I wanted. And the further I got into the debt and the money and the relationship, the more I wanted him out. He continued to manipulate her for every penny, telling her, Babe, if you give up now, whats the point of all the sacrifice weve done? And I was like, goodbye,' Powell said. He replied: I cant lose you. I cant lose you. Powell is now out of that relationship. With eyes unclouded by rose-tinted glasses, she now sees all the red flags and warning signs she ignored. And thats what I want people to know is dont follow the heart. Follow the gut, Powell said. Anyone is susceptible to this emotional-based crime. Powell explained the scammer always made himself out to be the victim and would manipulate her that way. Vancouvers proposed bridge shelter raises concerns Scammers quickly build trust, often proposing marriage or extravagant vacations. They make plans to meet that never happen. They seem genuine but eventually ask for money, typically claiming to be in the construction industry abroad, which excuses their absence and justifies requests for funds. Scammers will quickly as you to get off the dating site and to chat on different messaging apps. They often avoid talking on the phone or video chatting. If someone you meet online needs your bank account information to deposit money, theyre most likely using your account to carry out other theft and fraud schemes. If youre a victim and feeling alone in your loss, contact KOIN 6 News Investigative Reporter Elise Haas, who can connect you to Powell. Shes a single mom looking for a sense of community to help her recover from this. GoFundMe: Katie Powell | Overcoming Romance 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 KOIN.com. This rendering shows how an electric vehicle charging station would look at a Love's Travel Stop. Love's Travel Stops has begun adding new electric vehicle charging stations at dozens of stores across the country, including eight planned for Oklahoma. The Oklahoma City-based company already has six EV charging stations in Oklahoma: Two near the Texas border, one on the interstate between OKC and Tulsa, and stations near Chickasha, McAlester and Muskogee. Work will begin on the new Oklahoma charging stations in 2025, the company said. According to a map of planned charging stations, the eight new locations will mostly be along Interstates 40 and 35. "Loves is honored to play a critical role in actively shaping and building out the fast-charging electric vehicle network across the nation," said Shane Wharton, Loves president. "Expanding the EV charging network is not new to us as we first started in the EV space in 2017 and have continued to grow the network. We now offer more than 100 chargers at 28 stores in 11 states. These future EV investments reinforce our commitment to meeting customers needs regardless of fuel type." Each location will have four charging points with Level 3 DC fast chargers. The charger installation has been subsidized by state and federal grants to build out the nation's electric vehicle infrastructure. The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program allocates federal funding state-by-state for EV charging equipment installation. It includes $5 billion allocated over five years to create a national network of 500,000 EV chargers. Love's, through its Trillium Energy Solutions brand, is in the top three companies to be awarded NEVI grant funds. Groundbreaking on four NEVI-funded charging stations in Pennsylvania and four in Kentucky will start this year. In 2025, construction is expected to start on EV charging stations in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington. The company also said that newly built Love's Travel Stops will have space for future EV charger installation. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Love's installing electric vehicle charging stations in Oklahoma, US The Cowboy State's Freedom Caucus emerged victorious over the more moderate Wyoming Caucus in Tuesday's primary. The night, rife with incumbent upsets, marked the end of a heated contest loaded with out-of-state money, negative mailers, and libel accusations that signaled a definitive shift to the right for one of America's most conservative states. Polling location Storey Gym, in Cheyenne Wyoming While the balance of power in the state senate remained relatively untouched, Freedom Caucus-endorsed candidates gained at least three seats in the state house, leaving them with 29 of 62 house seats. Whether or not the Freedom Caucus will take control of the state house hinges on the Nov. 5 election. The primary was the first major election held in Wyoming since the elimination of crossover voting in 2023. The state saw its lowest turnout since 2016, with just 122,693 total ballots cast, according to the Wyoming Secretary of State. Arguably, the night's biggest surprise came in Western Wyoming, where outgoing Speaker of the House Albert Sommers lost in a three-way race to newcomer Laura Taliaferro Pearson. Sommers has served in the legislature since 2017 and was one of the most vocal critics of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus. Wyoming State Representative and Speaker of the House Albert Sommers, R-House District 20 Other crucial players on the Wyoming Caucus side of the aisle who lost their races: State House Speaker Pro Tempore Clark Stith of Rock Springs, who fell to Darin McCann, and state representative Dan Zwonitzer of Cheyenne, who has served in the legislature since 2005, lost to first-time candidate Ann Lucas. Zwonitzer read the results due to low turnout and the prevalence of negative campaigning. Wyoming State Representative Dan Zwonitzer, R-House District 43 "It was truly difficult to watch myself, my father, so many great legislators lose their primaries last night. It feels meaningful that we all went down together," the Cheyenne legislator said. "The people who are so angry about social issues are the ones who showed up to vote... I think that's what really cost a lot of incumbents was the grievance voters."The Freedom Caucus didn't emerge completely unscathed. Representative Jeanette Ward of Casper lost control of House District 57 to challenger Julie Jarvis. Representative Mark Jennings lost his battle for the highly contested Senate District 22 with Representative Barry Crago. And Wyoming GOP Executive Director Kathy Russell fell short in her bid against incumbent Bob Nicholas. Representative Jeremy Haroldson (R-Wheatland), vice chair of the Freedom Caucus who comfortably won re-election in House District 4, took pride in the results. Wyoming State Representative and Vice Chair of the Freedom Caucus Jeremy Haroldson, R - House District 04 "Overall, I believe that we got to see a very favorable outcome for the conservative voice in the state of Wyoming," Haroldson said. "The Freedom Caucus is becoming a household name, and it's going to change the way we do the legislative process in the future." In Wyoming, moderate Republicans took the most significant hit as the primary's upheaval ousted incumbents from various political affiliations and significantly disrupted leadership. "I think it's an opportunity to rise to the occasion and really find a breakthrough and see what the future looks like as we do forge a different path moving forward for the government," Haroldson said. Zwonitzer views these uncharted waters as more of a cause for concern than a celebration and expressed disappointment in the loss of legacy insight on local issues and the disparity between campaign issues and the legislative process. "The loss of institutional knowledge, but also the loss of the eight of us who knew how to keep the Freedom Caucus at bay. We were specifically targeted," Zwonitzer said. Both U.S. Senator John Barrasso and U.S. Representative Harriet Hageman coasted to victory on the federal level. Cy Neff reports on Wyoming politics for USA TODAY. You can reach him at cneff@usatoday.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CyNeffNews This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wyoming primary election shifts political power further right Governments around the world are working to balance climate commitments with fiscal considerations, and, while some progress has been made, the financial realities of fulfilling green commitments have prompted a spate of backpedalling. New Zealand has already reneged on several green pledges, whilst the UK has delayed some commitments in favour of financial priorities. Meanwhile, in the US, there are concerns that a Trump win in November could result in a repeat of the 2020 exit from the Paris Agreement. Concerns around the international agreement have also made headline news in Australia, where the Coalition party has hinted that it would pull back from climate commitments were it to form a government following the 2025 election. New Zealand Under its Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, New Zealands centre-right coalition government has rocked international perception of the country's commitment to climate action, sharing plans to walk back a catalogue of green policies. The government is in its first year and plans to reverse the ban on oil and gas exploration put in place by former Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in 2018. It has also said that it will encourage more mining and will postpone the pricing of agricultural emissions by five years. In its first budget in May, the coalition also made significant cuts to climate action projects and failed to announce any significant new investment for climate and environmental protection. Luxons government has also already removed some financial incentives around EV ownership, including the road user charges exemption. Since April 1, EV owners have had to pay the same as internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle owners. GlobalData senior energy analyst Paul Hasselbrinck says that New Zealand hopes to boost the economy by pulling away from these green policies. Direct emissions from offshore exploration, which bring significant resources, are comparatively negligible in relation to scope 3 emissions from burning the associated fossil fuels, and the government is hopeful that carbon taxes and technological advancements will reduce fugitive emissions from upstream operations, he tells Energy Monitor. On transport, the government sees the positive development in global EV markets as grounds to remove demand-side policies, given their increasing competitiveness with fossil fuel-based alternatives. More recently in July, Luxons government released its draft emissions reduction plan, in which the Ministry for the Environment detailed policies that would achieve 2030 emissions reduction targets but that look unlikely to reach the countrys 2050 net-zero climate commitment. Story continues Hasselbrinck suggests that these plans aim to balance fiscal responsibility and efficiency of climate spending, but says New Zealand leaves itself at risk of falling short of 2050 targets as they rely on a bullish outlook of technological advancements. The Paris Agreement, the US and Australia The Paris Agreement recognises the commitment of 195 parties (194 states and the European Union) to substantially reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and maintain a temperature increase below 2C above pre-industrial levels, with an effort to limit the increase to 1.5C. The agreement was reached in 2015, but in 2020 President Trump shook global confidence in the shared goals by withdrawing the US from it. He first shared his intention to do so in 2017, when he stated that the agreement hamstrings the United States while empowering some of the worlds top polluting countries. On his first day in office, President Biden recommitted the United States to the Paris Agreement. Now, in a high-stakes game of back-and-forth, Trump has said he will withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement once again if he is elected as the President in November. He has also committed to an expansion of oil and gas production, epitomised in echoing of the long-standing Republican slogan: Drill, baby, drill! It's not only the US that could rock the landmark climate agreement, however. Australias Coalition party has suggested a potential watering-down of the countrys Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) if it is elected in 2025. This suggestion came in June from Peter Dutton, leader of Coalition. He reportedly told The Australian: They just have no hope of achieving the targets and theres no sense signing up to targets you dont have any prospect of achieving. The comments caused confusion and prompted speculation that the Coalition party planned to exit the Paris Agreement. Later clarification suggests that the Coalitions position lies within a greyer area the party has pledged to remain committed to plans for net zero by 2050 but will discuss 2030 targets in due course. Under a Coalition party government then, it looks likely that Australia would submit a 2035 NDC containing weaker emissions reduction targets and fewer climate commitments. It is up for debate as to whether this comprises a breach of the Paris Agreement, which clearly intends NDCs to be increasingly ambitious. Chris Bowen, Australias current Climate Change Minister, has made it evident that he would consider a reduction in targets to constitute a breach. In a news conference, he said: The Paris Accord is very clear. You cant backslide, you cant reduce your commitments. Is Mr Dutton proposing to leave the Paris accord? Or is he just hoping no one notices? Of the impact of new leadership in the US and Australia and what it could mean for the Paris Agreement, Hasselbrinck comments: Leaving the Paris Agreement would be catastrophic for the global fight against climate change and deleterious for each of the countries stance in the global stage. The Paris Agreements rely on the premise that all countries will see the benefits (reduced climate disasters) only if all countries adhere to it. Having the worlds largest economy, and one of the current and historic top emitters leave the agreement can generate distrust in this basic premise and lead other governments to find the Agreement non-beneficial, as they would bear the same transitioning cost with reduced benefits. While some democratically elected governments are walking back certain pledges of their own, whether there is economic merit to it or not, it is important that the accountability mechanisms enshrined in the Paris Agreements continue to stand. The UK In September 2023, then-Prime Minister of the UK Rishi Sunak announced that the government would undertake a series of significant U-turns relating to the countrys climate commitments. The decisions drew widespread criticism and prompted the UN to see additional assurance that the UK still intended to reach net zero by 2050. Arguably the biggest policy shift was regarding a nationwide ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles. The ban was set to come in in 2030, but Sunak delayed it an additional five years, pushing it back to 2035 (which was, in fact, the originally proposed year before former Prime Minister Boris Johnson brought it forward in 2020 as part of his Ten Point Plan). In another game of swings and roundabouts, now-Prime Minister Kier Starmers Labour Party pledged to reinstate the 2030 ban on ICE vehicles during the election campaign. It remains to be seen whether this promise will be actualised. Hasselbrinck considers that the policy shift is symptomatic of a broader struggle to deliver: The 2010s were the decade of promising, and the 2020s are the decade of starting to deliver on those promises. Environmental pledges are facing increasing tensions as they face trade-offs with other governmental priorities. The UKs U-turn on internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle sales ban by 2030 is an example of this. Among the reasons considered, the government pointed to the still-high upfront cost for lower-income households and the strategic choice not to rely on Chinese vehicle imports, which are set to dominate the market. The postponement of the 2030 ban marked one of the most significant policy changes of Sunaks time in office but was accompanied by another major postponement: the phasing out of fossil fuel boilers. The off-grid boiler ban was due to come in in 2026 but was postponed almost a decade to 2035. The postponement caused concern, with Greenpeaces director of policy Doug Parr commenting: Rowing back on home insulation and commitments to help people move away from gas will ensure we stay at the mercy of volatile fossil fuels and exploitative energy companies. It will also spook international investors who will be looking for genuine government commitment on the green economy, costing the UK jobs and opportunities. "Which governments are backpedalling on climate commitments?" was originally created and published by Just Auto, 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. Lt. Gov. Dahlstrom quits U.S. House race after finishing behind Peltola and Begich in the primary Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, a Republican U.S. House candidate, holds a campaign sign and waves to motorists in Eagle River on Aug. 20, 2024, Alaska's primary election day. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon) Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom, a Republican U.S. House candidate, holds a campaign sign and waves to motorists in Eagle River on Aug. 20, 2024, Alaska's primary election day. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon) Republican Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom is withdrawing from the race for the states lone U.S. House seat, she announced Friday via social media. With most votes counted, Dahlstrom is expected to finish third in the states top-four primary election, behind Democratic incumbent Mary Peltola and fellow Republican challenger Nick Begich. Her withdrawal means the expected No. 4 finisher, Republican Matt Salisbury, will likely advance to the general election alongside Begich and Peltola, as would Alaskan Independence Party candidate John Wayne Howe, who is currently No. 5 in the primary. In a prepared statement published on social media, Dahlstrom said she wanted to see Peltola voted out of office, but at this time, the best thing I can do to see that goal realized is to withdraw my name from the general election ballot and end my campaign. Elisa Rios, Peltolas campaign manager, did not directly address Dahlstroms withdrawal in a prepared statement issued after the fact but noted that Peltola received more than 50% of the vote in this weeks primary election. Alaskan Democrats, Republicans, nonpartisans/undeclared voted for fish, family, freedom, and Marys record as the incumbent in the race who actually delivered Willow, hundreds of millions of dollars for the rail belt energy grid, a ban on Russian trawled fish, and thousands of good-paying Alaskan jobs. We think voters will make the same choice this November, Rios said. Dahlstrom had been endorsed by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Speaker of the U.S. House Mike Johnson and other national Republicans, but she struggled to gain support among local Alaska Republicans. While the states Republican Party did not make an endorsement ahead of the primary, many local party groups endorsed Begich, who also has the support of the Freedom Caucus, a group of Republicans that generally support positions to the right of the establishment. In a statement posted on social media, Begich thanked Dahlstrom and said her decision means Republicans can move forward unified in the effort to replace Mary Peltola, who has proven by her alignment with the left that she is not the moderate she claimed to be. With 399 of 403 precincts reporting results as of Thursday afternoon and thousands of absentee ballots yet to be counted, Dahlstrom had 20% of the vote in this weeks primary election. Peltola had 50.4% of the vote, and Nick Begich had 27%. Salisbury, a little-known moderate Republican, is currently No. 4 with just 0.6% of the vote. I think she made the correct decision. I dont think she had a winning campaign message, he said of Dahlstroms decision to withdraw. Salisbury said he has no plans to withdraw, as Dahlstrom did. Its got me excited to move forward. I think its full steam ahead, he said. The current No. 5 candidate, John Wayne Howe, will now make the final four and advance to the general election. The head of the Alaskan Independence Party, Howe has previously and unsuccessfully run for statewide office. He said hes definitely interested in continuing his campaign and that he had thought it was possible that a candidate above him would quit, but he wasnt expecting it. The real difference is going to be whether or not we have any real debates, or if theyre just wishy-washy forums, and whether or not those of us on the less financially advantaged side are allowed on those debates, he said. Political observers are divided on the effect of Dahlstroms withdrawal. Jim Lottsfeldt, a consultant advising a pro-Peltola group, said it will cut down on the number of people attacking Peltola and is an acknowledgement that Republicans couldnt get their voters to use ranked choice voting. Matt Shuckerow, a consultant who has worked principally with Republican candidates, said he thinks the withdrawal will concentrate Republican votes on Begich. Its been fairly clear from the beginning that two Republicans running against one Democrat would be a tough path to victory, and Nancy Dahlstrom understood that, and frankly, I think Nick Begich does too, but thats why Nancy got out, and she deserves credit, Shuckerow said. He doesnt believe many voters will choose the lesser-known candidates who will join Peltola and Begich in the general election. Neither Howe nor Salisbury have raised or spent significant amounts of money, while Peltola has raised more than $7.5 million in support of her candidacy, and Begich has raised almost $1 million. Millions more is being spent by outside groups. Combined, Howe and Salisbury received about 1/20th the number of votes that Dahlstrom did in the primary. With that in mind, the Alaska Oil and Gas Associations candidate debate the first major event after the primary will be limited to only the two leaders. Theyre just going to carry on with Begich and Peltola. Itll just be the two of them, said Sarah Erkmann Ward of Blueprint AK, which is organizing the event on behalf of AOGA. Its a bit disheartening that the association doesnt believe that we have anything of value to add to their forum, Salisbury said. But at the same time, Im not hurt by it; it gives me an opportunity to meet Alaskans, to bring issues that I see to the forefront, and ultimately, I think theyll regret their decision. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Emmanuel Macron, President of France, speaks in the ballroom of Muenster's historic town hall at the award ceremony for the International Peace of Westphalia Prize. Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa French President Emmanuel Macron is holding meetings with leading representatives from across the political spectrum on Friday, as parties seek to form a government to overcome weeks of deadlock following parliamentary elections in early July. Early on Friday, Macron met with the left-wing New Popular Front (NPF) alliance, which has claimed a mandate to govern after topping the second round of voting for France's lower house, the National Assembly, on July 7. The NPF - consisting of the hard-left France Unbowed, the Socialists, the Communists and the Greens - has proposed civil servant Lucie Castets as its candidate for prime minister, but is almost 100 seats short of a majority in the chamber. Macron, whose centrist camp finished a surprise second in the vote ahead of the far-right National Rally, has yet to formally appoint a successor to outgoing Prime Minister Gabriel Attal. Attal has continued in a caretaker capacity, overseeing the Paris Olympics earlier this month, but pressure is rising on Macron to allow the formation of a new government. Ahead of the meetings on Friday, the leader of the Greens told the France Inter radio station that "there is no plan B instead of Lucie Castets." Manuel Bombard, chairman of France Unbowed, said that not appointing Castets would be proof of Macron's autocratic tendencies. Later on Friday, Macron is due to meet representatives of his own party, before holding talks with the right-wing Republicans and smaller factions. The president is also scheduled to meet National Rally representatives on Monday, as well as the leaders of the two parliamentary chambers. A new prime minister is expected to be appointed following the consultations, although no timeline has yet been announced. (Bloomberg) -- Emmanuel Macron kicked off a series of meetings with French political party leaders as the president prepares to name a new prime minister and end weeks of uncertainty after snap elections delivered a hung parliament. Most Read from Bloomberg First up on Friday was the leftist New Popular Front alliance, which won the biggest number of seats in the legislative vote and has claimed the right to propose a premier. Their candidate, Lucie Castets, told reporters after the meeting in Paris that she was willing to make compromises to govern, though an aide to the president said Macron was skeptical about choosing her as she would be vulnerable to a no-confidence motion in parliament. I stand ready today to build coalitions, to discuss with the other political forces to try to find a way to ensure the countrys stability and finally respond to the urgent needs expressed by the French people, she said, flanked by leaders of the parties in the alliance. Macron is also speaking with centrists, the center-right Republicans and the Radical Party on Friday. Before announcing his choice, he is due to hold further talks on Monday with far-right leaders, as well as the heads of the Senate and National Assembly. The presidents decision to call a snap vote after his group was trounced by the far right in European Parliament elections triggered a major selloff in French assets and led to weeks of political uncertainty. French stocks tanked relative to the rest of the European Union and have yet to recover. The spread of 10-year French debt over equivalent German bunds, a measure of perceived additional risks, has also barely declined. The representatives of the New Popular Front bringing together Socialists, Greens, Communists and the far-left France Unbowed told Macron they want an answer on Tuesday as to whether he will nominate Castets, Greens leader Marine Tondelier told reporters. Castets said the president had indicated only that his decision would be quick. The president, whose role it is to appoint a new prime minister, has said he wants parties that represent republican forces to build a broad majority from the political center, with Macron typically excluding the National Rally and France Unbowed from that group. Parliament can bring down a government via a no-confidence motion if a premier doesnt have enough support. This suggests that Castets, a civil servant and economist working at Paris City Hall, may not be a suitable candidate for Macron. Several other names have come up in recent weeks. Rising Socialist Karim Bouamrane, the media-savvy Socialist mayor of Saint-Ouen, a Parisian suburb, has unexpectedly emerged as a frontrunner in the media after his town hosted athletes during the Paris Olympics. The 51-year-old moderate, the son of a Moroccan stonemason, has gained attention for his criticism of the more radical France Unbowed. Despite the media buzz, Bouamrane has announced his support for Castets, and a Macron aide confirmed he wont be participating in the upcoming political meetings. Socialist Veteran Another name gaining traction is 61-year-old Bernard Cazeneuve. He served as prime minister from 2016 to 2017 under Socialist President Francois Hollande, the shortest tenure in the history of the Fifth Republic, which began in 1958. Often characterized as centrist-leaning, the former interior minister left the Socialist Party two years ago to found his own movement in protest against its alliance with France Unbowed. Moderate, Old-School Conservatives Macron may find it easier to appoint a moderate right-wing prime minister who could garner support from centrists, the right, and even the far right in the National Assembly, making the person less vulnerable to a no-confidence vote. Michel Barnier, a seasoned politician with a reputation for moderation, could be a strong candidate, with experience as a minister, EU commissioner, and the European Unions chief Brexit negotiator. The 73-year-old sought to represent the Republicans in the 2022 presidential election, but struggled to gain sufficient backing. Another possibility is Jean-Louis Borloo, also 73, a former lawmaker and minister under conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy. However, his prospects might be dimmed by a public rebuke from Macron, who once dismissed a report Borloo had prepared on improving deprived suburbs an initiative Macron had commissioned himself. Former Labor Minister Xavier Bertrand, 59, the Republican president of the northern region of Hauts-de-France, has also positioned himself as a potential contender. If one of these candidates were chosen, it would mark a surprising return to power for the party of Sarkozy. Yet, Macron has been gradually leaning in that direction. Since losing an absolute majority in parliament two years ago, the president has frequently relied on conservative lawmakers to pass key legislation. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Maddow Blog | Former Trump spokesperson shares insight into how and why he lies In April 2020, Stephanie Grisham stepped down as Donald Trumps White House press secretary. In August 2024, Grisham not only disavowed her former boss, she also spoke at the Democratic National Convention, telling attendees that the Republican nominee has no empathy, no morals and no fidelity to the truth. But there was another part of her remarks that stood out for me. Donald Trump "has no empathy, no morals, and no fidelity to the truth." Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham speaks at the DNC. Grisham, who resigned hours after Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, shares what she witnessed when the cameras pic.twitter.com/5bk9wG2Imo MSNBC (@MSNBC) August 20, 2024 [Trump] used to tell me, It doesnt matter what you say, Stephanie say it enough and people will believe you. But it does matter what you say matters, and what you dont say matters. At face value, the fact that Grisham was on the stage at all was extraordinary. Not only is Trumps former vice president withholding his support for the Republicans 2024 candidacy, and not only is Trumps former White House chief of staff condemning his former boss, but Trumps former White House press secretary and communications director appeared at the Democratic convention and explained how and why the Republican lies. But there was something familiar about what Grisham said during her remarks. As I noted in my new book, as Trumps first year in the White House neared an end, Billy Bush wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times. Bush was not an especially notable public figure at the time, but in the infamous Access Hollywood record, he was the one Trump bragged to about assaulting women. (When youre a star, they let you do it, the future president told Bush. You can do anything. Grab em by the p---y.) In his 2017 op-ed, Bush reflected on what hed learned about the then-president and shared an anecdote about a conversation hed had with Trump about inflating the ratings of his reality-television program. Bush wrote that Trump had told him privately, People will just believe you. You just tell them, and they believe you. Seven years later, Grisham said something eerily similar: [Trump] used to tell me, It doesnt matter what you say, Stephanie say it enough and people will believe you. In other words, what Trump privately told Billy Bush about his willingness to lie is effectively identical to what Trump privately told his former White House press secretary about his willingness to lie. Its a philosophy, for lack of a better word, rooted in the idea that fiction can simply overpower fact through relentless and shameless repetition. Why does the former president repeat transparent nonsense, over and over again? People close to him have already told us the answer. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Todays installment of campaign-related news items from across the country. * Though most national polling still shows a highly competitive presidential race, the latest national survey from Fairleigh Dickinson University found Vice President Kamala Harris with a seven-point lead over Donald Trump, 50% to 43%. (Click the link for information on the surveys methodology and margins of error.) * As difficult as this might be to believe, Politico reported that Harris 2024 campaign picked up more donors in its first 10 days than President Joe Bidens campaign received its entire 15-month span. * In North Carolina, the latest High Point University/SurveyUSA poll found Harris narrowly leading Trump in the Tar Heel State, 46% to 45%. In the last half-century, the Democratic ticket has only won North Carolina twice, but both parties see the state as a 2024 battleground. (Click the link for information on the surveys methodology and margins of error.) * In related news, the same poll found Democratic state Attorney General Josh Stein with a surprisingly big lead over right-wing Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson in North Carolinas gubernatorial race, 48% to 34%. (Click the link for information on the surveys methodology and margins of error.) * After needlessly and publicly trashing Gov. Brian Kemp earlier in the month, Trump is apparently adopting a new posture. In a message posted to his social media platform, the former president thanked the Georgia Republican for all of your help and support in Georgia, where a win is so important to the success of our Party and, most importantly, our Country. * NBC News reported that Michigan officials havent found evidence of Elon Musks America PAC violating state campaign laws, despite a recent controversy surrounding the PACs voter registration practices. * Former Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey formally resigned this week, temporarily shrinking the Senate Democratic conference to 50 members. George Helmy, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphys former top aide, will fill the vacancy, though as the Associated Press reported, once the November elections are certified, Helmy will resign and the governor will name the winner of the election to the seat. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelas top prosecutor summoned opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez over the uploading of voting records that appeared to show that he won by a landslide in last months presidential election. Most Read from Bloomberg The summons by Attorney General Tarek William Saab comes after Saab also opened a criminal investigation into Gonzalez on Aug. 5 for incitement to disobey laws, insurrection and misinformation, among other offenses. Gonzalez, who stood against President Nicolas Maduro in the July 28 vote, called on Friday for Venezuelans to unite to defend the nations freedom and sovereignty. In a post in X, he asked the international community to remain firm in its demands for transparency and respect of electoral results. Gonzalez has been in hiding for weeks. Venezuelas electoral authority, which is controlled by Maduro, said the president was reelected with 51.95% of votes cast. That claim has been contested by the opposition, which says it has evidence from more than 80% of the voting records showing a win for Gonzalez. In the days after the election, the opposition uploaded copies of hundreds of voting records to a website where citizens can check results from their voting centers. The US and other nations have said Gonzalez was the rightful winner, citing the tallies the opposition made available online. While Venezuelas electoral authority has yet to publicly present the records, the nations top court certified Maduros win on Thursday, after saying it analyzed voting data supplied by the electoral authority and several political parties. The court is made up of Maduro appointees and has been loyal to him during his presidency. Some Maduro allies, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Colombian President Gustavo Petro, have urged the government to publish the voting tallies. (Updates with Gonzalez comment in third paragraph) Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Beneath the deluge of election news, two remarkable statistics made smaller headlines this past week. First, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed that last month was the hottest July on record, following the hottest June on record, in what is so far the hottest year on record. Second, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that, in the first half of 2024, the U.S. added more electrical generation capacity than they have in two decades: 20.2 gigawatts, with another 42.6 gigawatts planned for the second half of the year. You might be inclined to interpret this as good news: After all, 59 percent of that new capacity seems to be coming from solar power. But this is being added to what existing plants already generate. Existing plants scheduled for retirementcoal, natural gasarent being phased out as quickly as you might expect. In fact, coal and natural gas plant retirements slowed in this same period, with only about 5.1 gigawatts retired as opposed to 9.2 in the same period last year. The current electrical generation boom, Bloomberg reports, seems largely to be responding to the increased demand from data centers and artificial intelligence. Liza Featherstone has previously written at TNR about the staggering environmental toll from artificial intelligence, including so-called generative A.I.you know, the awkward-creepy chatbots that sometimes deliver an eerily coherent answer thats fit for a fifth graders science paper, and other times spit out utter gibberish. (Or the image tool that allowed Donald Trump to claim that Taylor Swift had endorsed him for president. She hadnt.) The understandable fixation with the cultural and political consequences of this kind of technology, Liza wrote in March, risks obscuring the more direct, physical problems with the technology, like its rapacious water and electrical consumption. The International Energy Agencys predictions for A.I. energy use by 2026 would be the equivalent of adding a new heavily industrialized country, like Sweden or Germany, to the planet. Simultaneously, Liza pointed out, data centers will be sucking up raw materials that are urgently needed for the clean energy transition: like lithium, for example. As the world was baking this summer, Big Tech was doing its darndest to kill any goodwill people might have for its A.I. projects. In June, Meta notified European users that its privacy policy was changing, allowing the company, in the words of the nonprofit organization that subsequently filed complaints in 11 European countries, to use years of personal posts, private images or online tracking data for an undefined AI technology that can ingest personal data from any source and share any information with undefined third parties with no option of ever having it removed. (Meta has been training A.I. on U.S. users public posts for a while now.) Microsoft A.I. CEO Mustafa Suleyman then did one better. In an interview later that month, he insisted that anything on the open web was fair game, counting as freewarea statement many understandably found exploitative and hypocritical. During the Olympics, Google ran a dystopian ad in which a father, instead of helping his track-and-field-obsessed daughter compose her own fan letter to her Olympic hero, had Googles generative A.I. tool, Gemini, help her instead. Viewers found it distasteful, and Google pulled the ad. And it almost goes without saying that Elon Musks A.I. venture, Grok-2, was a bust: Mere weeks ago, lacking appropriate content controls, it quickly flooded the social media site now known as X with violent and sexual images of Disney and other copyrighted cartoon characters. So here we are, in a record-hot summer in a record-hot year, with coal plants being kept online in part to meet the increased demand from bumbling A.I. technology. It would be one thing if that demand were coming from, say, the sudden adoption of electric vehicles by tens of millions of Americans. Its another thing entirely if the energy transition were to be slowed by Big Tech stealing peoples personal life updates or generating graphic images of Goofy. Good News/Bad News A federal judge ruled that the National Marine Fisheries Service during the Trump administration did not properly account for the risks from oil spills to endangered species in the Gulf of Mexico, and that the federal government has to do more to protect marine life from offshore drilling. Akielly Hu at Grist reviews the many signs that the Supreme Courts overturning of the Chevron doctrine is already starting to slow or reverse the implementation of climate and environmental policies, such as the U.S. Air Force now saying they now cant be required to clean up the drinking water they contaminated with PFAS. Stat of the Week 1.6 degrees Celsius Limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levelsfor years considered a vital goal for avoiding climate-related disastersis going to be very, very hard, a new study says; the new best-case scenario may be 1.6 degrees. What Im Reading Heres how much cropland could be freed up if Americans ate half as much meat TNR has run lots of pieces on the environmental cost of meat consumption. But a new study shows that cutting meat consumption by half might free up land that altogether would be about the size of South Dakota: The organization argues that if those acres werent used to grow crops, they could instead be transformed into carbon sinks or used to restore threatened ecosystems. That would deliver climate benefits on top of the reduction of animal agricultures more direct emissions sources: manure and cow burps. The U.S. currently devotes a tremendous amount of land to agriculture: Over 60 percent of land in the contiguous U.S. is used for agriculture, and 21 percent of that is cropland. A majority of the nations cropland78 percentis used to raise crops that are primarily used to feed animals. Read Frida Garzas full report at Grist. This article first appeared in Life in a Warming World, a weekly TNR newsletter authored by deputy editor Heather Souvaine Horn. Sign up here. Georgetown University From Washington, D.C.: Georgetowns Master of Science in Business Analytics Class of 2023 that graduated in December earned an average base salary of $123,268 and an average salary increase of 38%, according to the programs first employment report. Seventy-six percent of students in the class changed jobs within six months of graduation, which marks a 12-percentage-point increase from those who intended to change careers at the beginning of the program (64%). Georgetown MSBA students gain the analytical skills, tools, and expertise that employers value, and we are pleased to see their hard work reflected in this years employment report, says Christy Murray, associate dean and managing director of the McDonough School of Business Career Center. As an online program designed for working professionals, this years report showcases their commitment to balancing work and academics while embracing career management, ensuring they achieved their goals within months of graduation. The top industries for MSBA students were a tie between consulting, financial services, and technology at 19.6%, in addition to a range of positions in government (14.1%) and nonprofit (7.6%). The top employers for McDonough graduates included Accenture, Amazon, American Express, Bank of America, Booz Allen Hamilton, Capital One, ClickFluent Consulting, Deloitte, Federal Reserve District Banks, Guidehouse, IBM, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, pH Partners, PwC, Raytheon, S&P Global, and the U.S. Department of Defense, among others. Of the students in the December graduating class, those with four or more years of work experience reported an average base salary of $140,188 with an average salary increase of 39.1%. Graduates with less than four years of work experience reported an average base salary of $105,139 and an average salary increase of 37.6%. Read more University leaders, distinguished alumni and architects break ground on the Haslam College of Business expansion From Knoxville, Tennessee: Leaders from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, gathered August 21 to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new building to expand the Haslam College of Business. The ambitious project will meet the infrastructure and academic goals of the business school as its tremendous growth continues. The college, one of the leading business schools in the nation, is now the largest college at UT by undergraduate enrollment. The new building, scheduled to open in fall 2027, will support the colleges burgeoning student and faculty populations. Over the past decade, undergraduate enrollment in the college has increased by more than 100% (from 3,800 students to more than 9,000), while masters program enrollment has grown by 35% over the last five years. Graduate and executive education class sizes are also surging. Story continues The new building will serve more than 10,000 students, faculty, staff and guests weekly. It will be a model to promote collaboration among students, instructors and industry partners. This new building is a part of a physical transformation happening across campus a transformation that reflects the progress were seeing across our university, says Chancellor Donde Plowman. More students than ever want to be Volunteers. Because of the innovative and wide-ranging support they receive on campus, more students are earning their degrees and that is great news, because more UT graduates is good for the state, good for business and good for people. Read more Porto Business School launches MBA Dual Degree: Earn two diplomas in less than two years From Porto, Portugal: Porto Business School announces the launch of its MBA Dual Degree, an innovative program that offers candidates the opportunity to graduate with an MBA, as well as an Executive Masters or postgraduate program. The program lasts less than two years (20 months), with participants completing an additional year of academic studies post-MBA, helping them to expand their career options by focusing on two distinct yet connected fields of study. MBA Dual Degree candidates will graduate with a versatile set of skills that lets them easily transition into different sectors. Students will take on projects in two different fields, applying their academic learning to real-world situations. This enables them to improve their career flexibility in a rapidly evolving job market. Read more DONT MISS YALE SOM & VIRGINIA DARDEN WELCOME NEW MBA CLASSES TO CAMPUS The post Grads Of This Top B-Schools Biz Analytics Program Earned An Average Salary Over $120K appeared first on Poets&Quants. A 32-year-old man is facing the possibility of life in prison after he reportedly shot a man in the back of the head with a pellet gun, officials announced Thursday. Prosecutors, in a press release from the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office, say Joshua Steven Morales was charged with one count of attempted murder after he fired on the victim as he was pumping gas at a Speedway gas station in Chatsworth. The incident unfolded on Aug. 20 around 6:30 a.m., authorities said. Authorities added that the victim, who was treated for non-life-threatening injuries, did not know Morales. Our thoughts are with the victim and his family following this senseless and tragic incident, said District Attorney Gascon. No one should ever have to worry about being randomly attacked while simply going about their daily lives. This cowardly act of violence is shocking and unacceptable. Our office is committed to working tirelessly to ensure that justice is served for the victim and his loved ones. VIDEO: Woman in Southern California goes on violent rampage against firefighter, police Prosecutors requested that the 32-year-old be held on $1,045,000 bail. If convicted as charged, Morales could face a maximum of life in prison, authorities noted. The case is being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 accused of faking death and fleeing US to avoid rape charges will stand trial, Utah judge rules SALT LAKE CITY (AP) A man accused of faking his own death and fleeing the U.S. to avoid rape charges will stand trial, a judge in Utah ruled Thursday. District Judge Barry Lawrence ruled during Nicholas Rossis preliminary hearing that prosecutors had presented enough evidence to warrant a jury trial. RELATED: Utah judge drops one charge against man accused of faking death Prosecutors say Rossi, 37, raped a 26-year-old former girlfriend after an argument in Salt Lake County in 2008. In a separate case, he is accused of raping a 21-year-old woman in Orem, Utah, that same year and was not identified as a suspect for about a decade due to a backlog of DNA test kits at the Utah State Crime Lab. His attorneys at the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press on Thursday evening. Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, has used several aliases and has said he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who had never set foot on American soil and was being framed. The American fugitive grew up in foster homes in Rhode Island and had returned to the state before allegedly faking his death and fleeing the country. An obituary published online claimed Rossi died on Feb. 29, 2020, of late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma. MORE: Man maintains hes not rape suspect who police say faked his death Authorities and his former foster family doubted his death. Rossi was arrested in Scotland in 2021 after being recognized at a Glasgow hospital during treatment for COVID-19. He lost an extradition appeal in the country in December. Utah County court documents show that Rossi is also accused of sexual assault, harassment and possible kidnapping in Rhode Island, Ohio and Massachusetts. 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 accused of faking death and fleeing US to avoid rape charges will stand trial, judge rules A man accused of faking his own death and fleeing the US to avoid rape charges will stand trial, a judge in Utah ruled Thursday. District Judge Barry Lawrence said during Nicholas Rossis preliminary hearing that prosecutors had presented enough evidence to warrant a jury trial, KTVX-TV reported. Prosecutors say Rossi, 37, raped a 26-year-old former girlfriend after an argument in Salt Lake County in 2008. In a separate case, he is accused of raping a 21-year-old woman in Orem, Utah, that same year and was not identified as a suspect for about a decade due to a backlog of DNA test kits at the Utah State Crime Lab. His attorneys at the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Associated Press on Thursday evening. Rossi, whose legal name is Nicholas Alahverdian, has used several aliases and has said he was an Irish orphan named Arthur Knight who had never set foot on American soil and was being framed. The American fugitive grew up in foster homes in Rhode Island and had returned to the state before allegedly faking his death and fleeing the country. An obituary published online claimed Rossi died on Feb. 29, 2020, of late-stage non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Authorities and his former foster family doubted his death. Rossi was arrested in Scotland in 2021 after being recognized at a Glasgow hospital during treatment for COVID-19. He lost an extradition appeal in December. Utah County court documents show that Rossi is also accused of sexual assault, harassment and possible kidnapping in Rhode Island, Ohio and Massachusetts, KTVX-TV reported. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com A man accused of igniting Californias fourth-largest blaze in its history, the Park Fire, pleaded not guilty Thursday during his arraignment on a charge of arson as prosecutors allege he lit a car on fire near popular swimming spots and pushed it down a 60-foot embankment. Ronnie Dean Stout II pleaded not guilty in Butte Superior Court to arson of an inhabited structure or property. He also denied enhancements of arson with special circumstances and three enhancements related to prior strike convictions, according to court records. Prosecutors say the burning car started a blaze thats destroyed homes and prompted widespread evacuation orders starting last month. The Park Fire has burned 429,460 acres and is 61% contained as of Thursday morning after it started July 24 in Upper Bidwell Park east of Chico, according to Cal Fire. All evacuations have been lifted where the fire spread in Tehama, Plumas, Shasta and Butte counties, Cal Fire said. Mike Ramsey, Butte County District Attorney, holds papers he filed against alleged Park Fire arson suspect Ronnie Dean Stout II in July after he was arraigned in Butte Superior Court in Oroville. Stout did not enter a plea as he told investigators he didnt start the fire on purpose, according to Ramsey. There are indications Stout was intoxicated prior to the incident, said Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey during a news conference after Stouts initial court appearance. Ramsey did not say the defendants blood alcohol level because he was not arrested at the scene. Witnesses saw him drinking near the watering hole, Ramsey said. Another person saw the defendant driving extraordinarily recklessly and with speed, Ramsey said. Stout, according to prosecutors, has two prior convictions under Californias Three Strikes law. If convicted of arson, he could be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. He was convicted in 2001 of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 in Butte County, where he was sentenced to serve a year in jail. In 2002, he was convicted in Kern County of robbery and assault with a deadly weapon causing great bodily injury. The latter resulted in a 20-year prison sentence, according to Ramsey and Kern Superior Court documents. While on parole after his Kern County conviction, Stout was convicted of a DUI after he drove under the influence near Upper Bidwell Park, Ramsey said. Stout is scheduled to appear Sept. 19 for a preliminary hearing, court records say. LAKE WYLIE, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) Deputies are seeking a man accused of peeping on a woman in a Publix bathroom. According to the York County Sheriffs Office, the incident occurred at 5 p.m. on April 19 at the Publix grocery store on S.C. Hwy. 274. Thats when a female customer entered a restroom stall, and noticed someone wearing white Nike high-top sneakers in the next stall. Rock Hill proposes reducing downtown parking to make area more walkable The individual appeared to be sitting on the toilet and placed his cellphone underneath the stall and began turning the camera around until the female customer was in view. The alleged victim exited the restroom immediately and notified the stores staff. The suspect was then reportedly seen by the female customer and staff exiting the womens restroom. Photos of the suspect show him wearing a blue T-shirt, shorts and a necklace. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) The man accused of leading police on a chase before crashing into a train on a local bridge appeared in court Friday, just one week after the incident. Johnathon Brown, 32, was in Franklin Municipal Court on Friday afternoon, where he waived his preliminary hearing. His case now heads to Warren County Common Pleas Court. Man charged after multi-county pursuit, train crash, standoff in Miamisburg Brown appeared in court on three felony charges: fleeing, receiving stolen property and obstructing official business. Those charges are tied to a multi-county chase that shut down the city of Miamisburg last Friday. Around 2 p.m. on Aug. 16, Franklin police say they tried to conduct a traffic stop on Brown as he was headed onto I-75. Police chased Brown across county lines into Miamisburg and onto the Linden Avenue bridge. Thats when Brown is accused of crashing into a train and refusing to exit his vehicle, causing an hours-long standoff. Earlier that day, Butler Township police say they received a tip that Brown was at a hotel with a minor previously reported missing. Brown allegedly fled in a stolen truck while two minors were taken into protective custody. During his preliminary hearing today, Brown asked for lower bond, with his attorney saying he had been in a treatment program. The judge denied his request. Brown will now have his case transferred to Warren County Common Pleas Court. According to jail records, his next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 27. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. An Ohio man charged in a crash that left his passenger dead in Salem Township last year was arrested this week, the Westmoreland County District Attorneys Office announced Friday. Ricardo Hardy, who is charged with homicide by vehicle, was taken into custody in Ohio this week. On July 25, 2023, Pennsylvania state troopers responded to a three-vehicle crash on Route 22 near Route 819. Police said that Hardy was the driver of an SUV involved in the crash. A juvenile, who was a passenger in the SUV, was taken to a hospital in critical condition, where he died three days later. Witnesses told police that the SUV driven by Hardy was reportedly seen speeding on Route 22 as he approahced a four-way intersection. State police then performed an accident reconstruction and spoke to medics on scene who took Hardy to the hospital. He allegedly told medics that he believed he hydroplaned before the collision. Following an investigation, troopers believe Hardy was recklessly operating his vehicle prior to the crash. Troopers said they determined he was driving between 80-82 miles per hour at the time of the crash and was driving too fast for weather conditions. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) A 23-year-old man was arrested on active warrants for assault on a peace officer and other crimes on Friday, Aug. 23, according to the El Paso County Constable Office Precinct 3. According to the Constables Office, Jordan Anthony Ramirez, 23, was arrested on personal recognizance bond revocation warrants for assault on a peace officer ($5,000 bond); obstruction or retaliation ($3,500 bond); and impersonating a public servant ($5,000 bond). Ramirez was taken into custody at the 1000 block of Tays St. in Segundo Barrio near Downtown and was booked into the El Paso County Jail with no further 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 KTSM 9 News. A man is facing charges in connection with a shooting in East Liberty last month. Officers were called to the 6200 block of Broad Street at around 10 p.m. on July 8 for a seven-round ShotSpotter alert. They found a woman who had been shot three times in the leg. >> Woman shot in East Liberty Donnie Green, 38, was taken into custody just before 3 p.m. on Thursday in the 4900 block of Steubenville Pike, Pittsburgh police said. Green, from Pittsburgh, is charged with criminal attempt homicide, persons not to possess, aggravated assault and carrying a firearm without a license. Green was taken to the Allegheny County Jail. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Shocking video shows moment good Samaritan is shot while trying to help a man 8 students, driver injured in school bus crash in Washington County Man dies after being stabbed several times in Penn Hills VIDEO: Duquesne Light crews surprise teen cancer survivor with gifts after he took an interest in their work DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts Florida Man A Florida man is facing 20 counts of obscenity for allegedly creating and distributing AI-generated child pornography, highlighting the danger and ubiquity of generative AI being used for nefarious reasons. Phillip Michael McCorkle was arrested last week while he was working at a movie theater in Vero Beach, Florida, according to TV station CBS 12 News. A crew from the TV station captured the arrest, which made for dramatic video footage due to law enforcement leading away the uniform-wearing McCorkle from the theater in handcuffs. The investigation kicked off after Indian River County Sheriff's Office received tips that McCorkle was prompting an AI image generator to make child sexual imagery and distributing it via the social media app Kik. McCorkle's arrest was part of a county operation taking down people possessing child pornography, but the generative AI wrinkle in this particular arrest shows how technology is generating new avenues for crime and child abuse. What Safeguards The increasing tide of generated AI child sexual abuse imagery has prompted federal, state and local lawmakers to push legislation to make this type of porn illegal, but it's not clear how effectively it can be stopped. Last year, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received 4,700 reports of generated AI child porn, with some criminals even using generative AI to make deepfakes of real children to extort them. A 2023 study from Stanford University also revealed that hundreds of child sex abuse images were found in widely-used generative AI image data sets. Put it all together, and you've got a seemingly uncontrollable problem. "The content that weve seen, we believe is actually being generated using open source software, which has been downloaded and run locally on peoples computers and then modified," Internet Watch Foundation chief technology officer Dan Sexton told The Guardian last year. "And that is a much harder problem to fix." More on AI porn: Predators Are AI-generating "Really Evil" Child Sex Abuse Images, Experts Warn Grant Cardone The things that have been traditionally thought of as integral parts of the middle-class American dream are no longer serving this swath of the population, said Grant Cardone, private equity fund manager and real estate investor. The very things that symbolize the middle class cars, homes and college are strangling, suffocating and dismissing the middle class as a wealth class, he told GOBankingRates. Instead of spending money on these cars, homes and degrees, Cardone believes there is one thing the middle class should be spending their money on. Read Next: Grant Cardone Asks How Politicians Making $100K Suddenly Become Multimillionaires See More: 6 Money Moves You Must Make If You Want To Be Like the Wealthy Earning passive income doesn't need to be difficult. You can start this week. The Middle Class Should Buy Assets That Create Wealth What differentiates how the middle class and the wealthy spend their money is that the wealthy use their money to make more money. The wealthy dont buy stuff to symbolize wealth, Cardone wrote on X. They invest in assets in the beginning to create wealth later they borrow against the assets increase to buy stuff. Cardones go-to asset for creating wealth is real estate not the home you live in, but a property that you can immediately make money off of. Real estate is perfect because real estate distributes cash flow every month, as opposed to AT&T stock [that] only generates cash flow every quarter, he told GOBankingRates. While investing in real estate might seem out of reach for the middle class, its possible with discipline and proper planning. Lets say Im working for a company, I make $60,000 a year and I get a bonus at Christmastime of $5,000. Do not use the $5,000 to improve the quality of your life or buy presents, Cardone said. Invest your Christmas money in an asset, a $100,000, four-unit [rental property] that will pay you $2,000 a month next year. More From GOBankingRates This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Grant Cardone: The No. 1 Thing the Middle Class Doesnt Spend Enough Money On LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A man was arrested nearly two years after a deadly suspected DUI crash in Pahrump, according to Nevada State police. Nevada State Police Highway Patrols Traffic Homicide Unit arrested Damian Berry, 41, of Pahrump on Aug. 8 on a charge of vehicular homicide. On Sept. 11, the Nye County Sheriffs office responded to a roll-over crash involving a 1993 Chevrolet Classic near Bourbon Street and Hall Avenue in Pahrump. Both occupants of the vehicle were unrestrained and medical personnel pronounced one of the occupants, identified as Michael Kilgore, 53, dead at the scene. The other occupant, Berry, was taken to a local hospital. At the hospital, Berry showed signs of impairment and admitted to drinking. Police said Berry had a BAC of .14 and had marijuana in his system when he arrived at the hospital, police said. Due to limited information at the time of the crash, investigators relied on DNA forensics to identify who was driving and who was the passenger. Through extensive investigation efforts, police were able to confirm that Berry was the driver of the Chevrolet, NSP said. An arrest warrant was issued for Berry on July 20 and on Aug. 8 he was arrested in Las Vegas. On Aug. 15 was taken to the Nye County Detention Center where he remains in custody with a $500,000 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 KLAS. Man arrested in sex sting accused of trying to give money, Wendys french fries for sex acts: Report SALEM, Ohio (WKBN) A man was arrested by the Mahoning County Human Trafficking Task Force in a sex sting on Thursday. Read next: Warren mayor lays out plan to save Trumbull Regional hospital According to the report, Jonathan Collins, 47 of Norwalk, Ohio was arrested in Salem after Task Force Agents and police officers conducted an undercover sting operation targeting those attempting to buy sex online. The report stated in February 2024 an undercover Task Force Agent posted an ad on a known website used for the solicitation of prostitution. The report said that Collins responded to the posted ad and requested acts of sexual conduct from a person whom he believed to be a 15-year-old girl and her adult mother. Reports said that on Thursday, Collins again responded to the posted ad and requested two acts of sexual conduct from only the child, while agreeing to pay $160.00 for the acts. Reports said that in the conversation, he was asked to bring Wendys french fries. The report said that Collins brought both the money and the french fries to the meeting. Reports said that Collins requested to take a picture and videos of the juvenile engaged in the sexual conduct with him. Reports said that when Collins arrived at the meeting location, he was arrested by Task Force Agents as well as assisting officers and troopers. Reports said that Collins let authorities check his cell phone. Reports said that Collins was booked into the Columbiana County Jail on charges of compelling prostitution (F3), attempted pandering obscenity involving a minor (F3), attempted unlawful sexual conduct with a minor (F4), importuning (F5), and possessing criminal tools (F5). Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Man arrested years after 9-year-old GA boy sleeping in his own bed killed in drive-by shooting Its been three years since a 9-year-old boy was murdered while sleeping in his bed, and now a man is in custody. Nigel Brown was asleep inside his Albany home when someone opened fire while driving by around 11 p.m. on Aug. 8, 2021. He was shot in the head. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The family of Nigel Brown is dealing with grief and suffering because some coward on the streets of Albany, Georgia took his life, Albany Police Chief Michael Persley said after the shooting. This was a senseless killing. On Wednesday, Albany police arrested 35-year-old Gernardric Deangelo Pittman and charged him with murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. TRENDING STORIES: Its unclear if the shooting was random or if the home was targeted. Police say they expect to make more arrests. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (AP) A Virginia man facing two counts of first-degree murder in the killings of his girlfriends parents has died in a Virginia jail. Authorities say they found Nicholas Giampa dead in a Fairfax County jail cell on Thursday, where he had been incarcerated since 2018. Fairfax County police are investigating the 24-year-old mans death, though they say preliminarily they do not believe foul play was involved. At the time of the killings, the girl told police she and Giampa formed a suicide pact after her family forbade their relationship. Judge denies move to seal papers in alleged neo-Nazis trial A man charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killings of his girlfriends parents was found dead Thursday in a Virginia jail, authorities said. Fairfax County police said Nicholas Giampa, 24, was pronounced dead at about 2 a.m. in his cell at the county jail, where he had been incarcerated since 2018. Police said they are investigating Giampas death but said that preliminarily they do not believe foul play was involved. Giampa was arrested in December 2017 in connection with the fatal shootings of Scott Fricker, 48, and Buckley Kuhn-Fricker, 43, in their Virginia home. The case attracted national attention because of evidence Giampa espoused neo-Nazi philosophies. Neighbors said the then-teen also mowed a swastika into a community field. At the time of the killings, Kuhn-Frickers 16-year-old daughter told police she and Giampa had formed a suicide pact after her family forbade their relationship, discussing wounding her parents if they tried to intervene, according to court records. Officials said the Frickers objected to the relationship after learning that Giampa associated with neo-Nazis online, as well as the fact that he had been charged as a juvenile with possessing child sexual abuse images. Fricker and Kuhn-Fricker were shot after finding Giampa in their daughters bedroom. The daughter told police she had given Giampa a security code that allowed him to enter the home after her parents had gone to bed. According to police, Giampa reached for a handgun and shot Fricker and Kuhn-Fricker after the daughter unlocked her bedroom door. The daughter told police that Giampa put a gun to her head, but it did not fire. Giampa, then 17, then shot himself in the forehead. He was hospitalized for weeks but survived the injury. At a 2018 hearing, psychologists testified that brain damage from the self-inflicted gunshot wound rendered Giampa unable to understand trial proceedings fully. At least one psychologist testified that Giampa would eventually be able to recover sufficiently to participate in his defense. Giampas jury trial was postponed three times and had been scheduled to take place in January, according to online court records. 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. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Man charged with armed kidnapping of rideshare driver he forced to drive from Texas to Florida, federal prosecutors say A Texas man is accused of kidnapping a ride share driver at gunpoint and forcing them to drive more than 1,000 miles to Miami, the US Attorneys Office for the Southern District of Florida said in a news release this week. Miguel Alejandro Pastran Hernandez, 23, is charged with one count of kidnapping, one count of carjacking with the intent to cause death and serious bodily harm, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday. The complaint doesnt identify the victim as a driver for Lyft but in a statement to CNN, the rideshare company said, We have reached out to the driver to offer our support, permanently banned the riders account from the Lyft platform, and are assisting law enforcement with their investigation, the statement continued. The terrifying experience began on Friday, August 16, around 10:30 p.m., in Arlington, Texas, when Pastran Hernandez ordered a ride using a rideshare application, prosecutors allege. The driver, who is not named in the complaint, arrived at the ride location where Pastran Hernandez pulled out a gun, according to an affidavit from an FBI agent in support of the criminal complaint. The victim could hear Pastran Hernandez loading the chamber of the firearm, the complaint states. Pastran Hernandez reportedly told the driver he had other firearms in a suitcase he brought with him. The defendant threatened to tie up the driver and stuff him in the trunk, the complaint states. But the victim begged to be allowed to drive hoping to find an opportunity to escape. In response, Pastran Hernandez ordered the driver to take him to Florida, the complaint explains. Arlington is located in northeast Texas between Dallas and Fort Worth. The drive from Arlington to Miami is approximately 1,300 miles long. During the trip, Pastran Hernandez also discovered the driver had their own firearm and ammunition in the car and he kept it in his possession for the remainder of the trip, according to the complaint. The driver told officials they followed the mans orders because they did not feel in control of the vehicle, according to the complaint. The driver continued to drive to Florida where the pair arrived on Saturday night, officials said. Plans for a second kidnapping? When they arrived in South Florida, Pastran Hernandez discussed his plan to kidnap another victim for ransom, the news release said. The driver remained in Pastran Hernandezs custody until Monday, August 19, and was then ordered to drive to a store in Hialeah to buy supplies for the second kidnapping, officials said. While at the store, the victim fled from Pastran Hernandez who was later arrested and found in possession of a bag containing a loaded firearm, the news release said. According to an affidavit from an FBI agent supporting the complaint, Pastran Hernandez admitted to law enforcement that he kidnapped the victim at gunpoint, taking his firearm and making him drive to Florida. An attorney for Pastran Hernandez did not immediately respond to CNNs request for comment. Federal prosecutors said they could not comment further on Pastran Hernandezs motive or whether he knew anyone in Miami. In the statement to CNN Friday, a Lyft spokesperson said the behavior described in this case is reprehensible and has no place in the Lyft community or anywhere in society. Safety is fundamental to Lyft, the spokesperson added. Lyft provides proactive safety support for drivers, according to the companys website, including monitoring rides for unusual activity, like long stops or route deviations. If we notice anything off about your ride, well contact you to see if you need help, the driver safety support page states. In recent years, a number of rideshare drivers have been killed while on the job. A former Afghan interpreter who immigrated with his family to America in 2021 was shot and killed while working a shift in Washington, DC, last year. Earlier this year, a former Atlanta police officer was arrested on suspicion of fatally shooting a Lyft driver he believed was trying to kidnap him. Pastran Hernandez is being held in a Miami federal prison, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator. A pre-trial detention hearing is scheduled for Monday, according to the news release. An arraignment hearing is scheduled for September 3. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Man charged for attempted murder after trying to run over officer HONOLULU (KHON2) On August 19, 2024, police in Makakilo spotted a stolen vehicle. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You The car later stopped in Ewa Beach, where officers approached on foot. The driver then accelerated toward an officer, striking him and causing injuries. The driver was arrested and faced charges of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer and unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle. Family of missing woman, Mischa, tells what they know The male passenger was also arrested, facing charges of unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle and promoting dangerous drugs. As of August 21, 2024, the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney charged the driver, 40-year-old Jeffrey Moral Pascua, with attempted murder in the first degree and unauthorized control of a propelled vehicle in the first degree. Bail has been set at $500,000. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news The investigation is still 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 KHON2. Man charged after attempting to steal newly delivered iPad in North Haven NORTH HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) A porch pirate was arrested by North Haven police Thursday after a homeowner caught him trying to steal a package. Heriberto Perez-Cabral, 26, of Bronx, New York, was charged with fourth-degree criminal attempt to commit larceny. He was given a $2,500 bond. CT State police searching for card skimmer suspects Police said the suspect ran from a Corey Road home after the homeowner confronted him while trying to steal a package containing a new iPad. He left the package and was seen getting into a dark Honda with tinted windows parked down the street. Officers located the vehicle on Clintonville Road and took Perez-Cabral into custody. Man in court after baby found in Milford motel dies Police said there has been a rash of similar crimes in the region lately. They suggest anyone ordering electronics to use caution because criminals may be tracking the deliveries and planning to steal them when delivered. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Man charged in connection to robbery, fatal shooting in Kansas City KANSAS CITY, Mo. A man has been charged in connection with a robbery and fatal shooting at the BP gas station on Linwood and Indiana. It happened Wednesday evening at the BP gas station right across the street from Central High School. FOX4 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Lorenzo Johnson is facing second-degree murder and first-degree murder, along with unlawful possession of a weapon and firearm Hes also charged with resisting arrest and three counts of armed criminal action. Court records filed late last night indicate that KCPD found the victim at the gas pump and the medical examiner ruled his death a homicide. The Jackson County Prosecutors Office said Johnson committed robberies in the area earlier that day. View the latest headlines from Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas at fox4kc.com They also said he took the victims car after the shooting. Later, officers were able to force the car off the road while Johnson was driving. He attempted to run away but was caught and taken into custody. Johnson is currently being held 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 FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. Man charged in death of Mississippi woman denied bond again FORREST COUNTY, Miss. (WHLT) Bond has been denied again for the man accused of killing a Mississippi woman. Bricen Rivers has been charged with first-degree murder, grand larceny and tampering with evidence in Forrest County. The case has been turned over to the Forrest County grand jury. During Rivers court appearance on Friday, Lt. Daniel Benoit testified that investigators with the Harrison County Sheriffs Office spoke with Rivers brother, who told investigators that Bricen confessed that he killed Lauren Johansen. Former USM nursing student may have been killed in Forrest County According to prosecutors, Rivers stole Johansens vehicle, tried to clean it to hide evidence, and took her body across county lines. Investigators said new evidence suggested that Rivers killed Johansen in Forrest County. She was found deceased in the back of a car in Harrison County. Rivers, who was Johansens ex-boyfriend, allegedly beat her to death on July 2. Forrest County Sheriff Charlie Sims said investigators are looking for surveillance video along South 11th and South 10th Avenue in Hattiesburg, as well as the Highway 42 bypass into Petal. Rivers bond in Harrison County for a drug trafficking charge in 2022, as well as kidnapping and stalking charges in 2023, were previously revoked. Rivers is being held at the Forrest County Jail. 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. SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) A man was convicted on Thursday after a 3 day trial convicting him of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and other charges. According to a press release, Oscar Navarro-Zepeda, 42, from Spencer, Iowa, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. 2 misdemeanor charges dismissed for South Sioux City woman accused of accessory to murder Evidence at the trial showed that between April 2021 and April 2023, Navarro-Zepeada was involved in a conspiracy that distributed more than 500 grams of methamphetamine including more than 50 grams of pure methamphetamine. Evidence also showed that on April 18, 2023, during a search warrant at Navarro-Zepedas residence in Spencer, Iowa officials seized approximately 33 pounds of methamphetamine. It was said in the release that Navarro-Zepeda intended to distribute to others in the Spencer. Officers also seized $17,932; an AR-15 style .223 caliber rifle, with two loaded magazines in a rifle case and a partial box of .223 ammunition, as well as various items of drug distribution and use paraphernalia. Navarro-Zepeda was prohibited from possessing firearms and possessed either or both firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking, to protect himself, his drugs, and drug proceeds from others. Navarro-Zepeda was sentenced to a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment. He also has a $10,000,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. After highlighting his concern over Amazon's alleged price cutting in India, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal clarified that he continues to support FDI in the e-commerce sector. The Indian press described the comments as "damage control" for the direct allegations Goyal made earlier this week. On Wednesday (August 21st), at the launch of a Pahle India Foundations report on Net Impact of E-Commerce on Employment and Consumer Welfare in India, Goyal bluntly expressed his aversion to letting the e-commerce sector take over retail in India. Are we going to cause a huge social disruption with this massive growth of e-commerce? I dont see it as a matter of pride that half our market could possibly become a part of the e-commerce network ten years from now. Goyal singled out Amazon by name and alleged that it was bypassing the countrys foreign investment laws into e-commerce. Amazon is only allowed to deal in online services when doing B2B transactions, it is not allowed to sell directly to consumers. Goyal emphasises it is a well-thought-out strategy. In 2021, a Reuters special report concluded that Amazon favoured big sellers on its platforms and used them to skirt regulations meant to protect small retailers from e-commerce giants. They revealed internal documents that urged workers to test the boundaries of what is allowed by law. Learning by example Goyal has cited the disappearance of mom-and-pop stores in the US as a cautionary tale that India should learn from. Between 2007 and 2017, the number of small retailers in the US fell by 65,000. 40% of the country's small apparel, toy and sporting goods makers were wiped from the market. If a similar thing were to happen in India, it would be far more disruptive given the countrys large informal sector of the economy. There are an estimated 100 million small retailers in the country that could be affected. Planting seeds in India While Goyal worries about how Amazons presence will affect the countrys local economy, the company already has announced long-term investment plans in India. The rift comes as the government is evaluating a new policy that would target unethical trading practices in the e-commerce sector. In June 2023, Amazon said they plan to increase investments in the country to $26bn by 2030, including for its cloud business. The firm also plans to target $20bn worth of merchandise exports by 2025. It recently announced a data centre in Hyderabad that will develop artificial intelligence and machine learning services. Story continues India must strike a balance between a regulatory environment that is attractive to investors and one that protects the local economy and its consumers. "Indian minister warns of Amazons price cutting, calls for fairness in FDI" was originally created and published by Investment Monitor, 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. Man who cut ankle monitor and skipped sentencing in Wichita is arrested in Topeka A 64-year-old man who cut his ankle monitor and didnt show up for his sentencing in an August 2023 killing at a Wichita motel has been arrested in Topeka, according to Wichita police. Kevin Lynn Harris was arrested Thursday night, police said Friday. He was booked into Shawnee County Jail, but will be transferred back to Sedgwick County. Harris was supposed to be sentenced on Aug. 14 in the killing of 50-year-old Jose Lumbreras Sr. at Auto Motel, 1230 N. Broadway. He pleaded guilty in April to voluntary manslaughter. After the killing, Harris fled to his hometown of Lawrence, where he was arrested, police said. He has previous convictions in the 1990s and 2000s in Montgomery and Reno counties for unlawful possession of a firearm, robbery, criminal damage to property and trafficking contraband, according to Kansas Department of Corrections records. A woman was also arrested in the killing but has not been charged. MUSKEGON, Mich. (WOOD) A judge set a long maximum sentence for a man who shot and killed his daughter-in-law in Muskegon nearly two years ago. Phillip Smith, of Egelston Township, was sentenced Thursday to 16 to 170 years in prison plus two years for a weapons charge. Egelston will get credit for 23 months served, court records show. Egelston pleaded no contest in April to second-degree murder and felony firearm after being charged in December of 2022, according to court records. Man charged, IDd after October Muskegon shooting He shot and killed Ashley Ridge, 30, of Muskegon two months earlier on Ray Street near E Holbrook Avenue in Muskegon. Its not clear what led up to the shooting but Muskegon police said it was an isolated incident at the home and called it a family dispute. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Man heading to prison for burning a Pasco church and a series of other break-ins A 37-year-old Pasco man said his delusions led him to break into a number of buildings, setting several fires including one that damaged a church. Seth Klindworth will serve four years in prison in connection with a 2023 crime spree that ended with him setting fire to the Apostolic Lutheran Church of Tri-Cities. Im ashamed of the things that I did, Klindworth said during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday. I would like to apologize to the victims. I never meant any ill toward them. He told Judge David Petersen that he was having delusions that led him to break into several Pasco buildings about a year ago. He pleaded guilty in Franklin County Superior Court to second-degree arson and two counts of second-degree burglary. Klindworth has a criminal history spanning 18 years, which led to a sentencing range between five and seven years. But prosecutors and his defense attorney, Dennis Hanson, recommended the four-year sentence because he was suffering a mental health crisis at the time. Petersen followed the recommendation. Klindworth will also be responsible for paying restitution to the organizations affected by his crimes. The amount will be set later. The evaluator Greg Hupp diagnosed Klindworth with an unspecified mood disorder and methamphetamine use disorder during a 2023 evaluation. . Hupp noted Klindworth had been seen by state psychologists in 2015, 2017 and 2022. They have offered a variety of opinions ranging from not having any mental health issues to having symptoms related to his drug use. Klindworth has a history of methamphetamine and alcohol use that started in his early teens, according to the evaluation. Arson and burglary Pasco police were initially called to the former Bank of America building on Lewis Street on July 27 after someone spotted a bald man trying to light a fire. Inside, they found a burn mark and ash near an old tellers desk and the smell of smoke. A security guard told investigators that he saw Klindworth break a window in a nearby business and tried to light a curtain on fire. He also broke into the Atomic Foods on Fourth Avenue, damaged items in the store and broke the cash register. Klindworth was also seen running out of the basement of the Apostolic Lutheran Church of Tri-Cities after starting a fire in the building. As he was running away, he told witnesses that people were still inside. Pasco firefighters on the scene searched the burning church, but didnt find anyone inside. Officers surrounded the area, and one found Klindworth walking onto West Agate Street with blood and soot on his shirt. When the officer tried to stop him, Klindworth ran. Police used a Taser to stop Klindworth about a block away from the scene. Once the fire was put out, they found a message written in blood on the outside of the building that said , Pasco PD put me in a coma for seven days Seth K. There is nothing in his history that says he was in a coma. They also discovered that he started two fires in the sanctuary by setting a pile of Bibles on fire. The fire has forced the church to move its services to a different location. Drugs and mental health After being arrested, Klindworth was evaluated by a state psychologist to determine if he was able to understand the proceedings and was able to help his attorney. Klindworth was able to explain the court process and the charges that he was facing. He did report having symptoms of bipolar disorder. He told the evaluator that he began using marijuana when he was 12, drinking when he was 15 and tried meth and cocaine when we he was 17. When asked about any other drug use, Mr. Klindworth reported back in 2012 that he had used all of them, the evaluator said. Records said he has struggled with methamphetamine and alcohol throughout the years. He also reported that he has heard voices, suffered from anxiety and paranoia. He had been prescribed anti-psychotics and other medication over the course of the last 12 years. Man with history of running from police sentenced for death of woman in Kennewick chase A 37-year-old man will spend nearly two decades in prison after a high-speed chase turned fatal for his passenger. Deputies believed Antonio De Jesus Martinez of Kennewick had shot at a police officer when they tried to stop him on March 26, 2023. While it turned out that Martinez didnt have anything to do with the shooting, he didnt stop for deputies, leading to a chase that reached 90 mph through Kennewick. At the end, he slammed into another deputys car, killing Jessica Sanders, the 39-year-old riding in Martinezs car, and hurting the deputy. More than a year after the fatal crash grabbed headlines, Martinez pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide, vehicular assault and having a gun illegally. Martinezs troubled history included running from Pasco police in 2019. He faced between 17 1/2 years and 23 years in prison. Judge David Petersen followed the prosecutors recommendation and sentenced Martinez to 18 years and four months in prison. Martinez has been in the Benton County jail since the fatal crash. He was driving a dark 2007 Nissan Sentra, when a person in another dark car opened fire at a Kennewick police officer on Ely Street at 4:20 a.m.. A Benton County deputy spotted Martinezs Sentra and tried to stop him near West Creekstone Drive and Union Street. When the deputy turned on his emergency lights Martinez fled. Martinez then drove north on North Irving then east on 10th Avenue and blew through a stop sign, said the documents. The deputy reported that the suspect was traveling east on 10th at 90 mph and ran a red light when he crossed Highway 395. Martinez then turned onto West 8th Place which connects to South Vancouver Street, and then turned left and struck a deputys car that was headed south on Vancouver. The collision killed Sanders and hurt Benton County Deputy James Carneau McKay. Troubled history This was not the first time Martinez has been accused of fleeing from police at high speeds. Martinez was released in November 2021 after spending a year in prison for a 2019 police chase. In that case, he handed an officer a suspended license before driving off at speeds that reached 90 mph in a 30-mph zone. He drove into oncoming lanes, went the wrong way on an highway off-ramp and ran stop signs in a pursuit that started at the Walmart in Pasco, according to previous Herald stories. Officers forced Martinezs car to spin out, but he rammed a police car and drove away. At the time, police backed off because his driving was unsafe and erratic, but a tipster led officers to his abandoned car in Kennewick and he was arrested. That case came about a year after he was accused of violating a protection order. Attorneys believed his bad behavior was fueled by drug use, and gave him an opportunity to get treatment rather than serve a prison term. He was sentenced under a drug offender sentencing alternative for two cases. According to the Washington Department of Corrections, he failed to go to treatment and was accused of running from police again in July 2020. That led prosecutors in both counties to revoke the sentencing alternative, and he was sentenced to a year in prison in January 2021. MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) A passenger was arrested at an Australian airport after he left a stationary airliner through an emergency exit, walked along a wing, and then climbed down a jet engine to the tarmac on Thursday, officials said. Jetstar Flight JQ507 had arrived at Melbourne Airport from Sydney and had parked at a terminal gate when the man left the plane by the right-side exit, officials said. Is flying on a Tuesday cheaper? Testing 3 TikTok flight hacks Opening the exit automatically deployed a slide from the back of the wing at the fuselage to the ground, a Jetstar statement said. But the man instead walked along the wing and climbed down one of the Airbus A320s two engines, an official said. Passenger Audrey Varghese said passengers screamed and shrieked as the man began erratic behavior shortly before he opened the hatch. The man was exhibiting some quite strange behavior, Varghese told Melbourne Radio 3AW. As soon as the plane had started coming to a stop, he immediately got up and basically charged to where the emergency exit row is, and in the process shoving people, causing a bit of commotion, (and) ripped open the emergency door, Varghese said. A Jetstar plane arrives at Melbourne Airport in Melbourne, Australia, on Oct. 9, 2013. (Juian Smith/AAP Image via AP) Another passenger, identified as Maddison, told Nine News television the man had been vaping, which is not allowed, during the 90-minute mid-morning flight and had unsuccessfully demanded the air crew provide him with alcohol. Australian Federal Police officers had been alerted by Jetstar staff and arrested the man for alleged aggressive behavior and breaching aircraft safety protocols, a police statement said. He was assessed by paramedics and taken to a hospital, where he remains for further assessment, the police statement said. Police were continuing to investigate and charges were likely to be laid at a later date, they said. Humiliating: Woman says she was removed from flight over medical condition Melbourne Airport said the man was detained by aircrew and ground staff before police arrested him. Social media images showed at least three ground staff restraining the man on the tarmac. Melbourne Airport is proud of the exceptional response from ground crew, which meant there was no immediate danger to other passengers or airport staff, an airport statement said. Varghese spoke from the baggage collection area of the airport an hour after the landing and said passengers had been told the deployed slide had delayed the unloading of their luggage. Nine News reported the baggage was released hours later. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. [Watch previous FOX 8 News coverage in the player above.] CLEVELAND (WJW) A Cleveland man on Thursday pleaded guilty to federal charges of sabotaging train tracks in the city. Joseph Findley was indicted in November on four counts of violence against railroad carriers and mass transportation systems. Police: Dad left 3 kids unattended while riding roller coasters at Cedar Point He was accused of putting railroad spikes, tie plates and other pieces of metal in the track switch mechanism and guardrails at an active CSX rail intersection near East 55th Street in Cleveland, which is used by freight and Amtrak passenger trains, according to the indictment. The sabotage caused the wheels of one train to derail, but they eventually returned to the tracks, FOX 8 News reported. Surveillance footage showed Findley at the scene five times between August and Oct. 1, putting things on the tracks. The charges alleged Findley knew the sabotage would derail train cars. When arrested by federal authorities in October, he admitted to placing the rail spikes but denied that he intended to cause a derailment, FOX 8 News reported. 1 dead, 2 detained after Valley View shooting Findley lived with his parents near those tracks, FOX 8 News previously reported. He was handed a $20,000 unsecured bond in November and released. Findley is due for sentencing on Dec. 5. A judge ordered a pre-sentence 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 Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) A Michigan man who pleaded guilty in the kidnapping and killing his former girlfriends 2-year-old daughter was sentenced Friday to life in prison in federal court. According to prosecutors, Rashad Trice got into an argument with his ex-girlfriend at her Lansing apartment in July 2023. She stabbed Trice, who responded by stabbing her multiple times and sexually assaulting her. He then left. A federal criminal complaint in the case of 2-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith was released Friday. The woman went to her mothers apartment in the same complex, leaving her 1-year-old son and her 2-year-old daughter, Wynter Cole Smith, behind. Responding police couldnt find the girl. Trice crashed his car in a Detroit suburb after police spotted him but the girl wasnt with him. Searchers looked for her along a highway between Lansing and Detroit using dogs, drones and helicopters. FBI agents eventually found the girls body in an overgrown Detroit alley. She had been strangled with a cellphone cord. Federal prosecutors took jurisdiction of the case because the car and other tools used in the crime were made outside Michigan. Trice pleaded guilty in March to a federal charge of kidnapping resulting in death, acknowledging he took the girl from her home as part of a dispute with her mother. Prosecutors dropped a count of kidnapping a minor. Trice faced a mandatory life sentence. His attorneys didnt immediately respond to an email Friday afternoon 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 WLNS 6 News. Insurance Australia Group Limited (ASX:IAG) has announced that it will be increasing its dividend from last year's comparable payment on the 26th of September to A$0.17. This will take the dividend yield to an attractive 4.6%, providing a nice boost to shareholder returns. See our latest analysis for Insurance Australia Group Insurance Australia Group's Earnings Easily Cover The Distributions If the payments aren't sustainable, a high yield for a few years won't matter that much. Prior to this announcement, Insurance Australia Group's dividend made up quite a large proportion of earnings but only 45% of free cash flows. In general, cash flows are more important than earnings, so we are comfortable that the dividend will be sustainable going forward, especially with so much cash left over for reinvestment. Over the next year, EPS is forecast to expand by 21.2%. If the dividend continues on this path, the payout ratio could be 53% by next year, which we think can be pretty sustainable going forward. Dividend Volatility The company's dividend history has been marked by instability, with at least one cut in the last 10 years. The annual payment during the last 10 years was A$0.4 in 2014, and the most recent fiscal year payment was A$0.34. This works out to be a decline of approximately 1.6% per year over that time. A company that decreases its dividend over time generally isn't what we are looking for. The Dividend's Growth Prospects Are Limited Given that the dividend has been cut in the past, we need to check if earnings are growing and if that might lead to stronger dividends in the future. However, Insurance Australia Group's EPS was effectively flat over the past five years, which could stop the company from paying more every year. Earnings are not growing quickly at all, and the company is paying out most of its profit as dividends. This isn't the end of the world, but for investors looking for strong dividend growth they may want to look elsewhere. In Summary Overall, this is a reasonable dividend, and it being raised is an added bonus. While the payout ratios are a good sign, we are less enthusiastic about the company's dividend record. This looks like it could be a good dividend stock going forward, but we would note that the payout ratio has been at higher levels in the past so it could happen again. Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. As an example, we've identified 1 warning sign for Insurance Australia Group that you should be aware of before investing. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. A man who accidentally shot himself in the leg during a brown bear attack in Alaska last weekend has opened up about his harrowing ordeal. And it sounds as though he's very much lucky to be alive. Tyler Johnson, 32, was on a hunting trip with his father at least two miles from the nearest road off Resurrection Pass Trail on the Kenai Peninsula in south-central Alaska on Saturday when the attack occurred. Johnson later told CNN that the pair were in an open area when they heard a growl, "and then an immediate charge." It took all of about four seconds for the bear to attack. Though the apex predator, which was apparently startled by their appearance, initially went after his father, Johnson said that it slammed him onto the ground and bit his leg. At that point, he discharged his 10mm pistol and emptied the entire clip into the bear, but accidentally shot himself through his upper leg. His father likewise fired shots at the bear, eventually killing it. "Every, every move a bear makes is intentional," Johnson explained. "They dont just go halfway into an action. So when a bear stops, its probably because its dead, or its about to die." Looking down at his leg, Johnson recalled saying, "Dad, I shot myself." Luckily, his father, Chris Johnson, is an Alaska State Trooper who had served for more than 30 years with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The elder Johnson affixed a tourniquet below his son's knee, wrapped the wound in gauze, then alerted emergency troopers via SOS. "To be honest, getting shot, the bear biting into me, I didnt feel at the time," Johnson noted. But after the initial bout of adrenaline wore off, he says that the pain hit him "like a truck." To manage the intense pain, he performed breathing techniques, listened to music, and told hunting stories with his father until help arrived. "Its those little things that try to help you through a hard moment. Realizing that youre there with the only person you would want to be there with was really comforting," he added. As for the possible motivation for the bear attack, Johnson said he was later informed that troopers returned to the area and found a cub nearby. According to the National Parks Service, the likelihood of a bear attack increases if a female bear perceives you as a danger to her cubs. Park visitors are advised demonstrate extra caution when spotting a female with cubs and never attempt to approach them. Man with Special Needs Dies After Caretaker Allegedly Leaves Him Alone in Hot Car: Police We are heartbroken by the sudden and unexpected passing of our little brother," Dontarious Batts' siblings said Tierra Blackston and Tiquana Bradberry/GoFundMe Dontarious "Donte" Batts A North Carolina man with special needs is dead after his caretaker allegedly left him alone in a hot vehicle for hours, police say. The incident was reported on Tuesday, Aug. 20, at approximately 4:43 p.m., the Johnston County Sheriffs Office said, as reported by CBS 17. The victim has been identified as Dontarious Batts, a patient believed to be in his early to mid-20s. Related: School Nurse Tried To Resuscitate Toddler After She Was Left in Hot Car, Mom Now Charged in Connection with Child's Death According to the news station, a phone call came in to Johnston County 911 Communications with a man, later identified as 55-year-old Rogers Lee Inge Jr., allegedly telling them he was responsible for the death of a person in his care who had been left in his vehicle. While on the phone, the dispatcher instructed Inge to pull over at a fire department located at 9039 Cleveland Road in Clayton where EMS, fire personnel and deputies with the JCSO met him. Inge, an employee of Universal Health Care who took care of Batts, allegedly told deputies that he brought Batts to work with him earlier that day at his second job at Cleveland High School where he worked as a janitor, WRAL reported. Prapass Pulsub/Getty Cleaning Equipment stock image He reportedly told police that he left Batts in the car with the windows up and the engine off at 8 a.m., adding that he returned to the car to check on him around 10 a.m. and Batts seemed to be okay. Inge completed his work day at Cleveland High School, and when he went back to his vehicle around 4:17 p.m., Batts had died, according to WRAL. Related: North Carolina Girl, 8, Dies After Being Left in Hot Car by Mother Who Was Reportedly Working In 911 audio obtained by WRAL, an emotionally distraught Inge reportedly said, "It's my fault." "I didnt think it was that hot today. I didnt check on him. I forgot. I was working, he reportedly continued. ABC 11s First Alert Weather Team said the temperature in the area reached 81 degrees that day. The news station also referred to the National Weather Service, who warned that the inside of a vehicle parked in the sun can exceed up to 50 degrees higher than what temperatures are outdoors. Tom Penpark/Getty car in parking lot stock image Following the incident, Tierra Blackston and Tiquana Bradberry started a GoFundMe in Batts name. We are heartbroken by the sudden and unexpected passing of our little brother Donte, their message began. 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. Words cant express the hurt I feel writing this because it all still feel so unreal. On August 20, 2024 my brother Dontarius Batts (Donte) who was autistic and non verbal was left in a hot vehicle by his caregiver with the engine off and the windows up between the hours of 8am until a little after 4pm, the siblings continued. As of Thursday, Aug. 22, Blackston and Bradberry had exceeded their $2,500 GoFundMe goal. In an article updated by WRAL on Thursday, the outlet reported that Inge was taken to the Johnston County jail and held under $35,000 bond. As of Wednesday, Aug. 21, he was also no longer employed by Johnston County Public Schools. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Man struck by 2 cars on State Street in Sandy in critical condition SANDY, Utah (ABC4) A Utah man has been hospitalized in critical condition after being struck by two cars in Sandy early Friday morning, Aug. 23. Sgt. Greg Moffit with the Sandy Police Department said the man, who has not been identified, was struck around 1:30 a.m. near 8800 South and State Street. The extent of the mans injuries is unknown, but Moffit told ABC4.com he was taken to a local area hospital in critical condition. Drivers and witnesses to the incident reportedly stayed on scene and are cooperating with the investigation. Detectives reported there were no signs of impairment with any of the drivers involved. The Crash Analysis Reconstruction Team, a team of specialized accident investigators, was called to the scene to conduct 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 ABC4 Utah. A federal lawsuit accuses the Johnson County District Attorneys Office of submitting a misleading affidavit and malicious prosecution. The District of Kansas case was filed by Micah Smith, who was arrested in August 2023. According to a Gardner Police Department report, officers were called to the home he shared with his wife as the couple was on the verge of divorcing. Smith had taken the keys to one of their vehicles, which was registered to both him and his wife. He was charged with criminal deprivation of a motor vehicle. During a hearing in May, Johnson County District Magistrate Judge Curtis Sample dismissed the case. The fact that Mr. Smith is an owner of the property in question along with Mrs. Smith, they have an equal ownership interest, Sample said, according to a court transcript. Neither has an interest that the other doesnt have. Therefore, I cant conclude that a probable cause exists that Mr. Smith exerted unauthorized control over something that he owned. The judge went on to say that prosecutors made a glaring omission from the affidavit which made it seem like Smith had no ownership of the vehicle. Sample said a material fact relating to probable cause should be in affidavits, and it wasnt in this case. The jury trial was canceled. Smiths lawsuit alleges his wife never asked him to return the car and that he had told her where he was going when he left the house. The lawsuit said Gardner police officers were aware of that and chose to ignore evidence that was in their possession so that they could make an arrest that day. An assistant district attorney approved the arrest, the lawsuit also said. The lawsuit alleges the defendants engaged in false arrest, malicious prosecution and withholding exculpatory evidence, among other counts. The Johnson County District Attorneys Office and the Gardner Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Man suspected of wounding mother, killing two others in Point Loma shooting identified SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) Authorities have released the identity of the suspect in Wednesdays fatal shooting near Point Loma High School. The man suspected of shooting three people at a residence in the 3600 block of Zola Street Wednesday afternoon has been identified as 60-year-old William Bushey, the San Diego Police Department said Thursday. RELATED: Two people dead, one person wounded in Point Loma shooting SDPD said officers found Bushey at the front of the house and took him into custody. They also found what appeared to be a shotgun near where he was located. According to SDPD, officers received a call about the shooting around 3:55 p.m. Upon arrival, officers found three victims with gunshot wounds at the residence. Two of them, described as a woman in her 60s and a man in his 30s, were pronounced dead, the department said. The third shooting victim was described as a woman in her 80s. Police said she was found outside the front of the home with serious injuries and taken to a hospital. She is expected to survive her injuries, according to authorities. Man, 75, found dead in Boulevard home identified Authorities confirmed Bushey is the son of the surviving victim and they both lived at the home where the shooting occurred. Bushey has been booked into county jail on suspicion of two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, according to officers. Authorities said they are working with the medical examiner to identify the deceased victims. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Man Who Tortured Woman to Death, Pausing for Smoke Breaks, Before Stowing Body in Freezer Is Sentenced to Death Sean Finnegan was convicted of murdering Jennifer Paxton Sean Finnegan in 2024 Content warning: The following article contains disturbing details of violence. A Tennessee man who kidnapped, raped and tortured a woman while murdering her by strangulation her has been sentenced to death, according to a statement from Seventh Judicial District Attorney General Dave Clark. According to multiple reports including the Oak Ridger, WATE and WBIR, Sean Finnegan, 56, was convicted of multiple crimes including first-degree murder, aggravated rape and abuse of a corpse in connection with the death of Jennifer Gail Paxton, 35. Prosecutors said Finnegan kidnapped Paxton in December 2019 and held her in his apartment in Oak Ridge. There, he repeatedly raped her and assaulted her before strangling her to death. The Oak Ridger reports that Rebecca Dishman, who was Finnegan's girlfriend or fiancee, told police that Finnegan strangled Paxton with string over an extended period of time, during which he took breaks to smoke. Subsequently, the couple wrapped Paxton in garbage bags and put her body in a freezer, WVLT reports, citing prosecutors. Finnegan kept her body in a freezer in the bedroom until August 2020 when police came to search his home. He then stowed Paxton's body underneath his bed, said prosecutors. Dishman reportedly pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in 2023. She testified against Finnegan in return for a life sentence that spared her the possibility of the death penalty. The murder's heinous nature and Finnegan's awareness of his actions led the jury to give him the death penalty, WATE reported. In the district attorney's statement after the sentencing, Clark said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the surviving family members of Jennifer Paxton who have suffered through this horrific process and who have had to hear the details of Jennifers last days of captivity, torture and murder. They have been strong, courageous and supportive throughout." 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. It is hoped that with the jurys verdict and the conclusion of this case that there can be some closure and healing for Jennifers family from this nightmare," Clark's statement added. Finnegan was sentenced to death by lethal injection. But Darrell Winfree, an attorney for Legal Aid of East Tennessee, told 10WBIR it's likely he'll die of natural causes before he's executed. Winfree told the outlet that appeals process could last decades, adding that healthcare for people on death row is generally worse than for people who are not incarcerated. "It seems like it would be very easy to bring someone's life to end," Winfree told the outlet. "But it is a very extended process, a very expensive process, and a very complicated process." The last time someone had been executed by lethal injection in the state of Tennessee was in 2021. However, lethal injection executions in the state were paused in 2022 by Governor Bill Lee and have yet to be resumed. If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Handout/Lynch Family The body of the 18-year-old daughter of British technology magnate Mike Lynchthe last missing person from the shipwreck of the Bayesian superyacht that sank earlier this weekhas been found, Sicilian authorities said Friday. Prosecutors are now exploring manslaughter charges as part of their investigation of the tragedy. Hannah Lynch was scheduled to start at Oxford to study English next month after having completed her studies at the prestigious Latymer Upper School, where she was said to have been a standout student in literature and poetry. Ive never taught someone who combined sky-high intellectual ability with warmth and enthusiasm in the way Hannah did, wrote Jon Mitropoulos-Monk, head of English at Latymer, noting her fondness for Joyce, Faulkner, Conrad, and John Donne. Divers working at the seabed more than 150 feet underwater discovered that she was trapped, like other victims, inside one of the ships cabins. Investigators determined the victims likely raced desperately for air as the vessel capsized, climbing upward before becoming trapped, as they were found in different cabins than they were supposed to be sleeping in. They gasped for air until the last moment, then they were dragged down without hope, a source told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. Horror Clip Shows Just How Quick Billionaire Mike Lynchs Yacht Sank The Bayesian, which was anchored off Porticello, a fishing village 10 miles east of the Sicilian capital Palermo, sank in the early morning hours on Monday morning when the area was hit by powerful storms. An undated photo of Hannah Lynch Eighteen-year-old Hannah Lynch, whose body was found at the site of the Bayesian shipwreck Friday, was scheduled to matriculate at Oxford in September. Handout/Lynch Family Authorities are now probing whether Lynch, her father, and five other deceased victims, including Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer, could have been saved if not for a chain of human errors in advance of the disastrous shipwreck. According to the Italian newspaper la Repubblica, investigators are looking at how the Bayesians crew responded to worsening sea conditions before the 180-ft sailing vessel sank in little more than a minute at 4:06 a.m. in the early hours of Monday. The paper reported that the vessels captain, James Cutfield, was heard repeating we didn't see the storm coming when he was treated in hospital after the shipwreck. However, la Repubblica reported that investigators have reviewed Automatic identification system (AIS) data that, along with witness interviews, suggests the crew had over 15 minutes to plan for and respond to the inclement weather, including rising wind and waves. It was a fast but progressive worsening of the sea and wind conditions, one source told the paper. The superyacht became unmoored and was overwhelmed by 100-mile-per-hour wind gusts. Everything that was done reveals a very long tally of errors, Giovanni Costantino, the CEO of Italian Sea Group, which owns the shipyard where the Bayesian was built, told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The passengers should not have been in the cabins, the boat should not have been at anchor. And why didnt the crew know about the incoming storm? Mike Lynchs wife and Hannahs mother, Angela Bacares, survived the shipwreck because she fled her cabin as conditions worsened. A much smaller vessel anchored nearby, the Dutch sailboat Sir Robert Baden Powell, saved some of the survivors after finding them on a life raft. The Termini Imerese Public Prosecutors Office is investigating multiple potential cases of manslaughter against unknown persons, according to the Italian news agency Adnkronos. The agency also reported that the Italian Coast Guard has visited private homes and public places to retrieve any video evidence of the vessel and conditions in the area, which prosecutors are reviewing. 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. Democrats this week in Chicago almost pulled off an impressive, arena-sized trick. They told us so very many times during their quadrennial nominating convention that Americans were reacting to the prospect of a Kamala Harris presidency with "joy," that many of our fellow citizens watching the proceedings from far away likely convinced themselves that such an improbable outcome was true. I do not doubt that the professional Democratic delegates on the United Center floorelected officials, union reps, celebritiesexperienced the full-body euphoria of no longer having to feign enthusiasm for an octogenarian slipping both mentally and in the polls. They have, in the building, thrilled to the charismatic words of Barack and Michelle Obama, the American-music beats of DJ Cassidy, and above all the polling spread opening up between Harris and the GOP nominee Donald Trump. But you can count that number in the low thousands. There are 345 million more of us. Here's what Thursday's DNC climax looked like to one of them. At Union Park, the biggest non-barricaded public space within reasonable walking distance of the house that Michael Jordan built, a low-energy gathering of a few hundred protesters and petitioners held up banners and sporadically barked in bullhorns, mostly about the plight of Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war. Between them and the DNC idled a roughly equal number of heavily equipped riot copswith bikes, face masks, face shields, and guns. The perimeter security entrance a few blocks away saw more than 1,000 DNC attendees sweating in the hot sun in a line that bent around not one or two but five street corners. At the end of that line, after enduring sad-trombone protests about Palestine, Jesus, abortion, plus the marvelousness that is Vermin Supreme, delegates only begin the process of traversing temporary fencing and concrete barricades, showing badgesboth sides now!to literally dozens of checkpoint credentials checks. At some point this week I took a har-har picture of a flier on a nearby tree warning about "tech fascism." When I look at it now I see a few feet behind the flier some temporary black anti-riot fencing (complete with a "DO NOT ENTER" sign), backed by low-slung concrete barriers, bracketing an unused vehicle lane from yet another barrier/fence layer, behind which patrols an armed guard. Behind him is a parking lot with buses, and eventually (because I made it to the other side) more barriers, more fencing, many more armed personnel, then, eventually, in the distance, the United Center. (Matt Welch) This is not a distinctly Democratic security principle. This is my 10th major party political convention (I skipped the RNC this year), and the trend line from 2000 Los Angeles to 2024 Chicago is obvious: rabble pushed ever farther to the outer edges, hyper-max security ratcheted up to degrees that defy description. And it's not just logistics, it's metaphor. While delegates were preparing to crank up ersatz joy for the Democratic nominee's decidedly tepid speech, I bodied myself through the checkpoint phalanxes and last-night swollen crowds, only to discover that there were no available seats in the arena, and that the only speaker I would see in person on this final and most important day of the DNC wasone of the biggest public policy villains in modern American life, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten. "One of my first lessons I taught my students," Weingarten said, "was about the social contract, how both individual freedoms and mutual responsibility are essential in our democracy. This covenant underlies our commitment to public schools." Weingarten's COVID-era commitment to public schools was arguably the single greatest repellant driving families away from the "free" education system. Down the stairs near the beginning of the endless exit gauntlet was another Democrat who was no doubt feeling joy this week: former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. These are the grotesque hacks who actually comprise the nuts and bolts of "democracy," not the shiny millionaire authors and six-figure public speakers like Barack and Michelle Obama, nor their Chicago pal Oprah Winfrey. So much joy, so much empathy, and yet the workaday product of Democratic-led governance is the real-world policy catastrophe of places like, well, Chicago. In the face of a truly challenging and erratic Donald Trump, Democrats have spent the past eight years positioning themselves as the defenders of democracy. And now, in Chicago, they have christened a nominee who won zero primaries, fielded zero interviews, and couldn't even come close to winning her home state in the 2020 primary. In the absence of testing her against the voting public or the adversarial press, Democrats are attempting to incept her candidacy as a fait accompli, a feeling of joy you didn't even know you were experiencing. I do not begrudge anyone succumbing to that sensation. But I won't be joining them. The post Manufacturing Joy at the DNC appeared first on Reason.com. Beatrice Chen, executive director of Immigrant Social Services, walks by the garden of the Senior Living Chung Pak complex, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Kena Betancur) Like a lot of people, Ellen Lo Hoffman was shocked and disturbed by the shooting death of Michael Brown, a Black teenager, at the hands of a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer a decade ago this month. Hoffman an assistant regional director for the national campus ministry InterVarsity Christian Fellowship held a gathering at her Seattle-area home a month later, inviting all employees of color to talk. It sparked a pivotal moment for the Chinese American progressive when a Black staff member questioned: Are Asian Americans our allies? At that moment I felt caught. I felt called out in an appropriate way, Hoffman recalled. "He was really asking, are you on our side or are you going to align yourselves with us? Or will you just be bystanders? Asian American staffers responded with regret, renewed their alignment with their Black colleagues and vowed to lead out. It was both affirmation to the Black staff, to say we are with you, and it is a choice now that we make to let go of our fear and insecurity and whatever cultural ways that might hinder us from really standing with you, Hoffman said. Brown's death and the treatment of Black Lives Matter protesters in the days following led many Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders to an internal reckoning. Organizations and individuals of all ages were galvanized to get off the sidelines and show solidarity, whether it be through statements, demonstrations or educational talks. The events roused a younger generation of Asian Americans who had never been part of any high-stakes movement. The ripples from those experiences were felt again in the wake of George Floyd's murder and pandemic-driven anti-Asian hate. Today, many Asian American and Pacific Islanders continue to speak out not just for themselves, but for other groups. ____ This story is part of an AP ongoing series exploring the impact, legacy and ripples of what is widely called the Ferguson uprising, which has sparked nationwide outcries over police violence and calls for broader solutions to entrenched racial injustices. ____ Gregg Orton, director of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, a coalition of over 40 Asian Pacific American organizations, looks back on that summer in 2014 as a seminal time. It did feel like a moment where, collectively, the Asian American Pacific community was kind of examining and interrogating our position on what it meant to be in solidarity, said Orton, who was working for Democratic U.S. Rep. Al Green, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. At the time, New York City residents were still coming to grips with the death of Eric Garner roughly three weeks before Brown was killed. Garner, a 43-year-old Black man, died after a Staten Island police officer used a prohibited chokehold on him. His cries of I cant breathe became a rallying cry. In December 2014, Beatrice Chen, then a programming director at the Museum of Chinese in America in Manhattan, responded to Brown and Garner's deaths by organizing a panel on the history of race and police brutality through the lens of current events. Panelists included journalists and social justice advocates as well as college-age activists. Chen remembers the evening was well attended, proving the issues weighed heavily. It showed that even institutions like museums couldn't always stay neutral. It made me realize that people wanted to talk about it and to hear what others have to say, not necessarily coming in with a confrontational mindset, Chen said. For a lot of them, it was like the first time theyd been able to talk about it in an open space with people they dont know. Chen, who now heads a nonprofit helping immigrants in Manhattan's Chinatown, also saw a lot of Chinese American youths trying to impart to their immigrant parents why the issues were important. Their cultural historical reference is still Asia. They still read the Chinese newspapers. They dont necessarily read the mainstream or English media. And then you have the younger generation, who I think come out of a different societal view on race, Chen said. I saw some of the 20-something activists really trying to explain and interpret and translate into Chinese Black Lives Matter. Orton said the conversations were almost like a precursor to 2020. He noticed far stronger, more pronounced efforts to get people within the community involved. I would say the collective response to COVID-19, anti-Asian racism was a moment for our movement where folks really came together, organized a little bit differently, Orton said. There was this sort of existential circumstance with the whole pandemic that was looming over all of us. I saw it as a moment where we kind of took our next big step forward. The lows of the last decade including the 2021 Atlanta spa shootings that left eight dead, including six Asian women reignited advocacy for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. People who had never stopped to think about visibility, representation and safety were participating in protests, taking bystander workshops or starting their own advocacy groups. Just two days after the Atlanta attacks, California state education officials approved the nation's first statewide ethnic studies curriculum for high schools. Since then, states including Wisconsin, Florida and New Jersey have passed legislation mandating AAPI history in K-12 education. In addition to demonstrations, data has also become an effective tool. Organizations like AAPI Data have been tracking information such as socioeconomic status to reveal trends and disparities among Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander groups. Historically, federal, state and local governments have dismissed some subgroups as statistically insignificant," according to AAPI Data. The U.S. Office of Management and Budget's directive in March to better disaggregate data among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders was also a significant win, Orton said, as was getting rid of outdated wording like Far East. Theres still growing pains that we are going through, Orton said, adding that young people want to see change now, while older Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders whove been doing the work for a long time move at a different pace. "Were trying to figure out how that all fits, Orton said. Key Takeaways Intel shares moved lower amid concerns about the company's progress on new semiconductor fabrication plants in Germany. The uncertainties about Intel's German facilities came as chipmaking rival TSMC broke ground on its fabrication plant in Dresden. In contrast with industry peers whose stocks have been lifted by AI hopes, Intel shares are down nearly 60% in 2024. Intel (INTC) shares sank 6.1% on Thursday following reports that the semiconductor giant's progress on constructing two new chip fabrication facilities in Germany may be stalled. The company plans to build the wafer fabrication plants in Magdeburg, Germany, on the site it calls "Silicon Junction." In June 2023, Intel announced it was increasing its investment in the project to around $33 billion, having secured a government subsidy of around $11 billion to support the construction. Intel expected the Magdeburg plants to be online and producing high-performance semiconductors as soon as 2027. However, according to media reports this week, the schedule now appears uncertain. Concerns About Timeline, Restructuring Plans Some investors have expressed concerns that, as Intel targets significant cost reductions, the company may choose not to move forward with the plans in Germany. Intel typically focuses its fabrication capacity on producing its own chips, but the company has been working to expand its third-party fabrication services to drive growth. Given the high costs involved in constructing fabrication facilities, it remains to be seen how the capital-intensive expansion of contract fab services will fit into Intel's restructuring and cost-cutting initiatives, according to Fortune. Skepticism about Intel's fabrication plants in Germany follows the news that chipmaking rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) has broken ground on its own $11 billion facility in Dresden. Stock Performance Following Thursday's losses, Intel shares are down about 60% so far in 2024. The year-to-date losses distinguish Intel stock from many peers in the semiconductor industry that have been lifted by artificial intelligence (AI) expectations. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX) is up more than 20% this year. Read the original article on Investopedia. The United States Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia said in a press release that a Maryland police officer was convicted Friday for acts he committed during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, including throwing a smoking and sparking object in the direction of police. According to the press release, Justin Lee is 25 and from Rockville. U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden found Lee guilty of two felony offenses: assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers and civil disorder, and misdemeanor offenses of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building. Lee is set to face sentencing in November, the release said. The press release said, according to court documents and evidence presented during the trial, on the day of the Capitol riot, Lee was identified by law enforcement authorities via open-source video as present among a crowd of rioters amassed at the exterior Archway leading to the Lower West Terrace Exterior Door of the Capitol, also referred to as the Tunnel. The release also said authorities, using video, spotted someone who was later identified as Lee, standing on the steps leading to the Tunnel and committing multiple acts directed at the line of officers, including throwing a smoking and sparking object in the direction of the police line, throwing an unlit (not smoking or sparking) object at police, and holding and pointing a flashlight that appears to be turned on in the direction of the Tunnel entrance. Lee became a police officer in the winter of 2022, according to The Washington Post, and had applied to be a part of the Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) only a few months after the Capitol riot. A spokesperson for the MCPD previously said to the Post that Lee had been suspended without pay, with the department also making moves to fire him. The Hill has reached out to an attorney representing Lee and the MCPD. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WASHINGTON (AP) A Maryland police officer was convicted on Friday of charges that he joined a mob's Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and hurled a smoke bomb and other objects at police officers guarding a tunnel entrance. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden heard two days of trial testimony without a jury this week before he found Montgomery County Police Officer Justin Lee guilty of two felonies and three misdemeanors. The judge, who also acquitted Lee of two other misdemeanors, is scheduled to sentence him on Nov. 22. Lee, 26, ignited and threw a smoke bomb into the tunnel entrance on the Capitol's Lower West Terrace, where a mob of rioters attacked a group of outnumbered police officers. The device struck a police officer's riot shield and filled the mouth of the tunnel with a large plume of smoke, prosecutors said. No police officer should have to endure these attacks and provocations, McFadden said. Lee, who remains free until his sentencing, didn't show any obvious reaction as the judge read aloud his verdict. His attorney declined to comment after the hearing. After Lee's arrest last October, the police department said it had suspended him without pay. Department spokesperson Shiera Goff said police officials will be moving ahead with termination procedures now that Lee has been convicted. The actions of one individual do not define the entire department, the department said in a statement last year. Lee, of Rockville, Maryland, applied to be a Montgomery County police officer in July 2021 six months after the riot. The department said it hired Lee approximately one year after the riot and didnt know about his alleged involvement in the attack until July 2023, when it learned he was under FBI investigation. Videos show Lee wearing a Maryland flag-patterned gaiter over his face outside the Capitol. He also wore a military-style medical bag attached to his clothes. Lee waved at other rioters to overtake police as the mob attacked a line of officers on the West Plaza, according to prosecutors. Moving to the Lower West Terrace, Lee tossed the smoke bomb and three other rock-like objects" at officers guarding the tunnel, the judge found. Prosecutors said Lee later joined other rioters in spotlighting officers inside the tunnel with a flashlight. The judge rejected Lee's claim that he was just trying to make a statement about police brutality after seeing officers use force against other rioters that day. McFadden also said he believes Lee went to the Capitol on Jan. 6 intending to disrupt Congress from certifying Joe Biden's victory over Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. Defense attorney Terrell Roberts III said the assault charge in this case only applies to acts involving physical contact with the assault victim. Robert argued that the riot shield prevented physical contact between the smoking device and the officers body. It would be bad policy to send a man to prison where the evidence fails to prove each element of an offense, he wrote before the trial. Lee was indicted on seven charges. The judge convicted him of two felonies interfering with police during a civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding officers and misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and trespassing. But the judge also acquitted him of two misdemeanor charges of engaging in physical violence. McFadden ruled that prosecutors didn't present sufficient evidence that Lee committed an act of physical violence. Lee had been on administrative leave since he shot and killed a man suspected of stabbing four people on July 22, 2023, according to the police department. The department said Lee hadnt been performing a police officers duties since the shooting, but his unpaid suspension stemmed from his arrest on Jan. 6 charges. On the day of last year's shooting, officers were responding to calls for a stabbing at a thrift store in Silver Spring, Maryland, when they confronted a suspect holding a butchers knife. The suspect ignored officers commands to drop the knife and lunged at Lee before the officer shot him, police said in a news release. One of the four stabbing victims was critically injured, police said. A police official told reporters that all of the victims were expected to survive the attacks, which he described as unprovoked. More than 1,400 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Over 900 of them have pleaded guilty. Over 200 others have been convicted after trials decided by a judge or jury. Only two Jan. 6 defendants have been acquitted of all charges after a trial. One of them, a Mexico man, was acquitted by McFadden after a trial without a jury. WASHINGTON (DC News Now) Police said a woman from Maryland died in the hospital after someone shot her in Northwest D.C. early Friday morning. According to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), officers were near the 700 block of Florida Ave. around 12:15 p.m. when they heard gunshots. Day care owner arrested, accused of restraining children with tape in Fairfax County Police found evidence that a shooting took place, but did not locate any victims. A short time later, MPD found out that a woman who had been shot was being treated at the hospital. Lou Loni Jordan, 23, of Waldorf, Md. died there. As of Friday morning, MPD had made no arrests. Police asked anyone with information to call 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. Attendees clap and yell Kamala during a watch party Aug. 22 at the Terra Cafe in Baltimore, as Vice President Kamala Harris accepts the Democratic nomination for president. Photo by William J. Ford. Christine Vilbrun admits that, at first, her sister had to drag her out of her home in Harford County to attend a watch party in Baltimore, as Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president Thursday night. But she said the historic nature of the night, and the enthusiasm of those at the party at the Terra Cafe, eventually changed her mind. She was like, Hey, I want to go to a watch party,' Christine, 35, said of her sister Anabelle, 29, who was visiting from New York. She likes being part of a crowd and feeling the energy as well part of the community. Im glad I came. To see history is just incredible, Christine said of her first formal watch party. Its really important to be able to see ourselves and envision ourselves in these high places of power. The Vilbrun sisters joined a couple dozen others to watch as Harris became the first woman of Black and Asian descent to accept a major U.S. political partys nomination for president. The watch party, sponsored by the Baltimore City Democratic State Central Committee, was one of several in the state, including events in Baltimore, Queen Annes and Wicomico counties. Anabelle Vilbrun, left, and her sister, Christine, listen to Vice President Kamala Harris speak during a watch party Aug. 22 at Terra Cafe. Photo by William J. Ford. The Baltimore party may not have been as loud as the scene at the United Center in Chicago, where thousands of cheering delegates were attending the Democratic National Convention. But the crowd was still enthusiastic as they watched on four big screen TVs as Harris accepted the nomination. When Harris stood and said she accepted the Democratic nomination for president of the United States, people clapped and cheered. Angie Winder, corresponding secretary for the central committee, pounded on a table several times when Harris talked about how, as Californias attorney general, she went after for-profit colleges that cheated workers out of wages and fought to protect seniors who endured elder abuse. Winder and others cheered and clapped their hands when Harris said, We are not going back! to a second presidency under Republican nominee Donald Trump. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails, Harris said in Chicago. He would use the immense power of the United States not to improve your lives but to serve the only client he has ever had: Himself. Harris began speaking slightly after 10:15 p.m. EDT, following hours of speakers who told stories related to topics of the evening: strong defense and support for veterans, reproductive rights, gun control and more. And they told personal stories about the nominee. The speakers were interspersed with musical acts and entertainers. including comedian and actor D.L. Hughley who drew laughs when he referenced Trumps comments earlier this month at the National Association of Black Journalists convention. There, Trump tried to claim that Harris only became Black when the entered politics. Kamala has been Black longer than Trump has been a Republican, Hughley said. Among those at the cafe was Del. Regina T. Boyce (D-Baltimore City), who came through early before leaving to attend another watch party hosted by Baltimore Women United. She and others got to hear remarks from more than a dozen people, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts). Warren talked about the difference between Harris and Trump: Hes a convicted felon, she said. Thats right! a few people at the cafe replied. Del. Regina Boyce gives a few remarks Aug. 22 at a watch party hosted by the Baltimore City Democratic State Central Committee. Photo by William J. Ford. Boyce said her own family history reflects the vice presidents, and both embody the American dream. Harris parents come from Jamaica and India, while Boyces family comes from Jamaica and Barbados. Boyce said she isnt surprised by Harris success. Its not that big of a deal to me because women, and especially Black women, have been taking the mantle for centuries, she said. So, it makes perfect sense for me, for a woman, especially a Black woman, to be at the helm for our country. Im excited. Karen Thomas of Baltimore, who was also attending her first watch party, was excited, too. Ive been watching the convention at home, and the idea of watching it with a lot of other people who are really excited about it made me want to come, she said. Like many other Democrats, Thomas said she respects President Joe Bidens decision to drop his reelection bid just one month ago and clear the way for Harris to step in. Biden was just not able to inject the energy and enthusiasm into the race and the Democratic Party that Harris has, she said. I think what were seeing is the experience and policy and wisdom is a very important part of being president, but the ability to project optimism and competence is also part of being president, and thats what Kamala has, Thomas said. Now that Harris has accepted the Democratic nomination, Winder has a message for voters. Its one thing to have the momentum, but theres another thing to have the action behind it, she said. We encourage everyone on Nov. 5 to cast their vote for Kamala Harris. Mason County wildfire ignited by lightning, forest service says; 4,000 acres burned and 30% contained MASON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) The Mason Volunteer Fire Department and several other fire departments across the Hill Country are working to put out a wildfire in Mason County Friday morning. The wildfire is located about seven miles east of Mason near the intersection of North Art Road and Highway 29. Evacuation checklist: What to grab when evacuating Friday at 1:35 p.m. The Texas Forest Service said fires have merged. So far, more than 4,000 acres have burned, and officials said the fire was 30% contained. Friday at 10:55 a.m. Texas A&M Forest Service said the North Art Complex fire remained at 3,000 acres and 25% contained shortly before 11 a.m. Friday at 10:20 a.m. Texas A&M Forest Service said no structures have been lost. Friday at 10:10 a.m. The Texas A&M Forest Service said the fire in Mason County, named the North Art Complex was 3,000 acres and 25% contained shortly after 10 a.m. Friday at 6:45 a.m. The Texas A&M Forest Service said the fire is currently an estimated 3,000 acres and 10% contained. The service said the wildfire is actually a combination of three fires that were ignited by lightning late Thursday night. The three fires were grouped into a complex due to their proximity with one another for ease of management, the forest service said. MAP: Keeping track of Central Texas wildfires in 2024 According to the Texas A&M Forest Service, the fire was initially very active and there were structures threatened, but by early morning, fire activity had diminished and responders were building a containment line around the perimeter of the fire. The service did not yet have information about evacuations or structure loss/damage. The forest service will continually provide updates on the size and containment of the fire online. Viewer-submitted photo of North Art Complex wildfire in Mason County Aug. 23, 2024. (Courtesy: Ashley Airheart Duarte) Viewer-submitted photo of North Art Complex wildfire in Mason County Aug. 23, 2024. (Courtesy: Ashley Airheart Duarte) View from Ranch Road 1900 of the North Art Complex wildfire in Mason County Aug. 23, 2024. (KXAN Photo/Todd Bailey) View from Ranch Road 1900 of the North Art Complex wildfire in Mason County Aug. 23, 2024. (KXAN Photo/Todd Bailey) View from Ranch Road 1900 of the North Art Complex wildfire in Mason County Aug. 23, 2024. (KXAN Photo/Todd Bailey) North Art Complex wildfire in Mason County Aug. 23, 2024. (KXAN Photo/Todd Bailey) Viewer-submitted photo of North Art Complex wildfire in Mason County Aug. 23, 2024. (Courtesy: Ashley Airheart Duarte) North Art Complex wildfire in Mason County Aug. 23, 2024. (KXAN Photo/Todd Bailey) North Art Complex wildfire in Mason County Aug. 23, 2024. (KXAN Photo/Todd Bailey) North Art Complex wildfire in Mason County Aug. 23, 2024. (KXAN Photo/Todd Bailey) North Art Complex wildfire in Mason County Aug. 23, 2024. (KXAN Photo/Todd Bailey) Friday at 4:59 a.m. The Texas A&M Forest Service said on Friday morning the fire has burned over 3,000 acres and has been 10% contained. KXANs First Warning Weather team was tracking storms with the threat of lightning in the area at the time the wildfire began on Thursday. However, an official cause had not yet been determined as of this update. Authorities said no one has been told to evacuate their home at this time. This embedded content is not available in your region. Thursday at 10:28 p.m. The Texas A&M Forest Service said on Thursday night the North Art Complex fire has burned over 1,500 acres, and has been 0% contained. The fire comes after the Mason County judge issued a burn ban Wednesday for the area because of the potential threat of wildfires. Resources and relief A community organizer with Rancher Navy, a fire relief group for ranchers, said the Mason County Rodeo Association is opening up their facilities for people that need somewhere to take their livestock. Mason County AgriLife Extension shared resource information on its Facebook page. The Mason County Show Barn is serving as a livestock supply point and is accepting the following donations: hay, livestock feed, horse feed, feed troughs, water troughs, buckets, feed supplies, and fencing supplies. Donations can be delivered starting Aug. 23, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. until further notice Those who donate should call the Mason County Extension Office before drop off at (325) 347-6459, or Sam Spradlin at (817) 559-0979, the post said. A small animal evacuation site is set up at the Mason County Show Barn at 1015 San Antonio Street, Mason. A cattle evacuation site is set up a the Jordan Cattle Auction at 204 Gooch Ave., Mason. This is a developing story. Check back with KXAN.com 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. BOSTON (WWLP) The Democratic National Convention came to a close on Thursday night with speeches from Massachusetts two most powerful women in politics, Governor Maura Healey and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren. The evenings speeches came after Massachusetts pledged all 116 delegates to make Vice President Kamala Harris their partys presidential candidate on Wednesday. Both Healey and Harris are former attorneys general. RFK suspends 2024 campaign, tells swing state voters not to vote for him Healeys speech drew on this similarity, contrasting former president Donald Trumps criminal record with Harris record as a prosecutor. He obstructs justice, she upholds it. He swindles people, she serves them. He thinks hes above the law, she actually understands the law, said Healey, as onlookers cheered. Warren was welcomed to the convention stage with a standing ovation lasting 90 seconds. The focus of the Senators speech was what Harris could do for working-class families in the United States. Shell take on corporate monopolies that rip off consumers and billionaires who dont pay taxes, said Warren, once the applause died down. And as president, she will lower costs for your family. Majority Whip Katherine Clark, who is Massachusetts 5th congressional district representative, also spoke at the convention. Looking forward to the next big moment of this presidential campaign, Vice President Harris and former President Donald Trumps first debate is slated for September 10 in Philadelphia. 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. SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) Massachusetts highest court upheld the first-degree murder conviction of a Springfield man. Nickolas Lacrosse is convicted of stabbing his ex-girlfriend, Kathryn Mauke, back in 2015. Earlier this year, the Massachusetts Judicial Supreme Court ruled a life sentence without the possibility of parole is unconstitutional for those ages 18 to 21 years old. Springfield man convicted of deadly stabbing denied new trial Lacrosse was 20 years old when stabbed Kathryn Mauke 32 times inside her Prentice Street home, in February of 2015. According to the ruling earlier this year, Lacrosse could be eligible for parole in 24 years. Maukes mother talked with 22News after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rejected Lacrosses request for a new trial. You know we feel comfortable with the justice system and just because hes eligible for parole does not mean that hell be granted parole, says Jennifer Bardwell. The Hampden District Attorney, Anthony Gulluni says, We took the opportunity given that Nickolas Lacrosses conviction was affirmed to sort of call out again the injustice that we believe exists with the Commonwealth V. Mattis decision that changes this sentence and many others across the county. So this really undoes the justice that was done for a lot of families who went through trials in first-degree murder convictions were awarded to defendants who took the lives of their loved ones now thats all up in the air. If you would like to support Kates family, you can take part in their 11th annual 5K that will take place next May on Mothers Day. For more information visit their online memorial site here. Latest Local News Headlines 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. Talk about outlandish Im here at the edge of the world to learn more about the demise of ancient giant sloths, as well as environmental and wildlife conservation lessons for the future. In the quirky and offbeat city of Punta Arenas, located in southern Chile, I duck inside a local ethnographic museum where I take in the ghoulish remains of Milodon darwinii (Darwins sloth, or Mylodon), including claws, skin and fur. Strolling further, I notice a model of HMS Beagle, the ship which Charles Darwin sailed on from 1832 to 1835 throughout South America. During his voyage, Darwin uncovered the remains of four species of giant sloths, three of which were new to science, and such discoveries would later help to inform the naturalists theory of evolution. Indeed, after observing the relationship between extinct giant sloths and living species, Darwin developed his law of succession of types; that is to say, the relationship between past and present inhabitants of a given region. Mylodon, which lived between 1.8 million and 12,000 years ago, was mainly vegetarian but was also an opportunistic omnivore. The creature is related to current armadillos, anteaters and sloths, though in contrast to some of its relatives, Mylodon did not burrow or climb trees. Remains have been found throughout South America, demonstrating the animal was adaptable to cold climates. At the crack of dawn, Im picked up at my hotel by Maximiliano Valdivieso, a guide who will take me to Mylodon cave located outside the city. Several hours later, feeling out of sorts from lack of sleep, I got out of the minivan in the middle of a rainstorm. A path leads us alongside a dramatic cliff face, and to one side I take in life-size models of Mylodon, as well as illustrations of other ancient megafauna which roamed the area, such as Macrauchenia, which Darwin regarded as a prehistoric llama and saber-toothed tigers. Discovered in 1895 by German explorer Hermann Eberhard, Mylodon cave contained exceptionally well-preserved remains including pieces of skin, fur and dung. As we make our way into the vast cavern, my guide explains how Eberhard dissected samples and sent them to England for analysis. In the meantime, however, the German hunted in vain for the animal, surmising it might still be alive since the remains were in good condition. When the results came back, however, he realized he had been looking for a ghost, a unicorn, an animal that had been extinct for thousands of years. It was Mylodon. Gigantic sloth Mylodon illustration And yet, how did researchers identify the animal? Fortuitously, they were able to compare Eberhards sample with Darwins original fossils from Argentina, noting a resemblance. Peering into dark recesses of the cave, I wonder what might have caused Mylodons demise? Valdivieso says arrowheads were uncovered, indicating early human presence. Could human hunting have played a role, or were there other factors? Rewind more than a month earlier, and I find myself in Montevideo. During his travels in Uruguay, Darwin uncovered fossils belonging to Glossotherium, also known as the tongue beast, another species of giant sloth. Hoping to learn more about Darwins ancient megafauna, I headed to a storehouse linked to Uruguays National Museum of Natural History. Shortly before my arrival, the museum had put on an exhibit dealing with Darwins legacy in the country. Andres Rinderknecht, a paleontologist, provided me with a tour of the fossil collection. Archaeologists have uncovered early pendants made of bony Glossotherium material, suggesting humans may have played a role in the creatures demise, however Rinderknecht says the jury is still out on whether hunting, climate change, or even other factors may have dealt the crucial blow. Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter Lab Notes. Are there lessons for the present day? Extant animals like giant armadillos and giant anteaters, related to Darwins ancient giant sloths, have experienced similar pressures. Indeed, the former has been listed as endangered, and in Uruguay the animal has been hunted while suffering habitat loss. Giant anteaters, meanwhile, are listed as vulnerable and have been targeted by poachers. There is little knowledge of local fauna, Rinderknecht remarks, and coastal ecosystems have become a disaster due to urbanization. We recently experienced the worst drought in one hundred years, the paleontologist adds, and Montevideo was hit by a lack of potable water. On the other hand, Uruguay has a historic secular streak, and though the current conservative government isnt wholly supportive of science, at least officials recognize the reality of climate change. After concluding my business in Montevideo, I took a short ferry ride to Buenos Aires. In the midst of a suffocating summer heat wave, I paid a visit to the Bernardino Rivadavia Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences, where I spoke with paleontologist Agustin Martinelli. In addition to Mylodon, Darwin uncovered fossils in Argentina belonging to another giant sloth species, Megatherium. Though the creature had already been described by science, researchers lacked significant specimens to inspect until Darwin happened upon a Megatherium skull. Martinelli himself was inspired to become a paleontologist after growing up as a young boy near the Lujan River, where Megatherium remains had been discovered. Upstairs, walking through an exhibit dealing with ancient megafauna, I was non-plussed by the sheer scale of a Megatherium skeleton indeed, the creature weighed up to four tons and grew to the size of an elephant while consuming vast quantities of vegetation daily. As with Glossotherium, its unclear what caused Megatheriums demise 12,000 years ago, though some believe climate and hunting played a role. Megatherium is related to present-day sloths, which face climate and environmental pressures. Currently, Martinelli remarks, sloths are restricted to northern Argentina and Brazil, though the creatures are at ecological risk. Meanwhile, though giant anteaters have successfully been released back into the wild, giant armadillos are extremely threatened. Argentinas political environment, meanwhile, leaves something to be desired and provides a stark contrast to Uruguay, where there is more support for science. Just before I arrived, the country elected Javier Milei to the presidency, a rightist politician and climate denier. Milei is highly volatile and unpredictable, Martinelli remarks, and he and his scientific colleagues are concerned for the future. Even within the museum itself, Martinelli says, they do not have the proper means to regulate indoor temperature. Outside, meanwhile, the climate in Buenos Aires is becoming more and more tropical. Fast forward to Chile, and Im thinking more broadly about human folly and our inability to protect native wildlife. After visiting the Mylodon cave, I took in majestic mountains and glaciers in Torres del Paine National Park. Struggling to hear amid high winds, my guide Valdivieso explained the region had witnessed high temperatures and a lack of rain, with hundreds of small lagoons drying up, which in turn had a ripple effect on wildlife. Id never seen anything like that in my life, he said, which startled and alarmed me. I, too, was taken aback by the sight of burnt patches of trees. Local fires linked to human error and carelessness, Valdivieso explained, have become more intense and difficult to extinguish. Back in Punta Arenas, I caught up with Juan Francisco Pizarro, a government biologist, who was inclined to believe Mylodon succumbed to both hunting and climate pressures. Considering current environmental problems, he remarked, Mylodon cave should not be considered a mere curiosity. Pizarro remarked how Punta Arenas, the most southerly city in the world, has been experiencing strange weather patterns. Just that morning, in fact, he had remarked to his family how Punta Arenas had gone through two days of rain, though it wasnt cold but rather quite humid with temperatures ranging in the mid-60s. That is the type of summer weather one might expect far to the north, in more temperate areas of Chile. On the other hand, in contrast to climate-denying Milei, the government in Santiago has sought to prioritize the environment and Pizarro praised Chiles president Gabriel Boric for his efforts. And what would Darwin have made of climate change? The naturalist observed how species can adapt to such change over long periods of time, Pizarro remarks, but now the climate is changing at a more accelerated pace. Given previous extinctions of megafauna such as Darwins giant sloth, and humanitys inability to protect current day wildlife, its not clear whether valuable lessons have been learned. Matt Salisbury is the No. 4 candidate in Alaskas U.S. House voting. Who is he? Matt Salisbury, Republican candidate for Alaska's U.S. House seat, is seen in an undated photo published by the Alaska Division of Elections. (Alaska Division of Elections) Matt Salisbury, Republican candidate for Alaska's U.S. House seat, is seen in an undated photo published by the Alaska Division of Elections. (Alaska Division of Elections) Editors note: After this article was published, Dahlstrom dropped out of the race. Five years ago, Matt Salisbury moved to Alaska. Now, the 30-year-old insurance adjuster and moderate Republican is in position to finish among the final four candidates in the race for the states lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. As of Thursday evening, Salisbury had 602 votes in Alaskas primary election, well behind incumbent Democrat Mary Peltola, with 48,590 votes; Republican challenger Nick Begich, with 26,002; and Nancy Dahlstrom, 19,256. Under Alaskas election system, that vote differential doesnt matter: the top four candidates in the primary election advance to Novembers general election. Thousands of absentee and questioned ballots have yet to be counted, but for the moment, Salisbury is in the No. 4 spot, 55 votes ahead of John Wayne Howe, head of the Alaskan Independence Party. I dont know if I would say I was expecting it, Salisbury said when reached by phone on Thursday morning. I believed that I would be (in the top four), but I went in with no expectations. In his own words Salisbury answered the Alaska Beacons 15-question candidate survey this week. You can read his responses alongside those of the other U.S. House candidates online. Hes also answered Ballotpedias candidate connection survey. See here to read more about his background, including how Sept. 11, 2001, was his first political memory. Salisbury has identified as Republican since he was 18, he said, and he holds to the traditional Republican Party belief that individual liberty is the best approach to government. But he also brings a twist to that idea: Individual liberty isnt possible, he said, without financial liberty. That requires constraining the big businesses that might squash free enterprise. Its no longer free to engage in an enterprise if its just held by a few corporations, he said. The pending merger of Kroger and Albertsons, two Alaska-based grocery stores, concerns him because it could limit competition and result in higher prices here. To truly be a free society, we have to make sure that its a fair playing field, he said. When Salisbury thinks of great Republicans, he thinks of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, he said. At the later point in his career, (Roosevelt) wanted to battle corporations on behalf of the people, and he split from the ticket when the party didnt want to embrace that change, and Im not willing to split from the Republican ticket, Salisbury said. He said he sees a lot of people use the term RINO, or Republican in Name Only for Republicans who dont follow the party line exactly. I want to say Im not a RINO. Im a bull moose, Salisbury said. Roosevelt ran on the Bull Moose Party ticket in 1912, and Salisburys website, jointhemoose.com, features a computer-generated picture of Roosevelt riding a bull moose. Salisburys simple three-item platform is aligned with his beliefs: end bottom trawling, properly fund Social Security, and end corporate ownership of single-family homes. Born in Atlanta in 1993, Salisbury grew up in that city and attended the University of Georgia, majoring in economics. During that time, wrote a thesis about Alaskas fishing industry and concluded that the best way to help Alaskas family fishers and the declining salmon returns is to eliminate bottom trawling and the bycatch that comes with it. Salisbury supported Peltola two years ago, he said, but he was inspired to run as a candidate this year because he was frustrated with legislation she introduced in May. Peltola has run as a pro-fish candidate, but Salisbury said her approach to trawling isnt substantial. He said he doesnt feel adequately represented by Dahlstrom, who was picked by the Republican establishment, which I think is just as swampy as everyone else. He also doesnt feel represented by Nick Begich, who comes from a longtime Alaska political family and is personally wealthy. He comes from a place of privilege, and how can somebody like that relate to me and the struggle that everyday Alaskans face? I mean, Im talking to you on my lunch break, Salisbury said by phone. The former Georgian arrived in Alaska for the first time in December 2014 after becoming infatuated with stories, movies and other media about the state, including the example of Dick Proenneke. Salisburys arrival in Alaska was unforgettable, he said. It was my first white Christmas ever. He spent the winter in the state, but a family tragedy meant he had to move away. But the bug never left, he said, and on a hot summer day 95 degrees I made the decision that its now time to go back to Alaska. He returned in 2019, driving 12 days across the United States with his dog, and hes spent the time since then as an insurance adjuster, traveling across the state. Its been an absolute blessing to be able to go through the Kenai Peninsula, up through the Interior to the Western communities and down to Southeast, he said. He bought a starter home in the Matanuska Valley, close to Finger Lakes, and got involved with local groups, including the Elks. I love fishing Im not very good at catching, though. Theres something about the fight and then landing one that just really gives you that adrenaline rush. I love hiking and I love live music, he said. Reggae is his bread and butter, he said, but he likes almost everything. Youll catch me dancing to September by Earth, Wind and Fire; Kendrick Lamar; Pink Pony Club by Chappell Roan I just have a very wide taste in what I like, he said. Salisburys time in Alaska hasnt been entirely smooth. In 2022, after a phenomenal first date in Homer, he was pulled over by police for speeding and charged with drunken driving and possessing a weapon while intoxicated. Its shameful, and Im not proud of it, but it was a mistake that I made, and I own it, he said. I did my punishment, and Ive got my license back. After he sold his starter home in the Mat-Su, Salisbury found it difficult to afford a new house, and even rent was expensive. That experience caused him to oppose corporate homeownership as a way to drive down rent and housing costs. I really think that owning property is a way to financial freedom, and I have concerns that we are being pushed into a place where renters are being reduced down to numbers instead of people, he said. Salisbury said hes concerned that the federal government is willing to authorize spending increases for wars, including in the Middle East and Ukraine, but is reluctant to pay for services given to Americans, including Social Security. I have a hard time driving through Anchorage and watching people live in tents and go hungry and struggle with mental illness and addiction, and we have no resources for these people, he said. When it comes to the presidential race, Salisbury said he isnt endorsing or backing either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. He said he thinks its important to have the ability to work with people, even if he doesnt agree with them. Those are still Americans, theyre still our neighbors, and we can be respectful when we disagree, and we can work together through problems to make an amiable solution for everybody, he said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX You may have gone to a funeral here. Soon, you may live or shop in this Grove location The West Grove, forged on the sweat, brawn and brains of early Bahamian settlers in the late 1800s, has lost much of its Black heritage. Many of the homes, businesses and landmarks that lined Grand Avenue have fallen to gentrification, development and shifting demographics. READ MORE: Piece of original Miami endangered: West Coconut Groves Black history slipping away Now, another landmark is missing. Building is demolished The Bain-Range Funeral Service, one-story colonial revival building that was at 3384 Grand Ave., was demolished in early August after sitting empty and deteriorating for about five years, Coconut Grove Spotlight originally reported. Bains Funeral Home, the Range Funeral Home brand in Miami that was established more than 70 years ago in Liberty City, had partnered with the Bain family in the late 1980s to operate the Grove funeral home under both names. They were in some financial straits and we agreed to come in and partnered with them to help them out. We eventually wound up just buying them out but we kept the name so it was Bain Range Funeral Home in Coconut Grove. So thats how we came into that location, said Range operator manager Norman Patrick Range II. Range Funeral Home history In this file photo from June 12, 2012, N. Patrick Range, (right) and his son, N. Patrick Range II, (left) are at their family Range Funeral Home at 5727 NW 17th Ave. in Miamis Liberty City neighborhood. Patrick Range II, worked for a law firm before he went to work with his dad at Range where, in 2024, he serves as operator and manager. Range, an environmental and land use attorney in Miami, is the grandson of Oscar L. Range Sr. and M. Athalie Range, who founded the original Range Funeral Home in Liberty City 71 years ago, in 1953. Athalie Range also became the first Black Miami city commissioner. M. Athalie Range. Ranges main family-owned funeral home remains in Liberty City in the location it moved into seven years later in 1960 at 5727 NW 17th Ave. Range also operates a Homestead branch but, as with the old Grove building, the family doesnt own the Homestead building at 641 SW Eighth St. Range Funeral Homes still provides services for people who live in the Grove. There just isnt a building in the neighborhood anymore, Range said. There were talks with the owners at that time to look to purchase the property, when they were ready to sell, Range said. It never happened. The Rev. Theodore Gibson, a Miami civil rights leader, plants a U.S. flag on one of the four corners at Douglas Road and Grand Avenue in the historically Black section of Coconut Grove during a Memorial Day ceremony in an undated photo. Gibson died at age 67 in 1982. Developing the Grove site Meanwhile, changes continued to happen in Coconut Grove.. In the past, 20 years or so, everybodys had their eye on development and doing something or other, in terms of looking to add height on Grand Avenue, Range said. Weve been battling developers for the last 20 years to kind of stay in place. Eventually we just lost that battle. A funeral home is clearly not the highest and best use on Grand Avenue currently. So, what is? Silver Bluff Development, Abbhi Capital and Peter Gardner, the development team, plan to put up 27 rental apartments with 3,500 square feet of new retail space as part of the Elemi Phase 2 project on the southwest corner of Grand Avenue and Elizabeth Street in the space where the funeral home once stood, Coconut Grove Spotlight reported. A construction date has not been determined. Silver Bluff did not respond to a Miami Herald inquiry. N. Patrick Range II, left, manager of Range Funeral Service, escorts the casket of Carrie P. Meek along with his staff while her family follows prior to being placed inside the burial vault at Caballero Rivero Dade North in Opa-locka, Florida on Dec. 7, 2021. We recently compiled a list of the Jim Cramer Wants You to Watch Out For These 10 Stocks. In this article, we are going to take a look at where The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS) stands against the other stocks Jim Cramer wants you to watch out for. Jim Cramer noted that Tuesday's pullback was expected as the market had been rising for eight consecutive days, and a ninth would have taken it into rare territory, a streak not seen since 2004. The session was tough, with the Dow dropping 62 points and the S&P falling 2%, almost like a 33% loss. This raises the question of whether the market still has the momentum to keep climbing, especially since bad news finally caused stocks to drop, something that hadn't happened much during the recent 8-day rally. "We were due for today's modest pullbackthe S&P had been up for eight straight days, and nine straight would have put us in rarefied territory. We haven't seen that kind of winning streak since 2004. Todays session was rough, with the Dow off by 62 points and the S&P dipping 2%, like losing 33%. We have to wonder if the market still has the momentum to go higher because today we got bad news, and guess whatstocks actually went down. That didnt happen much during the 8-day gain." Cramer observed an unusual trend during this winning streak. If a company reported better-than-expected earnings, the stock surged. Even if the results were only slightly better than feared, the stock still went up. And if a company posted disappointing earnings, the market shrugged it off, assuming it was the last bad quarter because the Fed might soon cut rates, so people kept buying anyway. "You see, we had a very odd pattern during the winning streak. It was a bit of Pangloss and a nip of Camelot. When a company reported a better-than-expected quarter, it was great. When a company reported a quarter that was just better than feared, the stock still rose. And when a company reported a bad quarter, we decided that it was the last bad quarter because the Fed was about to cut rates, so it was no big dealbuy anyway. In other words, companies could do no wrong, but not today. Today, we had a bit of a reckoning, a dose of reality." Jim Cramer observed that the market had been enjoying a stretch where good performance boosted stocks, and even poor performance was cushioned by the belief that the Fed would step in to help. However, after seven consecutive days of gains, he pointed out that this optimistic pattern might be coming to an end. The market has now reached a level where stocks won't automatically get the benefit of the doubt. Cramer explained that we're back to a more typical environment where strong stocks rise and weaker ones fall. At these elevated levels, it's no longer enough to dismiss the bearish outlook with a simple "heads I win, tails you lose" mindset. "We've reached a point where the market is sufficiently elevated, and we're back to business as usualwhere the good stocks rise, and the bad ones fall. At these high levels, we can't just dismiss the bears with "heads I win, tails you lose." There's a return to rationality, and rationality is the enemy of a market where everything rallies indiscriminately." Our Methodology In this article, we reviewed a recent post of Jim Cramer and his latest insights on what to watch in the stock market for Tuesday. We highlighted ten stocks he mentioned and provided details on hedge fund sentiment for each. The stocks are ranked based on the number of hedge funds that own them, from lowest to highest. 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 young person confidently wearing a denim outfit and eyewear in the street. The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS) Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 39 Jim Cramer noted that Citi has initiated a positive catalyst watch for The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS), which owns brands like Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Athleta. The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS) has responded well, gaining 2.5%. "Citi opened a positive catalyst watch for Gap, which also owns Banana Republic, Old Navy, and Athleta. The stock gained 2.5%. I am going to interview Gap CEO Richard Dickson when the retailer reports earnings on Aug. 29." The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS) has been strategically restructuring its business by closing underperforming stores and enhancing its online and digital platforms. This shift aims to boost profitability over time. The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS)'s strong brand portfolio, including Old Navy, Banana Republic, and Athleta, remains a significant asset with growth potential in both domestic and international markets. Additionally, The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS) is well-positioned to benefit from the growing consumer preference for casual and athleisure wear, which aligns with its product offerings. This trend is expected to persist, especially as remote work and lifestyle changes continue. Furthermore, The Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS)'s focus on sustainability and inclusivity resonates with modern consumers, potentially increasing brand loyalty and driving sales growth. Overall GPS ranks 10th on our list of the stocks Jim Cramer wants you to watch out for. While we acknowledge the potential of GPS as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that under the radar 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 GPS but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock. READ NEXT: $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley and Jim Cramer Says NVIDIA Has Become A Wasteland. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- A new requirement issued by Governor Greg Abbott through an executive order is making its way to every hospital in the Lone Star State. The order? Collecting and reporting the immigration status of patients who receive healthcare. Now, advocates, government officials, and local hospitals across the state are discussing how this order might affect healthcare, including Medical Center Hospital in Odessa. On August 8th, 2024, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued Executive Order No. GA-46. The order states that beginning November 1, 2024, hospitals across Texas (including any acute care hospitals enrolled in Medicaid or the Childrens Health Insurance Program, as well as additional providers identified by the HHSC) will collect the immigration status of patients and file quarterly data reports starting on March 1st, 2025 to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC). The goal, according to Governor Abbott, is to track the costs of healthcare for patients, inpatient discharges, and emergency visits of those who are undocumented migrants and bill the federal government because Texans ultimately bear the costs associated with public financial support. On the Office of the Texas Governor site, Abbott issued a statement following the orders release, saying Texans should not have to shoulder the burden of financially supporting medical care for illegal immigrants That is why today I issued an Executive Order requiring the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to collect and report healthcare costs for illegal immigrants in our state. Related Health News: Overdose in the Basin and how it can be prevented As Governor Greg Abbott plans to seek reimbursement from the federal government with the Executive Order, concerns regarding patient privacy and a potential distrust in Texas healthcare systems have circulated across the state. In the Executive Order No. GA-46, Abbott stated that the collected information will not affect patient care, however, according to the ACLU Texas policy and advocacy strategists, despite the care remaining the same, there are still concerns about how the order could potentially deter immigrants who may be afraid to seek out medical care following this new collection of data. In response to these circulating concerns, local hospitals and Texas healthcare providers are reviewing Executive Order No. GA-46 to learn more about the new data collection requirement including officials at Medical Center Hospital. Russell Tippin, President and CEO of Medical Center Hospital (MCH) in Odessa shared how the local hospitals have responded to the order. I think this new order has raised a lot of questions, Tippin said, adding that the MCH legal team will travel to Austin on Thursday, August 23 to address the questions and concerns surrounding Abbotts new requirements. Us (MCH) along with Midland and other hospitals in the Permian Basin are traveling there because there is some good information that we need to collect, Tippin said. We want to be crystal clear on whats expected from us. We want to give accurate information and we want to give timely information- but we need to make sure we know exactly what were being asked for and how to report it. Regarding the concerns surrounding how the Executive Order could potentially deter potential patients from receiving healthcare, Tippin with MCH said, We dont want to do anything to deter that because we want sick people to be better. At the same time, we dont want the burden to be on the local taxpayer either. We want to make sure that whatever funding is out there to keep people in Odessa and Ector County- to keep their taxes and costs low, that we take advantage of those to protect our local taxpayer. According to Tippin, the local hospital is aware of the costs associated with taxpayer money regarding uninsured healthcare. We know that it costs the local taxpayer money to have these type of patients and we want to make sure that were doing whats right by our taxpayers, Tippin said. I can tell you that the uninsured and underinsured in Ector County and in the Permian Basin are in the hundreds of millions of dollars. We watch every dime that goes in and out with that, and we do our best to recapture everything we can. Overall, Tippin said MCHs goal at the end of the day is the same regardless of the new requirements. Our mission at Medical Center is to provide top-notch health care for anybody regardless of their ability to pay. Thats our mission. Thats what we want to do, Tippin said. Our first thought is how can we make you better? Do we take care of the rest after that? But it is a lot. And its a lot on the local taxpayer and honestly every taxpayer in the state of Texas. Somebody is paying for it, whether thats the local taxpayer or the statewide taxpayer, but at the same time if theres federal funds available to relieve that local burden, then the state of Texas needs to get a hold of that and push it down to these local hospitals so your people in town can have a little bit of a break while we take care of the sick people, Tippin said. News you might have missed: New rules impact realtors, and those looking to buy or sell a home We want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem, Tippin stated. Whatever we can provide the governor to give him, you know, good numbers to work to help keep our local taxes low and our state taxes low, were all for 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 Yourbasin. Joy, pride, and buzz. At Howard University, there's been a "cosmic shift" since Vice President Kamala Harris climbed to the top of the Democratic ticket, according to junior Janella Laurio. It's the first week of school for Laurio, 21, and she and her roommate are still getting their apartment set up. She wanted to rush to finish in time to sit down and watch Harris, a Howard alum, accept the Democratic presidential nomination at the party's convention in Chicago. Harris is the first Black woman and person of Southeast Asian descent to lead a major party ticket. For the country, the choice is historic. For Laurio, it's personal. "Not only is she a Black woman like myself, she's also of Asian descent, such as myself," Laurio said. "I went to Howard University. She's a Howard alumna. I am the president of the Black Women in Pre-Law Society. I mean, she is the Black woman in law." Harris shouted out Thurgood Marshall, another one of her alma mater's famous alums, during her acceptance speech Thursday. She said her parents made sure she and her sister learned about the first Black Supreme Court justice. "She taught us to never complain about injustice but to do something about it," Harris said. "That was my mother." Senior Lauren North, 21, said she appreciated and related to Harris' comments about the impact her mom had on her success. "It is a huge reminder to me even now that although I am a senior and stressed about the future, my mom's work ethic and sacrifice already forged the pathway for me," North said. "It is up to me to keep hope and keep running." Harris discussed her track record as a district attorney and attorney general on Thursday. Junior Mikayla Williams, who watched the speech live on TikTok, said she loved Harris' emphasis that she has fought for the people. She said Harris' comparison between her and her opponent made her laugh. "Her client is America, while Donald Trump's client is himself," Williams said. Junior Karson Smith thought Harris came off as poised and sincere. She said the speech was likely to transcend beyond the typical DNC demographic. "She demonstrated not only her qualifications, but also her exceptional role model status for millions, and the diverse faces in the audiences prove such," Smith said. More: DNC Day 4: Live coverage of speaker schedule, Kamala Harris to take the stage 'Representation is key' It's hard to find students at Howard, one of the nation's preeminent historically Black colleges, who aren't excited about Harris' candidacy. Many of them will cast a ballot for the first time in this year's presidential election. Laurio says her first vote being for Harris "makes so much sense" for her life story. She was born and raised in the Philippines but moved to Colorado in 2018, where she is registered to vote. Laurio studies political science and psychology, is the founder and president of the campus Asian heritage association MyEJA, and dreams of becoming a lawyer. "It does bring me pride in what she represents," Laurio said. "It's a reminder to me that I shouldn't limit myself." From left, Cheyenne Bolin, Howard University President Ben Vinson, and Janella Laurio. As president of the Abram Harris Economics Society, Smith, 20, is following in Harris' footsteps, who also led the organization during her time at the university. Smith said before moving to Washington to study economics and international affairs, she was the only Black girl in her graduating high school class in Texas. She said Harris' nomination "means everything." "The biggest thing that I found up growing up was the importance of seeing somebody else who looks like you in the room," Smith said. "Seeing her on a national scale, being on television, being 'in the room where it happens' is heartwarming because we don't see that." North, who studies political science and philosophy with plans to attend law school, says Harris reminds her to dream bigger. "It's kind of reinforcing that notion that I can do anything," North said. "Maybe I could be the next president." Professors feel it too. Jo Von McCalester graduated from the same department as Harris during her undergrad before attending the university's law school and joining its faculty. She also hails from Harris' home state of California. "Representation is key," McCalester said. Harris is a Bison and an Alpha Kappa Alpha Harris said the beauty of Howard is that every student is told they can be anything in her 2019 memoir The Truths We Hold: An American Journey." She graduated from Howard in 1986 with a degree in political science and economics. During her time there, she joined Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., the oldest Greek-letter African American sorority founded at Howard in 1908. Shortly before announcing her presidential campaign in July, Harris delivered the keynote speech during the sorority's annual meeting in Dallas, Texas. Alpha Kappa Alphas launched a political action committee to help elect Harris last week. The sorority is part of "the Divine Nine," a group of nine Black Greek sororities and fraternities that could play a key role in making it happen, by helping mobilize support among Black middle class and suburban voters. Some members were invited to watch Harris formally accept the Democratic nomination Thursday. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. International President and CEO Danette Anthony Reed said in a statement to USA TODAY that the organization does not endorse specific candidates. She added, however, that it encourages its members to vote in the upcoming election. Harris returned to Howard Aug. 12 while on the campaign trail to speak to incoming freshmen, according to the Washington Informer. "The thing that Howard taught me is that you can do any collection of things, and not one thing to the exclusion of the other. You could be homecoming queen and valedictorian. There are no false choices at Howard," Harris reportedly told the crowd. Howard University students walk in front of Frederick Douglass Memorial Hall on Friday, Aug. 22, 2024, ahead of alum Kamala Harris' presidential nomination acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. 'We've known we could do this' Like many across the country, some members of the Howard community were skeptical of Harris' ability to secure the presidential nomination as a woman of color. But McCalester, whose academic work includes Black women's studies and comparing political developments to the Civil Rights Movement, said she's confident Harris will win in November. "We've known we could do this," McCalester said. "Now you are finding out." Before Harris officially announced her presidential bid for the White House, junior Brian Singleton wasn't so sure. Singleton, 20, said he was surprised, but pleased to see the outpouring of donations, party endorsements and voter support for Harris once President Joe Biden exited the race. He said that support made him believe she could defeat former President Donald Trump. "As a Black woman in America, I was hesitant as to whether or not that was something that America was really ready for," Singleton said. "It'll be a hard battle, for sure, but I'm much more confident now that she can do it than I was before." Harris' nomination is decades, if not centuries, in the making. Just eight years after the Civil Rights Act, Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress, became the first woman and Black person to launch a U.S. presidential campaign in 1972. The thought of a Harris victory makes Williams, 20, tear up. She can't imagine seeing someone like her in the White House even ten years ago. Williams majors in psychology, and says her dad is more interested in politics than her. But she said between Trump's attempted assassination, Biden dropping out, and Harris entering the race, she and her roommate started paying attention. And they made plans to watch the Howard alum's convention speech. "Honestly, this is not something that I would normally do," Williams said. "But since this is something that is so pivotal in history, we're going to sit down and we're going to tune in." Rachel Barber is a 2024 election fellow at USA TODAY, focusing on politics and education. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @rachelbarber_ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Howard University reacts to Kamala Harris nomination Media: Convicts take hostages in Russian prison, kill one Convicts took prison employees hostage in a jail in Russia's Volgograd Oblast on Aug. 23 and killed one employee, the Russian state-controlled news agency TASS reported. According to TASS, the incident occurred during a meeting of a disciplinary commission Penal Colony No. 19 in the town of Surovikino. At least three prisoners participated in the attack, Russian Telegram channels claim. The head of the jail, Andrey Devyatov, was also among the hostages, whose number is still unclear, according to the Russian Telegram channel Shot. Andrey Bocharov, governor of Volgograd Oblast, said that four employees were hospitalized with injuries. The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims. A similar incident occurred on June 16, when six prisoners, some of whom were accused of links to the Islamic State terrorist group, took two employees hostage in a detention center in Russia's Rostov-on-Don. Russian security forces stormed the prison, killing at least some of the convicts, TASS reported. Sign up for our newsletter WTF is wrong with Russia? Sign up Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The Maricopa County medical examiner determined the death of Scottsdale Detective Ryan So was an accident following an incident where a rifle inside a bag he was retrieving struck the ground, causing it to discharge. The autopsy report, which The Arizona Republic obtained Thursday afternoon, closely matched the Mesa Police Department's findings during its initial investigation as part of the East Valley Critical Incident Response Team partnership. So, a member of the Scottsdale department's Special Assignment Unit, had finished a search warrant and arrest operation with other detectives on the evening of June 13 near 76th Street and Greenway Hayden Loop. He was helping another officer unload equipment from one vehicle to another. The autopsy report cited surveillance footage that showed part of the bag fell to the ground as So pulled it from the vehicle. The butt of the rifle, which was still inside the bag, struck the ground. That caused the weapon to discharge a round that struck So in the neck. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was 38. The report noted the weapon fired while still inside the bag. Further testing proved the rifle could discharge when dropped from a height with the stock folded. "Analysis of law enforcement records with video surveillance and weapon test firing showno indication of foul play or self-harming behavior," the report stated. "Therefore, the manner of death is bestclassified as Accident." A toxicology report came back negative. "The loss of Detective So is deeply felt throughout the entire community," Scottsdale police stated shortly after the incident. "We will forever honor his sacrifice and remember his legacy as a hero who dedicated his life to serving and protecting others." So was a nine-year veteran of the force and had served in the U.S. Navy for four years. He is survived by his wife and three children. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Autopsy report finds Scottsdale detective's death to be an accident Meet the NC Zoo red wolves that are helping save their species Meet the NC Zoo red wolves that are helping save their species ASHEBORO, N.C. (WGHP) Two American red wolves at the North Carolina Zoo are helping save their species after surviving serious injuries. The mother and son lost legs after separate injuries that required amputation. Even though they have just three legs, the wolves are thriving in their habitat at the zoo and teaching guests about the plight of their wild counterparts. Take a trip to the NC Zoo with Zoo Filez! American red wolves are critically endangered, only around 20 remain in the wild in Eastern North Carolina. Shannon Smith shows us how the zoo is helping keep this species alive. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. I turned 60 on June 12, and coincidentally, Vice President Kamala Harris , and her husband, Doug Emhoff , hosted a Pride party at their home at the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C., that day. When I tell people I met her, thanks to my wonderful colleague Christopher Wiggins, or when friends see pictures of Harris on my social media, they immediately say, in a breath of excitement, Whats she like? And I thought Id share with you what I tell them now that she's accepted the nomination to be our next president. First, both she and her husband, Doug (pictured below), also turn 60 this year. Harris on October 20, and Emhoff a week earlier on October 13. I met him first, told him about being 60, and he said, You beat me to it. Ill be 60 in October. Hes a very approachable guy, although I admit to dodging a couple of Secret Service agents to get to him. After the vice president finished her speech to the small crowd assembled around the surprisingly small pool in their backyard, she made her way back to the house. When she approaches, you instantly feel the aura around her. Its palpable and its real. Trust me. She wished me a hearty Happy Birthday and softly patted my shoulder. And then she pointed her finger at me and said, Youre a dragon. At first, I thought she was telling me something negative, so I looked at her and said, What does that mean? in a voice that hinted at mild disapproval. Harris explained that it was a Chinese Zodiac sign and that it meant I was intelligent, confident, charismatic, and that I was naturally lucky couldnt argue with the latter since I felt pretty lucky speaking with her. I got some photos with her (including the one above). She said goodbye, told me to enjoy my birthday, and walked away, and as she did, I muttered to no one in particular, Shes going to be president. It was so evident, and it was at that moment that I had a strong premonition. She was going to be our next president. And when I wrap up telling people about how I spent my 60th birthday party, I let them know where I thought she was headed. Ive said many times how much I love President Joe Biden , and I wrote about him frequently and glowingly over the years, and I even met him years and years ago when I worked on the Hill. But there was a sense with Harris of ebullience, joy, confidence well, lets put it this way, all the attributes she gave to me about being a dragon apply more aptly to her. Especially the part about luck. It is excruciatingly difficult to be a nominee for president of the United States: A lot of getting there requires hard work, talent, ego, being at the right place at the right time, and lots and lots of luck. Those all apply to how Harris has ascended to the top of the ticket. It has to be an unusual confluence of all those parts for a presidential nomination to occur. And they all happened to her. If you look at our history, so often the personality, background, and temperament of the president match that of the countrys disposition, and unbeknownst to voters at the time, the countrys needs. Abraham Lincolns constitution was a metaphor for the outcome of the Civil War. Franklin Roosevelts fight and determination, made so suffering from polio, led us through the Great Depression and World War II. After eight years of an aging Dwight Eisenhower , John F. Kennedys youth, good looks, and young family jolted Americans into the newness and possibilities of the 1960s. And while his term was brief, President Gerald Fords humility allowed the country to heal from the scars of Watergate. Now comes Harris in 2024. Since 2016, America has been led by aging white men, one dangerous and destructive, the other experienced and kind. It took Joe Biden, a 78-year-old scrappy kid with a stutter from Scranton, Pa., to lift America up after four years of the selfish narcissist Donald Trump who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. While she challenged Trump in the primaries this year, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said that the party that gets rid of their 80-year-old at the top of the ticket will win in November. Biden unselfishly stepped aside, and he quickly endorsed Harris. I know the reason he did, and its because he knew very well what I saw Harris had that elusive it factor and the ambiance of a winner. And wow, did she show it tonight during her rousing speech to the nation. "Fellow Americans, I love our country with all my heart. Everywhere I go in everyone I meet I see a nation ready to move forward. Ready for the next step, in the incredible journey that is America, she said. Indeed, everyone she meets, like me, is ready to move forward with her. "With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a New Way Forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans, she added. And like Lincoln, FDR, and JFK before her, she is the right person in our era to move us forward. In one statement, she summed it all up about who she is and why it should be her at this inflection point. "I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations. A president who leads and listens. Who is realistic. Practical. And has common sense. And always fights for the American people. From the courthouse to the White House, that has been my lifes work. There was no one else who could have stepped in and done what she did. When she enters rooms, rallies, and stadiums, the crowd also sees, on vivid display, what I saw on my 60th birthday. She electrifies the atmosphere around her. She oozes joy, excitement, possibilities, youth, exuberance, intelligence, and confidence all the qualities that America is looking for right now, to soothe its prickly and glum mood. Harris is the right leader for our times. Shes famous for quoting her mom, who said something to the effect of dont let someone tell you who you are, but show them who you are. And Kamala Harris really shows us who she is. You dont have to be with her for three days to understand her gravitas. Its abundantly obvious in a minutes-long conversation. Anyone who sees her must walk away saying the same thing I did: Shes going to be president someday. There is no doubt in my mind and in many others' where Kamala Harris will be at noon on January 20, 2025. Voices is dedicated to featuring a wide range of inspiring personal stories and impactful opinions from the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. Visit Advocate.com/submit to learn more about submission guidelines. Views expressed in Voices stories are those of the guest writers, columnists, and editors, and do not directly represent the views of The Advocate or our parent company, equalpride. ATWATER, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) Questions continue at the United States Penitentiary in Atwater following the death of a worker at the penitentiary. Thursday, a closed memorial service was held to honor Marc Fischer, who lost his life on August 9 after exposure to mail laced with what authorities say were illicit substances including fentanyl. We have to set a precedence here. We have to prove a point. This is not okay. This is something our staff are exposed to continually, said Brandy Moore-White, the national president of the Council of Prison Locals 33. This shouldnt have happened this could have been prevented, she said. Moore-White said she is more than frustrated after the 23-year Federal Bureau of Prisons worker lost his life. DOJ: 3 arrested after Atwater correctional officer dies The federal complaint says the mail he encountered, was soaked with substances which tested preliminarily positive for not just fentanyl but also amphetamines, synthetic cannabinoids, and other substances. Moore-White says shes seen instances similar to this nationwide, just maybe not to this tragic extent. Fischers official cause of death is still pending toxicology results, but the federal worker union is now pushing for fentanyl-resistant gloves and Narcan on every employee. You cant put a cost on a life, said Moore-White. Marc Fischer was just 54-years-old. According to Moore-White and a GoFundMe by Fischers family, the man was a US Coast Guard veteran, a devoted husband and father, and a person defined by selflessness and integrity. I hear that he was a phenomenal man, a stand-up employee, said Moore-White. A father with two beautiful children. I cant imagine what the familys going through right now. Federal authorities have announced the arrests of three people following his death. USP Atwater prisoner 35-year-old Jamar Jones, 37-year-old Jermen Rudd III of Missouri, and 35-year-old Stephanie Ferreira of Indiana have all been charged after authorities say the trio conspired to get illicit drugs into the federal prison for Jamar Jones to sell. They say Fischer opened the laced letter sent by Jermen Rudd meant for the prisoner Jones. If found guilty, each of them faces decades in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. If you want to help Fischers family during this unimaginable time, their GoFundMe link can be found 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 YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47. MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) A Memphis man is being charged with making death threats against President Joseph Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and former President Barack Obama, according to the Department of Justice. Kyl Alton Hall, 37, is charged with two counts of threats to a sitting President and Vice President and one count of a threat to a former President. On July 27, the DOJ says that Hall made several posts on X, a social media platform formerly known as Twitter, threatening to kill, assassinate, shoot, and crash the plane of President Biden, assassinate Vice President Harris, and assassinate former President Obama. On July 30, Halls mom told WREG that the Secret Service came to her home and arrested Hall at a car dealership. On August 20, a federal indictment was returned. If Hall is found guilty, each charge may carry a penalty of up to five years in jail. WREG spoke with Halls mom, Sharron, and father, Kenneth, who say Hall has struggled with mental health issues his whole life, but recently became bizarre. His family says they have had to call the police on Hall multiple times before for mental issues. Sharron Hall says she believes hes schizophrenic, hearing voices from Biden and Obama. She says he has emailed her from jail, sometimes normal, sometimes delusional saying, I am God and Im in the Illuminati. Halls family says he was homeless for a year before living with them for three years. They have tried to get him help, but say they feel hopeless and scared. They also say they will not bail him out of jail, fearing hell snap again. It hurts us what hes going through mentally, theres nothing we can do for him. We tried. try to get him on meds, sent him to the hospital and stuff so he can get help. Theres not much more we can do, said Sharron Hall. However, they say prison is not the solution for him. He doesnt need to spend time in jail hes done that and thats done nothing but make things worse for him, said his father Kenneth Hall. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Will Crow of the National Security and Civil Rights Unit in the U.S. Attorneys Office. Hall is due in court on Wednesday on unrelated charges out of Southaven including False Pretense, receiving stolen property, contempt of court, and being a fugitive from justice. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) Its been a day of staff meetings, conference calls and Zoom discussions between staff and administrators of Mercy Health over getting ready for the potential closure of Trumbull Regional Medical Center and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital. Dr. James Kravec, chief clinical officer with Mercy Health, says while the topic is taking on more urgency now, it has been ongoing for years. The good part is we have had a lot of meetings in the last 24 hours, but it wasnt because we were creating the future, we were solidifying the plans that weve been working on, Kravec said. Mahoning County commissioners said they are concerned about the ripple effects of the closure. Commissioner Anthony Traficanti fears the shutdown of Trumbull Regional will force patients to get their care at hospitals in Youngstown and Boardman, potentially overwhelming them. You over-burden a system and then people get angry. They have to wait longer, people are getting sicker, and its just unfortunate. And then COVID was the real test to that issue, so I would love to see a hospital system come in here, Traficanti said. Kravec said Mercy Health has roughly 1,000 registered beds at its three area hospitals. More than 850 of those are staffed and have patients, compared to the 375 registered beds at Trumbull Regional. He said Mercy is ready to take on Steward Health patients now just as it did when the old Northside Hospital closed six years ago. We knew, based on what we saw with numbers, based on what we could read in the healthcare environment that was likely, Kravec said. Although emergency room care has been an issue for all hospitals in the region, Kravec said Mercy is adding patient beds to its emergency departments in the Valley as well as additional staffing. He added that the systems three hospitals, walk-in facilities and urgent cares will be able to handle the increased patient load while also trying to educate the public on where to go to get the best and more efficient treatment. Weve opened our tenth walk-in care for Mercy Health recently in Canfield. Weve opened our 32nd primary care office in Hubbard, Kravec said. Kravec says Mercy will continue to grow its services, opening a new rehabilitation hospital late next year and a behavioral center in 2026. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. 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. On former Kansas City police detective Eric DeValkenaeres first full day in jail last October, former colleague Arthea Reno sent an impassioned plea to Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, urging him to free the first KCPD officer ever convicted in the killing of a Black man. Reno wrote in a message that she had served with DeValkenaere for several years, calling him a dedicated officer and a wonderful man. If DeValkenaere said he believed his partners life was in danger when he shot and killed 26-year-old Cameron Lamb nine seconds after they arrived at Lambs home while investigating a reported traffic incident on Dec. 3, 2019, then that is exactly what he thought and felt at the time of this incident. He does not deserve to be punished for doing exactly what any of us would do to save ourselves or others, Reno, a KCPD front desk worker who retired in 2021, wrote. A pardon may cause some strife and issues among the opposition, butsometimes we have to do what is right instead of what is easy. What is just instead of what is publicly popular. Nearly a year later, Parson continues to publicly weigh clemency for DeValkenaere, who is serving a six-year sentence in an undisclosed out-of-state prison. The governor, a former sheriff in southwest Missouri who has long cast himself as a staunch supporter of law enforcement, in recent days telegraphed that he is leaning toward taking action. As Parson nears a decision or an announcement a trove of messages obtained by The Star through a records request reveals the dispatches, both for and against clemency, that have flooded his office over the past two years. The documents include the messages sent to Parson through an online contact the governors office form. They offer a window into the rush to sway what is one of the most consequential remaining decisions of the governors term. The messages, spread across nearly 250 pages, underscore the depth of division within Kansas City and the surrounding area over whether DeValkenaere should receive clemency. In the final months of Parsons time in office, they offer a window into the arguments the governors office has heard on both sides of the question. In September 2023, as DeValkenaeres case made its way through an appeals court, Matthew Moore, a friend of the Lamb family who has spoken publicly about the case, wrote to the Republican governor with a very different message than Reno. In his email, he said DeValkenaeres killing of Lamb had violated his Fourth Amendment constitutional rights. Prosecuting the case was a struggle in a city still dominated by Jim Crow, he wrote. Governor Parson I beg you to let due process run its course and to refrain from pardoning this officer who robbed three beautiful children of their father, for no reason at all, Moore wrote. Our community is already suffering from hopelessness and depression and we are just now starting to turn things around to create life out of death in our community. I beg you to be a part of the solution. The possibility that Parson will pardon or commute the sentence of DeValkenaere has hung over his case ever since a judge convicted him in 2021 of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action. But attention on the potential for clemency ramped up after Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker in June 2023 made public a letter urging Parson not to pardon the former detective. Since then, DeValkenaeres wife, Sarah DeValkenaere, has led a public campaign on behalf of her husband and a clemency request has been made on his behalf. Parson has also grown more unguarded when asked about the case. The governor told a radio interviewer earlier this month that I dont like where hes at and that were going to see what happens here before long his most suggestive public comments to date. The clock is ticking for the governor, who will leave office in January. Parson spokesman Johnathan Shiflett said this week that Parson hadnt made a clemency decision. As far as a timeline, Governor Parson retains his clemency powers until the end of his term, Shiflett said. Former Kansas City police detective Eric DeValkenaere, center, became emotional as he listened to his father, Albert DeValkenaere, give a statement during his sentencing hearing Friday, May 4, 2022. Seated near DeValkenaere were attorneys Dawn Parsons, left, and Molly Hastings. DeValkenaere was sentenced to six years in the Dec. 3, 2019, killing of Cameron Lamb. Pardon called sickening The messages obtained by The Star, which are concentrated in 2023, chart the growing sense of urgency among supporters and opponents of clemency, especially after Bakers letter. One message sent in the wake of the letter, coming from someone who identifies herself as the wife of a KCPD officer, warns that morale is low within the department and sharply criticizes Baker as a prosecutor who wants to put cops in jail. Baker, the person warns, is trying to tell Parson how to do his job. The possibility of violent protests if DeValkenaere is freed shouldnt stop the governor, she says. I certainly dont want to see our city go through what we saw in 2021, but if that is what it takes to give an innocent man his freedom, I will be first in line to volunteer for the clean up crew, the person wrote. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker speaks during an interview on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Kansas City. Peters Baker wrote a letter asking Gov. Mike Parson to not pardon KCPD detective Eric DeValkenaere, who was convicted in 2021 of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the fatal shooting of Cameron Lamb. Another message came from Cassandra Wainright, a pastor and leader with the Concerned Clergy Coalition of Kansas City. She underscored that DeValeknaere had been tried and convicted and warned the case continued to reach heights of negative notoriety for Kansas City and Missouri. She questioned what message a pardon would send to the Black community, to Lambs family and to the judicial system. The law has spoken. Do something that is integral and serves the best interest of the people who have been impacted the most. If it were a white victim and a Black officer, would you be willing to pardon the officer then? This is sickening on so many levels, Wainwright wrote. IF this happens, it will be a sad commentary of your role as Governor. Even before speculation over clemency became widespread, some Kansas City civic leaders had criticized DeValkenaeres ability to stay out of jail even after his conviction. The former detective remained free on bond as he appealed the verdict, angering those who saw as a double standard in the treatment of a white law enforcement officer compared to many Black defendants. Cameron Lambs family deserves justice, one message said. Stop interfering with the court process and let DeValkenaere face consequences for his actions that lead to a criminal conviction. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson at a ceremonial bill signing with members of the Kansas City Police Department. Law enforcement support Law enforcement supporters have rallied to DeValkenaeres side, however. In their messages, they cast Lamb as a criminal and DeValkenaere as an officer forced into a split-second decision who shouldnt be second guessed. They are critical of Baker and, more broadly, perceived anti-law enforcement attitudes within Kansas City. One Raytown resident who messaged Parsons office said their family was planning to move north of the river as soon as possible. I feel like if I was ever placed in a position to defend myself I would not get fair treatment in Jackson county, the person wrote. Kristina Goodin, who listed a KCPD email address and gave the address of police headquarters, urged Parson to immediately pardon DeValkenaere in an October message. Goodin, wrote that the governor needed to stand up against people attempting to ruin the country by whittling away the law enforcement community. On a daily basis, Goodin wrote, we put our lives on the line for strangers and in return are publicly chastised for split-second decisions. The judicial system has been thrown into disarray by democrats, attorneys, and the extremist Al Sharptons of the world, Goodin wrote. How many police funerals had he attended vs the funerals of felons across the country? How much racism has be fueled vs quashed? How can you stand by and let this happen? You have the power to begin the reinstatement of justice NOT for the criminal but for the peacekeepers! Kansas City police spokesman Jake Becchina said Goodin was employed until 2019, and last worked in the Patrol Bureau. She then served on a volunteer basis as a reserve sergeant but is no longer in that role and isnt affiliated with KCPD. Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves has previously told The Star that it is not unusual for police officers to show their support for a colleague in peril and called the entire situation a tragedy. Graves husband, KCPD Capt. Daniel Graves, wrote a letter seeking leniency from the court amid DeValkenaeres appeal. Daniel Graves has said DeValkenaere lived across the street from their Northland home in 2008. The messages to Parson dont appear to include any messages from Daniel Graves to the governor. A June 19, 2023, message from someone in Manistee, Michigan said most police officers are committed to the rule of law. Still, this person said some act less than honorably and violate the civil rights of citizens. These officers need to be held accountable, the individual wrote, adding that DeValkenaere shouldnt be pardoned. Please uphold the rule of law, the message ended. Billionaire Bill Ackman and his fund Pershing Square Capital were busy scooping up shares of Nike (NYSE: NKE) in the second quarter. The hedge fund manager runs a very concentrated long portfolio, holding only nine stocks as of the end of the second quarter. Let's look at what may have attracted Ackman to the stock. An iconic brand Nike is an iconic brand whose swoosh logo is one of the most recognizable in the world. In the U.S., the company has about 97% aided brand awareness, while its products are well known around the globe. Nike has been able to forge a reputation as a leader in innovation and style in the sports apparel and footwear space over the years. The company is also a marketing machine. It has endorsement deals with some of the most popular athletes from around the world. It has also branched out to non-athletes with musicians and other celebrities. Brand equity is hugely valuable and Nike has built an unmatched reputation in the sports apparel and footwear space over the years. It has a loyal following and a strong reputation. Image source: Getty Images. Turnaround potential Despite its strong brand, Nike has had its share of struggles recently. It only grew revenue a scant 0.3% its last fiscal year, ended in May, while fiscal Q4 sales fell nearly 2%. To make matters worse, the company projected its fiscal 2025 sales to decline by mid-single digits after saying in March that it expected sales to rebound in the second half and to see full-year sales growth in fiscal 2025. Nike forecast Q1 sales to drop a whopping 10% in its fiscal Q1, and for the first half it now sees high-single-digit declines. Among the reasons behind its dour forecast were a soft wholesale order book, challenges in its digital business, a difficult Chinese market, and the aggressive actions it is taking to manage its classic footwear franchises. However, one tried-and-true method of helping reinvigorate a stock is to set low expectations and then pole vault over them. Given that Nike was just front and center at the Olympics, it appears the company was doing just that when it projected such a large sales decline in fiscal Q1. The company showcased a number of new products and spent heavily on marketing around the Paris Summer Games. Those efforts appear to have paid off, with web analytics company SimilarWeb showing a surge of visits and sales to its website during the Olympics. While a boost in sales from the Olympics doesn't solve all of Nike's problems, it could help it leap over a low fiscal Q1 bar. Meanwhile, it also shows that the brand can continue to resonate with consumers and that with the right marketing, endorsements, and product innovation, the company can get back on track over the long run. Story continues Discounted valuation Given its brand power, Nike has always traded at a premium valuation since it takes a very long time to build the type of brand equity it has. However, the company's recent struggles have seen its valuation drop considerably. The stock now trades at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of under 22.5, which is well below the over 30 times it has often traded at the past several years. NKE PE Ratio (Forward 1y) Chart While the company is predicting some sales (and earnings) declines this year, I don't think it will be as bad as forecast. Meanwhile, Nike is trading at one of its most attractive valuations in quite some time. Should investors follow Ackman and buy Nike stock? I currently think the setup for Nike looks attractive both in the short and medium term. In the near term, the company has set low expectations, which I think it will thoroughly beat. Meanwhile, I think the Nike brand is still powerful and resonates with customers. While the company has some work to do to get back on track, its brand equity is undeniable and it has a long track record of success. I see no reason why Nike shouldn't continue to be a long-term winner. As such, I'd follow Ackman into the name and be a buyer of the stock around current levels. Should you invest $1,000 in Nike right now? Before you buy stock in Nike, 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 Nike 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 $758,227!* 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*. See the 10 stocks *Stock Advisor returns as of August 22, 2024 Geoffrey Seiler has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Nike. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2025 $47.50 calls on Nike. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Just Do It? This Billionaire Just Bought Nike Stock, Should You? was originally published by The Motley Fool A Wahkiakum County judge sentenced a former meter reader to 30 days of electronic home monitoring for fraudulently taking workers compensation benefits. Linda Lashell Jordan, 56-year-old Grays River resident, pleaded guilty on Aug. 19 to second-degree theft of state workers compensation benefits, a gross misdemeanor offense, according to Wahkiakum Superior Court records. This case resulted from a Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) investigation that found she faked being traumatized by a workplace dog attack to defraud the state, according to an L&I news release. An undercover investigator reportedly found she had six dogs at her home, including some she was fostering and advertising for sale. All the while, she was insisting that she could not work because she was experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dog phobia. This claim reportedly stemmed from a 2007 incident in which a dog bit her right arm while she worked for the Pacific County Public Utility District. Based on her claim, the release says Jordan took more than $162,000 in wage-replacement payments from September 2016 to October 2019. Celeste Monahan, assistant director of L&Is Fraud Prevention and Labor Standards division, called this a clear case of someone abusing the states workers compensation system. Its not a victimless crime, Celeste said in the news release. She was taking money from the fund that helps workers who really are seriously injured on the job and need support to heal and get back to work. Judge Heidi Heywood sentenced Jordan to 30 days in jail, but the release says she was allowed to serve her time under electronic home monitoring. L&I says it wants Jordan to repay the money she took as well. How did she get caught? L&I opened an investigation into Jordan in 2018 after a claim manager began to suspect something was amiss in her case, the release says. An investigator reportedly visited Jordans home, then in Cathlamet, under the guise of being interested in purchasing some bricks she advertised for sale. While at the home, the investigator observed three French bulldogs and three boxers who swarmed Jordan. The dogs did not seem to negatively affect Jordan in the investigators eyes, according to the release. Jordan reportedly told the investigator that she and her husband and been rescuing and fostering boxers for three decades and warned that one of the dogs may bite. She also allowed the investigator to take her photo with two of the boxers at the home, the release says. Additionally, investigators found Jordan advertised dogs for sale on Facebook using her maiden name and her husbands name. She was also observed driving nine times between 2018 and 2019, which went against the medical advice she previously received. Prior to this, the release says her medical providers had stated she couldnt work or drive due to her on-the-job injuries and because she fainted whenever she saw dogs. In August 2019, the investigator showed Jordans former psychiatrist the evidence they collected and the psychiatrist changed her diagnosis from PTSD and dog phobia to malingering, which means pretending to be ill or injured to avoid work. 7 people injured when Metro bus runs into pole in Studio City Seven people were injured when a Metro bus struck a pole in Studio City Friday morning. The collision was reported around 4:30 a.m. in the 3900 block of Lankershim Boulevard near Universal City. Video from the scene showed heavy damage to the partially crushed front passenger side of the bus. Studio City bus crash Metro released a statement confirming the bus collided with a pole but did not say what caused the crash. Six of the seven people injured in the incident were taken to the hospital and listed as trauma patients due to the damage, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. The injuries to the patients were considered to be non-life-threatening. Metro said the bus driver was treated at the scene and released. Metro extends well wishes for a speedy recovery to all involved, the agency said in its 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 KTLA. NEW MEXICO (KRQE) A man from Las Cruces, New Mexico, has been sentenced. Authorities reported he had been found with a pipe bomb and ammunition near a playground in 2023. Court documents stated Nathan Wallace, 41, was seen in May 2023 at a childrens playground of East Mesa Baptist Church. The Dona Ana County Sheriffs Department arrested him, and they reported they found a destructive device and ammunition. Wallace reportedly admitted to having a metal pipe with gunpowder, which was identified as an operational pipe bomb. Tourism to New Mexico state parks on the rise The pipe bomb was confiscated and analyzed. Authorities searched his belongings and found a shotgun shell, a motion sensor, two cell phones, and modified batteries and wires. Wallace had felony convictions, so he was not allowed to have firearms or ammunition. He reportedly admitted to having the ammunition even though he was a felon. Wallace was sentenced to 52 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador meets with his security cabinet at the National Place in Mexico City, Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) MEXICO CITY (AP) Mexico said Friday it is sending a diplomatic note protesting supposed U.S. interference after the American ambassador openly criticized a proposed Mexican judicial overhaul that would make all judges stand for election. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called the comments disrespectful of our national sovereignty and claimed it interfered in Mexicos domestic affairs, adding I hope this will not happen again. On Thursday, U.S. Ambassador Ken Salazar said the proposed changes pose a risk to Mexicos democracy and that they threaten "the historic commercial relationship between the two countries. Critics fear the constitutional changes are an attempt by Lopez Obrador to weaken the independence of the judiciary. The diplomatic note said the ambassador's comments represent an unacceptable interference, a violation of Mexico's sovereignty. The proposal to require judges to stand for election, which has not been approved yet, has spurred criticism from investors and financial institutions in recent days, with the Mexican peso steadily dropping in currency markets. On Tuesday, Morgan Stanley downgraded its recommendation for investing in Mexico, saying the overhaul would increase risk. Others, like Citibanamex, warned that passage of the proposal could end in the cancellation of liberal democracy. Democracies cant function without a strong, independent and non-corrupt judicial branch, Salazar told reporters. Any judicial reform needs to have safeguards that the judicial branch is strengthened, and not the subject to political conditions. He said the proposed overhaul would help cartels and other bad actors take advantage of inexperienced judges with political motivations, and create turbulence both economically and politically for years to come The proposed overhaul also has triggered strikes by federal court workers and judges in many parts of Mexico this week. If approved, the measures would allow virtually anyone with a law degree with a few years experience as a lawyer to become a judge through popular vote. If too many candidates register to run for a judgeship, the final contenders would essentially be chosen by putting their names in a hat and holding a drawing. Given major electoral wins by Lopez Obradors Morena party in June, academics, financial institutions and court employees say the changes would pave the way to stack courts with politically biased judges. That could hand the governing party control of all three branches of government and deal a blow to checks and balances, they warn. The proposal must be approved by Mexicos newly elected congress, which will take office Sept. 1 with Morena and its allies holding a majority. The presidents six-year term runs to Sept. 30, and President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum has also defended the proposal. Lopez Obrador, a populist averse to independent regulatory agencies, has long been at odds with the judicial branch. He contends judges are part of a mafia that opposes him, and says the proposal is meant to clean up corruption. He has gone on winding rants against the judicial system, ignored court orders and publicly sparred with judges whose rulings he has disagreed with. While Salazar said rooting out corruption in Mexicos judiciary is not a bad idea, he expressed deep concern over the prospect of having judges elected. The direct election of judges represents a risk for the functioning of Mexicos democracy, and the integration of the American, Mexican and Canadian economies, Salazar said. It was an unusual about-face for Salazar, an ambassador who had long been criticized for being too subservient to the Mexican president and who had previously been a staunch defender of Mexico's right to reform its judiciary and its energy industry. Lopez Obrador said it appeared Salazar had been ordered to make the comments by the State Department. Salazar made the comments after some U.S. industry groups wrote to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier in the week complaining the reforms could weaken protections for investors and favor Mexico's own state-owned companies. This isn't Ken, Lopez Obrador said. Ken is the spokesman, this is the State Department. ___ Follow APs coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) A specialized Albuquerque school for the blind is now left with thousands of dollars in damage after a man broke in overnight. But thats not the only problem the suspect caused. Story continues below Principal Paul Kilman showed where police caught a burglary suspect Thursday morning, inside the storage room of the New Mexicos School of the Blind and Visually Impaired, off Eubank in southeast Albuquerque. He just totally trashed everything in there. He spray-painted stuff, so well have to take care of that, said Kilman. The break-in happened just before midnight. Police said the suspect first smashed the windows of three company vehicles. Then, he busted a window to get inside a school classroom leaving a trail of destruction. David Payne, 34, is now facing charges for the break-in. Its an unknown mystery of what the purpose was expect to get into the building and rummage around, said Kilman. After police got on scene, officers said Payne barricaded himself in one of the storage rooms where toys and equipment were spread around and spray painted. The principal said while the roughly 7,000 dollars in property damage is a headache, the loss of time in the classroom for students is most disappointing. These students rely on that repetitiveness. The ability to do tasks over and over and to lose those few days is really hard for the students, said Kilman. The school had to cancel classes Thursday and tomorrow in order to safely clean up. He made it to all the classrooms which is what impacts all students. And so every classroom is going to have to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected and rearranged to be prepared for the student by Monday, said Kilman. On Friday, staff will spend the day cleaning and reorganizing the school in hopes of preparing to welcome students back next week. The school just announced this week that it would be expanding its footprint with new buildings. They said part of that expansion will now include a review of campus security. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Mexico will wait for Venezuelan vote tallies before taking stance on disputed election FILE PHOTO: Mexico's Lopez Obrador is shown in 2022 in Mexico City MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Friday that his government would wait for Venezuela's government to publish local vote tallies from the South American country's disputed presidential election before recognizing a winner. Venezuela's electoral body declared President Nicolas Maduro the winner of the July 28 vote, but it has not published ballot box-level voting tallies. The country's top court on Thursday ratified Maduro's victory. Both the electoral authority and the court are criticized by the opposition as being in the pocket of the president. After the July vote, Lopez Obrador said he would respect the Venezuelan electoral body's declaration, but also called on the publication of vote tallies. "We're going to wait until they release the tallies," said Lopez Obrador. When asked about the lag in releasing the tallies, Lopez Obrador offered that he respects the decisions other countries take. (Reporting by David Alire in Mexico City; Writing by Brendan O'Boyle; Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Matthew Lewis) Michelle Obama praises Gus Walz for showing us all what real love looks like (The Hill) Former first lady Michelle Obama praised Gus Walz, the son of Vice President Harriss running mate Tim Walz, after the 17-year-old went viral for his emotional response to his fathers speech at the Democratic National Convention this week. I was touched to see Gus Walzs joy when his dad [Tim Walz] took the stage last night, Obama posted on the social media platform X Thursday night as Harris delivered the keynote speech at the convention in Chicago. Thankful for you showing us all what real love looks like, Gus. Gus Walz became an online sensation Wednesday night when cameras caught him crying and pointing proudly at his father as the Minnesota governor delivered his speech accepting the partys vice presidential nod. Thats my dad! Gus Walz could be seen saying from the crowded floor at the United Center as his father paid tribute to his family. The moment quickly spread across social media, with a number of high-profile political figures praising the high school senior. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen recently told People magazine that Gus had a non-verbal learning disorder, in addition to ADHD and an anxiety disorder. Obamas tweet also comes after conservative commentator Ann Coulter drew criticism for a post on X mocking Gus Walz. She later deleted the social media post. Lets be a nation that embraces this kind of warmth and vulnerability, instead of making fun or mocking it, the former first lady said in her tweet Thursday. We could all use some of Guss example in our own lives. Obama herself drew an ecstatic response for her speech at the DNC on Tuesday night, in which she excoriated former President Trump while urging Americans to come together and support Harris. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Republicans and Democrats clapped back at right-wingers like Ann Coulter for attacking Gov. Tim Walzs s 17-year-old son Gus after his emotional reaction to his father's Democratic National Convention speech. Hope, Gus, and Gwen you are my entire world, and I love you," Walz said to cap off his speech. Gus Walz rose from his seat snuggled in between his family who were all in tears and said, beaming at the vice president candidate, Thats my dad. Some right-wingers attacked the teen, who is neurodivergent and has a nonverbal learning disorder and ADHD. Coulter, in a tweet that has since been deleted, posted an image of Gus Walz crying, writing, "Talk about weird..." Coulter ultimately removed the post without apologizing, writing:: I took it down as soon as someone told me hes austistc [sic], she said, misspelling the diagnosis, but its Democrats who go around calling everyone weird thinking its hilariously funny. Former first lady Michelle Obama took a subtle jab at Gus' critics as she praised his emotional response. I was touched to see Gus Walzs joy when his dad @Tim_Walz took the stage last night, Obama wrote while Kamala Harris was accepting her partys nomination for president at the DNC. Thankful for you showing us all what real love looks like, Gus. Lets be a nation that embraces this kind of warmth and vulnerability, instead of making fun or mocking it. We could all use some of Guss example in our own lives, she added. Some on the right also condemned the attacks, including Rep. Marc Molinaro, R-N.Y. I may not agree with [Walz's] prescription for America's challenges - but I've always believed in shielding our children from attack," he wrote. "His son Gus, our kids - neurodivergent and of all abilities - ought to be celebrated and supported. I've done it my whole career and will continue to push for everyone to #ThinkDIFFERENTLY." "The View" host Ana Navarro blasted the attacks at Walz as cruel, inhumane, disgusting, "unacceptable" and un-American." Just before coming here, I was at brunch with Gwen Walz, the wife of Tim Walz, the vice presidential nominee, she said in a clip flagged by Mediaite. And you could see the emotion she has of the attacks that are going on against her teen son, whos got special needs. There are many Republicans, many Trump Republicans out on social media taking horrible attacks on a kid who had a beautiful moment of authentic pride and love for his father yesterday and got emotional." A physician in Michigan has been arrested on charges relating to filming young children and grown adults in changing rooms at a Rochester swim school, Oakland County authorities announced Tuesday, adding they expect to identify more victims after they say thousands of other videos and images were found on the doctors devices, including footage of him assaulting a patient at a hospital. Dr. Oumair Aejaz has been charged with one count of child sexually abusive activity, four counts of capturing an image of an unclothed person and five counts of using a computer to commit a crime, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said at a Tuesday news conference. This individual potentially is one of the worst Ive ever seen, the sheriff said. Because theres no particular category. Its not just children, its not just women, its not just men. It goes from a 2-year-old to a grown woman. The victimization is so broad, and the perversion so great, that were just beginning to wrap our arms around it. The charges primarily stem from an incident that happened at a Goldfish Swim School in August 2023, video of which was found on hard drives confiscated from Aejaz earlier this month, authorities said. The current charges that weve issued from the events that weve identified have occurred in Oakland County thus far involve four separate victims, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen D. McDonald said at the news conference. The currently charged cases stem from the swim school and it is (involving) a 2-year-old, a 4-year-old and two adult females. McDonald later noted the child sexually abusive activity charge is related to material found on Aejazs device, not the incident at the swim school. Beyond the current criminal charges, the sheriffs office alleged in a news release that Aejaz, 40, used hidden cameras to record children as young as age 2 and women of various ages in hospital rooms, changing areas, as well as inside closets, bathrooms and bedrooms he could access, for at least the past six years. Detectives believe Aejaz also recorded sexual encounters he had with numerous hospital patients who were either asleep or unconscious and recorded relatives in the bathroom or while changing clothes, the release said. CNN has reached out to Aejazs attorney for comment. Earlier this month, Aejazs wife gave the sheriffs office information and materials that were concerning, McDonald said. Oakland County court records show Aejazs wife filed a restraining order against her husband and requested sole custody of their home and children after filing for divorce in June. Authorities immediately executed search warrants and confiscated six computers, four cell phones and 15 external storage devices one of which held 13,000 videos, the sheriff said. Aejaz was arrested by detectives during the execution of the search warrant of his home on August 8, one day after Aejazs wife had submitted the tip. According to the sheriff, some of the footage captured by Aejaz came from inside his own home, which he shared with his wife and two young sons. Aejaz was arraigned on August 13 in Rochester Hills District Court and is currently being held in Oakland County Jail on a $2 million bond, according to Bouchard. A citizen of India, Aejaz had been working in the United States on a visa, the sheriff said. His next hearing is scheduled for August 26. And those are just the charges weve pressed so far that relate to the victims that we can identify, McDonald continued, noting authorities expect to find more victims from the thousands of images on the devices. What we understand from law enforcement is this was not a case where cameras were affixed to or hidden in the Goldfish facility, but rather recordings were made by hidden recording equipment on the suspects person, and/or his belongings that he brought in and out of the facility when he came into our school for lessons, Goldfish Swim School said in a statement. Law enforcement has done a thorough sweep of our school to assure that there are no cameras hidden or affixed, and we continue to prioritize the safety and privacy of our members, team and guests with continuous facility checks, as we always have. Aejaz had privileges at Henry Ford Macomb in Clinton Township and Ascension Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc Township but was not part of their staff, the sheriffs office release said. At the news conference, Bouchard asked any other medical facilities where Aejaz was licensed or practicing to inform the sheriffs office. We are shocked by these allegations and take them very seriously. This individual has never been an employee of Henry Ford Health but had privileges at several area hospitals, including Henry Ford Macomb Hospital. The safety of our patients and team members is our top priority and we have taken immediate action to prevent him from practicing at our health system, Henry Ford Health said in a statement. CNN has also reached out to Ascension for comment. The sheriff said he estimated it would take around six months to complete a forensic examination of all of the confiscated materials and expected the investigation into Aejaz to go beyond local municipalities, to include other states or countries. Violating children in safe spaces as they change for a fun swim or sexually violating women who are still under sedation from a medical procedure shows his depravity has no limits. At the end of this case, it is my fervent hope he is held fully accountable behind bars, Bouchard added. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) Earlier this week, Michigan Corrections Officers picketed outside 3 prisons in the Upper Peninsula. Theyre calling attention to what the Michigan Corrections Organization calls a staffing crisis. Corrections officers across Michigan are struggling with staff shortages in about half of the states prisons. Were running these prisoners with far less officers than are supposed to be there, said Byron Osborn, the president of the Michigan Corrections Organization, the union that represents corrections officers. Were at the point the officers cant keep going year to year hoping that something is going to change because it hasnt. One of the prisons affected is the Robert Cotton Correctional Facility in Jackson, where the union says the vacancy rate for officers is as high as 36%. (WLNS) What that means for correctional officers is that its forced mandatory overtime, said Cary Johnson, a corrections officer at Cotton. The union says they are often working 16-hour shifts, violating the departments overtime rules. For a corrections officer its a difficult and dangerous job already, said Johnson. She said a work-life balance is crucial for dealing with the challenges of the job. When youre forced to work that amount of overtime, those things tend to get pushed to the side. We need our elected officials in the House, the Senate, and thegovernorss office to take a real hard look at finding a long-term solution, said Osborn. (WLNS) (WLNS) The MCO recently sent a letter to Governor Gretchen Whitmer requesting to temporarily deploy the Michigan National Guard. However, they say she didnt respond. Instead, she referred the request to the Michigan Department of Corrections, which is pushing a House bill that would remove college credit requirements for new officers. What theyre not telling the media is its going to have zero impact on the current situation because, for the past number of years, theres a waiver in place so you dont have to have the credits to get hired, said Osborn. And for now, they take to the picket line. We need help, said Johnson. It feels like were forgotten sometimes, that were doing this job and its just unsustainable right now. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Vice President Kamala Harris has reportedly backed a proposal to tax people with assets exceeding $100 million for unrealized capital gains. - kamil krzaczynski/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Im trying to work out if Ive ever heard as much nonsense in such a short period of time as Im hearing right now about the Biden-Harris plan to tax unrealized capital gains. Under the plan, an increase in the value of an asset would be taxed as income, even if the owner hasnt sold the asset. Right now, these so-called paper profits arent taxed. Most Read from MarketWatch Never mind that this proposal is nothing new and is nowhere near getting passed into law anytime soon, anyway. Or that it would only apply to the tiny number of people who have a net worth of over $100 million. Or that it would be created to fix a very specific problem, which is that many of the superrich actually pay almost no income tax at all. Even when I put all that to one side, almost every single thing Im hearing against the proposal is wrong and an insult to our intelligence. Im not even especially liberal. Im a registered independent, an investor and a capitalist. But these arguments are so bad they make me want to hoist the hammer and sickle and start singing the Internationale. Low-tax conservatives and Republicans should be cringing in embarrassment. First, lets start with all the arguments being made against this policy that are just arguments against taxes in general for example, that if we tax unrealized gains, it will mean people are being penalized for owning assets, or for saving money. By that measure, Im being penalized for working for a living, because I have to pay income tax. Im also penalized for owning a home, because it is subject to property tax. Im penalized for inheriting money if I have to pay inheritance tax. Im penalized for shopping when I pay my states sales tax. Whats left? Er nothing. Look, I get it. These people dont like paying taxes. Nobody does. But government money has to come from somewhere. If I want to live in an untaxed anarchy with no government, I can probably move to one of the worlds failed states and take my chances. Story continues These people are no different from left-wing extremists who also want something for nothing. They deserve each other. Then there are the complaints that taxing unrealized gains is somehow unfair because the investment hasnt been sold yet, or because it would be too logistically difficult to tax it before a sale. Phooey. Why should I have to sell something before its taxable? My city taxes my home on its assessed value every year. It feels no obligation to wait till I sell it. My mutual funds and exchange-traded funds charge me a fee based on the total value of my investment. They dont just bill me for the funds Ive sold. I pay a percentage of the total value, including all the unrealized gains. If you have a financial adviser or portfolio manager, they will do the same thing. They will not charge you a fee based on realized gains. They will charge you a fee based on total assets. Amazing, really, given that such a calculation is alleged to be totally impossible. I have never heard anyone arguing this is unfair or a wrong way to do business. Once upon a time, taxing unrealized capital gains probably would have been logistically impossible. Imagine all the paperwork involved, back in the days before computers. No longer. Ill bet your broker tracks your total portfolio value by day, hour and minute, even if you are just a regular customer with an online account. Doing the math on this stuff now is easy. My favorite complaint about taxing paper gains comes from those in the hedge-fund and private-equity rackets whose businesses would be most affected. These are people who make their gazillions by charging their clients hefty fees on their total assets under management. No, not just the realized gains, but also all the unrealized gains. The typical manager charges clients about 2% a year on the value of their investments, just for breathing, plus 20% of the profits (if any). Its known widely as the 2-and-20 model. Neither of these ludicrous fees is levied only on realized assets. Hand $1 million to a hedge fund or private-equity fund and they start charging 2%, or $20,000, a year from Day 1 often before they get around to investing your money. And if your portfolio somehow goes up, say, by 50%, theyll skim another 20% of that $100,000 in extra fees. No, they wont wait till any of those gains are realized, or crystallized, or whatever term they use. Youll be paying those fees quarterly, if not monthly, as the supposed performance occurs. If the investments then tank, even before youve realized a nickel of personal gains, do you think theyll give that money back? How big a sucker are you? And these are the same people pretending to be shocked shocked! by the very idea of levying a charge based on asset value or unrealized gains: What kind of Soviet tyranny is this? Pass the hankies. Its not as if these guys have any grounds to complain about the tax code. They already get a full-service massage from the IRS every year. Hedge-fund and private-equity managers benefit from the so-called carried-interest loophole, which might better be described as the two-Ferrari tax break. This is a special tax break, just for them, thats so outrageous that nonexperts simply refuse to believe it when you tell them about it. It means they pay taxes at special low rates. And they get to defer their tax bills for years. Try doing that at home. Its not even as if they are creating value. As Warren Buffett has pointed out, these funds, over time, generate worse returns for their investors than low-cost index funds. Personally, I think we should levy a special tax on all hedge-fund and private-equity managers. How about 2% of their personal assets per year, plus 20% of your gains realized and unrealized? Outrageous? Larcenous? Grotesque? Sure. We learned from the best. Most Read from MarketWatch Should middle school students have cell phones in class? What Tri-City schools are doing Some Tri-City schools are cracking down on cellphone use in an attempt to improve student mental health and prevent bullying, as well as to refocus the school day around learning. Three schools in Richland School District plan to pilot new guidelines. Hanford High School and Richland High School students will only be able to use phones between classes, and before and after school. Enterprise Middle School students meanwhile will practice an away for the day policy, where phones will be kept off and in their backpacks from the first to last bell. If successful, these efforts could influence district wide action. They were excited to try this out, Superintendent Shelley Redinger said at the Aug. 13 school board meeting. Meanwhile, phones will be restricted during instruction time at Pasco High School and Chiawana High School. Like their Richland peers, those students will still be allowed to use them during passing periods and at lunchtime. These guidelines were implemented to help improve focus and engagement in the classroom and contribute to a healthier learning environment, wrote Anna Tensmeyer, Pasco School Districts director of public affairs, in an email. Since last year, Pasco middle schools have required their students to keep phones stowed in their backpacks at all times while on campus, a move that mirrors Enterprises effort. That rule will continue into the 2024-25 school year. Weve seen positive impacts, particularly at the middle school level, and were looking forward to seeing how the changes at the high school level support our students academic success and overall well-being, Tensmeyer wrote. Kennewick School District has restricted student use of personal electronic devices, including cellphones, during instruction since 2022. But teachers can grant students permission to use their phones if its part of the lesson. Most schools across the U.S. have had policies on the books for years now. But a new wave of cellphone bans and restrictions pushed by teachers, principals and lawmakers in recent months hope to drive student focus back on instruction and away from digital distractions like TikTok and Instagram. The new school year begins next week for tens of thousands of K-12 students in the Tri-Cities. Pasco and Richland will begin returning to class on Tuesday, Aug. 27, and all Kennewick students will return Wednesday, Aug. 28. State bans and research In the last couple years, seven states have either adopted policies or statewide restrictions on cellphone usage for students while either on campus or during class time. Those are Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia, according to Education Week. The new policies and laws vary. For example, a Minnesota law tasked the states school principal association with creating best practices and says school districts should adopt policies by March, while an updated Louisiana law requires students to keep phones in their backpacks until the end of the school day. Earlier this year, the Washington Legislature considered a bill that would have piloted cellphone restrictions in some schools, tasked the Washington State School Directors Association with developing model policy, and eventually required school districts to adopt a policy restricting student mobile device use during class time. House Bill 2018, sponsored by state Rep. Stephanie McClintock, R-Vancouver, failed to make it out of House Appropriations despite having bipartisan support. Teachers say students are more distracted than ever, and cellphones are often a leading cause. Nearly three-quarters of high school teachers say students being distracted by cellphones is a major problem in their classroom, according to a November survey from the Pew Research Center. The share of middle and elementary school teachers who shared the same sentiment in the survey was 33% and 6%, respectively. About 82% of K-12 teachers across the country say their school has a cellphone use policy, with a majority saying its very or somewhat easy to enforce. But about 70% of teens say there are generally more benefits than downsides to them using smartphones, according to the Pew study, with half also saying smartphones make it easier to do well in school. Several years of research has shown unregulated cellphone usage is detrimental to the mental health, focus and socialization of kids and teenagers, with reports showing that social media can leave them especially stressed, depressed and burdened. The Away For The Day campaign claims students who put their phone away during the school day are more engaged, often show higher test scores and are at lower risk for depression or suicide. One multi-country study from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, claims it can take a student up to 20 minutes to refocus on their subjects after simply glancing at their smartphone. Children can also develop a separation anxiety to their devices known as nomophobia, as well as an addiction to the internet. These issues have the potential to impact a students overall academic performance. This form of anxiety is often linked to receiving negative feedback or cyber-bullying from peers, becoming more aware of stressful events occurring in other peoples lives and internalizing the pressure to maintain social network updates, reads one Hungarian research article. It is also possible that using such platforms is used as a coping mechanism for people struggling with anxiety or depression. But cellphones can also act as valuable learning tools for students, and many parents feel comforted knowing they have a direct communication line to their child. Tri-Cities changes Under our new policy, cell phones/personal devices will be stowed away from bell to bell, reads a letter sent to Enterprise families. This includes during lunch and in the hallways during passing periods. If you need to contact your student during the school day you can contact the main office and we will get a hold of your student for you. Students will also have access to school phones in the offices should they need to call their parent/guardian, the letter continues. Students who violate the new policy on first and second offense will take their device to the front office where they can pick it up at the end of the school day. Further violations of the new cellphone guidance could result in a conference with the principal, teacher and parent. At Hanford and Richland high schools, students are expected to put phones and earbuds except for Chromebook use away during class. They can use them between classes and during lunchtime. Students can wear a smart watch, but cant use it to communicate during class. We know there are a few exceptions that will need to be made, and we will gladly work with families to accommodate necessary requests with proper documentation, the letter to high school families reads, which could include for medical reasons. Middle school teacher arrested in California on accusations of rape of a child in Centralia Centralia Police Department (CPD) assisted in arresting a former Centralia Middle School teacher on charges of 2nd-degree rape of a child. In October of 2023, CPD began an investigation into allegations that a former female Centralia Middle School teacher named Natasha Polk had been engaging in a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old male student, according to a press release published by CPD on Thursday. The release states the alleged acts occurred in 2020 while the victim was in the 8th grade and continued for a time after he completed middle school. CPD says the investigation revealed evidence that Polk provided the victim with marijuana, alcohol, and vapes. According to CPD, Polk used her status as an educator to gain access to the victim while he was incarcerated at Lewis County Juvenile on unrelated issues. The allegations included that Polk would drive the victim from Centralia to her apartment in Lacey, where she would engage in sex acts with him after providing him with alcohol, says CPD. In 2021, Polk moved from Washington to West Sacramento, California, but she continued to have contact with the victim, says CPD. The release states that in 2021, Polk traveled back to Washington to visit the victim, and on that trip, she rented an Airbnb in Tacoma, where she is alleged to have taken the victim and again had sex with him. As a result of CPDs investigation, the Lewis County Prosecuting Attorneys Office requested an arrest warrant for Polk. According to the release, CPD discovered Polk was currently employed as a teacher with the Davis Joint Unified School District in Davis, California. CPD drove to West Sacramento to assist the West Sacramento Police Department with arresting Polk on August 21 at her home in West Sacramento. Polk is incarcerated in the Yolo County Jail and is awaiting extradition to Lewis County. At a school board meeting this week, Lexington-Richland 5 trustees worried just how raucous and raunchy a public hearing on book challenges could get. One board member referenced a previous hearing the district held about a challenged book that involved a novels graphic sex scenes read aloud to a crowd of teachers, parents and students. Does that mean they can come in and read out the bad language theyre concerned about? asked board member Mike Satterfield. He worried future hearings could devolve into a forum for airing sexually explicit or racially charged language, taken out of context. But his fellow board members at Mondays meeting worried those concerns only underlined what they saw as inappropriate content in some school materials. Were tasked with protecting minors, said vice chair Matt Hogan. If its not appropriate to read for adults, it might not be appropriate for children. Lexington-Richland 5 isnt alone in pondering these questions. School boards across the state will have to reevaluate their policies to determine whether they comply with new rules that are binding on all public school districts in South Carolina. At the instigation of S.C. Superintendent Ellen Weaver, the S.C. Department of Education this summer imposed new rules that allow the state board of education to review local school boards decisions about allegedly age-inappropriate materials used in classrooms and libraries, especially material with broadly defined sexual content. Any parent can now challenge a book or other material up to the state board, and if board members overturn a local districts decision to allow the material it could effectively ban a controversial work in every school district in the state. Proposed new book challenge policy Under the proposed new policy being considered in Lexington-Richland 5, any parent in the district can file a complaint identifying offending material and request that it be restricted to a certain grade or age group or removed from the school completely. The revised policy says that parents must make a good faith effort to address their concerns with school staff before filing a complaint with the school board. A single complainant is limited to five objections per month under state rules. The proposal is a change from how the Chapin-Irmo district handled book challenges in the past. In recent challenges in Lexington-Richland 5, the books were first read and reviewed by a committee including teachers, librarians, administrators and parents. Now, in line with the language in the new state rules, the school board has 90 days to rule on a challenge to a book. A parent would then have another 30 days after that to appeal the boards decision to the state board of education. The rules also wont require a challenged book to be taken off the shelves until the challenge is resolved, as the district has done in the past, District Chief of Academics Tina McCaskill said at Mondays board meeting. In recent years the district has reviewed challenges to a graphic novel about King Tut and a childrens book on Black identity, both of which were ultimately returned to school shelves. But last year the board did remove the fantasy book A Court of Mist and Fury and other books in the series, something faculty pushed back on at the time. Teachers feel overwhelmed by this law, Satterfield said. The way that this whole thing is being presented as so encompassing for everything. Its not just a book or a video, its anything a teacher might use in a classroom, noting that teachers often use supplemental material in their classes. Some elective classes dont even have formal textbooks, and depend on the teachers to come up with a lesson plan from scratch each day, he said. The new policy would require teachers to get approval for outside materials from team leaders within their department, a compromise from having the principal personally approve all material a teacher might use. That way, McCaskill said, a teacher might get sign-off on a YouTube video from a colleague during a break between classes. I dont want this to be a formal thing for teachers, Satterfield said. Its like saying we dont trust you, we dont trust your professional judgment. Board member Kevin Scully also worried the rules would set unnecessary hurdles in the way of teachers trying to teach. Professionals dont have someone constantly watching over their shoulder, he said. Impact on school book fairs, field trips The neighboring Lexington 1 school district is considering similar changes to ensure the districts library policy aligns with the new state standards. A proposal considered by the Lexington 1 board Tuesday would give the board discretion to send complaints to a subcommittee of three board members, which could hold a hearing and send its report back to the full board. Board members there questioned how far the regulations could go. Board vice chair Kathy Henson asked if the rules apply to book fairs that outside partners sometimes host in the district. If they do it in a school building, it needs to be in compliance with the regulations, Chief Academic Officer Mary Gaskins told the board. Likewise, Gaskins said, the rules would be applicable during school-sponsored field trips, after-school clubs or other district activities. We may receive additional guidance, she said. On Aug. 15, the Lexington 2 school board also approved changes to bring policies in the Cayce-West Columbia school district in line with state policy. I would point out that these changes track with exactly what the state has requested school districts do, board member Beth Branham said in making the motion, which was approved unanimously. Last school year, Lexington 2 removed at least 17 books from school libraries due to parental challenges. Lexington-Richland 5 board members also indicated they would prefer the full board hold a hearing on any complaints, with a chance to hear from parents making the challenge and members of the community. But if a challenged book isnt first reviewed and cleared by a committee of community volunteers, there wont be a side at the hearing formally arguing in favor of the book. This is going to be a shift for all, district superintendent Akil Ross said, but we do need supplemental materials to enrich and remediate. Millions of chickens in supermarkets found with concerning health issue: 'Industry-accepted indicator of welfare standards on farms' Millions of chickens sold in U.K. supermarkets have skin burns from living in their waste, according to a recent BBC investigation. These burns seen on upward of one-third of birds in some stores point to animal welfare concerns on British poultry farms. What's happening? The BBC recently published an independent investigation on the quality of chicken sold in U.K. supermarkets. The news outlet reported finding skin burns, also called "hock burn," on millions of pieces of poultry sold in chain supermarkets. Hock burn, according to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, is caused by ammonia in chicken excrement, which results in distinctive brown or black ulcers or "burns" on poultry. "Hock burn is often associated with a high-stocking density of birds and is a result of prolonged contact to moist, dirty litter," the BBC study reported. Though chicken with hock burn is safe to eat, the amount of hock burn within a flock is an "industry-accepted indicator of welfare standards on farms," according to the BBC. To collect data, the BBC asked the 10 biggest UK chain supermarkets to self-report on hock burn presence on their store shelves. The markets contacted were Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi, Co-op, Lidl, Waitrose, Iceland, and Ocado. Co-op and Aldi reported hock burn on about one-third of their in-store poultry. Sainsbury's and Tesco reported that about one in five chickens on their store shelves displayed hock burn. Waitrose had the lowest reported incidents of hock burn with 2.7% of in-store poultry displaying the condition. Waitrose told the BBC it reduced the presence of hock burn by 80% between 2014 and 2022 by monitoring conditions on farms and training farmers. Five supermarkets Asda, Morrisons, Lidl, Iceland, and Ocado refused to release data to the BBC, presenting a further issue of consumer transparency. Why is monitoring hock burn on supermarket poultry important? Seeing hock burn on poultry can indicate poor animal welfare on farms. The U.K. government's code of practice for the welfare of meat chickens says the overall health and welfare of farmed poultry is linked to litter quality, or adequately cleaning a flock's environment. According to the RSPCA, hock burn is also linked to "inactivity caused by overcrowding, lack of daylight, bare environments, and health problems linked to fast growth rates." The high rate of hock burn on supermarket chickens highlights the food system's overreliance on poultry factory farming. Research shows that factory farms are linked to planet-warming pollution and massive land and water consumption, as reported by Sentient Media. Unmanaged chicken excrement can also lead to human health impacts, contaminating the air, soil, and water with pesticide residues, pathogens, antibiotics, hormones, metals, and other pollutants. According to World Animal Protection U.K., the most severe hock burn lesions are often cut off during processing, meaning the actual presence and severity of hock burn is likely underestimated. What's being done to improve living conditions on U.K. poultry farms? When presented with the BBC's data, the British Retail Consortium told the news outlet the high prevalence of hock burn in UK supermarkets was being taken "very seriously." But what is specifically being done to address the condition is unknown. To address the welfare of factory-farmed chickens on an individual level, World Animal Protection U.K. recommends that consumers eat less meat and poultry to help drive down demand. If you want to continue eating poultry, choose high-welfare options and small farm suppliers to shift away from factory farming. But not everyone sees a problem with the BBC's investigation. The British Poultry Council which represents suppliers, processors, and farmers refutes the BBC data, saying its methodology has the potential to "mislead and misinform." The National Farmers' Union of England and Wales also told the BBC that U.K. farmers have "some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world," citing ventilated, dry barns and accessible perches as adequate in preventing hock burn. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. Jessica Rosenworcel, Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission, talks to parents during a visit to Union Avenue Elementary, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) LOS ANGELES (AP) The Biden administration is moving to blunt the loss of an expired broadband subsidy program that helped more than 23 million families afford internet access by using money from an existing program that helps libraries and schools provide WiFi hotspots to students and patrons. Jessica Rosenworcel, chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission, told The Associated Press last week that the agency had voted in July to modernize a federal program known as E-Rate to fill at least some of the gaps left by the Affordable Connectivity Program, which gave families with limited income a monthly subsidy to pay for high-speed internet. A lot of those households are at risk of disconnection, Rosenworcel said after a visit to a Los Angeles elementary school. We should be clear that its not always an on-off switch. Its about sustainability. The Affordable Connectivity Program, part of a broader effort pushed by the administration to bring affordable internet to every home and business in the country, was not renewed by Congress and ran out of funding earlier this year. Mothers of students at Union Avenue Elementary School, which has a 93% Latino student population, told Rosenworcel that their need for the internet has never been greater. They said the cost of rent and food makes it hard to prioritize maintaining a continuous connection. After listening to the mothers describe using WiFi in a McDonald's parking lot so they can take part in remote doctor's appointments, pay bills, and provide their kids with an internet connection for their online homework, an emotional Rosenworcel called their stories chilling. That family and that child are going to have a harder time thriving in the modern world without that connection at home, she said. The E-Rate program, established in the 1990s, has provided more than $7 billion in discounts for eligible schools and libraries since 2022 to afford broadband products and services. According to a data analysis by the AP, it offered benefits to more than 12,500 libraries, nearly half of them in rural areas, and 106,000 schools. For the most recent round of funding, the E-Rate program was expanded to include WiFi on school buses. Starting next year, Rosenworcel said, the list of eligible products will expand to WiFi hotspots. The Affordable Connectivity Program was helping one in six families in the U.S. afford internet access. Rosenworcel said the decision to include WiFi hotspots in E-Rate was partly a response to the failure to extend the subsidies. Every child needs internet access at home to really thrive, Rosenworcel said. Alex Houff, who manages digital equity programs for the Baltimore County Public Library in Maryland, said the library began a WiFi hotspot lending program right before the COVID-19 lockdown began in 2020 with around 50 devices. She said the program has grown to include 1,000 devices, which still falls short of meeting demand. There are more than 160 people waiting to use a hotspot, Houff said. Most of the time we were hearing from branches that their communities were borrowing these hotspots because it was their only source of connectivity, Houff said. Affordability, Houff said, is the biggest barrier to connection. She said the library system would apply for E-Rate funding to double the number of hotspots it offers to patrons. The expansion of the program has not pleased everyone. The two Republicans sitting on the commission argued that E-Rate was meant to bolster and support internet access within the classroom, not at home or other places where students might want to learn. The last I checked, schools, which have classrooms, and libraries, are physical locations with addresses; not philosophical, conceptual ideas of instruction or education, Republican commissioner Nathan Simington said in a statement after the vote. Rosenworcel, who took over as chair of the FCC after President Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the 2020 election, said the Republican members' characterization of where the program ought to be applied was too restrictive. After the FCC voted to expand WiFi hotspots to school buses, a group of Republican senators endorsed a lawsuit challenging the agency's decision. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who led the group of senators, said in a news release that the commission's new rule was an overreach that would harm children by enabling their unsupervised access to the internet. Disagreements between political parties arent the only threat to E-Rate. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals the same one where Sen. Cruz filed an amicus brief about WiFi on school buses ruled at the end of July that the funding mechanism that supports E-Rate and other FCC-administered internet access programs, known as the Universal Service Fund, is unlawful. There is a big cloud of uncertainty over the future of the Universal Service Fund right now because of this Fifth Circuit decision, John Windhausen, the executive director of the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband Coalition. Its a horrible decision, and its totally out of line with past Supreme Court precedent and totally out of line with other appeals courts that have ruled in just the opposite way. Further litigation is expected. The case could be taken up by the Supreme Court, Windhausen said. Chairwoman Rosenworcel said she's confident in the integrity of the Universal Service Fund, saying the Fifth Circuit's decision is misguided and wrong. It's done a lot of good for the United States to make sure, no matter who you are or where you live, you get access to modern communications, Rosenworcel said. Rosenworcel said the FCC could mobilize quickly if Congress would simply renew the Affordable Connectivity Program, which might be the easiest way to address the need. Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office seeks help in notifying family of man who died David Jimenez died on July 10. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office is seeking help to find his family and notify them. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office is asking for help to find the family of a man who died on July 10. David Jimenez, 52, died at about 7:14 a.m. in the area of 2201 S. 7th St. and his death is not considered suspicious, the office said. The office is seeking to notify the family of Jimenez's death so they can make final arrangements. Anyone with information should contact the county office at 414-223-1200. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Medical Examiner seeks help in notifying family of death COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) South Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating after a van flipped over the I-95 embankment crashing head-on to Bells Hwy, resulting in multiple critical injuries. Colleton County Fire-Rescue said the incident occurred Friday morning around 9:38 a.m. A Toyota Sienna was traveling southbound leaving I-95 just before exit 57, they then drove behind a guardrail plummeting over the embankment and crashing onto Bells Hwy below the interstate. Courtesy of Colleton County Fire-rescue Courtesy of Colleton County Fire-rescue Courtesy of Colleton County Fire-rescue Courtesy of Colleton County Fire-rescue Courtesy of Colleton County Fire-rescue Officials say the van then overturned receiving heavy damage. Four children and two adults from New Jersey occupied the van. All were unrestrained and injured. One female child and an adult male received critical life-threatening injuries. An adult female received serious injuries. Three other male children received multiple non-life-threatening injuries. Colleton County Fire-Rescue says the van did not strike any other vehicles on Bells Hwy. All patients were treated at the scene by firefighters and paramedics. Westbound traffic on Bells Hwy was disrupted for about an hour while emergency personnel assisted with the accident. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. One of the nations oldest Black-owned newspapers is celebrating 90 years of storytelling. This past weekend, the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder celebrated nine decades of serving as the voice of Minnesotas Black population, FOX 9 reported. The paper celebrated its milestone with two events: a yacht cruise on the St Croix River and a gala in downtown Minneapolis. Established by Cecil E. Newman, the headquarters of the newspaper happens to be located just a few blocks from where George Floyd was murdered in 2020. The business is now overseen by Newmans granddaughter, Tracy Williams-Dillard, When the inaugural paper was released on August 10, 1934, each print was sold for only five cents. Inside, Newman shared his mission, which was to speak out fearlessly and unceasingly against injustices, discrimination, and all imposed inequalities. The Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder is now overseen by Newmans granddaughter, Tracy Williams-Dillard. Im overwhelmed with joy and happiness, and it just feels phenomenal. Thats all I can say. To know that my familys legacy has made it 90 years through the rough times and the tough times, and were still here despite it all, she said. The Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder made history as one of Minnesotas oldest Black-owned businesses. Our focus is making sure that the African American community is being treated with respect and in the way that they should be. And if youre not, we hold you accountable, Williams-Dillard said. Williams-Dillard wants to keep operations within the family. She plans on passing the newspaper on to her daughter one day. The community needs the Spokesman-Recorder now more than ever, she said. To donate to the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, visit the website. COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) The Columbus Police Department is seeking information on a missing juvenile. Tamiya Feggins, 14, was reported missing on Friday, Aug. 23. She was last seen two days prior on Wednesday, Aug. 21 around 10:45 p.m. near the 1000 block of Enoch Drive. Feggins was wearing a green tank top with blue shorts that have G.A.P. written in white along with crocs that are black with gold sparkles. Feggins is described as standing at 5-foot-6 and weighing 110lbs. She has black hair with tan highlights and brown eyes. Anyone with information is asked to call 911, the CPD Special Victims Unit at (706) 225-3449, or lead investigator Cpl. Copeland at (706) 225-4343. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ROME (AP) The latest chapter in a seemingly endless saga over the management of Italys lucrative beach concessions has set Italian beaches on fire this summer. For almost two decades, the European Commission has been locked in a legal tug-of-war with Italy over its beach concession practices, accusing the peninsular nation of lacking transparency and breaching competition rules. Italian governments, from left to right, have staunchly resisted EU directives requiring competitive tendering, persistently renewing the existing beach concessions without open procedures. After the latest extension approved by the far-right government of Giorgia Meloni until the end of the year, Rome has now run out of options and will be forced to comply with EU rules from early 2025. We are in a phase of total uncertainty and we want our rights to be preserved, said Susanna Barbadoro, who represents the third generation of owners of a beach concession in Ostia, a popular seaside destination near Rome. Beach concessions have been passed down from one generation of a family to the next for decades, creating what critics consider to be a sort of monopoly and a symbol of Italys resistance to economic reforms. Costs for beach-goers vary along the Italian coasts: They can go from 25 euros to rent two chaise lounges and an umbrella for the day in the most basic establishments, to several hundred euros in fancy resorts such as Capri or Puglias Salento. The beach operators complain that they have made huge investments into making their establishments comfortable for their returning customers and now cry for compensation. Barbadoro was one of hundreds of beach operators who on Aug. 9 went on strike, closing their umbrellas symbolically for two hours in the early morning to make their voice heard by the government. We ask that operators who have been in this business for years maintain a pre-emption right (in the tenders) or receive some sort of compensation if they fail to obtain the concession, she said. Economists, however, say beach concession owners have long exploited their privileged position, returning to the Italian state only a tiny portion of their proceeds over the years. According to the Italian Court of Auditors, from 2016 to 2020 the Italian public administration received around 97 million euros each year from the country's 12,166 beach concessions. This means that, with an average revenue estimated at 260,000 euros, those businesses have been paying only around 7,600 euros a year for their concessions. Competition would advantage everybody, particularly in this area where were not talking about private properties, but about public domain that these businesses are getting almost for free, said economist Pietro Paganini. Story continues Paganini also said that Italian governments of all political orientations have for years protected the owners of beach concessions, as they represent a precious pool of votes. Last year, the Meloni government submitted a mapping report to Brussels in a final attempt to justify its failure to comply with the so-called Bolkestein directive, approved in 2006 to ensure more competition in several sectors. According to the data provided, only 33% of the Italian coastline is under concession, suggesting there is no scarcity of beach resources and therefore no need for the competitive tenders required by EU rules. However, EU representatives have pointed out that the mapping takes into account 11,000 kilometers (6,835 miles) of coastline, including rocky shores and non-swimmable areas that would never be eligible for concession. Members of Mare Libero (Free Sea) an association that since 2019 has organized protests to reclaim free space on Italian beaches hope that the introduction of new rules in the bidding process will also help guarantee beach-goers enough free access. We want the Italian state to reestablish a fair quantity of free beaches, which has to be at least 50%, while the remaining 50% is under concession, said Roberto del Bove, coordinator of Mare Libero for the central Lazio region. SMITH COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) A Smith County couple has been arrested after investigators said they installed faulty and used fire suppression systems in commercial kitchens. Officials with the State Fire Marshals Office (SFMO) said Daniel and Sherri Finnegan were arrested on Wednesday, August 21 and booked into the Smith County Jail. They face charges of false pretense and violation of the Mississippi Fire Prevention Code in at least 13 counties. Man arrested for multiple copper thefts in Rankin County According to investigators, the systems the couple installed did not work and were not tested before being placed into service, putting people at risk in the event of fire. They said Daniel Finnegan was also tagging fire extinguishers without testing them and was repainting and replacing parts on used fire extinguishers and selling them as new. Officials said Daniel Finnegan and his wife operated their business without registering with the Secretary of State. The business, Finnegans Fire Safety Equipment, was based in Pelahatchie. Daniel Finnegan (Courtesy: SFMO) Sherri Finnegan (Courtesy: SFMO) Investigators said Daniel Finnegan sold many systems to daycares and other businesses. While some of those businesses are known, the State Fire Marshals Office (SFMO) is asking others who bought systems from the couple to call 601-359-1061 to report their experience. The SFMO will provide resources to those businesses so they can replace the faulty systems with new ones, using reputable companies. The SFMO and Smith County deputies served a search warrant at the couples home Thursday morning. Based on information found during that search, more than 50 charges are pending in Adams, Covington, Hinds, Jones, Jefferson, Leake, Madison, Newton, Rankin, Warren, Winston, and Yazoo counties, in addition to charges in Smith County. 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. RANKIN COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) A member of the Rankin County Goon Squad has appealed his sentence. Brett McAlpin was sentenced to more than 27 years in prison in March 2024. McAlpin, along with five other former law enforcement officers, pled guilty to torturing two Black men in Rankin County in January 2023. New lawsuit filed against Goon Squad member According to court documents, McAlpin does not seek to withdraw his guilty plea, but he wants to be resentenced. His attorney claimed the sentence was incorrectly calculated and that McAlpins actions that night were non-violent. This is not the first time McAlpin challenged his sentenced. He also filed an appeal in April 2024. Brett McAlpin Sentencing AppealDownload The victims of the so-called Goon Squad, Michael Corey Jenkins and Eddie Terrell Parker, were subjected to numerous acts of racially motivated, violent torture last year. In January 2023, the group of six burst into a Rankin County home without a warrant and assaulted Jenkins and Parker with stun guns, a sex toy and other objects. Hunter Elward admitted to shoving a gun into Jenkins mouth and firing in a mock execution that went awry. The terror began on Jan. 24, 2023, with a racist call for extrajudicial violence when a white person phoned McAlpin and complained that two Black men were staying with a white woman at a house in Braxton. McAlpin told Deputy Christian Dedmon, who texted a group of white deputies so willing to use excessive force they called themselves The Goon Squad. Once inside, they handcuffed Jenkins and his friend Parker and poured milk, alcohol and chocolate syrup over their faces. They forced them to strip naked and shower together to conceal the mess. They mocked the victims with racial slurs and shocked them with stun guns. After Elward shot Jenkins in the mouth, they devised a coverup that included planting drugs and a gun. False charges stood against Jenkins and Parker for months. Jenkins suffered a lacerated tongue and broken jaw. In March 2023, months before federal prosecutors announced charges in August, an investigation by The Associated Press linked some of the deputies to at least four violent encounters with Black men since 2019 that left two dead and another with lasting injuries. Six members of Mississippi Goon Squad sentenced on state charges All six former officers are facing potentially decades-long prison sentences on the federal charges. Time served for separate convictions at the state level will run concurrently with the potentially longer federal sentences. The majority-white Rankin County is just east of the state capital, Jackson, home to one of the highest percentages of Black residents of any major U.S. city. The officers warned Jenkins and Parker to stay out of Rankin County and go back to Jackson or their side of the Pearl River, court documents say, referencing an area with higher concentrations of Black residents. Attorneys for several of the deputies have said their clients became ensnared in a culture of corruption that was not only permitted, but encouraged by leaders within the sheriffs office. For months, Rankin County Sheriff Bryan Bailey, whose deputies committed the crimes, said little about the episode. After the officers pleaded guilty in August, Bailey said the officers had gone rogue and promised to change the department. Jenkins and Parker have called for his resignation, and they have filed a $400 million civil lawsuit against the department. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 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. An intoxicated man wielding a .22 rifle was arrested Tuesday for allegedly shooting at a pair of anglers who were fishing from a boat on a Missouri lake. The two fishermen told authorities the man, later identified as Levi James Coates, yelled at them for coming too close to his dock and then took aim and fired his rifle in their direction. Coats was arrested and charged with multiple felonies, according to court documents filed in Camden County and obtained by Outdoor Life. The incident occurred Tuesday on Lake of the Ozarks near the village of Sunrise Beach. The Camden County Sheriffs Office received a 911 call at 9:04 p.m. from one of the anglers on the boat, who reported that theyd already been threatened by the man. The anglers later told a deputy that the man fired a shot at them while they were waiting on hold for the 911 operator. [We] were fishing in the cove for catfish when a man across the cove started yelling and threatening to shoot us if we got any closer to his dock, one of the victims told Camden County Sheriffs deputy David Shoemaker, court documents show. At one point I looked back over at the house to see a man aiming a gun, located between the house and car. After seeing this, [the other angler] and I both crouched down behind the walls of the boat. Minutes later a shot was fired while [the other angler] was on hold with Camden County. Read Next: Watch: Irate Homeowner Confronts Boys Fishing Private Pond, Snaps Their $200 Rod Shoemaker responded to the scene at 9:19 p.m. to find Coats with a .22-caliber rifle next to him. Coats appeared to be camping outside the residence with a tent and a campfire. During questioning, Coats admitted to shooting into the water but claimed he didnt see any boats in the area. Levi James Coats was arrested on Tuesday. Photo courtesy Camden County Public Records [Mr. Coats] claimed that he was shooting to scare away raccoons so they would not enter his tent, Shoemakers statement reads. Mr. Coats was asked why he did not shoot the raccoons instead and he stated he could not see the raccoons. Read Next: Wisconsin to Repeal Outdated Gun Law Designed to Prevent Fishermen from Shooting Muskies Coats was then booked in the Camden County jail, where he took a preliminary breathalyzer test that came back positive for intoxicants. He also admitted that he had been drinking that evening. Coats now faces four felony charges, including unlawful use of a weapon, armed criminal action, and two counts of first degree attempted assault. He has entered a plea of not guilty and has requested public defender services. His bond was set at $100,000. Court documents also show that in 2022, Coats pleaded guilty to indecent exposure in Texas County, Missouri, and was fined $100. MINERAL POINT, Mo. A Missouri man convicted for the 2011 murders of his sister and brother-in-law died Wednesday at Potosi Correctional Center in Mineral Point. Gary Stevens was pronounced dead just after 1:35 p.m. on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Missouri Department of Corrections. Stevens died of apparent natural causes. He was 72. Pevely third grader paralyzed in crash, school offering support Stevens was serving a life sentence for two counts of second-degree murder. He was originally charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Mary Lewis, 50, and Dennis Lewis, 57. Stevens agreed to plead to lesser charges to avoid a death penalty trial. Stevens admitted to shooting Dennis and Mary with a .22 caliber rifle on March 1, 2011, at the couples Dent County home. Their daughter, who is disabled, was home at the time of the murders. He pleaded guilty on May 2, 2012, and arrived at Potosi Correctional Center on May 7. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Two Missouri Republican lawmakers and an anti-abortion activist are suing to block an abortion rights amendment from the ballot, setting up a legal fight ahead of a momentous vote in November to overturn the states abortion ban. The lawsuit was filed in Cole County on Thursday by Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, an Arnold Republican, Rep. Hannah Kelly, a Mountain Grove Republican, and Kathy Forck, an anti-abortion activist from Callaway County. It alleges that the amendment, which will appear on the ballot as Amendment 3, violates the state constitution because it fails to specify the laws and constitutional provisions that could be repealed if the amendment passes. It also violates the constitutional requirement that laws only deal with one subject, the lawsuit alleges. The legal action seeks to block the amendment from appearing on the Nov. 5 ballot. Rachel Sweet, the campaign manager for the abortion rights campaign, called Missourians For Constitutional Freedom, criticized the lawsuit as politically motivated on Friday. This lawsuit is yet another baseless and desperate attempt from politicians to silence Missouri voters and prevent them from being heard. We will not let that happen, Sweet said. We are confident that the courts will see through this thinly veiled effort to block Missouri voters and dismiss it swiftly. The lawsuit specifically takes issue with the amendments use of the phrase reproductive freedom, arguing that the phrase is too broad and could wipe away current state laws such as bans on certain stem cell research. Rather than outright reverse existing Missouri laws, Amendment 3 requires Missouri courts to engage in a campaign of judicial sterilization, systematically neutralizing all laws, existing or future, that attempt to limit this new, limitless right to reproductive freedom, the lawsuit said. The suit names as defendant Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, a Republican who certified the measure for the November ballot. Ashcroft found that campaigners had collected enough valid signatures across the state. Ashcroft spokesperson JoDonn Chaney said his office had not yet been served the lawsuit and declined comment. The proposed constitutional amendment would enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution while also giving lawmakers some leeway to regulate the procedure after fetal viability. Under the amendment, fetal viability is defined as the point in a pregnancy when a health care professional decides, based on the facts of the situation, there is a significant likelihood of the fetuss sustained survival outside of the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures. Missouri became the first state in the nation to enact a ban on abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the federal right to the procedure in 2022. The ban has faced criticism, including from medical providers, and does not include exceptions for rape and incest. Nationwide, abortion rights remain popular. Since the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022, every ballot measure seeking to expand abortion access, from Michigan to Ohio, has succeeded. The plaintiffs in Thursdays lawsuit also filed a separate lawsuit last year alleging that the abortion rights amendment failed to accurately describe the cost of the measure. A court struck down that effort. People hold cellular phones. Dutch ministers are being required to hand in their mobile phones before Cabinet meetings to avoid the risk of espionage, according to a new rule issued by Prime Minister Dick Schoof. Peter Kneffel/dpa Dutch ministers are being required to hand in their mobile phones before Cabinet meetings to avoid the risk of espionage, according to a new rule issued by Prime Minister Dick Schoof. Schoof has banned all electronic devices with microphones such as smartphones and tablets from meetings as a precautionary measure, he said, describing it as "completely natural." Schoof was previously head of the country's secret service. According to Interior Minister Judith Uitermark, there is no evidence that foreign secret services have actually tapped ministers' phones. The prime minister is just playing it safe, she said. The new rules mean that ministers now have to take notes on paper again. Schoof, who became prime minister in July, has however allowed regular mobile phone breaks during Cabinet meetings. Mock electoral maps are the latest political memes to dominate your social media feeds A man holds a printed page showing a map with electoral vote data of the U.S. Congressional elections in Philadelphia on April 18, 2024. The Electoral College map which has long instilled bipartisan anxiety on election night in the U.S. is eliciting more laughs than groans in the lead-up to November. Throughout the Democratic National Convention this week, mock versions of the map have filled social media feeds on X in whats become yet another popular political meme. The trend involves taking a blank map of the country, coloring it in mostly blue or red and then writing a joke to indicate how Democrats or Republicans could win the entire Electoral College. The college consists of 538 electors, and 270 votes are needed for a candidate to win the presidency. Many of the recent memes have text that starts with, "The electoral map if ..." The electoral map if Kamala Harris banned LED headlights pic.twitter.com/g3toEgduEx Clara (@thatclarafied) August 18, 2024 While meme maps are not a new component of elections with some dating back to the social medias infancy interactive maps and Electoral College map generators are more accessible than ever. Know Your Meme, the online meme database, said the map trend dates back to the 2000 election, in which former President George W. Bush, then the governor of Texas, narrowly beat out former Vice President Al Gore. As it became more apparent that Bush had won the presidency, some posted un-motivational posters (a spoof of motivational posters) to now-defunct sites of Electoral College maps that deemed the country the United States of Florida, a nod to the painstaking recount in the Sunshine State that eventually secured Bushs presidency. In the following election, when Bush took on then-Sen. John Kerry, NBCs Saturday Night Live broadcast a skit about the Electoral College map. (Saturday Night Live and NBC News are both owned by NBCUniversal). Maps remained a part of election humor in the elections that followed. In 2014, the site Funny or Die posted a series of silly Electoral College maps. In 2016, the political news website FiveThirtyEight posted two Electoral College maps showing what it would look like if only men voted and if only women voted, respectively. That also prompted a flurry of people on social media to meme the maps, according to Know Your Meme. With each election, the maps become more prominent fodder and more irreverent, which is why theyre hard to miss when browsing X in 2024. Many mock maps popped up on social media on Thursday, the night Vice President Kamala Harris accepted accepted the Democratic presidential nomination, amid speculation that the DNC would have a special guest that could be a prominent pop star. While no unscheduled surprise guests took the stage, the rumors inspired a flurry of map-related jokes. Ladies and gentlemen of the DNC, please welcome your surprise guest, Katy Perry! wrote one X user, who joked that the majority of the country would vote Republican if DNC organizers brought up the pop artist as a guest. "the electoral map if beyonce comes out thursday to a full choir singing american requiem," wrote another X user, with an image of an entirely blue map. "Electoral map if taylor swift announces rep tv at the dnc," another user on X joked, with a blue map. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com (Bloomberg) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi signaled his backing for Ukrainian sovereignty within its internationally recognized borders even as he stood by his call for a diplomatic resolution to Russias war with the nation. Most Read from Bloomberg The comments, made during the Indian leaders first visit to Kyiv since the war began, were among his most direct statements on the fallout of Russias full-scale invasion 2 1/2 years ago. Even as Ukraine has sought Indias support in driving back Russian aggression, Modi has refrained from criticizing the Kremlins attack. I want to assure you and the world of Indias respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, Modi told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during their meeting, which lasted well longer than scheduled. Solutions can be found through dialog and diplomacy and we must move in that direction with both sides with no time to waste, he said. Modis arrival the first by an Indian premier to Ukraine since its 1991 independence amid the collapse of the Soviet Union follows his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month. Belying the frustration among Ukrainian officials, the Indian and Ukrainian leaders embraced during the visit and Zelenskiy showed Modi an exhibit of children killed in the war. Two months ago, India was among nations at a June summit meeting in Switzerland that didnt sign a final statement, a blow to Ukraines bid to broaden global support. On Friday, Zelenskiy expressed his hope that India will sign on to the communique. Looking Putin in the Eye As the West has expressed outrage over Russias attack on its neighbor, India has been among nations of the Global South thats sought to maintain political and economic links with Moscow, which supplies India with cheap oil and weapons. Modis Moscow visit last month irked US officials Zelenskiy called it a major blow to peace efforts particularly since it occurred on the same day that a deadly Russian missile strike hit a childrens hospital in Kyiv. Modi said that he spoke to Putin looking him in the eye during the visit to the Russian capital and told him that this is not the era for war. I spoke my mind clearly that the solution to any problem cannot be found on the battlefield, Modi said in Kyiv. Still, Modi didnt express a commitment to Ukraines peace blueprint, which aims to mount a global front to exert pressure on Russia to accede to Kyivs demands, including full withdrawal from Ukrainian territory. Along with other nations that didnt sign onto the Swiss summit statement in June, Modi has maintained that a successful peace framework can only include Russia which has not been included in Kyivs agenda. Along with a visit to Poland this week, Modis visit sought to balance ties with the West. Although the Indian leader had no intention of playing the role of a formal mediator, he agreed to relay messages between the warring parties, Bloomberg reported this week. --With assistance from Daryna Krasnolutska and Volodymyr Verbianyi. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. A Montana angler was injured Wednesday by a black bear that swatted his face as he fished alone on the Stillwater River near the town of Beehive. According to Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, the adult male did not seek medical attention after the incident. The bear, which seemed to have reacted defensively after its surprise encounter, left the area immediately. The FWP stated that it does not plan to track or trap the bear. The agency urged outdoor enthusiasts to exercise extreme caution when in bear country, and to travel in groups whenever possible. "Recreationists, including anglers, should be aware, especially in areas with abundant natural foods such as fruit and berries and where hearing may be limited along rivers and streams," the FWP stated in a news release. The agency added that black bears and grizzly bears "can be especially active this time of year as they prepare for winter hibernation." The Stillwater River, a tributary of the Yellowstone River, is a blue-ribbon trout fishery. Generic black bear image courtesy of Pete Thomas This article originally appeared on For The Win: Montana angler injured by black bear in surprise encounter MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) A Montgomery County police officer was found guilty of his involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection in D.C., when officials say he threw a smoke bomb at outnumbered police officers. The U.S. Attorneys Office (USAO) in D.C. said in a news release Friday that Justin Lee, 25, was convicted of two felony offenses. The Associated Press reported that Lee lit and threw the smoke bomb at a group of police officers, hitting one of the officers riot shields and filling the area with smoke. Investigators identified Lee after reviewing video from the archway leading to the Lower West Exterior Door of the Capitol. The USAO said that this area also referred to as the Tunnel was the site of some of the most violent attacks against law enforcement during the insurrection. Day care owner arrested, accused of restraining children with tape in Fairfax County Lee, a Montgomery County Department of Police (MCPD) officer, was indicted on Oct. 2023 and charged with two felony counts. At that time, he was on administrative leave after he shot and killed an armed suspect on July 22, 2023. MCPD said that the Maryland Attorney Generals office did not pursue any charges against Lee in that incident. MCPD said that Lee had not performed any police duties since he was placed on leave after that shooting. During the case, he was relieved of police powers; and following his indictment, Lee is no longer an MCPD employee. Lees sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 22. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Editors note: This story is available as a result of a content partnership between WFTV and the Orlando Business Journal. Macys is opening the second of its smaller stores in Central Florida with a new location in Waterford Lakes Town Center. WATCH CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS The new Macys at 397 N. Alafaya Trail in Orlando takes over the former Bed Bath & Beyond store in the shopping plaza. The Macys, which is already open, will hold a grand opening ceremony at 9:45 a.m. Aug. 24 that will include giveaways, according to a press release from the company. Read: Dinner and a movie? Is Chick-fil-A expanding into streaming? The store is roughly 26,000 square feet, said a Macys spokesperson. Macys and landlord Ohio-based Washington Property Group declined to disclose if the store underwent renovations. It was not immediately clear when Macys leased its location in Waterford Lakes, which is the seventh largest shopping center in Central Florida, according to research by OBJ. Click here to read the full story on the Orlando Business Journals website. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. On Wednesday night, millions of neurodivergent and disabled Americans saw themselves in the moment 17-year-old Gus Walz, son of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, emotionally exclaimed "That's my Dad!" at the Democratic National Convention (DNC). The Walz family is open that Gus Walz has been diagnosed with both Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and a nonverbal learning disability (NVLD). This means Walz has a disability and, if he chooses, could be classified as neurodivergent, a term referring to people whose brain differences affect their abilities in ways that significantly deviate from the so-called "neurotypical" norm. The CDC estimated that 15 to 20 percent of the population is neurodivergent in some way, meaning millions of Americans could potentially identify with Walz. Unfortunately, many have twisted what was ostensibly a tender moment into an opportunity for bullying, such as columnist Ann Coulter turning Walz into a punchline by tweeting a now-deleted post that read "Talk about weird..." Many, including former First Lady Michelle Obama, have pushed back against this negativity toward Gov. Tim Walz's son. Obama's outrage is perhaps unsurprising she and her husband, former President Barack Obama, produced a disability-themed Netflix series called "Crip Camp." Yet if there is one constant theme among neurodiversity and disability rights advocates, it is that they are grateful for all of the support from neurotypical and non-disabled allies that they can get. After all, mockery of the type we're seeing against Walz can have serious real-world consequences. "The backlash against Gus Walz is heartbreaking as the Walzes represent millions of American families about 1 in 6 children have a developmental disability," Katy Neas, CEO of The Arc, told Salon. The Arc is an organization founded in the 1950s to assist individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. "This is just one example of how our society continues to perpetuate deep-rooted stigmas about people with disabilities," Neas added. "We misunderstand and devalue the experiences of people with disabilities, which is not only hurtful, but also harmful. These negative responses are chipping away at the opportunities people with disabilities have to lead fulfilling lives." The backlash to Gus Walz might stimulate "hate and discrimination" about neurodivergent and disabled people more generally, Maria Town, the president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities, told Salon. "Given the amount online hate disabled people experience simply for being themselves and the amount of bullying youth and kids with disabilities experience on a regular basis, we could sadly anticipate that Gus would be mocked," Town said. "Soon after the DNC ended, we began to see memes online making fun of Gus' reactions a terrible and disrespectful response to a moving display of familial love. Such a response should not be tolerated. I hope serious efforts are underway to protect Gus' physical and emotional safety as we move closer to the election." Other people who are neurodivergent and/or have disabilities will also need protections. Mickey Rowe, an autistic and legally blind actor, elaborated how neurodivergent and disabled individuals benefit from the support of their neurotypical and non-disabled allies. "I also know how desperately neurodivergent people look for and cling to 'good people,'" Rowe told Salon. "We face so much discrimination everyday. My daily life looks like seeking human connection, and failing. Trying to make a moment of friendship or love, and failing. Being judged and shamed by those who are scared of differences and disability. Because we feel so misunderstood the majority of the time, when we find someone smart and kind who gets it, who gets and understand us, we latch on to those safe people. We look up to them." Rowe added, "Gus made it so clear to the world at the DNC that Tim Walz is his safe person. And since we know neurodiverse people are truth tellers at all costs, I believe Gus above any politician." Town said many families are further seeing their experiences validated through the display of "love and support they saw through Gus Walz and his family." "When Gus showed huge displays of emotion and overwhelm of pride for his father, he wasn't shushed or told to be smaller," she said. "Instead he was greeted with enormous hugs from a father who is obviously proud of his son, as a parent of any child should be. Many disabled people and their family members were deeply moved by this display, which on its face is ordinary but is all too rarely seen on such a national stage." Want more health and science stories in your inbox? Subscribe to Salon's weekly newsletter Lab Notes. Dr. Ramani Durvasula, a licensed clinical psychologist and professor of psychology, told Salon that she hopes the discussion about Gus Walz can transition into a healthier national conversation about neurodiversity. Remarking that her "heart was full watching that moment when Gus was sharing his joy with the world, as were many Americans on both sides of the aisle," Durvasula urged Americans regardless of their political persuasion to educate themselves about the spectrum of human neurological experiences with regard to language, cognition, behavior, social processing and patterns such as autism spectrum. Durvasula added that it is her "sincere hope" that we "develop policies, especially educational policies that create better systems from preschool through high school as well as adult programs that support children and adolescents as they transition into adulthood. And that these policies start recognizing the challenges that families with fewer economic resources experience. Compassion, empathy, respect, awareness of difference and meeting people where they are at, are all central to this conversation." At least one historian who has studied the disability rights movement shares Durvasula's concern. Phyllis Vine, author of "Fighting for Recovery: An Activists' History of Mental Health Reform," singled out Coulter's ridicule as exemplifying something more insidious a callousness toward diversity which has historically been a hallmark of far right politics. "She follows in Donald Trumps footsteps," Vine said. "Among his more public hostile remarks about people with disabilities date from his candidacy in 2015, in which he delighted mocking a reporter. More recently his nephew, Fred Trump III, has disclosed Trumps repugnant views about the costs of people with disabilities, remarks made when he was president." The former president allegedly told his nephew that disabled Americans "should just die." "Coulters remarks are more than bad taste," Vine explained, saying that all forms of dehumanization against marginalized groups must be called out for what they are. "Insensitivity to diversity reminds us how Nazis grew their ranks. Belittling people with disabilities was one of their dangerous hallmarks. We should not confuse it with something rude, apolitical or insensitive. It heralds danger." To stave off this threat, Town urged Americans to follow the example of the Walz family: "neither ignoring or erasing disability, nor making too much of it." In terms of Gus Walz himself, she urged the public to respect his boundaries and only discuss his personal life as long as he fully consents to it. "His visibility may provide an opportunity to change the national conversation, and we implore all Americans to approach whatever Gus wants us to learn about his story with openness and respect." Dr. Catherine Lord, the George Tarjan Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Education at UCLA's Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior, also reminded the public to not armchair diagnose Gus Walz. "If Gus chooses to identify himself as 'neurodivergent' that is a separate issue," Lord said. "He may be in a great position to help all the other people who are neurodivergent if he wants to do so but it should be his decision. And maybe it will help somebody understand being different in some ways doesnt prevent good things." "I think by far the most important thing about Gus Walz is how much he loves and respects his father," Lord said. "Im shocked that someone would criticize him. Whether he has different diagnoses does not seem relevant or 'our business.'" For more Salon articles on autism: More changes coming to Auburn and Main roundabout as crash-reduction study enters next phase ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) In the second phase of a study to reduce crashes at the Auburn and N. Main roundabout, the city will remove the current barriers to see if drivers can navigate the one-lane traffic circle without them. It has been about three months since Rockford reduced the roundabout at Auburn and N. Main from two lanes down to one. Ernie Redfern, co-chair of the Friends of Veterans Memorial Circle nonprofit group, who waters the plants within and around the memorial, said hes not sold on the idea. The roundabout was constructed in 2013 at a cost of $7.5 million, to replace a signal-controlled intersection. It was dedicated as Veterans Memorial Circle in honor of 527 soldiers buried at the neighboring Greenwood Cemetery. A Civil War soldier statue that originally adorned the roundabout was moved downtown. The city spent an additional $15,000 this year to add pavement striping to transition the two-lane approach down to one lane, at approximately 400 feet to the intersection, on all four directions. Redfern said his group has dealt with frequent damage to the roundabout, and acknowledged the lane reduction has resulted in a decrease in crashes. Last year, we had three major accidents that took out the walls of the circle. This year weve had none, he said. A negative is that, right now, we have all these barriers that are going to be coming down. Redfern is referring to construction barrels that are in place to prevent motorists from using the second, outer lane. Those barriers will be removed on September 3rd, during the next phase of a one-year traffic study, leaving only pavement striping to direct drivers into the correct lane. Rockford Traffic and Development engineer Jeremy Carter said that the decision followed positive data the city collected over the summer. Prior to the [lane] reduction, we were seeing about 5 to 7 accidents a month at the roundabout. We have now seen four in the two months, about a 60% reduction. Were going to watch to see how the traffic goes without the barrels out there, Carter said. Holli Connell, who lives and works near the roundabout, said shell be watching once the cones come down. I think the reduction of the calming cones is going to be, possibly, a challenge for some people, Connell said. I think they have really helped people stay in the one-lane mindset. So once these go away, I will be very interested to see if the accidents stay at a low number. Redfern remains skeptical of the upcoming changes. The City Hall, theyre all Weve only had one accident since we did this. This is all artificial. You know, youre going to take these barriers down. Thats when youre going to know whether or not it works, he said. Stopping in a roundabout, as well as failing to yield appropriately, are two common mistakes leading to accidents in roundabouts, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). IDOT published five steps to drive a roundabout: Yield when you approach a roundabout and watch for pedestrians in the crosswalk. Look to the left as you near the dashed yield line and yield to traffic already in the circle. Once you see a gap in traffic, enter the circle and proceed to your exit. Look for pedestrians as you exit and make sure you stay in your lane as you navigate the roundabout. In a multi-lane roundabout, choose a lane before entering the roundabout. Signs posted near the roundabout will direct you to the appropriate lane based on whether you want to make a left turn, go straight or make a U-turn. Choose either the left lane as you enter the roundabout or choose the right lane if you want to make a right turn. Carter said the city will study how drivers fare in the winter weather, and a decision on making a permanent update to the roundabout could be made next summer. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. More than half of New Mexicans feel less safe than 5 years ago, new poll says ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) More than half of New Mexicans feel less safe in the state than they did five years ago, according to an Emerson College/The Hill poll published Friday. Nearly 1,000 New Mexicans from all over the state were polled about what issues are important to them in this election and how they feel about current candidates. KRQEs Political Analyst Gabe Sanchez weighed in about the results. The poll shows New Mexicans are most concerned with the economy and crime, which Sanchez says follows national trends. New Albuquerque detox center offers aid to young adults Fresh numbers. Emerson College Poll, statewide, of New Mexico voters. The big topline everybody wants to know is the horserace on the presidential, Sanchez said. Emerson College Polling and The Hill asked almost a thousand New Mexicans, between Tuesday and Thursday, some key questions about the current political climate in the state and upcoming elections. The results showed Vice President Kamala Harris with a 10% lead over former President Donald Trump. Before that shift at the top of the ticket, I was getting calls that New Mexico might be in play for Former President Trump. So, I think that shows you just how much shifting away from President Biden to Kamala Harris has made for Democratic chances, not just here in New Mexico but nationally, Sanchez said. More than 53% of New Mexicans told pollsters they feel less safe than they did five years ago in the state. The top two things they identified as being the most important issue facing New Mexico are the economy by a wide margin, and then crime. At the end of the day, when youre asking voters how they feel and how they care, theyre thinking about that at the very family micro-level: do I feel safer? Has my car gotten broken into recently? Has somebody that I know been burglarized? And I think thats the way that voters in New Mexico are going to think about these issues, not necessarily from what the FBI statistics suggest for the state, Sanchez said. When asked how they feel about how Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is doing, 49% disapproved of her work as governor, and 41% approved; the rest had no opinion. Our governors rating has slipped quite a bit. Overall, we usually get concerned if our elected officials are under 50% approval rating, Sanchez stated, I was a little bit surprised to see the approval rating that low, but its consistent with what weve seen over time. Bernalillo County warns people about unsafe mobile food pop-ups The poll shows Democratic candidates leading in U.S. House and Senate races by 10 to 15 points. Congressional District Two here in New Mexico is not important to us, but this is one of the top most watched races nationally and is projected to be razor thin like it has been the last three or four election cycles, Sanchez said. That race, between U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez and challenger Yvette Herrell, shows Vasquez leading by 10%, with 9% undecided, though Sanchez said it will likely be much closer. The poll shows U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich with a 12% lead over challenger Nella Domenici: Right where I would expect this race to be when we finish things out. I mean, Senator Heinrich has the name recognition; hes got the credibility. His record is nearly spotless in terms of legislative, so hes not vulnerable in any stretch of the imagination, Sanchez explained. The results of the poll were collected via cell phone, landline, and online responses. Data sets were based on 2024 voter modeling. The breakdown did follow the percentages of party breakdowns from Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. The Hill is owned by KRQEs parent company Nexstar. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. More than half of violent crimes go unsolved in Minnesota A Minneapolis police officer unrolls caution tape at a crime scene on June 16, 2020 in Minneapolis. Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images. More violent crimes are going unsolved in Minnesota today than a decade ago, according to FBI data analyzed by the Council of State Governments Justice Center, a nonprofit working on criminal justice issues. In 2022, the year for which we have the most recent data, Minnesota saw 57% of violent crimes go unsolved, 5 percentage points higher than 2012, the group said in a statement. This trend contributes to decreased trust in the justice system and retaliatory violence that perpetuates a crisis that many communities face. Violent crime includes homicide, rape, aggravated assault and robbery. While just 12% of homicides in Minnesota go unsolved, that number rises to 49% for assault, 69% for rape, and 78% for robbery. Rates of unsolved violent crime are especially high in Minneapolis and St. Paul, coming in at 73% and 71%, respectively. A 2021 Reformer analysis found that nearly 8 in 10 Minneapolis shootings go unsolved. Minnesotas overall rate of unsolved violent crime is considerably lower than the national average of 63%. Minnesota cops are particularly better at solving murders than their peers nationwide, according to the data: Only 12% of murders in the state were unsolved in 2022, compared to 47% nationally. While violent crime has continued to decline since a spike in 2020, the report notes, the percentage of violent crimes not solved by law enforcement hit an all-time high in 2022. Crime data analyst Jeff Asher has found that nationally, police departments effectiveness at solving crime fell sharply starting in 2020. The exact causes of the decline in arrests are difficult to pinpoint, he wrote last year. But the timing is clearly tied to the summer of 2020, suggesting that changes in policing and Americas dwindling confidence in law enforcement since the killing of George Floyd played a role. Research shows that the certainty of getting caught is a far more effective crime deterrent than the severity of any potential punishment. The Council on State Governments Justice Center says that states can reduce their unsolved crime rates by providing training and assistance to departments with low solve rates, reducing detective caseloads, improving evidence processing times at state crime labs, and working more closely with witnesses and victims. Crime fell across the board in Minnesota last year, according to final data recently released by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. But several major crime categories including homicide, aggravated assault and car theft remain elevated above their pre-pandemic baselines. MORGAN COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) A wanted man from Colorado was arrested in Morgan County on Thursday. According to the Morgan County Sheriffs Office (MCSO), the U.S. Marshals received information that Michael James Napoli, 59, was at a home along Bethel Church Road in Eva. Authorities say that Napoli is wanted after he was accused of robbing an Ace Hardware store in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Download the WHNT News 19 App to stay updated on the go. Sign up for WHNT News 19 newsletters to have news sent to your inbox. After learning about Napolis whereabouts, the U.S. Marshals Service contacted the Morgan County Sheriffs Office SWAT team for assistance. MCSO told News 19 that after a perimeter was set up by the SWAT team, Michael James Napoli surrendered and was arrested. Napoli is currently in the Morgan County Jail and will be extradited back to Colorado. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) Over the next 2-3 weeks, Morgantown Area Partnership (MAP) will demolish 58 structures across nine and a half acres of property to develop the East End Village project, and on Thursday, an event was held to mark its beginning. President and CEO Russ Rogerson said that the property cant be developed until the structures are torn down and it can be turned into a greenfield site. However, he said that tearing down all of these structures is no small feat, so MAP partnered with the City of Morgantown, Monongalia County, West Virginia University and the Biafora Development Group to help make it possible. We are really pleased to now have a date certain of when the homes will be demolished, and then thats when the above-ground developer can really start doing his job and [get] his team working, to get the kind of development on this property that we feel is gonna add great value to our community, said Rogerson. Once MAP begins demolition, Rogerson said that the construction workers have until Feb. 15 to get all of the structures knocked down. During the demolition period, developers will be working on planning, designing and other contract work. Rogerson believes that before August of next year, he and his partners are expecting to have at least one lot sale in the area. He said he feels that this redevelopment project is necessary because the dynamics of student renting is changing at every university in the country. Davis and Elkins College breaks fundraising record And so, the traditional method here for upper-class students was to rent apartments, Rogerson added. With that model changingwe wanna show ways that we can take those areas, redevelop them. And proper redevelopment will also shore up the existing single-family home neighborhoods in the area. Rogerson said that this redevelopment project will help connect WVU students and neighborhood residents into downtown Morgantown regardless of whether they walk, bike or drive. Theres no set date for the completion of this project, but Rogerson said that MAP would like to have it done in its entirety in five years. He added that it took a lot of work to get this project to the point that it is now because redevelopment is a very challenging thing to do. Doing it on a one or two homes or small lots [is] one thing, doing it on nine and a half acres is a whole different level of challenge, said Rogerson. Therefore, Rogerson said that a lot of time was spent having discussions, planning and assessing what things could and couldnt be done throughout the span of the project. He also said that MAP had to engage all of its different partners to make sure that everybody was informed and had input on what businesses would be placed there. Prior to Thursdays event, the team also had to rezone the land, reclassifying it from residential (1A) to B1, which is really just local businessesneighborhood businesses, and it also restricted the height of the buildings, said Rogerson. He said that the developers wanted to make sure that the East End Village is a good fit for the community, while still delivering the type of retail and other opportunities that they need, including new apartments. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com. Mosquitoes tested positive for West Nile virus in Milwaukee County. Here's what to know. Milwaukee County mosquitoes have tested positive for West Nile virus, the first positive samples since surveillance began in early July. The Milwaukee Health Department, North Shore Health Department and Wauwatosa Health Department urged residents to take precautions against mosquito bites in a statement Friday. No human cases of West Nile virus have been reported in those area in 2024, but there have been confirmed cases in both people and animals elsewhere in Wisconsin. As of Tuesday, there has been one confirmed human case in the state, one horse case and one bird case in 2024. In 2023, Wisconsin had 25 confirmed and probable cases of West Nile virus. What is West Nile virus? West Nile virus is the most common mosquito-borne illness in the U.S. and usually spreads during the peak mosquito season, from summer to early fall. More: What to know about West Nile virus in Wisconsin Most individuals infected with West Nile virus are asymptomatic. Symptoms can include fever, headache, muscle aches, rash and fatigue. In less than 1% of cases, the virus can lead to severe illness with symptoms such as high fever, muscle weakness, stiff neck, disorientation, confusion, tremors, paralysis and coma. Older individuals and those with compromised immune systems are at highest risk of developing serious symptoms. In some of these cases, complications from the disease can be fatal, so it's important to see a doctor right away. How do I prevent West Nile virus? West Nile virus is spread through mosquito bites. The best way to minimize the risk of West Nile Virus is to reduce exposure to mosquitoes and eliminate breeding sites, the release said. More: Mosquitoes are a big problem in northern Wisconsin right now. Here's why. Though mosquito season is from summer to early fall, mosquito activity can persist until a hard frost (temperatures below 28 degrees) occurs. To avoid mosquito bites, local health departments recommended applying insect repellent to exposed skin and clothing. Use an insect repellent on your skin and clothes that contains: 20-30% DEET 10-20% picaridin 10-20% IR3535 30-40% oil of lemon eucalyptus They also recommended wearing long sleeves, long pants and socks to reduce skin exposure or rescheduling outdoor activities to evening or early morning. Finally, you can apply the pesticide permethrin onto clothing before going outdoors, but avoid applying permethrin directly to skin. To reduce the presence of mosquitoes at home, local health departments recommended removing stagnant water from property and ensuring window and door screens are secure. You can also trim or mow tall grass, weeds and vines, as mosquitoes rest in these areas during the day. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County mosquitoes tested positive for West Nile virus Mother Charged with DWI in Wrong-Way Crash That Killed Her 9-Year-Old Son: 'This Is a Tragedy' Kerri Bedrick was arrested after allegedly driving while impaired, which led to a car crash that killed her son, Eli D. Henrys Getty Stock image of a car accident A 9-year-old boy died after his mother was allegedly driving under the influence and crashed in a head-on collision in Suffolk County, N.Y., in the early morning hours of Thursday, Aug. 22, the New York State Police said in a press release. Kerri Bedrick, 32, allegedly fled an attempted traffic stop on Southern State Parkway by a Suffolk County deputy sheriff around 2:30 a.m. Thursday, police said. The officer noticed Bedrick when she was driving her Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross car westbound in the eastbound lanes. Bendrick's son, Eli D. Henrys, was in the car. The officer tried to pull her over, but Bedrick did not stop, per the police press release. The deputy decided to forgo the attempts to pull her over and instead follow her while in the correct flow of traffic in the westbound lanes. Eventually, the deputy then switched back to the eastbound lanes and then encountered a four-car crash at exit 42. Upon the deputys arrival, Bedrick stood outside of her car, and they located her son, Eli, in the back seat with his seat belt fastened. Authorities administered CPR and used an automated external defibrillator in an attempt to save him, but the child later succumbed to his injuries. Related: Colo. Mom Who Said Intruder Killed 2 of Her Kids Now Under Arrest In London: 'She Seemed Like a Normal Mother' Larry W. Smith/Getty Stock image of police tape hangs across the street "To give you an idea of the severity of the impact, the engine of the wrong-way driver vehicle was thrown from that vehicle into the woods, some distance from the collision," NYSP Major Stephen J. Udice said during a press conference Thursday, reports NBC 4. "This is a true tragedy. The other drivers and passengers in the other vehicles survived the multi-car crash. Haydee R. Meyer, 29, was operating a Mercedes Benz, David C. Picard, 24, was driving a Honda, and John Rotondi, 64, was operating a Chevrolet Pickup. Meyer and Picard were transported to Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip, N.Y., with non-life-threatening injuries. Rotondi was uninjured. Bedrick was given a field sobriety test and was charged with five counts: aggravated unlicensed operation 1st, operating a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs 1st offense, aggravated DWI: with a child-passenger less than 16 1st offense, endangering welfare of a child and criminal possession of a stimulant. Bedrick is being held in police custody overnight. She is due to be arraigned Friday, Aug. 23 at 9 a.m. at the Suffolk County 1st District Court. The Suffolk County District Attorney's office is investigating the crash, reports ABC 7. Related: Nev. Boy, 5, Was Struck and Killed by Van While Mom Dropped Him at School, Driver Charged Getty Stock image of LED light bar on police cruiser flashing red and blue emergency lights. 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 New York State Police is asking for anyone who witnessed the crash or anyone with information to call (631) 756-3300. A representative from the Suffolk County District Attorney did not immediately respond to PEOPLEs request for more information on Thursday. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. DES MOINES, Iowa A motorcyclist was seriously injured in a crash near Merle Hay Mall Friday afternoon. At around 3 p.m. the Des Moines Police Department and Fire Department responded to a report of a car vs. motorcycle crash at the intersection of 57th Street and Douglas Avenue. According to Sgt. Parizek with DMPD, the motorcyclist was traveling westbound on Douglas Avenue when a Jeep, traveling eastbound on Douglas Avenue, turned left in front of the motorcyclist onto 57th Street. Pleasant Hill police request help identifying man found in Des Moines River Parizek said the motorcyclist was seriously injured in the crash, but is in stable condition. An investigation into the crash is ongoing and more information will be released when made 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 who13.com. Although a group's attempt to recall four Milwaukee School Board members failed this week after it was unable to collect enough signatures, it was still able to submit over 29,000. But after one school board member found what appeared to be fake addresses and uncannily similar handwriting for multiple signatures, it's unclear how many were valid. Board member Missy Zombor posted on her campaign Facebook page on Aug. 17 to point out dozens of signatures that appeared to be written by the same person. While she acknowledges she's not a handwriting expert, Public Investigator found one to take a closer look. Forensic document examiner Kevin Kulbacki is the CEO and founder of KDX Forensic Consulting, which offers services like verifying signatures for law enforcement agencies and businesses. Kulbacki used the standard procedure for forensic document examiners the Academy Standards Board standard to examine 10 sheets of recall petitions. Public Investigator provided copies of the petitions posted by Zombor, as well as three additional randomly selected pages out of the thousands submitted in the recall effort. Based on his analysis, Kulbacki said it is likely someone filled out multiple lines on the petitions. "Between four to ten per page could be linked," said Kulbacki. "That is not necessarily to say that all were done by the same person, as sometimes there are coordinated efforts between multiple people." The procedure Kulbacki used compares features in each written name, particularly ones that do not adhere to basic writing styles, he said. "Everybody learns one of a few different simple writing systems," Kulbacki said. "However, people vary their writing from those writing systems. And so, essentially, what I'm looking for are features that are not taught." While there were also "extensive amounts of similarity" between the written addresses on the recall petitions, Kulbacki said he focused on comparing signatures and printed names. "There are essentially enough similarities in some of these writings that I am able to make that association between them," he said. At-large Milwaukee Public Schools school board member Missy Zombor went to some of the addresses listed next to signatures gathered in an effort to recall her and three other board members. Zombor said many addresses were nonexistent or vacant and boarded up, like the one pictured. According to state law, the person who collected the signatures, known as the circulator, must fill out the bottom of each form with their name and address. The pages that contained suspicious signatures featured at least four different names and signatures. Falsifying information on recall petitions is considered a Class I felony, which carries a maximum sentence of 3 1/2 years in prison, $10,000 in fines, or both. Tamika Johnson, the organizer of the MPS School Board Recall Initiative and a private school teacher at New Testament Christian Academy, told Public Investigator she is not aware of any forged signatures. "There were many community members signing and volunteering to collect signatures," said Johnson. The group that organized the recall was made up of about a dozen Milwaukeeans from various community organizations. People behind the podium at the group's press conference at City in Hall in June included Black Educators Caucus chair Angela Harris, activist Vaun Mayes, broadcaster Tory Lowe, Saleem El-Amin of North Divisions Call to Action Committee, leaders of Ubuntu Research & Evaluation, and other residents and parents. During the group's June announcement, Johnson said there was no single leader of the recall coalition. City attorney Evan Goyke told Public Investigator allegations of fraud are investigated and prosecuted by the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office. The District Attorney's Office did not respond to Public Investigator's question of whether it is pursuing an investigation. Recall group has yet to disclose source of funding The recall group has yet to say who funded the recall effort, other than "anonymous donors." They are required to disclose funders in public campaign finance reports. Reports filed so far don't show any fundraising or spending to pay canvassers; however, the group advertised job openings in early July, offering $25 per hour to collect petition signatures. Last month, Zombor filed a complaint against recall organizers with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission accusing them of failing to report all funds raised and spent. The commission said her complaint was substantial enough to review. On Friday, Black Educators Caucus pointed out similarities in the "talking points" of Zombor and the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association, the union representing Milwaukee Public Schools staff, in a Facebook post. "It's deeply disturbing that they believe that the Black community couldn't initiate and facilitate this recall without doing something illegal, unethical or without having some nefarious donors in the shadows," the Black Educators Caucus wrote in its post. One Milwaukee resident, Kate Ward, said she was approached by a canvasser earlier this month who asked her to sign the petition to recall Zombor. Ward said the canvasser also gave her a handout featuring a QR code that linked to a website for CFC Action Fund, partner organization of City Forward Collective, a Milwaukee nonprofit that advocates for and funds charter schools. City Forward Collective has reported paying for literature and canvassing in support of MPS school board candidates Jeff Spence, Darryl Jackson and Shandowlyon Hendricks Reaves. Kate Ward said a canvasser for the recall effort asked her to sign the petition and handed her a brochure with a QR code that links to the CFC Action Fund. The CFC Action Fund denied any relation to the recall effort. However, City Forward Collective executive director Colleston Morgan said in an email "neither City Forward Collective nor CFC Action Fund have funded any of the recall efforts." Morgan said the nonprofit's initiatives are not related to the recall effort and are instead to "advocate for high-quality school options and advance positive changes in Milwaukee's education landscape." Because the recall effort ultimately failed to gather enough signatures, Zombor told Public Investigator that she is not pursuing further action. "To be honest, I don't spend a ton of time looking backwards," she said. "I really want to move forward." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Rory Linnane contributed to this article. About Public Investigator . Government corruption. Corporate wrongdoing. Consumer complaints. Medical scams. Public Investigator is a new initiative of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and its sister newsrooms across Wisconsin. Our team wants to hear your tips, chase the leads and uncover the truth. We'll investigate anywhere in Wisconsin. Send your tips to watchdog@journalsentinel.com or call 414-319-9061. You can also submit tips at jsonline.com/tips. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MPS board recall attempt prompts concern over fake signatures, funding (Reuters) - Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Spotify CEO Daniel Ek have critisised European regulations surrounding open-source artificial intelligence, saying the continent risks falling behind because of complex rules. Europe, which "has more open-source developers than America", is well placed to make the most of the open-source AI wave, the CEOs said in a joint statement on Friday. "Yet its fragmented regulatory structure, riddled with inconsistent implementation, is hampering innovation and holding back developers." The CEOs said the tech industry in Europe faces "overlapping regulations and inconsistent guidance on how to comply with them" instead of clear rules. A streamlined regulatory framework would not only accelerate the growth of open-source AI, but also provide support to European developers and the broader creator ecosystem, they said. The Irish privacy regulator in June asked Meta to not launch its AI models in Europe for the time being, after the company was told to delay plans of harnessing data from Facebook and Instagram users. Given the current regulations, Meta will not be able to release its upcoming AI models such as Llama multimodal, which has the capability to understand images, in Europe. This would mean Europeans will be "left with AI built for someone else," the CEOs said. Spotify pointed to its early investment in AI to create personalised experiences for users that has led to the streaming service's success. Laws that have been designed to increase European sovereignty and competitiveness are achieving the opposite, they said, adding Europe should be "simplifying and harmonising regulations by leveraging the benefits of a single yet diverse market." The CEOs concluded that Europe needs a new approach with clearer policies and more consistent enforcement, adding it will miss a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" on its current path. The EU Commission did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Shreya Biswas) MSP identifies driver killed in dump truck crash on I-95 in Prince Georges County PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) Maryland State Police (MSP) have released the name of the driver who was killed in a dump truck crash on I-95 in Prince Georges County on Tuesday. State police told DC News Now that the driver was 37-year-old Oscar Ramos, Jr., of Mountain Rainier, Md. PHOTOS: Vehicle overturns, catches fire on I-66 West in Fairfax County Details about what led to the crash remain limited; however, on Aug. 20 shortly after 9:15 a.m., troopers responded to the I-95 area on Sandy Springs Road for a single-vehicle crash involving a dump truck. There, MSP found the wreck off the road and into the woods. Dump truck off the road after crash on I-95 in Prince Georges County on Aug. 20. (Photo Courtesy: Tim Pruss-MyDrone.Pro) Dump truck off the road after crash on I-95 in Prince Georges County on Aug. 20. (Photo Courtesy: Tim Pruss-MyDrone.Pro) Ramos was the only person in the truck, He died at the scene. MSP said investigators are still working to learn what caused 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 DC News Now | Washington, DC. Barnet, VT. Three individuals face drug trafficking charges after officers found cocaine in their vehicle on Thursday morning. 45-year-old Daniel Allen of Morgan was traveling north on I-91 while committing numerous motor vehicle violations, according to state troopers. Officers say they stopped the vehicle, spoke to the occupants, and observed signs of illegal drug use. A search revealed about 388 grams of crack cocaine inside the vehicle. All three individuals have been charged with cocaine trafficking. Allen, 35-year-old Aubrey Bolduc of Irasburg, Vermont, and 19-year-old Ricky Hernandez Jr. of Springfield, Massachusetts, are all set to appear in court on Nov. 18, 2024. Daniel Allen, 45, of Morgan (VSP) Aubrey Bolduc, 35, of Irasburg (VSP) Ricky Hernandez Jr., 19, of Springfield, MA (VSP) Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Multiple KFC locations in Wisconsin to close, over 80 people to be laid off Multiple KFC locations in Wisconsin to close, over 80 people to be laid off (WFRV) Multiple KFC locations in southern Wisconsin are reportedly closing and are expected to lay out just over 80 employees. According to a letter sent to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD), EYM Chicken of Wisconsin, LLC will be permanently ceasing operations in Wisconsin. This is reportedly due to the unforeseen business circumstance and not being able to reach a resolution with KFC. Festival Foods permanently closing Wisconsin location, terminating all but 3 employees All five of the locations are expected to close on or around August 31. The total number of employees being laid off is 81, according to the letter. Below are the locations that were listed in the letter: 2425 Milton Avenue in Janesville 2735 Prairie Avenue in Beloit 1324 Nygaard Street in Stoughton 1733 East Main Street in Reedsburg 605 South Church Street Unit 1 in Watertown Other locations in Illinois also reportedly closed. No additional information was provided. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. AUSTIN (KXAN) Beginning Thursday, three wildfires have been reported in Central Texas, and local and state officials have responded to help. MAP: Keeping track of Central Texas wildfires in 2024 North Art Complex Fire Fire departments are working to put out a wildfire in Mason County. The fire, named the North Art Complex fire, was ignited due to a lightning strike. So far, the fire has burned 4,313 acres, and officials said it has been 80% contained. As of Friday morning, the Texas A&M Forest Service said no structures have been lost. Mason County wildfire ignited by lightning, forest service says San Saba Mesquite Fire The San Saba County Office of Emergency Management said the Mesquite Fire was at 110 acres with 90% containment. Crews aiding with the fire include the Texas Forest Service and Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System, as well as three local volunteer fire departments. A lightning strike that occurred Thursday was deemed the cause of the fire, and according to officials, high winds and heat also contributed to the fire. So far, there have been no deaths or injuries reported, and there are no evacuation orders. Bastrop Pine Dump Fire The Bastrop County Office of Emergency Management provided information regarding day two of the Pine Dump Fire, which began Thursday. The office said the 11-acre fire increased to 95% containment late Thursday night as crews completed the bulldozer lines, and emergency management staff stayed at the scene through Friday morning to ensure the fire stayed inside those lines. According to the county, both state and local resources returned to the fire Friday morning, and plans included girding the area near containment lines for residual heat. Officials said smoke could be visible in the area from materials burning inside the perimeter of the fires bulldozer lines. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ST. LOUIS In a major move, the St. Louis NAACP has filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education and the Office of Civil Rights over what they describe as a literary crisis facing African American children in St. Louis County and City. The complaint targets not just public schools but private and charter schools as well. Black kids in all of those schools are reading behind; theyre reading at levels lower than the state, St. Louis City NAACP President Adolphus M. Pruitt II said. The NAACPs St. Louis president has taken the bold step of also including Missouris Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, holding them accountable for the success and failures of students. We hope from there that between the U.S. Department of Education, the NAACP, and those individual school districts, we can have some serious conversations about them setting some goals, Pruitt said. One local parent pulled his three children out of Saint Louis Public Schools due to concerns over their reading skills, and is grateful to the St. Louis NAACP for taking this initiative. They started playing with my childs gradesher reading scores specifically. I know my child can read college books as well as other books, and theyre telling me that shes reading below her grade level. Thats ridiculous, Anthony Dorsey, a concerned parent, said. I think its about time they paid attention to our children and our communities. Search for 1981 cop killer continues as police uphold legacy Organizations like Ready Readers are stepping up to combat the literacy crisis. Other districts who you think have all the resources do a great job trying to educate kidstrying to make sure kids are reading at grade level, Executive Director Angela Sears-Spittal said. But if you look again at children of color, theyre reading about half the rate of all the kids in the grade. While multiple schools did not respond to our request for comment, KIPP Schools provided the following statement: We share the NAACPs commitment to improving the literacy skills of Black and Brown students. We have seen our students make impressive learning gains this past year with our new reading curriculum. Our dedicated teachers look forward to building on this positive momentum in the new school year. The St. Louis NAACP president stated the organization will continue to monitor statistics to see if change will be made and if not, and they will continue to fight this issue with the U.S. Board of Education and Office of Civil Rights. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. NASA to give update on Boeing Starliner crews delayed return to Earth NASA will give another update on Boeings crewed Starliner test flight on Saturday. Officials could be ready to announce their plan to return astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back to Earth. Theyve been on the International Space Station for 10 weeks longer than first planned. Read: Boeings Starliner flight test: Meet the astronauts Crews have been troubleshooting thruster issues and hydrogen leaks on the Starliner spacecraft. One plan NASA has been considering is using a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft to help return the astronauts home. Watch: Boeings Starliner spacecraft successfully sends NASA astronauts into orbit Channel 9 will monitor NASAs news conference and provide updates on Eyewitness News. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with senior officials in China during a trip there next week. File Photo by Al Drago/UPI Aug. 23 (UPI) -- National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with senior officials in China during a trip there next week, laying the groundwork for a meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Sullivan will be in China from August 27 to August 29 and discuss "bilateral, regional and global issues" the White House confirmed Friday. The trip would make Sullivan the first U.S. National Security Adviser to visit China on official business since 2016, Politico reported, citing sources inside the White House. "These meetings are consistent with efforts to maintain this strategic channel of communication to responsibly manage the relationship and are a product of the November 2023 Woodside Summit between President Biden and President Xi," the White House said in a statement. A proposed meeting between Biden and Xi would reportedly take place later this year, following the U.S. election on Nov. 5. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan's trip to China next week is expected to lay the groundwork for a meeting between President Joe Biden (R) and Chinese leader Xi JinPing later this year. File Photo courtesy of Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sullivan is scheduled to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during the trip. The two are expected to talk about several key topics, including continued military tensions in the South China Sea, the present situation in Gaza, and China's sales of non-lethal technology to Russia for its war in Ukraine, according to the Politico source. "The purpose of this strategic level of communication is really to get into details on...intensive policy, how we see different situations. It really is about clearing up misperceptions and avoiding this competition from gearing into conflict, more than anything else," a senior unnamed White House official told Politico in an interview. Jake Sullivan will be in China from August 27 to August 29 and discuss bilateral, regional, and global issues the White House confirmed Friday. Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI . During a White House press conference on Friday, White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said Sullivan's trip will tackle wide-ranging issues between the United States and China. "There is an awful lot on the agenda," Kirby said. "I wouldn't speak to any specific outcome, but I do want to stress that we do expect that [Sullivan] will want to talk to his Chinese counterpart about things that we have begun to work together on -- the mil-to-mil communication channel, fentanyl precursor preventative measures. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is scheduled to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (pictured) during the trip, with the two expected to talk about several key topics, including continued military tensions in the South China Sea, the present situation in Gaza, and Chinas sales of non-lethal technology to Russia for its war in Ukraine, according to Politico. Photo courtesy of Munich Security Conference "And I think [Sullivan] will also talk to Minister Wang about things, obviously, that, you know, we're still struggling with, in terms of this relationship with China: Chinese companies support Russia's war in Ukraine; tensions in the South China Sea, certainly with the Philippines; tensions across the Taiwan Strait," he said. "All of that will come up, as well." Biden and Xi last met in person in November of 2023. Following the meeting, China pledged to crack down on the flow of Fentanyl into the United States. Use of the powerful opiate has soared in recent years. In April, the two leaders discussed AI, counternarcotics as well as Russian access to Chinese technology. Sullivan has previously met with Wang prior to Biden-Xi meetings. Both Biden and Xi are expected to attend the 2024 G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The conference takes place after the U.S. election. (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. is planning a meeting next month with cybersecurity companies that operate at the core of its Windows systems to discuss ways in which they can keep last months worldwide computer crash from happening again. Most Read from Bloomberg Cyber companies including CrowdStrike Holdings Inc., the firm that rolled out a faulty content update last month that led to widespread outages of Windows systems globally will meet with Microsoft on Sept. 10 at its headquarters in suburban Seattle, the tech giant said. They are scheduled to discuss best practices on deploying updates on Windows computers and whether security firms should continue to have access to the kernel or core of Microsofts Windows operating systems. The CrowdStrike crash, which paralyzed businesses and markets for hours in July, has touched off a fierce debate over whether cyber firms should be allowed to operate at the so-called kernel of Microsofts Windows systems at all by highlighting the risks associated with that type of core-level access. The meeting comes after CrowdStrike in July pushed out a flawed content update that shut down Windows computers around the globe, disrupting air travel, banks and other businesses. Since then, CrowdStrike has announced wide-ranging changes to how it tests and deploys content updates. CrowdStrike is expected to attend the summit, and government representatives will also be invited, according to Microsoft. We look forward to bringing our perspective to the discussions with Microsoft and industry and government stakeholders on the need for a more resilient ecosystem, a CrowdStrike spokesperson said in a statement. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Soldiers check the entrance to the NATO air base, with the Security Alert State C sign on the left. NATO had declared the second-highest warning level at its air base in Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Christoph Reichwein/dpa NATO has raised the security level at its air base in the western German town of Geilenkirchen to the second-highest level, Charlie, following intelligence reports of a potential threat. As a precautionary measure, all employees who are not needed for the operation of the base have been sent home, according to NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen spokesman Christian Brett. "It's pretty empty here," he said on Friday. Flight operations are continuing as planned, he said. Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft take off and land five days a week at the air base located along the German border with the Netherlands and close to Belgium. NATO has stationed 14 AWACS aircraft at the base. There are two to three AWACS flights per day from Monday to Friday. Brett said the decision to raise the security level on Thursday evening was based on intelligence information indicating a potential threat but declined to provide any further information about the nature or circumstances surrounding the increased security. He did, however, reject speculation about possible drone overflights at the air base: "That's absurd." Flying over the base is prohibited for unauthorized aircraft and the airspace is closely monitored. "Nothing has flown over here," Brett said. In NATO terms, security level Charlie means that there has been an incident or that there is evidence suggesting a high likelihood of terrorist action against the alliance. The spokesman said that there was no cause for concern and it was purely a precautionary measure to ensure the continuity of critical operations. He added, however, that such a threat level was unusual and hadn't happened at the Geilenkirchen base in years. According to Brett, around 1,600 people work at the base, but a significant number of staff are currently away on holidays. Around half of the remaining employees are now at home due to the warning level, although many are still working. The police confirmed their presence, but did not provide any further details, including the number of officers. A dpa reporter observed police cars on the premises. The security level "C" was displayed on electronic displays and boards at the entrance to the base. The AWACS aircraft are converted Boeing 707 airliners with a mushroom-shaped radar structure. They can locate and identify other aircraft at a distance of more than 400 kilometres and convey this information to all others in the airspace with similar equipment, meaning they can act as airborne combat control centres. Soldiers check the entrance to the NATO air base, a soldier in camouflage clothing is walking towards the air base. NATO had declared the second-highest warning level at its air base in Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Christoph Reichwein/dpa A Navy sailor was sentenced Friday to serve five years in prison for causing the death of his shipmate while driving drunk nearly two years ago. Joseph Nicholas Medina, 24, was drinking in downtown Norfolk with his friend, Zachary Michael Soussa, also 24, until the early morning hours of Dec. 10, 2022. With Soussa in the passenger seat, Medina was speeding east on Virginia Beach Boulevard near the intersection with Park Avenue, according to the Commonwealths Attorneys Office. Medina, whose address is listed in court records as Millersville, Pennsylvania, lost control of the vehicle and drove onto a median. The car struck a tree, which caused it to spin and hit another tree. According to prosecutors, hitting the second tree caused the passenger door to be ripped off and Soussa to be thrown from the vehicle. He died on impact. Police detained Medina after he was released from the hospital; he was found to have a blood-alcohol content of 0.25, more than three times the legal limit for operating a vehicle in Virginia. Medina was sentenced Friday on one felony count of aggravated involuntary manslaughter as part of a plea agreement. Mr. Medina chose to drive drunk, and he killed his friend, Commonwealths Attorney Ramin Fatehi said in a release. Had Mr. Medina called a cab, nobody would have to pay the price for his crime. Now Mr. Medina faces a prison sentence, and Mr. Soussas family faces a lifetime without their loved one. If you choose to drink, choose not to drive. Soussa, a 2nd Class Petty Officer, was born in Philadelphia. He began his Navy career in 2017 and went on to earn many awards, according to his obituary. He spent three years in San Diego and was promoted twice before spending two years in Norfolk aboard the carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. While serving on the USS America, he earned the nickname Big Red. Zach was known for his infectious smile and loveable personality that could light up any room, his obituary reads. He was truly one of a kind and to know Zach is to love him. He truly will be missed. Gavin Stone, 757-712-4806, gavin.stone@virginiamedia.com Sailors may have a hard time getting a hold of the Navy Working Uniform Type III trousers for the next several months, due to massive shortages worldwide. Courtney Williams, a spokesperson for Navy Exchange Service Command, said that the Navy Exchange is experiencing severe shortages in its stores, as well as online. Size and location may vary, but overall NEXCOMs NWU Type III trouser inventory stock level is currently at around 13% worldwide, Williams said in an email to Navy Times. Focus remains on the Navys new accessions programs, like Recruit Training Command, Naval Academy Preparatory School, Officer Candidate School and Officer Development School. Williams said NEXCOM is coordinating with the Defense Logistics Agency on issues pertaining to the uniforms production and supply chain, and is working with the Chief of Naval Personnel on mitigation strategies to reduce the impact on the fleet. Military.com first reported the shortage. Navy ships on both coasts to receive flame-retardant uniform in 2024 The Defense Logistics Agency said it first started experiencing significant issues receiving the trousers back in April. Since this time, DLA has implemented several contracts to produce the trousers with deliveries starting in October 2024, a Defense Logistics Agency spokesperson said in an email to Navy Times. Priority sizes and quantities have been communicated to vendors. DLA has requested accelerated delivery where possible. The Defense Logistics Agency said it is currently focused on providing support to Navy Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Illinois, and full support to NEXCOM is expected to resume in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025. Lt. Meagan Morrison, a spokeswoman for the Chief of Naval Personnel, said in an email to Navy Times that the command is encouraging sailors to minimize wear and tear on serviceable NWUs and instead, wear other working uniforms options like coveralls. The Navy started introducing the 2-Piece Organizational Clothing uniform, or 2POC, to the fleet in December 2022 as an option for multiple working conditions including surface ships, submarines and flight decks. The two-piece, flame retardant uniform is composed of a tri-fiber blend and flame resistant fabric, equivalent to the flame resistance found in the Improved Fire Retardant Variant uniform. Uniform shortages are not unique to the Navy. For example, the Marine Corps started experiencing a low inventory of its woodland-pattern combat utility uniforms, known as cammies, back in 2022. As a result, the service distributed only two sets of the cammies to incoming recruits rather than the standard three. However, the service reported in April that shortages were improving and new recruits were once again receiving the full issue of uniforms. NC Gov. Roy Cooper speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago (CSPAN screenshot) North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper had the crowd at the Democratic National Convention shouting their promises to work for Vice President Kamala Harriss victory in November. He asked for people to fight for Harris like shed fight for them as president. I want the American people to know, even if you dont agree with her on everything, Kamala Harris will fight for you to the very end, Cooper said. For families who need better health care or a safer place to live, Kamala will fight for you. For parents who want better schools for their kids, for workers worried about a secure retirement for themselves, Kamala will fight for you. For any one of our allies anywhere in the world, wondering if America still has your back, remember this, Kamala will fight for you. Cooper held a coveted spot as the last presenter before Harris delivered her acceptance speech on the last night of the convention in Chicago. His prominence underscores the states importance in this years election. As he ended his speech, Cooper asked swing state delegations starting with North Carolinas, to stand up and fight for Harris like shell stand up and fight for us. He also name-checked Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Nevada and Arizona, inviting them in turn to stand up. Cooper had the crowd shouting Yes! when he asked if they were going to fight, vote, and win. Harris and Cooper are both former state attorneys general and have known each other for years. Cooper was thought to be on the short list of potential vice presidential picks before he revealed that he had taken himself out of the running. One of the conventions themes was to introduce Harris to voters. Cooper in his four-minute speech, provided an inside look at Harriss work as attorney general. He said she stood up to big banks to help California homeowners and promised shes show the same steel on behalf of the nation as president. As the nations attorneys general were negotiating a settlement with mortgage lenders in 2011 over loan servicing and foreclosure abuses that led to people losing their homes, Harris knew California families deserve more than the $4 billion they would have received, Cooper recounted. I know that sounds like a lot, but Kamala said, Hang on a minute. Ive met these families. I know what theyve been through, and they deserve more, he said. She went toe-to-toe with some of the worlds most powerful executives, and she refused to give in, Cooper said. Let me tell you, this was a huge risk, but she knew it was a risk worth taking. California families won $20 billion in the final settlement, he said. Cooper said that was the first time he witnessed Harris in action, and saw a leader who does exactly what she says shes going to do, who never will settle for less. Cooper helps introduce Harris at her North Carolina campaign events. Shes visited the state 16 times since shes been vice president. Both Harris and former President Donald Trump are focused on North Carolina. Harris presented her economic plan for the first time at an event in Raleigh last week. Trump has campaigned in the state twice in a week, with his last North Carolina stop in Asheboro on Wednesday. After President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Harris narrowed the polling gap with Trump. At least one survey shows her with a slight advantage. Cooper tells crowds and interviewers he has that 2008 feeling about North Carolina. Barack Obama won the state that year, the last time a Democratic presidential candidate won North Carolina. RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) North Carolina has joined the United States Department of Justice and seven other states in filing a bipartisan lawsuit against a software company accused of violating antitrust law and pushing apartment prices artificially high. The complaint against RealPage was filed on Friday by North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, the DOJ, and the attorney generals of California, Connecticut, Colorado, Minnesota, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington. NC AG investigating real estate software company possibly connected to rent rising As alleged by the North Carolina Attorney Generals Office, RealPage sells revenue management software to property managers across the country, with a heavy footprint in the Triangle and Charlotte-Mecklenburg areas. In exchange for buying and using the software, property managers share detailed, non-public, competitively sensitive data with RealPage that includes information about units coming on the market, the rent they are charging, and discounts. The North Carolina Attorney Generals Office alleges RealPage uses the non-public information to suggest a price that property managers should charge for their apartments to make more money, then uses a range of strategies to induce clients to automatically accept those recommendations. This results in prices for comparable apartments becoming artificially inflated and renters unable to find a better deal. Between 2010 and 2020, the median rent in Wake County jumped up 40 percent, Wake County Board of Commissioners Chair Shinica Thomas said in a statement, That costs families an extra $4,200 a year. For a household struggling to make ends meet, that can be the difference between stability and eviction. How much apartment space can you get for $1500 in NC cities? According to the North Carolina Attorney Generals Office, the lawsuit is the result of a year-long investigation into RealPage that Stein publicly announced this March. Few things are as important as our homes, but too many North Carolinians struggle to afford their apartment, Attorney General Josh Stein said in a statement, Rents are already too high. I will not tolerate any company scheming to block healthy competition among landlords. It raises rent and its illegal. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. North Carolina Supreme Court Justice Phil Berger Jr. will not be recused from two high-profile cases involving his father, the Republican Senate leader. The courts Republican justices denied Democratic Gov. Roy Coopers motion requesting Berger Jr.s recusal on Friday, writing that the Senate leader was involved in the case in an official capacity only not a personal one. We believe that Justice Berger can and will execute his responsibilities in this case fairly and impartially, the majority wrote. Rather than deciding on recusal himself, Berger Jr. referred the motion to the full court to consider. In a dissenting opinion, the courts two Democrats noted that the Code of Judicial Conduct makes no distinction between family members acting in their official capacity and personal capacity in its rules around recusal. Justice Allison Riggs, who authored the dissent, noted that Justice Berger previously refused to recuse himself in another case involving his father that challenged the states voter ID law. To achieve the desired outcome in this case, members of this Court who typically ascribe to a strict textualist philosophy are eager to add words to the Code of Judicial Conduct, Riggs wrote. ... I suspect the reason we have not changed these rules is simple the optics of overhauling existing ethics standards to accommodate Justice Berger and Senator Berger are problematic, to put it mildly. In both cases, Cooper is challenging laws passed by the General Assembly that strip him of his appointments to various boards and commissions. One of those laws, which is currently blocked by a lower courts order, would drastically restructure state and local election boards and give all appointments to legislative leaders including Berger Jr.s father, Senate leader Phil Berger, who is named as a defendant in both cases. Even if Berger Jr. had recused himself from the cases, it would still have been heard by a majority of Republican justices given that the party currently holds a 5-2 majority on the high court. Republican leaders sought to fast-track the cases by having the Supreme Court take them up before the Court of Appeals, but the justices denied that request on Friday. This makes it less likely that either case will be decided in time for the 2024 election, potentially avoiding a hasty implementation of new laws just a few months before Election Day. Election boards case could strip appointment power from governor, create bipartisan boards The election boards case deals with a law passed last year that would strip Cooper of his appointments to state and local election boards and give the appointments to legislative leaders instead. These boards, which currently have a 3-2 majority of the governors party, would shift to having even number of Republicans and Democrats a change critics have charged could lead to deadlocked votes on crucial decisions. Republicans have unsuccessfully attempted to make similar changes to election boards for years. Shortly after Cooper was elected in 2016, Republican lawmakers put forward a similar bill but the state Supreme Court struck it down, saying it violated the state constitutions separation of powers clause. In 2018, Republicans proposed the changes as a constitutional amendment, but over 61% of voters rejected it at the polls. But last year, the GOP achieved a supermajority in both chambers and overturned Coopers veto to pass a bill restructuring the boards. Cooper sued shortly after, arguing that the law violates the states separation of powers requirement. A bipartisan panel of Superior Court judges agreed in March, finding the law unconstitutional and calling it the most stark and blatant removal of appointment power in years. The courts ruling blocked the law from taking effect. Earlier this month, Cooper urged the Supreme Court to deny Republicans request to bypass the Court of Appeals. Legislative defendants invite this Court to ignore the public interest and the clear results of a recent public vote about amending our Constitution ... and reinterpret our Constitution ... so that separation of powers is no longer an enforceable constitutional limitation, Coopers lawyers wrote. This court should decline that dangerous invitation. Lawyers for the state joined Coopers calls for caution, writing in a court filing that a decision this close to an election could sow confusion and undermine public confidence in the fairness and integrity of the election process. Appointments case involves governors power over various boards The Supreme Court also declined to fast-track a case dealing with the governors appointments power to various boards and commissions. Last year, Republican lawmakers passed Senate Bill 512, which removed some of Coopers appointments to the Economic Investment Committee, the Commission for Public Health, the Board of Transportation and more. Cooper sued shortly after the bill was enacted, arguing that it violated the state constitutions separation of powers clause by taking power away from the executive branch. A bipartisan panel of Superior Court judges partially agreed with Cooper in February, finding that the General Assembly went too far with its restructuring of the EIC and BOT. Other changes, however, such as appointments to the Environmental Management Commission, the Commission for Public Health and the Wildlife Resources Commission, were upheld. When will there be a ruling? Since the Supreme Court declined to bypass the Court of Appeals and take them up early, it will take longer for the cases to be fully adjudicated. The Court of Appeals allowed parties in each case to have an extended filing schedule while awaiting the Supreme Courts order. Briefs are due in both cases by Sept. 19. No arguments have been scheduled in either case. 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. ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) The North Carolina Supreme Court will allow the ongoing lawsuit between the state and a Piedmont Triad race track to continue. Ace Speedway, located in Elon, became national news in 2020 after the governor ordered them to shutter for not conforming to COVID-19 precautions in the early days of the pandemic in 2020. The speedway took the fight to court, suing the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services after being shut down with a temporary restraining order. The owners appeared in court, calling the COVID-19 restrictions a deathwish for the business. A judge ruled in favor of the state, which Ace Speedway owners appealed. The Court of Appeals cleared the way for a lawsuit against Dr. Mandy Cohen on behalf of Ace Speedway to go forward in August 2022. Kody Kinsley replaced Cohen, who is now director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as a plaintiff. The state moved to dismiss the case, but a court denied the motion. The North Carolina Court of Appeals agreed to uphold the decision, and, now, the state Supreme Court has agreed as well. The trial court properly denied the States motion to dismiss, the North Carolina Supreme Court wrote on Friday. We affirm the decision of the Court of Appeals, which in turn affirmed the trial courts ruling. NASCAR fines crew chief $100,000 after grievous mistake According to the document from the N.C. Supreme Court, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency and issued an executive order affecting outdoor venues such as stadiums, concert arenas, and racetracks. The executive order permitted these venues to stay open but limited attendance to only twenty-five people, regardless of the venues size. Robert Turner, who operated a racetrack in Alamance County known as Ace Speedway, spoke out against these restrictions and told the public that his racetrack would remain open for all attendees. This led to the series of events at issue in this lawsuit. These events concern matters that are controversial in contemporary politics. The legal issues in this appeal, by contrast, are so time-tested that they border on mundane. In our legal system, we treat the initial allegations in a lawsuit as true when assessing whether the case can move forward at the outset. It is only after the parties have had the opportunity to gather evidence from each other, and from other parties with knowledge about the casethat courts examine whether those allegations are true. The court notes that Turners allegations that Cooper or the NCDHHS pressured local law enforcement or county officials to force him to shut down Ace Speedway remain unproven, however. The claims also allege that Governor Cooper took these actions not because there was an actual health hazard at the racetrack, but to punish Turner for speaking out, and that health officials did not take similar actions against other large outdoor venues whose owners did not openly criticize the Governor, the court said. The state Supreme Court judges said they reject the States argument that Ace Speedways claims fail because the claims do not seek the least-intrusive remedy. That argument is not ripe for review. As we have repeated throughout this opinion, Ace Speedways allegations remain unproven. The case has barely begun. The only question reviewable at this early stage of the case is whether Ace Speedway has sufficiently alleged a valid Corum claim, thus piercing the States sovereign immunity and permitting it to bring the State into court to litigate the matter. The trial court correctly concluded that the claims are valid and therefore the States motion to dismiss must be denied. The Court of Appeals, in turn, properly affirmed that ruling. A Corum claim is based on a a groundbreaking 1992 decision, in which the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled in favor of [the plaintiff], holding that in the absence of an adequate state remedy, a person whose constitutional rights have been abridged has a direct claim against the State. Sovereign immunity refers to law that states that a government cannot be sued without its consent. Ultimately, the State cannot assert sovereign immunity as a defense to a valid Corum claim so the courts will not dismiss the case and will allow the lawsuit will continue. 280PA22-1Download Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. RALEIGH, N.C. (WGHP) A North Carolina Association of Educators has sent a candidate a cease-and-desist letter over the use of an apple shape in campaign materials. According to a release by the NCAE on Thursday, the association has asked Republican nominee Michele Morrows campaign to stop using apple-shaped campaign materials in her campaign for state superintendent. The initial cease-and-desist letter was sent on July 12. The NCAE says that it has exclusive rights to use the registered service mark of an apple outline and that the apple shape is a trusted symbol of educators endorsement. The Maryland State Education Association has held a trademark for the Apple Ballot design for Political Advocacy Services, namely, promoting the interests of public educators by evaluating and endorsing candidates for political office on the basis of their support for public education since 1998. The NCAE has licensed that design since 2014. Mo Green far outpaces Michele Morrow in fundraising as North Carolina superintendent race garners national attention Morrow, the Republican challenger who unseated incumbent State Superintendent Catherine Truitt in the primary and has found herself at the center of multiple national controversies over prior comments, is not endorsed by the NCAE. In December 2023, the association endorsed her opponent, former Guilford County Schools Superintendent Mo Green. Public school staff handing out Apple Ballots has been a staple sight at North Carolina polling sites for decades and NCAE members want there to be no mistake about who belongs on the Apple Ballot, the association wrote in their release. NCAE President Tamika Walker Kelly said in the release, Michelle Morrow does not support public education and has never worked in or even sent her children to a North Carolina public school. Voters can see shes trying to hide behind the apple symbol, but her disrespect of public school teachers and staff, support for political violence, and her plan to put cameras in school bathrooms, just to name a few, makes her unqualified for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. These letters, along with pictures of the campaign materials, can be viewed here. Morrows campaign responded on July 31, refusing to comply with NCAEs demands and claiming that the apple shape has become a generic symbol of public education. Why would NCAE use bogus legal tactics to thwart NCs Student-First Candidate? Morrow said in a post on X earlier this month. Because Michele Morrow is fighting for you! Thats why. In a letter to the NCAE, Morrows campaign wrote, Mrs. Morrow is concerned by your assertion her campaign could even possibly be associated with the NCAE. While we believe your legal demands are motivated by political animus and not legal merit, Mrs. Morrow is willing to go the extra mile to distance herself from NCAE and its long established and routine endorsements of left wing, Democratic party politicians, such as Josh Stein and Mo Green, as well as your history of endorsing and promoting public policies Mrs. Morrow finds disastrous, such as your past advocacy to close public schools throughout most of 2020 and your aggressive demands for mask mandates for students. In a follow-up sent on Thursday, the NCAE said it will take further legal action against Morrow if she does not stop using the apple shape in her campaign. Morrows campaign has been reached 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 Queen City News. NCDOT awards $14,000+ in scholarships to students at HBCUs and Minority-Serving Institutions RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) Thirteen North Carolina students at HBCUs and Minority-Serving Institutions each received a $1,100 scholarship from the NC Department of Transportations Office of Historically Black Colleges and Universities Outreach. NCDOT announced the scholarships on Friday, which were provided through a $15,000 donation from the Southeastern Association of State Highway Transportation Officials. According to NCDOT, the eligible recipients are: Amir Javadi of Greensboro (NC Agricultural and Technical State University) Jessica Dawes of Garner (NC Agricultural and Technical State University) Mustafa Noori of High Point (NC Agricultural and Technical State University) Zachaya Ozuna of Garner (NC Agricultural and Technical State University) Ahniyah Nicholson of Greensboro (NC Agricultural and Technical State University) Antonio Thorpe of Oxford (NC Agricultural and Technical State University) Keith Archibald of Charlotte (NC Agricultural and Technical State University) Teren McNeill of Cary (NC Agricultural and Technical State University) Isaak Gibson of Gastonia (NC Agricultural and Technical State University) Miles Durant of Durham (NC Agricultural and Technical State University) Justin Bullock II Greensboro (NC Agricultural and Technical State University) Chioma Nwakalor of Charlotte (UNC Pembroke) Quentin Glass of Durham (Winston-Salem University) Saint Augustines receives $10,000 donation from Wayne County HBCU Alliance The eligible recipients are North Carolina residents with 24 college credit hours who are attending a North Carolina HBCU or Minority-Serving Institution and pursuing degrees related to the transportation field, according to NCDOT. A committee of NCDOT employees and others selected the scholarship winners by scoring each students academic achievements and a personal statement expressing the students interest in transportation. NCDOT says it plans to announce the application period for the 2025 scholarships later this year and post applications 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 CBS17.com. (Reuters) -Microsoft said on Friday it would hold a summit in September to discuss steps to improve cybersecurity systems, after a faulty update from CrowdStrike caused a global IT outage last month. The conference marks the first big step by Microsoft to address the issues that affected nearly 8.5 million Windows devices on July 19, disrupting operations across industries ranging from major airlines to banks and healthcare. The event will be held on Sept. 10 at Microsoft's headquarters in Redmond, Washington. The company will invite government representatives to the gathering, it said in a blog. "The CrowdStrike outage in July presents important lessons for us to apply as an ecosystem," Microsoft said. The outage raised concerns that many organizations are not well prepared to implement contingency plans when a single point of failure such as an IT system, or a piece of software within it, goes down. "We look forward to bringing our perspective to the discussions with Microsoft and industry and government stakeholders on the need for a more resilient ecosystem," a CrowdStrike spokesperson said when contacted for a comment. Analysts have said the outage has exposed risks of dependence on single-vendor providing one-stop shop for security solutions. CrowdStrike, which has lost about $9 billion of its market value since the outage, has been sued by shareholders, who said the cybersecurity company defrauded them by concealing how its inadequate software testing could cause the global disruption. Earlier this month, Delta Air Lines said it was pursuing legal claims against CrowdStrike and Microsoft, after the outage caused mass flight cancellations and cost the carrier at least $500 million. CrowdStrike is scheduled to report its second-quarter financial results after the U.S. market close on Aug. 28. (Reporting by Aditya Soni and Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Shilpi Majumdar) Signage is shown near a voting precinct. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) LINCOLN Nebraska voters will decide the future of abortion rights in November, but unlike voters in other states, they will have competing choices. Two separate proposed constitutional amendments on abortion qualified for the general election ballot, the Secretary of States Office announced Friday. One proposal, by abortion-rights advocates, would codify a right to abortion in the Nebraska Constitution until fetal viability, as determined by a health care provider. Most medical experts set the age of viability between 22 and 24 weeks gestation, although critics of the measure say doctors could push that later. The other proposed constitutional amendment, promoted by supporters of abortion restrictions, would constitutionally limit abortion to the first trimester of pregnancy. It would also let the Legislature pass stricter bans than current law, which bans abortion after 12 weeks gestational age, or about 10 weeks after conception. Both sides celebrated clearing the hurdle of collecting at least 123,000 valid signatures from registered voters for an amendment, including 5% from voters in 38 counties. Each side turned in more signatures than needed, but state and county election officials stopped counting when the number of valid signatures crested 136,000. The Protect Women and Children petition showed signatures from more parts of Nebraska when election officials stopped counting signatures. Protect Our Rights turned in slightly more signatures. Both campaigns prepare for fall fight Protect Our Rights, abortion-rights campaign, hosts a news conference Allie Berry, campaign manager for Protect Our Rights, the group behind the abortion-rights proposal, called Friday an important next step for this campaign. Nebraskans in every corner of the state believe in the freedom to make private health care decisions without political interference, she said. Protect Women and Children issued a statement from a pharmacist and three nurses who support their effort: Voters have the choice to reject an extreme, activist amendment that invites government intrusion between a woman and her doctor. The statement emphasized the measures language specifying exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother. Critics of the proposal have argued that the exceptions are written in ways that make them difficult to access. Competing proposals a new reality Secretary of State Bob Evnen credited election workers, who he said are working hard to process several petitions and meet key election deadlines. Ballots must be finalized by Sept. 13. Evnens statement acknowledged the historic nature competing ballot measures being considered in the same election, for the first time in Nebraska. The oddity of this arrangement means that if voters adopt or pass both measures, the one that receives the most votes will become law, Evnen said in May. Gov. Jim Pillen, under state law, has the role of formally declaring after the election whether two competing ballot measures are in conflict. Nebraskas abortion fight is the first time nationally that competing abortion measures will appear on the ballot at the same time. Political observers question how the competing ballot measures will affect the trend of voters backing abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Abortion rights measures have passed in every state where theyve been on the ballot since Roe. Critics of Protect Women and Childrens proposal have said it is confusing on purpose to persuade signers that it would protect current law when it doesnt. Critics of Protect the Right to Abortions proposal have said it goes too far and would outlaw the states current restrictions, including parental notification. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX CHICAGO, Illinois Kamala Harris made history Thursday night, accepting her partys nomination to become president and vowing to unite a bitterly divided country. I know there are people of various political views watching tonight, she said. And I want you to know. I promise to be a president for all Americans. The vice president sought to define herself as the daughter of immigrants who understands middle-class values. Her mother immigrated to America at age 19 with the hope of curing breast cancer. After her parents split up, the family lived in an apartment in a working class neighborhood of San Francisco with firefighters, nurses, and construction workers. As a career prosecutor, she had just one client: the people. Meanwhile, she painted her opponent, Donald Trump, as a selfish, out-of-touch real estate mogul. I think everyone here knows he doesnt actually fight for the middle class. Instead he fights for himself and his billionaire friends. Kamala Harris reacts to a balloon drop during the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Harris at length spoke of what has become a central theme in her campaign for the White House: consider the alternative if Trump is re-elected. In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man, she said. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious. Consider the power he will have, especially after the United States Supreme Court just ruled that he would be immune from criminal prosecution, she added. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrailsand how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States not to improve your life, not to strengthen our national security, but to serve the only client he has ever had: himself. Also on Trumps side, Harris suggested, are Americas enemies and strongmen. Dictators like Kim Jung Un are rooting for Trump because they know, they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors, she said. Tim Walz (L) and wife Gwen approach US Vice President and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris at the conclusion of the fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention. ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images Harris made no mention of being the first Black woman to become a major political party's presidential candidate. Yet she received a heroes welcome from attendees who may have been expecting Beyonce. The crowd got louder than it had been all week. The convention floor looked like a sea of waving American flags. When Harris got to the relevant moment in her speech, the chants of not going back reverberated from so many corners that the audience couldnt get in sync. The vice president hit several of the talking points that have done well for her on the campaign trail, especially around protecting abortion rights. Some of the loudest cheers of the night came when Harris mentioned the war in the Middle East, promising to stand up for Israels right to defend itself while also ensuring peace for Palestinians. Balloons fall as Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris celebrates with her family after accepting the Democratic presidential nomination. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images It was a very different reception than the one President Joe Biden might have gotten had he stayed in the race. The path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected, Harris said, acknowledging the last-minute nature of her candidacy. But Im no stranger to unlikely journeys. With Biden's endorsement, Harris quickly locked down the support of all her potential rivals and united the Democratic Party to a degree it hasn't seen in years. She excited the voters who were cool on Biden, especially young people and people of color. She shattered fundraising records, bringing in about $500 million in total since launching her candidacy. Her selection of Tim Walz as her running mate was also met with approval inside her own party, and the pair's whirlwind tour of battleground states attracted thousands who have waited hours in the heat and rain to see them. In the hall, at least, everyone seemed thrilled to go on that journey with her. She talked little of the historic nature of her candidacy and avoided wearing the suffragette white that Hillary Clinton donned eight years ago, opting instead for a black suit with a bow at the neckperhaps not to jinx it. Together, let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told, Harris said as she was drowned out by cheers. 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. Editors note: Details in this story may be disturbing for some readers. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) New details surrounding Negasi Zuberi the man accused of kidnapping a woman and locking her in a cinderblock cell before she was able to escape reveal he had planned to capture multiple women to raise an army under his control, according to federal court documents. Prosecutors accused Zuberi of plotting an Operation Take Over in which he sketched out plans for an underground structure and targetable women, listing characteristics of an ideal victim who had few personal connections. Portland Public School teacher accused of luring a minor with brazen conversations Court documents show that Zuberi prefaced his target list with the phrase, You must raise an army. [The notes] show his preparation and planning, the document reads. And, if there is any doubt as to the purpose of the cell or the import of his kidnapping tools, they enlighten and augment the existing evidence. Investigators say Zuberi would scout for potential victims in parking lots and take surreptitious photos of the women and their license plates to track their cars as recently as July 2023. Zuberi is the focus of an ongoing investigation, led by the FBI, accusing him of soliciting a woman for prostitution in Seattle in July 2023 and driving her to his Klamath Falls home, where he had built a makeshift cell in the garage. Pok Poks Andy Ricker returning to Portland for greatest hits event Authorities say the woman was locked in the cell for a few hours, but when Zuberi left, she escaped and called 911. The next day, Zuberi was arrested in Reno, Nevada in a Walmart parking lot while holding one of his children in the front seat of his car and talking to his wife. The investigation went public in August 2023, leading to details of multiple aliases Sakima, Justin Hyche and Justin Kouassi in at least 10 states within the past decade. Stay with KOIN 6 News as we continue to follow this 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 KOIN.com. AURORA, Colo. (KDVR) There is new fallout after the city of Aurora shut down the Fitzsimons apartments on Nome Street over dozens of code violations. Its been a little more than a week since hundreds of tenants were forced out of their units for health and safety reasons. Resort-like home built into red rocks hits Colorado market for under $1M For the last two years, Shannon Mack has called the Newark neighborhood in Aurora her home. She lives about 500 feet from the recently vacated apartment complex near Colfax Avenue and Nome Street. They (tenants) got the notice on Wednesday and were kicked out on Tuesday, Mack said. So when it was happening, people were just throwing their things out the window. The city of Aurora said it shut down the complex because living conditions are unfit for human habitation and code violations date back two years. The propertys management company, CBZ Management, claimed they could not do any maintenance or repairs because the complex was overrun by a Venezuelan gang. Theres just nowhere for them to go. So they park in front of the house and sleep when they can, Mack said. Mack said it causes her street to be lined up with cars, sometimes blocking her driveway. She captured a photo of a tent and people camped outside, near her street. Theyve taken tools and batteries, Mack said with tears in her eyes. The things that I lost, Im not sure that they have monetary value. I lost my husband, and now Im losing his things. Dont be afraid to call, watch out for each other The Aurora Police Department told FOX31 that since the abatement, they have had two calls to the 1600 block of Nome Street, both labeled a suspicious occurrence with someone on a property and ringing a doorbell. Police say both have been cleared, but Mack still has fears. Weve lost our security and freedom to live in our homes, she said. Youre afraid to leave because its not in the middle of the night, not in the middle of the day. Its around the clock. She hopes the situation can be fixed, although shes not sure of any resolutions. Get back to whats normal, but hopefully its a way they can find other housing long-term, Mack said. I would like to wave a magic wand to fix it all. Im just one person. I dont know the answer. Its easy to say these are the problems, but to not be able to come up with the answer is frustrating. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox She said neighbors need to be on high alert and look out for one another. Dont be afraid to call, watch out for each other, Mack said. If youre seeing something, dont be afraid to call. And if you need help, I want to help if I can help. FOX31 also reached out to the city of Aurora. A spokesperson said in a statement: Yes, we have also become aware of some of the complaints. We would encourage anyone who is experiencing a crime to call police. Additionally, or perhaps separately depending on the circumstance, we would encourage folks to report concerns to the Access Aurora portal, which is one of the best ways for city staff to prioritize 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 FOX31 Denver. Neolithic engineers built megalithic monument with stones that weighed as much as two jumbo jets Sign up for CNNs Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news on fascinating discoveries, scientific advancements and more. Each of the 32 colossal stones that make up the Menga Dolmen, a 5,600-year-old megalithic monument in southern Spain, is many times bigger than the largest megaliths at Stonehenge, the most famous Neolithic wonder. Embedded in the ground on a hilltop that rises about 50 meters (165 feet) above the surrounding plain, the stones form a dolmen, or single-chamber tomb, about 25 meters (82 feet) long and 5 meters (16.4 feet) wide at the widest point. The largest single stone weighs around 150 metric tons, about the same as a blue whale and nearly five times heavier than Stonehenges largest component. Collectively, the megaliths weigh about 1,140 metric tons. I tell the students in my lectures the weight is more than two Boeing 747 airplanes combined, the ones that fly across continents and so on, fully loaded with fuel and passengers, said Leonardo Garcia Sanjuan, a coauthor of a new study on the monument and a professor of prehistory at Spains University of Seville. Its a huge, enormous amount of stone, and its always been a mystery and an intriguing scientific question how on Earth (it was built given) the technology they had in the Neolithic period. The results of a decade-long research project published Friday in the journal Science Advances attempt to answer this question, revealing the surprisingly sophisticated engineering skills needed to accomplish such a feat. Id noticed that its stones were carefully placed without gaps but this paper reveals just how precisely that has to have been done, with an extraordinary eye on the dimensions and angles, said Mike Parker-Pearson, a professor of British later prehistory at University College London, who described it as one of the worlds greatest megalithic wonders. Parker-Pearson wasnt involved in the research. How to build a megalith The project, led by Jose Antonio Lozano Rodriguez, a geologist at the Canary Islands Oceanographic Center, pieced together how the stones were cut, transported and placed by looking at the topography and geology of the site, information from previous archaeological excavations, and ethnographic and historical accounts of building techniques. The upright stones that make up the walls of the chamber were not perfectly vertical, tilting inward at a gentle angle to make the building narrower at the roof than at the floor and creating a trapezoid-shaped chamber. The team calculated that each of the upright stones lean inward at a largely uniform angle of 84 to 85 degrees. The upright stones that form the walls also lean sideways against one another at a consistent angle. The architect and builders must have used tools such as plumb levels and framing squares to achieve such consistency and accuracy, the study said. A total of 32 stones were moved to the site from a quarry less than a mile away before being erected. - Miguel Angel Blanco de la Rubia The precision of the angles is millimetric, Garcia Sanjuan said. They made a Tetris out of this, like the computer game. He added, The stones were placed and carved so that they would be slightly inclined and perfectly adjusted to each other. Each block has to fit exactly with the others, and each block supports the others. All the stones are locked into one another and embedded into the bedrock. A unique feature of the monument revealed by the study showed how the upright stones were initially embedded, likely with the use of a counterweight, into foundation sockets so deep that up to one-third of the stones would have been below ground when first erected. Once the walls had been completed, the builders placed five huge capstones to form the roof. The builders subsequently removed the earth to the desired floor level, erecting stone pillars for extra support. Once the capstones were added, it was like a solid box, with the bedrock still inside, and then they carved away all that rock, all that bedrock, to make the chamber, Garcia Sanjuan said. The resulting building was then covered with a mound of soil, which would have insulated the chamber from cold and wet weather, as well as acting as a straitjacket to add stability to the construction, he added. Garcia Sanjuan said its not exactly clear how the dolmen was used, most likely as a temple and tomb, though few archaeological remains have been found within the relic. The paper suggested that one reason it was constructed to withstand the ages was because the region is seismically active. Parker-Pearson said its makers wanted to create a solid structure that lasted for eternity. Although the authors of the Menga paper suggest this might be something to resist earthquake damage, I think theres a more significant reason why stone monuments such as Menga, Stonehenge and many others were built so solidly, which is the attempt at permanence, he said. This linking of stone with the eternal is something which I think is a feature shared by all the prehistoric megalithic dolmens (and other tombs) of western Europe, he added. In the majority of cases these are tombs and dolmens for the dead, housing in perpetuity the ancestors who were also considered eternal. How did they transport the rocks? Research published in December 2023 by the same team identified the source of the stones used to build the monument: a quarry 850 meters (0.5 mile) away, some 50 meters (164 feet) higher than the location of Menga favorable topography that would have allowed for the transport of the massive stones down a gentle slope. This study suggested that the builders would likely have designed a trackway or road to minimize friction of the relatively soft rock against the ground by embedding closely spaced timber poles or planks into the ground and transporting the stones using huge wooden sledges controlled with large ropes. The Menga Dolmen sits atop a hill near Antequera, Spain. - Leonardo Garcia Sanjuan The dolmen was also built on a similar descending path from the back of the chamber to the entrance, enabling the stones to move along the same axis during the construction process. These new insights into the engineering skills confirm, along with the size of the dolmens massive stones, that these people of Iberias early Copper Age were intent on constructing a super-solid monument, Parker-Pearson said via email. With such big stones, they couldnt have afforded to make mistakes when manoeuvring them into position if even just one was a few centimetres out, that would have been hard to correct once an upright stone was set in its construction trench. The new study described the Menga Dolmen as a one-of-a-kind example of creative genius and early science in a Neolithic society, a time when agriculture recently was adopted as a way of life and tools were made largely of stone and other natural materials rather than metal, and no written language existed. You see that these people knew about physics, friction, angles. They knew about geology. They knew the properties of the rocks, they knew about geometry, Garcia Sanjuan said. Put these things together (and) what do you have? We have to call it science. Weve never talked about Neolithic science before only because we are too arrogant to think that these people could do science the way we do it. If any engineer today tried to build Menga with the resources that existed 6,000 years ago, I dont think they could do it. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Nepal lifted a ban on TikTok after the social media company agreed to a series of conditions imposed by the government. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI Aug. 23 (UPI) -- The government of Nepal lifted a ban on TikTok imposed late last year over claims the social media app disrupted the nation's "social harmony." Prithvi Subba Gurung, Nepal's minister for communications and information technology, announced the decision to end the nine-month ban at the conclusion of a cabinet meeting on Thursday that came after TikTok agreed to fulfill a number of conditions imposed by the government. "Now onwards, TikTok has to help promote Nepal's tourism; invest in digital literacy efforts; support to uplift Nepal's public education system; and be mindful of the language used on its platform," Gurung said. TikTok, which is owned by China-based ByteDance, said it was happy to be allowed back in the country. "We're excited to be able to continue enabling Nepali voices and creativity," a spokesman for TikTok said, according to The New York Times. In November, the Nepali government complained that the "propaganda" on the social media site disrupted the country's family structure and social relations. It said the ban was meant to address what it called a flood of "misinformation" on the website. Nepal's decision was a break from its neighbor India, which banned TikTok and many other Chinese apps in 2020. India's rejection of Chinese apps is rooted in the poor geopolitical climate between the two countries. TikTok also faces the prospect of a ban in the United States after President Joe Biden signed a law in April urging ByteDance to divest its interests in TikTok or see the app barred from Apple's App Store and Google Play. Mailee Osten-Tan/Getty Images Nepals LGBTQ+ community gathered to celebrate Pride and honor their loved ones who have passed this week for the first time since the country had its first legally recognized same-sex marriage in November 2023. On Tuesday, hundreds gathered in the capital city of Kathmandu for the countrys annual Gai Jatra festival, a celebration held to commemorate the death of loved ones. Nepals LGBTQ+ community has additionally claimed Gai Jatra as both a celebration of Pride and a time to honor queer and trans Nepali people who have died in the past year without support from their families. The celebration is organized by the LGBTQ+ organization Blue Diamond Society (BDS), whose president, Pinky Gurung, told The Kathmandu Post that they have been commemorating it as a Pride event since 2003. Gurung told the Post that BDS started its Gai Jatra celebration to honor LGBTQ+ people whose families rejected them and refused to perform the necessary funeral rites. Even though times have changed, many LGBTQIA+ members still face abandonment from their families, Gurung told the organization. Many still dont have their families at their funerals. Only a few cases come to us, but there must be many others. This parade represents the commemoration of our deceased community members, so their souls can rest in peace. The theme of this years parade was Celebrate Culture, Embrace Gender Diversity, according to an Instagram post from BDS. Per the Post, one of the individuals honored during the organizations celebration was Samoj, a gender-nonconforming person who passed away from cancer in March at the age of 62. Because they were rejected by their family, BDS organized their entire funeral. Gurung added that Gai Jatra celebrations often involve men dress[ing] as women in brocade crimson blouses and sarees, so in a way, Gaijatra has always embodied and embraced the LGBTQIA+ community. After 50 Lawsuits, A Trans Woman in Nepal Won Legal Recognition From the Supreme Court The decision applies narrowly to Rukshana Kapali, meaning that other trans people will need to petition separately. In addition to being a festival of mourning and remembrance, Gai Jatra is also a time of dancing, singing, mirth and laughter, according to the Nepal Tourism Board. During the festival, people dress as cows, which are sacred in the Hindu religion, and parade through the streets. According to South Asian news agency Ani News, Gai Jatra celebrations stem from the belief that having a parade on that day will bring the souls of deceased loved ones to heaven. Although Nepal held its first same-sex marriage ceremony in November, the country is still waiting on a final decision from its Supreme Court that would officially enshrine marriage equality into law. According to EqualDex, the Nepali government issued an order in April that requires local governments to register same-sex marriage; but even if those couples are registered, they dont have the legal rights that marriage bestows, such as tax subsidies, adopting children and making spousal medical decisions. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of allowing same-sex marriage, that would make Nepal the third country in Asia to do so, after Taiwan and Thailand. Get the best of whats queer. Sign up for Thems weekly newsletter here. Originally Appeared on them. CHEMUNG COUNTY, N.Y. (WETM) One of the men who was charged in connection to an incident of kidnapping and theft that occurred in the Town of Van Etten in February of 2023 has been found guilty after a week of trial. According to the Chemung County District Attorneys Office, Joseph M. Howell, 39, was found guilty on Friday, Aug. 23, of two counts of burglary in the first degree, two counts of robbery in the first degree and one count of kidnapping in the second degree. 3 Newfield men arrested on kidnapping charges As a result, Howell faces a sentence of eight to 25 years in custody as a second felony offender. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 25, 2024, at 1 p.m. Howell also faces an indictment in Tioga County for the charges of murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, kidnapping in the first degree and intimidating a victim or witness in the third degree in connection to an incident that occurred in May of 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 WETM - MyTwinTiers.com. No plans to close schools in the event of mpox outbreak, CDC says Federal health officials say that mpox is drastically different from Covid, and is highly unlikely to lead to school closures. Since the World Health Organization declared mpox a global health emergency last week, familiar fears of school shutdowns have ricocheted across social media, striking a nerve with many U.S. students who remember all too well the 2020 Covid lockdowns. IM NOT MISSING SENIOR YEAR BC OF MONKEYPOX, one person wrote in the caption of a TikTok video with nearly 1 million views. In another, a remix of Forever Young plays as the text 2024: did you see they shut down some schools, appears on the screen. The video has more than 8 million views. I swear if its another lockdown Ill cry, someone replied in the comments. Kids have been through this before, said Dr. Michelle Taylor, director and health officer of the Shelby County Health Department in Memphis, Tennessee. They dont want to go through it again. While the mpox outbreak in Africa is worrisome, federal health officials insist that this virus is dramatically different than Covid, and is highly unlikely to lead to school closures. This is not like Covid, where theres nothing visible on somebody, said Christina Hutson, head of the poxvirus and rabies branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. With mpox, she said, you actually can see the lesions on somebody. Unless youre directly touching them, youre not going to get infected. How does mpox spread? Mpox, previously called monkeypox, is a virus that causes fevers, headaches, muscle aches and painful, open wounds on the skin. While Covid is a respiratory virus that spreads through the air, mpox is spread from person to person through close, skin-to-skin contact with those lesions. Sometimes, people can also become sick after touching contaminated items, such as clothing or bedding. What was scary about Covid was that it can spread asymptomatically, said Dr. Paul Offit, a pediatrician and infectious disease expert at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia. Thats not true of mpox. There are several versions of mpox, called clades. In 2022, clade II spread globally, mainly among men who have sex with men. While those cases are still circulating at low levels in the United States, theyve decreased significantly. Clade I accounts for the latest mpox strain thats driving the outbreak in parts of Africa. Its alarmed health officials because its a more severe and deadlier form of the virus. Where is mpox spreading? Nearly all clade I cases so far have been limited to African countries, particularly the Democratic Republic of Congo, or the DRC. Only one country outside of Africa, Sweden, has confirmed a case of clade I mpox. No cases of clade I mpox have been detected in the U.S. CDC modeling studies on clade I mpox have suggested that the potential for spread even within households is unlikely in the U.S. The living situation in the DRC for most of the country is quite different than the U.S., Hutson said. These are really small house sizes with many different occupants, so its really hard to isolate from somebody infected. Will schools shut down if clade I mpox spreads in the U.S.? The answer at this point is absolutely not, said Dr. Carlos del Rio, a professor of medicine and expert in infectious disease at Emory University in Atlanta. Del Rio was one of the first to advocate for drastic measures in schools, including shutdowns, in 2020 as the coronavirus spread. The approach to this virus, he said of mpox, is very different. Thats because experts know a lot more about mpox than they did about Covid in early 2020, when the coronavirus was new to science. Mpox, on the other hand, has been studied for decades. Its not airborne, Taylor said, adding that there is no evidence that the mpox virus is mutating or spreading in a way that would prompt school closures. Based on the science, I just dont believe thats going to happen. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com No, the world isnt heading toward a new Cold War its closer to the grinding world order collapse of the 1930s The past decade and a half has seen upheaval across the globe. The 2008 financial crisis and its fallout, the COVID-19 pandemic and major regional conflicts in Sudan, the Middle East, Ukraine and elsewhere have left residual uncertainty. Added to this is a tense, growing rivalry between the U.S. and its perceived opponents, particularly China. In response to these jarring times, commentators have often reached for the easy analogy of the post-1945 era to explain geopolitics. The world is, we are told repeatedly, entering a new Cold War. But as a historian of the U.S.s place in the world, these references to a conflict that pitted the West in a decades-long ideological battle with the Soviet Union and its allies and the ripples the Cold War had around the globe are a flawed lens to view todays events. To a critical eye, the world looks less like the structured competition of that Cold War and more like the grinding collapse of world order that took place during the 1930s. The low dishonest decade In 1939, the poet W.H. Auden referred to the previous 10 years as the low dishonest decade a time that bred uncertainty and conflict. From the vantage of almost a century of hindsight, the period from the Wall Street Crash of 1929 to the onset of World War II can be distorted by loaded terms like isolationism or appeasement. The decade is cast as a morality play about the rise of figures like Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini and simple tales of aggression appeased. But the era was much more complicated. Powerful forces in the 1930s reshaped economies, societies and political beliefs. Understanding these dynamics can provide clarity for the confounding events of recent years. Greater and lesser depressions The Great Depression defined the 1930s across the world. It was not, as it is often remembered, simply the stock market crash of 1929. That was merely an overture to a large-scale unraveling of the world economy that lasted a painfully long time. Persistent economic problems impacted economies and individuals from Minneapolis to Mumbai, India, and wrought profound cultural, social and, ultimately, political changes. Meanwhile, the length of the Great Depression and its resistance to standard solutions such as simply letting market forces purge the rot of a massive crisis discredited the laissez faire approach to economics and the liberal capitalist states that supported it. The Lesser Depression that followed the 2008 financial crisis produced something similar throwing international and domestic economies into chaos, making billions insecure and discrediting a liberal globalization that had ruled since the 1990s. In both the greater and lesser depressions, people around the world had their lives upended and, finding established ideas, elites and institutions wanting, turned to more radical and extreme voices. It wasnt just Wall Street that crashed; for many, the crisis undercut the ideology driving the U.S. and many parts of the world: liberalism. In the 1930s, this skepticism bred questions of whether democracy and capitalism, already beset with contradictions in the form of discrimination, racism and empire, were suited for the demands of the modern world. Over the past decade, we have similarly seen voters turn to authoritarian-leaning populists in countries around the world. American essayist Edmund Wilson lamented in 1931: We have lost not merely our way in the economic labyrinth but our conviction of the value of what we are doing. Writers in major magazines accounted for why liberalism is bankrupt. Today, figures on the left and right can similarly share in a view articulated by conservative political scientist Patrick Deneen in his book, Why Liberalism Failed. Ill winds Liberalism an ideology broadly based on individual freedoms and rule of law as well as a faith in private property and the free market was touted by its backers as a way to bring democratization and economic prosperity to the world. But recently, liberal globalization has hit the skids. The Great Depression had a similar effect. The optimism of the 1920s a period some called the first wave of democratization collapsed as countries from Japan to Poland established populist, authoritarian governments. A Japanese military parade on the second anniversary of the Sino-Japanese conflict in Manchuria. Imagno/Getty Images The rise today of figures like Hungarys Victor Orban, Vladimir Putin in Russia, and Chinas Xi Jinping remind historians of the continuing appeal of authoritarianism in moments of uncertainty. Both eras share a growing fragmentation in the world economy in which countries, including the U.S., tried to staunch economic bleeding by raising tariffs to protect domestic industries. Economic nationalism, although hotly debated and opposed, became a dominant force globally in the 1930s. This is mirrored by recent appeals of protectionist policies in many countries, including the U.S. A world of grievance While the Great Depression sparked a New Deal in the United States where the government took on new roles in the economy and society, elsewhere people burned by the implosion of a liberal world economy saw the rise of regimes that placed enormous power in the hands of the central government. The appeal today of Chinas model of authoritarian economic growth, and the image of the strongman embodied by Orban, Putin and others not only in parts of the Global South but also in parts of the West echoes the 1930s. The Depression intensified a set of what were called totalitarian ideologies: fascism in Italy, communism in Russia, militarism in Japan and, above all, Nazism in Germany. Importantly, it gave these systems a level of legitimacy in the eyes of many around the world, particularly when compared to doddering liberal governments that seemed unable to offer answers to the crises. Some of these totalitarian regimes had preexisting grievances with the world established after World War I. And, after the failure of a global order based on liberal principles to deliver stability, they set out to reshape it on their own terms. Observers today may express shock at the return of large-scale war and the challenge it poses to global stability. But it has a distinct parallel to the Depression years. Early in the 1930s, countries like Japan moved to revise the world system through force hence the reason such nations were known as revisionist. Slicing off pieces of China, specifically Manchuria in 1931, was met not unlike Russias seizure of Crimea in 2014 with little more than nonrecognition from the Western democracies. As the decade progressed, open military aggression spread. China became a bellwether as its anti-imperial war for self-preservation against Japan was haltingly supported by other powers. Ukrainians today might well understand this parallel. Ethiopia, Spain, Czechoslovakia and eventually Poland became targets for revisionist states using military aggression, or the threat of it, to reshape the international order in their own image. Ironically, by the end of the 1930s, many living through those crisis years saw their own cold war against the regimes and methods of states like Nazi Germany. They used those very words to describe the breakdown of normal international affairs into a scrum of constant, sometimes violent, competition. French observers described a period of no peace, no war or a demi guerre. Figures at the time understood that it was less an ongoing competition than a crucible for norms and relationships being forged anew. Their words echo in the sentiments of those who see today the forging of a new multipolar world and the rise of regional powers looking to expand their own local influences. Taking the reins It is sobering to compare our current moment with one in the past whose terminus was global war. Historical parallels are never perfect, but they do invite us to reconsider our present. Our future neither has to be a reprise of the hot war that concluded the 1930s, nor the Cold War that followed. The rising power and capabilities of countries like Brazil, India and other regional powers remind one that historical actors evolve and change. However, acknowledging that our own era, like the 1930s, is a complicated multipolar period, buffeted by serious crises, allows us to see that tectonic forces are again reshaping many basic relationships. Comprehending this offers us a chance to rein in forces that in another time led to catastrophe. 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 Ekbladh, Tufts University Read more: David Ekbladh 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. Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises to 40,265: health authorities Xinhua) 08:46, August 23, 2024 A man sits in front of a destroyed building in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia, on Aug. 22, 2024. During the past 24 hours, the Israeli military killed 42 people and wounded 163 others, bringing the total death toll to 40,265 and injuries to 93,144 since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out, it added. (Photo by Mahmoud Zaki/Xinhua) GAZA, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has risen to 40,265, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Thursday. During the past 24 hours, the Israeli military killed 42 people and wounded 163 others, bringing the total death toll to 40,265 and injuries to 93,144 since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out, it added. There are still a number of victims trapped under the rubble and scattered on roads, as ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them, it said. "Critical water wells and sanitation infrastructure have been repeatedly damaged throughout the war," the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said on social media platform X on Thursday. "With overcrowding, lack of hygiene and unbearable heat, access to clean water continues to be a struggle in the Gaza Strip," it added. Israel has been conducting a large-scale offensive against Hamas in Gaza to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct. 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and around 250 others taken hostage. A boy walks through the rubble of a destroyed building in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia, on Aug. 22, 2024. During the past 24 hours, the Israeli military killed 42 people and wounded 163 others, bringing the total death toll to 40,265 and injuries to 93,144 since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out, it added. (Photo by Mahmoud Zaki/Xinhua) People gather at a destroyed building in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia, on Aug. 22, 2024. During the past 24 hours, the Israeli military killed 42 people and wounded 163 others, bringing the total death toll to 40,265 and injuries to 93,144 since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict broke out, it added. (Photo by Mahmoud Zaki/Xinhua) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) (Bloomberg) -- Mitsubishi Electric Corp. is struggling to meet sustained global demand for optical components used in data centers powering artificial intelligence. Most Read from Bloomberg The Tokyo-based maker of factory automation is a key supplier of optic fiber communication devices that link servers to one another. AIs appetite for high-speed and high-volume calculations is propelling sales of Mitsubishi Electrics devices, which boast low power consumption and heat emission, according to Masayoshi Takemi, an executive officer in charge of the companys semiconductor and devices business. Next month, the company is ramping up production capacity for optical devices to a level 50% above last years. But that wont be enough to meet the strong level of inquiries were getting, Takemi said in an interview. We may need double what well have in September. Mitsubishi Electric controls almost half of the global market for optical transmission devices in data centers, in part because of its electro-absorption modulated laser diodes ability to balance both speed and output, according to the company. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say all US hyperscalers are Mitsubishi Electric customers, Takemi said, without naming clients. The US is home to some of the worlds biggest hyperscalers Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. and Apple Inc. The executives comments are the latest sign of continued hunger for AI infrastructure, even as investors struggle to price the technologys impact on companies future sales. Demand from the top five data center providers in the US is very strong and still growing, Takemi said. Next-generation data centers are operating at speeds of 800 gigabits per second to 1.6 terabits per second, up from previous levels of around 400 gigabits per second, according to optical communications market research firm LightCounting. Optical devices comprise a tiny part of Mitsubishi Electrics business, which ranges from factory robots to train systems to power plant controls to satellite equipment. The semiconductor and devices arm earned less than 4% of the companys revenue last fiscal year, with power semiconductors used in industrial machines and electric vehicles making up almost 90% of that sliver. Regarding Japans power chip sector, where Mitsubishi Electric competes with domestic rivals Rohm Co. and Toshiba Corp., Takemi said he didnt see an urgent need for consolidation. China is boosting output of such chips, providing heavy subsidies in a bid to raise its technological self-sufficiency. Japan has also been beefing up support to boost production of such chips, but concern is growing that the country may fall behind in a fragmented market. Story continues Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. WATERTOWN, S.D. (KELO) In Wagner, S.D. on Aug. 14, as he gathered with other tribal leaders for a meeting with United States Attorney General Merrick Garland, Crow Creek Sioux Tribal chairman Peter Lengkeek talked about a new venture. Just a couple days ago we signed an amended MOU with the state Highway Patrol to bring them into the reservation on an as-needed basis under our jurisdiction, under our law and order code, Lengkeek said Aug. 14. KELOLAND News spoke Wednesday with South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem about that memorandum of understanding. Chairman Lengkeek has been fantastic as far as addressing the needs of his community in signing this agreement, and were looking forward to partnering with them in a good way, Noem said. Noem not only praises the chairman, but also the agreement. In the past weve had these mutual aid agreements, or law enforcement agreements at the time, for specific events, maybe we signed one with a tribe just to handle a special activity they were doing or a powwow or a celebration, Noem said. This is going to be an ongoing mutual aid agreement with Crow Creek that really is unprecedented and special by the way that it brings resources to their communities. Furthermore, the agreement can be a two-way street. Were looking for more agreements like this that are mutual aid that if their tribal officers get into a difficult situation, need support or backup, often theyre under-resourced and dont have enough, that our highway patrol officers, that our local law enforcement can come and be of assistance, and the same situation happens as well, Noem said. If one of our officers is in tribal lands, they reach out to the tribal officers and ask if they can assist with a situation that theyre seeing, and they can partner in that in a new way. And she says this partnership can happen elsewhere. This can be a model for every tribe to embrace, Noem said. This mutual aid agreement recognizes their sovereignty as a government and is a government-to-government relationship and agreement. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. A Red Lion teen accused of shooting and killing 12-year-old Kain Heiland on April 1, 2023, will be allowed bail with supervised house arrest, a York County judge ruled today. Nolan Donald Grove, 14, who will remain charged as an adult and was previously held in the suicide-resistant section of juvenile detention, can be released on $50,000 bail and serve monitored house arrest, under the care of his mother, Danielle Nace, her parents and husband at her Red Lion home. In rendering her decision, York County Common Pleas Court President Judge Maria Musti Cook said she went 180 degrees on her decision multiple times. More: York County teen accused of killing 12-year-old last April seeks house arrest on bail "Its one of the most troubling cases we had to deal with in 19 years," she said. But Cook said that she does not believe that the York County Prison is an appropriate space for a 14-year-old. "We dont build prisons for that age group," she said. Tears filled the eyes of many, as Cook directed the stipulations Grove must follow if released. Cook said that Grove shall remain the custody his mother and maternal grandparents, that he will surrender to an "electronically monitored house arrest," and will not be allowed to leave the state without prior permission. Authorities will also search the home for weapons before and during his time on house arrest. In a bail hearing on Aug. 9, his mother, Danielle Nace, who lives with her husband John and retired parents on their property in Red Lion, testified that no one at the property keeps firearms in the home and that she owns three firearms, which are stored in her son's attorney's office. Nace's father owns several, which are stored in West Virginia. If your family is able to post bail, you need to understand the consequences," Cook told Grove. More: Grandmother of Kain Heiland, 12, killed in Red Lion: 'He died protecting his mom' "This is not a holiday for you. There is nothing here in this courtroom to celebrate today. A young man is dead. His family will never get to share a meal, never get to sit around the television you need to reflect on that, young man." Farley Holt, Grove's attorney, said he feels that Grove is ready to be reunited with his family. "He'll be on house arrest until this matter is resolved." Kain Heiland's grandmother, Linda Arvin, expressed her deep hurt after hearing the news. "Hes (Nolan) not special, why does he get to be out?" Arvin added that life has not been easy without Heiland. "We have parties, and we can't even enjoy it because we want Kain to be there. He was a good boy and he would've been a good man." This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Nolan Grove, 14, charged with killing 12-year-old, can get bail State Attorney General Josh Stein (left) and Monica Burks, policy counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending announce (Photo: Greg Childress) North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein on Friday announced that he has joined an antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice alleging that the real estate software company RealPage violated antitrust law and artificially increased rent prices for tenants in North Carolina and across the country. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. Attorneys general in California, Connecticut, Colorado, Minnesota, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington also joined the lawsuit. Few things are as important as our homes but too many North Carolinians struggle to afford their apartment, Stein said during an afternoon press conference. Rents are already too high. I will not tolerate any company scheming to block healthy competition among landlords. It raises rents and its illegal. Citing N.C. Housing Coalition data, Stein said that between 2018 and 2023, rents increased by 55% in Durham-Chapel Hill, 52% in Raleigh and 51% in Charlotte. Rising rents creates real financial and emotional strain, Stein said. Folks are worried about how to make ends meet. Theyre worried that they dont have enough money for retirement or an emergency and theyre worried that if their landlord increases their rent again, they may not be able to afford their home any longer. At the heart of the lawsuit is revenue management software RealPage sells to landlords across the country. The Justice Department alleges that landlords are sharing the information produced by the software to set rent prices higher than what they would be in a competitive market. In exchange for buying and using the companys YieldStar software, property managers share detailed, nonpublic, competitively sensitive data with RealPage that includes information about units coming on the market, the rent they are charging and discounts, according to a new release Steins office provided. Wake County Commissioner Chairwoman Shinica Thomas RealPage, according to the news release, uses the nonpublic information to suggest a price that property managers should charge for their apartments to make more money. When clients accept RealPages recommendations, prices for comparable apartments become artificially inflated and renters cant find better deals for shopping around, the press release said. A spokesperson for RealPage told The New York Times that the software was purposely built to be legally compliant. RealPage has a large footprint in North Carolina, Stein told reporters. Three of the top 10 markets that this company operates in are Charlotte, Raleigh and Durham-Chapel Hill, so were in the most concentrated markets in which they operate, Stein said. Stein, the Democratic nominee for governor, was joined by Wake County Commission Chairwoman Shinica Thomas and Monica Burks, policy counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending. Anti-competitive practices inflate housing costs, Burks said. They make it difficult for a renter to compare rates and get a fair offer on an apartment unit and it exacerbates the crisis of simply being housed. Burks said low-income renters are hit hardest by such practices, and can fall victim to predatory lenders. They [predatory lenders] know that at the end of each month that there is a shortfall between what they [low-income renters] are bringing home and the expenses that the need to cover and they fill this gap with unconscionable loans that are not sustainable. Thomas noted that median rent jumped 40% in Wake County between 2010 and 2020. That cost families an extra $4,200 a year, Thomas said. For a household thats struggling to make ends meet, that can be the difference between stability and eviction. SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea expressed serious concern and strongly condemned on Saturday a revised nuclear strategic plan approved by U.S. President Joe Biden this year. "The DPRK will as ever bolster up its strategic strength in every way to control and eliminate all sorts of security challenges that may result from the U.S. dangerous nuclear posture readjustment, and resolutely counter any type of nuclear threat," its foreign ministry said, using North Korea's official name. "Other sovereign states' efforts for bolstering up their defence capabilities to cope with the ever-increasing nuclear threat from the U.S. can never be a pretext for its nuclear arms buildup for aggression and provocative coordination of nuclear posture," the ministry added in a statement carried by state media KCNA. "No matter how desperately the U.S. may exaggerate the 'nuclear threat' from other countries, the DPRK will push forward the building of nuclear force sufficient and reliable enough to firmly defend the sovereignty and security interests of the country on its fixed timetable," it said. The White House said on Tuesday the classified nuclear strategic plan is not a response to a single country or threat, after the New York Times reported it reoriented the deterrence strategy to focus on China's expansion of its nuclear arsenal for the first time. China's foreign ministry said on Wednesday it is seriously concerned about the report, which said the plan also seeks to prepare the U.S. for possible coordinated nuclear challenges from China, Russia and North Korea. (Reporting by Jihoon Lee; Editing by Sandra Maler) Educators and community supporters gathered for a forum on the North Shore Thursday night to discuss concerns including wages, benefits and school safety, as four local districts have soon-to-expire contracts just days before school begins. Contracts for educators in Marblehead, Beverly, Gloucester and Revere expire by the end of the month, Jonathan Ng, communications specialist for the Massachusetts Teachers Association, told Boston 25 News. Teachers and special educators shared stories of physical abuse at the hands of their students punching, hair pulling and spitting while also grappling with the mental health needs of students dealing with dysregulation exacerbated by the COVID pandemic, they said. We absolutely have seen an uptick in violence. There were several incidents last year in Revere where teachers were hit, punched, kicked, lashed out at by students who were dysregulated, not having their needs met, said Jane Chapin, a seventh-grade math teacher at Rumney Marsh Academy in Revere and co-president of the Revere Teachers Association. We do not have the resources we need to support students. Educators are asking their respective school committees for more social workers and programs to help students with their mental and physical needs, as well as improved wages and benefits, among other proposals. Paraprofessionals at some schools receive as little as $11 an hour, Ng said, well below the state minimum wage legal due to an exemption in the law for municipal workers. We have high school students that after the school day are going into the community and they have their after-school jobs that are making more than our paraprofessionals, said Jonathan Heller, a sixth-grade teacher at the Village School in Marblehead and co-president of the Marblehead Education Association. [Paraprofessionals] are the backbone and the support within the classroom. They are working with our students. They are supporting our students needs each and every day. My first term as vice president, added Deb McCarthy of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, I was horrified about the number of women that I was meeting who were in their 60s and 70s working two to three jobs who couldnt afford to retire on the salary of a paraprofessional. Educators across all districts at the forum also called for paid parental leave, some discussing a common need to take unpaid time off while struggling to pay the bills and care for a newborn. Public educators have been denied a benefit, and its a huge issue, and its also an issue of why educators are leaving the profession, McCarthy said. Asked whether teachers at any districts plan to strike, McCarthy said only that educators would what is necessary to protect the safety of our students in our classrooms. [Most educators] are not used to putting their stories front and center like this, McCarthy said. But were in a crisis, and we are so committed to public education that we are willing to do what is necessary to have the public address these huge concerns. Boston 25 News emailed school committees from all four districts with expiring contracts for a comment Thursday night but did not receive a response. 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 Norway to finance production of NATO-standard artillery shells in Ukraine The Norwegian government will provide Kyiv with its defense technology and finance the production of 155-millimeter artillery shells developed by the Nammo (Nordic Ammunition Company) in Ukraine, according to its Aug. 23 statement. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine has made a wide-reaching shift to NATO standard 155 mm artillery, as Kyiv's partners had a short supply in stock of Soviet-caliber shells 122 mm and 152 mm. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said that Ukraine has a great need for artillery ammunition to counter Russian aggression. Therefore, the ammunition manufacturer Nammo has signed an agreement, allowing the licensed production of 155-mm artillery shells in Ukraine. As a result, Ukrainian troops will receive ammunition faster, according to the statement. Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide called cooperation with the Ukrainian defense industry a "wise and effective" way to support Ukraine. Nammo (Nordic Ammunition Company) is a joint Norwegian-Finnish company tasked with ammunition production. Its shares are split evenly between Norways Trade and Industry Ministry and the Finnish defense corporation Patria. In March, the Norwegian government allowed Norwegian defense companies to apply for a license to transfer its shell production technology to Ukraine. Nammo was among the first companies to apply for and receive a license. In February, Nammo's Swedish plant switched to a round-the-clock operation to produce ammunition for Ukraine. The same month, the Finnish Nammo Lapua's ammunition factory announced that it would increase production fivefold in 2024 due to Russia's war in Ukraine. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Norway awarded Ukraine with a licence to develop 155 mm shells and made a commitment to fund the project. Source: government portal of Norway Details: Nammo, a Norwegian corporation, has signed an agreement with a Ukrainian defence company to licence the production of artillery shells at Norway's expense. Quote: "Norway is currently contributing by transferring ammunition from its own stocks and directly from industry. Now Nammo wants to share their schematics with Ukraine. This means that Ukrainian forces can receive supplies faster," says Norwegian Defense Minister Bjrn Arild Gram. According to Foreign Minister Espen Bart Eide, Norway's continued support for Ukraine's defence is critical for both Ukrainian and Norwegian security. Support UP or become our patron! Norway proposes relaxing its abortion law to allow the procedure until 18th week of pregnancy Norwegian Health and Care Minister Jan Christian Vestre attends a press conference at the parliament in Oslo, Norway, Friday Aug. 23, 2024 where the government's proposal for a new abortion law is presented. (Thomas Fure/NTB Scanpix via AP) COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) Norways government said Friday it wants to relax restrictions on abortion for the first time in nearly half a century to make it legal for women to terminate pregnancies up to the 18th week of gestation. Norway's laws currently allow legal abortions up to 12 weeks, but many pregnant women ask for an abortion after the 12th week and are granted it in hospitals and clinics. The proposed changes are "in line with practice today. Almost no one is refused applications for abortion after the 12th week, Norwegian Health Minister Jan Christian Vestre said. He said that womens right to self-determined abortion is a fundamental value in Norway. The Norwegian Institute of Public Health said abortion rate has remained historically low for several years at about 12,000 each year, but began to rise in 2022. Last year some 12,814 pregnancy terminations were performed in Norway, a 6.7% increase from 2022, figures show. The government agency said that eight out of 10 abortions are performed before the 9th week, and that nine out of 10 abortions are performed with medication. Free abortion was introduced in Norway in 1978 and women can opt for a surgical or medical abortion. Society has changed significantly since the 1970s, Vestre told a press conference. The law proposal needs a majority 85 votes in the 169-member Stortinget, or parliament. So far some 80 lawmakers have said they will vote in favor of the new law. It was not yet clear when a vote would be held in parliament. The Center Party, which holds 28 seats in Stortinget and is one of the parties in the governing coalition, wants to keep the current abortion limit of 12 weeks. Family Minister Kjersti Toppe said she hopes that as many people as possible vote in line with the party line," but added that the issue was "a matter of conscience and allowed party members to vote against the party's stance. In May, Denmark said it was liberalizing the abortion law to allow the procedure until 18th week of pregnancy. This is not the Democratic Party of 2020 The Democratic National Convention in 2024 showed a shift in the Democratic Party from 2020. Democrats four years ago were more solemn and more interested in appealing to progressives. This year there's been a focus on joy and on appealing to moderates, independents, and GOP voters. Granted, 2020 was unusual, to say the least. It was an election year with a particularly divisive incumbent, in which the COVID-19 pandemic had upended American life, and in which the murder of George Floyd ignited a massive protest movement across the US. As a result of perhaps all of those factors and then some, the Democratic Party took on a particular form. The messaging was serious to the point of solemnity, with little space to forget for even a moment the official party line: that President Donald Trump's reelection posed an existential threat, that the only way to reject hundreds of years of racial injustice was to get him out of office, and that with COVID-19, it was quite literally a matter of life or death. This time, the vibe shift was apparent and on full display at the Democratic National Convention. Though there was imagery of January 6, 2021, and speakers including Vice President Kamala Harris in her keynote address accepting the party's presidential nomination outlined concerns about protecting democracy, there was much less gloom and doom than four years ago. Take the current favorite criticism positioning Trump and his allies as simply "weird" and "small" a far cry from the moral outrage of 2020 or even from President Joe Biden's 2024 message. The convention speakers have been leaning into joy, a word speakers have used to describe the kind of president Harris would be. While the 2020 DNC was virtual, its tone was noticeably different. NPR described Biden's speech then as "sober and urgent" and "one of light versus dark." Four years ago, the party, having selected Biden, also seemed to at least try to cater to its most progressive and leftist voices, even if only in messaging and optics. Politico reported in 2020 that the DNC's focus on racial injustice had been an "earth-shattering" turn for the party, as one former Democratic aide had put it. The party gave what the outlet called a "full-throated acknowledgment" of systemic racism and its impact on society. In 2024, progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren spoke, along with racial-justice advocates like the exonerated "Central Park Five." At the same time, pro-Palestinian activists protested outside this year's DNC all week. The DNC declined to allow a Palestinian speaker at the convention amid fears of displaying a lack of unity within the party another signifier that the party was not going out of its way to include liberal activists as it was in 2020. The convention often focused on reaching out to folks with different views both Barack Obama and Bill Clinton made that pitch and appealing to moderates, independents, and Republicans. A long list of Republican speakers, including former elected officials and people who served in the Trump White House, gave speeches that sought to appeal directly to Republicans and independents. The speakers this year even focused more on issues that could win over moderates, like immigration (Javier Salazar, the sheriff of Bexar County in Texas, was one of the speakers) and the economy. Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, a moderate Democrat, specifically called for investing in "the police and in the community." In 2020, The New York Times reported that Democrats were split over how much bipartisanship mattered, but the Democratic Party of 2024 seems far more sure that it does. The party appeared to be trying to hold together the coalition that helped elect Biden in 2020, but whom the Democrats were having a hard time reaching again with Biden as the candidate in 2024. There is one key way that the Democratic Party needs to replicate 2020 or even the 2018 midterms and that is turnout on Election Day, which speakers reminded DNC attendees. No matter the vibes at the 2024 convention, Harris and the Democrats have 74 more days to unveil comprehensive policy and motivate voters until ballots are counted on November 5. Read the original article on Business Insider Rodney Andrews (Kentucky Lantern photo by Liam Niemeyer) FRANKFORT The director of an energy research center at the University of Kentucky told state lawmakers Friday its not likely a nuclear power plant will be built in Kentucky over the next 10 years, though some nuclear energy companies are interested in moving to the state. A new state law passed by the GOP-dominated legislature this year will make Rodney Andrews, the director of the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research, the chair of a new research authority aiming to research and promote nuclear energy. The authority, administratively attached to the research center, is required by state law to present a study on workforce and education needs for nuclear energy by December, along with presenting another study by the end of 2025 determining the best locations for nuclear facilities. Andrews updated the Interim Natural Resources and Energy Committee on efforts to form the nuclear energy research authority along with another new commission established by lawmakers that creates new barriers to retiring a a fossil fuel-fired power plant. Both the nuclear authority and the power plant retirement review commission are administratively housed at the University of Kentuckys research center. Andrews told lawmakers the state would be extremely lucky to see nuclear power within its borders in the next ten years, citing long permitting delays to build new nuclear power plants. Newer nuclear technology such as smaller, modular nuclear power plants have people very excited, he said, but no such modular reactors have been built yet. He said while the nuclear energy research authority isnt fully operational yet, conversations have already started with a company thats interested in locating a nuclear facility in Paducah. Were also working with several companies that have expressed a strong interest in exploring bringing nuclear power to the state, Andrews said. Theres a great deal of interest among the utilities, but there is also significant interest from some of our largest power consumers. WKMS, the public radio station in Murray, reported earlier this year a land deal was struck in McCracken County for a company seeking to use lasers to recycle depleted uranium stores, including uranium tails at the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in West Kentucky. Andrews declined to offer more details to the Lantern about the company interested in moving to Paducah. Kentucky has never had a nuclear power plant. But the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in West Kentucky produced enriched uranium for the countrys nuclear weapons program and later for commercial nuclear power plants. Maxey Flats in northeastern Kentucky served as a disposal site for low-level radioactive waste during the 20th century. Both installations contaminated surrounding soil and water and required extensive remediation. Nuclear reactors dont produce direct greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. But energy analysts are divided on whether nuclear energy can be developed quickly enough to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Appointment delays for board creating fossil fuel retirement barriers Andrews also updated lawmakers on efforts to form the Energy Inventory and Planning Commission, or EPIC, a new agency that utilities would have to come to first when requesting to retire a fossil fuel-fired power plant in the state, such as plants using coal or natural gas. Utilities and environmentalists decried the bill establishing EPIC, saying it would result in ratepayers bearing the costs of keeping aging, uneconomical coal-fired power plants on the grid when lower-cost alternatives are available. Critics also said the boards statutory makeup had pro-industry and pro-fossil fuel biases with little representation for the interests of ratepayers. Proponents of the bill, including Senate President Robert Stivers, argued EPIC was needed to make sure the states energy capacity was secure in the face of rising energy demands. Andrews, as director of the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research, would be a part of a five-member executive committee for EPIC alongside members representing utilities and the coal industry. Utilities would have to approach this committee and have a request to retire a fossil fuel-fired power plant analyzed before requesting the retirement before the Kentucky Public Service Commission, the states utility regulator that has traditionally analyzed and approved or denied power plant retirements. Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear who echoed the concerns of utilities in vetoing the bill and calling it unconstitutional is over a month overdue in making appointments to EPIC. The statutory deadline was July 1. Sen. Robby Mills, R-Henderson, asked Andrews if the appointments to EPIC were forthcoming or if he was aware of anything that was holding up Beshears appointments. Andrews replied the governors office had gotten recommendations and that the appointments would happen very quickly. Crystal Staley, a spokesperson for the governors office, in a statement to the Lantern in early July said the office was working on a process that is legal under the Kentucky Constitution to make the appointments, and that letters seeking nominations had been sent. Andrews, speaking with the Lantern after his presentation to lawmakers, said the research center can provide expertise to make sure the work product is as technically sound as possible for both the nuclear research authority and the fossil fuel retirement review commission. He told lawmakers he was in the very early work of building the scope of how EPIC would operate, which includes considering the states future power needs, including possibly trying to attract large energy consumers such as data centers. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX By John Revill and Richa Naidu ZURICH/LONDON (Reuters) -Nestle CEO Mark Schneider was ousted in a sudden decision by the world's biggest foodmaker as a result of the group's underperformance, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday. Nestle announced Schneider's departure late on Thursday following a board meeting and appointed company veteran Laurent Freixe as its new CEO. This put an end to a near eight-year tenure by Schneider, a 58-year-old German, the first company outsider to lead Nestle in nearly a century. The company declined to give further details beyond comments made on an investor call on Friday, where Chairman Paul Bulcke said the board together with Schneider had assessed the current environment and together had agreed to make the change. Schneider did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. Bernstein analyst Bruno Monteyne said Schneider had made it clear recently he expected to be around for the long haul. The suddenness of the move "is another sign that this is not a planned transition. It is clearly not his choice either, or he probably would have managed a smoother transition," he said. Nestle shares hit a record high in January 2022 as the group enjoyed a pandemic-driven boom, but they have been on a downward slide since May 2023 after a series of mishaps, earnings misses and guidance downgrades. The decision to axe Schneider was reached after Nestle's board became increasingly concerned about weak sales growth - with sales volumes increasing by just 0.1% in the first half of 2024, one of the sources said. There were also worries about slowing product development, with new and revamped products taking longer to be devised and rolled out, with the accompanying marketing campaigns. "The virtuous circle of introducing products, which generated cash for new products, was slowing down. That was a real concern," the source said. Nestle's price-to-earnings ratio, used to gauge the relative value of a company's stock, is 17.7, down from more than 25 in June 2022. That is higher than the consumer goods industry average of 10, but below rival Unilever's 18.5. The shares were down around 1.8% on Friday and were among the biggest fallers in Europe, after Freixe's appointment, showing how investors were unsettled by the unexpected change of CEO. UNCERTAINTY Analysts said uncertainty about whether Nestle could reach its 2024 and 2025 targets and concerns the new CEO may reduce profit guidance as he focuses more on sales growth than margins, were among the factors weighing on the stock. Story continues "Weve been of the view that the current CEO has been rather seduced into doing too many deals, often chasing growth through expensive acquisitions," said Freddie Lait, managing partner at Latitude Investment Management. Freixe, a 62-year-old Frenchman, who has worked for Nestle for almost 40 years, is seen as a food industry insider, with a broad network of executives and experts from within and outside the Swiss group. He immediately pledged to focus Nestle on organic growth rather than acquisitions. He is expected to increase Nestle's focus on sales and marketing after the company trailed rivals like Danone and Unilever. So far in 2024, Nestle's shares have lost 10.3% of their value, trailing Danone's 3.9% gain and lagging Unilever's 29% increase. Industry analysts have said Nestle has been too reliant on price increases, which have hit sales volumes as cash-strapped customers turned to cheaper brands. BACK TO NESTLE'S ROOTS Freixe will have his work cut out to rebuild market share and increase sales volumes in a tough market for consumer goods companies. Still, he is used to being challenged, having led Nestle's European business after the global financial crisis before heading the business in the Americas. Most recently he has been head of Latin America, which has seen strong growth in recent years, with organic sales for that region growing 2.7% in the first six months of this year, ahead of the 2.1% increase for the company as a whole. His priority as a sales and marketing expert should be to go back to the company's roots, Jean-Philippe Bertschy, an analyst at Bank Vontobel, said, referring to the need to focus on markets, brands and on understanding its customers' needs and behaviours. "If you look at successful food companies lately, like Lindt and Danone among others, they all have marketing and sales people as CEO," he said. (Reporting by John Revill and Richa Naidu; Additional reporting by Dave Graham and Simon Jessop; Editing by Jan Harvey and Jane Merriman) A patient prepares to take Mifepristone, the first medication in a medical abortion, at Alamo Women's Clinic in Carbondale By Brendan Pierson (Reuters) - Two New York crisis pregnancy centers and a national anti-abortion group can tell women about an unproven treatment to reverse the effect of the abortion pill mifepristone, a federal judge has ruled, a setback for efforts by the state's Democratic attorney general to crack down on such claims. U.S. District Judge John Sinatra in Buffalo, New York, wrote in a preliminary order late on Thursday that the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment guarantee of free speech protects the right of Gianna's House, Options Care Center and the National Institute for Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) to "speak freely" about abortion pill reversal and "to say that it is safe and effective for a pregnant woman to use in consultation with her doctor." The order will remain in place while Sinatra, who was appointed by Republican then-President Donald Trump, considers the case more fully. It applies only to the two centers and NIFLA. "The court was right to affirm the pregnancy centers' freedom to tell interested women about this life-saving treatment option," Caleb Dalton of the conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, who represents the plaintiffs, said in a statement. The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mifepristone is the first part of a two-drug regimen used for medication abortion, which is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for terminating pregnancy in the first 10 weeks. Medication abortion accounted for more than 60% of U.S. abortions last year. Proponents of medication abortion reversal say mifepristone's effects can be blocked by a high dose of the hormone progesterone. There are no controlled clinical trials showing the procedure is safe or effective, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says that it is not supported by science. Crisis pregnancy centers provide services to pregnant women with the goal of preventing them from having abortions, and some have advertised abortion pill reversal. James in May sued 11 crisis pregnancy centers and Heartbeat International, an anti-abortion group affiliated with some of them, asking a state court in Manhattan to block them from advertising abortion pill reversal. That case, brought under New York laws against misleading business practices, remains pending. NIFLA and the two centers sued James soon after that. While they are not defendants in James' lawsuit, they argued that the threat of similar enforcement against them in the future violated their First Amendment rights. Sinatra agreed, saying James' lawsuit "chilled" the plaintiffs' speech. The U.S. Supreme Court in June rejected an effort by anti-abortion groups represented by Alliance Defending Freedom to restrict the availability of mifepristone nationwide. However, the decision only addressed the groups' standing to sue, not the merits of their case, and three Republican-led states are still pursuing an effort to restrict the drug. (Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Jonathan Oatis) TechCrunch VP Kamala Harris is on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast, FEMA has a page dedicated to fighting the rumors circulating on social media about the hurricanes, and now the White House is on Reddit. It's clear that the traditional means of disseminating news and information to the general U.S. population have changed. As a big Reddit fan, I'm so excited we launched a White House account on the platform today! On Tuesday, a White House official announced that the Biden-Harris administration has launched a White House account on Reddit, where it will release information about the work the federal government is doing. NYC bike shop goes up in flames and lithium-ion batteries are likely to blame for the blaze: FDNY A Queens e-bike shop went up in flames early Thursday and troublesome lithium-ion batteries are likely to blame for the blaze that left one firefighter injured, FDNY officials said. The fire tore through Kings Electric Scooters on Jamaica Avenue around 2:30 a.m., officials said. One firefighter who had been working the blaze was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries, the department said. Firefighters responded to the bike shop blaze, which took place early Thursday. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post Hazmat units were called to the scene for the presence of lithium-ion batteries about a month after Gov. Kathy Hochul passed a package of bills cracking down on the batteries. Luckily, the blaze was under control within less than an hour, by around 3:20 a.m., the FDNY said. The fire was pretty quickly controlled, FDNY Deputy Chief George Healy said on scene, according to 1010 WINS. We made searches. We removed some occupants from the second-floor residence. The fire likely stemmed from the hazardous lithium-ion batteries used to power the devices, officials said. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post The official cause remains under investigation, according to the department. But there were e-bikes involved, so probably this is going to be another lithium-ion battery fire, Healy said. Video from the scene shows a pile of smoldering e-bikes on the sidewalk outside the shop. The blaze was under control in less than an hour, by around 3:20 a.m. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post Department of Buildings records show that a vacate order was also issued for the cellar Thursday morning, due to an illegal occupancy and conversion. The batteries have been linked to nearly 270 fires that killed 18 people across New York City in the last year alone, Hochul said when she announced the crackdown last month. A vacate order was also issued on the property for illegal occupancy of the cellar, records show. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post Earlier this year, a lithium-ion battery-related fire in Harlem resulted in the death of Indian journalist Fazil Khan and forced other residents to escape by dangling from a window. The new laws require e-bikes, mopeds and other micro-mobility devices to sport a bright red tag explicitly warning that they should be unplugged once fully charged. The new law also requires a list of safety measures for emergency responders and sellers. Mopeds now have to be registered by dealers once theyre sold, a move that could help crack down on scooter-riding bandits, who police said are robbing unwitting pedestrians. NEW YORK An attorney for the ex-city employee accusing Mayor Eric Adams of sexual assault threatened to sue the mayors lawyer for defamation during a contentious court hearing on Friday, where the two sides traded barbs and accused each other of withholding information. Megan Goddard, the attorney for Lorna Beach-Mathura, lobbed the threat after Adams lawyer, Alex Spiro, made a remark saying the mayor wouldnt consider settling the civil lawsuit because her claim that he sexually assaulted her in 1993 is fictitious. I dont think him calling it fictitious today, in this phone call, in this Zoom call with the court, is protected from a defamation claim, and I will bring one against him for saying that, Goddard said at the virtual hearing. In response, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Richard Latin, who presides over the case, noted, these are court proceedings, during which lawyers are typically immune from defamation charges. Beach-Mathura, a former Transit Police employee who worked at the agency at the same time as Adams, hasnt specified the month of the alleged assault in 1993, which Adams vehemently denies ever happening. She will answer Spiros questions in a closed-door deposition at his office on Sept. 6, Latin said at the conclusion of Fridays hearing. Earlier in the proceeding, Spiro contended it violates due process for Beach-Mathura not to provide a tighter timeframe for the claim and requested Latin order her to give one. Spiro, a high-profile celebrity lawyer retained by Adams administration earlier this year to represent the mayor in the case alongside the city Law Department, also said theres zero corroboration for Beach-Mathuras allegations. Goddard dismissed Spiros comment about corroboration, noting her client has provided a list of individuals she says she contemporaneously told about the alleged assault as well as emails she wrote about her accusations during the 2021 mayoral race. She also noted its common for sexual abuse victims to struggle to remember dates and times and accused Adams legal team of withholding employment records in hopes Beach-Mathura would guess the wrong timeframe for the alleged assault so they can call her a liar again. Goddard said the information withheld from her included employment records confirming their specific Transit Police duties and postings of the mayor and her client. Spiro said Adams accuser shouldnt be able to cast a wide net in her information requests. Ms. Beach Mathura does not know the date that she was sexually assaulted by now Mayor Adams. Mr. Spiro is an extremely seasoned litigator and he knows that people dont remember exact dates, Goddard said, prompting Latin to chime in: Especially from 30 years ago. Exactly, your honor, Goddard replied, and so Im not going to be tricked into or backed into pretending that we know the date. Also at the hearing, Goddard revealed Adams legal team this week served a subpoena for testimony from an individual Beach-Mathura has said she confided in about the alleged assault in 1993. The unnamed individual is among seven people Beach-Mathura contemporaneously told about the alleged assault, according to a letter Goddard filed in court earlier this week. Beyond denying Beach-Mathuras claims, Adams says he doesnt recall meeting her. Beach-Mathura filed her suit against Adams in March under the Adult Survivors Act, which opened a one-year window for sexual misconduct victims to sue their alleged assailants if the statute of limitations has expired. The suit, which seeks at least $5 million in damages, alleges Adams tried to get her to perform oral sex on him in his car after they met to discuss a workplace issue while employed at the since-defunct city Transit Police Department. According to the suit, Adams ejaculated on her leg after she refused his proposition. He then dropped her off at a subway station, the suit claims. _____ A New York City museum has been slammed by its staff for banning employees from wearing the keffiyeh, a Palestinian headscarf. The ban came to light when a gallery attendant at the Noguchi Museum in Queens was reportedly pulled into a meeting with the Museums Director, Amy Hau, and Lizan Highland, its director of people and culture. The employee was notified that they would no longer be allowed to wear the keffiyeh at work, employees alleged in an Instagram post. Hau then reportedly told the employee that failure to comply with the new policy would result in being sent home, in addition to other potential disciplinary action. The attendant chose against removing the scarf and was sent home as a result. Employees said the attendant was the only person pulled into such a meeting despite other employees having worn the headscarf regularly. On August 21, the museum moved to officially ban the keffiyeh. Museum leadership announced that it would be enforcing the decision To maintain a neutral and professional environment that would prohibit staff members from wearing clothing or accessories that display political messages, slogans or symbols, an email shared with The Independent stated. In an emailed statement to The Independent, a spokesperson for the museum said: We recognize that we are living in complex and challenging times, where personal expression and public discourse often intersect in unexpected ways. Recently, concerns were raised about a staff member wearing a keffiyeh while at work at the museum. While we understand that the intention behind wearing this garment was to express personal views, we recognize that such expressions can unintentionally alienate segments of our diverse visitorship. The statement continued: However, within the museum, our responsibility is to foster a safe, inclusive, and welcoming environment for all staff and visitors. To maintain this environment, we have made the decision to remove political statements from our workplace. The keffiyeh is an Arab headscarf synonymous with Palestinian culture (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Clothing that promoted political parties, candidates, or ideological movements would not be permitted, museum leadership wrote. The museum simultaneously barred political speech or display of ideological symbols to ensure that the museum remains a space where all visitors and staff can feel welcome. Employees have called the ban racist and have drafted a petition signed by 54 out of 72 employees. Staff members are asking that the museum erase the policy and not discipline employees who choose to wear keffiyehs, a traditional Arab headdress synonymous with Palestinian culture. Noguchi Museum in New York City has been accused of not allowing its employees to wear the keffiyeh, a Palestinian headscarf (Google Maps - street view) On the day the ban was put into place, 15 staff members, including nine part-time front-facing staff, one full-time staff member, three warehouse staff members and two archives staff members refused to go to work. The following day, three front-facing staff came to work wearing the keffiyeh and were sent home by the museums director by 12.30pm. Five other staff members left the museum that day in solidarity. Employees say the museums new policy doesnt honor its namesake, Isamu Noguchi, a sculptor of Japanese heritage who spent six months in a Japanese internment camp in the 1940s. As staff members, we are dedicated to protecting and fostering the work and legacy of Isamu Noguchi a man who understood intimately the injustice of targeted discrimination and displacement, the petition reads. We believe that this directive does not serve the overall mission of the Museum. We reject the assertion that politics can be separated from cultural institutions. In December, the keffiyeh made national news after three Palestinian university students were shot in Vermont. Two of the men had been wearing the headscarf at the time and called the shooting a hate crime. They were left seriously injured, including one who was left paralyzed from the waist down. The assailant, Jason J Eaton, 48, was arrested on three counts of attempted murder. The Noguchi Museum isnt the only place where the headscarf has been banned. In May, the Australian state of Victoria ruled members of parliament could not wear the scarves in parliamentary chambers. In Ontario, Canada, the provinces legislature banned members of the provincial parliament from wearing the scarf, claiming that those who were doing so were making political statements. LOWER EAST SIDE, Manhattan (PIX11) Residents in two Lower East Side apartment buildings are frustrated their mailbox locks in their building are broken by vandals and no one has fixed the problem for months. Feisty, frustrated, and wanting a fast fix. More Local News Olga Mangual from the Jacob Riis Houses on the Lower East Side reached out to PIX11 News for help. Her mailbox is broken and missing its master lock, and the panel securing these mailboxes was vandalized and destroyed. She keeps track and takes pictures. The mail of dozens of families impacted for more than three months. Marilyn Gonzalez says she is battling brain cancer and waiting for important letters and medical bills. The closest post office is on 14th Street and 1st Avenue and thats hard to do with a walker but Gonzalez does it. Jay Jarvis also from the Jacob Riis houses in another building says his mailboxes have been broken for more than a month. PIX11 News reached out to Congressman Dan Goldman. Its his district. Goldman says broken mailboxes and locks are one the top complaints he gets from his constituents and hes been fighting for a better and faster response time from both NYCHA and the postal service since last year. More Monica Makes It Happen PIX11 News reached out to NYCHA and the USPS. The postal service spokesperson tells PIX11 they are looking into these complaints. Meanwhile, a NYCHA spokesperson sent the following response: NYCHA is aware of a recurring issue with mailboxes being vandalized at Riis Houses. We have made repairs where possible and are coordinating more extensive repairs to panels in these buildings with the U.S. Postal Service. We will continue working with the NYPD to monitor the situation and encourage residents and community members to report any criminal activity. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Yahoo Sports Week 5 is in the books and oh my there's a lot of panic on these fantasy streets. Dalton Del Don joins Matt Harmon for another edition of the 'People's Panic Meter' to answer all of your listener submissions. The duo examines the situations for Breece Hall, Buffalo Bills, Bijan Robinson and many more. OAK HILL, WV (WVNS) A Fayette County community came together to clean up their city and cook out on Thursday, August 22, 2024. Volunteers gathered at the Oak Hill amphitheater at 8:45 a.m., and then split up onto different routes to help pick up litter in the area. They helped pick up trash, cleaned windows and sidewalks, and even helped plant some flowers to beautify the town. Gear Up SWV helping out in Mercer County Schools Volunteers with U.S. Cellular also came out for the first time to target the more neglected areas of Oak Hill. Store manager Michael Donnelly said he brought some of his team to participate, and they filled up seven large bags. We went and hit the east end of Oak Hill and did trash pickup for about a mile and a half stretch on both sides of the road, said Donnelly. We were glad to be here and, you know, get our hands dirty, be a part of the community, and we are looking forward to the next one. The day of clean up ended with a hard-earned cookout for everyone to talk and enjoy some food. This clean up was part of the Build the Hill campaign with support from the West Virginia Community Development Hub. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (BCN) Oakland crews contained a two-alarm blaze early Friday morning at a former restaurant in the citys East Peralta neighborhood, according to fire officials. The Oakland Fire Department said on social media that around 12:35 a.m., they were alerted to a reported fire in the area of Dennison and Cotton streets. Upon arrival, crews found flames scorching a building that used to be Buttercup Restaurant. Photo from the scene where the Oakland Fire put out a fire at the closed restaurant Buttercup. Photo from the scene where the Oakland Fire put out a fire at the closed restaurant Buttercup. Fire officials said that just before 1:40 a.m., crews contained the fire to the building of origin. There were no reported injuries or damage to other structures. According to the fire department, they had requested the closure of the southbound exit of 23rd Avenue to give safer and more effective access for crews to reach the scene. Copyright 2024 Bay City News, 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 KRON4. (KRON) After years of battling with addiction and homelessness, Oakland native Sharon Alexander, 53, is now the founder of Arthur Jean Safe Place a non-profit dedicated to supplying essential resources to the unhoused in the Bay Area. From supplying Narcan to dishing out a giant tub of mac and cheese, Alexander says she has continued serving the unhoused every Sunday for the past four years. Not only that, but she says it all comes out of pocket. My own time, my own money, yes, absolutely. That hasnt changed, Alexander told KRON4. My mission was to help people, even if its just for one moment in time, so that they can get to that next step. Cause you never know, when youre helping someone, if thats going to be the last helping hand they get. How Stanford engineers are developing a new fire-protecting gel Prior to getting several associates degrees, a double bachelors degree, a masters degree, and founding a non-profit, Alexander was unhoused for four years. She says losing her mother, going through a divorce, and losing custody of her children led her to substance abuse and addiction. I had never dreamed Id ever be unsheltered. I never dreamed that I would be, you know, eating in a food kitchen. I never dreamed that I would not have a place to call home, Alexander said. Even though she lost custody of her children, Alexander said she would use whatever money she had to clean herself up, drive down to Southern California, and rent a storage unit for a day to visit her children whenever possible. She says the tough part wasnt exactly the commute to her children, but rather, her being a woman made being unsheltered especially difficult. I was unsheltered. And, what really drove me out [of homelessness] was the way people would treat you. Like, Im a woman, right? And they treat you like dirt. You get victimized big time if youre not careful Its horrible. Its absolutely horrible the way that were treated, Alexander said. After threats of going to prison a second time for possession, Alexander agreed to get sober and connect to mental health resources. Several years and a whole lot of willpower later, she is now reconnected to her children and gives back to the community she was once a part of. The unsheltered community is something very precious to me, because I used to be unsheltered So I have this drive. I cant explain it. Its a drive and a passion that gets me up every day, Alexander said. One day, Alexander and her granddaughter decided to buy 100 pieces of Kentucky Fried Chicken and give them out by a bridge on MLK Boulevard in Oakland. I just went over there one day and said, Hey, is anybody hungry? You want to have dinner with me? Been doing it ever since. Week in and week out, Alexander and other volunteers distribute basic and emergency supplies, provide warm, home-cooked meals, and even help unhoused members obtain important legal documents such as birth certificates or social security cardsa pivotal step toward finding government-supported housing. Arthur Jean Safe Place has even started working alongside the San Pablo Police Department, creating several We Care Events across the city. SPPD has worked collaboratively with Ms. Alexander for several years, and we truly appreciate these partnerships with our community! Peggy Chou, SPPDs Public Information Officer, told KRON4. Alexander credits much of her drive to her mother. After closely working with AIDS patients as a nurse in the 1980s, Alexanders mother, Jean Butler, died from being HIV positive. Alexander says her mothers compassion led to the founding of Arthur Jean Safe Place. I asked her one day, I said, Mom, do you ever regret working with them? She said no, because I was doing what I love to do. That just blew my mind right there; I always remember that. So, when I got my masters, Im like, What can I do to make a difference and carry on my moms legacy? Sharon Alexander Arthur Jean Safe Place was founded in 2020. More information on the non-profit can be found 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 KRON4. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is looking for feedback from Ohioans on proposals regarding select fishing requirements and hunting seasons. Turkey Hunting Proposals The Ohio Wildlife Council has proposed the following dates for Turkey Hunting Seasons in Ohio: Turkey Hunting Categories Proposed Season Dates Youth April 12 to 13, 2025 South Zone April 19 to May 18, 2025 Northeast Zone May 3 to June 1, 2025 All counties in the Miami Valley, excluding Wayne County, Indiana, are considered in ONDRs South Zone for turkey hunting. Rite Aid shutting down all Miami Valley locations Inland Fishing Proposals ODNR reports there is a current minimum length requirement of 15-inch for inland fishing of walleye, sauger, and saugeye. If approved, the proposed requirement would be lifted at the following locations: Acton Lake Alum Creek Lake Atwood Lake Buckeye Lake Caesar Creek Lake Ferguson Reservoir Findlay Reservoir 1 and 2 Indian Lake Metzger Reservoir Piedmont Lake Pleasant Hill Lake Rocky Fork Lake Seneca Lake Tappan Lake Tell ODNR Your Thoughts The comment period will run from Aug. 26 to Sept. 25. If you have an opinion, you are asked to click here during the period to make your voice heard. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Watch the Digital Desk DNC recap livestream on Friday, Aug. 23 at 11:30 a.m. NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) The Democratic National Convention wrapped Thursday evening after Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination. 5 takeaways from Kamala Harriss DNC speech ODU political scientist Ben Melusky, Ph.D. will be at the Digital Desk to discuss the week in Chicago and whats next. Watch the livestream on Friday, Aug. 23 at 11:30 a.m. in the video player on this page. Its almost two month until the 2024 presidential election. There has been a lot of change since President Joe Biden announced he was stepping down on July 21. Melusky will discuss the key takeaways of the week as well as whats next in this election season, for the country and Virginia. WAVYs Sarah Goode will have updates following the livestream. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. NEW YORK (PIX11) An off-duty NYPD school crossing guard was arrested in Brooklyn on Thursday, according to authorities. Meagan Hubbard, 31, was taken into custody around 8:30 a.m. She was allegedly caught on surveillance video beating a man along with five others back on Aug. 5, according to court documents. More Local News The group also allegedly stole the victims registered firearm, court documents said. The victim suffered swelling to his head and abrasions to his lip. Four others are still wanted in the attack, according to court documents. Hubbard was charged with robbery, gang assault and assault. She was suspended without pay, according to authorities. Hubbard was released on her own recognizance following her arrest, according to the Brooklyn District Attorneys Office. Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See 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 PIX11. Los Angeles police and Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors workers conduct a cleanup operation to remove homeless encampments at Dockweiler State Beach in Playa del Rey, Los Angeles, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) LOS ANGELES (AP) Officials cleared a homeless encampment at a California state beach Thursday, a month after Gov. Gavin Newsom directed cities and state agencies to take urgent action against people sleeping in public spaces. Bright yellow trash trucks rolled onto the sands of Dockweiler State Beach, located behind the Los Angeles International Airport, accompanied by county workers and local law enforcement for the cleanup operation. The operation was organized by LA City Councilmember Traci Park along with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. The beach is part of Californias state park system, but the county provides its maintenance and lifeguard services while the city handles policing. Park's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday. Earlier this summer, Gov. Newsom issued an executive order for state agencies to start removing homeless encampments on public land in his boldest action yet following a Supreme Court ruling allowing cities to enforce bans on people sleeping outside. He urged cities and counties to do the same, but they are not legally mandated to do so. In August, he threatened to take away state funding from cities and counties that are not doing enough to clear encampments as he appeared to work alongside California Department of Transportation workers to throw away trash. Under Newsoms leadership, the state has spent roughly $24 billion to clean up streets and house people, including at least $3.2 billion in grants given to Los Angeles county and city to build shelters, clear encampments and connect homeless people to services, Newsom said. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and LA County officials have pushed back against the governor's approach, saying that criminalizing homelessness or simply clearing encampments without offering services or shelter does not work. While more than 75,000 people were homeless on any given night across Los Angeles County, according to a tally at the start of the year, there are only about 23,000 emergency shelter beds in the county. James Kingston, 63, was forced out of the encampment Thursday. He said he lived at the beach because of how many cans and bottles he can collect on the weekends for money. Like many others, he was unfazed by the clean up crew, since he's experienced this several times while being homeless over the past six years. Some people left as soon as police showed up, while others watched as officials cordoned off their tents. Shortly before the cleanup, they had received a notice that it would be happening. You just grab your important stuff and everything else has got to go, Kingston said. You just got to let it go because that's how it is. ___ This story has been updated to correct that Newsom was working alongside California Department of Transportation workers. The story should have also made clear that $3.2 billion in grants to build shelters, clear encampments and connect homeless people to services have been given to the county and city of Los Angeles. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WKBN) Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost joined 15 other states in a lawsuit against a federal program that gives nearly half a million immigrants, who are married to U.S. citizens, legal status and a path to citizenship. The program started taking applications last Monday. Ohio and other states are suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over the Biden administrations plan that Yost says grants amnesty to illegal aliens through executive action. A move that flagrantly violates federal law, Yost said. Yost said the lawsuit challenges the parole-in-place program, which seeks to provide blanket amnesty to 1.3 million illegal aliens with certain family members in the United States. The Associated Press reported that the number is 500,000. The program allows spouses without legal status to apply for permission to stay in the U.S., apply for a green card and eventually get on a path to citizenship. Republicans are attacking the policy calling it a form of amnesty for people who broke the law. Yost said the U.S. Supreme Court, in a decision written by Chief Justice John Roberts, made it clear that parole cannot be used as a blanket measure to allow large groups of noncitizens to remain in the country. The court said that DHS can use its discretion to parole applicants only on a case-by-case basis. Executive actions that flout the law and undermine our legal immigration system are not only reckless but illegal, Yost said. The rule of law demands that we uphold the laws as written, not twist them to fit a political agenda. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) An Ohio lawmaker has proposed a bill that would allow parents to claim conceived children as dependents on their state income taxes. Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery) recently introduced House Bill 654, or the Strategic Tax Options for Raising Kids (STORK) Act, which would allow Ohioans to include embryos or fetuses conceived during the taxable year as dependents. If a taxpayer and their spouse file separate returns, only the expecting mother can claim the embryo or fetus. The bill would apply to taxable years ending on or after Jan. 1, 2025. Click said allowing taxpayers to claim a child beginning the year they were conceived, rather than the year they were born, can help families alleviate financial pressure associated with childbirth and preparing for a baby. Theres a lot of money thats spent in preparation, Click said. You start spending money as soon as you know that you have a baby on the way, and yet you cant claim that child. Arkansas Supreme Court rejects bid to put abortion initiative on the ballot Click points to statistics from the Peterson-Kaiser Family Foundation, which reports that the average cost of having a baby in the U.S., including pregnancy, delivery and postpartum care, was $18,865 in 2022, and for those enrolled in healthcare plans, the average out-of-pocket cost was $2,854. The lawmaker said he got the idea for the bill when he introduced the Personhood Act in July 2022, which would have added that personhood of an individual is declared from the moment of conception to the Ohio Revised Code. The Personhood Act did not pass. In the midst of the conversation, somebody was really being a smart aleck, and they said, Well, can we claim them on our taxes? Click said. And I thought, Well, you know, that actually does make sense. While critics have said House Bill 654 is an attempt to classify embryos and fetuses as people and undermine abortion rights in the state, Click claims it is not an effort toward recognizing legal personhood for embryos or fetuses. A tax bill for the state level is not going to undo the constitutional amendment, Click said. This could be pro-life or pro-choice. Either way, people on both sides have babies, and to recognize that parents have expenses for those babies before the baby comes just seems logical to me. With this legislative session ending in December, Click said he does not believe the bill will pass this year. If it does not pass, he said he will reintroduce it. I wanted to start the conversation, and Im getting some good questions and good feedback along the way, Click said. If the people who hate the bill have some constructive advice that can help bring some unity to this, Im willing to listen to them if we can do something to make this bipartisan. I think it should be bipartisan because Republicans and Democrats all have babies. We all pay taxes. We all think these kids need a helping hand. The bill currently has seven Republican cosponsors and awaits its first committee hearing. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Ohio sees increase in those traveling from out of state for an abortion Ohio sees increase in those traveling from out of state for an abortion COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) Recent data estimates out-of-state travel for abortion services has more than doubled in the United States since 2019, finding over 3,000 patients crossed the border into Ohio for the procedure last year. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, 14 states have enacted total bans on abortion. This has resulted in out-of-state abortions significantly increasing, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights. The organization receives data from abortion providers across America monthly. A study by the institute found that over 1 million clinician-provided abortions took place in 2023 in states without a total ban the highest number in the U.S. in over a decade. Of those, 171,000 patients traveled out-of-state to receive abortion services last year, compared with 73,100 in 2019, the institute states. Most traveling patients went to the next closest state that allowed abortions. Those in the South, where 13 states banned or restricted the procedure, often had to travel across multiple state lines. In the state, out of 23,800 total abortion patients in 2023, 3,100 traveled from out of state, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The number of out-of-state patients coming to Ohio for an abortion increased from 6% in 2020 to 14% in 2023, the study found. A large number of travelers in 2023 came from surrounding states such as Kentucky, Indiana and West Virginia all of which have abortion bans in place. In November, Ohio voters passed a ballot initiative establishing the right to abortion in the state constitution. Abortion is legal in the state for up to 21 weeks of pregnancy. Erica Wilson-Domer, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, stated she has seen an increase in the number of travelers coming to Ohio for an abortion since Issue 1 passed, specifically in the Cincinnati region. I would think that as we continue to make progress on ensuring our rights around the constitutional amendment, we will continue to see [increased travel], Wilson-Domer said. The need for healthcare and the need for abortion doesnt stop. She said most of the people coming from out of state are from Indiana, West Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. Ohio still has multiple laws regarding abortion, including a 24-hour waiting period from a patients first appointment to undergoing the procedure and getting a parents consent if the patient is a minor. I think for Ohio because we still have a lot of our restrictions in place such as the 24-hour wait it is harder for people who are traveling farther to come here, Wilson-Domer said. While the Ohio Department of Health releases its own report tracking abortion statistics in Ohio, the 2023 report has not yet been released. The departments previous reports show out-of-state travelers consisted of 5.7% of abortions (1,167 out of 19,438) in 2020, 5% (1,097 out of 20,716) in 2021 and 7% (1,287 out of 17,201) in 2022. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. MASSILLON, Ohio (WCMH) A former Ohio middle school teacher is headed to trial after she resigned for refusing to address two transgender students by their preferred names and pronouns, and asked to have them removed from her classroom. The teacher, Vivian Geraghty, alleged in a 2022 lawsuit against Jackson Local School District her First Amendment rights were violated when she was told to resign from a middle school language arts position. After nearly two years of back and forth, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio ruled this month that forcing Geraghty to use students preferred names amounts to compelled speech and said the schools pronoun practice was not neutral. However, the court also decided the case must still go to trial to determine whether her resignation was by force and if the First Amendment protects Geraghtys unwillingness to call the trans students by their preferred names. Ohio Supreme Court to rule on divorced couples battle over IVF-created embryos The court concludes that there are genuine disputes of material face about whether Geraghty involuntarily resigned and, if she did, whether her protected conduct [if there was any] caused her to resign, the Aug. 12 filing written by U.S. District Judge Pamela Baker states. Jackson local schools Superintendent Christopher DiLoreto said in a statement to NBC4 the district is committed to handling this situation with the utmost prudence and respect for the legal process, and as such, this matter is currently involved in active litigation and we will have no further comment at this time. On the first day of the school year in August 2022, a week before Geraghty resigned, two of her students asked that she refer to them using names different from their names on the schools roster. The filing states Geraghty knew these requests were part of the students social transition but disagreed because of her religious beliefs and wanted those students out of her classroom. Geraghty continued to refer to the students using their deadnames, the name a trans person was assigned at birth but that does not align with their gender identity, even after one of the students sent her a follow-up request through email. That student then reached out to a school counselor, writing that one of my teachers dead-naming me all the time in class. Ohio bill to pick a state fish swims through Statehouse The language arts teacher then met with the middle schools principal, Kacy Carter, to seek an accommodation so that students would not continue to feel uncomfortable. Geraghty told the principal that her religious conviction would not allow her to agree with the students requests, and that she wouldnt be comfortable using preferred names or pronouns because she would know what was behind it. Geraghty was later called into a second meeting with Carter and Monica Myers, a district employee who said if Geraghty wouldnt comply with the students preferred names, it was going to be a problem, the filing states. From this point, the three individuals accounts of the meeting differ but that Geraghty was sent back to her classroom after she reaffirmed that she would not comply. A short time later that day, Geraghty was called back into a third meeting with Carter and Myers. While the suit states the accounts for this meeting also differ, Geraghty said the principal told her if that is you final decision, then we need a letter of resignation effective today. Carter and Myers claim Geraghty repeated she would not use preferred names. Myers then said thats going to be problematic and asked the teacher whether she was really prepared to draw that line in the sand. The two claim Geraghty said she didnt think she could work for the middle school anymore and Ill guess Ill resign. OHSAA modifies student policy as Ohios trans athlete ban takes effect The lawsuit was filed by Alliance Defending Freedom, a national conservative organization, on behalf of Geraghty in December of 2022. The organization argued that the school did not propose other possible solutions, like moving the teacher to another classroom or having her address students by their last names. The suit also claimed the district implemented a pronoun policy that is not fairly enforced. However, the district at the time said in a statement that it does not have a policy that requires teachers to use the preferred names or pronouns, but it does follow the Department of Educations Title IX ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Alliance Defending Freedom said in a social media post at the time that Geraghty could not set aside her beliefs to affirm untruths that harm children. The school tried to force Vivian to recite as true the schools viewpoint on issues that go to the foundation of morality and human identity, like what makes us male or female, by ordering her to personally participate in the social transition of her students, said the groups legal counsel Logan Spena. The First Amendment prohibits that abuse of power. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Ohioans can now add their ID to their digital wallet Ohioans can now add their ID to their digital wallet DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) A new program spearheaded by hometown Representative Willis Blackshear lets Ohioans forgo their physical state IDs in most situations. Ohioans now have the option to upload their state IDs and drivers licenses into a secure digital format they can access from the Wallet app of their iPhone or Apple Watch. AES Ohio making significant changes to all accounts This new project is a collaborative effort between Innovate Ohio, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and Apple. Originally pitched by local Representative Willis Blackshear (D-Dayton), the program has been in the works since September of 2022. This idea actually came from a constituent, she lost her ID, said Blackshear. Weve all been in that situation where weve lost our IDs and just the hassle of having to go get another one. Ohio is now the fifth state to offer digital ID access through mobile Apple products. You can use the digital ID at select businesses, in certain mobile apps and at TSA checkpoints at both Columbus International Airport and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport. Businesses looking to utilize this new method of identification can download the free app called Ohio Mobile ID Check. The program offers a secure way to verify IDs quickly. Its a built-in privacy and encryption software from Apple and its made to make sure storing your ID is secure, said Blackshear. The process for setting up your digital ID is easy open your iPhone Wallet app, select Add Card, then select State ID or Drivers License. Then, follow the on-screen instructions from there. This November, though, make sure you bring a physical copy of your ID to the polls the digital version is not valid on Election Day. Rite Aid shutting down all Miami Valley locations However, this is something Blackshear wants to consider for the future. You will have people who may run into a situation where they do lose their ID, said Blackshear. I think it is something we should most definitely look at to see if its something wed like to see in Ohio. Android and Google Users shouldnt have to wait too much longer for their own version of digital IDs. An expansion into having the same options on those platforms is currently in the works. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Newks Eaterys prior success in Charlotte is fueling its efforts to return to the Queen City. The Jackson, Mississippi-based, fast-casual restaurant chain is working to secure a franchisee for the market, says CEO Frank Paci. The brand sees potential for as many as 10 locations here in the future. Newks previously operated locations in uptown, south Charlotte and Rock Hill, all of which closed in 2019. Paci said the operator ran into difficult times financially but in their peak days, the stores were very successful. Looking at the historic numbers that we did in these locations, theres no reason to believe that we wouldnt be successful in the Charlotte market, he says. Read the full story on CBJs website here. When is it OK for leaders to change their minds because they learn something new? Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, right, takes the stage with his wife, Usha Vance, during a rally at Middletown High School in his home town of Middletown, Ohio, Monday, July 22, 2024. | Paul Vernon Earlier this summer, in-depth profiles of vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance in The New York Times and The Washington Post told the same essential story: Wow, look at how much theyve changed their minds! More than two dozen friends, former co-workers and classmates shared their surprise at Usha Vance standing in the box with former President Donald Trump, especially since earlier she was generally appalled by Trump, from the moment of his first election, one friend recalled in the Washington Post story. And for vice presidential candidate JD Vance, his dramatic shift is well-known, dating back to a time when he fostered meaningful friendships with liberal classmates. The story in the Times recounted how the Yale law student brought homemade baked goods to a transgender-identifying law student recovering from transition-related surgery. Vance said at the time, I dont understand what youre doing, but I support you later sending along an autographed copy of his book, To Sofia, a good friend and fellow midwesterner, and, despite being a godless liberal, a great person. Whats most striking about both profiles is the widespread cynicism invoked by these changes in political views with Usha Vance called an unprincipled opportunist by online commentators, someone who would debase her beliefs for her husband and lick as many boots as possible in order to maximize her husbands chance for political power. Other commenters on the Times article called JD Vances shift from past positions reflective of a shallow and hypocritical character and a special brand of cynical opportunism conveying a lesson in how unscrupulous people will sell out their scruples for ambition to power. He plainly has few if any core principles whatsoever, wrote GAC from Montana, describing Vance as putty in Trumps hands embodying a cynical, transparent, purely personal desire to accrue power at any cost. Yet this same individual added, people should be allowed to change their minds as they mature and history is full of politicians who have flipped on issues, sometimes based on genuine reflection and a change of heart motivated by concern for public welfare. When is it OK for a politician to change positions? While its natural to raise questions about motives, why do we so often come from a place of cynicism resistant to allowing leaders space to shift views, when so many of us make our own adjustments after being exposed to new information and experiences? Suspicions of political shape-shifting In a recent car ride with thoughtful, politically engaged friends, I asked them to tell me more about their long-standing hesitance toward Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, including in his new campaign for office. Hes changed his mind so often, they both expressed, as central to their concerns. The governors new level of concern about college DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs was brought up as an example, compared with where they say he started. This Utah couple both felt this evolution represented more of a political calculus, than a genuine change of heart advantageous, they believe, because these programs had become less popular generally among conservatives. Is it possible the governor could have grown more concerned as he learned more about the effects of these programs, I asked. They demurred unsure they were comfortable giving him the benefit of the doubt. When news broke that Cox had chosen to vote for Trump after the assassination attempt, they and others have seen this pivot as yet more evidence of strategic changeability. Yet Cox (and others) noted their desire to unite not just the Republican Party, but the nation a sentiment widely felt in the 24 hours following the assassination attempt. Both in his own communications with President Trump and in interviews since, Governor Cox has reiterated his motivation to be a positive influence within the Republican party. Other leaders in Utah who know Cox well, as Sam Benson reports, describe this as coming from his unquenchable idealism rather than mere political necessity with Don Peay, who oversaw Trumps 2016 campaign in Utah, saying Im 100% convinced that Cox did it because he felt it was the right thing to do. The undeniable influence of political context One reason leaders perspective changes receive heightened suspicion are the clear incentives they have to move in one direction or another. Scholar Jean Hartley, writing about the challenges of public leadership, highlights the unique levels of pressure on political leaders to maintain a critical mass of political support from their constituents, which is what grants them authority through elections. That is a very different kind of context than most people have influencing their decision making. Allegations of shifts-with-incentives are numerous on both sides of the political spectrum. The Clintons and Obamas were against gay marriage, before they supported it, as many voters shifted views. Bill Clinton signed The Defense of Marriage Act in September 1996, codifying the definition of marriage as between one man and one woman. And during the 2020 Democratic presidential contest, Joe Biden shifted his positions on the Hyde Amendment, which bans the use of federal funds in nearly all abortions and could hurt him politically. After reiterating his support for the amendment in March of 2019, which he had long supported as a Catholic, Biden announced in mid-June that he would no longer support the amendment. Others point to the shift in Sen. Mitt Romneys positions from the time he represented Massachusetts to when he became Republican candidate for president. When Romney successfully ran for governor of Massachusetts in 2002, he sought to appeal to voters with deep concerns about access to health care and a womans right to have an abortion. During his first presidential bid in 2007, Romney told debate moderator Anderson Cooper, on abortion I was wrong a shift that Romney insisted was sincere. Im proud to be pro-life, he added, and Im not going to be apologizing to people for becoming pro-life. Despite this, many found it irresistible to portray this as a merely strategic shift prompted by the voters he needed to convince. Romneys wife Ann would later lament what she said was a billion dollars spent juicing up a narrative he was a flip-flopper. Perspective change as a sign of weakness? This brings to mind the iconic debate between former President George W. Bush and John Kerry. Even though then-Sen. Kerry came across to many viewers as uniquely thoughtful and balanced, after the debate, the Bush campaign attacked the Democratic nominee for waffling and indecisiveness believing they had found an issue where Kerry is vulnerable, as one communication expert observed at the time. Former President Gerald Ford likewise said of his Democratic opponent for the White House, He wanders, he wavers, he waffles and he wiggles. Jimmy Carter will say anything to be president. That aligns with one concern being raised about Vance. The change in character is both remarkable and creepy, wrote Ernest from Middlebury, Vermont, in an online comment. How could anyone or any voter trust a word he has to say? Once again, any possibility of genuine learning is passed over for what is taken for granted as cold, strategic calculation. Why is it so hard to give elected leaders the benefit of the doubt? The waffle phenomenon In an exhaustive 2023 review of studies regarding the problem of mind changes in political leadership, Kyle G. Fritz, from the University of Mississippi, points to studies dating back 45 years that found that people tend to evaluate someone who experienced an attitude change as weaker, more indecisive ... more unstable, and more unreliable than someone who remained unchanged something researchers called the waffle phenomenon. Later studies revealed that it was shifts on principled issues more than pragmatic policies that are judged more harshly by voters. One 2017 meta-analysis of studies exploring attitude changes across various issues (marriage equality, immigration reform, the death penalty, environmental initiatives) found repeatedly that leaders who change their moral opinion are generally judged to be more hypocritical, less effective, and less worthy of support. This effect can be mitigated when a leader provides a full explanation for changing positions, notes Fritz one that goes beyond pithy soundbites and acknowledges the complexity of the issue. Yet the pressure on elected leaders is clear. Fearing backlash and the charge of hypocrisy, Fritz says, political leaders may purposely pretend to hold an earlier position publicly while privately believing and behaving according to their new position. Ironically then, fierce judgment against political leaders who appear to be hypocritical can lead them to become legitimately hypocritical, he observed. Trusting them because you like them Since its almost impossible to know for sure whether a particular leader is displaying genuine growth and learning compared with strategic shift for political advantage, this ultimately comes down to how much constituents trust a leader. Michael Maccoby wrote in Harvard Business Review two decades ago about the tendency of some in a corporate context to see a leader who shares their views as better than she really is smarter, nicer, more charismatic. That underscores an accompanying tendency to give that person the benefit of the doubt. Its not hard to see the same dynamic at work in reverse when evaluating someone whose views we dislike coming to see them, perhaps, as worse than they actually are, which would likely reinforce a tendency to interpret actions and choices in the poorest possible light. Perspective change as a sign of strength? When asked whether politicians changing their minds on key issues represented a sign of growth or inconsistency, scholar Alan Humason remarked how a defining hallmark of good scientists is willingness to re-think a conclusion when new evidence is introduced. In a similar vein, Humason suggested that for politicians who are seeking to represent constituents well and improve their lives, an occasional re-think would seem essential. Theres a long tradition of educators, inventors and entrepreneurs speaking of the value of learning, growing and changing. Only fools and dead men dont change their minds, wrote early industrialist John H. Patterson. Fools wont and dead men cant. No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it, Albert Einstein also famously said. We must learn to see the world anew. The renowned scientist, famous for his own shocking discovery that time, weight and mass are relative, rather than constant, also added, New frameworks are like climbing a mountain the larger view encompasses rather than rejects the earlier, more restricted view. There should be no shame or regret involved in changing your mind, writes Dew Langrial admitting that she has often faced criticism for changing my mind, noting that she tries to avoid stubbornness and not to be rigid in my opinions. Only accredited private schools qualify for the states Parental Choice Tax Credit program, a voucher-like state subsidy for parents to use toward tuition. But schools need only report the name of their accreditor. There is no verification beyond that, and any accreditor goes. Among the schools approved are Goodland Academy, a middle school in Hugo that shuttered for two years but maintained accreditation and reopened in February with five students, all of whom received a tax credit. A preschool at the Oklahoma City Zoo also received state approval, listing accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which evaluated the zoo on standards primarily focused on animal welfare and veterinary care. Candice Rennels, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma City Zoo, said accreditation through the Association of Zoos and Aquariums is rigorous and includes an education component. Tuition is $345 per week about $14,000 per year. As of Aug. 8, state regulators had approved 175 private schools for the Parental Choice Tax Credit program. Families of all incomes whose children attend those schools can claim $5,000 to $7,500 per student per year, but priority is given to those earning $150,000 or less. Combined, those schools obtained accreditation from 19 different organizations, each with different standards and little oversight. More: Private school tuition hikes have surged since Oklahoma tax credit began Not all accreditors are created equal, said Chris Belyeu, executive director of the Oklahoma Private School Accrediting Council. Since 1995, the Oklahoma Board of Education has partnered with the Oklahoma Private School Accrediting Council to vet private school accrediting agencies. Schools that accept students in the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship program, a voucher program for students with disabilities, must be accredited by the Board of Education or another of the 15 organizations approved by the council. To gain approval from the council, members review standards and attend site visits with accreditors. But schools in the Parental Choice Tax Credit program arent limited to the list of vetted accreditors, opening the door to less-than-rigorous accreditation or pay-to-play schemes what Belyeu calls fly-by-night accreditors. Oklahoma Watch, at oklahomawatch.org, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state. What to know about Oklahoma's Parental Choice Tax Credit Legislators approved the Parental Choice Tax Credit in 2023, capping a major push to expand the states school choice programs. The program is set to cost $150 million this year and expand to $250 million by 2026. In writing rules for the program, the Oklahoma Tax Commission proposed requiring schools to be accredited by the Board of Education or an association approved by the board. But the proposal faced pushback. One response, from a national organization called Yes Every Kid, said requiring board approval was too limiting. A private school in Oklahoma is not required to be accredited by the state and can seek accreditation from any accrediting association, they wrote. More: Nearly $2M in school choice tax credits were spent on parents' debt instead Relying on the boards list would unnecessarily narrow a law written to apply broadly to private schools to which parents choose to send their children, the organization said in an email. Yes Every Kid advocates for state policies that send public money to private schools and is funded by billionaire industrialist Charles Koch. I see the OTC and Dept. of Education taking away parents choice by limiting eligible private accredited schools only to the state board of education entities, a parent wrote in another comment. This defeats the purpose of this bill, is sneaky and tyrannical. EdChoice, an organization that lobbies for charter schools and voucher programs, wanted at least a minimum level of vetting. They suggested that the rules be amended to include accreditors recognized by a state, regional or national accrediting body. Ultimately, the Tax Commission reverted to the language in the bill, accepting accreditation from any organization. Emily Haxton, a spokeswoman for the commission, said they dont determine whether a private school has met the accreditation standards. What do other states do to vet private school accreditation? Vetting of accreditors in school choice programs varies nationwide. Some states, such as Iowa and West Virginia, have lists of 5 to 10 approved accreditors. Cognia and the Association of Christian Schools International consistently appear on those lists. Others include more accreditors. Arkansas, for example, approves 22 for its school choice program, comparable to the Oklahoma Private School Accrediting Council list used for Oklahomas Lindsey Nicole Henry scholarship. Conversely, North Carolinas Department of Non-Public Education has no control over accreditors. The departments only role is to keep record of the registered private and home schools in the state. Utah and Arizona dont require accreditation at all. What does school accreditation require in Oklahoma? The Oklahoma tax credit created a rush of private schools seeking accreditation, and some were completed in a shorter-than-typical timeframe. For some, that meant quick improvements, such as adopting a curriculum or extending school calendars to meet accreditors standards. Accreditation generally means a school has demonstrated educational quality and adheres to state regulations. Private accreditors tend to focus on educational quality. Religiously affiliated accreditors also check that schools follow certain religious teachings or values. The Oklahoma Department of Education mainly checks for compliance with state regulations. Some private schools pursue accreditation both from the state and another entity for that reason. One example is Cristo Rey Oklahoma City Catholic High School, which is accredited by the Oklahoma Department of Education and Cognia. Cognia completed its review of Cristo Rey last year. Its a four- to five-year process, with two formal site visits, and a $1,200 annual fee. The Department of Education review lasted less than a year, included two meetings with a regional accreditation officer, and cost nothing. Kelsey Herman, Cristo Reys principal, said the key difference was Cognias emphasis on continuous improvement. Cognia is the largest education accreditor in the world, with 40,000 public and private schools across the globe. Cognia also runs three of six regional accrediting agencies in the U.S. Having regional standards makes the transition to a different high school seamless for students who move to another state, helps students qualify for some college scholarships and is the only route for students going to the military after high school, said Mark Elgart, president and chief executive officer of Cognia. There are schools that use that term (accredited) very loosely, Elgart said. I would advise parents to verify it and to do any research to make sure that accreditation actually looks at, on a regular basis, the quality of the school. Signs that an accreditation is not high quality include an ability to fast-track the process, webcam reviews instead of on-site visits, and renewal periods of more than five to seven years, industry experts said. Josh Cowen, a professor of education policy at Michigan State University who authored a book on tax-funded school choice programs, said lack of accreditation would almost certainly guarantee a poor-quality school, but accreditation itself doesnt guarantee a high-quality school. Accreditation is a very low bar for these private schools to pass, he said. For that reason, Jim Johnson, president of the Lawton Academy of Arts and Science, said when seeking out a rigorous accreditation, they chose Cognia. He said it took six months to obtain accreditation that included months of gathering data, getting it ready, then a week of hell for the accreditation visit. The school posts its entire accreditation report and testing data online, which is rare for private schools. You can be the best thing in the world, but until somebody else tells somebody else youre the best thing in the world, nobody knows it, Johnson said. Ron Titus, head of SNU Lab School, said accreditation is becoming easier as more accreditation agencies are popping up to expedite the process for programs like Oklahomas parental Choice Tax Credit. SNU Lab School has been accredited by the Department of Education for 51 years and just earned accreditation through the Association of Christian Schools International. He suggested that parents do a bit more digging if a school touts its accreditation; parents should be asking schools how long they have been accredited, he said. Belyeu, of the Oklahoma Private School Accrediting Council, said school choice programs such as the tax credit give parents options, but also a lot of responsibility. Any school can say theyre doing a great job, he said. I would look at their external validation, and primarily, thats going to be accreditation. Oklahoma Watch, at oklahomawatch.org, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma's private school tax credit requires little verification For one court hearing, former RI conman Alahverdian admits his identity. Here's why. In a statement that seemed to catch a Utah prosecutor by surprise and for a moment appeared to end Nicholas Alahverdians years-long imposter charade his lawyer confirmed his true identity Thursday in a Salt Lake City courtroom. Defense stipulates identity, said public defender Samantha Dugan. For the purposes of this hearing, she added. In court parlance, to stipulate to a fact means it can be accepted by both sides without contention. More: Dive deeper into Nick Alahverdian's story with these podcasts and documentaries Alahverdian's admission pauses court proceedings The admission, coming during a pretrial hearing in one of Alahverdians two rape cases, prompted an immediate sidebar conference between lawyers and Judge Barry Lawrence. After, prosecutor Brandon Simmons said he had no further questions for the lead detective on the stand who investigated both 2008 rape allegations facing the former Rhode Islander. The state was presenting evidence to show there was probable cause to believe Alahverdian, who is charged under his stepfathers name, Rossi, committed the crimes. Alahverdian faked his death and denied his identity Alahverdian, 37, faked his death in 2020, only to be arrested at the end of 2021 in Scotland. For two years he fought extradition, claiming that authorities had the wrong man and that his name was Arthur Knight, a former Irish orphan who found his way to England and sold books on the street to survive and ultimately become a Glasgow academic. In truth, Alahverdian grew up in the Rhode Island childcare system. He never graduated from high school, though he often told women he met online of being a Harvard graduate. For a time, he became a familiar State House advocate for improving the state Department of Children, Youth & Families and enjoyed rubbing elbows with politicians and journalists. Alahverdian, center, speaks with state Rep. Scott Slater, left, and Boston lawyer Jonathan Messinger in the Rhode Island State House in 2012. But in 2017 he fled to the United Kingdom as the FBI pursued him for credit card fraud and, in so doing, he left behind a 2008 sexual groping conviction. The DNA in that case would later link him to the Salt Lake City rape, authorities say. And a woman in Orem also has told police he raped her in 2008 as well. Case against Alahverdian continues On Thursday, after hearing the testimony from the lead detective in the Salt Lake City rape case, Judge Lawrence ruled there was probable cause for the prosecution to continue. I find and conclude the state has met its burden and has presented evidence sufficient to establish probable cause to believe the crime ... was committed by this defendant, said Lawrence. The case was continued for Alahverdians formal arraignment on Oct. 17. Lawrence granted his lawyers request for a bail hearing that day as well. At that hearing, Duggan said, her client would prefer to be called Mr. Knight. Alright, Mr. Knight, said Judge Lawrence. I will see you on Oct 17." Contact Tom Mooney at: tmooney@providencejournal.com This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Nicholas Rossi admits his true identity for one court hearing. How the judge reacted. LAURINBURG, N.C. (WBTW) Police in Laurinburg are investigating a shooting and ATV crash that killed an 18-year-old man and critically injured two others. Officers responded to the area of Deluca and Berry Streets at about 8 p.m. Thursday for a call of shots fired and found a 14-year-old boy lying next to the road who said he didnt know if he had been shot or not, police said. Officers also found Zahquan Thyzee Stewart, 18, dead in the bushes next to an ATV that had crashed into a tree. They also learned that a 13-year-old boy with a gunshot wound had already been taken to Scotland Memorial Hospital in a private vehicle. Investigators determined that all three had been riding the ATV together on Deluca Street and were passed by two other males who shot at the ATV, hitting the 13-year-old victim and causing the driver, Stewart, to lose control and strike a tree. The 13-year-old victim was later flown to a different medical facility in critical condition. The 14-year-old was also flown from the scene in critical condition. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Laurinburg police Detective Sgt. J. Cooke at 910-276-3211. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. LEE COUNTY, Ala. (WRBL) The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency has launched an investigation into a shooting that left one dead early Sunday morning. According to ALEA, the officer-involved shooting happened at about 3 a.m. in 1800 block of Century Boulevard in Opelika, Ala. Authorities say 26-year-old Tice Daequan Cobb, of Auburn was pronounced dead at the scene. No officers were injured in the shooting. ALEA says the incident occurred after an officer from the Opelika Police Department responded to a call regarding a suspicious incident in the 1800 block of Century Boulevard in Opelika, Ala. After arriving on the scene, the officer encountered Cobb, who ALEA says was armed. According to ALEA, an altercation between the officer and Cobb occurred, resulting in the officer discharging his weapon and injuring Cobb. ALEA says no further details are available at this time as this is still an ongoing investigation. It says once the findings will be turned over to the Lee County District Attorneys office once the investigation is complete. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. One of two Whatcom County brothers pleads guilty to child sex abuse that lasted years One of two brothers accused of sexually abusing and torturing two female children over a seven-year span roughly two decades ago has pleaded guilty. Brian Matthew Drake, 32, of Bellingham, pleaded guilty Thursday, Aug. 22, in Whatcom County Superior Court to felony charges including one count each of first-degree child rape and second-degree child molestation. The Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorneys Office is expected to recommend Brian Drake serve five years in prison, with three years probation at his sentencing hearing. He is also expected to be required to register as a sex offender, according to court records. Brian Drakes sentencing is expected to be set sometime within the next three months. A pre-sentence investigation report conducted by the Washington State Department of Corrections is required by law to be completed prior to Brian Drakes sentencing hearing. The investigation, which will cover Brian Drakes version of the events, victim impacts, and Brian Drakes personal, professional, medical and social history, will also include a conclusion and recommendation as to whether or not specialized community-based or institutional treatment would serve the best interests of the community and Brian Drake. The report is due within 60 days. Brian Drake was taken into custody following his guilty plea on Thursday and will remain incarcerated without bail until his sentencing hearing. Drake had previously been incarcerated in the downtown Whatcom County Jail since his arrest Sept. 19, 2023, in lieu of $350,000 bail with no cash alternative. Prosecutors originally charged Brian Drake, and his brother Aaron Joseph Drake, in mid-September 2023 with 37 crimes between the two of them. All but one of the crimes were felonies and all but two were sex crimes, according to court records. Prosecutors then amended the brothers charges in late September 2023, dropping 12 of the original charges due to statute of limitations concerns, The Bellingham Herald previously reported. Brian Drake was then facing six counts of first-degree child molestation, three counts of first-degree child rape, two counts of first-degree incest, one count of second-degree rape and one count of attempted first-degree child rape. All of the charges, which are felonies, included an aggravating factor that alleged the crimes were part of an ongoing pattern of sexual abuse of the same victim under the age of 18 manifested by multiple incidents over a prolonged period of time. His charges were significantly reduced in exchange for his guilty pleas Thursday, as part of a joint recommendation between the prosecuting and defense attorneys, court records show. Aaron Joseph Drake, 33, of Billings, Mont., is still facing four counts of first-degree child molestation, two counts of first-degree child rape, two counts of second-degree child rape, one count of third-degree child rape, one count of second-degree child molestation and one count of attempted first-degree child rape. All of his charges, which are felonies, also include the aggravating factor alleging an ongoing pattern of sexual abuse over a prolonged period of time, the court records state. Aaron Drake has yet to make his first court appearance in Washington because he is currently incarcerated in a detention center in Montana. A nationwide extraditable warrant went out for his arrest Sept. 21, 2023 out of Whatcom County. Aaron Drake was arrested three days later, on Sept. 24, 2023, and booked into the Yellowstone County Detention Facility in Billings, Mont., where he currently remains. In addition to the Washington state case, Aaron Drake is also facing a child sex crime case in Montana. At the time the Whatcom County charges were filed against Aaron Drake, he was awaiting trial in a Yellowstone County District Court case in Montana. Yellowstone County prosecutors charged Aaron Drake with one count of sexual intercourse without consent in late July 2022. Prosecutors also included the alternative crimes of one count of sexual assault that inflicts bodily injury or the victim is less than 16 years old, and two counts of assault with a weapon, according to Montana court documents. Prosecutors allege that Aaron Drake molested a female child when she was around 7 or 8 years old. The child, who is known to Aaron Drake, disclosed the sexual abuse during an interview with police regarding a separate incident, The Herald previously reported. The Heralds policy is to avoid identifying victims of sex crimes when possible. Aaron Drake has a change of plea hearing scheduled for Aug. 28 in the Montana case, according to Montana court records. Its possible that Aaron Drake may have to resolve his charges in Montana before being extradited to Washington state to face the sex crime charges against him here. Its unclear whether or when Aaron Drake may appear in a Washington state court. Whatcom County senior deputy prosecuting attorney Gordon Jenkins declined at this time to comment on Brian Drakes guilty pleas. The Herald has reached out to Brian Drakes defense attorney. Admission of abuse The sexual abuse, which occurred from 2002 and 2009 in the Marietta-Alderwood area of Whatcom County, began when the two female children were between the ages of 4 and 11. The girls, who were known to the Drakes, are now in their mid- to late-20s. Brian Drake was 10 years old, while Aaron Drake was 12 years old, at the time they first began abusing the two girls, court records show. The Whatcom County Sheriffs Office started an investigation into the sexual abuse after one of the women, then in her mid-20s, went with her mother in late February 2023 to disclose the sex abuse. The woman described violent, graphic sexual abuse to sheriffs deputies, which she said started around age 4. She told investigators she was regularly restrained and raped by the Drake brothers at various locations in the Drakes Whatcom County home and in a tree fort all of the children had access to, The Herald previously reported. The woman told law enforcement Brian Drake threatened her by telling her that if she told anyone, things were going to get worse. Brian Drake also told the girl he would kill her if she said anything, court documents state. Following his arrest in mid-September 2023, Brian Drake admitted to sexually assaulting both women multiple times with and without his brother, Aaron Drake, during a two-hour interview with detectives, court documents state. Resources Brigid Collins Family Support Center: 360-734-4616, brigidcollins.org Brigid Collins Family Support Center professionals are on-call between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, to answer questions about children, families, abuse prevention or treatment at (360) 734-4616. Child Protective Services: Washington state hotline for reporting child abuse and neglect, 866-829-2153. Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services: 24-hour Help Line: 360-715-1563, Email: info@dvsas.org. Lummi Victims of Crime: 360-312-2015. Tlils Taaaltha Victims of Crime: 360-325-3310 or nooksacktribe.org/departments/youth-family-services/tlils-taaaltha-victims-of-crime-program/ Bellingham Police: You can call anonymously at 360-778-8611, or go online at cob.org/tips. WWU Consultation and Sexual Assault Support Survivor Advocacy Services: 360-650-3700 or wp.wwu.edu/sexualviolence/. If you or a child is in immediate danger, call 911 and make a report to law enforcement. To report child abuse or neglect call 1-866-END HARM. NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Whatcom: https://www.namiwhatcom.org/crisis-resources.html Washington State Crisis Line/National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988 or text HOME to 741741 for a crisis counselor Whatcom County Triage Center Crisis Line: 800-584-3578 A sign urging Oneida County residents to vote no on a 2018 advisory referendum on allowing mining in the Town of Lynne. (Photo courtesy of Jill Hunger) The Oneida County Board on Tuesday voted 13-6 to reject a proposal that would allow a county committee to communicate with mining companies about allowing mining activity on county-owned land. The proposal, from board chair Scott Holewinski, drew a large amount of public opposition with 32 people making public comments and an additional 200 sending emails opposing the plan. Mining has been a frequent political battle in the county for decades due to a large mineral deposit that was discovered in the town of Lynne in the 1990s. At the meeting on Tuesday, much of the opposition from board members centered on complaints about the process through which the proposal was made, being added to the agenda just days before the scheduled meeting. Board members also criticized Holewinski for meeting with mining company representatives before making the proposal. Members of the public had objected to the proposal partially because it directly contradicted the results of a 2018 advisory referendum in the county in which more than 60% of county voters said they didnt want to allow mining in the region. Oneida County has a large number of lakes and the county-owned forest in the town of Lynne where the mineral deposit is located is very close to the Willow Flowage, a man-made reservoir that provides important natural habitat and serves as a source of clean water that can be used to dilute pollution in the Tomahawk and Wisconsin rivers. The county has become the location of some of Wisconsins most heated fights over environmental issues over the last year, with a national right-wing non-profit influencing local officials to oppose conservation projects, the Wisconsin Examiner has reported. The county is the location of the recently created Pelican River Forest, now the largest conservation easement in state history. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) Families in Onslow County with sick children now have one less thing to stress about. Onslow Memorial Hospital is reopening its special care nursery for infants that may need to stay in the hospital longer. Babies being treated at the hospital can now get all the care they need under one roof, instead of being sent to a different hospital once they were taken out of the NICU or if they didnt have a serious illness. A special care nursery is different from a typical NICU, as it is where babies go if they get better but still arent ready to go home, or do couplet therapy with mom. Couplet therapy is when a mother and her infant get treated together in the mothers room. The nursery is also where they can get treated for things like jaundice, low blood sugar and low birth weight. Onslow Memorial Hospitals Neonatologist retired last year, which is the doctor thats required to run the nursery. Now, they have nurse practitioners and a telehealth doctor, so they can keep babies closer to home. Its made life a lot easier for parents like Katie Andrew, who had to travel from Beaufort to Wilmington to see her newborn. So, we then were able to move to Jacksonville because her main issue was really she was tiny and just needed to put weight on, Andrew said. So she didnt need to be at the high intensity as Wilmington is. So, we were luckily able to move and we were only there for about two weeks, maybe three weeks and then she got to come home. Onslow Memorial is looking to add more beds to the nursery in the future. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. During a campaign event with Michigan law enforcement earlier this week, Donald Trump didnt just refuse to take questions. He may have enabled a crime. At the event on Tuesday at the Livingston County Sheriffs Office in the city of Howell, Trump dodged reporters, told lies about rising crime rates, and fearmongered about a Kamala crime wave occurring at levels nobody has ever seen before. Livingston officers stood behind him, alongside sheriffs vehicles and a banner reading, Michigan is Trump Country. As the Detroit Metro Times notes, it is against state law to use public resources to support a candidate for office. The Michigan Bureau of Elections is now reviewing two complaints that allege the sheriffs office violated the law. In a video posted days before the event, Sheriff Michael Murphy offered this preemptive defense: Let me make a couple of things clear: One, this is not a political event. This is a press conference. But Trump only took one question before leaving the event. Trump can call it a press conference, but he was clearly advocating for his election as president. That was a campaign event, and what the Livingston County Sheriffs Department did was illegal, lawyer Mark Brewer, a former Michigan Democratic Party chair, told the Michigan Advance. They held it in a public building, which was obviously cleaned up for Trump, and then they staged the vehicles behind him. And then you have uniformed officers there, as well. Those are all public resources. The Michigan Campaign Finance Act states that such a crime is punishable by up to 93 days in jail. Photo by Jim Small | Arizona Mirror The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a ballot proposition to end partisan primaries will be allowed to appear on the November ballot, though the initiative is still facing another legal challenge to its place on the ballot that wont be settled for several weeks. If voters approve Proposition 140 in November, they would amend the Arizona Constitution to create an open primary system where all candidates for federal, state and local offices would face off in a single primary election instead of segregated partisan elections. Those primaries would also include candidates who are politically unaffiliated. The proposal, known as the Make Arizona Elections Fair Act, would allow all registered voters to choose from all the candidates in the primary, and the top vote-getters would advance to the general election, even if they dont represent different parties. The Arizona Supreme Court on Thursday rejected lawsuits brought by the state Democratic and Republican parties alleging that the ballot measure unconstitutionally did too many things, violating a requirement that changes to the constitution contain only a single amendment. In doing so, it upheld a lower courts decision. [T]he provisions of the Act are topically related, sufficiently interrelated, involve matters that have historically been treated as one subject and are qualitatively similar in their effect on the law, even if the changes concern more than one section of Article 7 of the Arizona Constitution, the unanimous ruling said. As the superior court noted, touching on more than one section of the constitution is not necessarily fatal. That clears Prop. 140 for the ballot on constitutional grounds. But earlier on Thursday, the Supreme Court sent a lawsuit challenging the signatures back to the trial court, which had previously ruled the initiative exceeded the minimum number required to appear on the ballot. At issue now for the trial court will be determining whether some 40,000 signatures that were already deemed valid are in fact duplicates, which would jeopardize the measures place on the November ballot. We are so grateful to the Arizona Supreme Court for allowing the evidence of 40,000 duplicate signatures to be reviewed by the lower court, said Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Gina Swoboda. This petition does not have enough signatures to qualify to appear on our ballot We are hopeful the lower court will find the measure has not met the required threshold in its review. But Chuck Coughlin, a spokesman for the Prop. 140 campaign, said the Supreme Court order merely ordered the trial court to consider the evidence of the duplicate signatures. The trial court ruled today and previously that that exhibit did not prove what they claimed it proved. They failed to meet the burden of proof, he said. After an emergency hearing today, that case wont resume until Sept. 3. That will be after the deadline to print ballots so they can be mailed to overseas voters. And Coughlin said there is no evidence in front of the Supreme Court today that would permit them to say we did not meet our minimum number of signature requirements, so Prop. 140 would appear on ballots in November. Maricopa County has contended that ballots need to be finalized by Aug. 22 in order for ballots to be able to begin being printed in time for the November election. A spokesperson for the county said its ballots will include Prop. 140. The Arizona Mirror reached out to the Arizona Secretary of States Office to get clarification but did not get a response by time of publication. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Peloton bike Peloton will start charging customers a $95 (72) activation fee when they buy one of its 1,345 exercise bikes second hand. The US fitness company said the fee would allow buyers to receive the same high-quality onboarding experience Peloton is known for. Customers already pay a monthly subscription fee of 24 to use Pelotons bikes and treadmills, connecting them to online fitness classes and personal trainers. Only customers who buy a bike through Pelotons official resale channels will avoid the added cost, which will initially apply in the US and Canada. A refurbished Peloton bike bought directly from the company costs 1,095, while similar models sell on eBay for around half that. The fee will help Peloton eke further revenues out of the resale market as the business struggles to reduce its losses after burning through hundreds of millions of dollars. Fans of Pelotons exercise bikes include Rishi Sunak, the former prime minister. In financial results announced on Thursday, Peloton revealed it lost $30.5m in the three months ending in June with sales of $643.6m. It cut its losses from $241.8 over the same period last year. Peloton has struggled to regain the momentum it enjoyed during the pandemic, when gyms were forced to shut and more people were working from home. The company was valued at more than $50bn in 2021 amid a boom in digital stocks. Since then, its sales have suffered a steady decline. It reported an increase in sales of 0.2pc overnight, its first increase since 2021. Peloton is now worth just $1.7bn, although its stock climbed 35pc on Thursday night after its results were announced. The companys founder, John Foley, stepped down as chief executive in 2022. His replacement, Barry McCarthy, resigned earlier this year after less than two years in the role. The company has cut thousands of jobs since the pandemic, including a further 400 people in May. In a letter to shareholders, Peloton said: We view the secondary market as an important channel and will continue to improve the member experience. 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. After hours of breathless speculation, deleted tweets and one very incorrect TMZ report, Beyonce did not show up at the Democratic National Convention last night. It was a disappointing, if entirely predictable, outcome. And many, many other stars did grace the convention stage. Both Republican and Democratic convention organizers worked hard to secure headline-making names to drum up attention, followed hopefully by votes and possibly donations. But even without Beyonce Knowles-Carter, it was clear that only one party truly understood the assignment. At the DNC, Democrats used celebrities across all four days to promote the specific policies of the party, and to connect each celebritys brand with their brand. On Thursday night, the convention featured Pink, a singer who has used her music to fight for LGBTQ+ equality long before it became fashionable, and The Chicks, who boldly risked their careers in country music to speak out against right-wing militarism. Comedian D.L. Hughley, known for his clever commentary on race, took the stage to hilariously call out Trumps race-baiting politics. Common and John Legend, both known for music that advocates and celebrates the quest for racial justice, took the stage earlier in the week. And Oprah Winfrey, an iconic figure who famously overcame the obstacles of race, class and gender to become a billionaire cultural behemoth, endorsed Harris historic quest to do the same. Trailblazing director Spike Lee watched from the crowd as barrier-breaking actresses Eva Longoria, Kerry Washington and Mindy Kaling helped host. And heard throughout was the official campaign song, Beyonce's Freedom, the rare instance of a singer and song matching the message and meaning of a political campaign. Pro-wrestler Hulk Hogan rips his shirt off to reveal a Trump-Vance campaign shirt during the last day of the Republican National Convention, in Milwaukee, on July 18. Contrast this with the strange Republican melange of Kid Rock, Amber Rose, Russell Brand, reality star Savannah Chrisley, UFC head honcho Dana White and Hulk Hogan that assembled a few short weeks ago in Milwaukee. These celebrities didnt reinforce any message or create any vibe. They certainly didnt connect to any policy. Some seemed to contradict the actual policies of the reality TV candidate they were allegedly endorsing, leading to such outlandish moments as Amber Rose saying Trump is all love. Rose probably should have watched more of the actual RNC speakers, who spent much of the convention advocating for bigotry and hate. The biggest theme of the RNC celebrity choices, if you can call it a theme, was that Trump is cool. One could argue this is an actual political strategy, based on wooing young male voters. But even then, its unclear how widespread the 71-year-old Hulk Hogans fan base is anymore. Kid Rock has recently made more headlines for boycotting beer than he has for any particularly artistic endeavor. And Amber Rose is barely a celebrity. This isnt to say that Democrats always get celebrity politics right. As someone who worked on the 2016 Democratic convention, its clear to me now that we failed to connect many of the celebrities to any meaningful message or strategy. Katy Perry and Lenny Kravitz performed, and both Meryl Streep and Sigourney Weaver took to the stage but it wasnt always clear why. What were they saying about the campaign Hillary Clinton was waging against Donald Trump? Similarly, when Robert De Niro showed up at Trumps hush money trial, his appearance seemed like a tabloid distraction. A better strategy would have been to have a pro-choice female celebrity connect Trumps sexist behavior with his sexist policies and discuss how Trump wants to put the government in our bedroom, while expecting privacy in his. Why does any of this matter? We can never know for sure, but in the same way that Will Rogers everyman persona helped FDR position himself as the champion of ordinary Americans, or the Italian Catholic Frank Sinatra reinforced Irish Catholic JFKs message of generational change, a good celebrity surrogate can complement, bolster and spread a candidate's message. And in the end, the DNCs parade of celebrities did do a good job of connecting their own stories and star power to Harris message of not going back. Meanwhile, the celebrities at the RNC tried, and mostly failed, to make Trump look cool again. But to be fair to them, Im not sure anybody could. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com It was profoundly disheartening to see KSL feature an article on Aug. 5 titled A dark day: Removal of 13 books from all public school libraries in Utah prompts strong reactions. The piece, instead of honoring the diligent efforts of parents, teachers and administrators to safeguard our children, seemed to undermine them, inadvertently supporting those who advocate for exposing children to explicit and indecent materials in K-12 public schools. Lets be clear: Neither KSL nor any other responsible media outlet would dare publish the full content or even a detailed description of these 13 books or the many others still present in our schools. Why? Because these materials are simply too explicit and vulgar. Yet, despite this, they are somehow deemed acceptable for our children by those featured in the article. This issue is about far more than a few removed books. The question at the heart of this debate is whether we, as a society, prioritize the physical, social and psychological well-being of our children. The 13 books removed from Utahs public schools were not isolated cases but a response to growing concerns about the kind of content available to impressionable young minds. Parents, teachers and administrators who challenged these titles did so because they recognized the harmful effects of exposing children to graphically explicit sexual content. The article seemed to dismiss these valid concerns, instead giving voice to those who argue that such protective measures amount to dystopian censorship. This perspective, however, overlooks the significant body of research that shows the devastating effects of exposure to explicit sexual material, particularly on children. Studies have repeatedly demonstrated that early exposure to sexually indecent and pornographic content leads to a range of negative outcomes, including decreased brain weight and development, increased sexual activity at younger ages, distorted views of relationships and mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. One of the sources quoted in the story suggested that removing these books from K-12 public schools could lead to a slippery slope of censorship. However, this argument fails to acknowledge the difference between censorship and responsible curation. In a public school setting, where the primary goals are education and the healthy development of students, it is not only appropriate but necessary to curate content that aligns with these goals. Allowing children unrestricted access to physically addictive sexual material that is too explicit for adult discussion does not equate to freedom it is reckless. Another concern raised in the article is that many of the removed books were written by women, implying that the effort to protect children from explicit content is somehow rooted in misogyny. This argument, and similar arguments of racism or homophobia, is not only misleading but also distracts from the real issue at hand: the protection of children. The gender (or race or sexual orientation) of an author of hyper-sexualized content is irrelevant when the content in question is dangerous to children. What matters is whether the material is suitable for young readers at all a standard that these books, and hundreds more still in Utah K-12 public schools, fail to meet. The removal of these books is not about restricting anyones freedom of expression; it is about setting responsible boundaries that protect the physical, emotional and psychological development of our children. HB374 and HB29 were passed with the express purpose of ensuring the expeditious removal of vulgar, indecent and pornographic material that may have inappropriately or inadvertently found its way into our schools. These laws are not about limiting freedom they are about safeguarding the innocence and self-governing virtue of our youth. The protection of children from harmful content should not be a controversial issue. It is the fundamental responsibility of any society that values its future. The idea that shielding children from explicit material is dystopian is not only misguided but dangerous. If we fail to protect our children now, we are setting them up for a lifetime of challenges readily avoided by a more careful, thoughtful approach to the content to which they are exposed. In light of the growing mental health crisis among our youth and the disintegration of the family unit, it is more important than ever to protect children from material that exacerbates these issues. This is not just a moral imperative but a societal one. The prohibitive costs of failing to do so are too great to ignore. I urge all to support the efforts of parents, teachers, administrators, clergy and lawmakers who are working to protect our children. It is time for responsible leaders and media everywhere to stand with those who prioritize the well-being of our youth over sensationalism and controversy. Let us remember that true freedom is not defined by the absence of boundaries, but by liberty in law including safeguards that protect those who cannot protect themselves, like our most precious and abundant Utah resource: our children. The protection of our children is not up for debate it is our duty! Ken Ivory is the Utah state representative for District 39. The Democratic and Republican national conventions this year may as well have been for different countries. Although the two parties typically have different messaging and contrasting overall vibes during their conventions, their dramatically different approaches this year laid bare the canyon-sized divide between them. The Democratic National Convention, which concluded Thursday night, exuded vitality, optimism and competence. The Republican National Convention in July leaned on fear, anger and falsehoods. We have so much more in common than what separates us that none of us, none of us, has to fail for all of us to succeed, declared official Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Her aspirational, 37-minute address was a strong contrast to Republican nominee Donald Trump's 93-minute acceptance speech, which was full of self-pity, meandering asides and references only his die-hard fans would understand. Another glaring gap was the energy in the room. On Tuesday, the Democrats turned the usually dull roll call into a chance to celebrate the diversity of each state and territory with handpicked songs and surprises like rapper Lil Jon representing Georgia, turning a mundane bit of housekeeping into a full-blown house party. Compare that to the Republican National Committees lugubrious roll call last month. It kicked off with House Speaker Mike Johnson reminding delegates to remain orderly, before the conventions secretary proceeded to slog through over an hour of votes that made Trumps nomination feel mundane to the point of somber, even bleak. The parade of mostly white men casting their delegates votes for Trump reflected the homogeneity of the MAGA party, and was at odds with the diversity that makes America strong. Then theres the competence, and lack thereof, on display at the two events. I know from experience as a former Republican National Committee chairman that a convention needs to be tightly choreographed to project a party competent enough to lead America into the future. The Republican conventions first night got off to a slow start when Johnson abruptly left the stage after a teleprompter malfunction heavily delayed the proceedings, leaving the cover band Sixwire to entertain the audience amid the technical difficulties. Meanwhile, showrunners of the Democratic convention were able to perfectly time the roll calls conclusion to the moment Harris took the stage at a campaign rally in Milwaukee 80 miles away, allowing her to seamlessly address both audiences at once. But the differences ran deeper than that. Consider the vision each party presented of what a prosperous America looks like. The crowd at the Republican convention was punctuated by a sea of signs reading MASS DEPORTATION NOW, while Democratic signs praised American workers and unions. Republican convention speakers painted their Democratic neighbors as a clear and present danger to America, while the Democratic convention platformed Republicans like Ana Navarro and even a former Trump White House press secretary, Stephanie Grisham. These speakers highlighted how issues that affect one group affect us all. They presented an America befitting of its original national motto, e pluribus unum: Out of many, one while the MAGA party continued to promote a false patriotism that paints neighbors as enemies and prosperity as a zero-sum game. But the most obvious difference is also the defining one: the difference between the two candidates each party has embraced as its nominee. While Harris presented the America her mother immigrated to with a dream of curing cancer, Trump expressed a longing to usher in the largest deportation operation in the history of our country. Harris acknowledged the importance of putting country over party, while Donald stoked more division. Harris vowed that between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs. Trump promoted more lies about the 2020 election. Despite the pomp and circumstance of a party convention, its this difference thats the most urgent, because its the choice the American people will face in November. Its the election that will decide whether our better natures win over dangerous paranoia. Its the choice that will determine whether the rally cry of Were not going back defines Americas future or is just another catchy campaign slogan. For more thought-provoking insights from Michael Steele, Alicia Menendez and Symone Sanders-Townsend, watch The Weekend every Saturday and Sunday at 8 a.m. ET on MSNBC. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Robert Kennedy Jr. announced on Friday that he has suspended his independent presidential campaign and will be endorsing former President Donald Trump. His move adds yet another twist in a presidential race filled with unexpected developments. It remains unclear how Kennedys withdrawal could affect the outcome of the election, and how much the move could reduce the number of voters who may have cast a ballot for him instead of Trump. More broadly, Kennedys maneuver is also a fascinating reflection of this ideologically topsy-turvy political era, when the Covid pandemic has scrambled American politics in unpredictable ways and turbocharged an epidemic of mistrust. Kennedy launched his campaign last year as a Democrat. On one level, that made perfect sense. Kennedy had been a lifelong member of the party, where his family remains political royalty. He worked for many years as a prominent environmental lawyer. And his presidential policy platform included some conventionally progressive ideas, such as support for unions. But on another level, it was an odd fit. Well before Covid derailed the world, Kennedys reputation as an environmental lawyer had been outstripped by his activism against vaccines. During the pandemic, the reach of that activism expanded dramatically. He became a superspreader of Covid-related misinformation online and his following grew specifically around that issue. Among other conspiracy theories, he claimed that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, were promoting vaccines for financial profit. Notoriously, he also argued that vaccine policies across the West were worse than Nazism. (He later sort of apologized.) Vaccine skeptics and opponents span the political spectrum, but they tend to skew conservative. It should be no surprise to hear, then, that Kennedys critiques of vaccine programs as totalitarian and Fauci as a tyrant resonated with plenty of people on the right. Even before he announced his campaign, his Covid-related activism influenced top Republicans views and messaging on vaccines. After Kennedy entered the presidential race, he was invited constantly onto high-profile right wing media platforms, even though he was running as a Democrat. And some libertarian tech moguls, skeptical of government regulation, took a liking to him. As I wrote at the time, this phenomenon could not be explained purely by a right-wing effort to boost a potential thorn in Bidens side in the Democratic presidential primaries. It reflected that they and Kennedy were ideologically in line on issues ranging from public health to Ukraine policy to a general proclivity for conspiracy theories (including some racist ones): Right-wing activists and media outlets are openly buzzing about Kennedy. And thats because they dont just think of him as a candidate who might confuse unsuspecting Democrats; they also like him. That, in turn, makes Kennedy less likely to be a covert chaos agent and more likely to code as someone who doesnt belong in the Democratic primaries. After failing to gain ground in the polls, Kennedy dropped out of the Democratic primaries in October. As he exited, Kennedy argued that the Democratic Party wasnt giving him a fair shake and allowing him to debate Biden. But he also likely calculated that he could have a bigger effect on the race by entering the general election. After Kennedy went independent, polling on three-way matchups (Trump, Biden and Kennedy) initially indicated that he took a small bite out of the vote share for both candidates, and it was unclear who hed hurt more. But over time, particularly after Biden stepped aside and Vice President Kamala Harris emerged as his successor, polling made it clear that Kennedys presence was a greater threat to Trump than the Democrats. That development indicates that, before Harris became the Democratic nominee, Kennedy had benefited from Bidens weakness as a candidate. But the durability of Trump-friendly Kennedy voters also suggests that Kennedy has become a more substantive ideological competitor to Trump due to their overlapping worldviews. It makes sense, then, that Trump got into private deal-making talks with Kennedy and signaled that hed welcome an endorsement. Kennedys political transformation illustrates how Covid and the governments response to it really shook up some peoples worldview and served as a portal to new forms of political consciousness. Kennedy channeled that energy, first on the Democratic side of the aisle, and then as a free-floating independent, and now hes using it to funnel people to the right. Kennedys views are deeply idiosyncratic and many of his perspectives arent an organic match for the MAGA right. But his most spirited and salient views now revolve around distrust in the medical establishment and government. Given what seems to matter to him most now, his new home makes more sense than the old one. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com (Photo illustration by Helen Quach / Los Angeles Times; Unsplash, Associated Press photos) No matter the outcome of the November elections, it is urgent that there be a widespread recognition that American democracy is in danger and that reforms are essential. No form of government lasts forever, and it would be foolhardy to believe that the United States cannot fall prey to the forces that have ended democracies in many other countries. Although the causes are complex, many of todays problems can be traced back to choices made in drafting the Constitution, choices that are increasingly haunting us. After 200 years, it is time to begin thinking of drafting a new Constitution to create a more effective, more democratic government. Read more: What the ancient Greeks understood about democracy that Trump does not Signs abound that American democracy is in serious trouble. Confidence in the institutions of American government is at an all-time low. The Pew Research Center has been tracking public trust in government since 1958. It has gone from a high-water mark of 77% in 1964 to our contemporary 20%. A poll in September 2023 indicated that only 4% of U.S. adults said the American political system worked "extremely or very well." A recent Gallup poll had only 16% of Americans expressing approval for how Congress is performing its job. At the same time, the country is more deeply polarized than it has been since Reconstruction. There are many measures of this. Over the course of the Trump presidency, an average of 87% of Republicans approved of Trumps handling of the job, compared with just 6% of Democrats. That, by far, is the largest gap in history. In August 2022, about 18 months into the Biden presidency, his approval rating among Democrats was 78% and among Republicans just 12%, a gap of 66%, which is less than during the Trump years, but still stunning, and reflects a deeply cleaved country. Read more: Column: The U.S. Constitution is flawed. But a constitutional convention to fix it is downright scary Especially individuals in their 20s and 30s are losing faith in democracy. A Brookings Institution study found that 29% of young Americans say that democracy is not always preferable to other political forms. The framers of the Constitution, out of distrust for democracy, created the Electoral College so that elites would choose the president. However, never in the 20th century did the loser of the popular vote become president because of the Electoral College. But population shifts and partisan realignment have made this a regular occurrence in this century. It happened in 2000 and 2016, and it almost happened in 2004 and 2020. In the last election, if just 42,921 votes had changed in Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin, Donald Trump would have been reelected president despite losing the popular election by almost seven million votes. This messy state of affairs began with a messy compromise. To secure approval and ratification of the Constitution, the framers agreed that each state would be represented in an upper chamber of Congress by two senators. When the Constitution was written, the most populous state (Virginia) had 12 times more people than the least populous state (Delaware). According to the 2020 census, the most populous state (California) has 68 times more people than the least populous state (Wyoming). This makes the Senate ever more egregiously undemocratic. In the last session of Congress, the 50 Democratic senators represented 42 million more people than the 50 Republican senators did. Read more: Column: America's democracy seems to need radical changes. But what are the chances, really? Changes in the rules of the Senate in the 1970s have made filibusters much easier and legislating much more difficult. Now it takes 60 votes to pass any bill other than the budget. The result is that a minority of senators representing a small fraction of the population can block any legislation. The House of Representatives was intended to be the one body created by the Constitution that was representative of the people. But partisan gerrymandering where the political party that controls each states legislature draws election districts has become vastly more effective because of sophisticated computer programs and voter data. For example, in Pennsylvania, over several elections, the congressional elections in districts drawn by the Republican legislature resulted in Democrats' receiving between 45% and 51% of the statewide vote, yet winning only 5 of 18 House seats. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court in 2019 held that federal courts cannot hear constitutional challenges to partisan gerrymandering. The justices have also undermined democracy by gutting key provisions of the Voting Rights Act and thwarting campaign finance reform. But although the problems are grave, I believe that the situation is not hopeless. It is both possible and essential to cure the defects and save American democracy. There are many meaningful changes that can be made without constitutional amendment. The Senate can change its rules to eliminate the filibuster. Congress, by legislation, can end partisan gerrymandering for seats in the House of Representatives. The Supreme Court can end partisan gerrymandering altogether. The size of the House of Representatives can be increased to make it more democratic. New legislation can be passed to protect voting rights. As for the flaws in the Constitution, virtually every one can be fixed by amendment if there is the will to do so. Amending the Constitution is enormously difficult, but not impossible. Although amendments have been rare in recent decades, there have been times in American history when they have been more common. From 1913 to 1920, there were four amendments, which included authorizing an income tax, creating popular election of senators and providing women the right to vote. And there is an alternative to a spate of separate amendments: starting fresh by passing a new Constitution. It does not take much reflection to see the absurdity of using a document written for a small, poor and relatively inconsequential nation in the late 18th century to govern a large country of immense wealth in the technological world of the 21st century. It may seem strange and frightening to suggest thinking of a new Constitution at a time of great partisan division. But that existed in 1787; in many of the states, the Constitution was just barely ratified. I do not minimize the difficulty of significant change in any of these ways. But we must face the frightening reality of the countrys future if there are not major reforms. My hope is that looking at that abyss will be the impetus for beginning to realize the need for action and starting the long-term process of making it happen. Erwin Chemerinsky, a contributing writer to Opinion and dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, is the author of "No Democracy Lasts Forever: How the Constitution Threatens the United States." 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. The Oregon Republican Party was unsuccesful in its attempt to bar Libertarians from the ballot. (Getty Images) Libertarian candidates will appear on Oregon ballots in November, despite efforts from the state Republican party to disqualify Libertarians it feared would take votes from GOP candidates. State election officials have confirmed that seven Libertarian candidates for Congress and legislative races are qualified to run, despite correspondence the Secretary of States Office received from an attorney for the Oregon Republican Party and a past Libertarian Party of Oregon leader urging officials to reject Libertarian nominees. Their arguments, considered and rejected by state election officials, rested on a years-long dispute between two factions in the state Libertarian Party over the legitimacy of its bylaws. But in letters to the complainants, an investigator for the Secretary of States Elections Division said that the office doesnt get involved in internal political party disputes. To the extent that you are concerned about which version of the partys bylaws are used to nominate candidates, please note that the Elections Division does not resolve internal party disputes unless a violation of Oregon election law is alleged to have occurred and there is evidence to show a violation occurred. You did not provide evidence showing that LPO violated Oregon election law, Stephanie Darcy wrote to Tyler Smith, general counsel for the Oregon Republican Party. The decision means Libertarian candidates are expected to appear on the ballot in three congressional races, including one of the states most competitive matchups the 5th Congressional District. Libertarians are also running in four state legislative races, and more candidates could file as the deadline for minor party candidates is Aug. 27. Messaging opportunity Sonja Feintech, a farm consultant from the small unincorporated Clackamas County community of Mulino, is running as a Libertarian in the 5th Congressional District, which stretches from Bend to Portland. Incumbent Republican Lori Chavez-DeRemer won the district by just 2 points in 2022 and faces stiff competition from Democrat and state Rep. Janelle Bynum. Feintech told the Capital Chronicle she wasnt surprised that Republican leaders would try to block her from running or that state election officials ultimately decided to let her on the ballot. I worked on Republican gubernatorial campaigns before, and Ive seen the shenanigans they get up to, she said. Any time that they can block grassroot candidates, whether it be Republican or Libertarian, they go out of their way. While she said she would love to win, she recognized that the odds are against her or any other minor party candidates. But running in a major congressional race is an awesome messaging opportunity, she said, as shell have the opportunity to highlight Libertarian perspectives, such as an opposition to war, to more voters. Any opportunity we have to put pressure on candidates of the main two parties is a huge win, because at the end of the day, we want more liberty-minded candidates that actually talk about issues that their constituents care about, she said. Along with Feintech, Libertarians will run Arizona transplant Dan Bahlen in the 4th Congressional District in southwest Oregon and computer programmer Joe Christman in the 1st District in Portlands western suburbs and the northwest coast. The 1st District, represented by Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, is a Democratic stronghold, but Bahlens presence could complicate the 4th District race. Incumbent Democrat Val Hoyle won the district by 7 points in 2022, but Republicans believe they found a stronger candidate this cycle in retired Air Force Col. Monique DeSpain. A spokeswoman for the Oregon Republican Party didnt respond to requests for comment. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A farmworker housing unit sits next to an orchard at a Wasco County farm. Farmworker advocates say they've asked Oregon OSHA to require houses be a certain distance away from fields to avoid pesticide drift. (Courtesy of Oregon Law Center) A farmworker housing unit sits next to an orchard at a Wasco County farm. Farmworker advocates say they've asked Oregon OSHA to require houses be a certain distance away from fields to avoid pesticide drift. (Courtesy of Oregon Law Center) After years of negotiations, Oregons Occupational Safety and Health Division, or Oregon OSHA, released a set of proposed changes to tighten health and safety standards in farmworker housing. Some farmworker advocacy groups say the proposed changes fall short of what they were asking for. At the same time, groups representing farm owners say the rules go too far, and would likely put an undue financial burden on employers and could lead to a reduced workforce during peak harvest seasons. Oregon farmworker housing standards are alarmingly outdated, according to advocates. The last time Oregon OSHA received input from farmworker groups and growers was in 2008 during a rulemaking process. The office did make adjustments to housing standards in 2018 and during the COVID pandemic, according to Mark Peterson, the public information and communications director at the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, which houses Oregon OSHA. Farm owners usually recruit seasonal or year-round workers to harvest or do other labor that may not be possible with machine equipment. Martha Sonato, a state legislative and policy advocate for Oregon Law Center, said workers, many of whom are Latino, tend to live in owner-provided housing because its more affordable than renting nearby. As of August, there were 508 registered farmworker housing sites, according to Oregon OSHA. Advocates say those housing units vary in living conditions, but they say a lot of the buildings lack flushable indoor toilets , proper food storage or cooking facilities. Sonato says some of them dont have laundry machines and some tend to be overcrowded. Everybody deserves a place that is healthy and safe and that they can live with dignity, Sonato said. And unfortunately our housing market is so unaffordable that it really leaves a lot of people with very limited options. Some of the improvements Sonato said theyve asked for include updates to electrical, septic, water and plumbing systems in employer-provided housing. Sonato also said theyve asked the agency to require that housing be located a certain distance away from fields and out of caution from potential pesticide drift. In agricultural labor housing, we do have families with children that are playing outside and there is that possibility that they may be exposed to pesticide, Sonato said. Farmworkers say this makeshift stove attached to housing on a Wasco County farm is an example of their inadequate housing. (Courtesy of Oregon Law Center) Improvements to protect workers Oregon OSHA attempted to address shortcomings of farmworker housing earlier this month, when officials released a draft of proposed changes . The draft updated requirements for farmworker housing, such as including private changing rooms near showers. The proposal would require farm owners to test drinking water for arsenic and nitrates and increase the number of sinks and toilets per person. The office has also suggested creating a seasonal agricultural labor housing surveying program to increase Oregon OSHAs ability to evaluate housing conditions. But that would hinge on a budget request from lawmakers during the 2025 state legislative session. While Sonato said she appreciates some of the changes, she said the proposed updates fall short of what she and other farmworker advocacy groups were asking for. For instance, she takes issue with the number of toilets provided. The draft rules call for one toilet per 10 occupants, the rules also allow for portable toilets. Farmworker groups also disagree with the requirements around kitchens, which still allow for them to be outdoors, provided they are screened. Theres also no mention of requiring the houses be built away from fields. Its a missed opportunity, Sonato said. As a state, we can always be more protective, even if in other states, we dont see rules that are what we would consider strong. On the other hand, Jenny Dresler, a spokesperson with Oregon Farm Bureau, an advocacy group for farmers and ranchers, said farm owners see eye-to-eye with advocates on some of the changes. That was our goal throughout this whole process, she said. Our other goal was to make sure that this was feasible and could be implemented. And that we werent further shuttering family farms. However, Dresler said many of the changes are ambiguous. She said the requirements that are clear, like providing 50 square feet of space per bunkbed in a bedroom, up from 40 square feet, will be costly, and likely lead to a reduction in the available housing stock, which would lead to fewer workers. With Oregons regulatory landscape, its not like you can go and rebuild that housing, especially when youre in an orchard or when youre surrounded by other farms or when there is no community based housing available in the area, Dresler said. So its not like you just have an opportunity to go and rebuild that housing. While Oregon OSHA will plan to make $5 million available through the Oregon Department of Agriculture to assist farm owners, Dresler said thats a drop in the bucket. Five million dollars and as we know, in 2024 does not go nearly as far as you would need, she said. And so its going to be really important that the agency understands the total universe of costs that have been proposed in the draft. Oregon OSHA is making plans to hold a public hearing on the proposed changes both in English and Spanish, but the agency hasnt scheduled it yet. If the proposed changes are approved, they will be phased in through 2027. This story was originally published by Oregon Public Broadcasting, a Capital Chronicle news partner. A wind turbine with one blade painted black at a PacifiCorp wind farm in Wyoming. (Oregon State University) A simple coat of black paint on the white blade of a wind turbine could save countless birds from flying into the machines and to their deaths each year. Its working in Norway, and now researchers from Oregon State University are trying it in the West. With $400,000 allocated by the state Legislature, Christian Hagen, an associate professor in the universitys Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Sciences, is leading a team thats painting turbines at a PacifiCorp wind farm in Wyoming. A doctoral student and officials with the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Department of Energy are collaborating on the project. Studies show that wind turbines kill anywhere from 140,000 to nearly half a million birds each year, in addition to the hundreds of millions killed each year by flying into buildings or by house cats. A study from Norwegian researchers published in 2020 in the journal Ecology and Evolution found painting one of the three blades of a wind turbine black reduced bird mortality by more than 70%. Researchers found that birds especially birds that hunt from high in the sky such as eagles, hawks and other raptors experience motion smear that prevents them from seeing a fast moving, monochromatic object up close. They dont see it because their retinas cant keep up with the velocity of the blade. With one blade painted black, it creates a contrast between the blades, increasing visibility and reducing the motion-smearing effect, researchers found. Since December 2023, the OSU and PacifiCorp team has added black paint to 28 turbines and plans to finish painting eight more this year. In a news release, Hagen said the Norwegian study used a smaller sample size and that the researchers wanted to see whether they could measure the effect on a larger variety of birds as well as bats by painting more turbines. Industry and scientists in North America felt that before this became a policy change, we should replicate, enlarge the sample size and analyze different bird species to ensure it is effective, and that there arent any negative effects, he said. CORRECTION: An earlier version of the story cited the wrong piece of legislation dedicated to studying the impacts of painting wind turbines. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Over its long history, the American labor movement has displayed a remarkably rich vocabulary for shaming those deemed traitors to its cause. Some insults, such as blackleg, are largely forgotten today. Others, such as stool pigeon, now sound more like the dated banter of film noir. A few terms still offer interesting windows into the past: Fink, for example, was used to disparage workers who informed for management; it seems to have been derived from Pinkerton, the private detective agency notorious for strikebreaking during mass actions like the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. No word, however, has burned American workers more consistently, or more wickedly, than scab. Any labor action today will inevitably lead to someone getting called a scab, an insult used to smear people who cross picket lines, break up strikes or refuse to join a union. No one is beyond the reach of this accusation: United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain called former president Donald Trump a scab in August 2024, after Trump suggested to Elon Musk that striking workers at one of Musks companies ought to be illegally fired. While working on my book Sellouts! The Story of an American Insult, I discovered that labors scabs were among the first Americans identified as sellouts for betraying their own. Reinforcing class solidarity The use of scab as an insult actually dates to Medieval Europe. Back then, scabbed or diseased skin was widely seen as the sign of a corrupt or immoral character. So, English writers started using scab as slang for a scoundrel. In the 19th century, American workers started using the word to attack peers who refused to join a union or worked when others were striking. By the 1880s, periodicals, union pamphlets and books all regularly used the epithet to chastise any workers or labor leaders who cooperated with bosses. Names of scabs were often printed in local papers. Scab likely caught on because it directed visceral disgust at anyone who put self-interest above class solidarity. Striking workers sometimes publicly shame those who have crossed a picket line. Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images Many of labors scabs clearly deserved the label. During a strike of Boston railroad workers in 1887, for instance, the union bombarded its chairman with cries of traitor and scab and selling out, because he gave in to company demands prematurely, just as the unions funds were also mysteriously depleted. The most powerful expression of this shame comes from the pen of Jack London. Best remembered today for adventure tales such as White Fang, London was also a socialist. His popular 1915 missive Ode to a Scab captures the venomous contempt many have felt about those who betray their fellow workers: After God had finished the rattlesnake, the toad, and the vampire, He had some awful substance left with which He made a scab a two-legged animal with a corkscrew soul Where others have hearts, he carries a tumor of rotten principles No man has a right to scab as long as there is a pool of water deep enough to drown his body in. In 1904, however, London had written a longer and less famous essay, The Scab. Instead of shaming scabs, this essay explains the conditions that drive some workers to betray their own. The capitalist and labor groups, London writes, are locked together in a desperate battle, with capital trying to ensure profits and labor trying to ensure a basic standard of living. A scab, he explains, takes from [his peers] food and shelter by working when they will not. He does not scab because he wants to scab, London insists, but because he cannot get work on the same terms. Rather than treat scabs as vampire-like traitors, London asks his readers to see scabbing as a moral transgression driven by competition. It is tempting to imagine society as divided into the two classes of the scabs and the non-scabs, London concludes, but in capitalisms social jungle, everybody is preying upon everybody else. Driven to scab Londons words ring with a harsh truth, and we can illustrate his point by looking at the discomforting status of Black strikebreakers in American labor history. During their heyday from the 1880s through the 1930s, major labor organizations such as the Knights of Labor and American Federation of Labor did include some Black workers and at times preached inclusion. These same groups, however, also tolerated openly racist behavior by local branches. Scab an insult thats short, visceral and searing caught on in the 19th century. PhotoQuest/Getty Images Historian Philip S. Foner tells the story of Robert Rhodes, a union bricklayer in Indiana whose white union brothers refused to work with him. The Bricklayers and Masons International Union of America did have a fine of US$100 for such discriminatory practices, but Rhodes was stymied in efforts to get any money, and his racist co-workers punished him for trying. He ended up being accused of scabbing by the union, and, in a brutal irony, fined. Rhodes quit and changed his career. Civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois once noted that among the major working-class trades in America only longshoremen and miners welcomed Black workers. In most fields, they had to try to join unions that were often implicitly if not explicitly segregated. To find work as masons, carpenters, coopers or any other skilled trades dominated by unions that would often discriminate based on race Black laborers often had to work under conditions that others would not tolerate: offering their services outside the union, or taking over work the union had done while its members were striking. In short, they had to scab. Class and race collide It shouldnt be hard to see the competing moral claims here. Black workers who had struggled with racial discrimination claimed an equal right to work, even if this meant disrupting a strike. Unions saw this as a violation of working-class solidarity, even as they overlooked discrimination within their ranks. Managers and corporations, meanwhile, exploited this racial friction to weaken the labor movement. With tensions high, brawls often broke out between Black strikebreakers and white strikers. An account of the 1904 Chicago miners strike noted, some one in the crowd yelled scab, and instantly a rush was made for the negroes, who fought back the mob with knives and pistols before city police intervened. As this ugly pattern repeated itself, a stigma began to cling to Black workers. White laborers and their representatives, including American Federation of Labor founder Samuel Gompers, often called Black people a scab race. Booker T. Washington urged unions to admit Black workers as a way to alleviate racial tensions. Universal History Archive/Getty Images In reality, Black workers were just a small percentage of strikebreakers. Most often, strikebreakers were white immigrants, who, like their Black counterparts, could face discrimination by unions. Black Americans also had a long history of labor activism, struggling for union membership, improved working conditions and better wages in cities such as New Orleans and Birmingham. In his 1913 essay The Negro and the Labor Unions, educator Booker T. Washington urged unions to end their discriminatory practices, which forced Black Americans into becoming a race of strike-breakers. Nonetheless, this racial stigma persisted. Horrendous racial violence in the Red Summer of 1919 followed close on the heels of the Great Steel Strike, during which nonunion Black workers had been called in to keep steel production humming along. Preventing fissures among workers While terms like scab and sellout have often been used to reinforce labor unity, these same terms have also worsened divisions within the movement. Its too reductive, then, to simply shame scabs as sellouts. Its important to understand why people might be motivated to weather scorn, rejection and even violence from their peers and to take steps toward removing that motive. In 2024, Canadas Parliament passed landmark anti-scab legislation, which prohibits 20,000 employers from bringing in replacement workers during a strike. This law will not only force companies to listen to their workers needs during a time of crisis, it will also create fewer divisions within the labor movement and fewer opportunities for any worker to become a scab. Ian Afflerbach 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. AUSTIN (KXAN) The Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network (TMMSN), a nonprofit dedicated to marine mammal conservation, said it recently helped rescue an orphaned dolphin seen swimming alone in a lake on the Texas coast. TMMSN said the young female dolphin was found land-locked in Power Lake which is located on Matagorda Island, near San Antonio Bay. Young dolphin rescued with help of multiple agencies (TMMSN photo) Young dolphin rescued with help of multiple agencies (TMMSN photo) Young dolphin rescued with help of multiple agencies (TMMSN photo) The dolphin, initially observed with her presumed mother about two weeks ago, was discovered alone after the mother was found deceased on the shore, the organization said. The rescue was a collaborative effort between TMMSN, SeaWorld San Antonio, Texas Parks and Wildlife, NOAA Fisheries Service, as well as local partners. The rescue mission, which required four boats, knowledge and resources from the locals, and experienced teams traveling from Galveston and San Antonio, was a significant logistical effort, TMMSN said. After the successful rescue mission, the dolphin was taken to SeaWorld San Antonio to be cared for. Its unclear how this dolphin or her mother ended up in the lake, but TMMSN said dolphins may be found in unusual habitats following storms, heavy rain or flooding. Anyone who sees dolphins in unusual areas was asked to report them to the nearest marine mammal stranding responders. In Texas, call 1-800-962-6625, and throughout the Southeast U.S., call 1-877-942-5343. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Preying upon the most vulnerable: Michigan mom pays $17K for a used SUV only to learn it needs $13K in repairs When Moise Nshizirungu's mother needed a car, the teenager went along with her to help translate. After test-driving a Nissan Rogue at Lee Auto Export in Wyoming, she bought the SUV for $17,000 and agreed to pay the dealership $500 a month. But as Nshizirungu told Target 8, it was only once the paperwork had been signed that Lee Auto Export shared that the SUVs title was actually a rebuilt salvage title. Don't miss Essentially, the dealership purchased a car with significant damage, repaired it, and had it inspected to ensure it was safe to drive. All was well until a few months later when the SUV received minor damage from a collision with a deer. As the Nshizirungus who settled in Michigan after fleeing conflict in Congo found, rebuilt vehicles come with a whole host of problems. Repairs to cost thousands When the Nshizirungus took the Rogue to a mechanic, it was discovered that the car had been in a major accident before they purchased it. Getting it repaired would cost them $13,000. Its not rebuilt correctly, Kado A. Kado, owner of Rapid Auto Repair and Colliso, told Target 8. There are screws that arent supposed to be here, just to hold the parts together. As you can see, theres exposed metal here. Theres rust. So, this should have been replaced. You can kind of cover all of this up with just putting a bumper on. In this case, thats what they [Lee Auto Export] did. Kado estimated the Rogue's current value at around $10,000, far below the $17,000 purchase price. The family reached out to Steve Beukema, who volunteers his time working with refugee families. And it was Beukema who brought their story to Target 8. This family struggles financially day by day, Beukema told Target 8. (They) came from very, very difficult circumstances, living in refugee camps. I am so outraged that a business is allowed to continue using a model of preying upon the most vulnerable among us. Read more: 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 How did this happen? When Moise Nshizirungu's mother purchased the SUV, she signed a document indicating the purchase was as-is. Buying a vehicle as-is means the buyer agrees to purchase it in its current condition, with no warranties or guarantees from the seller. Story continues It also means the seller isnt responsible for any repairs, damages, or defects after the sale is complete. This meant the Nshizirungus had no recourse when the car ended up being worth far less than the purchase price and needed significant repairs. In Michigan, salvage titles must be approved by a person licensed in mechanical repair and pass an independent inspection before being returned to the road. (The laws are similar in Wyoming, where the Nshizirungus bought their SUV.) Target 8 News reported that Molly Pham, the longtime office manager at Lee Auto Export, was the approver. This means the vehicle was both repaired and approved by the same company. How to safeguard yourself when buying a used car Nshizirungu and his mothers experience offers an important lesson for car buyers. Consumers should generally avoid purchasing cars "as-is" and instead opt for cars that offer a warranty. Repaired or used cars from many dealerships offer a warranty period of at least three months, which covers repair costs during that time. While a warranty may cost extra, they ensure your purchase is protected. Pulling a car report from companies like CarFax can provide important information about the vehicle, including accident damage reports, title problems, and odometer readings. Had Nshizirungus mother known to pull a CarFax report, she would have seen the SUV had been in an accident and could have made a more informed choice about her purchase. Finally, consider having the car inspected by an independent mechanic before finalizing a purchase. Paying an independent mechanic to inspect the car ensures you get an unbiased opinion about the vehicles current value and hopefully help you avoid any nasty surprises down the road. What to read next This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. Overland Park police officer resigns after being charged with battery against a child An Overland Park police officer resigned last week after being charged in Johnson County District Court with hurting a child. Adam M. Vendetti, 48, was charged with battery, a misdemeanor. According to the criminal complaint, Vendetti was charged July 31. The complaint lists two juveniles as witnesses as well as Childrens Mercy personnel and the Kansas Department for Children and Families. Vendetti was an officer with the Overland Park Police Department from July 15, 2015, until he resigned on Aug. 12, city spokeswoman Meg Ralph said. He pleaded not guilty the next day. His attorney Joshua Brunkhorst said he and Vendetti had no comment on the criminal case or his employment. (WKBN) The Ohio State Highway Patrol along with other local law enforcement will host multiple OVI checkpoints in the Valley this weekend. The Mahoning County OVI Task Force will host two OVI checkpoints this weekend: one Friday and the other Saturday. The specific times and locations have yet to be announced. Officers will be conducting a roadside check of drivers for alcohol and drug impairment. Saturation patrols will also be conducted throughout the weekend. A checkpoint will also be held in Trumbull County Saturday evening, with the exact time and location to be announced earlier in the day. Based on provisional data, there were 379 OVI-related fatal crashes in which 405 people were killed last year in Ohio, said Lt. D. W. Morrison, commander of the OSHP Warren post. State troopers make an average 25,000 OVI arrests each year in an attempt to combat these dangerous drivers. OVI checkpoints are designed to not only deter impaired driving but to proactively remove these dangerous drivers from our roadways. The OVI checkpoints are funded by federal grant funds. Check back here for updates on checkpoint times and locations. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HENDERSON, Ky (WEHT) An Owensboro man is facing numerous charges following a search warrant Thursday morning. Kentucky State Police state troopers executed the warrant in the 300 block of Maple Street at around 9:30 a.m. where they took Jamal Huggins, 36, into custody. KSP says troopers found suspected meth, counterfeit Percocet pills believed to be fentanyl, synthetic marijuana, marijuana, ammunition, scales and various forms of drug paraphernalia. Huggins is facing charges such as Trafficking in Controlled Substance, Trafficking in Synthetic Drugs, Possession of Marijuana and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Huggins is currently being held in the Daviess County Detention Center. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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). Pa. man traveled to Ohio to have sex with teen: Court AKRON, Ohio A man who investigators say drove from eastern Pennsylvania to Wooster to have sex with a teen pleaded guilty last week in federal court. Read next: Man arrested in sex sting accused of trying to give money, Wendys french fries for sex acts: Report Soumya Rudra, 41, of Whitehall, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to traveling across state lines to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor and to possession of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM), also referred to as child pornography. The complaint against Rudra was filed in December 2023 after the mother of the 14-year-old victim contacted the Wayne County Sheriffs Office on Nov. 23 when she discovered that her daughters cellphone was pinging to a motel in Wooster. The mother told investigators that a man in a white car picked her daughter up. When police got to the motel, they located Rudra, who was arrested at the scene, and his cell phone and tablet were confiscated. Investigators said the victim and Rudra met on the dating app Kiss Kiss and continued their communications over several months on Snapchat before making arrangements to meet. Investigators also discovered child sexual abuse materials involving other minors on his electronic devices which were recovered at the hotel room. Sentencing for Rudra is set for Dec. 11. He faces up to 30 years in prison. To report child exploitation, please visit cybertipline.org, or call 1-800-843-5678, 24 hours a day, 7 days a 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 WKBN.com. Currently, nearly 26,000 West Virginia kids cant access child care because of gaps in availability. (Getty Images) Im an Alaskan now. It feels strange to write, but its true. I relocated to Fairbanks over the summer. Whenever you read this, Im four hours behind you in Alaskan Standard Time, where its probably colder with longer nights and occasional northern lights. So, this is my last commentary. West Virginians have always had good people looking out for their communitys kids, so I know others will step up as my organization closes. However, keeping an eye on whats happening as some of the states crises unfold can be a tricky business, as our state government often obfuscates, and local media continues to shrink. Its no secret that the governors office and state systems are coordinating efforts to sweep many of the major issues affecting kids health and well-being under the rug and shoot the messengers trying to report them. At this point, it feels a lot like gaslighting. Weve earned the right to our Appalachian skepticism under this administration. So heres the big stuff to follow with a keen eye and, when needed, swift action. Child welfare: NBC News called this sweeping class-action lawsuit a legal reckoning, and unless attorneys for the Department of Human Services (DoHS) can stop it, the trial is slated to begin in November. Its been a long time coming. It was filed in September 2019. Sure, DoHS is taking some significant steps to improve the child welfare system. But have they done enough? Do these kids who have aged out of the foster care system deserve compensation? And will this trial force the state to be more transparent and accountable to the public so we can ensure vulnerable kids arent being re-traumatized by an inept, often callous system? This case is a long time coming and a potential watershed moment for our most vulnerable kids. Also, the investigation into Kyneddi Millers death is ongoing, and so are discussions about reforming child protective services and homeschooling policies. While theres a good chance that the legislature will take on these issues during session, what remains in limbo is discussions about what the public has the right to know when one of its children dies of unnatural causes. Thats an important policy issue, and I hope a lawmaker has the courage and tenacity to take it on. Child care: This has been a slow-motion train wreck. Currently, nearly 26,000 West Virginia kids cant access child care because of gaps in availability. And now, theres a looming funding cliff that could lead to more providers doors and forcing more kids out of care. Melissa Colagrosso, director for A Place to Grow, shared with reporters that more than 60 child care providers have already closed across the state since January 2024, because the current funding formula isnt sustainable. Since spring, there have been many calls for a special session to address the crisis, but none has been convened. Representatives from DoHS told the legislature in April that the funding would end in August. But then, Cabinet Secretary Persily told WVNews last week that the state has funding through December. So, which is it? Its a message clearly not conveyed to child care providers. This can-kicking has run out of road. This isnt just a lack of communication; its cruel and irresponsible. Keep an eye out for this issue in the coming months, as the money dries up with no plan in place. These providers may need your help. Public schools: Schools are the canaries in the coal mine, signaling the coming of our worst societal challenges. And right now, our schools are struggling. With a declining state population, schools are losing students, leading to reduced funding for school districts. This is because the school aid formula is primarily based on enrollment. In some counties, the situation is further exacerbated by the inability to secure enough votes to pass education levies or bonds. Counties like Marion are losing students to homeschooling. Their personnel total is well beyond what the state aid formula provides. Additionally, COVID-19 pandemic funding provided financial relief to West Virginia schools, but this funding is set to expire at the end of September. Around 1,500 public school positions are supported through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Act. Aside from funding, chronic absenteeism is a big problem. So are adverse behaviors. Behavior issues are so bad that legislation almost passed this year to make it easier to suspend and expel elementary school students into alternative learning programs, which is a real problem when several county school systems dont even have these programs. Wheres the money going to come from to create these programs? Our most rural schools, especially those most affected by the drug epidemic, face the biggest struggles. I dont know how much longer it can go on before a family needing services that are federally required but not provided takes legal action that results in the re-examination of the Recht Decision. So, if public education is important to you, tune in. Each year, the West Virginia Department of Education takes a snapshot of data on Oct. 1. Keep an eye out for it for updated enrollment numbers. And you can now stream county board of education meetings. Thats all from me for now. Stay skeptical and support your communitys kids and the people who care for them. Youre all in for a real roller coaster ride over the next several months. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX My partner and I spend about $100 a week at Trader Joe's. Here are 12 things we love to buy and how we use them. My partner and I spend about $100 a week at Trader Joe's. Here are 12 things we love to buy and how we use them. My boyfriend and I typically spend about $100 a week on groceries, and we love Trader Joe's. We always have a bag of frozen berries, a bunch of bananas, and a can of beans on hand. Trader Joe's tinned trout, corn salsa, and seedy crackers make snack time a little fancier. My boyfriend and I usually spend between $80 and $120 on groceries every week, and Trader Joe's has quickly become one of our favorite places to shop. The store has locations in 42 US states plus Washington, DC, so whether we're at home in Vermont or road-tripping across the country, it's pretty easy to pick up our favorite products. Although we buy most of our meat and produce from local businesses, here are the items from Trader Joe's we love right now and how we use them throughout the week. Little Leaf Farms is my go-to when I don't have time to stop at the farmers market. The Little Leaf Farms baby crispy green lettuce is so good. Anna Van Dine We generally buy local produce, but I'll grab a $3 box of Little Leaf Farm baby crispy green lettuce at Trader Joe's. I don't know what makes it so good, but I could munch on it plain. It's great for side salads with dinner or on sandwiches, and it's pesticide-free, which we appreciate. What's a trip to the grocery store without grabbing a bunch of bananas? Bananas are such a versatile fruit. Anna Van Dine We put bananas on peanut-butter toast, eat them as a snack, or use them in smoothies throughout the week. They cost $0.23 each, so our bunch of seven came to $1.61. Trader Joe's also has organic bananas for $0.29 each. Buunni coffee is almost as good as a local roaster. Our Trader Joe's stocks Buunni Coffee. Anna Van Dine We're the kind of coffee snobs who buy locally roasted beans. But the bag of Buunni whole, medium-roast Ethiopian beans Trader Joe's sells is surprisingly good. We often alternate between our more expensive beans and the $10, 12-ounce pack. We usually have at least one bag of frozen blueberries on hand. Frozen blueberries are more convenient for us. Anna Van Dine We pretty much always grab a $3 bag of frozen organic blueberries at Trader Joe's. Since we use blueberries frequently in smoothies, overnight oats, and pancakes, it's more affordable for us to buy them frozen. Frozen teriyaki chicken gets dinner on the table on busy nights. Trader Joe's barbecue-teriyaki chicken is delicious. Anna Van Dine Between our two schedules, we don't always have time to cook dinner. Trader Joe's $6 frozen teriyaki chicken has saved us on many a stressful weeknight. It takes just a few minutes to cook from frozen, and we serve it over rice. If we're feeling virtuous, we'll add broccoli to the mix. Tikka masala simmer sauce is great for a quick, flavorful meal. Trader Joe's tikka masala simmer sauce is as good as advertised. Anna Van Dine I bought Trader Joe's tikka masala simmer sauce for the first time after I eavesdropped on two women in a Connecticut store talking about how much they liked it. It turns out they were onto something. At $2.30 a pack, it's great for nights when we want Indian takeout but can't justify the cost. I cook a pound of chicken breast or veggies with the sauce and serve everything with basmati rice. Beans are a pantry staple. Black beans and chickpeas are our favorites. Anna Van Dine Beans are a great (and easy) source of fiber and protein. They're a pretty good deal at Trader Joe's for about $0.89 per can. I typically buy black beans for burritos or rice and beans and chickpeas for curry or salads. I like my salsa to have a bit of a kick. Trader Joe's corn salsa is a hit in my house. Anna Van Dine A serving of Trader Joe's corn and chile tomato-less salsa has a bit of sugar and a slight kick, making for a great flavor combo. A $3.50 jar lasts us a while, and we love to use it on rice and beans or burritos. Our fancy pantry staple is farm-raised hardwood-smoked trout fillets. Trader Joe's tinned fish feels classy. Anna Van Dine We always have a can or two of smoked trout fillets in the pantry. It's great for picnics, snacks, or lunch salads. There's something classy about eating a can of smoked trout, which adds to the appeal. But it's only $4.50, so we don't have to splurge that much. Trader Joe's organic seedy crackers are just as good as name-brand offerings. Trader Joe's seedy crackers have brown rice, quinoa, flax, and sesame seeds. Anna Van Dine We love the seeded crackers from Mary's Gone Crackers, but a box can cost up to $6 at the other grocery stores in our area. Luckily, Trader Joe's has similar seedy crackers for $4 a box. They are an excellent vessel for smoked trout, hummus, or mild cheese. I'll never stop buying Ezekiel bread. Food for Life's Ezekiel loaf is typically categorized as "health" bread. Anna Van Dine Food for Life's Ezekiel bread is delicious toasted and topped with peanut butter and honey, and I like that it freezes super well. At $5 a loaf, Trader Joe's has the best price I've seen for the brand. Hold the Cone is our go-to summer treat. I'm a fan of Trader Joe's chocolate-chip Hold the Cone treats. Anna Van Dine One of our favorite treats at Trader Joe's is the Hold the Cone ice-cream cones. They're a perfect mini dessert, especially at the end of a long summer day, and a box of eight only costs $4. Click to keep reading Trader Joe's diaries like this one. Read the original article on Business Insider GULFPORT, Miss. (WJTV) A Pass Christian woman pled guilty to production of child pornography. According to court documents, Sarah Jane Bennett, 43, was identified by law enforcement as an individual in lawful custody of a minor child who was using the child to produce visual depictions of the minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Two men sentenced for child exploitation charges in Mississippi Investigators said Bennetts cell phone contained multiple videos and images of child sexual abuse material involving the minor child. Bennett is scheduled to be sentenced on December 10, 2024, in Gulfport, and faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case, with assistance from the Mississippi Attorney Generals Office Cyber Crimes Division, the Gulfport Police Department, and the Biloxi Police Department. 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. Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren, along with several other Indigenous elected leaders, endorse Vice President Kamala Harris. Nygren at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. (Photo by Pauly Denetclaw / ICT) CHICAGO Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren had just gotten done with a media interview in the buzzing hallway outside the Native American Caucus meeting. He was wearing his unmistakable flat brim hat, a feather tucked in the band on the right side, and a turquoise necklace. I think as a delegate, I have to endorse VP Harris, so its an honor to be a delegate, Nygren said with a smile. Its an honor to see her as the next president of the United States.2024 Several former, and present Indigenous elected officials representing local, state, federal and tribal governments endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris during the Democratic National Convention held in Chicago. Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation Chairman Rodney Butler is a member of the Treasury Tribal Advisory Committee, as well as several other Native American organizations. Butler believes that another Trump presidency would negatively impact the progress made for Indigenous nations under the Biden administration. People are talking like theres a choice, and there really is no choice, Butler told ICT. Its a question of whats right for Indian Country, and just looking back on the last four years of what this administration has done, as generational impact, and to think that thats up for debate. I had to be here to make our voices heard and support Kamala (Harris) and Governor Walz. Gila River Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis welcomed Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff to his nations land in 2023. Harris heard directly from his community, located just outside what is now known as Phoenix, and this engagement made a difference for him. They met with tribal veterans. They met with our tribal youth, Lewis said. They talked about how important it is for partnership, for respect of the tribal trust responsibility, and tribal sovereignty. That spoke so directly and so strongly to all those that were there on the Gila River Indian community to our elders, to our youth. Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids, Ho-Chunk, is concerned about the outcome of this years presidential election. We have to beat Donald Trump, Davids told ICT. Ive been working really hard, of course, to keep my seat, and make sure that were doing everything we can to win the House majority. The Democratic Party has a majority in the U.S. Senate but not in the U.S. House, which has become a hurdle for Bidens administration to overcome when it comes to passing legislation. Davids hopes that a Harris presidency would build upon the work already done by the Biden administration. I think one of the most effective ways that we can ensure that Native people, and tribal governments, and tribal communities have a voice at the table is to participate as much as we can in this election, she said. I want to make sure that we not only defeat Donald Trump, but that we also keep the issues that affect Indian Country at the forefront. Gila River Governor Stephen Roe Lewis is among a number of Indigenous elected leaders who have endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris during the Democratic National Convention on August 19, 2024 in Chicago. (Photo by Pauly Denetclaw / ICT) Arizonas Pima County recorder, Gabriella Cazares-Kelly, Tohono Oodham, is part of the Indigenous elected officials who have endorsed Kamala Harris during the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. (Photo by Pauly Denetclaw / ICT) Former North Dakota State Rep. Ruth Buffalo, Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, has followed along as Harris knowledge on Indigenous nations has grown and changed over the last decade. I believe she is a strong leader. Ive watched her progress over the years in terms of working more with tribes and tribal sovereignty, Buffalo said. I know that when people visit communities, and build meaningful relationships, then their knowledge bandwidth grows too. Another plus for Buffalo is that Harris has a history of prosecuting violent crimes against women and girls. Just being born into a unique political relationship, and status with the federal government, we have to find ways to have advocates, and champions that can help carry our message forward, so that we can address the long standing issues like missing and murdered, Buffalo said. Current North Dakota State Rep. Lisa Finley-DeVille, Mandan and Hidatsa, was a big supporter of President Joe Biden and his reelection campaign. Biden is actually the one that I supported, because hes done so much for where Im from, on the environment, and all the policies that we have been fighting for, for the past 15 years, because we live with oil and gas, Finley-Deville said. He has done tremendous things for us. Biden took a major step back and his presence at the convention has been minimized. There hasnt been much talk about Biden beyond messaging of passing the torch to Harris and appreciation for stepping down as the Democratic presidential candidate. Finley-DeVille hopes that Harris continues to learn about the hundreds of treaties signed between the federal government and tribal nations that predate the creation of the United States. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris saying she understands what it means to struggle on Wednesday Aug. 21, 2024 at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. (Photo by Pauly Denetclaw / ICT) North Dakota State Rep. Lisa Finley-DeVille attended the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. (Photo by Pauly Denetclaw / ICT) Former Alaska state Rep. Charles Degnan, one of the many who pushed Congress to pass the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, believes that Democratic politicians have historically cared more about small, rural communities. Degnan is from Unalakleet, Alaska located in the western part of the state on the coast of the Bering Sea that is only accessible by plane. Its home to 765 people, 637 of whom are American Indian and Alaska Native, according to the U.S. Census. Hes supporting Harris-Walz with the hope that their administration will address issues that rural Alaska communities face. Climate change is really important to us. Were right there, and its changing the whole state of Alaska, and it has a big impact, Degnan said. Small communities need infrastructure. New houses havent built because everything is so expensive. The Post Office keeps raising rates, and the only way we get mail in small communities is by air. So it really has a big impact. Democratic U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, who represents the entire state of Alaska, has yet to endorse Harris, or any political candidate. Alaska just had their primary election Aug. 20 and Peltola will be on the November ballot. On Wednesday, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Laguna Pueblo, addressed the Native American Caucus and spoke highly of Harris. Kamala Harris will be amazing. Its pretty awesome to think about electing the first woman president, Haaland said. But thats not all she is. She understands what struggle means. Nothing was given to her on the silver platter. She had to work while she was in college. She had to take care of a sick parent. She was raised by a single mom like my child was. She understands. Harris accepted the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday night. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Paterson will move popular principal elsewhere, despite unhappy parents and teachers PATERSON Teachers and other employees at School 5 expressed concerns during Wednesday nights Board of Education meeting that the reassignment of their principal will undermine improvements made in student test scores. District officials are moving Principal Jorge Ventura from School 5, which has about 800 children in grades K through five, to Taub middle school, which has about 970 students. As part of the switch, Taub Principal Rebecca Cecala is going to School 5. Venturas works at School 5 helped it get removed recently from the state Education Departments list of low-performing New Jersey schools, the vice principal, Tiffany McBride, said during Wednesdays meeting. Story continues below photo gallery. State reports show that School 5 students language arts scores jumped by more than 13 percentage points in 2023, and its math scores by almost 7 percentage points. School 5 is moving the needle in the right direction, McBride said. Just imagine how much more academic growth we will see if Dr. Ventura remained principal of School 5. McBride was among about 10 staff members from School 5 who expressed their displeasure over Venturas transfer, part of a package of principal reassignments in Paterson that have faced opposition. District has dropped some principal transfers after criticism In some cases, such at Roberto Clemente School and School 15, district officials have dropped principal transfer plans in the face of criticism. The transfer of Ventura was not among the first wave of changes that officials announced at the end of July. Venturas reassignment was among those added to the list in mid-August. Dr. Jorge Ventura, principal of Paterson Public School No. 5, outside the school on September 22, 2022. "I can confirm that the principal reassignments will move forward as planned, said Superintendent Laurie Newell. For the upcoming academic year, Rebecca Cecala will be the principal of School No. 5, and Jorge Ventura will be the principal of the Joseph A. Taub school. "We believe these reassignments align with our district's strategic goals and will support the continued success and growth of our students and staff," Newell said. Kenneth Simmons, the school board vice president, acknowledged that Ventura had been successful in making improvements at School 5. Simmons said he hopes Ventura will be able to continue that success at Taub school. School board member Victoria Freeman said people need to look at the big picture involving the personnel changes. Regardless, wherever a principal is placed, wherever a teacher is placed, the ultimate and the only goal should be whats better for the children, Freeman said. Several School 5 teachers said Ventura had been particularly effective in dealing with its large number of English as a second language students. One of the teachers, Jehad Hazin, said Venturas ability to speak Spanish with those students and parents created a bond that helped the children succeed. This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ will move popular School 5 principal despite upset PATERSON, N.J. (PIX11) A police officer with the Paterson Police Department is accused of shoplifting while working an overtime shift, officials said. Jeury DeJesus-Rodriguez, 25, was providing security for the Marshalls in Paterson, according to officials. DeJesus-Rodriguez allegedly took several items of clothing to an employee bathroom, where he removed the price tags and packaging and left the store without paying, officials said. More New Jersey News The retail value of the stolen items was $66.97, according to the Passaic County Prosecutors Office. Prosecutors said DeJesus-Rodriguez was charged on Thursday with official misconduct in the third degree and shoplifting. Additional information on when DeJesus-Rodriguez was working the overtime shift was not immediately available. Jonathan Rizk is a digital journalist who has covered local news in New York City and Washington, D.C. He has been with PIX11 since August 2022. See more of his work here, and follow him on X and Facebook @OfficialRizk. Get in touch at jonathan.rizk@pix11.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 PIX11. Pedestrian hospitalized after being struck by car in Stoughton, police say A pedestrian was rushed to the hospital Thursday night after they were hit by a car. Officers responding to Central Street between Turnpike and Lincoln Street around 6:14 p.m. for a report of a pedestrian crash found a person lying in the roadway, according to Stoughton Police. The pedestrian was transported to a Boston hospital for treatment. Their condition is unknown at this time. Central Street between Turnpike and Lincoln Street remains closed to traffic while authorities investigate. Police did not say if the motor vehicle involved remained at the scene or if the driver will face any charges. No further information was immediately 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 Pedestrian killed after being run over near Denver fast food drive-thru DENVER (KDVR) Denver police are seeking information in a deadly hit-and-run where the victim was found in a fast food drive-thru. On Aug. 14, during what police only called the early morning hours, a pedestrian was found in a Wendys drive-thru in the 800 block of East Colfax Avenue, according to police. The Wendys is next to Fillmore Auditorium, a popular concert hall. This embedded content is not available in your region. Officers said the pedestrian suffered serious injuries after reportedly being run over by a vehicle. He was taken to a local hospital and later pronounced dead. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox The driver did not remain on scene or contact police after the crash. Now, police are looking for any information that might help identify them. Anyone with information on the hit-and-run or anyone who may have witnessed it is asked to call the Denver Metro Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Tipsters can remain anonymous and be eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000. 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 FOX31 Denver. ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) A Pensacola man received his sentence Thursday for grand theft over $20,000. Honorable Judge John F. Simon Jr. sentenced Damien Matthew Lopez to 25 years in state prison as a habitual felony offender. Damien Matthew Lopez. (Escambia County Jail view) Baker High School vandalized before football game with Theodore Simon also presided on Lopezs trial on June 27, in which the jury found Lopez guilty as charged. When Lopez was sentenced, the state argued he demonstrated an inability to live in society without violating the law, according to a news release from State Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden. Simon noted Lopezs extensive criminal record of 53 previous convictions including 32 felonies. According to Bowden Maddens news release, Lopezs sentence stems from a March 2023 incident in which he took a trailer and tools from Select ICF, which is a concrete business in Escambia County, Florida. 1 arrested after Charleston Apartment Homes homicide; victim identified Video surveillance captured Lopez at a Tom Thumb Gas Station pulling the trailer on March 16. The Escambia County Sheriffs Office Property Crimes Unit located the trailer on March 21, executed a search warrant that day, and recovered some of the missing tools. Lopez was then arrested and booked into the Escambia County Jail. Assistant State Attorney Robert Little prosecuted the case on behalf of Bowden Madden, State Attorney for the First Judicial Court of Florida. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Rachel Reeves announced in July that the winter fuel allowance would only be paid to retirees on pension credit - Joe Giddens/PA Archive Labours decision to scrap winter fuel payments means millions of pensioners will face their worst winter on record following changes to the price cap, figures show. Charities have warned that pensioners bills will jump by almost 500 compared to last year while younger households bills fall. Energy regulator Ofgem announced today that the price cap would rise by 10pc, meaning a typical household energy bill will increase to 1,717 a year starting in October up from 1,568 in July. For most households, this represents a fall of 6pc compared to last year, but Rachel Reevess decision to scrap winter fuel payments means 10 million pensioners bills will jump by 39pc, equivalent to 483 a year. The previously universal winter fuel allowance shaved 200 a year off most pensioners energy bills, while those over 80 received 300. Coupled with the additional cost of living support linked to the winter fuel allowance, the typical energy bill for an elderly household was 1,234 last winter, compared to 1,834 for other households. Analysis by the End Fuel Poverty Coalition charity shows the removal of winter fuel payments means that pensioners energy bills have soared by 131pc since the start of the energy crisis, equivalent to 975 a year. Meanwhile, younger households bills have risen by 65pc, or 675 a year, over the same period. Simon Francis, of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, said: The stark truth of the matter is that this winter will be the worst on record for pensioners energy bills. The Government needs to come up with a plan to prevent even more households from entering fuel poverty this winter and fast. The Chancellor needs to realise that there is plenty of money in the energy system to help everyone. Every month we hear about more massive profits for firms in the energy industry. Its time to tax these firms fairly not just the fossil fuel producers and use the money to keep people warm now and in the long term. Rachel Reeves announced in July that the winter fuel allowance, which was previously paid to all pensioners in England and Wales, would instead only be paid to retirees on pension credit, or similar benefits. She said the previous government had left a 22bn black hole in the public purse, and claimed cutting back on winter fuel payments would save the Treasury 1.4bn a year. Click here to view this content. The Chancellors announcement was met with an immediate backlash from charities, MPs and pensioners. Last week, the Scottish government confirmed plans to implement the same changes, claiming it had no choice following Ms Reevess decision. The Pension Age Winter Heating Payment, as it is known in Scotland, will instead be means-tested, social justice secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said. Roughly 880,000 people entitled to pension credit do not claim the benefit, according to official figures. Baroness Ros Altmann, Tory peer and leading pensions expert, previously told The Telegraph that governments have struggled to encourage pensioners to claim benefits as that particular cohort doesnt like the concept of handouts. But experts have nonetheless warned that Labours estimated savings could be wiped out if the changes to winter fuel payments prompt retirees to claim benefits for which they are eligible. Former pensions minister, Sir Steve Webb, estimated that a benefits rush triggered by a surge in pension credit claimants could cost the taxpayer 490m. Analysts Policy in Practice claim that up to 3.8bn worth of support linked to pension credit goes unclaimed every year. The Department for Work and Pensions is said to be struggling with a surge in calls to the pension credit helpline, with applicants facing delays of up to nine-week delays. Pensioners will be allowed to backdate claims until December as part of a government drive to encourage uptake, but charities have warned that some may not receive the cash until after the first cold spell of winter has hit. A DWP spokesman said: We urge anyone who thinks they may be entitled to pension credit to check. We said we would be honest with the public and, given the dire state of the public finances we have inherited, this Government must take difficult decisions to fix the foundations of the economy. This includes reforming winter fuel payments so they are targeted at those most in need and leaving no stone unturned to encourage eligible pensioners to take up pension credit. 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 and ambulances stand near the scene, where people were killed and injured in an attack at the 650th anniversary celebrations of the city of Solingen in western Germany Gianni Gattus/dpa People were killed and injured in an attack at the 650th anniversary celebrations of the city of Solingen in western Germany, according to the police late on Friday evening. Police sources said a knife was likely involved. Armed officers are currently at the scene and have cordoned off large areas of the city and set up privacy screens. The incident took place in Fronhof, a marketplace in the city centre where a stage was set up for live music. The local Solinger Tageblatt newspaper said authorities had asked residents to leave the city centre. The festival was temporarily suspended and sirens can be heard around the city centre, and helicopters are overhead. Philipp Muller, one of the co-organisers, said on stage according to the report that paramedics are fighting to save the lives of nine people. Police and ambulances stand near the scene, where people were killed and injured in an attack at the 650th anniversary celebrations of the city of Solingen in western Germany Gianni Gattus/dpa Pet hospital coming to Olympia, bakery opens on 4th Ave., and fiber internet now available A new pet hospital called Blue Pearl is coming to west Olympia in September, the business announced Thursday. The opening here is happening in conjunction with a merger with an existing hospital, according to a news release. Blue Pearl Olympia will occupy more than 16,000 square feet at 2432 Heritage Court SW, near the Thurston County Courthouse and U.S. Highway 101. The opening of Blue Pearl Olympia will incorporate Olympia Veterinary Specialists, with the hospital set to transfer services and clients to Blue Pearls new state-of-the-art facility, the release reads. Existing Olympia Veterinary Specialists associates will also relocate to Blue Pearl Olympia. The hospital is set to open Sept. 25, according to the announcement. The hospital will be staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and will offer specialty services including surgery, oncology, radiology and neurology in addition to emergency services, the news release reads. Our new 24-hour hospital will provide pet owners in Olympia with emergency and specialty care when they need it most, and we look forward to serving the local community for many years to come, said Da Chang, chief operating officer of Blue Pearl, in a statement. More than 80 people will work at the new hospital, and the business is hiring. For more information, go to the Blue Pearl website. Blue Pearl has four other locations in the state, including in Lakewood at 2510 S. 84th St. Suite 30D. Bakery opens retail side of business Frenchies on 4th, which initially launched with wholesale operations, has now opened a retail bakery, it announced on Instagram. Thank you to everyone who came out for our opening weekend! We were SO happy to see all your faces and so many doggies. We are very grateful to be part of this wonderful community, the post reads. The bakery at 1001 Fourth Ave. E. is open 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays. The business describes itself as an artisanal handcrafted sourdough bakery. We specialize in sourdough donuts, breads, cinnamon rolls, pastries, pizza dough, coffee and much more, including gluten-free donuts. Frenchies on 4th at 1001 Fourth Ave. E. in Olympia. Daiso to open next month Daiso, the Japanese retailer of household goods, stationery, food and more, is getting closer to opening in the Fred Meyer shopping center in Lacey. In fact, the business is set to open next month, possibly as early as Sept. 7, according to information gleaned from the internet. The business also was recently hiring a store manager. The Japanese retailer Daiso is getting closer to a September opening in the Fred Meyer shopping center in Lacey. Ziply Fiber being rolled out in Olympia and Lacey Ziply Fiber which was formed in May 2020 after acquiring the assets of Frontier Communications, including its service territory in Washington is rolling out fiber-optic internet in Olympia and Lacey, the Kirkland-based business has announced. Ziply has signed franchise agreements in Olympia and Lacey and aims to bring the service to 8,200 homes, apartments and businesses, said Ryan Luckin, vice president of marketing for Ziply Fiber. We look for markets that dont already have a fiber provider, he said. Thats where we see opportunities. Fiber-optic technology offers a larger pipe of internet connectivity where users do not experience drops in service or buffering. The company is offering a range of connectivity plans, including as high as 50 gigabytes in both upload and download speeds. But one of its most popular plans is the 1 gigabyte connection. The business is currently offering that tier at $60 per month for the first 12 months, followed by an increase to $85 per month. What does the 1 gigabyte plan do for the user? Heres how the business explains it: extremely fast internet for all devices, low-latency for gaming, near instant download and upload speed, and buffer-free streaming. What would someone do on the 50-gig plan? Luckin said thats a tier probably best for a business. He gave the example of a video production business that needs to send massive video files over the internet, the kind of file that might take hours to send on standard internet, but at 50 gigs, you could refresh your coffee and it would be complete, Luckin said. For more about Ziply Fiber and whether its available in your neighborhood, go to the Ziply Fiber website. From presub to notice of application A housing development proposal that previously came before Thurston County officials for a presubmission discussion is now the Kagy preliminary plat. The project address is at 5515 and 5641 Kagy St. SE, in Laceys urban growth area. The applicant proposes to subdivide approximately 8.21 acres into 38 single-family residential lots and open space tracts for stormwater, tree preservation and community access, the county information reads. A public road system will be constructed to provide access. City of Lacey sewer and water utilities are proposed to serve each lot. ... For proposed grading there will be a total of 15,300 cubic yards of cut and fill. The road system will be connected to Kagy Street Southeast. Two existing homes will be removed from the property. Send comments about the proposal to Associate Planner Scott McCormick at scott.mccormick@co.thurston.wa.us by 4 p.m. Sept. 5. The location of the Kagy preliminary plat in Laceys urban growth area. KGY radio might go silent Saturday as move begins, west Olympia flooring biz to close Beloved Lacey biz gets its own bus stop, a Thurston farm rebrands and apartments sell for $40M Bevy of businesses opening in Lacey, including a new spot for fried chicken and custard 620 homes planned in Laceys urban growth area. Developer submits proposal to county If you know of a retailer, restaurant, coffee shop or other business that is opening, closing, expanding, remodeling, or changing its focus, send an email to reporter Rolf Boone at rboone@theolympian.com. Pete Buttigieg rose to prominence ahead of the 2020 presidential election, when he was mayor of his native South Bend, Indiana. He sought the Democratic nomination for president before dropping out and endorsing eventual victor Joe Biden. He became Biden's transportation secretary in 2021, and was in the mix to be Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate before she chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in early August. PHOTO: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg speaks during the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP) On Thursday, the fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Buttigieg sat down with ABC News Linsey Davis to talk about his experience with Harris, her engagement with the media and how Democrats in the battleground state of Michigan reacted to her candidacy. This interview happened before Harris' speech on Thursday. ABC NEWS: Secretary, thank you so much for joining us tonight. Obviously, a big night of crescendos here with Kamala Harris accepting the nomination as the Democratic president of the United States. What are you expecting to hear from her tonight? BUTTIGIEG: Well, I think she's going to lay out a vision for the future of this country. She's going to remind Americans of the difference between what the future will look like with a president like her, who is focused on all of us, versus going backwards in time to a president like Donald Trump, who is focused only on himself. I also think there's going to be enormous energy here in the hall and around the country, and I'm hoping that energy will be something that we can bottle up, because she will likely also remind us that this is an underdog campaign in many ways, that it's a race against time, that we're going to have to earn every vote and every inch of ground. And I imagine, based on how she's been reminding all of our party to think about that, that she's going to call on us to bottle up that energy, take it with us, and get the hard work done over the next 11 weeks or so. ABC NEWS: As transportation secretary, you've obviously worked with her closely over the last three and a half years. What would you be able to tell us about her leadership style? BUTTIGIEG: Well, even though, being here, I can't speak as, in the capacity of my federal job. What I can say, as I've come to know her personally, working with her and seeing her on the trail. She is smart. She is focused. I think those same attributes that made her a very effective prosecutor and a very effective vice president are going to make her a very effective president. I think back to when I had the privilege of participating in her debate preparations to get ready for debating Mike Pence, always challenging us as we were kicking around ideas and laying out statistics and proposals and ideas she might want to talk about in the debate, always challenging us to take it back to how everyday people are going to be affected by it. And that's the kind of focus that I think we really need in the White House right now, especially with everything Americans are still up against: the struggle against rising costs, the questions over what our future is going to be like. We need that kind of discipline as well as her remarkable intellect. ABC NEWS: Part of this convention has been about getting to know her as a person, not the politician. Do you have an anecdote that you might be able to share that speaks to a personal side of Kamala Harris? BUTTIGIEG: You know, one of the most moving moments that I've experienced was when Chasten [Buttigieg, his husband] and I were sworn in, to, to my current position. She did the honors. She swore us in. And just as we were about to go -- and who knows how many people she was swearing in that day, it was the middle of the early days of the administration, things were moving so quickly -- She pulled us both aside and just said "Remember the moment here and take a second to be present for this, because otherwise it'll go by very quickly." PHOTO: In this May 13, 2022 file photo, Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a meeting alongside U.S. secretary of transportation, Pete Buttigieg, at the State Department in Washington. (Yuri Gripas/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE) And I'm so glad she did. Because it allowed me to take a mental snapshot of everything that was happening in what was an enormous moment in our lives, and, and had a historic quality to it as well. And, I just think that that reflects that even in the midst of going through all kinds of official motions and going through very intense days as vice president, she wanted to engage people as humans. ABC NEWS: Something similar, we heard her share with Tim Walz last night in the video "Enjoy this moment." When you introduced yourself last night, you said "I'm Pete Buttigieg. You might recognize me from Fox News." As you know, there has been some criticism that in her now-month running for president, that she hasn't done any interviews, that she hasn't had a press conference. Do you think that that's fair criticism? BUTTIGIEG: I think she's going to engage the media a great deal. Obviously, in recent days and weeks, she's been focused on consolidating the party and preparing for the convention. But she's committed that she will have those engagements. And I think when we do, the difference that we're going to see is that in those interviews, she's actually going to tell the truth. Donald Trump tells so many lies and falsehoods in a given interview or media availability, that it's not even newsworthy anymore. And, I think, people have almost gotten used to it, inured to it, which is not healthy. I mean, the fact that he claimed he was in a helicopter crash with [former San Francisco mayor] Willie Brown, and that wasn't even something that gave most people pause, kind of tells you what we're at in terms of expectations on his side. I think when she engages with reporters more than just the individual one-off questions she's occasionally been answering on the trail and some of those other engagements that she's committed to do, that'll be the big difference. One of the candidates -- her -- will be telling the truth. ABC NEWS: Of course, you're a long-time Indiana resident but now moved to the battleground state of Michigan. Knowing the voters, hearing what is top of mind concern for them. What do you think that a Harris-Walz campaign will have to do in order to sway some of those undecided? BUTTIGIEG: Well, I think it's important for her to demonstrate the difference in economic focus. Remind Michiganders and people across the country that the only economic policy promise that Donald Trump kept was the one about cutting taxes for the rich. He didn't bother to keep other promises he made, like 6% economic growth or his promise to pass a big infrastructure bill, right? The Biden-Harris administration did that, Donald Trump failed to do that. So there's an economic message, and then there's this freedom message, that is related to economic freedoms, but also related to the fact that the only other promise that Donald Trump kept was his promise to demolish the right to choose in this country. She is, of course, a defender of a woman's right to choose. Those issues, I think, are going to activate a lot of people in Michigan. Just after she became our candidate, Chasten and I went down to the field office nearest to our home in Michigan, felt an extraordinary amount of energy and people really with those issues, among others, of course, but those issues really top of mind. ABC NEWS: Secretary Buttigieg, thank you so much for your time. Appreciate you joining us. BUTTIGIEG: Thank you. Pete Buttigieg talks about Kamala Harris' strategy for victory originally appeared on abcnews.go.com (Bloomberg) -- David Ellisons Skydance Media accused CBS parent Paramount Global of breaching the terms of their merger agreement by continuing to engage with another suitor, people familiar with the matter said, citing a letter sent by Skydance lawyers. On Wednesday, after receiving a sweetened $6 billion proposal from longtime media investor Edgar Bronfman Jr., Paramount extended a deadline to consider another offer until Sept. 5. The deadline was originally scheduled to expire that night. Skydance said Paramount didnt provide written notice of the extension of the so-called go-shop period, as required by their merger agreement, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private correspondence. The company also argues the extension isnt valid because the Bronfman proposal isnt superior to the Skydance offer, a condition of their deal. Continued conversations with Bronfman will constitute a material breach, the letter said. Skydance said it could take steps to either enforce its merger agreement or terminate it. Representatives of Bronfman and a special committee of the Paramount board declined to comment. The Wall Street Journal reported on the letter earlier Thursday. Skydance, an independent film and TV company led by technology heir Ellison, has reached an agreement to buy National Amusements, Paramounts controlling stockholder, and then combine the businesses. Bronfman has proposed a similar transaction, saying his offer is better because it results in less dilution for Paramount stockholders. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. CHICAGO (NEXSTAR) Seventy-five days out from the presidential election, Michigan is in play and its a key battleground. I think its safe to say you cannot be president of the United States if you dont win Michigan, Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., said Thursday, speaking to Nexstar from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. DNC Day 4: Kamala Harris to accept partys nomination for president A recent poll from the Cook Political Report Swing State Project showed a tight race in Michigan: Vice President Kamala Harris had a 3-point lead over former President Donald Trump, a statistical tie considering the polls margin of error of plus or minus 4.9%. (Michigan is) complex, Peters said. Were rural, were industrial; weve got a Arab American, Muslim American, very diversity community; a strong union presence. So its really representative of the country as a whole. President Joe Biden has passed the torch to Harris as Democrats presidential candidate; she was set to formally accept the nomination Thursday night. He has touted himself as a strong union president. Harris has labor backing in her home state of California and will have to mobilize the union voting bloc in Michigan to win. The authenticity of that is the most important thing: that youre really out here, you care about it, Peters said. Kamala Harris has shown that in the past and shell continue to do it. He said that when he addressed the convention earlier this week, he did it with union members by his side. Former governor on what it will take to win Michigan in November Another important demographic for Democrats in Michigan is the Arab American community, a group disillusioned by the Biden administrations handling of Israels military action in Gaza. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned stateside this week without a cease-fire established in Gaza, though the Israeli government said it would abide by one, putting onus on Hamas to get on board. Peters acknowledged the situation is incredibly complex. Israel is an important U.S. ally in the Middle East and Hamas is designated by the U.S. as a terrorist organization. But for many, what matters is the civilians in Palestine. Kamala Harris has talked in a very moving, authentic way about her concern for Palestinians that are caught in the crossfire of the war thats going on in Gaza, Peters said. We have to make every effort possible to try to minimize (civilian casualties), but its always a messy process. And the only way to move forward is to get to peace and get everybody to agree to a peace thats actually stable. The goal for many stakeholders for many years has been a two-state solution. (Harris will) certainly make every effort to broker a two-state solution, Peters said. But clearly, thats something weve been trying to do for decades. So we want to kind of approach that with a sense of reality and wide-eyed about how difficult this is. If it was easy, it wouldve been done a long time ago. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. This Phoenix museum honors Arizona firefighters, tells their story. How to visit Firefighting is a tough, dangerous job, especially in Arizona where wildfires are prevalent and deadly. Phoenix launched its first fire department in 1886 when a special bond raised $10,000 to purchase equipment and improve the water supply. In the decades after, the city worked to expand staff and upgrade equipment to effectively fight blazes around town. Arizona's firefighting history includes the Yarnell Hill Fire, which overran and killed 19 wildland firefighters with the Granite Mountain Hotshots crew on June 30, 2013. It is the deadliest wildland fire for U.S. firefighters since 1933 and the greatest loss of U.S. firefighter life since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. If you're interested in firefighter history or seeing historic fire trucks and equipment, head to the Hall of Flame Fire Museum near Papago Park in Phoenix. Here's what to know about the museum, including attractions and how to visit. What to do at the Hall of Flame Fire Museum in Phoenix Hall of Flame visitors will find displays that explain firefighting techniques and honor the sacrifices made by firefighters killed in the line of duty. There are commemorations of the Granite Mountain Hotshots (19 wildland firefighters killed fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire near Prescott in 2013) and the first responders who lost their lives after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks. The historic pieces in the collection are hands-off, but you can climb aboard a 1952 American La France model 700 fire engine that once served the Miami (Arizona) Fire Department. The kid's area is set up to be interactive for little visitors who might be a bit antsy after the look-but-dont-touch parts of the museum. In addition to the safety house, it has a play area where kids can dress up like firefighters, climb a fire pole and sit in a toy fire chiefs buggy. Hall of Flame Fire Museum When: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, closed Sundays and Mondays. Closed Easter, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Where: 6101 E. Van Buren St., Phoenix. Admission: $17, $15 for ages 6-17 and age 62 and older, $10 for ages 3-5, free for ages 3 and younger. Details: 602-275-3473, hallofflame.org. Former Arizona Republic reporter Weldon B. Johnson contributed to this article. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Hall of Flame Fire Museum in Phoenix: How to visit Click here to view this content. Hundreds of California sea lions have taken over San Carlos Beach in Monterey, California, prompting local officials to close the area to people. Caution tape has been put up, but crowds have still been drawn to the animal spectacle, taking photos of the sea lions as they rest and play on the sand and in the water. While sea lions, or eared seals, are often seen at certain beaches up and down the California coast, residents say they have never seen so many of the marine mammals gathered in Monterey. Authorities decided to temporarily close the beach - Reuters Lisa Uttal, a marine biologist with the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, said it was unclear exactly why the sea lions chose San Carlos Beach, but they may be attracted to the rich diversity in the ecosystems food supply. Virtually all those gathered on the beach were male, she said. Locals are shocked by the number of sea lions - Reuters They migrate up here down from Ventura and the Channel Islands ... They are incredibly mobile. Theyre usually chasing the food and because Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is so productive out here, the productivity is really rich, Ms Uttal said. They were expected to remain on San Carlos Beach for three to four weeks, Ms Uttal said. The sea lions could stay on the beach for weeks - Reuters Marge Brigadier, a volunteer with Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuarys Bay Net program, said the sea lions were protected by the US Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. This prohibits people from changing the behaviour of the sea lions, meaning that approaching too close or forcing them to flee is a violation. People just need to think about how they would feel if they were resting on their bed taking a nap and something big kept coming and chasing them out of the house, Ms Brigadier said. 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. ROANOKE, Va. (WFXR) High pressure will remain in control of Southwest and Central Virginia, meaning the dry weather will stick around for the next few days. However, summer heat and humidity will gradually return. The area of high pressure will shift to our east on Friday, directing warm and moist south winds into the region. Morning temperatures will start in the upper 40s and 50s before reaching the upper 70s and lower 80s by the afternoon. Mostly sunny skies will be overhead. It will feel more like summer for the weekend. Each day will start with morning temperatures in the 50s and lower 60s. Afternoon temperatures will rise into the 80s under mostly to partly sunny skies. Stay cool and hydrated if youre heading to the Bedford County Fair or the Roanoke Wing Fest. Remember to sunscreen, too! Hot and muggy weather is anticipated for the upcoming week. Highs will be in the 80s and lower 90s Monday through Thursday. Morning lows will mainly be in the 60s and lower 70s. Isolated showers and thunderstorms will have the chance to develop each afternoon and evening. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFXRtv. A felon formerly from Pittsburgh was found guilty of assaulting his court-appointed attorney during a trial in 2022. James Taric Byrd was found guilty Thursday of one county of contempt of court by misbehavior that obstructs the administration of justice and one count of assault for striking his court-appointed attorney in a courtroom. Byrd was on trial on July 18, 2022. During the trial, Byrd struck his attorney in the head, according to the Department of Justice. Officials said, in part: The defendants assaultive conduct disrupted and delayed the trial proceedings and obstructed the orderly administration of justice. The Department of Justice said evidence suggested Byrd hit his attorney to prompt a mistrial and delay the jury trial proceedings. Byrd is currently serving a life sentence plus 20 years on a 2022 conviction of violating federal narcotics and firearm laws. Four months after his January 2023 sentencing of life imprisonment, Byrd was tried and found guilty by a federal jury of one count of possession of contraband in prison. He received an additional eight months in prison on that conviction. Judge Colville scheduled sentencing for Byrds contempt of court and assault conviction for Dec. 18, 2024. Byrd will remain in custody pending sentencing. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW TRENDING NOW: Shocking video shows moment good Samaritan is shot while trying to help a man 8 students, driver injured in school bus crash in Washington County Man dies after being stabbed several times in Penn Hills VIDEO: Duquesne Light crews surprise teen cancer survivor with gifts after he took an interest in their work DOWNLOAD the Channel 11 News app for breaking news alerts PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- More than a month since the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, the Secret Service has placed the head of its Pittsburgh office and multiple other agents on leave. Sources confirm that as a result of the Secret Service's investigation, the Pittsburgh special agent in charge, three others with the Pittsburgh field office and one agent with Trump's detail have been placed on leave. Thomas Crooks opened fire at a Trump rally in Butler County on July 13, killing Corey Comparatore and wounding three people, including Trump. Butler Township manager Tom Knights says he's not surprised by the move, saying it perhaps shows some sign of accountability. "I'm glad that every report that's been received has gotten the credibility necessary for the investigation," said Knights. "Certainly appreciate the factual account of everything that is being brought to light," he added. When asked if he thought there was any political pressure, Knights responded, "Oh, I'm sure there was but I still like to think that the integrity of the investigation is intact." Leslie Osche, the chair of the Butler County commissioners, isn't surprised either. "Everybody wants an answer, we all want an answer. We all want it immediate because that's who we are as people. Everybody wants to know everything today," Osche said. "I have optimism that we're taking steps to do better and that every agency at every level should be following suit," Osche said. A Secret Service spokesperson responded to the news in a statement, saying, "We are examining the processes, procedures and factors that led to this operational failure. The U.S. Secret Service holds our personnel to the highest professional standards, and any identified and substantiated violations of policy will be investigated." The news comes as U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley sent a letter to Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. saying that a whistleblower says Secret Service headquarters told agents working the Trump rally not to request additional manpower resources for the rally and warned any such requests would be denied. Rowe has testified to Congress, saying no resources were ever denied. "Certainly there should be accountability but I think it starts with the leadership," Osche said. "I think leadership at all levels should be taking accountability for this, at every level, local, state and federal." Osche said it's Secret Service's responsibility to protect "the high-risk official." "For planning for the event, the buck stops with the Secret Service," Osche said. Girl gets to keep money raised for mom's headstone after one is installed for free Justice Department alleges RealPage enabled price-fixing on rents Residents in Massachusetts towns urged to stay inside over mosquito-borne virus Placer judge needs more time to decide if Roseville dad should stand trial in his sons death A Placer Superior Court judge on Friday said he needs more time to review evidence before deciding whether a Roseville father should stand trial for murder and torture in the death of his 9-year-old adopted son. Cory Albert Blakley, 38, and Kimberly Rachel Blakley, 38, were the adoptive parents of the boy who has been identified by his family as Cyrus Blakley. The Placer County District Attorneys Office filed charges of murder, torture and child abuse against both in connection with his death in February. After testimony and evidence was presented in a three-day April preliminary hearing, Judge Jeffrey Penney ordered the Blakleys to stand trial on the murder, torture and child abuse charges, along with felony charges of dissuading witnesses. The prosecutors allege the parents told the children not to speak truthfully to investigators. The Blakleys also face misdemeanor charges of child endangerment. But Cory Blakley, through his attorney, submitted a motion asking Judge Angus Saint-Evens to overturn Pennys ruling. The father believes he shouldnt face any charges in sons death. His defense attorney, Barry Zimmerman, has argued it was his clients wife who is solely responsible for the boys death. The Blakleys were both in court Friday morning for what turned out to be a brief hearing. Saint-Evens said he needed more time to review video of evidence collected from Ring-brand cameras the Blakleys had installed in their home. The judge said he also needed more time to review court transcripts before ruling on the fathers motion to dismiss. Because of scheduling conflicts, the attorneys in the murder case asked Saint-Evens to postpone Fridays hearing to Nov. 15. Thats when the judge is expected to announce his decision. Cyrus Blakley, who is identified in court documents as CyB or CB, died of mechanical asphyxiation; he suffocated to death, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Ow argued in filed court documents opposing the fathers motion for dismissal. Cyrus Blakley is seen in an undated family photo. The 9-year-old died Feb. 5, three days after firefighters responded to the familys home in Roseville. His adoptive parents, Kimberly and Cory Blakley face multiple charges in the boys death. Prosecutors allege that the mother sat on her adopted 9-year-old son and beat him continuously for about 40 minutes as the boys father did nothing to stop it. The defense attorney argued that prosecutors suggesting that the childs death wouldnt have happened had Cory Blakley intervened is pure speculation. Kimberlys actions are the proximate cause of the childs death, Zimmerman wrote in his filed motion asking for the fathers charges to be dismissed. Cory Blakleys failure to call 911 or otherwise intervene is insufficient to hold him to answer for murder. The District Attorneys Office argues that both parents were responsible for the boys death and the pain he suffered. In the April preliminary hearing, Deputy District Attorney Andrew Braden, the other prosecutor in the murder case, told Judge Penny that the boys mother tortured her son by sitting on the child, depriving him of oxygen and continually beating him. Kimberly Blakley, 5-feet-7 and 200 pounds, sat on her son and repeatedly spanked him as he suffocated, according to the prosecution. The boy was 4-foot-5 and weighed 83 pounds In court documents, Ow said Ring-brand cameras installed inside the familys Roseville home captured sounds of the mother striking the child and the boys repeated apologies, gasps for breath and cries that he could not breathe, followed by silence. The prosecutor also argued that a camera in the kitchen clearly recorded audio of what was happening in the living room. At that time, Cory Blakley was in the kitchen with a clear and unobstructed view of the abuse and beating of the child, Ow said. Dad saw and heard the entire incident and never intervened, the prosecutor argued in court documents, except to close a nearby window at moms request when the victims cries were too loud. Ow also said the father walked past the couch to close the window. The window, which was closed about 20 minutes after the spanking began, was about 12 to 15 feet away from a neighbors home, according to the prosecution. The Blakleys had seven children two biological children and five of whom were adopted. They all lived together in a home on New England Drive, just east of Sunrise Boulevard. About 6 p.m. Feb. 2, officers and firefighters responded to a medical aid call at the familys home. The officers found the boy unresponsive. Cyrus died three days later at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento. Kimberly Rachel Blakley pleads not guilty during her arraignment at the Placer Superior Court in Roseville on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024. She and her husband Cory Albert Blakley are accused of murder, torture and child abuse in the death of their adopted 9-year-old son. In the April preliminary hearing, the prosecution argued the mother was exacting revenge on Cyrus after he told his classmates or school officials that his dogs had died, and he was forced to take the pets outside. Braden told the judge that the mother could be heard in the video repeatedly saying Child Protective Services was going to come and take the children away because Cyrus didnt care about the family. The defense attorney argued that theres no evidence to suggest Cory Blakley was aware that his son was likely to die from his mothers spanking. Zimmerman said the suffocation, while the mother sat on her child, may have well happened without the father knowing before he would have had a chance to intervene. It is unclear whether Mr. Blakley even heard any statement by (Cyrus that he) could not breathe, Zimmerman argued. Cory Blakley is not the actual killer. Further, the prosecution can present no evidence that he intended to kill the child or that he aided or abetted Kimberly in the commission of murder. The Blakleys remain in custody at the Placer County Jail. On June 21, about five months after the Roseville married couple was arrested, Cory Blakley filed a petition in court seeking a divorce from his wife. That case in family court is scheduled for a hearing Dec. 27. In a poignant moment on DNC's last night, Easley woman speaks about loss from gun violence An Easley woman spoke at the Democratic National Convention Thursday night about the gun violence that ended her niece's life. During a poignant segment on the final night of the Chicago convention, Melody McFadden recounted how she learned of her niece, Sandy Barnwells shooting in Myrtle Beach. She drove to Myrtle Beach for sun and fun and motorcycle parades. Hours later, my phone rang, there was a shooting on the beach, no one can find Sandy, McFadden said. McFadden joined four other people on stage to speak about how gun violence has affected their lives and for some - drives their advocacy. Speakers included Georgia U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, whose son was shot and killed; Kim Rubio, mother of a Uvalde Elementary School shooting victim; Abbey Clements, a former teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School; and Edgar Vilchez, who witnessed a drive-by shooting in 2022. On May 14, 2014, Barnwell, 22 of Summerville, was one of three people shot and killed on Memorial Day weekend at the Bermuda Sands Motel. The other two people killed were Jamie Williams, 28, and Devonte Dantzler, 21. More: I-85 southbound shifting to one lane for construction project, where to find new routes McFaddentold the audience how she finally tracked down information about her niece and how the experience wasn't her first. She was 17 when her mother died of gun violence. I stayed calm; my mother, Patricia Ann, had been shot and killed by an abusive partner; I was calm then, too. I got to handling business, I called relatives, the police, hospitals and I kept calling. Voice steady, my heartbeat pulsing, then I was connected to the coroner, McFadden said. After 10 years of waiting, Sandys murder is still unsolved," McFadden said. "Ill keep calling, and Ill keep fighting, McFadden said. This article originally appeared on Greenville News: An Easley woman joined others at the DNC to talk about gun violence As of 16:00 on 23 August, the Russians have attacked the positions of the defence forces of Ukraine almost 80 times, mostly on the Pokrovsk front where the Russians tried to attack Ukrainian forces 20 times, and 9 combat clashes are still ongoing. Source: the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Quote: "As of now the enemy has attacked the positions of the defence forces of Ukraine 79 times. The Russians are most active on the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove fronts where more than a third of the attacks were carried out. The border areas of Sumy and Chernihiv oblasts keep suffering from Russian artillery attacks. There is also information that today [on 23 August ed.] the enemy aircraft launched 14 airstrikes using 20 guided aerial bombs on the territory of Russias Kursk Oblast." Details: On the Kharkiv front, the Russians assaulted Ukrainian positions near the settlements of Hlyboke, Starytsi and Vovchansk four times. Three combat clashes are ongoing. On the Kupiansk front, the Russians launched nine attacks. Ukrainian defenders are repelling Russian assaults near the settlements of Petropavlivka, Kurylivka, Synkivka and Stelmakhivka. Two combat clashes are still ongoing. The Russians are actively deploying aircraft; they have dropped 10 guided aerial bombs near the settlements of Novoosynove, Bohuslavka and Kruhliakivka. On the Lyman front, Russian units keep constantly attacking the districts of the settlements of Druzheliubivka, Novosadove, Nevske, Torske and Terny. Since the beginning of the day Ukrainian forces repelled eight Russian attacks there. A fight is ongoing near Terny. The fighting continued on the Siversk front, where the Russians carried out seven attacks near the settlements of Verkhnokamianske, Vyimka, Bilohorivka and Spirne, trying to capture Ukrainian positions. Ukrainian forces repelled all attacks. On the Kramatorsk front, the Russians conducted four assault actions near the settlement of Ivanivske and Kalynivka. Two combat clashes are ongoing near Kalynivka. On the Toretsk front, the Russians carried out five attacks. They attacked areas near the settlements of Nelipivka and Toretsk. Ukrainian forces have repelled three attacks, two more are ongoing. Russian aircraft launched airstrikes on the settlement of Druzhba with non-guided aerial missiles. The hottest spot of the combat zone is the Pokrovsk front. Since the beginning of the day the Russians have attempted to attack Ukrainian forces 20 times near the settlements of Vozdvyzhenka, Kalynove, Novohrodivka, Hrodivka, Ptyche and Zelene Pole. Ukrainian forces repelled 11 Russian attacks, deterring the pressure. Nine more clashes are still ongoing. The situation is also complicated on the Kurakhove front, where the Russians attacked Ukrainian units 15 times and tried to advance near the settlements of Kostiantynivka, Heorhiivka, Krasnohorivka and Karlivka. The fighting is ongoing in five locations. On the Vremivka front, the Russians conducted offensives on the positions of Ukrainian forces seven times. Three Russian attacks were repelled near Vuhledar, Vodiane and Kostiantynivka, the fighting is ongoing near Vodiane. The Russians have not been active on other fronts, but have deployed bombardment aircraft and fighter jets, attacking Ukrainian positions and settlements with artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems. Support UP or become our patron! PARIS (Reuters) - Poland has reported an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of avian influenza, or bird flu, on a poultry farm in the west of country, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Friday. The virus killed 5,854 poultry birds at a farm in the town of Swiebodzin, with the rest of the 14,730-strong flock slaughtered, in the first such outbreak since February, WOAH said, citing a report from the Polish authorities. (Reporting by Gus Trompiz, Editing by Louise Heavens) As the lame duck legislative session was winding down in January, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill that was aimed at overhauling what he called an antiquated liquor license system. This had been a focus of his administration's for most of 2023 and while the legislation wasnt exactly what he wanted, Murphy considered it a win. Now, the states Economic Development Authority is getting in on the action. The agency is developing a new grant program to provide funding for small businesses that have obtained an inactive plenary retail consumption liquor license. The program, once finalized, would need authorization from the authority's board. New Jersey breweries are collaborating on a limited edition beer called "Sign the Bill, Phil" to put pressure on the governer to sign a bill that would lift restrictions placed on their industry. This $10 million program is part of a larger group of Main Street Recovery programs established under the Economic Recovery Act of 2020. Murphys new law increases availability of licenses statewide by bringing inactive licenses back to the market. There are 1,379 inactive licenses within the states system, according to the EDA. In a statement announcing the EDAs new program, Murphy said that he was proud to sign into law legislation that will overhaul New Jerseys antiquated liquor license laws and that this will be another step to remove these barriers for our small businesses, so that we may provide them financial peace of mind and the opportunity to flourish. 'An important moment': Breweries react to New Jersey's new liquor license reform bill How would the program help NJ small businesses attain liquor licenses? The new program would award grants of up to $100,000 to businesses, though that cant be more than half of the cost of the license itself. Applicants also need to already have the license and must be open for at least a year before applying. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis for three years or until the money is used up. The agency said the proposed liquor license program will function as a reimbursement, awarding grants to restaurants for up to $100,000 or no more than 50% of the purchase price of the license and that more details will be available pending approval from the NJEDA Board this fall. Under Governor Murphys leadership, the NJEDA is focused on ensuring small business owners have every tool necessary to succeed and providing opportunities for them to grow and thrive, EDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan said in a statement. Giving restaurants the opportunity to transform their business by aiding in the purchase of a liquor license will have a major impact on their long-term economic success, will relieve unnecessary financial burdens, and further increase the vitality of our downtowns and main streets. Story continues Katie Sobko covers the New Jersey Statehouse. Email: sobko@northjersey.com This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ liquor licenses for small businesses could be more accessible DUMAS, Ark. Arkansas State Police said an arrest has been made tied to a weekend homicide investigation in Dumas. ASP officials said 39-year-old Della Marshall was arrested in connection with the death of 36-year-old Jason Nalls. Hot Springs police arrest suspect in 2019 homicide case Authorities said officers with the Dumas Police Department responded to a welfare check around 12:45 p.m. on Aug. 17. for Nalls at his residence in the 100 block of Clayton Drive. When they arrived, the officers said they found Nalls dead from an apparent gunshot wound. Man wanted for Colorado kidnapping arrested in Arkansas Police said Marshall is facing a charge of first-degree murder. She is being held at the Arkansas County Sheriffs Office with a $300,000 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 KARK. Police ask for communitys help after dozens of vehicles broken into overnight in Derry Township DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) Dozens of vehicles were broken into overnight from Wednesday to Thursday in Derry Township and police are asking for the publics help. Township police said the break-ins happened in the areas of Southpoint, Southpoint Commons, and the Deer Run neighborhoods off of Middletown Road sometime throughout the night. It is believed over 25 vehicles, that were unlocked, were entered into and there are multiple suspects, police say. Although, police did not list if anything was stolen out of the vehicles. Man charged with homicide in Lebanon County in daughters 2019 death, dumping her body in NY park The community is urged to check any home video surveillance they have to see if they recorded the suspects. And as a reminder, we urge our community members to lock their vehicles when leaving them unattended and to remove any valuables so they are not visible from outside the vehicle, the police department wrote in a statement. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now This Week in Pennsylvania Anyone with information can call police at (717) 534-2202 or by submitting a tip through Crimewatch. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. MANHATTAN (KSNT) Police are identifying the person who was killed after a crash on Anderson Avenue in Manhattan Thursday. 27 News is following up with the Riley County Police Department (RCPD) on the crash which was first reported around 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 22 on Anderson Avenue beneath Seth Child Road. Police initially reported this as an injury crash but later announced a passenger in one of the cars involved in the wreck was taken to a local hospital for treatment but later died. This embedded content is not available in your region. Ashley Tokoi, a spokeswoman for the RPCD, told 27 News in a written statement the person who died in the crash is Glen B. Kaw, 78, of Junction City. The driver of the vehicle he was in, a 77-year-old woman of Junction City, was life-flighted to a Topeka hospital for urgent care. A third person, a 41-year-old resident of Riley, involved in the crash was hospitalized in Manhattan with non-life-threatening injuries. The RCPD initially reported a Honda Civic, driven by the 41-year-old, was traveling east on Anderson Avenue when it hit a Chevy Equinox, containing the Junction City residents, that was trying to make a left turn onto Seth Child Road, causing the Equinox to roll over. Tokoi said a third vehicle, a Ford Focus, was also involved in the crash with its driver, a 35-year-old Manhattan man, being taken to a local hospital for treatment as well. I-70 closure planned for Topeka this weekend Tokoi said an investigation into the crash remains active. 27 News will add more information here or in a future article as it becomes available. 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. ONTONAGON COUNTY, Mich. (WJMN) UPDATE (8/24/2024): On Saturday, August 24 at approximately 11:40 a.m., Richard Joseph Schaefer was located alive by the Ontonagon County Sheriffs Department. According to a release from Ontonagon County Undersheriff Charles Pantti, Schaefer was located approximately 1.7 miles off of M26 near the Firesteel Bridges in a wooded area. Schaefer was transported by SONCO EMS for treatment of dehydration and exposure. The Ontonagon County Sheriffs Department says it would like to thank all who assisted in the extensive search including, USFS Forest Service and Law Enforcement, Michigan DNR, Michigan State Police, Houghton County Sheriffs Dept., Greenland Fire Dept., Houghton County Emergency services personnel, Negaunee Regional Dispatch, and all private citizens that volunteered time. ORIGINAL POST (8/23/24): The Ontonagon County Sheriffs Department says they are actively searching for a missing 78-year-old man from Greenland. The sheriffs department says Richard Joseph Schaefer was last seen around 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 21 leaving his residence in Greenland. They go on to report he left driving a Black 2004 Chevy Trailblazer with MI registration plates reading DV6266A to an unknown destination. Schaefer is described as 59 with glasses. Police do not know what clothing he was wearing at the time of his disappearance. If anyone has information, they are asked to contact the Ontonagon County Sheriffs Department at 906-884-4901 or dial 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 WJMN - UPMatters.com. Police: Missing boy whose body was found in South Buffalo home died by stabbing BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) Jaylen Griffin, the 12-year-old boy whose body was found in a South Buffalo home after being missing for nearly four years, died from a stabbing, a Buffalo police spokesperson confirmed to WIVB News 4. Griffins body was located in April inside the attic of a Sheffield Avenue home, just one week before what wouldve been his 16th birthday. After the discovery of his body, Buffalo Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia said his death was being considered a homicide, and that it appeared the boy had been dead for a significant period of time. Griffin was last seen in August 2020 after leaving a corner store near his home on Warren Avenue. He was reported missing two days later. The residence where Griffins body was discovered is no stranger to law enforcement. Since 2007, more than 160 complaints were made to police regarding the home, including calls about domestic violence, fires and the discovery of bodies. Jaylen Griffins father reacts to discovery of his son A City of Buffalo spokesperson told WIVB in April that before the discovery of Griffin, three bodies had previously been found at the property, with two dying from natural causes and the other from a drug overdose. In the wake of the discovery of Griffins body, vigils have been held in the boys honor to pray for justice. Crimestoppers WNY continues to offer a $7,500 reward for anyone who has information on Griffins killer. Latest Local News Adam Gorski is a Buffalo native who joined the WIVB News 4 team in 2022. You can find 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. TechCrunch Brazil's Supreme Court said on Tuesday that Elon Musk's X could return online in the country, marking the end to a months-long battle between the social media platform and Brazilian officials. Addressing the reasons that X was banned in the first place, Musk agreed to take down some user accounts and appoint a legal representative in Brazil, Bloomberg was first to report. For the last five weeks, Brazilian courts have ordered internet service providers to block users within the country from accessing X, after the platform bucked against court orders to remove certain accounts. The North Carolina for Missing Persons has issued a missing endangered alert for a 66-year-old Statesville woman. Matilda Jamelle Turner was last seen at a home on the 1400 block of 5th Street. ALSO READ: Several agencies search woods for Kings Mountain woman missing since 2021 Officials said Turner may suffer from a cognitive impairment. She also walks with a cane due to fluid buildup in her knees. She is described as 5 feet 5 inches and weighs 200 pounds. She also has black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about Turners whereabouts is asked to contact the Statesville Police Department at 704-878-3406. VIDEO: Several agencies search woods for Kings Mountain woman missing since 2021 Police searching for man who abandoned sick dog in the Southern California heat A man abandoned a sick dog at a shelter in the Inland Empire and police are seeking the publics help in identifying him. In a post to X, formerly Twitter, the Upland Police Department said that the man took the dog to an animal shelter on Thursday, leaving her there without telling anyone. The dog, a female, was left outside in the heat without food, shelter or water, police said. She was outside for hours before being discovered. She has a large tumor on her body, according to authorities. No additional details were immediately made 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 KTLA. GRANDVIEW HEIGHTS, Ohio (WCMH) Grandview Heights police are investigating a string of credit card thefts from central Ohio yoga studios. Police have filed arrest warrants for Tevin Gray, 34, of Columbus, and Amirah White, 39, of California for burglary and receiving stolen property. Police also said additional criminal charges are pending. Gray was arrested Monday during a search warrant, officers said. Police have not found White and said they believe she has traveled back to California. Police said they believe Gray and White signed up for yoga classes using fake identities to enter the studios. The pair allegedly then stole credit cards from victims attending yoga classes, using them quickly and resulting in the loss of thousands of dollars. Police said multiple victims have been identified across central Ohio. Officers encourage anyone who may have been a victim of theft while attending a yoga class in central Ohio between July 21 and Aug. 10 of this year to call 614-488-7901. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. MONTROSE COUNTY, Colo. (KREX) The Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) and Gov. Jared Polis announced Wednesday two grants that will fund projects in Western Colorado and help diversify their local economies. The two Coal Transition Community grants went to Naturita and Nucla in the West End of Montrose County, Norwood and the Town of Rangely. The funds target communities that are transitioning away from coal as their main economic driver. The grants will support economic and business development to create and retain jobs, according to the Governors Office press release. I am focused on saving people money and supporting local job creation and business growth. This funding will help them create dozens of new jobs in Western Colorado and retain many more, Polis said in the release. A $210,680 grant was awarded to the West End Economic Development Corporation (WEEDC) to fund an office and grant administrator. The position will support WEEDC, Nucla, Naturita and Norwood with grant writing and other administrative functions of WEEDC. The job should also create space for time managers and WEEDC Executive Director Makayla Gordon to focus on programs that will bring new businesses to the area, the press release read. WEEDC believes around 15 new jobs will be created and about 50 positions retained. This is a result of increased funding, programming and general support for West End businesses, according to the press release. We are grateful for OEDITs support in our transition away from coal. Lack of capacity and infrastructure continue to be our largest barriers to our transition. This capacity award from OEDIT helps our community immensely to provide more services, support economic development and to seek out more funding opportunities for our community, Gordon said in the release. OEDIT Executive Director Eve Lieberman added, When small businesses succeed, communities can thrive. We are pleased to support local initiatives to retain and attract new businesses while diversifying rural economies, Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. We recently compiled a list of 10 Highest Paying Monthly Dividend Stocks. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE:SCM) stands against the other high paying monthly dividend stocks. Dividend stocks have consistently been popular with investors, regardless of how often they are distributed. However, when considering the frequency of these payments, its clear that companies carefully decide how often to reward their shareholders. While many large companies prefer to issue dividends quarterly for convenience, others provide monthly dividends, which some investors find more appealing. After all, who wouldnt appreciate a steady stream of passive income each month? Nevertheless, history indicates that companies offering monthly dividends tend to have higher yields but often lack stable dividend policies. Dividend stocks have consistently played a crucial role in the markets overall returns. Since 1960, reinvested dividends and the power of compounding have accounted for 85% of the cumulative total return of the market, according to a report by Hartford Funds. The report further mentioned a broader view of these returns and highlighted that from 1940 to 2023, dividend income contributed an average of 34% to the total return of the broader market. The performance of dividend stocks during this period varied depending on market conditions. According to a report by Hartford Funds, during the 1970sa decade marked by high inflation and sluggish economic growthdividends accounted for 70% of total returns. Also read: 10 Extreme Dividend Stocks With Upside Potential. Among dividend strategies, investors are primarily drawn to high yields because they signify that the stock offers a substantial return through dividends compared to its price. Focusing solely on yield can be misleading. Some companies maintain dividend payments even when their financial health is shaky, while others distribute dividends too aggressively, leaving insufficient profits to reinvest in their operations. A high dividend yield might actually signal a struggling business with a low share price. This is where dividend coverage becomes a crucial measure of a companys ability to meet its dividend obligations. If that is not in line, the company is likely using past retained earnings to fund current dividends. This situation often precedes a dividend cut, which can severely impact the companys valuation. That said, high-yield dividend stocks can still maintain strong dividend policies if their business fundamentals are solid. Many companies with above-average yields have consistently paid and even increased dividends over the years. Research suggests that, over the long term, such stocks often deliver better results. For example, a study by the University of Nevada found that portfolios composed of the top 10 highest dividend yield stocks from the Dow 30 index outperformed those with medium and low dividend yields from 1987 to 2012. The study also noted that investing in high dividend yield stocks can be profitable in the long run, despite potential short-term fluctuations in returns. In view of this, we will analyze the highest-paying monthly dividend stocks in this article. Our Methodology: For this list, we looked at stocks that pay monthly dividends. Among them, we chose stocks with the highest dividend yields, which range from 11% to nearly 18% as of August 16. Most of these stocks are from the REIT and capital market sectors. REITs are obligated to distribute about 90% of their income to shareholders, which is good for income investors as it provides them with a reliable and substantial stream of dividends. However, its important to note that many of these stocks, despite their high yields, dont have a consistent history of paying dividends and have experienced dividend reductions or pauses in the past. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of their dividend yields as of August 16. 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 20 beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here). A business person pointing to a graph displaying a company's projected EBITDA growth. Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE:SCM) Dividend Yield as of August 16: 11.55% Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE:SCM) is a Texas-based investment management company that mainly invests in lower middle-market companies. The company holds nearly two decades of dedication to small and mid-sized businesses. During this time period, it has invested over $8.5 billion in lower middle market credit and equity across various cycles and industries. Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE:SCM)s investment strategy sets it apart from its peers by focusing on private companies with EBITDA ranging from $5 to $50 million. It spans a diverse array of industries, including aerospace and defense, business services, consumer products and services, and others. The capital deployed is frequently directed toward acquisitions, growth funding, leveraged buyouts, and recapitalization. In the second quarter of 2024, the company reported strong earnings, generating $26.6 million in revenues, up nearly 1% from the same period last year. In addition, Stellus Capital Investment Corporation (NYSE:SCM) reported strong operating results for the second quarter, with U.S. GAAP net investment income of $0.48 per share and core net investment income of $0.50 per share, both of which covered the declared regular dividend of $0.40 per share. At the end of the quarter, the loan portfolio is yielding 11.7%. Having completed over eleven years of operations, the company has distributed a total of $262 million to its investors. The company currently offers a monthly dividend of $0.1333 per share for a dividend yield of 11.55%, as of August 16. It is among the best dividend stocks on our list. Overall SCM ranks 10th on our list of the high paying monthly dividend stocks. While we acknowledge the potential of SCM as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some deeply undervalued dividend stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for a deeply undervalued dividend stock that is more promising than SCM but that trades at less than 7 times its earnings and yields nearly 10%, check out our report about the dirt cheap dividend stock. READ NEXT: $30 Trillion Opportunity: 15 Best Humanoid Robot Stocks to Buy According to Morgan Stanley and Jim Cramer Says NVIDIA Has Become A Wasteland. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Last year, airspace congestion in the New York/New Jersey metro area got so bad that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposed flight reductions on the airlines serving LaGuardia, John F. Kennedy, and Newark Liberty airports. Travelers had fewer choices, and still experienced delays in arrivals and departures. Due to the ripple effects of congestion in the N.Y./N.J. area on other U.S. airports, the FAA estimates that this complex airspace is responsible for up to 75 percent of all U.S. airline delays. The N.Y./N.J. airspace, which manages arrivals and departures for nine airports from a single facility on Long Island known as N90, is not the only complex metro area airspace. Two decades ago, the FAA launched a program to redesign and simplify the airspace of a dozen major metro areas, including the N.Y./N.J. airspace. This "Metroplex" program concluded about a year ago, but N.Y./N.J. airspace was left out. New York members of Congress, including Sen. Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.), fought and succeeded in keeping N.Y./N.J. airspace unreformed. They considered N90 "their" facility and opposed any changes, especially those that might relocate jobs. A 2023 U.S. Department of Transportation inspector general report identified N90 as having the lowest percentage of fully certified controllers among comparable facilitiesjust 54 percent of the desired staffing level. A never-released report by the same agency in 2005 found that overtime and sick leave at N90 were off the charts, leading to very low productivity and very high costs. Since that report was never released, the airlines, Congress, and the public were unaware of how bad things were. About a decade ago, the FAA developed a plan to address the understaffing at N90 (and perhaps regain some level of management control). The idea was to shift responsibility for approaches and departures for the five New Jersey airports to a well-staffed facility in Philadelphia. This would ease the extent of the controller shortage at N90, by reducing the air traffic they manage by about one-third. The controllers' union branch at N90 declared war on the plan, backed by Schumer and his New York congressional allies. So it sat on the shelf for yearsuntil a new FAA Administrator, Mike Whittaker, took office last year. Additional discussions with airlines and the national controllers' union leadership led to agreement (at last) on this sensible reform, set to take effect on July 28, 2024. On July 17, 17 controllers who'd been slated to transfer to Philadelphia refused to relocate. But 14 others volunteered, and another 10 agreed to a temporary relocation to assist in training the Philly controllers. The airlines (and I) breathed a sigh of relief. This long-standing problem was on the way to being solved, though it would take a few years to get Philly fully up to speed. Butwouldn't you know iton August 2, Schumer, along with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (DN.Y.) and five House members from New York, sent the FAA a letter demanding the plan be rescinded. Airlines serving the three main N.Y./N.J. airports support the plan, knowing that it will take a year or two before the transition is completed and FAA flight restrictions can be lifted. A senior airline executive told Politico, "Doing nothing to fix the most chronically understaffed and also busiest airspace in the system was not an option. Long-term, this is the most effective solution." Most Americans are unaware that this kind of political meddling is rare in most developed countries. Since 1987, more than 60 countries have depoliticized their air traffic control systems. Instead of being part of a government transportation agency funded by the legislative body, these systems have been converted into self-supporting public utilities. They charge airlines and business jets for their services and can issue revenue bonds to finance facility replacements or expansions. (In contrast, the FAA depends solely on whatever Congress appropriates each year and is not allowed to issue bonds.) Freeing U.S. airspace from political micromanagement has been proposed many times over the past 50 years but has never come close to happening. The latest effort (between 2016 and 2018) got an air traffic corporation bill through the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, but it went no further. The large coalition (airlines, controllers' unions, pilots' unions, and others) that got us that far no longer exists. But someday, our anachronistic system of managing air traffic will be depoliticized as a self-supporting air traffic utility. Perhaps then it can build its way back to being the world's best, instead of just the world's largest, air traffic management system. The post How Political Meddling in New York and New Jersey Causes Airline Delays in the Entire U.S. appeared first on Reason.com. EYEWITNESS NEWS (WBRE/WYOU) History unfolded in Chicago as Harris accepted the Democratic Presidential Nomination, making her the first woman of color to top a major party ticket, but how does this play a role in shaping the election and how voters will cast their ballots? 28/22 News sat down with Kings College Political Science Professor Dr. David Sosar who gave his input on how social media engages Gen Z voters, what key factors Harris and Trump will have to hone in on, and if young voters will be crucial to winning Pennsylvania. Shapiro Administration launches voter education initiative Dr. Sosar also touched on if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will drop out and endorse Trump, and if Harris was able to meet her goal of convincing voters on the fence. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) Port Richey brothers face a maximum of life in prison after pleading guilty to drug trafficking. Marcus Fowler, 33, and Pierre Fowler, 35, have pleaded guilty to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl, over 500 grams of methamphetamine, and cocaine, according to the Department of Justice. Marcus Fowler also pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams of cocaine. According to the DOJ, the brothers conspired with others to distribute drugs beginning in 2006. In 2023, law enforcement agents seized drugs through postal intercepts that were for people working with them. In Feb. of 2023, agents found drugs and firearms, including a machinegun from the Fowlers stash house in Tarpon Springs, according to the DOJ. Both Marcus and Pierre used the drug money and purchased numerous properties in Pinellas and Pasco County. With the plea agreement the Fowlers agreed to forfeit nine properties that were traceable to the offense. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) A homicide victim is being remembered in Portland as a loving brother, uncle and father as family members seek justice. The Portland Police Bureau said 45-year-old Donny Calabaza was shot and killed in Southeast Portlands Buckman Neighborhood over the weekend. The suspect is still at large. Portland woman says Tinder match scammed her Police responded to the shooting on Sunday just after 10 p.m. near the intersection of Southeast Washington Street and Southeast 9th Avenue, with officers finding Donny dead at the scene. Donnys family said a long time passed after he was shot before someone found him. Now theyre hoping to find the person who pulled the trigger soon. Its really difficult still, said Donnys sister, Dushonia Calabaza. Hes a very important part of our family, you know, he was the backbone of our family. Donnys friends and family remembered him as someone always willing to make them laugh and lend a helping hand. Donny Calabaza (courtesy Dushonia Calabaza). Donny M. Calabaza, 45, was shot and killed at the area of Southeast Washington Street and Ninth Avenue on Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024. (PPB) Dushonia made the 12-hour drive from Salt Lake City to Portland after getting the call no one wants to receive. Im just trying to be strong for my family and just trying to communicate information about everything that Im doing here and just being able to respect our traditional ways as well, Dushonia said. Vancouvers proposed bridge shelter raises concerns Donny grew up on the Navajo Reservation, his family said. Weve been friends in the community since he came to Oregon, said Stuart Crazybull, Donnys best friend of 20 years. Stuart said Donny was always there for him. He got involved in Native community and started trying to connect and stuff you know with his spiritual beliefs and stuff. And so hes been a part of the community ever since then, Stuart said. While police are still searching for the suspect, Dushonia is hopeful justice will prevail. Im sure theyre going to find out what happened to him and who did this to him, she said. Friends and family said Donnys service will be held at the Great Spirit United Methodist Church on Saturday at 5 p.m. Saturday Market gets Historical Tradition designation Dushonia said he will be laid to rest at Mount Hood, where Donny will be able to go on his next journey into the spirit world. Theres a GoFundMe available to help with funeral and travel costs. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) A Portland Public School teacher is in custody after a weeks-long investigation revealed his attempt to lure a California police officer posing as a 13-year-old, Portland police announced Friday. Investigators said Craig Douglas-Meyers, a teacher at Hosford Middle School in Southeast Portland, had initiated conversations with an undercover police officer based out of the Yuba City Police Department that were sexual in nature and involved discussions on how to meet. Skull discovered in Skamania County believed to belong to hiker missing since 2013 Douglas-Meyers, 38, was arrested on Friday morning and lodged at the Multnomah County Detention Center on a felony charge of luring a minor. Investigators say it is possible that Douglas-Meyers had other victims. Due to Douglas-Meyers brazen conversations with who [sic] he thought was a child, and his employment as a teacher at Hosford Middle School in Southeast Portland, detectives fear there could be additional children with who he has had inappropriate contact, officials said. Anyone with information about him is encouraged to contact the Portland Police Bureau. It is very rare that the very first time or the very first occurrence that somebody experiences or chooses to do criminal behavior like this, its the time that they get caught, Sgt. Trevor Tyler with the PPB Child Abuse Team said. So yes, we believe that this was going on for a prolonged period of time. How long? We dont know yet, but that is part of our investigation. WATCH: Lightning strikes over Oregons Cascades Thursday evening A spokesperson for Portland Public Schools said in a statement that there is no information indicating any PPS students were impacted: The Portland Police Bureau has briefed the district about their investigation and PPS is fully cooperating with their efforts. There is no information that we are aware of that suggests that any PPS students were impacted. Providing a safe and supportive environment for all students remains our top priority and we are committed to ensuring the highest standards of safety and integrity. Douglas-Meyers is expected to appear in court for the first time on Aug. 26, 2024. Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WHLT) The Pearl River Community College (PRCC) Development Foundation announced the Build Better Scholarship, made possible by a $5,000 contribution from the Ford Foundation. Officials said this scholarship, specifically designed to support single parents or children of single parents, will be awarded to a deserving student this fall. The PRCC Foundation is excited to work with the Ford Foundation through scholarship support, said Executive Director of Development Foundation/Alumni Association Delana Harris. The Ford Foundation has chosen to provide a scholarship to a single parent or a child of a single-parent home pursuing a degree at PRCC. MSU, MC partner for accelerated law degree program The Ford Foundation in Hattiesburg was founded in 2023 with the primary mission of assisting single-parent families. Every scholarship awarded is a step towards breaking the cycle of hardship for single-parent families, said Executive Director Lauren Firth. The Build Better Scholarship program is our commitment to supporting their journey to a brighter, more empowered future. The total amount awarded will depend on a students need, up to full tuition and fee coverage. This opportunity allows single parents to enroll in college and achieve their educational goals without the burden of finances. 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. Vice President Kamala Harris has officially accepted the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. In a 40-minute speech delivered on the final night of the Democratic National Convention, Harris detailed her vision for Americas future and took a few not-so-subtle jabs at Republican challenger, former President Donald Trump in front of a packed house at the United Center in Chicago, Ill. More from TVLine As a prosecutor, when I had a case, I charged it not in the name of the victim, but in the name of the people for a simple reason: In our system of justice, a harm against any one of us is a harm against all of us, she said. And I would often explain this to console survivors of crime, to remind them, no one should be made to fight alone. We are all in this together. And every day in the courtroom, I stood proudly before a judge, and I said five words: Kamala Harris for the people. To be clear, my entire career, Ive only had one client: the people, Harris declared. And so, on behalf of the people on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey on behalf of Americans, like the people I grew up with, people who work hard, chase their dreams and look out for one another on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination to be President of the United States of America. Kamala Harris DNC Speech Video With this election, Harris said, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, bitterness and divisive battles of the past, she posited. A chance to chart a new way forward not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans. And let me say: I know there are people of various political views watching tonight, and I want you to know that I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self, to hold sacred Americas fundamental principles from the rule of law, to free and fair elections, to the peaceful transfer of power. I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations, a president who leads and listens, who is realistic, practical and has common sense, and always fights for the American people from the courthouse to the White House. Harris proclaimed that we are in a fight for Americas future. This November will not just mark the most important of our lives, but one of the most important in the life of our nation. She then went after Trump, calling her opponent an unserious man. Consider not only the chaos and calamity when he was in office, but also the gravity of what has happened since he lost the last election, she said. Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes when he failed, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol, where they assaulted law enforcement officers. When politicians in his own party begged him to call off the mob and send help, he did the opposite. He fanned the flames. And now for an entirely different set of crimes, he was found guilty of fraud by a jury of everyday Americans, and separately found liable for committing sexual abuse. And consider what he intends to do if we give him power again. Consider his explicit intent to set free violent extremists who assaulted those law enforcement officers at the Capitol his explicit intent to jail journalists, political opponents and anyone he sees as the enemy his explicit intent to deploy our active duty military against our own citizens consider the power he will have, especially after the United States Supreme Court just ruled that he would be immune from criminal prosecution. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guard rails, and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States not to improve your life, not to strengthen our national security, but to serve the only client he has ever had: himself. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images After calling out Project 2025 and the greater Trump agenda, Harris revealed her plans for the presidency. We are charting a new way forward, she said. Forward to a future with a strong and growing middle class. As President, I will bring together labor and workers and small business owners and entrepreneurs and American companies to create jobs to grow our economy and to lower the cost of everyday needs like health care and housing and groceries. We will provide access to capital for small business owners and entrepreneurs and founders, and we will end Americas housing shortage and protect Social Security and Medicare. Harris also promised to sign into law a bill to restore reproductive freedom, to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, and bring back the bipartisan border security bill. And in the lead-up to November, with respect to the war in Gaza, President Biden and I are working around the clock because now is the time to get a hostage deal and a cease fire deal done, she said. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images What followed was her closing statement: America, let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for: freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness and endless possibilities. We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world, and on behalf of our children and our grandchildren, and all those who sacrificed so dearly for our freedom and liberty, we must be worthy of this moment. It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done guided by optimism and faith, to fight for this country we love, to fight for the ideals we cherish, and to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth, the privilege and pride of being an American. So, lets get out there. Lets fight for it. Lets get out there. Lets vote for it and together, let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told. Harris is set to face Trump in an ABC News debate on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 9/8c. David Muir and Linsey Davis will moderate from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.wat Her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, addressed the American electorate on Wednesday night in a 15-minute speech that you can watch here. Hell face Vance in a CBS News debate on Tuesday, Oct. 1. Election Day this year is Tuesday, Nov. 5. Watch Harris speech below, then hit the comments with your reactions. Best of TVLine Get more from TVLine.com : Follow us on Twitter , Facebook , Newsletter By Maxim Rodionov, Filipp Lebedev and Mark Trevelyan (Reuters) -Russia's security services shot dead four inmates on Friday who had taken hostages at a penal colony, fatally stabbed four of its staff and posted online videos describing themselves as Islamic State militants, officials said. "Snipers of the special forces of the Russian National Guard in the Volgograd region, with four precise shots, neutralised four prisoners who had taken prison employees hostage. The hostages have been released," state news agency RIA quoted the National Guard as saying. The federal prisons service said all four attackers had been "liquidated". It said four of its staff had died of stab wounds, and others had been treated in hospital. A total of eight prison employees and four convicts had been held hostage, it said. In one of the videos posted by the attackers, the victims were seen lying in pools of blood, one of them with his throat slashed. One of the prisoners shouted that they were "mujahideen" of Islamic State. Other videos showed the attackers pacing about in a prison yard where one of their hostages was slumped in a sitting position, his face covered in blood. The operation to free the captives took place after President Vladimir Putin, addressing a weekly meeting of his Security Council, said he wanted to hear from the interior minister, FSB security chief and head of the National Guard about the incident. ISLAMIST ATTACKS Russia, whose defence and security agencies are heavily focused on its war in Ukraine, has seen a recent upsurge in Islamist militant attacks. In June, a bloody Islamic State-linked prison uprising took place in the southern region of Rostov, where special forces shot dead six inmates who had taken hostages. Later that month, at least 20 people were killed in shooting attacks on a church, a synagogue and a police checkpoint in Dagestan, a mainly Muslim region of southern Russia. In March, Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack in which gunmen raided the Crocus City concert hall near Moscow, sprayed the audience with automatic weapons fire and set the building ablaze, killing more than 140 people. The latest incident raised major security questions, just two months after the June prison revolt. It was not clear how the men had managed to acquire knives to attack prison staff and mobile phones to film themselves and post multiple videos online. In the footage, one of them appeared to have an improvised explosive vest and the others were carrying knives and hammers. Their demands were not clear, though in rambling monologues they said that Russia "oppresses Muslims everywhere" and that they had acted "without mercy" in response to alleged mistreatment of Muslim prisoners. Russian news media said the four were citizens of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and that three were in jail for drugs offences and the other for murdering someone in a fight. (Reporting by Reuters in Moscow and London; writing by Mark Trevelyan; editing by Philippa Fletcher) WASHINGTON A live-streamer who was a frequent presence at the "Freedom Corner" protests in support of Jan. 6 defendants has been arrested on Capitol attack charges, nearly two years after he was publicly identified by online "sedition hunters" who have aided in hundreds of Jan. 6 arrests. David Valentine, known to online sleuths as #YellowSizzler, was arrested in Wisconsin, according to court records. Valentine has often attended Freedom Corner, the nightly demonstration outside a jail in the nations capital in support of Jan. 6 rioters that former President Donald Trump has called into in the past. Online "sedition hunters" identified Valentine in 2022, according to a website affiliated with the sleuths. Authorities say Valentine was one of the rioters who pushed a giant metal framed Trump 2020 sign at a line of police officers, and that he also cut some wires with a folding knife close to the lower west tunnel, where some of the worst violence of the day took place. He faces a felony civil disorder charge along with misdemeanor offenses. Members of the mob, including the man authorities identified as Valentine, push a "Trump" sign into police officers. Other "Freedom Corner" participants who have subsequently been charged for their activities on Jan. 6 include Tommy Tatum and Taylor Taranto, both of whom were identified by NBC News as Jan. 6 participants before they were arrested and charged. Taranto, who was arrested outside Obamas Washington, D.C. home, is one of just a handful of Jan. 6 rioters being held in pretrial detention. More than 1,400 people have been charged in connection with the Capitol attack and prosecutors have secured convictions against more than 1,000 defendants. More than 560 defendants have been sentenced to periods of incarceration ranging from a few days behind bars to 22 years in federal prison. Two weeks ago, one of the most violent Jan. 6 rioters, David Dempsey, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison. Prosecutors said Dempsey had repeatedly used "his hands, feet, flag poles, crutches, pepper spray, broken pieces of furniture, and anything else he could get his hands on" to assault officers over and over again. After his sentencing, Dempsey called into "Freedom Corner" and predicted that Trump would win the November election and get him out of prison. "Don't celebrate too hard man, because that sentence is only gonna last, like, six months," Dempsey said. "And then we're going to have four years of dragging our nuts across your forehead, because Donald Trump is gonna win, and he ain't just gonna win, but he ain't just gonna win... he's gonna win bigly," Dempsey said, before breaking into a Trump impression. Some officers who were assaulted on Jan. 6 are supporting Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign, with former Capitol Police Sgt. Aquilino Gonell speaking during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago this week. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Subway unveils new value meal option, offering customers a chance to purchase any footlong for $6.99 from Monday, Aug 26 to Sunday, Sept. 8. Subway is making footlongs a little more affordable. At least for a couple of weeks. The sandwich chain is among a handful of fast-food restaurant chains starting or extending value meals. The others include McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's and Taco Bell, who are trying to retain and attract customers leery of rising prices, according to USA TODAY. Subway's new deal, according to the company, is as big as its iconic footlong sandwiches. Customers will be able to buy any footlong on the menu for $6.99 for a limited time, though add-ons like bacon or avocado will still cost extra, according to the company. Normally, footlong subs can vary from $10 to $14 before any add-ons. Doug Fry, president of Subway North America, said in a news release that todays diner might be stretched thin and might compromise on quality, variety or flavor to find an affordable meal. Our menu is full of footlongs for every budget, and this new deal means our guests can get the sandwiches they crave at a great value, Fry said in a statement. How to get Subways $6.99 footlong To unlock Subways $6.99 footlong deal, use promo code: 699FL on the Subway App or Subway.com. The deal will be available for 13 days, from Monday, Aug. 26 through Sunday, Sept. 8. Time will tell if the chain decides to extend the discount like McDonald's has with its $5 meal deal. Subway will also have a menu of sweet and savory footlong snacks all priced at $5 and under alongside Subways $6.99 footlong deal. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Subway slashing prices of footlongs for 2 weeks, charging $6.99 FILE - This photo provided by the U.S. Air Force, shows Senior Airman Roger Fortson in a Dec. 24, 2019, photo. (U.S. Air Force via AP) NEW YORK (AP) The family of a Black U.S. Air Force airman gunned down by a sheriff's deputy in Florida is represented by a prominent civil rights lawyer dubbed Black Americas attorney general for his role in some of the most consequential cases of police brutality over the past decade and a half. Benjamin Crump rose to prominence representing the families of Trayvon Martin, George Floyd and other Black people whose deaths at the hands of law enforcement officials and vigilantes sparked the Black Lives Matter movement. He also represented families exposed to lead-contaminated water in Flint, Michigan, as well as the family of the late Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman whose harvested cells became a cornerstone of modern medical advances. The 54-year-old civil rights lawyer from Florida has said his mission is to hold police and vigilantes who kill with impunity accountable by making their actions costly in the court of law. What Im trying to do, as much as I can, even sometimes singlehandedly, is increase the value of Black life, Crump told The Associated Press back in 2021. On Friday, former Okaloosa County deputy Eddie Duran was charged in the May shooting death of Roger Fortson, a 23-year-old senior airman who had answered his apartment door while holding a gun pointed toward the ground. Here is a look at some of Crumps most high-profile cases involving Black victims: Trayvon Martin The 17-year-old unarmed teenager was fatally shot in an Orlando suburb in 2012 by a member of the communitys neighborhood watch. The following year, Martins parents settled a wrongful-death claim against the homeowners association for the gated community in Sanford. Crump said at the time the award amount was confidential. In his criminal trial later that year, George Zimmerman, whose father is white and whose mother is Hispanic, claimed self-defense and was ultimately cleared of all charges. Michael Brown The unarmed 18-year-old was fatally shot by Darren Wilson, a white police officer, in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. Browns death sparked nationwide protests and became a catalyst for the Black Lives Matter movement. But a grand jury declined to indict Wilson, and the U.S. Justice Department opted against civil rights charges. Crump helped Browns family eventually reach a $1.5 million wrongful death settlement with the city in 2017. George Floyd The 46-year-old died in May 2020 after Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis officer, pinned him to the ground with a knee to his neck in the case that sparked nationwide protests and a broader reckoning on racial justice. In March 2021, the city of Minneapolis agreed to pay a $27 million settlement to Floyds family, which Crump said at the time was the largest pretrial civil rights settlement ever. The following month, Chauvin was convicted of murder and manslaughter. Breonna Taylor The 26 year old was shot and killed in 2020 after Louisville police officers broke down her apartment door to serve a no-knock search warrant in a drug case. The city settled with Taylors family for $12 million later that year in an agreement that also stipulated reforms on how warrants are handled by police. One of the former officers pleaded guilty to conspiracy that year while another faces retrial after a jury deadlocked last November over charges that he used excessive force in the botched raid. The Justice Department also filed civil rights charges against four officers in 2022, largely over the faulty warrant used to search Taylors home. But on Friday, a federal judge dismissed some of the charges against two of the officers. Ahmaud Arbery The 25-year-old was killed in 2020 while running in a neighborhood outside of the port city of Brunswick, Georgia. The three white men who chased him down in a pickup truck and fired at him with a shotgun at close range were convicted of murder in 2021. They are currently appealing their separate convictions on federal hate crime charges. Arberys mother, meanwhile, filed a federal lawsuit against the three men and local authorities seeking $1 million. Tyre Nichols The 29-year-old died in the hospital in 2023, three days after Memphis, Tennessee, police officers kicked, punched and hit him with a police baton during a traffic stop. Five now former officers, all Black, have been charged with second-degree murder. One pleaded guilty to federal charges in November. Another is expected to change his not guilty plea Friday. Crump, meanwhile, has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Nichols family seeking $550 million. ___ Follow Philip Marcelo at twitter.com/philmarcelo. Christopher served as a federal prosecutor who worked on the criminal investigation of the Sept. 11 terror attacks Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Neda Morvillo and Chris Morvillo on June 21, 2018 in New York City. New York City attorney Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Neda Morvillo, have died after the luxury yacht sank off the coast of Sicily this week, his law firm announced "Our utmost priority is to continue to support Chris's family at this very distressing time," a spokesperson for Clifford Chance said The sixth and final body from the Bayesian, a 183-foot vessel, was found, Italian coast guard sources told PEOPLE on Aug. 23 New York City attorney Christopher Morvillo and his wife, jewelry designer Neda Morvillo, died in a luxury yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily earlier this week, his law firm confirmed to PEOPLE. He was 59. She was 57. The couple had been among six passengers who were missing after the Bayesian went down in the water early on Monday, Aug. 19, following a storm. The final body from the luxury yacht that sank off the coast of Sicily was found, Italian coast guard sources told PEOPLE on Friday, Aug. 23. The discovery comes after four bodies were recovered on Wednesday, Aug, 21, while a fifth body was found in the wreckage. We are deeply saddened and still coming to terms with this terrible loss, says a spokesperson for the Clifford Chance law firm, where Morvillo worked, in a statement obtained by PEOPLE. Our utmost priority is to continue to support Chris's family at this very distressing time. Our thoughts extend to the families and loved ones of all those affected. The spokesperson adds, We wish to express our deepest condolences and our love and support to Chriss family and friends at this incredibly difficult time. We also want to thank the Italian authorities and rescue teams for everything they have done." Related: Fifth Body Found in Sunken Sicily Yacht as 1 Person Remains Missing in Wreck, Sources Say Scott Eells/Bloomberg/Getty Christopher J. Morvillo in New York, U.S., on Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011. Christopher and Neda were aboard the Bayesian, a 183-foot vessel that sank around 5 a.m. local time on Monday after "violent" weather while moored about a half mile from the coast of Porticello, the coast guard said in a statement previously obtained by PEOPLE. At the time of the disaster the yacht was carrying 22 people. Immediately after it sunk, 15 people were rescued and 1 body was recovered later identified as chef Recaldo Thomas. While the Italian authorities have not formally identified the six recovered bodies, an Italian interior ministry official confirmed that British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch was one of the bodies found, reported Reuters. His daughter Hannah remained missing at the time. Christopher represented Lynch in a lengthy legal saga that dated back to the 2011 sale of Autonomy, a business software company Lynch founded, to Hewlett Packard. Lynch was acquitted in the U.S. in June on 15 fraud and conspiracy charges, according to the Associated Press and the BBC. Following the verdict, Christopher thanked the legal team for their help on LinkedIn. He noted that he was so glad to be home and ended his post with, And they all lived happily ever after. Christopher and Neda then joined Lynch on the yacht "celebrating Lynch's acquittal, a source told PEOPLE. Related: 'We Are in Shock,' Prominent N.Y.C. Attorney's Firm Says After He and His Wife Go Missing in Yacht Sinking Christopher was a partner at the law firm Clifford Chance.Prior to that, his extensive experience included serving as a lead federal prosecutor who worked on the criminal investigation of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Throughout his career, he specialized in healthcare fraud, insurance fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice, counter-terrorism and narcotics. He was a genial and disarming guy, said Preet Bharara, who worked alongside Morvillo and later became U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, according to The Wall Street Journal. He got as good results in his cases as people who present as hard hitting, scorched-earth lawyers. 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. Christopher came from a family of lawyers and credited his late father, Robert Morvillo, for teaching him in the field. He was the best mentor Ive ever had, he told American Lawyer in 2018. I learned more during those years than at any other point in my career, largely from just watching my father skillfully navigate clients through some of the most complex challenges that this job can throw at you, he said he said at the time. Neda Morvillo/Facebook Neda Morvillo Neda was a jewelry designer in New York City and listed her company under the name Neda Nassiri. According to her site, she trained with master goldsmith Cecelia Bauer and had been designing and hand-crafting fine jewelry for over 20 years. The couple is survived by their two adult daughters, Sabrina and Sophia Morvillo. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Prosecutor says ex-sheriff's deputy charged with manslaughter in shooting of an airman at his home FILE - This photo provided by the U.S. Air Force, shows Senior Airman Roger Fortson in a Dec. 24, 2019, photo. (U.S. Air Force via AP) FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) A Florida sheriffs deputy was charged with manslaughter with a firearm, launching a rarely seen criminal case against a Florida law officer after a Black U.S. Air Force senior airman was killed after answering his apartment door while holding a gun pointed toward the ground. Former Okaloosa County deputy Eddie Duran, 38, was charged in the May 3 shooting death of 23-year-old Roger Fortson, Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille said. The charge is a first-degree felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Marcille said a warrant has been issued for Durans arrest but he was not in custody as Friday afternoon. "Let this be a reminder to law enforcement officers everywhere that they swore a solemn oath to protect and defend, and their actions have consequences, especially when it results in the loss of life, civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the airman's family, said Friday. Sabu Williams, president of the local branch of the NAACP, told The Associated Press that I think this is the best that we could have hoped for in this particular case. Duran listed himself as Hispanic on his voter registration, and the charging documents released Friday also identify him that way. Authorities say Duran had been directed to Fortsons Fort Walton Beach apartment in response to a domestic disturbance report that turned out to be false. After repeated knocking, Fortson opened the door while holding his handgun at his side, pointed down. Authorities say that Duran shot him multiple times; only then did he tell Fortson to drop the gun. On Friday, candles and framed photos of Fortson in uniform graced the doorway of the apartment where he was killed. Okaloosa Sheriff Eric Aden fired Duran on May 31 after an internal investigation concluded his life was not in danger when he opened fire. Durans attorney, John Whitaker, did not immediately respond to a phone call and email seeking comment. It is highly unusual for Florida law enforcement officers to be charged for an on-duty killing it has only happened four times in the last 35 years before Friday. Even then, only one of those officers has been convicted. Four Miami-Dade officers were recently indicted on manslaughter charges in connection with a shootout with two robbers who hijacked a UPS truck. The shootout left the UPS driver and a passerby dead along with the hijackers. Three police officers in the Okaloosa County town of Crestview are awaiting trial on manslaughter charges for the 2021 death of a man who reportedly died after being jolted with a stun gun. Those officers have pleaded not guilty. A former Palm Beach Gardens officer is serving a 25-year prison sentence for manslaughter and attempted murder for a 2015 shooting. The officer was undercover and in plain clothes when he fatally shot a Black man whose SUV had broken down on an interstate off-ramp. The man had feared he was being robbed, pulled out his licensed handgun and tried to flee before he was shot. A Broward sheriffs deputy was charged with manslaughter for the 2014 fatal shooting of a Black man who was carrying an air rifle he had just purchased. A judge later threw out that charge. The U.S. Supreme Court has given law enforcement officers qualified immunity for their on-duty actions, making it difficult to charge and convict them for questionable shootings. The court says that officers can only be convicted if the evidence shows that their conduct was illegal and they should have known they were violating clearly established law. Duran began his law enforcement career as a military police officer in the Army. He was hired by an Oklahoma police department in 2015 after his military discharge. He joined the Okaloosa County sheriffs office in 2019, but resigned two years later and then rejoined the sheriffs office in 2023. Okaloosa personnel records show he was reprimanded in 2021 for not completing his assignment to confirm the addresses of three registered sex offenders by visiting their homes. Then assigned to a high school as its on-campus deputy, he was also disciplined that year for leaving the school before the final bell and the students departure. Florida law requires that an armed guard be on campus when class is in session. In a statement Friday, the sheriffs office said it stands by its decision to terminate Duran and has been fully accountable and transparent throughout the case. The apartment complex where Fortson lived is about 8 miles (13 kilometers) from Hurlburt Field, where Fortson was assigned to the 4th Special Operations Squadron as a special missions aviator serving on an AC-130J Ghostrider gunship. Duran went to the apartment complex on May 3 after getting the domestic disturbance call. Duran met an apartment manager who directed him to Fortsons fourth-floor unit, telling him there had been frequent arguments, the deputy's body camera video shows. But Fortson, who had no criminal record, lived alone and had no guests that afternoon. He was on a video call with his girlfriend, who told investigators they had not been arguing. She said Fortson was playing a video game. Also, 911 records show deputies had never been called to Fortsons apartment previously but they had been called to a nearby unit 10 times in the previous eight months, including once for a domestic disturbance. When Duran arrived outside Fortsons door, he stood silently for 20 seconds and listened, but no voices inside are recorded on Duran's body camera video. He then pounded on the door, but didnt identify himself. He then moved to the side of the door, about 5 feet away (1.5 meters). He told investigators he feared that the person inside might fire through the door or open the door and push him over the rail and to the ground about 40 feet (12 meters) below. He waited 15 seconds before pounding on the door again. This time he yelled, Sheriffs office open the door! He again moved to the side. A muffled voice can be heard on the video Duran said he heard someone cursing at the police. Less then 10 seconds later, Duran moved back in front of the door and pounded again, announcing himself once more. Fortsons girlfriend told investigators that the airman asked who was there but did not get a response. She said Fortson told her he was not going to answer the door because no one comes to his apartment. She said neither of them heard the deputy yell that he was with the sheriffs office. After the third knock, she said Fortson told her, Im gonna go grab my gun because I dont know who that is. When Fortson opened the door holding his gun, Duran said Step back, and then two seconds later began firing. Fortson fell backward onto the floor. Only then did the deputy yell, Drop the gun! Fortson replied, Its over there. The deputy called for paramedics, but Fortson died a short time later at the hospital. ___ Anderson reported from St. Petersburg, Florida; Martin reported from Atlanta. Terry Spencer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, contributed to this story. Police officers stand at the entrance to a bar in the station district of Frankfurt am Main during a control operation. Boris Roessler/dpa A family feud in Turkey may have been behind a shocking deadly shooting on a railway platform in the bustling Frankfurt Central Station, the public prosecutor's office said on Friday. A 54-year-old alleged gunman shot a 27-year-old man from behind with a pistol at the railway station at around 9 pm on Tuesday evening, and then shot the man twice more in the head as he lay on the ground, according to police. The 27-year-old victim died at the scene, while German police managed to capture the 54-year-old suspect moments later on an adjacent platform as he tried to board another train to escape. Both the alleged shooter and the victim are Turkish citizens, according to prosecutors. Turkish media had previously cited a family conflict as the background to the crime, but without referring to sources. The deadly shooting in the middle of one of the country's busiest railway stations shocked many in Germany and has attracted extensive media coverage. The spokesman for the Frankfurt public prosecutor's office, Dominik Mies, said that surveillance video of the crime that has been circulating online is genuine. The footage shows a man approaching a second man from behind, pointing a pistol at the back of his head and the man falling to the ground shortly afterwards. According to prosecutors, the suspect has so far refused to comment on the allegations against him. Mies said the investigation is running at full speed. "We are continuing to evaluate evidence, question witnesses and carry out all kinds of investigations. Every stone is being turned over, every direction is being looked at and we will not rest until the crime has been solved," he said. WILMORE, Ky. (FOX 56) Isabella Willingham, along with family and other members of the Asbury community are still saying her name as she chanted with a megaphone toward a crowd of people on Asbury Universitys campus, Say my name! With fellow protestors responding with, Isabella! Theyre still searching for answers nearly 10 months after an incident her freshman year that was almost fatal. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: She had actually, died in her room. Yeah, she was, unresponsive for over 23 minutes, and the paramedics were able to bring her back around, Isabellas father, Andy Willingham, said. She was found with cuts, bruises, deep gashes and was missing several of her acrylic nails. These injuries landed her in the hospital for two weeks. She didnt return to campus for the spring semester. The bright side is that she doesnt remember much. or actually, she remembers nothing about ityou know, the day what happened and the events of it, her father said. This led to the creation of Asbury Anonymous, a Facebook group with 600 members. Theyre the ones who organized todays protest, which is also the first day of the universitys welcome week for new and transfer students. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Since Isabellas incident, weve had a lot of other stories come forward about negligence on Asburys behalf, and so were here to be their voices as well but also speak for justice for Isabella, says Julia Marvel, one of the administrators for the Facebook group. They say its been radio silence on the universitys end when it comes to making a statement on Isabellas incident. Theyre completely silent. Weve asked on social media. Weve had people go in front of the president, and unfortunately, weve heard nothing from them, Marvel said. FOX 56 News reached out to Asbury University for a comment on the situation, but did not get a response. Throughout the protest, they chanted things like, Make a statement! Make a statement! and What do we want? Justice! When do we want it? Now! LATEST KENTUCKY LISTS AND RANKINGS: The group says it will continue advocating on behalf of Isabella and others until they get the justice theyre searching for. They encourage people to sign their petition to raise awareness for Isabella and other victims. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 56 News. Members of the Puerto Rico delegation cast their votes during the ceremonial roll call at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Tuesday. Puerto Rican delegates at the Democratic and Republican national conventions backed their respective presidential nominees, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump even though both parties changed their official platforms on Puerto Rico, not aligning with some delegates' views on statehood or the future of Puerto Rico. The platform approved at the Democratic convention in Chicago this week states the partys explicit support for a bipartisan bill that seeks to change Puerto Ricos territorial relationship to the U.S. through a federally binding vote leaving out Puerto Rico's current territorial option. Under the terms of the bill, known as the Puerto Rico Status Act, Puerto Ricans living in the U.S. territory would choose among three nonterritorial status options: statehood, independence and sovereignty in free association with the U.S. By contrast, Democrats broadly included Puerto Rico's current territorial status in their 2020 and 2016 platforms, saying it should be up to the people of Puerto Rico to determine their status. Last month, the Republican platform removed language supporting Puerto Rican statehood, which it had included in 2020 and 2016. In their 2020 and 2016 platforms, Republicans supported the right of the United States citizens of Puerto Rico to be admitted to the Union as a fully sovereign state. In their 2024 platform, Republicans included no mention of the issue, saying only that they will protect Americans in the territories, including Puerto Rico, because they are of vital importance to our National Security, and we welcome their greater participation in all aspects of the political process. A candidates stance on Puerto Ricos status is a top-of-mind issue for Puerto Rican voters in the mainland. Puerto Ricans living on the island are U.S. citizens who can't vote for president or participate in other federal elections. That changes once they move to the mainland U.S. and can register to vote in U.S. elections, making Puerto Ricans the second-largest group of Latino eligible voters in the country. While people in Puerto Rico cant vote in presidential elections, both the Democratic and the Republican parties allow them to participate in presidential primaries and send delegates to their national conventions. The island's status issue is an incredibly divisive one, in large part because of how local political parties in Puerto Rico are organized. Traditionally, most people have supported either the pro-statehood New Progressive Party or the Popular Democratic Party, which supports the current territorial status. A smaller percentage of independentistas support the Puerto Rican Independence Party, which advocates for independence from the U.S. United for Harris but divided over DNC platform All of Puerto Ricos 60 delegates attended the Democratic National Convention this week. Forty-three of them are from the pro-statehood party, 16 are from the party supporting the current status, and one isnt affiliated to any party on the island. Charlie Rodriguez, president of the Puerto Rico Democratic Party and a member of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party, referred to the island as the commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the next state of the United States during the Democratic convention's roll call, surrounded by his fellow pro-statehood delegates, who held "USA" signs. Before the start of the convention, the governing board of the Popular Democratic Party backing the current territorial status had agreed to abstain from endorsing the Democratic Party's new platform based on its language supporting the Puerto Rico Status Act. Jesus Manuel Ortiz, president of the Popular Democratic Party and a candidate for Puerto Rico governor, said Sunday in a statement in Spanish that party supporters reject any undemocratic effort to exclude the commonwealth," a term referring to the current status. Most convention delegates affiliated with the Popular Democratic Party didnt attend the vote to approve the new Democratic platform Monday, El Nuevo Dia, a Puerto Rican national newspaper, reported. Despite their political differences at home, all of them voted in favor of Harris as the presidential nominee Tuesday night. Last month during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Puerto Rican delegates who support statehood found themselves in a similarly strange situation when Republicans removed language supporting statehood for Puerto Rico from their party platform. All members of the Puerto Rico Republican Partys executive board also belong to the pro-statehood New Progressive Party on the island. Trump received their full support during the convention even though the platform excluded statehood. The Puerto Rico Republican Party also pledged all 23 of its delegates to Trump. Support for the current status has been eroding on the island as more Puerto Ricans see their territorial relationship to the U.S. as the root cause of many crises they have endured over the past several years. They include a botched federal response to Hurricane Maria, a decadelong financial crisis and the federally imposed oversight board overseeing the largest public debt restructuring in U.S. history resulting in tough austerity measures that prompted layoffs of public workers and cuts to the health care and education budgets. Despite changes in how Puerto Ricans view their current status, both the New Progressive Party and the Popular Democratic Party have significant support on the island. For more from NBC Latino, sign up for our weekly newsletter. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com We are pushing Russian army out of Kharkiv Oblast Zelenskyy In his evening video address, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are steadily ousting Russian forces out of Kharkiv Oblast. Source: Zelenskyy in his evening video address on 23 August Quote: "I spoke with Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi, particularly about the fighting in Kharkiv Oblast. We are pushing out the Russian army. Step by step. The occupier will not subjugate Kharkiv. Nor will it subjugate all of our Ukraine." Details: The President noted that from the beginning of May, the Armed Forces had successfully repelled the Russian forces attempt to attack Kharkiv. Zelenskyy described Kharkiv as "a truly heroic city, a city of people and life." Background: Before that, it was reported that stabilisation efforts were ongoing at the site of the counterattack by the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Kharkiv Oblast. Oleksandr Borodin, the spokesman for the 3rd Assault Brigade, reported that the operation had resulted in severe damage to the positions and logistics of the 20th Army of the Russian Federation. Asked whether the 3rd Assault Brigade's operation is linked to the Ukrainian operation in Russia's Kursk Oblast, Borodin replied it was a "synchronised success". The spokesman also said that despite the losses, including in personnel, Russian forces still have enormous reserves in the area, though they may not be effective due to the damage to logistics. Support UP or become our patron! As hopes for interest rate cuts grow in Europe and major stock indexes post strong gains, the Swedish market has shown resilience amid global economic uncertainties. With this backdrop, identifying robust dividend stocks becomes crucial for investors seeking steady income and potential growth. In this article, we will explore three top Swedish dividend stocks that stand out in August 2024. Top 10 Dividend Stocks In Sweden Name Dividend Yield Dividend Rating Bredband2 i Skandinavien (OM:BRE2) 4.35% Betsson (OM:BETS B) 5.59% Nordea Bank Abp (OM:NDA SE) 8.75% Zinzino (OM:ZZ B) 4.03% HEXPOL (OM:HPOL B) 3.57% Axfood (OM:AXFO) 3.17% Duni (OM:DUNI) 4.95% Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (OM:SEB A) 5.53% Avanza Bank Holding (OM:AZA) 4.80% SSAB (OM:SSAB A) 9.90% Click here to see the full list of 22 stocks from our Top Swedish Dividend Stocks screener. Underneath we present a selection of stocks filtered out by our screen. Simply Wall St Dividend Rating: Overview: Bredband2 i Skandinavien AB (publ) offers data communication and security solutions to individuals and companies in Sweden, with a market cap of SEK1.98 billion. Operations: Bredband2 i Skandinavien AB (publ) generates revenue primarily from its National Broadband Service, amounting to SEK1.65 billion. Dividend Yield: 4.3% Bredband2 i Skandinavien reported strong earnings growth, with second-quarter sales reaching SEK 429.55 million and net income at SEK 24.35 million. The companys dividend yield of 4.35% is among the top in Sweden, and its dividends have been stable and growing over the past decade. With a payout ratio of 87.6% covered by earnings and a cash payout ratio of 39.1%, BRE2's dividend payments are both reliable and sustainable, making it an attractive option for dividend investors. OM:BRE2 Dividend History as at Aug 2024 Simply Wall St Dividend Rating: Overview: Eolus Vind AB (publ) develops, constructs, and operates renewable energy assets across several countries including Sweden and the United States, with a market cap of SEK1.58 billion. Operations: Eolus Vind AB (publ) generates revenue primarily through the development, construction, and operation of renewable energy projects in various countries including Sweden, Norway, Finland, the United States, Poland, Spain, and the Baltic states. Dividend Yield: 3.5% Eolus Vind's dividend payments are well-covered by earnings (10.1% payout ratio) and cash flows (55.5% cash payout ratio), although they have been volatile over the past decade. The companys dividend yield of 3.55% is lower than the top 25% of Swedish dividend payers. Despite recent strong earnings growth, future earnings are forecast to decline, potentially impacting dividend reliability. Recent business expansions include applying for permission to build the Skidbladner offshore wind farm, enhancing long-term prospects. Story continues OM:EOLU B Dividend History as at Aug 2024 Simply Wall St Dividend Rating: Overview: Nordea Bank Abp provides banking products and services across Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark, and internationally with a market cap of SEK418.83 billion. Operations: Nordea Bank Abp generates revenue primarily from Personal Banking (4.78 billion), Business Banking (3.59 billion), Large Corporates & Institutions (2.48 billion), and Asset and Wealth Management (1.44 billion). Dividend Yield: 8.7% Nordea Bank Abp's dividend yield of 8.75% places it among the top 25% of Swedish dividend payers. The bank's dividends are currently covered by earnings with a payout ratio of 63.8%, and they are forecast to remain sustainable in three years at 68.2%. Despite a history of volatile and unreliable dividend payments, recent earnings growth and good relative value compared to peers suggest potential stability for future dividends. Recent legal issues may pose risks but have been provisioned for adequately according to the companys assessments. OM:NDA SE Dividend History as at Aug 2024 Summing It All Up Investigate our full lineup of 22 Top Swedish Dividend Stocks right here. Shareholder in one or more of these companies? Ensure you're never caught off-guard by adding your portfolio in Simply Wall St for timely alerts on significant stock developments. Take control of your financial future using Simply Wall St, offering free, in-depth knowledge of international markets to every investor. Looking For Alternative Opportunities? 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 OM:BRE2 OM:EOLU B and OM:NDA SE. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com Vladimir Putin holds a video conference to discuss the latest Ukrainian attacks. Western figures believe he is facing growing dissension - Gavriil GRIGOROV / POOL / AFP Ukraines surprise ground assault in Russia has sown doubt inside the country about Vladimir Putin, the Defence Secretary has said. In an article for The Telegraph, John Healey says that the Russian presidents cabal may be facing growing internal pressure. The intervention comes after Volodymyr Zelensky sent thousands of troops into Russia as part of a surprise ground assault which captured almost 500 sq miles of enemy territory. John Healey said the Kursk operation on Aug 6, which is the largest foreign attack on Russian territory since the Second World War, had caused the Russian people to question their president, in turn exposing his increasingly fragile grip on the country. It has led to a crackdown on social media and messaging apps by the Kremlin, to stop dissenting voices over Ukraines counter-strike. In what are the first comments by a senior government figure on the impact of Kyivs counter-strike within Russia, Mr Healey writes in The Telegraph: Ukraines defensive operation in Kursk is a reminder to all Ukraines supporters that wars can shift at short notice, and continued military support for Ukraine remains as crucial as ever. It has sown doubt inside Russia, exposing Putins Kremlin cabal to the consequences of their aggression. Earlier this week, Kyiv bombarded Russia with its largest ever drone attack, forcing Moscow to close airports out of fear of further attacks. Western officials told The Telegraph that Ukraines ability to enter western Russia in a complete tactical surprise had undermined the Russian narrative that had been taking hold in which the country had limitless resources, and Russian victory was inevitable. One official said: This has been a success for President Zelensky and the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Putin has not formally addressed the Russian nation about Ukraines invasion, instead dismissing it as a new normal, which the officials added showed the pressure Putin was feeling over what he called Ukraines provocation. Despite Putins reluctance to give credence to Ukraines advance, defence sources told The Telegraph that intelligence showed the wider Russian population was increasingly concerned with the unfolding situation. As such, the Kremlin has clamped down on social media and messaging apps in order to keep a stranglehold on the flow of information within Russia. Its telecommunications regulator has reportedly blocked the use of the messaging service Signal, which is favoured by independent Russian journalists and opposition activists to evade the Russian governments pervasive system of electronic monitoring, notably the FSBs System of Operational Investigative Measures. Rocket strikes on Russian position in eastern Ukraine. Putin is struggling to find enough recruits to fill gaps created by casualties, Western analysts say - Reuters TV It follows the disruption of WhatsApp and YouTube in Russia. Earlier this week Mr Zelensky complained that British aid to Kyiv had begun to wane. Referring to UK military assistance he said the situation has slowed down recently. It comes as the US, UK and France have been engulfed in a row with the Ukrainian president over a ban imposed by Britain that prevents him from using Storm Shadow missiles outside of his own territory. Sir Keir Starmer has upheld the Conservative-era ban on using UK-made Storm Shadows to strike targets inside Russia, amid concerns it could lead to escalation with Moscow, despite Mr Zelenskys repeated requests following his countrys incursion into Kursk. The long-range missiles were originally sent to Ukraine by the UK to help push Russian troops out of Crimea. Writing as Ukraine marks 33 years since its Declaration of Independence, Mr Healey says: Putins complaints that Ukraines offensive is a provocation are akin to a playground bully protesting because his smaller victim has had the temerity to fight back. He adds: Ukraine has the right to defend itself against Russias illegal attacks, including the option to carry out incursions within Russia, as long as they are compliant with international law. And we can be proud that British weapons are helping Ukraine protect itself and push back Putins forces. Russia can have no objections. Mr Healey also writes that Ukraine must prevail in its war with Russia. All of us who support Ukraine should not shy away from helping them to do so, despite Putins threats, he says. This isnt just critically important for the people of Ukraine. The defence of Europe, and ultimately the UK, starts on the front lines that run through Ukraine, because if Putin succeeds in his aims there, he will not stop. According to Kyiv, its forces have continued to advance in the Kursk region and have destroyed key bridges and pontoons. Western officials said that Russia was suffering 1,000 casualties a day, which is higher than the rate it can replace them. Russia is essentially losing now more than it is able to recruit, and there is no sign of being able to scale up contract recruitment, they said. Lets make some noise for Ukraine By John Healey Thirty-three years ago today, Ukraine issued their Declaration of Independence. It was a promise of a brighter, more prosperous future as a sovereign democracy, free from the control of Soviet Russia. On Saturday, the Ukrainians mark their independence day with war. This is an existential fight. A fight to remain a free and independent nation in the face of Putins brutal illegal invasion. Ukraine has always been the underdog against Russias massively bigger forces and resources. Today, we salute the Ukrainian people. They continue to fight with huge courage, military and civilians alike. They fight for freedoms that we ourselves must never take for granted. We must ensure our Ukrainian friends know that we will stand steadfast by their side for as long as it takes. And we will not be silent in the face of Putins aggression. Thats why today, the UK is leading a campaign calling on people across Britain, and beyond, to let Ukrainians know they have our support. On social media we ask you to make noise for Ukraine. and share those posts that do so. Because alongside the military and economic support that we offer to Ukraine, we have also offered our friendship and solidarity. Including the thousands of British families who have welcomed Ukrainians into their homes. I am proud the UK is still united for Ukraine, over 900 days after Putins full-scale invasion. As President Zelensky and his people continue their fight, our new UK Government has stepped up Britains support and made clear our unwavering commitment to stand by Ukraine for however long it takes. At the Nato summit in Washington, Prime Minister Keir Starmer confirmed we will provide 3 billion a year in support to Ukraine for as long as it takes. We are supplying anti-tank missiles, artillery and armoured vehicles to help push back Putin. John Healey signs an agreement with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov watched by Keir Starmer and Volodomyr Zelensky in No 10 last month - Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street On a visit to Ukraine shortly after becoming Defence Secretary, I ordered a new package of military kit to be sent from Britain, together with the faster delivery of existing orders. A few weeks later, we welcomed President Zelensky to the UK the first foreign leader in decades to sit at the UK Cabinet table while I signed a new defence export treaty with Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umerov. And we remain in ongoing dialogue with the Ukrainians and our allies about how best to support Ukraines military effort. Ukraine must prevail in this war. And all of us who support Ukraine should not shy away from helping them to do so despite Putins threats. This isnt just critically important for the people of Ukraine. The defence of Europe, and ultimately the UK, starts on the front lines that run through Ukraine, because if Putin succeeds in his aims there, he will not stop. Ukraines defensive operation in Kursk is a reminder to all Ukraines supporters that wars can shift at short notice, and continued military support for Ukraine remains as crucial as ever. It has sown doubt inside Russia, exposing Putins Kremlin cabal to the consequences of their aggression. And it has boosted morale among the Ukrainian people, whose extraordinary resilience over the past two and half years has earned the admiration of the world. Putins complaints that Ukraines offensive is a provocation are akin to a playground bully protesting because his smaller victim has had the temerity to fight back. Ukraine has the right to defend itself against Russias illegal attacks, including the option to carry out incursions within Russia, as long as they are compliant with international law. And we can be proud that British weapons are helping Ukraine protect itself and push back Putins forces. Russia can have no objections. On Ukrainian Independence Day, we send a message that the UK will never forget the heroic people and brave armed forces of Ukraine. That Britain and our Nato allies will stand together with the Ukrainian nation against Putins unprovoked invasion. And that our national security begins on Ukraines front line. Until Russian guns are silent, we will make noise for Ukraine. We will stand by Ukraine. For as long as it takes. Slava Ukraini. John Healey is the Defence Secretary 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 an honest system, I believe I would have won the election," Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said at a press conference in Phoenix today, where he announced he would be suspending his campaign in 10 battleground states. He urged his supporters in those states to vote instead for former President Donald Trump. Kennedy blamed media and government censorship for suppressing his campaign message and attacked the Democratic Party's legal efforts to keep him off the ballot. While the two men still had major disagreements, Kennedy said that Trump would be the superior candidate on his three major, "existential" issues of "free speech, the war in Ukraine, and the war on our children." In a long, wide-ranging speech, Kennedy reiterated many of the heterodox concerns that had motivated his campaign, including that processed foods, seed oils, and pharmaceuticals were causing an explosion of chronic disease in children, that the U.S. was "addicted" to forever wars, and that the government was weaponizing agencies to suppress free speech and independent messages like his. Speculation had been mounting over this past week that Kennedy would drop out and endorse Trump. His running mate Nicole Shanahan said Tuesday that Kennedy might end his campaign to lower the risk of a Kamala Harris presidency. Trump responded that he would consider appointing Kennedy to a position in his administration. Still, Kennedy's endorsement of the Republican candidate wasn't inevitable. Just last week, Kennedy was reportedly angling for a position in the Harris administration in return for an endorsement. A few months before that, Kennedy was (somewhat half-heartedly) seeking the Libertarian Party's nomination for president. At his Phoenix rally today, Kennedy said he had several meetings with Trump, in which the former president committed to giving him a role in his administration. Kennedy said he'd use that role to clear out the influence of big food and pharmaceutical companies in government. Harris, he said, had refused to speak with him. Kennedy's quixotic campaign message of opposition to COVID-19 mandates; extreme skepticism of vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and processed foods; criticism of foreign intervention; support for more environmental regulation and tougher border security; and condemnation of Big Tech censorship attracted support from a cross-ideological collection of anti-establishment oddballs. Polls put support for the independent candidate as high as double-digits earlier this year. But as the election has worn on, Kennedy-curious liberals, conservatives, and independents have mostly made their way back to the two major parties. More recent polling puts Kennedy's support in the mid-single digits. Some bizarre scandals about whether Kennedy ate a dog and his planting of a dead bear cub in Central Park likely didn't help his changes. At his rally today, Kennedy said that he'd accepted that he couldn't win the election. He said that his name would remain on the ballot in deep red and blue states and urged his supporters in those states to still vote for him. Absent his ability to win the race, Kennedy urged people to vote for Trump where it would matter. Doing so was potentially the last chance to save democracy from Democratic Party subversion and "millions of children" from Big Ag and Big Pharma. The post At Rally, RFK Jr. Says He'll Stop Forever Wars, Seed Oils From Trump's Cabinet appeared first on Reason.com. Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy criticized Democrats for making the conservative strategy Project 2025 into a boogeyman. Theyve turned Project 2025 into the equivalent of this boogeyman, like they had of Russian interference in the 2016 election, the entrepreneur told Blake Burman on NewsNations The Hill. Thats what theyre trying to create, this false boogeyman. I think its falling flat. Ramaswamy was speaking Thursday from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where he was a surprise attendee. Democrats at this weeks convention have sought to draw attention to Project 2025, the policy platform created by The Heritage Foundation for the next Republican administration. Former President Trump has said he has nothing to do with the plan, but Democrats have tried to tie a second Trump term with the conservative agenda. Republicans have ramped up attacks on Vice President Harris and her campaigns policy stance. Earlier Thursday, Ramaswamy said he sees a gaping, wide-open opportunity for the GOP to go harder on Harriss policy record. He pointed to instances where Harris backed away from some of her previous positions that she held during her 2020 presidential campaign. Ahead of Harriss official nomination acceptance speech, Ramaswamy said Trump has offered the American people his policy vision, but the Democratic nominee has not. The reality is, both candidates have an obligation to tell the people of this country where they actually stand. Donald Trumps done it, Ramaswamy said. You may agree or not, but at least hes given you clear policy proposals. Kamala hasnt done it. NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CHICAGO Former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy made a surprise appearance on the final day of the Democratic National Convention, just hours before Vice President Harris is set to take the stage. I held a conference open to the public, open to the press, earlier today, where I laid out an alternative vision the vision that not only our party, but the America First movement and Donald Trump stands for to give voters that choice, Ramaswamy said when asked by The Hill what his goal was in attending the convention. And it was to call on Kamala Harris to offer her own vision. Lets see if she does it tonight, he added. He noted that he was at the convention for a few hours and was committed to doing some interviews, saying he believed in open debate. He also noted that he had spent some time with the protesters in the city. The beauty of this country is you get to express your opinion, whether or not I agree with it, you get to express your opinion. Thats what a lot of the protesters outside were doing, Ramaswamy said. And you know what? Were not in this just to lead the people who agree with us. Were in this to lead an entire country, and thats what I wanted to show by being here, is we believe in open debate, he said. We can do it respectfully. You can do it peacefully. Ramaswamy ran against former President Trump in the GOP presidential primary, later exiting the race and endorsing him. Ramaswamy, who is from Ohio, suggested potential interest in a run for Senate if Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) is elected with Trump in November, which would leave his seat open. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Police are searching for the gunman involved in a random shooting that left a motorist dead in the Panorama City neighborhood of Los Angeles early Friday. The incident was reported around 1:30 a.m. on Van Nuys Boulevard near Osborne Street. Police said the motorist was shot while driving, lost control of the vehicle and careened into the fence of an apartment complex. Panorama City motorist shot Video showed other vehicles parked on the street were also struck by the gunfire. The unidentified driver was pronounced dead after being transported to a local hospital. Los Angeles Police Department Detective Christine Moselle said the shooting was still under investigation but appeared to be random and said authorities are still searching for a suspect. No description of the suspect or any possible vehicle used in the shooting was 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 KTLA. In our Reality Check stories, Modesto Bee journalists deliver fast facts about the issues that matter to local residents to hold officials and institutions accountable. Read more. Story idea? Tips@modbee.com. Health inspectors observed a dead rat and rodent droppings inside a downtown Modesto restaurant in early August. Violations of this nature have been noted at the facility for two years. These werent the only violations observed by Stanislaus County officials during the latest round of inspections. The majority of the 2,400 permitted food service establishments in the county receive two unannounced routine food safety inspections per year, according to the Department of Environmental Resources. The website says inspection reports are scanned weekly. Food trucks that operate under a Stanislaus County Health Department permit also are inspected by the county, though those are scheduled and done at the departments office. Dirty conditions at a Stanislaus County restaurant? How to report health code violations Of the 59 restaurant inspection reports sent to The Modesto Bee on Wednesday, five were not updated on the site as of Thursday morning. If an inspection listed below needs clarification, business owners can email Modesto Bee reporter Dominique Williams at dwilliams@modbee.com. Rat issue among major health violations Violations were found during routine inspections of the following Stanislaus County food facilities during the week of Aug. 5-11. Only the dates of violations are listed. The details of the reports do not indicate whether a restaurant passed or failed inspection. Corrective actions may have been made by the business by the time of publication. The reports are linked. For updates on individual restaurants, search the DER website. 7-Eleven, 2101 Standiford Ave., Suite A, in Modesto, had four violations Aug. 5 two of them major. The cold-holding condiment unit was noted at 58 degrees (must be 41 degrees or lower). A toilet-paper roll was found outside of the dispenser and the hand-washing station was lacking a paper towel dispenser. The three-compartment sink faucet was leaking. Village Market, 3800 Patterson Road in Riverbank, had four violations Aug. 5 one of them major. There was no mop sink installed a violation that has been repeated since June 2022. Employees were dumping mop water in the bathroom. There was scented bleach sanitizer being used to wash equipment (must be unscented). There were coffee splatters underneath dispensing nozzles and coffee powders covering the insides of the cappuccino-making machine. Various carbon dioxide tanks were free-standing and not supported by a rigid structure. Taqueria El Maguey, 3801 Yosemite Blvd., Suite N, in Modesto, had nine violations Aug. 6 one of them major. The hot water at the three-compartment sink was 109 degrees (must be a minimum of 120 degrees) and the faucet was unable to turn off the cold water valve to dispense only hot water. The interior walls of the ice machine had black and brown staining and there was a panel lacking for the air filter. The exterior surface of the dry bulk food bins had flour buildup. There was a missing floor tile in the backroom. Paper towels were lacking at the front hand-washing sink. Food handler cards were lacking for some employees and there was no verification of a valid food safety certification. AK Groceries, 710 Sutter Ave. in Modesto, had three violations Aug. 7. There were outdated sandwiches and cream cheese on a shelf in the reach-in refrigerator. The facility lacked hot water throughout. A container with gasoline and a small container of motor oil were observed on the top of the ice machine. During a reinspection on Aug. 15, the facility still lacked hot water. M & S Corner Market, 4885 Washington St. in Salida, had three violations Aug. 8. Dark grime had accumulated on the top of the inside of the ice machine. A small portion of the ceiling was damaged above packaged utensils. A portion of the wall in the hallway was damaged and insulation was showing. Churchkey, 910 12th St. in Modesto, had seven violations Aug. 8 two of them major. Inspectors observed a dead rat on the floor of an abandoned bathroom in the facility and rodent droppings were in the corner of a hallway. The ceiling in the abandoned restroom had a large rodent access area. Another access point was identified at the wall/floor junction under a drink mixer machine and a dropping was found on floor of this area. A January 2023 inspection report indicated that the owners of the restaurant had been observing rodents in the facility since summer 2022. Rodents, their feces and traps have continued to be noted by inspectors since then. The rubber holder for the drink pistol at the bar was soiled. The soap dispenser was missing at the hand sink and the hot water faucet at the three-compartment sink in the bar area did not work. Akitaca Japanese Restaurant, 1800 Prescott Road, Suite C, in Modesto, had five violations Aug. 9 one of them major. An uncovered container of hard-boiled eggs was found next to uncovered, raw seafood containers in the walk-in refrigerator. Multiple bulk food containers stored in the walk-in refrigerator were found without covers and labels. An accumulation of food debris, grease and dirt was found in multiple spots in the kitchen and the exhaust hood baffle blades were soiled with grease. The mechanical dishwasher chlorine level was below 50 ppm. Chongs Cuisine, 1801 Countryside Drive in Turlock, had seven violations Aug. 9 one of them major. Uncovered rice inside a metal colander under a food prep table was observed sitting at room temperature, 73 degrees. Per the operator, the rice was left over from the night before and was going to be discarded. Multiple pieces of food equipment and utensils were stored directly on the floor throughout the food facility. The sandwich prep refrigerator was noted to have a broken door. When the inspector went to open the door, it came off the hinges and fell onto the floor. This facility was observed using single-use containers for the storage of opened food product. Food containers were lacking labels. The walk- in refrigerator was lacking a free-standing thermometer. The sanitizer concentration in buckets was observed at more than 200 ppm. Other food facilities with three or more, or major, violations at the time of their inspections are: Two or fewer non-major violations According to Stanislaus County, food facilities that had one to two violations, none of them major, are: These Stanislaus County facilities had no violations These food facilities had no violations, according to the county: A draft bill headed to the Utah Legislature aims to provide clear guidelines when testing raw milk, and a standard to reissue a suspended permit. (Getty Images) When the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food found campylobacter bacteria in the raw milk that Shayn and Kristen Bowler sold in Utah Natural Meat and Milk, their West Jordan farm, it triggered a monthslong process to reinstate their permit. The department had linked the bacteria to 14 illnesses in September 2023, according to a news release, and issued a cease and desist order to the business. The farm, which usually had a line of customers from the Salt Lake Valley and other places, including Nevada and Wyoming, had to stop operations for about two months while the state conducted multiple tests, way longer than the 10 days it usually took the state to test the raw milk. The main problem, as you can imagine, that happened to us is that we started to run out of funds, and that became increasingly difficult to try and navigate the process of discovering with the department what was going on, Shayn Bowler told legislators on Wednesday. Consequently, during that period, we lost about $96,000 in revenue, and we were forced to sell off two-thirds of our dairy cow herd. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Bowlers farm has a waiting list of about 500 people who want to buy raw milk, Bowler said, and they dont have a location to do so. As raw milk gains popularity in Utah, a lawmaker is looking to create a quicker, smoother process for small farmers to resume sales after similar pathogens are found in raw milk. In a meeting with the Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Interim Committee, West Jordan Republican Rep. Cheryl Acton presented draft legislation to provide clear guidelines to the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food when testing raw milk at third-party laboratories, and a standard to reissue a suspended permit. It is difficult and costly, of course, for a small agricultural business to maintain a herd for a prolonged period of time and dump the milk, Acton said. Its very expensive, so it would be advantageous for those small producers to have a clear process. The Legislature would consider the bill during its 2025 General Session. Some argue raw milk boosts the immune system and has health properties, such as beneficial bacteria that makes it easier to digest, and vitamins, minerals, enzymes and fats easier to absorb, according to a Bon Appetit report. But, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned about the risk of foodborne illnesses linked to unpasteurized milk. Consuming raw milk could expose people to germs such as campylobacter (recently discovered in an outbreak in Idaho linked to raw milk), cryptosporidium, E. coli, listeria, brucella, and salmonella, the CDCs website lists. Symptoms can include diarrhea, stomach cramping, and vomiting. In some cases, more severe outcomes like Guillain-Barre syndrome or hemolytic uremic syndrome can occur, potentially leading to paralysis, kidney failure, stroke, or even death, according to the website. Let us know what you think... Dr. Hubert Karreman, a North Carolina veterinarian, who also runs a dairy farm that sells raw milk, testified during the committee hearing, citing a study associated with a couple of Canadian health care institutions that listed more hospitalizations and deaths linked with pasteurized milk from 2007 to 2020 but also accounted for 20 outbreaks involving raw milk, versus 12 outbreaks related to pasteurized products. As a dairy veterinarian and dairy farmer, I certainly dont want to make milk, pasteurized or raw, look like poison, because its not, Karreman said. Lets be honest, the food we eat all has risks. CDC estimates every year 48 million, (or) 1 in 6, gets sick from a foodborne illness. While the Department of Agriculture and Food believes it can work out a smoother process to regulate raw milk, it still has some concerns about how the testing timeline would work, Craig Buttars, commissioner at the department, told the committee, since the bill requires genome sequencing a lab test that helps determine the genetic makeup of an organism to link a producer to an outbreak. Its not clear if that testing is required before the department can issue a cease and desist order, or if that can happen after, Buttars said. Additionally, the department doesnt do genome sequencing, and is unsure if those tests could be conducted in five business days. We have no control over it, or we dont have access to patient data. It is more expensive, and we do not have the resources to pay for that. We do not have the funding that would be needed, and the cost would likely go to producers, Buttars said. Buttars also used his time before the committee to clarify that while some raw milk facilities advertise that their milk is tested by the department, and testing doesnt ensure that raw milk is safe for all consumers. Advertising it could be a little bit misleading to the public, so we want to make sure that thats clarified, Buttars said. That that practice is not standard. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST Who is Ray Bunnell and why wont he help SLO County finish the Bob Jones Trail? For over a decade, San Luis Obispo County has been trying to complete the Bob Jones Trail, connecting the paths existing sections and creating an uninterrupted route from SLO to Avila Beach. But a lone obstacle has consistently stood in the way. Rancher and business owner Ray Bunnell owns land along the planned route of the bike path. And for years, he has refused to sell a corner of his parcel to the county to accommodate the trail. Mr. Bunnell has been objecting to this trail on his property since at least 2010, Kristen Renfro, Bunnells lawyer, told the SLO County Board of Supervisors at their meeting on Aug. 20. To at least one person who knows Bunnell, the landowners obstinance is not a surprise. Ray Bunnell is definitely the most difficult man in the county, if not the state of California, said Larry Silver, a former neighbor who has since sold his property to the rancher. He is quick to pick a fight. With the exception of Bunnell, the trail project has garnered widespread community support. And the county has successfully worked with other landowners along the corridor to issue construction and land-use easements, but after years of negotiations with the rancher, Bunnell still wont budge. In my opinion, this project causes minimal harm, Supervisor Jimmy Paulding said at a SLO County Board of supervisors meeting on Aug. 20, making the case for an eminent domain proceeding on the property. The public good absolutely outweighs the private harm. The map shows the location of the potential Bob Jones trail over Ray Bunnells property. Bob Jones Trail link in jeopardy after SLO County supervisors come up one vote short The board needed four votes to compel the sale, but it failed 3-1 when Supervisor Debbie Arnold broke from the majority. Supervisor John Peschong recused himself and didnt vote because he had received $1,750 in campaign donations from Bunnell last year, including $500 recently as Sept. 27, 2023. But Bunnells lawyer maintains that her client has been treated unfairly. Whats occurred here is that a single private property owner has been made ... to feel a villain, Renfro said at the meeting. He doesnt want to sell his property. He doesnt have to choose to. For his part, Bunnell has been something of a mystery man, choosing to remain quiet publicly even as project planners tried repeatedly to cajole him behind the scenes. That is, until this week, when Bunnell wrote a letter to the Board of Supervisors ahead of Tuesdays meeting, where a critical vote was scheduled to decide whether the county should force him to sell the slice of his property. The letter shared Bunnells reasons for withholding the land and offered a glimpse into the thinking of the man who has stalled the Bob Jones Trail project. The Tribune looked into Bunnells history here as part of its Reality Check series. Mary and Bruce Williams of San Luis Obispo walked the Bob Jones Trail five times a week between Avila Beach and the parking area at Highway 101. They would like to see the trail expanded, they told The Tribune on Sept. 22, 2023. Who is Ray Bunnell? Bunnell, 89, was born in Texas and attended Cal Poly, graduating in 1961, according to public records and archived reporting from The Tribune. He founded Bunnell Construction in the late 1970s and is also associated with the Bunnell Land Co., according to company filings and public records. Bunnell used to split his time between his Texas residence and SLO County, according to his former neighbor Larry Silver. He now primarily lives in Texas, according to public records, but he has owned land in the county since the 1990s. Five residences sit on Bunnells land on Paseo de Vaca Drive near the planned trail. Silver used to live at 5245 Paseo de Vaca. He sold his home to Bunnell around 2018, he said. He now lives near South Lake Tahoe, California. Silver said Bunnell then gave the home to his grandson, who turned it into an Airbnb. He let him do that because hes his grandson, but he was otherwise unhappy with it, Silver said. Silver described Bunnell as difficult. Debbie Arnolds final legacy: Killing the dream of a bike path from SLO to the sea | Opinion He on a few occasions exhibited erratic and irrational behavior including chasing one of my personal family guests off the property and onto the freeway for several miles, Silver said. For as long as hed known him, Silver said, Bunnell was always involved in multiple lawsuits at any given time and constantly had disputes with his neighbors over land use, including Silver and his wife. We attempted mediation with him regarding our dispute, and that was an utter waste of time, he said. It was clear to my wife and I that his tactic was going to be to strong-arm us. Silver said Bunnell asked him to back his protest of the Bob Jones Trail, but instead, Silver said he supports the project. Bunnells hold-back doesnt make any sense, Silver said. He said the area in question is on a remote corner of the property that isnt visible from the houses and is probably only accessible by horseback. He thinks Bunnell is wary of the project bringing commotion to his property. The Tribune attempted to reach Bunnell through his company but has not received a response. Map of Ray Bunnells property from a birds eye view. Bunnells letter explains why he wont cooperate with the county to help build the Bob Jones Trail The Aug. 16 letter from Bunnell to the county Board of Supervisors marked a rare direct public comment from the rancher. Bunnell opened the letter by introducing himself as The Villain. I am not opposed to the trail, Bunnell wrote. I think this is a great idea that Mr. Jones had. However, things have changed drastically since that vision began. Bunnells approximately 146-acre property is made up of five parcels along the east side of Highway 101 near where South Higuera Street crosses under the freeway to meet with Ontario Road. The proposed Bob Jones pathway would use 1.2 acres on the edge of his land. One of the main arguments to move the trail from Ontario Road to the east side of the freeway is to eliminate the danger of being injured by vehicles on the unprotected trail, he wrote. However in over 20 years only ONE SERIOUS injury that I am aware of has occurred, which unfortunately ended in death. That is a pretty good safety record for an unprotected trail. Bunnell said that placing the trail on the east side of the highway, where his property is located, would put public users in much greater danger of serious flooding issues, homeless camps, fire risk, crime, cars coming off the highway and other threats that are not serious issues on Ontario. He did not provide any evidence that these safety concerns are less present on the other side of the freeway. Hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting people will be subjected to these hazards, as opposed to an improved route on Ontario, Bunnell said. Why would you want to place them on an extremely unsafe trail and why would you want to endanger the property owners and residences? he asked, referring to residents in Baron Canyon, Bunnell Ranch and others. He referenced an evaluation made by a third-party consulting firm that denoted the area as a very high fire hazard severity zone, and argued that by placing the trail through this zone, you are drastically increasing the risk of fire going up the hill and wiping out an entire community. A cyclist glides by fossil-filled Monterey shale on the Bob Jones Trail on Sept. 22, 2023. The rocks were on the ocean floor about 14 million years ago, then uplifted to the surface by plate tectonics, according to a trail interpretive marker. The county wants to complete the trail from Avila Beach to San Luis Obispo but now will likely need to alter the route around at least one property whose owner has refused to sell a sliver of his land. A disastrous fire is likely to happen sooner or later by a cigarette, a kid lighting a firecracker, or a homeless persons campfire, Bunnell wrote. Not only are the trail users at risk, but the residents along the trail are at EXTREME RISK, (EXPECIALLY BARON CANYONS 24 HOMES). Despite those arguments, the countys consulting firm recommended building the Bob Jones Trail through the area to provide a required second emergency evacuation route for residents of Baron Canyon. But Bunnell was unswayed by that opinion. THERE IS NO GOOD REASON TO TAKE THIS RISK WITH THE LIVES OF OUR CITIZENS! he wrote. Bunnell said that he spent nearly $10,000 last year to repair a bridge on his property after flooding, adding, We do not need more bridges in this area!! He also noted that he helped build the Octagon Barn, was directly responsible for the purchase of Bishop Park by the city for public use, and offered to help design a safe trail on Ontario Road. The Octagon Barn in San Luis Obispo is envisioned as a future trailhead for the Bob Jones Trail. I think it would be dishonest, and possibly illegal, for the county to even vote for taking my property by eminent domain considering all the promises, the General Plan and the (environmental impact report), Bunnell wrote, referring to policy 3.11 of the Parks and Recreation Element of the countys General Plan, which says that eminent domain will not be used for trail establishment. But county counsel ruled at the Aug. 20 meeting that the board is authorized to interpret certain planning policies. I should not have to hire attorneys and sue the county to keep what you promised, Bunnell said. Whats next for the project? Tuesdays vote against using eminent domain all but doomed the countys plan to complete the Bob Jones Trail. The county previously secured $18.25 million in federal funding to complete the work, but it will only be able to keep the grant if construction begins by March 2025. Supervisor Bruce Gibson said there was a maybe 1%, maybe 5% chance of the project being completed on the current timeline. Now, unless another option is approved before the rapidly approaching deadline, the completion of the Bob Jones Trail will likely lose its funding, potentially leaving the county with few options for a project that has been years in the making. The hearing ended with a unanimously approved vote to look for other paths forward. Election Day in the US is approaching fast. Early voters have already started casting their ballots The voting window for the Nov. 5 presidential election is now open. Early in-person voting started Friday in three states, after absentee ballots began going to voters last week. Here is a look at some key developments in the roughly six weeks remaining until Election Day. Who's ready to vote? The first batch of ballots typically sent out are ones to military and overseas voters. Under federal law, that must happen at least 45 days before an election which this year is Saturday, Sept. 21. Some states start earlier. Election offices in North Carolina had been scheduled to begin sending mail ballots to all voters who requested them on Sept. 6, which would have made it the first state to begin distributing ballots. But that was delayed because presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. successfully sued to have his name removed from the state's ballot after he suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump. That allowed Alabama to become the first state to send out absentee ballots for the presidential election cycle. North Carolina's 100 counties were finally able to send absentee ballots to military and overseas voters on Friday, Sept. 20. Voter registration deadlines vary by state, with most falling between eight and 30 days before the election, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The deadline is Oct. 7 in Georgia, one of this years most prominent presidential battlegrounds. Nearly all states offer some version of in-person voting, though the rules and dates vary considerably. Minnesota, South Dakota and Virginia kicked off early in-person voting on Friday. The gloves come off The first presidential debate between Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump is over, and a second debate appears doubtful after Trump ruled out the possibility. Harris' pick for vice president, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, and Trump's, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, have agreed to an Oct. 1 debate hosted by CBS News in New York City. A possible criminal sentence for Trump Trump had been scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 18 in his hush money criminal case, but that has now been delayed until after the election. Trumps lawyers had argued that holding the sentencing as originally scheduled, about seven weeks before Election Day, would amount to election interference. Trump was convicted in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a $130,000 hush money payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. Falsifying business records is punishable by up to four years in prison. Other potential sentences include probation, a fine or a conditional discharge that would require Trump to stay out of trouble to avoid additional punishment. Next steps in Trump's other New York cases The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Sept. 6 in Trumps appeal of a jurys verdict last year ordering him to pay $5 million to writer E. Jean Carroll after it found him liable for sexually assaulting and defaming her. Trump also is appealing a verdict in a second trial in January in which a jury found him liable on additional defamation claims and ordered him to pay Carroll $83.3 million. On Sept. 26, a New York appeals court will hear oral arguments in Trumps challenge of a nearly $500 million civil fraud judgment in state Attorney General Letitia James lawsuit against him. The court typically rules about a month after arguments, meaning a decision could come before the November election. Trumps lawyers argue that a judges Feb. 16 finding that the former president lied for years about his wealth as he built his real estate empire was erroneous and egregious. State lawyers responded in court papers that theres overwhelming evidence to support the verdict. What about Trump's election and document cases? A state case in Georgia that charged Trump and 18 others in a wide-ranging scheme to overturn his 2020 loss in the state is stalled with no chance of going to trial before the election. Federal prosecutors have brought two criminal cases against Trump, but one was dismissed by a judge last month and the other is likely to be reshaped by the recent U.S. Supreme Court opinion that conferred broad immunity on former presidents for official acts they take in office. Special counsel Jack Smith has appealed the dismissal by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon of an indictment charging Trump with hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and obstructing the FBIs efforts to get them back. But even if a federal appeals court reinstates the case and reverses the judges ruling that Smiths appointment was unconstitutional, theres no chance of a trial taking place this year. In light of the Supreme Court's immunity ruling, a federal judge in Washington is now tasked with deciding which allegations in a separate case charging Trump with plotting to overturn the 2020 election can remain part of the prosecution and which ones must be discarded. Deciding which acts are official and which are not is likely to be an arduous process. Fights over voting and the election Before the first ballots were even cast, both camps had been gearing up to fight over voting. Battles over election rules have become a staple of American democracy, but they're expected to reach new heights this year. Georgia, a state Trump narrowly lost in 2020, has become a particular concern for Democrats. A new majority aligned with Trump on the Georgia State Election Board has been making significant changes to the states election rules that could affect certification and lead to chaos within election offices that might delay final results. Trump installed his own leadership team at the Republican National Committee, including a director of election integrity who helped him try to overturn Bidens win in 2020. The RNC has filed a blizzard of lawsuits challenging voting rules and promises that more are on the way Democrats also are mobilizing and assembling a robust legal team. Among other things, they are objecting to GOP efforts to remove some inactive voters or noncitizens from voter rolls, arguing that legal voters will get swept up in the purges. Republicans have particularly escalated their rhetoric over the specter of noncitizens voting, even though repeated investigations have shown it almost never happens. Some also are pushing to give local election boards the ability to refuse to certify election results. All indications are these efforts are laying the groundwork for Trump to again claim the election was stolen from him if he loses and to try to overturn the will of the voters. But theres no way to know if that will happen until the ballots are cast. ___ Associated Press writers Kate Brumback and Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta, Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama, Meg Kinnard in Chicago, Nicholas Riccardi in Denver, Michael R. Sisak in New York and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed to this report, as did AP election researcher Ryan Dubicki in New York. 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. The Herald-Leader has published multiple stories in the past three weeks detailing allegations of sexual harassment by a Louisville Democratic lawmaker based on interviews with six women in and around Kentucky politics about their experiences with him. State Rep. Daniel Grossberg, a first-term legislator who is running unopposed in November, and his attorney Anna Whites have steadfastly denied any impropriety or misuse of his power. The Herald-Leader is not publicly identifying any of the women who have made claims against Grossberg due to their fear of retaliation in the tight-knit political world of Frankfort and the sensitive nature of the allegations. Reporters have reviewed more than 75 messages Grossberg sent to the women to verify their authenticity, as well as texts the women sent to family and friends at the time detailing how the exchanges made them feel. The reporting has prompted the Kentucky Young Democrats to call for his resignation and led to House Democratic leaders to ask for an ethics investigation, suspend him from the caucus and strip him of all interim committee assignments and his office space. The 45-year-old lawmaker is married to a school teacher. As this story continues to develop, here is a timeline of reporting and events thus far: July 30: Allegations become public The Herald-Leader published the first story outlining weird and creepy messages Grossberg sent to three women. The messages would often come late at night. He complimented one woman for her exotic appearance, and described how beautiful another one was. The women confirmed to the Herald-Leader theyd been contacted by the Legislative Research Commission for an investigation into the freshman lawmaker within the previous two weeks. A fourth source with knowledge of the investigation also confirmed it was taking place. The commission, commonly known as the LRC in Frankfort, did not confirm the existence of the investigation. Grossberg denied hed done anything wrong. I never, in my work, approached or crossed a line in my professional communications. Any claim that private texts on my personal cell phone are work related have no merit. I steadfastly deny any impropriety, Grossberg said in a statement from Whites. July 31: Call for an ethics investigation House Democratic members voted to temporarily suspend Grossberg from the caucus and called for the Legislative Ethics Commission to investigate the claims against him. He represents about 45,000 constituents in Louisville who are part of the 30th House District. We believe this is the appropriate organization to review the issues that have been raised, Democratic leaders wrote in a statement. Given the sensitive nature of these allegations, we have no further comment at this time. The Herald-Leader also revealed that in a group text with two women in April 2023, Grossberg suggested they join him for a lesbian-themed movie night that involved lesbian baking and pajamas. After that exchange, one of the women wrote in a text to the other, I just dont know how to process state rep 30 daniel grossberg suggesting a lesbian slumber party. Aug. 1: Young Dems demand immediate resignation Two days after the initial Herald-Leader article, Kentucky Young Democrats, a political activism group for Democrats younger than 40, called on Grossberg to resign immediately. 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 group said in a statement. The group said it 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. Whites said Grossberg had no intention of resigning. The calls for resignation appear to be based solely on rumors, Whites said in a statement, adding her client has not been provided with any allegations of sexual misconduct and does not believe such evidence exists. 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. Aug. 6: Examining Grossbergs background With Grossberg under investigation for his alleged misconduct, the Herald-Leader dove into his legislative and business background. Grossberg was elected in 2022 when he ousted 90-year-old Democratic Rep. Tom Burch from a four-decade tenure. Grossberg is one of 20 Democrats in the 100-member Kentucky House of Representatives. The GOP supermajority means Democrat-sponsored legislation rarely becomes law. Grossberg has, however, been outspoken in favor of civil rights, gun control and legal access to reproductive rights for women, including abortion, and he frequently denounces antisemitism. The Herald-Leader also reported he owns several real estate investment companies that are in bad standing with the secretary of states office, pending dissolution, according to the offices website. In 2011, Grossberg joined Semonin Realtors in Louisville as a sales associate. But his license expired on March 31, 2024, with no public record of discipline, according to the Kentucky Real Estate Commission. Aug. 8: Satirical Sketchy Dan column surfaces In 2003, Grossberg wrote a satirical advice column at Grinnell College under the name Sketchy Dan, where he recommended that lonely, horny and creepy young men aggressively pursue women on campus, even if the women werent interested, the Herald-Leader reported. The column and its title, in the Iowa schools satirical newspaper, were a play on Grossbergs public reputation for making women uncomfortable around campus, and he doled out advice to fake letter-writers who claimed to have similar experiences. Readers wrote in letters to the editor published in the campus newspaper that Grossberg made people uncomfortable, and they debated whether his sketchy reputation was fair. Whites again denied Grossberg had acted inappropriately. She said the lawmaker has a neurodivergent diagnosis, placing him on the autism spectrum, which means his brain processes information differently. As for Grossbergs Sketchy Dan column, Whites said, I think we all said and did things in college that were not always proud of. Devan Allen McGranahan, then vice president of the Student Government Association at Grinnell, told the Herald-Leader he spoke with administrators at the colleges Division of Student Affairs about complaints made against Grossberg. I had been contacted by so many of my female peers that I tried to see if there was anything student government could do to represent their concerns, he said. College officials, contacted by the Herald-Leader, declined comment Aug. 15: Grossberg booted from committees House Democratic leadership informed Grossberg Aug. 13 he had been removed from his interim committee assignments in the House of Representatives, the Herald-Leader reports. Grossberg and his team are looking at appropriate legal response to the action because it effectively disenfranchises his constituents, Whites said. She added no reason was given when he was informed of the move. In light of new information Leadership received from LRC officials it was deemed appropriate to relieve Rep. Grossberg of his committee responsibilities during the interim. Many committees do not cast votes during the interim, and Rep. Grossbergs constituents will not be impacted by this decision, a statement from House Democrats reads. The Democrats did not specify what new information they had received. LRC spokesperson Mike Wynn told the Herald-Leader the organization is still reviewing information on Grossbergs conduct. Aug. 16: Grossberg hits back at allegations Grossberg responded to several allegations made against him many of which were not previously public in a lengthy news release from Whites. Whites said there was no evidence of sexual harassment in the complaint against Grossberg. The only text that discusses inappropriate communications is a reference by a (third) party to that third party hearing rumors about inappropriate communication from other unnamed third parties at some unnamed time, Whites wrote. Rumors have no place in a fact-based hearing. House Democrats criticized Whites desire to litigate this in the press with alleged misrepresentations. These investigations are designed to be confidential to protect those who come forward with their accounts of impropriety, the statement said. We continue to honor that intent as best we can given Rep. Grossbergs attorneys desire to litigate this in the press with misrepresentations rather than through proper confidential channels. The letter from Whites also included point-by-point pushback against previous ethical issues alleged around Grossbergs purchase of a car as well as yet unreported instances of a fundraising call, an offer to assist a legislator who was receiving harassing messages and an official letter sent to high school students who attended a trip he chaperoned. Aug. 20: More women come forward The Herald-Leader reports a new round of allegations from more three women, ages 26 to 28, who described problematic interactions with Grossberg. The newest allegations included inappropriate, harassing or sexually-tinged text or direct social media messages. I deny any allegations of sexual harassment or abuse of office, Grossberg emailed to the Herald-Leader when presented with the allegations. I sincerely apologize to anyone who felt uncomfortable because of something I said or wrote. The allegations include: Woman A recounted meeting with Grossberg in his Frankfort office after a legislative hearing. The woman, who was 26 at the time, recounted Grossberg repeatedly asking her to drink bourbon despite her refusals, and consumed multiple shots himself. Grossberg went on to ask the woman, who is trans, about her genitals, her sex life and whether she had gender-reassignment surgery. Woman B, who is 26 and involved in Democratic politics, shared several different occasions in 2024, both in person, through texts and in other messaging apps Grossberg where repeatedly made comments she considered harassing or threatening. He asked questions about her sexual orientation and expressed serious romantic interest, she said. Woman B also said Grossberg told her if she were to learn what his porn preferences were, I would never forgive him, she recounted in a text to a friend. He also relentlessly asked for nude photos. Woman C shared messages of Grossberg calling her beautiful, telling her that he loved her and saying he had a crush on her. In 2023, Grossberg asked Woman C out for a drink in another late-night text and inquired about the year that she graduated high school. When she answered the following morning she agreed to get a drink but never did he responded theres something about girls from that particular high school, punctuating it with a winking emoticon: ;-). Aug. 21: Calls for resignation continue In light of the newest Herald-Leader reporting, more Democrats begin to voice their concerns about Grossbergs alleged conduct. Gov. Andy Beshear calls the allegations very concerning. Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman said it is infuriating that women are still being subjected to the kinds of harassment that has been reported. Neither called for Grossberg to resign. Kentucky Democratic Party Chair Colmon Elridge released a statement saying the allegations laid out in the Herald-Leaders reporting raise serious concerns. The Louisville Democratic Party posted on social media it finds the allegations in the recently published story extremely disturbing. Randy Cravens, the Democrat running against U.S. Rep. Andy Barr, R-KY, in the Republican-leaning Sixth Congressional District, said he must resign. Robert Kahne, a delegate to the Democratic National Convention and co-host of the Democratic show My Old Kentucky Podcast, and Jason Perkey, a Democratic operative who led state parties in Kansas and South Carolina, both called on Grossberg to resign. Over the last 7 days, the Indian market has risen 3.4%, driven by gains in every sector, and is up 44% over the last 12 months with earnings forecast to grow by 17% annually. In this thriving environment, identifying stocks with strong fundamentals and growth potential can be particularly rewarding for investors looking to capitalize on emerging opportunities. Top 10 Undiscovered Gems With Strong Fundamentals In India Name Debt To Equity Revenue Growth Earnings Growth Health Rating Wealth First Portfolio Managers NA -47.95% 40.47% Vidhi Specialty Food Ingredients 7.27% 11.00% 4.02% Yuken India 27.96% 12.35% -44.41% NGL Fine-Chem 12.95% 15.22% 8.68% AGI Infra 61.29% 29.12% 33.44% Knowledge Marine & Engineering Works 35.48% 46.55% 46.96% Bengal & Assam 4.48% 1.54% 51.11% Gallantt Ispat 18.85% 37.56% 37.26% Indo Tech Transformers 2.30% 22.04% 60.31% Master Trust 37.05% 27.57% 41.99% Click here to see the full list of 467 stocks from our Indian Undiscovered Gems With Strong Fundamentals screener. Here's a peek at a few of the choices from the screener. Simply Wall St Value Rating: Overview: EPACK Durable Limited manufactures original design room air conditioners in India and has a market cap of approximately 24.29 billion. Operations: EPACK Durable's primary revenue stream is the manufacturing of electronic goods, generating 17.57 billion. EPACK Durable, a promising player in the consumer durables sector, has shown impressive earnings growth of 43.3% over the past year, outpacing industry averages. With a net debt to equity ratio at 7.9%, its financial health appears satisfactory. The company's recent Q1 results highlight strong performance with sales reaching INR 7.74 billion and net income at INR 234 million compared to last year's INR 87 million. However, interest payments are not well covered by EBIT (2.3x coverage). NSEI:EPACK Debt to Equity as at Aug 2024 Simply Wall St Value Rating: Overview: IIFL Securities Limited offers a range of capital market services in India's primary and secondary markets with a market cap of 80.27 billion. Operations: IIFL Securities Limited generates revenue primarily from capital market activities (20.25 billion), with additional income from facilities and ancillary services (375.25 million) and insurance broking and ancillary services (2.77 billion). IIFL Securities, a key player in India's financial sector, has seen impressive growth with earnings surging 120.4% over the past year. The firm's price-to-earnings ratio stands at 13x, notably below the Indian market average of 33.7x. Despite a satisfactory net debt to equity ratio of 35.5%, recent regulatory scrutiny resulted in a 300K penalty from SEBI for technical errors in client data mapping. Additionally, IIFL's debt to equity ratio improved significantly from 117.6% to 67.2% over five years, reflecting prudent financial management amidst industry challenges and opportunities for further growth under new leadership appointments like CTO Hardik Sanghavi and Joint CEOs Raghav Gupta and Prakash Bulusu. Story continues NSEI:IIFLSEC Debt to Equity as at Aug 2024 Simply Wall St Value Rating: Overview: Netweb Technologies India Limited designs, manufactures, and sells high-end computing solutions (HCS) in India with a market cap of 140.21 billion. Operations: Netweb Technologies India Limited generates revenue primarily from the manufacturing and sale of computer servers, amounting to 8.14 billion. Netweb Technologies India has shown significant progress, with earnings growing 85.8% over the past year, surpassing the Tech industrys 10.2%. The debt to equity ratio improved dramatically from 108% to 2.3% in five years, indicating strong financial health. Recent Q1 results reported net income of INR 154.44 million compared to INR 50.91 million a year ago, alongside a new server range launch supporting up to 256 cores and aligning with India's Make-in-India initiative. NSEI:NETWEB Debt to Equity as at Aug 2024 Make It Happen Take a closer look at our Indian Undiscovered Gems With Strong Fundamentals list of 467 companies 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. Join a community of smart investors by using Simply Wall St. It's free and delivers expert-level analysis on worldwide markets. Seeking Other Investments? 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 NSEI:EPACK NSEI:IIFLSEC and NSEI:NETWEB. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning across western Utah amid critical fire weather conditions. The alert was sent out shortly after midnight Friday morning, Aug. 23. The warning went into effect at noon Friday and will remain in place until midnight Saturday night. The NWS said to expect southwest winds at 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 50 mph. The winds will reportedly diminish late Friday night but redevelop on Saturday. Woman, 3 children rescued after kidnapping suspect arrested across state lines Relative humidity is as low as 7 percent, with poor overnight recoveries expected at around 20 percent. Critical fire weather conditions are expected. Any new fire starts or existing fires may spread rapidly, the NWS stated. A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or are imminent. A combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior. Affected areas are highlighted in pink on the map below, provided by the NWS: Courtesy of National Weather Service For more information, visit the NWS website 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 ABC4 Utah. Rachel Reeves carried out no impact assessment before withdrawing winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners, The Telegraph can reveal. In a legal note accompanying upcoming changes to winter fuel payments, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said that: A full impact assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no, or no significant, impact on the private, public or voluntary sectors is foreseen. The statement was published and laid before Parliament on Thursday, and was signed by Labour pensions minister Emma Reynolds. The Chancellor announced in July those who are not in receipt of pension credit or other means-tested benefits will no longer be eligible for the yearly winter fuel payments of between 100 and 300. As a result, charities and MPs have warned pensioners will face the biggest energy price increases on record this winter. Baroness Ros Altmann, a Conservative peer and pensions expert, said: Not only would something like this normally need a full impact assessment, it should go to the Social Security Advisory Committee, and theyve completely bypassed that too. There was no warning for this it wasnt in their manifesto. Last week, the Scottish government announced that it had no choice but to follow Labours lead and scrap universal winter fuel payments north of the border. The decision shows no sign of being reversed despite Fridays news that a typical household will fork out 1,717 a year for its energy bills from October 1 due to a 149 rise in regulator Ofgems energy price cap. Charities have warned that the cap, combined with a loss of cost of living support and winter fuel payments, means pensioners bills will jump by almost 500 compared to last year, while younger households bills fall. While the DWP claims that scrapping the annual payments for 10 million pensioners will not have a significant impact on the public sector, MPs and charities have warned that the changes will worsen fuel poverty, with elderly Britons more likely The Chancellor estimates that the winter fuel payment changes will save the Treasury 1.4bn annually. However, analysis has suggested that the move could end up costing the taxpayer up to 3.8bn, as hundreds of thousands of retirees could be prompted to claim pension credit in order to qualify for the winter fuel payments. Simon Francis, coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition charity, said: This is a chilling admission by the Government. At the very least, we would expect ministers to understand the very real financial and health impacts of axing the winter fuel payment to so many older people. With more elderly people entering fuel poverty as a result of this decision, the NHS and front line charities working with people struggling with bills will be overwhelmed. Baroness Altmann added: It utterly beggars belief that any government could snatch hundreds of pounds from millions of pensioners right before the winter. Claire Coutinho, the energy shadow secretary, said: The Chancellor has made a choice to axe winter fuel payments at the same time that [pensioners] energy bills will rise by 10pc. Now, she must come clean and admit exactly how many pensioners will lose out because of her choices. They promised pensioners and working people they would not do this, yet one by one they are breaking their promises, and we will continue to hold them to account. A government spokesman said: This is incorrect. We are absolutely committed to supporting pensioners and giving them the dignity and security they deserve in retirement. Thats why through our commitment to protect the triple lock, over 12 million pensioners will see their state pensions increase by almost a thousand pounds over the next five years. But given the dire state of the public finances we have inherited, its right that we target support to those who need it most while we take the difficult decisions needed to fix the foundations of our economy. Over a million pensioners will continue to receive the winter fuel payment and eligible pensioners will also be able to benefit from the 150 warm home discount scheme from October to help with their energy bills over winter. We are urging pensioners to come forward and check their eligibility for pension credit to ensure as many people in need as possible have access to this support. The DWP told The Telegraph that under winter fuel payment regulations, no impact assessment is necessary. This is because the effect is on individuals and private households rather than businesses or voluntary sector organisations. 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. Jared Holroyd Community pharmacists are the backbone of our health system, helping to ensure that Kansas patients receive care they need. However, health industry middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are increasingly using a range of schemes to meddle in our health system, raise costs for patients and threaten the viability of local pharmacies. Kansas policymakers at the federal and state level must reform these middlemen whose practices put critical health care out of reach. Health insurers hire PBMs to negotiate discounts on medications with drug manufacturers. Based on negotiated prices and rebates, PBMs can dictate, with little transparency, which medications appear on the list of drugs that health plans cover, how much patients pay at the pharmacy counter, and what patients and pharmacists must do to access treatments. Despite their outsized role in the health system, PBM decisions arent based on whats best for a patient, but instead whats most profitable for a health plan. PBM revenue is directly tied to a drugs list price, so these middlemen are incentivized to prioritize medicines that would yield the most profit. This limits certain drugs from being available to patients because their insurance doesnt cover them, driving up costs and leading to adverse health consequences. PBMs also impose policies, known as gag clauses, that forbid pharmacists from telling patients they could save money on treatments by paying out of pocket instead of through their insurance. PBMs are not only raising costs for patients theyre also putting Kansas community pharmacies out of business by imposing lower pharmacy reimbursements and steering patients towards PBM-owned pharmacies, rather than independent pharmacies. Through a tactic known as spread pricing, PBMs often reimburse pharmacies for less than the original cost of treatments pocketing the difference while pharmacies struggle to make ends meet. Nearly 90% of Americans live within five miles of a pharmacy and there is a community pharmacy in 104 out of the 105 counties in Kansas. If community pharmacies are forced to shut their doors, Kansas patients would lose access to the health care provider they rely on most. In 2023, there were more than 300 independent pharmacy closures. The PBM industry is largely unregulated and just three of these corporate giants control nearly 80% of the prescription drug market. They can also impose predatory audits on independent pharmacies and require unnecessary fees that pharmacies must pay. PBMs raised arbitrary fees on local pharmacies by a whopping 91,500% in recent years. The Federal Trade Commission even found that PBMs are overcharging patients for critical treatments and threatening the viability of local pharmacies. To improve access to health care, federal and state lawmakers must prioritize comprehensive PBM reform. Sen. Roger Marshall has been a champion of PBM reform. Now we need his colleagues on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee to pass the reform legislation that is in their committee. And we need our Kansas state lawmakers to take up critical PBM reforms when they return to Topeka next year. Kansans need commonsense solutions that improve transparency into the opaque PBM industry for all stakeholders across the health system. Ensuring that patients receive any negotiated discounts, reforming how PBMs make money and protecting local pharmacies against predatory PBM policies will help Kansas patients get the treatments they need when they need them. Jared Holroyd, MBA, is the executive director of the Kansas Pharmacists Association, a statewide professional organization of pharmacists in Kansas. This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Reform pharmacy middlemen to protect Kansan patients and pharmacies A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee logo on a campus sign. (Wisconsin Examiner photo) With only one dissent, the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents approved a plan Thursday from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee that will include the layoff of 35 tenured faculty members. It would be the first mass layoff of tenured faculty anywhere in the Universities of Wisconsin system since state law weakened the systems tenure protections nearly a decade ago. The plan calls for dissolving the College of General Studies, associated with a pair of suburban two-year branch campuses, and its three academic departments. The UWM administration says that is a program discontinuance, allowing for the layoff of tenured faculty under a Board of Regents policy. UWMs College of General Studies was established as the vehicle for awarding two-year degrees from the two campuses, in Waukesha and Washington counties, when they were joined with UWM six years ago. Falling market demand combined with shifting demographics have forced the closure of the two campuses, UWM Provost Andrew Daire told the regents education committee Thursday morning. Nationally, the number of college-age students fell 39% from 2010 to 2021, Daire said, and while 12.9% of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in two-year colleges in 2010, that fell to 8.5% in 2022. Unfortunately, the numbers in Wisconsin are a bit more dire, Daire said. Enrollment in UWs 13 two-year campuses was just under 10,000 students in 2010 and fell 64%, to 3,556, by 2023. The 13 campuses were merged into four-year UW schools in 2018. The campuses in Waukesha and Washington counties became part of UWM during that process. Those two campuses have seen significant decreases with almost a 58% enrollment decline since 2018, Daire said. We also cannot be optimistic in terms of future changes in enrollment. The cost per student in a two-year degree program is more expensive than the cost on the main campus for bachelors, masters and PhD students, Daire said. So the market demand and cost effectiveness is really what has gotten us to this unfortunate place of the program discontinuance and this proposal for faculty. Regent Policy 20-24, adopted in 2016, allows for faculty layoffs for reasons of program discontinuance. Under that policy, faculty layoff will be invoked only in extraordinary circumstances and after all feasible alternatives have been considered. The board adopted the policy after the Legislature and then-Gov. Scott Walker enacted changes that deleted tenure-related guarantees from state law and allowed tenured faculty to be laid off due to changes in university programming. State Superintendent Jill Underly cast the only dissenting vote, both in the education committee Thursday morning, which recommended approving the UWM plan, and in the full Board of Regents meeting Thursday afternoon, which concurred. Im just deeply troubled that tenured faculty members are being laid off due to program eliminations, Underly said before casting her vote. With a [UW system] budget that exceeds $6 billion I believe we could have found a way to preserve these positions, especially when their combined payroll represents such a small fraction of our financial resources. Underly said cutting tenured faculty would hurt the UW systems reputation as well as the faculty members and their families. She acknowledged that the two-year campuses financial straits needed to be addressed, but argued that its even more important that the system has a real plan for our two-year colleges, and we currently dont have one. Underly said she would oppose eliminating programs, colleges and tenured faculty without a responsible plan for these colleges. Regent Kyle Weatherly, who voted to accept the plan, called it the best option and pointed the blame at the state for not keeping up with its past record of funding for the UW system. What we lack, in my opinion, is the political will to invest in those students and those businesses and ultimately, our states future, Weatherly said. He recalled that two decades ago, when he was a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin taxpayers covered 37% of the cost of an education. It is now half that, he added. I feel that some of those my age and older, those in power, are at best unbothered and at worst, eager to pull up that ladder that my parents generation provided me, Weatherly said. Regent Tim Nixon said the system had fallen short in letting the two-year campuses created decades ago operate without considering how the world had changed since they were established. But Nixon rejected the idea that the UWM plan was an attack on tenure. Tenure is a protection for teaching and research interests, so professors in fields of study that might be controversial arent vulnerable to being fired, he said. Its not a permanent job guarantee, however, he argued. Nixon said the current situation for the two-year campuses reflected a failure for years to deal with systemic issues and would hurt loyal dedicated employees who did no wrong. He added that he would vote for the plan nevertheless. Ive got to see whats best for the system, Nixon said. Going forward, this is where we are today. Its not where I think any of us wish we were, but its where we are, and thats what I have to look at. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX BIG COUNTRY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) If youve ever looked up what winter might be like in Texas, youve probably noticed that the Farmers Almanac is a popular go-to source. People often prefer it over more technical sources like the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) or the National Weather Service (NWS) because its predictions are more straightforward and easier to understand. The Farmers Almanac has been published every September since 1972 and is the oldest continuously published periodical in North America. In addition to its popular weather forecasts and seasonal predictions, it includes information on astronomical phenomena, sunrise and sunset times, tide schedules, and agricultural advice for farmers. But how accurate are their predictions? Drought conditions continue to worsen across the Big Country While the Almanac provides detailed long-range weather forecasts that help people plan vacations, decide on crop planting, and prepare for winter, its accuracy is somewhat mixed. Some sources, like Climavision, a weather forecasting developer, claim an 80% accuracy rate, but the Almanac itself reported only a 64% success rate for last years winter forecasts. The Almanacs predictions are based on historical data and proprietary methods, like analyzing the number of sunspots and their ability to warm the earth. In contrast, meteorologists use a range of complex models and current data, such as ENSO phases, to predict weather. One key difference is that the Farmers Almanac publishes its forecasts annually, which means it cant adjust or correct its predictions throughout the year because it is a physical book. In contrast, scientists can update their forecasts as new data becomes available, providing a more accurate and timely understanding of upcoming weather conditions. This has been important as hurricane seasons fluctuate from year to year, and snowstorms come and go up north. Abilene records hottest day ever with sweltering 113F, more record breaking heat ahead While the Farmers Almanac offers an appealing forecast that gives you the overall big picture, its accuracy can vary and often falls short compared to modern meteorologists dynamic and data-driven approaches. For those seeking reliable and up-to-date weather information, especially for planning significant events or activities, its wise to consult multiple sources and consider the latest scientific forecasts alongside traditional almanac predictions, or turn on your local news channel and watch your meteorologist as they try to keep you up to date on the latest weather! Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Rep. Colin Allred talks about a 'we' mindset in DNC speech: Watch Texas Rep. Colin Allred was among the second group of guests to speak on Thursday at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. After being drafted into the National Football League (NFL) and playing for the Tennessee Titans, Allred chose to attend law school, a biography about the representative details. In his speech at the Democratic National Convention, Rep. Allred highlighted, the challenges he faced growing up in a single parent household. The Democratic National Committee convention is in Chicago from Monday, Aug. 19 to Thursday, Aug. 22. Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday is scheduled to formally accept the party's nomination for the 2024 Election. Watch Rep. Colin Allred's full DNC convention appearance here DNC Day 4: Live coverage of speaker schedule, Kamala Harris to take the stage Sign-up for Your Vote: Text with the USA TODAY elections team. Who is Rep. Colin Allred? Who is he : Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) represents Texas' 32nd Congressional District and candidate for U.S. Senate. What role he plays: On his website Rep. Allred says that he is "working to lower health care costs, protecting Medicare and Social Security, and creating an economy that works for everyone." In addition, Allred plans to help with efforts to expand access to vocational and trade schools and lowering the cost of college, his website says. Key quote: "In the NFL we had a term for guys like Donald Trump and my opponent Ted Cruz; me guys" he said. "You know the type, talk a big game only care about themselves." US Representative Colin Allred, Democrat from Texas, speaks on the fourth and last day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 22, 2024. Sign-up for Your Vote: Text with the USA TODAY elections team. When and where is the DNC The Democratic National Convention will take place from August 19-22 in Chicago, Illinois. The United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks, will be the main venue for the DNC. Chicago has hosted the Democratic Convention 11 times, most recently in 1996 when the United Center saw President Bill Clinton was nominated for a second time. How to watch and stream the 2024 DNC The convention will air live on its website, from the United Center in Chicago between 6:15 p.m. and 11 p.m. Eastern (5:15 p.m. to 10 p.m Central) on Monday, and 7 p.m to 11 p.m. Eastern (6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Central) the other days. USA TODAY will provide livestream coverage on YouTube each night of the DNC, Monday through Thursday. What are the themes for each night of the DNC? The DNC announced nightly themes for the convention. The title of the convention is "For the People, For Our Future." Here are the themes for each night: Monday: "For the People" Tuesday: "A Bold Vision for America's Future" Wednesday: "A Fight for our Freedoms" Thursday: "For our Future" This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Watch Texas Rep. Colin Allred shares message in DNC convention speech EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) As the Democratic National Convention (DNC) comes to an end, U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, took the stage on Wednesday, Aug. 21 in Chicago, to address key issues such as immigration and border security. Escobar directly criticized former President Donald Trumps handling of border matters. Forget what you hear on the news. Im from there, Escobar said. When it comes to the border, hear me when I say you know nothing, Donald Trump, Escobar said. During her three-minute speech, Escobar highlighted the challenges faced by border towns like El Paso and expressed that a Harris presidency would have a better approach to the border. Democrats have solutions. With Kamala Harris as president, we can live up to the promise of America. We can strengthen legal pathways to immigration, and we can secure our borders, and we can treat with dignity those who seek a better future within them, Escobar said. In response, Escobars Republican opponent Irene Armendariz Jackson, who is running against Escobar for Congress in District 16, shared her thoughts on Escobars comments and the current political landscape. Armendariz Jackson said El Pasoans have faced struggles under Democratic leadership and reiterated that voters have a decision to make in the upcoming November general election. El Paso is not a Democrat city. El Paso is a nonvoting city. Less than four percent of the people in El Paso vote, Armendariz Jackson said. As El Pasoans, we have to make a decision. Do we want to continue down this road that is leaving us in poverty? Or do we want to take a stand and say no more? She emphasized the need for change criticizing the Democratic Partys long-standing control over El Paso and its impact on taxes and job opportunities. This illegal immigration chaos and crisis that were feeling at the border is something that is very personal to me because its separated my family for many, many months at a time, Armendariz Jackson said. Both Harris and Trump have faced scrutiny over their respective visits to El Paso. Trump left the city with an unpaid invoice of approximately $570,000 from his 2019 campaign rally. Meanwhile, Harris has been criticized for visiting the border only once since becoming vice president. The DNC concludes Thursday, August 22, with Vice President Harris expected to officially accept her partys nomination for president. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. New Report Explores Role of Race and Socioeconomics in Achievement Gaps This article was originally published in EducationNC. A new report from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute released this week studied the influence of socioeconomic status (SES) on disparities in reading, mathematics, and science achievement among racial and ethnic groups of elementary students in the United States. Among other things, the study looked at which SES factors best explain existing achievement gaps, along with disparities among high-achieving students. The authors analyzed two sets of data from the federal Early Child Longitudinal Study, from 1998-99 and 2010-11. The studys resulting analysis shows that a broad set of family SES factors explains a substantial portion of racial achievement gaps: between 34 and 64 percent of the Black-white gap and between 51 and 77 percent of the Hispanic-white gap, depending on the subject and grade level. Get stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Racial achievement gaps in schools are well documented and remain a significant cause of concern in education. Troubling too is that the role of socioeconomic disparities in mediating these gaps remains unresolved, the institutes website says. While SES accounts for much of the racial achievement disparities, closing these gaps requires a comprehensive approach, including improving school quality and supporting family stability. The institutes study used a broad set of measures of family background, including parents education, family finances, household structure, and household opportunity factors. The latter measure refers to academic, enrichment, and familial activities. The authors of the study, University of Albanys Eric Hengyu Hu and Paul L. Morgan, identified the following key findings from their analysis: Key findings from the Thomas B. Fordham Institutes study. To close such gaps, the authors recommend investments in early childhood education and income supplements, such as expanding child tax credits. Because achievement gaps are already evident by elementary school, including as early as kindergarten, investing in high-quality early childhood education programs, especially in underprivileged communities, may be beneficial in mitigating the effects of socioeconomic disparities, the report says. In addition to early childhood investments, the authors also propose the following solutions: Support programs to help parents earn their high school diplomas or higher education credentials. Economic support and financial aid for low-income families. Addressing racial and ethnic disparities, including the adoption of curricula that reflect diverse cultures and programs that specifically support underrepresented students, and student-teacher racial and ethnic matching. Whatever the approach, there is no denying the urgency of making the U.S. educational system more equitable, the report says. The time to act is now. By enacting comprehensive and inclusive policies, we can narrow achievement gaps and create a more just educational landscape for the next generation. You can download and read the full study on the institutes website. A look a gaps in North Carolina Achievement gaps also known as opportunity or equity gaps follow national trends in North Carolina. In 2021-22, following the start of the pandemic, only 51% of students tested as grade-level proficient. Proficiency was even lower among historically disadvantaged students, at 33% for Black students, 40% for Hispanic students, and 35% for economically disadvantaged students. While those rates slightly increased during the 2022-23 school year, gaps and low proficiency rates persist. More highlights from the report Thomas B. Fordham Institute President Michael J. Petrilli wrote in the reports foreword that the vast racial disparities in socioeconomic conditions and prenatal and early-life health experiences explain the achievement gaps we see between racial and ethnic groups, at least at school entry. Citing a 2004 paper by economists Roland Fryer and Steven Levitt, Understanding the Black-White Test Score Gap in the First Two Years of School, Petrilli writes that this suggests that universal, race-neutral interventions designed to improve the academic, social, economic, and health conditions of the poor would lift all boats and would also narrow racial gaps. Using data from the federal Early Child Longitudinal Study data cited by Fryer and Levitt, along with more recent data Petrilli said the report aimed to answer a few questions: Had the relationship between socioeconomic achievement gaps and racial/ethnic achievement gaps shifted? Was the Black-white gap still growing during elementary school? And how did all of this look for the white-Hispanic gap and for subjects beyond just reading and math? Here is a look at the measures explored in the institutes paper. Screenshot from Thomas B. Fordham Institutes report. The institutes study found that family socioeconomic factors explain more of the Black-white achievement gap in first grade reading than in other subjects and grade levels. The report proposes this may be the case because parents play a larger role in teaching language skills to young children than they do for math and science. The advantages of high SESand disadvantages of low SESthus show up more for students initial reading skills than for their math and science ones, the report says. As students get older and benefit from classroom instruction, their relative advantages and disadvantages start to matter less. However, while the gap narrows with age, there is still a gap. According to the report, this likely means we still havent closed the school quality gap between Black students and their white peers. As mentioned above, the report also found that family socioeconomic factors explain more of the Hispanic-white achievement gap than the Black-white achievement gap. According to the report, this could be because Hispanic children in Spanish-speaking families have latent potential that is obscured by their lack of English skills. The report also suggests that non-socioeconomic factors, racism, and bias affect Black children at higher rates than their Hispanic peers. For lower-income Black children, who are more likely to experience deep, persistent poverty than other groups, the combination of adverse childhood experiences might exacerbate inequalities, the report says. And for middle class Black children, bias, stereotype threat, and related factors might be especially at play. This might also be why the Black-white achievement gap grows over the course of elementary school, while the Hispanic-white gap shrinks. Screenshot from Thomas B. Fordham Institutes report. Petrilli concludes: When it comes to the interplay between race, poverty, and schooling, the honest read is that its complicated. Whats undeniable, though, is that much hard work remains, especially when it comes to providing effective schools to marginalized students, especially those who are Black. Lets keep at it. This article first appeared on EducationNC and is republished here under a Creative Commons license. Empty desk chair. Getty Images. Student disconnection spurred on by mental health factors, disproportionate discipline and a lack of in-school supports plays its part in driving Ohios absenteeism rate, according to a new report from an Ohio think tank. That absenteeism, and the contributing factors of it, can create an entry point in the school-to-prison pipeline, according to Policy Matters Ohio, who released a new study on the issue this month. Mental health factors such as depression, anxiety and chronic stress reduce kids desire to attend school, Policy Matters stated. Trauma and violence exacerbate those issues, increasing the likelihood that a student will become chronically absent, defined in Ohio as missing 10% of the school year for any reason, excused or unexcused. Chronic absenteeism feeds a negative cycle that can lead to the juvenile justice system, which disproportionately impacts Black students and economically disadvantaged families, according to the study. In the analysis of state data, Policy Matters found that students who have been adjudicated, or found guilty, in the juvenile court system graduated at a rate of just 23.2% in 2022. Young people who encounter the juvenile justice system face challenges that follow them throughout their lives, wrote researcher Tanisha Pruitt, Ph.D. They have more difficulty accessing education, economic security, health care and other opportunities to live healthier and happier lives. Those disproportionate numbers of students of color and low-income students are fed by the connections between attendance, economic security and school resources, the study found. These are the unsurprising consequences of locking communities out of broad public investments through segregation, red-lining and the legacy of chronic inequitable school funding, Pruitt wrote. Also feeding the absenteeism rate, its implications for engagement with the juvenile justice system and lowered student outcomes, is exclusionary discipline, including expulsion and suspension. Those types of discipline are often counterproductive, leaving excluded students further behind their peers and more likely to leave school altogether, according to the report. Using data from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, Policy Matters found that out-of-school suspensions made up more than 53% of 394,582 cases of exclusionary discipline used between 2022 and 2023. In-school suspensions made up 29%. Expulsion was used in 1.13% of cases. The study cited a discipline analysis done by Childrens Defense Fund of Ohio from 2022 to 2023, which found significant racial disparities in exclusionary discipline, with Black female students found to be six times more likely than white female students to be suspended or expelled, and Black male students found to be 4.3 times more likely than their white counterparts in the state. Despite the increased scrutiny, potential consequences and state-level policy reforms, exclusionary discipline is still too common and disproportionately distributed, Pruitt wrote in the report. Pruitt brought up 2018s Supporting Alternatives for Fair Education Act, a bill that sought to change school discipline practices by prohibiting expulsions and suspensions, but only for pre-K through third grade students. An exception was allowed in the act that allowed those types of discipline in those grade levels if conduct threatened the safety of school personnel or students. But for any student older than third grade, there were more options in terms of discipline, including emergency removal and in-school alternate discipline. Pruitt praised the law for requiring Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS), a method she said is part of restorative justice approaches, which are more effective than exclusion at supporting student achievement and could be expanded in Ohio. The PBIS model, if expanded and accompanied by funding to hire staff, implement programming and establish needed health services at school, would be a sure step in securing more kids futures and closing the school-to-prison pipeline, Pruitt wrote. Other recommendations included in the report focused on improving employment practices for parents to create manageable work schedules and create more connection with their children, urging more refundable tax credits to help economically disadvantaged families, along with pushing an increase in staff and student support funding (including full funding of the Fair School Funding Plan for public schools). To meet (student) needs, schools need funding, the study stated. Kids need more school counselors and nurses, more mental and behavioral health services and a more holistic approach to education. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST By Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Minorities, women and disabled persons are still underrepresented in U.S. spy agencies compared with the U.S. civilian workforce, said a report released on Friday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The findings come as U.S. conservatives attack public and private initiatives aimed at closing gaps in employment and promotions and amid vows by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs across the entire federal government. The annual congressionally mandated report on the demographics of the 18 U.S. spy agencies showed the proportion of minority employees slipping from 27% in 2020 to 26.7% for fiscal year 2023, versus 39.8% for the countrys civilian labor force of 167 million people during the latter period. Diversifying the intelligence community - long seen as a field dominated by white men from elite universities - has been a priority since the Republican administration of President George W. Bush began rebuilding the spy agencies following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Ending DEI programs in the U.S. intelligence community could harm national security by slowing the recruitment and promotion of people with the backgrounds needed for spying and analyzing intelligence on foreign threats, said Mark Warner, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The argument for diversity is probably stronger for the IC (intelligence community) than many other federal agencies because the nature of spying is you are spying on other countries," he said. A U.S. intelligence official, who requested anonymity to discuss the issue, stressed that qualifications and experience are given as much consideration in recruitment and promotions as candidates' ethnic, linguistic and cultural backgrounds. If you were to run the data on the qualifications of any minority group in the United States intelligence community and compare them to their majority counterparts, you will find that they are on a par, and in some instances, exceeding the experience and education levels of some of their counterparts, the official said. The new report showed that gaps persist. Women remained under-represented in the intelligence community workforce at 41.6%, compared with 53.3% of the U.S. civilian workforce, it said, with only 34.3% employed at senior levels. Minority women accounted for the vast majority of this disparity, the report said. Barriers for women start very early. Theyre entering at lower grades and so it is taking them longer to get to those more senior positions, said the intelligence official. Story continues Minority intelligence officers also faced barriers to promotion and remain particularly underrepresented at senior levels, possibly helping to account for a higher attrition rate for minorities than for non-minority employees, the report said. In other findings, the report said the share of the intelligence community workforce identifying as persons with disabilities dropped to 9.8% in fiscal 2023 compared with 22.5% in the civilian workforce - from 11.9% in 2020. The size of the spy agencies' workforce is classified. (Reporting by Jonathan Landay in Washington; Editing by Don Durfee and Matthew Lewis) Could the next Democratic National Convention be in Charlotte? One Charlotte leader hopes so. According to our partners at the Charlotte Business Journal, Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority CEO Steve Bagwell is interested in making a bid for the 2028 DNC. While discussions about hosting the DNC in 2028 are still in the early stages, we are eager to collaborate with the city of Charlotte to formally express our interest to the Democratic National Committee and pursue a request for proposal, Bagwell told CBJ. Our city has a proven track record of hosting successful large-scale events, and we would be thrilled to have the opportunity to host the DNC once again. The news comes the day after the 2024 DNC wrapped up in Chicago. Channel 9s Joe Bruno was in the Windy City all week and was there Thursday night as North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper fired up the crowd ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris speech. DNC Day 4: NC Gov. Roy Cooper fires up crowd ahead of Harris Afterward, Harris formally accepted the Democratic nomination for president. Back home, the CBJ reports Charlotte City Councilmember James Mitchell attended this years DNC. Mitchell told the CBJ he plans to speak with Gov. Cooper next week and will bring up the potential for a 2028 DNC in the Queen City. Charlotte has hosted the DNC before. In 2012, it beat out St. Louis, Cleveland, and Minneapolis to host the convention, bringing tens of thousands of people to the area. Republicans have already picked Houston to host the next Republican National Convention. Though the location for the next DNC still needs to be determined, the Associated Press notes that the Democratic National Committee considered Houston, New York, and Atlanta before settling on Chicago for its 2024 convention. (WATCH BELOW: Crowds at Atlanta DNC watch party electric as VP Harris accepts presidential nomination) Former Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger delivered a ringing endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention on Thursday. Kinzinger, a congressman from Illinois who served for 12 years, is one of highest-profile members of Donald Trumps party to endorse his Democratic opponent. Tonight, as a Republican speaking before you, Im putting our country first, because the fact is, I do belong here, Kinzinger said. I know Kamala Harris shares my allegiance to the rule of law, the Constitution and democracy. Kinzinger was one of 11 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for inciting a mob attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Kinzingers Republican colleagues ostracized him from the party and he retired the next year rather than seek reelection. Ive learned something about the Democratic Party, and I want to let my fellow Republicans in on the secret: The Democrats are as patriotic as us. They love this country just as much as we do, Kinzinger said, speaking to an audience that has repeatedly broken into USA chants this week. I was relieved to discover that because Ive learned something about my party too, something I couldnt ignore: The Republican Party is no longer conservative, Kinzinger said. It has switched its allegiance from the principles that gave it purpose to a man whose only purpose is himself. Kinzingers presence at the DNC reflects a concerted effort by the Harris campaign to court moderate Republican voters turned off by Trump. Other Republican speakers at the DNC included former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, former Mike Pence homeland security adviser Olivia Troye and former Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham. Trumps attempt to overthrow the 2020 election was the catalyst for these Republicans to ditch their partys nominee. Kinzinger called Jan. 6 the desecration of our sacred tradition of peaceful transition of power, a 250-year tradition tarnished by a man too weak to accept defeat. Democracy knows no party, Kinzinger said. Its a living, breathing ideal that defines us as a nation. Its the bedrock that separates us from tyranny, and when that foundation is fractured, we must all stand together united to strengthen it. Related... Minnesota Gov. Tim Walzs son Gus moved the audience Wednesday night in the United Center with a display of emotion as his father spoke that many saw as heartwarming. After 17-year-old Gus was shown on national television at the DNC in Chicago tearing up, clapping and yelling out, Thats my dad! People magazine posted a statement from the older Walz and wife Gwen that Gus has a non-verbal learning disorder, along with anxiety and ADHD. The Tribune talked to experts, who used the terms neurodivergent and disability to describe conditions like Gus Walzs. The Walz family statement did not use those terms. Viral clips like the one between Gus Walz and his father can make all the difference for neurodivergent people, said Kimi Matsumura, founder of the nonprofit Chicago Autism Network. Exposure is huge, she said. The world getting to see the beauty of Gus Walz and his relationship with his dad I think will open up a lot of hearts. What is non-verbal learning disorder? Non-verbal learning disorder is a condition in which a person has difficulty processing information other than words or speech, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The name of the condition is not about the ability to speak. A person with a non-verbal learning disorder might have trouble with problem-solving, spatial awareness, social cues and executive functioning including emotional regulation, according to the Cleveland Clinic. What has Gov. Walz said about his sons condition? It took time, but what became so immediately clear to us was that Gus condition is not a setback its his secret power, Tim and Gwen Walz reportedly said to People. The couple said they love and are proud of their son, who they called brilliant, hyper-aware of details that many of us pass by and an excellent brother. What reaction has there been on social media? Social media supporters of the Walzes have hit back on a number of conservative commentators that criticized Gus Walzs reaction. One of them was Ann Coulter, who posted Talk about weird along with an image of the younger Walz. The post has since been deleted, but Ann Coulter trended Thursday afternoon on the social media platform X. The post seemed to be a spin on the Minnesota governors use of the word weird to describe Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance and other conservatives. I am neurodivergent. When I was 14, I was diagnosed with ADHD, OCD, and several learning disorders, including dyscalculia, Moms Demand Action co-founder Shannon Watts wrote, also on X. Were not weird, were wonderful. And were your family, friends and fellow Americans. What does this mean for neurodivergent people? Many neurodivergent people are met with hesitation and uncertainty in daily life by people who do not understand them, Matsumura of the Chicago Autism Network said. But moments where neurodivergence is celebrated can shed more light into the many things neurodivergent people bring. Matsumuras daughter was diagnosed with autism at 3 years old. There are tough moments amid side eye and joy when milestones are hit, she said. Having a community of neurodivergent people can mean the world to neurodivergent people and their parents alike, she said. She hopes the Walz family can help people connect with those communities. Its really important that we have moments like that where we can value and see the strength and beauty of diversity in all of its forms, she said. Delaware state Rep. Kerri Evelyn Harris, inaugural chair of the Democratic National Committee Disability Caucus, said the moment was starting that deeper conversation around disabilities. Gus reaction is something that we all needed, we all enjoyed, we all could feel, and there is something that comes with being a member of the disabilities community: that when people get to know us, people get to understand that we have so much to contribute, Harris said. An S.C. Air National Guard veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder leapt to his death while on a cruise in May, according to a police report. Retired Lt. Col. James Bryan Wright, 53, of the small Lexington County town of Gaston, jumped from the Royal Caribbean Groups Icon of the Seas, the largest cruise liner in the world, on May 26, according to a report from the Miami-Dade Police Department. He was recovered after a search that lasted nearly two hours and was pronounced dead quickly thereafter. According to the report, Wright had just had a physical altercation with his wife, which prompted her to leave the cabin. Shortly after the altercation Mr. Wright exited the cabin at which point he made his way to deck 5 where he entered a secure gated area and proceeded to jump off the ship, the report states. The immense Icon of the Seas has 20 decks, which are equivalent to floors in a building. The report notes that Wright suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder but doesnt say how long he was afflicted with it. According to Cruise Hive, a news outlet covering the cruise industry, the Icon of the Seas was about 300 miles from its home port of Miami when Wright jumped on the morning of Sunday, May 26. The ship, which was en route to the Honduran island Roatan, embarked on its journey the day before. Wright served for 30 years in the S.C. Air National Guard, becoming a commissioned officer in 1998, according to his obituary. He served in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom. During his tour in Afghanistan, Bryan flew into many combat zones visiting soldiers and personnel assigned to his command, his obituary states, noting that he served as director of manpower and personnel for the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force during his tour. In 2014, he ended a stint as commander of the 169th Force Support Squadron of the S.C. Air National Guard at McEntire Joint National Guard Base in Hopkins. He later retired as deputy director of Human Resources-Joint Force Headquarters in 2018. Wright was decorated for his service, having been awarded honors such as a Defense Meritorious Service Medal, a Meritorious Service Medal, an Air Force Commendation Medal, an Army Achievement Medal and an Air Force Achievement Medal, according to the Veterans Legacy Memorial database. MISSOURI Curiosity surrounding the mysterious Missouri cheese caves has resurfaced on the internet, and now the possible secrets and history behind these caves may have been unlocked. Food & Wine Magazine shared new discoveries about the caves and their origin, including a possible connection to the storage of government cheese during over-production of the dairy product in the 1980s. The caves located in Springfield, Missouri, at Springfield Underground were once limestone mines but were converted into a 3.5 million-square-foot cave system for surplus food storage, Food & Wine Magazine said. Pevely third grader paralyzed in crash, school offering support The magazine noted Missouri for its reputation as the Cave State and its abundance of limestone that naturally formed over 7,000 caves across its southern region. A professor of agricultural economics at Cornell University, Andrew M. Novakovic told Food & Wine that Missouris caves have a natural underground temperature in the low 60s and moderate humidity, making them great for storing surplus food products. In the 1980s, its rumored that President Ronald Reagan began using the caves for surplus cheese after President Jimmy Carter poured $2 billion into the dairy industry in 1977, causing overproduction. President Reagan ultimately created the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program, which allocated blocks of government cheese to those facing food insecurity. This program also called for additional food storage, hence the cheese caves. There is little know about the Springfield Underground and what all is truly stored in its caves. Despite this, the company is known for working with companies in the food industry like Kraft, Pepsi, and Vital Farms Though the Springfield caves are assumed to be used for the storage of government cheese, the owners of the Springfield Underground attraction deny any involvement with the government food assistance program. The USDA is not a tenant of Springfield Underground, and we do not have a pound of government-owned cheese, Christina Angle, CFO for the Erlen Group, told Food & Wine. That said, Springfield Underground is a critical part of our nations supply chain for many of our tenants products, including cheese. The video above is from Feb. 9, 2022. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) The leading third-party candidate in the 2024 presidential race, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., announced hes suspending his campaign on Friday. I want everyone to know that I am not terminating my campaign. I am simply suspending it, Kennedy said. He said his name will remain on the ballot in most states. In about ten battleground states, where my presence would be a spoiler, Im gonna remove my name, he said. Kennedy, angry with the Democratic party, threw his support behind former President Donald Trump. I want to thank Bobby, that was very nice, Trump said on Friday. Thats big. Hes a great guy, respected by everybody. RFK Jr.s exit sets up a two-candidate race with 74 days until the election. Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic partys nomination at the DNC in Chicago on Thursday night. During her speech, Trump attacked Harris on his Truth Social platform posting, All talk, no action. For a portion of Harriss speech on Thursday night, she addressed the former president. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious, Harris 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 DC News Now | Washington, DC. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., left, shakes hands with Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally Friday, Aug. 23, 2024, in Glendale, Ariz. | Ross D. Franklin Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is suspending his 2024 presidential campaign. I am not terminating my campaign, I am simply suspending it and not ending it. My name will remain on the ballot in most states, he said during a press conference in Arizona on Friday. He said he would take his name off the ballot in swing states. Apart from criticizing the mainstream media and the Democratic National Party for undermining his campaign, Kennedy moved to endorse former President Donald Trump. Three great causes drove me to enter this race in the first place, primarily, and these are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent, and now to throw my support to President Trump, he said. Trump, responding to the endorsement at a Las Vegas restaurant, said, I want to thank Bobby, that was very nice, as CNN reported. Hes a great guy, respected by everybody. Later, at a Trump rally in Glendale, Arizona on Friday, Trump appeared with Kennedy, who had been teased as a special guest. We are both in this to do whats right for the country, Trump said, calling Kennedy brilliant, and a phenomenal person, a phenomenal man who loves the people of this country. A national Deseret News/HarrisX poll found RFK Jr.s exit from the race will likely benefit Trump more than Vice President Kamala Harris. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announces he is suspending his presidential campaign at a news conference Friday, Aug 23, 2024, in Phoenix. | Darryl Webb Will RFK Jr. have a place in the Trump administration? During his remarks at his Phoenix press conference, Kennedy revealed the Trump campaign offered him a seat in the White House during two separate meetings. In those meetings, he suggested that we join forces as a unity party. We talked about Abraham Lincolns team of rivals, that arrangement would allow us to disagree publicly and privately and furiously, if need be, on issues over which we differ, while working together on the existential issues upon which we are in concordance, he said at his press conference. The news of Kennedy bowing out of the race first came through a court filing from his campaign. Respondents Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Nicole Shanahan as the We The People candidates for President and Vice President of the United States, as a result of todays endorsement of Donald Trump for the office of President of the United States hereby withdraw their opposition to the Petition of Alexander Reber and Janneken Smuckers, the filing said. Democratic Party, VP Harris reacts to Trump dropping out Kennedys running mate, Nicole Shanahan, a California attorney, in an appearance on the Impact Theory podcast Tuesday, said the Kennedy campaign had two options. Theres two options that were looking at, Shanahan said. One is staying in, forming that new party, but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and (Tim) Walz presidency, because we draw votes from Trump or we draw somehow more votes from Trump. Or, we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump. We walk away from that and we explain to our base why were making this decision. Trump previously told Fox News he would be honored by Kennedys endorsement. He really has his heart in the right place, he added. The Democratic National Committee in a memo released Friday argued Kennedy bowing out of the race would not affect polling. Heres what RFK Jr.s endorsement of Donald Trump would change: nothing, Reid said in the memo. The little support that remains is soft, split across ideologies, and disproportionately among lower propensity voters. Meanwhile, the Harris campaign is attempting to pursue Kennedys voter base, according to CNN. If they were looking for somebody whos actually going to fight for their interests, their values, or theyre looking for somebody who understood as it relates to the personal decisions that they make in their lives, the government should get ... out of the way, a Harris campaign spokesperson said, then theres a home for them in Kamala Harris campaign. Utah state sign In a lawsuit filed Thursday, real estate startup Homie Technologies claims that home seller consumers were not the only ones harmed by the real estate industrys allegedly anticompetitive practices. Defendants in the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Utah, include the usual cast of antitrust lawsuit characters: the National Association of Realtors (NAR), Anywhere Real Estate, Keller Williams Realty, HomeServices of America, and RE/MAX. Utah-based Wasatch Front Regional MLS, which does business as UtahRealEstate.com, is also named as a defendant in the suit. In the complaint, Homie claims that it is bringing this legal action to recover the damagessuffered as an excluded competitor foreclosed by the Defendants conduct from effective competition in the relevant market. The company noted that if it had been allowed to compete with Defendants and their co-conspirators, it would have gained market share at Defendants expense while posing a competitive check on Defendants ability to charge exorbitant prices for brokerage services to consumers. By excluding Homie and other new entrants, Defendants, in a single stroke, harmed competition, harmed consumers, and caused injury and damages to Homie. Like the antitrust lawsuits filed by consumers, Homies suit also takes aim at NARs rules, including the Participation Rule, which required listing brokers to make a blanket offer of compensation to buyers brokers in order to list a property on the MLS. As a self-described technology driven industry disrupter, Homies business model involves charging home sellers a flat fee to list their property on the MLS. As part of their low-cost selling strategy, sellers using Homie would commonly make an offer of compensation to buyer-brokers that was somewhat below the buyer agent compensation (BAC) offered by sellers represented by traditional brokers, including the Corporate Defendants. Buyers using Homie would receive some or all of any BAC offered by the seller, the complaint states. The offer of buyer agent compensation a seller decided to make would be posted on the MLS alongside the listing. According to the complaint, buy-side agents made it clear to Homie that they did not like these lower offers of compensation, using the MLS comment field and Facebook to note that they werent going to show Homie listings due to the lower offer of buyer broker compensation, which is known as steering. Local NAR members in Utah used Facebook groups to coordinate boycotts of Homies listings with low buyer-broker commissions during the period that the Buyer-Broker Compensation Rule was in effect, sometimes marked with the hashtag #boycottHOMIE, the complaint states. The exclusionary campaign against Homie was also conducted through the local associations of NAR in Utah that own and control WFRMLS. Local associations of NAR in Utah encouraged agents to steer clients away from Homieone of their own members. Story continues In addition, the suit claims that Homie received text messages from NAR-member brokers when the Participation Rule was in effect, claiming that the buyer broker would not show the Homie listing as the buyer broker compensation was only 1.5%. I could always show it and then negotiate up the BBC in the contract but figured, why go through the hassle when we have three other great listings paying 2.5-4%. Anyway. Please tell your sellers for me, one text cited in the complaint stated. By boycotting Homie listings and steering clients, Homie claims that innovative entrants, seeking to compete on price and other terms of service attractive to home sellers or home buyers, have been stymied by traditional real estate brokers who acted in concert through the MLS to promulgate a web of rules and practices that created substantial barriers to competition. The complaint states that while competition from innovative market entrants has been predicted for years, no firms has emerged due to the anticompetitive conduct of traditional brokerages acting through NAR. The anticipated wave of disruptive innovation and entry into the residential real estate brokerage market has not yet occurred because Defendants conspired to prevent it, the lawsuit states. Using their control of the MLS, Defendants imposed rules nationwide that erected substantial barriers to entry for new competitors, thereby elevating the price of residential real estate brokerage services well above competitive levels. Although Homie has undergone several rounds of layoffs since its founding in 2015, as of April this year it is still offering brokerage, mortgage and title services to consumers, however it has moved its real estate agents from W2 employees to 1099 contract workers. Homie is asking for damages and a permanent injunction against the defendants and is demanding a jury trial. While we cannot comment on the specifics of the complaint, the claim that competition within the real estate industry has been stifled is simply unfounded, Chris Kelly, an executive vice president at HomeServices of America, wrote in an email. The industry has undergone significant evolution over the past decade, with dynamic changes in the competitive landscape. For example, of the top 10 brokerages by closed sides in 2013, only three remain in the top 10 in 2023. Notably, seven of the top 10 brokerages in 2023 were not in that group just ten years ago. There has been an ongoing and continued introduction of new models, such as iBuying, that have emerged over the past decade. In an emailed comment, a NAR spokesperson said the trade group would respond to the allegations in court. NARs goal is to promote local real estate marketplaces that provide fair and equal access to property information and promote competition while empowering REALTORS to serve clients on their homebuying and selling journeys, the spokesperson added. RE/MAX did not wish to comment and none of the other defendants returned a request for comment. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he is ending his campaign for the presidency in Phoenix on Friday, throwing his support behind Republican nominee Donald Trump. Photo by David Blakeman/EPA-EFE Aug. 23 (UPI) -- Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Friday suspended his campaign, saying he will remove his name from the ballot in battleground states as he endorsed Republican nominee Donald Trump. Later Friday, the former Democrat appeared with Trump at the former president's rally in Glendale, Ariz. At a press conference in Phoenix, Kennedy said, "I am not terminating my campaign -- I am simply suspending it and not ending it. My name will remain on the ballot in most states." The former Democrat, however, is in the process of removing his name from the ballot in battleground states to avoid acting as a spoiler for Trump, whom he then endorsed over Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. "Three great causes drove me to enter this race in the first place, primarily, and these are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent, and now to throw my support to President Trump," he said. Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Friday suspended his campaign, saying he will remove his name from the ballot in battleground states as he endorsed GOP nominee Donald Trump. File Photo by Jemal Countess/UPI Kennedy has approached the Trump campaign and the Harris campaigns seeking to trade his endorsement for a position in the White House, but said Aug. 15 he had no plans to endorse Harris after trying to get a meeting with her campaign. The disowned scion of the Democratic Party's most famous family said Friday he has been asked by Trump to work in his second administration. "He suggested that we join forces as a unity party," he said. "We talked about Abraham Lincoln's team of rivals, that arrangement would allow us to disagree publicly and privately and furiously, if need be, on issues over which we differ, while working together on the existential issues upon which we are in concordance." Kennedy's campaign after he officially filed paperwork to drop out of the November election in Arizona. He announced the moves before Trump held a rally in nearby Glendale, Ariz. Trump is now seeking to reverse the momentum behind Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, as polls show they are expanding the map of competitive states. If elected, Trump said he will ask Kennedy to work on a panel that would investigate "the decades-long increase in chronic health problems, including autoimmune disorders, autism, obesity, infertility, and many more." Kennedy has disputed the safety and efficacy of vaccines, including the ones for COVID-19, which Trump spearheaded, calling it "one of the greatest achievements of mankind." In turn, Kennedy praised Trump for sharing his views on "ending the chronic disease epidemic." Kennedy asked the crowd, "Don't you want a president that's going to make America healthy again?" Kennedy asked the crowd, "Don't you want a president that's going to make America healthy again?" The rally was at the same location, Desert Diamond Arena, where Harris and Walz appeared two weeks. In both instances, the Desert Diamond Arena the 17,000-seat arena has been filled. Earlier in Las Vegas at a restaurant, Trump said: "I want to thank Bobby, that was very nice. He's a great guy, respected by everybody." As they have before, members of Kennedy's family on Friday blasted his political maneuvers as a "betrayal" of his legacy. "We want an America filled with hope and bound together by a shared vision of a brighter future, a future defined by individual freedom, economic promise and national pride," his sister Kerry Kennedy said in a statement co-signed by four other Kennedy siblings. "Our brother Bobby's decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story." Kennedy has abandoned the Democratic party legacies of his assassinated father, former Attorney General Robert Kennedy, and uncle, President John Kennedy. He left the Democratic Party in October after first filing a statement of his candidacy for president as a Democrat in April. In response to Kennedy's announcement, the Harris-Walz campaign on Friday urged his supporters to consider the Democratic ticket. "For any American out there who is tired of Donald Trump and looking for a new way forward, ours is a campaign for you," campaign Chair Jen O'Malley Dillon said in a statement. "In order to deliver for working people and those who feel left behind, we need a leader who will fight for you, not just for themselves, and bring us together, not tear us apart. Vice President Harris wants to earn your support. "Even if we do not agree on every issue, Kamala Harris knows there is more that unites us than divides us: respect for our rights, public safety, protecting our freedoms, and opportunity for all," Dillon said. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called off his long-shot presidential campaign and has thrown his support behind Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. The move is a stunning bit of political calculus from a scion of Americas most storied Democratic dynasty. Teased earlier this week by the candidate and his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, the news was made official Friday in a rambling, accusatory announcement delivered by Kennedy in a Renaissance hotel ballroom in downtown Phoenix. More from The Hollywood Reporter Kennedy assailed the Democrats in his speech, accusing the party of illiberal tactics that precipitated a palace coup against President Joe Biden to install Vice President Kamala Harris as the presidential candidate, based on nothing no debates, no policies, no interviews, only balloons. How did the Democratic Party choose a candidate who has never given an interview? Kennedy asked. Over the course of a campaign where my poll numbers reached at times the high 20s, ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC and CNN combined gave only two live interviews to me. Those networks ran continuous hit pieces [on me]. We inspired a massive independent political movement, said Kennedy, thanking the 100,000 volunteers who collected signatures and canvassed for his campaign. I will not let your accomplishments go to waste. Im here today to describe the path forward. In my heart, I no longer feel we have a path to victory. Our polling consistently showed that by staying on the ballot in the battleground states I would be handing votes over to the Democrats. Kennedy announced that he is removing his name from ballots in those battleground states (though remains on the ballot in others). Citing three issues free speech, the war in Ukraine and childrens health Kennedy said he would throwing his support behind Trump. Kennedys TV star wife, the Curb Your Enthusiasm actress Cheryl Hines, put out her own statement via social media, saying, The decision has been made to suspend my husbands, Robert Kennedy Jr.s campaign and Id like to extend a sincere, deeply heartfelt thank you to every person who has worked so tirelessly and lovingly on his campaign. They have accomplished feats that were said to be impossible. They have gathered over a million signatures, more than any candidate in history and have achieved ballot access across the country despite the roadblocks and lawsuits that have been brought against them for the sole purpose of keeping Bobby off of the ballots so no one would even have the opportunity to vote for him. I deeply respect the decision Bobby made to run on the principle of unity. Over the last year and a half, I have met some extraordinary people from all parties Democrats, Republicans and independents. Its been my experience that the vast majority of all parties are truly good people who want the best for our country and for each other. It has been an eye-opening, transformative and endearing journey, Hines continued. After a stressful year in which an armed trespasser was arrested on the grounds of the couples L.A. home, the move is likely to cause further strain in the household, as Hines has been open in the past about her contempt for Trump and his policies. Trump, whose lead in polls has significantly diminished since President Joe Biden left the race and Harris became the Democratic nominee, has welcomed Kennedys support and has teased a cabinet position for Kennedy should he win the November election. An anti-establishment candidate who pushes conspiracy theories and an anti-vaccine agenda, Kennedy has long been seen as an election spoiler and might have easily siphoned precious votes away from Trump. In a January Hollywood Reporter cover profile, Hines, 58, said, My opinion, just seeing what I see, is that Bobby is more likely to take votes from Trump than he is votes from Biden. By professing fidelity to the Trump campaign, Kennedy becomes one less headache for the beleaguered former president as he attempts to win a second term. The announcement drew a response from five of Kennedys siblings, who in a statement posted to Instagram said, We want an America filled with hope and bound together by a shared vision of a brighter future, a future defined by individual freedom, economic promise and national pride. We believe in Harris and [running mate Tim] Walz. Our brother Bobbys decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story. The demise of Kennedys bid marks the end of one of the stranger chapters in presidential election history. Kennedy, 70, originally ran as a Democrat, then recalibrated his campaign to run as an independent. The campaign was met with grumbles from both ends of the political establishment and nowhere louder than from Kennedys own family, several of whom released statements distancing themselves from their relative and denouncing what they characterized as an attempt at disrupting democracy by challenging Biden, then the assumed candidate. But the Democratic National Committee mounted multiple, costly legal challenges to Kennedys bid to get on ballots, while the Republican National Committee did not, according to sources within the Kennedy campaign, which in turn tipped Kennedys loyalties toward Trump. In the end, Kennedy had successfully petitioned to be on 19 state ballots. It would not be enough. At its peak, Kennedys campaign was polling in the low double digits. But amid Harris surprise surge toward the presidency, Kennedys coffers, depleted by various legal bids, ran low and his popularity dipped to 5 percent. Along the way, Kennedy was subjected to increased media scrutiny, as a series of bizarre revelations made headlines all of them straining credulity yet, amazingly, true. In May, it was revealed doctors discovered a worm had eaten part of his brain, causing memory loss and mental fogginess. A July Vanity Fair story alleged that a photo of Kennedy biting into some kind of animal carcass actually depicted a barbecued dog. Kennedy countered that it was a goat. This month, a New Yorker profile revealed Kennedy was the mystery individual who left a dead bear cub in Central Park a decade ago, grabbing headlines and sending city officials on a futile investigation. Trying to get ahead of the news, Kennedy posted a video recounting the story, inexplicably, to comedian Roseanne Barr. A rep for Barr says the video was made following the taping of her podcast. Barr, herself no stranger to strange and negative headlines, looked baffled as Kennedy shared the tale. Best of The Hollywood Reporter RFK Jr.'s exit shakes up 2024 race. But how much does his endorsement actually help Trump? CHICAGO The abrupt exit of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his endorsement of Donald Trump has shaken up the 2024 White House race with just 74 days until Election Day but whether it's a boon for the Republican presidential nominee remains unclear. Though polling suggests former President Trump could benefit from the suspended campaign of the independent Kennedy a conspiracy theorist, environmental advocate and son of the late liberal icon Robert F. Kennedy political analysts question whether it's a major gain. "It has very little impact in the national polling," said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. "The question is, what will the impact be in the swing states? And from what we've seen, it's probably going to be marginal." Given the growing negative perceptions that voters have about Kennedy, his endorsement poses a risk to Trump, who is no stranger to courting controversy. In long, rambling remarks Friday announcing he is "suspending" his candidacy, Kennedy said he is throwing his support to Trump. He made clear his opposition of Vice President Kamala Harris and used a long windup to his speech to rail on the Democratic Party. Kennedy said his name will remain on ballots in some states but he will "remove" his name from about 10 battlegrounds. Yet he still suggested a farfetched scenario in which he somehow emerges as a negotiated president if Trump and Harris tie in the Electoral College. More: The Kennedy family (with one notable absence) joins President Biden at the White House For much of the election cycle, Democrats labeled Kennedy an "election spoiler" whose candidacy was meant to help Trump by peeling votes away from President Joe Biden. But after Harris took over as the party's 2024 nominee, polling started showing that Kennedy was doing the opposite: hurting Trump more than the Democrats. Even before Biden's exit, a USA TODAY/Suffolk University national poll in June found Trump the second choice of 32% of Kennedy supporters and Biden the second choice of 18% of Kennedy supporters. Another 26% said they were unsure who they would back besides Kennedy, and the remaining respondents moved to other third-party candidates. More: RFK Jr. tried to set up meeting with Kamala Harris to discuss Cabinet role Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. watches his running mate Nicole Shanahan speak during a campaign event at the Henry J. Kaiser Event Center in Oakland, California, on March 26, 2024. The poll found 42% of Republican voters viewed Kennedy favorably, along with 36% of independent voters, compared with just 17% of Democratic voters. More recently, a survey of seven battleground states by the Cook Political Report last week found Trump was the second choice of 45% of Kennedy voters in these crucial states, compared with 26% for Harris. Yet the poll found Kennedy with support from only 5% of likely voters across these states, down from 8% in May. Kennedy, who winded down regular campaign events weeks ago, has led a campaign that has often bordered on the bizarre. There have been revelations that he placed the carcass of a dead baby bear cub in New York's Central Park a decade ago and that doctors found a dead worm in his brain. He faced new sexual assault allegations dating back to the 1990s and was blocked from the ballot in New York after a judge ruled he provided a false residency. More: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 'contracted a parasite' during travels, his team says after NYT report Since announcing her candidacy, Harris has performed moderately better in polls that feature third-party candidates than head-to-head between only her and Trump. For example, a Marquette Law School poll of registered Wisconsin voters this month found Trump leading 50%-49% in a head-to-head matchup but Harris leading Trump 45%-43% with other candidates like Kennedy and liberal academic Cornel West added to the mix. Kennedy had support from 8% of registered Wisconsin voters. Kennedy, however, is not popular among the majority of Americans, polling suggests. The Cook Political Report survey of swing states found that Kennedy is viewed unfavorably by 45% of likely voters nationally and favorably by 39%. And his share of the electoral vote has been sliding in polls for months. Kennedy is polling at 4.5% nationally, according to the Real Clear Politics average of polls, down from 11% in early May. It follows a historic trend of third-party candidates polling better in the spring than closer to the election. On the other hand, in states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin that could be decided by only thousands of votes, any shift could be critical. Paleologos said he expects the Trump and Harris campaigns will fine-tune their outreach efforts to identify the former Kennedy voters that each can pick up. More likely to benefit Harris are the 18% of Kennedy voters who were independent women in the USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll in June and the 13% who were 29 years old or younger. More likely to help Trump are the 16% of Kennedy voters who received trade or vocational education and the 15% who were independent male voters, a group he performs better among than Harris. "The smart campaign will have separate operations for each of those micro-targeting focuses," Paleologos said. Harris' campaign chair, Jen O'Malley Dillon, during a panel talk this week in Chicago hosted by Politico, downplayed the effect Kennedy's exit will have on the race "We are very confident the vice president's going to win, whether she's running against one candidate or multiple candidates," O'Malley Dillon said, pointing to Kennedy's polling slide after his peak last spring. "The more the American people have heard from him, the more we see that they don't like him that much and they think that what he's saying is more extreme." But the Trump campaign touted the endorsement as potentially critical in helping the Republican nominee win key swing states. Trump campaign pollster Tony Fabrizio, in a memo Friday, said the number of votes likely to swing from Kennedy to Trump in certain states like Arizona could be greater than Biden's 2020 victories in those states. "So, when you hear or see the Harris team and/or the Democrats try and spin otherwise, now that the data clearly paints a different picture," Fabrizio said. "This is good news for President Trump and his campaign plain and simple." In a statement, Democratic National Committee senior adviser Mary Beth Cahill said "good riddance." The more voters learned about RFK Jr. the less they liked him," she said. "Donald Trump isnt earning an endorsement thats going to help build support, hes inheriting the baggage of a failed fringe candidate." Cahill is a longtime Democratic strategist who previously worked as chief of staff to the late-Sen. Ted Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat and uncle of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Reach Joey Garrison on X, formerly Twitter, @joeygarrison. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: RFK Jr. drops out, shaking up race. But will it give Trump a boost? RFK Jr. files to withdraw name from Arizona's presidential ballot Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr speaks at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. July 26, 2024. REUTERS/Kevin Wurm PHOENIX - Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. late Thursday filed to withdraw his name from Arizona's Nov. 5 ballot, the Arizona Secretary of State's Office confirmed to The Arizona Republic, a USA TODAY Network partner. Kennedy filed to withdraw about 5:30 p.m., according to JP Martin, a spokesperson for Secretary of State Adrian Fontes. Speculation has swirled about Kennedy considering ending his campaign and endorsing former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee. Kennedy is scheduled to speak Friday in Phoenix about his "path forward." Later in the day, Trump is holding a rally with an unnamed "special guest" at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. Visit to state: Trump talks security at Arizonas southern border to counter Harris momentum in the state Asked Thursday about the RFK Jr. chatter, Trump said he would consider it a great honor if Kennedy endorsed him but that there were no plans for him to appear with Trump in Glendale. Trump, who was making a border stop in Cochise County, called Kennedy smart and a little bit different but thats OK." This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. moves to take name off Arizona's Nov. 5 ballot The growing possibility that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could drop out and endorse former President Trump is injecting further chaos into an already unpredictable moment in the election. Kennedys allies emphasize that nothing is final yet, and members of his team are in disagreement over how to move forward. But the two campaigns have been negotiating this week, The Hill has learned, with one scenario having Kennedy drop out as early as Friday and back the former president. The prospect of such a move is already causing speculation about what it means for Vice President Harris, with some observers suggesting it could seriously impact her odds against Trump. Its a very big deal, because were talking about an election that will be decided by inches on the electoral map, GOP strategist Ford OConnell said. Meanwhile, there are still potential hurdles for the Kennedy and Trump campaigns as they weigh a potential deal. One source close to Kennedy, who has been briefed on the deliberations, said the third-party candidates stipulations could pose a problem for Trumps team. Bobby wants to bring people with him onto the Trump campaign, and this might be a deal-breaker, the source said. Kennedy, 70, is also getting considerable pushback from the closest and most important member of his inner circle his wife, actor Cheryl Hines who really does not want him to back Trump, the source said. Hes contending with that, the source added. Running a third-party insurgent campaign against considerable headwinds has been difficult from the start for Kennedy, a former Democrat. But as his chances of securing the White House went from unlikely to practically nonexistent, he has been warming to the idea of dropping his bid, sources close to him said. Tempted by a potential role in a second Trump administration, the environmental lawyer now sees advantages to joining the former presidents effort to defeat Harris and reclaim the Oval Office. And hes setting the stage by sharing his favorite parts about Trump while he runs his own campaign. Trump has returned the favor. The Republican nominee has heaped more praise this week on Kennedy, whose candidacy threatens to take votes away from the former president in critical swing states. Trump said Thursday he would be honored if Kennedy endorsed him, the latest in a string of compliments he has offered his rival. The mutual interest, which has been expressed now in public and private, has been building as both candidates prepare to give speeches Friday in Arizona. Trumps stop is expected to offer voters more standard campaign fare, while the chatter around what Kennedy will say has gone in several directions. In an announcement, his campaign said Kennedy will address the present historical moment and his path forward. But his own circle is facing an existential crisis over how to handle the event. A second source directly familiar with the negotiations told The Hill theres a massive debate between different factions of his team over what is the best outcome for Kennedy. One group believes he should formally end his campaign during the speech and give Trump his full-throated support. Their preferred scenario would be to set up Kennedy for a post within Trumps possible administration, where he can help bring some of his outsider policy ideas into fruition. The other camp wants Kennedy to push for specific demands before he lends his backing to Trump. Top on the list is for Trump to give assurances that he will help protect the ballot access infrastructure that Kennedys team has built up through a complicated process that has faced pressure from donors. Its literally a $15 million asset theyre negotiating over, the second source with knowledge of the talks said, speaking without attribution to discuss internal deliberations. Somehow you can negotiate to keep Bobby on the ballot in the hardest-won states, the source added, naming Arizona, Pennsylvania and New York as a handful of places where maintaining his ballot line is particularly crucial. The second source, who believes Kennedy should pursue that strategy, views the former president somewhat cynically. He believes Trump wants Kennedys voter base but is not necessarily inclined to help the candidate himself, despite his recent flattery. He would have to make a formal promise that he would help use his resources to defend against any efforts to kick him off the ballot, including enlisting the Republican National Committee to countersue Democrats lawsuits in some cases. If Kennedy has made the right deal, that he gets everything he wants, hell back Trump, the source added. If not, hell walk away. Kennedy has appeared to be reaching out on both sides of the aisle as he falls in polls to single-digits. He reportedly tried to get a meeting with Harris about a Cabinet position, and chatted with Trump about it too, though his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, shrugged off any traction with Harris in a recent interview, calling a Harris-Walz presidency a risk of staying in. Democrats initially saw Kennedy as a bigger threat to them than to Republicans. But this spring, polls started to suggest Kennedy could hamper both Biden and Trump, and some Republican strategists suggested concerns were building in the former presidents orbit. Now, after Bidens historic withdrawal, polls are flashing warning signs for Trump. Harris has a nearly 3-point lead over Trump in a head-to-head match-up, according to the latest averages from Decision Desk HQ, with 49.3 percent support to Trumps 46.7 percent. In a three-way contest including Kennedy, Harris drops just 1 point, to 48 percent, while Trump falls almost 3 points, to 44 percent with Kennedy pulling in 3 percent. The polling has sort of shown that hes been pulling from both candidates, and at different times hes pulled from one more than the other, Republican strategist Matt Mackowiak said. I think that does raise some questions about what, really, the net impact of all this is really going to be. Anytime a candidate drops out and endorses you, its going to bring a pretty decent percentage of their supporters in your direction, he said. Kennedys potential exit and endorsement could be important for Trump in decisive states. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election manual, found that 45 percent of Kennedy voters in swing states say theyd go for the Republican in a Trump-Harris head-to-head match-up, while just 26 percent said theyd support Harris. The timing will also be key. If Kennedy does go through with a campaign suspension Friday, the announcement will come a day after the Democratic National Convention wrapped up in Chicago. Democratic strategist Douglas Wilson, like others in his party, wasnt as convinced that Kennedys support would significantly tip the scales when Harris is marginally ahead. It might make the race tighter, but he argued Democrats could make up for it with a stronger turnout plan for Election Day. It may give Trump an extra 2 percent, 3 percent in some states, but if we on the Democratic side can get our voters out and get them out in high numbers, we can block that, Wilson 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. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has officially scrapped his free-falling campaign as an Independent and endorsed Donald Trump for president. The Kennedy scion made the announcement around lunchtime in Arizona, a key battleground state. The endorsement ends a week of speculation that hed finally end his White House fever dream amid a spell of wonky stories, plummeting poll numbers, and a depleting campaign fund. I throw my support behind Donald Trump, Kennedy said 20 minutes into his address. He urged his supporters in deep-blue states to still vote for him this fall. The Speech RFK Jr. Should Deliver to Be Worthy of His Name That endorsement brought a smile to Trumps face. He acknowledged the endorsement to open a campaign rally in Las Vegas that began as Kennedy was still speaking in Phoenix. We just had a really nice endorsement from RFK Jr, Trump said. I want to thank Bobby. That was nice. Really, really nice. A great guyhes respected by everybody. The fundraising pitch blasted out to Donald Trumps text and email list on Friday afternoon. Donald Trump campaign Trumps campaign worked quick to solicit donations from Kennedy supporters. Within an hour of Kennedys address ending, fundraising emails and texts were blasted out declaring Kennedy and Trump would together dismantle the deep state and usher in world peace. Most importantly, well put the forgotten men & women of America FIRST once again, the pitch added. Kennedy filed paperwork to withdraw from presidential ballots in Arizona on Thursday and did the same in Pennsylvania on Friday afternoon. In a motion there, the Associated Press reported that Kennedy indicated he was dropping out to endorse Trump. That report was published mere minutes before Kennedy took to a podium in Arizona and made that endorsement official. There, he explained his decision, asked his supporters to not vote for Kamala Harris this fall, and decried that he wouldve won the presidency in a just system. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 70, railed against the media and Democratic Party for nearly 20 minutes before he eventually said he was throwing his support behind Donald Trump. Thomas Machowicz/Reuters In an honest system, I believe that I would have won the election, he said, his voice coarse. Kennedy, 70, also ranted about how he was treated unfairly by the media, claiming they conspired to not interview him and deny him airtime. The mainstream media was once the guardian of the First Amendment and democratic principles, he said, claiming the press has since joined a systemic attack on democracy. Reports have said Trumps campaign would consider Kennedy for a cabinet role if he suspended his campaign and endorsed the Republican. Kennedy addressed these rumors on Friday, saying Trump and him have met multiple times and spoke about them teaming up previously. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his former running mate, Nicole Shanahan, embrace on stage in March. Donations to their campaign dried up in recent weeks as rumors swirled he would drop out and endorse Donald Trump. Laure Andrillon/Reuters While Kennedy was polling in the mid-single digits at the national level on Friday morning, according to the AP, his move to quit could still spell trouble for Harris in states where margins are already razor thin. That includes places like Arizona, where hes still polling around 5.4 percent, and in Nevada, where hes at 6.7 percent, according to The Hill. Kennedy polled at around 10 percent nationally for most of 2024 and did even better in some swing states, but has seen his polling figures plummet since Joe Biden bowed out of the race. Political analysts said the change at the top of the ticket pulled Kennedys Democratic-leaning voters back to the Harris ticket, Axios reported. I am sharing a personal statement that my family and I have made in response to my brothers announcement. pic.twitter.com/j7vTTabNYZ Kerry Kennedy (@KerryKennedyRFK) August 23, 2024 The decision to endorse Trump didnt sit well with five of Kennedys siblings who are still alive. Kerry Kennedy, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Courtney Kennedy, Chris Kennedy, and Rory Kennedy each signed a letter that called their brothers endorsement a betrayal. Jack Schlossberg, the 31-year-old grandson of John F. Kennedy, also mocked his cousins decision. Never been less surprised in my life, he said. Been saying it for over a yearRFKjr is for sale, works for Trump. Kennedys wife, Cheryl Hines, issued a statement in support of her partner that was mocked by many online after she wrote her husband had suspended his presidency. She also parroted Kennedys talking points about being denied a chance to be on ballots nationwide and said it was an endearing journey. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and wife, Cheryl Hines, often hit the campaign trail together this year. Mark Makela/Reuters Bizarre stories that emerged in recent weeks about Kennedy likely didnt help matters, either. Most notably, he admitted to dumping the body of a bear cub in New York Citys Central Park in 2014an incident that caused a police animal cruelty investigation but was never solved. Add in Kennedys admission in May that he had a brain wormpaired with his inability to coax his way on to a debate stageand it becomes apparent Kennedy likely was never a real threat to the status quo of Americas two-party system at the presidential level. Kennedys running mate, Nicole Shanahan, made sure she emphasized to their supporters on Friday that shes not a Trump Republican. She did not appear at her ex-running mates address. There were signs as of late that suggested a rift between Shanahan, 38, and her now-former running mate. She notably had $925,000 refunded to her from her own campaign last month. Im an INDEPENDENT American who is endorsing ideas, not a person or a party, she posted. I will continue working to give a voice to the voiceless and bring power back to the people. Read more at The Daily Beast. Get the Daily Beast's biggest scoops and scandals delivered right to your inbox. Sign up now. Stay informed and gain unlimited access to the Daily Beast's unmatched reporting. Subscribe now. A scathing joint statement from five of Bobby's siblings accused the former independent presidential candidate of selling out their family's legacy Rebecca Noble/Getty Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspends his independent presidential campaign on Aug. 23, 2024 Moments after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his independent presidential bid and endorsed Republican candidate Donald Trump, members of his famous Democratic family weighed in with words of disappointment. In a scathing joint statement released on Friday, Aug. 23, five of Bobby's siblings who are all children of the late U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy publicly distanced themselves from his decision to join forces with Trump less than one year after leaving the Democratic Party. "We want an America filled with hope and bound together by a shared vision of a brighter future, a future defined by individual freedom, economic promise and national pride," the statement reads. "We believe in [Kamala] Harris and [Tim] Walz." "Our brother Bobby's decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story," the statement concludes. Posted on social media by Kerry Kennedy, the statement is also signed by siblings Kathleen, Courtney, Chris and Rory. Related: RFK Jr.'s Independent Campaign Slammed as 'Dangerous to Our Country' in Statement from 4 of His Siblings I am sharing a personal statement that my family and I have made in response to my brothers announcement. pic.twitter.com/j7vTTabNYZ Kerry Kennedy (@KerryKennedyRFK) August 23, 2024 In Bobby's campaign suspension speech, he announced that he would be joining forces with Trump in an effort to keep the Democratic Party from winning the White House in November. He claimed that his father and his uncle, President John F. Kennedy both prominent Democrats who helped establish the Kennedy political dynasty would be disappointed to see where the party has gone. Kerry, who manages RFK's legacy as the president of his human rights organization, has routinely disagreed with Bobby's take on what their father would want, denouncing his conspiracy theoryfueled statements about COVID-19, vaccines and Jewish people. Related: Kerry Kennedy Tears into Brother RFK Jr.s Deplorable Remarks About COVID-19 Sparing Jews and Chinese People When Bobby, an anti-vaccine activist, switched his party from Democratic to independent in October 2023 in order to run for president on a third-party ticket, his siblings similarly spoke out against the campaign. "Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgment," the statement read. "Today's announcement is deeply saddening for us. We denounce his candidacy and believe it to be perilous for our country." Mike Pont/Getty Images; John Lamparski/Getty Images Kerry Kennedy and her older brother, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. After announcing his endorsement of Trump on Aug. 23, Bobby implied that others in his personal life will be disappointed by the decision. "This decision is agonizing for me because of the difficulties it causes my wife and my children and my friends," he said, "but I have the certainty that this is what Im meant to do, and that certainty gives me internal peace even in storms." Trump spoke to the media from a restaurant during Bobby's withdrawal speech, saying, "I want to thank Bobby. That was very nice." For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has suspended his campaign for the presidency in 10 swing states, where he will seek to remove his name from the ballot. He said on Friday that he did not want to play a spoiler role and prevent former President Donald Trump from winning the election. RFK Jr. cited his agreement with Trump on the fundamental issues of censorship and foreign policy as the reason for his tacit support. Earlier in the week, RFK Jr.'s running mate, entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan, suggested that they wished to avoid a victory by Vice President Kamala Harris at all costs; even though RFK Jr. was formerly a Democratand has a recognizably Democratic last namerecent polling suggested that his candidacy was hurting Trump slightly more than Harris. RFK Jr.'s main appeal was to disaffected, contrarian voters who lost faith in the elite consensus, especially with respect to the federal government's heavy-handed COVID-19 policies; these voters are more likely to pick Trump as their second choice than Harris. Unfortunately, the U.S.'s winner-take-all system tends to create elections that are competitive for just the two major parties. Independent and third-party candidates struggle to gain traction and end up accomplishing very little. This is a structural problem; by contrast, in a European parliamentary system, a candidate who receives just 5 percent of the national vote might expect to receive 5 percent of the representation in the government. Major parties must then work with smaller parties to form governing coalitions. In the U.S., only the winner matters. This means that tacitly supporting one of the two major candidates in exchange for influence is actually one of the only ways for an independent to transmogrify their support base into actual power. It's not surprising, then, that RFK Jr. has chosen this path. Seeking higher office outside the two-party system is extremely difficult and Republicans and Democrats work tirelessly to make it even tougher. Democratic activists, for example, filed legal challenges to keep RFK Jr. off the ballot in New York state. While insisting that the health of democracy itself is the fundamental issue in this election, the Democratic Party hired operatives to counter third-party and independent candidates such as RFK Jr. Often derided by the mainstream media as a conspiracy theorist for his views on vaccines, RFK Jr. attracted some libertarian support. His strident opposition to COVID-19 mandates, censorship of dissenting voices on social media, and U.S. military support for Ukraine drew positive attention from the Libertarian Party (L.P.); L.P. Chair Angela McArdle expressed optimism that his ideology was trending in a libertarian direction. Still, he continued to hold progressive views on a range of economic issues, affirmative action, and climate change. RFK Jr. deserves credit, however, for being willing to listen to libertarians. He attended libertarian events including FreedomFest and the Libertarian National Convention; he sat for interviews with Reason's Nick Gillespie and Zach Weissmueller and appeared on my show, Rising. He also helped bring much-needed attention to the federal government's vigorous attempts at suppression of constitutionally protected speech on social media. It's a shame that RFK Jr. was denied a spot in the first presidential debate, even though his poll numbers arguably merited inclusion. Unfortunately, both Trump and thenpresumptive Democratic candidate Joe Biden agreed to exclude him, and major media organizations were perfectly willing to heed this demand. Indeed, RFK Jr. has often been at odds with the mainstream media, federal health bureaucrats, and the leaders of both the Democratic and Republican parties (though he's friendly enough with Trump to make somewhat of an endorsement). Given such a roster of adversaries, it's no wonder many libertarians felt at least somewhat positively toward him. However you feel about RFK, he has shined a light on a major structural problem plaguing our politics: Suppression of competition. The two parties will keep forcing worse and worse candidates down our throats until we break this, and I applaud RFK for making the attempt. https://t.co/XmdgrL9cwk Zach Weissmueller (@TheAbridgedZach) August 22, 2024 The post RFK Jr. Spread Some Libertarian Ideas, Then Sold Out to Trump appeared first on Reason.com. RFK Jr. is suspending his presidential campaign. What does that mean for NC? Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (Photo: Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty Images) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Friday he is removing his name from ballots in 10 swing states as he suspends his independent campaign for president and backs former President Donald Trump. Kennedys campaign asked this week for his name to be removed from ballots in Arizona and Pennsylvania. At his news conference, Kennedy encouraged voters who dont live in competitive states to still vote for him. North Carolina is considered a swing state, with polls showing a tight race between Vice President Kamala Harris and Trump. Kennedy is running in North Carolina as the nominee of the new We the People Party. Ryan Rabah, vice chairman of Kennedys We the People North Carolina party and one of its lawyers, said Friday before Kennedys news conference that he was unaware of Kennedys plans for remaining on the ballot here. In an email, Board of Elections spokesman Pat Gannon said the office had not heard from We the People about its presidential nominee. As of Friday afternoon, about 30 of the states 100 counties had already started printing ballots, Gannon wrote. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been nominated by the We The People Party as that partys presidential candidate to be listed on the ballot. That party has not informed the State Board of any plans to change its nomination, Gannon wrote. If We The People officially withdraws his nomination, the State Board would have to consider whether it is practical to remove his name from ballots and reprint ballots at that time. Kennedy started We the People in his fight for ballot access in North Carolina and a handful of other states. The move was controversial. North Carolina Democrats sued over the State Board of Elections decision to certify We the People as a new party, saying it was simply a vehicle to get Kennedy, who was really an independent candidate, on the ballot. Its easier to start a new party in the state than it is to gain ballot access a statewide independent candidate. A Wake County judge just last week rejected Democrats attempt to keep Kennedy off the ballot. Kennedy said during his Friday press conference that he did not want to be a spoiler and that staying on the ballot in battleground states would hand the election to Harris. Friday afternoon, Kennedys sister called the Trump endorsement a betrayal of the values that our father and family hold dear. Kerry Kennedy said in a statement on the platform X that the family supports a brighter vision filled with hope. We believe in Harris and Walz. Its unclear how Kennedys decision will change the race. Recent national polls showed Kennedy losing ground, with support dropping to the single digits. To date, 73 North Carolina voters have registered as members of the We The People party. Kennedys campaign was struggling. He has not made it onto the ballot in all 5o states and hes running out of money. His campaigns latest financial report shows about $4 million cash on hand and about $3.5 million in debts and loans. A week ago, Starbucks' (SBUX) new CEO, Brian Niccol, was described as the messiah that the ailing coffee giant was looking for. The mere announcement that the former CEO of Chipotle had a new job drove Starbucks stock up 25%the greatest surge in value in the companys history. Niccol, who has a track record of success in turning around companies that have hit a rough patch, including Taco Bell and, most recently, Chipotle, is due to start at Starbucks on Sept. 9. So far, so good. But in the last few days the good news has been overshadowed by a public backlash over perks in his contract that allow him to work remotely from his home in Newport Beach, Calif., and commute to the company's HQ in Seattle via private jet. In Starbucks offer letter to Niccol, the company said: During your employment with the company, you will not be required to relocate to the companys headquarters You agree to commute from your residence to the companys headquarters (and engage in other business travel) as is required to perform your duties and responsibilities. The document also states that he will be eligible to use the company's aircraft for "business related travel" and for "travel between [his] city of residence and the company's headquarters." A Starbucks spokesperson clarified to CNBC that its new chief will still be expected to work from Starbucks Seattle office at least three days a week, in line with the companys hybrid work policies. Yet, instead of extinguishing the fire, the announcements only stoked the flames. By Thursday, the New York Times weighed in with a sarcastic headline. The BBC even produced a map of his commute. Niccol's commute had taken on a media life of its own. What a bunch of performative hypocrites Some consumers have (wrongly) drawn the conclusion that as Niccol isnt required to relocate to Seattle, he will be using the company jet on a daily basis to get to work. Although the company denied to the BBC that Niccol will be expected to fly back and forth over 1,000 miles each day, the public has gone into overdrive, blasting his hypocritical commute given the companys recent sustainability commitments. According to a 2021 report by the European Federation for Transport and Environment, private jets are up to 14 times more polluting, per passenger, than commercial planes and 50 times more polluting than trains. Starbucks CEO has decided to travel on a private jet for work instead of relocating. Meanwhile, we are supposed to save the environment and have our coffee with a paper straw that gets soggy in minutes, one social media user wrote on X. Story continues Another user joked: Looks like well have to use a lot more of reusable cups and paper straws to offset the new Starbucks CEOs humongous carbon footprint. What a bunch of performative hypocrites with their enviro friendly branding. No company who truly cares about the climate would agree to this, chimed a third. If this man is commuting regularly on a private jet, do not let @Starbucks convince you they are environmentally conscious, another wrote. They get on us commoners about our cars but things like private jets and yachts do way more damage to the environment per unit." Starbucks declined to comment on accusations that it is being hypocritical by pushing its customers to use paper straws while its CEO has access to the company jet. "Niccol has proven himself to be one of the most effective leaders in our industry, generating significant financial returns over many years," a spokesperson for the company told Fortune. "Were confident in his experience and ability to serve as the leader of our global business and brand, delivering long-term, enduring value for our partners, customers and shareholders." The public will forget Starbucks hypocrisyits workers wont Ben Alalouff, chief strategy officer at the marketing agency Live & Breathe, thinks that while the public backlash will blow in a matter of days, Starbucks workers wont forget the news so quickly. If I was a Starbucks employee at corporate and I heard that a huge amount of costs every month is being used [to fuel a private jet] rather than investing into the workforce or investing into benefits or bonuses or whatever it may be, I'd be pretty pissed off, he told Fortune. As well as the anger directed at Starbucks from environmentally conscious consumers, others on social media have been quick to highlight the inconsistency with Starbucks decision to require office workers to return to the office at least three days a week. Unlike Niccol, those who live far from the office (on a fraction of their boss' salary) will have had to choose between relocating to meet the company's in-office requirements or finding alternative work. It's probably a nine-day wonder In the long run, however, Alalouff thinks the Starbucks brand will be fine. I think it is too large of a brand and it's too much of a small issue in the plethora of things that are wrong with the world, Alalouff tells Fortune. No one's going to change their coffee habits long-term based on the fact that the CEO is on a jet three days a week. Itll be this week's interesting, ridiculous behaviour by an executive But I think the worry would be internally, he adds. I totally understand stretching and accommodating talent that's going to be transformative to your business. But I think this one probably goes a tad too far. Niccols arrangements are pretty common. As few as 7% of CEOs are back in the office full-time (despite a quarter of them believing that a return to the office full-time is a priority). Unsurprisingly, the double standard isnt going unnoticed by employees who are often responding to rigid RTO mandates with resignation lettersor sticking around but putting in minimal effort and finding ways to flout the rules. In Alalouff's eyes, Starbucks will have to spend the next six months making the company look rosy to get buy-in from both its employees and customers. The longer this new CEO goes without making a huge impact that's noticeable internally as well as externally, the worse this decision will look, he concludes. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com Robert F Kennedy Jr, the arguable black sheep of one of Americas biggest families in politics, has suspended his campaign for president and endorsed Donald Trump and it has rocked some of his supporters. On Facebook, where Kennedy groups have amassed thousands of members across the country, some expressed bitter disappointment. In their view, Kennedy was a way to buck, and even break, the two-party system in the US and while the end of his campaign hurt, backing one of the major party candidates was seen as far worse. Just before his formal announcement, Jenn Morgan said that if Kennedy drops out and endorses Trump, then I will not be voting at all. using an emoji with its tongue out on her post, meant to display the emotion feeling disgusted. If he becomes part of the cabinet with him, thats great and I hope hes able to do good things but he would not have any integrity in my eyes, she wrote. He gave into the pressure just like they all do. If he drops out of the race, he has let us down about everything he said he stands for and what he said he was going to do for us. He will be no different than the rest of the politicians. Related: Brain worms and dead bears: has RFK Jr finally tanked his presidential bid? In an interview, Ray Orta, a 23-year navy veteran from the Bronx, New York, who has lived in Nevada for 28 years, said he didnt feel betrayed by Kennedy but he did feel frustrated. In his view, the only way for this decision to make sense to his supporters, would be for Trump to name Kennedy as his attorney general, or a similar major role in his cabinet should he win in November. He has to get Trump to give [him] something or else its all talk, talk, talk Kennedy goes to the abyss, and then were back to the two-party system, he said. Kennedys stance on Trump and earlier in the race, Joe Biden has previously been a bit all over the place. In a March episode of the New York Times podcast The Run Up, the independent said the Covid pandemic represented a break with the Democratic party. He cited the lockdowns as being the driver behind censoring people like him who dissent from government policies. Asked if he was worried about being a spoiler in the election, helping either Biden or Trump win, he responded: I have a fear of both of them winning the election. Still, his endorsement of Trump is not wholly surprising when one remembers that a video of Kennedy speaking to the former president about working together emerged just last month after Trumps assassination attempt. In his speech on Friday, Kennedy thanked his supporters, attacked Democrats, and embraced Trump, but avoided the crux of why his supporters had been drawn to him in the first place: an alternative to the two-party system. Whats this about??? Did you actually endorse this buffoon? wrote Marcia Horn Kayhanfar in a top Kennedy Facebook group. What a let down. I thought he was wanting to heal the divide, not make it deeper, added Joey Martin, in the group Robert F Kennedy Jr. Americas Best Hope, which has 22,000 members. I thought he wanted to give those who dont want to vote out of fear an option. Is he now being divisive and saying that we should vote against what we fear? Did he give up on the dream and hope? Some supporters were moved by Kennedys calls to back Trump, but others rejected the endorsement from a candidate they had backed for months. Told that not voting would be a vote for Harris, Marianne Moad responded: No, actually it will be a vote for myself and all women. [Trump] is responsible for the rights being suppressed from 50% of the population. I dont want my daughter or granddaughters to die because they cant terminate a bad pregnancy. It is happening already, she wrote, sharing a link to a BBC article on Amanda Zurawski, a Texas woman who almost died after being denied an abortion. Now, as Kennedy suspends his campaign and lines up behind Trump just one day after Kamala Harriss successful convention, attention turns to how his exit could affect the race. Pew Research Center polling from July when Biden was still in the race shows that Harriss entry halved Kennedys support, according to its new August poll, while a Washington Post analysis suggests more of whats left of Kennedys support could tilt towards Trump. But a Washington Post poll with ABC News and Ipsos from this past weekend found that Harris had a three-point edge against Trump with Kennedy in the race, and a four-point lead ahead of just Trump. That, the poll found, is because Kennedy supporters are more likely to view Harris favorably than Trump. After initial rumors of Kennedys withdrawal broke in the Facebook group Robert F Kennedy Jr. for President 2024, Alex Arey, 35, wrote to its 15,000 members: I feel betrayed. Yeah, I despise the Dems, but not enough to vote Trump. Arey, a special education teacher in Shenandoah county, Virginia, said he was a Kennedy true believer, having listened to about 100 hours of his interviews over the years. He has voted Democratic in the past, but chose to vote for the Libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen in 2020. He called a Trump endorsement by Kennedy disappointing, because it represents him just falling into the two-party duopoly. Declare your independence was one of his slogans, but now hes joining up with the lesser of two evils, thats something you dont like to see, he said. Hes just playing politics. Gabriela Morbitzer, 34, a retail manager from Tennessee, said she was disengaged during the 2020 election and not proud of it, but found both options poor and a leadership gap for president. After a friend told her to give a two-hour podcast with Kennedy a real listen, she was onboard believing he listened to people and filled that gap. Now, she said she feels immediate disappointment because Trump has never been a viable candidate. What I dont appreciate is I feel Donald Trump brings out the worst in us, the collective us, she said. Hes very divisive and feeds into that desire for people to behave in ways that are absolutely ridiculous. RFK Jr. suspends his presidential bid and backs Donald Trump before appearing with him at his rally PHOENIX (AP) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his independent campaign for the White House and endorsed Donald Trump on Friday, a late-stage shakeup of the race that could give the former president a modest boost from Kennedys supporters. Hours later, Kennedy joined Trump onstage at an Arizona rally, where the crowd burst into Bobby! cheers. Kennedy said his internal polls had shown that his presence in the race would hurt Trump and help Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, though recent public polls dont provide a clear indication that he is having an outsize impact on support for either major-party candidate. Kennedy cited free speech, the war in Ukraine and a war on our children as among the reasons he would try to remove his name from the ballot in battleground states. These are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent, and now to throw my support to President Trump, Kennedy said at his event in Phoenix. However, he made clear that he wasnt formally ending his bid and said his supporters could continue to back him in the majority of states where they are unlikely to sway the outcome. Kennedy took steps to withdraw his candidacy in at least two states late this week, Arizona and Pennsylvania, but election officials in the battlegrounds of Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin said it would be too late for him to take his name off the ballot even if he wants to do so. Kennedy said his actions followed conversations with Trump over the past few weeks. He cast their alliance as a unity party," an arrangement that would "allow us to disagree publicly and privately and seriously. Kennedy suggested Trump offered him a job if he returns to the White House, but neither he nor Trump offered details. Kennedys running mate, Nicole Shanahan, this week entertained the idea that Kennedy could join Trumps administration as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. The announcement ended days of speculation and landed with heaps of confusion and contradictions from Kennedy's aides and allies, an emblematic cap for a quixotic campaign. Shortly before his speech in Phoenix, his campaign had said in a Pennsylvania court filing that he would be endorsing Trump for president. However, a spokesperson for Kennedy said the court filing had been made in error and the lawyer who wrote it said he'd correct it. Kennedy took the stage moments later, aired his grievances with the Democratic Party, the news media and political institutions, and extolled Trump. He spoke for nearly 20 minutes before he said explicitly that he was endorsing Trump. Kennedy later joined Trump onstage at a rally co-hosted by Turning Point Action in Glendale, where Trumps campaign had teased he would be joined by a special guest." Kennedy was greeted by thundering applause as he took the stage to the Foo Fighters and a pyrotechnics display after being introduced by Trump as a man who has been an incredible champion for so many of these values that we all share. We are both in this to do whats right for the country," Trump said, later commending Kennedy for having raised critical issues that have been too long ignored in this country." With Kennedy standing nearby, Trump invoked his slain uncle and father, John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, saying he knows that they are looking down right now and they are very, very proud. He said that, if he wins this fall, he will establish a new independent presidential commission on assassination attempts that will release all remaining documents related to John F. Kennedys assassination. And he repeated his pledge to establish a panel working with Bobby to investigate the increase in chronic health conditions and childhood diseases, including autoimmune disorders, autism, obesity and infertility. A year ago, some would have thought it inconceivable that a member of arguably the most storied family in Democratic politics would work with Trump to keep a Democrat out of the White House. Even in recent months, Kennedy has accused Trump of betraying his followers, while Trump has criticized Kennedy as the most radical left candidate in the race. Five of Kennedys family members issued a statement Friday calling his support for Trump a sad ending to a sad story" and reiterating their support for Harris. Our brother Bobbys decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear," read the statement, which his sister Kerry Kennedy posted on X. Kennedy Jr. acknowledged his decision to endorse Trump had caused tension with his family. He is married to actor Cheryl Hines, who wrote on X that she deeply respects her husband's decision to drop out but did not address the Trump endorsement. This decision is agonizing for me because of the difficulties it causes my wife and my children and my friends, Kennedy said. "But I have the certainty that this is what Im meant to do. And that certainty gives me internal peace, even in storms. In a statement, Harris campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon reached out to Kennedy's supporters who are tired of Donald Trump and looking for a new way forward" and said that Harris wanted to earn their backing. At Kennedy's Phoenix event, 38-year-old Casey Westerman said she trusted Kennedys judgment and had planned to vote for him, but would support Trump if Kennedy endorsed him. My decision would really be based on who he thinks is best suited to run this country, said Westerman, who wore a Kennedy 2024 trucker hat and voted for Trump in the last two presidential elections. Kennedy first entered the 2024 presidential race as a Democrat but left the party last fall to run as an independent. He built an unusually strong base for a third-party bid, fueled in part by anti-establishment voters and vaccine skeptics who have followed his anti-vaccine work since the COVID-19 pandemic. But he has since faced strained campaign finances and mounting legal challenges. At Trump's event in Las Vegas, Alida Roberts, 49, said Kennedy's endorsement of Trump spoke volumes about the current state of the Democratic Party. It says that he doesnt trust whats going on, that its not the party he grew up in, Roberts said. Roberts, who voted twice for Trump, said she was relieved and excited by the endorsement because she'd been teeter-tottering between the two candidates. Recent polls put Kennedy's support in the mid-single digits, and it's unclear if hed get even that in a general election. There's some evidence that Kennedy's staying in the race would hurt Trump more than Harris. According to a July AP-NORC poll, Republicans were significantly more likely than Democrats to have a favorable view of Kennedy. And those with a positive impression of Kennedy were significantly more likely to also have a favorable view of Trump (52%) than Harris (37%). ___ Associated Press writers Jill Colvin and Ali Swenson in New York, Rio Yamat in Las Vegas, Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pa., Meg Kinnard in Chicago and Linley Sanders in Washington contributed to this report. ___ The Associated Press receives support from several private foundations to enhance its explanatory coverage of elections and democracy. See more about APs democracy initiative here. The AP is solely responsible for all content. (Reuters) - Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday filed paperwork to withdraw from presidential ballots in the state of Arizona, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said. The withdrawal comes as Kennedy is set to address the nation on Friday in Arizona. A super PAC supporting Kennedy told Reuters on Wednesday that Kennedy wants a deal with Donald Trump in which he endorses the Republican rival in exchange for a job in a potential Trump administration. Trump told CNN this week he would "certainly be open" to Kennedy playing a role in his administration if the independent candidate drops out of the race and endorses him. Kennedy, his vice presidential running mate Nicole Shanahan, and 11 of his presidential electors issued a voluntary withdrawal, Arizona's Fontes said in a post on X. The Kennedy campaign did not respond to a request for comment. Kennedy, 70, the son of late Democratic politician and U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy, started his presidential campaign as a Democrat, challenging President Joe Biden for the nomination. (Reporting by Harshita Meenaktshi in Bengaluru; Editing by Michael Perry) Karen Karten, a retired teacher, urges lawmakers to bring back cost-of-living increases for retirees during debate on the fiscal 2025 budget on Friday, June 7, 2024. (Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current) A series of town hall events to educate Rhode Island state workers about changes to the pension system starts Monday. Hosted by the office of Rhode Island General Treasurer James Diossa, the five public meetings arrive in the wake of modifications made to the states pension system following the 2024 legislative session the most significant of those changes being an increase in the number of retirees eligible for cost-of-living-adjustments (COLAs). Frank Karpinski, executive director of the Employees Retirement System of Rhode Island (ERSRI), and agency staff will run the sessions and answer questions. We want to ensure that ERSRI members have all the information they need to understand the pension changes now in effect, Diossa said in a statement. We understand there is a lot of information out there, and we want our members to know exactly what these changes mean for them. COLAs for employees who stopped working before June 30, 2012 were frozen under then-treasurer Gina Raimondo to allow the states underfunded pension system to recover. But the legislative changes mean certain teachers and municipal and state employees could start receiving COLA benefits next year, rather than waiting until the states pension system is 80% funded as previously required. Diossa has supported the COLA changes, albeit cautiously. Soon after the budget was passed in June, Diossa posted on social media that increases could raise the pension funds shortfall by an estimated $417 million, which could potentially harm the states bond rating as well. If we are going to adopt these changes, we have to fund them every year, Diossa previously told Rhode Island Current. That is where I am most concerned, the long-term of it. We can fund it next year, and the year after, but we have to stay the course. Other adjustments in the fiscal 2025 budget to state pension policy include the formula used to determine benefit amounts, higher income limits for retired educators who resume teaching, and the benefits available to state public safety officers. Pension information town hall Monday, Aug. 26, 1:30 p.m.: Community College of Rhode Island, Newport County Campus, 1 John H. Chafee Boulevard, Newport Monday, Aug. 26, 4:30 p.m.: Quinta Gamelin Community Center, 101 Asylum Road, Bristol Thursday, Aug. 29, 1:30 p.m.: Community College of Rhode Island, Flanagan Campus, 1762 Old Louisquisset Pike, Lincoln Thursday, Aug. 29, 4:30 p.m.: Cranston Senior Center, 1070 Cranston St., Cranston Friday, Aug. 30, 2:00 p.m.: Mount Pleasant Library, 315 Academy Ave., Providence SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) Lynn Haven Police Chief Ricky Ramie pled no contest Thursday morning to the misdemeanor charge of leaving the scene of an accident with property damage. Ramie hit a car in the parking lot of Ms. Newbys lounge around 3:00 a.m. on December 30th. D.U.I. arrest made after collision on Hathaway Bridge Mr. Ramie, Im going to accept your plea of no contest in case 24-691 CT to the charge of leaving the scene of an accident with damages of more than $50. Im withholding adjudication of guilt, Judge Wade Mercer said. Ramies Defense Attorney Waylon Graham said the charge is almost the equivalent of a speeding ticket. I tell people when they ask me how low a crime is that, I will explain that its one notch above a speeding ticket because a second-degree misdemeanor is the least criminal crime we have on the books, Graham said. Ramie will not face jail time or even probation, but there are some legal conditions. One was to pay a small fine. One was to write a letter of apology. One was to take a vehicle safety course and then to pay restitution to the gentleman whose vehicle he bumped into if theres any out-of-pocket expenses, Graham said. That will fulfill his obligations to the state, but the city of Lynn Haven has placed its own conditions on Ramie in order for him to keep his job. City Manager Vickie Gainer issued a lengthy statement spelling out the requirements. First, Ramie will be suspended for 25 days without pay beginning Friday, August 23. He must surrender his police credentials, city-issued firearm, vehicle, badge, and laptop. He cannot engage in law enforcement activity. He must not contact any city officials or employees, except as an average citizen. Once hes completed his suspension, Ramie can return to his job as police chief, but he will be on a short leash. Gainer said any further lapses of judgment will not be tolerated. Any future violation of city police, or unacceptable act that demonstrates a lack of professionalism, judgment or leadership will result in Ramies immediate termination. Panama City Council planning to add low-speed vehicle lanes to Front Beach Road Graham said Ramie is remorseful and is taking accountability for his actions. He feels terrible about what happened, feels terrible about bumping into the mans car, and all of this has weighed heavily on him, Graham said. Deputy Chief Steve Effinger will continue to serve as acting Lynn Haven Chief of Police during Ramies suspension. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com. Rides to be offered in WWII aircraft at upcoming air show LITITZ, Pa. (WHTM) If youve ever wanted to ride in a vintage World War II airplane, youll have your chance next month. The Commemorative Air Force Capital Wing is offering warbird rides at the Lancaster Air Show in Lititz over the weekend of Sept. 6-8. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now WHTM Daily Digest Rides will be offered in a 1942 Boeing PT-17 Stearmen open cockpit bi-plane as well as a TBM Avenger torpedo bomber. The bi-plane was the primary trainer for all U.S. airmen in World War II, and the bomber was the largest and heaviest single bomber in World War II. The rides will be scheduled before and after each airshow, and rides are subject to weather, maintenance, and pilot availablility. The airshow itself runs from 10am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday at the Lancaster Airport and features multiple vintage aircraft, including a Russian MIG-17 jet. The Capital Wing plans to display their rare Japanese Fuji LM-1 observation aircraft 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 ABC27. The anti-vaccine activist first launched his White House bid as a Democrat in April 2023 before deciding to run as an independent months later Mario Tama/Getty, Angela Weiss-Pool/Getty Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and expressed support for Republican nominee Donald Trump. The 70-year-old independent candidate and son of late U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy announced on Friday, Aug. 23, that he and his running mate, Silicon Valley lawyer Nicole Shanahan, were abandoning their long shot bid for the White House and siding with the Republican ticket over Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. "In an honest system, I believe that I wouldve won the election," he said during a planned speech in Phoenix, Ariz. He will remain on ballots in non-battleground states for those who still wish to vote for him, but plans to withdraw his name from states in which he believes he could become a "spoiler" candidate. In the past month, rumors have spread that Kennedy and Trump were ironing out some sort of dropout deal, and this week, Trump teased that a "special guest" would join him onstage at his Phoenix-area rally on Friday evening. Speaking from a restaurant before Kennedy's speech ended, Trump acknowledged the endorsement, saying, "I want to thank Bobby. That was very nice." Related: Donald Trump Seems to Coax RFK Jr.'s Support in Leaked Video of Private Call: 'We're Going to Win' Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami Beach, Florida Originally a Democratic presidential candidate, Kennedy kicked off his White House campaign in April 2023. With a background in environmental law, he was best-known at that point for his controversies, including pushing anti-vaccine conspiracy theories and echoing antisemitic discourse. In October 2023, after his Democratic primary campaign failed to take off, he broke from the party and announced that he would be running as an independent. Kennedy's move to a third party threatened to siphon off votes from both Trump and then-Democratic candidate Joe Biden who has since also dropped out of the race. More recent polls suggested that Kennedy would hurt Republicans more than he would hurt Democrats by staying in the race. Related: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Admits to Dumping Dead Bear Cub in Central Park to Make It Look Like Bicycle Accident Throughout the election cycle, members of Kennedy's famous family distanced themselves from his political aspirations, including his sister, Kerry Kennedy, who issued a statement at the launch of his bid. Kerry, who is the president of RFK Human Rights, noted in the statement that she did not "share or endorse his opinions on many issues, including the COVID pandemic, vaccinations, and the role of social media platforms in policing false information." When Kennedy dropped out, his siblings released a statement calling his endorsement of Trump a "betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear." "We want an America filled with hope and bound together by a shared vision of a brighter future, a future defined by individual freedom, economic promise and national pride," the statement read. "We believe in Harris and Walz." Related: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Says Well See What Happens When Asked if More Women Will Accuse Him of Sexual Assault Scott Eisen/Getty Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cheryl Hines wave to supporters onstage after announcing his candidacy for president on April 19, 2023 Kennedy's decision to back Trump comes after reports alleged that the two held talks about partnering up in mid-July, following the assassination attempt against the former president. In a recorded phone call between Trump and Kennedy shared by Kennedys son Bobby Kennedy III on X (formerly Twitter) on July 16 Trump told the independent candidate that he shared doubts about vaccines. Trump also said on the phone that he had something "big" in mind for Kennedy before adding "were gonna win," to which Kennedy responded, "Yeah." Kennedy has since publicly apologized to Trump about the video leaking, writing on X that he "was taping with an in-house videographer" when Trump called him. I should have ordered the videographer to stop recording immediately. I am mortified that this was posted. I apologize to the president. Related: Joe Biden Grants RFK Jr. Secret Service Protection, as Donald Trump Reportedly Seeks Kennedy's Endorsement Trump and Kennedy also met in person in Milwaukee during the Republican National Convention. Kennedy refuted claims that he was planning to bow out of the race at the time, adding that their "main topic" of conversation "was national unity, and I hope to meet with Democratic leaders about that as well." 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. But on Tuesday, Aug. 20, Shanahan revealed in an interview that she and Kennedy were thinking of ending their campaign in order to help Trump. "There's two options that we're looking at," Shanahan, an ex-Democrat, said on the Impact Theory podcast. "One is staying in, forming that new party, but we run the risk of a Kamala Harris and [Tim] Walz presidency, because we draw votes from Trump or we draw somehow more votes from Trump. Or, we walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump. We walk away from that and we explain to our base why we're making this decision." For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joins former President Trump onstage in Glendale, Ariz., after suspending his presidential campaign. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the suspension of his presidential campaign at a Friday news conference in Phoenix, denouncing the Democratic Party of his storied family and throwing his support behind the Republican nominee, former President Trump. Hours later, Trump introduced Kennedy at his own rally in Glendale, Ariz., where he asked Kennedy's supporters to back their new "coalition." "We're leading now, but I think he's going to have a huge influence on this campaign," Trump said. "Bobby and I will fight together to defeat the corrupt political establishment and return control of this country to the people." "Don't you want a president that's going to make America healthy again?" said Kennedy, who is known for his anti-vaccine stances and has campaigned on ending chronic illnesses among children. The event where Trump's crowd roared their applause for Kennedy, chanting, "USA! USA!" marked an incredible departure from American political norms going back generations, and a stunning break from the Kennedy family legacy. Trump said Kennedy's father, the U.S. senator from New York and U.S. attorney general, and uncle President John F. Kennedy Jr. both staunch Democrats were "looking down right now" and "very, very proud of Bobby." Five of Kennedy's siblings issued a statement calling his endorsement of Trump a "betrayal" of the family's values. Both Trump and Kennedy acknowledged they had criticized each other in the past, and Kennedy said they still don't agree on everything. But they said they were joining together for the nation. At his own event earlier in the day, Kennedy said he would work to remove his name from ballots in 10 swing states where he believes he does not have a chance of winning but where his presence on the ballot could affect the outcome in favor of the Democratic ticket led by Vice President Kamala Harris, who has declined to speak with him. He withdrew from the Arizona ballot Thursday. He said he would remain on the ballot in other states where the outcome is less in question, and encouraged his supporters to still vote for him there suggesting an outlandish possibility that an electoral college tie between Trump and Harris could result in him being named president. At the same time, Kennedy said he was "joining the Trump campaign" after Trump promised, if he wins, to bring him into his administration to combat chronic illness among American children which Kennedy has long suggested is due to "Big Pharma" and "Big Ag" pumping "toxins" into the nation's food supply. "President Trump has told me that he wants this to be his legacy," Kennedy said. "I'm choosing to believe that this time he will follow through." Kennedy also said Trump promised to tackle two of his other top priorities by immediately ending the war in Ukraine and by confronting political and media "censorship," which both he and Trump, famous wealthy men with powerful platforms, routinely claim to be victimized by. Kennedy's earlier announcement came in a nearly 50-minute, grievance-laden speech in which he claimed he would have won the presidency in a fair race, that national media had become "mouthpieces" for Democrats, and that Harris' elevation to the top of the Democratic ticket was the result of a "palace coup." Read more: Kennedy Jr. withdraws from Arizona ballot as questions swirl around a possible alliance with Trump The decision promised to have an immediate effect on the tight race between Trump and Harris. Both hoped to benefit or at least not suffer too much from the coming realignment of Kennedy's supporters. How that shift will play out remains unclear. A Pew Research Center poll this month suggested that Harris has already picked up some would-be Kennedy supporters. It appeared that backing came in some measure from women and nonwhite voters who previously were leaning toward Kennedy. But Trump and his allies say the Kennedy endorsement would be a victory for their candidate. "Fox & Friends" host Brian Kilmeade claimed Friday morning that Trump would pick up a critical 2 or 3 percentage points with Kennedy's support. That would be enough, Kilmeade said, to swing the race back into the GOP's favor. Kennedy, a 70-year-old Los Angeles resident, entered the race in April 2023 with a burst of media attention. He showed unusual strength in some early polls for a candidate with no experience in elected office. But his support flagged after Harris emerged last month as the Democrats' apparent nominee. Kennedys thoughts about leaving the race became public in recent days, when his vice presidential running mate, Nicole Shanahan, discussed those talks. She said Kennedy might accept a position in a Trump administration, in particular if he thought it could help combat what she called an epidemic of chronic disease. The longtime environmental attorney initially ran as a Democrat. But by October 2023, Kennedy said that he would run as an independent, because party nominating rules made it too difficult to compete, particularly against an incumbent like President Biden. After his speech Friday, five of his siblings Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and Courtney, Kerry, Chris and Rory Kennedy issued a joint statement reaffirming their support for Harris. "Our brother Bobby's decision to endorse Trump today is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear," they said. "It is a sad ending to a sad story." Kennedy suggested in his own remarks that his endorsement of Trump also may not sit well with others in his family, including his wife, actor Cheryl Hines. "This decision is agonizing for me because of the difficulties it causes my wife and my children and my friends, but I have the certainty that this is what I'm meant to do, and that certainty gives me internal peace, even in storms," he said. He did not say what those "difficulties" were. Kennedy said his independent status would allow him to break the grip on power held by a virtual uniparty the Democrats and Republicans and that he would be in a better position to cut out-of-control government spending, to take on Big Pharma and other corporate interests and to invest more in reversing Americas epidemic of chronic illness. Even after his shift to an independent campaign, and as he courted support from smaller political parties, polls showed Kennedy unable to move within reasonable striking distance of his big-party rivals. Read more: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. struggles for relevance as presidential campaign is remade Kennedy argued that he should be allowed into the June debate between Biden and Trump, but he could not persuade the other candidates or networks that he had earned a place on the stage. Kennedys campaign also spent abundant time and money trying to qualify for the ballot in all 50 states. He suffered a setback last week when a New York judge ruled he shouldnt appear on the ballot in that state because he listed a sham address on nominating petitions. Though he presented himself as a pragmatic problem solver not beholden to big interests, Kennedys views on some issues particularly vaccines were extreme. A particularly problematic example: when he compared Bidens vaccine policies to the Holocaust. He suggested that Jews, including Anne Frank, had more freedom under the Nazis than Americans living with COVID-19 mandates. That drew rebukes from many Jewish groups and even a complaint from Hines, who called the Frank reference reprehensible and insensitive. Kennedy apologized. Though born into what some viewed as an American political Camelot, Kennedy struggled as a young man, particularly with his 14-year addiction to heroin. The candidate sought to use that ordeal to his advantage, saying that his 40 years in recovery made him uniquely qualified to bring new solutions to the nations addiction crisis. But other aspects of his past, including his relationships with women, became fodder for new criticism. That included the revival of a 2013 New York Post story, after the tabloid somehow acquired a journal that RFK Jr. allegedly kept in 2001. It included a log of 37 women whom he had sex with when he was married to Mary Richardson Kennedy, the Post and other outlets reported. (Kennedys wife had killed herself in the year prior to publication of the story, but she had reportedly found the journal at some point.) Early last month, reports about the disturbing behavior resurfaced in a Vanity Fair profile, in which a former family babysitter described how Kennedy groped her when she was in her early 20s and taking care of Kennedys four children with Mary. Text messages revealed that the candidate apologized to the former babysitter after publication of the article, though he told reporters he recalled nothing about the alleged misconduct. Then, in August, a New Yorker profile revealed an odd Kennedy prank. As a grown man, the man known like his father as Bobby once retrieved a dead bear cub from a roadside and deposited the corpse in New Yorks Central Park. The carcass provoked a mystery that consumed the city a decade ago. Kennedy faulted both Biden and Trump as he crisscrossed the country, trying to spark the kind of momentum his father did in the 1968 race for the White House. But he increasingly lashed out at Biden and the Democrats more, infuriated by the challenges they lodged to his ballot petitions. As recently as Wednesday, the candidate sent messages like a man still in the fray. One came via a video posted on social media, when he invoked Abraham Lincoln and said we must realign ourselves with the founding spirit of our nation. 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. Psstdont tell Apple, but it looks like there are good opportunities for phone makers in the automotive sector. Chinas Xiaomi, which alongside Apple and Samsung is among the worlds big three smartphone firms, just announced its Q2 results, showing that its first electric vehicle is something of a hit. It launched the SU7 at the end of March to considerable consumer excitement, and delivered 27,307 of the sedans in the subsequent quarter. That brought in 6.4 billion yuan ($898 million) in revenue, helping Xiaomi to surpass analysts' estimates, Reuters reports. A rebounding smartphone market also helped, of course, with Xiaomis Chinese handset shipments rising 16.5% year on year. Xiaomis auto unit is still unprofitablethe company invested unusually large amounts in the SU7s creation, and aggressive pricing meant it lost around $9,200 on each $29,900 EV it shipped. But such losses are common in the EV sector. Xiaomi claims to have enough cash to deal with five years worth of Chinese EV price wars, and profitability should increase in the near term as production ramps up. Our [EV business] size remains relatively small and car manufacturing is a typical economies-of-scale manufacturing industry, company president Lu Weibing said in a press conference, according to the South China Morning Post. Lu said he was confident Xiaomi would hit its goal of shipping 120,000 cars by the end of the year. For context, Chinas BYD sold 426,039 EVs in Q2 and Tesla sold around 411,000. Xiaomi has a way to go, but then again it hasnt even started selling its EVs outside China yet. Once its built out more production capacity, Xiaomi also intends to start making electric SUVs around late 2025, which would represent a major expansion of its EV efforts. Speaking of Tesla, Elon Musks outfit has had to issue a rare physical recall (as opposed to the kind that just requires a remote software fix) for one of its cars. According to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a trim on the roof of the Model X SUV can come off, which could create a road hazard. That means 9,136 of the vehicles need to go in; Tesla will test how well the roof trim is fixed on and reattach if needed, Reuters reports. More news below. David Meyer Want to send thoughts or suggestions to Data Sheet? Drop a line here. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com The News Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Friday that he is suspending his long-shot presidential campaign and threw his support behind Donald Trump. In my heart, I no longer believe I have a realistic path to an electoral victory, Kennedy said. I am not terminating my campaign. I am simply suspending it. His name will remain on the ballot in most states, but will be removed in about 10 battleground states where he said, My presence would be a spoiler. The independent candidate dropped to below 5% support in August, after polling at roughly 10% across battleground states just a few months ago. In his speech in Arizona, Kennedy railed against the Democratic party and the media. In an honest system, I believe I would have won the election, Kennedy said. Kennedys endorsement of Trump is an unexpected turn for a member of one of Americas most prominent Democratic dynasties. He initially started running for president last year as a Democrat, and more than a dozen members of his family came out in support of US President Joe Biden before he dropped out. After RFK Jr.s announcement Friday, members of the Kennedy family called his Trump endorsement a betrayal to the values that our father and our family hold most dear, adding, We believe in [Kamala] Harris and [Tim] Walz. The Trump campaign spent weeks in discussions with the Kennedy team about a potential endorsement, The New York Times reported. Earlier this week, Trump told CNN he was certainly open to giving Kennedy a role in the administration if he endorses Trump. My joining the Trump campaign will be a difficult sacrifice for my wife and children, but worthwhile if theres even a small chance of saving these kids, Kennedy said Friday, referring to children impacted by chronic disease one of his core campaign issues. Trump thanked Kennedy for his endorsement while speaking at a campaign event in Las Vegas. Thats big, Trump said. Hes a great guy, respected by everybody. Know More Kennedy bolted the Democratic Party 10 months ago, hoping that voters depressed by a Joe Biden/Donald Trump rematch would flock to a credible independent candidate. But hed declined in polls even before Biden quit the race, and cratered afterward, as Democrats frustrated with their ticket got excited about the Kamala Harris/Tim Walz reboot. Democrats also worked all year to undermine Kennedy with their voters, highlighting his most conservative comments in interviews and going to court when he filed for state ballot access. Kennedy scored some early victories, gaining automatic candidate status in Michigan and California when currently-existing minor parties endorsed him. But he was blocked from the New York ballot after a Democratic-backed challenge to his residency, and Democrats believed that their work and a collapse in donations to the candidate succeeded in wrecking a man they considered a MAGA chaos agent. It remains unclear how big of an impact Kennedys campaign suspension will have on the presidential race, but some recent polls show his supporters may be more likely to vote for Trump than Harris. Kennedys campaign had faltered in recent months, running low on funds, struggling to get on the ballot in key states, and sliding down in the polls. His colorful run for office has been dotted with unusual moments, from the candidate saying doctors had found a parasitic worm in his brain to his admission that he had once dumped a dead bear in New Yorks Central Park. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his campaign on Friday in what he said is an effort to make sure Democrats dont win the White House. In my heart, I no longer believe I have a realistic path to electoral victory, Kennedy said. He said he will now support former President Donald Trump based primarily on three issues: free speech, the war in Ukraine, and what he called the war on our children. Kennedy announced his decision in Arizona, where he filed paperwork to withdraw his name from the ballot earlier this week. In his speech, he thanked the campaigns volunteers and staff and derided the political system and Democratic Party. Now in an honest system, I believe that I would have won the election, he said. A member of one of Americas most prominent political dynasties, Kennedy gained notoriety for strange personal stories and his promotion of conspiracy theories, particularly around vaccines. He joined the race as a Democrat, intending to challenge incumbent President Joe Biden, but then dropped out of the Democratic primary to launch an independent bid. (Biden dropped out of the presidential race himself in July.) Kennedys campaign failed to maintain steama poll from CBS earlier this month found his popularity lingering at just 2%. Kennedy said he didnt want to play spoiler in the tight race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, who accepted the Democratic nomination at the partys convention this week. Our polling consistently showed by staying on the ballot in the battleground states, I would likely hand the election over to Democrats with whom I disagree on the most existential issues censorship, war, and chronic disease, he said. Kennedy said he would remove his name from the ballot in key battleground states and suspend campaign activities, though would remain on the ballot in less competitive states. I want everyone to know that I am not terminating my campaign. I'm simply suspending it, not not ending it, he said. Trump told CNN on Tuesday that he would consider giving Kennedy a role in his second administration if he dropped out and endorsed him. I didnt know he was thinking about getting out, but if he is thinking about getting out, certainly Id be open to it, Trump said. Write to Simmone Shah at simmone.shah@time.com. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) Born and raised in Rochester, Theresa Lou Bowick says volunteering is part of her DNA. This week shes among the 12,000 volunteers at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Its her first time at a political convention and she says the energy and excitement has been visible all week. Her assignment began as a greeter at both airports in Chicago. Later in the week, she worked at both the United Center and McCormick Place Convention Center answering questions and helping delegates, dignitaries, their families and other participants. Bowick says she also used the opportunity to learn about programs and solutions that can help her neighbors tackle issues such as poverty, affordable housing, services for people with disabilities and neighborhood crime. Theresa Marsenburg spoke with Bowick about her experience. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Roger Cook, the landscaper who brought his expert problem-solving skills to PBSs popular home renovation show This Old House for nearly 40 years, has died. His death at age 70 was announced on the shows official website. With tremendous sadness, This Old House bids farewell to our friend and longtime landscape contractor, Roger Cook, who passed away on August 21, 2024 after a long battle with illness, a press release said. Cook first appeared on the series during its second season in 1982. He later signed on as the shows full-time landscape contractor from season 10 in 1988. The long-running reality series, which is preparing to debut its 46th season in September, follows a team of experts as they renovate homes. He went on to join its sister series, Ask This Old House, when it debuted in 2002. The spin-off series featured various do-it-yourself projects and answered specific remodeling questions sent in by viewers. Cook simultaneously appeared in both series for years before he officially exited the franchise in 2020 due to health issues. I remember every lesson from Roger, said This Old House executive producer Chris Wolfe. More importantly, there are millions of people whose lives have been enriched by everything Roger taught them. Roger Cook imparted landscaping wisdom on the This Old House franchise for nearly 40 years (Keller + Keller) Other colleagues described him as a gentle giant, big-hearted, and Americas landscape legend. Born in 1954, Cook grew up in Burlington, Massachusetts. He attended the University of Maine, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in wildlife management and conservation law in 1977. He later returned to Massachusetts where he became a certified landscape contractor. In 1982, he and his wife Kathleen founded their own landscaping business, K&R Landscape, specializing in plants and hardscaping. Dad spent his entire life helping people friends, family, and customers. One of the biggest regrets with his illness was that he could no longer help people in the same way, Cooks son Jason said in a statement. With that in mind Dad, asked us to set up a family foundation so that we can continue his legacy as a helper going forward. Donations to the Cook Family Giving Fund, which will support wildlife and land conservation, medical research, childhood education, and military veterans, can be given here. Cook was preceded in death by his wife Kathleen, who died from cancer in 2010. He is survived by his son Jason, daughter Molly, brother Greg, daughter-in-law Anna, and three grandsons: Peter, Noah and James. Ron Johnson said Biden exiting the presidential race was a 'coup.' Experts say it doesn't fit the definition. On the opening night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, President Joe Biden officially passed the baton onto Vice President Kamala Harris as she makes a historic presidential run. A few months ago, the nation couldnt have seen that coming. In July, Biden announced he would drop out of the presidential race, bowing to pressure from others in the party who worried about his age and ability to beat former President Donald Trump, this years Republican nominee for the role, in the fall. Harriss entry into the race gave Democrats a jolt of energy for an election that was once burdened by unenthusiasm. In Wisconsin, an Aug. 7, 2024 Marquette University Law School poll found the percentage of registered voters who said they were very enthusiastic about the fall election was 61%, up from 46% in June a change largely driven by Democrats. The unprecedented switch-up has also had many Republicans crying foul. That includes Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. Ron Johnson speaks on economics at a press conference held at Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago during the DNC on Monday, August 19, 2024. On the left is Florida Sen. Rick Scott. Theyre going to formally kick the president to the side of the road tonight. Their coup is complete, Johnson said during a press conference from Trumps Chicago hotel Aug. 19, 2024. Their nominee will be somebody who didnt get one vote in the primary. Other high-profile Republicans have also referred to Bidens dropping out as a coup. And while they may be using it as a figure of speech, it doesnt meet the literal definition of the word. Lets take a look. Experts say coups are trademarked by threats of violence, stealthy acts As Johnson is using the term, coup is short for the French phrase coup detat, which refers to the overthrow of the government. Experts on the subject spoke with PolitiFact National at the end of July, as more Republicans began to use the term to describe Bidens exit from the race. Scott Althaus, who directs the University of Illinois Cline Center for Advanced Social Research Coup Detat Project, told PolitiFact that the projects codebook has five criteria to meet the definition of a coup, including irregular means. In other words, initiators of a coup have to use threats, use of coercion or force to remove someone from power. Constitutionally legitimate leadership changes, including resignations triggered by a loss of popular support, are regular removals, according to the codebook, not coup events. Erica De Bruin, associate government professor at Hamilton College and author of the book, How to Prevent Coups dEtat: Counterbalancing and Regime Survival, said while Biden faced political pressures not to run, there was no threat of violence should he press on a fundamental feature of coups. Matt Cleary, an assistant professor of political science at Syracuse University, agreed. (Biden) was certainly pressured and persuaded but by arguments, not at the point of a gun, he told PolitiFact National. De Bruin also noted that Democrats did not seek to remove Biden from power outside the regular electoral process, but rather encouraged him to end his campaign for a second term. And Cleary added that stealth, another common element of coups, wasnt employed here, since the discussion about whether Biden should drop out played out in the public sphere for weeks. While its fair to raise questions about what brought about Bidens decision to exit the race, he said, calling it a coup does not accurately reflect what happened. Johnson may or may not have been using a figure of speech when he called it a coup. But experts agree it was not one. Sources Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Takeaways from DNC Day One: Biden's age, 'Lock him up' and Dems' best/worst speakers, Aug. 20, 2024 USA TODAY, Joe Biden endorses Kamala Harris after he drops out of 2024 election, July 21, 2024 Pew Research Center, Harris Energizes Democrats in Transformed Presidential Race, Aug. 14, 2024 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Marquette poll takeaways: Kamala Harris campaign rejuvenates Wisconsin Democrats, Aug. 7, 2024 PolitiFact, How unprecedented is it for President Joe Biden to drop out this late? Very, July 21, 2024 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Ron Johnson, speaking from Trump hotel, says Harris 'doesn't have a clue' about private sector, Aug. 19, 2024 PolitiFact, Was Biden dropping out of the race a coup? Experts explain, July 24, 2024 This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ron Johnson calls Biden's exit a 'coup.' Experts say that's not right Rosebud Sioux Tribal Headquarters in Rosebud. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) The voters of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe elected their first female president on Thursday. According to unofficial results posted late Thursday night, tribal council member Kathleen Wooden Knife prevailed by a vote of 1,192-870 in the presidential election over Steve DeNoyer Jr. Kathleen Wooden Knife. (courtesy Rosebud Sioux Tribe) The tribe also elected a woman to serve as vice president, choosing council member Lisa White Pipe for that role. Shakira Rattling Leaf, administrator for the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Election Office, confirmed for South Dakota Searchlight that Wooden Knife is the first woman in the tribes history to be elected president. The tribe is located in south-central South Dakota and headquartered in the town of Rosebud. Wooden Knife had served two consecutive terms and took a two-election-cycle break from council service before being elected to the council again last year. She joins Janet Alkire of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe as the second woman leading one of the nine tribes in South Dakota. At the time of her election, The Associated Press reported that Alkire was the first woman to lead that tribe since 1946. Wooden Knife has served on the tribes health board and worked for the Indian Health Service , a federal government agency Rosebud successfully sued for its failure to provide adequate health care at its Rosebud emergency room. Wooden Knife has also testified before Congress on health care issues. Beyond health care, Wooden Knife helped organize the tribes pet clinic and played a major part in founding the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Homeless Shelter, according to a biography posted in advance of her testimony to a U.S. House committee in 2018. Wooden Knife did not return requests for comment on Friday. On her Facebook page, Wooden Knife thanked the people for electing her and sent well wishes to all the candidates who ran for office. She wrote that she hopes to move forward together, day by day, step by step as an Oyate, referencing the Lakota word for people. Lisa White Pipe. (courtesy Rosebud Sioux Tribe) Election results must be posted by the first Monday following an election, according to the tribes election ordinance. If no one succeeds in challenging the results of the election, the results are certified on the first Friday after Mondays public notice, which in this case would be Aug. 30. Results will be final after that point, and the new president, vice president and council will be sworn in on Sept. 3, said Rattling Leaf, the elections administrator. The tribe will hold a special election to select a candidate to fill out the remainder of Wooden Knifes three-year council term. There was no incumbent in the race for president. Former president Scott Herman stepped down this summer to take a position with Sinte Gleska University in Mission. Acting president Willie Kindle was elected to a position on the tribal council. Hed served as vice president prior to Hermans departure. In the race for vice president, council member Elizabeth Lisa White Pipe bested Russell Eagle Bear by a vote of 1,131-919. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) Bus rides throughout Montgomery County will be free on Labor Day. The Greater Dayton RTA will offer free rides systemwide on Monday, Sept. 2 to celebrate Labor Day and Americas workforce. Why do we celebrate Labor Day in the United States? In addition to free rides, one of the RTAs buses will be in Ketterings Holiday at Home parade, happening from 9:55 a.m. to noon. The Proudly Serving Kettering bus features local places throughout the Kettering community, as well as Bart Simpson, voiced by Kettering native Nancy Cartwright. The parade will cause temporary street closures, specifically on Far Hills Avenue between Dorothy Lane and Stroop Road. Closures will be in place from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Due to this closure, RTA Route 6 will be temporarily rerouted from 9 a.m. to noon. The southbound reroute will go left on Dorothy Lane, right onto Shroyer Road and then left onto Far Hills Avenue. Northbound will be reversed. Click here to plan your trip with the Greater Dayton RTA. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Run With Maud 5K, in memory of Ahmaud Arbery being held on BeltLine this weekend The 2nd Annual run With Maud 5K event kicks off Saturday morning at 9 a.m., bringing together runners and walkers in person and virtually to honor the life and memory of Ahmaud Arbery, a jogger killed in Brunswick, Ga. in 2020. The event will start at Lee + White off of the Atlanta BeltLines West End Trail, though the event is also fully virtual. The in-person meetup at the West End Trail is hosted by the Atlanta Track Club. Participation costs $20 and commemorative shirts are available for an additional $25. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] On a Sunday in February 2020, Arbery was jogging when three men, who later claimed to be attempting a citizens arrest, chased after the 25-year-old and shot him to death. Father and son Travis and Gregory McMichael, and their friend William Roddie Bryan, were later charged with murder and hate crimes, after a video shot by Bryan showed how he died. TRENDING STORIES: In the wake of that tragedy, Georgia lawmakers and leaders came together to strengthen the states hate crime laws. In 2020, new hate crime legislation was passed, and a year after, the states citizen arrest law was repealed. The first Run With Maud event, started by family and friends of Arbery, happened in 2023. The event is a 5K Run-Walk to raise money for the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation, founded by Arberys mother Wanda Cooper-Jones to bring hope, resilience and justice for the Black community. The foundation uses its funds to break down barriers and provide equitable opportunities for all, according to the organization. We believe that every individual, regardless of race or background, deserves access to spaces where they can engage in physical activities free from the specter of violence or discrimination, the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation says in a statement on its website. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: Suspects accused of crashing into Missouri deputy now in custody MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Mo. Two suspects who allegedly crashed into a rural Missouri deputy Thursday evening were taken into custody Friday after several hours on the run. The suspects were found around 9:30 a.m. in the 8100 block of State Road Z, coming out of the woods before their arrests. Authorities were searching for one man and one woman after the crash, according to a Facebook post from the Callaway County Sheriffs Office. In nearby Montgomery County, the suspects reportedly crashed their vehicle into a Montgomery County deputy Thursday evening near State Road Z. The two suspects then ran out of the car after the crash. Pevely third grader paralyzed in crash, school offering support Investigators have not disclosed the extent of any injuries the stricken deputy may have suffered. The Callaway County Sheriffs Office shared surveillance photos of two wanted suspects at a gas station earlier on Thursday. According to the sheriffs office, the Missouri Girls Town nonprofit organization was notified of the situation. Residents in Montgomery or Callaway counties are also urged to lock their vehicles and report any suspicious activity immediately. If you have any information relevant to this investigation, contact the Callaway County Sheriffs Office at 573-642-7291, selecting option 6. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Russia is barely using one of its best weapons against Ukrainian forces in Kursk because it's scared to hit itself, war expert says Russia has been reluctant to use its glide bombs in Kursk, experts say. Ukraine has advanced into Russia to create a buffer zone, and Moscow has struggled to respond. Russia's weak air-control systems mean it struggles to use the bombs accurately, an expert told BI. Russia is unable to fully take advantage of one of its most effective weapons against Ukrainian forces advancing in its territory, a military-strategy expert said. That's likely because Russian systems aren't good enough to ensure that it won't hit itself, he said. Russia has increasingly fired glide bombs at Ukrainian territory in its invasion of the country. The bombs are equipped with guidance systems that allow them to be launched from jets at a distance. They're difficult to stop, and Russia has been making them more powerful: Its newest model weighs 6,600 pounds. But Russia has not been using the bombs at the same scale against Ukrainian forces that crossed the border into Russia earlier this month. A guided glide bomb attached to a Russian aircraft. Russian Defense Ministry Press Service photo via AP Mark Cancian, a retired Marine Corps colonel and a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Russia hadn't been seen heavily using air power or glide bombs against Ukrainian forces in Kursk. "I think that's a reflection of a weak air-control system," he said. While the US and NATO "have very sophisticated mechanisms" and a "very elaborate, well-trained system" between aircraft and a control center to ensure they don't hit anything friendly, that's not the case for Russia, he added. The US is "pretty good at it," Cancian said, but "the Russians are not." Ukrainian forces in a military operation in Malaya Loknya in Russia's Kursk region. 95th Air Assault Brigade/Handout via REUTERS Cancian said that Russia is able to heavily use glide bombs in Ukraine because the front is static and largely unmoving, so Russia can get away with a weaker control system and inflict less unintended damage. He said Russia's relative caution in Kursk "is a reflection of inability, their weakness in using air in support of ground forces." Not at scale Some glide-bomb usage has been recorded in Kursk but not to the extent elsewhere. Ukraine's military said Wednesday that Russia had launched 27 glide bombs in the region; it's not clear whether that figure was in total or in one day. Either way, it's a much smaller number than what Russia is said to be firing at targets in Ukrainian territory. Russia used 750 glide bombs on Ukrainian cities and villages last week alone, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday. It's also fewer than the 50 glide bombs Forbes reported Russia was firing daily into Ukraine's Sumy region, which neighbors Kursk. A Ukrainian officer amid the devastation caused by a Russian glide bomb in the Ukrainian village of Petropavlivka. Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images "The Russians are hamstrung in one way, in the sense that they can't drop these FAB gliding bombs in Kursk as they have done in parts of Ukraine, especially in the eastern front, because obviously, it's their own territory," said Rajan Menon, a senior research scholar at Columbia University's Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies. "They'll get a lot of people killed, civilians," he said. George Barros, a Russian-military expert at the US's Institute for the Study of War, told Business Insider that Russia was so far not using the bombs in Kursk "at scale." Russia's attacks in Ukraine, Barros said, "completely obliterate entire neighborhoods and towns over the span of just days." "The Russians decisively are not doing that in Kursk," he added. But as Ukraine continues its incursion, Russia's risk calculations may change. Russia has dropped bombs on its territory and destroyed its own weaponry since launching its invasion of Ukraine. This includes shooting down its own fighter jets. But these were relatively isolated incidents, rather than something that was happening as a result of a new strategy, such as using glide bombs in Kursk. Barros said Russia was afraid of the "political considerations" that would come with targeting its own territory. A Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber releases a FAB-3000 glide bomb in a video released by the Russian Ministry of Defense. Russian Ministry of Defense/Screengrab via Telegram Meanwhile, Ukraine has started to use glide bombs against Russia in Kursk. Zelenskyy said the incursion aimed to create a "buffer zone" to minimize Russia's ability to harm Ukraine. However, warfare analysts told BI that Ukraine also likely wanted to stretch Russia's forces and give fresh motivation to its troops and allies. Barros said it's not clear how the fast-moving operation would end. But he said that so far, it had been a positive for Ukraine after months of grinding warfare with little territory changing hands. Ukrainians, he said, "are no longer stuck in the rut where they no longer have the initiative." "It is now no longer the Ukrainians lying on their back for nine-plus months at a time simply trying their best to triage," he said. Read the original article on Business Insider Stock photo: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ukrainian air defence systems shot down 14 of the 16 Shahed attack drones launched at Ukraine on the night of 22-23 August. Source: Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of Ukraine's Air Force, on Telegram Quote: "The enemy attacked [Ukraine] with two Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles from Voronezh Oblast and 16 Shahed attack UAVs, launched from Yeysk and Kursk in Russia." Details: Aircraft, electronic warfare units and mobile firing groups of the Ukrainian defence forces shot down 14 Shahed drones. Visual contact with another two was lost, but no information on damage was received. Air defence responded to the Russian attacks in Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Poltava and Sumy oblasts. Support UP or become our patron! Stock photo: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ukraine's defence forces continue to inflict losses on the Russian military. Over the past day alone, Russia has lost 1,190 soldiers killed and wounded, 32 armoured combat vehicles, 4 tanks and 45 artillery systems. Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook Quote from the General Staff: "Due to the constant receipt of updated intelligence data, it became necessary to adjust some of the figures for total enemy losses cruise missiles. The total figure has been adjusted, and daily losses are presented as usual." Details: The total combat losses of the Russian forces between 24 February 2022 and 23 August 2024 are estimated to be as follows [figures in parentheses represent the latest losses ed.]: approximately 605,330 (+1,190) military personnel; 8,533 (+4) tanks; 16,599 (+32) armoured combat vehicles; 17,307 (+45) artillery systems; 1,167 (+1) multiple-launch rocket systems; 932 (+1) air defence systems; 367 (+0) fixed-wing aircraft; 328 (+0) helicopters; 14,025 (+27) strategic and tactical UAVs; 2,442 (+0) cruise missiles; 28 (+0) ships and boats; 1 (+0) submarines; 23,329 (+49) vehicles and tankers; 2,910 (+6) special vehicles and other equipment. The information is being confirmed. Support UP or become our patron! Russian ambassador to U.S. says Putin has plan of action for Kursk incursion (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin has formulated a response to the ongoing Ukrainian incursion in the Kursk region and those responsible for attacking Russia will be punished, Russian ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov said. "I tell you sincerely that the president has made a decision," the TASS state news agency quoted Antonov as saying late on Thursday. "I am firmly convinced that everyone will be severely punished for what has happened in Kursk region." The comments by Antonov, who did not provide further details on Putin's plans, came after the Kremlin leader held a meeting on Thursday with senior officials, including the governors of border regions, over two weeks after Ukraine launched its lightning attack, the biggest incursion into Russia by a foreign power since World War Two. Antonov, who has served in his post since 2017, also warned in comments published by the RIA state news agency that the U.S. will at some point remove all restrictions on the use of weapons supplied to Ukraine. "The current administration behaves like a person who extends one hand and holds a dagger behind their back with another one," Antonov said, describing Washington's recent comments about Kyiv not being allowed to use U.S. weapons for strikes deep into Russian territory as "goading". "They are, essentially, laying ground (for a decision) to simply remove all the existing restrictions at a certain point, without much thought," he said. The United States has provided Ukraine with more than $55 billion worth of military aid since 2022, but has limited the use of its weapons to Ukrainian soil and counterfire, defensive crossborder operations. Kyiv has said it has used U.S.-made weapons in Kursk, including glide bombs and HIMARS rocket systems. Washington has not commented directly on the use of U.S.-made weapons in Kursk region but has said that U.S. policies have not changed and that Ukraine is defending itself from Russia's invasion. (Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy Papachristou; Editing by Mark Trevelyan) Yahoo Finance After China announced broad measures to rescue its economy, Chinese stocks surged, our Chart of the Week shows. It's not the first time the country has attempted to get out of the recent doldrums, but the market's reaction says this time might be different. Russian forces attacked civilian infrastructure in the village of Esman in Sumy Oblast on Aug. 22, killing two people and injuring another, the Sumy Oblast Prosecutor's Office reported. Two other people were also injured in similar attacks on communities neighboring the Russia-Ukraine border. According to investigators, Russia dropped a KAB guided aerial bomb onto the community around 1 p.m. local time. The attack left two men, a 67-year-old and a 74-year-old, dead, and injured the wife of one of the deceased victims. Elsewhere in Sumy Oblast, in separate attacks, one person was injured in the village of Svesy as a result of a KAB guided bomb attack. Another person in Hlukhiv was also injured as a result of a Russian drone strike. No details on the victims or information on the extent of their injuries was provided. Residents in Sumy Oblast are subjected to daily attacks on the region. Throughout the day on Aug. 22, Russia targeted the region 88 times, with 209 explosions reported in the area, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration said. The security situation in Sumy Oblast became more tense with the start of Ukraine's cross-border incursion into neighboring Kursk Oblast in Russia, which began on Aug. 6. Sumy Oblast borders Russia's Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod oblasts. Civilians in Sumy Oblast within 20 kilometers (12 miles) of the border with Kursk Oblast are now subject to restrictions on movement due to increasing Russian attacks, according to the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces. On Aug. 20, amid ongoing attacks on the region, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko told reporters that authorities are planning to evacuate a total of 45,000 residents from Sumy Oblast. Approximately 21,000 residents have been evacuated from Sumy Oblast thus far, including 5,000 children, Klymenko added. Read also: Authorities planning to evacuate 45,000 residents from Sumy Oblast, Interior Minister says Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Russian industrial businesses in some industries face bankruptcy due to the inability to purchase critical chemical raw materials abroad, including from "friendly" countries. Source: a letter sent to the Russian government by 20 large Russian companies, The Moscow Times reports Details: The letter was sent by representatives of the automotive industry, construction companies and manufacturers of household appliances. The 14th package of EU sanctions has resulted in the suspension of supplies of polymethylene phenyl isocyanates (another name for methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, MDI) to Russia. These are used in the production of foams, sealants, self-levelling floors, pipes, refrigerator components and car parts. According to a letter sent to Anton Alikhanov, the Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia, the economy is 100% dependent on imports of this material. Suppliers from the US, Europe and Japan stopped shipping, followed by China. China's largest MDI producer, Wanhua Chemical Group, announced a complete halt to supplies to Russia. At the same time, an attempt to reach an agreement with Saudi Arabia was unsuccessful, the industrialists complain. Sadara Chemical did not confirm the possibility of shipments to Russia. Quote: "This decision has come as a shock to the industry, as given the limited stocks of market participants and the limited shelf life of MDI, maintaining this situation over the next few months will entail the risk of shutdown and bankruptcy of existing production facilities," the letter says. Alexei Gorokhov, Executive Director of the NAPPAN Association (uniting manufacturers of building panels in Russia), confirmed that "panic has already begun in the market". The fact is that it is technically impossible to stockpile MDI, as it decomposes quickly, and the existing stocks will last only two months. Quote: "The loss from a shortage of this component will be huge. There is nothing to replace it in most applications. After all, these are jobs; these are people who need to be paid, but the companies will not be able to provide them," said Gorokhov. Without MDI, it is impossible to produce the foam used to make thermal insulation, but not only construction companies will suffer, but also, for example, refrigerator manufacturers, warns Anton Guskov, an official representative of RATEK (an association of trading companies and manufacturers of electrical household and computer equipment). Quote: "We do not produce it (MDI), and if we do, it is produced in small quantities and in a quality unsuitable for household appliances," Guskov complains. Support UP or become our patron! Handout/Rosgvardia Four prisoners are dead after a riot at a maximum security penal colony in Russias Volgograd region escalated into hostages being taken and a stand off with state security services. The prisoners, who described themselves as Islamic State militants, fatally stabbed four staff members before overtaking the facility, reported Reuters. The Russian National Guard told state media outlet RIA Novosti that snipers killed the prisoners with four precise shots. The criminals inflicted stab wounds of varying severity on the four employees, the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) said in a statement. Three of the staff died on-site while one died of his wounds in hospital, according to RIA Novosti. Eight people, including four prisoners at the IK-19 facility, were held hostage. Russia Planning to Build New Prison Colonies in Occupied Ukraine: Report Unverified videos posted to social media show three staffers of IK-19 on the ground immobile and surrounded by blood. Multiple purported hostage-takers can be seen holding knives and one of them is holding an Islamic State (IS) flag. Several Russian Telegram channels identified the perpetrators seen in the videos as four men in their mid-to-late twenties, all nationals of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. RIA Novosti reported that three of them were serving drug trafficking sentences. Mash, a news outlet friendly to Russian President Vladimir Putin, reported that one of the attackers is accomplished in taekwondo, but did not have radical views, describing him as quiet and calm. The outlet said that three other hostage-takers were proteges of a radical Islamist group in the penal colony. Putin, meanwhile, was made aware of the incident, according to RIA Novosti. The IK-19 colony, located in Surovikino, can accommodate roughly 1,200 people, according to the FSIN website. If IS involvement were confirmed, it would mark the second grisly prison uprising linked to the transnational Salafi jihadist group in Russia since June, when six inmates took hostages at a prison in the southern Rostov region. Last year, the Islamic StateKhorasan Province, an IS affiliate in central Asia, said it was responsible for a terrorist attack on a Moscow concert hall that killed 145 people, making it the deadliest terrorist attack in Russia since the 2004 Beslan school siege in 2004. IS has repeatedly promised to strike Russia over its support of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian dictator whose forces waged a campaign to drive the group out of Syria. 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. Images taken after a Ukrainian drone strike on an airbase deep inside Russia Russia shows several combat aircraft were damaged. Satellite images and post-strike photos emerging in the aftermath of a Ukrainian drone attack on Russias Marinovka Air Base show extensive damage to metal aircraft shelters on the flightline and to other parts of the base. Several of the hangars struck contained aircraft that were very likely damaged, possibly severely, in the attack, which was claimed by Ukraines State Security Service (SBU). The base is located in Russias Volgograd region, about 300 miles from the current front lines. Marinovka Air Base and the 'AFTER' image (30cm from 22 Aug 2024 07:58 UTC) Still analyzing but given the interest, I shared what I thought were the areas that got hit Once again, less about airframes. Good amount of destruction around the hangars and just north of there https://t.co/Ows1Tus3Lkpic.twitter.com/LSbd54hcLo MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) August 22, 2024 One image posted on Telegram and enlarged by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Mark Krutov offered a better view of the aircraft caught in the hangars. Or they came back after the attack. 3BM15 (@3_bm15) August 22, 2024 A closeup image of one of those hangars shows scores of small holes that indicate Ukraine used munitions containing ball bearings or some other fragmentation devices on the drones to maximize the damage they cause. This is a common practice across the Ukrainian battlefield and beyond. A metal hangar at the Marinovka Air Base in Russia shows extensive shrapnel damage. (Via Telegram) A photo also emerged claiming to show shrapnel collected from the airfield. While The War Zone cannot independently verify its authenticity, the Russian Aerospace Forces-connected Fighterbomber Telegram channel complained bitterly about someone capturing images of the attack aftermath. I wonder from the photo from Marinovka was it just a moron taking the picture? Fighterbomber queried. A traitor for money? Or a poor guy who was ordered to urgently provide a photo report of the damage and he habitually sent it via WhatsApp to his superior? What appears to be a ball bearing or some other round metal object was claimed to have been found in one of the hangars. (Via Telegram) Other parts of the base were hit as well, as open-source investigator MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) noted on Twitter. He also compared images before and after the attack showing the extent of the damage. Still analyzing but given the interest, I shared what I thought were the areas that got hit, he wrote. Once again, less about airframes. Good amount of destruction around the hangars and just north of there. Marinovka Air Base and the 'AFTER' image (30cm from 22 Aug 2024 07:58 UTC) Still analyzing but given the interest, I shared what I thought were the areas that got hit Once again, less about airframes. Good amount of destruction around the hangars and just north of there https://t.co/Ows1Tus3Lkpic.twitter.com/LSbd54hcLo MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) August 22, 2024 A closer analysis by Anderson of imagery taken Aug. 19 shows what appears to have been more than a dozen Su-24M Fencer swing-wing attack jets and more than a dozen Su-34 Fullback strike aircraft at the base. It is unknown how many of those jets were there at the time of the attack. Marinovka Air Base Here is a 'before' image from 19 August 2024 Loads of airframes on the flightline 14x Su-24 15x Su-34 (I think, @MilAviaUA confirm?) What I find more interesting are the 8x semi trucks (~18m in length) What are they carrying? Ammo resupply? Shaheds? https://t.co/Goltc2h2hKpic.twitter.com/1J8yY2XyuG MT Anderson (@MT_Anderson) August 22, 2024 Earlier Thursday, video emerged in the immediate aftermath of the strike, showing a large swath of the base covered in thick smoke. Someone on the video is heard bemoaning the situation. Its still fucking flying, he said, according to a translation provided by Anton Gershchenko, a former Ukrainian government advisor and frequent social media commentator. Its still fucking around. Theyve completely destroyed it. The airfield is fucked up. This is a serious tragedy, guys. This is very serious stuff "It's still f*cking flying. "It's still f*cking around. They've completely destroyed it. The airfield is f*cked up. This is a serious tragedy, guys. This is very serious stuff" the situation at Marinovka military airfield in Russia's Volgograd region. https://t.co/03C3JzU9ys pic.twitter.com/2ivd9mwhyP Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 22, 2024 The SBU said it launched the attack, along with Ukrainian special operations forces, to destroy guided bombs stored there among other targets, according to Ukrainian Pravda (UP). The SBU is highly precise in hitting airfields used for attacks against Ukraine, the publication added, quoting a source within the security agency. Each strike diminishes Russian air superiority and significantly restricts their aircraft capabilities. Local residents described the airfield as resembling scenes from an apocalypse film following the Ukrainian drone attack, UP reported. Warehouses containing guided aerial bombs, ammunition and fuel and lubricants were exploding at the airfield. As we noted in a story in June about the need for protective shelters for aircraft in the age of drones, Google Earth highlighted 12 aircraft shelters on the Marinovka flight line. Construction began in November of last year. This is a relatively rare feature for Russian airbases. You can see those shelters in the image below. A closer look at the shelters before the attack. (Google Earth) The War Zone examined why these shelters were needed as part of a deeper dive into whether the U.S. should build hardened shelters for its combat aircraft. From our story at the time: The specific impetus for the erection of the shelters at Marinovka is not known, but Russian forces did claim to have downed a presumed Ukrainian drone over Volograd in September 2023. Ukraines widespread and daily employment of weaponized uncrewed aerial systems, including long-range kamikaze types and ones launched much closer to their targets, poses a real threat, including to aircraft exposed on aprons at air bases deep inside Russia. That is exactly what happened at Marinovka. We also wondered how the shelters would hold up in an attack. The satellite images show that these kinds of structures only provide partial protection from long-range drone strikes, something Fighterbomber decried after the attack. By the way, light aircraft shelters have undergone a baptism of fire, Fighterbomber wrote. Those that were given as a gift. Well, a miracle did not happen, Fighterbomber complained. Lets say so. We need reinforced concrete structures. But this does not mean that light shelters are not needed. They are needed everywhere where it is not possible to build reinforced concrete structures. And as I said, they should be reinforced with gabions or concrete blocks along the perimeter. Still, these shelters appear to have provided protection against the brunt of some of the warheads and stopped shrapnel from flying even farther and damaging other airframes. They would likely be more effective against localized attacks using drones that are piloted by personnel nearby and drop bomblets and other explosive devices. In addition, much of their utility comes from complicating the enemys ability to confidently target aircraft on the ground, as they may be concealed under some but not others. And thin corrugated metal is not going to stop a blast fragmentation warhead under any circumstances. If you want that kind of protection you need a more hardened aircraft shelter than what Russia installed at this base, and they are surely aware of that. Metal shelters may not provide miracles, but given the extent of the damage, the attack would have been more devastating to Russian aviation without them. Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com A womens prison in the village of Malaya Loknya, Russia. Screenshot: a video by the 95th Separate Air Assault Brigade Ukrainian forces are storming a women's prison building where Russian soldiers have entrenched themselves and set up firing positions in Russias Kursk Oblast. Source: Bild in Russian, a media project launched by the German tabloid Bild, has posted a video from the 95th Separate Air Assault Brigade of Ukraine's Armed Forces. Details: The journalists write that during their advance in Kursk Oblast, the Ukrainian army reached a women's prison, where fierce battles are currently taking place. In the village of Malaya Loknya, 14 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, Russian forces have turned womens penal colony no.. 11 into a fortress and are putting up fierce resistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Reportedly, even the prison guards are participating in the defence of the facility. Screenshot Google maps Since 2011, the prison has housed 203 convicted female criminals, sentenced to terms ranging from 10 to 20 years. Meanwhile, several dozen Russian soldiers have fortified positions around the prison, built barricades, and are using the prisons watchtowers as firing positions, while the massive buildings offer protection against Ukrainian attacks. On the other hand, Ukrainian forces are attacking the Russians with German-made Marder infantry fighting vehicles and hitting the watchtower near the entrance of the womens prison with drones. Russian military bloggers confirm that Malaya Loknya is almost surrounded by Ukrainian units, but inside the prison, Russian soldiers are continuing to hold the defence. At the same time, the Russian Defence Ministry claims that all Ukrainian attacks on Malaya Loknya have been repelled. It remains unclear how many prisoners are still being held in the womens prison, the journalists conclude. Background: The Armed Forces of Ukraine crossed the Russian-Ukrainian border near the city of Sudzha in Kursk Oblast on 6 August 2024. The Armed Forces of Ukraine had reportedly taken control of the village of Poroz in Belgorod Oblast on 10 August. A counterterrorism operation regime was implemented, including increased security, movement restrictions, document checks, and phone monitoring in Russiass Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod oblasts. The Ukrainian authorities confirmed the participation of the Armed Forces in a special operation in the territory of Kursk Oblast on 12 August for the first time. Support UP or become our patron! Russians hail Wagner chief Prigozhin as patriot on anniversary of his death ST PETERSBURG/MOSCOW (Reuters) - Mourners gathered at a cemetery in Russia's former imperial capital under a light summer rain shower on Friday to celebrate a man they said had given his life to serve his country. The death in a fiery plane crash of Yevgeny Prigozhin on Aug. 23 last year at the age of 62 marked the bizarre final chapter of one of the most colourful figures in modern Russia. Prigozhin, a food caterer turned leader of the Wagner Group mercenary force, soared to prominence after Russia sent its army into Ukraine in February 2022. His fighters - including thousands of convicts he recruited from prison - led the Russian assault on the city of Bakhmut in one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the "special military operation", the Kremlin's preferred term for the conflict. Beside Prigozhin's grave in St Petersburg's Porokhovskoye cemetery, an Orthodox priest in robes read a prayer and crossed himself as a group of women sang hymns. Those who came to pay their respects said Prigozhin should be remembered as a hero of the motherland. "There are such people, as for instance (Soviet astronaut) Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin, (and) Evgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin, whom we should be proud of," said a man who gave his name as Dmitry, speaking by the mercenary's grave. He described Prigozhin as someone who took the "patriotic course" out of love for his country. "Our growing children should be looking up to them," Dmitry said. Others snapped pictures standing in front of a life-sized bronze statue of Prigozhin, flanked by a Wagner flag and the Russian tricolour. At a pop-up memorial on a busy street in central Moscow, admirers had left dozens of bouquets of red and white roses below a wall adorned with photographs of Prigozhin and his Wagner loyalists. Passers-by paused to gaze solemnly at the photographs. One man looked up at the sky and crossed himself in reverence. Prigozhin, who wielded Wagner's considerable social media presence to trumpet his successes on the battlefield, ran afoul of the Russian military establishment last summer when he repeatedly accused the top army brass of incompetence and even treason. In June last year, he led a short-lived mutiny in which his Wagner fighters took control of the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and marched towards Moscow before turning back. Exactly two months later, the Wagner leader was dead when his plane mysteriously crashed north of Moscow, killing everyone aboard. Since then, mourners have celebrated Prigozhin as a hero at makeshift memorials across the country, although the Russian establishment looks less favourably upon the man who mounted the most serious challenge to President Vladimir Putin's authority since he came to power in 1999. At the cemetery in St Petersburg, some said that the conflict in Ukraine would be closer to a conclusion if Prigozhin were still alive. "(His) composure (is what is needed now). His mental ability to organise things, to do (what is necessary)," said a man called Alexander. "I think that if he was there together with Wagner group PVC (private military company) and continued his activity, the issue with Ukraine would be much closer to a solution." (Reporting by Reuters in Moscow and St Petersburg; Writing by Lucy Papachristou in London, Editing by William Maclean) The Russians struck Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi in Kharkiv Oblast, killing two people and injuring two others. Source: Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram Quote: "Occupiers struck the central part of Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi. Unfortunately, two civilians were killed." Details: At least two more people were injured. Emergency services continue to inspect the site. Support UP or become our patron! Russians target Toretsk and drop bomb on Kurakhove in Donetsk Oblast: three civilians injured Russian forces targeted Donetsk Oblast yet again on Friday, 23 August, leaving three civilians injured. Source: Anastasiia Miedviedieva, spokesperson for Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor's Office, in a comment to Ukrainska Pravda Details: Russian troops struck the city of Toretsk with artillery on 23 August. A 63-year-old local resident sustained shrapnel wounds to his leg. The Russians also dropped a bomb on the settlement of Kurakhove. Two women aged 22 and 61 were injured when the munition hit the central part of the settlement. The women were diagnosed with abrasions and cut wounds. They received medical assistance. The spokesperson added that pre-trial investigations had been initiated under Art. 438.1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (violation of the laws and customs of war). Support UP or become our patron! Burlington, VT. A 44-year-old Vermont man was sentenced on Tuesday after pleading guilty to distributing cocaine, according to the U.S Attorneys Office for the District of Vermont. Bradley Saldi of Rutland made four sales of controlled substances between May 15, 2023, and June 14, 2023, as a handyman at the Highlander Motel in Rutland. There, he sold cocaine base or fentanyl to a confidential informant. Saldi was sentenced to 27 months imprisonment, followed by a three year period of supervised release. He was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Christina Reiss. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. On the same day that Indias defense minister was warmly welcomed in Washington, two FBI agents held an interview in Sacramento with the target of a possible assassination attempt that occurred earlier this month on Interstate 505, about 30 miles from Californias capital. Many of the questions asked Thursday, the man who escaped a hail of gunfire said, explored whether the incident could have been an act of transnational repression, possibly linked to India. U.S. and Canadian intelligence agencies have linked the Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the 2023 assassination of Sikh independence leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Multiple arrests have followed, furthering suspicion of Indian involvement. Former Canadian intelligence official Dan Stanton said that Defense Secretary Rajnath Singhs visit, which includes the signing of a cooperation agreement, could explain the initial radio silence from Washington on the freeway shooting. The alleged target of the attack earlier his month, Woodlands Satinder Pal Singh Raju, was a close ally of the slain leader Nijjar. When first asked about the freeway shooting, which law enforcement officials said happened late at night Aug. 11 on I-505 in rural Yolo County, an FBI spokesperson said, we cannot confirm or deny any particular contact or the potential existence of an investigation. But as news reports began to spread about the near-midnight barrage of bullets, the FBI reached out with an update. An email from spokesperson Gina Swankie said, The FBI Sacramento Field Office continues to collaborate with the California Highway Patrol in support of the investigation. The FBI has made no statements to suggest that the freeway shooting was an assassination attempt connected to a foreign government, saying only that they are aiding the CHP in an investigation. However, Stanton said the collaboration suggests that they have an intelligence dividend, some intelligence that corroborates the attempted hit. CHP can handle the criminal investigation. The FBI has the big picture, they can tap into the intel community. Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a U.S. leader of Sikhs for Justice who, according to a federal indictment last year, was targeted in an assassination plot orchestrated by Indian intelligence, said he was grateful the FBI is involved in the investigation. We are not jumping to conclusions in terms of who may have targeted Raju and the other Sikhs, he said. All we want is for this to be thoroughly and professionally investigated and we are grateful the FBI is taking this seriously. Pannun said he believes substantial circumstantial evidence points to the involvement of India. Pannun said that Raju had served as backbone of logistics work in Khalistan referendums in San Francisco, Sacramento and several cities in Canada including, most recently, Calgary last month. I can say for certain that Raju is the kind of person on an Indian hit list, Pannun said. They have made that clear, they consider us terrorists even though we are committed to peace and non-violence. Raju said the interview took place at the office of a friend in Sacramento who runs a trucking company. The agents spent some time examining the truck, which had been released from impound by CHP. Bullet holes are seen in the driver side window of Satinder Pal Singh Raju vehicle following a shooting on Interstate 505 in rural Yolo County. The Woodland resident and Khalistan movement leader said he believes the incident may have been an act of transnational repression by India, which opposes the movement. Raju said he found the FBI agents to be professional and exploring every possibility. They asked me if we stopped anywhere and if someone could have followed us and targeted us in a hate crime. I said no. We left my house in Woodland to get a bite in Vacaville and did not stop before we were attacked. They asked if we encountered any angry drivers. They asked if I had any business disputes, anyone so angry they might seek to harm me. I said no to both. Then they asked me if I had any idea who might have done this. Raju did not hesitate. India, he said. I told them, Modis government assassinated my friend and colleague Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Ive kept up Hardeeps work with the Sikh referendum, and I am certain that India had something to do with this. Raju said the agents asked him about his association with Nijjar. When did he meet the slain leader? In 2016, he said. How often did they meet and correspond? They asked for a list of the most active Sikh activists in Sacramento and the region. And they asked me a lot about the Khalistan referendum, what exactly I had done in each city, he recalled. Raju said he told the agents that he, of course, will take care and follow the FBIs advice. But he isnt going to curtail his activity. A Sikh referendum is scheduled for New Zealand on Nov. 17. Of course I am going, he said. Pro-Khalistan leaders in Sacramento and across California welcomed word of the FBI participation. What happened on I-505, that really ratcheted things up, Sacramento activist Bobby Singh said. There have been a lot of threats, a lot of mischief, this is different. The FBI needs to really get to the bottom of this. Dr. Pritpal Singh, the founder of the American Sikh Caucus Committee, said he was certain that proxies from India were behind the shooting. Deeply troubling reporting by Sacramento Bee on targeting of a Sikh American Activisthttps://t.co/MWzsjzkrne@FBI @DOJNatSec @TheJusticeDept Pritpal Singh (@PritpalASCC) August 21, 2024 Its ironic because Sikhs are very involved in the transport business, we cherish freeways as a great part of the American system, Pritpal Singh said. There are a lot of Sikh truckers out there. And to have one of the referendum organizers attacked on the freeway, thats obviously very concerning. It messages: We can get you anywhere. (FOX40.COM) An operation recently conducted by the Sacramento Police Department near North Natomas led to the discovery of guns, jewelry, marijuana, mushrooms, and over $50,000 in cash, the agency said. Over the past several months, Sacramento police officers were asked to investigate several individuals believed to be involved in illegal activities on Highport Drive, about 5 miles northwest of North Natomas. [On Thursday] morning, with the assistance of our Problem Oriented Policing (POP) and SWAT teams, officers served the search warrant and safely took four individuals into custody, police said. During the search warrant officers recovered two pistol grip AK-47s, one 9mm handgun, $100,000 in jewelry, $60,000 in cash, 100 pounds of marijuana, and 20 pounds of psilocybin mushrooms. Northern California DAs Office files murder charge against alleged Sacramento fentanyl dealer Two men from Sacramento, aged 26 and 24, were arrested for possession for sales, delaying/obstruction of a peace officer, and firearms related charges. A 21-year-old man from Hayward and a 28-year-old man from San Leandro were arrested for possession for sales, and delaying/obstruction of a peace officer charges. All four suspects were booked at the Sacramento County Main Jail, police said. This is another example of the dedication by the officers of the Sacramento Police Department who remain relentless in their investigations to make our community a safer place for all. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BOARDMAN, Ohio (WKBN) Dearing Compressor and Pump in Boardman hosted a safety day Friday, which included several educational sessions to help workers navigate safety concerns in the workplace. Some sessions focused on industry workers and the stress of working in the heat and recognizing hazards. CEO Becky Wall says its important to put down their tools to make sure safety is at the top of everyones mind. For us as a family business, the human side of safety is tremendous. We want everyone to stay safe and go home in the same condition but also our business climate, the compliance of the industry we working safety is paramount to everything that we do, Wall said. The Boardman Fire Department provided fire extinguisher training and the American Red Cross hosted a mobile blood drive for those willing to donate. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Widespread rainfall in Sarasota and Manatee counties could lead to a marginal risk of flooding on Friday with the ground already so saturated. Rainfall totals are forecasted to be 1.5 inches or less on Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Showers and thunderstorms are forecasted to develop by early afternoon and continue into the early evening. River Flood Warnings have been put in effect for the Myakka River at Myakka River State Park and the Horse Creek near Arcadia at State Road 72. Manatee River is on a downward trend of flood risk after closing several roads, as water footage continues to decrease. Increased moisture and airflow have been pushed into the area by a frontal boundary along the Florida Peninsula, causing showers and thunderstorms from the Gulf of Mexico. The National Weather Service has shared that in addition to the rain received on Wednesday and Thursday, there could be up to 12 inches of rain over the next seven days. National Weather Service forecaster Matt Anderson said that much of that is expected to fall by the end of Friday, as the weather transitions from long, heavy bouts of rain to scattered thunderstorms. In case you missed it: Roads closed as more heavy rain forces another water release from Lake Manatee Larry and Cheryl Baker had their Myakka Valley Ranches workshop flood during Tropical Storm Debby. With more rain expected to continue over the weekend they don't want to take any more chances of being flooded and filled sandbags Thursday at Twin Lakes Park located at 6700 Clark Road. Residents can pick up a maximum of 10 sandbags at the Sarasota County Fleet Management facility on 4531 Annex Road in Venice, Twin Lakes Park at 6700 Clark Road in Sarasota, and the east lot of Ed Smith Stadium at 2700 12th St. in Sarasota. Pickup will be available until 7 p.m. The city of North Port will open a self-serve sandbag distribution point at 3 p.m. on Thursday at the George Mullen Activity Center at 1602 Kramer Way. Bags and sand will be available while supplies last at the North Port location. Individuals are asked to bring shovels. What weather to expect in Sarasota-Bradenton the rest of the week? Heres what the National Weather Service is forecasting: Friday : Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 3 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 90. Heat index values as high as 99. East wind around 8 MPH becoming south in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Friday night : Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 76. East wind around 10 MPH. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Saturday : Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 2 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. East northeast wind around 10 MPH. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Saturday night : Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 76. East wind 8 to 10 MPH. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Sunday : Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 2 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. East wind around 10 MPH. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Sunday night : Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 77. East northeast wind around 9 MPH. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Monday : Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 2 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. East wind around 9 MPH. Chance of precipitation is 70%. Monday night: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 8 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 77. Chance of precipitation is 60%. This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Flood Risk: Sarasota, Manatee under marginal risk following heavy rain Ukraine's State Security Service (SBU) charged in absentia a priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) in occupied Luhansk Oblast with collaborating with Russia's proxy authorities in the region. Ukraine has long accused the Moscow Patriarchate's representatives in Ukraine of serving as an arm of the Kremlin's propaganda in the war. Some "rank-and-file" clergymen have also been convicted of directly assisting Russian troops. Ukraine's parliament passed on Aug. 20 a much-debated bill banning activities of religious organizations with ties to Russia, a country whose armies are currently occupying large swathes of Ukraine's land. The legislation falsely spun by pro-Kremlin actors as a "ban on Christianity" is primarily a tool to force communities of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) to finally sever all ties with the Russian Orthodox Church. SBU investigators alleged that the priest, who also works as a jeweller in occupied Luhansk, provided "precious gold and silver items... for decorating the premises of dioceses." The accused also allegedly makes jewelry badges for occupation forces as well as Russia's Security Service (FSB). The priest expanded his jewellery business through different parts of Ukraine's occupied territories following Russia's full-scale invasion. The SBU allege that the priest re-registered his business in accordance with Russian legislation in the occupied territory and has been paying taxes to the Russian-proxy authorities. The accused was charged on Aug. 22 under Ukraine's Criminal Code for "collaborative activity." Read also: Cutting ties with Moscow What does Ukraines church bill really mean Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. SC Democrats are returning from the DNC ready to knock on doors South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain introduces the delegation on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024 during the ceremonial roll call in Chicago. To her left are Sens. Margie Bright Matthews of Walterboro and Minority Leader Brad Hutto of Orangeburg. (Democratic National Convention livestream) Mattie Thomas could not help crying during the roll call to nominate Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee on Tuesday. Tears were just rolling down my face, she said, as each state ceremonially cast their votes on the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Thomas, 74, has been involved in Democratic politics for almost two decades. But this was her first time as a delegate. Mattie Thomas of Lake City poses with U.S. Rep. Al Green of Texas at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago (Provided by Mattie Thomas) For the roll call, she stood between South Carolina Democratic Party Chair Christale Spain and DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, who is also from the Palmetto State. Spain introduced the 65 members of the Palmetto State delegation over the strains of native son James Browns Get Up I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine. Jamie said, Oh please dont cry, Ms. Mattie, and I rested my head on his shoulder, and I stopped crying, she told the SC Daily Gazette on Wednesday. It was so amazing to know my little 3-month-old great, great niece will one day look on television and see her aunt nominating the first woman of color president. Thomas said she left Lake City in Florence County when she was 18 and moved to New Jersey, where she worked her way up the ranks at White Castle. In 2005, she retired and moved back to Lake City, where she found she had too much time on my hands. She filled the time working with the Democratic Party her current roles are co-chair of the partys senior caucus and vice-chair of the rural caucus as well as being a school trustee for Florence County District Three (Lake City). Thomas attended the 2012 DNC in Charlotte and the 2016 DNC in Pennsylvania in volunteer roles with presidential campaigns. But this was her first opportunity to actually nominate the candidate. After the vote, Thomas said her phone started blowing up with messages from family members who had helped sponsor her trip to Chicago and who had seen her on television. I looked down at my phone and it was ding, ding, ding, she said. 20 out of 24 hours In between nightly speeches, the delegates were busy. Each morning, the delegation attended a state breakfast and heard from guest speakers including Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, as well as Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. Theres a lot of networking going on. Theres a lot of conversations that have been had, said Nikita Jackson, chair of the York County Democrats. Were talking amongst each other about what were doing in our own respective states, whats working in our area, whats not working in our area. It was the first time Jackson, 51, of Rock Hill had attended the DNC, where she is serving as a delegate. She has lots of ideas to bring back to York County, where volunteers are already knocking on doors. And she said she appreciated hearing from so many established and rising Democrats Whitmer, especially, brought so much energy, she said. You get on the elevator with somebody and when the person gets off you hear, Hes going to be running for governor of his state here pretty soon, Jackson said. Youre trying to say, Oh, I gotta remember him.' After breakfasts, delegates headed to caucus meetings or seminars before heading to the nightly convention. There were also special lunches at the convention, including one honoring South Carolinas only Democrat in Congress, Rep. Jim Clyburn, and another on Thursday honoring Harrison. Delegates generally tried to be in their seats about 5:30 p.m. for the laundry list of convention speakers. After the speeches wrapped for the night (or early morning) came the after-parties. You could legitimately stay busy at events here 20 out of 24 hours, said Brady Quirk-Garvan. Brady Quirk-Garvan of North Charleston with Jalisa Washington-Price, a South Carolina native and advisor to the Harris campaign, at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago (Provided by Brady Quirk-Garvan) Quirk-Garvan, another delegate who previously served as party chair for Charleston County, is an old hand at the DNC. The 37-year-old from North Charleston is at his fourth convention. But he feels like this one is special. It has been incredibly electric and uplifting. There is no doubt in my mind that this has been the most exciting and energy-filled convention Ive ever been to, he said Thursday. Clyburn, speaking live with the Washington Post on Wednesday, said the energy at the DNC this year surpassed the energy in 2008, when Barrack Obama made his successful run to become the nations first Black president. I saw what was happening in 2008 at my fish fry. When Obama took the stage at that fish fry, I knew that there was magic in the air, he said, referring to his annual spring event. His free, public world famous fish fry that follows the partys fundraising dinner is not only a staple of the state political calendar but also a must-attend event for Democratic presidential hopefuls. As good as (Obama) was, effective as he was, he finished second to Kamala in generating enthusiasm, Clyburn said during the 20-minute livestreamed interview. Returning ready The Palmetto State has long punched above its weight in presidential campaigns, as home of the first-in-the-South nominating contests for both parties. President Joe Biden has repeatedly thanked South Carolina voters for catapulting him to the White House in 2020. But this year took it to whole new level, said Quirk-Garvan, with party leaders like Clyburn and Harrison hailing from South Carolina and by hosting Democrats first recognized nominating contest in the nation. I think theres been a lot of talk among delegates that we should not take that for granted, he said, along with discussions about how to preserve the states position on the calendar. Delegates will be returning from the convention ready to campaign. Even state Democratic leadership acknowledges that ruby-red South Carolina is not going to flip in November. But delegates said enthusiasm for Harris will help candidates statewide in a year every legislator is on the ballot. Jackson said the York County party office will be open seven days a week heading into the election. Quirk-Garvan is volunteering with two state House campaigns. Thomas said she will be working in Lake City but is also ready to travel to North Carolina or Georgia if Democrats in the neighboring swing states need help. First, though, Thomas was looking forward to Harris closing night speech. I know Ill cry again, she said. The above shows the space in the Department of Corrections' Columbia prisons complex for executions, as seen from the witness room. The firing squad chair (left) was added following a 2021 state law that made death by firing squad an option. The electric chair is under the cover. (Provided by the S.C. Department of Corrections) COLUMBIA South Carolinas first execution in 13 years is set for next month, the state Department of Corrections announced Friday. Freddie Owens, 46, is scheduled to die Sept. 20. The date is determined by state law, which says an execution date must be scheduled for four Fridays after an execution notice is issued. The order came more than three years after the state Supreme Court halted Owens first execution date over the lack of execution options available. Owens must choose in writing within two weeks whether he wants to die by lethal injection or firing squad. If he makes no choice, the default method is electrocution, as per a law passed in 2021. Owens, initially sentenced to death 25 years ago, is set to be the first inmate to die by execution in South Carolina since 2011, when Jeffrey Brian Motts was executed by lethal injection, the default method at the time. Two years later, the states supply of the three-drug lethal cocktail used to carry out the death penalty expired, and the state Department of Corrections was unable to restock them as pharmaceutical companies refused to sell their drugs to kill people. In an effort to enable executions to resume, legislators in 2021 passed a law reverting to the electric chair as the default method of execution and added death by firing squad as an option, while keeping lethal injection as an option if the drugs again became available. Attorneys for condemned inmates challenged the law, arguing both electrocution and firing squad are unconstitutionally cruel and unusual. Freddie Owens (Provided by SC Department of Corrections) In an opinion issued July 31, Supreme Court justices disagreed in a split decision that allowed executions to resume. Lethal injection again became an option for condemned inmates after the Legislature expanded the states execution secrecy law last year to keep everything about the drugs private, including who sold them. The law worked as legislators intended. The state prisons agency announced last September it was able to secure lethal drugs. We will now see if the Department of Corrections is able to satisfy the state and federal courts that the pentobarbital it obtained from who knows who is of sufficient purity, potency and quality to carry out a humane execution, said John Blume, the lawyer who represented the inmates in their challenge settled last month by the state Supreme Court. The lack of transparency about the source of the execution drugs, how they were obtained and whether they can bring about as painless a death as possible is still of grave concern to the lawyers that represent persons on death row who potentially face an execution date, he said. Freddie Owens Owens has been sentenced to death three times since his initial conviction in February 1999 for murdering Irene Graves during an armed robbery of the Greenville County gas station where the single mother of three worked an overnight shift. Owens was on a spree of robberies with a group of friends on Halloween night in 1997. He shot Graves in the head after she said she did not know the combination to the safe at the Speedway gas station, according to court documents. The day after a jury convicted Owens of murder, he attacked and killed a fellow inmate at the Greenville Detention Center. During his sentencing hearing the next day, he confessed to the jailhouse murder and described it in detail. I really did it because I was wrongly convicted of murder, he said, according to the statement published by the solicitor. The state Supreme Court twice sent Owens case back to a jury for resentencing. Both times, the jury recommended the death penalty. In 2008, the high court agreed. In 2015, Owens legally changed his name to Khalil Divine Black Sun Allah. But Owens remains his name on legal filings and in the state Department of Corrections system for claritys sake, according to court filings. Owens was twice scheduled to die in 2021. But rulings from the state Supreme Court put his execution on hold the first time because the state lacked the drugs needed to carry out lethal injection. The second reprieve came shortly after legislators passed the law setting the electric chair as the default method. Justices agreed with Owens attorney that the firing squad needed to be a real option. The prisons agency announced in 2022, after developing protocols and renovating the death chamber, that it was ready to carry out an execution by firing squad. But another lawsuit challenged the law itself. The state has 32 men on death row, 15 Black and 17 white. One is on death row in California for crimes committed in that state. Owens is among five inmates who have exhausted all their appeals and are not waiting on any further court decisions. Two others have finished their normal appeals processes but are waiting for responses on other requests, the S.C. Attorney Generals Office said earlier this month. Editors Note: This article has been corrected to reflect that Freddie Owens has been on death row since 1999 for crimes committed in 1997. Manja Schuele Minister of Science, Research and Culture of the State of Brandenburg, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) test virtual reality goggles to show them the Salzburg Festival during a visit to the Hasso Plattner Institute as part of Scholz's summer trip to his constituency. Sebastian Christoph Gollnow/dpa German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday called for the expansion of digital research and development in the country, as he donned a virtual reality headset. "We must create the framework for this to take place in many places in Germany," Scholz said during a visit to the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Engineering (HPI) in his constituency in the city of Potsdam, located just outside of Berlin. What makes Germany a country of engineers, technicians and scientists must be cultivated for the future, Scholz said. Cutting-edge research and education in digital sciences and other fields are needed to ensure that Germany remains a global leader. "Germany's digital future is good. It is something that can inspire and where we can organize a better life together," said Scholz. "Of course, this will only succeed if we can do these things ourselves." The institute, which is affiliated with the University of Potsdam, focuses on IT research and engineering. It is funded through donations from German billionaire Hasso Plattner, one of the founder of software giant SAP. "Everything takes place here at this institute," Scholz said on Friday. "If you've been here and looked into the enthusiastic faces of those who work and research here, you don't have to worry about Germany's future." Scholz tried on virtual reality (VR) goggles during his visit to the institute, which allow artificial worlds to be experienced. In this case, Scholz took a virtual look around the Salzburg Festival Theatre, an experience the chancellor said he enjoyed. "You could spend an evening there," Scholz said, before adding a quip: "Now some more wine." GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) When it comes to back-to-school preparedness, one of the most important parts for parents is a students mental health. School counselors want to normalize having tough conversations that need to be had with children in school who may have a little apprehension before the new year begins. If this sounds like your child, guidance counselors said that open communication is the next big step. I think parents can also help their children by having conversations that communication piece with their child, also talking to the teacher or the counselor or social workers, whoever are involved in the school system as well, Pitt County Schools Guidance Counselor Zulena Staton said. So theyre also part of that team. We all work together. It takes a village, so we all live together to make sure that each child is okay and feel protected, feel supported and feel love. School counselors want to normalize having tough conversations that need to be had with children in school. Staton also encourages students to advocate for themselves. If they dont feel well, they should use the Pitt County Schools Mental Health Services that includes guidance counseling. Parents can also stay connected with their teacher or fellow administrator. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. While many schools in Vermont already have phone policies, others have struggled to find the right balance of phone freedoms and restrictions. In January, State Senator Terry Williams helped introduce a bill to regulate the use of personal devices in schools. Senator Williams raised concerns about how data continues to keep coming in from around the nation and the world about the harms that social media and electronic devices have on children and students. While the bill ultimately didnt pass, Williams says his constituents still want him to pursue it, and that hell try to reintroduce the same bill next year if re-elected. Meanwhile, Interim Superintendent Adam Bunting says the Champlain Valley School District plans to research a phone-free academic model over the next year. Buntings goal is to pull together a series of recommendations, and we actually want to expand beyond the district. Ive been very interested in how many other schools, now that theyve heard were doing a study, want to join us and I would love to do that and have more of a collaborative approach. Bunting also hopes to bring these policy recommendations to the school board mid-year. Molly OBrien, a parent of two CVU High School students, believes phones are distracting, so I think they would be difficult I do think they should definitely be banned from being in class, but maybe they could keep it in their backpack or in their lockers and have communication for after school, or cancellations, or practice cancellations. Her daughter Isabel, an incoming freshman, thinks phones shouldnt be used in the classroom, but not completely banned either. For now though, schools like CVU will be left up to their own devices. As research continues, its likely that any district or state-wide decisions will not be put in place until 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 ABC22 & FOX44. "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Researchers have just found evidence of dark electronselectrons you cant see using spectroscopyin solid materials. By analyzing the electrons in palladium diselenide, the team was able to find states that functionally cancel each other out, blocking the electrons in those dark states from view. The scientists believe this behavior is likely to be found across many other substances as well, and could help explain why some superconductors behave in unexpected ways. If you were to shine a flashlight onto a blank wall, you may be surprised to see that the beam makes a series of rings wherever it lands. Thats a result of whats called interferencethe waves of light crashing into each other more or less in sync. If the waves are synched up, you have constructive interference, and you get a brighter signal. If the waves dont line up, you have destructive interference, and you get a darker signal. If the waves are perfectly opposite, the destructive interference is at its most extreme, and you get no signal at all. Light is the easiest example, but its not the only thing that experiences interference. Interestingly, electrons can interfere as well if they have perfectly different energies. This can lead to the existence of dark electronselectrons in dark states that are you cant see with a spectroscope. For a long time, we thought these secretive electrons simply didnt exist in solid materials. The electrons cant get all that far removed from each other, so those perfectly different energies were thought not to be possible. But recently, a group of scientists lead by researchers from South Korea found that these states occur even in condensed matter, which could have a significant effect on our understanding of quantum physics. A paper on these findings was recently published in the journal Nature Physics. This hidden state could be a missing piece of information that is critical to understand quantum phenomena that have remained elusive, the authors wrote in the paper. It is, therefore, fundamentally important to identify the existence of other hitherto unknown dark states in nature and to disclose their underlying mechanisms. The researchers first went digging for these dark states in a crystalline material called palladium diselenide, or PdSe 2 . Taking a look at the behavior of electrons in this material, the team found entire bands that they knew were meant to be present, but that they simply couldnt see. They examined the material using several polarizations of light in order to make sure that the dark states they were seeing were the result of the electrons themselves and not the light being used to examine them. Once they found their bands, the researchers used models to extrapolate their finding into other systems. And excitingly, they were able to generalize their results fairly easily (well, as easily as you can do anything in quantum mechanics). Their findings imply that the dark electrons they found in PdSe 2 arent just a fluketheyre a sign that dark states are likely found all throughout nature. As Keun Su Kimone of the authors on the studytold New Scientist, this discovery has the potential to explain why some surprising materials behave like superconductors under unexpected conditions. If we cant even see part of their quantum behavior, its no surprise we couldnt make heads or tails of it before. But knowing what were looking for could now lead to some much-needed explanations. Darkness in science often means mystery. But mysteries can be answers in and of themselvesat least, until you dig even deeper. You Might Also Like Scientists warn grocery shelves may soon be missing pantry-staple food because of poor crop conditions: 'Emphasizing the importance of sustainable farming' Strawberries are synonymous with the start of longer days and warmer weather, served up on tables as part of popular summer desserts. But scientists are warning this popular staple may be harder to come by soon because of warming global temperatures. What's happening? A study from the University of Waterloo predicts that strawberry yields could see a dramatic reduction of 40% if temperatures rise by just 3 degrees Fahrenheit. This potentially threatens an industry that brought in more than $3 billion to the United States economy in 2022, according to a media release from the university. Farmers in California could be hit particularly hard by changes in the industry. The analysis notes that the Golden State grows more than 80% of the country's fresh strawberries. According to the release, the data model provided "the most accurate findings to date" after linking air temperature anomalies to strawberry yields. Why is this important? While it isn't too late to lower average temperatures, the Earth has been warming at an accelerated rate since the preindustrial era. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 10 hottest years on record all occurred in the past decade. It isn't uncommon for extreme weather events to occur from time to time and natural weather patterns such as El Nino and La Nina make them more likely to occur in certain regions. However, scientists overwhelmingly agree that supercharged weather events are one of the effects of warming temperatures primarily linked to the burning of dirty fuels such as coal, oil, and gas. "This research shows how climate change can directly impact the foods we love, emphasizing the importance of sustainable farming practices to maintain a stable food supply for everyone," Department of Systems Design Engineering postdoctoral fellow Dr. Poornima Unnikrishnan said in the University of Waterloo's media release. Other popular products that have become more scarce or expensive amid challenging weather conditions include chocolate, olive oil, and tomato-based items such as ketchup. What can be done about reduced food yields? The University of Waterloo researchers advocated for the continued adoption of sustainable farming practices to ensure there are no severe disruptions in the global food supply, and they believe their analysis can help. "We hope the better understanding of the influence of rising temperatures on crop yield will help in the development of sustainable agriculture responses from the government and farmers," Dr. Kumaraswamy Ponnambalam said in the media release. "There is an urgent need for farmers to adopt new strategies to cope with global warming." The Waterloo team also listed existing strategies that have been successful in varying climates, including drip irrigation (which more effectively delivers water to plants' roots) and shading structures to protect crops from extreme heat. Agrivoltaics is one such solution to the latter recommendation. Not only do the solar panels provide clean, low-cost energy to farmers, but they also aid crop productivity. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. SCOTUS: Arizona may require proof of citizenship on state voter forms, at least for now Image via Getty Images The United States Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that Arizona can enforce part of a voter registration law that is being challenged in federal court, effectively allowing the state to bar legal voters from registering just about 10 weeks before the election. In a split decision, the high court handed a win to the Republican National Committee and Arizona legislative leaders Ben Toma, the speaker of the state House of Representatives, and Warren Petersen, the state Senate president. In a 5-4 decision via an unsigned order. The court reinstated a portion of the law that allows the state to stop accepting state-created voter registration forms from Arizona residents unless they provide proof of citizenship. The brief order did not explain the reasons for the courts decision, which is common for emergency rulings. Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett sided with the courts three liberal justices. This is a major victory for election integrity that upholds a simple principle: American elections must be decided by American citizens, RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said in a written statement. While Democrats have worked to undermine basic election safeguards and make it easier for non-citizens to vote, we have fought tooth and nail to preserve citizenship requirements, see the law enforced, and secure our elections. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX State law requires people to show proof of citizenship to register to vote, which voters approved as Proposition 200 in 2004. But the federal National Voter Registration Act of 1993 requires states to accept federal voter registration forms, which dont have a proof-of-citizenship requirement, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that Arizona cant reject those forms, despite the disparity between state and federal law on the issue. The result is a bifurcated system, in which voters who prove their citizenship can vote in every race, while those who do not but attest to being citizens under penalty of perjury can vote only in federal contests. There are about 32,000 federal only voters in Arizona who havent provided documented proof of citizenship, and Thursdays ruling has no effect on their ability to vote. A Votebeat analysis found the contested voter registration law is likely to disproportionately affect younger voters and voters who live on college campuses, who often register to vote without providing documents proving residency or citizenship. The Arizona law, which was passed by the state legislature in 2022, aimed to stop non-citizens from voting in the state. After numerous voting rights groups jointly challenged the Arizona law, a trial court failed to uphold a portion of it that required proof of citizenship for voters to register via a state form, as well as another section that would bar residents who register using a federal form from voting by mail in presidential elections unless they provide proof of citizenship. Following the lower courts Aug. 1 decision, the RNC submitted an emergency application to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking the justices to reinstate those portions of the law. The high court declined to reinstate the portion regarding mail-in voting for presidential elections. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch said in the order that they would have granted the RNCs request in full, while Barrett and the liberal justices Sonya Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson said they would have denied the entire request. Republicans, led by former President Donald Trump, who falsely claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him, allege that voting by noncitizens is a widespread problem across the country. But there is no evidence to back that up, with studies showing that non-citizen voting is exceedingly rare. Even so, Arizona has been a hotbed for election denialism, with a failed partisan audit of the 2020 election results in Maricopa County, followed by continued claims of election fraud and interference from Republican candidates for office, and even members of the state legislature. The Campaign Legal Center, which is representing some of the voting rights groups in the lawsuit, criticized the ruling and its timing in a written statement. We are disappointed that the Supreme Court is upending longstanding rules on the eve of an election that will clearly cause voter confusion, CLC spokesperson Bruce Spiva said in the statement. Free and fair elections rely on every citizen being able to cast a ballot and the fight is far from over. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is set to hear the case on Sept. 10, but the RNC asked the Supreme Court to rule on the reinstatement issue by Aug. 22, the deadline to print general election ballots in some Arizona counties. If the Court is going to weigh in on eleventh hour election law challenges, it needs to enforce the principle against last minute changes evenhandedly, attorney Danielle Lang, who is set to argue for the CLC in front of the appeals court, said in a statement. This decision fails to do that. Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, issued a statement following the order, saying that counties will now reject new state forms unless they include documented proof of citizenship. My concern is that changes to the process should not occur this close to an election, it creates confusion for voters, Fontes said. We respect the Courts decision and will implement these changes while continuing to protect voter access and make voting a simple process. He added that voters can still register using a national mail voter registration form, which requires residents to attest that they are citizens, under penalty of perjury. Election expert Rick Hasen, director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project and professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles, wrote in a blog post that the law that the high court allowed to be reinstated was bad and unnecessary. Unlike voter ID laws, that often have not been shown to have a big effect on turnout, these documentary proof of citizenship laws matter a lot, Hasen wrote. They stand to literally disenfranchise thousands of eligible voters for no good reason. The Campaign Legal Center wrote that it filed the lawsuit challenging the law on behalf of Native, Latino and student voters, some of whom would be disproportionately impacted by the law. The CLC emphasized that election officials in Arizona already have systems in place to verify voter eligibility, and work to ensure the voter rolls are accurate and up to date. The Arizona Republican Party celebrated the ruling, saying that it allows the state a crucial right to prevent noncitizens from voting. This is a tremendous victory for every Arizona voter who demands confidence that our elections are protected from non-citizen interference, AZGOP chairwoman Gina Swoboda said in a written statement. The Supreme Courts ruling ensures that Arizona can uphold the integrity of its elections, giving voters the assurance they deserve. Our Voice, Our Vote, a progressive advocacy organization, countered the AZGOP in its own statement. This legislation has never been about election integrityit has always been about spreading the big lie that voter fraud is tilting elections, the organizations executive director Sena Mohammed said in a written statement. Todays decision is disappointing, but its nothing new. The wealthy and well-connected try everything to shut us out of the halls of power, but nothing will stop us from making our voices heard and our votes count. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE CHICAGO, I.L. (KELO) Its the fourth and final day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Vice President Kamala Harris is set to take the stage tonight to make her nomination speech. Im hopeful that she addresses teacher pay and maybe on gun violence and also school lunches seems to be a really big issue, South Dakota delegate, Kellen Returns From Scout said. South Dakota delegate, Julian Beaudion from Sioux Falls, says hes enjoyed listening to all the speeches. From day one, just listening to all the amazing speakers, some of the performers that have come out, and just experiencing the energy around us has been so motivating and so inspiring, Beaudion said. One man was killed in a motorcycle crash west of Oral, South Dakota. Education policies are another topic delegates are looking forward to hearing. The whole institution of public education is to empower and to inspire, make sure that our next generation of leaders is going to be armed with all of the knowledge and everything that they need to carry forward with this great American experience, Returns From Scout said. Many delegates made the trip to show their support in person this year, with all 20 of their votes from the delegation endorsing Harris on the Democratic ticket. It takes a lot to be a delegate, Returns From Scout said. I mean, theres a lot of preparation and theres a lot of personal time and commitment, financial investment, and your own out-of-pocket costs to come and represent your community that youre elected from to the best of your ability. South Dakotas delegates will attend their final caucus today including the Rural Caucus and Youth Councils. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. By Dylan Bouscher MONTEREY, California (Reuters) - Hundreds of California sea lions have taken over San Carlos Beach in Monterey, California, prompting local officials to close the area to people. Caution tape has been put up but crowds are still drawn to the animal spectacle, taking photos of the sea lions as they rest and play on the sand and in the water. While sea lions, or eared seals, are often seen at certain beaches up and down the California coast, local residents say they have never seen so many of the marine mammals gathered in Monterey. Lisa Uttal, a marine biologist with the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, said it was unclear exactly why the sea lions chose San Carlos Beach, but they may be attracted to the rich diversity in the ecosystem's food supply. Virtually all those gathered on the beach were male, she said. "They migrate up here down from Ventura and the Channel Islands ... They are incredibly mobile. They're usually chasing the food and because Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is so productive out here, the productivity is really rich," Uttal said. They were expected to remain on San Carlos Beach for three to four weeks, Uttal said. Marge Brigadier, a volunteer with Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary's Bay Net program, said the sea lions were protected by the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, which prohibits people from changing the behavior of the sea lions, meaning that approaching too close or forcing them to flee is a violation. "People just need to think about how they would feel if they were resting on their bed taking a nap and something big kept coming and chasing them out of the house," Brigadier said. (Reporting by Dylan Bouscher and Carlos Barria in Monterey; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Diane Craft) A search team looking for a missing hiker in the Angeles National Forest of Southern California stumbled upon an unexpected surprise when they encountered none other than Jay Leno. And thankfully, they also eventually located their missing person. In a Facebook post earlier this week, the San Dimas Mountain Rescue Team explained that on Saturday, Aug. 17, a "very fit and experienced" 78-year-old hiker identified as "Mr. Yang" had gone out with a group hiking expedition to summit Mt. Waterman, just north of Los Angeles. However, when the rest of the party returned to the parking lot, they realized he was no longer with the group. Mr. Yang was reported missing around 3 p.m., and search and rescue teams suited up to go looking for him, hiking "practically everywhere" for the next almost 12 hours. After turning up nothing, the San Dimas Mountain Rescue Team was called in to assist with the search early Sunday morning. Related: How Motorcycle Crash Victim Survived in the Wilderness for 5 Days "That morning, we were ready and waiting along with fresh crews from each team, search dogs, and other resources," the post continued. "After we completed our first assignment, we landed at Newcombs Ranch, which just so happened to be where Jay and his friends rendezvoused for a drive. Unfortunately, they hadnt seen our missing hiker but they were grateful for our efforts." Among the photos the team posted of their search efforts was the group posing with Leno, who was naturally outfitted in his typical uniform of denim on denim. There was also a happy ending to the story. After about eight hours of searching and with help from some local hikers, the team located Mr. Yang "in good health but dehydrated." All told, he had spent about 30 hours in the wilderness, and was airlifted to safety and reunited with his family. Related: 50 Best Chest Exercises for 2024 Related: We've Tasted Hundreds of Whiskeys. These Are the Best in the World Related: Best Cologne for Men of 2024 to Smell Your Best MEMPHIS, Tenn. Police are looking for two men accused of firing shots at a victim during an armed robbery at a gas station in the 2300 block of Frayser last week. Warrants have been for Cobe McCarter and Roger Allen, who are considered armed and dangerous. Police said on August 12, officers were flagged down regarding an armed robbery of an individual in progress, with gunshots being fired, at the EZ Express gas station. MPD said four armed suspects got into a vehicle and fled Northbound Mountain Terrace. They said officers chased the vehicle to the 4000 block of Mountain Terrace, where two suspects bailed out of the vehicle. Police said during a foot pursuit, McCarter pointed a firearm at the pursuing officer. The remaining suspects fled in the vehicle Northbound Mountain Terrace. McCarter is facing charges of aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, and evading arrest, to wit: foot pursuit. Allen has been charged with aggravated robbery and theft of property $2,5000-$10,000 to wit: motor vehicle and facilitation-robbery. If you have seen McCarter or Allen, call MPD or CrimeStoppers 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. Second Alzheimers drug expected to be blocked for NHS use A second Alzheimers drug is expected to be blocked for use by the NHS, The Telegraph can reveal. This week, breakthrough drug lecanemab was declared safe by the medicines regulator but was not approved for use on the NHS by the health services spending watchdog. Another new drug, donanemab, is even more effective at slowing down the progression of Alzheimers disease. It was hailed as the best ever treatment for the disease by scientists after trials found it slowed cognitive decline by more than a third and could halt the illness. But health sources say it will follow the fate of lecanemab. Insiders told The Telegraph that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), which decides what drugs are available on the NHS, would definitely reject the second Alzheimers drug. Nice is also unlikely to U-turn on its decision to reject lecanemab in draft guidance this week, they said. A source said it would now be very tricky for the body to recommend another similar Alzheimers drug having set a precedent with lecanemab, even if the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approves it. The MHRA may not approve donanemab because of concerns about the risk of serious side effects. Both drugs have been approved for use in the US. Prohibitive costs as well as worries about side effects It is understood the MHRAs approval of lecanemab, which was delayed by six months as officials struggled to agree, went down to the wire after counterparts in Europe declared the risks were too great. A source said the Nice decision was a lot easier to make, with the cost per patient likely to range from 50,000 to 100,000 per year. Now Nice has rejected lecanemab, it definitely will not approve donanemab, which also has twice the risk of serious side effects, the source said. Nice said the costs of lecanemab were considerably above the range normally considered cost effective for routine NHS use of between 20,000 and 30,000 per year. The Telegraph revealed this week that officials did not consider the cost borne by families looking after dementia patients. The cost of donanemab is likely to be even greater, with the drug alone costing around 25,000 per year, which is 25 per cent more than lecanemab, although it is only administered intravenously once a month rather than every two weeks. A decision on donanemab has been hit by delays with the MHRA initially planning to make a call in July, the same time that it was approved for use in the US. In trials the drug, manufactured by Eli Lilly, slowed cognitive decline by 35 per cent, making it more effective than lecanemabs 27 per cent. But officials are concerned about the drugs safety after one in three patients developed a brain bleed and one in four had brain swelling during trials because of a condition called amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA). This was twice as many incidents as with lecanemab, which is manufactured by Eisai. Both drugs work in the same way and are a form of monoclonal antibody, replicating the action of the immune system to target specific proteins, in this case the removal of amyloid from the brain. I dont think theyre the bad guys Experts said it was hard to see Nice approving donanemab after rejecting lecanemab because the problems are the same. Prof Sir John Hardy, the first person to identify the role of amyloid in Alzheimers and the chairman of molecular biology of neurological disease at the UCL Institute of Neurology, told The Telegraph the outcome is also very likely to be the same but that the more drugs that come to market could help push prices down. I dont agree with Nice, but I dont think theyve been unreasonable. I dont think theyre the bad guys. I would describe this as a rather constipated negotiation, he said, adding that he expects to see a bit of fight from patients and charities to pressure Nice into changing their decision. Dr Tom Russ, reader in old age psychiatry at the University of Edinburgh, and NHS Scotland dementia research lead, told The Telegraph it would be a surprise to me if Nice decided to back donanemab and not lecanemab. Scientifically these drugs are a great step forward, but the difficulty is that there are significant risks associated with taking them and theyre extremely expensive, he said. Campaigners have described the situation as heartbreaking and Alzheimers charities are preparing to submit evidence to Nice in hope of getting the decision overturned. Alzheimers Research UK urged Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, to intervene, and said in a letter that his leadership was needed to help enable fast and equitable access to a new generation of treatments. The MHRA and Nice said they could not comment on ongoing appraisals. Eli Lilly and Eisai were asked 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. Second former Memphis police officer changes his plea to guilty in Tyre Nichols death A second former Memphis police officer facing federal civil rights charges in the violent arrest and beating death of Tyre Nichols changed his plea to guilty on Friday in federal court. Emmitt Martin III joined his former colleague Desmond Mills, who also changed his plea to guilty last November, as part of a settlement to both state and federal charges he faced for his role in Nichols death. The change comes after Martin had previously pleaded not guilty. Mills and Martin are among five former officers charged in the death of Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man. Martin was facing federal charges of deprivation of rights, witness tampering and obstruction of justice. Three other former officers, Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith, are still awaiting trial. Its unclear if Martin intends to change his plea in his state case, where he is currently facing a second-degree murder charge. CNN reached out to Martins attorney multiple times for comment. The former officer pleaded guilty to Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law: Excessive Force and Failure to Intervene as well as Conspiracy to Witness-Tamper, according to a plea agreement filed in court Friday. He admitted he willfully used unreasonable force against Tyre Nichols, aided and abetted other officers in assaulting Nichols and failed to intervene in other officers use of force. He also admitted to conspiring with other officers to cover up their use of unreasonable force on Nichols, the plea agreement said. The plea deal stipulates a recommended sentence of up to 40 years according to a document filed in court Friday. The maximum recommended sentence is significantly longer than the 15-year maximum recommended in Mills case, though the decision in both cases will ultimately be up to the judge. Today was very emotional, to hear another police officer plead guilty in my sons murder, RowVaughn Wells, Nichols mother, said after Martins court appearance. One of my kids is gone now because of the Memphis Police Department, she said tearfully. Tyre was minding his own business. And he was just coming home. She added that Martins guilty plea was going in the right direction. Im hoping that after today, the other three officers will see and look at themselves and say that theyre guilty, she went on. Because they know that they are. Im grateful that he did plead guilty, but it doesnt help my pain, Wells said. No, I will never have my son back. I will never hear his voice again. Ben Crump, one of the attorneys representing Nichols family in their $550 million lawsuit in federal court against the city of Memphis, its police department and what the suit said were unqualified, untrained, and unsupervised officers, also said he hoped the other officers involved plead guilty. The dominoes are falling, and the dominoes wont stop with just these officers, he said. The blood is not only on the hands of these officers, the blood is on the hands of the Memphis Police Department. Rodney Wells, Nichols father, called for Martin to receive the maximum recommended sentence of 40 years. If we get 40 years, well be happy, he said, comparing the sentence to former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvins 21-year sentence in the death of George Floyd. This is not something we ever take for granted that police officers will be held accountable and sentenced to real prison time for killing Black people in America, Crump added. Normally, we see a slap on the wrist. When you look at how they beat him to death, the sentence should be significant too, he said. Crump also called attention to the SCORPION unit, a controversial specialized unit launched in 2021 to take on violent crime in Memphis. All five officers charged in Nichols death belonged to the unit. Police said the unit was permanently deactivated shortly after Nichols death. These SCORPION officers were prowling the streets looking to make unconstitutional stops, he said. In a Friday statement, the Shelby County District Attorneys office described the guilty plea as another important step toward closure for the family of Tyre Nichols. While todays development is significant, there is still more work to be done, reads the statement. The public deserves confidence that those responsible for enforcing the law will be held accountable for excessive force. The district attorneys office added it expects Martin will enter a similar plea in state court. The family of Tyre Nichols has filed a federal $550 million lawsuit against the city of Memphis, its police department and what the suit said were unqualified, untrained, and unsupervised officers. Nichols died in January 2023, three days after the five police officers repeatedly kicked and punched him following a traffic stop and brief foot chase. The officers then left him slumped against a car for critical minutes, video of the incident shows. Autopsy results revealed he died from blunt force trauma to the head and his death was ruled a homicide. The beating and Nichols death led to protests and vigils in Memphis and other major US cities, reigniting the contentious debate over policing and the ways that law enforcement treat Black people. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Emmitt Martin, one of the five Memphis officers involved in the brutal 2023 beating of Tyre Nichols, changed his plea to guilty Friday, in connection to alleged civil rights violations. Martin is the second former officer in the case to change his plea. Desmond Mills Jr. pleaded guilty to federal charges of excessive force and obstruction of justice in November. Mills agreed to cooperate with prosecuting officials and faces up to 15 years in prison, which prosecutors asked to be served concurrently in the federal prison system. Nichols, 29, was killed in Memphis, Tenn., after a traffic stop in January 2023 turned deadly. Memphis police officers initially said Nichols was stopped for reckless driving, though authorities later acknowledged there was no evidence to substantiate the claim. Graphic video footage of the encounter showed officers using pepper spray, deploying a stun gun and beating Nichols repeatedly. He can be heard throughout the video screaming for his mother throughout the incident. Nichols died of his injuries on Jan. 10, three days after the stop. The five officers Martin and Mills along with Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith were all Black men. All five were fired from the department shortly after the deadly incident. The Department of Justice announced in July that it was investigating the Memphis Police Department over potential constitutional and civil rights violations in the wake of Nicholss death. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Daniel Trotta (Reuters) -A second former Memphis police officer pleaded guilty on Friday to federal charges in the death of Black motorist Tyre Nichols, whose videotaped beating by five Black officers in January 2023 shocked the United States. Emmitt Martin III, one of five fired officers facing criminal charges, was also expected to plead guilty to related Tennessee state charges, the Shelby County District Attorney's Office said in a statement. Martin pleaded guilty to two of the four federal counts against him - one for depriving Nichols' civil rights, and another for witness tampering - and agreed to cooperate with the investigation, according to his plea agreement filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. That raises the possibility he may testify against fellow former officers, as Martin admitted to conspiring with the others to provide a misleading account of the beating. "Driven by anger, Emmitt Martin used excessive force on Tyre Nichols on January 7, 2023. Driven by fear, he tried to cover it up. Today, in open court, he accepted responsibility for what he did," defense attorney Stephen Ross Johnson said in an email. Johnson declined to say whether Martin would testify against others. In November, another fired Memphis police officer, Desmond Mills, pleaded guilty to federal charges and agreed to plead guilty to related Tennessee state charges, part of a deal in which he pledged to cooperate with both state and federal prosecutions, the Shelby County District Attorney's Office said at the time. In exchange for his guilty plea, Mills, who was facing life in prison, agreed to a 15-year sentence with state and federal prosecutors, the statement said. Under Martin's deal, federal prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence of no more than 40 years, and that Martin may seek a term of less than that. Martin and Mills were among five officers who had previously pleaded not guilty to federal civil rights offenses and state charges of second-degree murder. The federal trial is scheduled to begin on Sept. 9. The state trial is on hold while the federal case develops. The case is one of a series raising the national debate about racism and police brutality in the United States. Police video showed the officers kicked, punched, pepper-sprayed and struck Nichols with a baton on Jan. 7, 2023. Nichols, 29, died in hospital three days later. (Reporting by Daniel Trotta; Editing by Aurora Ellis and William Mallard) Second Officer Pleads Guilty To Some Federal Charges In Case Of Tyre Nichols A crowd gathers to remember Tyre Nicholas during a candlelight vigil on the anniversary of his death in Memphis, Tennessee. AP Photo/Karen Pulfer Focht, file A former Memphis, Tennessee, police officer who was charged in connection with the beating death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, pleaded guilty to excessive use of force Friday, just weeks before his federal trial was slated to begin, according to authorities. Emmitt Martin III also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to tamper with a witness. He is one of five officers originally charged in the case and the second to plead guilty before trial. Driven by anger, Emmitt Martin used excessive force on Tyre Nichols on January 7, 2023. Driven by fear, he tried to cover it up. Today, in open court, he accepted responsibility for what he did, Stephen Ross, an attorney representing Martin, said in a statement to HuffPost. Martin now faces up to 40 years in prison for failing to intervene during the assault of Nichols as well as omitting and giving false information about the incident to his supervisor. Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said in a statement Friday that Martins plea will lead to a substantial and well-deserved sentence. From the beginning, our office has closely coordinated our state prosecution with the federal prosecution. We expect that at the appropriate time, Martin will enter a similar plea in state court, Mulroy said. This marks another important step toward closure for the family of Tyre Nichols. While todays development is significant, there is still more work to be done. The public deserves confidence that those responsible for enforcing the law will be held accountable for excessive force. One other officer, Desmond Mills Jr., pleaded guilty to federal charges of obstruction of justice and excessive force in a deal with federal prosecutors on Nov. 2. Mills also faces up to 15 years in prison on state charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping and other offenses. The other officers who have been charged in the case Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley and Justin Smith pleaded not guilty to the same federal charges and still face trial, which is set to begin Sept. 9 in Memphis. Bean, Haley and Smith also pleaded not guilty to the same state charges the other officers are facing connected to Nichols death. Martin also faces the same charges in state court, though a court date for his state case has not yet been set. The officers were members of the Memphis Police Departments SCORPION Unit, a street crime task force that was disbanded after the national outrage over Nichols death. Officers pulled over Nichols on Jan. 7, 2023, as he was fleeing a traffic stop. Body-worn camera footage and other video released by the City of Memphis showed the five officers taking turns punching and beating Nichols. Nichols later died in the hospital. A photo taken by Nichols family shows him covered in bruises and his eyes swollen shut. One other Memphis police officer was fired over his involvement in the traffic stop. Three employees of the Memphis Fire Department were also fired for not rendering aid to Nichols. The U.S. Department of Justice announced in July of last year it would investigate whether the city participated in discriminatory policing practices against Black people. The investigation remains ongoing. Memphis city council approved ordinances that would change how officers in the city conduct traffic stops, but state Republicans blocked the reform effort earlier this year. Related... Secretary of State releases full list of statewide ballot measures, candidates up for vote in Arkansas FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston releases the full list of statewide ballot measures and a complete list of every candidate running in each county in the state for the November 5 election. The full list of ballot measures can be downloaded here: 2024-Certified-List-of-Ballot-Measures-1Download The full list of candidates can be downloaded here: Certified-List-of-Candidates-2024-General-Election-and-NPJ-Runoff-ElectionDownload There are three constitutional amendments up for a vote. The first ballot measure asks voters to decide if they are for or against lottery proceeds being used to fund scholarships and grants to Arkansas citizens enrolled in vocational-technical schools and technical institutes. The second ballot measure is an amendment requiring local voter approval in a county-wide special election for certain new casino licenses and repealing the authority to issue a casino license in Pope County. Group claims fraud in anti-casino petition drive, sues Secretary of State Thurston in Arkansas Supreme Court The third ballot is a constitutional amendment to expand access to medical marijuana. The expansion would allow nurse practitioners, physicians assistants and pharmacists to prescribe medical marijuana along with doctors. Group says they will challenge abortion, marijuana amendments if they are approved for November ballot The medical condition qualifications in Arkansas current medical marijuana law would also be broadened to include whatever a healthcare practitioner feels is debilitating for a patient and could be treated with marijuana. Medical marijuana cards would also expire after three years under the proposal, instead of the current one-year limit. Absent from the list is an amendment preventing the state from restricting access to abortion up to 18 weeks after conception. Arkansas Supreme Court rules abortion amendment supporters did not meet signature requirements, wont be on ballot A ruling from the Supreme Court on August 22 states that the group Arkansas For Limited Government failed to meet the stated guidelines for submitting documentation that paid canvassers had been trained on state election laws, meaning signatures gathered by those canvassers could not be considered for the total required. The ruling looks to end the effort to put an abortion amendment on the ballot. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. For the second time in four years, the federal appeals court based in Colorado has reinstated a claim of malicious prosecution against a former employee of the Denver District Attorney's Office whose allegedly false testimony caused the plaintiffs to be wrongfully arrested. Soldiers check the entrance to the NATO air base, with the Security Alert State C sign on the left. NATO had declared the second-highest warning level at its air base in Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Christoph Reichwein/dpa The security alert level for the NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen in western Germany has been lowered again on Friday, about a day after authorities tightened security at the base following intelligence reports of a potential threat. The security alert level at the air base had been raised to Charlie - the second-highest level - on Thursday. But it was lowered back to Bravo on Friday afternoon, meaning that security precautions at the airfield have returned to the same level that has been in place since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to a spokesman for the base. The air base spokesman on Friday again declined to reveal the reason for the heightened alert level. He said that, as a precautionary measure, as many employees as possible were sent home, but flight operations at the base were not interrupted, he said. Soldiers check the entrance to the NATO air base, a soldier in camouflage clothing is walking towards the air base. NATO had declared the second-highest warning level at its air base in Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Christoph Reichwein/dpa Soldiers check the entrance to the NATO air base, a soldier in camouflage clothing is walking towards the air base. NATO had declared the second-highest warning level at its air base in Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Christoph Reichwein/dpa The security alert level for the NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen in western Germany has been lowered again on Friday, less than 24 hours after authorities tightened security at the base following intelligence reports of a potential threat. The security alert level at the air base had been raised to Charlie - the second-highest level - on Thursday as a precaution, but was lowered back to the Bravo+ level on Friday afternoon, according to a spokesman for the air base. That means that security precautions at the airfield have returned to the same level that has been in place since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The air base spokesman said only that the decision to raise the security level on Thursday evening was based on intelligence information indicating a potential threat. In NATO terms, security level Charlie means that there has been an incident or that there is evidence suggesting a high likelihood of terrorist action against the alliance. He again declined to provide any further information about the nature or circumstances surrounding the increased security. He did, however, reject speculation about possible drone overflights at the air base: "That's absurd." Flying over the base is prohibited for unauthorized aircraft and the airspace is closely monitored. "Nothing has flown over here," Brett said. As a precautionary measure, many of the 1,600 employees at the base were sent home during the heightened alert, but flight operations at the base were not interrupted, he said. Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft take off and land five days a week at the air base located along the German border with the Netherlands and close to Belgium. NATO has stationed 14 AWACS aircraft at the base. There are two to three AWACS flights per day from Monday to Friday. The spokesman said that there was no cause for concern and it was purely a precautionary measure to ensure the continuity of critical operations. He added, however, that such a threat level was unusual and hadn't happened at the Geilenkirchen base in years. German police confirmed that they were coordinating security measures with the international military police stationed at the airfield as well as German national security authorities, but declined to provide more information about the response. About a week ago, German military bases went on heightened alert after damaged fences near drinking water supplies close to two facilities raised concerns about potential sabotage. However, those concerns were dismissed and an all-clear was given after an investigation by police and security services found no evidence of problems. There is no indication that the heightened alert at Geilenkirchen is related to the previous incidents at German bases. Security sources told dpa that suspicious observations were also made in Geilenkirchen, and that someone in the vicinity of the airport has since been taken into custody for questioning. The sources said suspicions against the detained person had not been confirmed. Soldiers check the entrance to the NATO air base, with the Security Alert State C sign on the left. NATO had declared the second-highest warning level at its air base in Geilenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Christoph Reichwein/dpa U.S. Sen. Bob Casey addresses the Democratic National Convention Aug. 22. 2024 (Capital-Star photo) CHICAGO Continuing on a theme he first introduced last year, Pennsylvania U.S. Sen. Bob Casey focused on greedflation his term for corporate price gouging during a brief address at the Democratic National Convention on its fourth and final night Thursday. He described speaking with families about the rising cost of diapers. Prices are up because these corporations are scheming to drive the market, Casey said. The people Im talking to from Allentown to Erie, they dont tolerate being ripped off. Caseys GOP challenger Dave McCormick has criticized him for hewing closely to the policies of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Pennsylvania families are being crushed by the high cost of living because the liberal Biden-Harris-Casey agenda has failed them, and yet career politician Bob Casey wants voters to believe its not his fault, Elizabeth Gregory, the McCormick campaigns communications director, said in a statement. Casey is seeking a fourth term in what has become one of the most expensive U.S. Senate races of the 2024 cycle. In the most recent quarter, he raised $8.04 million, while McCormick raised $8.4 million, including $2.09 million of his own money. Casey told the Capital-Star ahead of the DNC that he has attended at least a portion of every other convention since 1992 missing the 1988 convention because he was taking the bar exam. He spoke at the 2008 and 2016 conventions. Casey has endorsed Harris, who chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate earlier this month. I think people are attracted to both candidates because theyre presenting an optimistic, positive vision for the future, Casey said. McCormick was the only candidate for office in Pennsylvania to speak at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July. John Cole of the Capital-Star contributed to this report. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST The Fulton County Jail Subcommittee of the Georgia Senate released its draft findings and recommendations for how to correct issues at the jail facility. The released findings and suggestions come after months of testimony, hearings and research regarding issues at the Rice Street Jail. The Georgia Senate began their investigation into the jails operations after a number of inmate deaths and issues regarding transparency and organizational challenges between Fulton County and the sheriffs office. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The subcommittee was established to review the jail population, structural integrity of the jail, judicial processes in Fulton County and funding and staffing for the sheriffs office. The investigation also followed the opening of a federal civil rights investigation into the jail by the U.S. Department of Justice that began in July 2023. While the recommendations are now public, they are not an order. At this stage, next steps have not yet been determined in terms of implementing or acting on the Senates suggestions. TRENDING STORIES: Here are the recommendations and findings of the subcommittee: The Fulton County Commission should oversee all tax money set aside for the construction of a new jail or renovation of the existing facility The City of Atlanta should transfer the Atlanta Detention Center to Fulton County to use for confinement needs of detainees awaiting trial Fulton County should partner with the Georgia Sheriffs Association and employ a third-party jail expert to oversee construction, renovation or consolidation The county should employ a maintenance team solely to work at and maintain facilities at the Fulton County Jail The county should establish a Fulton County Jail Advisory Board representing the Fulton County Commission, Fulton County Sheriffs Office, Fulton County District Attorneys Office, Fulton County Clerk of Courts and Fulton County Superior Court Fulton County Commissioners should create a task force to identify duplicated services, resource and staffing that are already provided within the Fulton County criminal justice system and include FSCO and the Atlanta Police Department in it All natural and unnatural deaths at the jail must be reported and investigated the same way a death would be investigated in the bounds of Fulton County All Fulton County Superior Court Judges carry full dockets The Fulton County Clerk of Superior Court should establish policies and procedures to track felony cases from arrest to adjudication to generate monthly reports by all Fulton County criminal justice agencies Fulton County DAs Office and Office of Public Defender should create processes and policies to allow for all non-violent and non-sexual offenses to be expedited in court APD should provide all evidence from felony cases to the Fulton County DAs Office without the need of an open records request FCSO and the DAs Office should establish policies related to requests for proposal involving the Fulton County Finance Department as advisors when selecting contracts for special needs and services not in their annual budgets Public and Private relationships between the County Commission and sheriffs office has been tenuous, unprofessional and not the conduct citizens should expect, and should hold weekly professional meetings to improve the dynamic and solve problems The County Commission should work with the Sheriff to benchmark best practices and industry standards to create and pass a transparent and responsible budget, and provide oversight without micromanaging the sheriffs office budget once it is passed The workload of the Atlanta Circuit is not currently fully reported to Superior Court Judges. The County should perform an audit of the court and implement best practices The Fulton County DA should conduct an audit from a third-party expert to streamline processes with courts for adjudication of cases Following the release of the Senate Subcommittees recommendations, Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts said the commission has reviewed the report and suggestions about the jail, saying they had shared recommendations of their own with the committee in May. The commissions recommendations were: Increasing state funding for behavioral health beds (DBHDD Bed Study) Funding the addition of three Superior Court judges and staff Passing statewide Case Management Standards Exploring the transfer of available jail facilities to the County Pitts statement said that some of the committee recommendations released Friday morning were already in progress, noting that the county had sought to acquire the Atlanta City Detention Center for more than 10 years. In closing, Pitts said the county looks forward to working with state legislators in 2025 to implement the solutions and recommendations in their report. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] IN OTHER NEWS: U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (center) and leaders from the nine tribal nations within South Dakota speak to the media after a public safety roundtable with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland (not pictured) on Aug. 14, 2024, in Wagner. With Rounds, from left, are Cheyenne River Chairman Ryan LeBeau, Lower Brule Chairman Clyde Estes, Sisseton Wahpeton Secretary Curtis Bissonette, Wayne Boyd of Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Yankton Chairman Robert Flying Hawk, Oglala President Frank Star Comes out and Crow Creek Chairman Peter Lengkeek. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (center) and leaders from the nine tribal nations within South Dakota speak to the media after a public safety roundtable with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland (not pictured) on Aug. 14, 2024, in Wagner. With Rounds, from left, are Cheyenne River Chairman Ryan LeBeau, Lower Brule Chairman Clyde Estes, Sisseton Wahpeton Secretary Curtis Bissonette, Wayne Boyd of Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Yankton Chairman Robert Flying Hawk, Oglala President Frank Star Comes out and Crow Creek Chairman Peter Lengkeek. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) A week after attending a roundtable with the nations top law enforcement official and tribal leaders, U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, is urging the head of a federal department to change the funding formula for tribal law enforcement. The U.S. Interior Department includes the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which provides policing services for some tribes and funding for other tribes to run their own police departments. Federal support for tribal public safety on reservations in South Dakota is required under the terms of treaties that date to the 1800s. Rounds office said Thursday that he sent a letter to Interior Department Secretary Deb Haaland, a member of the Pueblo and Laguna Tribes in New Mexico. The funding formula for tribal law enforcement programs is failing Great Plains reservation communities, Rounds wrote. He said tribal leaders on the Great Plains have reported an increase in violent and drug-related crimes. Rounds said the current formula for tribal law enforcement funding has only allowed Great Plains tribal law enforcement agencies to receive slight funding increases. The Crow Creek Sioux Tribe received $1.3 million in law enforcement funding about a decade ago and is funded at the same level today, according to Rounds. The letter does not propose a specific methodology for modernizing the funding formula but says it should be designed to deliver appropriated funding to areas with the greatest need. The BIAs Office of Public Affairs declined to comment on Rounds letter, saying it does not communicate with members of Congress through the media. The most recent edition of a congressionally required BIA report says the agencys total spending on tribal law enforcement in 2021 was $256 million, but the total estimated need was $1.7 billion. When detention, corrections and tribal courts are also considered, the report says, Overall, Indian Country BIA public safety and justice is funded at just under 13% of total need. Public safety funding was a focus last week when Rounds attended a roundtable discussion in Wagner with representatives of all nine tribes in South Dakota and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. The U.S. attorneys who work for Garlands Department of Justice prosecute major crimes on reservations. I well recognize that our department cannot provide the full level of law enforcement assistance and officers that you need on the reservations, and that BIA needs more money for that purpose, Garland told tribal leaders at the meeting. Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Chairwoman Janet Alkire was in attendance and said some tribes are dealing with severe public safety problems on a daily basis. Until we have adequate law enforcement and public safety, our people are always going to live in fear, Alkire said. Prior to Garlands visit, public safety on reservations had already been a topic of debate in South Dakota. Republican Gov. Kristi Noem gave a speech in January claiming that Mexican drug cartels are operating on reservations, and shes repeated those claims many times since, even though law enforcement officials say drugs originating from cartels are a statewide and national problem. Those and other comments by Noem led leaders of all nine tribes in the state to vote in support of banning her from their reservations. Meanwhile, to address tribal police recruitment and retention problems, Noem worked with Republican South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley to offer a state-run law enforcement training course for tribal recruits, so they dont have to travel to a BIA training center in New Mexico. Rounds has asked the BIA to consider opening a federal tribal law enforcement center in South Dakota. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A man sentenced to 90 years in prison for a series of Sacramento freeway shootings was granted an early release by the Board of Parole Hearings panel this week after 14 years served. Kyle Douglas Frank, 37, of Roseville was convicted in 2011 of eight counts of attempted murder and enhancements for shooting at Black and Latino victims on capital region freeways including Interstate 80 and Interstate 5. He was granted parole by the Board of Parole Hearings on April 10, but the Sacramento County District Attorneys Office asked Gov. Gavin Newsom to intervene. Newsoms office referred the decision to the full parole board, containing 21 commissioners appointed by the governor, for another review July 19. A hearing was held Tuesday during which the full parole board upheld Franks release. Frank will be processed for release, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He served 14 years, or 15% of his sentence, Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho said in a statement. This decision undermines the criminal justice system by overriding the 90-year sentence imposed in this case and places a dangerous inmate back into our community, Ho said. It was not immediately clear why the panel approved Franks release. A CDCR spokesperson did not immediately give a response. Franks shooting spree stretched from August 2009 until September 2009. Forensic analysis linked Franks .25-caliber Beretta semi-automatic handgun to the shootings, prosecutors said. In one September 2009 incident, Osiris Esparza and her aunt Monica Esparza headed home from ballet class in Natomas. Frank began yelling at Monica Esparza after she unintentionally cut him off on eastbound I-80. He accelerated and decelerated in a way that prevented the victims vehicle from exiting the freeway, prosecutors said. Frank fired multiple shots that struck Osiris Esparza, who was 18 at the time, in the leg. Other bullets pierced her headrest and the seats where her children would have been buckled in. Defense attorney Paul Irish told The Sacramento Bee in 2011 that his client was just really drunk and also was using cocaine when he went on his freeway shooting sprees. He was depressed because he lost his job, lost his girlfriend and had to move back in with his father, Irish said after the jury handed down a verdict. He just reacted. Frank is currently being held at California Medical Facility in Vacaville. While in prison, Frank assaulted two inmates, prosecutors said in the statement. He also attempted to file motions to vacate his conviction, all of which were denied. This week we are highlighting a group of women helping the very youngest and smallest in our community. The volunteers at Diaper Bank of the Ozarks are caring for new mothers in need by supplying basic necessities for their children. The work theyre doing is not the messiness you typically think of when you see someone reaching for a package of diapers, but for these women many mothers and grandmothers themselves its an important part of ensuring the success of our next generation. As part of this weeks Serving the Ozarks, we got a first-hand look at the hours spent re-packaging diapers each week at the Council of Churches building on East Division Street in Springfield. KOLR 10s Bailey Strohl and Ozarks Fox AMs Maddie Conklin learned about the urgent shortage the diaper bank is facing right now and what volunteers are doing behind the scenes to keep shelves stocked. I think supplying our children with basic necessities is something were all responsible for. When struggling families cant provide diapers for their children, it only makes the world a worst place for all of us. This is our future. These are our children, says Program Coordinator Tranna Shaughnessy. Serving the Ozarks: The Gathering Tree The volunteers take the diapers out of their original packaging and wrap them in bundles of 25. A total of 50 diapers are then given to new mothers each month, providing about a weeks worth of supply. Whats packaged at the Council of Churches warehouse is then sent out to other facilities across 52 counties in southern Missouri to meet mothers where they are already receiving resources, like pregnancy care centers and food banks. As many as 30,000 diapers are sent out the doors each week, and about half of those are in sizes five and six. Right now though, the supply of those sizes is dwindling. Shaughnessy tells us because of a donor shortage, Diaper Bank of the Ozarks is down to just a three-week supply. Five and six are actually the biggest need, because those are the diapers that children stay in the longest before they get potty trained, explains Shaughnessy. A full supply of diapers costs a family about $125 each month, and Shaughnessy says running out, really isnt an option for local parents. If family doesnt have diapers for the child, then they cant go to work. If you cant go to work, you have less money. If you have less money, you buy less diapers. So means you go to work less. And its just a vicious, vicious cycle thats affecting our workforce, she says. Serving the Ozarks SWI Industrial Solutions The struggle to provide is something Shaughnessy knows all too well. She got emotional when reflecting on the worries she faced when she had her daughter 22 years ago. I remember what it was like to be that mom and not knowing how I was going to buy the next diapers. So for me, in turn, to give away a million diapers a year to those same struggling moms, I get it and I feel it and its real. The Diaper Bank of the Ozarks has a simple mission stockpile the essentials and expand the village of people looking out for our future. If you are able and willing to donate diapers, the Council of Churches asks you to drop off donations on the west side of its building on East Division Street in Springfield, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information on the Diaper Bank of the Ozarks, visit ccozarks.org/programs/diaper-bank. If you have an organization you would like for us to highlight, email Bailey and Maddie at servingtheozarks@nexstar.tv. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Heavy black smoke billows from an Israeli air raid on the Lebanese southern border village of Kfar Hamam. Israeli planes struck earlier facility that contains a metal warehouse in village of Kfour. Marwan Naamani/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa Seven people, including a child, were killed on Friday in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, state-run media and Lebanese security sources said. Most of those killed were Hezbollah fighters, according to Hezbollah and Lebanese security sources. Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) said earlier that an Israeli drone struck a house in the town of Aita al-Jabal with two guided missiles, killing two people, including a 7-year-old child. An earlier Israeli strike on the town of Tayer Harfa killed three people, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. Meanwhile, security sources said two Hezbollah members were also killed late Friday, one in Aitroun and another in Mais al Jabal. The Israeli army confirmed all of the attacks and Hezbollah confirmed the death toll among its fighters. The Israeli army said that over the past few hours, a number of projectiles fired from Lebanese territory were identified crossing into northern Israel. They added that most of the projectiles fell in open areas in the Upper Galilee and no injuries were reported. The Israeli army said they have "eliminated Hezbollah terrorists" in various locations in southern Lebanon. The army confirmed earlier in the day that "a terrorist cell that was planning to fire projectiles from the area of Tayer Harfa in southern Lebanon towards Israeli territory was identified by Israeli soldiers and was eliminated." Hezbollah said that it targeted surveillance equipment in the Meron Air Base in north Israel, in response to Israeli attacks in south Lebanon. The group said they also fired a salvo of rockets into northern Israel. Since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip, there have been daily military confrontations between the Israeli army and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and other groups in the border area between the countries. There have been deaths on both sides - most of them members of Hezbollah. Seven staycation scams to watch out for this weekend (and how to avoid them) Police have warned of motorists flagging down other cars in a bid to get money from them - getty More than 20 million car journeys are set to take place this weekend in what could be the busiest August bank holiday in a decade. It will be an equally busy weekend for scammers. Holiday scams are usually associated with overseas trips, but people travelling within the UK should be aware of the latest fraudulent schemes in car parks, restaurants and on motorway hard shoulders. Take a few minutes to familiarise yourself with the most common staycation scams before setting off for the weekend. 1. Car park QR codes Drivers have been warned to avoid scanning QR codes in car parks, amid a rise in so-called quishing scams across the country. The scam runs as follows: bogus QR codes are stuck onto parking machines in car parks, drivers scan the codes on their mobile phones and are then tricked into entering their card details to make a payment online. These fake barcodes have been spotted in Northumberland, Northamptonshire, South Tyneside and Pembrokeshire, along with other places. Drivers have been warned to avoid scanning QR codes in car parks - alamy Simon Williams, head of PR and external affairs at RAC, said: A car park is one of the last places where youd expect to be caught out by online fraud. Unfortunately, the increasing popularity and ease of using QR codes appears to have made drivers more vulnerable to malicious scammers. To rub salt in the wound, after falling foul of the car parking scam, drivers are then receiving a genuine fine, having failed to pay for their parking session through the official channels. Motorists are advised to pay at car parks using cash where possible, or to use legitimate parking apps like RingGo, PayByPhone or JustPark, and to always inspect QR codes before scanning them to see if they have been stuck on. 2. Service station sob stories This is a scam that you may have encountered on either side of the Channel. Drivers have reported incidents at motorway service stations where they are approached by a driver in distress, asking for money to help them fill up their car with petrol. Usually they say they have left their wallet at home or their credit card isnt working (or similar) and they will give you their phone number with the promise to repay the loan as soon as they get home. You will, of course, never hear from them again. 3. A phone call from your restaurant The restaurant reservations site, OpenTable, has warned of a scam where a bad actor calls a restaurant pretending to be from an online reservations platform and asks staff to confirm account information for upcoming bookings. If given the information, the scammer has access to the diners details including their phone number and will contact them directly. Pretending to be from the restaurant, they ask for credit card details for a deposit or other reservation-related purposes. OpenTable advises: If you receive a call from a restaurant asking for your credit card details, do not share it even if you have a booking. Hang up and call the restaurant back directly to confirm their identity and whether or not your credit card details are needed. 4. The motorway breakdown scam This one has been going on for a while, but is still worth being aware of. Police have warned of motorists flagging down other cars, often with their hazard lights flashing and bonnets open in precarious places like motorway slip roads or hard shoulders, saying they have broken down and need money to get help. In some instances, the broken down driver will even offer their good Samaritan jewellery for low prices in order to get said money. 5. Parking fine emails Another car parking scam involves fake emails purporting to be parking tickets. Genuine Parking Charge Notices (PCNs) are nearly always posted to the address associated with the licence plate, rather than by email, but not everyone knows this. These emails might include links to view photographs of your car or to read information on an appeal process (these will often be malware links), or options to pay the fine directly. The British Parking Association warns anyone who receives such an email to report it to Action Fraud, the UKs national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre. 6. Fake accommodation deals on social media You are scrolling on social media and see a post offering a wonderful villa, sold for a 25 per cent discount due to a last-minute cancellation. Perhaps you have found a late deal for a charming cottage on Airbnb, but your host asks you to make the payment off-site to avoid booking fees. Or, you find a perfectly realistic deal on social media and click through to what appears to be a genuine well-known site, and pay up. In the worst cases, you may turn up only to find the accommodation you booked isn't available - getty Money Saving Expert says these are all examples of classic accommodation scams. Criminals set up convincing fake websites, hack into legitimate accounts and post scam ads on social media, all in an attempt to steal your cash. In the worst cases, you may turn up only to find the accommodation you booked isnt available or doesnt exist, they warn. Beware that fraudsters can create very believable duplicate websites: always check the URL before making a payment, and never make a payment off-platform. 7. The customer service trick You have booked accommodation or transport through official channels, but you need to contact customer service for some reason. Perhaps you cant find a confirmation email, youve been charged twice, or your plans need to change at the last minute and youre looking for a refund or rebooking option. After failing to get through to an official customer service line you post on social media and the company quickly replies, offering to help. These days nearly all reputable companies are shadowed by fake, lookalike accounts, which are known to swoop in with a reply faster than the official channel. Often these accounts will then begin a process to obtain your bank details, whether over the phone or online. Scammers make fake online accounts or hack real accounts to commit a range of fraudulent activities, advises a spokesperson from the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). Many social media sites have a process to verify accounts. If people are unsure or are sent links to information or to make a payment, they should visit the companys official website and contact customer services directly. I think Ive been scammed, what should I do? If you think you might have been scammed, you should stop all communication with the suspected scammer immediately. Whether you have lost money yet or not, you should contact your bank immediately if you have passed over your bank details in any capacity. Use the number on the back of your bank card, or a recent bank statement, to inform them of the situation. You can report scams online via Action Frauds website, and for further support: contact Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133. 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. Several fire departments are on the scene of a massive fire at a hog barn Thursday night in Darke County village of Versailles. >> Xenia City Council enacts moratorium on standalone ER in fight with Kettering Health Firefighters were dispatched to the 6500 Brown Road about 9:48 p.m. on the report of a fully involved barn with multiple exposure. Flames could be seen in the sky, according to Darke County sheriffs dispatch. Firefighters quickly raised the incident to a 3-alarm fire, which triggered mutual aid from surrounding fire departments in Ansonia, Greenville, Rossburg and more. There were reports of employees at the facility, but have been no reports of any injuries to humans. We are working to learn more details about the fire. We will update this developing report as more information becomes available. Several fire departments extinguish machine fire at Ace Plastics in Chatsworth CHATSWORTH, Ill. (WCIA) Multiple Central Illinois fire departments were called out to Chatsworth on Thursday to fight a machine fire that broke out. The fire happened at Ace Plastics, Route 24 and County Road 3350 East. Chief Zach Gerdes said smoke was showing from the roof. Responding firefighters discovered a machine inside the building had caught fire. Three dogs rescued from Decatur house fire A box alarm resulted in firefighters from Piper City, Forrest/Strawn/Wing, Fairbury, Cullom and Roberts/Melvin all responding. The fire was extinguished without further damage. Gerdes thanked all of the assisting fire protection districts for their help on scene. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) A Sevierville man has been sentenced to more than 12 years in prison after he plead guilty to one child pornography charge on Wednesday. The Department of Justice released on Thursday that Ronnie Joe Maples, 47, of Sevierville pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography and was sentenced to serve 151 months in prison. He will be on supervised release for the rest of his life after leaving prison and will be required to register for state sex offender registries as well as comply with special sex offender conditions, the DOJ said. Sevier County constable facing DUI after late-night arrest Documents filed in the case explained Maples and another individuals discussed actively molesting children and producing child pornography on the internet. During the discussions, the DOJ claims Maples received child pornography from the individual. In November 2022, the person that Maples had been in communication with began cooperating with the FBI and U.S. Secret Service, the DOJ explained. Law enforcement then obtained a search warrant for Maples Facebook account and cell phone, which confirmed that Maples received the child pornography. Monroe County inmate convicted of stealing truck after 2022 escape This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006, by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about PSC, visit www.justice.gov/psc Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A registered sex offender in Richland has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for another child sex crime this time receipt of child pornography. Gerald Alan Nott, 63, previously was sentenced to prison in Oregon after attempted sexual abuse of a child while she was sleeping in 2004, according to court documents. He filmed the incident, and he allegedly produced pornography using other children, according to court documents. He completed a sex offender treatment program in Oregon in 2007. This treatment was not successful in preventing defendant from seeking out and distributing the videos and images depicting the sexual abuse of children, said Laurel Holland, assistant U.S. attorney, in a federal court document. Over a few months from the end of 2022 through early 2023 Nott electronically downloaded about 1,600 images and videos using peer to peer software and made them available to others, including an undercover officer with the Southeast Regional Internet Crimes Against Children, according to a court document. They included the sexual abuse of children ages about 1 to 4. Law enforcement traced the internet use to Notts parents house in Richland, which showed that Nott took care to obtain child pornography at a location other than where he registered in Richland as a sex offender, Holland said. Notts parents house on Camas Avenue was under surveillance before a search warrant was executed in March 2023, and Nott became suspicious and attempted to delete files containing child pornography, according to court documents. When his parents house was searched, Nott admitted hiding a tablet he used for child pornography behind a china cabinet. Notts home on Gomer Road also was searched, and a second tablet was found there with more than 100 videos and photos of child pornography. Richland, Kennewick police investigated Notts family members said they were extremely disappointed by Notts behavior, but asked Judge Mary Dimke for as short a prison sentence as reasonable. They said Nott was helping his elderly parents, who likely would not live to see him released from prison. Nott also might not survive a long imprisonment due to serious health issues, said his attorney Nick Mirr of Yakima. He has serious health issues and was released early in 2010 from his Oregon sentence due to health issues. He had lived in the Tri-Cities for 10 years and had not been able to find regular work due to his status as a registered sex offender, but helped elderly neighbors with yard work, according to court documents. Mirr pointed out that his offenses had decreased in severity from producing pornography to receiving pornography. While defendant (Nott) has not produced new image or video files of minor children, he continues to seek out image and video files depicting painful and brutal depictions of children on what is arguably the worst day of their lives, Holland said. Both the defense and prosecution agreed to ask for a 15-year prison sentence. U.S. Judge Mary Dimke also sentenced Nott to probation for the rest of his life after release from prison. This sentence sends a powerful reminder to Mr. Nott and others like him: Crimes that exploit children cannot, and will not, be tolerated, said Vanessa Waldref, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. Mr. Nott ignored the conditions of his release and used the internet to view and distribute horrific depictions of young children being abused. The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Richland and Kennewick police departments as part of the regional task force targeting crimes against children. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 22, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Being that woman from Michigan as former President Donald Trump once called Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, isnt the insult he thinks it is, she said on stage at the Democratic National Convention Thursday night. Being a woman from Michigan is a badge of honor, Whitmer exclaimed, received by applause from the Chicago audience filled with other women from other states wearing white outfits like hers as an homage to the suffragettes who fought for womens right to vote over 100 years ago. Women have a long history of GSD Whitmer said, censoring her usual get sh-t done call to action to get stuff done to the laughter of the convention attendees. Whitmer has been frequently mentioned as a future presidential candidate. She was considered to be on the presidential ticket by both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in 2020 and 2024, respectively. Whitmer also gave a speech at the 2020 DNC, which was virtual due to the pandemic. A member of a sandwich generation, Whitmer told attendees about entering the Michigan state House at 29 years old, giving birth to her first daughter while caring for her mother, who was dying of brain cancer. It was hard, but not extraordinary. Its life, Whitmer said, adding that it underscored why she entered government. Those nights reminded me who I was fighting for, people just trying to make it. Kamala Harris knows who shes fighting for, too. She took care of her mom, who also battled cancer. As president, shell fight to lower the cost of health care and elder care for every family. Shes lived a life like ours. She knows us, Whitmer said. Donald Trump doesnt know you at all. You think he understands that when your car breaks down, you cant get to work? No, his first word was probably chauffeur. Trump has never had to check to make sure he could afford all of his items at the checkout line, Whitmer said, questioning if Trump has ever been to a grocery store. America needs a strong leader who can handle a crisis because theyve lived a life similar to the rest of the country where things go wrong and people still need to pay their bills, take their kids to school and go to work, Whitmer said. The past few years have been riddled with crises, Whitmer told the convention, in the form of floods, fires, the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trumps supporters and the 2020 plot to kidnap Whitmer in 2020. We dont know what the next four years will bring, but what we do know is this, through it all your life wont stop. And then one day, when youre just trying to get everyone out the door, a news alert goes off, something happened, something hit the fan. Youll ask, Is my family going to be OK? And then youll ask, Who the hell is in charge? What if its him? What if its that man from Mar-a-Lago? Whitmer said. In a crisis, the country needs someone wholl tell the truth and make a plan, Whitmer said. And though no one gets to choose what catastrophes and trials America will face, voters have the opportunity in November to choose wholl be in charge. Why wouldnt we choose the leader whos tough, tested and a total badass, Whitmer asked the crowd. I know who I want as our commander in chief. America, lets choose Kamala Harris. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 22, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 22, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 22, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 22, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 22, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 22, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Michigan's delegation to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Ill., hold up foam mittens that read "FIGHT LIKE HELL" as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks on Aug. 22, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Photo illustration by Getty Images. On a recent campaign stop, Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate Tim Sheehy criticized a ballot measure trying to legalize abortion completely after making a claim about the medical procedure earlier found to be false. Abortion is legal in Montana. This week, Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights announced the Secretary of States Office certified Constitutional Initiative 128 for the ballot. CI-128 aims to protect reproductive rights, including abortion, in the state constitution. Sheehy, a Bozeman businessman, describes himself as strongly pro-life and also in strong support of IVF. Hes trying to unseat incumbent Democrat U.S. Sen. Jon Tester. In a June 8 debate, Sheehy said Tester has voted for elective abortions up to and including the moment of birth a claim repeated on his campaign website and one Tester said was untrue, according to a story from KFF Health News. To say were killing babies at 40 weeks is total BS, Tester said. A factcheck from KFF Health News found Sheehys claim was false. In a campaign stop last month, Sheehy described the abortion measure for which petitioners had been gathering signatures as trying to legalize abortion completely, 100 percent across the board, according to a video of the talk shared on social media. Those petitions are not good for Montana, Sheehy said. The language of the initiative states that CI-128 would amend the Montana Constitution to prohibit the government from denying or burdening the right to abortion before fetal viability. A spokesperson for the Sheehy campaign did not respond to a question about his statements. In a social media post in June, Tester expressed support for CI-128. Thanks to over 117,000 signaturesthe most of any ballot initiative in Montanas historyreproductive health care is one step closer to being on the ballot. Montanans always stand for freedom, and theyll make their voices heard in November. Supporters and detractors are pouring money and energy into fighting for and against CI-128. In February, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America announced it would spend $92 million in 2024 in eight states including Montana. Life is the human-rights issue of our time and the pivotal issue in 2024 elections, said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA, in a statement at the time. This election cycle will be our largest ground game yet as we will focus on key battleground states to win a pro-life Senate and elect a National Defender of Life as president. Montanans Securing Reproductive Rights has raised nearly $3.3 million since it first filed in November last year and through the most recent finance report with the Commissioner of Political Practices. In 1999, the Montana Supreme Court found the states constitutional protection of privacy includes the right of women to make their own medical decisions, including to obtain a pre-viability abortion. An Osceola County man received a threatening legal notice from a local pest control company after he posted an online review about the company. It seems everyone uses online reviews to make decisions these days. There are plenty of reviews out there on everything restaurants to pest control services. So, we were just having a bug issue in our house. It started off small and it was just continuously getting worse and worse as time went by, said Jonathan Quinones. Quinones told Action 9 that he and his grandfather relied on positive reviews to select Swans Pest Control for their Saint Cloud home around two years ago. Read: Mother, sister of suspect arrested in connection with Leesburg store owners death Quinones said, It was nothing but five stars. So, I was like, Hey, this would be a great idea to get a five-star local company to come out and take care of the bug issue that were having. According to Quinones, the technician informed them they would see improvement over time. But after two years, he claims they still had the same bug problem and decided it was time for a change. He then left Google review of his own: Ive been using Swans Pest Control in St. Cloud, Florida, for over two years, hoping for a resolution to my pesty issues, but unfortunately, I havent seen any significant improvement. Despite regular treatments, I continue to experience problems with roaches in my home. Andre, who has been handing the pest control treatments and is part owner, mentioned that he needed to contact the chemical company to understand why their products werent working as expected. I found this concerning, especially given his experience in the field. Ive tried to be patient and give them time to resolve the issue, but unfortunately, there hasnt been any effective solution or significant progress. Based on my experience, I cannot recommend Swans Pest Control, as I have not seen the results I hoped for. Read: Burglary suspects crash in Orlando after leading troopers on chase Jonathan Quinones told Action 9, Nothing derogatory, just simple and short. But about a week after posting the review, he received a cease-and-desist letter from Swans Pest Controls legal team. It threatened legal action if he didnt remove the review within 48 hours. Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal asked, What did you think when you saw this letter? Quinones responded, It was just I was shell shocked. Action 9 spoke with Erin Witte, the Director of Consumer Protection with the Consumer Federation of America, about the issue. Read: Like rotten eggs: Residents of Orange County apartment complex avoid using smelly water Witte said, Consumers deserve a fair shake. They should know what other people are experiencing. Witte believes consumers have the right to share honest opinions about a business products and services. The Consumer Review Fairness Act even prevents companies from using language in their contracts that prohibits honest reviews or threatens legal action because of them. As long as its honest, its not defamatory or something that is clearly false, you should be able to do that in a way thats honest and share that experience with other people, she said. And just last week, The Federal Trade Commission adopted a new rule thats designed to fight against fake and misleading reviews. Part of that new rule prohibits businesses from using unfounded or groundless legal threats to prevent or remove negative consumer reviews. Action 9 reached owner of Swans Pest Control, Andre Davis, by phone. He believes some of Jonathan Quinones friends also jumped online and posted bogus 1-star reviews and thats why his team sent out the letter. Davis didnt say if he would actually file a lawsuit but said he doesnt think his company treated the home for more than two years which is what he argued is false. But Jonathan Quinones, maintains the review is accurate and said the threatening letter almost made him remove his review. He now wonders if others received similar letters and if that could be why he saw almost entirely 5-star reviews for Swans Pest Control. It was very intimidating because were not in the best financial situation, and for something as simple as an honest Google review to threaten legal action, its scary, Quinones said. The new Federal Trade Commission rule designed to fight against fake and misleading reviews that hurt consumers abilities to make informed decisions is expected to go into effect in mid-October. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. Waco, Tx (FOX44) McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara has announced arrests have been made in the brutal murder of a truck stop employee near Elm Mott. Dipak Oli was shot and killed at the Gator Truck Stop on I-35 July 28. In what Sheriff McNamara called a significant development in the ongoing investigation, the arrests came with the serving of three residential search warrants. Arrested and charged with capital murder in connection with the death of Oli were 22-year-old Christopher Matthew Beltran and 25-year-old Micha Harris. Christopher Mathew Beltran Sheriff McNamara noted that both Christopher Beltran and Matthew Beltran were confirmed members of the Crips criminal street gang. Micha Harris An arrest affidavit stated that deputies were dispatched to the Gator Stop #3 near Elm Mott on what was originally listed as a welfare check., A caller had advised he had entered the business and could not find the clerk. Deputies arrived and found a decease male outside of the business who was later identified as Dipak Oli, the missing clerk. The affidavit stated that during the investigation, surveillance video showed two men enter the store with guns displayed in an attempt at a robbery. The clerk attempted to run from the cash register toward the back door when a suspect wearing a blue mask fired his weapon. A suspect vehicle was identified by a license plate reader on I-35 as belonging to a vehicle associated with Christopher Matthew Beltran. The affidavit stated that through McLennan County Mug shots, he was identified as a person of interest. On August 22, evidentiary search warrants were executed during which a blue mask was located. The affidavit stated that when questioned, Christopher Beltran gave investigators a statement about the shooting. An arrest affidavit stated that Christopher Beltran gave information identifying Micha Harris as being present after which time Harris gave deputies a statement. Warrants for Christopher Beltran and Micha Harris for the offense of capital murder were then obtained. Christopher Beltran and Micha Harrus were also both charged with aggravated robbery in a separate case involving the robbery of a truck stop in Hewitt the same day. Hewitt police had responded to the report of a robbery of the store at 1001 Enterprise Boulevard. An arrest affidavit stated the clerk told police two men came in and asked for assistance. They then pulled firearms from underneath their clothing and demanded money. The attendant opened the cash register and both suspects began grabbing money out of it. One suspect grabbed the register till and began running out of the business. The other also began running out, but as he ran past the clerk, he stopped and started striking him in the face with a closed fist. The suspects are then seen on video running toward the back of the parking lot. The affidavit stated that the surveillance video from the Hewitt robbery was compared and that investigators believed from clothing and physical appearance that the two men were involved in both incidents. The affidavit stated that both men also gave statements about the robbery Sheriff McNamara also said a third man, identified as 21-year-old Matthew Porifor Beltran, was arrested on a charge of tempering with physical evidence. Details about his involvement were not immediately released. Matthew Porifor Beltran Sheriff McNamara said the robbery in Hewitt and the murder near Ross constituted violent events that significantly impacted our community and has been a focal point of our investigation. The sheriff said the breakthrough in the case was the result of extensive investigative work and collaboration among several law enforcement agencies and he extended sincere gratitude to the Waco Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, The Waco Texas Anti-Gang Center and the Hewitt Police Department for outstanding partnership and tireless effort in the case. In a further statement, Sheriff McNamara said: While these arrests represent a major leap forward toward holding all responsible parties accountable, we want to emphasize that this case remains ongoing. Our dedicated teams continue to work diligently to ensure that every individual involved in this crime is brought to justice. We appreciate the communitys support and patience as we proceed with this investigation. Further updates will be provided as new 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 KWKT - FOX 44. Three finalists have been selected for an upcoming district court vacancy in the 4th Judicial District, a news release from the Colorado Judicial Branch announced Thursday. The vacancy will be created by the retirement of District Court Judge Monica Gomez, who is retiring at the end of the year. The release states that the 4th Judicial District Nominating Commission selected three finalists for the vacant judge position. The three candidates are: Theodore McClintock, a criminal defense attorney based in Colorado Springs; Michael Watts, the owner Colorado Springs-based law firm Retherford, Mullen & Moore; and Sarah Zane, a magistrate judge in the 4th Judicial District. Gov. Jared Polis has until Aug. 22 to appoint one of the three finalists. Shomari Figures, the Democratic nominee in Alabama's 2nd Congressional District, speaks at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Aug. 22, 2024. Figures faces Republican nominee Caroleene Dobson in the November election. (Screenshot via DNC feed) Shomari Figures, the Democratic nominee for Alabamas 2nd Congressional District, praised Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and invoked legislation to strengthen voting rights during a brief speech to the Democratic National Convention Thursday. Listen, all of America, all of us owe a debt to courageous freedom fighters, both known and unknown, a debt that can never be repaid, Figures said. But what we can do is ensure that the work of those fighters who came before us continues. And our sacred right to vote is always protected. Figures said Harris would sign the John Robert Lewis Voting Rights Act, introduced in 2017 to require specific states and political subdivisions to have the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia precleared before they can change their voting rights laws. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX To be subject to the preclearance, a political body must have had at least one of the following: at least 15 voting rights violations within the past 25 years, or at least 10 violations in the previous 25 years, with at least one having been committed by the state, or three or more violations happening in the past 25 years and the state administers the election. The bill would attempt to restore Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which was largely gutted by the U.S. Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder, a 2013 case. Section 5 required governments with a history of discriminatory voting practices, including Alabama, to have proposed election law changes reviewed by the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Figures will face Republican nominee Caroleene Dobson in the November election. A federal court in 2023 approved new boundary lines for the 2nd Congressional District to create a U.S. House district where Black voters had a chance to select leaders of their choice. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) A heated road rage incident was captured on camera after police said a man drove his Mercedes aggressively around a truck while pointing a handgun at two victims. On Tuesday afternoon, the Port St. Lucie Police Department responded to the 1200 block of Southwest Briarwood Drive. Betrayal of the badge: Hillsborough deputy arrested for recording victims in his bathroom, sheriff says The suspect in the black Mercedes for whatever reason consistently was break checking them, Sergeant Dominick Mesiti said. He was intentionally hitting his brakes, other than for no reason other than to agitate the vehicle behind him or the driver behind him. Officials said Paul Slane, 63, followed the victims into a gated community and drove his Mercedes around the victims vehicle before stopping in front of them in the middle of the road. Thats when the passenger pulled out her phone. Should I shoot him? the victim asked on camera. Getting out of his car holding a handgun, Slane approached the driver and struck him, and his passenger, through his window, as he demanded her to give him her phone. Get out of the f****** car now! Slane is heard yelling in the video. Outraged: Family Elder Law attorney wants license revoked, investigation dropped, petition shows Youre getting arrested, you know this, right? one of the victims said. According to police, Slane fled the scene but was later found by St. Lucie County deputies. Slane was taken to the St. Lucie County Jail for two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, attempted armed robbery, and two counts of simple battery, police said. He is now out of jail on a $105,000 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 WFLA. Shooting spree suspect asks judge if he can represent himself AUSTIN (KXAN) Shane James, the suspect in a December 2023 shooting spree that spanned from Bexar County to Austin, killing six people and injuring three others, asked a judge Friday morning if he could represent himself in the case. Following James hearing earlier this year, his attorney Russ Hunt said James was receiving psychiatric treatment in jail. Judge Clifford Brown told James he has a right to represent himself, but advised him not to. First update from attorneys in case of accused Austin spree shooter, Shane James Regarding the next steps, Brown recommended James receive a mental evaluation before moving forward to determine if he is mentally competent enough to represent himself. Judge Brown said if James did not do that voluntarily, Brown would issue a court-ordered evaluation. Its not unusual that clients dont want to cooperate with psychological evaluations, James attorney Russ Hunt, Jr., said. Reporters asked Hunt his thoughts on his clients current wishes to move forward without defense counsel. Well I think its a terrible idea, its always a terrible idea for someone to represent themselves, Hunt said. They dont know anything about discovery, they dont know anything about the experts that might be needed. Hunt said he has no plans at this point to withdraw from the case. James is set to return to court Oct. 10. James faces 4 capital murder charges The string of shootings in this case occurred on Dec. 4 and 5 of 2023. It began in Bexar County where the sheriffs office believes James killed his parents at their home. James allegedly then went to Austin, and police arrested him in connection with four murders. In a separate incident in southwest Austin later that night, APD said they found two apparent victims of the suspect identified as Katherine Short, 56, and Lauren Short, 30. James also faces multiple counts of capital murder and aggravated assault of a public servant. Hes accused of shooting and injuring a cyclist, an AISD police officer and an APD officer. They are all OK. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Many people are curious to understand the events surrounding the shooting of Gabby Giffords, a prominent U.S. Congresswoman, and the motivations behind the attack. Her near-fatal encounter shocked the nation and led to widespread discussions about political violence and mental health issues in the U.S. So, who shot Gabby Giffords, and why did this tragic incident occur? Those interested in the details of the shooting and the background of the attacker can find all the information here. Gabby Giffords shooting incident explained Gabby Giffords, a U.S. Congresswoman from Arizona, was targeted in an assassination attempt on January 8, 2011. The attack occurred during a Congress on Your Corner meeting held outside a Safeway supermarket in Tucson, Arizona, as per The New York Times. Jared Lee Loughner, a 22-year-old with a history of erratic behavior, shot Giffords in the head at point-blank range. The attack resulted in six deaths, including a federal judge and a nine-year-old girl, and injured thirteen others. Bystanders subdued Loughner at the scene, and law enforcement arrested him. Authorities later discovered that Loughner obsessed over Giffords and that evidence from his home revealed his plans for the attack. Authorities initially deemed Loughner, diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, unfit for trial, as reported by Time. Later, he pleaded guilty to 19 charges, including the attempted assassination of Giffords. The court sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The shooting shocked the nation and sparked debates on the toxic political climate, gun control, and mental health services. The attack also highlighted the issue of high-capacity magazines, as Loughner used a Glock 19 with a 33-round magazine. In the aftermath, Giffords underwent extensive medical treatment and rehabilitation to recover from her severe brain injury. She made a remarkable return to the public eye, including a surprise appearance on the House floor to vote on critical legislation. In January 2012, she resigned from Congress to focus on her recovery but continued her advocacy for gun control. Together with her husband, Mark Kelly, Gabby Giffords co-founded the Giffords organization, now a leading force in the fight against gun violence in the U.S. Her shooting serves as a powerful reminder of the ongoing need for discussions on political violence, mental health, and gun control. The post Who Shot Gabby Giffords & Why? Shooting Incident Explained appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More. SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) The Sioux City Art Center is inviting the community to experience an ambitious art installation Razzle Dazzle premiering from Aug. 31 to Sept. 1. According to a press release, the Sioux City Art Center began a community-based art that started with an invitation 18 months ago for the community to donate unused fabric and time to help sew artwork. The result will be a temporary public art installation that will cover a large section of the Sioux City Art Center and its Gilchrist Learning Center buildings. The Razzle Dazzle art installation will be by New York-based artist Amanda Browder. Razzle Dazzle is a contemporary artwork that is rooted in collaborative folk-art traditions that are not acknowledged art. It is said to challenge assumptions about materials, public art, and museum display. Habitat for Humanity breaks ground on 3 new houses at same time Browder describes the effort of her work Its easy to take buildings for granted, especially when youre driving past. If you add something thats visually very bright and eye-catching, it starts making you more aware of what you see on a regular basis. It changes peoples whole concept of their daily environment. When the work is gone, the buildings still there but it seems differentit becomes charged. My bright, colorful pieces energize the buildings even after the work is gone. Razzle Dazzle is a project to elevate the scale and impact of fabric, challenging the tight geometry of brick and glass on the Art Center and accentuating the clean contemporary aesthetic of the Gilchrist Learning Center. The exhibition will remain on display through October 31. Amanda Browder: Razzle Dazzle is organized by Sioux City Art Center Curator Chistopher Atkins. It is supported, in part, by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation, Gilchrist Foundation, the Iowa Economic Development Authority, the Art Center Association of Sioux City, Charese Yanney, empirical, State Steel, Knoepfler Chevrolet, and Honeysuckle Hollow. For additional information contact the Sioux City Art Center at (712) 279-6272, ext. 200, the Sioux City Art Center 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 SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. Siouxland Woodturners are turning lots of heads with their beautiful pieces of work SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) They are a unique group of people who turn pieces of small wood into beautiful and meaningful products that they donate to others. They call themselves the Siouxland Woodturners and their skills and work are turning lots of heads. It starts out as a small piece of wood, but its going to leave a big impression on someone. SD Supreme Court rules on CO2 survey lawsuit Using a lathe and the right set of tools, the Siouxland Woodturners have been making military pens for 20 years. We call them our M-16 pens and we donate military pens to the VA at Christmas time to patients to bring them a little bright light during Christmas time, Siouxland Woodturner Aaron Solberg said. We make about 150 to 200 pens in three hours, Bill McGinnis said. McGinnis is one of 80 members in the club right now who come from all over the Tri-State area. He enjoys making the pens that are part wood and part M-16 cartridge shell. Many of the veterans in the hospital this might be the only present they get and the only visit they get on Christmas Day, some of them dont have any family so we are their family, McGinnis said. And we also donate pens to returning veterans from deployment; soldiers and airman coming back from deployment in this area. You can make anything your imagination only limits you when youre woodturning, John Weaver said. The woodturners also make wig stands. We donate wig stands to cancer patients who have lost their hair after chemotherapy, Solberg said. One of the most devastating moments for somebody with cancer is when they lose their hair and what we found out what means a lot to them is letting them know somebody is thinking about them who doesnt even know them in that situation during that time. The club makes about 140 wig stands in three to four hours. Once they get started, they say its hard to stop, because its somewhat therapeutic. You forget about everything while you are at the lathe its just addictive youll sit there for hours and forget what time it is until somebody asks you to come into the house, Solberg said. One of the guys says hey you want to come to a woodturning club Im thinking Ive done some wood work but Im interested so I came to the club and I got smitten, Weaver said. Besides the military pen and the wig stands they also turn bowls and platters some of these right here were made from a beloved tree on the campus of Augustana University. Augustana just had a tree come down that was sentimental to a lot of their alumni and they were looking for a way to to get funds for a scholarship, so we took some of that wood cut it up and made bowls and at their fundraiser at their homecoming in October theyre auctioning that off and the proceeds will go to a scholarships, Solberg said. Youll see something somebody has turned and its just beautiful and theyll invite you over and theyll show you how to do it, Weaver said. Thats why theyre inviting others to join their club and turn some wood for a good cause. If youre interested theyll pencil you in. Anybody can do it, Weaver said. The Siouxland Woodturners also hold community education courses with the Sioux Falls School District and they hold meetings the first Saturday of every month at the Harrisburg High School shop class. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. The Russians are focusing their main efforts on attacking Vovchansk on the Kharkiv front, attempting to break through to the Vovcha River. Source: Colonel Vitalii Sarantsev, representative of the communications department of the Kharkiv Operational Strategic Group of Forces, in an interview with Suspilne Novyny Source: "The situation on the front remains tense. The main focus of the enemy's efforts is still on the city of Vovchansk, where urban battles are currently ongoing. Yesterday (22 August ed), there were two clashes in that area. Today, two more clashes are taking place. The enemy is attempting to carry out assault operations in the district of multi-storey buildings, trying to expand the controlled zone. Their primary goal is to break through to the bank of the Vovcha River, and this is where they have concentrated their main efforts. However, they are unsuccessful in this. All enemy attacks are being repelled, and all their attempts to advance have failed. We have not lost any of our positions. We are holding the defence securely." Details: Sarantsev said that the Russians are also trying to carry out active assault operations in the nearby settlements of Starytsia and Tyche, close to Vovchansk. Support UP or become our patron! SLED looking for suspect in Denmark Grocery shooting in Bamberg County BAMBERG COUNTY, S.C. (WJBF) South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is asking for help from the public in identifying the suspect of a shooting that took place in Denmark, S.C. this month. Denmark Police Chief Leroy Grimes requested SLEDs assistance on Tuesday, Aug. 6, in the investigation of a shooting that occurred after 8 p.m. at the Denmark Grocery on 59 Magnolia Avenue. The owner of the store owner was shot and taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries. No other injuries were reported. ALSO ON WJBF: Teen arrested for July 5th murder of 16-year old According to SLED, no items were stolen from the store. SLED is asking those with information regarding the incident to call (866) 472-8477 or email tips@sled.sc.gov to help with 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 WJBF. When Colorado College President L. Song Richardson announced in February that she would be stepping down from her position to return to the University of California Irvine, many were surprised at what appeared to be an abrupt departure. But Manya Whitaker, who took over as interim president on July 1, said those in Richarsdons inner circle were aware that she had begun to feel torn between her responsibilities as a college president and her desire to speak publicly on hot-button social issues. The rationale for (Richardsons) departure was not a surprise, said Whitaker, who has served in several leadership capacities during her 13 years at CC. We were always privy to where Song was in her thought process, because she was constantly having dialogue with all of us. It was the timing that took us somewhat by surprise. Whitaker has assumed leadership at CC during a fraught period for higher education. Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives are being decried as unnecessary and unfair, students across the U.S. have taken to the streets in protest of the Israel-Hamas war, and public confidence in the value of a college degree is in decline. Into this maelstrom steps Whitaker, the colleges former executive vice president and chief of staff, who will serve in the interim role for two years. The reasoning behind the two-year interim period is twofold, Whitaker said. Theres a practical reason, and an operational reason, she explained. Practically, Im finishing out Songs contract term. Operationally, weve got a lot of work to do, and to try to hire a president now would force us to pause what we are doing. Whitaker and Richardson are both women of color who are passionate about education. But the two women differ in training and approach, Whitaker said. She and I are similar in our enthusiasm for the work, she said. We both approach things head-on. I started as her chief of staff and executive vice president, and thats where we clicked really well. Shes an attorney. She likes to have a lot of conversation and debate. Im a developmental educational psychologist, and a researcher by training. I like to quietly take in all the data, synthesize it, make an executive summary, check it with experts, and then make a plan. A North Carolina native and Dartmouth College alum who earned a doctoral degree in developmental psychology from Vanderbilt University, Whitaker has taught classes on social and political issues in education. In 2013, she established Blueprint Educational Strategies, an organization that advocates for underserved students and their families. While she does have strong feelings about a variety of issues, Whitaker doesnt feel compelled to express those feelings publicly, she said. I dont feel a natural imperative to speak on things, she said. As the president, you cant do that. Your personal convictions and opinions may conflict with the mission or the values of the institution and the people you represent. I represent 27,000 alums and 2,200 students, plus their families. The two-year interim period allows Whitaker to work without the specter of a new leader looming over her. While the college remains committed to being an antiracist institution, she would like to see a renewed focus on academics as CCs primary objective, she said. Some alums feel like our brand has shifted too far astray from our academic mission, she said. And having been here for more than a decade, I can see how they might feel that way. One of the things I want to focus on over the next two years is reminding the community, and ourselves, that we are first and foremost an educational institution. Featured Local Savings Whitaker would also like Colorado College to become a better-known entity, in the Springs and beyond. I didnt know this school existed before I was offered a job here, she said. More people need to know about us. We offer a high-quality education. The block plan delivers in ways that other academic models cannot. Thats one of our strategic priorities: to begin to appeal differently to different audiences. Among other goals are an increase in alumni engagement, a boost in endowment and a higher six-year graduation rate, Whitaker said. Wed like to see about 93%, she said of CCs six-year graduation rate. I think were at 88. Thats too low for us. We can do better than that, and we will. To be fair, though, we have a fairly small student body, so were probably only talking about nine students that weve gotta get out of here faster. Mental health has been another high priority for the college, Whitaker said. We got petitions from students and faculty, and in response to that, we really beefed up our resources, she said. Now students have access to telehealth 24/7, where they can choose a counselor or therapist that is in the demographic they want. Students are feeling better and doing better if you take out the drama of Israel-Hamas. Like many colleges across the U.S., CC has dealt with student protests concerning the deadly overseas conflict. But the demonstrations were neither large nor especially disruptive, Whitaker said. We are such an interpersonal campus, she said. Its really difficult to demonstrate or protest when you know that the words youre using or the position youre taking may be harming someone you know and that you care about. It was really a small group of students relative to the student body. So we were able to just give people the space and make sure that it didnt disrupt the operations of the college. Amid the recent controversies swirling around higher education, many Colorado College students are doing great things, Whitaker said. Theres a lot of stuff thats happening at our academic core that we just havent talked about, and I want to lift that up, she said. Our kids are crushing it. Theyre getting Fulbright fellowships. Ninety-two percent of our student-athletes made their divisions All-Academic teams. Our students are doing incredibly well, and we want to tell that story. The Colorado College Board of Trustees wont begin its search for a permanent president until sometime in 2025. Whitaker said shes not yet sure if she will add her name to the list of candidates. Ask me in a year, she said. SLO County couple says 2 of their pet goats were killed this year. Was it a mountain lion? San Luis Obispo County resident Mary Silberstein said in her 28 years living on Verde Canyon Road off of Corbett Canyon Road, shes never had any of her animals carried off by a mountain lion. But in 2024, shes now lost two goats to a mountain lion in the area, she said. Lily, a young goat Silberstein and her husband adopted earlier this year, was believed to be the victim of a mountain lion attack Sunday. Silberstein said she was notified of the 70-pound goats killing by an Airbnb renter staying on her property, who found the goats body Our Airbnb person actually texted us and said, Youre goats dead, Silberstein said. They were feeding them, and the goat was just laying there by the fence half-eaten it had ripped her insides out. Silberstein said in her experience, it wasnt uncommon for packs of coyotes to try to carry off cats and dogs, but goats tend to be another matter. In January, the Silbersteins lost a 25-pound goat named Carmen under similar circumstances, raising her suspicion that a mountain lion may have moved to the area. Silberstein said neighbors have spotted a mountain lion on Canyon Way in the days since Lily was killed. She and other neighbors in the area northeast of Arroyo Grande have tried to be more careful with leaving animals and small children unattended following the first incident. According to a post on Nextdoor by Silbersteins husband Steve, the Silbersteins are now looking for a new, safer home for their only remaining goat, Cooper. This isnt the first reported mountain lion incident in San Luis Obispo County this year or this week, for that matter. In July, a dirtbike rider in Arroyo Grande reported being attacked by a mountain lion. DNA testing later indicated the animal was more likely a domestic house cat, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said at the time. According to Fish and Wildlife information officer Krysten Kellum, an agency biologist confirmed that two other goats were killed by a mountain lion Wednesday in the same area near Highway 227. Kellum said the area is adjacent to plenty of natural open space and is home to plenty of deer, making it a potential mountain lion ecosystem. Kellum advised removing dense vegetation form around a property and installing outdoor lighting to reduce hiding spaces, and recommended residents in the area lock up pets and livestock, along with employing a livestock guardian dog as a precaution. Mountain lion attacks are rare in California Mountain lion attacks in California are exceedingly rare especially in San Luis Obispo County. According to the Fish and Wildlife website, a person is 1,000 times more likely to be struck by lightning than attacked by a mountain lion. The department said only 24 mountain lion attacks on humans have been reported in California since 1984. The majority of incidents were nonfatal, although in four cases in El Dorado, San Diego and Orange counties, victims died, Fish and Wildlife said. No attacks have ever been confirmed in San Luis Obispo County, though an attack in Gaviota State Park in Santa Barbara was verified in 1992. To avoid negative encounters with mountain lions, Fish and Wildlife recommended people stay aware of their surroundings and travel in the wilderness with a companion. If you encounter a cougar, try to appear larger and more aggressive and never bend or crouch down. To report encounters or attacks, call the Fish and Wildlife 24-hour dispatch center at 916-445-0045. U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 22, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) briefly celebrated her successful bid for U.S. Senate at the Democratic National Convention Thursday night before launching into a speech centered on national security and the countrys future. Slotkin, whose career in national security includes three tours in Iraq as an analyst for the CIA, serving as a member of Republican President George W. Bushs national security staff and as acting assistant secretary of Defense under Democratic President Barack Obama, said her life in service began on Sept. 11, 2001, in New York City. As the smoke cleared, I knew my career would be spent protecting the country we all love, Slotkin said. The choice America faces in November is stark, Slotkin said, presenting it as a choice between retreating from the world and leading it. [Former President Donald] Trump wants to take us backwards. He admires dictators a lot. He treats our friends as adversaries and our adversaries as friends, Slotkin said, in reference to Trumps praise for authoritarian leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Oban. However, Democrats vision for the nation is based on the values that took the country to the shores of Normandy and helped win the Cold War, Slotkin said. We believe America should inspire and lead at home and abroad. We recognize that its not just about having a strong military, but about tackling global challenges like AI and climate change together. And guess what? That takes friends. You gotta have friends to do that, Slotkin said. Vice President [Kamala] Harris understands our strength abroad is inextricably linked to our strength here at home, our schools, a strong middle class, and the health of our democracy, Slotkin said. She called on audience members and those watching the convention to proudly claim their patriotism. Do not give an inch to pretenders who wrap themselves in the flag but spit in the face of freedoms it represents, Slotkin said. This November, lets elect a president who will lean forward to embrace the future. Because America doesnt follow. We do not retreat. We are the damn United States of America. We lead. After the speech, Slotkin was among the throngs of Democrats and media who couldnt enter the floor of the United Center due to overcrowding. Later in the evening Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson also made an appearance, calling on the nation to elect a leader who can protect, serve and unify. Swanson made national headlines in 2020 when he removed his riot gear and walked with individuals protesting the Minneapolis police murdering George Floyd. He has been a surrogate for both President Joe Bidens and Harris campaign and expressed interest in running for governor of Michigan in 2026. In 2020, righteous anger spilled over into the streets of Flint, Michigan. One bad decision from either side, and there would have been bloodshed. But that didnt happen. We laid down our riot gear and we embraced the community, and instead of hate, we chose hope, Swanson said, recounting the events. On Jan. 6, [2021] the opposite occurred. That day was paved with division, deceit and denigration. Police officers were attacked that day. It could have been stopped, Swanson said. Swanson stressed Harris background in law enforcement, saying she was exactly the tough prosecutor hed want to see in a courtroom. While Trump visited Michigan earlier in the week for a press conference on crime and safety, falsely asserting the nation is facing a crime wave as a result of Harris and Bidens policies, and despite reports from the FBI and the Major Cities Chiefs Association showcasing a decline in violent crime. Swanson countered saying, Where I come from, crime is down and police funding is up. As President Kamala Harris will unify our country. She will bring us together, because our country needs a leader who will go toe-to-toe with drug cartels and bullies, Swanson said. In 2020, we were able to turn a protest into a peaceful movement by walking together, one city, one community and one country. America, lets walk. Lets walk. Lets walk together, and lets elect Kamala Harris and turn hate into hope yet again. Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 22, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 22, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson at a Michigan Democratic Party delegation breakfast on day three of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Ill., on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson speaks at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Ill., on Aug. 22, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX On the Ukraine-Russia border CBS News met the troops of Ukraine's 117th Territorial Defense Brigade in the eastern Sumy region as they prepared for another trip to the front line. Their mission is to support Ukraine's military operations inside Russia's Kursk region. The forces were preparing another drone for a one-way mission its deadly payload: a grenade attached with cable ties. The simple weapon cost only about $400 to assemble, but it would soon be hunting multimillion-dollar targets. Private Igor piloted the drone on a test run, but on real missions he can watch someone's final moments on his small screen, and he admitted that it can feel personal. A member of Ukraine's 117th Territorial Defense Brigade assembles an explosive drone in the country's eastern Sumy region, as the unit supports Ukraine's military operations inside Russia's Kursk region. / Credit: CBS News "It's emotional," he told CBS News. "But I understand that we chose the right path." Russia says dozens of drones downed amid Ukraine's biggest attack yet Drones have played a major part in the war for both sides since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The small, unmanned aircraft now play a vital role in Ukraine's surprise offensive, as troops seize ground inside Russia's western Kursk region. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the incursion is part of a new Ukrainian tactic aimed at creating a buffer zone inside Russia to prevent attacks on Ukraine, and even to turn the tide in the war as his troops struggle to hold the line elsewhere on the long front. Russia claimed Friday, for the second time this week, that Ukraine had tried to hit Kursk's nuclear power station with a drone attack, decrying what it called "nuclear terrorism." The Russian Ministry of Defense said it shot down three drones headed for the plant. Ukrainian officials didn't immediately comment on the allegations, which came just days before the head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency, the IAEA, is due to visit the plant in Kursk. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has appealed for restraint from all sides to avoid a potentially catastrophic nuclear accident. He's issued many similar warnings and appeals over the last two years, as Russian forces have occupied Ukrainian nuclear plants and missiles and drones have landed near the facilities. Sergeant Alex, who leads the Ukrainian drone unit that brought CBS News right to the Russian border, said the weapons are hugely important to his country not only because they're cost effective, but because they are "far more effective and precise than artillery." A small drone with an explosive attached is flown during a training operation by members of the Ukrainian 117th Territorial Defense Brigade, in the Sumy region, on Ukraine's border with Russia, in August 2024. / Credit: CBS News That makes units like his prime targets for Russia's own drones, and Moscow has more of them. That, according to the troops, makes the most important job on the team that of Private Victor. He drives them to and from the front line, and it's not unusual for their vehicle to be chased by Russian drones. Asked what goes through his mind at such moments, he said: "Nothing." "Speed and professionalism are the most important," Victor said, adding that they also hoped continuously for no breakdowns. A screengrab from video released by the Russian Ministry of Defense shows Russian forces launching an attack with a Lancet explosive drone on Ukrainian forces at the border area near Russia's Kursk Oblast, Aug. 12, 2024. / Credit: Russian Ministry of Defense/Anadolu/Getty On an average day, the brigade said they would conduct as many as five search-and-destroy missions targeting Russian armor, vehicles and troops. "We always have a single mission," Sergeant Alex told CBS News. "Destroy the enemy." It's an enemy they are now fighting on Russian soil. The Biden administration has pledged about $125 million in new military aid to Ukraine. Officials said Thursday that the latest package will include counter-drone and counter-electronic warfare systems. Democratic convention delegates weigh in on Kamala Harris' policies before her DNC speech Exclusive discounts from CBS Mornings Deals Key DNC speeches highlight the importance of voting (Bloomberg) -- In recent days, the presence of Israeli troops along a narrow corridor in southern Gaza has become one of the most serious issues dividing Hamas and Israel as their cease-fire talks drag on. Most Read from Bloomberg The question of whether Israel can keep its forces in the so-called Philadelphi corridor, which runs along the Egypt-Gaza border, is vexing mediators. It is key to the negotiations, which are meant to restart in Cairo on Sunday, and also the cause of the latest rift between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the White House. Netanyahu says Israels soldiers must keep control of the corridor, including the Rafah border crossing, to prevent weapons smuggling from Egypt into Gaza. Thats crucial, he argues, to stop Hamas designated a terrorist organization by the US and European Union rearming and carrying out another Oct. 7-style attack on Israel. The Rafah crossing is the only one Gaza has with a country aside from Israel. It was operated by Hamas and Egypt until the Israeli military captured it in May, since when its been shut. Israels complained about smuggling from Egypt for years. Netanyahu now regularly refers to the Philadelphi corridor in public. His office was quick to deny local reports this week that hes considering allowing a multi-national force to replace Israeli troops there. The US was rankled by reports in local media that he claimed to have convinced US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, when they met on Monday in Jerusalem, to accept Israeli forces staying in the corridor. Netanyahus office didnt deny the reports. A senior State Department official said Blinken had not agreed to that and added such maximalist statements hinder the negotiations with Hamas. Netanyahus government says its stance is fully in line with US President Joe Bidens proposal from May, which forms the basis for the talks. Hamas disagrees and says Israel is making new demands. Egypt, too, is against Israeli troops controlling the border crossing and the corridor. Bidens plan, dubbed a bridging agreement before the final details are hashed out, calls for Israel to remove forces from populated areas in the first phase of a cease-fire. Israel says its smuggling concerns have deepened because its discovered dozens of tunnels since taking over the corridor, which contains scrubland and parts of the city of Rafah. Netanyahus position faces criticism within Israel. Some opponents accuse him of trying to prolong the war to appease the far-right members of his cabinet and stall any push for early elections. Gadi Eisenkot, a former head of the Israeli military and a member of the war cabinet until he quit in June, says Israel can seal the Egypt-Gaza border even if it gives up control of the Philadelphi corridor. It can do that, he says, by working more closely with Cairo and building an underground barrier like those that exist between the Gaza-Israel borders. The taking over of the Philadelphi corridor was not a goal of the war, but a means to achieve war goals that include the release of hostages, said Eisenkot. It should not turn from a means to an end. The corridor is far from the only sticking point. Israel and Hamas are yet to agree how many hostages will be released from Gaza in the first phase of a deal, as well as how many Palestinians will be freed from Israeli jails. Netanyahu also says Israel will keep forces along a second corridor called Netzarim, which bisects Gaza, to block Hamas fighters moving back into northern parts of the territory. In addition, Hamas wants any truce to end the war, while Israel says it must retain the right to restart fighting and achieve its aim of destroying Hamas. Blinken took to calling it an enduring cease-fire this week, indicating the US thinks the phrase could satisfy both sides. Even if hes right, he will have to overcome the dispute over the Philadelphi corridor. All parties are very frustrated, Merissa Khurma, director of the Middle East program at the Wilson Center, said of the issue. The only way forward I see is to continue this intense diplomacy. Im not too optimistic. --With assistance from Dan Williams, Natalia Drozdiak, Tom Fevrier and Galit Altstein. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. The prisoners, armed with knives, seized four inmates and eight staff at the IK-19 Surovikino prison in Russia's Volgograd region - @nexta_tv/X/Twitter Four Islamist prisoners were killed by snipers after taking twelve people hostage at a Russian penal colony on Friday. The inmates had stabbed four prison guards to death before being shot dead by members of Russias national guard. The prisoners, armed with knives, seized four inmates and eight staff during a meeting of the colonys disciplinary committee at the IK-19 Surovikino prison in Russias Volgograd region, around 530 miles south of Moscow. Click here to view this content. Unverified videos shared through Mash, a Telegram news channel with purported links to Russian law enforcement, showed the attackers claiming to be affiliated with the Islamic State. They said they were taking revenge for the arrest of Islamic terrorists who killed 145 people in an attack on a Moscow concert hall in March the most deadly terror attack in Russia for two decades. Stab wounds of varying severity Photos on Friday showed prison inmates with knives standing above bloodied guards. The criminals inflicted stab wounds of varying severity on four employees, three of whom died. Another four who resisted were hospitalised, one of whom died in hospital, the federal penitentiary service said in a statement. Earlier on Friday afternoon, authorities had said that all those who had been taken hostage had been freed by the Russian national guards special forces. Drug trafficking Three of the hostage takers had been convicted of drug trafficking, including one from Uzbekistan and two from Tajikistan, according to the state-run Tass news agency. Another, also from Uzbekistan, was serving a sentence for involuntary manslaughter during a fight. Officials provided no further information on the hostage-takers or their demands, but Mash said that they had asked for a helicopter, $2 million and the right to freely leave Russia. Russian authorities have launched a criminal case in connection with the hostage-taking, a crime punishable by a maximum of life in prison. Second hostage situation in recent months It is the second prison hostage situation in southern Russia in recent months, with six prisoners who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State capturing guards at a detention centre in the Rostov region in June. Five were killed, while one was later sentenced to 20 years in prison on terrorism charges. The terror group, with its origins in Iraq and Syria, has repeatedly pledged to target Russia over its support of Syrias leader, Bashar al-Assad. 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. Son of Honolulu police sergeant sentenced to life for fatal shooting HONOLULU (KHON2) Emotions ran high Thursday at the sentencing of a man found guilty of murder. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You Nainoa Damon faced life in prison without parole. Families from both sides were in court one side asking for the maximum sentence, the other requesting mercy. Blake Kolona raised his sons urn in the air before the judge. I carry him. Im so proud of him. He was trying to protect the little guy, Kolona said, visibly in pain over the loss of his son, Haaheo Kolona. Family members from both sides shared the profound impact of the tragic event in a packed courtroom. The day my son was murdered, my entire world crumbled. And Im still trying to piece it back together, Carolee Kolona, mother of Haaheo, wrote in a letter read in court. Damon, who was 19 at the time and the son of a Honolulu police sergeant, was found guilty in May of murder in a robbery gone wrong on Round Top Drive on Tantalus two years ago. On Thursday, he apologized to the Kolona family and asked for a second chance. I humbly ask, I sincerely ask, for mercy, Damon said. Family of missing woman, Mischa, tells what they know Before handing down her sentence, Circuit Court Judge Shanlyn Park urged both families to turn their grief into action to work toward preventing violence in their communities. I ask all of you, as part of your healing, to do everything in your power to keep these tragedies from happening again, Park said. Considering Damons age and the fact that he had no prior adult criminal record, Judge Park sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole, with a mandatory minimum of 15 years, credited for time served. His other charges, including firearm offenses, terroristic threatening, and robbery, will run concurrently. Damons family quietly left the courtroom. Im hopeful. Everything is in Gods hands, said Carnation Damon, the defendants grandmother. Blake Kolona expressed his anger and frustration outside the courtroom. Im not happy. This man killed my son and got only 15 years minimum, Kolona said. I was disappointed given the gravity of the impact this case had on all those involved, said Anna Ishikawa-Jackson, deputy prosecuting attorney. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news The Hawaii Paroling Authority will now set the minimum sentence Damon must serve. Prosecutors plan to request a sentence longer than the judges 15-year minimum. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. South Africa blocks artillery shell delivery to Poland due to fear of them being transferred to Ukraine, media says South Africa did not transfer artillery shells to Poland due to concerns that they would be sent to Ukraine, Polish media outlet Rzeczpospolita reported on Aug. 21. Following the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Warsaw ordered 50,000 155-millimeter shells from the South African company Denel Munition, a subsidiary of the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, in which it holds a 51% stake. But Poland never received them, as its contractor blocked ammunition shipments, according to the media outlet. The Polish Defense Ministry, in response to a request from Rzeczpospolita, said that the agreement was terminated on Aug. 20, 2023, due to "problems with the subcontractor's execution." Poland requires at least one million 155mm artillery rounds to defend against a potential Russian attack. Meanwhile, Warsaw can produce only 30,000 shells a year if subcontractors, mainly from Slovakia, meet their obligations in full, the media outlet said. In March 2023, the Polish government approved a confidential resolution to expand the production and purchase of ammunition. Warsaw has also established supplies of artillery shells from South Korea and is considering building a factory to boost domestic production, according to Rzeczpospolita. Ukraine also partners with Rheinmetall, one of the leading German arms manufacturers. In late July, Rheinmetall announced that it had received an order from the Ukrainian government to begin the construction of an ammunition factory in Ukraine. The company previously said it planned to open at least four production plants in Ukraine. Read also: Russia influenced Mali, Niger to cut diplomatic ties with Ukraine, Foreign Ministry says Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) The South Carolina Senate on Thursday started its homework assignment of coming up with a comprehensive bill to guide energy policy in a rapidly growing state and amid a quickly changing power- generation world. The Special Committee on South Carolinas Energy Future plans several meetings through October. On Thursday, the committee heard from the leaders of the states three major utilities. Future meetings will bring in regular ratepayers, environmentalists, business leaders and experts on the latest technology to make electricity, The Senate took this task upon itself. They put the brakes a massive 80-plus page energy overhaul bill that passed the House in March in less than six weeks, and the bill died at the end of the session. Many senators said the process earlier this year was rushed. They remembered the last time they trusted an overhaul bill backed by utilities. State-owned Santee Cooper and private South Carolina Electric & Gas used those rules passed 15 years ago to put ratepayers on the hook for billions of dollars spent on two new nuclear reactors that never generated a watt of power before construction was abandoned because of rising costs. But those dire memories are being mixed with dire predictions of a state running out of power. Unusually cold weather on Christmas Eve 2022 along with problems at a generating facility nearly led to rolling blackouts in South Carolina. Demand from advanced manufacturing and data centers is rising. If electric cars grow in popularity, more power is needed. And a state that added 1.3 million people since 2000 has a lot more air conditioners, washing machines and charges for devices, the utility leaders said. Senators stopped Duke Energys president in South Carolina, Mike Callahan, in middle of his presentation after he told them his utilitys most recent predictions for growth in electricity usage over the rest of this decade were eight times more than they were just two years ago. Growth is here, and much more is coming. We need clear energy policy to plan for that growth, Callahan said, The utility leaders told senators their companies need to know what kind of sources of power natural gas, solar, nuclear, wind or others the state wants to emphasize. They would like to have a stable rules from regulators on how they operate. A quick no is a lot better to us than a long-term maybe, Santee Cooper CEO Jimmy Staton said. Another complicating factor are federal rules that may require utilities to shut down power plants that use coal before there are replacements with different sources online, Staton said. Others arent so sure the state needs a rapid increase in power generation. Environmentalists have suggested the 2022 problems that led to blackouts were made worse because power plants were nowhere near capacity and better cooperation in the grid would allow electricity to get to where its needed easier. Those less bullish on the overhaul also are urging the state not to lock in on one source of power over another because technology could leave South Carolina with too much power generation in inefficient ways. There will likely be plenty of discussion of data centers that use a lot of electricity without the number of jobs, property taxes or other benefits a manufacturer provides. Staton estimated about 70% of Santee Coopers increased demand is from data centers. We clearly need them. I dont want to go back in time, committee chairman Republican Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey said. What Im trying to get at is a better understanding, a better handle on how much of the projected growth is based on data centers or on everything else. Massey has been hard on Dominion Energy, which bought South Carolina Electric & Gas after the abandoned nuclear project at the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station. But Dominion Energy South Carolina President Keller Kissam said it is important that all options, including a new nuclear plant, remain on the table. Everybody thinks if we build anything that were going to absolutely repeat what we did with V.C. Summer Kissam said. Well, I promise you, that aint gonna happen. OK? Ill pack up and leave. Massey said he appreciated Kissams candor and felt he was a straight shooter, but there are a lot of other people involved in the failed project who lied and hid problems. I cant put that behind me. And I dont think a lot of people can put that behind them, Massey said. Masseys goal is to have a bill ready by the time the 2025 session starts in January. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's medical association warned on Friday that a spike in COVID-19 cases and an ongoing strike by trainee doctors could cripple hospital emergency rooms next month at a time when many doctors will also be off due to a public holiday. The government has, however, disputed the risk of ER closures cited by the Korean Medical Association (KMA) and said it was providing additional support where needed. Thousands of trainee doctors, including interns and resident doctors, walked off the job in February to protest against a plan to lift medical student numbers by 2,000 a year to meet what authorities project will be a severe shortage of doctors. Hospitals which had relied on trainee doctors across multiple medical disciplines have had to turn away patients at emergency rooms, citing a shortage of staff, while existing doctors have experienced heavier workloads, the government said. The KMA, which represents practicing doctors, said more ER physicians at university hospitals have been resigning due to overwork and fear of facing malpractice lawsuits exacerbated by fatigue. "In September, as the wave of COVID-19 cases peaks, there will be a surge of patients and there's also the Chuseok holiday when doctors in essential disciplines will be taking time off, so emergency rooms are likely to go into a serial shutdown," KMA spokesman Chae Dong-young told a briefing. Chuseok is the country's annual holiday celebrated over three days in the autumn. The Health Ministry said there may be some hospital emergency rooms that have needed support from military or community doctors assigned by authorities but denied that ERs were headed for closure. South Korea has seen a resurgence of COVID-19 cases this month but the health ministry has said more than 95% of patients who have visited ERs are cases that could be treated at clinics. As part of a medical reform plan, the government has proposed giving incentives to doctors to practice in essential disciplines and in regions outside Seoul and other large cities. It has also proposed increasing the cost of using ER services to patients for non-acute emergency conditions in a bid to ease the load in this area. (Reporting by Jack Kim and Ju-min Park; Editing by Ed Davies) South Korean hotel fire that killed 7 was likely made worse by the lack of sprinklers, officials say BUCHEON, South Korea (AP) A fire that killed seven people in a South Korean hotel was possibly made worse by the lack of sprinklers, fire officials said Friday as they investigated the cause of the blaze. Twelve people were being treated for injuries related to the fire that broke out Thursday evening at the nine-story property in the city of Bucheon, just west of the capital, Seoul. Officials say the fire didnt spread broadly after starting in an unoccupied room on the 8th floor. But with the room was unprotected by sprinklers and toxic smoke quickly filled the upper floors. Most of the victims were found in the rooms and hallways of the eighth and ninth floors. The hotel, which was built in 2003, wasnt mandated to have a sprinkler system, said Lee Sang-don, an official with the Bucheon Fire Station. While South Korea began requiring sprinklers on all buildings with more than six floors starting in 2017, the requirement wasnt retroactively applied to most older buildings, except for some medical facilities and nursing homes. When we got there, (the floors) were already filled with smoke, which was also pouring out of the windows, Lee said in a briefing. He said that the fire started in Room 810, which was unoccupied after a guest complained of smelling something burning and requested a room change to the hotels management. Among the seven people killed, five died from inhaling smoke, said Cho Seon-ho, chief of the Gyeonggi provincial fire services, during a briefing to Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min at the scene. The two others died after leaping from an 8th-floor window while aiming for an inflatable cushion fire fighters had installed on the ground, Cho said. The first person hit the harder edge of the cushion, which also caused it to flip and fatally injure the second person, who jumped shortly after. A government team of fire officials, forensic experts and police started an on-site inspection Friday to investigate the cause of the blaze. Cho told Lee the fire was likely caused by electrical problems. ___ Kim reported from Seoul, South Korea. One of the larger hindrances of public education after the COVID-19 pandemic was a dramatic rise in chronic student absenteeism. However, new state data released Thursday indicates schools are continuing to recover from this. According to the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), student attendance increased by 0.7 percentage points, up to 91.5%, while chronic absenteeism decreased by 3.4 percentage points to 27.7% in the 2023-24 school year. Both figures reflect continued trends from the previous school year with attendance rising and absenteeism dropping. A state-high rate of chronic absenteeism was recorded at 35.5% during the 2021-22 school year. We know that our educators and school leaders are working urgently to keep students engaged and feeling connected to their school communities, and we see that effort reflected in attendance and chronic absentee rates, Colorado Education Commissioner Susana Cordova said in a statement regarding the data. If students arent in school, we know they wont have access to the opportunities designed to help them continue learning. Chronic absenteeism is defined by the CDE as students missing at least 10% of the school year. Across the nation, about 1 in 4 students were chronically absent during the 2022-23 school year. Despite the positive trends, statewide attendance has yet to reach pre-COVID marks. In 2019-20, the state average for attendance was 92.8% and the average chronic absentee rate was 22.6%. This year, more than 241,000 of the states 902,854 students were chronically absent. The trend of missing significant school time coincides with declining test scores during the same years, contributing to substantial learning losses and greater high school dropout rates. And we have found that even missing a couple of days here and there can cause problems, Cordova said. In the early grades, multiple absences can cause students to fall behind on their reading skills. And in fact, 83% of chronically absent kids are not reading on grade level by third grade. Featured Local Savings Factors contributing to chronic absenteeism beyond the pandemic include students experiencing homelessness, transportation challenges, disengagement and personal and family illnesses. So, some of those we have seen increase over time even if theyre not necessarily new ones, said Johann Liljengren, CDE director of dropout prevention and student re-engagement. State data also revealed rates of chronic absenteeism continuing to decline and attendance to rise for unhoused, migrant, special-needs and multilingual students along with students of color and those who were economically disadvantaged. Nearly 70% of Colorados districts improved their attendance rates last year. The districts with the highest reported rates of chronic absenteeism last year included Adams County 14 (48.9%), Centennial R-1 (53.5%), Hanover 28 (46.6 %) and Ouray R-1 (60.5%). The Centennial Board of Cooperative Educational Services reported the highest rate of chronic absenteeism at 80.8%. This week, the CDE also released its statewide testing results that revealed promising signs of COVID recovery, though not at high school levels. To help promote attendance in school and continue to these positive trajectories, the CDE announced the Every School Day Matters campaign. Its goal is to support students, families, and educators in reducing chronic absenteeism to 17.8% by the 2026-27 school year. The online portal will include training and resources for educators and school leaders, communications tools for districts and an attendance tracking calendar in English and Spanish for families. What data tells us, what the research has found and what common sense show is that you cant grow academically if youre not in school, Cordova said. The campaigns resources along with complete attendance data can be found at the CDEs website. South Sudans long-delayed election will be a landmark moment but economic decline and political strife put vote at risk Elections are pivotal milestones in post-conflict countries and nowhere is voter anticipation felt more keenly than in South Sudan, the worlds youngest nation. The country, which won independence in 2011 after a long conflict with Sudan, has not seen an election since. A date has been set for a national vote: Dec. 22, 2024. Yet the timing remains in question, with the United Nations and others doubting whether adequate preparations have been made. The proposed vote follows years of delays: An election was due to take place in 2015 but was postponed after the young country descended into civil war. The 2024 vote was poised to shape the future of a country still grappling with the challenges of peace-building and governance South Sudan entered a post-civil war transitional period in 2018, yet sporadic, mainly intercommunal violence continues. A national vote offers a critical opportunity to consolidate a hard-won peace and chart a course toward a more stable and democratic future. But the country has failed to establish a robust electoral framework crucial for fair and credible polls including constitutional, legal, financial and political conditions to ensure the feasibility of holding a credible national ballot. Moreover, entrenched disagreements among political leaders threaten to exacerbate the situation. As a scholar focusing on global governance and human security in Africa, I share the concern that failure or delay in these electoral processes could lead to a perilous regression into conflict. Lack of funding for elections Successful elections could elevate South Sudans international reputation by demonstrating political maturity and a commitment to democracy after years of instability. Both regional and global actors have urged the government to hold elections promised under the 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan. Amid implementation delays, a road map was endorsed in August 2022 to guide the peace process and elections. In December 2022, the government reconstituted key bodies, including the National Constitutional Review Commission and the National Electoral Commission, as a precursor to elections. However, both entities face financial challenges, with the National Constitutional Review Commission yet to receive any funding. These financial problems are a major obstacle. While the National Electoral Commission and the Political Parties Council, a body tasked with promoting political dialogue and cooperation, have received some funding, it is insufficient for full operations. International stakeholders, including the United Nations, the African Union and the EU, had expected the government to finance the elections, but ongoing delays have left international bodies advising and encouraging the government from the sidelines, concerned about the lack of progress. Oil revenue decline, economic hardships Rich in oil resources yet extremely poor, South Sudan is currently confronted with a significant decline in its capacity to finance electoral processes. This decline stems primarily from a sharp reduction in oil revenues, compounded by economic hardships and the diversion of resources by the ruling elite. A woman votes with her daughter at a polling station during the 2011 independence referendum. Spencer Platt/Getty Images At independence in 2011, and prior to the conflict that began two years later, South Sudans daily oil exports stood at 300,0000 barrels. However, ongoing conflict and infrastructure damage have led to a steady decline in production, with current exports reduced to approximately 150,000 barrels per day. Projections indicate a continued halving of production roughly every five years. Factors exacerbating South Sudans oil revenue decline include volatile global oil prices, internal instability and poor-quality crude oil. Prospective investors are further deterred by war-damaged oil wells and the logistical and political complexities associated with exporting oil through neighboring Sudan. Major oil export disruptions were noted after a disastrous rupture on the crucial pipeline responsible for ferrying landlocked South Sudans crude oil to the Red Sea hub of Port Sudan for global export. The rupture occurred during fighting between Sudans warring parties: the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces. The payment structure for oil proceeds dictates that private oil companies claim nearly 60% of production as their share, while neighboring Sudan also takes a significant portion based on agreements made during independence. Consequently, South Sudan receives revenue only from approximately 45,000 barrels out of the total daily production ranging from 150,000 to 170,000 barrels. It is from this limited allocation that the government funds 98% of the national budget. Returnees, refugees pose humanitarian challenge Additionally, the return of over 1 million South Sudanese since the signing of the 2018 peace agreement, along with thousands of refugees fleeing the conflict in Sudan, has further stressed the humanitarian challenges that the young country faces amid economic hardships. This includes South Sudanese who have been severely affected by the ongoing conflict in Sudan since April 2023. Moreover, alongside this humanitarian burden, there are still thousands of South Sudanese who remain in internally displaced persons camps awaiting a safe return to their communities. While funding the elections is a challenge, the true crisis lies in a profound lack of trust and confidence between the parties to the peace agreement. Divisions among political kingpins President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Riek Machar who represent the two main parties that would be competing in any election share a complicated history and entrenched mistrust of each other that threatens the integrity of the entire electoral process. South Sudan President Salva Kiir with his first vice president and political rival, Riek Machar. Peter Louis/AFP via Getty Images The two have clashed and have been on opposing sides off and on since 2013, leading to civil war. Their complex relationship now threatens the integrity of the electoral process amid fears of ethnic tension. Critical tasks such as the training and deployment of 33,000 security personnel remain unfinished, risking national stability. Ensuring nationwide election security is paramount; however, the absence of unified national security forces raises concerns about voter safety. Unlike other post-conflict African countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and Sierra Leone, where the international community facilitated elections, South Sudans transition depends solely on its current transitional government, mandated to lead until December 2024. Despite South Sudans political and security challenges, immediate steps can facilitate peaceful elections. Leadership dialogue, expedited funding and enhanced security mechanisms are essential. Meanwhile, regional and international stakeholders can be engaged to secure robust financial support and complete critical tasks. If a rumored joint ticket between Kiir and Machar materializes, it could potentially reunite the country and set a course for stability. Ahmed Hersi, a Horn of Africa regional analyst, contributed to this article. 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: Abigail Kabandula, University of Denver Read more: Abigail Kabandula receives funding from the United States Institute for Peace. A migrant rests sitting on the sand next to the fiber boat in which he arrived at Las Burras Beach in San Agustin By Corina Pons TENERIFE, Spain (Reuters) - Spanish authorities fear that as many as 150,000 more migrants from Africa may be set to make the perilous crossing this year to the Canary Islands, already grappling with over 20,000 illegal arrivals so far, the regional leader said on Friday. "We are seeing (mass arrivals) in August with bad sea conditions. In September, October and November it could be total distress," Fernando Clavijo told a news conference after a visit by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. He said charity groups working with migrants had warned of some 150,000 people, many fleeing armed conflict in Mali, preparing to cross first to neighbouring Mauritania and then by boat to the Spanish archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean. A boat carrying 173 migrants was rescued on Friday near the island of El Hierro, maritime rescue services said. One person on board had died. Sanchez will on Tuesday embark on a tour of West African countries in a bid to support local efforts to contain illegal migration from Mauritania, Senegal and the Gambia, the main departure points for migrant boats. Clavijo praised the initiative, but also called on European and Spanish authorities to intensify diplomatic pressure on departure countries. The route from Africa to the Canary Islands - whose population is around 2.2 million - has experienced a 154% surge in migrants this year, with 21,620 crossings to the archipelago in the first seven months, according to data from the European Union's border agency Frontex. Thousands die at sea on that route, rights groups say. Clavijo said the Canary Islands "cannot support that pressure alone" and urged political parties to amend the law on migration to allow transfers of thousands of underage migrants to mainland Spain, which he hoped could be agreed in the coming weeks after a failed attempt to pass the amendment a month ago. He added that transferring the minors to regions able to offer them better living conditions was preferable to expanding the Canaries' reception capabilities. (Reporting by Corina Pons; writing by Andrei Khalip; editing by David Latona and Mark Heinrich) Migrants crowd a wooden boat as they sail to the port in La Restinga on the Canary island of El Hierro, Spain, Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024. Emergency services on Spain's Canary Islands say 175 migrants have arrived in a boat on the Canary Island of El Hierro on Sunday, after a seven-day sailing from the coast of Senegal. (AP Photo/Maria Ximena) BARCELONA, Spain (AP) Spains leader met with the regional president of the Canary Islands on Friday to discuss irregular migration as the archipelago struggles to care for thousands of unaccompanied minors who made it there. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, a socialist, has been on vacation with his family in Lanzarote, one of the islands in the archipelago, since earlier this month. He's now back to work and held talks with regional President Fernando Clavijo, who governs the Canary Islands in coalition with the conservative Popular Party. Crowded boats carrying migrants keep arriving to the Canaries, which are located in the Atlantic Ocean and are closer to the northwestern African coast than mainland Spain. Sanchezs meeting with Clavijo on La Palma, another island in the Canaries, came a few days before he travels to Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia to tackle the issue of irregular migration. The West African nations are the main launching pads for migrants traveling by boat. While Sanchez didn't make statements following the meeting, his minister for territorial policy and democratic memory, Angel Victor Torres, who is also the former regional leader of the Canary Islands, said that discussions with Clavijo had been fruitful. Torres announced on behalf of the Spanish government 50 million euros $55.6 million) for the archipelago, extra help that had already been given in previous years but had been left out this year. The archipelago has become one of the main points of entry for irregular migrant arrivals into the European Union. While adult migrants and refugees end up leaving the islands for mainland Spain and other parts of Europe following their arrival, the unaccompanied minors fall under the responsibility of the regional government and are stuck there. The Canary Islands government says it has a capacity to look after 2,000 minors but is currently caring for more than 5,500 children and teenage migrants who reached the archipelago on their own or who lost parents during the dangerous boat voyage from the African coast. As a result, many of the children are living in overcrowded shelters with limited access to education, health, legal services and other rights they are entitled to under EU and Spanish law. Torres said that Sanchez and Clavijo vowed to keep working on longer-term solutions, but that required changing the law through parliament to make solidarity mandatory. An attempt at doing just that in late July failed with lawmakers, including those from the Popular Party, refusing to even consider a proposal that would have obliged other regions of Spain to take in some of the unaccompanied minors stuck in the Canaries. More than 22,300 people have landed on the archipelago from January to mid-August this year, 126% more than the same period last year, according to statistics released by Spains Interior Ministry. On Friday, Spains Maritime Rescue Service said it had rescued 173 people, among them six babies and eight women, and recovered two dead from a boat found near the island of El Hierro. The Atlantic route from West Africa to the Canary Islands is one of the deadliest in the world. While there is no accurate death toll because of the lack of information on departures from West Africa, Spanish migrant rights group Walking Borders estimates the victims are in the thousands. Migrant boats that get lost or run into problems often vanish in the Atlantic, with some drifting across the ocean for months until they are found in the Caribbean and Latin America carrying only human remains. ___ Follow AP coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/migration QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) A driver is accused of hiding in Guyana after hitting and killing a man in Queens on Christmas Day nearly five years ago, authorities said Friday. Ravindra Dharamjit, 26, was indicted on manslaughter, reckless driving, and other charges for killing a 67-year-old father of four on Dec. 25, 2019, according to prosecutors. The defendant allegedly bought a one-way ticket to Guyana two weeks after the crash. Ainsley Dalrymple was leaving his sons house after Christmas dinner when he was fatally struck crossing the street at Rockaway Boulevard between 113th Street and 114th Street at around 9:30 p.m., according to court records. The victim suffered serious head and bodily injuries and died at the hospital. Dharamjit was allegedly going 74 mph when he hit the victim in a 25 mph zone. He then allegedly broke a red light at Rockaway and Linden boulevards and drove off on the wrong side of the road, prosecutors said. He allegedly boarded the plane to Guayana on Jan. 9, 2020. Authorities worked with the U.S. Marshalls to find the defendant in Guyana. Rather than stop the vehicle and render aid, the defendant allegedly continued speeding through a busy intersection and later fled the country on a one-way ticket to Guyana. My office and our police partners never give up on cases and today we arraigned this defendant, nearly five years after the fatal crash, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. The defendant was also charged with reckless driving, leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, failing to obey passing safety markers, driving in excess of the maximum speed limit, and operating a vehicle at unreasonable speed, prosecutors said. He faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted. Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the NYC area for more than a decade. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See 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 PIX11. A fascinating species of bird once common in the United Kingdom is making a comeback, and its return has been further boosted after establishing nesting grounds at a wildlife reserve in southern England. Spoonbills have benefited from conservation efforts and are breeding at several spots throughout England, but the return of the birds to Cambridge marks the first time they've settled in the area since the 17th century, as the Guardian detailed. The long-legged wading bird with a spoon-like beak was once coveted for its meat. Overhunting, coupled with a loss of wetland areas, drove spoonbills away. But spots in Leeds, Suffolk, and Norfolk have seen successful breeding, and the Ouse Washes in Cambridge can now be added to the list. "The Ouse Washes are the perfect habitat for spoonbills, and we are delighted to have these birds breeding for [the] first time," senior site manager for the Ouse Washes Jonathan Taylor told the Guardian. "Although they are breeding later here compared with other spoonbills in the U.K., as is often the case with new colonies, it is fantastic that this iconic and highly adapted heron species has returned and is using our wetlands once again." Spoonbills are listed at an "amber" protection level by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, but they are still a species of European conservation concern, and disturbing the birds is a violation of Schedule 1 of The Wildlife and Countryside Act. They hunt fish, aquatic insects, crustaceans, and shrimps, playing an important role in keeping the populations of these creatures in balance. Spoonbills also serve as an ecological indicator since they are sensitive to changes in their environment. In Leeds' Fairburn Ings RSPB reserve, warden Karen Swaffield has been delighted by their presence. "It's tremendously exciting to have spoonbills here, and early indications are that they have had yet another successful breeding year," she said. "We're thrilled that the spoonbills have been here for eight years in a row, and we really hope this means they are here to stay. If the last pair, which are currently nest-building, manage to fledge a chick, we will have had a record year, so we are all on tenterhooks to see what happens next." While being a delight to witness, the spoonbills also serve as a reminder of the importance of conservation to protect these unique creatures and allow them to serve our ecosystems in return. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. Springfield Twp. Police K9 team retires as new duo takes over NEW MIDDLETOWN, Ohio (WKBN) The Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County celebrated local police K9 officers as one local team retired and another stepped in. An event was held Thursday night at the Springfield branch in recognition of National Police K9 Day, which is on September 1. Springfield Township Police K9s were on hand to give demonstrations and explain their job duties to the public. Jenni Hemphill, Springfield Library supervisor, says celebrating the commitment of these officers is important. They do so much than just, say, look for drugs or other types of paraphernalia. They keep our communities safe, she said. During the program, it was announced that K9 Officer Havoc and his handler, Officer Glenn Gorey, will retire. K9 Officer Dutch and Officer Jeremy Blackson will take over as Springfields new K9 team. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Sri Lanka has suspended its e-visa scheme. What tourists should know Sri Lanka has suspended its e-visa scheme, but travellers can still apply for a visa on arrival. Robert Gunther/dpa When visiting Sri Lanka, travellers can normally apply for a visa online, allowing them to avoid long queues at the airport upon arrival. That option is currently no longer available, however, after the country's e-visa website was suspended on August 2 following an order from Sri Lanka's Supreme Court. Here's why the e-visa website was shut down and what that means for travellers. Why has Sri Lanka suspended e-visas? Sri Lanka, a South Asian island nation just off the coast of India, only introduced its e-visa scheme last April. The procedure has been marred by allegations of procedural violations, a lack of transparency and corruption, according to German industry outlet fvw.de. A panel of experts was appointed to review the scheme. It has been suspended for the time being by the court order and is only set to be reinstated once transparency can be ensured. That means it's currently not possible to apply for an e-visa if you are travelling to Sri Lanka. Instead you can apply for a visa upon arrival. What happens if I have applied for an e-visa on August 2? Travellers who applied for an e-visa on August 2 after 5 pm Sri Lanka Standard time will receive a refund, according to a notice on the website. Applicants have been asked to send their application reference number to travel.partner@srilankaevisa.lk. What happens next? From October 1, free tourist visas are set to be made available for travellers from 35 countries, valid for 30 days. The regulation will initially apply for six months, though it remains unclear whether it can be implemented on time, according to fvw.de. (Bloomberg) -- UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told Chinese President Xi Jinping he hopes for frank, open and honest talks on areas of disagreement including on Hong Kong, during a phone call likely to be interpreted as laying the ground for a reset between the two countries governments. Most Read from Bloomberg Starmers office said the prime minister also referenced Russias war in Ukraine and human rights as issues the UK wants to address with China, according to a readout of the two leaders conversation on Friday. The leaders also agreed on the need for a stable and consistent UK-China relationship, including dialog between their respective foreign and domestic ministers, Starmers office said. They agreed to stay in touch. The call between Starmer and Xi comes after people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that British Foreign Secretary David Lammy is considering making a visit to China as part of the new Labour governments efforts to recalibrate the UKs relationship with Beijing. In the run up to Labours landslide victory in the July general election, Starmer said an audit of UK-China ties would be one of the first things that we will do. If it goes ahead, Lammys visit would be the first by a British foreign secretary since James Cleverly went to China a year ago. As under previous Conservative administrations, Starmers Labour government faces a dilemma over how to balance economic and trade interests against its defense and security concerns. In its own readout, the Chinese government said Xi told Starmer that China and the UK should push for a stable and mutually beneficial relationship. China stands ready to engage in equal dialog with Britain on the basis of mutual respect, enhance mutual understanding and mutual trust, and make mutual benefit and win-win the main tone of China-Britain relations, Xi said, according to the readout. Xi also said China is willing to expand cooperation with the UK in finance, the green economy and on artificial intelligence. There have been a stream of flash points in the UK-China relationship in recent years, including a disagreement over security legislation in Hong Kong that Britain the former colonial power says breaches their handover agreement. China countered that the UKs response, including handing out visas to thousands of Hong Kongers, was a violation of the handover treaty. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. State Department No. 2 Campbell to represent US at Pacific Islands summit in Tonga By Humeyra Pamuk and David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell will represent the United States at a summit of the 18-nation Pacific Islands Forum in Tonga next week and will also visit Vanuatu and New Zealand, the State Department said, as Washington seeks to boost ties with a region where it is in increasing competition with China. Campbell, a key architect of U.S. Indo-Pacific policy, will be in the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa on Aug. 28 for the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting, and engage Pacific Island leaders on the margins to discuss the U.S. Pacific Partnership Strategy launched in 2022, the department said in a statement. He will then visit Vanuatu to dedicate the new U.S. embassy there, which opened last month. He will also highlight a U.S. Peace Corps project at a hospital and a repatriation of Vanuatu cultural artifacts, the statement said. Campbell will conclude his regional trip with a visit to New Zealand, where he will co-chair a U.S.-New Zealand Strategic Dialogue meeting in Auckland on Aug. 30 and launch an inaugural High-Level Technology Dialogue. Campbell is viewed as an intellectual author of then-President Barack Obama's "pivot to Asia" strategy aimed at rebalancing of U.S. diplomatic and military resources to the region. He has frequently stressed the need to step up engagement with the Pacific region, warning that China, Washington's main strategic competitor, is waiting in the wings to take advantage if it does not do so. U.S. President Joe Biden has hosted two summits with Pacific Island leaders, but disappointed them last year when he canceled a trip to meet them in their region due to debt ceiling negotiations in Washington. In February, the United States cautioned Pacific island nations against accepting assistance from Chinese security forces following a Reuters report that Chinese police were working in Kiribati, a remote atoll nation near Hawaii. Chinese police have deployed in the Solomon Islands since 2022 after a secret security pact criticized by the United States and Australia as undermining regional stability. Concerns have been raised also over workers in military uniforms in Vanuatu after a Chinese company began logging there. The leaders of Vanuatu and Solomon Islands visited China in July. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and David Brunnstrom; editing by Jonathan Oatis) State moves to seize assets of Las Vegas charter school, claims it failed to pay back over $800K in taxpayer money LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A state agency said that a charter school in Las Vegas broke several laws when it failed to pay back more than $800,000 in taxpayer funds. Earlier this month, the State Public Charter School Authority affirmed its decision during an administrative hearing to shut down Eagle Charter School. Eagle Charter School opened in August of 2023 to students, pitching itself as another option for families living on the east side of Las Vegas. Yet in less than a year, the State Public Charter School Authority board closed Eagle, citing financial mismanagement. Eagle Charter School (KLAS) For charter schools, the reasons why they fail is due to fiscal mismanagement, Dr. Megan Griffard, a UNLV professor in education finance, said. Giffard was a witness in the agencys hearing. Theres just a lot of debt here and the plan to recoup that debt by massively increasing enrollment is just not realistic. In its ruling agency, the board determined that Eagle violated several state laws, mostly stemming from an overpayment the Nevada Department of Education made to Eagle last year of $837,000. An enrollment audit the SPCSA did in June of 2023 revealed that Eagle had registered about 325 students for the 2023-2024 school year, according to the agency. However, once classes began in August of that year, Eagles enrollment was 150 students. Instead of returning the public money, a fact-finding order issued by SPCSA discovered that Eagle spent it. They really want to find a way to get those funds repaid. The only way that they can do that is to remain open. If the school is shut down and not allowed to continue, the [Nevada Department of Education] is not going to get that money back, Kara Hendricks, Eagles attorney, said. The closure of Eagle Charter impacted about 300 students who were enrolled to attend the 2024-2025 school year. According to Eagle, 26% of those students were considered homeless. On Friday, the State Public Charter School Authority board will vote on freezing Eagles assets until a state administrator can take control of them. Eagle Charter has been the only school since 2021 that the agency has 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 KLAS. UPDATE: As of 4:21 p.m., the fire has been put out and crews have finished mopping up. Firefighters are in the process of breaking down hose lines. The road will be open again at 4:40, according to the department. The cause of the flames was determined to be from homeless activity in the area. The Colorado Springs Fire Department is responding to a large wood pile on fire under Tejon near Interstate 25 on Thursday afternoon. The department says the fire is under control but "deep seated." Crews will remain in the area while they work the fire. The community is encouraged to avoid the area to allow firefighters to work and to be aware of possible hoses in the road. The northbound ramp from Tejon to I-25 is closed at this time. Ever tossed out perfectly good food because of a confusing date label? You're not alone and California is taking action to fix this common kitchen conundrum. The Golden State just passed a resolution calling on the federal government to standardize food date labels nationwide. This move could help you save money on groceries while taking a big bite out of atmospheric pollution, according to NRDC. Here's the scoop: About 20% of food waste in our homes happens because we're confused by date labels. More than 80% of Americans admit to throwing away food simply because it's past the date listed on the package. But here's the kicker: Those dates often have nothing to do with food safety. By clearing up the date label chaos, we could put nearly $4 billion back into American wallets. That's some serious dough that could be better spent on, well, actual dough (or whatever else you fancy). But it's not just about saving cash. This simple change could have a massive impact on our planet. Food waste is a major contributor to atmospheric pollution, and reducing it is one of the easiest ways we can all pitch in to cool things down. California's push for federal action is like giving the whole country a recipe for success. If Congress follows through, we'll all be singing from the same songbook when it comes to food dates. No more guessing games in the grocery aisle. "Right now, there's no way of knowing which dates on our food are actually safety dates and which dates indicate peak quality," writes the NRDC's Andrea Collins, a specialist in sustainable food systems. "Consumers need consistent date labels so that people stop tossing good food prematurely." So, next time you're about to toss that yogurt just because the date has passed, remember that change is on the horizon. With a little patience and some smart policy, we could all save money and the planet, one less wasted bite at a time. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. State police release name of suspect killed in shootout with Alton officer The suspect who was fatally shot Thursday during a shootout with Alton police has been identified, Illinois State Police said Friday. Vernon Randle Jr., 27, of Alton died in the shooting, state police said. Alton Police Officer First Class Allen Averbeck, who was injured in the shooting, was released from a hospital Thursday but Odin, a police dog serving with the officer, died from injuries suffered in the shooting, city officials said. Illinois State Police said in a news release Thursday that it is investigating the use of force portion of the shooting. The news release doesnt describe what happened prior to the shootout. Alton police officers engaged in gunfire with a suspect in the 700 block of East Sixth Street early Thursday, according to the news release. This is an ongoing investigation. No further information is available, Illinois State Police said Friday. Alton requested assistance from state police at about 6:05 a.m. Thursday. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) Texas state Rep. Mary E. Gonzalez, D-Clint, has been appointed by President Joe Biden to serve on the Board of Directors for the North American Development Bank or NADBank, her office announced this week. NADBank is a binational financial organization that invests in water, environmental and energy projects in the United States and Mexico and was established in 1994 as an extension of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Its mission is to enhance, protect and advance the well-being of the people of the U.S. and Mexico in the border region, according to a release sent out by Gonzalezs office. Providing safe, livable conditions including clean water to those along the border has been the foundation of my legislative service. Clean water is vital to life. It lifts people up and improves the health and well-being of our community, Gonzalez said. It is a great honor to be appointed to the NADBank board and to serve the people of El Paso, Texas, the United States and Mexico. About three years ago, NADBank administered a $23 million loan to the Lower Valley Water District in Clint to expand and improve existing waterlines and wastewater collection for more than 9,000 residents in unincorporated parts of El Paso County, including the Cuadrilla subdivision, Gonzalezs office said. Last year, a NADBank helped finance a project in the Village of Vinton which provided safe and reliable drinking water to 1,500 residents, her office added. NADBank has been doing work along the border for 30 years, and has made tremendous strides in aiding cities, counties, and states complete critical projects. But, without NADBank financing communities could not afford build the projects that greatly improve lives, Gonzalez said. As far back as 1997, El Paso and Juarez were part of the first dozen projects NADBank financed. In the El Paso area, 47,000 people, including many who live in colonias, have benefitted from the expansion of the Rogers Water Treatment Plant. In Juarez, 1.3 million people live better lives as new sewers and sewage treatment plants were built, greatly curtailing the dumping of raw sewage into the Rio Grande. NADBank is authorized to serve communities located within 100 km (about 62 miles) north of the international boundary in the four states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California and within 300 km (about 186 miles) south of the border in the six states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Sonora, and Baja California, according to the banks website. Other U.S. members on the NADBank Board include U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) A survey team of trauma experts reported to a Tennessee state commission that it found no deficiencies and awarded high marks to the Johnson City Medical Centers (JCMC) trauma center, Ballad Health announced. In a news release, Ballad Health stated that the survey team recommended JCMC, the regions only Level 1 Trauma Center, for a full certification from the State of Tennessee following its June inspection. DOJ: Smyth County school board vice chairman spent thousands buying child pornography The Tennessee Health Facilities Commission surveys the hospital every three years to re-accredit it as a Level 1 Trauma Center. Photo: WJHL Every three years, they come through the facility, they bring a team of trauma experts from various different organizations, and then the State of Tennessee Director for Trauma Services, said Kenny Shafer, the CEO of JCMC. This survey happened in June, and we were fortunate to get through that survey with zero deficiencies and in full compliance of our trauma program standards. Johnson City Medical Center has demonstrated an outstanding commitment to care for the injured patient, the survey team stated in its report to the Tennessee Health Facilities Commission. The administrative support and leadership are also exceptional. It is obvious the trauma center is represented and supported at the highest level. Ballad Health reported the survey teams report highlighted several strengths of the hospitals trauma care. A Level 1 center is for the highest acuity patients, JCMC Trauma Medical Director Dr. Bracken Burns, D.O. said. And thats why that designation is more challenging to meet some of those standards. Its really a commitment by the hospital and all the people in it to providing care to the most injured people in the region. According to Ballad, this marks the second consecutive survey in which no deficiencies have been identified at JCMC. The survey teams report lists recommendations for improvement at the hospital and also recommends the Tennessee Health Facilities Commission recertify JCMCs trauma program. There are six Level 1 Trauma Centers in Tennessee. With the exception of JCMC, the closest Level 1 Trauma Center to the region is in Knoxville. Were no longer just Johnson Citys hospital, Shafer said. Were a regional referral center. So what this survey means to us is the community counts on us to be here all the time, that they expect us to be here at their darkest times. What this survey did is it validated that were doing that work well and that we are meeting the standards for taking care of those patients. Shafer told News Channel 11 that the hospital serves patients from four states, many of whom transfer from hospitals that are not in the Ballad system. We serve over a million people in this area, he said. If we didnt have the level of service here at JCMC that we have, people would have to travel over the mountains to Asheville or hours away, up to Virginia. So to have this resource in this part of the country, considering the rural nature of where we live, is very critical to the community 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 WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. NILES TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) The state is working to pull the license of a Niles-area child care center. The Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential Child Care Licensing Bureau says it has summarily suspended the child care license of Tiny Tators Childcare LLC, effective 6 p.m. Friday, and issued a notice of intent to revoke the license. This embedded content is not available in your region. According to the order of summary suspension, a recent investigation found that the center, located at 1036 Bell Rd., did not maintain clean and safe premises. An early August inspection revealed dirty spaces, broken furniture and dirty items of clothing, the document says. The state also accused Tiny Tators Childcare of not having the administrative capability to operate the center in a manner that is conducive to the welfare of children, mentioning a lack of training and a July outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease. Licensee did not provide enough cleaning supplies for staff to sanitize all the items at the center, did not send infected or ill children home, and continued to operate as usual, the order of summary suspension says. Moreover, investigators found that Tiny Tators Childcare used prohibited means of discipline, according to the order of summary suspension. Workers are accused of regularly yelling at children, and one person allegedly grabbed a child by the arm, injuring the child. The document says there was concern that the childs arm may have been broken, though that didnt turn out to be the case. It was critical to take emergency action to protect the health, welfare, and safety of the children at this child care center, MiLEAP said in a release. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SHILOH, Ga. (WRBL) A Georgia State Trooper is back at home in Harris County following a heart transplant. Blake Shiver and his family have found themselves overwhelmed by the outpouring of community support. Forty-nine-year-old Blake Shiver has always led a healthy, active lifestyle. As a 20-year Navy vet, state trooper and father of nine-year-old twins, hes always had to. It took Shiver and his family by surprise when he was diagnosed with heart failure four years ago; and again this summer when he was told he would need a heart transplant. Auburn coach to head wheelchair basketball Paralympic team in Paris Heart transplant was always like a possibility but it our minds it was way down the road, not right now, said Shivers wife Jennifer, who has been married to the currently-recovering state trooper for 22 years. For years, Shiver has dealt with borderline high-blood pressure, which hes told is hereditary. His family has a history of heart issues. Shiver was hospitalized at Piedmont Columbus North five weeks ago, then moved to Piedmont Atlanta a week later for further analysis and, later, a heart transplant. As Jennifer made trips to-and-from the hospital to take see Shiver, the community stepped in. State Trooper Blake Shiver returned home from his heart transplant to overwhelming community support. (Shiver Family) State Trooper Blake Shiver returned home from his heart transplant to overwhelming community support. (Shiver Family) State Trooper Blake Shiver returned home from his heart transplant to overwhelming community support. (Shiver Family) State Trooper Blake Shiver returned home from his heart transplant to overwhelming community support. (Shiver Family) They dropped off food to make sure the couples children were fed, held donation drives, offered prayers and moved the lawn at the Shivers Shiloh home. More than 20 law enforcement officers came together to give Shiver a police escort home when he was released from the hospital. Its been overwhelming. Its been way overwhelming, said Shiver appreciatively. Many community members didnt hesitate to say what an upstanding person Shiver is. It was apparent that, although the State Trooper had his heart replaced, he is widely known for his big heart in the community. I like to talk. And, and, and as I patrol, I talk, Shiver said, adding that he sees himself not as an enforcer but a teacher. He continued, I just dont realize, you know, with all my talking about everybody, that how many people that Ive reached. Historic schoolhouse restoration on track for major progress in 2024 It will still be six months to a year before Shiver is recovered enough to return to work with the State Patrol, although he will likely take on a desk job. He is grateful to be here today. It scares the death out of me to know that I wouldnt be here for my babies. You know, because is so much more I got to teach them, Shiver said, grateful that he has more time with his nine-year-olds. He urged others to consider becoming organ donors. Think about giving life to somebody else, Shiver said. He continued, Its the greatest sacrifice you can ever make. Over the next months, Shiver is looking forward to attending upcoming fundraisers held in his honor if he is well enough. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BOSTON (WWLP) The states highest officials spent the week in the Windy City at the Democratic National Convention, where Massachusetts cast all 116 delegate votes to make Vice President Kamala Harris their partys presidential nominee. LIVE: RFK suspends 2024 campaign, tells swing state voters not to vote for him At the convention, Massachusetts women in politics took center stage with Thursday night speeches from Governor Maura Healey and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren. Governor Healey, who was Massachusetts Attorney General while Harris was the Attorney General of California, delivered a speech focused on the contrast between former President Donald Trumps criminal record and Harris record as a prosecutor. Senator Warren delivered a speech focused on how Harris plans to help working-class families after a minute-and-a-half long standing ovation. Groceries, gas, housing, health care, taxes, abortion, said Warren. We need to make life more affordable for working people. Back on Beacon Hill, State Auditor Diana DiZoglio held a news conference detailing a draft executive order her office wrote, which is meant to ban the use of taxpayer money to fund state government non-disclosure-agreements. How many more years are we going to allow victims of harassment, discrimination, and abuse to be silenced by the state government? said DiZoglio at the news conference. While the Governor was in Chicago, Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll served as acting governor before leaving for the convention on Tuesday afternoon. Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin returned from the DNC to serve as acting governor on Tuesday. Both Healey and Driscoll are scheduled to fly home from Chicago on Friday afternoon to resume their roles in state government. 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. Statesville woman, Hickory man charged in connection to vehicle reported stolen out of Indiana STATESVILLE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) Two people were charged in connection to a stolen vehicle reported at a Statesville motel Saturday. According to the Iredell County Sheriffs Office, deputies responded just after midnight Aug. 17 to the Motel 7 on Greenland Drive. Upon arrival, they reportedly located a blue Dodge Challenger in the parking lot and confirmed it was stolen out of Indiana. Back-to-back stolen vehicle alerts catch two wanted men in Mooresville, police say The sheriff said deputies reviewed surveillance footage that captured a white female, identified as 26-year-old Amber Marie McCoy, of Statesville, exiting the Charger with a white male passenger, identified as Anthony Mack Dorland, 43, of Hickory. Deputies say the pair were reportedly seen entering the motel at approximately 10:55 p.m. Aug. 16. They confirmed that both McCoy and Dorland had outstanding warrants for their arrest out of Catawba County. After deputies knocked on the door, they say McCoy eventually opened it and was placed under arrest. Dorland was found hiding under a bed and was also placed under arrest. Both suspects were transported to the Iredell County Detention Center. McCoy was charged with felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle and was issued no bond, but received an additional $2,000 secured bond on the outstanding Catawba County warrant for felony possession of methamphetamine. Dorland was served with his outstanding warrant for arrest for felony probation violation out of Catawba County and received a $10,000 secured bond. His criminal history also includes being charged with felony habitual impaired driver and two counts of felony possession of methamphetamine. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Sterling Heights will become a "sister city" with an Iraqi town that is about 90% Chaldean, an ethnic group that has a sizable presence in the Macomb County city. The partnership illustrates how Chaldeans, Iraqi Catholics, are working to preserve their heritage while helping grow a city that has the highest percentage of Iraqi Americans in Michigan. The city council in Sterling Heights voted unanimously Tuesday to establish a sister city agreement with Ankawa, a suburb of Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor and Ankawa Mayor Ramy Noori Syawish are to formalize the agreement with a ceremonial signing next month at the Chaldean Community Foundation in Sterling Heights. The Chaldean Community Foundation held a ribbon cutting Friday July, 31, 2020 revealing their new renovations and expansion of their Sterling Heights location. We are thrilled to formalize our relationship with Ankawa, a city that holds deep significance for many of our residents, Taylor said in a statement. This sister city agreement is more than just a symbolic gesture; it is a commitment to working together to build bridges of friendship and cooperation that will enrich both communities. Were excited to learn and grow together." The sister city agreement was initiated by Martin Manna, president of the Chaldean Community Foundation and Chaldean American Chamber of Commerce, and Syawish, the city of Sterling Heights said in a news release. Manna told the Free Press that "both these cities have large Chaldean populations ... with Ankawa now being the largest Chaldean city in all of Iraq." Syawish visited Sterling Heights in April, meeting with Manna and Taylor. In Sterling Heights, the fourth largest city in Michigan, almost 24% of its roughly 134,000 residents are of Middle Eastern descent, according to 2020 census data. Out of those, 86% have roots in Iraq and a majority of the Iraqi Americans are Chaldean, Assyrian or Syriac, which are Iraqi Christian groups. About 28% of Sterling Heights residents are immigrants, with the largest group from Iraq, according to 2022 census data. Across Michigan, Iraqis are the third largest immigrant in the state after Indians and Mexicans. The agreement comes at a time when Christians in Iraq are struggling to maintain a presence after decades of war and the rise of militant groups such as ISIS. While the group was defeated, Chaldeans are still facing discrimination and problems getting jobs, said Chaldean advocates. Some have fled and ended up in Michigan through refugee resettlement programs. The Chaldean Community Foundation held a ribbon cutting Friday July, 31, 2020 revealing their new renovations and expansion of their Sterling Heights location. Taylor said they plan to invite a delegation from Ankawa to visit Sterling Heights, probably in the spring during the city's Cultural Exchange event that celebrates diverse cultures. In turn, I hope at some point we can send a delegation from Sterling Heights to Ankawa to learn more about their city, its residents and its business community, firsthand," Taylor said. The city said the sister city agreement is not just symbolic, but will involve business and education ties. It will include building "a curriculum assessment and teacher exchange program along with remote learning opportunities at the college level to ensure students and teachers have the ability to give and receive unique experiences and perspectives." The city didn't specify how the programs would be carried out. Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor The agreement came about "after months of discussions between community leaders in Sterling Heights and representatives from Ankawa," the city said. Sterling Heights has long had a diverse population of other immigrant groups such as Polish Americans and Italian Americans. Over the past 42 years, Sterling Heights has had previous sister city partnerships with Cassino, Italy; Sant Elia Fiumerapido, Italy; Tetovo, Macedonia; Legazpi City, Philippines; Sorsogon City, Philippines; Shengjin, Albania; and Jaffna, Sri Lanka, the city said. The growth of the Chaldean population in Sterling Heights can be seen in the number of Iraqi restaurants and other small businesses in the city, especially along Dequindre and Ryan roads. The increase in the number of immigrants, some of them refugees, has sparked efforts to provide them with housing and job opportunities. In 2021, the Chaldean Community Foundation broke ground on a $25 million affordable housing project in Sterling Heights, the Macomb Daily reported. In 2022, the state of Michigan earmarked $10 million for a Chaldean housing project. The sister city agreement is the latest exchange between metro Detroit and Iraq. In April, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani met with the Chaldean community at Shenandoah Country Club in West Bloomfield. He also met with Imam Hassan Al-Qazwini and other Iraqi Americans at the Islamic Institute of America in Dearborn Heights. Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com or X @nwarikoo This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Sterling Heights to be sister city with Chaldean town Ankawa in Iraq Still short on bus drivers, Orange schools offer bonuses that could top $18,000 Orange County school bus drivers could earn up to $18,800 a year in bonuses, as Central Floridas largest school district continues to combat an ongoing driver shortage. The district still needed about 100 bus drivers when the second week of the new school year began Monday. With so many positions open, school bus drivers double up on routes, and students regularly wait on campus about 30 minutes after the bell rings for buses to pick them. By offering more money, the district hopes to recruit drivers and alleviate the stress on its transportation department, said Bill Wen, transportation director for Orange County Public Schools. About 130 people attended a district job fair Monday to apply for bus driver positions, and Wen credited both the new bonuses and promotion of the event for that turnout. Its been the first time for an awful long time that weve had this many applicants come in, Wen said. The newest bonus gives drivers $8,000 a year for each of the next two years, if drivers take no paid time off. The deal came after a recent agreement between the school district and the bus drivers union. OCPS already offered bonuses of up to $10,800 a year, for perfect attendance, no crashes and other requirements. So combined, bus drivers could earn up to $18,800 extra a year with the new bonuses now in place. Bus drivers earn $16.65 to $19.98 an hour, according to the OCPS website. The districts bus fleet hasnt been fully staffed since the 2008-09 school year, Wen added. But the bus driver shortage has been more acute across Florida since the COVID-19 pandemic. The Florida Education Association reported last week when most Florida school districts started the 2024-25 school year that nearly every district is in need of bus drivers. This year, OCPS asked parents to register their students as bus riders or alert the district if no ride was needed. Administrators hoped knowing how many students were expected at each bus stop would help them eliminate unnecessary bus routes and streamline its services, Wen said. About 30% of families have filled out the registration, he said, adding he hopes everyone does next year. By being able to consolidate routes sooner, well reduce the amount of delays and waits and frustrations on the parents, he said. Two summers ago, Michelle Steves found herself caught in yet another city sweep of homeless encampments, this one not far from the Colorado Governors Mansion. She had been living on the Denver streets for years by then and the early morning convergence of trash trucks and city workers barking orders had become a regular part of her life. Shooed from one spot, often with little notice, she would find someplace new only to be chased off again. And with each sweep, like so many of the citys homeless population, she would typically lose anything not quickly gathered in the chaos of the moment. All else disappeared into the shovels and dumpsters on site or carted away to a storage warehouse she had no idea how to access. She and others talk of how it is not only things scavenged for survival that are gone, but also the clung-to remnants of a time before life took a wrong turn: family photos, a childs crayon drawing, a special letter, the last gift before a parent died, even the cremated ashes of loved ones. It is the collateral damage of a nations homelessness response. But in Denver, it is not supposed to be this way. Since 2019, the city has been under a federal court mandate with specific guidelines to not only better notify homeless people that a sweep is coming so they can prepare, but also make retrieval of possessions seized and stored easier and more accessible. Yet five years and two administrations after the settlement of a federal class action suit, known as Lyall v. City of Denver, critics and even the citys own Auditor say compliance with the terms of that agreement is spotty if not sometimes blatantly ignored. And all the while over the objections of abuse and inefficiency the city has continued to award a multi-million-dollar contract to a private company handling not only the sweeps but also the subsequent storage of taken possessions. Current city officials, including Mayor Mike Johnston, insist that the terms of the settlement are being followed and that Denvers homeless population is treated with respect, offered housing assistance when possible, and that their possessions are preserved unless posing a health or safety risk. When Mayor Johnston took over a year ago, he overhauled how the city addresses encampments to ensure we are meeting peoples needs and helping them access stable housing. We will continue to ensure the terms of the Lyall settlement are followed, a spokesperson for the mayor told The Denver Gazette in an emailed response to questions. But interviews by The Denver Gazette with dozens of people living in motels, shelters and on the street, along with community advocates, civil rights attorneys, city officials, and a review of years of court documents and reports, point to persistent problems: Tents and all the possessions within and nearby are trashed when those tasked with the sweep decide everything is tainted under the broadly defined hazardous material exception. Other times possessions are tossed into dumpsters or trash trucks if the owner is not immediately in view and the campsite is deemed abandoned. In one June 2022 case, a man stepped away to grab some water and his carefully packed items that he had moved outside the fenced sweep area were dragged back inside the fence by a city worker and trashed, said Kelsang Virya, a Buddhist nun who founded the non-profit advocacy group, Mutual Aid Monday, who said she witnessed the event and partially captured it on video. In a more recent incident this spring near 8th Avenue and Mariposa Street, a young woman who also simply crossed the street to get water, saw her packed items outside the fenced area shoved towards a trash truck, said Ana-Lilith Miller, an advocate with Housekeys Action Network Denver (HAND), a non-profit that helps with housing. Miller told The Denver Gazette there was enough outcry that the workers stopped, and the woman was able to grab her things and scurry away. Denver homeless crisis worsens despite $274M investment; housing-first approach needed, critics say And even when something ends up in a city-contracted warehouse for the required minimum of 60 days, the process for retrieval can be inconvenient and impractical for those with limited transportation and abilities. Currently the hours are 6 to 8:30 a.m. four days a week and from noon to 6 p.m. on Thursday. When items are confiscated during a sweep the owner is supposed to be given a claim ticket as well as instructions on how to reclaim their items. They make things as difficult as possible, said Amy Beck, founder of Together Denver, another advocacy group. Most people are in such crisis they are not capable of retrieval. The majority never even try. But Steves, the homeless woman near the Governors Mansion, is one who did. I felt like they won Steves said she left her belongings for about 15 minutes to find a bathroom, asking a friend to watch her things. When she returned her belongings had vanished. She said when she confronted a city worker she was told: Oh, were keeping it for you, and was given three claim tickets. I was pissed, she said, rattling off the list of missing items: My jacket, my tent, my clothes, my purse, my cigarettes, my lighter, my ID, my wallet with my food stamp card. Everything. Always before she had taken the losses as inevitable and forever. This time she decided to fight back. She asked Virya, from Mutual Aid Monday, to help. Together they went to the warehouse at 1449 Galapago St. during the Thursday hours. A worker for Environmental Hazmat Services (EHS), the Wheat Ridge-based company that holds the citys contract for storage, was sitting in a truck and at first did not know what they were talking about, both women later said. Eventually he checked, they said, and he told them her things were at another warehouse where items were relocated after the initial 30 days. Virya remembered being surprised that the items were already moved. She cannot remember for certain if a month had passed, but in retrospect she is skeptical. The women said they were told to follow him to a second warehouse. But once they arrived, they were ordered to leave and return to the first location in a week. So, they did. But on that day another EHS worker told them they were not on the list and were not allowed to be there. Virya said she became angry and insisted he call his supervisor. The worker, she said, finally admitted they were correct but that the items still were not there. Come back tomorrow, they said they were told. On their third try, after waiting in the parking lot for more than an hour, the shopping carts appeared, at first looking exactly as they did during the sweep. It struck Virya as odd because she thought items were supposed to be repacked securely for storage, but both women were too relieved to complain. Oh my God, Steves remembered thinking, I was so happy. They took the carts to a nearby park where the initial jubilation dissolved quickly. The first thing we noticed was the smell, Virya remembered as they began to pick through the jumble of things. Steves noticed items were missing, including a bicycle and electronics charging strip. Worse, though, was that what remained was covered in rodent feces and urine that Steves insisted was not there at the encampment because she liked to keep her things clean and organized. The only thing salvageable was her backpack which had her purse and wallet inside. I guess just getting it was an accomplishment, said Virya later. But she could not shake feelings of sorrow and anger. I was so sad for Michelle. It was so disappointing. They may have a system, but they dont bother to follow it. I felt like they won. Years of allegations On Aug. 25, 2016, attorney Jason Flores-Williams filed a class action lawsuit in federal court in Denver against the city and its leaders that immediately grabbed national headlines. In what was among the first-of-its-kind in the nation, Lyall v. City of Denver contended that during sweeps Denvers homeless population was deprived of its 4th and 14th Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure and a lack of due process. All nine plaintiffs were homeless, including Raymond Lyall, a construction worker whose three crushed vertebrae made steady work impossible. The other plaintiffs included a former accountant who had fallen on hard times, a disabled veteran, and a woodworker whose tools were trashed during a sweep. Andrew McNulty, a Denver civil rights attorney, joined the case about a year later as one of the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs. Homelessness is one of the most important civil rights issues of our time, he would later say. But he also admitted ending sweeps and advocating for the rights of homeless people can be an uphill fight, calling it a politically unpopular issue. In February 2019, a settlement was reached with the city and approved by U.S. District Judge William Martinez. In the lengthy agreement the city agreed to standards to be implemented prior to sweeps, including a seven-day notice of a large-scale sweep, when possible, and a 48-hour notice to remove personal property in other areas with an exception for hazardous items considered a public health risk which could be disposed of immediately. Those could include illegal drugs, used syringes, perishable food, or trash. The settlement further stated that any items of personal property that could be reasonably assumed to have value to any person will be collected and stored, including tents, sleeping bags, backpacks, suitcases, phones, bicycles, and musical instruments. City and contracted employees were to take particular care to identify, collect and store sensitive personal items and documents such as wallets and purses, prescription drugs, birth certificates and other ID as well as health documents. And if questions arose about an items worth, the scale was to be tipped in favor of value and those items should be stored, the settlement said. Storage facility hours were set for early morning Monday through Wednesday and on Friday, and in the afternoon on Thursday. In addition, the city shall create a formal system to provide public notification when unattended personal property has been removed by city employees or contractors and stored. A $30,000 award was also granted to be split at $5,000 each to the six remaining plaintiffs. By then three of the original plaintiffs had dropped out. But in the years since there have been mounting allegations not only of non-compliance but that the problems have worsened: October 2020. The city was sued a second time in federal court. Over the past year, and in a blatant effort to skirt a settlement agreement entered into between Denver and a class of its homeless population, Denver officials have repeatedly showed up at homeless encampments without notice, flatly told homeless residents to move along (to where is the obvious question to this nonsensical command) and seized their property (often discarding it), the second suit alleged. A partial preliminary injunction against the city was granted in early 2021 that found the city had not been fully following the 2019 settlement. The case was later reversed on appeal on procedural grounds. Living in a truck, family with two young sons faces struggle of Denvers streets Spring 2021. The advocacy group, Denver Homeless Out Loud, issued a report called Swept to Nowhere, which surveyed 150 homeless people between April and August of 2020 at least six months after the settlement. In its report the group found 89 percent had experienced a sweep or had property taken from them, with more than half of those saying they did not receive advance notice. In addition, nearly three of four said they did not know where their belongings were stored or how to retrieve them. Of the small percentage who tried, more than 80 percent said they were unable to reclaim any or only some of their property. September 2022. Civil rights lawyer McNulty sent a letter to Mayor Michael Hancock and other city officials alleging Denver has violated the express terms of the Lyall v. Denver settlement agreement and these violations are ongoing and escalating. The letter described brutality, against homeless people, including threats, intimidation and assault, and that possessions are routinely trashed without even the pretense of storing it. In addition, McNulty alleged that Denver city employees and contract workers were overheard saying the settlement did not need to be followed because it was no longer valid. City officials did not respond, McNulty said. April 2023. The Denver City Audits Office issued a report that concluded the city was mostly, but not fully compliant with the settlement. Among the failures were that personal property was disposed of before 60 days and the data multiple city agencies use to track encampment enforcement and cleanup was often unreliable. The audit further said: the city cannot ensure people experiencing homelessness have equitable access to services or their stored personal belongings because the storage facility is not easy to reach, personal property can be moved to an off-site facility without notice, and instructions are provided only in written English with no accommodations for people who speak another language or have a visual or learning disability. The audit also found the city is not tracking expenses related to homeless encampments or sufficiently monitoring invoices and contract performance. The city defends its actions and disputes allegations of non-compliance: The City and County of Denver is following the terms of the Lyall settlement in providing a storage facility and staffing it during the days and hours agreed to as part of the settlement, a spokesperson for citys Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI), one of multiple city agencies involved, said in an emailed statement. Our DOTI team takes great care during clean-up events, offering people the opportunity to voluntarily store personal items free of charge and providing them with tags they can use to retrieve their items. In addition, the agencys statement said a phone number is given as part of its cleanup notice so people can directly contact EHS, the private clean-up company to help with sweeps and oversee storage. The city works to be accommodating, allowing people to store items longer when they reach out and let us know, the statement said. Featured Local Savings A spokesperson for Mayor Johnston said in an email that problems highlighted in the auditors report predated his administration. McNulty counters, though, that Denver has been on notice, time after time, year after year. It was happening under Mayor Hancock and has continued under Mayor Johnston, he said, It has been a constant shell game. Reports of verbal abuse In April, Denver City Council over the objections of the homeless community and advocates approved a multi-million-dollar contract with EHS. The three-year contract came with the option of extending it for an additional two years, bringing the possible total to five years. The company did not respond to requests for comment. EHS has held a continuous contract with the city since 2018. The most recent contract authorizes payment of up to $4 million over three years and requires on-call services to assist multiple city departments with clean-up of public property, rights-of-way, and other properties directed by the city that are impacted by abandonment or illegal dumping of materials and wastes from private citizens and households. Although the contract encompasses more than just homeless response, it specifically cites the Lyall settlement and requires the company to follow it. It includes not only clean-up but also overseeing the short-term care and storage of a persons belongings if that person is experiencing homelessness and is required to vacate public property or is being placed under arrest, or is transported off-site to receive critical services, and as a result, may not remain in possession of their belongings. The contract also requires identification of all items that have gone unclaimed beyond the maximum storage time and providing for their disposal as well as tagging and inventory process sufficiently accurate and organized so a person may be united with their belongings. So far this year, Denver has paid EHS $393,344 but the city admitted it was not clear how much of that has gone to homeless response. Invoices are not tracked by the job, but rather per day and there can be multiple jobs per day, a spokesperson for Denver Public Health and Environment (DDPHE), which oversees the contract, told The Denver Gazette in an email. Critics have complained that under the Lyall settlement, possessions stored and retrieved are supposed to be clearly catalogued to make retrieval easier. But a spreadsheet of storage information given to The Denver Gazette through a public records request is non-specific, often only listing stored items as personal belongings or clothes, along with sweep location and date. A spokesperson for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) which manages the process said in an email the description is intentionally vague to protect the privacy of owners. We provide people claim tickets associated with their items that describe the items and include the clean-up date and locate, the spokespersons email said, adding that if a claim ticket is lost the owner can describe the stored item with the location and date it was taken and the team will work to connect people with their items. We try to make it easy as possible for them to collect their belongings when they are ready to do so, the agencys email said. Advocates and those who are homeless scoff at that, saying that while some people are successful the majority are not. Serena Salazar, a 41-year-old homeless woman, said she tried to retrieve her items after a sweep earlier this year but could not even after she provided ID and her claim tickets. She said she was told her description of stored items was not detailed enough. I lost everything, she said. Last fall, before the current contract was renewed, council members considered a six -month extension of the 2018 contract. At the time there was public outcry that EHS workers had been abusive to homeless people during sweeps and that there was inconsistency when trying to retrieve items from storage. Council member Sarah Parady was the lone no vote to move the measure out of committee last year and to the full council. The extension was nevertheless approved, and in April, so, too, was a new three-year renewal for EHS. At the time of the committee vote, a spokesperson for DDPHE said the city was open to looking for a new vendor but did not want to be caught with a gap in services, especially during Mayor Mike Johnstons initiative last year to clear encampments and move 1,000 people off the streets. Parady, a long-time advocate for social justice issues, recently told The Denver Gazette she was distressed about reports of verbal abuse between EHS workers and those on the street. Already the citys contract with EHS had been amended in 2021 to require sensitivity training for company employees. The current contract now specifically prohibits EHS workers from speaking with any member of the public on behalf of the City or negotiate with any member of the public to take certain action while working on site. That includes journalists and reporters, bystanders to the clean-up, and persons both inside and outside any barrier or fence defining the worksite. Parady, who voted for the new contract, said she has lingering concern. She would like the contract split between two entities one with expertise in clean-up, and a second to a company or organization more familiar with homelessness issues to create a more practical system for storage and retrieval. If we dont get the storage piece right, we are working counter to our own goal of getting people to trust the system, she said. When asked about the possibility of two contracts, a DDPHE spokesperson told The Denver Gazette in an email: The city would consider separate contracts after the current three-year agreement expires. A body near the river June 13, just after 7 a.m. A cluster of police, city, and state vehicles have mobilized in a bank parking lot near 38th and Fox Streets. Waiting. Down the hill and across the street, the scramble was on as a half dozen or so people who were living at an encampment shoved possessions into shopping carts, into bins, and suitcases. Other things were loaded onto a motorized scooter, propelled by 45-year-old Daniel Teitsort. He was frantic as he guided the overloaded scooter to the top of the embankment and onto a sidewalk. His girlfriend, Hannah Haight, 26, with her dog, Penny, on a leash, dragged a wagon and duffel bags up the same hill. So did Casey Horn, 35, who also lived in the small encampment. Most everyone else was already gone because a warning had been posted a week before. But now the deadline loomed. Were running from them now, Teitsort said, balancing two bicycles, across the front of the scooter. At 7:54 a.m. it began. The assembled cars and trucks rumbled down the hill, joined by a front-loader on a flat-bed truck. With remarkable efficiency, workers swarmed the area and what was left was scooped into a dumpster. The entire area was quickly cleared of all traces. The half dozen or so people rousted from the site started rolling their things under a highway overpass about a hundred steps away to strategize logistics of what to do and where to go next. It buys us some time, said Teitsort. A spokesperson for the citys Department of Housing Stability said in an email that homeless people living in encampments are provided with intensive street outreach and relocation options prior to the encampments closure. However, the city did acknowledge it might miss people if they were not present during the outreach. Haight said she had a spot in a city-sponsored motel and was told she could take two bags of items. She did not bother asking for a claim ticket for the rest. I dont know anybody who ever got their stuff back, she said. Horn said she got a city-sponsored apartment which allowed her to take unlimited items, but she said she lost things anyway because she was unable to quickly sort between her possessions and those of others in the turmoil of the sweep. Teitsort said he had no choice but to remain on the street because he could not get housing. A city worker soon found them under the bridge. They were told they had 45 minutes to move their possessions again or everything would be trashed. Because they were still on public property, they were told it was part of the overall sweep area. Life on the streets: Homeless womans struggle with addiction in Denvers encampments So once more Teitsort began loading as much as he could onto the scooter and racing out of immediate view. In the space of two hours, he moved things four times. He was exhausted and defeated. We dont have a home, so the stuff is our home, he said, we move from place to place and whenever we lose stuff its like losing part of your life. There was melancholy in his voice. Maybe a bit of anger. The same echoed in others on the street. They look in your tent and if they see stuff like a food wrapper or pee in a bottle, they trash the whole tent and everything around it, said Daniel Webb, who goes by the street name, Shrek, and has been homeless for about five years. He said he has lost everything over and over in at least eight sweeps, including his birth certificate, medication, a Social Security card as well as clothes, a laptop computer, and a treasured skateboard his brother had given him. Its my stuff, he said as he waited in line for a free meal in front of City Hall, it means everything to me. Lindsey Torres, a homeless woman battling addiction and mental illness, was living in one RV last year on a Denver street and had stored things in another. When the police told her she had 10 minutes to clear out what she wanted before the vehicles were towed, she panicked and could not grab everything. Left behind in the rush was the container that held her dead mothers ashes. I felt helpless and afraid because there was nothing I could do, she would later say. Police bodycam footage from the scene showed her wailing on the sidewalk and confused. Amy Beck, an advocate who was also at the scene, told The Denver Gazette that Torres was unable to retrieve the vehicle from the impound lot afterward because she could not prove ownership. Beck stepped in and said she pleaded with the police for weeks to at least let them get the ashes. When at last Beck called the citys impound lot directly, she said she was told the vehicle, and all its contents had been destroyed. You get tired of losing everything. You have to detach. I have gotten used to losing so much stuff I have to tell myself not to hold onto anything anymore, said Lori Lupercio told The Denver Gazette in June at the encampment a week prior to the sweep described above. She was gone by the sweep but a few days later at a gathering Downtown she told The Denver Gazette she had been unable to get housing and was scared. A 50-year-old mother of six, she became homeless after not being able to keep up with her rent and was trying to escape domestic violence. On August 1, Lupercios body was found near the South Platte River. Her boyfriend was later arrested and charged with first degree murder. McNulty, the civil rights lawyer, acknowledged it is a complicated issue for the city as leaders must balance the needs of both a vulnerable homeless population and those of a frustrated, complaining public including homeowners and businesses who are distressed by nearby encampments. Often the piles of possessions look like trash. But looks can be deceiving. If you took anybodys house and pulled everything out and put it in a pile in the front yard it would look like trash, said McNulty. Those living that reality say the city has favored optics over true solutions. The latest point-in-time homeless count, conducted in January and released Aug. 14, reveals that despite spending an estimated $155 million to curb the crisis, the overall number of homeless people in Denver grew by more than 12%, from 5,818 in 2023 to 6,539 this year. Houstons homelessness reduction strategy: A model for success? And despite the citys much heralded push to move people into housing, only 150 more homeless people were sheltered this year compared to last, which means they were not living on the street, in cars or in public places. Theyre not really getting rid of homelessness. They just clean things up for the day, said Teitsort, Its like they are trying to sweep us along with our stuff. They want to make it look like were not here anymore. But we are. OREGON, Ill. (WTVO) A Stillman Valley man, who was captured in California, has been convicted of 3 counts of possession of child pornography. The charges stem from a 2018 investigation in which the Illinois State Police, along with the Attorney Generals Hi-Tech Crime Bureau, found child pornography being shared from Stillman Valley. Joshua Lake, 30, was identified as the suspect in the case. He was indicted in May 2021 and was captured in California in July 2023. Lake faces up to 7 years in prison and he will be required to register as a sex offender. He will learn his fate at an October 17th sentencing hearing. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Ukraine is continuing to successfully use terrain to advance in Kursk Oblast, three weeks into the operation. A number of Russian troops are now cut off by Ukraine's target attacks on key bridges in Kursk Oblast. They are at risk of becoming prisoners of war (POWs) if they cannot be evacuated soon, experts have told the Kyiv Independent. The loss of the crossings across the Seim River presents a serious challenge to Russian troops stationed in the Glushkovsky district, who are lodged between the river to the north, Ukraine's Sumy Oblast to the west and south, and Ukrainian-held territories in Kursk Oblast to the east. "Russians forced to the south of the river need supplies to fight," Phillips P. O'Brien, professor of Strategic Studies at the University of St Andrews in Scotland, told the Kyiv Independent. "Without those supplies, they will either have to be evacuated to the north bank of the river or they will become combat ineffective. They could even end up as Ukrainian prisoners, he added. Read also: Kursk counteroffensive shakes main pillar of Putins power grip, retired US general says The Seim River trap Ukrainian forces have hit three key stationary bridges across the Seim River in the Glushkovsy district of Russias Kursk Oblast, hindering Russias ability to resupply troops defending a nearly surrounded area on Ukraines border. Russian forces began setting up pontoon crossings across the river in the wake of Ukrainian attacks against the stationary bridges, but they quickly became targets for Ukrainian air strikes. The Special Operation Forces of Ukraine confirmed on Aug. 21 that they are successfully striking "engineering equipment... bridges, and pontoon crossings" in the area. A map of claimed Ukrainian advance in Russia's Kursk Oblast as of Aug. 20, 2024. Source: Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi. (Nizar al-Rifai/The Kyiv Independent) On Aug. 19, one of at least two pontoon crossings across the Seim River disappeared from the satellite images, and smoke was also detected in the area. Another pontoon bridge, built east of Glushkovo, was still visible as of Aug. 19. But whether this remaining crossing is sufficient to evacuate Russian troops, or if they will be able to build more in the area is unclear. "It is not very easy to build a pontoon crossing over the Seim River," defense expert Andrii Kharuk told the Kyiv Independent. "Due to the rivers natural shape and features, it is possible in a limited number of places. The situation for Russian forces is quite difficult there." Join our community Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight. Support us Russian pro-war military bloggers have also expressed concern about the hindered supply lines for the Russian troops located in Glushkovsky district. Some warn that the troops will need to be evacuated if Ukrainian forces manage to encircle the area. The exact number of Russian troops in the area is not known, and the Ukrainian military remains tight-lipped about the details of the ongoing operation. "According to various estimates, the number of troops there is likely to be between a few hundred and 2,000-3,000 soldiers," Kharuk said. "They will either have to abandon their equipment and somehow cross the river because there is no complete encirclement yet, or they will be captured." According to an expert speaking at a CEPA (Center for European Policy Analysis) online press briefing on Aug. 22., the bridges and pontoons were likely struck by French-made aerial glide bombs carried by MIG-29 fighter jets. If the MIG-29s are flying there, if there is room for maneuvering for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, it means Russian air defense is not strong in that area for now, said Nico Lange, former chief of staff at the German Defense Ministry. He added that if the largely encircled Russian troops start moving from the area they will be vulnerable. I think it's very important now that the Western partners allow Ukraine to use deep strike precision fires to hit the Russian troops on the march, said Lange. Ukraine started the unprecedented incursion into the Kursk Oblast on Aug. 6. Two weeks into the operation, Ukraine gained control of 92 settlements, including the town of Sudzha, and more than 1,250 square kilometers of Kursk Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 19. Read also: Morning in Sudzha: Inside Ukrainian-occupied Russia as Kursk operation continues He also said that "hundreds" of Russian soldiers had been captured as of Aug. 13, while an undisclosed Ukrainian colonel told The Independent news outlet that the number may be as high as 2,000. The Russian border near Ukraine's Sumy Oblast has been "largely cleared" of the Russian soldiers, which the Ukrainian president called one of the tactical goals of Kyiv's incursion. On Aug. 18, Zelensky outlined one of the Kursk operation's strategic goals: establishing a buffer zone in Ukraine-controlled Russian territories. Regardless of Ukraine's next moves, one things is clear the Kursk incursion has dealt a huge blow to Russia's military as well as the Kremlin, which, according to a report by Meduza, came to terms with the idea that it may take several months of fighting to regain the territory. "The situation in the Kursk Oblast will worsen for the Russian army because Ukraine will be able to gain a foothold along the water line and create certain positions based on this water line," Kharuk said. "We can already see that the Ukrainians are also bringing in heavy equipment, meaning that they are planning to somehow gain a foothold in this territory. I cannot say for sure, because I do not know the plans of the command, he added. "But it seems that the Ukrainian command will not leave this territory too quickly." Read also: Kursk incursion breaks Russias attempts to dictate peace terms, boosts Ukraines leverage Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Which streets to avoid during U of I new student events URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) As University of Illinois students are moving into their campus homes, the university is rolling out the welcome mat to new students with a series of events this weekend. This means traffic closures for some campus streets. The events begin Thursday night with Sights and Sounds at Memorial Stadium, but that wont result in any traffic closures. The New Student Convocation and Welcome Celebration on Friday will. RELATED: Which streets to avoid during U of I move-in week: UIPD Taking place at State Farm Center, the convocation will result in an L-shaped closure on First Street and Kirby Avenue. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., First Street will close between Peabody Drive and Kirby and Kirby will close between First and Fourth Streets. Quad Day on Sunday will also result in a closure. To connect the Main and South Quads, where informational booths are set up for student organizations, Gregory Street will close between the Morrow Plots and Sixth Street. The first day of classes, with increased foot traffic on campus, will be Monday. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Days after a new academic year began at UNC-Chapel Hill, pro-Palestinian protesters returned to the area of campus that saw dozens arrested in the spring ushering in what could be a tense semester at the university as the Israel-Hamas war continues. The campus chapter of Students for Justice for Palestine on Thursday evening hosted a disorientation event, drawing dozens of demonstrators. They gathered outside of South Building, which houses the offices of newly appointed Chancellor Lee Roberts and other administrators, with a portable surveillance camera overlooking them. While UNC performs business as usual in the first week of classes, join us for a Disorientation to the imperialism and violence that administration defends, an Instagram post promoting the event read. Admins repression of organizing will not hinder the demand for divestment, and the call for a Free Palestine. Thursdays protest marked the first campus demonstration over the war since tensions came to a head in the spring, with a four-day Gaza solidarity encampment that saw 36 protesters charged with trespassing after they refused to comply with orders from police to disband the gathering. All of those charged at the encampment have been offered plea deals ranging from deferred prosecution to a conditional discharge, according to their attorney. They are expected to appear in court, where they could accept or decline the deals, on Monday. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators also protested before and during the universitys graduation speech in May, with some splattering red paint on South Building. UNC police obtained a search warrant for private account information of the UNC Students for Justice for Palestine Instagram account in connection with those events. But Thursdays event, which lasted for a little less than two hours, remained peaceful. A handful of organizers stood on the steps of South Building to give speeches on topics from the war in Gaza, to other countries facing similar conflicts, to the history of student activism and protests at UNC. No counter-protesters appeared to be present. Since the war in Gaza began, SJP has called on UNC to disclose and divest from investments it holds in companies supporting Israel and to end study-abroad programs to Israel, among other demands. The war started last October when Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, launched a terrorist attack that killed more than 1,200 Israeli civilians, with 240 hostages being taken. The Gaza Health Ministry says more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war as of Aug. 15, Reuters reported. Jacob Ginn, an SJP member, told The News & Observer prior to the demonstration Thursday that its in the universitys interest to meet our demands. Were gonna stay out here, and were gonna keep protesting and keep pushing the university until they are met, Ginn said. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally outside UNC-Chapel Hills South Building on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. The campus chapter of Students for Justice for Palestine hosted a disorientation event, drawing dozens of demonstrators. University reminds students of free-speech policies Roberts, who served as interim chancellor during the spring semester and was named to the job permanently about two weeks ago, has taken a different approach to campus protests from that of other college administrators around the country. When protesters pulled down the American flag after Aprils arrests and replaced it with a Palestinian one, Roberts led police in restoring it gaining national attention in the process. He has repeatedly emphasized, including on the day he was named chancellor, that the university supports students right to protest, but they must follow the law and university policy when doing so. We have some very reasonable, very easy to follow rules when it comes to protests: Please dont vandalize our historic buildings. You cant turn the quad into a private campground. And please dont threaten, harass or intimidate students, employees or staff, Roberts told reporters after accepting the job. As long as everyone can stay within those, again, very reasonable rules, I think well have a terrific semester. Administrators in recent days took additional steps to remind students and others on campus of their First Amendment rights, as well as university policies on free expression, sending campus-wide emails with reminders and a link to a new Free Speech at Carolina website. On this we want to be clear: No one persons freedom of expression is more important than another persons right to learn, work or speak free from harassment and discrimination. Civic engagement and peaceful protest have a long and noble history on our campus, Roberts and Provost Chris Clemens wrote in a campus message Wednesday. No one has the right, however, to disrupt campus operations, threaten or abuse others or damage public property. Ginn viewed the messages, which did not reference any specific stances or groups of protesters, as an effort to repress the movement for Palestinian liberation and solidarity with Palestine. Per policy, universities in the UNC System are required to inform new students of their policies on free speech during orientation sessions each year and periodically provide this same information to all students. While Thursdays event was the first major protest of the school year, it likely will not be the last. Roberts and Clemens recognized in their message that there will be many opportunities this year to debate and demonstrate. As you do so, they wrote, we ask that you do so with enthusiasm and respect for the principles of free expression that have been dear to this University for so many years. At court hearing for the protesters last month, SJP leaders said Aprils encampment was only one stage of a committed campaign to force the university to heed the groups demands. One organizer, speaking to the crowd on Thursday, said the group will make this the hardest year of administrators lives. Every time you try and shut us down, every time you try and create a new policy to curb our demonstrations, every single time you try and arrest us, the organizer said, more students and more people will rise up and take our place. Days after a new academic year began at UNC-Chapel Hill, pro-Palestinian protesters returned to the area of campus that saw dozens arrested in the spring ushering in what could be a tense semester at the university as the Israel-Hamas war continues. The campus chapter of Students for Justice for Palestine on Thursday evening hosted a disorientation event, drawing dozens of demonstrators. They gathered outside of South Building, which houses the offices of newly appointed Chancellor Lee Roberts and other administrators, with a portable surveillance camera overlooking them. While UNC performs business as usual in the first week of classes, join us for a Disorientation to the imperialism and violence that administration defends, an Instagram post promoting the event read. Admins repression of organizing will not hinder the demand for divestment, and the call for a Free Palestine. Thursdays protest marked the first campus demonstration over the war since tensions came to a head in the spring, with a four-day Gaza solidarity encampment that saw 36 protesters charged with trespassing after they refused to comply with orders from police to disband the gathering. All of those charged at the encampment have been offered plea deals ranging from deferred prosecution to a conditional discharge, according to their attorney. They are expected to appear in court, where they could accept or decline the deals, on Monday. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators also protested before and during the universitys graduation speech in May, with some splattering red paint on South Building. UNC police obtained a search warrant for private account information of the UNC Students for Justice for Palestine Instagram account in connection with those events. But Thursdays event, which lasted for a little less than two hours, remained peaceful. A handful of organizers stood on the steps of South Building to give speeches on topics from the war in Gaza, to other countries facing similar conflicts, to the history of student activism and protests at UNC. No counter-protesters appeared to be present. Since the war in Gaza began, SJP has called on UNC to disclose and divest from investments it holds in companies supporting Israel and to end study-abroad programs to Israel, among other demands. The war started last October when Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, launched a terrorist attack that killed more than 1,200 Israeli civilians, with 240 hostages being taken. The Gaza Health Ministry says more than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war as of Aug. 15, Reuters reported. Jacob Ginn, an SJP member, told The News & Observer prior to the demonstration Thursday that its in the universitys interest to meet our demands. Were gonna stay out here, and were gonna keep protesting and keep pushing the university until they are met, Ginn said. University reminds students of free-speech policies Roberts, who served as interim chancellor during the spring semester and was named to the job permanently about two weeks ago, has taken a different approach to campus protests from that of other college administrators around the country. When protesters pulled down the American flag after Aprils arrests and replaced it with a Palestinian one, Roberts led police in restoring it gaining national attention in the process. He has repeatedly emphasized, including on the day he was named chancellor, that the university supports students right to protest, but they must follow the law and university policy when doing so. We have some very reasonable, very easy to follow rules when it comes to protests: Please dont vandalize our historic buildings. You cant turn the quad into a private campground. And please dont threaten, harass or intimidate students, employees or staff, Roberts told reporters after accepting the job. As long as everyone can stay within those, again, very reasonable rules, I think well have a terrific semester. Administrators in recent days took additional steps to remind students and others on campus of their First Amendment rights, as well as university policies on free expression, sending campus-wide emails with reminders and a link to a new Free Speech at Carolina website. On this we want to be clear: No one persons freedom of expression is more important than another persons right to learn, work or speak free from harassment and discrimination. Civic engagement and peaceful protest have a long and noble history on our campus, Roberts and Provost Chris Clemens wrote in a campus message Wednesday. No one has the right, however, to disrupt campus operations, threaten or abuse others or damage public property. Ginn viewed the messages, which did not reference any specific stances or groups of protesters, as an effort to repress the movement for Palestinian liberation and solidarity with Palestine. Per policy, universities in the UNC System are required to inform new students of their policies on free speech during orientation sessions each year and periodically provide this same information to all students. While Thursdays event was the first major protest of the school year, it likely will not be the last. Roberts and Clemens recognized in their message that there will be many opportunities this year to debate and demonstrate. As you do so, they wrote, we ask that you do so with enthusiasm and respect for the principles of free expression that have been dear to this University for so many years. At court hearing for the protesters last month, SJP leaders said Aprils encampment was only one stage of a committed campaign to force the university to heed the groups demands. One organizer, speaking to the crowd on Thursday, said the group will make this the hardest year of administrators lives. Every time you try and shut us down, every time you try and create a new policy to curb our demonstrations, every single time you try and arrest us, the organizer said, more students and more people will rise up and take our place. The brain has become one of the most plastic-polluted tissues yet sampled," said the study's lead author, Matthew Campen. "Theres much more plastic in our brains than I ever would have imagined. Getty Close up side shot of microplastics lay on people hand. Microplastics have been found in an alarming number of human organs, including the brain, lungs, liver, and kidneys The increase in microplastics in the brain parallels that of microplastics in the environment Researchers recommend reducing exposure to microplastics by avoiding the use of plastic in food preparation Microplastics are being found in crucial human organs, including the brain, according to various scientific studies. Researchers are calling for more urgent and actionable measures to reduce plastic pollution after several studies detected tiny microplastics (typically around 5mm in diameter) in a wide range of human organs, including the lungs, reproductive organs, liver, kidneys, knee and elbow joints, blood vessels and bone marrow. It is now imperative to declare a global emergency in reference to the growing rate of plastic pollution, said Sedat Gundogdu, who studies microplastics at Cukurova University in Turkey, per The Guardian. While the exact health consequences in humans are not yet fully known, studies have found that microplastics can lead to oxidative stress, which can result in cell damage, inflammation, or cardiovascular disease. And through recent animal studies, researchers have discovered that microplastics can also cause fertility issues, impaired learning and memory, various cancers, and a disrupted endocrine and immune system. The apparent build-up of the tiny pieces in multiple human organs is scary, said Bethanie Carney Almroth, an ecotoxicologist at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, The Guardian. Researchers advise people to reduce their exposure by avoiding the use of plastic in food preparation (ie. microwaving) and the accumulation of dust. Additionally, some researchers advise eating less meat, especially processed products. pcess609/Getty Microplastics or tiny plastic particles in a glass of water. Concerns have grown since the National Institutes of Health published a study in May finding that, on average, 91 brain samples contained roughly 10 to 20 times more than other organs (e.g., the liver and kidneys), making the brain one of the most plastic-polluted tissues yet sampled." The studys lead author, Matthew Campen, a toxicologist and professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of New Mexico, said the findings are pretty alarming Theres much more plastic in our brains than I ever would have imagined or been comfortable with. I dont know how much more plastic our brain can stuff in without it causing some problems, Campen added. Related: Microplastics Discovered in Human Heart Tissue for the First Time Another one of Campens studies examined 12 brain samples from people who had died with dementia, including Alzheimers disease and found that the brains contained up to 10 times more plastic, by weight, than healthy samples. Additionally, over an 8-year period, from 2016 to 2024, the brain samples showed a 50% higher total of microplastics which reflected a similar increase in the rate of microplastics found in the environment. You can draw a line its increasing over time. Its consistent with what youre seeing in the environment, Campen said. Svetlozar Hristov/Getty Macro shot on a bunch of microplastics that cannot be recycled. Additionally, in a July 2024 Journal of Hazardous Materials study, microplastics were found in all 16 of the bone marrow samples examined. Each sample contained polystyrene the plastic used to pack peanuts and electronics and almost all contained polyethylene, which is used for clear food wrap and detergent bottles. Similarly, microplastics were found in all 45 samples for a study examining patients with knee or hip surgery. Yet another study examined 312 patients who had fatty deposits, or plaques, removed from their carotid arteries. Of those, almost 60% of the samples contained microplastics and those subjects were 2.1 times more likely to experience a heart attack, stroke, or die. Related: Microplastics Found in Brain After Only 4 Weeks of Exposure Getty Microplastics on hand 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. At this time, the United States does not have established government standards for plastic particles in food or water. However, the Environmental Protection Agency is outlining guidelines for measuring them and, since 2018, has issued grants to help researchers develop new ways to efficiently detect and quantify microplastics. The Food and Drug Administration said in a statement: Current scientific evidence does not demonstrate that levels of microplastics or nanoplastics detected in foods pose a risk to human health. The United Nations Environment Assembly has begun creating a global treaty to end plastic pollution across the world. For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter! Read the original article on People. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan will travel next week to China, where he will discuss key global issues and look to set up another meeting between President Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Sullivan will be in Beijing from Tuesday through Thursday, and he will be the first national security adviser to travel to China since 2016, according to a senior Biden administration official. The official said Sullivan will address key topics, including tensions in the South China Sea, the war in the Middle East and China providing nonlethal technology to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine. While the U.S.-China relationship is intensely competitive, the meeting will seek to responsibly manage those challenges, the official added. We are committed to making the investments, strengthening our alliances and taking the common sense steps on tech and national security that we need to take, the official said. We are committed to managing this competition responsibly [and prevent it] from veering into conflict. Sullivan will meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, director of the Communist Party foreign affairs commission office, during the trip. In previous summits, Sullivan and Wang have laid the groundwork for Biden-Xi meetings. In this upcoming trip, Sullivan will seek to get a meeting between the two leaders later this year, according to Axios. Biden last met Xi in November in California, a high-stakes meeting that led to the leaders agreeing to warm relations. Following that meeting, the U.S. and China reopened military-to-military communication channels and Xi pledged to crack down harder on Chinese material used to make Fentanyl, a drug that has ravaged Americans. Both of those topics are expected to be on the agenda for Sullivans trip, along with the safe development of AI technology. The purpose of this strategic level of communication is really to get into details on intensive policy, how we see different situations, the senior official said. It really is about clearing up misperceptions and avoiding this competition from gearing into conflict, more than anything else. Another meeting with Xi could help advance more of those goals and would also cement Bidens foreign policy efforts as he wraps up his final months in office following his decision to not seek reelection and back Vice President Harris as the Democrats presidential nominee. Still, China and the U.S. remain at odds over major issues, including Beijings desire to reunify with the self-governing island nation of Taiwan, by force if necessary, and Chinese claims over the South China Sea that have led to clashes with the Philippines. Looming over the trip is a collision this week between Chinese and Filipino boats. The incident comes after Beijing and Manila reached an agreement to allow the Philippines to resupply the crew of a beached ship on a disputed reef in the South China Sea. The dispute over Taiwan, however, remains one of the most tense subjects. Xi has told his forces to be ready by 2027, though it is not strictly viewed as a deadline for invading. The U.S. has unofficial relations with Taipei but remains committed to supporting the island nation, and the senior administration official described the issue as a constant process of dialogue. It requires constant conversations on both sides, the official said. Our view is still that direct and meaningful dialogue between Taipei and Beijing is the only way to address these issues head on. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Summer heat causes power outages; why this season has felt more brutal AUSTIN (KXAN) This summer has been a hot one and its had a toll. Earlier this week, multiple power outages were reported in east Austin. One of those outages, according to Austin Energy, was caused by a sensor triggering due to high demand. A man who said he was homeless tries to keep cool on a childrens splash pad, Tuesday, June 25, 2024 in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York) If you dont have great air conditioning, if you experience a power loss, which I know a lot of folks did last week, it can be it can be life threatening, said Joellen Russell with the University of Arizona. Russell said the entire Gulf Coast region has seen excessive heat this summer. While Central Texas has had fewer triple digit days this year than in recent years, it still has been rough. These heat waves now are lasting longer and and are much hotter than they used to be, Russell said. Weather extremes: Austins hottest and coldest temperatures ever recorded What is causing the summer heat wave? According to Russell, we can blame the warm water in the Gulf of Mexico for much of the heat. That is contributing to the humidity at night, which is helping keep all of the heat in. Water vapor in the air, Russell said, traps heat near the ground when it would typically escape at night. Weve now got stagnant air over a huge part of the Gulf, and it is being contributed to by all this extra humidity coming off the hot water of the Gulf. Power outages and heat People across the nation are seeing an increase in power outages caused by heat. According to Climate Central, a non-profit tracking the impacts of climate change, power outages have seen a spike in the last twenty years. Climate Central tracks power outages as a result of heat. (Courtesy: Climate Central) Between 2000 and 2023, Texas has reported 107 power outages as a result of summer heat. These outages have occurred 60% more often than they did between 2000 and 2009. Will we see any relief? The good news is things are starting to cool off. Central Texas is dropping out of the triple digits this weekend, according to the KXAN First Warning Weather Team. Power outages caused by heat have grown more common in the last two decades. (Courtesy: Climate Central) Most of Texas can expect above average temperatures all week, and the hottest days will end for most at the end of the workweek, starting Saturday, Russell said. The bad news, with El Nino coming to an end and La Nina ramping up, we can expect a warm dry winter in our near future. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Tesco has ditched cash at 40 of its cafes with customers forced to pay by card at self-service machines. The supermarket giant says the overhaul has boosted the customer experience and the changes have been well-received, but critics said it was bonkers and risked alienating elderly customers. Martin Quinn, of Campaign for Cash, branded the change a mad decision. He said: Many of the customers will be elderly or retirees who want to order in person, not press a computer screen. This is a mad decision. So far, 40 cafes have been redesigned and more are thought to be in the pipeline. Sites in Oldham, Sheerness, Newmarket, and Ashford in Middlesex are among those to undergo the cashless overhaul. A pilot was trialled last year, before tech firm Givex partnered with the supermarket to refurbish multiple cafes. A Tesco spokesman said that the installation of digital boards to order food has reduced queue times. Sarah Gayton, of the National Federation of the Blind of the UK charity, said the move was unnecessarily confusing customers. She said: Its absolutely bonkers and a totally backwards step. Elderly people go to these places for chit-chat, to talk about the weather and about whats happening in their lives. It might only be a few minutes of the day, but that is a very valuable conversation. Why should they be confused over croissants and coffee? Yes, companies have to make a profit to keep the business, but turning your customers into self-serving robots is the wrong way to go. How are visually impaired people meant to cope? Mr Quinn added: As the vast majority of those going to the cafes will be cash users, what they are really saying is that they dont want your custom. He added: People will quite rightly vote with their feet and go elsewhere. Its a totally soulless experience. Click here to view this content. Disgruntled customers have also taken to social media to voice their anger at the changes. One X user posted: At a Tesco cafe and you cant order and talk to someone anymore, you have to use a machine. Theres been many confused old people. After visiting a Tesco cafe in Broadstairs, Kent, another X user wrote: This has just been renovated and I came here to do shopping but first wanted to sit down with a coffee. I could not do that because they dont accept cash or Tesco gift cards as payment. Last year, Marks & Spencer made similar changes to some of its cafes by forcing customers to order at touchscreens. But the boss of Morrisons admitted this month that it went a bit too far with self-checkouts, as the supermarket chain announced cutbacks on the technology across a tranche of its stores. Tesco said a member of staff will always be on hand to provide help with those struggling to pay, and no jobs have been lost as a result of the changes. The supermarket giant said it remains committed to keeping cash as a payment option elsewhere in its stores. 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 body of the sixth and final person missing from the sinking of Mike Lynch's luxury yacht, believed to be Hannah Lynch, 18, is brought ashore Friday after being recovered by divers from the wreck at the bottom of the sea off Sicily, the Italian coast guard said. Photo by Igor Petyx/EPA-EFE Aug. 23 (UPI) -- The remains of the sixth and final person missing from the sinking of Mike Lynch's luxury yacht was recovered by divers Friday from the wreck at the bottom of the sea off Sicily, the Italian coast guard said. The body is believed to be that of Hannah Lynch, the British tech billionaire's 18-year-old daughter, as she was the only person who remained unaccounted for, bringing the total number of people killed in the tragedy to seven. A green body bag was seen being brought ashore from the wreck site about a half mile off Porticello, a fishing village on the northern coast of Sicily. A family friend said Hannah Lynch's loss was "unbearable" while her former school in West London said everyone there was upset. "We are all incredibly shocked by the news," a spokesperson for Latymer Upper School told the BBC. Lynch, 59, who was pulled from the wreck dead on Thursday, is survived by his wife, Angela Bacares, who managed to escape when the 184-foot-long Bayesian went down in a freak storm in the early hours of Monday, and another daughter who was not on board. The other five people confirmed to have been killed are Lynch's American lawyer Chris Morvillo, his wife Neda Morvillo; Morgan Stanley International Chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife, Judy -- whose bodies were all recovered from the wreck Wednesday -- and chef, Recaldo Thomas whose body was pulled from the water in the hours after the sinking. Bacares and 14 other guests, including a 1-year-old girl, managed to escape aboard a life-raft and were later rescued by other vessels nearby. Tributes to Hannah Lynch from friends and teachers described her as a "ferociously intelligent, loving young woman" who was due to begin studying at Oxford University in October. "Hannah was charming and ferociously intelligent with an insatiable thirst for life and knowledge. She was also warm, loving and deeply considerate; remarkably for her age. I am 50 years older than her and in my life I have never met anybody like Hannah," family friend Patrick Jacob told The Independent. "We have lost one of our brightest stars whose future held so much promise. Her loss is unbearable." Hannah Lynch's school remembered her as a compassionate, warm and committed student whose academic ability was "sky high." Jon Mitropoulos-Monk, head of English at Latymer Upper School, said she was "one of the best English students in the country", having scored 100% in her English Literature GCSE. "I've never taught someone who combined sky-high intellectual ability with warmth and enthusiasm in the way Hannah did. She lit up the classroom with her energy, passion for learning and sheer intelligence (though never with a hint of arrogance)," Mitropoulos-Monk said. He added that Hanna Lynch, loved "literature, learning and life" and was excited to begin her studies at Oxford "a goal she had worked so hard towards." "When she got her place, she sought out every single member of the Latymer Upper English Department to thank them individually and give them a hug!" Mitropoulos-Monk said. Attention turned to the $39 million sailboat said to be lying "practically intact" 164 feet down on the seabed as an Italian coast guard vessel, which had been at the wreck site from first light, was back in Porticello and divers on the quayside stood down. Italian prosecutors have opened an investigation with a focus on how the yacht, which was built 650 miles away in La Spezia, sank within five minutes after being hit by a tornado-like waterspout while other smaller vessels remained afloat and whether windows and watertight hatches had been left open. Investigators from Britain's Marine Accident Investigation Branch are also involved as the vessel was British flagged. However, a spokesman for the coast guard said the question of whether to mount a salvage operation to recover the Bayesian was currently "not on the agenda," but would be addressed at a later date. Suspect leads OSHP on chase with his 1-year-old child in back seat Suspect leads OSHP on chase with his 1-year-old child in back seat CLEVELAND (WJW) A Cleveland man is facing multiple felony charges after leading the Ohio State Highway Patrol on a high-speed chase through Cleveland. The driver hit multiple vehicles, blowing through numerous intersections and red lights, all with his one-year-old child in the back seat. Jelly Roll says he was stopped by Coast Guard leaving Put-In-Bay On August 20 at 6:51 p.m., troopers working with the Violent Crime Reduction Initiative in Cleveland attempted to stop the driver of a Black Toyota SUV for window tint and no visible registration. The suspect vehicle did not stop, and the pursuit ended. But OSHP Aviation began tracking the suspect from above. The suspect, later identified as Bobby Foster Jr. of Cleveland, stopped at a residence on Garfield Avenue in Cleveland to ditch something before jumping back in the car to continue evading police. At that point, an unmarked police vehicle tried to contact the suspect, but he intentionally made contact with the officers car, according to OSHP. So, you guys are on a high-speed chase right now, following behind my nephew on the freeway, one of Fosters relatives said on a call to OSHP. And he has a baby in the car. Is he going to pull over then for us? a dispatcher responded. The pursuit continued through Cleveland, with Foster Jr. hitting another vehicle while making a turn. Eventually authorization was granted to use intentional contact to stop the Black SUV. After one failed attempt, a second pit maneuver ended the chase at E. 105th and Everton Avenue. The suspect immediately jumps out of the vehicle and runs on foot. Officers then discovered the one-year-old in the back of the crashed car. Luckily, the child was not harmed, but out of precaution was checked by EMS at the scene and was also taken to a local hospital out of caution at the request of the family. 2 killed in crash on state Route 57 in Elyria: OSHP Foster Jr. would be captured as Aviation led ground units to his location. Open containers and illegal narcotics were found inside the suspects vehicle, according to OSHP. Foster Jr. was turned over to the Parole Authority for a parole violation and was incarcerated at the Cuyahoga County jail. He faces multiple felony charges including felonious assault on a Police Officer and child endangering, according to OHSP. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." As goes GM, so goes the nationthats what people used to say about General Motors outsized influence on politics back in the 50s (and 60s and 70s and 80s and 90s). But the golden age of automobile manufacturers is over, and the golden age of pop stars has arrived. In 2024, we might say, As go the Swifties, so goes the election. At least, thats what Swifties for Kamala (S4K) hope is true. Formed mere hours after President Biden announced he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential election and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, Swifties for Kamala is a coalition of Taylor fans thats racked up a quarter of a million followers across multiple social media platforms in less than a month. Hearst Owned Although she endorsed the Biden/Harris ticket back in 2020 , Taylor Swift hasnt yet said a single word about the 2024 electionand with a net worth of over $1 billion , the highest-grossing concert tour in history, a record-breaking four Album of the Year Grammys, and an army of fans who are frankly terrifying to get on the wrong side of ( just ask Jake Gyllenhaal ), Ms. Tortured Poets is one of the most powerful people in the country right now. An economist coined a word Swiftynomics to describe her influence on the worldwide economy, and a journalist invented a term the Taylor Swift effect when her first-ever political endorsements caused over 160,000 people to register to vote in 48 hours back in 2018. But dont get it twisted (in bedsheets): Swifties for Kamala isnt trying to encourage Taylor Swift to endorse VP Harris. Although theyd be happy to see her throw her support behind their candidate, Taylors political participation (or lack thereof) is almost beside the point. Instead, S4Ks aim is to tap into the already existing, already powerful fan community to work together for a common goal: electing Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States. As senior communications director and cofounder Irene Kim, 29, tells Cosmo, Were not trying to make her do anythingwe do not speak for Taylor. Our movement is about the power of our community and how we can mobilize together. With S4K, the Swiftie fandom is operating independently from its star. First, a little background: The mastermind behind Swifties for Kamala is Emerald Medrano, 22 (yes, like the Taylor song), who posted on X , I feel like us U.S. Swifties should mass organize and help campaign for Kamala Harris and spread how horrendous project 2025 would be to help get peopls butts down to the polls in November. Like if we dont want democracy to end we really need to move and push blue votes at 3:03 p.m. ET on July 21, exactly 50 minutes after President Biden announced that he had decided to drop out of the race. Medrano had been active in the Swiftie community on social media for years, and fellow Swiftie Irene Kima freelance producer and content creator with past union organizing experiencereached out to help make his tweet a reality. They formed a Discord full of like-minded Swifties, complete with channels to brainstorm ideas for social media posts and plan events like the upcoming official kickoff call on Zoom (its on Tuesday, August 27, and you can sign up to join here ). Each S4K social media channel TikTok (118.9K followers), X (65.4K followers), Threads (24.6K followers), Substack (5K subscribers), and the just-launched Facebook has its own lead as well as a team of Swifties who share ideas and feedback. There are memes ( If you asked us on a deeper level ), fan cams set to songs like Fearless and the renamed You Need to Kamala Down , and, of course, endless lyric references ( Wisconsin, dont wake up on Wednesday thinking that you shouldve said no ). But its not just fandom stuff. Theres also a policy-focused mission statement outlining S4Ks positions on reproductive freedom, LGBTQ+ rights, and a permanent ceasefire between Israel and Hamasposted on July 22, before Harris herself released a comprehensive policy platform or took a stance on Israel. S4K also shines a spotlight on down ballot races, sending support to candidates like Jacky Rosen in Nevada and Gabe Vasquez in New Mexico , as well as highlighting local ballot initiatives like Floridas Amendment 4 , which would overturn the states abortion ban. Outside of social media, S4K promotes opportunities to phone bank, text bank, and volunteer for down ballot campaigns. The group is mainly made up of Gen Z and millennial Swifties, but there are older members as well. (And yes, Swifties for Kamala has done a demographic survey.) Like Miss Americana herself, these mirrorballs (IYKYK) dont do anything by half. We talked to four leaders in Swifties for Kamala: chairman and cofounder Emerald Morano, 22, of Texas; cofounder and senior communications director Irene Kim, 29, of New York; Threads lead Morgan Strehlow, 34, of Pennsylvania; and Instagram lead Rohan Reagan, 21, of California. How did Swifties for Kamala get started? Emerald Morano: It was very spontaneous and surreal. I sent out a tweet saying, like, Please, we have a community that can make change. And from there, a bunch of people, like Irene, expressed interest. And we started building this thing thats become a lot bigger than I thought it would. Swifties have surprised me in a really good way. I always knew we had the potential, but to see us actually making a positive change is really, really cool. Hopefully we can have an amazing Swiftie blue wave. Irene Kim: Ive been mutuals with Emerald for a long time, and I was really excited when I saw the tweet. I was like, Yeah, we should do something. I feel like over the last couple of years, anytime something happens, people are like, Swifties need to do something. Like, Swifties need to save us from Ticketmaster. I feel positive toward Biden for a lot of reasons, but when Kamala became the candidate, I was like, Wait, Im excited. What can we do to support her? I was part of our union organizing committee when I was on the video team at Insider, so that has definitely helped inform a lot of how Ive coordinated this, as well as understanding what infrastructure is needed. I feel like its similar in that were doing this because we care about each other and were trying to improve things for everyone. Why is Kamala Harris such an exciting candidate for you, compared to President Biden? EM: I see the way she holds herself in the world and what shes willing to fight for. Like how she said, Excuse me, Im talking in the [2020 vice presidential] debateI just love that energy. Im a trans man, but I have grown up with a womans experience. A lot of times, you get cut off and belittled, and I think that seeing her have the power to stand up for herself is so cool. Seeing her break expectations and push the boundaries while fighting for LGBT rights, Black peoples rights, and the rights of different marginalized groups makes me feel so happy. For Gen Z, this election is going to impact the direction our country goes in, and I would love to see it go in a way that is kind to all human beings. IK: I would love to see our first woman president, you know? And not only that, a woman of color. It is crazy to think that we havent had one yet. As an Asian American woman with immigrant parents, thats something thats really exciting for me to see. During the Trump administration, there was so much racism and hatred. I want a president who actively fights against that. Kamala makes me really excited because I feel like she stands for a lot of the same things I do and will actually protect the rights and freedoms of not only someone like me, but the people I care about, and a lot of marginalized communities that have been under attack. Morgan Strehlow: I was in the camp that wanted Biden to stay in the race because I thought that was our best chance. I didnt know how quickly the Democrats would rally around Kamala. We started to see doom scrolling turning into hope scrolling. Rohan Reagan: There are things that Kamala Harris has been doing that have made me more excited for her as a potential president, from the fact that she is willing to hear from possible voters, to her public pressuring of Israel to get a ceasefire deal done. I think its great that she is taking the time to address issues she knows a lot of people are wanting to hear about, which I have not seen Joe Biden do. For a lot of the other policies, like reproductive freedom and LGBTQ+ laws, she and Biden are aligned, but it is nice to see a fresh candidate. Have you always been politically involved, or is this more of a recent development? EM: I feel like Ive always been politically involved. As a Latinx person, a trans person, and a queer person, Ive always had to care. And living in Texas, the stakes are a lot higher for me, because if things go wrong in this election, I might have to move. Its a lot of pressure and anxiety. But Im using all my fears and putting them into actually taking action and hopefully impacting the election in a positive way. IK: My first election was Trump and HillaryI was so ready, I had my Nasty Woman sign and everything. Ive always been interested in politics, but I didnt always know how to get involved. Even now, Im learning so much. MS: I grew up in East Texas, and before social media was like what it is now, I had never really been exposed to political ideas that were not conservative. Democrats were always presented to me as the villains or the bad guys, antithetical to my Christian faith and values. I was a freshman in college in the fall of 2008 and my best friend from high school had just had a baby. I remember my mom saying something like, Of course, she would vote for Obama. His policies would help her. In hindsight, I feel like that was the very first domino to fall to help me question the conservative ideology. I asked myself, Why wouldnt my mom want to vote for whats best for my best friend? Its this inner conviction, rooted in my Christian faith, that made me question the desire to vote for our own interests versus the interests of the more vulnerable among us. RR: This is my first election. Im a queer man, so Ive always needed to follow politics somewhat closely, because my life is so directly connected to politics. I was always planning on voting, but getting involved with Swifties for Kamala has been an experience where I am learning a lot more than I probably would have otherwise. What is it about the Swiftie community that makes it the way youve chosen to get involved? Why organize around Swifties for Kamala and not another aspect of your identity? EM: I think it is our deep-rooted history and tradition that have made this possible. Its funny to talk about a fandom in that way, but its truewe do have our own little culture. One of our goals is that we really want to make this almost a Swiftie safe space where people feel comfortable to be active in politics, especially younger voters and people who have never really participated in politics. We combine voter registration information with, like, friendship bracelets initiatives. Were bringing things from our fandom culture into a political space, which I think is a really cool way to help people open up and participate. IK: If I think about it, I could have easily organized with another group, but being a Swiftie has become a bigger part of my identity the last couple years. It is one of my biggest communities, especially since the Eras Tour started. It happened naturally, because these are my friends. Swifties are also very quick to mobilizejust look at us when theres a presale. MS: We have a shared interest in Taylor Swifts music, and that has brought us joy and friendship and community. Weve been finding the people who are in the center of the Venn diagram of Taylor Swift fans and progressive voters. I was telling my husband this morning that being involved in Swifties for Kamala has been so good for my mental health. In the last few presidential election seasons, Ive had to take time away from social media in order to stay healthy and present in my day-to-day life so that I wouldnt be overcome by the despair, desperation, outrage, and anger that comes up when we feel a sense of our safety and security slipping away. Of course, Taylor hasnt endorsed Kamala at this point. Do you hope that Swifties for Kamala encourages her to do so? EM: For us, Taylors endorsement is a little bit besides the point, because were really focusing on how we are passionate and powerful as a community. Taylor has been our role model and showed us how to stand up for ourselves, like she always stands up for herself in the music industry. She has a huge influence, but we are acting on our own. IK: Were here because of our values and what we can do as a community. Our political directors apartment burned down [in early 2024]. One of the big Swiftie accounts on Twitter, Swiftie Wins, retweeted her, and then all these Swifties donated $13 to her. And now Swiftie Wins is also running Swifties for Kamala Wins . Our community steps up for each other and we can mobilize together. MS: I personally feel pretty indifferent about it. Ive given her a lot of grace on not speaking out about a lot of things while shes on tour, because she has to consider not just her own safety but the safety of her fans. Id like to think that were not doing this for herwere doing this for our country. RR: We are not waiting on Taylor to show her support for Kamala Harris. We are doing this outside of her, using the platform of Swifties as a way to get people involved in the election. Taylor did throw her support toward Joe Biden during the 2020 election, so it is possible that shell show her support again. But Swifties for Kamala arent waiting for her to do that. Ive seen some Swifties speculate that Taylor is sending hidden messages of support for Kamala with some of the outfit changes, set design changes, and surprise songs in the Eras Tour. What do you think about those? EM: I think that Swifties will always see what they want to see. We have the five holes in the fence incident and other clown moments. I think if she were to endorse her, it would be a full-on post like she did in 2020. RR: Swifties love to dig into the way that Taylor Swift does things for Easter eggs, whether or not they are real Easter eggs. You Might Also Like GARNER, N.C. (WNCN) AT&T union workers remain on strike as they negotiate a new contract with the telecommunications company. The strike has begun to affect customers who are experiencing service disruptions. An estimated 17,000 members of the Communications Workers of America are on the picket lines in North Carolina and across several southeastern states. Protests began Friday, Aug. 16, the same day some AT&T customer reported Wi-Fi outages. RELATED: AT&T workers strike over contract negotiations In a statement, AT&T said, Were disappointed that union leaders would call for a strike at this point in the negotiations, rather than directing their energies toward constructive discussions at the bargaining table. This action needlessly jeopardizes the wages and well-being of our employees. The outages are ongoing because theyre not trying to bargain in good faith, Nick Savage of CWA local 3611/district 3 told CBS 17s Baron James in Garner. Many of those on strike are technicians, customer service representatives or working to install and maintain AT&Ts services. Union workers are demanding better pay and benefits from AT&T to better serve, they say, their families and AT&T customers. Im all for unions, Garner homeowner Joe Ciappa said. He added that he needed the workers help after his AT&T internet service went out. When the company couldnt resolve his issues, Ciappa uncovered his own solution taking his business to the competition. I got Spectrum the next day, Ciappa said. AT&T began sending customers new modems so they could troubleshoot issues on their own. The telecommunications giant also reached out to customers via text: Hi, its AT&T. Theres an internet outage in your area.. The outage was something Nia Lawson, who works from home, became aware of after her home security system failed to connect to the internet. Sorta leaves you powerless. Yeah, and also, Its a safety concern because if you dont have your security system working, you feel like you have to be at home, Lawson said. She was one of the lucky ones. Her Wi-Fi was up and running again after several days without service. The wait continues for other customers. The strike also continues for AT&T union workers, who have been in contract negotiations since June and have not had a contract since Aug. 3. It may last up to- its no telling, to tell you the truth, Savage said. CWA said they and AT&T entered into federal mediation, and had their first meeting with the mediator Wednesday morning. We are hopeful that mediation might lead us to the agreement our members deserve, wrote the CWA bargaining team in a statement sent to striking CWA members. CWA reported they filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board against AT&T for not bargaining in good faith, engaging in surface bargaining, and not sending representatives to the bargaining table with the authority to make decisions. In statement to CBS 17 on Tuesday, an AT&T spokesperson said, CWAs claims of unfair labor practices are not grounded in fact. We have been engaged in substantive bargaining since day 1 and are eager to reach an agreement that benefits our hard-working employees. As evidence, we have reached 3 agreements this year covering more than 13,000 employees, including our most recent tentative agreement with District 9 (west). We remain committed to working with District 3 (southeast) in the same manner. The spokesperson on Tuesday also said the company was disappointed that union leaders would call for a strike at this point in the negotiations, rather than directing their energies toward constructive discussions at the bargaining table. In a subsequent statement on Thursday, another spokesperson with AT&T said, We remain committed to reaching a fair agreement with CWA District 3, and we suggested the use of a federal mediator to ensure there is no question about either sides commitment to this process. Until a deal is reached, we have business continuity measures in place so that we can continue to provide our customers with the great service they deserve. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand Taiwans Cabinet, the Executive Yuan, this week ratified a record defense budget of NT$647 billion, or US$20.2 billion, meant to help defend Taiwan against the prospect of a Chinese invasion. The spending decision comes as Chinese forces continue their prodding of the island, which Beijing views as a rogue province. As of Aug. 22, Peoples Liberation Army intrusions into Taiwans air defense identification zone 1,739 incidents in 2024 had already reached an annual record. Taiwans defense expenditures in 2025 will represent a 7.7% increase if lawmakers approve the proposal later this month. The countrys Central News Agency said the allocation represent 2.45% of GDP, almost identical to this years. President Lai Ching-tes election campaign promised that defense spending would reach 3% of GDP. Lt Gen. Hsieh Chi-hsien, head of the Ministry of National Defenses Comptroller Bureau, told a press conference that increasing spending to that level remained a goal. However, we must still compile the defense budget based on weapons needed to shore up our defenses. We also need to take into account the nations financial situation, he said. Asked whether the envisioned 2025 spending would be sufficient, Rupert Hammond-Chambers, President of the US-Taiwan Business Council, told Defense News: Answering this question is highly subjective. Should Taiwan be commended for increasing its defense budget by 7.7%? Absolutely. Its real growth with new resources to address the threat from China. At the same time, Hammond-Chambers said more will be needed. Taiwan needs to continue to grow its defense budget in real terms, surpassing 3% of GDP and higher in the near term. According to Hsieh, the coming defense budget comprises NT$181.5 billion for personnel expenses, and NT$148.7 billion for equipment maintenance. Procurements are set to increase by 16% to NT$145.8 billion in 2025, with payments due for American equipment. Some NT$90.4 billion is earmarked as part of a five-year, special budget worth NT$240 billion that was announced in 2021 to purchase items like F-16V fighters and missiles. Were determined to boost self-defense and deepen cooperation with democratic partners in a bid to ensure peace and prosperity, Lai said. According to Hammond-Chambers, Taiwan is making good progress in key areas of domestic weapons production, like missiles, drones and shipbuilding. Overall, the mix of platforms and systems between foreign-procured and domestically developed is healthy, and receives strong support from the Lai and Biden governments, he said, referring to U.S. President Joe Biden. The time it takes to deliver weapons from American factories remains a challenge, he noted. That said, the weapons presently queued for delivery should be delivered to Taiwan in the next 18-24 months, and well see a substantial drop in the amount and value of the equipment presently undelivered. This should open up Taiwans defense budget for a new phase of procurement. By Mohammad Yunus Yawar and Charlotte Greenfield KABUL (Reuters) -Afghanistan's Taliban formally codified a long set of rules governing morality this week, ranging from requiring women to cover their faces and men to grow beards to banning car drivers from playing music, the Justice Ministry said. The rules, promoted as in line with Islamic sharia law and to be enforced by the morality ministry, were based on a decree by the Taliban's supreme spiritual leader in 2022 and were now officially published as law, a Justice Ministry spokesman said. The morality ministry, formally called the Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and Propagation of Virtue, has already been enforcing similar morality requirements and says it has detained thousands of people for violations. It was not immediately clear whether publication of the rules would lead to stronger enforcement. The Taliban's restrictions on women and freedom of expression have drawn sharp criticism from rights groups and many foreign governments since the former insurgents resumed control of Afghanistan in 2021. "Day by day, they are trying to erase women from society," said a 37-year-old housewife in Kabul. "The silence of the international community regarding the actions of the Taliban is encouraging them to create new laws and restrictions every day," added the woman, identified just by her first name, Halema. Western capitals, led by Washington, have said the path to formal recognition of the Taliban is largely stalled until they reverse course on women's rights and open high schools to girls. The Taliban say they respect women's rights in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law and local customs and that they are internal matters that should be addressed locally. The 35-article morality law was officially enacted and published on Wednesday after being ratified by Supreme Spiritual Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada, said Justice Ministry spokesperson Barakatullah Rasoli. "According to this law, the Ministry (for Prevention of Vice and Propagation of Virtue) is obligated to promote good and forbid evil in accordance with Islamic Sharia," the Justice Ministry said in a statement. The requirements include women to wear attire that fully covers their bodies and faces and bars men from shaving their beards as well as from skipping prayer and religious fasts. Penalties for violations included "advice, warnings of divine punishment, verbal threats, confiscation of property, detention for one hour to three days in public jails, and any other punishment deemed appropriate," the Justice Ministry added. If such measures failed to correct an individual's behaviour they would be referred to court for further action, it said. "A lot of these rules were in place already but less formally and now they are being formalised I think this is a sign of what we've been seeing over the last three years which is a steady and gradual escalation of the crackdown," said Heather Barr, Associate Director of Human Rights Watch's Women's Rights Division. The laws also instruct drivers of vehicles not to transport women without a male guardian. They require media to abide by sharia law and ban the publication of images containing living beings. Morality ministry officials have been monitoring Afghans throughout the country for alleged offences for the past three years. The ministry said this week that in the past year it had detained over 13,000 people, though it did not break down the alleged offences or gender of the detainees. It said around half of the detentions were for 24 hours. The Taliban suspended Afghanistan's previous constitution when they took over in 2021 as foreign forces withdrew, and said they would rule the country according to sharia law. This week's morality laws were the seventh set of codified laws, according to the Justice Ministry, with others relating to property, financial services and the prevention of begging. (Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Kabul and Charlotte Greenfield in IslamabadEditing by Frances Kerry) New Taliban laws in Afghanistan would ban womens voices and bare faces in public, according to a 114-page, 35-article document seen by The Associated Press. The laws were issued Wednesday by the militant and political group and were approved by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada. Inshallah we assure you that this Islamic law will be of great help in the promotion of virtue and the elimination of vice, ministry spokesperson Maulvi Abdul Ghafar Farooq said Thursday, according to AP. The Taliban came back to power in the country following the U.S. withdrawal of armed forces in 2021. The laws encompass directions on celebrations, music, transportation and shaving. Article 13 directs women to cover their faces in public and to not wear short or tight clothing, according to AP. Article 13 also bans women from looking at men if they are not related by marriage or blood. They are not allowed to sing or read out loud. The introduction of new laws follows a July United Nations report that accused the ministry of intimidation and violating human rights. The ministry rejected the claims made in 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 The Hill. TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) It was a rocky election night for several Tampa Bay counties. As voters went to check the results, many local elections websites were crashing. Now, an elections tech company is taking full responsibility. Sarasota lawmaker wants to ban all smoking in public places in Florida The problems stemmed from a vendor which services election supervisor sites across the state. That company, VR Systems, is based in Tallahassee. Right around 7 oclock our website went down, said Craig Latimer, Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections. We noticed that it was slowing down before that. Voters, candidates, and journalists count on election supervisor sites to stay informed on race results. When the sites crashed, it left many in the dark. 8 On Your Side asked if the problem impacted the counting of votes, but Hillsborough County Elections Supervisor Craig Latimer said his county still reported complete results to state officials by 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. The only thing that went down is our public facing website votehillsborough.gov, Latimer said . The most important thing about it is to know that it didnt affect voting. It didnt affect tabulation in any way shape or form. Latimer said voter turnout was poor in Hillsborough, under 20%. In Sarasota County, it was about 32% but a similar story. Sarasota Election Supervisor Ron Turner released this statement, defending their ballot collection and counting process: VR Systems website issues on election night had nothing to do with ballots, the tabulation of those ballots or the reporting of results. Security is a top priority, and we employ strict chain-of-custody procedures at every step of the voting process. Once in our possession, ballots are logged and securely stored in dual-access, alarmed facilities with 24-hour camera surveillance until those ballots are tabulated. Once tabulated, those same ballots are stored for a minimum of 22 months using the security features listed above. Sarasota Election Supervisor Ron Turner Both Sarasota and Hillsborough Counties use VR Systems to maintain their sites and theyre not alone. Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd said counties across Florida using VR Systems reported similar issues on primary night. We were able to access on our election watch.gov website it was once again with the county level public facing websites that they had a problem, so its a vendor issue and well get to the bottom of it of what happened, Byrdsaid . VR Systems COO Ben Martin, released this statement: Based on our analysis of todays event, we believe the logging that was enabled as a security measure was at the root of the issues that our customers experienced. This log records the action on the content management system serving our customers websites. Late in the day, it began to grow exponentially due to the increase in traffic to the websites. We believe this put extraordinary stress on the system. VR Systems COO Ben Martin, In other words, the local election sites just werent ready for the amount of traffic they got that night. VR Systems has not told us what they plan to do to prevent this from happening again in November and with the election just 75 days away, 8 On Your Side will be sure to stay on this and let you know what happens. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. TAMPA, Fla (WFLA) The Tampa Police Department said scammers are targeting new employees in the workplace by sending emails with co-workers names attached to them. Youve probably seen text messages form the IRS or lottery scams. They come at you from all angles. Theres apps that scammers can use to spoof a number or pretend to be you or I, said Detective Hope Dauphin with the TPD Criminal Intelligence Bureau. Dauphin said theyve had three to four cases in the last month of email and phone call scams happening at work, targeting new employees. The scammers almost got News Channel 8s Marilyn Parker last week. Parker got an email from who she thought was Staci DaSilva, another News Channel 8 employee. In the message, DaSilva was asking for Parker to help with a task, and email her Parkers number. Parker called and was sent to voicemail. The person texted her saying we can stick to text. Parker asked how she could help, thats when the scammer asked to find a Sephora store and grab gift cards. They shouldnt be pushing you to expedite it and to call them and send them pictures of it. Thats a huge red flag from any scammer, Dauphin said. Parker filed a police report at the recommendation of police, who said these scams are happening more often. Especially if youre a new employee, and thats what Im seeing quite a bit, is that youre not going to know. I dont know every colleagues phone number, Dauphin said. There are so many different entities that hold on to our cell phone numbers and they end up in places we dont know about, making us vulnerable to all kinds of scams. Parker has also received text messages from a delivery service. One of the other ones were seeing quite frequently is shipping notifications, changing your shipping with FedEx or UPS, Dauphin said. Parker asked the detective if she was still in danger with the scammers having her number. You can block them, but again, if theyre using one of those apps where they can pretend to be anybodys phone number, I dont know how, how good thats going to work, Dauphin said. TPD said its best to not respond and question everything, because scammers nowadays are everywhere. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Tarrant Judge Tim OHare on whats so special about Fort Worth: We want to be thankful Tarrant County Judge Tim OHare delivered a state of the county address Friday at The Worthington Renaissance Fort Worth Hotel, hosted by the Fort Worth Chamber. OHare touched on several topics including growth, the county budget, tax cuts and criminal justice. He said one of the perks of Fort Worth is that you can drive just five minutes outside of downtown and see livestock and undeveloped land. I think we want to be thankful and preserve what we have here, OHare said. What we have here is very special. The judge also said he asked Tarrant Countys chief appraiser, Joe Don Bobbitt, for information on how many residential properties are in Tarrant County compared with commercial properties. OHare described the number of residential properties as really, really high. The county judge also said that he thinks downtown Fort Worth is safer than most urban areas. Responding to a question about criminal justice and the jail, OHare said that Tarrant County is fortunate to have Bill Waybourn as sheriff, though he gets some bad press. The Republican sheriff, who attended Fridays speech, has been the target of criticism from Democrats and community activists over jail operations and inmate deaths. OHare touted the countys proposed budget, which cut taxes for the second year in a row. On Aug. 15, the commissioners unanimously voted to approve a recommended budget with a tax rate of 18.57 cents per $100 of value. Last year, it was 19.45 cents. A public hearing and final vote on the budget and tax rate is scheduled for Sept. 17. Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker and three members of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court attended the event. Commissioner Democrat Roy Brooks was absent due to travel, his staff said. Texas Rep. David Cook, a Republican from Mansfield, and Rep. Nate Schatzline, a Fort Worth Republican, also attended. When asked about his favorite memory during his tenure as county judge, OHare said it was the when the Texas Rangers won the World Series last year at Arlingtons Globe Life Field. OHare said he was in Arizona for Game 5 of the series, when the Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks to secure the title. He also mentioned being at the parade with Democratic Commissioner Alisa Simmons, who represents Arlington. Taunton man accused of selling thousands of fake pills to undercover cop TAUNTON, Mass. (WPRI) A Taunton man was arrested Tuesday morning for allegedly selling counterfeit pills to an undercover officer, U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy announced. Shavon Gurley, 29, who also goes by Soo Soo, is charged with possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Loaded firearm found on glass table at defendant's residence, U.S. Attorney's Office Police said they searched Gurleys home and car and found a loaded gun, fentanyl, and about 10,000 counterfeit Adderall pills containing methamphetamine. Earlier this month, Gurley sold 6,000 counterfeit Adderall pills to an undercover officer while on pretrial release for a domestic violence offense, according to prosecutors. He also allegedly told the officer that he sells fentanyl so pure that it can be mixed into larger quantities of other drugs. 3 charged after death of prison worker who opened fentanyl-laced mail Image depicting the first black bag containing counterfeit Adderall pills, U.S. Attorneys Office Image depicting the second black bag containing counterfeit Adderall pills, U.S. Attorneys Office Images depicting approximately 10,000 counterfeit pills inside defendants vehicle, U.S. Attorneys Office According to prosecutors, Gurley complimented the officers aura and suggested they do business together in the future. Gurley was detained following his first appearance in federal court and is scheduled to appear again on Aug. 27. The charge he faces carries a penalty of 10 years to life in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of up to $10 million, the U.S. attorneys office said. Charging documents indicated that Gurley has a lengthy criminal history, including a conviction for assault and battery in 2012. NEXT: Methamphetamine disguised as shipment of watermelons seized at US-Mexico border 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 Sedgwick County Commission opted to lower its property tax mill levy, defund its diversity, equity and inclusion program, and renew its contract with a public television station as it approved a $563 million budget for next year. The adopted 2025 budget would drop the countys property tax rate to 28.659 mills, or by about one-third of a mill compared with this years 28.988 mills. Even so, most Sedgwick County homeowners property taxes are to likely increase as property values across the county continue to climb. The budget funds new positions in emergency communications, the district attorneys office, EMS, information technology and others. The commission weighed several budget amendments put forth by Commissioner Jim Howell aimed at further cutting the countys expenses. Many of Howells amendments, such as a move to transfer ownership of Exploration Place to the nonprofit that operates it, failed to receive support from other commissioners. Other amendments he dropped voluntarily, such as a proposal to transfer the countys mill levy support for Wichita State University to the city of Wichita, meaning that tax would have shifted to Wichita taxpayers only. One of Howells budget amendments cut funding for the countys diversity, equity and inclusion program which consisted of a single unfilled management-level position. Another of his proposals that would have increased funding by $122,000 for seven senior centers was trimmed down by Commissioner Sarah Lopez to $61,000 for three senior centers but ultimately passed. The commission also approved an amendment by Chairman Ryan Baty to add $80,000 to the budget to renew a contract with KPTS, the local PBS Kansas television that broadcasts the countys commission meetings. Those were the minor changes in the operating budget adopted Wednesday. County cuts DEI funding The DEI cut passed 3-2, with commissioners Baty and Lopez voting against it. Removing the DEI manager position from the budget freed up $99,692. The position was never filled but instead the funding was used to hire consultant Hicks-Carter-Hicks in 2022 and 2023. This is an unfilled position, and it is a position we thought we needed and has not been filled for awhile. The county has done a lot for DEI. We have training programs in place by HR. We have a strategic plan that references DEI, we have done a deep audit of all county policies and procedures, we have amended most of those to make sure theyre sensitive to DEI, and we have . . . weve moved mountains in this regard. I think the county has done what they need to do for DEI right now, Howell said. I dont want to continue to spend money for this position. Id rather take a look at this five years from now. Tania Cole said 12 county employees make up a DEI council for the entire county. The DEI manager was the only funding the commission provided for the countys DEI efforts, which started in 2020 and 2021 to diversify the countys workforce and make it a more welcoming workplace for employees from various backgrounds. I think the DEI council could probably move forward, but there would be no budget, Cole said. So, I mean, they would just meet and discuss. . . . HR can do the work. But I see this work as very different from what HR is doing. These are initiatives to carry DEI forward, so I see this as for our organization this is about recruitment, retention and community relations for our organization, which is very different than what the HR work does. KPTS will still broadcast county meetings The funding for KPTS came after its CEO Victor Hogstrom addressed the commission, noting the county has had a 40-year relationship with the station. He said the $80,000 expense for broadcasting the commission meetings was a matter of transparency and allowed the county to reach a different audience than the one that watches the countys meetings on YouTube and Facebook. County Manager Tom Stolz had eliminated the countys funding for KPTS from the budget. Right now, I believe the community is asking for transparency in government, Baty said. And as much transparency as possible. I dont think that we can go far enough in transparency. Commissioners David Dennis and Pete Meitzner voted against continuing to fund KPTS, citing cost concerns and time constraints on the public television channel that prevent viewers from seeing the entirety of the countys longer commission meetings, such as Wednesdays meeting that lasted more than five hours. More funding for some senior centers Howells proposal to increase funding for senior centers would have bolstered funds for centers in Clearwater, Haysville, Oaklawn, Bentley, Cheney, Mount Hope and Wichita. Lopezs substitute motion increased funding for two centers in her district Clearwater and Haysville along with Oaklawn, which is in Howells district. Those had previously been identified as centers with the most need and that had performance measures that would have justified increased funding under a previous formula used by the county. Lopez said the Clearwater and Haysville senior centers have been underfunded for several years. Clearwaters funding was increased from $18,000 to $35,000; Haysvilles from $35,000 to $57,000; and Oaklawn from $35,000 to $57,000. I dont have a problem with looking at all of these, but if all of these seven that have been brought up arent ready to receive that, I dont think its appropriate to then give them that additional funding, Lopez said. Lopezs amendment came in response to a move by Dennis whose district had three senior centers that would have received more money under Howells proposal to change Howells motion to instead give each commission district an equal amount to disperse to senior centers. Funding for senior centers in Denniss district was eliminated in Lopezs motion. So you just put my district even further down from all the others, Dennis said. The imbalance is even worse than it was before. Were going to completely disregard all the senior centers in District 3. I will not support that motion. Dennis was the sole vote against the change. He was also the only commissioner to vote against the overall budget, citing objections to the senior center funding, funding KPTS, a decision to continue paying a federal lobbyist and a move to shift funds away from the Northwest Bypass project that is severely underfunded but aims to connect K-96 near Tyler to Kellogg near Goddard. What to do with Exploration Place? Another area of contention was what the county should do with Exploration Place, an ongoing conversation by the county. Howell proposed transferring ownership of the popular science museum building owned by the county to the nonprofit board that operates Exploration Place. The county has been also discussing transferring ownership of the building to the city of Wichita. Its a jewel in our community. I adore and appreciate and am so grateful to have Exploration Place in our community. Its a wonderful place to be and I love to visit there. Ive got lots of grandkids that are there all the time. Im a huge fan. . . . I appreciate Exploration Place, so Im not trying to hurt it. Im actually trying to help it. . . . Im not advocating to defund them. Im not advocating to hurt them. The county owns the building, pays the nonprofits CEOs salary and contributes about $2.2 million a year to its operational expenses. The city of Wichita owns the land underneath it and Exploration Place Inc., the nonprofit, operates the museum. Baty said the budget hearing wasnt the best time to make a decision on which direction to go. Commissioners agreed to continue discussions. This is a difference of opinion at Exploration Place and here on the sixth floor and on the board of what the longevity of this relationship really looks like, Baty said. And weve got to reconcile that, so what youre suggesting in a meeting after the budget I am wholeheartedly in support of because weve got to sit down in the room and have a conversation and reconcile their expectations long term, our expectations long term, and make sure that we have a glide path that is acceptable to both. A former Washington state middle school teacher, accused of having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old male student, has been arrested in West Sacramento, police announced Thursday. Natasha Nicole Polk, 33, who moved to West Sacramento, was arrested following an investigation by the Centralia Police Department, the agency said. Polk was booked this week at the Yolo County Jail, where she remained in custody Friday. Polk appeared Friday afternoon for a hearing in Yolo Superior Court in Woodland to be arraigned on a charge of being a fugitive from justice. Authorities in Washington state obtained an arrest warrant for Polk. Yolo Superior Court Judge David Rosenberg set Polks bail amount at $50,000 and scheduled her to return to court Sept. 23 to review an extradition order, according to the hearings minute order. The Yolo County Public Defenders Office was appointed to represent her in court. As part of the investigation, police learned she was employed as a teacher with the Davis Joint Unified School District in Northern California and was set to begin the school year on Monday. Davis Joint Unified School District officials said they were notified on Thursday that Polk, a teacher at Harper Junior High School in Davis since August 2022, was arrested Wednesday in West Sacramento. They also learned then that Polk was accused of sex crimes involving a minor in Centralia, Washington in 2020. School district officials said they took immediate action and placed Polk on administrative leave. Maria Clayton, a school district spokesperson, said district officials were shocked and disturbed after hearing of Polks arrest and the allegations. These charges are of the most serious nature, Clayton said in a written statement. The district will continue to cooperate with law enforcement and will do so until a final resolution of the charges. The Davis school district officials encouraged anyone who might have concerns or information about Polk to call the Davis Police Department at 530-747-5400. In October 2023, Centralia police began investigating allegations of a relationship between the teacher and the student. Centralia is 21 miles south of Olympia, the states capital; the woman lived in Lacey, a suburb east of the city. The alleged acts occurred in 2020 while the victim was in the 8th grade and continued for a time after he completed middle school, a Centralia police news release reads. The investigation revealed evidence that (the teacher allegedly) provided the victim with marijuana, alcohol, and vapes. Police also alleged that she used her status as an educator to gain access to the victim while he was incarcerated at Lewis County Juvenile detention facility on unrelated issues. The teacher in 2021 also allegedly would drive the victim to her apartment in Lacey and engage in sex after providing him with alcohol, according to police. Also the same year, she allegedly traveled back to Washington state and had sex with the victim at a vacation rental in Tacoma, police say. As part of the investigation, police learned she was employed as a teacher with the Davis Joint Unified School District and was set to begin the school year next Monday. Teacher at junior high in Los Banos arrested for child pornography, police say Teacher at junior high in Los Banos arrested for child pornography, police say LOS BANOS, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) A teacher at a junior high school in Los Banos was arrested on Thursday for allegedly possessing and distributing child pornography, the Los Banos Police Department said. Police say that 29-year-old Christian Banuelos, a teacher at Los Banos Junior High School, was arrested off campus. Christian Banuelos. According to police they, in cooperation with the Fresno County Sheriffs Office, took Banuelos in custody off-campus after an investigation determined he was suspected of being in possession and distributing child pornography. Due to the arrest, the Los Banos Unified School District sent a letter to the community on Thursday, in which they assured the community the learning experience at the school would not be interrupted by this incident. At this time, the teacher in question has been arrested and placed on leave until further notice. In light of this situation, we are in the process of securing a qualified substitute to cover the class during the teachers absence. Los Banos Unifed School District. The school district states that it is important to note that all faculty and staff within the Los Banos Unified School District undergo background checks as mandated. This is an ongoing 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 YourCentralValley.com | KSEE24 and CBS47. Former state Sen. Ray Holmberg arrives at the Quentin N. Burdick U.S. courthouse in Fargo for a plea hearing in North Dakota U.S. District Court on Aug. 8, 2024. (Dan Koeck/For the North Dakota Monitor) The North Dakota Education Standards and Practices Board voted unanimously Friday to permanently revoke the teaching license of a former state senator who pleaded guilty earlier this month to a child sex tourism charge. Holmberg, a Republican, represented Grand Forks in the Senate for more than four decades. At the time of his resignation in 2022, he also led the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. He was employed at Grand Forks Public Schools from 1967 until his retirement in 2002. Over the course of his career, he taught middle school geography and history, high school social studies, served as a special education coordinator and worked as a high school counselor, according to a biography provided by the school district. In October 2023, a federal grand jury charged Holmberg with traveling to Europe with the intent to engage in illicit sexual activity and with receiving and attempting to receive child pornography. The board voted to suspend Holmbergs teaching license in November until the criminal case against him concluded The board entered into a settlement agreement with Holmberg that stipulated his license would be permanently revoked should he be convicted of any of the charges against him or plead guilty to an amended offense. Under state law, the Education Standards and Practices Board must revoke the teaching license of anyone convicted of sexual offenses or crimes against children. Holmberg agreed to plead guilty to the child sex tourism charge in July. As part of the agreement, federal prosecutors dropped the child pornography charge. A federal judge accepted Holmbergs guilty plea Aug. 8. Holmberg admitted during the hearing to traveling to Prague multiple times to pay for sex with minors. At least some of these trips were subsidized by taxpayer money. Holmberg was a repeat participant in Global Bridges, a German cultural exchange program that North Dakota teachers and lawmakers took part in. While the program did not host events in Prague, state records indicate that Holmberg traveled to the Czech Republic while he was in Europe for Global Bridges. Holmberg told Judge Daniel Hovland that his interest in child sex tourism only began after his retirement. He also said that Prague was the only location in which he engaged in sexual activity. Holmbergs attorney, Mark Friese, did not return a request for comment by publication time. Holmberg has been allowed to return to his Grand Forks home while he awaits sentencing. WHITEHALL, Ohio (WCMH) A teenage girl is facing a felony charge Friday, after Whitehall police arrested and accused her of an incident that led to a lockdown at a local high school. The 16-year-old turned herself in once she knew detectives were searching for her, according to the Whitehall Division of Police. The teen confessed to making a prank phone call Thursday that caused staff at Whitehall-Yearling High School to lock it down. The teen, who lives in Columbus but is not a student at Whitehall City Schools, is facing a felony charge of swatting. In 2023, Gov. Mike DeWine signed House Bill 462, which created the swatting offense as a possible charge. The penalties for it become more severe if the swatting call results in physical harm. People were very, legitimately scared for the right reasons, said WPD Lt. Tanner Williams. I dont think anybody thinks this was funny, and Im hoping to see the courts prosecute to the fullest extent. Lawsuit wont be thrown out against former Columbus officer who shot man in bed Whitehall police didnt give specifics on what the teen said on the prank call, but told NBC4 a few ways they were able to figure out there was no credible threat. The student that they named doesnt go to our school, the phone number we were unable to get a hold of anybody on callback, WIlliams said. Its not the phone number for the parent. This embedded content is not available in your region. Once Whitehall City Schools determined there was no legitimate threat on Thursday, staff returned students to their regular class schedule. The district also held a town hall with families Friday afternoon to explain the series of events, and noted they are reviewing their lockdown protocols. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Teen shark attack victim coming home to AL after weeks of treatments, parade to be held in her honor Lulu made it DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) A 15-year-old girl who lost her leg and hand in a bull shark attack while swimming in Florida panhandle waters will return to her central Alabama home after 77 days recovering in hospitals. Lulu Gribbin was one of three women attacked by a bull shark near Rosemary Beach in early July. While a friend of Lulus, 17-year-old McCray Faust, walked away with relatively minor injuries, Lulus attack resulted in the loss of her left hand and right leg. Since the attack, Lulus mother, Ann Blair Gribbin, has given updates on her daughters condition. On Friday morning, an update that many have hoped for was provided. Gribbon said Lulu would return home to Mountain Brook after 11 weeks in a hospital bed. A parade will be held on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. in Mountain Brook Village to celebrate Lulus return. There are so many floods of emotions for both of us. We are both extremely excited about being home and getting back to a routine. Excited about seeing friends and family that we have missed so much, said Gribbon. In her update, Gribbon said that while it was a joyous time, leaving the place they have called home for the past ten weeks was also challenging. We are also sad, said Gribbon. Sad to leave all of our doctors, nurses, and therapists who we have seen on a daily basis and made strong connections with. We are anxious as well. Anxious about what life will be like at home and what the new normal will be. Anxious about how different life will be with a new hand and leg. Even though there is some sadness and some anxiousness we are overwhelmingly so excited to be home. A week after Lulus attack, the teen was transported from Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola to another hospital in North Carolina, where the family met with a specialist who is a pioneer in multi-extremity amputees to have Lulu fitted with prosthetics. Following the news of Lulus eventual return to Alabama, Senator Katie Britt released a video praising the teen on her recovery. Welcome home, Lulu, said Sen. Britt. You are an inspirationyour determination, your character, and your resiliency are unmatched. I am so excited to see the parade on Saturday and more celebrations to come. In July, Sen. Britt introduced legislation to honor the teen, titled Lulus Law. Lulus Law would allow law enforcement to use the Amber Alert system to notify people when a shark attack occurs. This would send warnings via mobile alert messages to the public if a shark has attacked someone or if conditions enhancing the possibility of a shark attack are present. It will put needed information in the hands of beachgoers to keep their families safe, said Sen. Britt. Authorities in Walton County believe the same bull shark that attacked the teens also attacked another woman just 90 minutes before, around 4 miles up the beach. The 45-year-old woman had severe injuries and lost her left hand. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Tennessee to distribute additional $813M to broadband providers in effort to expand rural access Tennessee broadband accessibility (Source: Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development) Tennessee is set to receive $813 million in federal funds to expand high-speed broadband internet into rural communities. The funds were approved by the U.S. Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration as part of a national effort to extend broadband to underserved communities throughout the United States. The funding will be distributed in the form of grants to companies already authorized to provide broadband in Tennessee, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development said. The state plans to open the program for applications in November. Nearly five percent of the state has no access to broadband, increasingly essential access for school and work. Over the past five years, Tennessee has distributed $715 million in state and federal funding to broaden internet access. Under the administration of former Gov. Bill Haslam, the state enacted the Tennessee Broadband Accessibility Act aimed at increasing access to unserved citizens in 2017. At the time, 34 percent of Tennessee residents lacked access to basic services. MEMPHIS, Tenn. A local couple is at their wits end, dealing with vandalism and harassment from a group home in Northeast Memphis. David Lewis says his neighborhood along Macon Road in Northeast Memphis is not peaceful. One of the many Capital City residential homes is across the street. Its meant for people with behavior challenges. Lewis says residents at the home have caused many problems. Data shows Memphis homes overvalued despite small price decline I was just getting out of the shower when my wife started screaming, said Lewis. She thought someone was breaking in the house which I guess they were if they broke the window out. He says his flower pots and garbage cans are flipped over daily. Neighbors next door say they have had many terrible encounters with residents at this home for years. One particular incident stands out. Probably the incident with my grandchildren. We just got out of our car, and he came screaming across our yard accusing my grandson of calling him a word but he never spoke to the fella, said Lewis. It just feels like we arent comfortable in our own home. Landlord Earle Schwartz, who is also the Executive Director of the Housing Foundation of West Tennessee, says he rents homes to organizations like Capital City Residential Health to empower citizens with disabilities to live independently. Nonprofit helps Memphis youth soar to new heights All types of folks with intellectual disabilities. Some of our houses meet the needs of people in wheelchairs others are not, but all of our houses meet the needs of the people living there, said Schwartz. We provide the house somebody else provides the staff. Neighbors like Lewis are worried vulnerable residents and neighbors are at risk. This is a community with older people living in it. If they are going to keep them here, there needs to be some that they can control that dont cause trouble and are not destructive, said Lewis. WREG reached out to Capital City Residential Health Care but has not heard back from them. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. After a 15-year tenure as Texas' top law enforcement officer that put him front and center in the state's response to more than a half-dozen mass shootings and to the ongoing immigration crisis at the border, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw announced Friday that he will retire at year's end. McCraw made the stunning announcement during a graduation ceremony for a new crop of cadets at Great Hill Baptist Church in Northwest Austin during brief comments to the crowd with Gov. Greg Abbott in attendance. Abbott was the keynote speaker at the event. "The people we have in this department are dedicated professionals who always get the job done," McCraw said as he announced his decision to step aside. "I have been blessed to be able to work with them. We are going to be in great hands because of the people we have and the leadership we have." Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw, right, salutes Colby Borak, left, during Friday's DPS graduation ceremony at Great Hill Baptist Church in Northwest Austin. At the ceremony, McCraw announced his retirement after 15 years. McCraw, whose first assignment with the state's top law enforcement agency was as a trooper with the Highway Patrol in 1977, for years has been a fixture at the side of Abbott when the governor provided updates on events ranging from weather emergencies to the flow of migrants from Mexico into Texas. Abbott, in his remarks to the cadet class, praised McCraw's leadership, including his "tactical response to the largest influx ever to illegal border crossings" and helping Austin with street patrols after Abbott said the city "defunded the police." It has been an honor to work with Director Steve McCraw," Abbott said. "He is a leader, visionary, and the quintessential lawman that Texas is so famous for big, white cowboy hat and all." McCraw started his law enforcement career in 1977 with the DPS, rising through the ranks before leaving to join the FBI in 1983, serving as special agent in Dallas, Washington, D.C., and San Antonio before returning to Texas to serve as Homeland Security Director in the Office of the Governor where he served until his appointment as DPS director. His profile would surge beginning with the immediate aftermath of the May 24, 2022, mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde that left 19 school children and two teachers dead. McCraw shared the stage with the governor when Abbott praised what he called the heroics of law enforcement for swift action that spared the community additional carnage. It was a message that quickly fell apart when it was learned that the score of heavily armed officers, including DPS troopers, waited 77 minutes before confronting the lone gunman and shooting him dead. Relatives of the victims have pushed for accountability in the more than two years since the shooting, and many of those calls have focused on why the DPS did not take control of the response from local officials after arriving at the scene. This month, the DPS reinstated the lone officer it once planned to fire in the aftermath of the flawed law enforcement response to the massacre. In an interview with the American-Statesman and KVUE four months after the shooting, McCraw acknowledged some flaws in the DPS response. DPS Director Steve McCraw administers the oath of office to the 175th Trooper Training Class on Friday. "We have some level of culpability. I've got no doubt," he said at the time. "To the extent that the Department of Public Safety is responsible for the failed response, there are some things I just can't admit to, simply because it's not true. And I'm not in a position right now to try to defend what DPS did or not. It really doesn't matter what I say. In the end, what's going to matter is the evidence." How Steve McCraw went from high school 'Wildman' to the top cop in Texas McCraw, a native of El Paso and a 1972 graduate of that city's Burges High School, returned to state government in 2004 when he retired from the FBI to become the head of the governor's office for homeland security under then-Gov. Rick Perry. Five years later, he took the helm at the DPS and was awarded the rank of colonel, which has long been customary for the agency's chief. Steve McCraw announced his retirement at Friday's DPS graduation ceremony with Gov. Greg Abbott in attendance. Abbott was the keynote speaker at the event. One year ago, the Public Safety Commission awarded McCraw a 15% pay raise, bringing his annual salary to $345,250 and ranking him among the highest paid department heads in state government. We are truly fortunate to have somebody of the caliber of Steve McCraw as director of the Department of Public Safety, and we cannot pay you enough to do this important job, Public Safety Commission chair Steven P. Mach said Aug. 24, as the board raised McCraws pay. So thank you for what you're doing. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a San Antonio Democrat whose district extends to Uvalde, kept up his fierce criticism of McCraw ever since the account of law enforcement's response unfolded. In a statement to news outlets, Gutierrez said the DPS chief is has been "the mastermind of the Uvalde cover up" and central to roadblocks that have stalled the release of information relating to Texas' worst mass shooting at a public school. "Families have been unable to get the transparency, accountability, and justice they deserve because McCraw and Governor Abbott don't want the totality of this failure to see the light of day," Gutierrez's statement said. The DPS has one of the longest reaches in state government. Last year, the Legislature appropriated $2.3 billion in state and federal funds to operate the agency for the two-year cycle that began Sept. 1 and authorized a payroll for more than 11,700 employees. The DPS oversees myriad organizations that include the elite Texas Rangers, an intelligence and counterterrorism division, the driver's license division and gang and drug enforcement sections. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas DPS Director Steve McCraw announces retirement Steve McCraw, the director and colonel of the Texas Department of Public Safety, at the state Capitol on June 8, 2023. Credit: Joe Timmerman/The Texas Tribune Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw announced Friday he will retire at the end of the year, marking an end to a 15-year tenure defined in recent years by his agencys flawed response to the Uvalde school shooting and its role in the states border crackdown, Operation Lone Star. McCraw broke the news while delivering a commencement address at a DPS trooper graduation ceremony. Its rather an easy thing to do, because I know Gov. Greg Abbott will ensure that my replacement is as good and likely better than I am at this particular job, McCraw said. Speaking at the event, Abbott called McCraw one of the most highly regarded law enforcement officers in the United States of America and said his flexibility to meet the changing needs of law enforcement has truly revolutionized the Texas Department of Public Safety. McCraw began his career as a DPS trooper in 1977 and served as a narcotics agent until 1983 when he joined the FBI. In Washington, he climbed the ranks and led anti-terrorism efforts, including the Office of Intelligence after the 9/11 attacks. In 2004, he returned to Texas to be Gov. Rick Perrys homeland security director as the state began increasing its focus on border security. Five years later, Perry named McCraw the top law enforcement officer in the state a position he has held through changes in government and, more recently, increased criticism of the department. Inside the Capitol, McCraw is seen as a no-nonsense law enforcement official, and a politically savvy operator who was able to hold onto his post through periods of tumult and political turnover. Republicans have generally supported him as a professional and forthcoming DPS leader and have backed his increasing efforts under Abbotts Operation Lone Star to secure the border by flooding it with troopers and border technology to capture people attempting to enter the country illegally or to seek asylum. Democrats have been more critical of these attempts and have blasted what they see as a militarization of border areas that they fear could lead to racial profiling of South Texas largely Latino population. Theyve also criticized his agencys data for border arrests which they say is presented in a manner that justifies the billions of dollars the state has spent on border security. Still, McCraw was the increasingly rare head of a state agency who would hold large press conferences at news events and even take questions from reporters who approached him even if his agency was more opaque when approached with news inquiries. In recent years, McCraw came under fire for his agencys response to the Uvalde school shooting during which 19 children and two teachers were killed by a gunman armed with an AR-15. Troopers waited outside of the classroom where the shooter was holed up for more than an hour in direct contradiction of active shooter training before a U.S. Border Patrol team confronted and killed the gunman. McCraw initially praised his agencys response but was then put on defense as details arose that troopers had not immediately engaged the shooter, which U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said would have saved lives. McCraw also made other statements that were proven to be inaccurate as the investigation proceeded, including that his troopers had engaged the shooter immediately and that a teacher had propped a school door open, allowing the shooter to enter the school building. State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a San Antonio Democrat who has been the biggest critic of the agencys response, said McCraw has been the mastermind of the Uvalde cover-up which has prevented victims and their families from getting the transparency they need about law enforcements failures on that day. McCraws legacy will always be the failure in Uvalde and one day he will be brought to justice for his inaction, Gutierrez said. Texas Ranger Christopher Ryan Kindell was the only DPS trooper who had been set to lose his job for the response. He was notified that he would be fired in January 2023 but appealed that decision and was reinstated earlier this month. During his tenure, McCraw oversaw many major changes to the public safety agency, including Operation Lone Star, which has put state law enforcement officials in situations dealing with migrants crossing the border and raised questions about their ability to enforce immigration law. McCraw also supported and oversaw the implementation of body cameras for all DPS troopers on patrol. He saw body cameras as a way to keep both police and citizens honest about interactions and was not afraid to use footage to clear his officers names when they were accused of wrongdoing. In 2018, a North Texas woman accused a trooper of sexually assaulting her and offering to let her go in exchange for sexual favors when she was stopped on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. The allegation spread through social media and became a media firestorm. But body camera footage showed a routine traffic stop that did not depict any of the womans allegations. The department hammered the woman and her attorney for despicable, slanderous and false accusations. McCraw also led the agency through the aftermath of the death by suicide of Sandra Bland, a Black woman who was treated violently by a trooper before her death in a Waller County jail. The incident was seen as a sign of systemic racism within the force and led to legislative changes, including better recordkeeping of use-of-force instances and whether they led to suicides, assaults, escapes or deaths. Throughout McCraws tenure, the agency has struggled to keep up with Texans demand for new drivers licenses as the states population booms, leading to long lines at state offices sometimes during the intense summer heat. In 2019, the agency was caught in Abbotts crossfire after a botched attempt by the Secretary of States office to remove from voter rolls 100,000 people accused of not being U.S. citizens. Abbotts office blamed McCraw and his agency for giving the secretary of state faulty information and for being non-responsive to further requests for information. TribFest Keynotes Announced! Be there when Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin take the keynote stage at The Texas Tribune Festival! Whitmer will talk with Texas Tribune co-founder Evan Smith about her memoir, her key victories in Michigan and the importance of every vote. Youngkin and Smith will close out TribFest with a conversation about his record, the state of his party and a conservative policy agenda for America. Explore the full program of 300+ speakers and 100+ events. Get tickets today. Texas, other GOP-led states sue over program to give immigrant spouses of US citizens legal status Sixteen Republican-led states are suing to end a federal program that could potentially give a path to citizenship to nearly half a million immigrants without legal status who are married to U.S. citizens. The coalition filed suit Friday to halt the program launched by President Joe Biden in June, saying in court filings that the administration bypassed Congress to create a pathway to citizenship for blatant political purposes. This action incentivizes illegal immigration and will irreparably harm the Plaintiff states, the suit filed in federal court in Tyler, Texas, says. Under the policy, which started taking applications Monday, many spouses without legal status can apply for something called parole in place, offering permission to stay in the U.S., apply for a green card and eventually get on a path to citizenship. The program has been particularly contentious in an election year where immigration is one of the biggest issues, with many Republicans attacking the policy and contending it is essentially a form of amnesty for people who broke the law. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement Friday that the plan violates the Constitution and actively worsens the illegal immigration disaster that is hurting Texas and our country. The suit filed against the Department of Homeland Security, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and other Biden administration officials accuses the agency of attempting to parole spouses en masse, which the states contend is an abuse of power. The states also filed a motion asking for the program to be put on hold while the lawsuit proceeds. In a post on X, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said her state is challenging the parole in place policy because she believes the Biden administration is illegally using parole in a systematic way to advance their open-borders agenda. The conservative nonprofit America First Legal, which is headed by Stephen Miller, a former adviser to President Donald Trump, is serving as co-counsel in the lawsuit. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Mayra Alejandra said the agency will defend the Keeping Families Together program in court and continues to process already submitted applications as well as accept new applications. Keeping Families Together is grounded in well-established legal authority, and its purpose enabling the families of U.S. Citizens to live without fear of separation is consistent with fundamental American values, Alejandra said. White House spokesperson Angelo Fernandez Hernandez fired back against Republicans playing politics and characterized the lawsuit as another form of family separation. This lawsuit is seeking to force U.S. citizens and their families, people who have lived in the United States for more than ten years, to continue to live in the shadows, Fernandez said in a statement. The bipartisan immigration and criminal justice organization FWD.us said the program is in compliance with the law and noted the timing of the lawsuit as Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic nomination for president. The only motivation behind this lawsuit is the cruelty of tearing families apart and the crass politics of hoping a judge might do the bidding of the anti-immigrant movement, the organization said in a statement. Karen Tumlin, founder and director of the Justice Action Center, called the legal challenge unsurprising yet extremely disappointing and cruel. However, its important to emphasize that nothing changes for now, and the process is still open and accepting applications, she said. To be eligible for the program, immigrants must have lived continuously in the U.S. for at least 10 years, not pose a security threat or have a disqualifying criminal history, and have been married to a citizen by June 17 the day before the program was announced. They must pay a $580 fee to apply and fill out a lengthy application, including an explanation of why they deserve humanitarian parole and a long list of supporting documents proving how long they have been in the country. If approved, applicants have three years to seek permanent residency. During that period, they can get work authorization. The administration estimates about 500,000 people could be eligible, plus about 50,000 of their children. Before this program, it was complicated for people who were in the U.S. illegally to get a green card after marrying an American citizen. They can be required to return to their home country often for years and they always face the risk they may not be allowed back in. The lawsuit contends that states will bear the burden of additional immigrants staying in the country. Texas, the suit says, spends tens of millions of dollars each year on a program that provides health insurance for children, including those in the country illegally. It says that the state also spends millions each year for increased law enforcement as its citizens suffer increased crime, unemployment, environmental harm, and social disorder due to illegal immigration. Because the program beneficiaries will be entitled to work authorization, those additional workers will drive down the wages of Texas residents, directly harming the State and its citizens, the lawsuit says. Evelyn Wiese, an immigration attorney at American Immigrant Justice, described the lawsuit as an attack on mixed status families who have spent years contributing to their communities in the United States. Trying to rip apart these families and prevent them from accessing a lawful pathway to status in the U.S. is cruel and reflective of anti-immigrant extremism, she said. Texas sues over Biden legalization program for immigrants married to US citizens U.S. President Joe Biden boards Air Force One at Hagerstown Regional Airport in Hagerstown By Ted Hesson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Texas and a coalition of Republican-led states on Friday sued President Joe Biden's administration over a new program that offers a path to citizenship for immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally and are now married to U.S. citizens. The lawsuit argues the program, which began accepting applications on Monday, oversteps the administration's authority to provide relief to those without legal status and circumvents the intent of U.S. immigration laws. The initiative, called Keeping Families Together, provides a path to citizenship to an estimated 500,000 immigrant spouses who entered the U.S. illegally and have at least 10 years of residence. Without this option, many would need to leave the U.S. for years before being able to return legally. Republicans have made illegal immigration a central focus of the Nov. 5 presidential election where former President Donald Trump, a Republican, will face off against the Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris. America First Legal, an organization led by Trump adviser Stephen Miller, served as co-counsel in the lawsuit alongside Texas and 15 other states with Republican attorneys general. Miller, a driving force behind Trump's restrictive policies during his 2017-2021 presidency, called the Biden program "brazenly unlawful" in a statement. Keeping Families Together also allows some 50,000 children under age 21 with a U.S.-citizen parent to obtain temporary "parole" status that creates a path to citizenship. White House spokesperson Angelo Fernandez Hernandez said the Texas lawsuit aimed to separate families and "goes against our nations values." Texas has repeatedly clashed with the Biden administration in court over immigration and border issues. A federal appeals court in July said Texas could keep a large floating barrier in the Rio Grande River intended to block migrants illegally crossing from Mexico. (Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington; Editing by David Gregorio and Diane Craft) BEREA, Ohio (WJW) Cunning cyber-criminals continue to find new and more devious ways to steal identities and plunder bank accounts. The Ohio Turnpike Commission is warning travelers about a robo-text scam that targets anyone with a cell phone. Whats that noise? Why some NE Ohio residents may hear explosions Potential victims of the fraud are receiving a text falsely claiming they have a turnpike toll that has not been paid and threatening to impose a substantial late fee if they do not quickly pay the toll online. The targets of the scam are directed to click on a bogus website that seeks their personal and financial information. The first point we want to make is the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission does not send invoices to its customers via text, said spokesperson Charles Cyrill. Turnpike administrators first learned about the scam in April and attempted to keep their customers on high alert, especially E-ZPass users, who now account for 65% of the passenger car business on the toll road. The commission is reminding customers that the turnpike sends all communications, including notices about unpaid tolls, through the U.S. Mail or email, and travelers should always make sure they are using the proper links for the turnpike. The only legitimate websites associated with the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission are ezpassoh.com and ohioturnpike.org, Cyrill said. Former Cleveland pitcher says missing daughter found Investigators said if you receive one of the robo-text messages seeking payment of unpaid tolls, you should delete the message without clicking on the link created by the scammers. There is no word yet on how many people have fallen prey to the robo-scam, but we are told victims are being directed to call the FBI, which is attempting to identify those responsible for the fraud. Ironically, for the next 60 days, turnpike users who have legitimate billing issues will not face any late fees. The turnpike commission concedes that the grace period is in response to a large number of complaints about wait times for customer service, after the turnpike started its new toll collection system in April. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. FILE PHOTO: Thai-Muslim student hold a candle light vigil for victims of the Tak Bai shooting on it's third anniversary outside the United Nation building in Bangkok By Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat BANGKOK (Reuters) - A Thai court on Friday accepted a criminal lawsuit against seven senior security personnel over their alleged roles in the deaths two decades ago of 85 Muslim protesters, most of whom suffocated while piled on top of each other in army trucks. According to a lawyer in the case and human rights group Amnesty International, the military and police officers are accused of murder and unlawful detention over their handling of the 2004 protest in the town of Tak Bai, an incident that drew international condemnation and added fuel to an insurgency in Thailand's predominantly Muslim provinces near Malaysia. "The court process could provide justice to the victims and their family and the community that have suffered from the deadly crackdown," Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, one of the lawyers for the families of 48 of the victims, told Reuters. Pornpen said the court would summon the accused on Sept. 12. The high-profile Tak Bai incident dogged then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the case implicates former regional army commander Pisan Wattanawongkiri, who is now a lawmaker for Thaksin's Pheu Thai Party. The court's acceptance of the case, for which the statute of limitations expires on Oct. 25, comes just days after Thaksin's daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra was confirmed as prime minister. Pisan and the other six people named in the lawsuit could not immediately be reached for comment. Thailand's government at the time expressed regret at the Tak Bai deaths but denied wrongdoing, while police had initially said some protesters were armed. The crackdown in Tak Bai in the province of Narathiwat occurred when it was under martial law and was one of the deadliest incidents during a separatist insurgency that re-ignited that same year and has since killed more than 7,600 people. Seven people were shot dead by security forces when protesters gathered outside Tak Bai police station to demand the release of detained villagers. Scores of people were detained and tied up and 78 suffocated or were crushed to death while stacked on top of each other and transported to an army camp. Many survivors suffered severe injuries and permanent disabilities. Amnesty International said the court's acceptance of the case was an important first step in delivering justice. "The victims and their loved ones have spent almost two decades waiting for justice and accountability for the heinous crimes committed," it said in a statement. (Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um and Panarat Thepgumpanat; Editing by Martin Petty) Chicagos biggest party of the week came to a close on Thursday night as Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the Democratic Partys presidential nomination. With more than 100 speakers and some surprise guests excluding Beyonce the four-day convention at the United Center included everything from happy tears to some serious jabs at the Republican Party and their nominee. Here are 14 breakout moments from the DNC that stood out to us: 1. Gus Walz beaming with emotion and pride for his dad Tim Walz's son, Gus, showed the world on Wednesday night just how proud he is of his dad. Walz spoke onstage to accept the vice presidential nomination and was talking about his family's struggle with infertility when he told Gus, 17; his daughter, Hope, 23; and wife, Gwen: "You are my entire world, and I love you." Gus immediately pointed toward his dad onstage, choking up. He stood up, clapped and appeared to mouth the words: "That's my dad." You know youve done well as a parent when your kids are as proud of you as Gus and Hope are of Tim Walz. Thats my dad. No three words better describe our next Vice President. pic.twitter.com/zNOyBjo5Fy Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) August 22, 2024 2. Lil Jon gives surprise performance during Georgias roll call Music played an integral role in keeping the energy up during roll call on Tuesday evening. DJ Cassidy, who mixed and organized the music, played a song that had meaning for each state as they were announced. Grammy award-winning artist and Atlanta native Lil Jon turned up the energy for Georgia's roll call, appearing for a surprise performance of his 2013 hit "Turn Down for What" from the United Centers stadium stairs. 3. Obama takes a dig at Trump with his weird obsession with crowd sizes Former President Barack Obama didnt mince words when talking about his successor, former President Donald Trump, on Tuesday night. Here is a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago, Obama told the crowd. There's the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes, he said, taking a pause to adjust his hands showing different sizes jokingly. The moment quickly went viral on social media. Obama: Here is a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems since he rode down his golden escalator nine years ago. There's the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes pic.twitter.com/WGwNOFinHK Acyn (@Acyn) August 21, 2024 4. Cole Emhoffs video about their blended family and meeting Momala A video created in part by Cole Emhoff and his mother, Kerstin Emhoff the son and ex-wife of second gentleman Doug Emhoff was unveiled Tuesday. It showed the personal impact Vice President Kamala Harris has had on the Emhoff family since she married his dad in 2014. Cole talked about when his dad and mom split up when he was in middle school, but remained friends. He touched on how years later his dad and Kamala met on a blind date, and Kamala became Momala when the two wed. "Our blended family wasnt used to politics or the spotlight, but when Kamala became senator, we were all excited to step up. Especially my dad," Cole said in the video. This is my Dad, Doug. A film by Cole Emhoff, produced by me, and @Venture_land pic.twitter.com/yo5HVEdso9 Kerstin Emhoff (@keprettybird) August 21, 2024 5. Michelle Obama on Trump seeking a Black job The DNC crowd burst into raucous applause Tuesday night after former first lady Michelle Obama took a big jab at Trump over his recent claim that immigrants are taking Black jobs. By the way who's going to tell [Trump] that the job he's currently seeking might be one of those Black jobs? she quipped. 6. Mindy Kaling telling Ben Affleck to hang in there The Office writer and actress Mindy Kaling brought her comedic wit to the DNC as Wednesday nights celebrity host. The day before, Jennifer Lopez filed for divorce from Ben Affleck and Kaling made sure to mention Affleck, a fellow Massachusetts native. I love you, Massachusetts! Kaling yelled as the crowd cheered. Everyone is always hating on us. But they just dont get it. Go Sox! Go Jayson Tatum! Ben Affleck, hang in there! Ben Affleck, hang in there! Mindy Kaling gives her fellow Massachusetts-native some words of encouragement while she shouts out the states delegation pic.twitter.com/JukE3OIv2b The Recount (@therecount) August 22, 2024 7. President Biden tearing up after being introduced by his daughter President Biden spoke at the convention Monday night, a little less than a month after he dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Harris. When he took the stage, Biden received an extended standing ovation as the crowd chanted "We love Joe!" and "Thank you, Joe!" for over three minutes. Biden was introduced by his daughter Ashley Biden. "I'll tell you what," Biden said, appearing to fight back tears. "To my dearest daughter Ashley, God love you, you're incredible." President Biden wipes his eyes after embracing his daughter Ashley Biden onstage at the DNC. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP) 8. Gwen Walzs reaction to Barack Obama talking about Tim Walzs flannels During his speech, former President Obama referenced Walzs woodsy sartorial choices. You can tell those flannel shirts he wears dont come from some political consultant they come from his closet, Obama said. And they have been through some stuff. Walzs wife Gwen, who was in the audience, nodded and applauded in agreement. So true, so true, she said. Gwen Walzs reaction to Obamas mention of Tim Walzs flannel shirts is everything. pic.twitter.com/w3r01ix1G9 Chris Strider (@stridinstrider) August 21, 2024 9. Michigan AG tells GOP: You can pry this wedding band from my cold, dead, gay hand In her speech on Wednesday night at the convention, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel delivered a pointed message to Republicans and Supreme Court justices who might be thinking about reversing protections for same-sex marriages like hers. "You can pry this wedding band from my cold, dead, gay hand," Nessel said. "And I'm retaining a lot of water," she added, "so good luck." Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel shows off her wedding band. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) 10. Scandal stars Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn reunite onstage Actress Kerry Washington spoke on the DNC's final night. And she was joined by Scandal co-star Tony Goldwyn, who spoke earlier at the convention. Goldwyn came onstage to give Washington her cellphone so she could take a selfie video with the United Center crowd. "Are you ready for Kamala Harris to win?" Washington asked. "Yes!" the crowd roared. 11. Oprah takes a swipe at Vances childless cat ladies and the DNCs camera cut to a random woman in the crowd During her surprise appearance at the DNC, Oprah Winfrey made a reference to GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vances characterization of Democratic women as childless cat ladies. When a house is on fire, we dont ask whose house it is, Winfrey said. And if the place happens to belong to a childless cat lady, well, we try to get that cat out too. The camera then cut to a random woman in the crowd: Teresa Woorman, a 32-year-old delegate from Maryland who in fact does not have children and lives in Bethesda, Md., with her husband and their pets including two cats. She had no idea she was on camera, and the awkward sequence went viral. But Woorman later told the Washington Post that she didnt mind. I was already really excited about this whole week, she said. This has made it even more fun. It added a little bit of quirkiness. MSNBC cutting to this poor random woman after Oprah mentioned a childless cat lady pic.twitter.com/8yN5qh9fbV marissa (@iamnzane) August 22, 2024 12. Doug Emhoff introduces himself to the world Second gentleman Emhoff spoke on the conventions second night and recalled the first time he left Harris a voicemail. Emhoff said that the second he left it, he wanted to grab the words out of the air and put them back in my mouth. He then recreated the message for the United Center crowd: Hey, its Doug. Im on my way to an early meeting again, its Doug! She makes me listen to it on every anniversary, Emhoff added with laughter. If Harris wins in November, she would be the first woman president and Emhoff would be first first gentleman. He would also be the first Jewish spouse of an American president. 13. The Beyonce performance that wasnt There was rampant speculation online this week that Beyonce whose song, Freedom, is featured prominently at Harris rallies would make a surprise appearance at the convention. It reached a fever pitch on Thursday night when TMZ reported that she would perform in primetime. But, much to the dismay of the Beyhive, it never materialized. TMZ even issued a rare apology. To quote the great Beyonce: We gotta lay our cards down, down, down ... we got this one wrong. TMZ (@TMZ) August 23, 2024 14. Harriss grandnieces teach the audience how to pronounce Kamalas first name Washington also led the audience in a memorable segment devoted to how to pronounce Kamala Harris's first name. "It's come to my attention that there are some folks who struggle, or pretend to struggle, with the proper pronunciation of our future president's name," Washington said. "So, hear me out, confusion is understandable. Disrespect is not." Washington then brought out Harris's grandnieces, Amara and Leela, who provided pronunciation guidance. "First you say Kama, like a comma in a sentence," Amara said. "Then you say la, like la, la, la, la, la," Leela added. "Put it together," Washington prompted, "and it's Kamala," the group said in unison. WATCH: Amara and Leila, two of Vice President Kamala Harris' nieces, took the stage at the DNC for a lesson on how to pronounce their aunt's name. "First you say comma, like comma in a sentence," Amara said. "Then you say, 'La,' like lalalala," Leila finished. pic.twitter.com/YuGZdaJWpZ PBS News (@NewsHour) August 23, 2024 (Thumbnail photo credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images) Three Beaufort County employees fired after shopping at a gun store while on the clock Beaufort County Administrator Michael Moore fired three employees last month for visiting a gun store during working hours. An email sent to all 11 members of the Beaufort County Council on July 16 alleged that three county employees were seen entering the Palmetto State Armory gun store at Riverwalk Business Park in Jasper County around 11 a.m. that day. The email included a photo of a county vehicle, a Ram Dually, parked outside the business as well. The source of the email has been redacted. Council Member Tab Tabernik then forwarded the email to Moore saying FYI for your follow-up. Sometime between July 16 and July 24, the three employees, whose names have not be released, were terminated from their county jobs. This was confirmed by county spokesperson Hannah Nichols on July 24. Moore said the three were terminated for misuse of time and misuse of resources. Those employees were not at their appointed place of work where they were supposed to be, Moore said Friday morning. They were not conducting their assigned duties. We want the public to have confidence that the county is a good steward of taxpayer dollars. So I think thats the key point here, he added. The emails detailing the series of events were obtained through a South Carolina Freedom of Information Act request. Tabernik spoke highly of Moores handling of the situation. (Moore) reacted to it very quickly, and he investigated and did whatever he needed to do. So in my opinion, thats what the administrator needs to do, she said. He understands what to do. Hes taking charge of the employees and the running of the county. Thats my initial impression now until he proves me wrong, Tabernik added. Keeping promises of accountability In a wide-ranging interview with the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette from July, the then-newly instated administrator said it wasnt out of the question that some positions would open as he works to fill vacancies and structure county administration. Moore said, I do have it in me, when asked if hed fire anyone at the time. The emails show that days before he spoke to the newspapers Moore had already made good on his word by firing the three employees. Three people are dead, and eight more are believed injured, after an attacker reportedly began stabbing attendees at random during a festival celebrating the 650th anniversary of the founding of the German city of Solingen on Friday night. Local newspaper Solinger Tageblatt reported that the attack began at around 9:45 p.m. local time, during a performance at the festival, which was being held in the citys marketplace. Two sources who spoke with the newspaper confirmed that three people have died and up to six more were injured, at least three seriously. Later reports suggest that the number of injured people is eight, five of them seriously. Lars Breitzke, who was attending the festival, told the Tageblatt that a person fell over just a meter away from me. Breitzke said people initially thought the person was drunk but then more bodies began droppingin pools of blood. The attacker has since fled the scene, with a manhunt underway. The Daily Beast reached out to the Solingen Police Headquarter for comment. This evening we are all in Solingen in shock, horror and great sadness, mayor Tim Kurzbach wrote in a post on Facebook. The post was translated from German to English by the Daily Beast. We all wanted to celebrate our city anniversary together and now we have to mourn deaths and injuries. It breaks my heart that there was an attack on our city, he added. I pray for everyone who is still fighting for their lives. I also have great sympathy for all the people who had to witness this. I would like to thank all rescue and security forces for their efforts, Kurzbach concluded. I ask that if you believe, pray with me and if not, hope with me. 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. ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) The Odessa Police Department and Odessa Fire Rescue responded to a major crash that injured three people early Thursday morning. According to OPD, at about 5:47 am on Thursday, August 22, crews and officers responded to a major crash at the intersection of 100th Street and US Highway 385. Investigation revealed a black Dodge Challenger was traveling south on Highway 385 while a silver Toyota Corolla was traveling west on 100th Street, attempting to cross Highway 385. The driver of the Toyota Corolla reportedly failed to yield right of way from a stop sign before it was hit by the Dodge Challenger. UPDATE: One killed in Wedesday night Faudree crash Both drivers were transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. The front passenger of the Dodge Challenger was also transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. This crash remains an ongoing 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 Yourbasin. It is best to be modest and mindful. The worlds wisdom traditions teach that a good life should be guided by simplicity and self-examination. But ours is an immodest and excessive culture. Humility and introspection are rare. So, it is interesting to consider the latest craze on TikTok, where the phrase very demure, very mindful is trending. It was popularized by TikTok influencer Jools Lebron, who explained the ideal as being mindful and considerate of the people around you, but also of yourself and how you present to the world. https://www.tiktok.com/@joolieannie/video/7398612571818888494?lang=en Most of my students laughed when I mentioned the very demure, very mindful trend. The whole thing smacks of parody. TikTok mindfulness is done for the cameras with the goal of going viral. Which is, frankly, not demure at all. Opinion Many of the demure and mindful videos are silly and fun. The phrase has taken on a life of its own. For all this online chatter, when I asked my students what demure means or why it is important, they generally had no idea. For the record, demure means shy, reserved and modest. Genuine modesty and mindfulness are important for a tranquil life, and as an antidote to the excesses of our era. Our culture is anything but demure and mindful. The Trumpian age is one of big egos, loud mouths and prominent tattoos. People display themselves in exaggerated ways: Some fly huge flags on cars and houses; everyone is striving to be noticed; and everyone has an angle. Weve lost the art of modesty, and we are often unable to tell the difference between dignified truth-telling and the parodies that proliferate on the internet. When everyone is grandstanding, we confuse showmanship with sincerity. If there really were a demure and mindful person in our midst, we might wonder what kind of game they were playing. This is related to the problem of false modesty. If you brag about how modest you are, you are not really modest. And sometimes those who demurely say, Im not worthy, are really full of themselves. Genuinely demure people dont show off. And mindful people are often inconspicuous. It may seem difficult, then, to find them and learn from their virtue. But decent and humble people are all around us. They are rarely the center of attention. If you look past the spotlight, youll see them, quietly taking care of business offstage. Philosophers have often advocated avoiding the spotlight. The ancient followers of Epicurus retreated from public life. They warned that a life oriented toward fame and power was a danger to the soul. Epicurus motto was live unnoticed. He taught that tranquility and happiness were best found in quiet solitude with a few good friends. Do whats right, stay out of other peoples business, dont insist and try not to attract attention to yourself. The wisdom of the modest life was a departure from the ancient Greek tendency to celebrate bold heroes like Hercules. But Greek tragedy reveals those god-like heroes as ultimately unhappy. The excessive nature of arrogant pride tempts fate, while undermining virtue. A similar idea can be found in ancient China: A Taoist allegory tells of a wise man who spent his time fishing by a peaceful river. The emperor heard about the wise sage and demanded that he come and serve in the Imperial court. The sage refused. He explained that if he gave up his simple life on the river, this would show that he was not really wise. With all of this on the table, it may seem that there is something pernicious about TikTok or the memes and trends that emerge there. But there is nothing wrong with having a little fun. And as Grateful Deads Scarlet Begonias says, once in a while you can get shown the light in the strangest of places, if you look at it right. Thats the spirit of my advice about the very demure, very mindful meme: Use this as a springboard for deeper reflection. Beware those missionaries of modest mindfulness who are trying to sell you something. Wisdom dwells deeper than a viral meme. But it is freely available to those who cultivate a modest and mindful life. Andrew Fiala is a professor of philosophy at Fresno State University. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz takes the stage to speak on the third night of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago on Wednesday, August 21, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images) When Tim Walz was tapped to be Kamala Harris running mate, some on the left described his selection as an effort to unify Democrats. Walz has certainly tried to play to this reputation on the trail, and now hes pitching American voters as a whole on a return to a less divisive politics. But unity is easier said than done. In a speech in Rochester, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, Walz reminded his audience of a time when friends and family could come together for Thanksgiving and not complain about politics the whole time. What was different then? Walz went on: You shared a commitment to democracy, a commitment to personal freedoms We dont call each other names. We dont do it. And we dont use the least fortunate amongst us as punchlines for our jokes because theyre our neighbors. Theyre our neighbors. He repeated his point about neighborliness Wednesday night during his speech at the Democratic National Convention: Growing up in a small town like that, you learn to take care of each other. That family down the roadthey may not think like you do, they may not pray like you do, they may not love like you do, but theyre your neighbors. And you look out for them, and they look out for you. Everybody belongs. Turning down the temperature of politics and envisioning a greater sense of national solidarity is a welcome development in a time of ever-increasing polarization. Nice is nicein theory at least. But forging shared commitments and fostering true neighborliness in politics is far harder than Walz and other Democrats let on. They themselves have made it harder in the past. Take the first shared commitment Walz brought up in Rochester. Hes certainly right to imply how lamentable it isto put it mildlythat the two-thirds of Republicans who believe the 2020 election was stolen dont seem especially committed to democracy. But its not the case that Americans were always deferential to the democratic process before 2020. That includes Democrats. Stacey Abrams spent years denying her 2018 gubernatorial loss in Georgia, even claiming on more than one occasion that she won the election. That same year, Hillary Clinton looked back at her 2016 loss and claimed that people who voted for Donald Trump did so because they didnt like black people getting rights or women getting jobs. Attributing an electoral defeat to bigotry doesnt exactly scream commitment to democracy. To be clear, Walzs sentimentthat a shared commitment to democracy is crucial to our body politicis correct. And hes certainly not responsible for poor past statements by members of his party. And yes, Trumps election denialism is considerably more concerning. But Walz is imagining a unified past that was never really so. Political ambition has for quite some time found a way to add caveats and loopholes to our shared commitment to democracy. Theres a similar problem with Walzs comments about a past commitment to personal freedoms. Its fair to conclude Walz is referring to abortion and reproductive rights, both because the issues have been a linchpin of the Harris-Walz campaign and because he brought them up in Rochester and at the DNC. But here again, past unity has proved illusory. Roe v. Wade began an era of increased polarization by removing the issue from the democratic process. Abortion has been consistently divisive in the ensuing decades, even pre-Dobbs, without any sort of national shared commitment in sight. And even more, divisions over abortion show a second problem with Walzs pitch for unity: that his appeal to neighborliness rings hollow. At their best, reasonable people of goodwill and sound mind can recognize the tension at the heart of the abortion debate, between a compelling desire to protect unborn children on one hand, and a compelling recognition of pregnancys physical tolls and the way its been used to limit the agency of women on the other (among other compelling reasons). A genuine attempt at unity, an earnest respect for political neighbors, would reckon with that tension; Walz elides it. When Republicans use [the word freedom], they mean that the government should be free to invade your doctors office, he said at the DNC. For Walz (and virtually all Democrats) people oppose abortion only to oppose personal freedom. Given that wholesale rejection of even a shred of validity of the pro-life view, its not surprising that pro-life Democrats are essentially extinct. Walz has similarly gone hard after Republicans for their supposed opposition to IVF. Mind your own damn business, he said at the DNC. This framing downplays that some of the most conservative senators have sponsored legislation to protect the practice. But more importantly, it shows another example of Walz choosing demonization over unitive neighborliness. (To say nothing of his truth problem.) Opponents of IVF constitute a considerable minority of the publiconly 8 percent of Americans according to a May poll from Pew. Yet heres the crucial part: Arent they, too, Walzsand ourneighbors? Then what would a neighborly approach require? Again, an earnest attempt to at the very least recognize their concerns. It might recognize, as the author Luke Burgis has suggested, advocating for better science to limit the number of embryos discarded in the practice. It would eschew simply dismissing these concerns as weird. Despite Walzs short-sighted references to imagined shared commitments and half-hearted, selective neighborliness, conservatives who value pluralism should acknowledge that he is at least paying lip service to unity. The right in the Trump era, meanwhile, has consistently painted the country in Manichean, apocalyptic terms, in which a woke left out to remake or even destroy America justifies seeing fellow citizens as enemy combatants. That Republicans from Donald Trump to J.D. Vance have been far more divisive does not mean Democrats like Walz have been exemplars at building bridges. For those conservatives who find themselves on the wrong side of certain issuesespecially social issuesneighborliness is seldom extended. Nevertheless, Walz is right in this respect: Americans are starving for unity. As much as our politics is often driven by the loudest and most extreme voices, by some measures most Americans are part of an exhausted majority who reject the sky is falling view of the world. But a more confident pluralism will not require merely talking about unity; itll depend on actually recognizing the concerns of our political opponents, even amid deep-seated, often irreconcilable differences. Thats a tall order, but its a necessary one for a more united democracyand for a few less tense Thanksgivings. 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. A 2-year-old girl was mistakenly given alcohol instead of apple juice at a Salinas restaurant and ended up in the emergency room. What was supposed to be apple juice was actually cooking wine that had been mislabeled and served to the child at Fujiyama Japanese Restaurant, her parents and restaurant officials told KSBW on Thursday. The parents didn't notice until the toddler began to show signs of intoxication, then smelled her drink. "She was swaying, she was falling over, she was leaning on walls, she couldnt hold her head up, she was slurring her words," her mother, Noemi Valencia, told the TV station. A trip to the emergency room showed the toddler's blood alcohol content was 0.12%, over the 0.08% legal limit for an adult over 21, her parents said. She has since fully recovered. The restaurant told KSBW a large container of cooking wine was mislabeled as apple juice, which the server accidentally poured for the child. Local police said a report was filed Aug. 17 regarding the incident, according to the news station. The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control said in a statement it is working with local authorities to investigate the matter. The parents urged other families to taste what's served to children at restaurants as a precaution. 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. SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) Tom Green County Judge Lane Carter addressed concerns about the countys tax rate and budget in an interview after a Tom Green County Commissioners Court public hearing on Aug. 22. Carter expressed that the tax rate for this year would remain the same as last years rate of $0.4729, which has not changed since 2021. Carter explained that while the countys appraisals have increased, leading to higher revenue, the tax rate itself is not being raised. We are not proposing a higher rate, its a numbers game, focused on the county and the services we provide, said Carter. Regarding the countys reserve funds. Carter addressed that the current 30% reserve is crucial for maintaining services during emergencies, such as another pandemic. Additionally, $12 million has been set aside for a future court annex. Regarding employee compensation, Carter noted the challenge of retaining staff in a competitive job market. The budget proposed a 5% cost-of-living adjustment and a 3% market adjustment for targeted job classes. The 2023 budget included an 8% cost-of-living adjustment with a 25 merit increase. Carter reported progress in reducing operating losses, moving from a $1.5 million loss this year to a projected surplus. This is a huge increase over the past several years, which saw a consistent decrease ranging from $400,000 to $1.1 million annually. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HUBER HEIGHTS, Ohio (WDTN) An effort to give voters the final say in the battle over annexation appears to have failed, according to the initial count. The city approved the annexation of nearly 300 acres of land in Bethel Township last month, spurring a petition drive to collect signatures to allow for a ballot vote. According to the Huber Heights Clerk of Council, a preliminary count found the petition failed to collect the required number of signatures. Greenville mayor wants adult-use cannabis businesses banned for good Council Clerk Anthony Rodgers says petitioners turned in more than 1,100 signatures Wednesday night. However, they need 2,100 signatures to get a referendum on the ballot. The annexation paves the way for a developer to come in and build about 1,400 homes. Some citizens have expressed concerns over traffic and school issues among others. Officials say the preliminary count is not the final count, which will be determined within 10 days according to the Huber Heights city charter. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 News Jake Sullivan will visit China for the first time as US national security adviser next week, The White House said Friday, laying the groundwork for a potential final meeting between President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Sullivan will meet with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and is expected to discuss the possibility of Biden engaging with Xi before the US president leaves office in January, as well as a preview of Kamala Harriss China policy, and Beijings support for Russia. Sullivans visit is partly about maintaining stability during a period of high political activity in the United States and . . . general geopolitical uncertainty, a US official told the Financial Times. ATHENS, WV (WVNS) Athens residents said on Thursday, August 22, 2024 that their town has water issues. Low water levels pose risks for water recreation Some residents took to social media to voice their concerns about the odd taste and smell of the water. They also noted that the water even looked abnormal. 59News went to Athens and spoke to public officials to find out what was happening. We use an ultrasonic unit in the lake for killing algae, said Melissa Pentasuglia, the chief operator for the Town of Athens Water Treatment Plant. However, this year, we have had an abundance aquatic growth and lily pads and this algae is hiding under the perimeter of the lake. This year the lake is definitely not overflowing, so all that [algae] is just sitting there stagnant. Pentasuglia also told 59News the drought is another part of the issue. The reservoir they pull from for water treatment is 27 inches below the top of their reservoirs dam, according to Pentasuglia. Broken water main floods Montreal, affecting thousands and prompting boil water advisory West Virginia State Delegate Doug Smith attended the Town of Athens town hall meeting on Tuesday, August 20, 2024 evening to ensure this situation was addressed. After attending this meeting, Smith offered a statement. A lot of it is just that Mother Nature takes a little bit of time for the chemical treatment to get caught up. The water that is already in the line is going to be there. They cannot get it out. I mean they do a little bit of flushing out of the fire hydrants. It is going to take time for that water to be used and ran out. So, I truly believe that they are doing everything that they can. The state has been involved. DEP went down there, said Delegate Smith. I just want customers to be reassured that their water is safe to drink. It is safe to take a shower, added Pentasuglia. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. In an effort to clean beaches, a town in the Philippines has created a unique incentive for locals to collect trash along the shore, per an article published in Selangor Journal. Officials in Mabini a town in the Batangas province known for its biodiversity and scuba diving spots are offering locals a bag of rice in exchange for every bag of trash they collect from the beaches. Plastic pollution in the area has threatened the region's vibrant marine ecosystem. According to local volunteers, sea turtles and fish have been caught in the plastic waste and mistaking it for food. When organisms ingest pieces of plastic, the waste can rupture their internal organs and cause intestinal blockages. In fact, the World Wildlife Fund has found that 22% of turtles can die after ingesting just one piece of plastic. However, the rice-for-trash program has been a big help in removing plastic waste from the area and restoring the ecosystem to its natural state. According to program volunteer Giulio Endaya, locals have collected more than 4.3 metric tons of plastic waste nearly two years since the program's conception. For every bag of trash collected, the program provides a 1-kilogram bag of rice, which is enough to feed a small family on a daily basis. In total, the program has handed out 2.6 metric tons of rice to residents. As a result, the program is not only protecting the natural environment but also supporting the local community. "In a month I need four-and-a-half sacks of rice, now all I have to buy is two sacks, which is a big help," Mabini local Janeth Acevedo told Selangor Journal after gathering bags of trash from the beach. Conservation projects like the rice-for-trash program encourage locals to help clean and preserve marine ecosystems. The more we contribute to environmental initiatives, the more we can move toward a cleaner, more sustainable future. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. TOPEKA (KSNT) Two people were caught on camera stealing a coin machine from Doughboyz Pizzeria in North Topeka. According to owner Trevor Burdett, the incident took place around 6:00 a.m. Aug. 22. Burdett said the suspects got away with a couple-hundred dollars at most. He said the biggest pain as a businessowner was having to replace the broken door, signs and pay for all the damage. They definitely knew what they were doing, or they knew what they wanted, Burdett said. As a business owner you always think of the worst in most cases. Thats kind of like the weirdest thing. I mean obviously theres cash in there, so thats kind of an incentive. Burdett is asking anyone with information that could help Topeka Police with the investigation to report it. Machinegun ban found unconstitutional in part by KS Court To report any suspicious activity or give crime tips, TPD can be contacted through their main line, (785)-368-9551, or via email at telltpd@topeka.org. Anonymous tips can be made through Shawnee County Crime Stoppers at (785)-234-0007. For more crime news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. KENSINGTON, Brooklyn (PIX11) A fatal traffic accident involving a 16-year-old e-bike rider in Kensington, Brooklyn, has reignited concerns about street safety and sparked outrage among local residents. The incident, which occurred on Monday afternoon at the intersection of Coney Island and Ditmas Avenues, has left the community grieving and demanding action from city officials. More Local News The tragic event unfolded when a truck collided with an e-bike carrying three children, resulting in the death of 16-year-old Juraed Umedjon and the hospitalization of another rider. This heartbreaking incident marks the 12th fatal traffic accident involving a child in New York City this year, raising alarm bells about the safety of the citys streets. The accident has galvanized the local community, with residents and safety advocates calling for immediate action to improve street safety in the area. Geoffrey Thomas, a local resident and volunteer with Flatbush Streets for People, expressed a mix of disappointment, anger, and frustration at the lack of basic safety features in the neighborhood. Thomas stated, Its frustrating that they didnt have to lose a life, that this could have been solved, this could have been fixed. He pointed out that the intersection where the accident occurred lacks essential safety measures such as bike lanes and raised crosswalks. In response to the tragedy, the Flatbush Streets for People campaign has intensified its efforts to push for safer and more effective streets. The group is currently gathering signatures for a petition urging elected officials to transform the busy intersection and surrounding areas. Other residents have also voiced their concerns: I moved here forty years ago, and I was warned about this intersection. It is unsafe, I worry for the kids. There are a lot of kids that live in this area. Mother demands justice after autistic son left on hot bus for hours in Brooklyn The New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) has acknowledged the tragedy and stated that they are reviewing the crash. Mona Bruno, Deputy Press Secretary for the DOT, said, One traffic death on our roads is too many, and our thoughts are with Umedjon Juraeds family, friends, and loved ones. The DOT also announced that planned safety upgrades at the intersection are currently under construction. These improvements include new pedestrian islands and crosswalks at the intersection of Coney Island Avenue and three other nearby intersections. According to the DOT, such pedestrian islands have been shown to reduce serious injuries and deaths by 35%. As the community mourns the loss of young Juraed Umedjon, the tragic incident has become a rallying cry for improved street safety measures throughout Kensington and beyond. The Flatbush Streets for People campaign and concerned residents continue to press for more comprehensive changes to ensure the safety of all road users, particularly children and vulnerable pedestrians. With the 12th child fatality in New York City traffic accidents this year, the pressure on city officials to take swift and effective action has never been greater. As Geoffrey Thomas succinctly put it, the message to city officials is clear: Do your job because people are dying. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. After a recurrence of ovarian cancer in 2023, Francine Milano of Pennsylvania has made the hours-long drive to Vermont twice as part of a multistep process to arrange medical aid in dying. Legislation to allow medical aid in dying in Pennsylvania hasnt been approved. (Eric Harkleroad/KFF Health News) In the 18 months after Francine Milano was diagnosed with a recurrence of the ovarian cancer she thought shed beaten 20 years ago, she traveled twice from her home in Pennsylvania to Vermont. She went not to ski, hike, or leaf-peep, but to arrange to die. I really wanted to take control over how I left this world, said the 61-year-old who lives in Lancaster. I decided that this was an option for me. Dying with medical assistance wasnt an option when Milano learned in early 2023 that her disease was incurable. At that point, she would have had to travel to Switzerland or live in the District of Columbia or one of the 10 states where medical aid in dying was legal. But Vermont lifted its residency requirement in May 2023, followed by Oregon two months later. (Montana effectively allows aid in dying through a 2009 court decision, but that ruling doesnt spell out rules around residency. And though New York and California recently considered legislation that would allow out-of-staters to secure aid in dying, neither provision passed.) Despite the limited options and the challenges such as finding doctors in a new state, figuring out where to die, and traveling when too sick to walk to the next room, let alone climb into a car dozens have made the trek to the two states that have opened their doors to terminally ill nonresidents seeking aid in dying. At least 26 people have traveled to Vermont to die, representing nearly 25% of the reported assisted deaths in the state from May 2023 through this June, according to the Vermont Department of Health. In Oregon, 23 out-of-state residents died using medical assistance in 2023, just over 6% of the state total, according to the Oregon Health Authority. Oncologist Charles Blanke, whose clinic in Portland is devoted to end-of-life care, said he thinks that Oregons total is likely an undercount and he expects the numbers to grow. Over the past year, he said, hes seen two to four out-of-state patients a week about one-quarter of his practice and fielded calls from across the U.S., including New York, the Carolinas, Florida, and tons from Texas. But just because patients are willing to travel doesnt mean its easy or that they get their desired outcome. The law is pretty strict about what has to be done, Blanke said. As in other states that allow what some call physician-assisted death or assisted suicide, Oregon and Vermont require patients to be assessed by two doctors. Patients must have less than six months to live, be mentally and cognitively sound, and be physically able to ingest the drugs to end their lives. Charts and records must be reviewed in the state; neglecting to do so constitutes practicing medicine out of state, which violates medical licensing requirements. For the same reason, the patients must be in the state for the initial exam, when they request the drugs, and when they ingest them. The status of aid-in-dying in Virginia The Virginia Senate in February passed the End of Life Options Act and the House of Delegates Health and Human Services Committee voted to advance the bill, but that was as far as it got. In March, a House committee voted to carry the bill over to the 2025 session. The bill, sponsored by Democratic Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, would allow a person 18 or older who had received a diagnosis of six months or less to live to self-administer a controlled substance prescribed by a health care provider. The Virginia legislature first considered an aid-in-dying bill in 2018. State legislatures impose those restrictions as safeguards to balance the rights of patients seeking aid in dying with a legislative imperative not to pass laws that are harmful to anyone, said Peg Sandeen, CEO of the group Death With Dignity. Like many aid-in-dying advocates, however, she said such rules create undue burdens for people who are already suffering. Diana Barnard, a Vermont palliative care physician, said some patients cannot even come for their appointments. They end up being sick or not feeling like traveling, so theres rescheduling involved, she said. Its asking people to use a significant part of their energy to come here when they really deserve to have the option closer to home. Those opposed to aid in dying include religious groups that say taking a life is immoral, and medical practitioners who argue their job is to make people more comfortable at the end of life, not to end the life itself. Anthropologist Anita Hannig, who interviewed dozens of terminally ill patients while researching her 2022 book, The Day I Die: The Untold Story of Assisted Dying in America, said she doesnt expect federal legislation to settle the issue anytime soon. As the Supreme Court did with abortion in 2022, it ruled assisted dying to be a states rights issue in 1997. During the 2023-24 legislative sessions, 19 states (including Milanos home state of Pennsylvania) considered aid-in-dying legislation, according to the advocacy group Compassion & Choices. Delaware was the sole state to pass it, but the governor has yet to act on it. Sandeen said that many states initially pass restrictive laws requiring 21-day wait times and psychiatric evaluations, for instance only to eventually repeal provisions that prove unduly onerous. That makes her optimistic that more states will eventually follow Vermont and Oregon, she said. Milano would have preferred to travel to neighboring New Jersey, where aid in dying has been legal since 2019, but its residency requirement made that a nonstarter. And though Oregon has more providers than the largely rural state of Vermont, Milano opted for the nine-hour car ride to Burlington because it was less physically and financially draining than a cross-country trip. The logistics were key because Milano knew shed have to return. When she traveled to Vermont in May 2023 with her husband and her brother, she wasnt near death. She figured that the next time she was in Vermont, it would be to request the medication. Then shed have to wait 15 days to receive it. The waiting period is standard to ensure that a person has what Barnard calls thoughtful time to contemplate the decision, although she said most have done that long before. Some states have shortened the period or, like Oregon, have a waiver option. That waiting period can be hard on patients, on top of being away from their health care team, home, and family. Blanke said he has seen as many as 25 relatives attend the death of an Oregon resident, but out-of-staters usually bring only one person. And while finding a place to die can be a problem for Oregonians who are in care homes or hospitals that prohibit aid in dying, its especially challenging for nonresidents. When Oregon lifted its residency requirement, Blanke advertised on Craigslist and used the results to compile a list of short-term accommodations, including Airbnbs, willing to allow patients to die there. Nonprofits in states with aid-in-dying laws also maintain such lists, Sandeen said. Milano hasnt gotten to the point where she needs to find a place to take the meds and end her life. In fact, because she had a relatively healthy year after her first trip to Vermont, she let her six-month approval period lapse. In June, though, she headed back to open another six-month window. This time, she went with a girlfriend who has a camper van. They drove six hours to cross the state border, stopping at a playground and gift shop before sitting in a parking lot where Milano had a Zoom appointment with her doctors rather than driving three more hours to Burlington to meet in person. I dont know if they do GPS tracking or IP address kind of stuff, but I would have been afraid not to be honest, she said. Thats not all that scares her. She worries shell be too sick to return to Vermont when she is ready to die. And, even if she can get there, she wonders whether shell have the courage to take the medication. About one-third of people approved for assisted death dont follow through, Blanke said. For them, its often enough to know they have the meds the control to end their lives when they want. Milano said she is grateful she has that power now while shes still healthy enough to travel and enjoy life. I just wish more people had the option, she said. Virginia Mercy staff contributed to this report. KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFFan independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF. Subscribe to KFF Health News free Morning Briefing. Trial reinstated for Sacramento police officers accused killer. Heres when it could begin A Sacramento Superior Court judge reinstated criminal proceedings Friday for a man accused of killing a Sacramento rookie police officer during a 2019 standoff in North Sacramento after the defendant was found competent to understand the charges he faces. Adel Sambrano Ramos, 50, has pleaded not guilty to 13 charges related to the homicide of Officer Tara OSullivan and seven counts of attempted murder of law enforcement personnel stemming from the June 19, 2019, North Sacramento standoff. He did not show a reaction to Fridays ruling by Judge James Arguelles. He has no presence symptoms of psychosis or mania that might interfere with his capacity to assist in his own defense, Arguelles said. Ramos defense attorneys have long attempted to prove their client does not understand the allegations levied against him. They attempted to prove Ramos had an intellectual disability and was disqualified from death penalty. After a bench trial in June, Arguelles found that Ramos does not have an intellectual disability and prosecutors can continue to pursue capital punishment. Defense attorneys Jan Karowsky and Pete Kmeto then sought to probe Ramos mental competency, prompting Arguelles to pause criminal proceedings. A doctor questioned Ramos throughout the summer and found Ramos could understand the criminal proceedings. Lawyers are scheduled to begin selecting a jury in October. OSullivan and Officer Daniel Chipp, who was training her, were called to North Sacramento to help a woman move out of a home she shared with Ramos on Redwood Avenue in the Noralto neighborhood. Both officers approached the home when a high-powered rifle opened fire from inside the garage, striking OSullivan, who had graduated six months earlier from the Sacramento Police Department Academy. The Sacramento State graduate was mortally wounded and lay on the ground nearly an hour before tactical officers were able to secure her rescue. Ramos eventually surrendered to law enforcement after an eight-hour standoff. Donald Trump couldnt let the Democratic National Convention end on Thursday without one last attempt to grab the spotlight from Kamala Harris. The vice president became the first Black woman to headline a major partys nomination for the presidency on Thursday evening as she officially took on the mantle of the Democratic party. She delivered a moving speech that touched on her childhood while also broaching the topic of her 2024 opponent and the threat she says that he poses to the countrys future. All the while, Trump himself was firing back not in front of the cameras, but on Truth Social, his social media platform largely populated by his own diehard supporters. In total, the former president fired off more than 50 posts on Truth Social during Harriss 38-minute speech. Her address, energetic and punctuated by boisterous cheers, sharply contrasted Trumps own acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention last month, which touched on somber notes at the beginning as he spoke of his attempted assassination but quickly evolved into a ramble which lasted 92 minutes. While Trumps Truth Social barrage was billed ahead of time as a fact check, it was instead a collection of recycled attack lines and what appeared to be random thoughts spun off from the ex-presidents mind. Kamala Harris gave the keynote address on the final night of the Democratic convention in Chicago as her opponent, Donald Trump, posted angrily on Truth Social (Getty Images) IS SHE TALKING ABOUT ME? Trump questioned, seemingly in anger, at one point in her address. He didnt elaborate further. Other responses from Trump to lines from Harriss speech were more direct and in-depth. They fell on themes Trumps advisors clearly prepared for attacks abortion rights and the bipartisan border security compromise that he instructed his allies to kill in Congress earlier this year. The Border Bill is one of the worst ever written, would have allowed millions of people into our Country, and its only a political ploy by her! It legalizes Illegal Immigration, and is a TOTAL DISASTER, WEAK AND INEFFECTIVE! She doesnt need a Bill. As President, Crooked Joe and her could have just said, CLOSE THE BORDER! like I did I didnt have a Bill, I didnt need a Bill. The Border Patrol respected me, they did their job. We had the Safest Border in Recorded History! Trump wrote of the bill championed by James Lankford, the lead Republican negotiator, who blamed the former president for its downfall. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump spent the final night of the DNC posting a rapid-fire series of corrections on Truth Social (AFP via Getty Images) On abortion rights, he claimed: Everybody, Democrats, Republicans, Liberals, and Conservatives, wanted Roe v. Wade TERMINATED, and brought back to the States, a factually untrue statement given that Democrats, at the minimum, have long supporter federal protections for abortion rights. Trumps truthing appeared to be a stream of consciousness in response to whatever Harris was saying in the moment, with little sign that his advisers had pre-written any material. If there was one theme that Trump did return to frequently, it was the assertion that Harris, as vice president, had three years to pursue the policies which her campaign has vowed to push for in her administration, such as border security and legislation to reduce housing costs. Shes done nothing for three and a half years but talk, and thats what shes doing tonight, shes complaining about everything but doing nothing! She should leave the Speech right now, go to Washington, D.C., close the Border, allow fracking in Pennsylvania and other places, and start doing the things shes complaining about arent done, he wrote in one post. In another: No specific programs, ALL TALK, NO ACTION Why didnt she do it three and a half years ago? Later on Thursday, Trump continued his unhappy tirade against Harris on Fox News to Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum as they anchored the networks coverage of the DNC. As he heatedly accused Harris of wanting to raise taxes, he could be heard accidentally hitting buttons on his phones keypad. Harriss four-day convention in Chicago ended with another star-studded night; pop star Pink performed, while comedian Dave Chappelle was spotted in the rafters and actor Ben Stiller was also seen onsite. One star not present: Beyonce, despite a quickly-circulating rumor egged on by the likes of Mitt Romney. Harris and her new running mate Tim Walz will return to the campaign trail in the days ahead likely boosted by another polling bump stemming from their partys successful convention. Harris had already risen in the polls ahead of the convention, and was on course to overtake Trump in a majority of the battleground states shell need to win the 2024 election. Trump, meanwhile, is set to headline an event with his running mate JD Vance in Nevada tomorrow; the ex-president has held smaller-venue events throughout the week as he has sought to compete for coverage with his Democratic rivals. The Trump campaign launched a website Friday highlighting fentanyl deaths and arrests of migrants who entered the country illegally as the former president gets increasingly aggressive taking on Vice President Harris on the issue of immigration. The campaign is using a website, kamalaborderbloodbath.com, to highlight the surge in migrants at the southern border during the Biden administration. The website refers to Harris as the border czar, a reference to her assignment to address the root causes of migration from the Northern Triangle region of Central America. The website has dedicated pages for 13 states including swing states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Nevada highlighting fentanyl deaths and crimes committed by migrants in each location. President Trump will not stop highlighting Kamala Harris failed immigration record on behalf of the Angel Moms and grieving Americans who have senselessly lost loved ones due to Kamalas border bloodbath, campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said in a statement. If Kamala is given four more years to enact her pro-illegal immigration, open border agenda, America will cease to exist. A Trump campaign official said it will spend money on ads to help drive traffic to the website, which argues a vote for Harris is a vote for an invasion. The website launch underscores how the Trump campaign is seeking to make immigration central to its campaign against Harris, who has surged in the polls since becoming the Democratic nominee after President Biden ended his candidacy. Former President Trump visited the U.S.-Mexico border Thursday during a visit to Arizona, where he highlighted stories of individuals killed by migrants. He invited the family members of Rachel Morin, who was killed in Maryland, and Jocelyn Nungaray, who was killed in Texas. Migrants who crossed the border illegally have been arrested in both cases. Trump spoke in Cochise County with a backdrop of stacks of metal beams, intended to illustrate unfinished portions of a barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border that he made central to his first term in office. Trump has pledged to complete construction of the wall along the border and has promised to enact the largest deportation operation in history if he takes back the White House. He has said deportation efforts would mostly rely on local law enforcement to round up those who entered the country illegally. Harris and her campaign have attempted to blunt those attacks by blaming Trump for tanking a bipartisan border security proposal put forward earlier this year in the Senate that would have increased resources for law enforcement and cracked down on the number of people who could cross each day. Democrats have also criticized Trump for his rhetoric on immigration, blasting the former president for saying immigrants were poisoning the blood of the country. Harris in her convention acceptance speech Thursday night vowed not to play politics with border security as she attacked Trump over the issue. As president, I will bring back the bipartisan border security bill that he killed, and I will sign it into law, the vice president said. I know we can live up to our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants and reform our broken immigration 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. Trump Declares Harris Speech No Good Because She Said Thank You Too Much WASHINGTON Kamala Harris may have wowed both Democrats and political observers with her speech Thursday accepting her partys nomination for president, but for her opponent, Donald Trump, there were just too many thank yous. She mentioned thank you about 50 times. Did you see the beginning? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, thank, thank. Thank you. Thank you, arghghghgah, Thank you, thank you, thank, thank thank. I said what the hell is wrong with her? the coup-attempting criminal former president assessed Friday at his first campaign appearance since the Democratic National Convention wrapped up the previous night. In fact, Harris repeated thank you a number of times because of a three-minute standing ovation from the audience at the packed United Center arena in Chicago something Trump must have noticed as he watched. Trumps analysis on that point Friday in Las Vegas expanded on one of the first fact-checking social media posts he wrote as the speech was taking place: Too many Thank yous, too rapidly said, whats going on with her? Other posts in that thread included: WHERES HUNTER?; SHE HAS LED US INTO FAILING NATION STATUS! and There will be no future under Comrade Kamala Harris, because she will take us into a Nuclear World War III! She will never be respected by the Tyrants of the World! When Harris hit the section of her speech that laid out Trumps criminal conviction for falsifying business records and a civil jurys finding that he had committed sexual abuse, Trump responded: IS SHE TALKING ABOUT ME? Harris 40-minute speech was praised far and wide as well-crafted and forcefully delivered. It closed out a whirlwind monthlong stretch that began with President Joe Biden ending his campaign for reelection followed quickly by his endorsement of Harris, his vice president, for the job. Harris within days locked down support from enough party delegates to secure the nomination, allowing her party to spend the four days at the convention in Chicago almost unanimously singing her praises while disparaging Trump as a would-be autocrat and a criminal. Trump, who is notorious both for his lack of interest in policy details as well as his energetic dishonesty, complained that Harris did not provide enough specifics in her address and did not tell the truth. Last night, the speech, she made 26 different things that were lies. She lied, but thats OK, because a lot of people lie. Theyll do anything to get elected, he said. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event Friday at Il Toro E La Capra restaurant in Las Vegas. Julia Nikhinson/Associated Press Trump spoke Friday afternoon at a Mexican restaurant to promote his no taxes on tips proposal, which he said should earn him the support of the members of Nevadas powerful Culinary Workers Union. While he spent much of his hour there repeating many of his usual lies about his own record and baseless claims about what a Harris presidency would mean he again warned of a 1929-style depression, something he also claimed would happen if Hillary Clinton won in 2016 and Biden in 2020 he tried out a new claim about his stance on abortion: Im very strong on womens reproductive rights. In fact, Trump gave the anti-abortion Federalist Society carte blanche to select his nominees for hundreds of federal judgeships, including three on the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump frequently boasts that, through those appointments, he was able to get the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling legalizing abortion nationally overturned. Related... (NewsNation) Security threats involving former President Donald Trump continue more than a month after the assassination attempt on his life at a Pennsylvania rally in July. Trump abruptly ended an exclusive interview with NewsNation on Thursday when his security detail alerted the former president and Republican nominee for president that he would not be safe continuing the interview. Can I tell you something? Were in danger standing here talking, Trump said during an interview with NewsNations Ali Bradley at the U.S. southern border. So lets not talk any longer. (Security) doesnt want me standing here. They dont want you standing here either. Thursday protests planned at DNC as Kamala Harris set to speak The incident came a day after Arizona law enforcement agencies announced they were conducting a manhunt for an Arizona man who allegedly threatened to kill Trump in a social media post. Officials with the Cochise County Sheriffs Office say they are looking for 66-year-old Ronald Lee Syvrud, who they consider an investigative lead for threats to kill a presidential candidate. Before the NewsNation interview ended, Trump said he would be honored to be endorsed by independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy said he would address the country on Friday in Arizona about his political future. Trump told NewsNation he has not spoken with Kennedy about the possibility of a cabinet position should he defeat Vice President Kamala Harris in November. The announcement comes days after Kennedys running mate, Nicole Shanahan, said that Kennedy was considering ending his run for the White House and could join forces with Trump. I have a lot of respect for him, and I think he has a lot of respect for me, Trump told NewsNation. Weve had a good relationship for a long period of time. If he endorses (me), that would be an honor for me. Trump characterized Kennedy as a smart guy who is a little different but very smart. Trump would not say if Kennedy would appear with Trump at a scheduled campaign event Friday in Arizona. We will take his endorsement, Trump 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. Former President Trump and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) seemingly tried Thursday to put their lengthy feud in the rearview mirror ahead of Novembers election. Kemp went on Sean Hannitys Fox News show, a favorite program of the former president, and said the focus needed to be on putting Trump back in the White House. We gotta win. We gotta win from the top of the ticket on down, Kemp said. We need to send Donald Trump back to the White House. We need to retake the Senate. We need to hold the House. Trump posted on Truth Social shortly after Kemps appearance on Fox News to express his approval. Thank you to #BrianKempGA for all of your help and support in Georgia, where a win is so important to the success of our Party and, most importantly, our Country, Trump posted. I look forward to working with you, your team, and all of my friends in Georgia to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! A Trump campaign spokesperson did not respond to questions about when the two last spoke. Trump has held a grudge against Kemp dating back to the 2020 election. The former president narrowly lost the Peach State to President Biden and spent the weeks following the election pressuring Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to challenge the results. The relationship between the two men has remained tense. Trump supported a primary challenger against Kemp in 2022, but Kemp defeated him, former Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.), and won the general election by a wider margin than he did in 2018. Kemp told CNN he did not vote for Trump in Georgias presidential primary in late May, though he has endorsed Trump in the general election. Trump repeatedly attacked Kemp at an Atlanta rally earlier this month, leaving Republicans scratching their heads as to why he wasnt focused more on Vice President Harris, who had recently risen to the top of the Democratic ticket. Georgia will be a key battleground state once again this November. Biden won the state in 2020 by fewer than 12,000 votes. A Decision Desk HQ/The Hill average of polls of the state showed Trump leading Harris by roughly 3 percentage points. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) Hours before Vice President Kamala Harris is set to accept the Democratic partys nomination for president, former President Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) held campaign events talking about the border. Former President Trump criticized Harris, calling her the border czar, which the White House has denied. We had a border czar, Trump said. She loved the title, but she didnt do the work because shes lazy. Trump took credit for the border fence he toured in Sierra Vista, Arizona. I was never in love with it architecturally, until I saw the fact that nobody could climb over it, Trump said. The Biden administration said Republicans are to blame for the nations issues at the border. President Joe Biden addressed it during his speech at the Democratic National Convention on Monday. Trump killed the strongest bipartisan border deal in the history of the United States, Biden said. Earlier this year, an immigration bill failed to pass the Senate. Some Democrats and nearly all Republicans voted against the bill, including Sen. JD Vance, Trumps vice-presidential candidate. It had nothing to do with border security, Vance said. We have got to close down the border and stop the cartels from bringing this poison into our communities. Vance spoke at a border policy event in Valdosta, Georgia. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Former President Trump holds a slight lead over Vice President Harris in Texas, according to a poll published Thursday. The survey from the University of Houston and Texas Southern University, found Trump with support from 49.5 percent of likely voters in Texas, holding a lead of less than 5 points over Harriss 44.6 percent. Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had 2 percent of likely voters, while the Green Partys Jill Stein had 0.7 percent and Libertarian Chase Oliver had 0.5 percent, according to the poll. About 2.7 percent were undecided. The latest findings for the Lone Star State showed a slight increase 0.6 percentage points in support for Trump, who received 48.9 percent in June. But Harriss support also jumped 4.3 percentage points from where President Biden was polling in June, when he was the Democratic presidential candidate in June; the incumbent had 40.3 percent support at the time, pollsters found. Kennedys vote was 2.7 percentage points lower than in June. Harris has made considerable headway among voters both in Texas and nationally in the short time since she entered the race last month, said Renee Cross, researcher and senior executive director at the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston. Cross noted this is particularly evident among youth voters, with 55 percent of Generation Z voters stating they will support Harris, compared to the 39 percent who backed Biden. This is the latest survey showing Harris narrowing the gap with Trump in the wake of boosted enthusiasm from the Democratic Party since Biden dropped out. While Harris poses a substantial threat to the healthy lead Trump once held over Biden in national polling, some political strategists have suggested it is too early to make conclusions about the November election and that Harriss momentum could decrease. Democrats have long dreamed of flipping Texas, which has the second most Electoral College votes in the nation, after California. But the Lone Star State hasnt gone blue in a presidential election since 1976. Cross noted Texas is still a red state, and Trump maintained a strong lead among men, white and older voters. The majority of the likely voters who picked Harris or Trump said they were certain about their vote choice, with only 4 percent and 8 percent of their respective supporters stating they could change their mind. The survey was conducted by the University of Houston and Texas Southern University from Aug. 5-16 in English and Spanish. Its margin of error is plus or minus 2.65 percentage points. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 keeps Vice President Kamala Harris name in his mouth out of fear of losing the upcoming election. As Harris closed out the four-day Democratic National Convention in Chicago with a rousing speech Thursday night, Trump attempted to negate everything she said. He started his tantrum on his social media platform Truth Social by posting WHERES HUNTER? as an attack on President Joe Bidens son. As soon as Harris took the stage, she blasted the former president and called him a deeply unserious man and explained how the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious. When Harris stated that the former president has spent time cozying up to dictators and has acted as if hes above the law, Trump responded on Truth Social: Shes done nothing for three and a half years but talk, and thats what shes doing tonight, shes complaining about everything but doing nothing! She should leave the Speech right now, go to Washington, D.C., close the Border, allow fracking in Pennsylvania and other places, and start doing the things shes complaining about arent done! Trump also defended his position on abortion and birth control as well as attempted to distance himself from Project 2025, the far-right-wing platform whose execution is contingent upon his second presidential term. He called Fox News to repeat that Harris was complaining too much at the DNC, and insisted that, Shes not having success, Im having success. He was on air for about 10 minutes, during which he talked aimlessly and pushed buttons on his phone by accident. However, hosts Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum cut Trump off in the middle of his rant to do other programming. Trump then called Newsmax to keep his tirade going. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Trump says he will make 'provisions' for mixed-status families but doesn't rule out separations with mass deportations SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. Former President Donald Trump on Thursday said the cost to deport millions of undocumented immigrants is justified and would not rule out separating families made up of citizens and noncitizens. "It'll cost trillions of dollars to keep these people, and I'm talking about in particular starting with the criminals," Trump told NBC News in an interview during a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona. "That's costing us a lot more than deporting. But we have no choice, regardless, we have no choice. We're going to have to deport." When pressed, Trump provided no details on how he would pay for his plan, which could cost billions of dollars to implement at scale. Trump spent much of his first term fighting with Congress to give him money to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, an expensive undertaking that the legislative branch never agreed to fund. Ultimately, he took the money from other parts of the Pentagon budget. Asked whether he would deport undocumented immigrants who are part of mixed-status families, like those married to American citizens or those who are parents to American citizens, Trump simply said, "Provisions will be made, but we have to get the criminals out." The former president did not elaborate on the provisions he would make for mixed-status families. Former President Donald Trump talks alongside Paul Perez, president of the National Border Patrol Council, as he tours the southern U.S. border in Sierra Vista, Ariz., on Aug. 22. Trump also brushed off a question about whether local law enforcement would be willing to help execute mass deportations, ignoring that some have said they are uninterested in assisting. "They want to do their job," Trump said. "The Border Patrol wants to do their job. They would have a much easier job if they didn't." Trump's remarks came during a packed day of events near the border, where he took a tour of the fence line and addressed the media. Trump blasted Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who are in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention this week. Trump blamed Harris and President Joe Biden for "unleash[ing] a deadly plague of migrant crime" in the U.S. "We had it stopped," Trump said, referring to his administration, before accusing Biden and Harris of not doing enough to secure the border, adding: "The first day in they just said, 'We're not doing anything, we're not doing anything.'" Trump also criticized Walz, saying the governor "lied like hell last night" during his speech at the convention, and alleged Harris will "lie just like the rest of them lied" in her speech accepting the Democratic nomination for president on Thursday night. This is the former president's first time visiting the border in Arizona this year, though his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, has visited this spot this year. Trump has visited other sections of the border, in Texas, twice since launching his re-election bid. Garrett Haake and Jake Traylor reported from Sierra Vista, Arizona, and Alexandra Marquez reported from Washington. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com (Bloomberg) -- Special Counsel Jack Smith has decided against seeking a major hearing to present evidence in the election-interference case against Donald Trump before voters go to the polls Nov. 5, according to people familiar with the matter. Most Read from Bloomberg The move means that its unlikely a so-called mini-trial, which would include evidence and testimony from possible blockbuster witnesses like former Vice President Mike Pence, would take place before the presidential election. Such a hearing would have been the best chance for voters to review evidence about Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election result as he campaigns to regain the White House. The decision is a win for Trump and his lawyers, who have fought efforts to reveal the substance of allegations against the former president. If Trump wins the election, the case would collapse as the Justice Department has a policy against prosecuting sitting presidents. Trump could also order the department to throw it out. Instead, Smith and his team are carefully revising the case against Trump, according to the people familiar, who asked not to be named discussing a confidential matter. The case has no chance of going to a jury trial before the election as a result of delays stemming from the Supreme Courts ruling last month that he has some presidential immunity from criminal charges. If Democratic nominee Kamala Harris wins the election, Smith could still proceed with prosecuting Trump. Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung didnt comment on Smiths plan. He said Trumps team will continue to fight the cases against him, calling them witch hunts that should be dismissed in light of the Supreme Courts ruling. The special counsels office declined to comment. Trumps lawyers didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. Landmark Ruling The Supreme Courts landmark ruling held that former presidents have broad immunity from prosecution over conduct related to their official duties, but not for private acts. District Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington, who is overseeing the case, had been expected to hold hearings before the fall to examine which alleged conduct are official acts that cant be prosecuted and which are private acts that can still be charged following the high courts ruling. Separately, Trump is seeking to delay a Sept. 18 sentencing for his conviction in a New York criminal case over hush-money payments on the grounds that it amounts to election interference. He faces as long as four years behind bars on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal paying adult film star Stormy Daniels to stay quiet about an alleged affair before the 2016 election. In the election inteference case, Smith may not want to show his hand and reveal key evidence or witnesses that might jeopardize his chances for success at an eventual trial, said Mary McCord, a former federal prosecutor who served as acting head of the Justice Departments national security division. Smith and other Justice Department leaders also dont want to appear blatantly political, she said. In light of the Supreme Courts immunity ruling, Smith is focused on building the strongest case to persuade a jury to deliver a guilty verdict that would hold up on appeal and create a sound legal precedent, said the people. Smiths team and Trumps lawyers are scheduled to file briefings Aug. 30 on how they want to proceed ahead of a Sept. 5 hearing before Chutkan. Smith is expected to propose a pathway forward in that filing and during the hearing, the people familiar said. Chutkan could overrule Smith and order a major hearing prior to the election. More than likely, however, she will seek a middle ground in order to make factual determinations about what can and cant be charged. If theres a way forward that narrows the issues substantially that the government is proposing, and potentially even the Trump team would agree to, thats just better for all concerned, said McCord, executive director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law School. It avoids some of the really tricky issues. Fast-Tracked Earlier Earlier this year, Smith had raced to advance the case, urging the Supreme Court in April to quickly decide the issue of presidential immunity all in an apparent effort to obtain a verdict before voters go the polls. But the Supreme Courts July 1 ruling that former presidents have immunity from prosecution for official acts committed while in office means that Smith must revise the charges against Trump, or possibly issue a new indictment. Smith indicted Trump in Washington one year ago on charges that include conspiracy to defraud the US and obstruct the certification of the 2020 election. Smith filed a separate case against Trump in Florida for mishandling classified documents and obstructing justice. US District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed that case last month saying it was unconstitutional. Smith is appealing. The charges are already out there, said Brandon Van Grack, a former federal prosecutor who is now a partner at the law firm Morrison & Foerster. You can understand why the department and public would have an incentive to resolve these questions before an election, but that cant happen now. --With assistance from Erik Larson. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. The biggest surprise on the last night of the Democratic convention wasnt that Beyonce or Taylor Swift didnt show up (contrary to widespread rumor). It was that so much time was devoted to touting the partys credentials as the champion of a principled foreign policy and a strong national defense. Generally this topic hasnt been the Democrats rhetorical high point, either at previous assemblies or for the short duration of Kamala Harris campaign up to this point. Its emergence Thursday night was so striking that Wall Street Journal columnist (and former GOP speechwriter) Peggy Noonan complained that the Dems stole traditional Republican themes (faith, patriotism) and claimed them as their own. Noonan misstates whats been happening in the era of Donald Trump. The fact is, the Republicans have abandoned those themes, and the Democratswho never rejected themare picking them up, with intensity, as part of a broad rescue mission. Democracy, freedom, equality, and communityconcepts so deeply embedded in American politics that their validity has long gone unquestionedare on the ballot in this election. The same is true of national security, and so the DNCs strategists elevated it too from a common cliche to a cherished value and vital interest under threat from the cult of personality surrounding Trump. But national security falls in a special category. The world is dangerous in particularly complicated ways, teeming with threats and opportunities. Harris faces a big question: Is she up to the task? She faces the question more than many previous Democratic candidates for two reasons. First, despite her three-and-a-half years as vice president and her previous four years as U.S. senator, her record is not well known. Second (and theres no getting around this), shes a woman, and there is still a contentious stereotypewhich Trump frequently gins upthat women are too weak to stand up to strong dangerous men. And so, on the conventions last nightHarris nightthe schedule was packed with speakers to sweep away that stereotype: to affirm that this Democratic woman grasps the worlds dangers and has the knowhow and nerve to deal with them. Leon Panetta (former secretary of defense and CIA director), Sen. Mark Kelly (former Navy combat pilot), Rep. Adam Kinzinger (who, like several Republicans who appeared to endorse Harris, derided his own party because it was no longer conservative), and a stageful of veterans for Harrisall forcefully made the case, on national security grounds, against Trump and for Harris. Then came the nominee. Most of her speech dealt with traditional domestic themes, but the passages on defense and foreign policy formed in many ways the most impassioned part of her speechand certainly rank among the most muscular delivered by any candidate at a Democratic convention in living memory. Some of these passages are worth noting and analyzing in detail: As commander in chief, I will ensure America has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world. And I will fulfill our sacred obligation to care for our troops and their families, and I will always honor and never disparage their service and their sacrifice. Promising to build and maintain the worlds most lethal fighting force isnt a phrase commonly heard coming from a Democratic presidential candidate. The standout wordlethalsuggests she understands that the militarys weapons are designed to kill enemy soldiers, that she might have to order U.S. troops into battle with these weapons, and that, if so, the troops will need enough firepower to win their battles. The next sentenceciting the sacred obligation to veteransis meant not only as a contrast to Trumps demeaning comments about Americas warriors but also a hard-headed acknowledgment that, in their service, some of the troops will make the ultimate sacrifice. She went on: And know this: I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists. I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong-un, who are rooting for Trumpwho are rooting for Trump. Because you know, they knowthey know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. They know Trump wont hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself. This is a remarkable passage, not only for its pledge to take whatever action is necessary against threats but also for its shrewd understanding of Trump. Shes got his number, and hes got to be a bit nervous about it. He cuddles up to autocratsKim (we fell in love), Vladimir Putin (we get along very well), the leader of the Taliban (he called me Your Excellency, Trump boasted, adding, I wonder if he calls that to Biden, I doubt it)because he envies them, wants to be them. The implicationsboth for how he rolls over in world politics and for what he aspires to do in domestic politicsare alarming. Back in 2018, when Chinas Xi Jinping declared himself president for life, Trump was bowled over. President for life, Trump mused. No, hes great. And look, he was able to do that. I think its great. Maybe well have to give that a shot someday. Consider that remark a mere joke at your risk. In her acceptance speech Harris also said, I will make sure that we lead the world into the future on space and artificial intelligence; that America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century; and that we strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership. She added, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies. All of this amounts to continuity with the strong points of President Joe Bidens foreign policyand a contrast to Trump, who has no vision for global leadership, who has threatened to abandon NATO, and whose plan to end Russias war on Ukraine is to cut off all aid to Kyiv. Finally, there was the war in Gaza. This is a delicate matter, one of the very few fissures within the Democratic Party, a fissure that the conventions planners strenuously evaded. They denied a speakers slot to a Palestinian American delegate and relegated a panel on Palestinian rights to a little-watched afternoon slot. A few speakers, including the parents of a Jewish American hostage held by Hamas, called for an immediate cease-fire and a return of all hostagesbut it was as if the words Israel and Palestinians had been banned. Here is what Harris said on the matter: And let me be clear. Let me be clear. I will always stand up for Israels right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on Oct. 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival. At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are working to end this war, such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination. This is as full and forthright a statement as any politician from any party, in or out of the Biden administration, has made on the war. Some, including Biden, have noted Americas ironclad commitment to Israels defense while also calling for greater care in minimizing the deaths and suffering of Palestinian civilians. But no one else has described the causes, concerns, and horrors on both sides of the conflict in such dramatic, fleshed-out terms, encompassing the human and the geopolitical dimensions. And its worth noting, the crowd of delegates met both sets of her remarksher commitment to Israels defense and her support of Palestinian dignitywith roaring applause. Its not clear how a Harris administrationor, for that matter, whether anyonecan meet all these commitments or accomplish all these goals. (The main problems are two: First, everyone wants a cease-fire and a hostage deal, except for the two combatants, Israel and Hamas. Second, it seems the outside powers trying to negotiate a dealthe U.S., Qatar, and Egyptdont have as much leverage over the combatants as theyd initially thought they did.) Still, its encouraging that she grasps the conflicts depths and difficulties. This may be the nights biggest reveal: that Harris understands the complexities of the worldthe most challenging task for a presidenta lot more than many have assumed. Until very recently, for reasons not entirely clear, this has been one of the tightest-held secrets of the Biden White House. Ive been following U.S. foreign policy pretty closely, but not until a few weeks ago, when I researched a column about the subject, did I know how deeply involved Harris has been in these matters. She mentioned one example in her speech: Five days before Russia attacked Ukraine, I met with President Zelensky to warn him about Russias plan to invade. I helped mobilize a global responseover 50 countriesto defend against Putins aggression. She could have mentioned that she has since met with the Ukrainian president, one on one, a half-dozen times. She could have also mentioned her crucial meetings with Philippines President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr., around the time that he was moving back into Americas orbit and away from Chinasand her leading role in coordinating renewed diplomacy between the Philippines and Japan. She could have mentioned that, when U.S.-French relations were on the verge of rupturing after Biden sold Australia a nuclear-powered submarine, preempting a sub deal that Australia had signed with Paris, Harris proposed a face-to-face meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, made the trip, and smoothed over the tensions. (The press coverage of her trip focused more on her spending $500 on cookware at E. Dehillerin, a leading kitchen-supply store.) More important than her 17 foreign trips to 21 countries or her meetings with more than 150 leaders (many of which were pro forma), she could also have mentioned that, as vice president, she has attended almost every National Security Council meeting and almost all of the presidents intelligence briefings (Biden typically received at least five a week)not just listening in, but often, according to several officials I interviewed, taking part, asking crucial questions and suggesting policy plans. None of this should be overstated. Biden has been the leading figure in Bidens foreign policy. His special advisersNational Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and CIA Director William Burnshave been the main executors. But Kamala Harris has been in the room where its happened; shes observed all of it and engaged in much of it. That alone makes her more prepared to step up to the job of commander in chief than any incoming president, except for Biden himself, in more than 50 years. That is what the last night of the Democratic convention put on display: an underrated veep suddenly thrust to the top bill and appearing, surprisingly, already presidential. CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald Howard Lutnick speaks at the Sandler O'Neill Global Exchange and Brokerage Conference in the Manhattan borough of New York By Lananh Nguyen NEW YORK (Reuters) - The co-chair of U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's freshly minted transition team has begun tapping his network from a career on Wall Street to build a roster of thousands of candidates to serve in a potential administration. I want to support President Trump and assist him in finding the greatest talent, the greatest athletes to put on the field, to create a wonderful, first-class administration, said Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick, who co-chairs the team with wrestling magnate Linda McMahon. Its leaders, who are both major donors to Trump's campaign, are recruiting potential staffers, while the campaign handles strategy and policy matters in the run-up to the election. Trump and Lutnick's relationship spans decades. After 658 Cantor employees died in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Trump offered support to Lutnick as the CEO rebuilt the firm by hiring thousands of people. Now, Lutnick is fielding calls from contacts he has made at the helm of Cantor, which arranges deals in sectors including energy, technology and healthcare. He also runs brokerage BGC Group and is chairman of Newmark Group, a commercial real estate services firm, and FMX, a platform owned by some of Wall Street's biggest banks and traders. Lutnick's selection is a nod to the business community from which Trump hired executives for his first administration, including former Treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin. Trump's staffing has been the subject of intense speculation after conservative group Project 2025 floated a controversial agenda that recommends vast changes throughout the federal government. Trump has since disavowed the group's ideas. A second Trump White House would likely seek to loosen financial regulations, while a potential Democratic administration led by Vice President Kamala Harris would probably pursue tougher financial rules. (Reporting by Lananh Nguyen in New York, editing by Michelle Price and Chizu Nomiyama) NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) Get ready to pay more on your electric bill. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) approved a 5.25% rate hike at Thursdays meeting. Dr. Stephen A. Smith is executive director of the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. His group keeps a watchful eye on how TVA serves its customers and calls the TVA meetings a dog and pony show due to the lack of transparency. They come along and just snap a finger, and here we go up another 5.25%. And theres nothing anybody can even do about it, or even question it, said Dr. Smith. Have breaking news come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts Dr. Smith said getting answers from TVA about rate hikes is challenging. Unfortunately, we cant answer whether the rate increase is really necessary because they dont do an open process to allow people to really understand what they are doing. TVA said this new 5.25% hike will add $4.35 to the average electric bill starting October 1. According to the TVA, it needs the new revenue for infrastructure as the Valleys population is growing three times the national average. For example, here at home, TVA is working to build a new natural gas plant in Cheatham County. This new 5.25% increase comes on the heels of last years 4.5% hike, which is a nearly 10% hike. Dr. Smith said thats intentional. According to TVAs contract, the company can raise rates without negotiating with local power companies as long as the hike is less than 10% on a multi-year average. And so what theyve done is theyve strategically targeted this right below 10%, which really prevents the local power companies from being able to go in and question the rate increase, and have any authority to push back on it, and potentially renegotiate their contract with TVA, said Dr. Smith. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com There are two parts to your electric bill the base rate and the fossil fuel costs. The new 5.25% rate hike is added to your base rate. As for fuel costs, they change. And they have stayed lower the past few months. However, much like gas prices, that could change on a dime, and that would send your bill even higher. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Two arrested for July shooting in Hattiesburg HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WHLT) Hattiesburg police announced that two suspects have been arrested for allegedly shooting a man in July. Police said Keon Ray Shawn Griffin, 25, and Jasna Nicole Wright, 27, were extradited to Hattiesburg from Lawton, Oklahoma. They have both been booked into Forrest County Jail on one count of aggravated assault: use of a deadly weapon. Hattiesburg man accused of firing shots at multiple people The shooting happened around 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 25 at the intersection of Main Street and East 8th Street. Keon Ray Shawn Griffin (Courtesy: Forrest County Jail) Jasna Nicole Wright (Courtesy: Forrest County Jail) When officers arrived, they located the victim. Police said the man was transported to a local hospital for treatment. His injuries are non-life threatening. 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. Two civilians killed in Russian airstrike on Kharkiv Oblast photos The aftermath of the Russian attack on Bohuslavka. Photo: Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office Russian forces targeted the village of Bohuslavka in the Izium district of Kharkiv Oblast with a guided aerial bomb on the night of 22-23 August. Emergency workers have retrieved the bodies of a 61-year-old man and his 59-year-old wife from under the rubble. A woman, 78, has also been injured. Source: the press service for Ukraine's State Emergency Service (SES) in Kharkiv Oblast; Oleh Syniehubov, Head of Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration; Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office Quote from the prosecutor's office: "Russian forces carried out an airstrike on the village of Bohuslavka, Izium district, at around 03:15 on 23 August. A 61-year-old man and his 59-year-old wife were killed. A 78-year-old woman was injured." The aftermath of the Russian attack on Bohuslavka Photo: Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor's Office Details: Emergency workers noted that the strike had destroyed some houses and started a fire in a building over an area of 80 sq m. The aftermath of the Russian attack on Bohuslavka. Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine The prosecutor's office noted that early reports indicated that the Russians had used an FAB-500 unified multi-purpose glide bomb for the strike. The aftermath of the Russian attack on Bohuslavka. Photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine Earlier, Syniehubov reported that the Russians had attacked the village of Bohuslavka in Kharkiv Oblast at 03:38 on 23 August, leaving a 78-year-old woman injured. According to Syniehubov, an older man had likely been trapped under the rubble then. Support UP or become our patron! U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado speaks on stage during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on Aug. 22, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Delegates, politicians, and Democratic Party supporters are gathering in Chicago, as current Vice President Kamala Harris is named her party's presidential nominee. The DNC takes place from August 19-22. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Two of Colorados Democratic members of Congress took the stage on the final night of the Democratic National Convention to throw their support behind Vice President Kamala Harris for president. U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse of Lafayette spoke about the American dream and said Harris will work to improve affordability for college students and build the middle class. Dont let anyone tell you that the American dream is dead, Neguse said. It is alive and well, and it will grow even stronger with Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States. U.S. Rep. Jason Crow of Centennial also spoke. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Thursday marked the final day of the DNC, which meets every four years to nominate candidates for president and vice president, adopt a party platform, and celebrate and network. Harris was already officially nominated through a virtual roll call earlier this month, but the convention still held a ceremonial roll call Tuesday night. The event took place at the United Center in Chicago. See more of our DNC coverage here. Harris was scheduled to accept the presidential nomination in a keynote address Thursday. Neguse told the crowd how his parents immigrated to the U.S. from a place torn apart by war, and said its thanks to their hard work that he stood on stage at the DNC as assistant Democratic leader of the U.S. House of Representatives. They worked hard every day, made tremendous sacrifices and taught me to never take for granted the educational opportunities that we have in this incredible country, Neguse said. Neguses parents came to the U.S. from Eritrea more than 40 years ago. Neguse said Harris believes that college can be a ticket to the middle class and has fought to make college more affordable, and will continue to do so if shes elected president. Vice President Harris delivered before, and she will do it again, Neguse said. As president, she will build a brighter future a future where my 5-year-old daughter, Natalie, who is watching us back home in Colorado right now, a future where she can live her dreams. The leader of the unit jumps first Crow spoke about his time as a paratrooper and Army ranger, and explained how Project 2025 would be dangerous for the U.S. military and veterans. Project 2025, organized by The Heritage Foundation, is a blueprint to implement conservative policies across the federal government if former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for president, wins in November. Crow, who walked on stage with a copy of Project 2025s Mandate for Leadership, as did Colorado Gov. Jared Polis Wednesday night, said the project would abandon our troops, abandon our veterans, our allies and our principles. When we join the military, we raise our right hand and we take the oath, Crow said. We know that it comes with sacrifice, but we also know that it comes with a promise that America will have our back. Trump will break that promise. Crow said that under Project 2025, Trump would abandon Ukraine and other U.S. allies and fire national security professionals and then replace them with MAGA loyalists, and slash veterans benefits. He said service members deserve a commander in chief who will have their back, and that leader is Kamala Harris. As a paratrooper, we learn that the leader of the unit jumps first, and then the others follow, Crow said. Leaders always go first, but Trump he would push your son or daughter out of the plane, and then abandon them when they come home. Other Coloradans at the convention include former Gov. Roy Romer, Attorney General Phil Weiser, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette, and state Reps. Leslie Herod and Bob Marshall. The Colorado Democratic Party has 87 delegates at the DNC. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Sen. Tammy Baldwin at the Democratic National Convention podium Thursday evening, where she spoke about protecting Social Security. (Screenshot | Democratic National Convention YouTube channel) Speaking in the first hour of Thursday nights festivities at the Democratic National Convention, Sen. Tammy Baldwin held up Vice President Kamala Harris as a champion for older Americans who as president would bolster Social Security. The hour-long segment, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. central time, featured nearly 20 speakers who addressed the concerns of middle-class families, from public education to child care to housing. Baldwin got two minutes of that hour, sandwiched between Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), who praised Harris work as Californias attorney general going after mortgage brokers accused of taking advantage of borrowers, and Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) who said Harris understood and supported families need for affordable child care. Baldwin recounted her upbringing by two incredible grandparents who stepped in and raised me after she was born to a teen mother who had struggled with addiction. Everything I know I learned from them in every way a child needs, Baldwin said of her grandparents, David and Doris Green. My grandparents were there for me, and as they grew older, it was my privilege to be there for them, Baldwin said. So when I work to protect Medicare and Social Security, I do it with a personal knowledge of what those big programs meant in small but deeply meaningful ways to my grandparents, and I know what they mean for your parents and grandparents. As former President Donald Trump runs for another term, that is all at risk today, Baldwin said. Trump has been quoted as saying he would address forecast shortfalls in Social Security by cutting waste. He said, and I quote, Theres a lot you can do in terms of cutting, Baldwin said. Cutting! Hes talking about cutting Social Security and Medicare while giving a huge new tax break to billionaires and corporations. She vowed that the Democratic candidates for president and vice president would stand in the way. Kamala Harris is not going to let that happen, and Tim Walz is not going to let that happen, Baldwin said. We are not going to let that happen. She turned back to Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance. You know, theyve got it backwards, Baldwin said. We Democrats, we honor our elders and ask the wealthiest to pay their fair share. Wisconsins state motto is Forward, she concluded, and my friends, thats where were headed. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Oklahoma County jail is shown at left in the Oklahoma City skyline. Two detention officers at the Oklahoma County jail have been fired after being accused of smuggling contraband in to inmates. Kaylyn Crawford, 20, and Xzavier Nicholson, 19, were arrested Wednesday, the jail said. Both live in Oklahoma City. "These two former employees betrayed the trust placed in them ... and undermine the safety and security of our residents and staff, Brandi Garner, the CEO of the Oklahoma County Detention Center, said in a news release Thursday. "We take our duty to uphold the integrity of this facility very seriously." The arrests came from a joint operation involving jail trust investigators, the Oklahoma County District Attorneys Office, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, according to the news release. Crawford is accused of smuggling marijuana and tobacco into inmate Blake Hill, a trust investigator told a judge in an affidavit for his arrest. He was hired on July 31, 2023. Hill had the detention officer's personal phone number on slips of paper, according to the affidavit. Hill, 21, is charged with first-degree murder. Nicholson is accused of smuggling an electronic vape device and a cell phone to inmate Scout French, the investigator reported in an affidavit for his arrest. He was hired in October. Nicholson was seen on video surveillance passing a brown paper bag to French twice this month, according to the affidavit. French, 22, is charged with drug trafficking Crawford and Nicholson could not be reached Thursday for comment. More: Judge asked to ban surprise health inspections at Oklahoma County jail The multicounty grand jury that investigated the jail reported last year that "one of the most significant issues observed ... is the inability of the administration ... to properly staff the jail with experienced employees." The arrests come as the jail is in a heated legal battle with the Oklahoma State Department of Health over inspections. The trust overseeing the jail has asked an Oklahoma County judge to permanently block health inspectors from conducting surprise inspections. A hearing is set for October. In a response Monday, the Health Department told the judge about the multiple problems uncovered by inspectors since the trust took over on July 1, 2020. "As many of the items subject to inspection must be observed in real time, the Jail apparently wishes to reduce these inspections to vain acts," attorneys wrote in the response. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Two Oklahoma County jailers accused of smuggling in cellphone, drugs A man shouts slogans during a demonstration against the results of the July 28 Venezuelan elections in Montevideo, Uruguay, on Aug. 17. The United States on Friday condemned a ruling by Venezuela's highest court certifying the disputed results claiming President Nicolas Maduro had won a third term. File Photo by Federico Gutierrez/EPA-EFE Aug. 23 (UPI) -- The United States on Friday joined a chorus of protest dismissing a decision by Venezuela's supreme court upholding disputed results claiming Nicolas Maduro to be the winner of last month's presidential election. State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said Thursday's ruling by the Venezuelan Supreme Tribunal of Justice backing Maduro's win over democratic opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez "lacks all credibility." The disputed results were certified in the tribunal's decision issued Thursday, in which they declared no appeal would be accepted. "Overwhelming evidence" shows Gonzalez was the actual winner despite a proclamation by the country's state-run election commission declaring Maduro had won a third term in office with just over half the vote, Patel said. "The publicly available and independently verified precinct-level tally sheets show Venezuelan voters chose Edmundo Gonzalez as their future leader," the U.S. official added. "The will of the Venezuelan people must be respected. Now is the time for the Venezuelan parties to begin discussions on a respectful, peaceful transition in accordance with Venezuelan electoral law, and the wishes of the Venezuelan people." Gonzalez has rejected the results, which triggered waves of violent protests around the country. A fact-finding mission conducted by the United Nations Human Rights Council determined 23 people were killed by state forces during civil disturbances between July 28 and Aug. 8. In 18 of these cases, the victims were men under the age of 30. The UNHRC reiterated its position in the wake of the tribunal's ruling, saying the high court lacked credibility and had come under pressure by the Maduro government. Its chief justice, Caryslia Rodriguez, "is a member of the ruling party and has held electoral positions," the agency said in a statement. The Organization of American States also weighed in Friday, declaring that both the Venezuelan election commission and the Supreme Tribunal of Justice have shown "total opacity." Their behavior, the group said, "has been characterized by the promotion of conspiracy theories and the issuance of announcements and statements without any documentary support, avoiding, at all times, citizen scrutiny and impartial verification." "This regime is not willing to hand over power, it is not even willing to share it," the OAS General Secretariat said. University of Michigan Board of Regents Democratic candidates: Denise Illitch (R), Huwaida Arraf (C) and Shauna Ryder Diggs (L) | Courtesy photos Updated, 8:44 a.m., 8/24/24 As the Michigan Democratic Party (MDP) gets set to hold its convention this weekend in Lansing, trying to build on the unity coming out of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, one candidate is drawing attention for her stance on an issue that remains divisive within the Democratic coalition: the ongoing war being waged by Israel against Hamas in Gaza. Members of the Uncommitted movement wanted a Palestinian-American speaker at the DNC after protests outside the convention hall did not draw large crowds, as expected, but that didnt happen. However, several Democrats, including U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Vice President Kamala Harris, all called for a ceasefire and the return of hostages. Huwaida Arraf is one of three candidates running for two Democratic nominations for University of Michigan regent. Arraf is a Palestinian-American civil rights attorney who is a longtime, prominent leader of the pro-Palestinian movement. Both the MDP and the Michigan GOP are holding statewide conventions on Saturday in Lansing and Flint, respectively. The parties will pick their nominees for Michigan Supreme Court, Michigan Board of Education and the boards for the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University. All offices are voted on statewide on Nov. 5. Several attempts were made by the Advance to contact Arraf for comment, but none were successful. Also running are Dr. Shauna Ryder Diggs, a cosmetic dermatologist from Grosse Pointe who served for eight years as a regent before leaving in 2020, and Denise Illitch, an incumbent who has served on the board since being elected in 2008. Among a variety of issues, Ilitch emphasizes keeping education affordable and advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion on her campaign website. Diggs also touts affordable education, as well as ensuring there is a campus culture that nurtures and protects students, staff, and faculty from discrimination and misconduct. Arraf, who ran for Congress as a Democrat in the 10th Congressional District in 2022 and lost to former Judge Carl Marlinga, also highlights affordable education on her website, but also says that among the reasons she is running to be a U of M regent is the institutions complicity in genocide, referencing the refusal of the university board and administration to give in to protester demands that the university should divest itself, both financially and academically, from the state of Israel over its ongoing military campaign in Gaza. The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry says Israeli military attacks against Hamas in Gaza have resulted in more than 40,000 deaths, and over 92,000 wounded, the majority of whom are civilians. Pro-Palestinian protesters have held many peaceful protests at U of M since the Israel-Hamas war began in October. They also engaged in a sit-in in November at President Santa Onos office, which resulted in felony charges being brought against four individuals, and an encampment that was broken up by campus police in May that led to four arrests, although no charges ended up being filed. Additionally, coalition members appeared outside the homes of U of Ms Board of Regents, including Chair Sarah Hubbard, a Republican, and Regent Jordan Acker, a Democrat. As a Republican, my opinion related to who the Democrats should choose at their convention is probably not particularly important, said Hubbard. I would just say that I have concerns about Ms. Arraf and what she might bring to the board. Hubbard said her main concern is that Arraf is focused on a single, divisive issue at a time when the board is dealing with a very tumultuous period in the universitys history. This would have, in my opinion, a very negative effect on our ability to continue to govern and have the University of Michigan be among the top public universities in the country, in the world. One of the top universities, period, she said. Ackers office was also the target of vandalism in early June, although the coalition did not take credit for it and no suspects in that case have been identified. Acker declined to comment about Arrafs candidacy when asked by the Advance. No stranger to controversy In March 2023, a presentation by Arraf at Bloomfield Hills High School as part of a diversity program resulted in the schools principal resigning and the districts superintendent retiring early due to accusations, which she strongly denied, that her remarks to the students were anti-Israel and antisemitic. Arraf told the Detroit Free Press at the time that the school officials being forced out after her presentation had a chilling effect on free speech. People who speak about Palestinian rights will think twice about it. And people who would give a platform for someone to speak about Palestinian rights also need to be concerned. And I think thats the intention of it, to silence the Palestinian narrative, and thats dangerous, she said. Thats why we did not want to be silent about it, while we wanted to do something to actually amplify how wrong this is. The Jewish News reported at the time, Arraf was accused of referring to Zionists as occupiers running an apartheid state and accused Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip, and that she denied Israels existence, only referring to the land as Palestine. Arraf is also co-founder of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM), a Palestinian-led movement that states it is focused on nonviolent protest, although as was noted in a 2006 Washington Post column at a 2004 conference, Arraf distributed recruitment brochures and encouraged students to enlist in the ISM, which, she acknowledged, cooperates with Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. All three of those groups have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the U.S. State Department. Hubbard says looking at Arrafs social media statements and positions gives her concern that her approach would make the campus more divisive, and not conducive to their main task of educating students. Shes using much of the same language and rhetoric that those who protested at my home on May 15th used, and that language is beyond free speech. That language is seen by many as intimidating and harassing. It strikes fear in the hearts of many other students on our campus, said Hubbard. Its important that we make sure all students on our campus feel comfortable with their free speech rights and feel safe on campus. And Im very concerned that somebody like this is going to continue to carry force with the rhetoric that is currently making students, faculty, and staff feel unsafe on our campus. Arraf has posted to social media frequently about the war in Gaza, including denials about widespread sexual assault that occurred during the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants, support for the attack itself, which killed an estimated 1,200 Israelis and resulted in 240 hostages being taken, as self-defense, and calling Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who is Jewish, an apartheid/genocide apologist. An adviser to Illitch did not provide comment on Arrafs candidacy when contacted by the Advance. Diggs never responded to a request. Israel divestment Among the key priorities listed on Arrafs candidate website is Ethical Governance & Sustainable Investment, which states a desire to invest the universitys $17.9 billion endowment in ethical companies reflecting Michigan values, culture, and a (sic) long-term sustainable investments. Among the groups endorsing Arraf is the Graduate Employees Organization at U of M, which has been a key ally in the protests seeking to force the university to divest its financial holdings and connections to Israel. For too long, the Regents have made the endowment the raison detre of our university, stated the group on X. This has come at the cost of worker compensation, student well-being, andhorrifyinglyPalestinian lives. Were proud to endorse @huwaida4um. In return, Arraf said she was honored to receive its endorsement. I entered this race only 2 weeks ago, drafted by students demanding to be heard. I will fight to bring their voice to the table and protect the rights & freedoms of the @UMich community. Elections Saturday 8/24 at @MichiganDems convention. Join us!, she posted. Hubbard says that while discussion of how the universitys endowment is invested is a legitimate issue for a regent candidate to have, its not realistic to expect a change. She stated that shes pro-divestment of funds related to Israel. That is a concern she can have, and thats certainly a duty that we have, to make sure we have proper financial oversight, said Hubbard. The Board of Regents, as it stands right now, has been clear that they dont plan to change the investment policy related to these concerns. That being the case, Hubbard says any candidate focused on a single issue that is completely at odds with the rest of the board is not someone who will be an effective representative. We have elections for a reason, and this is an opportunity for the delegates of the convention to make a good choice, she said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX UK intelligence describes what is happening in Wagner Group year after Prigozhin's death UK intelligence has analysed the situation with the Wagner Group and its leaders a year after the death of its owner, Yevgeny Prigozhin. Source: UK Ministry of Defence on Twitter (X) on 23 August, as reported by European Pravda Details: UK intelligence noted that after the deaths of Prigozhin and Wagner's founder Dmitry Utkin, the Wagner Group has become increasingly fragmented, and many of the survivors have left it. In particular, one of its leaders, Andrei Troshev, joined the Russian Ministry of Defence, probably the private military company Redut, which is engaged in the formation of volunteer corps units to participate in the fighting in Ukraine. Alexander Kuznetsov, the former commander of the first Wagner assault unit, is now a member of the Chechen volunteer special forces unit Akhmat. And the commander of the third Wagner assault unit, Boris Nizhevenok, headed the Vostok-V volunteer unit in May 2024. Following these and other former Wagner leaders, many Wagner veterans left the group. Quote: "In comparison to its peak personnel count of around 50,000 in 2023, Wagner now highly likely maintains around 5,000 total personnel across its residual deployments in Belarus and Africa." Background: Recently, UK intelligence reported that Russia is using troops in Kursk Oblast whose personnel are not fighting as intended, which could reduce Russia's ability to regain the territories occupied by Ukrainian forces. Before that, UK Defence Intelligence tried to figure out why Russia was blocking the secure Signal messenger. Support UP or become our patron! Ukraine's navy has confirmed the sinking of a Russian ferry called the Conro Trader at the Kavkaz port in Russia's Krasnodar Krai on Aug. 22. Speaking to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on Aug. 23, Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, said the vessel was used to transport fuel and weapons to Russian forces. "Therefore, this is a completely legitimate target," he said. Pletenchuk did not specify which weapons were used in the attack. The Kavkaz port, located on the Chushka Spit in the Kerch Strait, is one of Russia's largest passenger ports. Its main task is to serve the Kerch ferry crossing in Russian-occupied Crimea. The Crimean Wind Telegram channel on Aug. 22 published photos and videos showing smoke rising over the Taman Peninsula in Krasnodar Krai. Soon after the attack, the ferry in a Russian port sank, local Russian authorities reported, adding there were 30 fuel tankers onboard at the moment of the strike. Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine has regularly launched attacks on occupied Crimea as well as neighboring Krasnodar Krai. Kyiv has struck ferry crossings between occupied Crimea and Russia's Krasnodar Krai several times. Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said in early August that Ukraine is working on a "complex solution" that could destroy the illegally constructed Kerch Bridge in the coming months. Pletenchuk said in June that destroying the Kerch Bridge now would not have the same effect because Russia barely uses it for military purposes anymore. The bridge accounts for less than a quarter of the total transiting cargo, and for the rest, Russia uses a ferry crossing in Kerch, Pletenchuk said. Read also: Ukraine war latest: Kyiv launches counterattack in Kharkiv Oblast, reportedly advancing 2 square km Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Make no mistake: recent Ukrainian operations in the Kursk Oblast of Russia have the potential to significantly stretch Russian forces not just in that region, but everywhere. I say this as someone whose job it is to monitor them and other matters in the industrial-military sphere. Ukraine has pulled of an operation that could buy much needed time for Western aid to arrive and allow replenishment of Ukrainian forces. Furthermore, in an aspect little discussed, the incursion puts in doubt Russias ability to launch any major offensives for the remainder of the year. Russia, lest we forget, has devoted its entire force into Ukraine, and especially the Donbas. I believe it will be forced to choose between securing the Kursk Oblast and continuing offensives in the Donbas. Prior to the Kursk incursion, Russia was absorbing roughly 1,000 casualties a day, with corresponding equipment losses. Meanwhile, Russias recruitment efforts at 20,000 to 30,000 a month and vehicle production were roughly matching losses. This fact has left Russia with few reserve units capable of countering manoeuvring Ukrainian armour in Kursk and Belgorod. Click here to view this content. Moscow faces a choice. It would likely require several months of recruitment and military production to stop Ukrainian advances and begin the process of securing Kursk. Ukrainian forces in that region have the advantage of not needing to defend Ukrainian territory, which means Kyiv can choose optimal locations to defend in the region, making Russian counter-offensives exceptionally costly. Alternatively, Russia could continue operations in the Donbas and pay the domestic price of ignoring the Ukrainian incursion and effectively ceding parts of Kursk and Belgorod to Ukraine. It is too early to say which Putin will opt for. Crunching the numbers and assessing the satellite imagery, it was clear to me and others that throughout the war, restrictions from the West on Ukrainian incursions, with no such reciprocal restrictions on Russia, forced Ukraine to fortify its entire line, while Russia enjoyed the luxury of safety along its border. This allowed Russia to devote more troops to fighting in the Donbas. The recent Ukrainian operation into Kursk now changes the equation, requiring Russia to reinforce its entire border. That would require tens of thousands of troops, hundreds of vehicles, and fortification resources. To do so will require the Kremlin to devote months worth of recruitment and resupply. Ukraines incursion is also altering Russian air operations. For months, Russia has been able to safely drop glide bombs onto fixed Ukrainian positions in the Donbas. Ukrainian mobile operations in Kursk require much more dynamic air operations. Ukrainian drones have downed numerous Russian drones, blinding Moscow to battlefield conditions. Russian helicopters have proven to be vulnerable to Ukrainian drones in Kursk while Ukrainian drone strikes on airfields in western Russia have limited fixed wing aircraft presence. Russia is now forced to fly longer distances in attempts to stop Ukraine in Kursk. Longer flights translate to fewer Russian bombs dropped a day. We are already seeing fewer daily strikes in the Donbas. In short, Russian ground and air forces are stretched in a way they have not been throughout the war. This will slow Russian operations over the next few months, bleeding into the rainy autumns and bitter cold winters that halt operations in Ukraine. Stricter and broader enforcement of Western sanctions by Ukraines allies and increased Ukrainian strikes on Russian airfields, energy infrastructure, and logistics will only further stretch Russian forces and defence industrial base. This provides Ukraine the opportunity to regenerate and reequip forces between now and the Spring of 2025. But Western aid is crucial to this, and if given in sufficient quantities could significantly improve Ukrainian capabilities to begin restoring its territory in 2025. Ukraine has regained a path forward to victory. Ukraines allies should not squander this opportunity. Ending the conflict quickly is the goal, but it must be from a position of Ukrainian strength. Michael Bohnert is an engineer at RAND, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research institution 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. President Volodymyr Zelensky and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed on Aug. 23 to hold a Joint Ukrainian-Indian Working Group meeting on military-technical cooperation. Modi arrived in Kyiv earlier in the day, the first time an Indian prime minister set foot in Ukraine since diplomatic relations were established over 30 years ago. The Joint Working Group was established by the 2012 Defense Cooperation Agreement. The first meeting was held in Kyiv on June 4-6, 2018. Kyiv and New Delhi agreed to organize the second working group meeting in India "soon." The two leaders agreed to continue to work to promote stronger relations between the defense agencies of both countries, including through cooperation and partnerships in manufacturing in India and collaboration in new areas, the joint statement reads. Following the meeting with Zelensky, the parties announced the signing of four agreements on further cooperation in medicine, agriculture, humanitarian relations, and culture. The heads of state also commemorated Ukrainian children killed during Russia's full-scale war. Modi's visit to Ukraine comes just weeks after his trip to Moscow, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The visit included a widely criticized hug between the two leaders on July 8, hours after Russia bombed the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv, killing two people. A historical ally of Russia, India has maintained its close economic and diplomatic ties with Moscow since February 2022, with bilateral trade reaching a historic high in 2023. Read also: Modi to visit Kyiv after hugging it out with Putin. Can Ukraine crack their alliance? Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The General Staff of the Estonian Defence Forces has noted in its report that the start of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast was carried out using conventional methods. Source: European Pravda, citing ERR Details: The Estonian General Staff's report states that the Ukrainian Armed Forces' Kursk operation was conducted using conventional methods: early in the morning, supported by artillery fire and electronic warfare to reduce risks for their units. Open sources say that approximately 800-900 square kilometres of Kursk Oblast territory are under Ukrainian control as of 22 August as a result of these actions. Estonian military officials note that Russia continues to redeploy its units to Kursk Oblast. The main focus is on motorised infantry units that are being redeployed from less active frontline areas. Open source data indicates that subunits of the same unit can be located in both the Kursk and Kharkiv fronts. The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to hold the initiative in Kursk Oblast and are actively destroying and capturing Russian units, the Estonian General Staff says. Whenever possible, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are cutting off supply routes. For example, the third bridge over the Seym River, which connects Rylsk, Kurschatov and Kursk, has been destroyed. This complicates the manoeuvring of Russian forces and creates a natural obstacle for protecting the flanks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The report emphasises that on other areas of the frontline, Russia retains the initiative. On the Donetsk front, the Russians continue to advance westward and are approximately 11 kilometres from the settlement of Pokrovsk, which is one of the potential targets. The advancement over the past week has been between 2 and 4 kilometres. It is also likely that the Russians have entered the outskirts of the settlement of Toretsk, located south of Chasiv Yar. Background: Media reports indicate American officials are concerned that if Ukraine continues its operation in Kursk Oblast, its forces could be overextended. UK Defence Intelligence, for its part, believes that Russia is using troops in Kursk Oblast whose personnel are not deployed as intended, which could reduce Russia's ability to regain territory occupied by Ukrainian forces. Support UP or become our patron! Russias President Vladimir Putin likes to project himself as a strongman. But his track record of handling recent crises in Russia reveals a different side of his presidential persona: one of paralysis and indecision. A day and a half after Ukrainian troops stormed a Russian border crossing and continued, almost unimpeded, across the wide green fields of the southern Kursk region, Putin finally made his first public remarks on the matter. He called the incursion a massive provocation, accused Ukraine of indiscriminately firing on civilians, and then moved on quickly to other government business, including how to mark Russias Construction Workers Day. It would take another five days, and the loss of nearly 30 settlements, before he promised a military response. There was no visit to the region to meet the tens of thousands of evacuees, no declaration of martial law. In March, after the terror attack at the Crocus City concert hall in Moscow, Russias deadliest in decades, it took Putin more than 24 hours to address the nation. Despite a claim of responsibility from ISIS-K, he continued to insist that Ukraine, and the West had played a role. The US had in fact warned Russia an attack could be imminent. Putin never visited the site of the attack, or survivors in hospital. When Evgeny Prigozhin, then the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, launched his aborted mutiny last June, the Russian leaders response was marked by inconsistency. After initially slamming the incident as treachery, Putin left it two days before speaking publicly again, at which point he thanked the Wagner troops involved for standing down, and offered them military contracts. Then he invited Prigozhin to tea at the Kremlin. Two months later Prigozhin was killed in a mysterious plane crash in Russia. A destroyed Russian tank sits outside the Ukrainian-controlled Russian town of Sudzha, Kursk region, on August 16, 2024, 10 days after Kyiv launched a major cross-border counteroffensive. - Yan Dobronosov/AFP/Getty Images More distant parallels are also easy to find, and Putin chose this week to highlight one himself. For the first time in 16 years he visited School No.1 in Beslan, more than a week before the 20th anniversary of the terror attack on the school that killed more than 300 people, many of them children. In 2017 the European Court of Human Rights found that not only had the Russian authorities failed to act on prior knowledge of an imminent attack, but that the security operation was disorganized and suffered from a lack of leadership. He is not good at resolving crises, Boris Bondarev, a former Russian diplomat who resigned two years ago in protest over the war in Ukraine, and is still living outside Russia, told CNN. Its risky, its not predictable. Putin likes comfort, he likes it when he is making the crisis for others, when he controls the situation. Shock offensive left Kremlin reeling Experts say Russias military response in Kursk has somewhat mirrored the fumbling reactions of its president. The initial response when they got over the shock of what was happening would have been who have we got in the cupboard left to defend, retired Australian Major General Mick Ryan, the author of a new book The War for Ukraine: Strategy and Adaptation Under Fire, told CNN. Whether its conscripts, whether its understrength battalions from the Ukrainian theater, or strategic reserves. Battlefield accounts have backed up the sense that a motley selection of Russian troops were rushed in, as Moscow grappled with the dilemma of how to balance defending its own soil with keeping up the slow momentum on the eastern front. Ukrainian officials said some troops were redeployed from Kharkiv region and the southern front. Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov claimed early on that his special forces unit, the Akhmat brigade, had been deployed. Naval infantry officers from the Black Sea fleet in Crimea are also involved. The diverse groupings complicated Russian efforts to coordinate its resistance, with one pro-Russian military blogger even noting on August 14 that Ukraine was deliberately creating disruptions and then retreating, taking advantage of the fact that our diverse forces, who dont always have good communications with each other, were activated to repel this invasion. Russias bureaucratic response to the incursion has been equally unwieldy. Defense Minister Andrei Belousov set up a coordinating council to handle security in the border regions and this week announced he was dividing up responsibilities between no fewer than five different officials. This, according to the Institute for the Study of War, will likely create additional confusion within the Russian MoD and friction among the Russian MoD, FSB, and Rosgvardia [Russias national guard], all of which are attempting to operate in Kursk Oblast, and could jeopardize Russias ability to mount an effective counterattack. Still, more than two weeks in, there are now signs of a more coordinated resistance. Dmytro Kholod, commander of Ukraines Nightingale battalion, currently in Kursk, told CNN by phone on Wednesday that he has noticed a shift in the behavior of Russian troops. Now, the forces they have brought to this area are trying to storm us somehow, he told CNN. They no longer surrender by the hundreds. They are trying to shoot and fight back, but they still surrender when we attack them. Ryan, the Australian retired general, agrees Russia is moving beyond the initial knee-jerk response phase, and it should start to look more organized in the days and weeks ahead. But, he believes the past two weeks have also laid bare Putins priorities and his own people are not currently top of the list. The decision will be Putins: What is the most dangerous to him? Ukrainians in Kursk or not succeeding in the Donbas. I think at the moment hes decided that its more dangerous to not make this progress in the Donbas than to throw everything at Kursk. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested that allies' red lines in the war against Russia have "crumbled these days somewhere near Sudzha," referring to a Russian town occupied by Ukrainian troops. - Efrem Lukatsky/AP Experts agree the Kursk incursion has not fundamentally changed Putins overarching strategy of attrition to exhaust Ukraine, and try to outlast its allies. And yet, Ukraines surprise move has emboldened those who had previously questioned the Wests policy of limiting certain types of military aid, and their use inside Russia. And that may well have been part of Ukraines strategy. On August 19, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky allowed his closely held veil of gratitude towards his Western allies to lift momentarily. The entire naive, illusory concept of so-called red lines regarding Russia, which dominated the assessment of the war by some of our partners, has crumbled these days somewhere near Sudzha, he told a gathering of Ukrainian diplomats, referring to a Russian town that Ukrainian troops had occupied. His point is that Western fears that Russia may interpret the use of American or British long-range missiles on its soil as a conventional threat worthy of a nuclear response Russian nuclear doctrine does allow for this are now more remote than ever, given its lack of a coherent military response to its first foreign occupation since World War II. The current NATO strategy for helping Ukraine is a strategy for defeat. It is just a strategy for perpetuating war and allowing Russia to wait us all out, said Ryan. We need a fundamental reassessment. Former Russian diplomat Bondarev argues Putins own reaction serves as further proof that the West needs to formulate a more robust response to Putins aggression. When some Westerners say we shouldnt corner Putin because he will become a cornered rat and will fight back with all his might, he told CNN. Now we see that when hes really presented with a crisis, hes not a cornered rat, hes just like an imposter. And thats why he should not be feared so much. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Ukraine pushing Russian forces out of Kharkiv Oblast step by step, Zelensky says President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 23 in his evening address that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are "gradually" pushing Russian troops out of Kharkiv Oblast. Zelensky's statement comes after Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade launched a counterattack in Kharkiv Oblast and advanced almost two square kilometers deep into the front-line area a day prior. Zelensky said that he had spoken with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, who briefed him on the situation in Kharkiv Oblast. "We are pushing the Russian army out. Gradually. The invader will not conquer Kharkiv and will not conquer our Ukraine," Zelensky said. The president called Kharkiv "a heroic city," adding that since the beginning of May, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have managed to repel Russia's attempt to launch an offensive toward Kharkiv. While initially gaining ground in May, a Russian offensive in northeastern Kharkiv Oblast quickly bogged down, with Russian troops reportedly suffering heavy losses. The intensity of fighting had decreased somewhat compared to other sectors, though several reports of Russia preparing new attacks have emerged since then. Oleksandr Borodin, a spokesperson for Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) that the recent counterattack in Kharkiv Oblast destroyed the positions and logistics of the 20th Army of Russia. Despite the damage, including to its personnel, the Russian army still has large reserves in this area. Yet, Russian forces may be ineffective due to the damage to their logistics, Borodin added. Read also: Morning in Sudzha: Inside Ukrainian-occupied Russia as Kursk operation continues Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Ukraine is planning to resume electricity exports to neighboring countries on Aug. 25, the state grid operator Ukrenergo said. Russia carried out a massive campaign of aerial attacks against Ukraine's energy infrastructure over the spring, similar to the one launched during the fall and winter of 2022-23. The damage caused a serious energy deficit and necessitated rolling blackouts across the country. Due to the heatwave in July, the energy consumption in Ukraine hit maximum levels, leading to significant energy shortages in the system and causing necessary scheduled blackouts, sometimes lasting up to 20 hours. "Exports will take place only during periods of surplus, when solar power plants are actively operating. Electricity will not be exported from Ukraine during periods of maximum consumption, when there is not enough capacity in the power system," Ukrenergo said. This move was prompted by the weather changes, a significant decrease in consumption and the repair of another power unit at one of the nuclear power plants. DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, said it had lost nearly 90% of its generating capacity due to the Russian attacks earlier this year. The company said it aims to recover 60-70% of its power generation capacity by October. Read also: Ukraine aims to boost share of consumption of green energy to 27% by 2030 Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Ukraine says it has recaptured territory in Kharkiv Ukrainian soldiers take part in a training exercise operated in the UK - JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images Ukraines forces have made advances in the Kharkiv area after launching a large-scale counter-attack, according to a senior official. The 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said its forces had retaken two kilometres square of territory and seized control of a battalion defence position held by Russian troops. The brigade added that Russia lost around 300 soldiers in four days, and a significant amount of equipment and weapons were broken or damaged. Several other Russian strongholds in the northeast of Kharkiv were also captured. The main aim of the operation was to bring down the offensive potential of the 20th Army of the Russian Federation. At the moment, this task has been accomplished, Brigade Commander Andrii Biletskyi said. The assault operations prevented the enemys attack from the direction of Makiivka and relieved tension from other critical front-line areas in the neighbouring brigades zones, he added. 03:00 PM BST Todays live coverage has ended Thank you for following the days main events. 02:59 PM BST Putin will respond with severe punishments for Kursk incursion Vladimir Putin will issue severe punishments for Ukraines invasion of Kursk, Russian officials have claimed. A plan to respond to the incursion, the biggest by a foreign power into Russia since World War Two, was also decided in a meeting between the Russian president and senior officials. I tell you sincerely that the president has made a decision, Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the US, said. I am firmly convinced that everyone will be severely punished for what has happened in Kursk region. Antonov also warned that the US would at some point remove all restrictions on the use of weapons supplied to Ukraine and cannot be trusted. The current administration behaves like a person who extends one hand and holds a dagger behind their back with another one, he said. 02:56 PM BST High-voltage line at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant back in operation Ukraine has resumed electricity supply to the Europe biggest Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant via a high-voltage line, Ukrainian nuclear power form Energoatom said on Friday. Russias Rosatom nuclear company said earlier on Friday that automatic systems of the station in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine, switched off one of the lines. 02:21 PM BST British soldier died while defending iconic Snake Island A former British soldier who volunteered to fight in Ukraine was killed while helping Kyiv defend the iconic Black Sea outpost of Snake Island, an inquest was told. Christopher Pez Perryman, 38, from County Durham, suffered fatal chest injuries from shrapnel during combat around the island on Oct 24 last year, Oxfordshire Coroners Court heard. The Iraq war veteran was serving with Ukraines International Legion, the volunteer fighting force created by President Volodymyr Zelensky in the opening days of the Russian invasion. The inquest was told that no precise details of the military operation that Mr Perryman was on had been made available by Ukraines military authorities, but that he had died almost instantly as a result of shelling during combat. Snake Island, a rocky outcrop close to the Black Sea port of Odesa, became a famous symbol of Kyivs fighting spirit when a Ukrainian soldier there told a Russian warship commander to go f--- yourself rather than surrender. 02:01 PM BST Pictured: Russian soldiers on the front line In these photos taken from a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry, a Russian soldier fires from D-30 howitzer towards Ukrainian positions in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. A Russian soldier fires from D-30 howitzer - Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP A Russian soldier fires from D-30 howitzer - Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP 01:45 PM BST Modi urges Zelensky to sit down with Russia Indias Narendra Modi urged President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday to sit down for talks with Russia to end the war in Ukraine and offered to act as a friend to help bring peace as the two leaders met in wartime Kyiv. Modi, whose visit to Moscow last month was criticised by Kyiv, said he had come to Ukraine with a message of peace and called for dialogue between Russia and Ukraine at the earliest opportunity. The road to resolution can only be found through dialogue and diplomacy. And we should move in that direction without wasting any time. Both sides should sit together to find a way out of this crisis, Modi said. I want to assure you that India is ready to play an active role in any efforts towards peace. If I can play any role in this personally, I will do that I want to assure you as a friend, he said. 01:16 PM BST India ready to make proactive contributions to help end Ukraine conflict Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday that New Delhi had not been neutral or an indifferent bystander during the Russia-Ukraine conflict and was always on the side of peace. Mr Modi, who is visiting Kyiv, reiterated Indias position that the conflict can be resolved only through dialogue and diplomacy and that New Delhi is ready to make proactive contributions towards efforts for peace. 12:58 PM BST Two killed in Kharkiv region At least two civilians have been killed and two others injured in a Russian attack on Ukraines northeastern Kharkiv region, according to the local governor. The strike targeted the village of Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, located about 10 miles from the frontline. 12:39 PM BST Pictured: Zelensky meets Modi Indias Narendra Modi met President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday, weeks after the Ukrainian leader blasted the Indian prime minister over his trip to Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi - ROMAN PILIPEY/AFP via Getty Images Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi - REUTERS/Gleb Garanich 12:20 PM BST EUs Borrell says reduced German aid to Ukraine worrisome The EUs top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Friday that Germanys plans to reduce its military aid to Ukraine to help it fight against Russias invasion was worrisome and bad news. Something that is very much worrisome is the announcement that Germany will decrease its military support in the next years. Thats bad news, he said at a conference in Santander in northern Spain. 12:04 PM BST Penal colony prisoners take hostages in Russia A group of prisoners has taken hostages at a prison in Russias Volgograd region, state media has reported. At least three prisoners are involved in the incident, according to TASS news agency. At least one prison staff member has been killed, and the hostages are all prison employees. Casualties have been reported. The prison, located in the town of Surovikino, is a harsh regime penal colony with a capacity for up to 1,241 male inmates. 11:44 AM BST Satellite photos show port destruction Satellite imagery has revealed the extent of the damage from a reported Ukrainian missile strike on a ferry in the Russian port of Kavkaz, which was used to transport fuel and weapons to occupied Crimea. Satellite imagery of a destroyed Russian train ferry "Conro Trader". Which was targeted yesterday by supposedly Ukrainian Neptune anti ship missile in port Kavkaz, Kerch strait. https://t.co/OGh9AIgpwI https://t.co/syLt4NaQmP pic.twitter.com/rjE98RZ1q6 Special Kherson Cat (@bayraktar_1love) August 23, 2024 11:31 AM BST Crimea ferry services halted following Ukrainian attack Ferry services between southern Russia and Crimea have been halted following a Ukrainian attack, according to the Russian Transport Ministry. On Friday, Ukraines Navy reported that it had destroyed a ferry at Port Kavkaz in Russias Krasnodar region. Ukraine claimed the vessel was used to transport fuel and weapons to Crimea. The suspension of services will allow for a cleanup mission, according to the Russian Transport Ministry, as cited by local authorities. 11:16 AM BST Kyiv advances almost 35 kilometres into Russia Kyiv has advanced 28-35 kilometres (18-21 miles) into Russias Kursk Oblast as the incursion enters its third week, according to Ukraines Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi. 10:54 AM BST Zelensky meets with Modi in Kyiv Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, in the Indian leaders first visit to the war-torn country. Mr Zelensky shook hands and greeted Modi at the entrance of the Mariinsky presidential palace in Kyiv, before a planned meeting where Mr Modi is expected to push for dialogue and diplomacy between Ukraine and Russia. 10:53 AM BST Ukraine hits Russian ferry in Kavkaz Click here to view this content. 10:21 AM BST Kursk city builds bomb shelters Concrete shelters are being constructed in Kursk as Ukraine advances towards the city. Acting governor Alexei Smirnov said that ten locations in crowded places would get shelters and that there are plans to install 60 in total. On my instructions, the Kursk city administration identified key points for placing concrete modular shelters in crowded places, he said. Also, the operational headquarters is currently considering installing reinforced concrete structures in other settlements in our region. 10:02 AM BST Ukraine denies attacking Kursk nuclear power plant Ukraine has denied accusations by Russian President Vladimir Putin that it launched an attack on the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. Russias desired scenario of Ukraines Defense Forces attacking the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant to accuse them of nuclear terrorism fell apart, so Putin joined the propaganda, said Andrii Kovalenko, the head of the counter-disinformation department at Ukraines National Security and Defense Council. Everything points to the fact that Russia itself can carry out this provocation and will try to bring it to the international level. Putin earlier claimed that Ukraine tried to strike the nuclear power plant overnight, but provided no evidence to back up his claim. 09:46 AM BST Two killed in Summy attack Two people were killed and one injured in a Russian attack in Summy Oblast on Thursday, as Russian forces targeted civilian infrastructure in the village of Esman. Russia dropped a KAB-guided aerial bomb on the area, killing two men, aged 67 and 74, and injuring the wife of one of the victims. Two additional people were wounded in similar attacks on communities near the Russia-Ukraine border. 09:31 AM BST Footage shows attack on Russian ship Footage has emerged of the aftermath of the Ukrainian attack on a Russian ship. There were 30 fuel tanks on the ferry in Kavkaz port, local authorities report. A fire train is involved into putting out the fire. Careful, the second video is loud. https://t.co/AnKGneCKSD pic.twitter.com/OTda5GZ4sa Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 22, 2024 09:15 AM BST No movement of Belarusian troops near border No signs of the movement of Belarusian troops have been spotted near the Ukrainian border despite Minsks announcement that it would send additional forces to the area. We do not see any movement directly near our border - neither equipment nor personnel, Andriy Demchenko, Ukraines border guard service spokesman, told national television. He added that the situation in the area generally has not changed. On Sunday, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed that his country had deployed nearly a third of its armed forces along the border. He said that Kyiv had moved 120,000 troops there. 09:00 AM BST Ukraine advances two kilometres in Kharkiv Ukraine has advanced almost two square kilometres deep into the front line area after launching a counterattack in Kharkiv Oblast. Ukraines 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said its forces also seized control of a battalion defence position held by Russian troops, along with several Russian strongholds. The brigade added that Russia lost around 300 soldiers in four days, and a significant amount of equipment and weapons were broken or damaged. The main aim of the operation was to bring down the offensive potential of the 20th Army of the Russian Federation. At the moment, this task has been accomplished, Brigade Commander Andrii Biletskyi said. The assault operations prevented the enemys attack from the direction of Makiivka and relieved tension from other critical front-line areas in the neighbouring brigades zones, the brigade added. 08:52 AM BST Watch: Modi arrives in Ukraine Footage has emerged of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arriving in Ukraine. For the first time in history, the Prime Minister of India visited Ukraine personally. Before arriving to Kyiv by our train, @narendramodi called India a "friend&partner" of Ukraine, hoping for a "restoration of peace" and "strengthening of IND-UA friendship."#IronDiplomacy pic.twitter.com/EFBzoFeCH9 Ukrainian railways || (@Ukrzaliznytsia) August 23, 2024 08:29 AM BST Ukraine confirms attack on Russian ship Ukraine has confirmed that it destroyed a ferry in the Russian port of Kavkaz that was used to deliver fuel and weapons to occupied Crimea. Another undoubtedly military objective has been destroyed. Its purpose was to provide fuel for the invaders. The ferry sank and this port (Kavkaz) is not usable until the ferry is removed, Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk told Ukrainian television. It was the ferries that accounted for three quarters of all logistics and were the main channel (of supply), he added. 08:15 AM BST Harris says she will stand with Ukraine US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said in her Democratic National Convention speech on Thursday that she will stand with Nato allies and with Ukraine if she became president. It comes as the Biden administration pledged it will send about $125 million in new military aid to Ukraine, according to reports. US officials said the latest package of aid includes air defence missiles, munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Javelins and an array of other anti-armour missiles, counter-drone and counter-electronic warfare systems and equipment, 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition, vehicles and other equipment. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the aid has not been publicly announced. The formal announcement could come as soon as Friday, which is the eve of Ukraines Independence Day. 07:58 AM BST Ukrainian soldiers train in UK Ukrainian soldiers have been photographed undergoing military training at an undisclosed location in the UK. Operation Interflex is a UK-led infantry training program given to Ukrainian citizens with little or no previous military experience. The five-week course covers first aid, battlefield tactics, and firearms training. Over 45,000 members of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been trained by Operation Interflex since 2022. Ukrainian soldiers take part in a training exercise - NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock 07:43 AM BST Ukrainian drone attempted to attack Kursk nuclear plant A Ukrainian drone attempted to attack Russias Kursk nuclear power station overnight, the state-run news agency TASS said on Friday, citing an unnamed source. The drone was shot down near a spent nuclear fuel storage, the agency said. The Kursk plant is one of Russias top nuclear power stations. 07:43 AM BST Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in Kyiv Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has arrived in Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The visit, which follows a trip by Modi to Moscow in July, is important for Western-backed Kyiv, which has been trying to nurture diplomatic relations in the Global South in its efforts to secure a fair settlement to end the war. I look forward to the opportunity to ... share perspectives on peaceful resolution of the ongoing Ukraine conflict, Modi said before the trip. As a friend and partner, we hope for an early return of peace and stability in the region. 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. Ukraine's invasion of Russia has flipped the gloomy narrative on the war, and Kyiv is using its battlefield success to launch a new pressure campaign on the U.S. to lift the last restrictions on the use of long-range weapons inside Russia. But at least for now, the White House still isnt ready to do it. Ukrainian officials have been huddling with members of Congress, making public statements and meeting with top U.S. officials to get President Joe Biden to change his mind. Armed with the surprising results of the Kursk offensive, Kyiv is amping up the pressure in the run-up to the U.S. elections and the uncertain future of American aid in 2025 and beyond. Specifically, theyre pressing Biden and his top advisers to stop worrying about Russian escalation and allow Kyiv to fight the war on its own terms. The whole naive, illusory concept of so-called red lines regarding Russia, which dominated the assessment of the war by some partners, has crumbled these days somewhere near Sudzha, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this week, referring to a Russian town taken by Ukrainian forces. While Biden has relented on previous concerns over long-range missiles, tanks, and F-16 fighter planes, the administrations restrictions on when and where to use U.S.-donated longer-range precision missiles has created immense frustration in Kyiv and among some backers in Washington and Europe. And while the Biden team is considering sending additional missiles, as POLITICO first reported, senior officials in the White House and the Pentagon continue to shoot down any suggestion that the administration is thinking about changing its policy when it comes to allowing Ukraine to use American weapons outside of very specific instances inside Russia near the border. They maintain Ukraine has the authorities it needs to win. Some inside the top echelons of the Biden national security apparatus believe Kyiv may be launching the public campaign in order to hedge against any potential significant loss of ground in Ukraine in the coming months, according to one person familiar with internal Washington-Kyiv conversations. Ukrainians say they need a freer hand, and are still optimistic they can get there. Theres some indication now that Biden might want to do something big on Ukraine maybe lifting some of the restrictions before the election now that hes not running, one senior Ukrainian adviser said. Theres no guarantee, but were hearing that hes thinking about it. For more than two years, Biden, has resisted allowing Kyiv free use of American weapons during offensive campaigns inside Russia in fear of escalating tensions with Moscow. If he does change his mind, it would significantly alter the course of the war, giving Kyiv the freedom it says it needs to win. POLITICO spoke to eight officials in the U.S., Ukraine and other parts of Europe who were familiar with internal deliberations over the use of long-range weapons. All were all granted anonymity to speak freely about the internal disagreement. Part of the deliberations involve allowing British-made Storm Shadow missiles already in the Ukrainian arsenal to hit Russian airfields and supply depots inside Russia. Since the missiles contain U.S. components, the Biden administration would have to agree to their use. The British government has yet to formally make the request, though it is conducting an internal review and the Biden administration is aware of the issue according to officials on both sides of the Atlantic. One administration official said that using the Storm Shadow or Army Tactical Missile Systems long-range missiles that Ukrainians have for months wanted to use to strike inside Russia might not be as effective as advertised. The Ukrainian military has a limited supply of the missiles and those they do have may not be able to reach critical Russian targets, which have already been moved out of their range. Most significantly, 90 percent of the planes that launch glide bombs from Russian airspace at Ukrainian civilian infrastructure have already moved out of range of those missiles, a senior administration official said. The U.S. already allows the use of its long-range missiles inside Russia, but only for defense as counter-battery fire to hit Russian missile-launch sites just over the border firing into Ukraine. Our policy does allow for Ukraine to conduct counter fires to defend itself from Russian attacks coming over that border region and that border region does include Kursk and it does include Sumi, inside Russia, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters Thursday. And so, they are defending themselves from Russian attacks within that region. The Ukrainians fighting inside Russia are already using the U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket System to hit bridges, supply depots and Russian units, using precision munitions with U.S. blessing. Some prominent Democratic lawmakers said theyre open to the U.S. allowing Ukraine more leeway in using American arms. Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) said he supports sending more long-range weapons to Kyiv, including giving Ukrainians more flexibility on targeting and the use of those weapons. Crow said the war has changed from its early days and U.S. and allied policy needs to keep up with those changes. The risk of Ukraine losing is catastrophic for the world order, so the U.S. has to work to both manage the risk of escalation but also lean in in a way that maybe we wouldn't have in the first year of this conflict. Ukrainians use of high-end U.S. weaponry shows that theyve proven to be a responsible partner, and they've proven to know how to use this stuff and to use it well. It's time that we are very clear in that commitment that we're going to help Ukraine win this. Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), who chairs the panel that controls much of the Pentagon budget, likened the hesitancy of the administration to approve missile strikes deeper into Russian territory to its previous objections to providing Ukraine long-range munitions and F-16 fighters, among other debates. The Biden team eventually reversed course and sent those weapons. Calvert criticized the administration for blocking the wider use of U.S.-made long-range systems, arguing holding back the Ukrainians will prolong the war. "Obviously in Kursk, they would like to have use of a long-range fire, specifically ATACMS. And there's some fear and trepidation on part of the administration," Calvert said in an interview. "At some point, the war needs to end, and unless the Ukrainians can defend their territory by attacking the supply chain that's moving the Russian military operations, it's going to be difficult to bring them to the table. "This advance that they had into Russia is encouraging, but it's going to be hard to sustain without them being able to utilize certain kinds of weapons systems," he added. "So I hope they're thinking that out a little bit." The Ukrainians have long tried to get the White House to ramp up its support by saying it will help Bidens legacy, arguing the administration will be remembered as either having helped Ukraine win or not doing enough by keeping the restrictions in place. Its about legacy, the adviser said. What does the Biden administration want their legacy to be on Ukraine? They have a chance to make a change. And were advocating they make that change now. A second Ukrainian adviser also pointed to the election and uncertainty over what policies either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris might have concerning the use of U.S. weapons in Russia, and continued funding for Ukraine in 2025 and beyond. That argument has so far failed to move the president and national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The Pentagon remains in lockstep with the White Houses thinking. At the NATO Summit in Washington in July, Ukrainian officials, including Andriy Yermak, a senior adviser to Zelenskyy, asked the White House to consider lifting the ban. In July and August, delegations of Ukrainian parliamentarians met on Capitol Hill with lawmakers, urging them to talk to the White House to urge the president to change his mind. At the beginning of August, a coalition of bipartisan senators organized a meeting with Sullivan. Sullivan has at various times held meetings with the senators to discuss Ukraine. But during this encounter, the delegation had one, unified message: The administration needs to change its stance now before it is too late, according to a person who was briefed on the meeting. Their argument was similar to one they and many others, including Ukrainians, have made before. The U.S. should lift all restrictions, they say, because if it doesnt and Ukraine loses, the administration will be known as the one that didnt do enough when it could. That framing has at times angered senior officials in the White House who insist Washington has done more than any other country to help support Kyiv and that it shouldnt have to risk its own national security for Kyiv. Officials in certain corners of the administration have told the Ukrainians that the U.S. will eventually want to reset relations with Moscow and lifting the restrictions could upend those efforts. But one administration official said the idea of trying to reset with Russia in the near term is utterly unreflective of the White House's thinking. A second official called aid for Ukraine the most important thing we're doing abroad, and pointed to the massive volume of military aid that had flowed into Kyiv since the Russian invasion, including the decision this spring to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-provided munitions to defend themselves from cross border attacks emanating from the Kharkiv and Sumy regions. We're entering the fall in a very good place, the official added, noting the continuing flow of artillery munitions and other equipment that is continuing at a steady clip. Connor OBrien and Jonathan Lemire contributed to this report. CORRECTION: A previous version of this report incorrectly identified which officials told the Ukrainians that the U.S. will eventually want to reset relations with Moscow and lifting the restrictions could upend those efforts. Ukraine war latest: US provides military aid, Norway to finance production of shells in Ukraine Key developments on Aug. 23: Ukraine withdraws from positions near Pokrovsk to avoid Russian encirclement, ISW says Ukraine confirms sinking of Russian ferry in Kerch Strait U.S. targets around 400 individuals, entities in Russia, third countries in new sanctions package Norway to finance production of NATO-standard artillery shells in Ukraine Biden announces new aid package for Kyiv ahead of Ukraine's Independence Day Latvia prepares largest batch of drones yet for Ukraine U.S. President Joe Biden held a call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Aug. 23 and announced a new aid package on the eve of the Independence Day of Ukraine. The Associated Press reported the day before, citing unnamed American officials, that the U.S. was preparing to announce a military aid package worth about $125 million for Ukraine. Biden did not disclose the amount of the new aid but mentioned that it would include air defense missiles, counter-drone equipment and anti-armor missiles, ammunition for front-line soldiers, and mobile rocket systems, according to the White House's statement. Meanwhile, the Norwegian government will provide Kyiv with its defense technology and finance the production of 155-millimeter artillery shells developed by the Nammo (Nordic Ammunition Company) in Ukraine, according to its Aug. 23 statement. Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, Ukraine has made a wide-reaching shift to NATO standard 155 mm artillery, as Kyiv's partners had a short supply in stock of Soviet-caliber shells 122 mm and 152 mm. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said that Ukraine has a great need for artillery ammunition to counter Russian aggression. Therefore, the ammunition manufacturer Nammo has signed an agreement, allowing the licensed production of 155-mm artillery shells in Ukraine. As a result, Ukrainian troops will receive ammunition faster, according to the statement. Ukraine confirms sinking of Russian ferry in Kerch Strait Ukraine's navy has confirmed the sinking of a Russian ferry called the Conro Trader at the Kavkaz port in Russia's Krasnodar Krai on Aug. 22. Speaking to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) on Aug. 23, Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, said the vessel was used to transport fuel and weapons to Russian forces. "Therefore, this is a completely legitimate target," he said. Pletenchuk did not specify which weapons were used in the attack. The Crimean Wind Telegram channel on Aug. 22 published photos and videos showing smoke rising over the Taman Peninsula in Krasnodar Krai. Soon after the attack, the ferry in a Russian port sank, local Russian authorities reported, adding there were 30 fuel tankers onboard at the moment of the strike. The work of the Kerch ferry crossing was halted, according to the Russian Transport Ministry. Read also: Satellite image shows destroyed ferry at Russias Kavkaz port following attack U.S. targets around 400 individuals, entities in Russia, third countries in new sanctions package The U.S. imposed new sanctions on Aug. 23 against nearly 400 companies and individuals in Russia and third countries for aiding Moscow's war effort, the Treasury Department announced. A number of Chinese companies were included in the list. Western countries have imposed extensive economic restrictions against Moscow over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, seeking to curb its budget revenue and prevent it from obtaining key technologies needed for the war effort. The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on around a dozen distinct networks, designating more than 100 targets across 16 jurisdictions, including China, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. They help Russia to evade sanctions, the Treasury said. The sanctions also include more than 60 Russia-based technology and defense companies that are critical for the development of Russias defense industry, according to the Treasury statement. "Russia has turned its economy into a tool in service of the Kremlins military industrial complex... Companies, financial institutions, and governments around the world need to ensure they are not supporting Russias military-industrial supply chains," Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said. The U.S. also target Russias chemical and biological weapons programs as well as entities involved in Russias metals and mining sector. Read also: US to announce $125 million military aid package for Ukraine, AP reports Ukraine withdraws from positions near Pokrovsk to avoid Russian encirclement, ISW says Ukrainian forces southeast of the embattled city of Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, have withdrawn from their positions in the area and avoided being "tactically encircled" by Russia's advancing troops, the Institute for the Study of War said on Aug. 22. Moscow began concentrating its efforts in the east, "throwing everything they have" in the Pokrovsk direction after Russia's Kharkiv Oblast offensive failed, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in late July. Pokrovsk is an important logistical hub for the Ukrainian forces that supports their operations in Donetsk Oblast. On Aug. 15, residents of Pokrovsk were urged to evacuate as soon as possible because Russian troops were 10 kilometers from the outskirts of the city. "Recent Russian advances in the Pokrovsk direction appear to have prompted Ukrainian withdrawals from limited positions southeast of Pokrovsk, and Russian forces have likely failed to achieve their apparent objective of tactically encircling Ukrainian forces in the area," the ISW wrote. The report cited geolocated footage that indicated Russian forces had taken the village of Ptyche and the "remainder of the east bank of the Karlivske Reservoir in the area." A spokesperson for the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade operating in the Pokrovsk sector told Suspilne that some units had withdrawn from positions in the area to "preserve the lives of servicemen." The Associated Press reported on Aug. 22 that poor training of new recruits was a factor in Ukraine's inability to hold some positions. The ISW stressed it had seen no evidence of "chaotic Ukrainian withdrawals in the Pokrovsk direction," and the lack of any major advances by Russian forces suggested they had avoided a tactical encirclement. Russian forces have been slowly but consistently gaining ground in Donetsk Oblast, and the front-line areas of Pokrovsk and Toretsk have borne the brunt of attacks in recent weeks. Read also: Stranded Russian troops in Kursk Oblast could top-up Ukraines POW fund, experts say Latvia prepares largest batch of drones yet for Ukraine Latvia is preparing to transfer its largest batch of drones yet to Ukraine, the country's Defense Minister Andris Spruds said on Aug. 22. In a post on X, he said the latest shipment consists of 1,400 drones, and it marked the conclusion of a program between the country's defense ministry and Latvian manufacturers that had procured 2,700 drones in total. "Together with Latvian companies, we will continue to provide support until the victory of Ukraine," he added. The drones have been provided in the framework of the international drone coalition. In early July, the defense ministry announced that Riga would send more than 2,500 combat drones of different types, worth 4 million euros ($4.3 million), to Ukraine. Spruds announced back in May that the Latvian government would invest around 20 million euros ($22 million) in the drone coalition this year, and a similar sum to the development of Latvia's own drone capabilities. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Ukraine withdraws from positions near Pokrovsk to avoid Russian encirclement, ISW says Ukrainian forces south-east of the embattled city of Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, have withdrawn from their positions in the area and avoided being "tactically encircled" by Russia's advancing troops, the Institute for the Study of War said on Aug. 22. Moscow began concentrating its efforts in the east, "throwing everything they have" in the Pokrovsk direction after Russia's Kharkiv Oblast offensive failed, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in late July. Pokrovsk is an important logistical hub for the Ukrainian forces that supports their operations in Donetsk Oblast. On Aug. 15, residents of Pokrovsk were urged to evacuate as soon as possible because Russian troops were 10 kilometers from the outskirts of the city. "Recent Russian advances in the Pokrovsk direction appear to have prompted Ukrainian withdrawals from limited positions southeast of Pokrovsk, and Russian forces have likely failed to achieve their apparent objective of tactically encircling Ukrainian forces in the area," the ISW wrote. The report cited geolocated footage that indicated Russian forces had taken the village of Ptyche and the "remainder of the east bank of the Karlivske Reservoir in the area." A spokesperson for the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade operating in the Pokrovsk sector told Suspilne that some units had withdrawn from positions in the area to "preserve the lives of servicemen." The Associated Press repotred on Aug. 22 that poor training of new recruits was a factor in Ukraine's inability to hold some positions. The ISW stressed it had seen no evidence of "chaotic Ukrainian withdrawals in the Pokrovsk direction," and the lack of any major advances by Russian forces suggested they had avoided a tactical encirclement. Russian forces have been slowly but consistently gaining ground in Donetsk Oblast, and the front-line areas of Pokrovsk and Toretsk have borne the brunt of attacks in recent weeks. Read also: Thousands flee as Russian troops take one Donetsk Oblast village after another Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Rostyslav Karandieiev, acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, has said that Ukraine is interested in the monuments of Ukrainian history located in Russias Kursk Oblast. Currently, the Culture Ministry is waiting for the security situation to improve there so that it can examine the cultural heritage sites on the Russian lands captured by Ukraine. Source: Interfax-Ukraine news agency Karandieiev was asked whether the Ministry of Culture plans to carry out humanitarian response measures within its scope in the territory of Russias Kursk Oblast, which is controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Quote: "These territories currently have the status of a combat-action zone, and there is no opportunity to carry out any civilian humanitarian activities there. Moreover, it is crucial to understand that this is a foreign territory and not the territory of Ukraine. At the same time, we certainly have an interest in the monuments of Ukrainian history that are located on these lands, where Ukrainians officially lived not so long ago. Therefore, of course, we have such an interest in these territories... We are waiting for an opportunity to study the cultural heritage sites on the ground and, together with international organisations, to find solutions that will allow us to ensure the preservation and restoration of cultural heritage sites of interest to Ukraine in the legal field." Details: In particular, this concerns the estate of Hetman Ivan Mazepa in the village of Ivanovskoye, Kursk Oblast, which is not only an architectural monument but also a monument of Ukrainian history. "We would really like to see this facility restored and reconstructed. How and by what means this will be done, and to what extent it will be included in the list of foreign sites of Ukrainian cultural interest, we will see based on the development of the situation," Karandieiev said. When asked how the said "interest of Ukraine" in the cultural and historical sphere in these territories could be implemented, Karandieiev said that Ukrainian troops ensure compliance with international humanitarian law there, and the Ministry of Culture is in constant contact with the Armed Forces. Read more on the topic: "Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi's raid: how the Ukrainian offensive in Russia's Kursk Oblast is progressing and what to expect next" Background: Meduza, a Latvia-based Russian news outlet, reported that the Kremlin believes that the fighting in Kursk Oblast could last for several months, according to optimistic estimates, and is preparing Russians for a "new normal". Earlier, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that since the beginning of the Kursk operation, as of 20 August, the Armed Forces had obtained control over more than 1,260 square kilometres of territory and 93 settlements in Kursk Oblast. Support UP or become our patron! KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's Navy confirmed on Friday that it had destroyed a ferry in the Russian port of Kavkaz that was used to deliver fuel and weapons to occupied Crimea. Local authorities had earlier said the ferry was set ablaze and damaged in Thursday's attack on the port in Russia's southern Krasnodar region. "Another undoubtedly military objective has been destroyed. Its purpose was to provide fuel for the invaders. The ferry sank and this port (Kavkaz) is not usable until the ferry is removed," Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk told Ukrainian television. "It was the ferries that accounted for three quarters of all logistics and were the main channel (of supply)," he added. The ferry was carrying 30 fuel tanks, said Fyodor Babenkov, district head of the town of Temryuk which includes the port. He said it sustained significant damage as a result of the attack, Kyiv's latest strike on Russian territory as Moscow's war in Ukraine grinds on. The port of Kavkaz is one of Russia's largest outlets on the Black Sea. It handles ships both for exports and for fuel supplies to Crimea, seized by Russian forces in 2014. (Reporting by Pavel Polityuk, Editing by Christina Fincher and Timothy Heritage) Ukrainian drone attacks could force Russia to relocate aircraft and air defence systems away from front WSJ Fire at the Russian oil depot. Photo: Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation Ukraine has intensified its drone attacks on Russian military targets while its foreign partners are still refraining from allowing strikes deep into Russia with long-range weapons. This strategy may force Russia to relocate its aircraft and air defence systems further away from the front lines, according to The Wall Street Journal. Source: WSJ Details: Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London who studies air power and technology noted that while drone strikes are hurting Russia, the damage so far is not strategically significant. "However, the current rate of damage inflicted on air bases is something that the Russians cannot just accept long term as it would become a serious problem for the [air force] over time," he said. It is reported that by attacking airbases deep within Russia, Ukraine may force Moscow to relocate its air defence systems further from the front lines, making targets closer to the front more vulnerable to Ukrainian strikes. Bronk believes that drone strikes could also prompt Russia to move some of its fighter jets and attack aircraft to bases much farther from Ukraine. This, as he said, has reduced the number of glide bombs being launched, as Russian aircraft have to travel longer distances from their bases to the front. The WSJ reiterated that Ukraine has previously downed Russian aircraft carrying glide bombs, but doing so required risking scarce air defence systems by moving them closer to the front. Increasing the number and range of Ukrainian drone attacks is becoming an increasingly significant problem for Russia, according to Douglas Barrie, a senior fellow for military aerospace at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. Barrie noted that while Ukrainian drones cannot replace long-range missiles that Kyiv wants to obtain permission to use, they compel Russia to rethink the placement of its aircraft and air defence systems. "The effectiveness isnt just in hitting the targetit has an effect even if its shot down," Barrie concluded. Background: On the night of 21-22 August, the Security Service of Ukraine, together with Ukraine's Special Operations Forces, struck warehouses housing glide bombs and fuel at the Marinovka air base in Russia's Volgograd Oblast Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) and Ukraines Armed Forces struck the Kavkaz plant in Russia's Rostov Oblast, which stored petroleum products for the Russian army's military needs, on the night of 17-18 August. On 16 August, DIU conducted a special operation in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, attacking the Savasleika air base with loitering munitions. According to an Ukrainska Pravda source, the attack destroyed a MG-31 aircraft (either a K or I modification) and two l-76 cargo planes, and also damaged approximately five aircraft, most likely MG-31K/Is. Support UP or become our patron! Ukrainian forces are trying to seize a women's penal colony in the village of Malaya Loknya in Russia's Kursk Oblast, where Ukrainian prisoners were held, Media Initiative for Human Rights reported on Aug. 23. Ukraine started its incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast on Aug. 6. As of Aug. 20, the Ukrainian military said it controlled 1,263 square kilometers (488 square miles) and 93 settlements, including the town of Sudzha. Read also: Stranded Russian troops in Kursk Oblast could top-up Ukraines POW fund, experts say The seizure of the penal colony will be an important step in documenting war crimes committed by Russia against prisoners of war, human rights activists said. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, one of the main places where Ukrainian prisoners were held was a detention center in the city of Kursk, according to the Media Initiative for Human Rights. Subsequently, the organization found that female prisoners were also taken to the women's penal colony in Malaya Loknya, which is designed to hold over 200 people. In the fall of 2022, more than 50 captured military and civilian women were held there, the Media Initiative for Human Rights said. Join our community Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight. Support us The human rights organization documented the testimonies of several prisoners held in this colony. They mentioned that physical force and humiliation were used against them, which led to significant health problems. Former prisoners also said that they could not remember the wardens or the administration of the colony because they hid their faces and did not allow prisoners to raise their heads when the staff entered the cell. The penal colony in Malaya Loknya served as a temporary detention facility before prisoner exchanges, with prisoners held there up to several months, the Media Initiative for Human Rights said, citing witnesses. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The Ukrainian Games Festival 2024 has begun on Steam. This year's event is far larger than previous years, and five new Ukrainian games were unveiled on the opening day of the festival. Source: Mezha.Media Details: This year, more than 450 games made in Ukraine will participate in the Ukrainian Games Festival 2024, which is 100 (!) more than in 2023. On the opening day of the festival, five new Ukrainian game projects were announced simultaneously. As part of the festival, you can play trials of Ukrainian games that have been released, as well as those that are currently in development. Examples include Hollow Home, Sich Tactics, Robot's Fate: Alice, Menace from the Deep, Cognition Method, Project Hover, and many more. Within the framework of the Ukrainian Games Festival 2024, the GTP Media team has launched a massive fundraising campaign for 50 FPV drones to meet the demands of Ukraine's Defence Intelligence (DIU) units. Photo: Ukrainian Games on twitter (X) The goal of the campaign is UAH 1.6 million (about US$38,758), and exceptional prizes will be drawn among the contributors, including flags autographed by DIU Chief Kyrylo Budanov, exclusive T-shirts with Defence Intelligence of Ukraine and Ukrainian Games insignias, and the opportunity to give a name to a drone. As of 19 August 2024, almost UAH 400,000 (about US9,689) had been gathered. Support UP or become our patron! Russian advances toward the city of Pokrovsk have led to the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from positions southeast of Pokrovsk. Consequently, the Russian troops have failed to achieve their apparent objective of a tactical encirclement of Ukrainian forces in this area. Source: Institute for the Study of War (ISW) Details: Geolocated footage from 22 August shows that Russian forces recently captured Ptyche, southeast of Pokrovsk, and advanced further south, confirming earlier claims of control over the east bank of the Karlivske Reservoir. Recent Russian advances south and southwest of the T-0511 road (Ocheretyne-Hrodivka) have evened out the Russian frontlines east and southeast of Pokrovsk, rather than setting the stage for a tactical encirclement of Ukrainian forces. As Russian forces moved toward the E-50 (Donetsk-Pokrovsk) road in recent weeks, they likely threatened Ukrainian forces with encirclement, leading to Ukrainian withdrawals. A spokesperson for a Ukrainian brigade on the Pokrovsk front admitted on 22 August that these Russian advances prompted Ukrainian forces to withdraw to level the front and protect their personnel. Some Ukrainian commanders on the Pokrovsk front also told Associated Press in an article published on 22 August that new Ukrainian recruits in the region have occasionally retreated from their positions. However, ISW has not seen widespread reports of disorganised Ukrainian retreats on the Pokrovsk front, and the lack of significant Russian tactical gains suggests that Ukrainian forces were able to withdraw in an orderly manner. Earlier discussions among Russian military bloggers about a potential tactical encirclement in the area have quieted down. To quote the ISWs Key Takeaways on 22 August: The Russian military command recently redeployed elements of at least one Russian airborne (VDV) regiment from western Zaporizhizha Oblast in response to Ukraines incursion into Kursk Oblast, possibly in an effort to stabilise the lines and improve command and control (C2) over Russian conscripts. The Russian military command reportedly heavily committed elements initially intended for the Russian offensive effort in northern Kharkiv Oblast to the defence of Kursk Oblast. The Kremlin may be taking steps to address its border vulnerabilities amid the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast and following a series of unsuccessful long-term efforts to improve Russian border security. Ukrainian forces marginally advanced throughout their salient in Kursk Oblast amid continued Russian efforts to stop these advances on 22 August. Recent Russian advances in the Pokrovsk direction appear to have prompted Ukrainian withdrawals from limited positions southeast of Pokrovsk, and Russian forces have likely failed to achieve their apparent objective of tactically encircling Ukrainian forces in the area. The tempo of Russian aviation operations is reportedly decreasing throughout most of the theatre, although this decreased tempo may be temporary, and its cause is unclear. Ukrainian forces conducted a series of successful strikes against targets in Volgograd Oblast and Krasnodar Krai on 22 August. Russian forces recently advanced north of Siversk, within Chasiv Yar and southeast of Toretsk and Pokrovsk. Russian State Duma Committee on Information Policy Head Alexander Khinshtein stated on 21 August that the Russian Union of Journalists and Ministry of Digital Development submitted a bill to the Cabinet of Ministers proposing to grant veteran status to journalists who have worked in Ukraine, the "counter-terrorism operation" zone in Kursk Oblast, and other unspecified combat zones. Support UP or become our patron! FILE - Rohingya Muslim children refugees, who crossed over from Myanmar into Bangladesh, wait squashed against each other to receive food handouts distributed to children and women by a Turkish aid agency, Oct. 21, 2017, at Thaingkhali refugee camp, Bangladesh. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin, File) BANGKOK (AP) The U.N.s human rights chief joined a chorus of concern Friday for members of Myanmars Muslim Rohingya ethnic minority after many were reported killed in recent fighting between the military government and the Arakan Army, an armed ethnic rebel group. According to a statement from the Geneva office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, he expressed grave alarm and raised profound concerns about the sharply deteriorating situation across Myanmar, particularly in Rakhine State where hundreds of civilians have reportedly been killed while trying to flee the fighting. It said his agency had documented that both the military and the Arakan Army, which now controls most of the townships in Rakhine, have committed serious human rights violations and abuses against the Rohingya, including extrajudicial killings, some involving beheadings, abductions, forced recruitment, indiscriminate bombardments of towns and villages using drones and artillery, and arson attacks. The statement cited an Aug. 5 attack along the Naf River bordering Bangladesh, when dozens were reportedly killed, including by armed drones, but said it was unclear who was responsible. At the time, The Associated Press reported that at least 150 Rohingya may have been killed by artillery and drone attacks, and cited survivors as saying they believed the attacks were carried out by the Arakan Army. The group, which is the military wing of the states Buddhist Rakhine ethnic group, denied responsibility for the attack on Rohingya fleeing the fighting in the town of Maungdaw, which the Arakan Army has been trying to seize from the army. However, more accounts have since surfaced placing the blame on the group. Pro-democracy guerrillas and ethnic minority armed forces, including the Arakan Army, have been battling to oust the countrys military rulers since they seized power in 2021 from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi. However, the fighting in Rakhine has raised fears of a revival of organized violence against members of the Rohingya minority. In 2017, a military counter-insurgency campaign drove at least 740,000 members of their community to Bangladesh for safety. Almost all still remain there in overcrowded refugee camps, unable to return home because of the continuing instability. International courts are investigating whether the 2017 action by the army constituted genocide. Ahead of the seventh anniversary Sunday of the flight of the Rohingya to escape the counter-insurgency, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on all parties fighting in the country to end the violence and protect civilians, his spokesman said Friday. The U.N. chief said around 1 million Rohingya are presently sheltering in Bangladesh and over 130,000 more across the region without immediate prospects to return, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. Many Rohingya have lived in Myanmar for generations, but face widespread prejudice and are generally denied citizenship and other basic rights in the Buddhist-majority country. Despite the world saying never again we are once more witnessing killings, destruction and displacement in Rakhine, said Turk's statement. Amnesty International on Wednesday said recent attacks on the Rohingya bear a terrifying resemblance to the atrocities of August 2017. Rohingya civilians are now caught in the middle of intensifying conflict in Rakhine State, said its Myanmar researcher Joe Freeman, adding that the Myanmar military has forcefully conscripted Rohingya to fight on its side. Freeman urged Myanmars military to immediately end their renewed campaign of violence and refrain from unlawful attacks on civilians. New York-base Human Rights Watch last week also raised the alarm about violence in Rakhine. Both sides are using hate speech, attacks on civilians, and massive arson to drive people from their homes and villages, raising the specter of ethnic cleansing, said the group's Asia director, Elaine Pearson. A joint statement from Rohingya support groups Friday estimated that at least 200 Rohingya were killed on Aug. 5 in what it called the Naf River Massacre, and also blamed the Arakan Army. The Rohingya left in Maungdaw are trapped in intense fighting and in urgent need of international protection and humanitarian assistance, said the statement, endorsed by more than 100 activist groups. ___ Associated Press writer Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report. CHICAGO Vice President Kamala Harris sought to show the country who she was as she formally accepted the Democratic nomination Thursday evening in a speech that was light on policy and focused almost exclusively on reintroducing herself to the country and defining her political opponent. Her remarks began with an acknowledgement that the path that led her here was unexpected. She ended in a crescendo that drew on the advice of her late mother. Never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are, Harris said, delivering the most consequential speech of her political career. For the Democratic Party, which sought an eleventh-hour replacement in Harris, there was no going back. It was now up to her to keep the White House from falling back into Republican hands. The vice president, who had once been considered a political liability for President Joe Biden, had succeeded in turning the narrative around her time in office on its head. The fight in front of her would be difficult, she said. But the former California attorney general and U.S. senator said she has grown accustomed to it. More: 'It means everything': Howard University reacts to Kamala Harris' historic nomination Democratic Presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris is joined on stage by famIly members after delivering her acceptance speech during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. We were underestimated at practically every turn, Harris said. But we never gave up. She ended the convention with the party mostly united behind her, save for diffused shouts of disapproval during remarks on Israel, and gave Democrats hungry for vision a preview of what was to come. Deafening cheers filled the air as Harris told party activists she accepted their nomination for president. And if the election does not go her way, she committed to a peaceful transfer of power. Her pledge as president: to lead and listen, practically and with common sense. With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity, she said, to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past. Her husband, Doug Emhoff, was the first to come on stage after her remarks, opening his arms to embrace Harris before giving her a smooch. Then came her running mate, Tim Walz, and his wife, Gwen. The two couples moved to the front of the stage, grasped hands and lifted them high in the air to a roaring crowd. Then came their immediate family, followed by Harris stepdaughter Ella Emhoff wiping tears from her eyes. The two women hugged as balloons rained down, and Harris grandnieces batted and kicked them. More: 'A new way': Kamala Harris reintroduces herself as Democrats reclaim patriotism from GOP We must be worthy of this moment. It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done, Harris said near the end of her remarks. As she has in recent days, as she and Walz have honed their message, she stressed that Americans have more in common than their beliefs can sometimes suggest, and politics need not be a zero-sum game. When it came to policy, Harris mostly steered clear. Attendees cheer as Democratic Presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris delivers her acceptance speech during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. As advisers suggested ahead of the remarks, the speech had almost no surprises. She repeated pledges to resolve the housing crisis and help the middle class through tax credits. One of the loudest applause lines came as she pledged to pass Democrats voting rights legislation. On immigration, she tried to strike a balance, saying the nation could create a pathway to citizenship and secure its border without offering further details. With respect to the war in Gaza, President Biden and I are working around the clock, because now is the time to get a hostage deal and a cease-fire deal done, she said. Harris drew tepid cheers as she proclaimed her support for Israel, and some heckling from a relatively small group of delegates. She was drowned out by cheers, however, as she said Palestinian people have a right to dignity, freedom and self-determination. Her punchiest lines were reserved for drawing a contrast with Trump. He tried to throw away your votes, she said, and sicced an armed mob on the nations capital. He was found guilty of fraud and liable for sexual abuse, she charged. He said he'd set free insurrectionists and retaliate against journalists and his political opponents. Consider the power he will have, she said, referring to the Supreme Courts ruling on presidential immunity last month. "Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails. She attacked Republicans position on abortion rights and declared, Simply put, they are out of their minds. After weeks of soul-searching on how to approach the former president, Harris and her campaign ultimately landed on a message that wasnt that different from the one Biden was pushing before he dropped out of the election. Unlike Trump, she said, she would not cozy up to dictators. Democracy versus tyranny. I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs, Harris said in a foreign-policy-specific section. At the end of her remarks, 100,000 balloons dropped, with the help of 75 volunteers, 30 staff members and roughly a dozen stagehands, the convention said. A rumored appearance of Beyonce didnt materialize. Harris was the star of her own evening, with delegates chanting her name and giving her a standing ovation. Biden was not there for the speech. But he called Harris ahead of time, the White House said. In a tribute at the beginning of her speech, Harris said that she was filled with gratitude and that Biden's record of service was inspiring. But it was time for the party and the country to move on. Were not going back, Harris said as she led the crowd in chants of her new slogan. Francesca Chambers is a White House correspondent for USA TODAY. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @fran_chambers. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kamala Harris reintroduces herself to voters at DNC convention A sign directing voters to a polling site in Durham. (Emma Davis/ Maine Morning Star) Independent Angus King is favored in his reelection bid for his U.S. Senate seat among the three candidates in that race, a new poll finds. While he doesnt currently have a majority of likely voters in Maine, 43% said they would vote for King if the election were held today, according to The Pine Tree State Poll from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center released Thursday. Seven in 10 Democrats plan to vote for King, while only about two in 10 would vote for their own party candidate, David Costello, who was favored by 9% of voters overall. Thirty-three percent of Maine voters said they would choose Kings Republican challenger, Demi Kouzournas. The poll was packed with questions about a myriad of topics including the National Popular Vote Compact, how Maine awards its electoral votes and how residents feel about Gov. Janet Mills job performance. The Pine Tree State Poll surveyed 999 people between Aug. 15-19 using a sample drawn from a web panel of Maine residents and inviting others via text message. Included in the sample were 951 likely general election voters. The poll has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points. National Popular Vote The poll also found that Mainers are divided on joining the National Popular Vote Compact, which was approved by the Legislature in April, with the Democratic majority at the State House largely supporting the measure and Republicans mostly opposing it. States in the compact pledge their electoral votes to the presidential candidate with the most overall votes rather than to the candidate who wins that particular state. That same party divide was reflected by survey respondents with seven in 10 Democrats supportive of joining it and nearly three-quarters of Republicans opposed. Mills let the bill go into law without her signature, making Maine the 17th state to approve the agreement, bringing the total number of pledged electoral votes to 209. The compact would only be implemented if states with a total of 270 electoral votes, or a majority of the Electoral College, join so that the compact would guarantee that the winner of the national popular vote is elected president if it takes effect. In May, citizens and Republican lawmakers launched a peoples veto campaign in an attempt to repeal the measure. However, organizers failed to collect the necessary 67,682 or more signatures by the early August deadline which was a 90 day window to collect to put the issue on the ballot. James DuPrie of Lebanon, who submitted the peoples veto, told Maine Morning Star the group was about 15,000 shy of the necessary signature count, but said it wasnt unexpected and came down to a lack of time rather than a lack of interest. It was a high bar to reach in a short amount of time, DuPrie said. He added that the group may move forward with a citizens initiative, which would give them more time to collect the signature. Electoral votes The poll also asked likely voters how they feel about Maine splitting its electoral votes based on the popular vote, rather than using a winner-takes-all system that most states use. Just under half of Maine voters want to keep the current system, with a little more than a third wanting to switch to a system that awards all four of Maines electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the most votes in the state. A majority of Republicans like the current system, whereas 43% of Democrats want to make the switch. Thoughts on Mills Just over half of Mainers approve of Mills job performance, with the majority of her support coming from Democrats and independents. Only about one in 10 Republicans are happy with her work, the poll found. Mills supporters highlighted the way she handled abortion and the COVID-19 pandemic as reasons why they are pleased with her performance. Those who are dissatisfied with her point to her handling of immigration and the state budget as the primary reasons for their disapproval. In 2023, Mills signed a law allowing for abortions at any point in a pregnancy deemed medically necessary by a doctor. Also under her watch, Maine has seen repeated revenue surpluses, in part due to federal funding in response to the pandemic. But the governors maxed out rainy day fund and push for savings were the focus of many objections during budget negotiations. Many Democrats had advocated for more investments and program funding while Republicans called for tax cuts. Forty-seven percent of Mainers say they are happy with the current direction of the state while 42% feel the state is going seriously off on the wrong track, the pollsters report. Compared to an April 2022 poll, a higher percentage of people now believe the state is on the right track, but more people also feel the state is going in the wrong direction. The earlier poll showed 28% of people were unsure about the direction of the state, but now only 11% said they are unsure. When asked their thoughts on the most important problem facing the state, a third of respondents said it was housing, with cost of living (11%) and jobs/economy (9%) coming in a distant second and third for top issues. On Wednesday, the Pine Tree State Poll released its results on how Maine voters are feeling about the upcoming presidential election. It showed increasing support overall for Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Donald Trump, but the race is still up in the air among likely voters in Maines 2nd Congressional District. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST University Heights developer returns with new plan for property at Sunshine and National SPRINGFIELD, Mo. After taking the original plan back to the drawing board, Be Kind & Merciful, LLC (BK&M) returned with new plans in front of Springfields Planning and Zoning Commission. The developer has been seeking approval to rezone the corner of Sunshine and National from single-family homes to general retail for two years and wants neighbors to get on board. The new plans for the development were created with neighbors in mind but those who live in the neighborhood are still unsatisfied. What is going on with the University Heights development? I never imagined once I retired and wished to live peacefully, that I would be faced with defending my home over and over again in front of you, city council, etc., etc., said Don Dunbar, a University Heights resident. But thats where we are, and thats how I feel about this. For the past two years, BK&M leader Ralph Duda has wanted to rezone the corner of the University Heights neighborhood to build a food hall and pickleball courts. He has also been hit with two years of conflict and disagreement from neighbors like Dunbar. I ask you, as a resident, as someone who has seen enough of war and enough of fighting, I really am looking for a place to live in peace. I thought I had found it in the middle of this beautiful neighborhood, Dunbar said. We have great neighbors. We have people who are out walking in and walking their dogs. We have kids riding their bikes. In June, a Greene County judge ruled against University Heights neighbors who took BK&M to court over deed restrictions that said the lots can only be used for private residential use. Shortly after the ruling, Duda told OzarksFirst he would be working on a new plan for the area, which was revealed tonight. You know, they asked us to remove around daycares. They asked us to remove food trucks, remove bed and breakfasts, so they remove a few other uses. We were able to remove those uses, said Chris Wynn, a civil engineer that represented BK&M at the planning and zoning meeting. You know, some people didnt like the idea of green, giant trees and we put in the idea of a concrete wall or stone wall with a stone facade, eight foot tall, with the required landscape buffer. You know with every time we come in front of the commission, we have more and more concessions, Wynn said. Developer details demolition amid tense project Barbara Robinson was one of several other speakers who lives in University Heights and says these new plans are better than the original idea, but it just wont mesh into the neighborhood. This proposed development is indeed detrimental to this residential neighborhood and it has already had adverse effects on the neighborhood, Robinson said. Please do not recommend this proposed rezoning. The project was not recommended for approval at Thursdays meeting, with a vote of 2-6-1, with Commissioner Christopher Lebeck recusing himself because he owns a home in the neighborhood. City Council will consider the project during its meeting on Sept. 23. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. TechCrunch Physics Wallah, an Indian edtech startup, has secured $210 million in fresh financing amid a tough funding environment for edtech companies in the country following the collapse of Byju's, once the biggest company in the space. Physics Wallah said on Friday the Series B round was led by the hedge fund Hornbill Capital, a venture between China's Orchid Asia and India's Hornbill, with Lightspeed Ventures Partners "significantly" participating, alongside existing backers WestBridge and GSV. The round values Physics Wallah at $2.8 billion, a substantial increase from the previous $1.1 billion valuation it scored in June 2022. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Thousands of students have returned to campus at UNLV this week in preparation for classes that start on Monday. The fall semester will see record-breaking enrollment numbers for the university with 32,000 students expected to attend classes this fall. Around one-third of those students are new students coming to campus for the first time. UNLV Student Union. (KLAS) More than 1,700 students are moving onto campus, a record for the number of students in their residential housing as well. This week the university hosted its Rebel Ready Week introducing new students to resources on campus. Its all about helping our students create a sense of belongingness and helping them connect to each other and our campus. Its leading us right into the beginning of classes next week and were really excited to have everyone here, Barb Roberts, associate vice president of Enrollment Management said. The fall semester will also mark the opening of Beam Hall for the first time since the shooting last year. There has definitely been work that has happened in Beam Hall and theyre going to be doing an opening with our president and announcements around that in the coming weeks, Roberts said. New security features at Beam Hall include more cameras, elevator, and stairwell access controls, and added onsite security. Across campus more than $1 million in exterior lighting upgrades are in progress as part of the $2.5 million in Rebel Recovery efforts. Also, this year it will be the first time classes will be held at the new Advanced Engineering Building. Also, the Institute for Financial Literacy and Wellness will launch, new classes, and a new bachelors degree program in Creative Practice. Rebel Ready week concludes on Friday with a welcome ceremony and convocation at the Thomas and Mack Center. For more information, 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 KLAS. Upland company created the sparks that set off the raging 2021 South fire, federal suit alleges Firefighters watch as a helicopter drops water over the South fire burning in Lytle Creek on Aug. 25, 2021. (Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press) A San Bernardino County wildfire that spanned 680 acres and took 275 firefighting personnel eight days to contain began with a few sparks from an excavator. Thats what the federal government is claiming in a complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The government is suing an Upland-based pipeline contracting company and its founder, Garrett John Gentry, for negligence and is seeking more than $2.2 million in damages in the fire, which chewed through 450 acres of the San Bernardino National Forest. Defendants are liable for all damages to the United States resulting from the South Fire, including its fire suppression costs and the United States administrative, investigative, accounting, and collection costs, the government says in the lawsuit. A call to Garrett J. Gentry Engineering was not immediately returned. The 14-year-old company serves California and Arizona and clears $35 million in revenue annually . Read more: South fire burns 500 acres, destroys structures in San Bernardino County The South fire commenced on Aug. 25, 2021, and was eventually contained on Sept. 2, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection . The agency said nine structures residential and commercial were destroyed and 28 others were damaged. There were no injuries or fatalities. According to Cal Fire, the fire began north of Glen Helen Parkway and east of Sierra Avenue and Lytle Creek Road just west of the 15 Freeway. The lawsuit alleges the fire originated at a property at 4053 Lytle Creek Road in Fontana. There, the suit says, Gentry was operating an excavator, attempting to determine the viability of developing a commercial property at an underdeveloped site. Read more: Fast-moving South fire near Fontana grows to 900 acres, destroys at least 4 homes The government said Gentry, the owner, realized he was on terrain that was too rocky and tried to leave the area. During his retreat, he noticed smoke behind him. He attempted but failed to suppress a fire that eventually kick-started the eight-day blaze, the lawsuit alleges. Government investigators said the steel treads of the excavator struck rock and caused ignition. Nearby dry vegetation then served as fuel to propel the fire. The government alleges that Gentry knew the area was rocky and failed to exercise reasonable care, according to the lawsuit. Gentry and his company also failed to take action to prevent the fire, the lawsuit alleges. The United States is asking for a jury trial. 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. UPPER WEST SIDE, Manhattan (PIX11) An Upper West Side community group fighting the citys plan to open a homeless shelter has a new idea: Use the former Calhoun School lower building on West 74th Street for affordable housing. The Friends of the Upper West Side issued a statement calling New York City Mayor Eric Adams to seize the day and convert the property into affordable apartments instead of a 146-bed shelter for single women. More Manhattan News It comes after Adams issued an executive order on Wednesday requiring city agencies to review their city-owned and controlled land for potential housing development sites. Now that the mayor wants affordable housing, here we are. To make it a shelter seems inhumane when theyre talking about having nine people to a room, 146 people in a small building. This is a family neighborhood, the perfect place for affordable housing, Jim Francis, the Friends of the Upper West Side president, told PIX11 News. City officials pointed out that the Executive Order calls on city agencies to review city-owned and controlled land. The former Calhoun School Building was sold to a private investment firm in 2023. In an email, the Citys Department of Social Services pointed out that the Mayors directive does not apply to the very resources the Department of Social Services is charged with developing/opening to ensure the city has a robust social safety net. This agencys mandate is to deliver services and public benefits effectively. The DSS statement added: This high-quality shelter will be the first of its kind in this community to offer women experiencing homelessness critical safety net and rehousing supports to help them get back on their feet and transition to permanent housing. Emergency transitional housing is fundamental to our agencys mission to positioning vulnerable New Yorkers for long-term housing stability as shelter staff facilitate connections to lifelines like rental assistance, public benefits, and healthcare. We are grateful for the support of *our communities that help us stand ready to honor the citys moral obligation to provide immediate shelter to New Yorkers in dire need of stable settings and services. Our efforts have helped increase permanent housing placements from shelter by 20% year over year as we also invest in innovative housing solutions to strengthen access to stable and deeply affordable housing opportunities for shelter residents. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. US to announce $125 million military aid package for Ukraine, AP reports The U.S. is preparing to announce a military aid package for Ukraine worth about $125 million, the Associated Press reported on Aug. 22, citing unnamed American officials. The new package will include new HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) missiles, Javelins, anti-armor weaponry, counter-drone and counter-electronic systems, as well as 155 mm and 105 mm artillery shells, AP reported, citing its sources. The sources spoke to AP on the condition of anonymity, as the aid package has not been publicly announced. The package is expected to be announced as early as Aug. 23, ahead of Ukraine's Independence Day on Aug. 24. On June 1, the U.S. gave Ukraine permission to use American-supplied weapons, including HIMARS rockets, to strike targets in Russia located near the border with Kharkiv Oblast, and over the past months, Ukraine's armed forces have used U.S.-supplied weapons to strike targets inside Russia. Washington still prohibits Ukraine from using ATACMS and other long-range U.S.-supplied weapons for strikes deeper inside Russia, according to U.S. officials. The new military package will come from Presidential Drawdown Authority, a mechanism that allows the president to deliver weaponry to allies from current U.S. stockpiles. In April, the U.S. passed a long-awaited $61 billion aid package, with much of it covering military aid. Most recently, the U.S. provided Ukraine with a $125 million aid package on Aug. 9. Read also: Ukraine war latest: Kyiv launches counterattack in Kharkiv Oblast, reportedly advancing 2 square km Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. By Nate Raymond (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday upheld Maryland's licensing requirements for people seeking to buy handguns, saying the law remained valid even after a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2022 that expanded gun rights. The Richmond, Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a 14-2 vote reversed a panel's 2-1 decision last year that had found the 2013 law requiring most Maryland residents to obtain a license and undergo training and background checks before buying a handgun was unconstitutional. That licensing regime was enacted as part of Maryland's Firearm Safety Act of 2013, a gun control measure passed in the wake of the 2012 mass shooting of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The law requires would-be gun buyers to submit fingerprints for a background investigation and take a four-hour-long safety training course. They then have to wait up to 30 days before undergoing the rest of the usual process to buy a gun. The full 4th Circuit reviewed the law's validity after the 2-1 panel of the court sided with gun rights advocates in November by finding the law violated the right of residents to "keep and bear arms" under the U.S. Constitution's Second Amendment. The panel had based its conclusion on the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v Bruen, which required modern gun laws to be "consistent with the nation's historical tradition of firearm regulation" to survive a Second Amendment challenge. Lawyers for the gun rights group called Maryland Shall Issue, which had sued in 2016 alongside two individuals and a gun store, argued that any temporary deprivation of someone's ability to buy handguns violated the Second Amendment. But U.S. Circuit Judge Barbara Milano Keenan, in Friday's majority opinion, cited a footnote in the Supreme Court's 2022 gun rights ruling that made clear so-called shall-issue licensing regimes like Maryland's were presumptively constitutional. More than 40 states have such shall-issue licensing laws, under which they have no discretion to deny a handgun qualification license to anyone who meets statutory requirements. Keenan said that despite some delays that accompany such permitting processes, "this type of licensing law is presumptively constitutional because it operates merely to ensure that individuals seeking to exercise their Second Amendment rights are 'law-abiding' persons." The National Rifle Association, which backed the lawsuit and covered the legal costs of the litigation, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Matthew Lewis) FILE - Migrants walk along the highway through Suchiate, Chiapas state in southern Mexico, July 21, 2024, during their journey north toward the U.S. border. (AP Photo/Edgar H. Clemente, File) CIUDAD HIDALGO, Mexico (AP) As soon as she stepped onto Mexican soil this week, Venezuelan migrant Yuri Carolina Melendez downloaded the U.S. governments app to apply for asylum appointments. The CBP One app has been around, but as of Friday migrants in Mexicos southernmost states bordering Guatemala will be able to apply for appointments. Previously, they had to be in central or northern Mexico. I have to wait to see if it really works, the woman said while resting under a tree with her 16- and 18-year-old daughters along a border highway leading to the city of Tapachula this week. Mexico has been asking the U.S. to expand the apps access to the south in an attempt to relieve the pressure migrants feel to continue north to at least Mexico City. In recent years, the Mexican government has tried to contain migrants in the south farther from the U.S. border, but the lack of work opportunities and housing in southern cities like Tapachula have pushed migrants north. Mexico hopes that if migrants can wait for their appointments in the south they might not risk getting snagged by authorities without papers or by organized crime groups that prey on migrants travelling north. With an appointment, they could, in theory, move without interference. Germin Aleman, a 31-year-old from Honduras travelling with his wife and three children, planned to register as soon as they reached Tapachula. Were going to apply here, were going to wait for the appointment, he said as they walked from the border toward Tapachula. Others, however, still felt the pressure to get farther north. Many migrants often carry big debts and need to start paying them off as soon as possible. Melendez, for instance, said she planned to keep moving to improve her chances of finding work. CBP One has been one of the measures of greatest impact in U.S. efforts to bring order to the growing demand for U.S. asylum along its southwestern border. In the 2023 fiscal year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported more than 2.4 million encounters with migrants along the U.S. Southwest border. Since the app was launched in January 2023, more than 765,000 people have scheduled appointments to request asylum. Immigration has become a central issue in the U.S. presidential election. When the Biden administration temporarily suspended the asylum process for those who crossed illegally in June, the app became one of the only ways to request asylum. The U.S. handles 1,500 appointments daily. The number of migrants crossing the U.S. border illegally has fallen significantly since peaking in December 2023. Washington attributes much of that decline to Mexicos enforcement efforts, which include nabbing migrants in the north and sending them south again. Still, Mexico welcomes CBP Ones expansion. That is going to help us a lot, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alicia Barcena said earlier this month when she announced the expansion was coming. Immigration is a key issue in the two countries relationship. But for dozens of nongovernmental groups that advocate for migrants and human rights, there is little to celebrate. In an open letter to the Mexican government Thursday, they called CBP One a violation of international law because it allows the U.S. to limit access to its territory for people in need of protection. The groups argued that many migrants wind up stuck in Mexico for months waiting in full shelters or camping in unsanitary conditions. While they wait they are vulnerable to kidnapping, sexual assaults, torture and extortion by criminals and authorities, they said. In theory, Mexico's National Immigration Institute allows migrants with CBP One appointments to travel freely to the U.S. border, but the organizations said authorities still sometimes detain migrants and send them south again to keep them from the border. The institute did not respond to a request for comment about those allegations. In southern Mexico, migrants have always been targets of smugglers and criminals but the region was quite peaceful for the rest of its inhabitants. Now the situation has changed. The southern border region is locked in a territorial struggle between Mexicos most powerful drug cartels, which want to control routes for smuggling drugs, weapons and migrants. Violence is part of daily life in a lot of border towns. Among migrants waiting in Ciudad Hidalgos central plaza near the Suchiate river that divides Mexico and Guatemala, the question remains whether to wait or to keep moving north. As a group of migrants debated the answer, the factor that weighed most heavily was money. The migrants had heard the chances of finding jobs are higher in central and northern Mexico, and money is needed for what could be a monthslong wait for an appointment. If there are work opportunities well stay; if not, well keep advancing until they give us an appointment, said Yuleidi Banque, a 28-year-old Venezuelan who had just arrived in Mexico with her partner and her 7-year-old daughter. My daughter isnt well shes fed through a feeding tube. We need help, Banque said. The United Nations Refugee Agency is cautious about CBP Ones expansion. Giovanni Lepri, the Mexico chief for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said it could mean fewer risks for migrants headed north. But he added that dealing with migration requires diverse measures, those like stabilizing the countries of origin, protection in the transit countries and options for regularization and asylum in destination countries. For Noemi Ramirez, a 47-year-old from El Salvador, hearing that she could begin her asylum application from Mexico's Chiapas state led her to immediately set off with her 19-year-old daughter for Tapachula. Were going to wait until we get an appointment. Im not thinking of going any farther, she said as they walked, worrying about the violence they could face along the way. Im not going to risk it with my daughter. Were alone. ___ Verza reported from Mexico City. FILE PHOTO: Signage is seen outside of FDA headquarters in White Oak, Maryland (Reuters) - The U.S. FDA is ramping up its investigation of the clinical trials that tested an MDMA-based therapy, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The Food and Drug Administration investigators this week interviewed four people about the clinical trials sponsored by Lykos Therapeutics, the report said. Lykos did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, while the FDA could not immediately be reached. Commonly known as ecstasy or molly, MDMA has long been seen by advocates as a potential treatment for mental health disorders and to have therapeutic applications beyond its illicit use. Lykos had said earlier this month the FDA declined to approve the therapy based on the mind-altering drug for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder and asked the company to conduct an additional late-stage trial to further study its safety and efficacy. The company had then said it plans to request a meeting with the FDA to ask for reconsideration of the decision and to discuss the agency's recommendations for a resubmission seeking approval for the MDMA capsules. PTSD, a disorder caused by very stressful events, affects 13 million Americans and is commonly associated with war veterans. But natural disasters, abuse or other trauma may also trigger the condition in civilians. Last week, Lykos said it would lay off 75% of its workforce, or about 100 employees, and founder Rick Doblin would leave the board. (Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar) The U.S. on Friday sanctioned a long list of Chinese and Russian companies over their support for Moscows war in Ukraine, as the Biden administration looks to sharpen its tools aimed at crippling Moscows war machine. The sanctions list, targeting nearly 400 entities and individuals, is among the most sweeping actions taken yet against Chinese companies for their support in the war against Ukraine. Also hit with sanctions are companies from the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Hong Kong, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. The U.S. sanctions are trying to disrupt the flow of microelectronics and computer numerical control items, or machine tools, to Russia nonlethal technology that the Biden administration has said for months China is supplying to Moscow to use in the war in Ukraine. We remain concerned by the magnitude of dual-use goods exports from the PRC to Russia, the State Department said in a Friday release, using the acronym for the Peoples Republic of China. Imports from the PRC are filling critical gaps in Russias defense production cycle, thereby enabling it to produce weapons, ramp up defense production, and bolster its military-industrial base. The sanctions come as White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan will travel to Beijing next week to meet with Chinas Foreign Affairs minister. The two are expected to discuss the war in Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has increasingly warned that Chinese support for Russias war is posing a major problem. The western security alliance NATO for the first time called China a decisive enabler of the war in Ukraine during a July summit. The companies on the list include two major Chinese machine tool suppliers and six Chinese electronic component suppliers. Several Chinese or Hong Kong companies were also sanctioned for their support of the Russian company Special Technology Center, which makes surveillance and reconnaissance drones, along with businesses from Russia, the UAE and Turkey. Hong Kong, Turkey and Russian business affiliates of Russian national Maxim Marchenko, who was arrested by the FBI in September 2023 for smuggling microelectronics out of the U.S., were also targeted in the Friday sanctions package. And the U.S. announced sanctions against Turkish, Russian and UAE companies that supply microelectronic components and targeted mostly Russian companies in the sectors of energy production, air transport, heavy machinery, diamonds and titanium, bullet-proof glass and armor and Belarusian companies and individuals supplying armored vehicle components to Russia. Washington also imposed sanctions on three leaders of the Russian organization Movement of the First, which is funded by the government of Russia, and which the U.S. accused of militarizing and pushing pro-Russian ideals on Ukrainian children. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. US imposes new sanctions against more than 100 companies and individuals for supporting Russia On 23 August, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions against over 100 individuals and legal companies in 16 different jurisdictions for circumventing Western sanctions imposed on Russia. The latest US limitations impact more than a dozen transnational networks, particularly those involved in the procurement of Russian weapons and equipment, which help to evade sanctions and maintain Russia's military-industrial base. Source: press service of US Treasury Department, as reported by European Pravda Details: Giulio Sfoglietti, an Italian citizen, oversaw one of the networks that allowed Russia to purchase weapons in Turkiye. Another network imported components for the sanctioned Russian Promtech via businesses in Turkiye, France, and Hong Kong. The US Treasury revealed networks in Switzerland and Liechtenstein that allowed Russian oligarchs to mask their involvement in Western firms through trust funds while still purchasing semiconductors for Moscow. Fagima, an Italian machine tool manufacturer, was also sanctioned by the US for working with Russian procurement agent Dmitry Alikhanov, who has been added to the US blacklist. The list also includes companies from the United Arab Emirates that assisted Russia in trading Russian gold, as well as a number of Chinese companies involved in the import of sanctioned items to Russia. Separately, the US revealed a network of firms set up by Russia to aid its hackers, who were sanctioned by the US in 2018. This sanctions package affects 16 jurisdictions and over 100 persons and legal entities. The new US sanctions list contains over 400 persons and business entities. Background: The US Treasury announced the latest major package of sanctions against Russia in June. More than 90 foreign individuals and firms were sanctioned, largely from China and Turkiye, for assisting Moscow in evading sanctions. Support UP or become our patron! Kamala Harris delighted her party in Chicago on Thursday. When Joe Biden was still candidate, many Democrats feared a trouncing not just in the presidential election, but also in the congressional races. At the Democratic National Convention that mood had certainly lifted; delegates will be returning to their states with a belief that victory this autumn is very much back on the cards. The underlying message of the past week in Chicago from former presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, vice presidential nominee Tim Walz and Ms Harris herself is that America is deeply divided and four more years of Democratic rule can heal wounds and reunite the country. This message is nothing new. Twenty years ago, then newly-elected senator Barack Obama first came to prominence with a speech to the 2004 convention in Boston making the same call for unity. As he put it: There is not a liberal America and a conservative America. There is the United States of America. When Biden was elected four years ago, his message too was that America could once more come together after the divisive Donald Trump years. But if this has really been the Democrats task over the past two decades, then they have failed. The United States is as divided as it has ever been and shows no signs of healing soon. The Democratic Party cannot escape its share of the blame for this. Donald Trump has, of course, been an abrasive figure in the US public square and has coarsened debate. But the phenomena that Middle America is railing against from the perverse idea of defunding the police in the name of Black Lives Matter to the promotion of radical gender ideology are not figments of conservatives imagination. They are all too real. The Democratic leadership has often appeared ready to give succour to radical causes, which have little to do with the concerns of most Americans. Centre-Left politicians on both sides of the Atlantic are fond of proclaiming that now is the time to end the culture wars but that too often seems to amount to a demand for the Right to simply accept the full list of wokish demands. Our societies do need to heal, but that must mean more than just a capitulation to every progressive cause. If calls for America to unite are to mean anything, they need to become a reality in day-to-day policy-making, not just trotted out when election time comes. Mr Walz now paints himself as the quintessential all American family man, but he has governed Minnesota squarely from the Left. Whatever the BBC coverage of US politics might suggest, political divisions do not come from one side of the aisle. The Democrats seem ill-equipped to unite America. 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. An explosion during the Ukrainian strike on Kursk, Russia - UKRAINE'S AIR FORCE COMMANDER MYKOLA OLESHCHUK/REUTERS The US will send around $125 million (95 million) in new military aid to Ukraine amid Kyivs incursion into Russias Kursk region. The Biden administrations package will include air defence missiles, Himars artillery, munitions and Javelins, as well as anti-drone equipment, unnamed officials told AP. An announcement is likely to come on Friday, the day before Ukraines Independence Day, as the US warns of a possible uptick in Russian attacks to coincide with the celebration. The aid, which will be taken from Pentagon stockpiles for faster delivery, is also expected to include anti-armour missiles, counter-electronic warfare systems, vehicles and 155mm and 105mm artillery ammunition. It comes as Ukraine continues its surprise Kursk operation, having seized control of 93 settlements and reached up to 22 miles into Russia. Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, said his focus this week is to boost troops and weapons in the east - UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS OFFICE The defence package will include Himars artillery - GINTS IVUSKANS/AFP The US was not informed about plans to enter Kursk before the incursion, with Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, saying it was not disclosed due to Western allies fears of Russian red lines. While the US still has some questions over the Kursk offensive, Sabrina Singh, the deputy Pentagon press secretary, told reporters at a press conference earlier this week that the US has no plans to interrupt security assistance to Ukraine. After more than two weeks since the start of the invasion, Ukraines advances have slowed with only marginal gains around the territory they already control. Meanwhile, Russian troops are advancing in the east towards the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a critical stronghold and logistics hub. They have seized at least three settlements in recent days. Mr Zelensky said this week Ukraines forces were working on boosting the number of troops and weapons in the east. Kamala Harris said she will firmly stand with Ukraine if she wins the November election - PLANETPIX/ALAMY Speaking at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Kamala Harris, the vice president of the US, insisted on Thursday that she will firmly stand with Ukraine if she wins the November election. As president, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our Nato allies, she said. Recounting how she met with Mr Zelensky personally five days before Russias 2022 invasion to warn him, Ms Harris said she helped mobilise a global response to the war of over 50 countries. Click here to view this content. 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. US targets around 400 individuals, entities in Russia, third countries in new sanctions package The U.S. imposed new sanctions on Aug. 23 against nearly 400 companies and individuals in Russia and third countries for aiding Moscow's war effort, the Treasury Department announced. A number of Chinese companies were included in the list. Western countries have imposed extensive economic restrictions against Moscow over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, seeking to curb its budget revenue and prevent it from obtaining key technologies needed for the war effort. The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on around a dozen distinct networks, designating more than 100 targets across 16 jurisdictions, including China, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. They help Russia to evade sanctions, the Treasury said. The sanctions also include more than 60 Russia-based technology and defense companies that are critical for the development of Russias defense industry, according to the Treasury statement. "Russia has turned its economy into a tool in service of the Kremlins military industrial complex... Companies, financial institutions, and governments around the world need to ensure they are not supporting Russias military-industrial supply chains," Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said. The U.S. also target Russias chemical and biological weapons programs as well as entities involved in Russias metals and mining sector. In July, the U.S. Treasury Department applied sanctions on two members of the Russian hacktivist group Cyber Army of Russia Reborn (CARR). Read also: Kyrgyzstans major bank suspends transfers via sanctioned Russian banks Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Students walk past the Russell House on the University of South Carolina campus on Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. (Jessica Holdman/SC Daily Gazette) COLUMBIA A social media message circulating among University of South Carolina alumni is criticizing the states largest university system for allowing a student event featuring a pair of controversial far-right political provocateurs, including the founder of the Proud Boys. In response, a college spokesman said allowing the event is a matter of free speech. The September event, sponsored by the USC chapter of Uncensored America, bills itself as a roast of Vice President Kamala Harris with roastmasters Milo Yiannopoulos and Gavin McInnes. The events title uses a crude spelling of the Democratic presidential nominees name, which the SC Daily Gazette is intentionally not repeating. Yiannopoulos, a British writer who refers to himself as a fabulous supervillain, has been criticized for his Islamophobic, misogynistic and transphobic viewpoints. He is a former editor at Breitbart News, the alt-right news platform co-founded by former President Donald Trump strategist Steve Bannon a job he resigned from in 2017 and former chief of staff for Kanye Wests fashion brand Yeezy. McInnes who was born in London, raised in Canada and lives in New York is the founder of the Proud Boys. The Anti-Defamation League says the self-described western chauvinist group is a a right-wing extremist group with a violent agenda, while the FBI describes them as an extremist group with ties to white nationalism. McInnes announced in 2018 he was leaving the group, though he continues to be associated with it. Allowing this event to happen on campus is nothing less than USC sponsoring white nationalism, the social media message read. The message urged former USC students to flood the alumni office and events coordinator with messages. USC spokesman Jeff Stensland said the university has a longstanding tradition of allowing recognized student groups to host speakers and hold events of their choosing. As a public institution, the university seeks to uphold peoples individual, constitutional rights to free speech, he said. Stensland said USC does not endorse any speakers, and events hosted at the college do not represent the schools point of view. The event is not listed on the universitys website of upcoming events at the Russell House student center, where its being held. Critics include former state Rep. Bakari Sellers, a USC law school graduate and CNN political commentator, who called his alma maters explanation lame. I expect some accountability on this asap, he wrote on the social media platform X. This is not the first time a Yiannopoulos event has caused controversy on a university campus. When he was scheduled to speak in 2017 at the University of California, Berkeley, at the invitation of the College Republicans student group, about 1,500 people showed up to protest the event. That protest erupted in violence, with people pulling down police barricades, throwing Molotov cocktails, smashing windows, and throwing fireworks and rocks, CNN reported. The USC student group, Uncensored America, describes itself as a free speech organization. It also hosted right-wing commentator and self-described proud Islamaphobe Laura Loomer on campus last year, drawing criticism. The Horseshoe of the University of South Carolina campus, Monday, Oct. 30, 2023 in Columbia, S.C.(File/Mary Ann Chastain/Special to the SC Daily Gazette) COLUMBIA The University of South Carolina is ending a program that sought to improve Black students success in school by training K-12 teachers how to incorporate their experiences into classroom lessons. The governing board for the states largest university system voted Friday to end the Center for the Education and Equity of African American Students a division of USCs College of Education stating it was not financially viable, a requirement for all university programs. The programs cost and potential shortfalls were not discussed. The decision immediately ends all training seminars for K-12 teachers on culturally responsive instruction, which basically means using what students are familiar with to get them interested and help them understand. An online list of the centers lessons includes math is natural, how hair braiding can be used to teach patterns and math; hip hop science, using raps to learn the makeup of atoms; and whats in MY name, engaging students by having them research their names origin. USC Provost Donna Arnett told the board the centers executive director agreed to end the outreach program. The director is still an education professor at USC, and her classes for college students are unaffected. The programs discontinuation falls against a backdrop of political pressure surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion programs and attempts to restrict how teachers discuss race in K-12 classrooms in South Carolina and across the country. USC spokesman Jeff Stensland said the decision to end the program is in no way related to Statehouse debates over DEI initiatives or the research conducted by the center or its director. The centers director did not respond to messages from the SC Daily Gazette. Mark Minett, a professor and president of the USC chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said funding issues are common for academic centers. He was not familiar with the financial health of this particular initiative but said he hopes the USC board judged it objectively, especially given the pushback on diversity and equity programs. Now is the time to be vigilant and ask questions and make sure the standards are fairly applied, he said. USC College of Education professor and researcher Gloria Boutte founded the center in 2017 in an effort to help school districts improve attendance rates and close learning gaps. There are documented examples of schools across the country that are effectively teaching African American students even students from lower socioeconomic statuses. So, it can be done, Boutte said in a statement announcing the center. Through partnerships with public schools across the state and through numerous outreach programs, the center aims to improve academic and cultural outcomes for Black students. By drawing from research about the most effective ways to instruct, educators can teach African American students in culturally relevant ways. But her work also made her a target for politicians as conservatives nationwide pushed bans on so-called critical race theory. Bouttes research focuses on culturally relevant teaching, which seeks to connect students cultures, languages, and life experiences to what they learn in school. Its a different concept from critical race theory, which recognizes systemic racism in society and how laws and policies, even those not explicitly about race, can cause or worsen racial disparities, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Still, Boutte was among university professors attacked in online posts starting in 2021, when legislators banned the teaching of eight race-centric concepts from K-12 schools. The next year, legislators started debating a bill that would require factual, impartial classroom discussions on history, amend the list of banned concepts and create a statewide process for parental complaints. Ultimately, the legislation failed twice. The first bill died in 2022 without a vote in the Senate. The latest push was defeated in June when a compromise worked out by a House-Senate panel failed to get the necessary supermajority support. But the list of whats banned through the state budget remains unchanged. Banned concepts include any race being inherently superior to another, anyone being responsible for past atrocities because of their race, and that traits such as hard work are oppressive and racist. Also still law is the line legislators of both parties agreed could stifle instruction, which the failed legislation purposefully left out. That line bans lessons that make a student feel discomfort, guilt, anguish, or any other form of psychological distress on account of his race or sex. The law bans school districts from using state aid to train teachers or buy materials incorporating the banned concepts. It does not ban training related to unconscious bias or issues related to historical discriminatory policies. It also doesnt apply to colleges. A separate bill banning public colleges from factoring applicants political stances into hiring, firing and admission decisions passed the state House but died with the end of session without a vote in the Senate. But USC had already struck the terminology diversity, equity and inclusion from a cabinet-level office in August 2023. It also changed the title of its leader, Julian Williams, to vice president of access, civil rights and community engagement. Four months later, Clemson University renamed its own equity and inclusion office, changing it to the Division of Community Engagement, Belonging and Access. Boutte herself has served as associate dean for diversity, equity and inclusion within USCs college of education in 2023. But in further scrubbing of that language from university roles, USC has changed the title of that job to associate dean for democracy, education, and inclusivity. Elsewhere, the University of South Alabama eliminated its diversity, equity and inclusion offices amid a new state law limiting the use of public funds for such offices. And in North Carolina, the University of North Carolina system repealed its policy on diversity, equity and inclusion. UNC Chapel Hill struck DEI-related funding from its budget. Editors Note: This article has been updated to specify whats affected by the decision to close the Center for the Education and Equity of African American Students and to clarify that two bills on K-12 teaching have died since 2021. MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) To raise awareness of the 119 dog bites against postal workers in Kentucky and West Virginia so far this year, the United States Postal Service (USPS) held an awareness event in Morgantown Thursday morning. Weve got another month and some change to go, so were looking at roughly 125 or so that well have for this fiscal year, USPS District Safety Manager Alan Lewis said. He added that 113 bites occurred last year so its important for us to learn how to better educate our customers so that we can provide the services they need to do it safely. Dog Bite Prevention Expert Hector Hernandez said that the purpose behind this training is so that mail carriers know how to protect themselves in the event of a dog attack while doing their job. He said that although its important to address these carriers, he really wants to contact the homeowners because theyre the ones who can make sure people dont get bitten. Make sure you manage your dog, make sure to control your dog, said Hernandez. Make sure you dont set your dog up to fail. Morgantown begins demolition of more than 50 structures Hernandez said that the biggest tip he would provide to letter carriers is to always look at the dog and walk backwards until they escape. If youre not looking at your threat, youre missing out, youre gonna get hurt. Always look at the dog, walk backwards. Hernandez added that the second biggest tip he would offer is to always bring something with you to protect yourself so that if a dog does decide to bite, their teeth will sink into the item instead of the mail carrier. According to Hernandez, dog bites are increasing because theres been a spike in people owning dogs. So yes its gonna rise, this is why I dont like to be here for the post office. I wanna be talking to the people, not the letter carriers. Lewis said that its important for homeowners to understand that USPS is trying to provide a service to them, but its important for them to be able to do so safely. So when you see the carriers out, put your dog up and away to where the dog cant escape out of your control, he added. If you have a loose dog or dog outside, same thing. Have your dogs controlled, Lewis said. We want our carriers to be able to deliver to you safely and if they cannot or if their safety is questioned in any way while theyre making a delivery, theyre not going to deliver. According to Lewis, USPS has been traveling across West Virginia throughout the week to hold these informational sessions. He added that the week prior, Hernandez took another week to visit Kentucky sites as well. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBOY.com. Crews use a helicopter and trucks to battle the 41-acre Warm Springs Fire in Box Elder County. Crews battle the 41-acre Warm Springs Fire in Box Elder County, one of nearly 1,000 wildfires in Utah this year, on Aug. 8, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Utah Fire Info) So far, at least $28 million has been spent fighting almost 1,000 wildfires in Utah this year, with about $7.2 million shouldered by the state. Thats according to Jamie Barnes, director of the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, who said with roughly three months left in the fire season, that number will continue to rise. Barnes spoke earlier this week during a Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environmental Quality Appropriations Subcommittee meeting, where lawmakers considered various funding requests and heard updates on recently appropriated money. The report is still preliminary. Barnes cautioned it can take about six months to a year to get a full accounting of how much the state spends on suppression, telling lawmakers its really hard to tell you where were at with costs right now. But one thing is certain 2024 will be far costlier than the last two years, which by most metrics had relatively mild fire activity. When Barnes presented on Tuesday, there had been 961 wildfires around the state. By Thursday, that number was at 993. Most of those fires are small, with 93% of them caught before they spread beyond 10 acres. But each fire diverts resources, often at the taxpayers expense. Its still very busy. Were still seeing fires daily. But were not expecting any large fires as we close out fire season, Barnes said. Here are some key takeaways from Barnes presentation: Wildfires in Utah have resulted in $28,473,064 in total suppression costs of that, about $7,211,643 has been spent by the state. By the end of fire season, the total cost of suppression in Utah is projected to be about $37,500,000, with the state expected to spend $11,809,123. The state has spent about $1,994,132 in aviation costs for fire suppression, with roughly 260 flight hours dumping 797,675 gallons of water. The 18,000-acre Silver King Fire, currently about 88% contained, is projected to cost about $30 million, with roughly $3 million of that coming from Utah. The most expensive this year, Barnes called the Silver King a costly fire. The state shouldered the entire cost of the 543 acre Graff Point Fire, which is expected to cost about $7.5 million. So far about 50,170 acres in Utah have burned, with about 25,422 a result of human-caused fires. In total, 544 of 961 wildfires were human-caused, which is above normal. Lightning also continues to spark fires around the state between Aug. 11-18, there were 110 new starts, 78 of them from lightning. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Utah lawmakers set aside $190 million to reduce class sizes this year. What happened to the money? First grade teacher Katie Olson laughs while teaching a lesson at Aspen Elementary School in South Jordan on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Olson teaches a class of 18 students while other classrooms in the state have class sizes of over 30 students. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News Every year when school starts, teachers start reaching out to Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Holladay. They always say, My classes are bigger than ever, " Moss, a retired educator, told members of the Utah Legislatures Education Interim Committee earlier this week. Sen. Kathleen Riebe, D-Cottonwood Heights, said last school year, she was in two kindergarten classes of 32 students each. Now thats crowd control, said Riebe, who is a teacher. If were going to say that 50% of our kids are reading a grade level by third grade, lets put some money where it counts in K through two and give them the strong foundation. Moss said when she hears that some kindergarten classes have 30-plus students each, she starts to question what has happened to the class-size reduction funding the Utah Legislature appropriates annually. The current program dates back to the Legislatures 1996 general session. So where is it going? How much effect (is it having)? I think those are really important things that we need to have more data on, she said. One Utah father recently contacted media outlets upon learning fifth graders at his daughters elementary school in Davis School District would be in two classes of 37 students each this fall. One of those students is his daughter. Utah is already known for having the largest class sizes in the nation, but 37? That is outlandish, even for Utah! Jeffery Keller wrote in an email. Under state statute, school districts and charter schools receive class-size reduction allocations based on their prior-year average daily membership in grades K-8 plus a growth factor. According to state statute, they must use 50% of their allocation on reducing class size in grades K-2. A student uses a pencil at at Aspen Elementary School in South Jordan on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Reducing class size has been a priority for Jordan District, which has been one of the fastest growing districts in the state. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News During the 2024 general session, lawmakers appropriated $190 million for class-size reduction. Some lawmakers said they need more information to understand if the funding is being used as intended. If were going to put $190 million into something, we should be able to measure it. So maybe thats something this committee can look at. Id love for us to be able to say, Yes, were actually helping or No, said Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman, House chair of the Education Interim Committee. Earlier in the week, one superintendent asked if lawmakers could roll up class-size reduction funding into the weighted pupil unit, the basic building block of K-12 education funding in Utah, which makes me question if its even being used for class-size reduction, Pierucci said. Rep. Karen Peterson, R-Clinton, said the committee clearly has questions about the purpose of the class-size reduction funding, how it is used and whether lawmakers need to make policy decisions about the program. She made a motion to open a committee bill file, which the committee passed unanimously. Right now, its pretty much like a block grant for elementary schools, and maybe thats what we want. Maybe thats completely fine. Maybe thats what we want, and thats how its functioning, and thats thats OK. But if we want something different, then I think we need to have a conversation about what that is and how that distribution formula works, and what expectations we might have for those dollars, Peterson said. Three superintendents addressed the committee, among them Anthony Godfrey, superintendent of the Jordan School District. Reducing class size has been a priority for Jordan District, which has been one of the fastest growing districts in the state, he said. Jordan School District currently puts about 30% more toward class-size reduction than we receive from the state. Thats been a priority of the Board of Education, and in keeping with the 50% requirement, about 64% of that money is spent on reducing class size in the lowest grades, K-2 so we track that very closely as a district, he said. Students in Katie Olsons first grade class laugh with each other while trying to complete a activity at Aspen Elementary School in South Jordan on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Olson teaches a class of 18 students while other classrooms in the state have class sizes of over 30 students. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News Godfrey said the district school board allocates funds for high enrollment hot spots, which are classes where head counts have markedly increased before the school year starts. Because I have that hotspot money allocated by the board, Im in a great position to say, You know what? We have a real issue with this class. Lets add a teacher here so that we can reduce that class. If the board just allocated money broadly for the district to lower class size, it risks getting watered down and not having the impact that hot spot money can have, he said. Todd McKee, superintendent of Cache County School District, said funding for the class-size reduction program started with an initial influx of funding its simply been a matter of maintenance of effort. Every year the funds come in, we roll it into our overall budget and allocate FTEs or teaching positions from that. This past year, Cache District received about $5.4 million allocated through the class-size reduction funding. That equates to about 45 teaching positions in my district that spread out across 20 schools. Thats about 50% of it focused on K-2, the other 50% is focused on third grade through eighth grade, he said. About $400,000 is carved out of that initial funding and combined with other funds to hire paraprofessionals or aides to provide additional support in classrooms, specifically for reading and math. The school board has a policy that defines staffing ratios so we staff our schools from grades K-3 at a 1 to 23 ratio, grades four through eight, we staff at a ratio of 1 to 28. Nebo School District Superintendent Rick Nielsen said funding for the states class-size reduction program is is more like class-size maintenance funding at this point in time, as opposed to class size reduction money. The district has done a good job maintaining its class size since the current program started, other than a bit of an increase right after the recession, he said. Our average elementary class size 18 years ago was 24.95 across the board. Our average elementary class size this year is 24.39 so again, fairly flat, with just some rise and fall over each each year over time, he said Class sizes are also influenced by special programs schools offer such as gifted and talented programs or dual language immersion classes, where students are instructed in English half of the day and in an international language the rest. Riebe said the impact of DLI programs on English-only classrooms is a statewide phenomenon. English-only classes get burdened with higher class sizes, she said. According to legislative policy analyst Micah Wixom, there is guidance in state statute how class-size reduction funding should be spent and for whom but theres no oversight or reporting requirement, so we really dont know what effects this money is actually having beyond keeping pace with those efforts that started in the 90s. Hiring and compensating teachers, its ultimately a local issue. First grade teacher Katie Olson laughs with her students during a lesson at Aspen Elementary School in South Jordan on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Olson teaches a class of 18 students while other classrooms in the state have class sizes of over 30 students. | Brice Tucker, Deseret News Jimmy Sengenberger is an investigative journalist, public speaker, and longtime local talk-radio host. Reach Jimmy online at Jimmysengenberger.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @SengCenter. ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) A Utah man from Sanpete County was sentenced on Thursday, Aug. 22, after admitting to the court of his scheme to defraud $1.2 million from trusting farmers who thought he would help them buy and sell farm equipment. Ryan Palmer, 56, was sentenced to over four years in prison and five years of supervised release for federal felony crimes of bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. He was originally charged in 2022. According to court documents and statements, Palmers scheme began in 2017 and continued until December 2021. Palmer told 25 different victims that he could sell or buy farm equipment on their behalf through his farm equipment company called Palmer Equipment, LLC. I just want him to rot in Hell: Victims mother speaks about Jonathan Dunns life sentence Palmer falsely represented to clients that he would sell their agriculture equipment on consignment at specific minimum prices, with the understanding that the clients would receive the sale proceeds and Palmer would receive a portion of those proceeds for his services, said U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins. Higgins said, instead, Palmer would keep all the proceeds and lie to the victims about the sale of their equipment. Other times, he promised to buy victims equipment, took possession of the equipment and only made partial payments or failed to make any payments. On another occasion, Palmer offered up a victims tractor as collateral to obtain a loan. According to court documents, Palmer lied to the bank about who owned the equipment and used the $51,000 loan for his own personal gain. He then sold the tractor and kept the money for himself without giving the money to the tractors rightful 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 ABC4 Utah. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) UTEPs President Heather Wilson presented a master plan to the University of Texas Systems Board of Regents on Wednesday to transform the campus aging infrastructure. Our facility condition index, which is the ratio of deferred maintenance to the replacement value of our facilities, is one of the highest in the state of Texas. We didnt get into this problem overnight. Were not going to get out of this problem overnight, and its going to be a combined strategy over many years in order to restore the infrastructure of the institution, Wilson told the Board of Regents. Wilson said that they assessed every building on campus, and they identified $341 million worth of deferred maintenance. We have a number of pieces of our infrastructure that really are not worth maintaining, others that need to be brought back up and others where we need to do the maintenance consistently over time. Because its a heck of a lot more expensive to defer it and then try to recover after you have 42 leaks in the library roof, which, honest to God, did happen, Wilson said. The plan laid out several points to address these issues including maximizing the use of infrastructure, eliminating 5 percent of the current infrastructure, which Wilson says is not worth maintaining, but most notable to update the charge structure for outside events. Ten years ago, UTEP had five outside events at the Don Haskins Center. Paid-for ticketed events. This year we will have 36, but each one of those needs to throw revenue back on to our infrastructure so we can maintain it, Wilson said. The plan also proposed several projects and ideas to address many of the campuses needs. Among those were to acquire land from the Asarco property located East of I-10, build new freshman student housing adjacent to Kidd Field, restore the student union and landscaping, and to build a new Student Success Building. Wilson also provided an update on the current construction of the Advanced Manufacturing and Aerospace Center and Texas Western Hall, which she says are on cost-schedule, with the former on pace to be substantially completed by January 2025. The plan was set up with the vision and goal of increasing student enrollment by 30,000 students, grow research expenditures by $200 million, increase student housing by 1,000 beds and to increase community engagement by having more events in the years leading up to 2030. Wilson will be hosting the universitys annual Convocation Ceremony at 10 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 23, where she is expected to discuss the plan and address students, faculty and staff about some of the universitys biggest 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 KTSM 9 News. Valley fever cases are on the rise in California. Heres what to know about symptoms, causes Valley fever infections are on the rise across California, public health officials say. Dry, hot weather across the state combined with heavy winter rains make the perfect recipe for an increasing number of cases, according to Dr. Tomas Aragon, director of the California Department of Public Health. The best line of defense is to know what symptoms to look out for, the public health officer wrote in an August 2023 statement. Up to 20,000 cases of Valley fever are reported in the United States each year, mostly in California and Arizona, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In California, most cases of Valley fever are reported in the Central Valley and Central Coast regions, the state health department said. Valley fever cases tripled in California from 2014 to 2018, and 2018 to 2022, the agency said, adding that 7,000 to 9,000 cases were reported each year. What is Valley fever? Valley fever, also known as coccidioidomycosis or cocci, attacks the lungs, according to the state public health department, causing the following symptoms: Cough Fever Pain in the chest Fatigue or the constant feeling of exhaustion These prolonged symptoms can make activities difficult. If you experience lingering cough or fatigue, Aragon said to talk to a health provider because it could be confused with COVID-19. Valley fever spores magnified under a microscope. How is Valley fever contracted? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Valley fever is a disease caused by a fungus found in soil within the southwestern part of the United States as well as portions of Mexico and Central and South America. People and animals can get sick when they breathe in dust that contains the Valley fever fungus, the state health department said, but thats rare. Those who become infected typically heal without medication, but it can take months. Others need anti-fungal medicine. These groups are at a higher risk for Valley fever, according to the CDC: People with HIV/AIDS People with organ transplants People taking corticosteroids or TNF-inhibitors medications Pregnant people People with diabetes According to the CDC and the Cleveland Clinic, Black and Filipino people are also at a higher risk for Valley fever than others. Dust storms like this one that blasted Fresno in June 2012 can carry millions of spores from the fungus that causes valley fever. In the first half of 2018, more than 280 cases of valley fever have been reported in San Luis Obispo County, which is caused by a type of fungus in kicked-up dust. Is Valley fever contagious? No. According to the CDC, infections cannot spread from the lungs of one person or animal to another. In extremely rare cases, a wound infected with the fungus can spread to someone else. Its possible the infection can also spread from one organ transplant to another infected organ. This Irish wolfhound, Faith, was diagnosed with valley fever at Atascadero Pet Hospital and Emergency Center in the mid-2000s. Can my pet get Valley fever? Its possible. According to the CDC, dogs are particularly susceptible to Valley fever. However, its not contagious between people and animals. A farmer prepares the soil in Salida, Calif., Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Valley fever is caused by a fungus found in soil in parts of California. Where is Valley fever most common? Valley fever is most common in Kern, Kings, San Luis Obispo, Fresno, Tulare, Madera and Monterey counties. In the past several years, more cases than usual have been reported in the northern San Joaquin Valley and Southern California areas. In August, state health officials were investigating a Valley fever outbreak tied to Lightning in a Bottle music festival in Bakersfield in May, NBC News reported, sickening 14 people so far. Valley fever is a significant health concern in Fresno County, where 13 deaths have been tied to the respiratory disease so far this year, public health officials said. From Jan. 1 through July 30, there were a total of 540 cases of Valley fever in Fresno County, according to the state Department of Public Health. In comparison, Fresno County had 448 cases of Valley fever in 2022 and 626 cases in 2023, the agency said. How can I prevent exposure to Valley fever? It can be difficult to completely prevent exposure because the fungus circulates with help from the dust outside, the California Department of Public Health said. Here are a few tips to minimize exposure: Stay inside with closed windows and doors when its windy and dusty. Wet the soil before digging to prevent dust clouds. Wear an N95 mask when its dusty outside. Have a question about life in California? How to California a guide to help you live, work and enjoy life in the Golden State, is here to help. Well answer your questions big and small about state laws, history, culture, recreation and travel. Ask your questions in the form below (cant see it? Click here) or email howtocalifornia@mcclatchy.com. CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) Venezuela's government said Friday it will order former opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez to provide sworn testimony in an ongoing investigation into what it considers attempts to spread panic in the South American country by contesting the results of last month's presidential election. It's the latest attempt by Nicolas Maduro's government to crack down on opponents who claim they handily defeated the self-declared socialist leader. Maduro has refused to recognize defeat and claims he won the July 28 election by more than 1 million votes, even though tally sheets by Gonzalez's campaign and published online show the president lost by a more than 2-to-1 margin. The U.S., United Nations and others said the vote lacked credibility and even some of Maduro's leftist allies in Latin America have called on him to publish the voting records. Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab at a press conference Friday accused the former candidate of trying to illegally usurp responsibilities that belong exclusively to the National Electoral Council. Gonzalez went into hiding after the July 28 vote as security forces have rounded up more than 2,000 demonstrators and political activists for challenging the official results. He's been joined underground by opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who picked Gonzalez as a last minute stand-in after her own candidacy was disqualified. Ruling party stalwarts have called for Gonzalez and Machados arrest but so far authorities have held off. The Biden administration on Friday condemned a ruling by Venezuela's Supreme Court certifying Maduro's win. The high court on Thursday said it had performed an audit of the results and found they matched the results announced by electoral authorities, adding that the tally sheets published online by the opposition were forged. This ruling lacks all credibility, given the overwhelming evidence that Gonzalez received the most votes on July 28, U.S. State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said. "Continued attempts to fraudulently claim victory for Maduro will only exacerbate the ongoing crisis." Thanks to a superb ground game on election day, opposition volunteers managed to collect copies of voting tallies from 80% of the 30,000 polling booths nationwide. The tally sheets printed by each voting machine carry a QR code that makes it easy for anyone to verify the results and are almost impossible to replicate. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday called on Venezuela to act in a transparent manner and expressed concern about human rights violations. Meanwhile, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, whose government is leading an attempt with Brazil and Colombia to resolve the dispute, said Friday that he will withhold recognizing Maduro as the winner until a breakdown of results are published. AP Writer Edith Lederer at the United Nations, Courtney Bonnell in Washington and Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this report. Goodman reported from Miami AUSTIN (KXAN) Austin City Council Member Mackenzie Kelly and city council hopeful Pierre Nguyen have very different policies and are running for different districts, but they united this week in calling out a problem they said theyre already seeing this election season. As of this week, I have gotten notification from several individuals we had delivered signs to stating those signs had been stolen, Kelly said. Nguyen said thats happened to him too and like most candidates, hes got a much smaller budget than Kelly, according to filings. It can be anywhere from like $5 to $10 depending on how many signs you purchase all at once and so that loss can add up if you keep on having signs go missing and then you have to replace them, said Nguyen. Its very frustrating and its very upsetting. We asked the City of Austin what the penalties are for stealing or vandalizing yard signage. They directed us to the Texas Ethics Commission, which generally does not regulate the placement or removal of political signs and instead largely dictates which disclosure statements must appear on those signs, according to their website. There are prohibitions in the Transportation Code on placing a sign in the public right-of-way. If the sign is on private property, it could be a theft of property offense under the penal code, a City of Austin spokesperson said. Ultimately, the candidates said the issue appears to go unpunished so theyre calling on you instead to keep this election cycle civil, yard signs and all. I really feel that vandalism and sign stealing undermines the democratic process that we have. Everyone should feel safe supporting the candidate of their choice based on whatever their beliefs are and how they align politically, Kelly 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 KXAN Austin. Donald Trump on Thursday night drastically pivoted his stance on Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican who, just weeks ago, he called a bad guy and average governor. In a post to Truth Social, Trump thanked the governor for all his help and support in Georgia where a win is so important to the success of our Party and, most importantly, our Country. I look forward to working with you, your team, and all of my friends in Georgia to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! Trump added. Trumps post came less than 10 minutes after Kemp appeared on Sean Hannitys prime-time Fox News show and reiterated his support for electing Republicans up and down the ballot including Trump. Kemp said he was working to support efforts on the ground. We've got to win. We have to win from the top of the ticket down. I have been saying consistently, for a long time, we cannot afford another four years of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and I think Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are going to be even worse, Kemp told Hannity. He said, We need to send Donald Trump back to the White House, we need to retake the Senate, we need to hold the House, we need to hold our legislative majorities that we have in the great state of Georgia. There have been growing anxieties in Georgia about the impact Trumps slights against Kemp and his wife could have on the former presidents prospects in the state. Polling has tightened between Trump and Harris in Georgia, and while the Trump campaign has maintained it is well positioned in the state for the November election, some Republicans in Georgia have expressed concern about the state of the GOP ground game and turnout there. Kemp, who has been praised for his robust ground game, said that Republicans had been in the field knocking on doors and turning out the base for the whole ticket. Hannity, who is close to the former president, also asked Kemp to talk about his efforts to bring integrity to the election process. Kemp said he expects the 2024 election to be secure, accessible, and fair, and mentioned passing the Election Integrity Act in 2021 that overhauled election laws in the state. Much of the bad blood between the two men stems from Kemp resisting Trumps attempts to overturn the 2020 election results based on his baseless claim the election was rigged. A person familiar with the situation, granted anonymity to speak freely, said they suppose [Trump] liked Kemps appearance on Hannitys show Thursday night. And the kind words were enough to prompt a dramatic about-face by Trump. Later Thursday night, more than an hour after he posted about Kemp, Trump was interviewed by Fox News Bret Baier, who asked him: Are you making a specific effort in Georgia to make up, if you will, with the Governor of Georgia Brian Kemp? Well I just saw Brian a very good man did you ever hear of a man named Sean Hannity? And he was interviewed by Sean Hannity and he was very nice, Trump replied. He said he wants Trump to win and he's going to work with me 100 percent and I think we will have a very good relationship with Brian Kemp. On Thursday afternoon, Trumps running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, said he spoke with Kemp earlier in the day and is convinced the Georgia governor wants us to win, because he believes the policies of Kamala Harris are disastrous for this country." "I read the headlines. Brian Kemp and Donald Trump have had some disagreements. I am 100 percent, guarantee you, that Brian Kemp is behind this ticket, Vance told reporters. Kemps team maintained that his comments on the prime-time Fox News show were merely his long held position of supporting the nominee and working hard to win Georgia. While declining to endorse Trump during a competitive Republican primary, Kemp earlier this year confirmed that he would be supporting the ticket this fall, regardless of which GOP nominee was on it. As in other battlegrounds, Trump has lost his strong lead in polling in Georgia since Harris replaced President Joe Biden atop the Democratic ticket, with Trump and Harris now effectively tied in the state. In response, the Trump campaign is pouring over $20 million into advertising in the state, and the pro-Trump super PAC MAGA Inc. is including Georgia as part of a massive $100 million ad buy in battleground states. Trumps truce with Kemp is, in many ways, expected. Longtime Republican operatives in Georgia told POLITICO in recent days that they expected the two men would come together with both their ambitions in mind. Two weeks ago at Mar-a-lago, Trump took credit for Kemps election win but told reporters he would love to see [his relationship with Kemp] get repaired. Earlier this month, Kemp said at a political summit held by Erick Erickson that Trumps recent comments about him will not change his support for the former president. Despite all of that noise, my position has not changed, Kemp said. I said a long time before the presidential primary ever started that I was going to support the nominee and we were going to use our political operation to win Georgia. Kemp echoed the same sentiment at a private fundraiser for Senate Republicans hosted by Kelly Loeffler, Sen. Lindsey Graham told Fox News. Victim of shark attack to be honored with parade in Mountain Brook Saturday BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) A teenager who lost a leg and hand in a shark attack off the coast of Florida will finally be making the trip home to Mountain Brook this weekend, where she will be welcomed with a parade. At 4 p.m. Saturday, a parade will be held in Mountain Brook for Lulu Gribbin, a 15-year-old girl who was injured in a shark attack on June 7 near Rosemary Beach, Florida. In the attack, Gribbin lost her right leg and her left hand. In the weeks since the attack, Gribbin has been recovering at a hospital in North Carolina, where she has also been fitted with a prosthetic leg and hand and has undergone rehabilitation to build up her strength and learn to walk with her new leg. A Caring Bridge page for Lulu, where friends and family have updated the community on her recovery, has over 100,000 followers. The parade escort will begin near the traffic circle in Mountain Brook Village, proceed eastbound on Montevallo Road and then turn onto Church Street into Crestline Village. The parade will end at La Paz. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (Bloomberg) -- It took little more than 24 hours for Indonesian protesters to end a power grab by the nations elite, showing the depth of anger at dynastic politics and democratic backsliding in Southeast Asias biggest economy. Most Read from Bloomberg On Wednesday evening, after lawmakers aligned with President Joko Widodo and President-elect Prabowo Subianto tried to undercut a day-old Constitutional Court ruling on the upcoming regional elections, students, unions and opposition parties acted fast. Tens of thousands of protesters quickly took to the streets in Jakarta and other major cities on Thursday morning, surrounding parliament, clashing with police and hurling abuse at politicians. Millions took to social media calling for a defense of democracy. Stocks and the rupiah fell. By a little after 5 p.m. in Jakarta, lawmakers scrapped the proposed changes for now. The protesters have shown that even the popular Jokowi faces constraints in his bid to maintain political influence, and sends a message to incoming leader Prabowo, a former general, that Indonesians want to keep their relatively fair and free-wheeling democracy. This was a victory for democracy, said Bivitri Susanti, a legal expert and political observer from the Indonesia Jentera School of Law, adding that it may be short-lived if political elites try to undercut other legal rulings. This sets an important precedent, and we must guard it until the end. The protesters cause may have been aided by the reaction in the markets, where stocks tumbled and the rupiah was Asias worst-performer. Both have rebounded since the ruling elites retreat, and theres relief that even worse violence was avoided amid criticism of how police handled the protests. The demonstration was dispersed using tear gas, beatings, the involvement of the army, which indicated the use of excessive force, said rights watchdog Komnas HAM. Amnesty International Indonesias Usman Hamid called for the government to abandon unnecessary violent behavior and prosecute security forces guilty of abuses. Former Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla earlier this week warned that the government risked unrest mirroring the riots in Bangladesh last month that prompted the prime minister to flee. Hijacking of Democracy The proposed legislative changes, pushed through a parliamentary panel on Wednesday ahead of a full legislative vote, would have made it hard for small parties to field candidates in key gubernatorial contests. And Jokowi, whose eldest son is already vice president-elect, would have potentially seen his 29-year-old youngest son skirt age rules and run for office. What the parliament did was not just a setback for democracy, it was a hijacking of democracy, said Said Iqbal, president of the Labor Party, warning of weekend protests if lawmakers or the election commission make a renewed effort to push through the legal changes. Parliament is a high state institution if it had passed it yesterday, it would have been an abuse of power, exceeding its authority. The presidential office has said it would respect the Constitutional Court ruling if there is no amendment to the election law, and Jokowi said late Wednesday that we respect the authority and decisions of each state institution. Dynastic Politics The bid to have a second son in power dented the image of Jokowi, a former carpenter who was Indonesias first president from outside the military or political elite. The 63-year-old, who will step down in October due to term limits, has won praise for attracting investment, building infrastructure and reducing poverty. But critics say he has weakened democratic institutions in Indonesia, which until 1998 was ruled for decades by the dictator Suharto. For a start, the Constitutional Court then overseen by Jokowis brother-in-law made a widely vilified ruling last year that let his eldest son, 36-year-old Gibran Rakabuming Raka, run as Prabowos vice presidential pick. We let you off when you had your eldest become vice president-elect, said Vedi Hadiz, professor of Asian Studies and director of the Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne. Youre asking for a lot if you think that wed be happy with such blatant abuse of power in order to allow your 29-year-old son to also hold a position of power. Jokowi also introduced a criminal code that Human Rights Watch said opens the door to invasions of privacy and selective enforcement by allowing the police to extort bribes and lawmakers to harass political opponents. He also placed the corruption watchdog under the office of the president. Amid democratic backsliding, it remains uncertain whether the severely disempowered anti-corruption agency, the KPK, will be allowed to regain its former mandate any time soon, according to a January report by Transparency International, which ranks Indonesia 115th on its Corruption Perceptions Index. An investor-friendly job creation law was also found to be legally flawed by the court, which ordered the government to revise it to ensure public participation in its changes. Instead, Jokowi used an emergency decree to push the changes quickly through parliament, with critics claiming he was bypassing debate. On Aug. 16, in the final state of the nation and budget speeches before he steps down due to term limits, Jokowi highlighted a decade of roughly 5% annual growth, more than twice that of neighboring Thailand. Hes fostered the onshore processing of raw materials and helped build new airports, ports and railways. Ten years is not a long period to solve all problems in our nation, Jokowi told lawmakers on Aug. 16. I would like to extend our apology apology for anyone who feels disappointed, for every hope that has not been materialized, for every dream that has not been realized. Work is underway on a new capital city, and companies including Microsoft Corp. are investing in the nation of roughly 280 million people. But the Jokowi-Prabowo alliances bid to entrench its power has rattled investors, and there are concerns the two men may fall out once the retired general takes office. Come October, it will be in the interest of Prabowo to erode as much as possible the power and influence of Jokowi and his family, said the University of Melbournes Hadiz. This is why Jokowi has been desperately scrambling to ensure that his people, his loyalists, have key positions in the government and in the military. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. Visible from San Francisco Bay, youll recognize this historic home for sale. Take a look San Francisco Bay boaters and sailors cruising by the islands of Belvedere and Tiburon will likely recognize a 1902 shingle home with a crows nest that has hit the market for $8.7 million. Called the Peterson House, the 6,000-square-foot residence perched on a steep slope of the Marin County island of Belvedere offers panoramic views of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Bay, Raccoon Strait, Belvedere Cove and Angel Island. From the curb or from the water, the historic homes pyramidal roof, dormers and wide, protective overhangs are immediately recognizable. This residence embodies the timeless beauty and distinguished elegance of classic Belvedere homes from the turn of the century, the official property listing states. The interior is highlighted by elegant details and modern, open, seamless indoor/outdoor living spaces. This home features impeccable millwork through stunning wainscoting panels, intricate crown molding details, arched doorways, and beautiful refinished hardwood floors, listing agent Shana Rohde-Lynch of Compass said in a statement. It is an exceptional estate and is a haven for entertainers featuring picturesque grounds, an expansive entertainment terrace, multiple decks, patios, terraced gardens, a spa, a lush lawn, serene water fountains and meticulously manicured landscaping and the roses gracefully climbing the facade. Rohde-Lynch has been a longtime admirer of the property. When I first entered the foyer I was captivated by the historic details, character, and modernized millwork reminiscent of the turn of the century, she said. As a local resident and boater, I have always admired the homes incredible presence the iconic curb appeal speaks to the architectural beauty of Belvedere Island and it can be seen from many points on the peninsula and from boaters on the bay. The 1902 home with shingles and unusual overhangs has phenomenal views. (See the video here) The six-bedroom, seven-bathroom home was designed by architect Clarence Ward and constructed by Neil McLean, who built many of the early homes on the island. Ward incorporated Edwardian details and the unique overhang. The house, 332 Golden Gate Ave., was constructed for less than $9,780 at the time, according to information provided for a 1986 tour of landmark homes. A carriage house that was part of the property has since been sold separately. The garage is a recent addition in a series of alterations for modern convenience which includes combining the kitchen and back porch, according to the tour information. The spacious stair landing used as a sitting room has been opened onto a new deck. The living room fireplace brought from New Orleans by the owner suits the superb interior style which has been preserved with many of the original details including the beams and leaded glass. Richard Y. Dakin, founder of the Dakin plush toy company, and his wife Susanna Bryant Dakin purchased the home in the 1950s, according to Compass. A Belvedere legend, Susanna helped form Belvedere Tiburon Landmarks Society and was instrumental in the purchase and restoration of Old St Hilarys church and its adjacent open space. The church can is visible from many rooms in the house. In the mid-1960s, the Dreyfous family bought the property and owned the home for 35 years. Many people still refer to the residence the Dreyfous house. In 1998, Maureen and Steven Block acquired the estate and took on a major modernization of the turn-of-the-century house, paying attention to preserving its historical character while making it fit for modern families, according to Compass. Years later, interior designer Ken Fulk and his team were hired to update the interior. His work caught the attention of home and design experts. This home seemed like the kind of place a sea captain would have built, and then haunted, Fulk told California Home+Design magazine in 2010. Frankly, its the kind of place where I would have loved to grow up. Hes probably not alone. This captivating estate seamlessly integrates exceptional outdoor spaces that accentuate its magical park-like grounds, creating a dream setting for hosting both large and intimate gatherings, the property listing says. They built a lavish concert hall in this Sacramento-area home. See it, hear the acoustics A new volcano erupted on the Reykjanes peninsula in southwestern Iceland late on Thursday, spewing hot lava into the air in the sixth eruption to hit the region since December, authorities said. Live video images showed orange lava bursting out of a long fissure, illuminating the billowing smoke rising up into the night sky. An eruption has started on the Sundhnuksgigarod, the Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO) said in a statement, adding that the eruption had started at 9:26pm local time (21:26pm GMT) following a series of earthquakes. The IMO initially estimated the length of the fissure at 1.4 kilometres (0.86 miles), adding in a later statement that it had extended to 3.9 kilometres in 40 minutes. Lava spews out of fissures on the Reykjanes Peninsula - Iceland Civil Defense/AP It said that there was still considerable seismic activity at the northern end of the fissure more than an hour after the start of the eruption. Dozens of people could be seen parked on the side of the main road from the capital Reykjavik to Icelands Keflavik airport to watch the eruption, according to an AFP correspondent at the scene. Icelands national airport and air navigation service provider Isavia said in a statement that flights to and from Iceland are operating normally despite the ongoing eruption. This is the sixth eruption to hit the area since December, coming just two months after the end of a previous eruption that lasted more than three weeks. Lava spilled from the volcano as it erupted near Vogar in Iceland - GISLI OLAFSSON The sky turned red as lava burst from the volcano - GISLI OLAFSSON The chief of police of the Sudurnes region, Ulfar Ludviksson, told news outlet mbl.is that the evacuation of the nearby fishing village of Grindavik was going well. He added that 22 or 23 houses in the village were currently occupied. Most of Grindaviks 4,000 residents had evacuated in November, before a December eruption, and while residents have since been allowed to return in between eruptions, only a few have opted to stay overnight. The IMO has warned for weeks that another eruption was likely and said on Monday that seismic activity indicated a build-up of pressure to magma accumulation under Svartsengi, where a power plant that supplies electricity and water to around 30,000 people on the peninsula is located. The Svartsengi plant was evacuated and has largely been run remotely since the first eruption in the region in December, and barriers have been built to protect it. The Reykjanes peninsula had not experienced an eruption for eight centuries until March 2021. Further eruptions occurred in August 2022 and in July and December 2023, leading volcanologists to warn that a new era of seismic activity had begun in the region. Iceland is home to 33 active volcano systems, the highest number in Europe. It straddles the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a crack in the ocean floor separating the Eurasian and North American tectonic plates. 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. SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) Volunteers for Youth Justice (VYJ) has many programs to help the youth. Volunteers for Youth Justice began in 1981; the Juvenile Court of Caddo Parish was overloaded with many youths. Forward-thinking individuals from Shreveports First Presbyterian Church recognized the need to break destructive cycles by helping the Juvenile Court through volunteers. By providing an opportunity to develop a sense of responsibility and teaching new behaviors, troubled youth were allowed to begin again. Through joint efforts, help launch the Volunteers for Youth Justice (VYJ), formerly known as the Shreveport Juvenile Justice Program. VYJ has built a foundation of diversion programming to include advocacy, life-skill training, and mentoring experiences for abused, neglected, and at-risk children throughout NWLA. VYJ has six primary programs: Nearly 700,000 children experience abuse or neglect each year, according to VYJ. That is a lot for any child to bear. With a Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer dedicated to their case, the most vulnerable children will have someone speaking up for their best interests. The mission statement from The National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association states, Together with its state and local member programs, supports and promotes court-appointed volunteer advocacy so every abused or neglected child in the United States can be safe, have a permanent home, and have the opportunity to thrive. Volunteers for Youth Justices CASA program serves the following Parishes in Northwest Louisiana: Caddo, Bossier, DeSoto, Webster, Bienville, Claiborne, and Jackson. There are many ways to get involved and help with VYJ. Every child deserves and needs a hero, and children need superheroes in their lives. Heres how you can help be a superhero right here in Caddo Parish: The annual Volunteers for Youth Justice (VYJ) CASA Superhero Run is on Saturday, September 21, 2024, from 8 am to 11 am at A.C. Steere Park (4009 Youree Drive Shreveport, LA US 71105) in Shreveport, LA. CASA Superhero Run early registration is now open through September 7th at $25. September 8-20 registration is $30. Race day registration is $35. T-shirts & Race Packet Pick-Up: Every pre-registered participant will receive a VYJ CASA Superhero Run t-shirt. Packet pick-up will be held at Sportspectrum Thursday, September 19th, from noon- 6:00 p.m. Friday, September 20th from 10:00 a.m. 5:30 p.m. You may also pick up your packet on Race Day at the Race Site at 7:00 am. Awards: Overall, Male & Female finishers in the 5k & 10k races will receive a $200.00 Cash Prize. Additionally, 1st and 2nd place age group winners in both the 5k & 10k will receive a medal. Age Groups: 14- under,15-19,20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70+ Post Party: Stick around after the race for snacks and drinks. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Photo via Getty Images Arizona voters will decide whether state judges should be awarded lifetime appointments, after the Arizona Supreme Court on Thursday cleared a proposal to do just that for the November ballot. Progress Arizona, a progressive advocacy and lobbying organization, requested that the high court block the ballot measure and prevent it from going before voters. Attorneys for the group argued that Proposition 137, dubbed The Judicial Accountability Act of 2024 by the GOP lawmakers who sent it to the ballot, is unconstitutional because it illegally amends more than one part of the Arizona Constitution. But the justices were unconvinced, with Chief Justice Ann Scott Timer writing that the proposals content is so interconnected that it complies with the constitutional requirement that it make just one change. The Court finds that (Prop. 137) complies with the separate amendment rule because its provisions are topically related and sufficiently interrelated so as to form a consistent and workable proposition that, logically speaking, should stand or fall as a whole, she wrote. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The proposal would virtually eliminate term limits for Arizona Supreme Court Justices, Arizona Court of Appeals judges and trial court judges in Maricopa, Coconino, Pima and Pinal counties. Currently, state supreme and appellate court judges have six-year tenures and trial court judges serve for four years before they must convince voters to award them another term. But Prop. 137 would grant state judges indefinite terms. Only those convicted of a felony or a crime involving dishonesty or fraud; who file for bankruptcy or a mortgage foreclosure; or who receive a negative review from the Judicial Performance Review Commission would be forced to face a retention election. The ballot measure also allows each legislative chamber to appoint a new member to the Commission by a majority vote. And every lawmaker would have the power to prompt an investigation of any judge by sending the Commission a written accusation that the judge in question is engaging in a pattern of malfeasance in office. Opponents of Prop. 137 claimed in court filings that it violates the separate amendment mandate because it both revises how state judges are retained and inserts lawmakers into the performance review process. Timmer dismissed that concern, however, writing that the justices agree with a lower courts assessment that the measure complied with the Arizona Constitution. Before the Arizona Supreme Court threw out the appeal from Progress Arizona, Yavapai County Superior Court Judge John Napper rejected similar arguments. In his ruling, Napper concluded that, while the changes to how the Judicial Performance Review Commission is run are distinct from the overhaul of the judicial retention system, the two have been intertwined for long enough that they fall under the same subject. There is a history of linking retention elections and the judicial review process, he wrote. AZ justices who voted to reinstate abortion ban stand to gain While it was being considered by lawmakers, Prop. 137 was mired in controversy. Along with transforming how term limits for Arizona judges work, the ballot measure is also retroactive to this years election. That means that, if Arizonans choose to approve it, any retention bids held in the same election would be nullified, even if a majority of voters agree to unseat a judge. Among the judges facing retention elections this year are Arizona Supreme Court Justices Clint Bolick and Kathryn King. The duo have recently been targeted by a campaign to convince Arizonans to remove them headed by Progress Arizona in response to their support for reinstating a near-total abortion ban from 1864 earlier this year. In April, Bolick and King were among the four justices who ruled that the Civil War-era law that mandated prison time for doctors who perform an abortion for any reason other than saving a womans life should once again be enforced. Progressive and reproductive rights advocates are counting on abortion to be a mobilizing issue in November, drawing voters to the polls, and critics of Bolick and King hope that will result in rejected retention bids. But if Prop. 137 passes, Bolick and King will be insulated from any voter repercussions they might otherwise face. Bolicks wife, state Sen. Shawnna Bolick, helped send Prop. 137 to the ballot, despite criticism from fellow lawmakers. Bolick and King both recused themselves from the case in light of the impact the ballot measure could have on their retention elections. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Earlier this month, the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) and the Woodland Park Zoo got together to release around 40 juvenile northwestern pond turtles into the wild near Lakewood. According to the WDFW, the release site will allow the turtles to enjoy turtle things in a protected ecosystem, such as basking on logs, munching on grasshoppers, swimming around, and hanging out with the hundreds of other turtles that call this area home. The northwestern pond turtle is state-endangered, prompting WDFW and the Zoo to emphasize reestablishing healthy populations. In the 1990s, only two populations of northwestern pond turtles remained in the Columbia River Gorge, with estimates of less than 200 individuals. According to WDFW, because of recovery efforts, there are currently six populations with approximately 800 turtles, but many issues remain. WDFW and the Zoo have been working together to trap hatchling turtles and then raise them in state-of-the-art turtle-rearing facilities at the Woodland Park Zoo, where they are safe from carnivores and other environmental threats. The two organizations then release the captive-raised turtles at roughly a year old, when they are large enough to survive most of the threats and dangers they might encounter in the wild. WDFW highlighted one of the main threats these turtles face: One of the major threats to young northwestern pond turtles are invasive American bullfrogs, which can decimate pond turtle populations by preying upon hatchlings. The turtles released this month grew up at the zoo until they were larger than an adult bullfrogs mouth, greatly increasing their chances of survival and eventual reproduction in the wild. To learn more about northwestern pond turtles and the ongoing efforts to recover them, visit the WDFW website. Want to get paid to move to Spain? Extremadura is luring digital nomads with 15,000 grants Want to get paid to move to Spain? Extremadura is luring digital nomads with 15,000 grants Once considered beneficial to a community, digital nomads have become unwelcome in many areas of Europe, accused of aggravating gentrification and pricing out the local population. But one region of Spain is still keen to host remote workers - so much so that it is offering financial aid to those who relocate there. Extremadura, an autonomous community bordering Portugal, is one of Spains lesser visited regions but nevertheless is home to wild nature reserves, fauna-filled mountain ranges and a capital scattered with Roman ruins. Heres who is eligible for the grant to move to Extremadura and how to apply. You can get paid to be a digital nomad in Spains Extremadura The regional government of Extremadura is offering digital nomads up to 15,000 to move to the area. The autonomous community has one of the lowest populations in Spain and is one of the least-developed regions. It has one of the countrys lowest GDPs per capita and one of the highest rates of unemployment at 17.6 per cent compared to the national average of 11.9 per cent. To bolster both the population and the economy, authorities in Extremadura have earmarked 2 million that will be used to aid the relocation of 200 remote workers and digital nomads to the region. As well as receiving financial aid, digital nomads can enjoy a low cost of living compared to many other areas in Spain. When compared with the Spanish capital Madrid, the Extremadurian city of Badajoz costs on average 30 per cent less for meals out, public transport and utilities, according to Numbeo. According to regional authorities, Extremadura lacks in transport infrastructure but has above national average fibre optic and mobile coverage. Who can apply for Extremaduras digital nomad grants? Extremadura is targeting remote workers who are highly qualified professionals in the tech industry. You must be able to work completely remotely and online "through the exclusive use of media and IT systems, telematics and information fields." Those who wish to apply have to commit to maintaining a remote job and living in Extremadura for at least two years. Related Both those living in other regions of Spain and those living abroad are eligible as long as they have not lived in Extremadura in the previous six months. Foreign nationals may apply, but must be resident legally in Spain and be in possession of a foreign identity number (NIE) as found on their green EU certificate or non-EU TIE card. Non-EU nationals can also apply as long as they are already participating in Spains digital nomad visa scheme. Those not in possession of a digital nomad visa would need to apply for this first and have it approved by Spanish authorities as well as obtain a residency document before applying for the Extremadura scheme. How much funding will digital nomads receive? Women, young people under 30 years old and those who relocate to towns in Extremadura with populations less than 5,000 are eligible for a 10,000 grant. Others will receive 8,000. After two years, those in the first category who choose to stay on another year will receive a second payment of 5,000 while the others will be given 4,000. When can digital nomads apply for the Extremadura grant? The date when applications open has not yet been confirmed but authorities say it will be the day after publication of the scheme in the Official Gazette of Extremadura, likely to be around mid-September. Authorities say applications will stay open until all the funds to cover around 200 digital nomads have been allocated which will be no less than a month but no more than a year. How can digital nomads apply for the Extremadura grant? Applications have to be submitted electronically using the Extremadura General Electronic Access Point. Applicants need to be in possession of a digital certificate or electronic Spanish ID card which allows for electronic identification. You must submit your application form along with an official document issued by your country or another region in Spain to prove your current place of residence and a certificate from your employer authorising you to work in Extremadura or remotely in Spain or, if you are self-employed, a document detailing the terms and conditions in which you will carry out your professional activity remotely. Related If you are moving from another Spanish region, you will need an original report supplied by the General Treasury of Social Security showing you are up to date with social security payments, a document certifying you are up to date with your tax payments and a certificate proving you dont have any debts with the Treasury of Extremadura. Documents not in Spanish need to be accompanied by a sworn legal translation certified by a professional. Applicants will hear within three months if they have been successful. Those successful need to register with a municipality in Extremadura to get a padron certificate (a local record for people residing in a Spanish municipality) within three months. After this, you have a month to request payment of the grant, which will be made in a single transaction. We want to see your high school senior parking spot photos We want to see how you decorated your senior parking spot this year. High school seniors, did you decorate your parking spot this year? If so, we want to see your creations. Use this form to send us photos of your senior parking spots, and we'll post them in a gallery at Cincinnati.com. Be sure to include your name and the school you attend so we can add that to the captions. Have questions? Email jkellogg@enquirer.com. >>>>>>Click here to submit a photo<<<<<< This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How to add your senior parking spot photos to our gallery TYE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) The Tye Police Department, in collaboration with multiple other law enforcement agencies, searched for a man previously convicted of burglary after he allegedly burglarized multiple stores in Tye. The police reported that Stephen Wayne Shores, 51, allegedly burglarized multiple businesses in Tye on August 13, including Cranes Craft BBQ at the Wagon Wheel. The police found fingerprints and captured him on CCTV. Courtesy of the Tye Police Department Tye PD surveilled various locations where the suspect is known to visit. Police added that Shores quickly discovered that the police were looking for him and might stay briefly with associates in the Taylor County area. On August 25, Shores was taken into custody without incident, thanks to an officers sharp eye. Courtesy of the Tye Police Department Shores will be facing other charges due to items found on his person. We appreciate all the tips and leads to help find Shores. The Tye Police Department spent many days and nights hunting down leads and tips, searching homes, bars, and known associates of Shores, and speaking with many close family friends and family to try to locate Shores, Tye PD shared. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A warning for NC: School vouchers are harming students academically across the US | Opinion The definition of vouch is to promise that something is true, but in the realm of public education, school choice advocates have turned the related word voucher into a false promise. Supporters of school vouchers public dollars used to fund private school tuition say they give parents an opportunity to improve their childs education. But research shows the opposite is happening. Students in many schools subsidized by vouchers are losing ground academically. The results are a warning to North Carolina and other states that are promoting vouchers as a better way to educate children. Instead, vouchers often put children into schools with few standards and little oversight that are impairing education. Private school voucher programs in other states are hurting students, communities and taxpayers, Gov. Roy Cooper said in a news release. Republican lawmakers in North Carolina need to read the writing on the wall and put a moratorium on private school vouchers until our public schools are fully funded. Cooper pointed to reports and research that show the academic fallout from vouchers. An evaluation of Ohios EdChoice Scholarship program by the Fordham Institute in 2016 found that students who used vouchers to switch from public to private schools lost ground on test scores. The reports said: The students who use vouchers to attend private schools have fared worse academically compared to their closely matched peers attending public schools. The study finds negative effects that are greater in math than in English language arts. Such impacts also appear to persist over time, suggesting that the results are not driven simply by the setbacks that typically accompany any change of school. In Louisiana, a study by the Education Research Alliance for New Orleans found that students who switched from public to private schools using a voucher dropped from the 50th percentile in math to the 26th percentile in a single year. A 2017 study of Washington, D.C.s Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) by the Institute of Education Sciences found that After one year, the OSP had a statistically significant negative impact on the mathematics achievement of students offered or using a scholarship. A 2018 study of Indianas voucher program found a similar result: Although school vouchers aim to provide greater educational opportunities for students, the goal of improving the academic performance of lowincome students who use a voucher to move to a private school has not yet been realized in Indiana. In addition to having a negative effect on education, voucher programs can become a drain on state budgets. According to ProPublica, Arizona faces a $1.4 billion budget shortfall after the cost of its universal voucher program far exceeded the projections. In North Carolina, Republican leaders in the state House and Senate support spending an additional $460 million on vouchers known as Opportunity Scholarships, but approval of the increase has been stalled by disagreement over how much to boost teacher pay. Applications for vouchers jumped by 72,000 once the legislature removed income limits on who qualifies for the tuition support. More than half of the new applications came from families with more than $115,400 in income. Eligibility for an Opportunity Scholarship varies from up to $7,468 for the lowest-income families to $3,360 for the highest income level. If the legislature approves additional funding to provide vouchers to all applicants, North Carolina will get the same bitter results that vouchers are generating elsewhere. But the effects of budget strains and academic regression could be even worse for two reasons. First, increased spending on vouchers will siphon funds from public schools that are already struggling from years of inadequate funding since Republicans took control of the General Assembly in 2011. Second, unlike most states that provide vouchers, North Carolina requires virtually no oversight of academic quality at private schools that receive the payments. Many of the states top private schools dont participate in the voucher program. The schools that do are overwhelmingly small, religious schools, some of which follow a faith-based curriculum that falls far short of state standards. Why spend more on private schools that lack accountability when the need to meet the states first responsibility providing a sound, basic education through public schools is so apparent? North Carolinas per-pupil spending ranks near the bottom nationally. Its average teacher pay ranks 38th. North Carolina lawmakers need to halt their drive to expand vouchers in the face of the clear results elsewhere. Take care of public schools before risking public dollars on options that are already failing the test. (Getty Images) Washington is one of eight states to join the U.S. Department of Justice in an antitrust lawsuit filed Friday against RealPage Inc., arguing the companys software has enabled landlords to coordinate in inflating apartment rent prices. The suit says the company contracts with competing landlords who share granular rental data, including information on prices in executed leases, renewals, and inquiries and applications from prospective renters. RealPage feeds this information into its algorithmic pricing software, which produces recommendations for rent prices and other lease terms. It adds up to a price-fixing scheme, the lawsuit argues. RealPage replaces competition with coordination. It substitutes unity for rivalry. It subverts competition and the competitive process. It does so openly and directlyand American renters are left paying the price, says the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in North Carolina. Americans should not have to pay more in rent because a company has found a new way to scheme with landlords to break the law, said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. The lawsuit also argues that RealPage has monopolized the commercial revenue management software that landlords use to price apartments, controlling about 80% of the market. The Texas-based company rejected the allegations and said it would defend itself. We are disappointed that, after multiple years of education and cooperation on the antitrust matters concerning RealPage, the DOJ has chosen this moment to pursue a lawsuit that seeks to scapegoat pro-competitive technology that has been used responsibly for years, Jennifer Bowcock, a spokeswoman for the company, said in a statement. RealPages revenue management software is purposely built to be legally compliant, she added. An estimated 800,000 leases in Washington have been priced using RealPage revenue management software since 2017, according to the state attorney generals office. The state agency began investigating RealPage last year following reporting by ProPublica about how the companys software could contribute to rising rents. RealPage colluded to fix prices and keep rents rising in order to boost profits, Attorney General Bob Ferguson said in a statement. The Attorneys General of North Carolina, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Oregon and Tennessee also signed onto the lawsuit. RealPage offers three revenue management systems to landlords YieldStar, AI Revenue Management, and Lease Rent Options. The lawsuit says that the company has access to confidential information on more than 16 million rental units across the country. Training a machine to break the law is still breaking the law, said Deputy U.S. Attorney General Lisa Monaco. Todays action makes clear that we will use all our legal tools to ensure accountability for technology-fueled anticompetitive conduct. Palestinians carry their belongings as they flee Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. The Israeli military on Friday called on civilians in southern and central Gaza to flee ahead of a new military operation. Omar Ashtawy/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa Washington is cautiously optimistic about the ongoing ceasefire negotiations in the Gaza Strip, according to John Kirby, communications director of the US National Security Council on Friday. Kirby said "constructive" talks took place in Cairo on Thursday and would continue over the weekend. He dismissed reports suggesting the negotiations were "near collapse." He did not provide details but emphasized the importance of maintaining momentum in the coming days. "We want to see that same sort of momentum, continue here over the next couple of days, but I don't think it would be useful for me to get into the details of it," he said. CIA chief William Burns and the White House's Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk are also taking part in the talks. Kirby reiterated Washington's support for Israel regarding potential threats from Iran, stating the focus is on defence and securing an agreement. Washington is "continuing to monitor a potential Iran attack every single day," he said, adding, "we haven't seen an attack yet, obviously, but we're not taking anything for granted." He highlighted the importance of the talks in Cairo. There are fears that a failure in mediation between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip could lead to a larger escalation in the Middle East. It is hoped that a breakthrough could prevent a significant retaliatory strike by Iran against Israel after the recent killing of a Hezbollah military commander in Lebanon and a leader of Hamas nearly three weeks ago. TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) A trampoline that was swept up by wind flew across a neighborhood and struck the roof of a home on Thursday. Video captured from a home security camera in Athens, Alabama, showed the moment an airborne trampoline slammed into a home. PHOTOS: Dog with 7-pound tumor gets treatment at Pinellas County shelter The backyard toy went flying through the air before it crashed into the front driveway. According to the video owners, there were no reported injuries or damage. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Two-year-old Myst was a member of the family. Myst (Don Hesseltine) Two cousins returning from the Unpack Your Backpack event before the start of school saw the beloved dog die in their back yard after a Davenport Police officer shot him. Now the incident is under investigation, and the family wants answers. Myst (Don Hesseltine) Don Hesseltines voice broke with emotion when he told Our Quad Cities News crew what happened. So theyre all playing in the alley with the dog, and a police officer comes down the alley and stops and talks to the kids, Hesseltine said Thursday. This interaction was in the 2100 block of Telegraph Road. Security videos shared with Our Quad Cities News show the officer and two children with the dog, Myst, nearby. Myst (Don Hesseltine) In a statement released Thursday afternoon, Davenport police say the officer was following up on a report of four dogs at large that appeared aggressive. The caller said the dogs were attempting to get over a fence to reach their dog. The kids drop their bikes, walk down my sidewalk, up the back porch there, and the cop slowly creeps down the alley, stops his car, and for whatever reason decides to get out, Hesseltine said. A second security video gives a different perspective of what happens next. The cop steps out and the dog starts in the police officers direction, Hesseltine said. With that being said, the dog is barking at the officer. He decides to pull out his sidearm and kill my dog. In the statement, Davenport police say The dogs behavior became aggressive, resulting in the officer discharging the firearm at the dog. The dog died as a result of its injuries. Hesseltines son was screaming as the dogs laying there, breathing his last breath. Hesseltine said the dog was a member of the family. He was my best friend. The Davenport Police statement does not address why the officer got back out of the car to go toward the yard. It wasnt even my dog they were looking for, Hesseltine said. And your best course of action is to pull out a gun and execute my dog? Don Hesseltine (Bryan Bobb, OurQuadCities.com) Hesseltine, an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, said Myst, a German Shepherd/Golden Retriever mix, had been a dear friend to Hesseltines son since the dog was born. Myst was born at Hesseltines sons day care. He became close to the pup even before it could leave its mother and he could bring the dog home. Standard practice in these circumstances includes a department review of videos from the neighborhood if available, body worn cameras, vehicle cameras, and all other information available at the time, the Davenport Police statement says. The Davenport Police Department is committed to taking the time to ensure all standards, policies and procedures of the department are followed. Davenport Police are investigating the incident. Additional information will released as soon as it becomes available. Meanwhile, the Hesseltine family continues to grieve Myst. I couldnt even sleep last night, Hesseltine said, his voice breaking with emotion. He was always down at my feet. He remains full of grief and anger: Im so mad. Our Quad Cities News will continue to follow this 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 WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. Graphic content warning: This story contains links to two YouTube videos that contain graphic content that might not be suitable for all viewers FLORENCE COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) Florence County authorities on Friday released graphic dash cam and body cam videos that show a now-former sheriffs deputy shooting an unarmed suspect multiple times, killing him. Treyvon Sellers, 29, was charged Wednesday by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division with voluntary manslaughter, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and misconduct in office in connection with the May 26 killing of William Dwayne Rankin. Former Florence County Sheriffs Deputy Treyvon Sellers / Photo: J. Reuben Long Detention Center Sellers was fired from the sheriffs office on July 26 after a domestic violence arrest in Darlington County. He was on administrative leave at the time for his role in Rankins death. Sheriff TJ Joye said Friday he was releasing the video in keeping with his pledge of openness and transparency. He said the family of the victims previously asked that the videos not be released but they no longer objected. Sellers appeared in Florence County magistrate court on Thursday, where his case was transferred to circuit court for a bond hearing. Its unclear when that hearing will take place. Sellers shot Rankin after following him into a National Cemetery Road residence following a vehicle pursuit. Rankin died a short time later, while another man, Johnny Cooper, was bitten by Sellers K9 and seriously injured. After about 5 1/2 minutes, video shows Sellers exiting his vehicle and start chasing after Rankin, demanding him to get on the ground. Sellers is also heard yelling at his K9, who was off the leash, saying stop it! and here! Sellers then entered the house without announcing his or the K9s presence. The K9 then started attacking Cooper, who had no affiliation with Rankin. Sellers is heard saying Ikar, here but to no avail. Sellers then spots Rankin hiding under a couch cushion, saying I see you dude, get on the f ground. If you move, Ill f shoot you, Sellers told Rankin just moments before firing two shots. After about a one-second pause, Sellers shot Rankin three more times. Meanwhile, Cooper can be heard pleading for K9 Ikar to stop, saying Oh, please God, help me. Please. A little more than a minute after the shooting, Rankin is heard saying Im alive, but I cant breathe. About five minutes after that, EMS came to render aid to Rankin. SLED said in an arrest affidavit that Sellers gave the K9 incorrect commands and did not use available resources to remove K9 Ikar from Cooper, which resulted in him being mauled for approximately 87 seconds. * * * Dennis Bright is the Digital Executive 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. * * * 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. 'Watch each other' Republicans want to recruit poll observers, workers and lawyers in Ohio Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost joined other Republican officials to recruit poll observers and workers at a Republican National Committee event on Friday. The Protect the Vote tour is a nationwide project by the Republican National Committee to recruit poll workers, lawyers and observers in an effort to secure elections. Numerous reports have found that voter fraud is rare in the U.S and many instances of alleged fraud turn out to be the mistakes of voters or administrators, according to New York University's Brennan Center for Justice. The RNC project focuses on 18 states, including Ohio, where Gov. Mike DeWine signed one of the strictest voter ID laws in the country. RNC Chair Michael Whatley said the committee would like to have a minimum of 5,000 voting observers in every battleground state. He said county parties would put observers on a list and turn it in to the county board of elections. Whatley said he is not concerned about voter intimidation as the observers will be trained and work within state law. "One of the things that we focus on in the training sessions is making sure that we respect the process, we respect the poll workers, and we respect, most importantly, the voters," he said. Whatley said that "99.5% of the time" there are no voting issues but observers would be on the lookout for people getting too close to voting machines and people who are not registered coming in to vote. We've seen a number of different instances across the country where there are honest mistakes, but you want to catch them, and you want to make sure that the process is being followed correctly across the state," he said. Yost said Ohio is the "gold standard." "We have bipartisan observation in all of the actual doing of the elections, the counting, the casting and as well as the opportunity for observers. Here, the best solution to making sure that everybody plays by the rules is to watch each other," he said. Secretary of State Frank LaRose, who serves in the Army Reserve, was unable to attend because he was in active duty in North Carolina. Erin Glynn is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio. This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Republicans recruit poll observers and workers in Ohio A house is seen near the Gavin Power Plant on in Cheshire, Ohio. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images) A super-polluter coal plant along the Ohio River is losing money and faces a hefty environmental liability, according to a recent report. Since its owned by a politically connected private equity fund, an obvious question arises: Will taxpayers be left holding the bag? The fund and its CEO are prominent supporters of former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, who are themselves outspoken supporters of coal. A Vance spokesman didnt respond when asked last week whether he would work to ensure that the plants owners pay to clean up their own mess should they close the plant. Ohioans have experience propping up unprofitable, polluting plants. As a consequence of the largest bribery scandal in state history, theyve so far paid $343,000,000 to subsidize two aging coal plants including one thats not even in Ohio. Smoke, soot and coal ash The Private Equity Stakeholder Project last month issued a report about the Gavin plant in Cheshire along the Ohio River. Bought in 2017 by Blackstone and ArcLight Capital Partners, the 2,600 megawatt plant is the only private equity-owned coal plant in the United States. Private-equity firms use capital from big investors such as pension funds and the very wealthy to buy assets. As journalists Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner wrote in their 2023 book These are the Plunderers, private-equity firms often employ strategies that enrich them and their investors, but leave devastation in their wake. They often buy companies, strip assets to recoup their investment and take a profit and then walk away. The book cites a 2019 report by researchers at the California State Polytechnic University that said leveraged buyouts by private-equity firms result in bankruptcies 20% of the time. Thats 10 times the rate of failure in other acquisitions. Those and other private equity actions have critics questioning why pensions such as the Ohio State Teachers Retirement System are heavily invested in the funds. They throw their beneficiaries money into high-cost investments rewarding the very same plunderers who fire lower and middle-class workers and diminish government revenue through tax loopholes, Morgenson and Rosner write. As such, these pensions are among the chief contributors to the widening wealth gap in the United States, a gulf that harms the very people the pensions are supposed to benefit. They also write that private-equity groups often buy into highly polluting industries, such as coal plants. And the Gavin plant is a particular polluter. The Private Equity Stakeholder report cites another published in 2023 by the Sierra Club, an environmental group. It said the Gavin plant is the deadliest in the United States. Thats because coal plants spew soot, a deadly mix of metals, organic chemicals, and acidic substances released into the air we breathe every time we burn fossil fuels, the Sierra Club said in a statement accompanying its report. Analyzing weather patterns and premature mortality data, the report said that the Gavin plant pumps out a huge soot plume that generally travels to heavily populated areas in the east. It estimated that the plants soot causes 244 premature deaths a year 25% more than the 195 caused by the Labadie plant in Franklin County, Missouri, the next most deadly. Blackstone spokeswoman Ellie Gottdenker said Gavins owners have invested heavily to make the plant more environmentally friendly. The plant has made over $1 billion in investments in the latest air quality control technology for the plant, she said in an email. Under our investment, emission control has improved to be best-in-class Gavin is in the lowest decile in the United States on a CO2 tons per (megawatt hour) basis for large plants of its kind. Environmental liabilities In addition to the plants soot plume, the Private Equity Stakeholder Project report says the Gavin plant poses another huge hazard. It said the plant is not compliant with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules governing coal ash, a coal byproduct containing toxins such as mercury, cadmium and arsenic. The ash is so toxic that more than 50 workers who didnt have proper protective equipment died after cleaning up a massive 2008 spill at the Kingston Fossil Plant, the Tennessee Lookout reported. Another 150 were sickened. Ohios Gavin plant owes more than $40 million in capital costs to become compliant with coal ash rules, the Private Equity Stakeholder report said. And, because of the way its private-equity owners financed the purchase, they have little incentive to pay to fix problems at the plant. Theres a private-equity playbook here, with the firm putting a relatively small amount of capital into these projects, making sure they get theirs, and not really worrying about the repercussions of these assets and what they will cost in public dollars at the end of the life of the plant, the reports author, Nicole Heil, said in an interview. Weve seen private equity walk away either through a sale or a bankruptcy and not be liable for the environmental cleanup. Judging from the politicians Blackstone chooses to support, theres reason to suspect that the firm might want to be exempted from liability. Its the 10th-largest contributor to Vances PAC, Working for Ohio, according to OpenSecrets.com, donating $20,000 since 2019. And Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman in May endorsed Trump. The former president has long said he supports fossil fuel production, while also making wildly false statements about climate change. At a rally Saturday in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Trump falsely claimed that global warming will cause the oceans (to) rise one-eighth of an inch in the next 400 years. In fact, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2022 predicted that on average, sea levels will rise 10 to 12 inches in the next 30 years an amount equal to the rise over the entire century of industrial expansion ending in 2020. In other words, sea levels will rise at least 80 times as much as Trump claimed in less than one fourteenth of the time. If production of greenhouse gasses like those spewed from coal plants is left unaddressed and climate change is unmitigated, the consequences are even more dire. If average daily temperatures rise by 4 degrees celsius, communities like Al Hudaydah, Yemen, a port city of more than 700,000 people on the Red Sea can expect more than 300 days when temperatures exceed the limits of human tolerance every year, making it almost uninhabitable, a Penn State University report said last year. And as poor communities are rendered uninhabitable, people will flee, adding to the more than 1 billion climate refugees that could be created by 2050. Denial Despite those grim facts, Vance, a former believer in climate change, denies its existence now that hes Trumps running mate, and wants to stop EPA rules from forcing coal plants to close. Meanwhile, the Gavin plants private-equity owners might have little reason not to walk away from the facility. The fracking boom of the last 20 years has made cleaner-burning natural gas cheaper relative to coal. In addition, Inside Climate News last year reported that wind and solar which have zero emissions are cheaper than all but one coal-fired plant in the United States. It is because of those market dynamics that 2019s epically corrupt House Bill 6 is forcing Ohio ratepayers to pay hundreds of millions propping up two coal-fired plants, including one in Indiana. Gottdenker, the Blackstone spokeswoman, rejected the report by the Private Equity Stakeholder group. We fundamentally dispute these statements, which are being made by a biased, ideological, anti-private equity group, she said in an Aug. 9 email that also asked for more time to answer questions from the Capital Journal. Asked how much more time she needed, Gottdenker didnt answer. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) Woodrow Wilson High will be receiving some much needed water line repairs. The school is currently working with water lines that are almost 60 years old. Raleigh County Board of Education approved a $2 million bid to replace the lines back in July, 2024. The School Building Authority of West Virginia will pay the other half. Principal Ryan Stafford, said there will be little to no change in the traffic pattern for the school, thanks to the great communication with the workers. Best water softener for hard water Between 6:50 and 7:20 to right around 2:20 to around 3, this is a pretty busy place with traffic, people coming and going. But theyve been wonderful to work with and everything has been going smooth, said Stafford. School officials say once the water line is finished, they can move on to other needed renovations. This also includes the main building of the high school. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. 'A new way': Kamala Harris reintroduces herself to voters and other key moments CHICAGO Kamala Devi Harris stepped into the national spotlight Thursday for her stunning presidential bid by reintroducing herself as someone who is "no stranger to unlikely journeys." The vice president, a child of immigrants, becomes the first Black and South Asian woman nominated by a major party. Harris framed the 2024 contest as one in which voters fed up with Republican nominee Donald Trump have a chance to do something in November. "With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past," she said. "A chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans." Democratic Presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris delivers her acceptance speech during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. Harris laid into Trump for much of her address, saying the former president tried to steal Americans' votes when he denied losing the 2020 election. "Donald Trump is a very unserious man," she said. "But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are very serious." Boosted by an electoral adrenaline rush thanks to President Joe Biden's dramatic exit from the race, much of the 2024 Democratic convention has centered on telling the country who she is while affirming a progressive position on a host of issues. Much of the week has been filled with sweeping statements about how the 59-year-old California Democrat sees the country, such as calling for an "opportunity economy." Just how she plans to execute these ideas remains unclear, and GOP critics have called out the Harris campaign for being light on policy while sprinting to define her as too liberal for the country. But Democrats and their allies didn't sweat those claims much this week and have instead emphasized vision and character, plus a deepening sense of urgency in a race most acknowledge will be decided by razor-thin margins. Here are the key moments from the final day of the Democratic National Convention. Harris reintroduces herself to unsure Americans A photo of Maya Harris and Kamala Harris is shown on screen as Maya Harris speaks during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. Harris used the prime-time speech to talk at length about her mother, Shyamala Harris, who was 19 when she came to the U.S. from India "with an unshakeable dream to be the scientist who would cure breast cancer." Harris said she was raised mostly by her mother, who rented a home in a blue-collar neighborhood in the East Bay of California. She described it as "a beautiful working-class neighborhood of firefighters, nurses and construction workers, all who tended their lawns with pride." Many Americans are making their first impressions about Harris after she replaced Biden as the Democratic nominee when he dropped out of the race last month. "I will be a president who unites as around our highest aspirations, a president who leads and listens, who is realistic, practical and has common sense, and always fights for the American people," Harris said. "From the courthouse to the White House, that has been my life's work." Democratic Presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris delivers her acceptance speech during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. Her campaign used Harris story to bolster core themes such as portraying the vice president, a former prosecutor, as a protector. Harris stepdaughter, Ella Emhoff, goddaughter and another relative also came on stage to tell the audience about the Kamala they know. Before Harris took the stage, two young nieces of Harris joined actress Kerry Washington on stage to tell the crowd how to pronounce "Kamala." Trump and others have repeatedly mispronounced the vice president's first name and misspelled it in social media posts, seemingly on purpose. In a particularly personal account to convey her sense of justice, Harris recounted the story of her best friend, Wanda, whom Harris asked what was wrong when she noticed her sad at school. Tony Goldwyn and Kerry Washington appear on stage during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. Wanda told her she was being sexually abused by her stepfather. And I immediately told her she had to come stay with us. And she did, Harris said. "That is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor. To protect people like Wanda." Dems lean into combating gun violence, mass shootings Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords take the stage during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. The Harris campaign may have little to say regarding policy on its website, but speaker after speaker Thursday night spotlighted issues that matter to the progressive base under the umbrella of freedom. Chief among them are mass shootings, which have plagued the country for decades with little action by Congress. Former Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Ariz., who survived an assassination attempt in 2011, spoke up for stricter gun control, joined by her husband, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., on stage. That shooting killed six and severely injured Giffords, who was shot in the head. "Terrible, terrible day. I almost died," she said. Other speakers, such as Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., who lost her son to gun violence in 2012, lined up on stage telling stories of personal tragedy as the result of massacres. Kim Rubio talked about seeing her daughter, Lexi, for the last time. The 10-year-old was among the 21 people killed two years ago at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. That shooting killed 19 students and two teachers and injured 17 others. Abbey Clements, was a second grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 when a shooter killed 26 people, including 20 first graders. "They should still be here," she said. No Palestinian speakers on convention stage Uncommitted delegates dissatisfied with the lack of anti-war Palestinian speakers staged a sit-in at the Democratic convention. All week, the demands and direct action of protesters demanding an end to Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza stalked the convention. But a new wrinkle developed after the campaign refused a request from a group of uncommitted delegates to give a Palestinian American a speaking slot on stage. Hours before Harris took the stage, for instance, Muslim Women for Harris-Walz announced it was disbanding over the snub, and many continued a sit-down demonstration outside the arena into Thursday evening. The uncommitted delegates locked arm in arm, according to online footage, tried to enter the convention floor but reportedly were barred from returning to their seats. Uncommitted delegates are waking through the convention arm in arm trying to enter the floor to take their seats and being rejected #DNC2024 pic.twitter.com/egqY3tS9Lk Sharif Kouddous (@sharifkouddous) August 23, 2024 Many progressive activists and officials expressed support for hearing from a Palestinian voice drawing attention to the humanitarian crisis. Others warned that barring such a viewpoint could backfire politically given the sustained demonstrations against the Biden administration and pressure on Harris. "The (Democratic) party is making a tragic mistake in 2024 perpetuating this erasure of the Palestinian story (and) voice," Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said in a post on X. Harris addressed the Middle East war, however, saying she and Biden were working on a peace deal "so the suffering in Gaza ends." She received some of her most rousing applause Thursday when she committed to supporting Israel's right to self-defense but also when she condemned the devastating violence against Palestinians. Now is the time to get a hostage deal and a cease-fire deal done, Harris said. Harris, Dems try to yank patriotism from Republicans Official Chicago Bulls drumline, The Pack Drumline, performs on Day 4 of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center, in Chicago. Democrats used their convention Thursday to stake the claim as the patriotic party, turning to military veterans and national security officials to cast Trump as a threat to the country and someone who has disrespected veterans. At the same time, they sought to portray Harris as a leader who will be feared and respected by foreign adversaries. She knows a tyrant when she sees one and our allies know a leader when they see one, said Leon Panetta, former secretary of defense and CIA director, among other titles, across multiple presidential administrations. The most searing attack came from Adam Kinzinger, a former Republican congressman from Illinois who served on the House committee that investigated Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election. I want to let the Republican Party in on a little secret, he said. The Democrats are as patriotic as us. They love this country just as much as we do. And they are as eager as us to defend American values at home and abroad as we conservative have ever been. Kinzinger said he is voting for Harris to put our country first a message the Harris campaign has tried to push to win Republican and independent voters turned off by Trump. Delegates waved American flags and chanted USA! Democratic members of Congress with military service came on stage. Former Illinois Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger speaks during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. Republicans have long portrayed themselves as the party of patriotism. But Democrats think they can use Trumps past comments about veterans, his friendly statements about dictators, and his role during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol to challenge that narrative. Politicians like Donald Trump don't stand with us, said Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., a military veteran and the Democratic nominee for Senate in his state. They call patriots like Sen. McCain 'losers.' John McCain was an American hero. Show some respect. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a former astronaut and U.S. Navy captain, told the convention: "The world laughs at Trump literally, but folks, it is not funny. When he was president, that means the world was laughing at us. The threats we face are too serious." Central Park 5 blast: Trump called for our execution Members of the exonerated Central Park 5, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Korey Wise, Raymond Santana, are introduced on stage by Rev. Al Sharpton (rear) during the final day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center. If there's any group that has a reason to oppose Trump, it is the five New York Black and Latino men who as teenagers were wrongly accused of assaulting a white female jogger in 1989. Trump, a real estate mogul at the time, infamously bought a full-page ad calling for their execution. Joined by the Rev. Al Sharpton, the group, originally known as The Central Park Five (who now prefer to be called The Exonerated Five), tore into the former president. The group said Trump wanted them dead for a crime they didn't commit. "That man thinks that hate is the animating force in America. It is not," said Yusef Salaam, one of the men. He is now a member of the New York City Council. "We have the constitutional right to vote. In fact, it is a human right, so let us use it. I want you to walk with us. I want you to march with us. I want you to vote with us." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'A new way forward': Harris accepts historic nomination: 6 takeaways LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Thursday morning turned out to be anything but typical when a North Las Vegas cow hoofed it around local streets creating some chaos for drivers. Its not too often police have to call a wrangler to get an escapee cow in custody. In fact, it was so unusual, the police put together a fun video of the incident. A cow goes on the run Thursday, Aug. 22 in North Las Vegas. (Credit: City of Las Vegas) The cow escaped from its home around 9:30 a.m. and traveled on several streets causing North Las Vegas police to temporarily close some streets to traffic in the areas of Simmons Street, W. Evans Street, and W. Carey Avenue, near the North Las Vegas Airport. According to a post on X by the City of Las Vegas, the cow made its way to Smoke Ranch and Rancho then continued to run in and out of traffic, moving into the City of Las Vegas. North Las Vegas police called a local wrangler to help capture the wayward cow on Aug. 22, 2024. (Credit: North Las Vegas Police) At one point, officers worried the cow might come into contact with people. Cow westbound on Carey approaching Walmart, could be heard from a police radio call. There was also a call for an officer to get to the Walmart parking lot with a megaphone to alert customers but fortunately, the danger was diverted. Meet the cow escapee who was returned home safely thanks to police and a wrangler. (Credit: North Las Vegas Police Dept.) It seemed as if officers got to one location of the cow sighting, the cow had already moved to another. It wasnt easy for this roughly 1,000-pound escapee to hide. North Las Vegas police had help from Animal Control, Henderson police, and of course, the wrangler. Once the cow was taken into custody it was sent to Horsemans Park, according to the City of Las Vegas. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ATLANTA (AP) Donald Trump is changing his tune on Georgias Republican governor after delivering a series of blistering attacks at a rally just weeks ago. In a social media post, Trump thanked Gov. Brian Kemp for all of your help and support in Georgia, where a win is so important to the success of our Party and, most importantly, our Country. I look forward to working with you, your team, and all of my friends in Georgia to help MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! he wrote. Trumps words marked a major departure from his comments at a rally earlier this month, where Trump tore into the governor in an Atlanta arena that is only blocks from the Georgia Capitol, blaming him for his narrow 2020 loss in the state. In a roughly 10-minute tirade on Aug. 3, Trump railed against Kemp for not giving into his false theories of election fraud. He also blamed the governor for not stopping a local district attorney from prosecuting him and others for their efforts to overturn the results. Hes a bad guy. Hes a disloyal guy. And hes a very average governor, Trump said then. Little Brian, little Brian Kemp. Bad guy. Trump's Thursday statement came moments after Kemp appeared on Fox News and told host Sean Hannity that he continues to support Trump and will help him win Georgia's 16 electoral votes. We need to send Donald Trump back to the White House, Kemp said. That could include Kemp using his own well-funded political organization to turn out Republican voters statewide, even as some GOP operatives continue to fear that Trump's own field brigade could be ineffective. Thus far, Kemp has said his organization is only working in a handful of state legislative districts. Kemp's support could also be a helpful signal to moderate and conservative voters who have backed Kemp but have misgivings about Trump. Both could be crucial as Democratic nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign has put Georgia back on a path to another extremely close election. Trump, calling into Fox News after Harris Democratic National Convention speech, was asked if he is making a specific effort to make up with Kemp. Well I just saw Brian on a very good man did you ever hear of a man named Sean Hannity? And he was interviewed by Sean Hannity and he was very nice and he said he wants Trump to win and hes going to work with me 100% and I think were going to have a very good relationship with Brian Kemp," Trump said. A spokesperson for Kemp declined to comment. Republican vice presidential nominee and Ohio Sen. JD Vance, who campaigned in the south Georgia city of Valdosta on Thursday, said he had earlier spoken very briefly to Kemp. I read the headlines," Vance told reporters. "Brian Kemp and Donald Trump have had some disagreements. I 100% guarantee you that Brian Kemp is behind this ticket. Kemp had recoiled against Trump singling out his wife by name after Marty Kemp told an interviewer Trump had not earned her vote. On X, Kemp told Trump to leave my family out of it and urged him to stop engaging in petty personal insults, attacking fellow Republicans, or dwelling on the past. But Kemp never wavered in his support for the Republican ticket and kept up steady attacks against Harris. Weve got to win from the top of the ticket on down, Kemp said Thursday on Fox. Ive been saying consistently for a long time, we cannot afford another four years of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. And I think Kamala Harris and Tim Walz would be even worse. That's in part because it's clear that Kemp, who has raised his national profile as vice chair of the Republican Governors Association, is still eyeing political possibilities that could include a 2026 run for the Senate against Democrat Jon Ossoff, or maybe even his own 2028 bid for president. Abandoning Trump could complicate Kemp's chances of winning a Senate bid and obliterate his chance of becoming the nominee of what is now firmly Trump's Republican Party. But Kemp has also been unwilling to abase himself before Trump. The two have a long history of differences dating back to when Kemp appointed Kelly Loeffler to the U.S. Senate in 2019 over Trump's preferred pick of then-Rep. Doug Collins. It continued through Trump's criticism of Kemp's handling of the pandemic. Trump has repeatedly argued that Kemp owed his initial election as governor in 2018 to Trump's endorsement during the Republican primary runoff, although Kemp was already surging at the time. But the relationship disintegrated when Kemp repeatedly rebuffed Trump's push for him to intervene after Democrat Joe Biden narrowly won Georgia in 2020. Kemp, for example spurned Trump's request for Kemp to call Georgia lawmakers into special session to replace Biden's electors with those pledged to Trump. Trump retaliated by recruiting former U.S. Sen. David Perdue to try to sink Kemp's reelection bid in 2022's GOP primary. But Kemp embarrassed Perdue, and Trump by extension, winning nearly 75% of the primary vote. After going on to defeat Democrat Stacey Abrams by a comfortable margin, Kemp has spent the last two years pushing Republicans and Trump to stop litigating their grievances over the 2020 election and instead look ahead by appealing to voters on economic issues. Some Republicans had been trying to patch up the feud. Kemp made it very clear he was 100% for Trump, said Georgia Republican Party Chairman Josh McKoon, a former state senator who has tried to bridge the divide between Kemp and Trump. Loeffler, who remains a huge Republican donor and hosted a fundraiser for Trump in April, was among those who issued celebratory statements Thursday. "No one fights harder for America than Donald Trump," Loeffler wrote on X. No one works harder for Georgia than Brian Kemp. And theres nothing more uniting than saving this country from the threat of Kamalas communist takeover. Proud to stand with them in the fight to Make America Great Again! ___ Colvin reported from New York. Vanishing glaciers. Newly ice-free stretches in the Arctic. Record droughts punctuated by record deluges. A hurricane, supercharged by hot Pacific water, that lasted six weeks. And across the globe, implacable, record-breaking heat. In 2023, record production and burning of fossil fuels poured unprecedented amounts of energy into the Earths atmosphere and oceans, helping to spur some of the wildest weather in recorded history as the structures that underpin modern human civilization began to buckle in the rising heat. On Thursday, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) released its annual survey of the state of global climate a soberly worded account of a world in rapid transition toward a state unlike any humans have ever known. Heres what you need to know about the reports findings on last years climate, and what they say about the emerging state of the world. What did the report find? A world where the weather is getting far hotter and also far more strange. Last year was the hottest on record, with the average global temperature every month from June to December setting all-time highs. Meanwhile, the mean ocean temperature for the year a number that averages the humid tropics and the frigid Arctic and Antarctic hit a record 66 degrees Fahrenheit (18.99 Celsius). Because added heat is, fundamentally, added energy and above all, added ability for air to trap water the warming helped drive a cavalcade of new disasters, from hurricanes to sudden deluge to drought. The North Atlantic had its seventh straight above-normal hurricane season, while the Pacific was marked by a new level of destructive storms. The Pacific Tropical Cyclone Freddy became the longest-lived tropical cyclone on record, lasting for five weeks between Feb. 6 and March 12. Throughout that time, the storm stayed intact as it crossed the entire Indian Ocean and made three separate landfalls in Mozambique and Madagascar. On the other side of the ocean, Hurricane Otis strengthened from a Category 1 to a Category 5 in just nine hours a record to become the strongest hurricane ever to make landfall on the west coast of North America. Punctuated events such as those storms are a mark of what Texas Tech University climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe has called global weirding the way in which planetary heating interacts with a chaotic global climate to drive results that are rapid, unexpected or mash together extremes. For example: drought and floods coinciding. Last year saw one of the lowest records of global precipitation in the more than 40 years since records began but an above-average level of 1-day maximum rainfalls, indicating a rise in rainfall intensity, the AMS report noted. For example, the AMS pointed to the record 30 inches that fell on Beijing in August 2023 within less than two days, killing 137 people. Meanwhile, Greece experienced both its highest daily rainfall on record 30 inches, or a years worth of rain, in a single 24-hour period and the largest wildfire in the European Unions history. The AMS pointed to other strange phenomena: the supercell thunderstorm in northern Italy that dropped a hailstone more than 7 inches in diameter, breaking the European record for hail size, and the Japanese cherry blossoms that bloomed at the earliest time in the 125-year record. This weirdness was sometimes devastating, as in the case of the Beijing flooding, but also occasionally sweet. For the first time in recorded memory, foragers found ripe cloudberries in Norways frigid Svalbard archipelago. I hardly believed my own eyes, Stein Tore Pedersen of the Norwegian Polar Institute, who found the ripe berries while reindeer hunting, told The Barents Observer. What is driving this global weirding process? A combination of human action and natural forces that serve to trap heat energy inside the Earths atmosphere, land mass and oceans. Heat from the sun is being trapped by planet-warming gasses emitted by human civilization, largely in the form of methane and carbon dioxide from the burning of coal, oil and gas though agriculture also plays a significant role. Last year, the AMS found that the global carbon dioxide concentration hit 420 parts per million, or 50 percent greater than preindustrial levels. That rate of growth, and therefore heating, is accelerating. The level of carbon dioxide increase between 2022 and 2023 was 12 percent higher than that of the last decade and five times greater than that of the 1960s. Last year, that warming was exacerbated by the shift from the cooler La Nina to the hotter El Nino system, which drove temperatures up more. And in addition to global cycles and more heat-trapping pollution, another factor is causing temperatures to go up: the reduction in shade. Last year was the least cloudy since records began in 1980, leading to the weakest cooling effect of clouds on record, per the AMS. Making that effect more powerful: Human civilization is now letting in more sunlight as a consequence of efforts to clean up global shipping and coal production. While these campaigns have made the air cleaner, removing pollutants like sulfur dioxides from the atmosphere allows more of the suns heat energy into the earth because such contaminants previously reflected that heat back into space. In 2021, former NASA scientist James Hansen argued that the Earth was warming too fast to be explained by emissions alone, and estimated that the cleanup of the atmosphere was accelerating the rate of global heating. But by how much? Fifty percent, he argued in a 2023 paper he co-published in Oxford Open Climate Change or from a global average of about one-third of a degree Fahrenheit to about half of a degree per decade. Hansens team estimated that when added to heating driven by current fossil fuel consumption, that rate would be fast enough to blow through the Paris Climate Accords ideal warming limit 1.5 degrees Celsius or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit over preindustrial levels, the benchmark at which scientists fear the most serious climate-warming impacts will begin to appear by the end of this decade. And they estimated that Earth would surpass the red line of 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2050. The additional heat in the system has to go somewhere. One principal place it is going is the oceans, which cover 71 percent of the planets surface and absorb about one-third of human emissions as well as a lot of the additional solar heat that carbon and methane pollution trap. The resulting rise in ocean temperatures drives stronger storms, droughts that suck the moisture from entire landscapes and more rainfall. How did these weather phenomena impact people? First, they drove a lot of additional episodes of death and destruction, like the 52 deaths and $16 billion in damage caused by Hurricane Otis, or the 102 deaths in the fires in Maui, the U.S.s deadliest wildfires in a century. The shifts in the climate also contributed to the continued and accelerating sea level rise, as the ice sheets melt, adding water to the oceans, and as those oceans themselves warm, causing them to take up more space. The AMS found that average global sea levels in 2023 were 6 inches higher than in 1990 marking an implacable rise that by last year had reached a rate of about one-third of an inch per year on average. That increase is speeding up over time, the AMS noted: Sea levels rose three times faster in 2022-2023 than over the last 30 years. Higher seas mean worse storm surge damage and flood risk for coastal regions, which house more than 40 percent of human civilization. And as laid out by the AMS, climate change is not just bringing on more disasters or higher seas, but also disasters of new and different kinds than those societies may be set up to deal with: heat waves and ice storms in places that arent used to them, as well as an increased incidence of compound disasters. It is also reshaping once-permanent features of the environment starting with the subset of the Earths landscapes known as the cryosphere, or the world of glaciers and ice caps. Last August, for example, a meltlake of water streaming off the Mendenhall Glacier above Alaskas capital of Juneau broke through an ice dam to flood the city, while the states Iceworm Glacier disappeared entirely. At the same time, that melting drove up the commercial viability of the once-fabled Northwest Passage and Northern Sea Route through the normally ice-choked Arctic Ocean to the Atlantic or Pacific. The Northwest Passage saw a record 42 transits by ships, including 13 cargo ships. Meanwhile, the Northern Sea Route, which links the Russian Arctic to the Pacific, saw a record 2.1 million tons of cargo shipped including crude oil. What do rising temperatures mean for the planet over the long term? A major concern is that the Earths systems are absorbing the increased heat in ways that are both blunting its immediate effects and, over time, potentially making them worse. For example, the AMS study identified rising disorder as a consequence of increasing heat something climate scientists worry can also contribute to further heating in a worsening and self-reinforcing cycle. The report found evidence of this sort of decay in several Earth systems that are seen as essential stabilizers of the climate which, if they change enough, could cause warming to increase even faster. The retreat of the cryosphere, for instance, is removing landscapes that otherwise reflect heat back into space. The area of greatest concern in this regard is the Antarctic, which in 2023 was 4 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit (2 to 6 degrees Celsius) hotter than average, and saw all-time record lows in sea-ice extent, according to the AMS. The AMS also found troubling patterns in global forests. Trees are largely made of carbon dioxide pulled from the atmosphere and they have been growing faster as the concentration of the gas in the atmosphere has increased, helping balance the climate. But last year saw evidence that this pattern of absorption was reversing as wildfires in several significant regions belched plumes of carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere, at least temporarily changing many forests into a contributor to warming, rather than a bulwark against it. As the AMS report noted, Canadas vast boreal forest burned for an unprecedented length of time, and at a scale that doubled past records leading to a quarter-million evacuations. Meanwhile, in the Amazon, more than 22,000 fires were recorded. These are both signs that systems that once drove the earth toward stability could start to drive heating. One other system that concerns climate scientists is the planets nearly 9 million square miles of global permafrost ever-frozen Arctic landscapes full of the frozen bodies of plants and animals half-digested by microbes. As the permafrost melts due to rising temperatures, these corpses decay further, releasing methane, which heats the climate dozens of times faster than carbon dioxide. In 2023, AMS noted record-high temperatures in the permafrost across more than half of the Arctic sites tested, which could translate into emissions from the tundra beginning to increase. These changes all signal Earths potential movement into a new climate paradigm, and out of the temperate Holocene, or the geologic age in which humans evolved. How worried should policymakers and the public be? Thats not a question the AMS set out to answer in its report. But climate scientists are, in general, quite concerned. Its difficult to know how significant the risk of the most extreme climate impacts are: Scientists have for decades warned that the world may be fumbling in the dark toward tipping points or very serious and snowballing changes in the Earths climate. One reason for that continued darkness is that the science on feedback loops in which a systems effects grow more extreme and unstable as it feeds its own decay is uncertain. Some scientists argue that Earth systems are less sensitive than is often feared. A 2021 paper in Nature argued that the amount of warming sufficient to trigger tipping points can be exceeded without triggering immediate change of system state provided warming is expeditiously brought back down. Even if so, other evidence suggested that the danger zone may already be here. A 2022 paper in Science found that tipping points for 12 key Earth systems could be reached at warming rates of 1.5 degrees Celsius, which Hansen argued the Earth could hit by 2030 and that hitting several such points was possible even at current levels of warming. Still others have pointed to potentially positive tipping points for human society. A 2020 paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences pointed to the possibility for a social tipping point, or a possibility for rapid and self-reinforcing change in human society, reflected in an exponential change in human energy use a shift that is arguably happening now with the increased use of renewables and potential peak in the use of fossil fuels. Last year, when more than a dozen scientists, including Hansen, predicted the Earth was on track to pass the climate red line by midcentury, they argued that the problem is urgent, necessitating a rapid return to Holocene-level global temperature. Achieving such a return, they argued, would require more cooperation between East and West in a way that would allow the Global South to use the Earths remaining carbon budget to develop a global price on carbon emissions and most controversially some amount of solar geoengineering to combat the increase in solar heat as shipping and coal production are cleaned up. In the political disorder of a heating world, the scientists identified a chance for a change. Current political crises present an opportunity for reset, they argued, especially if young people can grasp their situation. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. I went to Venice for the first time. I loved it, but I won't go back due to the massive crowds. I went to Venice for the first time. I loved it, but I won't go back due to the massive crowds. Tourists flock to Venice, Italy, for its canals and historic architecture, causing overtourism. Locals are frustrated by overcrowded streets, environmental damage, and rising living costs. I visited Venice in 2022 and saw how mass tourism negatively impacts residents, so I won't return. The reasons tourists travel to Venice, Italy, are obvious. The city known for its canals and historic architecture feels like a fairytale. Still, an influx of tourists comes each year, overcrowding streets, causing environmental deterioration and higher living costs. After visiting for myself in 2022, I saw the reasons locals are fed up and two years later, those issues haven't been resolved. I loved Venice. It's perhaps the most unique destination I've been to, with its boats in place of cars and vibrant buildings. But seeing the European destination firsthand helped me see how overtourism impacts residents and how I was part of the problem. Venice, Italy, is dealing with an overtourism crisis. Tourists enter Venice, Italy. Luca Bruno/AP In 2024, Venice has welcomed as many as 75,000 tourists per day, BI previously reported. Venice's city center is only home to 50,000 residents. The more than 1,000-year-old city, made up of 118 small islands, was simply not built to accommodate so many people. Venice officials have tried to mitigate the problem by charging a tourist tax, banning large cruise ships, and capping visitor groups. Still, too many people continue to pile into the historic city. The city's struggle with mass tourism is nothing new. Crowds and construction in Venice. Joey Hadden/Business Insider Venice has been dealing with overtourism for more than a decade. According to a 2018 report by the European Parliament, tourism in Venice caused air and water pollution, overcrowding, and decreased residents. Due to environmental and cultural damage, the city was almost listed on UNESCO's danger list in 2021 and 2023. Back in 2022, I visited and saw the impacts firsthand. The author visits Venice. Joey Hadden/Business Insider I spent one day exploring Venice during a European train trip through Germany, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland in October 2022. Even then, it was easy to see how overtourism can spoil a visitor's experience and harm locals' quality of life. I didn't realize I was part of the problem when I booked accommodation outside the city. The author stays in a castle accommodation outside of Venice. Joey Hadden/Business Insider To save money on my trip to Venice, I booked a unique castle stay called Castello di Roncade in a nearby suburb. After my trip, I learned that daytrippers increase the negative impacts of overtourism since visitors who do not spend the night contribute less to the city's economy. The first thing I noticed in Venice was the crowds. Crowds of tourists make their way through Venice. Joey Hadden/Business Insider The crowds in Venice made my trip stressful, from navigating high-traffic squares to squeezing through narrow alleys with a tour group. I imagined what it must be like for locals who spend every day surrounded by people on vacation and likely trudge through crowds just to get to work or run errands. The bridges were especially congested. People trudge over a bridge in Venice. Joey Hadden/Business Insider Since Venice is comprised of more than 100 islands, there are plenty of bridges between canals it's known as "the City of Bridges." However, there are not enough bridges for tens of thousands of tourists. Each time I crossed one, I felt like I was trying to get to the front of a crowded concert venue. Packed restaurants and minimal public seating in the afternoon left me without lunch or a spot to rest. People stand and dine in a Venetian square. Joey Hadden/Business Insider In the middle of the afternoon, I wanted to sit, rest, and have a bite to eat. But the restaurants around me appeared to be at capacity as people stood waiting for tables. And there were only a few benches all were full. Eventually, I settled for gelato and sat on a shaded step. Authorities quickly gestured for me to get up. That's when I realized I was being one of those annoying tourists. I later learned that sitting in some public spaces is an etiquette violation that can result in a fine in parts of Italy, like Rome and Florence. For dinner, I had an easier time finding a restaurant near the city's entrance where taxis and tour buses drop off visitors. I spotted the environmental impacts of overtourism in the canals. Weathering and erosion on the walls of a canal. Joey Hadden/Business Insider Venice has always been a delicate city due to its position over tectonic plates. With weak foundations, the islands are gradually sinking. Venice regularly experiences floods from October to January. These have gotten worse in recent years due to climate change and higher tides from motor boats and cruise ships, which also increase air pollution. Venice also experienced a drought with extremely low tides in 2023, another environmental threat linked to the climate crisis. When the tide is low, the eroded foundations of the walls lining the canals are easy to see. During a gondola ride, I spotted damage from high tides on homes lining the canal. Foundational damage from high tides in the canals. Joey Hadden/Business Insider I loved the gondola tour (no judgment!). Floating through the canals was relaxing and gave me a different perspective of the city despite the obstructed views by other boats in the water. But some of these sights evoked a sadness in me. The tides weren't high when I visited, exposing erosion at the bases of homes. I saw them from inches away and spotted building foundations restored by beams. Most of the stores I saw were touristy gift shops. Tourists shops line a canal. Joey Hadden/Business Insider According to a 2019 sustainability study by the University of Venice, the city's retail stores primarily cater to tourists. Over the years, more ice cream parlors, pizza shops, and gift shops with clothing, sunglasses, and other touristy trinkets have popped up. Meanwhile, the same study found that minimal grocery stores and essential services have driven some locals out of Venice. More than anything else in Venice, I was excited to visit Libreria Acqua Alta, a store where books are piled inside of old boats and bathtubs. People wait in line to enter a bookstore in Venice. Joey Hadden/Business Insider I imagined wandering the store aimlessly, as I often do in bookstores. But as soon as I saw the line to enter, I had a feeling that the experience wouldn't meet my expectations. Unfortunately, many other tourists had the same idea. The bookstore was packed with visitors. Joey Hadden/Business Insider The store was cramped. With so many patrons at once, browsing felt like waiting in line. Since there were so many other people in front of and behind me (in addition to a line outside), I felt bad about spending too much time browsing in one area. So, ultimately, I didn't spend much time there maybe 20 minutes. I imagined how frustrating it must be for locals with a unique bookstore in their neighborhood to share such a space with crowds of tourists. Although Venice is a one-of-a-kind destination, I ultimately decided it's better off without me. Clusters of tourists on a Venetian coast. Joey Hadden/Business Insider I'm glad I went to Venice, but I don't plan on returning. After seeing the damage mass tourism causes, I don't want to be a part of it. Read the original article on Business Insider LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) Public health officials in Jackson County announced West Nile Virus had been detected in the area. As of August 23rd, 2024, the Jackson County Health Department has confirmed that two birds in the county tested positive for West Nile Virus (WNV), Jackson County Public Health officials reported in a news release. The report noted the virus had not been detected in any people in Jackson County this year. West Nile virus_83234 The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reports that as of Aug. 16, 2024 two Michiganders had been diagnosed with the virus. 21 animals statewide have tested positive for West Nile Virus, and 87 mosquito pools statewide have tested positive for the virus as well. West Nile Virus is spread by mosquito bites. Heres what Jackson health officials say to look for in the potential case of human West Nile Virus infection: West Nile Virus Symptoms: Most people infected with West Nile Virus do not experience symptoms. However, about 1 in 5 may develop mild symptoms such as: Fever Headache Body aches Fatigue Skin rash (occasionally) In rare cases, severe symptoms can occur, including: High fever Severe headache Neck stiffness Disorientation or confusion Muscle weakness Tremors or seizures Vision loss If you experience any of these severe symptoms, seek medical attention immediately. Jackson County Health Department News Release Aug. 23, 2024 west nile virus_1535162720996.png.jpg Health officials also encourage Michiganders to take these steps to prevent being infected with the virus: Prevention Tips: Mosquito Control Use Insect Repellent Jackson County Health Department News Release Aug. 23, 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. West Springfield man must register as sex offender after sexual assault of minor WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) A West Springfield man must register as a sex offender after being sentenced for charges in connection with the sexual assault of a minor. According to the West Springfield Police Department, Raymond Weber was arrested in 2019 after a lengthy investigation that involved crimes that occurred over a long period of time, several years ago. Springfield man indicted for sex trafficking a minor On August 7th Weber pled guilty in Hampden County Superior Court to one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years of age. He was sentenced to probation and will be required to register as a sex offender with the Massachusetts Sex Offender Board. As part of his probation, Weber is barred from having any unsupervised contact with minors. 2019 file photo Raymond Ray Weber (Courtesy: West Springfield Police Department) Police say this is one of many crimes Weber was arrested for. In this case, the victim is now an adult. 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. Update: The West Travis County Public Utility Agency said Friday afternoon that the tanks have started refilling and will take the rest of the day to fill. TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) Residents of western Travis County and northern Hays County were asked Friday morning to conserve water after their local water utility reported its storage tanks did not fully refill Thursday. WTCPUA-Water_Service_Area_Exhibit__1.20.15_Download The West Travis County Public Utility Agency (WTCPUA) said in its low water pressure/no water advisory that overnight irrigation emptied the storage and asked for an immediate shut off of irrigation systems. Due to extremely high irrigation demand, some customers are experiencing low water pressure or no water at their homes, the advisory said. Please refrain from irrigation, filling pools and other activities that consume a lot of water and are not strictly necessary throughout the day to give our tanks a chance to recover. Customers of the PUA were already under Stage 2 restrictions, with watering limited to once per week during limited hours. LIST: What are the current water restrictions in your city? The PUA initially said it expected the tanks would need the rest of the day to refill, but updated its report at 8 a.m. Friday, warning that tank levels are continuing to drop. Its water system is hydraulically complex, according to the agency, due to the disjointed nature of the areas of service, long transmission distances, varied topography and system improvements built over a period of more than 40 years. Water used by the PUA comes from direct reuse and Lake Austin. It is currently 95.4% full, according to the Texas Water Development Board. The board listed recommendations for WTCPUA, including improvements to: aquifer storage and recovery, direct potable reuse, drought management and municipal conservation; it also recommended the addition of another reservoir. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WHITE SULPHUR SPINRGS, WV (WVNS) Democratic candidate for West Virginia Governor, Steve Williams, issued a statement requesting an investigation into the misuse of funds at The Greenbrier. According to a press release, the current Huntington Mayor, Williams, asked sitting Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R-WV) to launch a formal investigation into the alleged misuse of funds by Governor Jim Justices companies. The request stated the investigation was into multiple things involving the Greenbrier and money. The Greenbrier auction avoided after deal reached The request asked the Attorney General to look into the alleged failure to pay $3.5 million in sales taxes collected at the Greenbrier Resort to the state, the Justice Companies failure to pay $2.4 million in health care premiums for workers at The Greenbrier; and the failure to pay back a $36 million loan under the CARES Act. Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is the Republican foe of Mayor Williams in the upcoming race for West Virginia Governor. Williams spoke on the request and how shocking the potential misuse of funds is. Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has repeatedly claimed that fighting fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption has been a top priority since he took office. Yet, we now face the shocking revelation that the Governors business interests have apparently diverted fundscollected from employees and patrons through health insurance contributions and sales tax revenueaway from their intended purposes. This is a serious issue that not only violates the law but also betrays the public trust. The Governors business is in essence, using funds that should go to the state and their employees health insurance plan, as well as taxpayers dollars made available through the CARES Act, and thats wrong. The people of West Virginia deserve better. If fighting corruption is truly a priority for our Attorney General, then he must act swiftly to investigate these claims. West Virginians deserve transparency and accountability from those who hold the highest offices in our state Steve Williams | Huntington Mayor-Candidate for WV Governor This most recent request comes just a day after The Greenbrier auction was avoided due to a deal that was made. Mining companies owned by Justice family cite financial struggles as U.S. Government files for contempt The alleged issues at the Greenbrier are not the only legal problems being dealt with by companies owned by Gov. Justice. A handful of coal companies owned by the family of West Virginia Governor Jim Justices family are fighting a Motion for Civil Contempt filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia on August 6, 2024. Stick with 59News as this story continues to develop. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WESTMINSTER, Colo. (KDVR) Police are still searching for a man who has allegedly exposed himself numerous times near a park in Westminster. The Westminster Police Department said they began searching for the suspect back in July. The man has been spotted three times in the area of Amherst Park, near 129th Drive and Harmony Parkway. Police described the suspect as about 30 to 40 years old. Hes between 5 feet, 8 inches and 6 feet tall. He has brown or reddish hair and a beard. He may also have recently shaved his head to appear bald. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Westminster police released new information Thursday. Police now believe the man may be driving a 2018 white Kia Sportage. If you have any information on this mans whereabouts or his identity, call the Denver Metro Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867. Tipsters can remain anonymous and still be eligible for a cash reward. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (Stanford University graphic) The desire for artificial intelligence skills in new hires has exploded over the last five years, and continues to be a priority for hiring managers across nearly every industry, data from Stanford Universitys annual AI Index Report found. In 2023, 1.6% of all United States-based jobs required AI skills, a slight dip from the 2% posted in 2022. The decrease comes after many years of growing interest in artificial intelligence, and is likely attributed to hiring slowdowns, freezes or layoffs at major tech companies like Amazon, Deloitte and Capital One in 2023, the report said. The numbers are still greatly up from just a few years ago, and in 2023, thousands of jobs across every industry required AI skills. What do those AI jobs look like? And where are they based, exactly? Generative AI skills, or the ability to build algorithms that produce text, images or other data when prompted, were sought after most, with nearly 60% of AI-related jobs requiring those skills. Large language modeling, or building technology that can generate and translate text, was second in demand, with 18% of AI jobs citing the need for those skills. Those skills were followed by ChatGPT knowledge, prompt engineering, or training AI, and two other specific machine learning skills. The industries that require these skills run the gamut the information industry ranked first with 4.63% of jobs while professional, scientific and technical services came in second with 3.33%. The financial and insurance industries followed with 2.94%, and manufacturing came in fourth with 2.48%. Public administration jobs, education jobs, management and utilities jobs all sought AI skills in 1- 2% of their open roles, while agriculture, mining, wholesale trade, real estate, transportation, warehousing, retail trade and waste management sought AI skills in 0.4-0.85% of their jobs. Though AI jobs are concentrated in some areas of the country, nearly every U.S. state had thousands of AI-specific jobs in 2023, the report found. California home to Silicon Valley had 15.3%, or 70,630 of the countrys AI-related jobs posted in 2023. It was followed by Texas at 7.9%, or 36,413 jobs. Virginia was third, with 5.3%, or 24,417 of AI jobs. Based on population, Washington state had the highest percentage of people in AI jobs, with California in second, and New York in third. Montana, Wyoming and West Virginia were the only states with fewer than 1,000 open roles requiring AI, but because of population sizes, AI jobs still made up 0.75%, 0.95% and 0.46% of all of the states open roles last year. Iowa had just over 3,500 open AI jobs last year, according to the study. Though the number of jobs dipped from 2022 to 2023, the adoption of AI technologies across business operations has not. In 2017, 20% of businesses reported that they had begun using AI for at least one function of their work. In 2022, 50% of businesses said they had, and that number reached 55% in 2023. For those that have incorporated AI tools into their businesses, its making their workers more productive, the report found. The report said studies have shown that AI tools have allowed workers to complete tasks more quickly and have improved the quality of their work. The research suggested that AI could be also capable of upskilling workers, the report found. The report acknowledges that with all the technological advances that the AI industry has seen in the last five years, there are still many unknowns. The U.S. is still awaiting federal AI legislation, while states make their own regulations and laws. The Stanford report predicts two futures for the trajectory of the technology one in which the technology continues to develop and increase productivity, but theres a possibility that its used for good and bad uses. In another future, without proper research and development, the adoption of AI technologies could be constrained, researchers said. They are stepping in to encourage the upside, the report said of government bodies. Such as funding university R&D and incentivizing private investment. Governments are also aiming to manage the potential downsides, such as impacts on employment, privacy concerns, misinformation, and intellectual property rights. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Friday talks on a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas will continue into the weekend, rejecting reports that an agreement was on the verge of collapse. We had constructive discussions last night in Cairo, and those discussions are going to continue today, Kirby told reporters, adding that CIA Director Bill Burns is joining discussions Friday. So the process is actually moving forward. Kirby called it critical that everybody participate in these talks as Hamas and Israel each point figures to suggest the other side is disinterested in a cease-fire agreement. Early signs in Cairo, and these are early signs, is that the discussions have been constructive, Kirby said. But theres more talks to come here over the course of the weekend. Kirbys comments come as top U.S. officials have spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week as they seek to shepherd a deal toward the finish line. President Biden spoke with Netanyahu over the phone Wednesday, where he stressed the urgency of bringing the cease-fire and hostage release deal to closure and discussed upcoming talks in Cairo to remove any remaining obstacles. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had met with Netanyahu for three hours Monday and emerged saying Netanyahu had agreed to a U.S.-led proposal to close gaps between Israel and Hamas on the deal. Blinken put the onus on Hamas to accept the proposal. Netanyahu has reportedly frustrated efforts by the Biden administration to conclude a cease-fire deal, with the Israeli leader backtracking on promises to draw down Israels military presence along the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 general view of damaged buildings in Gaza, as seen from Israel A general view of damaged buildings in Gaza, as seen from Israel By Steve Holland BUELLTON, California (Reuters) -President Joe Biden spoke by phone to the leaders of Qatar and Egypt on Friday, pushing for an elusive Gaza ceasefire-for-hostages deal as negotiators met in Cairo to try to overcome remaining obstacles. A White House description of the calls said Biden spoke to Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and separately with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to discuss "diplomatic efforts to bring the ceasefire and hostage release deal to a conclusion." Biden is spending a week of vacation on a ranch in California's Santa Ynez valley and is closely monitoring the Gaza ceasefire talks. Biden's conversations came after the White House described talks in Cairo aimed at reaching a ceasefire as "constructive," and urged all sides to come together to work toward implementation of a proposed agreement. One issue that is a subject of intense negotiations is Israel's insistence that it be allowed to keep forces along the Philadelphi land corridor between Egypt and Gaza. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters the discussions were continuing on Friday with CIA Director Bill Burns and U.S. Middle East envoy Brett McGurk representing Washington. Kirby said Hamas militants should participate in the negotiations, which on Thursday included negotiators from Israel, the U.S., Egypt and Qatar but not Hamas. "We're in Cairo. They're in Cairo. We need Hamas to participate, and we need to get down to the brass tacks of locking in these details. And that's what we're focused on here in the next, coming days here over the course of the weekend," Kirby said. He said early signs in Cairo were that the discussions "have been constructive," but more talks are planned. "Things are moving forward," he said, denying some news reports that the talks were near collapse. (Reporting by Steve Holland and Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Rod Nickel and David Gregorio) White substance in Bloomington creek found to be paint, fire department says BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) A white substance found in a creek near the intersection of Airport Road and North Hershey Road in Bloomington was discovered to be paint. Bloomington firefighters were called to the area at about 7:40 p.m. Thursday and found a significant amount of material was in the creek. The citys public works department helped the fire department trace the material back through a storm drain to an area on Gill Street. The material was not deemed to be a threat and later found to be paint. Bloomington Fire Department launches community engagement survey Absorbent booms and socks were put in three locations as a measure of caution, the department said In a statement, Capt. Frank Friend, a fire department spokesman, said it is illegal to dump anything into public waterways. There will be a hazardous materials waste collection day on Sept. 28, which is put on by the Ecology Action Center. There, people can dispose of household chemicals. For more information or to sign up, go to https://HHmclean.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 CIProud.com. Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz speaks at the campaign rally at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, August 20, 2024. Credit - Kamil KrzaczynskiAFP/Getty Images The rousing performances by Vice President Kamala Harris and Governor Tim Walz, along with the Obamas, the Clintons, Oprah, and many others, at the Democratic National Convention marked a pivotal moment in the 2024 presidential election. Now that both political parties have formally introduced their candidates to America and voters steadily begin to turn their attention to the election, the Democratic and Republican political machines will shift their operations to full speedcomplete with door-knocking, stump speeches, campaign commercials, and, of course, the beloved attack ads. Many voters may have already been exposed to these machinations. One such topic that has been circulating among some media pundits is a critique of the Minnesota economy under Governor Walz. What seems to be overlooked or, at best, mentioned off-hand is the fact that Minnesota has been repeatedly rated as one of the best states for living and doing business. In the CNBC Top States for Doing Business rankings, the Land of 10,000 Lakes was rated as the sixth best state. CNBC cites advantages in infrastructure (5th best state), quality of life (4th), access to capital (12th), and tech and innovation (12th). More notably, Minnesota has been in the top 10 of the rankings for the entirety of Walzs term. CNBC is not the only source of glowing reviews for Minnesota. U.S. News & World Report has also consistently rated the state in the top five best states dating back to the start of Walzs first year in office. Taken together, these two independent sources show at the state level what so many CEOs know that doing good is not antithetical to doing well. This is nothing new to the business leaders of Minnesota. They have long embodied this attitude of corporate responsibility. In 1907, George Draper Dayton, founder of the business that would become Target Corporation, set aside 5% of pretax profits for charitable gifts. After the post-World War II era, several other companies in the state embraced the practice, and, eventually, the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce established the Five Percent Club to embed the philanthropic spirit in the business community. Perhaps, this even explains how Walz has managed to keep the leaders of some of the largest businesses in the world in place, despite the state having the highest corporate income tax rate in the U.S. The Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro Area holds the third most Fortune 500 companies per capita nationally, home to iconic American brands, such as 3M, General Mills, U.S. Bancorp, Target, and Best Buy; not to mention leading organizations including Cargill and Mayo Clinic. Governor Walz can also draw on hard economic data to back up the continued progress under his tenure. Minnesota boasts a triple A credit rating, nation-leading renewable energy generation, one of the highest real median household incomes, and, per our proprietary research, the third best investment return of state pension funds over a 10-year period. The Minnesota economy, like any other state, does have opportunities for improvement, but its performance should be presented in a holistic context. Real GDP growth for 2023 did underperform against national growth as well as neighboring states. However, each state is often subject to its native industries and companies, and with that comes idiosyncratic ebbs and flows in performance. For instance, in the last two quarterly reports for real GPD growth, the Midwest as a region underperformed the national rate. Yet Minnesota still fared better than most of its neighbors, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa. Net migration and population change is another closely monitored metric for states. Minnesota has seen mixed results for both. While domestic net migration was negative in 2023, total net migration, which includes international migrants, was positive and returned to the typical numbers seen before the pandemic. The effects of COVID-19 and an aging population cannot be ignored, either. With many Baby Boomers retiring early and remote-based work becoming a norm, migration to the warmer weather state of Florida was a reality faced by many states and one in which no governor found an immediate remedy. Walz is well aware of these matters. Despite many partisan commentators labelling him as a far-left progressive, he has received praise by business leaders for successfully investing into workforce development and education, business expansion, public infrastructure, and affordable housing. So, when voters begin to ask is Walzs economic agenda one to model? The resounding answer is you betcha! While much of the economic agenda by the Harris-Walz campaign remains to be announced, the major policies have begun to trickle out. Admittedly, they will not be perfect, but the policy positions of candidates in both parties will never meet the expectations of even their most ardent followers. What is importantno matter their political party affiliationis the candidates ability to lead with honesty, integrity, and intelligence for all Americans, including business and society. In fact, these were the values of the original American progressive spirit that was founded in Minnesota exactly a century ago, supported by leaders across both the public and private sectors. The selection of Governor Walz reminds us of the values and characteristics that have defined America in the past and define Harris today. Milton Friedman, the great advocate of laissez-faire economics, might have said it best in the oft cited but rarely read essay from September 1970: It may well be in the longrun interest of a corporation that is a major employer in a small community to devote resources to providing amenities to that community or to improving its government. Friedman may have been on to somethinghis is message worth remembering as America enters the high season of the election cycle. Contact us at letters@time.com. It was at a conference on hunger in September 2022 where President Joe Biden scanned the crowd and called out, Jackie, are you here? Wheres Jackie? No response. I think she was she was going to be here. Jackie Walorski, one of the conference organizers, had died in a car crash the previous month. After her death the White House sent condolences in Bidens name, saying how he appreciated her partnership in setting up the conference. Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary, explained Biden's asking for Jackie by saying that she was top of mind for the president at the conference. She would repeat the answer top of mind over a dozen times when questioned by reporters. It was a nonsensical response. If Walorski was top of mind for Biden, then her death would have been too. Listen: Cops Scramble to Secure Hospital for Biden Health Scare The Daily Beast reached out to Jean-Pierre, but she declined to comment on any of the questions raised in this article. Fast-forward 18 months. Was President Bidens catastrophic June 27 CNN/Trump debate performance a bad episode as he claimed, or the culmination of a systematic White House cover-up that concealed signs of change in Biden over a period of two to three years? Were officials, lawmakers and the media insufficiently curious? To what extent did the media and the White House collude to protect the public from understanding Bidens gaffes were getting worse, possibly signaling something more serious for fear it might enable his Republican opponent? Speaking anonymously this week, a writer for a leading conservative magazine was in no doubt where the blame lay (he had recently joined the magazine and didnt wish to speak publicly). It was the worst-kept secret in Washington. It was essentially a failed cover-up. I dont blame the White House because the White House was doing what it could to protect the president. The media, however, told a story that was demonstrably false by the evidence of their own eyes. Voters had been telling pollsters for years that Biden was too old. Joe Biden listens as Donald Trump speaks during their debate in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., June 27, 2024. Brian Snyder/Reuters David Smith, D.C. bureau chief for the Guardian, told the Daily Beast that the White House role, was complex, and its more nuanced. The White House probably did over-protect Biden but was it a conspiracy? No, I think its something that happened inadvertently. They were wrapping him in bubble wrap. They presented him for far fewer sit-down interviews and press conferences than any president since Ronald Reagan. Bidens team facilitated a significant number of less formal, on-the-run exchanges with journalists (as he walked across the South Lawn to Marine Force 1 helicopter for instance). These so-called gaggles were more numerous, according to White House sources, than for Obama, George W. Bush, or Clinton. But Biden also did far fewer formal sit-down interviews than his six predecessors, as Axios reported. Jacqui Heinrich, a senior White House correspondent for Fox News, was more explicit about where, and with whom, the blame lay. It had a lot to do with some of the key architects of that strategy. Anita Dunn (a former senior adviser to Biden) has since departed the White House. In the days and weeks since the president dropped out of the race you have seen him be more engaged with the media. I think that that is what we were lacking for a very long time when Anita Dunn was in her role. Heinrich says that this strategy, ultimately, was a losing one. It worked against him in the end. He said he had a bad night (at the debate), but because of their strategy the problem was that you hadnt seen him having lots of good nights. Dunn was the first Biden confidante to leave the White House after Harris assumed the role of nominee. Andrew Bates, senior deputy press secretary at the White House, told the Daily Beast, Anita was a proponent of wide-ranging media engagement, from long-form sit-downs to constituency media. Did we miss some chances to connect some dots? The Wheres Jackie? episode was not an isolated one. In two separate press conferences in February of this year President Biden twice referred to dead European leadersFrancois Mitterrand and Helmut Kohlwhen telling anecdotes about conversations he had with two (living) European leaders, President Emmanuel Macron of France and then-Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany. The Guardian headline, not ideal for a president wishing to assert his mental well-being in an election year, read, Biden mistakes living European leader for dead onefor second time in a week. Jean-Pierre offered a defense of sorts. As it relates to the names and what he was trying to... say, many people, elected officials... they tend, they can, they can misspeak sometimes. Mitterrand died in 1996. Kohl died in 2007. Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty/Reuters In April, at a trade union conference in D.C., Biden inadvertently incorporated a teleprompter instruction into his speech, Imagine what we could do next. Four more years. Pause. Within minutes clips like these flooded social media and helped build a narrative that was finding its way into the polls: Biden was losing it. Were these episodes too readily dismissed as just the latest from a self-confessed gaffe machine? After the debate, one D.C. correspondent conceded to the media commentator Brain Stelter in Vox that the press corps may have missed the significance of these so-called one-offs, Did we miss some chances to connect some dots? I think thats a fair question. Biden and his age is not a new concern. Since 2022 voters, in significant numbers, had been telling pollsters that they considered Biden too old to run again for president. By 2023 an ABC/Washington Post poll found that 74 percent of voters thought he was too old. It was not an outlier; virtually all polls told the same story. Earlier this year a poll found that 86 percent of Americans thought Biden was too old. In addition to shielding the president over the course of two years, the White Houses policy was to hit back hard at journalists and media outlets for even broaching the topic. Peter Baker, White House correspondent for the New York Times, told Stelter, They really hate us over these stories. The administrations pushback is pretty strong and their resentment of the coverage is pretty deep, to the point that theyve complained to our editors. Alex Thompson, national reporter for Axios, told CNN, Ive covered the Biden White House for three and a half years. The response every single time that its come up has been to deflect, to gaslight, to not tell the truth, not just to reporters, not just to other Democrats, but even at times to themselves about the presidents limitations at his age. Heinrich told the Daily Beast, We all were derided, any time you dared ask about age. It perpetuated the idea within the press corps that asking about Bidens age was not a legitimate topic. Throughout our reporting a number of questions were raised about how the White House shielded the president from greater press and public scrutiny, and also about how the White House press operation reacted to coverage of the presidents age. Some of those questions related directly to Jean-Pierre and Andrew Bates. Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden attend Day one of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 19, 2024. Mike Segar/Reuters In a series of communications with the White House they were unwilling to answer many of the specific questions asked them. Instead, Bates told the Daily Beast, President Biden has given over 50 interviews this year alone, recently held a one-hour, thorough press conference, done over 580 gaggles with the White House press corps in office, and travels the country speaking directly to the American people. Bates continued, Joe Biden has always said that it is fair for reporters to ask about his age. The experience of journalists was very different. Another favored response of the White House was to claim that many of the Biden clips on social media were heavily edited and thus distorted. One celebrated incident is the meandering clip. On June 13 this year Biden was with G-7 leaders in Italy waiting for a group photoshoot. On one clip he appears to meander aimlessly away from the other leaders. A different angle and edit shows that he was turning to have a conversation with a group of just-landed sky divers. But the full unedited clip also shows Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni ushering Biden back to join the group. Neither clip reflects well on him, although the first is deeply misleading. At a White House press briefing 10 days before the presidential debate, Jean-Pierre addressed what she called cheap fakes, in response to the meandering clipsuggesting that the term was first coined by the media. I think you all have called this the cheap fakes video. And thats exactly what they are. They are done in bad faith. Some of what appeared on social media were posted by bad faith actors and were harshly edited or distorted. The New York Times, Washington Post, and NBC News investigated the growing phenomenon. Politifact, in their reporting said, Not every video of Biden having an awkward moment or making a gaffe is a cheap fake. But increasingly, footage of the president has been manipulated to push false and misleading claims. Heinrich, from Fox News, told The Daily Beast, There were images of him that were misleading on social media. But they used that to make the allegation that anything that you saw was fake. They really wanted to be able to suggest that whatever you saw that might be unflattering might not be real. I think its a White House strategy to bunker him Anxiety around Bidens age surfaced years before it started appearing in polls around 2021. In 2019, Jack Shafer, Politicos well-regarded former media critic, wrote a piece headlined Is Biden too old? In it, he said, Some consider it taboo to ask whether a candidate is too old to serve as president. Not the press. Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty Shafer told the Daily Beast, When I wrote my piece in 2019 I pointed to all of the pieces in leading media asking the question, Is he too old, is he mentally up to the job? What I concluded was that they all asked the questionbut didnt answer it. Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty Many other articles followed over the next few years in frontline media such as The Atlantic, the NYT, CNN, the Washington Post and other news outlets. Media Matters, a progressive media watchdog, declared that in a study of six major mainstream news outlets between January and June 2024, We found 144 articles focused on either or both Bidens and Trumps ages or mental acuities in the period studied. Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty Many of the pieces on Biden were probing, inquisitive and well-reported, so why did they fail to capture the shocking vision of the presidentfaltering, vacant, incoherent, lostthat the nation saw at the debate? The pieces that did appear were not part of a relentless campaign in the way that some news outlets might cover, say, climate, curbs on voting rights, or the threats to democracy. Like the process of aging itself, they ebbed and flowed, often prompted by news events. Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty The release of Special Counsel Robert K. Hurs report in February this year prompted one such flurry. Hur declined to press charges on Bidens handling of classified documents, in part because of the way the president would present to jurors. Hur wrote, damningly, At trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory. The special counsel continued: He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died. (He died, aged 46, in 2015.) Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty Biden angrily defended himself at a specially convened press conference and tore into the special counsel saying how in the hell dare Hur claim he forgot the year his son died. At the same presser, Biden referred to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as the president of Mexico. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is the president of Egypt. A renewed focus on Bidens age followed. The Washington Post wrote a leader comment, stating, Voter concerns about Mr. Bidens age and mental acuity are not only widespread but also perfectly legitimate. A week later influential New York Times columnist Ezra Klein recorded a podcast in which he said that Biden needed to step aside as the Democratic nominee. Klein predicted the fury that would follow, I know a lot of Democrats are going to be furious at me for this show. In a sign that many Democrats were blind to or dismissive of the age issue, Klein said, To say that people are worried about Bidens age because the media keeps telling them to be worried about Bidens age? If you have really convinced yourself of that, I almost dont know what to tell you. Social media lit up with criticism of Klein. Bidens age was a live issue, again. Joe Biden delivers his third State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, USA, 07 March 2024. Shawn Thew/Pool via REUTERS And then the president delivered a State of the Union Address which was well-received in many quarters. Commentators wrote approvingly about the fiery, robust delivery. Even Republicans seemed impressed. Trump told a radio show host that Biden was, all jacked up at the beginning. Andrew Prokop, senior political writer at Vox, suggested that the address should put an end to questions over Bidens age, The verdict from the media is inPresident Joe Biden put to rest concerns about his age. That verdict shows just how silly the discourse on Bidens age has gotten in recent weeks. The focus on Bidens age lapsed again, until the Wall Street Journal published a months-long investigation in early June, just weeks before the CNN/Trump debate, headlined Behind Closed Doors, Biden Shows Signs of Slipping. The Journal had spoken to over 40 people, and their read-out on Bidens mental acuity echoed what pollsters had been told since 2022. Some who have worked with him, however, including Democrats and some who have known him back to his time as vice president, described a president who appears slower now, someone who has both good moments and bad ones. Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty The response from the White House was immediate, and sustained. After the piece appeared, the Journal reported that, Andrew Bates, the White House spokesman, used his official X account to attack the reporting, posting roughly 80 times and privately reaching out to journalists at other news outlets to criticize it. (One of the Journal reporters told the BBC that their investigation was prompted by Hurs report and the realization that the special counsel had spent more time with the President than any journalist in recent time.) And it wasnt just the White House. Many media outlets derided the Journals reporting, claiming that it drew overwhelmingly from Republican sources. Which it did, not least because not enough Democratic officials were willing to speak on the record, or indeed at all. A veteran D.C. political reporter, who now writes for a center-right news site, spoke anonymously to the Daily Beast: This was the problem around D.C. You couldnt get Democrats to go on the record, you couldnt even get them to sound the alarm off the record. A more pointed criticism of the piece, emphasized by Nancy Pelosi, was that the article omitted Democrats who did go on-the-record about particular meetings and instead gave preference to Republicans speaking anonymously. In a post on X, she said, Many of us spent time with @WSJ to share on the record our first-hand experiences with @POTUS, where we see his wisdom, experience, strength and strategic thinking, Pelosi wrote. Instead, the Journal ignored testimony by Democrats, focused on attacks by Republicans and printed a hit piece. Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty/Reuters/Screenshot Jennifer Rubin, the Washington Post politics columnist, went further: Maybe the overwhelmingly negative response by other journalists to what was essentially the promotion of a right-wing meme will reduce such irresponsible reporting as the election year continues. Thats not how things turned out. And after the debate the WSJ article was seen as remarkably prescient. The White House also deployed another tactic (alongside shielding Biden and alleging cheap fakes) to tamp down inquiries on Bidens age. They questioned why journalists were pursuing the issue at all, when they could be reporting on the threat former president Trump posed to democracy. At the off-the-record media gathering at Bidens HQ in Delaware in April when the Biden team disclosed their appetite for an early debate, reporters quizzed them about the issue of Bidens age. A senior D.C.-based reporter told the Beast that the response was frosty. Officials bristled. The suggestion was that the media shouldnt be obsessed with age when the other guy is a dictator. I wasnt very smartI almost fell asleep on stage Bidens performance apart, the most remarkable aspect of the debate was that it took place in June, a historically early date for a presidential debate. Speaking anonymously, a senior D.C.-based political reporter said that at the special off-the-record gathering for media at Bidens HQ in Delaware in April this year, the Biden team disclosed that they were annoyed that Trump was hogging the limelight so much with his court cases. The Biden team told reporters and editors that they wanted an early debate to switch the narrative back to the dangers of Trump. There was a feeling that the electorate needed to be jolted back. Hence their appetite for an early debate. Be careful what you wish for. Joe Biden listens as Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during their debate in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S., June 27, 2024. Brian Snyder/Reuters From the moment that Biden walked stiffly on stage the optics were awful. His voice was reed thin and, on split-screen, he stared over at Trump with a vacant expression. As one critic noted, even if you had the volume turned down, Biden still performed terribly. In his worst momenta competitive fieldhe finished an answer on immigration with, And Im going to continue to move until we get the total ban on thethe total initiative relative to what were going to do with more Border Patrol and more asylum officers. Asked for a response Trump paused before summing up what a lot of the audience were surely thinking: I really dont know what he said at the end of that sentence. I dont think he knows what he said either. Biden would go on to explain his performance by citing a cold and foreign travel. A few days after the debate he told donors at a fundraiser in Virginia, I wasnt very smart. I decided to travel around the world a couple of times shortly before the debate. And then I almost fell asleep on stage. The presidential debate was on June 27. Biden returned from his international travels on June 14. He spent a week from June 20 at Camp David preparing for the debate. Anita Dunn, the former Biden adviser, in her first interview since she left the White House, told Politico that the Biden team was encouraged and feeling confident after the debate prep. We felt good, that he was fairly well prepared. He also had a terrible cold that got worse in the course of the week. I think there was no question that it played a role. Dunn told Politico that she watched the debate while getting real-time feedback from a group of undecided voters, Voters didnt particularly like Bidens performance in the first half-hour. He wasnt scoring well at all. They very much liked a lot of the second half of the debate. Dunn said that the polls immediately after the debate didn't suggest a problem for Biden. The negativity that engulfed his campaign in the following days was only caused, she said, by the press reaction: We were seeing an environment in the press that was just unremittingly negative. Will Saletan, writer for the Bulwark, responded to Dunns interview: This is a dismaying window into the willful blindness that kept him in the race long after he should have left. For the first time ever the staff started talking Bidens debate performance prompted a flood of recriminations. There were suggestions that the White House and large sections of the media had participated in an egregious political cover-up. Among the many post-mortems: Megan McArdle in the Washington Post, How the media sleepwalked into Bidens debate disaster, Philip Klein in the conservative magazine the National Review (The Cover-Up of Bidens Mental Decline Isnt Just a Political ProblemIts a Scandal), and a Wall Street Journal editorial board comment blamed those closest to the president for hiding his mental decline, Democrats Cant Avoid the Biden Problem. Days later, a number of D.C.-based reporters conceded, all of them anonymously, to CNN that they had lacked sufficient curiosity and vigor in pursuing the story. One said, Some reporters said that there has been a distinct change within the last year, and that the press corps should have reported more aggressively. But not everyone noticed a distinct change. And writers for many leading U.S. publications who covered the president in good faith wrote extensively about how they observed a man who on occasion faltered and appeared confused but who also had a tenacious grasp on policy issues, and reality. When Biden biographer Evan Osnos met with the president for a lengthy New Yorker profile in January, he wrote, His voice is thin and clotted, and his gestures have slowed, but, in our conversation, his mind seemed unchanged. He never bungled a name or a date. Smith, D.C. Bureau Chief at the Guardian, recalls a press trip a few months ago, shortly before the debate. I traveled with the Biden travel press pool. It was a weekend of flying around from place to place on Air Force One, going to four campaign stops plus the commencement address at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. I thought that for an 81-year old he did pretty well for what was a hectic schedule for all of us. But others were seeing Biden hour by hour, day by day. And those people, the ones best-placed to reveal why Bidens debate performance came as such a shock, are not yet speaking. By the end of the presidents reign as Democratic nominee, his inner circle had shrunk to longtime advisers Mike Donilon, Steve Ricchetti, Bruce Reed, his wife Jill, and her senior aides Anthony Bernal and Annie Tomasini. These were the people who, according to the New York Times, were with Biden on the day before he decided to step aside. Ricchetti and Donilon presented the latest polls, Mr. Biden was falling behind, nationally and in key battleground states. There was still a path to victory, they advised him, but the fight would be ugly. Soon after, and having spoken to Jill, Bernal and Tomasini, he, according to the Times, directed Mr. Donilon and Mr. Ricchetti to work on a statement, while the others took a pizza break for dinner. Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty/Reuters Its almost impossible to conceive of Bidens closest advisers risking Bidens dignity, and legacy, by agreeing to a debate had they noticed a decline in the presidents mental acuity in the months before. But, equally, its almost impossible to think that his debate performance came out of a clear blue sky. As of now, the full story of Bidens mental acuity over the last few yearsand what people knew, and whenhas not been told. That may be about to change. The veteran D.C. reporter said, The White House operation was famously loyal and leak-free. That changed after the debate, when the family turned on the staff for over-preparing Biden. They started blaming the staff, and for the first time ever in this leak-free White House the staff turned and started talking. Once the Biden White House dissolves, the recriminations will continue. Biden described the debate performance as a bad night. But this was a catastrophe months, and possibly years, in the making. Over the last few years the Democratic Party, and the White House, was fighting what they said was an existential threat to democracy from Donald Trump. But they came up short in a battle much closer to home. 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 Democratic National Convention has seen the party's top leaders advocate for Vice President Kamala Harris to win the White House this November. Among the many speakers to take the DNC stage this week was Angela Alsobrooks, a Democratic Senate candidate in Maryland who stands to make history as the first Black woman senator to represent the state. In an interview with ABC News at the DNC on Thursday Alsobrooks praised Harris for bringing unity to the Democratic party. MORE: DNC 2024 Day 4 live updates: Trump assailed for abandoning allies, comments about troops "She is absolutely the leader of our party -- she's already bringing the party together. The unity that we have seen cross-generationally from older to younger has been so refreshing," Alsobrooks said. When voters head to the polls this November, Alsobrooks believes there's a choice between Harris' "positive" vision for the nation's future and the "hatred and division" from former President Donald Trump's tenure. "People are very interested in putting Donald Trump exactly where he belongs, which is in America's past," Alsobrooks said. PHOTO: Maryland Democratic Senate candidate Angela Alsobrooks speaks on stage during the second day of the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 20, 2024 in Chicago. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) "We're talking about the future," Alsobrooks said of Harris' campaign. "We're talking about our imagination again, about innovation and American ideals and values. And these are all messages that resonate with Americans and they're going to continue to come out and support this positive vision for the future," she added. Alsobrooks believes young Americans are going to head to the polls for Harris to protect women's right to choose, and voting rights as well as endorse climate change and gun violence measures. MORE: Democrats look to band together after Maryland's bruising Senate primary "These are issues that are really resonating with especially younger voters, who are going to show out in huge numbers and ensure that they have leaders who hear their concerns and can respond to them," Alsobrooks said. In Maryland, Alsobrooks is campaigning against former Gov. Larry Hogan in a race that has the potential to reshape the currently Democrat-controlled Senate. Echoing her remarks on Harris' campaign, Alsobrooks said, "This election is about the future and it's also about democracy, freedom and about preserving the majority in the Senate of the United States." Alsobrooks highlighted the importance of the Senate's role in controlling the "agenda for our country," saying the visions between the two parties are "really so different from each other." In a bid to Maryland voters, Alsobrooks said her campaign is running on economic growth, medical care for families in need, bringing jobs and infrastructure to the state, growing affordable housing and supporting a woman's right to choose. Why Maryland Senate hopeful Angela Alsobrooks is championing a Harris presidency originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Many GMAT test takers consider Bold Face (BF) questions to be the most challenging part of the GMAT test and fear facing them on the test day. However, facing these questions on the test day is actually better than not facing them at all because encountering a BF question is an indicator (in a majority of cases, not 100%) that you are performing well as the computer adaptive test finds you worthy to face these questions.In this article, we try to understand the essence of BF questions and how can you successfully tackle them. For more practice and in depth explanations, visit and access the Bold Face concept and application file in the free trial. WHAT DO BOLD FACE QUESTIONS TEST? Bold Face questions test your ability to analyse complex arguments or reasoning. describes the role played by these highlighted statements A Bold Face (BF) question contains an argument with one or more highlighted (bolded) statements. The question stem asks you to select the answer choice that Understanding Logic vs. Application are just about understanding the logic, not its application This is different from other Critical Reasoning (CR) questions, such as assumption, weaken/strengthen, evaluate, or inference questions that test your ability to understand the logic of the arguments and to select a fact or evidence that would provide additional information to strengthen or weaken the argument. Thus, in these questions you not only need to understand the logic of the argument and but also apply it in some way.Bold Face questions, on the other hand,. While one part is eliminated, the other part i.e. understanding of the logic is made more difficult. So, one conclusion and two or three statements (evidences or facts or opinions); a passage in a BF question would generally be longer to make the logic more complex. So what are Bolded Statements? These statements may play different roles - premises, intermediate conclusions, facts, opinions, judgements, interpretations, claims, justifications, etc. In addition, these statements may come in any order. For example: an opinion may be supported by a fact, then countered by some other evidence and then again favoured for some other reason. Your job, then, is to figure out what is happening, without getting bogged down by the complexity. WHAT CORE SKILLS SHOULD YOU MASTER TO ANSWER BOLD FACE QUESTIONS? 1. The ability to classify bold face statements correctly GMAT Club helps students perform better on the GMAT GMAT Club helps students perform better on the GMAT proactively develop this skill. The first foundational skill you need to tackle Bold Face questions is your ability to classify (bolded) statements correctly. This means an ability to think clearly in complex scenarios in the face of facts, evidences, counter-evidences, opinions, judgements all thrown together. This requires an ability to remove the disguise of appearances to figure out the real purpose of that statement in the argument. Read the example below:=> Arg1: Since the average GMAT Club member scores 50 points higher than the average aspirant does, it is clear that=> Arg2: Since, Ron should join GMAT Club.Note, the highlighted (bolded) statement is the same in both the statements. However, in the first argument, the bolded argument is a claim made by the author. It is also the authors conclusion, while in the second argument, the author uses the highlighted statement as a fact (used as a premise) to substantiate his recommendation (conclusion).In BF questions as well as in real life, you will encounter opinions presented as facts and facts presented as mere coincidences - all it boils down to is your ability to understand how an argument is framed and correspondingly classify a statement appropriately.While some people are naturally good at handling complex reasoning, others can develop this skill by reading diverse materials, gradually increasing the complexity level and by applying their logical skills to evaluate the reasoning in these reading materials. The key is to 2. Clear understanding of commonly used terms Terms such as claim, intermediate conclusion, fact, evidence, principle, belief, etc. should be part of your vocabulary. This implies that you should understand clearly what a fact is and how it is different from a claim. This is because the answer choices in a Bold Face question will use these terms.Another aspect of this key skill is to understand which of the terms above can be used interchangeably. For example, in most instances, evidence and fact can be used interchangeably. Similarly, claim and opinion can be interchanged in most instances as well. 3. The ability to link the highlighted statement to the conclusion of the argument. Quote: However, since negation requires time and since most people are not as familiar with the negation test, we have devised a simpler test the disappearance test . To apply this test, just remove the bolded statement from the argument. If the conclusion becomes stronger in the absence of highlighted statement, then the highlighted statement weakens the conclusion and vice versa. Another crucial skill, this question assesses is your ability to ascertain whether a highlighted (bolded) statement supports/refutes the conclusion. There are many ways to determine this. Some people use the negation test perfectly legitimate way to assess the linkage to the conclusion. You negate the highlighted statement. If the conclusion becomes less believable in the light of the negated statement, then the highlighted statement supports the conclusion, or vice versa. Lets apply this to the argument above:=> Original Argument: Since GMAT Club helps students perform better on the GMAT, Ron should join GMAT Club=> Conclusion: Ron should join GMAT Club=> Negated bolded statement: GMAT Club does not help students perform better on GMAT.=> Impact: As you negate the bolded statement, the conclusion becomes less believable. Hence, the original statement supports the conclusion. 4. Understanding the purpose of the argument Most people have opposed the recent tax increase by the president because they believe that the tax increases will reduce their disposable income and hence have negative impact on the economy . However, the proposed tax increase only impacts 5% of the population who have amassed huge amounts of wealth, and thus this tax increase is not likely to impact the economy This core skill is tested in a few Bold Face questions (about 25%). This skill tests your ability to understand why an argument is written. Let take an example below to highlight this point:What is the purpose of the bolded statement?A. It describes a circumstance that the argument seeks to explain.B. It describes a fact that has been taken as opposing the conclusion.Even though the bolded portion is a circumstance, Choice A is incorrect because the purpose of the argument is not to explain the circumstance. The purpose of the argument is to debunk the belief that the proposed tax increase will have a negative impact on the economy. How should you approach Bold Face questions? Possessing core skills is like having an ability to walk; however, to reach your destination, you also need a road to walk on. It would be even better if the road is robust ( fewer pitfalls) and provides an efficient way to your destination.Similarly, while you work on your core skills, you also require an effective and efficient approach, which lets you handle the BF questions within the time constraints of the test. Here is the approach that we recommend:1. Read the passage actively. Make sure that you understand the logic of entire argument. The best way to do this is by classifying each statement and linking it to the previous statement. Pay special emphasis on the highlighted (bolded) statements.2. Classify the bold face statements to prethink the answer: Classify each bold face statement. Write the following about each statement 1) what is the statement 2) how does it relate to the conclusion (Strengthen, Weaken, no relation).3. Evaluate the answer choices and select the correct answer. Solved Official Question In countries where automobile insurance includes compensation for whiplash injuries sustained in automobile accidents, reports of having suffered such injuries are twice as frequent as they are in countries where whiplash is not covered in countries where automobile insurance does not include compensation for whiplash, people often have little incentive to report whiplash injuries that they actually have suffered. . Presently, no objective test for whiplash exists, so it is true that spurious reports of whiplash injuries cannot be readily identified. Nevertheless, these facts do not warrant the conclusion drawn by some commentators that in the countries with the higher rates of reported whiplash injuries, half of the reported cases are spurious. Clearly,In the argument given, the two boldfaced portions play which of the following roles?(A) The first is a claim that the argument disputes; the second is a conclusion that has been based on that claim.(B) The first is a claim that has been used to support a conclusion that the argument accepts; the second is that conclusion.(C) The first is evidence that has been used to support a conclusion for which the argument provides further evidence; the second is the main conclusion of the argument.(D) The first is a finding whose implications are at issue in the argument; the second is a claim presented in order to argue against deriving certain implications from that finding.(E) The first is a finding whose accuracy is evaluated in the argument; the second is evidence presented to establish that the finding is accurate. Argument Analysis and Prethinking In countries where automobile insurance includes compensation for whiplash injuries sustained in automobile accidents, reports of having suffered such injuries are twice as frequent as they are in countries where whiplash is not covered in countries where automobile insurance does not include compensation for whiplash, people often have little incentive to report whiplash injuries that they actually have suffered Start by actively read the passage once and then, look at the options.1. - The statement is written in a factual form, like reporting of a finding. The author simply states a fact that whiplash injuries are more commonly reported in countries where the automobile insurance includes compensation for such injuries.2. Presently, no objective test for whiplash exists, so it is true that spurious reports of whiplash injuries cannot be readily identified The author first presents a fact - no objective test for whiplash exists and then presents his opinion or an intermediate conclusion - so it is true that spurious reports of whiplash injuries cannot be readily identified.3. Nevertheless, these facts do not warrant the conclusion drawn by some commentators that in the countries with the higher rates of reported whiplash injuries, half of the reported cases are spurious This statement is quite complex and may induce errors in understanding in a lot of people. Lets understand. Firstly, it begins with Nevertheless, which means that something counter to the previous statement is going to come here. these facts... here refer to previous conclusion (that spurious reports of whiplash injuries cannot be readily identified) and the first statement. You can see how an intermediate conclusion is referred to as a fact in the next statement. So what is this statement this statement is authors opinion and may be the overall conclusion of the argument.4. Clearly,. Read it along with the previous statement. In this statement, the author provides justification for his opinion that the commentators are wrong in drawing their conclusion. The author says that in countries which dont include compensation for whiplash injuries, people dont have the incentive to report such injuries. This statement is authors justification to support his conclusion.BF1: Fact from which a conclusion has been drawn in the argument.BF2: Authors justification to support the conclusion of the argument Answer Choice Analysis Option C eliminated Option D Option E Now, lets look at options C, D & E BF1: we see that BF1 is indeed an evidence of the conclusion of commentators. Besides, there is further evidence for this conclusion in statement 2, which is also used as a premise for the conclusion.BF2: As we have understood above, BF2 is not the main conclusion. It is authors justification to support the conclusion of the argument.So, option C BF1: We see that BF1 is a finding whose implication could refer to the conclusion drawn by the commentators. This conclusion is at issue. First part is correct.BF2: is it a claim? Yes, it is presented like a view of the author. Is it presented against some implication of the BF1? Yes, it is presented as a view to counter the conclusion of the commentators.So, option D could be correct.: We have seen that BF1 is treated like a fact in the argument and its accuracy is nowhere evaluated. Thus, this is incorrect.So, we find that option D is the correct answer. Key takeaways: Bold Face questions test your ability of complex reasoning, which essentially, is a test of your skill to think clearly and logically in complex scenarios. While development of these skills is essential, an efficient and effective approach is also required to achieve the desired results.Presence of skills and a good approach will take you far; however, to achieve mastery, you will also need practice. Practice of BF questions will allow you to figure out your common pitfalls so that you can avoid those during the actual test._________________ Andrew Harnik/Getty Images This article first appeared in The 19th. Alicia Hurtado of Chicago got the alert Tuesday morning: A person in the region needed an abortion. Could they help? As a staff member for the Chicago Abortion Fund, an organization that provides resources to people facing barriers to abortion services, Hurtado got to work. Within hours, they and a case manager had plans in motion for the person to get a medication abortion that same day. The setting for the patient, who Hurtado said was traveling by bus from a state with an abortion ban, was a pop-up mobile health clinic parked in downtown Chicago. It also happened to be located outside the United Center, the site of the Democratic National Convention. Organizers for the two-day clinic, which wrapped Tuesday, provided not just medication abortions, but also vasectomies. Both services were free to patients who pre-registered for appointments. On both days, the clinic was fully booked. Im glad that this option was at the right place and the right time for our caller, and all of the people who were able to access the services over the two days, said Hurtado, who helped distribute emergency contraception at the pop-up clinic alongside staff from Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, the St. Louis region affiliate of the national group that hosted the clinic. The affiliate was the first in the country with a mobile unit like this, and it has traveled the region to provide services. The DNC was not associated with the clinic. Some anti-abortion protestors appeared outside the mobile unit at times, including at least one person with a van offering services they claimed would help people seeking abortions. At least one company that publicly does not support abortions provided diapers. Dr. Colleen McNicholas, the chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood Great Rivers, was at the clinic both days. She said organizers knew that tens of thousands of people would be coming from across the country for the DNC, including policymakers and those who influence policy. That offered an opportunity to showcase how Illinois has stepped in to fill abortion care gaps left by other states. When you have policies that support scientifically-grounded health care policy, we as providers can be innovative and we can be creative, and we can do more to meet patients where they are, she said. And so Illinois in many ways can serve as a model for other states. The U.S. Supreme Courts 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, which once guaranteed federal abortion protections, has created a policy landscape where Republicans have severely restricted the procedure or nearly banned it. Patients have had to turn to out-of-state travel or online to obtain abortion pills. In the Midwest, states like Illinois and Minnesota, both led by Democrats, have become access havens. A total of eight medication abortions and nine vasectomies were provided over the two days, according to Planned Parenthood Great Rivers. McNicholas said that over the two days, she treated patients for both types of care. Some traveled long distances to be there The mobile unit is here to do what it does best, and do what Planned Parenthood does best, which is to continue to fill gaps and health care for everyday, regular human beings, she said. McNicholas also noted that several vasectomy patients expressed wanting the procedure years earlier. For many of them, the opportunity to have more accessible and, specifically, more affordable, free health care has really made the difference, she said. Abortion access is already expected to be a defining issue in this historic presidential election, with the major parties offering stark policy contrasts on reproductive health. Republicans did not highlight abortion during their party convention last month, despite former President Donald Trump crediting his Supreme Court nominees for overturning federal abortion rights in a decision known as Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization. During the first night of the DNC, several women spoke on stage about the roadblocks they faced in seeking abortion care following the ruling. The issue has motivated other groups in different ways. Voters of Tomorrow, a Gen Z civic engagement group, distributed condoms at the DNC with a message condemning Project 2025. Hurtado noted the work they did on Tuesday connecting a person in need with services is an everyday reality. Hurtado was at the clinic both days to also offer what they described as post-medication abortion care, a kit that included pads, drug pain management, facemasks and tea. Were constantly connecting the dots of a really complex and ever-changing abortion access landscape, they said. There have been mounting demands on organizations like the Chicago Abortion Fund. Hurtado said since the Dobbs decision, the staff has fielded over 25,000 requests for support and distributed over $7.5 million in direct assistance. That has helped cover not just abortions, but costs related to travel, food and childcare needs. Were in this moment of a clear healthcare crisis that is only worsening, they said. Hurtado is clear about her resolve to help people. That means building what they described as a robust infrastructure. Were focused on building up our capacity as an abortion fund to ensure that nobody is turned away from a clinic, or nobody is put in a position that they cant even get to a clinic where theyve made an appointment, Hurtado said. That takes a lot of investment, that takes a lot of capacity. But were committed to continuing to do that work. Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) The Wichita Police Department says a man who disappeared before his manslaughter sentence last week has been found in Topeka. Kevin Harris was out on bond and wearing an ankle monitor after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter in April. Prosecutors said he shot and killed 51-year-old Jose Lumbreras in August 2023 on North Broadway. He was supposed to be sentenced last week on Aug. 14, but police say he cut off his ankle monitor and did not show up in court. The court issued a warrant for Harris arrest. Arrest made in northwest Wichita fatal hit-and-run crash The WPD says Harris was found and arrested in Topeka Thursday night. He is in the Shawnee County Jail until he can be transferred to Sedgwick County. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Solar-powered streetlight off St. Louis Avenue and Palm Street, east of Fremont Street. (Photo: Jeniffer Solis/Nevada Current) In an effort to outmaneuver copper wire thieves, Clark County has launched a pilot project in east Las Vegas to replace traditional copper-rich streetlights with solar power. Over the last two years, about 1 million feet of valuable copper wiring has been stolen from Clark County streetlights, leaving neighborhoods dark and costing the public more than $1.5 million in repairs, according to county officials. Clark County is now turning to solar streetlights as a solution. Clark Countys Public Works Department will install 12 new solar-powered streetlights just east of Fremont Street, as part of the pilot program this week to test whether solar-powered streetlights can be used in place of traditional streetlights electrified via copper wiring. This and the surrounding areas are hard hit by wire theft, said Jimmy Benoit, the manager of the traffic division at Clark County Public Works. We figured, if any place was going to be a good test bed, this would be it. There are currently about 300 locations where copper wire theft has damaged streetlights in Clark County that still need repairs, according to county officials. A shortage of electricians working for the city has also created a backlog of requests for streetlight repairs, raising concerns about public safety on darkened streets. County officials say only about a third of the nearly 1 million feet of copper wiring stolen from city streetlights has been replaced since 2022. Its a problem, said Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom, whose District E includes the neighborhood off St. Louis Avenue and Palm Street where the new lights are being installed. Theres neighborhoods that have been complaining for years, and we just dont have the ability to fix their lights, he continued. Just getting the crews together to do it is incredibly slow. Then, you know, sometimes the wires are taken back out the next day. While not immune to vandalism, solar-powered lights could prove more resilient. Solar outdoor lighting does not have any wires to connect it to a power grid, making solar-powered streetlight fixtures completely self-contained. Wider use of solar-powered streetlights could also reduce the need for slow, costly repairs of traditional copper wire streetlights. The solar-powered streetlights have three days worth of reserve capacity for inclement weather. County officials said each solar-powered streetlight costs about $3,000 to $5,000 per light, and are funded using the Public Works Departments maintenance budget. Officials say the high cost of the lights will be offset over time by lower energy bills and repair costs. As solar power becomes more widespread, efficient, and affordable, several cities, including Phoenix and Los Angeles, have moved to tackle copper wire theft by switching to solar-powered streetlights. The pilot program in Clark County will last for several months, with the potential for wider implementation if successful, said Segerblom. While the pilot program is not expected to save significant energy, it could create a significant dent if widely implemented. Clark County has around 60,000-70,000 street lights, varying from 100 to 250 watts, with newer LED street lights varying from 60 to 163 watts. The county has previously installed some solar-powered streetlights in outlying areas near Bunkerville and Searchlight where limited power is available, with success. But this is the first time Clark County is installing solar-powered lights in the Las Vegas Valley. Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft, who spoke at the pilot program groundbreaking on Thursday, said the county and other local jurisdictions are working on an ordinance that would make it harder to sell and buy stolen copper, which has a high recycle value. Were working to enhance enforcement, strengthen laws, and innovate. Alternatives to copper wired fixtures, such as solar powered streetlights, are another example of how were getting ahead of this costly crime, said Naft. County officials said copper wire theft is a widespread problem throughout the Las Vegas Valley. The county encourages the public to report suspected theft and streetlight outages online through the countys website with a detailed description, including the number of street lights out of service, and if all the lights are out or operating sporadically. Its winner takes all, again, after Cary changes election method for local races Cary voters will elect their local leaders a different way after the Town Council voted Thursday night to use the same election method most North Carolina communities use. Since 2000, Cary has used the nonpartisan runoff election method, which lets candidates who finish second in a race in the towns October general elections request a runoff vote in November. That method can be expensive, council members and town staff said Thursday. For its 2023 municipal elections, Cary reimbursed Wake, Chatham and Durham counties boards of elections $690,711. The town is located in parts of each of those counties. Saving money being cheap is paramount, council member Carissa Kohn-Johnson said. The plurality method removes the possibility of a runoff. Whoever gets the most votes in the general election wins. Cary previously used the nonpartisan plurality election method from 1871-1935 and 1963-2000. Some council members worry the plurality method might put candidates who didnt win a majority of votes into office. We were having people prevailing with a small number of votes, Mayor Pro Tem Jennifer Bryson Robinson said about why Cary chose a runoff system in the past. Robinson supported the change with reluctance and said she hopes candidates wont be winning with 25% of the vote. One reason Kohn-Johnson is less worried about the plurality system is that runoffs often see very low voter turnout, she said. Thats what helps me feel a little better about this, she said. I do believe the runoff method is the better method, but in order to move to November, we do have to change. Some council members regretted not hearing more from their constituents about the change. I had hoped that we might have a little bit more citizen comment, council member Jack Smith said. I thought there might be a lot of energy around (a public) referendum. I didnt see that happen. I was personally disappointed in that. The council approved changing the election method unanimously. Cary residents have 30 days to petition for a referendum vote on the change, which would require 5,000 signatures. Barring a referendum vote, the next Town Council elections will be held Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025. Wisconsin man out on bond with 5 OWI convictions arrested for 6th offense, tries to flee traffic stop JANESVILLE, Wis. (WFRV) A southern Wisconsin man out on bond for a 5th OWI conviction, and court-ordered to maintain absolute sobriety, was pulled over and arrested for his 6th OWI offense on Thursday. A release from the Janesville Police Department states that 44-year-old Joaquin Tomas Sipriano of Janesville was pulled over for speeding around 11:35 p.m. on August 22. Traffic stop on motorcycle with fake license plate leads to drug bust in Wisconsin During the traffic stop, which happened near the intersection of East Wall and North Main Streets, Sipriano reportedly refused to exit his vehicle and allegedly put the vehicle into drive in an attempt to leave, officers say. This embedded content is not available in your region. Officers noted a strong odor of intoxicants and said that Sipriano admitted to having three beers. It was later learned that Sipriano was out on a $1,000 cash bond for his 5th OWI offense and that he had been ordered to have an ignition interlock device and was required to maintain absolute sobriety. Sipriano reportedly did not have an ignition interlock device installed in his vehicle. Northern Wisconsin traffic stop leads to confiscation of weapons, drugs and counterfeit cash A blood sample was refused and a warrant for one was later granted. Sipriano reportedly failed field sobriety tests and was taken to the Rock County Jail. Charges stemming from the incident include: OWI 6th Offense Operating While Revoked IID Tampering/Failing to Install/Violate Court Order Resisting/Failing to Stop/Fleeing Resisting/Obstructing an Officer Felony Bail Jumping No additional information was provided. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) A kidnapping suspect was arrested in Nevada on Tuesday after St. George Police requested help to locate a vehicle of interest in the case. Shortly before 11 a.m. on Aug. 20, St. George Police requested the assistance of Nevada Highway Patrol in finding a vehicle involved in a kidnapping that occurred the day prior, Aug. 19. The vehicle was described as a white GMC Terrain SUV with Utah plates. Law enforcement agencies across northern Nevada began searching for the vehicle as authorities provided location info obtained from cell tower data. Daughter details 2-week search for Utah man who went missing in a slot canyon At 12:30 p.m., a Nevada state trooper found a vehicle matching the description heading westbound on I-80 near Winnemucca, Nevada. The trooper confirmed the license plate number and conducted a traffic stop at the East Winnemucca Blvd. off-ramp. The trooper found a female victim identified as Brittany Etta Deal, 27 and her three children, aged 2, 5, and 9 years old, inside the vehicle. The suspect identified as David Gene Remley, 36 was taken into custody without incident. St. George Police are leading the investigation into this case. 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 ABC4 Utah. OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) An Oklahoma City woman was arrested for allegedly trying to drown her daughter and nephew. Flor Ontiveros. A newly filed probable cause affidavit reveals the disturbing allegations against 34-year-old Flor Ontiveros. LOCAL NEWS: Carnegie man arrested after allegedly pushing kids at junior high football practice According to the document, Oklahoma City Police were called to the Will Rogers Family Aquatic Center in late June after a 4-year-old girl and 6-year-old boy were rescued from the swimming pool and revived by lifeguards who gave them CPR. A witness told officers he saw Ontiveros holding her nephews entire head and body underneath the water and multiple people were yelling at her, per the affidavit. That witness also said Ontiveros didnt seem concerned when the children were being given CPR and said she was smiling during the incident. Both children were rushed to a hospital and are fortunately okay now. LOCAL NEWS: Former athletic director and teacher at Wetumka High School arrested The affidavit goes on to say, This week, Ontiveros daughter told investigators that on that June day, her mother had pushed her face under water and said her mother had attempted to force her to swallow water. When asked about it, documents show Ontiveros told them she was innocent. However, allegedly confessed later this was something she could have done. Ontiveros was booked in the Oklahoma County Jail for two counts of child abuse by injury. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) A woman was arrested after shooting a man in the head and barricading herself inside a Crooked River Ranch home, authorities said. According to the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office, deputies responded to the home in just after 3:00 p.m. on Aug. 17 after receiving reports that a man had been shot in the head. When deputies arrived the victim was able to walk outside of the home and was promptly taken to a hospital in Bend where he is expected to recover. Officials said that while that was going on, the Central Oregon Emergency Response team arrived and learned that a suspect, Karen McKay, 60, was barricaded in the home with a gun. More emergency officials responded which included a BearCat SWAT vehicle and eventually McKay left the home and surrendered authorities 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 KOIN.com. GRAND CANYON, Arizona (ABC4) An Arizona woman is missing after a flash flood at Grand Canyons Havasu Creek on Thursday, according to the National Park Service. Shortly before 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 22, a flash flood struck Havasu Creek, leading to several hikers being stranded in the affected area, a press release from the NPS states. Authorities began rescue efforts following the incident, with a flight taking off before 3 p.m. to help those stranded both below and above Beaver Falls. Daughter details 2-week search for Utah man who went missing in a slot canyon One woman Chenoa Nickerson, 33, of Gilbert, Arizona was reportedly swept into Havasu Creek around a half-mile above the Colorado River confluence. She is described as 58, 190 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Nickerson was not wearing a life jacket at the time, officials said. If you have an information regarding this individual, please contact the NPS ISB Tip Line at (888) 653-0009, the release states. For more information, please visit the Grand Canyon National Park website here. This is a developing story. ABC4 will update this post as new 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 ABC4 Utah. Woman missing in Grand Canyon after flash flood sweeps her into water A woman is missing after a flash flood stranded several hikers in the Grand Canyon. The flooding hit Havasu Creek around 1:30 p.m. local time on Thursday, the National Park Service said in a news release. Hikers were left stranded above and below the striking, bright blue Beaver Falls. Rescue efforts began promptly, park officials said, with an initial flight to assist stranded hikers taking off before 3 p.m. Lower Beaver Falls. / Credit: Craig Lovell/Corbis via Getty Images Chenoa Nickerson, 33, was swept into the creek by the flooding, park officials said. The Havasu Creek connects to the Colorado River. Nickerson is believed to have fallen into the creek about a half-mile from where it connects with the 1,450-mile-long river, park officials said. Nickerson was hiking with her husband, according to CBS affiliate AZFamily, and was not wearing a life jacket. Her husband was rescued by rafters. Nickerson is the only hiker not accounted for after the rescues. Search and rescue efforts remain ongoing, the National Park Service said. Anyone with information about Nickerson is asked to contact park officials. Her sister Tamara Morales said on social media Saturday that Nickerson was still missing. She praised rescue crews with the National Park Service for "navigating incredibly dangerous terrain with extremely limited methods of communication while leaving no stone unturned." "We are profoundly grateful for you and fully acknowledge that you are currently defying the impossible," Morales said on Facebook. Chenoa Nickerson. / Credit: via National Park Service A missing person poster described Nickerson as a 5'8" woman weighing about 190 pounds, with brown hair, blue eyes and tattoos. The Havasupai Tribe, which gives hikers access to the Supai area where the falls are, said on social media the area is closed through Sunday. The tribe said it is still working to evacuate the hikers affected by flooding. Ex-FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb says "timing is about right" for new COVID booster rollout Ex-FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb says U.S. "not at risk right now" for new mpox variant Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt says presidential campaigns should not be "about winning an argument" BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) A woman was viciously attacked during an anti-Muslim hate crime in Brooklyn on Wednesday, according to the NYPD. It happened inside of 139 Flatbush Ave. A 34-year-old woman was approached by a man, who allegedly punched her in the face multiple times, per police. More Local News The suspect allegedly made anti-Muslim remarks to the woman during the assault, according to authorities. He fled on foot, traveling westbound on Atlantic Avenue. The victim suffered minor injuries, per police. The suspect is described as between 16 to 20 years old. He was last seen wearing a black mask, black hooded sweatshirt, black pants, white sneakers and carrying a book bag. Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See 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 PIX11. Woman sentenced to life in prison for stabbing her Boston firefighter husband to death A Marshfield woman will spend at least the next 20 years of her life in prison after stabbing her husband to death in 2021 following an argument. On Thursday, 49-year-old Christine Ricci was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years by Plymouth Superior Court Judge Diane Freniere. Earlier this month, Ricci was found guilty of second-degree murder and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on her husband 51-year-old Michael Ricci. On January 28, 2021, Marshfield Police responded to the Ricciss residence at 679 Moraine Street around 4:46 p.m. for a report of a medical emergency, according to authorities. Arriving units found Michael Ricci suffering from two stab wounds to the front chest and back shoulder. He was transported to South Shore Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Investigators determined Christine and Michael had gotten into an argument and Christine had grabbed a knife as the arguing escalated. Michael Ricci, Sr. was an Army veteran and proud member of the Boston Fire Department, Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz said. His most cherished role, however, was being a caring father, son, sibling and friend to many. My thoughts today are with the Ricci family who have been torn apart by this tragic and senseless murder. Previous: Marshfield womans murder arraignment on hold after medical emergency Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW (FOX40.COM) The U.S. Dept. of Justice announced the sentencing of a 38-year-old woman from Oklahoma for stealing nearly $400,000 from when she administered a church in Northern California. According to court documents, the attorneys office said the woman, who worked as the church administrator in Yuba City, stole over $360,000 from the church, including from its food pantry and youth ministry, during a years-long embezzlement scheme. CHP helicopter target of strong green laser in Northern California Additionally, court documents state the woman transferred money directly from the churchs bank accounts to her account, paid down her personal credit card balance, and paid her cellphone provider for her bills and new phones. [The suspect] also stole money from the church by writing checks to others for personal expenses and by writing checks to herself, on which she forged the signatures of the churchs treasurer or the head volunteer of the churchs food pantry, a news release from the DOJ reads. The agency said the suspect used credit cards associated with the church to make personal purchases, including visits to the hair salon, retail stores, online retailers, a vacation rental service, buying VIP concert tickets, and then paying off the resulting balance with the churchs money. FBI warns Californians of $40 million timeshare scam One of the credit cards used during her scheme belonged to the churchs youth minister, and used his identity to make thousands of dollars in unauthorized personal purchases on Zappos.com, officials said. The suspect had pleaded guilty to 22 counts of wire fraud in October of last year and was found guilty of two counts of aggravated identity theft after a bench trial in early 2024. There will be a hearing on Nov. 19 to determine restitution. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Woman whose toddlers were found dead in her SUV charged with manslaughter. But why? Miami-Dade state prosecutors this week charged a woman whose two children were found dead in her vehicle after she jumped from a flyover at the Golden Glades interchange, with manslaughter. Shirlene Alcime had been jailed with aggravated child neglect with bodily harm charges since February, while investigators with the Miami-Dade State Attorneys Office awaited autopsy results. Those charges were dropped. Earlier this month, the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner ruled the childrens death a homicide without explanation. The agency said its been blocked from sharing information since last year when state legislators passed a law called the The Rex and Brody Act, which prevents public access to autopsy photos and reports of minors killed through domestic violence. So Friday, during a brief hearing and without explanation, Miami-Dade Assistant State Attorney Natalie Snyder told Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Ellen Sue Venzer that the new charges had been filed. Alcimes attorney said her client pleaded not guilty. And the hearing ended with Alcime remaining jailed. Since the Medical Examiners report came back with findings of homicide by unspecified means, we amended the case to two counts of aggravated manslaughter, said SAO Spokesman Ed Griffith. Three-year-old twins Milendhere and Milendijhit Cadet Napoleon were found together and lifeless in the back seat of their mothers Toyota Highlander on an overpass at the Golden Glades interchange on Feb. 2. Alcime, 43, had left them behind as she leapt from the overpass. She survived. READ MORE: Toddler twins die after found in car on I-95. Mother tried to kill herself, cops say Just before she jumped, a tow truck driver stopped to speak with Alcime, who told him her kids were in the back of the SUV. He called 911 and performed CPR on the children, but it was too late. According to her arrest report, three days after she jumped she told police she planned a murder-suicide because of financial issues. She said she considered tossing the twins before she jumped. The tow truck driver told police he told the woman to begin CPR on her daughter, but when police arrived she walked to the wall and jumped. No visible wounds were found on the children. And in the six months since their deaths, no one has publicly said how they were killed. A worker was hit and killed in a work zone on Interstate 40 south of Raleigh early Friday morning, according to the State Highway Patrol. Kevarus N. Bowens had just removed a lane closure sign from the highway median and was crossing to his truck parked on the right shoulder when he was hit, according to the State Highway Patrol. The work ahead had been completed for the night and the lanes ahead were open. Bowens, 45, lived in Lumberton and worked for Stay Alert Safety Services, a subcontractor for S.T. Wooten, the company widening a 13-mile stretch of I-40 south of the Beltline. The crash took place near the U.S. 70 Business interchange in Garner at about 3:50 a.m., before dawn. Bowens was wearing a reflective vest, and his trucks amber warning lights were flashing, according to the Highway Patrol. Bowens was hit by a car and thrown to the pavement, where he was hit by a second car, according to the Highway Patrol. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Neither driver is thought to have been speeding or impaired when they hit Bowens, according to the Highway Patrol, and neither has been cited. The crash remains under investigation, however. The N.C. Department of Transportation and the highway construction industry drew attention to the safety risks of work zones earlier this year. There were at least 7,523 work zone crashes in North Carolina in 2023, according to NCDOT. Thats up from 6,258 the year before and well above the annual average of 5,821 over the previous decade, according to NCDOT data. Those crashes killed 31 people last year some of them workers, some of them riding in cars or trucks. Since 2013, nearly 290 people have been killed in construction zone crashes, according to NCDOT. TORONTO (AP) A workers union on Friday threatened a strike at one of Canadas two major freight railroads, only hours after the companys trains restarted following a potentially devastating stoppage. A government-ordered arbitration hearing wrapped up without a decision, and Canadian National trains were expected to keep moving at least through Monday morning. CN and Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. locked out their workers on Thursday when negotiations over a new labor contract reached a deadline without an agreement. That resulted in a near total shutdown of freight rail in the country for more than a day, until Canadian National resumed its service on Friday morning. Trains operated by CPKC remain parked and its workers, who had already been on strike since Thursday, stayed on the picket line Friday. The government forced the companies and the union, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, into arbitration overseen by the Canada Industrial Relations Board an order the union is challenging. Friday's nine-hour hearing ended with no order from the board. The union filed a 72-hour strike notice against CN on Friday morning shortly after it announced that it planned to challenge the arbitration order, union spokesperson Marc-Andre Gauthier said. If the board orders the union back to work, the TCRC will lawfully abide by the decision, but will undertake steps to challenge to the fullest extent," the Teamsters said in a statement. Unfortunately this will not provide immediate relief but the Union is prepared to appeal to federal court if necessary. We do not believe that any of the matters we have been discussing over the last several days are insurmountable and we remain available for discussion in order to resolve this matter without a further work stoppage, the union said in its letter to CN management. Canadian National, which has about 6,500 workers involved in the dispute, said the impact of the strike notice will depend on the timing of the CIRB's decision. It is in the national interest of Canada that the CIRB rule quickly, before even more harm is caused, the railroad said in a written statement. CPKC has about 3,000 engineers, conductors and dispatchers involved. Perrin Beatty, President and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said the union's latest actions "will prolong the damage to our economy and jeopardize the wellbeing and livelihoods of Canadians, including union and non-union workers across multiple industries. Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon had announced the decision to force the parties into binding arbitration on Thursday afternoon, more than 16 hours after the lockout shut down the railroads, saying the economic risk was too great to allow them to continue. The government had declined to order arbitration two weeks ago. Mackinnon said he had hoped that negotiations between the companies and the union on a new contract would succeed. A spokesman for MacKinnon declined to comment Friday on the strike notice. This is not about disobeying the ministers order. Its about exercising our right, Teamsters Canada President Francois Laporte said Friday in announcing the strike. We will exercise our right within the legal framework." Canadian National trains had begun rolling at 7 a.m. across Canada, said CN spokesperson Jonathan Abecassis. The development initially appeared to at least partially end a work stoppage that threatened to wreak havoc on the economies of Canada and the United States. Both countries, across all industries, rely on railroads to deliver their raw materials and finished products. While CN is focused on its recovery plan and powering the economy, Teamsters are focused on getting back to the picket line and holding the North American economy hostage to their demands, Abecassis said following the unions strike notice. Getting even one of the railroads running again is a relief for businesses. In most past rail labor disputes, only one of the Canadian railroads stopped and the economy was able to weather that disruption. The negotiations that began last year are hung up on issues around the way workers are scheduled and contract rules designed to prevent fatigue. The railroads had proposed shifting away from the current system that pays workers based on the number of miles they travel, to a system based on the hours they work. The railroads said the switch would make it easier to provide predictable schedules. But the union resisted because it feared the proposed changes would erode hard-fought protections against fatigue and jeopardize safety. Similar quality-of-life concerns about demanding schedules and the lack of paid sick time drove U.S. railroads to the brink of a strike two years ago before Congress and President Joe Biden intervened and forced workers to accept a deal. In Canada, another issue at CN is the railroad's intention to expand a system that allows it to temporarily relocate workers to other parts of its network when it's short on employees in a certain region. Regarding wages, the railroads said they both offered raises in line with other recent deals in the industry for what are already well-paying jobs. Canadian National has said its engineers make about $150,000 and conductors earn roughly $121,000 for working 160 days a year though some of their time off is spent stuck at hotels on the road between train trips while getting required rest. CPKC says its pay is comparable. Nearly all of Canadas freight handled by rail worth more than $1 billion Canadian (US$730 million) a day and adding up to more than 375 million tons of freight last year stopped Thursday along with rail shipments crossing the U.S. border. A number of smaller short-line freight railroads that handle local deliveries continued operating but were unable to hand off shipments to either of the major railroads while they were idle. About 30,000 commuters in Canada were also affected because their trains use CPKCs lines. CPKC and CNs trains continued operating in the U.S. and Mexico during the lockout. Billions of dollars of goods move between Canada and the U.S. via rail each month, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. There are a lot of goods and services shipped across borders," Sean OBrien, President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, said at a rally in Calgary, Alberta, on Friday. "If this company chooses to continue its bad behavior then it is going to have an impact. ... Theyve got a lot of decisions they need to make. And they need to make the most important decision: Reward these workers with what theyve earned and also dont try to diminish safety just so they need to feed their bottom lines. ___ The story has been edited to correct that the government had declined to order arbitration two weeks ago, not a week ago. ___ Funk reported from Omaha, Nebraska. The World Bank has ceased all paid advertising on Elon Musk's social media platform X, which was formerly Twitter, after a CBS News investigation found promoted advertisements from the organization showing up under a racist post from an account that prolifically posts pro-Nazi and white nationalist content. CBS News found a verified X account with more than 115,000 followers that had posted a racist image alongside a post praising Europe's colonization of Africa. CBS News is not publicly identifying the accounts spreading racist content on X. A promoted advertisement for the World Bank showed up in the comments section below the post. "The World Bank Group had already reduced its paid marketing on X while working with the platform to implement the strongest safety protocols X offers for our content," a spokesperson for the World Bank told CBS News on Friday, adding: "This latest incident is entirely unacceptable, and we are immediately ceasing all paid marketing on X." Two screengrabs from X show, at left, a post containing racist messaging and, at right, a promoted advertisement for the World Bank that had appeared under the post. The World Bank told CBS News on Aug. 23, 2024 that it was pulling all paid advertising off the X platform over its ad appearing underneath the racist post. / Credit: X CBS News has asked X to comment on the World Bank's withdrawal of paid advertising from the platform but had not received a reply by the time of publication. The account has shared dozens of antisemitic and racist posts over the course of the past week alone, and CBS News found promoted advertisements from numerous businesses under multiple posts from the account as it shared pro-Nazi content, including one post showing archival video of Adolf Hitler with the caption: "We defeated the wrong enemy." That post has garnered more than two million views on the platform, according to X's own metrics. CBS News has found more than a dozen accounts on X with the blue check indicating "verification" by the platform that have large followings and regularly post white nationalist or pro-Nazi content, and which have promoted advertisements from some recognizable brands showing up in their comments threads. X's policy on hateful conduct states that users "may not attack other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, caste, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease." It says the platform prohibits any targeting of people or groups with media that refers to or depicts the Holocaust or "symbols historically associated with hate groups, e.g., the Nazi swastika," as examples. A promoted advertisement from Saudia Airlines, the flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, showed up under the same post as the World Bank advertisement. CBS News has sought comment from Saudia Airlines on the placement of its advertisement and on how the airline determines whether and how to spend money on the platform. In public court filings unsealed Tuesday, it was revealed that Kingdom Holdings, a Saudi Arabian conglomerate operated by members of the country's royal family, is a key investor in the X platform. Saudia Airlines is owned by the government of Saudi Arabia. On at least five occasions, promoted advertisements for the backpack company Nordace showed up under white nationalist or pro-Nazi posts on X. This included an advertisement for a Nordace backpack under a post from another verified account with 161,000 followers. The thread shared by the account included pro-Nazi posts that said "antisemites will save the world," and "Weimar problems require Weimar solutions" with the "Weimar problems" phrase painted in the colors of the LGBTQ rainbow flag. The Weimar Republic was a name used for Germany before Hitler rose to power with the Nazi regime. On its website, Canadian-owned Nordace describes its core values as including, "Respect People" and "leave a positive impact." A Nordace representative replied to an earlier CBS News query about its ads on Sept. 2, saying the company had halted paid advertising on X "until we have absolute certainty that such occurrences won't happen again." Nordace said the posts highlighted by CBS News were "counter to everything we stand for, including our core value of 'respect people.'" Tech billionaire Elon Musk has dismantled safeguards on the platform since his October 2022 takeover of what was then Twitter including dramatic changes to its verification system and the disbanding of its Trust and Safety advisory group, as well as changes to broader content moderation and hate speech enforcement. Musk has created a system that sees X's algorithms favor accounts that pay for the platform's blue-check subscription service. According to X's own marketing for its verification service, X premium offers "reply prioritization" for all subscribers. Changes made by Musk to the X business model since his purchase of the company have allowed influencers who buy into the company's verification subscription to monetize their content. Subscribers are eligible to receive a share of advertising revenue for their content if they "have at least 5M organic impressions on cumulative posts within the last 3 months" and "have at least 500 followers." According to the platform's terms of use, accounts can do this without publicly disclosing their identity, provided the account holder privately discloses their ID to the platform. "X allows the use of pseudonymous accounts, meaning an account's profile is not required to use the name or image of the account owner. Accounts that appear similar to others on X are not in violation of this policy, so long as their purpose is not to deceive or manipulate others," according to the platform's own guidelines. All of the verified X accounts reviewed by CBS News would, according to the company's own guidelines, qualify for a share of its ad revenues under this policy. One account that has frequently shared antisemitic posts, with more than half of a million followers, has even bragged about its earnings on X. In a post from March, the account shared a screenshot allegedly showing earnings from X's ad revenue sharing program for verified accounts. The screenshot was accompanied by the caption: "X monetization is about to overtake TikTok and change the whole social media landscape. I'm not sure if live-streaming made the difference or if X has increased its revenue sharing, but this is approaching the point where I can support myself off of X." CBS News has reached out to X for comment on whether the accounts reviewed are profiting from their content and on how it decides which verified accounts should receive ads and revenue. The account under which the Nordace ad appeared had shared several antisemitic posts, including one that said "our country is controlled by an international criminal organization that grew out of the Jewish mob and now hides in modern Zionism behind cries of 'antisemitism.'" While no promoted advertisements showed up under that specific post, ads have shown up under other posts by the account, including some spreading conspiracy theories and disinformation. In recent months, Musk even boosted engagement for this specific X account as it peddled an unfounded conspiracy theory that influential figures in the media wanted to take American children away from their parents. In July, the account shared a clip of an old MSNBC commercial taken out of context with a caption reading: "The goal IS to take your children. They openly say it. This is why we have the second amendment." Musk replied "absolutely" to the post in question, which has been viewed 4.3 million times according to X's metrics. Musk has also repeatedly engaged with another verified account, which has almost 366,000 followers, with an interaction between the tech mogul and the account as recently as Friday morning. This account has repeatedly touted the so-called "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory, an unfounded far-right claim that White European populations are being demographically and culturally replaced by non-whites. Last week, the account posted the unfounded claim that there is "a war on White people going on and the mainstream media and politicians are 'ignoring' it." Paid advertisements also showed up under that post. CBS News has asked X's press office whether it is comfortable with the platform's owner engaging with such content, but there was no reply by the time of publication. In a November 2022 post, Musk had vowed that X's new policy would be "freedom of speech, but not freedom of reach. Negative/hate tweets will be max deboosted & demonetized, so no ads or other revenue to Twitter," he said, adding that such content would be unfindable "unless you specifically seek it out, which is no different from rest of Internet." Drummer and collector opens school to inspire young musicians Plastic waste piles up in Houston, waiting on "advanced recycling" Texas braces for heavy rain, flooding YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) Youngstown transit riders, buckle up: theres a new way to get around town. The Western Reserve Transit Agency is rolling out a new autonomous bus thats set to hit the roads next month. Its going to follow the road. Its going to know whats around it, said Dean Harris, WRTA Executive Director. Thursday morning, the transit agency showed off its new ride. An autonomous shuttle thats set to start riding through Youngstowns roads next month. Theyll get on, they wont notice any difference from being on a regular bus, Harris said. Maybe youll notice the driver not turning the steering wheel. But other than that its like riding a regular bus. WRTA is touting it as one of the first self-driving pubic-transit vehicles in the state, using Radar and LiDar sensors to travel a pre-determined route. It will go from Federal Station up Fifth Avenue past the university to Park Avenue by Stambaugh Auditorium. Across to Mercy Heath. It goes around Mercy Health and it goes back down Market to Federal Station, Harris said. The vehicle is smaller than the standard-sized busses you see on Youngstown streets, similar to paratransit vehicles. It can carry anywhere from eight to 10 passengers. We think having the additional safety features of adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking and some of these features that we enjoy on our own cars are applicable to transit, said Nick Pilipowskyj with Perrone Robotics. The transit agency has been in the drivers seat of this pilot program for a year. Paid for by a grant, the $600,000 vehicle will give WRTA a chance to test drive the technology and see how it could fit in the future. Were actually looking at another grant where were going to test the same type of equipment on a larger bus for lane assist, emergency braking, so we can see how the safety features of this can transition to their vehicles, Harris said. The shuttle still has some final safety testing to complete before it hits the roads next month. There will still be an operator on board, so the shuttle wont be completely driverless. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Kansas state. Rep. Marvin Robinson, a Wyandotte County Democrat whose vocal advocacy raised the profile of the Quindaro Ruins but who also clashed with his own party, has died unexpectedly. He was 67. Kansas City, Kansas, Mayor Tyrone Garner confirmed the death on Friday. A cause wasnt immediately available. Robinson, who was first elected to the Kansas House in 2022, had lost the Democratic primary earlier this month to Wanda Brownlee Paige, an educator. His district encompassed an expanse of Wyandotte County along Parallel Parkway north to the Missouri River. Garner offered his condolences to Robinsons family and loved ones in a statement posted to social media on Friday. Representative Robinson will be remembered by many for his strong support for the preservation and national recognition of the Quindaro Ruins in Kansas City Kansas. the mayor wrote, adding: His community activism and commitment to Northeast Kansas City Kansas will continue to be both valued and appreciated. When Robinson sought election to the Legislature, he consistently focused on the Quindaro Ruins and securing funding to restore the site. The ruins are the stone and brick remnants of a Civil War era boomtown in Wyandotte County and an outpost along the Underground Railroad that moved enslaved people to freedom. The Republican-controlled Legislature in 2023 approved $250,000 in funding for the site, an earmark seen by some as a perk for Robinson after he sided with Republicans in key votes. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed the funding, but the ruins later that year secured a $1 million donation as part of a settlement over Oracle, formerly Cerner, not fulfilling obligations tied to state incentives before the company vacated a Wyandotte County office complex. Robinsons votes earned him the ire of Democrats, who saw him as betraying core party values. Robinson provided votes to override Kellys vetoes of policies limiting access to food stamps and regulating the lives of transgender Kansans. Robinson denied any dealmaking related to funding for the Quindaro Ruins. When the Legislature voted to override Kellys veto of a ban on transgender athletes competing in girls and womens sports, he said he had hoped to find some middle ground on the issue but was put off by the aggression of those trying to convince him to vote no. It was all or none, Robinson said at the time. Then they started getting really rude and insulting and attacking and threatened to take me out and, my God what do you do. Robinson faced three other Democrats in the Aug. 5 primary election. He won 22% of the vote 377 votes compared to Paiges 49%. Speaking to The Star after his primary defeat earlier this month, Robinson called his tenure in the statehouse the honor of a lifetime. Im incredibly grateful they entrusted me that opportunity for the past two years, Robinson said, adding that he planned to continue efforts to bring awareness and resources to Quindaro and economic development to the larger community. DeLisa Fowler, his sister, wrote on Facebook that while she shared the news of Robinsons death with sadness, I am also filled with joy knowing that he has entered the realm of the ancestors, where he will be embraced by our Mommy and all those who have gone before us. XENIA, Ohio (WDTN) A moratorium has passed in a Greene County city, preventing the building of a new hospital. Kettering Health previously announced its intentions to build a $40 million medical facility to replace Greene Memorial Hospital. However, at a council meeting Thursday night, city leaders voted to approve a temporary hold on the plans. Unofficial count shows too few signatures collected for Bethel Twp. annexation vote Now, the city is looking towards possible zoning changes, aiming at creating long-term solutions rather than a short-term one. There does seem to be a lack of bed space in Greene County, said City Manager Brent Merriman. The moratorium puts a two-month hold on any developments of free-standing emergency departments in city limits. Zoning and coding issues are the main motivators behind this change. Additionally, city leaders think Xenia does not need an emergency care facility, but a full-service hospital that provides all types of care. Our population, the service demand, not just in Xenia, but eastern Greene County as well, is growing. Its an emerging and reemerging marketplace. We feel that there is an opportunity for a more robust presence in terms of a full-service hospital, said Merriman. Greenville mayor wants adult-use cannabis businesses banned for good The city says that they have been in contact with other health partners, and are continuing to have conversations with Kettering Health to discuss the vision for a full-service hospital. Some residents are concerned that the process may take too much time, causing an impact on the quality of care. You have a community that needs some of the services of a full-service hospital that are not provided here, and not close by. I had back surgery. Neurology departments across Ohio are lacking. I was told I needed to wait two to three months to get in, said Jim Puckett, Xenia resident. In a statement released following the moratoriums passage, Kettering Health said: Kettering Health is committed to serving the healthcare needs of the citizens of Xenia and Greene County now and in the future. We share the passion of local leaders to provide these communities with access to high quality healthcare services that prioritize patients receiving care as close to home as possible. As we work toward this end, we do so in a rapidly changing environment, where more people are seeking care in outpatient settings compared to hospitals, creating an urgency to invest in facilities that meet these needs. Our plans for future services in Xenia will ensure high-quality healthcare remains accessible and abides by any ordinances passed by local officials. We remain committed to collaboration and seeking input from members of the community throughout this process. Xenia officials are stressing the importance of having a facility that will better address the needs of the community. Ohioans can now add their ID to their digital wallet Its more about the access to the services locally. There are other sights that again, through strategic investments and partnerships that we think a full-service hospital is achievable and sustainable here, and that is a better solution for our residents and residents of Greene County, said Merriman. The city also hopes that the people who are currently employed at the location keep their jobs or can transition to new locations. Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Young Black and Indian women share an identity with Kamala Harris some are beaming, while others sit at a crossroads with her stance on Gaza Samra Haseeb is still figuring out who to vote for in November. On paper, Kamala Harris, who is Black and Indian, represents a new world of possibilities for women of color. Shes several firsts: A woman, a Black woman, a woman of South Asian descent and the first to serve as vice president. And if she defeats Republican candidate Donald Trump in November, shed be the first woman to serve as president of the United States. In theory, Haseeb said shes excited about Harris representing her community, but she isnt sure the vice president has really incorporated her identity in a positive way into her work. Representation alone will not save us, said Haseeb, a 22-year-old Indian-American graduate student at the University of Illinois Chicago. Unfortunately, I dont feel like its enough for me to vote for her. For some young women of color, specifically Black and Indian women who share Harris ethnic identity, the presidential ticket is historic and emotional. And while Harris has been clear about her stance on other issues that are important to them, such as reproductive health, the economy and immigration, for others, this pivotal moment challenges the idea of representation. They are at a crossroads with what they say are Harris unclear intentions on a cease-fire in Gaza. Its definitely hard to get behind her when she hasnt done much to stop whats happening in Gaza for over 10 months, Haseeb said. As polls suggest, Haseeb is like many women her age, trying to figure out what this political moment means for her and her generation. According to National Public Radio polls, among voters under 35, 1 in 10 remain undecided about whether to choose Harris or Trump. Still, according to a July Axios/Generation Lab poll, 45% of young people say they have an extremely or somewhat favorable opinion of Harris. She could be using this opportunity now that Joe Bidens not running, to right some of his wrongs and try to win our votes back, Haseeb added. It wouldnt be an excited vote, but it would be better late than never. Deyona Burton, a recent graduate of Florida State University and the director of programs for College Democrats of America, is balancing the joy of being represented in a presidential nominee as she works to get Harris elected and being sensitive to the issues her generation cares about. Im from Florida reproductive rights are on the ballot, the Supreme Court is on the ballot, Gaza is on the ballot my humanity is on the ballot, Burton said. It was said in a speech to love this country is to fight for this country and to fight for this country is to fight for all people literally everybody. While many South Asian and Black women believe Harris is more likely than Joe Biden to hear their concerns, a lot of young voters want stronger, more equitable policies on Gaza before they cast their votes. A survey done by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding earlier this year found that over 60% of the general public ages 18 to 29 favor a cease-fire in Gaza. We typically are more left or more progressive, I think that happens every generation, but for this generation specifically it has been a turning point, Burton said. Gaza, for one, has been at the forefront of every conversation. And a lot of people go back and forth on whether or not you should care about it, whether or not you should speak on it, but I think my peers and my generation have set the precedent that if we do not speak out about horrendous acts, horrible things that are happening, whats stopping it from happening to us? Though not a protester, Haseeb echoed the sentiments shared by pro-Palestinian protests that popped up during the Democratic National Convention. I feel like people are getting caught up in oh shes young, shes different. But it feels very much like shes going to be a continuation of Joe Biden and thats not a win for women of color, Haseeb said. Burton, 21, acknowledged the divide on Harris, but is holding the historic nature of her candidacy closer. This is Burtons first convention. She was visibly excited Wednesday to be in Chicago working at the DNC as a staffer. Seeing Black people in these spaces is amazing I mean, how can we even begin to describe that experience? she said as she ushered her boss, Pennsylvanias Speaker of the House Joanna McClinton, into the Black Caucus council on Wednesday at McCormick Place. I genuinely believe that seeing Kamala Harris in office could start to dismantle the tangible effects of racism, Burton said. Little black girls everywhere will know you can be anything you could be a teacher, a lawyer. You can be in the military. You could be a doctor, you could be a professor. You could be the president of the United States. I think that it means a lot. Working alongside her peers and politicians, Burton said she understands why young people are hesitant to cast their votes. However, with Biden out of the presidential race, Burton thinks they should allow Harris to separate herself and not write her off prematurely. I think theres a certain level of grace that needs to be allocated because (Harris) has the right to determine what her stance is on (Gaza), and not as the vice president, Burton said. Shes already called for a cease-fire and I understand that words are just words, but for me, thats a win thats a step in the right direction. I dont want it to be a red stain on her, because I believe that she should be afforded the opportunity to do something about it. Even those not yet of voting age are passionate about Harris prospects, such as Laila Fierce, 15, who flew into Chicago on Saturday from Nashville with high hopes of attending the convention at the United Center. Laila and her mom, Naima Walker Fierce, secured credentials in time for one of the biggest draws of the convention: Barack and Michelle Obama. While Fierce couldnt stay for Harris acceptance speech at the United Center because of school, she said the experience would have been momentous. Its about time, Fierce said about Harris as the Democratic nominee. Its about time, Fierce said about Harris as the Democratic nominee. As a country thats as diverse as America, it makes no sense for the three branches of government to be mostly white. Fierce said that, as a woman of color, Harris understands the struggles of marginalized communities more than other politicians in D.C. The tide is definitely shifting, Fierce said. Shes gaining momentum online. People can see Kamala is more authentic, and more people can relate to her. By the time shes eligible to vote, Laila said she wants to see major reforms. Many Americans are looking to Harris to make that happen when it comes to issues like discrimination ingrained deep into the government and society, systemic racism, mass incarceration, drug use and violence, she said. Meanwhile, on Wednesday afternoon, at McCormick Place, 15-year-old Aisha Khan, who is Indian-American and attends Niles West High School in Skokie, was walking around the DNC as part of the Illinois Youth Press Corps. Khan said she is hopeful she will witness history in November. It excites me to see someone that looks like me as both a woman and as a half-Indian woman, she said. While I dont agree with her on many things, Im just so excited to see someone be able to break so many barriers to become president. Aisha said she doesnt think its necessary to agree with a candidate to vote for them and wonders if more people with the power to vote should use their votes as a strategic choice instead. Its a choice we make to ensure that our voices are heard, Aisha said. Many people in my age group are paying attention to the war (in Gaza) right now and I feel like theyre holding politicians accountable so while we may support voting for Kamala, that doesnt mean we support all of her policies and (since we) can vote next time, well make sure she earns it. Young humpback whale freed from fishing tackle that had entangled its tail in Sydney Harbor Wildlife rescue workers attempt to release a humpback whale tangled in ropes in Sydney Harbour Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP Image via AP) MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) A young humpback whale was freed from fishing tackle that had entangled its tail during an almost 24-hour rescue operation in Sydney Harbor. The juvenile whale immediately began swimming toward the Sydney Heads and the open Pacific Ocean after government wildlife rescuers removed the ropes late Friday morning, Macquarie University whale expert Vanessa Pirotta said. The distressed whale was first reported by operators of a whale watching cruise ship in the harbor at 1 p.m. on Thursday. A rescue attempt involving boats, helicopters and drones began Thursday afternoon and resumed at first light Friday. Pirotta said the whale could have become entangled far earlier than Thursday. She could tell by the sound of the whales breathing that it was very fatigued before it was freed. Is the whale OK? I hope, I dont really know. The reality is this animal has been through a huge ordeal, Pirotta told Australian Broadcasting Corp. Being entangled in fishing gear is an awful thing, but then having boats and drones in the busiest harbor on Earth, Sydney Harbor its just incredible to see where this has just unfolded, Pirotta added. Jessica Fox, an official from the volunteer Organization for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia, said the rescue crew attached buoys to the tangled rope to slow the whale so they could eventually hold it in place while they cut the rope away. The whale has been going in circles in Sydney Harbor, making some erratic directional changes, Fox said in video posted on social media on Friday before the mammal was freed. As you can imagine, its a very, very difficult task to try and disentangle a whale, Fox added. Pirotta said it was not clear why the whale had remained in the harbor rather than swim to the open ocean with its tail entangled. But staying in the harbor made rescuers job easier, she said. A humpback whale is considered a juvenile up to 4 years old. Its gender is unknown. Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson speaks at VoteFest Chicago. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder CHICAGO In the sanctuary of a historic church converted into an event space, not far from the hustle and bustle of the Democratic National Convention, a group of young people with a passion for politics met. The Youth VoteFest, hosted by University of Chicagos Institute of Politics, aimed to provide lessons in political organizing with topics like how to run a high school voter drive building inclusive campus voting coalitions. The young attendees heard from a series of high-powered speakers, including U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg; Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson; Florida Democratic U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, the nations first Gen Z member of Congress, and Tennessee Rep. Justin Pearson, who gained national attention when he was expelled from the state House and later reinstated for participating in a protest over gun laws on the House floor. Pearson told the participants about his first foray into public policy, when he spoke out to members of his local school board about a lack of adequate textbooks. If you use your power, you shame a couple people, things start to happen, he said. We have to remember that we are powerful. And we have to show other people their power. We dont have to have fancy suits and fancy titles. All you have to do is use your voice, use your vote, use your power. We are powerful, and our power scares people. Organizers emphasized that the fest was nonpartisan, although several of the speakers and attendees indicated support for Vice President Kamala Harris for president. The Institute of Politics hosted a similar event featuring a conservative slate of speakers in Milwaukee last month to coincide with the Republican National Convention. The IOP was founded by former Obama strategist David Axelrod, and its director is former Democratic U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, who opened the program encouraging the youngsters in attendance. I want you to imagine, just look around, and every state legislature, you take 10 people out of the state legislature, and you replace them with 10 of you, she said. I want you to think about your city council, and you replace that city council with three of you. And I want you to think about Congress, and you replace congressional people with 20 of you. Do you think you would talk about other things in the legislature, at city council? Your voice in the room matters, especially right now. And if young people, young people voted at the same percentage as people over the age of 65, the priorities of public policy in this country would change dramatically, Heitkamp said. Some members of the audience had already thrown their hats into various state and local rings. At 25, Ashwin Ramaswami is running for a seat on the Georgia Senate as a Democrat. His opponent is state Sen. Shawn Still, a Republican first elected in 2022, who was indicted in the Fulton County election interference case against former President Donald Trump. Still has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing. Ramaswami said campaigning as a Gen Zer comes with challenges its tough to raise funds when all of your friends are recent college graduates but with opportunities as well. When Im canvassing, people that initially first see me, the first thing that pops out is my age, because they see me, theyre like, Oh, my kids are your age, or they dont know how old I am, he said. I think after talking to me, they start to realize that I have a lot of experience, I have a lot of things I bring to the table. In a way, thats an advantage, because then people start thinking about me in a different way. Other attendees, like Joseph Rice, student government president at Chicagos Kennedy King College, said they were looking for pointers on increasing engagement on their college campuses. The sophomore finance major said he hopes to use what he has learned to make voter registrations drives more efficient. Me personally, Im a blue guy, but Im moving toward bipartisan, you know, just not to get the students to vote for who I want them to vote for, but for the students to vote for who they want to vote for, if that makes sense, he said. So Im coming as a bipartisan approach, just so they can vote, just so they can have their information. Whether they vote for red or blue is their decision, and I respect that just as long as they get to vote. One of the guys was a red guy former Illinois Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, who broke ranks with his party by voting to impeach Trump over the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and later sat on the House committee investigating the Capitol attack. People disagree on issues, all of us, he said. A hundred years ago, we were having the same debate about taxation and everything else. And in 100 years, were going to be having the same debate. But were facing a specific moment in this country where the question is, are you, as young people, when you get to be my age Adam Kinzinger Im old, Im 46 Adam Kinzinger when you get to be my age, are you going to have a democracy that works as well as I was able to have when I was your age? This story first appeared in the Georgia Recorder, a member with the Phoenix in the nonprofit States Newsroom. (Bloomberg) -- YouTubes automated advertising systems are placing video ads from major brands alongside content that promotes controversial Project 2025 policy proposals and election misinformation, according to a new report. Most Read from Bloomberg Researchers from Eko, a nonprofit consumer watchdog, reviewed advertisements that appeared alongside a sample of 11 videos on Googles YouTube that backed Project 2025 policies, conspiracy theories about the 2020 US election and hateful rhetoric. The videos included ads from over 60 global brands, including SKIMS, BetterHelp, Verizon and Slack. Several of the brands have publicly made diversity, equity and inclusion commitments that appear to run counter to the video messaging. Some of the videos in the study appeared to violate YouTubes content and monetization guidelines, which prohibit election misinformation and hate speech. Collectively the videos gathered nearly 1.3 million views, and the channels behind them had more than 25 million subscribers combined. Google and YouTube have a responsibility to make sure videos like this arent part of the monetized video catalog, said Eko campaigner Maen Hammad, who led the research. YouTube is bigger and more powerful than many countries. They have the resources to bolster content moderation and make a reality where civil society organizations arent doing their job for them. The study highlights a longstanding concern for major advertisers that their messaging may unintentionally appear alongside controversial content and look like an endorsement. The study also calls attention to the fact that ad money from major brands on YouTube is funneled to channels that promote misinformation and far-right narratives, sometimes without their awareness. A YouTube spokesperson said the company reviewed the videos from the study and found most of them didnt violate the companys advertising policies. The spokesperson said YouTube removed ads from the videos that did violate policies, without specifying the channels. Our advertiser-friendly content guidelines dont allow ads to run alongside content making claims that could undermine participation or trust in an election, nor on content that promotes hate speech, the spokesperson said in a statement. We also offer advertisers the ability to control where their ads run across YouTube. All of the videos discussed Project 2025, a series of conservative policy proposals created by The Heritage Foundation, a political think tank, that includes plans to further regulate abortion, decrease focus on environmental concerns and ban transgender people from the military, among other ideas. That plan has become controversial, even among some conservatives, and was created independently from Republican nominee Donald Trumps campaign, though several of his former aides and associates were involved. Trump has tried to distance himself from the project. In one video from the sample, Daily Wire host Jordan Peterson interviewed Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts, who outlined Project 2025 and promoted anti-trans sentiments. The video had 104,000 views and featured ads from SKIMS, MasterClass, Verizon and Gillette, among others. In another video, entrepreneur Grant Cardone hosted Arizona Republican US Senate candidate Kari Lake to discuss unfounded voting fraud claims about the 2020 election. That video included ads from HelloFresh, eBay, Oracles Netsuite and more. Spokespeople for SKIMS, Verizon, BetterHelp and Slack did not respond to requests for comment. The exact dollar amount these YouTube channels earn from advertisements is unknown. YouTube pays creators 55% of ad revenue on longform videos, and social media analytics company Social Blade estimates that the 11 channels in the study collect $1.7 million to $27 million annually. Brands can keep their ads away from controversial YouTube videos by blocking their messages from appearing in videos from specific channels, or blocking their ads from certain video categories, such as politics or childrens content. But Claire Atkin, co-founder and chief executive officer of digital advertising watchdog Check My Ads, said this is a whack-a-mole process that doesnt provide consistent protection for brands. Google offers choice through a channel by channel inclusion list. Thats not very efficient, Atkin said. We need smart ways for Google to interpret what the advertiser wants. In some cases, brands only find out their ads appear alongside controversial videos following reports from nonprofits like Eko. The Global Alliance for Responsible Media was another industry watchdog that created tools to help advertisers avoid appearing next to harmful and illegal content. That group was disbanded earlier this month following an antitrust lawsuit by Elon Musks X, the social network formerly known as Twitter. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek 2024 Bloomberg L.P. The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) is again on the verge of a blackout: Russian attacks damaged the external overhead line through which the plant received power from the Ukrainian power grid for its own needs. Source: press service of the National Nuclear Energy Generating Company Energoatom Details: "The Russian bombardment on 22 August damaged the external overhead line of 330kV Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant - Ferrosplavna," the statement said. Currently, the ZNPP is connected to the Ukrainian power system by only one line, OHL-750kV Dniprovska. If it is damaged, an emergency may occur due to the loss of external power to the reactor coolant pumps and spent fuel pools. "Under the "management" of the Russian invaders, who are running the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP, the degradation in all areas of operation is constantly deepening," the statement said. In addition, the lack of qualified personnel and the transformation of the plant into a military base complicate trouble-free operation. Energoatoms press service stressed that the ZNPP should immediately come under the control of Ukraine, and the Russian military should leave the plant. This is the only way to restore nuclear and radiation safety in Europe. Background: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reported that the Russians started a fire on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia NPP on 11 August. At the same time, no changes in the radiation situation in the area of the Zaporizhzhia NPP were recorded. Yevhen Yevtushenko, Head of the Nikopol District Military Administration, had previously reported that the ZNPP was operating as usual, and the Russians had likely set fire to a large quantity of car tyres in the cooling tower. Cooling tower No. 1 is located about a kilometre from the plant's power units. Meanwhile, the occupying Russian authorities have blamed Ukraine for an alleged attack on Enerhodar, yet they claim the background radiation around the ZNPP is normal. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that its experts witnessed strong dark smoke coming out of the northern area of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) following numerous explosions on the evening of 11 August. Support UP or become our patron! Modi and Zelenskyy at the meeting in the city of Kyiv. Photo: Modis Twitter (X) Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, has met with Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, in the city of Kyiv. They honoured the memory of children who were killed as a result of Russian aggression. Source: Zelenskyy on Telegram; Modi on Twitter (X); Times of India Details: The meeting was held in the premises of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in the Second World War, where a temporary memorial complex to children who were killed by Russia was established. Photo: Narendra Modi/ Twitter (X) Quote by Zelenskyy: "Today in Kyiv, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and I honoured the memory of the children whose lives were taken by Russian aggression. Children in every country deserve to live in safety. We must make this possible." Background: On 23 August, it was revealed that Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, had arrived in Ukraine. This is his first official visit to Ukraine since the countrys independence was proclaimed in 1991. Support UP or become our patron! President Volodymyr Zelenskyy participated in the State Flag of Ukraine raising ceremony in Kyiv on the morning of 23 August and emphasised that Ukraine will defend its independence and rebuild the country. Source: a video of the State Flag raising ceremony in Kyiv; Zelenskyy on Facebook Quote from Zelenskyy: "We are reclaiming the right to justice, our own freedom, dignity, safety and our own state in this war. And the criminals who came to destroy Ukraine and brought ruin to our home will certainly face ruin themselves. The historical path of Ukraine and the spirit of our national colours have taught us that Ukraine is rising and strengthening, achieving its goals only when our people are truly united for the sake of the blue and yellow flag and for Ukraine." Details: Zelenskyy stressed that Ukraine will protect its independence and rebuild the country. "We are driving the occupiers out of Ukraine and will not allow their [Russian] tricolour there. We must rebuild Ukraine, our home, after this war so that our Ukrainian blue and yellow [flag] flies as it deserves over proud land and amidst a safe, free and European life. Glory to all who fight and work for Ukraine. Eternal gratitude to all heroes of different times who fought for Ukraine. Glory to Ukraine!" Zelenskyy also shared a video dedicated to the State Flag of Ukraine. Support UP or become our patron! History of Columbus COLUMBUS, N.C. (WSPA) The history of the town of Columbus can be seen today. It has some of the longest-standing buildings in Western North Carolina. Columbus historians told 7NEWS it wasnt an easy route to establish the town. They said in 1847 Polk County was established. Two years later there was a large disagreement on where the county seat should be. The legislatures of North Carolina said it had to be in the center of Polk County and the county seat and that they would call it Columbus, Patrick Mccool, Mayor of Columbus, said. Mccool said in 1855 the town was created, named after Dr. Columbus Mills a surgeon in the Civil War, who was also a legislator and a farmer. He had a vision of what the town could become and it started with a courthouse. From the old seats of the Polk County Courthouse to the steps that lead you in, you cant miss the building thats the centerpiece of the towns history. It is one of the eight oldest courthouses still in use in Western North Carolina, Mayor McCool said. Town officials said the courthouse was completed in 1859, at a cost of $16,000, money the town made from selling land. The sense of awe I had the first time I presided here it hasnt left, Judge Abe Hudson said. Those who work in the courthouse today like Judge Abe Hudson said its special to be in that building. Young children I see them come in, Hudson said. They look just as I did when I came in here. Those we spoke with inside the courthouse say one of their favorite features is the locally made brick design. They say the large windows, staircases, and high ceilings also stand out, but the courthouse has seen some changes. The top of the courthouse actually started out as a Methodist Church, Mayor McCool said. There have been a few renovations, the top of the courthouse no longer serves as a church and the bottom floor no longer has a courtroom, but the courthouse, made with no nails, hasnt changed much from the day it was built. I am honored to be counted amongst the people who have sat at this bench, and I am very thankful for the people of Polk County who have so well preserved this historic courthouse, Hudson said. Other historical spots in Columbus also might leave you in awe. Like the World War I Doughboy Monument outside of the courthouse. That was made for the 13 people that lost their lives in WWI, Mayor McCool said. Most the money believe it or not was raised through the children in the schools. The school system was instrumental in attracting people to Columbus. Mayor McCool, a former educator himself said its thanks to a man named Franks Sterns. He died in 1919 so he didnt get to see the dream that he really wanted but thanks to him we still have the Sterns building that he had built right in downtown Columbus, McCool said. Columbus now has a population of 1,000 people according to Mayor McCool. He said its the perfect spot for a small-town feel. Learn more about our special guests: Dollywood Family Vacation Giveaway You can win 4 tickets to Dollywood! To enter the contest click here. Videos: Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Tech giant announces world's first deployment of revolutionary grid-scale energy device: 'This ... project couldn't come online at a more critical time' A new grid-scale wave energy device has been deployed off the coast of Hawai'i to produce electricity, which the company that developed it says is a world's first for its type at this scale. The oceans offer a vast resource for power generation, with companies finding new ways to harness the power of tides, currents, and waves. Among them are submerged turbines and screw-like concepts, along with deep-sea wave-harnessing tech like the one developed by Ocean Energy USA, a part of Ireland's Ocean Energy Group. The technology is called the OE Buoy, and the device itself is the OB-35. It's an 826-ton floating power station that measures 125 by 59 feet, with a 30-foot draft and a potential capacity of 1.25 megawatts. "Following over a decade and a half of design, trials, testing and building, we are excited finally to be able to take this major step towards commercialization with our world-class OE-35 device," said Professor Tony Lewis, Ocean Energy's chief technology officer, in a statement. "This internationally significant project couldn't come online at a more critical time for the US and Ireland as the World needs to accelerate the pace of decarbonization with new and innovative technologies." The buoy consists of a long, backward-facing duct that connects to an air chamber with a turbine at the top. As waves push water into the duct, the air pressure increases and powers a turbine. When they recede, a vacuum is created and air rushes in, which continues to spin it in the same direction for more continuous generation. The OB-35 was deployed on the windward coast of the island of Oahu at the U.S. Navy's Wave Energy Test Site on July 19. There, it can be connected to the grid to bolster the island's green energy supply once initial testing is complete. These projects serve as a complement to solar panels and wind energy, with the potential to help remote islands and coastal communities get clean, renewable power, which is better for the planet and improves the health of people in the area. Hawai'i is a shining example of this, being the first state to commit to achieving 100% renewable energy for its electricity, to a net-negative emissions goal, and to putting the Paris Agreement into law. It's even gone so far as to remove coal plants from the equation. Ocean Energy had the OB-35 constructed in Oregon, and its long-term plan is to build five more buoys for testing in the nearby town of Newport, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB). "Oregon as a state has really bought into renewable energy and bought into marine energy and [has] done so for the past 15 years," Ocean Energy's CEO John McCarthy shared with OPB. "These are power stations so they will be in there for you know 30, 40, 50, years, so that's the kind of time span you're looking at in terms of these devices, these are power plants." Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. Should the European Union force Hungary to accept illegal migrants, Hungary will offer to transport them to Brussels once the procedure is completed, a state secretary of the interior ministry told a press conference. With the fence on its southern border, Hungary is defending the external borders of the Schengen Area as well as its own, Bence Retvari said. Hungarian policemen and border hunters have foiled 1 million illegal entry attempts since 2015, he added. Nevertheless, the Court of Justice of the European Union "has imposed a gigantic, disproportionate, unfair fine on Hungary, trying to force it to allow masses of migrants into the country and to abandon it migration policy," he said. Free One-Way Ticket to Brussels from Hungary for Migrants? We can say that Brussels is working to force us to allow migrants into the country, Gulyas told a press briefing. Hungary has also been fined for operating transit zones at the border, even as the new migration pact has partially taken over those good Hungarian practices, he said. The protection of the Schengen Areas external borders is important for the whole of Europe, and not just protecting Hungary from migration. At the same time, Hungary is being denied access to EU funding earmarked for border protection, he said. Gulyas said the interior and justice ministers were looking into offering all migrants at the Hungarian border to transport them to Brussels, voluntarily and for free, adhering to European procedures, should the EU continue to try to strong-arm Hungary into adopting regulations that would make it impossible to keep migrants away from the country. Hungary does not wish to pay daily fines but will make it possible for those willing to get a one-way ticket to Brussels where they can negotiate with the European Commission on the services they are to receive. Retvari: Govt Plans Legal Steps Against Brussels' Migrant Measures Hungary is weighing the conditions for a legal solution countering the European Commissions recent implementing decision on capacity for asylum procedures under the new migration pact, Bence Retvari, a state secretary at the Interior Ministry, said on public radio. Under the ECs implementing decision, Hungary would be responsible for processing the applications of over one-fourth of the illegal migrants entering the area of the European Union, Retvari told Kossuth Radio. That number is disproportionately large and paves the way for migrant ghettos, he added. Brussels is requiring Hungary to expand its capacity for processing applications and expects the country to quadruple it by 2028, he said. He added that the government was sticking to the position it had held since 2015: illegal migrants must not be allowed to cross the EU frontier, in compliance with Hungarian and EU rules. He noted that Hungarys spending on border protection had come to 2 billion euros. He said a 78 billion forint (EUR 200m) fine and a daily 1 million euro penalty Hungary had to pay under a ruling by the Court of Justice of the EU was political pressure to get Hungary to let in migrants. Along with Hungary, EU member states in the region are, in general, opposed to allowing in masses of illegal migrants, he said. If Brussels really wants masses of migrants, Hungary is weighing the possibility of sending those who cross the Hungarian border directly to Brussels, he added. He pointed to the negative economic impact of border checks within the EUs passport-free Schengen zone established because the EUs frontiers couldnt be protected. He said the recent murder of children in the UKs Southport showed that even the children of migrants to the EU werent integrating. He added that the EU could only implement one in ten returns of illegal migrants, and there was no guarantee those who were returned wouldnt attempt to come back. Kovacs: Brussels Should Also Welcome Migrants If Brussels forces Hungary to let migrants in, then it must also welcome them, Zoltan Kovacs, the state secretary for international relations and communications, said on the X platform. For almost a decade, Hungary has protected the EUs external border, spending more than 2 billion euros of its own money to meet its Schengen obligations, the state secretary said, citing a letter by Tamas Ivan Kovacs, Hungarys ambassador to Belgium, to the Socialist mayor of Brussels, Phillippe Close. [I]t is Hungary, not Brussels, that has suffered from a lack of solidarity, Kovacs said, adding that all it got in return for rigorously protecting the EU border was a fine of 200 million euros. Hungary will not compromise its national security or bear this burden alone, especially when Brussels seems to desire migrants only as long as they remain in other EU member states, he said, adding that the call for solidarity was not just rhetorical, but a demand for fair treatment and genuine support from the EU. In his letter to Close, Hungarys ambassador asked the mayor for his solidarity and support in ensuring that the EU did not penalise countries that comply with the Schengen Agreement and protect their external borders. ********************************* 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! Head of the PMs Office Gergely Gulyas said a solution appears to have been found for the problem of oil transits, with oil and gas company MOL most likely able to sign the necessary agreements to ensure that crude oil transits through Ukraine to Hungary are not getting blocked. Technically, this will mean that even though the transport is more costly and MOL must bear risks from the Russia-Ukraine border, there is a legal solution that guarantee future transits, he said. He expressed hope that crude oil supplies will be secure in the long term on the route that is under threat in terms of transits. Gulyas said it was regrettable that the European Commission had not taken action to protect the member states. Despite this, I must say that it appears energy security can be guaranteed in the long term with the help of these agreements, he added. He said that neither Hungary nor Slovakia had received any form of support from Brussels. He added that Brussels had failed to protect EU members from the actions of a non-EU member that violated its accession agreement signed with the EU. Gulyas said it was hoped that the solution would guarantee Hungarys crude oil supplies and energy security in a period when a war is under way and energy acquisition and supplies belong among their most important issues throughout Europe. Gulyas: EC Has 'No Answer' for Why It Isnt Helping Out With Crude Deliveries Responding to questions at a press briefing, Gergely Gulyas, the head of the Prime Ministers Office, said the European Commission had no answer as to why they did not help with the blockade of crude deliveries. As Ukraine is under attack, the fashion in Europe these days is to stand by Ukraine, he said. While that is understandable, it is wrong and a mistake to think that Ukraine can do anything. Hungarys digital citizenship programme will be launched in September and will be fleshed out by next summer, enabling Hungarians to conduct their affairs on the internet, instead of the current complicated and out-of-touch state systems, Gulyas said. Asked about the state of Hungarys budget, Gulyas said liquidity was ensured for months, years. He acknowledged that consumption had fallen behind expectations in the past few months, and said the bad economic environment in Europe, especially stagnation in Germany, was hobbling Hungarian growth. While the Hungarian economy is not growing at the expected pace, it will still be in the top third of European economies, he said. A 3.5-4% GDP growth is expected, he added. Commenting on the arrest of the mayor of Budapests 3rd district on suspicion of graft, Gulyas said the scandal was further proof that the left is riddled with corruption cases. Noting that the nominating parties were standing by the mayor, who is now in pre-trial detention, Gulyas said those parties would have to ensure leadership in the district. For further developments, the procedure will have to be conducted to see whether he can carry on leading the district, he said. Commenting on remarks by Peter Magyar, the leader of the Tisza party, on the state of Hungarys health-care system, Gulyas said that Magyar was attempting to smear the performance of health-care workers. He said those working under such circumstances deserved thanks, adding that it was a credit to the resilience of Hungarian health care that the extraordinary heat had led to a mere 5 thousandths of operations being postponed. Gulyas said air conditioning was not effective in heats above 36C as it could only reduce temperatures by 10 degrees. Since extreme temperatures were expected to become regular, the minister said hospitals needed special protocols to deal with the situation, noting that Mediterranean countries routinely rescheduled non-vital operations in extreme weather. At the same time, Gulyas said hospital AC systems had been assessed and faulty equipment was being repaired or replaced, although that doesnt happen from one day to the other. In other places, the hospitals electric system could not cope with the increased demand, he said, but added that increasing the capacity of those systems would require incredibly high sums. The aim is to air condition all rooms where care is carried out, he added, however. The government had ploughed significant funds into repairing and installing air conditioners in hospitals, and will continue to do so, Gulyas said. Health care remains a priority for the government, as mirrored in the wage hikes for doctors and nurses, and their increasing numbers, he said. The government paid all debts of Hungarian hospitals in June, and has allocated a 12.5 billion forint surplus to health-care spending to avoid further accumulation of debts, he added. ********************************* You're very welcome to comment, discuss and enjoy more stories via our Facebook page: Facebook.com/XpatLoopNews + via XpatLoops groups: Budapest Expats / Expats Hungary You can subscribe to our newsletter here: XpatLoop.com/Newsletters Do you want your business to reach tens of thousands of potential high-value expat customers? Then just contact us here! The team at Bortodoor will guide you through a selection of six Hungarian wines from small-scale local producers. During the 90-minute tasting, you will explore highlights from Hungarys top wine regions, which are a must-try while you're here. Presented in a community style, you'll have the chance to meet like-minded individuals and enjoy the experience with our friendly staff. You will also taste local Hungarian snacks that pair perfectly with the wines, enhancing your tasting journey. The relaxed atmosphere will make you feel at home, whether you're a wine expert or just curious. Join in at Bortodoor for a fun and educational wine tasting. You will discover new favourites, learn tips, and make new friends! Every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 17:30 Price: 39.00 per person (HUF 17 714) More on how to apply here From the Bortodoor Team: Bortodoor is on a mission to deliver a curated selection of local and international high-quality wines directly to you, infusing a personal touch and offering tailored recommendations. Our approach is to demystify the world of wine, making it not only affordable but also an inviting journey of self-discovery. Born from the shared passion for wine by three friends from the USA, UK, and Australia, our founders have a relentless obsession with exploring new flavors, labels, and stories. The inception of our company coincided with the establishment of Wine Mafia, a blind wine-tasting club initiated in 2018, and the commencement of wine tours to Etyek in 2017. Our meticulous wine selection process involves a three-step approach. We kick off each week with research and development sessions, delving into new wines during our Monday meetings. This is followed by "Wine Mafia Wednesdays," where a panel blind tastes six wines weekly to determine our stocking choices. We introduce these selections in our weekly tastings, seeking feedback before deciding on permanent inclusion. And yes, you can always savor a sample before making a purchase. Bortodoor caters to all your wine preferences through various channels, including our webshop, retail offerings, wine events, tours, and the option to host personalized wine events at your location. For all your wine inquiries, reach out to Bortodoor@gmail.com or visit us at Zichy Jeno utca 32. We're the friendly faces eager to share our passion with friends we haven't met yet! Since our opening in August 2021, Bortodoor has transformed into a welcoming international and local community space. Join us to unwind, savor exceptional wines, and connect with fellow enthusiasts. Bortodoor: your go-to international local bar. Venue: Bortodoor 1066 Budapest, Zichy Jeno u. 32 The Hindu festival of Dahi Handi is celebrated every year across India, with particularly grand festivities in Maharashtra and Goa. Also referred to as Gopalakala or Utlotsavam, it takes place the day after Krishna Janmashtami, the celebration of Lord Krishna's birth. Learn more about Dahi Handi, including its date, significance, and how it is celebrated. Dahi Handi 2024: Date and Time Dahi Handi is celebrated every year, the day after Krishna Janmashtami. This year, Dahi Handi will be observed on Tuesday, August 27, with Janmashtami taking place on Monday, August 26. Ashtami Tithi Begins - August 26, 3:39 AM Ashtami Tithi Ends - August 27, 2:19 AM Dahi Handi 2024: Significance Dahi Handi celebrations honour Lord Krishna's childhood mischief. According to the legend, young Krishna had a fondness for curd (dahi) and butter (makhan). As he and his friends grew older, they would try to steal these treats from nearby homes. To protect their dahi and makhan, the village women began hanging the pots from the ceiling. But Krishna and his friends outsmarted them by creating a human pyramid to reach the now out-of-reach pots. The Dahi Handi festival celebrates this playful episode from Krishna's early years. Dahi Handi 2024: Celebrations Dahi Handi is a major cultural event in India, celebrated around the auspicious time of Krishna Janmashtami. Over time, it has evolved into a competitive sport, especially in Maharashtra, where it is conducted on a grand scale. "Dahi" means curd, and "Handi" refers to an earthen pot. During the Dahi Handi festivities, an earthen pot filled with milk, curd, butter, or other dairy products is suspended several stories high. Teams, known as Govindas, create human pyramids to reach and break the Handi hanging in the air. As they strive to shatter the Handi, the streets resonate with the chant "Govinda Aala Re!" To make the challenge tougher, they are often sprayed with water or slippery liquids. In recent years, prize money for the victorious teams has soared to as much as one crore rupees. These celebrations not only challenge the Govindas' physical strength and teamwork but also fill everyone with the lively spirit of Lord Krishna. New Delhi: The auspicious festival of Shri Krishna Janmashtami will be celebrated this year on August 26, Monday. Also known as Gokulashtami, the day is revered by devotees all across the globe as it marks the birthday of Lord Krishna. Shri Krishna's Birthday: Significance Of Janmashtami Lord Krishna is revered as the 8th avatar of Lord Vishnu. The day holds greater significance for Lord Krishna devotees as it marks the birth of Laddoo Gopal (Shri Krishna). Several Krishna temples, especially ISKCON celebrate Lord Krishna's birthday with preparations beginning days in advance. The festival of Janmashtami is observed according to the Hindi lunisolar calendar. It is said that the day falls as per the Hindu lunisolar calendar, on Ashtami (the 8th day) of the Krishna Paksha in Shravan maas (Shravan/Sawan month) of the lunar Hindu Calendar and Krishna Paksha in Bhadrapad of the lunisolar Hindu Calendar, which overlaps with August and September of the Gregorian calendar. Shri Krishna Janmashtami is celebrated in various ways. At several places, devotees observe fast on Ashtami and break it only after midnight once the Lord is born. The day is marked with singing bhajans, listening to Krishna stories and legends, participating in plays based on the Lord's life amongst other rituals. Legend Behind Gokulashtami Or Janmashtami Lord Krishna was born to Devaki and Vasudev to kill his cruel uncle Kansa, who puts his sister and brother-in-law in jail and kills their 7 children one-by-one fearing death. However, he too is tricked by the divine intervention when the Lord is born, Vasudeva with the help of cosmic powers takes Krishna away from Mathura by crossing the Yamuna river and leaves him in Gokul with foster parentsYashoda and Nanda. Vasudeva carries Krishna in a basket and takes him through the river amid turbulent rains and storm. It is believed that during that time, the king of serpentsSheshnag emerges from the Yamuna river and acts as a shield to protect Lord Krishna under his five-headed hood. Once Lord Krishna reaches Gokul, there Yashoda gave birth to a baby girl, who is believed to be a form of Goddess Durga. With the help of divine intervention, Krishna is safely placed in Gokul with new parents and the baby girl is taken to Devaki and Vasudev in Mathura. Therefore, Lord Krishna was raised by Yashoda and Nanda Baba. Krishna Janmashtami is followed by Nandotsav which hails the festive occasion of the times when Nanda Baba distributed gifts and sweets in the neighbourhood upon the birth of child Krishna. Jai Shri Krishna! New Delhi: The government may not sell any more of sovereign gold bond (SGB), CNBC-TV18 reports citing government sources said. CNBC-TV18 added, while the SGB turned out to be a very profitable investment instrument for the investors, the pay out turned hefty for the government coffers. In the 67 tranches of SGB that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued on behalf of the government, investors contributed Rs 72,274 crore. Four of those have fully matured, meaning that the bond buyers have received their money back. In March 2020, the government owed less than Rs 10,000 crore to investors; by the end of March 2020, that amount had increased by over nine times to Rs 85,000 crore, according to the latest budget documents. The market appears ready even in advance of an official announcement. In the secondary markets, demand for sovereign gold bonds has surged. As of August 14, people were spending up to 8% more than the government-set reference price. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) offer trading opportunities in the cash segments for all SGB series, which are listed in the secondary market. Through demat accounts, they can be purchased and sold. 1st tranche of Sovereign Gold Bond Matured In November 2023 The first tranche of Sovereign Gold Bond (SGB), initiated in 2015 is due for redemption on on November 30, 2023. "Accordingly, the price for the final redemption due on November 30, 2023 shall be 6132/- (Rupees Six thousand one hundred thirty-two only) per unit of SGB based on the simple average of closing price of gold for the week November 20-24, 2023," the central bank added. What is Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme? Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme are government securities denominated in grams of gold. They are substitutes for holding physical gold. Investors have to pay the issue price in cash and the bonds will be redeemed in cash on maturity. The Bond is issued by Reserve Bank on behalf of Government of India. How Is Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme being sold? The bonds is sold through scheduled commercial banks (except Small Finance Banks and Payment Banks), Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited (SHCIL), designated post offices, and recognised stock exchanges viz., National Stock Exchange of India Limited and Bombay Stock Exchange Limited. Who can buy Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme? The Bonds is restricted for sale to resident individuals, HUFs, Trusts, Universities and Charitable Institutions. The Russia and Ukraine war has entered its third year with the loss of lives reported on both sides. Amid the ongoing war, Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier visited Russia and is currently on a visit to Ukraine where he held bilateral talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During the meeting, India highlighted the need for Ukraine and Russia to engage in talks to find a solution to the conflict. " Prime Minister Modi and President Zelenskyy engaged in extensive discussions, during which the Indian side emphasized the importance of 'practical engagement' among all stakeholders to develop an innovative solution that fosters broad acceptance and contributes to peace and stability in the region. "We also had discussions about the ongoing conflict. It is of topmost importance that peace be maintained. A peaceful solution to the conflict is best for humanity," said Modi. President @ZelenskyyUa and I had very productive discussions in Kyiv today. India is eager to deepen economic linkages with Ukraine. We discussed ways to boost cooperation in agriculture, technology, pharma and other such sectors. We also agreed to further cement cultural pic.twitter.com/EOrRyHeNX7 Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2024 Talking to media, Zelenskyy said, "India will play its role. I think that India began to recognise that this is not just conflict, this is real war of one man and his name is Putin against whole country whose name is Ukraine. You are a big country. You have a big influence and you can stop Putin and halt his economy, and put him really in his place..." Talking about the India-Ukraine meeting, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said PM Modi conveyed to Zelenskyy India's willingness to contribute in 'all possible ways' to facilitate an early return of peace to Ukraine and the region. Jaishankar described the discussion as detailed, open, and constructive in many ways. He noted that the talks touched on the military situation, concerns such as food and energy security, and potential pathways to peace. We also had discussions about the ongoing conflict. It is of topmost importance that peace be maintained. A peaceful solution to the conflict is best for humanity. pic.twitter.com/7nv7SjkvbQ Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2024 The External Affairs Minister stated that both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to continuing cooperation in upholding principles of international law, such as respect for territorial integrity and the protection of state sovereignty. Prime Minister Modi also shared insights from his recent discussions with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. According to Jaishankar, Modi sought President Zelenskyys assessment of both the current situation on the ground and the broader diplomatic landscape, and Zelenskyy provided his views on both matters. Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri (BHISHM) is a unique effort which will ensure medical facilities in a rapidly deployable manner. It consists of cubes which contain medicines and equipment for medical care. Today, presented BHISHM cubes to President @ZelenskyyUa. pic.twitter.com/gw3DjBpXyA Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2024 Jaishankar described Modi's visit to Kyiv as a "landmark" trip. The Prime Minister arrived in Kyiv on a special train in the morning, where he was received by Ukraines First Deputy Prime Minister. A significant portion of the discussions between Modi and Zelenskyy focused on strengthening bilateral relations. There were discussions on trade, economic issues, defence, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, education, he said. Modi and Zelenskyy also tasked the India-Ukraine inter-governmental commission to specifically focus on rebuilding trade and economic relations. Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Legislative Assembly witnessed chaotic scenes today as some opposition legislators disrupted the proceedings, disregarding the decorum of the house. In a dramatic turn of events, the lawmakers approached the Speakers chair, shouting slogans and creating a ruckus. A video of the incident has gone viral, showing Speaker Surama Padhy visibly uncomfortable as she tried to manage the uproar in the assembly. The 20-second clip captures the tense atmosphere, with Speaker Padhy, seated on the dais, struggling to maintain order amidst the chaos created by the opposition members. The opposition in Odisha has been vocal about the spurious liquor issue, which has recently been in the spotlight. Several deaths were reported in the past few days due to the consumption of toxic liquor, prompting the opposition to attack the BJP government. #WATCH | Odisha | BJD and Congress leaders come into the well of the House and create a ruckus over the liquor tragedy in Ganjam district, during the Budget session of Odisha Assembly. The opposition is also demanding the resignation of the State Excise Minister. (Video source: pic.twitter.com/P8Tdh8VI08 ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 Representing the Ranpur constituency in Nayagarh district, Surama Padhy was the sole candidate for the Speaker's post and was elected unopposed. At the time of her election, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Deputy Chief Minister KV Singh Deo, Opposition Leader Naveen Patnaik, and other members of the Assembly extended their congratulations and best wishes to her. Surama Padhy is a seasoned leader of the BJP. According to reports, Padhy joined the BJP in 1988. Her entry into the state assembly occurred 20 years ago when she was elected as an MLA from the Ranpur seat in Nayagarh district in 2004 on a BJP ticket. From 2004 to 2009, she served as the Minister of State for Cooperation (Independent Charge) in the then BJD-BJP coalition government in Odisha. At 63, Padhy was elected as the MLA for the Ranpur constituency once again, defeating BJD's Satyanarayan Pradhan by a margin of 15,544 votes. The ruling BJP currently holds 78 seats in the 147-member Odisha Legislative Assembly. Amid the strategic visit of PM Modi to Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged India to use its significant influence to help end the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. According to ANI, Zelenskyy said India will play its role. I think that India began to recognise that this is not just conflict, this is real war of one man and his name is Putin against whole country whose name is Ukraine. You are a big country. You have a big influence and you can stop Putin and halt his economy, and put him really in his place. India's Stance on the Conflict Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sitting alongside Zelenskyy, highlighted Indias position on the ongoing war. "We are not neutral. From the beginning, we have taken a stand. We have chosen the side of peace, as we come from the land of Buddha, where there is no place for war," Modi stated, reaffirming Indias commitment to peace. Strengthening India-Ukraine Relations Following their meeting, Zelenskyy announced on social media that India and Ukraine had signed four agreements. These agreements cover a range of areas, including medical cooperation, agricultural collaboration, humanitarian aid, and cultural exchanges. "India supports Ukraine's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. This support is crucial, as it aligns with the global principle of respecting the UN Charter," Zelenskyy added. Kerala Lottery Results Friday 23-08-2024 LIVE: The Kerala Lottery Department, on behalf of the Keralan government, announces the "Nirmal NR-394" Lucky Draw Result today Nirmal NR-394, August 23, 2024. The draw will be held at Gorky Bhavan near Bakery Junction in Thiruvananthapuram. The Kerala Lottery Result 2024 for "Nirmal NR-394" will feature 12 series, with changes in series possible each week. A total of 108 lakh tickets are available for purchase weekly. The ticket prices may vary. Check the Nirmal NR-394 results right here to see if youre the first-place winner of 70 Lakhs. Stay tuned to this website for the live update of Kerala Lottery Nirmal NR-394 results today. Kerala Lottery Result 23-08-2024 Aug: FULL LIST OF WINNING NUMBERS FOR NIRMAL NR-394 Draw LUCKY TICKET NUMBER FOR 1ST PRIZE OF RS 70 LAKHS IS: NF 609915 LUCKY TICKET NUMBER FOR 2ND PRIZE OF RS 10 LAKHS IS: NF 674581 LUCKY TICKET NUMBERS FOR 3RD PRIZE OF RS 1 Lakh ARE: NA 225536 NB 291246 NC 390143 ND 650087 NE 104191 NF 281782 NG 895156 NH 971581 NJ 320786 NK 998723 NL 659954 NM 825750 LUCKY TICKET NUMBERS FOR CONSOLATION PRIZE OF RS 8,000 ARE: NA 609915 NB 609915 NC 609915 ND 609915 NE 609915 NG 609915 NH 609915 NJ 609915 NK 609915 NL 609915 NM 609915 (For The Tickets Ending with The Following Numbers below) LUCKY TICKET NUMBERS FOR 4TH PRIZE OF RS 5,000 ARE: 0910 1627 2434 4766 4973 5075 5163 5267 6476 6627 6700 6768 7445 7526 8125 8143 8171 8960 LUCKY TICKET NUMBERS FOR 5TH PRIZE OF RS 1,000 ARE: 0030 0134 0611 0901 1165 1204 1434 1490 1589 2151 3143 3693 3745 3770 3866 3950 4869 4886 4950 5403 5901 5929 6030 6450 6497 6636 6777 7138 7463 7727 8003 8156 8465 9034 9402 9568 LUCKY TICKET NUMBERS FOR 6TH PRIZE OF RS 500 ARE: 0074 0449 0465 0605 0749 0763 0887 0966 0974 1148 1537 1796 2067 2365 2405 2416 2487 2570 2667 2729 2764 2892 2925 3049 3136 3169 3209 3255 3275 3276 3315 3490 3544 3678 3755 3838 4191 4494 4546 5427 5551 5574 5877 5945 5966 5979 6078 6153 6388 6491 6769 6821 6826 6829 6877 6972 7201 7394 7474 7506 7649 7657 7719 7782 7801 8015 8081 8219 8221 8239 8346 8510 8575 8637 8664 9102 9292 9551 9714 LUCKY TICKET NUMBERS FOR 7TH PRIZE OF RS 100 ARE: 0067 0145 0321 0331 0385 0458 0459 0613 0617 0629 0706 0750 0768 0973 1034 1048 1070 1071 1111 1169 1307 1391 1411 1471 1586 1611 1710 1883 1990 2105 2181 2307 2317 2323 2391 2512 2535 2547 2598 2707 2788 2926 3009 3096 3119 3155 3189 3311 3508 3546 3618 3645 3698 3867 3870 3897 3923 4071 4217 4255 4258 4280 4498 4590 4600 4669 4880 4924 4934 4971 5217 5274 5435 5449 5462 5477 5840 5941 5990 6105 6154 6277 6363 6564 6656 6758 7230 7536 7555 7616 7666 7693 7772 7789 7837 7867 7875 8173 8182 8233 8317 8473 8494 8497 8622 8653 8685 8800 8976 9049 9117 9238 9269 9307 9414 9472 9478 9517 9523 9646 9664 9910 KERALA LOTTERY RESULT TODAY 23-08-2024 August: NIRMAL NR-394 LOTTERY PRIZE DETAILS 1st Prize: Rs 70 Lakhs 2nd Prize: Rs. 10 lakhs 3rd Prize: Rs. 5,000 4th Prize: Rs. 2,000 5th Prize: Rs. 1,000 6th Prize: Rs. 500 7th Prize: Rs. 200 8th Prize: Rs. 100 Consolation Prize: Rs. 8,000 (NOTE: Lottery can be addictive and should be played responsibly. The data provided on this page is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as advice or encouragement. Zee News does not promote lottery in anyway.) After the Bombay High Court took a stringent view of the Maharashtra Bandh call given by the Opposition parties, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance has decided to call off their strike call for August 24. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday voiced his disagreement with a Bombay High Court order that restrains political parties from calling a bandh. However, he confirmed that the opposition bloc MVA has withdrawn its planned shutdown in Maharashtra on Saturday, which was in response to a sexual abuse case in a school. During a press conference, Thackeray announced that while the MVA has called off the August 24 bandh following the High Court's order, leaders and workers from opposition parties will still protest against the Mahayuti government by wearing black bands over their mouths across the state. The former Chief Minister, whose party is a key member of the MVA, stated that he will also participate in the protest. "We don't agree with the High Court order on bandh," Thackeray maintained. Earlier in the day, the Bombay HC restrained political parties or individuals from proceeding with a Maharashtra bandh over the sexual assault incident, on August 24 or any future date, saying such a protest will paralyse normal life. A division bench consisting of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar emphasized that if political parties and individuals were not restrained from proceeding with the planned bandh on Saturday, it could lead to significant lossesnot only in terms of the economy and business but also in essential services and basic amenities, including healthcare, which must be prevented. The MVA alliance, which includes the Shiv Sena (UBT), the Congress, and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP), had called for a statewide shutdown on August 24 to protest the alleged sexual assault of two kindergarten girls at a school in Badlapur, Thane district. In a setback for the opposition parties in Maharashtra, the Bombay High Court has restrained political parties or even individuals from calling for a Maharashtra bandh. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of Congress, Shiv Sena-UBT and NCP-SP has called for a shut-down across the state tomorrow (August 24) to protest against the alleged sexual assault of two minor girls at a school in Badlapur in Thane district. After the High Court order, Chief Minister Ekanth Shinde has vowed to implement the no-bandh order. A division bench comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar directed the Maharashtra government to take all necessary measures to prevent the bandh. The judges indicated that a detailed order would be issued soon in response to two petitions filed on Friday by advocates Subhash Jha and Gunaratna Sadavarte, challenging the bandh call. "We are restraining any political party and/or any individual from calling for a bandh. The state shall take all preventive steps," the HC said. During the hearing in the court, State Advocate General Birendra Saraf said that the call for a general strike was illegal and the state government would take all steps to ensure there is no damage or destruction of human lives or property. Advocates Jha and Sadavarte pointed out a judgment of the Kerala High Court which held that no political party can call for a state-wide bandh, and an HC has ample powers to intervene in such matters. They also cited the example of the Maratha reservation agitation during which a lot of public property was destroyed. Following the High Court order, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) president Sharad Pawar Friday appealed for the withdrawal of Saturday's Maharashtra bandh called. In a post on X, Pawar said the bandh call was given in exercise of fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution, but the judiciary also needs to be respected. Earlier in the day, the HC restrained political parties or even individuals from calling for a Maharashtra bandh. In view of a Bombay High Court ruling, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Friday appealed for withdrawal of Saturday's Maharashtra bandh called by the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The call for the bandh on Saturday (August 24) was given by the opposition alliance, of which the NCP (SP) is a constituent, to protest against sexual assault on two four-year-old girls in a school in Badlapur in adjoining Thane district allegedly by an attendant of the institute. In a post on X, Pawar said the bandh call was given in exercise of fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution, but the judiciary also needs to be respected. Earlier in the day, the HC restrained political parties or even individuals from calling for a Maharashtra bandh. A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar said the Maharashtra government shall take all necessary steps to prevent a bandh. "Due to time constraint it is not possible to appeal in the Supreme Court against the High Court order (on bandh). The Indian judiciary is a constitutional body and in respect of the order given, the bandh call should be withdrawn," Pawar said after the HC ruling. The Rajya Sabha MP said there was tremendous anger over the shameful incident which took place in the Badlapur school and the bandh call was an attempt to draw the government's attention to the ire of people. New Delhi: At least 14 people were killed on Friday after an Indian-registered passenger bus plunged into the Marsyangdi River in central Nepal, PTI Reported The tragic incident occurred after an Indian passenger bus with 40 people onboard plunged into the Marsyangdi river in Nepal's Tanahun district, Nepal Police said. The bus bearing number plate UP FT 7623 plunged into the river and is lying on the bank of the river, DSP Deepkumar Raya from the District Police Office Tanahun said, ANI reported. #WATCH | Nepal | An Indian passenger bus with 40 people onboard has plunged into the Marsyangdi river in Tanahun district, confirms Nepal Police. The bus bearing number plate UP FT 7623 plunged into the river and is lying on the bank of the river, DSP Deepkumar Raya from the pic.twitter.com/P8XwIA27qJ August 23, 2024 The bus was en route to Kathmandu from Pokhara. Further details awaited, the official said. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner said, "Regarding the Nepal incident We are establishing contact to find out if any person from Uttar Pradesh was on the bus." Last month, a landslide swept two buses carrying 65 passengers into the swollen Trishuli River in Nepal. The bodies from the buses were carried downstream by the river for up to 100 kilometres. In a heated incident at Bareilly's Collectorate on Thursday, BJP MLA from Cantt, Sanjeev Agarwal, clashed with a police officer during a protest against atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh. The MLA, accompanied by BJP workers, was there to submit a memorandum when the altercation occurred. A video of the incident has since gone viral, sparking widespread reactions. The event took place when a BJP worker holding the national flag (Tiranga) allowed it to touch the ground while posing for photos. Noticing this, a police officer present at the scene intervened, asking the worker to raise the flag. This seemingly innocuous request ignited the MLA's temper. MLAs Outburst Angered by the officers intervention, MLA Sanjeev Agarwal berated the officer, ordering him to "Oye, Nigaah Neechi Kar, Pichhe Hatt." The City Magistrate, who was present to receive the memorandum, had to step in to calm the situation and asked the officer to leave the spot. Police Officers Explanation After the situation calmed down, the police officer explained that his only intention was to ensure that the national flag was treated with the respect it deserves. He clarified that he merely asked the BJP worker to hold the flag higher to prevent it from touching the ground. New Delhi: During a visit to Poland, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk confirmed their mutual commitment to work together to keep peace and follow international rules. They agreed to team up in a global group to make sure international norms are respected and to help create a stable and secure world. In this historic visit, both nations marked the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations. The two Prime Ministers said their commitment to peace and a rules-based international order centred on the UN Charter. They emphasized that security cooperation is crucial during global conflicts and tensions. They also decided to boost collaboration in multilateral forums to support international norms and work together to ensure global peace, stability, and security, according to a joint statement from the Ministry of External Affairs. Both Prime Ministers also expressed their deepest concern over the war raging in Ukraine including its terrible and tragic humanitarian consequences. PM Modi and his counterpart emphasized the need for a comprehensive, fair, and enduring peace by international law and the UN Charter's principles, including the respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. Discussion On Negative Impacts Of The War PM Modi and Donald Tusk highlighted the negative effects of the war in Ukraine on global food and energy security, particularly for the Global South. In the context of this war, they shared the view that the use, or threat of use, of nuclear weapons is unacceptable and underscored the importance of upholding international law, and in line with the UN Charter, reiterated that all states must refrain from the threat of or use of force against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state, according to the MEA, ANI Reported. Discussion On Terrorism The two leaders also reaffirmed their strong condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and stressed that no country should offer refuge to those who finance, plan, support, or carry out terrorist acts. Both countries emphasised the importance of firmly implementing relevant UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, as well as the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. They also reaffirmed the early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT). New Delhi: The disheartening incident took place near Phanta helipad in Uttarakhand's Rudrapyarag, where four individuals were found dead after being trapped in debris by the rescue teams, officials said adding that all of them were Nepali nationals. The officials informed us that all bodies are being brought to Rudraprayag by the District Disaster Response Force (DDRF) team. Rudraprayag Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar informed that 4 people were trapped in the debris near Khat Gadera near Phanta helipad at 1:20 am. #WATCH | Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand: At 1:20 am, 4 people were trapped in the debris near Khat Gadera near Phanta helipad. As soon as the information was received, the rescue team was sent to the spot for relief and rescue work. The evacuation is underway: Rudraprayag Disaster pic.twitter.com/l8tN5iOVl4 August 23, 2024 "As soon as the information was received, the rescue team was sent to the spot for relief and rescue work. The evacuation is underway," he added. "People buried under the debris have been taken out by the rescue team, who were found dead. All the people are from Nepal, including Tul Bahadur, Purna Nepali, Kishna Parihar and Deepak Bura," the official further added, ANI reported. KYIV: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hugging of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a gesture that had drawn much criticism from the West. Modi met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy here with a warm hug that came barely six weeks after Modi had similarly hugged the leader of Ukraine's arch-enemy, President Putin. After Modi met with Putin in July, the Western media was full of news with headlines such as Modi's Embrace of Putin Irks Biden Team Pushing Support for Kyiv' while the BBC in one of its reports said, Photos from Moscow showed a beaming Mr Modi hugging the Russian president. Zelenskyy himself had posted on X then without naming names: It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world's largest democracy hug the world's most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day. Gratitude to President Putin for hosting me at Novo-Ogaryovo this evening. Looking forward to our talks tomorrow as well, which will surely go a long way in further cementing the bonds of friendship between India and Russia. pic.twitter.com/eDdgDr0USZ Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 8, 2024 On Friday, during a media briefing after the Modi-Zelenskyy talks, Jaishankar was asked about the embrace' in a question meant to seek comments on apparent linkages with Modi's meetings with Putin earlier and Zelenskyy now. In our part of the world, when people meet people, they are given to embracing each other, it may not be part of your culture but I can assure you it is part of ours. In fact, today, I think, I saw, Prime Minister (Modi) also embrace President Zelenskyy, Jaishankar replied to a specific question by a Western reporter which mentioned as many words about Modi's embrace of Putin a few weeks ago. President @ZelenskyyUa and I paid homage at the Martyrologist Exposition in Kyiv. Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief. pic.twitter.com/VQH1tun5ok Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2024 And I have seen him do it with a number of other leaders in a number of other places. So, I think, we have a slight ... Cultural gap here in terms of what these courtesies mean, Jaishankar added. Watch Jaishankar's Response To BBC Journalist "It may not be part of your culture , it is part of our culture" EAM Dr S Jaishankar on PM Modi's hug to President Putin in Moscow to BBC journalist pic.twitter.com/ZEZPIkEgAI Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) August 23, 2024 Much to the chagrin of the Western powers that be, Modi met Putin in July and spoke about how a solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and how peace efforts do not succeed in the midst of bombs and bullets. On Friday, India maintained that Ukraine and Russia need to engage with each other to find a solution to the ongoing conflict between them as Modi held wide-ranging talks with Zelenskyy under the shadow of the raging war. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. This is a historic moment as the first time an Indian Prime Minister visited Ukraine. Both Indian and Ukrainian leaders are expected to focus on finding a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. PM Modi warmly greeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with his trademark hug during his visit to Ukraine. During the meeting, Zelenskyy got emotional as the leaders shared the plight of people affected by the war. This moment highlighted the strong diplomatic relation between both Prime Ministers. PM Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy honoured the memory of children at the Martyrologist Exposition in Kyiv. #WATCH | PM Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy honour the memory of children at the Martyrologist Exposition in Kyiv pic.twitter.com/oV8bbZ8bQh ANI (@ANI) August 23, 2024 After laying floral tributes at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial, Prime Minister Modi met with President Zelenskyy ahead of their bilateral discussions. This visit marks the first time an Indian Prime Minister has visited the country. The Gandhi statue, representing the enduring legacy of Mahatma Gandhi's principles of peace and non-violence, was unveiled in 2020 at the AV Fomin Botanical Garden to commemorate the 151st anniversary of his birth. PM Narendra Modi arrived today at Kyiv Railway Station in Ukraine. His arrival marks a historic visit, highlighting India's support and strengthening diplomatic ties with Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict. First visuals of PM @narendramodi arriving Kyiv Railway Station in Ukraine#PMModiInUkraine pic.twitter.com/YzHtoTMO0O MyGovIndia (@mygovindia) August 23, 2024 Later in the day at the Mariinskyi palace venue both leaders will hold a restricted meeting to discuss key issues. High-level delegation meetings will follow, where important discussions on bilateral cooperation are expected. Document exchanges will take place to formalize agreements and collaborations between the two nations. NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Wilmore Butch are facing agonising time in space. What began as an eight-day sojourn on the International Space Station (ISS) has extended to more than two months in space for Williams and Willmore - the duo who became the first to ride the much-delayed Starline - after their return aircraft developed technical issues. While several options are being mulled on, NASA is expected to take a final decision on Saturday to bring Williams and Willmore back to Earth on Boeings Starliner spacecraft or on SpaceXs Dragon capsule, the US space agency said. NASA's Options For Williams' Safe Return NASA is reportedly weighing several options to bring Williams and Wilmore back to Earth safely. One option that was reportedly being explored was to wait for the scheduled arrival of a new spacecraft that could bring Williams and her fellow astronaut, Butch Wilmore, back to Earth. However, with the clock ticking on Williams' oxygen supply, the viability of waiting is uncertain. "NASA's decision on whether to return Starliner to Earth with astronauts aboard is expected no earlier than August 24 (Saturday) at the conclusion of an agency-level review," the space agency said in a statement, reported IANS. Williams and Wilmore will return onboard a SpaceX Dragon capsule in February 2025, as NASA has delayed the launch of the SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the ISS to September 24, an IANS report stated. It was being considered to return Starliner to Earth uncrewed. If this had happened, NASA would have had to adjust its SpaceX Crew-9 mission by reducing the crew. From four astronauts, NASA would have to settle at two, which would allow Williams and Wilmore to return aboard Crew-9 early next year. Concerns Over Potential Oxygen Shortage And Safety As Starliner approached the orbiting lab, the spacecraft experienced a series of technical issues such as the failure of several thrusters and helium leaks in the propulsion system. While engineers were able to bring four of the five malfunctioning thrusters back online (there are 28 thrusters on Starliner), it still raises a concern about a successful de-orbit to Earth. Moreover, comparisons have been drawn to past tragedies, such as the fate of Kalpana Chawla, another astronaut of Indian origin who tragically lost her life during the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003. The fear of a repeat scenario has heightened the anxiety surrounding Williams' current predicament. According to a CNBC-TV 18 report, former commander of US military space systems Rudy Ridolfi highlighted some severe risks associated with using the malfunctioning Starliner for re-entry. In the same report, Ridolfi mentioned that "the Starliner could become stranded in space if thrusters malfunction, leaving astronauts with only a 96-hour oxygen supply. Misaligned reentry could cause the capsule to bounce off the atmosphere and remain in orbit". Boeing's Starliner Programme After many setbacks for years, Boeing launched its first flight on June 5. Together with SpaceX, the company signed a contract in 2014 with NASA's Commercial Crew Programme to fly operational missions to and from the space station. In 2019, its debut uncrewed orbital flight mission did not go as planned. The mission was completed in 2022. SpaceX's Dragon capsules have been launching astronauts to space on its Falcon 9 rockets since 2020. It has so far aced about 12 flights to the Space Station. While Boeing has poured over $1.5 billion into its Starliner programme, NASA has paid the aerospace giant about $4.2 billion over the years. Both Boeings Starliner and SpaceXs Dragon were aimed to ferry astronauts and cargo for NASA missions to low Earth orbit, the Moon, Mars, and beyond. Badrinath National Highway in Uttarakhand's Chamoli which was blocked due to the falling of heavy debris from the hill was opened for vehicular movements on Friday. "The blocked Badrinath National Highway near Gulabkoti and Paganala has been opened. Work is underway to open the other roads," Chamoli police said on X. Earlier, Chamoli Police informed that the Badrinath National Highway was blocked near Nandprayag, Chhinka Gulabkoti, Paganala and Kanchanala. "After heavy rains, the Badrinath National Highway is blocked due to debris near Nandprayag, Chhinka, Gulabkoti, Pagalnala and Kanchanala (Badrinath)," Chamoli Police said in a post on X. Continuous downpours in the state have affected day to day activities of the people in the state. Earlier today, in a tragic incident, four Nepali nationals were found dead after being trapped under debris near Phanta helipad following the heavy rains in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag, officials said. The District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar said that a rescue team was sent to the spot after they were alerted about the incident around 1:20 am. Rajwar said, "All 4 people trapped in the debris were found dead by the rescue teams. All of them were Nepali nationals and their bodies are being brought to Rudraprayag by the District Disaster Rescue Force (DDRF) team." The rescue operation was carried out by teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and District Disaster Rescue Force. "People buried under the debris have been taken out by the rescue team, who were found dead. All the people are from Nepal, including Tul Bahadur, Purna Nepali, Kishna Parihar and Deepak Bura," the official further said. Himachal To Launch New Flight Routes: In a bid to further boost tourism in the state, the Himachal Pradesh government is set to introduce new flight routes connecting Chandigarh, Kullu and Dharamsala, officials said on Friday. According to the officials, the government is already in discussions with airlines and other stakeholders to launch flights on these routes. The direct flight between Kullu and Dharamshala is expected to significantly benefit the tourism sector, addressing a long-standing demand from visitors, a statement issued here said. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu emphasised the government's commitment to attracting high-end tourists to the state. "Strengthening air connectivity was crucial to achieving our tourism goals and reducing travel time and costs for tourists is essential," he said. "Himachal Pradesh is blessed with breathtaking landscapes and has immense potential for tourism. Systematic development of tourism infrastructure would not only increase tourist footfalls but also bolster the local economy," CM Sukhu said. Four flight routes, linking a few popular tourist destinations in the state with other parts of the country, are currently operational. Fights on the Delhi-Shimla-Delhi and Shimla-Dharamsala-Shimla routes operate daily, while the Amritsar-Shimla-Amritsar and Amritsar-Kullu-Amritsar routes are operational thrice a week. In addition to expanding flight routes, the Himachal Pradesh government is also developing new heliports to further improve air connectivity for tourists, the statement said. "Rs 13 crore has been allocated for the construction of heliports in Rakkar and Palampur in Kangra district, Reckong Peo in Kinnaur district and another in Chamba district," it said. "The hilly terrain of Himachal Pradesh makes the construction of heliports beneficial," the chief minister. "These heliports would attract more tourists by saving travel time and they would also provide assistance to local residents in emergencies, if any," he added. The more tourists we attract, the more benefits would accrue to the people of the state, Sukhu said, adding that the state government was adopting a focused approach to establish these heliports, ensuring that each district headquarters was connected to this facility. Furthermore, the state government has declared Kangra district as the tourism capital of Himachal Pradesh and is upgrading the necessary tourism infrastructure in the district, the statement said. New Delhi: Superstar Shah Rukh Khan and Filmmaker Karan Johar will host the International Indian Film Festival(IIFA) 2024 in Yes Island, Abu Dhabi. The award ceremony is scheduled for September 28. IIFA 2024 will be a three-day star-studded affair from September 27 to September 29. The first day, September 27, will feature IIFA Utsavam; Day 2, September 28, will be the IIFA Awards; and the final day, September 29, will showcase IIFA Rocks. Joining the star-studded line-up, Shahid Kapoor is set to ignite the stage with his performance. Shah Rukh Khan shared his thoughts about hosting the 24th edition of the IIFA Festival to ANI, He said, "IIFA is a celebration of Indian cinema that resonates across the globe, and being a part of its journey over the years has been amazing. I look forward to bringing the energy, passion, and grandeur of IIFA to life once again, as we gear up for an unforgettable celebration of Indian cinema this September" Following to the same, Filmmaker Karan Johar also shared his excitement and deep personal connection with IIFA to ANI, He said, "For more than two decades, IIFA has been a defining part of my journey. My father, with his extensive industry experience and vision, was a significant member of IIFA's advisory board in its early years, contributing to its mission of celebrating Indian cinema.'' ''His association with IIFA was a source of immense pride, further cementing our family's deep connection with the Indian film industry and its international outreach. It's an absolute honour to reignite the magic on the iconic IIFA stage for an unprecedented third showcase this September 27th-29th, alongside my dear friend Shah Rukh Khan.''Johar further added. This eagerly awaited event celebrates the best of Indian cinema. The judging panel will include industry veterans, critics, and film experts to thoroughly evaluate the years cinematic achievements. Here's the full list of nominees and the exciting showdowns across various categories: BEST PICTURES 12th Fail - Vidhu Vinod Chopra Animal - Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Pranay Reddy Vanga Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani - Hiroo Yash Johar, Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta Jawan - Gauri Khan Satyaprem Ki Katha - Sajid Nadiadwala, Shareen Mantri Kedia, Kishor Arora Sam Bahadur - Ronnie Screwvala BEST DIRECTION Amit Rai - OMG 2 Sandeep Reddy Vanga - Animal Karan Johar - Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani Atlee - Jawan Siddharth Anand - Pathaan Vidhu Vinod Chopra - 12th Fail BEST ACTRESS IN LEADING ROLE Alia Bhatt - Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani Rani Mukerji - Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway Deepika Padukone - Pathaan Kiara Advani - Satyaprem Ki Katha Taapsee Pannu - Dunki BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Vikrant Massey - 12th Fail Ranbir Kapoor - Animal Shah Rukh Khan - Jawan Ranveer Singh - Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani Vicky Kaushal - Sam Bahadur Sunny Deol - Gadar 2 BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Dharmendra - Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani Gajraj Rao - Satyaprem Ki Katha Tota Roy Chowdhury - Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani Anil Kapoor - Animal Jaideep Ahlawat - An Action Hero BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Tripti Dimri - Animal Geeta Aggarwal Sharma - 12th Fail Sanya Malhotra - Sam Bahadur Jaya Bachchan - Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani Shabana Azmi - Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani BEST PERFORMANCE IN A NEGATIVE ROLE Bobby Deol - Animal John Abraham - Pathaan Vijay Sethupathi - Jawan Emraan Hashmi - Tiger 3 Yami Gautam - OMG 2 BEST MUSIC DIRECTION Pritam, Vishal Mishra, Manan Bhardwaj, Shreyas Puranik, Jaani, Bhupinder Babbal, Ashim Kemson, Harshavardhan Rameshwar - Animal Pritam - Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani Vishal-Shekhar - Pathaan Anirudh Ravichander - Jawan Sachin-Jigar - Zara Hatke Zara Bachke Shantanu Moitra - 12th Fail BEST PLAYBACK SINGER (MALE) Arijit Singh - Animal Bhupinder Babbal - Animal Vishal Mishra - Animal Arijit Singh - Pathaan Diljit Dosanjh - Dunki BEST PLAYBACK SINGER (FEMALE) Shreya Ghoshal - Animal Shilpa Rao - Pathaan Shilpa Rao - Jawan Shreya Ghoshal - Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani Deepthi Suresh - Jawan Mumbai: Kalki 2898 AD has been released on OTT starring Prabhas, Deepika Padukone and Amitabh Bachchan. The fans hail the film as a masterpiece and cannot get over the power-packed performance of Big B as Aswatthama even at this age. As the film is available online, the netizens are calling it an epic saga and call Nah Ashwin a genius for blowing their minds out. But there is one disappointment that they have shared and it's with Prabhas's character. His character will make you a little cringe about him being he and will make you wonder why is he the way he is in the film and somewhere he looks misfit and out of place. Just a few days ago Bollywood actor Arshad Warsi too had expressed his disappointment over Kalki, where he said he didn't like the film, felt Prabhas was like a joker and raved about Big B for his magnificent work. Joe fans say that they totally get what Prabhas was trying to say," Believe Big B Turns 82 This Year Nag Ashwin Gave A Epic Role For The Big B Of Indian Cinema He Just Steals The Show Peak Goosebumps Stuff #Kalki2898AD @SrBachchan pic.twitter.com/UgO1NX7YE0 Vishnu P.S (@im__vishnu_) August 22, 2024 Check out the reactions of fans that agree with Arshad Warsi where he said Prabhas was like a Joker in Kalki. One user took to his X account and said," Finished watching Kalki and Arshad Warsi is absolutely right. Prabhas is a good actor but his character in this movie did seem more like a joker".Prabhas, I am really sad, why was he he was like a joker. Why? I want to see a Mad Max. I want to see Mel Gibson over there. Tumne usko kya bana dia yaar. Kyu karte ho aisa mujhe nahi samajh mein aata (What have you made of it? Why do they do such things I never understand)." He said in an interview with Unfiltered by Samdish. Arshad Warsi's comment is understandable. He criticized the character Prabhas portrayed, which is fair. In #Kalki, Prabhas's role did come across as awkward, with many cringeworthy scenes.#ArshadWarsi | #Prabhas | #Kalki2898ADpic.twitter.com/y6ZUAR1VNe August 22, 2024 Finished watching Kalki and Arshad Warsi is absolutely right. Prabhas is a good actor but his character in this movie did seem more like a joker. Enjoyed watching the movie but it's definitely overrated af. 7/10#Kalki2898AD #ArshadWarsi #Kalki2898ADOnNetflix pic.twitter.com/b6bgvxvNuS Fuck (@GuruSaysSo) August 22, 2024 Kalki 2898 AD also features Kamal Haasan and the fans are eagerly waiting for Part 2 of the film. Mumbai: Rajkummar Roa is currently enjoying the massive success of his latest release Stree 2. The actor won millions of hearts with his heartfelt character Bicky. As he celebrates his success his interview with YouTuber Raj Shamani is going viral where he spoke about having some issues with Ranbir Kapoor's Animal. Animal has been the talk of the town over its misogynist take, and this led to a lot of criticism. And now Raj has openly spoken about it when he sighted an example of Shah Rukh Khan's Devdas and mentioned he doesn't like the glorifications of such characters by the audience. As Animal is labelled as a toxic film, Rajkummar Rao shares his point of view on the same," Animal. I enjoyed it. Did I have some issues with the film? Maybe. Some scenes here and there, yes. But did I not enjoy the film? Of course not, I enjoyed the film, I enjoyed the experience of watching the film. I loved Ranbir Kapoor in it and his performance in the film was mind-blowing". Raj who has been an ardent fan of Shah Rukh Khan cited an example of his film Devdas character and explained," If you want to become Devdas after watching it, the problem is in you. You have been shown a story that there might be some guy like Devdas. He (Director) isn't asking anyone to become like him, and it's based on a book... It's a character story. He dies in the end. He is telling you if you do this, you gonna die sooner. He is not telling you that he is facing all these, still, he is living well and has a lot of money." Rajkummar made it clear that he has problems with the negative character's glorification when asked about the same. New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday informed that 21.67 lakh new employees were enrolled under the ESIC scheme in June, ensuring social security to more workers. The year-on-year (YoY) analysis showed a growth of 7 per cent in net registrations compared to June 2023. As per provisional payroll data of ESIC (Employees' State Insurance Corporation), 10.58 lakh young employees up to the age group of 25 years constitute new registrations. According to the data, 13,483 new establishments were registered under the ESIC scheme in June. Through the data, it is noticeable that out of the total 21.67 lakh employees added during the month, 10.58 lakh employees amounting to around 49 per cent of the total registrations belong to the age group of up to 25 years, according to the government. The gender-wise analysis of the payroll data indicates that net enrolment of female members has been 4.32 lakh in June. Besides, a total of 55 transgender employees have also got registered under the ESI scheme in June which attests the commitment of ESIC to deliver its benefits to every section of the society. In May, 23.05 lakh new employees were added in the ESIC scheme, which represented a growth of 14 per cent in net registrations compared to the same month last year. The data showed that out of the total 23.05 lakh employees added during the month, 11.15 lakh employees amounting to around 48.37 per cent of the total registrations belong to the age group of up to 25 years. The net enrolment of female members was 4.47 lakh in May. In April, 16.47 lakh new employees were added out of which close to half are youngsters aged up to 25 years. A total of 60 transgender employees were registered under the ESIC scheme during the month of May. New Delhi: Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the American public in Chicago on the last night of the National Democratic Convention, asserting her personal story and prosecutorial background made her uniquely qualified to protect their interests and beat Republican Donald Trump in the coming presidential election. Vice President Kamala Harris, running for president, warned on Thursday that re-electing Donald Trump could have serious consequences. She called him unserious and urged Americans to consider the risks of giving him another term. "We know what a second Trump term would look like. Its all laid out in 'Project 2025.' ... In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious, Harris said in the excerpts of the speech released by her campaign ahead of her acceptance speech at the United Center here in Chicago, PTI reported. Kamala Harris is the first Indian-American and the first Black woman to be nominated as the presidential candidate. Consider the power he will have especially after the United States Supreme Court just ruled he would be immune from criminal prosecution," Harris said. On Thursday, Harris promised that she would be a president who brings the country together. She said the upcoming presidential election is an opportunity to move forward as Americans, not just as members of any one party or group. "With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans," Harris said. I know there are people of various political views watching tonight. And I want you to know: I promise to be a president for all Americans..., she added. While delivering a speech, she remembered her mother Shyamala Gopalan and said that she misses her every day. Harris is an Indian and African heritage, accepted the Democratic nomination at the National Convention in Chicago, becoming the second woman to receive this nomination from the Democratic Party. My mother Shyamala Harris had one of her own. I miss her every day--especially now. And I know shes looking down tonight, and smiling, she said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to Kyiv, paid tribute at the Martyrologist exposition on children, accompanied by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky. Emphasizing the severe impact of conflict on the youngest and most vulnerable, Modi stated, "Conflict is particularly devastating for young children." Arriving in Kyiv after a nearly seven-hour journey from Poland, the Prime Minister's visit underscores India's stand on finding a peaceful solution to the Russia- Ukraine war, which has stretched on for more than two and a half years. The war has had a tragic toll on civilians, especially children, who have been caught in the crossfire. In a heartfelt message shared on X, Modi expressed his condolences to the families who have lost children due to the conflict. "My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief," he wrote. President @ZelenskyyUa and I paid homage at the Martyrologist Exposition in Kyiv. Conflict is particularly devastating for young children. My heart goes out to the families of children who lost their lives, and I pray that they find the strength to endure their grief. pic.twitter.com/VQH1tun5ok Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 23, 2024 During the visit, Prime Minister Modi and President Zelensky are set to engage in both one-on-one discussions and broader delegation-level talks. The focus of these meetings will be on exploring potential avenues for a negotiated resolution to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. At least 27 people lost their lives, and 16 others were injured when a bus carrying dozens of Indian pilgrims crashed on Friday in Nepal, according to officials. The bus veered off the Prithvi Highway and plunged toward a fast-flowing river. The impact tore the roof off the bus before it came to a stop on the rocky bank, just short of the Marsyangdi River's rushing waters. Rescue workers retrieved 27 bodies from the wreckage, and the 16 injured passengers were airlifted to Kathmandu for medical treatment, as reported by Armed Police Force spokesperson Shailendra Thapa. The tragic incident was confirmed by DSP Deepkumar Raya of the district police office in Tanahun. He stated that the bus, with the registration number UP FT 7623, had veered off the road and landed on the riverbank. The bus was en route to Kathmandu from Pokhara at the time of the accident. Officials from Uttar Pradesh are currently working to determine if any residents from the state were involved in the crash. This accident follows a similar incident in July this year when 65 people were swept into the Trishuli River in Nepal. In that case, two busesone heading to Kathmandu and the other to Rautahat's Gaurwere caught in a landslide during heavy rains, which pushed the vehicles off the road and into the river. The Chief District Officer of Chitwan, Indradev Yadav, reported that the buses were traveling along the highway when the landslide occurred, leading to the disaster. In Bangladesh, the government appears to be under the control of hardliners, and their role models now seem to be ruling the country. Zakir Naik, with his extremist ideology, is one of them, and it appears that the hardline government of Bangladesh, inspired by his views, has now turned against Sheikh Hasina. Will Sheikh Hasina face the same fate as Saddam Hussein in Bangladesh? Could the interim government in Bangladesh prosecute Sheikh Hasina for genocide? Is there a possibility that Sheikh Hasina could be sentenced to death like Saddam Hussein? These are not hypothetical questions, as the increasing number of cases being filed against Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh seem to suggest such a scenario. In today's episode of DNA, Zee News explains these questions Watch Full Episode Here In the last ten days alone, 49 FIRs have been filed against Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh. On Thursday alone, seven cases were registered against her. Out of the 49 cases filed against Sheikh Hasina, 40 are related to murder, seven are for crimes against humanity and genocide, one for kidnapping, and one for an attack on a BNP rally. The purpose behind these murder cases being filed against Sheikh Hasina appears to be to secure a conviction similar to Saddam Hussein's. Saddam Hussein was also tried for crimes against humanity and genocide, and similar charges have been filed against Sheikh Hasina. In Iraq, Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death for his involvement in the 1982 massacre. Sheikh Hasina is also facing a case related to the massacre of 27 people during a protest in 2013. So far, four cases have been registered against Sheikh Hasina in the International Crime Tribunal. Three of these cases are related to the violence and deaths during student protests, which seem to be part of a plan by the interim government to secure a conviction against her. To prosecute and sentence Sheikh Hasina, it is essential to bring her back to Bangladesh from India. The interim government of Bangladesh has already started efforts to do so, and Sheikh Hasina has now been declared a fugitive in Bangladesh. The interim government of Bangladesh has cancelled Sheikh Hasina's diplomatic passport, stating that since she holds no official position, she is not entitled to a diplomatic passport. According to Indian visa rules, Sheikh Hasina can stay in India for only 45 days with a diplomatic passport. However, due to the cancellation of her diplomatic passport, she may have to return to Bangladesh. Bangladesh's government could soon request the Indian government for Sheikh Hasina's extradition. Sheikh Hasina has been in India for 18 days. The question now is whether she will be forced to return to Bangladesh. In 2013, Bangladesh and India signed an extradition treaty, which states that if a crime is politically motivated, extradition can be denied. However, extradition cannot be refused for crimes like murder, kidnapping, bomb blasts, and terrorism. In the last two weeks, serious crimes like murder, genocide, and kidnapping have been registered against Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh, making it difficult for India to dismiss these as political. The extradition treaty also includes a provision that Bangladesh does not need to present evidence related to the charges against Sheikh Hasina when requesting extradition. An extradition request can be made based solely on the arrest warrants issued by Bangladeshi courts against Sheikh Hasina. In a twist of fate, the same extradition treaty Sheikh Hasina once used to bring back fugitives to Bangladesh may now increase her difficulties. This situation could also escalate tensions between the interim government of Bangladesh and the Indian government. Bangladesh's interim government might soon request Sheikh Hasina's extradition, based solely on the arrest warrants issued against her. This issue could further strain relations between the interim government of Bangladesh and the Indian government. A number of statewide Democratic challengers outraised their Republican opponents in the most recent reporting period, but have less cash on hand as election season ramps up with a little over two months until Election Day. All five statewide elected offices that also sit on the Land Board are on the ballot in Montana this year, including the governorship, secretary of state, attorney general, superintendent of public instruction and state auditor. All the positions are currently held by Republicans. In the governors race, Democrat Ryan Busse brought in more than incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte for the period that ran from mid-June to mid-August. Busse pulled in $525,533 for the general election to Gianfortes $449,707. Over the entire race, Gianforte, who announced his re-election bid in January, has raised more than $2.6 million to Busses $2.15 million. Busse launched his campaign in September 2023. Busses campaign cites the $1.6 million theyve raised in 2024 as a record for a non-incumbent Democratic governor candidate. Busse reported spending a fair amount of what he brought in over the reporting period from mid-June to mid-August $588,454 and left his campaign with $234,302 cash in the bank going into the fall. Busse benefitted from the state Democratic party also put $105,400 toward his race. On the spending side, one of Busses bigger expenditures was $400,000 for television advertising and another $20,000 on ad production. Gianfortes spending was far less than Busses at, $326,531. Gianforte ended the reporting period with significantly more cash in the bank $789,104. Gianforte reported using about $7,600 of his own money on the campaign, mostly for catering costs, bringing his self-funding for the race to about $55,050. Thats dramatically less than previous campaigns where the wealthy politician has relied heavily on self-funding, including $7.5 million of his own money in his 2020 race. Gianfortes biggest spends were also on advertising, with a reported $108,210 television digital and cable ad placement to run through Election Day, along with August ad buys in TV markets around the state totaling $154,326. The campaign also spent about $20,110 on digital ads. Busses campaign characterized their haul this period as a reflection on frustrations people have with Gianforte over property taxes, abortion legislation and the management of the sate wildlife and parks agency. "No wonder so many folks Republicans, Democrats and Independents are fired up to show him the door in November, said campaign manager Aaron Murphy. Gianfortes campaign said their numbers showed solid backing. "We have received strong support from across the state since we launched our re-election bid, and this recent report is no different. We are running a disciplined campaign, as seen with our low-burn rate and cash on hand, and look forward to continued momentum as we approach November, said Anna Marian Block, spokesperson for the Gianforte campaign. Secretary of State Like the governors race, Democratic challenger Jesse Mullen outraised incumbent Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen by roughly $2,000, but ends the reporting period with less in the bank than the Republican incumbent. Mullens campaign raised $28,653 this period and spent $18,098. He was left with $47,868 in his general election coffer. Mullen, a local newspaper company owner and former state Senate candidate, raised most of the cash from individual donors, but also topped off the campaigns earnings with $3,550 from eight county-level Democratic parties. Mullens spending was spread across multiple recipients including $6,071 for digital fundraising, $2,825 to a campaign consultant, $2,550 for campaign signs and other smaller dollar expenses. Jacobsens campaign had a frugal summer. The incumbents campaign raised $26,790 and spent about $5,300 less than that. Her campaign has $162,385 in the bank as of Aug. 15. Roughly 80% of the campaigns money raised came from individual contributors this period. The Montana GOP donated $3,700 to Jacobsens campaign this reporting period, which brings the state party to a total of $33,700 donated to the secretarys campaign between the general and the primary elections. Also from the Republican apparatus, Lt. Gov. Kristen Juras donated $250 and state Sen. Shelley Vance, R-Bozeman, gave $500 this period. Over 90% of the money the campaign expended this summer went to Rory McShanes political consulting group, a firm popular among Republicans nationwide. According to the filings, McShane was paid primarily for consulting, Facebook ads and campaign text messages. Attorney General Most of the state GOPs support this cycle remains with Republican Attorney General Austin Knudsen, seeking his second term. Knudsen hauled in $80,860 in the last two months. The state party contributed $25,000 to that figure, totaling $108,750 to his re-election campaign this cycle. Another $2,580 came from Republican central committees in Blaine, Daniels, Musselshell and Richland counties. Charter Communications chipped in another $790. Knudsens campaign spent roughly $28,850 in that time. Most of those expenditures, nearly $18,000, have gone toward consulting, fundraising letters and polling. So far, Knudsens re-election effort has raised over $600,000. He has roughly $204,837 in the bank heading into September. Democratic candidate Ben Alke reported $125,700 raised this period, although $93,760 of that was transferred from the primary election account to his general fund coffer. Jefferson, Park and Yellowstone County Democratic central committees contributed a total $1,700. The Treasure State PAC, which has ties to Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, gave $790 to Alkes effort to oust Knudsen. Former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullocks Big Sky Values PAC donated the same figure earlier this year. Alke, who had a three-month head-start on fundraising in this race, has piled up $253,630 this cycle. After spending $91,200 this last reporting period, including $88,000 on cable TV advertising in July, he ends the period with $34,430 cash-on-hand. Office of Public Instruction Missoula Democrat Shannon OBrien outraised and outspent her Republican opponent from Townsend, Susie Hedalen, by a wide margin. OBrien, currently a state senator, raised $73,316 between June 16 and August 15, whereas Hedalen brought in just shy of $30,000. Notable contributions to the OBrien campaign came from Sen. Mary Ann Dunwell, D-Helena, and six county democratic committees. Around two dozen public school district employees across Montana also donated to her campaign. As for Hedalen, she received donations from numerous GOP elected officials including U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, State Auditor Troy Downing and state lawmakers Rep. Sue Vinton, R-Billings and Rep. Jane Gillette, R-Bozeman. She also received contributions from the Republican central committees in three counties. But the biggest difference came on the spending side with OBrien doling out $47,181 in cash as compared to Hedalens $2,527. The Democratic candidates biggest expenditures were to campaign manager Justin Ailport, who OBrien paid $15,000 during the last reporting period. She also spent almost $8,000 on printing materials, $7,000 on a texting service and about $5,000 on a campaign compliance consultant. Mileage records suggest OBrien traveled to Miles City, Philipsburg, Billings and Bozeman for campaign events. There were also receipts from stops in Three Forks, Butte, Helena, Livingston and Anaconda. Hedalens cash spending was mostly on software and website-related costs. But she also owes around $13,000 in debt for consultant services and a fundraising letter effort. According to mileage receipts, Hedalen attended the Montana Building Industry Association annual conference in Great Falls, the GOP platform convention in Billings and two fundraisers in Billings and Bozeman. She also spoke at the large rally for the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, Tim Sheehy, and former President Donald Trump earlier this month. Hedalen ended the reporting period with $55,297 in the bank to OBriens $106,956. Auditor In the state Auditor race, Republican James Brown reported raising about $24,574 over the period and spending just about $4,700. He left $45,993 in the bank. So far he's loaned his campaign $5,000. Brown received just shy of $1,600 from a trio of county Republican central committees, and $3,000 of his spending was on Facebook ads. Democrat John Repke reported raising about $35,230 and spending more than $16,600. He ended the period with $55,464 in the bank after transferring $35,284 from his primary to general account. His biggest spending was on consulting and yard signs. Ancient Assyrian Cuisine: 'The Oldest Kitchen in the World' In a remarkable fusion of culinary heritage and historical documentation, 'The Oldest Kitchen in the World: 4,000 Years of Middle Eastern Cooking Passed Down Through Generations' is set to make its debut in English markets on September 24, 2024. This extraordinary cookbook, compiled by Matay de Mayee, showcases ancient Assyrian recipes that have been preserved through oral tradition for millennia. The book's significance lies not only in its culinary offerings but also in its cultural preservation. It provides a rare glimpse into the culinary traditions of the Suryoye, also known as Assyrians or Arameans, a people whose heritage stretches back to ancient Mesopotamia. Despite being dispersed across the globe, the Suryoye have maintained their unique identity, language, and culinary traditions. At the heart of this cookbook is Smuni Turan, de Mayee's mother, who is credited as the primary source of these ancient recipes. In a poignant reflection of historical gender disparities, de Mayee notes that his mother, who grew up in a time and place where girls were not taught to read or write, is the true author of the book. This detail underscores the importance of oral tradition in preserving cultural heritage. The cookbook features a wide array of dishes, all presented with their original Aramaic names. It includes some of the oldest recorded recipes in human history, such as labiniyeh, alongside more familiar Middle Eastern classics like baklava. Each recipe is accompanied by insights into cooking techniques, ingredient use, and the cultural significance of the dishes. Food enthusiasts and historians alike will find value in this publication. It not only provides practical cooking instructions but also offers a window into the customs, celebrations, and daily life of an ancient culture that continues to influence Middle Eastern cuisine today. The book's ability to connect modern readers with 4,000-year-old culinary traditions makes it a unique addition to any cookbook collection. Renowned food writer Nigel Slater has praised the book as 'a rare and fascinating insight into an ancient and delicious cuisine...with time-honored recipes from the heart of a home.' This endorsement highlights the cookbook's appeal to both serious culinary enthusiasts and those interested in cultural history. The publication of 'The Oldest Kitchen in the World' is significant in the broader context of cultural preservation. As globalization continues to homogenize culinary traditions worldwide, books like this serve as crucial repositories of unique cultural knowledge. By bringing these ancient recipes to a wider audience, the cookbook plays a role in ensuring that Assyrian culinary heritage is not lost to time. Matay de Mayee, making his debut as a cookbook author, brings a personal touch to the project. Born in the Netherlands to Suryoye parents, de Mayee's background bridges the ancient traditions with modern European culture. His experience running De Stijlkamer Amsterdam, a high-end B&B that also hosts culinary events, adds a practical, contemporary perspective to the ancient recipes. Tra Publishing, known for creating books that inspire social, cultural, and environmental awareness, is publishing the English version of the cookbook. The publisher's emphasis on the physical aspects of bookmaking suggests that 'The Oldest Kitchen in the World' will be not just a collection of recipes, but a beautifully crafted object in its own right. As the world continues to grapple with issues of cultural identity and preservation, 'The Oldest Kitchen in the World' stands as a testament to the enduring power of food to connect us with our past and with each other. It offers readers a chance to explore one of the world's oldest cuisines, providing a unique perspective on the rich tapestry of human culinary history. The book will be available through major bookstores, online retailers, and Tra Publishing's official website, making this ancient culinary wisdom accessible to a global audience. Its release promises to be a significant event for food lovers, historians, and anyone interested in the rich cultural heritage of the Middle East. [Provisional translation] At the outset, Prime Minister Kishida congratulated Minister Abdelatty on joining the Cabinet and welcomed his visit to Japan immediately after taking office. Prime Minister Kishida stated that Egypt plays an important role for peace and stability in the Middle East and African regions, and that it has been a highly important partner to Japan. In response, Minister Abdelatty handed over President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisis letter to Prime Minister Kishida, and expressed his expectation for further developing the bilateral relations. Both sides concurred on further promoting cooperation toward African countries in coordination with each other, in addition to the bilateral cooperation. 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 KEARNEY Aside from the fact that Congress wont complete its rewrite of the federal farm bill by the end of September, there are no surprises in the 2025 legislation, U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer said during a swing through Kearney on Wednesday. Fischer was scheduled to end her day at a Republican fundraiser in Omaha, where she was to introduce GOP vice-presidential nominee JD Vance. Fischer said the delay in drafting a new farm bill apparently hasnt ruffled feathers among Nebraska farmers and agribusiness interests. I havent gotten any pushback from anyone in the state, she said. She said the farm bill will be a $1.5 trillion expenditure in 2025, and most of that money about $1.3 trillion is earmarked for the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Fischer said that even though the legislation is called a farm bill the major recipients are urban dwellers, not farmers, and they do not live in farm country. Fischer said the 2025 farm bills nutrition programs will benefit non-farm constituents, but the bill still addresses the needs of American agriculture, including the farm bills popular crop insurance program. She said crop insurance is important to many Nebraska producers because it helps reduce the risk of farming by insuring against catastrophic losses, as when severe hail shreds corn crops. This isnt a gift to farmers, they have to buy their crop insurance, she said. Addressing another agricultural topic, Fischer said she is excited to see the National Center for Resilient and Regenerative Precision Agriculture is under construction at Innovation Campus at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Fischer secured $25 million in federal funds for the project last year and another $16 million this year. The facility will be part of the USDAs Agricultural Research Service with a goal of advancing precision agriculture practices. A member of the U.S. Senates Armed Services Committee, Fischer said the Marine Corps is the only branch of the military to achieve its 2024 recruiting quota. The Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard fell short. In response to the recruiting dilemma Congress approved a 4.5% salary increase and is making improvements to military housing. Fischer said the GI Bills educational assistance remains a strong recruiting tool. Viroqua Area Schools is hosting an open house celebration to showcase the completed elementary school projects, as part of the November 2022 referendum. The public is invited to an open house celebration at the Viroqua Elementary School on Thursday, Aug. 29, from 5 to 7 p.m. Schedule of events: 5 p.m. Ribbon cutting ceremony and 1995 time capsule opening; 5:15 p.m. Remarks from district and school board administration; 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tours and open house; No RSVP is required, and all are welcome. The two facilities referendum projects were developed to address facilities challenges within Viroquas existing space and provide updated and flexible learning environments that ensure student safety and accessibility and encourage academic growth. The second part of the referendum project kicked off in early spring with the tech ed addition, second story classroom addition and a secure entrance for the middle/high school. Most referendum projects will be ready for student use on the first day of school, with the completed tech ed space will be ready for hands-on student learning mid-December. 2022 Referendum Question 1, the proposed base plan, included necessary improvements at both the elementary and middle-high school sites, addressing the most pressing issues including security, accessibility, and educational enhancements, for $17 million. Voters of the district approved a second question to expand the Tech Ed (agriculture, woods, metals, and automotive) space by 7,500 square feet to give adequate space for industry equipment and improve programming at $3.5 million. We are so grateful to our community for supporting the growth of Viroqua Area Schools, stated Tom Burkhalter, district administrator. My hope is that community members will join us at the open house celebration to see, firsthand, what their support looks like for student learning environments at Viroqua Elementary School. For additional information, please contact District Administrator Tom Burkhalter at 608-637-1186 or via email at tburkhalter@viroquablackhawk.org Chinese tourist arrivals in Cambodia up 45.6 pct in first 7 months of 2024 Xinhua) 09:42, August 23, 2024 PHNOM PENH, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The number of Chinese tourists to Cambodia rose by 45.6 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of 2024, said a Cambodian Ministry of Tourism's report released on Thursday. A total of 463,980 Chinese visitors traveled to the Southeast Asian country during the January-July period, up 45.6 percent from 318,498 over the same period last year, the report said. The Chinese tourist arrivals accounted for 12.4 percent of a total of 3.74 million international arrivals to Cambodia during the cited period, the report said, adding that China was the third largest source of international visitors after Thailand and Vietnam. Cambodian Ministry of Tourism's Secretary of State and Spokesperson Top Sopheak said the kingdom is keen to see more Chinese tourists as their visits have contributed to the country's economic growth and tourism development. He is confident that the 2024 Cambodia-China People-to-People Exchange Year, which was launched in January, would help attract more Chinese visitors to the country. Yen Samnang, a research fellow at the Phnom Penh-based independent think tank Asian Vision Institute, said that with the help of the People-to-People Exchange Year, Cambodia is expected to further boost Chinese tourist arrivals and investment. "It is believed that this initiative, along with other free trade pacts in place, will become a key driver of tourism promotion and economic cooperation, drawing not only tourists but also Chinese investors to the kingdom, leading to job creation and infrastructure development," he told Xinhua. "Consequently, it will contribute to the long-term economic growth of Cambodia," he added. Tourism is one of the four pillars supporting Cambodia's economy, in addition to garment, footwear, and travel goods export, agriculture, and the construction and real estate sector. The kingdom has four UNESCO-listed world heritage sites, namely the Angkor Archaeological Park in the northwestern Siem Reap province, the Temple Zone of Sambor Prei Kuk in the central Kampong Thom province, and the Temple of Preah Vihear and the Koh Ker archaeological site in the northwestern Preah Vihear province. Besides, it has a pristine coastline stretching in the length of about 450 kilometers in the four southwestern provinces of Sihanoukville, Kampot, Kep and Koh Kong. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) An international group of astronomers has joined efforts seeking to establish a separate time zone for the moon. The French-based International Astronomical Union (IAU) recently approved a resolution on the matter during the groups General Assembly meeting in Cape Town, South Africa. The resolution calls on space organizations around the world to cooperate on establishing a standard clock for the moon. The moons orbital movements around Earth make one day on the lunar surface equal to 29.5 Earth days. And because the moon has less gravity compared to Earth, time moves slightly faster there, about 58.7 microseconds quicker each day. Susan Stewart is an astronomer with the U.S. Naval Observatory. She helped create the resolution at the IAU conference. Stewart told The Associated Press the aim of the measure is quite simple: To work together to establish (a) standard time. Currently, moon operations run on the time of the country that is launching spacecraft. But supporters of creating a separate time zone say this method will have to change; more countries and private space companies are starting to launch their own moon missions. Last year, the European Space Agency (ESA) pushed for the creation of a lunar clock. And earlier this year, the White House directed the U.S. space agency NASA and other agencies to come up with a timekeeping plan for the moon by the end of 2026. ESA noted communication and navigation systems built for the moon will perform much better if they use the same timescale. In addition, a separate time zone will support the many other crewed and uncrewed missions planned for the future, ESA said. In the past, NASA also considered establishing a separate time zone for the International Space Station (ISS). But the agency decided against it. Instead, the ISS runs on Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC, which is based on time kept by atomic clocks. NASA officials say this system helps ease the time difference between NASA and the Canadian Space Agency, as well as other space partners in Russia, Japan and Europe. The international team looking at establishing a lunar time zone has said it is still deciding whether a single organization should be chosen to set and keep time on the moon. Bijunath Patla is a physicist at the U.S. Commerce Departments National Institute of Standards and Technology. He told the AP that astronomers are still deciding on how a lunar clock would work. Patla said, I think the community has realized that this needs to be done. And this is the beginning. Im Bryan Lynn. The Associated Press and Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. _____________________________________ Words in This Story standard n. a particular level of quality that is set for multiple things A plan to build a huge solar farm in Australia is a step closer after the Australian government gave environmental approvals for the $19 billion project recently. Australian company Sun Cable plans to build a 12,400-hectare solar farm in a remote area of northern Australia. The farm will send electricity to the city of Darwin via an 800-kilometer overhead transmission line. Then the power will be transported to large industrial customers in Singapore through a 4,300-kilometer submarine cable. The Australia-Asia PowerLink project aims to deliver up to 6 gigawatts of green electricity each year. Such a project, Australian Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek suggested, would help turn Australia into a renewable energy superpower and boost its economy. Plibersek said in a written statement, It will be the largest solar precinct in the world The project was first backed by Australian mining businessman Andrew Forrest and Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes. The plans were discussed during a state visit by then-Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as part of a Green Economy agreement in 2022. In January 2023, the project collapsed when Sun Cable was involved in a financing dispute between Forrest and Cannon-Brookes. By May of that year, a group led by Cannon-Brookes Grok Ventures acquired the company, finalizing the takeover in September 2023. SunCable Australias managing director Cameron Garnsworthy said it was pleased to have cleared a major legal issue. He added that the company will now put its efforts into the next stage of planning to work towards "a Final Investment Decision targeted by 2027. The company said electricity supply would begin in the early 2030s. Energy has been a politically charged issue for nearly 20 years in Australia. The country depends on coal and gas as well as money from exporting those fuels to help support its economy. This dependence on fossil fuels has historically made it one of the worlds worst greenhouse gas emitters on a per capita basis. Australias main opposition party in June announced plans to build the countrys first nuclear power plants as early as 2035. The announcement ensures the major parties will be divided on how to reduce Australias greenhouse gas emissions at elections due within a year. The parties have not gone to an election with the same carbon reduction policies since 2007. I'm John Russell. Keiran Smith reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. ___________________________________________ Words in This Story customer -- n. one that buys a good or service boost -- v. increase, raise precinct -- n. a part of a territory with definite bounds often established for administrative purposes fossil fuel -- n. a fuel (such as coal, oil, or natural gas) formed in the earth from plant or animal remains greenhouse gas -- n. any of various gaseous compounds (such as carbon dioxide or methane) that absorb infrared radiation and trap heat in the atmosphere In the 1970s, a lack of community investment resulted in a large number of people leaving Harlem, a well-known New York City neighborhood in northern Manhattan. Nearly 50,000 people, about a third of the areas population, left to escape violence, crime and poor living conditions. Among those who left was LeeSandra Moores mother who moved to the state of Virginia. It was a scary time, said Moore, now 52 and still living in Harlem. I couldnt blame her for that. Those who stayed were mostly poor, Black families. They lived through unrest that followed the 1964 killing of an unarmed Black teenager and the killings of Black leader Malcolm X in 1965 and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. News reports described Harlem as a sinking ship. Percy Sutton was president of the local Manhattan government at the time. As the citys highest-ranking Black official, he knew Harlem needed a lift and started a festival called Harlem Day in 1974. Sutton called up elected officials. He gathered actors, like Sidney Poitier and Ruby Dee, entertainers, including Tito Puente and Max Roach, and the poet Maya Angelou to celebrate the first Harlem Day. It honored Harlem's history and shows how the neighborhood became known as "Black Mecca or the center of Black arts, culture and businesses. It was such a successful day, said Lloyd Williams one of Harlem Days co-founders and the current president of the Greater Harlem Chamber of Commerce that it became a week-long yearly event called Harlem Week. The festivals 50th year This year, Harlem Week celebrated its 50th anniversary with 18 days filled with free programming. The celebration included food, Broadway performances, an Apollo Hour, and a tribute to entertainer Harry Belafonte. It offered financial education and career training, and for children, back-to-school backpacks. One important part of Harlem Week was an effort to deal with Harlem's long-standing health crises. Medical volunteers checked blood pressure and tested for cancer and diabetes. People learned about drug use, HIV/AIDS and healthy aging. Rev. Al Sharpton leads the National Action Network in Harlem. He said, "Harlem Week has been the constant line through the last 50 years of America's most historic Black neighborhood." Organizers and people say Harlem Week has brought new life to the area. The once-deserted neighborhood is now home to restored buildings, new businesses, and immigrants. The streets are filled with jazz, reggae, R&B, and gospel music traditions. Big stores vs. small shops Moore, the Harlem native whose mother moved to Virginia, watched as big national stores moved in. Sometimes they took the place of local shops and made rents go up. "Some of that is okay, but what about the small business where you can get that great sandwich?" she asked. Moore wants people to eat less fast food, so she teaches healthy eating and cooking to young local students. At Harlem Week, Moore represented GirlTrek, a national movement of Black women supporting health through walking. She said, "I feel like I should have left a long time ago, but something about Harlem draws me back to it." Moore continued, "Harlem is my beginning. Harlem is my future. Harlem is a huge part of what makes me who I am." Im Jill Robbins. Ryan Doan-Nguyen reported this story for the Associated Press. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. ______________________________________________ Words in This Story scary- adj. causing fear rank v. to place (someone or something) in a particular position among a group of people or things that are being judged according to quality, ability, size, etc. festival - n. a special time or event when people gather to celebrate something What do you think of this story? Write to us in the Comments Section. The battle for the White House is set as Vice President Kamala Harris officially accepts the Democratic Party nomination on Thursday to run against former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee. However, another fight is just starting among grammar nerds over where to put the possessive apostrophe after her name. Is it Harris or Harriss ? Eric Turkewitz, a New York lawyer, called the debate apostrophe hell on the social media website X. It has since received more than 2 million views. The Associated Press Stylebook says, Use only an apostrophe for singular proper names ending in the letter s, such as Dickens book, Hercules labors, or Jesus life. So, for Harris, it is Harris, followed by an apostrophe, as in Harris policy. The AP Stylebook is widely used as the standard by American news organizations. But not everyone agrees. Three large U.S. newspapers, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal all use Harris, followed by an apostrophe and the letter s, as in Harriss policy. Adding to the confusion, they all agree that the singular possessive for Harris running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, is Walzs . As for plural possessive, it is Harrises as in Harrises family home and Walzes as in Walzes cats. Benjamin Dreyer is a retired editor who worked for the publisher Random House. He wrote Dreyers English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style. He told the AP there is widespread agreement that Walzs is correct. But many flooded him with questions about what to do with the apostrophe after Harris. Add the apostrophe and the letter s, Dryer said. To set the s is just simpler, and then you can take your valuable brain cells and apply them to more important things. Not so fast! The American dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster joined the debate with this reminder: For names that end in an s or z sound, you can either add -'s or just an apostrophe. Going with -'s is the more common choice: the car that belongs to Jones Jones's car or Jones' car. Amanda Barrett is APs vice president for news standards and inclusion. She said, while the AP style has evolved over the years, there are no plans to change the guidance on the possessive apostrophe s. Barrett added, We do know that the conversation is out there and people make different choices when it comes to grammar, and thats all fine. Everyone makes a choice that works best for them. Timothy Pulju teaches linguistics at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. He said that until the 17th or 18th century, the possessive of proper names ending in the letter s - such as Jesus or Moses - often was simply the name itself with no apostrophe or additional s. Eventually, the apostrophe (Jesus or Moses) was added to mark the possession although the pronunciation remained the same. That became kind of the standard that I was taught and adhere to, even though in retrospect, I dont think its a great standard, he said. Pulju expects most people will use the apostrophe followed by the letter s form over time. As long as people are communicating successfully, we say language is doing what its supposed to be doing, he said. If you can read it whichever way its written, then it seems like its working for people Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts was the last U.S. presidential candidate whose name ended with the letter s. Dukakis told the AP that he does not remember any similar discussion when he was the Democratic nominee. But he agrees with the AP. It sounds to me like it would be s, apostrophe, and thats it, he said. If Harris wins in November, she would become the fourth U.S. president with a last name ending in the letter s and the first since Rutherford B. Hayes, who was elected in 1876. The Harris campaign has yet to take a clear position. Press releases issued by the campaign talked about Harriss positive vision, and Harris seventh trip to Nevada. Im Jill Robbins. Holly Ramer reported this story for the Associated Press. Hai Do adapted it for VOA Learning English with additional sources. _______________________________________________ Words in This Story nerd n. people who are very interested in the technical details of a subject that most people cannot relate to apostrophe n. a punctuation mark that has several uses including its use with an s, to show the possessive form of a noun standard n. a level of quality or normal practice that is acceptable or desirable confusion n. a state of not understanding or not knowing what to do editor n. a person whose job it is to review written work, make changes and correct mistakes evolve v. to change over time conversation n. a discussion between people that is somewhat informal century n. a period of one hundred years (example: the 1900s are known as the 20th century) adhere v. to keep close to in retrospect phrase to look back in time or to think about the past We want to hear from you. Our comment policy is here. We present the second of five parts of the short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," by Edgar Allen Poe. The story was originally adapted and recorded by VOA Learning English. It was in Paris in the summer of 1840 that I met August Dupin. Dupin was a strangely interesting young man with a busy, forceful mind. He seemed to look right through a person and uncover their deepest thoughts. Sometimes Dupin seemed to be not one, but two people one who coldly put things together, and another who just as coldly took them apart. One morning, in the heat of the summer, Dupin showed me once again his special mental power. We read in the newspaper about a terrible killing. An old woman and her daughter, living alone in an old house in the Rue Morgue, had been killed in the middle of the night. The story in the paper went: Paris, July 7, 1840 -- Early this morning, cries of terror were heard in the western part of the city. They reportedly came from a house on the Rue Morgue, in which the only occupants were a Mrs. LEspanaye, and her daughter Camille. Several neighbors and a policeman ran to the house. By the time they reached it, the cries had stopped. They forced the door open. As they entered, they heard two voices, apparently from above. The group searched but found nothing until the fourth floor. There, they came to a door, locked from the inside. Quickly they forced it open. Before them was a bloody horror scene! The room was in total disorder broken chairs and tables and the mattress pulled from the bed. Blood was everywhere; on the walls, the floor, the bed. A sharp knife lay on the floor in a pool of blood. In front of the fireplace was a clump of long gray hair, also bloodied; it seemed to have been pulled straight out of a head. On the floor were four pieces of gold, an earring, several silver objects, and two bags containing a large amount of money in gold. Clothes had been thrown around the room. A lock box was found left open with just a few old letters and papers inside. There was no one there. But, when the group inspected the fireplace, they discovered another horror. A still-warm body had been forced up the chimney. It was the old womans daughter. There was blood on the face, and dark, deep finger marks on the neck, suggesting a strangling. After searching the house thoroughly, the group went outside. They found the body of the old woman behind the building. Her neck had been cut so severely that when they tried to lift the body, the head fell off. The next day the newspaper offered to its readers these new facts: Paris, July 8, 1840-- The police have questioned many people about the vicious murders in the old house on the Rue Morgue. But none of the answers revealed the identity of the killers. Pauline Dubourg, a washwoman, said she has known both of the victims for more than three years, and washed their clothes. She said the two seemed to love each other dearly. They always paid her well. She did not know where their money came from, she said. She never met anyone in the house. Only the two women lived on the fourth floor. Pierre Moreau, a shopkeeper, said Mrs. LEspanaye had bought food at his shop for almost four years. She owned the house and had lived in it for more than six years. He never saw anyone enter the door except the old lady and her daughter, and a doctor eight or ten times, perhaps. Many other persons, neighbors, said the same thing. Almost no one ever went into the house. Mrs. LEspanaye and her daughter were not often seen. Banker Jules Mignaud said that Mrs. LEspanaye had put money in his bank, beginning eight years before. Three days before the killings, she withdrew a large amount in gold. A man from the bank carried it to her house for her. Isidore Muset, a policeman, said that he was with the group that first entered the house. While he was going up the stairs, he heard two voices, one low and soft, and one hard, high, and very strange the voice of someone who was surely not French, the voice of a foreigner, maybe Spanish. It was not a womans voice, he said, although he could not understand what it said. But the other voice, said softly, in French, My God! Alfonso Garcia, who is Spanish and lives on the Rue Morgue, says he entered the house but did not go up the stairs. A nervous man, he was afraid he might be sick. He heard the voices. He believes the high voice was not that of a Frenchman. Perhaps it was English; but he said he doesnt understand English, so he is not sure. William Bird, an Englishman who has lived in Paris for two years, also entered the house. He said the low voice was that of a Frenchman, he was sure, because he heard it say, in French, My God! The high voice was very loud, he said. He is sure it was not the voice of an Englishman, nor the voice of a Frenchman. It seemed to be that of an Italian, a language he does not understand. He said it might have been a womans voice. Mr. Alberto Montani, an Italian, was passing the house at the time of the cries. He said the screams lasted for about two minutes. Montani, who speaks Spanish but not French, says that he also heard two voices. He thought both voices were French. But he could not understand any of the words spoken. All who went in the house agreed that the door to the room on the fourth floor was locked from the inside. It was quiet. They saw no one. The windows were closed and locked from the inside. There is only one stairway to the fourth floor. They said that the chimney opening is too small for escape that way. It took four or five people to pull the daughters body out of the chimney. It was four or five minutes from the time they heard the voices to the moment they entered the room. Paul Dumas, a doctor, says that he was called to inspect the bodies soon after they were found. They were in a horrible condition, badly marked and broken. He said only a man could have caused such injury. The daughter had been strangled, he said. When we had finished reading the newspapers report of the murders, we were quiet for a while. Dupin had that cold, empty look that I know means his mind is working busily. He asked me what I thought of the crime. I said I considered it a mystery with no answer. But Dupin responded, No, no. No. I think you are wrong. A mystery, yes. But there must be an answer. Let us go to the house and see what we can see. There must be an answer. There must! _______________________________________________ For Teachers Download activities to help you understand this story here. Now it's your turn to use the words in this story. Have you ever heard of a terrible crime happening in your city or town? Were the police able to solve it? Let us know in the comments section or on our Facebook page. _______________________________________________ Quiz: The Murders in the Rue Morgue, Part Two Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz _______________________________________________ Words in This Story lock(ed) v. to fasten something with a lock scene n. the place or event of an action mattress n. a cloth case that is filled with material and used as a bed clump n. a small ball or mass of something earring - n. a piece of jewelry that is worn on the ear and especially on the earlobe lock box n. a box that locks, usually for storing money or valuables fireplace n. a specially built place in a room where a fire can be built chimney n. a part of a building through which smoke rises into the outside air strangling gerund. the killing of a person or animal by squeezing the throat vicious adj. very violent and cruel reveal(ed) v. to make something known shopkeeper n. someone who owns or manages a shop or store stairs n. a series of steps that go from one level or floor to another nervous adj. having or showing feelings of being worried and afraid about what might happen stairway n. a set of stairs that go from one level or floor to another Foreign consulates based in Hong Kong will need to seek approval from Chinese authorities 10 days in advance of any visits by officials to Macau or other cities in the Greater Bay Area, according to a new directive. The Commissioners Office of Chinas Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong has informed consulates that if foreign officials need to perform duties outside their consular districts in the Greater Bay Area, they must obtain prior consent from Chinese authorities, according to the Hong Kong Free Press. To seek approval, consulates must submit, in detail, a note explaining the reason for travel, personnel involved, dates and locations to be visited, and any mainland departments they intend to meet with. Three consulates in Hong Kong confirmed receiving the letter and said it instituted a new process for regulating consular activities. Many consulates in Hong Kong also oversee Macau, and therefore we need go to Macau from time to time, said Mandy, a senior staff member at a local consulate (offering comment under a pseudonym). We also visit Shenzhen, Guangzhou, or other cities in Guangdong province to attend activities like opening ceremonies, or for visiting businesspeople from the country of our consulate. Mandy expressed concerns about the new measure, noting it raises questions over whether visit applications could be rejected by Chinese authorities. Besides, were required to share details of our trips, but we cant be sure whether the parties were visiting feel comfortable being identified by Chinese authorities, Mandy said. The Portuguese Consulate-General in Macau, however, told Ponto Final that the directive does not apply to the Portuguese diplomatic mission, since Macau and Hong Kong are part of its consular jurisdiction. The letter cites Article 6 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, which allows consular functions outside districts with host state consent. Applications must go to foreign affairs offices in Guangdong or the commissioners office in Macau. The implications of this new directive for regional cooperation and consular independence remain unclear. As Mandy noted, the move raises concerns about the autonomy of foreign diplomatic missions and their ability to effectively serve their citizens in the Greater Bay Area. Victoria Chan The Environmental Protection Bureau (DSPA) has announced the winners of its annual Green Schools and Green Supermarkets Award Scheme for sustainability. A total of 54 schools participated in the Green School Award Scheme, with 39 winning awards the most in the programs history. Lou Hau School Middle School received the top honor, the Green School Platinum Award. While the Green Supermarket Recognition Scheme awarded San Miu Supermarkets Shek Pai Wan and Lang Yue Ju branches Gold, while 15 supermarket branches won Silver and 40 earned Bronze. The full list of winners is available on the bureaus website Related Hong Kongs corruption watchdog has apprehended seven individuals suspected of engaging in fraudulent transactions and false accounting totaling HKD120 million. Included among those arrested were the companys chairperson and an executive director. In a move to combat cross-boundary fraud and misconduct, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC), the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), and the Macau Judiciary Police (PJ) conducted a joint operation known as Demarcation on Aug. 19 and 20. This operation centered on allegations involving senior executives of a Hong Kong-listed company suspected of engaging in fictitious transactions and false accounting practices amounting to about HKD120 million. The operation saw investigators jointly search six premises associated with the company, leading to the arrest of seven individuals, including the companys chairman and an executive director. The charges against the arrestees pertain to the use of forged documents with the intent to deceive under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. Investigations have revealed troubling details regarding the activities of the companys leadership. Allegations indicate they falsified business documents and accounting records for subsidiaries situated in both Hong Kong and Macau. Notably, the companys trade receivables were reportedly reduced by over MOP113 million. Additionally, authorities uncovered evidence suggesting more than HKD9 million of the companys funds may have been misappropriated through these fraudulent activities. Hong Kong media identified the company as Wai Hung Group Holdings Ltd, which has vast interests in Macaus engineering and interior design activities. Wu Chou Kit, an appointed lawmaker at the Legislative Assembly and Rita Santos, counselor for Portuguese Communities for Asia and Oceania, sit on the board of the cited companies as independent non-executive directors, according to the companys website. However, Santos has publicly denied any involvement in the matter. I heard about it in the news today (Thursday), she told the Plataforma outlet. Given the cross-boundary nature of the crimes, the Macau Judiciary Police also launched an investigation into related fraud offenses in Macau. This marks the first concurrent law enforcement action of its kind between the two jurisdictions, according to regulators. The 32nd International Fireworks Display Contest will illuminate the Macau skyline from Sept. 7 to Oct. 6, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Peoples Republic of China and the 25th anniversary of Macaus return to the mainland. Fireworks teams from 10 countries will showcase their artistry and technical expertise through choreographed displays synchronized to music. Performances will occur at 9 p.m. and 9:40 p.m. on select dates. The Macau Government Tourism Office encourages spectators to enjoy the shows from prime viewing spots, including Avenida Sun Yat-sen, the Macau Science Center and Avenida do Ocean in Taipa. Related A federal judge has temporarily blocked exploratory drilling for a lithium project in Arizona that tribal leaders say will harm land they have used for religious and cultural ceremonies for centuries. Lawyers for the national environmental group Earthjustice and Colorado-based Western Mining Action Project are suing federal land managers on behalf of the Hualapai Tribe. They accuse the U.S. Bureau of Land Management of illegally approving drilling planned by an Australian mining company in the Big Sandy River Basin in northwestern Arizona, about halfway between Phoenix and Las Vegas. The case is among the latest legal fights to pit Native American tribes and environmentalists against President Joe Bidens administration as green energy projects encroach on lands that are culturally significant. U.S. District Judge Diane Humetewa granted a temporary restraining order late Monday, according to court documents. Humetewa is suspending the operation until she can hear initial arguments from the tribe, Arizona Lithium Ltd. and the bureau at a hearing in Phoenix on Sept. 17. The tribe wants the judge to issue a preliminary injunction extending the prohibition on activity at the site pending trial on allegations that federal approval of the exploratory drilling violated the National Historic Preservation Act and National Environmental Policy Act. Like other tribal nations who for centuries have stewarded the lands across this country, the Hualapai people are under siege by mining interests trying to make a buck off destroying their cultural heritage, Earthjustice lawyer Laura Berglan said in a statement yesterday [Macau time. The tribe says in court documents that the bureau failed to adequately analyze potential impacts to sacred springs the Hualapai people call HaKamwe, which means warm spring. The springs have served as a place for healing and prayer for generations. The tribe and environmental groups also argue that a 2002 environmental review by the bureau and the U.S. Energy Department determined that the land was eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places as a traditional cultural property. Arizona Lithium plans a total of 131 drilling sites across nearly 2.6 square kilometers to obtain samples to help determine if theres enough lithium to construct a mine and extract the critical mineral needed to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles, among other things. MDT/AP An unemployed man from mainland China has been detained by police in Macao for allegedly stealing passengers belongings from buses, resulting in losses exceeding MOP10,000 for multiple victims. The case was forwarded to the Public Prosecutions Office for further legal proceedings. Authorities report that the suspect exploited crowded bus conditions, using his backpack to conceal stolen items. This modus operandi has raised concerns about public safety in the region, prompting officials to remind citizens and tourists to remain vigilant in crowded areas. The suspect faces charges under Article 198, paragraph 1, b) of the Criminal Code, which pertains to aggravated theft. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison. However, if evidence reveals that the thefts involved a considerable amount or were part of a criminal group, the sentence could be extended to 10 years. In light of the seriousness of the crimes, the courts have ordered the suspects detention to prevent further offenses and maintain public order. The public prosecutors office outlined in a statement earlier this week that it is committed to pursuing all necessary investigative measures to ensure justice is served. Authorities urge the public to report any thefts immediately to help combat crime and protect the safety of Macaus residents and visitors. NS A mass wedding ceremony will see 5,000 couples, including newlyweds from Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan, participating in Beijing on Sept. 22. Organized by the All-China Womens Federation and five other organizations, the event encourages simplified weddings and discourages outdated practices like extravagant betrothal gifts. The ceremony will feature simultaneous celebrations nationwide via video. According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, China recorded 7.68 million marriage registrations in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 12.4%, following recent reforms that simplify the registration process. Related The Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council (HMO, formerly known as HKMAO) looks back on the history, governance, industries and development in the region since its return to Chinese sovereignty in 1999. Macau, a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China, is marking a significant milestone: 25 years of thriving under the One country, two systems principle. Over the past quarter-century, the region has achieved remarkable success across various sectors, fully embracing the One country, two systems policy and establishing a robust constitutional order while continuously enhancing its governance system, said the HMO in a WeChat post, uploaded Wednesday evening. As nominations for Chief Executive candidates open on August 29, the HMO believes it is an opportune moment to reflect on Macaus achievements and challenges. The recent completion of the 6th Chief Executive Election Committee highlights Macaus ongoing commitment to the One country, two systems framework shaping the regions unique political and economic landscape, according to the council. Since 1999, Macau was described in the post as integrating its governance with the central governments jurisdiction while maintaining a high degree of autonomy by the HMO. Drawing on previous praises from President Xi Jinping, commending the SAR for its impressive progress noting that collaboration between the central government and local authorities has created an environment conducive to these unprecedented developments. Economically, Macau has witnessed transformation in this quarter-century, with its GDP increasing from MOP51.9 billion in 1999 to MOP444.5 billion in 2019, reflecting an average annual growth rate of 11%. This economic growth has positioned Macau among the worlds wealthiest regions, with per capita GDP soaring from USD15,000 to USD69,000. The economy has diversified beyond gaming, with significant advancements in finance, healthcare, and technology. The development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao Deep Cooperation Zone further underscores Macaus strategic integration into national development plans. Socially, the HMO described the quality of life for residents as improving significantly. The government has prioritized education, implementing 15 years of free schooling and enhancing the standards of both basic and higher education. Cultural initiatives have flourished, with Macau recognized as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy and its Historic District designated as a World Heritage Site. Additionally, the SARs social security system, characterized by a two-tier structure and free medical services, has been lauded for its effectiveness, contributing to Macaus reputation as one of the safest cities globally. While the Covid-19 pandemic posed significant challenges, the HMO noted the governments swift response demonstrated resilience. By activating public health measures and ensuring medical resource availability, the SAR effectively controlled the outbreak and facilitated economic recovery. Initiatives like the consumption card program were regarded as having helped stimulate the economy, showcasing the governments commitment to maintaining social stability during turbulent times. As Macau enters its new chapter, the newly elected Chief Executive and the SAR government face the task of continuing development while navigating internal and external challenges. The recently introduced Macao Special Administrative Region Economic Moderate Diversification Development Plan (2024-2028) aims to guide the regions economic strategy, focusing on sustainable growth and innovation. The principle of patriots governing Macau will remain pivotal. The government is undertaking legislative revisions to ensure that those in power align with national interests, reinforcing the political foundation necessary for sustained success. Macau is poised to continue its remarkable trajectory, and the upcoming elections will be crucial in shaping the future of the region as it strives to write a new chapter in its ongoing story of success and resilience under the One country, two systems principle, stated the HMO. Nadia Shaw The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) vowed to assist the city government of Marikina in post-disaster recovery efforts, following the severe impact of Super Typhoon Carina and the enhanced Southwest Monsoon last month. USAID Philippines Mission Director Ryan Washburn recognized the resilience of the city government in the aftermath of the strong typhoon. - Advertisement - We hope that this assistance will help vulnerable families recover and replace some of the essential assets they have lost. We are proud to stand beside the Philippines to ensure the well-being of Filipinos, especially in times of crisis, said Washburn. The USAID, in partnership with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in the country, have committed to assisting Marikinas post-disaster recovery efforts from August to December this year. The support focuses on addressing urgent needs, providing shelter, ensuring access to clean water, and promoting sanitation and hygiene for the most affected individuals and households. Some 1,500 beneficiaries from Marikina, San Mateo, Rodriguez received financial assistance in partnership with the Social Action Center of Antipolo. Washburn also noted it has been less than a month since Typhoon Carina, and the city government has partnered with volunteers and private organizations to initiate a massive clean-up to remove debris and restore public spaces. The USAID, through its Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, and CRS immediately conducted a rapid assessment and mud-cleaning efforts in Marikina, as well as in Pasig and Cainta, Rizal. I would like to thank you for your efforts today. I learned that our people receive a certain amount in cash. Its very helpful because they will feel the empowerment of being able to buy what they need, not things that can be given to them, said Marikina City Mayor Marcelino Reyes Teodoro. According to the Disaster Situation Reports issued by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Marikina had the highest number of populations affected by the widespread flooding. Fifteen (15) barangays were affected, displacing an estimated 66,000 families or 270,263 individuals. Senators expressed conflicting views on the Philippine governments decision to allow temporary shelter to refugees from Afghanistan. Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada said providing houses to these foreigners was tackled during their Senate deliberations. - Advertisement - Estrada said he initially did not like the proposition, since many Filipinos remain homeless, but was convinced when he was told the expenses for accommodating the Afghan refugees would be at no cost to the government. And I think, they (Afghans) will just stay here for a short period of time, said Estrada in Thursdays media forum. Earlier, Senate President Francis Escudero said they will ask additional details on this request from the United States during the hearing of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) budget. But the Senate leader also said he understands this agreement to house the Afghan refugees is just temporary. They will stay in the Philippines while their Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) are being processed for resettlement to the US. Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino, Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III, Senators Risa Hontiveros and Robin Padilla said they are in favor of supporting these Afghans who will be housed in a secluded facility in the country. Tolentino said the move shows the Philippines respect for humanity and for international obligations and is in line with our nations values of compassion, solidarity and international cooperation. He hopes the country carries on its tradition of helping refugees. Pimentel said that, basically, we agree with the decision of the government to be a compassionate place, a compassionate country. Hontiveros, for her part, said stands with Tolentino and other senators in opening the door to temporary safety in our country to refugees and persons facing possible persecution, including women and children. Padilla stressed the Philippines does not and should not see the refugees as a threat. But Sen. Imee Marcos, chairperson of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, warned of a substantial risk in admitting the Afghan refugees. She questioned why the US did not choose another country to host them or fly them straight to America. Marcos viewed some of the refugees as possible threats to national security since they allegedly worked for the US government. Arent these former U.S. employees? she asked. I repeat, are these refugees or US spies (who) moved out of Afghanistan at the end of the US invasion of the country? Marcos criticized the agreement, saying the Philippines has enough problems already. The senator also inquired about what the Afghan refugees will do while they are in the country, and how long they will stay here, noting the lack of transparency on the details of the agreement with the US. Foreign Affairs spokesperson Teresita Daza said the agreement covers a limited number of Aghan applicants for a limited period and shall be authorized to stay in the Philippines for no more than 59 days. She also said it is based on an executive agreement, which only needs the approval of President Ferdinand Marcos before it becomes effective. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will assist in the release and extraction of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Laos following the recent crackdown on the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ), known for its Chinese-owned casinos and hotels, as well as suspected illegal activities. The Philippine Embassy in Vientiane is working closely with Lao authorities and has also sent a team to Bokeo province to facilitate the release and extraction of distressed OFWs from the GTSEZ, the Foreign Affairs Department said. - Advertisement - The DFA is also funding their flights from Bokeo to Vientiane and onward to the Philippines, including accommodation, food, and basic needs. So far, we have responded to 129 requests for assistance, and already repatriated 7 Filipinos today, it added. According to the Philippine Embassy in Vientiane, efforts are underway to repatriate 75 Filipinos. The embassy has also pledged to assist any remaining Filipinos in the Golden Triangle and will continue collaborating with Lao authorities to ensure their safety. Two officials from DFA-Office of the Undersecretary for Migration Affairs (OUMA) are now in Laos to assist as part of the DFAs Rapid Response Team, the DFA said. Earlier, local media reported that Laos has arrested almost 800 people working for a cyber scam network in the GTSEZ on the border with Myanmar and Thailand. Of the 771 people detained, most are from Laos, Myanmar, and China. There are also individuals from Burundi, Colombia, Ethiopia, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Mozambique, Tunisia, the Philippines, Uganda, and Vietnam. Dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo is still in Indonesia, according to the Bureau of Immigration (BI), which is monitoring her whereabouts of the former local government official turned fugitive. Our counterpart confirmed that she is still in Indonesia. Former mayor Alice Guo has not yet made any attempts to move or transfer to another country, BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said. - Advertisement - The BI also reported that Wesley Guo, her brother, is also still in Indonesia but authorities cannot confirm where he was hiding. We are waiting for confirmation from our Indonesian counterparts about any updates on his trip, Sandoval said. Guos name was listed on the immigration lookout bulletin following ongoing investigations into her true identity and alleged links to illegal activities in connection with the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) in Bamban, Tarlac. Meanwhile, Guos sister Shiela and business associate Cassandra Li Ong, are currently detained at the National Bureau of Investigation after they were intercepted in Indonesia and deported back to the Philippines. Guos sister and Ong were expected to cooperate leading to the arrest of the dismissed mayor. The two women will help us because of the information we could get from them, the BI said. Sandoval said Guos group possibly exited the Philippines through Sabah, Malaysia because based on documents, they did not go through formal airports and seaports. It is possible that they passed through Sabah, Malaysia possibly through illegal means, so they did not go through the usual immigration process, she added. The BI said their passports were not processed by Philippine Immigration, adding there were no departure stamps on their passports, but they had an entry in Sabah. The BI is now investigating and backtracking the possible route of Guos group. Beijing, ChinaChina took countermeasures against two Philippine military aircraft that flew into its airspace over the South China Sea, known in Manila as West Philippine Sea, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday. On August 22, two Philippine military aircraft trespassed into the airspace near the Nansha Islands, including Zhubi Jiao (Subi Reef), where China is stationed, Beijings foreign ministry told Agence France Presse (AFP) in a statement. - Advertisement - It added that the Chinese side took necessary countermeasures in accordance with the law, in order to protect its own sovereignty and security. The foreign ministry did not specify what types of measures China took, describing the actions as professional, restrained, and standardized. China will continue to firmly protect its own territorial sovereignty and maritime rights, and firmly oppose any infringing actions, it added. Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea despite an international tribunal ruling that its assertion has no legal basis. China and the Philippines have had repeated confrontations in the waters in recent months, including around a warship grounded years ago by Manila on the contested Second Thomas Shoal. Earlier this week, both countries confirmed that coast guard ships had collided in a pre-dawn incident near the disputed Sabina Shoal, located 140 kilometers (86 miles) west of the Philippine island of Palawan and about 1,200 kilometers from Hainan island, the closest Chinese landmass. Filipinos are no stranger to hard times, and against seemingly insurmountable odds, are able to power through many obstacles that would have crushed others. Among everyday heroes, there are those individuals whose stories are worth telling and retelling. And CIMB Bank Philippines, a bank dedicated to supporting personal growth and creating a positive impact among communities, has chosen to recognize them by amplifying their stories and recognizing them as Pinoy Mavericks. Here are the stories of the awardees of the first-ever Pinoy Mavericks Awards: Phoebe Fructuoso, chairwoman of PAVE Philippines, and her team - Advertisement - Phoebe Fructuoso, who has experienced harrowing sexual abuse and public humiliation from people she trusted, is chair of Promoting Awareness and Victors Empowerment (PAVE) Philippines, an organization which aims to raise awareness about rape culture and gender-based violence while also instilling hope and resilience in fellow survivors. It took eight long years before Phoebe finally received justice, but undaunted by her experience, she has chosen to instead support survivors of sexual violence by giving them a voice and teaching them how to have a victors mindset, as she advocates for a safer tomorrow. By rising above her trauma and turning it into a worthy cause, she has touched the lives of many other victims, bravely wearing her scars as a fully healed survivor. Marlon Fuentes, ride-hailing app driver with Tourette Syndrome Marlon Fuentes, who has the neurological disorder Tourette Syndrome, has been a ride-hailing app driver since 2019. He experiences involuntary movements that make the most basic actions a struggle, as he plies the busy streets of the metropolis. The tics have also led to social discrimination, but despite the pain he experiences, he has not allowed this to get in his way. Unfazed, he has chosen to bravely face each day despite his difficulties. Choosing to rise beyond his tics, he embraces his illness and has become an advocate for those who are similarly affected by it. He has a vlogging channel where he documents his daily life as a driver with Tourettes and his different passenger encounters. Through this channel, he is able to explain what it means to live with Tourettes and to inspire them to look beyond their difficulties. Jerico Ramota, founder of Rolling Bayanihan Jerico Ramota is the brains and brawn that kept the Rolling Bayanihan initiative ever strong, as it brought food and supplies to the disadvantaged. Having experienced hunger himself, Jerico has taken it upon himself to help make sure that people do not experience the same hardship, especially during the pandemic when the poorest were hardest hit. Against the odds, he has always found ways to support barangays, devoting personal time and effort, even if he himself struggles with limited resources. Since then, he has not looked back. His efforts have positively affected the lives of people he has assisted, who have been similarly inspired to propagate the spirit of helping by volunteering their time and resources. CIMB PMA Awards Night 2024 Winners with CIMB Executives L-R: Vijay Manoharan (CIMB CEO), Marlon Fuentes (Winner), Phoebe Fructuoso (Winner), Jerico Ramota (Winner), DArtagnan Aguilar (Chief Marketing Officer) Phoebe, Marlon, and Jerico, CIMBs first Pinoy Mavericks Awards winners, are testaments to the strength of the Filipino spirit, standing out in an already stellar lineup of Pinoy Mavericks nominees with equally compelling and inspiring stories. Their unique stories resonated for evoking hope and for embodying CIMBs mission of empowering Filipinos to live their purpose and overcome barriers to success. The CIMB Pinoy Mavericks Awards is part of the Banks mission to promote financial inclusion and empower Filipinos to live their purpose and overcome barriers to success. Through the awards, CIMB aspires to go beyond what banks traditionally do and create a positive impact on society. Mirroring this spirit, the three winners will be sharing their prize winnings with those who need help the most, perpetuating the cycle of giving: Phoebe will use her winnings to fund PAVEs free mental health counseling and provide pro bono legal consultations to individuals in need of support; Marlon will be donating to Bahay Kalinga, a home for the aged in Bulacan, to help provide some of their needs; and Jerico will be providing support to Manila Boys Town, a residential care center for the homeless and underprivileged youth in Marikina. The three winners hope that their stories of triumphs will provide hope and encouragement to other Filipinos who are struggling against lifes challenges. By the same token, CIMB hopes to inspire and empower Filipinos to reach their life goals and support them, not only by providing innovative digital banking solutions and services, but by giving them living examples of how they can triumph against lifes adversities. To know more about the Pinoy Mavericks Awards and get to know the other winners and nominees, visit www.cimbbank.com.ph/pinoymavericksawards A Canadian mining company on August 22 announced the discovery of a massive diamond, the second largest in the world at 2,492 carats, from the Karowe mine in Botswana. This gem, weighing about half a kilogram, is nearly as large as the worlds largest diamond, the Cullinan, which is over 3,100 carats and was found in South Africa in 1905. The CEO of Lucara, William Lamb expressed excitement over the find, though the press release did not disclose the diamonds value or quality. However, the Financial Times reports it could be worth more than $40 million. The diamond was presented to Botswanas President Mokgweetsi Masisi, who noted its significance, saying it could fund substantial infrastructure projects. Lucara, which operates the Karowe mine, pays Botswana a 10% royalty on the gross sales value of the diamonds it produces. On August 22, the European Union announced it will deploy a mission of 130 observers to monitor Mozambiques general elections scheduled for October 9. European Ambassador Antonino Maggiore revealed that this will be the largest EU observer mission to date. Observers will arrive next week and be stationed throughout the country to oversee both the pre-election period and voting day. The mission aims to assess the election process and provide a comprehensive report to the Mozambican government and public. Mozambiques general elections will include presidential, legislative, and provincial assembly races. With over 17 million registered voters, including 333,839 abroad, the elections will feature 37 political parties. Presidential candidates include Daniel Chapo of the ruling Frelimo party, Ossufo Momade of the main opposition Renamo party, Lutero Simango of the MDM, and Venancio Mondlane of the Podemos party. On August 22, Kenya announced plans to build its first nuclear power plant by 2034. The plant, which will be situated on the Indian Ocean coast, is already facing opposition from activists and local residents concerned about safety and environmental impacts. Musalia Mudavadi, the First Secretary to the Cabinet (equivalent to Prime Minister), stated that alongside the nuclear plant, a research reactor is expected to be operational in the early 2030s. Kenyan media estimate the cost of the 1,000-megawatt plant at 500 billion Kenyan shillings (about 3.5 billion euros). The project aims to boost Kenyas energy capacity, cut CO2 emissions, and create job opportunities. Mudavadi emphasized Kenyas commitment to advancing clean energy, noting that the country is focused on integrating nuclear technology into its sustainable energy strategy. Kenya already derives around 90% of its energy from renewable sources, including geothermal, hydroelectric, wind, and solar power. President William Ruto, a leader in Africas climate change efforts, aims to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2030. 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 Despite the association between mask mandates/mask wearing and reduced death rates during the pandemic, masking remains controversial and highly politicized, with many people still asking, "Do masks work, and should they be recommended?" In an editorial about the use of surgical face masks in public, published today, Aug. 23, in the BMJ, Northwestern Medicine internal medicine experts Drs. Jeffrey Linder and Rachel Amdur make the case for masking but acknowledge it's not a cut-and-dried topic. The editorial is in response to recent findings from a Norwegian study published in the BMJ, which found modest benefits from masking. "The way masks work is more complicated than simply blocking the transmission of infectious droplets or virus between people," said Linder, chief of general internal medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. "The mixed, subtle nature of the evidence means leadership decision-making is still going to be really hard." "This recent study shows that masking can lead to reduction in transmission, but there are likely behaviors (i.e. avoiding crowds, isolating when ill) that also contribute to reduced transmission," said Amdur, assistant professor of medicine (general internal medicine) at Feinberg. "Public health officials would need to consider multiple measures, including mask mandates, if more dangerous variants emerge or in the case of future pandemics." More information: Rachel L Amdur et al, Surgical face masks to prevent respiratory symptoms, BMJ (2024). DOI: 10.1136/bmj.q1843 Journal information: British Medical Journal (BMJ) 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: People with HIV can no longer be turned away if they try to enlist in the U.S. military, a federal judge has ruled. The decision, issued this week by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkma, said the Pentagon's ban on HIV-positive people seeking to join the armed forces contributes "to the ongoing stigma surrounding HIV-positive individuals while actively hampering the military's own recruitment goals." "Modern science has transformed the treatment of HIV," Brinkema wrote in her ruling. "Asymptomatic HIV-positive service members with undetectable viral loads who maintain treatment are capable of performing all of their military duties, including worldwide deployment." Importantly, HIV can't be spread through saliva, sweat, tears, group exercise or sharing a bathroom. Instead, most people get HIV through anal or vaginal sex or when sharing needles, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Antiretroviral therapy can also keep HIV viral loads to low or undetectable levels, and patients who are virally suppressed won't transmit the virus through sex or syringe-sharing, according to the CDC. In recent years, the Pentagon's policies toward HIV-positive Americans have come under legal fire. In 2022, Brinkema struck down the military's ban on people who are HIV-positive from joining the armed forces as officers or deploying abroad, CNN reported. Following that ruling, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued a memo that said people who are HIV-positive will no longer be automatically barred from serving in military leadership or overseas. The challenge to the enlistment policy was brought by three HIV-positive individuals looking to join or rejoin the military in the last few years. All three were unable to do so, CNN reported. One of the plaintiffs, Isaiah Wilkins, was serving in the Georgia National Guard when he sought to enlist in the Army Reserve. During that process, he learned that he was HIV-positive. "This is a victory not only for me but for other people living with HIV who want to serve," Wilkins said in a statement issued Tuesday. "As I've said before, giving up on my dream to serve my country was never an option. I am eager to apply to enlist in the Army without the threat of a crippling discriminatory policy." The Pentagon has argued that its policy acknowledges that caring for HIV-positive service members could create financial burdens for the Department of Defense and that deployment might make it hard for HIV-positive soldiers to stick with medication regimens that keep the virus in check, CNN reported. More information: The World Health Organization has more on HIV. 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: GnRHMOB and GnRHAOB neuronal projections and neuroendocrine/behavioral responses to odors in male mice. Credit: Nature Neuroscience (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-024-01724-1 Animal reproduction is supported by the integration of various external and internal processes. These processes include a combination of perceived sensory cues, behaviors and hormone secretion. In numerous animal species, reproduction is known to rely on the detection of sex-specific hormones, known as pheromones. These hormones are picked up by a part of the olfactory system known as the vomeronasal system. One of the types of neurons known to play a key role in the reproduction of mammals are the so-called gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons. These neurons, which are primarily located in the hypothalamus, regulate the reproductive system by controlling the release of gonadotropins from the pituitary gland (i.e., a pea-sized brain region responsible for the secretion of hormones). Gonadotropins are crucial hormones that are responsible for the development of male and female reproductive organs, including ovaries and testes. These hormones are known to be central regulators of reproductive health, as they support processes such as ovulation, sperm production and sexual development. Researchers at the School of Medicine in Lille (France) Labex DistAlz and other institutes in Europe recently carried out a study on mice aimed at better understanding how GnRH neurons contribute to reproduction. Their findings, published in Nature Neuroscience, suggest that GnRH neurons in the olfactory bulb of adult male mice translate socially relevant odors into reproductive behaviors. "We show that GnRH neurons in the olfactory bulb (GnRHOB) of adult mice can mediate social recognition," Laurine Decoster, Sara Trova and their colleagues wrote in their paper. "Specifically, we show that GnRHOB neurons extend neurites into the vomeronasal organ and olfactory epithelium and project to the median eminence. GnRHOB neurons in males express vomeronasal and olfactory receptors, are activated by female odors and mediate gonadotropin release in response to female urine." Distribution of GnRH neurons within the olfactory bulbs of humans. Credit: Nature Neuroscience (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-024-01724-1 The research team carried out a series of experiments on adult mice. Using various genetic techniques, the researchers closely observed the anatomy and connectivity of GnRH neurons in the mice's olfactory bulb, a structure in the frontal part of the brain responsible for processing smells and olfactory information. The data collected by the researchers suggest that this population of GnRH neurons outside of the hypothalamus is responsible for integrating chemosensory cues with information about attraction sexual behavior and corresponding hormonal changes in male mice. In males, these neurons essentially pick up olfactory and hormonal cues, translating them into sexual arousal and reproductive behavior. "Male preference for female odors required the presence and activation of GnRHOB neurons, was impaired after genetic inhibition or ablation of these cells and relied on GnRH signaling in the posterodorsal medial amygdala," the researchers wrote. "GnRH receptor expression in amygdala kisspeptin neurons appear to be required for GnRHOB neurons' actions on male mounting behavior." Overall, the findings gathered by Decoster, Trova and her colleagues suggest that GnRH neurons in the mouse olfactory bulb play a crucial role in the regulation of male fertility, the recognition of female mice and mating. In the future, this recent work could inspire further research focusing on this neuronal population, including studies aimed at determining whether they play a similar role in humans. More information: Laurine Decoster et al, A GnRH neuronal population in the olfactory bulb translates socially relevant odors into reproductive behavior in male mice, Nature Neuroscience (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41593-024-01724-1 Journal information: Nature Neuroscience 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: Relative contribution of risk factors on clinical outcome measures. Credit: JAMA Network Open (2024). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.26774 A team of neuroscientists, brain specialists and psychiatrists, led by a group at Cambridge University, in the U.K, has found evidence suggesting that minor brain injuries that occur early in life, may have health impacts later on. In their paper published in the journal JAMA Network Open, the group describes how they analyzed and compared MRI scans from hundreds of people participating in the U.K.'s Prevent Dementia study. Prior research has suggested that some forms of dementia could be related to some types of brain injuries. In this new effort, the research team, hoping to learn more about the impact of concussions or other minor brain injuries on dementia, looked at MRI scans of 617 people between the ages of 40 to 59 who had volunteered to take part in the Prevent Dementia study and who had undergone at least three MRI scans. They also studied their medical histories, focusing most specifically on whether they had had brain injuries anytime during their life. The research team noted that 36.1% of the volunteers reported having experienced at least one brain injury that was serious enough to have caused them to be unconscious for a short period of timesuch injuries are classified as traumatic brain injuries (TBIs). Looking at the MRI scans, the researchers found higher than normal instances of cerebral microbleeds (1 in 6 of them) and other symptoms of what they describe as evidence of small vessel disease of the brain. They also found that those patients with at least one TBI were more likely to smoke cigarettes, had more sleep problems, were more likely to have gait issues and to suffer from depression. They also noted that the more TBIs a person had, the more such problems became apparent. Another thing that stood out, the team notes, was that those people who had experienced a TBI when younger had a higher risk of memory problems than did patients with cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure or diabetes, a possible clue about their likelihood of developing dementia. The researchers conclude by suggesting that more work needs to be done to learn about the long-term impacts of TBIs, particularly regarding memory retention problems and possible associations with the development of dementia. They further suggest that their work hints at the possibility of unknown health consequences years after people suffer head injuries. More information: Audrey Low et al, Neuroimaging and Clinical Findings in Healthy Middle-Aged Adults With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in the PREVENT Dementia Study, JAMA Network Open (2024). DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.26774 Journal information: JAMA Network Open 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: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Trinity researchers have examined the effectiveness of a new blood test which could change the way Alzheimer's disease is identified. The blood test (plasma p-tau217) detects the presence of amyloid plaques that build up in the brain of people with Alzheimer's disease. In the Alzheimer's brain, abnormal levels of this naturally occurring protein clump together to form plaques that disrupt normal cell function. A paper published in Alzheimer's Research & Therapy outlines a study undertaken by the Institute of Memory & Cognition at Tallaght University Hospital (TUH) which could change the way Alzheimer's disease is detected. Researchers wanted to know if a simple blood test would be easier and more accurate than a lumbar puncture (spinal tap), which currently is the only method to detect amyloid plaques. The lumbar puncture is invasive, and scans are limited in their availability. The use of blood tests has clear advantages over both of these methods; being less invasive, more straightforward for patients, easier to scale up and less costly. Using samples from the biobank at the TUH Institute of Memory and Cognition, study lead, Dr. Adam Dyer, examined the performance of the new blood test. Adam is a geriatric medicine trainee at Tallaght University Hospital and Medical Gerontology, Trinity College Dublin. Patients who are undergoing a diagnostic lumbar puncture for the detection of Alzheimer's disease at TUH opt to donate cerebrospinal fluid and blood samples for future research. This is crucial in examining the performance of these new blood tests in real-world clinical cohorts. The research examined how well the new blood test performed in detecting the same proteins (in particular "amyloid" protein) that are looked for in cerebrospinal fluid in samples from the existing biobank. The potential for significant change in detection Overall, the blood test was more than 90% as accurate as the outcome from lumbar punctures. Different blood test cut-off values were then examined and it was found that iftheoreticallythe blood test was used in the future, over half of lumbar punctures could be avoided. This has significant implications in terms of invasiveness, length of time to a diagnosis and also may reduce cost. Lumbar punctures are safe and well-tolerated as diagnostic procedures. However, a small number of individuals may experience side-effects such as post-lumbar-puncture headache. Commenting on the research, Dr. Dyer said, "This study found that blood tests such as plasma p-tau217 demonstrate excellent performance to detect the changes that are characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. "In the future, clinical use of these blood tests may enable us to avoid invasive tests such as lumbar punctures in over half of individuals who currently have these procedures performed. This research is one of a handful in the world to assess this in 'real-world' clinical cohorts and the first Irish study to examine the performance of these blood tests." Moving forward, the next step in this research is to examine if the performance of these blood tests can be matched in diagnostic laboratories. This would mean that patients referred can hopefully have a blood test in the first instance, and that those who clearly have a negative or positive result could avoid the need for diagnostic lumbar puncture. Commenting on the research, Professor Sean Kennelly, consultant physician in geriatric medicine and director of the Institute of Memory & Cognition, said, "A timely and accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease is of paramount importance to living well with this condition, and our ability to support diagnosis using a simple blood test like this has the potential to revolutionize this area for affected people. "We are so grateful to the people attending our clinical services, as none of this research would be possible without their generosity in agreeing to participate, which is such an important role of a teaching hospital." More information: Adam H. Dyer et al, Performance of plasma p-tau217 for the detection of amyloid- positivity in a memory clinic cohort using an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay, Alzheimer's Research & Therapy (2024). DOI: 10.1186/s13195-024-01555-z Journal information: Alzheimer\'s Research & Therapy 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: National Cancer Institute A study by co-authors from the ECDC, WHO and national public health institutes in four European countries, and published in Eurosurveillance, has found that prior smallpox vaccination in childhood could protect against infections caused by monkeypox virus (MPXV) clade II in men. However, the estimated degree of protection varied among countries, highlighting the need for further research to validate the study findings. In light of the 20222023 outbreak of mpox in Europe that mainly affected certain groups with high-risk behavior among men who have sex with men, the study sought to determine the effectiveness of historical smallpox vaccination during childhood against laboratory-confirmed mpox, to inform vaccination efforts. Case-based surveillance data were selected from countries that collected information on prior smallpox vaccination status of mpox cases and had available data on historical smallpox vaccination coverage, namely Denmark, France (mainland only), the Netherlands (mainland only) and Spain. The study analyzed mpox cases born in these countries during the height of national smallpox vaccination campaigns (latest in 1971). Too few mpox cases in females were reported to adjust for sex in the analysis, so only cases recorded as male were included. Vaccine effectiveness and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) for each country were then estimated using logistic regression as per the Farrington screening method. A pooled estimate was then calculated using a random effects model. Results and public health implications Estimated historical smallpox coverage was high (8090%) across all countries until the end of the 1960s, dropping off considerably during the last 10 years of vaccination programs. Estimates of vaccine effectiveness of prior smallpox vaccination against mpox caused by MPXV clade II varied widely between countries, ranging from 42% in the Netherlands to 84% in Spain, possibly reflecting different booster strategies. The pooled vaccine effectiveness estimate was 70% with a wide 95% confidence interval of 2389%, indicating a high level of uncertainty. The study findings suggest that historical childhood smallpox vaccination in a European setting could protect two-thirds of men against mpox caused by MPXV clade II. However, there was significant uncertainty in the results and variation between countries. The results of this study are therefore not sufficient to support differential smallpox vaccination to protect against mpox based on historical smallpox vaccination status or age. The authors recommend that individuals with a high risk of exposure be offered mpox vaccination, regardless of vaccination history. With the recent surge of clade Ib mpox cases in several countries in central and East Africa, there is an urgent need to conduct similar studies on the effectiveness of the smallpox vaccine against the most recent circulating clade. More information: Effectiveness of historical smallpox vaccination against mpox clade II in Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Spain, 2022, Eurosurveillance (2024). DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.34.2400139. www.eurosurveillance.org/conte S.2024.29.34.2400139 Provided by European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) 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: Journal of Rare Diseases (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s44162-024-00049-8 Researchers call on policymakers, decision-makers, and "those who hold the purse strings" to listen to the evidence and take action to enable individuals with TSC to receive the internationally recommended coordinated care they require to live full lives. Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a rare genetic disease (approximate 1:6,000 birth incidence) with a wide variability of physical and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Patients require lifelong care from multiple health care specialists. But what is known of TSC in the Republic of Ireland? Up to now, very little, despite the fact that there are an estimated 600 patients living with the disease. Today, the findings of the first national clinical audit of baseline TSC care, of a group of adult and pediatric patients attending epilepsy services, carried out by Trinity College Dublin researchers, have been published in the Journal of Rare Diseases. The paucity of information surrounding the illness, including the health care of this group, what care is being provided, if any, the lived experience of this group and the needs of the health care professionals who provide their care, led the Trinity team to undertake this research. Researchers found care to be fragmented and lacking a formal TSC clinic or network to provide the internationally recommended TSC care for this multiorgan complex disease. Coordination of the many investigations and consultations required to manage TSC frequently falls on the shoulders of the patients, families and caregivers to navigate their care and health care system. Researchers say this is not conducive with the International or UK TSC recommendations, where lifelong, personalized, multidisciplinary care, by a coordinated team of TSC experts is recommended. Nor is it in line with the WHO guidance on safe systems of care to improve patient safety and reduce available harm. Key findings Care was shown to be fragmented with no centralized TSC care coordination as per the UK recommendations. Numbers ( adult and children) attending epilepsy services were lower than expected. 135 patients were attended compared to approx. 400 patients that would have been expected to attend. Many baseline investigations were completed especially in pediatric services. However, separate referrals were required to access services and treatments even within the same hospital, resulting in fragmented care. All specialties required for the care of TSC patients were available in the ROI, e.g., neurology, nephrology and investigative technology such as MRI were available. However, long waiting times and no clear feedback systems resulted in fragmented uncoordinated care. Key recommendations The establishment of a TSC center of excellence in the ROI, with the recruitment of a TSC coordinator. Coordinated care, ideally in a center of excellence, would facilitate health care professionals with TSC expertise to provide lifelong personalized care to TSC patients and support to their HCP colleagues. There would be an amplification in TSC awareness, increased patient safety and outcomes, improved patient and provider satisfaction and a reduction in health care costs. Researchers note that an advanced nurse practitioner passionate about TSC has already begun to coordinate TSC patient care of those who are attending St James Hospital in Dublin. The team report that this has been lifechanging for these patients and the service needs to expand. The research team highlighted that in recent years, important progress has been made in the management and control of TSC with the emergence of new pharmaceutical treatments. It is vital people receive an early diagnosis and the appropriate treatment. Mary Vasseghi, Ph.D. candidate, School of Medicine Trinity College Dublin and FutureNeuro, the study lead author, said, "The understanding of the mechanism of TSC has changed and critically, improved the trajectory and outcomes for individuals living with TSC . "The development of targeted pharmaceutical treatments and the establishment of International Clinical Recommendations for the management of this complex disease has greatly contributed to this progress. "It is vital individuals receive an early diagnosis and ongoing appropriate surveillance and management by a coordinated team with TSC expertise- for life. We must provide coordinated integrated care for these patients. It is life-saving and life-changing. As a parent of someone living with TSC and a new researcher in this field, I feel privileged to have this unique perspective." Claire Behan, Ph.D. candidate, Academic Unit of Neurology, Trinity College Dublin and Registered Advanced Nurse Practitioner Epilepsy, Neurology Department, St. James's Hospital and co-author, said, "Tuberous sclerosis is a rare genetic disorder that significantly impacts individuals and families in Ireland. Raising awareness through research like this is essential in supporting those affected. The backbone of this research is the network of advanced nurse practitioners in epilepsy across Ireland, highlighting the impact of interdisciplinary, collaborative research. "Based on the findings from our initial audit, we began implementing changes at a local level. However, with these latest insights, it has become clear that these improvements should be extended and standardized at a national level. "Policymakers, decision-makers, and those who hold the purse strings must listen to the evidence before them and take action. We need to empower parents to focus on their families and enable individuals with TSC to live their lives fullyfree from the burden of navigating complex care systems. "It's time to stand with our international colleagues in delivering a seamless, inclusive, and efficient service for people in Ireland with TSC, grounded in evidence and ultimately saving costs. The responsibility to act is now." More information: M. Vasseghi et al, Widespread service fragmentation for patients and families with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) in the Republic of Ireland, Journal of Rare Diseases (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s44162-024-00049-8 You are here: Arts North China's culturally-rich province of Shanxi has significantly increased investment in cultural relic preservation and diversified funding channels in recent years, according to the provincial finance department. In 2024, the province allocated 408 million yuan (57.28 million U.S. dollars) at the provincial level for cultural relic protection, an increase of 84 million yuan from 2021, with an average annual growth rate of 8 percent. Additionally, the province has secured 525 million yuan in national funds for cultural relic protection this year, up by 197 million yuan from 2023, representing a 60 percent increase. As a leading repository of heritage resources in China, Shanxi is home to 53,875 immovable cultural relics, and boasts 531 key historical and cultural sites under national-level protection, the highest number among provincial-level regions. However, the province faces challenges in protecting numerous low-grade cultural relics, with substantial conservation work and inadequate management personnel. Since 2023, Shanxi has also used general bond funds to bolster cultural relic protection in financially strained cities and counties. The province has pioneered a special fund, the Shanxi Cultural Relic Protection Fund, to mobilize and attract social capital, which has emerged into a new model for heritage preservation, the department said. Shanxi has also encouraged public participation in relic protection through initiatives. By the end of 2023, the province had attracted nearly 520 million yuan in social funds for relic protection. The Ministry of Education has instructed all parents and schools to register students with the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF). Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang emphasized the urgency of this registration process in a letter to institutions across the country. The Ministry has set a deadline of August 26, 2024, for the registration to be completed, requiring that all students are enrolled in the insurance scheme before the 2024 third term begins. Additionally, the Ministry has informed all Regional and County Directors of Education that the enhanced Edu Afya package will now be offered through SHIF. The Edu Afya medical scheme for students was discontinued in 2023. However, the Ministry of Health has now reintroduced the program under SHIF, with an allocation of Ksh4.6 billion. According to Section 26 of the Social Health Insurance Act, every Kenyan, including children, must register with the Social Health Insurance Fund. In response, the Ministry of Health, through the State Department for Medical Services and the Social Health Authority, has developed an upgraded Edu Afya benefit package under SHIF. Parents must register school-going children as their dependents. Registration can be completed either via a USSD code or on the website. The Ministry has outlined that all children must be registered as dependents before the start of the 2024 third term. Parents can use the website sha.go.ke, dial 147#, or visit afyangu.go.ke for registration, as detailed in the attached registration manual. The Ministry of Health has also provided an online version of the registration form on the Social Health Authority website. A soft copy is available at www.sha.go.ke. For any issues, parents can contact the Social Health Authority call center at 0800720601 or email [email protected]. The Ministry requests that this information be shared with all parents and schools to ensure every student is registered with the Social Health Insurance Fund. Five officers from the Gigiri police station in Nairobi, accused of aiding the escape of 13 remandees, have been released on bond. They are linked to the escape of 12 Eritrean illegal immigrants alongside Collins Jumaisi, the prime suspect in the brutal killings of women whose bodies were found dumped at Nairobis Kware dumpsite. On Thursday, Magistrate Martha Nanzushi granted each officer a Ksh 200,000 bond, stating that there were no compelling reasons to justify the 14-day detention requested by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). In her ruling, Nanzushi noted that while the investigation into the escape is ongoing, the state has failed to provide compelling reasons to keep the officers in custody without charge. She also stated that the conditions set for the officers release are stringent enough to ensure they will not interfere with the investigation. The officersCorporal Ronald Babo and Constables Evans Kipkirui, Mollent Achieng, Zachary Nyabuto, and Gerald Mutukumust report to the DCI twice a week. In a related development, the DCI has issued a wanted notice for Collins Jumaisi, offering a cash reward for credible information that could lead to his arrest. On the morning of Thursday, about 60 guqin (a plucked seven-stringed instrument created in ancient China) enthusiasts from across the country gathered at the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, performing together in a concert, bringing the curtains down on a guqin summer camp. Ranging in age from 7 to 51, they shared a two-and-a-half-day summer camp experience filled with music and friendship. Guqin teacher Li Fengyun, xun (Chinese vessel flute made of pottery, one of the oldest known Chinese instruments), dizi (flute) and xiao (end-blown bamboo flute) teacher Wang Jianxin, and their assistants gave demonstrations, and one-on-one guidance to the guqin lovers. During the concert, they presented a refined performance, featuring ensembles and solos, and performances combining guqin, dance, and poetry recitations, including pieces such as Ode to Joy, Gusu Travel, and Remembering Old Friends, which received enthusiastic applause from the audience. After the concert, the teachers awarded certificates of completion to all participants and took group photos to commemorate this precious musical experience. "This is already our fourth year of hosting the guqin and xiao summer camp. Some participants are new, while others have shared many wonderful summers with us. We are committed to preserving and transmitting the most authentic Chinese cultural heritage," said Li. "Among the students, there are both new faces and returning participants. I am deeply moved that students can revisit and delve into learning dizi, xiao, and xun. After the initial novelty, they gradually appreciate how these instruments harmonize the mind and body and deepen their understanding of beauty," said Wang. The summer camp is part of the ongoing annual Gateway to Arts summer festival, which runs till Aug 31. Since 1995, the annual festival, which is one of Beijing's biggest arts festivals for children during the summer vacation, has gained a large fan base. To streamline visa processing and create opportunities for skilled Kenyan migrant workers, the government is leveraging international labor agreements as part of a broader strategy to reduce unemployment. This initiative targets the nations graduates, ensuring they are well-prepared to meet the increasing global demand for specialized skills. During a recent training session in Kilifi for 25 nurses recruited to work in Australia, State Labour and Skills Development PS Shadrack Mwadime addressed concerns that the government is focusing on exporting unskilled labor. He emphasized that the government is actively working to secure international positions for Kenyan graduates across various professions. Our focus on skilled labor is central to our strategy for reducing the high number of unemployed graduates and helping them seize global opportunities, Mwadime explained. We are negotiating international labor agreements to open new employment avenues and simplify the documentation process for graduates seeking jobs abroad. Collaborations with recruitment agencies Mwadime highlighted ongoing collaborations with recruitment agencies, including Kenstria Agency, which has been facilitating the placement of nurses in Australia every three months. He also revealed that the government is finalizing agreements with countries like Germany to accelerate visa processing for Kenyan professionals. We have thoroughly discussed visa processing challenges, Mwadime said. The agreements we are finalizing will expedite the process. For instance, our arrangement with Germany includes deploying additional officials to their embassy in Nairobi to speed up visa approvals. The PS also noted that the governments efforts extend beyond the medical field. Were not just focusing on nurses. We have agreements in place that will benefit ICT experts, medical doctors, engineers, and even teachers. Recently, Kenyan teachers have secured positions in the United States, he added. According to Mwadime, the government is committed to organizing and structuring the migration of Kenyan professionals. Our goal is to ensure that Kenyans migrate in an organized and systematic manner, unlike the haphazard approach of the past, he said. Fredrick Kahoria, co-founder of Kenstria Agency, noted that this is the third round of recruitment they have conducted this year, with 25 nurses selected in each round. We launched this program earlier this year, and it has successfully secured international opportunities for our graduates, Kahoria said. The Genesis for Human Rights Commission has filed a petition in the High Court seeking to nullify the appointment of Ali Hassan Joho as the Cabinet Secretary for Mining. The group claims that the appointments committee overlooked several memorandums that allegedly provided evidence of Johos unsuitability for the position. According to Caleb Ngwena, the executive director of the group, he and other concerned Kenyans submitted memorandums outlining Johos lack of the necessary academic qualifications for the role, but these concerns were ignored. Ngwena detailed in the memorandum that Joho lacks the proper academic credentials required for the Cabinet Secretary position and cited allegations of economic crimes as further evidence of his unsuitability. The petition also raises concerns about Johos alleged involvement in drug trafficking, which was highlighted in a dossier presented in Parliament by the late Professor George Saitoti. Although Saitoti later cleared Joho of any links to drug trafficking, the group remains concerned about these allegations. Ngwena also criticized the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties, accusing it of failing in its duty by clearing Joho for the appointment despite records showing that he served as the deputy party leader of the Orange Democratic Movement. In this role, Joho was responsible for overseeing government investments and expenditures, raising further questions about his suitability for the Cabinet position. Ngwena claims that the memorandum was submitted in the form of affidavits, but these were not given proper consideration. As a result, the Genesis for Human Rights Commission has asked the court to declare Johos appointment unconstitutional and to direct the relevant authorities to nominate a suitable person for the position of CS for Mining. The group is also seeking an order to prevent Joho from performing his duties as Cabinet Secretary until the case is resolved. Justice Lawrence Mugambi, who is overseeing the case, has directed that the petition and application be served within seven days, with responses to be filed and served within 14 days. The court will issue further directions on the case on October 17. California lawmakers are abandoning an ambitious proposal to force Google to pay news companies for using their content, opting instead for a deal in which the tech giant has agreed to pay $172 million to support local media outlets and start an artificial intelligence program. The first-in-the-nation agreement, announced Wednesday, promises $175 million for local journalism across California over the next five years, but represents a significant departure from the bill pushed by news publishers and media employee unions earlier this year. Instead of Google and Meta being forced to negotiate usage fees with news outlets directly, Google would deposit $55 million over five years into a new fund administered by UC Berkeley to be distributed to local newsrooms and the state would provide $70 million over five years. Google would also continue paying $10 million each year in existing grants to newsrooms. The Legislature and the governor would still need to approve the state money each year; the source isn't specified yet. Google would also contribute $12.5 million each year toward an artificial intelligence "accelerator" program, raising labor advocates' anxieties about the threat of job losses. Publishers who initially pushed for the proposal forcing Google to pay them said the deal was still a win. The UC Berkeley fund will be overseen by news industry groups; the money will be distributed according to the number of journalists employed at each publication, with some reserved for smaller or ethnic media outlets. "This is a first step toward what we hope will become a comprehensive program to sustain local news in the long term, and we will push to see it grow in future years," Julie Makinen, board chairperson of the California News Publishers Association, said in a statement. In an interview, Makinen said that the deal was "not what we had hoped for when set out, but it is a start and it will begin to provide some help to newsrooms across the state." "Sometimes, the political realities, they are what they are," she said. "And there's many of them in this state and in this election year." Unions representing media workers accused the news companies and lawmakers of settling for too little. Senate Democratic leader Mike McGuire, whose chamber earlier this year passed a bill "to hold Big Tech companies accountable for the profits they make off" linking to news articles, also raised concerns. In a statement, he said the deal "lacks sufficient funding for newspapers and local media, and doesn't fully address the inequities facing the industry." The agreement replaces two bills lawmakers had pursued the last two years as they tried to secure a cut of tech money to prop up California's struggling local news industry. Following a nationwide trend, media companies have hemorrhaged jobs over the past two decades as advertisers fled print media for the internet and technological advancements reshaped how readers consume news. The state has lost one-third of its newspapers since 2005 in a trend experts say worsens civic engagement, polarization and misinformation. To try to keep their readers, publications increasingly rely on social media and online search. Google controls the lion's share of search in a way the U.S. Justice Department and one federal judge have said violates antitrust law. The proposals to impose fees on Google's use of news content in its search results prompted a flurry of tech company lobbying. In the past 18 months, for instance, Google spent more than $2.1 million lobbying lawmakers against those bills and others more than triple what it spent in the same time period two years earlier, according to a CalMatters review. The first bill, introduced in February 2023 by Oakland Democratic Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, would have required platforms such as Google and Meta to either pay a fee or negotiate with news outlets for using their news content. It was sponsored by the CNPA, whose members include major newspapers including the San Francisco Chronicle and the Los Angeles Times. (CalMatters and the Napa Valley Register are also members.) The bill passed the Assembly last year, but Wicks paused it to try to bridge a split among media companies over how the money would be divided. Australia and Canada both passed similar measures in recent years but the political headwinds were different in the tech companies' home state. Google has argued the bill would unfairly force it to pay for sending free traffic to news sites, and disadvantage smaller sites. In a legislative hearing in June, the company's vice president of global news partnerships, Jaffer Zaidi, called the proposal "profoundly unconstitutional and problematic" since it could compel platforms to show content that they were forced to pay for. The second bill, introduced this February by Orinda Democratic Sen. Steve Glazer, would have imposed a fee on major tech platforms to provide news outlets a tax credit to employ local journalists. The measure would have raised $500 million a year. In response to the Wicks bill, Google temporarily removed links to California news websites from its search results and in response to the Glazer bill, Google said it might stop funding nonprofit newsrooms nationwide. At the time, McGuire called the threats "an abuse of power." Glazer shelved his bill in May, after failing to scrounge up the two-thirds majority he needed, and said he would focus on trying to improve the Wicks bill. He later resurrected it; it passed the Senate in late June and is in an Assembly committee. Negotiations ramped up over the summer. Tech companies doubled down on threats to stop linking to news sites in California if Wicks' bill passed, and publishers had an incentive to support an agreement that would give them the money quicker. In Canada, the government has estimated Google is paying $73 million a year to news outlets under its new journalism industry law, but proponents of California's deal say the money has been slow to be distributed. Another factor: Some proponents said it was unlikely Gov. Gavin Newsom, who pledged no tax increases this year, would sign Wicks' bill, which could be seen as a tax on tech companies. In a Wednesday news release, Newsom praised the deal, though his spokesperson Alex Stack on Tuesday denied the governor was involved or had taken a position on the bill. "This agreement represents a major breakthrough in ensuring the survival of newsrooms and bolstering local journalism across California leveraging substantial tech industry resources without imposing new taxes on Californians," Newsom said in a statement. Is early childhood education ready for AI? Is early childhood education ready for AI? Is early childhood education ready for AI? You are here: China A new collection of works by Deng Xiaoping has been published to mark the 120th birth anniversary of the late Chinese leader. The publication, titled "Collected Works of Deng Xiaoping (1925-1949)," was compiled by the Institute of Party History and Literature of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and published by the People's Publishing House. The three-volume collection features 207 works by Deng from the mid-1920s up until the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. The compilation includes a wide array of documents such as speeches, reports, conversations, articles, telegrams, letters, orders and inscriptions. This collection serves as an important supplement to "Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping," offering insights into his contributions and his spirit and demeanor. Hao Hongjun, a former senior municipal political advisor in Dalian, northeast China's Liaoning province, stood trial at a court in the northern city of Handan on Thursday on the charge of accepting bribes. Hao, former chairman of the Dalian Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was accused of leveraging his various positions in Liaoning as well as the privileges associated with his status, to seek benefits for others in the purchase of bank stocks, project contracting, job promotions and other areas, from 2006 to 2023. In return, he accepted money and gifts worth a total of more than 74.98 million yuan (about $10.53 million), according to the indictment. Prosecutors have recommended that Hao be held criminally responsible for the crime of accepting bribes. During the trial, Hao pleaded guilty and expressed remorse. His sentence will be announced at a later date. 09:12 The incident took place around July 10 when a trainee pilot and a non-trainer pilot, as a pair, operated a commercial flight of the airline, said DGCA. This was in violation of the safety regulations. The DGCA imposed a penalty of Rs 90 lakh on Air India, Rs 6 lakh and Rs 3 lakh, respectively, on Air India, its director of operations, and its director of training. The airlines director of training has also been suspended for six months from his position. 'Furthermore, the pilot concerned has been warned to exercise caution to prevent such occurrences in future. Air India operated a flight commanded by a non-trainer line captain paired with a non-line-released first officer which has been viewed by the regulator as a serious scheduling incident having significant safety ramifications,' DGCA said. The incident came to the DGCAs notice through a voluntary report submitted by Air India on July 10. 'Taking cognisance of this incident, the regulator undertook comprehensive investigations into Air India operations including examination of documentation and spot check of Air India's scheduling facility. Based on investigation, it was prima facie revealed that there are deficiencies and multiple violations to the regulatory provisions by several post holders and staff, which could significantly affect safety,' the DGCA noted. The pilot-in-command of the flight and the executives of the airline were issued show cause notices on July 22 regarding this incident. 'The reply submitted by the concerned failed to provide satisfactory justification. As such, DGCA has initiated enforcement action in terms of provisions of the extant rules/regulations and imposed the above penalty,' said the regulator. Over the past few years, there have been multiple instances when the airline has drawn the ire of the regulator. In May, DGCA stated that the Tata group-run Air India is 'time and again', failing to take due care of its passengers, after passengers suffered from 'insufficient' cabin cooling on two of its flights that were 'inordinately delayed'. In March, DGCA imposed a fine of Rs 80 lakh on Air India for violating rules regarding flight duty time limitation (FDTL), aimed at ensuring pilots receive sufficient rest to prevent any incidents at work due to fatigue. In February, Air India incurred a Rs 30 lakh fine from the DGCA after an elderly passenger suffered a fatal heart attack. The passenger had chosen to walk from the aircraft to the terminal due to the airlines inability to provide a requested wheelchair, leading to the tragic incident minutes later. In January, Air India was fined Rs 30 lakh for not rostering sufficient trained pilots to land on low visibility (CAT-III landings). CAT-III instrument landing system is used at major airports across India to allow pilots to land aircraft when visibility is as low as 50 metres. However, a pilot must be trained to use this system. In January, hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled across the country due to dense fog. In June 2023, DGCA suspended two Air India pilots -- a captain for one year and a co-pilot for one month -- for allowing an unauthorised person in the cockpit during the airlines Chandigarh-Leh flight on June 3. A similar incident occurred on the airlines Delhi-Dubai flight on February 27, 2023, when its captain allowed a female friend in the cockpit. The DGCA suspended this captain for three months in April 2023 and warned the co-pilot for not being assertive enough to prevent this violation. In January 2023, the civil aviation regulator fined Air India rS 30 lakh for lapses in handling an incident where a man urinated on a woman co-passenger on a New York to Delhi flight. In June 2022, it fined the airline Rs 10 lakh for not giving required compensation to passengers with valid tickets who were denied boarding. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Friday imposed a fine of Rs 99 lakh on Air India and its two senior executives for operating a flight last month with unqualified pilots. The regulator said the incident had 'significant safety ramifications'. VMPL New Delhi [India], August 23: In an era where personalised travel experiences are becoming the norm, Luxury Country Royal Holidays Inn and Suites has set a new standard for excellence by unveiling its revamped travel desk facilities. This latest enhancement underscores the company's commitment to providing unparalleled vacation services and ensuring every journey is seamless and enjoyable. Luxury Country Royal Holidays Inn and Suites has always prided itself on delivering exceptional service, and the launch of its travel desk facilities is a testament to this commitment. The company's spokesperson commented on the launch, "We recognise that every traveller is unique, and our goal is to provide a service that not only meets but exceeds expectations. Our upgraded travel desks are designed to offer personalisation and support that transforms travel from a mere process into an extraordinary experience." Introducing these advanced travel desk facilities represent a significant leap forward in the company's mission to enhance the vacation experience. By combining expert knowledge, cutting-edge technology, and unwavering support, Luxury Country Royal Holidays Inn and Suites is setting a new benchmark in the travel industry. A New Era in Vacation Planning Travel enthusiasts and leisure seekers can now look forward to a refined and more intuitive vacation planning experience thanks to Luxury Country Royal Holidays's state-of-the-art travel desk facilities. Located in critical destinations and accessible through advanced digital platforms, these facilities aim to redefine convenience and customer satisfaction in the travel industry. The company's updated travel desks are designed to cater to the diverse needs of modern travellers, offering a range of services beyond traditional booking assistance. From customised itineraries to on-the-ground support, the new facilities are equipped to handle every aspect of travel with high professionalism and efficiency. Key Features of the Enhanced Travel Desk Facilities 1. Personalised Itinerary Planning: Travellers can now enjoy bespoke vacation planning services, where expert travel consultants craft personalised itineraries based on individual preferences, interests, and budgets. Whether it's a relaxing beach holiday, an adventurous trek, or a cultural exploration, the travel desks are adept at curating unique experiences. 2. 24/7 On-Demand Support: The revamped travel desks offer round-the-clock support to ensure that help is always available regardless of the time zone. This feature includes real-time assistance for any travel-related issues, from booking changes to emergency support, providing peace of mind for travellers throughout their journey. 3. Seamless Integration with Digital Platforms: To cater to tech-savvy customers, Luxury Country Royal Holidays Inn and Suites has integrated its travel desk services with its digital platforms. This integration allows travellers to manage bookings, receive real-time updates, and access travel guides and recommendations through a user-friendly mobile app and website. 4. Exclusive Local Insights and Recommendations: Each travel desk is staffed with knowledgeable local experts who provide insider tips and recommendations tailored to the destination. This local expertise ensures that travellers can access authentic experiences and hidden gems often missed by conventional tourist guides. 5. Enhanced Booking Flexibility: With the new facilities, travellers benefit from more flexible booking options, including easy rescheduling and cancellations. This flexibility is crucial in today's unpredictable travel environment, offering greater security and adaptability for all journeys. Luxury Country Royal Holidays Inn and Suites is a leading provider of travel and vacation services, renowned for its innovative approach to creating memorable travel experiences. With a focus on customer satisfaction and personalised service, the company offers a wide range of travel solutions, from luxury getaways to budget-friendly adventures, across global destinations. For more information about Luxury Country Royal Holidays Inn and Suites and its new travel desk facilities, please visit www.luxurycountryholidays.com. (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 New Delhi [India], August 23: Adelaide University, located in Adelaide, South Australia, will officially launch for Indian admissions at a high-profile event tonight at the ITC Grand Bharat New Delhi, attended by the University's Indian partners and government representatives. The new university, formed from the merger of the University of Adelaide and the University of South Australia, draws on the rich legacies and established relationships of its founding institutions. A member of Australia's prestigious 'Group of Eight' research intensive universities, Adelaide University will build on its founders' world-class research with Indian partners, and thousands of Indian graduates. Tonight's celebration will feature a panel discussion on the synergies between India and Australia, including educational settings, mutual skills gaps and research priorities, and how the political environment is boosting trade and employment between the two countries. The delegation is led by Professor Jessica Gallagher, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, External Engagement at the University of Adelaide who is also leading Market and Partner Engagement for Adelaide University; and Pro Vice-Chancellor Gabrielle Rolan, who co-leads Adelaide University International Engagement and Partnerships. Guests from the Australian Government include Dr Monica Kennedy, General Manager South Asia of the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade); Vik Singh, Trade Commissioner of Austrade; Mathew Johnston, Minister-Counsellor (Education and Research) for South Asia, Department for Education; and Kamran Khan, Senior Director (India) at the Department of Trade and Investment. Jane Johnston, Chief Executive from Study Adelaide will attend, together with industry partners from Deloitte and Accenture, and Adelaide University agency partners from India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Prof Gallagher says, "Joining our experience and expertise to create this new university is an exciting undertaking. We are bringing together centuries of knowledge to reimagine our curriculum, redefine the student experience, and reshape our research activities to further strengthen Adelaide as a true learner's city." "Adelaide University has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rethink the modern teaching and learning experience. We have engaged with more than 200 industry partners to co-design our programs to date - and that is only the beginning." "We're dedicated to shaping the future of education through innovation and global relevance. Our graduates will be well-prepared to lead and excel in a rapidly evolving job market. By integrating industry insights and advanced technologies into our programs, we aim to set new standards for graduate employability and success." The launch of the new university marks a significant milestone in its transformative approach to education. An initial suite of around 200 degrees is available for admission now, with more than 300 open when classes at Adelaide University commence in 2026. The comprehensive offerings will include undergraduate and postgraduate programs in sought after disciplines that address India's skills needs. "Degrees most popular with Indian students at Adelaide University's founding institutions include information technology and computer science, engineering, construction management, data science, business, and business administration," Prof Gallagher explains. "We expect to see Indian enrolments also increase across advanced manufacturing, aviation, energy transition, and healthcare - areas that align with increasing demand in the nation." The new university has an equal focus on excellence and equity and will welcome students from all backgrounds at its Adelaide campus. This extends to the international community, with a range of scholarships catering to academic excellence, emerging leaders, alumni and partner students, that offer discounts of up to 50 per cent off tuition fees. Delivering Australia's most accessible, contemporary, and future-focused curriculum, Adelaide University will provide world-leading education and outcomes for tomorrow's global leaders. It's innovative curriculum approach, known as the 'Adelaide Attainment Model', features flexible, stackable degrees that offer multiple entry paths and nested qualifications with scaffolded learning and transitions. This model supports progressive learning milestones and opportunities for all students to earn digital badges, both awarded and non-awarded, creating a comprehensive portfolio of their academic and extracurricular achievements. "We look forward to deepening our educational ties with India, and expanding on the vast collaborative research already produced by both founding institutions," says Prof Gallagher. "Our research themes were decided through careful consideration of the most critical issues for Australia and our neighbouring regions. They are: Creative and Cultural; Defence and National Security; Food, Agriculture and Wine; Personal and Societal Health; and Sustainable Green Transition." From inception, Adelaide University will have the largest student population in Australia of around 70,000 students, which will bring a diverse social and cultural fabric. Students will become part of an alumni community of more than 400,000 global citizens from 150 countries around the world. The Australian education system is world-renowned and ranks well above average in international education league tables. (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 Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 23: The inaugural day of the Fire & Security India Expo (FSIE) was a resounding success, drawing in 4,000+ attendees and showcasing the latest innovations in the industry. The event, co-hosted by Nova Exhibitions & Conferences and the Fire and Safety Association of India (FSAI), brought together a diverse range of stakeholders, including government officials, industry leaders, and experts at jio world convention centre, Mumbai. A key highlight of the expo was the Grand Inaugural, graced by the presence of Anil Bhaidas Patil, Minister of Relief & Rehabilitation and Disaster Management, Maharashtra. Patil's presence accentuated the government's commitment to enhancing fire, safety and security measures across the country. In addition, dignitaries that decorated the Inaugural session included Santosh Warick, Chief Fire Officer & Advisor, MIDC & Director MFS, Ravindra Ambulgekar, Chief Fire Officer, Mumbai Fire Brigade, Rajmal Nahar, President, Reliance Industries, Suresh Menon, Presidential Member, FSAI and Siddharth Saraf, Director, FSIE. Addressing the critical issue of electric vehicle (EV) safety, the Maharashtra Fire Services, in collaboration with IIT Gandhinagar, organized an exclusive workshop for Director Generals, Fire Officers, from over 20 states in addition to Security Personnels, Bureaucrats, Consultants, and other Industry stakeholders. The workshop focused on the challenges posed by EV fires and explored strategies for prevention and mitigation. A subsequent roundtable discussion provided a platform for in-depth deliberations on fire safety standards for the rapidly evolving development in the country. The expo also featured a comprehensive security conference that delved into the latest trends and best practices in risk mitigation. Industry experts shared insights on emerging threats and innovative solutions to safeguard critical infrastructure and assets. In addition, a dedicated session on the national building code and its revision generated significant interest among attendees. The discussion highlighted the importance of updating building codes to align with the evolving fire safety and security landscape. With over 160 leading brands exhibiting their latest products and solutions, the expo offered a comprehensive overview of the industry's advancements. With its impressive turnout and diverse range of offerings, the Fire & Security India Expo has established itself as a leading platform for the industry. The event showcased the latest technologies, fostered knowledge sharing, and facilitated networking opportunities among key stakeholders. As the expo continues, it is expected to generate further momentum and drive innovation in the fire and security sector. (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 23: Smart Cities are the future of urban development, incorporating computational advancements and renewable energy sources. Bharat Exhibitions organized the 2ND Safe City and Intelligent Mobility India 2024 on 22nd of August, 2024 at Hotel Le Meridien, New Delhi. The benchmark summit and exhibition on urban development, is a hub where executives, city representatives and academics from around the world meet to accelerate a better future for our cities. The summit showcased the integration of transformative technologies with the key pillars of urban development, i.e., Green Buildings, Rooftop Solar, Renewable & Clean energy, Clean Environment, Clean Water, Water Conservation, Urban Mobility, and the use of Smart ICT solutions for optimizing resources that make cities smart and sustainable. Special Guest of Honour, A. Robert J. Ravi, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited said, "The Government of India is empowered to go one step ahead to make India smart, i.e, our villages. We have identified 10 villages and have developed means to make them fully digitized. The IOT and 5G are useful making our Rural Bharat compatible and competable. Automated ATM systems can be centralized in villages. Use of metaverse is also being considered. Creating a smart grid for the country is the pivotal matter. The Govt of India is committed in this regard and is making strides in the right direction". "Delhi Police has been actively in ITMS since long time now. Now with the arrival of AI, ITMS has gained more prominence now. Real time data analysis is a reality now. Road space can be optimally utilized. Minimum time of stops, minimum waiting period and traffic should be smooth. ITMS is hugely useful in restricting accidents. Parking management should be made a premier facility in the country. People's trust and confidence on us is also very important," B. Shanker Jaiswal, IPS, Joint Commissioner of Police (Technology, Cyber & Licensing), Delhi Police said in his address said, who joined as a Guest of Honour. Manoj Tandon, Director (Project, Operations & Maintenance), RailTel Corporation of India Ltd. who in his Special Address quoted, "There is significant move from safe city to liveable cities. Safe city has gained prominence due to mainly migration. It's a very evolving concept, new technologies will add more value to the concept in the years to come. Healthcare and Municipal areas are key areas to look upon. Moreover, bottlenecks in traffic infra needs to be removed in the concept of Intelligent Mobility for the country". Prashant Oberoi, Director, India & SAARC, Norden Communication, in his speech said, "Norden, a trailblazer in enabling technology and artificial intelligence (AI) for smart cities, is transforming traffic management with cutting-edge technology. Leveraging real-time data and predictive analytics, Norden's solutions enhance safety, reduce congestion, and optimize urban mobility." Ravi Kumar CK, AVP - Business Development, Videonetics was quoted, "At Videonetics, our mission is to transform urban safety through the power of advanced technologies and innovation. As leaders in the Safe City vertical, our True AI-powered Video Management solutions enable cities to elevate public security, accelerate emergency response, and foster safer communities. By leveraging True AI-enabled video analytics and seamless integrations, we are not merely addressing today's challenges-we are actively crafting the safer cities of the future." Arvind Saxena, CMO, NEC Corporation India and Head- Marketing, Global Smart City, NEC Corporation said, "NEC has been actively involved in changing the smart city demographics in the country. We have presence from sea to space. We are part of the Adhaar project, and many digital programs in India. We have presence on more than 15 plus smart cities in India. 1st safe city, Surat is done by NEC. Smart mobility is also touched by us, the DiGiYatra program is an initiative taken up by NEC and is hugely welcomed by the public". Shashi Dharan, Managing Director, Bharat Exhibitions in his welcome note said, "Ensuring seamless mobility in the future will require networked transportation and information systems that encompass all modes of transport. The focus now is on EV and its gaining ground. India is already ramping up the Green Portfolio, as electric car launches to charge up Indian streets this year! India will see a flurry of SUV launches, within the next 6 to 8 months!" A Deloitte White Paper Report titled, "Smart Urban Mobility in India- Revolutionising urban transport for sustainable and resilient growth through innovative technology" was also released during the event." Vivek Mittal, Executive Director, Deloitte India during his speech said, "The current mobility ecosystem is not fully equipped to cater to the growing need of travel demand in a sustainable manner. Smart Mobility has the potential to fundamentally transform the urban mobility ecosystem by enhancing efficiency through data analytics and AI driven solutions to make it energy efficient, cost effective, and modern to reshape the future of urban mobility." Anand Bhaskar, CEO & Co-Founder, Digital Blanket, in his address quoted, "Sustainability is at the core of what makes cities truly smart, and Digital Blanket is committed to making decarbonization a priority, not just an option. Our cutting-edge technology empowers cities to achieve their environmental goals while enhancing operational performance. Through our collaborations with over 100 companies, we've seen how technology can rapidly accelerate decarbonization, paving the way for a sustainable and smarter urban landscape. Our AI-driven solutions, tailored for Builders & Operators, Corporate Offices & GCCs, Hospitals, and Hotels, have helped clients cut energy consumption, optimize building system management, and streamline ESG reporting. Together, we are building a future where real estate and the environment coexist and flourish." Other eminent speakers who spoke during the summit and highlighted the technical aspects of smart cities and its relevance were Dr. Sumit D. Chowdhury, Founder, Chairman & MD, Gaia Smart Cities, Parikshit Tiwari, Associate Director (Sales), Norden Communication, Ravi Kumar CK, AVP - Business Development, Videonetics, Dr. Chinmay Hegde, Managing Director, Astrikos.AI, Bikas Jha, Vice President & Head (Public Sector Sales), AWIROS, Gurinder Singh, Technical Head - India & SAARC, Netskope, Amit Mehta, DGM - Government Vertical, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, Anand Navani, Country Head - India & SAARC, Intellicene, Avi Dahiya, Founder and CEO, Twyn, Dr. Shiv Kumar, Director General, ITS India Forum, Saurabh Agarwal, CEO, TechBridge, Arul Prathan Singh, Director, Madras Security Printers, Rahul Sawardekar, Head Business - Traffic & Enforcement, Ador Powertron and Om Krishan Singh, Scientist D/Joint Director, MeitY, Govt. of India, Saket Mehta, Director, Deloitte India, Prof. Manoranjan Parida, Director, CSIR - Central Road Research Institute, Dinesh Chand Sharma, Director - Standards & Public Policy, SESEI, Dr. Chinmay Hegde, Managing Director, Astrikos.AI, A.S. Pandey, AGM (IT) & CISO, Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd. And Vishvatosh Pandey, Regional Technical Lead (North & East), Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise. The summit was partnered and supported by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, SMART CITY MISSION, Deloitte, Norden Communication, Videonetics, NEC, Digital Blanket, Astrikos.Ai, Awiros, Netskope, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise, Intellicene, TechBridge Consultancy Services, Twyn, Ador Powertron, Madras Security Printers, Techspire, Commrax Networks, Khushi Communications and Communications Today. (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) VMPL New Delhi [India], August 23: Ek Omkar Yoga, a premier yoga training school registered with Yoga Alliance USA, is thrilled to announce an exclusive EUR100 discount for early birds enrolling in its renowned Yoga Teacher Training (YTT) courses in Goa, India. This limited-time offer is available to students who sign up for the 100-hour and 200-hour YTT programs, providing an incredible opportunity to gain internationally recognized certification at a reduced rate. India is widely recognized as the yoga hub of the world, the birthplace of this ancient practice that harmonizes the mind, body, and spirit. For centuries, India has been a beacon for those seeking authentic yoga teachings, with its diverse landscapes and rich spiritual heritage offering the perfect environment for deepening one's practice. From the serene banks of the Ganges in Rishikesh to the tranquil beaches of Goa, India attracts yoga enthusiasts from around the globe, making it the ultimate destination for anyone looking to immerse themselves in the true essence of yoga. About Ek Omkar Yoga Ek Omkar Yoga is a leading institution in the world of yoga education, offering best training programs designed to immerse students in the authentic teachings of traditional yoga. Located in the serene surroundings of Goa, India, Ek Omkar Yoga is renowned for its holistic approach to yoga, combining physical practice with spiritual and philosophical insights. Courses Offered at Ek Omkar Yoga 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training: This intensive course is ideal for those who want to deepen their practice and understanding of yoga. The program covers a wide range of topics, including Asana practice, Pranayama (breathing techniques), Meditation, Yoga Philosophy, Anatomy and Physiology, and Teaching Methodology. Students will leave the course equipped with the knowledge and confidence to lead their own yoga classes and workshops. 100-Hour Yoga Teacher Training: Perfect for beginners or those with limited time, this foundational course offers a comprehensive introduction to yoga. Over two weeks, students will learn the basics of Asana, Pranayama, and Meditation, as well as gain an understanding of yoga philosophy and anatomy. This course is a great stepping stone for those looking to continue their studies with the 200-hour program in the future. Both programs are designed to provide students with a deep understanding of yoga, not just as a physical practice, but as a way of life. With small class sizes, Ek Omkar Yoga ensures that each student receives personalized attention from experienced teachers, fostering a supportive and nurturing learning environment. Special Offer: EUR100 Discount for Early Birds To make this life-changing experience even more accessible, Ek Omkar Yoga is offering a special EUR100 discount for early birds enrolling in the 100-hour or 200-hour YTT programs. This offer is available for a limited time, so prospective students are encouraged to take advantage of this discount while it lasts. "We are excited to welcome early birds to our yoga community," said Aman walia, the founder of Ek Omkar Yoga. "Our mission is to spread the true essence of yoga, and we hope that this discount will enable more individuals to embark on their journey towards becoming certified yoga teachers." Why Choose Ek Omkar Yoga? * Internationally Certified Programs: Ek Omkar Yoga's courses are certified by Yoga Alliance, ensuring that graduates receive a globally recognized certification. * Experienced Instructors: The school's instructors are seasoned practitioners with years of experience in teaching yoga and guiding students on their spiritual journey. * Holistic Approach: The curriculum at Ek Omkar Yoga is designed to provide a well-rounded education, covering not just physical postures but also the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of yoga. * Beautiful Location: Located in Goa, one of India's most picturesque destinations, students can practice yoga in a tranquil environment, surrounded by natural beauty. How to Enroll Prospective students can learn more about the courses and apply online by visiting Ek Omkar Yoga's official website at ekomkaryoga.com. The EUR100 discount will be automatically applied upon registration for eligible early birds. About Ek Omkar Yoga Ek Omkar Yoga is dedicated to providing authentic and comprehensive yoga teacher training programs that adhere to the highest standards set by Yoga Alliance, USA. With a focus on traditional yoga practices, Ek Omkar Yoga offers a transformative experience that equips students with the knowledge, skills, and certification needed to teach yoga worldwide. For more information, please visit ekomkaryoga.com Address- Ek Omkar Yoga Center Arambol, Goa 403524 Mail-us : mail@ekomkaryoga.com WhatsApp - +917507500720 (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) SMPL Pune (Maharashtra) [India], August 23: "The DesignIndia Show 2024", India's premier design event, is set to bring together award-winning leaders from Design, Business, and Education in its latest edition. Since 2016, the conference has become a reputed platform for engaging conversations and thought-provoking discussions centred around the future of design. This year's theme, "Humain" focuses on the transformative impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the design industry. It represents the integration of AI with design, highlighting the symbiotic relationship between AI and human creativity. Insights from the Forefront of Design Innovation The DesignIndia Show 2024 is set to feature eminent speakers who are top achievers in the fields of design, technology, and business. Their perspectives and cutting-edge ideas promise to inspire and challenge attendees, setting the stage for thought-provoking discussions and meaningful exchanges on the future of design. It is a distinguished speaker lineup from Automobile, FMCG, Banking, Appliances, EV, Media and Fashion industries: Mayuri Nikumbh, Vinayak Satpute, Bikash Jyoti Biswas, Narendra Ghate, Saket Nampell, Mayuresh Shivade, Haresh Mehta, Amit Gulati, Ashish Agarwal, Adil Jal Darukhanawala, Sirish Chandran, Devika Narain, and Arpita Chakraborty. The DesignIndia Show 2024 will be guided by esteemed hosts, seasoned experts who bring a wealth of knowledge and experience from the design industry. Sudhir Sharma--IndiDesign & DesignIndia; Tarun Deep Girdher--NID Ahmedabad; Minti Shah--Design Entrepreneur; Marianna Sharma--IndiDesign & DesignIndia, Anshika Seth--UI Designer. "The DesignIndia Show 2024 is a unique, professionals-only event where we explore how AI and design together will shape the future of human experience. It's unlike any other design conference in India, focusing on real-world impact and the exciting, yet uncertain, road ahead." --Sudhir Sharma, Founder-IndiDesign & DesignIndia Honouring Top Talent at India's Best Design Awards 2024 As part of this prestigious event, "India's Best Design Awards 2024" will honour the outstanding talent and creativity in Indian design. The awards recognise the groundbreaking projects, studios, and emerging talent that set new benchmarks for excellence in the industry. This year's edition will honour the winning design projects, design studios, and design houses that fulfil the evolving needs of modern society with innovative design. India's Best In-house Design Studios 2024 This year, four in-house design studios have won the top honour: Ather Energy, Decode Age, V-Guard Industries, and Wipro Enterprises. India's Best Design Studios 2024 There are some distinguished names in the design industry in this year's winning list. In Brand Design, ABND, Lopez Design, Studuo & Therefore Design. In Spatial Design, Baaya Design, Culture Collective & Fosite. In Digital Design, the winners are Digital Jalebi, Idealoft Studio, Studuo & Yellow Slice; and the winners of Graphic Design category are rgd, Become & MIPL. Finally, Analogy is the best Industrial Design Studio and Studio Carbon won the Best Open Design Studio category. India's Best Design Projects 2024 This year's India's Best Design Projects are: Acoustic Tessel--Wipro Enterprises; AIS2.o (Adient Innovation+ SEA 2.o)--Adient India; Ather 450 Apex Website, Ather Halo, Ather Mobile App Redesign, Ather Rizta, Ather Rizta User Interface--Ather Energy; Aurum--QUBA Architectural Products; Boeing India--Enterspace Designlab; Bolt Auto, Sprint Auto XL--FABMAX Pipe Fabrication Machines; Brand Identity Design for Digi Yatra Foundation--DesignAnswers; Calendar of 2024 for AAA Realty--Hetarsh Creative Force; Chaayos--Yellow Slice; YOU CAN TASTE GOOD DESIGN - CHEFLING--EBBXFLO; Chennai Metro Phase 2, Delhi-Meerut Mass Rapid Transit System/Meerut Metro (MRTS)--Alstom Transport India; Craze - Brand Identity & Packaging Design--Dreamjar Studios; Daylove Sanitary Pads--SA Graphic; Workspace Design - EDIZI Tools--Centrix Design; Discovering India--Indigifts. End Credit Titles - Guns & Gulaabs--Aarushi Jain; Evelyn - A Modern Penthouse--MJ Architects; Forefathers Hyderabad--Baaya Design; FutureScapes by HP Gurgaon--Unispace x Downstream; Gulabari Body Wash--Dabur India; Hyphen: Blending Nature & Science Through Skincare--Conran Design Group; Miluz ZeTa Switches--Schneider Electric; Novotel Goa Panjim--Novotel; Packaging Oteria: The 24x7 Skincare--M&C Saatchi February; Rajapushpa Greendale--Combination's; Rattler - Petrol Engine Driven - Light Weight Rail Drilling Machine (LWRDM), Rattler Electric - Light Weight Rail Drilling Machine (LWRDM), Super XL - Magnetic Drilling Machine, Trident XL Reversible - Magnetic Drilling & Tapping Machine--Broachcutter Drilling Machines. Rebranding a Tech Recruitment Company: Flexiple--NH1 Design; Revolutionising Digital Banking - MobileBanking App Redesign--HDFC Bank; Saladific Packaging Redesign--Jugnoostudio; Smashwise--RMgX Technologies; Sproos Nut Sauces--Firebrand; SUNO Playing Cards--Wife; Synapse--Lopez Design; Tata Safari - Accomplished--Tata Motors; The CRIIIO4Good Film Series--Vivi5 Studios; The Heritage Courtyard--Beyond Designs; The New Hyundai CRETA--Hyundai Motors India Engineering; The Whistling Whales--Elementa Designs; Ticket Booking Microsite for JIO World--EvolutionCo; V-Guard Envibe Router UPS, V-Guard RequPro True High Recovery RO UV UF Alkaline Water Purifier--V-Guard Industries; Vahdam Spices - Positioning Indian Spices for a Global Market--Mother Tongue Design; Viah--Therefore Design; Vision Slim TOCR--Wipro Enterprises; Vitthal Rukmani Hand-drawn Wall Mural for Baramati Agro Head Office--Shraddha Trivedi Gajbar; WeWork Embassy One--WeWork India; Wings Design (Website Strategy, Design & Developments)--Wings Design; Ziaho Chocolate - Brand Strategy and Packaging Design--Stratedgy. About The DesignIndia Show "The DesignIndia Show", organised by IndiDesign and DesignIndia, gets together leading voices from the fields of design, business, and education for discussions on the future of design. Each year, the day-long design conference explores cutting-edge themes that shape the design landscape. It offers participants an opportunity to engage with the latest trends, technologies, and ideas that are driving the industry forward. The DesignIndia Show 2024, along with India's Best Design Awards 2024, is scheduled to take place on 31st August 2024. Check websites for details: https://design-india.com/tds/ https://ibda.design-india.com (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) BusinessWire India Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 23: The Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) celebrated its 25th anniversary on 19th August 2024, marking two and a half decades of the Indian pharma's contributions since its inception. This journey began at a crucial juncture when the Indian pharmaceutical industry was set on a growth trajectory, fueled by the economic reforms of 1991. These reforms empowered Indian pharma companies to expand and penetrate global markets and establish themselves as key players in the knowledge-driven sector. Over the past quarter-century, the sector has undergone a transformational journey, evolving from a modest domestic market to a global manufacturing powerhouse. Today, Indian pharma stands at USD 57 Bn with exports soaring to USD 28 Bn in 2023-24 from USD 729 Mn in 1998-99, making it a key contributor to the nation's trade surplus (USD 19 Bn in 23-24 from USD 300 Mn in 1998). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry demonstrated resilience and leadership, ensuring an uninterrupted supply of quality medicines to over 200 countries, further cementing India's status as the "Pharmacy of the World". Today, the industry stands at the cusp of transformation, with innovation taking centre stage as companies venture into new molecules, biologics, biosimilars, complex generics, and more. The industry's focus on its key priorities: Innovation, Quality, and Global Reach is steadfast, as the sector aims to realize the vision of a USD 120 Bn market by 2030 and USD 400 Bn by 2047. By 2047, the Indian pharma sector is poised to become the world's largest by volume and rank among the top five globally by value. To commemorate this milestone, IPA launched the "Pharma Archiving" initiative, which includes: * A coffee-table book documenting the evolution of the pharmaceutical industry * The Pharma Archives Digital Dashboard, featuring oral history interviews and archival materials * The first comprehensive book on the Indian pharmaceutical industry's evolution This initiative is being led by Aman Mehta, Director, Torrent Pharma and Namita Thapar, Whole-time Director, Emcure with Chinmay Tumbe, Professor at IIM Ahmedabad and PastPerfect as knowledge partners. Sudarshan Jain, Secretary General, IPA, said, "The 25th anniversary of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance is more than just a milestone; it's a celebration of the Indian pharma's commitment to advancing global health. The story of Indian pharma is one of bold entrepreneurship, driven by a commitment to providing quality-assured, affordable medicines to patients both in India and across the globe. We thank all the stakeholders in the ecosystem for making Indian pharma, not just a strategic sector but a pride for the nation." (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) The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Friday imposed a ban on businessman Anil Ambani, 3 key officials of his company and 23 companies associated with him, from trading in the stock market for a period of five years. This final order of the market regulator comes after a thorough investigation of allegations, which includes significant irregularities related to loan approvals, fund diversion, and non-compliance with regulations among the entities involved. SEBI''s investigation revealed a pattern of financial misconduct orchestrated by Anil Ambani and his associates. The regulatory body found that funds were being diverted under the pretext of loans to entities linked to Anil Ambani, leading to severe breaches of financial regulations. As part of the sanctions, SEBI has issued a comprehensive order stating, "Noticees are restrained from accessing the securities market and prohibited from buying, selling or otherwise dealing in securities, directly or indirectly, for a period of 5 years, from the date of coming into force of this order." SEBI also stated that the ban has been imposed to prevent further market manipulation and to uphold regulatory standards. In addition to the trading ban, SEBI also levied a significant penalty of Rs 25 crore on Anil Ambani. SEBI''s order elaborates on the nature of the fraudulent scheme, stating, "The findings made in this Order have established the existence of a fraudulent scheme, orchestrated by Noticee No. 2 (Anil Ambani) and administered by the KMPs of RHFL (Reliance Housing Finance Limited)." The charges against Anil Ambani and the key officials of Reliance Housing Finance Limited (RHFL) include the diversion of funds from the company terming as loans to related entities that were never repaid. Despite strong objections from RHFL''s board of directors, the company''s management, influenced by Anil Ambani and senior officials the management ignored these directives and proceeded with the fraudulent transactions. SEBI investigation highlighted that Anil Ambani''s role as the ''chairperson of the ADA group'' was pivotal in facilitating the fraudulent activities. The misuse of his position allowed for the orchestration of this scheme, leading to significant financial repercussions. The order by SEBI stated that many of the borrowers failed to repay their loans, which in turn caused RHFL to default on its debt obligations. Additionally, a significant number of these borrowers had close ties to the promoters of RHFL, exacerbating the financial mismanagement. SEBI added that the impact of the conduct by Anil Ambani and entities has been severe, with over 9 lakh shareholders still invested in RHFL facing considerable losses. In February 2022, SEBI issued an interim order restraining RHFL, Anil Ambani, and three other individuals--Amit Bapna, Ravindra Sudhakar, and Pinkesh R Shah from participating in the securities market until further notice. This interim order was a precursor to the more stringent sanctions now imposed in the final order of the market regulator. (ANI) SMPL New Delhi [India], August 23: The 2024 IEEE Education Engineering Student and Young Professionals Congress, a flagship event of the IEEE Education Society, being organized with outstanding success, drawing over 400+ participants from across the globe. Held under the theme "Emerging Technologies," this congress brought together students, young professionals, industry experts, and academics for a three-day journey of learning, collaboration, and innovation Organized by IEEE Education Society Young Professionals Adhoc Committee Hosted by Symbiosis Institute of Technology, Pune. This is a Global Gathering of Innovators With attendees from countries including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Uganda, Pakistan, UAE, Egypt, Spain, the United States, and Canada, the congress was a melting pot of ideas and cultures. Participants engaged in meaningful discussions about the role of emerging technologies in shaping the future of education, industry, and society. The Inspiring Keynotes and Thought-Provoking Sessions in the congress featured an impressive lineup of speakers who shared their expertise on various cutting-edge technologies. Highlights included a plenary talk by **Thomas M. Coughlin**, President of IEEE, commemorating the 140th anniversary of IEEE. His address set a visionary tone for the event, emphasizing the importance of innovation and global collaboration in the field of engineering. Murari Ramuka, a Generative AI Specialist at Google Inc., India, delivered a captivating keynote on "Generative AI: The Future of Creativity and Innovation." His presentation explored the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in driving creativity across different industries. Other notable speakers included: Dr. Ketan Kotecha, Dr. Shashikant Patil, Professor, Atlas SkillTech University Mumbai Sai Prashanth Mallelu, IEEE TAB Committee Young Professionals Representative Dr. MVV Prasad, Associate Professor, SIT- Symbiosis Institute of Technology Session by Dr Marija Furdek, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. Dr Herbert Ho-Ching Iu, Professor, Department of Electrical, Electronic & Computer Engineering, Australia. Dr. BALIJEPALLI VENKATA SITA KRISHNA MURTHY, Master Engineer Liteon Technology, Singapore. Mr. Anjaneyulu Devarasetty, Associate Engineer, L&T Technology Services Member, IEEE COMSOC YP. Mr. Sai Prashanth Mallellu, Chair, Student Engagement Committee, IEEE COMSOC Member Services Board. Session by Dr. Prashant R. Nair, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Deemed-to-be-University). Dr. Kalpesh Kapoor Professor, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, Dr Puneet Goyal, Associate Professor, IIT Ropar, India. Dr Vikrant Karale, Data Scientist, Advanced Quantz and Analytics (AQuA) TCS. These sessions by prominent speakers provided attendees with deep insights into the latest advancements in technology and their practical applications, sparking lively discussions and new ideas. In addition to keynote presentations and technical sessions, the congress offered a series of interactive workshops and panel discussions. These sessions provided hands-on learning opportunities and allowed participants to engage with experts on topics such as 5G technology, data privacy, and digital ethics. The event also facilitated networking among participants, enabling them to connect with peers, mentors, and industry leaders from around the world. These interactions fostered valuable collaborations and partnerships that are expected to drive future innovations in the field. The success of the congress would not have been possible without the dedication of the organizing committee, volunteers, and the generous support of sponsors like IEEE & IEEE Education Society & Symbiosis Institute of Technology, Pune. We are especially grateful to these organizations for providing free certification courses on "5G Primer" and "Fundamentals of Cellular Communication and 5G," which were highly valued by the participants. As the IEEE Education Engineering Student and Young Professionals Congress 2024 comes to a close, we are filled with optimism and excitement for the future. The event highlighted the crucial role of diversity and collaboration in advancing technology and shaping the future of education. The ideas, discussions, and connections made during this congress will have a lasting impact on the global engineering community. The IEEE Education Society is committed to continuing this tradition of fostering innovation and excellence. We look forward to future events where we can build on the success of this congress and further contribute to the advancement of technology and education worldwide. To know more visit - SIT Pune (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) VMPL Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], August 23: Brookfield Properties, a global leader in real estate development, has achieved an important milestone in sustainable construction with its Ecoworld 4D project in Bengaluru. This state-of-the-art Grade-A office park has been awarded the prestigious LEED v4 BD+C: CS Platinum certification, making it the first ready-to-occupy office space in Karnataka to earn this distinction. Ecoworld 4D has been designed from the outset to achieve the highest standards in sustainable building certification to systematically implement key measures during its ongoing construction. The project first garnered the IGBC Platinum pre-certification, followed by the prestigious LEED Platinum certification, and is now on track to attain the WELL Platinum rating. LEED v4, recognized as one of the most stringent global benchmarks for sustainable design, recognizes excellence in energy efficiency, water conservation, and indoor air quality. This series of accolades underscores our commitment to creating sustainable, healthy, and efficient workspaces. During the ongoing construction of Ecoworld 4D, strategic upgrades were seamlessly integrated, demonstrating exceptional foresight and dedication. The project's success highlights Brookfield Properties' capability to innovate and lead the way in the industry. Ecoworld 4D enhances environmental performance and serves as a catalyst for embodied carbon reduction initiatives within Brookfield Properties. Commenting on this achievement, Shantanu Chakraborty, COO, Brookfield Properties in India said, "Ecoworld 4D becoming the only LEED V4 BD+C: CS Platinum certified operational building in Karnataka is a testament to our leadership in sustainable development. Embodied carbon reduction, encompassing all greenhouse gas emissions, associated with building materials and construction processes, is a critical factor in our vision for climate change. It is imperative to facilitate integrated design approach during the early stages of a project. " LEED is the international standard for design, construction and operation of high-performance structures. LEED v4 B+C, an advanced rating emphasizes a flexible, performance-based approach that calls for measurable results throughout a building's life cycle. The certification LEED v4 underscore how a project can benefit their local communities and our planet. For more information about Ecoworld 4D and Brookfield Properties' commitment to sustainable development, please visit https://www.usgbc.org/projects and developing best-in-class real estate, please visit www.brookfieldproperties.com About Brookfield Properties Brookfield Properties is a leading global developer and operator of high-quality real estate assets. We are active in nearly all real estate sectors, including office, retail, multifamily, hospitality, and logistics, operating more than 1000 properties and over 380 million square feet of real estate in gateway markets on behalf of Brookfield Asset Management, one of the largest asset managers in the world. With a focus on sustainability, a commitment to excellence, and the drive for relentless innovation in the planning, development, and management of buildings and their surroundings, Brookfield Properties is reimagining real estate from the ground up. In India, Brookfield Properties manages approximately 55 million square feet of high-quality assets across 10 key gateway cities of which over 45 million square feet is already operational. Some of the marquee assets in its portfolio include Candor TechSpace in Gurugram, Noida and Kolkata; Worldmark in Delhi and Gurugram; Downtown Powai and Equinox in Mumbai; Ecoworld and Ecospace in Bengaluru; and CoWrks, a leading co-working and flexi office business across India. Moreover, almost 50% of the above portfolio is managed by Brookfield India Real Estate Trust (BIRET), India's first institutionally managed REIT. Sponsored by an affiliate of Brookfield, whose asset management business is one of the world's leading alternative asset managers, BIRET has quality assets which position it as the 'landlord of choice' in India's dynamic real estate landscape. For more information about our approach to operating and developing best-in-class real estate, please visit www.brookfieldproperties.com Media Contact: bp@adfactorspr.com (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) Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry of Ghana, Michael Okyere Baafi, on Friday, requested India to invest in his country, underscoring India's critical role in Ghana's development. Baafi said that his country is ready to partner with Indian businesses in sectors, like agriculture, manufacturing, technology, and infrastructure development. Speaking at the ASSOCHAM Commonwealth Champions Conference in New Delhi, he said that the Commonwealth is a unique and diverse community that together represents nearly a third of the global population. Michael Okyere Baafi said that Ghana will be committed to playing a deep role in strengthening trade ties within this community. Extending an invitation to the investors, he emphasised the need to explore the opportunities in his country. Pointing out the trade barriers, Baafi said that he is looking for the reduction of barriers that hinder the free flow of tools and services within the Commonwealth by facilitating market assets for Ghana. The Ghana Minister further said that he recognises the importance of capacity building and technology transfer in enhancing the competitiveness of our industries. "We seek greater collaborations in these areas, particularly in sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, and information technology," he added. Going further, Baafi requested trade partner countries to support Africa in building infrastructures. "Investment in transport, energy, and digital infrastructure is critical to unlocking the full potential of the Commonwealth dream", he said. The Minister also expressed the need for partnership in the areas of education and skills development. He stated that Ghana is looking forward to forging a deep collaboration in the education and allied areas through expanded scholarships to achieve programs and vocational training initiatives that will empower the youths of Ghana. Ghana is an important trading partner of India in the African region. Bilateral trade between India and Ghana stood at USD 2.87 billion in 2022-23. India stands as a leading investor in Ghana and emerged as the third-largest investor. These investments traverse diverse sectors, encompassing pharmaceuticals, construction, manufacturing, trade services, agriculture, tourism, and more, as per an official statement. (ANI) NewsVoir New Delhi [India], August 23: Luxury wedding photography brand WeddingNama recently won both Gold and Silver awards at the prestigious WOW Awards in Mumbai. While the Gold trophy was awarded to WeddingNama for their exceptional work in the Pre-Wedding / Social Celebration Photography category, the Silver trophy recognized their outstanding work in the Photography of a Social / Wedding Celebration category. Borne out of a passion for documenting love stories, WeddingNama aims at amplifying the soul stories behind couples, via a masterful blend of human touch, contemporary portraiture, and photojournalistic storytelling. With its Co-Founders Ankita Asthana and Akash Agarwal at the helm, it has won various prestigious awards and recognitions, chief among which also include the Junebug's Best of the Best Wedding award. Apart from this, other notable achievements include Ankita Asthana being named among the Top 10 wedding photographers in the world by the Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA) in 2022 and 2023, and also serving as a judge for Fearless Photography Awards 2024. WeddingNama has also won the WeddingSutra 2020 Award for Best Wedding Ceremony and the GIWA Gold. Expressing their delight at their newest achievement, Ankita Asthana, Co-Founder, WeddingNama said, "We are elated at being recognized for our work, and after a rigorous two-round jury process, we are proud to have won accolades in two distinct categories. The WOW Awards 2024, celebrated experiential agencies' finest work in weddings, celebrations, and social events, honoring exceptional creativity and execution in the industry and we were thrilled to be a part of such a prestigious event. For us, doing justice to each couple's love story takes center stage as we aim to expand our horizons even further." Looking to the future, WeddingNama's Ankita and Akash envision making it an internationally renowned brand, with a mission to create timeless visual legacies that couples can revisit and share with loved ones for generations. They imagine future generations, like a grandchild, flipping through a beautifully crafted wedding album, and being transported back in time by the magic of timeless memories captured by flawless photography and videography; every wedding being photographed as a story told with love, care, and dedication. Instagram of WeddingNama: www.instagram.com/weddingnama/?hl=en WeddingNama, born from the unified vision of Ankita Asthana and Akash Agarwal, started as more than just a business venture--it was a labour of love. Founded in 2012, the journey began with two passionate individuals driven by a desire to immortalize love stories through their lenses. Their mutual dream led to the creation of WeddingNama, a name now synonymous with luxury wedding photography and cinematography in India and beyond. A pioneer in its category of capturing weddings with a unique blend of artistry and storytelling, WeddingNama's dedication to quality over quantity became its hallmark, with its portfolio including weddings at some of the world's most opulent venues like Umaid Bhawan Palace, The Oberoi Udaivilas, and Emirates Palace among others. This opened doors to more international opportunities, spanning diverse regions from the Middle East and Europe to the USA and Australia. Looking to the future, WeddingNama aims to expand its horizons even further with a mission to create timeless visual legacies that couples can revisit and share with loved ones for generations. Every wedding photographed as a story told with love, care, and dedication. (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 23: On August 21, 2024, the International Youth Development Foundation (IYDF) and Gorakhpur Bakery successfully organized a charitable event in the village of Tajdih, Jagatbela, in Uttar Pradesh, India, to provide essential aid to 100 underprivileged children. The event was spearheaded by Krishna Chand Dwivedi, with support from a dedicated team of volunteers including Om Narayan Dwivedi, Sonu Dubey, Hariom Dwivedi, Shivdas Yadav, and Mahindra Dubey. Event Overview The primary focus of this event was to supply practical necessities to children in need, ensuring their basic daily requirements were met. The aid provided included 8 school bags, 80 packs of biscuits, 80 packs of savory snacks, 80 lunch boxes, 80 notebooks, 80 stationery sets, 80 pens, 80 bottles of cold drinks, and 150 chocolates. These supplies were distributed to each child, spreading warmth and care within the community. Onsite Activities The event commenced at 4:00 PM, and the atmosphere was lively and filled with joy. Volunteers engaged with the children in various interactive activities, including games and a communal breakfast. The children not only received essential supplies but also enjoyed a hearty breakfast and participated in fun-filled games. These activities not only brought smiles to their faces but also fostered a sense of belonging and community spirit. Reflections from Organizers and Volunteers Krishna Chand Dwivedi expressed deep gratitude towards IYDF and its support at the conclusion of the event. He remarked, "I am very pleased to have organized this event with the help of IYDF. Collaborating with such an esteemed and impactful organization is a great honor. I look forward to continuing this partnership with IYDF in the future, to provide more aid to orphans and underprivileged children. It is a privilege to receive IYDF's support, and I am eager to participate in more charitable activities like this." The volunteers also shared their thoughts. Om Narayan Dwivedi noted that seeing the children's smiles and happiness brought immense satisfaction. Sonu Dubey and Hariom Dwivedi mentioned that the event gave them a profound sense of fulfillment, reinforcing the joy that comes from helping others. They expressed their commitment to continuing their involvement in future charitable initiatives. Looking Ahead This charitable event not only provided essential supplies to the children but also strengthened the community's bonds. IYDF extends its heartfelt thanks to all volunteers and supporters for their contributions. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Gorakhpur Bakery and other partners to provide ongoing support and care to children in need. Through these efforts, we hope to continue fostering positive change and building a brighter future for all. (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 Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 23: DION Electric Vehicles, a fast-growing smart mobility brand owned by Powertrans Mobility Ltd, has introduced two new unique e-scooter models: Augusta SP, and Asta FH. The company has also opened its new showroom in Chennai at Ramapuram. DION's product portfolio consists of seven EV models. It has three showrooms and five service centers. Through a partnership with a service provider, customers can access vehicle servicing at 256 stations across Tamil Nadu. Thiru. T. M. Anbarasan, Minister of MSME and Tamil Nadu Urban Habitation Development Board, and Thiru. Mano Thangaraj, Minister of Milk & Dairy Development, Government of Tamil Nadu, inaugurated the two-wheeler models and the new showroom, respectively, in the presence of guests of honour: Chevalier Dr. V. G. Santhosam, Chairman of VGP Group of Companies; Rathika Selvi Venkatesh Pannaiyar, former Member of Parliament and Ex Minister, Govt of India and Prashanth Vijayamma, Director of AIOFT Ventures Limited, Bengaluru. Top management from Power Trans Mobility, including CEO S. M. Antony Thomas, Managing Director A. Anusha Margaret, and directors A. Ashika Rit and J. Vinodh Jeyaraj, took part in the event. Also present were the company's financial advisor, CA A. John Moris, Managing Partner of A John Moris & Co Chartered Accountants and legal advisor, P. Jesus Morris Ravi, a senior advocate. Augusta SP e-scooter offers high performance with a 7.5 KW peak PMSM hub motor, reaching top speeds of 120 kmph. Safety and comfort are ensured by advanced braking systems and front telescopic suspension, with Augusta SP featuring rear spring load hydraulic suspension and Asta FH a rear mono spring load hydraulic setup. Both models include anti-theft locks, front projector LEDs, and rear LEDs for visibility. Augusta SP boasts a 4.3 KW lithium-ion traction battery with a range of up to 110 kilometers, while Asta FH is designed for peak performance. Both vehicles charge efficiently with a 1Kva charger in just 4-5 hours, making them reliable choices for riders seeking speed and modern technology. Augusta SP has an on-road price of Rs 1,79,750, while Asta FH is priced at Rs 1,29,999. An inaugural offer provides a discount of up to Rs. 22,000/- till 23rd Sep. starting today. In his comments, S. M. Antony Thomas said, "We are thrilled to launch our two new 2-wheeler models, which are a testament to our commitment to innovation and excellence. These vehicles are equipped with advanced PMSM motors, cutting-edge batteries, and the latest electrical and electronic systems tailored to each model's needs. Since our inception in 2020, we have introduced two models in both the 3-wheeler and 2-wheeler segments, and the positive market response to their performance has been incredibly encouraging. As we continue to grow, we are excited to expand our reach and establish a pan-India presence, bringing our state-of-the-art electric vehicles to more customers across the country." Powertrans Mobility Ltd. manufactures electric vehicles and their components. It also has plans to install charging and swapping stations. The company currently focuses on producing electric bikes, e-scooters, and electric loaders. It has a dedicated team for R&D, design, and manufacturing. For more details, please visit www.dionev.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) NewsVoir Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 23: Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Limited, renowned for its long-standing commitment to technological advancement and consumer satisfaction, unveils its newest addition to its kitchen appliance portfolio - the Ameo Blend Nutri Blender. The product meets the evolving needs of today's consumers who seek solutions for their busy lifestyles, it fits seamlessly into small kitchens while supporting healthy food habits with Blend and Carry food grade Jars and multiple attachments like Sipper Cap and Storage Lid. It addresses all these versatile needs perfectly catering to home makers, working professionals, nuclear and joint families, for bachelors and bachelorettes and for all age groups. Whether it's whipping up a quick morning smoothie, preparing baby food, or crafting delicious chutneys, Ameo Blend - Nutri Blender goes beyond simply being another appliance in your kitchen. It is crafted to empower a lifestyle and offers range of superior features which can blend ice also effortlessly. * Compact Design, Big Impact: The unique, space saving design makes it portable, easy to store and is perfect for all types of small and big kitchens. * Powerful Performance: Equipped with a 400-watt powerful copper motor, it ensures a superior blending experience which can blend ice also effortlessly. * Food Safety: The blender comes with food-grade jars, ensuring that all blends are healthy and hygienic. * Versatile Blades: Specially designed blades cater to both blending and grinding functions. * Leakage-Free Operation: With UV sealed silicon gaskets, the blender promises a hassle-free, leakage-free operation. * Easy Maintenance: It is easy to clean, use, and store, making it an ideal choice for busy lifestyles. * Portable Convenience: The sipper cap and storage lid attachments make it easy to blend, refrigerate, and carry your favorite * Warranty: Crompton offers a warranty of 2 years on the product Speaking about the company's newly launched product, Ketan Chaudhari, PL Head, Small Domestic Appliances at Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd., said, "At Crompton, we are committed to enhancing the everyday lives of our consumers through innovative and reliable products. The Ameo Blend Nutri Blender is a testament to this commitment. With its powerful 400-watt copper motor and innovative design, it delivers exceptional performance that meets the diverse needs of modern households. Our commitment to health and convenience is reflected in its food-grade jars and versatile functionality, ensuring that every blend is not only nutritious but also easy to prepare. We are confident that the Ameo Blend will become an essential fixture in contemporary kitchens, transforming how families approach healthy eating and simplifying their culinary routines. Whether it's whipping up a quick morning smoothie, preparing baby food, or crafting delicious chutneys, the Ameo Blend makes healthy living effortless and enjoyable." The Ameo Blend Nutri Blender, with its compact design and powerful features, is set to redefine the blending experience in households across India. The price of the product is INR 4800 and is available at all Crompton authorized retail outlets and leading ecommerce platforms. This innovative product is poised to make morning's easier, meals healthier, and lives simpler. With a brand legacy of over 85 years, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd. is India's market leader in the category of fans and residential pumps. Over the years, the organization has continuously strived to produce a range of innovative products, that cater to the modern consumer, which includes superior quality and high-performance fans, pumps, lighting solutions and a range of other categories like water heaters; air coolers; small kitchen appliances like mixer grinders, air fryers, OTG, electric kettles etc., as well as other home appliances like irons and built-in kitchen appliances. The company has also invested in brand and innovation to not only better understand and meet the consumer needs, but to also help drive energy efficiency. The consumer business also has a well-established and organized distribution network driven by a strong dealer base across the country offering a wide service network and robust after sales service to its customers. The company's consistent focus and drive has helped in developing energy-efficient products and these efforts also received numerous recognitions and awards. It has been honored with three prestigious National Energy Consumer Awards (NECA) by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, Ministry of Power. The recent award was presented by the Hon'ble President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu for the company's storage water heater in the year 2023. In 2019, the brand also won the award in two categories: Ceiling Fans and LED Bulbs. Additionally, it was recognized as one of India's Best Managed Companies 2022 by Deloitte Private and been listed among 'India's Top 500 companies 2022' by Dun & Bradstreet India. The company has also been featured in "Brand Top 75" most valuable Indian brands list for 2020 released by WPP and Kantar. Furthermore, Crompton was also recognized as the Brand of the Decade 2021 by Herald Global and BARC Asia in the Consumer Electrical category. (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 Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 23: ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India) - a joint venture between ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel, two of the world's leading steelmakers -announces the launch of Optigal - a world-class colour coated steel brand with an innovative Zinc-Aluminium-Magnesium (ZAM) metallic coating. This high-end value-added steel 'Optigal' - ArcelorMittal Europe's patented brand - is currently available only in global markets but now it is being produced and distributed in India for the first time by AM/NS India. The new offering reinforces the company's pioneering efforts to introduce internationally benchmarked quality products to meet the growing need for indigenous superior quality coated steel. Launched by Dilip Oommen, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), during a glittering event held recently at Kochi in Kerala, this product also underscores AM/NS India's commitment to the 'Make in India' initiative. Optigal provides the longest warranty of any colour-coated steel product in India, extending up to 25 years, thus marking a disruptive entry into India's specialty steel sector. The annual demand for colour-coated products in India, currently at 3.2 million tonnes, is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8-10%. Optigal's production has commenced at the company's plant at Pune in Maharashtra, marking the first phase of a broader production strategy that will extend to other facilities in the near future. AM/NS India currently has a colour-coated capacity of about 700,000 tonnes, with plans to ramp up the capacity to 1 million tonnes by 2026. With this capacity expansion, the company's market share is projected to grow from the current 20-22% to 25-27%. The new offering's production process uses a unique ZAM alloy technology that involves hot dip coating of steel strip in a bath of zinc, aluminium, and magnesium alloy. The inclusion of magnesium enhances both performance and durability. The ideal combination of substrate and paint ensures high formability and improved corrosion protection for construction products. Optigal is an eco-friendly product, free of hexavalent chromium and heavy metals, designed to reduce environmental impact and promote safety and sustainability. RANJAN DHAR, DIRECTOR AND VICE-PRESIDENT OF SALES & MARKETING AT ArcelorMittal NIPPON STEEL INDIA (AM/NS INDIA), said, "The introduction of Optigal is an important addition to our growing product portfolio. This launch reaffirms our commitment to delivering world-class, innovative, and sustainable steels to our customers nationwide in line with our brand promise - 'Smarter Steels, Brighter Futures'. The efforts also reflect our corporate campaign 'Banaunga Main, Banega Bharat', apart from highlighting our contribution to 'Make in India' initiative." The versatility of Optigal makes it a highly attractive option for a wide range of applications, such as roofing, fencing, and cladding for residential and commercial projects, reliable materials for pre-engineered buildings, and high-performance steel for architectural facades, including airports, industrial warehouses, and stadiums. Key benefits of Optigal include: 1. Exceptional cut-edge protection: leading to much lower paint delamination on edges and scratches with a performance that is at least 3x better than other metal coatings. 2. Superior corrosion resistance: Optigal's unique alloy composition, with an optimal balance of zinc, aluminium, and magnesium, offers superior corrosion resistance. 3. Optimised flexibility: The highly resistant, adherent metallic layer of specially designed Optigal coating can be processed through bending, roll forming, profiling, and other work processes without developing cracks on the bends. 4. Globally benchmarked product: The product is internationally tested and certified. (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) Financial markets regulator SEBI has accused Debock Industries Limited of defrauding investors and deceiving regulatory authorities. Debock Industries Limited is a company listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) having its registered office at 51, Lohiya Colony, 200 ft Bypass, Vaishali Nagar, Jaipur. As per the Annual Report of the Company for FY23, Debock is primarily engaged in trading agricultural equipment, hospitality services, and mining. The company was initially listed on the Innovators Growth Platform on June 05, 2018. Subsequently, it migrated to the main board of NSE on March 31, 2022. "An examination by NSE indicated that there was a significant increase in revenue and purchases recorded in the books of the Company in FY22 and FY23. The period during which the Company recorded higher revenues matched with the period the Company migrated to the main board of NSE," regulator SEBI, in an interim ex-parte order, said on Friday. The actions of the company, SEBI said, prima facie, reveal a brazen and calculated effort to defraud investors and deceive regulatory authorities. "The case, based on material placed before me, does not appear to be a run-of-the-mill case. The promoters have clearly indulged in siphoning off funds from the Company. It also appears that the very purpose behind listing this Company was to defraud investors and make huge gains for personal benefit," the SEBI said. The preferential allotment made by the company, on examination of the trail of payments, SEBI said, it was, prima facie, found that fund transfers to the account were made in a "circuitous manner". The preferential allotment of shares was used to justify the company's migration to the main board, "stands exposed as nothing more than a hollow pretence." "Once allotted, the shares were quietly transferred off-market to the promoters, who then offloaded them onto unsuspecting shareholders," the SEBI order said In another revelation, SEBI said the company came out with a rights issue after its stock market listing, where the promoters did not participate and the entire proceeds from the rights issue funds which should have been used for legitimate business purposes have been siphoned off by the promoters and their associates. To top it all, the majority of the company's reported sales and purchases are "fictitious", SEBI's interim ex-parte order said. Many of these transactions were mere book entries, which had been conjured up to inflate the balance sheet, the financial market regulator said. "The financials of the Company, I am constrained to note, is a work of fiction." The whole enterprise and every action of this company appear to have been geared towards defrauding investors, SEBI said. "This blatant masquerade of potential deception and fraud casts a shadow on the reputation of every honest Company that strives to uphold the principles of integrity and transparency in our markets. Such apparent brazen manipulation is nothing short of a betrayal of investor trust --a situation that demands swift and uncompromising action." Against that backdrop, SEBI has restrained Mukesh Manveer Singh, one of the notices, from holding the position of a director or a Key Managerial Personnel in any listed company, other than Debock, or any SEBI registered intermediary until further orders. All four notices are restrained from buying, selling, or dealing in securities, or accessing the capital market either directly or indirectly, in any manner whatsoever until further orders, SEBI said. An amount of over Rs 89 crore being the alleged total unlawful gain earned from the alleged fraudulent activities carried out by the three individual noticees is impounded. They are directed to credit/deposit amount of unlawful gains to an interest-bearing Escrow Account created specifically for the purpose in a Nationalized Bank within 15 days. (ANI) Two days after Piyush Goyal raised concerns over predatory pricing by big e-commerce companies, the Union Commerce Minister on Friday said India supports technology coming into the country but it should not come at the cost of small retail businesses. "We support technology coming into the country. We believe every section has a right to promote their business. We welcome the e-commerce for the technology that it brings in for the convenience that it offers for bringing in more modern techniques," Goyal told reporters in Mumbai today. At the same time, he said that the country has nearly 10 crore small retailers whose livelihood and their family's sustenance depend on their businesses. "The government has had very specific laws of the land which stipulate that foreign direct investment in e-commerce is permitted only for business-to-business transactions. Sadly, the law has been not entirely followed in letter and spirit and structures to suit have been created which are detrimental to the interest of small traders, small retailers. The large pockets, the deep pockets of these large companies allow them to indulge in predatory pricing. Instances of algorithms which are used to drive consumer choice and preference have come to note not only in India, but across the world," he noted. The minister raised concerns about the declining retail stores. "We have seen the disappearance of all the pharmacies and the dominance of a few large chains. I think India can ill afford such problems. And therefore, we believe in equity. We believe in inclusive growth of all sections. E-commerce has an important role to play. So do small retailers," he explained. He invoked ONDC, Open Network for Digital Commerce, where small businesses can sell their products. "In this way, through ONDC, we want to give a network to all the small and big companies, so that all the platforms come on it, all the buyers get more consumer choice...," he added. Consumers must think over it as to whom they want to benefit - small retailers or the big multinationals, he asked. "I think when the consumers buy something, they have to think about whom are they benefitting from it," he said. Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) is aimed at promoting open source networks for all to exchange goods and services on the internet, and most importantly it is independent of any specific platform. On Wednesday, Piyush Goyal raised concern about the functioning of the E-commerce sector, saying that E-commerce is eating into the small retailers by giving heavy discounts on products. Goyal in a way charged E-commerce players with predatory pricing and not giving a level playing field to small retailers. The minister had said the predatory pricing and huge discounts by big e-commerce players will create a disruption in the businesses of India's 100 million small retailers and the government is concerned about that. (ANI) The global star landed early Friday morning, and her arrival was met with enthusiastic waves and flashing cameras. Priyanka, who had just wrapped up filming for her upcoming movie 'The Bluff', was spotted at the Mumbai airport in a stylish yet casual outfit. She donned a white cropped top paired with matching track pants and a long shrug. Completing her look were a denim cap, white sneakers, and a casual bag. Her cheerful demeanour was evident as she waved at the paparazzi and flashed a peace sign. Taking to her Instagram stories, Priyanka shared a video from her aeroplane window seat showcasing the glittering lights of the financial capital of India. "Mumbai meri Jaan..," she wrote alongside the video. Last month, Priyanka attended the star-studded wedding of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant in Mumbai, where she was accompanied by her husband, Nick Jonas. The actress shared her joy on Instagram, posting photos from the event and expressing her delight at the celebrations. "Clearly, I missed chaats and dancing at baraats!" she wrote. With her recent film 'The Bluff' now in the can, Priyanka is gearing up for several exciting projects. The film, directed by Frank E. Flowers, features Priyanka as a former female pirate in a 19th-century Caribbean setting. In addition, she will star alongside John Cena, Idris Elba, and Jack Quaid in the action comedy 'Heads of State', directed by Ilya Naishuller. Fans are also eagerly awaiting Priyanka's Marathi film 'Paani', which is set for a big-screen release on October 18. Directed by Adinath Kothare and produced by Priyanka and her mother Madhu Chopra's Purple Pebble Pictures, the film tells the story of a man from a drought-stricken village striving for water self-sufficiency. The film, originally released in 2019, received the National Film Award for Best Film on Environment Conservation. (ANI) Incidence of obesity-related cancers climbs rapidly in Chinese youngsters: study 09:54, August 23, 2024 By Leng Shumei ( Global Times Many countries have begun taking measures to curb obesity which not only affects the population's health, but also the country's economy. (Photo: Li Hao/GT) The incidence of obesity-related cancers in China has been increasing by 3.6 percent per year from 2007 to 2021, while the rate among youngsters aged 25 to 29 was more than 15 percent annually, Chinese scientists revealed in a study published Friday in the Med journal of Cell Press. Without proactive public health measures, the incidence of obesity-related cancers in China is expected to double in the next decade, the study said. "If we do not fundamentally change the trend of obesity, the incidence of obesity-related cancers will inevitably continue to rise. This will bring a huge burden to the Chinese economy and healthcare system," Yang Jinkui, corresponding author of the paper and an endocrinologist at the Capital Medical University in Beijing, told the Global Times. He suggested medications and labeling calories to deal with China's obesity issue. Yang's team analyzed more than 651,000 newly diagnosed cancer cases in China between 2007 and 2021, with about 48 percent of them being among the 12 types of obesity-related cancers identified by the World Health Organization. According to the study, during the period, the incidence of cancers not related to obesity (such as lung and bladder cancer) remained stable. Colorectal cancer, breast cancer, thyroid cancer, kidney cancer, and uterine cancer are the fastest-growing types of obesity-related cancers among young people. Lifestyle factors such as increased consumption of meat and alcohol have contributed to the rising obesity rates in China, according to the study. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) A drone photo taken on March 11, 2024 shows a cargo ship at the Lekki port in Lagos, Nigeria. [Photo/Xinhua] The 2024 summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be held in Beijing from Sept. 4 to 6, China's foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying announced recently. Leaders from China and African countries will gather in China's capital to further strengthen joint efforts in solidarity and cooperation. Since its establishment in 2000, the FOCAC, a milestone in the development of Sino-Africa relations, has served as a platform and multilateral mechanism for effectively advancing collective consultation and expanding cooperation between China and African countries within a pragmatic framework. The FOCAC is guided by five main objectives: promoting cooperation, enhancing understanding, ensuring equal consultation, expanding consensus and strengthening friendship. This has injected new impetus into long-standing China-Africa relations. Given all of this, China, the world's largest developing country, and Africa, home to the greatest number of developing nations, have found common ground. Faced with similar challenges in a world fraught with profound volatility, China and African countries have come together via mutual interests, with both reaping enormous benefits from their alliance via the FOCAC. Organized triennially at the heads-of-state level with African and Chinese cities taking turns as host, the FOCAC summit is characterized by the release of a three-year joint action plan that not only advances respective development pathways of the two parties but also contributes to the building of a close-knit China-Africa community with a shared future. For African countries, the FOCAC is a window of opportunity to attract more Chinese investments and to also tap into China's vast experience and expertise in various fields. Since the establishment of the FOCAC, African countries have witnessed an influx of Chinese investments, a key source for the region's industrial growth and an invaluable resource for the timely achievement of the African Union's 2063 Agenda, the continent's blueprint for industrial and economic development over the next 50 years. Over the past 24 years, the FOCAC has been a springboard for a host of Chinese enterprises to expand their investments in Africa. During this period, Chinese enterprises have built industrial parks and economic zones all over Africa, contributing significantly to African countries' industrialization and the continent's "value-added" industrial potential. Recognized as a source of technology transfer, infrastructure financing as well as employment and skills transfer, Chinese-built industrial and economic zones provide a number of benefits including contributing to the expansion of Africa's manufacturing production and exports, the growth of local innovation and the further enhancement of the region's integration into global value chains. The Zambia-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, China's first overseas economic and trade cooperation zone in Africa, was established in 2007. Since its opening, the multi-functional economic zone has made steady progress, contributing significantly to Zambia's drive for industrialization. Data from China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group Co., Ltd. (CNMC), the company behind the Zambia-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, shows that the zone has created more than 10,000 local jobs and has attracted nearly 100 businesses in various sectors including agriculture and manufacturing, mining, engineering equipment assembly and banking, with total investments surpassing $2.5 billion. For Africa, the flow of Chinese foreign direct investment is crucial in transforming and upgrading the continent's traditional sectors and fostering emerging industries, as it is an important source of infrastructure financing, technology transfer, skills transfer and an indispensable source for injecting new momentum for industrialization. For example, Africa has abundant natural resources such as vast mineral deposits and 65% of the world's arable land yet has minimal capacities to harness natural resources for sustainable development. But, over the last two decades, the surge in Chinese FDI flow has increasingly provided countries in the region with the opportunity to chart new development pathways that seek to balance productivity growth, job creation and ecological conservation, which are the bedrock of sustainable economic growth. Data released by China Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University shows that annual Chinese FDI flows to Africa have been increasing steadily since 2003 rising from $75 million in 2003 to $5 billion in 2021. The data also shows that since 2013 Chinese FDI flows to Africa have exceeded those coming from the United States. Through the FOCAC, China has played a critical role in accelerating Africa's industrialization and development. For example, to address Africa's huge infrastructure gap, an impediment to the industrialization process, China has made unparalleled contributions by working with relevant stakeholders who seek to bridge the continent's infrastructure financing gap. A policy paper from the Center for Global Development, a U.S.-based think tank, shows that between 2007 and 2020 China's two main development finance institutions (DFIs), China Exim Bank and China Development Bank, invested $23 billion in infrastructure projects across Africa. For a 13-year period, infrastructure investments made by these two Chinese DFIs have been $8 billion more than the combined investments attributed to the top eight lenders, including U.S. and European development banks, the World Bank and the African Development Bank. Funds from Chinese DFIs, typically concentrated in energy and transport infrastructure projects, have contributed significantly in laying a solid foundation for sustainable industrialization in Africa. According to the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa (ICA), Chinese investments in Africa's information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure passed $1 billion in 2015. Thanks to the massive and continued investments from Chinese enterprises into the region's ICT sector, Africa's sustainable industrialization pursuit is yielding concrete results. In Nigeria, Africa's largest economy, a GSMA report (2024) shows that the mobile sector accounted for 13.5% of total GDP in 2023, including the direct value added by wider ICT industries and the mobile sector's impact in enhancing the productivity of other sectors. Digital transformation is not peculiar to a few African countries. In 2022, mobile technologies and services generated 8.1% of GDP across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) that amounted to approximately $170 billion of economic value added, supporting around 3.5 million jobs in the region. Mobile technologies' contribution to the SSA's economy is expected to reach $210 billion by 2030. At the upcoming 2024 FOCAC summit, it is projected that new opportunities for enhanced cooperation in key areas, such as ICT, renewable energy, trade and transport will be mapped out, with these future channels crucial for Africa's further industrialization and green development. Alexander Ayertey Odonkor is a global economist with keen interest in the social, environmental and economic landscape of developed countries, emerging markets and developing economies particularly in Asia-Pacific, Africa, Europe and North America. Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn. Actor Michael Keaton recently expressed his belief that the Marvel and DC universes as we know them might not exist today without the visionary direction of Tim Burton. Keaton, who portrayed Batman in Burton's seminal 1989 film, reflected on the initial backlash he faced when cast as the iconic superhero, in an interview reported by The Hollywood Reporter. At the time, the choice was met with significant scepticism from fans and critics alike, with protests involving 50,000 comic book enthusiasts challenging the decision. "Tim deserves enormous credit. He changed everything," Keaton remarked. He further elaborated, "I can't necessarily say this, but there's a strong possibility there is no Marvel Universe, there is no DC Universe, without Tim Burton. He was doubted and questioned," in an interview reported by The Hollywood Reporter. Keaton also highlighted Burton's role in seeing potential where others did not. Despite the controversy surrounding Keaton's casting, Burton's decision to cast him was pivotal. "He hasn't gotten himself enough credit for going, 'Yeah, that guy,'" Keaton noted, adding, "But I think what happened was Tim saw Clean and Sober [Keaton's first non-comedic role]. I get the credit. I don't know that he got enough credit for making that move. That was a bold move." Burton, who also commented on Keaton's performance, praised the actor for his "certain energy" that he believed was perfect for Batman. "You just look in his eyes, and he seems intelligent, scary, crazy, everything all at once," Burton stated, as per The Hollywood Reporter. Keaton's portrayal of Batman remains one of the most celebrated in the superhero genre, despite subsequent actors like George Clooney, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, and Robert Pattinson taking on the role. In 2023, Keaton reprised his role in both 'The Flash' and the Warner Bros.-scrapped 'Batgirl' film. Regarding the cancellation of 'Batgirl', Keaton remained indifferent, saying, "No, I didn't care one way or another. Big, fun, nice check." As per The Hollywood Reporter, he also expressed sympathy for the film's directors, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, stating, "I like those boys. They're nice guys. I pull for them. I want them to succeed, and I think they felt very badly, and that made me feel bad." Reflecting on his iconic role, Keaton expressed pride in his performance, remarking, "I'm proud of it actually because I like to prove everybody wrong. It's fun for me." Burton's 'Batman' was not only a critical success but also earned an Academy Award for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration in 1990. (ANI) The 1997 cult classic 'Anaconda' is set to make a comeback, this time with a comic flair. Sources have confirmed to People magazine that actors Jack Black and Paul Rudd are in preliminary discussions to star in the reboot of the iconic horror film, though no deals have been finalized. The upcoming film will not be a direct remake of the original, which starred Jennifer Lopez and Ice Cube, but will instead focus on comedic elements. According to People magazine, Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten are co-writing the script, with Gormican also slated to direct. Columbia Pictures, a subsidiary of Sony, will handle distribution for the new project. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the reboot aims to capture the humorous spirit seen in recent successful films like 'The Meg', which grossed over USD 530 million worldwide. The new take on 'Anaconda' is expected to blend humour with the classic snake-themed horror. The original 'Anaconda', released in April 1997, featured Lopez in a standout role shortly after her breakthrough performance in 'Selena'. Despite mixed reviews and several Razzie Award nominations, the film was a box-office hit, earning USD 136.8 million and achieving cult status over the past 27 years. It also spawned a series of sequels, including 'Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid' (2004), 'Anaconda 3: Offspring' (2008), 'Anacondas: Trail of Blood' (2009), and 'Lake Placid vs Anaconda' (2015), according to People magazine. Jack Black's involvement would mark his first major film project since he announced the cancellation of Tenacious D's tour last month. The cancellation followed a controversial joke made by his bandmate, Kyle Gass, regarding a recent shooting incident, according to People magazine. Despite this, Black remains optimistic about his musical career, stating in an interview, "I love Tenacious D ... We had to take a break, but I love the D. Everybody takes a break sometimes. We'll be back," according to People magazine. As the reboot project progresses, fans of both Black and Rudd, as well as those nostalgic for the original 'Anaconda', will be watching closely to see how this new comedic interpretation unfolds. (ANI) Filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri spoke about the ongoing crisis surrounding the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Agnihotri, who has been vocal about the incident and its broader implications, arrived in West Bengal to join the protest, share his thoughts on the situation and call for substantial reforms. Agnihotri, known for his critical stance on various social and political issues, expressed his strong emotions about the case during a press conference. "I was here yesterday, and suddenly, when I saw the Supreme Court's order for Tuesday, many students were saying that when the Nirbhaya case happened in Delhi, people from all over the country went there. But why is it that in Kolkata, no one is coming here? I felt very strongly that I should come. Yesterday, we walked and protested for emotional reasons," Agnihotri stated. The filmmaker, who is currently researching Bengal for his upcoming project 'Delhi Files,' drew a poignant connection between the historical significance of the region and the current state of affairs. He remarked, "There is also a background to my connection with this. I have been researching Bengal for the past 4-5 years for my upcoming film 'Delhi Files.' I have seen that the liberty and freedom women have were written into the land of Bengal." Agnihotri underscored Bengal's historical role as a crucible of revolutionary ideas and social progress, citing the region's contributions to spiritualism, journalism, and women's empowerment. "This is the land where Tagore wrote, 'Where the head is held high and the mind is free.' This is the land where Sarath Babu wrote about women's liberty in literature. This is the land where, during British rule, Bina Das fired bullets at the governor in a university," he said. Despite this illustrious history, Agnihotri expressed dismay over the current state of affairs, criticizing the political and law enforcement systems in West Bengal. "We are all sitting in Kolkata, but I have travelled a lot. From my experience, I can say without shame or fear that all criminal activities, including sexual exploitation and violence against women, are operated from the offices of these political parties in districts and villages. Sexual violence demoralizes society and families, and consolidating this into vote banks is considered the smoothest and safest method here," he said. "In other states, electoral violence and sexual violence for political reasons have stopped, but it still continues in Bengal. I feel now is the time for change. My only demand is that the entire system of Bengal's politics should change, and a social-political and women empowerment revolution should start from here," Agnihotri added. The filmmaker highlighted that the youth of Bengal needs to wake up and change the ongoing scenario. "On this barren land, thousands and millions of new seeds should be sown by young people, leading to new thinking and new politics. The old communist and current politics should end here. Industrialists, artists, and those who have left Bengal should return. We need to come here and make films," Agnihotri said. Speaking to ANI, Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri said, "The law and order situation was already in a bad state, and now I feel it has completely collapsed. Otherwise, why would the Chief Minister protest against herself? Some say she was protesting against the CBI. But who does the CBI fall under? Isn't it part of this country? Do we need a separate passport for Bengal?" "Yesterday, they didn't even allow us to protest. I had to get permission from the High Court to hold the protest," he said in a conversation with ANI. The filmmaker also drew parallels between the political environment in Bengal and other regions of India, suggesting that the state's unique issues are deeply intertwined with its political landscape. Agnihotri also emphasized his concerns about the broader implications of the situation, stating, "I cannot shoot in Kashmir or Bengal; I don't feel safe here. I don't want to go into details, but I had sent a legal notice last year. When the CM called my film a lie and propaganda and banned it, I sent her a legal notice." "But ask anyone, and they will say that they don't feel safe here in India. If they felt safe, they would invest here, buy homes, and industrialists would come. But people don't have the right to life here; they don't feel safe because the underworld controls the politics of this place," he added. "My only message to everyone is that this is the time to make Bengal great again," Vivek Agnihotri said during the interview. Earlier, on August 21, Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri joined the protest rally against the alleged rape and murder of a trainee doctor at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital and expressed his outrage. Speaking to ANI, Vivek Agnihotri shared his feelings on the incident. He said, "My demand is just this that since the time of the Direct Action Day, rape has been used as a political weapon. In Bengal, communal, political, and electoral violence should end. And we have to make Bengal great again. And that is possible only if the current political system is completely changed. This government has completely failed. I have come here because many young people are asking me. I want them to get inspired that yes, if I can stand here and protest, they can too. We have to make Bengal great again if we want India to succeed." On August 9, a postgraduate trainee doctor was allegedly raped and murdered on duty at RG Kar Medical College in Kolkata, which has led to nationwide strikes and civil societies and doctors across States protested against the incident and demanded severe punishment to the accused persons and sought safety and security for themselves. (ANI) India's leading fashion e-tailer, AJIO, has just announced an exciting new launch that is sure to delight fashion enthusiasts across the country. AJIO revealed on Friday that it has partnered with ASOS, the popular British fashion brand, to bring its iconic styles to India for the very first time. Starting today, Indian customers can shop from over 3,000 fashion options offered by ASOS exclusively on AJIO. The collection includes a wide range of ASOS's own brands, such as ASOS Design (for both menswear and womenswear), ASOS Edition, ASOS Luxe, and Miss Selfridge. The brand also plans to expand its offerings to 20,000 options within a year, with new launches every month. Speaking on behalf of the association, Vineeth Nair, CEO of AJIO, shared, "Indians are exposed to global fashion trends and pop culture now more than ever. With a growing appetite for international brands, ASOS is perfectly poised to tap into the Indian market with India's favourite online fashion destination, AJIO, catering to young Indian shoppers looking for the latest in global fashion. This addition further strengthens AJIO's repertoire of top exclusive international brands, enabling us to deliver the best of fashion from around the world." Jose Antonio Ramos, CEO of ASOS, added, "AJIO's strong presence and understanding of the Indian consumer make them the perfect partner for ASOS as we work to bring the best style to fashion-lovers around the world. We're excited to launch our trend-led brands in India and see our iconic fashion resonate with AJIO's customers." AJIO has been at the forefront of redefining India's fashion choices. Fuelled by an emerging premiumization trend, the demand for international brands has increased significantly. In the last two years, the international brand portfolio on AJIO has scaled up 2X, and the brand continues to sustain the momentum with new additions like ASOS. Shopping sentiment is at an all-time high, with customers looking to upgrade their fashion choices. There has been an emerging trend of premiumization and increasing Average Basket Value (ABV) on AJIO in the last couple of years. This has grown further in the last year, with a significant increase in branded merchandise sales on the platform. With exclusive brands like GAP, Diesel, Superdry, GAS, Armani Exchange and much more, AJIO has commanded a strong position as the ultimate destination to shop the biggest brands in the world. AJIO has planned a 360-degree media launch campaign across online and offline channels to promote ASOS. The brand will also unveil a groundbreaking Mixed Reality experience in the coming days, offering an interactive showcase of its trendy products. (ANI) The prayer meet, held in Mumbai, saw the presence of several industry figures, including Shah Rukh, Aamir Khan, Jackie Shroff among others. Shah Rukh Khan was spotted by photographers as he entered and exited the venue. He was dressed in a simple white shirt paired with denim jeans. The actor was accompanied by his manager, Pooja Dadlani. Aamir Khan was also in attendance. He was seen wearing a grey kurta and black salwar, showing his respect for the departed photographer. Actor Jackie Shroff was also seen at the venue. Veteran press photographer Pradeep Bandekar passed away on August 11. Confirming the news of his demise with ANI, Pradeep's son Prathamesh informed that his father died in the wee hours of Sunday. He was 70. After learning about the demise of Pradeep Bandekar, several members of the Indian film industry including Ajay Devgn and Bipasha Basu took to their respective social media handles and paid condolences. In his decades-long career, Pradeep had worked closely with film stars. From Ajay Devgn to Manoj Bajpayee, he shared a great relationship with the members of the film industry. (ANI) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers staged a protest in Kolkata on Friday against the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Actor-turned-politician Roopa Ganguly, who joined the protest, spoke out against the police, accusing them of attempting to suppress evidence related to the crime. "People are protesting across the country against the rape and murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital... This is a protest against the police force that tried to suppress the evidence. I welcome the Calcutta High Court's decision to task the CBI with investigating all instances of irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital," she said. Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court has directed the CBI to investigate the irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, including the case involving former Deputy Superintendent Akhtar Ali. Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj has ordered the SIT to hand over the investigation documents to the CBI by 10 a.m. on August 24. The CBI will report the progress of the investigation to the High Court after three weeks, with the report due on September 17. The court also directed that petitioner Akhtar Ali may apply to the CBI for security if necessary. The rape and murder of the trainee doctor have triggered widespread outrage and protests in cities including Delhi, Chandigarh, Mumbai, and Kolkata, with calls for justice for the victim and punishment for the accused. The postgraduate trainee doctor was found dead in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. On August 14, the protest site and hospital campus at RG Kar were vandalised by a mob, leading to police intervention. To maintain law and order, Kolkata Police have imposed Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (formerly Section 144 of the CrPC), around the Medical College and Hospital for seven days, effective from Sunday (August 18) to Saturday (August 24). (ANI) Union Minister Sanjay Seth criticised the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) for "not giving importance" to former Chief Minister and veteran leader Champai Soren. Seth accused the JMM of sidelining Soren, who is reportedly planning to form a new party ahead of the upcoming Jharkhand assembly polls. "They (JMM) did not give importance to their leader (Champai Soren) and ordered him to leave the (CM) position," Seth said while speaking to ANI on Thursday. He expressed disappointment over the party's decision and emphasized that Soren is now in the process of forming a new political party. "Champai Soren is a mass leader, and anyone who read his post was saddened by how a leader who had endured so much struggle was insulted," Seth added. A day after hinted at forming a new party, Champai Soren on Thursday said that he would form an organisation and would actively enter Jharkhand politics again. He also left open possibilities of future alliances and said, ""I will not retire from politics. In the new chapter that I have started, I'll strengthen the new organisation and if I find a good friend along the way, I'll move ahead with that friendship to serve the people and state." On August 18, Soren voice his "grievances" in a post on X and claimed that he had been "insulted" during his tenure as Chief Minister. Assembly elections in Jharkhand are expected to be held later this year with the tenure of the current government due in 2024. In a long post on X, Champai Soren said that he has always done politics of public concern from raising the voice of workers against industrial houses at the beginning of his public life to the Jharkhand movement. "I have been trying to get the rights of the tribals, natives, poor, labourers, students and people of backward classes of the state. Whether I held any post or not, I was always available to the public, raising the issues of those people who had dreamt of a better future with the state of Jharkhand," he said." Meanwhile, on January 31, after an unprecedented turn of events, the India Alliance chose me to serve the state as the 12th Chief Minister of Jharkhand. From the first day of my tenure to the last day (July 3), I discharged my duties towards the state with full devotion and dedication. During this period, we took many decisions in the public interest and, as always, were always available for everyone. The people of the state will evaluate the decisions we took keeping in mind the elders, women, youth, students and every section of the society and every person of the state," he added.Champai Soren, further asserted that during his tenure, he never did anything wrong to anyone, nor allowed anyone to do wrong. "Meanwhile, the day after Hal Diwas, I came to know that all my programs for the next two days have been postponed by the party leadership. One of these, was a public program in Dumka, while the other was to distribute appointment letters to PGT teachers. On asking, I came to know that a meeting of the legislative party has been called by the coalition on July 3, till then you cannot attend any program as CM," Soren said.(ANI) Karnataka Minister HK Patil said that the cabinet has decided to build a sky deck at an estimated cost of Rs. 500 crores. HK Patil said, "Karnataka cabinet decided to build a sky deck at the estimated cost of Rs. 500 crores. Building an underground tunnel from Hebbal to Silk Board junction is expected to cost Rs. 12,690. Karnataka cabinet has decided to open 52 new Indira canteens in Bengaluru. 592 Anganwadis to be opened at the cost of Rs. 50 crores." Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister DK Shivakumar recently announced that the opposition leaders from Bengaluru have agreed to set up the 250-metre Skydeck near NICE Road. "The opposition leaders and MLAs representing Bengaluru have given the go-ahead for the 250-metre Skydeck to be set up near NICE Road on the outskirts of the city. We will place this before the Cabinet very soon and take it forward," he said while addressing a press conference after a meeting with the elected representatives of Bengaluru at Vidhana Soudha. "The Skydeck needs about 25 acres of land. We had shortlisted land near Kommaghatta and the Bengaluru University campus, but we decided against it as it may affect students. We had shortlisted about 10 places for this project, but the Ministry of Aviation had reservations about those due to Skydeck's height. All elected representatives from Bengaluru, including Leader of Opposition R Ashoka, have agreed to the NICE Road location," he elaborated. Earlier, the Karnataka cabinet approved the renaming of Ramanagara district to Bengaluru South, a decision followed by an announcement made by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar. "The (state) cabinet has approved to rename Ramanagara district to Bengaluru South district," Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister HK Patil announced while addressing a press conference on Friday. (ANI) A 42-year-old teacher allegedly sexually harassed a 13-year-old female student by sending obscene messages on WhatsApp chat and inappropriately touching the girl while in school in a village in Daund tehsil of Pune Rural. The Pune Rural Police has arrested the teacher along with the headmaster of the school. The police took a suo moto cognizance of the incident on Thursday and a senior police official visited the girl's village to verify the facts. The police immediately registered a case after receiving a formal complaint from the victim's parents, said Pune Rural Police SP Pankaj Deshmukh. The Police arrested the headmaster of the school for failing to report the incident to the authorities after the student's father made a complaint about the incident in the school, said police. Father of the girl found that the teacher had allegedly sent inappropriate messages to his daughter before August 15. When the father approached the headmaster with his concerns, the headmaster reportedly ignored the complaint which led to his arrest, according to the police. Both the headmaster and the teacher have been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), said police. Further investigation into the matter is underway. More details are awaited. (ANI) Odisha police conducted raids and seized five SIM boxes from Ranchi in connection with the SIM box racket earlier busted in Cuttack. A total of 5 SIM boxes and 222 operational SIM cards were sized from Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Ranchi in this case, said a top police official. Speaking to ANI, Bhubaneswar Police Commissioner Sanjeeb Panda said, "In the SIM box case, our team has returned from Ranchi after conducting the raid. The accused had taken a house on rent and he had set up 5 SIM boxes, 222 SIM cards were operational. Altogether, from Bhubaneswar Cuttack and Ranchi, we have seized 17 SIM boxes and 678 operational SIM cards so far. We have collected CDR (Call Detail Record) details of some SIMs and we are analysing them." He further said Raju Mondal's remand ended on August 22, who was earlier arrested in this case and sent into remand for five days. "The remand of Raju Mondal was ended on August 22. We will apply for his remand for seven more days as we have have to verify more things for further investigation in this case. The NIA and DoT team have already interrogated Raju Mondal. They have seen all our papers. They are also giving us all type of assistance ," the top police official added. Panda also informed that they have found photographs of the main accused Ashdur Jamman, who is a Bangladeshi national. "We have found the photographs of main accused Ashdur Jamman. He is an entrepreneur. He is the founder of a software company in Dhaka. He was controlling SIM box racket from Dhaka" the commissioner added. Earlier on Monday, August 19, Odisha Police unearthed a SIM box racket in Cuttack. The discovery came after raids in Cuttack, which were prompted by information from Raju Mandal, who was arrested the previous day. Panda said, "During the investigation, our police team located the second SIM box in Cuttack, where we found five operational SIM boxes and a total of 236 SIMs in use. Raju Mandal had rented that house from December onwards and was paying Rs 8,000 in rent. Ashdur Jamman had also visited the location to set up the SIM boxes." "Generally, these SIM boxes are used to mask international calls as local calls. They are typically used by crime syndicates for cybercrime, terrorism, money laundering, and drug trading. However, the exact nature of their use will only be known after we analyze the technical details, including call records," he added. A special squad, under the supervision of DCP Bhubaneswar, found a SIM box racket operating in Bhubaneswar. One person from West Bengal, Raju Mondal, has been arrested. He had rented a house on the periphery of Bhubaneswar, and from that house, we seized five operational SIM boxes and two standby SIM boxes. 255 active SIMs were operating on those five SIM boxes. Panda had earlier explained that a Bangladeshi national had set up the racket and Raju Mondal was responsible for its smooth functioning. He added that Mondal received payments through a Hawala channel at regular intervals. From the initial interrogation of Raju Mondal, he stated that he was operating under the instruction of a Bangladeshi national. The Bangladeshi national had come to Bhubaneswar around 7-8 months ago, rented the house, and set up the SIM boxes there. After that, he returned to Bangladesh, but under his instruction, Raju Mondal maintained the SIM boxes, power supply, internet connections, replacement of SIMs, and other related tasks. He was being paid through a Hawala channel at regular intervals, the Odisha Police informed earlier. According to Raju Mondal's interrogation, these SIM boxes were used to divert calls from Pakistan, China, and Middle Eastern countries to India, disguised as local calls. (ANI) Flash Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at the Palace of Independence in Minsk, Belarus, Aug. 22, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua] Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Thursday that China stands ready to work with the Belarusian side to push for the high-level development of their all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership. Li made the remarks while meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at the Palace of Independence in Minsk. Li conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's cordial greetings to Lukashenko. Li said that China-Belarus relations, regardless of how the international situation changes, have always shown vigor and vitality since the establishment of diplomatic ties 32 years ago. The two sides adhere to mutual benefit and common development, and their practical cooperation has yielded fruitful results and brought tangible benefits to the two peoples, Li noted, pointing out that the two heads of state met in Astana this July and made strategic arrangements on deepening bilateral relations. China is willing to work with Belarus to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, continuously consolidate political mutual trust, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, and push for the high-level development of the China-Belarus all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership to better benefit the two peoples, Li said. Noting that China will continue to firmly support Belarus in pursuing a development path suited to its national conditions, Li said that China stands ready to further synergize development strategies with Belarus, solidly advance cooperation in various fields, steadily expand trade scale, effectively implement projects such as the China-Belarus Industrial Park, and continuously deepen people-to-people exchanges. Li also said that China is willing to further strengthen multilateral cooperation with Belarus, jointly promote the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, advocate an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, promote the development of the global governance system towards a more just and reasonable direction, and safeguard the common interests of developing countries. Lukashenko asked Li to convey his sincere greetings to Xi. Noting the two countries have always firmly supported each other on major issues concerning each other's core interests, he said that the Belarus-China relations are enjoying a strong momentum of development and are at an all-time high. The Belarusian side sincerely appreciates China's long-term selfless assistance to its economic and social development, Lukashenko said, adding that Belarus stands ready to maintain close high-level exchanges with China, deepen practical cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, agriculture, science and technology. Belarus is willing to actively participate in the important global initiatives proposed by President Xi and make greater progress of the Belarus-China all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership, said Lukashenko. Discussions primarily revolved around finalising candidates for five districts and how to effectively communicate the benefits of the BJP-led government's welfare policies during the election campaign. According to the party source, during the meeting's first day, officials from five districts provided insights into the current status of their respective seats. The discussion on Friday will cover the political situation in the remaining districts. A significant portion of the meeting was dedicated to the BJP's welfare policies and the strategies to ensure these are highlighted during the campaign. Prominent leaders attending the meeting included Union Minister and BJP's Haryana Assembly Election In-Charge Dharmendra Pradhan, former Chief Minister Manohar Lal, Election Co-In-Charge Biplab Kumar Deb, National Vice President Saudan Singh, and Election Management Committee Convenor Kuldeep Bishnoi. Also present were National Secretary Omprakash Dhankhar, Organisation Minister Phanindra Nath Sharma, State President Mohanlal Badoli, Union Minister of State Krishna Pal Gurjar, and several other senior leaders, including Rao Inderjit Singh, Sudha Yadav, Gyan Chand Gupta, Anil Vij, Dharmveer Singh, Captain Abhimanyu, and Sunita Duggal. The meeting emphasised the importance of selecting candidates with strong winning potential. Senior leaders assured district and state officials that only winnable candidates would be given tickets. Suggestions from senior leaders were also taken into account as the party prepares for the elections. The Haryana Assembly elections are scheduled for October 1st, with the results expected to be announced on October 4. (ANI) The Assam government said that 47,928 illegal immigrants were detected in the state during the period between 1971 and 2014 and out of them 43 per cent are Hindus. The Foreigners' Tribunals of the state declared these people as foreigners during this period. Replying to a written question of AGP MLA Ponakan Baruah, Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma who also holds the Home Department portfolio said that from 1971 to 2014 the Foreigners' Tribunals declared 47928 persons as foreigners and out of them 20,613 are Hindus and 27,309 are Muslims and six belonged to other religions. According to the state government data, out of a total of 20,613 Hindus declared as illegal immigrants by the Foreigners' Tribunals, 8,139 are from Cachar district, 2884 from Guwahati city, 1574 from Lakhimpur district, 1038 from Dibrugarh district. On the other hand, out of 27309 Muslims declared as illegal immigrants by the Foreigners' Tribunals, 4182 are from Jorhat district, 3,897 from Guwahati city, 2,829 from Dibrugarh district, 2,100 from Hojai district, 2,096 from Sivasagar district, 2,083 from Nagaon district, 2,013 from Cachar district, 1,710 from Lakhimpur district, 1,172 from Morigaon district. According to the Assam Accord, the midnight of 24 March 1971 is the cut-off date for the detection and deportation of illegal migrants. Citing the 2011 census, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "The Assamese-speaking people accounted for 48.38 per cent of the state's total population of 3.12 crore and the Bengali-speaking people accounted for 28.92 per cent of the total population." On Baruah's question, if the state government was aware of the fact that the number of people speaking non-Assamese languages is rising and creating a threat to the indigenous communities, Sarma said the dispensation is monitoring the situation. (ANI) India is celebrating its first-ever National Space Day to mark the anniversary of the successful landing of the Chandrayaan-3 mission. Senior ISRO scientists share their experiences of interacting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, particularly during the Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3 missions. Arushi Seth, a senior scientist, at ISRO, spoke to ANI about her experience interacting with PM Modi. "The Mangalyaan mission was about to capture the orbit of Mars. And then he came to our Center. Then he...the capture was successful. And we people were very happy. There was excitement as the Prime Minister was coming there. When the mission was achieved, then he delivered his speech to scientists." Seth also mentioned about PM Modi's interest in space science from the days he was the Chief Minister. "He said about his interest from the beginning in space science. He also spoke about visiting the Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad to see what was going on there when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. He inspired us a lot," Seth said. Pavithra Shinde, Scientist, ISRO told ANI, "I can start from the Chandrayaan-3, the landing time, the most glorious, historic moment. So I was almost in the front row. I was monitoring our Dopplers...At the time of landing, I was monitoring the system. Yes. We landed. Then we had our Chairman announcing it. Then came a virtual... interaction with the honourable Prime Minister. So, it was a moment of joy. Some kind of special joy that I could relate with the PM." Shinde reminded how the Prime Minister applauded the entire ISRO community upon the completion of the mission. "He also experienced the same. Something very rare. Then he congratulated the entire community and then he applauded our efforts. Three days later, he came to Bengaluru and he met us. I was one of the women scientists who were identified to interact with the PM. How he started was our landing, Vikram setting its foot on the moon, the south polar region...He related that with Angad setting his foot. That is a firm. It is a firm. He mentioned that," Shinde recalled. Following the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3, PM Narendra Modi declared August 23 as National Space Day and named the landing site 'Shiva Shakti Point,' while designating the Chandrayaan-2 landing site as 'Tiranga Point.' In 2023, on this very day, Chandrayaan 3 accomplished the safe and soft landing of Vikram Lander on the lunar surface. India became the fourth country to land on the moon and the first to land near the southern polar region of the moon. (ANI) "The blocked Badrinath National Highway near Gulabkoti and Paganala have been opened. Work is underway to open the others roads," Chamoli police said on X. Earlier Chamoli Police informed that the Badrinath National Highway was blocked near Nandprayag, Chhinka Gulabkoti, Paganala and Kanchanala. "After heavy rains, the Badrinath National Highway is blocked due to debris near Nandprayag, Chhinka, Gulabkoti, Pagalnala and Kanchanala (Badrinath)," Chamoli Police said in a post on X. Continuous downpours in the state have affected day to day activities of the people in the state. Earlier today, in a tragic incident, four Nepali nationals were found dead after being trapped under debris near Phanta helipad following the heavy rains in Uttarakhand's Rudraprayag, officials said. The District Disaster Management Officer Nandan Singh Rajwar said that a rescue team was sent to the spot after they were alerted about the incident around 1:20 am. Rajwar said, "All 4 people trapped in the debris were found dead by the rescue teams. All of them were Nepali nationals and their bodies are being brought to Rudraprayag by the District Disaster Rescue Force (DDRF) team." The rescue operation was carried out by teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and District Disaster Rescue Force. "People buried under the debris have been taken out by the rescue team, who were found dead. All the people are from Nepal, including Tul Bahadur, Purna Nepali, Kishna Parihar and Deepak Bura," the official further said. (ANI) A bench of justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan gave one week time to the Uttar Pradesh government to file the reply on Abbas Ansari's bail plea. The court adjourned the matter for September. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appeared for Abbas Ansari. He submitted that the allegations had been made that people entered the jail without verification. He further submitted that they have all the documents exhibiting that verification has happened every time the people entered the jail. Abbas Ansari, who has filed the petition through advocate Lzafeer Ahmad BF, has challenged the Allahabad High Court rejecting his bail in the matter relating to an alleged illegal meeting with his wife in the Chitrakoot jail. Allahabad HC passed the order on May 1. Following the alleged incident, Abbas Ansari was shifted to Kasganj jail in February 2023. Seven people were arrested, along with Abbas Ansari's wife, in the case. Later, Ansari's wife was granted bail in the case by the top court. (ANI) YSRCP Chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday met workers hospitalised for their injuries sustained at an explosion in a pharma company factory in Andhra Pradesh's Anakapalli. The YSRCP Chief interacted with the injured workers and their relatives at the Anakapalli Hospital here. Speaking to reporters, the former Andhra Chief Minister said, "...When something like this took place during our term, we ensured that a compensation of Rs one crore was given to the deceased within 24 hours and a similar amount was given to the injured. The same kind of sympathy and empathy is expected from the government..." As many as 17 people were killed and several others sustained burn injuries after a reactor exploded in a pharma company in the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Atchutapuram in Anakapalli. State Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has also ordered a high-level inquiry into the incident. The incident happened after a 500-kilo-litre capacitor reactor exploded at a pharma company with around 200 workers still working at the time. Naidu on Thursday announced a compensation of Rs one crore to the families of workers who lost their lives and Rs 50 lakh for those seriously injured in the blast. He also met the injured at the hospital. "It is a very unfortunate incident. We have formed a committee to go through all the lapses and will provide us with the report. We are working on how to improve our systems. I have to promote investment in a big way. That is where I am talking about the speed of doing business. While doing that I have to protect people, safety is important. We will take checks and balances. All precautionary measures will be taken. We have announced Rs 1 crore for the deceased's family, Rs 50 lakhs for seriously injured and Rs 25 lakhs for those who have light injuries," Naidu told ANI on August 23. On August 22, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu and Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar condoled the loss of lives and expressed shock over the incident. (ANI) The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notice on a plea moved by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), challenging interim bail granted to accused Ved Pal Singh Tanwar arrested concerning a money laundering case. He was granted 56 days interim bail on medical grounds on August 16 by Saket District Court. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna issued notice on the plea of ED and listed the matter for hearing in September. Haryana Mining Businessman Ved Pal Tanwar was arrested by the ED in a money laundering case in May. The accused had filed for interim bail on the medical grounds to undergo the surgery of umbilical hernia and post-surgery care and treatment. "Considering the report of the jail authorities regarding the status of the health condition of the accused/applicant alongwith the medical documents of the treatment so far provided to the applicant, the court is of the view that the accused is entitled to be admitted on interim bail on medical ground for eight weeks i.e. 56 days from the date of his release," Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Ravindra Kumar Pandey ordered on August 16. He has been granted interim bail subject to certain conditions including that he shall get himself treated at the hospital of his choice within Delhi NCR. He has been directed to surrender before the concerned jail authorities on the expiry of interim bail. Senior advocate Pramod Kumar Dubey alongwith Advocates S S Boparai, Siddhant Saraswat and Aman Sharam appeared for Tanwar. Senior Advocate Pramod Kumar Dubey submitted that the case of Tanwar for admitting him on interim bail falls within the purview of guidelines of the Superior Court as immediate treatment and surgery is required for him. It was also submitted that Tanwar falls within the category of sick as well as infirm and no other option is available to manage the illness of the applicant except undergoing the surgery as suggested by the doctors of the DDU Hospital. It was also submitted that the accused has a known history of illness umbilical hernia, Gastric ulcer, fatty liver, Gal gallbladder polyps, Herpes Genitalis, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, lower back ache with radiculopathy. His bail was opposed by Advocate Zoheb Hossain, special counsel for ED and Special public prosecutor (SPP) Simon Benjamin. ED had arrested Ved pal Singh Tanwar under the provisions of the Prevention of Money-laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 on May 30, 2024, in connection with illegal mining in the Dadam area of Haryana. As per ED, it initiated an investigation based on the Prosecution Complaint filed by the Regional Officer, Haryana State Pollution Control Board, Bhiwani before the Special Environment Court, Kurukshetra against the Firm M/s. Govardhan Mines and Minerals for violating the conditions of Environment Clearance under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and subsequently an FIR was registered by Haryana Police under various sections of IPC, 1860. The ED said that the investigation revealed that the firm has been involved in large-scale illegal and unscientific mining in the Dadam area of Haryana. It had led to large-scale damage to the environment and huge loss to the exchequer. It is worth mentioning here that rampant illegal mining in the area led to the killing of five persons due to landslides, ED said in a press note. Earlier, a search and seizure was conducted in the case on August 3, 2023, wherein a large scale unaccounted cash documents, and jewellery of Rs. 3.7 crore, cash of Rs. 26.45 lakh and a Mercedes car worth Rs one Crore were seized. During the search, it was found that Vedpal Singh Tanwar is the key managerial person who not only acquired mining rights illegally but also led to illegal and unscientific mining beyond permissible limits. The ED investigation further revealed that Tanwar gained to the tune of Rs 37 crore from the said illegal mining. He invested these gains, which are Proceeds of Crime (PoC), in movable and immovable properties. Vedpal Singh Tanwar suppressed the facts and misled the investigation being conducted by the ED. In order to establish the money trail and other persons involved in the illegal mining activities, Vedpal Singh Tanwar was arrested and was remanded to 7 days ED custody in June, the ED said. (ANI) The central government on Friday approved the release of Rs 40 crore in advance to provide relief to the flood-affected people of Tripura. https://x.com/AmitShah/status/1826877665137324085 Making the announcement in a social media post on X, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, "Given the flood situation in Tripura, the central government, under the leadership of Modi Ji, has approved the release of Rs 40 crore in advance, as the central share from SDRF, to provide relief to the affected people." Shah also said that 11 NDRF teams, three columns of the Army, and 4 helicopters of the Air Force deployed by the Centre are already assisting the state government in relief and rescue operations. "No matter what, our sisters and brothers in Tripura will find the Modi government standing shoulder-to-shoulder with them to battle these difficult times," Shah said. Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha thanked the Union Government for the grant. "I thank PM Narendra Modi Ji and Home Minister Amit Shah Ji for this much-needed support in the hour of grief in Tripura due to floods. The constant support from your side is helping & motivating us to firmly fight this tough situation. I on behalf of Tripura convey my regards to the caring government in the centre" the Tripura CM said. Meanwhile, amid the flooding in several parts of Tripura, the Indian Army on Thursday rescued over 330 civilians during extensive Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations, informed Indian Army. As part of operation 'Jal Rahat', two columns from the 18 Assam Rifles, operating under the command of HQ 21 Sector Assam Rifles and IGAR (East), have been deployed across the flood-affected areas of Amarpur, Bhampur, Bishalgarh, and Ramnagar in the state, the Indian army said. The Indian Army also provided medical aid to seven civilians, addressing urgent health concerns amidst challenging conditions. On Friday, Chief Minister Manik Saha visited the flood-affected areas of Udaipur, Gomati district, which have been severely damaged due to heavy rains. "Reaching out to flood-affected areas by Chopper, assessing damage & ensuring aid reaches those in need. Constantly reviewing flood situation in Agartala & Udaipur, working to mitigate impact & support affected people," the CM said in a post on X. Large areas are flooded, leaving many citizens homeless and staying in various relief camps. During his visit, the CM also inspected the relief camps at Khilpara Higher Secondary School and Khilpara Market Shed and reviewed the management of the camps. The Gomati River is still flowing at 22.30 meters which is above the extreme danger level of 22 meters. The state administration has shifted all the families living on the bank of the Gomati River in Amarpur, Udaipur, Sonamura and surrounding villages. The state government has requested all citizens to be alert till the water level comes down to normal level. Air dropping of essential food items is currently being carried out using MI-17 helicopters for the severely affected people in Amarpur and Karbook under the Gomati district. The state administration has been constantly monitoring the overall situation. Initiatives have already been taken to rescue the affected people and provide them with relief and healthcare. To take stock of the relief efforts, CM Manik Saha on Thursday inspected the shelter house at B. R. Ambedkar School in Bordowali and assured the people there that the government will provide all necessary support. The State Emergency Operation Center (SEOC) of the state has been maintaining regular contact with the rescue personnel engaged in serving the affected people. On Thursday the CM visited this center located in the New Capital Complex. He advised the concerned workers and officials on the ground to make all-out efforts in helping rescue & relief efforts. (ANI) Jammu and Kashmir National Conference leader Omar Abdullah announced on Friday that they have reached a consensus on most of the seats for the upcoming Assembly elections in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It comes a day after the National Conference and Congress announced a tie-up for all 90 assembly seats in Jammu and Kashmir. The alliance was confirmed by the former Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah. Omar Abdullah said they will hold another round of discussions on August 23 before announcing their list of candidates. "We have reached a consensus on most of the seats. We are adamant on some seats and regional Congress leaders are adamant on some seats. Today we will discuss again and try to bring the remaining seats within the alliance limit and announce our candidates...," Omar Abdulla told reporters. The former Chief Minister was addressing the media, discussing the upcoming alliance with the Congress and the details of the seat distribution. On the National Conference supporting CPI (M) in Kulgam, he said, "Such a decision has not been made yet. When the final list is ready, and our President Farooq Sahab approves it, everything will be out in the open before you. I can't give details about each seat here, " he said. The pre-poll alliance was announced following a meeting of Congress Chief Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi with NC patron Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah in Srinagar on Thursday. The Congress and the NC had fought the Lok Sabha elections in alliance with each other. The National Conference won two seats - Anantnag and Srinagar. The Congress could not win any seat. Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1. The results will be announced on October 4. The Election Commission has issued notification for the first phase of assembly seats for 24 seats. This is the first assembly poll in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 (ANI). The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted searches on Thursday at the houses of overground workers and sympathisers of the banned terror organisation, CPI (Maoist), in Jharkhand, the probe agency said in a statement. The case relates to the recovery of incriminating letters addressed to the top leaders of the CPI (Maoist) in July 2022 in the Anandpur area of Chaibasa district. The NIA had taken over the investigation from the local police and registered the case against nine accused in August 2023. The searches were conducted at three locations in Chaibasa, Jharkhand. The houses of the suspects, located in Village-Pusalata, Police StationChakradharpur, District West Singhbhum, as well as Buru Rengra, Police Station- Jeteya and Lipunga village, Police Station-Gua, all of DistrictWest Singhbhum, Jharkhand, were extensively searched as part of the operation. These suspects had been assisting the senior leadership of the proscribed outfit in carrying out Naxal activities, as per NIA investigations, which are continuing. (ANI) Flash China on Thursday provided emergency food assistance to Zimbabwe to assist the southern African country in tackling widespread food insecurity due to the effects of an El Nino-induced drought. Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Zhou Ding handed over the 1,760 metric tons of rice to Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa at a ceremony at the State House in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. Thursday's handover event was also attended by several Zimbabwean government ministers and senior officials, as well as representatives of beneficiary institutions. Speaking at the handover ceremony, Mnangagwa expressed his gratitude to the Chinese government for the generous donation. "Each time when we have this problem of food insecurity, China has always come to our aid," said the president, adding that the donated food will be distributed to the most vulnerable members of the community, including orphanages, institutions that care for elderly persons and people living with disabilities. "As a result of the El Nino-drought, the food insecurity not only in Zimbabwe but in the region is actually prevalent, but we believe that we shall continue to receive assistance and cooperation from our cooperating partners as well as our sister republics like the People's Republic of China, who have always stood by us when we are faced with challenges of this nature. We are very grateful," he said. Zhou said he was pleased to hand over the food assistance in response to the Zimbabwean government's appeal for humanitarian aid following the drought. "Right after your Excellency declared the state of national disaster, the Chinese government acted quickly to answer your call for support. So this is a new batch of emergency food assistance to Zimbabwe, and China will donate another batch of food assistance this year," Zhou said. Beneficiaries expressed gratitude to China for the donation, noting that the food assistance will go a long way in alleviating food shortages at their institutions. "We are so grateful to China for this assistance, especially in this time of the El Nino-induced drought. This is a very important intervention, and we expect Zimbabweans to go ahead in this difficult time because of this special assistance, which came on time. We remain grateful," said Douglas Matatani, one of the beneficiaries. NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Friday backed the Maharashtra Bandh called for staging a protest against the Badlapur incident and appealed to the people of Maharashtra to participate in it peacefully. "The incident that happened in Badlapur is a serious issue. This incident is shocking; therefore, reactions are coming from various places," Pawar said. Demanding strict action, he said "Strict action shall be taken, Home Department should remain alert. Incidents against girls and women are being noticed recently from other places in the state, people are angry about this." "Therefore Maharashtra Bandh has been called for tomorrow. This bandh should be done peacefully. My party will participate in it. I am sure people of Maharashtra will participate in the bandh", the NCP leader said. He further stated "I don't want to accuse anyone here but these types of incidents are serious. These are not stopping. We need to create awareness among people. We need to create awareness among law and order machinery too to stop such incidents". He also urged the government to handle this situation sensitively. "The government should handle this situation with sensitivity. This is not appropriate to book people who were protesting. They were expressing their anger over the incident peacefully. The home department should handle this with sensitivity" he added. Earlier today, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackrey called for a Maharashtra bandh on Saturday. to stage a protest against the Badlapur incident. He further stated that the bandh is against the atrocities committed against women and there is no political motive behind it. "Many people have started to feel that girls are not safe in schools. All citizens will take part in tomorrow's bandh, not just Mahavikas Aghadi. The bandh will continue till 2 pm. Bus and train services should also be shut during tomorrow's bandh. You may belong to any religion or caste, but make this bandh successful for the protection of your daughters and sisters," the former CM said. Launching an attack against the Maharashtra government, he pointed out, "What is happening with the girls? All this is going on, what is the government doing? We are not against the Ladli Behan Yojana. We want the government to first focus on the safety of women. After this, talk about all these schemes. We will not take the law into our hands. Shopkeepers should also think that they also have daughters, so they should also join our bandh, tomorrow the bandh will be only till 2 o'clock. Some people have gone to court regarding the bandh, it seems they are not concerned about their sisters and family." "If the police had properly taken action, we would not have to do this. Yesterday the court also reprimanded. People have the right to question the government. When the way is closed for the people, the court is the only way left," Uddhav added. Earlier, in a post on X, Uddhav Thackeray wrote, "Maha Vikas Aghadi has announced Maharashtra Bandh on August 24 to protest against the Badlapur incident. This bandh is not political but to protest and curb the perversity." Meanwhile, the special investigation team (SIT) for Badlapur sexual assault against minors has registered an FIR against the school authorities, for not complying with the provisions of section 19 of the POCSO Act which mandates that every authority when they come to know about any such kind of sexual assault against minors are obligated to report this to police authorities for further action, said SIT. (ANI) In a tragic incident, five persons- four labourers and a contractor, died after the roof of an under construction resort collapsed in Madhya Pradesh's Indore on Friday, an official said. The incident occurred in Choral locality under the jurisdiction of Simrol police station in the district. According to the police those who died were identified as Pawan Panchal (35) (Contractor), a resident of Bhaswada, Rajasthan and currently living in Indore's Rau and labourers were identified as Hariom Malvi (22) and Ajay Malvi (20), residents of Shajapur and Raja (22) & Gopal (45), residents of Indore. Indore Collector Ashish Singh told ANI, "There was an under construction resort in choral locality where the roof slab was recently built and under the same roof a contractor and four labourers were sleeping. On Friday morning, the roof collapsed and all five people died." Upon getting the information about the incident, the teams of district administration and SDRF (State Disaster Response Force) reached the spot and began the rescue operation. Five bodies were recovered from the spot which were sent for the post mortem, he said. "A team is investigating the matter regarding the permission of the resort construction. Though in the preliminary investigation it came to light that there was a permission issued from the gram panchayat for construction. Whether there was a violation or not is a matter of investigation. It was a private construction and it was found that the quality of construction was not upto the mark. Therefore investigation into the matter is underway and further action will be taken accordingly," he added. (ANI) The alleged incident took place when the girl was on way home from tuition class on August 22 in Dhing area. According to reports, locals found the girl in a semi-conscious state by the side of a road and immediately admitted her to a hospital. Swapnaneel Deka, Superintendent of Police of Nagaon district told ANI over the phone that, "Police have picked up two persons for interrogation in connection with the incident." "Our investigation is on. We are now waiting for the doctor's report," the police official said. The incident has sparked massive protests in the area, with locals demanding stern action against the perpetrators of the crime and justice for the victim. Following the incident, several organisations on Friday called a local bandh (shut down) at Dhing area. https://x.com/himantabiswa/status/1826856229937000639 Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the horrific incident at Dhing, involving a minor, "is a crime against humanity and has struck our collective conscience." The Assam CM also directed the state DGP to visit the site and ensure swift action against such monsters. "The horrific incident at Dhing, involving a minor, is a crime against humanity and has struck our collective conscience. We will NOT SPARE anyone & BRING the perpetrators to JUSTICE. I've directed @DGPAssamPolice to visit the site and ensure swift action against such monsters," the Assam Chief Minister wrote on X. This comes amid nation-wide outrage over the murder and alleged sexual assault of a female trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9 in West Bengal's Kolkata city. (ANI) BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Friday lashed out at Mamata Banerjee over the rape and murder of a woman trainee doctor at RG Kar medical college and hospital and accused her of manipulating evidences. Shehzad Poonawalla said, "Today, this kind of crocodile tears by Mamata Banerjee does not mean anything because her actions have only been infused with ruthlessness. Why her government has rewarded Sandeep Ghosh once again by making him an OSD (Officer on Special Duty)?... "First, he was reinstated in 4 hours. Instead of taking action on him, he is given a special posting. We have also seen how Kapil Sibal, the lawyer for the Bengal government was laughing in court and the lawyers and the judges had to tell him that this is not a matter to laugh on. This shows the 'nirmammata' (ruthlessness) attitude of the Mamata Banerjee government" the BJP national spokesperson added. He further stated "The Supreme Court yesterday slammed the Mamata Banerjee government for the delay in FIR. It said that in 30 years, it has never come across such discrepancies" Accusing the TMC government of manipulating evidence he said "The entire approach of the TMC government was not to provide justice to the girl but to hide the evidence". "Today instead of taking responsibility she is trying to brazen it out" he said. "Kannauj (SP) is silence on Kolkata incident and Kolkata (TMC) is silence on Kannauj incident" he added. Earlier on Thursday, urging the central government to bring in central legalization and set up fast-track courts for "sensitive" issues, to ensure a fast speedy trial, West Bengal Mamata Banerjee wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the wake of the national outrage over the RG Kar medical hospital incident where a second-year trainee doctor was raped and murdered. BJP workers also staged a protest against the rape and murder of the PG-trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. BJP leaders, including LoP Suvendu Adhikari and MLA Agnimitra Paul, and workers stage a protest outside the premises of the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, however, they were later detained by the Kolkata Police. Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday approached Kolkata High Court for permission to conduct a polygraph test on RG Kar Medical College and Hospital's ex-principal, Dr Sandip Ghosh, and four doctors after finding discrepancies in their statements during the investigation. A senior CBI official informed that they have approached the court for permission and after getting the permission, the polygraph test will be conducted. "We will corroborate their statements with the result of the polygraph test to verify their statement given to the agency," the official added. The CBI official stated that the polygraph test would help verify their statements and corroborate evidence. (ANI) Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ukraine, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Sasmit Patra on Friday remarked that this visit is crucial, important, and sensitive, as it will enhance India's position as a mediator in the ongoing conflict and contribute to the country's emergence as a major force for ensuring world peace. Patra noted that while there is a common perception that India is very close to Russia, this visit by PM Modi has helped to strike a balance. Further elaborating, Patra asserted that the visit to Ukraine will reinforce India's image as a nation committed to peace and tranquillity in the region. Emphasising that war has never been a solution, Patra stated that PM Modi has advocated for mediation, conciliation, and peace as the way forward in the ongoing conflict. Speaking to ANI about PM Modi's visit to Ukraine, BJD MP Sasmit Patra said, "The visit of PM Modi to Ukraine is extremely important, especially as he had a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin just a few days ago. Today's visit will help restore a sense of balance and further position India as a nation focused on ensuring peace and tranquillity in the region. As has been said before, war is never a solution; instead, mediation, conciliation, and peace are the paths forward. I believe this is the message PM Modi wishes to convey to Ukraine today. India has been assisting Ukraine with medicines, food, prosthetics, and various other forms of aid during this conflict, and although there has been a perception that India is very close to Russia, this visit will likely help to balance that perception." "Additionally, PM Modi's stay in Poland over the past two days, as the first Indian Prime Minister to visit the country in 45 years, bodes well for India's international standing. India is increasingly seen as a strong nation capable of bringing about peace, non-violence, and resolution in this ongoing conflict. For these reasons, I believe this visit is crucial, important, and sensitive. It will elevate India's position as a mediator in the conflict, enabling India to continue its role as a major force for ensuring world peace," Patra added. PM Modi's visit marks the first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine. Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, with his trademark hug on Friday. Both leaders paid their respects to the memories of children at the Martyrologist Exhibition at the Ukraine National Museum in Kyiv. After laying floral tributes at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial, Prime Minister Modi met with President Zelenskyy ahead of their bilateral talks. Later in the day, at Mariinskyi Palace, the two leaders will hold a restricted meeting to discuss key issues. High-level delegation meetings will follow, during which important discussions on bilateral cooperation are expected. Document exchanges will take place to formalise agreements and collaborations between the two nations. Earlier in the day, upon his arrival at the Hyatt Hotel in Kyiv, PM Modi received a rousing welcome from the Indian community, with many students eagerly awaiting his arrival and hoping to catch a glimpse of the Prime Minister. In a post on X, Modi tweeted, "Reached Kyiv earlier this morning. The Indian community accorded a very warm welcome." One of the highlights of the visit will be the presentation of the BHISHM Cube, a revolutionary mobile hospital designed for disaster management. This will be followed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's interaction with Ukrainian students learning Hindi, highlighting the cultural and educational ties between India and Ukraine. (ANI) Congress MLA from Madhya assembly constituency in Bhopal, Arif Masood wrote a letter to Chief Minister Mohan Yadav regarding bulldozer action in Chhatarpur district saying it is against the Justice system. Illegal constructions belonging to the key accused involved in a stone-pelting incident that occurred at a police station in Chhatarpur district on August 21 were demolished the next day on August 22. The demolition action was taken up jointly by district administration and police. In the letter to CM Yadav, Congress MLA wrote, "After the incident that took place in Chhatarpur's City Kotwali police station on August 21, the angry Chhatarpur Police, in connivance with the local administration, bulldozed people's houses on August 22, without giving notice to them, which is directly against the justice system." "The way the police administration has demolished houses, and vehicles with JCB and Pokhlan machines during the action, it is clear that the Constitution in Madhya Pradesh is almost on the verge of extinction. If any criminal commits a crime, then there is a provision to take action against it in the justice system," he further wrote. "Therefore, I request you that the way houses have been demolished without giving notice, strict action should be taken against the officers who took such action so that the common man's faith in the law process remains intact," stated the letter. Meanwhile, Masood told ANI, "One can visit the spot, there was permission for the house and even there was a loan on it as well. The government should check the other houses in the district to see whether they have permission or not. Will those houses without permission be demolished in a day? Because the houses were bulldozed without any notice. We will knock on the doors of the High Court and the Supreme Court for the same." "Those who created a nuisance, then check the CCTV footage, lodge FIR and arrest them. There is no objection to it," he added. (ANI) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed his condolences on the death of Indian passengers after a bus bearing a number plate of Uttar Pradesh plunged into a river in Nepal, killing 14 in the process on Friday. Taking to social media site X, Fadnavis said, "A very unfortunate incident has taken place where some devotees from Maharashtra have died in an accident where a bus fell into a valley in Nepal. I offer heartfelt tributes to the deceased. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured." "According to initial information, it is known that these devotees are from Jalgaon district. The state government immediately contacted the Nepal Embassy, and the Collector of Jalgaon is in constant contact with the Collector of Maharajganj in Uttar Pradesh, which is on the Nepal border. A district and Deputy Superintendent of Police are accompanying them and they will go to the Nepal border. Our officials are constantly in touch to provide immediate medical facilities to the injured. We are in touch with the Uttar Pradesh government to bring the bodies of the deceased to Maharashtra in coordination with the Nepal government. The Maharashtra Disaster Management Unit has also been instructed to coordinate, and Minister Girish Mahajan and Anil Patil are also in constant contact," he further added. Earlier today, a Nepal police official said that a passenger bus with an Uttar Pradesh number plate that had originated from UP's Gorakhpur plunged into a river in Nepal's Tanahun district. The bus was carrying 40 people when the accident happened. Fourteen bodies were retrieved from the accident site, Kumar Neupane, the spokesperson for Nepal's Armed Police Force, said. Arjun Khanal, the owner of the hotel where the Indian tourists had stayed for two nights, told ANI, "They said that they're from Mumbai but had booked the vehicle from Kesharbani Travels for 8 days. The travel company has also contacted me and asked for the report. They are from various locations in India; some are from Maharastra, Pune, and Panvel and were here in Nepal on a six-day visit. They stayed in Pokhara for two days and before that in Lumbini and were on their way to Kathmandu's Gaushala." Rupandehi District Police Office Spokesperson DSP Manohar Bhatta told ANI over the phone that the bus entered Nepal from Belahiya checkpoint in Rupandehi on August 20 with an 8-day permit. The bus belonged to Kesharbani Travels and bore the licence plate number UP 53 FT 7623, the Bhatta said. Search and rescue operations have been initiated by the Nepal Army at the site of the incident. Uttar Pradesh Transport Minister Daya Shankar Singh said that officials have been instructed to provide all possible help to the victims. In a post on X, he said, "Received the sad news of the accident of a private bus from Gorakhpur while going from Pokhara to Kathmandu in Nepal. I pray to God for the peace of the souls of those who died in the accident and speedy recovery of the injured. The concerned officials have been instructed to provide all possible help to the victims." As per the official, the bus was on its way to Kathmandu from Pokhara when the mishap took place. Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner said, "Regarding the Nepal incident, we are establishing contact to find out if any person from Uttar Pradesh was on the bus." Sub-Divisonal Magistrate Maharajganj is being sent to Nepal and the Additional District Magistrate of Maharajganj will coordinate, the Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner said. (ANI) Female journalists Saritha Avula and Vijaya Reddy filed a complaint at the Telangana State Women Commission on Friday, urging the commission to take action against an incident after they were allegedly attacked by Congress workers on Thursday at Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's hometown at Kondareddypalle village, Vikarabad district. Journalist Sarita said that during an on-ground report on farmer loan waivers at Kondareddypalle, Congress workers attacked them on Wednesday, took away their phones and also used abusive language. Speaking to ANI, Saritha said, "Yesterday, while we were doing a ground report at Kondareddypalle on farmer loan waiver, some people snatched away our phones and used abusive language with us. We have filed a complaint yesterday on this at the local police station. Today, we have given a complaint to the Women's Commision." Further, she added that videos would be submitted to the Women's Commission and the Director General of Police (DGP) adding that strict action should be taken against the accused. "We will also meet the DGP in some time. We are submitting the videos also to both the Women's Commision and DGP. We demand that strict action should be taken against those who attacked us. We hope that the government and the Women's Commision will act in our favour," she added. The journalists will also file a complaint with the Telangana DGP Jitender. Earlier on Thursday, Saritha took to X and in a post had written about the alleged attack and said that they were physically assaulted by the Congress workers. The post said, "Congress workers in CM Revanth Reddy's hometown Kondareddypalle physically assaulted me and fellow journalist Vijaya Reddy while we were reporting on the implementation of the farm loan waiver. Our camera was smashed, phones were snached and we were pushed into mud." Further, she urged Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi to recognise the troubling reality in Telangana. The post read, "I urge Mr. @RahulGandhi and Smt. @priyankagandhi to recognise the troubling reality in Telangana. I also hope the Press Council of India takes serious note of this attack on women journalists in Telangana." (ANI) Following the pre-poll announcement of allying with the Congress and the National Conference (NC) ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections on Thursday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on his stand on the reservation policy, which does not align with the NC's manifesto for the upcoming polls. Taking to X on Friday, Amit Shah shared a photo of the NC's manifesto for the Jammu and Kashmir assembly, which stated that the NC would strive "to restore 370-35A, and statehood as prior to August 5, 2019." "The Modi govt ended years of discrimination against Dalits, tribes, Pahadis, and backward communities by granting them reservations after the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A," Shah said. He questioned Rahul Gandhi if he supports the NC's manifesto, "which calls for abolishing reservations for Dalits, Gujjars, Bakerwals, and Pahadis." "After allying with the National Conference, he should now clarify the Congress Party's stand on reservation policy," Shah further stated. On August 19, party Vice President Omar Abdullah launched the NC's manifesto, which includes huge promises like the restoration of Article 370, 35A and statehood, redrawing the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 and the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits. Before its abrogation, Article 370 of the constitution "granted Kashmir autonomy of internal administration, allowing it to make its own laws in all matters except finance, defence, foreign affairs and communications." Whereas, Article 35 A "empowered the State Legislature of Jammu and Kashmir to define "permanent residents" of the state along with granting them special privileges." On Thursday, Congress and the NC announced a pre-poll alliance and said that seat-sharing talks are currently underway. The pre-poll alliance was announced soon after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge met NC chief Farooq Abdullah. After the meeting, Farooq said that the Congress-NC would fight for all 90 seats in the assembly polls. The formal announcement of the tie-up was made by NC patron Farooq Abdullah in Srinagar. "United we stand," JKNC posted on X. The announcement was made after Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar met Kharge and Rahul Gandhi. "Congress and we (NC) are together. Tarigami sahab (CPM's M.Y. Tarigami) is also with us. I hope that our people are with us so that we can win and do better for the people. The alliance has been finalised and by this evening the details of seat-sharing will be announced. The Alliance is for 90 seats," Farooq Abdullah said. "People have suffered much in the last 10 years. Statehood is the prime concern for us. And we want all the powers of the state. Our common program is to fight divisive forces. Our doors are open for all, let's first win the election. My heart is happy today," the NC patron added. The Congress and the NC had fought the Lok Sabha elections in alliance with each other. The National Conference won two seats--Anantnag and Srinagar. The Congress could not win any seats. Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1. The results will be announced on October 4. The Election Commission has issued notification for the first phase of assembly seats for 24 seats. This is the first assembly poll in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370. (ANI) Madhya Pradesh police registered a case against four people--a manager and three owners--of Indore's under-construction resort, where five people died following the roof collapse of a cottage on Friday, according to a police release. The incident occurred in Choral locality, under the jurisdiction of Simrol police station in the district. Among the five dead people, four were labourers and a contractor. According to the police, those who died were identified as Pawan Panchal (35) (Contractor), a resident of Bhaswada, Rajasthan and currently living in Indore's Rau and labourers were identified as Hariom Malvi (22) & Ajay Malvi (20), residents of Shajapur and Raja (22) & Gopal Prajapati (60), residents of Indore. "Prima facie, the owners of the under-construction resort were found to have carried out the construction work of the cottage negligently, due to which five people died. Following which, a criminal case has been registered against the manager of the under-construction resort, Rahul and the owners. Further action into the matter is underway," stated the release. The accused have been identified as manager Rahul Ahirwar (32), a resident of Sehore and owners Vikas Dabkara (36), Anaya Dembla and Vihana Dembla, residents of Indore. According to the Madhya Pradesh Public Relations Department, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed grief over the tragic incident. He prayed that the departed soul rest in peace and give strength to the bereaved family to bear the loss. CM Yadav has also instructed to give Rs 2 lakh each to the families of the deceased from the Chief Minister's Voluntary Grant. Additional Rs 2 lakh each are also being given to the families of the deceased through the Red Cross. With this, the families of the deceased will get financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each, it added. (ANI) You are here: World Flash Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday that China is willing to maintain exchanges at all levels with the British side and push for stable and far-reaching bilateral relations. The Chinese side attaches great importance to the British side's desire to enhance contact and dialogue, said Xi during his phone talks with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has obtained the required sanction to prosecute Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi Excise Policy case. The agency has filed the sanction in the Rouse Avenue court. The CBI has filed a supplementary charge sheet against him. The Supreme Court has postponed the hearing on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's bail plea and his challenge against the Delhi High Court's decision supporting his arrest in the alleged excise policy scam. The new hearing date is set for September 5. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan posted the matter on September 5 for hearing and granted one-week further time to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to file a reply in one of the pleas. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for CBI, sought time to file an affidavit in one of the petitions and submitted that the agency had filed an affidavit in the other petition. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Kejriwal, told the bench that the affidavit was filed on Thursday night at 8 pm with a deliberate design that the same wouldn't reach the bench. The affidavit filed by the CBI in one of the petitions stated that Kejriwal is politically sensationalising the case and he has been involved in the criminal conspiracy in the formulation and implementation of the Delhi excise policy. On August 5, the Delhi High Court upheld the arrest of the Chief Minister as "legal.". It had dismissed Kejriwal's plea challenging his arrest, saying it was only after sufficient evidence was collected and sanction was obtained in April 2024 that the CBI proceeded with further probes against him. Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21, 2024, in connection with a money laundering probe relating to alleged irregularities in the now-cancelled Delhi excise policy 2021-22. On June 26, 2024, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Chief was arrested by the CBI while he was in custody of the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi excise policy case. (ANI) An exhibition was held at Bharat Mandapam on Friday to mark National Space Day. Sanjot Sanjay, a student at Yeshwant Rao College of Engineering in Nagpur and the winner of the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Team Titans project in a recent robotic challenge, was declared the overall winner at the exhibition by President Droupadi Murmu. Speaking to ANI, Sanjay shared that the rover, developed as part of ISRO's challenge, was completed in eight months. "We accepted ISRO's challenge and built the rover in eight months. We are very pleased to have participated, as it has deepened our understanding of technology," Sanjay said. He also discussed the challenges faced during the project, stating that the team worked tirelessly under the guidance of their mentor and professors. "This competition will allow us to apply our knowledge in our future careers. I aspire to work with ISRO, and I am grateful for the opportunity that has helped me achieve my goal," he added. Earlier today, Union Minister of State for the Department of Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, addressed the gathering at Bharat Mandapam, noting that ISRO has become the first organisation to land on the South Pole of the Moon within just half a century of its inception. Dr Jitendra Singh remarked, "A year ago, on August 23, 2023, our Chandrayaan-III mission became the first to land on the south side of the Moon. PM Modi announced that this day would be celebrated annually as National Space Day. The world did not expect us to achieve this milestone, given that our space journey is only 55 years old. Today, ISRO, within half a century, has become the first to land on the south side of the Moon, ahead of anyone else." He further stated that National Space Day is a day for introspection, reflection, and planning for the future. (ANI) The Supreme Court on Friday directed the issuance of a non-bailable warrant through the concerned Chief Judicial Magistrate against an accused in an acid attack case who had earlier been granted bail by the Allahabad High Court. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Prasanna Bhalachandra Varale ordered the issuance of the non-bailable warrant after the survivor's counsel informed the court that the accused had refused to accept the apex court's notice. According to the office report of the Assistant Registrar, Supreme Court, the notice issued to the accused was returned unserved with a postal remark stating "refused to accept, return to sender." The petitioner's counsel brought this to the bench's attention, leading to the issuance of the warrant. The case dates back to November 5, 2016, when Aslam, then 27 years old, was savagely attacked by three unknown assailants in Hapur District, Uttar Pradesh, during an attempted robbery of his e-rickshaw. When he resisted, they cut him with a knife, threw acid on his face, and took away the e-rickshaw. The incident left him 100 per cent visually impaired, according to the appeal filed in the apex court against the High Court's order granting bail to the accused. Since then, Aslam has faced immense hardship, struggling to support his aging parents, wife, and three children. Despite the gravity of the crime, no compensation has been provided to Aslam to date by any authorities, forcing him to rely on external agencies and NGOs for support. The bail granted by the Allahabad High Court to one of the accused was challenged by Aslam in the Supreme Court with the assistance of Brave Souls Foundation, an NGO founded by Shaheen Malik, herself an acid attack survivor. The foundation, dedicated to the welfare and rehabilitation of acid attack survivors, has been providing Aslam with legal and medical assistance. Additionally, the organisation supports his family by providing monthly rations and educational aid for his children. The High Court granted bail to the accused on October 16, 2023, on the grounds that his case was clearly distinguishable from that of the other accused persons. (ANI) The Congress Central Election Committee is currently meeting at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in Delhi to discuss the upcoming Jammu and Kashmir elections. Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi are attending the meeting. According to sources, discussions are focused on nine seats for the first phase of elections in Jammu and Kashmir, with candidates finalised for five of these seats. On August 22, ahead of the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, the Congress and the National Conference (NC) announced a pre-poll alliance and confirmed that seat-sharing talks are underway. The alliance was declared shortly after Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge met with NC leaders Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah in Srinagar on Thursday. Following the meeting, Farooq Abdullah stated that the Congress and the NC would contest all 90 seats in the assembly polls together. Previously, the Congress and the NC had formed an alliance during the Lok Sabha elections, where the National Conference secured two seats--Anantnag and Srinagar--while the Congress did not win any seats. The assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir are scheduled to be held in three phases on September 18, September 25, and October 1, with results to be announced on October 4. The Election Commission has issued notifications for the first phase, covering 24 seats. These will be the first assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370. (ANI) Putting an end to speculations about the Chief Ministerial face from the Nationalist Congress Party, Sharad Pawar on Friday said that the party has not projected anyone yet as the CM face. Addressing a Press conference in Pune, Pawar said, "As far as my party is concerned, no one from my party is interested. We are not projecting anyone (as the CM face). We just want change in the government here as we want to give good governance to the state. So, who will or will not be the CM is not a question for me. It will not be me at least." Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said that the party chief Uddhav Thackeray never said that he would become the Chief Minister and if the Congress or NCP (SCP) has any face, then Uddhav is ready to lend support. Talking to the media at the Nagpur airport, Raut said, "Uddhav Thackeray does not need to come forward, he did not come forward even in 2019, everyone together made him CM. Now talking about 2024, Uddhav Thackeray never said that I would become CM, listen to yesterday's speech. If Congress NCP has any face then bring it forward, Uddhav Thackeray is ready to support that face, but Uddhav Thackeray is in the hearts of the people of Maharashtra." Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar on Friday said that the high demand for security forces in Jammu and Kashmir is the primary reason for not holding elections in Maharashtra. On being asked about Assembly Elections in Maharashtra, the Chief Election Commissioner said, "Last time, Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly elections were held together. At that time, J-K was not a factor but this time there are 4 elections this year and 5th election immediately after this, which is to start with J-K, Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi. Depending on the requirement of forces, we have decided to conduct 2 elections together. We cannot announce another election in the middle of the Jammu and Kashmir elections," Kumar said. 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 17 for the alliance. (ANI) The Sealdah Court has remanded the main accused in the rape and murder case of a postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital to 14 days of judicial custody. The main accused, Sanjay Roy, will remain in judicial custody until September 6, 2024, under the supervision of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The court has also granted permission for a polygraph test on the former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Dr. Sandip Ghosh, and five others connected to the case. These five individuals include four doctors who had dinner with the deceased doctor on the night of the incident and one civic volunteer. Earlier today, the Calcutta High Court transferred the Special Investigation Team's probe into financial irregularities involving Dr. Sandip Ghosh to the CBI. The High Court has tasked the CBI with investigating all corruption cases at RG Kar, as it is already handling the investigation into the rape and murder of the trainee doctor. Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj ordered the SIT to hand over all investigation documents to the CBI by 10 am on Saturday. The court has given the CBI three weeks to submit a progress report on the investigation, with the report due on September 17. Additionally, the court directed the petitioner, former Deputy Superintendent of the hospital Akhtar Ali, to apply to the CBI for security if necessary. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court ordered that the security of Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital be handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) while hearing the suo motu case of the trainee doctor's rape and murder. This decision comes as West Bengal experiences heightened agitation, with protesters voicing various grievances. The CISF's involvement is expected to strengthen security measures and help mitigate potential threats to public peace. Following the court's order, CISF personnel have been deployed to enhance security at the hospital and college complex in all shifts. (ANI) Reacting to the speculation regarding former Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat joining Congress, Former Haryana CM and LoP Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday labelled it as a "hypothetical question" and said that people will get to know if anyone joins the party. In an interview with ANI, when asked if wrestler Vinesh Phogat will join the Congress, Bhupinder Singh Hooda said, "It is a hypothetical question. But athletes do not belong to one party alone, they are of the entire country. If anyone joins the party, you will get to know. We welcome whoever joins the party but it is a hypothetical question. It depends on her. Today, she has faced injustice. She should be given her due honour. She should be nominated to Rajya Sabha." On her Olympics performance, Hooda said, "I had said that she should be given the same honour which is given to a Gold medal winner. She was not given that. The Government announced a Silver medal honour for her. I had said that just like Sachin Tendulkar was nominated to the Rajya Sabha, she should be nominated as well. Injustice has been done to her, she was not given justice." Hitting out at the government for Agniveer Scheme, Hooda said that they are messing with the future of the youth and their future is plunged into darkness. "We had said that if Congress forms government at Centre, we will reinstate the old recruitment process, which was pensionable. An 18-year-old will get recruited and come back as a 22-year-old. He will neither get any pension or facility. This is messing with their future. Haryana and Punjab will suffer the loss as earlier, around 5000 youth joined the armed forces but under this Agniveer scheme, only 250 youth joined. Their future plunged into darkness," Hooda said. Lashing out at the state government, Hooda said that Haryana is lagging behind in every aspect whether it is unemployment, sports, per capita income, or investment. "In 2014, when we went out of power, Haryana was number 1 with respect to per capita income, per capita investment, law and order, employment and sports. But today, we are lagging behind. What is it in which we are leading today? In unemployment. Crime is rising rapidly. Law and order has failed." Addressing the wrestlers protest, Hooda hit out at the government and said the daughters who won accolades across the world are still waiting for the justice. "Our women wrestlers, who have won accolades across the world, had to sit at Jantar Mantar but they have still not received justice. Same case is with employment; they had launched 'Kaushal Rojgaar Nigam' which promised temporary jobs and on contractual basis but during our government we gave regular jobs which secured the future of the youths. Today 2 lakh sanctioned posts in Haryana are vacant. Once Congress government comes to power, we will provide 1 lakh permanent jobs in the first year itself and the 50,000 jobs each in the subsequent years," said Hooda. Since January 2023, wrestlers including Vinesh, Sakshi and Bajrang Punia are protesting against Brij Bhushan accusing him of sexual exploitation and intimidation. Earlier on August 22, former Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat on Thursday claimed that Delhi Police has revoked the security cover of female wrestlers set to testify in the sexual harassment case against former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. "Delhi Police has withdrawn the security of the women wrestlers who are going to testify against Brij Bhushan in the court. @DelhiPolice @DCWDelhi @NCWIndia," Phogat said in a post on X. However, the Delhi police denied the allegation. "The security provided to the wrestlers hasn't been withdrawn; it was decided to request Haryana Police to takeover the responsibility in future since the protectees normally reside there," said DCP New Delhi in a post on X. (ANI) As Haryana gears up for the assembly elections, Congress leader and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday dismissed all claims of forming an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the state, stating that Congress is capable of contesting the elections on its own. Regarding an alliance with AAP, Hooda said, "We have an alliance with the Samajwadi Party too, but it is a central-level alliance, not state-based. We have no alliance here in Haryana. We have an alliance with all parties at the national level, but there are no such discussions at the state level. Congress is fully capable of contesting the elections alone." Hooda further remarked that in the upcoming elections, the primary competition is between Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), leaving no space for 'vote cutters'. Commenting on the INLD-BSP alliance for the forthcoming elections, Hooda stated, "The Lok Sabha results have clearly shown that the competition is between Congress and the BJP, with no room for vote cutters." Hooda also clarified that he is not retired and will contest the upcoming elections in the state. Addressing the issue of the Chief Ministerial candidate for the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections and his statement, "Neither tired nor retired," Hooda reiterated, "There is no such thing as tired or retired. I had said that I would contest the election this time. I am neither tired nor retired." Referring to the 2024 Lok Sabha election results, Hooda pointed out that there has been a decrease in the BJP's vote percentage and an increase in Congress's vote share, indicating that people are inclined to form a Congress government in the state. On the upcoming Haryana Assembly elections, Hooda said, "In the Lok Sabha elections, people have given clear indications that the 36 fraternities of Haryana have decided that the next government will be formed by the Congress party. We received the highest vote share of the INDIA Alliance across India. There are 10 parliamentary constituencies here, and all 10 of them registered a drop in the BJP's vote share while Congress saw a rise. Similarly, across the 90 Assembly constituencies, Congress's vote share has increased, while the BJP's has declined. This is a clear indication. Based on the public support we are receiving through our various campaigns, whether it's 'Hisaab Maange Haryana' or 'Ghar-Ghar Congress,' I can confidently say that the people have made up their minds to form a Congress government." On the topic of potential factionalism within the party, Hooda dismissed such concerns, saying, "There is no factionalism in the party. All party leaders are united and working to strengthen Congress. If you want to see factionalism, look at the BJP; you might notice it among leaders like Anil Vij, Ram Vilas Sharma, or Rao Inderjit Singh." The elections for Haryana's 90 assembly constituencies will be held in a single phase on October 1, with the counting of votes scheduled for October 4. Haryana has a total of 2.01 crore voters, of which 1.06 crore are males, 0.95 crore are females, 4.52 lakh are first-time voters, and 40.95 lakh are young voters. The last date to file nominations in Haryana is September 12, with scrutiny taking place on September 13. The final date for the withdrawal of candidatures is September 16. The current government's term in Haryana will end on November 3, 2024, with elections to be held in all 90 legislative assembly constituencies. In the 2019 elections, the BJP, with 40 seats in the 90-member assembly, formed a coalition government with the JJP, which had won 10 seats, while the Congress had secured 31 seats. Earlier this year, the BJP-JJP alliance was dissolved. In 2024, Haryana is likely to witness a four-way contest between the BJP, Congress, Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) and AAP. (ANI) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held a protest on Friday demanding justice for the rape and murder of a postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. Protesters chanted "We want justice." BJP leader Dilip Ghosh, who participated in the protest, called for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's resignation, asserting that justice cannot be served unless she steps down. "Today, there is only one demand: Mamata Banerjee should resign, because if she does not, justice will not be served," Ghosh told ANI. In related developments, Sealdah Court has granted permission for polygraph test of RG Kar Medical College and hospital former principal Dr Sandip Ghosh and five others in connection with the case. The five others include four doctors who had dinner with the deceased doctor and one civic volunteer. Meanwhile, the Calcutta High Court has tasked the CBI with investigating irregularities at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital. CBI will also investigate former Deputy Superintendent Akhtar Ali's case. Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj ordered SIT to hand over the investigation documents to CBI by 10 am on August 24. After three weeks, the CBI will report the progress of this investigation to the High Court. The court summoned that report on September 17. The petitioner Akhtar Ali can apply to the CBI if necessary for security, the court directed. The rape and murder of the trainee doctor have triggered widespread outrage and protests in cities including Delhi, Chandigarh, Mumbai, and Kolkata, with calls for justice for the victim and punishment for the accused. The postgraduate trainee doctor was found dead in the seminar hall of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. On August 14, the protest site and hospital campus at RG Kar were vandalised by a mob, leading to police intervention. To maintain law and order, Kolkata police have imposed Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (formerly Section 144 of the CrPC), around the Medical College and Hospital for seven days, effective from Sunday (August 18) to Saturday (August 24). (ANI) The Calcutta High Court has granted permission to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct a polygraph test on Dr. Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, and five others related to the incident. These five include four doctors who had dinner with the deceased doctor on the day the incident occurred, as well as one civic volunteer. The Calcutta High Court has also transferred the investigation of financial irregularities involving Dr. Sandip Ghosh, previously handled by a Special Investigation Team (SIT), to the CBI. The decision was made while hearing a petition filed by Akhtar Ali, the former deputy superintendent of the hospital, who accused Dr. Ghosh of financial misconduct and unethical practices. The High Court assigned the CBI to investigate the matter, as it is also handling the investigation into the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the hospital. Justice Rajarshi Bharadwaj has ordered the SIT to hand over all investigation documents to the CBI by 10 a.m. on Saturday. The Court has granted the the CBI three weeks to submit a progress report on the investigation, which is to be presented on September 17. Furthermore, the Court directed that the petitioner, Akhtar Ali, may request security from the CBI if necessary. In a separate development, the Sealdah Court today remanded Sanjay Roy, the main accused in the rape and murder case of the postgraduate trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, to 14 days of judicial custody. His custody will continue until September 6, 2024, under the supervision of the CBI. Earlier, on Tuesday, the Supreme Court ordered the security of Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital to be handed over to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) while hearing the suo motu case concerning the rape and murder of the trainee doctor. This decision comes amid a period of heightened agitation in West Bengal, with various protests taking place. The deployment of CISF personnel is expected to strengthen security measures and help maintain public order. Following the Supreme Court's order, CISF personnel have been deployed around the clock to enhance security at the hospital and college complex. (ANI) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Friday inaugurated a symposium titled "Touching Lives While Touching the Moon" organised at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Good Governance and Policy Analysis in Bhopal and held discussions on topics of women empowerment. The symposium was organised by the state government in collaboration with ISRO, National Commission for Women, Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, and EarthSight Foundation. Speaking on the occasion, CM Yadav said, "Encouraging participation at the local level in the multidimensional use of indigenous satellites will speed up the development process. While ensuring the implementation of space science-related technologies, activities will be conducted at every level in the state to improve the lives of the people of the state and increase the use of geospatial technology in the process of development." "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a special contribution in providing opportunities for progress to women in all fields. Along with playing an important role in public life, women in the country are also making achievements in specialised fields like space science. During the Covid period, women played an important role in making vaccines and managing health services," the CM said. Meanwhile, Member Secretary of the National Commission for Women, Meenakshi Negi said, "Capacity building in the field of geospatial technology will make it easier for public representatives to make decisions regarding development activities. This technology will bring more transparency and speed in development activities." (ANI) On the allegations of being Rohtak-centric, former Haryana Chief Minister and LoP Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday, while giving numerous examples, said that he had developed the whole state of Haryana and not just Rohtak. Furthermore, he hit out at the state government and questioned them on what they had done in the last 10 years. When asked that it is often said that he indulges in 'Rohtak-centric' development, Bhupinder Singh Hooda said, "Those who do not know and understand the development of Haryana say this. Did Haryana reached at good per capita only from Rohtak. It has been done all over the state. What did they (BJP government in state) do in these 10 years? We tried to make Haryana an education hub, set up industries in Panchkula, made a National Institute of Design in Kurukshetra, made Kalpana Chawla Medical College in Karnal, made Dr Ambedkar University in Sonipat, made Mahila Medical College in Khanpur, there is Jindal University, made Engineering College of Murthal a University, made a Medical College in Faridabad, put foundation stone of first-ever Defence University in Gurgaon, an AIIMS came in Jhajjar, central universities came in Mahendragarh, an IIM came in Rohtak, etc, just visit every corner of the state, I am Haryana centric. They are in government since 9.5-10 years, name one national-level institute that they have established." Meanwhile, he also conveyed that Rahul Gandhi will campaign for forthcoming Haryana elections and the party will form the government with a thumping majority. On Haryana Assembly elections, Hooda said, "Congress will form the Government with a thumping majority. Congress is present all over the state. Yes, he (Rahul Gandhi) will also come for campaigning. Now, there will be meetings of scrutiny committee and tickets will be distributed among the party members and the campaigns are going on. There is a contest between Congress and BJP but Congress will form the Government." The elections to the 90 assembly constituencies in Haryana will be held in a single phase on October 1 and the counting of votes will take place on October 4. In Haryana, there are a total of 2.01 crore voters in Haryana, of which 1.06 crore are males, 0.95 crores are females, 4.52 lakhs are first-time voters and 40.95 lakhs are young voters. The last day to file the nominations of Haryana will be September 12. The date of scrutiny of the nominations is September 13. The last date for the withdrawal of candidatures will be September 16. The term of the current government in Haryana will end on November 3, 2024, and elections will take in 90 legislative assembly constituencies in the state. After the 2019 elections, the BJP, with 40 seats in the 90-member assembly, formed a coalition government with the JJP. The JJP had won 10 seats, while the Congress had won 31 seats. The BJP-JJP alliance broke earlier this year. In 2024, Haryana is likely to see a four-way contest between the BJP, the Congress, the JJP, and the AAP. (ANI) In a significant operation, the vigilant troops of BSF Meghalaya successfully thwarted an infiltration attempt along the International Border in the East Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya, according to an official press release from Border Security Force (BSF) Meghalaya. During the operation that was conducted on Thursday, four Bangladeshi nationals, including three females, along with two Indian facilitators, were apprehended. In its continuous efforts to curb illegal crossings and smuggling activities along the Indo-Bangladesh border, the BSF Meghalaya has reinforced its border control measures and adopted multi-tier dominance strategy to prevent such activities. The apprehended illegal Bangladeshi migrants and their Indian accomplices, have been handed over to the concerned police station for further legal action. Earlier, in a well-planned operation carried out on August 10, BSF troops, in collaboration with the Meghalaya Police, apprehended seven Bangladeshi nationals along with two Indian facilitators at a checkpoint, said BSF in a statement. In view of ongoing unrest in Bangladesh, BSF Meghalaya has assessed and heightened security along the Indo-Bangladesh border, adopting a multi-tier dominance strategy. All the apprehended illegal Bangladeshi migrants with Indian facilitators were handed over to the concerned police station for further disposal and legal action, according to BSF. Earlier, BSF apprehended two smugglers and seized cattle and phenedyl bottles in a recent operation at the international border. Additionally, BSF also nabbed 11 Bangladeshi nationals attempting to cross into India--two each from the Bengal and Tripura borders and seven from the Meghalaya-Bangladesh border. "BSF field formations, in a special drive on the International border in the last 24 hours during Ops Alert, have apprehended 2 smugglers on the border and seized Cattle & Phensedyl bottles in West Bengal. Besides, in other operations, 11 Bangladeshi Nationals have been apprehended on the border while infiltrating into India, i.e. 2 each from the Bengal and Tripura border and 07 from the Meghalaya border with Bangladesh," as per a press release from the BSF. (ANI) Following Congress' announcement of allying with the National Conference (NC) ahead of the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah accused the Congress of repeatedly risking "the nation's unity and security to satiate its greed for power." Taking to social media site X, Shah said, "The Congress party, which has repeatedly risked the nation's unity and security to satiate its greed for power, has once again exposed its ulterior motives by allying with the Abdullah family's 'National Conference' in the Jammu and Kashmir elections." He further questioned the Congress party and their leader, Rahul Gandhi, if they support the promises made by the NC in their election manifesto. https://x.com/AmitShah/status/1826938593715392624 Shah questioned if the Congress party supports NC's promise of "a separate flag for Jammu and Kashmir," the "JKNC's decision to restore Article 370 and 35A," and thereby "push Jammu and Kashmir back into an era of unrest and terrorism." He further asked if the Congress supports the promotion of "separatism again by engaging in dialogue with Pakistan instead of Kashmir's youth" and on the "National Conference's decision to start 'LoC Trade' with Pakistan" and thereby "nurturing terrorism and its ecosystem across the border." Shah also contested Congress' support in "reinstating relatives of those involved in terrorism and stone-pelting into government jobs, thereby bringing back terrorism, extremism, and the era of strikes" and said that the alliance had exposed the Congress's "anti-reservation stance." "Does the Congress want 'Shankaracharya Hill' to be known as 'Takht-e-Suleiman,' and 'Hari Hill' as 'Koh-e-Maran'? Does the Congress support the politics of pushing Jammu and Kashmir's economy back into corruption and handing it over to selected Pakistan-supported families? Does the Congress party support the JKNC's politics of discrimination between Jammu and the Valley? Do the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi support the JKNC's divisive politics of granting autonomy to Kashmir?" Shah added. This interrogation of the Congress party by Amit Shah came after Congress and the NC announced a pre-poll alliance on Thursday. The pre-poll alliance was announced soon after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party chief Mallikarjun Kharge met NC chief Farooq Abdullah. After the meeting, Farooq said that the Congress-NC would fight for all 90 seats in the assembly polls. The formal announcement of the tie-up was made by NC patron Farooq Abdullah in Srinagar. "United we stand," JKNC posted on X. The announcement was made after Farooq Abdullah and his son Omar met Kharge and Rahul Gandhi. "Congress and we (NC) are together. Tarigami sahab (CPM's M.Y. Tarigami) is also with us. I hope that our people are with us so that we can win and do better for the people. The alliance has been finalised and by this evening the details of seat-sharing will be announced. The Alliance is for 90 seats," Farooq Abdullah said. "People have suffered much in the last 10 years. Statehood is the prime concern for us. And we want all the powers of the state. Our common program is to fight divisive forces. Our doors are open for all; let's first win the election. My heart is happy today," the NC patron added. The Congress and the NC had fought the Lok Sabha elections in alliance with each other. The National Conference won two seats--Anantnag and Srinagar. The Congress could not win any seats. Assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir will be held in three phases on September 18, 25 and October 1. The results will be announced on October 4. The Election Commission has issued notification for the first phase of assembly seats for 24 seats. This is the first assembly poll in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370. (ANI) Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Jagat Prakash Nadda, inaugurated the National Medical Register (NMR) Portal of the National Medical Commission (NMC) for the registration of all eligible MBBS doctors in India, according to an official statement from the ministry. Union Minister of State (MoS) Anupriya Patel attended the meeting, while Union MoS Prataprao Jadhav participated virtually. The National Medical Register (NMR) is mandated under Section 31 of the NMC Act, 2019, which states that the Ethics & Medical Registration Board (EMRB) of NMC shall maintain a National Register in electronic form containing the names, addresses, and all recognised qualifications of licenced medical practitioners. The NMR will serve as a comprehensive and dynamic database for all allopathic (MBBS)-registered doctors in India. Its uniqueness lies in its linkage to the Aadhaar ID of the doctors, ensuring the authenticity of the individual. Speaking at the event, Nadda commended the NMC and the National Health Authority (NHA) for their efforts in creating the National Medical Register, which he described as a comprehensive and dynamic database for all allopathic (MBBS) registered doctors in India. He stated, "The Prime Minister's vision is to make India digitally advanced, and this can only be achieved if the health ecosystem is also digitally robust. The National Medical Register is a much-awaited step in this direction, strengthening the digital healthcare ecosystem and ensuring quality healthcare for the people of India." Nadda added that the National Medical Register would be continuously upgraded and improved through enhancements to the registration process on the portal. Highlighting the role of the State Medical Councils (SMCs), Nadda said, "The State Medical Councils are key stakeholders in developing and maintaining the National Medical Register and facilitating the registration process." He urged the SMCs to actively participate and expedite the registration process, as their efforts in authentication would be crucial to the success of the NMR. He also mentioned that the government is moving towards launching a similar register for paramedics and other healthcare professionals. Terming the launch of the NMR a "momentous occasion," Union MoS Anupriya Patel said, "The need for the National Medical Register has been felt for a long time. The NMR is important, as authentic data on doctors across the country is crucial. The existing data on doctors is scattered, requiring revision and updating, and the NMR portal will ensure this. The easy registration process will help maintain authentic data, which is vital as India strives to create a robust digital health ecosystem. The digital registry of doctors will be an essential pillar for that." Union MoS Prataprao Jadhav highlighted the importance of the NMR, stating, "The NMR portal will ensure dynamic, authentic, and consolidated data on doctors in the country. The speedy and easy registration process on the portal will facilitate timely updates of the data. This will lead to greater transparency and quality among medical professionals, ensuring public trust in the healthcare system by providing verified information in a transparent manner. The government, under the vision of the Prime Minister of 'Reform, Perform, and Transform,' is committed to providing quality healthcare to the people, and the launch of the NMR is a step in that direction." Union Health Secretary Apurva Chandra added, "Until now, there has been a lack of comprehensive data that could provide a detailed and holistic picture of aspects like the total number of doctors in the country, those who have left the country, those who have lost their licences to practice, or the numbers and details of doctors who have passed away. The launch of the NMR will provide data on more than 13 lakh doctors." Chandra further stated that the NMR would be part of the Healthcare Professional Registry under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission and would contain all the details of medical professionals. The NMR will be a comprehensive and dynamic database for all allopathic (MBBS) registered doctors in India, linked to the Aadhaar ID of the doctors, ensuring their authenticity. The entire registration process for the NMR is straightforward and online. All medical colleges/institutions, including Institutes of National Importance (INIs) and SMCs, are interconnected on the portal. Some data will be visible to the public, while other information will be accessible only to the Ethics & Medical Registration Board (EMRB) of the National Medical Commission (NMC), State Medical Councils (SMCs), the National Board of Examinations (NBE), medical institutions, and registered medical practitioners, as per their requirements. Additional details, like registration and qualification credentials, can be manually entered and submitted through the portal. Following this, the application is automatically forwarded to the respective State Medical Council for verification. The SMC would then forward the application to the relevant college or institute for further review. Upon successful verification by the State Medical Council, the application is sent to the National Medical Commission. After the NMC's verification, a unique NMR ID would be issued. During this process, doctors can opt to join the Healthcare Provider Registry, linking them to the broader digital healthcare ecosystem. Through this portal, all stakeholders, including SMCs and educational institutions, can log in and verify applications from a single platform. The NMR portal offers a variety of features, including the ability to add additional qualifications, track applications, suspend licences, and issue NMR ID cards and digital doctor certificates. The NHA will further support the development of the NMR, including the future release of an enhanced version of the portal. This will include direct integration with the next software, continuing medical education, and credit points. All MBBS doctors already registered on the Indian Medical Register (IMR) must register again on the NMR of the NMC. To begin the registration process, doctors must have a digital copy of their MBBS degree certificate, the registration certificate from the State Medical Council/Medical Council of India where they first registered, and their Aadhaar number ready. (ANI) The All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), along with major Muslim organizations, has called for the immediate withdrawal of the newly proposed Waqf Amendment Bill. The groups have denounced the bill as a "conspiracy" aimed at undermining and seizing Waqf properties. In a joint statement, the AIMPLB and other prominent Muslim organizations expressed their deep concerns over the bill, asserting that it threatens the protection and transparency of Waqf properties under the guise of reform. The proposed legislation includes several controversial provisions, such as altering the definition of Waqf, modifying the role of mutawallis (trustees), and changing the structure of the Waqf Boards. Notably, the bill proposes increasing the number of non-Muslim members in the Central Waqf Council and Waqf Boards, which previously had only one non-Muslim member allowed. Under the new proposal, non-Muslims could make up to 13 members of the Central Waqf Council and seven members of Waqf Boards, with at least two members being non-Muslim. Critics argue that these changes violate Article 26 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right of minorities to establish and administer their own religious and cultural institutions. The bill also suggests that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Waqf Boards need not be Muslim, a shift from current requirements. Furthermore, it proposes that disputes over Waqf properties be resolved by collectors rather than Waqf Tribunals, and removes the requirement that disputes be addressed within one year. The AIMPLB highlighted that the bill would centralize control and diminish the autonomy of Waqf Boards, making them more susceptible to government interference. They also criticized the bill for stripping away protections for Waqf properties used for religious purposes, such as mosques and cemeteries, which could lead to their loss or illegal occupation. In response to these changes, the organizations are urging the government to reconsider and withdraw the amendment, citing concerns over the potential erosion of Waqf rights and the protection of religious endowments. (ANI) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers under the leadership of Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva staged a protest outside the Department of Social Welfare office in Lajpat Nagar on Friday against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government's failure to provide old age and widow pensions. Speaking on the occasion, Sachdeva said that the Kejriwal government had failed to fulfil its basic responsibilities, and therefore, the people of Delhi had decided that Kejriwal must go. "Any government's primary duty is to provide social pensions to the elderly and widows in a timely manner, but the Delhi government has halted these pensions. The late former Chief Minister of Delhi, Madan Lal Khurana, introduced this scheme, but the Kejriwal government, with its double standards, has stopped these pensions for the last five months. This pension, which helps the elderly purchase their medicines and provides support in their old age, has been stopped by the Kejriwal government as part of dirty politics," he said. Sachdeva further stated that the Kejriwal government had money to build lavish residences, engage in scams, and hire expensive lawyers after indulging in corruption, but no money to release pensions for the elderly. "After stopping the pensions for the last five months, when the BJP has taken to the streets, AAP minister Atishi Marlena has announced through a press conference that the elderly's pensions will be issued from today. Atishi's statement is a victory for BJP," he said. "The Aam Aadmi Party is chanting across Delhi that Kejriwal will return, but the people of Delhi and the BJP have decided that Kejriwal will now go. The people of Delhi have already shown this by giving all seven Lok Sabha seats to BJP, as Kejriwal used to say that if you vote for the broom, he will not go to jail. The people of Delhi voted for BJP and also ensured that Kejriwal goes to jail," Sachdeva added. State General Secretary and MP Shri Yogendra Chandolia said, "On the day of Rakhi, elderly women in Delhi, waiting for their pensions, were deceived by the Kejriwal government. The BJP demands that all pending pensions from March onwards be immediately released and the 1,80,000 vacancies be filled." He added that if the Delhi government did not do this, BJP would continue to be the voice of the elderly on the streets and would not let the Delhi government rest until the pensions were released. State General Secretary Vishnu Mittal said that the Kejriwal government had withheld pensions for the elderly and women for the last five months, but their double standards now had been exposed to the people of Delhi. When elections were near, the Kejriwal government talked about taking the elderly to pilgrimage sites, but now, by withholding their pensions for the last eight months, they had shown their true face. On the same, former MP Shri Ramesh Bidhuri said, "Until Arvind Kejriwal releases the pensions for the elderly, we will continue to protest in this manner and give Kejriwal a 24-hour ultimatum. The pension that the Kejriwal government has stopped is not their contribution but was initiated by former Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana to give respect to the elderly and widows by providing them with pensions." Leader of the Opposition in Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta said, "When the elderly of Delhi go to the bank to check on their pensions, they are told there is no money, and when they ask the government, they are met with closed doors. The Kejriwal government, which runs the administration from jail, is unable to even release pensions for the elderly, let alone perform any other duties." "Since 2018, not a single new elderly person has been given a pension, and the withheld pensions for the last five months should be released immediately. Over the last seven years, there has been a vacancy of one lakh pensions, and 15 per cent of pensioners who passed away have not had their vacancies filled. Moreover, the government has not even made any budgetary provisions for pensions," he added. BJP leader Pawan Sharma said, "The Delhi government has been continuously lying by not giving pensions to the poor and not releasing pensions for the elderly, which is why BJP is on the streets today to raise the voice of the elderly and widows. Our demand is that the AAP government should immediately release the pensions for the poor, widows, and elderly women." Earlier on Friday, Delhi minister Atishi announced that the elderly in Delhi will be receiving their pensions after a five-month delay, which she attributed to the central government's actions of stalling the pensions for about 1 lakh elderly individuals. The protest was coordinated by BJP workers Brijesh Rai and Neeraj Gupta and saw the presence of former BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri, MLA Abhay Verma, South Delhi district in-charge Jai Prakash, media chief Praveen Shankar Kapoor, district co-incharge Aditya Jha, councillors Arjun Marwah, Shikha Rai, Yogesh Verma, Sandeep Kapoor, Vinod Sahrawat, Ravi Negi, Shashi Chandna, Gajendra Daral, former councillor Neeraj Gupta, BJP leader Sarika Jain, Shyam Sharma, Vikram Bidhuri, Amit Gupta, Tarvinder Singh Marwah, and Neeraj Basoya, among other officials and BJP workers. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday expressed grief over the tragic road accident in Nepal's Tanahun district, which claimed multiple lives. He extended condolences to the grieving families and wished for the swift recovery of the injured. PM Modi also assured that the Indian Embassy is providing all possible assistance to those affected. In a post PM Modi said, "Saddened by the loss of lives due to a road mishap in Tanahun district, Nepal. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover at the earliest. The Indian Embassy is providing all possible assistance to those affected." https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1827021125844414940 The death toll has risen to 27 after a bus carrying dozens of Indian pilgrims drove off a key highway and crashed on Friday in Nepal. The Indian tourist bus had veered off the road into the Marsyangdi River in Ainapahara, Tanahun District. As per the Chief District Officer of Tanahun, Janardan Gautam, the death toll now stands at 27 with the completion of the search operation. "The death toll now stands at 27 with the conclusion of the search operation in the Marsyangdi River. A total of 43 passengers were on board the bus, 16 injured have been rescued and are now receiving treatment in various hospitals," Gautam confirmed to ANI over the phone. The Indian number-plated tourist bus with the registration number UP 53 FT 7623 had veered off the road and fell into the river. Some of the injured have been airlifted to Kathmandu in a Nepal Army helicopter. "Within a few hours of the incident, 14 people were confirmed dead. Later, due to complications, another 13 succumbed, taking the toll to 27. It is really unfortunate," Gautam said in the telephone conversation with ANI. As per the official, the bodies of the deceased are now kept at Aabukhaireni Village Council, with the identification of bodies underway. The bus was en route to Kathmandu from Pokhara when it collided in an accident. Authorities will now conduct the postmortem of the deceased and hand over the body to the next kin and family members. The postmortem will take place in Pokhara. "The bodies will be sent to Pokhara for a post-mortem and then handed over to the family. As they were part of about 90 membered tourist group in visit to Nepal, the identification process of the body is also being undertaken," Gautam, the Chief District Officer confirmed ANI. As per Gautam, the ill-fated bus is one amongst the three buses that was carrying about 90 tourists and moving together towards Kathmandu after spending 2 days in Pokhara. (ANI) Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Friday launched a scathing attack on his predecessor, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and called him a "psycho leader" who inflicted suffering on the state during his five-year rule. Naidu made these remarks while addressing the Vanapalli Gram Sabha in the Kothapeta constituency. "The state has suffered under the rule of a "psycho" leader for the past five years. Jagan wants to come back into power, and you all know what will happen if he does?" said Naidu. He emphasized his government's commitment to developing the state and its panchayats, announcing allocations of Rs 900 crore for panchayat development and an additional Rs 1,100 crore for further progress. "We are committed to the development of the state and its panchayats. Recently, we allocated Rs 900 crores for the development of panchayats, and soon, we will disburse Rs 1,100 crores for their further development. Streetlights were stolen during the past governments, but we have initiated a plan to create wealth from waste," said Naidu. Naidu mentioned the initiatives taken to generate wealth from waste, increase daily labourers' wages, and develop action plans for panchayat development. "Wages for daily labourers will be increased, and we are creating an action plan to develop the panchayats. Before the elections, we promised to sanction houses for poor people," added Naidu. He further stated that 600 villages would be constructed and provided to the people in Kothapalli mandal. "In Vanapalli village, Kothapalli mandal, 600 houses will be constructed and given to them. A drinking water supply will be provided, and toilets will be constructed for them. CC roads and BT roads will be laid shortly. Free cylinders will be distributed shortly," said the Andhra CM. Naidu also assured the provision of drinking water supply, the construction of toilets, and the distribution of free gas cylinders to the community. Moreover, he stated that despite the state being in debt, files for the Mega DSC for unemployed youth and the abolition of the Land Tilting Act have been signed. Additionally, new passbooks have been printed with the government emblem, and 99 per cent of pensions have been distributed to the people. The Chief Minister also mentioned that 100 Anna Canteens have been reopened, and a skill census will be conducted for the welfare of youth and the unemployed. He added that an appeal has been made for an expert committee to visit the Polavaram project, and financial assistance has been assured for its completion. Furthermore, Naidu announced that Gram Sabhas would be formed in 13,226 villages across the state, a decision praised by Deputy Chief Minister Pavan Kalyan, who lauded the government as one that serves the poor. Deputy Chief Minister Pavan Kalyan praised the government's achievements, including creating 9 crore days of employment, building 40 per cent of cement roads, and planning to complete all village roads in five years. Naidu announced the launch of Janmabhoomi 2.0 in January 2025 for the state's welfare. Kalyan highlighted the government's achievements, stating that 9 crore days of employment were created under the Employment Guarantee Scheme, benefiting 54 lakh families and generating Rs 4,500 crore worth of work. He also noted that 40 per cent of cement roads had been built, and plans are in place to complete all village roads in the next five years, along with 5 lakh soak pits and 1.5 lakh animal sheds across the state. Additionally, Chandra Babu Naidu announced that Janmabhoomi 2.0 would be launched in January 2025 for the welfare of the state. (ANI) Congress leader and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi will attend a 'Samvidhan Samman Sammelan' to discuss various aspects related to the Constitution, said Rahul Gandhi on Friday. The event will be held on Saturday in the Allahabad Medical Association Convention Centre in the Prayagraj district of Uttar Pradesh. Furthermore, Rahul Gandhi also hit out at the BJP and said that they will resist any attempt by BJP leaders to undermine the constitution. Taking it to a social media post on FaceBook, Rahul Gandhi wrote, "The Constitution of India guarantees justice, equality, and liberty to all our people. Any attempt by the BJP to undermine it will be met with the strongest resistance--from me, from every dedicated Congress karyakarta, and from every deshbhakt Indian. Join me tomorrow as we stand united to make this message resound loud and clear. Together, let us defend the values that define our nation." https://www.facebook.com/share/p/H8LH7EJrPre7t8Bq/?mibextid=xfxF2i Meanwhile, following Congress' announcement of allying with the National Conference (NC) ahead of the assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah accused the Congress of repeatedly risking "the nation's unity and security to satiate its greed for power." Taking to social media site X, Shah said, "The Congress party, which has repeatedly risked the nation's unity and security to satiate its greed for power, has once again exposed its ulterior motives by allying with the Abdullah family's 'National Conference' in the Jammu and Kashmir elections." He further questioned the Congress party and their leader, Rahul Gandhi, if they support the promises made by the NC in their election manifesto. Shah questioned if the Congress party supports NC's promise of "a separate flag for Jammu and Kashmir," the "JKNC's decision to restore Article 370 and 35A," and thereby "push Jammu and Kashmir back into an era of unrest and terrorism." (ANI) In the meeting, the leaders requested Union Minister Scindia to approve T-Fiber's Detailed Project Report, the transfer of NOFN Phase-1 to T-Fiber, an extension of the Bharat Net Udyami Incentive Scheme, and a long-term interest-free loan to support this initiative. In a social media post on X, the office of Telangana Chief Minister wrote, "Chief Minister Sri @revanth_anumula, and Deputy Chief Minister Sri @Bhatti_Mallu met with Hon'ble Union Minister for Communications Sri @JM_Scindia to discuss crucial advancements in digital infrastructure for Telangana. They requested approval for T-Fiber's Detailed Project Report, the transfer of NOFN Phase-1 to T-Fiber, extension of the #BharatNet Udyami Incentive Scheme, and a long-term interest-free loan to support this initiative. These steps are essential to enhance connectivity, support e-governance, and bridge the digital divide. @USOF_India #DigitalIndia #Telangana." https://x.com/TelanganaCMO/status/1826977201461645553 They discussed the ambitious T-Fiber project, which aims to provide fibre connectivity to 63 lakh rural and 30 lakh urban households in Telangana for a nominal fee of Rs 300 per month. During the meeting, CM Revanth Reddy highlighted the Telangana government's objective to connect all village panchayats, mandals, and districts through the T-Fiber project, providing high-speed internet, cable TV, and e-education services to households across the state. The project also aims to offer G2G (Government to Government) and G2C (Government to Citizen) connectivity to 65,500 government institutions. CM Revanth Reddy informed Union Minister Scindia that the state government has already raised Rs 530 crore from various financial institutions towards the T-Fiber project, which has a total proposed investment of Rs 1,779 crore. He requested that the remaining amount be provided as a long-term, interest-free loan from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF). (ANI) KT Rama Rao, Working President of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), has lodged a formal complaint regarding political violence against BRS party members allegedly perpetrated by Congress party cadres, coupled with police negligence. Rao has urged the Director General of Police (DGP) in Suryapet to take swift action against those involved in the Tirumalagiri attack and the assaults on journalists. The complaint highlights that such incidents, driven by political interference, have resulted in false cases being filed and acts of violence committed against opposition leaders. Earlier today, Rao held a press conference, stating that the party staged a peaceful protest across the state on Thursday at all Mandal and constituency centres, focusing on the issue of the farmer's loan waiver. Rao stated, "Yesterday, we staged a peaceful protest across the state in all Mandal and constituency centres on the farmer's loan waiver issue. During this protest, two incidents occurred. In Suryapet, Tirumalagiri town, our BRS workers were staging a peaceful demonstration. About 50 Congress goons, in collusion with the police and under the influence of alcohol, attacked us, pelting stones, eggs, and crude bombs. However, our workers did not retaliate. The police destroyed the tents and aided the Congress goons. The Chief Minister is inefficient." He also expressed his dismay at the police's role in the matter. "We sympathise with the police force, but it's unacceptable for some officers to misuse their authority in this manner," KTR said. He warned that power is transient and that those in authority should act with responsibility rather than excessive enthusiasm. Rao further accused Chief Minister Revanth Reddy of being a "Delhi slave," stating that Reddy has made 20 trips to Delhi and demanding an apology from him. He added, "He is a 'Delhi slave' who has gone to Delhi for the 20th time. Yesterday, two women journalists in the CM's hometown of Kondareddypally were attacked by Congress goons. They even chased the women journalists from Kondareddypally to Kalwakurthy." Rao demanded that the Chief Minister explain why his party workers insulted women. "Why did your party workers insult the women? If you are a man, come to the villages without security. Let's go to any village. Not a single village has completed the loan waiver so far," Rao added. The BRS delegation expressed deep concern over what they described as a recent trend of police officers acting with "over-enthusiasm." "The brand image of Telangana and Hyderabad should not be damaged. Do not mistake our patience for inefficiency. Do not test our patience. We will retaliate if necessary. We have requested the DGP to take action against those police officers who are aligning with political leaders," Rao said. Additionally, he mentioned that if Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy has any issues, he should address them with the HYDRA Commissioner, Ranganath. Jagadish Reddy, a BRS member, stated that when the farmers protested, they did not receive the loan waiver. Consequently, at the request of BRS Chief KCR, they staged a state-wide protest. (ANI) Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Greater Noida Saad Miya Khan told ANI that Sharma went missing on August 9 and was later found murdered. The investigation revealed that Praveen, a Delhi police constable, was involved in a property deal with Sharma and committed the crime. Speaking to ANI DCP Greater Noida, Saad Miya Khan said, "On August 9 a businessman Ankush Sharma went missing and was later found murdered by Praveen with whom was doing a property deal. Praveen has been arrested and in the murder, the car and weapon have been recovered...Praveen is working as a constable in the Delhi police." "A dispute was going on between them in connection with the property deal...On 9th August Praveen strangulated Ankush and later hit him with a hammer...The next day he dumped the body of Ankush," DCP Khan said. (ANI) The death toll in the road accident in Nepal's Tanahun district has risen to 41. Maharashtra Minister Girish Mahajan confirmed the deaths during a press conference in Mumbai on Friday. A bus carrying around 43 passengers mostly Indian tourists, veered off the road into the Marsyangdi River at Ainapahara in Nepal's Tanahun District on August 23. During the press conference, Minister Mahajan said that the state government is in constant touch with the Nepal administration and also with the Embassy of Delhi to coordinate the relief efforts. "41 people have died in Nepal after it plunged into the river. We connected with the Embassy in Delhi also. 12 people have been shifted by the Nepal Army to the hospital," Minister Mahajan said. Mahajan said that the exact figure is yet to be ascertained and added that most passengers hailed from Maharashtra's Jalgaon district. "We don't have the exact figure. There are 16-18 more but there can be casualties among them. We are continuously in touch with the district administration and the military and I have also interacted with Dy CM. The rescue efforts are still underway," he added. According to officials, the bus was en route to Kathmandu from Pokhara when it met with the accident. Earlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who oversees the disaster relief and rehabilitation department, spoke with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and other senior central officials on Friday regarding the repatriation of bodies of deceased Indian tourists. Amit Shah assured CM Shinde of the full cooperation from the central government. According to the Chief Minister's Office, a special Indian Air Force aircraft will bring the bodies of 24 tourists tomorrow to Nashik and the bodies will then be handed over to their families. CM Shinde earlier offered condolences over the deaths and conveyed his sympathies to the bereaved families. In a post on X, the Chief Minister said that the news of a tragic accident of a bus, carrying pilgrims from India, including Maharashtra's Jalgaon in Nepal, is deeply saddening. "Unfortunately, some devotees have lost their lives, while others have been seriously injured. The state government, in coordination with the Nepal Embassy and the Uttar Pradesh government, is ensuring that the injured receive prompt medical attention. The state government is deeply concerned for the victims and their families and stands in solidarity with them during this difficult time," the post mentioned. The Chief Minister further said that efforts are underway to expedite repartiation of the bodies of the deceased to Maharashtra. (ANI) On his arrival in Raipur, Shah was welcomed by Chief Minister Vishnu deo Sai and other state BJP leaders. Shah is on a three-day visit to the state. Speaking to ANI on the Union Home Minister's visit, CM Sai said, "Union Home Minister Amit Shah is on a three-day visit to Chhattisgarh. During his visit, there is an interstate meeting of 7 Naxal-affected states, a review meeting and he is also the Cooperative Minister, so there is a meeting on cooperation as well." As per official sources, during the meeting, the Union Home Minister will assess both the measures taken against Naxal insurgency and the advancement of infrastructure projects in regions known as Red corridors within nine states troubled by Left Wing Extremism (LWE). The meeting will witness the participation of chief secretaries and director generals of police from neighbouring states including police chiefs of Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana and West Bengal--the states where Naxalism has been constricted, as per the latest data collated by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Besides, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan and Director Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Chief Anish Dayal Singh are also expected to attend the meetings. The Home Minister will also chair a meeting on the expansion of Cooperation in Chhattisgarh on Saturday. On August 25, the Home Minister will inaugurate Raipur Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) office following a review meeting in the morning. (ANI) Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha is scheduled to chair an all-party meeting on Saturday to review the ongoing flood situation in the state. Speaking to ANI on Friday, CM Saha addressed the ongoing flood crisis in the state, assuring the citizens that the situation is under control. He also expressed gratitude for the central government's support and outlined measures being taken to manage the disaster. He also announced that an all-party meeting will be held today at 9 am to discuss further steps and strategies to address the situation. "We are controlling the situation. People are also supporting us. I want to thank Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, today they released about Rs 40 crore for Tripura given this situation. I also spoke to them on the phone," CM Saha said while speaking to ANI. The Chief Minister highlighted the arrangements in the relief camps and also acknowledged the support from various NGOs aiding in the relief operations. "All arrangements have been made in the relief camp. Fodder is also being arranged for animals. Special attention is being paid to cleanliness in the relief camp. Other NGOs are also engaged in helping. The water level of all the rivers except the Gomti River is gradually decreasing. I have called an all-party meeting tomorrow at 9 am regarding this situation, in this meeting, what steps can be taken in the current situation will be discussed," he said. The Chief Minister assured that there is an adequate stock of essential supplies, including food, water, petrol, and diesel, and emphasized that there is no cause for concern at this time.According to the latest data issued by the state administration, 24 people died, two persons were injured and two others were reported missing in the floods in the state. The preliminary reports suggested extensive damages to physical infrastructure (like roads, power, buildings) and agriculture crops, houses, fishery ponds, livestock etc. The officials said that the actual figures are yet to be ascertained, however, preliminary estimates suggested that damages to properties to the tune of approximately Rs 5000 crores are expected. Further, as per a status report issued by the state administration, Tripura faced unprecedented floods due to very heavy and continuous rainfall since August 19. The officials said that the water level of rivers is presently below the danger level in all rivers except Gomati at Sonamura. As per the report, a total of 558 relief camps have been set up by the district administration since August 19. The rescue operations are presently underway only in Gomati and South Tripura Districts. As of now, six teams of NDRF and six of SDRF are coordinating the rescue and relief efforts. According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), light to moderate rainfall is expected to continue for another two days in many parts of the state. (ANI) Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami highlighted the productive discussions that took place during the Monsoon session of the Assembly in Gairsain, which he believed were in the best interest of the state, the CMO release said. The Chief Minister outlined plans for the development of Bharadisain as a summer capital, including organizing events and improving infrastructure. Chief Minister Dhami held a press conference following the conclusion of the three-day monsoon session of the Uttarakhand Assembly in Gairsain. He also said that if the opposition colleagues had not been in a hurry, the House would have lasted longer. The Chief Minister said that the supplementary budget along with several bills was discussed in the House and they were approved. The supplementary budget has been brought in to supplement the general budget. Special attention is being paid to increasing revenue and reducing expenses along with financial discipline in the state, the official release said. According to the CMO release, special attention is being paid to the areas of revenue receipt. The process of taking loans has also been reduced. The performance of the state in the direction of development has also been better. The state being in the first place in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals issued by NITI Aayog is proof of this. The Chief Minister said that our effort is to pay special attention to the effective implementation of centrally funded schemes. Attention is also being paid to ensure that the people of the state get the benefit of the schemes whose state share is reduced. He said that by operating the guest houses of the state in a better manner, they are being made helpful in connecting them with sources of income. We are making efforts so that the future generation of the state gets the benefit of better financial conditions. The Chief Minister said that many effective decisions have been taken in the wider interest of the youth, sportspersons and students in the state. Schemes have been made to strengthen the economy of women's self-help groups by providing them with interest-free loans and connecting them with self-employment. Effective arrangements have been made for marketing the products of the groups. Schemes of agriculture, horticulture, fisheries and dairy development are being made employment-oriented. Schemes related to public interest are being implemented on the ground, it added. The Chief Minister said that in future, an incident like Banbhulpura should not happen in any area of the state, mutual brotherhood and peace should be maintained and to prevent damage to government and private property due to riots, vandalism, the Public and Private Property Damage Recovery Bill has been approved. Dhami expressed concern over recent violent incidents in Bangladesh and emphasized the need for peaceful coexistence. The CMO release said that the loss of property will be compensated by the rioters. He said, "Every person of Devbhoomi is concerned about the violent incidents happening against Hindus in Bangladesh, and this injustice against them should be stopped. Effective prevention of violent incidents is the demand of all of us." He also acknowledged the impact of recent heavy rainfall in the state and assured that efforts are being made to support affected areas. CM Dhami said that we are sensitive towards the incidents of disaster caused by excessive rain in the state. He is inspecting the various disaster-affected areas of the state taking stock of the situation and is engaged in sharing the pain and suffering of the affected. Efforts are being made to help the victims in every possible way. There will be no shortage of funds for this. Chief Minister said that our goal is to develop Bharadisain as the summer capital, for this a high-level meeting will also be organized soon. He also talked about making efforts to organize various types of activities throughout the year in Bharadisain, along with this the Chief Minister talked about conducting assembly sessions here for a long time, building a good hospital, and ensuring housing arrangements for journalists and police personnel. (ANI) Lauding the progress in India-US ties, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh told the Indian diaspora that New Delhi and Washington are "destined" to be strong partners. Rajnath Singh is on an official visit to the US from August 23 to 26 at the invitation of the US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin. He arrived in Washington, on Thursday "India and the US are natural allies, we have old ties. Even destiny wants India-US relations to be strong," he said addressing the Indian community in Washington on Thursday. "When Columbus went on the expedition to discover America, he met the native Americans...so I believe, from the start, destiny wants India-US ties to be strong. And, our ties are continuously strengthening. Only India and the US coming together can bring peace, prosperity and stability to the world," he added. The Defence Minister further elaborated on India's economic progress in the last 10 years, emphasising that India has brought 25 crore people out of poverty and is poised to become the world's third-largest economy by 2027. "Earlier, the Indian economy was among the 'Fragile 5', today it is among 'Stimulus 5'. Morgan Stanley has said that no one can stop India from being in the world's top 3 economies by 2027...India is one of the fastest-growing major economies," Singh said. He further said that India combated the challenge of the Covid pandemic very efficiently and didn't let it impact the Indian economy. "During the Covid pandemic, our Prime Minister combated the crisis with such strength...we didn't allow any adverse impact of the pandemic to hit our economy....in the last 10 years, our government has lifted 25 crore people out of the poverty line...our target is no one remains poor in the country in the next few years," he said. "For Ease of Doing Business, our government removed 40,000 compliances in businesses...the number of start-ups was around 400-500 when our government, today it has crossed 1,20,000. We are world's second-largest mobile phone exporter. We are number one in digital transactions. India accounts for over 46 per cent of digital transactions globally," the Defence Minister added. During the visit, the Defence Minister will hold a bilateral meeting with his US counterpart Secretary Austin. He will also meet the US Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Jake Sullivan. The visit comes in the backdrop of the growing momentum in India-US relations and defence engagements at multiple levels. The visit is expected to further deepen and broaden the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, the Ministry of Defence stated. (ANI) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, while addressing the Indian community in the United States emphasised India's transformation in the last 10 years and said there has been a rapid change in the country's perception globally. Rajnath Singh is on an official visit to the US from August 23-26 at the invitation of the US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin. He arrived in Washington, on Thursday "The people of Indian community who live outside India are concerned about the global perception of their country... I can confidently say that India's stature has risen in the international community. Earlier, India's opinions were not taken with as seriousness as they should have been. But, today when India speaks anything on the global forum, the world listens carefully," Singh said addressing the Indian diaspora at an event in Washington. He also recalled US Ambassador Eric Garcetti's remarks "If you want to see the future, come to India, if you feel the future, come to India, if you want to work on the future, come to India." The Defence Minister further elaborated on India's economic progress and said India will be among the world's top three economies by 2027. "Earlier, the perception of India was that of a poor country with lazy people. Now, that perception has completely changed. Even our neighbouring nations used to think they could attack India anytime they want, but India is no longer a weak nation," Singh said. "I am Defence Minister, earlier, we used to import all the defence equipment...when our government came, the defence exports was Rs 600 crore, now after 10 years, it has reached Rs 23,000 crores," he added. He also cited the recent statement by Dennis Francis, the President of the 78th session of UN General Assembly, wherein, he said that the digital revolution in India helped in bringing out 80 crore people out of poverty. During the visit, the Defence Minister will hold a bilateral meeting with his US counterpart Secretary Austin. He will also meet the US Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Jake Sullivan. The visit comes in the backdrop of the growing momentum in India-US relations and defence engagements at multiple levels. The visit is expected to further deepen and broaden the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, the Ministry of Defence stated.(ANI) The defence ministry stated that 32 aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's Eastern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ). Following this, Taipei monitored the situation and responded accordingly. "41 PLA aircraft and 7 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 32 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern, southwestern and eastern ADIZ. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and responded accordingly." https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1826786440745025884 Earlier on Thursday, the Taiwanese MND detected eight PLA (People's Liberation Army) aircraft and six PLAN (People's Liberation Army Navy) vessels around its territory. The MND stated that three aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's Eastern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ). In a post on X, the MND stated, "8 PLA aircraft and 6 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8). 3 of the aircraft crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's southwestern and eastern ADIZ. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and responded accordingly." https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1826425216974671916 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. Notably, Taiwan has been governed independently since 1949. However, China considers Taiwan part of its territory and insists on eventual reunification, by force if necessary. So far this month, Taiwan has tracked over 300 PLA aircraft and around 200 Chinese ships. Since September 2020, China has increased its use of grey zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval vessels operating around Taiwan.(ANI) US Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday accepted the the Democratic Party presidential nomination and vowed to fight for America's future. "So, on behalf of the people, on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender or the language your grandmother speaks, on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey on behalf of Americans, like the people I grew up with, people who work hard, chase their dreams and look out for one another, on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth. I accept your nomination for president of the United States of America," Harris said to audience applause. Harris entered the fray for the presidential ticket after US President Joe Biden announced in July that he is withdrawing from the election bid. If elected president, the 59-year-old Harris would become the first woman in history to become the US president. The vice-president is only the second woman ever nominated for the presidency by a major political party. Speaking on the final night of the Democratic National Convention,Harris said the election is "not only the most important in our lives but the most importatnt in the life of our nation." She also spoke about the "serious consequences" of putting "unserious man" Donald Trump back in the White House. She promised to create an "opportunity economy where everybody will have a chance to compete and succeed" and also promised to end America's housing shortage. During her acceptance speech, Harris spoke about her mother who migrated to the US from India, and talked about her upbringing as her parents moved around the country for various jobs, and the virtues they instilled in her. Haris said the upcoming polls provided the country with a "fleeting opportunity" to "move past the bitterness, cynicism and divisive battles of the past." Harris said. "A chance to chart a new way forward. Not as members of any one party or faction, but as Americans.", "I accept your nomination to be President of the United States of America. And with this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past, a chance to chart a new way forward... "I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self, to hold sacred America's fundamental principles from the rule of law to free and fair elections to the peaceful transfer of power," the 59-year-old Harris told the crowd at Chicago's United Center. Earlier two of Harris' grandnieces were brought onstage by actress Kerry Washington to remind the convention how to correctly pronounce her first name. At their direction, one side of the arena shouted "comma" and the other "la." (ANI) Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, accused Ukrainian forces of attempting to attack the Kursk Nuclear Power Station during an overnight raid, Al Jazeera reported. Putin said on Thursday that Moscow had reported the event to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog, although he did not offer any supporting documentation for this assertion. Ukraine has not reacted to the accusations made by Russia. "The enemy tried to strike the nuclear power plant at night. The IAEA has been informed," Putin stated in an official televised meeting. Putin stated this as Ukrainian forces carried on fighting inside Russia for over two weeks following the start of a bold cross-border assault that has caused Moscow much embarrassment. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on Thursday that Ukraine's Kursk incursion is part of an attempt to terminate the war on conditions that are acceptable to Ukraine, even though the invasion's strategic objectives are still unknown, reported Al Jazeera. In the northern Sumy region, Zelenskyy added, Ukraine's soldiers had gained possession of another Russian settlement and captured more prisoners of war, during a visit to the area where his forces had begun their surprise incursion into Russia. Analysts say that the raids into Russian territories offer a good boost in morale for the Ukranians. After fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces roughly 30 kilometres (18 miles) from the Kursk nuclear plant, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi called for restraint on both sides on August 9. Four nuclear reactors from the Soviet era are housed at the Kursk plant, which acting governor Alexei Smirnov informed Putin is still "stable." Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, charges of careless assaults on nuclear installations have been exchanged between the two countries on multiple occasions, as per the report by Al Jazeera. In 2022, the IAEA denounced the temporary takeover of the defunct Chornobyl power facility in northern Ukraine by Russian soldiers, labelling the action as "very, very dangerous." The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine is under the hands of the Russian military, who have also accused Ukraine of conducting "dangerous" drone strikes near the largest nuclear power plant in Europe. The claims have been refuted by Kiev as "fake". (ANI) United States Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday speaking at the Democratic Party National Convention addressed the Israel-Hamas war and that she along with President Joe Biden was working to end the crisis in Gaza. Stating that she will always ensure Israel has ability to defend itself, Harris said that now is the time to get a ceasefire deal done and added that the "devastating" bloodshed in Gaza is "heartbreaking." "What has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking," Harris said. "President Biden and I are working around the clock, because now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done," she said in her nomination acceptance speech on August 22 night on the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. "And let me be clear: I will always stand up for Israel's right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on October 7, including unspeakable sexual violence, and the massacre of young people at a music festival," Harris said. In July this year Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had met US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris during a visit to Washington. On August 21, President Joe Biden in a call spoke with Israel Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel and the two leaders discussed active and ongoing US efforts to support Israel's defence against all threats from Iran, including its proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, to include ongoing defensive US military deployments, the White House said. Biden stressed the urgency of bringing the ceasefire and hostage release deal to closure and discussed upcoming talks in Cairo to remove any remaining obstacles. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on August 19 after a meeting with Netanyahu in Jerusalem said that Israel had accepted a Biden administration proposal to bridge differences in ceasefire negotiations and urged Hamas to accept it ahead of further negotiations. The "bridging proposal" was the result of talks held with Israeli negotiators with mediator officials of US, Qatar and Egypt on a potential hostages-for-ceasefire agreement. Following this Blinken and Netanyahu's office announced that Israel had agreed to the US "bridging" proposal. Meanwhile, in her ceremonial acceptance speech in Chicago on August 22, Kamala Harris vowed to be president for "all Americans," while describing the upcoming election as the "most important in the life of our nation." She also promised to bring back the bipartisan border security bill and sign it into law.Harris also criticised Donald Trump on the issue of reproductive rights and said she will sign into law the bill if elected to president. "We trust women, and when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom. As president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law," she said. As the 2024 Democratic National Convention convened its fourth and final session, the 59-year-old Vice President focused on her personal story and vowed a "new way forward" as she reached out to voters after one of the most extraordinary turnarounds in US political history.Harris began her speech to share her life story about being raised by a single mother in California, Shyamala Gopalan who immigrated to the US at the age of 19 from India. "The path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected," she said. "But I'm no stranger to unlikely journeys," she added. She recalled moving often as a child, and eventually settling around San Francisco, where she was raised by a community of caretakers. Harris shared with the audience the lessons learned from her mother. Harris attacked former US President, Donald Trump, calling him "an unserious man" and urged Americans to consider the "extremely serious" consequences of putting him back in the White House. "Consider the power he will have, especially after the United States Supreme Court just ruled that he would be immune from criminal prosecution," she said. "Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails and how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States, not to improve your life, not to strengthen our national security, but to serve the only client he has ever had -- himself," Harris said. "On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination to be the President of the United States of America, " Harris said at the DNC convention. (ANI) The United States (US) and India have signed an agreement to provide reciprocal priority support for goods and services that promote national defence. The arrangement will enable both countries to acquire the industrial resources they need from one another to resolve unanticipated supply chain disruptions to meet national security needs. "Two important documents have been signed in Washington DC as Raksha Mantri Shri @rajnathsingh's visit to the United States begins. Senior defence officials from both the sides concluded the Security of Supplies Arrangement (SOSA), and Memorandum of Agreement regarding the Assignment of Liaison Officers, " RMO India took to X to post. The Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) was signed by Vic Ramdass, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for Industrial Base Policy, on behalf of the United States, and Samir Kumar Sinha, Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisitions), on behalf of the Indian Ministry of Defence. India is the 18th SOSA partner of the US after Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. "This Security of Supply Arrangement represents a pivotal moment in the US - India Major Defence Partner relationship and will be a key factor in strengthening the US- India Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI)," said Ramdass. He said he looked forward to hosting the next DTTI meeting this fall to deepen cooperation between defence industrial bases and pursue bilateral co-development, co-production, and co-sustainment initiatives. Under the arrangement, the US and India commit to support one another's priority delivery requests for procurement of critical national defence resources. The US will provide India assurances under the US Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS), with program determinations by Department of Defence and rating authorization by the Department of Commerce (DOC). India will in turn establish a government-industry Code of Conduct with its industrial base, where Indian firms will voluntarily agree to make every reasonable effort to provide the US priority support. "With an expanding global supply chain for DOD, SOSAs are an important mechanism for DoD to strengthen interoperability with US defence trade partners. The Arrangements institute working groups, establish communication mechanisms, streamline DoD processes, and proactively act to allay anticipated supply chain issues in peacetime, emergency, and armed conflict. They are also a useful tool in developing investment strategies to ensure redundancy and security," according to a statement by the US Department of Defence. Meanwhile during his US visit, the Defence Minister will hold a bilateral meeting with his American counterpart Secretary Llyod Austin. He will also meet the US Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs Jake Sullivan. The visit comes in the backdrop of the growing momentum in India-US relations and defence engagements at multiple levels. The visit is expected to further deepen and broaden the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, the Ministry of Defence stated. A day earlier, the Defence Minister said that he would discuss areas of strategic interests and seek to strengthen defence cooperation between India and US with Lloyd Austin. (ANI) The blaze began in a room on the eighth floor of the nine-story hotel, leaving seven people dead and dozen others injured, Yonhap news agency reported. The injured are undergoing treatment at local hospitals and three of them are seriously injured, but they are not in critical condition. Among those hospitalised are with serious injuries caused by inhaling smoke. As per the Yonhap report, some people died after jumping out the windows and onto an inflatable mattress, while one woman was found in cardiac arrest on the hotel stairs and was later pronounced dead at a hospital. Interior Minister Lee Sang-min called for all-out efforts by firefighting authorities and the local government to extinguish the fire and rescue people using all available personnel and equipment, the South Korean news agency reported. South Korea's public broadcaster KBS said the seven people who died were South Korean nationals. Reports say there were 23 guests in the building when the fire broke out, and many of the bodies were found in guest rooms, hallways and stairs. (ANI) To mark the International Day of the Girl Child on October 11, the British High Commission has offered Indian women between the ages of 18 to 23 an opportunity to experience a day as one of UK's top diplomats. The annual 'High Commissioner for a Day' competition invites exceptional young women from India to demonstrate their skills and leadership on an international stage, the British High Commission in New Delhi announced on Friday. To enter, applicants need to submit a one-minute video addressing the question: 'How can the UK and India collaborate on technology to benefit future generations?' Videos should be shared on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn, tagging '@UKinIndia' and using the hashtag '#DayOfTheGirl'. The submission deadline is September 4, 2024. Applicants must also complete an online form to finalize their entry. Lindy Cameron, the British High Commissioner to India, stated: "The landmark UK-India Technology Security Initiative agreed between our countries sets out a bold new approach for how we will work together on the defining technologies of this decade. "The UK pioneered the discovery of graphene, designed the semiconductor chip found in every smartphone, and is now leading the way on the safe and responsible development of AI. India's tech innovations are similarly changing the world - from revolutionising mobile banking solutions to its ground-breaking lunar mission. By bringing together our best minds, I am confident that we can accomplish truly fantastic things," she said. "The High Commissioner for a Day Competition is an incredible opportunity to nurture future women leaders and to hear about the change they want to see in the world. As the first female British High Commissioner to India, this is a cause that lies very close to my heart, and I encourage every young woman to put on their thinking cap and send in their best ideas," she said in the statement. Since 2017, the British High Commission has hosted the 'High Commissioner for a Day' competition annually to celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child (October 11). Enhancing the lives of girls and women is a key global priority for the UK. This year's competition is supported by Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts. Last year's winner, Shreya Dharmarajan from Chennai, participated in various diplomatic activities, such as leading discussions at the UN office in New Delhi on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), talking about UK-India research collaboration with India's Principal Scientific Adviser, Professor Ajay Sood, and launching a report on electric vehicle charging infrastructure with the Delhi Transport Department as part of the Accelerating Smart Power and Renewable Energy in India (ASPIRE) programme. The UK and India unveiled the Technology Security Initiative during Foreign Secretary David Lammy's visit to New Delhi in July 2024. This initiative enhances the collaborative agenda outlined in the UK-India Roadmap 2030, focusing on critical and emerging technologies across key sectors. The 'High Commissioner for a Day' programme will be held in-person in Delhi. (ANI) The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday stated that Indian has taken up the matter of reports regarding the release of two holy 'swaroops' of Guru Granth Sahib which have been seized by police in Doha, Qatar. In response to media queries regarding Guru Granth Sahib in Qatar, MEA Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "We have seen reports regarding the Guru Granth Sahib seized by the Qatari authorities and the demand of their release by the Sikh community. Government has already taken up the matter with the Qatar side and our Embassy has kept the Sikh community in Doha abreast of developments in this regard." https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/1826888893486252304 It is important to note that two 'Swaroops' of Guru Granth Sahib were taken by Qatar authorities from two individuals/groups who were charged for running religious establishment without approval of Government of Qatar, Jaiswal said "Our Embassy rendered all possible assistance within the ambit of local laws and regulations," the MEA spokesperson said. "One 'Swaroop' of the Holy Book was returned by Qatari authorities and it was assured that the other Swaroop is also kept with respect," he stated. Jaiswal said that "we continue to follow up the matter with Qatari authorities with high priority and hope for early resolution." Meanwhile, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President Advocate Harjinder Singh Dhami has requested the the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the Indian Ambassador to Qatar to immediately intervene in this matter. SGPC President said in a post on X said, "keeping the holy scriptures of Guru Granth Sahib confiscated at the police station is a big disrespect, which cannot be tolerated. This matter was recently brought to the attention of the Jathedar Sri Akal Takht Sahib by United Kingdom based Sikh organization Bhai Kanhaiya Humanitarian Aid, who directed SGPC to pursue this matter." Harsimrat Kaur Badal, MP from Bathinda has also written to External Affairs Minister, appealing him to take up the issue of allowing Sikhs of Qatar to establish their own Gurdwaras so they could practice their religion freely. https://x.com/HarsimratBadal_/status/1826821326860157280 Taking to her X handle, Badal said, "Appealed to Dr S Jaishankar to take up the issue of the release of two 'swaroops' of Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji from police custody in Qatar. Informed him that the Sikh 'sangat' of Qatar was in shock and anguish that the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, which is regarded as the living Guru by the community, had been made a case property. While appealing to him to intervene in the matter urgently, also requested the minister to take up the issue of allowing Sikhs of Qatar to establish their own Gurdwaras so they could practice their religion freely." (ANI) The passenger bus with an Uttar Pradesh number plate that plunged into a river in Nepal''s Tanahun district on Friday had originated from Gorakhpur and was carrying tourists from India, as per a Nepal police official. Rupandehi District Police Office Spokesperson DSP Manohar Bhatta told ANI over phone that the bus entered Nepal from Belahiya check-point in Rupandehi on August 20 with an 8-day permit. The bus belonged to Kesharbani Travels and bore the license plate number UP 53 FT 7623, the official said. Search and rescue operations have been initiated by the Nepal Army at the site of the incident. Uttar Pradesh Transport Minister Daya Shankar Singh said that officials have been instructed to provide all possible help to the victims. In a post on X, he said, "Received the sad news of the accident of a private bus from Gorakhpur while going from Pokhara to Kathmandu in Nepal. I pray to God for the peace of the souls of those who died in the accident and speedy recovery of the injured. The concerned officials have been instructed to provide all possible help to the victims." https://x.com/dayashankar4bjp/status/1826886274512220263 Fourteen bodies were retrieved from the accident site in Nepal, Kumar Neupane spokesperson for Nepal''s Armed Police Force said today. The passenger bus that was travelling from Uttar Pradesh with at least 40 people onboard plunged into the Marsyangdi river in the Tanahun district today, Nepal police said. "The bus bearing number plate UP FT 7623 plunged into the river and is lying on the bank of the river," DSP Deepkumar Raya from the District Police Office Tanahun confirmed to ANI over phone. As per the official, the bus was on its way to Kathmandu from Pokhara when the mishap took place. Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner said, "Regarding the Nepal incident We are establishing contact to find out if any person from Uttar Pradesh was on the bus."Sub-Divisonal Magistrate Maharajganj is being sent to Nepal and the Additional District Magistrate of Maharajganj will coordinate, the Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner said. (ANI) An MI-17 helicopter of the Nepal Army carrying a medical team has flown to the accident site in Tanahun district to assist in the search and rescue operations in the mishap involving an Indian passenger bus that plunged into a river in Nepal on Friday. The Nepal Army helicopter took off for the accident site from the helipad in Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, the Communications Department of Nepal Army said. Earlier in the day, a Nepal police official said that the passenger bus with an Uttar Pradesh number plate that plunged into a river in Nepal''s Tanahun district on Friday had originated from Gorakhpur and was carrying tourists from India. As per the Nepal Army Spokesperson, Gaurab Kumar KC, the helicopter has landed near the crash site. "Those with serious injuries will be flown back to Kathmandu in the same helicopter to Kathmandu for further treatment," the spokesperson confirmed to ANI over phone. "They said that they''re from Mumbai but had booked the vehicle from Kesharbani Travels for 8 days. The travel company also has contacted me and asked for the report. They are from various locations of India, some are from Maharastra, Pune, Panvel and were here in Nepal on a six-day visit. They stayed in Pokhara for two days and prior to that in Lumbini and were on their way to Kathmandu''s Gaushala. Rooms were booked in Narayana Hotel for their stay," Arjun Khanal, the owner of the hotel where the Indian tourists had stayed for two nights told ANI. Fourteen bodies were retrieved from the accident site, the Kumar Neupane, the spokesperson for Nepal''s Armed Police Force said earlier today. Rupandehi District Police Office Spokesperson DSP Manohar Bhatta told ANI over phone that the bus entered Nepal from Belahiya check-point in Rupandehi on August 20 with an 8-day permit. The bus belonged to Kesharbani Travels and bore the license plate number UP 53 FT 7623, the official said. Search and rescue operations have been initiated by the Nepal Army at the site of the incident. Uttar Pradesh Transport Minister Daya Shankar Singh said that officials have been instructed to provide all possible help to the victims. In a post on X, he said, "Received the sad news of the accident of a private bus from Gorakhpur while going from Pokhara to Kathmandu in Nepal. I pray to God for the peace of the souls of those who died in the accident and speedy recovery of the injured. The concerned officials have been instructed to provide all possible help to the victims." https://x.com/dayashankar4bjp/status/1826886274512220263 Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner said, "Regarding the Nepal incident We are establishing contact to find out if any person from Uttar Pradesh was on the bus."Sub-Divisonal Magistrate Maharajganj is being sent to Nepal and the Additional District Magistrate of Maharajganj will coordinate, the Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner said. (ANI) United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Turk has urged for victim-centred implementation of new transitional Justice legislation in Nepal ensuring accountability and reconciliation. "Eighteen years since the end of the decade-long conflict, and after several previous attempts to finalise such legislation, victims of human rights violations are now closer to knowing the truth, accessing justice, and obtaining reparations," Turk said in a statement. He added, "This process will also help strengthen guardrails to prevent anything like this from ever happening again." The amendment bill on the Investigation of Enforced Disappeared Persons, Truth, and Reconciliation Commission Act, which was passed by the National Assembly on Thursday, aims to ensure truth and accountability for serious human rights violations committed by all parties during Nepal's civil war. The commission will also oversee mediation and reconciliation efforts, and make recommendations to the Government to provide reparations, relief, and support to the victims and their families. At least 13,000 people were killed and 1,300 went missing between 1996 and 2006 during the internal conflict between the Royal Nepal Army and the Communist Party of Nepal. The UN Human Rights Office also documented unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, torture, arbitrary arrests, sexual violence, war crimes and crimes against humanity by both parties. The conflict ended with a peace agreement, in which the parties committed to establishing the truth and ensuring the victims receive both justice and reparations. "I welcome the adoption of this revised law as an important step forward, even if some provisions leave gaps and ambiguities. It is imperative that the legislation is interpreted and implemented in a manner that upholds victims' rights, including to truth, justice and reparations and that guarantees accountability in full compliance with international human rights standards," said Turk. "It will be essential for the Nepalese authorities to ensure the full and meaningful participation of the victims and affected communities at every stage of the process," he added. The High Commissioner also called for transparency and inclusivity in the appointment of the new commission's members, to ensure their independence, impartiality and competence. "Nepal has become a regional and global example of a successful peaceful transition towards democratic, constitutional, and federal governance," Turk said. "My Office stands ready to assist the Government and people of Nepal in taking this crucial phase of the peace process forward. Transitional justice is a powerful instrument to break cycles of violence and impunity, and a unique opportunity to revisit some of the rooted inequalities and discrimination that led to the conflict," he added. Soon after the lower house of Nepal's Federal Parliament endorsed the bill on August 14, 2024, victims of the decade-long insurgency claimed that reduced sentencing aims to provide amnesty to the guilty after symbolic action as well as they claim the transitional justice process cannot be complete without providing justice to former Maoist child soldiers. A panel formed to give suggestions and draft the bill had excluded minor child soldiers in the bill as the Maoist Centre would strongly oppose any such inclusion. Among the 4,008 Maoist combatants who did not qualify for integration into the Nepal Army, 2,973 were verified as minors by a United Nations mission. They are yet to get substantial support, except for a few thousand rupees given by the UN while they were discharged. In addition, activists claim that the new bill also doesn't address crimes against humanity and war crimes. The former warring parties--the Maoists and the state security forces--maintain that no acts of crime against humanity or war crimes ever happened in Nepal. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons have been paralyzed for over two years in the absence of chairpersons and members. Their appointment process will commence with the Act's endorsement. In its verdict on a writ petition jointly filed by dozens of conflict victims, the Supreme Court in February 2015 had turned down several provisions in the Act as they allowed amnesties in serious violations of human rights. Nine years after the ruling, the Act is yet to be amended despite several attempts to do so. Records show that as many as 3,223 complaints of enforced disappearances implicating either security forces or the Maoists have been lodged at the Disappearances Commission. It has picked for investigation 2,494 cases falling under its jurisdiction. Similarly, 63,718 complaints have been registered with the Truth Commission. The TRC Bill is now being deliberated in the Upper House of the Federal Parliament- the National Assembly. (ANI) The protestors marched along Airport Road and assembled at Markhor Chowk, where BUITEMS Staff Association President Sohail Anwar and other leaders addressed the rally. They strongly criticised the university administration for its "indifferent and harsh" approach, citing issues such as unresolved house requisitions, medical policies, unpaid bonuses and salaries, suspended study leave, and a freeze on promotions. Anwar accused the university registrar of being "the most corrupt person" and claimed that the registrar is under investigation by the Balochistan Anti-Corruption Bureau. The protesters demanded the registrar's immediate removal pending the investigation's outcome, said the Dawn report. Anwar also revealed that 15 staff members had received show-cause notices for advocating their fundamental rights. The protestors called for a comprehensive 10-year audit of the university's financial and performance records. BUITEMS, which serves over 10,000 students, is grappling with a severe financial crisis that threatens its existence. The university is ranked among the top 500 universities in Asia, as reported by the Express Tribune. Previously, another Balochistan-based educational institution, the University of Makran in Panjgur, held a press conference to express frustrations over severe deficiencies in basic amenities. University teachers in Balochistan continue to face persistent salary delays, inadequate infrastructure, administrative inefficiencies, and limited career advancement opportunities, further exacerbating their challenging working conditions. (ANI) "The incident occurred as Sindhi and his delegation were leaving Hyderabad Civil Hospital after visiting workers injured by alleged Pakistani State Brokers", said a statement by JSFM. The delegation, which was targeted by unknown armed assailants, faced a brutal assault that resulted in Sindhi sustaining three bullet wounds. He has been rushed to the hospital and is currently in serious condition. The attack highlights the dangerous climate faced by Sindhi activists and the broader issues of systemic persecution in the region. JSFM Chairman Sohail Abaro has condemned the attack, attributing it to Pakistan Army-sponsored terrorists. "We believe this murderous attack was orchestrated by Army-sponsored terrorists," Abaro stated. "We strongly condemn this barbaric act of terrorism and appeal to international human rights organizations to take notice of the ongoing killings, looting, and brutality in Sindh and take immediate action," he said. The attack underscores the systemic issues facing the Sindhi people, including enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and the suppression of religious minorities. Sindhi Hindus, in particular, have faced increased discrimination. The JSFM has consistently criticised the perceived Punjabi dominance in Pakistan, advocating for Sindhi unity and resistance against what they view as a regime backed by the Pakistani Army. In light of this attack, the JSFM has called for global attention and intervention to address the escalating violence and human rights violations in Sindh. The movement, which has previously relied on peaceful measures like protests and demonstrations, finds itself increasingly targeted by forces aligned with the Pakistani state. (ANI) On the fifth annual International Day of Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, Campaign for Uyghur's Founder and Executive Director, Rushan Abbas took part in a webinar entitled "Prisoners of Conscience: Violence and Detention and Violence in Detention. Rushan gave a harrowing account of the Uyghur Genocide against the Muslim Uyghur people that CCP-controlled China is perpetrating in East Turkistan. Furthermore, she spoke of how it has impacted her personally, highlighting the case of her sister Gulshan Abbas' unjust imprisonment by the criminal communist regime. She closed with a call to action to the organizations and nations of the world to band together to hold China accountable. The United Nations General Assembly has established 22 August as the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief. This day underscores the need to offer adequate support and assistance to victims of such violence and their families, in line with relevant legal frameworks. Campaign for Uyghur often organises events to raise awareness and mobilize support for Uyghur issues. It is an organization dedicated to advocating for the rights and freedoms of the Uyghur people, who are facing significant human rights abuses in Xinjiang, China. Their efforts focus on raising awareness about the situation in Xinjiang, including issues such as mass detention, forced labour, and cultural suppression. The organization works to mobilize international pressure on governments and institutions to take action against these abuses. They also support Uyghur communities, promote ethical consumerism, and engage in advocacy to influence policy changes. Campaign for Uyghur employs various strategies, including media outreach, legislative lobbying, and humanitarian support, to address and combat the ongoing crisis faced by the Uyghur population. Several international organizations are actively raising awareness about the human rights abuses faced by Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Human Rights Watch (HRW) extensively documents and reports on issues such as mass detention and surveillance of Uyghurs, providing detailed analyses and calls for action. Amnesty International has also highlighted the severe repression faced by Uyghurs, advocating for international intervention and accountability through their reports and updates. (ANI) Amid the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Ukraine on Friday, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that PM Modi has extended an invite to Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy to visit India. Addressing a press briefing in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Jaishankar said, "PM is here (Ukraine) for the first time after 1992, and it is natural on such occasion to extend such invitation which he did in this case. So we expect that as per his convenience, President Zelenskyy will visit India." Jaishankar also spoke about the humanitarian assistance provided by India to Ukraine and said, "In the past, we have been providing humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, and I think, 17 consignments have been delivered so far to Ukraine largely in the medical side. India handed over Bhishm Cube of Medical assistance to Ukraine. They contain medical support equipment which are very effective, compact, and deployable in many ways. These cubes, with a total weight of 22 tons were handed today." Notably, PM Modi on Friday met with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy for bilateral talks at the Mariinskyi Palace. PM Modi shared a warm embrace with Zelenskyy on his arrival at the Palace and also shook hands with various Ukrainian delegates present at the palace. The PM was accompanied by Foreign Minister S Jaishhankar, NS Ajit Doval and others. Both leaders held a restricted meeting to discuss key issues. High-level delegation meetings followed, where important discussions on bilateral cooperation took place. Document exchanges to formalize agreements and collaborations between the two nations also took place. Earlier in the day, on his arrival at the Hyatt Hotel in Kyiv, PM Modi received a rousing welcome from the Indian community, with many students awaiting his arrival and hoping for a glimpse of the Prime Minister. In a post on X, PM Modi said, "Reached Kyiv earlier this morning. The Indian community accorded a very warm welcome." PM Modi also visited the multimedia Martyrologist exposition on children at the National Museum of History of Ukraine in Kyiv on Friday. He was accompanied by the Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine. (ANI) A total of 12 Indian tourists sustaining serious injuries have been airlifted to the capital, Kathmandu, from the site of a mishap in Tanahun District of Western Nepal. A Nepal Army MI-17 helicopter airlifted the injured Indian nationals from the site of the accident in Aina Pahara of Abu Khaireni in Tanahun district on Friday afternoon. A total of 14 Indian tourists have died, while 16 others sustained injuries. "We are investigating the cause of an accident, we are not able to shift our focus on the reason because we are still working on the search and rescue operation. The bus is in the basin and the terrain is also steep, we have faced problems in bringing up the injured and bodies from there. We have pulled up a total of 18 people from the basin and have sent 12 seriously injured to Kathmandu for further treatment. Condition of 4 others- the doctor hasn't declared their status and are saying to perform the ECG to ascertain. One of the injured who has sustained minor injury is being treated here in Abu Khaireni Hospital, one child has been referred to Bharatpur Hospital, Chitwan," Janardan Gautam, the Chief District Officer of Tanahun District told ANI. The Indian Deputy Chief of Mission, Prasanna Srivastava, reached the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu to get an update about the injured ones. The bus, bearing an Indian number plate (UP 53 FT 7623), was carrying 43 passengers, along with the driver and co-driver. The bus belonging to Kesharbani Travels bore the licence plate number UP 53 FT 7623 and veered off the road on the highway. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Ukraine presented four BHISHM (Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri) Cubes to the Government of Ukraine on Friday. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked PM Modi for the humanitarian assistance, a press release by the Ministry of External Affairs said. The cubes will help in the expeditious treatment of the injured and contribute to saving precious lives. PM Modi also shared pictures on his X handle and said, "Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog Hita & Maitri (BHISHM) is a unique effort which will ensure medical facilities in a rapidly deployable manner. It consists of cubes which contain medicines and equipment for medical care. Today, presented BHISHM cubes to President Volodymr Zelenskyy." Notably, each BHISHM Cube consists of medicines and equipment for the first line of care for all kinds of injuries and medical situations. It also includes surgical equipment for a basic Operation Room that can manage 10-15 basic surgeries per day. The Cube has the capacity to handle about 200 cases of diverse nature in emergency situations such as trauma, bleeding, burns, fractures, etc. It can also generate its own power and oxygen in limited amounts. A team of experts from India has been deployed to provide initial training to the Ukrainian side to operate the Cube. The gesture underscores India's continued commitment to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine. Under the broad umbrella of Project Aarogya Maitri, Government of India has created the BHISHM initiative, which provides the means to deliver all basic facilities and equipment for providing emergency medical care, in an easy to use and rapidly deployable manner. This is achieved by packing all the relevant medicines and equipment in cubical boxes (of 15 inches) in a well-organized manner, and arranged according to the types of injuries and medical issues, that could be encountered in a war or natural disaster. These mini cubes are then positioned on a framework that is adjustable, strong and permits multi-mode transport (by air, sea, land and drone). In fact, the mini cubes can be carried by a person (max weight of 20 kg). Thirty-six of these mini cubes mentioned above form a mother cube and two such mother cubes combine to form a BHISHM Cube. One mother cube has the medicines and equipment for first-line care of all kinds of injuries and emergency medical situations apart from shelter and food for a crew of five for 48 hours. The other mother cube has surgical equipment and can establish a basic operating room that can manage 10-15 basic surgeries per day. Due to clear and convenient classification, the medicines and equipment are easy to use. The inventory management uses RFID and is automatically updated. Therefore, exact stock is easily ascertained. The BHISHM app and a digital tablet provide access to the required knowhow including through instructional videos. The tablet currently supports about 180 langauges. Overall, the BHISM Cube has the ability to handle about 200 cases of diverse nature in emergency situations such as trauma, bleeding, burns, fractures, shock, apart from managing initial triage and classification. It also has the ability to support basic surgeries and can also generate its own power and oxygen in limited amounts/duration. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy signed several documents during the former's visit to Kyiv in sectors including agriculture, food industry, medical products regulation and cultural cooperation. The two leaders witnessed the signing of four agreements. These include the Agreement on Cooperation in the field of Agriculture and Food Industry; MoU on Cooperation in the field of Medical Products Regulation; MoU on Indian Humanitarian Grant Assistance for Implementation of High Impact Community Development Projects; and Programme for Cultural Cooperation for 2024-2028, a press release by Ministry of External Affairs said. Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Ukraine on cooperation in the fields of Agriculture and Food Industry. The objective of this agreement involves expanding mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of agriculture and food industry by promoting ties in areas of information exchange, joint scientific research, exchange of experience, cooperation in agriculture research, creation of joint working groups etc. MoU between Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India and the State Service of Ukraine on Medicines and Drugs Control on cooperation in the field of Medical Products regulation with the objective of envisaging cooperation on medical products including regulation, improvement of safety and quality aspects, mainly through information exchange, capacity building, workshops, training, and exchange of visits, the MEA said. MoU between the Government of the Republic of India and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine regarding Indian Humanitarian Grant Assistance for the implementation of high Impact Community Development Projects. Objective: This MoU creates the framework for India to provide grant assistance for community development projects in Ukraine. Projects under the HICDP will be undertaken in partnership with the Government of Ukraine for the benefit of the people of Ukraine, according to the press release by MEA. Programme of Cultural Cooperation between the Ministry of Culture of the Government of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine for the years 2024-2028 which aims to strengthen cultural cooperation between India and Ukraine including the promotion of cultural exchanges and cooperation in the fields of theatre, music, fine arts, literature, library, and museum affairs as well as protection and promotion of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi drove home a strong message of peace and said that dialogue was the only solution to the conflict in Ukraine. Speaking to Ukraine President Vlodimir Zelenskyy at the Mariinyskysi Palace the Prime Minister said that India had always been on the side of peace. "India was never neutral, we have always been on the side of peace," PM Modi told Zelenskyy in their bilateral meeting. The PM further said that India was ready to play an active role in the path to peace and progress. "People from other countries also know that India has actively planned peace efforts and you also know that our approach has been people-centric. I want to assure you and the entire world that this is India's commitment and we believe that respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity is of utmost importance to us and we support it. Some time back, when I met President Putin in support of this, I had told him that this was not the time for war. Recently, when I went to Russia for a meeting, I said there too in clear words that the solution to any problem is never found on the battlefield. The solution comes only through talks, dialogue, and diplomacy and we should move ahead in that direction without wasting time. Both sides should sit together and find ways to come out of this crisis... Today I would like to discuss with you specifically the path to peace and progress. I want to assure you that India is ready to play an active role in every effort for peace. If I can personally contribute to this, I would like to do so. As a friend, I can assure you," PM Modi said to President Zelenskyy. PM Modi who was warmly received at the Palace on Friday afternoon also thanked the Ukrainian President for the welcome he had received. "I thank you (President Zelenskyy) for your warm welcome to me and my delegation...Today is a very historic day for India and Ukraine relations...A PM of India has come to Ukraine for the first time which is in itself a historic event...Tomorrow is your national day and we congratulate you for this...We pray for peace in Ukraine)," PM Modi said. PM Modi also thanked Zelenskyy for the role of the Ukrainian government in enabling Indian students to return home during the peak of the conflict. "When there were initial days of war you helped in the evacuation of Indian nationals and students. I express my gratitude to you for your help during this time of crisis...The world knows very well that during the war we played two roles...The first role was the humanitarian approach...I assure you that whatever the need may be from a humanitarian point of view, India will always stand with you and will be two steps ahead," PM Modi said. PM Modi also extended an invitation to President Zelenskyy to visit India. EAM Dr S Jaishankar confirmed the development saying, "PM Modi has invited Ukraine President Zelenskyy to visit India...We expect that as per his convenience, President Zelenskyy will visit India." PM Modi who became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Ukraine dubbed his visit a historic one. "My visit to Ukraine was historic. I came to this great nation with the aim of deepening India-Ukraine friendship. I had productive talks with President Zelenskyy. India firmly believes that peace must always prevail. I thank the Government and people of Ukraine for their hospitality," the PM said in a post on X. Ukrainian President thanked PM Modi for his visit and his commitment to peace. "India supports Ukraine's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. And this is critical because everyone in the world must equally respect the UN Charter," the Ukrainian President said. PM Modi leaves for India later on Friday night concluding a highly successful two nation visit. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Ukraine on Friday interacted with students learning Hindi During his visit to Ukraine on Friday, and appreciated their role in fostering mutual understanding between the people of both countries. The Ministry of External Affairs in a statement said that PM Modi on Friday interacted with Ukrainian students who are learning Hindi language at the School of Oriental Studies in Kyiv. The Prime Minister appreciated the scholarship of the students and their contribution to promoting mutual understanding between the people of the two countries. He also commended their efforts to bring Indian culture and history closer to the Ukrainian people, the MEA stated. After interacting with PM Modi, one of the Ukrainian students studying the Hindi language, said, "We are very happy and excited also...we never thought that we would meet PM Modi...We hope after this meeting everything will be fine..." Another Ukrainian student studying the Hindi language, said, "This is a very important meeting for Ukraine and after this meeting, it will be proved that there is a good relationship between India and Ukraine...And we also hope that in future there will be more and more people who will learn the Hindi language..." Meanwhile, during PM Modi's visit, the two leaders witnessed the signing of four agreements. These include the Agreement on Cooperation in the field of Agriculture and Food Industry; MoU on Cooperation in the field of Medical Products Regulation; MoU on Indian Humanitarian Grant Assistance for Implementation of High Impact Community Development Projects; and Programme for Cultural Cooperation for 2024-2028, a press release by Ministry of External Affairs said. Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Ukraine on cooperation in the fields of Agriculture and Food Industry. The objective of this agreement involves expanding mutually beneficial cooperation in the fields of culture, agriculture and food industry by promoting ties in areas of information exchange, joint scientific research, exchange of experience, cooperation in culture, agriculture research, creation of joint working groups etc. MoU between Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India and the State Service of Ukraine on Medicines and Drugs Control on cooperation in the field of Medical Products regulation with the objective of envisaging cooperation on medical products including regulation, improvement of safety and quality aspects, mainly through information exchange, capacity building, workshops, training, and exchange of visits, the MEA said. MoU between the Government of the Republic of India and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine regarding Indian Humanitarian Grant Assistance for the implementation of high Impact Community Development Projects. Objective: This MoU creates the framework for India to provide grant assistance for community development projects in Ukraine. Projects under the HICDP will be undertaken in partnership with the Government of Ukraine for the benefit of the people of Ukraine, according to the press release by MEA. Programme of Cultural Cooperation between the Ministry of Culture of the Government of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine for the years 2024-2028 which aims to strengthen cultural cooperation between India and Ukraine including the promotion of cultural exchanges and cooperation in the fields of theatre, music, fine arts, literature, library, and museum affairs as well as protection and promotion of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. (ANI) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday stated that India supports Ukraine's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, emphasizing that global respect for the UN Charter is essential. Sharing a post on his X handle, Zelenskyy said the visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi made history. "Today, history was made. The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi made his first visit to Ukraine since our country's independence, on the eve of our Independence Day," the post said. The President further said, "India supports Ukraine's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. And this is critical because everyone in the world must equally respect the UN Charter." Elaborating on the documents signed between the two nations, Zelenskyy further said, "Today, we reached an agreement on four documents between Ukraine and India, covering the medical field, agricultural cooperation, humanitarian relations, and culture." He further added, "Following the visit, we also agreed on a joint statement focusing on the development of a strategic partnership, bilateral trade, and continued military-technical cooperation." Notably, PM Modi on Friday met with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy for bilateral talks at the Mariinskyi Palace. PM Modi shared a warm embrace with Zelenskyy on his arrival at the Palace and also shook hands with various Ukrainian delegates present at the palace. The PM was accompanied by Foreign Minister S Jaishhankar, NS Ajit Doval and others. Both leaders held a restricted meeting to discuss key issues. High-level delegation meetings followed, where important discussions on bilateral cooperation took place. Document exchanges to formalize agreements and collaborations between the two nations also took place. Meanwhile, elaborating on the discussions that took place between the two leaders, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during a press briefing said, "In the discussion, a significant part of it was devoted to our bilateral relations. There was a discussion about trade, economic issues, defence, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, education. There were a whole lot of issues." (ANI) The death toll has risen to 27 after a bus carrying dozens of Indian pilgrims drove off a key highway and crashed on Friday in Nepal. An Indian tourist bus had veered off the road into the Marsyangdi River in Ainapahara of Tanahun District. As per the Chief District Officer of Tanahun, Janardan Gautam, the death toll now stands at 27 with the completion of the search operation. "Death toll now stands at 27 with the conclusion of search operation in the Marsyangdi River. A total of 43 passengers were on board the bus, 16 injured have been rescued and are now receiving treatment in various hospitals," Gautam confirmed ANI over the phone. The Indian number-plated tourist bus with the registration number UP 53 FT 7623 had veered off the road and fell into the river. Some of the injured have been airlifted to Kathmandu in a Nepal Army helicopter. "Within a few hours of the incident, 14 people were confirmed dead. Later due to complications, another 13 succumbed taking the toll to 27. It is really unfortunate," Gautam said in the telephone conversation with ANI. As per the official, the bodies of the deceased are now kept at Aabukhaireni Village Council with the identification of bodies underway. The bus was en route to Kathmandu from Pokhara when it met in an accident. Authorities will now conduct the postmortem of the deceased and hand over the body to the next kin and family members. The postmortem will take place in Pokhara. "The bodies will be sent to Pokhara for post-mortem and then handed over to the family. As they were part of about 90 membered tourist group in visit to Nepal, the identification process of the body is also being undertaken," Gautam, the Chief District Officer confirmed ANI. As per Gautam, the ill-fated bus is one amongst the three buses that was carrying about 90 tourists and moving together towards Kathmandu after spending 2 days in Pokhara. (ANI) Amid ongoing exchanges of fire on the Israel-Lebanon border, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III during talks with his Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant reaffirmed that the United States remains committed to Israel's security. Sharing a post on his X handle, Austin said, "I called Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant yesterday to discuss continued exchanges of fire on the Israel-Lebanon border and the risk of escalation from Iran, Lebanese Hizballah, and Iran-backed terrorist groups across the Middle East." He further said, "I confirmed the United States commitment to Israel's security and shared that the United States is well postured across the region to defend Israel and protect US personnel and facilities." The US Defense Secretary also highlighted that discussions included efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and achieve the release of all hostages. "Minister Gallant and I also discussed progress towards securing a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all hostages, and I underscored the importance of finalizing a deal," the post added. On Thursday, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) identified a Hezbollah terrorist cell that had launched rockets into the area of Zerait in Israel, operating in a building in the area of Chihine in southern Lebanon. Israel fighter jets attacked the building where the terrorist squad was operating. In additional attacks, Israel Air Force fighter jets attacked a military structure used by the terrorist organization Hezbollah in the Kfarkela area in southern Lebanon, alongside artillery strikes to remove a threat in the areas of Ayta al-Sha'ab and Alma al-Sha'ab. On Tuesday also, the IDF reported that an Israel Air Force aircraft attacked the area in Reshish in southern Lebanon and killed two terrorists on the southern front of the terrorist organization Hezbollah. Also, forces from the Mountain Brigade in the IDF's Northern Command attacked with a tank Hezbollah terrorists, who were in an observation post near the Mount Dov area. In addition, IDF forces attacked Hezbollah military structures in the Chihine and Aalma El Chaeb areas alongside an anti-tank post in the Ayta ash Shab area. (ANI) The Pakistan government has postponed the opening of the nearly USD 250 million New Gwadar International Airport (NGIA) due to security concerns, marking a setback in efforts to boost Chinese investment in the struggling economy, according to Nikkei Asia. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was scheduled to inaugurate the airport, located near a crucial port in the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), on August 14--Pakistan's Independence Day. However, the ceremony was abruptly postponed due to security issues following mass protests that nearly paralyzed Gwadar earlier this month. The report notes that no new opening date has been set for the $246 million China-funded project, which began after a 2015 grant deal with Beijing. A government official, speaking anonymously, stated that "all the required work and prerequisite arrangements on the New Gwadar airport have been completed and it's ready for operations." The delay, after an initial postponement last year, is partly attributed to concerns about lower-than-expected flight demand in the region. The single-runway airport, located about 45 kilometres from the China-controlled Gwadar port, spans 4,300 acres and can accommodate large aircraft like the Airbus A380, making it Pakistan's largest airport by size. Repeatedly, Pakistani governments have touted the multibillion-dollar partnership with China as a means to transform Gwadar into a hub comparable to Singapore. However, the Prime Minister recently ordered that half of all sea cargo for government agencies, initially destined for southern Karachi, be redirected to Gwadar's port, highlighting its current underuse. The report also draws comparisons with Sri Lanka's Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport, built with Chinese loans and labelled the "world's emptiest international airport" due to low flight activity. Amid ongoing protests in Gwadar demanding civil, political, and economic rights, Beijing has grown cautious about future investments, emphasizing increased security measures for its nationals in Pakistan and announcing new counterterror operations in June. Despite hopes that the new airport will attract more Chinese investment, some remain sceptical about its benefits for the local population. "Air travel is quite expensive for the majority of people in Gwadar," remarked Mariyam Suleman, a local now based in Canada. (ANI) Vidya Bhushan Soni, former Indian Ambassador to Ukraine on Friday spoke about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Ukraine and emphasized that the agreements signed between the two countries are symbolic, with the most significant being the focus on reconstruction, which he considers crucial for Ukraine at this time. Speaking with ANI, Vidya Bhushan said, "The four agreements between India and Ukraine are very symbolic... The most important, in my opinion, is reconstruction. Reconstruction of Ukraine is the need of the hour... It is going to cost billions and billions of dollars. Today the Western world is pumping in trillions of dollars. But when it comes to reconstruction, they will not come forward with the same generosity. At that time, India will be of greater assistance, not in terms of money that is being given, but the ground force on the force on the ground..." He added, "Today, they (West) are giving because it is not for the development of the nation but for the fighting machine. But when the fighting stops or some kind of negotiation starts, they will withdraw their amount considerably because as it is, they need it for their own development..." The former Ambassador noted that PM Modi's visit comes at an ideal moment, affirming that President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people are not alone. "The timing of the visit is perfect...Body language is very positive, reassuring the President of Ukraine and the Ukrainian people that they will not be alone..." During PM Modi's visit, the two leaders witnessed the signing of four agreements. These include the Agreement on Cooperation in the field of Agriculture and Food Industry; MoU on Cooperation in the field of Medical Products Regulation; MoU on Indian Humanitarian Grant Assistance for Implementation of High Impact Community Development Projects; and Programme for Cultural Cooperation for 2024-2028, a press release by Ministry of External Affairs said. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ukraine on Friday at the invitation of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During their discussions, the leaders emphasised the importance of achieving a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace through dialogue and diplomacy. This visit marks the first ever by an Indian Prime Minister to Ukraine since diplomatic relations were established between the two countries in 1992. PM Modi and President Zelenskyy reiterated their commitment to further cooperation in upholding international law, including the UN Charter and principles such as respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of states. They agreed on the desirability of closer bilateral dialogue in this regard, according to a joint statement by the Ministry of External Affairs. The Indian side reaffirmed its principled stance and focused on peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomacy. As part of this commitment, India attended the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, held in Burgenstock, Switzerland, in June 2024. The Ukrainian side welcomed India's participation and highlighted the importance of high-level Indian involvement in the next Peace Summit. Ukraine suggested that the Joint Communique on a Peace Framework, adopted at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, could serve as a basis for further efforts to promote a just peace based on dialogue, diplomacy, and international law. Both leaders expressed mutual interest in elevating bilateral relations from a comprehensive partnership to a strategic partnership in the future. They reaffirmed their commitment to further developing bilateral ties for the benefit of the peoples of both countries, based on mutual trust, respect, and openness. The leaders also appreciated the participation of Ukrainian official delegations in the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit 2024 and the Raisina Dialogue 2024, according to the joint statement. The leaders commended efforts to ensure global food security, including the Ukrainian humanitarian grain initiative. They emphasised the importance of an uninterrupted and unhindered supply of agricultural products to global markets, particularly in Asia and Africa. PM Modi reiterated the need for sincere and practical engagement between all stakeholders to develop innovative solutions that will have broad acceptability and contribute to the early restoration of peace. He reaffirmed India's willingness to contribute in every possible way to facilitate a swift return to peace. The leaders also discussed enhancing cooperation in areas such as trade and commerce, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, defence, education, science and technology, and culture. They explored the possibility of a stronger partnership in domains such as digital public infrastructure, industry, manufacturing, and green energy, including greater involvement of businesses and industries from both nations. The leaders emphasised the importance of the Indian-Ukrainian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical, Industrial and Cultural Cooperation (IGC) in fostering a future-oriented and stronger economic partnership between the two countries. They appreciated the review of the IGC conducted during the visit of the Ukrainian Minister for Foreign Affairs to India in March 2024 and the efforts to hold the meetings of the Joint Working Groups, with a view to convening the 7th Session of the IGC at a mutually convenient time in 2024. The Ukrainian side welcomed the appointment of India's External Affairs Minister, Dr S. Jaishankar, as the Co-Chair of the IGC, according to the statement. In light of the significant reduction in annual bilateral trade in goods since 2022 due to challenges related to the ongoing war, the leaders directed the Co-Chairs of the IGC to explore all possible ways not only to restore bilateral trade and economic relations to pre-conflict levels but also to expand and deepen them further. The leaders emphasised the importance of enhancing the ease of doing business to facilitate mutual economic activities and investments, while also removing any impediments to greater trade and commerce between India and Ukraine. Both sides encouraged greater engagement at official and business levels to explore joint projects, collaborations, and ventures. The leaders recalled the strong ties between the two nations in agriculture and expressed a desire to enhance bilateral interaction and market access based on complementary strengths, including the harmonisation of standards and certification procedures. Recognising cooperation in pharmaceutical products as one of the strongest pillars of the partnership, the leaders reaffirmed their desire for greater market access and the facilitation of investments and joint ventures, including through testing, inspection, and registration procedures. Both sides expressed a desire to broaden cooperation on drugs and pharmaceuticals, including in training and the sharing of best practices. They welcomed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India and the State Service of Ukraine on Medicines and Drugs Control, and the holding of the 3rd Meeting of the Indian-Ukrainian Joint Working Group on Pharmaceutical Cooperation in August 2024, in virtual mode. The Ukrainian side also appreciated India as a reliable source for the supply of cost-effective and quality medicines. (ANI) Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy on Friday said that he has plans to visit India and expressed his eagerness to travel to India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi invited him. Addressing a press conference, Zelenskyy said, "Yes, (I have plans to visit India) because when you begin a partnership, strategic partnership, and you begin some dialogue, I think that you don't need to lose time and do big pauses and that's why, I think it will be good to meet together again. And if our meeting will be in India, I'll be happy to. I read a lot about your big and great country. It's very interesting." Notably, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that PM Modi has extended an invite to Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy to visit India. Zelenskyy further said, "I will not have time to see your country. It's a pity because, during the war, I didn't have time to look and to see. But I think it's important any way to see your people. I think to understand the country is to understand people also. I don't think that I will have enough time but anyway, it's better to be in your country because to find the key to your country and your prime minister is to see your people. I need very much to find a key to your country because I very much need your country on our side... It's not about your historical choice. But who knows? Maybe your country can be the key to this diplomatic influence. That's why I'll be happy to come to India as soon as your government and prime minister are ready to see me..." The Ukrainian President also affirmed his willingness to engage with India and expressed interest in purchasing products made in India. "Yeah, we are ready (to directly engage with India and buy products 'Made in India' soon). I gave these all messages to your productions. As I said, we are ready to exchange...We are ready to buy. We are ready to produce. We are ready to open your companies here or we are ready to open our companies in India. So we are very ready for such dialogue and for such work...," he said. Zelenskyy also addressed the issue of Indians who were deceived into participating in the ongoing Russian-Ukraine conflict on the Russian side and said, "With regards to the citizens of India that were tricked to participate in the combat operations - PM Modi started with that, he said that he condemns it and he will make everything possible for the citizens of India not to be fighting in the lines of the Russian Army. I perfectly understand him..." Regarding the Peace Summit, Zelenskyy mentioned that he proposed to PM Modi that it could potentially be hosted in India. "As for the Peace Summit, I truly believe that the second Peace Summit has to take place. It would be good if it would be held in one of the Global South Countries... I perfectly support this and told PM Modi that we could have the Global Peace Summit in India. It's a big country, it's a great democracy - the largest...," Zelenskyy said. (ANI) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday met with United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and reviewed current defence cooperation activities and explored strategies to enhance their collaboration further. Sharing a post on X, Singh said, "Excellent meeting with my dear friend Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin. We reviewed the existing defence cooperation activities and discussed ways to deepen them further." The post further said, "The signing of Security of Supply Arrangements and the agreement for positioning of Indian officers at key US commands are pathbreaking developments." Meanwhile, US Secretary of Defense Austin III hosted an honour cordon, meeting and welcomed Rajnath Singh. Rajnath Singh arrived in the US capital on a four-day visit to the country on Thursday. On the first day of his visit, the Department of Defence (DoD) and the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India entered into a bilateral, non-binding Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA). The SOSA was signed by Vic Ramdass, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for Industrial Base Policy, on behalf of the United States, and Samir Kumar Sinha, Additional Secretary and Director General (Acquisitions), on behalf of the IN MoD. Through this SOSA, the United States and India agree to provide reciprocal priority support for goods and services that promote national defence. The Arrangement will enable both countries to acquire the industrial resources they need from one another to resolve unanticipated supply chain disruptions to meet national security needs. Meanwhile, while interacting with the Indian diaspora on Thursday (local time) the Raksha Mantri said that India and US, together, are a formidable force which can ensure peace, prosperity and stability in the world.The Raksha Mantri described India and US as natural allies, which are destined to be strong partners, and this collaboration is growing continuously. Rajnath Singh re-asserted the fact that under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, India's stature has grown on the global stage. "Earlier, India's words at international fora were not heeded; but today, the whole world listens carefully," he said. (ANI) Ukraine is ready to directly engage with India by purchasing Made-in-India products and allowing Indian companies to open in Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday. He also said that Ukraine is also willing to establish companies in India. Zelenskyy held a press conference following a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kyiv, where he was asked if Ukraine is ready to directly engage with India and buy Made-in-India products. Asserting that his government is in favour of establishing companies in India and also allowing Indian companies to set up in Ukraine, Zelenskyy said, "Yeah, we are ready (to directly engage with India and buy products made in India in the near future). I gave these all messages to your productions. As I said, we are ready to exchange...We are ready to buy. We are ready to produce. We are ready to open your companies here or we are ready to open our companies in India. So we are very ready for such dialogue and for such work." Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to visit India during their talks. When asked about PM Modi's invitation, Zelenskyy said, "Yes, (I have plans to visit India) because when you begin a partnership, strategic partnership, and you begin some dialogue, I think that you don't need to lose time and do big pauses and that's why, I think it will be good to meet together again. And if our meeting will be in India, I'll be happy to. I read a lot about your big and great country. It's very interesting." The Ukrainian President stated, "I will not have time to see your country. It's a pity because, during the war, I didn't have time to look and to see. But I think it's important any way to see your people. I think to understand the country is to understand people also." Emphasizing that Kyiv needs New Delhi "very much" on its side for its diplomatic influence, the Ukrainian President said, "I need very much to find a key to your country because I very much need your country on our side... It's not about your historical choice. But who knows? Maybe your country can be the key to this diplomatic influence. That's why I'll be happy to come to India as soon as your government and prime minister are ready to see me." Regarding the Peace Summit, Zelenskyy mentioned that he proposed to PM Modi that it could potentially be hosted in India. "As for the Peace Summit, I truly believe that the second Peace Summit has to take place. It would be good if it would be held in one of the Global South Countries... I perfectly support this and told PM Modi that we could have the Global Peace Summit in India. It's a big country, it's a great democracy - the largest...," Zelenskyy said. Earlier, speaking to ANI, the Ukrainian president said India is a big country that can have a big influence in convincing Russia to halt the ongoing "war". "India will play its role. I think that India began to recognise that this is not just conflict, this is a real war of one man and his name is Putin against a whole country whose name is Ukraine. You are a big country. You have a big influence and you can stop Putin and halt his economy, and put him really in his place," he said. The Ukrainian President also appreciated the four agreements signed between the two nations and said India and Ukraine have solidified their partnership. https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1827048184717222275 The agreements include the Agreement on Cooperation in the field of Agriculture and Food Industry; MoU on Cooperation in the field of Medical Products Regulation; MoU on Indian Humanitarian Grant Assistance for Implementation of High Impact Community Development Projects; and Programme for Cultural Cooperation for 2024-2028 "First, the agreement on cooperation in agriculture and the food industry aims to expand mutually beneficial cooperation, create favorable market conditions, and improve both countries' national food security. Second, a memorandum of understanding on Indian humanitarian grant assistance envisions the expansion of economic and technical cooperation, establishing a framework for India to provide aid for high-impact community development projects, such as reconstruction and recovery efforts," Zelenskyy stated in his post. "Third, the cultural cooperation program for 2024-2028 will promote direct links between art collectives, individual performers, and cultural institutions, as well as joint cultural and artistic activities. Fourth, a memorandum of understanding on pharmaceutical standards is intended to promote pharmaceutical interests, prevent the circulation of substandard and counterfeit medicines, and ensure the safety and quality of medicines supplied to both markets," he added. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Zelenskyy during their bilateral meeting that dialogue is the only solution to the conflict in Ukraine. "India was never neutral, we have always been on the side of peace," PM Modi told Zelenskyy in their bilateral meeting. He further said that India was ready to play an active role in the path to peace and progress. "People from other countries also know that India has actively planned peace efforts and you also know that our approach has been people-centric. I want to assure you and the entire world that this is India's commitment and we believe that respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity is of utmost importance to us and we support it. Some time back, when I met President Putin in support of this, I had told him that this was not the time for war," the Prime Minister said. Recently, when I went to Russia for a meeting, I said there too in clear words that the solution to any problem is never found on the battlefield. The solution comes only through talks, dialogue, and diplomacy and we should move ahead in that direction without wasting time. Both sides should sit together and find ways to come out of this crisis...Today I would like to discuss with you specifically the path to peace and progress. I want to assure you that India is ready to play an active role in every effort for peace. If I can personally contribute to this, I would like to do so. As a friend, I can assure you," he added. (ANI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar rebuked the 'criticism' of Prime Minister Narendra Modi hugging Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to Russia, and said it is part of Indian culture to embrace people upon meeting them. Notably, Prime Minister Modi visited Russia last month. He was welcomed by President Vladimir Putin and the two leaders warmly embraced each other. This drew criticism from some sections of Western media as well as from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who termed it a "devastating blow to peace efforts." "In our part of the world, when people meet people, they are given to embracing each other. It may not be part of your culture, but I assure, it is part of ours," Jaishankar said during a press conference. "In fact, today I saw Prime Minister also embraced President Zelenskyy and I have seen him do it with a number of other leaders at a number of other places. So, I think we have a slightly cultural gap in terms of what these courtesies mean," he added. Prime Minister Modi concluded his visit to Ukraine on Friday, the first by an Indian PM to the European nation since India established diplomatic ties with Ukraine in 1992. Providing details of the bilateral meeting between PM Modi and Zelenskyy, the Foreign Minister stated that discussions focused on strengthening bilateral relations. The talks covered a range of sectors, including trade, economic issues, defence, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, and education. He further asserted that PM Modi's visit is a landmark as it is the first time an Indian Prime Minister has visited the country since the establishment of diplomatic ties. "As you know, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kyiv this morning and we've just concluded his official engagements. This is a landmark visit. It's the first time that an Indian PM has visited Ukraine since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992." India and Ukraine also signed four agreements during PM Modi's visit; the Agreement on Cooperation in the field of Agriculture and Food Industry; the MoU on Cooperation in the field of Medical Products Regulation; the MoU on Indian Humanitarian Grant Assistance for Implementation of High Impact Community Development Projects; and the Programme for Cultural Cooperation for 2024-2028. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Zelenskyy during their bilateral meeting that dialogue is the only solution to the conflict in Ukraine. "India was never neutral, we have always been on the side of peace," PM Modi told Zelenskyy in their bilateral meeting. He further said that India was ready to play an active role in the path to peace and progress. (ANI) White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will be travelling to China next week to hold talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the White House said in a statement. During his visit from August 27-29, Sullivan will discuss issues ranging from Taiwan to bilateral military talks and the US fentanyl crisis, as well as China's support for Russia's defence industry and tensions in the South China Sea, North Korea, the Middle East and Myanmar, a senior US administration official told reporters via teleconference. The senior administration official said Sullivan's visit should not be associated too closely with the election. "That's not the point. We've tried to do these Wang Yi-Jake Sullivan touch points about once a quarter," he said. "(The election) is always in the background in any engagement we have with foreign officials concerned about what comes next or what the transition will be like, but this meeting will be focused on the topics and the issues that we are dealing with," the official added. Sullivan, during his visit, would push for a resumption of theatre-level military-to-military talks with China, and is also likely to raise the US's concerns about China's "increased military, diplomatic and economic pressure against Taiwan." Notably, China-US relations have been turbulent in recent years. The two countries have sparred over their economic ambitions, and incidents like the US downing of a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon last year further inflamed tensions, Al Jazeera reported. Notably, this is the first visit by a US national security adviser since 2016, though other senior US officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have visited China over the past two years. Sullivan's visit comes within months of the US's general election in November, in which Vice President Kamala Harris is running to succeed outgoing president Joe Biden. If she wins, Harris is expected to continue to seek dialogue with China while also maintaining pressure. Meanwhile, her Republican rival Donald Trump has vowed to pursue a harder line with China, with some of his aides seeing a far-reaching global showdown ahead, as reported by Al Jazeera. (ANI) Retired Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg speaks during a ceremony Thursday, April 27, 2023 that redesignated Fort Lee as Fort Gregg-Adams. Seated behind him are, left, Gen. Charles Hamilton, commander of the Army Material Command, and Maj. Gen. Mark Simerly, commander of Fort Gregg-Adams. Retired Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg, who began his military career at, and then returned several times to the Army post that would later bear his name, has died. Gregg died Thursday at the age of 96, officials at Fort Gregg-Adams announced in a statement. No cause of death was given. The entire Fort Gregg-Adams family is deeply saddened by the loss of a great American and our namesake, post commander Maj. Gen. Michelle Donahue said in the statement. Lt. Gen. Gregg will continue to inspire all who knew him and those who serve at Fort Gregg-Adams now and in the future. His dedication and leadership will never be forgotten. Our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones during this difficult time. Since the Prince George County Army post's name was changed from Fort Lee in April 2023, Gregg was a frequent visitor from his home in Prince William County, Virginia. His last appearance on post was July 31 when he attended a garrison change-of-command ceremony. Lt. Gen. Greggs love and commitment for this installation and for this community is forever part of our identitypart of our character, garrison commander Col. Richard Bendelewski said in the statement. We will proudly carry his legacy forward as Fort Gregg-Adams. Post launched Gregg's military career A South Carolina native, Gregg joined the Army in 1946 at what was then called Camp Lee. By the time he retired from active duty in 1981, he had risen through the ranks to become the first Black brigadier general in the Army Quartermaster Corps in 1972, and the first Black lieutenant general in the entire Army five years later. He eventually became the Armys deputy chief of staff for logistics, a post from when he retired. Of all his accomplishments, Gregg always considered his service in Vietnam as his proudest moment. As a freshly minted lieutenant colonel, he commanded the 96th Quartermaster Direct Support Battalion. It was a great assignment, and I felt we were doing a great job for the United States of America and for the world, Gregg said in an interview that coincided with the renaming of the post. A reflection of inclusivity Fort Lee was one of 10 military installations named in honor of Confederate leaders from the American Civil War. Three of them were in Virginia Lee, named for Confederate commanding general Robert E. Lee; and A.P. Hill in Caroline County and Pickett in Nottoway County, both named for two of Lees top generals under his command. A.P. Hill is now Fort Walker in honor of Dr. Mary Walker, a Civil War surgeon and the only non-military member to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor. Pickett is now Fort Barfoot, named for the late Lt. Col. Van Barfoot, a World War II hero who also received the Medal of Honor. The name changes were done to reflect the changing course of American culture in the wake of tensions over treatment of minorities and to make the Army appear to be more inclusive. Nine of the 10 were active Army installations, while the 10th, Fort Barfoot, was a former Army post now under the direction of the Virginia National Guard. More: Fort Lee officially gets its new name, Fort Gregg-Adams, next month Gregg experienced firsthand the indignities of segregation. While at Fort Lee, he was not allowed to enter the post officers club and other civic and social gathering places because of the color of his skin. That moment was not lost on him when he came to the post rededication ceremony on April 27, 2023. It was troubling, Gregg told The Progress-Index then. General Lee had a tremendous record as a soldier, as a graduate of the Military Academy. But during a critical time in our history and certainly in his life, he elected to go to the other side. We are troubled by anyone deserting the United States Army and going to the other side and fighting against us. Gregg called the renaming of the post in his honor overwhelming. I was obviously very honored that they felt I was worthy of my name being here, he told The P-I But you know, you dont take it too seriously that early in the process because I was aware of a number of really outstanding people under consideration, so I bided my time. Then when the decision was made that the post would be redesignated Gregg-Adams, I was really overwhelmed with pride and with joy. Naming Fort Lee for Gregg was both a personal and professional accomplishment for then-Rep. Donald McEachin, D-Virginia, whose father and Gregg were longtime friends. McEachin said he believed it would be fitting for Fort Lee to bear Greggs name, so he rallied from across the area and state for the change. The change was approved in May 2022. Unfortunately, McEachin did not live long enough to see the new signs go up, as he died that November of complications from cancer. Many firsts in the new name On April 27,2023, Fort Lee was renamed Fort Gregg-Adams in honor of retired Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg, left, and in memory of Lt. Col. Charity Adams. The other name on the posts sign Adams honors Lt. Col. Charity Adams, the first Black woman to be commissioned an Army officer. Adams, who died in 2002, was also the first to command a battalion as she led the 6888th, a group of Black and Hispanic women who carried mail in the European Theater of World War II. Fort Gregg-Adams made history on three levels with its name. The post was the first to be named in honor of Black soldiers, the first to be named for two people and the first to be named for someone still alive at the time. Funeral arrangements for Gregg have not been announced. He is survived by a daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren. His wife, Charlene, died in 2006. A daughter died three years later. Bill Atkinson (he/him/his) is an award-winning journalist who covers breaking news, government and politics. Reach him at batkinson@progress-index.com or on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @BAtkinson_PI. This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Retired general for whom Virginia Army post was renamed dies Black student numbers fall by two-thirds at MIT after end of affirmative action The proportion of Asian American students accepted at Massachusetts Institute of Technology jumped from 40 to 47 per cent in 2024 - Alamy The number of black students accepted to an elite US university plummeted by two-thirds after a Supreme Court ruling banned affirmative action. Black students made up 5 per cent of this years Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a significant slump from the 15 per cent who enrolled in 2023. Meanwhile, the proportion of Asian American students accepted at the university jumped from 40 to 47 per cent year on year. Americas highest court ruled in 2023 that race-conscious university admissions were unconstitutional, effectively reversing policies to boost diversity on campus. MIT is the first university to release statistics on the composition of its first intake since the ruling was handed down in June 2023. The total number of students who identify as black, hispanic and/or Native American and Pacific Islander has dropped from a baseline of around 25 per cent to 16 per cent, according to Stu Schmill, MITs dean of admissions. We expected that this would result in fewer students from historically under-represented racial and ethnic groups enrolling at MIT. Thats what has happened, Mr Schmill told MIT News. Sally Kornbluth, president of MIT, said that this year's intake did not have 'the same degree of broad racial and ethnic diversity' that the institution had been working towards - Brian Snyder/Reuters Compared with 2023, the percentage of Hispanic and Latino students dropped to 11 per cent from 16 per cent, while white students remained at a similar level 37 per cent compared with 38 per cent in 2023. Sally Kornbluth, president of MIT, said the 2024 class does not bring, as a consequence of last years Supreme Court decision... the same degree of broad racial and ethnic diversity that the MIT community has worked together to achieve over the past several decades. Edward Blum, the founder of Students for Fair Admissions (SFA), the group which brought legal action against Harvard and the University of North Carolina to overturn affirmative action policies, told the New York Times: Every student admitted to the class of 2028 at MIT will know that they were accepted only based upon their outstanding academic and extracurricular achievements, not the colour of their skin. SFA had argued that black students were being unfairly boosted in the admissions process to the detriment of Asian applicants. Peter Arcidiacono, an economist at Duke University, and expert witness for SFA, told the paper: MIT basically just took race out of the equation. 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. With cease-fire in Gaza looking less likely, officials press for release of hostages The U.S. is focusing much of its efforts in the ongoing Gaza cease-fire negotiations on one major issue: The release of the remaining hostages. While the return of hostages from Gaza has always been part of the talks related to a cease-fire in Gaza, it was one point among many that the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have weighed including in a formal agreement. The Biden administration has also long made the need to ramp up the delivery of humanitarian aid a priority. But in recent weeks, Biden officials have refocused much of their efforts at the negotiating table on fine-tuning details around how and when the hostages will be released under the bridge proposal recently endorsed by Israel, according to two Israeli officials, a U.S. official and a Western aid representative briefed on the negotiations. As in previous discussions, the hostages would be traded for Palestinian prisoners. Other terms, including the withdrawal of Israeli forces, are still on the table but are viewed by many in the U.S. camp as being contentious and in need of additional, extensive negotiations. Officials from the U.S. are in Cairo this week to continue to negotiate the cease-fire proposal, yet theres a growing sense among Biden aides that Hamas and Israel may not soon agree to end the fighting. The cease-fire is dead, said a Western aid representative briefed on the talks, referring to the idea that fighting would subside with a deal. It seems like the war is never going to end even if a deal is reached. So, they are trying to get the hostages home knowing that the fighting is going to continue anyway. Others informed on the talks voiced similar sentiments about the chances of the fighting winding down any time soon. Cease-fires have a history of breaking down in Gaza. POLITICO spoke to six people briefed on the negotiations. All were granted anonymity to speak freely about sensitive diplomatic talks. The National Security Council declined to comment. According to the Israeli official and the U.S. official, the U.S. is now fully supporting Israels recent demand that Hamas increase the number of hostages released under the deal a condition Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added to the negotiations in the last several weeks. Its unclear how many hostages Israel is demanding be freed, as Biden officials have refused to detail the contents of the bridge proposal to reporters. But the number is higher than what Hamas had previously agreed to, according to an Israeli official. The fact that the Biden administration is elevating its hostage demands raises questions about whether Washington thinks it can get anything else out of Hamas in the short term. It also underscores the extent to which the negotiators are still grappling with how to resolve several of the points included in the proposal. The hostages, Palestinian prisoners, Israeli withdrawal and humanitarian aid distribution are all still being weighed in conversations about a broad cease-fire deal. However, some Israeli and American officials have in recent days advocated that the negotiators try to separate the hostage issue from the rest of the deal. Washington and Jerusalem have pushed back on that idea. Still, two of the people briefed on the negotiations said there is an increasing belief among Biden officials that the broader proposal on the table may not be immediately viable and that getting the hostages home is the one issue that both parties could potentially agree to in the short term. Hamas has an incentive to agree to letting the hostages leave, as negotiators have long tied that to the release of perhaps hundreds of Palestinian prisoners from Israel. The bridge proposal has not been made public, but people familiar with it say the hostages would still be exchanged for prisoners. Its possible Hamas is more willing to agree to the terms of the hostage issue first before negotiating on the presence and potential withdrawal of Israeli forces in two key corridors in the enclave. However, the cease-fire talks are also likely the groups last chance to negotiate other larger political and strategic matters such as its ability to continue to control the enclave without Israeli military interruption. Some Israeli officials have grown increasingly frustrated with how Netanyahu has handled the talks, and have privately lamented that he added new conditions to the deal after his July 22 trip to Washington in which he met with the families of the hostages. Those officials claim the ask for additional hostages slowed down the talks. Hamas has in recent days rebuked Israels request, claiming that some of the hostages it is asking to be released are soldiers not civilians and therefore fall into a category that would be released later, a second Israeli official said. Others question whether any of the hostages remaining in Gaza are still alive. Negotiations have also included Hamas releasing the bodies of hostages who have died. U.S. officials have said the proposal currently being negotiated bridges several long-standing disagreements between Israel and Hamas and is in line with the deal President Joe Biden laid out in May. In that announcement, Biden said the deal would roll out in three phases, one of which would focus heavily on increasing access for humanitarian groups and ratcheting up the distribution of aid. Its not clear if the latest bridge proposal deals with humanitarian aid at all. While many organizations operating on the ground speak regularly with Lise Grande, the administrations envoy in charge of handling Gaza humanitarian issues, they said the White House has not been directly in touch with them in recent months. Aid workers in Gaza say the only way to get more food and medical supplies into the enclave is if the fighting were to stop altogether. They are not optimistic that is going to happen. Since May, when Israel began its Rafah offensive, thousands of Israeli police have withdrawn from their posts, blunting the aid groups access to Gaza. Now, the majority of aid trucks entering Gaza are looted. Only half of the people that UNRWA, the main U.N. agency operating in Gaza, is supposed to serve are actually getting food deliveries, according to the groups data. Aid groups were hoping there would be a cease-fire and that the cease-fire would be a short-term solution to helping get aid in, said one person who is in regular touch with the Biden administration. It doesnt seem like that is going to happen. A Czech company has unveiled an inflatable decoy of the F-16 fighter, notably wearing Ukrainian Air Force markings. The inflatable fighter, from a firm that is already known to be providing Kyiv with decoys of other items of military equipment, appears only a matter of weeks after it was confirmed that the first real F-16s had arrived in Ukraine. A Czech company has unveiled an inflatable decoy of the F-16 fighter, notably wearing Ukrainian Air Force markings. The inflatable fighter, from a firm that is already known to be providing Kyiv with decoys of other items of military equipment, appears only a matter of weeks after it was confirmed that the first real F-16s had arrived in Ukraine. The Ukrainian-marked F-16 decoy from the Czech Inflatech company is currently on show at the Industry Days defense exhibition in Denmark, organized by the Danish Ministry of Defense Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO). Trods vejret er ssonen for badedyr langt fra forbi Set pa nordens strste forsvarsmesse #Dalo Days i Ballerup #dkforsvar pic.twitter.com/ofZJmaFWIA Mads Korsager (@MadsKorsager) August 22, 2024 The full-scale inflatable replica of the gray-painted F-16 includes a transparent cockpit canopy, wingtip stores, and a centerline fuel tank. Its unclear if the F-16 decoys will be heading to Ukraine, or whether the Ukrainian Air Force insignia has been applied to drum up interest in the product. However, there have been uncofirmed reports of U.S.-supplied F-16 decoys having been procured for Ukraine as well as accounts of decoys of the same aircraft being built in Ukrainian workshops, too. One of the first Ukrainian Air Force F-16s to arrive in the country, which occurred before the end of last month. Ukrainian Ministry of Defense screencap Overall, the war in Ukraine is seeing a considerable spike in demand for decoys, with inflatable types being just one solution. Inflatech is very much a specialist in this area, with a website that now lists more than 30 different inflatable military decoys. Among the various tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery pieces are other aircraft types, including the Russian-made Su-27 and Su-30 Flanker and the U.S.-made UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. As of March 2023, the company claimed that business was up by more than 30 percent compared with the previous, with the expectation that growth would continue rising in double figures for at least another three to five years. An Inflatech inflatable decoy of an M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) displayed during a media presentation in Decin, Czech Republic on March 6, 2023. Photo by Michal Cizek / AFP MICHAL CIZEK Only recently, there were reports that a U.S.-made M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), which Russia claimed it had destroyed in the Sumy region, was actually an inflatable decoy version from Inflatech, deployed by Ukraine. Those claims cannot be independently verified. #Ukraine/#Russia : The #Russians claimed yesterday that they hit and and destroyed a #Ukrainian M270 MLRS in #Sumy oblast. Today it turned out that it was a #Czech-made decoy from Inflatech. The torso of the decoy is made of synthetic silk, they radiate heat exactly pic.twitter.com/Ct4r98q3DR (@praisethesteph) August 18, 2024 Whats clear is Ukraines need to protect its F-16s at all costs, an issue we have explored in the past. At this stage, the first F-16s are in Ukraine, but only in small numbers, reportedly only with six Ukrainian pilots qualified to fly them, and these are likely proficient only in a limited number of missions. Already, however, Moscow has put a bounty on the Ukrainian F-16s, and this will only reinforce the necessity of protecting the jets. At the most basic level, this will almost certainly involve rotating the jets around different bases within Ukraine, including operating from temporary airstrips, where possible. Its almost inevitable, however, that even with these measures in place, Russia will target them on the ground. This is where decoys come into play and its a tactic that Ukraine has already used to good effect. Late last year we reported on how a remarkably accurate (non-inflatable) decoy of a Ukrainian Su-25 Frogfoot ground-attack aircraft was destroyed on the ground by a Russian Lancet loitering munition. So accurate was this decoy that Russia claimed it had successfully hit the real thing. Close-up of a decoy Ukrainian Su-25, as seen via a Russia Lancet loitering munition. via X Overall, Ukrainian decoy-makers have revealed themselves to be notably skilled practitioners of this craft, with various mock-ups of armored vehicles, multiple launch rocket systems, air defense systems, and other items of equipment having appeared. On many occasions, these have succeeded in drawing attacks from the Russian side, each of which increases the chances of the real piece of hardware surviving to fight another day. Subsequent Russian attacks on Ukrainian air bases may well also have claimed unserviceable Soviet-era MiG-29 Fulcrum and Su-27 Flanker fighters, parked out in the open perhaps deliberately to entice attacks. This is much harder to verify, however, although Ukraine has no shortage of out-of-commission aircraft that could be sacrificed in this way. On 12 August 2024, the Russians carried out a missile attacks on the Myrhorod Air Base, Poltava Oblast. Apparently a Su-27 was at least damaged (possibly beyond repair). https://t.co/mqeIKLhRst pic.twitter.com/zQMTeFkEfl The Military Watch (@MarcinRogowsk14) August 12, 2024 Whats beyond doubt is the very real threat that Russia poses to Ukrainian F-16s (and other aircraft, for that matter) while they are on the ground. In the last few months, 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. In fact, the vulnerability of the F-16s and their highly prized status means that Ukraine plans to keep only a portion of the total fleet in the country at any given time, even once more aircraft and pilots are available. On top of the jets being used for training outside of Ukraine, there will be an additional strategic reserve that is kept at readiness in allied countries in Europe. In this way, it will also be possible to swap out F-16s exposed to combat with fresh jets that have undergone more in-depth maintenance outside of the country. Its also worth noting that Russia, too, has been making strenuous efforts to protect its aircraft on the ground, as its air bases come under repeated attack from Ukrainian long-range one-way attack drones. So far its not clear that Russia is using decoy aircraft, although a range of other measures have been seen in use on their airfields. These include the bizarre arrangements of tires that are very likely intended to confuse the image-matching algorithms used by certain hostile missile seekers. Another ruse involves Russia painting the silhouettes of aircraft in parking revetments, as you read about here. The effectiveness of these measures is hard to ascertain, although real Russian military aircraft have continued to be targeted, regardless. Satellite imagery silhouettes of Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers in parking revetments at Engels Air Base, also known as Engels-2. PHOTO 2023 PLANET LABS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION Outside of Ukraine and Russia, the lessons of the conflict are being keenly felt by air forces around the world. The survivability of aircraft on the ground during a potential future conflict in the Indo-Pacific theater was already something that the U.S. military had been grappling with. Now it is clear the deception and guile, including decoys, will be critical to keeping forward-deployed forces alive. You can read more about these developing plans here. The prospect of Russian aggression against other countries in Europe means that the same concerns are increasingly relevant there, too. With that in mind, its very likely that the Czech-made inflatable F-16s will find interest among other customers outside of Ukraine, as part of the gathering efforts to better protect aircraft against attacks on their air bases and infrastructure. Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com The Iowa delegation to the Democratic National Convention listens to Barack Obama on Aug. 20, 2024 at the United Center in Chicago. (Photo by Shaun Griswold/Source New Mexico) Iowa Democrats say the national convention has motivated state party members leading into the 2024 election an election that could prove crucial to their chances of regaining an early spot in the presidential nominating process. Delegates from across the nation have spent the past four days in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention, rallying for Vice President Kamala Harris presidential bid against former President Donald Trump. The convention came after President Joe Bidens decision to leave the race and endorse Harris. Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said in a Thursday interview that Harris leading the ticket and having Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz join her as the vice presidential nominee has motivated Democrats across the nation, as well as in Iowa. Iowa Democrats have seen some significant losses in recent election cycles. The states federal delegation is currently entirely Republican, and only one Democrat, Auditor Rob Sand, holds statewide elected office following the 2022 midterm elections. Hart attributed these losses in part to a lack of motivation among Democrats in the state, saying that many felt disillusioned by politics in recent years and have opted not to vote. But she said that the hope and optimism shown at the convention shows that Democrats are inspired and ready to participate as they prepare for the Nov. 5 election. The energy here is just so overwhelming, and that hasnt happened for so long, and so people are embracing it and celebrating it, Hart said. What is also true is that people understand they understand Michelle Obamas message very clearly, that we that weve got to take that energy and weve got to go back to our home state, and weve got to do something. Weve got to do something to make things happen, that truly are going to make Iowa a better state and going to make the United States a better America. The upcoming election may also play a significant role for Iowa Democrats looking at future presidential races. The Democratic National Committee approved major changes to the traditional presidential nominating calendar in 2022, booting the Iowa caucuses from its long-held first-in-the-nation position. In 2024, South Carolina kicked off the Democratic presidential nominating process, while Iowa released the results from its first mail-in presidential preference contest on Super Tuesday, March 5. National Democrats encountered multiple problems with restructuring the calendar leading into the 2024 nominating cycle, as New Hampshire and Georgias Republican secretaries of state said they were unable to comply with the DNCs plans for them to hold early nominating contests. Hart and other Iowa officials have said the DNC plans to revisit the calendar leading up to the 2028 presidential nominating cycle, and that Iowa will have a chance to compete for an early state position again. Though discussions about the 2028 presidential election cycle and Iowas role in the Democratic nominating process have not yet begun, Hart said the states results in the 2024 election may make a difference. A lot rides on this election cycle, and the better we do here in 2024, the better opportunity we have to to get back into that enviable position again, as first in the nation, Hart said. And so were putting our total concentration into just that, into getting good results here in 2024, and then well have a conversation and see where things are going forward. Though Iowa lost its coveted spot in the nominating cycle, Hart said high-profile Democrats have emphasized at the convention that Iowa is very vital in elections. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota were among the politicians who talked to Iowas delegation during the DNC. Iowa voters will weigh in on races for state lawmakers and U.S. representatives alongside the presidency in November. Republican incumbents are favored by election forecasters to win in Iowas congressional races in the upcoming election. But Hart said the Harris-Walz ticket is a needed push to activate Iowa voters who may have otherwise sat out the election. Thats what weve been working on all along, is to lay the groundwork to put it in the the time and the energy, into the infrastructure of the party itself, so that we can get the vote out, Hart said. And now having this enthusiasm and excitement at the top of the ticket, its going to make our job that much easier and give us more of an opportunity to get more people to the polls, and get some of these down-ballot races to be more competitive. "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." As Vice President Kamala Harris takes the stage at the Democratic National Convention tonight to formally accept the party's nomination for president, her life, family, and career is firmly back in the spotlight. In January 2021, when Harris was sworn in as the Vice President of the United States, she made American history as the first Black, first woman, and first Indian American to hold this office. Harris isnt unfamiliar with being a first in her field, however: In 2011, Harris also made history when she was elected as the first Black and Indian American woman to serve as Californias attorney general. As a lawyer and U.S. Senator, Harriss identity in both her personal life and politics has been largely shaped by her background: her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, who died in 2009, was an Indian immigrant, and her father, Donald J. Harris, is a Jamaican immigrant. During the DNC in August 2020, Harris reflected on her upbringing, making brief mention of her father. At the University of California Berkeley [my mother] met my father, Donald Harris, who came from Jamaica to study economics. They fell in love in that most American way, while marching together for justice during the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. In the streets of Oakland and Berkeley, I got a strollers-eye view of people getting into what the great John Lewis called good trouble. In a 2018 essay written by Donald entitled Reflections of a Jamaican Father, he noted that he's always pushed for Kamala and her sister, Maya, to uphold a connection to their Jamaican roots as well as their American ones. To this day, I continue to retain the deep social awareness and strong sense of identity which that grassroots Jamaican philosophy fed in me, he wrote. As a father, I naturally sought to develop the same sensibility in my two daughters. While Harris is very vocal about her Indian and Jamaican roots, its not often that she speaks out about her father. Below, what we know about Donald J. Harris. He came to the United States to study economics. Donald J. Harris was born in Jamaica in 1938, and moved to the United States in the 1960s to get his Ph.D. at the University of California-Berkeley. He later became naturalized as a U.S. citizen. Harris taught at the University of Illinois and Northwestern University briefly, then became an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison before moving to California and securing a job as a Professor of Economics at Stanford University. Now, after retiring in the late 1990s, he holds the title of emeritus professor. He spent many years at Stanford University. According to Harriss Stanford bio, His research and publications have centered on exploring the analytical conception of the process of capital accumulation and its implications for a theory of growth of the economy, with the aim of providing thereby an explanation of the intrinsic character of growth as a process of uneven development. Throughout his career, Harris traveled around the world to conduct research, give seminars, and consult with various governmentsincluding his home country of Jamaica, where he served as an economic adviserto work toward boosting their economies. He and Kamalas mother met at Berkeley during the Civil Rights movement. Harris and Gopalan met at the University of California, Berkeley, where they were both studying for their doctorates. According to their daughters autobiography, The Truths We Hold, Donald and Shyamala met and fell in love at Berkeley while participating in the civil rights movement. Speaking about her parents, Kamala said in an Instagram post: They laid the path for me, as only the second Black woman ever elected to the United States Senate. He and Kamalas mother divorced when she was seven years old. Kamala was just seven years old when her parents separated, and her mother was granted full custody of Kamala and her sister Maya. In the 2018 essay mentioned earlier, Donald went into some detail about their divorce, noting that it came to an abrupt halt in 1972 after he lost a hard-fought custody battle in the family court of Oakland, California. Despite the terms of their divorce, Harris claims that his love for his family didn't end when his marriage did. Nevertheless, I persisted, never giving up on my love for my children or reneging on my responsibilities as their father. He made sure his daughters celebrated their heritage. In the essay mentioned above, Donald also recalls memories of taking his daughters to Jamaica to teach them about their heritage. One of the most vivid and fondest memories I have of that early period with my children is of the visit we made in 1970 to Orange Hill, he writes. We trudged through the cow dung and rusted iron gates, up-hill and down-hill, along narrow unkempt paths, to the very end of the family property, all in my eagerness to show to the girls the terrain over which I had wandered daily for hours as a boy (with Miss Chrishy hollering in the distance: yu better cum home now, bwoy, or else!). This likely had a lasting impact, as Kamala often reflects on her familys heritage and her ancestorsfactors that have shaped her worldview as a politician. He famously criticized a joke Kamala made about her Jamaican roots. During an appearance on the radio show The Breakfast Club in February 2019, Kamala Harris joked with host Charlamagne tha God about her views on marijuana use. When asked whether she supported or opposed the legalization of the drug, she replied saying, Half my family is from Jamaica. Are you kidding me? Her father was far from amused. In a statement to Jamaica Global Online, Donald wrote that My dear departed grandmothers (whose extraordinary legacy I described in a recent essay on this website), as well as my deceased parents, must be turning in their grave right now to see their familys name, reputation and proud Jamaican identity being connected, in any way, jokingly or not with the fraudulent stereotype of a pot-smoking joy seeker and in the pursuit of identity politics. You Might Also Like A Latvian man was extradited to Kansas and appeared in court at the Robert J. Dole Courthouse in Kansas City, Kansas, Wednesday in connection with a Russian illegal export scheme. (Grace Hills/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA A Latvian man accused of participating in a scheme to export electronic aircraft equipment from Kansas for Russian companies appeared Wednesday in federal court in Kansas City, Kansas, after being extradited. A grand jury in March indicted Oleg Chistyakov, or Olegs Cistjakovs, of Latvia on 26 charges related to six federal crimes. He was arrested March 19 in Latvia and detained there until his recent extradition. Chistyakov, 55, allegedly conspired with Kansas residents Cyril Buyanovsky, 61, of Lawrence, and Douglas Robertson, 56, of Olathe to export avionics, or avian electronics, equipment to Russia through Kansas-based KanRus Trading Co. Inc. The company, which was headed by Buyanovsky and Robertson, had offices near the New Century AirCenter southwest of Kansas City and in a house south of Lawrence, according to Kansas Secretary of State business records. Computer processors, radar sensors, transponders, speed indicators, antennae and equipment installation kits were among the exported items, a complaint filed by special agent Brian Newbury with the FBIs Kansas City division alleged. The illegal export venture allegedly began in November 2020 when Chistyakov, operating in Latvia, emailed Robertson a list of avionics equipment KanRus could repair for a Moscow-based company, according to court documents. The three largely communicated by email and used coded language to subvert their illegal conduct, court documents show. Chistyakov allegedly acted as a broker for KanRus by soliciting quotes, negotiating prices and terms of delivery and facilitating payments between KanRus and customers in Russia, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a Wednesday news release. Buyanovsky and Robertson bought items from U.S. companies to fulfill orders for Chistyakov, which involved providing fake information to those companies and circumventing U.S. export law, court documents show. Chistyakov conducted business with KanRus through his United Arab Emirates-based company, RosAero FZC. The shipments would pass through other countries, like Germany and the UAE, and sometimes intermediary companies, before arriving in Russia, court documents show. Payments would come from foreign bank accounts in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and the UAE. After Russias February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which prompted the U.S. to expand its Russian trade sanctions, the three men continued their scheme, according to court documents. Their efforts continued until March 2023. Chistyakov is charged with conspiracy, nine counts of smuggling, four counts of money laundering violations and 12 counts related to violations of the Export Control Reform Act, a 2018 law giving presidents the authority to control exports related to national security. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and an up to $1 million fine. Buyanovsky, former KanRus president and owner, pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy and money laundering. Robertson, KanRus former vice president, pleaded guilty in July to conspiracy, money laundering and two counts related to violations of the export act. Both are scheduled to be sentenced later this year. One ton of lunar soil could produce 50 kilograms of water: Chinese scientists Global Times) 10:05, August 23, 2024 The formation of water and elemental iron during the process of lunar soil being heated and a comparison of the water content in various main lunar minerals (Photo: CCTV news) With a newly discovered method to produce water on the moon, it is estimated that 50 kilograms of water can be extracted from one ton of lunar soil. Chinese scientists said it is expected to provide new ideas for the construction of lunar research stations and space stations in the future. After three years of research and experimentation, a scientific research team made up of researchers from the institutions of Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology & Engineering, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and the Institute of Physics, CAS has recently achieved the new discovery using the lunar soil samples taken back by the Change-5 lunar landing mission. As a crucial resource for building lunar research stations and supporting future interplanetary or lunar travel, water is essential for human survival in space. Searching for water resources is one of the primary tasks of lunar exploration. In the past, scientists focused mainly on the distribution of natural water resources in its natural state on the moon. Earlier researches indicated that small amounts of water are contained in a variety of lunar soil minerals such as glass materials, plagioclase, olivine, and pyroxene. Meanwhile, the water content in these minerals is extremely low a proportion of less than 0.02 percent, it is difficult to utilize these mineral resources to extract water on the moon. Therefore, researching and developing new methods for extracting lunar water resources is a key focus of future lunar exploration missions Following in-depth researches and repeated experimentation, scientists have discovered that lunar soil minerals have stored a large amount of hydrogen elements due to billions of years of solar wind irradiation. When heated to high temperatures, hydrogen will undergo the oxidation-reduction (redox) reaction with the iron oxides in the minerals, producing elemental iron and a large amount of water. Lunar soil will be melted when heated to a temperature of 1,000 C with water produced by the reaction in the soil to be released in the form of steam. After various experiments and technical analyses, the research team have found that one gram of lunar soil can produce approximately 51 milligrams to 76 milligrams of water. Based on this calculation, one ton of lunar soil can produce approximately 51 kilograms to 76 kilograms of water, equivalent to the amount of over 100 bottles of bottled water of 500 milliliters each, which can meet the needs of 50 people each day. Through further researches on different lunar minerals, the research team discovered that when heated, ilmenite, a natural mineral composed mainly of iron and titanium oxides, can simultaneously produce a large amount of elemental iron and water vapor bubbles, constituting a true reservoir on the moon. Based on multiple researches, the team has proposed a feasible strategy for extracting and utilizing lunar water resources on the moon. First, a concave mirror or Fresnel lens can be used to focus solar light to heat and melt lunar soil and produce water, elemental iron, and ceramic glass. The water vapor generated during the process can be condensed into water of liquid form, which can be collected and stored in tanks and meet the demands of humans, various plants, and animals on the moon. Oxygen and hydrogen can be generated from water by electrolysis. Oxygen can be used by human beings for respiration and hydrogen can be used as a source of energy. Iron can be used to manufacture permanent magnets and soft magnetic materials, providing raw materials for power electronics devices. Iron can also be used as a building material. Melted lunar soil can also be used to produce bricks with mortise and tenon joints which can be used for constructing bases on the moon, researchers said. Experts said that this strategy will provide important references to the construction of future lunar research stations and space stations. The strategy is expected to be further validated through the deployment of verification equipment on the moon in future Change lunar exploration missions. Researchers from the Institute of Physics of, CAS, along with scholars from several renowned Chinese universities, discovered ULM-1, an unidentified mineral crystal enriched with water molecules and ammonium on the moon from the Change-5 lunar samples, a breakthrough that indicates that for the first time, molecular water was found in lunar soil, the Xinhua News Agency reported in July. To date, researchers studying the lunar samples brought back by the Change-5 mission have accomplished a number of milestone achievements with over 70 findings being published in major academic journals both at home and abroad. (Web editor: Tian Yi, Liang Jun) A commercial tanker vessel came under attack in the Red Sea on Wednesday and was left stranded. When a French warship was sent to rescue the crew, it had to fight off a hostile drone boat. The incident follows months of Houthi attacks on merchant ships in the area. A new photo released by the French military on Thursday captures one of its warships battling an explosive drone boat during a rescue mission in the Red Sea. The European Union's counter-Houthi mission, known as Operation Aspides, said that it dispatched a French frigate to rescue the crew of a wounded commercial tanker following an attack on Wednesday that left the vessel without power and stranded in the water. As the frigate arrived in the area, the warship detected another incoming attack on the oil tanker from a drone boat "heavily loaded" with explosives and destroyed the threat on-site, the French military said Thursday. The military said that the frigate then evacuated more than two dozen crew members from the tanker, which is presently anchored in international waters. The rescue mission in the Red Sea. Operation Aspides photo The French armed forces did not specify who was responsible for the incident, but it follows months of regular attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels on merchant shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden with unmanned systems and missiles and drone boats in assaults like this. The Houthis have not claimed responsibility for the initial or follow-on attack on the tanker. On the latest incident, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, an element of the Royal Navy, said that gunmen in small watercraft opened fire on the Greek-flagged MV Sounion as it was sailing through the Red Sea on Wednesday. The vessel was later struck by several unidentified projectiles. The attack left the Sounion without power and adrift off the coast of Yemen, prompting the French rescue mission. Operation Aspides said on Thursday that the crew was transported to the nearest safe port of call in Djibouti. "The lives of seafarers and freedom on the high seas are nonnegotiable values and their protection is a key objective" of the security mission, Operation Aspides said. The MV Sounion in the Red Sea. French military photo But the European Union warned that the Sounion and the loads of crude oil it's carrying "now represents a navigational and environmental hazard. It is essential that everyone in the area exercises caution and refrains from any actions that could lead to a deterioration of the current situation." The incident appears to be the latest successful attack on a Red Sea vessel. The Houthis have struck a number of merchant ships since they began their campaign last October, even sinking at least two of them. US and European naval forces operating in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden have been tasked with intercepting Houthi missiles and drones, and the American military frequently carries out strikes in Yemen targeting rebel facilities and weapons. US forces destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile and radar system earlier in the week, the Pentagon announced on Wednesday. Read the original article on Business Insider State Superintendent Ryan Walters said Oklahoma student testing data is now 'very different' but claimed his agency isn't responsible. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY Despite calling media reports on the topic fan fiction, Oklahomas top education official acknowledged the states student assessment process changed significantly without any announcement informing the public. State Superintendent Ryan Walters said Thursday that Oklahomas scoring data and annual tests are now very different. He said there has been no public announcement because his administration is busy explaining the new results to school districts. However, several school leaders told Oklahoma Voice they received their test scores from the state Department of Education with no notice that there were material changes to scoring. State test results were released to schools, families and the public this month with the appearance of dramatic improvements in student proficiency. However, public records Oklahoma Voice obtained show the cause of spiking scores was not better school performance, but rather a result of the state lowering the bar for students to receive a proficient score on English and math tests. Had the state not changed its scoring methods, test results would have been similar or slightly lower than student performance in 2023, according to internal data analysis from the state Education Department, which Oklahoma Voice obtained from a source involved in the assessment process. Walters said his administration intends to give clarity to educators and parents. We are actively working with districts through that process, Walters said. You guys havent seen this big announcement from the (state Board of Education). You guys havent seen us walk through it yet because, again, what were trying to do is make sure the districts understand how do you use these (results) with your teachers and training for next year? How do you make sure that the context is there? Leaders of a legislative committee on education funding said the state dropped the ball by failing to announce the scoring change sooner. This left districts shocked and surprised when they saw this years scores, and it puts a false narrative out there, said Rep. Mark McBride, R-Moore, and Rep. Dick Lowe, R-Amber, in a joint statement Thursday. Schools and families received their students test scores this month, and the Education Department posted statewide results on its website for public view. Regardless, Walters denied the state ever released this years test scores. It is an incredible position of the media gaslighting the public on whats happening here, he said. We have not rolled out the test scores yet. So to be attacked on how we rolled out test scores before we roll out test scores, I found (a) really fascinating bit of fan fiction out there. Over the summer, the state Education Department initiated a process, called standard setting, to reset grade-level expectations for student performance on annual English and math exams. The agency did this because requirements for what schools must teach in English and math classes have changed since the last scoring update. Standard setting involves several panels of teachers describing which competencies students should be able to demonstrate on state tests in order to be considered ready for the next grade. The process resulted in new expectations that lowered the performance level needed to get a proficient score, according to public records Oklahoma Voice obtained from the state. As a result, statewide proficiency rates skyrocketed by as much as 33% even while students performed at relatively the same level as the year before, state records and internal data show. Walters claimed the committees that developed the new grade-level expectations had no connection to his agency. But, Education Department officials explained in detail how they oversaw the standard setting process in a July presentation to the Commission for Educational Quality and Accountability, which had to approve the new scoring system. Oklahoma Voice obtained the presentation slides and the new scoring expectations through an open records request. Oklahoma last made a major reset to test scoring in 2017, when it aligned its assessments with national standards. At that time, the state Education Department warned schools and the public that the new scoring system would cause proficiency rates to drop significantly. The agency did so before releasing the scores to the public at large. Thats what the Education Department should have done this time, said McBride, the chairperson of the House education funding committee. Had (the agency) done its job and communicated this process clearly before these scores were released, we would not have this misunderstanding, McBride said. I can only hope they do better in the future. DONATE: SUPPORT NEWS YOU TRUST SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Panama to launch deportation flights to China and India, as well as regional neighbors Panama will deport over 100 people from China, India, Ecuador and Colombia, in a widening crackdown on the number of migrants traveling north through Central America, President Jose Mulino announced on Thursday. The deportation flights are part of Panamas partnership with the US that aims to discourage irregular migration northward a growing phenomenon in recent years. Panama plans to send 70 people to India on September 3, and an unspecified number of Chinese migrants, Mulino said without providing details. Flights carrying dozens of Ecuadorians and Colombians will also depart in the coming days, he said, noting that Ecuadorians represent the second-largest group of migrants in the region, after Venezuelans. Twenty-nine Colombians were already sent back on an earlier flight under the same program. A growing number of US-bound migrants have been crossing into Panama from the Darien Gap, a treacherous rainforest region connecting South and Central America. The Biden administration has been trying to push migrants back from the US southern border by setting up processing centers in Latin America and encouraging neighboring nations to step up border enforcement measures. People arrive at the Reception Center for Migrant Care in Lajas Blancas, in the jungle province of Darien, Panama, on June 28, 2024. - Martin Bernetti/AFP/Getty Images/File So far this year, more than 230,000 people have entered Panama through the Darien. This marks a 30% increase in crossings compared to the same period from January to August 2023, Panamas migration agency chief Roger Mojica said Tuesday. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com RFK Jr. suspended his presidential campaign. What does that mean for the SD ballot? Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a presidential hopeful running on an Independent ticket, told voting Americans he is suspending not terminating his campaign. The Independent candidate made the announcement Friday afternoon at a press conference in Phoenix, Arizona, where he informed reporters and supporters of the decision. I want everyone to know that I'm not terminating my campaign," Kennedy said. "I am simply suspending it and not ending it." Kennedy's specific verbiage regarding the future of his campaign is not expected to have major implications for South Dakota's 2024 General Election ballot, of which he is cemented into all the same. The Kennedy campaign submitted close to 8,000 signatures by the legally inscribed Aug. 6 deadline, and he is currently listed on the South Dakota Secretary of State's 2024 General Election Candidate List as a presidential candidate, alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, former President Donald Trump, and Libertarian nominee Chase Oliver the last of which is still running for the presidency. Kennedy himself said his name will still appear on ballots "in most states," where he successfully submitted his candidacy materials. It appears that is also the case for South Dakota. According to South Dakota Codified Law, nominees must request in writing their withdrawal from nomination by 5 p.m. Aug. 6, which has passed. David Wiltse, an associate professor of political science at South Dakota State University, said Kennedy's impact on who wins South Dakota votes, regardless of whether he's in or out of the race, is "superfluous." "Trump's going to win it," Wiltse said of the South Dakota general election. "There's nothing that's going to happen between now and then that's going to change that eventuality." On a national scale, however, Wiltse wagered that Kennedy's campaign was "probably" hurting Trump more so than Harris or President Joe Biden when he was the presumed nominee. "If you look at the kind of voters that [Kennedy] was appealing to -- you know, the people who have high distrust in political institutions, the kinds who are more likely to buy into some of these conspiracy theories that he was championing -- yeah, you can see how that kind of has more overlap with your typical Trump voter," Wiltse said. "In the end, it's not going to make a bit of difference here in this state, but it is kind of an unknown in some of the closer states." The Argus Leader has reached out to the Secretary of State's Office for clarity on the state's presidential nomination and nomination withdrawal laws. This story will be updated once a response has been provided. This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: RFK Jr. will appear on SD presidential ballot despite pausing campaign U.S. Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart represents District 26, which includes Hialeah west through the Everglades, Everglades City, Lely Resort, Gold Gate, Immokolee and Ave Maria. He was first elected to the House in 2002. A day after a bystander was shot while he attempted to disperse a domestic violence incident, an elected official with Southwest Florida ties identified him as a "true American patriot who selflessly acted as a Good Samaritan." U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, who on Tuesday won the Republican vote in his race to earning his 12th term as a U.S. representative for the 26th District, identified the victim as Manuel Milanes. District 26 includes Hialeah west through the Everglades, Everglades City, Lely Resort, Golden Gate, Immokalee and Ave Maria. "Tia and I are grateful that Manuel is in stable condition," Diaz-Balart wrote in a statement on his Facebook page. "We send all our love and prayers for strength to Manuel, his wife, Kenia, and their two children as he recovers from this traumatic incident." According to Milanes' Spanish-language website, he is an economist, a communicator, a businessman and a philanthropist. Milanes was born in Cuba, where he lived through his teenage years, according to his page. He lived in the Dominican Republic before he eventually moved to the U.S. Elected official arrested: Marco Island City Council Vice Chairman Erik Brechnitz arrested, charged with DUI Hilberto Callejas, 26, faces charges of aggravated battery with a firearm; aggravated assault; shooting into an occupied vehicle; and child abuse, among other charges in the incident. Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk in a Thursday statement identified him as a Hendry County resident, although his local address is withheld from Thursday's arrest affidavit, which says he was born in Naples. Hendry County court records indicate his hometown is Immokalee. Shortly before 9 a.m. Thursday, Rambosk said in a video statement posted to the sheriff's office's Facebook page, sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the Ave Maria community for a domestic violence incident. Rambosk said Callejas crashed his vehicle into a female's vehicle before he exited his car, approached the vehicle and struck the window with a gun, breaking the glass. The report has identified the female victim by the initials M.M. Milanes confronted Callejas, who he shot and struck in the shoulder, the sheriff said. Callejas then fled. Rambosk said detectives identified Callejas' vehicle as it left Ave Maria. Deputies pursued Callejas until "he bailed out of his vehicle" at the intersection of 60th Avenue Northeast and Everglades Boulevard. Callejas then ran into nearby woods, Rambosk said. Aviation, drone and K9 units searched the area. Aviation pilots with the sheriff's office spotted wet footprints across a driveway, and using temperature cameras, they located Callejas in a nearby body of water. "The bystander was taken to the hospital for treatment and is expected to make a full recovery," Rambosk said. A child passenger in the victim's vehicle, struck by flying glass, was treated on scene and is OK, Rambosk said. Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Threads @tomasfrobeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews. This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Ave Maria shooting wounded victim identified as 'true patriot' When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: Anotherhood via Getty Images Mysterious zones in the deep mantle where earthquake waves slow to a crawl may actually be everywhere, new research finds. Scientists already knew that ultra-low velocity zones (ULVZs), hover near hotspots regions of the mantle where hot rock moves upward, forming volcanic island chains such as Hawaii. But mysterious earthquake waves suggest that these features might be widespread. ULVZs, which are located in the lower mantle near the core-mantle boundary, can slow seismic waves by up to 50%. That's remarkable, said Michael Thorne , a geologist and geophysicist at the University of Utah. "Here's one of the most extreme features that we see anywhere inside the planet," Thorne told Live Science. "And we don't know what they are, where they're coming from, what they're made of, [or] what role they play inside the Earth." Thorne wasn't thinking of ULVZs when he launched the new research, published Aug. 10 in the journal AGU Advances . Instead, he was intrigued by another mantle mystery. Very large quakes, like those that occur at subduction zones where one tectonic plate slides under another, release powerful waves. Some of these so-called PKP waves travel through the mantle, the liquid outer core, and then the mantle again on their way to the opposite side of the planet from where they originated. These waves are sometimes preceded by another strange type of wave, called a precursor PKP wave. Precursor PKP waves arrive before the main wave after scattering off mystery features in Earth's lower mantle. To identify these features, Thorne and his colleagues modeled PKP waves traveling through a computer model of Earth's mantle, into which they added areas that changed the waves' velocity. They found predictable patterns in how PKP waves varied in speed. So the team hunted for similar patterns in real earthquake data. The researchers used data from 58 deep earthquakes with magnitudes over 5.8 near New Guinea that occurred between 2008 and 2022. Waves from these quakes traveled through the core and up to North America, where they were recorded by EarthScope, a project that deployed portable seismic monitors across the U.S. between 2003 and 2018. The findings suggested that something was dramatically slowing the earthquake waves to scatter their energy, Thorne said. The two likely candidates were valleys and ridges along the core-mantle boundary where the waves traveled, or ULVZs. The core-mantle boundary under the western Pacific, where the waves passed, is thought to be smooth. But previous research found a large ULVZ under the western Pacific, east of the Philippines, overlapping the area studied. And the researchers also found signatures of ULVZs when they looked elsewhere. The study found smaller patches of what seem to be more ULVZs under North America. And other research has found signs of ULVZs underneath North Africa, East Asia, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Northwest,Thorne said. RELATED STORIES Ancient ocean floor surrounds Earth's core, seismic imaging reveals Weird blobs lurking near Earth's core may have been dragged from the surface Gargantuan waves in Earth's mantle may make continents rise, new study finds Some researchers have theorized that ULVZs might be the remnants of giant impactors from Earth's early stage of meteor bombardment. However, if ULVZs are widespread, it suggests they're being actively generated today, Thorne said. He suspects that these zones may be areas of the volcanic rock basalt, formed at mid-ocean ridges where the seafloor spreads apart. When this mid-ocean basalt eventually gets pulled into the mantle by subduction, it melts easily and could form pockets where seismic waves slow. These pockets could then get pushed around the mantle by other slabs of subducting crust, which poke into Earth's interior like stirring sticks into a smoothie. Better understanding these ULVZs could improve geologists' grasp of volcanic hotspots as well as how the mantle moves. "There are a lot of open questions we don't have answers to yet," Thorne said. TOKYO, Aug 23 (News On Japan) - Drugstores are rapidly expanding across Japan, with the market size reaching over 8.3 trillion yen ($57 billion) in 2023. Introduced to Japan in the 1970s, drugstores initially focused on selling medicine and daily necessities. However, many stores now offer a wide range of products, intensifying competition among companies leveraging their unique strengths. Some chains are emphasizing their private label products, focusing on health-conscious items, while others are capitalizing on the growing interest in men's cosmetics. Additionally, some drugstores have begun to resemble supermarkets, offering fresh produce like meat and vegetables, as well as ready-made dishes. This has broadened the scope of competition beyond the traditional drugstore industry. The number of drugstores across Japan has surged, now totaling around 20,000 outlets. Customers frequently visit these stores not just for medicine, but also for daily necessities, attracted by the competitive prices. In response to the growing competition, drugstores are differentiating themselves through various strategies. A noticeable trend is the increasing emphasis on grocery items, with some chains even offering fresh food. For instance, Welcia Holdings, the top-grossing chain in the industry, has focused on exclusive products under its private brand, "Welcia Class." With around 300 types of health-conscious items, Welcia is leveraging its scale as part of the Aeon Group to capture customer attention. One of its popular items is an exclusive frozen fried rice developed with a famous ramen shop owner in Tokyo. Meanwhile, Matsumotokiyoshi Holdings, the third-largest player in the market, is expanding its cosmetics line, particularly for men, in response to the rising beauty consciousness among male customers. By collaborating with men's cosmetics manufacturer Mandom, Matsumotokiyoshi has successfully attracted new customers. Drugstores have evolved since their introduction in the 1970s, alongside Japan's rapid economic growth. Initially selling only pharmaceuticals and daily necessities, they have now broadened their product range significantly. According to industry experts, the key to increasing sales has been expanding the range of frequently purchased items, such as groceries. For example, Kusuri no Aoki, based in Ishikawa Prefecture, operates stores that resemble supermarkets, with fresh vegetables displayed prominently. The store offers competitively priced fresh produce and ready-made dishes prepared in-house. Kusuri no Aoki's focus on groceries has allowed it to increase sales while maintaining customer interest with affordable prices. As the competition intensifies, drugstores are not just competing within their industry but are also facing challenges from supermarkets and convenience stores. The battle for survival is becoming increasingly fierce, with each chain striving to capture a larger share of the shrinking populations spending. Source: YOMIURI TOKYO, Aug 23 (News On Japan) - Japan's Fair Trade Commission has issued a warning to major food manufacturer Nissin Foods for allegedly pressuring retailers nationwide to raise the selling price of its cup noodles, a potential violation of the Antimonopoly Act. According to the Fair Trade Commission, Nissin Foods raised the prices of five products, including Cup Noodles, in 2022 and 2023. The company then pressured retailers, such as supermarkets across the country, to increase the selling prices and even set prices for special sale promotions. Additionally, Nissins sales representatives visited some stores to check the prices in person. On August 22, the Fair Trade Commission warned Nissin Foods that such actions might constitute "resale price maintenance," which is prohibited under the Antimonopoly Act. Source: ANN Kumamoto, Aug 23 (News On Japan) - A total of 109 people have reported symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea after playing in rivers in Kumamoto Prefecture, prompting the governor to issue an unusual call for residents to avoid these areas. Todoroki Falls, located in Amakusa City, Kumamoto Prefecture, is a popular summer destination, with visitors flocking to enjoy river activities near the 10-meter-high waterfall. Children can be seen swimming joyfully with their float rings, but a troubling situation has emerged. Seven high school students visited the waterfall on August 13. Three days later, all of them sought medical attention for symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea. The number of people reporting similar symptoms continued to rise, reaching 46 on August 20, 69 on August 21, and a staggering 109 by August 22. A 19-year-old student described the experience: : "First, I felt a chill, then I developed a fever. The next day, I started experiencing headaches, stomach pains, diarrhea, and vomiting." The symptoms began two days after visiting the river, and the student's friend, who accompanied them, also developed a fever and gastroenteritis. The student continued: "It was tough. Standing was difficult, so I had to lie down all day. My stomach hurt, and I kept running to the bathroom all day long." On August 22, Governor Kimura of Kumamoto Prefecture made an unusual public appeal: "We urge people to refrain from swimming or playing in the waters around the waterfall. If you experience any symptoms or feel anxious, please contact the health department immediately." Given that over 100 people have reported feeling unwell, experts suggest that the cause may be a highly infectious virus or bacteria that flowed into the water. Dr. Hiroaki Ito, Director of Ito Oji Kamiyacho Clinic: "Possible causes include norovirus and leptospirosis, a bacterial infection often transmitted through the excretions of rodents like sewer rats." Dr. Ito explained that it's possible to become infected even without entering the river -- simply being exposed to water spray could lead to infection. Dr. Ito continued: "For example, if the river water splashes onto the surface of your eye, the virus in the water can be absorbed into the body through the fluid on the eye's surface, eventually causing symptoms like diarrhea, stomach pain, vomiting, and fever." Source: ANN TOKYO, Aug 24 (News On Japan) - A Ferrari, seized from a tax delinquent, has been listed in an online auction of assets by the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau. The Ferrari, distinguished by its sleek, bright red body, is an Italian luxury car that the Tokyo Tax Office seized from an individual who failed to pay taxes. The car has been put up for sale through an internet auction. The starting bid for the Ferrari is 56.8 million yen ($392,000), marking the highest amount ever listed for a seized asset, excluding real estate. Other luxury items up for auction include a high-end wristwatch priced at 24.1 million yen and a popular whiskey starting at 560,000 yen. Applications to participate in the auction are open until 5 p.m. on August 23rd, with bidding scheduled to begin in early next month. Source: FNN TOKYO, Aug 24 (News On Japan) - A primary school in Tokyo's Toshima Ward issued an urgent appeal to parents on its website during the summer vacation, stating, 'As of August 31, we expect three vacancies due to teachers resigning.' The message continued, asking parents to 'please introduce any acquaintances with teaching licenses.' The school, which had already faced a shortage of teachers in the first semester, had its vice principal temporarily take over as the homeroom teacher for the second-year second class. Despite requests for additional teachers to the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education, the situation did not improve. As the second semester approaches, the school has resorted to asking parents for help in finding teachers. One parent shared, "My son couldn't attend art class because there weren't enough teachers. Additionally, teachers who usually handle specialized subjects have had to take on homeroom duties." According to the Toshima Ward Board of Education, many elementary schools within the ward have requested additional teachers, but the board has not been able to meet all the demands. The teacher shortage continues to trouble elementary schools. The program "It!" visited an elementary school in Hachioji City to investigate the current situation. During the summer vacation, the staff room of this school was filled with teachers. In 2023, one of the teachers at this school fell ill and had to take a three-month leave. However, no replacement teacher could be found, so the vice principal had to step in as a homeroom teacher. This situation is reportedly common in other schools as well. The principal of Atago Elementary School in Hachioji City explained, "We exchange information via email among the management of each school to share updates on personnel needs. We work together to ensure that no school faces difficulties." Education critic Naoki Ogi commented on the emergency appeal to parents, saying, "I understand the sense of being cornered. However, if other schools also start doing this, it could cause anxiety among parents. Children might also become worried, thinking 'Is our school in such a state?' This is something that the Ministry of Education or the government should address, not something left to each school principal." The Toshima Ward elementary school that had posted the appeal for teacher referrals on its website has since removed the notice. Source: FNN ATAMI, Aug 24 (News On Japan) - Several individuals were spotted by a news trespassing into a luxurious mansion on Friday, raising questions about the state of the 'legendary ruins' once owned by a real estate tycoon. A video posted on X on August 11 shows the interior of the grand villa, perched on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean, now in a state of disrepair, with numerous graffiti marks scrawled across the walls. A man, presumed to be an intruder, can be seen standing in the living room with broken windows, gazing out at the sea. The video, seemingly shot by someone who unlawfully entered the ruins, shows the person brazenly exposing his face, sitting comfortably on a sofa, and even making a peace sign. Recently, illegal entries into this abandoned mansion have become rampant, with many uploading videos of their escapades to social media. The mansion was once owned by Genjiro Kawamoto, 91, who operated the Marunouchi Building in Tokyo's Ginza district, among other rental properties. Kawamoto, who was known as a real estate tycoon with a total asset of 130 billion yen at one time, was arrested in 2013 for a massive tax evasion case and sentenced to prison. He passed away in February 2024, after being released. Why has this mansion, now in ruins, become a hotspot for trespassing? According to Toru Kurihara, an expert on abandoned buildings, The reason for sneaking in and filming is likely to increase views on social media. During the interview on the 23rd, the news team encountered yet another group of trespassers. This time, it appeared to be a group of women taking selfies inside the mansion. When asked why they came to the site, one of the intruders responded, If you search for 'Atami' on social media, this place pops up. Since it's no longer owned by anyone, I didn't think it would be a big deal. However, the increasing number of intrusions has led to significant damage. According to Kurihara, there have been cases where intruders have destroyed furnishings. In a video posted by a foreign ruins YouTuber about five years ago, the mansion's interior was still intact, with no graffiti or damage to the objects. However, as the location gained popularity on social media, the number of trespassers surged, leaving the mansion in a state of complete disrepair. What legal consequences do these trespassers face? Takashi Matsukuma, a lawyer at Hashimoto Sogo Law Firm, explains: "The primary charge would be unauthorized entry into a building, which could result in up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 100,000 yen. If any items inside are damaged, it could also constitute property damage." Source: FNN OSAKA, Aug 24 (News On Japan) - In Osakas bustling Dotonbori district, the traditional summer drink known as "Hiyashi Ame" is gaining attention from an increasing number of foreign tourists. Hiyashi Ame is made by simmering sugar, mizuame (a kind of sweet syrup), and ginger juice for 50 minutes over low heat, then diluting the mixture with cold water. This refreshing beverage is particularly popular in Osaka and Kyoto but remains relatively unknown in other parts of Japan. In a survey conducted with local TV station announcers across the country, most respondents admitted they were unfamiliar with it. Research into its historical background reveals that it has been sold as "Ameyu" in Shinsaibashi since the Edo period. It became more widespread among the general public during the Meiji and Taisho eras. Despite shortages during wartime and food scarcity in the post-war period, Hiyashi Ame managed to survive, primarily in the Osaka area. Now, Hiyashi Ame is so well-loved in Osaka that it is even sold in vending machines. Its rising popularity among foreign tourists suggests that it might have the potential to be introduced internationally. As a beverage that represents Osakas culinary culture, Hiyashi Ame is enjoying renewed interest, bolstered by the growing demand from inbound tourists. Source: Television OSAKA NEWS In the ever-evolving landscape of mental health treatment, brain stimulation therapy has emerged as a beacon of hope for many. As traditional approaches like medication and psychotherapy dont always provide sufficient relief, patients and clinicians alike are turning to these innovative techniques. This comprehensive guide aims to demystify brain stimulation therapy, exploring its applications, benefits, and potential risks. What is Brain Stimulation Therapy? At its core, brain stimulation therapy is a method of influencing neural activity to alleviate symptoms of mental health disorders. But what is brain stimulation therapy exactly? It encompasses a range of techniques that use electrical or magnetic stimulation to modulate brain activity. A concise brain stimulation therapy definition might be: non-invasive or minimally invasive techniques that use electrical or magnetic fields to alter brain function for therapeutic purposes. There are several types of brain stimulation therapy, each with its unique approach: Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS): Uses magnetic fields to stimulate specific areas of the brain. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS): Involves surgically implanting electrodes in specific brain areas. Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT): Induces brief electrical stimulation of the brain under anesthesia. Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS): Stimulates the vagus nerve to influence brain activity. While these methods differ in their approach, they all share the common goal of altering brain function to improve mental health. The Science Behind Brain Stimulation Therapy To understand how brain stimulation therapy works, its helpful to have a basic grasp of brain function. Our brains consist of billions of neurons that communicate through electrical and chemical signals. In many mental health disorders, these communication patterns become disrupted. Brain stimulation therapy aims to restore or modulate these neural communication patterns. For instance: TMS uses magnetic fields to induce small electrical currents in specific brain regions, potentially normalizing activity in areas associated with mood regulation. DBS provides continuous electrical stimulation to targeted brain areas, which can help regulate abnormal neural circuits. ECT induces a brief seizure, which can rapidly alter brain chemistry and connectivity. The exact mechanisms are still being studied, but these therapies likely work by influencing neurotransmitter release, promoting neuroplasticity, and modulating brain network connectivity. Brain Stimulation Therapy for Depression One of the most well-researched applications of brain stimulation therapy is in the treatment of depression. Brain stimulation therapy for depression, particularly TMS, has shown promising results in numerous clinical studies. Research indicates that: Approximately 50-60% of patients with treatment-resistant depression experience significant improvement with TMS. About 30-35% of patients achieve full remission of depressive symptoms. Many patients maintain improvements for months or even years after treatment, sometimes with occasional maintenance sessions. These findings are particularly encouraging for individuals who havent responded well to traditional treatments like antidepressants or psychotherapy. A typical course of TMS for depression involves: Daily sessions (5 days a week) for 4-6 weeks Each session lasts about 20-40 minutes No need for anesthesia or downtime after treatment Compared to medications, TMS often has fewer side effects and can be effective for those who havent responded to multiple antidepressants. Safety Considerations in Brain Stimulation Therapy When considering any new treatment, safety is paramount. The brain stimulation therapy definition often raises concerns about potential risks to brain function. However, extensive research has shown that many forms of brain stimulation therapy, particularly TMS, have a favorable safety profile. Key safety points include: TMS is generally well-tolerated, with the most common side effects being mild headache or scalp discomfort. The risk of seizures with TMS is very low, estimated at less than 0.1%. More invasive techniques like DBS carry additional risks due to the surgical procedure involved. Modern ECT techniques have significantly reduced side effects compared to older methods. Its important to note that all medical procedures carry some level of risk. The potential benefits of brain stimulation therapy often outweigh these risks for many patients, especially those who havent found relief through other treatments. Brain Stimulation Therapy for Anxiety While depression has been the primary focus of research, theres growing interest in brain stimulation therapy for anxiety. Early studies suggest that TMS may be beneficial for various anxiety disorders, including: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) Panic Disorder Social Anxiety Disorder Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) A 2019 meta-analysis published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research found that TMS showed promise in reducing symptoms across various anxiety disorders. While more research is needed, these preliminary findings offer hope for individuals struggling with anxiety who havent found relief through traditional treatments. The Patient Experience: What to Expect For those considering brain stimulation therapy, understanding what to expect can help alleviate concerns. The experience can vary depending on the specific type of therapy, but lets consider TMS as an example: Initial Consultation: A thorough evaluation to determine if TMS is appropriate. Treatment Mapping: The clinician identifies the exact area of the brain to target. Treatment Sessions: Typically daily sessions for 4-6 weeks, each lasting about 20-40 minutes. During Treatment: Patients remain awake and seated, experiencing a tapping sensation on the scalp. After Treatment: Most individuals can immediately return to their daily activities. Follow-up: Regular check-ins to assess progress and adjust treatment if necessary. Its important to note that while some patients experience rapid improvement, others may not notice changes for several weeks. Patience and open communication with your healthcare provider are key. Comparing Brain Stimulation Therapy to Traditional Treatments When evaluating brain stimulation therapy, its helpful to compare it to more traditional treatments: Medication: Brain Stimulation: Fewer systemic side effects, can work when medications have failed Medication: More convenient, doesnt require regular clinic visits Psychotherapy: Brain Stimulation: Can work faster for some individuals, doesnt require extensive time commitment Psychotherapy: Provides coping skills, addresses underlying issues Combination Approaches: Many clinicians find that combining brain stimulation therapy with medication or psychotherapy can yield the best results for some patients. Future Directions in Brain Stimulation Therapy The field of brain stimulation therapy is rapidly evolving. Ongoing research is exploring: More precise targeting of brain regions using advanced neuroimaging techniques Personalized treatment protocols based on individual brain patterns Potential applications for other conditions, such as chronic pain, addiction, or neurodegenerative disorders Development of home-use devices for certain therapies, potentially improving accessibility These advancements could significantly expand the accessibility and efficacy of brain stimulation therapies in the coming years. Making an Informed Decision If youre considering brain stimulation therapy, its crucial to make an informed decision. Here are some steps to take: Consult with a qualified mental health professional to discuss your symptoms and treatment history. Learn about different types of brain stimulation therapy and which might be most suitable for your condition. Consider the time commitment required for treatment. Discuss potential risks and benefits with your healthcare provider. Check your insurance coverage, as policies regarding brain stimulation therapy can vary. Set realistic expectations about what treatment can achieve. Remember, brain stimulation therapy is typically part of a comprehensive treatment plan, often used in conjunction with other therapies or lifestyle changes. Conclusion: A Promising Frontier in Mental Health Treatment Brain stimulation therapy represents a significant advancement in the treatment of mental health disorders. While its not a panacea, it offers new hope for many individuals who havent found relief through traditional treatments. As research continues and technology advances, brain stimulation therapy is likely to play an increasingly important role in mental health care. By offering new possibilities for treatment and recovery, these innovative therapies are helping to shape a future where more effective, personalized mental health care is available to those who need it most. Remember, seeking help for mental health concerns is a sign of strength, not weakness. Whether through brain stimulation therapy or other treatments, there are more options than ever for managing mental health conditions and improving quality of life. Dont hesitate to reach out to a healthcare provider to discuss whether brain stimulation therapy might be right for you. The journey to better mental health can be challenging, but with advances like brain stimulation therapy, theres more reason than ever to be hopeful. Your brain is resilient, and with the right treatment, positive change is possible. By Ikenna Ngere Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun will be sworn in as the 23rd Chief Justice of Nigeria by President Bola Tinubu today, August 23, 2024, at the State House Council Chambers in Abuja. Naija News reports that Justice Kekere-Ekun would become the successor to Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, who retired from service on Thursday, August 22, after attaining the mandatory retirement age of seventy years Early Life and Background Hon. Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, one of Nigerias distinguished jurists, was born on May 7, 1958, in London, United Kingdom. Her parents, both natives of Lagos State, Nigeria, instilled in her a strong sense of heritage and values. Justice Kekere-Ekun is the eldest of eleven siblings, born to a diverse and influential family. Her father, the late Senator H.A.B. Fasinro, was a devout Muslim with a rich lineage connected to three royal families in Lagos. Her mother, Mrs. Winifred Layiwola Ogundimu (nee Savage), a devout Christian and a qualified Public Health Nurse, also hails from a prominent Lagos family. Educational Journey Justice Kekere-Ekuns educational path was marked by excellence from an early age. She attended private primary schools before moving on to Queens College, Lagos, in 1970. Her passion for law led her to the University of Lagos (UNILAG), where she studied from 1977 to 1980. She proceeded to the Nigerian Law School, where she was called to the Bar in July 1981. Demonstrating her commitment to continuous learning, she later earned a masters degree in law from the prestigious London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in 1983. Judicial Career Justice Kekere-Ekun began her illustrious judicial career as a Senior Magistrate Grade II in Lagos in December 1989. Her dedication and expertise quickly propelled her through the ranks, and by July 19, 1996, she was appointed as a Judge of the High Court of Lagos State. Her judicial acumen was further recognized with her elevation to the Court of Appeal in September 2004, where she served in five different Divisions across Nigeria. Notably, she was the pioneer Presiding Justice of the Makurdi Division and later the Presiding Justice of the Akure Division. Elevation to the Supreme Court On July 8, 2013, Justice Kekere-Ekun was appointed as a Justice of the Supreme Court, making her the fifth and youngest female to hold this esteemed position. Her contributions to the judiciary extend beyond her court rulings. She is a member of the Supreme Court Rules Committee and the Chairman of the Supervisory Committee of the Litigation Department of the Court. Her leadership roles have also included serving as Chairman of the Robbery and Firearms Tribunal, Zone II, Ikeja, Lagos, from November 1996 until the tribunals dissolution in May 1999. Professional Affiliations and Contributions Justice Kekere-Ekuns influence and involvement in the legal community are extensive. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the National Association of Women Judges, the International Association of Women Judges, and the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, where she is a Fellow. She has also been honored as a Life Bencher by the Body of Benchers since February 8, 2018. Beyond her professional commitments, she is a member of the Ikoyi Club 1938, reflecting her engagement in social and cultural activities. Personal Life Justice K.M.O. Kekere-Ekun has been married to Mr. Akin Kekere-Ekun since December 1983. The couple has three children, all of whom have pursued higher education and are excelling in their respective fields. Despite her demanding career, she has maintained a strong family life, embodying the values of dedication, discipline, and excellence both professionally and personally. By Kachi Ekile Members of the public have been warned by the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) over the rising water levels of the River Niger as of August 22, 2024. The warning comes on the heels of a report from the Niger Basin Authority in Niamey, Niger Republic showing that upstream activities in Niger and Mali led to the rising water levels. Speaking in a statement on Friday, the Director General of NIHSA, Umar Mohammed shared, Flood waters from these two countries are expected to move gradually into Nigeria through Kebbi State. Mohammed also revealed that dam operators at Kainji and Jebba on the River Niger have been informed and are ready to manage the situation. It is important to note that as at August 22, 2024, the dams are not spilling water from their reservoirs, he added. States and communities along the River Niger system have been advised by NIHSA to be on high alert due to the anticipation of flood waters as they are expected to peak towards the end of August and into September. NIHSA assured that it would continue to monitor the flood situation in the country and give timely updates to the general public. On August 22, the Tunisian judiciary ordered the release of opposition politician Safi Said. Said, a former candidate in the 2014 and 2019 presidential elections who withdrew from this years race, had been arrested on August 20 for illegally crossing the border into Algeria. The 70-year-old writer and critic of the current Tunisian president was previously sentenced to four months in prison last June for forgery and fraud. He was apprehended by Algerian security before being handed over to Tunisian authorities. On August 21, the court in Kasserine had ordered Saids detention for crossing the border illegally. However, on August 22, the same court released him without providing further details. Said had withdrawn from the presidential race after his application was rejected by the Independent Higher Electoral Body (ISIE), led by a close associate of the Tunisian president. He cited unequal opportunities and major obstacles in the electoral process. Human Rights Watch reported on August 20 that several potential presidential candidates, including Said, had been prosecuted or imprisoned, effectively barring them from running. Since President Kais Saieds power grab on July 25, 2021, which consolidated his control, the number of candidates for the October 7 presidential election has dwindled to just two.. We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website. You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings . On August 22, 2024, a Cairo criminal appeal court acquitted an Uber driver of attempting to kidnap 24-year-old Habiba Al-Shamaa, who tragically died after jumping from his moving vehicle. However, the driver was sentenced to five years in prison for drug possession and use. This decision can be appealed, with the Court of Cassation holding final authority on such cases. The new sentence is a reduction from the previous April ruling, which had sentenced the driver to 15 years in prison, a fine of LE 50,000, and revoked his drivers license. Habiba, who suffered a brain hemorrhage from the fall, died on March 14 after spending three weeks in a coma. The incident, which occurred on the Cairo-Suez Road, drew significant public outcry over safety concerns with ride-hailing services in Egypt. After Habibas death, her mother revealed that President Abdelfattah El-Sisi had personally followed her daughters condition. The driver faced charges of attempted kidnapping, drug possession, and driving under the influence. An eyewitness reported that Habiba claimed the driver wanted to kidnap her before she lost consciousness. The driver fled the scene without checking on Habiba, which further damaged his public image. He later told police he left to avoid trouble. Habibas mother filed a complaint accusing the driver of kidnapping and injuring her daughter. Although Uber had previously terminated the drivers account due to customer complaints, he was found to have continued working under a false ID. In a discovery that has sent shockwaves through the gemstone world, a massive 2,492-carat diamond has been unearthed in Botswana, potentially claiming the title of the second-largest gem-quality diamond ever found. This extraordinary find has not only captivated diamond enthusiasts but also highlighted Botswanas growing prominence in the global diamond industry. The gem, recovered from the Karowe mine by Canadian company Lucara Diamond Corp, is being hailed as an exceptional stone. Its sheer size and quality have drawn comparisons to legendary diamonds of the past, including the famed Cullinan diamond discovered in South Africa over a century ago. While the ultimate value and potential of this colossal gem remain shrouded in mystery, its discovery has already sparked excitement and speculation. Lucaras president expressed ecstasy over the find, underscoring its significance not just for the company, but for Botswana as well. This latest discovery continues a trend of increasingly impressive finds at the Karowe mine, which has produced several headline-making diamonds in recent years. As Botswana seeks to strengthen its position in the diamond industry, finds like these serve to underscore the countrys mineral wealth and potential. The stones unveiling promises to be a moment of national pride, with Botswanas president set to be among the first to view this geological marvel. As the world watches in anticipation, one thing is clear: this diamond is not just a precious stone, but a symbol of Botswanas growing influence in the glittering world of gems. Sahel Nations demand UN action on alleged Ukrainian interference In a bold diplomatic move, three West African nations have called upon the United Nations Security Council to address what they claim is Ukraines support for terrorism in the Sahel region. Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger have united in their demand for international intervention to prevent foreign meddling in their affairs. In a joint letter to the president of the UNSC, the foreign ministers of the three members of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) cited remarks by Ukrainian officials following the assault in late July as proof of Kievs support for terrorism in Africa. In their appeal to the UN, the foreign ministers of the Alliance of Sahel States have emphasized the urgent need for action to prevent what they see as subversive activities threatening their nations security. They argue that such interference not only undermines their sovereignty but also contributes to the spread of terrorism across the Sahel. We call on the Security Council to take appropriate measures against these subversive actions which strengthen terrorist groups in Africa and constitute a manifestation of the involvement of foreign state sponsors in the expansion of terrorism in the region, the ministers wrote. The controversy erupted following comments made by a Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson, who suggested that Kyiv had provided crucial information to Malian rebels for last months attack. While these remarks were later retracted, theyve ignited a firestorm of speculation and concern across the Sahel. At the heart of the matter lies the rebel assault in northeastern Mali, where separatist forces claimed significant victories against government troops and Russian mercenaries. The suggestion of Ukrainian involvement has raised alarm bells throughout the region, with leaders fearing the potential for further destabilization. As tensions rise, all eyes now turn to the Security Council. With its mandate to maintain international peace and security, the world waits to see how this influential body will respond to these serious allegations and the potential ramifications for global diplomacy. Photo: Mark Peterson/Redux for New York Magazine The protesters demonstrating outside a pro-Israel party on Wednesday didnt number more than a half-dozen and their shouts about how Democrats gathering here in Chicago for their convention were culpable for Palestinian deaths in Gaza could not be heard inside. Instead, Democrats proclaimed in speech after speech their support for Israel, and at least one panned those very same protesters. Weve got to make sure that the Democratic Party is a pro-Israel party. How do we do that? First, we win elections. The other side cant win elections. Thats why theyre blocking traffic, said Representative Brad Sherman of California at a packed event for Democratic Majority for Israel. Joining him were more than two dozen other Democratic members of Congress, Mayor Eric Adams, Kentucky governor Andy Beshear, and Maryland senator Ben Cardin. Meanwhile, the movement representing Palestinians was struggling to get even one of its members a spot onstage. For months, grave predictions swirled that protesters would turn Chicago into a redux of 1968 with battles in the streets and inside the convention hall over a divisive war. That has not happened. Though there are plenty of delegates wearing pro-Palestinian T-shirts and keffiyehs, the most disruption the convention has seen was a sit-in staged by Uncommitted delegates demanding speaking time. Mark Mellman, the founder of Democratic Majority for Israel, was ready to declare victory before the convention was over. I think the protests get outsize media attention, he said from the lobby of his Lakeshore hotel, just about to board a shuttle to take guests to the United Center. The protesters said they were expecting 40,000 people, and its only 4,000, so fewer than 10 percent of what they were predicting. One outlet did a piece talking about how Kamala Harris was under siege from protesters on this issue. What siege? A pollster and longtime Democratic insider, Mellman started his pro-Israel group in 2019, a year after the rise of the Squad, whose members were to the left of the party on Israel. This year, DMFI spent heavily to knock off two members of the Squad, Cori Bush and Jamaal Bowman. The group also helped Yassamin Ansari, an Iranian American city councilwoman from Phoenix, eke out a 39-vote victory in a Democratic primary for Ruben Gallegos open seat. (Ansari was viewed as more supportive of Israel than her opponent.) DMFI boasts its won every race it got involved in, which explains why its event in Chicago was so crowded with Democratic politicians. There are two prime imperatives for politicians, Mellman said. They want to do what they think is right, and they want to get elected and reelected. We indicate to people why being pro-Israel is the morally, ethically right thing to be doing, and why it is the electorally successful thing to be doing. Being anti-Israel is dumb politics. But more broadly, people dont want candidates that are divisive and extreme. They want candidates who will bring people together to produce progressive results. He could have been speaking about Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. In one of the buzziest moments of the convention, she used her prime-time speaking slot to praise Kamala Harris for working tirelessly to secure a ceasefire in Gaza and bring the hostages home, a line that The Nation said represented a betrayal of the Gaza movement. Uncommitted delegates who represent that movement say the Biden administrations support for Israel will hurt the party in November unless there is a drastic course correction. Mellman dismissed such warnings. In Michigan, he said only one percent of the electorate is Muslim, while 2 percent is Jewish. Its unfortunate that this has to be reduced to religious categories, and they are both small numbers, but one is twice as big as the other, Mellman said, before citing similar ratios in Pennsylvania and Nevada. (Of course, peoples opinions about Israel and the war cannot be so certainly divided along demographic lines.) He also doesnt believe the voters who say they are going to vote for Donald Trump or sit the election out. Theyre going to vote for somebody who instituted a Muslim ban when he was president and has promised to remove Palestinians from the country if he becomes president? They say they may not vote for him, but theyll stay home. Okay, well, the closer we get to this election, the clearer its going to be to people that if you would otherwise vote for Harris and are staying home, then youre voting for Trump. So that gets less and less attractive the closer we get to the election. Though Mellman may try to portray the other side as puny, they in turn say the hype around him is inflated, that a majority of Democrats and Americans are horrified by the war in Gaza, and that Democratic Majority for Israel only exists because there isnt really one see the Uncommitted delegates. They also point out that when Mellman designs messaging to go after progressives, he doesnt mention Israel at all but instead focuses on bread-and-butter issues, which may be politically successful but doesnt bode well for his project. We should be careful to think of people with hundreds of millions of dollars in donations from right-wing billionaires as some kind of genius political strategist, said Usamah Andrabi, a spokesman for Justice Democrats. He can take his victory lap, but our country and our party is worse off because he made these the most expensive primaries in history. Andrabi said DMFIs win-loss record is less impressive than it sounds, since pro-Israel groups unsuccessfully tried to find candidates to run against other Squad members. On Thursday, the tension between both sides spilled into a more public forum over whether an Uncommitted delegate would be allowed to address the convention from the stage. Ocasio-Cortez was one of a small number of Democrats, not all of them left wing, who called on the DNC to relent. It didnt happen. When Mellman boarded the shuttle bus to the convention, police had cleared the roads of both traffic and protesters who had slowed the buses on the first day. Within his view was a car that had painted on its side Stop the genocide! Dems Lie, People Die! Kamala Harris rose to the occasion with a perfect nominating acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Ive never seen a nominee target their political objectives so precisely. The text was ideally suited to the electoral challenge she faces, and her delivery exuded strength and inspiration. I have not hesitated to criticize either the substantive merits or the political shrewdness of Harriss choices. I could find nothing to criticize in this speech. Harris entered the convention tied, or perhaps ever-so-slightly ahead. But she faces serious challenges. Many undecided voters know little about her, or worry she is too liberal. Every word of the speech was aimed directly at resolving those concerns. Harris told a story of herself in her biography as the striving child of strict immigrant parents growing up in a working-class neighborhood. She explained her inspiration to become a prosecutor as a desire to protect, growing from seeing a friend confide to her that she was being sexually abused at home. Then she recounted her history as a prosecutor, where she fought big banks and the cartels who traffic in drugs and guns and human beings, who threaten the security of our border and the safety of our communities. Harris explicitly promised to represent Republicans as well as Democrats. I know there are people of various political views watching tonight, she said, And I want you to know: I promise to be a President for all Americans. That may seem like easy rhetoric, but it stands in contrast to Trumps naked partisanship as president, routinely and openly favoring politicians and areas that supported him. More significantly, Harris relentlessly depicted herself as the sane, moderate candidate in the race. She labeled herself a candidate who is realistic, practical, and has common sense. Her issue focus reflected that idea. Harris emphasized popular elements of her program: protecting abortion rights and promising to sign into law the border bill negotiated with conservative Republicans. Harris labeled her economic goal an opportunity economy where everyone has a chance to compete and a chance to succeed. The notion of opportunity, with its implication that people should control their own economic destiny, has long been a conservative one. Harris stole it. In addition to the obvious call to defend Medicare and Social Security, Harris promised, I will bring together labor and workers, small-business owners and entrepreneurs, and American companies. That, again, is a pointed identifier of herself with moderation. Her attacks on Trump were well targeted. She cited his plans to raises taxes on all Americans through a tariff and to eliminate the Department of Education two of Trumps most politically toxic notions. Harriss case on foreign affairs was designed to authenticate her as a commander-in-chief for voters who might not automatically envision a woman in that role. (Several segments preceding the speech, featuring veterans and national security specialists like Leon Panetta, advanced the same goal.) Harriss delivery enhanced the message. She was forceful and confident. She sounded like a nominee who believes she is going to win and who is designing a campaign focused relentlessly on that goal. The floundering incipient candidate of 2019, trying desperately to please progressive activists with social-justice lingo, could not be a more distant memory now. Harris is in this to win this. And I believe she will. Kamala Harris formally accepts the Democratic nomination in Chicago. Photo: David Paul Morris, Bloomberg /Getty Images On Thursday, Vice-President Kamala Harris accepted her partys nomination for president on the final night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Following her speech, Harriss campaign released her prepared remarks, which touched upon her childhood and how she got started in her legal career. Read those excerpts below: Good evening. To my husband, Doug, thank you for being an incredible partner to me and father to Cole and Ella. And happy anniversary. I love you so very much. To Joe Biden Mr. President. When I think about the path we have traveled together, I am filled with gratitude. Your record is extraordinary, as history will show. And your character is inspiring. Doug and I love you and Jill. And I am forever thankful to you both. And to Coach Tim Walz, you are going to be an incredible vice-president. And to the delegates and everyone who has put your faith in our campaign your support is humbling. America, the path that led me here in recent weeks, was no doubt unexpected. But Im no stranger to unlikely journeys. My mother, Shyamala Harris, had one of her own. I miss her every day. Especially now. And I know shes looking down tonight. And smiling. My mother was 19 when she crossed the world alone, traveling from India to California, with an unshakeable dream to be the scientist who would cure breast cancer. When she finished school, she was supposed to return home to a traditional arranged marriage. But, as fate would have it, she met my father, Donald Harris, a student from Jamaica. They fell in love and got married, and that act of self-determination made my sister Maya and me. Growing up, we moved a lot. I will always remember that big Mayflower truck, packed with all our belongings, ready to go: to Illinois, to Wisconsin, and wherever our parents jobs took us. My early memories of my parents together are joyful ones. A home filled with laughter and music. Aretha. Coltrane. And Miles. At the park, my mother would tell us to stay close. But my father would just smile, and say, Run, Kamala. Run. Dont be afraid. Dont let anything stop you. From my earliest years, he taught me to be fearless. But the harmony between my parents did not last. When I was in elementary school, they split up. And it was mostly my mother who raised us. Before she could finally afford to buy a home, she rented a small apartment in the East Bay. In the Bay, you either live in the hills or the flatlands. We lived in the flats. A beautiful working-class neighborhood of firefighters, nurses, and construction workers, all who tended their lawns with pride. My mother worked long hours. And, like many working parents, she leaned on a trusted circle to help raise us. Mrs. Shelton, who ran the day care below us and became a second mother. Uncle Sherman. Aunt Mary. Uncle Freddy. And Auntie Chris. None of them family by blood. And all of them, family. By love. Family who taught us how to make gumbo. How to play chess. And sometimes even let us win. Family who loved us. Believed in us. And told us we could be anything. Do anything. They instilled in us the values they personified. Community. Faith. And the importance of treating others as you would want to be treated. With kindness. Respect. And compassion. My mother was a brilliant, five-foot-tall brown woman with an accent. And, as the eldest child, I saw how the world would sometimes treat her. But she never lost her cool. She was tough. Courageous. A trailblazer in the fight for womens health. And she taught Maya and me a lesson that Michelle mentioned the other night she taught us to never complain about injustice. But do something about it. She also taught us never do anything half-assed. Thats a direct quote. I grew up immersed in the ideals of the civil-rights movement. My parents had met at a civil-rights gathering. And they made sure we learned about civil-rights leaders, including lawyers like Thurgood Marshall and Constance Baker Motley. Those who battled in the courtroom to make real the Promise of America. So, at a young age, I decided I wanted to do that work. I wanted to be a lawyer. And when it came time to choose the type of law I would pursue I reflected on a pivotal moment in my life. When I was in high school, I started to notice something about my best friend Wanda. She was sad at school. And there were times she didnt want to go home. So, one day, I asked if everything was alright. And she confided in me that she was being sexually abused by her step-father. And I immediately told her she had to come stay with us. And she did. That is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor. To protect people like Wanda. Because I believe everyone has a right: to safety. To dignity. And to justice. As a prosecutor, when I had a case, I charged it not in the name of the victim. But in the name of the People. For a simple reason. In our system of justice, a harm against any one of us is a harm against all of us. I would often explain this, to console survivors of crime. To remind them: No one should be made to fight alone. We are all in this together. Every day in the courtroom, I stood proudly before a judge and said five words: Kamala Harris, for the People. And to be clear: My entire career, I have only had one client. The People. And so, on behalf of the People, on behalf of every American. Regardless of party. Race. Gender. Or the language your grandmother speaks. On behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey. On behalf of Americans like the people I grew up with. People who work hard. Chase their dreams. And look out for one another. On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth. I accept your nomination for president of the United States of America. With this election, our nation has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past. A chance to chart a New Way Forward. Not as members of any one party or faction. But as Americans. I know there are people of various political views watching tonight. And I want you to know: I promise to be a president for all Americans. You can always trust me to put country above party and self. To hold sacred Americas fundamental principles. From the rule of law. To free and fair elections. To the peaceful transfer of power. I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations. A president who leads. And listens. Who is realistic. Practical. And has common sense. And always fights for the American people. From the courthouse to the White House, that has been my lifes work. As a young courtroom prosecutor in Oakland, I stood up for women and children against predators who abused them. As attorney general of California, I took on the big banks. Delivered $20 billion for middle-class families who faced foreclosure. And helped pass a Homeowner Bill of Rights one of the first of its kind. I stood up: for veterans and students being scammed by big for-profit colleges. For workers who were being cheated out of the wages they were due. For seniors facing elder abuse. I fought against cartels who traffic in guns, drugs, and human beings. Who threaten the security of our border and the safety of our communities. Those fights were not easy. And neither were the elections that put me in those offices. We were underestimated at every turn. But we never gave up. Because the future is always worth fighting for. And thats the fight we are in right now. A fight for Americas future. Fellow Americans, this election is not only the most important of our lives. It is one of the most important in the life of our nation. In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious. Consider not only the chaos and calamity when he was in office, but also the gravity of what has happened since he lost the last election. Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes. When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol, where they assaulted law enforcement officers. When politicians in his own party begged him to call off the mob and send help, he did the opposite. He fanned the flames. And now, for an entirely different set of crimes, he was found guilty of fraud by a jury of everyday Americans. And separately, found liable for committing sexual abuse. And consider what he intends to do if we give him power again. Consider his explicit intent to set free the violent extremists who assaulted those law enforcement officers at the Capitol. His explicit intent to jail journalists. Political opponents. Anyone he sees as the enemy. His explicit intent to deploy our active-duty military against our own citizens. Consider the power he will have especially after the United States Supreme Court just ruled he would be immune from criminal prosecution. Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails. How he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States. Not to improve your life. Not to strengthen our national security. But to serve the only client he has ever had: himself. And we know what a second Trump term would look like. Its all laid out in Project 2025. Written by his closest advisers. And its sum total is to pull our country back into the past. But America, we are not going back. We are not going back to when Donald Trump tried to cut Social Security and Medicare. We are not going back to when he tried to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. When insurance companies could deny people with pre-existing conditions. We are not going to let him eliminate the Department of Education that funds our public schools. We are not going to let him end programs like Head Start that provide preschool and child care. America, we are not going back. We are charting. A. New. Way. Forward. Forward to a future with a strong and growing middle class. Because we know a strong middle class has always been critical to Americas success. And building that middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency. This is personal for me. The middle class is where I come from. My mother kept a strict budget. We lived within our means. Yet, we wanted for little. And she expected us to make the most of the opportunities that were available to us. And to be grateful for them. Because opportunity is not available to everyone. Thats why we will create what I call an opportunity economy. An opportunity economy where everyone has a chance to compete and a chance to succeed. Whether you live in a rural area, small town, or big city. As president, I will bring together labor and workers, small-business owners and entrepreneurs, and American companies. To create jobs. Grow our economy. And lower the cost of everyday needs. Like health care. Housing. And groceries. We will: provide access to capital for small-business owners, entrepreneurs, and founders. We will end Americas housing shortage. And protect Social Security and Medicare. Compare that to Donald Trump. He doesnt actually fight for the middle class. Instead, he fights for himself and his billionaire friends. He will give them another round of tax breaks that will add 5 trillion dollars to the national debt. All while he intends to enact what, in effect, is a national sales tax call it, a Trump tax that would raise prices on middle-class families by almost 4,000 dollars a year. Well, instead of a Trump tax hike, we will pass a middle-class tax cut that will benefit more than 100 million Americans. Friends, I believe America cannot truly be prosperous unless Americans are fully able to make their own decisions about their own lives. Especially on matters of heart and home. But tonight, too many women in America are not able to make those decisions. Lets be clear about how we got here. Donald Trump hand-picked members of the United States Supreme Court to take away reproductive freedom. And now he brags about it. His words: Quote, I did it, and Im proud to have done it. End quote. Over the past two years, I have traveled across our country. And women have told me their stories. Husbands and fathers have shared theirs. Stories of women miscarrying in a parking lot getting sepsis losing the ability to ever have children again All because doctors are afraid of going to jail for caring for their patients. Couples just trying to grow their family cut off in the middle of IVF treatments. Children who have survived sexual assault, potentially forced to carry the pregnancy to term. This is what is happening in our country. Because of Donald Trump. And understand he is not done. As a part of his agenda, he and his allies would limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion, and enact a nationwide abortion ban with or without Congress. And get this: He plans to create a national anti-abortion coordinator, and force states to report on womens miscarriages and abortions. Simply put: They are. Out. Of. Their. Minds. And one must ask: Why exactly is it that they dont trust women? Well, we trust women. And when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into. law. In this election, many other fundamental freedoms are at stake. The freedom to live safe from gun violence in our schools, communities, and places of worship. The freedom to love who you love openly and with pride. The freedom to breathe clean air, drink clean water, and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis. And the freedom that unlocks all the others. The freedom to vote. With this election, we finally have the opportunity to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. And let me be clear. After decades in law enforcement, I know the importance of safety and security, especially at our border. Last year, Joe and I brought together Democrats and conservative Republicans to write the strongest border bill in decades. The Border Patrol endorsed it. But Donald Trump believes a border deal would hurt his campaign. So he ordered his allies in Congress to kill the deal. Well, I refuse to play politics with our security. Here is my pledge to you: As president, I will bring back the bipartisan border-security bill that he killed. And I will sign it into law. I know we can live up to our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants and reform our broken immigration system. We can create an earned pathway to citizenship and secure our border. America, we must also be steadfast in advancing our security and our values abroad. As vice-president, I have confronted threats to our security, negotiated with foreign leaders, strengthened our alliances, and engaged with our brave troops overseas. As commander-in-chief, I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world. I will fulfill our sacred obligation to care for our troops and their families. And I will always honor, and never disparage, their service and their sacrifice. I will make sure that: We lead the world into the future on space and artificial intelligence. That America not China wins the competition for the 21st century. And that we strengthen not abdicate our global leadership. Trump, on the other hand, threatened to abandon NATO. He encouraged Putin to invade our allies. Said Russia could quote do whatever the hell they want. Five days before Russia attacked Ukraine, I met with President Zelenskyy to warn him about Russias plan to invade. I helped mobilize a global response over 50 countries to defend against Putins aggression. And as president, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies. With respect to the war in Gaza: President Biden and I are working around the clock. Because now is the time to get a hostage deal and ceasefire done. Let me be clear: I will always stand up for Israels right to defend itself and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself. Because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that the terrorist organization Hamas caused on October 7, including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival. At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past ten months is devastating. So many innocent lives lost. Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, over and over again. The scale of suffering is heartbreaking. President Biden and I are working to end this war such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity. Security. Freedom. And self-determination. And know this: I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists. And I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong-un, who are rooting for Trump. Because they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. They know Trump wont hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat. As president, I will never waver in defense of Americas security and ideals. Because, in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and where the United States of America belongs. Fellow Americans, I love our country with all my heart. Everywhere I go in everyone I meet I see a nation ready to move forward. Ready for the next step, in the incredible journey that is America. I see an America where we hold fast to the fearless belief that built our nation. That inspired the world. That here, in this country, anything is possible. Nothing is out of reach. An America where we care for one another, look out for one another, and recognize that we have so much more in common than what separates us. That none of us has to fail for all of us to succeed. And that, in unity, there is strength. Our opponents in this race are out there, every day, denigrating America. Talking about how terrible everything is. Well, my mother had another lesson she used to teach. Never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are. America, let us show each other and the world who we are. And what we stand for. Freedom. Opportunity. Compassion. Dignity. Fairness. And endless possibilities. We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world. And on behalf of our children and grandchildren, and all those who sacrificed so dearly for our freedom and liberty, we must be worthy of this moment. It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done. Guided by optimism and faith, to fight for this country we love. To fight for the ideals we cherish. And to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth: the privilege and pride of being an American. So, lets get out there and lets fight for it. Lets get out there and lets vote for it. And together, let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told. Thank you. God bless you. May God bless the United States of America. By far, North Faces Borealis backpack was the favorite bag of many students I spoke with for this story. So popular is the bag at UCLA that student Mari Osman says her roommate, who was an exchange student, asked if owning one was a prerequisite for attending the school. The bags appeal extends far beyond the UCLA campus, though, and the students I spoke to cited its practicality as the main draw. With so many pockets including a dedicated laptop compartment and an expansive pocket fitted with additional organizational sleeves the backpack has enough storage space to hold everything a student might need when they leave their dorm. Lucy Harris, a student at University of North Carolina Wilmington, says, If Im spending a night out with friends, I can put in a change of clothes, pajamas, and my hair dryer in it with all of my school stuff too. And, of course, you cant forget about a water-bottle pocket this one has two. Theyre large enough to fit even the largest water bottles, like the Nalgene that Georgia Tech student Tyler Kwok uses, and can be adjusted for smaller water bottles, like Hydro Flasks and Owalas. Although carrying so much stuff might get heavy, the bag has a clippable chest strap to balance out the weight. If its really heavy, or at the airport, I always use that, and it takes so much pain off of my shoulders, Harris adds. The backpack has a water-repellent nylon exterior thats available in more than 20 colors. Its not quite waterproof, but Harris says Ive left mine outside in a rainstorm before, and my stuff was fine on the inside. And in the light gray color she owns, she says, the backpack goes with every outfit. Baylor University student Alexa Hernandez adds that the bag is decidedly grown up: It doesnt look like Im a middle-schooler carrying around a backpack with 500 things. It looks very college-esque, she says. Mam'selle, please add the necessary source to your source text. Reply Thread Link Added, desolee Reply Parent Thread Link De rien. Reply Parent Thread Link Not that I'm mad about this, but for a second I thought I actually munnifested his death in Delon's post. Reply Thread Link Manisfest harder, we're counting on you Reply Parent Thread Link We need a munnifestation circle for this, he has power but we have more Reply Parent Thread Link En prison, le gros porc! Reply Thread Link He was fine bragging about all the rapes hes committed, until he was actually accused of rape. Now hes innocent. How weird. Reply Thread Link I hate this man so much. Reply Thread Link Stick him in an oubliette and be done with it Reply Thread Link wasnt he the chef in that queen latifah movie omg fuck him rot in jail then hell Reply Thread Link Yep. I watch that dumb movie every year and every year I get mad that he's in it. At least you can fast forward mostly all of his scenes. Reply Parent Thread Link Despite market expectations of a cut reversal, OPEC may need to maintain its current production levels to balance market share and oil price stability. The EIA forecasts that global oil supply will fall short of demand in the second half of 2024, further complicating OPEC's decision. OPEC is unlikely to reverse any of the production cuts that it approved last year as growing production from non-cartel countries is on the rise, pressuring prices. The observation, made by BPs chief economist Spencer Dale, could inject some optimism into oil markets, where many appeared to expect that the very mention of a possibility for a reversal makes that reversal a certainty. OPEC earlier this year said that given the right market conditions, it could begin to roll back the cutsa total of 2.2 million barrels daily for the group and its OPEC+ partnersin the last quarter of this year. For some reason, business media and traders took this to mean that the right market conditions will manifest themselves, basically guaranteeing the rollback. Ironically, that perception removed those right market conditions from the scenario as it pressured prices. To date, OPEC cannot afford to bring a single barrel back to the market, especially as it continues dealing with members that do not stay within their quotas. A bigger threat, however, is growing production in the United States, Guyana, and Brazil, according to BPs Dale. These three are regularly referenced in discussions about global oil supply and the rivalry between OPEC and non-OPEC producers for control of the market and international prices. The U.S. is clearly the biggest factor, with production there adding about 1 million barrels daily last yearbut widely seen growing more slowly this year. The Energy Information Administration forecast production growth at a modest 300,000 bpd this year in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, where it also revised down its oil demand growth projections for the year to 1.1 million bpd. Oil demand is the crucial factor for production plans, of course, both among OPEC members and non-OPEC producersand it does not guarantee continuous strong growth. Brazil, for instance, saw its oil output add 13% last year to a record high of over 3.4 million barrels daily. This year, however, production growth has wobbled, and in April, the total fell back to some 3.1 million barrels daily. The country has plans to boost its output of crude oil to 4.4 million barrels daily by 2034, which would be 47% higher than the current level of production, but achieving those plans would depend on pricesand demand. Guyanathe other producer that BPs Dale mentioned as a key factor in oil these dayshas been expanding its production rather consistently over the past few years. Still, it bears noting that it started from zero back in 2019, reaching a production rate of over 600,000 bpd this year as Exxon ramped up at the Stabroek Block. The EIA forecast in its latest STEO that Guyanas output will rise further to over 800,000 bpd next year. So, if the forecast crude oil production growth materializes, it would certainly make it even harder for OPEC to roll back those production cuts as the combined growth of the United States and Guyana would come in at over 1 million barrels daily, essentially offsetting about half of the OPEC cuts. OPEC is indeed in a tight spot. But heres the thingthe oil market appears to be in a deficit. Global oil inventories are on a consistent decline path, and the EIA recently forecast that supply will fall short of demand for oil by some 750,000 bpd in the second half of the year, which was an upward revision from an earlier projection of 500,000 bpd. The oil market is in a deficit, and prices are still down. OPEC will not be rolling back the cuts any time soon. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com There is a massive natural gas project pipeline for the next decade, as several world powers have increased their gas production in line with the rise in demand. Much of this production increase will come from wealthy Western countries, with several states using gas as a transition fuel in the shift away from more polluting coal and oil. However, this is leading climate activists to point out the hypocrisy of these states calling for a green transition while also contributing heavily to the rise in global gas production. The demand for natural gas has been rising, as several countries decrease their dependence on coal and opt for gas as a transition fuel in pursuit of a shift to green. The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and subsequent sanctions on Russian energy, also led several gas powers to increase their output to fill the gap and ensure that countries that were heavily dependent on Russian gas could maintain their supply. This has created a mid-term rise in demand that is expected to level out as countries increase their renewable energy capacity. A recent report by the Sacramento-based NGO Earth Insight suggests that the project pipeline for new LNG infrastructure, which totals over $1 trillion, will contribute to environmental degradation and the deceleration of net-zero progress. Earth Insight warns that greater LNG output could threaten fisheries, human health, ecosystems, and the global climate. It will also make it extremely difficult to achieve the 1.5-degree warming limit set in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Tyson Miller, the Executive Director at Earth Insight, stated, Investing in LNG infrastructure especially in some of the worlds most important nurseries of marine life just doesnt make any sense. At this point in the energy transition and nature crisis, its a one-way ticket to stranded assets and wont help us solve the climate crisis. Yet, most of the countries contributing to the massive LNG expansion pipeline are those also calling for a global green transition. Certain oil-rich states, such as Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, have been repeatedly criticised for doing little to reduce their fossil fuel production and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in recent years, in response to pressure from organisations such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) to transition to green. However, green transition champions, including the UK, the US, Canada, Norway and Australia, are increasingly being seen as the other petrostates, due to their continued pursuit of fossil fuels. These five countries contributed over two-thirds (67 percent) of all new oil and gas licences issued worldwide since 2020. One of the main criticisms of this heavy contribution to global oil and gas output is the fact that these countries have the economic capacity to fund a green transition, with little need for long-term fossil fuel production to meet their domestic demand. Olivier Bois von Kursk, the co-author of the report, stated, It is deeply concerning that exploration activity has not just continued since the COP28 agreement but increased. Rich countries with relatively low dependence on fossil fuel revenues should be the first to stop issuing licences. Were not seeing that in the data. Harjeet Singh, the global engagement director for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, highlighted, The hypocrisy of wealthy nations, historically responsible for the climate crisis, is staggering as they continue to invest heavily in fossil fuels putting the world on track for unimaginable climate catastrophe while claiming to be climate leaders. Singh added, Despite having the economic means to transition away from fossil fuels, these nations are petrostates choosing profit over the planet, undermining global efforts to avert the climate emergency. So far this year, around three dozen high-capacity, low-dependency countries, including the U.S., the U.K. and Norway, have awarded 121 new licenses, which is more than the rest of the world combined. As much as 11.9 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions could be released during the lifetime of all existing and upcoming oil and gas fields expected to be licensed by the end of the year. Many of these projects will be established in developing countries, which do not have the economic means to invest in a green transition. Several developing states have called for greater funding from high-income countries to support a green transition in the developing world during the COP climate summits in recent years. Indias Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has repeatedly called for greater support from some of the worlds richest countries to achieve Indias green transition. In 2021, Modi called on developed countries to set a target of contributing at least 1 percent of their GDP to green projects in the developing world. Although new schemes for funding have been developed, there is a severe underinvestment in the increase of renewable energy capacity in the developing world, with most financing continuing to go to oil and gas operations. By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Weak manufacturing data from Europe, Asia, and the US has signaled a slowdown in global oil demand. Crude oil prices were set for yet another loss this week as demand pessimism continue to pressure traders into selling, alleviating supply concerns. Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate trended higher earlier in the day but were set to end the week lower than they started it, under the weight of economic reports pointing towards lower global demand for oil. Manufacturing data from key markets in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. showed a slowdown in demand for products, which by extension gets translated into lower demand for energy. In the U.S., the Purchasing Managers Index in July fell to the lowest reading in eight months. In the eurozone, the latest PMI reading extended a two-year contraction trend. In China, the PMI reading dropped below 50the threshold for growthlast month. On top of this disappointing data, the U.S. labor Department had to make a sharp revision on the number of new jobs added over the 12 months to March, as it turned out the actual new job additions were over 800,000 fewer than previously estimated, fueling concern about demand in the worlds biggest consumer of oil. Bullish fundamentals continue to play second fiddle to weakening sentiment, with the oil market unable to shake off its recent bearish tendencies, energy consultancy FGE said as quoted by Reuters. Worries over weaker demand continue to be the main driver for the market at the moment. The downward pressure on prices makes it increasingly likely that OPEC+ will have to scrap their plans for gradually increasing supply from October, ING analysts said in a note. The war premium attached to oil prices, however, remains in place as ceasefire talks prove as challenging as one might have reasonably expected them to be. In a recent update, Reuters quoted about a dozen unnamed sources as saying Israels demand to keep troops in Gaza after the ceasefire was the latest obstacle to the talks successful conclusion. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com Russia has announced that it possesses more than a century's worth of coal reserves, signaling its enduring role as a key player in the global energy landscape despite facing Western sanctions. According to Alexander Kozlov, Russia's Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, the country's coal reserves are estimated at an impressive 273 billion metric tons, with 46.4 billion tons currently being extracted. Even with increased production, which hit 392 million tons in 2023, Kozlov emphasized that Russia's coal supply will last for more than 100 years at current levels. This announcement comes at a time when Russia's coal industry, much like its oil and gas sectors, is under significant pressure due to Western sanctions following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. These sanctions have forced Russian coal miners to redirect their exports toward Asia, often at steep discounts to remain competitive. However, Russia's coal exports to Asia have faced challenges this year due to intense price competition from major coal producers like Indonesia and Australia. Despite its vast reserves, Russia's coal exports to Asia slumped back in March as lower coal prices from Indonesia, South Africa, and Australia proved tough competition. For the global energy market, Russia's vast coal reserves are a double-edged sword. On one hand, they represent a stable long-term supply for countries in Asia looking to diversify their energy sources. On the other hand, the current dynamics of the coal market, coupled with environmental concerns and the global push toward cleaner energy, raise questions about the long-term viability of coal as a cornerstone of Russia's energy exports. While coal remains a crucial part of Russia's energy portfolio, the ongoing shift in global energy preferences and the competitive pressures from other coal-producing nations could challenge Russia's dominance in the sector. By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com A new play place has opened in Sarpy County. Playful Pines, owned by Kurt and Eve Reeves, opened on July 20 at 7051 S. 181st St. The indoor play area, for children ages 10 months to 7 years, features a mixture of scenic backdrops, green pathways, soft objects, slides and climbing areas and a play kitchen. It offers three two-hour play sessions every weekday, with playtimes at 8:30 and 11 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday and 8:30 and 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. Playful Pines also has open play periods from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday and is open for parties on weekends by arrangement. Starting Aug. 28, half-hour Kindermusik lessons will be offered during the 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. play periods every other Wednesday. Art activities will be held during the same time slot on alternating Wednesdays. After one month of operation, Eve Reeves is encouraged. Its been really good, she said. Weve been really well supported by the community. Its important to note that, while the Playful Pines staff monitors the children, they do not babysit them, Reeves said. This isnt a drop-off place, she said, adding that some of the staff do enjoy playing with the kids. The facility has a host of features for moms with young children. There is a mothers room equipped with rocking chairs, burp clothes, sound machines, nursing covers and a table where a breast pump can be placed, Reeves said. The room has curtains so a mother can choose to have complete privacy, or they can leave the curtains open so they can watch their children play, she said. We also have a bottle warmer in our snack area for parents who need to warm up bottles in a hurry. Parents can tap into Wi-Fi while they wait, drink free coffee, purchase snacks and visit with other parents, Reeves said. We really want it to be a place for parents to connect, she said. Reeves, who taught art for 10 years, didnt find a lot of play options for her young daughter when the family moved to Omaha from Austin, Texas, last fall. The Reeves daughter is now age 4, and their son is 1. Theres not very much for the little ones to do in west Omaha, she said. We started thinking what type of place would be good for her play style? We connected with a specialized playground designer and came up with this. They later added an area they felt was appropriate for children their sons age. Were very unique to this area, she said. Were really happy to be part of the Omaha community. Its a great place to raise kids, and were hoping to be a cornerstone of that. Muslim extremists with swords in eastern Uganda on Monday (Aug. 19) killed a Christian for leading Muslims to Christ, sources said. The assailants attacked Yowabu Sebakaki as he was returning home by bicycle to his native Nyanza village, Nyanza North Zone, Nyanza Parish, Mugiti Sub-County in Budaka District, Uganda. He was 52. In June and July, Muslims had sent threatening messages to Sebakaki, including one that read, We are aware of some secret meeting you are undertaking. You have to stop preaching as well as converting our faithful Muslims to Christianity, and if not, then soon we are coming for your life, according to his wife, Nambaluka Sebakaki, who had copied the messages to her phone. After leading a discipleship class at 5:45 p.m. for new converts at a Christians house, Sebakaki was being transported home by David Nkomba on Nkombas bicycle. Just when we were five kilometers from reaching the homestead, at around 6:20 p.m. a motorcycle came up just behind us, and in no given time Sebakaki was struck with an object which happened to be a panga [long Somali sword] on the back near the the neck, Nkomba told Morning Star News. He fell down and a then was cut by another panga at the head. Sebakaki became unconscious due to too much bleeding. Stay informed with The Christian Daily Newsletter Sign up Nkomba jumped off his bike, he said. Other attackers were shouting, Your time a has come, and pray hard if your God will save you you have been deceiving people about life after death given by Issa [Jesus],Nkomba said. I took off, but I managed to recognize one of the attackers as Rashid Siriman, a well-known radical Muslim youth from Mbale. Neighbors arrived at the site and rushed Sebakaki to a hospital in Mbale, but he died on the way, his wife said. Police in Budaka were searching for the assailants. Sebakaki was trained in apologetics and had engaged in gospel outreach in the predominantly Muslim areas of Dhoho, Namatala, Kamonkoli, Sekulo and Mugiti, his pastor said. While in Kamonkoli in January, Sebakaki had survived an attacked by Muslim extremists after speaking convincingly in a debate with Islamic scholars, said the pastor, whose name is withheld for security reasons. Radical Muslims got hold of Sebakaki and started beating him with blunt objects, but he was rescued by Christians who were in attendance, the pastor said. Since then, he avoided debates with Muslim scholars but instead began open-air preaching and initiated a discipleship class. Sebakaki had continued holding open-air events in Kamonkoli and parts of Ikiki town in Budaka District, he 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. Before there were immigrant monsters to occupy Donald Trumps hate, there was the Central Park Five. Most people know the case: Five Black kids accused of brutally raping a woman in New York City in the spring of 1989, leaving her brain-damaged, naked and gagged. Within days, police had obtained confessions from the teenagers ages 14 to 16 through methods considered today, at best, controversial. Those coerced confessions led to the convictions of Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam and Korey Wise and unjust incarcerations for a crime they had no part of. Years later, in 2002, through the confession of the real rapist and the advances of DNA evidence, the boys were exonerated and became known as the Exonerated Five. But it has never been enough for Trump. Nearly two weeks after the attack, Trump took out a full-page ad in the New York Times and three other newspapers, at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars, to call for the death of the boys. BRING BACK THE DEATH PENALTY. BRING BACK OUR POLICE! his headline read. How can our great society tolerate the continued brutalization of its citizens by crazed misfits? Criminals must be told that their CIVIL LIBERTIES END WHEN AN ATTACK ON OUR SAFETY BEGINS," he went on. Thats more of his weird capitalization, not mine. But doesnt it sound familiar? That line could have been from one of his most recent presidential rallies, instead of a rant issued 35 years ago. Trump has always believed that justice was a white mans game, or at least a rich mans right to oversee. Even as science and evidence proved beyond doubt that these five kids had their childhoods brutalized by bad policing, Trump refused to back down. Even after they were awarded $41 million in 2014 for how poorly the police had investigated the case, Trump refused to back down. When the five won their civil lawsuit, Trump tweeted, Id bet the lawyers for the Central Park 5 are laughing at the stupidity of N.Y.C. when there was such a strong case against their clients He doubled down again in 2016. They admitted they were guilty, Trump said in a statement to CNN in October of that year. The police doing the original investigation say they were guilty. The fact that that case was settled with so much evidence against them is outrageous. And the woman, so badly injured, will never be the same. And, in a line that echoed eerily years later in his comments about the Nazi rally in Charlottesville, Trump said of believing in the innocence of the Exonerated Five, You have people on both sides of that. So, well leave it at that. No, we will not leave it at that. Thursday, Salaam, Wise, Santana and Richardson spoke at the Democratic National Convention. 45 wanted us unalive, said Salaam, now a New York City councilman, referring to Trump. He dismisses the scientific evidence rather than admit he was wrong, Salaam continued. He has never changed, and he never will. It was a powerful moment meant with applause. But it should also be met with reflection. Trump, Salaam said, thinks that hate is the animating force in America. He thought that in 1989 with Black children, and he thinks it now in 2024 with immigrants. The theme for Thursday night, when Kamala Harris accepted her nomination, was a just future. The Central Park Five were a stark statement that Trump has always advocated vengeance over justice in the past, and for our future. Islamist death threats compelled the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday (Aug. 22) to remove part of a ruling recognizing an Ahmadis religious freedom, a move that will lead to more persecution of religious minorities, sources said. The courts surrender to Islamist demands came in an appeal by Mubarak Sani, member of the Ahmadi Muslim group that Islamists consider heretical in the Muslim-majority country. Sani had been convicted under the Punjab Holy Quran (Printing and Recording) (Amendment) Act enforced in 2021, though hed claimed the accusation related to an incident in 2019, before the law came into effect. In its verdict, the court noted that Article 20 of Pakistans Constitution guaranteed citizens the right to profess, practice and propagate their religion, and that Sani had not committed a crime by publishing religious literature. The Supreme Court then ordered Sanis release on bail. The verdict led by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa infuriated Islamist groups, particularly the extremist Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), which started a campaign against Isa. Some TLP leaders announced bounties of up to 10 million rupees ($35,790 USD) for any Muslim who killed the chief justice. Fearing unrest, the Punjab provincial government filed a review petition under Article 188 of the constitution, but on July 24 the Supreme Court declared it had not deviated in any way from the decisions of Federal Shariat Court and Supreme Court in approving the bail. Stay informed with The Christian Daily Newsletter Sign up The verdict favoring Sani led to outrage in Islamist circles and a debate in the National Assemblys Standing Committee on Law and Justice, where both the treasury and opposition benches agreed that the federal government should file a petition in the Supreme Court. Besides the Punjab governments plea seeking omissions of certain portions from the courts July 24 revised verdict, the federal government also filed a miscellaneous plea on Aug. 17 under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharifs directives. In the Punjab governments petition, it maintained that some leading Islamic clerics and members of parliament requested the federal government to approach the top court and highlight some portions of the verdict that they said merited correction. It further maintained that certain conclusions and observations made in other parts of the judgment seemed to be a mistake and were inconsistent with previous rulings of the highest court. Under immense pressure and threats, the Supreme Court announced that it was ready to review its verdict for a second time, a first in the countrys judicial history. On Tuesday (Aug. 20), hundreds of activists belonging to Islamic extremist parties, including the TLP and the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), breached security and reached the Supreme Court building, where speakers openly threatened judges to withdraw the verdict. They said the judgment had hurt the sentiments of the entire nation and pledged that they were ready to render any sacrifice for the protection and sanctity of Islam and the finality of the prophethood of Muhammad. Surrendering to the Islamists demand, the three-member bench headed by Isa and including Justice Irfan Saadat Khan and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan on Wednesday (Aug. 22) ordered the exclusion of the paragraphs from the verdict, including the one related to freedom of religion, asserting that the deleted portions cannot be cited as precedent in any judgment. I dont want to say [it] but am helpless; I pray in every prayer that may God prevent me from making any wrong decisions, Isa said during the hearing in Islamabad, according to media reports. Some veteran reporters who attended the hearing said that all three judges were visibly fearful and under immense pressure. Many people in Pakistan, including a former governor and a high court judge, have been murdered for speaking in favor of those falsely charged with blasphemy, they said. No Hope Left The Supreme Courts second review of its verdict shocked rights activists and church leaders, who said the surrender to Islamist pressure does not bode well for Christians and other minorities. We were not expecting the Supreme Court to capitulate to extremist forces in this manner, said Church of Pakistan President Bishop Azad Marshall. When the highest court of the country fails to protect the guarantees given by the constitution regarding religious freedom for all citizens irrespective of their faith affiliations, there is no hope left for any improvement in our situation. The church leader expressed fears of an increase in blasphemy cases and violence against Christians. Religious forces have instilled more fear in the judiciary, he said. In such circumstances, I doubt we can expect any justice for those falsely accused of blasphemy. Marshall said that by deleting its observations regarding the freedom to profess any religion, the Supreme Court has shown its helplessness in safeguarding the constitution. Minorities Alliance Pakistan Chairman Akmal Bhatti termed the courts decision a big blow to freedom of religion in Pakistan. It's very sad, he said. The extremist forces first successfully harassed trial courts, then high courts, and now the Supreme Court. Who would take the bails of Christians and others charged with blasphemy now? Attorney Yasser Latif Hamdani, a progressive Muslim rights activist and author, said he had lost faith in Pakistan. Jinnah [the countrys founder] certainly didnt imagine that one day the same people who called him Kafir-e-Azam [infidel] would be forcing the Supreme Court to change its decision a simple decision that says that a citizen of Pakistan can pray how he or she likes within the confines of his/her home or place of worship, Hamdani wrote on his Facebook page. If Qazi Faez Isa can be forced to change his decision, this country will never go forward. It seems that Jinnah made a terrible mistake giving these idiots a country. Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, as it was the previous year. Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, the embattled founder of Groupe Nduom, has intensified his battle with the state, claiming a staggering GH7.1 billion debt, including accrued interest. This latest development follows a long-standing dispute between Nduom and the government, which dates back to 2019 when the Bank of Ghana (BoG) revoked the license of GN Bank, citing regulatory breaches. At a press briefing in Accra, Nduom revealed plans to temporarily halt his Bring Back GN Bank campaign in September to embark on a nationwide tour of the banks 300 branches. His move aims to mobilize support from petitioners advocating for the reinstatement of GN Banks license. Revocation of Kwesi Nduoms bsnk was self inflicted as he was engaged several regulatory breaches including money laundry, according to Bank of Ghana report. However, the BoG maintains its stance, defending its decision to revoke GN Banks license due to significant regulatory breaches. The Central Bank argued that GN Banks failure to meet critical financial regulations and banking standards jeopardized its operational stability, leaving it with no choice but to revoke the license. Despite this setback, Nduom remains resolute in his quest to revive GN Bank, vowing to resume his campaign in November after a period of strategic reflection and planning. Source: Daily Guide 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 General Manager of Commercial Operations at Telecel Ghana, Mercy Dawn Akude has called for the prioritisation of authenticity in leadership as a critical need for business growth at the 10th Women in Human Resources (HR) Conference in Accra. Speaking on a panel at the conference organised by the Ghana Employers Association on the theme Leading with Authenticity: Building Confidence & Influence, Mercy Dawn said the path to authentic leadership is long and often challenging but consistent adherence to the tenets of transparency, integrity and being exemplary are the values that promote business. Leading with authenticity is not just about being a good leader, its about being a leader who makes a difference. Authenticity is not gained in a day; it is developed over time. It will be tried and tested. It will have to go through the test of fire. Mercy Dawns submissions resonated deeply with the audience of HR professionals, employers, and other business practitioners as she shared a blend of personal stories and professional insights that stressed the value of authenticity in leadership. Reflecting on her journey, she recounted her return to Ghana from the UK and how she secured her first role at then Ghana Telecom, where she focused on cost control measures to drive efficiency. Despite the opposition to her new policies for continuous improvement, Mercy remained on course and leaned on her authenticity to stay in the business. Authenticity is not an easy road. Once you decide to be authentic, it means you are being your true self. It also means a mindset shift. Its not about you anymore. Its about your purpose and impact. Once you have that shift, you change your ways and you allow that focus to be your guide, she explained. Mercy Dawns career trajectory from Ghana Telecom to Vodafone and eventually to Telecel, where she now leads close to 1,000 people as General Manager of Commercial Operations, exemplifies the process of becoming more authentic. Mercy Dawn shared her experiences of going the extra mile in her work, including a significant project to roll out Telecel retail shops, to increase the number from 60 to over 300 outlets across Ghana. For that project, she leveraged her previous retail shop work experience at Marks & Spencer in the UK. Understand that leadership is a journey. You must start from somewhere. We deliver on our commercial strategy because there is a team that believes in my authenticity. I reward and appreciate them based on performance. Its a team that delivers on the job so give I them their due, she said. Mercy Dawns submission concluded with a powerful call to action for all women leaders to embrace authenticity and lead with confidence with continued dependence on God! 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 Operation Smile Ghana, a Non-Profit Medical Organization has Joined the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Campaign against Cleft Lip and Palate Cases in Ghana. Operation Smile is a non-profit medical organization that was founded in 1982. It has since grown active in over 60 countries, providing free and safe surgeries for patients born with cleft conditions and other facial defects. The collaboration between Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and Operation Smile Ghana is crucial in mitigating the impact of these deformities. Operation Smile's outreach programs provide free surgeries and follow-up care to children born with cleft conditions, offering them a chance at a normal life. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Opoku-Ware Ampomah, has expressed fear that activities of illegal miners popularly known as galamsey could see an increase in deformities in children, with particular reference to cleft lip and palate conditions. A cleft palate is an opening or split in the roof of the mouth that occurs when the tissue doesn't fuse together during development in the womb this, he said, is because aside from genetic issues, activities related to the environment also play a crucial role. In an interview with Peace FM News at a press Conference in Accra together with Operation Smile Ghana, he said some of the substances that are used in the galamsey activities can actually cause birth defects and since clefting is one of the common birth defects and the cleft lip and palate is the most common facial deformity but can be corrected through surgery. The presence of heavy metals and other toxic substances used in galamsey operations can enter water sources, soil, and even the food chain, leading to widespread contamination. Pregnant women exposed to these pollutants are at a higher risk of giving birth to children with congenital anomalies, such as cleft lip and palate. These birth defects, while treatable through surgery, can have lasting physical and psychological effects if not addressed promptly. Acting Country Manager, Operation Smile, Henry Quist, encouraged parents and guardians to take advantage of operation smile outreaches and educate parents about the cleft and how they can protect their child. Immediately a child is born with this condition, the mother should try and get in touch with us. When the child is under six months, we cant have surgery. But within that first six months, the child will be given all the nutritional needs supplements that he or she needs so that if you do it very well, within six months all the necessary vitals within your body will be set for you to undergo the surgery, he said Source: Prince Baffour Asamoah/Peace FM Newsroom 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 High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, has debunked rumours that Ghanas property in the United Kingdom has been taken over. Reports are circulating in the media that Ghanas Regina House in the United Kingdom has been taken over as a result of the Trafigura judgement debt placed on the Government of Ghana. According to reports, Oil conglomerate Trafiguras Ghana Power Generation Company (GPGC) has taken over the Regina House in London, following the failure of the government to pay up a $134 million judgment debt. However, Papa Owusu-Ankomah, has refuted the allegations thereby assuring the general public that Ghanas Regina House, located in the UK, is still owned by the Government of Ghana adding that the property is just under receivership until the debt owed to the company is paid by the Government of Ghana. "An application for receivership had been made in respect of some properties belonging to Ghana. Of the properties which is the subject matter of the charge, only one, Regina House is used for commercial purposes." The others have been described as diplomatic properties so these properties are not under threat, but even with the one which is the subject matter of the receivership, that is Regina House, I know negotiations are ongoing between Ghana and the judgment creditors GPGC to pay, but as of now Regina House is the property of the Government of Ghana, it is at the receivership, he clarified. He further indicated that the rent taken on the Regina House does not go to the Government of Ghana coffers because the property is under receivership by GPGC. The rent doesnt go to the Government of Ghana because Regina House is under receivership but Regina House is still owned by the Government of Ghana. We are not receiving any money as a result of renting that property because of the judgment debt, but the rent that is being paid is nowhere near the amount owed. Legally, the property is still the Government of Ghana property. What it is is that the charging order gave the management of the property to GPGC solicitors or property appointees until the debt is paid, they cannot even sell the property, they havent even applied to sell the property to defray the judgment debt, he disclosed in an interview with Joynews. The Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Finance failed to fully comply with an earlier tribunal decision from the United Kingdom, a District of Columbia Court in the United States has awarded a $111,493,828.82 judgment debt against Ghana in favour of the Ghana Power Generation Company (GPGC). The court, in granting the Motion for Default Judgment in favour of GPGC, also ordered Ghana to pay mandatory post-judgment interest. 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 On August 20th, 2024, an air of anticipation and reverence filled the streets of Nima as leaders, family, and friends of the late Dr. Kenneth Elvis Anewenah gathered at St. Kizito Catholic Parish and School and the Nima Mosque. Their mission was to feed students, street children, and adults in an act of kindness that celebrated the legacy of a man who had dedicated his life to uplifting others. Under the theme Meals on Wheels" for the Homeless in Accra, this event touched the lives of approximately 1,000 people. They were treated to takeaway lunch packs filled with delicious Jollof rice, succulent chicken, and refreshing drinks. The generosity of the foundation was a testament to the values of the man they honoredKenwhose spirit of giving continues to ripple through his community even after his passing. Dr. Kenneth Elvis Anewenah, a successful entrepreneur and the CEO of both Myturn Ltd. and Lesken Enterprise, was as committed to serving humanity as he was to his businesses. Known for his deep faith and dedication to helping those in need, Kens generosity became the cornerstone of his life. In a moving tribute, Kasisi Ricky Peprah, spokesperson for the Dr. Kenneth Elvis Anewenah Foundation, addressed the media. Today would have been Dr. Kens 52nd birthday. He was a man of immense generosity, always giving to orphanages and supporting brilliant students who couldnt afford an education, Kasise remarked. As a family, we felt it only fitting to carry on his noble vision by continuing his good works through initiatives like this. He added, "This marks the foundations first public program since its establishment two years ago. The foundations vision is to carry forward Dr. Kens legacy, supporting the underprivileged in our society with the same dedication to truthfulness and compassion he exemplified. We aim to expand across the country to help even more brilliant but needy students reach their full potential." Ken's Journey of Devotion to Charity Dr. Kenneth Elvis Anewenahs life was a testament to his unwavering dedication to charity and community. From the early days of his entrepreneurial journey, he championed numerous educational initiatives, providing scholarships and support for countless individuals. His passion for uplifting others wasnt limited to financial aidhe invested his time, his energy, and his heart into nurturing the dreams of young people. Whether it was building schools or supporting grassroots initiatives, Kens work left a lasting mark on every life he touched. His commitment wasnt just about giving; it was about empowering. He believed in providing the tools and opportunities for people to thrive, ensuring that every individual, no matter their background, had a fair shot at a better life. The Vision of the Dr. Kenneth Elvis Anewenah Foundation To honor Kens legacy, the foundation has set forth several key objectives: - Establishing need-based tuition grants to support disenfranchised but talented students, with a special focus on widening opportunities for girls. - Creating academic scholarships in select institutions to reward excellence and foster future leaders. - Supporting development projects in underserved communities, continuing Kens commitment to sustainable growth and empowerment. This was not merely a gathering to distribute food; it was a celebration of a man whose lifes work continues to inspire acts of kindness, generosity, and compassion across the country. 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 Director of the Ghana School of Law (GSL), Justice Barima Yaw Kodie Oppong, has suggested to the Electoral Commission (EC) to engage the services of auditors in this years election to ensure integrity in the process. With their involvement, he said parties involved, especially those who would not be successful, would have good reasons to accept the outcome graciously, convinced that the election was free and fair. After all, when there was a dispute in 2012 concerning that year's presidential election, was it not an auditing firm that was commissioned by the court to assist in determining some relevant issues? he asked. At this years Internal Auditors Conference in Accra last Wednesday, Justice Oppong, who is also the Mawerehene of Akyem Abuakwa, therefore, said it should not be out of place for auditors to inform the government and the EC that they were willing and ready to deploy members to all the constituencies to assist in the entire electoral process. The conference, organised by the Internal Audit Agency (IAA), was on the theme: Consolidating Democratic Governance and Accountability; Role of Internal Auditors. It brought together key stakeholders in the public sector accounting and internal audit space, as well as heads of public institutions, audit committees, finance officers and procurement officers, among others, to chart the way forward towards improving public sector internal audit performance. It further provides an opportunity for the agency to update stakeholders on developments in the public sector internal audit space in addition to facilitating the exchange of ideas, experiences and challenges facing internal auditors and audit committees. Democratic governance Justice Oppong, a Justice of the Court of Appeal, said internal auditors could also help consolidate democratic governance by safeguarding the integrity of duty-bearers such as the political actors and other persons through their audit reviews. He said Section 19 of the Internal Audit Agency Act, 2003 (Act 658) mandated internal auditors to perform their audit duties with honesty, diligence and absolute integrity. The exhibition of integrity in the audit process, Justice Oppong said, also fuelled positive responses from auditors and duty-bearers and more importantly, political actors. Therefore, a lot more attention needs to be given to the work of the internal auditor if we want to prevent corruption and wickedness. We need to pay attention to the practice of internal audits in this country if we want to ensure the right distribution of the national resources, he stressed. Source: graphiconline 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 Taliban passes new lifestyle laws in Afghanistan banning women from looking at men they are not related to The Taliban government has banned women's voices and faces in public under new laws to promote 'virtue' in Afghanistan, according to the Associated Press. The Islamist group had set up a ministry for the 'prevention of vice' after seizing power following the withdrawal of US and coalition forces in 2021. On Wednesday, Officials published its 114-page vice and virtue rulebook that covers aspects of everyday life such as public transport, music, shaving, and celebrations. The laws, which have been approved by supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, say that it is compulsory for all women to cover their bodies in public and that face coverings are essential to 'avoid temptation and tempting others'. Clothing should not be thin, tight, or short, and failure to adhere could result in arrest. Meanwhile, a woman's voice is deemed intimate and so should not be heard singing, reciting poetry, or reading aloud in public. The law forbids women to look at men they are not related to by blood or marriage and vice versa. The law also bans music, women travelling alone, and men and women socialising together unless they are related to each other Last month, a report by the United Nations said the ministry was contributing to a climate of fear among Afghans. Fiona Frazer, head of the human rights service at the UN mission in Afghanistan, said: 'The position expressed by the de facto authorities that this oversight will be increasing and expanding gives cause for significant concern for all Afghans, especially women and girls.' Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has rubbished reports of its intention to stage a coup and has vowed to strongly resist such unlawful takeover of power by either elements acting alone or in collaboration with any security agency. In a statement issued today and signed by Brigadier General, Aggrey-Quashie, Director General Public Relations, the GAF was emphatic that they have not held any press conference at which it declared its intention to take over the country, should the forthcoming general elections turn violent. "We wish to draw the attention of the public that GAF will only support the Ghana Police when the latter request for assistance and that does not constitute an overthrow of a government......We therefore call on all institutions and groups not to associate GAF with anything that has the potential of heightening political tension in the country," portions of the statement read. The statement was reactionary to remarks by the Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Governance, Dr Emmanuel Akwetey, that the "GAF has threatened to take over control of the country if elections turns out violent beyond the control of the Ghana Police Service." Read below the full statement from the Ghana Armed Forces: The attention of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has been drawn to a publication on Ghanaweb attributed to the Executive Director of the Institute for Democratic Governance, Dr Emmanuel Akwetey on Thursday 22 August 2024. Dr Akwetey is alleged to have said GAF has threatened to take over control of the country that if elections in the country turns out violent beyond the control of the Ghana Police Service at Press conferences held in 2016 and 2020. We wish to draw the attention of the public that GAF will only support the Ghana Police when the latter request for assistance and that does not constitute an overthrow of a government. The allegation by Dr Akwetey cannot be true because the Ghana Armed Forces has not held any press conference at which it declared its intention to take over the country. We wish to make it clear that GAF has no intention to stage a coup and will prevent and resist any individual, group or organisation seeking to take over unlawfully the power of government either acting alone or in collaboration with any security agency. GAF wishes to call on civil society groups and the media to desist from using its name to heighten political tension in the country. We wish to urge all stakeholders to join hands in ensuring that all citizens feel free and safe to undertake their lawful activities in an atmosphere of tranquility. GAF, like all peace-loving institutions and individuals, is looking forward to peaceful elections come December 2024. We therefore call on all institutions and groups not to associate GAF with anything that has the potential of heightening political tension in the country. E AGGREY-QUASHIE Brigadier General Director General Public Relations Source: Ghana Armed Forces 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 German Ambassador to Ghana, Daniel Krull, has predicted that Ghanas upcoming presidential election might require a second round of voting. He noted that while the two major parties, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC), are both vigorously campaigning, there is a possibility of a tight race leading to a runoff. Speaking in an interview on the AM Show on August 22, he said, I personally believe we will probably have a second round of elections which Im surprised Ghanaians are not preparing for. I think there are good arguments to expect that there might be a second round. Recent analysis from a research and data firm, Fitch Solutions, says the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) will be defeated by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the December 7 general elections. Read also: Ghanaians have effectively managed the transition of power- Daniel Krull The London-based firm which has been consistent with its forecast since last year argues that 54 per cent of respondents surveyed tipped NDC's candidate John Mahama as the winner in the upcoming presidential election. A national opinion poll by Global InfoAnalytics shows that 55 per cent of voters do not believe that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) can break the eight (8) in the 2024 presidential elections. It however said 27 per cent of voters believed that the NPP could break the 8 with 18 per cent not having an opinion as to whether voters believe the NPP will break the eight (8). Despite these predictions, the NPP's Dr Mahamudu Bawumia's running mate, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh remains optimistic about the partys chances. He believes the NPP is deserving of the win due to the significant strides they have made in advancing the nation. The German Ambassador stated that election outcomes are determined by the citizens and expressed confidence that Ghanaians will ensure their choices are not undermined. Mr Krull noted that there are various methods for scrutinizing election results and believes Ghana has the right systems in place to ensure this. I think Ghana is a very peaceful country and the overwhelming majority of this country wishes a peaceful, fair and transparent elections and they would make sure that they enjoy these elections, he said. Source: myjoyonline.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 Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Yapei Kusawgu in the Savannah region and a ranking Member on the Mines and Energy committee of parliament has shockingly revealed that, the government, under the leadership of President Nana Akufo-Addo, terminated the power purchase contract agreement between Trafiguras Ghana Power generation Company (GPGC) over what he describes as a family feud. John Abdulai Jinapor made this allegation while granting an interview on Joy FMs Top Story on Thursday, August 22, 2024. The lawmaker alleged that the President was offended by someone and as such, one of the punitive measures adopted by President Akufo-Addo was to have the contractual agreement terminated abruptly. He added that, after the termination of the contract with GPGC, the government allegedly signed another contract with a different company with similar agreement. John Jinapor said, "I am telling you that this termination was because of a family feud between some family members of the President on one hand and the other." When we assume office, you will get to know the real truth and the rationale behind the termination. They did not terminate the contract because they had Ghanas interest at heart. It is because they wanted to teach somebody a lesson. They extended their own family problem into governance and terminated this contract and today you and I [are paying for it]. The NDC MP expressed worry over the fact that the NDC administration would have a lot of mess to clean if the party wins the upcoming December 7 elections, adding that, considering the sterling leadership qualities possessed by the former President and flagbearer of the NDC, John Dramani Mahama, the country will be gradually driven away from the economic shambles the NPP government has driven the country into. John Jinapors comment comes on the wheels of the current Trafiguras GPGC brouhaha where a District of Columbia Court in the United States has awarded an $111,493,828.82 judgment debt against Ghana in favour of the Ghana Power Generation Company (GPGC). The courts ruling follows the Government of Ghanas failure to fully comply with an earlier tribunal decision from the United Kingdom. The court, in granting the Motion for Default Judgment in favour of GPGC, also ordered Ghana to pay mandatory post-judgment interest. The government was accordingly ordered by the court to make full payment of the value of the Early Termination Payment of $134,348,661 together with the Mobilisation, Demobilization and preservation and maintenance costs of the value. The court also ordered Ghana to pay all the interest that has accrued from it. In addition, the government was asked to pay the cost of the arbitration and the legal fees of GPGC, which amounted to over $3 million. 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 "Mpox is not the new COVID," a World Health Organization official said about a recent outbreak of the virus centered around the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Yet, as cases have been reported not only in a dozen African countries but already as far as Sweden and Thailand, he added that "we can and must tackle mpox together, across regions and continents." While the first reported cases beyond Africa have made international headlines and for many brought up memories of the recent pandemic with lockdowns affecting nations across the world, Christian relief organization World Vision has remained focused the situation in the DRC where the virus is affecting already vulnerable populations. They emphasize the particularly critical situation of children in poorer nations, where the impacts of the virus are being felt most acutely. In the Central African country alone, more than a third of the 7,851 reported casesabout 39%are among children. And of the 384 reported deaths due to mpox so far this year, 240 (or 62%) were children under 5 years old, according to recent statistics. World Vision has described the risks facing children in the DRC as "grave," underlining the "pressing need" for immediate and coordinated action. The organization is advocating for a multifaceted response that includes the rapid distribution of vaccines, as well as the provision of clean water, improved sanitation, and enhanced hygiene facilities. These measures are considered critical to preventing further deaths and containing the spread of the virus. Aline Napon, the National Director of World Vision DR Congo, drew attention to the heightened vulnerability of children, especially in countries that are already affected by other crises. "Children are particularly vulnerable to mpox, especially in low and middle-income countries, including those suffering humanitarian crises and where health and social services are weak or non-existent," Napon emphasized. Stay informed with The Christian Daily Newsletter Sign up She highlighted the specific risks faced by children living in precarious conditions. "Children are especially at risk where they are living in refugee camps, overcrowded urban settlements, and where malnutrition, a lack of clean water and sanitation, and poor health services exist," Napon said. These environments, already fraught with challenges, provide a fertile ground for the virus to spread and for its effects to be devastating. Napon is urging the international community to respond swiftly and decisively. She calls for the rollout of widespread vaccination programs, alongside public education initiatives aimed at informing communities about the virus and how to prevent its spread. Additionally, she stresses the importance of scaling up treatment efforts for those who are already infected. "World Vision's experience in tackling Ebola and COVID in humanitarian situations tells us that there is no time to waste," Napon warned, drawing on the organizations past experiences with managing severe health crises in similar contexts. "People in DR Congo and other impacted countries need immediate free treatment for mpox. There must also be an immediate immunization program set up to prevent further infection and mortality. We cannot stand by while children die from this deadly but preventable disease," she stressed. Global solidarity in addressing public health emergencies is critical, especially those that disproportionately affect the most vulnerable populations. However, the response should not only addresses the immediate health crisis but also tackle the underlying conditions that make these communities so vulnerable to outbreaks in the first place. As the world grapples with a new virus, the lessons learned from previous epidemics like Ebola and COVID-19 are more relevant than ever. Rapid response, coordinated efforts, and a focus on the most vulnerable populations are essential to preventing another widespread global health crisis, World Vision says. Former President and the flagbearer of the largest opposition party, John Dramani Mahama, has cautioned residents along the Aflao border in the Volta region not to be swayed into giving out their Ghana card to any security personnel. During his tour of the Volta region as part of his campaign exercise, former President John Mahama emphasised that under no circumstance should any resident in Aflao nor any part of the Volta region give out their Ghana card, especially when it is a prerequisite for voting in the upcoming December 7 elections. His clarion admonishing came when reports flooded the region that some security personnel believed to be from the Immigration Service are heckling residents in the border town to give out their Ghana cards. However, John Mahama urged residents to resist any attempts by security personnel to confiscate their Ghana Cards. Mr. Mahama said, Nobody has a right to collect your Ghana card. Nobody, not immigration, not police, nobody. And so dont surrender your Ghana card to anybody." It is the National Identification Authority that has the right to withdraw your card. Once it has been issued, if somebody thinks you are not a citizen, he has to go to the National Identification Authority and get a certificate of withdrawal of your card before he can come and take your card from you." You cannot meet a person on the street and know whether he is Ghanaian or any other thing by his face. 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 Vice-Presidential Candidate of the NPP, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh is urging former Members of Parliament, Ministers and MMDCEs in the Kufuor and Akufo-Addo administrations to bring to bear their political experience on the Bawumia 2024 Campaign. Speaking to these former MPs and appointees from the Ahafo, Bono and Bono East regions on Friday 23rd August 2024 in Sunyani, Dr Prempeh urged them to put behind whatever disagreements they might have had with the party. In Dr. Prempeh's view the interest of the party remains supreme and thus, the need to put their shoulders to the wheel towards victory for the party in 2024 "We are aware that some of you may not be happy about one or the other, but remember that, the party interest remains supreme. Let us put behind us whatever difficulties we have had in the past and forge ahead in unity" Dr. Prempeh further asked the regional executives to consciously integrate these former appointees and MPs into the campaign structure. This he said, will be a basis for them to contribute meaningfully to the Campaign. On his part, the Regional Chairman for the NPP in the Bono region, Kwame Baffoe expressed appreciation to Dr. Prempeh for the initiative, promising to lead efforts to ensure that, everyone is brought on board. Dr. Prempeh further gave hints of replicating these engagements in other regions all to consolidate efforts at ensuring victory for the party. Dr. Prempeh later made a whistle-stop at a meeting of the Women's Wing where he pledged his support for all the activities of the women's wing. 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 Africa Climate Band Campaign, a groundbreaking initiative aimed at solving the biggest climate problems through the powerful combination of music and advocacy, was officially launched in Accra, Ghana. The campaign's mission is to raise awareness and drive action across the African continent, emphasizing the urgent need to implement a key ocean-based solution to the ongoing climate crisis. The launch event, which featured key speakers and stakeholders, underscored the importance of Africa's leadership in the global climate movement. The campaign's flagship anthem, "Africa Will Be The Climate Leader" to be performed by the African Climate Band and joined by many African stars will be the centerpiece of a music video that aims to reach millions across Africa and beyond in order to propel a mass movement of Africans to demand the immediate implementation of the key ocean based solution. This initiative is poised to transform the narrative from "Africa as a Victim" to "Africa as the Leader" in the effort to solve the climate problems that threaten to ruin our environment very soon. Innocent A. Houedji, CEO of Youth Initiative for Land in Africa (YILAA), delivered a powerful speech at the event, emphasizing the significance of Africa's role in the global climate movement. He stated; "Africa has always been at the forefront of nature-based solutions, and now, more than ever, we must lead the charge in restoring our planet. The time to act is now, and through the Africa Climate Band Campaign, we are empowering our communities to take decisive action to solve climate problems." Here are the Big 3 Problems currently threatening the continent and the world that the Africa Climate Band Campaign aims to address: Air temperatures will soon too hot for people to work outside. Weather conditions will soon too hot for farms to properly produce food. Ocean acidification will soon will make fish unable to exist. These 3 problems, if left unaddressed, will lead to catastrophic consequences for both the environment and human livelihoods. The campaign's focus on nature restoration, particularly through Ocean Restoration initiatives, offers a viable solution. By restoring ocean eco-systems through the efforts of many groups in Africa, and "100 Villages" worldwide, the campaign seeks to restore plankton levels, which by photosynthesis will naturally reduce atmospheric CO2 levels back to safe levels by 2050 and also solve ocean acidification. Alex Carlin, International Musician and a key figure in the campaign, spoke about how outside Africa there is no movement anywhere that offers any viable solution to the Big 3 Problems, they offer only "Emissions Reduction" which only addresses future additions of CO2. Alex said; "Today's extra 1 trillion tons of CO2 that is sitting in the sky cooking us takes a thousand years to go way by itself. Fortunately, after we restore the plankton to their normal health and abundance, their natural photosynthesis will solve this problem by drawing down enough CO2, and at the same time this solves the acid problem in the ocean." He also said; "Music has always been a universal language, and through this campaign, we are using it to motivate millions of Africans to exert their leadership to get this done quickly. Africa will lead the world in restoring our climate, and the anthem will be our rallying cry." The campaign's music video for "Africa Will Be The Climate Leader" will be filmed during a live concert in Africa, capturing the energy and passion of the African people. The video, which will feature many cameos from African stars, will be promoted all across the continent. Then, after millions of Africans are familiar with the song, the campaign will produce large concerts and press conferences all across Africa. Prof. Georges Kouadio from the Ministry of Environment of Cote d'Ivoire added; "This campaign is not just about raising awareness; it's about implementing real, effective solutions. Africa has the potential to lead the world in climate restoration, and through initiatives like the Africa Climate Band Campaign, we are taking concrete steps towards that goal." The Africa Climate Band Campaign is a collaborative effort that brings together diverse voices and expertise from across the continent. With a focus on empowering local communities, particularly youth and women, the campaign also highlights the importance of traditional nature-based environmental practices in adapting to climate change while we solve the Big 3 Problems. Nii Sowa A, a prominent youth climate activist, concluded the press conference by stating "the youth of Africa are ready to take on the challenge of climate change. This campaign is our opportunity to make a difference, to ensure a sustainable future for ourselves and generations to come". The Africa Climate Band Campaign is set to become a central force in the African climate movement, leveraging the power of music, advocacy and community action to drive meaningful change. For more information about the campaign, the Africa Climate Band and upcoming events, please visit www.climate.band. 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 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: Female aoudad. Credit: Rei at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 A team of researchers at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS) has discovered that aoudadan animal in the sheep and goat familycan catch and spread many of the same respiratory pathogens that can impact desert bighorn sheep, a native species in Texas that often shares its habitat with aoudad. The research, published in the journal PLOS ONE, will help wildlife conservationists better understand the complex relationship between these two species and promote the management of both species. Aoudad (pronounced "AH-dad") originated in North Africa and were introduced to Texas for hunting opportunities in the late 1950s. Some wildlife experts estimate that there could be as many as 40,000 living in the state. "There isn't much research about disease transmission between Texas aoudad and native species like bighorn sheep. This makes it difficult for wildlife experts to monitor diseases and preserve animal populations," said Dr. Logan Thomas, an assistant professor at Kansas State University and former postdoctoral researcher under Dr. Walter Cook, a clinical associate professor in the VMBS' Department of Veterinary Pathobiology. "If we can measure the disease exposure in both species, we can start to understand how they might affect each other," he said. "By analyzing samples from both kinds of animals, we were ultimately able to determine that they too can carry and transmit the same respiratory illnesses." It takes two Both aoudad and bighorn sheep are important animals for Texas wildlife conservation and the state's economy. In West Texas, both animals are hunted as game, and some landowners make a significant portion of their income by charging hunters a fee to hunt on their land. "Aoudad, in particular, are economically valuable for hunting opportunities," Thomas said. "Since they're a non-native species, there are no season or bag limits, which is very attractive to hunters." While bighorn sheep are also a favorite game animal among hunters, they require intensive management in Texas to keep their population numbers sustainable. The respiratory diseases, including pneumonia, that both species can share have already wreaked havoc on bighorn populations, raising concerns among experts about what these diseases could do to aoudad, in addition to worsening the situation for bighorns. "When there are outbreaks of these diseases in bighorn sheep, we usually see two waves of population decline," Thomas said. "There's a decline in all age groups when the outbreak first happens. Then there's another wave after the lambs are bornmany of them don't survive because they haven't been exposed to the disease and therefore lack an immune response like the older bighorns have." Complicating the problem is that some adult bighorns will carry the disease for several years after the initial outbreak, which means that the population may never have a chance to recover its numbers. "We've known about this cycle in bighorn sheep for a while now, but no one had studied whether the same thing could happen in aoudad or if the two species could spread these pathogens back and forth," he said. "We don't suspect that it will be a significant health problem for aoudad, but we aim to learn more as we continue our research." Keeping a close watch Now that the researchers have confirmed that aoudad can carry the same respiratory pathogens as bighorn sheep, wildlife experts can start to monitor disease transmission within and between those populations. "Based on previous reports about this family of diseases, it's also possible that they could spread to mule deer, which would complicate things further," Thomas said. "We're very interested in studying that in the future as well as how these diseases affect aoudad populations, since they haven't received as much research attention on this as native species. "Ultimately, we want all of these animal populations to thrive within a well-managed balance in Texas," Thomas said. "Disease monitoring is one way we can take steps to make that happen." More information: Logan F. Thomas et al, Evaluating the transmission dynamics and host competency of aoudad (Ammotragus lervia) experimentally infected with Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae and leukotoxigenic Pasteurellaceae, PLOS ONE (2024). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0294853 Journal information: PLoS ONE 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 A citizen science project, which invites members of the public to take part in identifying cosmic explosions, has already identified 20 new astronomical discoveries. More than 2,000 volunteers across 105 different countries have worked on 600,000 classifications over a six-month period. The project Kilonova Seekers aims to find kilonovaethe cosmic explosions of neutron stars and black holes colliding in distant galaxies. Volunteers are asked to play "spot the difference" using data from the two Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer (GOTO) telescopes, which are located on opposite sides of the planeton La Palma, in Spain's Canary Islands, and Australia's Siding Spring Observatory. Dr. Lisa Kelsey, from the University of Portsmouth's Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, said, "The success of Kilonova Seekers demonstrates the invaluable role of public participation in scientific discovery. The contribution of citizen scientists is really helping us push the boundaries of our understanding of the universe." The first stage of Kilonova Seekers is presented in a paper published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Although all of the 20 discoveries haven't been classified yet, the researchers have identified five as Type la Supernovae, which are powerful and bright explosions of stars. Type la Supernovae are important in astronomy because they have a consistent peak brightness, which makes them useful as "standardizable candles" to measure distances in space. By knowing how bright these supernovae should be, astronomers can calculate how far away they are, which helps measure the accelerating expansion of the universe. The other discovery that has been classified is a cataclysmic variable star. This is a binary star system consisting of a white dwarf star stealing matter from its companion star, which causes bright flashes of light. Dr. Kelsey added, "The remaining 14 have not yet been classified, so we aren't sure exactly what they are." One of the key accomplishments of the project is the speed of classification and consensus from the volunteers. Dr. Kelsey said, "As we have volunteers from around the world, there is almost always someone online looking at the data in real-time." Scientists monitor alerts from gravitational wave detectors LIGO, Virgo and KAGRA, which trigger GOTO telescopes within 30 seconds to begin searching the sky. Any images taken are then shared with the public via the Zooniverse, the world's largest and most popular platform for facilitating citizen science. Kilonova Seekers launched publicly on Zooniverse on 11 July 2023 and there were 1,000 classifications within the first 30 minutes. Based on data obtained from Google Analytics, there are participants from every continent, except Antarctica. The wide accessibility of Zooniverse projects enables researchers to reach countries that may be traditionally underrepresented in astronomical communities. The United States is by far the largest contributor, with a total of 1,284 users. The United Kingdom has about half that, with 615 users. However, users from Portugal are the most active, with each person viewing more than 2,750 pages on average. Dr. Kelsey added, "The project not only contributes to the discovery of transient phenomena but also enhances the development of next-generation classification algorithms. This means that with the help of the public, we can create better ways to sort and understand the information. "This speed of human vetting is simply not sustainable without the dedication of our citizen scientists." Dr. Tom Killestein, from the University of Turku in Finland, said, "Alongside all the discoveries the volunteers have made, they've created a list of over 20,000 gold standard examples that we've used to improve our machine learning classifiers. This powerful synergy between machine learning and citizen science will allow us to continually improve our algorithms, and directly increase the number of discoveries of supernovae and other exciting objects." More information: T L Killestein et al, Kilonova Seekers: The GOTO project for real-time citizen science in time-domain astrophysics, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2024). DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stae1817 Journal information: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 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 A team of researchers at Michigan State University has discovered a set of methods that enabled the first successful CRISPR-based genome editing in Nile grass rats. The study, published in BMC Biology, is the first to successfully edit genomes in Nile grass rats. As diurnal rodents, Nile grass rats have similar sleep/awake patterns to humans which could be advantageous in preclinical or translational research. Currently, preclinical research relies heavily on laboratory mice, which are nocturnal rodents who are active at night and sleep during the day. With these different sleep patterns, diurnal and nocturnal mammals have evolved differently, including having a distinct wiring of neural circuits and gene-regulatory networks. "The differences between diurnal and nocturnal mammals present a significant translational flaw when applying the research findings obtained from mice to humans. Numerous therapeutic agents such as neuroprotectants proven effective in mouse or rat models of cerebral ischemia have failed in human clinical stroke trials, with mounting evidence suggesting the nocturnal and diurnal differences causing such failures," said Lily Yan, co-author of the study and professor in MSU's Department of Psychology. Katrina Linning-Duffy and Jiaming Shi, also co-authors on the research, work in Yan's Lab. Because the differences between diurnal and nocturnal animals are complex, the researchers believe a diurnal model is essential to untangle the relationship between genes and behaviors that are relevant to human health and disease. The method developed includes a superovulation protocol that can yield nearly 30 eggs per female. They also developed protocols for in vitrooutside of the bodyembryo culture and manipulation and in vivoin the living bodygene targeting using GONAD, or Genome editing via Oviductal Nucleic Acids Delivery, methods. The Nile grass rat colony is a unique resource available at MSU. Thanks to the joint efforts of the departments of Psychology and Integrative Biology and the Transgenic and Genome Editing Facility, a Nile grass rat colony was established on campus in 1993. Research projects at MSU involving Nile grass rats have been continuously funded for more than 30 years. Animals from the MSU grass rat colony have been shared with over 20 research labs in the U.S., Canada, Belgium, China and Japan that study topics including circadian rhythms and sleep, mood and cognition, immune function, metabolic syndromes and evolutionary biology. Huirong Xie is the program director of MSU's Transgenic and Genome Editing Facility. "We hope that Nile grass rats will eventually become an alternative mammalian model to investigate genes' roles in any biological processes, particularly in which chronotype (diurnal vs. nocturnal) is a critical biological variable," Yan said. "This study will be an essential first step towards the far-reaching goal." More information: Huirong Xie et al, CRISPR-based genome editing of a diurnal rodent, Nile grass rat (Arvicanthis niloticus), BMC Biology (2024). DOI: 10.1186/s12915-024-01943-9 Journal information: BMC Biology 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: Signs of caries sicca on cranium C2, both photograph and X-rays image. Credit: Journal of Archaeological Science (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2024.106040 A team of biomedical and medicinal specialists from the University of Milan, working with a colleague from Foundation IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico di Milano, has found evidence of cocaine use by at least two people as far back as the 17th century in Europe. In their study, published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, the group analyzed the preserved brains of two people found in a crypt in Milan used as a burial site for people who died in the nearby Ospedale Maggiorea well-known hospital of the time. Prior research has found that for thousands of years, people living in western parts of South America chewed on the leaves of the coca plant to experience its chemical effects. After it was found that the leaves could be processed to make cocaine hydrochloride salts in the 19th century, the mind-altering effects of the drug became more widely known and it became a popular recreational drug in many parts of Europe. In this new study, the research team found evidence that people were chewing the leaves of the plant to get high in at least one part of Europe nearly 200 years earlier. The team studied the remains of people entombed in the Ca' Granda crypt, which was used as a burial site for approximately the entirety of the 17th century. As part of their work, they discovered the remains of two people who had been mummified. Study of the remains showed that both had active components of the coca plant in their brains, which meant they had been chewing its leaves. The research team also studied the pharmacological records of the Ospedale Maggiore and found no records of cocaine or coca plants being used for medicinal purposes. This suggested that the two people had been chewing the leaves for other reasons. The team noted that the two mummified individuals were buried in a place and in such a way as to suggest that they were poor, further suggesting that the coca leaves were cheap and likely plentiful and that they were chewed recreationally. More information: Gaia Giordano et al, Forensic toxicology backdates the use of coca plant (Erythroxylum spp.) in Europe to the early 1600s, Journal of Archaeological Science (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.jas.2024.106040 Journal information: Journal of Archaeological Science 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: Purple and orange Scalefin Anthias fish swarm the tops of the unique pinnacles found on The Ribbon Reefs. Credit: Commonwealth of Australia GBRMPA/-Photographer: J. Sumerling A report released today by the Reef Authority has concluded the overall outlook for the Great Barrier Reef remains one of future deterioration due largely to climate change. This is despite some habitats and species improving over the past five years thanks to windows of low disturbance and decades of protection and management. The 2024 Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report is the fourth in a series of comprehensive five-year reports on the Reef's health, pressures, management, and potential future. It found climate-driven threats such as warming oceans and severe cyclones have been compounding other impacts from crown-of-thorns starfish outbreaks, poor water quality and some fishing activities. Some ecosystems, such as coral habitats and seagrass meadows, have improved over the reporting period, indicating the Reef retains natural resilience. However, the Reef's capacity to tolerate and recover will be compromised by a rapidly changing climate. World-leading management initiatives such as work to control the coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish and increased ranger patrols to ensure people are doing the right thing, are helping protect biodiversity and supporting the Reef's resilience. Reef Authority CEO Josh Thomas said the Great Barrier Reef is a vast and spectacular ecosystem and one of the most complex natural systems on Earth. "Its intrinsic beauty, spectacular biodiversity and heritage values endure and underpin significant social, cultural and economic benefits for Australia," Thomas said. "However, ecosystems across the world are facing urgent and present threats from a warming climate. Global, national, and local action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is vital. "We will continue to work with Traditional Owners, partners, and communities to build ecosystem resilience to support the Reef's future. The Reef Authority's Great Barrier Reef Blueprint for Climate Resilience and Adaptation (Reef Blueprint 2030) describes key actions we are taking and those needed to address the challenge of climate change impacts on the Reef." Reef Authority Chief Scientist Dr. Roger Beeden said research showed that management actions such as the Crown-of-thorns Starfish Control Program are having measurable and positive impacts on Reef health, boosting its resilience and capacity to recover from major disturbances. "The research and assessments in the Outlook Report help us understand where the greatest challenges to the Reef's resilience lie," Beeden said. "The Outlook Report is independently reviewed and includes the best-available science and data from research institutions, Australian and Queensland government agencies, and industry. Its findings will help shape the actions these sectors take in the future to protect the Reef." The Report found the Great Barrier Reef Region continues to be well-managed overall, noting the enhanced investment by the Australian and Queensland governments through the Reef 2050 Long Term Sustainability Plan, which is delivering significant reforms in fisheries, marine park management, and for climate adaptation solutions. The 2024 Outlook Report does not include details of the 202324 summer's mass coral bleaching event. The Reef Authority will provide updates on the impacts of this event as the results from several monitoring programs become available over the next 12 months. Key findings include: The Great Barrier Reef is a vast and spectacular ecosystem and one of the most complex natural systems on Earth. Its natural beauty, amazing biodiversity and heritage values endure and underpin significant social, cultural, and economic benefits for Australia. The current condition of coral reef habitats (for the period ending December 2023) across the Great Barrier Reef has improved. While the property's outstanding universal value as a World Heritage Area remains whole and intact, its integrity continues to be challenged. Relatively few intense disturbances occurred over the reporting period, enabling significant recovery of fast-growing corals on many reefs. Mid and offshore reefs have fared better than inshore reefs. The resilience of social and Indigenous heritage values is underpinned by a healthy ecosystem and the strength of the connections people have with each other and the Reef. The tourism industry has shown great resilience in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and has created new partnerships that enhanced stewardship of the Reef. Just as every increment of global warming will compound impacts, every effective action taken now contributes to a more positive long-term outlook. A number of habitats remain in good to very good condition overall, including mangroves and islands. The sheer size of the Reef, in combination with legislation, local management actions and Reef stewardship, is a protective feature against broadscale declines in ecosystem. The condition of seagrass meadows has improved, reflecting recovery from past flooding impacts in some areas. Seagrass abundance either improved or remained stable in around 60% of the sites monitored between 2020 and 2023. Humpback whale populations have continued to recover. Seabirds, sharks and rays, and sea snakes, remain in poor condition. Marine turtles are in poor condition, and population declines are reported in most species other than southern green turtles and eastern Queensland flatbacks. More information: Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2024: www2.gbrmpa.gov.au/ Provided by Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority 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 juvenile humpback whale was freed after it was entangled in ropes and buoys in Sydney harbour city for 22 hours. A juvenile humpback whale was freed Friday after it was entangled in ropes and buoys in the harbour of Australia's largest city for 22 hours. Rescuers in Sydney received a call on Thursday afternoon that the whale had become entangled and raced under fading light to save it. By dawn, rescuers followed the whale in an inflatable boat and used specialised equipment to hold the whale in place while they cut the debris away. The whale was freed shortly before midday on Friday, and swam off to the open ocean after its 22-hour ordeal. Jessica Fox, from the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia, told AFP that efforts to save the whale were "incredible". "It is not uncommon for a whale to enter Sydney Heads -- they pop their heads in time to time, but to have one entangled in Sydney Harbour is extremely rare." For decades, humpback whale populations were hunted to the brink of extinction -- at one stage there were only an estimated 1,500 of the animals left in Australian waters. But they are a rare conservation success story after global protections were afforded to the whales in 1965. Humpback whale numbers now exceed 40,000 -- a number close to pre-whaling levels -- and the marine animal has since been removed from Australia's threatened species list. "With so many more whales in the ocean and more humans in the ocean, there is going to be greater potential for conflict," Fox said. A wildlife rescue team chases an entangled whale swimming in Sydney Harbour. Rescuers followed the whale in an inflatable boat and used specialised equipment to hold the whale in place while they cut the debris away. 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: A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, for the sixth time since December, spewing red lava through a new fissure on the Reykjanes Peninsula.Credit: Iceland Civil Defense via AP Lava continued to spew from a volcano in southwestern Iceland on Fridaythe sixth time since December the volcano has erupted on the Reykjanes Peninsula. The eruption from a new fissure began shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday following a series of strong earthquakes and within the hour a 4-kilometer (2.4-mile) fissure cut through the Sundhnukur crater. Iceland authorities say the eruption's effects remain localized with road closures but do not threaten the population. Halldor Bjornsson, head of weather and climate at the Norwegian Meteorological Agency, told the Icelandic news portal Visir that unlike previous eruptions, the lava flow was not heading for the town of Grindavik that was largely evacuated in December when the volcano came to life after being dormant for 800 years. "If this continues like this, Grindavik is not in danger," geophysicist Magnus Tuma Gumundsson told the website after flying over the eruption. "Of course, we don't know what will happen in the near future, but it is likely that this has reached its peak and then it will start to subside like the other eruptions." As news of the eruption spread, hundreds of curious onlookers drove to nearby vantage points for a view of the stunning natural phenomenon that has become a key tourism attraction. A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, for the sixth time since December, spewing red lava through a new fissure on the Reykjanes Peninsula. Credit: Iceland Civil Defense via AP "We just thought that it was the northern lights," said Mahnoor Ali, visiting from Maryland in the U.S. "It's like the coolest thing I've seen in my whole life, honestly." Friends Ameerul Awalludin from Malaysia and Shohei Miyamito from Japan were with an Icelandic friend when they heard the news and quickly rushed to the region of the eruption. "We have like a volcano as well," said Miyamito, but "we cannot see lava like this." But for people living and working on the Reykjanes Peninsula, the regular eruptions and ensuing evacuation orders cause more frustration than excitement. The repeated volcanic eruptions close to Grindavik, a town of 3,800 people about 50 kilometers (30 miles) southwest of the capital, Reykjavik, have damaged infrastructure and property and forced many residents to relocate to guarantee their safety. A new volcanic eruption is seen from the intersection between Reykjanesbraut, Iceland, and the road to Grindavik, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Marco di Marco View of the lava fountains pouring out from the new eruptive fissure opened at Svartsengi volcanic system, Iceland, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in a similar location as the previous eruptions. The fissure is 3 km north of Grindavik. Credit: AP Photo/Marco di Marco Tourists and visitors try to get a view of the eruption from a distance from the intersection between Reykjanesbraut, Iceland, and the road to Grindavik, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Marco di Marco Photographers and journalists on location filming and reporting on the new fissure north of Grindavik, Iceland, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, Credit: AP Photo/Marco di Marco Tourists and visitors try to get a view of the eruption from a distance from the intersection between Reykjanesbraut, Iceland, and the road to Grindavik, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Marco di Marco The sign with the direction to the blue lagoon with the new eruption in the background in Grindavik, Iceland, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, Credit: AP Photo/Marco di Marco Tourists and visitors try to get a view of the eruption from a distance from the intersection between Reykjanesbraut, Iceland, and the road to Grindavik, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Marco di Marco A new volcanic eruption is seen from the intersection between Reykjanesbraut, Iceland, and the road to Grindavik, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Marco di Marco View of the lava fountains pouring out from the new eruptive fissure opened at Svartsengi volcanic system, Iceland, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in a similar location as the previous eruptions. The fissure is 3 km north of Grindavik. Credit: AP Photo/Marco di Marco Tourists and visitors try to get a view of the eruption from a distance from the intersection between Reykjanesbraut, Iceland, and the road to Grindavik, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Marco di Marco View of the lava fountains pouring out from the new eruptive fissure opened at Svartsengi volcanic system, Iceland, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in a similar location as the previous eruptions. The fissure is 3 km north of Grindavik. Credit: AP Photo/Marco di Marco Photographers and journalists on location filming and reporting on the new fissure north of Grindavik, Iceland, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, Credit: AP Photo/Marco di Marco Tourists and visitors try to get a view of the eruption from a distance from the intersection between Reykjanesbraut, Iceland, and the road to Grindavik, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024. Credit: AP Photo/Marco di Marco View of the lava fountains pouring out from the new eruptive fissure opened at Svartsengi volcanic system, Iceland, Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, in a similar location as the previous eruptions. The fissure is 3 km north of Grindavik. Credit: AP Photo/Marco di Marco The few who had returned were forced out once again Thursday night as strong winds blew plumes of toxic gas over the town. The nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spaone of Iceland's biggest tourist attractionswas also evacuated with social media videos showing sirens blasting around dusk. The spa was closed Friday but staff was preparing to reopen it, Helga Arnadottir, manager of sales, operations and services, told national broadcaster RUV. Iceland, which sits above a volcanic hot spot in the North Atlantic, averages one eruption every four to five years. The most disruptive in recent times was the 2010 eruption of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano, which spewed clouds of ash into the atmosphere and disrupted trans-Atlantic air travel for months. The latest eruption is not expected to impact air travel. 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Support Us Your Support will ensure EPWs financial viability and sustainability. The EPW produces independent and public-spirited scholarship and analyses of contemporary affairs every week. EPW is one of the few publications that keep alive the spirit of intellectual inquiry in the Indian media. Often described as a publication with a social conscience, EPW has never shied away from taking strong editorial positions. Our publication is free from political pressure, or commercial interests. Our editorial independence is our pride. We rely on your support to continue the endeavour of highlighting the challenges faced by the disadvantaged, writings from the margins, and scholarship on the most pertinent issues that concern contemporary Indian society. Every contribution is valuable for our future. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: In the sweltering heat of India's Thar desert, an architecturally striking school is an oasis of cool thanks to a combination of age-old techniques and modern design. In the sweltering heat of India's Thar desert, where summer highs soar above 50 degrees Celsius, an architecturally striking school is an oasis of cool thanks to a combination of age-old techniques and modern design. The Rajkumari Ratnavati girls' school uses the same yellow sandstone as the 12th-century fort in nearby Jaisalmer, in India's western state of Rajasthan, dubbed the "golden city" due to the color of the rock. Like the fort, the school has thick rubble walls that help bounce back the heat, while the interior is plastered with lime, a porous material that regulates humidity and aids natural cooling. Unlike the ancient fort, its roof is lined with solar panels, which provide all the school's power in an area with frequent electricity cuts. Temperatures inside the school, designed by US-based architect Diana Kellogg and built by local artisansmany of them parents of pupilscan be as much as 20 percent lower than those outside. "I love going to the school," said eight-year-old Khushboo Kumari, one of the 170 students. "The air feels as if it is coming from an AC." The school's classrooms are arranged around an open elliptical courtyard resembling a Roman coliseum, and walls with grids of vents create shade while allowing for cooling airflow. Temperatures inside the school can be as much as 20 percent lower than those outside. Elevated windows allow hot air to escape as it rises. Rainwater is harvested from the flat roof. In some places, the walls are dotted with perforationsa technique known as "jali" that was traditionally used for modesty, shielding women from view in the conservative society. At the school, it is used to promote ventilation, creating a breeze channeled by the building's oval shape. "There is cross-ventilation," said school supervisor Rajinder Singh Bhati, aged 29. "The white tiles on the terrace reflect the sunlight." "It is totally eco-friendly." 'Airy and cool' India this year baked in its longest-ever heatwave, according to government weather experts. Temperatures surged above 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit), with warnings people will face increasingly oppressive heat in the future. India this year baked in its longest-ever heatwave, according to government weather experts. Manohar Lal, 32, the father of pupil Khushboo, said students looked forward to class thanks to the relative cool. "There are frequent power cuts in Rajasthan, and children have to suffer as temperatures touch almost 50 degrees Celsius in summer," Lal said outside his modest home of mud and brick, which does not have a ceiling fan. "But there are no such worries in the school because it is powered by solar energy," he added. "It is airy and cool, and that is why the children enjoy going to school". 'Feels like heaven' The school is supported by the US-based CITTA Education Foundation, meaning pupils attend for free in a state where the literacy rate for women is about 52 percent. Uniforms, school materials and lunch for pupils are also provided. "It's a big thing that they are getting quality education free of cost, considering they can't even afford proper meals or clothing," said Hindi teacher Priyanka Chhangani, 40. A worker mops rain water at Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls' School in India's desert state of Rajasthan. Kellogg, the architect, said combining tradition with modern design and sustainable techniques was key. "Because the craftsmen were so familiar with the stone, we were able to integrate traditional architectural details along with indigenous heritage details, so that the structure felt authentic to the region", she said. Her oval design was inspired by "feminine symbols of strength", she added. But while her design focused on tackling baking heat, it also faces an unexpected, climate change-driven problemfloods. Intense rainfall during the annual monsoon is common from June to September, but experts say climate change is increasing its frequency and severity. That increased rainfall has begun to impact the school, which was designed for a drier climate. This year, a long-dormant river was overflowing, washing away soil at one side of the school. Hindi language teacher of Rajkumari Ratnavati Girls' School, Priyanka Chhangani speaks during an interview with AFP at a hotel in Jaisalmer, in India's desert state of Rajasthan. Rajan Rawal, a professor at India's Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology University, said the increasing intensity of rain was impacting buildings designed for other weather. "Disasters like heat waves and floods impact the structural stability," Rawal said. They also affect the thermal performance of the building, he added. But teacher Chhangani said the school was still changing the lives of the pupils. "These children don't even have fans at home," she said. "When they come to school, it feels like heaven to them." 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: Matt Palmer Scientists have revealed Indigenous fire management can "lock up" more carbon than other methods of native bushland management and the practice could prove very lucrative for landholders. James Cook University's Distinguished Professor Michael Bird is a co-author of the new study that compares carbon sequestration in the tropical savannah of northern Queensland's Undara Volcanic National Park to carbon sequestration in savannah just outside it. "The park has been subject to an Indigenous fire regime involving early dry season fires every 34 years, for two decades, while the area outside has not," said Professor Bird. The scientists measured the amount of pyrogenic carbon (PyC) in both areas. "PyC, also known as char, is resistant to degradation for centuries or even millions of years, it locks carbon in the ground and is also beneficial to soils and crops. "We found the area subject to Indigenous fire management had on average a quarter tonne of PyC per hectare more in the topsoil than the area that had not," said Professor Bird. He said this means sequestration of 12502500 tonnes of carbon annually is potentially achievable for an average pastoral property of 100,000 hectares, by returning to an Indigenous fire regime of at least 5 early dry season fires per 12 decades. While currently not eligible for carbon credits, and with further validation required, this means returning to an indigenous fire regime could generate significant revenue in the future. He said benefits of more frequent fires had to be weighed against the opportunity costs of forgoing other land use options, broader changes in ecosystem carbon stocks and greenhouse gas emissions as well as some potentially negative (as well as positive) impacts on biodiversity. "On the other side of the ledger, there are around two hundred million hectares of tropical savannas in Australia. A return to a managed, early dry season, higher return interval fire regime could provide significant long-term carbon sequestration that would be beneficial to the climate and direct revenue to regional Australia," said Professor Bird. More information: Jordahna Haig et al, Impact of fire return interval on pyrogenic carbon stocks in a tropical savanna, North Queensland, Australia, International Journal of Wildland Fire (2024). DOI: 10.1071/WF24006 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: This schematic shows the evolution from solvated individual Tc-DA molecules to dimers to larger clusters through concentration-induced aggregation. Credit: Journal of the American Chemical Society (2024). DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c02058 No molecule stands alonethey need others, at least when it comes to being able to display useful photophysical, electronic, and chemical properties. When individual molecules combine into an aggregate, or a complex of two or more molecules, they become much more than the sum of their individual parts. Photoactive molecular aggregates, thoughcomplexes of two or more chromophores, which are molecules that absorb light at certain wavelengths, thereby displaying colorgo where isolated molecules do not. Due to the favorable interactions between molecules, these aggregates are of interest for biomedical, solar-energy-harvesting, and light-generating technologies. That is becausein natural photosynthesis and in bioinspired technological applicationsphotoactive aggregates are efficient at energy transfer, the transport of solar energy from one place to another. For instance, in natural photosynthesis, the most widespread energy conversion system on our planet, aggregates efficiently transfer the energy from where the light is absorbed to where it is converted into charges for electricity or chemicals for fuel production. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) researchers have synthesized two new compounds and studied how the properties of the individual molecules contribute to theoften unexpectedproperties of the larger aggregates. The team synthesized tetracene diacid (Tc-DA) and a dimethyl ester analog (Tc-DE) designed to prevent intermolecular hydrogen bonding while preserving Tc-DA's core electronics. The results are described in the Journal of the American Chemical Society in a paper titled "Tetracene Diacid Aggregates for Directing Energy Flow toward Triplet Pairs." "The goal of this fundamental study was to decipher which molecular properties dictate the eventual emergent properties of the collective ensemble where the whole is greater than the sum of the individual parts, similar to putting seemingly unrelated puzzle pieces together and an unexpected image emerges," said NREL's Justin Johnson, senior scientist. "For molecular-based light harvesting architectures that aim to use unconventional mechanisms to more efficiently use the solar spectrum than typical solar cells, it's the collective properties that determine efficiency." "Tc-DA was created to exploit intermolecular hydrogen-bonding interactions at semiconductor surfaces to well-ordered monolayers," said NREL's Nicholas Pompetti, postdoctoral researcher. "However, we found that we could control the aggregation of Tc-DA as it approached the surface through solvent and concentration choices. This opened up insights about tetracene-based aggregates and how their size and structure provide promising pathways for their use in light-harvesting applications." In a given solvent environment, strong intermolecular interactions direct stable and deterministic aggregation. However, strong but uncontrolled interactions might lead to the formation of large aggregates that may weaken solubility. On the other hand, weak interactions spur dissociation with molecules acting as monomers. Fortunately for Tc-DA, the degree of aggregation can be finely controlled, ranging from monomers to stable larger order aggregates by changing concentration or solvent system. Tetracene and its derivatives are prime candidates for singlet fission (SF), a process that may improve photoconversion efficiency by reducing wasteful heat production and relies on specific molecular dispositions that aggregates can achieve. Researchers used 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, computational modeling, and concentration-dependent optical behavior to investigate the likely aggregate structure of Tc-DA and Tc-DE. Steady-state spectroscopy analysis allowed them to observe absorption behavior and emission profiles of the aggregates. Computational modeling using density functional theory (performed by Kori Smyser and Sandeep Sharma at the University of Colorado Boulder), in combination with the NMR results, informed the researchers of the likely orientation of molecules within an aggregate structure. Researchers then examined the impacts of aggregation on Tc-DA's excited-state dynamics using transient absorption spectroscopy. "The excited-state dynamics were surprisingly sensitive to crossing a well-defined threshold of concentration, almost like going through a phase transition for a pure material," Johnson said. As the size and structure of the aggregates are important to light harvesting, researchers systematically varied solvent polarity and concentration in solution to analyze the well-defined tetracene aggregates and their behaviors, including the potentially important singlet fission. The researchers found that noncovalent tetracene-based aggregates beyond a dimer were stabilized at certain solvent polarities and concentrations, rapidly forming charge transfer and multiexcitonic states, which are desirable species for delivering charges (sometimes multiple units) to an electrode or catalyst. The combination of NMR, computational studies, and spectroscopic results allowed the researchers to describe aggregate structures not often seen in solution-phase polyacenes. "Controlling the landscape through molecular design and the associated solvent clearly allows us to dictate what the electrons do when they are photoexcited," Johnson said. "Nature uses hydrogen bonds in many types of aggregated architectures to tune energy landscapes in a similar fashion, like funneling water to a reservoir. Bringing such principles to artificial light-harvesting systems with the potential for controlling multiexcitons is a logical pursuit that is leading to interesting consequences." More information: Nicholas F. Pompetti et al, Tetracene Diacid Aggregates for Directing Energy Flow toward Triplet Pairs, Journal of the American Chemical Society (2024). DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c02058 Journal information: Journal of the American Chemical Society 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: EXCITE (EXoplanet Climate Infrared TElescope) hangs from a ceiling at the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility's location in Fort Sumner, New Mexico. The mission team practiced taking observations ahead of flight by looking out the hanger doors at night. Credit: NASA/Jeanette Kazmierczak Scientists and engineers are ready to fly an infrared mission called EXCITE (EXoplanet Climate Infrared TElescope) to the edge of space. EXCITE is designed to study atmospheres around exoplanets, or worlds beyond our solar system, during circumpolar long-duration scientific balloon flights. But first, it must complete a test flight during NASA's fall 2024 scientific ballooning campaign from Fort Sumner, New Mexico. "EXCITE can give us a three-dimensional picture of a planet's atmosphere and temperature by collecting data the whole time the world orbits its star," said Peter Nagler, the mission's principal investigator at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "Only a handful of these types of measurements have been done before. They require a very stable telescope in a position to track a planet for several days at a time." EXCITE will study hot Jupiters, giant gas exoplanets that complete an orbit once every one to two days and have temperatures in the thousands of degrees. The worlds are tidally locked, which means the same side always faces the star. The telescope will observe how heat is distributed across the planet, from the scalding hemisphere facing the star to the relatively cooler nightside. It will also determine how molecules in a world's atmosphere absorb and emit light over the entire orbit, a process called phase-resolved spectroscopy. Not only can this data reveal the presence of compoundslike water, methane, carbon dioxide, and othersbut also how they circulate globally as the planet orbits its star. NASA's Hubble, James Webb, and retired Spitzer space telescopes have collected a handful of these measurements between them. In 2014, for example, Hubble and Spitzer observed an exoplanet called WASP-43 b. To collect data over the world's 22-hour day, scientists needed 60 hours of Hubble time and 46 hours from Spitzer. Resource-intensive studies like this on space-based observatories are difficult. Time is a limited resource, and studies must compete with hundreds of other requests for that time. "During its first science flight, EXCITE aims to fly for over a dozen days from the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility's site in Antarctica," said Kyle Helson, an EXCITE team member and a research scientist at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and NASA Goddard. "And at the pole, the stars we'll study don't set, so our observations won't be interrupted. We hope that the mission will effectively double the number of phase-resolved spectra available to the science community." EXCITE will fly to about 132,000 feet (40 kilometers) via a scientific balloon filled with helium. That takes it above 99.5% of Earth's atmosphere. At that altitude, the telescope will be able to observe multiple infrared wavelengths with little interference. "The telescope collects the infrared light and beams it into the spectrometer, where it kind of goes through a little obstacle course," said Lee Bernard, an EXCITE team member and a graduate research assistant at Arizona State University in Tempe. "It bounces off mirrors and through a prism before reaching the detector. Everything must be aligned very preciselyjust a few millimeters off center and the light won't make it." The spectrometer rests inside a vessel called a cryostat situated behind the telescope. The cryostat cools the spectrometer's detectoronce a flight candidate from Webb'sNIRSpec (Near InfraRed Spectrograph) to about 350 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (minus 210 degrees Celsius) so it can measure tiny intensity changes in the infrared light. The entire telescope and cryostat assembly rests in a rowboat-shaped base where it can rotate along three axes to maintain stable pointing down to 50 milliarcseconds. That's like holding a steady gaze on a U.S. quarter coin from 65 miles away. "Several different institutions contributed to EXCITE's subsystems," said Tim Rehm, an EXCITE team member and a graduate research assistant at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. "It's great to see them all assembled and working together. We're excited to do this test flight, and we're looking forward to all the future science flights we hope to have." The EXCITE instrument was primarily built by NASA Goddard, Brown, Arizona State University, and StarSpec Technologies in Ontario, with additional support from collaborators in the U.S., Canada, Italy, and the United Kingdom. NASA's scientific balloons offer frequent, low-cost access to near-space to conduct scientific investigations and technology maturation in fields such as astrophysics, heliophysics, and atmospheric research, as well as training for the next generation of leaders in engineering and science. More information: To follow the missions in the 2024 Fort Sumner fall campaign, visit NASA's CSBF (Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility) website for real-time updates of a balloon's altitude and GPS location during flight. 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: Juno captured this image of Io during Perijove 57. Juno's images of the volcanic moon are adding momentum to the calls for a mission to the moon. Is it time? Credit: NASA / SWRI / MSSS / Jason Perry Thanks to NASA's Juno mission to the Jupiter system, we're getting our best looks ever at the gas giant's volcanic moon Io. Even as Juno provides our best views of the moon, it also deepens our existing questions. Only a dedicated mission to Io can answer those questions, and there are two proposed missions. Io is well-known as the most geologically active world in the solar system, and it's not even close. It has more than 400 active volcanoes. Io is the closest moon to Jupiter, and the planet's powerful gravity is largely responsible for Io's volcanoes. As the planet pulls on Io, the friction creates tidal heating in the moon's interior. This creates magma and drives its volcanic eruptions. Sulfur compounds in the eruptions paint the moon's surface in shades of red, yellow, white, black, and green. There's never been a dedicated mission to Io, only missions that captured images as they passed by, including Galileo, Voyager 1, Cassini, New Horizons, and Juno, NASA's current mission to Jupiter. But Io is intriguing and unique, and it can teach us a lot. Planetary scientists want to know more about the moon's geological processes. Io is considered a high heat flux world, and scientists want to learn more about its tidal dissipation. Studying Io can also tell us more about primitive planetary bodies that were once more volcanic, which Earth likely was early in its history. Io can also tell us more about volcanogenic atmospheres, which can play a vital role in shaping a planet's environment. This 2020 paper draws a link between Earth's volcanic activity and the Great Oxygenation Event, a critical period when oxygen accumulated in Earth's atmosphere. A better understanding of the link between volcanic activity and atmospheric evolution will help us better understand exoplanets and habitability. Scientists know that the Galilean moons exchange material with Jupiter's atmosphere and magnetosphere. They also know that material ejected from Io's volcanoes can reach the surfaces of the other moons. Some of it can be turned into plasma by Jupiter's powerful magnetosphere, forming Io's plasma torus. They're curious about this mass exchange in the Jupiter system and how it's shaped the moons. These are the reasons for a dedicated mission to Io. This schematic of Jupiters magnetic environments shows the planets looping magnetic field lines, Io and its plasma torus, and Ios flux tube. Credit: John Spencer / Wikipedia CC-BY-SA3.0 with labels by the author In 2010, scientists at the University of Arizona and Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory first proposed the Io Volcano Observer (IVO) as part of NASA's Discovery Program. IVO was proposed as a low-cost mission to explore Jupiter's volcanic moon. It was proposed again in 2015 and in 2019. In 2020, IVO was selected with two other missions for further study but ultimately lost out to the DAVINCI+ and VERITAS missions to Venus. Now, there's another proposal for the Io Volcano Observer, but this time, it's under NASA's New Frontiers Program. The new proposal shows that the desire for an Io-focused mission won't go away. Instead, it's gaining steam. In a new paper still subject to peer review, a group of mostly American scientists present their case for the New Frontiers IVO. It's titled "Comparing NASA Discovery and New Frontiers Class Mission Concepts for the Io Volcano Observer (IVO)" and its available on the arXiv preprint server. The first author is Christopher Hamilton from the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona. The IVO NF would address our scientific questions by reaching three goals, according to the authors: Determine how and where tidal heat is generated inside Io; Understand how tidal heat is transported to the surface of Io; Understand how Io is evolving. The original IVO proposal had the spacecraft encounter Io 10 times in four years after reaching the moon in 2033. It would've carried five instruments, with a sixth under consideration. The IVO would've crossed Io from pole to pole, passing over the equator at an altitude of between 200 and 500 kilometers (124 and 310 miles.) The Jovian moon Io as seen by the New Horizons spacecraft. The missions camera caught a view of one of this moons volcanos erupting. A new mission to Io could have a spacecraft fly right through one of these plumes to sample it. Credit: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio The closest approaches were carefully designed to give the spacecraft the best observations of the moon's magnetic field, gravity field, and libration amplitude. The approaches also would've allowed for both sunlit and dark views of volcanoes, allowing the spacecraft to study the composition of lava. The polar perspective would've provided new views of heat emanating from the moon that were unavailable to Galileo and unobservable from Earth. The new IVO NF proposal maintains the polar orbit of the original IVO but improves it in several ways. Universe Today talked with lead author Christopher Hamilton about the new proposal. His remarks have been lightly edited for clarity. The first change in the new proposal concerns the number of flybys, which would increase from 10 to 20. "10 flybys for the original Discovery-level IVO mission would fill important gaps in image coverage that remain unfilled after the Voyager and Galileo era," Hamilton said. So why double it? "The new tour not only doubles the image coverage of Io's surface with high-resolution imaging but also enables more flybys of active volcanoes, like Loki, Loki Patera, and Pillian Patera," Hamilton said. "These are highly dynamic volcanic systems that include active lava lakes and explosive eruptionsone pass over the volcanic systems is simply not enough to constrain their time-variability and eruption dynamics." Like Earth's moon, Io is tidally locked to Jupiter, with one side more readily available for study than the Jupiter-facing side. But Jupiter's effect on Io is much stronger than Earth's effect on the moon. "However, tidal interactions between Jupiter and Io are much stronger, exciting tides in solid rock with an amplitude of about 100 m (328 feet), which is taller than the Statue of Liberty!" Hamilton said. These tidal interactions drive Io's powerful volcanism. "However, studies of the past decade have suggested that this heat has also melted a layer within Io to form a subsurface '"'magma ocean,'" Hamilton said. The original IVO's 10 orbits, with its magnetometer instrument, would have confirmed or excluded this hypothesis. The new proposal will carry an improved version of this instrument, and with more orbits, it could answer questions about Io's magma ocean. "IVO-NF would also carry a fluxgate magnetometer and with the repeat passes, carefully timed to measure Io's induced magnetic field at different times in its orbit, would greatly reduce the uncertainty in estimating a potential magma ocean's depth," Hamilton said. The current uncertainty is 10 km, but IVO NF would reduce it to 3 km. This "would revolutionize our understanding of Io's interior and the links between tidal heating and volcanism," Hamilton told Universe Today. "Both IVO and IVO-NF are great missions, but doubling the number of flybys more than doubles the scientific return from an Io mission!" Hamilton said. IVO-NF would also approach Io much closer than the original IVO. The original mission called for an altitude of 200 and 500 kilometers (124 and 310 miles) above Io's surface. IVO-NF would begin its mission with high-altitude fly-bys, but as the mission progressed and objectives were reached, it would come much closer. "With 20 flybys, IVO-NF can be more daring, flying closer to Io's surface and even flying through its volcanic plumes to determine the chemistry of its erupted products in unprecedented detail," Hamilton told Universe Today. Initial flybys would be at about 200 km, "but as the mission progresses and Baseline objectives are achieved, we will be able to lower the altitude of later flybys over active volcanoes like Pele Patera," Hamilton said. "Nonetheless, we would image and analyze these volcanoes first, making use of repeat coverage to further constrain the safety of the close approach, and take precautions like reorienting the spacecraft's solar panels so that they fly through the plume side-on rather than exposing the full cross-sectional area," Hamilton told Universe Today. "Plume flythroughs for Io would also open the door to other sampling opportunities for plumes on Saturn's active moon, Enceladus." "This may seem dangerous, but even at altitudes of 50 km, there would be very few particles," Hamilton said. But before the spacecraft comes that close, it'll use its Surface Dust Analyzer to understand the hazard. This instrument was added to the IVO-NF as a top priority. It will measure surface dust composition and the composition of nanograins in the volcanic plumes. Overall, it will give scientists a better understanding of Io's dust environment and inform them if it's safe to approach within 50 km. According to Hamilton, we're experiencing a renaissance in exploring the Jovian system. "This is an important time in Planetary Exploration, and exploration of the Jupiter System is undergoing a renaissance, with Juno, Europa Clipper, and JUICE examining Jupiter, Europa, and Ganymede at the same time," Hamilton told Universe Today. Io is a critical part of Jupiter's moon system. It's at the heart of the orbital resonance configuration between Io, Europa, and Ganymede, and the resonance drives geological activity on all three moons, including volcanism, tectonic activity, and the formation of surface features. "Juno has filled some important gaps left after the end of the Galileo mission (19952003), but IVO and IVO-NF would be the first to have an instrument suite that is optimized specifically for Io," said Hamilton. To the intellectually curious, everything in nature is worthy of study and deeper understanding. An extraordinary world like Io is certainly no exception, with everything it has to tell us about itself, its sibling moons, and even about the early Earth and moon. "Our paper makes the case that Io is a priority target for exploration that should be considered in the next New Frontier Announcement of Opportunity," Hamilton told Universe Today. He acknowledges that the original IVO mission at the Discovery level is possible, but the IVO New Frontiers mission would accomplish a lot more and would more thoroughly address our outstanding questions about Io. "A larger mission to Io via New Frontiers would more than double the scientific return of the mission and would offer the best approach to understanding not just Io, but the Jupiter System as a whole, and the origins of high-heat flux worlds like the early Earth, early moon, and other terrestrial planets in the solar system and beyond," Hamilton concluded. More information: Christopher W. Hamilton et al, Comparing NASA Discovery and New Frontiers Class Mission Concepts for the Io Volcano Observer (IVO), arXiv (2024). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2408.08334 Journal information: arXiv 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: Diego Cambiaso, CC BY-SA 2.0 The income and education levels of a child's environment determine their relationship to nature, not whether they live in a city or the countryside. This is the finding of a new study published in People and Nature and conducted by researchers at Lund University, Sweden. The results run counter to the assumption that growing up in the countryside automatically increases our connection to nature, and yet the study also shows that nature close to home increases children's well-being. There is a general concern that, with urbanization, people have lost contact with nature. According to research, less contact means lower engagement with nature and poorer health outcomes as people spend less time outdoors. How we might strengthen or rediscover our connection to nature is therefore a topical question. This is particularly important for children, partly because of the impact on their health, but also because it is in childhood that our relationships with nature are formed. The researchers wanted to study the relationships urban and rural schoolchildren have to nature and whether these vary with socioeconomic status. They also wanted to look into whether feeding birds could serve as a point of contact with wildlife, potentially strengthening children's knowledge of and feeling for nature, and by extension, improving their sense of well-being. "Contrary to expectations, we have shown that children's relationships with nature are not determined by whether they grow up in the countryside or in the city. Instead, socioeconomic factors play a decisive role. For example, children in areas with higher levels of education generally had better species knowledge, which in turn was linked to more positive attitudes towards wildlife. "Higher incomes are linked to children participating more in nature-based activities, which also leads to a better connection to nature. This was true regardless of whether the children lived in a city center or in the countryside," says Dr. Johan Kjellberg Jensen, researcher at Lund University, who led the study. The study did find some differences between urban and rural children, however. "It appears that children use natural environments in different ways, but this does not affect their attitudes towards nature in general. We could also see that children who have more direct access to nature close to home report a higher self-perceived sense of well-being. This shows how important contact with nature really is," Dr. Jensen says. Visualization of correlations. Solid arrows indicate significant associations; the dashed arrow signifies an interaction. Credit: People and Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10702 What was the outcome of the bird feeding project? The researchers from Lund found that children's species knowledge increased, but they saw no effect on well-being or attitudes to nature. "That said, we saw a very wide variation in results between schools, which points to the important role of teachers and schools in projects like this. We already know that our contact with nature is shaped through social interactions and that adults have considerable responsibility in acting as role models for how children relate to nature," says Dr. Jensen, who also points out that this does not necessarily have to fall to teachers, who already have considerable responsibilities. Another key finding of the study was that children with little access to nature close to home benefited most from the bird feeding project. "This highlights the importance of green and equitable housing policies and urban planning. If we want future generations to have positive relationships with nature, enjoying all the health benefits that come with that, we may need targeted projects to increase children's contact with nature, both in urban and rural settings. This is particularly important in areas of low socioeconomic levels and little nature near residential housing," Dr. Jensen concludes. Previous studies have highlighted feeding birds as a potential way to strengthen the human-nature connection. The researchers from Lund University wanted to investigate more closely how factors such as urbanization might modulate this. The researchers asked children aged 1011 from 14 schools in southern Sweden to feed and count birds in their school playgrounds over three weeks. The children lived in the cities of Lund, Malmo and Helsingborg, as well as the surrounding countryside. The researchers measured the children's species knowledge, sense of well-being and connection to nature before and after the period of feeding. The researchers then cross-referenced the responses they received with data on education and income levels locally, the amount of nature nearby, the children's other nature-based activities, and whether they lived in a rural or urban area. With its 350,000 inhabitants, Malmo was the largest city included in the study. The researchers highlight that the results may have been different if they had conducted their study in a city of several million inhabitants where it can be harder to travel outside the city to experience nature. More information: Johan Kjellberg Jensen et al, Reconnecting children to nature: The efficacy of a wildlife intervention depends on local nature and socioeconomic context, but not on urbanisation, People and Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1002/pan3.10702 Journal information: People and Nature 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 electron microscopy micrograph of the pathogenic yeast C. albicans cell wall shows the dramatic effect of the antifungal polymer LH (B) on the outer cell well layer, when compared to untreated (A). Credit: Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50491-x Every year, more than 2 million people are affected by invasive fungal infections, which are often caused by Candida species and are associated with high mortality rates. The development of new therapies is progressing very slowly. Demand is increasing, however, especially as drug resistance is becoming more and more common. An interdisciplinary research team led by Dr. Sascha Brunke from the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection BiologyHans Knoll Institute (Leibniz-HKI) has now investigated the mode of action and therapeutic potential of synthetic polymers. These long-chain chemical compounds mimic naturally occurring peptides and inhibit the growth of microorganisms. The exact mechanism of action was previously unclear. However, the mystery has now been solvedall thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. From Australia to Jena Doctoral researcher and chemistry Ph.D. student Sebastian Schafer, who was working on the design of antifungal polymers in chemical engineering at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), was in Germany when Australia closed its borders due to the pandemic, preventing Schafer from returning to UNSW. But the biotechnologist made a virtue of necessity and temporarily moved his research to the Leibniz-HKI in Jena, where he added a chemical facet to the Department of Microbial Pathogenicity Mechanisms and turned his attention to pathogenic fungi. This not only led to new research approaches, but also to a very successful collaboration between natural product researchers and infection biologists from Germany and Australia. The unexpectedly formed team developed several synthetic polymers from the polyacrylamide family that showed strong efficacy against Candida albicans, even against resistant strains. In particular, the polymer called LH, in combination with the drug caspofungin, was extremely effective against the fungus and significantly improved the survival rate of infected moth larvae in laboratory tests. In the study, now published in Nature Communications, the team also uncovered the exact mode of action of the compounds for the first time. "The synthetic polymers attack the fungal cells in a number of different ways at the same time. They also use new target structures, which is why they are so effective. This is where they differ from conventional antifungals, which only work in one way," reports Raghav Vij, who is one of the authors of the study alongside Schafer. The compounds caused stress in the fungal cell and weakened it by hindering glycosylation on the cell surface. In this chemical process, sugar chains are bound to proteins, which is important for the stability and function of the cells. The polymers also damaged the walls and membranes of the fungal cells, causing them to die. In addition, the polymers supported immune cells in the destruction of fungal cells, as was discovered in interaction tests. Hope for resistant fungi "It was also remarkable that LH together with antifungal agents did not lead to the development of resistance in C. albicans in the laboratory. This indicates that such combination therapies are not only more effective, but also more sustainable than previous therapies and can therefore lead to better treatment success," explains Vij. Another advantage is that "the production of synthetic polymers is relatively inexpensive. In addition, they are stable and storable compared to conventional active compounds. In low-income countries in particular, they could therefore make a significant contribution to public health," summarizes Brunke. However, more research is still needed before this is achieved. "So far, the polymers have only been tested in insect models. Whether humans also tolerate the new therapy must first be investigated in detail," Brunke points out. There is also still a need to optimize the structure of the polymers developed. "We don't yet know exactly which molecular components of the polymers affect which parts of the fungus. The target molecule is still missing, so to speak," says Vij. In addition, whether the polymers have any harmful effects on humans or the environment must be investigated. Despite everything, the research results already point in a positive direction and give hope for effective new therapeutic options. More information: Sebastian Schaefer et al, A synthetic peptide mimic kills Candida albicans and synergistically prevents infection, Nature Communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50491-x Journal information: Nature Communications Provided by Leibniz-Institut fur Naturstoff-Forschung und Infektionsbiologie - Hans-Knoll-Institut (Leibniz-HKI) 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 Chinese Meridian Project will integrate data from hundreds of ground-based instruments to monitor space weather between the sun and Earth. Credit: Chi Wang et al. There's a lot going on between Earth's atmosphere and the sun. Accurately forecasting conditions in this area of space is challenging but critical to the safety of astronauts, satellites, and even ground-based systems such as power grids. Doing so requires using a combination of monitoring techniques to track specific aspects of the sun, solar wind, the ionosphere, and more. Later this year, a new large-scale network is set to significantly enhance scientists' ability to watch and predict how events on the sun will affect Earth. In the journal Space Weather, Chi Wang and colleagues introduce the Chinese Meridian Project (CMP), a comprehensive, ground-based space environment observation network that integrates data from about 300 instruments to monitor space weather as it travels from the sun to Earth's atmosphere. The CMP is projected to provide continuous monitoring of multiple spatial layers of the solar-terrestrial space environment, enabling both more rapid detection and more accurate forecasting of events such as solar storms. The CMP is organized around an architecture of "one chain, three networks, and four focuses," the authors write. The "one chain" refers to a collection of optical, radio, geomagnetic, and other devices that monitor the chain of weather events that travel from the sun to Earth. The "three networks" cover three areas closer to home: Earth's ionosphere, geomagnetic field, and middle and upper atmosphere. They include radar, lidar, and geomagnetic and ionospheric instruments based in China that observe each of these levels. The "four focuses" are four locations: the poles, middle- and low-latitude regions in China, and the Tibetan Plateau. Here, specialized tools and monitoring facilities, including telescope arrays, magnetographs, radar systems, and an aurora spectrometer, will offer more detailed views of geomagnetic and atmospheric disturbances. The network also includes data transmission and storage capabilities, as well as a system for analyzing and sharing data from the CMP with the international research community. The CMP is expected to improve scientists' ability to gather data on the solar-terrestrial environment. This could enhance their ability to forecast events such as electromagnetic storms that imperil satellite networks and electrical grids. More information: Chi Wang et al, China's GroundBased Space Environment Monitoring NetworkChinese Meridian Project (CMP), Space Weather (2024). DOI: 10.1029/2024SW003972 Journal information: Space Weather Provided by Eos This story is republished courtesy of Eos, hosted by the American Geophysical Union. Read the original storyhere. 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: Male golden snub-nosed monkey with blueish face ornaments and lip wart: Vibrant colors and elaborate body ornaments seen in many primate species may do more than attract mates or establish social hierarchies. These features also play an important role in communication between different social groups. Credit: Cyril C. Grueter Primate ornamentation plays a crucial role in communication not only within social groups but also between them, according to a new study. The research, published in Evolution Letters, reveals that the males of species with overlapping home ranges often display vibrant colors or elaborate features, traits that may help reduce intergroup aggression by enabling quick assessment of potential rivals. Ornaments are sexually selected traits that serve as powerful signals, often indicating an individual's genetic quality, health or physical strength. These differences in appearance between males and females, known as dimorphic traits, are expressed in features like colorful fur or elaborate body structures. Examples include the golden snub-nosed monkey's lip wart and blueish face, the mandrill's vivid facial features with its red nose and blue skin, the gelada baboon's impressive mane and red chest patch, or the proboscis monkey's remarkably large nose. A new study from the University of Zurich (UZH) has uncovered an intriguing link between these dimorphic traits and how primates interact with other groups. The research, conducted by Stefan Lupold from the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies at UZH in collaboration with Cyril Grueter from the University of Western Australia, shows that the vibrant colors and elaborate body ornaments seen in many primate species may do more than attract mates or establish social hierarchies. These features also play an important role in communication between different social groups. Proximity encourages richer ornamentation The researchers analyzed data from 144 primate species, including both monkeys and apes (prosimians and anthropoids). They focused on how ornamentation relates to the overlap of home ranges, which measures how much living space groups share with their neighbors. According to Stefan Lupold, the findings showed a clear pattern: "Species that shared more space with their neighbors had significantly greater differences in ornamentation between the sexes. In species where groups frequently interact, males are more likely to sport flashy traits that set them apart from females." The study also found that intergroup encounters were less likely to be aggressive in species with greater home range overlap. Encounters deemed conflict-related included behaviors such as physical confrontation, displays of strength, avoidance, displacement, vigilance and vocal warnings. This suggests that vivid physical traits might help to reduce conflict between groups, possibly by allowing them to quickly assess potential rivals from a distance. Complex world of animal communication "These findings challenge the common belief that primate ornamentation is only about competing for mates within groups," says Lupold. "Instead, they highlight the importance of considering the wider social environment in which gregarious animals exist, recognizing the significance of social interactions both within and between groups." The study sheds new light on the evolution of primate ornamentation and provides valuable insights into the complex world of animal communication. More information: Cyril C Grueter et al, The role of between-group signaling in the evolution of primate ornamentation, Evolution Letters (2024). DOI: 10.1093/evlett/qrae045 Journal information: Evolution Letters 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 treatment of asylum seekers is an important issue for many countries as they grapple with polarized public views on the issue. Some policymakers focus on the need for border security to keep asylum-seekers out and "protect" their nations, while others focus on the dire needs of asylum seekers themselves. In March 2023, the Canadian government announced plans to close Roxham Road, an unofficial border crossing between the United States and Canada. Roxham Road had frequently been used by asylum seekers to enter the country. This announcement added fuel to an ongoing debate in Canada over what to do about people seeking asylum here. To examine the content of this debate and particularly the role of values, we analyzed discourse about asylum seekers on Twitternow Xat the time of the closing of Roxham Road. The role of social media Social media can play an important part in understanding the drivers of polarized discussions about asylum-seekers because 63% of the world's population uses social media. This means social media can be used to analyze a wide range of opinions and world views. The value of studying public sentiment toward asylum seekers through social media platforms is supported by research demonstrating social media's connection with behavior. For example, some studies have shown a direct connection between the use of moralizing rhetoric on social media and related incidents of violent protest. So, what were people saying about asylum seekers on Twitter at the time of the closure of Roxham Road, and what might be driving different views? Personal values and attitudes Our research focused on whether people were using personal values in expressing their attitudes toward asylum seekers. Personal values are well-suited to understanding divergent views on asylum seekers because they reveal a psychological rationale for viewing asylum seekers in a negative or positive light. Past research has found that two values are pivotal in understanding why people may hold opposing views on immigration: conservation and self-transcendence. Those who value conservation typically view immigration as negative because they are likely to see it as threatening established traditions, norms and security. In contrast, those who value self-transcendence typically view immigration as positive because they are likely to believe that it benefits the welfare and interests of others. To examine whether conservation and self-transcendence were used to express attitudes toward asylum seekers when Roxham Road was closing, we collected tweets spanning eight days in March 2023those leading up to the closure of Roxham Road, the days of announcement and closure, and several subsequent days. This resulted in 24,531 tweets for our analysis. We analyzed both the tone of tweetswhether they were negative or positive toward asylum seekersand the frequency of expressing conservation and self-transcendence values. On average, the overall tone of the 24,531 tweets was neutral. However, 9.87% of the tweets expressed the value of conservation, and these tweets generally had a negative tone, reflecting a negative view of asylum seekers. In contrast, 15.36% of the tweets expressed the value of self-transcendence, and illustrating a positive view of asylum seekers. Did views change after Roxham Road closed? We also examined whether closing Roxham Road influenced the content and tone of people's tweets about asylum seekers. Social media's ability to capture data over time allows us to deepen our knowledge of how people express their opinions through a period of important policy change. We analyzed the content and tone of the tweets at four points in time. These times included: two days before closure of Roxham Road, at the time of the announcement and closure, two days after the closure, and two days after that. We found that the number of tweets expressing the value of conservation increased immediately after the closure of Roxham Road, but then returned to their pre-closure level. These tweets became somewhat less negative at the time of the announcement and onward. This reduction in negativity was perhaps because asylum seekers who could not enter the country were seen as less of a threat. The number of tweets expressing self-transcendence more than doubled immediately after the closure of Roxham Road and maintained this higher level in the following days. These tweets were especially positive immediately after the closure. This increase in expressing self-transcendence and positivity was perhaps because of enhanced empathy for the asylum seekers who could no longer enter the country. Values play an important role in attitudes toward asylum seekers and help to explain polarized views. These views may change in response to policy shifts regarding the treatment of asylum seekers. By using Twitter data, we were able to understand these changing attitudes at the time of the closing of Roxham Road. 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: The illustration highlights the Kagome pattern which, named after a Japanese basket weaving motif, appears like an endless series of six-pointed stars. Each of these stars is made up of three interlocking triangular grids, with the sublattice forming the star points. Credit: Jorg Bandmann/pixelwg & neongrau A superconductivity theory proposed by a Wurzburg physics team has been validated in an international experiment that showed Cooper pairs display wave-like distribution in Kagome metals. The finding will enable new technological applications such as superconducting diodes. For about 15 years, Kagome materials with their star-shaped structure reminiscent of a Japanese basketry pattern have captivated global researchers. Only since 2018, have scientists been able to synthesize metallic compounds featuring this structure in the lab. Thanks to their unique crystal geometry, Kagome metals combine distinctive electronic, magnetic, and superconducting properties, making them promising for future quantum technologies. Professor Ronny Thomale of the Wurzburg-Dresden Cluster of Excellence ct.qmatComplexity and Topology in Quantum Matter, and Chair of Theoretical Physics at the University of Wurzburg (JMU) provided key insights into this class of materials with his early theoretical predictions. Recent findings published in Nature suggest these materials could lead to novel electronic components, such as superconducting diodes. Kagome superconductor shakes up science In a paper posted on the preprint server arXiv on February 16, 2023, Professor Thomale's team proposed that a unique type of superconductivity could manifest in Kagome metals, with Cooper pairs distributing in a wave-like fashion within the sublattices. Each "star point" contains a different number of Cooper pairs. That paper has now been published in Physical Review B. Thomale's theory has now been directly substantiated for the first time in an international experiment, causing a worldwide sensation. This overturns the earlier assumption that Kagome metals could only host uniformly distributed Cooper pairs. Cooper pairsnamed after physicist Leon Cooperare formed at very low temperatures by pairs of electrons, and are essential for superconductivity. Acting collectively, they can create a quantum state, and can also move through a Kagome superconductor without resistance. "Initially, our research on Kagome metals like potassium vanadium antimony (KV 3 Sb 5 ) focused on the quantum effects of individual electrons, which, although not superconducting, can exhibit wave-like behavior in the material," explains Thomale. "After experimentally confirming our initial theory on electron behavior with the detection of charge density waves two years ago, we tried to find additional quantum phenomena at ultralow temperatures. This led to the discovery of the Kagome superconductor. However, global physics research in Kagome materials is still in its infancy," Thomale notes. Transmitting wave motion "Quantum physics is familiar with the pair-density wave phenomenona special form of a superconducting condensate. As we all know from cooking, when steam cools, it condenses and becomes liquid. "Something similar happens in Kagome metals. At ultra-low temperatures around 193C, the electrons reorganize and distribute in waves in the material. This has been known since the discovery of charge density waves," explains doctoral student Hendrik Hohmann, a key contributor to the theoretical work alongside his colleague Matteo Durrnagel. "When the temperature drops to 272 (almost absolute zero), electrons join together in pairs. These Cooper pairs condense into a quantum fluid that also spreads in waves through the material, enabling resistance-free superconductivity. This wave-like distribution is therefore transmitted from electrons to Cooper pairs." Previous research on Kagome metals has demonstrated both superconductivity and the spatial distribution of Cooper pairs. The surprising new finding is that these pairs can be distributed not just evenly, but also in a wave-like pattern within the atomic sublattices, a phenomenon termed "sublattice-modulated superconductivity." Durrnagel adds, "The presence of pair density waves in KV 3 Sb 5 is ultimately due to wave-like electron distribution at temperatures 80 above superconductivity. This combination of quantum effects harbors significant potential." The ct.qmat researchers are now searching for Kagome metals where Cooper pairs exhibit spatial modulation without charge density waves arising prior to superconductivity. Promising candidates are already under study. Nobel Prize-winning Josephson Effect enables breakthrough The experiment, pioneering in its direct detection of Cooper pairs distributed in wave-like patterns within a Kagome metal, was developed by Jia-Xin Yin at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China. It utilized a scanning tunneling microscope equipped with a superconducting tip capable of directly observing Cooper pairs. The design of this tip, ending in a single atom, is based on the Nobel Prize-winning Josephson effect. A superconducting current passes between the microscope tip and the sample, enabling the direct measurement of the Cooper pairs' distribution. "The current findings are another milestone towards energy-efficient quantum devices. While these effects are currently observable only at the atomic level, once Kagome superconductivity is achievable on a macroscopic scale, novel superconducting components will become feasible. And this is what drives our basic research," states Professor Thomale. Outlook While the world's longest superconducting cable has been installed in Munich, intensive research is still being carried out on superconducting electronic components. The first superconducting diodes have already been developed in the laboratory, but they rely on a combination of different superconducting materials. By contrast, the unique Kagome superconductors, with their inherent spatial modulation of Cooper pairs, act as diodes themselves, offering exciting possibilities for superconducting electronics and loss-free circuits.